Chapter Thirty One

“Why would you want to spar with me? I’m not very good, I doubt it would be a good match.”

“You may be right, but it is not a fight I am looking for, but a sparring match. The goal of sparring is to learn and I believe we might both learn a thing or two from a match.”

“Really? What could I possibly teach you?”

Xorvos didn’t know how strong this man was, but he guessed that he was at least as good as Maryam judging by his conversation with her. Teaching was not something that was normally done to people who knew the subject better than you.

You don’t give fighting lessons to people stronger than you, that’s absurd. I might learn something from him though.

“I can’t promise I can teach you anything, but I will spar with you if you wish.”

“What the hell man, why do I have to go through a whole test and everything, but he just gets a fight for free? And now I gotta watch it!”

Maryam was just a bit frustrated and was maybe going slightly crazy. She had just resolved herself not to get into any frivolous fights, but here Xorvos was, doing just that in front of her.

“You don’t have to watch it; you can go back to the inn. I’m sure Shuka is awake by now, and I can just catch up afterwards.”

“No way, I’m not leaving you with this guy alone. Helping out my friends means helping out all my friends. I don’t know who this guy is and you don’t either, so I ain’t going anywhere.”

It might have been touching if she didn’t say it like it was some sort of grand injustice. Maryam started pacing in an attempt to keep her mind off the impending fight while Xorvos focused back on the man in front of him.

“Well then, shall we start?”

Xorvos nodded and they began. This fight started much slower than his last. Both participants took their stances and simply stared at each other for the first few seconds, waiting for the other one to act. It was Arlom who made the first move, stepping forward and throwing a simple and steady punch. Simple though it may be, it was fast enough that Xorvos barely had enough time to react, even when he was waiting for it. He dodged out of the way, and then belatedly tried grabbing the arm to get into a grapple, but was too slow. Instead of continuing the attack, Arlom took a step back and began to speak.

“Good reaction time and technique. A slower opponent would have been caught.”

“It’s… alright. My grapples aren’t very good anyway and this move doesn’t work if they are faster than me like you. And besides, a mage isn’t even going to let me get close enough to use it.”

Arlom gave Xorvos a look, like he was studying some problem. Or perhaps some person.

“You seem very critical of yourself. Why? Against the average opponent this would win you the fight.”

“Maybe it would work in some fights, but never in a fight that matters. There is only so much technique can do against magic.”

“Hmmm, perhaps. But mages are not unbeatable. Show me an attack now, I want to see how good your offence is.”

Xorvos almost forgot he was sparring. He took a swing right at Arloms face, but it was a feint. Once the monk went to defend himself, Xorvos went down low for a tackle. Arlom almost insultingly took the bait, opening himself up perfectly for Xorvos. Once they were both on the ground Xorvos went to work restraining all four of Arloms limbs and found it… easy. It was almost like he was practicing against a training dummy how little he was resisting. After a moment or two, Xorvos released his grapple and got up from the ground.

“You let that happen, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I did. It wouldn’t be a very good test if I didn’t get caught after all. Your feint was a bit predictable, but fast enough to make up for it and the grapple itself was very well executed.”

“But it only worked because you let it happen. And well executed or not you could have probably escaped anyway.”

“True. But am I really the standard you have to beat? It is okay to aspire to be better, but do not dismiss your current abilities simply because they could be better. Train, and the strength you desire will come.”

“But too slowly. I need to be strong now, not in a decade. No matter how much I train though, I’m never going to be strong enough to beat someone like Visia.”

“And what makes you say that?”

“They can use magic. I can’t.”

It seemed obvious to Xorvos. The last few weeks had been nothing but defeat after defeat for him, and he finally found out what the problem was. Magic. Other than Videon all his opponents used magic in one form or another and he couldn’t think of a way to beat that.

I can’t even learn magic myself because I’m a Quanso. Is there even a place in the world for people like me who only have their body to rely on?

Arlom seemed to have a different opinion on the matter.

“So? Magic does not win fights, mastery of it does. You simply need to have mastered your body more than they have mastered their magic.”

“But there is a limit to the body that doesn’t exist for magic. I might be able to beat Maryam with a bit more skill, but one day she will be stronger than what it is possible for me to achieve.”

“I disagree. She uses magic to make up for a lack of innate physical prowess. It is a valid fighting style, but not a superior one. You will only fall behind her if you don’t believe you can beat her. Not even archemages are guaranteed to win a fight against their more martially inclined peers.”

“But how!? Visia can teleport and shoot lightning and do all sorts of things that I can’t even come close to competing with. There isn’t a person in the world who could deal with that without magic of their own.”

“Her sister can.”

Xorvos had forgotten. When he first found himself in front of Visia’s office there was a sign that mentioned the ‘Twin Queens of the Sea.’ Twin as in two. He hadn’t really considered what the other queen was like, but he never would have assumed she was as mundane as him.

