Please Teacher! - Kid 3 (Terrence)

Terrence folded his arms. "Why must you rope me into finding this child? Do you lack the bipedal means to do so yourself?"

Graham scratched the back of his head, sighing in a way only Graham does when he was agitated. "Believe me, bro', I'd love to. 'Cept I got guild duties and blah-blah-yadda-yadda."

Terrence arched an eyebrow. Another day, another vague statement. The vaguer the statement, the more likely the lie. Or, rather, a terrible lie. Sounded like Graham, in typical Graham Yeung fashion, wanted to shirk responsibilities to go out and have fun. Any moment now. Any moment now. Here came the truth.

"Look, Terrence, while I was in Izlude lookin' for little Rosalia, the head of the orphanage told me that one of her kids has gone missing. Then! Lo and behold, there you were, like a guided beam of fate!"

"A guided. Beam. Of fate."

Graham smiled. "Yeah!"

"In other words, I happened to be in the area."

"--you happened to be in the area." Graham said at the same time as Terrence. He slinked an arm around his slightly taller half brother. "C'mon, Terrence, it'll be fun! You're the right man for the job! You're good with kids."

Terrence looked at Graham in the eyes and smiled. "Indeed, considering that I deal with you on a regular basis."

Graham shoved Terrence away. Seemed like affection was only given on a temporary basis. "Just go already."

Terrence chuckled and waved as he walked away. He enjoyed teasing his brother when he could.

-

After asking around Izlude, then Prontera, Terrence learned that the orphan in question - Finlay - had made his way to a field left of Prontera. Something about saving Prontera with his legion of a thousand knights from an infestation of thiefbugs. The knight responsible for allowing Culvert access wouldn't be so irresponsible as to allow a mere child to enter, would he? Either way, one must start small, and what better way than to practice safe pest control practices topside.

Terrence's sensitive ears caught vibrations of a shrill boy's voice long before setting eyes on the boy himself. The cries had once been short, sharp and powerful. But as Terrence continued down the road, they grew longer and louder. By the time Terrence arrived on-scene, the cry had grown to siren proportions. Only a child could possibly possess such vocal control. Hands thrust in front of him as though pushing the air in front of him, a blond boy with a brown bandanna dashed past, a thiefbug in tow.

"S-s-somebody! Anybody! HELP!"

Ah. Never a dull moment. Pulling out an elven arrow from his quiver, Terrence fired the projectile at the bug. The poor insect never knew what hit it, as the arrow sliced through its small body. Lowering his bow, Terrence saw that the bug's legs continued to squirm a little, but merely from the adrenaline. The boy, realizing that the insect was no longer chasing him, turned around.

'Ah, here comes the inspection.'

The boy pulled out his wooden dagger and poked the bug. Adrenaline leaving its body, the bug laid completely limp underneath the arrow. "Ha ha!" The boy pulled the arrow out and raised it proudly in the air. He then noticed the long shadow looming over him, and the 6'7" Maestro that shadow belonged to. Hands on hips and puffing his chest, he strode over. Terrence didn't know whether to laugh or to roll his eyes. Either way, this should be good.

"Hah. Of course that lowly thiefbug was no match for my skills in swordplay! After all, it was me who had taught the Knight Guild a thing or two about advanced combat techniques. Be grateful that I decided to save your life today, citizen! After all, frail Bards like you need protection!"

Terrence glanced at the arrow firmly grasped in the boy's clenched hand. "Oh, really? Then explain to me this arrow."

"The arrow?" The kid looked down at the elven arrow, then back up at Terrence. "I, uh, I created it! With the powers vested in me from the great warrior, Valkyrie Rangdris, I summon my powers into this mighty arrow and smite all evildoers in the land! Behold the Arrow of Justice!"

"Did you not say that your swordplay was what did the insect in?" Terrence asked, verbally poking his own stick into the kid's testimony.

"Yes! That and my arrow!"

"Ah."

The kid shook his head, smiling broadly. "Hmph. Where are my manners? It's unsightly of me to not introduce myself first."

