Kellryia - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Bard stood before me, an amazed expression on his face. “Why are you crying?”

Swallowing and clearing my throat, I raised my chin. “I’m not crying.”

His response to that was a raised eyebrow. Lifting his hands, palms out, as if to show me he was unarmed, he approached me slowly. Apparently I had turned into a skittish animal, ready to bolt from him, since he was treating me like one.

“What are you doing?”

Stopping mid-step, he said, “Well, usually ladies want a shoulder to lean on when they cry, I was going to offer.”

“I told you, I wasn’t crying,” I said unconvincingly. All I wanted was for him to leave me alone and my reaction seemed to attract him. How annoying.

“Do you want to talk about what you weren’t crying about?”

“No.” Talking about Ethan was not something I wanted to do, especially with this man. What I wanted was to be alone and mope.

Giving up for now, he said, “Very well.” Crossing his arms, he tilted his chin while he looked at me, as if to figure me out. “That’s some mediocre voice you have there.”

“Um, yeah,” I murmured while I stared at the floor, shifting uncomfortably. “Something happened to my voice.” I began to wonder if simply coming to this world, full of magic, was the reason for the change in my voice, because it certainly wasn’t special back home.

“I’ll say so, because that was far from mediocre.” Stepping towards me, his knuckle raised my chin and said one word, “Beautiful.”

I flinched back from his touch, but otherwise accepted the compliment, although, I’d have to start slapping him if he insisted on touching me unnecessarily. “Thanks. So, did I pass your little test?”

He grinned at me, amused. Withdrawing writing material, he scribbled several things down.

“So, um, are you going to explain what the point in this is?”

Looking up, he gave me a short nod. “I’m going to train you.”

“Train me?”

“Yes, it’s clear that you have the makings of a bard. No need to thank me, you’re welcome.”

“What makes you think that I need, or even want training to become a bard?” Training to become a bard was more than bizarre considering I was planning on creating one for Ethan’s game. My subconscious must have taken this thought literally and now I was going to be in the actual mind and body of someone training to become a bard.

He looked truly shocked by my question. “I’m helping you help yourself, as I said earlier. I find that it’s best not to rely on others, when it comes down to it, people look after their own hide.”

“Hmm.” I had to admit, he had a point. If I was going to make it in this world, I needed to know how to defend myself. Bardic training involved learning how to use a weapon, likely a sword, and bear the weight of chain armor, as well as how to cast helpful magic spells, including restoration. Being able to heal my wounds for when I inevitably became injured would be very useful. Even though I was dreaming, I didn’t want to die. Whenever I dreamed and died while in the dream, I always would wake up. As much as I wanted to get home, there could be that .01% chance that I wouldn’t wake up if I died. “Okay,” I agreed.

“Good,” he said, finishing his markings on the parchment. Flipping it over for me to read, I found that I couldn’t read most of what was written.

“You’re going to have to explain this to me, I can’t read…whatever language that is.”

“I expected as much. It’s Draconic, the language of the Dragons, they are the masters of the arcane magic specialty.” Likely noticing my blank stare, he continued on. “Let’s focus on our aura, this is important. Our aura aids our friends nearby, giving them hope and relieves their wounds when they are injured.”

Trying to keep up, I concentrated on every word he said. Feeling confident in my understanding, I nodded. “Okay, how do I create my aura?”

“First, close your eyes.”

Squinting at him suspiciously, I said, “You have to promise not to touch me.”

Laughing, he said, “If you don’t trust me enough to not touch you when your eyes are closed, what worth does my promise hold?”

“Just promise.”

“All right, I promise I won’t touch you. Close your eyes and concentrate.”

What I was concentrating on precisely was lost to me, but I closed my eyes and tried to imagine an aura around me. “Now what?” When he didn’t respond, I opened my eyes to find him staring at me, surprised.

“Amazing.” Reaching into his bag of never-ending space and supply, he withdrew a sword in its sheath, polished and bejeweled, as well as a full set of chain armor. “Here, put this on.”

Whatever was amazing, he didn’t ask me to try to concentrate on my aura anymore. As I took the armor from him, I nearly dropped it, not expecting it to weigh so much. I immediately noticed the problem my attire would pose as I inspected the leg armor pieces, one did not wear a dress and armor together. “You wouldn’t happen to have extra clothes in there too, do you?”

Nodding, he said, “Sure.” He pulled out a pair of brown leather pants and a lace-up white shirt and handed them to me.

“Thanks,” I mumbled. I’d never worn leather pants before, but I was about to find out what it was like. Stepping behind the changing screen, I switched out my clothing. Managing to find where to strap each piece and slipping the chain shirt over me, I picked up the sword and took it from its sheath.

