Spirits of Mithzara - 6. Questing for Answers

The fox was gay. He was almost certain of it. Jacob wasn't sure how to handle that information. Should he call Gaius out? Pretend the kitsune hadn't popped wood while laying on him? Maybe he wasn't gay. Maybe it was just the fact there was a body under him. Jacob had to admit it had felt kind of nice having a body covering him.

He let out a quiet sigh, running a cloth over his sword. Laura- no, Elliot, he reminded himself- had agreed to meet him here twenty minutes ago. Jacob had already run through most of his solo drills waiting for him. Sure, Elliot broke up with him, but that didn't mean they weren't friends, right?

A gate opened, and Jacob looked up as two people entered the tennis courts. One bounced a ball at the other, and Jacob glanced away. They were just here to play tennis.

His phone rang suddenly, Elliot's picture flashing. Jacob frowned as he answered the phone. He really needed to change Elliot's name in his contacts.

"Hello?"

"Hey, I kind of got a little busy and forgot I was supposed to meet you tonight," Elliot said through the phone.

"Yeah, I figured."

"Sorry. Do you still want to meet?"

Jacob shrugged, looking at the sinking sun. There was maybe an hour of light left. They could still spar. But at this point, he wasn't sure he wanted to.

'Nah. You and Bethany hanging out tonight?"

"We were," Elliot admitted.

"Okay. I'm probably going to head home and grab some dinner before heading into Lankin. Do you want to meet up there?"

"Sure. In front of the book store?"

Jacob chuckled.

"I figured you'd find that pretty easy," he said. "Sure. I'll see you there."

Jacob hung up, standing with a quiet sigh. He sheathed his blade, carrying it back to his car, a red Subaru Impreza. The sword went into the trunk, Jacob pausing as he saw a fox sticker on the car next to his. Strange, if it had been crimson instead of orange, it would have looked like Gaius. Gaius was better looking though.

Yeah, better looking than a stylized fox on a random car window. Not very hard to beat. Jacob got in his car, shutting the door firmly, as though it could shut out the unsettling turn his mind suddenly took. It didn't.

Thirty minutes later, he was sitting in front of his computer, staring at the screen morosely. What was he even looking for? Kitsune? He knew what kitsune were. But he didn't know why he was suddenly thinking about one.

Kitsune were a type of Japanese creature. Maybe he could figure out exactly what drew him to Gaius. One thing was for sure, he would not be getting to Lankin early that night.

Kyle stared at the scroll in dismay. For the spell to be successful, he had to tie himself to a type of magic. Now the kitsune had a hard decision to make. Fire or necromancy? He'd still be able to cast spells of either type, but his summoning spells would focus on the type he chose, and his other spells would be cast at a slightly higher rate of stamina consumption.

On the plus side, this spell would make a spirit that would follow him whenever he summoned it, with the ability to change form as needed, with strict limits.

Kyle pulled another scroll out of his bag, a red flame drawn on the end. His first fire spell, not as versatile as the necromancy spell he wanted to learn, but good for a light if he needed one. Fire or death? Honestly, he wasn't that comfortable with summoning undead.

With a sigh, the kitsune set his necromancy scroll back into his bag. Fire first. It was a simple gesture, the flick of a thumb. Kyle was surprised the gesture wasn't a finger snap. But he supposed not everyone could snap their fingers.

His thumb flicked upward, Kyle focusing on warmth and fire. A flame appeared over his thumb, hovering as he felt energy leave him. A second spell added to his repertoire. He would write it into his spellbook after he figured out the next spell. Kyle was grateful he hadn't entered Lankin the night before. Practising his spells would be a little difficult in the town. Especially this next one.

"Step one: Determine the type of element used to make your familiar. Done," he read from the summoning scroll.

Perhaps the spell shouldn't be done in the middle of the road, but the kitsune didn't really have a good alternative. He was sure it wouldn't really matter; he hadn't seen any traffic entering Lankin.

"Step two, determine your familiar's natural form. An animal works best. Fox? Wolf? Wolf... Definitely wolf. Okay, then pick a name for your familiar..."

This was cool, if a little complicated. It was like character customization for the familiars.

"Cast your elemental spell while calling your familiar..."

The kitsune set his scroll against his bag, stretching for a moment. He flicked his thumb, summoning a flame, and spoke slowly.

