A little celebration

Marcus had been waiting for Jay at the main road, a little away from where it forked off to the McLures. He had run after him and with his speed caught up after estimated 15 minutes of waiting.

Climbing on the carriage Marcus threw him a towel while pointing at the mess he made of his clothes. Had the man seen the scene Jay had left back there, he would have complimented him for how clean he was.

The good point was the horses seemed to smell the blood from behind them, speeding up the travel by a good margin. Even with their little 'break' the trip back took less time all together.

Arriving at the Inn's yard, Mia and Alexis had been already waiting outside. Dinner time had passed and the two men were bound to be hungry. But Jay declined, stating he had to report to Haggard what had transpired. Mia decided to come with him, letting Alexis clean the load and Marcus handle the Inn for the time they needed.

Without any issue they were led to Haggard's office some minutes later. Stating the appearance of Kobolds and their number on the vineyards, the commander came to the same conclusion as Jay. The probability of there being another totem was high.

The big surprise though came after he had narrated his short encounter with the bandits and pulled Katja Palins bloody head out of nowhere. Haggard's eyes widened as he seemed to recognize the woman. From his telling she was the daughter of one of the best woodworkers in all Arathi kingdom. But she had vanished shortly after the militia laid fire in Arathor and been counted as deceased.

The information he gained of the dockhouse and the slave trafficing was unliked but welcomed. Commander Haggard promised to double the patrols and hand out warnings to the adventurers. The dockhouse would have to wait as the matter of the totems and the safety of Gold Creek came first. Tharynn would have to send a report to the headquarters though.

They would send a scouting group to search for new kobold settlings. By triangulating the most probable mines and caves close to the winery and would tell Jay where he could find the totem. With his second target of revenge in mind he had already stated he would go there. The probability of soldiers finding the bandit camp was too high for him to risk it.

Keeping to the formalities for the active request, Haggard had the adventurer who survived Katjas attack identify her. He had been kept in the garrison for exactly this reason, so it only took minutes for him to get there. Of course it had been the right person... head and he recognized her instantly.

***

Quest:

The Bandits

current Object:

found 1/2 of the Bandits that captured you

and report them 1/2

***

With this his quest was done by half. As the threat for new adventurers had dropped a lot with the rumored adventurer-hunter dead, Haggard ordered a party to celebrate by Mia. He would come with Tharynn and some officers a hour later and the drinks would be on him. Jay was sure Alexis would love him for that.

On their way back Mia had watched him close until they where at the Inn. Not once did her eyes leave him.

"Why didn't you tell us you have the [Item Box] skill? I'm right, no? The way you had that Head appear..." M.

"Yes and no, it's something similar. Mind talking later? I'd like to tell you and Alexis about my...skills." J.

With a soft smile Mia nodded and passed around him, entering the Inn first. As every evening, only a few tables were free, and the one blocked for staff. That was exactly where Alexis was sitting with a big glass of pinot noir. Jay told Mia he would change his attire before she walked over to her friend.

Ten minutes later he also sat at the table with a big portion of roast meat just for him.

Mia had already told Alexis about the party and free drinks tonight, as well as that Jay would share some of his secrets about him. Sliding a glass of wine over to him, Alexis stated that he finally seemed to trust them.

The next thing she told him soured his mood a little. Alexis would leave two days later and be gone for some time.

A short while after he finished his second round of roasted boar meat with carrots and a dark ale sauce, Haggard and Tharynn arrived with their fellows. The Drinking went on for over two hours with lots of talks and jokes.

Jay was surprised that he held out for so long. Not long ago he got tipsy after two glasses of wine, but now he had drunk more than a bottle and was still relatively good. At least compared to the guests from the garrison. Only Haggard held out pretty good while Alexis was slightly drunk.

As every party had to end, Haggard took his men and left. It was literal as he had thrown one of the officers over his shoulder after he had passed out. Tharynn was still good and said his goodbye while the rest staggered to the exit. At this moment Jay was glad to have declined the liquor they started to drink later the night. As most of the guests had already left to this late hour, the two women sat together with Jay.

"Well, I promised to tell you if I learned or remembered something about me. I'm now pretty sure I got transported here like you already guessed. Though my appearance seemed to have changed and I remember only vaguely, I know I had been someone else. A part of those memories came back when I prayed to Diabella in the capital. And she told me I would regain more memories..." J.

"She told you? Like you had a conversation?" M.

"Nah, I wouldn't call it conversation. I couldn't even talk. Anyways, my skills..." J.

"Stop it! You said you would regain more memories... Did she say anything about you returning? To your original world?" A.

"Well, not exactly. But as I don't even have a single clear memory of my old life I doubt there's a chance to return anytime soon anyways...

Back to my skills. As you guessed earlier Mia, I have something like a item box. But it's a Inventory. And it's not a skill to be precise, it is a part of my System..." J.

"System?" they repeated simultaneously. Mia had listened to him with sparkling eyes after he mentioned hearing directly from her goddess while Alexis got slightly downhearted after he declined he could go back soon. Jay wasn't sure if she was disappointed he wouldn't leave soon or that he would probably leave at some point.

