Chapter 9

9-Day arrived, and the four of us, plus two low level female adventurers to drive the carriage and guard the area against intruders, headed out of Belfast. Deana was nervous in the presence of the older women, who were mostly strangers to her. The reason that all three were so easily convinced to come with me was more along the lines of watching over ‘the crazy girl’ than to take a vacation themselves.

I had surprises for them. After leaving at dawn, we traveled for six hours south to the southern side of Turtle Lake. Each of the women with me were instructed to bring extra undergarments for swimming. Unless she preferred to swim naked, I teased the sheltered smith.

Rhonda set an anti pest ward, Theresa and I set up the tents on a nearby hill. Once we made sure that no one was close by, I removed my dress, casually tossing it on a blanket, and waded into the water in just a pair of thick blue silk panties with matching bra.

I made a face at the tall blonde, calling her Scaredy Cat. After wading stomach deep, I dove under the warm, mostly clear water. I floated on my back, watching my companions gather their courage. Rhonda was first, removing her robe, and in her shift and undies, almost bloomers, she waded in the lake. Theresa was second to remove her ever-present leather armor. Underneath, she wore a tight form fitting white linen belly shirt and thin knee length shorts. She too dove under once she caught up with me, turning her thin linen undergarments translucent. Her obvious stomach muscles gleamed with crisp water droplets.

After two unsuccessful attempts to mimic floating, I stood and instructed Theresa on the basics while keeping my hand under her back for initial stability. “Slowly move your arms and once in a while paddle your legs one at a time. Yeah, like that. Now relax.” Rhonda, seeing her friend do it only with help, wasn’t afraid to ask for my guidance. Her larger breasts and butt with extra padding aided her buoyancy more than Theresa’s leaner ones could.

Unhappy, Deana stood at the water’s edge, looking around for salvation or a horde of barbarians to carry her away so that she didn’t have to succumb to peer pressure. Removing her dress, folding it neatly and placing it next to mine, she stared at the lake indecisively. She was dressed identically to our mage friend under her dress. Unlike the other two, I led my Valkyrie-like friend further in. I didn’t push, seeing how uncomfortable she was in the water.

“There is no one else within a mile of us. See those two women on that hill by the tents, they are watching for any intruders. On top of that, you have a Guildmaster of Adventurers, a C rank mage, and me. Who in their right mind would disturb us here?

“Just treat this as a large bath. The water is just above your waist, at any time all you have to do is stand up. Try it. I will be right here.” The silent, bright red faced, young smith slowly sank to her knees, quickly dunking her head and long braid in the lake’s shallow clear water. Crossing her arms across her chest in embarrassment, she refused to stand after.

“Silly girl. I will teach you to swim. First thing is floating. See those two. Slow movements. Arch your back and wave your arms. If you cup your hands, it will help guide you faster or even rotate. I will hold you. Trust me.”

Dealing with Deana here made me remember the line: ‘Step-by-step, inch-by-inch, slowly... ‘. Even after our two days lakeside, she never really relaxed, but did learn to float and swim, some.

I brought along a triple layer pig’s bladder without the usual leather cover, like the ones that the kids used for their kicking games. Of course, I had to bop Theresa with it first while she floated with her eyes closed. Recognizing the game, she understood that Rhonda was next, who turned out to be gentle on the younger blonde smith and giving Deana a warning before tossing it to the now standing recipient.

Thankfully, I was mature enough to enjoy the show without staring or making a fool of myself. They were friends first and foremost. That didn’t mean that I didn’t appreciate the beauty that surrounded me. I just preferred to let it wash over me and hold the sights and thoughts until I was alone later.

We had a meal of slightly burned and under cooked chicken and sliced apple pie. Our escorts weren’t the best cooks, but all of us rather had them cook and us not complain about it while we ate.

After we washed up, I pulled out four rough easels that I commissioned a journeyman carpenter to make with my sketch. I offered water color or charcoal pencils, along with four sketchpads and four canvases with two frames to choose.

“Your task, should you choose it, is to save the world, by either drawing or painting anything you like over the next two days, while arduously lounging, sleeping, swimming, and making fun of your friends. For those that refuse, we shall gang up and mock you mercilessly, hounding you to the ends of the Earth and beyond.”

Deana threw a dandelion-like green flower at me, “Now who is being silly.” I had pulled these sort of escapades on her before, just not to this extent.

“If you need guidance, ask the expert over there.” I pointed at the Valkyrie in hiding who denied any expertise. But we all knew what her specialty was while working for her grandfather.

Unsurprisingly, none of them chose to paint with the watercolors. Myself, I wasn’t a good drawer or sketcher by any means, but I did like art in high school and even took two electives on watercolors in college, earning a decent grade in each, with the help of the art appreciation section of the class adding to the overall grade.

The paints themselves were chalkier and less vivid than in my home world, not that I expected otherwise, since I did ask for training paints from the painter. While the other three chose nature themed pictures, mine was of the three women who sat while drawing.

The first one didn’t come out all that well. The colors ran and the lines were blurred. By the fourth one, I liked the result. That one I would keep.

