From Real to Realm

“There are so many farms,” Val said, hand to her forehead to block the sun.

Ainz chuckled softly. “And yet it’s not enough to feed the city.”

Val turned to him, surprised. “Wait, really? Then where do they make up the difference?”

“What do you think this escort is for?” He asked, smiling. “Edmur is a heavy farming and hunting town; nothing in every direction for tens of miles. That also means they lack any mines.”

Thais was also paying a bit more attention now.

“Phylandair has the dungeon, which gives us ores and plenty of other unique minerals. Phylandair trades excess gear, materials, and smithing implements to Edmur. In exchange, Edmur trades grains, fresh crops, preserved meats and pelts, and some alchemical ingredients found in the area.”

“If it’s such an important trade, then why not have the military escort?”

Thais looked at Val, confused. “We’re more likely to run into animals or creatures out here, not other armies or people. As adventurers, we make our living fighting creatures of all kinds.”

Val sighed. “I still don’t get it.”

Both Ainz and Thais chuckled.

“Soldiers are trained to fight people,” Ainz said. “Adventurers learn to fight a wide array of creatures. I’m sure most soldiers could hold their own against anything out here.” He motioned to her and Thais. “However, you thrive on fighting the unknown.”

“That makes more sense,” Val said, nodding. “I guess the military can’t afford to train every soldier to fight a wide array of things.”

Things fell quiet after that for a little while. Val relaxed in her seat but kept her eyes on the surrounding area. The sun was slowly climbing higher in the sky, but thankfully, a nice breeze was flowing.

Almost an hour later, Thais tapped Val on the shoulder. “Hey, look.”

Val turned, following where he was pointing. Rolling across the grass was a large bundle of what looked like vines. It would stop rolling, then roll more once the wind picked up.

“Thistleborn,” Thais said, standing up and looking around. “I’m sure Weyland spotted it as well.”

Val also stood, looking around. “What are we looking for?”

Thais shrugged. “Nothing in particular, but Thistleborn are monsters, not animals or natural creatures of the surface. They tend to just roll around wandering until they bump into something living.”

Val gulped. “What happens when they do?”

“They latch onto and squeeze the shit out of whoever or whatever they caught. They’re similar to Root Stalkers. Hell, some of the brainy types think they’re an evolution of Root Stalkers that escaped the dungeon before Phylandair was created.”

“Really? Can dungeon creatures evolve?”

Thais shrugged once more. “I doubt it. I consider Thistleborn a form of a devolved Root Stalker. They’re weaker and don’t actively attack.” He sighed. “Boring.”

The caravan continued on its way. The Thistleborn did nothing more than roll when the wind picked up. Soon enough, the Thistleborn was nothing more than a memory as everyone moved on.

For hours, the caravan continued on. Occasionally, they’d stop for someone to take care of business. Other times, they’d stop to feed the horses and give them some water. During those times, the group would snack on dried food and hold a perimeter. Weyland and Sturman both made sure to drill it into everyone’s head not to wander off alone. However, all in all, it was extremely boring.

“I didn’t realize an escort would be this boring,” Val said, leaning against the wagon.

Thais groaned. “I know. I’m beginning to question why the fuck I signed up for it.”

Cera rolled her eyes. “Look at it this way, at least it’s easy pay.”

Amarisse leaned in, whispering to Val. “You’re just complaining because you miss your little girlfriend.”

Val slapped Amarisse’s arm. “So? Who said I can’t miss her?”

A few chuckles were shared before Weyland walked up. “Alright, horses are good to go. Does anyone need to take care of business before we set off again?”

Everyone shook their heads. Each person started walking toward their designated wagons.

Then three high-pitched whistles pierced the air.

Immediately, weapons were out, and everyone was on guard.

“Where?!” Weyland yelled.

Sturman turned the corner of his wagon. “Two Bramble Husks, coming from the tree line!”

To Val’s surprise, Sturman was holding a small sword, and then it all clicked for her. Why the hell wouldn’t the drivers carry something to protect themselves?

“Stay with the wagons, we’ll take care of the husks,” Weyland said, tapping Sturman’s shoulder.

