Champions Vol. 01

Sapphire missed the entire exchange because she was thoroughly engrossed in her own gifts.

When she unwrapped her gifts she had discovered a full set of clothing. There was a black coat with a blue liner and a hood that looked like it would reach mid-thigh on her, a pair of black leather breeches with some type of reinforced padding, a black leather bodice, a blue silk chemise, a pair of over-the-knee black leather boots, a pair of black leather bracers, and finally a wide band of black leather that was an odd cross between a corset and a belt. It had a holster for an M9 on the left side (cross-draw style), with pistol magazine pouches next to it. In the front there were pouches for M4 magazines, and sheathes that held four knives identical to David's custom Thunderbolt throwing knives on the right. In the back there seemed to be some kind of adjustment mechanism, as well as detachable shoulder straps that could attach in the front and back, crisscrossing between her shoulder blades. All of the leather had been intricately tooled with a multitude of designs. There were images of hearts and flowers, as well as dragons and weapons. Hidden within the tooling were so many Enochian glyphs that she simply couldn't begin to make them all out. Looking up at David he simply shrugged and said, "If you put it on it will be a lot easier to explain."

Taking a minute to think about it, she looked at the pieces as a whole and realized that it was actually a beautiful outfit. Except for the belt thing, the leatherwork matched the rest of the ensemble, but it was too bulky and unflattering with all the weapons and ammo pouches. Deciding to do as instructed she gathered up the bundle and took it into the tent with her to change. A few minutes later she came back out and both David and Laurena looked at her, stunned.

Laurena gathered her wits first, "it looks beautiful Sapphire," she exclaimed.

"Thank you," Sapphire replied, feeling better about the outfit.

"You look amazing my love," David finally found his voice.

"I know," she replied with a smirk. "Now I believe it's time for an explanation."

"Right," he muttered to himself, moving forward to describe his creation. "The jacket is reversible, so it can be worn with either the black side out, or the blue side out. It is also enchanted to be comfortable against your body, but resistant to damage. I've tested it, and it can take a full strength strike from a sword without a single blemish. The space between the two layers is padded and enchanted to reduce the force of any blow that falls upon it, as in no broken bones. It will also stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

"The pants have similar enchantments, hence the reinforced padding. I used 1/8 inch neoprene for the padding and a silk lining for comfort because I know how sexy you look in skin tight leather, and I wanted to keep seeing you in it," he said with a grin.

She huffed and playfully slapped his arm, but her faux outrage was quickly betrayed by a triumphant little smile.

"Moving on," he said, laughing, "the boots are enchanted the same as the coat and pants, with an added enchantment for strength and speed. If those work the way I want them to it will make your kicks and knee strikes more powerful, as well as making you faster on your feet. The bracers are similarly enchanted. The bodice has the same enchantments as Laurena's belt; which are strength, speed, health, durability, and cleanliness. It should work the same. The shirt has no enchantment; I just thought the outfit needed a little something extra so I added it at the last minute. The whole outfit can be worn with or without it."

He stopped here, allowing both women to process what he had said. Sapphire had not worn the utility harness with the rest of the outfit, so he decided to wait to tell her about it until she asked.

After a few minutes inspecting their gifts, and each others, Sapphire finally went back to the tent and retrieved the harness. Holding it up for David to see, Sapphire told him, "This was very thoughtful, but it really doesn't fit. Everything else fits me perfectly, and looks amazing on me. But this just doesn't fit right. I'm sorry."

Smiling David reached over and took it from her, then leaned in kissed her gently. "It's ok beautiful, I just need to show you how to use it." Turning her around her helped her shrug out of her coat, and then fitted the harness around her waist. Tightening the adjustment straps in the back, he made sure that it was as secure as he could make it without hurting her. Then he adjusted the shoulder straps so they overlapped the bodice straps, blending in with them. Then he stepped back and whispered a word in Enochian.

The tactical harness flattened, and molded to Sapphires trim figure.

