Departure — Ferris

Maribelle is in the wilderness, on a forested mountainside far enough away from Lika village that the scent of sunflowers cannot reach her. She shouts into the dusk sky, magic reverberating in her voice.

“Monsters! Come get me! I’m gonna beat you up and train!”

I’m watching from behind a tree. When Natalia begged me to track Maribelle down and convince her to return home, I agreed. Now that I found her, I’m hesitating, curious of how this will play out without my intervention. On one hand, Maribelle has no weapon and she only just learned how to strengthen herself with magic. On the other hand, she’s Maribelle.

A low growl reverberates in the distance. The stench of rotten meat fills the air.

The monster answering her challenge emerges from between the trees.

Four yellow eyes glare at her from a wolflike head. The creature has a slender body, coated in grey fur, with one pair of legs too many. From all six of its feet, big claws extend, digging into the ground. It’s not huge, but it definitely weighs more than Maribelle.

It’s a gorebite wolf. Unlike normal wolves, gorebites tend to hunt alone. That’s because they are capable of bringing down large prey by themselves. Their fangs have a nasty curse which makes any wound they inflict worsen over time. If you can’t break the curse, the wound will grow larger and larger until you bleed to death.

Fortunately, it’s not a very difficult curse to break. Simply cauterizing the wound with a hot flame is enough.

Maribelle recognizes the monster from my stories. She tenses up. She has no way to deal with the curse and she knows it. She can’t get bitten.

As Maribelle becomes more nervous, the monster relaxes, realizing that she is easy prey.

It pounces.

I am about to intervene, but I can’t reach her in time. Why isn’t she dodging?

She punches the wolf right in the face, slamming its head into the ground with her fist.

Well, okay then.

The wolf doesn’t take the punishment lying down. It reaches up and grapples her with its front limbs, cutting into her shoulders with its claws.

Maribelle winces, but doesn’t pull back. Instead, she grabs the wolf’s neck with both hands, keeping the cursed jaws away from her body.

She screams with what I can only describe as a girlish roar. I sense magic building in her body, increasing her strength.

She strangles the wolf, crushing its neck between her hands. It begins to thrash and twist in her arms. It claws at her, leaving painful gashes, but each cut is more shallow than the last. Either the monster is losing strength, or Maribelle is learning how to make her body more durable. Probably both.

The struggle continues for around a minute. The wolf cuts dozens of painful gashes into maribelle’s arms, but she only tightens her choke hold.

The wolf’s struggles become more desperate. It switches from trying to harm her to trying to get away. It flails and twists frantically, but Maribelle doesn’t let go. Eventually, after one last desperate thrash, the monster stops moving. Even then, Maribelle doesn’t release its neck. She strangles it until the life has completely left its eyes.

Then, silently, she stands up and looks at her shaky arms. Her wounds are very bad. She is bleeding like crazy. Even though she avoided the curse, she could still die from blood loss.

She quickly walks through the forest, looking for something. I smile when she stops at a certain plant with large lumpy leaves, mountain vigorbrush.

She picks several leaves off of the plant and crushes them in her hands, exposing a sticky sap. She rubs the leaves on her arms, wincing in pain when the plant’s juices sting her wounds. She tosses the blood soaked leaves on the ground and examines her arms.

The bleeding has stopped, and the wounds are slowly closing. It will take several minutes, but the cuts will heal. She sits down next to the vigorbrush, lets out a long breath, and closes her eyes, finally relaxing.

I quietly emerge from the trees and walk over to her.

“You shouldn’t relax like that while you’re out here alone. A monster could sneak up on you.”

She startles, looking at me wide-eyed. I sit down next to her.

“How long were you watching me?”

“Long enough to see that I didn’t need to come.”

She seems surprised.

“I almost died.”

“Yes, but if I hadn’t been here, you would have made it home alive and well. In the end, that’s what matters. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve almost died while training. Just make sure that almost stays almost.”

“I need a weapon. I should have brought a weapon.”

“Yes, you should have.”

We sit in silence for a little while. I watch as the wounds on her arms continue to slowly heal from the magic sap of the vigorbrush plant.

“Can we go back home now?” She asks.

