[Jean] Chapter 9: Martial Prowess

pringerbeam · December 26, 2018, 10:16:28 PM

"Not at all. I wasn't a very good student of anything really. I spent all my time reading books, and not the ones that I was supposed to be reading." He let the breeze chill him as it swept his sweaty face. "Nor was I that good at sports or any other physical activities... This all seems to come from my status as a hero it would seem."

"Sure, I don't see why not. Who knows, maybe I'll learn something while I'm there. Does Ren need to come too?" Jean asked as he walked up to the house. He entered in and stopped in his tracks. The house was a shelter to the constant wind he experienced outside and in the exposed training hall and with the lack of a wind to air him out, he realized his own body odor for the first time since being summoned. "Um... Before dinner, I don't suppose I could take a bath?" He said as he stepped back out into the cool evening breeze where hopefully his stench wouldn't offend anyone.

Throndir · December 26, 2018, 10:26:51 PM

"It's been hundreds of years since my people had last summoned a hero... Some of these details are lost. I think when I get back to our house I'll probably write in my notebook." She paused for a second, and she seemed to blush slightly.

"Well, umm, my house... that you're staying in too." She said correcting herself.

"Of course... The bath is at the back. There's a large tub... Let me prepare it for you real quick?"

"Umm..." Anja looked hesitantly at Ren, and Ren in return stared right back at her.

"Well.. I..."

Ren continued to stare, almost pleadingly.

"Well.. okay... She is kinda a part of you- Whoa!" Ren had jumped forward, squeezing the poor girl into a tight hug.

This dice roll has been tampered with!
Ren Mental Resist 1d20+8 : 10 + 8, total 18

Throndir · December 26, 2018, 10:28:46 PM

To her credit, Ren didn't let her tentacles interfere. And Anja began to slightly blush from the sudden attention.

"Okay... Umm... Miss tentacle lady..." Anja paused for a moment and decided to hug Ren back.

"It's not that big of a deal... really.. You can come along with us too, okay... Ren?"

Throndir · December 26, 2018, 10:30:19 PM

pringerbeam · December 26, 2018, 11:40:45 PM

Jean smiled at Ren's actions, proud of her achievements, and then looked out into the night sky. "I can't believe I didn't bath yesterday. It's something I rarely ever missed before... Back in my original world, we had this thing called plumbing and it let us have hot baths and showers whenever we wanted. I guess I'll need to get used to this... Come to think of it there are a lot of things I probably will never get to use again. The internet, electricity, buses, trains... All of those are now only existing in memory... It's kinda weird."

Throndir · December 27, 2018, 05:27:04 PM

"Intern-net..." Dalina repeated the strange word you spoke of. The translation magic didn't seem to trigger for concepts or words that had no direct translation. When Dalina repeated it, it was in your own language, and you didn't detect the strange sensation of seeing her mouth move a certain way, but you end up hearing different words.

"Bathing daily... Alright, I'll get that setup. Anja you can start preparing the food, and you can probably give the slime-creature a fresh blanket... I'll go to the market tomorrow and see if the slime creature will eat anything else. Oh... but that reminds me, the slime creature is your pet, Jean? It is kinda like how Ren appeared with you too?"

Dalina then left to prepare the bath, while Anja began serving up plates of her cooking. This time around it was roast chicken, with some of the stew from last night, but seemed to have been augmented slightly with some other ingredients.

QuoteIf you happen to follow Dalina, or watch her. You could interrupt her too if you wanted.

At the bath Dalina began preparing the water. There was a giant wooden tub, with a seat in it that allowed for easy sitting. At the side of it, looked to be a way for water to flow into it. It looked like it was controlled by what seemed like some sort of miniature floodgate with a pool of water at the top. The contraption was separated into various small pools, and there seemed to be a place where the fire would heat up each individual pool.

She began lighting up each of the sections, beginning to heat the water. The entire process would take perhaps 30 minutes, but after that, it would be warm enough to start bathing in.

pringerbeam · December 27, 2018, 08:33:26 PM

"Yeah the internet. It let you read things from anywhere on the planet if you knew where to look. Though a lot of people used it for other things, like playing games or watching porn. Though who needs RPGs when your world is a giant MMO? And the porn? Well... I don't think that would do much for me now either... As for the slime, well I don't know. She was from this world. I met her after I was summoned the first time. I don't know how long she had been in this world though. I think she was native to a region that had just appeared."

Jean watched Dalina set about making the bath. "This sure seems elaborate. How often do you bath? Where I'm from it's considered kinda gross when people don't bathe that often." He looked at the various basins. "Maybe there is a quicker way to do this... It's too bad we don't have an electric kettle..." Jean watched the water slowly heat up until he was hit with an idea. "Oh! I know! Why not use magic?" Before Dalina could answer he reached into the place of his incantations. "Fire! Water! Boiling spittle of the beaked cobra that chases the stone. Scalding water!"

Not sure if this would be a cantrip level spell, but trying to summon hot water for the bath.

Spellcraft Check

Rolled 1d20+13 : 5 + 13, total 18

Throndir · December 28, 2018, 12:44:29 AM

"You said so many weirds words I'm kinda confused... Your world is kinda complicated... But it's... a she?" Dalina had stared at the slime-creature. "It makes plopping sounds, but I guess you could understand that too."

