《The Morningstar》


 Prologue

    Ring! Ring! Ring!


    A young man, finely dressed, stood in the village centre, ringing the bell to signal the start of the day.


    The early morning sun cast its warm rays on the little village. Ploughs struck the soil, as young men and women prepared the land for the season to come.


    Children ran down the main street chasing carefreely after each other on their way to the schoolhouse, spooking a flock of birds into the sky.


    One of the birds, a swallow, flew across the village, landing on a roof overlooking the blacksmith¡¯s forge on the other side of town.


    Ding! Ding! Ding!


    Sparks scattered as the hammer struck down on the glowing hot iron, making the finishing strikes to what he had been working on. The old blacksmith wiped his brow as he set his hammer to the side. A hand reached out, passing him a mug of water, which he ripped away with brute force.


    Gulping down the water in one burst, he waited for the metal to cool before going back to work, attaching the metal rim to the edges of the leather-bound wooden shield. Attaching leather straps to the back of the shield, he gave it one final look over.


    The shield was made of poplar and covered in course leather, with an iron rim, encircling the iron shield boss. A guige strap looped diagonally over the shield, with two vertical enarmes set in the middle to allow the shield to be gripped.


    ¡°There we are. See how that feels,¡± the blacksmith said, handing the shield off to the man next to him.


    The man slung his arm through before pulling the strap tight around his forearm. Gripping onto the second strap, he swung his arm around, running through a range of motions to make sure it felt comfortable. Satisfied, he pulled his arm out and slung the guige around his shoulder and across his chest, carrying the shield on his back.


    ¡°It¡¯s just what I needed,¡± he said.


    ¡°Of course it is. Did you doubt my work?¡± The old blacksmith grumbled.


    ¡°Why would I do that? Everyone knows you¡¯re the best blacksmith from here to Whitmore Castle,¡± he said flatteringly.


    ¡°Stop yapping and get back to doing your job,¡± the blacksmith said, noticeably pleased with the compliment. ¡°And don¡¯t break your shield this time, we don¡¯t have the resources to keep making such stupid mistakes.¡±


    The man rolled his eyes as he walked off, giving a mock salute to the blacksmith. Wouldn¡¯t dream of it. With his new shield slung over his back, he raced on over to the southern entrance to the village.


    Turning the corner, he was forced to awkwardly side-step out of the way as a child almost barrelled straight into him.


    ¡°Sorry Uncle Luci,¡± the child said.


    The child¡¯s friends, all of a similar age, came to a stop, looking up at the man with wide-eyed admiration.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay Roddy,¡± he said, dropping onto one knee to scruff up his nephew¡¯s hair. ¡°But shouldn¡¯t you all be at the schoolhouse by now?¡±


    The kids panicked as they realised they were going to be late for school, so they quickly ran off while waving goodbye.


    ¡°Tell your mother to drop by my place for dinner,¡± he called out as the kids disappeared from view. Bah, he probably didn¡¯t hear me. I¡¯ll find some time to drop by and invite her myself. She¡¯d kill me if she missed out on a slice of blueberry pie.


    A few minutes later and he had arrived at the southern entrance to the village.


    A wooden archway wrapped over the dirt path. Existing more for decoration than for any defensive purposes, as it was so old that a strong gust of wind would most likely knock it over.


    Beside it stood a ¡®guardhouse¡¯, where the guards could rest when off duty. It was more or less just a shoddily constructed roof, held up by pillars that looked as worn down by the archway.


    It was awful, but it at least allowed him a chance to escape whenever the sun or rain got too heavy, so he was thankful for that.


    He sat down across from the young lad who was nodding off on the table. The chair groaned underneath the added weight.


    The young man woke up with a start, looking around in a panic as he fumbled for the sword at his waist.


    ¡°Take it easy John. It¡¯s just me,¡± he said, tapping the young man on the shoulder to get his attention.


    John breathed a sigh of relief as he slumped back into his chair. He rubbed the corner of his eyes as he yawned, his eyes trailing across the surroundings. ¡°what time is it?¡±


    ¡°Just past sunrise, but you would know that if you were awake to hear the morning bell.¡±


    ¡°Cut me some slack Lucien, it¡¯s not like I missed anything. We¡¯ve found nothing all week. I don¡¯t even know why captain is having us watch in pairs,¡± John said.


    Lucien was about to say something but thought better of it. ¡°Captain¡¯s just worried. You¡¯ve heard the rumours going around lately. He just wants to keep everyone safe,¡± Lucien sighed. He looked around with a frown, slowly realising that something was off. ¡°Where¡¯s Adam?¡±


    John looked up at Lucien with a tired smirk. ¡°Where do you think he is? He ran off as soon as the shift started. The bastard. He¡¯s probably enjoying a nice breakfast as we speak.¡±


    Lucien sighed and rubbed his eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to him. I can¡¯t have him running off like that. Captain will have my head for this.¡± Just another reason to visit my sister¡¯s place. Hopefully he doesn¡¯t run off before I get there.


    ¡°That¡¯d be fun to see,¡± John chuckled.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think you¡¯re getting out of this. I¡¯ll drag you down with me if i have to.¡± Lucien smirked as John¡¯s laughter immediately stopped, his face paling dramatically. ¡°we wouldn¡¯t want that now, would we?¡±


    John gulped heavily, his head rattling like a broken doll. ¡°Mhm.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Lucien chuckled, his eyes trailing across the surroundings for any signs of activity. Looks like he wasn¡¯t lying. There¡¯s really nothing out there. I¡¯ll cut him some slack. I¡¯ve already rattled him enough as is.


    John stared into the village, waiting for his replacement to show up. The moment he saw Arthur¡¯s shadow he launched out of his chair and sprinted towards his house, as if the devil was chasing him.


    Arthur was significantly older, and more battle-worn than John, so it took him longer to make it to the gate. He was not much older than Lucien, bordering on sixty years, but time had not been as kind to him as it was to Lucien. His face was rough and weatherbeaten; adorned with wrinkles.


    His time out at battle hadn¡¯t done him any better. He was left with a noticeable limp after his left leg was severed at the thigh. Thankfully, he could afford a wooden replacement leg, so he was still able to move around with relative ease.


    Arthur hobbled over to the chair, shooting Lucien a quizzical look as he sat down.


    ¡°I found him sleeping on the job,¡± Lucien explained.


    Arthur noticeably shivered. ¡°poor lad. Did captain see it?¡±


    ¡°Do you think he¡¯d still be standing if he did?¡± Lucien asked.


    Arthur looked back at the village and shook his head. ¡°Definitely not.¡±


    Living in such a small village and having worked together almost every day for years, there wasn¡¯t much for them to talk about, but both men were fine to just sit and enjoy the peaceful moment in silence.


    And it was peaceful. For a whole hour they saw nothing aside from a curious rabbit that approached the village before being scared away by their presence.


    There was a small meadow just south of the village, giving them the ability to spot anything approaching the village from the edge of the forest long before it could cause any trouble.


    Sighing, Arthur pulled out a wooden cup from his inner coat, slamming it onto the table. Something rattled inside as Arthur looked at Lucien. ¡°care for a game?¡±


    Shrugging, he turned his attention to the cup, while still keeping an eye out on the forest. ¡°why not.¡±


    By the time he had answered, Arthur had already pulled out a piece of wood from the other side of his coat and used it as a divider.


    Arthur picked up the cup, cupping his hand around the open top and started shaking, skilfully stopping anything from falling out. He slammed it back down onto his side of the table and lifted the cup.


    Ten homemade wooden dice were left on his side of the divider. He shifted three off to the side, tossed the rest back into the cup, and set it down on Lucien¡¯s side.


    Lucien took his turn shaking the cup before setting the dice down on the table. Hidden on his side of the divider, the seven dice rolled three different results: two were swords, one was a shield, and the remaining four were blank.


    Damn, no palm. Setting aside the two swords and the shield, he put the remaining four dice back in the cup.


    Arthur rolled and took his two dice, handing the cup back to Lucien.


    Come on. Give me something good. Shaking the cup vigorously, he slammed it down with a heavy breath. Lifting the cup, he couldn¡¯t help but be disappointed. Damn. Both dice rolled blank, leaving him with just two swords and a shield.


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    Arthur pushed aside the divider and smiled. ¡°Looks like I¡¯ve won,¡± he said triumphantly. He had a palm, a sword, two blanks, and a shield.


    Pushing the palm forward, he took Lucien¡¯s shield for himself, successfully blocking both of his swords and leaving Lucien open to a strike from his own.


    ¡°Come on, you can do better than that.¡± Arthur grinned.


    ¡°You got lucky,¡± Lucien said as he collected all of the dice back in the cup. At the same time, Arthur placed the piece of wood back in the middle, ready for the second game to begin.


    Come on, give me something good. Lucien shook the cup with gusto, listening carefully to the rattling of dice. Now! He slammed the cup on the table, the dice came to a standstill. Half of them were blank, but most importantly, among the remaining swords and shields was an open palm. Grabbing the hand, he paired it with a sword and shield before handing over the rest of the dice.


    The game went back and forth once more. When each player had five dice, the divider was lifted so that they could see who had won. Lucien had three swords, a shield, and a palm, whereas Arthur had two swords and three shields.


    ¡°Look who¡¯s lucky now,¡± Arthur grumbled.


    No matter what I take here, I still win. Lucien grinned as he swapped his palm out for one of Arthur¡¯s swords. They played out the rest of the round, swords clanging against shields, with Lucien left with one sword in the end against a defenceless Arthur.


    They continued playing, the hours passing as they kept an eye out for any potential threats, but nothing came. They didn¡¯t even so much as catch a glimpse of a predator wandering in the forest, let alone coming close enough to the village to be a threat.


    Ring! Ring! Ring!


    The village bell rang out as the sun rose to its peak. Arthur and Lucien continued playing as the sun started its decline. Every once in a while, they would take breaks from the game, either to relieve themselves, eat food, or do a more detailed search of the surroundings.


    Ring! Ring! Ring!


    The bell rang again at sundown, as other guards came to take over for them. They had long since packed away their game, and instead spent the time in silence observing the world around them. Relieved of their duties, Arthur and Lucien set off back to the village. Not too long after, Arthur split off from Lucien, entering his home.


    Lucien set off to his sister¡¯s house, reaching it only a few minutes later. Hope he hasn¡¯t run off. He stretched his shoulders before knocking in the door.


    ¡°Coming!¡± An exuberant voice called out. The door was opened not too long after by a woman wearing a plain white apron over her brown dress. A dozen years younger than her brother, time had only just started to leave its marks on her, mostly through the stress of motherhood more than anything else. A few wrinkles built around her glimmering blue eyes but were overshadowed by her toothy smile.


    At forty-eight, Lucien¡¯s hair was already peppered with some strands of grey, while hers remained a brilliant ebony.


    ¡°Brother, what brings you here? You should be on your way home,¡± she said, stepping aside to let him in.


    ¡°Did Roddy say anything when he came home?¡± Lucien asked casually as he scanned the house for Adam.


    ¡°No, why? What happened?¡± She asked worriedly, closing the door behind her as she went back to the kitchen.


    ¡°Oh, nothing important.¡± He followed her through to the kitchen, where she got ready to prepare dinner. ¡°Is Adam in?¡± He asked, pretending to be casual.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you start anything,¡± she sighed.


    ¡°What, I¡¯m just asking. Is that strange?¡± He asked.


    She turned around, staring him down with a withering gaze as she folded her arms.


    ¡°Point taken.¡± He raised his hands defensively. ¡°I just want to get to him before captain does.¡±


    Her face dropped, having heard stories of people having to drag their partners back after a ¡®chat¡¯ with the captain. ¡°What did he do?¡±


    ¡°He was supposed to watch the south gate last night, but he ditched the second it was just him and John. Things could¡¯ve been real bad if captain saw.¡±


    ¡°What? He told me that you two would be swapping shifts. I¡¯ll have a talk with him when he comes home,¡± she said.


    ¡°Let me do it Brie. It¡¯ll be better for everyone if I talk to him before captain does,¡± Lucien said, failing to hide a grin.


    ¡°You just want to beat him up,¡± Gabriella said.


    ¡°Your words, not mine,¡± Lucien said.


    ¡°Just remember that he¡¯s my husband.¡± She sighed, knowing that she couldn¡¯t change his mind.


    ¡°All the more reason to hit him harder,¡± He said.


    ¡°No! That¡¯s not what I mea-¡± Before she could finish speaking she was interrupted by Roderick running into the kitchen, tracking mud and dirt in from outside. ¡°Roddy, what did I say about bringing mud into the house!¡±


    He froze immediately, pretending she couldn¡¯t see him if he didn¡¯t move.


    Gabriella sighed, before crouching down to look him in the eye. ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m not mad. Just don¡¯t do it again, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okaaay,¡± He said, looking down at his feet.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get you washed up. Just wait here with Uncle Luci while I get some water,¡± she said before turning to Lucien. ¡°Can you watch him for me?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Lucien nodded.


    ¡°Oh yeah, Uncle Luci wanted to invite us over for dinner,¡± Roddy said, only just now remembering to tell her when he heard Lucien speaking.


    Gabriella stopped at the door, raising an eyebrow at Lucien, who responded with a shrug.


    ¡°There were more important things to talk about, but yeah. Delia wanted to have everyone over for dinner tonight.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I was just about to get started on dinner, and now I¡¯ve got to clean the floors and wash Roddy. I don¡¯t think we can go.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s baked a pie,¡± Lucien said, watching as both of their faces practically lit up with joy.


    ¡°Oh? Then I might be able to make it,¡± She said, unable to hide her excitement.


    Lucien smiled slightly. ¡°You go get the water; I¡¯ll handle things here.¡±


    Gabriella ran off to fetch some water, leaving Lucien and Roddy alone.


    ¡°Hey buddy, looks like you had a lot of fun. How¡¯d you get so dirty?¡± Lucien asked.


    ¡°There was this really cool rabbit, with like suuuper long ears, and we followed it, and fell in some mud, then we lost it,¡± Roddy said all in one breath, super excited to tell someone about it.


    ¡°Oh yeah? Where did you see it? Maybe I can go and find it for ya,¡± Lucien said absentmindedly while setting the fire for Gabriella¡¯s return.


    ¡°Thataway. In the woods,¡± he said, pointing roughly southeast.


    Lucien¡¯s face dimmed as he turned and looked at him sternly. ¡°You went out into the woods?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he said, realising all too late that he shouldn¡¯t have said anything. ¡°But it¡¯s okay! Papa was there!¡±


    Hmm? That explains why Gabriella hasn¡¯t seen him all day. ¡°Glad to hear you had an adult with you. Where is he now?¡± Lucien asked.


    Roddy pursed his lips as he looked askance.


    ¡°Is there something you¡¯re not telling me?¡± Lucien asked seriously.


    Roddy hesitated for a moment, avoiding Lucien¡¯s gaze before he crumpled like a wet leaf. ¡°Weeeelllll, he wasn¡¯t with us, but I did see him in the woods, so I knew he was keeping it safe for us!¡±


    What was he doing out there? He wasn¡¯t on patrol duty; I know that for certain. Did he have to go so far out of his way just to avoid me? Shaking away his thoughts, he looked Roddy in the eye. ¡°Promise me that you won¡¯t leave the village without an adult, okay?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Will you tell mommy?¡± Roddy asked, almost tearing up.


    ¡°As long as you don¡¯t do it again, I¡¯ll keep this secret to my grave.¡±


    Roddy nodded hurriedly, just in time for Gabriella to return with the water. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡±


    ¡°Secret men¡¯s business. Am I right Roddy?¡± Lucien nudged Roddy, who nodded.


    Gabriella rolled her eyes as she set the water above the fireplace. ¡°Keep your secrets then. Not like I¡¯m interested at all.¡±


    Lucien winked at Roddy as he headed for the door. ¡°Delia will probably kill me if I don¡¯t get back soon. Will I see you later?¡±


    ¡°Tell her we¡¯ll drop by,¡± she said while preparing the bath.


    Lucien nodded as he closed the door behind him. Stepping out onto the quiet street, he walked back home, lost in thought. What was Adam doing out in the woods? He wasn¡¯t on patrol; I know that for certain.


    He stopped for a moment, gazing southeast towards the woods. What is he hiding? Shaking his head, he turned back around and walked home. Opening the door, he was met with something crashing into his stomach. He keeled over slightly as a pair of small arms wrapped around him.


    ¡°Papa!¡±


    He looked down to see a head of long black hair tied neatly into pigtails. ¡°Hey pumpkin, ease up a little, will ya?¡± He said breathlessly, roughing up her hair and causing her to step back with a pout.


    ¡°Welcome home honey.¡± A gentle, warm voice called out from the kitchen as a fragrant smell drifted into his nose.


    ¡°It smells delicious,¡± Lucien said as he picked up his daughter and sat her down at the dining table. Seeing her still pouting he sighed softly and lowered himself to look her in the eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry sweetie. Do you want me to fix it for you?¡±


    Her pout immediately turned into a smile as she nodded like a chicken pecking at seeds. She sat up as straight as possible in her chair as Lucien untied her pigtails.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the comb? Oh, never mind, found it. Jack, can you get that for me,¡± he said, nodding over to the shelf, where a fine-toothed wooden comb sat.


    ¡°Yes Pa.¡± Finishing off his line of writing, he placed the quill back in its holder and got up from the writing desk. He quickly passed off the comb to Lucien before sitting back down at the desk.


    Gently combing through Delilah¡¯s hair, he looked over at Jack, who was concentrating on the parchment in front of him. ¡°What are you working on?¡±


    ¡°The teacher wants us to send a letter to the mayor, and I¡¯ve been chosen to write the letter for our class,¡± Jack said, his whole being focused on writing the letter in front of him.


    ¡°You can always talk to him face to face; he won¡¯t bother with it if you send him a letter. The old grouch,¡± Lucien said.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a writing exercise father. She doesn¡¯t expect it to actually change anything,¡± Jack explained.


    Lucien sat there, immersing himself in the peacefulness of the house. The quiet scratching of the quill. The dense, fragrant scent drifting from the kitchen. The shifting of his daughter¡¯s hair under his hands as he gently combed through it. He subconsciously hummed a little tune, wrapping bright green ribbons around Delilah¡¯s hair as he parted it back into two pigtails.


    A knock came from the door as he finished tying little bows into her hair with his rough, calloused hands. ¡°Coming.¡± Lucien opened the door, letting Gabriella and Roddy in. He looked behind them before closing the door. ¡°Is Adam not coming?¡±


    ¡°He hasn¡¯t returned home yet. I¡¯ve left him a note in case he comes back while we¡¯re out,¡± Gabriella said, staying back to chat with Lucien while Roddy ran to take his seat beside Delilah.


    Did something happen to him? It doesn¡¯t seem right that he¡¯s been out all day. ¡°Let¡¯s just forget about him right now. Go take a seat at the table, dinner should be ready soon.¡± Leaving Gabriella to watch over the kids, he snuck into the kitchen.


    His wife, Cordelia, had her back to the door as she slaved over a pot of steaming hot stew. Her mousy brown hair tied back neatly into a bun as she sprinkled the finishing touches of seasoning into the pot.


    Waiting for her to move away from the pot, Lucien snuck forward, sneakily picking up the ladle and bringing a mouthful of stew to his lips.


    ¡°Put that down,¡± she called out.


    Lucien froze, the ladle moments away from his mouth. He turned around to see Cordelia glaring at him, the blueberry pie in her hands. He smiled awkwardly as he gently dropped the ladle back into the pot.


    ¡°Help me take the pot out there,¡± she said with a smile.


    Urged on by the cold sweat forming on his back, Lucien picked up the pot and carried it to the dining table, making sure not to spill a drop.


    The young ones cheered at the sight of food, squirming in their seats as Gabriella tried to draw their attention so that they wouldn¡¯t snatch any of the food early. Jack stopped writing and joined them at the table, just as Lucien poured out a bowl of stew for him.


    Dishing out the rest of the food, Lucien took his seat between his wife and daughter. He took up their hands and closed his eyes. He gently traced his thumb in the shape of a star on the back of their hands. ¡°Matron Stellara has blessed us with another year of bountiful harvest. May she continue to bless us for the years to come. With our own two hands we have worked for this feast before us, and one day when we enter her warm embrace, so too shall we bring the fruits of our labour with us.¡±


    Everyone opened their eyes and dropped their hands. With a nod from Cordelia, everyone dug into their food.


    The stew was fantastic. Thanks to the recent harvest, Cordelia was able to add various vegetables to complement the usual serving of lamb and potatoes.


    Lucien savoured the rich flavour of the broth, while the children quickly devoured the stew to fuel their growing bodies. The pot soon emptied under the combined efforts of everyone at the table.


    Cordelia had to fend everyone off from getting to the pie, wanting to give their stomachs a moment to settle and digest their dinner. She talked with Gabriella, asking her about her day, all the while eyeing the two young ones who were practically bouncing in their seats.


    As the wait became more and more unbearable for the young ones, she eventually relented and dished out a slice of pie for each of them.


    ~


    The moon rose high into the sky. Gabriella had returned home with Roddy, and Lucien and Cordelia had just put the kids to bed.


    In bed, his arms wrapped around her, his head nestled right next to hers. His mind ran through everything that had happened today, and he couldn¡¯t shake off the feeling that something was wrong.


    ¡°I¡¯m worried Cordy.¡±


    ¡°Mm? The kids are fine. Go back to sleep,¡± she mumbled, half asleep.


    ¡°It¡¯s not the kids.¡± He sighed. ¡°Something¡¯s wrong with Adam, I just know it.¡±


    Reluctantly, she woke up. Turning to face him, she caressed his cheek. ¡°you¡¯re just upset that he didn¡¯t show up for work.¡±


    ¡°Maybe... But I feel like there¡¯s something wrong.¡± He said.


    ¡°You always think there¡¯s something wrong with him. That hasn¡¯t changed since he married your sister,¡± she said. ¡°Just trust him, okay? Everything''s fine. Now go to sleep.¡± She turned back around, quickly falling asleep.


    Yeah. Maybe you¡¯re right.

 Chapter 1

    Crack!


    The training sword cracked down on his back, a large welt joining the others as he crashed to the ground.


    ¡°Again.¡± Lucien¡¯s voice boomed as he readied his sword again for another encounter.


    Grunting in pain, Adam picked himself back up and dusted himself off. For what seemed like the hundredth time since Lucien showed up at his door this morning, Adam¡¯s grip tightened around the handle of his training sword.


    Snarling, he charged at Lucien, putting all his energy into a reckless strike against his chest. Hatred and frustration flowed through his eyes, as he put everything into putting his sword through Lucien¡¯s chest.


    ¡°Foolish.¡±


    With a graceful sidestep, Lucien easily avoided the strike, his sword driving into Adam¡¯s shoulder, making him drop his sword. A moment later, Lucien¡¯s sword rested gently on Adam¡¯s neck. If this was a real fight, he would already be dead.


    ¡°Pick it up.¡± Lucien removed his sword from Adam¡¯s neck, allowing him to pick up the sword.


    Breathing heavily, Adam stared at Lucien. If looks could kill, Lucien¡¯s body would be spread all over the training ground.


    ¡°Control yourself. Your anger is clouding your judgement, making you foolish and reckless. Slow down and leave yourself a way out. Now pick it up.¡±


    Adam took a deep breath in, clasping his sword once more. He hid his anger, slowly circling around Lucien. Cold and calculating, he waited for the perfect moment to strike. Slowly closing in on him, he took one final step forward and swung.


    His sword came down, cutting diagonally across from Lucien¡¯s right shoulder to his hip.


    Lucien batted the sword away, using the momentum of Adam¡¯s swing to knock the tip of his sword into the dirt. Taking a step forward, he kept one hand on his sword, his other already driving firmly into Adam¡¯s face.


    Adam careened backwards, crashing to the ground as blood started to pour from his nose. He clutched at it, then immediately flinched from the pain. ¡°What the fuck was that for!¡±


    ¡°Another lesson. You were too focused on my sword. Beasts and bandits aren¡¯t going to fight fair, and neither should you. A respectable duel means nothing when your life is on the line,¡± Lucien said. Looking up at the sun sitting tall in the sky, he decided to call it a day. ¡°Let¡¯s call it a day, go and cool yourself off. And remember what it is we¡¯re fighting for.¡±


    Adam staggered out of the training grounds, grumbling to himself.


