Chapter 15: Chapter 14

Estaria woke groggily in the morning, and went out to see how things were getting on. The shoddy barricade had gone and was now in the process of being replaced by a proper gate, with the materials that the relief force had brought in. No sudden attack in the night, and nothing going horribly wrong. Which was very good, so Estaria meandered back to her tent and opened the screen to pop her newest trait down. Scrolling through, she saw a Captain Trait, so she opened it up.

Your fight is with me! - Instantly taunt any enemy to fight with you, ignoring any other target between you. Debuff surrounding troops if you lose or run

That was bought. Very good skill for pulling in the enemy commander and getting an intimate one on one with him. Just had to make sure that she could beat him and didn’t have to run away from him. That would be bad. Guys didn’t need debuffs more than being humans already did for them. Next, she opened her inventory and stared at the A-rank dungeon key. The last dungeon was a mess, and she wasn’t eager to have a repeat performance or worse in a hostile territory like Drakwald. Maybe when they got back to Altdorf.

And speaking if, it was time to get her guys moving on back there. Didn’t want to be proclaimed dead or anything crazy like that. Putting on her gear, Estaria headed out, and first saw a few men gathered around a wagon. At first she thought it was the supply wagon from the way they were all crowded, but it turned out to be the wagon carrying the building supplies. What led everyone to crowd it was apparent as she got closer and saw people trying to lift it. not doing so well either, since it was a large, ladened wagon.

“What’s going on?” Estaria asked, looking over at the apparent situation.

“Ahh, Captain. We’ve got sommat stuck in the wheel. Guys trying to lift the cart and get it out but so far it’s not going to well. ‘Eavy laden cart, ya know?” the man replied.

"Where's Borrago?" she asked, looking about for the giant man.

"'e's finishin' up inna kitchen wiv da cook. Sa we doin' ta macha man fing" was the reply. Some guys had a real thick accent to Riekspiel, others had much less so...

Still, cart needed lifting, so Estaria stepped up, grasping the cart and hefting it up. The weight was nothing compared to her strength stat, and it was hoisted off the ground, giving the man plenty of time to free the wheel before she put it down.

“Nice lift Captain! Gotta share your secret with me” a man exclaimed. Laughter and repeated accolades followed, and then the men dispersed. Going to find Borrago to get everyone ready to leave, she suddenly stopped in her tracks and looked back at the wagon. It might have been normal for her, but the others should have definitely said something about her lifting some six hundred pounds off the ground by herself. But...apparently no. Did it just not occur to anyone? Or was there more to it than that?

Estaria thought for a moment, and then just shook her head. This wasn’t going to get her anywhere. Maybe later she could go talk to a scholar or Wizard in Altdorf about it, if she ever could start that conversation...How would she start that? ‘Hello, a floating set of boxes that control reality are giving me superpowers. Care to explain?’

That really wouldn’t go down well at all. Insane asylum at best. And that would really cripple her career...Although the jackets that were used to restrain the patients were kind of cute. She’d keep it around as a possibility if all this soldiering fell through, and went off to go see Borrago. With him, she gathered her men and proceeded to make the journey back to Altdorf. Her men were feeling better after their few days in delightful company, and Estaria taking night watch with them helped keep themselves together from the few forays of Beastmen into the camp.

Fortunately, they were large enough that anything that tried anything during the day was easily driven away with very little loss of life. The size of the combined with the fact that The Drakwald Patrol had kicked up three times as much in the face of the oncoming Chaos Horde, so in another two days, the road home was finally over. The great city of loomed in front of them. Beautiful, beautiful Altdorf. Never would she have thought those walls would have produced such relief in her.

Letting her men go to the barracks or their families - and claiming to shoulder any flak they got for that order - Estaria wanted to retreat to her little house and just enjoy not being in a life-threatening situation for a few days, but she had duties to get to - she went to go report to her commanding officer, and deliver the letter as well. She found the Major in his office, and entered after knocking and being told to come in.

“Ahh, Estaria! We were expecting you back days ago. How was it?” the Major asked. She’d never really got his name, he was always just “Major” to her.

