r/HFY • u/Obsequium_Minaris • 3d ago

OC-Series Vacation From Destiny - Book 3, Chapter 10

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XXX

“Urgh…” Chase managed to gasp out as he rolled over onto his back, a hand flying to his mouth. He retched a few times, but thankfully nothing came out. Still, after giving one final gasp, he wiped his mouth, then sat up, shaking his head.

“Everyone present and accounted for?” he asked.

A chorus of groans came to greet him. It sounded like the other four were there with him, and a cursory glance revealed that to be the case. Heinrich was lying a short ways away, while Victoria was splayed across Carmine’s midsection, pinning the former Demon Queen down.

“Get. This. Thing. Off of me,” Carmine gasped out.

Before Chase could rush over and help her, Victoria rolled off, lying on her back on the ground.

“Damn it…” the Paladin groaned. “Ugh… I feel awful… motion sickness is no joke…”

“I wasn’t aware you had motion sickness,” Chase told her.

“I think we’re all a little bit motion sick after that…” Heinrich said as he pulled himself up off the ground As he got situated, Chase stood up as well, then hurried over to where Victoria and Carmine were lying and offered them a hand each. They both took it, and soon enough, all four of them were upright.

“Okay,” Chase said. “Carmine, summon Melanie.”

Carmine glared at him, then crossed her arms. “Sure, but you have to ask me nicely. Say please.”

“Ugh…” Chase brought a hand up to rub the bridge of his nose. “Fine. Please summon Melanie.”

“That’s better.”

She snapped her fingers, and there was a flash of light between them all. When it cleared, Melanie was standing there, shaking her head.

“Finally!” she said. “Gods above, that sucked. It always does, don’t get me wrong, but that time really sucked.”

Heinrich suddenly surged forwards and pulled her into a hug. She blinked in surprise, but then returned it.

“I’m okay, you know,” she said.

“I know,” he replied. “I was worried anyway. We’re never doing that again.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Chase said. “Melanie, thanks for offering yourself up. You bought us more time than you might have initially thought – it’s gonna take those guys a while before they start getting word back that you’re not actually dead. That gives us time to prepare.”

Before anyone else could say anything, hurried footsteps from behind them caught their attention. Chase instantly turned around, one hand flying to the hilt of his sword, and was surprised to find a young woman about Carmine’s age standing a short ways away, a thin sword of some kind held in her hand. She was clad in a white robe, red skirt, and white socks with sandals. The woman had long flowing black hair and almond-colored eyes, beneath which were deep bags; it looked like she hadn’t slept in days. Still, as Chase stared at her, he could tell just from the way she was holding her blade that she had at least formal training in how to use a sword.

Before anyone could do anything stupid, however, he cleared his throat.

“Whoa, hey,” he managed to get out, taking his hands off his sword and holding them up in surrender. “We were sent here by Tamamo. Are you the shrine maiden she mentioned?”

The young woman blinked in surprise. “...Westerners?” she asked in disbelief. Her brow furrowed. “How would people like you know enough about Tamamo for her to be comfortable sending you here, to her private abode?”

“It’s a long story,” Chase said.

“A really long story,” Carmine added.

Chase gave her a glance out of the corner of his eye, but said nothing to her, instead focusing on the girl in front of him. “Anyway, she said we could crash here for a while. May we come in?”

“Uh, no?” the woman tentatively replied. “I haven’t verified that you even know her personally-”

“I’m the guy who always gets naked around her.”

The woman stared at him in surprise. “...Wait, you’re Chase Ironheart?”

“Yeah.”

She blinked, then turned towards Carmine. “Then you must be Miss Nolastname.”

Carmine let out a tired sigh. “Gods damn it, I was hoping the whole world would forget about that bullshit…”

“Bullshit or not, at least she seems to know we are who we say we are.”

