"Ha! Why am I not surprised that you died a hero," Zell said with a grin. His respect for James rocketed up. "You're an inspiration, my mate. No joke." He nudged James with an elbow and nodded with approval to show he was serious. At this point he noticed just how uncomfortable his friend was feeling, talking about his death, and Zell realised that not everyone could (or wanted to) repress their emotions and be so nonchalant about serious topics like the Englishman. "And here I just got flattened by a bus. But anyway..."

"So what do you want to do at the Guild"

"We'll see where the night takes us," he strained as he stretched his arms up, then interlocked his fingers behind his head. "I imagine it won't be boring. Barrels of beer and bottles of liquor, plus a bunch of lads and ladies all with superpowers? Tons of potential for a memorable evening, don't ye think?"

When MacKensie took a rain check on their visit, Zell saluted her and Adam. "Alright guys, catch ye later." Then he turned to James. "Looks like it's just me and you then."

"Well, feel free to lead the way"

...

Zell had a little look at some of the clothes and gear on display in the tailor's shop while James got his shawl. When he went over to his friend, he folded his arms and leaned on the counter. "Eh, how about Barracker's armour: Pretty fucking cool, if you ask me. He looks like a right badass in it." The vampire certainly had the best-looking gear out of all them, taking Fenna's spot, who was previously 1st place. "I wouldn't mind getting a hood sewn onto my armour. I'll pass on the face mask though. A little claustrophobic for my tastes."

When James was done, the next stop was across the city to the Guildhouse.

Gilligan was stunned for a moment at the sheer speed of the tree's growth. Adam didn't even look like he was trying either. Bronze Tier party. Ascended - not sure. Specialization - not sure. It made no sense. Quickly the old man fixed his face back to normal.

When the tree was done, Gilligan walked over and rested his palm on the trunk. He could sense no complications with the internal structure. For all intents and purposes, it was perfect. "Hmph," he grunted.

"One thing though," Adam said after he was finished, Gilligan turning from the tree to young Druid, "she isn't pointless."

Gilligan cast a glance at MacKensie, then back to Adam. "Aw, offend your mommy, did I? Or is she your girly?" Gilligan somehow managed to laugh with an annoyed facial expression. He hobbled a few steps toward them and shook his head with disappointment. "Soft. But not to worry - walking this path will toughen you up... If you survive it."

"Can we begin the lesson please?"

So, it would actually be a long day. Glee certainly knew how to pick them. Gilligan spoke to MacKensie. "You. Pretty Miss Pointless Distraction. If you're not going to leave then at least go over there." He pointed at the campfire. There was a wooden seat next to it, if the Ranger wanted to sit down. "No talking," he told her.

"And you. Adahl," his angry eyes turned back to Adam. "Take that jacket off. And your shirt. And your shoes. Then sit down at the tree and cross your legs."

Once he was bare-chested and bare-footed, sat in a meditative position at the tree of his own making, Gilligan began hobbling back and forth in front of him. "Meditation is an important practice that will benefit many Adventurer Classes for different reasons. And Druids are no exception."

Without warning, he muttered a spell and blasted Adam with it, the green sphere hitting the younger Druid dead in the chest. It wouldn't hurt, but Adam would feel the impact, and he might feel a little strange. What he wouldn't realise is that his forehead was glowing with a red light.

"Close your eyes and search deep within your heart. Find your spirit animal." Gilligan kept pacing, managing to keep his eyes on Adam the whole time. "It's there. Rid yourself of thought. Rid your sense of touch, taste, sight and smell. Hear my words only."

And so began a long and difficult process that would last the day. Gilligan was tireless with his walking cane, hobbling up and down, speaking advice to Adam.

"Stop thinking about irrelevant nonsense! A day thinking about what could happen, should happen, or what might have been is a day missed."

"Nothing beyond this tree matters. But distractions are everywhere, even in your mind. Notice what takes your attention, acknowledge it, and then let it go."

"In letting go, we cease trying to make something happen, and then the mind naturally opens. It is like watching a flower grow - free from effort, its petals naturally unfold to reveal its beauty. Reveal your animal spirit. You will know it when you see it. And it will know you."

Five hours passed without success. But there were moments when Adam was close, the red light on his forehead teasing to turn green a couple of times. Yes, he would find his spirit animal, even if he had to sit there all night. The sky began to darken......................

What MacKensie had expected, when the door first opened, was a wise old sagely sort of fellow. Perhaps a little quiet due to being a hermit and what-not. But upon seeing the face of thunderous anger and irritation, the wide-eyed Ranger immediately realised that the owner of this house on the mountain would defy all expectations.

"...Not interested." and the door slammed shut, prompting a little gasp from MacKensie who covered her mouth with her fingers from the shock of it all.

She looked at Adam who seemed just as stunned as she, then wondered if the trip had all been for nothing. Before either of them spoke or moved, their attention was drawn back to the door as they heard the old man inside calling out. He was on his way back to the door. This time the door was opened all the way to reveal a tall, lithe old elf who looked so filled with contempt, MacKensie thought he might be actually be posionous to the touch!

All MacKensie could do was just stand there - an audience to this toxic performance - even when the elf ambled over to her with the help of his walking stick. "And you... look like a Ranger to me." She nodded quickly. "A pointless distraction."

Well... okay then...

Adam answered his questions patiently, clearly unwilling to stoop to the old elf's level, and MacKensie watched as Adam grew a tree as instructed. Then he attempted to defend her honour, which she appreciated in sentiment, but figured it would only make things worse. And it did, the elf proceeding to mock them both, something that sparked anger and irritation in MacKensie's face now too. She gritted her teeth, lips parting to chastise this disgraceful person, but she held her tongue when Adam tried to just move on and get to the reason he'd come here. The better part of her resolved to stand down and stay out of it, but her face was a picture of offense taken. When she was told to go sit by the fire, she stood staring at him with balled up fists, then turned on her heels, "Hmph!" and marched away.

The following hours dampened her anger and turned her emotions into fascination, before finally settling on boredom, as she sat watching a whole load of nothing happening. She couldn't even enjoy the views of nature around her because of the old hermit's grating voice filling the air constantly. By the end of the fifth hour, she was stood up and pacing back and forth like the elf, stretching her legs and giving herself a periodic break from the uncomfortable wooden seat.