“We arrived in time to repel the attack, Major. But we have suffered several battles on this outing. First we were hit by an outrider horde in a hamlet, and then after the siege itself, we took the Drakwald road and came across a fort currently under attack. After that, we were pitted with multiple minor skirmishes on the way home, though we managed to hold them off with little loss, it did slow the march. The ultimate objective, however, has been achieved perfectly. Furthermore, The Count of Middenheim has sent this letter with my regiment to ‘Those in Altdorf’.” Estaria withdrew the letter from her inventory - subtle like so it seemed like she was getting it out of her pocket - and handed it to the Major. He was high enough of a rank or just self-absorbed enough to open it and read the contents. Then he closed it again and nodded.

“Good. Excluding any emergency deployment, you and your regiment has the fortnight off to rest and recover. We will refill your ranks while you are on leave, and then you will be in charge of training them up to scratch for any future deployments. You are dismissed” The Major gave a nod, and then got back to his paperwork. Estaria was glad for her Captaincy, she didn’t want to go any higher though, it seemed a hell of paper and red tape. Still, couldn’t argue at two weeks off. Probably more to drum up recruits, arm and basic boot camp the sods than to actually rest the men. The next generation of citizens coming from her men's wives in nine months would be a showcase of how much they needed to rest. Giving Major a salute, Estaria left his office, and went home.

Home, was a small little thing in a lower class part of Altdorf. Not quite the slums, but far from the implication of gradiore that a Captain implied. She had splashed out on better gear with her pay to look the part to her men,, but would probably get new accommodations soon. Elaine deserved it. Slaving away in a Nobleman's house, and then making dinner here as well...Estaria did not deserve such a lover.

Though, she wasn't here now, and Es was dusty and worn from the road. So she stripped out of all her clothes and quickly got into the bath. It was nice to wash like this, in warm water, and Es sorta just half-dozed. After laying there for an unspecified amount of time, soaking in the water, she returned to her senses and washed proper, cleaning herself before stepping out and drying off. Though, in the process of drying, she caught a glance at her body in the mirror, and looked on to admire it more closely.

Gone was the lithe and gentle form of before. Now, her abdominal muscles were rippling, and her arms muscular and her legs thick. The once rusty and discoloured hair was now more vibrant, and her soft eyes had a greater auburn glow to them than ever before. It was like this system had gone and sculpted her into perfection. And dam right, she was far more perfect than any in this city.
 

....Where that thought had come from, she didn't know, but it was kind of disconcerting. Shaking it off as fatigue and a little bit of pride in her sexy new build, she did the Estaria thing and totally kicked it to one side. If she didn't think about it, it didn't exist, those were the rules. That she just made up.

Looking for something else to do, she opened her inventory to lazily browse, and saw she had a few of those potions put away. She forgot to finish them off in all the catastrophe she had since then and now. No matter, she was now in a prime position to do just that, so she fished them out and took all four of them. Together, they were just enough to push her over the edge to the next level. The stat page, was looking very healthy indeed, these days. She could open it up and get a broad relay of what she had, which was lovely.

Strength: 37 (57)

Stamina: 42

Constitution: 32 (52)

Precision: 59

Dexterity: 63

Agility: 56

Intelligence: 32

Wisdom: 32

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Luck: 32

Gold: 69134

Powder Matriarch: Black Powder is your Blood. While you may lack academic understanding, your practical knowhow rivals an Engineer, and even the most unruly of firearms bow to you. 70% increase to range, 50% increase to damage. Imprecise is removed

Decorated Veteran: Well known, and well respected, your name is toasted to by many. Increase the rewards of Tokens, Medals and Medallions by 1.

Swordswoman: Learning the way of the sword is hard, but with practice, one can be a venerable cause on the field. Grants subtargetting for melee weaponry.

Celerity: Swifter than most, you run with the grace of ten men and the speed of five. Add +20 to agility for the sake of movement speed.

Quick-Load: In the blink of an eye, you are ready to fire again. Spend Cool to instantly reload your firearm with a flourish.

