《The Blue Tower》


 Chapter 1: Scream

    I was woken up by the sound of a man screaming out in pain.


    I was pretty used to the sound of screaming by now. But still, it woke me up every now and then, whenever the one suffering was screaming out in an especially anguished cry for help.


    ¡­ like they were doing now.


    The scream echoed out through the dark building once again, and a chill ran up my spine. Then, it all fell silent.


    I sat up, and rubbed my forehead. I was really tired, and I didn¡¯t want to be awake right then. Honestly, I didn¡¯t want to be dealing with any of this, period. But especially not in the middle of the night, when I needed to rest and to restore myself for the trials of the day ahead.


    My name is William, and I¡¯m twenty-one years old. Three years ago, I was arrested for murder. I was innocent of the charge, of course. But in the end, my innocence hadn¡¯t mattered at all.


    I had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. And that had been more than enough reason for the state to arrest me, and to bring me to trial.


    I hadn¡¯t been able to afford a lawyer to defend myself. I had been an orphan for as long as I could remember, and I had just about no money to my name. My parents had died when I was about two years old. But I didn¡¯t really have any recollection of them. All that I knew were the foster homes that I had been placed into, where I was barely even treated as a person.


    Back then, the only thing that kept me sane was the small handful of friends that I had made along the way, who looked out for me, and helped to protect me. But I just kept moving from place to place, and eventually, I had left all of the friends that I had made behind.


    At the age of fifteen, I was placed into an especially bad household ¨C so bad that I didn¡¯t even feel safe coming home anymore. So, after thinking about it for a while, I finally decided to just take my life into my own hands, and to run away.


    Then, I just took to the streets, and tried to survive.


    I rummaged through garbage cans. I stole from stores. Eventually, I started breaking into cars, and then into houses. At the time, I didn¡¯t know what else to do. I was too young to get a real job, and I thought that getting mixed up with adults again was just going to get me back into trouble. I couldn¡¯t beg for money, because a kid my age would just get brought into the police for questioning, and that would get me wrapped up in the system all over again.


    So I did what I thought was best. I stole to provide myself with food, slept out in a little tent just on the edge of town, and tried to keep out of the view of the police.


    For a while, it kind of worked. I got good at breaking into places, and I thought that I might really be able to get by that way, at least for a while.


    Then, one day, I broke into the wrong house. I smashed in a back window, and snuck in through the broken pane. I took a few steps forward, and then I felt something wet.


    Something wet, and thick.


    I looked down, and saw blood, everywhere. Blood that was flowing out of the body of a young man, who¡¯d been ripped to pieces by some sort of knife or blade.Stolen story; please report.


    I froze, looked around, then tried to flee. But it hadn¡¯t worked. The police were already at the house, and once they heard me run, they chased after me, and tackled me to the ground.


    I tried to explain to them that it was all just a terrible mistake.


    But of course, they didn¡¯t believe me. Why would they? To them, I was just some street punk who¡¯d been standing in the pool of a freshly murdered man¡¯s blood. Pretty open and shut case, I guess, and the jury must have agreed. Because they didn¡¯t even take a day to deliberate before coming back out and declaring that I was guilty.


    And now, I was here.


    In a jail cell, for the rest of my life.


    I sighed, and kicked against the walls of my cell. I could still hear that awful cry of someone screaming, that I had heard just a few moments before. Maybe it was one of the prisoners who was going crazy. Or maybe it was someone getting hurt badly, and crying out for help. In any event, it had such a miserable sound to it, and just hearing it made me feel sick to my stomach.


    But really, I felt so disgusted with all of this right now. I hated the guards here, hated this prison, hated the sounds and the smells and the sights that I had to deal with day after day after day after day. I hated this place, and I hated the world that had made it.


    I closed my eyes, and just tried to block it out.


    But I couldn¡¯t, of course. And the more that I heard that awful screaming, the more hatred that I felt for everything, and for everyone. In that moment, I really felt as if every single being on Earth was rotten and disgusting, and as if I would rather be dead than to live a single day longer in this miserable place.


    And then...


    From the corner of my cell, there was a strange, blue light. It was faint at first, so faint that I couldn¡¯t even be sure of what I was seeing. But it grew stronger, and stronger, and stronger, until it was about as bright as a dim lamp.


    While the light had been growing stronger, it had also been growing bigger. At first, it had been little more than a dot. But now it was a large, almost perfectly spherical orb, about the size of a basketball.


    A basketball-sized orb of bright, blue light.


    And it was getting larger, and brighter, by the second.


    I was pretty confused by what I was seeing, so I took a few steps towards it. As I got closer, I could just make out a faint humming sound. It sounded like the noise that a power generator makes, or like the faint whirring of a computer fan that¡¯s running at medium capacity. But just as the light was growing bigger and brighter, so was the noise getting louder and louder


    Then, I saw something that just about took my breath away. There in the very center of the ball of light, I could just barely make out the image of a forest. It was quite small, but it was so clear and distinct that it was unmistakable.


    I should probably have felt scared. But something about the whole thing was so beautiful that I didn¡¯t feel scared at all. I was just so captivated by the light, and by the image that was flickering and dancing at its center, that I couldn¡¯t be scared right then.


    That forest seemed so inviting, and so serene. I used to love playing out in the woods when I was a kid, and those sweet and joyful memories were all coming flooding back to me right now. In deep contentment, I just let my half-awake eyes rest on the image, taking in the sight, and not trying to figure out what was actually going on.


    Then, from a place that seemed both infinitely far away and infinitely close at hand, I heard a quiet, almost feminine voice whispering inside of my mind.


    ¡°Would you like to go,¡± it asked.


    Instinctively, I nodded.


    ¡°Alright, then,¡± it said. ¡°I will take you there.¡±


    ¡°My name is Kalia, William. Welcome to your new home...¡±


    What happened next all took place in an instant.


    The blue light swelled up to three or four times its previous size, and grew so bright that I could barely even see. The once quiet humming of the light was now like a train roaring past the outside of the prison, so loud that it must have woken up every single person in the building. I tried to reach my hands up, but I didn¡¯t know whether to try to protect my eyes from the blazing light, or to protect my ears from the booming sound¡­


    But before I could do either, all of that was gone.


    And I was standing right in the heart of an enormous, dark forest.


    Exactly the same forest that I had seen just a moment before.


    I blinked my eyes.


    Stood in place.


    And then¡­


    ¡­ I tried to figure out what had just happened.

 Chapter 2: In The Forest

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    ¡°You have five new notifications. Touch to display.¡±


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    ¡°Welcome to your new world, William. To learn more about your powers, and your abilities, just think about what you would like to know.¡±


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    ¡°You have been summoned here.¡±


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    ¡°You have been summoned here by Kalia.¡±


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    ¡°You have been given a blessing by Kalia.¡±


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    ¡°You have earned the Achievement: ¡®Newcomer.¡¯ You have been given one statistic point to spend.¡±


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    wastaking place, I still didn''t really know how toeven begin to make sense of it all.


    I don''t want to die.


    then I could start to figure out what was going on, and why I had been brought here.


    Alright. What else,I thought.


    What blessing was I given by Kalia?


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    ¡°The Blessing of Kalia increases the amount of HP that you regenerate every minute by 10% of your Max HP.¡±


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    System,I thought, what is a "statistic point"?


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    ¡°A statistic point can be used to increase any of your statistics by one.¡±


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    What are my statistics?


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    <td style="text-align: center">Level: 1</td>


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    <td style="text-align: center">Affected By: Blessing of Kalia</td>


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    <td style="text-align: center">HP (Hit Points):</td>


    <td>70/70</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">HP Regeneration:</td>


    <td>7.7 HP / min</td>


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    <td style="text-align: center">MP (Magic Points):</td>


    <td>25/25</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">MP Regeneration:</td>


    <td>0.15 MP / min</td>


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    <td style="text-align: center">Strength:</td>


    <td>6</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Intelligence:</td>


    <td>8</td>


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    <td style="text-align: center">Dexterity:</td>


    <td>7</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Wisdom:</td>


    <td>5</td>


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    <td style="text-align: center">Agility:</td>


    <td>10</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Luck:</td>


    <td>3</td>


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    <td style="text-align: center">Vitality:</td>


    <td>7</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Insight:</td>


    <td>6</td>


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    Are there any spells that I can use?


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    ¡°You are not currently able to cast any spells at this time.¡±


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    So much for that.


    did sound useful, but I wasn¡¯t sure if a little bit of extra health would do all that much to help me to survive, if I got cornered and attacked.


    Invest a point into Agility.


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    ¡°Your Agility has increased by 1! You have become quicker in your movements, actions, and reflexes.¡±


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 Chapter 3: Encounter

    Slowly, I continued to take a few more steps ahead, as I walked deeper on through the silent woods.


    I think that I mentioned this before, but there were some small ferns and shrubs growing on the floor of the forest, along with a few broken tree branches which were scattered here and there. Still, there weren¡¯t that many ferns or branches, and on the whole, the forest ground was relatively clear, with a lot of open dirt that you could step onto.


    That made it pretty easy for me to make my way forward quietly, without making much of any noise. So I tried to take a lot of care with each of my steps, as I did my best not to be too loud, or to alert anyone to my presence.


    For the next few minutes, I walked like that in near silence, keeping my ears alert for danger.


    At the same time, as I made my way through the woods, I couldn''t help but soak in the huge, majestic, and beautiful trees that were rising up from all around me.


    At first, being alone out here had been really frightening, and it had been hard to really appreciate the place that I had arrived in. But now that I had stopped worrying about what to do, and just started to move forwards, I was beginning to feel a lot more relaxed, anda lot better about my current situation.


    For the last three years, I had been in one of the worst prisons in my country. During that time, I had almost forgotten about what it felt like to walk for more than about a minute in a single direction, or to be surrounded by something other than harsh, gray concrete.


    So to be out here in nature like this all by myself, and to be able to simply walk where I wished to walk, and to enjoy the cool forest air to my heart¡¯s content¡­


    It was deeply refreshing, really. And it provided me with a kind of sense of contentment that helped to set my heart at ease right then, at least a little.


    I still didn¡¯t know what was happening exactly, or where I would go to next. But all the same, I was glad that I was free - for now, at least.


    And so, I just let my mind start to draw some strength from those more cheerful, and pleasing thoughts, as I continued to try to make my way out through the forest, and towards the world beyond.


    The whole time that I had been walking though, I still hadn¡¯t encountered a single living being.


    And I had just about managed to convince myself that I might really be able to make it out of here without any trouble when, suddenly, from just a little ways in front of where I was standing, I heard what sounded like a faint, and gentle whimpering.


    Then, I stopped, crouched down, and listened.


    After a few seconds, I heard the sound again¡­ except now, it was much more clear. It sounded like an animal was in pain, and it sounded like it was crying out for help, and pleading for assistance.


    I couldn¡¯t really make out what sort of animal it was. But, from the timid and gentle quality to its voice, it didn¡¯t seem like it was in any sort of a position to hurt me.


    And so slowly, and very carefully, I took a few steps forward, and began to investigate.


    I was more than a little afraid, of course.


    But at the same time, just judging from its voice, I didn¡¯t think that I was in all that much danger¡­ and I was more than a little curious about what sort of creatures called this world their home. Plus, honestly, I found it kind of painful to hear its cries right then - and I wanted to try to do a bit to help the creature out, if I could.


    A few steps closer still, and I could hear the sound of the whimpering much more clearly.


    It sounded kind of canine, I thought. And there seemed to be almost like a kind of glowing light or something coming from just ahead.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Then, I carefully made my way up a little further...


    ¡­ and then, I just froze at what I saw.


    In front of me was a small, silver, furry animal, with four paws, a long snout, and a body just a little bit larger than a small dog¡¯s.


    The animal would have almost been able to pass for a miniature wolf, actually¡­


    ... except for the fact that there were bright, golden runes glowing across the fur along its sides, and a swirl of vibrant, blue magical energy dancing above its scalp like a crown of flames.


    The creature was so beautiful that I just froze there for several seconds in a state of awe and wonder.


    Then, the wolf noticed me out of the corner of its eye, and turned its head to face me.


    Bright, emerald green eyes lit up on the little wolf¡¯s face, as it howled softly to me for mercy, and for aid.


    At once, I took a few steps closer, and looked down. The creature seemed to have gotten its leg caught in a small trap, and it was struggling to break free. But its movements were only causing the spikes of the trap to dig further into its legs, which then caused it to whimper and to struggle even more, as it tried to get out from its cage.


    As I approached to examine the trap, the creature began to howl a little more aggressively, and to bare its fangs. But it didn¡¯t seem to really want to fight¡­ and after a few more moments of snarling and of growling, it quieted down again, and simply pawed at the earth below with its front legs, as it lowered its head to the ground.


    Probably if I had been a bit more rational, I would have hesitated right then. After all, this creature was clearly magical, and I didn¡¯t really know what it might be capable of, or what it could do. For all that I knew, it might be extremely powerful, and it might just decide to blast me into pieces with a single, explosive burst of raw magical force.


    But, well¡­ on the other hand¡­


    The small wolf looked back up at me once more with its stunningly green eyes, as it whimpered gently, and pawed along the ground.


    Then, without really thinking at all about what I was doing, I slowly reached my hand forward, and pulled apart the trap that was holding the creature¡¯s leg.


    As my hand approached, the wolf snarled at me, and I could see the energy around its head beginning to sharpen and to intensify.


    But then, the creature stopped, clearly very much surprised.


    The pain in its leg had suddenly vanished.


    It tried to free its leg once more, only to find that it could now easily lift its little paw up, and place it down at a safe distance from the trap.


    The creature took a few steps forward, with more than a little trepidation, and curiosity.


    Then, it really took in what had just happened: it was free!


    After that, the creature bolted ahead, ran around a few times in a circle, then leapt up into the air. After it had landed, it spun back around, stopped, looked at me, then ran towards me at full speed. Before I could really react, it was licking its tongue along my leg, and yipping happily.


    At once, I knelt down, and started to scratch the little wolf behind the ears.


    ¡°Shh, shh, quiet there, fella,¡± I whispered, with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s okay... it¡¯s okay. You¡¯re alright now.¡±


    The creature continued to yip happily, as it danced around.


    It reminded me a lot of a stray dog that I had taken care of back when I had been living in a tent out in the woods, and seeing it out here really helped to calm my nerves down considerably, and to make me feel a lot better. I had started to think about whether it might be a good idea to walk with the creature on my journey through the forest at least for a little while, when the lwolf suddenly fell silent, spun around, and ran off. It seemed to be running very quickly, and something about its movements seemed tense, and on edge.


    And then, I heard what sounded like large metal boots crunching their way through a path of broken twigs and branches.


    The sound seemed to be coming from only a little ways behind me.


    My blood ran cold, and it felt like my heart had stopped beating altogether.


    I turned my head around as quietly as I possibly could, and looked behind me.


    There in the distance were two armored figures, moving slowly towards me.


    The first was holding a sword and shield.


    The second was holding an enormous club, covered with long, jutting spikes.


    And each of them were at least two meters tall, with thick, sturdy muscles, and enormous bodies.


    I wanted to scream out for help. But of course, I knew that that would be a mistake.


    I didn¡¯t know what those men wanted of course. It was possible that they were friendly, and that they didn¡¯t mean me any harm. But the way that they moved, and their whole demeanor¡­ every part of it chilled me to the bone. It reminded me way, way too much of the way that the guards had carried themselves back at my old prison¡­ and that comparison only made me even more tense, and even more afraid.


    Panic washed over me at first.


    But then, it receded once again.


    Afterwards, I became focused, and alert.


    I didn¡¯t know what I was going to do.


    I didn¡¯t know how I was going to get out of this.


    But I just let my instincts take over, as I focused everything that I had on making it out of this alive.


    Because, right then, I wasn¡¯t ready to leave this new world just yet¡­ or to die without discovering why I had been brought here ¨C and just what sort of secrets this place still held in store.

 Chapter 4: Gratitude

    The two men had seen me.


    The little wolf¡¯s yipping must have alerted them, and its glowing body must have illuminated me in the darkness.


    But even if they hadn¡¯t seen me at first, they could hardly have missed the way that I had almost tumbled to the ground as I had tried to scramble for cover in the darkened woods.


    I had been too afraid to keep my balance right then ¨C and my horrible ¡®Luck¡¯ stat probably hadn¡¯t helped much either.


    Even still¡­


    ... they hadn''t run after me. They had simply continued to walk at a leisurely pace, slowly, easily, their boots trampling the ground below.


    Crunch, crunch, crunch. I could hear the slow, steady sound of snapping twigs and branches.


    Crunch, crunch.


    I felt my breath becoming shallower and more rapid with every step. I had managed to conceal myself behind a trunk that was about twice as wide as I was for the moment¡­ but, I knew that I couldn¡¯t stay there for long.


    Because even if they were moving slowly, they were still moving towards me.


    Right towards me, in fact.


    ¡­ as if they knew exactly where I was hiding.


    And then, I heard one of them stop, and begin to speak.


    To my amazement, I could understand every word that he was saying.


    "You saw him too, didn''t you,¡± the man said.


    "Of course,¡± his friend replied.


    My heart skipped a beat.


    "Do you think he was one of the runaways?¡±


    "Not a chance," his friend said. "A slave would know better than to try to hide from us¡­ wouldn¡¯t they?¡±


    As the man spoke, I heard the sound of large hands rummaging through some sort of bag, or container.


    Then, there was a kind of humming sound.


    A few moments later, there was a flash of bright, blue light, as a wave of magical energy radiated out from a device in the man¡¯s hands in a large, expanding sphere.


    And when that wave of energy touched me, a bright, radiant blue aura surrounded my body.


    So bright, in fact, that anyone could have seen me from at least a mile away.


    Then, I heard laughter coming from the two men, as they quickened their pace in my direction¡­ and I felt myself becoming more afraid, and more panicked, than I had ever felt before in my life.


    It was obvious that hiding wasn''t going to save me. So, I stood up, spun around¡­


    ¡­ and started to run as fast as I possibly could.


    I heard their footsteps clanging after me as I struggled to get away.


    They were fast.


    Very, very fast.


    And as the three of us continued to run ahead, I began to realize just how little of a chance I had to escape.


    I tried to zig and to zag behind the cover of the trees, in order to lose their tracks. But that didn¡¯t help at all. Right then, I must have been like a moving flashlight in the middle of a pitch dark field. I could weave, and duck, and hide. But the men behind me weren¡¯t thrown off of my trail for an instant. They just kept coming, and they just kept chasing after me.


    And they were getting closer by the second.


    That was bad enough of course.


    That would probably be my end just by itself.


    But at the same time that I was being chased by these two armored men, something else was happening.


    For the last few seconds, I had been hearing¡­ something. Something that was crashing down against the ground some ways off in the distance.


    Something huge...


    ¡­ and something that was drawing closer to the three of us by the second.


    No, no, no, no, no -


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    "Congratulations! You have learned the ''Athletics'' skill! Your ''Athletics'' skill is level 1! You can now run, sprint, leap, climb and swim more effectively!"


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    Deal with that later, deal with that later -


    I felt my stamina beginning to run out. My chest burned, and I could barely draw a single breath. I knew that at any moment I was going to run out of oxygen, and that that would be the end for me.


    But even if I had all of the air in the world, it hardly would have mattered. This whole time, I had been running as fast as I had ever run before in my life. Hell, honestly, this was faster than I had ever run before ¨C that extra point of Agility had really been worth it, and that Athletics skill seemed to be helping, too. I could hardly believe how quickly I was cutting through the cool, damp air, as my feet dashed against the ground.


    But unfortunately, none of that seemed to matter. Because even as I had been running as fast as I had ever run before in my life, the men had still been gaining on me¡­ and right now, my legs were just about to give out from sheer exhaustion, and I doubted that I could maintain even half of that pace for that much longer.


    And besides, even if I could keep up that speed ¨C and even if I could outrun these men¡­


    Something huge was still approaching.


    Something that was so close now, that it would probably appear in front of us at any second.


    Something that was much, much faster than we were.


    And something that was letting out a horrible, and a piercing cry.


    When I heard it, I just wanted to fall to the ground, and to scream for help.


    The men behind me must have been feeling just about the same sort of way. Because for the last few seconds, I hadn¡¯t heard the sounds of their boots crashing against the ground.


    Then, I came to a stop, and looked behind me.


    The two men were just standing there, frozen, as they gripped their weapons tightly in their hands. They were each looking out towards the source of the sound, and they were both just as terrified as I was.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    After that, the three of us stood in silence for about a second and a half, as a sound like crashing thunder threatened to burst out from behind the cover of the trees at any moment.


    And then...


    The thing leapt directly in between me and them. As it fell, it hit the ground so hard that I was knocked backwards onto the earth, as I scrambled to get back onto my feet.


    And then, I finally saw what had been chasing the three of us through these woods.


    In front of me was a silver wolf, with golden runes running across the sides of its body, and bright, blue magical energy dancing around its head like a crown of flames.


    Except this wolf was about five meters tall.


    And this wolf was staring directly at the three of us with a look of pure savagery, and of rage.


    Then, before any of us had time to scream, the wolf turned towards the man with the sword and shield, leapt towards him, wrapped its mouth around his torso, then slammed down against his flesh with its powerful jaws.


    With a sickening crunch, the man was split into two, not even able to let out a scream of terror before his intestines and his stomach spilled out onto the ground below.


    The man¡¯s friend ran screaming at the wolf, desperately swinging his mace in a hopeless charge. But the wolf leapt out of his way with all of the grace of a dancer, then brought its huge, clawed paws down on top of the man, ripping and shredding him to bits as he screamed in agony.


    Then, the creature leaned back up, turned around¡­


    ¡­ and looked me in the eye.


    To my surprise, I didn¡¯t feel scared, or sad, or angry. I just felt deeply tranquil, and calm. I knew that these were probably going to be the last few seconds of my life, and I simply wanted to enjoy them right then. In that instant, everything seemed truly beautiful to me, somehow, and truly still, and peaceful. I let that feeling wash over me, and I let myself really taste it, as the almost hypnotically beautiful beast walked slowly towards me, its blue magical energy dancing around its entire body now.


    Then, the creature was right in front of me. It seemed to realize that I wasn¡¯t a threat, so it was taking its time in finishing me off. And so, I merely stood my ground, and prepared to die with as much dignity as I was capable of.


    Afterwards, the beast lowered down its powerful head, as human blood dripped slowly from its jaws¡­


    Then, it placed its head and its front legs down upon the ground.


    The pose that it was making was very strange, right then.


    If I hadn¡¯t known any better, I would have said that the creature was¡­


    ¡­ bowing?


    Afterwards, the wolf raised its head back into the air, and gave me a look of tremendous gratitude, and respect.


    And then, it let out its enormous tongue, and gave me a single, affectionate lick along my cheek.


    For just a moment, I stood there in a kind of stunned silence.


    And then, I understood what had really taken place. And after that, I burst out into laughter, as tears of joy began to run down my face.


    The wolf almost seemed to smile. Then, it turned to the right, as it tensed up its body, and extended itself forward.


    It''s... pointing, I thought.


    It was pointing the way out of the forest ¨C and on towards safety.


    "Thank you," I said, with as much gratitude as I could muster. "Thank you!"


    I didn''t know if the creature could understand me. But after it had finished pointing, it began to slowly walk off towards the distance¡­ and with only a few strides of its long, enormous legs, it had managed to vanish just about completely from my sight.


    I paused, and tried to catch my breath. My mind and body were still completely overwhelmed by what I had just experienced¡­ but even still, I just sat down, and tried to regain my composure.


    There was a lot to think about after everything that had just happened.


    Those men had spoken English. Or, even if they hadn''t spoken English, I had still been able to understand them. Perhaps that was the work of the system?


    At any rate, it seemed that I would be able to talk to at least some of the people in this world, which meant that I would probably be able to find out at least some of what was going on here. For that matter, there were people here ¨C which I hadn¡¯t been quite certain of before ¨C which honestly came as a relief to me right then, after having been left to myself in the middle of these dark, and lonely woods.


    But¡­


    ¡­ those two men had each been extremely dangerous¡­ and they had spoken about runaways, and slaves. That meant that this world had slavery in it¡­ and if the slave-owners were anything like those two men, then the cities here might not actually be any safer than the outside world.


    Although, if this forest had creatures like that wolf lurking deep inside of it¡­


    And I didn¡¯t even know how powerful that wolf had been, all things being considered. Maybe that was a lower-level creature! After all, these were the largest trees that I had ever seen before in my life, and those armored men had been enormous. I really had no way of knowing just how much danger might be waiting out there, or in the outside world as a whole.


    That was enough for me to make up my mind. I had to get out of these woods, and to find my way towards some sort of town or settlement. From there, I could figure out what I wanted to do, and what the best way to survive would be.


    First, though, I wanted to ask the system about something that had happened just a little while before.


    And so, I asked -


    System, what is a ¡®¡±skill,¡± exactly? And how do I acquire them, and level them up?


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    "A ¡®skill¡¯ is a power that makes you better at performing a certain kind of action.¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    ¡°By performing the actions of a skill, you will eventually acquire that skill, and gain a level in it.¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    "Practice makes perfect. The more that you use a skill, the stronger it becomes."


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    "Fear is the mother of wisdom. When you use a skill in a state of primal fear, that skill is more likely to improve.¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    That all seemed intuitive enough, even if the last message had seemed just a little bit unsettling. At any rate, it explained why I had picked up that ¡°Athletics¡± skill so quickly It probably must have had something to do with how much danger I had been in, and on how focused I had been in my movements.


    Of course, right now, I didn¡¯t want to spend any more time in these woods than I had to, so there was no point in trying to practice each of my skills right then. But, I made a note to myself that I should try to investigate them a bit more once I had made it out of the forest, in order to start to discover just what sort of abilities I might possess.


    For now, however, there was only one more thing to consider.


    I walked forward, and examined the corpses of the two men. It took me a bit to be able to stomach the sight of their maimed and disfigured bodies. But after a little while, I was able to bring myself to reach down, and to dig my hands through their belongings. I had hoped to find something of value, like money that I could use in town, or maybe some sort of a magical item. But unfortunately, they didn¡¯t seem to be carrying anything on them, and whatever item they¡¯d used to illuminate me must have been destroyed, or else dropped onto the ground somewhere further back. They weren¡¯t even carrying any sort of food or rations either, so I couldn¡¯t take anything to eat for the journey yet to come.


    However, the two large men did at least have something of value.


    I looked down at the blood-stained weapons that the men had been carrying. The club was way too large for me to even hope to be able to wield. But the long sword looked at least a little more manageable. I picked it up, and tried swinging it through the air.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    ¡°You have equipped: ¡®Long Sword (Large).¡¯¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The sword was certainly too large for me to wield with a single hand, so I wasn¡¯t going to be able to use it along with the shield. But once I gripped the hilt with both hands and tried to swing, I had just enough strength to be able to wield it like some sort of a greatsword, cleaving the blade through the air. I didn¡¯t have the swordsmanship or the strength to use it with any real effectiveness just yet. But I was still glad to have found it, and I resolved to take it with me. If nothing else, it might at least be able to intimidate any sort of creature or enemy who came along my way, and it might help me to be able to scare them off.


    But the more useful discovery was probably the armor that the men had been wearing. If it had been heavy, plate armor, I doubted that I would have had the strength to wear it. But it was actually just a hard leather with some metal on the outside to provide a little bit of extra protection, and perhaps to make the men appear a bit more intimidating than they really were.


    Each of the two men had been wearing an identical set of thick leather leggings, rugged leather chest armor, and leather helmets that covered up the back, top, and sides of their heads. Each set of armor was dyed red and brown, and each of them were decorated with the same set of emblems, which seemed to suggest that this was the armor of a band of soldiers, or else the armor of the members of some sort of a group or clan.


    I couldn¡¯t make any use of the armor that the man who had been bitten clean in half had been wearing But the other fellow¡¯s armor still seemed to be pretty much intact, albeit rather heavily coated with his blood.


    At any rate, it was better than what I had been wearing up until now. So, with some considerable disgust at what I was about to dip my body into, I stripped out of my orange jumpsuit, and slipped into the rugged leather armor. It was way too big for me, and it did hinder my movements to some degree. But there were plenty of straps and buckles to help me to tighten the gear around my body, and I was thankful to have found something that could provide me with some protection for the moment.


    Anyway, after a few minutes of fiddling around with all of the different adjustable pieces on the armor, I at last felt comfortable enough that I was able to start walking forward. I¡¯d need to replace this gear as soon as I possibly could, of course, or at least to clean it up. But for now, leather armor and a giant long sword sounded a whole lot better than walking around half-naked with a wooden stick.


    And then, with my preparations complete for now, I turned towards the direction that the wolf had pointed to, and simply continued to make my way further on ahead.

 Chapter 5: Meadow

    I had been walking in the same direction for at least two hours now. From the size of the trees, and the sheer density of them, I had expected that the forest would be large¡­ but, I still hadn¡¯t expected it to be quite so enormous. Dense, sprawling, and with the same few species of trees and ferns spread throughout, thewhole place felt like some sort of a magical labyrinth, where every room that you entered was exactly the same as the room that you had just left behind, and where every apparent exit was just the way into the next portion of the winding, and endless maze.


    I had even started to worry that there might not be an exit to this place, and I had started to consider the possibility that I might be trapped in here for the rest of my life, with no hope of ever escaping.


    But still, in the last few minutes, I had at least noticed that the forest seemed to be lighting up, a bit. Night time was coming towards its end¡­ and I imagined that somewhere out there, on some distant hill or mountain, you could just see the first rays of dawn beginning to streak their way across the sky, as they lit up the nearby fields and valleys.


    Still, that all felt a long ways away right then. And as the minutes began to pass me by, I started to wonder just how long I might have to keep going for, and how much more of the path was left for me to travel.


    But fortunately, even though I had been walking for quite a long time by then, I hadn¡¯t encountered any further dangers in my trek along through the woods. Whatever sort of animals might call this place their home, they surely didn''t wish to be seen by me, and they must have understood how to use the trees for cover, or else have been so high up that I couldn¡¯t really begin to make out their movements.


    Every now and then, I thought that I saw a certain enormous white, four-legged beast stalking through the trees. But the sightings were so brief and so indistinct that I couldn¡¯t really tell if I was being followed, or if that was just my mind¡¯s idle fantasies, trying to give me some sense of security in the midst of danger.


    Finally, though ¨C after a long, long time of walking alone through those woods ¨C I at last saw the sight that I¡¯d been waiting for. Just a little bit ahead of me, a few scattered shafts of light were piercing through the canopy of the forest, as they lit up the ground below. As I approached closer, I saw more and more rays of light dancing through the branches. And far ahead, I could make out what looked like sunlit plains, that were just barely visible through the spaces between the trees.


    The moment that I saw all of that, I rushed forward, and darted through the trees, and over the branches... until, with a single, and final burst of speed, I left behind the darkened woods for now, and found myself out at last in the great and open world.


    And then, I looked out with awe and with wonder at the sight that was in front of me.


    I was now standing in a small field of deeply purple-colored grass, which was decorated with a wonderful array of blue and golden flowers, and surrounded by emerald green hills as far into the distance as the eye could see.


    A little ways in front of me, there was a bright, crystal-clear stream, which meandered its way across the grassy meadow, and flowed down from the top of one of the hills nearby. A few little trees provided some nice cool spots of shade throughout the meadow, and the whole charming spectacle was illuminated by the first morning light of the golden sun, which was just barely poking out its head from above the cover of the hills.


    The sheer beauty of the meadow in front of me was absolutely breathtaking. But what drew my gaze beyond anything else was a huge, blue tower, which rose to enormous heights in the distant horizon. It was the tallest building that I had ever seen in my life, and its sheen, sapphire-like surface was truly stunning to me. My eyes were absolutely transfixed by the sight of it¡­ and as I gazed upon it, I felt something inside of me beginning to swell up, as if some profound and wondrous thing had just been grasped by the darkest corners of my mind.


    Apparently, that really was the case¡­ because a few moments later, a strange message appeared at the center of my field of vision, informing me of what had just taken place.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    "Congratulations! Your Insight has increased by 1.¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    I had seen that statistic before, I remembered. But I still didn¡¯t really have any idea of what it was, exactly, or of what sort of a thing it measured.


    And so, with more than a little curiosity, I asked -


    System, what is ¡°Insight¡±?


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    "Insight is a measure of your understanding of the secrets of this world, and of the mysteries of the past.¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Of course, I didn¡¯t really understand what that meant precisely, or what sorts of ¡°secrets¡± or ¡°mysteries¡± the system was referring to. But even still, I understood that this statistic must be very important somehow¡­ and I understood that if the mere sight of this tower had increased it, then that tower must be important too, in some way that I had yet to understand.


    For now however, I didn¡¯t think that I would really be able to figure out that much more about these things for the present. And so ¨C after just gazing out in wonder at the tower in front of me for a little while longer¨C I at last began to turn back towards the meadow, as I started to think about what I would do next.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    I was starting to realize that I was pretty thirsty, and that I could also really go for a bath. Most of what I was wearing was still pretty dirty, and I thought it would be a good idea to get all of that cleaned off, especially before I made my way into town.


    And so, I started to make my way over towards the stream that was meandering just a little ways in front of me, as I cupped my hands together, and lowered them down into the crisp, clear water below.


    But then, I noticed something that was truly strange.


    On my right palm, there was now some sort of a large, blue mark, that I had never seen before in my life.


    I must just not have noticed that mark before when I had been making my way through the deep darkness of the woods... but now, I could clearly see what looked like an image of a large, round orb, with several jagged lines running out from the center and towards the surface.


    That sight was very strange of course, and I spent a while examining the mark, and trying to figure out what it might do. But as far as I could tell, my hand wasn¡¯t really any different than it had been before, and it didn¡¯t seem to be buzzing with any sort of magical energy, or anything like that. And so, I didn¡¯t think that the mark was anything to be too concerned about for now at least. My best guess was that it was some sort of a sign that I had been brought here from another world, or maybe a sign that I had been summoned here by Kalia.


    But at any rate, that mark seemed like just another thing that I would want to ask about eventually, and not like something that I would be able to figure out for the present. And so, without thinking too hard about it one way or the other, I reached my now-marked hand down into the stream, then brought the cool and refreshing water back up towards my lips, as I drank my fill of the nourishing and rejuvenating liquid.


    Then, once I was done, I began to wash off my skin and armor, and to indulge myself in a nice, cool bath.


    The whole time that I was bathing, I made sure to listen for the signs of any sort of approaching danger¡­ but apart from a few small birds just darting gently through the sky, the meadow seemed to be about as quiet and as peaceful as you could imagine. I wasn''t certain of course, but it certainly felt quite a bit safer than the dark and empty woods that I had fled from just a couple of moments before.


    And so, I ended up spending quite a while beneath the cool and refreshing waters, as I let myself relax, and enjoyed the feeling of the warm light of the sun beating gently down upon my chest.


    That felt really good right then¡­ and the whole time that I was bathing, I found myself thinking a lot about this new world that I had come to ¨C and about the chance that I had to start my life all over again, after everything that had occurred.


    Then, once I was done with my bath, I slipped back into my armor, tightened up all of the straps, and picked up my large long sword from the side of the stream.


    Afterwards, I sat down for just a moment, as I started to think about what I wanted to do next.


    I could keep moving on through these hills and valleys. But now that I had finally found a place I that seemed to be fairly safe and peaceful, I thought that it might also be a good idea to try to get a bit stronger if I could. After all, I didn¡¯t really know how much longer I would have to keep traveling for, or just how much danger there might be just ahead of me. If I ran into anyone like those two men from the forest, then I would want to be prepared to fight if I could be ¨C or at least prepared enough to be able to stand my ground and to intimidate them enough to leave me be.


    At the same time, I remembered how I had been able to learn that ¡°Athletics¡± skill just a little while before. And I thought that if were were any more skills like that, then learning one or two of them might be really useful, and really valuable for the rest of my journey.


    Of course, I wasn¡¯t sure of just what sort of skills might be available - and unfortunately, a few questions to the system confirmed that it wasn¡¯t going to help me to find out the answer to that question. But even so, I had a couple of guesses, at least. And I figured that it couldn¡¯t hurt to just try some things out, and to see what happened.


    And so, I raised my sword up into the air, and began to swing it forward. I had a pretty strong hunch that there might be some sort of skill called ¡°Blades,¡± or ¡°Swords,¡± or something like that, given that equipping my sword had triggered a message from the system. And besides ¨C even if there wasn¡¯t ¨C I still kind of wanted to try using my new weapon out a bit regardless. After all, if I did have to use my sword in a fight, then I didn¡¯t want the first time that I swung it towards an enemy to be the first time that I had ever swung it before in my life.


    So I just grabbed the hilt of my sword tightly with both of my hands, and started to swing the blade back and forth throughout the air.


    At first, honestly, I felt kind of ridiculous doing that out there.


    But then, after just a few more moments of practicing, I felt something strange happening to my mind and body.


    It felt almost as if some sort of mysterious force was guiding me, and helping me to control my movements. I wasn¡¯t really sure what I was doing, and my movements were raw, and amateurish. But I felt almost as if someone was standing behind me, and helping to position my arms, and my legs, and my body.


    My swings were starting to feel more precise, and more powerful. The sword was seeming less and less like some alien thing that had been placed between my hands, and more like an extension of my own body that moved along with my will, and my desire.


    Then, after a few minutes in that state, a message appeared in front of me.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    "Congratulations! You have learned the ''Swordsmanship'' skill! Your Swordsmanship is now level 1. Each level will increase your ability to fight with a sword of medium size or larger."


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    I had thought that I might be able to learn a skill like that¡­ but I had still never expected it to all work out so quickly, or for the whole process to have had such a strange, and almost mystical feeling of being gently guided.


    Then, I looked out again towards the emerald green hills that circled around the grassy meadows.


    For the first time since I had arrived in this strange and foreign world, I felt something like a sense of real confidence in my abilities.


    I didn¡¯t know what I was about to do exactly, or where I was going to go from here.


    But at the same time, felt like everything was going to be alright somehow - even if I couldn''t say precisely how.


    And then, with a soft smile, I just raised the sword up above my head, as I continued to swing it back and forth along through the air.

 Chapter 6: Training

    For the last two hours, I had been standing in the purple-grassed meadow, swinging my sword through the air as I continued to hone my skill.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    "Congratulations! Your Swordsmanship has reached level 2!"


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    "Congratulations! Your Swordsmanship has reached level 3!"


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    "Congratulations! Your Swordsmanship has reached level 4! A bonus will be unlocked at your next level of Swordsmanship."


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    With each level, I felt a noticeable improvement in the control and the precision of my movements. The sword also felt lighter, somehow, as if I had grown stronger in the last few hours.


    I hadn¡¯t, of course, as a simple glance at my status screen had quickly confirmed. But it did seem that my new skill was helping me to utilize the strength that I did have more effectively.


    I had also noticed that, despite the long amount of time that I had been swinging this heavy blade through the air, I didn¡¯t actually seem to be getting tired. Even when my arms had finally started to badly ache after about an hour of use, I had recovered after a few minutes of rest, and then I had felt just as fresh and as ready for work as if I hadn¡¯t been exercising at all.


    Maybe all of that was related to the blessing of Kalia, and the speed at which I naturally regenerated from any sort of damage to my body?


    I didn¡¯t really know. But it certainly felt like I could stay out here for a very long time, if I wished to.


    Of course, I was beginning to feel quite hungry, and a little tired too. But for now, I just wanted to keep pushing myself forward. There really was something almost intoxicating about increasing my power in this way ¨C the simplicity and the mathematical elegance of it all ¨C and it was also wonderful to feel more and more comfortable with this large weapon that I had acquired.


    Before, when I had first equipped that armor and that blade, I had felt a bit like a scarecrow come to life - good for frightening off a foe or two perhaps, but hardly able to protect myself, or to do any real sort of harm.


    But now, after beginning to really learn something about how to wield a sword of this size, I felt as if I would have a chance in an actual battle if it ever came to that.


    I hoped that it wouldn¡¯t come to that, of course. But, it soothed my spirits to know that the option was there.


    I wasn¡¯t quite as helpless as I had been before.


    I could get through this.


    As I continued to swing my blade through the fresh morning air, I started to feel something that was swelling up from deep inside of me. I remembered the message that I had seen when I had reached level four in Swordsmanship: ¡°a bonus will be unlocked at your next level.¡± Was that what I was feeling right now, surging up from within? Excitedly, I focused completely in and practiced with my whole body and mind, eager to unlock whatever power might be awaiting me. A few minutes later, I felt the blade becoming even more supple in my hands, and a slew of messages informed me of all of the new powers that I had just unlocked.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    "Congratulations! Your Swordsmanship has reached level 5!"


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    "You have now learned basic proficiency with a sword! All penalties to sword use have been removed."


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    "You have earned the achievement: Novice Weapon User! Your Strength has increased by one.¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    "You can now select an enhancement to your Swordsmanship skill. Would you like to see which enhancements you can now select?"


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Absolutely,I thought.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    "The following enhancements are available:¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    ¡°Lethal Swordsmanship. Deal 10% more damage with every blow of your blade."


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    ¡°Strong Swordsmanship. Strength requirements for large or giant swords are reduced by 25%.¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    ¡°Enchanted Swordsmanship. A fraction of your magical power is added to every blow of your blade.¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    ¡°Refined Swordsmanship. Significantly increase your reaction time and precision when wielding a skill-based sword, such as a katana or a rapier.¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    ¡°Defensive Swordsmanship. Increases the power of your Blocking skill while wielding a sword and shield.¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    I hesitated for a little while. What I really wanted to know was just how viable all of these different skills were. I would hate to choose one that was fairly weak, and then not be able to undo the choice later on once I had realized my mistake. But unfortunately, I didn¡¯t have anyone out here that I could talk to, who could help to inform me of the value of each of these different enhancements.


    Unless - ?


    System. Are any of these enhancements much better than the others?


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    "Every path that you take is viable, if only you pursue that path with your whole heart and soul. Each, in its own way, may help you to be happy, though some may help you more now, and others may help you more later. But with time, experience, and dedication, every road that you take shall gladden your heart, and you will find something of such value that you will never regret the journey."


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    I was a little taken aback by the length and the emotion of the system¡¯s speech. Then, I laughed softly to myself.


    Guess that you think pretty highly of your own balancing and design, huh, system?


    The ¡°system¡± did not respond, of course. But still, that was enough for me. What I needed right now was to last long enough to get into town. If every road was viable so long as you stuck to it and worked it out, then there was no reason to worry too much about which to choose. But there was a reason to choose an enhancement as soon as possible for me, since I really didn¡¯t know just what might be waiting for me over those hills beyond, or what might saunter into this quiet meadow. So I looked once again at the top two entries ¨C the only two that I could make use of for the moment.


    Lethal Swordsmanship sounded like it was the most obviously useful of the bunch. A flat 10% increase to damage would always help, no matter what kind of blade I used, or how I used it. But at the same time, if it really was true that every path was viable, then Lethal Swordsmanship couldn''t just be the strongest enhancement in every possible case. Probably for a magic wielder, Enchanted Swordsmanship would be more useful, and for a dedicated blocker, Defensive Swordsmanship might be helpful. That meant that for right now ¨C when I was currently holding a larger sword that it was still a little difficult for me to wield ¨C Strong Swordsmanship was probably the better choice.


    Of course, I didn''t want to be too locked into the use of two-handed weapons for the rest of my time in this world. But while the sword that I was holding was large, it certainly wasn''t enormous. And if this weapon counted as a "large" blade - as the system had told me that it had - then I imagined that it would be quite feasible for me to wield a large sword in a single hand later on. That meant that even if I selected "Strong Swordsmanship" for the present, I would still probably be able to use a shield if I wished to, or even to dual wield two larger swords if my strength significantly improved.


    And so after deliberating about things in just about that sort of way for a little while, I had at last managed to think it through enough that I felt as if I had a good idea of what to select.


    Select enhancement,¡°Strong Swordsmanship."


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    "Enhancement selected! Your Swordsmanship skill has now grown and evolved. It has become the skill, Strong Swordsmanship!¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    ¡°You have lost the skill, Swordsmanship.¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    "You have acquired the skill, Strong Swordsmanship. Each level will increase your ability to fight with any sword of medium size or larger. In addition, Strength requirements for large or giant swords are reduced by 25%."


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    "Your Strong Swordsmanship skill is now level 5!"


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    I looked around again at the beautiful meadow, and soaked in the brightly-purple colored grass, the extraordinarily blue and golden flowers, and the emerald green hills that stretched out as far as the eye could see.


    I swung my sword through the air. It was faster and lighter. I swung again, and again, and again. My movements were more precise now, and more controlled.


    I grabbed the hilt with a single hand, and tried to use the weapon as a one-handed sword. It was still too heavy to really wield effectively that way, but it was at least possible to do so now. If I became a little more powerful, I had little doubt that I would be able to wield a sword of this size single-handed ¨C and maybe even a giant sword, if I really trained and improved.


    Then, I just smiled, as I allowed these beautiful lands and this sudden influx of potential and of magic to gladden my heart,and to snap some of the shackles of fear and of despair that had been binding my heart for far too long.


    For a moment, I felt myself getting lost in idle daydreams, as I thought about everything that this beautiful new world might hold in store.


    But then, after a few moments, my mind began to come back to earth.


    As things stood right now, I was very thirsty, and very hungry too. And while the grassy meadow that I was situated in felt considerably less dangerous than the dark forest that I had recently left behind, I had started to feel more and more restless the longer that I had stayed out here.


    At first, the sheer beauty of the place had helped to calm my nerves. But for the last hour or so, I had felt myself becoming more tense and alert, as I heard some occasional sounds which I couldn¡¯t quite explain, and which might be the sign of some danger brewing off in the distance.


    And so, with these sorts of thoughts in mind, I lowered my blade back towards the ground, and really began to look around.


    Behind me was the huge forest that I had just escaped from.


    In front of me was a seemingly endless expanse of large green hills, which obscured most of the view further out, but which didn¡¯t look too difficult to climb.


    I was standing in a beautiful purple meadow with a little stream running through the middle, but nothing else that seemed to be of interest. That meant that I should probably just choose one of the hills, climb over it, and take things from there.


    I looked out again at the huge sapphire-blue tower in the distance. It sat almost directly ahead of where I was currently standing, and my instincts told me that it would be best to avoid it for now. The forest was behind me, so that meant that I would be heading towards the left or the right. There was really no reason at all that I could see to pick one rather than the other... and so after a few moments, I just happened to turn towards my right, and began to walk, eager to see what might be waiting for me just ahead.

 Chapter 7: Interloper

    After setting off from the purple-grassed meadow, I quickly made my way to the top of a small, grassy hill. My view further out was still mostly obscured by the many other hills that lay nearby. But I was nevertheless able to discern what looked to be a small forest, just a little ways off in the distance. I thought that I could also just barely make out some orange fruit hanging off of the branches of the trees of that forest as well, and maybe also some small animals scampering across its floor.


    Unfortunately, it was all a bit too far away for me to be sure of what I was seeing. But for now, that little forest seemed like about as good of a lead as any. So I began to make my way ahead, moving along as quietly and as carefully as I could.


    As I drew closer to those woods, I was gladdened to discover that there really did seem to be some sort of orange fruit dangling off of the branches here. There was quite a bit of the orange fruit too, and it had fallen in great abundance all over the floor of the little forest.


    Small, squirrel-like creatures were hopping all around the fallen fruit, happily chittering and chattering, their bright green fur illuminated by the early morning sun as they took their meal in the peaceful and quiet woods. Meanwhile, a strange blue-furred creature that looked like a cross between a goat and a deer was standing watch a little ways behind them, looking around quite lazily, apparently having already had its fill of the delicious fruit.


    Of course, once I got too close to the creatures, they all scampered and skittered away. But the sight of them had been very reassuring.


    On the one hand, it was nice to see other living beings out in this strange new world, and to feel a little bit less alone.


    But I was also glad to see that the creatures had been so happily eating the fruit up off of the ground. That meant that there was a decent chance that it was something that I could eat too, or that at least it probably wouldn''t be so harmful or toxic to my body that I¡¯d be in any serious risk if I took a small bite or two.


    Cautiously, I picked up one of the pieces of the orange fruit, and turned it around in my hand. It was soft and squishy like a plum or an apricot, but it had a harder, and a thicker skin, a little bit like an apple. The fruit itself had a very sweet smell to it, but a smell that was quite different from what I had expected ¨C not so much like the sweetness of a plum or a cherry, but more like the sweetness of a cantaloupe or a watermelon.


    Then, I raised the fruit up to my mouth, and I took a very small bite.


    I could hardly believe how amazingly delicious it was. It tasted like a sweeter cantaloupe, but with an almost fruity or berry-like taste mixed in, which gave the whole experience the feeling of eating some sort of exotic candy. Except unlike a piece of candy, it somehow managed to feel earthy and hearty too, like it was filled with all sorts of nutrients and fibers.


    I waited a few moments to make sure that I wouldn¡¯t begin to feel sick, or receive some sort of ominous notification from the system informing me of my now impending doom. But all that I felt was the delicious taste of the fruit spreading its way throughout my mouth, as I soaked in the exquisite and the satisfying taste.


    And then, I took another bite, and then another. I noticed now that the inside of the fruit was a kind of orange, pulpish substance, with a reddish-pink liquid that burst out whenever I took a bite. The orange was probably the part that tasted like a cantaloupe, while the reddish-pink liquid was probably what gave the fruit its sweet berry aftertaste. To my surprise, not only was the food absolutely delicious, but it was also amazingly nourishing and filling, and it quickly left my whole body feeling rejuvenated and refreshed.


    It was probably the best food that I''d eaten in the last three years.


    It might even have been the best food that I had ever eaten in my entire life.


    With a feeling of profound contentment and gratitude, I devoured the fruit that I¡¯d been munching on, and then began to eat several pieces more, unable to believe just how how plentiful the fruit was, and how delicious each of them tasted.


    After a little bit of time spent like that, I had eaten my fill of the sweet and succulent fruit. I could see that a few of the green-furred squirrel-like creatures had made their way back towards me too, and that they were carefully gnawing away at some of the fruit on the branches of the trees. They seemed to be glancing rather spitefully down towards me, and I got the distinct impression that they were very much hoping that I would leave.


    So, figuring that I had probably lingered out here for just about long enough as it was, I picked up one last piece of fruit to take with me, and then grabbed my sword back up off of the ground, as I continued on my way, and let the creatures of the forest go back to enjoying their delicious meal. After I had left, I heard them run back down to resume their feast, as sounds of happy chittering and of chattering began to ring out once more through the hills and valleys.


    For some time after that, I wandered ahead in no particular direction at all, just meandering my way through the vast expanse of land. During my long trek ahead, I had found more of the succulent orange fruit, and seen more of the green squirrel-like creatures, as well as a few small birds just drifting through the air. But I still hadn¡¯t managed to find any sort of creature that I could talk to, and I still hadn¡¯t managed to make out any sort of sign of a nearby town or village.


    Fortunately, I at least hadn¡¯t encountered any sort of danger either¡­ and there seemed to be a real sense of peace in these hills, that was quite different from the eerie forest that I had so thankfully left behind.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Of course, it may have been a bit of a jinx to have thought that right then. Because just as I was making my way over the hill in front of me, I began to catch sight of something strange a little ways off in the distance.


    And then, I froze, as I realized just what it was that I was seeing.


    Down in the meadow below, there was a small, green, two-legged creature, that was lying dead upon the ground.


    A few meters away, I saw the corpse of a human being, who was wearing the same kind of armor that I was wearing now, with the same kind of emblems on the front, and along the sides. The man was slouched up against the back of a large, fruit-covered tree¡­ and his hands were resting softly upon his stomach, which was coated in a layer of thick, and recently dried blood.


    Each of them were completely motionless right then¡­ and as far as I could tell, there was no one else nearby, and no sign that anyone else had been here. And so, my best guess was that each of them had killed the other, and that they had then died out here together, in this beautiful and quiet meadow.


    I was pretty nervous about the whole sightthat was in front of me. But at the same time, there wasn¡¯t any sign of danger, and the hills around me seemed to be perfectly still and empty. And so as quietly as I could, I began to make my way across the ground, before I at last came up in front of the small, green, two-legged creature.


    He looked quite a bit like some of the goblins that I had seen in a few shows and movies¡­ except this ¡°goblin¡± didn¡¯t really seem malevolent at all, or sinister in any sort of a way. He just looked like an animal, I guess, or like a kind of shorter, and more distinctive variant of a human being.


    He was a bit over a meter high, with thin, green arms, and a weak upper body. But his legs were very muscular, and I had the distinct impression that he had been far more used to running,and to fleeing than he had ever been to standing his ground and fighting.


    Around his waist, there was a small belt which was filled with all sorts of little knives and daggers. But apart from that, there wasn¡¯t anything else that he was wearing, and there wasn¡¯t anything else that I could learn about who he had been, or where he might have come from.


    Finally, from the markings on his body, it seemed as if he had been killed by a single long, slicing wound across his chest. To judge from the dried green blood that was coating that wound ¨C and from the dried green blood on the sword of the dead man in armor a little to my side ¨C it seemed fairly clear what had taken place here, and what had brought this creature to his end.


    On the goblin¡¯s face, there was an expression that was unmistakably one of surprise, and of sadness¡­ and instinctively, and without really thinking about what I was doing, I just reached my hand over and closed his eyes, as I gently ran my fingers across his forehead, and left him to his peace.


    Then, I turned over towards the body of the man a little towards my side, and began to examine him.


    The man was about my own size and build - just about average, in other words ¨C with soft brown hair, and strong, thick arms.


    In his left hand, he was holding a short, blood-covered sword... and in his right, he was holding a small wooden shield, that seemed to have taken quite a bit of damage throughout the years.


    He was fairly young, I thought - and it was easy to see that he had died in a way that had surprised him, and then had just enough strength to crawl back towards the tree, and to rest there, beneath the rays of the early morning sun, before he had at last lost his awareness, and begun to flicker out of being.


    It wasn¡¯t quite clear just how he had died exactly, since there were all sorts of small wounds and markings along his body. But my best guess was that he had been killed by the two large steel-tipped arrows which were lodged deep inside of his stomach, and inside of his intestines.


    I was just about to lean in, and to examine him a bit more closely, in order to see if I could find out anything more about him, and about where he might have come from¡­


    ¡­ when suddenly, I felt my blood start to run cold, as a wave of pure, and unrestrained terror washed over me.


    That little green creature, that I had seen before¡­


    ¡­ it hadn¡¯t been carrying a bow.


    And then, I leapt up into the air, and spun around.


    Before I could even understand what was happening, I saw an arrow come whizzing towards me, as I desperately twisted my body off to the side, and avoided what might well have been a lethal blow.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    "Congratulations! You have acquired the ''Dodging'' skill! Your Dodging skill is now level 1. Each level will improve your body¡¯s ability to dodge your way out of danger.¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    I didn¡¯t pay a moment¡¯s attention to that message. Instead, I just looked around, and tried to figure out where that arrow had come from.


    And then¡­ I saw the man who must have been the source of that arrow ¨C as I just stared out in horror at the cloaked figure who was standing opposite of me, on the ridge of the hill.


    In his right hand, he was now holding a wicked-looking curving dagger¡­ and on his face, there was a look of pure rage, and of terror.


    He seemed to be short, and stocky, with a short, gray beard. But before I could make make out anything more than that, he was rushing towards me, as he let out an awful, and a piercing cry.


    A part of me wanted to run. But at the speed that he was moving, I didn¡¯t think that was going to be much of an option.


    Another part of me wanted to stand my ground and to fight. But judging from the man¡¯s face, and from his features, I had the distinct impression that he wasn¡¯t a bad man at all, and that he wasn¡¯t the sort of person who would attack a stranger unless there had been some sort of a misunderstanding.


    Of course, it was an enormous gamble for me to even try to talk to him right then ¨C and looking back on it, I have no idea how I ever found the courage to attempt it. But rather than grabbing my blade at once, I instead just held out my right hand in an open-handed ¡°stop¡± gesture, as I took a few steps backwards, and yelled out to the man a little ways in front of me.


    "Wait,¡± I cried, ¡°Please, wait! I don¡¯t want to fight you! Who are you? And what do you want?!¡±


    Then, I saw the man hesitate for just an instant.


    I had the distinct impression that he wasn¡¯t yet convinced, however ¨C and I knew that he might resume his charge at any moment, in order to try to take my life.


    But then, I saw him suddenly come to a complete, and an abrupt halt.


    And then, I saw all of the blood drain slowly from his face, as he looked out ahead in a state of awe, and of wonder.


    His eyes were locked onto me, and he seemed to be absolutely transfixed by me right then¡­ just as if he was looking at the most amazing thing that he had ever seen in all his life.


    Or, more particularly¡­


    His eyes were locked onto my open, and my out-stretched hand¡­ and onto the mark that was displayed there.


    And then, the man lowered his weapon down towards his side, as he at last managed to overcome his astonishment, and to find the words to speak.


    ¡°Yer¡­ yer an Interloper,¡± he said, at last. ¡°Are ye¡­ are ye from Earth?¡±


    And then¡­ I just stood there in a state of dumb, and awe-struck silence¡­ as I attempted to figure out what had just taken place, exactly ¨C and how I would even begin to respond.

 Chapter 8: The Mysteries of the Past

    "Yer... yer an Interloper? Are ye¡­ are ye from Earth?¡±


    At first, all that I really felt when I heard those words was a kind of feeling of astonishment, and of wonder.


    But, eventually¡­ I managed to gather my wits up, and to respond.


    ¡°Yes¡­ yes, I¡¯m from Earth,¡± I said, slowly, as I lowered my own sword down towards my side. ¡°I¡¯m from Earth. I just arrived here a few hours ago, and I don¡¯t mean you any harm ¨C I promise. I¡¯m just trying to survive, and to make my way towards some sort of town, or settlement.¡±


    ¡°My name is William, by the way,¡± I added. ¡°Where are we right now, stranger? And¡­ who are you, exactly?¡±


    For a while, the man hesitated, as he tried to figure out what to do. But then, I saw his body beginning to relax, as he nodded towards me.


    ¡°I¡¯m Torver, m¡¯ friend. We¡¯re in the Rollin¡¯ Plains, a little to the south o¡¯ a town by the name o¡¯ Westfall. I¡¯d tell ye more, but¡­ t¡¯ be honest, I still don¡¯t know if I can trust ye jus¡¯ yet.¡±


    I was still very nervous right then. But I just did my best to stay calm, as I continued to talk to this man, and to try to get my way through all of this.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you think that you can trust me,¡± I asked, slowly.


    ¡°Well...¡± he said. ¡°If ye really did jus¡¯ get here, then¡­ ¡°


    ¡°¡­ where¡¯d ye get that armor from, m''boy...?¡±


    Then, I looked down at my metal-studded leather armor¡­


    ¡­ and I noticed once again that the emblems on my armor were nearly identical to the emblems on the armor of the dead man a little ways in front of me.


    And at that moment, I understood why I must have been attacked, and what had made this man into my enemy.


    And so as quickly as I could, I told Torver about some of the things that had happened to me so far, and about my adventures through this world.