"Balthazar of the Fire, Wolf among Flames, your master calls to you."

Why not spice up a summoning, the kitsune grinned. Add a little role-playing to the whole thing.

The flame hovering over his thumb suddenly grew in size, falling from his hand. Kyle scrambled back as it took on the shape of a fiery wolf, solidifying as he watched. The fire died down, almost as though it was sucked into the wolf.

A drained feeling rushed through Kyle, his stamina bar dropping by half. The kitsune winced at the steep price of the spell. But he had a familiar now. One that hopefully knew a few tricks.

"Balthazar, sit."

"I ain't a dog for you to boss around," the wolf grumbled, standing tall.

Kyle yelped in shock at the voice. He could have sworn he saw the wolf's eyes roll at his reaction.

"Come on, you're a visitor from another world. Is it so difficult to understand that a familiar is a different form of spirit?"

"I... uh, no. It's not hard to understand. Just unexpected..." Kyle muttered. "So... If you're my familiar, why do I have to maintain the spell to keep you by my side?"

The wolf yawned.

"Oh, I don't know. It might have something to do with the fact that every fibre of my being longs to return to my home."

"Being here doesn't hurt, does it?"

Balthazar chuckled at the thought.

"Could you imagine how sadistic the creator of the world would have to be for my presence to hurt? No, I just itch. It's not the most pleasant sensation, but it is bearable."

"If I sent you back to your... plane... would you return when I call you?"

"Of course. I am bound to your will. But I will not be bossed."

Kyle took a deep breath, picking up the summoning scroll again. He read through it quickly, trying to figure out how to unsummon the wolf.

"I release you to your plane?" he said uncertainly.

"That works."

Balthazar burst into a blazing ball of fire and vanished as the flame was extinguished. Almost immediately, Kyle felt his stamina fill again. slowly but surely. He would have to be careful when he summoned the wolf, but considering Balthazar was supposed to help him in combat, it seemed balanced enough.

A ringing started in his ear, Kyle spotting a picture of Garyn in the corner of his vision. The kitsune held his hand up to his ear.

"Yello."

"Hey, I got my friend here with a tank build if you want to try hunting goblins again," Garyn said through the connection.

"A tank build? I thought the idea was to avoid taking damage."

"Oh, don't worry, s... he is good at avoiding hits."

"Well, we couldn't do much worse than we did yesterday. I'll just make sure I don't push you down another hill."

"Yeah, I'd rather not get beaten by the ground again."

"I'll meet you by the wayshrine outside of Lankin."

"Okay, see you there then."

The connection ended, Kyle turning to the east. It was only a short walk to the shrine. He would be there before Garyn and whoever his friend was. The kitsune just wondered exactly how close Garyn was to this friend. He was ashamed at the thought though. The elf had just lost his girlfriend. But maybe he could use some support? Kyle would totally be there for him.

"You know, when you said foxes, I imagined cartoon foxes prancing around, but this is pretty fucking amazing..."

"Yeah, the graphics are actually in your head or something. I think it has to do with, like, the way dreams work or something," Jacob shrugged, leading Elliot out of the city.

A kitsune wandered past, sharpening a longsword, and Jacob shook his head in disgust.

"Should we help her or let her chop her fingers off?" Elliot asked.

"Fuck it, I don't want to fight with people. She'll figure it out," Jacob muttered.

"I just hope I can figure out how to use a mace," Elliot said, fingering the club at his waist.

"I figure it's like a blade, but with a different weight to it," Jacob shrugged.

He pointed at a shrine, Gaius already leaning against a post in wait.

"That's the mage. He's just learning, but his shield is pretty good," the elf said.

"And he's pretty cute," Elliot said. "For a guy..."

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

Elliot laughed.

"Sure you haven't. You always said it was cool I was such a tomboy. If you don't find that fox cute, there's something wrong with you."

"He's gay though. And a fox."

"So? You can still think he's cute," Elliot shrugged, as Gaius started walking toward them. "I mean, I do. Besides, somewhere in the real world, he isn't a fox."

Jacob shook his head slowly. He noted the small frown on Gaius' face. What was the kitsune upset about?

"Hey, this is Elliot," he introduced. "He'll be getting smacked by goblins for us."

"Hi Elliot," Gaius mumbled awkwardly. "I'm Gaius."