Still, she watched on, hoping Adam would find this spirit animal of his so they could get out of here and be rid of this horrible old hermit.

"Aw, offend your mommy, did I?  Or is she your girly?"

Adam wasn't sure whether to be offended, embarrassed, or both. For the second time in what felt like as many minutes, he was left to process his thoughts. He may not have known what to think, but he did know how he felt when Gilligan rudely told MacKensie to sit down and shut up; terrible for bringing her along on this hike. As she left for the spot with an audible "Hmph!" the Druid did what he was told and sat down also, removing the articles of clothing the grumpy elf had asked him to.

Okay, meditation. That made some kind of sense, he thought as he listened to the explanation, maybe he won't be-

The red-eyed man felt the impact of Gilligan's spell as it hit him; he was visibly startled, wondering if this bitter man had snapped before calming down once the old elf's further instructions indicated that yes, he was still in possession of his mental faculties, even if he didn't care about his capacity for kindness. Close my eyes. Okay, I can do that.

The concept of a "spirit animal" was completely new for Adam. If clearing his head was what it took, then he would do his best to do that. It certainly wasn't an easy process, but it was helped by two things; the first was that he had worked through most of his issues related to the Hillocks last night. The second was that Gilligan was actually helping him. For someone "not interested" in teaching, he had done exactly as Glee said and took a chance on someone who had only been casting for a few days. The older Druid would probably tell him to "let it go" though, so that is exactly what the younger one did.

Yes, it was tough to be completely meditative. Thoughts popped up in his mind, from the more serious "what if the water ninja comes back?" to the less life-or-death question of "what does MacKensie think of how I look without a shirt on?" Less life-or-death to those not named Adam Phillips, at least. He felt like he would make it though; he just had to keep trying. There would be time to consider all of these things after he learned to shapeshift. And apologized to MacKensie for not insisting she stay at the inn.

And the effort paid off. As the sun set, what rose up in the younger Druid's field of vision was quite surreal, even for Mytheria; a black bear, just like the ones he had seen back home. The difference was that those ones weren't translucent with a light blue color. A "black" bear in name only, he might have joked if this was less serious. Instead, with his eyes shut and complete certainty, he spoke.

"You're my spirit animal."

In listening to Lillianna, Simon's attention was taken away from the poor adventurer he'd been lecturing just long enough for the young man to get away. He mulled over Lillianna's request for a moment, before double-taking at the empty space where once stood his victim. "Hey, I've not finished telling you about Dormes & Fretias blessings."

"It's okay, I'll figure it out," the young man said as he disappeared around a corner.

Simon shrugged and muttered. "Suit yourself." Then he looked at Lillianna. "Yeah sure, I can spare some time. Combatting spirits huh? This way." And with that, he led Lillianna into the maze of tall shelves, passing by the odd student or attendant. "So..." he said over his shoulder. "A new student, you say. Are you an adventurer or just a researcher? For your sake, I hope you're not a Cleric."

When they arrived at the right aisle, he fished out some books on foundational understanding of Spirit Magic and Introduction to the Light Domain. "These two books should give you a broad perspective on the subject." He handed them to her. "But for combatting spirits specifically, I'd suggest you get to grips with your Spirit Bolt spell. It's pretty easy to get the hang of, but there's some tricks that will speed up your casting and reduce the cost of your energy, enabling you to fire more often without getting too fatigued." He walked her down the aisle further and grabbed another book. "Reading this will deepen your understanding of the spell." He thought for a moment, then mentally made a decision. "Hey come on, let's see what you've got."

He took her to an adjoining study room that was empty and he pointed out the Spirit Bolt spell that lay within the first few pages of the book he was holding. "It should already be sitting in your mind somewhere, just think for a second."

When she was ready, he walked ten paces away from her and turned to face her. "Fire a Spirit Bolt at me. Don't worry, I'll block it with a Magic Ward."



The light emitting from Adam's forehead started to stay more consistently green. Old Gilligan was pleased. For the first time, his voice even softened slightly and he managed to say the younger Druid's name correctly. "That's it, Adam. You're close. Stay focused."

Not too long after, the ghostly form of a bear manifested in the middle of the clearing. It blew out of it's mouth loudly, then barked an almost-human sounding noise. Then Adam, eyes closed, spoke back to it.

Gilligan looked at the animal with interest. It was beautiful. And powerful. "Rise Adam," he commanded as the Black Bear slowly turned from a ghostly form into a physical one. It shook it's body and fuzzied up it's black fur, then it stood up on it's back legs to match the height of Adam. "Your spirit animal has manifested. Now you must subdue it and gain control. Now you must fight it."

Before Adam could react, Gilligan looked at him. "No magic. You must fight it on equal footing. Bare hands versus Bear hands. Heh." The bear growled and shouted once more, then dropped to all fours to charge. "Now Adam! Make it sumbit to your will."

The bear attacked, closing in on Adam then took a swing and a miss, then swung with it's other paw and clubbed the Druid in the shoulder, knocking him to the floor. The Black Bear stood up once more to it's full commanding height, then pounced at Adam again with another massive swing for his head this time................

Adam got up like Gilligan said to, listening to his further instructions. Fight a bear? With no magic? Is he actually insane? Even in his former world, people without a death wish did not look for that sort of experience. The younger man opened his eyes, ready to say something, but was interrupted by the sight of the bear and the sound of it growling and charging at him.

Oh dear God I have to live somehow, he thought in a panic, narrowly dodging the first strike. The second attempt was far more successful, with the result being pain in the shoulder and a trip to the floor. Never mind, I guess this is how I die. He glanced over at MacKensie momentarily before deciding no, I have to at least try as the beast attempted to go for his head. The Druid somehow dodged the attack, rolling to the side as the bear's claw made contact with the dirt instead of his skin. Getting up, Adam wasn't sure what the best idea for fighting a spirit animal was, but it wasn't giving the thing time to maul him. And maybe any magic would power up his enemy or something. Instead, he charged at the beast, attempting to punch it in the face. It was a move made out of desperation to be sure, and it even showed on his face as he did so, but it was better than nothing. 

