Valkyrie's Shadow

Winter's Crown: Act 4, Chapter 8

Winter's Crown: Act 4, Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Ilyshn’ish was sent bouncing around the hall of the dojo more times than she cared to count. She did remember everything, however, so she was never sent flying in a certain way more than once. A part of herself grumbled over the fact that she had settled on that particular benefit.

Her leg swept out, landing solidly against Master Tian’s ribs. As always, she noticed no effects from her attack. Just what was this Human’s clothing made out of? There should have been some signs of wear by now…

Maybe it wasn’t his clothing, but some sort of ability. Monks were known to have bodies that could become as hard as various metals, based on how powerful they were. It was something like the strengthening of natural armour and weapons that many Demihumans and monsters enjoyed. Or perhaps he possessed an item that conferred regeneration like her own, and he was just so strong that any scratches he might have taken healed instantly.

“That should be sufficient for this strike,” he told her with a nod. “Though you have mentioned it to be the case, it is quite startling how quickly you learn.”

Ilyshn’ish whimpered inside, waiting for the next attack to send her on some new and unwelcome trajectory. Master Tian, however, instead turned to look towards the open entrance of the dojo. The evening was fast approaching, and the scenery outside was shadowed over by the inner wall.

“Now that the Quagoa are no longer harassing you,” she said, “why is it that no new students have enrolled?”

“I admit that this is something that has been troubling me,” Master Tian replied. “I even had advertisements posted on billboards around the city.”

A shadow appeared in the entrance. Ilyshn’ish looked over to find one of the Humans that she saw in the market the previous week.

“Good evening, Lady Wagner,” Master Tian walked over to greet her, “is there something I may assist you with?”

“Nah, just stopping by to see how you were doing,” she said, glancing around the interior. “Looks like most of your students have gone home for the evening?”

“Truth be told,” Master Tian gestured to Ilyshn’ish, “she is currently my sole student. Though the local interference was cleared away with her a week ago, the continued lack of interest persists.”

“Uh…you’re kidding me, right?”

“My words are not in jest, Lady Wagner,” Master Tian said. “I even went so far as to have these made and posted on the city billboards.”

Master Tian reached into his coat and withdrew a sheet of paper. Lady Wagner leaned forward to peer at it, and her cheery expression was subjected to a dire transformation.

“I, uh…hate to break it to you, Master Tian,” she said after she straightened again, “but your poster sucks.”

“I-is that so?”

“Your crappy advertising aside,” Lady Wagner’s voice rolled right over him, “it’s impossible for you to not have more students when you have that here.”

The Human female pointed towards Ilyshn’ish, and Ilyshn’ish looked behind her.

“Oh, don’t give me that!” Lady Wagner scowled, “We already have one Florine Gagnier in the city. She might do something to you if she finds out you’re trying to muscle in on her territory.”

Ilyshn’ish glanced nervously about. Was the other Human that she saw really so powerful? She didn’t even know what she might be doing to displease her – hopefully, her current training would be enough to fight her off and escape.

“I am afraid I cannot follow your reasoning, Lady Wagner,” Master Tian said from the side.

Lady Wagner peered tiredly from Master Tian to Ilyshn’ish, then frowned down at the sheet of paper in her hand.

“I’ll be back in thirty minutes,” she told Master Tian. “I’ll fix this ‘problem’ of yours, guaranteed.”

With that, she turned around, muttering darkly about something. Rather than wanting to help, she seemed more angry than anything else.

“D-did I do something wrong?” Ilyshn’ish asked Master Tian.

“Not that I am aware of,” he replied. “I did not think the poster was so horrible either.”

“The Quagoa perform their instruction outdoors,” Ilyshn’ish offered. “They seem to add a few more students every time I arrive for a delivery at night.”

“Yes, I have noticed that,” Master Tian nodded, “and I also believe it to be an excellent method to showcase the quality of the Justice Dragon Dojo. My hope was that we could conduct similar demonstrations once I trained a handful of students; little did I know that finding those first few students would be a problem in itself. Since you’re doing well so far, I thought that we might perform a small public demonstration the next time you’re free.”

Ilyshn’ish tried to imagine what such a demonstration would entail, but she only saw herself being launched over the rooftops, smashed into the surroundings, and striking Master Tian to no effect. Not many races were anywhere near as durable or strong as Dragons, so it would probably close the doors of his dojo for good.

“Well, we still have a bit of time before that Human comes back with whatever she’s scheming,” Ilyshn’ish bumped their conversation into a different direction. “Is there some greater objective to learning all of these techniques?”

“There is,” Master Tian nodded. “The purpose of what you’ve experienced thus far is to lay a foundation for the next step of your training – something that will be far more difficult to achieve.”