"It's gross to not bath often? O-oh..." Dalina seemed to get embarrassed.

"Umm... we usually we don't take bathes actually... We get a damp cloth and clean ourselves with it. Oh! But once in awhile I heat this up, and soak in it though! Haha..." Dalina was definitely embarrassed.

When you finished casting, a stream of hot boiling water appeared. The waters mixed.

"Fire magic!" Dalina said. "Of course! You're a hero... I should have realized..." She grinned. "Everyone here has an affinity for Air magic, no one else can use anything else but that. Air magic can be useful too you know? But I admit, it must be nice being able to use fire whenever..."

Then she realized something.

"Wait, did you just invoke two elements? That's actually kinda amazing. Since you're the hero, you should be able to use the main elements. But invoking more than one at the same time in a single spell is rare, even among masters."

QuoteAdded the spell as Tier 0 to your list, though any spell can be effectively be any tier, it just mainly dictates how strong it can be overcharged, along with if it can contain special spell effects.

pringerbeam · December 28, 2018, 11:03:02 AM

"It seems I can understand most languages, a skill I definitely did not have back in my world, I call it a she only because that is the general form that she has taken in the past. Or well... The form I believe she will eventually be able to take. Her species seems capable of some kind of replication that I don't completely understand."

Jean dipped the tip of his finger into the hot water and let some of the cooler water flow into the tub to get it to a more appropriate bathing temperature. "Yeah, I learned that from the person that first summoned me. Apparently I can use most of the elements." Jean started to take off his shirt but then stopped and looked at Dalina. "Um... Not sure about when you wash yourselves but uh... Where I'm from bathing requires you to be naked so..."

Throndir · December 28, 2018, 07:58:44 PM

"O-oh r-right..." Dalina said blushing. She stood up then, but instead of leaving, she began to remove her cloak.

"Hop right in..." She mumbled while still blushing.

"IT'S NOT LIKE I HAVEN'T SEEN EVERYTHING ALREADY." Her face was red.

pringerbeam · December 29, 2018, 12:01:38 AM

Jean quickly turned away also blushing. "Umm... Well uh... I mean that's true but... Well..." He looked down at the bath. "Where I'm from it's not appropriate for a boy and girl to bathe together like this unless... Well unless they are... Together"

Throndir · December 29, 2018, 01:18:03 AM

"O-oh-" Dalina started to blush even more red, if that was possible. "N-no! I m-mean, not that I wouldn't mind- I mean... T-that's not what I mean! I j-just meant..."

She was still red but she took a deep breath to calm herself.

"I'm just... not good at anything else... And this is my calling, to help the hero... to help you in any way I can." She started to get red again.

"I can u-umm..."

pringerbeam · December 29, 2018, 02:23:19 AM

"I... Um... Sure... That's fine I guess..." Stammered Jean as he took off his shirt and the rest of his clothes, trying to put the tub between himself and Dalina as best he could before getting into the tub himself. Despite his nerves, the warmth of the water quickly relaxed him and he let himself sink down into the water as deep as the tub would allow. He let out a long breath. "I guess nothing ever will beat a good hot bath... I can't believe your people don't have a strong bathing culture..." He said as he looked up into the night sky.

Throndir · December 30, 2018, 12:08:30 AM

Being so high up in elevation, the night skies themselves looked absolutely amazing. Not only was there no light pollution, the fact that there were hardly any trees, gave you a full view of the stars. The stars were breathtaking, though, none of them were familiar at all. The moon too looked larger than it actually was.

Dalina was still blushing, but she managed to sit behind you on a chair next to the tub. There was a bar that you assumed was soap, and she took that.

"No... Our life is usually a peaceful and simple one... Apart from the learning and training that we all do, there are those who grow the fields, raise the livestock, work with the hatcheries, and the like. We share with each other what we have, we don't have a currency either, and we don't partake in extravagances very often, much like this bath... In fact, most homes don't even have this tub."

Taking the bar of soap you felt her begin to scrub. You noticed that the bar of soap didn't seem to lather as much at all compared to the soap you were used to.

pringerbeam · December 30, 2018, 01:07:58 PM

Jean continued to look at the sky. "Yeah but what about taking the time to relax? All this time spent on sustenance and spiritualism... When do you take time for yourself? Even if this is consisted an extravagant luxury, it's just as important to do stuff that makes life worth living as it is to pursue your duties and spiritual goals." Jean leaned forward and tested his chin on the edge of the tub as he continued to muse. "Besides, back in my world, bathing was more than just washing yourself for a lot of people. Our lives, while peaceful by the standards of this world, were blighted by a different kind of chaos and stess. For many, myself included, taking a bath at the end of the day was a shield to protect against that... Even people that don't have the kinds of problems I did took this time though. It was special. While it wasn't a common custom in my country, many went to communal baths where they could bond in a moment of shared nakedness... And when not at such a public place, bathing with someone else was a deeply romantic thing that lovers would do in the privacy of their own home. Where you see extravagance, I see more than just luxury. I see a moment of stillness in a world of endless movement..." Jean turned his eyes up to the unfamiliar starscape as he set his chin on his crossed arms resting on the edge of the tub. "It's spiritual in its own way..."