Bent World: Chapter 28 Resistance Training

Chapter 28

Resistance Training

I am always amazed by the efficiency of some people. What I mean by that is, you can almost always tell when an organization is going to be on the rise, and that typically relates directly to how efficient leadership is both at training their subordinates, and how quickly those same subordinates can respond to outside stimuli.

With but a few hand motions, Sarina and the other guards went over to gather the jumbo prizes from the wall, even going so far as to take out knives to cut down the giant hand sewn ornaments. Once they were cut down, one each was delivered to the different household heads, while the sacred Pathfinder’s brew was delivered to Auntie.

Meanwhile, a clear clean silhouette that showed the wear and tear of aging and of never having to update a stylized display was revealed. Where once had been four pristinely made handmade jumbo prizes, now stood sad outlines of somehow darker stained wood. Wood that apparently gets lighter with age and exposure to sunlight.

For a moment it looked like the carnival operators would try to pull a fast one, as I saw not one but two different dead rift monsters at their feet, one was a large batlike creature, while the other was a furry monster that clearly had some shadow type elements about it, but fortunately neither seemed to match the monsters that came from the rift.

Also it was clear that at least one or two people from our camp were set to watch the carnival operators for just such a showing. The idea was simple, we would go cut down all the monsters, then miraculously we would be so lost in our combat that we would fail to see the fact that one lone monster made it out to where only the carnival operators could intercept them, thereby negating the contract.

Whistle.

I took in all of this, then with a loud crisp whistle from Auntie, we gathered up, and began marching out. Mother took the lead, but then I was forced to walk right behind her. I assumed this was due to my being the Pathfinder, then I could feel the other girls line up behind me. It was clear that we were all tired, but no one said a word. Instead, we all just marched forward, as four large guards carried the won jumbo prizes.

Auntie took up position on my right side, as she did, I could all but feel the power emanating from whatever it was that she had gathered. In her hands was clearly a specially crafted metal box, that reminded me of an old tea leave box from my home world. Inside that box, was what Auntie clearly believed to be the needed ingredients for Pathfinder’s brew. Being this close to the foreign substance, I could feel my skin tingle at its relative potency.

From her position next to me, Auntie gave hand signals behind to the other families. This was no doubt to coordinate our break off, and possible future rejoining as we went in a line for a few moments, until the other families started breaking off and heading to their own tents.

That’s when we did the same.

***

(Cleandra)

Shock and awe. Those were the two emotions that Cleandra now felt as she watched the Pathfinder’s party leave. And they were the Pathfinder’s party, there was no doubt about that, as the monster delivered a killing blow to a behemoth of a monster, one that Cleandra herself feared having to step in to stop.

For a moment Cleandra thought that Lydiria had gone mad, summoning a rift that large, that could cause a monster that massive to try to break free.

Yet, looking at the giant monster’s head on the ground, Cleandra couldn’t help but wonder why Lydiria hadn’t gone larger with her rift creation.

Worst of all, the Pathfinder’s party was wealthy, as that noble family had apparently scanned the countryside for any chance at talent and clearly developed that talent from birth, as that Pathfinder was a monster. There was no way she could have used any of the cheap tricks to void the attempt and make the group run again, especially as all the monsters she had looked nothing like giant turtle monsters. Again, had Lydiria not made the rift so massive, they could have likely found a smaller creature to pawn off as a missed opportunity. Even though anyone who went around the rifts long enough knew that no such thing happened, almost all monsters fought the opponents right by the rift creation immediately.

No, there was nothing Cleandra could do no, as she was ruined. Turning to see the display box, a box that had been in Cleandra’s family for generations as a means to continually make money she felt naked and exposed, as if she had just lost her family’s legacy. Noble houses had their coat of arms, training and tactics to fall back on. Cleandra too had her own family traditions, ones where she was taught the art of showmanship, of staging the product and of presentation. Those were the skills her family taught her, that and how to open rifts a little bit easier. Still it all meant nothing.

Even the lopped off head and skull of the great turtle monster was of no use, as it was already shrinking, due to both blood loss and due to a lack of the rift’s energy infusing the beast with energy. Even still the monster’s head was huge, but nowhere near as completely frightening as the real thing had been.

Remembering that battle caused chills to run down Cleandra’s spine as those kids were monsters. She understood the lore, about needing to infuse their young growing bodies with as much energy from the monoliths and rifts as possible, so their bodies could handle the changes that would come from being in the Pathfinder’s party later on, but still why here? Why now?

Lydiria for her part seemed pale. For a moment Cleandra wanted to ask if her sister was okay, but didn’t get the chance to ask, as she walked forward and then just looked down at the giant head and neck of the beast that now remained. A neck and head that by itself was easily as long as a full grown Lydiria.