    At the same time, I tried to make clear that I had no idea who those men in the forest had been, and that I was just wearing their armor in order to protect myself, and to give myself a better chance to survive.


    As I spoke, I could see that Torver was listening to my words very carefully, and with a lot of curiosity¡­ and by the time that I was done, it seemed as if he believed me, and that he trusted that I was telling him the truth.


    And then, after I had finished my story, I saw him relax his body language just about completely, as he gave me a warm, and friendly smile.


    "Then well met, m¡¯ friend,¡± he said at last. ¡°It was wrong o¡¯ me to charge at ya before. But, that armor that yer wearin¡¯ is the armor o¡¯ a slaver¡¯s guild, and an especially vicious one at that. That was why I attacked ya jus¡¯ now, and it¡¯s why I tried t¡¯ fight ya.¡±


    That made sense, of course, given what those men in the woods had said before. And it meant also that there probably wouldn¡¯t be any reason not to trust this man going forward, now that he had realized his mistake.


    But, even still ¨C if what he had said really was the case¡­


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll need to get rid of this armor at once,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be associated with a group like that, if I can avoid it. But¡­ I don¡¯t have anything else to wear, either ¨C or anything to protect myself with.¡±


    Then, the man placed his sword down upon the ground, as he looked towards me with a warm smile.


    "In that case, why don¡¯t ye let me help ya find somethin¡¯ to wear, m¡¯boy. If yer willin¡¯, then let¡¯s the two o¡¯ us walk together for a ways. I¡¯m sure that ye must be feelin¡¯ pretty lost right about now, and I¡¯d be glad to show ye the way ahead, if ye¡¯d like.¡±


    For just a moment, I sort of hesitated, as I thought about what to do.


    I was still pretty nervous, after everything that had just happened.


    But on the other hand, this man¡¯s facial features and body language bespoke such a strong degree of amiable, and open-hearted warmth ¨C and such a complete lack of deceit, or of conniving ¨C that I really did feel like I could put my trust in him just about completely.


    Plus, after everything that had just happened, the thought of having someone to guide me through these strange and foreign lands was really more than I could have hoped for, and something that I didn¡¯t really feel like I could turn down.


    And so, after hesitating for just a little while longer, I eventually placed my own sword down upon the ground as well, as I stepped forwards, and met him in the middle of the beautiful, and grass-covered field.


    ¡°It¡¯s good t¡¯ meet ya, m¡¯ friend,¡± Torver said, as he embraced me tightly, and shook my hand, with a firm, but gentle grip. ¡°There¡¯s a little cave I slept in th¡¯ day before, where I got some spare armor, which I took off o¡¯ a couple o¡¯ bandits I met along the way. It should fit ya just fine, I reckon¡­ and after we grab it, I can show ya the way t¡¯ Westfall, if that¡¯s where ye¡¯d like to go.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said, softly, still a little overwhelmed that I finally seemed to be out of all of the danger that I had just been in before.


    "It¡¯s my pleasure, m¡¯ friend,¡± he said, quietly, as he joined me at my side.


    And then, after we had made our introductions, the two of us just went and picked back up our weapons, as we began to walk together up over the hills beyond, and through the meadows.


    I was a little shy at first, and a little quiet. But, Torver was pretty talkative, and very sociable, and I found myself getting into a pretty natural rhythm with him after just a little while.


    Towards the beginning of our conversation, he asked me a lot of different questions about Earth, and about what my life had been like back there¡­ but then, gradually, I started to ask him a few different questions about this new world of mine as well.


    As I began to ask him about those things, I felt a real sense of excitement rising up from within me.


    What I truly hoped for right then was to finally be able to get some answers to the questions that had been rattling around in my head ever since I had arrived here.


    But what I found out instead was that a lot of those questions weren¡¯t going to be answered all that easily ¨C if they would ever be able to be answered at all.


    In particular¡­ it seemed that it wasn¡¯t going to be all that easy to figure just how I had arrived in this world, exactly ¨C or to discover much of anything about the one who had brought me here.


    According to Torver, no one in this world really knew who Kalia was.


    All that anybody seemed to know was that, every twenty or thirty years, a stranger would arrive here from another world, having just experienced the same sort of thing that I had ¨C a bright, blue orb of light, and a gentle female voice asking them if they would ¡°like to go,¡± and then a message telling them who had brought them here, and what had just occurred.


    But, that was all that Kalia seemed to do. None of the people who had been brought here by her had ever received any further contact from her after that, and nobody from this world had ever managed to speak to her either, or to interact with her in any way at all. As far as anybody here was concerned, she was just kind of like a ghost - and if she hadn¡¯t brought people here from time to time, then probably nobody would have even realized that she existed.


    Not only that, but no one in this world understood a single thing about how summoning worked either, or about what connection this world had to other places. As far as the people of this world knew, Kalia was the only one who could summon people here, and she was probably the only one who could send them back as well ¨C although there was no record that she had ever done so. But since no one had ever discovered anything about her, no one had ever really figured out anything about summoning either, or about how any of her powers really worked.


    That information was all very strange, of course¡­ and at the time, I hardly knew what to make of it.


    The only further hint that he could provide me with was that, in some of the oldest books of this world, there were a few suggestions that Kalia might have been some sort of a goddess once, and that she might have talked to all of the people of this world a long, long time ago, and given them guidance about their lives, and helped to care for them.


    According to those same legends, however, there had then been a great, and a terrible crime, that had been committed in the distant past¡­ and those legends claimed that Kalia had abandoned the people of this world entirely as a punishment for that crime, and that she had left the people of this world to wallow in their own violence, and their own cruelties.


    But what that crime might have been, exactly, none of the legends could really say.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Nor could they explain why Kalia hadn¡¯t returned since then, in all of the time that had passed - even after all of the people who had been responsible for that crime would have presumably long since have passed away.


    For those reasons, then ¨C along with quite a few others ¨C I wasn¡¯t inclined to believe that story much at all. And it seemed that Torver was pretty skeptical about that account too, and that he was also inclined to believe that all of that was just a myth, and not something to be taken all that seriously.


    But¡­ if that story wasn¡¯t true, then I was just back to square one ¨C and I realized now that it wasn¡¯t going to be an easy thing to try to figure out who Kalia was, or why she would have brought me here - or to figure out why she hadn¡¯t spoken to me once again, in all of the time that I had been in this world.


    And so, I figured that it would be worth looking some more into those old legends once I had made my way to the town of Westfall. Once I was there, I¡¯d try to find a few books about her, and to see if there might be any more hints or clues that I could discover.


    For now, however, I didn¡¯t think that I would be able to understand that much more. And so, I let my mind put that question off to the side for the moment, as I instead asked Torver about a few other things that had been weighing on my mind.


    In particular¡­ I asked him about the mark that had appeared on my hand, a little whiles before, and about what sort of significance it might have.


    The moment that I asked those questions, I saw his eyes begin to sparkle¡­ and then ¨C after telling me that the mark on my hand was the mark of the ¡°Interlopers,¡± which is what the people who¡¯d been brought here by Kalia were called ¨C Torver began to tell me a long, and detailed story about the nature of that mark, and about one of the greatest mysteries of this world.


    Apparently, according to Torver, the mark on my hand was actually a kind of ¡°key¡±.


    And what that key unlocked ¨C if the legends of this world were to be believed ¨C were the doors to each of the ancient, and sacred vaults.


    As he told it, this world had seven great, and indestructible vaults that were spread across its surface, each of which had been sealed for thousands and thousands of years.


    No one knew precisely where these vaults were exactly, or what they might contain. But the legends said that they were filled with all sorts of ancient and legendary relics from the Old World, and that they also contained so much treasure, and so much gold, and so many different kinds of precious gemstones, that finding a single one of those vaults would make you the richest man alive, and would provide you with the means to acquire anything that your heart desired.


    Not only that¡­ but according to those same legends, that mark on the palm of my hand was said to be the only way to open up those vaults¡­ and the only way to get inside.


    For that reason, a few of the accounts even called them ¡°The Vaults of Kalia,¡± since it was her mark that opened up the way. And one of the legends went so far as to claim that Kalia herself was waiting inside of one of the vaults, in order to bless the person who discovered her¡­ while other accounts said that each of the vaults contained a copy of her personal library, which revealed all of the secrets of her past, and of this world as a whole.


    But however all of that might be, all of the accounts seemed to agree that the treasures that lay inside of the vaults were truly extraordinary, and beyond the imaginings of any mortal being. And all of them seemed to suggest that the person who found their way inside of one of those vaults would somehow obtain the power to change the very nature of the world itself¡­ although what that statement meant, exactly, wasn¡¯t quite clear to me at the time ¨C and I certainly didn¡¯t yet grasp the full meaning, or the full significance of those words.


    But even still, the more that I heard about each of these different vaults, the more excited that I began to feel. The thought that I might be the only one alive right now with the chance to get inside of such amazing and wonderful places was just intoxicating, and it kind of made my head spin as I thought about it.


    But¡­ well.


    On the other hand¡­


    ¡­ the more that I actually thought about what Torver was telling me right then, the more that I just felt like I had to say...


    "You said that no one knew where these vaults were, right, Torver? But, if they¡¯re sealed by impenetrable magic, then they couldn¡¯t have been destroyed, could they have? So then, if they really do exist, and if people really did find them once, then where would they have gone to exactly? And why hasn¡¯t anyone found any of them for so long now, if they¡¯re just on the surface of the world somewhere? Haven¡¯t people been looking for them during all of this time? So, I¡¯m not sure how they wouldn¡¯t have been discovered.¡±


    Torver could only sigh, as he nodded in a reluctant agreement.


    "That, of course, is precisely why so many people believe that the vaults are nothin¡¯ more than myths an'' legends. It¡¯s just as ye say ¨C this ain¡¯t a newly formed world, after all. People been searchin¡¯ for those vaults for thousands o¡¯ years now. Great and powerful tribes o¡¯ soldiers and adventurers, walkin¡¯ through every field and valley, usin¡¯ everything they got, each hopin¡¯ to find a vault, then make a deal with some Interloper to split the treasures that lay inside. But even so, no one has managed to find one o¡¯ the blasted things in ages, and no one knows where they might be. If they are real, they must be pretty much undetectable by magic, and darned near impossible to discover. But o¡¯ course, somethin¡¯ that no one can find, no matter how hard they look, sure don¡¯t seem all that different from somethin¡¯ that just don¡¯t exist at all¡­ and it¡¯s been so long now since anyone¡¯s seen ¡®em, that a lot o¡¯ folks believe they¡¯re just made up legends, that don¡¯t got a bit o¡¯ truth to ¡®em.¡±


    The man sighed again, remembering the quite convincing skeptical arguments that seemed to suggest the unfortunate impossibility of his favorite youthful fantasy. But then, the man was able to recover his spirits, and he soon broke back into a sly grin.


    ¡°But I believe in ¡®em, m¡¯boy! Perhaps someday, the two of us can go search for ¡®em together, and find some fabulous treasures along the way. That would certainly be an adventure t¡¯ be worth havin¡¯!¡±


    At that, he broke into a loud laugh, and gave me a hard pat on the shoulder.


    I did my best to give an amiable response, and to go along with his fantasies and amusements. But still, I found myself not all that persuaded. I was something of a skeptic at heart myself, and the sheer excitement and boyish enthusiasm of this man made me suspect that these legends of vaults and treasures were probably nothing more than tall tales which young men had passed around in order to make the world seem just a little bit more exciting.


    But, all the same¡­


    ¡­ I wanted to learn more about these vaults, if I could. Because, if they really did exist...


    And then, I suddenly felt a profound sense of excitement, and of wonder rising up from deep inside of me.


    Apparently, I wasn¡¯t quite as immune to that boyish enthusiasm as I might have liked to pretend.


    After we had finished talking about that, the two of us then walked in a comfortable silence together for some time, as we each thought about Kalia, and about the vaults, and about what we were going to do next.


    As we walked on ahead, I felt profoundly aware of just how little I really understood about this new world of mine.


    I no longer really had any doubts that all of this was real, and that Kalia was the one who had brought me here. But¡­ I didn¡¯t have any comprehension of who or what Kalia might be, or of how I could ever discover the answer to that question.


    If the mark that she had given me was really a kind of key, and if that was the only way to open up the doors to those vaults, then maybe they really were connected to her somehow, and maybe I could figure out something about her if I could make my way inside.


    But if those vaults didn¡¯t exist at all ¨C which sure seemed pretty likely ¨C or if I couldn¡¯t ever find them¡­ then I would probably spend my whole life in this world not really understanding what had brought me here, or why I had come to this place at all.


    That was a strange thought of course. But, I suppose that it wasn¡¯t that different from how things had been back on Earth. After all, it¡¯s not like I had known just why that world had existed as it did, or what the answers to all of life¡¯s questions had been. Perhaps there were just some things that you really couldn¡¯t know that much about one way or the other, and perhaps there was no point in giving any mind to them, in the end.


    Of course, I didn¡¯t quite believe that just yet¡­ and so, I wasn¡¯t inclined to give up on those sorts of big, cosmic questions anytime too soon.


    But for now at least, I didn¡¯t think that there was that much more to think about.


    Once I had made my way into town, I would want to investigate as many of the old legends as I could find, in order to see what I might be able to figure out about the vaults, and about Kalia. From there, I could determine what I should do next, and whether there might be any way to discover the truth about any of these different sorts of mysteries.


    That would be a good starting point, at any rate. But¡­


    Well, there was also one more part of what Torver had said to me that had kind of struck a chord with me as well.


    I was probably never going to be able to go back home.


    That didn¡¯t really bother me all that much, honestly. I didn¡¯t have much of a home to return to, and I hadn¡¯t really left much of anything behind.


    But, it did mean that I was going to have to start to figure out a lot of more ordinary and practical sorts of questions. If I was going to be here for the rest of my life, then I would need to figure out just what I was going to do for work in this world, and how I was going to support myself.


    I hadn¡¯t given any thought to those sorts of questions in a long, long time¡­ but, those seemed like the sorts of things that I would need to figure out pretty soon, at least. After all, I didn¡¯t even have a single coin to my name, so I wouldn¡¯t be able to rent a room, or to buy any food, or supplies.


    For now, I could probably just live off of the fruit of the trees, and sleep in the caves, or the forests. But, I didn¡¯t want to have to do that for too long if I didn¡¯t have to. I had been homeless once before, and I didn¡¯t want to live that kind of a life again. So, that meant that figuring out how to make a living would have to be one of my top priorities, and that I¡¯d need to figure out how to do that just about as soon as I was able.


    Still, even if I didn''t have any of these different questions figured out ¨C neither the simple, practical ones, nor the big, cosmic ones ¨C I was at least glad that I had found someone that I could rely on, at least for a little while. For now, I could travel with this man for a ways, and then venture into town, get situated there, and just start to live my life. Hopefully, once I had started to get used to things out here, I could figure out how to make a living, and I could start to wrap my head around the mysteries of this world.


    For now, though, I just started to appreciate the fact that I had finally found my way out of danger, and that I now really did have the chance to start to make a new sort of life for myself in this strange, and beautiful new land.


    As the two of us walked along, I felt the rays of light from the beautiful spring-like day gently beating down onto my arms and legs. Somewhere just a little ways ahead, a few small birds were swooping down through the air, as they danced together, and played across the clear, blue skies.


    Then, the two of us crossed over a hill, and down again into another purple-grassed meadow, which was covered in the same deep blue and golden flowers that I had seen before.


    And then, with a gentle sort of excitement, and a lot of gladness about where my path had taken me, I just let myself imagine all of the different things that my future might hold in store¡­ and the life that was awaiting me, just beyond the hills ahead, and through the valleys.


    The only thing that troubled me at all, right then, was a small, thin voice, at the back of my mind.


    It was whispering to me, over, and over again, that something was really wrong with the fact that Kalia wasn¡¯t speaking to anyone here¡­ and it was telling me that things in this world might be a lot more dangerous ¨C and a lot more disturbing ¨C than they at first appeared.


    But even though that voice was a little troubling, the sheer beauty of the environment ¨C and the sheer pleasure of having made my way out of any sort of immediate danger, for now at least ¨C was enough to set my heart at ease.


    And so, with only a few reservations, but otherwise in quite good spirits at the turn that my fortunes had begun to take, I just made my way ahead through the meadows and the valleys, as I tried to prepare myself for what was coming next, and for my entrance into the town of Westfall.

 Chapter 9: An Amazing Discovery

    Just about one thousand years ago...


    A young scholar was sitting in the hall of an old, dust-filled library. The library must have been at least a thousand years old by now, and it looked as if no one had set foot in its halls for hundreds and hundreds of years. Discovering this library had been an amazing find for the young scholar, and now he and two older gentlemen who had accompanied him there were eagerly poring through the bookshelves, looking to find some sort of tome or volume that might contain one of the great secrets of the past.


    Of course, most of the books here were books that the scholar already knew quite well. Even though he was still quite young, he was already extraordinarily accomplished, and he had read every single one of the Old Books several times over. He knew them all quite well ¨C not just the Book of Origins ¨C and he could easily recognize their familiar titles as he traced his gloved hand across the dusty runes.


    He couldn¡¯t even remember the last time that he had taken off his signature gloves. It was rather important for him to wear them, after all¡­ because they helped to conceal a rather interesting mark that lay hidden on the palm of his right hand.


    So far as he knew, no one in this world knew that he was an Interloper. That was his secret, and his alone. He had been wandering this world for almost a dozen years, trying to find anything that could teach him about why he had been brought here, or about who Kalia might be. But none of the people in this world seemed to know a single thing about his origins, or about how he had come to this world from Earth. That was why he had gone out searching on his own, and that was what had led him to discover this old library, which seemed to hold out the promise of some sort of ancient, and forgotten knowledge.


    The instant that he had found that old library, he had rushed back to his home town, in order to deliver the news to his colleagues at the Guild of the Pen.


    The Guild was a kind of institution of learning dedicated to both the study, and the careful interpretation of each of the oldest books of the past. That Guild had helped to take the young scholar in when he had first arrived in this world, and it was where he had been working for several years now. It was an interesting and an exciting place, and it had been a very natural fit for both his talents, and his interests. The young man¡¯s extraordinary memory, insatiable drive for knowledge, and careful, and focused perception had made him a truly noteworthy interpreter, and it was that combination of gifts and dispositions that had first made him such an attractive candidate for admittance into the Guild, and then allowed him to become one of the Guild¡¯s leading scholars before he had even reached to the tender age of thirty.


    But even with all that he had accomplished, the discovery of a new library had the potential to set his name into history forever. It had been nearly two hundred years since an Old Book had been discovered, after all¡­ and the potential to have found a new book to add to the Guild''s collection - with all of the wisdom, and the knowledge that it might contain - was maybe the most exciting event of his life, so far.


    That was why he had so eagerly rushed back to the Guild, and told his adviser about what he had just found, and about where the library was located.


    His adviser, a man by the name of Thomas Fisher, was one of the oldest and most respected members of the Guild of the Pen. When the young scholar had first begun to really show promise, the Guild¡¯s leadership had decided to appoint Mr. Fisher to help to mentor the young man, and to watch over the youth. Since then, the two of them had become quite close friends, and the young man had made several of his greatest discoveries through long, thoughtful conversations with his older instructor. They each shared a similar love for knowledge, and they were each quite eager to hear about any sort of new insight or discovery.


    And so, when the older scholar had heard about the new library that the young man had found, he had been so excited by the news that he had positively demanded that they set out to see the place at once. Mr. Fisher had only stopped on his way out the door to inform one of his oldest friends about the news ¨C another eminent and respected scholar, by the name of Mr. Adams. Afterwards, the three of them had left at once, eager to explore every secret of the library on their own, and to report back with their findings to all of the other members of the Guild.


    That had all taken place just a few hours before. Since then, the three of them had made the journey back out to the beautiful and sacred ruins, and were now eagerly searching through the ancient library for any old and buried tome that they might be able to find.


    Unfortunately, as the three of them scanned through each of the old and dusty books, none of them were able to recognize a single volume that was new to them.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    That made sense, of course. Even with how old this library was, and even with how remote it was from the rest of the world, it wasn¡¯t so old that it would be likely to contain a book that was more ancient even than any of the Old Books that had survived through the ages.


    And so, even though they each continued to search, and to make their way through every shelf, and every compartment, they were all beginning to lose hope, and they were starting to abandon their thoughts of discovering any sort of new book or tome.


    But then, right as he was about to suggest that they all took a break to have their lunch, the young scholar noticed something that was rather curious.


    On one of the shelves right towards the center of the library, there was a single misplaced copy of the Book of Origins, that appeared to be just slightly larger than any copy of that book that the young scholar had ever seen before.


    It would be hard to describe just what a minor difference in size this really was. In truth, it was such a small difference that probably just about no one would have ever noticed it, or to have even cared at all if they had managed to spot such a thing. But for a scholar of his inclination, with such an extraordinary attention to detail, who had been studying that particular book for almost his entire adult life¡­ to him, such an apparently invisible discrepancy was almost obvious, really.


    And so, with great curiosity, the young scholar pulled down the slightly-too-large book, and opened it up in his hands.


    Flipping through the pages, nothing about the book seemed to be all that different from what he had read before. It certainly seemed like just another copy of the Book of Origins¡­ at least, at first.


    And, yet¡­


    There were ¨C discrepancies.


    A few of the words had too many letters.


    Some of the words had been underlined with a black pen.


    Every now and then, a line from a different one of the Old Books had been interposed, as if by some sort of clumsy accident.


    There were also many small, tiny additions ¨C just an extra word here or there, every few lines ¨C that you would never notice, if you didn¡¯t remember exactly what the book was supposed to say. But¡­


    Calmly, and with great focus, the young scholar simply wrote down what had been added. He wrote it all down in order, from the first page to the last, marking down what page each addition had been discovered on.


    And as he did so, a message began to appear. Read in order, the additions formed their own, secret book ¨C a book within a book, that told a story of the true history of the world, different from anything that the young man had ever heard before.


    According to that story, there had once been a war thousands, and thousands of years ago ¨C a war between the followers of Kalia, and a wizard named Jurnor.


    The story told of Kalia¡¯s defeat, and of who she had been, and of the desperate attempts of her followers to free her from her chains, and to bring her back to her former glory.


    But most of all, the book told of a paradise that had once been enjoyed by all, back when Kalia had ruled over this world¡­ and of a horrible, horrible crime, that might well have destroyed that paradise forever.


    The book told of things that seemed too amazing to be true, and too impossible to believe. And, yet¡­


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    ¡°Congratulations! Your Insight has increased by ten!¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ¡­ and yet, he knew that every word of this book was true.


    The young scholar¡¯s whole body started to shake, and to tremble. He couldn¡¯t believe what he had just discovered, or how significant of a thing he had found. This was undoubtedly going to go down in history as the single greatest discovery that had ever been made, and the discovery that would immortalize his name forever.


    And after this¡­ no one would ever forget the thing that he had accomplished on this day ¨C and no one would ever wonder just who Kalia was, or why she had summoned so many people to this world, for all of these years.


    At long last¡­ the mysteries of the past had all been solved.


    With sweat dripping from his hands, and with his heart beating so fast that he felt as if he was about to explode, the young man ran back towards the two older scholars, and showed them what he had found. He showed the slightly-too-large book, and he showed the code, and he showed every insight and discovery that he had just found, hardly even able to stop himself from speaking, with a greater and greater degree of joy and of animation in every word.


    His adviser could only smile from the depths of his being, as he looked at the young man with a degree of admiration and respect that he had never displayed before.


    ¡°My boy,¡± Mr. Fisher said, quite slowly, ¡°you are positively amazing. Honestly¡­ I am honored to have met you. You are a truly extraordinary individual, and I can do nothing but admire you for what you have become, and for what you have accomplished here today.¡±


    The young man beamed, overcome with a kind of peace, and joy, that he had never once before experienced in his entire life.


    And then, Mr. Fisher slipped a knife out of his rightmost pocket, and stabbed the young scholar in the chest.


    The other older scholar did the same, as he ripped through the linings of the young man¡¯s lungs.


    Hot, wet blood trickled onto the ground, as the adviser plucked the book out of the young scholar¡¯s hands, and took the notes up off of the ground.


    Then, he handed the book and the notes to his older friend, as he leaned down towards the young man, and softly closed the youth¡¯s eyes, and whispered into his ear.


    ¡°Good night, my young friend¡­


    Good night¡­ Interloper.¡±


    The young man felt blood trickling from his lips¡­ and a few moments later, his consciousness flickered out of being for the last time, as his body grew still, and cold.


    And then, the two older scholars turned around, and made their way slowly out of the old, and sacred library.

 Chapter 10: The Great Lake

    Present day, present time


    By then, Torver and I had been walking through the hills and the valleys for quite some time.


    At first, we had spoken a bit about what I had seen on my journey, and we had talked a lot about what my life had been like back on Eartn. But, after talking about Kalia, and after discussing the mystery of the vaults for a while, the two of us had fallen into a kind of warm, and comfortable silence, as I continued to think a little more about this new world that I had arrived in, and about the more practical question of what I would want to do once I had made my way into town.


    Eventually, though, I saw Torver turn his head back towards me, as he started up our conversation once again.


    ¡°William,¡± he said, ¡°Have ye managed to learn any new skills jus¡¯ yet?¡±


    "A few,¡± I said. ¡°I have Strong Swordsmanship at level 5, and Athletics and Dodging at level 1.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good t¡¯ hear, m¡¯boy. In this world, yer skills can grow pretty fast initially. But after that, it¡¯ll likely take ye a while t'' grow stronger, and t¡¯ master yer abilities.¡±


    .¡±¡­ though, now that I think about it, I remember hearin¡¯ that Interlopers can grow a lot faster than the rest o¡¯ us, at least for a while ¨C probably t¡¯ catch back up t¡¯ the other folks their age, I¡¯d reckon. I¡¯m not sure o¡¯ course, since y¡¯know¡­ Interlopers like to keep their secrets. But if it is true, that may mean that ya could make a name for yerself in the adventurin¡¯ line o¡¯ work. If, that is, ya got any interest in becomin¡¯ an adventurer?¡±


    "I was just thinking about that, actually,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not sure yet ¨C about that, or about what I want to do for now.¡±


    "Well, take my advice, m¡¯boy, and give adventurin¡¯ a try. The dungeons in this world are amazin¡¯ places, and it¡¯s worth seeing ¡®em for yerself, even if ya don¡¯t plan to make yer money from ¡®em. But if ya do, you¡¯ll find that there¡¯s all sorts o¡¯ little treasures t¡¯ be found in there, and ya can sell those treasures for enough t¡¯ at least give yerself a place to live. It¡¯s not the most glamorous work, t¡¯ be honest, but it¡¯s a livin¡¯ at least, and it¡¯s a great way to spend yer time, I''d say."


    I asked if it was dangerous to make a career as an adventurer, and to go out exploring through the dungeons. But Torver just laughed, and shook his head.


    ¡°Not at all, m¡¯ boy. The dungeons¡­ well, I¡¯ll just let ya see ¡®em for yerself. But no one gets hurt in ¡®em, I can promise ya that much.¡±


    I was pretty intrigued by what he said. And I decided that I would take a look at these dungeons once I had made my way into town, and gotten the chance to look around.


    But at the same time, there was one part of what Torver had said that had seemed a little bit strange to me.


    ¡°Before, Torver, you had said that Interlopers like to ¡®keep their secrets.¡¯ What did you mean by that¡­?¡±


    Then, there was a long pause.


    ¡°Well¡­,¡± he said, at last. ¡°It can be kind o¡¯ dangerous t¡¯ be an Interloper, if I¡¯m bein¡¯ honest with ya. In all o¡¯ the old stories and the tales o¡¯ the ones who came before, a lotta Interlopers just seem to die before their time, I guess ye¡¯d say. Some o¡¯ them die o¡¯ natural causes, and some o¡¯ them die by accident¡­ but not a lot o¡¯ em make it to their old age, is what I¡¯m sayin¡¯ - and the ones who do, are the ones who keep to ¡®emselves, and don¡¯t tell anyone but their friends and family about what they are, and about where they came from. Though, why all that is, exactly, none o¡¯ us truly know. It¡¯s almost like they¡¯re bein¡¯ hunted¡­ though if that is the case, then none o¡¯ us know by who, exactly ¨C or why...¡±


    Torver looked like he was going to say more¡­ but then, he seemed to notice that his words were starting to set me on edge a bit. So he just gave me a warm smile, and patted me on the back.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that though, m¡¯boy. No one can see yer status screen or anything, so the only way to tell that yer an Interloper is that mark that¡¯s on yer hand. As long as ye wear some gloves, and only tell people that ya trust about who ye are, then ye should be fine. A lot o¡¯ the Interlopers in the stories managed to get by jus¡¯ fine, just as long as the whole world didn¡¯t find out about ¡®em. So ya should be able t¡¯ do okay, I¡¯m sure.¡±


    That was good to know, at least. I figured that it wouldn¡¯t be that hard for me to get used to wearing gloves all of the time, and that it shouldn¡¯t be too hard for me to be a bit reserved, and to hold back about my past.


    Still¡­ I figured that I might not want to be too social for now at least. I imagined that news of an Interloper would spread around pretty quickly, so I¡¯d want to get used to pretending to be from this world before I went around and talked to all sorts of different people.


    That was alright, though. Being alone was pretty much to my tastes anyway, after the sort of experiences that I¡¯d had. Once I got into town, I didn¡¯t plan on becoming all that involved with the place¡¯s affairs anyway. I would just keep a low profile, I figured, and think about what to do on my own. That would be best, at least for the time being.


    Maybe I can find some books to read, too, I thought. That would let me find out more about this world without having to ask too many questions. There¡¯s still a lot that I¡¯ll want to think about, once I get some rest, and get my bearings¡­ so that might be a good place to start.


    That was where my mind wandered to for a while, at least.


    But, what Torver had said had also made me think about something else that I had yet to ask him, and that I would want to know about before I got into town.


    ¡°Torver¡­ is it especially dangerous in this world,¡± I asked. ¡°Not just for the Interlopers, I mean¡­ but for all of the people in the cities?¡±


    ¡°Aye,¡± he said. ¡°It can be. For now, ye shouldn¡¯t be too worried. It¡¯s been peaceful o¡¯ late, and there ain¡¯t any monsters around the towns, or big ol¡¯ dragons, or arch-demons, or anything like that. But¡­ ¡°


    ¡°¡­ there are a lot o¡¯ wars in this world, unfortunately. And there¡¯s been rumblin¡¯ o¡¯ late that a big war might be comin¡¯ soon¡­ a Great War, between all o¡¯ the major nations o¡¯ the world.¡±


    ¡°A Great War,¡± I repeated, nervously.


    ¡°Aye,¡± he said. ¡°I hope that it don¡¯t come to that, o¡¯ course. But, if it does¡­ then, yer gonna want t¡¯ get yer level up just about as high as ye can. The last Great War was about thirty years ago¡­ an¡¯ if that sort o¡¯ hell breaks out again, there¡¯s just no sayin¡¯ what might happen, or how many o¡¯ us may be killed.¡±


    Then, there was a short, and rather tense pause, as Torver¡¯s mind drifted through the past, and through all of the horrifying sights and sounds that he had once experienced as a boy.


    ¡°But ye should be alright for now at least,¡± he continued, at last. ¡°Westfall¡¯s just about as safe of a town as ye can find in this world. It¡¯s as neutral as neutral gets, and it¡¯s got all sorts o¡¯ good relations with all o¡¯ the great nations o¡¯ the world. Not only that, but a lot o'' wealthy people send their kids there, so there''s a lot o'' scrutiny o'' the town as well from all those stuffy types, which means that the guards there are about as orderly an'' as proper as ye can find, an'' damn well equipped, too. So ye won''t be seein'' any monsters or bandits anywhere near the city - not for four or five kilometers out, at the very least."


    "It¡¯s a great place for a newcomer like you, too ¨C a whole lot o¡¯ young folk, and even a beginner¡¯s dungeon to train yer skills in. So for now, ye can jus¡¯ live there, and start t¡¯ get yer bearings, without worryin'' at all about gettin'' killed, or robbed. Then, ye can start t¡¯ prepare for what¡¯s comin¡¯ next¡­ but, I doubt that yer gonna have t¡¯ worry about any o¡¯ that for a year or two at least, m¡¯boy ¨C so, ye should be okay for now, I¡¯d reckon.¡±If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    That wasn¡¯t exactly what I had wanted to hear, of course¡­ but, it wasn¡¯t the worst news, either. It was good to know that Westfall seemed to be so safe, and that there''d be no reason for me to worry too much for the time being.


    But, still¡­ if there really were people hunting me down because of the mark that was on my hand, and if there might be a big war coming in the next few years as well, then I would really want to become as strong as I could just about as quickly as possible. That meant that looking into the dungeons in town was going to be one of my top priorities, even if I didn¡¯t end up deciding to make a career for myself as an adventurer.


    As I thought about those things, and tried to make some sense of what my future plans should be, the two of us slowly made our way up towards the entrance to the cave which Torver had spoken about before, which lay just a short ways to the side of a quiet, and charming lake.


    "Here we are, friend,¡± Torver said, as we approached the entrance to the cave. ¡°This is where I slept last night, my whole aching body¡¯s sorry t¡¯ say. But still, it¡¯s quiet enough, and most importantly, it¡¯s safe enough, too. If ye can¡¯t find a bed in town, ya may as well remember that all o¡¯ this is here.¡±


    Then, Torver stepped inside, and I followed after. The cave was relatively small - about four meters deep, and three meters high - with dry stone walls that were quite cold to the touch, and long, green dangling vines that helped to conceal the entrance. Inside, there were a few bones from some animal that must have been eaten quite recently, along with a pile of goods that had been shoved off into a corner towards the back. Torver moved over towards that pile as I was looking through the cave, and after a few moments of digging around, he turned back towards me, now holding a set of thick brown leather armor, as well as some undergarments to wear beneath.


    The armor looked suitably generic, with no real markings or embellishments. It also seemed thick enough, and strong enough, that it would provide me with about the same degree of protection as I¡¯d had before.


    There was, however, a long splatch of half-dried blood on the front of the chest piece, and the helmet was nearly split in half, with a long vertical slice running along the back of the helm.


    Torver grinned a little sheepishly as he handed me the armor.


    "Perhaps the bandit who owned this particular piece o¡¯ armor didn¡¯t part with it so willingly. But I promise ya, it¡¯s good, strong armor. Ye can wash off the chest piece at the lake nearby, and then ya can try it on. Though I¡¯m thinkin¡¯ that yer gonna want t¡¯ find a new helmet t¡¯ go with yer gear. This one¡¯s no longer in the best o¡¯ ways.¡±


    Picking up the light armor, the two of us carried it out to the lake, and carefully washed the dried blood out of the chest piece, then washed off the gloves and leggings. Afterwards, I took off my old set of slavers¡¯ gear, and put on the undergarments, then put on the new set of armor over the top. It was all a nearly perfect fit, and moving around for a few steps, I at once appreciated just how much of a boost a well-fitting suit of armor gave to my agility, and to my mobility.


    Torver agreed that the armor was a good match for me, and the two of us then took my old set of armor and placed it back into the cave.


    Now prepared, we made our way back outside, and out up onto a large hill nearby.


    "Torver," I said, as we walked, "when I found that dead slaver on the ground, his stomach was full of arrows. Can I assume that you¡¯re the one who killed him?¡±


    "Aye,¡± he said. ¡°That man had been followin¡¯ me for a ways, an¡¯ givin¡¯ me all sorts o¡¯ trouble. Then, he lost sight o¡¯ me. After that, I looped around, an¡¯ decided to surprise him. When he sat down t¡¯ rest after he¡¯d killed that goblin, I shot him through the chest, then flew down with m¡¯ blade an¡¯ stabbed ¡®im in the heart. That was a bit before ye came¡­ and when I saw ye, I thought that ye were my enemy, as well ¨C an¡¯ I decided t¡¯ attack.¡±


    "Then why was that man following you,¡± I asked, ¡°and why did you decide to attack him?¡±


    Torver nodded at my question¡­ and then, slowly, he lowered the hood of the robe that he was wearing down, so that I could see his whole head and face.


    Around his neck, there was a thick, metal collar, that seemed to be glowing with some sort of red magical energy.


    ¡°He was tryin¡¯ t¡¯ recover me ¨C an¡¯ t¡¯ take me back t¡¯ my master. I¡¯m a slave, m¡¯boy, I¡¯m sorry t¡¯ say. Got taken a few years back, and been tryin¡¯ t¡¯ break free ever since.¡±


    ¡°Then, a few days ago, I got my chance. There was a big commotion, when some Free Folk attacked one o¡¯ the slave settlements... and hundreds o¡¯ us managed t¡¯ get loose, and t¡¯ flee. That¡¯s why so many o¡¯ these slavers been walkin¡¯ around out in these hills o¡¯ late, jus¡¯ tryin¡¯ to round us all up. They probably captured most o¡¯ us by now¡­ but I¡¯m still out here, just lookin¡¯ t¡¯ get away, an¡¯ t¡¯ live a normal life again.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I ain¡¯t headed t¡¯ Westfall, I¡¯m sorry t¡¯ say. I¡¯d love t¡¯ help ye t'' get yer bearings, but¡­ they don¡¯t outlaw slavery there, an¡¯ I¡¯m sure that they¡¯d arrest me in a second if they saw me. They¡¯d be pretty likely to know what these robes mean too, and I doubt that I''d be able t¡¯ keep myself concealed for long.¡±


    ¡°Is there any way that we could remove your collar,¡± I asked, ¡°so that you could lose your robe, and then blend in there?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not¡± he said, sadly. ¡°These collars are placed around our necks by all sorts o¡¯ sophisticated magic¡­ and there ain¡¯t many people in this world who know how to remove ¡®em. I doubt if there¡¯s a single mage like that in Westfall¡­ and even if there was, I don¡¯t know how I¡¯d be able t¡¯ find ¡®em, or t¡¯ get their help - if they were even willin¡¯ t¡¯ help me out at all.¡±


    ¡°But don¡¯t worry about me, or about yerself, m¡¯boy. Now that we''re so close t'' the town, ye should be more than fine from here. Just try t'' get yerself set up with a job in this world, an'' do yer best, an'' ye should be alright for quite some time. I¡¯m sure o¡¯ that, at least.¡±


    ¡°Ah, an¡¯ don¡¯ think o¡¯ comin¡¯ with me, ya fool,¡± he added, as he noticed that I was hesitating about what to do. ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous for someone who just arrived in this world a few hours before. Besides, yer so green in the tooth, ye¡¯d just get both o¡¯ us killed if ye tried to sneak through the rest o¡¯ the way by my side. It¡¯s better for me to go alone, I¡¯d say, and t¡¯ just try an¡¯ do the best that I can.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, but¡­ well,¡± I said. ¡°Where are you headed towards now, Torver?¡±


    Then, he pointed out towards the East.


    ¡°A long, long way that way,¡± he said. ¡°There¡¯s a huge lake out there ¨C the largest lake in this whole world, they say¡­ the Great Lake. It¡¯s just about as large as an ocean, and unbelievably deep, and beautiful. I saw it once as a boy, and I¡¯ve never been able t¡¯ forget it¡­ always wanted t¡¯ return there... and then, when I got taken in as a slave, I thought I¡¯d lost my chance forever.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ anyway. Jus¡¯ before I¡¯d escaped, I heard there was a little town o¡¯ th¡¯ other side o¡¯ the lake, hidden in some hills an¡¯ mountains. They say that the Free Folk set up that town several years ago ¨C the group who¡¯s been helpin¡¯ to break out all o¡¯ the slaves ¨C and that if ya find ¡®em, then they can break off yer collar, an¡¯ give ya an honorable job, so long as ya promise t¡¯ help t¡¯ defend the settlement.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s where I¡¯m headed to now. I don¡¯t even know if that town really exists, t¡¯ be honest¡­ but it¡¯s all I got right now, and it seems about as good o¡¯ a place t¡¯ run to as any. And, well¡­ it gives me a chance to see that lake again, ya know? An¡¯ right now, that¡¯s just about as good o¡¯ a reason as I could ask for.¡±


    For a moment, he just stared off longingly into the distance, as he thought about that beautiful lake, and about all of the wonder and the joy that he had felt so long ago, when he had stared upon its waters as a small, and bright-eyed child.


    Then, he seemed to realize something, before he looked back towards me, and broke into a large grin.


    ¡°Ah ¨C don¡¯t tell anyone that I told ye about that town, though. Free Folk settlements don¡¯t tend t¡¯ last very long, cause the slavers tend t¡¯ hunt ¡®em down, an¡¯ t¡¯ drive ¡®em out¡­ so, best to keep that a secret between ourselves for now.¡±


    I told him at once that I wouldn¡¯t betray his secret, and that I would wish him nothing but the best from here, and that I would be hoping that he could find a new life for himself, out over the lake beyond.


    He seemed to be gladdened by my words¡­ and the two of us stood in a warm, and friendly silence for a minute or two, before we each decided that it was time, and that we shouldn¡¯t linger out in these plains for that much longer.


    ¡°If we are parting ways here, and if you are going out towards the East¡­ then, am I right to make the rather naive assumption that Westfall lays out towards the West?¡±


    ¡°Aye,¡± he said, with a grin, ¡°that¡¯s how it is, indeed ¨C no special sort o¡¯ trick there. There¡¯s a big forest that ya can see right over there, just a little ways off in the distance. It¡¯s as safe as the rest o'' Westfall, though it''s a little quiet, an'' a little strange. There¡¯s some odd hermits livin¡¯ out there, I hear, who are the source o'' many a frightenin'' tale among the townsfolk... but I always thought those sorts o¡¯ folks were interestin¡¯ t¡¯ be around, if ye get the chance to meet ¡®em - an'' the rulers o'' Westfall certainly wouldn''t leave ''em around if they actually did the folk any harm. Anyway, just on the other side o¡¯ the forest, you¡¯ll see a big, stone wall, with a huge, wooden gate right in its center¡­ and that¡¯s Westfall. From there, I¡¯m sure that ya can find yer way just fine.¡±


    The two of us stood there for a few moments more, as each of us hesitated to be back on our own quite so soon. But eventually, once each of us felt that the time was right, we embraced each other, and said our goodbyes.


    He promised that he¡¯d try to visit me once he had been freed... and I promised that I¡¯d try to find him out there some day, on the other side of that deep, and beautiful lake.


    And then, just like that, I was alone again, as I began to make my way towards the forest that he had gestured to before.


    For a moment, all that I really felt was a sense of warmth, and of gratitude, as I thought about how much Torver had risked for me by lingering out here where the slavers were, and delaying his own escape just in order to help me to make my own way towards safety.


    And I felt strongly that I really would cross that lake, someday, and see him once again¡­ even if for now, I couldn¡¯t know just when that would be, or all that might be waiting for me until then.


    But for the present, all that I could do was to turn my mind back towards more immediate things, and to prepare myself a bit more for the road ahead.


    And so, after everything that had happened to me in this world so far¡­ it seemed that it was finally time for me to make my way in towards town - and to begin to see just what this world was like, exactly... and just what sorts of people called this place their home.

 Chapter 11: Runaways

    In front of me was a large forest, which seemed to stretch out quite a ways into the distance.


    On the other side of the forest was the town of Westfall, which was my present destination.


    In my travels through this world so far, I¡¯d really only had one goal in mind: to survive long enough to make my way into town, and then to figure things out from there. But as I stepped my way into the lush and vibrant forest, and realized just how close that goal was to completion - and how safe I already was now that I was in these woods so near to town- I began to really think about just what it was that I wanted to do next, and how I wanted to proceed.


    I had been a prisoner for so long that I hadn¡¯t really thought about my future in quite some time.


    And that¡¯s why it was so strange for me to realize just how open life was for me now that I¡¯d been freed.


    I hadn¡¯t thought of that much when I¡¯d first gotten here, and I¡¯d tried just to keep my goals as simple as I could. But now,I felt myself suddenly thrust into the great ocean of life, without really having any sort of purpose or direction.


    Later on, I¡¯m sure that thought would scare me.


    But right now, it felt absolutely exhilarating.


    As I walked, images kept flashing through my mind of all of the different sorts of things that I could do with my life... and my reveries right then were really only interrupted at all by the array of wondrous new sights that were springing out from all around me.


    There were all sorts of different kinds of creatures out here, and all sorts of different kinds of plants and trees as well, many of which were unlike anything that I had ever seen before in my life.


    Every few minutes, I would stop to examine some strange and wondrousnew thing, like the huge brightly colored butterflies that flew high up into the canopy, or the beautiful trees with silver-colored leaves that rose up towards the clouds.


    But while the forest was bustling with life, there wasn¡¯t much sign of any other living human beings out here. All that I had really seen on my walk so far were afew humble wooden houses scattered here and there, which likely belonged to some of the hermits that Torver had mentioned before.


    Most of them I had just passed by in silence, trying not to disturb the residents.


    But one of the houses had really drawn my gaze, and I had found myself standing there and looking at it almost in spite of myself.


    It had been constructed so that the back half of the house filled up the insides of a small cave, while the front half stood beneath the cover of several huge willow trees that were growing overhead. The house itself had all of the beauty and the elegance of nature in its design, and it almost looked as if it had sprung directly out of the fertile soil of the earth.


    At the front of the house, there was a large wooden door, and on that door there was an engraving of what appeared to be a staff. There didn¡¯t seem to be any sort of movement coming from inside of the house, and it looked as if it might have been abandoned for quite some time. Still, there was something strangely beautiful and inviting about the place. It was just the kind of home that I would have loved to live in someday, and I spent a few moments admiring the beautiful view.


    I had just left that home behind about ten minutes before, when I at last made out my first sign of human life in these vibrant yet quiet woods. In front of me, I saw what looked like two small children just a little ways off in the distance, towards the bottom of a small ravine. They were both wearing robes, and their backs were turned towards me, so I couldn¡¯t actually be sure of what their ages were. But I could see that one of them was sitting down on the ground below, while the other was kneeling at their side.


    I was a little afraid of the sight at first, after some of the experiences that I''d had in this world so far. But as I remembered what Torver had told me about the area around Westfall, I decided that there wasn''t any reason to be afraid, and that it should be fine for me to keep walking on ahead.


    As Itook a few steps closer, I could begin to tell that the two of them were whispering to one another. I thought that I could also just barely make out that the one sitting on the forest floor was softly crying, in what sounded like a young, feminine voice. It seemed like she was in a state of profound distress ¨C a mixture of anguish and of terror ¨C and it seemed as if the one kneeling by her side was trying to help to console her, but was unable to do so.


    I didn¡¯t know if I should interfere right then, or if maybe if it would be better to keep moving on ahead. There was a good chance that this was just something between the two of them, and that I wouldn¡¯t really be able to do anything much to help. Besides, I certainly remembered being a kid myself, and crying a lot when I was alone. Back then, I never really wanted anyone to find me¡­ and I didn''t want to intrude on that sort of thing, if I didn''t have to - or to get too involved in their own affairs.


    I had almost resolved to just leave the two of them alone right then, when I began to get the sense that something might really be wrong with them. The one sitting on the ground kept running her hands along her right leg, and the one kneeling at her side seemed to be rubbing the same spot on her leg as well. It looked like the one on the ground might be hurt, and that the other one might not know what to do to help, or how to proceed.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    If that was the case, then they might actually need my assistanceto help to carry her back towards town.


    If I¡¯m being completely honest, I kind of didn¡¯t want to get too tangled up in all of this.


    But at the same time, I also didn''t want to leave a kid out here in pain without seeing if there was anything that I could do.


    I knew that getting brought out to this world was really something of a miracle for me... and I didn''t want to start off my life in this new place being so suspicious, and so cold.


    I wanted to make something better of myself, if I could - and this really did seem like the right place for me to start.


    And so, I decided that I would approach them, as I began to think about what I would say.


    I didn¡¯t want to call out just yet, because their whispering suggested that maybe they didn¡¯t want to be found. But once I had gotten close enough that I could speak quite softly and still be heard, I faced towards the two of them, and asked if they were alright, and if they needed any help.


    Before I could finish my words, the one who had been kneeling had spun around, and stood to face me.


    He was a human boy of about ten years of age, wearing a thick dark robe that looked a little too large for his slender body.


    And in his right hand, he was holding a small, metal sword.


    He was gripping the handle very tightly, as if he expected that he might have to fight me at any moment - and his whole body was tense and alert, and his face seemed to display an awful combination of sorrow, terror and rage.


    ¡°We¡¯re fine,¡± the boy said, trembling. ¡°We don¡¯t need anything.¡±


    It was clear that he wanted me to leave as soon as possible.


    Meanwhile, the seated figure had turned their head around to look at me. It turned out that they were a young girl of about nine years of age, with deep green eyes, short black hair, and a sweet, gentle face. She would almost have passed for human, actually, if it weren¡¯t for two dog-like ears on the top of her head, that were just sticking out from beneath the hood of her large, black robe.


    In any sort of ordinary encounter, I¡¯m sure that this girl would have been very charming. But right now, she looked so profoundly sad and afraid, and her whole face was so soaked and stained with tears, that there wasn¡¯t any charm at all in seeing her. The whole sight just left me feeling sad, and upset, and something about it reminded me way too much of the suffering that I had seen and lived through before - and it brought all of the painful memories of my own childhood rushing back up to the surface.


    As the young girl took me in, and noticed the blade that I was wielding, her eyes widened, and her features seemed to become even more afraid. She seemed to be almost considering standing up and trying to run, hobbled leg and all, and I think that she probably would have tried that if I had gotten that much closer.


    Looking out at the two of them, I really didn¡¯t know what to do.


    Something was clearly really, really wrong. But¡­ without knowing what was going on, I doubted that I could really help.


    And it certainly didn¡¯t seem as if either of them wanted to tell me what they were up to.


    Besides, it honestly seemed like the two of them might try to attack me, or else hurt themselves in trying to get away¡­ and I didn¡¯t want either of those things to happen, either.


    I had almost decided that I would just put up my hands, apologize, and walk away...


    But then, as I really took in the sight of the robes that they were wearing, I started to notice something.


    Those robes looked a lot like the robe that Torver had been wearing a little whiles before.


    And that meant that I might know what to say - or how to start to work through all of this.


    ¡°Are¡­ are the two of you slaves,¡± I asked.


    At once, the girl¡¯s eyes went wide with terror. She dug her hands into the ground, and looked ready to force her body up into the air. Meanwhile, the boy started to raise his blade into a combat position, his whole body trembling more intensely.


    Damnit, I thought.


    It felt like this whole situation was starting to get more and more out of hand.


    But at the same time, I wasn''t ready to give up just yet - and especially not after a slave had just put his own life in so much danger in order to help me to survive.


    As calmly as I could, I placed my sword down onto the ground at my side, and pushed it a little bit behind me with my right foot.


    I would still have more than enough time to step back and to grab my blade up off of the ground if I needed to defend myself. But I really didn¡¯t want to have to do that, and I felt pretty certain that they would only attack me if they thought that I was about to hurt them.


    ¡°Please, wait a moment,¡± I said somewhat breathlessly. ¡°I don¡¯t want to hurt you, and I¡¯m not trying to take you back. I want to help the two of you, I promise."


    I turned to face the boy.


    ¡°It looks like your friend is hurt right now. Is she able to walk?¡±


    The girl¡¯s face had an expression of deep, and helpless sadness. The boy looked like he was on the verge of crying too, and could only manage to shake his head to the side.


    ¡°Alright. Well¡­ is she too heavy for you to carry?¡±


    The boy nodded.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ yeah, she is.¡±


    His voice was much softer now, and much more sweet.


    I wanted to take care of this situation as quickly as possible. I didn¡¯t know what the hell I would do if anyone happened to find us out here, although I''d had a few ideas. But, at any rate ¨C I didn¡¯t want it to have to come to that.


    I knelt down, and tried to do my best to make myself look as trustworthy as I could.


    ¡°I know that neither of you really have any reason to trust me right now. You don¡¯t know anything about me, and you don¡¯t know what kind of person I am. But, honestly ¨C I don¡¯t want to hurt either of you at all. I want to help you.¡±


    ¡°If you ask me to leave, I¡¯ll leave. But¡­ if I leave, and if you can¡¯t get her to safety, then someone is probably going to find you after me. And that person may not even say that they want to help you to escape, you know? I know that just saying that I want to help you isn¡¯t a lot... but at least it¡¯s something. The next person might not even do that.¡±


    ¡°So - what do you want me to do right now? If the two of you ask me to leave, then I¡¯ll leave at once. But I¡¯d also be glad to help you if I could. I think that I could at least manage to carry her to somewhere that isn¡¯t so out in the open, if you would let me.¡±


    The two of them clearly didn¡¯t know what to do right then. But, it seemed like my words had at least managed to have some effect on the young girl. She had nodded her head a little while I had been speaking, and after I had finished, she had leaned in towards the boy, and started to whisper into his ear. Once she was done, the young boy seemed to relax a bit, as he lowered his sword down to his side.


    ¡°Okay¡­ you can come closer. But¡­ well, if you try to hurt us, or to grab us, or anything, then we¡¯re going to have to fight you¡­ okay?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Okay," I said.


    The young boy nodded in return, and stepped off to the side, in order to let me get closer to the girl.


    I was glad that that was done, at least.


    But now¡­


    ¡­ I needed to figure out what to do next¡­ and how I was going to manage to get the two of them to safety.

 Chapter 12: A Home

    The girl was looking up at me with her gentle, green eyes. She still looked very sad, but she had at least cheered up enough that she was no longer crying. Slowly, she wiped the wet tears away from her face and eyes, as she tried her best to be strong, and not to show the way that she was feeling.


    I knelt down, and looked into her eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to pick you up now, so that you can grab onto my back. Okay? After that, I can help you to get to some place safe.¡±


    She nodded, and just barely managed to give me a warm, and a friendly smile.


    ¡°Okay,¡± she said.


    I began to lift the girl up, being as careful as I possibly could not to place any weight onto her leg. I felt her grab my shoulders as I raised her up, and as she clung onto me as tightly as she could. Then, I stood up again, and looked down towards the boy who was standing at my side.


    ¡°Alright,¡± I said. ¡°Where were the two of you headed towards?¡±


    I tried to sound as confident as I could. But in truth, I really hoped that this young boy had some sort of a destination in mind. Because if he didn¡¯t, then I wasn¡¯t really sure of where it would be best to take them.


    ¡°Well¡­,¡± the boy said. ¡°There was supposed to be a house in these woods. That¡¯s where we were headed to.¡±


    ¡°What kind of a house,¡± I asked.


    ¡°The owner said it¡­ that it¡¯s partially hidden in a cave, somewhere,¡± the boy said. ¡°And that it has an engraving of a staff on the door¡­¡±


    A wave of both relief and excitement washed over me as soon as I had heard those words.


    ¡°I saw that house on my way here,¡± I said, trying to seem as calm as I could. ¡°It¡¯s about ten minutes back that way. If we move quickly, we can probably get there in about half of the time.¡±


    The boy¡¯s face lit up with a pure, and excited joy, as the girl squeezed me tightly around my shoulders.


    ¡°Okay,¡± he said, ¡°let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°Alright. Grab my sword up off of the ground, and then we¡¯ll go as quickly as we can.¡±


    He picked up the blade, struggling with its weight at first before managing to get a decent hold on it, before turning back towards me. I looked out through the woods, trying to remember exactly which direction I had come from. Then, once I had gotten my bearings, I began to move ahead, almost running as I cut my way through the quiet forest.


    A few minutes later, we each saw the house with the engraving of the staff on the door. As we made our approach, the young boy rummaged through a pocket of a belt that he wore beneath his robe. He seemed to be having trouble getting inside of the pocket with his trembling hands, but he eventually managed to pull out a small, black metal key, and slipped it inside of the large wooden door. Then, he turned the key as quickly as he could, until a satisfying ¡°click¡± rang out through the empty woods. Afterwards, he shoved the door open, dashed inside, and looked back towards me. I made my way in after him, and then the young boy closed the door behind me, and used the small black key to lock the home once more.


    We had made it inside.


    The boy and I worked together to carefully lower the young girl down onto the floor. Once she had been safely set down, the young boy rushed towards her and wrapped his arms around her neck, as they whispered to one another with great excitement. The whole time, warm tears were falling softly from their eyes, as they embraced one another in their arms, and expressed their joy at finally having made it to safety.


    I stood a little ways off to the side, trying not to intrude too much on what must have been a deeply happy conclusion to a very long, and frightening journey.


    About a minute and a half later, the young boy stood back up, and the three of us began to look around at the home that we had just stepped into.


    The house that we were in had three rooms. At the back of the house was a kitchen and a small bathroom, while the room that we were currently standing in was a kind of dual living room and bedroom, with a great variety of different furniture, belongings, and decorations.


    There was a little bed with white crumpled sheets in the back-right corner, and a few bookshelves that were full of beautifully bound tomes, and a small wooden chair for reading.


    Additionally, in the corners, there was what appeared to be a large globe of the world, and a dresser stuffed full of clothes, and a little desk which was covered in half-finished sketches and drawings.


    The walls were decorated with a variety of tapestries and paintings as well, some of which were so large that they covered nearly an entire half of the wall¡­ and the paintings, in particular, were truly extraordinary. There was a painting of the night sky reflecting on the surface of a deep and beautiful ocean, and a painting of a huge, wondrous city that was ringed with a wall of gold, and a painting of the hills and the valleys that I had left behind just a little while before, which somehow managed to not only capture the charms of that lovely place, but even to add to its beauty, and its splendor.


    I stood for a while and contemplated each of the paintings in turn, letting myself soak in the beautiful sights that they depicted, while I wondered to myself if each of them was an image of some part of this new world, and if I would be able to go someday and to visit each of those places in person, and to see each of those things for myself.


    While I stood and examined the fine artwork, the young boy had moved over towards a row of bookshelves, as he started to search through each of the bottom shelves with a great degree of purpose and direction. A few moments later, he came walking back towards us with a large, green tome, which bore the extraordinarily boring title, ¡°An Unabridged History Of The Bloodless War: Volume Nine.¡±


    Before I had the chance to ask any sort of question, or to make any sort of joke at his taste in literature, the young boy opened up the tome, and faced the book down towards the floor. Then, he slowly flipped through each of the pages.


    A few moments later, a small wooden whistle fell out of the book, and onto the ground below.


    The boy picked up the whistle, and placed it into his mouth.


    Then, he blew as hard as he could.


    There wasn¡¯t any sort of sound, and nothing appeared to happen.


    Undeterred, the boy walked over to the center of the room, knelt down against the floor, and placed both of his hands onto the ground. He held his hands there for about ten seconds, as the girl and I looked on to see what was about to occur.


    Then, there was a low, heavy rumbling sound, as a large square portion of the floor slowly lifted up into the air at a sharp angle. Beneath the now-raised wooden panel, there was a small, narrow hole, with a ladder that led into the space below.


    And then, I just stood there - unable to form any sort of coherent thought, or sentence.


    ¡°It¡¯s a secret compartment,¡± the boy said, trying to seem like he wasn¡¯t just as amazed as the rest of us were. ¡°It¡¯s for hiding slaves. The owner told me about it when he gave me the key. If we ever need to hide, we can hide in there.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± I said.


