Chapter 1
Chapter One
Convenient Farewells
‘Ok bye!’ Waltz waved back at the cat as the rest of the guild walked away. ‘We won’t miss you at all!’
They headed down a pleasant country road, with a golden wheat field on one side and a plain dirt field that had already been cultivated on the other. Waltz, Sumaey, Graham and Spirit walked away together, leaving behind the freaky looking cat. Loxus, the mechanical spider-scorpion thing, walked ahead of them, his metallic feet clinking as he walked slowly forwards.
Spirit and Graham didn’t care much for the cat, and hardly noticed it whether it was there or not.
Waltz dared to glance back at the cat, feeling a chill down its spine when he noticed that it was still watching him. He had dumped the cat in a random location as soon as he decided he didn’t want it around anymore. He needed six members to form a guild, and had grabbed the cat from a stranger to get registered as an official guild. But once the paperwork was complete, he couldn’t find the man he intended to return the cat to. Holding onto it for a few days in case he found the man again, he eventually decided to leave it in the wilderness.
‘Uhg’ Waltz grimaced, turning away from the cat and looking ahead again. ‘Creepy. I hate the way it never blinks.’
‘Hm’ Sumaey replied. ‘Aren’t we one member in our guild short now? I thought a guild needed at least six members.
‘To become a registered guild’ Waltz agreed. ‘It does. But once you're registered, things become a lot more flexible.’
Waltz dared to glance back again, but this time the cat creature was gone.
He breathed a sigh of relief, facing ahead again.
‘…I hate cats.’
‘So what's our first mission as a newly registered guild?’ Sumaey asked him curtly, getting straight to the point.
‘Our first mission’ Waltz began dramatically, ‘is to go to the local tavern and search for a quest that is suitable to our level of skill’ he said, ‘…and we can get a drink while we’re there’ he added hastily with a self-satisfied grin.
‘Why don’t we find a place to live first?’ Sumaey suggested.
‘Live?’ Waltz scoffed as they walked along the dry dirt road, the ever-silent Spirit and Graham and Loxus walking a little ahead. ‘I've never really lived anywhere.’
‘Not even when you were young?’
‘That’s an exception.’
‘Well shouldn’t we have a headquarters of some kind?’ Sumaey suggested.
‘Hm?’ Waltz said. ‘Hey I've just had a great idea! We should find somewhere to live and make it our headquarters!’
‘Indeed’ Sumaey droned. ‘Convenient then, that I already found a place.’
‘You did?’ Waltz was totally surprised. ‘Waw really?’
‘Yup’ Sumaey nodded. ‘We’re going there now…that is unless…you would rather get drunk at the local tavern.’
‘As tempting as that sounds’ Waltz spoke slowly, ‘let’s go visit our new home! I want to see where we will live.’
Luckily it was pretty close to where they happened to be at that time, and the journey was pleasant.
Waltz stood in the sparsely growing forest with his new and awesome guild, the small woodland was set on the open plains and away from any main route or road. This little cottage they had found before them was cosy and peaceful, with its little windows, thatched roof and winding cobbled stone path (surrounded by overflowing flower beds) that led to a red painted front door, with a little window shaped like a heart set in the wood at head-height.
‘It’s beautiful’ Waltz sighed in awe, ‘very homely. How on earth did you manage to afford this?’
‘Don’t be stupid’ Sumaey scowled. ‘It’s only a rented apartment. There are four different living quarters. We have the one of the ones on the top floor.’
‘Oh’ Waltz said scratching his head. ‘Of course.’
‘It was originally a cottage owned by a single person’ Sumaey said, leaning on a hip and folding her arms. ‘But now it’s been converted so that the person who owns the building can make more money.’
‘Hey actually that’s a good idea’ Waltz thought aloud. ‘Maybe we should do something like that.’
‘Sure’ Sumaey scoffed. ‘When we have that sort of money to buy that sort of building in the first place. I got this cheap at short notice. That’s why I didn’t mention it before. Also I forgot.’