Emerging from behind the screen, I tested the sword, swinging it about. The armor was heavy and uncomfortable, making it difficult to swing the sword. “So, how do I look?”

“Formidable,” he said, his expression one of a suppressed grin. Summoning a sword to his hand, he said, “Come, take a swing at me.”

Looking at the sharp metal blade, I hesitated, “You’re not armored.”

“Don’t worry about me,” he said, standing relaxed, the sword at his side.

Gripping the sword with both hands, I raised the sword above my head and swung in a diagonal downward stroke. My swing was slow and clumsy. His arm parried my attack with lightning speed, so fast that I never saw him move.

“You’ve got the idea, but that’s a one handed sword.”

He had to be joking. This thing weighed a ton and now I had to use it in only one hand? Sighing, I freed my left hand, extending it out a bit for balance. My sword hand gripped the weapon feebly and I had difficulty keeping it straight out.

Approaching me, he held the sword for a moment. “Move your hand further up the hilt, to the center of its balance. You will have better control of it there.”

Moving my hand, I recognized the improvement and was able to keep the sword level.

Returning to his previous spot, he said, “Try a thrust, keep the blade horizontal and step into it. Aim for my chest.”

Doing as he instructed, the tip of the sword more or less went towards his chest, but his sword came across and pushed mine out of the way. “Good. Did you see how to counter that kind of attack? Tilt the sword a bit vertically and swing horizontally, either leftward or rightward, depending on your opponent’s aim.” Extending his sword, the point aiming for my chest, his knees bent and his side faced me. He said, “Here, try to deflect my sword. Pretend that this is about to pierce you in the heart.”

Raising my sword, I tilted the tip so that it pointed to his head, making the sword perpendicular to his and swung my arm in a horizontal arc. Metal clanged and his sword was redirected.

“Always aim at your opponent, not his sword. Deflect his attack, but then counter it by following up with another swing of your own. Again, but this time deflect my sword and then follow through, pushing my sword down and cut my leg with your sword.” He returned to his previous position, his sword pointed at my chest, his other arm behind his back.

I mimicked his posture, hooking my arm back and engaged him. Knocking his sword away, I arched my sword downward to slice his leg. He allowed my sword to make contact, but there was not enough force behind my swing to cause any damage. We both smiled at my progress.

“The most common injuries are caused to the limbs, since they are easy targets. This is why we keep our offhand behind our back until we have use for it. A wand will be in your left hand to aid in the casting of your spells, but we’ll get to that later.”

Nodding, I exhaled heavily. “It is a lot to learn.”

“Yes, it is. But these techniques you are likely to forget once you actually need to use them in battle. Your reflexes will be what saves you.” Suddenly, he raised his sword over his head and swung downward toward my shoulder.

Reacting quickly, my arm came up to parry his attack and I pressed his sword away to the side. “What are you trying to do, kill me?”

Barking a laugh, he said, “If I were trying to do that, you wouldn’t have been able to ask.”

Belatedly I realized that my heart was pounding in my chest, the veins in my limbs tingling with the pumping blood. On edge, I started to ramble. “You could have aimed somewhere else other than my neck for Christ’s sake!” Too late I noticed he would not know who this Christ person was that I was speaking of.

He furrowed his brow in confusion at the expression I had accidentally used. “I assume that is someone of importance in your world?”

I nearly choked on my own spit. How could he know about my world? Looking away from him, I said, “Hmm?”

He was not convinced. “You don’t need to play me for the fool, I know all about you.”

Turning around, I went to sheath the sword. “Oh, and what’s that?”

Following me to the other side of the room, he said, “You arrived yesterday, as you were meant to, just as you were meant to happen upon me in the store.”

Swirling around to face him, I snapped, “I wasn’t meant to come here at all, I fell by accident and the next thing I know wake up in Ella’s church.”

“You don’t believe in fate then, I see. I should probably tell you, everything happens for a reason.”

“Alright, so what possible reason could there be for me to land into this world?”

He grinned. “Sorry, can’t tell you that.”

Making an agitated growling noise, I moved to take the armor off.

Taking another step towards me, he said, “What I can tell you is that you needed to come here, for yourself.”

Glaring up at him, I asked, “What do you mean?”

“You will gain many life experiences here, a sort of personal journey.”

“Look, I don’t want any of this, I want to go back, okay? So stop telling me that I’m supposed to be here and that I’m on a journey.”

“And how do you think you are to get back, hmm?”

For a few moments I just stared at him, wondering what the answer to that question was. “Do you know?”

He made a great display of inspecting his fingernails. “I might, but I can’t say.”

At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if steam was coming out of my ears. “Alright, Bard, I don’t know how you’re able to predict the future and all that, but you’re really starting to annoy me with your ‘I know stuff, but can’t tell you’ crap. You know what I think. I think that I’m making all of this up, and you can’t tell me how to get back home because my subconscious doesn’t know the answer. You know about Ella, when I arrived, that I’m not from here, because I know about it.”