Barracker, Tyrion and Eren made their way to the shooting range which was set up by some guards outside the gate which led to the ‘Church of Iris’. Eren always listened out for the guards' latest news about such events. So Tyrion informed him that maybe if Anne was told, Barracker could be notified, to take the two of them with him to the shooting range. Eren was overjoyed at the notion of showing off his skills to Tyrion and Barracker. He was set on becoming an adventurer when he became older and joining a party with Tyrion as their leader and Isabella as their cleric. Barracker saw his childhood self in Eren’s statement, as he had tried the same thing around his age. History would repeat itself.

Eren turned his back to the way he was heading, lightly bouncing on the tip of his toes. “You wait Barracker, I’ve been practising for a long time now, a long time. Tell him, Tyrion, what shots i’ve been making.“ Before Tyrion spoke up, Eren butt straight back in, “a bullseye”. Tyrion gave Barracker the nod of approval. Eren's face was beaming with joy.

“Very good Eren, practising will make your aim true.” Barracker replied back. “Where do you get the practice in”.

Tyrion interrupted this time, “Oh, I built a target out of a bed cover and tied it around a wooden pole and a tree. The archery equipment I spent my coin on, from the newspaper handouts.”

Barracker looked at Tyrion and clasped his arm on his shoulder. “Looking after everyone as always, I see.” As Barracker raised his head back up, they had arrived at the shooting range. People had already been shooting arrows into their targets, It was a mix of guards and adventurers practising their skills.

Barracker and Tyrion stood out of the way and watched, keeping an eye on Eren, watching him queue with the adventurers so he felt like one of them. Tyrion shouted good luck, and Eren gave him a salute. Once he was at the practice target Tyrion cheered him on. Each hit missed but adjusting with each nocked arrow, he pulled and released, coming closer to the target until one hit, just catching the side of the target. Eren immediately started celebrating in joy. Tyrion and Barracker gave a salute, Eren replied with his own.

As Simon led her to where her sought-after informatin lied, as it were, the mage felt some relief at the fact the man seemed to be well enough used to being asked about such things. Or at least was familiar enough with the Library and willing to guide her to what she needed here. Albeit she didn't know what particular information she might run into within the realm of 'combatting spirits' as it were, so she would have to see if she could find something particularly useful to try to pick up first before their journey. Would it be some spell to scare off undead? Would it be something to harm spirits? Would it be something useful in capturing or containing them? She had no clue of all the potentiatlities, though as an aside she did seem to have freed the poor younger man Simon had been talking to from his professorial prison.

"So..." he said over his shoulder. "A new student, you say. Are you an adventurer or just a researcher? For your sake, I hope you're not a Cleric."

"An adventurer and intellectual alike. No, not a Cleric thank goodness, though my party has one as our party leader."

James wasn't a bad guy, and she had agreed he was perhaps the most fit among the group members to be the leader as well. The head. The face of the group. Whatever term one wanted to use for it. She couldn't imagine being at the whims of local deities just to be able to do anything on her end, though, but such had been the fate of James regardless it seemed. Or something of the sort. Wasn't that how Clerics worked in effect?

"These two books should give you a broad perspective on the subject." He handed them to her. "But for combatting spirits specifically, I'd suggest you get to grips with your Spirit Bolt spell. It's pretty easy to get the hang of, but there's some tricks that will speed up your casting and reduce the cost of your energy, enabling you to fire more often without getting too fatigued."

The mage would grab the books as she tried to cradle them in her one free arm, letting them be stacked up and the weight of them rest back on her body in the meantime. Not something she wasn't unaccustomed to doing, yes, when carrying her latest finds from the local library back home or to the car to carry back. Not that they had much of a library for the subjects she'd wanted to look into back there, but...well it was certianly better then going back to a college campus library in some ways. Even so, she would follow the man into the adjoining study room with some sense of relief as she got to finally place the stack of books down on a provided table.

Carying books was normal, so she hadn't really reacted to it all. Carrying them with a magical staff of some kind in her other hand and not having it free to help her carry things was another one. More difficult, but another challenge she felt was going to be more normalized in this new world perhaps. She would at least take a look at the book the man opened, and lean her staff against the table gingerly before returning to the opened pages of the tome to read.

Yet...even then she wasn't going to get the chance to just 'read' yet, was she? Ugh. Part of her just wanted to settle down with the books for a comfortable bit. Even so, she sought to maintain a polite front as the man instructed her to 'test things out' on him for a moment and she nodded back silently and moved to acquiese to his request.

Could she really do that already though? She hadn't even-

"It should already be sitting in your mind somewhere, just think for a second."

When she was ready, he walked ten paces away from her and turned to face her. "Fire a Spirit Bolt at me. Don't worry, I'll block it with a Magic Ward."

Fine! Fine. It should be fine, right? Things did work different enough here, as she'd seen so far. And, eh, he had a defensive ward of some kind to use at least. Not like she'd cause any damage to the room in such a case if someone who knew this place well was so comfortable making that request like this on the fly. Not that some student couldn't perhaps go too far in such a thing and damage the building....maybe. Mundane students had back home without magic well enough at times, it seemed, so in a world of magic she hoped the place was well-prepared if nothing else.

The mage held out her hand at the man, whose name she hadn't even asked for yet, before taking a calming breath and trying to concentrate. Spirit Bolt. Spirit Bolt. Spirit Bolt. She tried tapping into the information on magic she had in her head, but something didn't quite seem right. There was no 'Spirit Bolt' coming from her extended hand, and neither was there the 'Spirit Bolt' information stitting in her head as she'd been told would be the case.

Pulling back her extended arm and hand to look at it more closely, the mage raised an eyebrow at it all as she tried to peruse her mental library for something. Anything like unto 'Spirit Bolt' at this point. Maybe if she expanded the search beyond just specifically 'Spirit Bolt' she could find something?

"Something's not quite right here-....hmm?"