As a group, the five of them rushed out to the edge of the road facing the tree line. Sure enough, two husks were shambling toward them. However, a third was just now emerging from the edge of the forest.

“What are those things?” Val asked, stepping next to Thais.

“Bramble Husks, what everyone considers the true evolution from a Root Stalker, much deadlier,” he said, twirling his axe. “Good, I’ve been itching for a fight.”

“Everyone form up on Amarisse as the Tank,” Weyland notched an arrow, then launched it. “Don’t underestimate them.”

Val was already moving to Amarisse’s hip. Thais was jumping in place, looking like he was itching to rush them. Cera was composed, standing a few feet behind Amarisse.

Finally, Weyland’s arrow landed, hitting the third husk as it finally left the edge of the forest. For whatever reason, the thing stopped moving, but that wasn’t an issue. The rest of the group pushed forward to engage with the first husk.

Amarisse was the first one to come within reach. When she did, the husk’s vines extended, lashing at her shield like a thorny whip. A few got past her shield, cutting her arms. However, that didn’t last long.

Thais spun out from behind Amarisse and closed the distance. When he was within range, he brought his dual-headed axe down hard on the arm lashing out. It cut through like a knife through butter.

“You good?” Val asked.

“Yeah!” Amarisse yelled back through gritted teeth. “Cut that overgrown bush down!”

Thwack!

Thais was trying to keep the pressure on the first one, but it was doing something Val never expected. Solid pieces of what looked like rotting bark were floating in place, almost like armor. When Thais tried hacking at it, the vines within would move the “armor” in place to block the attack.

“Fucking thing keeps blocking my attacks!”

Vines started growing back out of its “shoulder”, forcing Thais to back off for the moment.

“Damn thing is growing its arm back,” he said, almost growling. “I really don’t like these things.”

By now, the second one was approaching the first. Both were standing still, as if appraising their quarry.

“I can keep the third occupied!” Weyland yelled, rushing down the hill to their left. “Just worry about those two!”

Thais grinned, looking at Val. “One for you and one for me. Boy, aren’t we lucky?”

Val chuckled, loving this aggressive side of the half-orc. “You’re telling me.”

Thais and Val both moved forward at the same time, encroaching on each husk.

“What are you two doing?!” Amarisse asked, moving forward with them. “We need to stick together!”

“If we let them attack together, they will hurt someone!” Thais yelled back. “Trust me on this, just protect Cera while we handle the overgrown bushes!”

Amarisse grumbled, glancing at Val, worried. “Fine! But I’m stepping in if I think you need it!”

Cera stepped up next to Amarisse. “Thais can handle himself, what about Val?”

Vines lashed out at Val, causing her to duck and roll to the right. Once she was back on her feet, she brought her halberd down in a diagonal attack, severing half of the arm that lashed at her.

“I don’t know Cera,” Amarisse said. “We’ve been through a lot. I don’t think Val realizes how reckless she’s being.”

Thais was dancing around the husk, chuckling and grinning. Small cuts were already bleeding lightly across his arms. However, the husk itself was missing both arms.

“What’s the matter?” he goaded. “Did your twigs fall off? Can’t play anymore?”

Val, for her part, was going at things a bit slower. She had reach, but so did her opponent. It had already tried wrapping around the head of her blade and yanking it out of her hands.

“I don’t see an opening,” she grumbled. “I might need help after all.”

Once more, the husk lashed out at her. Val side-stepped this time, getting ready to hack off another arm. However, it pulled away just in time.

“Destroy the core!” Thais yelled, hacking off the “head” of his husk. “It’s the only way to kill these things!”

Val saw it for just a second. Hidden behind the large “breastplate” made of wood was a sizeable orange core. It was held in place by multiple vines.

“Not true!” Cera said from next to Amarisse. “Fire also kills them!”

Thais laughed. “Do you see anyone here who can use fire!?” He batted away a regrown arm. “NO!? Then destroy the fuckin’ core!”

Val squeezed the haft of her halberd. A week of training every day was just the beginning. Now it was time to put that training to use. She waited, watching the husk. As she anticipated, it reached back in preparation to lash out once more. This created the opening she needed. Val planted her lead foot down hard, then with every ounce of strength she could muster, she swung.

