Aegis Online

As my new hires share out their paycheck, I go through the process of levelling myself up. Thanks to the tournament, I’d gone from lvl38 to lvl44! That’s more like it; I’m getting closer to my girlfriend and her almost-lvl-60 status. I start looking through my stats. Along with the 18 Ability Points I’d gotten before the tournament, I’ve earned a bunch more!

 

Bulwark Level 38 -> level 44

CON: 39 ->40

DEX: 35 -> 36

STR: 40

WIS:  25 -> 30

INT: 25 -> 30

LUCK: 34 -> 40

Allocating my Attribute Points, I bump my stats a little more evenly, giving some attention to my Intelligence and Wisdom. I’ve neglected them for too long.

With a bank of 54 Ability Points, I peruse my options. I could upgrade Skill-Forge to level 3, but that would eat up fifty of those points. Is there a better use for so many points?

Sadly, not one of the skills I can see really catches my attention. It’s all stuff for dedicated magic users or ranged attackers. I’ve got a couple of dedicated long-range abilities, and I don’t really use magic. Looks like I’m bumping Skill-Forge’s rank, then!

 Once that’s done, I close my level-up menus and begin inspecting the new effects I can put to use. I smirk, and start throwing together a skill I think Marika might find useful.  It costs a couple tens of thousands of ducats, putting me quite close to the last of my finances, but, after an hour and a half of finicking around with it, I get it into a state I’d approve of. Finalizing the creation, I turn it into a skill-scroll, allowing me to send it to Marika via the long-distance trading tab, along with a message.

“Hey, Marika! I made you a little something; I think you’ll like it. Feel free to let me know if you’d like me to tweak it!”

I send the message and begin hunting for a quest or something. It doesn’t take long to round up a trio of quests which all want the same thing. A large group of bandits nearby is at war with a second group, and one quest wants one group wiped out, the second wants the other, and the third requires BOTH groups to disappear. A triple payday!

As I muse over my approach, I hear hooves striking the cobbled streets. A regal voice calls out.

“You are the one they speak of? The captain of the Devil Hunter? I wish to ask a favour of you!”

Turning, I find myself face-to-chest with a woman. Not a human, at least not FULLY human. Her upper body, down to her waist, is that of a beautiful human woman. She has a pair of large, expressive ears on the top of her head, sticking out of her long reddish hair, but animal-eared folks aren’t uncommon. From the waist down, however, she’s… equine.

A sleek bay coat of well-groomed hair, with a feathered blanket over her back, hooves shod with steel. She has a set of well-crafted barding beneath the feather blanket that covers her flanks and sides, and she’s wearing a breastplate, gauntlets, and pauldrons. She bends one leg, raising the other and lowering her head, her arms in a similar position. One hand over her heart, the other held out to the side. A perfect courtly bow.

I blink, then realise she’s waiting for an answer.

“Uhm, yes. I’m the captain of the Devil Hunter. My name is Kettrin, may I help you?”

The centaur girl claps her hands in delight. “Oh, wonderful, it IS you! I’ve been looking for you all afternoon!”

I tilt my head in curiosity. The centauress clears her throat. “Oh, I beg your pardon, where are my manners! I am Lady Gloria Arabella Cosette Felicity Kingsley III. But please, call me Ginger!”

I blink. Technically, I’m a noble, too, thanks to Dorothea bestowing knighthood and the rank of Dame on me. But I don’t really get the whole ‘Nobility’ stuff.

“It’s an honour and a privilege, Lady Ginger. Anyway, how may I help you? You mentioned my ship, do you require transportation?”

The woman shakes her head. “Oh, not at all. I wish to confirm something. You’re very close with an Alv sorceress, correct? One in military uniform, with… how to put this delicately… ample causes for feminine jealousy?”

I snrrk at the description. Asteria? Yeah, that’s a familiar-sounding feature.

“I am, as a matter of fact. How’d you know?”

Ginger stamps a hoof. “I overheard her talking to a few Argonauts. Something about a guild recruiting great warriors to join them?”

I wince. “Ah, my guild, the Wings of the Storm, right? Look, we DO need members, but we have a rule that only people who can fly are suitable. We move fast, strike hard, and leave our enemies no chance to retaliate! If our men and woman cannot fly, they would be at a huge risk!”

Ginger smiles. “Ah, perfectly reasonable. In that case, I wish to pledge myself to your service, as a knight!”

 I feel sooo bad for her. She’s obviously brave and eager to help, but the point still stands.

“Look, I’m sorry, but I can’t allow non-flyers to-”

 

FWOOSH.

I stare in awe as the centaur’s feathered blanket shifts and rustles, before revealing itself to be a massive pair of wings, much larger than even my own, which Ginger snaps out, unfurling and beating the air sedately.

I take it I meet your approval now?” Lady Gloria Arabella Cosette Felicity Kingsley III smiles.

I splutter, “how- What- where-,” and the young noblewoman laughs. “I’m not just a centaur, dear captain. I’m a pterocentaur!”

 

 

Asteria howls with laughter, almost doubling over in paroxysms of mirth. “Ahhh, I wish I’d been there to see that!”

I huff, elbowing her. “It’s not funny, you meanie! I was so shocked! I never knew there were flying centaurs!”