    That wasn¡¯t exactly the most insightful thing that I could have said. But what else was I going to say, really?


    I had already known that there was magic in this world. But it was one thing to know that it existed, and another thing entirely to actually see it at work in front of you. It really was amazing, and I just stared at the open panel in silence for quite some time.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    The girl seemed to be a little more familiar with the workings of magic than I was. But she also seemed to be very curious to see what was down inside of the compartment. So, I gently picked her up, and carried her right up to the edge of the opening, as the three of us all looked down together to see what was inside.


    Down in the hole below, there was a large, square room, which was full of beds, lamps, leather jugs of water, and other miscellaneous supplies. There were even some extra pieces of weapons and of armor in a large wooden crate, and I made a note to myself to look through the armor later to see if I could find any sort of good, strong helmet to go with the rest of my suit of leather, if that would be okay.


    For now though, there didn¡¯t seem to be anything that the three of us needed right away. So, each of us leaned back from the concealed compartment, and began to sit in a little circle around the floor.


    ¡°This is an amazing house,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± the young boy said. ¡°The man who owns it is a mage, I think. That¡¯s why it has this sort of magic in it.¡±


    ¡°The owner of this house¡­ who is he, exactly?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s one of the people who helped us to escape,¡± the girl said, softly.


    ¡°The two of us were slaves on a farm that¡¯s owned by the City of the Red Tower,¡± the young boy said, continuing for the quiet girl. ¡°The owner of this house was part of a group that broke us all out, called the Free Folk. They were going to escort a couple of hundred of us, and to take us all to safety. But, well¡­ some of the soldiers from the city started to attack, and then everyone started to fight. After that¡­ the owner gave us the key to his home, and told us where to go, and what to do. Then he started to¡­ cast a spell, I think ¨C maybe to protect us. I didn¡¯t see what happened to him after that.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ well, then the two of us just started to run. We¡¯ve been running for the last two days. We don¡¯t know what happened to any of the people who were trying to rescue us, or to any of the other slaves.¡±


    ¡°I think that I may have met one of the other runaways,¡± I said. ¡°A short, stocky man by the name of Torver. He was headed off towards the East, and was going to head out over the Great Lake. He seemed to be doing very well, and he helped to escort me up to the edge of the forest.¡±


    As I told them a little about what had happened before, the faces of both of the children seemed to light up with a deep sense of gladness.


    ¡°We know Torver,¡± the young girl said softly. ¡°He worked on the same farm that we did. He was a really good person, and he was especially kind to each of the kids. I¡¯m glad that he¡¯s okay.¡±


    The young boy only nodded, but he seemed to feel the same.


    Then, there was a heavy silence in the air. All of us seemed to know what we needed to talk about next, but none of us really wanted to raise the issue. Eventually, I figured that I should just take the lead, and let everything play out from there.


    ¡°So¡­ what are the two of you going to do now? Is the owner of the house going to come back here to meet up with you, or is the rest of the group going to come to try and help you?¡±


    ¡°I think that the owner is the only one of them who knows that we¡¯re here,¡± the boy said. ¡°It was really chaotic when all of the fighting broke out, and he ran over towards us, and helped us himself. He told us that he would try to get here before we did, and that he was only giving us his key in case he ran into trouble. But¡­ well, he isn¡¯t here, yet, so¡­ I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s happened to him, or where he could be.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± I said. ¡°For now, though¡­ I guess that the two of you will want to stay here, and to wait for him to return?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± the boy said. ¡°That¡¯s what we should do, I think. But¡­ if he doesn¡¯t come back in a couple of days, then¡­ I guess that we can think about what to do after that.¡±


    The young girl seemed to understand, too, and to agree with what the boy was saying.


    Honestly¡­ I was glad that they both understood that the owner of this house might not be coming back. I hadn¡¯t wanted to bring up that possibility on my own¡­ so, it was good that they had figured it out for themselves, and that they understood the whole gravity of the situation.


    I was actually pretty surprised by just how mature and serious each of them were, and how much they seemed to understand at their young age. They reminded me a lot of some of the kids that I had met when I was homeless, and that made me a little sad, because I knew what that implied about their pasts.


    But, still¡­ it was good to know that I could speak openly with the two of them, and that I could treat them as my equals. That would make the rest of this conversation a lot easier than it would have been otherwise.


    Still, it was hard to really know what to say or to do next right then - and for a moment, the three of us just kind of sat together in a very awkward silence.


    Then... the young girl reached her hand over, and took me by the sleeve.


    "It''s really scary here," she said, very softly and quietly. "Will you stay here with us... for a few days, at least?"


    It was clear that it had taken every ounce of courage that she had to make that request... and she didn''t have the strength right then to look me in the eye, as warm tears began to run down her cheeks.


    The boy was averting his eyes from me right then. But I had the sense that he felt about the same way that she did.


    I didn''t honestly know what to do... but, I knew that I had to say something in reply.


    And then, I just took a deep breath, as I said something that I knew I might regret.


    "... alright. I''ll stay here with the two of you, until the owner returns. Or, if he doesn''t... then, if that happens, I''ll try to help the two of you to figure out what to do from here - and how to make your way to freedom."


    Honestly¡­


    A part of me already really wished that I hadn¡¯t said that.


    Every part of this situation felt like it could go really, really badly, and I wasn¡¯t sure that I wanted to get wrapped up in it at all.


    Plus, I had just gotten out of jail, and I¡¯d just been given the chance to start up a new life for myself. I wasn¡¯t really sure that I wanted to take in a pair of kids just like that, or to start to make commitments that it would be pretty hard for me to back out of, and that might lead me into a lot of trouble down the road.


    But, on the other hand¡­ well.


    There was just no way that I was going to stand up, walk out the door, and leave them to themselves, with no idea of whether or not they were going to live or to die.


    And even though this isn''t at all how I''d envisioned my new life in this world going, I knew that I wanted to change from the way that I''d been before - and something in me said that this was really a chance to do so, even if it seemed terrifying to me at first.


    So, for now¡­ I accepted her request, and promised to watch over them.


    Hopefully, the owner would return, and everything would be fine.


    But, if he didn¡¯t¡­ well.


    Then, I would just trust in my own instincts, and figure out what to do from there.


    But even though I still felt pretty scared, it was also really nice when the two of them thanked me for offering to help, and encouraged me to stay with them for as long as I wanted with as much eagerness as they did. After spending so many years in that cold, and unpleasant prison, it felt really good to hear the two of them so honestly express their desire to stay with me with such warmth, and kindness.


    That feeling ¨C of being liked, and wanted ¨C was something that I hadn¡¯t felt in a long, long time¡­ and something that I hadn¡¯t felt much of in all of my life, if I was being honest.


    And even though I still had a lot of reservations, that at least helped to make me feel a little more certain that I had made the right choice, and that staying with these kids was the best thing to do for now.


    Then, as we began to talk a little, gathered around in that same circle on the floor, the two of them introduced themselves, and told me a bit about their lives.


    He was Aaron, and she was Lily, and it seemed as if they had been slaves for the last three or four years, ever since they had been left as orphans in a small war that had taken place several years back. They hadn¡¯t known each other growing up, but it seemed like they were almost like family to each other now, as they helped to shield one another from the harshness and the rigors of their lives on the farm.


    It was obvious how much they cared for one another... and as the two of them became a little more comfortable around me, Lily began to rest her head on Aaron¡¯s shoulder, while he gently ran his fingers through her hair, and scratched her behind the ears.


    After the three of us had talked for some time, it became apparent that the two of them were completely exhausted. It seemed as if they hadn¡¯t slept at all for the whole time that they¡¯d been on the run, which meant that it must have been at least forty-eight hours now since either of them had gotten a bit of rest. The sheer excitement of the whole situation had probably made them animated at first, and made them eager to talk with me. But, now that we were all starting to settle down, the two of them could hardly keep their eyes open, and both looked ready to take a nice, long nap.


    So, Aaron and I brought out a few of the beds from the secret compartment, and helped to carry Lily over to the nice, warm bed that was already in the room. Once that was taken care of, we made a quick search of the supplies that were scattered throughout the house. It seemed that there wasn¡¯t actually any food in any of the rooms, which meant that it would be a top priority for me to go and to pick up some meat and vegetables from the town. Aaron apparently had managed to grab a few coins before he had made his escape, so he offered those up to me in exchange for the food.


    Ordinarily, I would have refused the offer, and paid for the supplies myself. But since I didn¡¯t have any money of my own ¨C and since it would have been a lot of trouble to have explained why that was ¨C I simply took the change, and promised to use all of it to buy some food. Then, the two of them laid down on the freshly made beds, and began to close their eyes.


    Once I had seen them off to bed, I took the small, black metal key that Aaron had given me, and made my way out through the door, locking it behind me as I went.


    Making my way through the bright, quiet woods, I thought about everything that had just happened, and about where I was going to go from here. I didn¡¯t really know what I was going to do if the owner of the house didn¡¯t return, or how I would end up trying to take care of the two kids. But¡­ walking through that peaceful, and beautiful forest, and thinking about how much my life had changed for the better just in these last twelve hours, I at least had a kind of faint sense that everything was going to be okay, even if I couldn¡¯t say exactly how just yet.


    After a little while, though, I ceased to think about those things, and began to prepare for the journey ahead.


    For now¡­ it was finally time to make my way into the town of Westfall.

 Chapter 13: Westfall

    The first thing that I heard was the sound of hundreds and hundreds of voices ringing out all at once.


    The next thing that I heard was a single loud voice yelling, ¡°open the gate, open the gate!¡±


    After that, I heard what sounded like an enormous, wooden door slowly creaking open.


    A few moments later, I stepped out of the quiet forest, and looked around.


    In front of me was a huge stone wall stretching out in a circle along a flat, green plain. A ways up and to my right, there was a single large wooden gate, that appeared to be the only entrance into the city. The gate was slowly being pulled open by large, black metal chains, as the gatekeepers made room for a huge wooden carriage to roll its way into the town. Then, once the carriage had passed through, the gate began to close back up again, leaving just a little bit of an opening for the townsfolk to pass through.


    There were a few human beings among the throngs of people swarming in and out of the gates. But mostly, the people here were ¡°humanoid,¡± rather than strictly human. There were people with dog ears like Lily, and people with cat ears instead, and tall bipedal lizard-folk with big green tails, and people with human-like bodies and the heads of owls, and tiny people about 50cm high, and many, many other races besides.


    As I watched them stream in and out of the gate, I noticed that none of them seemed to be showing any sort of passport, or providing any payment to the guards who stood watch over the town. So I figured that I could probably just walk in as well, without that causing any sort of trouble.


    As I arrived at the open gate, a lizard girl who looked to be about my age waved out to me, and greeted me.


    ¡°Ho there, traveler! What¡¯s your name, stranger, and what business do you have the town of Westfall?¡±


    I hadn¡¯t expected that.


    I must look a lot more lost than I had realized.


    At any rate, if this town really is as safe as Torver said it was, and if he recommended it for beginners, then there''s probably no reason for me to lie.


    ¡°My name is William, and I¡¯m a traveler. I¡¯m here to - travel," I added needlessly, before I realized that there was no reason at all to say that.


    Damnit,I thought.It''s been too long since I''ve had to really talk with too many people.


    Fortunately, the guardswoman didn¡¯t seem to mind at all. She only smiled a little, clearly amused by my answer.


    ¡°Well, welcome to Westfall then, ¡®traveler.¡¯ If you need a place to stay, there¡¯s a few inns just a little that way,¡± she said, pointing to a corner of the town. ¡°There are also some guides who can show you around the city, who are stationed right in front of the bell tower. The guide service is free, so please, help yourself. And, welcome to the town of Westfall!¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much,¡± I said, giving a low bow. The guardswoman seemed a little surprised by my gesture, but not at all offended. She gave me a warm smile, and bowed her head to me in return.


    As I made my way through the entrance, I just let my eyes take in the whole town that was spread out in front of me, as I tried to familiarize myself with this new world.


    The streets were filled with what must have been thousands of people, and all of them seemed to be walking briskly, each one rushing through the streets to their destination. In the center of the town, a huge bell-tower loomed over a large marketplace, and I could just barely make out some sort of large hammering device that was about to strike against the bell. A few moments later, the sound of the bell rung out through the whole town, and echoed out into the plains beyond. There was another strike of the bell after that, and then the mechanism ceased, and the tower fell silent. It seemed that it was now ¡°two" here, whatever that might happen to mean, and I was sure that was part of why everyone had been in such a hurry.


    A little after the second strike of the bell, the throngs of people started to thin out, and the crowds began to diminish considerably. It seemed that seemed that now that it was ¡°two,¡± most people had made their way to their destination, and no longer had to run to and fro.


    Because of how different many of the races were from my own, it was hard to figure out how old a lot of these people were. But it seemed to me that most of the people here were quite young, being just a few years older or younger than myself. That fact, combined with the way that everyone had rushed to a new place right when the clock was about to strike ¡°two,¡± gave me the distinct impression that Westfall was something like a college town, filled with many people who were rushing off to their next class or lesson.


    Before I could carry out those speculations any further, however, I was interrupted by someone shouting for me to ¡°get out of the way,¡± as the huge wagon from before began to rush back towards the gate. It seemed to have dropped off whatever supplies it was carrying ¨C quite rapidly, it seemed ¨C and was now headed back outside. I quickly darted off to the side, then ¨C once it had passed ¨C made my way back onto the large, stone-cobbled road that I had been standing on before.


    It was difficult to make out all of the town¡¯s architecture from where I was situated. But, the basic design appeared to be something like this.


    The whole town was ringed by a large, circular stone wall, with a single wooden gate that opened up onto a largely empty plot of grassland that stood right between the town and the quiet forest.


    The wall was thick enough that a human being could walk comfortably on top of it, and a few guardsmen were patrolling along the tops of the wall right now, using some sort of device which they carried in their hands to look out into the distance. Each one of them seemed to also have a small horn attached to their belts, in order to alert each other of any sort of approaching danger, and there were also a number of what seemed to be ¡°alarm¡± systems ¨C large metal gongs with sticks to beat them ¨C positioned at various points along the top of the wall.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    The people patrolling the walls seemed to mostly just be idling around though, and quite a few of them were laughing, and chatting, and playing at cards. That meant that there probably hadn¡¯t been any sort of danger or threat to the city in quite some time, which was good to know. Still, judging from the walls and the guardsmen posted all around, it was clear that the city was designed for war, and that the whole town would be ready to defend itself if the situation ever happened to arise.


    Inside the town itself, there was a single large street that ran from the opened wooden gate all the way through to the other side of the town, like a diameter cutting its way through the center of a circle. That diameter-like street was quite wide, big enough that at least two of those large wagons could have squeezed through side-by-side, if they had needed to. Large, important looking buildings were lined up in rows on either side of the large street, each of which faced out onto the busy road. The large buildings all had wooden signs in front of them with pictures engraved on their surface, and those pictures seemed to signify what each building was for.


    To my left, there was a building with a sign of many armored soldiers lined up in a battle formation (which was probably a sign for a soldier¡¯s barracks, judging by the people standing outside), and to my right, there was a building with a sign of a single wooden bow (which many of the younger people ¨C and especially the girls and boys with cat ears ¨C had just been streaming in and out of). But there were dozens of these different buildings, each with their own peculiar sign, and it seemed to be these buildings that almost everyone was either coming from, or going to.


    In the very center of the large main thoroughfare, there was the bell tower that I had mentioned before, and a huge, central marketplace that stood below, with many different kinds of stalls. Behind the marketplace, along the other end of the big main road, there weren¡¯t as many of the large, important-looking buildings, but there were instead many different open spaces, which seemed to be used as training grounds. I thought that I could just make out a few armored figures striking cloth-covered mannequins in a grassy field, and archers firing at rows of targets with their bows. But I was far enough away that it was difficult to make out anything all that clearly.


    This town is huge, I thought.


    I hadn¡¯t even seen any sort of housing yet. But I did notice that there were many small alleyways which branched off of the main road, then snaked and wound their way behind the large rows of buildings to my left and right, before vanishing behind the big buildings that concealed the rest of their path. I imagined that if you went down those alleyways, you would make your way out into the housing and residential districts, and probably also out to the inns, pubs, and restaurants, none of which I saw along the main thoroughfare.


    I wanted to explore as much of Westfall as I could, if I had the time. But for now, I made my way further down the large central street, trying my best not to bump into anyone, or to stare at any of the more fantastic races, as I approached the market place at the center of the town.


    While the main thoroughfare had thinned out quite a bit after the bell had rung, the market square seemed to be just about as crowded as it had been before. The stalls were arranged in four rings of concentric circles, with the bell tower at their center. Most of the merchants in each of the different stalls were chatting with their customers, and it seemed like many of the people here knew one another, and were good friends. It gave the whole place a nice feeling to it, and there was a kind of warmth and amiability that seemed to run all throughout the town.


    As I stepped closer towards the center of the market, I could now also make out what seemed to be a very large bulletin board just in front of the bell tower. There were a few people in armor standing there, and I saw one of them take down a notice from the board, then carry it over to a large wooden building just off to the side, and step in through the door. Even as someone who had almost never played a single fantasy game in his life, or even read all that many novels, I still got the strong impression that this was a board filled with quests for adventurers. So, I decided to come back and to examine the board a little later, once I had gone through and looked at each of the stalls.


    The stalls themselves were filled with all sorts of different goods and treasures, ranging from very mundane things like socks and shirts, to truly extraordinary objects like magical suits of armor, and large marble statues. But just about anything that you could think of to name, you could find here ¨C clothes, food, weapons, armor, paintings, furniture, books, and even beautifully hand-crafted toys. One stall in particular had some especially lovely miniature toy houses, villages, and creatures, each painted with extraordinary care and attention to detail. Idly, I wondered for just a moment if each of the children might happen to enjoy those sorts of things... but then, I snapped my attention back to the present, as I continued to focus on the task at hand.


    There were quite a few beautiful and useful objects here. Butfor now, with my limited funds and the total lack of food back at the house ¨C not to mention the way that I had acquired that money in the first place - there was really only one thing that I could spend my coins on. So, I made my way towards the outer ring of stalls, where most of the food-merchants seemed to be, and took a look at what was available.


    When I had first made my way into the town of Westfall, I had been worried that picking out the right sorts of food would be a pretty difficult and challenging task. But fortunately, there really didn¡¯t seem to be any sort of problem at all. Each merchant just stocked the sorts of food that his own race happened to like, and just from glancing at the stalls for a few moments, it was clear that there was a lot of cross-over between each of the different races.


    I did notice that the dog-eared race seemed to stock almost nothing but meat, so I decided that I should pick up as much of that as I could for Lily, and then maybe also some vegetables and tubers to go along with the meat for myself and Aaron. I didn¡¯t recognize most of the food, but really, meat was just meat, so I grabbed some of the pieces that smelled especially delicious, and then asked some of the merchants of my own race about what other foods would go along well with the meat that I had chosen. They were happy to help, and after a little while, I¡¯d paid for all of the food, and had a wooden box filled with enough supplies to last us for at least three or four days.


    Still¡­


    If the owner of the house didn¡¯t return, then our limited funds probably wouldn¡¯t be able to get us more than about a weeks¡¯ worth of food. After that, we¡¯d be on our own.


    And, even if he did return, I¡¯d still need to find a way to buy food for myself after that, and probably also a way to rent some sort of room, or to at least buy some materials for setting up a camp out in the woods, and some utensils.


    In either event, I was going to need to find a way to make some money, preferably within the next couple of days.


    Of course, I hadn¡¯t figured out just yet how I was going to do that. But so, far everything seemed to have been working out pretty well - and the whole pleasant and cheerful atmosphere of the town had really elevated my mood, and made me a lot more cheerful and relaxed. And so, with a lot of optimism, and with my mind running through many different sorts of possibilities and adventures, I began to make my way over towards the notice board, curious to see just what sort of quests and experiences might be available in this strange and beautiful new town.

 Chapter 14: Academies and Guilds

    I had said before that I hadn¡¯t quite figured out what I wanted to do for a career. But, while that was certainly the truth, it was also true that at that moment, I really did want to try my hand at becoming an adventurer.


    Ever since I had first practiced my skill with a sword out in that beautiful grassy meadow, I hadn¡¯t been able to shake the thought of going out searching for treasures, and fighting against powerful foes, while I sought to explore all that this world had to offer.


    Of course, I would have been a lot more wary of becoming an adventurer if I had thought that it was an especially dangerous profession. After finally managing to win my freedom and to escape from my jail, the last thing that I wanted to do was to go off and to get myself killed, chasing after some sort of fame or fortune. Wealth and glory both had a certain appeal to them, but I didn¡¯t think that either of them were worth much at all if you had to die just in order to acquire them.


    Besides, I was about the furthest thing from a hero that you could imagine, so the thought of sacrificing my life for a noble cause didn¡¯t appeal to me that much at all. The way that I saw it, death was death, and that was something that you wanted to try to avoid as best as you could ¨C and it didn¡¯t matter all that much if that death was a noble one, or an ignoble one, all things considered. So, if I had thought that adventuring was a one-way ticket to the grave, I doubt that I would have even considered it for a second as any sort of career.


    But, from what Torver had said, it sounded like adventuring wasn¡¯t all that dangerous. And if it was possible to go out exploring through ancient ruins, and honing my skills, as I dug up all sorts of ancient relics and treasures, without putting my life into any sort of serious danger¡­ well, then, that sounded like a wonderful way to spend my time in this new world, at least for now.


    Plus¡­ if I¡¯m being really honest with you, I still hadn¡¯t been able to get the thought of those old, hidden vaults out of my mind.


    I knew that they were probably just old, fanciful legends, like the myth of Atlantis or something¡­ and I doubted that I¡¯d ever really be able to find them.


    But, the thought of stumbling into those ancient, mysterious halls, and being the first person to find them for hundreds and hundreds of years¡­ it just filled every part of me with excitement, and wonder, and longing. So if I could, I wanted to make a career out of exploring the world, and searching for treasure, and seeing what sort of ancient secrets I could find.


    I doubted that I¡¯d be able to discover one of those vaults even then, but that at least seemed like my best chance to do so, and I was eager to give it a try.


    Finally, I felt like it would be a good idea to train and to get stronger, in order to continue to increase my chances to survive. Right now, in this peaceful and pleasant town, far removed from any sort of threat or danger, I certainly didn¡¯t feel especially threatened. But if some sort of large war might be coming, like Torver had suggested, or if there were forces that might hunt me down for being an Interloper, then it would be a good idea to prepare myself while I still could, and to learn a little bit more about how to fight.


    For all of those reasons, then - and maybe for one or two more that I hadn¡¯t mentioned here - I made my way over towards the large wooden notice board, and looked to see what had been posted.


    I¡¯d half-expected to find all sorts of people jostling and fighting over recently posted quests, arguing over who had seen it first, and who got to take on the noble and daring assignments that each promised such great and marvelous rewards. But really, it was all pretty quiet at the moment. The only person there was a cat-eared man with a shield and club, who was looking over a brightly-colored flyer with a painting of a goblin on the top, and the words ¡°Goblin Slayer Wanted!¡± in big letters at the bottom. Each of the notices on the board seemed to be in about that same style ¨C painting on top, big letters below ¨C with the more particular details of the quest written out in smaller print at the very bottom of the posting.


    As I¡¯d expected, these were all postings of quests for adventurers. But unfortunately, every single one of them seemed to be well beyond my league. Each posting had a ¡°suggested level¡± written at the bottom, and not a single one of them was for adventurers with a level that was lower than nine. Worse than that, most of them seemed to be postings for groups of adventurers, and the notices that were meant for solo adventurers seemed to be quite a bit more challenging. The easiest quest that I could find for a solo adventurer was for a level eighteen, and that seemed to be quite a bit beyond what I could do at the moment.


    However, there was one posting on the board that seemed like it might be very promising. In the upper right corner, quite a ways apart from all of the other posted notices, there was a flyer with a picture of a large, black cave opening, and the words ¡°Beginner¡¯s Dungeon!¡± printed down below. This didn¡¯t seem to be any sort of quest or adventure, and it didn¡¯t have a suggested level or anything like that. But the text did say that this was the perfect place to learn how to get your start, and that if you were especially skilled, that it might even be a source for discovering valuable loot and treasure.


    I remembered what Torver had said before, about how no one ever got injured or died in any of the dungeons. I didn¡¯t really understand how that was possible, but he seemed to be pretty confident about that, and I had no reason at all to doubt his word. He had also mentioned that it was possible to find treasure inside of these dungeons, and to earn enough to pay for your own room and board, if you were lucky. Right now, that was all that I really needed, so going out and exploring these dungeons might be enough to pay for my expenses, at least for now. Plus, it seemed as if this dungeon in particular was especially well suited for beginners like myself, which meant that if I had any sort of talent for the occupation at all, then I should be able to make my start there.


    Of course, if all that you had to do was just waltz on in and waltz back out with your treasure, then probably there¡¯d already be so much loot flowing through all of the town that nobody would pay you a dime for it. Plus, even if the Interlopers got some sort of ¡°boost¡± to their power when they first arrived in this world, like Torver had said, it didn¡¯t seem like that made them so powerful that I was going to just magically transform into some sort of great warrior or anything like that, or to be able to go into the deepest and furthest reaches of the dungeons and fish out magical relics. So, probably, it wasn¡¯t going to be the easiest thing in the world to make a living as an adventurer, and I was sure that I was going to run into a lot of difficulties and complications that I wouldn¡¯t be able to see in advance.


    But, still. Even knowing all of that, and even taking that into account¡­


    I was really looking forward to it, and I was going to give it absolutely everything that I had, and to just let my fortune play itself out from there.


    Later on, if I needed to, I could think up some other plans, and figure out other ways that I might be able to make a living. But for the present, all that was left for me was to focus on the next step of my journey, and to figure out how I could get to the dungeon.


    Fortunately, there was a small map engraved into the notice board, and it was simple enough that I was able to commit it to memory on the spot. Basically, on the other side of Westfall, opposite the gate that I¡¯d just come through, there was a lot of farmland. Pass through that, and you¡¯ll come to a forest. Pass through that forest, and you¡¯ll come out right in front of a small mountain. The dungeon was right there, either just in front of the mountain, or contained within. At any rate, I was sure that I could make it out to the mountain on my own, and then I could just figure it out from there.


    Of course, I didn¡¯t plan to head out there just yet. I had to get the food back to the kids, and I wanted to get a full night¡¯s worth of rest, too. It had been a pretty long day, and I was looking forward to just sleeping in a warm bed, and letting my mind and body recover.


    Afterwards, I could set out towards the dungeon, and begin to make my way in this world as an adventurer.


    For now though, there was one last thing to do before I exited the town of Westfall. The guard outside of the gate had said that there were free guided tours of the city, and that the guides were stationed just in front of the large bell tower at the center of the town. That was where the notice board was located, too, which meant that the guides should be right around where I was standing. So, I started to look around a little, before eventually finding a tall female lizard-woman standing right in front of a large wooden sign that said, ¡°free tours available!¡±


    As I walked over towards the lizard-woman, she gave me a kind-hearted but very toothy smile, and asked if I was here for a tour of the town. I was glad to discover that I could make out her language without any sort of difficulty (I¡¯d need to think later about how language really worked in this world), but for now, I just told her that I was interested, and that I¡¯d like to see what the town had to offer. She gave me another toothy grin, and asked me what I¡¯d like to see first ¨C the academies, or the rest of the town.


    So, this is some sort of college town, I thought.


    And then, I told her that I¡¯d like to start with the academies.


    She nodded, and began to walk towards the large, important looking buildings that I¡¯d passed by before.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    As the two of us walked together, she explained that young people from all over the world came to Westfall in order to begin their careers. There were academies for all sorts of different kinds of soldiers and adventurers here, but there were also academies for farmers, and for blacksmiths, and for carpenters, and for every single other kind of skilled profession.


    When she had said ¡°skilled profession,¡± she had placed a special emphasis on the word ¡°skilled.¡± That probably meant that there was a skill for farming and for blacksmithing, just as there had been a skill for swordsmanship. It probably also meant that you became better at your career as you ¡°leveled up¡± the skill that governed it. I didn¡¯t ask any sort of question to make sure of that hypothesis though, because I assumed that was something that anyone in this world would already be expected to know by now. But from a few things that she said later on, it became clear that my guess had been correct. I made a note of that, and decided that taking up a skilled profession wouldn¡¯t be a bad way to make a living, if adventuring ended up not being quite enough of a source of income.


    As we approached a large building with a sign of a pen on the outside, she explained that there were also some academies in Westfall which didn¡¯t have any sort of connection to a skill at all. These sorts of academies were called ¡°general education¡± academies, and apparently, there were three of them here. One was run by the Guild of the Mind, another by the Guild of the Pen, and a third by the Guild of the Laboratory. From the description that she gave, and her answers to some of my questions, it seemed that each of them taught the same sorts of sciences, like physics, psychology, and ethics. But because each of them had their own particular understanding of both the nature and the history of science, each of the guilds approached those subject matters in very different ways.


    For instance, the Guild of the Mind believed that science is a tool for the attainment of absolutely certain knowledge and insight into the eternal natures of things, and that the best way to attain that knowledge is by carefully analyzing and defining each of the different Forms that manifest themselves in our day-to-day experience, such as the Form of the Good, or the Form of Justice, or the Form of Knowledge, or of science, or of definition, or some other sort of class or kind.


    By contrast, the Guild of the Laboratory believed that science is just our best guess about the underlying causes of all of the different changes that we observe in the world, and that the only way to find those causes is to design experiments that provide us with new observations and measurements, from which we can then partially validate or invalidate each of our different guesses about the deepest and most underlying causes of the phenomena.


    Hence, the Guild of the Mind and the Guild of the Laboratory each differed from one another about what the nature of science was, and what kinds of knowledge are possible. They also seemed to disagree about why knowledge was worth attaining, with the Guild of the Mind believing that knowledge is a beautiful thing that is desirable for its own sake (or else for the sake of the pleasure that accompanies the act of knowing), while the Guild of the Laboratory believed that knowledge was primarily valuable for the power that it gave us over the physical and the material world, and the benefits which that power could then provide.


    However, there was one thing that these two quite divergent guilds really did agree on.


    They each agreed that there was still much left to discover, and that the most important questions of human life had yet to be answered.


    In other words, they each saw the history of science as an unfinished story, and they each believed that the greatest and the most important chapters were yet to be written.


    It was this shared premise that the adherents of the third great Guild ¨C the Guild of the Pen ¨C were in disagreement with.


    According to the members of this faction, all of the most important questions had already been answered, and these answers had been passed down to us in the books that our ancestors had left behind. For this reason, the Guild of the Pen saw no need to perform any sort of novel experiments, or to go seeking after the truth all on their own. Instead, they spent their time carefully analyzing a number of ancient books, and they sought to use their powers of interpretation to tease out from those writings the basic answers to life¡¯s deepest mysteries, and the profoundest truths of the cosmos.


    All of this meant that, for instance, even though each of the three Guilds might offer a class called something like ¡°the rudiments of physics,¡± each of those guilds would go about teaching that class in a very different way. The Guild of the Mind might spend the whole time talking about the Forms that are present in a moving body, in order to try to give a definition of what motion is, or of what change is, or of what time is, or of what makes a thing a ¡°body¡± at all, rather than some other sort of being.


    By contrast, the Guild of the Laboratory would take it for granted that each of us more or less knows what ¡°motion¡± and ¡°time¡± and ¡°bodies¡± are, and they would not attempt to provide a clear or a precise definition for each of those kinds of things. Instead, they would spend the lecture going through a number of recent experiments that helped to explain the precise causes of the various sorts of motions that we observe in the world around us, such as the motions of the tides, or the motions of bodies falling through the air.


    Finally, the Guild of the Pen would not concern itself with either of these sorts of things directly, but would instead do a careful study of a few older texts that discussed the nature and the causes of motion, seeking to unravel the old and cryptic texts in order to tease out the deep secrets and truths that they contained within.


    I had never been to any sort of college or university before, and I¡¯d barely even attended high school, so all of these things were pretty new to me. But just from the descriptions, the Guild of the Laboratory sounded very much like science, while the Guild of the Mind sounded a little bit like philosophy. The Guild of the Pen seemed kind of like something from Europe¡¯s Middle Ages, but the fact that it wasn¡¯t necessarily religious ¨C many of the older texts didn¡¯t claim any sort of divine inspiration at all ¨C made the whole thing seem pretty different, too. So I assumed that it didn¡¯t have any sort of strict analogue to our world, or at least not to any part that I knew of.


    Finally, there was also a certain degree of political significance to each of the guilds. I didn¡¯t understand how important that fact would be at the time, so I didn¡¯t pay as much attention to that part of the guides¡¯ explanations as I should have. But I did pick up that the Guild of the Pen was especially powerful in this world, and that the Guild of the Mind was seated in the City of the Red Tower, which was the nation that was primarily associated with slavery. The Guild of the Laboratory was newer than the other two, and didn¡¯t seem to have much of a political affiliation yet. But it did have some roots in the Kingdom of the Green Tower, and in the City of the Orange Tower, as well.


    I would end up having quite a lot to do with the Guild of the Pen, in particular... but, all of that in due time. For now, let me continue with where I had left off before.


    From what the guide had said, it seemed that most students here focused on a single skill or a group of related skills, and then took a couple of extra classes at one of the three Guild academies, or at multiple of the Guild academies if they weren¡¯t too firmly embedded in any one camp in particular. There were also some students who focused entirely on studying at the general education academies, but it seemed like most of them were either hoping to become scholars themselves, or else had come from very wealthy families, and didn¡¯t have any need to work.


    Judging by her example of some of the ¡°related skills¡± that you might study, and a few questions that I asked along the way, it seemed as if most soldiering or adventuring types ended up specializing in a single weapon skill, and then combined it with one of the three ¡°defensive¡± skills ¨C dodging, blocking, and parrying. Some ended up taking up multiple of those defensive skills, if they had the time ¨C and some even took up all three ¨C but it seemed as if most people had a primary defensive skill that they relied on. I imagined that my own would be dodging, based on my naturally high agility and my inclinations, though I thought that I might also give parrying a try, or blocking, if I ever became strong enough to wield a large sword in a single hand, and a shield in the other.


    As we talked, I noticed that she didn¡¯t mention much of anything about magic¡­ and at the time, that seemed a little strange to me. But, I couldn¡¯t think of any way of asking about that without giving away a bit too much about where I was from. So, I just let that drop for the moment, and decided to think about it a little later on, once I¡¯d found some books to read about this world.


    Finally, the guide explained that most of the economy of the town was run by students. The farms were kept after by the student farmers, the weapons were made by the student blacksmiths, and the treasures were discovered by the student adventurers. That allowed each person in the town to make a living from their career right away, rather than having to go out and to compete with the many craftsmen or adventurers who were quite a bit beyond their level in the towns that were scattered across the world.


    Of course, since it was an almost entirely student-run economy (except for the travelers who stopped by from time to time), that also meant that the town didn¡¯t have any high level gear or equipment, and that many things were done a little slowly, and not at the highest degree of skill. But all in all, it seemed like a nice trade-off to make, and it meant that everyone in the town had a sense that they were working together to keep the town afloat, and helping one another to grow and to thrive in their chosen careers. That gave a certain kind of unity to the whole place, and it helped to explain a lot of the amiability and good cheer that I had seen before when I had been browsing through the marketplace.


    From the way that the guide had spoken of the student life here, it seemed that many people ended up missing Westfall once they were gone, and it wasn¡¯t all that uncommon for an especially skilled person to come back here and to teach once they had retired from their chosen profession. That seemed like a very nice way of life, to me at least, and I imagined that I would probably want to do the same someday, if I ever became especially proficient in some sort of skill or career.


    Afterwards, the guide showed me past some of the houses, and to a bustling little corner of town quite a bit away from the main street, where you could find most of the best inns, pubs, and restaurants. But by that point, I was already beginning to grow quite tired, and I was ready to make my way back towards the house in the woods, and to check in on how each of the children were doing. Still, I decided that I would go and come back to the residential districts sometime, and to maybe try going to a pub or two, and interacting with some of the local townsfolk.


    Having at last made our way back towards the entrance to the town, I thanked the young woman for her time, and tipped her a small coin that I¡¯d received as change before, which was the same amount that I¡¯d seen another person tip their guide earlier on. She gave me a broad, contented smile, and wished me all the best on my time in town. Then, I made my way out through the large, wooden gate, as I carried the food back towards the little wooden home.


    Tonight, I thought, I would make up a nice meal, talk to each of the two children a bit, make sure that they had everything that they needed, and then read a little about the world that I had just become a part of.


    Then, tomorrow, I would begin to explore the dungeons, and to see whether adventuring was going to be the career that I would choose.


    Right then¡­


    ¡­ I was looking forward to it all very much.

 Chapter 15: Dinner

    After I had left the town of Westfall, I made my way back towards the little house in the middle of the woods. It had been very enjoyable to explore the town, and to see what it had to offer. Butat the same time, I had found myself kind of looking forward to seeing each of the children again, and I had been a little surprised by how much I was looking forward to cooking up a meal with them, and to getting to know them better.


    As I opened up the door of the little cottage, I saw Aaron sitting on the bed and reading a book out loud to Lily, who was listening to him with great attention, and resting her head against his chest. When the two of them heard me come in, they each gave me a warm smile, and asked me how my trip had gone. I told them just a little bit about what I had seen, as I closed the door behind me, and locked it firmly into place.


    The two kids seemed to be especially eager to know if I had seen any slaves in the town, or any slavers. But as far as I could recall, I hadn¡¯t¡­ and even if slavery was allowed in Westfall, as Torver had assured me that it was, it certainly didn¡¯t seem to be especially prevalent, or a common practice.


    That was probably good news for the two of them, although it certainly wasn¡¯t safe enough that either of them would want to head outside anytime too soon ¨C not until the hunt for the escaped slaves had died down a bit, at least.


    As we talked, I made my way over towards the bed, and set down the wooden box with the food packed away inside. The three of us opened up the lid together, and Aaron and Lily both looked absolutely overjoyed with everything that I had brought. Apparently, neither of them had been able to eat very well when they had been kept in captivity, so the prospect of being able to eat this much good food was genuinely emotional for them. Lily in particular looked like she was almost about to cry, and I had to tell her several times that she could really have as much of the meat as she wanted, and that I had bought that much of it just for her. Once I had finally convinced her that she really could eat to her heart¡¯s content, she just squeezed my hand in hers, and thanked me in a soft voice that was overflowing with emotion.


    After we had all taken a look at the food, the three of us made our way into the kitchen. I had expected Lily to stay seated on the bed, and to wait for us out there. But it seemed like her leg was really starting to feel a lot better. She could walk just a little now, although she had to use Aaron¡¯s shoulder as support in order to keep most of the weight off of her right leg. But I already understood their relationship with one another well enough to know that Aaron wouldn''t mind having her rest upon his shoulder at all... and it was sweet to watch him move slowly forward, tenderly holding Lily by the side, and helping to guide each of her wavering steps, as the two of them made their way into the kitchen.


    I had never really cooked before, and I certainly didn¡¯t know how food was prepared in a world without any sort of electricity or gas. But fortunately, Aaron seemed to have some experience, and so he soon took charge of finding all of the different implements that we would need to make our meal.


    While he began to search through each of the cabinets for supplies, I helped to support Lily, and made small talk with her for a little while, as we got to know one another. It seemed as if she was already really comfortable around me, which was good to know, and I could tell that she was treating me more and more like a friend. And for my own part, just spending time ith the two of them, I found that I felt a surprising amount of warmth towards both her, and Aaron.


    When I had first come to this world, I had expected to be alone, for the most part. I had thought that just being by myself was what I would want, after how I had been treated before, and that being in society would be a lot more trouble than it was worth. But as I continued to spend these sorts of simple moments with the two of them - just talking for a while, and cooking up a meal - I started to feel something that I hadn¡¯t really felt in a long time.


    In prison, there was just a ¡­ coldness, I guess that you could say, in all of the social interactions. I hadn¡¯t had any real friends, and I¡¯d had a lot of enemies among the guards. And so I had kind of forgotten what it was like to see a warm smile, or to have someone treat me with kindness, and with compassion.


    But, staying here and spending time with these two children, both of whom clearly loved each other, and each of whom treated me with warmth, and with kindness... it made me feel like maybe, I didn''t really want to be alone that much after all. Even once the three of us ended up parting, I wasn¡¯t so sure that I would just want to go and to find a place all by myself after that. And for just a moment, I thought to myself that I wasn''t so sure that I would ultimately want to part from the two of them at all - even though it was much too soon to be thinking that in any serious sort of a way. But that I was having those sorts of thoughts at all was a real sign of how much I''d been enjoying their company, and how glad I''d been so far that I''d decided to stay here with them, and to help them to survive.


    But for now, the most important thing was just to make up our meal together. There¡¯d be plenty of time for me to think about the future later on, and to figure out what kind of a life I wanted to lead in this new world.


    Aaron had managed to find everything that we needed to cook up the food, so it was time for us all to begin the preparation. Apparently, he had done a lot of cooking back before he had been taken in as a slave, so I decided that it would be best to let him take the lead in everything.


    While he started up a little fire, Lily and I tried out a few different sauces, trying to figure out what would go well with the meat that we had bought. She seemed to especially enjoy it whenever we found a sauce that tasted really, really awful, and we took turns trying to crack each other up by making the most disgusted faces that we could possibly come up with when we found something that was especially rancid.


    Eventually though, we managed to pick out a sauce that each of us really liked. It had a kind of sweet, orange-y flavor, but with a spicy after-taste that wasn¡¯t too hot or too intense, and which helped to give a kind of weight and substance to the flavor. It was really, really good, and when Aaron tried it out, he was positive that it would go well with the meat that we had chosen. So, we decided that we¡¯d give it a go, and throw it on top of the food.


    The fire was ready now, so Aaron, Lily and I all started to chop up the vegetables, and to prepare them for the meal. While I took care of cutting up a few of the ones that I figured were pretty easy to prepare, Aaron was showing Lily how to cut and to prepare the rest of them, guiding her fingers as she was first learning how to use the knife, then letting her make the rest of the cuts on her own. Once we were all done, we threw the diced up vegetables into a large pan, and then placed a very large slab of meat right into the middle.


    I let Aaron look after the cooking, but I stood by the side and watched, asking a few questions here and there in order to better understand the process. Lily did the same, as she rested her weight on Aaron¡¯s shoulder.


    A little while later, we scooped out the finished meal with a large wooden ladle, placing each of our portions onto three medium-sized clay plates. I made sure that Lily got as much of the meat as she wanted, and then I divided up the rest of the food between myself and Aaron.


    There was a little table to eat at in the kitchen, but it only really had space for two people, so I let Lily and Aaron sit down, then stood up at the side and ate my meal.


    The whole time that we had been cooking, we had all been talking with increasing animation, about where we had been in the last few days, and what we had seen. My story about the wolf in the forest went over especially well, and it was apparent from their reactions that such a creature was just about as amazing to them as it had been to me. For my own part, I listened with great attention to all of the details of how they had made their escape, and to the sorts of dangers that they had encountered along the way. It seemed as if they had been very close to being captured on quite a few different occasions, and I felt thankful that they had made it out to these woods at all, and that I had been able to find them before they had been discovered.


    As the three of us laughed and talked to one another, it seemed more and more clear that the children were beginning to trust me, and to feel relaxed in my presence. I guess that they could tell that I really didn¡¯t have any sort of intention at all to take them back, and I think that both of them were just glad to have someone else that they could talk to, and who could help to make them feel like they were safe. Probably they also felt at least a little of the way that I did too, and probably neither of them had seen a warm, friendly face in far too long. From what they had said, it seemed that life on the farm had been very hard, and that they hadn¡¯t gotten much time to spend with other people, or even with one another.


    Still, although we were all speaking pretty openly about our lives, I didn¡¯t want to tell the kids about where I was from just yet, or what I was. What Torver had said to me before, about how the Interlopers just seem to go ¡°missing¡± once they¡¯d been found was really troubling to me, and it had made me decide that I would be as careful as possible about who I told my secret to. Of course, I didn¡¯t have any doubts that I could trust each of these children. But I couldn¡¯t be quite sure what they might say if they were captured again, and I couldn¡¯t be positive that they wouldn¡¯t tell my secret to someone who they trusted, but who I wouldn¡¯t have wanted to know.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    But¡­ I didn¡¯t want to keep lying to them, either. So, if I did end up continuing to know them further into the future, I decided that I would tell the truth to them eventually, and that I wouldn¡¯t keep deceiving them, or misleading them about where I was from.


    For now though, once all of us had eaten our meals, Aaron helped to lead Lily back to her bed. Then, since our conversation seemed to be over for the moment, the two of them went back to reading out loud to one another.


    That reminded me that I had wanted to try and read a few books too, in order to try to learn more about this world. I was pretty exhausted from everything that had happened today, but I still wanted to make a little bit more progress towards that goal, if I could. So, I went over to the bookshelf, in order to try to find a few books that might be interesting.


    I had been just a little worried that I might not be able to read any of the books that I had found, since I didn¡¯t know any of the languages in this world. But fortunately, I didn¡¯t have any trouble at all in reading what was there. I could make out the titles, and the text of just about all of the books that I looked at¡­ and the few that I couldn¡¯t read seemed to be to be much older, and to have come from a much more ancient time. And so my best guess was that the system had provided me with the ability to understand the languages that were currently spoken in this world, but that I wouldn¡¯t be able to understand any of the older languages that had been preserved, or any language that might long since have been forgotten.


    Of course, I could probably pick up some of those languages later, if I ever needed to. For now though, after scanning the bookshelves for a few moments, I just picked out a few volumes that looked especially interesting, as I carried them over towards the large wooden chair, and began to read.


    The books that I chose were called The Enigma of Kalia, The Vaults of the Interlopers, The Four Towers, and The Practice of Magic.


    To be honest, I hadn¡¯t expected to find that much in the first two that I hadn¡¯t already learned before. But still, even though I had probably learned the truth from Torver already, I just wanted to really make sure of it for myself, and to be certain that no one in this world knew who Kalia was, or why I had been summoned here. Also, I wanted to see if there was any sort of extra hint or clue that I could find in either of the two books that might help to tell me about the secrets of this world, or about how to discover any of the old and hidden vaults.


    Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t really find all that much of anything. Most of what they said was just a restatement of what Torver had already told me about before. No one knew who Kalia was, or why they summoned people to this world. Apparently, a few of the Old Books had suggested that Kalia was once worshiped as some sort of a goddess, and that great festivals were held for her in the woods and plains. But that wasn¡¯t all that much of a hint, really, so I just set that book down for now.


    As for the book that I had picked up about the Vaults, I got about a quarter of the way through before I decided to give up on that one, too. The book seemed to consist entirely of wild speculation, mixed with drawings of what the vaults might look like, and what sorts of treasures they might contain. But all of the evidence for the existence of the vaults was entirely anecdotal ¨C they weren¡¯t mentioned in a single one of the older and more authoritative books of this world ¨C so it seemed as if most scholarly or academic types didn¡¯t really take them all that seriously. Of course, that didn¡¯t mean a ton to me¡­ but, it did mean that there wasn¡¯t all that much to go on, or at least not in any of the books that would be widely available.


    One of the only parts of the book that really stuck out to me was a simple argument that suggested that, if the vaults did exist, then they must be in places that most people never traversed, which likely meant that they would be surrounded by the sorts of dangerous, powerful monsters which inhabited the ¡°wild lands¡± of this world. That argument, at least, seemed to hold some weight, and it likely meant that I would need to get quite a bit stronger if I really wanted to go out and to try to find the places that each of these vaults might be hidden in.


    The only other thing that stood out to me were a few of the drawings that had come down from much older times. I couldn¡¯t say why exactly, but they seemed¡­ authentic, somehow, in a way that many of the more recent drawings did not. But I couldn¡¯t say why that was, exactly, and that might have just been some sort of wish-driven thinking on my part. At any rate, as I said before, I got about a quarter of the way through, then I set that book down too.


    That left only two more books for me to look at ¨C The Four Towers, and The Practice of Magic.


    One of the only real mysteries of this world that I hadn¡¯t gotten to ask about yet was that huge, beautiful blue tower that I had seen before. So I had tried to find a book that was all about it with a nice, simple and elegant title like ¡°The Great Tower,¡± or ¡°The Huge Tower,¡± or even a really nice title like ¡°The Blue Tower.¡± But the closest thing that I¡¯d been able to find was a children¡¯s picture book with the title, ¡°The Four Towers.¡± That seemed good enough for now, so I began to flip through the pages, and to see what I could find.


    The first thing that I learned was that there were four towers in total, and that they were the most important parts of the landscape of this world.


    Each of the towers gave a flat boost to the strength of any city that lay nearby (there must be a role for a ¡°city¡± in the system that I had yet to discover), with the three smaller ones giving a boost of +25% damage to each citizen, and the largest one ¨C the Blue Tower ¨C giving a boost of +50% damage instead. By itself, that wasn¡¯t an enormous boost, of course. But apparently, it was a large enough advantage that people had been fighting over the towers for thousands of years, and only the strongest cities had been able to build anywhere near them.


    Predictably, this had meant that, to each of the four different towers, there was a single corresponding city, which had seized all of the land around its respective tower. The book didn¡¯t go into too much detail about each of the three smaller cities which had been built around The Red Tower, The Orange Tower, and The Green Tower, respectively. But, it did say that the city that had been built around the Blue Tower was the oldest and the strongest nation in the world, having survived for well over two thousand years.


    From the pictures that accompanied its description, I was able to learn that this was also the same city that I had seen the painting of before, when I had seen the city that was ringed by walls of gold. The drawing in the book was also especially vivid, and it showed a huge, majestic city, with beautiful walls that seemed to stretch out forever into the distance, and the strange and elegant tower looming impossibly high up overhead. It was an amazing sight, and I found myself just really looking at the drawing and soaking it in for quite some time.


    If what this book said was true, then in all of the time that this majestic city had existed, it had never once begun a war. Apparently, in the older days ¨C what the book called the Age of Mages ¨C there had been almost constant fighting over the possession of each of the towers, and especially of the Blue Tower, which was the strongest of the lot by far. But a long time ago in the past, a great hero by the name of Lucian had conquered all of the land around the tower, and proclaimed that it would forever be a sanctuary where all could live in peace, far away from the violence of the world.


    Since that day, the City of the Blue Tower had been ruled by a loose coalition made up of the highest-ranking members of the two most powerful guilds in this world ¨C the Guild of the Pen, which I had mentioned before, and the Guild of Knights, which was comprised of the heroes of this world, who helped to protect the whole world from monsters, and also to protect the weak and the innocent from the cruelties and the transgressions of the strong.


    The view of the city seemed to be just a little idealized, of course, and it was hard to figure out too much more about the reality of the place from such a simple children¡¯s book. But from what I could gleam, it seemed to be where most of the world¡¯s greatest artists and scholars had made their home, in order to create and to study in peace, away from the turmoil of the world.


    The city really did seem like an amazing place, and reading through the book made me want to visit there someday, and to see what it was like in person.


    Still, though¡­ if all that the tower provided was a kind of strong, flat damage boost, then it didn¡¯t seem that important for me to think about for now. The book had said that only very rich or accomplished people were allowed to live in the city, too, so I wasn¡¯t going to be able to benefit from the bonuses of the tower anytime all that soon.


    Maybe someday I might try to become a member of the Guild of Knights, or a high-ranking scholar in the Guild of the Pen.


    But for now, I decided to just put those things out of my mind, and not to give too much more thought to the tower for the time being.


    For now, all that left me with was The Practice of Magic¡­ but, unfortunately, that session only lasted for a couple of minutes. As the book informed me in the first few pages, magic had been outlawed in this world for thousands of years by the hero Lucian, after the cruelty of the mages of the past (during the Age of Mages, which I had mentioned before). Since then, no one had been allowed to learn magic before the age of 65 ¨C and even then, it could only be learned with the express permission of a high ranking member of either the Guild of Knights, or the Guild of the Pen.


    It seemed as if that law was taken very seriously, too ¨C even trying to learn magic at a younger age was punishable by death, and punished quite frequently in practice ¨C and so I imagined that I wasn¡¯t going to be adding any spells or enchantments to my arsenal anytime too soon.


    And so, I just put that book down as well, as I made one last scan of the bookshelf.


    I felt as if there was a decent chance that there was still something else that I ought to have been thinking about, or to have investigated. But honestly, with all of the excitement that I had been through lately, it was hard to even keep track of all of the questions that I wanted to ask, much less to figure out how to resolve them. And so, with a long, and tired yawn, I just placed the books back onto the shelf, and began to prepare myself for the day ahead.


    It had started to grow late, and the three of us would need to find some sort of candle or light-making device if we wanted to stay up any longer, and to continue to read.


    But, it seemed that all of us had grown just about equally as tired, and that the long day had taken its toll on us all.


    So, after going down to the compartment once again and bringing up one more bed for myself, the three of us talked just a little bit more together, then laid down, and began to drift off to sleep.


    My last thought before I fell asleep was a strong, single image of the blue tower, that I had seen painted in the book.


    It felt¡­ enchanting, somehow. I knew that it was important, and I knew that I wanted to go there.


    And someday¡­ I felt certain that I would.


    Then, with those sorts of thoughts in mind, I just drifted off, before I at last fell into a deep, and restful sleep.

 Chapter 16: Praxa

    I woke up to the sound of Aaron and Lily preparing a meal in the kitchen. It was quite early in the morning, probably not even an hour after dawn, and I still felt a little groggy. I could hear a few birds chirping from outside of the walls of the little wooden house, and I could also hear what sounded like a little squirrel-like creature scampering along the roof, as it leapt onto the trees that stood nearby. It was a pleasant, tranquil sort of way to awaken, and I just let myself lay there and enjoy the feeling as I gradually roused myself up out of my slumber.


    Then, after I had woken up a bit more, I got out of bed ¨C still wearing my gloves and leggings ¨C and put on the chest-piece that I had worn before. Afterwards, I went into the kitchen, and said hello to each of the children.


    They were making up a stir-fry that was just like the one that we¡¯d had before, though with a different kind of meat this time, and more of the vegetables than we¡¯d used previously. They had made up enough for all three of us, to my great satisfaction, and the meal was already just about completely cooked. So, after we had stood and talked for a little while, Aaron scooped out each of our portions with the wooden ladle, and the three of us moved over to the table, where we ate our food, and talked about the day ahead.


    To my surprise, Lily was managing to walk over to the table completely on her own. She still had an obvious limp, and she was being very careful to place most of her weight down onto her left leg. But it still seemed as if nothing was all that wrong with her, and I imagined that she would be back to normal in a few more days at the latest. That was all quite good news, and it seemed to make both her and Aaron very happy, as they told me again and again just how much better she was feeling now. I listened to each of them with a lot of pleasure, and I told her how glad I was that she was recovering so quickly. Then, she just lowered her head shyly, and wagged her ears, as she scooped up big portions of the delicious meat, and beamed with contentment.


    As the three of us continued to eat and to talk together, I let the two of them know that I was going to head in towards the Beginner¡¯s Dungeon a little bit later on in the day. They each seemed to be quite excited by that, and they gave me lots of well-wishes and encouragement, and expressed their interest in hearing all about my adventures, and my explorations. I promised them that I would be sure to tell them about what it was like inside, and that I¡¯d try to bring back something for them to see, and to enjoy.


    Once the three of us had finished up our meal, the children began to play with an old board game that they had found, which seemed a little bit like a Medieval version of Monopoly, mixed with some of the warfare elements of Risk. It looked like a lot of fun, but I didn¡¯t really have the time to play with them right then, so I had to decline their offers to join in. Instead, I picked up my large long sword from where I had left it, and went down into the storage compartment to see if I could find a leather helmet that would go with my gear. After a few minutes of searching, I managed to find one that matched the rest of my armor just about perfectly, so I put it on, climbed back up, then headed out the door, as I began to make my way towards town.


    It was an extremely beautiful morning outside, and soft light was streaming in through the leaves above, gently lighting up the fresh dew that covered the ferns and the herbs all across the soft, cool floor of the quiet forest. I made my way through those woods just daydreaming about all of the adventures that lay before me, as the whole world seemed to gradually be waking itself up from its recent slumber, and looking forward with great eagerness and excitement to the thought of spending another day in this strangely tranquil and beautiful location.


    About half an hour later, I had made my way out of the forest, and could now see the large, stone wall that surrounded the town of Westfall. This time, I headed out towards the left of the city, away from the wooden gate that I had gone through before, as I made my way towards the farmlands that lay beyond the outer edges of the wall. I soon found myself on a well-trodden path that ran from the gate and out around the city in a small semi-circle, which then branched off into many different directions, one of which wound out through the surrounding countryside, and towards the dungeon that lay beyond.


    There didn¡¯t seem to be much of anyone on the path right then¡­ but even so, I found that there was at least one person who caught my eye just about at once.


    Directly in front of me ¨C right where the path began to branch off, and to split into two ¨C there was a small grove of trees, with a little wooden bench right in the center. Sitting on that bench, there was a young woman with cat-ears, of about my own age or a few years younger, who was reading a book beneath the trees.


    It was a little past dawn right then, and the soft light of the morning sun was gently dancing across her short, red hair, as her soft green eyes focused on the book in front of her. She was holding the book quite lightly, and her small, white fingers were flipping through the pages, as she looked ahead with an expression of wonder, and of contentment.


    She was pretty short for a girl ¨C about 150cm or so ¨C and she was thin, and small in her features. At the same time though, she didn¡¯t seem frail, or weak at all¡­ and the bow that was resting in front of her small feet ¨C along with the leather armor that she was wearing ¨C suggested that she was probably an adventurer of some kind, or perhaps a guard.


    Almost in spite of myself, I found my eyes resting on her, and looking towards her.


    It had been a long time since I had been able to talk to a woman of my age¡­ and something about her just interested me at once, for reasons that I couldn¡¯t quite explain.


    A few moments later, as I was walking past her, she looked up, and noticed that my eyes were looking towards hers.


    I felt a little embarrassed to have had her notice me like that¡­ but fortunately, she didn¡¯t really seem to mind at all. Instead, she just smiled at me quite shyly, and waved hello.


    ¡°Hi, there,¡± she said, softly.


    ¡°Hi,¡± I said, a lot more quietly than I was used to.


    I wasn¡¯t quite sure of what to say, right then.


    The honest thing to have said would have been that there was something about her that really appealed to me, and that I would love to talk with her, and to get to know her for a while.


    But, I wasn¡¯t really brave enough to say that. So instead, after hesitating for a couple of moments, I asked her if this was the path out towards the Beginner¡¯s Dungeon.


    ¡°Yeah, this is,¡± she replied, in a very shy voice. ¡°The dungeon is just out that way, through the forest,¡± she added, as she pointed out towards a path in the horizon.


    ¡°Alright,¡± I said. ¡°Thank you very much.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± she said, with a warm, and tender smile, that was surprisingly affecting.


    Ordinarily, I would have just gone on my way right then, and she would have picked back up her book, and continued to read.


    But, for some reason, I really couldn¡¯t take my eyes off of her... and I wasn¡¯t quite sure of what to do next.


