The Whimsical Wanderers
By Kathryn K Williams
Chapter one
Trish poked at the campfire with a stick that she had recently sharpened. The light of another passing day peeked through the trees to the northwest of her campsite, bidding her a fond farewell. She added another log to the fire and watched as it sparked and the flames leaps at the newly acquired fuel like a hungry beast gnawing on the legs of a recently defeated prey. She moved away from the blaze ever so slightly, afraid that the small fire elemental that had been cast upon the flames earlier might suddenly desire a taste for her own legs.
Trish scanned the campsite, which was nothing more then a small clearing in the dense wood of the forest outside of Rainfield Valley. The night creatures would be coming out of their dens soon and here cat ears perked up in search for any sign of hostile life. She shifted on her makeshift stool, a chunk of log that was too big for the fire, and allowed her hands to rest lightly upon the hilt of her sword. The feeling of the steel at her side comforted her to some extent. She wished she had something deadlier then a simple long sword, but she figured that there wasn't anything in these woods that she had not vanquished before, so she took some pride in that. As long at there were not too many of them at once, then she would far the long night ahead.
Finally her eyes set upon the thing that brought her into her journey to Wesmoors City in the first place. A teenaged girl, only a few weeks younger then herself, curled up under a set of blankets, lightly sleeping. Trish smiled down at the peaceful look upon the girl's face and thought back to how she got herself into her current situation.
*****
It was a few hours prior and the sun shone brightly over the Land of Shalras. Trish rushed along an overgrown path around her home village, a small group of houses called Rainfield Valley. With a spring in her step she leaped over fallen trees and ducked under broken branches. Her short scruffy dirty blonde hair bouncing around her tabby ears with every step as she darted along the path with happy news upon her tongue. Nothing could ruin the mood she was in, her tail flickering in equal agreement, for she had finally passed her final exam. No longer would she have to weld that pitiful sorry excuse for a sword, which was made of magical oak, but was still a wooden sword nether the less, and now she could be brandish the mighty steel blades that she had seen other Hunters carrying throughout her travels.
Her mind filled with the many things she could buy with the money she had saved over the past while. A shiny new helmet, new chain mail armour, maybe those cute hiking boots that she saw the other day and of course the best sword that her money could buy. Everyday the past month she would visit the local black smiths and stare longingly at the weapons and armour, until the blacksmith asked her to move along. There was so much to buy that she could almost not decide. Long bows, swords, crossbows, armour and more magical charms then she could ever carry. She was so busy planning her expenses that she nearly crashed into a horse drawn hay cart as she burst out of the forest.
Not able to stop without colliding with the cart she sprung into the air, lightly touching the side of the cart, and leapt over the driver's head, "Sorry Mr. Giff!!" She cried out as she soared over head.
The old man laughed heartily, "Good evening Trish. Your in a spirit filled mood today. Something good happened I presume?" He inquired as the girl landed on the other side of the cart.
Trish skid to a halt on the dirty road and spun around to face the man, who had yanked on the rains to stop his house, "Very much so, sir." Trish exclaimed with a large grin upon her face, "I passed!!!" She pulled a small card out of the front pocket of her dark grey hoodie and held it out to the man.
Mr. Giff took the card from the girl and fixed his spectacles upon his face to get a clearer look. The card was small, and rectangular, with a small photo of Trish in one corner and a list of information filling up the rest of its surface. The card read as follows:
Hunter Membership ID
Name: Trish Fyn
Race: One Tenth Cat. Nine Tenths Human.
Born on the 7th day of the Month of Marble in the Year of the Hamster.
Home town: Rainfield Valley
Expedition Ranking: Tenth Class
The old man beamed proudly at the girl, "It has been a long time since Rainfield Valley had its own ‘Hunter' amongst us." He stated as he handed the card back to the girl, "I know you will make us proud."
Trish retrieved her card and stared at it for a moment before tucking it back in her pocket, "I hope to not let you down." She said worriedly, "I'm only a Novice Class and have a long way to go before I'm a Hero Class."
The man chuckled lightly, "After the way you handled those Squeegies that were attacking my turnips I think you'll do just fine, young lady."
"It's not that big a deal." Trish shuffled in her place, she did not find that task all that big of a deal. Squeegies were small balls of furry that bounced around and were nothing more then a mouthful of teeth. While they look scary at first, mostly when they yawned, they are rather harmless and were not known to attack people, just vegetables. She did not have the nerve to kill the little beasts so had a mage friend open a portal to somewhere that they would not cause damage and would not be harmed. She was ashamed to tell the old man that she had cheated, in such a way, and decided to keep the matter to herself.
"Well, I have to get this hay back home before Gilmore falls asleep." He stated with a nod to the horse that was already dozing off, "You take care and visit me sometimes. I would love to hear about your adventures."
"Sure thing." She waved a good bye to the man as he snapped the reins and the cart slowly started down the road again.
