Gearing Up

John surveyed the collection of gear laid out upon his bed. Once he, Brenda and Kiera had reunited and paid for their clothing, a process slowed somewhat by Brenda refusing to let John pay for everything, they made their way home without incident. The neighborhood looked as it always did when they returned and John had been unable to detect anything with Arcane Sense as they parked.

While not a sign the Order wasn’t watching them, John felt a bit better about it as they went inside and he excused himself to go and sort through his collected gear to choose what to bring along, as well as doing any needed repairs.

“Let’s see,” he muttered aloud. “Obviously bringing Senka’s vessel and the spare Greatwood Sword as the weapons of choice. The flame glove is just too useful to not bring along and I think having the zilhavrum sword might be good as a backup, in case something goes horribly wrong.”

‘I’m not opposed to being prepared,’ Senka remarked. ‘But do you think we’ll need to fight?’

‘Didn’t think we’d need to fight yesterday going to the store and look what happened,’ John replied.

‘Touche,’ Senka thought.

‘Same reason I’ve been charging the battery,’ John pointed out, looking down at the Mana Cell Battery he held clutched in his hand. He’d been channeling a point of mana every minute since they had left the store. With his mana regen at around a mana every two minutes, he was on the losing end of the exchange, but a few uses of Bask helped to keep his mana close to full through the process and now the battery was nearly full.

Focusing back on the pile on his bed, John willed the weapons into his inventory and moved to his clothing options.

‘I’ll bring a spare shirt, but the new pants should be enough,’ he thought. ‘And grabbing the steelwood armor pieces follows the same logic as the extra weapon. And there’s no way I’m not taking my jacket.’

‘I think the Mantle might be something interesting to bring along,’ Senka chimed in. ‘If nothing else, the defensive power could come in handy.’

‘Got a point there,’ John replied and stowed the two pieces of outerwear. ‘That’s clothes and weapons. What else should we take?’

‘No reason to not have the amulet or sage ring on,’ Senka thought, prompting John to nod. ‘And the staff for healing should probably be something we always have on hand.’

‘Definitely,’ John agreed as he looked over the remaining bits and bobs. His eyes landed on the carved wooden disk he got from Friday’s dungeon.

‘This thing had some interesting effects, didn’t it?’ John mused as he picked it up by its silvery cord.

‘The bump to Strength and Charisma alone is good,’ John thought as he turned the disk over in his hand.

‘If I recall correctly, the other two Attributes and the Evocation all deal with increasing combat power,’ Senka added.

‘Yeah. The aura one boosts other’s resolve, Mark of Combat gives me a small Strength boost for beating enemies and Forest’s Boon buffs everyone in range,’ John rattled off. After a moment of internal debate, John added it to his inventory.

‘That brings me up to twenty one items,’ John continued. ‘Can’t think of anything else that would be useful to bring.’

‘Perhaps we should bring the splinters of your old sword?’ Senka suggested. ‘It is connected to whatever’s going on. They might have something that can better analyze it. They did have a way to psychically link to Kiera and the scientist did say to bring anything that could shed more light on things.’

‘Good point,’ John thought. ‘I’m not going to let them hook me up to anything, though.’

‘Hopefully this Martius fellow has the sense to not try something like that so soon after the current disaster,’ Senka replied coolly. ‘At least Kiera is showing signs of getting better.’

‘Yeah,’ John remarked. ‘Maybe she’ll be able to communicate better with drawing.’

‘Only way to find out is to wait and see,’ Senka intoned.

John nodded and made his way downstairs. The lifting melody of some musical played as John went down and he saw Kiera sitting in the same spot she had earlier. Her gaze, however, was on the sketch pad Brenda had insisted she could get.

A frown made its way to John’s face when he recalled how tightly she held on to it as they left the store, like it was something worth far more than the fifteen or so dollars it had sold for. It, combined with the snippets he had been able to see when he lived her perspective, did not cast Kiera’s past in a good light.

‘How much shit has she had in her life?’ John privately thought as he sat down. ‘Did she even have a choice when she got picked up by Phantom Reach? Did she know they were planning on killing people to fuel some sort of dark magic?’

It was a question that had begun to gnaw at John. He had pushed it aside while Kiera had been ****, both because they needed answers as to what was going on and leaving her in that state put a bad taste in his mouth. But now that she was awake, it was something that demanded thoughts be turned to it.

‘What do we do when she gets her mind fully back?’ he wondered as he watched her draw. ‘What will she want to do?’

As much as he didn’t want to see her as an enemy, she was. Were they going to be put in the position of having to interrogate her if she didn’t willingly give up what she knew? Could they do it after seeing her in such a **** state?

‘Maybe Aeolia had the right idea and treating her like an enemy would have made things easier,’ John thought, though it made him feel queasy. ‘Yeah, I don’t think I could have done that even if I didn’t get a peek into her head.’

There was going to be no easy answer to any of the questions before them and John let out a sigh.

‘Anything I can help you with?’ Senka piped up. ‘I understand the want for privacy but it sounds like you’ve hit a wall.’

John slightly smirked. 'Sorry, just thinking about what comes next.'

