A Wizard's Grace {Job}

Neyvahn walked across a path of rocks to the other side of the Clover River. He had to be getting close to the village. He had been heading north for quite a while, and it was getting dark. Maybe the village lights would be easier to see after sundown. Neyvahn nodded his head and worked his way around another patch of trees and bushes, the sun slowly casting longer shadows to his side. After half an hour, the sun began to disappear behind the tree tops, and Neyvahn's shoes were getting warn down. He redirected some of his magic energy to the shoes to ensure that they would stay in pristine shape. He'd rather not have to buy another pair.

Kei groaned from inside his head. "Are we there yet?"

"Oh, shut it," Neyvahn snapped. "The village should be within a mile or so now. Besides, you're not the one walking."

"Well, I still feel what you feel, and all your actions feel like my actions, so I kinda am walking if you think about it." Neyvahn sighed.

"Then you wouldn't mind talking my place?"

Kei just laughed to himself. "It won't make a difference. You'll still feel like you're walking," he explained. Neyvahn just flicked his tail back and forth in irritation, ignoring Kei's words. "Having doubts about the mission?"

Neyvahn shook his head. "Yeah, it's just too weird, the whole thing happening in Beanstalk Village. Why in the world did their plants start deforming like that?"

"Maybe it's just a hoax that Iza made up to piss you off."

"I doubt she'd go that far," Neyvahn countered, stepping over a fallen tree. "That'd be too much, even for her." The sun had completely fallen behind the horizon, leaving the sky dark and the forest darker. Neyvahn noticed this and climbed a tall tree to overlook the forest. If he was lucky, he'd be able to see the village lights from where he was. Branch by branch, he made his way to the best vantage point of the landscape. Neyvahn found a decent foothold and observed the area.

He groaned. "Nothing but trees and empty land."

"Maybe if you close your eyes and wish for it, the village will-"

"Just stop while you're ahead," Neyvahn hissed. He continued looking, his eyes slowly adjusting to the low-light environment. After scanning through the left side of the river, his eyes moved to the right side. It was there that he saw the faintest traces of light, warm light. Torches. Village. Beanstalk Village. Neyvahn sighed. "Hallelujah."

Neyvahn dropped down from the tree and kept heading up the river. The village was quite a ways away from where he currently was, but it was achievable to arrive before sunrise. Neyvahn made his way up the river until he was just half a mile from the outermost part of the village. However, he decided it would be best to get some sleep before entering the village. There was no telling what he'd encounter there, and he'd rather take his chances up in a tree in the forest. Kei knew his logic was skewed, but he played along with it. A few hours in the forest never did anyone harm... right?

Neyvahn found a sturdy tree and climbed up until he came across a good sleeping point. He hung his sheathed sword on the nearest branch and used his bag as a pillow. No point in wasting time while you can be sleeping. Neyvahn rested his head down and fell asleep for a good seven hours.

By the time he woke up, the sun was high in the sky and the forest was wide awake. Neyvahn yawned a little before picking his sword and bag up, then hopping down from the tree. After a good rest, he deemed himself ready for whatever they might encounter in the village.

Neyvahn reached the first field of crops in Beanstalk Village, armor and sword on his person. Kei just groaned. "I was hoping that you'd be right about the whole 'within a mile' thing..."

"You'll live." Neyvahn walked along the side of the field, observing all of the strange, disfigured, and discolored plants. Corn, tomatoes, broccoli, everything was covered in thorns... and a strange light, like the plants were glowing. "Maybe they're toxic, or radioactive," Neyvahn guessed.

"I'm guessing cursed."

"Very funny. Get serious here, we might get a good reward from this."

Kei mentally shrugged. "Just trying to lighten the mood. The plants aren't doing a very good job at that, so I have to make up for it."

"Look Kei, Beanstalk Village is a big supplier, so we need to find out what this is..." Neyvahn stopped talking as the plants began to shift and shimmer before him. "What the..." One of the plants shook from its roots, threatening to pop out from the ground. Neyvahn reached above his shoulder and grasped the hilt of Ull's Claidheam. The plant churned from side to side, the ground beneath it waving up and down like a body of water.

"You really think they're radioactive now?"

The member 'Neyvahn Keyvolo' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

The crop, apparently a corn crop, popped up from the ground, revealing what looked like a giant corn cob with thin white legs and arms. Red eyes peered at Neyvahn menacingly... well, as menacingly as a corn cob could look. "What... the hell... is that?" Kei just asked dumbfound.

"Uhh... I don't know."