To his credit, Elliot brushed off the awkward introduction.

"Hey. Do you know how to use that bow?" he asked.

"Yeah. At least, I survived the gnolls," Gaius shrugged.

"Good enough. Right?" the elf asked Jacob.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, that's good," Jacob said, tearing his eyes away from Gaius.

His mind was stuck on what Elliot had said. The fox was kind of cute, almost feminine in his build. And he liked Jacob. Well, Garyn, at any rate. Jacob just couldn’t figure out if he was okay with that.

"Let's get going. I figure we have about two hours to hunt the goblins. We should be able to get some decent silver in that time," he said, trying to shake the thoughts from his mind.

Kyle loosed his last arrow from his bow, narrowly missing Elliot as the elf blocked a goblin’s strike. Not that he had been trying to hit Elliot. Kyle wouldn’t stoop that low. He just sucked with a bow.

He wasn’t jealous of Elliot, of how conversation seemed to flow easily between him and Garyn. He wasn’t even upset that he’d felt like a third wheel on the walk out here.

Well, maybe he was a little upset.

“Hey, you want to watch your fire when I’m blocking?” Elliot asked as the goblin exploded into a shower of sparks.

“Sorry dude. I’ll wait until you let him past next time.”

“I had a shield up around you,” Garyn said. “If Gaius hit you, it wouldn’t have done much.”

“Still,” Elliot muttered, turning to where the next three goblins in their rotation had spawned.

“I’m out of arrows,” Kyle said before the fighter could move.

“We’re in a party together, right? You should still get the xp from us killing them.”

“There’s no xp. And besides, I don’t really like our chances of attacking three goblins with only two of us,” Garyn shrugged.

“I mean, I do have one thing that could work,” Kyle said, glancing at his stamina bar.

Nearly half full. If he waited just a little longer…

As his stamina reached the halfway point, the kitsune called, “Balthazar of the Fire, I require your aid!”

Nothing happened.

Kyle frowned, reaching for the scroll in his bag. Reading through it quickly as Elliot and Garyn looked on, the fox shook his head with a sigh.

He flicked out a flame, before trying again.

“Balthazar of the Fire, I require your aid!”

This time, the spell took, the flame increasing to become a fiery wolf. Kyle heard Elliot gasp, the elf taking rapid steps backwards. The fox fell to his knees as his stamina dropped, hovering just above zero. For a moment, the wolf flickered,

“You better not have summoned me just to show off,” the wolf growled as he solidified.

“He talks!” Elliot yelped.

“Yeah, he’s a spirit summoned in the form of a dire wolf,” Garyn shrugged.

“No,” Kyle shook his head at Balthazar’s words. “I need you to help me kill goblins.”

“Goblins, eh? And the elves?”

“Friends of mine. Keep them safe.”

“Shame,” the wolf muttered. “Well, when you’re ready, lead the way.”

“Wait… You have been able to summon this wolf this whole time, and you waited until now to do so?” Elliot demanded.

The elf rolled his eyes, looking at Garyn.

“Uh, maybe try to lead with the familiar next time, Gaius,” Garyn said.

Kyle frowned, looking down.

“Got it,” he sighed. "Should we carry on then?"

"We have, what, about twenty silver each from this?" Garyn asked. "Yeah, let's do one more circuit."

His eyes kept following the kitsune. There was something happening here, and Jacob wasn't sure he liked it.

The wolf spirit charged ahead of them, pinning down a goblin as Elliot held the other two goblins back. Gaius was staring at his familiar, tail flicking in worry. It was almost adorable.

The elf spotted motion coming from a tree. There wasn't supposed to be a fourth goblin hiding here…

An arrow flew out from the tree suddenly and Jacob sprinted at Gaius, knocking the kitsune aside right as the arrow struck his side.

"JACOB!"

"Garyn?" Gaius looked up at the elf, their faces inches apart.

"Heh, I'll be riding the comet again after all," Jacob chuckled as his vision started to darken. "Wait for me by the library?"

He swore he felt the slightest touch of fur on his lips right before everything faded to black.

YOU ARE DEAD.

The words floated past his vision, before he appeared back in the Spirits of Mithzara starting hall.

"Please allow twelve hours before creating a new character," the holographic woman from the start of the game said.

He might need a bit longer than that. Jacob was pretty sure Gaius had just kissed him.