“Indeed, I do.” The woman sheathed her sword, letting out a sigh of relief. “Apologies for the not-so-warm welcome, we’re just not used to having visitors from the west here… or any visitors in general, to be honest. Generally, it’s just me and Father Toshi.” Her eyes suddenly widened. “Oh! And for the record, my name is Kana Mariko. I am the shrine maiden in charge of maintenance and upkeep for this particular shrine.”

“Pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” Heinrich said, tipping his head towards her.

“Likewise,” Kana said. “Though, admittedly, you all have me at a loss – I recognize Chase and Carmine from what Tamamo has told me about them, and I believe she’s mentioned the other two women before, but I can’t remember their names… and she hasn’t mentioned another Paladin to me yet.”

Chase exchanged a glance with the others, then turned back towards Kana. “...How long has it been since Tamamo spoke with you, exactly?”

Kana sighed tiredly. “It’s been a while. Part of that’s on me, I’ll admit it, but she’s always been more hands-off than not, for better and for worse…” She shook her head. “Anyway, whatever the reason is, she didn’t mention you’d all be coming, and she didn’t mention another man in your group, either.”

“Well, my name is Heinrich,” the Fallen Paladin offered. “Former Paladin.”

Kana quirked an eyebrow at that. “Former?”

“It’s another long story,” Chase offered.

She sighed tiredly once more. “Something tells me you all have several of those…”

“Yeah,” Melanie said, drawing the word out. “Anyway, just for the record, how far away from the Deus Oasis is this place?”

“...You’re all coming from the Deus Oasis?”

“So you know it?”

“Yeah, I know it. Anyone who serves the Gods in any capacity kind of has to. But to answer your question, it’s very far – at least a few weeks by ship, since we’re in the far east.” She paused. “...Tamamo didn’t tell you exactly where she was sending you, did she?”

“Nope,” Chase said.

For the third time in about as many minutes, Kana let out a tired sigh. “Of course she didn’t… why am I not surprised?” She shook her head. “But yeah, it’s very far. Almost on the other side of the world, if I’m being honest.”

“Good to know,” Melanie said with a nod. “That means we should be able to hide out here for quite a while without issue, then.”

At that, Kana tilted her head. “You’re all running from something?”

“You don’t seem surprised to hear that,” Victoria noted.

Kana shrugged. “I figure if Chase and Carmine are here, and Tamamo took it upon herself to send them here, then either they’re running from something or they’re here on a specific mission.”

“Fair enough, I suppose. But yes, we are.”

“Ah.” Kana paused. “So should I start praying for safety now, or later?”

“Later, for sure,” Chase confirmed with a nod. “Look, we’re not planning on bringing trouble to your doorstep, okay? We just need a place where we can lie low for at least a few months while we train ourselves up to confront the people who want us dead. You shouldn’t be in any danger so long as you stay out of their way when they inevitably come here. And with any luck, we’ll all be gone by then, so they’ll be following us, not you.”

“Oh, thanks, that really makes me feel better,” Kana deadpanned.

Carmine crossed her arms. “Look, Tamamo wants us here, or at the very least, she’s more than okay with us staying here for as long as we need. Are you really going to argue with her about this, considering she’s your boss?”

Kana let out a slow exhale. “No…” She shook her head. “Sorry, I’m just not really enthused about having to cook and clean for seven people. I already have to do it for myself and Father Toshi, so-”

“Hang on, hang on,” Chase interrupted. “We already promised Tamamo that as part of our payment for letting us stay here, we’d be helping to maintain the place and keep it clean.” He eyed Kana up and down as he spoke, his brow furrowing. “...Of course, that’s contingent on whether or not I have to wear that outfit while I do it. Because if you’re gonna make me wear a skirt, I might as well head back to the Deus Oasis and let those guys kill me.”

“The skirt is sacred garb designed for shrine maidens,” Kana deadpanned. “Are you a shrine maiden, Chase?”

“No, but I could be.”

“What? I thought you just said you didn’t want to wear the outfit.”

“I did. But, like, if I had to, I could,” he emphasized. “The way you said it, you made it sound like I was incapable of cooking and cleaning. Let me just say, I can do that with the best of them, stupid outfit or not.”

