Harbingers Ch3: The Apprentice
#3 of Harbingers
Joie skipped happily down the street of the village, her tail waving from side to side with each skip. Turning down an alley between two houses, Joie ducked under a line of hanging clothes, sliding forward and kicking off the ground to jump over the short fence in between the houses, coming to a stop at her destination, the local apothecary. Drawing no attention from the local villagers, who had grown accustomed to the cheerful cat girl, Joie rapped out a rhythm on the door.
From inside she heard a clatter form inside and the door opened a crack, "Oh, it's you. I've got your master's order right here, though what a mage needs with dragon teeth and blood weed is a mystery to me, I'm just hoping he isn't planning on doing anything in the village."
Joie smiled as she took the large pack from the apothecary, swinging it over her shoulder and winking at him, "Only if he can keep the experiment from killing the other assistants," she replied, taking off skipping back down the alley and to the next street. Joie had only been in the village for a month, but she had already learned all of the back roads, as her master mostly sent her out to run errands, sometimes Joie felt more like a hired hand than a wizard's apprentice, she had barely been taught any spells.
"Hey there, Joie what's the hurry?" she heard someone call from the side, coming to a stop and turning toward a homely looking woman who was walking in the same direction as Joie. Joie knew the woman to be the local blacksmith's wife, Linda.
Joie let Linda catch up with her before she continued walking, keeping pace with the woman, "Oh, my master's going to give me the afternoon and night off for the festival after I get his shipment of reagents in from the apothecary."
Linda smiled, "What' he working on? No one ever sees him come out of that tower of his, he only sends out you and that Carion man, and he never really talks."
Joie shrugged, "He hasn't even told me, just that he was hoping to have it done by the last day for the Liberation Festival. I think it's a surprise for the village."
"Well isn't that lovely, tell your master I hope he finishes in time," Linda replied, readjusting the basket she was carrying.
"Will do. Umm do you mind if I take off, the sooner I get back, the sooner I can get ready for tonight," Joie asked, increasing her pace slightly.
"Of course deary, I didn't mean to hold you, is there any special reason you need to get ready so early?" Linda asked.
Joie smiled as she took off, "Lyle said he would go to the festival with me." She shouted back soon disappearing from the woman's sight and into the woods that shrouded her master's tower. Once in the woods Joie was able to move at her full speed. In front of the human villagers, it was a good idea not to show the full extent of her speed and strength. Jumping up on the nearest tree, Joie kicked off sending herself flying through the forest. Traveling as so, Joie soon turned the normal two hour walk into a few minutes worth of a trip.
Later that day as the sun was setting, Joie emerged from the trees, her cloth leggings and tunic replaced by an elegant set of black robes, the fringe of which was laced in a red pattern, her hair, which normal hung free, tied up behind her head in a braided bun. Lyle, her escort for the evening, was leaning against the outskirt house on the fringe of the forest, dressed in a clean white shirt with brown cloth leggings, simple clothing, even for the festival, though it wasn't his clothing that most of the girls in the village looked at. Lyle had a soft face, though he worked hard as the blacksmith's apprentice, giving a healthy tone to all of his muscles, he was easily the envy of every girl in the village. Joie had been dizzy when he had asked to escort her to the festival.
"Well don't you just looking wonderful tonight?" Lyle said, pushing away from the house and holding out his arm, "Shall we?"
Joie smiled widely, "We shall," she said, looping her arm inside his and walking with him down the main road of the village.
The Liberation Festival was a yearly, weeklong celebration across all of Rondar in memory of the victory of the king's forces over an invading force of demons over three hundred years before. The first Liberation Festival had been held ten years later after the completion of the reconstruction. Ever since, all Rondarians looked forward to the gathering, stocking up for two months to be able to spend an entire week relaxing and celebrating.
Though Joie wasn't from Rondar, she still enjoyed the festival; her first had been in a city called Gilad, where their main celebration was a gladiatorial tournament. Of all creatures to win, it was actually another non-Rondrian, a massive naga who had torn his opponents apart with his bare hands. This particular festival was only her second, and even though it was much smaller by comparison, she felt she liked it more. Whereas other festivals had booths with games and vendors selling cheap wares, this village's celebration was a communal effort to have a good time, having Lyle by her side as they walked around to the different shops to see their first night's show case and sample a treat or two was just bonus for Joie.
As Joie passed the blacksmith's workshop she saw that the man had erected a small combat ring next under his awning, a rack with blunted blades and padded armor hanging outside of his shop, "Come and test your skill against your fellow villagers, good clean fun and fighting, at the Festival Brawl. Any who win one fight every night can compete to win a prize at the end of the week!" said the blacksmith's son as Joie and Lyle passed. Two men were already inside the ring, circling each other and swapping blows with blunted swords, neither appearing to be the better swordsman. The whole affair around the shop seemed to gather much attention, particularly from the younger children of the village, many of whom were crowded around the ring, cheering on the opponents.
Lyle turned to Joie and smiled, "Do you think I should give it a go?" he asked, nodding to the ring.
Joie smiled back, "What, and risk scratching that pretty face of yours? I thought you let Beo do all of your fighting for you."
"I can do my own fighting thank you very much, and thanks to that now I have to show you what I can do," Lyle said, forsaking Joie's arm and dashing over to the shop door.
Joie pouted a little before turning away, "Fine, I'll go look at the other shops on my own, just get back to me when you're done playing warrior okay?" Lyle hadn't heard Joie and was already in the shop getting on a set of armor, so Joie simply turned and continued along her way. After looking at a few of the shops along the main road, Joie decided to go ahead and check out the other streets, so she turned into a nearby alley to walk to the apothecary's road. By the time Joie heard the footsteps behind her it was too late, she felt a hard object against the back of her head and fell to the ground unconscious.