Staring in amazement, she ran her hands across it, and could feel all the pouches, knives, magazines, and the pistol, but looking at the harness it appeared painted onto her bodice. Looking up in amazement she saw David grinning in triumph.

"What did you do?"

"I modified the enchantment that your mother put on your saddlebags so that everything on the harness only takes up a space that's 1/8 inch thick. You can still feel everything normally, take things out and put them back in like normal, but the casual observer will just think it is an overly decorative bodice."

Looking down at it again, she realized that all the leather tooling on her clothes did in fact help to conceal the outlines of the pistol and knives. The magazine pouches weren't even noticeable.

"It can also be worn on the outside of the coat, but it will be more obvious if you do. It carries all of the same enchantments as the other pieces, with the additional enchantment to compact itself activated by the command word [speaking Enochian] beautiful."

Nodding she spoke the word, and saw the harness change back to normal. Now that it was fitted to her it really was not that unsightly, but with the enchantment it was practically invisible. Noticing movement in her peripheral vision she looked back up to see David walking back from behind the tent. He was carrying another bundle that was about five feet long. Once he reached them he opened it, and drew forth two weapons.

The first was a short sword. Handing it to Sapphire she noticed that the sheath was made from the same leather as the rest of her ensemble, with the same detailed tooling as well. Drawing the blade she saw that it was enchanted with the same Enochian glyphs as David's knife. It was only 26 inches in overall length - the exact size of the escrima sticks she had been training with - but seemed a perfect fit for her. Giving it a few test swings she was amazed at how light it was, and how fast it moved. Turning back to her love her face beamed sunshine and happiness at her final gift.

Returning her smile he leaned over and kissed her, and then drew forth the last gift of the night from the bundle. It was an intricately carved white ash wood bo staff, with a multitude of designs and motifs along the entire length, which cleverly concealed a few surprises. Handing it to Laurena he told her, "This is for you, and I have no idea how well it will work."

Taking it from his hands gingerly, she carefully inspected the engravings along its length. There were images of Eros from the temples at Wolfsvale and Exitibus etched into the wood, as well as multiple Enochian glyphs hidden within the carvings.

"It has the standard enchantments, strength, speed, high durability, but it also has five command words. The first is [speaking Enochian] fang one."

When he said this an eight inch double edged blade sprang from one end of the staff. Laurena jumped at its sudden appearance, but relaxed quickly once she realized what had happened. Inspecting the blade, she realized it was made from the same metal as her knife. Smiling at David she nodded for him to continue.

"The next two commands are [Enochian] fang two and away," he explained.

Fang two caused a second, identical eight inch blade to spring from the opposite side of the staff, and away caused both blades to retract. Looking closely at the ends of the staff, she couldn't see where the blades appeared from, or disappeared to, but she could see a small, 1/32 inch line bisecting the end of the staff. Looking at David questioningly he explained, "I used a similar enchantment for the blades as I used for Sapphire's harness. It should give you an extra edge if you need it."

Laurena nodded in approval, and then asked "What do the last two commands do?"

Smiling David had her change her grip on the staff. Moving her hands over two carvings that she now realized were actually strategically placed to improve her grip on the weapon, David then spoke the next command word, "[Enochian] Twain." The staff separated cleanly in the middle, turning into two 26 inch escrima sticks. Twirling them like David taught her, she noticed the balance was slightly heavier toward the ends. She imagined it was because of the hidden blades. "The last command word is [Enochian] meld, and it will rejoin the two parts back together, but only if the correct ends are touching."

Laurena nodded in understanding, and after a few more test swings she touched the two inner ends together, and spoke the command word to reconnect her staff.

"Test it out, try using it in different ways when you get the time to practice with it, just keep in mind I'm not sure how successful I was with the enchantments. Some of them may stop working eventually. I never got a chance to talk to Zaffre about enchantments that change the state of objects, so some of these creations were just fanciful attempts to see if they were even possible."