“Yeah. Your mother is worried sick.”

Maribelle looks down.

“She doesn’t want me to fight monsters. How come she let you do it when you were my age?”

I hesitate to answer. The truth is painful to say.

“I’m not her son.”

I look away from her, unwilling to see her expression. After standing up, I walk over to the dead gorebite wolf, pick up the body by it’s hindmost legs, and sling it over my shoulder.

“Let’s go,” I suggest.

I walk back towards the village and Maribelle follows me. We quietly return home, both of us lost in our thoughts.

I knock on the door to the inn and Natalia immediately comes bursting out.

“Maribelle!”

Natalia kneels down and examines her daughter, relieved to find that she is mostly unharmed. Maribelle is still covered in blood, but the wounds that made the mess have healed. Natalia hugs Maribelle in a tight embrace.

Maribelle hugs her mother back, but looks at me like she’s thinking about what to say.

For two nights in a row, Natalia has had to worry for her daughter’s life. Sadly, it’s likely that there will be much more of those worries in the immediate future. Maribelle definitely isn’t going to give up now.

It will take a long time for Natalia to start trusting in Maribelle’s strength like she trusts in mine. It certainly won’t happen today, not when I’m the one who brought her back.

“Did she try to fight that thing?” Natalia asks, looking with concern at the monster corpse.

“Not try. She strangled it to death with her bare hands. I did nothing.”

Natalia looks at me with horror in her eyes, slowly realizing that I’m serious.

“Why didn’t you stop her?”

“Because she had it handled.”

“You’ve gone mad!”

“Next time she wants to go train, make sure she’s more prepared. She should bring a weapon and some medicinal herbs at the very least.”

Natalia points her finger at me.

“No! She isn’t going to end up like you!”

“Mom!”

Maribelle glares at her mother, releasing the kind of pressure that only comes from people who have awakened their magic. The air goes still.

Natalia is at a loss for words.

I can’t help but smile.

“Anyway, I haven’t eaten in two days. How about we talk about this over dinner?”

Leaving the monster corpse outside, I step into the inn. I serve myself a bowl of curry from the pot on the stove and sit down at the dining table. We’re not alone. There are a several customers today, people whose houses need repairs after the fire. I can’t bring myself to feel bad about that. I traded their convenience for Maribelle’s life and I would do it again.

They’re giving me the stink eye though. I doubt Natalia told anyone that I started the wildfire, but it doesn’t take a genius to guess that I was responsible. I bet they can’t wait for me to leave town tomorrow. Too bad I’ve already found a certain girl to replace me as the resident monster hunting, village destroying menace. I chuckle to myself, enjoying the sweet, spicy taste of Natalia’s cooking.

Maribelle and Natalia aren’t coming inside. They must be working things out with each other. I can wait. They’ll come in when they’re ready to talk to me. I finish my curry and serve myself a second bowl. I’m literally starving.

Once I begin work on my third bowl, the two of them come inside and join me at the table. Maribelle has a calm expression. Natalia seems sad. Their conversation must have come to some kind of resolution out there.

“We made a compromise,” Natalia announces.

“Oh?” I am curious.

“I’m going with you to Salsvale. I’ll enroll in the academy of magic there,” Maribelle explains.

I raise my eyebrows. This was unexpected. I like the idea, but there’s just one problem.

“How are you going to pay for tuition?”

If I could have, I would have enrolled myself in a magic academy to learn pyromancy properly. Unfortunately, no money means no admission. Those schools are for the rich.

“I have some money saved up. It’s not much, but if I sell the inn, it might be enough.”

I know how much the inn means to Natalia. She used to live in Salsvale. When her work got her pregnant, she ran away from the life she hated. She wanted Maribelle to live in a way that she never could. The inn is a sanctuary, a place of love and freedom, built just for Maribelle.

Of course Natalia would give it all up it in a moment if it meant a better future for her daughter.

However, even if she sells this place, I doubt she’ll have enough money to pay for the academy. The tuition is truly ridiculous.

More importantly, I can’t stand the idea of Natalia losing everything she has built.

“No. You don’t need to sell the inn. I’ll pay her tuition.”