    I¡¯m gonna get an earful later, but it¡¯s better than whatever the captain had planned. Putting the training swords back on the rack, Lucien hopped over the fence and walked over to one of the nearby trees. ¡°You wanted me captain?¡±


    An old man stepped out from behind the tree. Standing only slightly shorter than Lucien¡¯s 186cm, he was still above the average height of men in the kingdom of Roddarus. Despite his age, he was still as fit as an ox. After decades in the military, he was like a sword just waiting to be unsheathed.


    His face was weathered and rough, with wrinkles spreading out from his eyes, mouth, and forehead. Two bushy, sword-like eyebrows sat atop his eyes, just below the bald expanse that was his head, reflecting the midday sun. A neatly trimmed grey beard added the final touches to his appearance.


    All in all, despite reaching ever closer to a hundred years old, he was still one of the finest fighters Lucien had ever met. No one knew why Uther Grant decided to settle down in such a remote village.


    ¡°Good eyes,¡± he commented simply. To which Lucien shook his head.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have noticed if you didn¡¯t want me to.¡±


    ¡°Follow me.¡± Uther walked along the path, returning back to his home, which doubled as the command centre for the village guards. The place was simple and unadorned, only housing the basic necessities for him to live in. Spread out on the centre table was an old map of the region, containing all of the villages under the control of Tymir Whitmore, the Lord of Whitmore Castle.


    The region under Lord Whitmore¡¯s rule was sequestered off in the southwesternmost corner of the kingdom, bordering the Eternal Forest of the elves on the south, and the plains of the Wulfric clan to the west. It was a small and rather unimportant part of the kingdom, as they had been at peace with the Wulfric clan for the better part of a century; and with the elves for even longer.


    Lucien often suspected that Uther was here to maintain peace between the three kingdoms. Why else would one of the kingdom¡¯s best warriors be living in a village so close to the border?


    The village of Locham was situated but a day''s ride out from either border. And in fact, the forest to the south of the village connected directly with the Eternal Forest of the elves. Other than this, the village had nothing else of note about it.


    ¡°I saw what you were doing with Adam. I hope you know that if he makes another mistake, I will have no choice but to intervene, do I make myself clear?¡± Uther said.


    ¡°Yes sir.¡± Lucien nodded, knowing full well that he would have to sit down with Adam at some point.


    ¡°Good.¡± Uther turned his attention to the map, sighing. ¡°Another village was attacked recently.¡±


    Lucien looked down at the map, noticing a marking next to Redwater village. Good. At least we didn¡¯t lose it. ¡°Bandits again?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re growing bolder by the day. Luckily, the guards were able to fend them off with only a few injuries and some stolen grain. It¡¯ll be a little difficult, but they¡¯ve been through worse,¡± Uther said.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Something doesn¡¯t feel right sir,¡± Lucien said, staring at the map.


    ¡°You¡¯ve noticed it too. Redwater shouldn¡¯t have been able to hold them off that easily. I think they¡¯re preparing for something big,¡± Uther said.


    ¡°Redwater¡¯s only a few days east of us, do you think...¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely something we have to watch out for. The other villages should already be prepared for a potential attack from the bandits'' main forces. Chances are slim that we¡¯ll be attacked, but we must still be ready for it,¡± Uther said.


    ¡°What do you need me to do sir?¡±


    ¡°For now, nothing. Continue on with your regular duties. I¡¯ll keep you up to date on anything I hear, but if I don¡¯t get any news, I will need you to start scouting the surrounding area,¡± Uther ordered.


    ¡°Yes sir.¡±


    While they were discussing their plan in further detail, a knock came from the door.


    ¡°Come in,¡± Uther shouted; his eyes still firmly fixed on the map. ¡°They¡¯re most likely to come from here, but we can¡¯t ignore them wrapping around to the back. That would take them another day if they want to stay hidden,¡± he mumbled to himself, drawing lines and marking out potential spots and routes on the map.


    The door swung open and a young woman dressed neatly in a brown, floor-length skirt and a collared blouse entered the room. Her hair was wrapped neatly in a bun. A pencil rested in the crook of her long, sharp ear.


    ¡°Sir Grant, I¡¯d like to make a request,¡± She said. Her voice was soft and melodic but carried an authoritative quality to it.


    ¡°Cassandra, I thought you would be at the schoolhouse right now?¡± Uther asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s already past two o¡¯clock sir, the children have already gone home,¡± Cassandra said.


    ¡°It is? Looks like we¡¯ve been talking for longer than I thought,¡± He said to Lucien. ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°I want to take some of the students into the forest tomorrow,¡± she said.


    ¡°Absolutely not.¡± Uther immediately shot down her idea.


    ¡°But why sir? It¡¯s the perfect time of year, and the young ones need to learn what is and isn¡¯t safe to eat in case they get lost,¡± she explained, hoping to change his mind.


    ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous right now,¡± Uther said.


    ¡°I can protect them,¡± Cassandra promised.


    ¡°Go wait outside, I need to discuss something with Lucien,¡± he ordered.


    Clinging onto hope, she begged Lucien with her eyes as she walked past, hoping he could convince Uther.


    Watching the door close, Uther sighed. ¡°What do you think I should do?¡± he asked.


    ¡°The bandits shouldn¡¯t be able to get here by tomorrow, right?¡± Lucien asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s not likely.¡±


    ¡°Then I think we should let her go down south. I¡¯ll go with them to make sure they stay safe, and I¡¯ll bring them back before nightfall.¡±


    ¡°Mm. It¡¯s better to be done with it now. Let her know that you and Adam will be going with her tomorrow,¡± Uther ordered.


    ¡°Yes sir.¡± Adam better not run off on me. Leaving the command centre, he found Cassandra waiting for him, a hopeful expression on her face. ¡°You better follow my lead if something dangerous happens."


    Her smile widened as she bowed to Lucien. ¡°Thank you thank you thank you. I need to go get ready now, the kids will be so excited.¡± She ran off, hiking her skirt up slightly so that she could make it back to the schoolhouse as quickly as possible.


    Watching her leave, he also made his way back home. I need to keep an eye out tomorrow. If they¡¯ve sent a scouting party ahead, Uther would want to know.


    ~


    ¡°Tell me a story papa!¡± Snuggled up in bed, Delilah refused to sleep until she heard a bedtime story.


    With a sigh, Lucien sat down on the bed next to her. What should I tell her this time... I think I¡¯ve got it. ¡°Many years ago, the kingdom was on the verge of collapse...¡±


    ~


    Fire and famine spread across the lands. Terrifying monsters clawed out of the ground, harvesting the souls of every poor man, woman, and child they could find. It was chaos. For years, the kingdom of Roddarus was on the backfoot in an increasingly dire war.


    Death loomed over all, even the capital wasn¡¯t safe. Villages and towns fell like flies, either ransacked by bandits, conquered by invading armies, or destroyed by swarms of ravenous beasts. The Roddarian army was pushed back, suffering defeat after defeat until all was lost except for the capital.


    The Invading armies exploited the fury of the monsters to besiege the capital, chipping away at their defences day after day. The end was fast approaching, and there was nothing the poor citizens could do to stop it. Besieged on all sides, the capital was cut off from all resources. Countless bodies littered the streets as the city walls crumbled around them.


    And then, A star fell from the sky. Casting a beautiful streak across the night sky for all to see. It crashed into the ground somewhere in the kingdom and was found by a lone farmer. It was a gift from Matron Stellara. A powerful weapon that could turn the tides of war.


    With the star in hand, that farmer fought back against the invading army, taking back the land that belonged to the people. The monsters cowered in fear, returning back to the earth from whence they came.


    And when peace returned, the hero and his weapon disappeared, never to be seen again.


    ~


    ¡°...Or at least, that¡¯s how the story goes. But do you want to hear a secret?¡± Lucien leaned in close to Delilah, who was enraptured by the tale. She nodded frantically, like a little chick pecking at seeds. ¡°The hero didn¡¯t disappear, like the legends say. Instead, he settled down in a small village and had a family. That man was your great great great grandfather, Earnest Rowe.¡±


    ¡°Wow! I want to be like him.¡± She smiled.


    Lucien hesitated for a moment before putting on a smile. ¡°You can be. A prophecy foretold that the star would return to one of his descendants when they need it most.¡±


    ¡°Wow! Does that mean I can go on adventures and beat up bad guys?¡± Her eyes lit up with hope and excitement as she pretended to fight off unseen opponents.


    ¡°Calm down there little one.¡± Lucien laughed. ¡°You¡¯re still just a kid. You¡¯ve got plenty of time for adventures when you¡¯re older. Now go to sleep."


    ¡°Okaaay.¡± Her shoulders slumped and within a few minutes, she fell asleep.


    Lucien tucked her into bed once more, gently kissing her on the forehead. Closing the door quietly behind him, he walked around to the shed out back. Pushing aside an old chest with a grunt, a trap door was revealed. Lighting the nearby lantern, he affixed it to his waist, then pulled open the heavy trap door.


    With a sigh, he secured his footing on one of the rungs and climbed the ladder down into the darkness.


    Feeling the solid ground beneath his feet, he held the lantern up, casting its light on the dusty cellar. His shoes clacked on the hard stone floor as he walked silently down the corridor. Paintings lined the walls, regaling him of the legendary feats achieved by Earnest in his life. Him standing atop the crushed skull of a mighty red dragon. Him standing alone against the oncoming charge of the enemy¡¯s cavalry.


    As Lucien continued down the corridor, the paintings took on a life of their own, turning twisted and sinister. villages covered in rotting corpses, not a single living soul except for Earnest, who had come far too late.


    Reaching the end of the corridor, he shined the lantern on the final painting. One of a young Earnest kneeling at the feet of a mangled corpse, a baby lying lifeless in his arms. His tears fell in waves for the family he lost all too early. Powerless to do anything in the face of this tragedy.


    In front of the painting was a weapon, as dark as the night sky itself. Forged from the core of a dying star, it yearned to shine brightly once more. It drew on every morsel of light coming from the lantern, hoping to achieve this dream. But it had been dormant for too long. Locked away underground in a room only known to few for the past hundreds of years.


    It was cracked and worn, having not been shown the care and attention that any weapon should. For no one was able to, and no one dared to try. A plaque sat beneath the weapon, reading:


    ¡®Here lies the star gifted to me by Matron Stellara,


    It is the oldest friend I have,


    For it took everyone else from me.


    That was the cost of greatness.¡¯


    -Earnest


    Lucien stayed far away, refusing to get close. He shook his head and sighed. If only she knew, then maybe she wouldn¡¯t want to be the hero. Light cannot exist without darkness. Looking at the Morningstar one last time, he turned and walked away.

 Chapter 2

    A callused hand pressed softly down onto the trodden mud, making sure not to disturb the tracks.


    Dry. Assessing the tracks, all signs pointed to them being too old to actually give them a chance at finding anything. From the lighter colouration to the dryness of the mud and even small amounts of debris found inside the print, Lucien determined that it was at least a few days old.


    Before he could say anything, a cluster of tiny hands shot out into the mud, pushing into the track and destroying it. Looking up, he saw that a group of kids had run slightly ahead of Cassandra and were eager to help him out with his tracking.


    Cassandra came up and apologised, ushering the kids back to the others, who were being guarded by Adam.


    There were six kids, all of whom were around Roddy¡¯s age. There were Roddy and his three friends, who were the ones that ran off, as well as Arthur¡¯s niece, and one of the farmer¡¯s kids.


    Lucien was worried that something would happen during this trip, so despite the fact that he was scouting the area, he made sure that the group never left his sight. He was relieved that Delilah was older, and had already done this trip last year, when the conditions were far safer.


    ¡°Find anything?¡± Adam asked as Lucien joined the rest of the group.


    ¡°Nothing serious. Just deer tracks, and it¡¯s already long gone.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been telling you that there¡¯s nothing to worry about,¡± Adam said.


    ¡°You can never be too careful. It¡¯s our job to protect them.¡± Following right behind the tightly packed group, Lucien was on high alert, constantly searching for signs that something was amiss.


    Reaching a small clearing, Cassandra gathered the kids into a circle and sat them down. Adam sat down with them to rest, while Lucien constantly scanned the perimeter, his hand rarely leaving the sword at his side.


    A small bird flew and landed on Cassandra¡¯s hand as she began her lesson. ¡°Can anyone tell me what makes this forest so different from other places?¡± The bird sung its melody as it nuzzled up in the palm of her hand.


    The kids looked around tentatively, unsure of how to answer her question. Arthur¡¯s niece slowly raised her hand, waiting for the teacher to call on her.


    ¡°Yes Gwen, do you know the answer?¡± Cassandra asked.


    ¡°Is it the elves?¡± Gwen asked, her voice soft and uncertain.


    ¡°That¡¯s right Gwen. Good job!¡± She brought the bird closer to the children, allowing them to get a better look at it.


    The small bird had light green plumage and a thick short beak. It looked at the children with unbridled curiosity, the same way they looked back at it. A hint of intelligence in the small creature¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°This place is connected to the Eternal Forest. The place we elves call home.¡±


    ¡°Then why are you living here instead of there?¡± one of Roddy¡¯s friends asked.


    ¡°Who else will teach you if I¡¯m not here.¡± Cassandra smiled, but Lucien could see the sadness hidden behind it. ¡°I taught your father, and when you¡¯re older I will teach your kids too.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re so young! That can¡¯t be true,¡± Roddy said.


    ¡°She was my teacher too when I was a kid,¡± Lucien said, smirking slightly at the kids'' shocked faces.


    ¡°But you¡¯re ancient!¡± Roddy said.


    Ouch, that hurts. I¡¯m not that old, am I?


    ¡°Settle down everyone. Thank you for the compliment Roddy, but we elves age a lot differently than humans do. That¡¯s one of the many benefits the Eternal Forest has given us.¡±


    ¡°But back to what I was saying earlier. This forest is connected to the Eternal Forest, and over time, it has gathered some of the spare magical energy leaking out from there. Because of this, you will find many magical things that are rarely seen in other places.¡±


    ¡°Ooh ooh!¡± Roddy raised his hand excitedly.


    ¡°Yes Roddy?¡±


    ¡°A couple days ago we saw this rabbit with really long ears, was that magical?¡± he asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s certainly possible.¡± She smiled at him. ¡°When things are born, they will take in energy from their surroundings. And when something is born in an area with a lot of magical energy, it will be different, just like that rabbit you saw. Take this bird for example, it looks just like the ones in town, right?¡±


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    The kids nodded, now staring at the bird.


    ¡°Well watch this,¡± she whispered something quietly to the bird, which then flew into the sky and stopped just above the kids.


    Flapping its wings, its feathers started to glow. A small gust of wind shot out from its wings, colliding with a tree and knocking a few nuts off it. The bird flew to the nut and cracked one open with its hard beak before returning to Cassandra¡¯s hands.


    ¡°There is magic all around us. Everything, no matter whether it''s big or small, contains magical energy to some degree.¡±


    ¡°Woah,¡± the kids said in unison, awed by the magic before them.


    ¡°Can I cast magic?¡± the farmer¡¯s son asked eagerly.


    ¡°It¡¯s possible, but we have to study really hard before we can do that. It comes naturally to animals, but for us it requires a bit more effort.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not fair! Why can¡¯t we do that?¡± the kid complained.


    ¡°It¡¯s not all bad. We may not be able to cast magic from birth like animals can, but our magic is a lot more versatile.¡±


    ¡°What does versatile mean?¡± the young girl asked.


    ¡°It means we can do a lot more with our magic. Animals can usually only use their energy in one or two ways. Like this bird. It can only use its magic to create small gusts of wind,¡± she explained. ¡°Each creature is different, even two birds from the same nest may be able to do completely different things. So whenever you come across something magical, it¡¯s always a good idea to figure out what it can do first...¡±


    Cassandra continued to teach the kids about magic. About how it is in every living thing, and about how if you don¡¯t have enough energy, you won¡¯t be able to cast any spells. She taught them about mana, the common term for the magical energy that surrounds and exists in everything.


    Lucien smiled at the children¡¯s excitement and wonder, remembering back to when he was first taught about these things. Unfortunately, despite how close he was to such a large magical energy source, he was never able to learn magic. And that wasn¡¯t for a lack of trying. He simply didn¡¯t have enough energy to cast anything. That small bird probably had more energy in a single feather than he had in his entire body.


    Lucien immersed himself in his surroundings, never letting his guard down as Adam continued to laze about. Useless. His decades of experience told him that something was off, and the more time that passed, the more certain this feeling became.


    He heard a faint sound off in the distance, and immediately positioned himself between it and the kids.


    Adam picked himself up and readied his weapon, finally showing the attitude of a guard. He stood next to Roddy, prepared to take out his sword


    The group quietened down as the clearing became filled with a quiet tension.


    A low growl came from beyond the trees. Leaves crunched and twigs snapped under the feet of whatever was closing in on them, not trying to hide itself in the slightest.


    Lucien unsheathed his sword, his senses constantly scanning for anything coming from the other directions. ¡°Stay back everyone.¡± He commanded.


    The group bunched up, as Cassandra prepared to lay down her life for them.


    A large and ferocious wolf stepped into the clearing. Blood and dirt matted its fur as it looked at them with hunger. It was fresh out of a battle, open wounds still bleeding on its side, but it didn¡¯t care. It stared down its prey as it prepared to pounce on the kids. Its claws looked as sharp as steel, capable of rending flesh with ease.


    Lucien tensed up upon seeing the wolf, knowing them to be pack animals. He forced himself to not get distracted, but he made sure to listen out for anything else. Luckily it seemed to be alone. Let it come to you.


    It wasn¡¯t the first time he had had to fight a wolf of this size, but he still had to be careful, lest it manage to get past him and attack the children. He couldn¡¯t trust Adam to protect the children if it actually came down to that.


    He planted his feet firmly into the ground, ready to launch off at a moment''s notice. He also kept his shield on his back, knowing that this was a match of speed and reflexes, and that it would only get in his way.


    The wolf drew closer as its hunger pushed it further despite Lucien standing in his way. Normally it would be against this kind of foolishness, but it was starving, alone, and desperate. With a burst of speed, it launched forward, trying to take down Lucien immediately, but he was prepared.


    He stabbed forward with the sword, forcing the creature to step back to escape skewering itself on the blade. With the creature on the back foot, he continued to push it back.


    The wolf hopped back, distancing itself from him as it snarled.


    Lucien grew more confident at the fact that the wolf was alone, but he didn¡¯t let that cloud his judgement. The beast tried to circle around him, but he always kept himself between it and the group. He¡¯s real hungry.


    Frustrated and impatient, it launched forward, attempting to bite him when he was repositioning himself.


    Lucien stepped back and slashed forward, dodging the attack and scraping his sword along the beast''s snout.


    It stepped back and whined as blood poured from its snout. It reared up as its claws glowed readying a magical attack.


    Lucien ripped his shield off his back and stepped forward preparing to take the brunt of the attack, knowing that he couldn¡¯t dodge.


    The wolf slashed down, and large white claw marks shot through the air towards Lucien.


    The small bird soared into the sky, its wings glowing as it shot a gust of wind at the claw marks.


    The attacks met in midair, the wind from the impact whipping Lucien¡¯s hair back. The claw marks faded slightly, but easily scattered the wind. At the same time as the attack crashed into Lucien¡¯s shield, the wolf charged forward.


    His body buckled under the immense force of the strike as he was pushed back. He dug his feet into the ground, leaving a long trail. His arm screamed in agony, moments away from shattering before the pressure finally stopped bearing down on it.


    Pain shot through his arm and up into his brain as he subconsciously tensed his grip on the shield. Holding back the pain, he sensed something fast approaching. As if running off instinct, he swapped to a two-handed grip on his sword and slashed forward.


    Schlick.


    The blade dug into the wolf, slicing into its open maw, breaking its jaw and digging into the skull.


    Pain exploded up Lucien¡¯s injured arm as the wolf and his sword came to a stop. Time seemed to freeze for a moment, as all that was left in his mind was him and the wolf. Lucien saw the light leave the wolf¡¯s eyes as it dropped to the floor, bringing his sword with it.


    He stumbled forward, his hands still holding tightly onto the sword now causing him to go down with it. His head buzzed as the sounds of people screaming faded in and out of his mind. His left arm hung limply at his side, while he tried and failed to wrestle his sword out of the wolf¡¯s corpse with his good arm. Shit, how am I going to explain this to Delia?

 Chapter 3

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 Chapter 4

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 Chapter 5

    It was slow and meticulous, each wound cut into their bodies was inflicted with the intention of causing as much pain as possible while still keeping them alive. The only one that hadn¡¯t suffered was Delilah.


    Her death, when it did come, was nearly instant.


    Lucien couldn¡¯t look away. His mind was hollow. His entire life had been taken away from him. He looked around in a daze, confused. Not knowing what to do with his life.


    He sat there long enough for the day to turn to night. The rain had long since drenched his clothes, but he did not care. He didn¡¯t even feel it. He stood up shakily, running on autopilot as he closed the door and joined his family.


    He pulled them all together and fell asleep, squeezing them in a tight grip as tears streamed down his face.


    ~


    Waking up in a daze an unknown amount of time later, he walked out to the tool shed and returned carrying a shovel. His eyes were glazed over as he took one more look at them before heading outside.


    He spent the next several hours digging in the backyard until his arms felt like they would fall off. Wiping away the sweat, he plunged the shovel into the dirt and went back inside with puffy eyes.


    Ignoring the screaming pain from his left arm, he carried them gently one by one to their graves and laid them to rest.


    Taking out a small knife, he etched the symbol of Matron Stellara, a twelve-pointed star, onto the back of their hands, then filled in the graves. He was familiar with the rituals and customs surrounding burials, but he felt that he would grow intimately familiar with them.


    Using the shovel, he marked out stars in the mounds, the amount of points marking the age of the deceased. All the while he chanted softly, his voice devoid of emotion.


    ¡°Today, you begin your journey to return to the stars above, where the Matron will coddle you once again in her loving embrace. And when she has absolved you of your pain, she will cast you back down to begin the cycle anew. May you find peace in however long that may be.¡±


    Lucien leant against the shovel, using it as support as his chest heaved. Sweat dripped down his entire body. There was nothing he wanted to do more than fall to the ground and not get up. But he had one thing he needed to do before that could happen.


    Ignoring the screaming pain in his body, he dragged himself out onto the street, the shovel trailing in the dirt behind him.


    ~


    Days passed as he walked wearily through the village, giving everyone the burial they deserved. His body was burning, and felt impossibly heavy. He could barely drag himself to take a step, his feet skidding across the ground, but the last nascent fragments of his will forced him to keep moving.


    He didn¡¯t eat. He didn¡¯t sleep. He wouldn¡¯t rest until everyone returned to Matron Stellara. When he was done, he would join them too. There was no light in his eyes, and his soul was all but extinguished.


    Graves lined the backyards of each home, each mound carrying their own personal star. He knew everyone by name, and knew how old they were when they died, down to the day. The village had a cemetery, but it was far too small to hold all of them, and Lucien felt that it was better to bury them in their homes.


    Uther didn¡¯t have any space behind his little command post of a home, having decided long ago to give up his backyard as a place for the children to play and for the guards to train. So instead, Lucien chose to bury Uther in the centre of the village, beneath the bell.


    Uther was a leader of the people. He cared for everyone of them, and them him. Even if he didn¡¯t always show it. But he was there for them, and was the reason everyone felt so safe. He was the very heart and soul of the village, so Lucien thought it fitting to bury him there.


    Throughout all this time, there was one person that he wasn¡¯t able to find, no matter where he looked for him. And that was Roddy. While he was relieved that someone potentially managed to escape, and was still alive out there, Lucien was worried for him.


    He can¡¯t survive out there on his own, he¡¯s just a kid... What if Adam took him? Roddy¡¯s situation had singlehandedly kickstarted his mind. He still felt trapped in that endless haze, where everything felt all but impossible. But now, it was like there was a light off in the distance, and he felt himself drawing closer to it.