Huh. 'Spirit Gun'. Not 'bolt', but 'gun'. What in the world was that?! It was peculiar, if not abnormal, compared to what she should have had availible perhaps. At the same time it was curious enough she felt like attempting to give it a try if nothing else. So the mage extended her arm back again toward Simon, this time her hand adopting the pose of a somewhat silly 'finger gun'. Not that she knew if anyone in this world had such a concept compared to the firearm-using world of Earth. Hmm. Either way she didn't want to just do something out of the blue without fair warning to the person on the other end.

"Well, I can't find 'Spirit Bolt' but it seems something else of an equivalent is there instead in my mind. Ah, let me see if this works....ahem:

Spirit Gun!"

It felt silly, and yet unlike her attempts to use a 'Spirit Bolt' this one seemed to bear fruit of some kind for her efforts. At the tip of the extended pointer finger (or 'barrel' of her finger gun) A small swirl of magical energy seemed to coalesce around the tip of her finger very rapidly, and for but a moment, before a pale white and almost misty-looking magical projectile 'fired' off straight and true toward the other man.

...If nothing else, it all had a very anime-esque vibe to how it worked. What it would do in effect she would see in a moment as Simon tried to defend himself with the aforementioned ward (hopefully sucessfully).

It was interesting

He had not considered how his disguise would adapt to the addition of his own shawl, but the adaptation was seamless, the moment he fixed it atop his shoulders it was replaced with Mac cape (Did he have it beforehand?), maybe the blessing worked on his own perception as he always considered the shawl as part of his outfit even if he was not wearing it, that and it was interesting that it adapted to the same category of accessory as the cape was. A thought, would this happen with everything he tried to wear atop the disguise? An answer, no, he asked the tailor for a simple hat and it didn't meld like the shawl, it just was an addition, further proof that the blessing was at least semi-anchored to some sort of discerning mechanism.

"Eh, how about Barracker's armour: Pretty fucking cool, if you ask me. He looks like a right badass in it." The vampire certainly had the best-looking gear out of all them, taking Fenna's spot, who was previously 1st place. "I wouldn't mind getting a hood sewn onto my armour. I'll pass on the face mask though. A little claustrophobic for my tastes."

"I think it would be useful but won't it be bad if someone were to grab you by it in a fight?" He mimicked the motion "Like, imagine you were doing some of your swordsmanship stuff and someone just yanked you by it" Then he narrowed his eyes "I guess you could teleport but does it work if someone is grabbing you? It would be funny if you were teleported but your clothes didn't" He snorted at the mental image. it would be bad if that really happened but it was an amusing scenario nonetheless, classic Zell.

He exited the store after paying and thanking the tailor "Also, I can't see myself using armor as heavy as yours or Kass' you guys are fucking tall in comparison" The idea of him in full plate with extra ornaments was not something that he was willing to bring into existence "Speaking of equipment, you planning to use that sword?" He gave a sideglance to the taller man "Just curious if you know how to use it as well as your other one, God knows I have no fucking idea how to use this thing" He gestured to the anchor on his back "I, well I don't think I have quite the strength necessary to toss it at enemies the same way... Anyway, any suggestions? Oh resident master swordmaster?"

Fenna tried to replicate what she had done before, but was unable to find that feeling again. She was certain it was still there, somewhere just out of reach. Maybe she just needed a little break. She let the others fire shots and was happy to be a spectator for a moment.
Here she was, practising archery in a world far away from her own, dressed in leather armour. Even though she was dressed like most people here, she felt out of place. A foreigner in this strange world.

It was an odd feeling that in a strange world like this, she would come across a familiar face. Barracker, if she recalled correctly, she had been introduced when she and Lilliana had returned from the church. Other than the brief introduction, they hadn't talked yet. If they were going to travel together, she might as well get to know him.

She joined him when Eren hit the target and smiled as he celebrated in joy, watching someone young achieve something and be proud of themselves was endearing. And it brought back memories.
"I remember when my son got a skateboard - a plank with wheels - and wanted to do a trick with it. He practised until he could and when he succeeded he was about as happy as he was," she said, nodding her head towards Eren. "Is this his first time at a shooting range?"
Was shooting range the right word? Fenna wasn't sure, but ultimately didn't care much, she was certain Barracker would know what she meant. Yes, she had a bow now, but she knew very little of how everything associated with it was called.

James' illusion continued to impress. Zell had seen the Cleric put the shawl on, then only glanced away before looking back to see it had disappeared beneath the magical veil of Sillagy's blessing. Zell looked at the tailor, who surely must've seen the shawl disappear and who also carried on as if everything were normal. It was another reminder of how crazy this world was. Nothing to see here, folks, just a FUCKING GODDESS' BLESSING! Zell chuckled at the thought.

"I think it would be useful but won't it be bad if someone were to grab you by it in a fight?" James mimicked the motion and Zell grimaced. "Like, imagine you were doing some of your swordsmanship stuff and someone just yanked you by it"

"Stop ruining my fantasies with your logic, brainiac," Zell folded his arms defiantly. "And anyway, I'd be too fast. Did you see my footwork in that last battle? Bloody sublime, if I do say so myself."

"I guess you could teleport but does it work if someone is grabbing you? It would be funny if you were teleported but your clothes didn't"

Zell laughed at the imagery. Surely that wouldn't be the case, but hell; it would be hilarious if it happened. Then Zell realised something: He could actually bring the teleport ability to the forefront of his mind. Using Adam's advice - now that he knew how to 'apply magical energy to his will' - he could actually analyse the spell in it's totality. He stood by his friend, distracted for a few moments as his mind wandered and he figured out that he could teleport three times per day, a distance of fifteen feet or less. But the power only worked for himself and his possessions, so he couldn't use the power to move with an ally. And he was safe from sudden nudity.

The swordsman gave a thumbs up to the shopkeeper in sync with James' thanks, then led out onto the street and looked both ways to reorient himself northbound, his snail pace returning to normal walking speed once James fell into step beside him and continued on from the previous topic of conversation.

"Also, I can't see myself using armor as heavy as yours or Kass' you guys are fucking tall in comparison"

Kass. I like that. "Hey, if you've a strong enough back to carry that anchor around, you'd have no problem wearing decent armour." Truth be told, James was a lot stronger than he looked. He'd been lugging Arthur's old weapon around since the older man had gotten himself killed saving all of their lives. It was a touching tribute and Zell respected James' decision, but he was still surprised that his friend could handle such a weight with seemingly little trouble.