Suddenly, the angry corn cob growled, inhaling a deep breath. The hairs on the back of Neyvahn's neck began to stand on end, and the cob was looking more menacing every second. Neyvahn quickly sheathed his sword and placed his hands onto the ground. "Gadokabe!" The ground shifted and rose between Neyvahn and the angry corn cob just before the cob exhaled a barrage of corn. Each piece traveled unbelievably fast, pounding against the wall of earth. With each piece of corn, the wall cracked more until it completely collapsed. Neyvahn guided the pieces back together with his magic, and shrunk it back into the ground. Fortunately, the wall didn't cause any destruction. The powerful attack took down Neyvahn's wall, but was not able to push any further to wound or damage him.

Neyvahn took Ull's Claidheam back out and leaped at his opponent, who was still recovering from its attack. He swung his sword and sliced off one arm, before moving to the second and repeating the process with a quick and swift slice. Before he gave the creature a chance to scream out or attack, he pulled the sword back and stabbed it into the things mouth. The tip of the sword pushed through the thing's throat and stuck out the back, permanently silencing the weird monster.

The member 'Neyvahn Keyvolo' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

Before Neyvahn knew it, two more of those corn cobs popped out of the ground. "You've got to be kidding me..." He pushed the dead monster off of his blade and took a fighting stance. One of the two corn cobs seemed to have the same idea as the one he just fought, and launched a flurry of corn at him. Neyvahn only had a fraction of a second to dodge to the side and avoid the attack. At the speed those things were flying, Neyvahn would be knocked way back, and his armor would do nearly nothing. He gripped the hilt of his sword and lunged forward.

The other corn cob ran to meet him and attempted to ram him head on. However, Neyvahn slid beneath it and cut out its legs, quickly turning to take care of the other corn head. He slashed an 'X' on the corn's body with his blade, then slashed down from the side, shaving off any remaining corn it had on its front. The thing fell forwards, dead. The other one couldn't stand up, so Neyvahn quickly finished the job with three chops to the body.

"I never liked corn," Kei jested. Neyvahn just chuckled before turning to see a villager running towards him.

"By the heavens! What happened here!?" A woman, probably in her mid-forties, ran up to the field and noticed the commotion. It was then that Neyvahn realized what the scene must have looked like. There he was, standing there with a sword, next to chopped and sliced corn.

He sheathed his sword, panicking a little on the inside. "I-It's not what it looks like, ma'am!"

"What are those things!?"

"..." Neyvahn paused for a second. "Uhh, I have no idea."

The woman looked up at him worriedly, like she just witnessed a real life war in front of her eyes. All Kei could do was groan. "Gee, you really have a way with words, brother." He took control of Neyvahn's body, his hair turning pure white and his left eye turning a violet color. "Have you seen these creatures before, ma'am?"

The woman shook her head. "No. What are they?"

Kei shook his head, folding his arms and looking the woman in the eyes. "I do not know. However, I believe them to be connected to your village's crop situation." Kei held his hand out to the woman. "My name is Neyvahn Keyvolo, and I was sent to investigate this issue."

The woman hesitantly took his hand and shook it. "Oh, thank goodness! This fiasco as been hurting our families, and it is becoming difficult to support ourselves."

Kei nodded his head. " I will see what I can do about the situation. May I talk with anyone in charge of this village?"

The woman led Kei to the Village Chief, allowing him an audience. After a little talking in the town hall, the chief explained that the crops have recently been suffering a weird pandemic, growing thorns and wilting away. Kei also took note that they were glowing ominously, as if radioactive. However, after an encounter with a few walking corn cobs, the duo came to the conclusion that they were not radioactive. The chief asked Kei what had happened when he arrived.

"Three of the corn crops popped up from the ground to reveal what seemed like a corn cob with small white arms and legs, as well as glowing red eyes. They immediately attacked me, but I subdued them before they could cause harm."

The chief nodded his head, leaning onto one arm in his chair. "Then they must be Plant Demons... Were any crops damage in the process?"

Kei thought back to the fight. Sure Neyvahn used a Marshall Wall to protect himself from the flurry of corn, but the Marshall Wall was designed to simply recede back into the ground without damaging anything around it. They were good. "No sir."

The chief nodded his head once again. Kei and Neyvahn avoided what could've just ended their job right there. Thank goodness. "Good. I give you permission to investigate these happenings in my village. Do what you can to save our crops."

"Will do, sir," Kei said, bowing his head before exiting the hall.

