Sad Boners

Chapter 28 - Sad Boners

After our rather stimulating break to rest and eat, Aamalyn and I continued on our way for a little while more. Eventually, she removed my blinders so that I could see the trees around-so densely foresting the area that it was impossible to see very far. Glancing down at the road, I could now understand why my blindfold had been removed. Where we stood was the last bit of flat, compacted path before we reached a crossroads. The path to the left was still pretty smooth-trailing uphill. My guess was that it led to the town with that horrible, skeleton-filled mine. The other trail seemed far more treacherous. Narrow, overgrown, and uneven, there would have been no way for me to walk it without seeing.

Aamalyn led me by the leash along the overgrown path. For the most part, all I saw were trees and other plants. Every now and then, I saw a small trail branch off to cabins. These buildings were clearly in use, with the clothes on the line, smoke rising out of chimneys, and fur drying on various frames. It seemed that these were hunting cabins.

"Are they the people paying us to remove the boners?" I asked, not seeing any signs of any abundance of wealth.

Aamalyn gave a nod. "They likely all put some spare funds together. A job like this would not have cost very much. Fortunately for them, a fresh batch of aspiring sorcerers every year means they don't have to literally spend their life's savings on these sorts of problems. And a mid-low difficulty job like this will only take us a day at most-with earnings enough for us to get by easily for a week and put a small bit away for savings. Not a terrible deal for anyone involved."

I nodded, finding it weirdly interesting how the economy worked in a world based on readily available magic. It was also a relief to know that I wasn't going to be expected to be an extortionist.

We continued on until the trail reached a clearing that made me pause in surprise. In the middle of a small field surrounded by forest, stood a stone tower. This was much more rural than the Temple of Kavtagro or its duplicates. It was comprised of large and roughly cut gray stones-covered in ivy. Judging by the half-buried rubble beneath, my guess was that it used to be part of some fort or castle.

"Every so often, some sorcerer gets a bit bored and decides to be a 'dark lord'." Aamalyn said. I didn't need to see her face to know she was rolling her eyes. "They build some armies, build a castle or two, and then get toppled by the nearest overeager university student with a hero complex. Then they become a celebrity hero for a little bit, sometimes get challenged by a new 'dark lord' and thus the cycle continues. Irritating as it is contrived."

I nodded, genuinely wanting nothing to do with any of it.

Aamalyn continued, "We do get some cool ruins like this out of the deal. But, unfortunately, they do sometimes leave a mess or two to clean up. This latest up-and-comer seems to like necromancy and has been leaving boners all over the place."

I giggled.

Aamalyn glanced back for a moment before she seemed to catch on, and gave a small smile. "That leaves the Other Place and the University with some spare work. The difference being the former hires competent scouts instead of relying on student-scouts or the word of the parties making requests." Her face went dark, even more so than when she normally talked about Kink University with disdain.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

Aamalyn shook her head. "Just ... what I said to you before you left there. They really should never have allowed you to have been in that position. Not for your first quest. It was dangerous and it could have-" she clenched her fists and seemed to hold this final thought.

I gave a reluctant nod; it had been an oversight that ... really could have killed me. Even Daava had thought as much, clearly, having immediately marched up to the upper faculty to chew them out. Still, it kind of took me off-guard to think that this mistake and the danger to me had hurt Aamalyn so profoundly.

"Also ..." Aamalyn said, her voice sounding strained. "The University is awful, but I shouldn't have pushed as hard as I did to get you to leave. Especially with how shaken you must have been. I'll admit that it hurt at the time but ... you were ... right to safeword me out."

I smiled at her and replied, "Thank you."

Aamalyn nodded and let out a heavy exhale. It seemed like it had been difficult for her to say.

I thought it a good moment to ask about her history with the University, and almost did when we suddenly came to a stop behind a tree, right where the open field began. Beyond, I now saw arrows poking out of the ground.

Aamalyn leaned against the tree and motioned over her shoulder at the tower. "The tower is used by the hunters around here to ambush prey. So the boners in there have full access to an arsenal of bows and arrows."

I lifted my index finger and furrowed my brow. "So ... then ... how are we supposed to reach them?"