'It is a complex situation,' the spirit remarked. 'I presume your thoughts are more on what happens with and to Kiera once we restore the full breadth of her mind, yes?'

'You know me so well,' John replied.

'Comes with being nurtured by you,' Senka thought. 'And I doubt there's going to be one correct answer that satisfies everyone’s wants and desires. I think what we should be asking ourselves is, do we follow a path towards fighting Phantom Reach or do we take one away from the conflict?

'We are not obligated to fight them,' Senka continued. 'We did so as they were a threat, but everything after you and Aeolia went to her old base on Monday has been reactionary.'

'We didn't exactly have any leads,' John countered half-heartedly. 'You are right, though. I can't say I want to fight them. Even with everything they've done, I'm not burning with vengeance. But I don't want to just sit by and let them accomplish their goals.'

'The Order does seem to be investigating,' Senka reminded him. 'Throwing whatever we might learn from Kiera or from Harker might give them the final piece they need to nail them.'

‘True,’ John thought. ‘Maybe we can just move on after this. Get to work setting up the sort of business Vivian wanted to make.’

A moment of silence both between John and Senka and from the musical playing let John hear the scratch of Kiera’s pencil. Then John’s phone rang in his ear.

He quickly pulled it out, the caller ID showing it was Vivian on the other end.

“Yeah, what’s up?” he asked as he answered the call.

“We got a call from Lynn,” his redheaded girlfriend answered. “We’ve got to meet with his smugglers.”

“That was faster than I thought it would be,” John said.

“That’s what she said,” Aeolia’s voice came through in a jovial tone, prompting John to groan.

“Really?” Vivian chided their winged lover.

“Thought it’d lighten the mood,” Aeolia defended, drawing a sigh from Vivian.

“Anyway, we have to meet with them in three hours and the rendezvous point is about two hours away,” the redhead informed John. “Aeolia and I can pick you guys up in around thirty. You are home, right?”

“Yeah, we’ve been back for a bit,” John answered. “I’m guessing we should be dressed up to start with, right?”

“I get the feeling we’re not going to be meeting in someone’s house,” Vivian said. “Might be best if we’re dressed appropriately.”

“Won’t we be an interesting sight,” Aeolia chimed back in. “All of us dressed up and standing in a field.”

“We are about to sneak into a Kingdom,” Vivian remarked. “We’re more likely to meet somewhere isolated. To avoid anyone seeing.”

“If that’s the case, I’m glad I’m bringing a good amount of gear,” John said. “Better to be safe than sorry.”

“Ya got room for my glaive in there?” Aeolia asked. “Vivian thinks carrying it out in the open will give a bad impression.”

“We’re trying to not stand out, remember?” Vivian playfully said, giving John the impression that they had long agreed to not openly display weapons and Aeolia was playing up her martial obsession.

“Yeah, I’ve got room for it,” John said. “Can fit Beth’s whip in there too if she brings it and still have room for a few souvenirs.”

“We’re not going on a vacation,” Vivian replied in a serious voice.

“I know,” John intoned in a matching tone. “I’m not planning to do some tour of the place, just saying maybe we’ll find something that we can make use of. Doesn’t hurt to keep our options open.”

“True,” Vivian said after a moment. “I suppose an isolationist Kingdom might have something unique on offer.”

“Maybe you can work out a deal and establish a trade route,” Aeolia suggested. “We’re already breaking in, might as well make money off it.”

“I’m not sure I want to break any laws,” Vivian said. “Well, more than we already have to. Getting locked up isn’t exactly good for the image.”

“We’ll have to see exactly how this whole thing is going to work before we decide whether running a smuggling operation is in the cards,” John remarked. “We should probably get ready. Thirty minutes, right?”

“Right,” Vivian answered. “We’ll let Lynn and Beth know we’re on our way there, swing by and pick you, Senka and Kiera up. See you soon!”

John replied in turn and the phone went dead.

“Was that the call for you to go?” Brenda asked as she walked into the living room from her office.

“Yeah. Vivian will be here in about half an hour,” John replied.

“You’re not going to take any unneeded risks, right?” the mother asked, her hands toying with the hem of her blouse.

“Of course we’re not going to, Mom,” John said, walking up to her and pulling her into a hug. “We go in, meet with the guy who can help Kiera, and if things go well, we’ll be home before you know it.”

Brenda tightly wrapped her arms around John. For a moment they remained embraced before Brenda pulled away.

“Now, I think you need to get ready,” she said, her voice still carrying the timbre of nervous anxiety. “You too, Kiera. You can change in my room upstairs.”

John twisted his head to see the blue haired girl blankly staring at them before she slowly lifted herself out of her seat. Instead of heading to the offered room, she grabbed the page she had been drawing on and carefully tore it free.

Then she walked up to them and presented the page to Brenda. Upon it was a sketch of the woman herself, gently smiling. Brenda let out a gasp of surprise as she took the offered page.

“Kiera, this is lovely. Thank you,” she said and John could tell she was holding herself back from hugging the girl. The bluenette didn’t give her the opportunity to in any case as she walked past them and upstairs to change.