Both women nodded at his words, then spent the next hour checking, rechecking, and testing their new gifts. His durability enchantments seemed to work quite well, for all the items, and Sapphire's sword made short work of a few nearby trees. Afterwards the gifts were packed away, dinner was cooked and eaten, and David was given a thorough 'thank you' by a very appreciative Sapphire. Much later - after the couple had finished and all three were laying in bed - Laurena told him that she would have to ask Sapphire to thank him on her behalf another night. Sapphire replied that Laurena could thank him herself the next time they were near a temple. David emulated a paragon of virtue and wisdom by keeping his mouth shut.

*** Chapter 36: Movement to Contact ***

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The Calavius Road, Erosius

The group got an early start the next day, returning to the Calavius Road and resuming their journey. Sapphire explained that there would be three days of travel along the Calavius Road until they reached the old road leading to the abandoned fishing village. From there it was anyone's guess how long it would take, since that road was never used anymore and she had no idea of its condition. However, their time on that road would be shortened, because they would turn off at the halfway point and travel overland westward to the Field of Woe. She admitted that she had only heard rumors and stories about its location from Astinus, but she believed that she could get them close enough to find it within a few days after that.

David merely nodded at her words, suddenly lost in thought. He had been so focused on getting back home that he never really thought about what he would be leaving behind. Would Sapphire want to go back to Earth with him? Could she even go? Did he even want to go anymore? He didn't have answers to any of these questions, but he also knew he had to try. He had been gone for nearly a month now, and he knew the minute that search and rescue recovered his team they would find his note. Then every combat able body in the area would have started searching for him. How many men had died looking for him, while he was fucking stuck in the Land of Oz?

He imagined they had stopped the full on search after a week or two, but they would never stop looking. He had to return, or at least get a message back. He had to do something.

The next week of travel was blessedly quiet. They passed a handful of peaceful travelers on the road, and despite the odd looks they received the people they met were generally friendly. David couldn't really blame them though. He was an odd sight in his Multi-Cam combat gear with his Mk48 laid across the saddle in front of him. Added to that, Sapphire rode beside him with his M4 slung across her back and her sword at her hip, while Laurena had her staff in a scabbard on her horse as well as her belt with the knife and pistol. Considering all that, they were certainly worthy of a few strange looks.

Once they turned off the Calavius Road on the fourth day, there were no other travelers. Unfortunately, the closer they got to the Field of Woe the stranger things became.

At first, it was just an unsettling feeling, as though someone was standing behind them and watching them. But as they traveled further, it turned into a feeling of annoyance, and eventually anger. On the seventh day - their last day of travel on the side road - David and Sapphire had their first argument; and many unkind words were spoken. Remembering the story that Astinus had told them, Laurena realized what was happening and cast a spell of mental protection. It caused her anger to fade immediately, and she quickly cast the spell again on Sapphire and David.

It was as though someone dumped a bucket of ice water on them both. They immediately ceased arguing, and spent the next ten minutes apologizing to each other profusely. As soon as Laurena could interject safely, she explained what she had done, and David took over the spell of protection for them all. He began working on a more permanent solution when they stopped that evening.

The next morning he handed both women simple gold rings with spells of mental protection engraved into the bands. He explained that he would need to continue to empower them for at least a few days, but he would keep them protected with his magic in the interim.

***

David was nervous. The trio had traveled westward all day, and he had to dump more and more of his power into the protective spell as they went. At first it had been effortless to protect everyone from the persuasive magic, but now he had to consciously attend to the spell. He could feel something constantly pushing at his magic, trying to break through it. He began to feel as though he had built a dam against flood waters, and he had to continuously check and reinforce the structure or else it would overflow and crumble.