Then Lydiria kicked the massive object with her foot, only to be somewhat shocked by the fact that the giant monster part didn’t even react to her action. After checking out the major monster, she went over and saw the steadily shrinking giant turtles noting that the next size down was a monster whose shell still went up to her chest.

Finally, after her scientific discovery that amounted to poking the monsters with mental sticks and trying to push them away with her feet, Lydiria came over, and said words that were crazy. So crazy that they just might save the family business, or better still, words that might change the family business model for their lifetimes.

“Maybe we could preserve them,” Lydiria offered.

“What?” Cleandra asked, her mind still spinning from trying to understand how their entire family business had been broken in the course of one afternoon. She mentally tried to see how much it would be to replace the Jumbo dolls, but that wasn’t the issue, the real issue came from the ingredients needed for the Pathfinder’s brew, as those secrets had long been lost to time. Had it not been for the sacred box preserving their efficacy, they would have easily been just a sidenote in history. Oddly that had been a note of honor that Cleandra had prided herself on, the fact that her family kept many of the old tales and traditions alive, even going so far as to offer the Pathfinder’s brew as a reward.

For a moment, she thought about taking everything she had and going to that delegation and buying the Pathfinder’s brew back, but then remembering their clear affluence, she knew there wasn’t enough she could offer. Not when they had a real living breathing Pathfinder in their midst.

That was the other thing, now that there was a real Pathfinder, her job would become obsolete. At least, that what she thought, until Lydiria spoke innocent words that sounded both stupid and insanely smart all at the same time.

“Maybe we could preserve the monsters, you know show the results of the Pathfinder’s first true contest of strength. I mean, even drained of blood and energy, that monster was still huge. Then show a few well preserved shells for comparison and I bet a museum would pay good money for all of that,” Lydiria offered.

Hearing her normally vapid sister state what had to have been simultaneously the stupidest, and most intelligent response was brilliant. No one preserved rift creatures, you ate them as a delicacy, such an act would be the same thing as playing with your food and letting it rot while other families starved. Yet, here Lydiria was, coming up with the next model.

Hearing the words, Cleandra rose to her feet, a giant smile filling her face as she ran over to hug her sister.

“You are so amazingly intelligent it hurts sometimes,” Cleandra shouted as she rose to her feet, having sometime ago dropped to her knees in defeat at the situation that had befallen her family. Suddenly the vacated display case looked inviting once again, as they could offer new rewards. Rewards of battle fragments from the first true undeniable Pathfinder in millennia.

“Get the preservatives and close off our yard while we get ready for repairs,” Cleandra shouted to her crew, which was just more members of her extended family. Still as the undisputed leader, everyone obeyed Cleandra’s directives.

***

(Auntie)

The show had been completely crazy. Quite a few times Auntie wanted to step in and get that drunkard of a rift creator to stop, as they were summoning monsters against kids.

Yet, every time Auntie almost felt herself charging forward to stop the operation, the team pulled through. For her part she still did not understand where Missala learned to throw like that, as all it took was one quick throw and a monster was either killed or disabled. Even with the behemoth monster at the end, he managed to first blind the beast, allowing his teammates to get into position, while he delivered the killing blow.

Such tactics were beyond flawless and were not something that could have been coached, it was just a mixture of happenstance, training, and opportunity all converging into one massive win.

“Clean yourself,” Auntie told Missala, gesturing for him to use the discrete washing tub that had been filled and sealed off from the rest of the tent by a partition. Normally such claims to modesty would be avoided as they were just extra items and weight that were normally not needed. Yet, given Missala’s condition, and the fact that they couldn’t let others know of his condition, then the precautions made sense.

While Missala was quickly bathing, a fact that was noted by the splashing of water that could be heard, Dr. Andry began carefully opening the seals of the pouch containing the Pathfinder’s brew.

Whiff.

Immediately upon opening the long hermetically sealed box, Dr. Andry’s senses were overwhelmed with the pungent scent of power. What kind of power was not exactly known, all that she did know was that it was filled with power.

Still, her training took over and all but forced her to continue working with the materials at hand to brew the best formula possible. While Dr. Andry knew she might be able to get away with pulling the wool over one or two more of the guardian families and their legacy protections, i.e. the Pathfinder’s brew and the noted jumbo toys. Dr. Andry knew that their original purpose was to keep alive the oral history of the Pathfinders and provide a much needed boost to those that would come later.

Looking at what amounted to a chalk white powder with bits of black flakes throughout, Dr. Andry paused, wondering what to do. Going through her vast memory of memorized scripture she found all the lines that pertained to this concoction, most were quickly discarded as they ultimately amounted to little more than anecdotes of how a sip from this caused the Pathfinder to regain their strength to carry on fighting for days.

Then finally the most relevant verse came to mind.

At night, when the lights are low and the fire’s high.

There is but one thing left to do.