“Is she really as strong as Visia without magic? Are you sure she doesn’t just enhance her body with spells like Maryam?”

“Well she might have some magic items that help her out in that regard, but she doesn’t cast them herself. Even without the artifacts, I am sure she is still a match for Visia though.”

“That doesn’t seem possible.”

“Only because you have only seen what the peak of spellcasting looks like, and not the peak of martial combat. I may not be as good as either of the pirate queens, but let me show you what can be done without a single spell being cast.”

Xorvos didn’t know what he meant by that and was even more confused when Arlom started walking towards a small pond. It wasn’t the water he was interested in though, but the pebbles on its shore. The monk calmly collected the small rocks until he had around twenty or thirty all piled up in one hand. Then he went over to a nearby tree. With his free hand, Arlom punched the tree with a reverberating crack that caused it to shake violently. A light shower of leaves began falling from the tree’s branches as Arlom took a few steps back. He got a focused look in his eyes, one so intense Xorvos wasn’t sure if it was even possible to distract him from his task. Whatever that task was. Then, as the first leaves to fall were halfway to the ground, Arlom burst into action, or at least his hands did. They moved so fast all Xorvos saw was a blur as every single stone he took from the pond was thrown with unerring precision. In just a few seconds over two dozen rocks were thrown and over two dozen leaves were hit without a single miss.

“What was that?”

“That, was the power of ki. It is a power you too may posses. In fact, you already do.”

“But I’ve never even heard of ki before, and I definitely can’t do anything like what you just did.”

“Ki manifests itself in many ways. I used it for speed, although it can also be used for strength or toughness. You use it to activate your gauntlets.”

“I do? I thought they ran on mana.”

“Well strictly speaking that is what ki is.”

“Didn’t you say this was a power I could use? Quanso can’t use magic, how is this ki any different from a spell?”

I’m confused. Do I need magic to be strong or not? What’s the point of showing me what ki can do if I can’t even use it?

“The difference? Some would claim that there isn’t one, but I disagree with that notion. A spell is made by forcing the mana into the shape you desire, but ki is different. It moves freely within your body, flowing naturally like the blood within your veins. What Quanso can’t do is cast spells, because the mana won’t leave their body and that is where the spell must be crafted. But ki has no such restriction. You can manipulate mana, your gauntlets are proof of that, you just need to learn how to use it.”

Xorvos remembered when his father taught him how to activate his gauntlets. He never said ki, or even mana, all he was told was that they gave Quanso their own little piece of magic. Now he understood why.

“So then… how do I use it? Can you teach me?”

“I can. Most warriors learn how to strengthen their body with ki naturally as long as they train long and hard enough, but it is possible to learn it early with guidance. Normally it might take a year or two to learn even with a teacher, but you are already halfway there due to your training with Quanso weaponry. Still, don’t expect to master these techniques today, it will still take time.”

“I understand.”

“Good. Now, there are two main ways you can use ki. The first is to simply circulate the ki throughout your body instead of letting it gather in one place, stagnant. This will give your body a myriad of general improvements to speed, strength, durability, and stamina along with just generally making you healthier. It’s a bit tricky to learn, but once you have mastered it, it will become as natural as breathing.”

“Is that what you did throw all of those rocks so fast?”

“No, what you gain from circulating ki isn’t so extreme. What I used is the other method of using ki. Instead of circulating ki across the entire body, you focus it into one spot and concentrate on the specific benefit you want. In my case, I focused it into my hands and gave myself speed. Other common uses are giving your arms strength, or your body toughness, I’ve even heard of someone improving the vision of their eyes with this method. This is a much harder technique to pull of though, especially consistently, but you have seen firsthand how effective it can be.”

I remember when I was in the dungeon Videon threw an iron ball through a door. I thought it must have been a magic item, but could this be what gave her that strength?

“I will teach you a few training routines for you to practice on your own. If you have mastered ki circulation by the time we meet again, we may begin focus training. Now, listen closely.”

*

Maryams scales were starting to go back into her arms, but she still felt the effects they had on her mind. She was sitting in the grass arranging rocks in a pattern. Not for any particular reason, she just needed to be doing something while she thought.

Gah, how can he talk to me like he knows me? I haven’t caused a serious incident in years; my control is just fine. Whatever, that isn’t important right now, I need to figure out how to convince Shuka to ditch Ralisdor. I don’t know if she would listen to him over me. Maybe I need to do something to get in her favor. But what? Hold on, who was it that Visia recommended to her? Aurulin? Maybe I can go over to her and get her to help. I bet if I paid her a couple thousand gold, she could at least supress the curse, right? Hmm, if she can fully remove the curse then we wouldn’t have a reason to ditch Ralisdor anymore though. Do I ask her to only supress it then? That way I gain Shuka’s favor and we still have a reason to leave Ralisdor behind and go to my mother. No, wait. I think that might be an asshole thing to do, I’m not sure if that monk guy would accept it as helping.

