Chapter 18: Chapter 18 Introductions to Last

He led Nathan toward a low building placed further back in the complex, against the walls that stood tall against the slope. It was up a staircase set into the steep hillside, and surrounded by various bare areas that looked like training areas. One looked like a shooting range, complete with enchanted targets, while another was a set of arenas with different kinds of environments and yet a third appeared to be an obstacle course from hell. Complete with deep pits and spiked walls and a section that definitely involved dodging spinning blades. Lovely.

Jolba blithely ignored Nathan looking around nervously, and walked straight into the low building, entering via a pair of arched double doors. There was a label over the doors but Nathan couldn’t read it. Dammit. They immediately turned left and entered a small cafeteria, filled with picnic-style tables, about half of which were occupied by people chowing down on food from a buffet on the side of the room.

There were between four and six people at each table, and six tables of nine were filled. The people were as varied as the adventurers Nathan had seen before, and though the species were somewhat mixed, there was certainly a tendency for each table to be a majority of one species. The other thing Nathan noted as they entered was that the average age was rather young. He couldn’t judge the other species in the room, but all of the humans looked like the college freshman from the introductory biochemistry classes Nathan had taught. Except they were mostly pretty fit, and many were dressed in armor and had weapons close to hand.

Why are they armed? Didn’t they just get out of class?

The room wasn’t exactly quiet. Cutting through the buzz of background conversation was a shouting match, and Nathan and Jolba were walking towards the source. Two figures were standing chest-to-chest, glaring at each other. One was a wide black-skinned human in dark multi-layered chainmail, while the other was a wolf man in gleaming platemail looming over him.

Nathan tuned in to hear the wolf man, who was yelling louder. “..you will sit down unless you want me to sit you down!” He leaned forward, and the black guy took a step backward, bristling. He opened his mouth.

“You can’t…!” the rest of his words were cut off as Jolba strode forward, and suddenly Jolba’s presence filled the room, and it was impossible to not pay attention to the grizzled man. Even the people who hadn’t been paying attention turned in unison, and all conversation cut out.

Jolba stepped up to the two young men, his voice slow and resonant. “You bicker as sparrows. Remember that one day you may stand shoulder to shoulder against the End. Be seated.” The wolfolk in shining armor opened his mouth, but Jolba silenced him with a look. The man in chainmail retreated to a table on the side of the room while the wolfolk sat at the table in the center.

Then, Jolba’s presence quieted, and he was just a man in a stained jacket again. He looked down at the wolfolk again, sitting at the table with three others. His voice was quieter, but tinged with scorn. “Khachi, you know better.” He glanced toward Nathan. “I am here with a new fifth for your team. This is Nathan, he’s got two powerful talents and can contribute more than you know. He’s also from far away, and so does not know you. Please introduce yourselves.”

The wolfman in gleaming plate armor twisted to appraise Nathan more fully, a hint of canine visible behind thin colorless lips. His face was fairly humanoid, except with outward jutting jaws and enlarged nostrils. Hair of a rich brown color crept down to his eyebrows and around his cheeks, hiding skin of a sallow gray.

His voice wasn’t as deep when he wasn’t shouting, and was rough around the edges. “Definitely not from close by, and you have the look of a Giantsrester. I’m Khachi Cordavia, worshiper of the god Deiman and ward of Kia Cordavia of the Guardians of Gemore. I lead the Heirs.”

A snort from across the table interrupted him, and the handsome man sitting there broke in. “He’s declared himself leader at least. Gotta see if he can wear it as well as he does that stack of steel he calls armor. I’m Aarl Crusens, son of Stanel Crusens. This is my sister Sarah.” He elbowed the teenager sitting next to him, who rolled her eyes and scooted down the bench away from her brother, not taking her narrowed eyes off Nathan.

They were certainly related, and looked about the same age. Coppery skinned with large, dark eyes and pitch-black hair, the pair radiated a kind of serious intensity. Combined with their lithe muscularity and metal-inlaid leather armor, their presence was almost magnetic and definitely attractive. They were also both definitely under twenty years old, so Nathan wasn’t going to follow that line of thought any further.

