One of the first things that Jack noticed as he trained every day with Rose and practiced his magical abilities with Eleanor was just how much weight he was losing. Something about the quality of the food the two of them were preparing, combined with the huge amount of energy expended in his days, was making him shed weight like he was dying of cancer. And he felt his muscles swelling and hardening from constant use that, even in spite of the limited time he"d been at it, he could see his toes standing up straight, and for the first time in his life, he had clear definition in his arms, chest, and legs. There was still some thickness in the middle, but if I he kept this up, he"d have washboard abs in no time, he imagined.He also had a creeping suspicion that Eleanor literally sucking the life out of him every couple of days wasn"t helping him stay thick and chubby either, but even if it was literally killing him, he wasn"t about to stop enjoying himself over something as trivial as his impending demise.
He also, on a whim, decided it was time to be rid of his back-length, ratty hair, and his facial hair. Something about them just didn"t feel right anymore, now that he"d begun transforming himself. Simon, with the help of Eleanor"s heat-deadening spell, gave him a close shave with one of the kitchen knives, and Eleanor and Madeleine made a small project out of cutting and styling his hair.
Once he finally saw his reflection in the mirror Rose held out to him, he didn"t recognize himself. He looked... cool. Like an actual hero. He had to physically pull at his face and hair a few times just to make sure he wasn"t losing his mind. It was real. And it gave him the jolt he needed to get back to work.
"So, where exactly do heroes go to find adventure in this world?" Jack asked over dinner one evening about a month into his stay with Simon and the girls. He was enjoying his time with the four of them immensely, Eleanor and Rose especially, but he was finding that he had reached a ceiling in his skills, and the fact that Frumpkin hadn"t offered him any more awards since arriving, despite his accomplishments, told him he wasn"t making any genuine progress towards his final goal. Which meant either he waited for adventure to come to him, or he went out looking for it. And he had a sneaking suspicion, based on all of his time immersing himself in fantasy worlds before his sudden and untimely death, that sitting and waiting for it to come to him would not be his best option.
"Most everywhere in the world needs adventurers these days, at least in the towns and cities. I think your best bet would probably be to head to one of those and see if the guilds need any help." Rose said.
"W"en I was there"n "Awkport not two days "go, them"s "avin" troubles wit" "em kobolds again." Simon said, chiming in between mouthfuls of chicken.
"Hawkport"s where I would say to head first, then." Rose said.
"How far is it from here?" Jack asked.
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"About a week"s travel, I"d say." Rose said. "If you"re walking, at least. Although, in your case, probably a couple hours by flight."
"Yeah, that"d be great. Except I can"t fly nearly that long before I"m too drained to stand. And I need a full night"s rest to recharge, it seems like." Jack said.
"In that case, I"d just take things the scenic way." Rose said.
"Plus, if you do things the scenic way, we will actually be able to join you on the journey!" Eleanor chimed in with a smile.
"I"m coming too." Madeleine said quietly, and while her speaking didn"t catch him off-guard anymore, the fact that she"d want to travel with him did, as much as she seemed to love things around the farm. He also still struggled with treating her and thinking of her like a child because of how she looked, even though he knew that was stupid.
"Well, alright then. I guess I have a party, then!" Jack said, grinning. "Let"s start prepping for the trip!"