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    Maybe that light was his only chance at salvaging the wreckage that was his heart and soul. And so he clung to it desperately, and dragged himself through the abyss of despair. He was a broken man, and he knew that there was nothing that he could do to return to the life he had before. But if there was even the slightest chance that he still had some family out there, then he would cling to that hope.


    After countless days of being a mindless zombie, he finally had a new lease on life. A new goal, no matter how broken and small that might be. Only when he found Roddy and made sure that he was safe would it be time for him to go.


    But for now, he still had one thing left to do. He wouldn¡¯t let himself leave the village unfinished. Returning to the schoolhouse, there was still one person waiting for him there. The elf Cassandra. She wasn¡¯t a believer of Matron Stellara, and Lucien didn¡¯t want to bury her as such.


    Picking up her slender body, he carried her on his right shoulder. His left arm had long given up. After being put through so much stress, he could no longer feel anything in that arm. It no longer even had the ability to protest in pain. He knew in his heart that he would probably have to say goodbye to it too.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for wasting your magic.¡± He whispered while carrying her deeper into the forest to the south. He made no effort in trying to hide himself. For he ultimately still didn¡¯t care too much if he died. But for once, the forest was silent.


    As if the forest was mourning the loss of one of its own.


    He travelled for an unknown amount of time, walking further and further south. Time felt meaningless to him now, much like everything else. Nothing mattered.


    The deeper he went into the forest, the larger the trees grew. The forest was densely packed with mana, thrumming with life to such an extent that the average person could feel the mana. But Lucien could not. If it wasn¡¯t for the trees, he would have had no way of knowing that he was getting closer to his destination.


    "Stop!¡± A voice called out from above.


    Lucien followed the person¡¯s instructions, not moving any further, clearly showing no ill intentions.


    Two towering figures leapt down from the treetops, their bows pointed at Lucien and ready to fire at any moment. Both were lithe and graceful figures, with long blond hair that was tied back. They seemed like they were in their mid-twenties, but Lucien knew that was probably far from the truth.


    From Lucien¡¯s dishevelled and bloodied appearance, to the clearly injured arm and the fact that he was carrying someone, they felt that they could easily take him down if something was wrong, but they remained wary just in case.


    ¡°What brings you here?¡± The elf that spoke before said.


    ¡°I bring important news. The village of Locham is no more. Uther is dead. Everyone is dead.¡± Lucien said.


    The elves were surprised. Although they weren¡¯t too familiar with the village of Locham, they were familiar with Uther. If what Lucien was saying was true, then this was a matter of great importance that needed to be relayed to the elders.


    After a bit of discussing back and forth, one of the elves rushed deeper into the forest, while the other stayed with Lucien. The remaining elf lowered his bow slightly, finally noticing the long pointy ears of the person Lucien was carrying. ¡°An elf?¡±


    Lucien nodded, finally letting his body give out as he collapsed into a seated position. He lowered Cassandra gently to the ground in front of him, as the elf came over to check on her.


    The elf ran his hands through the air over her body, a faint green glow coursing through the air as he scanned her body. ¡°What happened?¡± He asked.


    ¡°It was a bandit attack. It all happened too fast. She died protecting the kids.¡± Lucien said, his eyes glazed over and staring off into the distance.


    The elf looked at him suspiciously. ¡°How did you survive?¡±


    ¡°I was scouting the forest when the attack happened. It was already too late by the time I got back.¡±


    The two sat in silence for a while until the elf from before returned with someone else. The new person didn¡¯t look much older than the other elves, looking to be, at most, in her early thirties. She too had long blonde hair, but chose not to tie it up, instead choosing to let it cascade down her back. It was kept out of her eyes by a laurel wreath that marked her as one of the elders.


    A being that has existed on this planet for more than a thousand years.


    ¡°Return to your posts.¡± She said to the two elves, wanting to be left alone with Lucien. As they returned to the treetops, she knelt down beside Lucien. ¡°It must¡¯ve been very hard on you. Allow me to help.¡± She reached out for his injured arm only to be rebuffed by him.


    ¡°There¡¯s more important things to talk about right now.¡± Lucien said.


    ¡°That can be discussed in due time. Right now, you are hurting. And I will not allow a friend to stay like that when I can help.¡± She said gently, coaxing Lucien until he finally relented. Removing the old bandages, she frowned.


    Lucien¡¯s entire arm had been bruised black from all the stress he had put it under. To the point where it had necrosed. It was by far the worst state she had seen an injury in for a long time. She looked at him in concern when she realised that he didn¡¯t even seem to register the pain.


    Much like what the other elf did earlier with Cassandra¡¯s body, she pushed her own mana into Lucien¡¯s arm. Her face turned grim, as the more she saw, the more concerned she was. There wasn¡¯t much of a difference between Lucien¡¯s arm and Cassandra. In fact, Cassandra¡¯s body was in a far better condition.


    ¡°There¡¯s not much I can do I¡¯m afraid.¡± She said, looking into Lucien¡¯s eyes. ¡°For all intents and purposes, your arm has been dead for a while. I haven¡¯t seen anything like this before. It¡¯s remarkable that you¡¯re still alive.¡±


    Lucien nodded, having long since accepted this outcome. He looked down at his arm with a sad smile before asking, ¡°Can you help me?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the least I can do.¡± She nodded, knowing exactly what he had in mind. She helped him lie down and unsheathed his sword. The grass coiled around him, spreading a scent that calmed his body while it held him tightly to the ground.


    For the first time in a while, Lucien felt relaxed, as if all his worries had disappeared. For a moment, he allowed himself to forget, and simply existed among the grass, the dirt, and the trees.


    She lined the sword up above his arm, knowing full well what could be saved, and what couldn¡¯t. Wanting to end this quickly, she brought the sword down with all her strength.

 Chapter 6

    THUNK.


    The sword bit into the dirt as it easily sliced through the dead arm as if it was paste. It was remarkable that Lucien¡¯s arm had managed to hold itself together until this point.


    On one side of the sword, fresh blood sprayed out, dyeing the grass red. On the other, the insides of his arm oozed out in the form of a vile, disgusting liquid.


    Grass wrapped around the dead arm and pulled it deep into the earth, never to be seen again. And where no animal can harm themselves by trying to eat it.


    A green glow wrapped around Lucien¡¯s bleeding arm, healing it. The bleeding stopped as skin coated over the open wound, turning it into a stump.


    The elf sat up and wiped the sweat from her brow. She looked down at Lucien¡¯s face and decided to leave him in the comforting embrace of the grass.


    He needs it.


    ~


    Lucien woke up, finding himself remarkably well rested. He didn¡¯t even realise how badly his body needed to rest until he did so. What happened? He squinted, looking around in a sleepful daze as he tried to figure out what was going on. He saw towering trees that blocked out the sky, and felt the rays of sunlight on his face that managed to sneak through.


    He felt the grass release him, as the calming scent slowly started to dissipate. The fog tried to settle back into his mind, but it was remarkable what a rested mind could do. He allowed the fog in, for he knew that fighting it was useless, but he didn¡¯t let it conquer him. He allowed it to wash over him, to firm his resolve.


    All this time since the massacre had allowed him to think. And with the help of the calming grass, he came to a realisation. He had to do something. What he could do, he did not know. But he knew that he had to, in some way, seek justice for those who died. He had to keep going until they had reached true peace.


    Sitting up, he felt himself oddly off balance, it was only then that he was reminded of what happened to his arm. He looked down at his missing left arm and sighed. This wound will be a reminder for me. Only when I am done will I find a replacement. He vowed.


    ¡°How are you feeling Lucien?¡± The elf said, and it was only then that he remembered he wasn¡¯t alone. The elf sat cross-legged nearby, having just opened her eyes after meditation when Lucien sat up. The air felt cleaner and more refined around her, as if her very presence was making the world better.


    This must be the benefits of meditation. He sighed, having had no luck with magic, he had heard about meditation, and the benefits it could provide, but he had never experienced it for himself. Wait a minute. ¡°How do you know my name?¡±


    She smiled as she moved over and sat across from him. ¡°Uther always boasted about you whenever he came around for a chat.¡¯¡±


    ¡°He did?¡± Lucien asked, finding that unbelievable.


    ¡°Oh all the time. He was very proud of you, you know. And I can see why. When you came her carrying Cassandra¡¯s body while bearing such horrible wounds, I knew you were his boy.¡± She said.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not actually-¡± Lucien tried to say before being cut off.


    ¡°Shh. Biological or not. He cared for you like you were his son, and that¡¯s what matters.¡± She said.


    Lucien felt a warmth inside from knowing that Uther felt of him like that. But also sadness at how he could no longer fight alongside him. There¡¯s so much about him that I still don¡¯t know. But from what she¡¯s been saying, It seems like my guess was somewhat right. ¡°I never got your name.¡±


    ¡°Aerin.¡± She answered kindly. ¡°Now, can you tell me what happened?¡±


    Lucien took a deep breath before looking into her eyes, he saw kindness in them, and knew he could trust her. ¡°We were betrayed.¡± He told her about everything he found, starting with the campsite in the forest and his lingering suspicions about Adam.


    He recounted what he found when he left the forest, from the dead guards on the outskirts, to the massacred civilians in the village proper. He told her his thoughts on how it happened, about who was responsible, and why.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for your loss.¡± She consoled him ¡°We knew something had happened when Cassandra died, but to think that it had happened like this... I¡¯m sorry that you had to witness such a thing. If you need a place to stay, you will be welcomed with open arms here.¡±


    Lucien felt warmth in his chest. ¡°Thank you, but I¡¯ve still got things I need to do.¡±


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    She saw the determination in his eyes, and knew that she couldn¡¯t stop him. ¡°Tell me what you want to do. I want to help you however I can. Uther... Was a close friend of mine, and I want to bring peace to his soul.¡±


    He could tell her words were genuine, so he told her exactly what he wanted to do. ¡°My nephew is still out there. Likely taken by Adam and held captive by the bandits. I need to get him back before something happens to him.¡±


    ¡°With only one arm? You don¡¯t know how many people they have. It¡¯ll be suicidal to try and fight them in this state.¡± Aerin said, wanting to lay out the reality of the situation.


    ¡°But I have to!... He¡¯s all I have left.¡±


    ¡°I know, but just here me out. You can¡¯t win, not on your own. Go to Lord Whitmore. He needs to know about this, and he will help you. He won¡¯t just let his people die in vain.¡± She explained.


    ¡°But what about Roddy? I can¡¯t just leave him.¡±


    ¡°We will we find him for you. I will make sure he stays safe until you return. I promise.¡±


    Lucien hesitated before reluctantly nodding. He knew her plan would give Roddy the best chance at freedom. He just didn¡¯t like how long it would take. ¡°Thank you... I mean it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the least I could do. Just think of it as thanks for bringing Cassandra back.¡± Aerin said. She didn¡¯t want to burden him or make him think that she was pitying him.


    Lucien had long since noticed that Cassandra¡¯s body was gone, but he never found the opportunity to bring it up. ¡°Is she with her family?¡±


    ¡°Yes.... Her parents are arranging her funeral. Do you want to stay for it? I¡¯m sure they would want you to.¡±


    Lucien looked further into the forest, hesitant and uncertain. ¡°I think it¡¯s better if I¡¯m not there. Besides, I should probably get going. The sooner Lord Whitmore hears about this, the better.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I understand. Let me send you off then.¡± Aerin accompanied him as he walked through the forest back in the direction of his village.


    After a few minutes of silence, Lucien heard a rumbling drawing closer to them. His instincts flared up as he reached for his sword, preparing to defend himself.


    The ground shook as a massive blur broke through the trees towards them. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Lucien locked eyes with the beast. His body tensed up as fear seemed to pulse through his missing left arm.


    A giant wolf with fur as pure as snow was bounding towards them. It was much larger than the one that took his arm. It was as big as a house, with muscles powerful enough to crush a city wall to dust. Each step it took crushed the ground beneath it, kicking up a dust storm that caused branches to whip around.


    A single swipe from it could shatter a tree in half. It could clear any normal tree in a single bound, and even come close to clearing the immortal trees of the eternal forest.


    This was the most powerful creature Lucien had ever seen. The wolf he killed seeming more like the starving runt of the litter compared to what he was now faced with. Every part of his body was screaming at him to run. To leave as fast as he could. And to not look back. But he knew that he couldn¡¯t run. The wolf would catch up to him in an instant.


    He was going to die. After all this, he was going to die to a wolf.


    It bounded closer to them with no signs of stopping, only a couple seconds away from bowling them over, and crushing every bone in their bodies.


    Out of the corner of Lucien¡¯s eye, he saw Aerin raise her hand and point her palm out at the wolf. But where he expected to see some kind of magical glow, he saw, nothing. It was just a simple hand gesture. And astoundingly, it worked.


    The wolf dug its heels in and slid to a stop, leaving long trails in the dirt and reaching a stop mere moments before it crashed into them. It sat down with a heavy thud. Even in this pose, it towered over Lucien.


    It tilted its head and looked down at Lucien quizzically. Its eyes gleaming with intelligence as they stared into Lucien¡¯s soul. The two locked eyes for a brief, intense moment before it stuck its tongue out.¡±


    ¡°Boof.¡±


    Lucien¡¯s ears rang as saliva splattered on his face and his hair was swept back by the force of the wolf¡¯s controlled bark. He flicked the saliva off his face and looked up at the wolf. It¡¯s kind of... cute? Looking at it closer, Lucien found an adorable goofiness that undermined its terrifying stature.


    It was like a big, fluffy dog. Lucien¡¯s fear and trepidation had been wiped away in an instant looking at its silly face.


    The wolf¡¯s snout nuzzled against Aerin¡¯s hand, looking for pats.


    ¡°There you are boy. Is everything ready?¡± She cooed, scratching behind his ears.


    ¡°Woof.¡± The wolf barked in affirmation, turning its body to the side, showcasing a pack that had been strapped to the side of its body. The pack looked positively tiny compared to the wolf, but was sizeable enough for a person to carry everything they would need for a trip in it.


    Lucien relaxed upon seeing how close the two of them were, so he returned his sword to its scabbard. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡±


    ¡°Sorry to frighten you.¡± Aerin apologised. ¡°I know it must have been really hard to travel here on foot, so I thought I¡¯d have my companion take you back to the village. I¡¯ve also packed you some supplies for the journey ahead. It should at least tide you over until you meet with Lord Whitmore.¡±


    It was clear from her tone that she would not allow Lucien to refuse this help, so Lucien simply nodded. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    She helped him onto the wolf¡¯s back, then whispered a few words into the wolf¡¯s ear before stepping back. ¡°Take care.¡±


    And then they were off.


    The wolf bounded through the forest at a blistering pace. Going so fast that the trees became nothing more than a blur.

 Chapter 7

    Lifting his face up out of the dense forest of fur, Lucien was finally able to lay his eyes on the actual forest around him without having to worry for his life. It amazed him just how quickly they had left the Eternal Forest. It took him so long to reach there by foot, but it only felt like a few moments while on the wolf¡¯s back. Albeit, a few terrifying moments that he wouldn¡¯t want to experience ever again.


    He shifted further up the body, pulling himself closer to the wolf¡¯s head so that he could see where he was. A pang of jealousy hit him, as he watched the giant wolf effortlessly dance between the trees with unmatched grace. Smaller critters ran hither and thither around the wolf, and Lucien watched in amazement as it somehow avoided trampling on any of them.


    Much like in his youth, he wondered what it would be like to have mana coursing through his body. Would he be able to be like this wolf? Running through the forest without causing any harm. What would he be able to achieve if he had magic? Could he have...


    The wolf looked up at him, and for a moment, he thought he had seen something human in its eyes, but he couldn¡¯t quite tell what it was. He tousled the fur on its neck wistfully. ¡°If only I was like you.¡±


    The wolf barked back at him in response.


    The two continued their journey through the forest in silence. Until they left the forest behind, and Lucien was once again faced with the ruins of Locham. Stopping at the gate, the wolf gently lowered itself to the ground so that Lucien could get down.


    Climbing off its back, Lucien took the pack off the wolf¡¯s side and was about to walk into the village when he felt something pressing against his side. Looking down, he saw the wolf¡¯s snout gently nuzzling into his ribs. He smiled. ¡°Thanks for the help, but I need to go now.¡±


    The wolf licked at Lucien¡¯s stub caringly. Showing the same amount of gentleness and care as it did for the forest and the animals.


    Lucien stayed with the wolf for a few more moments. Tousling its fur. Scratching behind its ears. The wolf was exceedingly gentle with him, so he treated it in kind. It was kind of funny, just how different his past two encounters with wolves had been. This one, despite its size, strength, and ability, was so gentle and kind. Like an old friend.


    It was only a short while, but he already felt a connection with this animal.


    ¡°You can go back now. I¡¯ll be fine on my own. I promise,¡± he sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll come and visit sometime.¡±


    After a bit of convincing, the wolf reluctantly stood up and started on its walk back to the Eternal Forest. Lucien stayed at the gate, watching until its figure disappeared amidst the trees.


    Shouldering the pack, he began his walk through the village once more. His rested mind took in everything, capturing every little detail. He wouldn¡¯t be back here for a long time. He had to fulfill his duty.


    Lucien found himself outside his home, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to head inside. With his family no longer inside, it felt, hollow... The countless memories they shared in between its walls were tainted by the sight of them that day.


    He continued around to the back of the house and into the backyard. Mumbling a prayer, he blessed their graves. He hoped their journey into the night sky was going well. Was she watching them? He hoped she was.


    The grass rustled behind him, catching Lucien by surprise. He turned around to see what made the noise, and came face to face with a rabbit. The same rabbit Roddy saw with his friends. The very same one that guided him to Adam¡¯s camp.


    It¡¯s fur remained a deathly white, untouched by the dirt and the dust. Its large ears trailed behind it as it stared into Lucien¡¯s eyes.


    Once again, he found himself unable to look away. It¡¯s eyes were like a portal to a world he had not yet touched. He lost himself in its gaze. He couldn¡¯t move. He didn¡¯t want to move. Tears welled up in his eyes and streamed down his face.


    Just like his first encounter with it, the rabbit opened its mouth impossibly wide as if to scream at the world.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be sad papa.¡±


    A familiar voice echoed in Lucien¡¯s ears, worming into his very core and rooting him to the spot. He sunk to his knees as his tears flooded the ground. His gaze turned hollow, before a spark lit up behind his eyes, shattering the rabbit¡¯s hold on him. The spark grew into an inferno, an inconsolable rage blazing in his soul.


    ¡°WHAT ARE YOU?¡± He hurled the pack at the rabbit with all his fury and might as his very soul screamed at it.


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    The pack rocketed through the air, but the rabbit was already gone before it even came close. Somehow, the rabbit appeared in front of the shed in an instant. An unknown force acted on the pack, slowing it down before it crashed into the wall, protecting what was inside.


    The rabbit sat there in front of the shed patiently waiting, as if beckoning for him to follow it.


    That throw had quelled some of his rage. He felt his body come back under his control, and so he followed the rabbit down into the cellar. He hooked the lantern to his waist just like every other time he entered the cellar, but when he climbed down the ladder, he realised he didn¡¯t need it.


    Lucien felt like he had stepped into the sky itself. Little twinkles of light scattered across the corridor as the rabbit moved. And the rabbit itself was the centre of attention. It¡¯s body glowing like the brightest of stars, a beacon guiding Lucien forward.


    The portraits on the walls were slashed through and destroyed. Each and every one of them. Those vulgar brutes left nothing of value, and destroyed whatever they couldn¡¯t carry. Just like they did everywhere else.


    Walking through the starlight, Lucien¡¯s mind was cleansed of its anger at the rabbit. He knew better than to provoke a magical creature. Especially one as strange and mysterious as this.


    Looking at the destruction those vulgar brutes had brought upon his ancestor¡¯s legacy, it only helped to firm his resolve. They didn¡¯t leave any part of his family untouched. They had to pay.


    Reaching the end of the corridor, he found the pedestal pushed over, and the morningstar gone. But of course he did. They came here for the morningstar. That useless hunk of metal was why they did all of this.


    If he had just known, he would have given it to them. This bloodshed was not worth it. None of it was worth it.


    The plaque on the pedestal was facing him, leaving him with the words of his legendary ancestor:


    ¡®...For it took everyone else from me.


    That was the cost of greatness.¡¯


    ¡°Why are we still paying for your greatness?¡± Lucien questioned, hoping Earnest was somehow listening to him. ¡°Is this our family¡¯s lot? To suffer and die for something that has been collecting dust for centuries? This... This is not worth it.¡± The more he spoke the more passionate he became.


    His impassioned cries echoed through the corridor, only to be heard by the rabbit that was sitting calmly where the pedestal once stood. It sat there, calmly taking in his cries.


    ¡°They can keep that morningstar for all I care. I don¡¯t want your greatness.¡± Lucien gasped for air, his words taking more out of him than he expected. Like a weight was lifted from his shoulders. Finally, he didn¡¯t have to bear his ancestor¡¯s burden.


    He would get Roddy back, and leave that piece of junk behind where no one would be harmed by it ever again.


    The rabbit perked up, its ears and whiskers twitching, as if listening to something that Lucien could not hear. The next second, it disappeared. The lingering starlight the only evidence of its existence.


    What is that thing? I¡¯ve never heard of anything like it. The rabbit seemed to disregard all that Lucien knew about magical beasts. The way in which it used its mana was as varied as any human.


    It was also the most intelligent magical beast he had ever heard of. And that scared him. This was the type of creature he would want to deal with the least. He had no idea what the rabbit was capable of, nor how intelligent it was. If it wanted to, it could probably kill him before he even knew what was happening.


    But for some reason, the rabbit seemed to have taken a liking to him. And honestly, he didn¡¯t know which was worse. But at least it was helping him for now.


    Lucien reached out towards one of the bits of light, trying to figure out what it was and how it worked. He felt no warmth from it. In fact, he felt nothing. His hand phased right through it, as if it didn¡¯t exist. The starlight continued to shine, unaffected by his actions.


    Lucien took one final look at the paintings on the walls and left the cellar before the starlight could fade away.


    Stepping out into the backyard, he picked up the pack that he had left outside. Thankfully nothing came along, otherwise he would have had to go searching for his own food. Looking back at the graves, he said goodbye to his family before setting off.


    He had one final stop to make before he left the village. The map in Uther¡¯s shack would help him on his journey. Entering Uther¡¯s home, Lucien took a moment to immerse himself in the room¡¯s energy.


    He had spent many a night here since his youth. This place was like a second home to him. The amount of conversations he had had discussing the future of the village with Uther was more than he could count. He had learned so much from Uther. Almost everything he knew was taught to him by that man.


    Looking down at the map, he charted his journey to Whitmore Castle. This journey would be a long one. Whitmore Castle was located northwest of Locham, in the very centre of the region. Locham was one of the farthest villages still under Lord Whitmore¡¯s rule.


    But at least that meant there were many stops for him to make on this journey. Several villages were scattered between Locham and Whitmore Castle, including a large town. If he ran out of supplies, there would always be a place for him to get more.


    Stopping to think for a moment, he added markings next to Locham, adding it to the list of villages that had been attacked, and destroyed. He rolled the map up and stuffed it into the pack. This could be useful.


    Taking one final look around the simple shack, he stopped in front of Uther¡¯s sword. Lucien had taken the time to pick it up from the battlefield, clean it off, and hang it up on the wall. He kissed the blade, swearing to himself to never forget Uther¡¯s teachings, and left.


    Walking through the village, he took the time to say one final goodbye to everyone, and wished them well on their journey into the stars. He hoped that everyone would be able to stay safe up there, and that they¡¯d be able to return to Stellara¡¯s embrace quickly.


    He stopped in the centre of town, kneeling in front of Uther¡¯s grave. ¡°Thank you. For everything.¡±


    Lucien had a long journey ahead of him. And he had delayed it long enough. He walked quickly to the northern gate, which was in just as bad a state as the southern one. Leaving the village behind, he didn¡¯t turn back, and he didn¡¯t stop.


    The long journey to Whitmore castle was waiting for him.

 Chapter 8

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 Chapter 9

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 Chapter 10

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 Chapter 11

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 Chapter 12

    Atop the horse, Lucien noticed Lynn looking at him from afar before racing off in the other direction. She was definitely the one listening in on us. I wonder, what is she going to do?