Your fight is with me! - Instantly taunt any enemy to fight with you, ignoring any other target between you. -20 stats to surrounding troops if you lose or run

For The Empire!: A steely shout to light a fire in the hearts of your men! +10 to all stats (Excluding yourself) to anyone who can hear your shout.Captain’s Shadow: Snap of a Captain’s finger, and the target falls. Designate a target to be hit with a Hotchland Long Rifle bullet. Usable every 10 minutes

Captain’s Half-Dozen Halflings: Sneaky little half-men with large sacks, loot all enemies at the end of every fight, regardless of the fight.

50 Dexterity: Second Slice - The blade is like flowing water, always moving from one spot to the next with incredible grace. Spend Cool to make a second melee attack immediately after the first.

50 Agility: Weight-Spread: Your weight counts ¼ of it’s actual number for the sake of unstable footholds.

50 Precision: Advanced Sub-Targetting unlocked. Groin, Eye, Hands, Feet (arrow/knife/bolt only)

Groin: Deals high damage and stuns the enemy when hit. Destroying the Groin causes stun bypassing Resistance.

Eye: Very difficult shot, but deals immense damage. Destroying the Eye causes instant death or Critical Wound

Hands: Hitting the Hands will immediately disarm the foe. Destroying the Hands will cause the destroyed hand to be unable to be used.

Feet(Arrow/Knife/Bolt only): Hitting the Foot immediately stops a person’s movement. Destroying the foot cuts movement speed by one quarter.

Gold was nice and healthy, so she opened the shop and bought the 50,000 gold head-sized chunk of Gromril. It was a hefty metal, and pure Gromril at that. The beauty she could have made of that. Or, give it to a Dwarf, make a friend for life...She wasn’t feeling the wisdom or intelligence though. Maybe they were dud stats? Meant to be used on Magic and so without magic, she didn’t really get anything out of them? Entirely possible.

With stats checked, money spent and xp potions drunk, flopped on the bed. Staring down at her abs with a dopey grin, she still wasn’t over the fact that they were there. They rippled and twitched as she shifted the muscles, looking so very enticing. Totally caught up on her own body, she heard nothing, until;

“Es? Where did you get those muscles?” came the smooth voice from the door. Estaria looked up to see her roommate and love standing there, staring at her.

“Elaine! you are meant to be at work!” She exclaimed, pulling the sheets from it to wrap herself in. Why, was anyone's guess. It was just a natural reaction to being caught by anyone, even though she slept with this one.

"Hired staff were sent home today. Sir Maricc's wife accused him of sleeping with one of the maids, and he sent everyone home so he could privately talk to her rather than having the entire household listening in" Elaine replied, walking over. She was wearing her maids uniform, with a sensual sashay that knew exactly what it was doing to Estaria. Servant she might have been, but Elaine was definitely one to take the lead in most situations with Estaria.

"So I am free today. You can take me to dinner~" she purred, the Bretonnian accent slipping in as she spoke with a seductive, sultry voice.

"i..i....i...have nothing, to wear in, anywhere, that is worth going" Estaria stuttered, her cheeks flushed. Elaine's hands slid up Estaria's toned body and gently pushed her to lay down on the bed, crawling over and kissing her neck.

"You can wear my uniform. I know how much it turns you on~" Elaine teased, whispering gently into Estaria's ear. "And, I'll wear a new dress you'll buy me" she continued, kissing her love's neck.

"Ohh? I'm just a bag of money for your fashion huh?" Estaria replied, getting her mental balance back and brattily teasing her lover.

"Well it's not like you can cook worth a damn" Elaine's drawl fired Estaria's blood, and the outfit thrice over. Gods, that woman knew exactly how to get Es raring to go.

"Oi, I can make a dec-" Estaria's complaint was cut off by Elaine's mouth, and they shared a deep, long, empassioned kiss.

"But seriously" Elaine spoke after she had finished fuzzing Estaria's head with the kiss. "I would love to see you dressed up in this uniform. I think you'd be such a cute maid~"

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