‘Hu?’ Waltz cocked his head, scratching his chin as he continued to observe the building. ‘How lovely.’
And then Spirit who stood behind them, spoke.
‘I think it is wonderful.’
Sumaey and Waltz both glanced back at him.
They smiled.
‘Come on’ Sumaey said. ‘Let’s go inside.’
Their room was one of the ones upstairs (as Sumaey has already mentioned). They were able to enter it by way of a wooden stairs (at the back of the cottage) that led up to a pretty balcony made of dark wood which ran along the length of the building. One door was the door to their apartment, the other, was the other (obviously).
‘So who’s our neighbour?’ Waltz asked, eyeing up the other door.
‘It’s empty at the moment’ Sumaey told Waltz as Spirit opened the door to their apartment and walked in. ‘There’s two magicians living downstairs’ Sumaey continued, ‘but they're hardly ever here, and apart from that, we have this place to ourselves.’ She walked towards the door to their apartment, following Loxus into the room. ‘There was a young woman living in the other apartment’ Sumaey went on. ‘But she’s moved out.’
Graham who had struggled up the steep stairs to follow them, tried to enter the apartment then.
‘No!’ Sumaey said pushing him back. ‘Horses and other living transport is not allowed!’
Graham’s response to this was to bellow at her.
‘Shut up’ Sumaey hissed at him as she fought him in the doorway, struggling to push him back as he held his ground. ‘You’ll annoy the neighbours. We don’t want to get kicked out of here. Do you know how hard this place was to find?’
‘You said it was easy’ Waltz interjected as he watched them struggle without bothering to help.
‘I got lucky’ Sumaey hissed back.
‘And I thought you said we had no neighbours…’ Waltz grumbled, scratching at his ear. ‘The two magicians downstairs are hardly ever here you said.’
‘Start as you mean to go on’ Sumaey retorted, before turning her attention back to Graham. ‘I said no. You’ll stay in the stables with the other horses.’
He bellowed at her again. Graham had held a grudge against Sumaey since that time she set the end of his tail on fire in the previous book. He had never quite gotten over it.
‘Oh, let him stay’ Waltz asked nicely. ‘He won’t cause any trouble I'm sure.’ He spoke to Graham now. ‘Do you agree to be quiet if we let you in?’
Graham did not answer, as he was unable to speak, being a deer and all. But he was silent, and so Waltz took that as agreement.
‘Come on then’ Waltz sang, patting Graham on the back. ‘Let’s go look at our new home.’
Sumaey sighed wearily, relaxing as she let go of his horns and straightening up.
‘Alright’ she said turning away from the pair. ‘But Graham better be on his best behaviour indoors.’
‘Oh he will’ Waltz said leaning into him. ‘You're a good boy’ he cooed, ‘aren’t you?’
Graham did not react, but stood silently staring into the room.
‘Well’ Waltz said stepping back and indicating the open doorway. ‘After you.’
Graham dipped his head, making his way forwards and into the apartment. Waltz followed after him, closing the door after.
Inside it was small, but it was pleasant. There were just two rooms, three if you counted the small bathroom. The first room they entered was the largest; there was nothing but a double bunk bed in the corner beside the window, and a decorative rug in the middle, and nothing more. In the next room there was a kitchen. And that was it.
‘I like it’ Sumaey said, leaning on a hip and folding her arms. ‘It’s simple. That in itself has a certain quality about it, don’t you think?’ she asked turning to Waltz.
Waltz’s attention drifted then to the bunk bed.
He grinned.
‘One for you one for me?’ he said to Sumaey.
‘No’ Spirit spoke up harshly. ‘I share the bunk with her.’
‘He’s grown no less protective of you then’ Waltz mumbled turning away.
Spirit was very attached to Sumaey, and deeply resented Waltz, despite being the leader of his guild. Spirit did not care for him, and he made this very clear. Waltz had no authority over Spirit, the one time he did try to tell him to do something, Spirit just looked at Waltz as if he had just eaten his own feet.