    He had recognised the spark in her eyes from the moment she opened the door. That passionate and burning desire to help people. He knew she would make a fine guard one day. He wanted to know what she would do to change everyone¡¯s opinion of her.


    But of course, this was just a passing curiosity. He knew what was important, and wouldn¡¯t let himself get distracted by this small amount of interest. He rode off, quickly leaving Paul and the village behind.


    He was worried about their safety as the closest village to Locham, but he knew that was out of his hands. In this state, he wouldn¡¯t be much help to them in a fight. Or really with anything for that matter. Good luck everyone. May the Goddess bless you.


    He left the village behind, the sun sitting high above in the clear sky. It was well into the season of change by this point, and Lucien could feel it in the air. It was warm, and pleasant. The flowers by the roadside were blooming and beautiful, and the grass was fresh and vibrant.


    Looking up at the sun above, he guessed that he still had a chance to reach the next village today. It wasn¡¯t a guaranteed thing. If he got caught up in anything he wouldn¡¯t be able to make it before nightfall. Even if nothing came to stop him there would still be a chance that he wouldn¡¯t make it.


    He knew he would be spending a lot of time with this horse from now on. Almost every hour until he reached Whitmore Castle would be spent in the saddle or camping next to the horse. So he spent this time further familiarising himself with the horse¡¯s mannerisms and personality, as did the horse with his.


    ¡°I just realised, they never told me your name.¡± He stroked his fingers through the horse¡¯s mane gently. ¡°I can¡¯t just call you horse this entire time.¡± He was lost in thought, but ended up drawing a blank. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve still got plenty of time.¡±


    He spent the next few hours on the road with little problem. His legs were feeling a bit sore and stiff by now, so he had to come to a stop. He wasn¡¯t familiar with horse riding, so he expected that his body wouldn¡¯t be up to the task. I¡¯ll get used to it. Eventually.


    Coming to a stop, he hopped off the saddle to stretch his legs. He heard his stomach grumble and looked around his surroundings. Time to eat.


    He led the horse to the grass on the side of the road and reached for the satchel. Rummaging around for something quick to eat, he pulled out a loaf of bread and snapped it in half.


    Munching away at the dry bread, he unplugged his waterskin and washed the bread down. He also pulled out a small packet of dried berries that the elves prepared for him. They were delicious. Far more palatable than the bland bread he was having. It was just a shame that he wouldn¡¯t get much sustenance from them.


    Hard bread was going to be his staple food while he was on the road, as well as some dried meat. Everything else would spoil quickly, so if he wanted something better he would have to scrounge around or hunt for it himself.


    But for now, he would make do with his bread and water. Finishing up his meal, and just as he was about to climb up into the saddle to set off, he noticed the horse¡¯s ears twitch, as if it heard something.


    He dropped his hand to the hilt of his sword as his eyes darted around in search of whatever had disturbed the horse. At first he thought the horse had reacted to a nearby predator, but when he saw that it wasn¡¯t showing any signs of being nervous or skittish, he relaxed a little.


    But that still didn¡¯t mean he would let down his guard. He waited patiently for a while longer and was soon rewarded for it.


    Off in the distance, back the way he came, he saw a shape growing as something drew closer to him. As the thing got closer and started to become recognisable, the sound the horse had heard also reached his ears.


    At first it was faint, but it soon became unmistakable. It was the sound of a horse¡¯s hooves hitting the dirt road. Someone else had left the village, probably not too long after he did. It gave him the feeling that he was being followed.


    He didn¡¯t make it too obvious that he was looking at them, in case he needed to catch them off-guard . Instead, he was combing his fingers through the horse¡¯s mane while keeping an eye out over his shoulder.


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    He relaxed his grip on his sword and kept observing the oncoming horse. When he was finally able to make out who it was, he sighed. It was Lynn. The young girl who had been staring at him before he left and the daughter of the guard captain.


    I should have known. He held his face as a chuckle escaped his lips. He had already pieced together everything that happened. After eavesdropping on their conversation, she took a horse and followed after him.


    She was riding a chestnut-coloured horse, probably the one he saw at the stable earlier, so it was likely that she didn¡¯t have a horse of her own and saw fit that she could take one of the village¡¯s horses.


    Figuring she was here for him, he pretended that he was still taking a break from riding. Not that either he or the horse were complaining.


    ¡°Lucien!¡± Lynn shouted from atop the horse, clearly a little out of sorts.


    Lucien turned around to face her. ¡°Well if it isn¡¯t Lynn, were you looking for me?¡± he asked with a calm smile.


    She came to a stop next to him and jumped off the horse. A lock of her hair was stuck to her forehead from the sweat as she looked at Lucien with a slightly nervous attempt at a smile. ¡°Yeah, there was something my dad wanted to talk to you about.¡±


    She was hiding it well, but Lucien could tell that she was a little flustered and had come up with this excuse while she was rushing after him. ¡°Oh? What did he want to say?¡±


    ¡°He wanted me to go with you. Said it would be a good idea to send someone from our village since we¡¯re the closest to Locham. And, he wants me to try and get support from Lord Whitmore in case we were to get attacked,¡± she said. The more she spoke, the more sure of herself she sounded.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. Who knows where does bandits will strike next.¡± Lucien offered her some water and a berry to calm her nerves, which she gladly accepted. After she finished gulping down the water, he continued the conversation. ¡°But did he really tell you that?¡±


    Lynn stumbled handing the water back to him and almost spat out the berry that was in her mouth. She forcefully gulped it down and looked at Lucien nervously. ¡°Of course he did. Why wouldn¡¯t he?¡±


    Lucien just looked at her the same way he would look at his kids when he knew they were lying. It didn¡¯t take long for her to crack under the pressure of his gaze.


    ¡°Maybe he didn¡¯t want to send me specifically. But he did say it,¡± she said nervously. But Lucien continued to just look at her. ¡°Okay, it was my idea, but I did talk to him about it... I left a note.¡± The last part barely came out at a whisper.


    Lucien turned around, hiding a smile as he went to climb into the saddle. Lynn slumped to the ground the moment he stopped looking at her. She felt like she had withered away under his gaze. It was so intimidating, and just like something her father would do.


    ¡°Come on. Get back on your horse,¡± Lucien called down to her, seeing that she hadn¡¯t moved.


    She slowly moved, reluctantly getting back onto the saddle and turning her horse around. ¡°Are you sending me back? Sorry for troubling you.¡± She started riding back, but quickly stopped when she realised he wasn¡¯t moving. She turned to look at him with confusion.


    ¡°I feel like you¡¯re just going to run off again after I send you back. And I can¡¯t have that weighing on my conscience. I have no choice but to let you come with me,¡± Lucien sighed while setting off further down the road to the next village.


    Lynn paused for a moment before smiling widely. She turned the horse around and caught up with him, settling in by his side. ¡°Thank you, thank you.¡± She clenched her fists, feeling overwhelmed with happiness.


    ¡°No need to thank me. I just thought it would be a good idea to have a second person to keep watch for me while I slept,¡± Lucien said.


    The two rode on in silence, with only the sound of the horse¡¯s hooves accompanying them. Lynn began to calm down. She had to put her best foot forward and take this seriously. What she had done was very risky, and some would even say incredibly stupid.


    She had runaway from the safety and comfort of her home, and was now on the start of a journey longer than anything she had done before. She wasn¡¯t just going to the next village over, or patrolling the surrounding area with the guards. She was going to cross half of the province.


    She was going to be gone for a very long time, and who knew what challenges she would face? What if she ran into the bandits that had destroyed Locham? Then everything would have been for naught.


    She was even in the company of a complete stranger that she had only met that day. This was the dumbest and most dangerous thing she had ever done. But she didn¡¯t regret it. This was her chance to prove herself to everyone, even if it was risky.


    If she stayed at home, she would be stuck doing menial chores for the rest of her life. And that¡¯s not what she wanted for herself.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, why does nobody trust you to help?¡± Lucien said, cutting into her thoughts, breaking the silence and dragging her back to the real world.


    She looked at him and considered if she should tell him. Ultimately, she decided it was for the best to let him know. ¡°My father had put me onto night watch duty at one of the entrances. It was my first time doing it, and also my first job as part of the guard, so he had someone else there with me to show me the ropes.¡±


    ¡°This was before news of the bandits had started to spread, so we would usually only need one person on duty at each gate and a couple people patrolling the outskirts. The guard with me thought it would be fine to leave me alone for a bit while he went to the bathroom.¡±


    ¡°And then something happened?¡± Lucien asked.


    Yep,¡± Lynn said with a hollow chuckle. ¡°Something snuck in through the fence without me noticing and snuck up on that guy while he was pissing. It was nothing serious. He only got scratched up a little and knocked off his feet. He barely even bled, and I had chased off the creature and helped him up, but he was furious.¡±


    ¡°He took it up with my dad and with the mayor, and soon everyone had heard what happened. Nobody really trusted me with anything big after that.¡±

 Chapter 13

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 Chapter 14

    The pair found a suitable place to leave the goblin¡¯s corpse before returning to their camp. Nothing else of note happened throughout the night, so after eating and taking turns resting, the two were back on the road at dawn.


    It didn¡¯t take long for them to reach the village. It wasn¡¯t their only stop for the day, so after refilling their waterskins, they continued riding. Nothing of note happened while they were on the road. Nothing jumped out to attack them, and other than one other person who seemed to be returning from town, they didn¡¯t meet anyone else.


    They spent this time getting to know each other better. Despite the significant age difference, the two needed to understand each other if they wanted to keep themselves safe on this journey. He also asked her if she knew the name of his new horse. Chase was his name. It was a good thing to know.


    It wasn¡¯t long before the town of Whaeldrake was in sight.


    The third largest town in the region outside of Whitmore castle, Whaeldrake was a bustling mining town with rich coal and iron exports, singlehandedly providing these materials to most of the region.


    The town had a population of over thirty thousand people. A sizeable portion of them had jobs directly related to the mining industry, while the rest held jobs that supported the growth and continued prosperity of the town.


    Whaeldrake had a long and storied history. According to the records found in both the town hall and the library, the town was created after the founder¡¯s carriage accidentally fell into a cave. He miraculously survived with only a few injuries, although both the horse and the carriage did not.


    He stumbled upon a coal vein in his attempts to escape, and after he finally did, he returned with his family, a few friends, and some equipment then started mining. They spent days mining in that cave, with no signs of the coal running out. They bunkered down in the area, and the rest was history.


    Seeing the town in front of them, the pair made one final push to safely enter the town¡¯s borders before the sun could set. They were stopped at the gate by a group of wary guards.


    With the rising tension in the area, the guards were on high alert for any strangers or odd situations. And two people showing up so close to night time, with one of them missing an arm, would definitely attract their attention.


    After accessing that they weren¡¯t a threat, the guards opened the gate and let them through.


    ¡°Phew, we can finally take a break,¡± Lynn sighed as she slumped in the saddle. The last push took a lot out of her and she was happy to rest. Riding all day was not something she thought she could get used to, and she didn¡¯t know how she would get through the rest of this.


    Lucien was also a bit tired. ¡°We¡¯ll find a place to spend the night then ride back out in the morning. Do you know anywhere good?¡±


    Lynn shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve only been here a few times with my father, and we slept in the barracks then.¡±


    Lucien shrugged as the two rode deeper into town. ¡°Then I guess we can only hope that the mayor will give us a place to spend the night.¡±


    It took far longer for them to cross from the outskirts to the centre of town than it did to cross the entirety of Haderfield in Paul¡¯s wagon. It took over twice as long as when Lucien crossed from one end of Locham to the other on foot, and that even included the land used for farming.


    The town hall was far more like what Lucien imagined a town hall to be. While Haderfield¡¯s mayor¡¯s office was just the front part of a house done up to fit its needs, this was a proper, standalone building purpose-built for meetings and decision making.


    It gave off an official kind of aura that was lacking in other places.


    The mayor was alone in his office, writing something on a piece of paper when Lucien and Lynn showed up at the door of his office under the lead of his assistant. The mayor was a healthy middle-aged man. His hands were calloused. The hands of a labourer.


    He worked in the mines when he was younger, long enough to shape his attitude and mentality, but not long enough to leave any serious health problems behind. He worked in construction after that, helping to build up the town physically before he was voted into the mayor¡¯s office. He was a favourite among the miners and the workers of the town.


    He had a full head of salt-and-pepper hair that was short and well-kept. His face had a few well defined wrinkles.


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    He looked up from his work, looking at them with spirited eyes and a warm smile. ¡°Welcome strangers, how can I help you today?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re here on a journey to Whitmore Castle. Locham was destroyed.¡± Lucien retold the story all over again, explaining what happened to the mayor and his assistant. Everyone listening paled, even Lynn, who had heard it before. It wasn¡¯t something she would be able to get used to hearing.


    As the story came to an end, the mayor slumped back in his chair, squeezing the bridge of his nose. He sighed, sounding far older than he did when he first spoke. ¡°Thank you for telling me.¡± He looked out the window, noticing that it was dark out. ¡°It¡¯s getting late. Let my assistant take you somewhere to spend the night.¡±


    Lucien bowed slightly to the mayor. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    The door closed as the two left the mayor¡¯s office under the guide of the assistant. Now alone, the mayor wanted to get back to his work, but each time he looked down at the letter, his mind went back to the bleak images created by Lucien¡¯s recount of what happened. Unable to focus, he got up and went for a walk to clear his head.


    He found himself outside the house of one of his closest friends. The house was one of the best in town, and belonged to the owner of the largest mine in town, and the descendant of the town¡¯s founder. He needed to talk with someone about everything that was on his mind.


    ~


    Back with Lucien and Lynn, they had been led to a nearby inn, where the assistant paid for their rooms. Although they were tired from the day¡¯s long ride into town, they wouldn¡¯t give up the opportunity to have a warm meal. Seated at a corner table in the inn, they were able to have a meal that didn¡¯t consist of hard bread, dried meat, or berries.


    The last warm meal he had had was when he was on the road with Paul. And before that would have been prior to the attack on Locham. It was something he could appreciate after everything he had been through.


    While both of them had some money with them, they didn¡¯t want to spend too much, given that they still had a long way to go. Thankfully, the mayor¡¯s assistant paid for their meals as well. He also took care of their horses, bringing them to a nearby stable to be cared for during the night.


    The two sat there, enjoying their meals and the warm feeling the inn provided. Raucous laughter, the clinking of mugs, and the rolling of dice filled the air, making the place feel cozy. It brought back memories of his friend Arthur, and for a moment, the world went quiet and the food lost all taste.


    His vision clouded as his soul was pulled back in time. It wasn¡¯t until Lynn waved her hands in front of his face that he came back to himself. He retired to his room upstairs, leaving the meal half-finished and destined to go cold.


    Lynn watched him go with worried eyes. She stuffed the last few bites of her food into her mouth and rushed to follow him upstairs. Standing at his door with her hand raised, she hesitated before returning to her own room. She knew that he didn¡¯t need her right now.


    Lying in her bed, she listened intently, trying to hear something from the other side of the wall. But, Lucien¡¯s room was silent. Unable to sit there forever, she allowed herself to collapse onto the bed and drift off to sleep. Her mind thinking about what the future held in store for her.


    ~


    In the morning, when it was still quiet and the day had just begun, Lynn heard a knock at the door that startled her awake.


    ¡°It¡¯s about time for us to leave,¡± Lucien¡¯s voice came from the other side of the door.


    She was slightly reluctant to leave the cozy bed behind, but she knew that she had to get up if they wanted to make any progress today. She pushed the sheets away and scrambled out of bed and into her travelling clothes.


    After collecting their horses from the stable, they travelled north up the main street. It would take a while for them to cross through the rest of the town, so they would inevitably have to spend the night on the road.


    The next village was a over a day¡¯s travel away, and they would reach it with just an hour or two to spare before the sun set. This meant that they would have a roof over their heads for another night.


    Unfortunately, they wouldn¡¯t be this lucky for the next portion of their journey.


    Due to a vicious battle involving a terrifying monster a long time ago, a large stretch of land had become a barren landscape. Crops couldn¡¯t grow, and the land was still aflame in the parts where the monster walked.


    There were very few living creatures that called that place home. It was also directly on Lucien¡¯s way to Whitmore Castle. Going through was the fastest route, significantly faster than if they were to go around.


    Because of this, they would have to make sure they had enough supplies with them, for they wouldn¡¯t be able to meet anyone else for a long time.


    They collected as much dried and salted meat and other supplies as they could carry in their satchels and strap on their horses as they travelled towards the northern outskirts of the town.


    As they were travelling, they passed by a small ramshackle house that caught Lucien¡¯s attention. Some of the surrounding buildings in the outskirts weren¡¯t in the best condition, but this house was in a serious state of disrepair.


    The windows were busted up and there was a large hole in the ceiling. The house was small, akin to the room Lucien slept in at the inn. It was also tilted slightly, a clear sign of a rushed and sloppy construction. A big gust of wind would send it crashing down.


    But what really caught his attention was that there were two burly men standing at the door, bashing on it to the point that the whole house was shaking. The door creaked, as if it was about to pop off its hinges under the repeated blows. But before that could happen, the old and almost rotted wood that made up the door snapped, leaving a massive hole in the door to match the rest of the building.


    The two men were about to barge into the house when the door opened from the inside. A middle-aged and haggard woman was staring at them with fear in her eyes. Her skin was pallid, and she didn¡¯t have a bit of muscle or fat on her sickly stick thin body.


    She was in even worse conditions than her home, like she already had one foot in the grave. She was so frail and weak that she needed to use a walking stick to stay standing, and even that was a struggle.


    ¡°Please sirs, I just need a bit more time.¡±

 Chapter 15

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 Chapter 16

    The woman guzzled down the rest of the water, the atmosphere in the room coming to a depressing lull as her words hung in the air.


    Over the past few days, Lynn had come face to face with the vile nature of humanity. Everything that had happened felt so different from the rest of her life. Knowing what the people with her now had been through, she felt lucky that her life was so peaceful.


    She would much rather deal with everyone complaining about her than deal with even a portion of what this woman had gone through.


    Lucien had dealt with similar situations to this before. He rarely left the village since his father¡¯s death, but as a guard, he had come across a few such ¡®businessmen¡¯ who tried to target the people of Locham.


    People who would make a business out of exploiting vulnerable and desperate people and extorting them for all they had were no less than scum in his eyes. He rather enjoyed kicking them out of the village.


    Because of this, he knew a few of their tricks. ¡°How much money did they give you?¡±


    ¡°Just a silver coin. I knew not to borrow too much from them, and this was just enough that I felt it could last the two of us for a while...¡± She trailed off, a mixed look of fear, anger, and regret evident on her face.


    ¡°But even when you gave them what you owed, they still kept coming back, didn¡¯t they?¡± Lucien asked, filling in what she had to say.


    She nodded, slowly reining in her emotions. ¡°I¡¯ve already paid back five times the amount. But I can¡¯t stop them.¡±


    ¡°This is illegal!¡± Lynn had had enough of listening to this, her anger reaching a tipping point. She wanted to go back out there and chase after those men and deal with them herself, but was held in her seat by Lucien.


    ¡°What they¡¯re doing is illegal, but you need to calm down. There is something that needs our attention more,¡± Lucien explained, calming her down and clearing her head.


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Lynn rubbed her face before turning her attention back to the woman. ¡°Do you know where your son might be? Any bit of information would do.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. He could be anywhere by now.¡± The woman tried hard to think of anything that could help. Her son had been missing for a few days now, and she was really worried. She appreciated what these two had done for her just now, but she was more worried about her son.


    Suddenly, a place popped into her mind, and she couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that her son was there. ¡°He might have gone into the forest. When he was younger, we used to go out there as a family to pick berries and watch the local wildlife.


    One time, it started storming while we were out there, and we found a cave in the hillside. We spent the night in there, watching the storm and telling him stories at the campfire.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll go look for him. How do we get there?¡± Lucien asked.


    She bunched up her face in thought, struggling to think about where exactly it was. ¡°Go through the north exit, you should be able to see a forest to the left of the main road from there. Walk straight to it from the entrance and keep walking in that direction. That should take you to the hill with the cave.¡±


    She sounded unsure of herself, but Lucien knew that probably no amount of time would be able to help her remember exactly what happened that day.


    He also knew that they didn¡¯t have a lot of time. If her son really was out in the forest alone, then there was a chance that something bad had already happened to him. And every second they wasted here, the higher that chance would become.


    ¡°What¡¯s his name? And what does he look like? Just in case he¡¯s still in the town.¡± Lynn asked.


    ¡°His name is Sam. He¡¯s got light blond hair that just reaches his ears, brown eyes, a round squishy face and rosy cheeks. And he¡¯s about this tall.¡± She held out her hand at what was just over a metre tall.


    Lynn seemed to realise something, but before she could say anything she was stopped by Lucien. ¡°We¡¯ll find your son. Find someplace safe to wait for us where they won¡¯t find you. We¡¯ll be back as soon as we can.¡±


    The woman began crying again, but this time with a smile. ¡°Thank you. Thank you. I don¡¯t know how to repay you.¡±


    ¡°Just don¡¯t die before I bring your son back.¡± Lucien left, leaving Lynn no choice but to follow him. Just by looking at her, Lucien could tell that something was bothering her ¡°Is something on your mind?¡±


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    ¡°If he¡¯s only that tall, doesn¡¯t it mean...¡± Her question trailed off and was immediately picked up by Lucien.


    ¡°That he¡¯s only a small child? My guess is that he¡¯s probably around 7, 8 years old.¡± Lucien realised the implications of this, and felt even more sympathetic for the woman. It was hard to believe that someone who looked his age was actually young enough to be his daughter.


    ¡°Oh Goddess.¡± Lynn was shocked by this realisation, her eyes darting back to the dilapidated shack every few steps.


    ¡°Come. The best thing we can do for the young lass is to find her son.¡± Lucien comforted her as the two made their way back to their horses.


    Climbing into the saddle, the two made haste towards the northern exit. Reaching the exit, there was a small line of people and caravans exiting the town, so without much choice, they brought themselves to a stop and waited for their turn to leave.


    Considering how little they had on them, it didn¡¯t take long for them to be allowed to leave when it got to their turn.


    Looking out, he immediately spotted the forest she was talking about. Following her instructions, they rode their horses to the edge of the forest before stopping. ¡°It¡¯s not wise to ride through here. You take the horse¡¯s reins and I¡¯ll lead from the front.¡±


    Sliding off the horse, Lucien passed Chase¡¯s reins to Lynn and dropped his hand to his sword. He was on constant alert, both for the child, and for anything dangerous that could come at them.


    ¡°Do you think we¡¯ll be able to find him out here?¡± Lynn asked.


    Lucien¡¯s eyes darted around as he kept a fast, but steady pace through the forest, following the path told to him. ¡°I don¡¯t know. But we have to try.¡±


    Lynn started silently praying to Matron Stellara, wishing for the child¡¯s safety as she followed behind Lucien. Neither of them said another word as they walked deeper into the forest.


    The forest was peaceful, just like what the woman had said. Lucien couldn¡¯t find any signs of large predators, at least, none in the area that he could see. He could hear the birds singing, and could see the occasional small critter scampering across the forest floor.


    It was nice.


    Despite how nice it was, Lucien was still feeling tense. Both because he refused to let down his guard in case anything dangerous was lurking around, and because he didn¡¯t know if they could really find the kid.


    He was primed and ready for anything bad to come his way. Luckily, despite the tense atmosphere, it didn¡¯t take long for them to spot a hill matching the woman¡¯s description.


    And just like the woman said, there was a small cave clearly visible from this distance.


    Lucien signalled for Lynn to stop. ¡°I think you should wait out here.¡± Seeing Lynn nod, he continued forward to the cave alone. If something bad had happened to Sam, he didn¡¯t want Lynn to walk in on a dead child.


    Fortunately, he didn¡¯t have to see that himself. Upon entering the cave, he saw a small figure curled up on the floor and shivering, a pair of scared eyes staring directly at him.


    Sam was alive. As for how healthy he was, that would have to wait until Lucien could get the kid out of here and to a priest or physician who could give him a checkup.


    But for now, Lucien still had to worry about getting Sam out of here. Lucien knew that his appearance wasn¡¯t exactly something that could calm a frightened child, especially given the current situation. He was already lucky that the child wasn¡¯t screaming or trying to flee.