"Speaking of equipment, you planning to use that sword?"

"Huh?" The black sword appeared in his mind. "Oh," he realised. "Err, yeah... why not? It's bloody powerful, you know. I was going to give it to Joji, seeing as he is familiar with katanas, but I've not seen that man since we registered the party. I'm not sure where he went or if he'll be back in time for tomorrow, so I'll be using the sword. For the next mission, at the very least. I can't turn down that kind of power. Not after having to watch Clive and Arthur be killed. I'll die twice before I have to go through that again, and I don't plan on dying again anytime soon, so acquiring more power is the only option."

Take Vor, Baphomet.

"Whatever the risks," Zell added ominously.

"Just curious if you know how to use it as well as your other one, God knows I have no fucking idea how to use this thing" Zell grinned at both ideas - the questioning of his skills with anything that even resembled a sword was laughable, and the thought of their resident healer charging into the front line swinging the anchor like an olympian was also comedy gold. "I, well I don't think I have quite the strength necessary to toss it at enemies the same way... Anyway, any suggestions? Oh resident master swordmaster?"

"Resident sword master..." Zell rubbed his chin. "I quite like the sound of that title. I was thinking, 'Valhiem's heart-throb' but 'Resident sword master' is a little more professional." They crossed over the river, leaving the Bazaar area and moving into the warehouse district. "But anyway; if I was you, hmmmmm... I would take it to Gildor Hammerfist - the best blacksmith in Valhiem - and have the anchor refashioned into a Lucerne Hammer. It's a much lighter, one-handed weapon that looks like a pickaxe, except you could choose between blunt-force or stabbing depending on which side you swing. It would require less training and experience to get used to. You would keep one hand free to do your magic also. Using the metal of the anchor and keeping the T-shape would be tribute to Arthur."

...

Zell and James conversed through several topics and in their focus, they'd managed to make a wrong turn somewhere and gotten totally lost.
Both had forgotten to bring a map, so after trying and failing to find their way back to a street they recognised, laughing at their own stupidity along the way, they ended up asking civilians and getting pointed in the right direction. A walk that might have taken an hour or so, ended up taking all afternoon. When they finally arrived at the Adventurer's Guild, Zell let out a breath.

"Made it!" he cheered. They went up to the bar took up stools, and Zell got the first round in, which consisted of two beers plus two shots of whiskey to warm them up. "Cheers boss."

They clinked glasses threw back the shots, then got started on their beers. Sat side-on (as was his habit) Zell could face James aswell as watch the room. There were about a dozen adventurers in the guildhouse, including a party upstairs where Lucy's desk was. The vibe was cool.

"So mate:" he started. "What are you going to miss most about your old life?"

He sipped his beer as he watched James, keen to hear his response, surprised that even so close, the illusion of MacKensie still looked so perfectly real.

Simon waited for Lillianna to locate the spell in her mind, a relaxed and content expression on his face. The thought of a Cleric-led adventurer party had warmed his heart and boosted his spirits, so for once he wasn't thinking about the next thing he would complain about. When Lillianna told him that something was wrong, he just figured it was regular newbie struggles, so he gave her some encouragement.

"You can do it, miss. I promise you it's there." All with the Light Domain affinity had access to this spell. Sometimes, hidden abilities required regular sessions of meditation to find within the mind, but something like a basic Spirit Bolt should've been able to be easily found once a wizard had read the spell from a book. "Keep looking."

Then she found... huh? ...something else?

Simon's hands moitioned in unison, the special hand movements required to silently cast Lesser Ward. The magical shield materialized in front of him.

"Spirit wha-" Simon was interrupted as the blast shot his way and hit the shield. The shield shattered completely and Simon flew backwards into the wall and then dropped to the floor. "Oh, shit," he cursed in pain. "What the hell was that?"

That was something like a Spirit Bolt, but bright like higher level version of it, and boy did it pack a punch!

Simon struggled to his feet. "By the winged sandles of Iskara, that was amazing. Spirit Gun? I've never even heard of that, before." He walked over to her, his face a mix of admiration, confusion and perhaps a little fear. But he managed to smile through it all. "You think you could do that again? I mean, is still there, in your mind?"



Adam's punch landed squarely on the bears nose and it reeled backwards with both paws covering it's hurting snout, it's head trying to shake away the pain.

"That's it, Adam! Show it who's boss!" Gilligan shouted.

The bear growled and roared after recovering, then rushed Adam. With a left, it threw an uppercut and it's claws slashed Adam's chest, drawing blood. The right paw came around with all the bear's might, aiming for a knockout blow.............

Barracker noticed the woman approaching, to be his companion, Fenna who he had briefly met last night. He gave a salute to her.

"I remember when my son got a skateboard - a plank with wheels - and wanted to do a trick with it. He practised until he could and when he succeeded he was about as happy as he was," she said, nodding her head towards Eren.

Barracker smiled at Eren, then turned his sight onto Fenna. “That sounds tough. You must be quite the proud mother.” Barracker said. “Kids have such determination.” She gave off a motherly vibe with her warm aura, so it was no surprise when she revealed she had a son.

Tyrion commented “a plank with wheels, that sounds quite fun.” His imagination understood the concept of such a toy instantly.

Barracker all of a sudden realised she was not just a member of Second Chance but from another world as he keeps forgetting to recall this key information. He felt sad for her as she would be leaving loved ones, including a kid back from where she had been whisked away from.

"Is this his first time at a shooting range?" Fenna asked Barracker.

“It is,” he said proudly. “He has been waiting a long time to show what he has learned in practice. His name is Eren and this guy besides me is Tyrion,” he placed a hand on Tyrion’s shoulder.

“It is very nice to meet you, miss,” Tyrion spoke up with a little wave. Eren walked over and joined them.

“Hi, I’m Eren. Did you see me land a hit on the target, miss”

After they spoke for a bit, Barracker introduced her properly. “This is Fenna, an adventurer of Second Chance. I’ve joined their party.”

The kids reacted with loud excitement. Barracker decided to shock them even more.