“Why would that be?” Ilyshn’ish asked.

“Because I am a Monk,” Master Tian answered, “and not a Dancer. I have no qualms instructing you in the aspects of the class that are most similar to my own, but you must figure out the rest as a Bard.”

“You don’t have any hints whatsoever?”

“What I do know is that Dancer’s fighting form is an expression of their art; the flow of their attacks and movements akin to the steps of a dance. How this is accomplished, however, is beyond my area of expertise.”

“Does that mean my training is complete?”

“Oh, no,” Master Tian chuckled softly. “You still have much to learn. I have simply demonstrated a few of the basics. As I said, it is merely a foundation: something that I believe you will be able to build upon as you explore the artistic elements of your class. The journey to mastery will be long, and I will be here to provide instruction on what I can. You should also consider what avenues of research might provide you with insight towards your goals; Bards who fight in this fashion are quite rare, but Bards as a whole exist in many walks of life – the ones who might point you in the right direction may be slipping beneath your notice, working in unassuming vocations.”

Lady Wagner returned right when she said she would, holding a large sign under one arm.

“Alright,” she said. “Let’s do this.”

She beckoned Ilyshn’ish over and stuck the sign in her hands. Master Tian leaned over to read what was painted upon it, a small frown forming behind his beard.

“Um, just us,” Lady Wagner told him. “You’ll need to stay here to welcome your new students.”

Lady Wagner pulled Ilyshn’ish away before Master Tian could say anything, leading her out of the western exit of the quarter. They crossed over into the common area of the city, following the stream of Human pedestrians through the busy streets.

“We’re not staying in the Demihuman Quarter?” Ilyshn’ish asked.

“Heck no!” Lady Wagner replied, “There are way more people out here, and we’re gonna be targeting Humans anyways. What’s your name, by the way?”

“Shiver.”

“Shiver…?” Lady Wagner glanced briefly over her shoulder, “Well, whatever. That some sort of stage name?”

“Yes, I’m a Bard.”

Lady Wagner stopped on the street and turned around to face her. She peeked over Ilyshn’ish’s shoulder before speaking.

“I just had my people run around the city looking for a Bard to make that sign,” she said, “and he had one right there in his dojo? This is wrong on so many levels…”

“What’s so important about the sign?”

“You’re joking, right? Have you seen that poster of his?”

Ilyshn’ish shook her head. Lady Wagner walked off again, leading them to a small plaza. Near the centre, there was a large billboard with a few of the city folk gathered around. Lady Wagner gestured for her to take a look. Ilyshn’ish scanned through the myriad of colourful sheets with their exciting contents. When she finally found the poster for the Justice Dragon Dojo, her nose crinkled reflexively.

“I know, right?” Lady Wagner muttered from behind crossed arms.

Upon a severe piece of uncoloured parchment were two blocks of equally severe black text. One consisted of what Lady Shalltear had read out loud after she teleported Ilyshn’ish to the dojo. The second block, directions to the building. If she hadn’t actively been looking out for it, she would have assumed that the ad was some old, washed-out article from months past. It seemed that some mistook it for just that, pasting their own posters partly overtop.

“This…this sucks!”

Ilyshn’ish felt the sheer dullness of the poster reach out and slap her in the face. How could she be associated with something so bland?

“You can help make a better one later,” Lady Wagner said, “but, right now, you have a job to do.”

Lady Wagner brought her to the side of the street, gaze sweeping over the plaza. After a few minutes of meandering, they ended up standing close to the main thoroughfare, partly facing the traffic.

“Stand as straight as you can,” she said.

Ilyshn’ish did so, and Lady Wagner circled around her, brows drawn together as she focused on Ilyshn’ish’s appearance. She pulled at bits of Ilyshn’ish’s outfit from behind before coming back to the front. Cradling an elbow in one hand, she tapped her chin in contemplation. Then, she reached up and started pulling open the front of her uwagi.

“Um…”

“What?”

“Master Tian said that this uniform should be closed up to the collarbone.”

“Don’t you think it’s better like this?” Lady Wagner asked.

Ilyshn’ish quickly scanned the plaza, comparing the female Humans going about their business. After a brief assessment over how well they were received by other Humans, she nodded.

“Yes, I believe this is superior.”

“I knew ya would,” Lady Wagner. “Bards wouldn’t be caught dead looking all drab. Now, that signboard has some stuff on the back for reference – all you have to do is hold it up above your head and attract attention while saying something along the lines of what’s written there. Hmm…actually, raise that signboard right now.”