Aamalyn tapped her chin. "I'm going to go alone, at first. I could outmaneuver most of the hunters around here, so a few boners won't be a problem. When I get inside the tower, I'll cast a blinding spell. When you see it go off, start sprinting this way. Then we'll fight our way through the tower."

I nodded, unable to keep from touching my lower back, where I has the faintest bit of scarring from the claws of the boner I had gored.

Aamalyn walked over to me, circled around behind, and placed her palms over the scars. Then she touched her cheek to mine and whispered, "I'm not going to let anything like that happen to you again. If it gets too intense, you run back here and wait for me, little Clover."

A pleasant chill ran through my body, and I gave a nod.

Without further preamble, Aamalyn dashed into the clearing.

Immediately, I heard a creaking noise coming from the tower, followed by a whoosh.

True to her claims, Aamalyn twirled and seemed to effortlessly dance between the projectiles. It did not take her long to reach the tower. Once she was inside, I lost sight of her completely. Then there was a blinding flash-my cue!

Despite myself, I couldn't help but cover my head as I dashed toward the tower. My heart was racing and, at a certain point, I wondered how it was that I was foolish enough to let myself be killed by arrows. But no arrows came, and I was soon in the tower.

Inside, there was an old wooden table and a stone staircase that spiraled up the outer edge of the room. Two boners were shuffling down the stairs already, and one was in pieces at Aamalyn's feet. Her palms were extended toward them, and I heard her mumble, "Fucking shit!"

The boners descended toward her, both with sets of sharp claws at the ready.

I rushed to Aamalyn's side-glancing between her and the boners. Was this some kind of test for me?

Frantic, I knelt-channeling the energy of my bubble magic and amplifying it as I glanced up at the beautiful elf. This made it far easier to amplify my magic than in my fight with the Non-sorcerer. At the last moment, I redirected my energy at the closest boner-the pulse of power smashing it into the stone wall with splintering force.

To my surprise, Aamalyn reached down and grabbed onto my leash. She then extended the opposite hand, so that her palm was aimed at the remaining enemy, and let out a furious shout.

The boner seemed to ignore this, and continued its approach. To make matters worse, four more boners had entered into the stairway from above and were making their way down.

"Goddess?" I asked, not sure what I was supposed to do.

The boner was close now.

Aamalyn screamed and pressed her palm toward the skeleton even more insistently.

"Aamalyn!'' I shouted, but it was too late.

The boner swiped at her outstretched arm-slicing into it with its claws.

Rage and panic boiled inside me all as one. I rose from my kneeling position, cocked my head to the side, and used one of my horns to tear into the skeleton's sternum. With a violent jerk, I ripped my way upward until I had dislodged its head.

Meanwhile, Aamalyn just stood there, frozen. A look of horrific emptiness on her face. She didn't even seem to register that we had four more attackers left.

Not knowing what else to do, I again knelt. Even as I began to circulate my magic through memories, I could feel that it was far less powerful than moments earlier. My fear and my confusion were drowning out my sense of arousal, and I realized that I no longer perceived Aamalyn as a presence by whom I could amplify it.

It wasn't until the four remaining boners were within reach that I was able to feel the bubble and release it. The diminished energy was enough to send the two walking along the edge of the stairs stumbling and then falling off the side to be dashed on the hard floor below. The other two, however, braced themselves against the stone wall and then let out furious hisses.

I swung my head out over where the other two had fallen-gathering what little bubble energy I could-and then swung my head sideways as a battering ram. This caught the first boner as it tried to raise its claws-my horns and small bubble working together to smash its arms and ribcage against the wall.

The second boner, however, had pulled back its arm for a swing that would soon cut my face or throat to slivers. Instead, however, it shot backwards-its skull imploding as it let out a final scream. It landed on the stairs, unmoving. In the midst of the explosion of splinters and skull chips, rolled a metal ball bearing ... that began to clack as it bounced down the stone stairs.

Slowly, I turned around to look at Aamalyn. Our eyes met and I only saw her expression of profound shame for only a second before she turned around and began to run.

"Aamalyn!" I shouted, but it was too late.

Aamalyn ... the Non-sorcerer ... was gone. And by the time I reached the door to try to chase her, she was already a shadow that quickly moved beyond the woods. Even if I were not the slowest runner I knew, there was no catching her.

