Karl considered the new group’s strengths, and wondered who they were going to get as their second Commander. Presumably Morgana, as she was his advisor from the Bureau and didn’t have classes to teach, but in this camp it appeared to be the Headmaster running the show, and he didn’t know her as anything other than a student.
“Why don’t we sit and get to know each other before we have to work together in battle?” Karl suggested.
Mick, the bald Golem Mage, laughed. “Well, more like you get to know us. You’re a bit of a legend in the Mage classrooms after your Hawk spent weeks torturing the Awakened Rank class.”
Karl chuckled. “But Hawk isn’t my only beast. In fact, he’s the first of four now. Plus, it’s more of the personality of the people than the skills. I can find that in your deployment orders, or at least the basics of your skill set, so what I need to know is how everyone will react.
Have Jimmy and Ali faced the Giants before? Will Seamus really wet himself when a spear flies past his head? You know, the little life details that determine how you react.”
Seamus sighed. “You joke, but the Bard Classes normally do morale work in camp when we’re assigned to combat duties. It’s more like an Idol show. Well, sometimes it IS an idol show, depending on who they sent.
I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be doing in a combat group, it’s not part of my training, but the Academy says that every Ascended Class has some sort of utility in battle, and I’ve got to work on mine.”
“Would it help if we had the nature priestess get you a bit stoned before we have to go to battle? Strictly medicinal, of course.” Karl asked.
The other boys from his team laughed, and Seamus looked horrified, waving his hand frantically to deny the suggestion.
“No, that’s a bad idea. It definitely won’t help my use my skills, I can say that much for certain. Why don’t we start with Mick? My own shortcomings can come later.” Seamus suggested.
Karl shrugged. “I don’t see why not, but I should ask, how much field work have you all done?”
Mick shrugged. “Seven missions, five of which were resource gathering. Jimmy and Ali are about the same, since they were usually with me. Having six small golems is really helpful against Common Grade wild animals or monsters and for gathering resources, after all.”
“So, seven weeks, give or take, of which, two were monster hunting?” Karl asked.
Mick shrugged. “That sounds about right, but the monster hunting missions went longer than a week each, since we forgot to bring a tracker, and it turned out to be really hard to find them.”
Even Tessa winced a little at that news. That meant they had done very little actual fighting.
Ali, the darker of the two warriors, gave Karl a curious look. “How much combat have you seen this year? You’re still a first year, right?”
Karl nodded. “I was with this team on the Frost Giant border, as advanced scouts for about a month, and then in the field doing monster influx suppression before that for another month. Then a couple of Academy Missions to start the year.
Really, we’ve basically been in combat since the war started, as we got trapped behind the Frost Giant lines.”
Seamus’ eyes lit up. “Oh, I heard a great song about you the other day. Hawk the Giant Slayer, about how an Elite and his bird killed a Thousand Giants as revenge for making it cold.”
Hawk was startled. [How did they know?]
[I have no idea. I think that they think it’s a joke.]
The girls were laughing, while Seamus now looked confused.
“Don’t tell me you actually did it? I heard the song from a bard class student who had just gotten back from the Frost Giant front lines. He’s somewhere around here if you want to hear the full song.” Seamus suggested.
“He must have been working the radios, or in the dispatch office. Hawk despises the Ice Element. Hates it with a passion. And, he’s our scout, so he’s always up in the air where people can see him.” Karl explained.
Tessa patted the shocked bard on his shoulder.
“Where were you during yesterday’s battle?” She asked.
“Right on the flank. I wasn’t really in the fight for long, and I was at the back.” Seamus shrugged.
“Ah, that makes sense, I was wondering if you had seen Karl move through to meet with Tank in the middle where the leader of the attack was. He left the rest of us to protect the buses and ran ahead with Ophelia and a Commander Rank warrior.”
Seamus just shrugged. He hadn’t seen any of that, but Mick looked excited.
“Bob Mackenzie, he came up with Bob Mackenzie.” The mage announced.
“You know Bob?” Karl asked.
“No, but his sisters are super hot. I’ve had a crush on them forever, since they first got guard duty in the capital in front of my apartment.”
Lotus giggled. “Oh, he’s down bad.”
Tessa smirked at the embarrassed mage. “I don’t think that down bad even begins to cover it. But if we do well, I bet there will be a chance to meet them in person. After all, their brothers are both here, so they will likely come meet them when we return.”
Then Lotus walked right up to Mick and stage whispered in his ear, loud enough for everyone else to hear. “I would suggest that you don’t tell the Commander Rank warrior that you want to bang his sisters. It won’t end well for you.”
Mick looked horrified at the thought, and Karl took the opportunity to lead them to a seat in the mess hall.
“So, what do all of you do for fun? Any hobbies, other than creeping on cute security guards?” Karl asked.
Seamus reached into his pocket and took out a stack of collectible cards. “I enjoy playing Pocketmana.”
Mick shrugged. “I just enjoy reading.”
Karl turned to Jimmy and Ali, who were the quieter part of the group.
Ali frowned. “I used to play football, but I don’t think there is a team at the Academy. That was always the thing for me, all day I dreamed of playing football. But Elites aren’t allowed in the pro teams for obvious reasons.”
Jimmy reached into his pack and took out a small wooden statue of a duck. It was only about three quarters done, and still needed details on the back half, but the front was very well done.
Remi came out of her space to wrap around Karl’s arm and examine the small statue.
[That is good. I need to get that good to make better totems.] She informed Karl with excitement.
“Remi likes your handiwork and says you are very skilled. She makes totem statues with mud and basic water control, and she’s looking forward to making them as detailed as your duck.” Karl explained.
“That is Remi? She is adorable.” Jimmy replied, smiling at the venomous Spirit Snake as if it were a normal pet.
“Did you have reptiles at home?” Lotus asked.
“And give my mom a heart attack? I don’t think so. But we always had wild corn snakes in the yard, taking care of the earth mice. They’re not what you would call friendly, but they keep pests under control, and that makes it hard to dislike them.
They have an entirely different pattern than Remi does, but somehow she looks friendly.” Jimmy explained, running a hand through his tousled blonde hair, which kept falling across his eyes when he didn’t have his helmet on.
Ali tipped his chin towards Karl. “What do you do for fun when you’re not out making bards sing songs about your vengeance against the Frost Giants?”
Karl shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t have many hobbies. I grew up in the Lithium Mines, so I was always at either school or work. I also didn’t really have friends before coming to the Academy, I was the runt of the school year, always smaller than everyone else.”
Ophelia snorted in amusement. “Now we all know why he’s so violent. The repressed rage of a small man unleashed, even though he’s grown now.”
“I seem to recall that you were the one who scared half the hospital staff by roaring at them.” Karl reminded her.
“You made the spider tickle me.” She replied, her voice taking on a rather Ursine growl.
Mick laughed softly at their interaction. “I see now. Karl’s pastime is actually playing pranks and pushing people’s buttons.”