    She seemed to feel the same way, I thought. Because her eyes seemed to be lingering on my own¡­ and I had the distinct impression that she really didn¡¯t want me to leave right then, and that she wasn¡¯t all that eager to be back alone by herself.


    At the same time though, even though we both obviously wanted to get to know each other more deeply, neither of us really seemed to know just what to say, or how to express ourselves.


    And so, we each just waited there about as awkwardly as we could¡­ until, after a little while, the two of us burst out into laughter at our own ineptitude, and our lack of social grace.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said, still laughing softly. ¡°I¡¯m really bad at this sort of thing¡­ but, I was planning to head out towards the dungeon myself in a little while. So, if you¡¯d like to¡­ you could wait here with me for a moment, and then come with me through the forest after I gather up my things.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯d like to, that is,¡± she added, a little quietly.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d like that a lot,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯d love to walk with you for a while, if that¡¯s okay.¡±


    I think that I said that with a bit more feeling than I had intended¡­ because afterwards, she just kind of lit up with happiness, as she moved over to let me take a set.


    ¡°It really would be okay,¡± she said. ¡°Honestly¡­ I¡¯m pretty new to this town, and I¡¯m kind of shy, so it can be pretty hard for me to meet people. So I¡¯m happy that you came over, and that you said hello.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad that I got the chance to meet you, too,¡± I said quietly, as I sat down next to her.


    ¡°Although¡­ you said that you were shy, didn¡¯t you? You don¡¯t actually seem that shy to me,¡± I added, with a grin. ¡°Not right now, at least.¡±


    She laughed a little, as she turned to face me, and set her book down upon her lap.


    ¡°I really am pretty shy, I¡¯m afraid,¡± she said. ¡°But¡­ I feel pretty comfortable right now, to be honest. I don¡¯t feel that nervous anymore¡­ which is really, really nice.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad,¡± I said, quietly.


    After that, there was a short, but noticeable pause to the conversation.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    To my surprise, it wasn¡¯t awkward, or tense in the slightest.


    Instead¡­ it just felt warm, and tender.


    And at that moment, I felt surprisingly at peace, and deeply contented, as I let my guard down just about completely.


    ¡°So¡­ are you a student here,¡± she asked me, eventually, after some time had passed.


    ¡°Oh, no,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m just, um¡­ ¡®traveling,¡¯ at the moment.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really,¡± she said, as she picked her bow up off of the ground. ¡°What brings you out here in your travels, then?¡±


    ¡°Um...¡±


    ...maybe I had let my guard down a bit too much,I thought.


    I didn''t have any answer at all to that question... and this time, there was a longer, and a more awkward pause.


    And then, once again, we each just burst out into laughter.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said, still smiling. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to pry, or anything.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine,¡± I said, laughing a little. ¡°I¡¯ll try to explain it to you later sometime, I promise.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± she said, with a slight grin. ¡°Well, then¡­ can I ask you what you¡¯re out here to do for today, at least?


    ¡°Yeah, of course,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking of becoming an adventurer, so¡­ I wanted to go to the dungeons for a while, and to see what they might be like.¡±


    As I said those words, I saw her soft green eyes begin to light up a bit, and to sparkle.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I came to this town, too,¡± she said. ¡°To become an adventurer."


    There was a lot of emotion in her voice, as she said those words¡­ but then, she seemed to come back out of her reveries, as she looked me in the eye.


    ¡°But, if you¡¯ve never been to one of the dungeons, then¡­ are there any questions that you¡¯d like to ask me about them? I¡¯ve only been exploring them for a little while now, but I¡¯d be happy to tell you about anything that you¡¯d like to know.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°Honestly, I kind of have a lot of questions about all of that.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± she said, a little softly. ¡°Let¡¯s head towards the dungeons now, then, and we can talk along the way. Does that sound good to you?¡±


    ¡°It sounds great,¡± I said.


    And then, after that, the two of us sat back up from the bench, and began to make our way ahead.


    Even though we had just met, there was something very natural about speaking to her, and about walking by her side¡­ and within a few minutes, we were talking like we¡¯d been friends for a long time, as I asked her all sorts of different questions, and as she told me all about the dungeons in this world.


    Apparently, as she explained it to me, there were three kinds of dungeons here: Beginner¡¯s Dungeons, Intermediate Dungeons, and Expert Dungeons.


    Beginner¡¯s Dungeons had 50 floors, Intermediate Dungeons had 200, and no one in the world knew just how deep the Expert Dungeons went, or what might be lurking at the end. But, they had been charted up to their 85th floor or so, though no one that we knew about had ever managed to go any further than that, or to discover what might lay beyond.


    When you entered a dungeon for the first time, you were taken to a kind of ¡°hub,¡± with doors that lead out to different segments of the area. From there, you could make your way up through any path that you chose. Every five floors, you would find another sort of ¡°hub,¡± and when you re-entered a dungeon, you could choose to start at any hub that you pleased. That meant that, generally, you trained in order to be strong enough to make it up the next set of five floors, and then once you had, you stuck around the first floor or two for a while, until you were ready to keep making your ascent.


    Each floor of a dungeon had monsters that were about one level higher than the monsters on the previous floor, and the three kinds of dungeons started at levels 1, 51, and 251, respectively. That meant that Beginner¡¯s Dungeons covered levels 1 through 50, Intermediate Dungeons covered levels 51 through 250, and Expert Dungeons covered levels 251 and beyond. Incidentally, this all meant that no one in the world had gone much beyond level 300, and that reaching level 250 was enough to be considered very, very powerful.


    No one had built these dungeons, or knew how they worked, exactly. But they seemed to be deeply magical places, and to be like a kind of ¡°training ground¡± that you could go in and safely explore, in order to level up and to become stronger.


    At the start of every day, all of the monsters and treasures in a dungeon would be ¡°replenished,¡± by some sort of magical energy.


    Each floor of the dungeon was a real, and stable place. But sometimes, when you traveled between the floors, you would be taken to a kind of ¡°intermediary¡± stage, that was generated on the spot, then vanished once you had left. These intermediary stages might be things like special boss battles, or treasure rooms, or something that was called a ¡°memory floor,¡± which I¡¯ll go into later. But, at any event, these in-between areas were often very useful, and it was considered a stroke of good fortune to have found one, even though they were quite rare.


    At any rate, after you had exited the dungeon, your body was restored to exactly the state that it had been in before you had entered. That was why no one in the dungeons was ever injured, or ever came close to dying. Likewise, while you were in the dungeon, your ability to feel pain was significantly diminished, so that you could go out and fight without being overwhelmed by the physical sensations of the combat.


    Every time that you returned from the dungeons, you could bring up to three items back with you from your adventures. Those three items would then appear on your person once you left, and they would be yours to keep after that.


    What you brought back could be any object that you found on any of the floors, but adventurers tended to end up bringing back very obvious sorts of treasures, like weapons, gemstones, and precious minerals. However, these weren¡¯t all that easy to find, and so it took quite a bit of work to really discover enough on each of the floors of the dungeon to make a living, and quite a bit of fighting, too.


    Those were the basics of the dungeons, and that was most of what I took away from what she said. As I listened, I made quite a few notes to myself. But mostly, I just tried to think of more things to ask, and more ways to learn about this new world of mine.


    There was one more thing which she said that I didn¡¯t pay enough attention to at the time, but which I should probably mention here, even though it won¡¯t come into play for quite a while.


    As I believe that I mentioned a little bit back before, when you stepped into an ¡°in-between floor,¡± you would sometimes be taken to a place that was called a ¡°memory floor.¡± These memory floors were like perfect replicas of certain events that had taken place in the distant past. No one really understood why they appeared when they did, or what purpose the system could have in presenting them to the adventurers who happened to find them. Often, it wasn¡¯t even clear that the events that were being replicated were especially important, or significant, which only added to the sense of confusion.


    But still, the fact that the memory floors existed ¨C and that the dungeons could sometimes provide a kind of window into that which had long since been forgotten ¨C was something that basically everyone recognized the significance of, even if no one grasped just what that significance might consist in.


    But at any rate, I didn¡¯t think that much of that at the time, since those places seemed to be extraordinarily rare, and almost an afterthought, on her part¡­ and so for now, I let all of that drift back out from my mind.


    As the two of us continued to talk about the dungeons, and to talk about adventuring and exploring and fighting more generally, I found that it was becoming easier and easier to talk with her, and that I was really just enjoying being in her company. There was something really friendly and sincere about her whole demeanor, and once we had managed to get onto a subject that we each really wanted to talk about, our words just seemed to flow with an easy and a natural grace... and we soon found ourselves joking together, and laughing, and enjoying the walk that we were taking through the cool, and beautiful morning.


    And so, after we had finished going through the details of the dungeons, the two of us just fell into a comfortable silence together for quite some time. We made a little bit of discussion here and there, pointing out how beautiful the farmland that surrounded us was, and how nice of a day we were having. But even though the conversation could hardly have been more simple, I found myself enjoying it deeply all the same. She seemed to be enjoying it, too... and whenever she gave me a warm, and contented smile, I felt pretty happy, and glad to be out here with her, just enjoying this moment, and the place that we were in.


    It really was a lovely place, too.


    All around us, there were rows and rows of beautiful, well-maintained farms, that were filled with young men and women who were tending to their crops, as they plucked the freshly grown vegetables and fruits off of their vines and branches. We each seemed to find the sight quite charming, and we eventually stopped for a little while to watch the farmers at work, as the laborers laughed and joked with one another, enjoying each other¡¯s company, and the cool, beautiful day.


    Apparently, the ¡°Farming¡± skill made it so that crops would grow more quickly, bear a greater yield, and provide more nourishment and health. That meant that most of the more experienced farmers didn¡¯t have to work for more than about five or six hours a day, so most of them chose to begin their work early in the morning, when their labors could be cool and refreshing, and then conclude just a little bit before the sun had reached up towards the middle of the sky.


    There was something rather enchanting and idyllic about the whole sight, and I realized in that instant that, even if I didn¡¯t end up becoming an adventurer, just being a farmer in a world like this might be a wonderful way to spend my life. She seemed to be having just about the same kind of thought, too, as she smiled warmly, and looked out at the beautiful sight in front of her.


    Of course, right after that, I remembered what the children had told me, about how joyless it had been to labor on the farms, and how many hours they¡¯d had to work every day just in order to survive. That had been quite painful to hear, and it was a striking contrast with the pleasant and amiable sort of labor that I saw in front of me. It made it obvious that there was a much darker side to this world that I hadn¡¯t seen yet, and that not everything was so peaceful and so beautiful as the parts of the world that I had witnessed would suggest.


    For now, though, I let those thoughts drift out of my mind, and I simply continued to enjoy the spectacle that was unfolding all around me. Then, after a while, the two of us continued to make our way ahead, out towards a quite small forest that stood between the farmlands, and the mountain with the dungeon.


    We talked a little bit more along the way, just making small talk now, and speaking in an increasingly casual, and relaxed manner, as we joked and laughed, and made our way through the overgrown path. A few moments later, we emerged back out of the forest, just in front of a small mountain that rose up into the distance.


    At the foot of the mountain, there was a large black cave, with three separate tunnels that served as entrances, and a large sign proclaiming, ¡°BEGINNER¡¯S DUNGEON INSIDE.¡±


    From what she had said before, I knew that she was about level eight, and that we¡¯d be heading towards different floors. So, I figured that this would be the time for us to part, and that we¡¯d each be going our separate ways for now.


    ¡°Well¡­ it was really nice to meet you,¡± I said, after a brief pause.


    ¡°It was nice to meet you, too,¡± she said, softly.


    ¡°I hope that we can see each other again sometime,¡± she added, after a few moments.


    ¡°I do, too,¡± I said. ¡°If you would be interested¡­ maybe we could go out into the dungeons together sometime, once I¡¯ve gotten a bit of experience?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like that a lot,¡± she said. ¡°I work down at the barracks, most afternoons and evenings¡­ so if you find me sometime, we can head out together from there.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to do that.¡±


    There was a brief pause, that was warm, and peaceful, but also a little tense, albeit in a good, and lively sort of way.


    Then, just before we were beginning to part from one another, we each broke out into laughter once again, as we realized our mistake.


    ¡°I¡¯m Praxa, by the way,¡± she said, still laughing.


    ¡°William,¡± I said, grinning. ¡°It¡¯s good to meet you¡­ even if we¡¯re both apparently really, really bad at this.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I know,¡± she said, laughing a little. ¡°I told you¡­ I¡¯m not good at making friends. But...¡±


    ¡°It really was good to meet you, William. I¡¯ll be looking forward to seeing you again, sometime.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be looking forward to seeing you again, too,¡± I said.


    After that, she waved goodbye, as I watched her head out through one of the entrances to the dungeon. And then, I just did my best to prepare myself for the adventures that lay ahead, as I made my way in through the middle entrance of the Beginner¡¯s Dungeon.

 Chapter 17: Inside of the Dungeon

    As I stepped inside of the cave, I heard a gentle ¡°pinging¡± sound. Then, there was a sudden flash of light that blinded me temporarily, and a loud rumbling noise that echoed throughout the halls. After that, everything fell silent¡­ and when my eyes had adjusted enough to open back up again, I found that I was now in a small, circular room, with four doors lined up against the wall, and a series of flashing blue messages that were displayed right at the center of my field of vision. They read:


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    ¡°Welcome to the Beginner¡¯s Dungeon! You are currently on Floor One.¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    ¡°Your currently available starting points are: Floor One. You can unlock a new starting point by reaching a hub floor for the first time. The next hub floor that you can reach is: Floor Five.¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    ¡°While inside of the dungeon, you can fight monsters, discover treasures, and encounter a variety of other surprises. To mark an object as a piece of treasure that you want to bring back with you when you return, look at the object, and then think keep item. You can bring back three (3) pieces of treasure per trip.¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    ¡°To return from the dungeon, think exit the dungeon. You will also return from the dungeon automatically if you fall in combat.¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    ¡°Returning from the dungeon will restore both your body and your equipment to the condition that they were in before. Once you have returned from the dungeon, however, you will not be able to enter again until the following day. Each new day begins at midnight. At that time, monsters and treasures will be automatically re-populated. Finally, please note that all EXP that you acquire in the dungeons will be applied after you have rested, and that any levels that you gain will be available the following morning.¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    ¡°Good luck, and enjoy!¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The only part of those messages that surprised me much at all ¨C besides the continual oddness of living in this video-game like world, of course ¨C was the one that said that the EXP which I gained inside of the dungeon wouldn¡¯t be applied until after I had returned, and gotten a good night¡¯s worth of rest. That meant that I would be level one for the whole of my time here today, so I probably wouldn¡¯t be able to advance beyond floor two, or beyond floor three at the very most.


    After I had finished reading each of the messages, I looked around, and took in my surroundings.


    As I mentioned before, the room was mostly empty, except for the four doors that were placed along the walls. There didn¡¯t seem to be anyone else here at the moment, so there wasn¡¯t anyone that I could ask about where each of the doors lead to, or which of them I should choose for now. But Praxa had suggested that the most enjoyable way to explore the dungeons was just to go whichever way you wanted, so I doubted that what door I chose would really matter all that much at all. So, I ended up deciding to just pick the door that was closest to me, which had a small engraving of the number ¡°five¡± right above its center.


    As I approached the door, I reached out, and grabbed the black metal handle that protruded out from it. I found that it turned quite easily in my hand, as the large golden frame of the door pulled out smoothly towards me.


    Through the now-opened entryway, I could make out what seemed to be a huge, sprawling jungle, and a ceiling so high up in the air that it seemed to be almost invisible out in the distance. All sorts of large, brightly colored flowers were springing up on the trees all around me, and something that looked almost exactly like sunlight was beaming down from the roof. The whole place really gave off the impression of being a sort of a tropical paradise, and the scene certainly wasn¡¯t at all what I had been expecting from the first floor of an ancient, enclosed dungeon.


    I couldn¡¯t have known this at the time, of course, but part of the joy of exploring the dungeons was that the magic of the place was used to create places that were very lush, and often extremely beautiful. In my adventures to come through the different floors of each of the dungeons, I would end up seeing just about every sort of wonder that you could imagine ¨C huge, soaring waterfalls, and islands that were floating in the sky, and golden staircases that ascended up towards the peak of frozen mountains, and old, ruined castles, that hovered magically above the surface of great and beautiful lakes.


    But even just at this moment, I could already get some taste of all of the splendors that were yet to come, as I watched a creature that looked a little like a large, emerald green parrot go flying through the air above me, before landing on the branch of an enormous tree, and letting out a beautiful, melodic song, that echoed through the huge expanse of jungle that stretched out before my eyes.


    In a state of deep contentment, I took a few steps inside, and began to think about what I wanted to do next.


    One thing that had become really clear from talking with Praxa was that, if you wanted to be able to make a living as an adventurer, then you¡¯d need to end up becoming pretty powerful.


    Even in a town like Westfall - where there was a student run economy that prevented any sort of competition from older and more skilled explorers - most people weren¡¯t able to make a living just from adventuring until about level 35 or so.


    For would-be adventurers like myself, that meant that you would generally end up supplementing your explorations with another source of income, which would probably be either a skilled profession, like blacksmithing, or else a role as a guard or a soldier for the town (which is what Praxa had chosen to do).


    Of course, when Praxa had said that you needed to be about level 35 in order to ¡°make a living,¡± what she had meant is that you needed to be around that level in order to make enough money to be able to pay for your rent, and your food, and your classes, and all of the other expenses that came from getting a place to stay in Westfall. That was more money than I would need for right now, of course, so I wouldn¡¯t need to worry about getting that powerful just yet.


    But, even if I just wanted to make a bit of money to try to pay for the next weeks¡¯ worth of food, it was still going to take a bit of experience. It seemed as if most of the treasures on the first five floors were fairly worthless, and that I¡¯d need to be around level 6 or 7 to be able to start finding things that anyone might want to pay for. From there, I could probably start to make enough to pay for food for myself and for Aaron and Lily, and I could certainly earn enough to pay for my food reliably around the time that I reached the Tenth Floor or so.


    For the most part, then, it just wasn¡¯t possible to really turn much of a profit without going up higher and higher into the dungeons. That meant that a new adventurer like myself probably wasn¡¯t going to be able to find anything very valuable on his first visit here, or to support himself right away.


    There were, however, two different exceptions to that rule.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    The first exception was something that I had mentioned before, which are ¡°treasure floors.¡± Every time that you moved from one floor to another, you had a small chance to end up on a kind of randomly generated, ¡°in-between¡± stage. That stage was sometimes what was called a ¡°treasure floor,¡± which gave you your choice of all sorts of rare and valuable treasures to bring back home.


    However, it didn¡¯t seem all that likely for me to encounter one of those anytime too soon. From what Praxa had said, it sounded as if many people had even spent a whole year in the Beginner¡¯s Dungeon without ever discovering one of those places. But it was at least a possibility, and one that I might be able to light upon, if I was lucky.


    But, of course¡­


    ¡­ I wasn¡¯t.


    That left the second option.


    The dungeons also had a special kind of creature called a ¡°golden goblin.¡± These strange monsters looked a little bit like goblins made up out of gold, and if you were able to defeat one of them, then they would dissolve into a box that was filled with three different kinds of valuable goods, all of which you could bring back with you when you returned to your home.


    Best of all, encountering these golden goblins didn¡¯t depend at all on your Luck stat. Each of them just happened to spawn in a certain area at a particular time, which had nothing to do with the luck values of any of the players in that area, and only had to do with how frequently that area was visited (with more populated areas receiving the greater share of golden goblins). So, if you happened to be closer to the goblin than any of the other people nearby, then you had a really good chance of defeating them, and of making their loot your own.


    Unfortunately¡­


    ¡­ it was nearly impossible to find one.


    According to Praxa, there were forty-nine of the creatures in total, and each of them took a year to respawn, once they had been defeated. Add in how many floors they might spawn on ¨C and how many other people might be there to get to them first ¨C and your odds of encountering one were just about 1 in 10,000 on any given day¡­ low enough that most people came and went through the town of Westfall without ever having seen one of them at all, much less having defeated one and taken their treasures.


    All of those considerations together meant that the ¡°exceptions¡± to the rule weren¡¯t as real as they might have seemed, and that it was pretty much guaranteed that I wasn¡¯t going to find any sort of valuable treasure until I had at least managed to get my level up to about 6 or 7, and made my way towards some of the higher floors of the dungeon.


    For that reason, I had decided that I would just focus for now on improving my abilities, so that I would be able to bring back some valuable goods after a few more trips to the dungeon. If that plan ended up falling through, then I planned to either take up a skilled profession, like farming or blacksmithing, or else to see if it would be possible for me to be hired as a guard for the city.


    That was my thinking at the time, at any rate.


    Anyway, after having settled on my tentative plans for the future, I began to simply venture out further into the jungle, in order to see where my explorations might happen to lead me.


    At first, the whole place had seemed enormously tranquil, and the whole time that I had been thinking about what to do, I had also just been soaking in the whole graceful beauty of the jungle that was stretching out all around me.


    But once I began to move further on in ahead, it really didn¡¯t take too long for things to become a lot more chaotic, as I encountered my very first enemy in the dungeons.


    As I soon discovered, the whole jungle was full of a certain kind of short, bipedal lizard creature, that carried a large, iron-pointed spear, and a small, round wooden shield.


    If I¡¯m being honest with you, the first one of those creatures that I encountered was actually pretty terrifying. I knew that I wasn¡¯t going to die here, of course, or even get injured. But it was still more than a little unnerving to see an angry looking creature with a pointed weapon run towards you as fast as it could, shrieking and yelling in a fit of rage, while it thrust its spear directly towards your chest with the intent to murder you.


    It took just about everything that I had to be able to keep my cool, as I just barely managed to leap out of the creature¡¯s way, before swinging my large long sword down against its shield with both of my hands. Fortunately, the creature still seemed to be a little off balance, so it didn¡¯t have the strength or the coordination to be able to block the downwards swing of my sword. Instead, the blade went crashing through the fragile wood, cleaving the whole shield into a handful of splintered fragments, as I drove the blade further and further down through the creature¡¯s shoulder, along the neck.


    A few seconds later, I had attained my first ever victory as an explorer in the dungeons.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    ¡°Congratulations! You have defeated your first enemy in the dungeon!¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    ¡°Achievement unlocked: Novice Dungeoneer! +2% damage while inside of a dungeon.¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Another notice informed me of the EXP that I had gained, which would be applied once I had exited the dungeon.


    That victory ¨C and the little bit of extra power that I had gained as a result ¨C gave me exactly the boost of courage that I needed to keep pressing onwards, and to continue to fight against the creatures.


    The next one of the monsters that I found went down pretty easily, too, and by the time that I had gotten to about the fourth or the fifth of them, I was starting to feel a lot more comfortable in my abilities, and a lot more certain that I was really able to fight.


    I hadn¡¯t known this at the time, but I think a lot of the reason that my first day in the dungeons had gone so well was because of my naturally high Agility stat. It was actually pretty rare to have more than an 8 in any single attribute, so to have come into the world with a perfect ¡®10¡¯ in Agility, and then added to it that extra point which I had gotten right at the beginning of my journey, all meant that my dodging abilities were a little over twice as high as what an average person¡¯s would have been at that time.


    Combine that with the fact that the lizard-men were fairly strong, but not especially agile, and it was pretty easy to see why I would be able to take them down with so little danger. Add to that the blessing of Kalia, which restored me back up to full health even if I did get hit, and it really seemed as if I could have stayed out there forever, just fighting and growing more and more capable and skilled.


    I must have stayed out there for at least two or three hours, just fighting against the lizard-creatures and beginning to get a sort of mastery over my blade. I knew that Praxa had told me that you¡¯d often encounter other people while you traveled through the dungeons, but so far, it had just been me out here all by myself. I wasn¡¯t really sure why that was ¨C I was still right by the entrance, so it seemed like I should have seen someone by now ¨C but I didn¡¯t really give it a lot of thought. Instead, I just continued to fight, and to practice each of my skills, only taking a few short breaks every now and then to admire the beauty of the environment, and to marvel at some of the places and the sights that I stumbled across along the way.


    By the time that I had at last begun to grow a little tired from fighting each of the different creatures, I had made a fairly considerable amount of improvement. My Strong Swordsmanship skill was now at level 7, and my Dodging skill had improved all the way up to level 4.


    I had been hoping that I would unlock a new enhancement at level 5 (just as I had done with my Swordsmanship skill), but I hadn¡¯t gotten any sort of notice sayng "a bonus will be unlocked at your next level" yet with my "Dodging" skill, so I assumed that my enhancement would come a little later, if dodging also had an enhancement of its own. But, that meant that I probably wouldn¡¯t get all that much stronger than this, at least for the time being, which suggested that, if I wanted to try venturing up towards the second floor, then now was as good of a time to head up there as any.


    Even though I had found the entrance that led up to the second floor a little while back, I had wanted to avoid it at first, until I felt as if I had made as much progress down here as I could. But now that defeating the lizard-creatures had become so easy, and now that it seemed as if my abilities weren¡¯t going to improve all that much more, I figured that there wasn¡¯t any harm in making my way upwards. The worst that would happen is that I would be defeated... and even then, I would still have made a good deal of progress, and could just pick up where I left off on the following day.


    So, with quite a bit of curiosity about what might lay ahead, I made my way out towards the entrance to the second floor, and prepared to make my way further on in through the dungeon.

 Chapter 18: The Creature in the Cave

    The entrance to the second floor was a large, stone tower, that rose high into the air, then went up and out through the roof above.


    At the front of the tower, there was a single door with a golden metal frame, and a black metal handle on the side, just like before. The door didn¡¯t have any sort of inscription or marking on it, but I didn¡¯t pay that too much mind, as I pulled the handle towards me, and stepped inside.


    Just a few feet in front of the doorway, there was a huge, winding staircase, that must have gone at least a hundred meters into the air. At first, to be honest, I felt a little intimidated by the sheer size and height of it. But as soon as I had placed my foot onto the first step, there was a sudden flash of light, and the same rumbling sound that I had heard before. When my eyes had adjusted once again to the new surroundings, I found that I was now at the very top of that same tower, with a bit of light streaming in through a few windows overhead, and another of the golden framed doors just in front of me. So, I reached out my hand, pulled the handle downwards, and pushed my way through the door, as I took my first step out towards the second floor of the dungeon.


    In front of me was a huge, crystal-clear lake, that stretched out so far in all directions that it seemed to go on forever. All across the body of that lake, there were hundreds upon hundreds of small, round islands, each of which was within leaping distance of at least a couple of the rest. There were no bridges, and there was no boat or anything, so it seemed as if you really were meant just to leap from island to island in order to make your way on in ahead.


    That sounded like a really good time, though, so I didn¡¯t have even the slightest objection to that mode of transportation.


    Way off into the distance, I thought that I could make out another stone tower, which probably lead up towards the third floor. I also saw a few islands that were much bigger than each of the rest, scattered throughout the horizon in front of me. One of them seemed to have a jungle on it, while another had what looked like a hot springs for bathing, and a third had a cave that I couldn¡¯t quite see the entrance of. But for the most part, almost all of the islands were very small ¨C only large enough for about five or six people to stand on at one time ¨C and also quite flat, covered in little more than a light, green grass, with all of the smoothness and evenness of a well-maintained field.


    If the waters of the lake hadn¡¯t been so clear, I think that I would have been pretty worried about getting ambushed by some sort of monster from the deep. But as it was, I could see quite far down into the lake, in nearly all directions, and I didn¡¯t see anything dangerous down there at all. There were just a bunch of beautiful, koi-like fish, and some lovely patches of coral further on in towards the bottom. The only odd thing at all was that there seemed to be a lot more ground beneath the islands than on top of them, and it also seemed as if some of the apparently separate islands might actually have been joined together along their bases. But I didn¡¯t make too much of that at the time, and Imerely registered it as another part of the landscape in front of me.


    On the whole, the sight of the lake and the islands was deeply tranquil, and it gave a sense of profound calm, and of restfulness.


    Except¡­ well. There was a very obvious problem about the whole sight, which made me considerably more nervous than I would have been otherwise.


    ¡­ I had no idea where any of the monsters were.


    They definitely weren¡¯t on the surfaces of the islands, and they didn¡¯t seem to be underwater, either.


    At the same time, I knew that they must be here somewhere, because Praxa had told me that every part of the dungeon has its own unique monster.


    It was possible that they were invisible, or that they had some sort of cloaking device, or something. But that seemed a little too extreme for the second floor of a beginner¡¯s dungeon.


    The only possibility which that left, that I could think of¡­ was that the monsters were somewhere underneath the ground ¨C just waiting to pop up and to attack.


    That wasn¡¯t exactly the most comfortable proposition. But the more I thought about it, the more convinced I was that that must be the case.


    Not only that, but I really couldn¡¯t think of any sort of clever way to draw them out, or to expose them so that I could attack.


    That meant that I was probably going to have to start walking on ahead, and wait for them to attack me, with no idea what they might be, or how they might strike. Then, I would have to do my best in order to survive, and to take them down once they had started to try to kill me.


    That was, of course, a little bit nerve-wracking. But I didn¡¯t really see any sort of alternative, and I certainly didn¡¯t plan on heading back around, and giving up right then and there. So¡­ I just tried to steel myself as best as I could, while I began to leap ahead, keeping an eye out for any sort of creature that might pop back out from the ground.


    Not too long afterwards, I caught my first glimpse of the monsters that called this floor their home.


    As I had soon discovered, this particular floor was populated by a creature that looked a little like a cross between a large mole, and a professional body-builder. They had the rough shape and outline of a mole, but with big, bulky arms, a thick upper torso, and a surprisingly expressive, pissed-off face. The whole spectacle was actually pretty funny, and I would have probably been really amused by it if I had seen them under a more favorable set of circumstances. But, it was hard to appreciate the sight too much when the creatures were trying so hard ¨C and with such considerable skill ¨C to bring my life to an end.


    They were distance fighters, and their main method of attack was to pop out of a nearby island, then throw large, heavy stones in your direction, hurling them towards your head and your chest. Once you tried to get close to the creatures in order to defend yourself, they would just burrow down into the ground again, then pop back up on a different island, before resuming their attack.


    If I was a ranged fighter, like an archer or a wizard, then it probably wouldn¡¯t have been all that hard to take them down. But as it was, it took me a couple of minutes of frantic leaping and dodging until I was able to figure out a strategy that actually had a chance of working.


    What I ended up coming up with was this.


    I had to get as close to them as I possibly could without scaring them off, and then ¨C right when they had put their whole forward motion into throwing a rock in my direction ¨C I had to leap towards the island that they were on, all while twisting out of the way of their attack, and then plunging my blade into them before they could get away, so that I could finish them off right then and there.


    As I¡¯m sure that you can imagine, that took a lot of coordination, and it would never have been possible without my remarkably high Agility score, and my considerably improved Dodging skill, as well.


    Also¡­


    It was really, really fun.


    I hardly even really noticed the passing of the time, as I ran and leapt from one little island to the next, flying through the air, dodging the volley of rocks that were hurled my way, and playing what amounted to the real-life equivalent of ¡°Whac-a-Mole,¡± as I sliced and stabbed at the creatures, and grew stronger with every passing minute.


    Of course, if I had been doing these sorts of things back on Earth, then I¡¯m sure that I would have gotten really exhausted. But because of my blessing of Kalia, my body could almost instantly recover from all of the minor amounts of damage that I was doing to each of my muscles, which meant that I had something that came surprisingly close to being an unlimited amount of stamina. Not only that, but because you couldn¡¯t really feel pain in the dungeons, I didn¡¯t feel any discomfort when my whole body came crashing down onto the ground, or when I had to twist at an especially awkward angle up in the middle of the air.


    All of that together meant that I was barely becoming tired, and that I could simply experience the thrill of leaping and flying through the air, and of running faster than I had ever been able to run before in my life, all without having to worry about my legs wearing out on me, or my muscles spasming, or anything like that.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    I was still probably going to get pretty hungry, of course ¨C my healing powers couldn¡¯t just magically create the nutrients that I would need for my body ¨C and if I pushed myself too hard for too long, I knew that the exertions would start to catch up to me. But even so, I was having such a good time that I didn¡¯t worry about any of that at all. Instead, I focused in on soaring through the air, and on quickly dispatching each of my foes, as I continued to train to grow stronger on the huge, clear lake with the thousands of floating islands.


    As I kept leaping and dodging, fighting and improving, I continued to feel really amazed that it was actually possible to make a career out of something that was so fundamentally enjoyable. From my conversation with Praxa a little while ago, and with Torver before that, I had already learned that adventurers generally didn¡¯t make all that much money out of their careers, and that the successful ones usually only earned a little bit more than what the average person needed to make in order to survive.


    But, honestly, I didn¡¯t care about any of that at all. Just getting to be out here in these beautiful places, making such tangible and concrete improvements, and engaging in what effectively amounted to the most enjoyable form of athletic activity in the world ¨C that was more than enough for me. Add to that the fact that eventually, I would likely be able to explore these places with the good friends that I made along the way, and the whole thing really seemed about perfect to me.


    I had never been someone with especially expensive tastes, and I really didn¡¯t care all that much about becoming rich, or famous, or even about being a big part of the events in the world. If I could become someone important, and if I could change the world for the better, then that would be nice, of course. But I was pretty easy to please, all things being considered, and the life that I was dreaming of at that moment ¨C adventuring, exploring, and living out a peaceful and quiet existence in a little town somewhere, with my friends and family by my side ¨C seemed like more than enough for me, and certainly enough for me to be quite happy.


    And so, with a great sense of enjoyment and of satisfaction, and with a renewed determination to make my way through this world as a skilled adventurer, I simply continued to train and to grow stronger, enjoying all of the wonderful sights and spectacles along the way.


    In the time that I continued to fight out there, I had quite a bit of progress. My Strong Swordsmanship had increased by 1, up to Level 8, and my Dodging had done the same, reaching up to Level 5. But my Athletics skill had predictably gone skyrocketing, from all of the leaping and running that I¡¯d been doing, and it had advanced all the way up to Level 6. Just as with Dodging, there hadn¡¯t been any sort of announcement of an enhancement or anything, so I assumed that ¡°support¡± skills either didn¡¯t get enhanced at all, or else reached their first enhancement at a later point in their progression. But the boost to my running and my leaping was still quite considerable, and it only served to make the whole act of flying through the air and jumping from place to place even more enjoyable.


    But still, after about an hour and a half of fighting my way through the mole creatures, I was starting to get pretty hungry, and I was feeling just about ready to start to head my way back home. If I had thought to bring some sort of lunch with me, I could probably have gone a few hours longer. But I also felt like I had made enough progress for the day ¨C I had been in here for almost five hours by now, and had dealt and received quite a bit of damage ¨C and I figured that it was time to get back to watch over each of the children, and to continue to read and to learn about my new world.


    But¡­ well.


    Even though I probably should have headed back right then, I still felt like I wanted to see a little bit more of this place before I left for the day. The whole setting was so enchanting, and so different from anything that I had ever seen before in my life, that I wanted to just walk through it and to explore it for a little while longer ¨C without focusing too much on fighting or on growing stronger ¨C before I ended up deciding to head back home.


    So, I took a moment to stop and to look around, in order to see what there was left for me to explore.


    I had already made my way out to the big island with the jungle on it, and I had also taken a brief rest at the big island with the hot springs, which wasexactly as warm and refreshing as I had been hoping for. I had even gotten the chance to discover the stone tower that led up to the third floor, which was situated on one of the smaller islands almost directly opposite from the stone tower that I had originally climbed up from.


    But I still hadn¡¯t made it out to the large island with the cave just yet, and I was pretty curious about what might be lurking inside. I had been avoiding that place before, as I had been a little worried that it might be a boss battle or something, and I hadn¡¯t wanted to get killed in here before I had finished up with my training. But now that I was about ready to start to head home, that unexplored cave seemed quite inviting, and like a nice place to examine before I gave up on my travels for the day. So slowly, I began to hop my way from place to place, taking my time to pause and to admire the view, as I made my way on up ahead.


    About twenty minutes later, I hopped onto a bit of land a little ways behind the very back portion of the cave.


    Once I had arrived, I could begin to just barely hear what sounded like loud snoring coming from towards the front entrance of the cave.


    That set me on edge at once, and I suddenly became quite focused, and alert.


    Then, as carefully as I could, I slowly made my way around the sides of the cave, trying not to make a single sound along the way. The whole time, my heart was beating faster and faster, as I stealthily made my way closer and closer towards the sound.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    ¡°Congratulations! You have learned the ¡®Sneaking¡¯ skill! Your Sneaking is now level 1! Each level will increase your ability to move quietly, and without being noticed.¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    That might be useful for later, I thought. But, for now, I tried to focus on the task at hand, as I at last made my way up towards the front entrance of the cave.


    Pausing, I turned towards my side, and took a good, clear look at what lay inside.


    What I saw nearly took my breath away.


    There, laying peacefully along the ground, was a golden goblin.


    Given the odds that Praxa had told to me before, that seemed just about impossible ¨C and I wouldn¡¯t understand the reason that I¡¯d been able to find one so quickly for another couple of days.


    But right then, it really felt like a miracle, and like some sort of sign from the Gods that adventuring was going to be the life for me.


    Fortunately, the creature hadn¡¯t seemed to notice me yet, and the entrance to the cave was narrow enough that I doubted if it could escape even if it had.


    Normally, I would have thought a little about what to do. But because of the extraordinary rarity of the find, and my eagerness to capture it, I didn¡¯t even hesitate for a second. I just kept making my way closer in towards the creature, until I was directly at its side. Then, I raised my sword up into the air with both hands, and plunged it directly into the creature¡¯s body.


    I had been worried that, once I had made my attack, the creature might start to run, or that it might not go down without a considerable fight. But the moment that I touched it with my blade ¨C even before I had done any real damage to it ¨C the goblin exploded into thousands and thousands of particles of magical energy, as a large, golden box began to materialize right where the goblin had been before.


    Excitedly, I opened up the box, and looked inside.


    There before me, I saw four objects, lined up all in a row:


    The first was a glowing, magical ring.


    The second was a golden pendant, with a large gemstone in the center.


    The third was a gem-studded dagger, that looked almost ceremonial in design.


    And the fourth was a small, platinum coin, with an engraving of a golden goblin on the front, and of a box full of treasures on the back.


    A little bit more investigation revealed to me that the magical ring was something called a ¡°Minor Ring of Strength,¡± that gave a +4 boost to my STR, while the small, platinum coin was a special prize for having defeated my first golden goblin, that would automatically be returned with me when I left the dungeon, without counting against my three-item limit.


    That meant that I could take every single thing in the box with me, without leaving a single one of the treasures behind.


    I think it took me about a whole minute to really process just what an incredible find this was, and how many of my problems it had taken care of in a single instant. Even in the worst case ¨C that this hadn¡¯t been that good of a haul ¨C it would certainly take care of my food expenses for quite a while, and it would probably give me enough money to really get my start in this world, and to serve as a solid foundation while I set up my career, and found a more stable way to earn my income.


    That was, of course, a truly enormously good stroke of luck ¨C one that I would never have been able to have received, had the goblin¡¯s appearance depended at all on my ¡®Luck¡¯ stat!


    Of course, even with the fact that the creature¡¯s appearance wasn¡¯t tied to my Luck, I still didn¡¯t really understand how it was possible that I would have found such an extremely unlikely source of treasure on my very first visit to one of the dungeons. But right then, I wasn¡¯t really thinking too much about any of those things. I just felt so grateful for what had happened, and so excited for all of the possibilities that this discovery had opened up for me, that it was hard to ask too many questions, or to think about any of the broader implications.


    Honestly, I kind of wanted to sit there and to soak in the wonder and the joy of that moment for a long, long time, as my eyes gazed upon the beautiful treasures that were laid out before me.


    But by now, I really was pretty hungry, and I knew that if I didn¡¯t get back soon, then I was really going to be way too exhausted by the time that I finally made it back to my home.


    So, I just marked each of the four objects as something that I wanted to take back with me when I left the dungeon, and then I told the system that I was ready to return, and to leave here for the day.


    It took a moment for the system to recognize each of my commands, and to respond. But then, there was another flash of light, as the magic of the dungeons took me back to the entrance that I had come in through a little while before.


    As my eyes slowly began to recover once more from the sudden transportation, all that I could think about was the memory of the extraordinarily pleasant day that I had just experienced, as I clutched each of the treasures tightly in my hand, and delighted in my great good fortune, and the fine start that I had managed to make to my whole life as an adventurer.

 Chapter 19: Treasure

    Return initiated.


    The benefits of your new experiences will be calculated after you have rested for the day, and absorbed what you have learned.


    Calculating levels¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­ THREE (3) levels gained.


    Finding items¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Items found. You are returning with FOUR (4) items.


    Transportation of new items complete.


    Beginning transportation of your person.


    Transporting¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Transportation complete. Welcome back, William.


    And with that, my first foray into the dungeons was at its end.


    Right after each of the messages had finished displaying, a small, yellow icon of an ¡°up¡± arrow had begun to flash in the lower right corner of my awareness. That was likely meant to alert me to all of the levels that I had just acquired. So now, eager to see how much stronger I had become, I pressed my finger up against the yellow arrow, and watched as a stream of new messages appeared at the center of my vision.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    ¡°Congratulations! You have leveled up!¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    ¡°You are now level 2! +1 to each of your statistics.¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    ¡°You are now level 3! +1 to each of your statistics.¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    ¡°You are now level 4! +1 to each of your statistics.¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    ¡°You have acquired NINE (9) stat points. These can be spent however you wish, on any of your primary statistics.¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    That was actually a lot more than I had been expecting. Based on what I had heard during my guided tour of Westfall, it sounded like most of the fighting classes stayed here for about two years, and that they went from level 1 to about level 50 during that time, completing the Beginner¡¯s Dungeon in the process. That meant that, on average, a person should be gaining about half a level per week. So to have gained three levels in a single trip implied that I was growing much, much faster than I would have reasonably expected.


    I suspected that there were two things that might have been accounting for that quick growth.


    On the one hand, my blessing meant that I could take a lot of damage, but still get back into the fight after no more than a couple of minutes. I didn¡¯t know how healing worked in this world, but I had noticed that my HP regeneration was way above the default rate. So, if it was difficult for adventurers to heal ¨C or even just for beginningadventurers ¨C then that might help to explain why I had gained so much experience in my first outing, and been able to level up so quickly.


    But the more important factor was probably what Torver had told me before, about the ¡°boost¡± that Interlopers get when they first come into this world. I didn¡¯t know what that boost was, exactly, or what might be causing it. But from what he said, it sounded like most people ended up advancing quite a bit in their first few weeks, before that growth began to really slow down. If I was going through that same sort of process, then I imagined that I might be able to get to about level 30 or 40, before my whole advancement started to stabilize, and I ended up becoming just a little bit stronger than most of my peers.


    After that, I would probably be on my own¡­ assuming that I couldn¡¯t find a way to tap into the source of that ¡°boost¡± for a longer period of time, at any rate.


    But, whatever the causes might be, that degree of improvement was certainly quite welcome. I was especially glad to see that I had managed to gain a few new stat points to spend, and that I would be able to improve my overall fighting power in any way that I chose.


    So, after deliberating for a little while about what I would spend them on, I decided that I would put the points into Agility, Strength, and Vitality. I had been relying on my Agility quite a bit during combat (in order to dodge my opponents¡¯ blows), and that stat was also what I was using to get away from dangerous opponents. So any improvement there would be be the most useful overall, and would also probably help me out the most in making my way through the dungeons.


    After that, the second target for my improvement would be Strength. That was clearly becoming my go-to stat for dealing damage, as I was relying far less on precise, targeted blows, and more on strong, sweeping or plunging attacks with my sword.


    Finally, even though it wasn¡¯t my main focus, I didn¡¯t want to completely neglect my Vitality, either. It seemed pretty obvious that it would be important to keep my total HP growing along with my overall level, so that I wouldn¡¯t become too vulnerable as I continued to fight.


    So, after thinking things through in that way, I decided to place 5 points into Agility, 3 points into Strength, and 1 point into Vitality. That seemed like a pretty good balance, and I was sure that it would make a big improvement to my overall ability further on down the line.


    After I had finished distributing my points, I asked the system what my status was. Almost at once, it sent out the following display:


    <div>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Level: 4</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Affected By: Blessing of Kalia</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <div>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">HP (Hit Points):</td>


    <td>110/110</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">HP Regeneration:</td>


    <td>12.1 HP / min</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">MP (Magic Points):</td>


    <td>40/40</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">MP Regeneration:</td>


    <td>0.24 MP / min</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Strength:</td>


    <td>17 (13+4)</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Intelligence:</td>


    <td>11</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Dexterity:</td>


    <td>10</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Wisdom:</td>


    <td>8</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Agility:</td>


    <td>19</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Luck:</td>


    <td>6</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Vitality:</td>


    <td>11</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Insight:</td>


    <td>7</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    I had placed the dagger, the coin and the pendant into my pockets, and I had put the ring on my finger, where it rested beneath my glove. I wanted to sell both the pendant and the knife, as I saw no particular use for them, and they seemed like they might be able to fetch a considerable sum. But the ring I wanted to keep for now, if I could, and I definitely wanted to keep the coin of the treasure goblin as well, as a commemoration of what I had achieved, and also as something that I could show to each of the children, as a sign of where I had been, and what I had been able to accomplish.


    It seemed that the crowds in the market place were just beginning to wind down. But nearly all of the stalls seemed to be open, and it didn¡¯t take me too long to find a jeweler who was interested in having a look at my pendant.


    I had been a little worried about how I would handle the sale, and how I would make sure that I didn¡¯t end up selling the thing for far less than it was worth. But as I pulled out the pendant, a few separate merchants came over to examine it, and it was clear from their mutual eagerness to buy it that this must be a pretty valuable object, and that at least one of them was going to give me a pretty good offer. Eventually, I managed to sell the thing for 10 small, golden coins. I didn¡¯t know this at the time, but a single small golden coin was worth about ten silver coins, and a silver coin was about enough for a day¡¯s worth of food. That meant that the pendant alone would be able to cover all of my food expenses for quite a long period of time, and that it would also make a pretty good start towards getting me a room to stay in, too, if I ended up needing to find a place to stay.


    However, it ended up turning out that the small, gem-studded dagger was the real find. Even though the gem in the pendant had been a fair amount larger than any of the gems in the hilt of the knife, that gem had actually been relatively common in this world, and it had been the gold of the pendant that had been the more valuable part. But some of the gems in the dagger proved to be much more rare, and at least one of them hadn¡¯t even been seen before by any of the merchants who examined it. And so, after a bit of bargaining, I managed to sell the thing for about 30 golden coins, which was quite a considerable sum of money for a novice adventurer.


    The sight of all of that gold coming in to me all at once actually made me pretty excited, and a part of me wanted to go out and to start spending it, buying all sorts of nice goods and equipment for later on down the road. But still, that was just a fleeting impulse, and not really anything all that serious. Honestly, my previous experiences with money had made me pretty frugal by this point in my life, so I was in no rush to hurry off and to waste my earnings in a single splurge ¨C especially since I¡¯d made that gold in a pretty fortuitous circumstance, that wasn¡¯t likely to repeat itself anytime too soon. Instead, I simply placed the change back into the pockets of my leather leggings, and began to move back out towards the exit of the town.


    I did decide that I would buy one thing, however, in order to celebrate a bit. The little toy store that I had seen before was apparently having a bit of a sale, and an especially beautiful set of carved wooden figurines was available for about two golden coins. It came with a small little castle, a few treasures to place inside, and a band of monsters, along with two knights ¨C one male, and one female ¨C and a number of different weapons that you could place into their hands.


    It was oddly delightful for me to look at, and I suspected that the children would enjoy it as well. So, I went over and purchased the set, and placed it into a small bag that I could carry with me as I headed out of town. Then, I made my way back out through the large wooden gate, and towards the small home where Lily and Aaron had been awaiting me.


    As I opened up the door of the house and stepped inside, the two children excitedly ran up to greet me, and asked me a thousand questions about the places that I had seen, and the enemies that I had encountered. I told them about the whole trip in as much detail as I was able, and I showed them the small platinum coin that I had found, along with the magical ring of strength.


    They seemed to be quite excited by my story, but they were especially pleased by the sight of the 38 golden coins that I laid out on the table in front of them. Apparently, even the three or four silver coins that they had found before had seemed like a small fortune to them, so the sight of all of this gold must have seemed a little bit like something out of a myth, or a legend. They were really very enthusiastic about it all, is what I¡¯m trying to say, and each of them seemed to almost feel as if the sum of money in front of them would be enough to cover all of their expenses for the rest of their lives.


    That was quite a bit further from the truth than I would have liked to admit. But, it really was enough that we wouldn¡¯t have to worry about our food for a very long time, so I saw no need to correct them, or to inform them of the limits of the pile of golden treasures that were stretched out before them.


    Once we had talked a bit more, and cooked up another meal together, I gave them the set of toys as a final present, so that they would have something else to play with while I was gone. It was just as much of a hit as I was hoping, and the two of them set out at once to play with the figurines, Lily taking the role of the female, bow-wielding knight, and Aaron ¨C bless his heart ¨C taking a male knight with a truly enormous long sword gripped between both of his hands.


    While they played, I went over to the bookshelf once again, and browsed through a few of the tomes that I hadn¡¯t taken a look at before. I read through a small book on dungeons, which gave me quite a few useful tips, and also a little book about some of the local flora and fauna, which ended up being pretty interesting, and had a lot of well-drawn images that were really a delight to look at.


    Then, I found a large tome of history, and I read the whole, long chapter that covered the last one hundred years of the world that I was now inhabiting, which taught me quite a bit that would be of some use later on.


    From what I could glean from the tome, it seemed as if the four main nations had been more or less stable during that time, and that none of the large wars that had erupted between them had seriously threatened their control over each of their respective towers. Still, the book ¨C which appeared to have been written about five or ten years ago ¨C did seem to suggest that some of the more recent tensions might eventually be sufficient to force a war of the kind of scale that would bring at least one of the great nations tumbling down. In particular, it seemed as if there had been increasingly contentious fighting over the issue of slavery, and many of the people here expected that, eventually, either the Kingdom of the Green Tower and the City of the Orange Tower would join together to forcibly bring the practice to an end, or the City of the Red Tower would wage an aggressive war in advance, in order to secure the primary foundation of their whole way of life against the threat of foreign invaders. In either case, it was likely to be an almost cataclysmic event, and to spell the end of at least one of the four great nations of the world, if not two or three.


    There was, as you would expect, quite a lot more to it than that, as there always are in these things. But it really did seem as if the main motive force really was the contempt and hatred for slavery, on the one hand, and the defense and justification of the practice, on the other. That had made any sort of sustained, peaceful relations more or less impossible, and the increasingly frequent small, violent skirmishes seemed to be paving the road for something greater and more total that was likely to erupt further on ahead down the road.


    I was on the anti-slavery side, of course, as you would expect, given my upbringing. But at the same time, I was hardly eager to see the world burst into the kind of chaos that a great war over that issue would almost certainly require. For now, I just wanted to try my best to live a peaceful, quiet life, as I figured out how to look after the children, and how to become better able to survive against each of the different dangers in this world. I hardly felt ready for anything much greater than that, and I certainly didn¡¯t like my chances of surviving in a war that would likely be fought with thousands upon thousands of troops who were each going to be dozens of times my current level.


    Still, even though I was glad to have understood the current situation a little better, I also knew that there wasn¡¯t too much use in worrying about it for now. The only real actionable lesson that I took away from any of that was to try to stay out of the path of the warring nations, if at all possible. Fortunately, Westfall wasn¡¯t anywhere near the likely fields of battle, and it had already earned a kind of pseudo-protection from the City of the Blue Tower, which would almost certainly be a neutral force that neither side would want to risk offending. So, all in all, it seemed as if I was about as safe as I could be for now, and that all that would remain is to prepare as best as I could, and to keep my ear to the ground for any new developments or tensions along the way.


    So, I placed the book back on the shelf for the time being, then went over to spend a bit more time with the children, and also just to relax and unwind a bit after all of the different excitement from before.


    Soon though, I started to notice that it was getting quite late, and that the light from outside seemed to be quickly fading. The children seemed to have noticed it, too, and each of them were curling up in their respective beds, chatting with one another while they prepared to fall asleep. So, eventually, I went on into my own bed as well, talking to each of them about the day to come as we laid together in the ever growing darkness. After a bit, I could tell that Aaron and Lily had drifted off to sleep, and I felt myself fading into unconsciousness as well. Then, the room began to drift away, as my heavy eyes closed down, and the whole world grew dark, and still.


    My last thoughts were simply of the day ahead, and of what I had planned to do in the coming morning.


    I envisioned heading back out into the dungeons, and I felt a real sense of excitement when I started to think about what might be waiting for me on floors three, and four, and five, and six, and¡­


    ¡­ and, at the same time, I found myself thinking about Praxa quite a bit more than I had expected, and really wanting to see her again, and to spend a bit more time with her.


    I tried not to let those sorts of images get me too excited, or to attach too much significance to what was likely nothing more than a single, enjoyable conversation on a nice, spring-like morning. But, still¡­ I found the images coming back to me all the same, and it was difficult not to pay them quite a bit of attention. So eventually, I just surrendered to it all, as the pleasant memories of all that had come before bled into the sweet visions of the future, and of all that might be waiting for me along the road ahead.


    Then, at last, I felt my mind began to grow hazy, and foggy, and dim, as I fell into a deep, restful slumber, and prepared myself for the day to come.

 Chapter 20: Interlude

    Point of View: Praxa, Guardswoman and Student at the Town of Westfall


    I woke up in the soft, warm comfort of my bed, as I buried my cat-like ears into the large, fluffy pillow that I was resting on.


    Right then, I felt so warm, and so cozy, that I hardly wanted to get out of bed at all.


    I wasn¡¯t that used to having such a nice, warm bed to sleep on¡­ and right then, laying there just felt really, really wonderful.


    But¡­


    I still knew that I should get up, and that I should make a trip out to the dungeons.


    And so eventually, I lifted the white, fluffy sheets off of my body, and stretched out my arms, as I started to get out from bed.


    Then, I slid into my old suit of leather armor, and headed into the kitchen.


    The light from the early morning sun was just beginning to stream in through the windows of my room¡­ and I could hear the little birds chirping somewhere off in the distance, as they flew through town.


    As I stood there, I felt so much gratitude to have been able to come to this place, and to have been given the chance to study here, and to train.


    In silence, but with a feeling of deep peace, and of contentment, I ate a small, simple meal ¨C a few pieces of fruit, and some milk and cereal ¨C as I sat alone in one of the chairs of my kitchen.


    Afterwards, as I slowly began to wake back up, I took a moment to read one of the books for my classes, which was called The Path to Happiness.


    The book argued that happiness comes about from loving others, and from being with them, while misery comes about from hatred, and from being cruel towards other living beings.


    There was a lot that I liked about that argument, and a few of the passages were really, really beautiful.


    But, at the same time¡­ I kind of felt like something about that account was kind of¡­ ¡°off,¡± you know?


    Like things were a lot more complicated than that, somehow¡­ and a lot more difficult.


    Still, I couldn¡¯t quite put my finger on what was wrong with what the book was saying, if anything. So for now¡­ I just read the pages slowly, and carefully, as I continued to think about the questions that they raised, and to wonder about what my own future might hold in store, and what sort of a life I might end up leading.


    I sat like that for a little while, as I slowly flipped through the pages, and took a few more sips of water.


    Then, once I was done, I took my cup and plate over to the basin, and spent a few moments washing them off very carefully, and very precisely ¨C like I had learned to do back when I had worked as a waitress ¨C as I made sure that each and every spot of them was clean.


    Afterwards, I went over to the living room, and headed out the door ¨C into the upper floor of my dormitory ¨C before making my way down the stairs, and stepping outside, with my bow fastened around my back, and a small pouch wrapped around my waist.


    As I made my way out into the streets, I took a few moments to appreciate the beauty of the day.


    It was early, and quiet¡­ and the morning light was gently streaming in through the leaves and the branches of the trees.


    I had only been here for a few weeks by now¡­ but I had really begun to love that sight¡­ and seeing it had become one of the best parts of starting up my day.


    Then, from out in the distance, I began to make out the sounds of the people walking through the main thoroughfare, as they chatted with one another, and went about their business.


    It felt like the whole town was just waking up right then¡­ and the energy, and the excitement in their voices helped to invigorate me, and to prepare me for the day ahead.


    At a bit quicker of a pace, I made my way along the path outside of my room, and out through the large wooden gate at the entrance to the town.


    It was exciting to be in such a big city, with so many people all around me. But at the same time, it was a little loud for me, too, and it could sometimes feel almost a little suffocating, if that makes sense. And so I was glad when I had made it outside of town, and out into the farmlands that lay beyond.


    That was one of my favorite places in this whole city¡­ and walking through it was really nice for me, because it gave me a chance to appreciate the beauty of nature, and of all that this world had to offer.


    Quietly, I began to make my way alone along the path, looking out in silence at the farmers who were beginning their days, and starting up their work.


    The fields were lush, and full of crops. Small, but sturdy wooden houses were dotted along the fields¡­ and a few young people were just beginning to pick their equipment up out of the nearby barns, as they carried their tools over towards the fields.


    A young woman a little off in the distance waved towards me as she caught my eye. I waved back in turn, as I did my best to give her a warm, and friendly smile. Then, I turned my head back towards the road ahead, as I glanced up at the soft light of the early morning sun.


    For a long time, I made my way in silence through those fields, not thinking about very much, and not too worried about my own existence.


    Then, eventually, I arrived at the little woods in front of the dungeon, and sat down in a quiet spot beneath the trees. Afterwards, I took out one of my books, and began to read, as I continued to appreciate the beauty of the fields that were all around me.


    I was pretty focused on my book right then, and I was really enjoying working through its arguments.


    But, at the same time¡­


    I was kind of hoping that I might run into William again out here, like I¡¯d done the day before¡­ and I was kind of hoping that I¡¯d get the chance to talk to him once more.


    I had found myself thinking about him more than I¡¯d expected to, in the last day or so¡­ and for me at least, that was a really unfamiliar feeling.


    These last few years, I had spent most of my time just by myself.


    I hadn¡¯t had a very happy childhood, all things being considered.


    My first few years had been very sweet, and peaceful. Both of my parents had truly loved me, and they had truly loved one another, as well.


    We had been very poor, of course. But even still, we had brought so much warmth, and so much cheer to our home, that it hadn¡¯t felt bad, or unpleasant at all. It had just felt like a home¡­ and it was where I had expected to live for many years, and where I had hoped to return to throughout my life, once I had gotten older.


    But then, when I was about nine years old, each of my parents had been killed, in a war that none of us had wanted to be a part of.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    I¡¯d had no surviving family, back then ¨C or at least, none that I knew of¡­ and so, I had ended up moving to a little town about a half days¡¯ journey away, where I had been taken in by one of the local orphanages, and given a place to stay.


    At first, I had spent a lot of time sitting by myself, feeling lonely, and sad, and crying in places where nobody could find me.


    And, then¡­ I just started to spend a lot of time not feeling much of anything at all.