    He stopped at the entrance of the cave, keeping enough distance so as to not scare Sam. He also crouched down, trying to make himself as small as possible so that he wouldn¡¯t look so terrifying. ¡°Your mother sent me to find you Sam. Do you want me to take you to her?¡±


    Unfortunately, even though he tried his best to be gentle, it seemed like his usual strategies were ineffective with kids who didn¡¯t already know him.


    Sam remained steadfast where he was, refusing to get up. He was smart enough to know to not go anywhere with strangers. Even if they said they knew his mum.


    Seeing this, Lucien sighed and shook his head. Slowly retreating from the cave so as not to scare Sam, he returned to Lynn who was waiting outside. ¡°He¡¯s in there, but he doesn¡¯t trust me and I didn¡¯t want to scare him.¡±


    ¡°Leave this to me.¡± Lynn tapped her chest, handed the reins over to Lucien, and entered the cave. And somehow, within only a few short minutes, she walked back out carrying the child who was sleeping peacefully in her arms.


    Lucien had many questions, but now was not the time. He could ask them after they left the forest and returned to the relative safety of the town.


    Seeing that she had was carrying the child, he didn¡¯t hand her horse¡¯s reins back to her and instead started walking. Heading back in the opposite direction, they were once again lucky enough to not run into anything dangerous.


    It seemed like this forest was as harmless as the woman had said. Lucien was glad they didn¡¯t have to deal with any aggressive beasts or anything with powerful magic.


    They safely left the forest, and soon returned to the entrance. Given that they had only left not too long ago, the same guards were still on duty when they returned.


    They joined the line of people waiting to enter the town. Luckily the line in front of them wasn¡¯t as long as when they were trying to leave,


    Them returning with a child would normally raise concerns, and more than a few weapons, from the guards. However, they had already explained the situation to them when they were leaving, so instead the guards were relieved.


    ¡°It really is him. I¡¯m glad you found him,¡± one of the older guards said, waving them through after confirming everything was okay.


    Sam had woken up at this point, and was feeling very happy that he back home. He was now walking beside Lynn, pointing at the various stalls and shops that he had visited with his mother.


    Lucien was looking around at the shops when he noticed some familiar faces. Through the window of a tavern, he saw the two men that had tried to ransack the woman¡¯s house.


    ¡°Take the kid back to his mother, I¡¯ve got something I need to handle.¡± Lucien said, passing the reins to her now that her hands were free.


    ¡°Hmm? Okay.¡± She wanted to ask him what he was going to do, but decided to take the child back first.


    ¡°I¡¯ll meet you back there soon.¡± Watching them walk off, he turned around and walked towards the tavern. The place looked seedy and dangerous, but he wasn¡¯t worried about that. He could keep himself safe even if something bad happened.

 Chapter 17

    The tavern was a three storey building that was surprisingly well maintained despite the location and clientele. It looked significantly better than the surrounding buildings. Like the owner had more money to throw around. More than you would be able to get from running a tavern in such a place.


    The tavern doors swung open as Lucien stepped through. All eyes turned to him for a moment before returning to whatever they were focused on before. Lucien¡¯s arrival did not cause a stir in the tavern except for at one table.


    The two men from earlier, who were brooding over a bottle of ale after suffering a loss, were now stunned into silence. Their conversation halted and they began to sweat as they saw Lucien walking towards them. One of them touched his neck, while the other¡¯s eyes darted around, looking for a chance to flee.


    It took a moment for them to realise that they were on their home turf, and had no reason to be afraid of him. But anything they thought of was useless as he had already reached them by this point.


    ¡°What a surprise. I didn¡¯t expect to see you two again,¡± Lucien said calmly, his hand hovering near his hip, reminding them of the sword he carried.


    The two of them gulped, their eyes never leaving his sword. ¡±What do you want?¡± they asked nervously.


    A few people around the tavern had noticed that something was going on here, but no one came over to help. Seeing the sword, they all decided it was none of their business.


    Some of them even gloated at the pair¡¯s troubles, chuckling over their drinks as they enjoyed the show that was going on in front of them.


    Eyeing the people around the bar, he realised that these two weren¡¯t well liked by the people here. That makes things easier. No need to worry about anyone stepping in.


    ¡°Take me to your boss,¡± he ordered calmly and unhurriedly, knowing that they would listen to him.


    And they did.


    Driven by their fear, they got up from their table, leaving their food and drinks behind as they made their way to the kitchen in the back.


    Ignoring the odd stares of the kitchen staff, they took the stairs up to the third floor. The two of them were shaking like a leaf, while at the same time trying to figure out how to take down Lucien.


    However, Lucien was so close that they couldn¡¯t talk to each other. And anything they did think of was immediately shot down when they remembered how fast Lucien moved before. They were afraid that they would die instantly if they tried anything.


    The third floor was exuded a quiet aura of simple practicality. It felt like a quiet study, isolated from the rowdiness of the tavern below.


    Doors lined the hallways, leading to small offices dedicated to the higher-ups of the organisation. Reaching the end, the hallway opened up into a quiet reception area, where a woman was sitting behind a desk looking down at a thick book.


    A perpetual scowl of annoyance donned her face, as her quill scratched across the parchment. She was so focused on her work that she didn¡¯t notice them even when they were standing right at her desk.


    Numbers... Lucien looked down at the book and was overwhelmed by a long list of numbers and names, neatly organised into columns. It¡¯s a ledger.


    The woman¡¯s hands were constantly moving. She would grab small scraps of paper from a pile on her desk and transcribe the barely legible handwriting onto the ledger.


    The task looked exhausting, but she managed to transfer all of the information over while still keeping everything neat and organised.


    The two men were now standing at attention, patiently waiting for the woman to finish what she was doing and look up at them.


    Huh, that¡¯s interesting. Lucien noticed that they seemed to be more afraid of her than they were of him.


    After a few minutes of waiting, the woman sighed and put down her quill. She looked up at them, her eyes taking note of everything of importance in just a few seconds before settling on John¡¯s face.


    ¡°Out with it,¡± she said.


    John flinched and forced a smile. ¡°Yes Ms Ava. We brought someone to see the boss. Is she busy?¡±


    ¡°She is resting at the moment. Give me a good reason why I should allow you two dimwits to disturb her.¡± Her eyes lingered on Lucien¡¯s sword, labelling him as a potential threat. She was already thinking of a reason to deny them and kick them out.


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    John started sweating, his brain running at max capacity to try and come up with a good answer. ¡°Well, um. Uh...¡± he sputtered.


    Both Ms Ava and Lucien were moments away from clutching their faces in annoyance.


    She decided to cut him off before he made even more of a fool of himself. ¡°Stop wasting my time and go do your job.¡± She waved the ledger around. ¡°Alex, John, I¡¯ve noticed that you haven¡¯t brought back any money today. Care to explain?¡±


    No wonder they¡¯re so scared of her. She¡¯s in charge of all the money here. John continued sputtering, and Lucien decided to just put the poor man out of his misery. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m here. I want to pay of someone¡¯s debt.¡±


    ¡°Oh? And who¡¯s debt would that be?¡± She leant forward, putting on a professional smile. Her eyes twinkling at the mention of money.


    ¡°Susan Crouch. A young woman, lives not far from here in a rundown shack. Has a son named Sam. And I believe you loaned her a silver.¡± He reported all of the information he could think of so that he could be done with this.


    Ava¡¯s eyes dimmed after hearing it was only a silver, but it didn¡¯t affect her professionalism at all. She started flicking through the ledger in search of Susan¡¯s name. ¡°There¡¯s no need to disturb the boss. Once I¡¯ve figured out how much she owes, you can just hand it over to me and I¡¯ll sort it out.¡±


    ¡°Please send them in Ava.¡±


    A voice drifted out from the room behind her as Ava was flipping through the ledger, causing her to stop. She looked back in uncertainty before turning to Lucien and the others, her smile not wavering at all. ¡°It seems like the boss wants to see you.¡±


    She got out of her seat, still holding the ledger and opened the door and gestured for them to go in first.


    John and Alex looked like they really didn¡¯t want to go in their, sweat dripping down their faces. But under the pressure from Ava¡¯s stern gaze, they walked inside.


    Lucien had no such worries, and walked in right behind them.


    Ava followed up from the back, closing the door behind everyone and making John and Alex jump involuntarily.


    Lucien ignored their antics and focused on the woman sitting on a leather chair in front of him. She looked around his age as far as he could tell. Probably in her mid-forties to early fifties, but it was hard to pin down her exact age.


    While she was sitting in a rather luxurious office, her face was that of a commoner, Sunkissed and weatherbeaten. Wrinkles and cracked skin marked her face, as a long scar crossed diagonally across her left cheek, forming a canyon from the tip of her ear to the corner of her mouth.


    Her face told the story of a tough and difficult life.


    She had short, messy black hair that didn¡¯t reach her ears. More scars marked her calloused hands and her arms. She was dressed simply in a loose white shirt and pants that allowed for easy manoeuvrability should the moment call for it.


    She appeared calm and relaxed, but had an aura like everything was under her control. She looked up from a piece of paper on her desk, her eyes calmly moving from one person to the next, as if she could gleam everything about them from a single glance.


    Without her needing to say anything, Ava stepped forward to tell her the situation, as well as to pass the ledger to her.


    After taking a glance at the ledger, she turned to Lucien. ¡°How may I address you?¡±


    ¡°Lucien. Lucien Rowe,¡± he said.


    ¡°Marilla. Any relation to the young woman?¡±


    ¡°None at all. Just a passerby,¡± he answered honestly.


    She leant forward on the table, looking at him with interest. ¡°That makes me curious. If you don¡¯t know her, then why are you doing this?¡±


    Lucien shrugged. ¡°Just doing what I can to help.¡±


    The others looked at him like he was an idiot, but Marilla did not. Her eyes remained calm and serene.


    ¡°Well, she loaned from us around four months ago. Accounting for interest, the total to be paid back would be one silver and ten copper coins,¡± she paused, looking back down at the ledger.


    ¡°It says here that she¡¯s already paid seventy copper, so if you¡¯ll just hand over forty copper than we can all be done with it.¡±


    Lucien reached for his pouch to pull out the coins when he realised something was wrong. Wait a minute, that can¡¯t be right. His mind shifted back to his conversation with Susan, trying to figure out where the problem was.


    Then it clicked, and his eyes darted around the room suspiciously, his hand almost reaching for his sword out of reflex. She said that she¡¯d already paid back five times the amount. Even if that isn¡¯t exact, I don¡¯t think she was lying.


    ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Marilla asked, noticing his reaction, her eyes going cold. ¡°I don¡¯t think kindly of people who waste my time.¡±


    ¡°There is a problem.¡± Lucien composed himself, feeling the tension rise in the room. ¡°She¡¯s already given your men more than enough money to pay back her debt.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s nonsense! The ledger clearly states that she still owes us forty copper.¡± Ava snapped.


    ¡°Calm down Ava,¡± Marilla said with a raised hand. Her eyes flickered over to John, who was considerably paler than he was when he first set foot in there. ¡°Is that so Lucien? And how do you know this?¡±


    ¡°She told me. She said that she had already given around five silver to your men in total. Which is far more than enough,¡± he explained.


    ¡°And you believe her? She¡¯s a poor woman in a desperate situation. It¡¯s normal for her to lie about that,¡± Marilla chuckled at his foolishness while staring him directly in the eyes.


    ¡°I believe I¡¯m a good judge of character.¡± Lucien didn¡¯t shy away, staring right back at her calmly.


    The room fell silent for a moment as the tension rose. The air felt thick and heavy like a battle was going to start. Ava moved to the door to cut Lucien off, while John moved to the door to flee at the first chance he could. Alex, however, was paralysed, and was still standing by Marilla¡¯s desk by the time John had reached the door.


    The atmosphere didn¡¯t affect Lucien and Marilla at all. As if they could communicate with just their eyes, they both came to an understanding.


    ¡°Argh.¡± The tension was scattered by a guttural cry. A dagger was plunged into Alex¡¯s hand and through the table, trapping him there.


    John tried to run, but Ava was in the way. Before he could get around her, she was already pressing a dagger against his chest. If he took another step, then it would go directly into his heart.


    ¡°Now, I am a reasonable person,¡± Marilla said, her hand wriggling the dagger around, causing Alex to groan in pain. ¡°Tell me what you¡¯ve done with the money and I may let you live.¡±


    Neither Alex nor John said anything, not believing her at all.


    She turned to Lucien with a sigh. ¡°Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I had a feeling that someone was getting a bit to big-headed, I just wasn¡¯t sure who. I¡¯ll make sure Susan gets her money back. You have my word.¡±

 Chapter 18

    Lucien was allowed to leave the bar without anyone stopping him, whereas he expected that John and Alex would never be able to leave again. He had a hunch that Marilla would not let them off easy.


    Poor guys. While he felt bad for them, he knew that they had gotten themselves into this mess. Even if they hadn¡¯t chosen this type of life, they did choose to bite the hand that fed them.


    So he didn¡¯t sympathise with them too much, especially after what they had done to Susan and probably a few others.


    Walking through the streets, he returned to the little shack. Must still be inside. He thought after seeing the two horses tied up out the front. He approached them slowly, then ran his hand through Chase¡¯s mane.


    Hearing talking coming from inside, he knocked on the door. ¡°It¡¯s me.¡±


    The talking stopped for a moment before the door was opened a little from the inside and a tiny head popped out.


    Sam looked up at Lucien who towered over him, and was scared for a moment before breaking out into a big smile when he recognised him.


    ¡°It¡¯s the big grandpa!¡± Sam shouted as he opened the door and rushed back to his mother.


    Ouch. I¡¯m not that old, am I? Being used to the little kids in the village calling him uncle, he was caught off guard. He wanted to look for a mirror, but he knew that there wasn¡¯t one here, so he ignored his thoughts and stepped inside.


    He smiled, seeing that everyone was safe and sound. Admittedly, he was slightly worried that something might have happened while he was gone. He was glad that that wasn¡¯t the case.


    He stood in the doorway, watching Susan and Lynn laughing and smiling. ¡°I¡¯ve sorted out things with those thugs. They shouldn¡¯t bother you anymore.¡±


    The conversation stopped as Susan turned to look at him. Her lip quivering as tears streamed down her face. ¡°Really?¡±


    Lucien nodded. ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be any problems.¡± He looked around the shack, locking their faces and this place in his memory forever. He sighed before looking at Lynn. ¡°It¡¯s time for us to get going. We¡¯ve still got a lot of ground to cover.¡±


    Lynn got of her seat and kneeled down next to Sam and ruffled his hair. ¡°I¡¯ve got to go now. I¡¯ll come back to visit when I can.¡±


    ¡°Promise?¡± he asked with puppy-dog eyes, his tiny hand reaching forward as he stretched his pinkie towards her.


    ¡°Promise.¡± She locked pinkie¡¯s with him, gave him a hug and walked towards the door.


    ¡°Wait.¡± Susan called out, clutching a small coin purse in her hand as she walked to Lucien. She pushed the purse towards him, the few coins jingling inside. ¡°I don¡¯t have much, but please take this.¡±


    Lucien smiled and clasped her frail shoulder gently with his rough hand. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. Use it to fill your bellies.¡± He pushed the purse back to her and walked over to the horses.


    ¡°Thank you. Truly, thank you.¡± Susan grabbed Sam and insisted on seeing them off to the gate as the two hopped atop their horses, only to be rebuffed by a soft smile and a slight shake of the head from Lucien.


    Crying tears of joy and gratitude, she stood at the door with her son and waved them off, watching as they disappeared down the street.


    ¡°Should we stay the night?¡± Lynn asked, her eyes constantly darting back in the direction of Susan¡¯s house.


    ¡°We can still make good headway right now. Staying would just be a waste of time.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re so worried about wasting time, then why did you help them?¡± she snapped harshly, evidently still worried that something would happen to Susan and Sam without their help.


    Lucien clenched his fist tight around the reins, grimacing. ¡°I¡¯m not inhuman, Lynn. I helped them because they needed it. And I¡¯ll keep doing the same even if it delays us by a little. It¡¯s what my family would have wanted.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Lynn realised how harsh she sounded and felt guilty.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Lucien didn¡¯t get mad at her, It wouldn¡¯t do either of them any good. Instead, he focused on the journey ahead of them. ¡°We might not be able to make it to the next village by sundown, so we¡¯ll have to camp out for the night.¡±


    It didn¡¯t take long for Lucien and Lynn to reach the northern gate, and considering how little time had passed, the guards on duty were still the same as the ones they met earlier.


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    The line to leave the town wasn¡¯t too bad right now, so it didn¡¯t take long for them to reach the front. The guards still did their due diligence by checking them, but they chatted warmly with them, asking about how Sam was going.


    Lucien and Lynn were let go after answering a few questions, and continued on their journey. They left the town, but this time stuck to the main road as they continued forward.


    ¡°We¡¯ve already gathered all of the supplies that we¡¯ll need to cross the wasteland while in town, so depending on when we reach the next village, we might just pass straight through it while only stopping at the mayor¡¯s house,¡± Lucien said, informing Lynn about the next part of the route.


    ~


    Marilla wiped the blood from her knife as she walked around John and Alex who were crumpled on the floor and groaning. ¡°Throw them in the dungeon. I need to see if they¡¯re telling the truth before I decide what to do with them.¡±


    ¡°Yes boss!¡± Four large men stepped up and grabbed John and Alex from either end and started carrying them out.


    They were all there at the bar when Lucien showed up and went to the back with John and Alex. They were all laughing at how cowardly John and Alex were acting, but when Ava came down and ordered them to come up here, they were terrified by what they saw.


    Afraid that it would happen to them if they didn¡¯t follow orders quickly enough, they carried the two down to the dungeon as quick as they could.


    Marilla followed behind them for a while, making them sweat, but she broke off from them on the first floor. With Ava by her side, she left through a back exit, picked up a shovel, and started walking down the street.


    Unfortunately for her, John and Alex were stupid. Normally, she liked it that way. The stupid ones were usually blindly loyal to her and made great henchmen. But in this case, it didn¡¯t work out in her favour.


    This was because they had buried the money at the bottom of a tree in an old orchard, and the only way they could find it again was through following the ridiculous route they took to get there. Since they didn¡¯t even know which tree it was buried under, she was forced to follow that route.


    To make matters worse, they were illiterate, so it took a while for them to tell Ava the route so that she could write it down.


    Just looking at the parchment Ava was holding gave her a headache. The instructions covered the page, and although Ava did her best to keep it neat, the thing was still a mess.


    ¡°They can remember this, but they can¡¯t remember which fucking tree they buried it under.¡± Marilla shook her head in disbelief.


    ¡°They¡¯re both smarter and dumber than we thought,¡± Ava sighed.


    They begrudgingly followed the instructions detailed down on the parchment, weaving from one street to the next. They almost felt like they were running in circles, but they eventually reached the small orchard that had been mentioned.


    By this point, Ava was a little out of breath and her calves were sore. She wasn¡¯t used to doing this much walking. ¡°Let me deal with them when we get back,¡± she snarled, ideas of how she could torture them ran rampant through her mind.


    ¡°Okay. Hand it over, I¡¯ll take it from here. You rest up for a bit.¡± Marilla reached out and grabbed the parchment before walking over to the trees.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Ava pushed down the discomfort as she followed behind Marilla. Her eyes shined with greed at the thought of how much money was buried here, and only dimmed slightly at the fact that they wouldn¡¯t be able to keep all of it.


    Following the instructions written down on the parchment, they eventually found the right tree.


    Taking up the shovel, Marilla began digging at the base of the tree, and it wasn¡¯t long before she hit something solid. Continuing to dig, she unearthed a small locked chest. For a moment, the whole situation made her feel like she had gone on an adventure searching for treasure.


    Lifting the chest out of the ground, she could hear the clinking of coins as she moved it.


    ¡°Just how much have they stolen from us?¡± The two eyed each other, and decided to carry the lockbox back to the tavern.


    Having finally got what they came for, they were able to figure out where they were and easily make it back to the tavern without having to follow the path written on the parchment.


    Returning to her office on the third floor, she dropped the chest on her desk and sunk into her chair. With the door closed, they were now away from prying eyes and could freely open it.


    Grabbing her knife, mana coiled through her arm, bolstering her strength as her muscles tightened.


    Bang!


    She brought the handle of her knife down on the lock with enough force to shatter it. Pieces of the lock flew off everywhere, scattering across the ground.


    The chest popped open, revealing a glittering stack of silver and copper.


    Marilla sighed as she pinched her forehead. ¡°Get the ledger. We¡¯ve got some work to do.¡±


    Ava ran off to grab the ledger while Marilla started counting. She separated all of the silver and copper coins into their respective piles while waiting for Ava to return.


    Ava returned with the ledger, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the large stacks of coins. She sat down across from Marilla and began counting.


    The coins totalled to several gold, a large sum in this part of town. In fact, it would still be considered a sizeable sum by all but the richest people in this town.


    Marilla looked up at Ava, noticing the greedy glimmer in her eyes. ¡°We¡¯ll keep only the amount that we were owed. The rest will go back to the families that John and Alex stole from.¡±


    ¡°But-¡±


    ¡°No buts! This doesn¡¯t belong to us. We aren¡¯t criminals, we¡¯re running a business here. And the only way we can survive here is by having the clients trust us. Nobody is going to borrow from us if they think our interest rates are higher than those nobles,¡± Marilla explained, cutting Ava off.


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Ava bowed, wiping the greed from her face. ¡°What do you need me to do?¡±


    Figure out how much was taken from each person and make sure they get their money back. You might have to go door to door and ask them. I want this money cleared out as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Yes Boss!¡± Ava grabbed a piece of parchment and began writing down the names of all of the people that John and Alex were in charge of. After writing down the total amount of money minus what they were going to keep, she immediately left the room.


    Marilla looked at the two piles of coins, the amount to be returned and the amount that would be used to pay off their debts, and grabbed five silver from both.


    ¡°He can consider this my thank you should he ever show up again,¡± she mumbled to herself as she left the tavern.

 Chapter 19

    Knock knock.


    Susan flinched, her eyes darting over to the decrepit wooden door. Are they back already? She wanted to believe that Lucien had solved her problems, but her experience and her fear both told her that it was unlikely.


    It was more likely that things would only get worse once he was gone. She was tempted to ask them to stay, but knew that wasn¡¯t fair on them. They barely knew each other, and she had already received more than enough help from them.


    ¡°Is Susan home?¡± a woman¡¯s voice came from the other side of the door as the knocking continued.


    She put Sam behind her, wary that this was some kind of trick to lower her guard. She clutched at her walking stick, the only thing she could use as a weapon. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±


    ¡°My name is Marilla. I¡¯m here to talk to you about your loan.¡±


    Susan paled and her hands trembled. She tried to push everything down as she stood up. Using the walking stick, she slowly reached the door.


    She looked through a small gap in the door to see who was waiting for her out there, and as far as she could see, it was only a single person.


    It was an unfamiliar-looking middle-aged woman. The woman tried to put on a kind smile, but when combined with the large scar on her face, it made her look scary.


    Susan hesitated, but ultimately opened the door. ¡°Please come in.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. I won¡¯t be here for long.¡± Marilla stayed at the threshold, both to ease Susan¡¯s mind and so that she could leave as soon as she was done. She was a busy woman, especially after what those fools had done.


    She pulled out the coin purse and gave it to a confused Susan. ¡°I must apologise to you. Some of my men have been breaking the rules under my nose, and that has affected many of you.¡±


    Seeing that she was still confused, Marilla pointed at the coin purse. ¡°I¡¯m returning all of the money that has been stolen from you. You¡¯re debt was already repaid a long time ago, so you don¡¯t have to worry about anyone coming for you anymore.¡±


    Susan was trembling, looking at the woman in disbelief. She couldn¡¯t believe it. She couldn¡¯t believe that Lucien had done it. She was stunned.


    The coin purse felt heavy in her hand. She had never felt something so heavy in her life.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be going now.¡± Having handed over the money, Marilla turned around and started walking back to the tavern.


    ¡°Thank you!¡± Susan yelled out at Marilla as she walked away. She clutched the coin purse and closed the door. Reaching her son, she crumbled to the floor and hugged him tightly.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be okay. We¡¯ll be okay.¡± Tears of joy streamed down her face as she squeezed him tightly.