"Indeed."

"I am Finlay the Fifth. I am son of Sir Finlay the Fourth." The boy, Finlay, placed a hand on his chest. "And who might you be?"

"Terrence Sinclair." Terrence said. "The fifth, you say. That's quite a feat."

"Our family has served King Tristan's lineage, and even before! Because this one is the third, and our family goes back five generations."

"Then perhaps you can tell me who the King was in your great-great-great-great grandfather's time." said Terrence.

Finlay paused. "It was... ah... King Reinhardt, of course! My great-great-great-great grandfather doesn't tell me much about the family."

"Of course." Terrence nodded. To think that Terrence had just went from one maker of tall tales to another. Unlike Graham, whose stories were factual truths embellished for humor's sake, Finlay, of course, was a maker of tall tales.

"Anyway, when I grow up, I'm gonna be the strongest there ever is! I'm gonna be Sir Finlay the Fifth! I'm gonna be a big, damn hero!"

"Yes, indeed, you're well on your way. Your future may very well be tomorrow." Terrence held out his hand. "Now come along. The orphanage mistress is worried about you."

Finlay reached out to take Terrence's hand, then pulled it away. "Not yet! I still have much training to do. Sir Edward is expecting me."

"Even though you were the one who trained him, in theory."

"... that too! We teach each other! I might not look it, but I've had much experience in battle! After all, that's how I lost my eye." And with that, Finlay headed down the road.

"Indeed. Your experience has proved quite reliable as of recent." Terrence chuckled and followed the boy.

Every so often, Finlay turned around to strike the air, followed by a "Ha-ha!" and then holding up his invisible prey proudly for Terrence's sarcastic applause.

"I’ll beat up the baddies like KAPOW!" Finlay pumped a fist in the air. "And then there would be explosions like KABOOOM and then save the pri--AHHH!!! I-IS THAT A R-R-ROBBERBU-BU-BUG?!"

Terrence glanced in the direction of Finlay's quivering pointed finger. Sure enough, an enormous red bug loomed around the door. In fact, the bug was large enough to completely cover the height and width of the archway, and then some. Clutching his bow, Terrence narrowed his eyes. 'Odd that a robberbug should be seen here. Or, perhaps I am thinking of a creature from another era.'

"S-s-s-step aside, frail bard." Finlay held out his hand to stop Terrence. "The powers that Valkyrie Rangdris had bestowed upon me will smite the evil monster! With my sword!"

"Here I had assumed that she bequeathed to you the arrow."

"... and the arrow! She bestowed both!"

Terrence sighed and chuckled, shaking his head slightly. Ah, children. Their innocence was quite amusing. 'He has quite the vocabulary. A reader of books, perhaps? Or is that giving him too much credit? Speaking of too much credit, how long will he last against this threat to humanity?'

The red robberbug had yet to notice the two. While Terrence's instincts told him that he should do his best to protect the child, as such a monster could easily scorch a child in the wake of its fiery breath, Terrence thought otherwise. He claimed to be a hero. Now was Finlay's chance. Terrence merely hummed a song to himself, a gentle melody that lowered anyone's urges to attack him. 'Now let me see what Finlay will do.'

Wooden dagger in one hand and elven arrow in the other, Finlay began his triumphant march forward. The closer he came to the bug, the slower his pace until finally, he stood beside the non-aggressive insect, his feet firmly planted on the ground and his arms trembling. The thiefbug's antennae twitched but otherwise, the bug paid no attention to Finlay and went elsewhere. Finlay's head turned, his eyes widened.

"I... i... it..."

Terrence folded his arms. "Well, hero? Do you not wish to save me?"

"I... I..."

"You are a hero, are you not? Or are you merely a poser?"

"I am not a poser, and I'll prove it! HYAH!"

The kid hurled the arrow like a javelin at the robberbug. Due to his poor aim and form, the arrow, midway in the air, dove straight down away from the robberbug's head...

... and onto its foot.

The insect let loose a screeching howl. From underneath the robberbug, a hoard of smaller thiefbugs crawled out, all facing the poor, hapless hero.