“And then there’s me, of course!” spoke the last person at the table. She was clearly a mage, wearing green robes embroidered with spiky light-blue thread that seemed to writhe against itself. Her hair was gathered in a reddish-brown braid that was pulled forward over one shoulder, and her skin was pale and dusted with freckles. “I’m the one you really need to watch out for, since I’ll blow you up! I’m Stella Caxol, and my parents are on Khachi’s mom’s team.” She gave him a sly wink.

You know, I’m glad I got to see the Guardians of Gemore in action against that Grave Tangle, otherwise I’d be confused why they were leaning on their parents' names so much. But Stanel Crusens wasn’t part of that team? Whatever, all of the high-level adventurers probably know each other.

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They kept their eyes on Nathan as he gauged his next move. They weren’t giving much away, good or bad. Well, Nathan had made friends in the past by being earnest and straightforward, and this time he had a skill to help out!

“It’s very nice to meet you all. I haven’t had lunch yet, so I’m going to grab some food. It’s all new to me, so every meal is an adventure of one kind or another.”

He bid goodbye to Jolba, who had watched the introductions warily. As the teacher walked away and Nathan turned to get his food, something slapped against his leg like a pool noodle. It felt like magic. And if it’d been strong enough for him to feel, it probably would have knocked most other people off of their feet. He glanced back to the table, where all four members of the Heirs were watching him. Stella had a surprised look on her face, and Nathan just threw back his head and laughed as he walked away.

As he collected food from the plentiful buffet, Nathan considered his next move. The heirs were clearly testing him, trying to decide if he was good enough to let into their little elite club. And the presumption was clearly no. It was so dumb, playing status games with people the age of those he taught. But it would happen one way or another as long as he wanted to join the Heirs.

Which he did - the guildmistress had gift-wrapped him powerful allies, if he could just deal with some stupid power dynamics. From what had been said, it seemed they lacked direction, and had potential without purpose. It so happened that Nathan had one of those spare, and was happy to share it around.

But if he was going to play the game, at least he could do it on his terms instead of theirs - lean on his strengths, and talk about the true life-and-death experiences he’d had in the days since coming here. Jolba had seemed to imply the Heirs had been a bit pampered, and true life-or-death stories fighting Giantsrest would likely hold their interest. Other than that, if he played along as one of the ‘gang’, they would be unlikely to really get serious in their harassment.

As he walked back, he workshopped his response. Getting closer to the table and depositing his plate of roasted meat and stewed vegetables, he put forward his best effort in a wry tone as he sat next to Stella. “Good thing you didn’t try that as I was coming back with food Stella, I might have dropped the entire plate on you.”

It got a chuckle out of the sister of the two siblings across the table? Sarah? Sarah. She mostly seemed to be enjoying Stella’s uncertainty over her spell not provoking the expected response. Khachi was also eyeing him with uncertainty as Nathan sat next to him and began eating as if the entire situation was the most normal thing in the world.

Their plates were at least half-eaten, but they finished them off as Nathan wolfed down his food. The pastries in the morning had been good, but this food was well-spiced and as filling as any Nathan had ever had, very effective to refill his stamina. As he dug in, Aarl asked a question.

“Jolba said you were from far away. Where?”

Stella broke in, speaking scornfully. “I bet it’s a little hamlet a few weeks away, a bundle of cottages behind a dinky palisade. What, like a hundred people?”

Nathan took a moment to respond, savoring a bite of some nicely marbled meat. “It’s a country called the United States of America. Doubt you’ve heard of it. I didn’t leave it by choice, but here I am.”

Aarl shot questioning looks to Stella and Khachi, and they both shook their heads. He looked back to Nathan with brows raised. “United States… sounds like there’s history there. What is it like?”

Nathan considered his answer for a moment before replying, leaning on his earnestness skill. He had to appear unique to these peers. “It is a country of hundreds of millions of people, most of whom knew only peace. For all of our petty evils, we enforced peace and triumphed knowledge with no law declaring one above another. I hope to go back one day, once I’ve explored Gemore and toppled the towers of Giantsrest for their true evil.” He delivered the last with a snarl, savagely tearing at the next bite of meat.

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