Before the cart was out of sight Trish turned on her heels and rushed down the road in the opposite direction. There was someone important that Trish needed to see and she did not want to delay any longer. A few years back Trish met a classmate at the academy who was practising to be a spell caster of some sorts. To this day Trish was not sure what this student was trying to be, an elementalist, a summoner, a dark mage, a light mage or a controller. One day the girl would be trying to cast fire balls and the next Trish would find her charming the birds that roost atop the academy walls. She never seemed to make up her mind, dabbling in a bit of everything.
From the first time Trish set eyes upon the girl she found herself strangely drawn to her. It took Trish only a week to learn the girl's name was Wendy Telbrand, for she frequently got yelled at by the teachers for her spells going afoul. She was a shy girl with long braided cotton candy pink hair that flowed in two paths around a pair of curly sheep's horns on either side of her head and down her back. She tended to wear long dresses of light pastel colours, long sleeved turtle necks and could always be seen caring a large brown book, with brass corners and a lock, between her arms. The book was massive, in Trish's opinion, so large in fact that when Wendy hugged it she nearly disappeared behind its pages, which she did whenever she was scolded, as if she were in hopes that it would shield her from harm.
Trish kept finding herself watching the magic students practice in the field behind the school, while she was supposed to be practising sword play, in hopes to get a glimpse of the girl. On more then one occasion she had been hit upon the head by an annoyed instructor and forced to wash the training room floors for not paying attention to the days lessons. On one such day she was told to wash all the windows on the first floor of the academy for her lack of attention. During that time she noticed Wendy out back practising a spell of some sorts. Trish stopped her work and watched the girl for a moment.
Wendy frustratedly tucked a stray hair behind her horns, rolled up her sleeves and she muttered something so softly that even straining her cat's ears Trish could not quiet hear what was being said. Suddenly the air crackled around Wendy and there was a small explosion that filled the air with a thick black cloud. The force of the blast threw Wendy backwards, leaving her entire front blackened with sot.
Trish ran over to see if the girl was alright when out of a black cloud, which Trish figured the girl must have summoned, came a valorous grey Death Crow. A fowl looking bird with a wing span that was double Trish's height and covered in tattered black feathers that blocked out the sun as it soared over the girls. A single eye stared out from the centre of its decaying head at Wendy and one leg, protruding from where should be two, scratched at the girl, who hide behind her book. It was not exactly a deadly beast, but for a lone magic student it was more then a unfair match, however, for Trish, this creature was only a moderate workout. She rushed across the field, screaming in order to gain the monster's attention, pulled out her magical oak sword, and lunged at the creature. Her screams started the bird and it was unprepared for Trish's blow to the side of its head. Trish used this to her advantage, ending the battle quickly, managing to escape with only a few minor wounds.
"You are hurt!!" Wendy cried out as she fussed over Trish's wounds, "I'm so sorry. It's all my fault."
Trish simply shook her head as she plopped on the ground to regain her breath, wiping some of the sweat from her forehead and running them through her hair. Sweat which was mostly accumulated during her hours of washing windows and made her look far worse then she truly was, "It's alright. Are you hurt?" She inquired worriedly of the young mage.
Wendy vigorously shook her head, "I'm fine. My book protected me." She held up the book that appeared to be unscathed. "Let's me heal your wounds." She scrambled over to Trish's side and began to roll up the leg of her tatter jeans, where a trickle of blood could be seen.
"It's alright." Trish protested, "It's only a scratch."
Wendy's lips trembled, "I... I'm sorry... I just wanted to help..." She stammered, "I keep messing up all the time and now someone gets hurt. The only thing I seem good at is healing." A tear streaked through her sot covered face.
The sight of that tear tugged upon Trish's heart and she could not bear seeing the girl cry anymore so relinquished her leg to the girl, "Actually it does hurt more then I thought." She fibbed, "Do you know something to stop the pain?"
Wendy smiled and nodded, "Yes... Yes I do." She stated excitedly as she flipped through her book
Since that day the two girls had become close friends and at that moment Trish wanted more then anything to have Wendy at her side during this tremendous occasion. She considered taking Wendy for a walk to town and maybe even getting up the nerve to ask the girl out to dinner. Everyone in the village could tell that Trish was smitten for the young mage, however she had never confessed those feelings aloud and she figured this would be the best way to end a perfect day.
She rounded a bend and started along the path to Wendy's home, a small two floor building with a few animals out front and a tiny garden out back. The Telbrand's were not incredibly rich and Trish knew that they had high hopes that their daughter's magical skills would pull them out of debt. She slowed her pace as she approached the building, the sight of which filled her with distress for some reason and just seeing it made her excitement of the day begin to dwindle. She forced herself to trudge on forwards and stepped up to the door. Just as she raised her hand to knock she heard voices from within.
"You are going to do this Young Lady, or you will fail school!" Trish heard Wendy's father stated in a gruff grumpy voice, "You have to stop being so indecisive for once in your life."
"You don't want to fail now do you, honey?" Wendy's mother chimed in.
"N.. no... but..." Wendy sputtered, "I... I can't..."
"You can and you will." Her father ordered.
"Now honey."