Every once in a while, she glanced up to look at him training with Xorvos. Much to her disappointment they were talking more than they were fighting so it wasn’t as distracting as she originally thought it would be.

Goddamn it, he better not talk that much when we fight.

When Xorvos finally seemed to be done ‘sparring’ with Arlom, Maryam abandoned her rocks and went over to him.

“Hey, your done? Good, here’s the plan. So first we are going to head over to the temple to talk to that Aurulin person. We are gonna see if she can help with the curse and then go back to the inn and tell Shuka about it. Also, I need you to distract Ralisdor for me while I talk to her.”

“Wait, hold on. Why do we need to go to Aurulin? I thought your mother could help.”

“She can, but I need Shuka to trust me more than Ralisdor, so helping her with this will make her like me more. Also, it’s not like my moms just living next door, if this priestess can supress the curse a bit it will be useful while we are traveling.”

“Okay, but are we going to talk to Shuka as soon as we get back? We still need to hear Ralisdors side of the story don’t we?”

“No we don’t he’s just going to lie to us. If we can’t trust anything that he says, why would we let him talk?”

It didn’t seem right to Xorvos, but he did lose the duel so if her plan was to not even talk to Ralisdor, he had to follow that plan.

“Alright fine. Do you know where the temple is?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s close by. Let’s go.”

*

The Temple of the Celestial Order was a grand building, with pointed spires and stained glass windows. It was actually one of two temples in the city, with the other being a temple to Xyloth, the god of magic. Maryam wasn’t one hundred percent sure which temple Aurulin would be in. Since she was the Grand Priestess of Lancrin and not the High Priestess of Xyloth though, she guessed she would be in the temple more aligned to the Celestial Order. It was open to the public, so Xorvos and Maryam just walked in.

“Hey, excuse me. Do you know where the High Priestess is? We wanna talk to her.”

Maryam just walked up to one of the priests and asked them that. It was a bit too direct for Xorvos, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

“High Priestess Aurulin is currently in her office. I could see if she is available.”

“Really? Yeah, go for it. Oh, and thanks.”

The priest went off to Aurulins office and Xorvos and Maryam were left alone with each other. Xorvos took this opportunity to ask his friend some questions.

“So… how are we going to convince her to help?”

“A whole lot of money. Maybe a favor or two from my mom or something.”

“That didn’t seem to work too well on Visia. I don’t want to get roped into doing another job as payment when we could just be leaving Lancrin.”

“Yeah, I know. If we can’t get a good deal then we’re just leaving.”

The priest came back after a short period of time.

“It seems you came at a good time. The High Priestess is ready to see you.”

“Great, lets go.”

They were led to Aurulin’s office and brought inside. It was a large room that had a warm and welcoming interior. There were several comfy looking chairs placed in front of a nice looking desk that the High Priestess herself sat behind. She was a beautiful human woman with golden blonde hair and eyes that matched. Her skin was pale and free of blemish’s and she had a kind, almost motherly smile on her face. Her clothing seemed surprisingly humble, not that different from the rest of the priests and priestess’ in the temple. Regardless of that, she did have a presence to her that told people that she was in charge. She was a leader people wanted to follow though. When she spoke, her words seemed almost angelic, soft and beautiful.

“I don’t believe we have met. I am Aurulin, it is very nice to meet you two. May I have your names?”

“Yeah, I’m Maryam, and this is Xorvos. We have a friend who has a problem that we think you might be able to help with.”

“Oh, that’s terrible. Tell me more about your friend. Who is she, and what is this problem of hers?”

“Her names Shuka” Xorvos told her. “she’s a hunter who was cursed by a witch. We were hoping you could lift the curse, or maybe reduce its effect in some way. Even just a temporary fix would be helpful.”

“I see. I would be happy to help. I may not be able to fully remove the curse if it is too powerful, but I believe I can lessen its strength. Bring her to the temple and I will begin preparing for the purification ritual.”

“Really? That’s great! What do we owe you?”

“As much as you are willing to pay. I only wish to help those in need, gold has little value to me.”

“Thank you, we are very grateful for your help.”

It almost seemed too good to be true. She did say that she wasn’t sure if she could fully remove it, but it was still a huge step forward. Xorvos and Maryam got up to leave, but as they reached the door, someone on the other side knocked a few times before opening it.

“I’m sorry for interrupting your meeting Aurulin, but here is something important I must speak with you about.”

Validus stood in the doorway. He was about to walk in when he noticed Xorvos. And stopped in his tracks. In a moment his sword left its sheath and burst into white flame. It was pointed straight at Xorvos.

“Theres nowhere to run, Quanso. You won’t escape this time.”