Ginger smiles, as we sit at a café, each of us with a cup of steaming tea ready to drink.

While I and my girlfriend have picked Darjeeling leaves, the pterocentaur has carrot tea, made with fresh ginger and brilliant orange root vegetables. She inhales the fragrance with her eyes closed, almost lost in the experience.  She sips steadily, her ears flicking, and a warm, languid smile wreathes her face.

“Exquisite…” she sighs dreamily.

I toy with the handle of my cup, my gauntlets clinking against the china. “So, you want to join us, but… why? From your bearing, you could live a life of luxury if you saw fit. Why put yourself at risk of injury, or even death?”

 

Ginger’s ears perk up. “Ah! I wish to travel the world and test myself against worthy opponents, while also punishing those who would bring harm to those who cannot defend themselves! It is a part of my people’s culture to go on such a pilgrimage! As such, you would not be required to pay me.”

 

I share a look with Dana.

“I mean, she’s certainly full of enthusiasm. I say we give her a chance.”

Asteria nods. “She fits the requirements, too!”

I internally roll my eyes. A flying centaur noblewoman... What have I gotten myself into?

 

With a hand shake, I get Ginger to sign the guild charter, making her an official member.

“Do you have any kind of... sleeping arrangements made for you?”

Ginger shakes her head, smiling. “Just a nice thick carpet, please. I have blankets and a special recliner; I’ll be more than fine.”

 

I smile. “Well, I’d better get moving; I have some bandits that need exterminating.”

The pterocentaur nods, finishing her tea. “Allow me to accompany you, Guildmaster. I would very much like to demonstrate my skills for you. Let me show you that you made a wise choice in accepting me into your service!”

I frown, and then shrug. “Alright, I’m counting on you to show me your best!”

“Right!”

 

Heading outside, I spread my wings and take off with a leap, straight up, letting my wings do most of the work. I still don’t think I’ll ever get bored of flying.

I watch Ginger emerge from the café, her hooves chiming on the stone, her horseshoes glinting. She calls out, “Everyone, please evacuate the street for but a moment, I need a runway!”

As soon as everyone’s cleared a path, Ginger’s front hooves strike sparks from the cobbles as she rears, before thundering down the street, her hair and tail streaming out behind her. Her wings burst into a full spread as she beats them in time with her hoofbeats; each wingbeat becoming two wings to one hoof, before the sound of steel on stone abruptly halts as I find myself no longer alone in the sky.

“You see, my wings can indeed bear me aloft!” Ginger’s merry call fills the air, and I smile. “That’s good to know. Anyway, this is the direction we need, follow me!”

“By your command!”

 

As I turn and make headway, dipping into an air-current to boost my speed, I hear the deeper booming of my new guildmate’s wings behind. She appears to be able to keep up, too. Excellent!

 About an hour later, I touch down in a large clearing, not too far from the lair of one of the bandit groups. With a series of thudding impacts, Ginger’s hooves batter the earth as she canters to a landing. She reaches out and a glowing seal appears in front of her. A lance takes shape as she grasps it, twirling it into a ready guard.

“Armed and ready, Guildmaster!”

I can’t quite get used to being called THAT yet, though. I mean, I AM the Guild’s leader, but still…

A rustle comes from the shrubbery, and I whirl, Ginger’s ears pricked forwards. Several well-armed men and women in shabby, yet serviceable armour, make their way out of the undergrowth, grinning and toying with their weapons.

The biggest, a buff lady with a battleaxe, runs a thumb along one of the double blades, before licking away the beads of crimson forming at the split in her digit.

“Well, well, well. Lookee what we have here, all purty and dressed all nice. Why don’tcha just leave all that fancy-lookin’ gear here, and we’ll take real good care of it! We might even… let ya live!”

I snort at the obviously-corny line. Ginger, on the other hand, almost nickers in rage.

“I will make you eat your words, you insolent fool! I swear on my name and on the blood that runs in my veins, I shall bring you to justice!”

“Pfft! I’d like ta see you try, horsie!”

I thrust out my hands, my greatshield and swordspear instantly equipping themselves, before the battle begins with a rearing charge from Ginger. Her lancework is impressive as she weaves the tip around shields and under guards, piercing through three bandits in a single assault, tossing the bodies aside as she wheels for another onslaught. Two of the thugs come at me, seeing me as less of a threat than the centaur girl.

I swiftly show them how wrong they are, firing off a Radiant Lance and pinning one outlaw to a tree, using Recall to snatch my weapon back in midair as I hit the other with a Sky Hammer, flinging him halfway across the clearing as Ginger, rearing up, lashes out with her hooves, the steel-shod limbs crashing into the ribcage and skull of another bandit as she swings her lance in tight, controlled circles around her.

The big lady with the axe is laughing. “Wow, you guys suck! If a horse-assed girl can beat you, you’re really worthless!”

As I hack down another two gangsters, I see Ginger’s lance flashing as she thrusts and steps, her hooves drumming on the dirt as she presses her side of the attack. Soon, the number of brigands dwindles, the big boss lady among their remaining number. Her face is set.

“Alright, this little game’s gone on long enough. Time for me… to get stuck in!” her form warps and bulges as dark smoke pours off of her. Muscles bulge and tense as she grits her teeth, her back arching as she hunches her shoulders…