    By the time that I had become a teenager, I was living in a small house with a couple of other orphans, none of whom really liked me all that much, or cared about me.


    For a long time I would let the days pass me by, without hoping for all that much, and without caring too much about the fact that I was alive.


    And, then¡­ something just broke in me, all of a sudden.


    One of the other kids had been really cruel towards me, which had hurt so much that I had run out of the town, all by myself¡­ and as I was walking alone once more out by the side of the river, feeling empty, and hollow, it was suddenly like the dams that had been holding back all of my emotions shattered all at once, and burst into pieces.


    Then, I just fell towards the ground, and started sobbing uncontrollably, and screaming out in anguish, as I thought about how terrible my life had been, these last few years, and how completely I had given up on my own existence.


    I could see the little girl that I had once been, so long ago, and I could remember the way that my parents had held me in their arms, and the person that they had dreamed of me becoming¡­ and I just felt so awful, and so sad, and so determined to make sure that I didn¡¯t live out the rest of my life like I had been living it before.


    Then, I swore to myself that I would do something more, and that I would find some way to get out of all of this, and to live a better life.


    The next thing that I knew, I had taken three different part-time jobs, and I was practicing with my bow in nearly all of my spare time.


    That was hard, at first. But, slowly¡­ I really started to feel like I had a future, again¡­ and I really started to just feel so alive.


    Even though I was still alone, and upset about what had happened, and a little sad¡­ even though all of those things were true¡­


    ¡­ I really did feel so much better about my life.


    I loved my work, and I loved practicing with my bow, and seeing myself becoming the kind of woman that I had used to dream of back when I was younger.


    And¡­ and I loved just sitting down by the side of the river, and watching the water gently flowing along in front of me, and the birds chirping over my head, as I thought about my own life, and about my future.


    And I loved just laying on my back in the forest at night, and looking up through the leaves at all of the stars, as I gently drifted off to sleep, and dreamed about the days ahead of me.


    And, well¡­ that was what my life was like, back then... and that was how it felt as I finally woke back up from my slumber, and began to come alive.


    I still didn¡¯t really have any friends, unfortunately. But, for the first time... I didn¡¯t let that drag me down, or destroy me. I knew that I would be in a better place soon enough, where I would be able to find people who really cared about me, and appreciated my company¡­ and until I had found those people, I was glad to be moving forward, and to be chasing after my dreams.


    And even though it was hard at first, I eventually began to understand how to be happy in spite of all of that¡­ and how to just appreciate the little things, and the day-to-day flow of my own existence, and of my being.


    At any rate...


    After I had spent about two years like that, I managed to finally save up enough money that I could come out here, in order to study and to train at one of the best small colleges in the world.


    The day that I made the journey out towards Westfall ¨C and the day that I left that little town behind forever ¨C was one of the happiest days of my life.


    And since I had arrived here, I hadn¡¯t stopped feeling so grateful to be able to study here, and so proud of what I had been able to accomplish on my own.


    In many ways, these were really some of the best days of my life, and the first time that I¡¯d felt about as happy as I had once felt long ago, back when I had been a little girl in my parent¡¯s arms.


    At the same time... even though I felt so much happier than I could have hoped for a few years back, and even though I had managed to come so far¡­


    ¡­ I still felt kind of sad at times, too.


    Ever since I had arrived in the town of Westfall, I had been trying to meet people, and to get to know some of the other students in the town. But even though I had met a lot of people who were friendly, and amiable, I guess that you could say, I still hadn¡¯t really found anyone who I could call a friend.


    And that had left me feeling a little lonely, and a little sad, too.


    It wasn¡¯t all bad of course. I was pretty shy¡­ but I wasn¡¯t so shy that I couldn¡¯t talk a bit with my co-workers, or strike up a conversation or two with some of the other students in my classes.


    But, at the same time¡­ I still felt like there was something that was really missing, and that there was still something that I wanted out of life that I hadn¡¯t managed yet to find.


    And so¡­ that was why it had stood out so much when I had enjoyed being together with William so much the day before.


    I had really felt like I could be myself around him just about at once¡­ and even though he had seemed a little guarded, and like he had a lot of things that he was keeping from me, it still seemed obvious to me that he was a kind person, deep inside. And.. and, I appreciated how gentle he¡¯d been with me, too, and how little he¡¯d seemed to mind my awkwardness, and my lack of grace.


    And¡­ there had just been something really nice about walking in silence with him along through the fields that day. It had just felt¡­ warm, and comfortable, you know? I don¡¯t honestly know how else to describe it.


    But¡­


    That was the most that I had enjoyed being together with someonein a long, long time.


    And that was why I really wanted to see him again, and to see if I ended up continuing to enjoy his company like I had done before.


    Because, if I did¡­ then he might really end up becoming someone important to me, once I had come to know him.


    Of course... it didn¡¯t hurt that I liked his face, too. He had my father¡¯s hair, and eyes... and he had something of my father¡¯s expression, also ¨C a kind of look of focus, and of determination... but mixed with a sort of gentle excitement, too.


    At the same time... I knew that it was way too soon to really be having those kinds of thoughts about him, and that my mind was starting to rush more than a little ways too far ahead of itself.


    But, I had always been a little dreamy, I guess¡­ and I had just been kind of lonely now for a long, long time. So in a way, it wasn''t that much of a surprise that my mind was getting more than a bit carried away right then.


    Still¡­ it waskind ofsilly.


    And so, after hitting that point in my thoughts, I just grinned to myself, and put my book back into my pouch, as I sat back up again.


    I hadn¡¯t made out any sign of William at all, of course. And now ¨C a little amused by my own wandering, impulsive mind ¨C I figured that it would be a good time to head out towards the dungeons, and to start to train for the day.


    I didn¡¯t have any classes until tomorrow, and I didn¡¯t have any work until the afternoon. So, for now, I could spend as long in there as I wanted.


    And so I ended up spending about three and a half hours making my way through the seventh and the eighth floors of the Beginner¡¯s Dungeon.


    I was making pretty good progress¡­ and I loved the feeling of leaping, and of dashing through the dungeon, as I discovered all sorts of beautiful and secret places.


    I loved becoming stronger, and more capable too¡­ and I couldn¡¯t wait until I was strong enough to become a true adventurer, and to become what I had always dreamed of.


    Then, once I was done with my training for the day, I made my way back out through the exit of the dungeon, and began to head in towards town.


    I was a little worn out by then, and a little tired¡­ but it was still really nice to make my way through the farmlands, and to enjoy the cool, late morning air.


    It was just about an hour or two before noon by the time that I had finally made my way back into town.


    My shift would begin in about an hour and a half. So, I would need to take care of a few things before I reported into the barracks for the day.


    As I walked through the main thoroughfare, I noticed that there were now a lot of new posters up for a debate that was going to be held this evening, in which three very prominent scholars from across the world would argue about the question of slavery.


    Seeing those advertisements posted all over each of the walls, I felt really excited all of a sudden, and I wished that I could go. Even though I had always dreamed of being an adventurer, I really loved taking more ¡°academic¡± sorts of classes too¡­ and a part of me had even thought of becoming some sort of a scholar someday, once I had graduated from here.


    But even though I was excited by the thought of that event, I still knew that I would have to work at my job as a guard this afternoon, and that I wouldn¡¯t be getting out until right before the debate had concluded.


    I had actually tried to make plans to go before¡­ but by the time that I¡¯d found out about it, so many people had already requested the day off that I hadn¡¯t been able to get permission.


    That was okay, though. I was sure that I would have plenty of chances to go to an event like this again in the future.


    Besides, it was possible that I might be able to get out of my work just in time to catch the very last part of the debate. So I was looking forward to that, too, and I figured that I would head over there as soon as I was able.


    And, honestly¡­ I wasn¡¯t too sad about only being able to see a part of the event. After all¡­


    I imagined that the debate might end up getting a little rowdy.


    So I didn¡¯t mind staying back for a bit, and missing out on most of it.


    At any rate¡­


    After I had finished looking at the posters, I went back into my room, and placed my bow onto its stand, as I poured myself a cup of water, and sat down for a meal by myself in the kitchen.


    The light was gently streaming in through the windows right then¡­ and I could hear a few birds chirping softly, a long, long way away in the distance.

 Chapter 21: The Dream of the Vault in the Canyon

    That night, as I slept, I had one of the most amazing and vivid dreams of my entire life.


    In that dream, I was a huge creature with blue fur, making its way through a dense, dry patch of land.


    I must have been in the middle of some sort of huge canyon, because when I looked up into the air, I saw enormous walls of dirt far off into the distance, so high up that it seemed impossible to imagine how I would ever climb out of here... or how I had even gotten into here in the first place.


    Still, those questions didn¡¯t really matter to the creature that I was in the dream.


    All that mattered for him was to take the small, black orb that he was clutching in his left hand, and to get it to somewhere safe.


    More specifically¡­


    To carry it inside of one of the ancient, and sacred Vaults.


    As I walked through the enormous, oval-shaped canyon, I felt my destination growing closer and closer, until I at last saw it stretched out in front of me along the plain, at the very center of the canyon.


    The vault was huge, and it was truly amazing.


    And at its front, there was a single enormous metal door, with an engraving of a tall, fruit-covered tree in its center.


    Slowly, I held up my hand up to the door, and placed the blue mark on the palm of my right hand up against the metal.


    Then, the door slid open, as I stumbled inside.


    In the dream, I couldn¡¯t see what was inside of the building. But I could tell that it must have been exquisite, based on the way that I was reacting.


    I felt my body stepping through the ancient halls, as I made my way up onto some sort of elevated platform.


    And then¡­ I felt something extremely cold pressing against my skin.


    After that, the dream came to a sudden and final end.


    I was woken up right after that by the soft, warm rays of the early morning sun, which were just beginning to gently stream through the shuttered windows of the little wooden home.


    I was awake now of course, and I recognized where I was.


    But even still, I felt strangely disconcerted, and confused.


    I was in that state that was somewhere between dreaming and waking, where you know at some conscious level that everything that had come before was just a dream, and yet you still can¡¯t stop thinking about it, or believing that it really had taken place somehow.


    I could still see that huge, sprawling canyon stretching out in front of me, and I could still feel the cold metal of the vault pressed against my hand.


    Of course, at my most ¡°reasonable¡± level, I knew that those images were almost certainly just of my own creation, and that they probably didn¡¯t signify anything at all.


    But¡­


    I still had the strong impression ¨C though I couldn¡¯t have told you exactly why ¨C that everything that I had seen in that dream really had taken place once before, in the distant past.


    That impression was so strong that I resolved that, as soon as the children were awake, I would ask them about the canyon that I had dreamed of, and try to figure out if that place that place really did exist in this world. And if I found out that it did, then maybe I would try to head out there someday, and to see what might lay inside. Because even though the dream I¡¯d had almost certainly hadn¡¯t meant anything at all, it was still the best lead that I¡¯d gotten about the location of the vaults ¨C and there was something in me that I couldn¡¯t quite explain which told me that my dream really was significant somehow, and at least worth looking into.


    At any rate, that was what I had thought about when I had first gotten out of bed that day. But by the time that I had reached that point in my thoughts, each of the children had woken up, and were rousing themselves out of bed. So, I went over and greeted both of them warmly, as the three of us made our way in towards the kitchen for a meal.


    To my surprise, it seemed as if Lily was now placing almost as much weight onto her right leg as she was onto her left, and she was showing just about no signs of her former injury. The only thing that I noticed was a very slight, lingering limp to each of her steps, but you would only really have been able to notice that if you had happened to be looking for it. Otherwise, however, she seemed to be altogether fine, and it was clear that the significant improvement in her condition was a source of great happiness for both her and Aaron.


    It would probably still be another day or two until she was able to run or to leap like she had before, but I had no more concerns about her recovery, and it seemed certain that she would be fully back to normal by the end of the week.


    For his part, Aaron seemed to be doing quite fine as well, as he stirred the meat and vegetables in the pan, and laughed with Lily at a few jokes that we were all telling. When he had finished cooking, he brought all of our meals over to the table, and started to talk for a little while about some of the adventure books that he had been reading.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Apparently, he and Lily had been reading a loose biography of the exploits of one of the old heroes from the Guild of Knights. It seemed that the tales of bravery and of selfless devotion in that story had managed to set a warm flame in his heart, and it had made him want to speak at some considerable length about each of the amazing things that his hero had accomplished, and the way that he had helped to unite each of the kingdoms of his day, through his brilliant mind and sense of tactics. Listening to him was very charming, and as he spoke, I found it almost impossible to recognize the scared, sad young boy that I had met only a few days before. There was a joy to him now, and a lightness, that must have come from finally being free of his terrible situation, after having almost abandoned all of his youthful hope that he would ever be able to live a normal, and a happy life.


    Of course, there was still a bit of a tension in the room, as each of us more or less consciously chose to ignore the question of when or whether the owner of the house might be able to return, or what we would choose to do if he didn¡¯t.


    But, under the circumstances, that seemed like quite a reasonable decision. It was still the best course of action to stay here and to wait for now, and so there was no need to worry about the future, or to let our fears poison the sweetness of the present. If and when the time came that we would have to accept that the owner wasn¡¯t coming back, then we could deal with that then. For now, however, it was best just to sit around the table and to enjoy our delicious meal together, as we chatted, and joked, and looked out with eagerness towards the future that was awaiting us.


    After Aaron had finished talking about the book that he had read, I figured that it would be as good of a time as any to bring up the dream that I¡¯d had the night before. As I spoke, each of the children listened with a great degree of interest, soaking in the details of my walk through the canyon, and of the sights that I had seen. After I had finished, I asked if either of them had ever heard of a place like that, somewhere out in the wilds of this world.


    To my slight surprise, Lily nodded almost at once, and told me that there was a canyon which was quite similar to the place that I had seen in my dream. Apparently, the canyon that Lily knew about was a long ways to the north of the City of the Blue Tower, in a land that was too dangerous for many people to go and to visit. She didn¡¯t remember the name of that canyon exactly, or of the area that it was surrounded by. But the information that she had been able to give me was more than enough for now. So I thanked her for everything that she had told me, and expressed my excitement that I might be able to find out a bit more about the place, and to discover if it was really like the canyon that I had seen in my dream.


    Of course, I didn¡¯t tell her why the vault was a matter of such interest to me. But she seemed to find it perfectly reasonable that a person would want to find it, so she didn¡¯t ask any questions that might have compromised my identity. She simply expressed her own excitement in turn, and asked me to let her know about whatever I might happen to find in my searches through the books of the library.


    After we had finished our meal together, I went back out into the main room, as the two children started to play with the little toy castle, and the two figures of the knights. I had intended to simply step towards the pile of books, and to see if there was anything that I could find that might be of some use. But, as I was walking towards the bookshelf to grab a few tomes off of the shelf, I noticed something that I had just about completely forgotten about from before ¨C a large globe that was buried in one of the corners of the room, behind a pile of clothes and a few chairs that weren¡¯t currently in use. So, I headed over to move the stuff in front of it out of the way, and I then began to examine the globe in order to see if I could find anything that matched the canyon that I had seen in my dream.


    The globe was very ¡°three-dimensional,¡± for lack of a better word, so things like towers and mountains rose up off of the surface, while canyons and valleys seemed to sink down in towards the center. Going off of what Lily had told me before, I soon found a large canyon some ways to the north of the Blue Tower, that was indeed quite similar to the one from my dream. It was a little different, somehow ¨C a little less of an oval than I had remembered, and smaller too ¨C but I had the impression that the events of the dream had taken place quite a long time ago., so it wouldn¡¯t have been too surprising if the natural formation of the canyon had altered a little bit during the course of that length of time. It was also quite possible that it was precisely that change in the natural formation that had covered up the vault, in some way or another, and that had made it so hard to find - which meant that the difference between the two canyons might actually be a clue, rather than a difficulty.


    At any rate, I made a note of the name of the region that surrounded the canyon, and then went to look up a bit about it in one of the many books on the shelves of the library. I didn¡¯t see too much of interest in that book. But, I did find out that most of the monsters in the area around the canyon were around level 90 or so. That meant that if I was going to ever make my way out there, I would want to become considerably stronger first, in order to be able to protect myself.


    Still, I found that my urge to head out that way only seemed to be growing stronger the more that I thought about it. And so I made a note to myself that if I ever got strong enough, then I would try to explore out that way, and to see what I might find ¨C and to discover if the canyon out there really was the same as the one that I had seen before in my dreams, and if that ancient vault might be lurking deep within.


    After I had finished looking into the canyon that Lily had described, I decided that I would take one more look at the book that I had read before about the legends of the vaults, in order to see what I might be able to find. I had only gotten about a quarter of the way through that book before, the last time that I had looked at it. But now that my mind was filled with excitement about the vaults again, I wanted to search through the rest of that tome in order to try to discover any more clues or hints that might be there. So, after searching through the shelves again for a few moments, I plucked the book out from just near the top, then carried it over to the little wooden chair, where I began to flip through the pages.


    I had probably been reading for about twenty minutes, without making out too much of interest one way or the other, when I suddenly saw something that nearly made me drop the book out of my hands.


    There, on the page in front of me, was a drawing that could almost have been a photograph of my dream.


    In the center of the image was that same beautiful metal vault, with an engraving of a fruit-bearing tree upon the door.


    In the background of the image were the edges of the huge, oval-shaped canyon.


    And in the bottom-right corner of the image, there was a blue, fur-covered hand, clutching a small, black orb.


    I stared at the image in a state of amazement for quite a long period of time after that, as I tried to understand how that sort of a coincidence could be possible.


    Then, I flipped to the pages before and after, in order to try to see what more I could discover. But unfortunately, there was no further explanation. The image was just one of the many assorted drawings and sketches that were scattered throughout the book, each of which was merely said to have ¡°some relation¡± to the vaults.


    The only further clue at all was a small description that rested beneath the image.


    It read: ¡°The Dream of the Vault in the Canyon.¡±

 Chapter 22: The Man in the Red Armor

    It took me quite a while to recover from the shock of what I had just seen.


    If I¡¯d had a more skeptical mind, I might have still doubted whether what I had seen in the dream was true.


    But right then, I really felt absolutely convinced.


    The vaults did exist.


    Not only that, but one of them was waiting for me right there ¨C right in that canyon that I had seen in my dream.


    And if that canyon was the same as the one that lay to the north of the City of the Blue Tower¡­ then I knew exactly how to get there.


    Of course, I knew that there must be a lot more to it, or else I imagined that someone else would have found that canyon before I had. But even still, I was more than a little excited right then, and a part of me wanted to go out and to search for that canyon right away.


    But, there were a few different considerations that made me decide to stay in Westfall for the time being.


    As I mentioned before, that canyon to the north of the Blue Tower was right on the border of the ¡°wild lands¡± - the part of this world that was uninhabited by the sentient races. I would almost certainly encounter quite a few different monsters out that way, which meant that I would need to improve my level by quite a large amount if I really wanted to survive.


    Of course, I might be able to go out there a little more quickly if I hired some sort of mercenary group to go with me, or if I rounded up a couple of high-level friends to come with me along the way. But I had a pretty vivid memory of a movie that I had seen about treasure hunters in the Sierra Madre, and my recollection of that movie made me pretty worried about telling anyone else what I had found. I didn¡¯t exactly want to be alone in a huge canyon with a pile of treasure in front of me, surrounded by 3 or 4 armed escorts who were dozens of levels ahead of me, if you know what I mean.


    So for the moment, there was nothing to do but to train, and to get stronger, and then to head out towards the vault on my own as soon as I was able.


    Of course, after the great fortune that I¡¯d had in the dungeons the day before, I was kind of tempted to take the day off, and to relax back at home. But now that I knew that there was nothing standing between me and the vaults apart from my own lack of power, I decided that I would get stronger as quickly as I could, and head to the dungeons every single day, until I had made it to level one hundred. So after talking with each of the two kids for just a moment longer, I grabbed my stuff up off of the ground, then started to make my way out towards the entrance to the dungeons.


    Along the way, I found myself thinking about the dream over and over again, as I really soaked in what had happened, and prepared myself for all of the extraordinary treasures and secrets that might be waiting for me just a little ways inside of that great, and ancient canyon.


    Eventually though, that memory of the dream started to fade out a bit, as I made my way through the forest, and directly in front of the town of Westfall.


    As I began to make my way towards the path that led out towards the dungeons, I noticed that there was quite a bit more traffic along the roads today than usual. I was curious about that at first, and was trying to figure out why that was¡­ but then, I overheard a few of the people along the way talking about how there would be a big debate later on in the evening today, and I imagined that must be why so many people seemed to be heading into town.


    It was hard to focus on anything other than the vaults right then. But it also seemed like it might be fun to go to a debate a little later, and to see what an education in this world was like. So I decided that once I had made it back from my training, then I would head into town for a bit, and go to check out the event.


    I imagined that it would be an interesting experience.


    Anyway, after walking along the path for some time, and passing by a number of different people, I eventually made my way towards the entrance to the dungeons.


    There were a few other people there right then, but no one that I recognized. So after saying a few words of polite greeting to the folks who were gathered outside, I made my way in through the entrance, and headed up towards the first floor of the dungeon.


    I won¡¯t go through all of the details of what happened next, since I¡¯m sure that you¡¯ve already realized that this story would become much, much too long if I described every single one of the 350+ floors of the dungeons in as much detail as I had done before. But, I will try to keep hitting on some of the most important points, so that I can give you a sense of what my journey was like back then, and of how I ended up making my way through the world.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    After I had arrived back inside, I started to make my way through the jungle that I had explored the day before, as I tested out my new abilities against the lizard-creatures who called that floor their home.


    I had of course expected that the fights would be a lot easier now than they had been before. But even so, I was quite surprised by just how much easier they had ended up becoming. Because my Agility was all the way up to 19 now, I found that it was nearly effortless for me to dodge the lizard-creature¡¯s blows, and that my leaping was so improved that I could jump over the tops of their heads when they lowered down to charge, and get into flanking position in an instant. Not only that, but my much, much higher degree of Strength made it so that there was a lot more force behind each of my blows, and that battles that would have lasted for a minute or so before were now often over in a mere matter of seconds, with a single decisive strike.


    It was really nice to feel that difference in power, and to have such a tangible example of the improvements that I had made just yesterday.


    Of course, I knew that my progression wouldn¡¯t be so easy for the rest of my journey. Because of the way that my stats increased, I was going to be doubling my power quite a bit early on ¨C but after a while, increases in levels were only going to provide marginal improvement to my overall abilities, and it was going to become harder and harder to scale up higher into the upper floors of the dungeons, and especially into the Intermediate and Expert dungeons, if I ever reached there.


    But even so, it was still a lot of fun to feel myself becoming so much stronger, and so much more agile, as I darted around the fields, and took down each of my foes.


    After a little while though, I felt like I had learned what I wanted to about each of my new abilities. And so, after I had tested out my improved powers on the lizard-folk, I then started to make my way up to the second floor ¨C where I had a bit more fun running and chasing after the mole creatures ¨C before I eventually made my way up to the floor above (a ruined, ancient castle, in the middle of an enormous forest)¡­ and then, to the floor after that (a huge, snow-covered field, with beautiful slopes and mountains all around)¡­ and then, to the floor after that, and to the floor after that, as I continued to climb up higher towards the peaks of the Beginner¡¯s Dungeon.


    A few hours later, after I had managed to make my way up to about the mid-way point of the seventh floor, I was starting to feel like I had probably done just about enough for the day. So, I let the system know that I was ready to head back outside, as a warm, beautiful column of light began to envelop me, and to slowly transport me back to the place that I had been before.


    Then, I was back outside, as a cascading series of messages let me know about all of the progress that I had made, and the three additional levels that I had gained in the dungeons.


    Afterwards, I placed five more points into Agility, three more points into Strength, and one more point into Vitality. Then, I took a moment to appreciate all of the gains that I had made, as I began make my way back towards the town of Westfall.


    I had been pretty excited ever since I had woken up that day. But now that my training was over, and there was nothing more that I could do to speed up my progress towards the vaults, I let myself enjoy the present moment as fully as I could, as I soaked up the beauty of the surrounding farmlands. There was a real sense of peace in the fields right then, as the farmers rested beneath the shade of the trees, or sat beneath the porches of their homes, gently laughing and chatting with one another, and unwinding from the labors of their day. There was something quite idyllic about the whole scene, and I could have stayed out in that place for quite a while, just enjoying the whole spectacle of it. But eventually, I made my way back to the large, wooden gate, that stood as the half-way mark along the road back towards home.


    As I was making my way up towards the town of Westfall, I happened to notice a man in bright, red armor, who was walking up towards the gate of the town. He was walking alongside an older scholar, and the two of them were clearly friends, though they didn¡¯t happen to be speaking together at the moment.


    There was something very regal about the man in the red armor¡¯s bearing, and so the instant that our eyes happened to meet, I nodded my head slightly, as a sign of respect to his person. He seemed to be a little surprised by my gesture, but he gave me a dignified nod in return, and a warm ¨C but firm, and reserved ¨C smile. Afterwards, he made his way in towards the barracks of the town, as I headed further on into the marketplace, in order to pick up a bit of food for myself and each of the kids.


    There were quite a few notices about the coming debate posted all throughout the town, and it looked like the debate was scheduled to take place in about three hours (so that it would conclude just before the sun went down). That gave me plenty of time, but, I still wanted to make sure that I wasn¡¯t late. So, I hurried into the market square, bought about a weeks¡¯ worth of food, then began to head back out towards the little house in the woods.


    When I at last stepped in through the door of our home, the two children ran over to greet me, and each seemed quite glad that I was home. The three of us then took a little while to talk about what I had seen, as I gave each of them a little trinket from my time in the dungeons, and told them about my adventures. After we had talked for a little while though, and played a game together, I let the two of them know where I was headed, and that I would be back with plenty of time to spare for dinner. Then, I grabbed up a few coins off of the shelf ¨C in case I needed them for anything ¨C and made my way back out towards the town of Westfall.


    Along the way, I heard quite a bit of commotion coming from up ahead¡­ and for reasons that weren¡¯t exactly clear to me, I felt a little bit afraid, and on edge.


    Still, I couldn¡¯t really think of any good reason to be nervous right then. So, I merely made my way through the quiet woods, and up towards the large, wooden gate, as I stepped inside, and tried to place my mind into the right state for the events ahead.

 Chapter 23: Neutrality

    As I stepped through the large, wooden gate, I felt a real sense of tension in the air. There were many people standing together in small groups, chatting nervously to one another, as students shuffled back and forth along the main thoroughfare, muttering quietly in the cold, evening air.


    I was pretty curious about what was going on, and nervous, too. So, after taking a moment to look around, I went over towards a young man in thick leather armor, who was standing by himself on one of the corners. He was quite friendly, fortunately, and he was glad to tell me about what had made everyone in the town so afraid.


    I believe that I had mentioned before that I had met a man in red armor on my way back from the dungeons. Apparently, that man was high-ranking emissary from the City of the Red Tower. It seemed that the man had come all the way here to talk with the captain of the guards about an important matter¡­ and while that matter probably should have been kept between themselves, they had ended up shouting at each other so loudly that many people had heard what they were talking about, and had discovered what was going on.


    The short version of what had taken place was this.


    About a week ago, a group of people had tried to break out nearly a hundred slaves from the farmland that surrounded the City of the Red Tower. That escape attempt had been intercepted by a few of the surrounding regiments, but quite a few slaves had escaped regardless, and the costs to the Red Tower had ended up being substantial.


    It didn¡¯t take me long to realize that must have been the very same group of slaves that Aaron, Korver and Lily had all been a part of.


    At any rate.


    The man in the red armor had come to the town of Westfall in order to accuse the captain of the guards of having been involved in rescuing the slaves.


    By the sound of it, he believed that the captain of the guards had provided the rebels with soldiers and weapons to fight with.


    The captain had of course denied all of those accusations quite emphatically. But it seemed as if there was good reason to believe that the accusations were true, in spite of any protests to the contrary.


    That was what the argument was about.


    Here is why it was such a troubling event for the students of the town of Westfall.


    Ever since it had first been established, this town had been considered to be neutral in all of the affairs of the world. On the day of its founding, the governing body had signed an official Proclamation of Neutrality, in which they swore not to engage in any aggressive action towards any other city or nation. In return, the City of the Blue Tower had pledged to protect Westfall from anyone who dared to attack it ¨C whether that attack came from a group of bandits, or from one of the armies of the Great Nations.


    Since then, swearing to uphold the Proclamation of Neutrality had been one of the basic requirements for becoming a citizen of this town.


    It was precisely that requirement that had allowed for the town to exist in such safety, and to prosper over the course of these many years.


    However, if the man in the red armor could prove that the captain of the guards had been involved in helping to rescue the slaves, then Westfall would lose its status as a neutral community. At that point, the protection of the City of the Blue Tower would be revoked, and the town would become vulnerable to attack. From there, it would only be a matter of time until it was overrun by the City of the Red Tower, and turned into a kind of hub town for slavers.


    That thought made me shudder a bit, and it seemed to frighten the young man that I was talking with as well. But fortunately, it seemed that things hadn¡¯t gotten that bad just yet, and that there wasn¡¯t reason to worry for now. The emissary from the City of the Red Tower was still in town apparently, and there was a general sense that he and the guards were going to try to work something out, and that filing an official complaint with the Blue Tower was really a last resort for each of the parties.


    Besides, even if the City of the Blue Tower did withdraw its protection from the town of Westfall, there would at least be some warning in advance. After all, the Blue Tower would want to give time for any non-combatants to flee to safety, and to escape from the war that would be likely to follow.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    So, in either case, nothing was going to happen in the next week or two, and anything that did happen would come with a warning at least a few days prior.


    That was enough for me not to be too scared right then. But it did mean that I would need to come into the town quite a bit in the days to come, so that I could keep informed of any news of what might be likely to occur.


    However, that seemed like all of the information that I would really be able to gather for now. So after thanking the young man for his time, I continued to make my way further on ahead, as I thought a little about what I had heard.


    If this town really was going to be overrun by the City of the Red Tower in the days to come, then I was going to need to get out of here. For now, there probably wasn¡¯t a need to act just yet. But I didn¡¯t want to be anywhere near the area when the armies came marching into town.


    I had already known that I would probably have to leave Westfall sooner or later. But even still, I hadn¡¯t really given much thought yet to where I would go next. I knew that the situation in the world was getting increasingly tense¡­ but I had hoped that a place like Westfall would end up being safe from that. Still, it seemed like the tensions and the hostilities were spreading quickly, and I imagined that it would be very difficult to find a truly ¡°neutral¡± town in the years to come.


    Besides¡­ if a Great War were to begin ¨C which it seemed like most of the students here were starting to expect ¨C then I wasn¡¯t sure that there would be any neutral cities left in this world, apart from the Blue Tower. Even if a town like Westfall did manage to stay neutral, almost all of the students here were citizens of one of the Great Nations, or of a town that was under those Nations¡¯ control. That meant that, in the event of a Great War, something like 98-99% of the entire student body would be called back out to fight ¨C leaving the town ¡°neutral,¡± true, but also pretty much completely uninhabited, and unlikely to be able to offer any real protection against the dangers of the outside world.


    Not only that, but I remembered reading in a book of history that during the last Great War, the Blue Tower had ceased to provide any grants of protection to the neutral communities, because it had started to become impossible to determine which towns were truly ¡°neutral,¡± and which were merely using their neutrality as a kind of cover for the launching of secret operations and attacks. That meant that the only really safe place in the next Great War would probably be the City of the Blue Tower itself¡­ but since citizenship in that place was only granted to people who had proven themselves to be extraordinary, I doubted that I would be able to get in, or to use that city as any sort of shelter from the coming storm.


    All of those thoughts were deeply unsettling to me, and they reminded me of what Torver had told me back in the Rolling Plains: that if a Great War didn¡¯t come, then Westfall should be quite safe¡­ but that if it did, then there might not be a single place to hide ¨C and no possible way to be secure.


    But even though all of these problems frightened me quite a bit, I certainly didn¡¯t plan to close my eyes, or to be destroyed by the events to come. So I decided that, after I went to see the debate for today, I would head back home, and then start to think hard about what to do next. I would begin by looking through the records of the last Great War once again, in order to see if I could figure out any strategies for survival that had worked back then, and that might be able to work now. But if that failed¡­ well. Then, I would either try to make my way out towards one of the Great Nations, or else I would head out towards the Wild Lands, and try to survive beyond the reaches of civilization.


    Neither of those sounded like great bets. But right now, that was about all that I could come up with, and I didn¡¯t think that I¡¯d be able to figure out anything better for the present.


    So after reaching that point in my thoughts, I began to make my way further through the town, and out towards the hall where the debate was going to be held.


    On the way there, I had been a little worried that I might have taken too long, and that I was going to arrive at the debate a bit too late. But apparently, I had gotten there with a fair amount of time to spare, because none of the speakers seemed to be present yet. Instead, a few of the attendants were helping to prepare the room, as an ever-growing crowd streamed in through two large wooden doors, and found a place to sit, or a comfortable place to stand and listen.


    The room itself was a long, rectangular hall, with an elevated wooden platform and three wooden stands at the opposite end from the entrance, and two wooden doors that led inside.


    A larger poster at the entrance announced the theme of the occasion: ¡°IS THE PRACTICE OF SLAVERY CORRECT? A DEBATE BETWEEN THREE LEADING SCHOLARS, AND THE PEOPLE OF THE TOWN OF WESTFALL!¡±


    All of the chairs were taken by the time that I arrived, so I ended up making my way towards the back-right corner, where there was a little alcove that I could use for support. It wasn¡¯t the most comfortable thing in the world, but I was quite used to standing for long periods of time from, so I didn¡¯t mind it that much at all.


    A few moments later, the hall grew silent, as one of the chief attendants stepped up to the stage, and introduced the three speakers for the occasion ¨C a man from the Guild of the Laboratory, a man from the Guild of the Pen, and a man from the Guild of the Mind.


    There was a surprising amount of tension as they stepped up onto the platform. A few people still decided to clap politely. But for every person who clapped, there were at least two who did not, and there was a pronounced sense of animosity and of hatred in the assembled crowd.


    Then, the room fell silent, as the first man stepped forwards, and flipped through a few notes that he had prepared for the occasion.


    It seemed that the debate for the evening was nearly about to begin.

 Chapter 24: An Interesting Debate

    The format of the debate was quite simple. First, one of the three speakers would offer up a speech to the crowd. Then, anyone who wished to could offer an objection. Afterwards, the speaker would be given a chance to respond, before the next objection was considered. Once a certain amount of time had passed, the speaker was given the chance to make a few closing remarks, and then the next one of the three received his turn, and the whole process began again from the beginning.


    The first speaker¡¯s presentation seemed to go smoothly enough. The man was an adherent of the Guild of the Laboratory, and he provided a number of simple, straightforward studies which suggested that the slaves in the City of the Red Tower were just as happy on average as the working classes in each of the other nations. After he had finished presenting his evidence, there was then a lively debate, which was mostly focused on the methodology of each of the studies. There were a few objections to the way that happiness had been measured by questionnaires, and there were also some reasonable objections about the extent to which you could assume that the slaves were telling the truth about their condition, rather than merely lying in order to appease their masters.


    It seemed that the man on the stage was engaging with the objections, and that he was considering them quite seriously. But I had the distinct sense that, even though he came across as someone who was ¡°open,¡± his own convictions weren¡¯t really based on any of the evidence that he was citing, and this whole conversation was something of a game to him, in which his true thoughts and feelings weren¡¯t really at play.


    But it seemed that most of the other students in the room had a much more favorable impression of him than I did. Because after a little bit of time, what had begun as a contentious and spirited debate had soon become much more relaxed, as the older scholar engaged in pleasant and jovial reflection along with a few of the older students in the room ¨C filled with plenty of jokes and laughter - before eventually bringing his speech to a close, and stepping back from the stage.


    Of course, there was still a considerable degree of anger in the room as a whole. But that initial exchange had at least managed to quell it for a moment or two; and by the time that the speaker had concluded, there were far more people clapping than there had been at the beginning of the debate.


    For just a moment, it seemed as if a certain kind of peacefulness and amiability might be able to win out against the passions that had dominated before. However, that impression was not to last for long. Almost from the moment that the second speaker took the stage, the original sense of displeasure and of anger began to slowly flow back into the room. This second man was an adherent of the Guild of the Pen, and his whole argument rested upon an analysis of the Old Books. In particular, he pointed out that the Great Prophet Lucian owned slaves, and that several ancient treatises on virtue made no objections to slavery, with some even going so far as to claim that the master had a kind of ¡°natural right¡± over his slaves.


    To this, there were many different objections, and many different arguments, several of which were quite convincing. But the speaker seemed almost wholly unwilling to admit the truth of even the most obvious truths, if they weren¡¯t supported by the words of the Old Books, and he seemed to fall back again and again to the authorities that he had chosen to embrace. He certainly was not able to give a definition of any of his terms ¨C such as ¡°natural right,¡± in particular, which seemed like quite an odd pairing (a little like a ¡°natural artifact¡±) ¨C and he had no ability to reconcile the claims that he was making with the more obvious and important facts at hand, such as the clear suffering of the slaves, or the obvious cruelty of their masters.


    It was apparent that he felt afraid of holding a belief on his own, without receiving the support of others. In those respects, I think, he was more or less the same as the people back on Earth. But because his own authorities were so obvious ¨C rather than the more nebulous ¡°common opinion¡± that people in democratic countries so often fall back on ¨C there was something especially obvious about his cowardice, and the poor used that he seemed to be making of his mind.


    That same cowardice led the man to become increasingly defensive as the debate went on, and increasingly upset, as the crowd became more scornful of his views, and of the authorities on which he had chosen to base his life, for some reason or another.


    His defensiveness, in turn, led to quite a high degree of animosity from the crowd, who seemed to have expected more from the man, and to have been eager to hear at least a few admissions of the incorrectness of some of his more obviously fallacious claims. As a result, each of the objections became more and more hostile, which only led the man on the stage to become more frantic and enraged, as he tried desperately to defend his own reputation against the attacks of the students. It didn¡¯t take long for the whole thing to devolve into a kind of flurry of voices and of passions, as the students cried out that the man was merely using ancient, ambiguous texts to defend the evil institutions that he happened to have been born into, while the scholar cried out that the students¡¯ words were barely even worth considering, and that none of them had the right to dispute with the great masters who had come before.


    Under different circumstances, the whole sight might have been merely comical. But I could tell that there was a lot of real feeling behind these words, and the sheer intensity of the hatred and of the anger in the room really made me shrink back a bit from the stage.


    In that whole second part of the debate, the only real ray of light was a young, mild-mannered woman, with a kind face and disposition, who very eloquently tried to explain how one of the old books might be read in a different way than the man on the stage had suggested. But by the time that she had made her point, the whole debate was too far gone, and her words were hardly even heard, as the next objection was screamed out into the room, and the whole place boiled over with a sense of pure hatred and disgust.


    Finally, after quite a few uncomfortable minutes, it came time for the second speaker to make his closing remarks. But the cries and the yells of the crowd were so loud at that point that he couldn¡¯t even get a word in, and eventually, the moderator gave up on attempting to restore any semblance of order, and instead merely ended that section of the debate right then and there, as he gestured for the third and final speaker to step forward.


    By that time, there was more tension in that room than I had ever felt before in my life.


    The third speaker seemed to notice that, too. But, to my surprise, he seemed to be rather enjoying it. I had actually seen this same man walking by the side of the man in the red armor a bit earlier, and both then and now, I had gotten the distinct impression that he had a bit of a theatrical streak¡­ and right now, it seemed that he had resolved to play the villain, for tonight¡¯s performance ¨C although there was also something quite calm, and noble about his bearing. At any rate, he was the representative of the Guild of the Mind, and one of the most notable scholars of the City of the Red Tower; and almost from the moment that he began to speak, there was something playful about his demeanor, but also a truly harsh and goading quality to each of his words, that was almost venomous.


    His own speech went something a little like the following.


    ¡°Everything that all of you have said is true, of course,¡± the man began by saying. ¡°Slavery is unjust, and it is certainly quite wrong.¡±


    At this, there was a slight murmur in the room.


    ¡°Are you surprised by my words? But certainly, I will admit that much, at least ¨C even if my colleagues weren¡¯t so inclined to tell you the truth. But that slavery is wrong ¨C and cruel, and immoral, and indecent too ¨C is so obvious to every single one of us, and so apparent, that it would be insulting to try to deny that basic fact to you all, or to proceed as if it wasn¡¯t the case.¡±


    ¡°So, then. If that was all that you had to prove ¨C that slavery is wrong ¨C then this debate would be over. However...¡±


    ¡°The fact that slavery is wrong simply does not settle the matter at all. For not a single one of you has provided even one argument that what is wrong is something that is to be avoided. Perhaps injustice can be very beneficial sometimes, and perhaps doing what is wrong can often be what is truly best for us, and most conducive to our happiness.¡±


    At those words, the room soon fell silent. After a short pause, the man continued to speak.


    ¡°As I believe that each of you are aware, it is merely a common prejudice to believe that justice is something good, and that injustice is something harmful. In truth, doing what is just is as likely to be harmful for us as it is to be beneficial, while doing what is unjust is as likely to be good as it is to be bad. For justice is merely doing what is good for another ¨C which might not at all be what is good for yourself ¨C while injustice is merely doing what is bad for another person ¨C even if it might be quite beneficial for you. Hence, there is no reason at all to care about whether what we do is just, or whether what we do is unjust. To a sensible man, the question of whether an action is just or is unjust simply does not come up at all.¡±


    ¡°What does matter, then? Only, this: whether an action be something good, or whether it be something bad. And when I say ¡®good,¡¯ I certainly do not mean ¡®good¡¯ in the moral sense of the word. For morality is nothing more than a fiction. And even if it were possible to perform a moral act ¨C which it is not - that act would still not be to our advantage. For a moral action is an action that is done for the sake of the good of another, and it is therefore not an action that has any necessary connection to our own good. For unless all of you are foolish enough to believe in some sort of reward in the afterlife for heroes, then what good do you expect to get out of dying for the sake of another, exactly?¡±This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ¡°So when I say that it is the good that we care for, I mean the good in the sense that health is good, or that pleasure is good, or that freedom is good ¨C in the sense of that word according to which the ¡®good¡¯ is what is truly able to satisfy the deepest yearnings of our nature.¡±


    ¡°That slavery is not just, therefore, I would grant to you at once. But that does not mean that it is not good. And thus, I only need to prove that slavery is something that is good for us, in order to show that the practice is correct. And that, I believe, is something that I can do quite easily. For anyone who has examined the matter with an honest mind has realized that it is quite possible to benefit a great deal from the misery of another. Hence, the practice of slavery can really be quite useful, in spite of all of the suffering that it happens to cause.¡±


    At these words, there was a shout of real, unrestrained anger, as the moderator desperately tried to silence the increasingly impassioned crowd. It was clear that something about the words of this man had even managed to make each of the other advocates of slavery quite uncomfortable as well, and each of them seemed to be eagerly awaiting their own turn to proclaim that they, at least, did not hold such a dark and contemptuous view of justice and of morality.


    For my own part, however, it seemed to me as if this was the only one of the three men who was really speaking honestly, and from the heart. And so I listened to his words with some attentiveness to his words, and a genuine curiosity to see where the argument would go, and what would happen next.


    The man himself didn¡¯t seem to be especially troubled by the responses of the crowd. Instead, he simply waited for the moderator to restore some peace and quiet, before continuing on, as he carefully finished up his point.


    ¡°Each of you claim that slavery is wrong, and each of you says that it is wrong because stripping a human being of their freedom is a tremendous evil. About all of that, I would agree with you wholeheartedly, and I would certainly say that there is nothing that is better than freedom. Even life itself is not better than being free, in my own opinion, for to live without being able to choose how you live is a fate that is worse than death. But if you and I agree that freedom is such a great good, then let me ask you ¨C how much freedom have each of you attained? Without any slaves to support you, and to provide that noble and beautiful leisure that is the indispensable foundation for the highest human flourishing, exactly what sort of ¡®freedom¡¯ do each of you have, and exactly what sort of things are you able to accomplish?¡±


    ¡°Because in my own experiences of traveling throughout your lands, I have found that almost none of you have any freedom at all, and that consequently, not a single one of you is able to accomplish anything that is truly great, or beautiful. Almost all of you waste away the few precious hours of your lives in joyless labor, plucking grains up out of the hard earth, or banging away at the burning anvil, as you wait for your shift to be over, and for your drudgery to end. Then, several hours later, with your energy and your passion all burned away by the tedium of your labors, you try desperately to ¡®unwind¡¯ yourself, by drinking, or by playing cards, or by fighting and quarreling, all in a frantic, wild attempt to forget the monotony and the ugliness of your own existence. Then, at long last, you stumble into bed and fall asleep, only to begin the whole cycle once again, right over from the start.¡±


    ¡°Is that the life that you call ¡®free¡¯? Is that the existence that you are so proud of having attained, and that you hold up to me and to my fellow-citizens as a way of life to aspire to? Is that the great good that you think that each of us could attain, were we only to abandon our practice of slavery? Living your life in such a disgusting way, always caught up in the ugly toils and the frantic pleasures that consume your time, do you really think to boast of what you have attained, and to hold it up as a model for all of the rest of the world to admire, and to aspire to?¡±


    There were more shouts from the crowd at this point, as the man raised his voice much higher now, and continued to make his point over the screams of the assembled crowd.


    ¡°Because to anyone who has lived in my city, the sorts of lives that each of you lead seem wholly contemptible, and debased. In my city, precisely because of the practice of slavery, each of us have the leisure to live our lives as we wish, and to devote our whole hearts and minds to cultivating what is great, and beautiful. We do not have to worry about work, or about money, or about any sort of drudgery or toil. Instead, we can devote ourselves wholeheartedly to our arts, and to our sciences, and to the governance of our city, and to each and every sort of activity that is truly human, and noble, and free.¡±


    ¡°And what, then, has been the result of such an arrangement, and the fruits of such a political body? Simply look in your history books and see! In your histories of war, you will hardly find a truly noble and beautiful deed that was not performed by a soldier of the City of the Red Tower. In your sciences, look at how many great discoveries and theories were first put forward by our own citizens, and look at how few were ever put forward by yours. In every theater, it is our plays that are being performed, and in every museum, it is our paintings that have been preserved. We are the only ones who managed to lead a truly dignified and human existence in this world, and it was only upon the back of the institution of slavery that we were able to do so. Compared to us, the rest of you are little more than worms, who use the power of your divine intellects in order to satisfy the basest and the most material cravings of your nature.¡±


    The moderator was trying desperately to restore order at this point, but it didn¡¯t seem to matter. The crowd continued to jeer more and more wildly, without meaning or sense ¨C just a wild cry of rage and hatred ¨C as the man forcefully spoke over all of them, bringing his arguments to a close.


    ¡°So, you are all correct! You are all correct! Slavery is immoral, and it is wrong, and it is unjust. But what does any of that matter?! In the end, despite all of the lies that we tell ourselves, the only thing that any of us care about is what is good for us ¨C and if we care about justice at all, it is only because we believe that it is good, not because we know that it is just. And so, you can convince me that slavery is wrong ¨C quite easily. But that slavery is bad for me, and that I would be better off abandoning my slaves, and living the sort of depraved life that you lead ¨C of that, you will never be able to convince me, or to convince anyone else who has tasted even a drop of true nobility. And being unable to convince us of that, you will never be able to convince us to release our slaves, either. Thus, in spite of all of your protestations, your words mean nothing at all to me, or to anyone else who has tasted the fruits of true philosophy.¡±


    ¡°So, I say to you all, the institution of slavery is correct, at least for those of us who are fortunate enough to partake of it. However, I would be quite surprised if a single member of this vulgar crowd was able to appreciate that truth, having never experienced true nobility for themselves."


    After he finished, the man gave a slight, disingenuous bow, that was mixed with a surprisingly warm and gracious smile, as he looked out towards the infuriated audience.


    ¡°Well, then,¡± he said. ¡°I will now hear each of your responses.¡±


    There was a slight pause.


    The feeling in the crowd right then was almost explosive. But, nobody seemed to really know what to say, or how to even begin to respond.


    And, then¡­


    ¡°But,¡± a soft, gentle voice said, ¡°how can you be happy when you are doing such awful things to other people? Doesn¡¯t it bother you to see them suffering?¡±


    ¡°Of course it does,¡± the speaker said. ¡°Pity is a natural human vice. But, it is also one that is easily dealt with. If a slave is screaming out in pain, then simply place some plugs inside of your ears, and go inside. The sound will disappear at once, and then you can just read in peace, without being bothered by all of that noise.¡±


    At those final words, all hell broke loose.


    Up until that point, there had been a mounting sense of anger that had been simmering throughout the room. But at the man¡¯s response, cries of rage roared out from almost every corner, as the young assembled crowd looked with hatred and disgust at the one who had dared to give utterance to the true views of his city. Before the moderator had any chance to calm the crowd, I saw a small book go flying through the air, and then strike the third speaker directly across his forehead. The blow must have been much stronger than it looked, because as the book fell, the top of his head had a noticeable splotch of bright, red blood trickling across its surface. At the sight of that blood, the roar of the crowd only seemed to intensify, as more and more was thrown towards the stage, and several of the young people ran towards each of the last two speakers, their weapons held firmly in their hands.


    At once, a few of the guards who had been standing watch over the stage swooped in to protect the speakers, while others tried to usher each of the debaters out of the back door, and into safety. I heard the clash of sword against sword, as screams went up from inside of the hall, and dozens began to try to rush out of the room, and towards the main streets. I saw that the young woman who had spoken so eloquently before had now been knocked down onto the ground in the chaos, and was being stomped and kicked by the crowds who were rushing out of the way of the violence that was bursting out from all around them. Then, I ran towards her, and tried to shield her body from the mob, as I helped her to her feet. She was bloodied, but she didn¡¯t seem seriously injured, and I pulled her back towards the corner of the room with me, as the guards towards the front of the stage began to be overwhelmed by the advance of the audience.


    The two of us just stood there for a minute or two, as the hell of the situation unfolded out around us, in a cacophony of screams and of cries for help. Going forward into the fracas seemed only a little more dangerous than fleeing out the exit through the storming, raging crowd, so we just waited patiently in the back, hoping to find an opening. Eventually, the group thinned out enough that a path became apparent, and I helped to guide the young woman out through the clearing, and into the streets outside. There, a few of her friends rushed out to greet her, and thanked me for having protected her. A moment later, and they were gone, as the young woman was rushed off to receive treatment for her wounds.


    I could still hear the fighting coming from inside, and looking back through the windows, I saw what I thought was the man who had spoken from before ¨C the third of the speakers - laying down on the stage in a pool of thick, red blood, with a look of surprise and of terror on his face, as a few members of the young crowd plunged their blades into his robed body again, and again, and again, ripping through his soft, and naked flesh.


    Then, in horror, and in fear for my own life, I simply continued to rush away from the building, and out into the main street that ran through the city square.

 Chapter 25: Return

    As I stumbled out onto the main street, I could still hear the sounds of the brawl coming from inside of the hall. What I had taken to be only a moment¡¯s display of anger and of rage had instead turned into a whirling sprawl of violence and of chaos, as the guards from the City of the Red Tower fought to protect their lives from the most wrathful members of the crowd. I could hear loud, crashing footsteps rushing towards me, as some of the guardsmen and women from the barracks of the town of Westfall came running in to help, and to try to restore some peace and order to the assembly. But by the time that the guards had arrived, most of the combatants were either dead or wounded, and the first two of the speakers had long since been rushed out of the back door to safety. Only the third had been unable to escape, and now laid dead on the floor of the stage, covered in so many cuts and wounds that it was almost impossible to recognize him, or to even discern that he had once been a human being at all.


    It was that horrible thing that the guards from the town of Westfall were now stumbling into, as several of the younger members vomited onto the floor, and cries of disgust and confusion rose up from what remained of the crowd.


    Then, I saw a certain woman rushing in towards the hall, and then recoiling again in horror. It took me just a moment to realize that woman was Praxa ¨C the same woman that I had walked out through the farmlands with before.


    In that dark, frightening moment, there was something soothing about seeing her, and knowing that she was there. Before I could find the strength to call out to her though, she noticed my own face in the crowd, and then came rushing towards me, as she asked me if I was alright, and what had happened.


    I told her that I was okay, and that I wasn¡¯t hurt at all. But I could still feel my body trembling, and I could tell how afraid I was right then.


    I had started to think about what all of this would mean for the town of Westfall. But, before I could make any real headway on those thoughts, I saw the man in the red armor come running in through the streets, asking what all of the commotion was. A few moments later, he saw the sight of his old friend murdered upon the stage, and he heard from the guards what had taken place. Then, in a state of profound fury, born out of the utmost grief and sorrow, the man in the red armor let out an anguished cry, and began to march out of the town of Westfall, proclaiming as he went that the City of the Blue Tower would hear of this, and that not a soul would be left standing in this town when he was done with us.


    I heard a few more cries rise up from the crowd after that, as several of the students jeered at the man in red, and yelled at him as he went.


    In horror, Praxa and I just stood there, doing our best to take in the situation.


    ¡°This is awful,¡± I said at last. ¡°We have to get out of here.¡±


    She nodded.


    ¡°Yeah, we do,¡± she said, quietly. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything like this before¡­ have you?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said, ¡°never.¡±


    ¡°I knew that things were getting bad,¡± Praxa said. ¡°But to murder a scholar in cold blood...¡±


    Her words trailed off, slowly, as more cries and screams rose up from the crowds behind us.


    As they did, I saw her turn her head around, then look back towards me with an expression of horror, and of sorrow.


    ¡°I really can¡¯t believe that the students here would ever have done this.¡±


    In that moment, I think that both of us wanted to get away from that place. So, I turned towards her, and looked her in the eye.


    ¡°Would you like to leave here for now,¡± I said, ¡°and to take a walk with me?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I really would,¡± she said. ¡°Are you ready to go now?¡±


    ¡°I am.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± she said. ¡°There¡¯s a nice garden out by the residential districts, with a lot of beautifully crafted statues along the roads. So¡­ would you like to head out that way, for now, and to walk around out there?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, ¡°that sounds good, I think.¡±


    Afterwards, the two of us turned around, and began to make our way further on ahead. Then, slowly, the last rumblings of the crowd started to fade out into silence, until it was just the two of us alone, walking through the largely abandoned streets and alleys.


    ¡°I was really hoping that something like this wouldn¡¯t happen,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ve only been here for a few weeks now, but¡­ I really like it here. I didn¡¯t want to have to leave just yet, you know?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I do. I don¡¯t want to have to leave here yet, either, if I don¡¯t have to.¡±


    After a brief pause, I continued.


    ¡°How much longer do you think that we¡¯ll be able to stay?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ probably about three weeks,¡± she said.


    Then, she explained that the Blue Tower always gave three weeks worth of warning before it removed a town¡¯s protection. So, no matter what, it seemed like we would have at least that much time to figure out what to do next.


    But¡­ after what had happened here today, it also seemed pretty likely that we wouldn¡¯t have any more time than that. The City of the Blue Tower was devoted to the protection of the arts and the sciences, so we were sure not to get a very sympathetic hearing in a few days, when the man in the red armor came by to plead his case.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    There was a slight pause then, as we thought about where we would go next, and what we would do.


    ¡°Do you have a home to go back to,¡± I asked, ¡°or somewhere that you can return to?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± she said, quietly. ¡°I lost my parents when I was pretty young, and I haven¡¯t really had a home since then. So¡­ if things do start to get bad, then I don¡¯t know where I¡¯ll go, or what I¡¯ll do, exactly.¡±


    ¡°What about you,¡± she asked, as she turned her head, and looked into my eyes. ¡°Do you have a place to return to?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ I don¡¯t have a home, either,¡± I said. ¡°So, if a war really is right on the verge of breaking out¡­ then I¡¯ll have a lot that I need to figure out, I guess.¡±


    After that, there was a long, rather uncomfortable pause.


    ¡°I know that we probably shouldn¡¯t talk about this¡­,¡± she said. ¡°But, if there is another war that¡¯s coming¡­ then, which side would you be fighting on, exactly?¡±


    ¡°I would try not to fight on either side, honestly,¡± I said. ¡°I still feel like I have a lot left to do in this world, and I doubt that I would be strong enough to make my way through a serious conflict.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ if I did have to fight,¡± I continued, ¡°then I would fight against the City of the Red Tower.¡±


    After what I had seen so far, that seemed to be the only real option.


    Almost the moment that I said those words, I felt the mood really start to relax, as Praxa began to walk a little bit closer towards my side.


    ¡°I had thought that you would say that,¡± she said, smiling, ¡°but... it still makes me really happy to hear that from you. There aren¡¯t a lot of humans who would take up arms against the Red Tower, so I had been worried that you and I would be on opposite sides of the war.¡±


    As I learned from what she said next, it seemed that the City of the Red Tower was something like the capital of the human race, and that nearly 97-98% of all of the human beings who would fight in the coming war were expected to be on its side ¨C all of the humans save the ones in the City of the Blue Tower, in other words.


    I hadn¡¯t known that was how things were. But, still¡­


    ¡°¡­ that doesn¡¯t matter to me at all,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t think that humans are any better than non-humans, honestly. If anything, from what I¡¯ve seen, it seems like they might even be a little worse. So that doesn¡¯t bother me, really.¡±


    At that response, Praxa broke into a large smile, as her cat ears gently wiggled atop her head.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never met a human who didn¡¯t look down on us non-humans as their inferior,¡± she said. ¡°And to suggest that we might actually be better¡­ well.¡±


    She looked me in the eye, as she began to grin.


    ¡°Where did you say that you were from again, William?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that I¡¯m a traveler,¡± I said with a grin.


    After that, the two of us talked in a lot more of a loose, relaxed manner.


    We hadn¡¯t forgotten about what had just happened, or about how much trouble was likely to be ahead of us. But still, being able to enjoy each other¡¯s company in this way¡­ well. It really helped to make all of those things seem so far away. For now, it was just me and this young woman, walking through the streets together, joking and laughing, as we talked lightly about whatever came to mind, and about what the future might hold in store.


    Of course, we weren¡¯t trying to run away from the truth. We were only resting for a moment, before we started to figure out what we were going to have to do next. After a few minutes, though, that more serious strand of the conversation came back up again, as we paused in silence, and thought once more about all that had taken place, and what was now so likely to occur.


    ¡°Are you going to stay in the town of Westfall for any longer, William,¡± Praxa asked. ¡°Or¡­ or are you thinking of leaving, and of moving on?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to stay,¡± I said, ¡°At least for a little while longer.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± she said. ¡°Well¡­ if you do end up deciding to leave¡­


    ¡°¡­ tell me beforehand, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said. ¡°And if you decide to leave¡­ then, you tell me too, alright?¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± she said. ¡°I will¡­ I promise.¡±


    There was a brief pause. And, then¡­


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you would be interested, but¡­ I was going to head out to the dungeons tomorrow, and to go exploring,¡± she said. ¡°I know that you¡¯re a lower level than me, but¡­ would you like to come out there anyway, and to spend the day training with me?¡±


    I saw her blush, just a little. Still, she didn¡¯t take back her words, or retreat at all from what she had said.