Forever.

Painting by water color was fast, especially if I didn’t have to clean the brushes completely after each one as there was a lake in arms reach.

I served the flaky pastries to the three of them when it started getting dark. After reminding our two guards to not go outside of the ward, Rhonda and Theresa retired to one tent and Deana and I to the other.

I changed into my long nightshirt and said good night to my innocent bed mate.

“You didn’t bring us out here for you to relax, did you?” That accusation came from the tall girl after she rustled into her own nightgown when the lantern was snuffed.

“Don’t you think I relaxed today?”

“This is how you always are,” she pouted.

“Good night, Deana,” I offered without replying to her accusation.

“Night.

That was the first night since the attack that I didn’t dream of blood.

After lunch the next day, we shared our ‘art’, poking fun at the lack of talent between the three of us. Deana was hands down the only one with talent and skill. I did get an odd look from Rhonda at my watercolor of the three of them, but she didn’t comment.

The rest of the day was more the same. We packed up and left the area late in the afternoon after policing the campsite for any trace of our passing, arriving at the city before midnight. The trip home was a healthy quiet.

I named it a complete success. I thought they did too. Yet both they and I had different criteria for the trip.

“Well?”

“How come we aren’t the idle rich?” replied Rhonda, breathing in the polluted air of the city as the two made their way to their shared home.

“She didn’t spend that much. If you took out the paints, pencils and paper, all she brought was food and rented a carriage with two A’s (A-ranked adventurers, the lowest tier),” the older warrior spoke with some thought.

“Maybe, but who else would have the time and energy to think of something like that?”

“Not Anne,” they both laughed.

“Or her ghouls,” added the other.

“Theresa, you know she did all this for you and her friend.”

“I know. Cynthia didn’t need a break. We did. Do you feel it too?”

“I think so, it’s like the time after you spend weeks cramming, learning a new spell, or when we cleared Palace level five for the first time and had a huge party for the next week.”

“It’s more than that. I feel refreshed too, not just relaxed.”

“Yes, it was a gift.”

“How am I going to explain this to father? They need this too.”

“I am not sure it can be explained, just experienced.”

“Did you see how she fixed my paperwork issues?”

“You showed me.”

“When she leaves in a few months, I will need to go with her. You will be acting Master until a new one gets assigned.”

“You know I am a spy from My Guild, I can’t take over yours.”

“Like anyone cares what happens at this end of the country. The knights get all the good assignments. Besides...”

“Master agrees, Lady Cynthia needs to be watched carefully for any hint of what her real purpose is. That cheerful disaster in waiting is like a dragon circling overhead. You saw what she did to the practice room. That was just blowing off steam at an imbecile.”

Theresa too was worried about what a truly angry Cynthia would or could do. She was just glad that no one else figured out what she was or why she was here. Damnable gods...

“Urgent meeting tomorrow. What time?”

“8:00.” replied Claire to Rhonda’s Message.

On 5-day, I delivered Richard’s gift. A ten-inch-tall Valkyrie, made of glass with a gold laminated shield, sword, highlight on the armor, and braid. His tears of gratitude made my week, month and year. The name he whispered; I didn’t catch, but it had to be either his deceased wife or daughter. I quietly exited his house, leaving him to his memories.

The following day, mother nature visited with a vengeance. It felt like I was being skinned alive from the inside out. After a quick visit to Mother Jennu, a local midwife in the Order quarter, I mostly moped. Strangely, only Yvonne spent any time with me those three days, the rest all ran away.

It wasn’t my fault that the horse splashed me. I even paid for a new one...

I don’t want to talk about it.

I realized later that Regen and monthlies contradicted each other. Timing became very important.

Fucking girl hormones. Fucking mother nature.

...

9-day morning.

“Rhonda, I need to steal Theresa for a while. Can we go to your office, please?” The Guildmaster rarely used her office, except for reprimands and when she did month end financials.

“I need to know about the extreme reaction from the temples,” I asked once she sat down, “against me.”

“Competition.”

“How am I competition?” That one went over my head.

“Cynthia, how many temples are in Belfast?”

“Seven.” I knew that answer, I hadn’t been completely self-indulgent in my time here.

“Which are missing?”

“Two, Sune and Tone, Gods of Beauty and Time.”

“Why do you think that is?”

“Thirty questions is the name of the game today. I’ll play. Tone doesn’t need a temple and I heard that Sune worship had been mostly crushed in this Kingdom four or five hundred years ago.”

“Why doesn’t Tone need a temple?”

“Time is time, it’s a fundamental of nature, like gravity.” Oops. I might have said too much on that.

The Guildmaster made a note to ask me about it later and continued her questioning. “Sune?”

“Depends on who you ask. Deana says that Sune’s followers kept attacking the others, starting the war. But to the Goddess of Home and hearth followers, all beautiful women and men would be naturally suspect. Homewreckers just by being there to tempt the weak. Even if they were innocent, they would still be persecuted. Sune’s Priests would naturally be suspect by their presence alone.”