    ¡°Mum?¡± Little Sam was scared, and tried to help his mother to her feet.


    She smiled at him, softly stroking his head. ¡°I¡¯m okay. Things will get better.¡±


    ~


    Sundown. A small fire crackling by the side of the road.


    As Lucien had guessed, they weren¡¯t able to make it to the next village before the sun had set.


    Luckily, they were able to gather enough wood from the surrounding area to start a fire, so they didn¡¯t need to take from their supply of wood already.


    Their horses were now weighed down by the supplies they would need to cross the wasteland. The horses were bred for this kind of stuff, and were strong, so it wasn¡¯t a problem for them to carry it.


    Though it did slow them down a little. And it meant that they would need to rest a bit more often than before.


    But Lucien had made sure not to buy so much that it would affect the horses long term. They weren¡¯t pack mules after all.


    If Lucien had a wagon he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about it so much, but that would cost more than they had at the moment, and Lucien didn¡¯t feel good about asking anyone for one. He had already been given more than enough.


    Having taken the supplies off the horses so that they could rest easy, Lucien and Lynn were now sitting around the fire.


    ¡°Is there anything that we need to get from the village?¡± Lynn asked.


    Lucien looked over at their supplies, thinking for a moment. ¡°We should be fine. We don¡¯t want to weigh the horses down too much, otherwise we¡¯ll be stuck in that place longer than we should.¡±


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    Lynn used her teeth to rip off a bit of jerky, nodding slightly while she listened. Lucien also took out a bit of meat and the two sat there in silence for a while as they ate.


    ¡°How did it turn into a wasteland?¡± Lynn asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m not that old. I just know the stories like everyone else,¡± Lucien shook his head.


    ¡°Can you tell me? My father never liked telling me stories.¡±


    Lucien eyed her for a second before sighing. ¡°Sure, why not.


    Long ago, there used to be a mountain range between here and Whitmore Castle. There were even a few villages at the foot of those mountains. I heard that there was even a temple to Matron Stellara at the highest peak of one of those mountains.


    People thought that by being closer to the stars they would have a better chance of being blessed by her presence.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know about this. What happened next?¡± She leant forward, fully engrossed in the story.


    ¡°Then the dark ages happened, and the mountain range stood up. Ripped itself out of the ground. All that time, the mountains and the surrounding area were just clumps on the back of a giant beast.¡±


    Lucien reached into his satchel and pulled out a slightly scorched leather-bound book. ¡°My family have kept this book for generations. It was one of the few things I managed to save from Locham. Those bandits weren¡¯t bothered to steal suck a worthless book,¡± Lucien said with a self-deprecating smile.


    ¡°It was Earnest¡¯s journal. It¡¯s filled with his thoughts, ramblings, and even some sketches. I have to say, he was quite a talented artist.¡± He sat the book down on his lap and started flipping through the pages carefully.


    Lynn moved over and sat next to him as he stopped on one of the pages.


    ¡°Here it is. Look at this.¡± He turned the book over to her, and on it was a sketch of a giant monster.


    It was like a mix between a boar and a parrot beaked tortoise.


    Sharp bumps were scattered along its head leading down to its hooked beak. The beak was open in the drawing, as if the monster was roaring when Earnest drew it.


    The inside of its mouth was terrifying. It was a hellscape of razor-sharp spikes that had no rhyme or reasoning to where they sat and which way they faced.


    Two large tusks hooked out from beside its face, and were covered in dirt, mud, and moss.


    It¡¯s body was covered in hair and scales that were cloaked in mud and bits of earth.


    It¡¯s shell was a wide slope that curved inward. With the mountain range in the centre going from the front to the back.


    ¡°It was said that it was a living piece of the earth itself and that magma ran through its veins. When it shook off the snow, it was revealed that the mountains were inactive volcanoes. And when it roared, the magma spewed out, quickly bringing destruction to the villages atop its shell.


    It all happened so suddenly that they couldn¡¯t evacuate anyone. Countless people died the moment it woke up, and it brought untold destruction onto the land for a long while.¡±


    Lynn couldn¡¯t help but feel a wave of dread and fear wash over her. She couldn¡¯t imagine facing off against something like that. She was trembling just looking at the drawing. It looked too realistic.


    Like it was going to jump out of the page and attack her.


    ¡°What happened to it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. From my guess, it was probably taken down by Earnest since it¡¯s in his journal. Him and probably a whole army before that. Let me see what it says here.¡± Lucien trailed off as he scanned through the pages.


    ¡°What do you mean by an army?¡±


    ¡°Well I don¡¯t think Earnest was the only one to try fighting it. There were just too many powerful monsters during that time, and even more people that wanted to hunt them down. Some of those people were strong, maybe just as strong as Earnest, but many were just too brave and too stupid for their own good.¡±


    Lucien stopped and looked off into the distance towards the wasteland. ¡°Too many people would have died before that thing was killed. That place is a graveyard,¡± he muttered.


    They were silent for a while, unsure of how to continue.


    Lucien closed the book. ¡°It¡¯s getting late, you should get some rest. I¡¯ll take first watch.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Wake me up when its my turn.¡± Lynn crawled into her bedroll and drifted off to sleep.


    With her asleep, Lucien was left alone with his thoughts, with only the sounds of the wilderness to comfort and ground him.


    Thinking about what that ancient monster had done reminded him of what happened to Locham, although there were a lot of differences.


    Even though that monster had no doubt killed even more people than the amount that died at Locham, he felt that what had happened to him was far crueller. After all one was caused by a monster, and the other was done by humans.


    The monster, no matter how powerful and potentially intelligent it was, it wasn¡¯t human. It wasn¡¯t slaughtering its own.


    The bandits however, were killing their own kind. Adam especially, who was so monstrous that he killed his own wife.


    Sometimes, humans can be far worse than monsters.


    He sat there, quietly observing his surroundings for anything dangerous. He knew this area was pretty safe, it had to be, otherwise people would find it difficult to travel between the village and the town/


    But there was always a chance that something dangerous would jump out. Nowhere was completely safe. So it always paid to be cautious.


    His eyes scanning the horizon, he thought he caught a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. Stopping, his eyes shot back to try and look for whatever was moving, and not too far from him stood a white rabbit.


    The same rabbit he had seen in Locham. The one that spoke with his daughter¡¯s voice.


    His fists clenched, his nails digging into his palms as he looked at the rabbit with difficulty.


    The rabbit returned his gaze calmly, and approached him. Its movements looked normal, but it crossed the distance in an instant, and appeared less than an arms length away from Lucien,


    He was prepared for it, so he didn¡¯t flinch, but he was still afraid of the thing. It still went against everything he knew about magical beasts.


    And the fact that it had followed him all the way here was also concerning.


    ¡°What do you want from me?¡± he whispered, his voice choking.


    The rabbit tilted its head quizzically, its big eyes staring into his soul. It hopped forward, resting itself in his lap and nuzzling up against the journal that he had yet to put away.


    ¡°Do you want me to read this to you?¡± he asked, incredibly confused.


    The rabbit nodded, looking at the journal with a strange emotion that Lucien couldn¡¯t quite decipher.


    ¡°Alright, I can do that,¡± his voice was quiet and gentle, as if talking to a child.


    He opened the book, and a wave of emotions rushed over him. Somehow, it felt like he was reading a bedtime story to his children once again.


    He looked around before he started reading, just in case something wanted to sneak up on them. But he had the feeling that nothing would be able to get close with the rabbit here.


    He opened the book.

 Chapter 20

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 Chapter 21

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 Chapter 22

    The night quickly passed, much like many of the nights before. There was nothing to interrupt them while they slept.


    No monsters that called this place home. And no signs of that strange rabbit.


    Lucien chalked up the lack of monsters to the fact that they weren¡¯t that far into the wasteland yet. Considering how big it was, they were still on the outer rim of it.


    He believed that anything this far out would have, more than likely, already been dealt with by adventurers.


    However, as they went further, he knew that they would eventually reach a point that hadn¡¯t been touched by most people. Meaning that they would have to face whatever dangers were hidden inside.


    But despite the fact that there were no monsters, that didn¡¯t mean they had nothing to do while they were on watch.


    Not only did they have to constantly be looking out for any danger, but they also had to keep an eye on the horses and tend to them regularly. Otherwise, the heat would get to the horses, and they would be in a terrible situation.


    The sun rose in the early morning, and with it came the heat.


    While it was already pretty hot at night, something that normally shouldn¡¯t be the case at this time of the year, it became even worse during the day.


    They set off as early as they could, hoping to cross as much distance as possible so that they could get out of this heat just that little bit quicker.


    Looking out over the land before them, they realised that there was nothing. No animals, no plants. There was only the earth, the rocks, and the heat.


    Even the most stubborn of plants weren¡¯t able to survive here. In fact, If Lucien did see a plant here, it would only act as a warning to him that something had to be wrong with it.


    There wasn¡¯t much to see, so while they still kept an eye out, most of their attention was either on staving off the heat, or on keeping an eye on their horses.


    They took regular breaks to ensure that the horses had enough water, and would sometimes walk on foot and guide the horses by the reins to not overexert the poor things.


    It wasn¡¯t until sometime past noon that they noticed a change in the scenery.


    There was a depression in the ground in front of them. An almost steep slope that went several metres down and spanned hundreds of metres across.


    There were bits of lava coursing through the depression at a slow pace, and parts that were being lapped at by flames. The heat was getting even worse the closer they got to it.


    Could this be? It was difficult to tell being this close to it, but based on the signs, Lucien guessed that this was a footprint left by that ancient monster all those years ago.


    It was, awe-inspiring, seeing just how big it was. It truly made him feel just how enormous the creature was when it was alive.


    They approached the edge of the footprint and looked down. The drop was pretty big, but little bits had been broken away over the decades, so they would be able to walk down it as long as they were careful.


    But the lava and the fire wasn¡¯t exactly something that they wanted to deal with if they didn¡¯t have to.


    ¡°Should we go around?¡± Lynn asked.


    ¡°That might be a good idea, but we¡¯ve got to make sure we don¡¯t end up going the wrong way.¡± Since there was nothing man made to point them in the right direction, it would be very easy for them to get lost, making their journey more difficult.


    Compasses were in limited supply this far away from the region¡¯s capital, where they were manufactured, and were thus something that they could not afford. Their only option was to use the sun as their guide so that they could continue going north.


    Staying along the outer edge, they walked around the hole, and the further they went, the more certain Lucien was that it was a footprint. He could even somewhat make out the shape left behind by the creature¡¯s toes that extended a bit further out.


    They were brought to a stop when they heard a strange gurgling sound coming from somewhere near them.


    They looked around, trying to find where the sound was coming from, eventually locking their eyes on a large pool of lava.


    At some point, the pool had started to bubble. Little flecks of lava were sputtering out and landing nearby. Over time, more was getting flung out, each bit getting larger and larger.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The sounds grew louder, as if something was pushing to the surface.


    The horses whinnied as they tried to distance themselves from the lava pool. Lucien let them go, knowing well enough by now that they wouldn¡¯t run away completely, and would instead wait for them at a safe distance.


    His hand dropped to the hilt of his sword as he watched the pool with intensity.


    Suddenly, a large rock was shot out of the pool of lava, heading straight for Lucien and Lynn.


    ¡°Look out.¡± Lucien reacted quickly, grabbing Lynn and pulling her away and to safety as the rock came crashing down on where they were.


    If they had been even a second slower, they would have been crushed under the rock, leaving a splatter of blood and their squashed bodies behind.


    If that were to have happened, it would have been safe to say that the horses wouldn¡¯t have been able to survive for much longer either.


    Lucien believed that their carcasses wouldn¡¯t last long in this environment, meaning the only thing left for adventurers to come across would be the supplies carried by their horses.


    Everything about their mission and everything that made them who they were would have been lost to time. And Lord Whitmore would still be left in the dark. A potentially dangerous situation for the entire region.


    But luckily, that wasn¡¯t the case.


    ¡°That was close,¡± Lynn said, slightly shaken, as she stared at the rock.


    Just as she finished speaking, the rock started to shake and rumble.


    Cracks formed along the rock as the rumbling intensified. The cracks grew, forming multiple distinct segments.


    Five small segments pushed out of the main bulk of the rock, one on the front facing them, and two on either side. It was like something was burrowing its limbs out of the rock. But strangely enough, the limbs looked to also be made out of pure rock.


    With one final shake, a pair of golden slitted eyes were uncovered, and were looking at them with a burning intensity.


    The legs pushed down into the earth, lifting its massive rocky body off the ground.


    It¡¯s rocky body sloped down from the centre like a miniature mountain, with the smallest parts being around its head and legs. The legs were short and stocky, like tree stumps. And the head was even smaller when compared to the rest of the body, as it jutted out from the rocky shell.


    The creature looked like someone had started carving a tortoise out of a boulder, but didn¡¯t quite finish it. It shared some similarities with the sketch of the mountain monster found in Ernest¡¯s journal. Albeit, much smaller, and without the large tusks.


    However, the creature was not small by any means. It dwarfed Lucien¡¯s height, being over two metres tall at its highest point.


    Lucien wasn¡¯t sure where the creature ended and the rock began. Was the creature hidden inside? Or was the entire thing its body?


    Lucien looked down at his sword and sighed. There was no way he would be able to deal any real damage to it with his sword. He would only end up blunting it, which is something that he didn¡¯t want to see.


    As he was searching for a weapon, the creature started shuffling towards them. It moved slowly, much like you would expect from a tortoise, but every step caused the ground to shake and left a deep depression in the earth.


    ¡°Stay back. If things don¡¯t work out, we¡¯ll run back to the horses. I don¡¯t think this thing will be able to catch us.¡± Lucien was pretty certain that they could guarantee their safety after seeing how slow it was moving.


    There were a few reasons as to why he didn¡¯t just leave immediately.


    Firstly, this was the first living thing they had seen in this wasteland. He was curious to find out more about the monsters that lived here. Especially since they still had a long time until they could get out of here and back to relative safety.


    The second reason is that this was a safe opportunity for him to test how strong these monsters were. He could run now, but he might not always have that chance in the future. It was a good idea to learn as much as possible.


    The third reason was that parts of it might be very valuable, and could thus be sold for a large amount of money once they returned to civilisation.


    I need something blunt and solid, with some heft to it... His eyes scanned the ground around him, eventually settling on a chunk of rock that had fallen off of the creature¡¯s body as it stood up.


    He calmly walked closer to the creature, watching out for any signs of magic. Considering how it showed up, he knew that he had to be careful, otherwise things could go very wrong, very quickly.


    From what he could guess, there were a few different forms of magic that the creature could potentially have.


    It could have something elemental, like a lava, fire, or rock attack. It could either be a ranged attack, or applied directly to its body. Either way would come with its own troubles.


    The other kind of magic would be something that wasn¡¯t elemental, but would instead strengthen the creature¡¯s body, either making it stronger, or making it tougher to kill.


    All of this information whirled through his mind as he kept his eyes on the creature and approached his weapon of choice.


    He picked up the rock and retreated, watching carefully for any signs of an attack. Seeing that the creature did nothing besides turning in his direction, he started feeling the rock he had picked up.


    It somewhat resembled the head of a hammer, and was light enough that it wasn¡¯t difficult to swing it, and it wouldn¡¯t impede his movement at all. The only problem was that he would have to get pretty close to the creature to use it effectively.


    Other than that, he was pretty satisfied with it.


    After looking back to make sure Lynn was safe, he fully focused on the creature before him.


    He calmed his breathing, and threw all his thoughts out of his mind. Take it easy. She can protect herself well enough. You don¡¯t need to take any risks.


    Admittedly, he was a bit nervous. This was his first real fight since he killed that wolf. He had to convince himself that everything would be okay, and that he didn¡¯t need to put his life on the line to keep others safe.


    But there was still a shadow hanging in his mind, stopping him from fully breaking away from it. It picked at the bubbling emotions and feelings of guilt buried deep in his heart.


    At a time like this, all he could do was remember Uther¡¯s words. Instead of trying to cast aside these thoughts and emotions, he channelled them into action.


    He pushed off the ground, kicking up dust as he skirted around to the side of the creature. He figured that the creature would most likely attack using its head, so he took advantage of the creature¡¯s slow turning speed to attack at one of its blind spots and cripple its legs.


    Reaching the creature¡¯s back left leg, he brought the rock crashing down on it, chipping off a bit of rock, but not making the creature so much as flinch.


    This might take a while.

 Chapter 23

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 Chapter 24

    Mana was ever present. It existed in all things. Big or small. Living or not. If it existed, mana was a part of it.


    It came in many different forms. Too many to count. But the most common were earth, air, fire, water, nature, light, and darkness magic. These were the most basic elements, but they could either be combined, or could mutate to become something entirely new.


    There were limitless possibilities and everything was attuned to at least one element. Which is what made it all the more surprising that a living creature would not be able to use any magic at all.


    For living creatures, their attunement to the elements was determined by two things. Who their parents were, and where they were born.


    Mana would be siphoned from both parents during conception, and would then be released into the baby¡¯s body as it was being created in the womb. It would infuse into every cell, and this would continue until the child was born.


    Mana would then converge from the surroundings when the child is born, filling up any remaining cells that didn¡¯t have mana. And in some cases, if the mana in the area was dense enough, it would even push out the mana that came from the parents, although this would rarely result in any complications.


    There was also the rare chance that mana would mutate at any time during this whole process, meaning that the child would have a type of mana that didn¡¯t come from either of their parents, nor their surroundings.


    To give an example, if both parents were solely attuned to water mana, but gave birth to a child inside the wasteland Lucien and Lynn were passing through, the child would have a mix of water, fire, and lava magic.


    There was ultimately an upper limit to the amount of mana that could be stored in the body. And this limit determined the maximum strength that someone could unleash with magic.


    The more types of mana that a person had in the body, the weaker their maximum strength would be with any one particular element. Simply because there wasn¡¯t enough of that type of mana in their body.


    This is why most people couldn¡¯t cast powerful spells. Their bodies simply contained too many different types of mana, lowering that maximum threshold to a pitifully weak level.


    So logically, even if one side of his family was cursed to not have magic, he should have gotten magic from the other side of his family, and from his surroundings when he was born. But that didn¡¯t happen.


    He had nothing. And he had to work hard to offset this disadvantage with experience and skill.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Lynn was confused. She looked over at him, trying to figure out if he was telling a joke or not. Everybody could use magic, that¡¯s just how it worked.


    Even a baby could do it, assuming they were talented enough and had been taught how.


    She couldn¡¯t wrap her head around the fact that a nearly fifty year old man couldn¡¯t use magic. She didn¡¯t want to believe it, as it would go against basically everything she had been taught from a very young age.


    ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking. I can¡¯t explain it either. I¡¯m just as confused about it as you are. No one in my family could use it,¡± Lucien said.


    ¡°But what about Ernest? It was said that he had incredibly powerful magic.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Either his magic came from the weapon, or maybe because he was so powerful, the rest of us were cursed to no longer have it. I...¡± he paused. ¡°I used to think about it a lot when I was younger and I saw all of the other kids using magic.¡±


    She was still in a daze, her mind filtering through every scrap of information she knew to try and explain it, but couldn¡¯t find anything. ¡°But-¡±


    ¡°It goes against everything you¡¯ve been taught, right?¡±


    The two were lost in thought for a moment as they continued to travel around the giant footprint, Until Lucien broke the silence with a question.


    ¡°What kind of magic can you cast?¡±


    Lynn paused for a moment and held out her hands. She took a deep breath, all of her attention honed in on the space above her hands.


    A light blue, wispy smoke flowed from her palms, curling up in the air. The mana spun as it pooled together. Slowly, the mana was replaced bit by bit with water, as if the force of its rotation was pulling in water molecules and smashing them together.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    A small ball of water floated above her hands for a moment. It looked almost pitiful when compared to the amount of mana that was used to create it.


    ¡°Normally it would be bigger. But it¡¯s a lot harder here,¡± Lynn said.


    Lucien¡¯s eyes lit up, noticing how useful this would be. It wouldn¡¯t completely substitute them having to refill their water at villages and towns, but in a place like this, it was a game changer.


    ¡°What can you do with it?¡± he asked.


    His words left her momentarily distracted, allowing the water that had been pulled together by mana to slip back into the air.


    She looked back at him, slightly embarrassed. ¡°That¡¯s all I can do.¡± She mumbled as she scratched the back of her head.


    ¡°I can¡¯t even make it move without it all just disappearing.¡±


    She always felt embarrassed about her magic back home. Other people her age were already able to do something with their magic, but all she could do was create a useless ball of water.


    She would often compare herself with the neighbours kid specifically, who was also a trainee for the guard. They were the same age and started their training at about the same time, but he could already coat his sword in fire and use it in a battle.


    She asked her father to teach her how to wield magic constantly, but he always insisted that she should focus on her swordplay first before she went on to something else.


    Lucien noticed that she was feeling down, and felt empathetic towards her plight. He knew what it was like to watch everyone else around him do things that he couldn¡¯t, although his situation was slightly different.


    ¡°Hey, there¡¯s nothing to be ashamed about. You¡¯re still young, and you have plenty of time to learn. Besides, I can still think of a few uses for this.¡± Lucien hopped off his horse, motioning for her to do the same as he attempted to cheer her up.


    She joined him on the ground as they continued walking for a bit, eventually coming to a stop a bit further away from the sweltering heat of the footprint.


    ¡°This should do it, let¡¯s stop here for a little while.¡±


    They took the time to give the horses a bit of a rest. It wasn¡¯t time for them to set up camp for the night just yet, but it would still do them some good.


    ¡°Can you do that again? Try your best to keep a hold of it.¡±


    ¡°Okay, give me a minute.¡±


    She once again focused her attention on the space above her outstretched hands, allowing the mana to flow through her body and out her palms. Water started converging on the area above her palms, once again forming a ball.


    While she was doing that, Lucien took out a pouch and opened it as wide as he could. He waited for the ball to finish forming, then immediately pounced forward, catching the water and sealing it in the pouch.


    Lynn¡¯s concentration was broken, and the water wanted to disperse just like before, but was this time stopped by the walls of the pouch.


    Lucien could feel it rumbling in his hand before it eventually calmed down, realising that it couldn¡¯t escape.


    ¡°There we are.¡± Lucien smiled.


    ¡°Thanks, but I''ve already tried this before. It¡¯s useless,¡± Lynn said, her shoulders slumping. ¡°I tried to drink it when I was younger. I was sick for a few days after that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because it has more mana in it than normal drinking water,¡± Lucien explained. ¡°While our bodies contain mana, we aren¡¯t exactly that good at digesting it. At least, normal people like us aren¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°It might be different for powerful wizards,¡± he mumbled.


    ¡°Then do you have a plan?¡± Lynn was fully focused on him, just like she would be when her father was teaching her how to wield a sword.


    ¡°Yes. Come here and place your hand above mine.¡± Lucien¡¯s hand was wrapped around the pouch just above where the water was, pinching it shut.


    Lynn followed his instructions, putting her hand on the pouch¡¯s opening.


    ¡°Put your other hand beneath the pouch. I¡¯m going to loosen my grip slightly. I won¡¯t drop it, but it¡¯s better to be careful.¡±


    With her other hand below the pouch, Lucien did as he said, allowing a small gap to open.


    The mana sensed the change, immediately moving to try and escape, bringing the water with it.


    Lynn flinched and almost took her hand back as she felt the water smacking against her, but she stayed still.


    ¡°The mana is trying to escape, and because all of the excess water mana is moving, it is pulling the water with it. That¡¯s why the water would always disappear when you cast your magic. The mana is taking it away when it leaves.¡±


    A look of understanding dawned on Lynn¡¯s face as he spoke. She had never understood why it was always like that. It had always stumped her, but now she felt like she was getting closer to actually being able to use her magic.


    Ideas flitted through her mind constantly, and she wanted to sit down and experiment, but knew that it could wait for her to finish here.


    ¡°Won¡¯t the water escape as well?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Some of it might,¡± he nodded. ¡°Can you feel the water moving on your palm? It should be trying to go to the edges, right?¡±


    Even though it wasn¡¯t happening to him, Lucien seemed to know exactly what was happening.