    I almost wanted to blush, too. But instead, I managed to keep my composure for the moment, and to get out a few words in reply.


    ¡°I¡¯d love to,¡± I said. ¡°How about we meet out by the gates tomorrow morning, and then go from there?¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± she said, with a surprisingly radiant, and cheerful smile. ¡°I can¡¯t wait.¡±


    After that, there was a warm, comfortable silence, as a gentle sense of peace began to break through the heaviness that had been in the air. Then, we started to talk about a lot of different things ¨C about our pasts, and about some of our memories of our parents, and about the friends that we had had ¨C as we each tried to use the warmth of each other¡¯s company to thaw away at the fear and the sorrow that each of us had been feeling in our hearts.


    About half an hour later, we had managed to put ourselves into considerably better spirits, as we made our way back out towards the large, wooden gate, right near where Praxa¡¯s barracks were located.


    I think that at that point, each of us were a little exhausted, after everything that had happened. So, we agreed once again to meet up tomorrow morning, and to head back out into the dungeons. Then, we said our goodbyes for the day, as we waved each other farewell, and headed back towards our respective homes.


    The whole way back, I thought about her quite a lot, and about the debate, and about the man in the red armor, and about everything that had taken place.


    I still didn¡¯t know what I was going to do, exactly, or how it was going to be possible to survive this.


    I knew that these tensions were likely to explode into a war at any moment, and I knew how bad that might really be. That book of history that I¡¯d read the night before had claimed that almost 50% of the youth had died in the last Great War, with even more being injured¡­ and given my low level, I knew that my death would be almost certain if I got caught up in all of that.


    But¡­


    Right then, I felt¡­ okay, somehow. Somehow, I had the feeling that I was going to manage to make it through this okay, if I put everything that I had into surviving ¨C even if I didn¡¯t know exactly how everything would manage to work out.


    That feeling wasn¡¯t really all that reasonable, of course.


    But right then ¨C in that moment ¨C I was really in no spirit to resist. And so I let myself enjoy that somewhat artificial feeling of contentment, as my mind began to spin through plans for how I might be able to survive.


    At any rate, after what seemed like a much longer walk home than usual, I made it back to the little house in the woods, and knocked on the front of the door. Almost at once, I heard small feet running across the floorboards, as a satisfying ¡°click¡± rang out through the forest, and the door flung open.


    The first thing that I saw, of course, was Aaron and Lily.


    Then, as I glanced inside of the house, I took in a most unexpected sight.


    In the little chair in the corner of the room, there was now an old man, with long, white hair, and a brown robe that went almost down to the floor.


    That man seemed almost as surprised to see me as I was to see him¡­ but after a few moments, he stood up, and introduced himself to me as Roger, a former member of the Guild of Knights.


    It took me a couple of seconds to realize what had just happened.


    But once I did, I felt all of my fear washing out from my body, as a sense of profound joy and contentment sprung up from deep within.


    After almost four and a half days, it seemed that the owner of the house had at last managed to return.

 Chapter 26: Roger

    It seemed that Roger had only just returned. Apparently, the children hadn¡¯t made any mention of me yet, so he had been a little worried when I had shown up at his door. But once it was clear that I wasn¡¯t a danger to him, or to either of the children, then he greeted me quite kindly, and asked me what my name was, and what had happened in the last few days.


    After that, I took a moment to introduce myself, before the three of us told him about how Aaron and Lily had gotten to the forest in the first place, and how I had helped them the rest of the way, and what we had been doing out in these woods since then.


    After we had finished telling our story, the old man nodded his head, and gave a small, gentle bow in my direction.


    ¡°Well, I can hardly thank you enough,¡± he said. ¡°I am glad to know that the children have had someone like you to look after them. I wish that I could have more easily made it back here, but¡­ I¡¯m afraid that these last few days have been very, very challenging.¡±


    Then, Roger began to tell the three of us about what had happened.


    Apparently, after the guards from the City of the Red Tower had stumbled into the escape attempt, it hadn¡¯t taken long for all sorts of other regiments to swarm in to provide support. The end result had been that nearly a quarter of the slaves had been taken back into custody, and about half of the people who had been trying to rescue them had been led into prison as well. All of them had been taken for safe-keeping to a nearby fort ¨C a place by the name of Fort Lysia ¨C where the slaves were to be kept in waiting and questioned, while the captured rebels were to be interrogated, at first, then killed.


    The time of their execution was to be in a single week, after which the slaves were also to be returned to their masters.


    And so, there had been no choice but to try to make a rescue attempt as soon as possible.


    It had taken about three days to plan the attempt. In that time, about half of the remaining members of Roger¡¯s group had been put in charge of searching through the surrounding area for escaped slaves. Meanwhile, the rest of Roger¡¯s party had been stationed just outside of the fort, where they had been memorizing the routes of the soldiers along the walls, searching for secret passages, and discovering how supplies were transported in and out of the fortress.


    Eventually, after they had taken some time to prepare, Roger and his friends were ready to make their move.


    And so, late in the evening, the final preparations for the attack began.


    Some of the party hid in supply wagons that were being carried deep inside of the walls of the fortress. Others crawled in through secret passageways and sewers. Still others waited outside, and prepared to launch a direct attack at the front of the gates.


    Once they were in position, they waited until about an hour and a half after most of the soldiers in the fort had gone to sleep. Then, at a signal that they had agreed to in advance, the whole host of them suddenly burst out of their hiding spots, and began to attack.


    Dozens of fighters swarmed at the night patrolman from a hundred different angles, and before the soldiers of the fort could even begin to figure out what was happening, many had been struck dead, and the battle had been nearly decided.


    A little while later, the affair was complete. Every single one of the abducted slaves had been restored to freedom, and nearly all of the captured members of Roger¡¯s group had been rescued from the stronghold as well.


    It was a stunning victory, and it was probably more than any of them could have hoped for.


    Afterwards, Roger had stayed with his friends for a day and a half, doing his best to heal the wounded on both sides. But as soon as he was done, he had rushed back towards the house in the woods as quickly as he was able, eager to help each of the children, and to ensure that they would be safe.


    The three of us listened with a great degree of interest to everything that he was saying. I think that we were all a little amazed by his story, and by his own role in the attack.


    After he had finished telling us about what had happened, and once we had each had a chance to respond, the four of us then began to pull out some chairs in the living room, and to relax together in peace and quiet. The children then started to talk about the things that they had been enjoying, and about how happy they were to be free, while I talked a little about my time inside of each of the dungeon, and about some of what I was working towards in the future.


    Throughout our conversation, I was really struck by just how warm, patient, and kind Roger seemed to be. His manner of speech was slow, and careful, but not reserved in the slightest, and his whole bearing was profoundly gentle and polite, without seeming inauthentic in any way at all. He seemed to have a real attachment to conversation, and he listened to everything that we said with a great degree of attention. It seemed clear that he took a real interest in our own affairs, and that he had a warm and genuine curiosity about our lives.


    Before I had met him, I had been worried about how he might feel that I was staying in his home. But now that I had gotten the chance to know him, I found that I was very comfortable around him almost at once, and I felt as if I could trust him quite a bit, without needing to hold all that much back.


    The children seemed to feel the same way, too. Because, after only a little while, they were each as relaxed and as natural as I had ever seen them, and they were sharing their innermost thoughts and feelings without the slightest fear of judgment, or the slightest degree of shame about their own natures and emotions.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    Since we all seemed to be enjoying the time that we were spending together ¨C and since we each had a fair number of questions for Roger, given that he seemed to be something of an extraordinary man ¨C the four of us ended up talking for rather a long time, well on into the late hours of the evening.


    Right when he had first met me, Roger had told me that he had once been a member of the Guild of Knights. But apparently, he had been one of the youngest members to have ever been admitted to that prestigious guild. He had come from a very poor family out in a little town on the border of the Wild Lands, and he had proven his extraordinary prowess and gifts at the tender age of thirteen, when he had defended his whole village from a raid by a local tribe of goblins. From that point on, he had been a knight-in-training to an older man who had heard about his tale, and he had ended up proving himself in so many different circumstances ¨C and with such extraordinary acts of valor ¨C that he had been given the title of Knight at the almost unheard of age of 29.


    After that, he had stayed in the City of the Blue Tower for many years, fighting off the monsters who had threatened the peace, and helping to protect the innocent. For a time, he had been very happy in that city, and he had loved the Guild, and the work that he did for them. But, in more recent years, he had begun to have something of a change of heart. He had apparently felt more and more strongly that the neutrality of the Blue Tower was something of an evil, given the circumstances, and to believe that you simply couldn¡¯t pledge yourself to protecting the weak and the innocent without being willing to step in and to help the millions of different beings who were kept in bondage as slaves.


    And so ¨C in an act that was almost more unprecedented than the way that he had entered the Guild ¨C Roger had retired in excellent health at the age of 53, in order to devote himself wholeheartedly to bringing an end to the practice of slavery. Some time after that, he had moved into this little house in the woods, where he had been living for quite a few years now, and the last three or four by himself.


    It seemed that he had once had a wife who he had loved very dearly, who had been his senior at the Guild of Knights ¨C a bow-woman, who provided support for his swordsmanship, and who had always fought along his side. But she had been a little older than he had been, and she had died a few years back, leaving him all to himself. Since then, he had been spending his time out in these woods alone, putting his whole heart and soul into the creation of his beautiful paintings, and trying to rescue as many of his fellow beings from slavery as he possibly could, before he died.


    Listening to his story, I felt a real sense of affection for him¡­ and all three of us had many questions for him about the life that he had led, and the adventures that he had been on.


    After some time, however, the hunger that we had each been putting off seemed to be catching back up with us. And so Roger proposed that we all make up a meal together, and to continue our conversation in the kitchen. That proposal was greeted with quite a bit of enthusiasm by each of the children, who hurried over towards the stove, and began picking ingredients out for the meal.


    A little while later, Roger and Aaron were taking turns in stirring up the meat and vegetables, while Lily and I looked on with a great degree of eager anticipation. Then, with everything having been cooked to completion, the four of us made our way to the corner of the kitchen, where the two children sat down, and Roger and I stood in place, as we each ate our meals with great enjoyment, and continued our conversation.


    It sounded like Roger had a fair amount more business to attend to, and that he would be leaving sometime early in the morning tomorrow. But, he promised that he would return in one or two weeks at the latest, and given the conviction in his words, I had no doubt that he would keep his promise. At the same time, none of us objected to staying here until then. Both of the children were quite happy here, and I had been expecting to stay for about that long myself, as I made my way through the dungeon, and prepared as much as I could before I left this town for good.


    The only part that troubled me was that the children would probably have to stay inside for that time, and that there might be a lot of trouble if any slavers knocked on our door. But just as I was beginning to worry about that, Roger paused for a moment, then offered to remove the collars for each of the children, if they were ready to have that done now.


    That offer took us all a bit by surprise. My understanding was that forging or removing collars was one of the most difficult acts of magic in this entire world, and that there were barely even a hundred people who were capable of performing it. How he had acquired that magic, exactly, I didn¡¯t know. But the revelation that he possessed it gave way to quite a bit of excitement. And soon, the four of us were sitting together in a deep, peaceful silence, as waves of blue magical energy danced through the air, and a sense of tremendous and mysterious power radiated from Roger¡¯s person.


    It was the first time that I had ever seen magic being practiced in front of me, and it was absolutely astonishing ¨C a little like a combination of the visual splendor of the Northern Lights, and the soothing, but powerful waves of the ocean rolling down along the shore, and crashing against the rocks.


    Because of the sheer power of the magic in the collars, the whole process took quite a long time to complete. But, after about half an hour, I at last heard a loud *CRACK*, and then another, as the two collars dropped down onto the floor, and shattered into a thousand particles of light.


    It took Aaron and Lily a few seconds to process what had happened. But, after that, they ran over to embrace one other, and whispered to each other excitedly, before turning back towards Roger, and thanking him again and again for everything that he had done.


    After many, many years, the two of them were finally free, and would never have to work as slaves for a single day of their lives.


    I think that, if it were earlier in the evening, all of us would have stayed awake for a long time after that, and talked together about what had taken place.


    But, it had already gotten to be nearly two hours after the children¡¯s bedtime, and it was only really the excitement of the moment that had managed to keep them awake that long to begin with. Now, however, they each started to yawn and to stretch their limbs, and it was clear that they couldn¡¯t really keep awake for that much longer, no matter how eager they were to appreciate their newfound freedom. And so, after talking for a little while longer, Roger and I helped to prepare their bed, and said good night to each of them, as they curled up together, and began to fall asleep.


    Afterwards, the old mage asked me if I would like to take a brief walk with him before the two of us went to sleep.


    I still had quite a bit that I wanted to talk with him about, and it seemed that he had a lot that he wanted to talk with me about, as well. So, the two of us stepped out into the cool, darkened forest, as we walked a little on ahead.


    Even though we were strangers, there was something warm and peaceful about that moment, and about walking by his side.


    Slowly, and just taking our time, we made our way further on in through the woods, as we began to speak, and to deliberate together about what we would do in the days to come.

 Chapter 27: Home

    The two of us were walking together through the cool, quiet woods, as we talked softly, and enjoyed the beautiful night that was all around us.


    ¡°I wanted to thank you again, William, for everything that you did these last few days,¡± the old man said. ¡°I knew that the two children would have water, and that I would be able to return before their lives were in danger. But they might still have been captured on the way here¡­ and even if they had made it home safely, I knew that they were going to be alone, and hungry, and frightened.¡±


    ¡°That is the worst part about this whole line of work, I think¡­ having to make those sorts of choices, and to allow a few to suffer, in order to help out each of the rest. It is a very awful thing, and it has given me many, many regrets over the years. So...¡±


    ¡°¡­ well. So, I can hardly express my gladness at what you managed to achieve, and how you helped to make each of them so so content in these last few days. Thank you, my friend, once again, for what you did for the two of them, and for how you managed to keep them safe, and secure.¡±


    I didn¡¯t really know how to respond, so I only nodded my head, and expressed my sincere gratitude for his kind words.


    After a brief, warm pause, the old man continued to speak.


    ¡°I know that you have already done a great deal for them, and that you are certain to have all sorts of business of your own. But¡­ well. It seems clear that each of them like you, and that they trust you, as well, and would be happy to be around you. So¡­ what I mean to ask you, is...¡±


    ¡°¡­ well, we don¡¯t know of any surviving family for either of them, and we don¡¯t have anyone who had committed to provide for them, either. So¡­ would you be interested in becoming their legal guardian, and in looking after them for now, at least?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± I said. ¡°I would be glad to.¡±


    I hadn¡¯t expected those words to come so easily out of my lips.


    When I had been younger, the thought of having children had seemed frightening to me. Even now, I still didn¡¯t know how I felt about starting up a family, or setting aside 17 or 18 years of my life to raise a child.


    But, even so¡­


    There wasn¡¯t really any way that I was going to leave Aaron and Lily to themselves.


    And so, I ended up agreeing to the man¡¯s request, and giving my word that I would help to protect them, and to look after them, at least for the next few months of their life.


    Roger at once gave me a warm smile, and shook my hand, as his face beamed with gratitude and contentment.


    ¡°I¡¯m so glad to hear you say that,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s obvious how well the three of you get along. I know that it may be hard at first, but I have no doubt that you will do well, no matter what may come your way. And, if you ever need any help, then you can always call on me, or on any of my friends, and each of us will do whatever we can to assist you ¨C financially, of course, or in any other way at all.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± I said, ¡°I actually would like to ask something of you. A lot has happened today, and I would really appreciate having someone like you to help me to figure out what I should do next.¡±


    Then, I began to tell him about what had been happening in the town of Westfall, and how dangerous everything was likely to become.


    ¡°I see,¡± he said. ¡°I knew that things were getting bad¡­ but I hadn¡¯t expected it to get that bad quite so quickly.¡±


    ¡°I am sure that you already suspect this by now,¡± he continued, ¡°but all of those accusations are true. The town of Westfall provided us with their direct aid, and they have been encouraging our efforts for several months now. And I am sure that, after so many of our younger members were interrogated, there will be plenty of evidence to condemn us, and to prove that Westfall has engaged in aggressive and warlike behavior towards the City of the Red Tower. From what you have said, there is no doubt that they will press charges.¡±


    ¡°That means that all four of us will need to move away from this place in one or two more weeks, at the latest. There is no way that the students here would be able to hold out against the armies of the Red Tower, and I doubt that they would even think to try.¡±


    ¡°And do you think that a Great War is coming,¡± I asked, ¡°and that it will be likely to come soon?¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± he said. ¡°I wish that it wouldn¡¯t, of course. But with how tense everything is becoming, it seems just about impossible to imagine how any of this can end without violence. The Red Tower is only doubling down on their support of slavery. As of right now, it is only a matter of time, I think, and I can¡¯t imagine that another year will pass without the first of the battles being fought ¨C and with many more to come after that.¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Where is a safe place to go to, then,¡± I asked, ¡°where I might be able to keep the children out of harm¡¯s way, if that war does come? Is there anywhere like that?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± he said, ¡°apart from the Blue Tower, I doubt that there is any place that is likely to be perfectly safe. But¡­ if you would like, I would invite you to come with me, out towards my second home, in the town of Riverdale - the center of the Free Folk, and a lovely place just out towards the East, on the other side of the Great Lake.¡±


    I recognized that place as being the same city that Torver had told me about a few days before ¨C the place that he had been fleeing towards, the last time that I had seen him.


    I was excited by the thought of being able to meet him again, and to tell him a little bit about everything that had happened to me in these last few days.


    ¡°For now,¡± Roger continued, ¡°that town is as safe as any place in the world. Almost no one knows that it exists, and its location has been protected by magic for quite a few years now. Even if our town were to be discovered, there would be plenty of time for everyone there to flee¡­ and once the Great War begins, I doubt that anyone will be too eager to bother about us Free Folk.¡±


    ¡°Besides, that city has been designated as something of a safe haven. We don¡¯t launch any attacks out of it, ever ¨C it would draw too much attention ¨C and it is far out of the way of any of the major trading paths, or any of the routes that the coming armies might be likely to march on. We are also very careful to hide our tracks when we come and go, and since we always go there by boat, no one can really follow our trail, or chase after our footsteps.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I can¡¯t guarantee that the three of you will be safe, as much as I wish that I could. But¡­ if a Great War does come, then that town is likely to be as safe as any. And the three of you would certainly be welcome to come out there, and to join us, if you would like to.¡±


    I was deeply soothed by those words. I knew that there was no way to be sure that I would survive out there, and I knew that in a world this dangerous, there wasn¡¯t any way to guarantee my safety, or the safety of those who I cared about. But this sounded like about as good of an option as any, and it seemed like my best chance to give a stable home to each of the two children, and to protect them from what was coming. And so, after talking with Roger for a while longer, the two of us agreed that we would head out there quite soon, in about two weeks from the present day.


    That time seemed to be just about perfect for each of us. It would give me some more time to work on the Beginner¡¯s Dungeon, and to get as strong as I could for now. And, it also gave Roger plenty of time to take care of some of his own business, that he had only postponed in order to rush back to secure the children. And so, after talking it over for a while longer, we agreed to meet up outside of his house in a little under two weeks¡¯ time, and to travel from there together on towards the town of Riverdale.


    Afterwards, the two of us began to make our way back towards the old man¡¯s home. He had already invited me to stay with him until he had returned, and so there was nothing awkward about that moment. Instead, we talked a little about the future, and about Aaron and Lily, as we made our way through the soft, quiet woods. He had offered to pay for their food for the next few weeks, which I had eventually accepted, after some resistance, and he had also promised to help me set up some of their education, once we had made our way out to the town of Riverdale. I really appreciated that, but at the same time, it made me realize just how much I was going to have to figure out in the future, and how much I would want to do in order to make sure that each of them had the best chance that they possibly could to be happy.


    I had started to think about those sorts of things, when Roger and I stepped in through the door to his home, and looked inside.


    The children were both fast asleep by now, and were curled up together in the little white bed in the corner of the room. Lily had placed her head on Aaron¡¯s chest, and the young boy had wrapped his arm around her, as the two of them nuzzled against one another, and kept each other warm. Both of them had a look of deep peace and happiness that I had never seen on their faces before, and there was a sense of such profound tranquility and calm in that room that it seemed almost as if we had stepped outside of the flow of time, and into a place that lay beyond all of the strife and the motions of the greater world.


    At that instant, I wanted nothing more than to protect them, and to allow them to feel that same sort of tranquility and joy for the rest of their lives.


    I didn¡¯t know how I would do that, exactly. But I knew that I was going to do everything that I possibly could in order to make sure that they would be okay.


    For now, at least, the worst was over. I knew where I was going to go, and how I was going to get there.


    I didn¡¯t know what would happen after we made it to Riverdale, exactly. But I knew that we would get there¡­ and with Roger to help us ¨C and an entire town working together to provide us with shelter ¨C I hoped that we would be alright.


    In three weeks, we would meet up again with Roger, and head out together across the Great Lake.


    That thought kept playing through my head, over and over again¡­ and it filled me with a great degree of excitement, and of joy.


    The only part that bothered me at all was leaving behind the town of Westfall, and the question of what would happen between me and Praxa before I had to depart. But I hoped that ¨C if we continued to get along as well as we had these last few days ¨C that she might be interested in coming with me on my travels¡­ even if that idea seemed crazy for me to even think of suggesting, much less for her to actually accept.


    After a few moments, however, the excitement of all of those fresh thoughts began to wear off, and I felt myself suddenly becoming quite weary, and very tired. So, after stretching out a little, I said goodnight to Roger, and I made my way over towards one of the beds along the floor, as I pulled myself in tightly, and began to fall asleep.


    That night, I slept more happily, and more contentedly than I had slept in a very long time.


    I felt a thousand different things swimming around in my head as I lay there. But my last image before I drifted off to rest was of that huge, barren canyon, that I had seen in my dreams¡­ and the vault that must still have been waiting for me there within.


    It was a tremendously beautiful place¡­ and something about the sight of it seemed so serene, and so inviting.


    And then, I felt myself drifting off to sleep, as the last flickers of my awareness gradually faded softly out of being.

 Chapter 28: Insight

    I woke up very early that next morning, before anyone else had gotten out of bed. My mind was still playing through everything that had happened the day before, and it still seemed a little hard to believe that so many of our problems had been taken care of so easily. But, the moment that I saw Aaron and Lily coming into the kitchen to greet me ¨C their faces bright and cheerful, and their necks no longer collared ¨C the whole thing felt very vivid, and very real, as each of us talked about what had happened the day before.


    A few moments later, Roger came in to join us, and the four of us talked for a little about where we were going to be headed towards next. Both of the kids seemed pretty excited about traveling to the town of Riverdale, and they had a lot of questions about what the town was like, and where it was located. But once they found out that it was right on the border of the Great Lake, they seemed to be especially eager to head out that way, and to go on a bit of an adventure.


    Of course, it was also clear that Roger had a lot of business left to attend to. So, after keeping him for a bit longer, the old mage said farewell to us for the time being, as he made his way out through the little forest that lay outside.


    For a moment, there was a warm, comfortable silence, as the rest of us thought about what to do now.


    As we sat there together in silence, I decided that this would be as good of a time as any to talk with the two of them about what Roger and I had discussed, with regards to becoming their guardians.


    Mostly, I wanted to make sure that would be alright with them. I knew what it was like to be passed around from one adult to the next, even when I didn¡¯t want to, and I didn¡¯t want either of them to have to go through that, if they didn¡¯t have to. But neither of them had any objections, and each of them seemed to be really gladdened by the news. So, after a few moments, we agreed that we would work out all of the details in the future, and that the three of us would continue living together here for now, just as we had done before.


    Then, we all spent a long time cooking up a meal together, and talking.


    Afterwards, I let them know that I would be heading out towards the dungeon for the day, but that I would be back a little later on in the afternoon.


    Each of them said goodbye, and wished me well, as I headed out through the woods that lay beyond my home, and in towards the town of Westfall.


    A little while later, I saw Praxa standing in front of the large, wooden gate. I had been looking forward to seeing her for almost the whole time that I had been walking through the woods, but even still, I somehow managed to be happier to see her than I could have expected¡­ and soon, the two of us fell into a pleasant, enjoyable conversation, as we made our way towards the Beginner¡¯s Dungeon.


    Once we had arrived at the entrance, we each agreed to meet up at the hub of the First Floor. Then, after a brief moment of separation, we were standing together again, as we talked about where we would want to head towards next.


    ¡°Is starting at the First Floor okay,¡± she asked, ¡°or, have you made it up to the Fifth Floor by now?¡±


    ¡°Ahh¡­ no, I haven¡¯t,¡± I said. ¡°Starting at the First Floor should be fine.¡±


    I had made it up to the Fifth Floor, of course. But, I didn¡¯t want to tell her that just yet, since I doubted that I could explain how I had managed to get up to the Seventh Floor in only a few days¡¯ time.


    At any rate, after we had looked around for a moment, Praxa suggested that I pick which door to go through first, so that we could start off in an area that I was comfortable with. Gladly, I agreed at once, and pointed over towards the golden framed door with the small ¡°five¡± inscribed on the center, and suggested that we started there.


    For just a few seconds, there was an uncomfortable silence, as Praxa looked at me with a curious expression.


    Then, I pointed once again towards that same place.


    ¡°We can just start at that door¡­ can¡¯t we?¡±


    A longer pause, this time. And then¡­


    ¡°¡­ what door,¡± she said, softly.


    ¡°¡­ I¡¯m sorry?¡±


    ¡°The place that you¡¯re pointing to¡­,¡± she said, ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t see any door there.¡±


    If I had been a little more composed and prepared, I might have had the forethought to try and pass it all off as a joke. But, as it was¡­


    ¡°¡­ how many doors do you see in this room,¡± I asked.


    ¡°I can see three of them,¡± she said, pointing to the doors that didn¡¯t bear any inscriptions on their center. ¡°That one, that one, and that one. But you¡­ you see four in here?¡±


    ¡°Well...¡± I said.


    ¡°Does that mean¡­ that fourth door¡­ have you already opened it up, and seen what was on the other side¡­?¡±


    There was a long pause, as I tried to figure out what to do.


    But¡­


    I had always been impulsive, and trusted my instincts. And I knew from what Torver had said that telling your friends and family wasn''t that much of a danger - and I felt confident that I could trust Praxa, and that whatever was happening to the Interlopers in this world, that a person like here would have nothing to do with it.


    And so, without saying a word, I walked over, and opened up the door.


    Praxa¡¯s eyes widened, and she looked at me with a mixture of astonishment, and of wonder.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get inside, and talk,¡± I said.


    At once, she nodded her head, then quickly followed me in through the now opened entryway. Then, I closed the door behind me, and looked around.


    She still seemed to be almost too amazed to talk. But after just a moment or two, she asked me in a soft voice if there was something special about me, that had allowed me to see that door, and to open it up to the other side.


    I nodded once, then slowly began to take off the glove on my right hand, before showing her the mark on my palm.


    It took her a long time to be able to get any words out after that.


    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ you¡¯re an Interloper,¡± she finally managed to say. ¡°When did you arrive in our world¡­?¡±


    ¡°About five days ago,¡± I said.


    Then, I started to tell her about how I had arrived in the forest, and then about the wolf that I had encountered, and the slavers who had chased after me, and my meeting with Torver, and the two children, and Roger, and all of the progress that I had made in the dungeons up until then. I told her everything about my journey through this new world, in as much detail as I could, only leaving out some parts about the city of free folk, in order to protect its location.


    As I talked, she listened with a real sense of curiosity and of wonder.


    ¡°So¡­ well. I think that¡¯s everything,¡± I said, at long last.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s so amazing,¡± she said.


    Then, she started to laugh a little. ¡°I feel like I should be able to think up more of a response than that, you know? But¡­ really, that¡¯s the most extraordinary thing that I¡¯ve ever heard. I want to say a lot more, but I just have no idea where to even begin.¡±The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, grinning, ¡°I know the feeling.¡±


    She laughed, and poked me softly in the side.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure that you do,¡± she said. ¡°But, so¡­ you must be planning to head out towards that canyon sometime soon, right?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°I think that I¡¯ll try to head out there once I hit about level one hundred or so. That way, I should be able to hold my own against the monsters in the area, without getting too overwhelmed.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ what will you be doing until then? You mentioned that Roger had a second home out in that city of free folk. Do you plan to go out there with him, and to take each of the children?¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± I said. ¡°The three of us are going to be leaving in a little over two weeks, I think.¡±


    At those words, there was a flash of real sadness in Praxa¡¯s eyes. But almost as soon as it appeared, it was gone once again, as an apparently quite natural and genuine smile passed across her lips.


    ¡°That sounds like a really good plan, I think,¡± she said. ¡°I hope that you¡¯ll manage to make it out there safely.¡±


    Despite her best attempts to be warm and polite, she wasn¡¯t able to say much more than that.


    For just a moment, there was a brief pause, as I hesitated about what to do.


    But¡­ even though I definitely didn¡¯t feel like I knew Praxa all that well just yet, and even though I didn¡¯t have any real idea what the future might be about to hold¡­


    ¡­ well.


    I didn¡¯t want things to end here, or to end like that ¨C no matter what.


    So, I did my best to muster up my courage, and to speak.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what your plans are, but¡­ I¡¯d be sad to say goodbye to you right now, you know? So, if you¡¯re interested¡­ well¡­ maybe you could come along with the four of us, and join us on our travels.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯d like to, I mean,¡± I added quickly. ¡°I just wanted you to know that you¡¯d be welcome, and that you have the option to come, if you¡¯d like.¡±


    This time, for just an instant, I saw a look of almost pure surprise and of joy in Praxa¡¯s lovely, pale green eyes. Then, once more, it faded into a somewhat natural and polite smile, as she did her best to restrain her own emotions.


    ¡°Well¡­,¡± she said. ¡°I...¡±


    ¡°I would like to ¨C a lot. But, would that be okay with everybody else?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure that it would be fine with everyone. I can¡¯t imagine that any of them wouldn¡¯t be happy to have you come along. Honestly¡­ you don¡¯t need to worry about that at all. You really would be welcomed ¨C by all of us.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ thank you, then,¡± she said. ¡°I honestly didn¡¯t have any idea what I was going to do next¡­ but, taking refuge out in Riverdale, and working together with the free folk ¨C that seems like a really good idea.¡±


    ¡°And, well¡­ I know that we hardly know each other. But it made me sad to think that you were about to leave, right when I was just getting the chance to get to know you. So¡­ well.¡±


    She laughed a little at her own awkwardness, then gave me a gentle smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry ¨C I¡¯ve never been the best at this sort of thing. But, honestly¡­ this makes me really happy. I¡¯ll be looking forward to traveling with you, whenever it¡¯s time to go.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be looking forward to it, too,¡± I said. ¡°A lot.¡±


    After that, we took a long while in silence together, as we sat beneath the leaves of the jungle. Eventually, however, Praxa¡¯s curiosity seemed to awaken once again, as she looked towards me, with a bright, lively quality to her eyes.


    ¡°There¡¯s still one thing that I¡¯m¡­ well,¡± she started to laugh. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of things that I¡¯m confused by. But¡­ you said that you saw a ¡®five¡¯ on the door that you just opened. Do you know what that meant?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°I haven¡¯t actually given it that much thought, just because, you know ¨C to me, it¡¯s just one of about a thousand different mysteries, so it didn¡¯t stand out that much. But¡­ well, that is a good question. What do you think it might be?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she said. ¡°But, ¡®five¡¯¡­ hm.¡±


    ¡°I imagine it means that you must have at least ¡®five¡¯ of something that I have less of,¡± she said. ¡°So, if you don¡¯t mind me asking, what are your statistics, William?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind at all,¡± I said. ¡°Let me see...¡±


    System, I thought, what are my statistics?


    <div>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Level: 7</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Affected By: Blessing of Kalia</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <div>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">HP (Hit Points):</td>


    <td>150/150</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">HP Regeneration:</td>


    <td>16.5 HP / min</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">MP (Magic Points):</td>


    <td>55/55</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">MP Regeneration:</td>


    <td>0.33 MP / min</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Strength:</td>


    <td>23 (19+4)</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Intelligence:</td>


    <td>14</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Dexterity:</td>


    <td>13</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Wisdom:</td>


    <td>11</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Agility:</td>


    <td>27</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Luck:</td>


    <td>9</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Vitality:</td>


    <td>15</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Insight:</td>


    <td>7</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ my statistics are...¡±


    ¡°Strength, 23. Dexterity, 13. Agility, 27. Vitality, 15. Intelligence, 14. Wisdom, 11. Luck, 9. And Insight... 7?"


    ¡­ that was odd. Shouldn¡¯t my ¡°Insight¡± have increased by now? It wasn''t 1 when it started, after all.


    Praxa must have found something odd about that too. Because the moment that I mentioned it, her eyes grew wide, and she seemed absolutely focused and alert.


    ¡°¡­ could you¡­ could you tell me what you said that your Insight score is, again?¡±


    ¡°Seven,¡± I said. ¡°Is that high for this world?¡±


    ¡°¡­ no one in this entire world has an Insight score of more than zero.¡±


    ¡°¡­ what?¡±


    ¡°Everyone is born with an Insight of zero, and no one has ever found a way to increase it¡­¡±


    ¡°So¡­ the fact that your Insight is 7 is¡­ well...¡±


    Praxa burst out into laughter.


    ¡°¡­ how in the world did you do that, exactly?¡±


    I started to laugh, too.


    ¡°I have absolutely no idea,¡± I said. ¡°It was 6 when I got here, so that just kind of happened. Then, it went up by 1 when I saw the Blue Tower. Apart from that, there hasn¡¯t been anything else too special that took place.¡±


    ¡°Huh,¡± she said. ¡°Why the Blue Tower...¡±


    After that, we talked for a while about what might have taken place, and what the likeliest explanations were.


    Eventually, after a lot of deductive reasoning, we arrived at the following, very tentative explanation.


    My Insight had originally been raised to 6 by encountering Kalia.


    Afterwards, it had been raised by 1 more after I had seen the Blue Tower.


    But of course, many other people had seen the Blue Tower as well. So I must have some sort of special power or gift that allowed me to gain Insight in a unique way ¨C but I had no idea just yet what that power might be.


    However, the simplest explanation was that it was related to the Insight that I had already acquired¡­ so for now, I took that as a very tentative solution to the riddle.


    Once we¡¯d finished working through things, I summarized the results of our conversation.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ that¡¯s what I think, too,¡± she said. ¡°But if that¡¯s true, then those two things must be connected somehow - Kalia, and the Blue Tower.¡±


    ¡°I think that¡¯s right,¡± I said. ¡°And they must be joined together in the past, somehow.¡±


    ¡°Why the past, exactly?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ because of what the system says when you ask it what Insight is.¡±


    ¡°¡­ what does it say? To you, I mean.¡±


    ¡­ oh, of course. It probably says something different to me than to other people.


    System, I thought, what is ¡°Insight¡±?


    ¡°Insight is a measure of your understanding of the secrets of this world, and of the mysteries of the past.¡±


    I repeated the definition to Praxa.


    ¡°The past...¡±


    She paused.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought¡­ when I ask, it only tells me that ¡®Insight is a measure of your understanding of the secrets of this world.¡¯ It doesn¡¯t mention the part about the past.¡±


    At that, the two of us paused again, as we did our best to put everything together.


    If our explanations so far were correct, then Kalia and the Blue Tower were connected somehow, and they were connected by something that had taken place a long time ago. But what that connection was, exactly, was very hard to say. I wondered for a moment if Kalia might be inside of the tower, or a part of it, or if they had been there once before, in an especially important moment. But none of that seemed quite right, though I couldn¡¯t have told you exactly why. Even so, neither of us could actually come up with anything that was better, at least for now.


    Right then, it seemed pretty likely that we just didn¡¯t have enough to go on. But even still, this was at least the first real, genuine clue that I had managed to receive since I had first arrived in this world¡­ and even if it wasn¡¯t much, it was at least a good start. It also raised the prospect of finding other sources of Insight, as well ¨C which was a very exciting possibility.


    Somehow, even then, I knew that the vaults would contain something that gave me an even greater degree of Insight into the secrets of this world. But even now, I can barely understand how I knew that all the way back then.


    At any rate, after we had talked about these things for a little while longer, we decided to give up on the investigation for now, and planned just to keep our eyes and ears open for anything else that might help us to explain what was going on.


    ¡°Well, then,¡± Praxa said. ¡°Let me now attempt to provide a summary of the proceedings, if I may.¡±


    ¡°You are a traveler from another world, who has more Insight into the secrets of this world than anyone else alive, and you are on a quest to find an ancient, mythical vault, that no one has seen in hundreds of years ¨C and you probably have a remarkably good chance of doing so, all things being considered.¡±


    ¡°You also have the amazing ability to progress through the dungeons about 10-15 times faster than anyone else that I have ever met, and you probably also have all sorts of other powers and abilities that will make themselves known in due time.¡±


    ¡°Is that a good summary of who you are, and of what¡¯s taken place so far?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°That seems about right.¡±


    ¡°Well, then¡­ now that we¡¯ve established all of that ¨C should we get out of here, and head up to the Fifth Floor?¡±


    ¡°That sounds good to me,¡± I said. ¡°After you, Praxa.¡±


    And so, the two of us told the system where we would like to go, as a faint light appeared around us, and the two of us made our way up to the higher floors of the dungeon.

 Chapter 29: A Day in the Dungeons

    Once we had gotten that all cleared up, the two of us made our way up to the hub at the center of the Fifth Floor, and began to figure out what to do next.


    We had already decided that we would continue to go through and to explore the doors that were only accessible with an Insight of five or more. Those areas were new to Praxa, which made them more interesting to her, and I think that both of us were intrigued by the thought of wandering through halls and layers that no one else had stepped foot on for at least a hundred years. There was something still and quiet about those places, and something beautiful about them, too.


    The downside was that we would have to be pretty careful not to end up being too suspicious. If someone else were to see us rip open a passage through the walls of the dungeon, there would be a lot of questions, and news about my status as an Interloper would be likely to spread to the furthest corners.


    So, once we made our way up to the hub at the center of the Fifth Floor, we simply waited and chatted in that circular room for a little while before the other travelers there had disappeared. Then, we made our break for it, and rushed towards the entrance to the secret parts of the dungeon. Luckily, it was pretty easy to figure out when someone new was arriving on the hub floor ¨C there was always a large flash of light, and a long pause after that ¨C so we didn¡¯t have to worry about being surprised. That meant that, with a bit of care and precaution, we would be able to keep my identity a secret for as long as we needed to, and to continue to explore each of the floors of the dungeon.


    Once we made our way in through the door, the two of us then began to seek out monsters to fight, as we began to experiment with how to pair our own sets of skills together most effectively.


    It didn¡¯t take us too long to discover that our fighting styles were very, very compatible.


    At the most basic level, Praxa was a distance fighter (a bow wielder), while I was a close range fighter (a sword wielder). That meant that I could distract the enemy, and dodge their blows, while she could pick each of them off with precise, targeted strikes.


    Not only that, but because Dexterity was the stat that she had placed most of her points into, she could even do something like shoot an arrow directly past the side of my head, and into the body of the enemy. I doubt that we would want to try that out back in the real world. But in the dungeons ¨C where the worst that could happen would be that I might take too much damage, and have to wait a while to recover ¨C it was an enormously effective technique, and it allowed me to fight exactly as I would have fought without her, while she skillfully and nimbly damaged our foes.


    Finally, since Praxa also made heavy use of her Agility statistic, and had been very well trained in her Athletics as well, it was easy for her to position herself around the battlefield, and for the two of us to rapidly make our way through each of the floors, or to run in escape from an enemy together, whenever we needed to.


    I had been clearing out the dungeons quite quickly just on my own. But with Praxa, everything seemed to be going a lot more quickly. Even apart from how good it was to be in her company, I found that fighting by her side was advantageous purely from the perspective of getting my EXP gains as high as possible, and that the two of us were a very natural pairing.


    That was the advantage from my perspective, at least. From hers, however, the gains were much, much more considerable.


    Apparently, in the time that we had been fighting together, Praxa had been gaining about 7-8 times as much EXP as she had ever gained before. I didn¡¯t know why that would be, exactly. But the simplest explanation was that whatever boost was provided to the Interlopers, it was also provided to the other men and women within their party. And that was the clue that finally allowed me to discover precisely what that ¡°boost¡± was, exactly.


    Apparently, the system automatically determined which people were in a party based on an analysis of their actions and of their intentions. So, if two or more people were all attempting to defeat the same enemy, and if the system determined that they intended to be working together to defeat that creature, then for the purposes of that battle, that group of people would form a ¡°party.¡±


    Once people had joined into a party, they would then also share the EXP of the defeated monsters, and they would also share some of the benefits of their stats, like ¡°Luck," which had been designated as a ¡°party¡± stat. And while the system wouldn¡¯t tell Praxa whether or not Insight was a party stat, it would answer that question for me ¨C and the answer apparently was that it was. Of course, the system wouldn¡¯t tell me exactly what benefit I was sharing with Praxa. But the likeliest explanation seemed to be that the Insight stat didn¡¯t just provide us with clues about the deeper mysteries and secrets of the past, or open up new doors in the dungeons... but that it also gave us a considerable boost to our EXP gains. And that meant that if I could ever find a way to increase my Insight, then I might be able to significantly increase the amount of power thatI could acquire.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    For now, however, the net effect of all of this was that Praxa was making the most progress that she had ever made in her life, and that goals and hopes that had seemed impossibly far away in the future now suddenly seemed as if they might be right at hand.


    As you might expect, this made her rather eager to continue to go exploring with me, although she certainly wasn¡¯t pushy about that, or demanding.


    As you also might expect, I was very open to that suggestion, and I welcomed the thought of her spending time with me about as warmly as I could.


    An hour or two later, we had made our way up to about the middle of the Seventh Floor, as we continued to learn how to fight together, and how to put our skills to the best and the most complementary use.


    The whole time, we had been making our way through the floors very slowly, being sure to pause often to appreciate the sights that were all around us, and to take a few moments just to rest, and to talk, and to enjoy each other¡¯s company. It was a lot like going on a long hike through the mountains with a good friend, and I found myself really enjoying sitting down on the ground with Praxa, and looking at her warm, and kind face, as the two of us laughed together, and relaxed, and just talked about whatever happened to come to mind. Then, we would make our way back up again, and continue to push forward, as we fought our way through wave after wave of enemies, and danced through their blows, and brought them crashing down towards the earth.


    I think that Praxa must have been a little surprised by just how long I could fight for, and how easily I seemed to recover from the damage that I took along the way. But after I had explained about the blessing of Kalia, and about my ability to regenerate my health, she seemed to understand, and to recognize what had allowed me to make so much progress in these last few days. At the same time, she informed me of how useful that blessing might be, and how much it could help me, given the way that things worked in this world.


    Apparently, there were no elixirs of health here, or rings of regeneration, or equipment that doubled or tripled your Hit Points, or anything like that. Because HP was a literal measure of your life force, the ability to restore or to enhance it was probably the single most important ability that existed, and that ability was so rare that even the adventurers who had made it through the floors of the Expert Dungeons had never managed to find all that much that could help to restore a person¡¯s health. That meant that, in practice, the only way to restore or to preserve HP was through the use of a skill called ¡°life magic.¡± But because the learning of magic was forbidden up until your 65th year, and even then, was available to only a very select few, not that many people had access to that school of magic ¨C and even for the few who did, it simply wasn¡¯t powerful enough to give them all that considerable of a boost in their explorations. And certainly, there weren¡¯t any spells to provide a person with eternal health, or immortality, or anything like that.


    The upshot of all of this was that it wasn¡¯t exactly going to be possible for any sort of ordinary adventurer to do much to restore their HP when they made their way through the dungeons. Add to that the slow HP regeneration that the system provided ¨C which slowed down even further once you had taken a bit of damage ¨C and it was clear that most people couldn¡¯t go through the dungeons for long, and that they would have to work together if they wanted to make it more than a floor or two at a time.


    But I didn¡¯t have any of those limitations. And that, combined with the boost to my EXP gains from my high ¡°Insight¡± score, was what explained the rapid progress that I had made in each of my visits to the dungeons.


    As you would expect, that allowed us to get much further into the dungeons than Praxa could have anticipated. Even at our leisurely pace, we had soon cleared the whole Seventh Floor, and we had made it through quite a bit of the Eighth Floor as well.


    At first, that more relaxed, soothing pace had seemed perfect for each of us. But, by the time that we had finally made it up to the Ninth Floor, each of us were eager to push our way on ahead. Getting to a new hub floor was a very big deal in the dungeons, after all, and even though I had just made it to Floor Five the day before, I was still eager to make my way up to the next resting point, and to unlock a higher place to start from for the days ahead.


    So, the moment that the two of us managed to spy one of the huge, stone towers looming out in the distance, we made our way towards it as quickly as we could, fighting our way through the residents of that floor, until we had at last managed to clear a path to the tower, and to make our way up to Floor Ten.


    By that point, we had been exploring our way through the dungeons for nearly five hours. That was apparently longer than Praxa had ever spent inside of a dungeon by quite a large margin, and I think that she was starting to get pretty hungry, and pretty tired, too. The only one of my advantages that I couldn¡¯t seem to transfer over to her was my heightened degree of stamina, which meant that, even though she was engaged in the less taxing activity of firing a bow, the endless fighting and walking of the last few hours seemed to be wearing her down by now, and making her a little eager to get back home, and to rest her body.


    Still, if she was as tired as I imagined that she must be, she certainly didn¡¯t show it. As I¡¯d begun to realize, she was too stoic to complain. But, after I suggested that I was starting to feel tired, and that I wouldn¡¯t want to continue on too much longer, she quite readily agreed ¨C with an eagerness that she wasn¡¯t all that able to hide ¨C and so the two of us prepared to head back towards home for the day.


    Finally, we at last let the system know that we were ready to return, as that same flash of light enveloped us once again, and began to take us back home.

 Chapter 30: Walk

    After we had made our way out of the dungeons, and taken a moment to appreciate the new levels that we had gained (three for each of us, as seemed to be the rule so far), the two of us began to stroll through the large, open farmlands, which stood between us and the town of Westfall. It was just about the middle of the day, and quite a few of the farmers seemed to be on break at the time, as they sat drinking at long, wooden tables, and laughed and chatted, and ate their meals, as they enjoyed a bit of a break in the warm, spring-like weather.


    When the two of us made our way past them, a few of the workers from one of the farms called out to us, and asked us if we¡¯d like to have a bit to eat after our labors in the dungeons. There was a real amiability about their request, and the whole scene seemed quite inviting. So, we accepted their offer at once, and made our way over to join them.


    For about half an hour after that, all of us ate our food together, and drank a bit, and talked, as we enjoyed the chance to relax together. The whole gathering had a great degree of cheer to it ¨C it felt quite a bit like how I imagined that a good college party must have felt ¨C and it was easy to get lost in the conversation, and to slip into a relaxed, playful state, as we joked together, and took our meals.


    After talking for a little while, one of the female farmers asked quite innocently if Praxa and I were a couple. In response, the young guardswoman had turned a bit red, and hadn¡¯t been able to say all that much in reply. But for my own part, I had said that right now, the two of us were nothing more than good friends. That seemed like the best way to phrase things, and I hoped that it wouldn¡¯t be saying too much, or too little. But, I noticed that right afterwards, Praxa had turned to look at me, and had given me a warm, contented smile¡­ and after that, she had seemed quite a bit more cheerful, and affectionate towards me.


    At any rate, after we had eaten and chatted with the farmers for a while, the two of us at last said our goodbyes, and continued to make our way back along the path, and towards the town of Westfall. For the whole remainder of the walk, Praxa seemed very quiet, but very happy, too. She was walking quite near towards my side, and she was pointing out a few of the yellow birds that were just gently flying above the tops of the little farm houses, flitting through the air, as they sung sweetly beneath the soft light of the sun.


    Just as before, the things that we talked about as we made our way through the farmland could hardly have been more simple. But, I would have had a hard time thinking of a single moment in my life that had ever been that happy, in such a deep, and radiant sort of way.


    Eventually, we made our way back out towards the town, where we decided that we would go our separate ways for now. But we also decided that we would meet up again to explore the dungeons sometime early in the morning the day after tomorrow, when she was free ¨C with a big, packed lunch this time, so that we could go for a little longer ¨C and with the full intention of getting up to the 15th floor, if we were able.


    Then, after more than a moment¡¯s hesitation, we waved farewell. Afterwards, I made my way through the little forest, towards my temporary home; and after a brief knock, I saw the door swinging open in front of me, as Aaron and Lily greeted me, and welcomed me inside.


    Each of the children seemed quite glad to see me, and they seemed eager to learn what I had been up to, and how my day had gone. So, I told them as much as I really could, though I was a little too bashful to really go into all that much detail about Praxa. Still, even from the little bit that I did say, they seemed to be able to piece together the rest, and both of them seemed to be eager to meet her, if she was going to be around.


    So I decided that maybe I¡¯d invite her over in a couple of days, if she was interested to meet them. It was a lot to ask of a girl that I had just met, of course. But given my situation, it made sense, and she seemed like someone who would understand, and who wouldn¡¯t find it to be too much to deal with.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    After that, we talked for quite some time about what we wanted to do next.


    That conversation ended up being a lot more serious than I had been expecting, and it marked the first time that the children and I had really discussed what they wanted to do with their lives.


    It seemed that each of them had lost most of their hopes for the future when they had become slaves, and that they had really ceased to have any faith that they might be anything more than farmers or laborers for the rest of their existence. And it wasn¡¯t until their collars had been removed that their original, youthful excitement had started to come back to them, and that they had begun to think about what they wanted to do going forward.


    And now that they had started to think about that, they had a lot of questions for me, and a lot of things that they were curious about.


    Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t really know quite what to say right then. I was still pretty inexperienced about careers in this world, and I had no idea at all of what you were supposed to study here when you were young. At the same time though, I realized that those questions were too important to put off, and that I would need to start to figure out these kinds of things if I wanted to give them the assistance that they would need. So I decided that I would ask Roger about that as soon as he returned, and that I would think about that as well, over the next few days.


    Of course, I knew that they wouldn¡¯t have to start working anytime too soon. But at the same time, I really didn¡¯t want to treat the two of them like ¡°children,¡± either. From the days that we had spent together, I could tell how intelligent both of them were, and how thoughtful they had already become. And so it felt wrong to me to treat them like lesser beings, or to give them idle entertainments to distract them, rather than letting them work towards building a life that they could love, and be proud of. I remembered how I had been treated as a child, too ¨C how little anyone had really respected my own thoughts and feelings, and how rarely anyone had acted as if I had any agency or power ¨C and I absolutely didn¡¯t want them to have to go through that same experience, if they didn¡¯t have to.


    So I decided it was going to be really important to introduce them to as much as I possibly could ¨C as much of the best parts of this world as I could find ¨C in order that they could start to develop their faculties, and to discover what they might like to become once they were older.


    I had already noticed that Aaron seemed to have a real knack for board games, and for strategy. So, I thought that I might pick him up a few more complicated games, and perhaps enroll him in some sort of a club for a session or two. I also wondered if he might be interested in more intellectually challenging subjects, like mathematics or philosophy, and I thought about broaching those things with him at some point in the next few days, if he was interested.


    As for Lily, I had seen her drawing quite a bit at Roger¡¯s table, and it was clear that she had a real gift for creating simple and elegant sketches, and miniature paintings. She seemed to get really absorbed in that activity, too, and I¡¯d often seen whistling quietly while she sketched the lines of her figures. And so I decided that I would buy her a couple of books on drawing, and that I would have a long conversation with Roger about his own time as a painter once he had returned from his trip.


    But probably what was going to be most important would be to let them explore, and to figure out what was appealing to them. I didn¡¯t know either of them that well yet, and from the sound of it, neither of them had seen very much of this world for themselves. So I wanted to be sure to let them have a range of experiences, in order that they could discover what they took a liking to, and what they might wish to do with their futures. I also wanted to make sure that they had the chance to explore the town a bit too, and I thought it might also be good to let them socialize with the children there, if that was possible. So I decided that I would take them into Westfall in the morning tomorrow, and to start to figure out some things from there.


    For now, however, there was nothing more that needed to be done. So, after finishing up our conversation for the time being, the three of us played another round of the board game that we¡¯d enjoyed, cooked up a bit of dinner, and spent the rest of the evening relaxing.


    Even though that was our first day together after the conversation that I¡¯d had with Roger, it really felt like any other day¡­ and I felt in that moment just how glad I was to be with them, and to be able to spend this sort of simple time together, after all that I had endured. But, after some more time spent in that sort of way, and a very enjoyable, and sweet kind of evening, the three of us at last grew quite tired. And so after relaxing together for a little while longer, we each drifted off to sleep, as we prepared ourselves for our day out in the town tomorrow, and for all that still lay ahead.

 Chapter 31: Together

    That morning, the three of us woke up bright and early, cooked up a meal together, and made our way to town.


    We didn¡¯t have all that much of a destination. But the children wanted to head out that way now that they were free, and I had wanted to take them out there as well.


    The first place that we went to was the marketplace, which was quite crowded at that time of day, and which was overflowing with all of the riches of the town. Each of us spent some time looking at whatever caught our eye, as I watched to see what the two of them liked.


    I noticed that each of them had taken an interest in a merchant of board games, and a store with books. So, I let the two of them browse through those shops for a while, as I chatted with one of the owners.


    A little while later, we had bought three different board games, and a fair number of books as well. It hadn¡¯t cost all that much ¨C about two gold coins in total ¨C but we had been able to acquire quite a few things that the children had wanted. It was clear that they each had a taste for long, sweeping adventure stories, and so we had acquired a couple of those, as well as a nice large book on how to draw, a picture-book that depicted all sorts of different objects, and a couple of simple instructional books that covered a few elementary subjects, like grammar and mathematics. I had also picked out three books that seemed interesting to me, which contained selections from some of the past scholars of the Guild of the Pen, the Guild of the Lab, and the Guild of the Mind, respectively. Aaron seemed to be quite interested in those books as well, and I told him that he was welcome to read them.


    Afterwards, we strolled through some of the stalls that were run by the local artists, craftsmen, and gardeners. I noticed that Lily seemed to be interested in the plants and flowers, so I decided that once we got to Riverdale, I would see if there was a garden that she could make use of. I also noticed that she had really taken a liking to a couple of the gems that were on display, so I ended up getting her a small ring, and a stone that was a little bit like an amethyst, each of which had been quite cheap, but had been a real source of pleasure to her nonetheless.


    I picked up a couple of other things as well, like one more little toy for their castle, and some materials for Lily to draw with. But soon, it felt like we had enough, so the three of us continued to make our way through the town.


    We had probably been walking for about twenty minutes after that, when I noticed that both of them were looking off towards a small building that was situated just a few meters to our side. A few moments later, I heard the sound of a bunch of kids laughing and playing, and I realized that Aaron and Lily were looking off at what seemed to be a local daycare, and glancing towards all of the other children who were inside.


    So, I asked them if they would be interested in going in, and in meeting some of the other kids from the town.


    They both seemed to be quite eager to do so, and the three of us soon made our way up to the little building, and stepped through the door.


    At once, we were greeted by a warm, lively atmosphere. The place was clearly pretty cheaply run, and in a lot of ways, it should have seemed kind of ragged, and uninviting. But even though there weren¡¯t that many decorations, the ones that were there had clearly been placed with a great degree of love and affection, and you could really feel a kind of gentle, amiable spirit echoing throughout those halls.


    There were about ten to twelve children inside, all of just around Aaron and Lily¡¯s age, and there was a single employee who was looking after them, a young lizard-woman in her early twenties. It was clear that she was the one responsible for the whole feeling of the place, and from just about the instant that I talked to her, I felt a real sense of goodness radiating out from her, and a genuine and real concern for the welfare of other beings.


    It seemed that Aaron and Lily felt that, too, because they were soon talking with her in an easy, relaxed manner, without a hint of discomfort or of fear.


    A little while later, a few of the other children from the daycare had come over to say hello, and had introduced themselves to each of the two kids.


    It was already pretty clear that each of them wanted to stay here for a while. So, after talking with the young lizard-woman for a few moments more, I paid a modest fee for them to stay here for the day, and I agreed to come back and to pick them up after I had made my way out from the dungeons.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Then, I said goodbye to each of the children, and left the items that we had purchased in a locker along the side, as I headed back out the door, and towards the farmlands that lay beyond.


    Afterwards, I spent about five hours out in the dungeon, fighting my way up around the Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth floors. I didn¡¯t want to make too much progress that day, because I wanted to keep exploring each of the different floors with Praxa. But since she was a few levels ahead of me, I figured it wouldn¡¯t hurt to pick up two or three more levels right now, while I had the time.


    Once I was done, I headed back out into the town to pick up each of the kids.


    It seemed like they¡¯d had a good time while I was gone, and that they had each enjoyed their stay there. But, they seemed quite glad to see me, too, and they each seemed ready to head back home. So, we picked up our stuff from the locker, and then said goodbye to the young lizard-woman, and to each of the other children, before we at last headed out through the door, and made our way towards the wooden gate.


    Just before we had made it to the exit, however, we happened to run into Praxa, right as she was coming into the town.


    It was clear that she had gotten off of duty a couple of moments before, and that she was quite surprised to see the three of us, and to run into me right then.


    This was my first time seeing her since yesterday¡­ and right then, both of us felt a little shy around each other ¨C and probably if the children weren¡¯t there, then things might have been kind of awkward. But as it was, the two of them seemed to be in great spirits, and the moment that I introduced them to Praxa, they invited her back to our house at once, and asked her to come and join the three of us for dinner.


    Praxa, understandably, was a little nervous about that. But I let her know that she really would be welcome, and that I¡¯d love to cook up a meal with her, if she was interested.


    After that, she agreed without too much hesitation, and she decided that we¡¯d spend the day together.


    And then, all of us started to make our way back towards home, as Praxa and the two children began to get to know one another.


    At first, Praxa was a little shy, and reserved. But, once Aaron and Lily started asking her about her time in the dungeons ¨C and about how long she¡¯d been an adventurer, and about what she wanted to do once she got older ¨C then Praxa really began to open up a lot more, and she soon became a lot more animated, and energetic, as she talked about each of her adventures, and what she wanted to do in the future.


    That helped to draw each of the two children out of their shells, as well¡­ and soon, each of them started to become more talkative, as they asked her about how she had originally become an adventurer, and what it was like to be a student in the town of Westfall.


    Even though she¡¯d only been here for a few weeks, Praxa had a number of surprisingly enjoyable stories to tell¡­ and soon, the three of them were all laughing quite a bit, as we stepped through the door, and took out one of the board games that we¡¯d acquired.


    By then, things were really moving along about as smoothly as they could have.


    We certainly didn¡¯t feel like a family, or anything like that. We were too close together in our years, and we were too unfamiliar with one another. But at the same time, there was a real tenderness, and a real sense of mutual respect to the way that we were dealing with one another, and interacting.


    Praxa seemed to be feeling all of that, too. Because, as we were finishing up the first round of our game, she gave me a remarkably warm, and tender smile.


    That told me pretty much all that I needed to know about how she felt right then, and what this whole experience was like, for her.