Take water to a boil, and add the dye.

Then wait a few, for your Pathfinder’s brew.

More confusing and frustrating words were never created, yet, based on that stanza Dr. Andry felt certain that all she needed to do was first boil a pot of water and then add in the brew.

That was why a few moments later, right in the middle of the tent, Dr. Andry went to the pit, started a fire, and placed a pot on the fire. Then waiting until the water was at a boil, she carefully poured in every drop of the powdery substance into the still flame kissed pot.

***

(Missala)

During my bath, I felt flakes of dried blood and viscera just flow from me. The sensation was odd, as I finally felt like I was human again, which made me wonder when I stopped feeling human? Was it a gradual degradation of feeling? Or was there a point when I knew I was not human?

Closing my eyes and thinking back, I remembered the one part for me that was all but a clear indication of when I likely lost the feeling of being human, and that was when I was simultaneously doused in the warm blood of the giant turtle creature, and realized I had to continue fighting through that condition to survive. To help keep all of us alive.

For a moment, I wondered if this was how the others felt? Looking around I was surprised at the relative quiet of this little pocket within the oversized tent. It felt nice being here and having a moment to both clean up and try to calm down.

Then just as I almost felt myself dozing off in the tub, the gentlest smell awoke me and all but told me to finish my bath immediately. It was a smell that seemed both well known and simultaneously unique.

The smell was a mixture of both Earl Grey Tea, honey, and something sweeter, something powerful.

Slosh.

Awakened by the aroma, I quickly realized that I was effectively bathing in filthy water, and worst of all, the water had now gone cold. Getting up and putting on my spare uniform, yes fortunately Auntie had the wherewithal to have at least one spare change of uniform for me to be in, I got dressed and exited to a yet second chamber.

In this second chamber I was slightly surprised to see Auntie, mother, and even Sarina all sitting at a table.

Once again, we were in a decoratively sealed off area, where I would be allowed to sit, take off my mask and eat and drink in front of everyone. Even still, I was not allowed to talk, for fear that my voice would give me away as being a boy to anyone who might be eavesdropping on our tent.

“Well Pathfinder, her is your brew that you fought so valiantly for,” Auntie began as she pushed a cup of the delicious smelling tea like substance towards me.

Looking at the cup, I could see tiny particles of matter floating within the cup. For a moment I shuttered at the idea of drinking that but then realized this was similar to having to drink orange juice with the pulp. Focusing on that thought, I grabbed the cup and drank.

As soon as the liquid hit my lips, I felt my instincts take over as I began drinking faster. As I drank, even though the liquid was warm to my lips, it had a cool quenching effect as it went down my throat and seemed to cool and reinvigorate me all the way down.

“Ahh,” I let out as I put the cup down.

Auntie for her part, ever the eager hostess began filling my cup again.

“I think you must drink it all,” Auntie stated a note of concern in her voice.

Shrugging and realizing that I was still thirsty, the second cup went down just as easily as the first. The third took some time. By the fourth cup, I could feel pressure building on my stomach. Then by the fifth I felt my hand shaking as I violently fought to drink the last and final cup.

Clatter.

Only once I placed the last cup down, I closed my eyes hoping against hope that there was no more liquid left. To my delight, that was all.

“Well, now that the easy part is over, are you ready for your next set of training?” Auntie began, and like that a switch had been flipped in her, as she went from being kind and caring to her old maniacal self.

I was about to speak, but caught myself and quickly signed, “what?”

“Now that the consuming of the Pathfinder’s brew has been completed and you have not shown any adverse effects, it is time to get onto the real training,” Auntie began as a delightful glint filled her eyes. It was that look of a scientist on the brink of a great discovery. Or in Auntie’s case, the fact that she will get to prove all her crazy history theories correct.

For a moment, I wanted to ask about the effects that such a brew could have produced, but then stopped myself realizing that there as likely a reason that this box had been left alone for possibly millennia. Instead, I focused on the most important part.

“What real training?” I signed.

“Glad you asked, you see,” Auntie began and paused for dramatic effect before continuing. “As the Pathfinder your condition is different. While all of the Wayfarers who accompany you to the closing of a rift get stronger with and more able to wield the corresponding element of the nearby monolith. In this case, lightning. You as the Pathfinder will find your resistance to these elements increase.”

As she spoke, I found myself nodding along in understanding. Then she continued, “now it is our turn to see just how resistant you have become.”

At that, I paused and stared at her trying to understand what it was that she was saying.

That’s when holding up her hands together, she began to circulate golden energy, and sure enough, I could see the spark of a giant bolt of lightning appear, and crackle from her left hand to her right.

Zzap-crack!

Thus having demonstrated her newfound proficiency, she leaned forward and clearly intended to zap me with that same electrical burst.

Once again, I was reminded of just how messed up this world truly was.