“She also killed Aurok The Man-Eater.” the kids' faces beamed with awe at Fenna.

“Tell us Fenna how did you kill it”. Tyrion and Eren spoke simultaneously, crowding her personal space. Even some of the guards started listening.

When the light on Adam's forehead began to stay green and the old hermit gave words of encouragement, MacKensie knew that something important was happening. She strayed a little further from the campfire, but not too far as to provoke the ire of Gilligan. Just close enough for her sharp eyes to catch what was going on in more detail. When the ghostly visage appeared in the clearing near her, it was quite the jump-scare. She drew her weapon from the small of her back and dropped a bolt into the firing mechanism. Before long the faint outline of a bear became a fully real ursine beast, and frightening to boot.

"Your spirit animal has manifested. Now you must subdue it and gain control. Now you must fight it."

"He cannot be serious?" MacKensie was flabbergasted, but that was not all.

"No magic."

She gasped, unsure as to whether she should intervene. She didn't want to mess anything up, but decided stubbornly that she would not hesitate to help her friend if he was in danger. To hell with the shapeshifting hermit.

And the fight began. Almost immediately, her hand itched to fire a bolt at the bear as it went on the offensive, knocking Adam to the floor in it's first flurry of attacks. "Oh no." Could the young man handle this? Adam was a gentle soul. Strong in his own way, but maybe not built for such a conflict. "Come on, Adam," she pleaded in a whisper. "You can do it."

She edged forward step by step, little by little, and was just about to jump in when Adam rolled out of the way of an attack, then got up and ran like a maniac at the bear and punched it right in the face. "Yes!" MacKensie jumped for joy, her crossbow raised above her. "You've got this, Adam!"

The bear looked stunned. The hermit was impressed. The shift in momentum came with a shift in confidence. Adam could do this! Gilligan thought so, and now so did MacKensie. "Keep it up!" she called out words of encouragement, but let out a terrified gasp when Adam took a mean claw strike across his chest. Her free hand covered her mouth, metaphorically on the edge of her seat and now on the edge of the fight area, stood near Gilligan. This injury did not compell her to intervene, this time. Now there was a feeling almost like this was some kind of rite of passage of manhood or something. She could not intervene - it would besmirch Adam's honour. He had to do this alone.

And he could do it!

"I believe in you, Adam!"

Oh my God, it actually worked! Can I actually win?

"You've got this, Adam!"

"That's it, Adam!  Show it who's boss!"

Yes, I can do this.

"Keep it up!"

Good plan, thought the younger Druid as he briefly smiled at the Ranger and took up an impromptu fighting stance, trying to prepare for an attack on the bear. Before he could though, the animal charged at him, striking his chest with a mighty slash.

Yeah, this is painful. I'll take an ogre strike over this, thanks.

The force of the attack knocked Adam down, though still with red eyes facing the beast that wanted to kill him. And the bear planned on doing this with its powerful right paw. How to stop this?

With his left hand on the ground, Adam realized he had a useful attack of his own. Not a claw, but it could be deadly all the same. He grabbed the dirt with that same hand and threw it right at the spirit creature's eyes, then if that worked he would push himself off the ground and charge at the beast, ignoring the pain he was feeling and the risk of being attacked again. All for the chance to punch the bear in the face again. It worked well the first time, so why not try it again? He didn't really think he was good at combat like this, but MacKensie believed otherwise, and that was good enough for him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Fenna said to Tyrion and turned her attention to Eren. "I did see that, that was a very good shot," she immediately complimented the young boy. Children needed the praise and she was happy to deliver.
In the silence that fell, Barracker took the opportunity to introduce her to the children and she smiled to them when he told them her name.
She made note of the fact being in a party was a good thing, at least in the family of these children.
Then Aurok's name got dropped and all the attention was on her.

"I didn't do it alone," she quickly said. "It was a team effort." This wasn't a good time to talk about the ninja or the people that had died. "We all did our part, I attacked from one side with my spear while it was blinded by a spell and the others attacked from other sides as well. There is no way that beast could be slain by one person alone. I can tell you one thing." She leaned in as if she wanted to let them in on a secret. "I can tell you he smelled really bad. I was up close and phew" she waved her hand in front of her nose. "Be glad you weren't there."

Gilligan sneered as Adam made eyes at MacKensie, then shouted at the young man when he got slashed across the chest. "Focus, you idiot!" Then he turned his anger on MacKensie. "What did I tell you!? Pointless distraction!" he shooed her away. "Back off."

Then Adam's clever maneouver blinded the Black Bear who was stunned as Adam rose and charged. The beast swung a paw, but Adam's connecting punch staggered the animal and it's swing diverted and just whiffed over Adam's head. The bear staggered backwards a step and swung again, but Adam's impromptu fighting stance meant that he took the blow on his forearm, an excellent block that left the bear vunerable to a continuation attack!

"Cheers!" a swift movement and the both of them downed their respective tankards at the same time, they had lost track of how many they had ingested by this point, their Adventurer constitution only forcing them to consume more and more of the hard stuff, but by this point the both of them had gone beyond a slight buzz to downright hammered.

"Y-You know what Zell? I think we may have g-got carried away" Swaying between words James had a hard time focusing, too distracted trying to divine which Zell was the real, without realizing that the real Zell was slight to his right laughing his ass off. Suddenly a commotion grabbed their attention, across the bar a burly man was seated at a table with another man thrown on the floor, several others surrounding them
and either cheering for the seated man or jeering at the downed one.

Quickly the only sober-looking one rushed to the seated man and lifted his arm "And there you have it folks! Another victory for the man, the myth the legend, Stevenson Bear-Arm! Who else is brave enough to try their luck against this giant of a man!?"

"He can!"

As one every member of the crowd turned to look at the pair.

Finding himself the center of attention Zell rapidly turned to find James pointing at him "I bet all the silver on me that this guy here can beat anyone in arm wrestling!" Murmurs started floating immediately and the gaze of the seemingly drunk patrons sharpened, they likely saw their clothes and recognized their quality. Zell looked towards James one more time only to receive a challenging smirk and a single phrase:

"Dew it"

Puffing his chest in response he made his way to the table and sat, this close he could see that the other man was at least a head taller than him and with arms as thick as his leg. With an easy small he placed his arm in position and looked expectatively at the other man. The announcer was quick on the uptake "Well folks look like we have a confident rookie in our hands! place your bets and grab your belts because we are about to see a show!" Saying so he inclined to whisper a "Make it quick" to the other man.