    I felt just about the same way, myself¡­ and I was really happy with the way that everything seemed to be progressing, between the four of us.


    At any rate, after we had finished, we all headed into the kitchen, and started to prepare our meal. Then, we sat down at the table for a long while, as we chatted with one another, and enjoyed each other¡¯s company. But after a while, it had started to get pretty dark outside, and it felt to all of us like the day was winding down towards its end. So, after a little more time together, the four of us said our goodbyes for now, as Praxa and I stepped outside for one last stroll through the woods.


    A little after that, we said goodbye for the night, after quite a bit of hesitation, and we each began to head back alone towards each of our homes.


    As I stepped back in through the door, the two children came over to me at once, and told me how much they had liked Praxa, and how much they had enjoyed the daycare, too.


    Afterwards, the three of us spent a bit more time together, before we each began to prepare for bed.


    Then, the three of us laid down, and started to drift off to sleep.


    The moment that I closed my eyes, I saw a remarkably clear image of Praxa¡¯s face, as she laughed, and smiled, and looked me softly in the eye.


    Even though she had only been here a few moments before, I missed her a lot right then. I could still hear the sound of her gentle, kind voice, and I could still see her sitting at the table in front of me, just looking up, and smiling.


    The two of us had agreed to meet up at the entrance of the town tomorrow morning, and to head on into the dungeons.


    Right then, I could hardly have been looking forward to that any more than I was, or been any more eager to be with her once again.

 Chapter 32: History

    I was woken up that morning by the sound of a couple of little birds chirping just outside of my window.


    A little afterwards, I heard the sound of food being prepared in the kitchen, and I saw Lily resting her head on Aaron¡¯s shoulder, as the young boy cooked up a large meal for the three of us to eat.


    Once I had gotten dressed, and headed over to greet them, the three of us spent a while talking in a warm, relaxed manner, as we thought about what to do next. It seemed that each of the children were pretty interested in heading back out to the daycare, and that seemed like a really good idea to me, too, especially while I went off to explore the dungeons. So, after finishing up our meal, and gathering up whatever we might need for the rest of the day, each of us headed out through the door, and towards the town of Westfall.


    Once the three of us had arrived there, we saw Praxa waiting outside of the wooden gate, standing by herself in front of the large, stone wall.


    A few moments later, she noticed the three of us approaching, and shyly waved hello. Then, Lily went over to greet her warmly, as the four of us talked for a moment, and greeted one another.


    Afterwards, Praxa and I took the two kids into the daycare, then made our way back out towards the farmland around the dungeons.


    At first, we just engaged in light, easy talk, as we enjoyed the day together, and the feeling of each other¡¯s company.


    Afterwards, there was a brief, slightly longer pause, before Praxa at last had the courage to bring up a little of what had happened the day before.


    ¡°By the way¡­ thank you for having me over yesterday,¡± she said. ¡°I really had a great time with the three of you.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m really glad that you came over.¡±


    ¡°I hope that we can do that again, sometime,¡± she said.


    ¡°Honestly,¡± I said, ¡°you could come over every single night, you know. I wouldn¡¯t mind at all.¡±


    She smiled, and began to walk a little closer towards my side.


    ¡°I¡¯d like that a lot¡­ maybe I¡¯ll do that, then.¡±


    After that, the two of us walked together in a warm, comfortable silence. It was just about an hour and a half after the first light of the sun, and the farmlands still had a soft, almost sleepy quality, as the workers began to set about their day. There was hardly anyone else out here right now, and so the two of us felt very much alone, and at peace.


    Eventually, we arrived at the entrance to the dungeons, and started up once more from the Tenth Floor.


    That day, there was something very calm about the way that we explored together. We fought, of course, and we made quite a bit of progress. But we spent just as much time climbing up to the tops of hills and mountains, or sitting by the side of great, expansive lakes, as we chatted together, and continued to get to know one another, the coming war still far enough away that we were able to enjoy these tender moments, and to relax.


    Now that she knew who I was, and where I had come from, I could tell her pretty much everything about myself, and I could speak to her without any reservations. And so, the two of us talked for some time about what what our lives had been like, and what we wanted to do in the future.


    She had told me, before, that she had wanted to become a member of the Guild of Knights someday. But I guess that she had been thinking a lot about something that I had told her before ¨C about what Roger had said to me, that ¡°neutrality was a real evil, in times like these¡± ¨C and I think that was starting to weigh on her, and to make her wonder if joining up with the Guild was really something that she would want to do.


    I had the same reservations myself. I hadn¡¯t thought too much about what I would want to do once I became a more powerful adventurer. But when I had, I had found myself really drawn towards the idea of becoming a Knight, and of helping to protect the people in this world from violence. But at the same time, I wondered if there wasn¡¯t something a lot more important that I should be doing. I didn¡¯t know the history of this world all that well, and I didn¡¯t really know what had happened in the past. But I had the strong sense that the City of the Blue Tower was just kind of keeping the world in stasis, if that makes sense, in spite of all of the good that it was doing. Helping to protect the world from monsters was certainly a valuable calling¡­ but at the same time, it didn¡¯t seem like it would really change things, or make this world a better place in the long run.


    It was strange to be thinking in that way, and to be wondering about what I might be able to do to help the people around me. These last few years, I had become so indifferent to the fates of other people, and I had grown so detached from the affairs of the world, that I had almost forgotten what it was like to want to do good for others. But, the more that I interacted with the people here, and the more that I spent time with people like Praxa, and Roger, the more that I wanted to be a part of everything that was happening. I was still about as far as you could get from being a hero. But at the same time, I cared about these people, and I wanted to try to make their lives a little better, if I could.


    Praxa had asked me a few days ago why I wanted to be a ¡°powerful¡± adventurer at all, and if I had power, what I would want to do with it. Ever since then, I had been thinking about that question a lot¡­ and the answer that kept coming to my mind was, ¡°I would want to help people.¡± Of course, there were things that I wanted for myself, too, and I¡¯d had a few idle daydreams about ruling over a kingdom, or discovering the secret to immortality. But even then, if I thought about it a bit more realistically, ruling over a whole nation sounded like a lot of work¡­ but, just spending time with Aaron, and Lily, and Praxa, and growing stronger, and finding things that I could do to help out the people around me, and to contribute to whatever town I happened to reside in¡­ that sounded really nice to me, and like about as good of a life as I could ask for.


    Somewhere, in the very back of my mind, I felt like there was an even greater task waiting for me, and that there was something bigger that I could do for the world, and for myself. But I tried not to focus on that too much, as Praxa and I stood up from our rest, and began to push our way further on ahead towards the uppermost floors of the dungeon.


    As we continued to make our way on ahead, we each spent a lot of time talking about some of what we had discovered before, and about what could have taken place in the distant past.


    It seemed that Praxa had been really excited by everything that we had talked about a few days ago, and that she had spent a lot of hours thumbing through a couple of books of history, trying to see if there was anything that she could discover.


    She hadn¡¯t been able to come up with all that much, unfortunately. But, she was able to give me a kind of brief summary of what had taken place in this world so far, at least according to the oldest books that we had access to.


    Apparently, according to the records that had managed to survive, there were three ¡°great ages¡± in the history of the world.


    The first was the Golden Age ¨C a period of time in the distant, and long-forgotten past ¨C where each of the races had lived together in peace, and a kind of perfect happiness had reigned throughout the land.


    The second age was the Age of Mages. This age began when a powerful magician had become corrupted by his greed, and had enslaved the world, and exploited it for his own advantage. What had happened in this age was really not that clear¡­ but it seemed as if many, many terrible crimes had been committed, which had killed millions upon millions of people, and caused a terrible, lingering suffering for many generations on end.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    The third and final age in the history of this world was the Age of the Divine. This was the age that we were living in now. It began when the Great Prophet Lucian was given the blessings of the God, and used those blessings to bring about the destruction of the great Blood Magicians, and to bring about the end of the Age of Mages. Afterwards, he had founded the City of the Blue Tower, as a bastion for the arts and sciences, and a stronghold for the innocent¡­ and he had also placed very careful restrictions upon the practice of magic, in order to ensure that nothing like what had come before could ever take place again.


    That was what the history books had to say about the history of this world, at any rate.


    Of course, both of us were fairly skeptical about a lot of the details of that account. In particular, we were pretty dubious that there had ever really been a ¡°Golden Age,¡± like the books had suggested, and we were also dubious about the existence of the God that Lucian had spoken to, who seemed more like a mythical figure than a reality.


    At the same time, however, it did seem like at least some of the account was probably true. Apparently, there had been quite a few contemporaries of Lucian who had written books that had come down to us. So, it seemed quite certain that the prophet had existed, at least, and that he really had brought about the end of the rule of the mages, who had been horrible tyrants.


    But, there were no books from any further back than the life of the Prophet, presumably because the mages had destroyed them, and prevented the transmission of information. So, about what had really taken place during all of the years before ¨C and about what the world had been like, back then - there didn¡¯t seem to be anything more to go on than myths and speculations.


    Still, even though I was pretty skeptical, I also didn¡¯t want to throw out the account that had come down to us entirely. If any memory of the past had survived, then it was likely that it had survived in the form of a myth. And, even if 99% of what the myths had to say was false, there might still be an important truth or two that was buried there, which might shed some light on the past.


    And so, even though I doubted a lot of the details of the story that Praxa had told me, I still thought that there might be some truth to the claim that the world had been a much better place, once ¨C a long, long time ago ¨C and that it had been corrupted somehow. And I imagined that whatever had happened back then, it must all be connected to the question of who Kalia was, and of how she was connected to the Blue Tower, in turn.


    Of course, there was still a lot to figure out before I could even hope to be able to answer that question. But it at least felt like we knew roughly where to look, and what questions to start to ask, if we wanted to be able to figure out the truth.


    At the same time, there was one more thing that had been bothering Praxa.


    The Interlopers were being hunted.


    I had been trying to avoid thinking about that too much, or letting it get to me.


    But, of course, Praxa had been really concerned about that part of the story, and so she had spent a while trying to figure out what had been happening.


    Everything that she told me after that was honestly kind of hard for me to hear.


    Every single person who had ever revealed to the public that they were an Interloper had been found dead in a single year ¨C at the most.


    Some had been murdered in their homes.


    Some had fallen to their deaths.


    Some had died of apparently ¡°natural¡± causes.


    But each and every single one of them had died. And this was true for all of the Interlopers who had revealed themselves, and whose lives had been recorded.


    Not only that¡­ but their deaths had been spread out over the course of well over a thousand years.


    That meant that they were being hunted down, and killed, by a group that had persisted throughout the ages.


    The natural question, then, was who was responsible.


    The likeliest culprit was probably the City of the Blue Tower, or the Guild of the Pen, or the Guild of Knights. Those were the only organizations that anyone knew about that had existed for that whole length of time, which made them very natural suspects. But of course, it was also possible that there was some sort of secret, and underground organization that might be carrying out the killings in private.


    The thought of being hunted down by some sort of secret, cryptic organization was honestly so frightening to me that it was hard to even think about. That was why I hadn¡¯t decided to read too much about it, and why I hadn¡¯t worried about it up until now, or paid as much attention to it as I should. But at the same time, I knew that all of this was too important for me to ignore any longer, and I really didn¡¯t want to seem like a coward in front of Praxa. So, the two of us spent a while talking about all of this, and trying to figure out what was going on¡­ a conversation in which Praxa very much took the lead ¨C even though it was pretty uncomfortable for her, too ¨C and which I just tried to follow along as well as I was able.


    Whoever was responsible for the killings, they had to have been acting in secret, and they had to have kept their activities private for a very long time by now. A few of the murders had been pretty high-profile, and had been investigated by the City of the Blue Tower, and by each of the different nations¡­ but the culprit had never been discovered, and the cases had finally grown cold.


    That meant that, no matter who was doing this, they had to be operating out of the shadows. Even if they were a part of the Guild of the Pen, or the Guild of Knights, or the City of the Blue Tower, they certainly couldn¡¯t be an official part. They had to be some sort of a secret organization, no matter what.


    But still, if they had really existed for more than a thousand years, they had covered their tracks remarkably well¡­ and it was hard to imagine how I would be able to discover them, or to understand who they were.


    The next question, then, was why they were killing us.


    The only explanation that Praxa and I could come up with was that they didn¡¯t want us to find a way into the vaults. That was the only thing that us Interlopers could really do that other people couldn¡¯t, and so preventing us from doing that seemed like the only reason to hunt us down.


    That might also explain why the vaults hadn¡¯t been discovered, too. If there was a secret organization that was trying to keep us from getting inside of them, then that same organization might have done something to prevent each of the vaults from being found.


    Of course, if that was true, then it meant that going out into that canyon might be very, very dangerous¡­ but, I decided that I would think more about that when the time came, and I didn¡¯t want to let that fear overwhelm me for now.


    The more that we talked, though, the more that we seemed to be confronted by a whole litany of questions. If such an organization did exist, then why didn¡¯t they want the vaults to be opened? Did they know what was inside? If they did, then what was inside, and why had they devoted themselves to keeping the contents of the vaults concealed from the rest of us?


    To those questions, however, the two of us really didn¡¯t have any sort of answers. All that I could think of was that the vaults might contain some sort of a weapon, or some sort of a secret, or both. But beyond that, I really couldn¡¯t have told you. And so, we seemed to have gone about as far as we could go in starting to unravel some of these mysteries.


    Still¡­ thinking about those things was unnerving, to say the least.


    The only real solace that I took was that there were also seemed to be quite a few Interlopers whose true nature had been known by their friends and families, but who had died peacefully in their beds, having been able to conceal themselves from the world at large.


    That meant that I should be safe for now, and that I had a pretty good chance of being able to survive.


    That was what I told myself, anyway.


    At any rate. That conversation had started to get a bit too heavy for each of us. So, after a long, and somewhat uncomfortable pause, the two of us fell into silence for a while, and then began to talk about more mundane, unimportant things, as we made our way up ahead, and continued to progress through the dungeons.


    Then, after we had at last made it to just about halfway through the fifteenth floor, we each decided to call it a day for now. So, at long last, we each made our way out of the dungeon, and then began to walk through the huge, open farmlands, back towards the town of Westfall.


    Along the way, Praxa and I continued to talk a little bit more about the mysteries of the past¡­ but mostly, we just walked silently together, enjoying the sights that were all around us.


    Once we arrived at the wooden gate, we said our farewells for now, and promised to meet up again the following morning. Then, I went down to the daycare in order to pick up each of the children, before taking them back home, and cooking up an early dinner.


    The rest of the day passed quite simply by, and in much the same way that the days had passed by before. But as I was falling asleep that night, I thought again of everything that Praxa and I had spoken about, and of how much more there still was to figure out, and to understand.


    All of that felt very far away right then, and I doubted that I would be able to make any more headway on those mysteries too soon.


    Still¡­ I knew that, sooner or later, I would need to start to answer all of those questions, and to figure out what was going on.


    As I started to fall into a deep state of rest, I saw once more the image of the vault that I had seen in my dreams.


    At the same time, I heard a soft voice whispering into my ear, that must have been my own, though it seemed quite different, somehow.


    It merely said: ¡°someday, all of this shall end...¡±


    And then, a few moments later, the voice broke off, as I drifted off into a deep, and restful sleep.

 Chapter 33: Calm

    This is probably about the right place for me to speed up the flow of time a bit, and to jump a little further on in ahead.


    Those days back then were really some of the happiest days of my life. Getting to know Praxa, and Aaron, and Lily, and learning how to become an adventurer, and making my way through the world, after spending so long in the prisons, and in my cell¡­ all of that was really an amazing time for me. But, really, I don¡¯t think that too much happened during those days that you wouldn¡¯t have been able to predict. So, I¡¯ll just try to give a bit of an outline of what my life was like back then, before my adventures resumed in earnest.


    The two kids ended up really liking the daycare that they had stayed at, which was very welcome news to me. During their time there, they became very close friends with a young lizard-girl named Sarah, and I would often find the three of them sitting together in a corner of the main room, playing a game, or talking about their lives. But after about a week of that, she ended up leaving to go back to her home at the Kingdom of the Green Tower, which was very hard for both Aaron and Lily.


    Right after she had left, I promised the two of them that we would try to go out that way to see her again. But at the same time, I worried that I might not be able to carry through on that promise.


    The situation in the world seemed to be getting worse almost by the day. There had been a few assassinations in just the last couple of days, and there had been quite a few skirmishes between groups of mercenaries, proxy wars for the coming war between the nations. Just as we had expected, the protection from the City of the Blue Tower had been revoked from Westfall ¨C giving us about three weeks from the time of the debate to evacuate ¨C and every day, there seemed to be fewer and fewer neutral communities. It seemed likely that there would be a war in the next couple of months, at the latest, and the lines had been drawn up such that it was the City of the Red Tower, on the one side, against the Yellow and the Green, on the other.


    It was terrifying to hear about all of the armies assembling, and in those days, I would often see some young man or woman huddled alone in an alley, or standing with a friend or two, weeping softly at the thought of everything that was about to occur. At the same time, you could really feel in the town how much hatred there was for the City of the Red Tower, and many seemed to be more than willing to die in order to have the chance to strike a blow against the slavers.


    But even though things were getting a lot worse right then, and even though there was so much fear, and so much hatred, I still felt alright somehow. In spite of the turmoil that was boiling up around me, my own circumstances could hardly have been much better. And even though I would have nightmares from time to time, they didn¡¯t prevent me from appreciating what I had in the present moment. If anything, the awareness that I might lose all of this so quickly only added to the pleasure that I felt in those days, and it deepened my appreciation for what my life had become.


    In the mornings, after I had left each of the children at the daycare, I would head out to the large, wooden gate, and meet up with Praxa outside of the walls. She would be waiting for me near the open field, with her bow slung around her back, and the light playing across her hair. And then, when she saw me, she would race up to greet me, before the two of us walked side by side through the fields, and towards the dungeons.


    I didn¡¯t have the courage yet to tell her how I felt. But even still, it didn¡¯t really seem to matter. Whenever the two of us discussed our future, we always took it for granted that we would be there together, and that we would support one another in the days ahead. And the longer that we spent with each other, the more often she would rest her head on my shoulder, or give me a soft, and contented smile, as we walked quietly through the floors of the dungeons.


    Of course, I knew that someday, I would have to tell her how much I really loved her. But for now, I didn¡¯t feel the need to rush things ahead, or to push it all too much further. So, the two of us simply spent our days together ¨C what were some of the happiest days of my life ¨C as we laughed, and played, and passed the time, spending many tender moments in a state of deep contentment, as we enjoyed the feeling of being with one another, and appreciated everything that had happened so far, and all that was yet to come.


    But in spite of the happiness that I felt being in her company, and being in the company of each of the children as well, there was still a dark cloud that hovered over all of us back then. In truth, none of us really knew if we would be alive or dead by the end of the year. We hoped that we would be safe in Riverdale, once Roger had returned. But we had no idea if we truly would be. If the war grew to the sort of scale that it seemed likely to take, then it was hard to imagine how any town could stand out of the way of the conflict. Perhaps we would be able to stay hidden. But it was just as likely that we would be discovered, and that we would have to fight, and perhaps to die.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    I thought about maybe trying to head out towards the Wild Lands, or maybe even running after that vault in the canyon, and seeking for some sort of safety there, or some sort of power that I could use to survive. But the monsters out that there were still way too much for us to handle, and there was no one that I could trust as a guide. Not only that, but I had begun to grow more and more worried that someone might be waiting for me out there, and might try to kill me if they discovered what had brought me to that place. And so that, combined with how unlikely it was that I would be able to actually find the vault even if I tried, kept me from wanting to head out to that canyon anytime too soon.


    That meant that for now, there was nothing to do but to continue to train. Praxa and I had gotten all the way up to level 49, and we had reached the 48th floor together, too. But we hadn¡¯t been able to get up to the fiftieth floor yet, even though we had wanted to. And right then, that was probably what each of us were looking forward to the most, even though we were both kind of worried that we weren¡¯t gaining quite so many levels as before, and that we might not really be able to get that much more powerful in the future ¨C and certainly not powerful enough to be able to withstand the kinds of dangers that we would be likely to encounter in the days ahead.


    And so even though those were remarkably happy days for me, they took place against a backdrop of worry, that added to the vividness of those moments, but that troubled my heart all the same.


    At any rate, that was the point that I had reached on the day where my story should resume. I had just woken up in the little home and had begun to stretch out and to read a book, when Aaron and Lily came over, and let me know that my breakfast was ready. Apparently, they were both quite excited to talk to me, and they began to tell me all about how they had discovered that Roger had once been one of the very greatest heroes of his day. If the book that they read was to be believed, he had even once been the head of the Guild of Knights, which was incredibly impressive; and it made me feel a lot safer hearing that, even though I understood that no man would really be able to do all that much by himself, no matter how strong he became. After all, super heroes and villains were just the stuff of myths and legends, even in this world; for here, just as back on Earth, numbers were really what mattered ¨C and an army of a million men would crush and destroy an army of a hundred, no matter who composed them ¨C and certainly a single man would not have a chance at all.


    Still. It was at least somewhat consoling to find out that the man who would be escorting us to Riverdale was about the closest thing that this world had to a genuine hero, and had not only been a Knight, but had even managed to become the Knight of Knights. And it made me eager to talk with him once again, and to get the chance to find out a little more about him.


    At any rate, it would still be two or three more days until he returned. So for now, after our breakfast was done, I sat around the house and read for a while, before training in the lower floors of the dungeons. Praxa was on guard duty for the day, and I¡¯d promised her that the two of us would get up to the 50th floor together, so I didn¡¯t want to go any further quite yet. But even still, I wanted to keep training up a bit if I could, so I spent some time fighting through the monsters on my own.


    Once I was done, I headed back in towards Westfall. Praxa and I had agreed to meet up in the evening after she had gotten off from work, and so I headed out towards the marketplace to wait for her. She thought that she might have to work for an extra half hour or so that night, but I figured that I could hang around the market place for a while, and look through the shops before she arrived.


    I had just begun to browse through a couple of the swords for sale, when I suddenly felt that something was off, somehow. The chatter of the crowd was dying down, and there was something of an unusual silence in the marketplace at that moment, which I hadn¡¯t ever experienced before. There was also a great fluttering of wings, and a great amount of chirping, as if many of the birds around the city had just been disturbed by something.


    And then, I heard what sounded like¡­ flutes, I thought.


    A lot of flutes, coming from the woods outside of the town ¨C and soon, horns too, blaring out into the air.


    At first, I wasn¡¯t able to accept what was happening. But then, a woman next to me began to scream, as the guards along the wall beat their gongs, and yelled for us to assemble.


    Even though we had another week and a half of protection from the City of the Blue Tower¡­


    ¡­ it seemed that was not enough to protect us. For now, the battle for the town of Westfall was right about to begin.

 Chapter 34: Motion

    I heard the sound of drums beating from within the city walls.


    Outside, the horns were blaring, as the sounds of thousands of metal boots crashed across the valleys and the plains.


    Everywhere that I looked, young men and women were scrambling to position, as each of them prepared to fight, with a great degree of nervousness and excitement.


    But in that moment, all that I felt was terror, and sorrow.


    I didn¡¯t want to die¡­. and I didn¡¯t want Praxa to die, either.


    I thought of her alone somewhere, in the midst of danger, lonely, and afraid ¨C and I felt so sad that I could hardly stand it, and I wanted so desperately to be with her.


    And then, I heard the pace of the drums beginning to increase, as I set off into motion, and began to run along through the streets.


    Young men and women were scrambling from place to place, and the sounds of the horns from outside were growing louder and louder, as screams rose up from the marketplace, and a few small children ran for cover inside of a nearby building.


    And then, a man on the opposite end of the street yelled out to me.


    ¡°You, there! Where are you headed? What¡¯s your class?¡±


    ¡°My class?¡±


    ¡°How do you fight! Two-handed?!¡±


    ¡°Yeah - two-handed!¡±


    ¡°Come with me, then,¡± he yelled, as he pointed off towards a building in the distance. ¡°That way! And quickly!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± I cried, ¡°I¡¯m looking for my friend!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t give a damn about your friend,¡± the man yelled. ¡°Get over here, or I¡¯ll have you arrested!¡±


    At those words, I felt a surge of rage from deep inside of me... but a few people in the street were looking at us, and there were guards nearby ready to step in if I tried to resist. And so, I pretended to be meek, and submissive, as I ran with him through the winding streets, past dozens of men and women in armor, each making their way to their battalions.


    And then the two of us were rushing down a narrow alley, as we made our way inside of a large, wooden building.


    There were already about two hundred young men and women standing inside. And at the very front of the room, an older man was delivering a speech, as he raised his voice more loudly now, and cried out over the horns that were blaring from outside.


    It was hard to focus on what was happening, with how frightened I was, and how eager I was to find Praxa. But eventually, I began to make some sense of my surroundings, and I started to hear the speaker¡¯s words. He was encouraging each of the young men and women to lay down their lives on the field of battle, and to die for the good of those who remained.


    Then, the door slammed shut behind us, as the commander locked us in, and went to help each of his soldiers to prepare for the battle.


    The sound of the door shutting had interrupted the man¡¯s speech¡­ and with the door closed, the room was much, much more quiet now.


    I could no longer hear any of the drums, or the horns from outside. Now all that I heard was the sound of a young woman weeping softly from one of the corners of the room, as her friends did their best to console her.


    Then, the man on the stage paused, as he looked out towards the audience. You could almost feel the tension in the air, and quite a few people were shaking so hard that they could barely even keep a handle on their equipment.


    ¡°I know that some of you may be afraid to die,¡± the man on the stage said, as he resumed his oratory. ¡°And for that, I do not blame you. Nothing is more frightening than death, after all. It is truly an awful thing to die. And it is especially awful for men, and for women of your own age. My son, who I loved very much¡­ he died in a situation just like this, about a year and a half ago. And for many months after that, I could hardly sleep at all, as I thought again that I would never be able to see him in this world, no matter how many years I lived.¡±


    ¡°And so, I promise you¡­ I understand how afraid you are right now, and I understand how awful it might seem to die.¡±


    ¡°But isn¡¯t it precisely because death is so horrific, and so awful, that sacrificing your life on the field of battle is such a noble, and a beautiful thing? If it were an easy thing to die, then giving up your life would not be a beautiful thing at all. But is it not the very horror, and the very badness of death, that makes choosing to die so noble? Is it not precisely because war allows us to choose what is terrible, and to give up our own greatest good, that it also allows us to most clearly prove our own devotion towards what is higher, and thereby to demonstrate our deepest merit, and to reach up to the greatest heights that a mortal being is capable of?¡±


    ¡°Your whole lives, you have lived gentle, and peaceful existences. I am sure that right now, many of you are wishing that you were back in your homes, in that same warmth and safety. And yet, during your peaceful lives, have you not often felt restless, and ill at ease? Have you not often wondered what your lives were for, and wished that there was some higher task that you could fulfill?¡±


    ¡°But the moment that you step out onto that battlefield¡­ it may seem strange to say this. But the moment that you are there, you will discover what your purpose in life has been all along ¨C that it was always to sacrifice yourself for others. You shall feel more alive out there than you have ever felt before... and as you dash ahead, and leap to the aid of strangers, and perhaps even give up your own life, so that others may carry on¡­ you will never once wonder why you are out there, and you will never once feel that you are wasting your time. You will just feel so alive, and so complete, precisely because you will have no doubts that what you are doing is truly right, and noble¡­ and I tell you, to not just be happy, but to know that you are worthy to be happy ¨C there is no greater joy in this world than that!¡±


    ¡°And so my friends ¨C be not afraid. Even as the horror, and the violence creeps in from all around you, do not shake, and falter. Death is only the door that leads to the next part of this journey that we are on. And if you die, know that you died in the service of what was just, and righteous. Know that you died in the service of something even greater than yourselves ¨C for the good of the whole community, and for its peace, and happiness. And remember always, that he who gives his life in the service of another, shall never fail to be rewarded.¡±


    ¡°And so, be not afraid, but rather prepare yourselves for the fight, and for the glorious opportunity in front off you. For without suffering, and pain, there would be no place for virtue to display itself, or for moral courage to unfurl its sails, and to display its grandeur. And so, do not be afraid of the terror that lies ahead¡­ but understand that it is nothing more than the opportunity for you to make use of your virtue, and to do what is right, and noble. And for that chance, and for that opportunity ¨C to be heroic, and to noble ¨C may each of you conquer your fears, and your sorrows¡­ and fight!¡±You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    At the conclusion of the man¡¯s speech, there were loud cheers, and applause, as each of the soldiers prepared their weapons, and began to ready themselves for the coming battle.


    And then, just like that, the doors to the hall were thrown open, and the whole battalion made its way outside.


    Just about all of the soldiers around me seemed to be brimming with energy, and to be thinking of the glory that they might obtain.


    But for my own part, I merely looked everywhere that I could, and tried to catch sight of Praxa.


    I wasn¡¯t able to find her, however. And with each passing second, I only felt more afraid, and more disoriented.


    And then, the wooden gate was only a few meters in front of us. And the next thing that I knew, the gate began to open, as we made our way outside, having decided to meet the enemy head-on in the fields.


    From through the crack in the slowly opening wooden gate, I could see hundreds, and hundreds of young men and women in bright red armor.


    They were positioned a long way back from the town, and they seemed to only be waiting for enough of us to leave the safety of our walls before they began to attack.


    As we marched through the door to what seemed as if might well be our certain death, a song rung out through the young men and women of Westfall.


    It was a song of fighting, and of battle¡­ and it centered around the refrain, ¡°for glor ¨C y, for glor ¨C y, we shall give our lives for glor ¨C y!¡±


    And then, we stood there, and waited for the signal, as the enemy continued to blare their horns.


    And then¡­


    ¡­ the battle began at once.


    Without any sort of warning, hundreds upon hundreds of arrows rained down upon us from overhead.


    One of the older instructors cast a magical spell to cover us, while the soldiers with shields in their hands held them up into the air.


    But the arrows were landing all around me, as I twisted my body, and tried to keep myself alive.


    And then, our swordsmen began to charge forward to advance, as our bowmen took up their position, and struck out towards the archers in the back of the enemy¡¯s formation.


    The next thing that I knew, I was being pushed ahead by the swelling of the crowd, as swords and spears jutted towards me from the front, and arrows fell lightly around my feet.


    It took all of the focus, and all of the concentration that I had just to be able to dodge those blows. But soon, there were so many men and women all around me that I could hardly see at all. I tried to do my best to fight, and to keep myself alive. But every chance I got, I fell back a bit from the formation, and tried to scan my eyes through the battlefield.


    And then finally, in a flash ¨C I saw her.


    She was a ways off to my side, pressed up against the wall of the city, as she provided support for a battalion of soldiers¡­ but that battalion was under a sustained attack ¨C and I could tell that at any moment, a sword wielder or two was going to crack through their defenses, and to get towards Praxa.


    She did have a dagger that she could use to defend herself, if it came to that.


    But I knew how much danger she was really in ¨C and how close she might be to death.


    And then, everything in me came to life at once, as I ran towards her as fast as I possibly could, and tried to protect her.


    ¡°Praxa,¡± I cried.


    ¡°PRAXA!¡±


    For a moment, she looked around with some confusion. And then, she spotted me¡­ and she gave me a huge, and warm smile, before she brought her focus back to what was ahead of her.


    A man with a long, curving sword was charging towards her, as he swung his blade frantically, and tried to cut her down.


    She was doing her best to dodge, and to move swiftly out of his way, as she flailed with her bow in her hands, and tried awkwardly to notch an arrow.


    I wondered at first why she hadn¡¯t grabbed her dagger, and why she was having so much trouble preparing her bow.


    But then, I realized that she was only trying to pretend to be helpless¡­ and I noticed that with every move she made, her pursuer had to keep his back turned towards my blade.


    And I understood at once that this was going to be my best chance to strike.


    I had never really hurt another person before in my life. But given the circumstances, right then, there wasn¡¯t any hesitation in me at all.


    Instead, I instantly raised my sword up into the air, then brought it down in a strong, diagonal slash, as I carved my way as deep into the man¡¯s back as I could.


    Afterwards, I heard the man let out an awful, and an agonizing scream, as he spun around, and tried to figure out who had just attacked him.


    But that was all of the opportunity that Praxa needed.


    An instant later, she had drawn out her dagger from around her waist, and then leapt forward, as she stabbed swiftly into the man¡¯s neck, and plunged her blade deep into his muscle, and through his veins.


    There was no sound at all after that, as the man dropped down onto the ground, and clutched limply at his neck, before he finally became still, and quiet.


    Then, I looked into Praxa¡¯s soft, green eyes, as she breathed heavily, and dashed towards me.


    ¡°Are you okay,¡± I said, breathlessly.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she said, ¡°are you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± she said, ¡°Towards the house?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said.


    ¡°Alright,¡± she said, quietly.


    And then, we began to run.


    There were so many different soldiers in front of us, and around us, that it was hard to really imagine how we were going to get out of this.


    But even still... neither of us were afraid, right then.


    In a way, we couldn¡¯t be.


    At that moment, there was no future, and there was no past.


    There was just the pulsing, burning intensity of the present moment, as the two of us darted forward together, side by side, and tried to weave our way through the openings along the field, and out towards the edge of the forest.


    We had fought for so many times before ¨C and we had become so used to each other¡¯s movements, and each other¡¯s ways of thinking, and of feeling ¨C that we didn¡¯t need to say a single word to one another as we ran. Instead, we just leapt together through the air, and danced, and spun, and tried to find any openings that we could, and any way out of this that we could discover.


    I could feel her body so close to mine¡­ and I felt all of the exhilaration, and all of the beauty of movement, as we dashed ahead, and tried to flee towards safety.


    The squadrons were so busy fighting one another that hardly anyone seemed to notice the two of us fleeing far out of our formation. And after almost a minute and a half of scrambling, and of darting from side to side, we were finally right at the furthest edge of the battlefield.


    Looking back for a single instant, I saw Praxa give me a warm, and joyous smile¡­


    ¡­ and then, I felt a blade come ripping through my body.


    At first, I barely even registered the sensation. Eventually, however, I felt a burning, raging pain, roaring out along my side, as I clutched my hand atop the wound, and tried to figure out what had happened.


    Slowly, I turned to look to the side that I had been struck from¡­ and as I did so, I saw a young man of about my own age and build, who had ambushed us from behind cover, and was now holding a short, metal blade, that was stuck inside of my body.


    He was wearing bright, red armor¡­ and on his face, there was nothing but a look of horror, and of sorrow.


    And before either of us could react at all, or make a single movement, an arrow went ripping through his eye, as it plunged in through his skull, and dropped him towards the ground.


    At once, I pulled his blade out from my body. But that only seemed to increase the pain that I felt.


    I trued to run, and to move. But I felt myself stumbling, and falling down onto the ground.


    A moment later, I caught my balance. But then, a second blade plunged itself into my side.


    Before I could see who had stabbed me, I heard a cry of rage from behind me, as several arrows whizzed through the air, and struck down my attacker.


    It took everything that I had to pull that second blade out of my side. But now, I was breathing very, very heavily. And after I tripped, and stumbled once again, I no longer had the strength to pull myself back up off of the earth.


    My eyes were blinking rapidly, now¡­ and it took all of my focus to notice that Praxa was rushing towards me, as she knelt down by my side, and screamed out in rage, and waved her dagger menacingly in the air.


    And then, I saw a long, sharp steel blade plunge into her back¡­


    ¡­ and after that, everything began to turn dark, and blurry.


    A few voices seemed to be ringing out from my side, somewhere. And I thought that I saw some movement from along the edges of the forest. But I could hardly make out anything that was happening.


    The next thing that I remembered, Praxa was crawling towards me, with tears in her eyes, as blood streamed out from her body into a pool along the ground.


    And then, I faded into blackness once again.


    And I have no recollection at all of what happened after that ¨C or of how the rest of the battle had gone.

 Chapter 35: Awakening

    The first thing that I heard the next morning was the sound of a few small birds chirping gently from just outside of my window.


    Then, slowly, I began to lift up my head, and to look around.


    I was laying on a small cot in the same little wooden house that I had been sleeping in for these last three weeks. But, I had no idea how I had gotten here, or why my body hurt so terribly.


    Then, the memory of everything that had happened the night before raced through my mind. And as I remembered what had happened to Praxa, I began to almost lift myself out of the bed, looking around to see if she was anywhere near by, and if she was okay.


    And then¡­ I saw her laying down on the ground, as she breathed slowly in, and out.


    She was bandaged up, and there was a nasty cut along her forehead, and some dried blood around her lips. But, she was breathing, at least¡­ and as far as I could tell, she didn¡¯t seem to be in any sort of mortal danger.


    Right then, that was about the most that I could have asked for. And I felt waves of relief and of sadness washing over me, as I realized that I hadn¡¯t lost her yet, and that the two of us might really be okay.


    Then, I looked around a little more to my side¡­


    ¡­ and I noticed that Praxa and I weren¡¯t the only people in the room.


    In the same bed that they¡¯d been sleeping in for the last few weeks, Aaron and Lily were curled up together, as they held each other close.


    Each of them looked very, very sad. And I imagined that last night must have been very hard for both of them ¨C and that each of them must be pretty exhausted, after what had happened.


    For a moment, I felt very confused, as I tried to figure out how all of us had survived.


    But then, I noticed that there was one more person in the room.


    Seated at his table, and slowly drawing a large, and beautiful sketch of a bowl of fruit just in front of him, I saw Roger, dressed in a long, brown robe, that was soaked in blood.


    He must have heard me moving around in my bed because a few moments later, he glanced back towards me, and smiled gently in my direction.


    ¡°Hello, there,¡± he said.


    ¡°Hi, Roger.¡±


    And then, the two of us began to laugh a little, as he came over, and took a spot by my side.


    ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected to see you again so soon,¡± I said.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure that you hadn¡¯t.¡±


    Then, his features took on a much more serious, and a much more thoughtful expression.


    ¡°I heard that the army was on the move about a day and a half ago,¡± he continued. ¡°I rushed back towards here as fast as I could¡­ but by then, it was too late. It was as much as I could do to get you and the young girl to safety, before anybody realized who I was.¡±


    ¡°Who won the battle,¡± I asked.


    ¡°We did,¡± he said, quietly. ¡°Although I wouldn¡¯t say that there were any winners out there by the end.¡±


    ¡°Were you the one who found us?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± he said. ¡°You owe that much to the two of them.¡±


    And then, Roger pointed off Aaron and Lily, who were still laying fast asleep on their bed.


    ¡°I found them out in the woods, right on the edge of the battlefield,¡± he continued. ¡°They were standing over the two of you, and shielding you with their bodies¡­ and they were screaming out in rage, and in sorrow, and waving small sticks and rocks at anybody who approached. I don¡¯t think that any of the soldiers really knew how to handle that situation. But, since neither of you were moving, nobody decided to attack them¡­ and they were able to protect the two of you for just long enough to keep you alive.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s when I saw you, and rushed over as fast as I possibly could. From there, I took the two of you back home, and began to tend to your wounds. I would have left to go back to the battlefield¡­ but I knew that the girl would probably die if I stopped healing her for even a second. And, after what you did for me before¡­ it was the least that I could do to keep her safe, and to make sure that she¡¯d be here for you when you woke back up.¡±The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said, quietly.


    He nodded his head slowly. And then, he laughed a little, as he gave me a somewhat mischievous smile. ¡°But, I consider my debt paid to you now, you know. I¡¯ll help you to look after the children, still, of course. But, the next time that I have to choose between your life, and the greater good¡­ you may not be so lucky, William.¡±


    I could only smile a little, as I tried to sit back up in my bed.


    ¡°That¡¯s alright. I certainly don¡¯t plan on ending up in a situation like that again anytime too soon.¡±


    Then, I noticed that Praxa was just beginning to stir a bit, as she rolled over in her bed.


    I found myself absorbed by the sight of her¡­ and I felt my heart overflowing with warmth, and with tenderness, as I looked towards her peaceful, and gentle face.


    ¡°Would you like to be alone with her when she wakes up,¡± Roger asked me softly.


    ¡°I would,¡± I said. ¡°If that¡¯s okay with you, I mean.¡±


    ¡°It is,¡± he said. ¡°I needed to go back into town as it was, now that my magic¡¯s begun to replenish, in order to try to do some good there. At any rate, it looks like she should be up soon, so¡­ I¡¯ll leave the two of you alone for now.¡±


    ¡°Is she going to recover completely,¡± I asked, as the old man knelt back up from the ground.


    ¡°She will,¡± he said. ¡°If it had been only a few minutes more, she might not have¡­ but she¡¯s going to be completely fine. The only lasting damage will be that scar that¡¯s on her forehead. But given how much worse it could have been¡­ that¡¯s not too bad a price to pay, in the end ¨C although obviously, we aren¡¯t out of trouble just yet, after what has happened...¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad that she¡¯s okay, at least,¡± I said. ¡°And myself? Do I have any lasting wounds of my own?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine, too,¡± he said. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to worry about there at all. We can talk about that a bit more later¡­ but, for now, I¡¯ll just leave the two of you to yourselves. Take care of yourself for now, William¡­ and I¡¯ll be back to talk with you some more in a little while.¡±


    Then, Roger grabbed a few things from his table, before he slipped out through the door, and closed it softly behind him on the way.


    And then, a few moments later, I saw Praxa beginning to stir from her rest.


    At first, she rubbed her eyes, and looked around, in some confusion...


    And then, her eyes locked onto mine¡­ and each of us smiled gently at the other, as I slowly raised myself up out of bed, and knelt down by her side.


    ¡°Hey, there,¡± I said.


    ¡°Hey,¡± she whispered. ¡°Are we okay?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re both fine. Roger was able to find us, and left just a few moments ago. You have a small scar on your forehead¡­ but that¡¯s it. Other than that, there¡¯s nothing wrong with you¡­ or with me.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± she said. ¡°That¡¯s really good.¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Yeah, it is¡­ it¡¯s really good.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really, really good,¡± I whispered.


    And then, the two of us held each other tightly, as I laid down by her side, and pulled her towards me.


    For a little while, we stayed like that, as we held each other close¡­ but then, I leaned back, and looked down into her soft, green eyes.


    ¡°I really, really like you, Praxa.¡±


    ¡°I really, really like you too, William¡­ I like you so, so much.¡±


    ¡°I was so scared back then,¡± she added softly, as she began to cry.


    ¡°I was scared, too,¡± I whispered.


    ¡°Would you just stay here and hold me for a while,¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ yeah, I will,¡± I said. ¡°For as long as you like¡­¡±


    And then, I wrapped her once more in my arms, as she nuzzled against my body, and pressed her soft, red hair against my chest.


    I don¡¯t really know how much time passed like that. But, I imagine that I must have ended up falling back asleep for quite a while¡­ because when I finally opened up my eyes again, I felt Praxa gently running her fingers through my hair, as Aaron and Lily sat in front of us, and talked with her excitedly.


    Lily was resting herself on Praxa¡¯s chest, and holding her friend very tightly¡­ and Aaron was sitting by her side, as well, and holding Praxa¡¯s hand, as he told her about everything that had happened, and about how Roger had come to save us, and about what it had been like for them to watch all of the events unfold.


    Then, a little while later, the three of them noticed that I had woken back up¡­


    ¡­ and after that, Aaron and Lily leapt over to embrace me¡­ and for a while, we talked about everything that had happened, and about how much we had nearly lost.


    For a while, the time passed like that in the little wooden house, as each of us woke back up from our slumbers, and took in the whole weight of the events. And then, I heard a soft, and gentle knocking on the door.


    A few moments later, Roger came back inside, and greeted each of us, and said hello.


    The children seemed as if they could hardly have been any happier to have seen him. And at once, they ran towards him, and embraced him in their arms, as they thanked him over and over again.


    It was clear that Praxa wanted to thank him too. But she was still very weak right then, and it was hard for her to move, or to find the strength to get back up. So Roger came over to meet her instead¡­ and then, he introduced himself to the young woman whose life he had saved, and she introduced herself to him as well, as she thanked him for everything that he had done.


    For some time, we stayed like that together and talked.


    But then, after the five of us had spoken together for a while, Roger asked me if I would come with him into town.


    I was a bit confused by that request. But after he told me that he would like some help with some of the recovery efforts in Westfall, I agreed at once. It was a little hard to leave Praxa right then. But, after what Roger had done for me, it was the least that I could do to go with him, and to help out a bit in town.


    And so, the two of us stepped out into the cool, fresh morning air, as we took a few steps out through the woods.


    Then, Roger stopped in place, and glanced back towards me.


    ¡°I should tell you¡­ what I said to you back in there was a lie, William. But¡­ I didn¡¯t know if any of them knew quite yet ¨C so I wanted to wait until we were outside to begin to talk. Let¡¯s go this way, if you don¡¯t mind. It should be private there, and it should give us a good bit of time to discuss something of importance.¡±


    I followed after him¡­ but I felt my blood turning cold as he spoke. I didn¡¯t sense any malice, or ill-intention in his words ¨C but I felt very, very afraid, all the same.


    ¡°To discuss what, exactly,¡± I asked.


    ¡°To discuss just how you were able to recover so completely from your wounds, without my intervention,¡± he said, slowly. ¡°And also¡­ to discuss that rather interesting mark that you have beneath your glove¡­ exactly on the palm of your right hand.¡±

 Chapter 36: Conversation

    For a little while, I felt my head spinning, as I tried to make sense of the words that I had just heard.


    ¡°How long have you been here,¡± Roger continued, as we found a quiet, and a secluded place to sit. ¡°And how many people have found out about you?¡±


    ¡°About three weeks,¡± I said, quietly. ¡°And the only person who knows is a traveler who I met along the way to Westfall.¡±


    That was a lie. But it occurred to me that, if the Interlopers were being killed, then the people who knew about them might be getting killed as well. And even though I felt as if I could probably trust Roger, I didn¡¯t feel like I could risk the lives of everybody else ¨C or at least not until I was a lot more sure that things would be safe.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Roger said. ¡°Well¡­ then I suppose that I know now, too. I¡¯m sorry to spring this on you, but...¡±


    He paused, for a moment, as he thought about what to say next.


    ¡°How did you know,¡± I asked, before he had found his words.


    ¡°I found out while I was treating your wounds,¡± he said. ¡°As soon as I found you, I applied a bit of healing magic to you and Praxa, in order to make sure that you would each last long enough to receive more extensive treatment. But you were each so badly wounded that it seemed likely that I¡¯d have to choose one of you to save¡­ and that I would need to leave the other one to die.¡±


    ¡°As the children and I carried you back to my home, I thought for a long time about what to do. My debt was to you, of course. But, if I had been in your situation ¨C and if it had been the woman that I loved, lying at my side¡­ then it¡¯s her that I would have wanted to save, and not myself. But not knowing your own disposition, I couldn¡¯t truly know what you would want me to do. And so once I had gotten you back inside of my home, I began by applying some rudimentary magic to each of your wounds, in the hopes that one of you would stabilize, and that I could then devote my attention to the other.¡±


    ¡°But then, by some sort of miracle, you stabilized almost at once. After that, I turned my attention towards the girl, and I did everything that I could to save her. But every now and then, I checked back in on you, in order to make sure that your condition was remaining stable.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ every time that I checked in on you...¡±


    ¡°¡­ you were even more healthy than she was. At that point, I looked beneath your glove, in order to confirm my own suspicions. If it had been just a matter of curiosity, I wouldn¡¯t have felt comfortable intruding on your privacy in that way. But, since I was still using some mana to heal you, from time to time ¨C and since I thought that she might require everything that I had in order to recover ¨C then I needed to be sure that you wouldn¡¯t need any more of my treatment, and that you would be able to recuperate on your own.¡±


    ¡°That was how I found out,¡± he said, as he looked me in the eye.


    ¡°Well...¡±


    ¡°¡­ that¡¯s certainly the least objectionable way of finding out that I could have imagined,¡± I said, with a bit of laughter. ¡°I definitely can¡¯t hold any part of that against you.¡±


    ¡°Well, my motives may not be quite so pure as I just sketched out,¡± Roger said, with a grin. ¡°I told you that I wouldn¡¯t have looked if it had been just a matter of curiosity¡­ but, that certainly played a part ¨C and who knows whether or not I¡¯m deceiving myself about how large of a part it played.¡±


    ¡°Well, at any rate,¡± I said, ¡°if you are telling me all of this, and if you allowed me to recover¡­ then can I assume that you do not, in fact, intend to kill me?¡±


    ¡°Not at all,¡± he said. ¡°In fact, if it were possible¡­ I¡¯d very much like for you to remain by my side for a long time¡­ and to help me to find my way into one of the ancient, and sacred vaults - if you would be willing.¡±


    ¡°Into one of the vaults¡­,¡± I whispered.


    He nodded, as he turned towards me.


    ¡°I¡¯ve wanted to find one of them for a long time,¡± he continued. ¡°But, since I didn¡¯t know a single Interloper, it¡¯s just been something of an idle dream of mine. But, now that I¡¯ve met you¡­ I would like to try to find one of them, with you ¨C if we could.¡±


    ¡°Why,¡± I asked.


    ¡°Because the Guild of the Pen doesn¡¯t want me to,¡± he said, with a weary smile. ¡°But, I suppose that that isn¡¯t really much of an explanation ¨C and especially not for someone who¡¯s so new to this world. So, let me take you back about twenty years, in order to give you a bit of context¡­ back to the moment that I was elected to be the head of the Guild of Knights, in the City of the Blue Tower.¡±


    ¡°My appointment to become the head of the Guild wasn¡¯t exactly smooth. At the time, I was quite popular, because I was young, charitable, and famous for all sorts of daring exploits. That had won me quite a bit of popular approval¡­ and that support couldn¡¯t help but spill over into the Guild, as well.¡±


    ¡°And so, once the previous head of the Guild had died, I soon won a very contentious election, in which I received a landslide of the votes amongst the younger members of the Guild, but lost handily amongst the older.¡±


    ¡°Of course, after that, a few of the senior members resigned in protest, claiming that I had not earned my position in the least, nor did I have the wisdom to rule¡­ and for my whole time in the Guild, I didn¡¯t earn much respect from a large portion of the elder members ¨C even though they acknowledged the fairness of the election, and ceded to me as their leader.¡±


    ¡°Looking back on it, I think that what really troubled them was the awareness that they wouldn¡¯t be able to control me. Unlike them, I had come from a very poor family, and I had next to no ties to the City of the Blue Tower. I wasn¡¯t a scholar, either, and I wasn¡¯t especially interested in being a part of any sort of high society. I was much happier spending an afternoon with a few farmers out in a quiet little village than I was dining at the court of some refined gentlemen and ladies¡­ and there was a general fear that I might unravel things, I think, in a way that might be too wild, and too unpredictable ¨C that I wouldn¡¯t uphold the ¡®norms¡¯ that had come before¡­ whatever those ¡®norms¡¯ might be, of course.¡±


    ¡°At the time, I just took their opposition to me as a simple kind of envy, and also as a rather prudent fear that I might weed out all sorts of needless expenditures and corruptions. But looking back on it¡­ I can¡¯t help but wonder if they were afraid that I might uncover something a little more sinister than all of that, somehow - and considering it now, I¡¯m actually a little surprised that they allowed my election to go through at all, rather than trying to undermine my leadership by more insidious means.¡±


    ¡°At any rate, just about two weeks after I¡¯d been elected to become the head of the Guild of Knights, the man who was then the head of the Guild of the Pen came over to my office, and had a very peculiar sort of conversation with me. He asked me, first, if I had any interest in discovering the Vaults of Kalia. And when I told him that I did ¨C because I was quite the adventurer back then, and quite eager for discovery ¨C he told me that it would be very, very imprudent of me to ever think of entering them¡­ and he warned me that opening up the vaults would be absolutely calamitous, and a source of great ruin for this world of ours.¡±


    ¡°Then, he showed me a piece of paper that he claimed had been written by the original head of the Guild of the Pen, nearly twenty five hundred years ago. That piece of paper claimed that each of the vaults were full of all sorts of ancient relics, from the Age of Mages¡­ and it further warned that there was an ancient prophecy ¨C allegedly told to him by the Prophet Lucian himself ¨C that if those relics were ever to be recovered, then the Age of Mages would begin again, and the whole horror of the past would be unleashed back onto our world, and bring great destruction and misery to each of our cities ¨C perhaps for all of the rest of time.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I hardly knew what to make of that. But the man simply told me that this parchment had been passed down through the leadership of the Guild of the Pen for thousands of years, and had been kept as a secret among the heads of the Guilds for all of that time, in order to keep the existence of the vaults as a secret from the vulgar¡­ and he told me to respect its wisdom, and never to enter into those vaults, myself ¨C or to allow anyone else to enter into them either.¡±Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°We talked for a little while after that. But I couldn¡¯t really get him to say much more about the vaults, and he never brought up that subject with me again. Then, a year or two later, he died in his home of natural causes. And his successor and I weren¡¯t especially close, or communicative about those sorts of things.¡±


    ¡°That was the conversation that I had with him, at any rate. I think that he must have thought that I would simply be obedient to his authority, and be moved by awe and by piety to adhere faithfully to each of the dictates that he had given me. But¡­ that whole meeting ended up producing just about the opposite effect in me. I didn¡¯t trust that man at all, and I couldn¡¯t stop wondering just what his intention had been in showing me that piece of parchment, or or from wondering what he might really know about the contents and the existence of the vaults.¡±


    ¡°And so while I certainly told him that I would respect his wishes, I resolved right then and there to try to make my way inside of the vaults, if ever I was able, and to try to discover just what he might have been trying to conceal.¡±


    ¡°But then¡­ nothing further ever came of it. I never found an Interloper, and I never found any real sign of the vaults, either. If they did exist ¨C as I began to suspect that they must - then I still hadn¡¯t a clue about where they might be, exactly, or how I might be able to find them.¡±


    ¡°And then, of course, time began to pass. The Guild demanded my attention, for many years¡­ and then my wife grew sick¡­ and then the situation in the world worsened day by day, and I signed on with the Free Folk, and devoted myself to their cause. And I let all of those questions of mine drop, and I haven¡¯t thought much about the vaults for quite a few years by now.¡±


    ¡°But seeing that mark on your hand¡­ it felt significant to me, somehow ¨C like God had finally given me another chance to pursue something that I never ought to have abandoned. And so, if you are willing¡­ I would like to put everything that I have into your service, William ¨C and to help you to find your way inside of the vaults. Maybe then, we can find out something that will give us a bit of Insight¡­ and maybe then, I can discover if my suspicions about the Guild of the Pen were ill-founded, all of those years ¨C or if there might really have been something important that they were trying to conceal from me, and from the world.¡±


    ¡°What if what that piece of paper said was true,¡± I asked, ¡°and there are all sorts of ancient, and powerful relics there, that might plunge the world into ruin?¡±


    ¡°Then,¡± Roger continued, ¡°we will deal with that when the time comes. But I wouldn¡¯t worry too much about any of that. Even if there are some powerful relics sealed away in there, I don¡¯t put all that much stock in any of those old tales about relics that corrupt a man¡¯s heart by giving him the power to do anything that he wishes, and which thereby reveal the terrible evil that lurks within.¡±


    ¡°I had power once, William, and I had about as much power as you could imagine. I was the head of the most powerful and feared Guild in the entire world, and I was beloved by the people to boot. I could have killed just about anyone that I had wanted, and I could have slept with nearly any woman that I had yearned for, and I could have acquired the most tremendous wealth, and done nearly anything that I desired. Instead, however¡­ I just sat in my little wooden home with my wife, who I adored, and did some gardening, and played with my dog. And so, I¡¯m not especially worried about what will happen to me if I find those sorts of artifacts. And ¨C at the risk of sounding very, very arrogant ¨C I doubt that there are any artifacts that you could find that would be able to stop me from killing you¡­ if it ever really came to that.¡±


    ¡°But, of course,¡± he added, with a surprisingly friendly, and genuine smile, after what he had just said, ¡°I truly hope that it will not.¡±


    I grinned at him, as I leaned back, and feigned a certain degree of sinister intent.


    ¡°Maybe I should go and search for those vaults on my own, then,¡± I said, ¡°so that I can make use of those relics for myself, without having to worry about your intrusions.¡±


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be completely unreasonable,¡± he said, with a smile. ¡°But somehow, I doubt that you will succeed without my aid¡­ though, perhaps that is arrogant of me, too.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± I said more seriously, as I leaned back towards him, and gave him a single nod. ¡°If you¡¯d wanted to kill me before, you could have. And maybe it¡¯s naive of me, but I feel like I can believe that everything that you said is true ¨C that you want to find out the truth about those vaults as much as I do, and to discover what¡¯s happening in this world. And I agree that I¡¯m probably not ever going to be able to find them on my own, at the rate that this war is going. So I¡¯m willing to help you to find them, and to search for their location.¡±


    ¡°But,¡± I added, after a short pause. ¡°Do you have any idea of where they might be, exactly?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± he said, shaking his head. ¡°I¡¯ve been all around the world, so I at least know all sorts of places that they¡¯re not. I¡¯ve talked with quite a few curious characters, too ¨C and have known a treasure seeker or two in my day ¨C so I at least know where those people had thought to look, and where their investigations had led them. That¡¯s something, at least¡­ but, I know that it¡¯s not much.¡±


    ¡°What about you, William,¡± he continued. ¡°Have you found much of anything?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve found something, I think¡­ although, I don¡¯t know what to make of it.¡±


    And then, I told him about my dream, and about the picture that I had seen in the book, and about the canyon to the north of the City of the Blue Tower, where I¡¯d been planning to head towards next.


    As I spoke, I felt fairly excited. But¡­


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that the vault is there,¡± Roger said, slowly.


    ¡°Why not,¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been there,¡± he said. ¡°To that canyon that¡¯s to the north of the Blue Tower ¨C and I know the image that you¡¯re talking about. The two of them don¡¯t actually look much of anything alike, once you¡¯ve seen them side by side.¡±


    ¡°Plus¡­ quite a few other people have had that same thought themselves. One of my oldest friends was a treasure seeker ¨C a person who devoted their lives to searching for all sorts of different relics. At any rate, after he had made a bit of a fortune, he decided to spend almost ten years living in a little town right near that canyon, and he went there every day, searching for that vault. But, in the end, he didn¡¯t find anything at all ¨C and he seemed to be quite convinced that there weren¡¯t any vaults out there, and that it had all just been a wild goose chase.¡±


    ¡°And yet¡­,¡± Roger said quietly, after a short pause. ¡°You¡¯re sure that you didn¡¯t see that image in the book beforehand? You¡¯re sure that you dreamed of it without ever having seen it before, then saw the same image in the book a while later?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m positive,¡± I said. ¡°I thought of that, and I checked for it. That image only appears once in the entire book, and it appears almost towards the end ¨C on a page that I¡¯m sure I hadn¡¯t read yet. So, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s much of any chance that I could have seen it¡­ even though it might seem impossible to believe that I hadn¡¯t.¡±


    Then, Roger leaned forward, and began to think.


    ¡°Then¡­ if that really is the case. Well.¡±


    He started to laugh, a little.


    ¡°How would you explain that, exactly,¡± he asked.