Finding my rant humorous, he laughed for a moment before containing himself. “Interesting theory, but wrong.”

“This is where you say something that proves me wrong.”

Looking away and tapping his fingers, he thought for several moments. “Nope, can’t do that. Eventually, though, you’ll realize that you really are here.”

Sighing, I said, “I thought you said you were going to help me.”

“Patience is a virtue, my dear. All in due time.”

Sighing, I counted to ten and took a deep breath. “Okay, sorry I yelled.”

“Don’t worry about it, I had a good laugh. Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve laughed that much in quite some time.”

Suppressing another evil stare, I said, “You’re welcome, I guess. Glad you enjoyed yourself.”

Grinning, he helped lift the heavy chain shirt from my shoulders. Having swung around a five pound sword for so long, my arm was practically unable to move. The Bard bid me to practice on my own and to consider the sword and armor as gifts. Tomorrow we would continue my training after my day of work with Mrs. Salisbury.

Leaving his room after changing back into my dress, he escorted me downstairs and we shared a meal together in silence. After our disagreement I wasn’t inclined to speak to him if I didn’t have to. Unfortunately, this didn’t keep him from staring at me. Coincidentally my food became very important and I spent the whole time picking at it.

The other guests nearby recognized the Bard and chanted for him to sing them a song. He smiled courteously and obliged them, standing before the fire and singing one of the most beautiful ballads I ever heard. It was if he were on a stage on Broadway and this was his shining moment in the musical. His voice was rich and bright, singing with passion.

As much as this man annoyed me whenever he spoke, I had to concede that he was excellent at his day job. It was no surprise to me now that everyone in the inn was a huge fan and that he was probably widely popular wherever he went.

The training he was putting me through was also very good. He clearly knew what he was doing when it came to fighting and he knew how to teach me in a way that I could understand. I’d never been much of an athlete, but I was confident that I could learn to swordfight.

As the Bard launched into a more upbeat tune, the crowd joined in clapping along with the beat. I joined with the others, enjoying myself. From another table I saw a dwarf rise from his seat and make his way over to me. He had a very long red beard braided into two plaits, his hair styled in a similar fashion that reminded me of a Viking. Ice blue eyes twinkled at me, the only female in the room.

“Would ye like ta dance, lass?”

As per usual, I came up with some excuse to save myself embarrassment. “I don’t know how to dance.”

“Neither do I, so we can look like fools together, eh?” Confident that I would consent, he extended his hand.

Laughing, I took his square-shaped hand and stood, which happened to be about a whole foot taller than him. “My name’s Lillian, by the way.”

“Baern’s me name.” Guiding me to a more open area, he said, “Here we go.”

Smiling, he led me in a dance that reminded me of a Scottish folk dance, consisting of many twirling and hopping. We circled around the open space, skipping along the way. There were no steps to follow, we just danced with the music how it moved us to. The skirt of my dress flowed out around me and hugged my legs as we spun about quickly. We both smiled at each other and I realized this was the most fun I’d had in a long time, acting like a child with a dwarf I’d just met.

Ethan would never dance with me when the occasion would arise, which in itself wouldn’t be often. He was a horrible dancer, we both knew it, but he wouldn’t even make the effort. But here was this dwarf, admitting he didn’t know how to dance, and still wanted to, with a total stranger to boot.

Becoming out of breath, I was glad when the Bard’s song came to an end. Baern and I faced the crowd to receive the audience’s applause with the Bard, our dance a part of the performance as a whole. We took our bows and I looked over my shoulder at the Bard. The most peculiar expression was on his face, and I couldn’t figure out what he was thinking.

Baern caught my attention when he bowed to me and said, “Thank ye, lass. ‘Twas my pleasure.”

Remembering to curtsy, I said, “Indeed, it was fun.”

“Well, perhaps I’ll see ye again, and we can have another dance. Nice to have met you, Miss Lillian.”

“Mrs. Kerr,” sounded the Bard’s voice, interjecting into the conversation as he passed by Baern and me, mocking the many times I had corrected him.

Glaring at the Bard’s back before turning back to the dwarf, I said, “Yes, hope to see you again, goodbye Baern.”

Following after the Bard, I found that he was on his way back upstairs. I assumed he didn’t want to be followed since he didn’t ask me to come with, so I stopped by the counter to rent out a room for myself.

Going to my room and preparing for bed, I tried to convince myself that nothing was going to attack me in the dark room. I nervously sung to calm myself, but the insecurity made me too uncomfortable for it to do much good. Unlike Mrs. Salisbury’s store, my door didn’t have a lock. The lock on the Bard’s door had been magical, and since I didn’t know how to create a magical lock, I was out of luck.