Outside of the hall, Kei took a breath. "Plant Demons, huh..." Kei gave control back to Neyvahn, his hair turning back to silver and his left eye going from violet to light blue. Neyvahn experienced a little headache for a minute after the switch. He rubbed his head and regained his bearings. Now that they had talked with the chief, they understood what was going on. Still, there were some things that didn't quite make sense.

"Plant Demons? Do those things just happen?"

"I doubt it," Kei replied. "I think they were summoned from another mage, possibly to curse the village's crops." Neyvahn kept walking along the path to the next field of crops.

"Possibly... Well, whatever it is, we should try to get rid of as many of these Plant Demons as we can."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Then let's get to work." Neyvahn made it to a large crop field with all kinds of wilting crops. He pulled his sword out and waited for any kind of reaction from the crops. Surely they would sense his magic and come out of there hiding spots. Neyvahn gripped the hilt on his sword. What a way to spend a job, fighting vegetables and all.

The member 'Neyvahn Keyvolo' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

One of the plants shimmered and shook, popping out of the ground. This time, it was a tomato demon. The thing spat at the ground, staring Neyvahn down. Much like the corn, this tomato demon had white arms and legs with glowing red eyes. The only difference was that the body was a tomato, and not a cob of corn, obviously.

"Look at this whore-faced cunt!" it spat with a raspy voice. Neyvahn just growled, gripping his sword and launching forward. He didn't give the tomato a chance to say anything else, slicing diagonally at the tomato. The hit connected and put a clean cut through the red fiend. It immediately launched forward and flopped onto Neyvahn, its fat body putting him uncomfortably onto the ground. The tomato hopped back up and grinned. "How'd that feel, bitch!"

"He called you a bitch, Ney. You should do something." Kei encouraged Neyvahn. "Beat his ass 'till he's just a pile of ketchup."

Neyvahn leaped back up and ran towards the talking tomato. "Gladly." He launched a flurry of swipes and stabs, effectively dicing the rowdy tomato. First he attacked its legs, then sliced off its arms, same as the corn cobs, then moved on to cut the tomato in half. The two halves fell to the ground, revealing the mushy tomato insides. That shut it up. "What a rotten tomato you are," Neyvahn mocked. Suddenly he heard someone speaking behind him.

Neyvahn turned around to see a dark-robed man, chanting some sort of incantation. He must have been somewhere in his mid 40's or so, but his beard was quite impressive. It's like the man was a walking stereotype of a wizard. Suddenly, his incantation increased in intensity and he finished, thrusting his arms forward. Neyvahn felt the shift in the air and brought his sword up against the spell.

The member 'Neyvahn Keyvolo' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Block Dice' :

Neyvahn felt the rush of power speed pass him, barely blowing against his ears. They felt numb, tingly now. "Curse Magic," he hissed to himself. "Looks like we found our culprit."

If Kei was still in control of Ney's body, he would grin. "Well, that was easier than I thought it would be..." The man in the dark robe stood up tall and folded his arms.

"A child like you shouldn't be here."

Neyvahn groaned. "You're the one with a grudge against the village, and you're calling me a child? Funny." The man growled a little, whirling up another spell.

"I think you got on his nerves..."

"Probably," Neyvahn replied, rushing forward to attack the man before he launched his spell. Keeping the range close, Neyvahn jumped and kicked the man dead center of his chest, knocking him off his feet and onto the ground. If Neyvahn could keep him from using his magic, then he could take care of the wizard, no problem. He sheathed his sword and leaped at the wizard while he was on the ground. Neyvahn pinned him down by his chest and got a couple good hooks in to the man's face before he was pushed off with an incoming spell.

The member 'Neyvahn Keyvolo' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Block Dice' :

Neyvahn unsheathed his sword and blocked another oncoming curse. "So much for keeping him from using his magic..." Kei laughed to himself.

"No battle plan survives an encounter with the enemy. It was to be exp-"

"Don't get philosophical on me right now," Neyvahn interrupted. He rushed forward, running his right hand along the ground. "Yogokatto!" A small patch of dirt in front of him formed into a dirt shuriken, compacted and sharpened with his magic. Neyvahn grabbed the weapon and hurled it at the wizard, successfully cutting into his robe and leaving a cut across his side. While he still had the attack advantage, Neyvahn lifted his sword and attempted to diagonal cuts at the man's chest. The wizard backed away, escaping with two shallow cuts on his chest. Had they gone any deeper, he'd be in a lot of trouble.