Once both were in position the crowd started making the countdown

"3!" He draws a deep breath.

"2!" He tensed his arm in preparation.

"1!" He released the breath.

"0!" He grabbed the hand with all his strength and using his whole body...

.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.

...threw the smaller man against a window, shattering it and sending the man flying across the street, yeah they lost some big money but it was not a reason to start a bar brawl in his opinion!

"Duck!" Heading the warning he crouched just in time to dodge the chair that James threw in his direction, said chair immediately hitting another drunk patron that was trying to sneak upon him, he had to admit that he was enjoying himself, the blender, the bar fight, it all reminded himself of simpler times with his mates.

And the night was just starting!

It was a rapid-fire decision in the moment.

James had stupidly gambled all of their money and Zell was going to lose against this giant of a human being. (In fact, Zell wasn't even sure Stevenson Bear Arm was a human, he was that big.) Well, Zell decided that he and James simply couldn't afford to lose everything. So he did what Zell always does... he found a way to win. He cheated - more specifically. As the crowd counted down for the match to begin, right before they started, Zell kicked Stevenson Bear Arm in the balls, under the table, then used the distraction to slam the giant man's hand onto the table, stood up and raised his hands in victory. This would, at the very least, let James avoid having to pay all of their money out, but the drunken Englishman hadn't thought past that. There was no exit-strategy. And perhaps there should've been one.

This thought process trickled through Zell's mind as he ducked the chair that went flying over his head and smashed into the face of the man behind him. James' tactics of using barroom furniture as an equaliser against being outnumbered by powerful adventurers was a good idea, and Zell decided to indulge, picking up a stool next to him as he rose up.

"Why don't you have a seat, mate!" he shouted as he broke the stool over the closest man's head. "Ha!" he managed before taking a stiff punch to the face.

The taproom floor became a picture of chaos. Punches, kicks, wrestling and breaking furniture were the sights and sounds along with the shouting. Stevenson's party had started the fight, but they were rightly pissed off. James wasn't to know, he just saw his friend getting attacked and jumped in, as a friend should. Zell was to blame for all of this. But Lucinda Bottrill - Guildmaster of the Valhiem Branch of The Adventurer's Guild, did not give a crap who was in the wrong. She stood on the mezzanine balcony with a face of fury.

"WHAT ARE YOU PLAYING AAAAATT!?" she roared.

...

It took Lucy, the bartender and another party to break up the brawl, and not long to figure out that it was Second Chance's fault this had started in the first place. Zell wore a smug expression in spite of the bruised cheek and cut lip. He was just glad that James had avoided paying off the gambling debt.

"You two are banned from the guildhouse," Lucy told him and James. "Your party may still do business here, but you two are not to set foot on this property, do you understand?"

When James and Zell left, Lucy ordered Stevenson's party to help clean up lest they be banned too. When she got back upstairs, she went to her magi-tech systems and brought up the details of the party; Second Chance, then sighted the two members by their pictures.

"Zell Brooks and MacKensie Trydant," she said aloud to herself. She would remember those names and faces.

...

"That was fun," Zell grinned at James. He couldn't tell James had even been in a fight. Maybe it was because he was disguised as a woman, so no one attacked him, or perhaps it was because Sillagy's blessing was covering up his bruises. Or maybe Zell was just drunk. "The night is young, mate, let's go see where else is open."

And with that, they stumbled off down the street, laughing about the fight.

"Spirit wha-" Simon was interrupted as the blast shot his way and hit the shield. The shield shattered completely and Simon flew backwards into the wall and then dropped to the floor. "Oh, shit," he cursed in pain. "What the hell was that?"

The mage's hand reflexively twitched as Lillianna jerked it back in a hurry. A mild shock was in her eyes to see that she'd managed to bust the other man's Lesser Ward and outright just send him flying into the wall. Hadn't he done this before, or was this particular anomaly of a 'spell' just that strong? She had no idea for sure, but it was worrying in the heat of the moment just as much as it was intriguing in the back of her mind. Either way, she stood there with a perhaps fair but visible bit of hesitation as she watched Simon. Did...was he going to be ok? He was a Cleric, right? So maybe he could patch himself up a bit, or perhaps had a deity on call for some kind of rejuvenating blessing? Er...

Simon struggled to his feet. "By the winged sandles of Iskara, that was amazing. Spirit Gun? I've never even heard of that, before." He walked over to her, his face a mix of admiration, confusion and perhaps a little fear. But he managed to smile through it all. "You think you could do that again? I mean, is still there, in your mind?"

...Eh?!

"Y-Yes, it is still there just as it was before I used it, but more importantly are you-"

"Never mind for that now! I'm fine and well enough, yes, thank you for your concern. But more importantly we must look into this! Please, grab one of the books and help me look for a reference for this phenomenon."

Simon seemed to rush back over to the books he'd picked out for Lillianna, with the mage almost hesitating again before letting out a sigh and following him back over to the desk. The ardent Cleric almost seemed possessed by excitement itself, or perhaps it was still the adrenaline running through him from his prior impact with the wall, but either way he seemed to be thumbing through the pages, eyes flying over the pages of the tomes as if trying to find something. In that same vein Lillianna herself would pick up one of the books as well, beginning to thumb through the pages and looking for anything mentioning a 'Spirit Gun' of some sort....or at least something similar enough to match it perhaps.

"Are you sure we'll find anything similar to this?"

The man didn't even look up from the tome he was face-first in by now as he responded to her concerns.

"I hope so, but for now let us keep looking. We will not know until we have plied the appropriate tomes. Perhaps even one of the Histories will shed light on this, if nothing else."

...They were going to be here a long time, weren't they?

....

....

....