-O-

As I walked slowly through the woods, still naked except for the silk covering my girlstick, I tried to figure out what had just happened. I felt confused ... and was trying not to let my hurt and anger get mixed into my efforts to piece things together.

Aamalyn's anger and cursing in the tower-they had been the same as when she had lit the fire in her home. Had she been trying to light it with a fireball, only to fail? And if she knew she was going to fail, why had she been so insistent in still trying it against the boners?

Up until then, she had clearly been using fake magic. The 'blinding spell' was clearly some device or alchemical mixture-makeshift flash grenade. But in the tower ... it was as if she had genuinely believed the magic would come. It simply hadn't.

Aamalyn had told me that she would protect me ... and that wasn't her only lie, either! What about what had happened at the naga's barn? It seemed that Aamalyn had been the one to steal me from the barn ... and then lied in telling me that she had taken me away from the Non-sorcerer. In retrospect, I realized that there had been so many signs. Surely anyone else would have figured it out; but not me! I was the eternally gullible one, even when all the signs were there.

My anger finally got the better of me, and I reached up toward my collar. There was a moment of pause as the enchantment on it tried to fight my body's attempt. But I was not having it. I forced my arm up until the front lock was in my grasp. With a simple squeeze of the clasp, the collar released.

I looked down at the magical bondage device, still in my hand, and realized that it was not lockable in the first place. Meaning, it was designed so that when someone was really ready for it to be gone... For whatever reason, the discovery irritated me as much as everything else happening. I threw the collar as hard as I could against a tree-the leash trailing behind it. Inwardly, I hoped I had broken the damn thing.

I looked down at what I was wearing ... and wanted to think that I would have destroyed the silks, had they not been my only covering. But even as I fumed, I knew I still wouldn't have. They had come from Aamalyn herself and ... my worry for her was enough for me to realize that I still cared about her.

Still ... I was going to angrily throw sticks at trees for the next few miles of my walk.

-O-

It was evening before I made it back to the Other Place. I was hungry, tired, thirsty, and swearing to myself that I would never let someone pack my supplies for a quest or job ever again. I was also in too irate a mood to worry about hiding my face. I resisted glancing at my tail-which was twitching irately in a way I wouldn't have been able to help but find cute.

I had barely taken a few steps into the outskirts, where the roughest of the shacks were built, when someone stepped in front of me. He was an elf of a different variety than Aamalyn. Pale skin, a bit taller, white hair, red eyes. He wore a celestial robe that was not of the Temple of Kavtagro-lined with fur and embroidered with different patterns and colors.

The elf pulled a wand from his sleeve, aimed it at me, and said, "Aren't you a cute little thing? You look like you'd make the best little maid, at least with some training. I think I will challenge you." A spark ignited from the tip of his wand.

A few people passing by paused, turning to see what was happening.

I let out an angry huff, made my best effort to steel myself, and finally put my hands up in a show of surrender.

"Aw, I was hoping for more of a fight," the elf said, reaching into his pocket for a collar and leash. He walked toward me.

When he was within reach, I let out a left hook right into his delicate stomach. Now doubled over, the elf's chin was in perfect reach for a following right-hook.

The elf shot backwards from the bone-rattling strike and landed on his back. There, his eyes shot wide open as he tried to gasp for breath.

I walked over, making a point to step on his wand and snap it in two. It was, perhaps, a little mean. And my attack, admittedly, a bit underhanded. But I understood how this place worked now, and was under no particular feeling of obligation to take any sort of high-road. Especially for a lousy, artifact-using upper-class fuck.

I then turned my glare at the closest person watching-a human guy who jumped when I looked at him. "Do you know Aamalyn?" I asked, my hand still balled into a fist.

"Uh," the human began, looking like a deer in headlights.

I exhaled in frustration. "Elf, tall, stars on her skin, curly ringlets of hair, wears lots of leather."

"Oh, uh, yeah," the man replied, almost as if he was surprised that he had the information. He extended a shaky hand out toward a row of shacks not far away. "She lives in the wooden one with the red roof, I think."

"Thank you," I said curtly, and then marching toward the house. A guplium and minotaur, who had both been watching the fight, both took a big step back as I walked between them.