‘I guess I will sleep in this corner then’ Waltz lamented, drifting over to that corner and staring down at it sadly. It was a nice patch in the sunlight.
It was then at that moment that Graham came over and sat in that corner, in an action that clearly said ‘mine’.
‘Oh come on!’ Waltz protested loudly, throwing his arms out. ‘What the hell?!! That’s my corner!’
Graham roared at him stubbornly, snuggling tighter into the corner protectively.
‘No!’ Waltz said. ‘Out!’
Graham roared again, this time a little louder.
Waltz grabbed him by his long tail, pulling him back. The two began to fight.
‘Soft sheets’ Sumaey spoke to herself moving over to the bed. ‘Do you want the top or bottom bunk?’ she asked Spirit.
‘You choose’ the water elemental said to her.
‘I’ll take the bottom bunk’ she said turning back. ‘You can have the top one.’
Spirit nodded to her. He moved forwards and climbed onto the top bunk, as Sumaey moved over to the bottom bunk, lying back on it.
‘Will you two shut up!? She snapped at Waltz and Graham who fought in the corner. ‘Jeez, I can’t hear myself think!’
Waltz glanced up then, Graham using this moment of distraction to kick him hard in the gut, pushing him into the middle of the room.
Waltz groaned in pain, body hunched over and holding himself as he glared at Graham.
‘It’s ok’ Waltz mumbled, turning to the only other available corner in the room, a drafty patch near the door. ‘I could still have….’ He broke off, seeing Loxus had already claimed that space, curled up with his metallic tail around his spider-body.
That night, he slept in an inconvenient corner of the kitchen on a sleeping mat, right in everybody’s way who needed to get there. Despite this, it was very comfortable in their little rented room, and pleasantly warm on that night.
All of them slept peacefully, until they were abruptly woken the next morning by Waltz.
He turned over breathing deeply and stretching as he did so. Waltz heard the garden birds singing outside, felt and morning sun upon his face.
He opened his eyes, and let out a cry of terror.
Sumaey who had been sleeping on the edge of her bed panicked, falling off the edge. The others in the room had woken instantly, Spirit from the top bunk was glaring disapprovingly at Waltz, and Graham and Loxus were peering around the door to look into the kitchen.
Waltz was pressed against the wall of the kitchen, on the other side of the room to where he had been sleeping, clutching his racing heart as he stared in horror at the thing that had woke him up. He had been resting peacefully on his back until he had opened his eyes, and saw the thing leaning over him.
The cat.
‘…what the hell are you doing here…?’ Waltz gasped, staring at the strange-looking cat, the one they had dumped at the start of the book.
It had large ears and large eyes, a tail that was split in two and naked skin that looked like dead flesh.
‘I hate cats…’ Waltz uttered. ‘They’re so freaky…’
Sumaey had picked herself up off the floor, staring into the kitchen.
‘Hey look it found us’ she said.
‘I hate it!’ Waltz squawked. ‘Why won’t it blink?! It’s horrid.’
‘Oh, it’s not that bad’ Sumaey smiled, wandering over to it and bending down to pick it up. ‘I rather like it’ she said, holding it in her arms.
The cat-creature turned its head, staring up at her.
‘See?’ Sumaey said turning to Waltz. ‘It’s friendly…and it’s soft…’
‘We’re not keeping it’ Waltz spat.
‘Why not?’ Sumaey glowered. ‘Isn't it officially a member of our guild?’
‘No! I'm willing to keep that stubborn mule here’ he said pointing an accusing finger at Graham, ‘but I'm not having that thing.’
Graham instantly turned and roared at him.
‘Shut up!’ Waltz retorted.
‘I think you're over-reacting’ Sumaey told him flatly.
‘Here’ Waltz said rising swiftly and darting over to the window and opening it. ‘Let me solve this problem.’
He swiped the cat from Sumaey’s arms and tossed it out of the window. The cat landed safely on the soft grassy floor, turning back and staring up at Waltz.