The blade of her halberd arced through the air at a downward angle. The husk reacted relatively quickly, but wasn’t able to muster much of a defense in time. The blade of her halberd bit down and severed through dozens of vines in one smooth move. When her momentum started waning, she rotated her lead hand to press down even harder.

“Fucking die already!”

The husk was forced to its knees from the impact and extra pressure. However, Val wasn’t done with it. In a last attempt at bisecting it, she brought her boot up and stomped on the haft just below the head of her halberd.

That was the last bit needed as her weapon finished slicing through the upper body. The top half of the vines fell to the ground. They wiggled around like worms, desperate to reconnect, but slowly started losing their life. The orange core was still intact, but vines were quickly trying to cover it back up.

“Oh no, you don’t,” Val said, reaching in.

As soon as Val had ahold of the core, she planted her foot on what remained of the torso. Then, with a yank, she pulled the core free. The vines writhed, trying to wrap around her wrist and ankle, but as soon as the core was pulled free, they stopped moving.

“Got mine!” Val yelled, holding the orange core up.

She turned in time to see Thais madly hacking away at the torso of his husk. The guy looked like he had completely gone insane with how wildly he kept going at it. The moment anything looked like it was growing back, he would sever or hack away at it. The rotten wooden armor it was using was nothing more than splinters by now. Then, finally, the entire thing went stiff.

“Fucking finally,” he said, kicking the entire pile of vines over.

With Val’s and Thais’ handled, they both looked for Weyland.

“Good job, you two.”

Weyland was already walking back toward them. Behind him lay a pile of vines also motionless.

“How’d you kill yours already?!” Thais demanded.

Weyland chuckled. “The vines are quick, but not quick enough to catch an arrow. Took a few tries, but I eventually hit the core.”

With that bout of combat handled, everyone took a bit to recover. Thais and Amarisse were the only ones who took minor cuts to their arms. Both Weyland and Val had somehow avoided any damage.

That’s the first fight since that one day…

After handling her husk the way she did, Val felt confident she still had what it takes. However, she still needed to keep working at it. One victory wasn’t going to be enough to make a name for herself. She needed to become stronger even still.

“What were you thinking?” Amarisse asked, smacking Val’s back. “You pushed forward and took that thing on by yourself. What if you got fucking hurt badly again? I’m your tank! Thais is high enough level and rank that he can handle it. You aren’t.”

Val looked at her, bewildered. “I handled it, though.”

Amarisse sighed. “That’s not the fucking point, Val, and you know it.”

“Why are you jumping up my ass about this?” she asked, brow furrowed. “We had two enemies, so we split up to make sure they didn’t hit us at the same time. If we didn’t, they’d hit us at the same time. What else could I have done differently?”

This time, Amarisse grabbed the front of Val’s armor. “You lean on your fucking tank, your friend, damnit. I don’t want to risk going home to tell Lynesia you fucking got hurt again or, gods forbid, died.”

Val looked down at Amarisse’s hand, then back up to her face. “Fuck… I’m sorry. I just… I want to get stronger, and I feel like I’m not getting there fast enough. I mean, I handled it fine on my own, but you’re right. It could’ve gone way worse. I just… fuck I’m sorry.”

Amarisse smiled, finally releasing Val. “You’re still stubborn as hell, but you’re learning. Now let’s get moving.”

The two of them walked to their designated wagons, climbing aboard. Once everyone was back where they belonged, the caravan started moving. Things calmed down from there as the weather continued to favor them.

Soon enough, along the horizon were multiple structures along the road. Multiple flags were flying on each side. There was the one she was familiar with that represented Phylandair, but another one that she didn’t recognize.

“About to pass over into the Luravin Empire proper,” Thais said. “Make sure you have your badge ready. Works just like the gates back in Phylandair.”

“What’s the empire like?”

Thais shrugged. “I don’t really deal with them much aside from the checkpoint and Edmur. No one’s an ass if that’s what you’re worried about. They tend to treat us adventurers relatively well at least.”

“Good to know,” Val said, standing up. “I can’t wait to see what it’s like out there.”

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