Saiyan

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

"Ridden a horse?" Zell stopped with James in the street. "What the fuck do I look like, to you, Mac- err, James...?" That disguise really needed to go. "...some kind of country bumpkin?" Then Zell realised that the excited light in James' eyes was like the light-bulb signal of a bright idea. He looked around and saw the stable. "Mate, you're not thinking what I think you're thinking, are you?"

"Come on." James headed towards the stables. Zell watched him go, drunk indifference on his face, then sighed and shook his head.

"You're barmy, son," he commented before following after his friend.

James was not shy, he didn't hesitate a step, unlatching the gate and boldly going right up to the nearest horse. Zell decided to keep lookout. The Englishman had never even seen a horse close up before, let alone ridden one, so he couldn't help but be surprised at just how big they were, in person. "Blimey," he muttered as James led one out by the reigns.

"That's it, boy," James whispered to horse, keeping it calm. "We're just going for a ride, me and you."

"Have you done this before?" Zell whispered loudly.

"Maybe," was the reply.

Once it was out into the street, James reached a foot up onto a stirrup, then Zell helped boost him up onto the horse. Zell then used the stirrup himself, but at that moment the lights came on in the building next to the stable, and the front door opened where a man in his night gown looked furiously at the horse thieves.

"Oi!"

"Shit." Zell jumped up and managed to get his body over the back of the horse, lay across it, belly down, like some kind of kidnapped victim. "Go!"

"Stop!"

"Yar!" James snapped the reigns and the horse charged off down the street.

"This was a bad idea!" Zell yelled as he bounced up and down on his stomach in what to be the most uncomfortable position he could have possibly put himself in. His view was of nothing else but cobblestone street flying past at great pace and all he could do was try his best hold on. Three streets later, he was losing the battle to keep himself atop the horse. "James, slow down, you twat!"

But it was too late. He slipped off and went flying like a bullet into someone's garden. "Shiiiiiiiiit!"

Crash.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

O_O You're planning to steal a horse, aren't you? <face palm>

@Zool

I'm not not planning for them to steal a horse :)

<Snipped quote by Saiyan>

<Snipped quote by Zool>

Saiyan, quit horsing around :P

@Zapdos

Nay, good sir. And it would behoove you to quit with the puns

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

lmao @Teyao you really gonna make me do this!? cuz I'll do it bro ...lol fine, I'm doing it!

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

James wouldn't have made the bet if he had any doubt Zell was going to win, also, I think that my wording may have been ambiguous so I apologize for that but yeah, Zell won and because everyone else thought he was going to lose they betted heavily against him, so they found themselves drunk and with a lot less money to buy more booze, thankfully there was a Zell and James shaped person to blame rather than, you know, blaming themselves for betting it all in the first place.

@Teyao

Lol ah I see now. The ambiguity left enough room for me to change the tone. So now, James is a drunken idiot for thinking Zell could have won against that giant man in a fair match lol smh Second Chance's beloved strategist with the worst strat ever. "Kids, don't drink. This happens."

This is what happens when there is no planning and using eachother's character, but it's fun and makes some hilarious moments. Standard practice for me n Zool

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

She might even have an arrest on her record before the night is over lol

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

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.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Oh, I thought he lost, so I was writing that he started the tavern brawl as a way to avoid paying the money lol I'll change it up

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

@Teyaolmao that was crazy, well played

so is that Zell who got thrown into the street?

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Adam with his own version of the pocket-sand attack lesgooooo! Cool af

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

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.