If I can really make silver grade in the adventurers guild, I should be able to earn enough money to put Maribelle through school. Though, even if that doesn’t work out, I will definitely keep this promise. One way or another, I’ll find whatever money she needs.

“Good. We were hoping you’d say that,” Natalia admits shamelessly.

I’ve been played like a fiddle.

Maribelle giggles and gives me a big hug. She squeezes me so hard it hurts. While I hug her back, I subtly strengthen my body with magic to avoid getting squished.

Natalia is wearing a smile on her face, but it doesn’t hide her sadness. She’s probably thinking about selling the inn anyway, just to come with us. The academy is a boarding school, though. Even if she moves back to Salsvale, she won’t be living with Maribelle. I’m sure she knows it’s best if she stays here. That way, Maribelle will always have her sanctuary to return to.

“I’ll take good care of her.”

“I know.”

Natalia smiles at me, genuinely this time. I’m touched that she trusts me like this. Wasn’t it only a few minutes ago that she accused me of being a bad influence?

“It’s just such short notice. I wasn’t prepared for this,” Natalia squeaks, wiping a tear off of her cheek.

It’s tempting to delay my departure to give Natalia more time to say goodbye, but I decide against it. By the end of summer, I need to make enough money to pay for the first semester of Maribelle’s tuition. Every day will help.

My plan is unchanged. I am leaving tomorrow.

“It’s our last night together for a while. We should do something fun,” I suggest.

Natalia frowns. She was definitely hoping I would stay for an extra week or two.

“Let’s play monster cards!” Maribelle exclaims.

Natalia chuckles.

“I can’t believe you’re already going to be out on your own.”

“I won’t be on my own. I’ll be with Ferris. Wasn’t that the whole point of me going with him?”

“Yes, of course. You’re right.”

“So, monster cards?”

“Monster cards it is.”

Saving our goodbyes for tomorrow, we play games late into the night. We have more fun than we’ve had together in years. I feel a twinge of guilt when I realize that we could have done this much more often. I keep those thoughts to myself, not wanting to spoil the mood.

It's a night to remember.

The next morning, I wake up in my still dusty bed. Sadly, it’s doomed to get much dustier. As I sit up, I feel a twinge of discomfort from the curse in my right shoulder. It’s concerning that I don’t know its effect, but it feels much better than it did a few days ago. I put it out of my mind and head downstairs.

Maribelle and Natalia are already having breakfast. It’s a hearty meal of eggs with fried potatoes. Maribelle is wearing a sunflower in her hair, and I recognize it as the same one that I left on her nightstand yesterday.

“You’re finally up,” Natalia greets me.

I notice that my backpack is on the table. The big tear is sewn shut, and patches cover the other weak points in the old fabric.

“Thanks for repairing my backpack.”

Natalia smiles.

“Of course.”

I sit down and dig in to the big plate of food that’s waiting for me. Maribelle is scarfing down her food faster than I have ever seen her eat. I mirror her gluttony, stuffing myself with as much of Natalia’s cooking as possible. I won’t be able to eat it for a while.

After breakfast, I pack my newly repaired backpack with my survival supplies, including the enchanted daggers and metal ingot that I pillaged.

“It’s time to go,” I announce.

“Woohoo! Adventure!” Maribelle exclaims.

“See you later,” I say to Natalia.

“Take good care of her. Don’t let her fall into the bottomless rift or anything. Also, send me a letter once you get to the city.”

“A letter isn’t the only thing I’ll send you. Once I have some money to spare, I’ll hire a healer to come and regrow your finger.”

Natalia bites her lip. Perhaps she feels bad about the idea of having so much money spent on her finger. She doesn’t refuse the offer, though.

“Thank you.”

I just smile and step outside. Maribelle follows.

“Goodbye,” Natalia sniffles.

“Bye-bye!” Maribelle waves back to her mother.

She turns around and doesn’t look back. Drawn-out goodbyes clearly aren’t Maribelle’s style.

We head north, along a rugged trail leading out of Lika village. The wind is at our backs, and it carries the smell of sunflowers.

“Ferry, teach me magic!”

She spoke the moment she was sure her mother was out of earshot. I smile at the little devil, considering how to respond to her request.