‘Don’t come back here!’ Waltz yelled at it, before snapping the window shut hastily afterwards.
(PLEASE DON’T ACTUALLY THROW CATS FROM WINDOWS. THEY DON’T LIKE IT)
‘There’ Waltz said happily, moving over to the sink and washing his hands. ‘A job well done. Now let’s go get some breakfast.’
Sumaey sighed wearily at him, shaking her head.
There was a communal kitchen downstairs; it was small, but pleasant.
Sumaey was only just about able to cook the food as fast as Waltz was eating it. After a time she stopped, glaring at him.
‘Have you noticed that every anime has a food manic?’ she asked him. ‘Hey! Are you listening?’
He glanced up at her.
Sumaey raised her hand, pointing at him. ‘You're eating so fast…you have shrapnel on your face.’
Waltz paused then, reaching for a napkin and wiping his face in a very delicate manner, like a gentleman, very unlike the slob who had been eating with his face pressed against his plate.
He didn’t even notice the cat who appeared then, the strange one with large eyes that had been following them. It leapt lightly onto the corner of the table, having snuck in through the open door. It moved as silent as…well…a cat…or an owl at night.
‘You had better eat something yourself’ Waltz told Sumaey. ‘We’re leaving as soon as possible.’
Graham plodded up beside him, eyeing up his cereal.
He stuck his face into the bowl, beginning to eat.
Waltz began to loudly protest, fighting Graham out of his food indignantly. Beside them Spirit groaned wearily, resting his chin in his hands and glancing away. He had only eaten a little corner of toast and was apparently satisfied with that.
‘To be honest I'm anxious to begin another quest’ she said to him. ‘I feel restless just sitting around. I don’t feel hungry to eat.’
Waltz paused then, releasing his grip on his breakfast bowl which Graham stole, hastily finishing the rest of the cereal.
‘You are looking for adventure?’ Waltz asked her.
‘I want to find out who I really am’ Sumaey told him, ‘none of my memory has come back. all that I do remember is…waking up in the wilderness…with you by my side…nothing more.’
‘Sounds like a pretty good memory’ Waltz gleamed at her, leaning forwards on the table with a sly grin. ‘What more do you want in life?’
‘Don’t flatter yourself’ she told him shortly, glancing to the cat that sat on the table right beside him and out of his line of sight at that time.
‘Hm?’ Waltz said noticing her gaze sailing past him.
He turned to see the cat there, frozen to the spot.
‘It’s you…’ he hissed angrily at it.
They left shortly after that, Waltz and Sumaey packed their bags quickly, and just before they left the property, Waltz picked up the cat and lobbed it into a passing wagon.
The man driving the wagon, pulled by a pony, did not notice.
‘Ha!’ Waltz cried triumphantly as the cat righted itself, having landed softly in the pile of hay that filled the cart. ‘You can’t follow us anymore now can you?!’
The strange cat just sat there in the hay watching them, never moving, never blinking, only staring.
The man that drove the cart was an elderly man, he didn’t seem to hear Waltz’s calls.
‘Come on’ Sumaey told him impatiently. ‘We should get going.’
Waltz lingered for a moment longer, until he saw the cart disappear over the lip of the hill, as it travelled down gentle slope of the road on the other side.
He let out a sigh of relief, turning and skipping towards Sumaey with his arms out. He didn’t run in a straight line, instead weaved back and forth happily.
Sumaey only scowled at him, turning sharply away and following after Spirit who waited for her beside Graham who carried all the bags. Loxus began to wag his tail in that same way he did when he was excited. (It was kind of awkward with the lantern hanging on the end) They had known him for only a short while, but were becoming familiar with his traits. He was a happy creature, and understood every word they spoke. Or so it seemed.
Waltz hurried to catch up with the others as they made their way onwards.
‘And so…’ he sighed happily stretching his arms up and reaching for the heavens, ‘…our adventure begins…’