"Yep, my System. It's something like a skill that manages skills. In my case, it gave me my inventory. But I could only access it recently, so I have yet to test out its capabilities. And there is something more to my system...

Mia, you remember me being able to cast the spell you hit me with after some attempts? That is its main function. I have a chance to integrate skills into it for me to use. Though I don't really understand its principle." J

"You threw a spell at him?!?" A.

Hearing her angry tone and fearing a escalating situation Jay quickly corrected his statement.

"I asked her to do it. It was my only mean to confirm one principle of integrating skills. Mia was reluctant at first too. She only gave in when I told her the same had happened with her healing spell when I was unconscious. So I actually integrated more than one spell from her..." J.

"Oh, okay... One principle you said, so there is at least one more?" A.

'Fuck..' Cursing in his mind, Jay rang for words. He had wanted to keep his other way of integrating skills secret to these two. Thinking about it he remembered his first integration.

"Actually, at least one more option is to use a skill enchanted on items. But it's just a wild guess as I had no chance to confirm it..."J.

Glad he had remembered he thought about the possibilities this way of integrating held. He would make sure to look for items with skills from now on. His fortune should make some testing affordable. But his thoughts came to an abrupt halt when Mia had a sharp glint in her eyes.

"...but there is at least one more option to integrate skills, right? You're obviously trying to hide it from us!" M.

"Really?!" A.

This woman was absurdly sharp in the worst situations. Alexis would have been fooled by his excuse but Mia instantly realized him hiding something. Giving in as he saw neither possibility nor reason to hide it anymore, Jay hung his head while blushing.

"A-Actually, yes. I didn't want to hide it, really...it's just too embarrassing. My system enables me to integrate skills through ...intercourse." J.

Now it was time for Mia to blush. While one went from pale to red, the other woman simply stared at him. Slowly her expression twisted from dumbfounded to a wide grin.

With tears in her eyes and hitting on her knees Alexis laughed for the next whole minute until she had to gasp for breath. Even Mia had joined her with a light giggle halfway through.

"No more hiding what you did in Arathor?" A.

Now it was time for him to take the bottle of liquor an pour a glass. After calming him down a little, telling him it was no big deal they left the table. The morals of this world collided here and there with his own, so Jay was happy the two women looked after him in such situations. A guy would have fit in better though.

Cleaning up the tables they went upwards to their rooms. Mia said her good night at the top of the stairs where their way parted. Jay would have bet on Alexis joining her after the party but she went down the corridor with him. Her room was the last one on this floor.

"Say, you still want to hear my story? If yes then come with me, I guess you earned a little of my trust..." A.

She had asked him in a silent voice as the reached his door. Of course he answered and walked behind her along the corridor. Her room was slightly bigger than his with the same type of wooden bed and a table with two chairs. A lot of empty bottles littered the shelves and even the floor. Pointing him one of the chairs she took a seat on the bed.

"Well, as you already know I got reincarnated. I had my memories from my old world and could remember them from childs age onwards. Though they were slowly replaced by the endless training and quests I received from my new parent thanks to the skills I got.

You have surely seen the statues on the bridge to Arathor, right. I don't know if that Tharynn told you, but it's called the valley of Heroes. My statue stands there as well..." A.

"Your statue?!?" J.

"Yep, I'm one of Arathor's Heroes. About fifty years ago my party helped the Arathi Kingdom to free the cold North from the undead plague. Just to later sign a treaty with some of them securing the northern border. I had lost many good friends in those battles. At some point I rescued the young Haggard who got assigned there right from the academy. That's how we know each other so well.

After the peace treaty was signed I went back to my home, ceasing all contact to Arathor. But my home country had long since correlated with the Empire and Arathi Kingdom, leaving no where for me to return.

That's why I don't want to help them anymore. I fear to relive the same thing again and again..." A.

"I know it's rude, but how old are you? I mean, you don't even look thirty..." J.

"Thanks sweetie! I'm 162 Years by now. Don't be fooled, once you pass a certain level your aging progress slows down until it ceases. My heritage plays a big part in this as well!

Anyway, more about me will have to wait until you made your own picture of this world." A.

"Thank you. For telling me and everything you have helped me with..." J.

Standing up, he was about to leave. He was glad to have learned her story but the mood felt slightly awkward. Standing up as well Alexis held him by his arm.

Turning around she bent to him and gave him a small peck on the lips.

"We'll have to disband our party after tomorrow..." A.

It was the first time he saw Alexis blush. She had surprised him with the sudden kiss, though that was something he had to expect from the impulsive woman. But for her to blush, he was curious of what was to follow.

"...Oh come on, let me gift you the skill so that you can rise in level quickly. You surely found out the hero skill boosts the experience received...

Or am I unattractive to you?" A.

Without answering Jay pulled her into his embrace and kissed her passionately. How could a man find this beauty unattractive? There was no way to tell her that but to show it...