by Saless
Chapter 69

Mike and Jill laughed at Sarah's reaction. She smiled sheepishly at them once she'd let Erica go. "So, uh, what do you guys want to do now?" she asked in an attempt to shift the focus away from herself.

Erica smiled knowingly at her, but Vash spoke up before she could say anything. We could use the empty world to test your abilities again. We don't have to worry about being seen there, and I have identified most of the objects now. he suggested.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about all those magical objects we brought back with us. That's definitely a better idea than finding another secluded spot to wreck. What do you guys think?" Mike said.

"Sounds good to me." Jill said. Sarah and Erica nodded their agreement, so Sarah opened the portal. They gathered up all of their gear and then Sarah used portals to move the magical objects they hadn't used yet out to an empty area Vash had found.

"So what have you identified?" Mike asked once they walked through the portal themselves. They were on the street just outside of an overgrown city park.

The first thing is Jill's sword, the one she found in the sarcophagus. It's practically unbreakable. Vash replied. Then there's that map case. It was particularly difficult to figure out, but it would seem that any map placed in it will be magically updated to reflect any changes in the area it covers. It might even work on a map from your world. If it does, it should show changes to streets, street names, everything.

"Wow!" Jill said, looking at her sword in a new light. "That map case could really come in handy!"

"Are there any maps in the case?" Mike asked.

No, it's empty. Vash replied.

"Oh well, I guess we probably wouldn't have any use for a map from that world anyway, unless we were planning on going back for some reason." Mike said. "What else have you figured out?"

The swords. The short sword is light weight like Erica's, and freezes whatever it touches. The other sword, the scimitar, becomes extremely hot when used, but only the blade. Both will do extra damage because of that, and might have other uses. Vash replied.

"So who's going to use those?" Erica asked.

"Do we really have to decide who uses what? I mean, we can share them, right?" Jill said.

Erica shrugged, "We can, but we'd be better off learning to use them well. If we're always trading weapons we'll never learn how to use any of them all that well. And with their different magical effects, they will require some getting used to."

Mike nodded, "I agree. But I already have the shape shifting sword, Erica has the sword that cuts through anything, and you have the unbreakable rapier. Obviously Sarah should get one of the new swords."

"I wonder…" Sarah said thoughtfully, looking at the swords in question. She picked up the scimitar in her right hand and the short sword in her left. The scimitar was slightly longer, but didn't look it because of its curvature. She swung them around a few times and the short sword developed a slight mist about the blade, while the scimitar began to glow dully and a heat haze was visible around it. Sarah touched the tip of both swords to the asphalt at the same time and it cracked loudly.

"Whoa, be careful Sarah!" Erica exclaimed.

"It's okay, I just thought they might be more useful together than they are separately. And I am ambidextrous, so…" Sarah said with a shrug.

"You want to use them both?" Erica asked.

"Sure, why not? I'll need scabbards for them, and a sword belt, butt they're both so light I should be able to use them easily enough. And we might have need of them at some point." Sarah replied.

"Okay, but why don't you set them down for now, well away from each other?" Jill said, looking at the cracked asphalt meaningfully. Sarah did as she asked. "Thanks. Now what about the other stuff Vash?"

Two of the three daggers are simply enhanced. Lighter, tougher, sharper, that sort of thing. One of them is stronger than the other, but otherwise unremarkable. The third dagger, however, is perpetually poisoned. I can't be certain, but I suspect the poison would be lethal in small quantities, and quickly! We should be very careful of that one! Vash replied.

"Which one is poisoned?" Jill asked worriedly. Vash pointed it out and Jill carefully set it aside. "We need to put that one in something. I don't know if we'd ever want to use something like that!"

"Oh, I don't know… I think it could come in handy! Once we get a sheath for it I think I'll use it." Erica said thoughtfully. "Why don’t you and Sarah take the other daggers?"

Jill looked at Erica like she was crazy. "You actually want to use that thing?! One little mistake and you're dead!" she said incredulously.

"But in order to be perpetually poisonous there has to be magic involved, and I'm immune to magic. So it should be safe enough for me." Erica pointed out.

"Alright, but be careful with that thing!" Jill replied dubiously. She and Sarah removed the other daggers from the pile. Anything else Vash?

Well, there's the axe. It's a little lighter weight than you'd expect, and it is very tough and sharp. It also guides its wielder's hand, making it far more accurate and powerful than it normally would be. This ring here, he continued, pawing at a gold ring with a small ruby on it, will protect it's wearer from fire and heat. I suggest that Sarah use it, since she will be using the scimitar and has her fireballs, anyway.

Sarah shrugged and picked up the ring, "Okay." She slipped it on.

I've identified only two other things so far. The gauntlets will grant their wearer strength and the boots, speed. Vash said.

"Can Mike use them?" Jill asked.

He can use them, but they might be destroyed when he changes shape. At the best they would fall off. They're definitely not compatible with his shape shifting. Vash replied.

"Oh." Jill said in disappointment. "I thought Mike would be a good fit since he's the one that does most of the hand-to-hand fighting."

"He can still use that axe." Sarah pointed out. "There shouldn't be any danger of it being destroyed when he shifts. Why don't you use the boots and gauntlets Jill?"

"Me?!" Jill exclaimed. "Why not Erica? She's done more fighting than I have!"

"Yes, but her sword can cut through anything. She doesn't need strength with that! Besides, I thought super strength would be a good combination with an unbreakable sword." Sarah replied.

"She's got a point. And I'm immune to magic, so they probably wouldn't work for me. It sounds like a good solution to me." Erica said.

Mike shrugged and picked up the axe. "Works for me. I'm probably the only one who could use this axe without the gauntlets, anyway. It might be lighter than normal, but it's still pretty heavy!" he said. The metal shaft of the axe was three feet long, and the crescent shaped blades at least a foot long on each side. There was also a long spike at the top so it could be used to stab as well as cut an opponent.

Why don't you practice with your new weapons while I take a look at the remaining objects? Vash suggested. The others agreed and were soon hacking and slashing at whatever was handy in the park.

Jill soon discovered that her rapier, when used in conjunction with the gauntlets, could cut through things almost as well as Erica's sword. Mike's axe was pretty devastating, but even more so when he shifted to Naga form. The sword disappeared from his back and apparently added its magic to the axe's. But it was Sarah's hot and cold swords that made the most noise. She stabbed a post with the scimitar, causing it to catch on fire from the intense heat coming off the sword, and then hit it with the short sword. Neither blade dug in deeply, yet the post shattered with the conflicting temperatures. It caused a small explosion that knocked Sarah off her feet.

"Are you okay Sarah?" Jill asked, running so fast she was at Sarah's side at the same time she hit the ground.

Sarah grimaced but said, "Yeah, I'm okay. I guess I'd better be careful using these swords that way."

"Definitely!" Jill agreed, pulling some splinters out of Sarah's arms. Erica arrived a moment later with some healing water and dabbed it on Sarah's wounds.

"They were just splinters!" Sarah protested.

Erica shrugged, "I know, but why be in pain when you don't have to be? Besides, they could have gotten infected."

"I guess." Sarah said.

"I've been wondering, though, do we really need to learn to use all these weapons? I mean, why would we need them? Are we planning on going to more dangerous worlds?" Jill asked thoughtfully.

You won't need to, your world is becoming dangerous enough. Vash replied.