Neyvahn continued, swinging around and horizontally slashing at the man's belly. The wizard backed away and dodged that attack. However, Neyvahn launched one more attack at the man, ducking down to his legs and slashing his left leg. Before the blade made contact, Neyvahn muttered "Tosho" under his breath. The blade phased out of reality, passing through the dark wizard's leg without a mark. The man's leg became covered in frost, unable to move. Neyvahn grinned, sweeping his leg around and tripping the man by his other foot. The dark wizard fell to the ground, hitting his back hard.

Neyvahn didn't want to kill the wizard. Killing wasn't his thing. Instead, he was going to beat him unconscious. He quickly sheathed his sword and pinned the dark mage down again, throwing three quick jabs to the face. Each one made a successful hit. Neyvahn wanted to end this quickly. Unfortunately, things were going to drag on for a little longer. The dark mage headbutted Neyvahn, disorienting him, then charged up a spell. Neyvahn quickly unsheathed his sword and did the best he could to block the spell.

The member 'Neyvahn Keyvolo' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Block Dice' :

The curse flew passed Neyvahn's sword, hitting him square in the chest. He flew off of the wizard and skidded across the dirt. Once he came to a stop, he prepared for whatever curse he was given. However, he didn't feel any different. It was strange... it didn't feel like the curse did anything. Neyvahn got up. He could still move all of his limbs, he could feel all of them, and he could see, hear, smell, all that. Neyvahn couldn't tell what was wrong... until he opened his mouth and no sound came out. His eyes went wide. No voice meant no incantation, which meant no spells. Neyvahn would have to fight without spells.

The dark wizard grinned. "You can't avoid all of it."

Neyvahn just lifted his left hand, fully extending his middle finger, leaving everything else to form a fist. The grin on the wizard faded just a little, and Neyvahn smirked. He could still fight without spells. In fact, he liked it better that way. He picked up his sword from the ground a few feet away from him and placed it back into his sheath. Neyvahn took a fighting stance and raised his hands into a guarding position. He had the upper hand. This joker's bark was much larger than his non-existent bite.

Neyvahn ran forward and curled his fist back, launching it forward and landing a solid hit on the wizard's cheek before he could react. The man spun around, disoriented and close to unconscious. Neyvahn spun around, landing a roundhouse kick against the man's injured side, then brought his foot back down and swept the wizard's feet off the ground. For a fraction of a second, the man was floating in the air... before Neyvahn brought his fist down into the center of his chest and sent him crashing into the ground. The dirt rumbled below them, then everything went silent. The dark wizard fell unconscious, falling into a slumber.

Neyvahn took a deep breath. That was it. If that dark wizard really was the culprit behind the village's crop curse, then their job there was done. Neyvahn looked around. Sure enough, plant demons from every field shriveled up and disappeared. Each crop began to lose its thorns, and the unhealthy glow in each plant was disappearing. Neyvahn nodded his head in approval then looked down at the unconscious middle-aged man. He probably couldn't keep up the curse up if he was knocked out. Good thing that was the case. Neyvahn reached down and threw the man over his shoulder. With a little effort, he was able to pick up the wizard and make his way to the town hall.

The town hall door opened, revealing Neyvahn carrying the culprit on his shoulder. He walked down the hall, dropping the dark wizard in front of the village chief. Neyvahn motioned to the unconscious man, then in the direction of the crop fields. The chief leaned forward. "Is this the man responsible for our crops?" Neyvahn nodded his head. He was happy that he found the culprit so soon. The man was practically looking for Neyvahn. Probably because he knew he was trouble. Neyvahn just grinned. The man was right.

After a few seconds of silent deciphering, the village chief nodded approvingly and motioned for two of the town guards to take the man to a jail cell. "Thank you, young man. This village is very grateful for what you have done. Were that man to continue bringing plant demons to this place, our crops would suffer greatly for a much longer time."

Neyvahn bowed respectfully as the guards took the man through the town hall doors. On that note, Neyvahn left the town hall and stopped by a fruit cart, ran by a nice man in his thirties. Neyvahn purchased a few apples, then made his way out of the village. "Glad that's done." He thought.

Kei chuckled a little in the back of Neyvahn's head. "I'm guessing that you miss being able to talk?"

"Definitely," Neyvahn thought. "It just doesn't feel right."

"At least you can still think. I'd rather not have an awkward silence between us the entire trip home," Kei mused. "By the way, why did you go through the forest instead of taking the road like a normal person?"

If Neyvahn could make a sound, he'd groan. "Too many people go on that road, and the forest is a more direct route."

Kei thought for a second. He did make a point. The duo walked out of the last stretch of the village, making their way back to the guild through the forest.