    The water was smacking against the middle of her palm before flowing to the edges, where it would once again meet the fabric of the pouch.


    ¡°Most of it should stay in there though. Just make sure you¡¯ve got it all covered. Mana is a lot smaller than water, so it should be able to slip out just fine.¡±


    They sat there for a few minutes as the mana slowly seeped out. Eventually, the water fell back into the bag with a quiet splash and stopped moving.


    ¡°There we are. Have a taste.¡± Lucien pulled the pouch back but left the gap open, showing that the water was no longer trying to escape.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Lynn took the pouch and looked into it wearily. The water didn¡¯t look any different from normal, so she cautiously brought it to her lips and took a sip.


    She was worried that it was going to make her sick, just like the last time, but she felt fine. It tasted just like normal water.


    Lucien smiled inwardly, praising her caution. Good. At least she won¡¯t just rush head first into something just because I tell her to do it.


    ¡°Put the rest of it away and let¡¯s get going.¡±


    Lynn poured the remaining water into her waterskin and hopped back onto her horse.


    They continued to ride on, keeping a distance from the footprint while still being able to keep an eye on it to make sure they were heading in the right direction.


    They had a long journey ahead of them, and this new discovery just made things a little bit easier.


    She had plenty of time to figure out which of her ideas would actually prove useful. But she felt like she was finally closer to achieving something with her magic.


    When I get back home, I¡¯ll finally be able to show that smug jerk up and beat him in a fight.

 Chapter 25

    The journey was long, arduous, and exhausting. They had been walking through the wasteland for four weeks already, and Lucien felt like they might be there for longer than he had estimated


    This was primarily because of the footsteps forcing them to have to take constant detours in order to remain safe, but that wasn¡¯t the only reason.


    They were attacked on more than one occasion by monsters similar to the one Lucien had previously killed.


    Lucien handled most of them himself, but there was one time when two attacked them at the same time, and Lynn was forced to step in as well.


    While Lucien was handling his one the same way he did all the others, Lynn was having a bit of trouble.


    This was her first time taking on one of these creatures, so she didn¡¯t have the timing down like Lucien did.


    She had managed to find a suitable rock to use easily, but the monster had already reached her while she was still trying to lift it.


    She was forced to roll back awkwardly as the creature¡¯s razor sharp teeth almost shredded her leg to bits.


    She made it chase her away from the rock, then wrapped back around and killed it on her second attempt.


    Luckily, she managed to survive the encounter with only a few scratches here and there, nothing she hadn¡¯t experienced before.


    They cleaned the wounds to make sure nothing bad happened, then once again set off.


    They could feel the air starting to cool down, turning from a mind-numbing heat to a sweltering one. They knew they were getting close to finally escaping this hellish landscape.


    They had escaped the land of footprints, having returned to the outer ring where nothing living existed. There were no animals and no monsters, just rocks, dry ground, and heat.


    At least they no longer had to worry about being crushed to death from out of nowhere by a falling rock monster.


    This didn¡¯t stop them from being on constant alert though. They didn¡¯t want to slip up when they were this close.


    It was exhausting, both mentally and physically, but they were almost out of there.


    They were half way through the fifth week in the wasteland when they saw something that made both of them smile.


    Grass.


    It was dead, sparse, and droopy. But it was grass. It was the first sign of non-monstrous life they had seen in a very long time.


    It stubbornly clung to the cracks in the arid earth, even after its death.


    Without talking, they both picked up the pace at the same time, both wishing to get out of there as soon as possible.


    They watched in real time as the grass shifted gradually from a dull yellow to a yellowish-green.


    The air was getting more humid, and the heat was no longer beating down on them as harshly as it had been.


    And by the end of the fifth week, they had spotted signs of civilisation.


    There was an old wooden sign. Hastily made by tying two pieces of wood together with some rope. It was barely sitting in the ground at a slant, looking like it could be knocked over with a gentle push from a child.


    Lucien was almost marvelled by the fact that something of such shoddy craftsmanship was still standing.


    As they approached the sign, they felt like they stepped through an invisible barrier, as the temperature dropped back down to a mild level. Albeit, still hotter than what it was before they stepped foot inside.


    But even the hottest days of the season of growth would feel cold when compared to what it was like in there.


    They reached the sign, and were able to read what was etched into the other side of it:


    ¡®Danger!


    Do not go past this point.¡¯


    Doesn¡¯t tell us much, but at least we know that someone has to live nearby. ¡°Let¡¯s keep going. We aren¡¯t out of the woods yet.¡±


    He took off the headwrap, feeling relieved as the wind brushed past his face. His entire body had been wrapped up for so long that he had almost forgotten what the wind felt like.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Lynn did the same, but it wasn¡¯t quite enough for her. She took out her water and liberally poured it on her face and through her hair. She kept pouring until every last drop of water was gone.


    She looked like a wet dog, and smelled even worse, but in this moment she didn¡¯t care. She was just so glad that it was finally over.


    The wasteland had done a number on them. Ignoring the monsters and the heat, just the fact that they hadn¡¯t been able to wash themselves that entire time had put a lot of strain on the young woman¡¯s mind.


    Lucien was older, and thus didn¡¯t care about it as much as she did. But even he felt like they had seen better days.


    His beard was unkempt. His hair was shaggy. And his face was cracked and dry.


    He decided that once this was all over, he would take a different route back just so that he could avoid having to do this all over again.


    Everyone, including the horses, were tired and ready to sleep, but they pushed on.


    A few minutes after passing the sign, the grass was already covering the ground for as far as the eye could seem and Lucien could even spot animals frolicking in a nearby forest.


    It was amazing just how different the environment could be in such a short distance.


    They came across an overgrown dirt road which they followed all the way back to the village of Ashfield.


    Different to the prior village of Ishtal, Ashfield was established long after the wasteland was already a thing.


    Previously a lumber camp, it slowly grew into a village as the workers started having families of their own. It kept itself going by supplying lumber to the surrounding towns and villages instead of by profiting from adventurers.


    However, like Ishtal, it was still a small village of around fifty to sixty people.


    ¡°Stop right there!¡± A harsh voice called out from the nearby forest. An old man stepped out with a long bow fully drawn and aimed at Lucien. He was ready to fire it through Lucien¡¯s skull the second anything strange happened.


    Despite his age, he seemed to have no trouble drawing the thing, and could even hold it there steadily for an extended period of time.


    They both came to a stop, raising their hands slowly so as to not get shot at.


    ¡°What¡¯s your business here?¡± the old man asked.


    ¡°Just passing through.¡±


    ¡°Nice try! The nearest village is over that way.¡± He pointed roughly eastward. ¡°This path doesn¡¯t lead anywhere. And what¡¯s with the clothes you¡¯re wearing? Are you bandits?¡±


    The man didn¡¯t let up at all, not believing them for a second. He was suspicious to the point of being paranoid.


    ¡°I assure you, we¡¯re really just passing through,¡± Lucien said, trying to ease the man¡¯s nerves so that he would lower the bow.


    ¡°Lower you¡¯re weapon Dale.¡±


    Another man appeared just as the situation was getting more tense. He came from the village entrance and stopped in between Dale and Lucien.


    This man was a bit younger than Lucien, probably in his mid thirties. He had short, cropped brown hair, and a 5 o¡¯clock shadow. He was 170cm tall with a bit of muscle, but was overall fairly lean.


    Dale hesitated for a moment, as if contemplating whether to shoot this man in the head, but ultimately shifted his weapon to the side and fired the arrow into the ground past them.


    ¡°Consider yourself lucky,¡± he spat. ¡°If they kill anyone this is on your head Jon, not mine,¡± he said to the other man as he walked back into the forest.


    The man turned back to them with a somewhat sheepish and apologetic grin. ¡°Sorry about him. He can be a bit of a handful, but he means well. I think.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. Not the first time I''ve had a bow pointed at me.¡± Lucien chuckled, thinking nothing of it. He could tell from the way the guy was reacting that this wasn¡¯t the first time something like this had happened.


    ¡°Where did you two come from? Nobody really uses this path except for the villagers.¡±


    ¡°Down south, you guys are the first people we¡¯ve seen in a while.¡±


    ¡°Down south...¡± he muttered quietly to himself. He looked at their clothes, then back the way they came as something dawned on him. ¡°You came from the wasteland, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Lucien nodded, feeling that there was no need to hide it.


    ¡°Why not just go around?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve got an urgent message for Lord Whitmore, and I didn¡¯t want to delay it by doing that.¡±


    Jon shifted slightly upon the mention of Lord Whitmore. His back straightened to a more rigid stance while he put on an ingratiating smile. Either he guessed the seriousness of their situation, or he assumed that they were people of great importance.


    Either way, he wanted to help. ¡°Is there anything I can do to help? You both must be exhausted after what you just went through.¡±


    Lucien, not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, decided to accept his help. However, he made a mental note to make sure to repay Jon for the help. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, we could probably just do with a bath. Do you have a tub we could borrow?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Follow me.¡±


    While they were talking, the man brought them into the village. It was a quiet place, aside from the few children running around, as everyone was out working.


    He brought them to a small house on the western side of the village. The place looked too small for a family to live in, meaning that Jon was probably living on his own.


    ¡°Tubs in the room on the left, you can wash up in there for some privacy. Bucket¡¯s by the door and the nearest well is over on the main road. Feel free to make yourselves at home,¡± he said as he pushed open the door and walked inside.


    Lucien and Lynn paused at the door to tie their horses up. They also took off their robes, not wanting to track all that dust and dirt into Jon¡¯s house. After putting the robes away and making sure that everything was okay, they stepped inside.


    Jon¡¯s eyes widened slightly as he looked at Lucien, but he held his expression well. He didn¡¯t realise that Lucien was missing an arm, he just thought that it was hidden in the folds of the robe.


    ¡°You can go first,¡± Lucien told Lynn as he looked around the house.


    They were currently in the main room, which was an all-in-one kitchen, dining, and living room. The kitchen was on the right side, with the fireplace and cooking pot in the middle of the wall.


    There was a small rectangular dining table in the middle of the room that could sit three or four people.


    The left side of the room was where most of the storage was, as it was mostly taken up by shelves, cabinets, drawers, and a chest. But it did have a couple chairs for people to rest on and chat when they weren¡¯t eating.


    There wasn¡¯t much in terms of decor, with the walls left barren aside from the shelves, which were mostly covered with things that Jon would use everyday and needed to keep close. But aside from that, the place was clean and looked presentable.


    Two doors were on the far wall. The one on the left led to the washroom, while the other presumably led to the bedroom.


    Lynn grabbed a bucket and went to go get water.


    ¡°You can use the fire to warm up the water if you need to. I¡¯m not using it at the moment,¡± Jon offered.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. I think we¡¯re both dying for a cold bath right now.¡±

 Chapter 26

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 Chapter 27

    This journey had taken a long time, but Lucien had never once wavered from his goal. He prayed to Stellara every night to protect and guide his loved ones¡¯ souls. To ensure their safe journey through the perilous sky.


    Every once in a while, that strange rabbit would appear whenever Lynn was asleep, and would show him that his family was doing fine up there.


    He didn¡¯t know whether what the rabbit was showing him was the truth, but it made him feel better and like his prayers were being answered.


    The journey may have been tiring, but seeing those walls made him feel calm. His journey was one step closer to being over. One step closer to him being able to be with his family again.


    Of course, there were a few things he had to do before he could join them up there. He had to make Adam pay for what he had done, and make sure Roddy was okay.


    Lucien hadn¡¯t heard anything from the elves, meaning that nothing had happened to Roddy while he was with those bandits and his foul beast of a father.


    Once Lucien had got his revenge, he would make sure that someone would be there to take care of Roddy in his stead. There were a few good candidates that came to mind.


    He also wanted to get Lynn back to her family. Although they had bonded over the time they spent together, he felt that she had spent far too long away from her family.


    Once all of that was sorted, then he would truly be at peace.


    ¡°We¡¯ve finally made it.¡± Lucien looked up with tired eyes at the towering walls on the horizon as he ran his hand through Chase¡¯s mane.


    Whitmore Castle.


    The central trade hub of the region, from which Lord Whitmore held power.


    Towering walls of dark, almost black, stone had surrounded the city since its inception several centuries ago. Despite countless wars and battles, the walls looked as if they had just been built yesterday.


    There wasn¡¯t even a speck of dust or a bit of dirt on them. They were abnormally clean. As if nothing was allowed to mar their visage.


    The walls were shrouded in mystery. Some locals even believed that the wall was alive, that it was a giant and terrifying snake that protected the city. Those who were old enough to remember would pass down stories of the wall moving so that the city could continue to grow under its protection.


    Although this wasn¡¯t true, there was some credence to the myths.


    The wall did, in fact, move on a semi-regular basis so that the city could expand. However, it was due to the city¡¯s mages that the wall was able to move, not because it was alive.


    This wasn¡¯t a secret, but some people would rather believe that the wall was a giant snake. It gave them a sense of security.


    The road beneath their feet had turned from dirt to gravel, to fully paved, even before they set foot in the city.


    Both the entrance gate and the road were wide enough to allow several wagons to pass through at the same time. The road was split in the middle, with one side consisting of three lines going in, and the other of three lines going out.


    Each group had to stop at the gate for an inspection from a group of guards. Just from a quick glance, Lucien could spot about two dozen guards, and that¡¯s just those that were visible.


    They were both excited that they were so close to completing the goal that they had set out for, but they knew that there was no way for them to go straight in, so they tempered themselves and joined the back of the line.


    They were stuck behind a group of five people. Based on what they were wearing, Lucien guessed that they were an adventurer group. Almost certainly a small one considering the quality of their armour and weapons.


    Whilst Lucien wasn¡¯t a smith, he was used to dealing with good quality gear back home. At least, he could trust his gear to save his life in a pinch. He couldn¡¯t trust what they had at all.


    The group consisted of three men and two women. Two of them, a man and a woman, looked to be in their forties like Lucien. One guy seemed to be in his mid thirties, and the remaining two were a lot younger, being in their early twenties, possible even being in their teens.


    They all had a few cuts and bruises, but one of them, the youngest man, had the left side of his stomach all bandaged up.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°That was a waste of time,¡± one of them grumbled.


    ¡°If I had known that someone else had taken the job, I never would have agreed to it,¡± the older man said apologetically.


    ¡°How much do we have in our savings?¡± the injured one asked. He was worried that his injury would cost them the rest of what they had. The only reason they took this job was because they were desperate for money in the first place.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯m sure we can find some labour work to keep us afloat. You just focus on recovering,¡± The older woman said.


    ¡°Maybe we should try working somewhere else? I think heading south isn¡¯t a bad idea. There¡¯ll be less competition down there,¡± said the guy in his mid-thirties, causing everyone else to stop and look at him. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Have you not heard the rumours?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not safe down there.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going there.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to die.¡±


    All four of them gave their own responses, leaving him stunned and confused.


    Seems like the news of the bandits has already reached this far. Lord Whitmore might already be preparing to stifle it. That¡¯s good news. Lucien thought.


    Eventually, after waiting long enough, it was their turn to go through. The guards stopped them for an inspection just like they did everyone else. Considering it was only the two of them and they didn¡¯t have a cart with them, it wouldn¡¯t take too long.


    The guards were lead by a stout man with a long, bushy black beard. He had a five pointed star on his chest, signifying his higher rank compared to the other guards in his group, with badges ranging from a single point of a star to a three pointed one.


    ¡°Names?¡± The guard with the three pointed star took the lead in asking the questions, while the rest observed the pair with the same level of professional interest as they did everyone else who passed through those gates.


    ¡°Lucien Rowe.¡±


    ¡°Lynn Barker.¡±


    ¡°Reason for being here?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re guards from the south, here to pass on a message to his Lordship about the bandit raids,¡± Lucien said.


    There was a slight pause as the look on the guards¡¯ faces changed. The one who was talking to them stepped back and started whispering with his leader.


    The leader waved over one of the lowest ranked guards and sent him off to inform the higher ups so that a decision could be made on what to do.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to let you through, but if you wouldn¡¯t mind, could you please wait at the side. We need to inform our superior.¡± The highest ranked guard took over control of the conversation as he guided them to a small sitting area on the other side of the wall just off the road.


    ¡°Of course. We understand.¡± Lucien didn¡¯t want to make things difficult on them, so he decided to wait.


    Besides, with the guards¡¯ help it would be easier to see Lord Whitmore than if he was to just stroll up to the castle by himself.


    The highest-ranked guard stayed with them, deeming them to be of higher priority than his previous job. However, he did make sure that he was standing in a position where he could watch over his team at the gates should anything happen.


    Lynn sat off to the side, taking in the sights of the city. Even while being just at the gate, it was more magnificent than anything she had ever seen before.


    Multi-storey buildings were commonplace. Every building looked like something fit for a mayor or a noble in her eyes. Even the worst buildings were beyond something she would find back home.


    At least here, there wasn¡¯t a single person that she would consider as poor in sight.


    ¡°Which village are you from?¡± he asked, trying to start a conversation with Lucien to gauge the situation.


    ¡°Locham.¡±


    ¡°Locham? That¡¯s far, you must have been travelling for a long time.¡±


    ¡°I have to admit, it did take a while. But I¡¯m here now, and once I pass on that message to Lord Whitmore, then there won¡¯t be much left for me to do here.¡±


    The guard could tell that Lucien wasn¡¯t just talking about here at Whitmore castle.


    He was familiar with the look in Lucien¡¯s eyes. The look of someone who didn¡¯t have much left to live for. He had seen many people that had suffered from tragedy that had that same look in their eyes.


    He had seen many people that kept pushing on because of a single purpose. And he had seen how broken they were after the fact. He sympathised with Lucien.


    He didn¡¯t know what had happened in the south, but he could tell that it wasn¡¯t good. He had an inkling that it might even have a grave impact on the future of the region.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard rumours that the south is becoming increasingly unstable as of late. That bandits have been getting more audacious and are now openly defying the king,¡± the guard said, eyeing Lucien to try and gauge his reaction.


    As if it¡¯s that extreme. They don¡¯t think about the king, or any nobles for that matter. They¡¯re just interested in gold and slaughter.


    Lucien could tell what the man was doing. He didn¡¯t want to pass on any specific information to anyone who wasn¡¯t either directly affected by it, or in a position of power. But, he felt like he could at least give the man a bit of a heads up.


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely getting worse down there. Bandit¡¯s have been attacking the villages more and more frequently,¡± Lucien said.


    The conversation ended there as Lucien closed his eyes and took the chance while they waited to rest.


    While they were waiting, the messenger raced back to the nearest barracks. Hoping that someone with sufficient authority to see Lord Whitmore was there at the moment.


    Luckily for him, he spotted such a person the moment he entered the barrack¡¯s main room.


    There was a stout, middle-aged man sitting at a table, playing a game of dice with an elderly man.


    The young guard felt like he was struck by lightning as he stared at the old man in disbelief. He stood their frozen for a moment, completely forgetting all forms of etiquette until he hurriedly saluted to the middle-aged man, then gave a wizard¡¯s bow to the old man.


    ¡°Sir, I have something important to report.¡± He tried his hardest to stop his voice from shaking. Just the pressure coming off the two men as they sat there made him want to collapse. And it was only now that he realised, that despite this being the main room, no one else was in here besides the three of them.


    ¡°Of course. It¡¯s probably for the best that you get back to your job anyway.¡± The old man stroked his beard and looked at the young guard with a kind smile, showing no intention of leaving.

 Chapter 28

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 Chapter 29

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 Chapter 30

    Lord Whitmore looked at Lucien¡¯s back, feeling the emotions hidden behind his wish. The anger, hatred, and bitterness. The depression, regret, and loneliness. He wanted to give Lucien a better life after everything he had gone through, but at the same time, he couldn¡¯t just stop him here.


    With a sigh, he got up and joined Lucien on the balcony. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll have the butler send you down there to the commander in charge. Commander Roth should still be with them, so that should make things simpler.¡±


    ¡°With Uther gone, it is more important than ever that we send new soldiers to the border,¡± he muttered under his breath.


    ¡°Do you need me to find a healer for your arm?¡± Whitmore asked.¡± It will take more effort to heal, considering we don¡¯t have the original arm, but I¡¯m sure in a few months it¡¯ll be as good as new.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Lucien said, shaking his head before looking down at the missing arm. ¡°Maybe... maybe I¡¯ll take you up on that offer when I get back.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Do you need to rest?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll rest once I''ve gone down there and settled in.¡±


    ¡°Okay. ¡°


    Lord Whitmore walked to the door, opened it, and gestured to the butler that was still waiting outside.


    He spoke with the butler for a moment, relaying his orders to him before returning to Lucien. ¡°He will take you there when you¡¯re ready. Just a word of advice, try and connect with people, okay?¡±


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll be going now.¡± Lucien bowed then left the room.


    Watching his back, Lord Whitmore really hoped that Lucien would take his advice into consideration. He wanted Lucien to create new connections so that he would have less of a reason to leave after he got his revenge.


    ¡°Follow me,¡± said the butler.


    Closing the door behind him, Lucien followed the butler back the way they came, out the building, and all the way to a smaller building beside the training grounds.


    Having not seen the person he was looking for out on the field, the butler entered the building. Walking past several soldiers and members of the logistics crew who were going back and forth, the butler brought Lucien to a door and knocked on it.


    ¡°Come in.¡± a strong, warm voice said from the other side of the door.


    The door was opened from the inside by a gust of wind, and just as Lord Whitmore had predicted, Commander Roth was still inside talking to the commander in charge of this brigade.


    Both of them were currently standing at a table with a detailed map of the southern part of the region, ranging from the edge of the Eternal Forest to the town of Whaeldrake. The map covered roughly a third of the entire region, focusing on the areas most heavily affected by the bandit attacks.


    While both of them were focused on the map and discussing the new information that Lucien had given them, they were facing the door, meaning that Lucien could make out the other commander¡¯s features.


    Compared to Commander Roth, the other commander was significantly younger, probably in her late twenties or early thirties.


    She had light brown hair that went down to just above her shoulders, that was tied up into a short ponytail in the back to keep out of her way.


    She had a rather average face that would be difficult to pick out from a crowd if it wasn¡¯t for the pair of intense, deep blue eyes as clear as the sky above.


    She had a muscular body that somewhat reminded Lucien of Paul¡¯s daughter, Miriam. She was as strong as an ox, and probably capable of carrying one.


    She was lower in rank than Commander Roth, albeit, not by much. She had an eleven-pointed star compared to his fourteen-pointed one.


    And while Commander Roth had already mostly retired from the battlefield to lead the military academy here, This young commander was still looking to prove herself out on the battlefield.


    Both of them looked up at the opened door at the same time, looking first at the butler, and then at Lucien.


    ¡°This is the man that brought the news,¡± Roth explained, to which the young commander nodded.


    The young commander turned to the butler, asking, ¡°Does his Lordship have a task for us?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Commander Vernon. He wants Lucien here to join your troops. He said it would prove useful to have someone of his calibre that also lives in the target area,¡± the butler said before leaving and going back to report to Lord Whitmore.


    Of my calibre? He hasn¡¯t even seen me fight. Lucien thought to himself before chalking it up to Uther¡¯s influence and Lord Whitmore¡¯s belief in that. He felt touched that despite his glaring disability, that someone still believed in him.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    The two commanders shot each other a quick look in response to what the butler had said, before turning back to Lucien almost immediately.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have someone run you through the procedures and then take you to your lodging. But don¡¯t get too used to it. We¡¯ll be leaving in a few days once we¡¯ve sorted out all of the information you¡¯ve given us,¡± said Commander Vernon.


    She called out for a member of logistics, and after a couple of minutes, a young bespectacled man came running in, looking particularly flustered but not out of breath.


    ¡°You called for me, commander?¡± He bowed to both of them, taking off his glasses at the same time to prevent them from falling.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got a new recruit here. Run him through the standard procedure then get him settled in,¡± she ordered.


    The young man stood up and looked at Lucien. His gaze lingered on Lucien¡¯s missing arm, his mouth twitching slightly.


    Neither of which escaped Lucien¡¯s notice.