“Guess that’s her way to say thank you,” John surmised.

“It’s sweet,” Brenda said. “Do you think it would be too cliche to put it on the fridge?”

John smirked. “Nah, I don’t think so. Certainly better than anything I ever made.”

“Your art was just fine, sweetie,” Brenda countered as she moved towards the kitchen.

“Maybe when I was six,” John called after her as he swapped his clothing. He fiddled with the tie a bit, finding the fit a touch too tight. “Wonder if that’s just because I left it on tight after trying it on?”

“Well, look at you,” Brenda said upon her return, a proud smile on her face.

“It’s just a vest and tie, Mom,” John said. “Not exactly some designer thing.”

“I think the look suits you,” she countered, smiling at the pun she made. “Something tells me a three piece wouldn’t work with the sort of stuff you’re going to get up to.”

“Magic could probably make one that wouldn’t mess with monster hunting,” John said. “I was going to look into enchanting this stuff, but I didn’t want to get caught with them half done when it came time to go. Still, got my jacket and armor pieces with me, so if things go south, I’m covered.”

The creak of the stairs drew his and Brenda’s attention upwards as Kiera slowly made her way back down, a hand idly pulling at the cuff of her white shirt where it peeked out from her peach sweater sleeve before moving to adjust the bit of shirt peeking out above her gray slacks.

“I knew you’d look cute in that,” Brenda said, before she nudged John’s side.

Catching the hint, and ignoring the slight laugh Senka made, John said, “Yeah. You look nice.”

Kiera’s face took on the slightest hint of color that faded before John could be sure he hadn’t imagined it and she retreated to her spot and picked up her sketch pad once more. Before John could return to his own, Brenda pulled him aside.

“You’re going to keep an eye on her, right?” Brenda asked quietly.

“Of course I am,” John answered. “We all are.”

“I suppose it’s just old maternal instincts kicking up,” she said. “There are times when she just looks so helpless I can’t help but worry.”

“I get that,” John remarked. “And hopefully when we get back she’ll be better.”

Brenda nodded before shaking her head. “I’ve got to get back to work.”

“Hang on a sec, Mom,” John said. “I’ve got something to give you.”

He withdrew the Aegis Amulet and presented it to her.

“I got this from an achievement,” he explained. “It’ll help keep you safe and healthy. And I’m pretty sure Gaia meant to have me give it to you, if I read the achievement right.”

For a moment, Brenda looked like she was going to protest the gift but she only smiled and said, “Well, who am I to deny the wishes of a goddess. And it looks like she has good taste.”

Damn straight I do!

John elected to keep Gaia’s remark to himself as Brenda turned around and drew her hair back from her neck. John slid the necklace on and Brenda turned back to face him.

“How do I look?” she asked, posing her hand just under the new accessory.

“Like a million bucks,” John answered.

Brenda smiled and wrapped John in another hug, one John returned at full ****. After a long moment, Brenda broke the hug.

“I do have to get back to working,” she said. “But let me know when you leave.”

“Will do,” John remarked as she made her way back to her office. He glanced at the tv’s time display and figured there was at least fifteen minutes until Vivian and Aeolia came to pick them up.

“Probably should get something to eat,” John muttered. Before he made his way to the kitchen, he looked over to Kiera. “Want anything?”

The bluenette peered up from her sketch, her eyes meeting John’s for a moment before nodding.

“Anything in particular?” he asked, wondering if there was, how she would relay it to him. A picture, perhaps?

Sadly, she shook her head and went back to her art.

“Dealer’s choice it is then,” John remarked and made his way to the kitchen. As he passed Kiera, he stole a peek at the sketchbook. Her fresh work was still in its earliest state, a collection of messy lines, but it was clearly two people hugging.

‘She’s certainly become attached to you and Brenda if that’s what she’s focusing effort into,’ Senka noted as John **** himself to move.

‘Yeah, guess she has,’ John said, feeling touched that Kiera was preserving that moment he had with Brenda. ‘I just hope it’s not just because she’s in a walking coma and waking her up won’t cause a major shift in how she sees us.’

‘I doubt that,’ Senka soothed his worry. ‘There are bits where she seems more ‘alive’, for lack of a better term. The core of her personality is still dictating how she interacts with the world. I don't think a blank slate would have been able to pick out clothes or elect to draw.’

‘I suppose that’s true,’ John thought as he began to dig for some snacks. He let out a sigh. ‘We just have to hope Lynn’s gnome friend can fix things.’

‘Then we will hope,’ the spirit remarked with a finality to her words.

John nodded as he picked up a small number of fruits, a few granola bars and a bit of cheese and made his way back to the living room. He set the bounty down on the table and took an apple. He took a bite as he sat and watched Kiera pause her drawing and pluck a granola bar up. She nibbled at it in between long stretches when she was focused on drawing.

Before long, John heard a car pulling into the driveway, followed by a text from Vivian. It was time to go.

Thanks again for reading this little story. If you liked the chapter, please hit that thumbs up, and if you want to support my writing, check out my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ScrapCrow. Get access to my chapters before they’re published here and join my private Discord.