Trish had heard enough, she hated the way Wendy's parents treated the girl and she could not just stand there and allow them to yell at her like that. Calling on all her courage Trish knocked loudly upon the door. The house fell silent the moment her knock rang out and Trish almost thought that everyone inside had suddenly been frozen cold in their place by a freak ice spell. After a moment passed and she knocked again, in hopes that she would free the occupants from their startled state. If they did not answer soon she was not sure she could simply walk away and imagined herself charging in to Wendy's rescue. Thankfully Trish was not forced to break down the door or leap through any of the windows as Wendy's mother opened the door and greeted Trish with a smile that she could tell was fake.
"Why Trish, what brings you out this way?" The woman inquired with a friendly tone.
"I was wondering if I could see Wendy?" Trish inquired, "Is she in?"
"Well, ummm..." Wendy's mother stalled, when the door was suddenly pulled out of her hands and Wendy ducked under the woman's arm, "Wendy? Where do you think you are going?" She asked as her daughter rushed out the door and took Trish by the hand.
"I'm going to town with Trish, Mom." Wendy called out behind herself as she dragged her friend down the path, away from the house, "I promised to help her buy some things."
Wendy's mother crossed her arms, "Well, you don't be out too late, alright?" The woman warned, "And if you encounter any monsters you let Trish handle them, alright?"
"Sure mom." Wendy replied and pushed through the gate at the front of the house.
"Ummm... Wendy?" Trish inquired, still being pulled along down the road, "Could you slow down?"
Wendy abruptly stopped and blushed as she realized she was holding Trish's hand, "Sorry... I..." She let go of the girl's hands and wrapped her hands around the book that she held in her other arm, "I just needed to get away from there."
"What is wrong?" Trish lightly probed.
Wendy set her forehead upon the edge of her book, "I got my final exam back." She mumbled miserably.
"Not good, huh?"
Wendy shook her head, "I failed."
Trish rubbed at the back of her ear with one hand. The sound of distress upon Wendy's voice wiped Trish's excitement away and suddenly passing her own exam did not seem that great, "Geez... but they will give you another chance, right?" She inquired hopefully.
"Yeah... but..." Wendy opened the book a crack and pulled out a piece of paper, "I have to do a quest if I wish to pass..." She remarked as she handed the paper to Trish.
"What kind of quest?" Trish asked as she glanced down at the paper and read.
"Wendy Telbrand:
Due to your lack in training and your refusal to choose a single magical path to major in we have decided to review your position at this school. If you wish to continue to attend Cloverflow Academy then you are to do one quest for the Arch Mage before we deem you worth of taking the exam again. The quest will be given to you at the Magical Headquarters in Wesmoors City. You have one weeks to receive your mission or you will be expelled from the Academy. You will be given an Temporary Expedition Pass and be allowed one travelling companion of Expedition Class and no others, no students will be allowed to help you. If you do not appear at the Expedition Headquarters before the sun sets we will consider this matter closed and you will be banned from the school grounds.
Sincerely Head Master Gaven Halford"
"WHAT!!!" Trish angrily cried out, "They can't do this to you. Its unfair."
"I know." Wendy agreed, "But what am I to do? I can't do this alone and I don't know anyone of Expedition Class that would be willing to help a failure like myself, who can't even afford to pay them. It's hopeless." She knocked her horns against the book's cover and began to sob.
Trish lightly placed a hand upon the girl's shoulder, "Shhhh..." She cooed, "Things are not as bad as they seem. I'll be more then willing to accompany you."
Wendy glanced up over the brim of her book, "R... Really?"
Trish nodded, "Sure thing. I would never let you go on a mission like this alone. You couldn't stop me if you tried." She assured the girl.
"That is nice of you, but... But..." Wendy wiped at her tears with the back of her hand, "But you are not Expedition Class yet."
Trish grinned broadly and pulled out her newly acquired Hunters Pass, "As of today you are looking at Rainfield Valley's newest Expedition Class Hunter." She stated proudly.
Wendy dropped her book to the ground as she stared in disbelief at the card in her friend's hand, "Is that real?" She inquired, slightly mesmerized.
Trish nodded, "Every bit. I passed my last exam this morning and came to tell you just now. So this means I can help you on your mission." Her eyes flickered to the ground and back to the girl, "That's if you want me on your team."
Wendy suddenly threw her arms around Trish, nearly knocking her to the ground, "Thank you." She began to sob again, this time into Trish's shoulder, "Thank you so much."
Trish gently patted the back of the girl's head and enjoyed the feeling of Wendy's warmth against her body, "Is that a yes?"
Wendy nodded several times, "Yes, yes, yes."
Trish smiled to herself and allowed herself to embrace Wendy closely, "Good to hear."
And thus began their adventure.
*****
To be Continued . . .
*****
This story is copyright of Kathryn K Williams. All characters and settings are her creation and should not be used by any others. If you wish visit my site and see some of the art based on this series at http://www.shoujoai.ca
Also if you spot any typos or other errors please contact me at Kathryn@KatAndNekoManga.ca
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