    ¡°Of course, commander.¡± The young man saluted them before turning to Lucien. ¡°Follow me.¡±


    ¡°Lucien, before you go,¡± called out Commander Roth. ¡°You¡¯re stuff has been brought to the dormitory.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    The two walked out of the room as a gust of wind closed the door behind them. They walked in silence until they reached the front of the building, where there were several tables with seats either side. Most of which were currently unoccupied.


    It was clear that a lot of the furniture had been moved in from other places, and that this room wasn¡¯t normally so cramped.


    ¡°This is where we¡¯ve been doing all of the paperwork needed to keep this brigade afloat. It¡¯s also where we¡¯ve been filing all of the recruitment paperwork,¡± he explained as he sat down at one of the desks and gestured to the seat across from him.


    ¡°Normally we wouldn¡¯t be taking in anymore recruits at this time, but since its the commander¡¯s request, we¡¯ll make an exception for you.¡±


    Now that they were away from the commanders, Lucien could see how tired the young man was. A trait shared by most of the logistics team that were running back and forth.


    They were being worked to the bone without much of a chance to rest.


    ¡°How many people are being sent out?¡± Lucien asked, remembering all the soldiers he saw out on the field training.


    ¡°Around 3,000 soldiers. Close to 3,500 if we include all the cooks, caravan drivers, etcetera that are needed to keep all those soldiers moving.¡± he answered.


    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of people.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s barely a dent in the amount of active soldiers we have here. I do not pity whoever does the logistics for that. The poor bastards,¡± he said while suppressing a yawn. ¡°Sorry, that just slipped out. Don¡¯t tell anyone I said that.¡±


    ¡°You have my word.¡±


    ¡°Anyway. It is a lot. I doubt the bandits have that many. But once we¡¯ve dealt with them we¡¯ll be stationed at the border, so it isn¡¯t an overexaggeration.¡± He took out a piece of paper from the desk drawer and passed it over.


    ¡°Fill this all out then I¡¯ll bring you around the place. You do know how to write, don¡¯t you?¡±


    While the kingdom was on the whole fairly well off, to the point that the majority knew how to read and write, there was still a large percentage of its citizens that could be considered illiterate. Especially in the more remote places, such as Locham.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Lucien answered simply, unbothered by the question as he looked around for a quill and some ink, but couldn¡¯t find it. Instead, he noticed someone nearby writing with what looked like a shaved-down quill.


    Finding something similar on his desk, he picked it up, and after weighing it in his hand, started writing. Interesting, it holds the ink inside. That probably cuts down on the amount of ink you¡¯ll get on your hands.


    His actions were quick and natural, going unnoticed by the young man, whose attention was currently elsewhere.


    The document was fairly simple. It asked for his name, date of birth and where he was born. It also asked what he did for a living, if he attended the academy, and what prior military accomplishments he had.


    As a guard who hadn¡¯t really gone far from his home village, Lucien was able to fill out the paperwork very quickly.


    ¡°Here.¡± He passed the paper back over to the young man after finishing.


    The young man took a quick glance at it before placing it in the drawer below the one he got the paper from in the first place. ¡°I¡¯ll get that filed later, but since we don¡¯t have a lot of time, it¡¯s probably best that we get to everything else first.¡±


    ¡°Let me show you to where you¡¯ll be staying, then I¡¯ll take you to who you¡¯ll be reporting to from now on.¡±


    Seeing nothing wrong with that, Lucien followed the tired young man out of the building.


    Wrapping around the side of the building, they walked to the back of the training field, where there was a massive, warehouse-like building.


    ¡°How long has this building been here for?¡± Lucien noticed something strange after looking at the surroundings, which only became more obvious when they entered the building.


    There didn¡¯t seem to be a distinction between the training field and this building, like there was for the other buildings nearby.


    There were no footpaths between them, and the entire building was encompassed by the same fencing that was around the field.


    The nail in the coffin was that the floor inside was the same as the outside.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got good eyes. The field actually goes out all the way here. We had magicians build this as temporary housing since the closest dormitory was already filled up. There should still be a couple of beds free at the end.¡±


    The entire building was just one room, filled with rows upon rows of bunk beds with just enough space between them for people to move around. Beneath each bed was just enough space to fit two trunks that stored the soldiers belongings.


    Lucien spotted his things placed neatly near the front door, and picked it all up, tying it around his body so he could carry it all in one go.


    Every bed was in pristine condition, with the blankets perfectly folded and tucked into the mattress. Even the trunks were symmetrical, with none of them being the slightest bit out of place.


    Getting closer to the other end, they were able to spot a few trunks sitting atop the beds rather than beneath them, indicating that the beds were empty.


    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s only the top bunks,¡± he paused, his eyes glancing over to Lucien¡¯s missing arm. ¡°Someone might be able to swap with you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. No need to bother them.¡± He threw his things onto the bed next to the trunk, being especially careful with anything breakable.


    Resting his foot on the bottom rung, he effortlessly scaled the ladder and sat on the edge of the bed.


    He opened the trunk, put all of his things inside, then closed it again. This is going to be a little more difficult.


    Grabbing the trunk by the handle, he carefully hooked his legs through the ladder, then slowly sat himself down and lowered the trunk to the floor. With his hand free. He was able to get back down just as easily as he got up.


    After putting the trunk into its place under the bed and making sure it was lined up, he looked around to memorise which bed was his. Which was easy since he was close to the end.


    ¡°Where are we going now?¡±

 Chapter 31

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 Chapter 32

    ¡°Now, we should probably be going. There¡¯s much to discuss. And many people that want to meet you.¡± Said the old headmaster, Lynn¡¯s great-grandfather. He pocketed the no longer misty gemstone and turned back around the way he came.


    Lynn watched from a distance as Lucien got on the carriage and left, before turning back to follow the old man.


    It felt, strange. She never knew that she had family this far away. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that she had received a dressing down from her mother through that strange gemstone, she would have already tried to run away.


    But instead, she followed alongside him, her attention split between looking at him and taking in the wonders of the city. She had never seen anywhere as lively as this. Not even the markets at Whaeldrake after the big harvest.


    It felt like pushing through a river during a storm. She was worried that she would be swept away if she wasn¡¯t careful.


    But somehow, even though he had a cane, he was able to walk through it with nary a problem.


    Something else she noticed was that some people were looking at him with what felt like a mixture of awe, reverence, and respect. Some of them were even actively moving out of his way when they noticed him, clearing a path for him, and by extension her, to walk through.


    Even though she didn¡¯t know how, she could tell just from this that he was someone important.


    Looking at him now, she could see the resemblance between him and her mother. They had a similar nose, and they¡¯re eyes had the same look about them. Although, his didn¡¯t have the same amount of energy behind them as her mother¡¯s did.


    His were calmer, more languid.


    ¡°Um, papa Calder.¡± She hesitated, unsure of what to call him. ¡°Where are we going?¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, of course. Sorry about that, I was getting ahead of myself. I was just too excited to talk to you and your mother.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be taking you to the family estate first. You deserve a good rest after such a long and tiring trip. Tomorrow, once you¡¯re rested, we¡¯ll get you enrolled in the academy.¡±


    ¡°The academy?¡±


    ¡°Of course, do you not want to learn magic?¡± he asked.


    Her eyes widened in delight as she clung to his arm. ¡°Of course I want to learn!¡±


    ¡°Well then the academy is where you want to be. They¡¯ll teach you everything you need to know.¡± He was filled with joy seeing her like this. It reminded him of when Kaitlyn was young and he would have to always carry her around.


    ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll take me? I can only do this.¡± She stretched out her hand, forming a small ball of water that slowly circled in the space above her fingers before bursting and dropping to the ground like raindrops.


    ¡°What do you think the academy is for?¡± He chuckled. ¡°No matter at what point you are, or how much you know, there¡¯s always something for you to learn. Watch this.¡±


    His eyes glowed with an ethereal light as he guided her attention to the ground beneath her hand.


    Drop by drop, the water climbed back up through the air. As if the clock was turned back, the water rose, coalescing once more in the space above her hand. It circled around and around, before shooting into the sky like a magnificent firework.


    ¡°This is something you will soon be able to achieve.¡±


    ¡°And here we are.¡± Smiling, Calder came to a stop in front of a small artificial river that ran through the middle of the street.


    Noticing her confusion, he took her by the hand, and before she could react, jumped into the river.


    ¡°Woaa-¡±


    Splash!


    The water parted to either side, splashing up onto the street before coming back together and forming a giant air bubble around the two of them.


    She looked around in wonder as schools of fish swam around the bubble at eye level. It was like she was in an entirely different world.


    It was beautiful.


    But it only lasted for a moment, as the current shifted, and the bubble tore through the water at a blistering speed as if they had been shot out of a cannon.


    Lynn could barely see anything as the water rushed past her. The schools of fish now no more than a blur.


    The only thing that she could make out was the faint glow of mana wafting off Calder¡¯s body.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    The artificial river twisted and turned through the city, as they headed westward. The river started to widen the closer they got to their destination.


    Occasionally, they would be joined by other large air pockets with people in them, but would quickly pass by them, leaving them far behind until they disappeared around another bend.


    Less and less people walked the streets the further they went. Instead replaced by the occasional carriage.


    The amount of buildings also decreased exponentially. With the majority of which being purely residential.


    They were now far from the hustle and bustle of the city. It was quiet. And peaceful.


    Eventually, even the buildings faded away, soon replaced by a large lake with an island in the middle. Small rivers flowed through the island like roads, acting as the only connection between the island and the mainland.


    An elegant manor sat in the middle of it like a glittering gem. Like a beacon in the middle of an ocean, calling out to wayward travellers.


    ¡°Wow.¡± Lynn felt like today would be the most memorable day of her life. She had seen so many things that she couldn¡¯t have even imagined before. Just this moment alone made her feel like all of her prior hardships had been worth it.


    If it wasn¡¯t for the distant sights of the city, Lynn would have believed that they had long since left the capital.


    They continued through the lake, reaching the manor with ease as if there were no defences.


    ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± Reaching the front door, Calder leapt out of the water with Lynn in tow. ¡°Welcome to your new home.¡±


    ~


    At the military training grounds outside the keep.


    A makeshift arena was made in the corner by drawing lines in the dirt.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have long, and I want to see what you¡¯re capable of. The best way I can think of for that is with a sparring session. After this we¡¯ll join the rest of them in training so that you¡¯ll know what to expect when we get out there...¡±


    Captain Vernon¡¯s squad stood just outside of the arena, eagerly listening to her, excited to spar with Lucien.


    Lucien stood off to one side of the arena, a blunted sword in his hand, pointing towards the dirt as he focused his mind.


    ¡°Now, which one of you wants to face him?¡± she asked.


    They quietly discussed amongst themselves before a few of them stepped away. leaving only two. The tall muscular man and the shorter blond man.


    Naturally, Captain Vernon wanted to leave it up to the others. And the person who cooked the stew, while somewhat interested, knew that the other¡¯s were more eager.


    The archer and magician weren¡¯t as interested in sparring one on one with Lucien as they were more suited to attacking at range, and would only join in the sparring sessions just in case they had to fend off a melee attacker.


    The captain looked at both of them for a moment before coming to a decision. ¡°Anthony, you¡¯ll take this one.¡±


    Smiling, the blond man stepped into the arena, carrying his own blunted sword for sparring, as well as his parrying dagger as he stood opposite Lucien.


    While Lucien used an arming sword that he used to wield with a shield prior to the accident, Anthony used a single-edged sword with a slight curve to it. Similar to a Lange Messer.


    While both weapons were of similar lengths, Lucien held the range advantage since he was over 20cms taller. Something that he quite appreciated considering the glaring disadvantage he had.


    He knew next to nothing about his opponent, and could only hope that this range advantage, coupled with his experience would help give him time to learn enough to win.


    Captain Vernon, now moving towards the edge of the arena, raised her hand above her head before swiftly bringing it down. ¡°Begin.¡±


    A brief nod, and the two closed in. Just out of reach of each other¡¯s blades, they slowly circled, looking for a chance to strike.


    Lucien hoped to keep himself at a distance. He knew that he would be in a terrible situation if he stayed too close. His longer reach would prove fatal should he have to go into close quarters against his opponent¡¯s dagger.


    A step forward, and a swift cut. The quick clang of the swords as they slid across each other and parted, then he was back out again.


    Several such exchanges happened in quick succession. Neither man staying long enough to get hit.


    They were testing each other. Waiting for a chance to end it quickly.


    Having heard Lucien explain his inability to cast magic, Anthony felt it wouldn¡¯t be right if he used magic to win. He wanted this to be a test of skill and swordsmanship.


    He also hoped that Lucien would give him everything he had, only so that he could come out on top and achieve victory against a much more experienced opponent.


    Of course, it was just a sparring session. No one was going to hold this over either of them, regardless of who won or lost. Especially since this was just a test. A way for them to all familiarise themselves with how Lucien fought and what he was good at.


    Lucien thrust forward, his sword aiming squarely at Anthony¡¯s chest.


    Anthony flicked his wrist, parrying the sword away before it¡¯s tip could get too close.


    Using this momentum, Lucien flicked his sword back around the other way, leading to another clash as he tried to slide his sword down Anthony¡¯s to attack his chest again.


    The tip of his sword was moments away from pressing into the padder leather of his opponent, only for it to be shifted off course by the dagger.


    He quickly backstepped, simultaneously dodging and blocking the strike from Anthony¡¯s sword that came a mere moment later.


    Back and forth they fought for a few minutes, with neither side gaining the advantage.


    It was an intricate, but simple dance. Fast movements. Nothing flashy or over the top. Quick snap cuts and thrusts. The blades always meeting for just long enough to prevent strikes from going through.


    Lucien was starting to enjoy himself.


    It had been far too long since he sparred with someone that could match up to him, even for just a moment. Either he was training the younger guards, or he was being trained by Uther.


    The few people around his age, namely Arthur, had a slew of injuries that made it difficult for them to spar against him.


    Moments of quiet, followed by rapid and powerful strikes, that if this were a real fight, could result in debilitating, and potentially lethal, blood loss should they land.


    More strikes started to slip through as Anthony started tiring mentally. If there was one major thing Lucien had over him, it was that he knew better how to pace himself.


    Beads of sweat dotted their brows.


    Anthony¡¯s chest heaved, gasping for air. His arms growing weak under the repeated strikes from Lucien. His stance weakened as he started struggling to apply his whole body into his attacks.


    Lucien began to overpower him, forcing him back with each clash of their swords.


    Until Anthony stumbled. He didn¡¯t fall, but his sword dropped and his focus dipped just enough for that to be the end of it.


    The instant his sword dropped, Lucien¡¯s sword appeared at his neck, stopping just before it would leave a mark.


    Anthony shuddered, feeling the blade against his neck with every breath.


    Smiling, Lucien pulled the sword back and bowed slightly. ¡°Thanks for going easy on me.¡±

 Chapter 33

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 Chapter 35

    Uh. Lucien looked at her awkwardly, one foot dangling in the air mid step. What should I do? She¡¯s clearly doing something important, and I can¡¯t exactly tell her that a magical rabbit brought me here.


    ¡°My apologies. I couldn¡¯t sleep so I went for a walk and my curiosity got the better of me.¡± He was somewhat embarrassed. It felt like when his mother caught him tracking dirt into the house after she had just cleaned the floors.


    Of course he didn¡¯t show that on his face. ¡°I couldn¡¯t help but hear what you were saying, is there anyway I could help?¡± he asked, hoping to lead the conversation somewhere else before she yelled at him.


    She scrunched up her face as she stared at him. Scrutinising. ¡°Hmm, do you know runic formations?¡±


    ¡°...No,¡± he replied honestly.


    ¡°Of course you¡¯re useless,¡± she muttered under her breath. ¡°Well there¡¯s not much you can do here. Head back. Stop disturbing me¡±


    Lucien nodded. ¡°That¡¯s probably for the best. My apologies.¡± He carefully started retracing his path back, making sure to not step on the lines.


    Now why did the rabbit want me to go here? There must be a reason. His vision drifted across the ground, trying to find anything that stood out to him.


    What am I doing? It¡¯s all just lines. I can¡¯t make heads or tails of it. I should just go back to sleep so I can be ready by morning. Lucien shook his head as he stopped looking for anything in particular.


    He still did keep his eyes on the ground, but only so that he could get back without the old woman coming after him.


    He didn¡¯t know what this was all for, but if he damaged it, he knew that he would be in big trouble, and there would be no way to hide that it was him.


    Was the rabbit just bored? Probably just wanted to have some fun since it knew I couldn¡¯t read it a story while I was in there with everyone else... I do wonder where its gone off to? Oh well, it¡¯ll show itself eventually.


    Lucien had reached the end of the runic formation when he noticed something odd at the spot where the rabbit had stopped earlier.


    Why do I feel like something is wrong?


    The lines were complete nonsense to him, but there was a feeling in his gut that he just couldn¡¯t shake. He crouched down next to the spot without much thought and stretched out his finger before he could even realise what he was doing.


    The line was a small portion of a much larger circle that encompassed the entire formation. Several lines branched off this large circle going inwards, all of which were curved. Unlike the more central area he was in earlier, which had a mixture of curved and straight lines.


    Almost instinctively, he used his finger to carve out a few notches along the inner part of the curve, as well as made the outer part of the curve smoother. It was such a small change that it would be hardly noticeable by anything but the keenest of eyes.


    Dusting himself off, he got up, went back to the barracks, and quickly fell asleep as if nothing had happened.


    Out in the yard, the old woman was now standing above the section Lucien had just touched, appearing thoughtful.


    ¡°Looks like I have more work to do.¡± She observed it closely for a few minutes before disappearing, her voice the only thing left behind.


    ~


    ¡°Wake up!¡± a voice bellowed through the barracks, rousing everyone from their sleep.


    The soldiers orderly climbed out of their beds and collected their things before filing into the walkways and out the door.


    Lucien was among the last to leave, taking up the back of the line because it took him longer to get off his bed than the others. Unlike when he first got here, there wasn¡¯t much for him to carry.


    Since food would be supplied by the cooks while they were out there, he didn¡¯t have any need for most of the supplies he had previously had in his bag. The only things he carried on him was his sword, a waterskin, and Earnest¡¯s journal inside his satchel.


    He felt the early morning wind brush against him as he followed everyone to the training field. Different to before, the lines had been filled by a strange sponge-like substance that prevented anyone from damaging the formation by stepping on it.


    Everyone filed into the formation, lining up behind their captains, quickly filling the space as they were joined by a caravan of wagons that held the supplies they would need for the rest of their journey.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Lucien joined up with the rest of his squad, finding himself squashed between William and Michael as the space became cramped. Even though they were near the edge of it.


    The commander was standing a slight distance away facing the well-disciplined army of 3000. Next to her was the old woman who had set up the formation, still dressed in her pyjamas.


    ¡°Hurry up. I want to go back to bed,¡± the old woman said, frowning.


    The commander couldn¡¯t do anything but bow, smile, and try to placate her. ¡°Of course respected elder. I¡¯ll keep it brief.¡±


    Standing straight, she projected her voice so that the entire army could hear. ¡°Attention! Bandits have been a thorn in our side for a long time now. But recently, some of them have seemed to have forgotten about us, and believe that this land is there¡¯s to do whatever they want with!


    His Lordship will no longer tolerate this dishonour! It is time for us to remind them of who controls these lands. It is time for us to strike back and protect our people!¡±


    She nodded to the old woman, her rousing words still lingering in the air and in the soldiers¡¯ ears as she joined them in the formation.


    The old woman raised her staff and plunged it into a hole in the top of the formation.


    Mana coursed through every part of her body as she channelled it through the staff and into the formation. The sponge-like substance glowed a bright purple as the mana flowed from the top, splitting down each line like a powerful river breaking off into its tributaries.


    Lucien felt a heavy weight press down on him from all directions as the formation filled to completion. As did everyone else. Some of them staggered and almost fell to the ground, but they had been drilled for this.


    The purple glow was now blinding, as Lucien found himself alone in the hazy void of mana. For a moment, everyone else had disappeared. He was floating there, completely still, almost unable to process what was happening. As if time and space had frozen around him.


    What the-


    And then it was gone.


    He felt the ground beneath his feet again as the pressure dissipated. He felt the wind through his hair and the sunlight on his skin. He could hear the world again, and see his fellow soldiers.


    He wasn¡¯t sure how long he was in there for. It could have been seconds, minutes, or even hours. He didn¡¯t know. It felt like all of those were true, but reason told him that was impossible.


    He saw his fellow soldiers shake off the effects of the long distance teleportation. Some took longer than others, but it wasn¡¯t long before everyone was back to normal.


    After making sure that his squad mates were okay, he turned his attention to the outside world, hoping to get an idea of where they had been teleported to. And as luck would have it, he was in a familiar spot.


    They had teleported to just outside the southern gate of Whaeldrake. While it was nowhere near as impressive looking as Whitmore Castle, it was nice to see a familiar place that was so close to home. Even if he had only been there once.


    They were standing in a field just outside of the town. Thankfully, they had been teleported to a space large enough to accommodate all of them. Lucien didn¡¯t know how the magic worked, but he was glad it didn¡¯t result in any of them appearing inside someone¡¯s home. Or even worse, inside a wall or a person.


    That would be terrifying. Pushing aside that rather somber thought, he noticed that their arrival had drawn a lot of attention from the local populace. While he was pretty certain that the town¡¯s leaders, and maybe the guards, were already aware of what was happening, it was definitely a surprise to the average townsfolk.


    A caravan just so happened to be pulling up to the gates when they had arrived, which unfortunately must have given the horses a great fright, as they were now trying their best to break away and flee.


    Poor things.


    The next thing Lucien noticed was that there were a lot more guards on duty than the last time he was here. Maybe it was because of them, or maybe it was because of the bandits.


    As he was looking around as best he could from his position, he saw the town mayor approaching them from the gate. There were a few other people accompanying him that Lucien didn¡¯t know. Probably other leaders or important people around town in some capacity.


    The group approached the army, stopping a few metres away from them. Commander Vernon broke away from the army to talk with them.


    ¡°Greetings Mayor.¡± She bowed, and so did they in return. ¡°What news do you have of the bandits?¡±


    ¡°Here¡¯s what my scouts have discovered.¡± The mayor handed over a few loose pieces of paper.


    The commander took over the papers and quickly flicked through them. ¡°Thank you. This will help us greatly, and it must have been dangerous for you to get your hands on this.¡±


    ¡°It was worth the risk.¡± One of the men on the side, dressed in light padded armour, stepped forward and bowed. ¡°We hope that you can get rid of them as soon as possible. All of us would be very grateful.¡±


    ¡°Of course. We¡¯ll see to it right now. Thank you.¡±


    Lucien couldn¡¯t quite tell from where he was, but it didn¡¯t look like they had a lot of information to go off.


    The commander returned to the army, the captains now waiting for orders. ¡°The bandits have been spotted down south, let¡¯s set off post-haste.¡±


    And with that, their procession of wagons and soldiers began down the road and away from the town. The road just outside of the town was sizeable, but it was nowhere near big enough to contain the army unless they were to stretch themselves thin. It would also cause problems for anyone travelling to and from the town, especially if they were in a wagon.


    There wasn¡¯t much the army could do however. They tried for a middling approach where they had the wagons take the road and all of the soldiers in a circle around it. It would have to do for a while, at least until they reached the roads surrounded by forest that would make it difficult.


    ¡°How are you feeling now that you¡¯re close to home?¡± William slipped in beside him.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be... tough, to see it. But it¡¯s likely that we¡¯ll have to go there if the recent news isn¡¯t good enough.¡± Lucien still hadn¡¯t told them about what happened. He decided that he would tell them now that they were out here.


    ¡°Just know that I¡¯m here for you.¡± William patted Lucien on the shoulder as they continued to walk.


    They continued travelling for the rest of the day. Considering their size, they moved significantly slower than Lucien did when he had travelled through here on horseback.


    After finding a suitable place, they set up camp around the wagons, had a meal, and prepared to rest for the night.


    I wonder how Lynn is doing? Sitting at one of the many campfires eating, Lucien allowed his mind to wander until he saw his captain approaching.


    ¡°Lucien, the commander wants to see you.¡±


    Lucien nodded and quickly finished off the remainder of his stew as he followed his captain to the temporary command tent that had been built.

 Chapter 36

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 Chapter 37

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 Chapter 38

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 Chapter 39

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