This gut feeling from the mage would prove true enough, as it would be some time passing by as the duo thumbed through the tomes Simon had procured, going page by page, chapter through chapter, volume by Quinity-blasted volume he could bring them to look through. Anything that might produce some sort of history, precedent, or frankly 'data' that could describe what she'd done. Histories, records or autobiographies of famous Spirit Magic users, tomes about practicing Clerics and individuls in history tied to the local god Hades, instructional manuals, tomes of advanced techniques, and the like seemed to fly by in an almost hectic flurry even as the Cleric seemed to come down from the mage's supposed 'adrenaline high' without pausing for his part.

She in turn would help look through things for familiar words, though in part felt mostly that it was some miracle she could read anything here in this new world. Literally read the stuff without having to fumble around and learn all over again. Whatever had brought her and the others to this world, it hadn't done so totally unprepared....though the trajetory of how the stone coffin she'd landed in had arrived left something very much to be desired. She'd nearly fallen over! But that was besides the point at the moment, especially as they were searching through the literature for an explanation. She was getting more curious by the page about more things Spirit Magic could do, but even more so peronally was feeling the itch to find something to explain what she'd done there.

Every so often the Cleric would likewise pause to pull her away from whatever tome was in her hands, asking Lillianna to once again use the spell as he tested Minor and even more moderately-stronger wards against it. It would still make her wince a little as the man at times got thrown back against the wall, but at other times he'd project the ward onto something like a chair before having her use the spell while he observed. Observing damage done to an object after breaking a cast ward, looking into the impact and radius and such anecdotes, asking her questions about her magic usage, and jotting down notes on blank parchment he would leave the room to grab alongisde an enchanced 'never ending ink' writing utensil of some description would be among the things he would put them through together. Then inevitably would come going back at looking at the tomes again, before another roound of testing and questions and writing down notes from the tomes and otherwise along those aforementioned lines would commence.

Time would begin to blur as they chugged along well through the day, the mage forgettting if she had any other business to do in the meantime as she eventually kicked into full gear while trying to find an answer. Even then, though, there was only so much they could get done in the course of a day. There was only so long they could go without food or water or rest in the end, despite Simon sending someone out for 'intellectual snacks' to bring to them and paying the poor student he'd wrangled earlier to do so for them when the poor adventurer made the mistake of looking curiously into the room at them. On top of that, it wasn't as if they could search this entire library's contents in the course of one day! That would be absurd enough as it was!

"I....think we've run in circles by this point. Tome after tome, test after test, and we haven't gotten any closer to finding a reference in these works thus far.

...Also you just left some meat drippings on those notes about Archimeden the Great you were just writing down."

The slightly frazzled Cleric would quickly pull back the last of the sandwich he'd been biting into from the table, a few drops of juicy meat juice dropping down onto the-....ah crap it was carpet. Lillianna herself had finished the gyro-like wrap she'd been bought for a pseudo-lunch/dinner by Simon already, in her haste to get back to things and needing sustenance, while the man had interspersed it all between at times drawn-out periods between taking bites of his food. Still, the man would finish the last bite of his now-cold food before he sat back down in a nearby (and slightly damaged from the testing) chair.

"Thank you. But....by Iskerea's haste, I wish we'd more time to look into this. But to say the least what you can do is...astounding!"

"I wouldn't say it's astounding as much as damaging to the library's property and yourself by this point. All the same....I agree I wish we had more time to look into this. I can't seem to find anything that shows precedent for this peculiar spell of all things...its-"

"Vexing? Irritating?"

"Close enough, but yes."

So he did know what she was talking about, at least in terms of how it made her feel as a scholar. But she couldn't pin a precise word on it all that made any lick of sense for the moment being, perhaps being due to the mental exhaustion beginning to settle in. Not to mention that she'd finished her food hours ago at that, and her stomach was beginnign to rumble once more. It was enough to make Lillianna sigh in a more expressive sound of 'defeat' than anything else had made her feel thus far in the day.

"For now I must take my notes and see what I can gather. Will you be able to return here tomorrow?"

"Ah, no actually. I'm an adventurer, and my party is to leave for a gold-ranked quest tomorrow I believe."

"Gold, you say? To be so new and yet such a high rank, its very peculiar. Yet at least being oddly gifted in something itself isn't unprecedented among a certain few gifted Spirit Magic users in the records from what we've gathered and been able to peruse thus far. Yet that alone speaks volumes of what this spell might mean, given there's seemingly no evidence thus far for its existence in our search thus far.

Or in other words....you are, as of what I can gather thus far, the lone person with access to this particular spell among Spirit Mages for the time being. This being seemingly in lieu of possessing a standard Spirit Bolt of course."

He was maybe right. It was a bit concerning, but at least it-...oh! Yes, that was right. She had mentioned they were headed out on a mission tomorrow, but there was still something she needed to do! Well, other than eat and sleep at least. Definitely eat, and of course get some sleep, but she needed to see the new group member (maybe) and tell the party about her request for a pit-stop along the way! The mage had failed to tell them for at least a day already, though everyone had seemed busy enough from the looks of things, yet it was something that needed communicating as soon as possible before they left.

Lillianna pursed her lips a bit as she somewhat tiredly got up from her desk chair and grabbed the poor staff of hers she'd left leaning against the table for most of the time they'd been working on things. Among the tests Simon had wanted to do, she'd held the staff when casting it a few times. That had mostly amounted to literal 'nothing', though she could still feel a thrum of power from within the object. What he had hoped for her holding the staff and casting the spell would do was a mystery for now though.

"....With how little I know, and after all of this, I'm inclined to agree. But I must get my things and leave for now. I truly do need to talk to my party as well before we leave about something, actually, that just came back to mind."

"Ah, of course. But please do come back when you get the chance. In the meantime I'll do some more digging and investigation into the matter of this 'Spirit Gun' spell."

With a silent nod in return, the mage would begin to make for the exist as quickly as her grumbling stomach and aching head could muster. Perhaps Frederick knew of someone who could provide some cheap painkilling medicine after a long day of studying? Not doubt some of the students here maybe sought certain 'substances' for use while on the premises, but she both wasn't that sort of person nor did she have the time to see of the Academy had the local equivalent of what Zell had looked like to her as a first impression. Etc. For now, she needed to return to the Mended Drum, get a bite to eat, and see if she could ask James and the other party members (telling them all together or not at this rate) about her request.