"U... uuu..."

Finlay dropped his wooden sword. The robberbug leapt forward, its followers in suit. Finlay jumped back, narrowly avoiding the robberbug's attack. Swirling around, he turned tail and ran as fast as he could.

"HELP! Please! Save me!" Finlay cried as he ran back and forth in front of Terrence, Robberbug and its minions in tow.

Terrence placed a hand on his collarbone. "Me? Save you?" he scoffed. "How can I? I'm the frail Maestro, remember?"

Please! Please, mister! I'm really sorry!"

Robberbug was gaining speed and would soon catch up to Finlay, but Terrence hadn't finished his power trip. "May you squeal a little louder? I couldn't hear you."

"I'M SORRY, OKAY? I'M SORRY! I just wanted to be strong like those cool Swordsmen, okay? I made up all those stories from all those books I read! I was lying! The only thing that was true was that I lost my eye to a thiefbug! I'm sorry I'll never be good enough!"

Terrence sighed in fake resignation. Now that the boy had shown his true colours, he could be helped. "Very well then. Allow me to show you a skill that would perhaps put your creative imagination to good use."

"Anything! Please! Save me!"

"Hmm." Terrence scratched his chin. "Ah. Yes." He cleared his throat. "Robberbugs, a moment please."

Naturally, the insects continued their pursuit of Finlay, but their antennae suggested that they sensed the vibrations of Terrence's voice.

"What do you call a fight between a cook and a baker?" Terrence asked. "A-salt and batter-y."

All the insects froze in place. Literally. Each monster unfortunate enough to have heard Terrence's terrible joke had become encased in ice. Even robberbug, which, by all accounts, didn't make sense. Finlay stopped running. Although not encased in ice, as the technique may do to party members every now and then, he still froze in place. His mind slowly processed the pun.

"A-salt... and batter-y... a... Assault and battery." Finlay glared at Terrence. "Ha ha. That's horrible, mister."

"It's supposed to be. That is the Bard technique Unbarring Octave, also known as Frost Joke." Terrence smiled. "The worse the joke, the more likely they will freeze. Then..."

Terrence waved a wind scroll around his bow. The scroll dispersed into energy hovering over the bow. A gentle breeze brushed his fingertips. Most likely, the enemies on the receiving end of his attack would feel much worse. Finlay looked up and the next thing he knew, he saw a barrage of arrows fire at the mob of frozen monsters. Shards of ice shattered as the arrows pierced through the enemies, gusts of wind bursting out of each arrow. When Terrence landed, the ice had melted, leaving behind corpses of insects embedded with arrows. Finlay clenched his little fists, his eyes wide.

"S-so cool! You can freeze monsters and do cool stuff with your bow? I thought Bards-Minstrels-Maestros-Clowns-whatever could only sing and follow people around."

"Then perhaps you have learned a new truth." Terrence figured that the excitement Finlay exhibited now was a similar kind of worship akin to a Novice seeing a higher-leveled character take down a monster. Perhaps one day Finlay will realize that Terrence's feat was hardly impressive. For now, Terrence was going to bask in every minute of his glory.

"Nevermind a Knight! I wanna be a Bard when I grow up! Tell stories. Freeze enemies! Shoot people rapid fire! Atatatatata!"

Terrence chuckled. "First you must become an Archer. A Bard's life is a long road and hardly the strongest. Is this a road you wish to take?"

"Darn right it is!" Finlay placed his hands on his hips. He looked like he had made up his mind.

"But for now, I will take you home."

"But I don't wanna go home just yet--"

"You do remember what I can do with a bow." Terrence began to take the bow off of his shoulder.

"Nevermind, nevermind! I'm coming home! Don't shoot me!"

Thankfully, on the way home, Terrence didn't have to listen to any more stories of Sir Finlay the Fifth. Terrence couldn't help but wonder if Graham was aware of Finlay's tall tales. Knowing Graham, he knew that Terrence could teach the child something. Hopefully one day, they would cross paths again, but as Finlay the Bard.