To my utmost fear, a banging of feet came from down the hall, followed by pounding. The noise only grew, with the addition of shouting. As the people outside approached my room, I could make out, “Fight outside, need help.”

When a knock came at my door, I hesitantly went to open it. Through the sliver of an opening I’d made, I saw a face I recognized. “Baern?”

“Lillian? Excuse me, there’s a group of men outside that are tryin’ ta steal the horses. Stay inside, we’ll take care of it.” Baern rushed off before I could even respond. It annoyed me that I was automatically passed by, as if I wasn’t capable of helping.

Marching down the hall to the Bard’s room, I was determined to get my armor and sword and help with the fight outside. Standing before his door, I tried opening it while knocking. When he failed to respond, I said, “Open the door, it’s Lillian.”

I heard a definite click of the door being unlocked and it swung open a few inches. Bursting through the threshold, I bee lined to where I’d left my armor and weapon on the table.

His voice came from behind the changing screen. “How lovely for you to visit my chamber, Lillian. I was just about to get in bed if you’d like to join me.”

“I’m not here to see you, so keep your pants on.” Pulling on the leather pants, I tucked the skirt of my dress into them.

“Who said they weren’t already off?”

Keeping my back to him as I donned the chain armor, I said, “If you’re naked, you’d better stay over there. I’m going to help with the fight outside, sorry to disappoint.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, by the time you get your armor on, the skirmish will have passed. You should come over here and tackle me instead.”

Strapping on the arm and leg pieces was taking a good bit of time, but I wanted to get some practice in combat. “Does that tactic usually work for you?”

Laughing, he said, “Yes, it does. But for every rule there is at least one exception.”

Throwing on the chain shirt, I decided I had enough of the piece equipped for a minor dispute. Snatching up the sword, I dashed to the door. Before I made two steps, the door slammed shut and locked with a click. The Bard had used his magical spells to do this without even touching the door.

“You’re not ready, you haven’t finished your training yet,” he said, still by the bed across the room from the door.

“Damn it, let me go,” I yelled, pulling at the door.

“Only if you promise you’ll go straight back to your room.”

Refusing to do that, I about faced and marched to the window. I threw open the curtains and pushed out the shutters. Unlike the windows on the first floor, these didn’t have glass in them.

“What are you doing?” The Bard approached, emerging from behind the screen.

As I turned my head to answer him, I realized that he wasn’t bluffing. “Oh my God, you’re naked?” Squeezing my eyes shut before turning back to the window, I repeated, “You’re naked.”

“What, haven’t you seen a naked man before?”

Refusing to comment, I concentrated on swinging my legs over the windowsill, and finding a place to grip with my hands. His hand gripped my wrist and startled me, causing me to lose my balance. Screaming as I fell from the sill, my shoulder almost dislocated as his hold on my wrist kept me from falling.

The second story wasn’t that high from the ground level. From my hanging position, I was about five feet from landing. With the sword that I somehow managed to keep a hold of, I raised my arm to slash the Bard’s arm.

It worked. The Bard let go of my wrist and I landed somewhat easily. Looking up at the Bard, I saw him holding his bleeding arm and glaring down at me.

From where I stood, I could hear the clanging of metal and shouts coming from around the corner of the inn. Running around the building, I saw several men in hand to hand combat, some making it off with the horses. Charging the closest man riding away on a horse, I pointed my sword at him. “Get off the horse.”

The man appeared to be unarmed, but that didn’t mean he was incapable of fighting. Riding towards me, he kicked at my face, breaking my nose into itself and causing blood to pour to my lips. I was knocked back by the force and landed on my back, splitting my head. Tears came to my eyes from the stinging pressure and I was paralyzed from the blow.

The pain numbed the feeling of my whole head and muddled any kind of strategic thought. Spitting out the blood from my mouth, I waited for the stars around my head to disappear, as they did in cartoons. I kept my mouth open and gasped for air, not able to breathe through my shattered nose.

Coming out here was a huge mistake.

Dragging myself away towards the edge of the inn, I hoped that my position made it obvious that I had surrendered and no one would attack me further. Before I made it to my sanctuary, a man in black charged at me, stepping on my sword hand and tried to pry my weapon from me.

“No!” I shouted. Kicking at him from my position on the ground, I managed to cause him to flinch back, freeing my arm. I swung madly at him, largely missing him completely and only scratching him when I made contact.

The man laughed at me and kicked the sword out of my hand, sending it flying off to the side. Dashing for it, he snatched it up and pointed it at my chest.

Kellryia - Chapter 4  (13+) Lillian has a disturbing dream that concerns the Bard. #1654613 by Goldfish