    ¡°Well¡­¡±


    I didn¡¯t really have a great answer to that question. But¡­


    There were only two possibilities, I supposed.


    The first was that the dream meant nothing at all, and that it was all a weird coincidence.


    The second possibility was that the dream really did mean something, and that it wasn¡¯t all just an accident.


    In that case¡­ that place that I had seen in my dream had probably existed, somehow ¨C and probably at some point in the distant past.


    But, then¡­


    ¡°¡­then, the canyon must have been covered over,¡± I said. ¡°That canyon to the north of the Blue Tower was the only one that I saw on the globe that was at all comparable in size. So if the canyon that I saw in my dream really did exist¡­ then it must be almost unrecognizable by now ¨C and it must have been covered over by something, or by someone.¡±


    ¡°But then,¡± Roger said. ¡°Aren¡¯t we just back to where we were before? If it¡¯s been covered over, it seems like it could be just about anywhere. Any valley, any plain ¨C anywhere that you can imagine. Even the Great Forest that you arrived in when you first came to this world ¨C even that could be the canyon, if trees had been planted there after it had been filled up with soil.¡±


    That was true. But¡­


    ¡°I still think that¡¯s the best lead that we have, though ¨C even if it isn¡¯t much. Or, I guess more honestly¡­ it¡¯s the only lead that we have ¨C even though it isn¡¯t that much at all.¡±


    Roger nodded, as he looked off into the distance.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I think, too,¡± he said, eventually. ¡°But for now, I doubt that we¡¯re going to be able to make that much more progress on any of these questions.¡±


    Then, he stood back up, and began to stretch.


    ¡°Let¡¯s call this here for now, William,¡± he said. ¡°What I said before was only a partial lie ¨C I really should get back to Westfall, and to help with the efforts there. May I assume that you¡¯d still be interested in coming with me to Riverdale, once things here have calmed down a bit?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely,¡± I said, nodding my head.


    ¡°That¡¯s good, then,¡± he said, with a smile. ¡°Then for now, why don¡¯t you look after Aaron, and Lily, and Praxa, while I tend towards the affairs of Westfall. We can each keep thinking about where the vaults might be for these next few days¡­ and once we end up making our way to Riverdale, then we can begin to talk together about what we have thought of, and start to set out to explore. Does that suggestion sound good to you?¡±


    ¡°It does,¡± I said. ¡°That sounds really good, actually.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then,¡± he said. ¡°In that case¡­ I¡¯ll be looking forward to it, William.¡±


    Then, the two of us shook each other¡¯s hands, as we pledged to work together for the foreseeable future, and to search out the vaults together.


    I doubted that I would be able to figure out too much more for the time being. But I felt a lot of excitement as I thought about working with him once we had arrived in Riverdale, and going out exploring through this whole, beautiful new world, in search of each of the ancient and sacred vaults.


    Then, the two of us said our goodbyes, as he headed back towards the town of Westfall.


    And afterwards, I made my way back towards the little house in the quiet, and secluded woods, as my mind swum with everything that we had just discussed ¨C and as I thought again of everything that had happened between me and Praxa, and how good it would be to see her once again.

 Chapter 37: Anniversary

    After I¡¯d finished my conversation with Roger, I went back inside of the little wooden house, and said hello to everyone who was there.


    As I stepped in, I saw Praxa sitting cross-legged on her bed, as she gave me a warm, and tender smile. She looked like she had a lot that she wanted to say¡­ but at the same time, she seemed to be little too busy scratching Lily behind the ears, and playing with the young girl¡¯s hair, to really be able to say all that much.


    For her own part, Lily had wrapped her arms around Praxa¡¯s sides, and was nuzzled up against her quite contentedly ¨C and the child looked as if she was just about as close towards heaven as any mortal being could get. Meanwhile, Aaron was in the midst of talking with Praxa about the current state of affairs in the world. And so, after looking into Praxa¡¯s eyes for just a moment, I sat down and joined them, as the three of us talked about what we expected to happen next, after everything that had happened the night before.


    It was clear that the attack by the City of the Red Tower was almost unprecedented in this world. As Aaron and Praxa explained it to me, no one had attacked a city that was under the protection of the Blue Tower for hundreds of years, and it was hard to know what to make of it. There were a few different ways to explain why the Red Tower might have done such a thing. But, it seemed that the likeliest explanation was that the Red Tower was testing whether or not the Blue Tower would really have the courage to respond. Even though the City of the Blue Tower was the strongest of the nations, the gap between them and the Red Tower had been growing smaller every year. And some had even begun to wonder if the Red Tower might really be able to overthrow the Blue, and to seize control of the city after thousands of years of control by the Guild of the Pen, and the Guild of Knights.


    And so for that reason, it seemed very likely that the Red Tower might actually be able to get away with their attack on the town of Westfall ¨C since the Blue would be unlikely to risk a full blown retaliation.


    Of course, it was still a dangerous move for them to make. But in a lot of ways, it was a fairly sensible gamble.


    If the Blue Tower struck back, then it was almost certain that there wouldn¡¯t be any sort of long, and protracted war, since the stakes would be much too high for either side. And so, based on what we could infer from events like this in the past, it seemed likely that just a small sacrifice from the Red Tower would be enough to appease the Blue, and to bring the conflict to a close.


    I had noticed during the battle that all of the soldiers from the Red Tower had been quite young, right down to their commanding officer. And so Aaron had suggested ¨C with the same sort of brutal of logic that he always displayed when the two of us played board games ¨C that probably the Red Tower had sent some of their youngest troops on purpose, so that they could offer to send all of the surviving men and women from the attack to be executed by the Blue Tower, in order to bring about a reconciliation.


    That was a rather awful possibility¡­ but it made a certain kind of sense, of course ¨C and Praxa seemed to think that sort of stratagem would probably work, and would be in keeping with the diplomatic standards of this world.


    And so, even if the City of the Blue Tower did attack, probably the Red would just lose a small portion of their army, and an especially inexperienced portion at that ¨C which wasn¡¯t all that much of a price to pay.


    On the other hand, if the Blue Tower didn¡¯t respond, then that would be a kind of wedge that the Red could use, and would be able to test. They could then push the boundaries further from there. And if the Blue Tower never responded, then the Red would know that they could get away with quite a bit ¨C and all sorts of strategic options would open up for them after that.


    That was their reasoning, at least, as best as we could make sense of it.


    At the same time¡­ that whole line of thinking suggested something else. If the City of the Red Tower was preparing to go against the edicts of the Blue to that degree, then they might really be preparing to launch a war against all of the other nations of this world ¨C the City of the Blue Tower included.


    Even a few years ago, that sort of proposition would have seemed insane. But the more powerful that the Red Tower grew, the more it seemed hard to place any sort of clear limits to their ambition.


    Praxa let me know that no one had launched an attack upon the City of the Blue Tower for over five hundred years. But the last time that it happened, the attacking nation nearly succeeded ¨C and it took all of the efforts of all of the people of the world to repel them, and to keep the Blue Tower secure.


    Of course, after all that I had learned so far, I wasn¡¯t exactly the biggest fan of the Blue Tower. But I understood just how dangerous it might be if the Red Tower managed to position itself right in the center of the world. And I understood that such a thing might bring about an enormous amount of suffering for the people here, that might make things much, much worse than the rule of the Guild of the Pen had been before.


    At the same time, it was a little hard for me to believe that the Red Tower was really willing to go to such lengths just in order to preserve their practice of slavery from the threat of others. And a part of me began to wonder if there might be a lot more to all of this, and if their motives might be a lot more complicated than they had first appeared.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    At any rate though, for the present, I didn¡¯t really have any sort of insight into what those other motivations might be. And after talking about the recent events for a little while longer, I noticed that Lily was starting to get a little restless¡­ and soon, she was gently tugging on Aaron¡¯s sleeve, and asking him if he¡¯d like to make breakfast with her. Apparently, neither of them had had eaten since they had woken up. And so, Aaron and Lily began to head off towards the kitchen, as they prepared to make up a meal for the four of us.


    Once the two of them left, Praxa squeezed my hand, and looked up into my eyes¡­ and then, she asked me if the two of us could take a walk together, and if she could talk to me for a while.


    There was nothing but a kind of sweet, and almost overwhelming tenderness about her gaze¡­ and I agreed to her request at once, without really thinking, before remembering to ask if she was okay, and if she was able to walk just yet.


    She smiled, and told me that she was. But she asked if I would be willing to support her, and to let her lean on my shoulder as we walked.


    I told her that I would be very willing to do that. And then, the two of us said goodbye to Aaron and Lily, as we opened up the door, and made our way out through the quiet and peaceful woods.


    Eventually, we found our way towards a little boulder that each of us could sit on¡­ and we sat down together side by side, as Praxa looked up into my eyes, and began to speak.


    ¡°William,¡± she said. ¡°I just wanted you to know...¡±


    ¡°¡­ I wanted you to know that I meant every word that I said this morning. I really do like you¡­ and¡­ ¡±


    ¡°¡­ and, I love you, William ¨C I really, really love you. And I want to be with you, for as long as I possibly can.¡±


    ¡°I love you, too,¡± I whispered. ¡°And I don¡¯t ever want to be apart from you, for as long as I live.¡±


    Then, I kissed her softly on the lips ¨C over, and over again ¨C as she wrapped me in her arms, and pulled me close.


    I don¡¯t know how long the two of us spent like that. But eventually, we broke away, as she leaned back, and looked into my eyes.


    ¡°So¡­,¡± she said. ¡°Well, um...¡±


    And then, the two of us started to laugh together, as she lowered her head in mock resignation, and looked back up towards me.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said, still laughing a little. ¡°This is all so strange to me, you know? I know that it shouldn¡¯t be, because it¡¯s not like¡­ it¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t know that you kind of loved me,¡± she added, as she broke back into laughter. ¡°You really haven¡¯t been that hard to read for a while now.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t been, either,¡± I said, with a grin.


    ¡°I hope that I haven¡¯t been,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s not like I was trying that hard to conceal it, or anything. But...¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still so strange to be sitting here like this,¡± she said, softly, ¡°and to think of you as my boyfriend.¡±


    ¡°It is strange,¡± I said. ¡°But¡­ it¡¯s good, too, I think ¨C really, really good.¡±


    ¡°I think so, too,¡± she said. Then, she kissed me once more on the lips, and held my hand.


    After that, the two of us began to fall into a kind of warm, and peaceful silence, as we enjoyed the feeling of one another¡¯s presence, and the joy of being together.


    ¡°Hey, William,¡± Praxa said, eventually. ¡°Can I talk with you about something a little more serious¡­?¡±


    I lowered my head down, and looked back towards her.


    ¡°Of course,¡± I said. ¡°What did you want to talk about¡­?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯m not sure if this is the right time for us to talk about all of this, but¡­¡±


    I saw her breath catching, a bit, before she was able to continue on.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that you really know that much about how relationships work in our world, just yet. And¡­ and, now that we¡¯re together... I kind of wanted to tell you about all of that, if that¡¯s okay. And ¨C and about how things are supposed to develop with time, and about what comes next, and¡­ and, about all of that¡­ about all of that,¡± she repeated, softly, ¡°¡­ if that¡¯s alright.¡±


    At first, I must have looked a little surprised, and begun to color. But then, I just beamed with a bright, and a warm smile, as I ran my fingers softly through her hair, and looked into her eyes.


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± I said, quietly. ¡°I don¡¯t know about any of that just yet. So¡­ would you tell me how relationships work here, exactly? And what people in this world do, once they¡¯re certain that they love each other, and that they never want to be apart?¡±


    She nodded, and kissed me once, softly, before continuing.


    ¡°Well¡­ men and women are supposed to get to know one another for about a year, in this world. And then¡­ if after all of that time, they still love one another...¡±


    ¡°Then, they hold a ceremony. And after that¡­ the two of them are united, for the rest of their lives.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ if we¡¯re supposed to wait a year, before deciding what comes next,¡± I said, ¡°¡­ does that mean that today marks the first day of that period?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she said. ¡°I think so, at least. I guess we could count it from earlier, really, but¡­ this feels like when everything really began ¨C to me, at least.¡±


    ¡°To me, too,¡± I said.


    Then, there was a long, and a deeply warm pause.


    ¡°I really love you, Praxa.¡±


    ¡°I really love you, too, William.¡±


    ¡°I was really, really scared,¡± I whispered.


    ¡°I was, too,¡± she said. ¡°But I was so glad when I saw you running towards me¡­ and I¡¯m so glad about everything that¡¯s come next ¨C about everything that¡¯s still occurring...¡±


    For a while, there was just a sense of deep, and of radiant happiness, as we held each other tightly, and enjoyed the feeling of one another¡¯s warmth, and company.


    Then, after a few more minutes of that, Praxa looked up into my eyes, with an expression of some amusement, and some confusion.


    ¡°Well¡­,¡± she said.


    Then, there was a long, strange pause, before the two of us at last just burst back out into laughter.


    ¡°Well, um¡­ should we go to back to the house for now,¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, smiling. ¡°I guess that we might as well.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then,¡± I heard her say. ¡°In that case¡­ would you help me to get back up?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± I said.


    Then, each of us kissed each other once again, before I helped her to make her way back up, and to move forward.


    And then, slowly, I let her rest her weight onto my shoulder, as I held her by the hand.


    I felt her soft, red hair pressing lightly against my neck, as she leaned in towards me... and I felt her squeezing my hand tightly, as she walked along my side.


    And then, the two of us just made our way quietly through the peaceful, and secluded forest, as we thought about everything that had occurred, today ¨C and about everything that was still to come, in all of the days, and the years ahead.

 Chapter 38: Recovery

    For about a week after that, I spent my time right outside of the town of Westfall, as Praxa continued to recover from her wounds, and Roger tended to all of the young men and women who had been wounded in the war against the City of the Red Tower.


    I spent most of those mornings by myself out in the dungeons, as I continued to train a little, and to practice. But, because I had already made it up to Level 49 by then, I didn¡¯t receive much of a boost to my EXP, and I didn¡¯t gain any more levels during that time. So, I mostly contented myself with playing around a bit, and trying to keep in shape, as I continued to explore the 48th, and the 49th floors of the dungeon.


    I was curious about the 50th floor too, of course. But, I didn¡¯t really want to go there for the first time without Praxa at my side¡­ and I didn¡¯t mind waiting for her to recover, and for her to get back to the way that she had once been, before the two of us completed the dungeon together, and saw what was at the end.


    Fortunately though, it didn¡¯t take her that long to begin to do a lot better.


    By the end of the first evening, she was able to walk a bit, and to move around on her own. And by the second day, she was walking around pretty normally, and she seemed not to be in too much pain at all.


    Of course, she wasn¡¯t ready just then to go running around at full speed, or to start fighting through the dungeons. But the two of us could certainly go on walks together at least, and so we spent a lot of time making our way through the quiet and secluded woods, as we enjoyed the sights of the forest together, and continued to get to know one another.


    There was an especially beautiful little spot that we found on the second day, where a small, meandering stream cut through the forest, and then petered out in front of a small ravine, just to the side of a little cave¡­ and the two of us would spend a lot of time out there, sitting by the side of the stream, as we talked together, and held each other close.


    I didn¡¯t have any doubts that I loved her, If I ever really had. And she didn¡¯t seem to have any doubts that she loved me, either.


    The way that she looked at me now that we were a couple¡­ I had really never felt that kind of warmth or tenderness in all of my life. And it was honestly kind of overwhelming at first, the way that she squeezed my hand, and held me tightly in her arms.


    But at the same time¡­ I knew that she was still just Praxa, you know? Even though we were a couple now, she was still my best friend, and the person that I had spent this last month exploring with, and talking with about everything that was on my mind. And so even though being her boyfriend was strange at first, it all started to feel a lot more natural, and a lot more familiar ¨C although it was surreal somehow, too, to know that she really loved me that much, and to know that I loved her that much, as well ¨C and that being with her could be such a source of peace, and of joy.


    At any rate¡­


    ¡­ the two of us spent a lot of time with in that quiet, and secluded forest¡­ and we spent a lot of time in Westfall, too, as we looked out at the remains of the town, and tried to help with its recovery, and to be there for the young men and women who had called that place their home.


    The first time that I made my way out there, I was pretty surprised by what I saw. The town had suffered a lot during the battle, and it had been burned quite badly by a siege attack that must have come well after Praxa and I had been knocked out. The large, wooden gate had been ripped off of its hinges, and many of the buildings had been left charred, or destroyed, as the circular stone wall crumbled in several different places, and began to fall to pieces.


    Fortunately, not that many of the citizens had been killed, although quite a few had been wounded. But the injured were at least being treated now by all sorts of different mages, who had come in from all over the world to help out the town, and to lend the people their aid.


    As you would expect, the actions of the City of the Red Tower were met with quite a bit of condemnation. But, there hadn¡¯t been any sort of counter-attack ¨C and while the Blue Tower had sent out a sternly worded letter, they certainly hadn¡¯t sent out any steel, or arrows¡­ and that bode poorly for what might come, in the future ¨C and for the extent to which the Red Tower might be able to continue to expand the scope of its ambitions.


    Still, with how much still needed to be done around the town, it was hard to really think of any of those sorts of things right then. And so Praxa and I would spend a lot of hours walking around, and offering up our services, as we tried to get the town back on its feet, and to help out anyone who might require our assistance.


    Occasionally, as we made our way through the town, we would see Roger tending to the wounded, and we would talk with him for a little while. But he was pretty busy during that whole week, and he would only return home in the evenings, when he would join us all for supper¡­ and so, I didn¡¯t get the chance to talk about the vaults anymore with him ¨C or to think about that much on my own, with everything else that demanded my attention.


    As we soon found out, however, Roger hadn¡¯t only been busy with healing each of the wounded townsfolk.


    After what had happened, most of the residents of the town felt that they would need to leave the city fairly soon. But unfortunately, most of them didn¡¯t really have a place to go, and a lot of them were scared, and confused, and uncertain about what would happen next. The students there really didn¡¯t want to leave their friends behind, either¡­ and there was a lot of sadness in the town, and a great sense of loss, and of tragedy.


    And so, Roger took the initiative to contact the leaders of the town of Riverdale, and to ask if the capital of the Free Folk could open up their gates to the citizens of the town of Westfall, and to take in anyone who wished to go as a refugee, and to provide them with aid.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    After a few days, those communications were successful¡­ and the town of Riverdale officially offered to sponsor the town of Westfall, and to help to re-build the entire city, and to re-construct all of the guilds, and the academies that had been lost, and all of the different training grounds and farmlands.


    By the sound of it, the city of Riverdale had a Beginner¡¯s Dungeon nearby, and even an Intermediate Dungeon, too ¨C which was quite good news for me and Praxa ¨C and so it sounded like it would be just about a perfect location in all respects.


    That proposal of Roger¡¯s ended up being met with quite a bit of enthusiasm from many of the students of Westfall, and from many of the teachers as well. The whole town had more than a little sympathy for the Free Folk already, and that sympathy had only been increased by the kindness of Roger¡¯s actions, and by the brutality that they had witnessed from the City of the Red Tower. And so, after talking it over for a little while, many of the town¡¯s students and teachers ended up deciding to relocate to Riverdale, and to continue their training and their education there, right from where they had left off before.


    All of that news ended up making Praxa really happy, I think. She had just been starting to get to know a couple of the students in Westfall, and she had really liked a few of her classes as well. And so when she had run into a few of her acquaintances, and a couple of her favorite instructors ¨C and when she had found out that all of them were planning to go to Riverdale in the next few days ¨C she had been kind of overjoyed, I think, and gladdened to know that she would be able to continue to learn with them, and to get to know them better in the days ahead.


    I was honestly really glad about all of that as well. I had grown very attached to Westfall during my time there, and so I was glad that I was going to keep having a lot of other students to interact with, and I was excited by the chance to have a lot of different teachers to learn from as well, and to get a bit more of a chance to see what kind of education this world could offer.


    And I was glad, too, that the spirit of the town would be preserved... and that, even if the City of the Red Tower had destroyed its buildings, and scorched its lands, that the spirit of the town would not fall so easily, and would be able to continue on, in those distant plains and valleys.


    For now, however, the two of us continued to do our best to help with the recovery¡­ and Praxa and I spent a lot of our time helping to minister to the wounded, and to help all sorts of different students to pack their belongings, and to carry them out to the wagons, and to do everything that we could to assist the students, and the teachers of the town. And in the afternoons, after we had spent a while doing everything that we could to help, Praxa would hold me tightly by the arm, and learn her head against me, as she told me how glad she was to have met me, and how happy she was with who I had become, and with the life that we were leading.


    At any rate¡­ that was how I ended up spending most of my time back then.


    I spent a lot of time with Aaron and Lily too, and both of them came out a couple of times to Westfall to help, and to do what they could for the town. But mostly, they were rather afraid to go outside of the house, and they seemed eager to move on from here, and to get to Riverdale. And after what had happened a few days before, I certainly couldn¡¯t blame them for that.


    Then, after six days in total, everything seemed to be nearly restored.


    Almost all of the wounded had been healed¡­ and after letting her body recuperate, Praxa seemed to finally be well enough to run again, as well - and she seemed to at last be up to fighting.


    And so, that morning, the two of us headed off through the farmlands, and made one last trip out towards the beginner¡¯s dungeon.


    And then, for two or three hours after that, we made our way up through the final floors of the dungeon, and fought our way ahead.


    There was something so graceful, and so elegant about the way that she moved¡­ and now that I didn¡¯t have to conceal the way that I felt about her, I found myself often looking off towards her, as she ran, and weaved, and darted through the floors of the dungeon.


    That made our fighting significantly worse, actually. And we each had to spend a while reprimanding the other, and begging each other to focus, as we tried to figure out how to fight together as a couple, and to return to the rhythms that we¡¯d had before.


    Eventually, though, we seemed to have found a way to return to the same patterns that we had been practicing for so long now¡­ and the next thing that we knew, we were stepping up onto the final floor of the dungeon, as a wave of notifications came over us.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations! You have reached the top of the Beginner¡¯s Dungeon.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have gained a permanent +10% to all damage dealt within the dungeons.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have gained a permanent -5% to all damage received within the dungeons.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have unlocked the ability to enter into the Intermediate Dungeons. All doors to the Intermediate Dungeons shall now be opened.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Apart from all of the achievements, I had kind of been expecting some sort of a treasure chest, or some sort of special boss fight, or something.


    But, instead¡­


    There was just a tiny, tiny circle of land ¨C surrounded by a vast, and beautiful ocean, with a thousand glimmering rainbows all across the sky, and bands of golden light dancing above the waves.


    It was maybe the most beautiful thing that I had ever seen in all of my life.


    And the two of us just stood there together, for quite some time, as Praxa gave me a warm, and joyous smile ¨C and kissed me softly on my lips, over, and over again¡­ and wrapped her arms around me, and held me tight.


    That evening, the two of us made our way back to the town of Westfall, and picked up all of her belongings from her room.


    Then, we carried them back to Roger¡¯s house, where the old mage was waiting for us, and enjoying his evening supper.


    He told us that the preparations were nearly complete, and he asked us if we would be ready to leave in the morning, and to continue on to our destination. He had long since agreed to take Praxa along, of course, and didn¡¯t seem to have the slightest objection. All four of us were quite ready to go by then, too. And so, we all voiced our eagerness to leave that next morning, and then spent that evening relaxing together, and chatting, and laughing, as we thought about the trip ahead.


    That night, for the first time, Praxa felt comfortable enough to sleep in the same bed as me¡­ and I felt her soft, red hair pressing against my chest, as I held her close, and fell asleep with her at my side.


    I fell asleep that night thinking about her, and about the days that we had spent together. But almost in spite of myself, I soon found my mind drifting towards thoughts of the war that lurked ahead, and of the vault that lay out there in that ancient, and forgotten canyon¡­ and I found myself quite ready to set off towards the town of Riverdale ¨C and to see all that would lay ahead.

 Chapter 39: Journey

    That morning, the five of us woke back up, packed up our belongings, and headed out through the door.


    Our destination was the town of Riverdale, which lay at the end of about a three days travel to the East.


    The first day, we would cross over through the Rolling Plains, and set up camp outside of a small town along the way, where we would also pick up our supplies for the road ahead.


    Then, we would make our way right up to the border of the Great Lake, and spend the final day of our journey sailing across the waters, before finally arriving at the town just a few hours before evening.


    That was the plan at least, and it seemed to be pretty doable, according to Roger. So, the five of us started to march out ahead, as the children pointed towards all of the exotic sites and creatures they saw along the way.


    At first, honestly, it was a little nostalgic to walk back through those hills again.


    I felt myself starting to remember what it had been like when I had first arrived in this world, and how scared I had been, and how alone.


    Then, I remembered meeting with Torver in the middle of the valley. And I remembered how I had met with Aaron and Lily a little whiles later, and then with Praxa for the very first time just the next day.


    Right then, all of that felt like a long, long time ago.


    I found myself thinking again of being out in that grassy meadow, and of how unsure of myself I had been ¨C and how nervous ¨C as I had first begun to swing my sword through the air, and to teach myself how to survive.


    Even though I knew that I still had a long ways to go, I really felt like the first part of my journey was right about at its end, and that these next few days were just going to be a kind of capstone on my travels so far.


    I didn¡¯t expect that much more to happen right then, if I¡¯m being honest.


    But then again, I¡¯ve always been pretty bad at seeing what was just ahead.


    At any rate, our little band made it for quite a few kilometers after that, hiking along through the hills and valleys, and then through the plains beyond, as we continued to make our way towards the lake.


    I had half-expected that each of the children would grow tired from the journey. But I guess that each of them were pretty sturdy, from their labors before.


    For his own part, Roger was more than fine, and Praxa and I had gotten pretty sturdy, too. So, we were each able to continue to march forward, only taking a few short breaks here and there as we continued out towards the edge of the Great Lake.


    It took us about ten hours to get there. But once we arrived, it was clear that the place really was as amazing as we had heard.


    The lake was massive, and truly beautiful. Clear, blue waters stretched out into the distance, and huge, tall hills and mountains straddled the lake on either side. The lake was so big that I couldn¡¯t even make out its shape, but it seemed to be kind of like a circle, but a bit more squished in and egg-like around the sides. At any rate, it was easily one of the most amazing things that I had ever seen in my life, and it reminded me once again of what Torver had told me so long ago¡­ that he had spent the whole time that he was in slavery just wanting to see this ancient lake again before he died, and to be able to appreciate the sight of it once more.


    I hoped that he had been able to do so. And I hoped that we would be able to talk about it sometime soon, once I had at last made my way into the town of Riverdale.


    After a while marveling at the sight before us, the five of us set up camp a little ways from the shore. Then, Aaron and Lily rushed off towards the lake, as they ran through the waters, laughing and smiling; but soon, the sun began to set, and it grew quite dark¡­ so, I called the two of them back over, as we all settled down in camp for the night, and talked to one another.


    I still hadn¡¯t spoken yet with Roger about the vaults since that conversation that we¡¯d had a week before. He had seemed so busy with taking care of the affairs of Westfall that I hadn¡¯t wanted to disturb him at first, and I¡¯d hardly even seen him for the last few days. But now that we were at leisure, I wanted to raise that subject once again, and to see if we might make any more progress. I¡¯d been a little surprised that he hadn¡¯t mentioned it to me along the way, actually. But as we sat down together, I realized that he probably didn¡¯t know that I had told each of the others about the dream that I¡¯d had, which meant that the two of us could talk about those things quite freely. And so, I brought up that subject on my own, and asked Roger once again about my dream, and about where he thought that vault might be located.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    I had already mentioned to Aaron, and Praxa and Lily that Roger was interested in helping us to find the vault. And so the moment that I mentioned it, the three of them turned towards Roger, quite attentive and alert.


    Roger told me that he had been thinking about those questions quite a bit these last few days, too. And his first question for me was whether I had been able to think of any place that the canyon from my dream might be.


    But unfortunately, neither I nor any of the others had been able to think up much of anything at all. And I could only repeat that what he had said before had seemed right ¨C that if the canyon really had been filled up with something, then it could be just about anywhere; and that any field or forest might well be that same canyon, after thousands of years of change.


    Then, Roger asked me if there were any other landmarks that I had seen in my dream that I might be able to use as some sort of a reference point.


    But there wasn¡¯t anything like that which I could think of. The walls of the canyon had been too steep for me to see beyond, so I hadn¡¯t been able to make out anything around it. That gave rise to a long, and tense silence, as the five of us thought about how we might be able to discover the vault¡¯s location.


    Then, Aaron asked me if I remembered the size, and the shape of the canyon. And when I told him that I did, and very precisely too, he then suggested that we could look at a map, and try to see if there were any places where a canyon of that size and shape might ¡°fit.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t quite sure what he meant at first. But then, I understood what he was thinking. Even if the whole canyon had been filled up, it was still possible that it might be recognizable on the map by its dimensions ¨C if, for instance, the canyon had been filled up with fertile soil, it might have given rise to a forest of precisely the same size and shape, which would then be quite easy to spot. And even if that wasn¡¯t the case, there would still be a limited number of places in the world that the canyon could be. It wasn¡¯t going to be under a mountain, for instance, or under any of the towers, and it probably wouldn¡¯t be in the ocean, either. So, even if we couldn¡¯t figure out where it was, we might at least be able to eliminate a number of places that it couldn¡¯t be ¨C and then to try to rule out additional places from there, or see if any of the remaining possibilities seemed more likely than the rest.


    That wasn¡¯t much to go on, of course. But, it was the best idea that any of us had right then. And so, I took out Lily¡¯s drawing pad, and placed it upon the ground. Then, Roger took out a small map, and stretched it out in front of him. After that, I began to sketch out the dimensions of the canyon on a piece of paper, using a familiar part of the map as a reference point. Once I was done, I tore off the sketch of the canyon, and placed it towards the center of the map, to see if anything on the map resembled it.


    Of course, I hadn¡¯t really expected to do much more than to start to find a needle by taking out a bit of straw from a haystack.


    And yet, as I held up that piece of paper, and placed it over the map¡­ I soon began to notice something.


    Each of the others seemed to notice the same thing, too. And in silence, we looked out at the ground together, as I moved the drawing that I had made right next to a certain spot on the map ¨C a spot upon which my drawing seemed to fit just about exactly¡­


    For a while, there was a kind of attentive silence.


    And then, Roger looked me in the eyes, and pointed downwards.


    ¡°William,¡± he said, ¡°¡­ was the canyon really the exact same size, and the exact same shape, as the Great Lake¡­?¡±


    ¡°¡­ yeah,¡± I said, as I looked out towards the waters nearby, and made sure. ¡°Yeah, it was¡­ the two are really, really similar ¨C if they¡¯re not absolutely identical...¡±


    Again, there was a long silence.


    ¡°¡­ Roger,¡± I said, at last, ¡°¡­ is there any magic that could take you down towards the bottom of a lake?¡±


    ¡°There is,¡± he said. ¡°But, the magic that lets you breathe underwater is on the list of forbidden spells. Even trying to learn it ¨C much less actually casting it ¨C would place you on the wanted lists of the Guild of Knights, and would earn you a death penalty for certain, if anyone were ever to discover you.¡±


    ¡°However,¡± he added, with a faint smile, ¡°I always did find it strange that ¡®water-breathing¡¯ was forbidden...and, as I believe that I¡¯ve told you before, I¡¯ve met some rather interesting people in my day. So¡­ I may have access to that sort of magic for you to use - though, of course, each you would have to promise to never say a word about it, on penalty of death.¡± He spoke these last words with a surprisingly friendly smile, as he had the last time he¡¯d threatened my very life.


    This prompted quite a bit of good cheer and a flurry of promises from everyone involved.


    ¡°Of course, it is nearly an impossible crime to trace, so we should be quite fine in that respect, so long as we are careful,¡± Roger said. ¡°But¡­ as much as I would love to test out your theory, the lake is too enormous to even hope to be able to explore. So, unless you happen to know from your dream exactly where the vault might be, relative to the rest of the canyon -¡±


    ¡°The center,¡± I said, at once. ¡°The very center. That¡¯s one thing that I did remember about the dream. The front of the canyon was just as far away from the back, and each of the sides were equally distant. The vault is at the center.¡±


    ¡°The center, then¡­,¡± Roger whispered.


    ¡°¡­ if that really is the case,¡± he continued, ¡°then¡­ would you like to head down there tomorrow, as we head across the surface?¡±


    ¡°I would,¡± I said.


    ¡°Well, then,¡± Roger said. ¡°¡­ in that case - let¡¯s see what we can find.¡±

 Chapter 40: Descent

    That morning, each of us woke up about half an hour before we usually did.


    We didn¡¯t really need to say much of anything to each other. Instead, in a nearly perfect unison, we each skipped our meal, took apart the camp, and headed out towards the waters of the lake.


    The excitement was almost palpable - and even Roger barely slowed down below a jog, as the five of us made our way towards a cave along the shore, and found a boat that was stored away.


    And then, just like that, our band was off.


    There were four seats on the boat, and four oars for rowing. And so Praxa, Aaron, Roger and I each took a seat, with Lily sitting on top of Praxa¡¯s lap.


    The skies right then were clear, and beautiful¡­ and you could see the light of the early morning sun glittering across the water, as a few small birds darted and weaved their way through the sky.


    And then, for two more hours, we made our way ahead, until we were over the very center of the lake. We had agreed before that Praxa and I would explore through the waters, while Roger kept guard, and made sure that no one discovered us rising back up towards the surface. So once we were all in position, Roger channeled the magic that he possessed, and began to cast a series of spells over me and Praxa.


    The first spell increased the weight of our bodies, while the second gave us the ability to breathe naturally in the water, and a third spell made it so that we would experience a smooth, and gradual ascent when we rose back up, so that we wouldn¡¯t end up being injured.


    Once we were ready, Praxa and I stood up, and stepped off of the sides of the boat, as we sunk down through the lake and towards the surface below.


    As we fell through the sparkling waters, the two of us held each other by the hand, and did our best to fall straight down, without veering off from side to side. We¡¯d already lined up with the center, so if this really was the canyon, then that should place us right above the vault.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Looking down, I saw many different rocks, and ruined ships, and other forms of debris littered across the ground. But nothing that I saw was as tall as the vault that I had seen in my dream, or as wide. Then, I turned around, and tried looking behind me, and to my side. But while the rocks at the bottom were large, none of them seemed like they might be large enough to contain the vault.


    And then, I felt a gentle tug on the sleeve of my shirt.


    I tilted my head towards the side, and looked at Praxa.


    There was a look of deep concentration and focus on her face right then. And she was pointing down, deep towards the bottom of the lake, in a corner that I hadn¡¯t looked towards yet¡­ where a huge, oddly rectangular rock resided, almost lost among all of the debris below.


    I felt my heart beating faster. It was hard to tell from this distance ¨C but the dimensions of that rock could hardly have seemed more promising.


    I began to push down now, eager to land onto the floor of the lake. And as soon as our feet touched the sand, Praxa and I ran over towards the rock, and began to feel around the sides, brushing away the sand and the dust that had accumulated over hundreds of years.


    At first, the two of us didn¡¯t find anything at all.


    But then, I noticed that on one side of the rock, the layers of sand and dust were especially thick. And as the two of us dug through it, and cleared it all away¡­ we soon found a large, black metal slab, buried beneath the sand.


    The slab of metal had the image of a fruit tree upon its surface.


    As she saw the image, Praxa gripped my hand, and squeezed me tightly. I felt her fingers trembling in my own, as I slipped the glove off of my right hand, and pressed the mark on my palm against the metal.


    At first, nothing happened.


    But then, a bright, blue light exploded off of the door, as the whole floor of the lake around us glimmered in the light. Afterwards, the metal began to slide out of place, and the sand beneath us began to tremble, as an enormous chamber was slowly revealed to us.


    The water was already starting to flow inside the opened door; so. as quickly as we could, Praxa and I jumped through the door, as the entrance behind us closed back up once again.


    At first, there was a kind of stunned, and awe-struck silence. But then, the two of us broke out into excited, and contented laughter, as we gripped each other by the hand, and held each other close.


    And then, the two of us took a single step forward.


    Before us was a place that was unlike anything that either of us could have imagined.

 Chapter 41: Inside

    The two of us seemed to be in the central chamber of some kind of enormous, and ancient temple.


    Across each of the walls of the chamber, there were several huge, perfectly preserved paintings.


    There were paintings of farmers plucking the grains up out of the earth, and of fruit trees overflowing with riches and with treasures, and of worshipers kneeling down in prayer beneath enormous, silver-barked trees, and of huge, mythical beasts roaming contentedly through the plains.


    Each of the different paintings conveyed a real sense of gratitude, and of joy¡­ and I couldn¡¯t help but feel somehow that they must have been the relics of a much older, and a much happier time. They reminded me of what Praxa had told me some time before ¨C that, according to the myths and the religions of this world, there had once been a golden age a long, long time ago, that had been far better than any of the ages since.


    Before, I had regarded that story as being just another sort of tale, or myth. But now, looking at the paintings that lined the walls of this ancient, and joyous place, I felt that those legends were true, somehow¡­ and that something truly beautiful must have been lost from this world, for many, many years.


    ¡°Lost¡± really was the right word, I think. Because right then, there was a sense of tremendous loss in that ancient room, that was almost overwhelming in the scope of its tragedy, and its grandeur.


    At the very center of the chamber, there was a huge, leafless tree, that must have lived many centuries ago, and that was now laying at an angle across the altar, having long since crashed to the ground, and come to a state of rest.


    You could feel how alive this place must once have been, thousands upon thousands of years ago. But now, there was nothing here but rows of empty chairs, and the debris of ages past, as the slow march of times reduced this once vibrant and sacred chamber to little more than a distant memory of the things that had come before.


    I didn¡¯t know that much about the religions of this world. But Praxa did, and she was able to confirm what I had already suspected ¨C that this must have been the temple of a God who had once been worshiped long ago, and who no longer had a single follower, or any record of their own existence.


    I knew, in an instant, that that God must be Kalia... and I knew, too, that we Interlopers were the last of Her followers¡­ and that these ¡°vaults¡± that I had sought out for so long were nothing more than Her most ancient, and sacred temples.


    It was a humbling sight, and it was hard to know how to really act in a place like that. But quietly, and in a reverent sort of way, Praxa and I made our way through the sacred chamber, examining each and every object that we could find, as we tried to discover some sort of clue to the long forgotten secrets of the past.


    However, the room seemed to be quite empty¡­ and apart from a few objects of purely religious significance, there was nothing here to be found, and nothing that provided any sort of clue to what had come before.


    And so, after a bit more time, the two of us started to make our way a little further on ahead, deeper into the back rooms of the temple.


    In the central chamber, there were two large doors leading further towards the back ¨C one to the left-side of the room, and another to the right.


    The one on the left was large, and completely unsealed, while the door on the right was smaller, and sealed just like the door at the front of the temple.


    So, naturally, the two of us made our way in through the sealed door on the right.


    Behind the door, there was a long, narrow hall, with a high, and beautifully painted ceiling.


    On each side of the hall, there were several wooden doors, and there was a single larger, more decorated door at the opposite end.


    The doors along the side just seemed to lead into small living quarters that were almost completely barren, apart from a few empty bookshelves and a couple of old beds. So, after checking out a few of those rooms for clues, the two of us at last made our way towards the end of the hall, as we opened up the larger door there, and looked through to the room beyond.


    Then, in a state of some considerable shock at what we beheld, the two of us just stood there together in silence.


    In front of us, there was an enormous, blue-furred creature, who was clutching a black orb in his right hand.


    He was encased in an ice that was so thick that it was difficult to make out his condition¡­ but I had the distinct impression that he was alive, and that he wanted us to free him from his tomb-like prison, if we were able.


    At the same time, there were deep, bloody wounds along his right side, and I could tell that this creature would probably die if he were ever to be released.


    I could tell too, somehow ¨C though I couldn¡¯t have told you how ¨C that this creature was the very last of his kind¡­ and I could feel a sense of profound tragedy, and of deep nobility about his person.


    There wasn¡¯t anything special about this room, apart from the creature that resided within, and there didn¡¯t seem to be any device here that could have frozen him. So I imagined that he must have cast a spell to freeze himself, and that he had willingly entombed himself here in the hopes that a follower of Kalia would someday come and find him.


    Of course, I didn¡¯t have anything on me that I could use to help to remove him from his encasement. But fortunately, the creature seemed to have anticipated that possibility¡­ because in front of him, there was a small, glowing poker, with a magically burning tip on one side, and a steel handle on the other, that was placed just far enough away from his body not to be able to melt the ice.


    For a moment, Praxa and I deliberated about what to do. But then, slowly, and quite carefully, we lifted up the poker, and held it towards the ice that surrounded the blue-furred creature.


    Gradually, we saw the magical ice melt away beneath the strength of the fire¡­ and after a few moments, the creature stood in front of us, its eyes just barely blinking back to life.


    At first, it seemed disoriented, as the memories of its past came trickling one by one into the present flow of its consciousness.


    But then, all at once, its body stiffened, and the creature became alert, as he at last remembered who he was, and what he had been doing.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    In an instant, I felt his proud, warrior eyes bearing down on me, as he examined the two of us quite intensely, and tried to determine whether we were friend or foe.


    But then, the creature saw the mark on the palm of my right hand. Afterwards, he began to relax, and to soften, as he slowly stepped towards me, and drew close.


    Then, quietly, but in a deep, and resonant voice, the creature spoke a few words to me in a language that must have long since been forgotten. At any rate, the words meant nothing to me, and they meant nothing to Praxa either¡­ and so the two of us shook our heads, and said that we didn¡¯t understand what he was saying, hoping that he would grasp something of the meaning of our words.


    The creature seemed to have understood. Because a few moments later, he silently knelt down onto the ground, and bowed his head towards me, as he held out the black orb directly in front of my hand.


    Then, he looked up at me with an earnest, and pleading look, as he spoke to me once again, in a mournful, yet hopeful tone.


    I could tell that he wanted me to take the orb, and to protect it with my life.


    I didn¡¯t know who this creature was, or how he had come to be here. But I could feel his profound nobility, and his grace, and I could tell that he had given up his life to protect this artifact, and that nothing in this world was more important to him, or more precious.


    I knew, too, that even though I didn¡¯t understand what this orb was, that if I didn¡¯t take this object from him, then it might be thousands upon thousands years before anyone else discovered this place again ¨C and that it was quite possible that nobody else would ever come down here, and that both he, and this precious thing that he had died to protect, would be forgotten.


    And so instinctively, I reached out my hand, and accepted the gift that he was offering, and all of the burdens that it carried with it.


    As I took the orb, a small, but radiant smile played across the creature¡¯s lips¡­ and then, he embraced my hand in his, and gently bowed his head towards me, as he gave me a look of tremendous gratitude, and of respect.


    At the same time, there was a glint of deep seriousness, and of determination in his eyes¡­ and I could tell that he was afraid of what would happen next, and that he was thinking about whether or not the orb would at last be able to fulfill its purpose.


    Still¡­ he knew that his own part in this story had now come to an end. And so, a few moments later, the creature knelt down against the floor, and rested his enormous back against the wall, as he softly lowered his head down towards the ground.


    Then, he slumped all the way back up against the wall, as his life at last came to its conclusion.


    In silence, Praxa stepped forward, and softly closed the creature¡¯s eyes. And then, the two of us took a long while to pay our respects to the fallen creature, and to talk about what we had just seen¡­ before the two of us at last exited the room, and left the creature to his peace.


    As we departed, I took a moment to glance down at the black orb that was now gripped tightly in the palm of my hand. So far as I could tell, it was just a perfectly smooth, black orb, about the size and the shape of a baseball, without any real distinguishing features to it at all. For now, I didn¡¯t really see anything more that I could do with it. And so, I simply placed the orb very carefully into my pocket, and decided to investigate it a little more thoroughly once we had finished going through the different rooms of the vault.


    Afterwards, Praxa and I made our way back through the larger door on the left of the central chamber (the one that we had passed over before, in favor of the smaller door on the right). But that larger door only led out to a kind of public auditorium, that must once have been a place for the community to gather, but that now had little to nothing that was of any real use or value.


    At that point, each of us were beginning to feel that we might have discovered as much as we were going to find down here. But at the same time, we certainly didn¡¯t feel quite ready to give up just yet. And so, the two of us looped back once again to the hall with all of the doors along the side, as we now began to explore each of those rooms one by one, in order to see if there was anything more that we could discover.


    For about ten or fifteen minutes, we searched those rooms in silence, not finding much of anything at all.


    Then, I heard Praxa let out a shout from one of the nearby rooms¡­ and as I ran over to join her, I saw that one of the bookshelves in that room had a secret panel along its side, and that inside of that secret panel, there was an old book, that had been stored away there for quite some time.


    I could tell that her body was trembling with excitement, and that she could hardly wait to open up the ancient book, and to see what was inside.


    I could feel my own body trembling too¡­ and so, I hurried over to join her, as we flipped open the cover, and turned to the very first page of the book.


    At first, we just kind of stood there in a dumb, and confused silence.


    Then, we turned to the next page¡­ and then the next page¡­ and then the next¡­


    ¡­ and then, the two of us broke out into laughter, as we realized what it was that we were actually reading.


    What we had been hoping for, of course, was some sort of long account of the past, and of all of the different mysteries of this world.


    What we had found instead, however, was a kind of illustrated dictionary, that seemed to be intended for the use of very small children.


    The book was divided up like this.


    First, there would be two pages ¨C one on the left, and one on the right ¨C that would contain a single enormous picture of a common object, like a tree, or a rock, or a dog.


    Then, afterwards, there would be two more pages ¨C one on the left, and one on the right ¨C that would contain a single word, in an ancient, and long-since forgotten tongue, that seemed to be the name for the object that had come before.


    Beneath that word, there were then a lot of spaces for children to write, and it seemed that a shaky, untrained, and very young hand had tried to write out most of the words that we encountered, in each of the different spaces.


    I imagined that, in the distant past, very young children must have used this book to learn how to read, and how to write.


    From a purely academic standpoint, this book might have been rather interesting, as a kind of ¡°key¡± to an ancient language. But for us, it was more than a little disappointing to realize just what sort of a book we had found, and how unlikely it was to provide us with any sort of answers to the questions that we had.


    Still¡­ the two of us weren¡¯t willing to give up on the book quite yet. So, each of us spent a while flipping through the pages, and turning them over, as we made our way deeper through the ancient text.


    For a while, we flipped the pages in a rote sort of way.


    Then, at about the half-way point through the book, the two of us stopped, as our hearts each began to beat faster and faster.


    On the two pages in front of us, there was a large, beautifully illustrated picture of the surface of the world.


    Except, the picture of the world that we saw here was unlike any depiction of this world that Praxa or I had ever seen¡­ and the whole landscape of the planet seemed to be staggeringly different from the way that things were here today.


    Where we had expected to find the Great Lake that we had just been sailing across, we instead found only a huge, vacant canyon, like the one that I had seen before in my dreams.


    And where we had expected to find the Great Forest ¨C that huge, ancient forest that I had first arrived at, so long ago ¨C we found only an empty, and distant plain.


    And finally¡­ where we had expected to find four towers scattered along the surface of the world, we instead found only three ¨C one that was Green, one was that Red, and one that was Yellow.


    In other words¡­


    The blue tower was nowhere to be found.


    There were other differences too, of course... and in many ways, the world that we saw here was almost unrecognizable.


    As I tried to take in the image in front of me, I felt my head beginning to race, as I tried to make sense of what all of it could mean.


    Then, instinctively, and without thinking about what I was doing, I flipped towards the next two pages of the book.


    There in front of us was a single word, stretched across those pages, that must have been the name for this world in an ancient, and long since forgotten tongue.


    Apparently, in that ancient language, the name for this world was: ¡°Kalia.¡±


    And then, I felt my mind beginning to freeze in wonder ¨C as I tried to make any sort of sense, at all, of what that actually could mean.


    At the same time, a single message appeared in front of me.


    It read:


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    ¡°Congratulations! Your Insight has increased by seven!¡±


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 42: Onwards

    After that, the two of us spent about ten more minutes in the vault, flipping through the rest of the book, and then searching for any other sort of secret passage or compartment. But neither of us were able to find anything more, and each of us were starting to become a little worried about what Roger and the children might think if we put off our return for too much longer. So after we had finished exploring, we stepped out through the door, and back out into the cold waters of the lake.


    I had the black orb in my pocket, and the two of us had committed the illustration of the world to our memories as best as we were able. There was no way to bring the book back with us for now, but we knew where the vault was at least, and so we could return there again if we ever needed to. For now though, the two of us stepped back outside, and began to float up towards the surface of the lake.


    The effects of the spell had worn off a little while ago by then, but it still took us about a minute or so to re-surface.


    When we did, we found the three of them sitting there a little nervously, as they looked around, and wondered why it was that we had yet to return.


    But then they noticed us¡­ and each of them seemed more than a little surprised to see Praxa and me bobbing our heads up out of the water, with a look of deep, and profound excitement.


    For a moment, there was a kind of silence among the group. Then, the three of them pulled us up onto the boat as quickly as they could, as the two children threw their arms around us, and asked us about a million questions at once.


    The first question that they asked, of course, was what had kept us beneath the waters for so long¡­ and what exactly we had managed to find.


    I probably could have come up with some sort of story right about then, if I had really tried. But at that moment¡­


    ¡­ I felt as if the time was finally right to stop concealing myself any longer, and to really let them know just who I was, and what I had found.


    And so, without thinking too hard about it at all, I told them the truth ¨C all of it, at once.


    I told them where we had been, and what had happened, and who I was, and where I had come from.


    I told them about the mark on my hands, and about the orb, and about the creature that we had found, and about the book.


    For about half an hour, I told them everything, as they listened to my words.


    And then for a while after that, the five of us sat there and talked together, as we tried to make at least a beginning towards understanding what was going on.


    Kalia was just another name for the world, and a name that had been forgotten a long, long time ago.


    And yet, Kalia had spoken to me quite clearly, and had summoned me to this world¡­ or¡­ had summoned me towards her, I guess.


    That seemed to mean that the world itself was alive, and that it could speak in some way.


    And yet, for as long as anyone could remember ¨C for the whole history of the world, as it had come down to us ¨C Kalia had been silent, and inactive.


    There were a lot of different ways that you could explain that. But I knew, somehow ¨C by means of an intuition that must somehow have been coming from my Insight ¨C that she was the world, and that she had been muted for all of these years.


    Of course, how she could have brought me here, then, I couldn¡¯t have told you. But I wondered if the fact that she hadn¡¯t said a single thing to me about her condition was some sort of clue¡­ like she had been reaching out to me from the past, somehow, before everything had happened? Or from the future¡­?


    At any rate¡­


    That was beyond me right then. But, if that was right ¨C and for some reason, I felt very confident that it was ¨C it also only seemed to open up a whole new set of questions.


    If Kalia had been muted, and perhaps enchained¡­ then, who could have done so, and why?


    That, too, I could barely even begin to fathom.


    The vaults were her temples.


    They were the ancient temples where the followers of Kalia had once worshiped the world itself, as the mother of all life.


    They were the bastions of the ancient religion, and they seemed to have existed in a much happier time, when each of the races had been flourishing.


    At the same time, I knew with certainty from the history that had come down to us that, immediately before the arrival of the prophet Lucian, the world had been enslaved by the mages, and their rule had been a source of tremendous tyranny and of evil. There were enough contemporary accounts that went into enough details of some of the crimes that had been committed to leave no doubt of that.


    That meant that the ¡°official¡± history of the world must have been a lot closer to the truth than I had realized. There had been something like a golden age, where the world itself had spoken to man, and looked after him¡­ and that age had been followed by a horrific period in which mages had tyrannized their subjects, and only been overthrown through the heroic deeds of the prophet Lucian.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    But that still left quite a few questions unanswered.


    At some definite point in time, there had been only three towers, and there had been no Great Lake, and no Great Forest, and the landscape of the world had been quite different in a number of other ways.


    Then, at some further point in time, all of that had changed¡­ and it had changed so long ago that there was no written or oral record of what had taken place, and of what the world had once been like long ago.


    But then, if the Blue Tower had been created, who had created it? If that huge, sprawling canyon had been filled with water, what happened to cause that to take place? If the Great Forest had risen up in a land that had only been plains before, then why had it risen up?


    Maybe these things weren¡¯t at all connected. Maybe the topography of the world had just changed, and maybe the system had just created a new tower, for some reason ¨C to balance up the flow of things, perhaps.


    But a part of me had a strong, and almost invincible sense that all of these changes had been quite intentional, and had been conducted for the sake of burying the secrets of the past.


    That book that I had found in the vault¡­ it must have been much, much older than any of the books that had come down to us in this world.


    But it didn¡¯t seem like a special book. Probably many other copies had been made, and probably there were a lot of other books that had been just like it in the distant past.


    So¡­ where did all of those books go?


    If Kalia was muted, and overpowered, then who could have had the power to do that? And the person, or the group, who could have done it¡­


    ¡­ who were they? And what had happened to them? And, if they really had brought about the end of the Golden Age, and had turned upon the world itself¡­ then¡­ why? What could have possibly led someone to commit a crime like that, and for what purpose?


    And why, then, had they changed the landscape of the world so dramatically ¨C if the same person, or group, had been responsible?


    Could the Great Lake have been created just in order to conceal the vault that lay within?


    Could the vault have been concealed just in order to conceal the knowledge that it contained ¨C the knowledge of a world that had once existed long ago?


    All of that seemed almost unimaginable. But without knowing what had taken place, and why, I felt like there were almost no limits to what might have taken place, or to what might be happening in this world even now, in the darkest, and most secret corridors of the City of the Blue Tower.


    That thought terrified me somehow¡­ and the more that I thought about that city, the more that I felt horrified of it, yet eager to travel there someday, and to see what it might contain.


    Still¡­ even apart from all of those questions¡­


    ¡­ there was one more thing that had been weighing on my mind.


    What was that black orb, exactly?


    Roger had spent a little while examining it, and trying to make some sense of it. But as far as he could tell, it didn¡¯t seem to be humming with any sort of magical power, or to be doing anything special at all. If that was right, then that meant that it probably wasn¡¯t enchanted, and that it was just a normal, spherical orb of a black color.


    That seemed more than a little bit hard to believe, though. And it certainly didn¡¯t explain why that creature had offered it to me, or what purpose it might be able to serve.


    For now, we agreed that we would just keep studying it, and keep trying to discover what sort of secrets it might unlock.


    But, in the meantime¡­


    ¡­ we each realized that, whatever was going on, the Blue Tower must be the key to all of this ¨C and the city that contained it must have the answer to at least some of the mysteries that we were grappling with.


    We each had a lot of questions for Roger about that, of course. But, as far as he knew, there was no record in the Guild of Knights about any of the secrets that we had just uncovered, and there was no sort of secret group, or cult, or teaching, that had any connection at all to what we had found.


    Of course, it was possible that there was a faction of the Guild of Knights that he hadn¡¯t known about, buried in some part of the city or another. But, as a man who had been the head for the entire organization ¨C and as a man who had spent his life in or around that guild for nearly forty years ¨C it seemed improbable that a conspiracy could have been rooted there without him having had at least some inkling of the truth.


    That meant that the likeliest culprit in everything that was going on was the Guild of the Pen.


    Why that organization would have wanted to have done any of these things, exactly, I truly had no idea. But, as the organization that had been placed in charge of the recovery and the preservation of the ancient texts of the past, they were also the organization that was most likely to be concealing the past, and to be destroying the records of what had come before.


    Of course, coming from a liberal democracy, it was hard to imagine that a group of scholars would be consciously covering up the truth and deceiving the people who they claimed to wish to inform. But I had already seen that things here were quite a bit different than they were back home¡­ and, in some way or another, it was beginning to seem to me as if there really might be a group of men and of women who had gleaned a deeply important truth, but who had then decided to keep that truth from the rest of the world, and to strive to their utmost to bury it forever.


    At the very least¡­ it didn¡¯t seem very possible, or likely, that I was the only one who had discovered these things in the last few thousand years. Even though it had been very difficult to enter into the vault, it certainly hadn¡¯t seemed insurmountable.


    ¡­ which only raised the question of what had happened to the other people who had found out the truth ¨C and why their insights had never made it into any of the official histories of this world.


    Of course, the more that I thought about all of these things, the more confused I felt¡­ and even after all of the progress that I had made ¨C after finally breaking into the vaults, and discovering a few of the secrets of the past¡­ I still felt just about as lost as I always had.


    But¡­ now, at least, I knew quite a bit more about where to look, and where to begin to go from here.


    More than that, however¡­


    ¡­ I just felt tremendously glad to finally be able to discuss all of these things, with Roger, Aaron, Lily, and Praxa ¨C and to still have everyone be safe and sound.


    After everything that we had gone through, in these last few weeks¡­ that was enough for me to be quite happy, right then ¨C even if I had no idea what was going to happen next, or where this whole thing was really going to take me.


    And so, after talking for a bit longer about everything that I had found, each of us just took up our stations on the boat once again, as we began to row our way forwards, and to make our way towards the other side of the lake.


    We were still right over the center of the lake, and so we had about half of the distance left to go.


    Once we arrived at the shore, it would be about an hour¡¯s hike through the hills and valleys¡­ and then, after some time, we would at last arrive at the town of Riverdale.


    From there, we could each take a bit of time to rest, and to recover, before we convened again, and decided what we would do next.


    There was a lot to think about, and a lot to do.


    But, right then¡­ I was looking forward to it quite a lot, if I¡¯m being honest.


    And so, with quite a bit of good cheer, and with a real sense of warmth, and of affection¡­ the five of us just rowed our boat along the surface of the waters, as we drifted on ahead, and made our way out towards the shores that lay beyond.

 Afterword

    Hey everyone,


    First of all, thank you for reading my work so far.I''ve wanted to write a longerbook like this for a long time now, and it''s been a pleasure to share it with all of you, and to hear your feedback along the way.


    With these last few chapters, the first part of the Blue Tower is at its end. I''ve got some ideas for where I want to head to from here (a lot of ideas!), but I''ve also become a lot more busy lately (moved from part time to full time along with some additional obligations), and have exhausted my backlog as well, so I don''t have anything more piled up at the moment. I''d originally been planning to just wing it for a while and to come up with my chapters on the fly, but that''s proven to be a lot more difficult than I''d expected. I don''t seem to have a knack just yet for writing on that kind of a deadline. So for the present, I plan to write when I find the time, and to upload more chapters whenever I''m able, without trying to keep to any sort of a more definite schedule (which might also mean building up a longer arc before I continue). Hopefully I won''t go too long without posting, but if you haven''t already, it''d probably be a good idea to follow the story on the website if you''d like to see where things go from here.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    At the same time, I want to try to keep improving as a writer. There were a lot of things that I thought that I could have done better in the book so far, but it was often hard for me to pinpoint exactly what was wrong, which made changing or correcting my errors kind of difficult.So if you have any suggestions for how the book might be improved, I''d be very glad to hear them, and I''ll try to do my best to learn from your critiques.


    I could say a little more, but I think that''s more or less everything for now. Again, thank you for reading thus far, and I hope that you''ve enjoyed the story! I''ll be looking forward to picking this back up again once my schedule begins to clear up a bit, and hopefully, that won''t take too long from here