He had also dumped as much of his magic into the rings as he could that day. He was starting to gain a feeling of how his magic interacted with items. He felt that it was easier to enchant items that he conjured himself, but how sturdy the material was made a difference as well. The steel of Sapphire's sword was able to absorb more magic faster than the aluminum of his own blades. The gold rings were much slower than both. He also got a sense of each enchantment's capacity. He could tell that the single enchantment on the rings would require less magic to fill than the multiple enchantments he had combined on the other items. This knowledge allowed him to predict that the rings would be marginally effective by the end of the day, and full in two additional days.

Unfortunately, the feeling of being watched had returned. Two hours before they stopped for the night it had begun. He had dumped as much of his magic into the protection spell as he could, but with no noticeable effect. Suspicious of it, he insisted that they reinstitute guard shifts at night. It did not go over well.

"David the system we've been using for the last two weeks works fine," Sapphire argued. "There is no need for a guard."

"What about the people that attacked the group of treasure seekers from Wolfsvale?" he responded.

"You mean the story told by a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers in order to cover up their misdeeds?" Sapphire replied acidly.

"Yes that," David answered with a sigh. "I am not entirely sure I believe it either, but I've felt like I was being watched for the last few hours, and dumping a ton of extra power into the protection spell is doing nothing to stop it. Maybe it is nothing, or maybe there really is someone out there watching us. Guard shifts are an inconvenience, but they are better than being snuck up on in our sleep."

"Then set more of your 'trip-wires' up. Set them further out if you have to. Do whatever else you need to do, just don't make me try to go to sleep without you," Sapphire continued to argue.

She refused to admit it, but she was afraid to sleep without him. Something about sharing a bed with him helped to keep the nightmares at bay, and she had no desire for them to return. She especially didn't want them to come back when there was an oppressive, evil presence trying to batter through his magic.

"I can understand both of your arguments," Laurena finally joined the conversation, "but I am forced to agree with David, Sapphire. Something has felt...off...this evening. His explanation makes sense, and after hearing about how Priest Pelagios was killed I have been a little nervous myself at night. I think this is the safer decision at this point, and hopefully it should only be necessary for a little while."

Sapphire was annoyed that Laurena took David's side in the argument, but as she was out-voted two-to-one she finally accepted the decision. He chose to take the second shift, after showing Laurena how to use his night vision device. He emphasized that she should only use it if absolutely necessary, explaining that if the battery ran down he only had a few replacements left. He had already burned through his first AA battery for it, and he only carried two spares. Then he joined Sapphire on the bed, insisting that they both sleep fully clothed, just in case. Three hours later Laurena woke him for his shift.

David was spooned up behind Sapphire, with her head resting on one of his arms. Moving slowly, he eased himself away from her sleeping form and slid out of bed. Throwing on his boots he took the NODs from Laurena and reattached them to the mount on his helmet. Then he whispered a quiet 'good night' to her grabbed his gear, the Mk48, and slipped outside the tent.

It was a cool night, and he could see his breath in the moonlight. After slipping on his IOTV and helmet, and belting on his pistol, he slung the Mk48 and began walking the perimeter. First he checked his trip-lines, making sure they were still in place. Then he moved past them into the lightly wooded surroundings. He had hoped to find a more densely wooded area to set camp in, but this region was fairly sparse on foliage. The smattering of trees they had found was barely enough to set up the trip-lines, and he was worried how visible the tent would be in the moons-light. He wanted to see how visible their camp was in the night.

Moving slowly, he listened to the sounds around him. With the cooling temperatures there was little fauna out and about, but he could hear the hooting of a night owl and the wind whispering through the sparse trees. Once he had moved about one hundred meters out from the camp, he turned back and looked. The tent was barely visible, the few trees doing a decent job of concealing it. He still had the feeling of being watched, but he resigned himself to the fact that there was little he could do about it. Taking a quick look around, he decided here was as good a place as any to answer nature's call.

While relieving the pressure on his bladder David allowed his mind to wander. Rather than thinking of anything specific, he tried to let his mind go blank. Peaceful. Who knows what would have happened next if he had done otherwise.