“So far, you’ve only been able to fully draw out your power in high stress situations. The first thing you need to learn is how to use your magic at any time.”

“Okay!”

I grin sadistically. She has no idea what she’s in for.

“There’s a great way for you to train while we travel. Instead of walking, we’ll run. If you can’t draw out your magic, you won’t be able to keep up.”

I start jogging. Maribelle’s eyes widen slightly as she sees me running down the trail.

“Wait up!”

She runs after me, not using any magic at all.

I speed up, running approximately at her maximum speed. She sprints towards me, desperate to keep pace. Even if she starts to fall behind, I won’t slow down. This is a difficult task for a beginner like her, but I have high expectations.

Sure enough, she tires out after a minute of sprinting. She bends over, putting her hands on her knees, gasping for breath. She watches me run down the trail ahead of her, leaving her in the dust.

“Slowpoke!” I taunt.

I feel a shiver go down my spine. An aura explodes from the little girl behind me.

“I’m not a slowpoke!”

Her voice reverberates through the mountains, likely loud enough to reach all the way back to Lika village. I laugh as a rapid pitter-patter of footsteps indicates that she’s started to run at superhuman speed.

A second later, there is a blur of red hair as Maribelle shoots past me.

“You’re a slowpoke!” She adds.

This cannot stand.

Fire erupts from my ankles and the world blurs around me. Just before I crash into my sister, I kick off the ground, flying right over her head. I land several meters ahead of her, cutting off my fire and slowing down to a pace that is slightly above her current superhuman speed.

“No fair!”

I respond to her comment by laughing maniacally as she slowly falls behind once more.

Her aura gradually intensifies and she eventually catches up to me. She is running just behind me, not daring to pass me lest I increase my pace once more.

We are running faster than any human could ever run without magic, but I know for a fact that Maribelle can do better. When she attacked Damien, she moved much faster than this.

Slowly and steadily, I speed up. Maribelle stays right behind me. I can sense her determination. Her will is like a slumbering dragon, groggily waking up.

After a few minutes, we are running twice as fast as a galloping deer. Maribelle is getting the hang of drawing out her magic. Her aura is roaring. She’s keeping up easily.

For someone newly awakened, she certainly isn’t lacking in raw power.

Now comes the real test. I want to see how long she can keep this up. My suspicion is that Maribelle’s weak point will be her mental discipline. If she gets bored or loses focus, and her will falters, her magic will fail.

“We’ll be running like this for a while. Whatever you’re feeling right now, hold on to it. Don’t let it slip away, even if you get bored.”

“How could I get bored of this?”

I look back. She is running with her eyes closed and her arms out to the side, enjoying the sensation of the wind in her hair. It brings back memories of the exhilaration I felt when I first moved like this. Now, it’s become almost mundane for me.

It’s good to have her company.

I smile, and keep running. Magic courses through my body, sunlight shines on my cheek, and wind pushes back my hair. It feels good.

Then, I stop in my tracks.

I turn around and tackle Maribelle. As I clutch her in my arms, we roll on the ground, barely getting out of the way of the explosion of obliterated trees and shattered stone that rips across the trail.

Where we were half a second ago, a monster now stands. It is three meters tall at the shoulder, with feathered feline limbs and a crocodilian head. An extremely long prehensile tail is covered in yellow feathery plumage, and at the end of it is a sword-like spike of grey bone. The world trembles around its imposing form. It smells like sulfur and dust.

It looks at us, releasing a low growl. Cracks form in the ground beneath its feet.

“Is that a destructozonicus?” Maribelle squeaks, unable to hide the fear in her voice.

“Yes. That’s the danger of traveling with magic. Monsters can be attracted to your aura. Let’s see if I can scare it off.”

Magic boils within me and I release a scorching aura of heat and intimidation. The ground begins to melt, and nearby trees are incinerated to ash.

The destructozonicus steps back, hissing as its feathers are singed. It hesitates for just a moment. Then, it roars with fury.

Doesn’t seem like I’m scaring it off.

I point Radius at the beast, and the heat from my aura is concentrated at the tip, shaped into a brilliant blade of white fire, two meters long.

“What should I do?” Maribelle asks.

“Stay back and watch.”