She did so, and Lady Wagner started adjusting her outfit again. Ilyshn’ish did another comparison to the females around the plaza, and some uncertainty started to well up within her.

“A-are you sure about this?” Ilyshn’ish asked tentatively.

“Sure am,” Lady Wagner said. “This body of yours is a lethal weapon – that’s how Monks work, right?”

Her statement sounded right, yet wrong for some reason.

“I’m training to become some sort of Dancer, I think.”

“In that case, you’re definitely perfect for this job,” Lady Wagner gave her a wink. “Just do your thing and your dojo will have plenty of new disciples.”

Her thing? Maybe Lady Wagner thought she had already embraced the mysterious art of a Dancer that Master Tian described…or maybe her work here would be a key to unlocking their secrets?

Lady Wagner pulled out a band from somewhere and tied Ilyshn’ish’s long hair into a tail.

“Wha–”

“Your hair’ll be all over the place if we leave it loose like this.”

The Human brought Ilyshn’ish’s hair over her shoulder, scratched her chin, then put it back. After a moment, she pulled her hair over her shoulder again. Ilyshn’ish wondered if she should let Lady Wagner know that parts of her body wouldn’t fly around so loosely.

“Great,” Lady Wagner said. “I’ll be standing across the street between those boxes over there. Go ahead and start when you’re ready.”

Lady Wagner walked away before Ilyshn’ish could reply, and she frowned down at the text on the back of the sign. There was nothing about discipline written there. The front had a drastically more eye-catching appearance – leagues better than the plain poster that Master Tian had come up with. When she looked back up again, Lady Wagner was pushing up the edges of her mouth with two fingers.

Smile? Got it.

Clearing her throat, Ilyshn’ish smiled and held the sign over her head.

“Justice Dragon Dojo...” Her voice floated out over the street.

Lady Wagner motioned for her to keep going.

“…fun and exciting sessions for men and women! Grappling…um, holds, throws…get the body you want!”

Several passers-by slowed, turning their eyes on her. Despite it not sounding like much of what she did in the dojo, Ilyshn’ish supposed it was getting attention. Maybe Humans liked getting tossed around?

Across the way, Lady Wagner was making gestures with her hands, but Ilyshn’ish couldn’t figure out what she wanted. An annoyed look formed on the Human’s face. She glanced back and forth briefly before hopping in place several times.

“Justice Dragon Dojo,” Ilyshn’ish hopped several times. “Fun and exciting sessions for men and women! Grap–”

A metallic thunk sounded from nearby. Ilyshn’ish looked over to find a Human sprawled on the ground in front of a Death Knight's shield. Dozens of Humans had stopped around her, but they paid no attention to the fallen man.

I see…

Ilyshn’ish’s lips formed into a slow smile, and she adjusted the timbre of her voice.

Thirty minutes later, Lady Wagner motioned for her to stop. She walked east, back towards the Demihuman District, motioning for Ilyshn’ish to follow.

“Did something happen?” Ilyshn’ish asked, “Why did we stop?”

“That was plenty,” Lady Wagner said. “I think you started using magic partway through there, too. Just a bit of advice: you should keep a handle on that sort of thing – especially when you’re dealing with crowds. A few weeks ago, I think there was some Bard spreading rumours about Frost Giants and the Royal Court got all up in arms about it.”

“I-is that so?” Ilyshn’ish turned her head away, “I never realized…well, thank you for the help – do you think Master Tian will have some students now?”

“I got a decent count,” Lady Wagner said. “A bunch might be too scared to go through the Demihuman Quarter, but we should still have a few. Just gotta get back to the dojo before Master Tian loses ‘em.”

They entered the gatehouse, crossing from the brightly lit streets of the common area to the shadowed gloom of the Demihuman Quarter. While activity in the Human part of the city was slowly winding down, the opposite was occurring in the Demihuman Quarter as residents came out of their shelters and merchants started to fill their stands.

“Y’know…you’re pretty amazing, Shiver,” Lady Wagner said as they made their way up the lane to the Justice Dragon Dojo, “in various ways. You lookin’ for work? I could always use a woman with your skills.”

“I already work for Lady Shalltear,” Ilyshn’ish replied.

“No kidding?” The Human raised an eyebrow, “I do some stuff for her from time to time. Sometimes things can get pretty crazy, but, overall, it’s not bad.”

Ilyshn’ish looked over in surprise. Lady Wagner did not look particularly strong – certainly not enough to survive Lady Shalltear. Still, she felt a small sense of kinship knowing that the Human had also been subject to the callous Vampire’s whims.

“Really?” Ilyshn’ish said, “I feel like she’s squeezing me for everything I have.”

Lady Wagner snorted.

“Yeah, I bet.”