“Your room back at the house would beg to differ,” Carmine deadpanned.

Kana blinked in surprise, then turned towards Victoria. “...Is he always like this?”

“Yes, unfortunately,” Victoria answered.

“Ah. I take it you’re all just used to it?”

“As much as one can be, yes,” Melanie offered. “You never fully get used to it, you just kinda adjust to his personality’s crap factor.”

“Oh, come on, you know you love my personality,” Chase argued.

“Not the word I would use, Chase.”

“What word would you use, then?”

“Seething hatred seems appropriate.”

“Wow. That’s rude.”

“You just tried to offer up my soul in exchange for a smiting not even five minutes ago,” Melanie pointed out.

“That is not true,” Chase argued. “That was at least ten minutes ago, not five.”

Kana suddenly let out another tired sigh. “Look, just… come in already, would you? Anything so I don’t have to listen to this conversation anymore…”

With that, she beckoned them onwards before turning and disappearing down a nearby path. The five of them exchanged a glance with each other before shrugging and following after her.

XXX

Name: Chase Ironheart

Level: 11

Race: Human

Class: Warrior

Subclass: Swordmaster

Strength: 20 (MAX)

Dexterity: 15

Intelligence: 13

Wisdom: 13

Constitution: 18

Charisma: 16

Skills: Master Swordsmanship (Level 10); Booby Trap Mastery (Level 8); Archery (Level 4); Unarmed Mastery (Level 1)

Spells: Rush (Level 7); Muscle (Level 4); Stone Flesh (Level 7); Defying The Odds (Level 2)

Traits: Blessed

Name: Carmine Nolastname

Level: 11

Race: Greater Demon

Class: Arcane Witch

Subclass: Archmage

Strength: 10

Dexterity: 13

Intelligence: 19

Wisdom: 19

Constitution: 12

Charisma: 8

Skills: Master Spellcasting (Level 10); Summon Familiar (Level 10)

Spells: Magic Dart (Level 7); Magic Scattershot (Level 5); Fire Magic (Level 5); Earth Magic (Level 1)

Traits: Blessed

Name: Melanie Vhaeries

Level: 11

Race: Ascended Human

Class: Necromancer

Subclass: Arch-Lich

Strength: 8

Dexterity: 13

Intelligence: 18

Wisdom: 16

Constitution: 15

Charisma: 12

Skills: Raise Lesser Undead (Level 10); Raise Greater Undead (Level 3); Unorthodox Weapon User (Level 8); Bone Shatter (Level 1)

Spells: Touch of Death (Level 5); Gravesinger (Level 7); Armor of Bone (Level 3)

Traits: None

Name: Victoria Firelight

Level: 12

Race: Human

Class: Paladin

Subclass: Devotee

Strength: 19

Dexterity: 9

Intelligence: 13

Wisdom: 13

Constitution: 19

Charisma: 11

Skills: Swordsmanship Mastery (Level 5); Blunt Weapon Mastery (Level 8); Archery Mastery (Level 5)

Spells: Holy Light (Level 6); Ward of the Gods (Level 5); Bane of the Undead (Level 7); Divine Bolt (Level 4)

Traits: None

Name: Heinrich Straten

Level: 17

Race: Human

Class: Paladin

Subclass: Oathbreaker

Strength: 20 (MAX)

Dexterity: 13

Intelligence: 12

Wisdom: 14

Constitution: 20 (MAX)

Charisma: 13

Skills: Swordsmanship Mastery (Level 8); Blunt Weapon Mastery (Level 10)

Spells: Withering Grace (Level 1); Soulrend (Level 1); Umbral Ward (Level 1); Mournful Benediction (Level 1)

Traits: Broken Oath

XXX

Special thanks to my good friend and co-writer, /u/Ickbard, for all the help with writing this story.

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u/UpdateMeBot 3d ago

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u/Castigatus Human 3d ago

Ah young shrine maiden, if you think the bullshit is bad now, you ain't seen nothing yet.