ã€ŠAtemporal Chronicles - Commencement Taleã€‹


 Chapter 001

    The night has just arrived in the forbidden forest. It was eerie, the only sound you could hear was the chirping of insects and the whispers of a crackling bonfire. Right In the middle of it, there was a clearing with a house made out of light brown logs. From it, you could see smoke coming out of the chimney and the smell of it carried along the weak fragrance of fat being cooked.

    Approaching the house I came to a stop on the doorway.

    *Knock Knock*

    The sound of my knuckles hitting against the door echoed through the silent forest. Soon a voice coming from the inside of the house could be heard.

    ¡°Who¡¯s it?¡± said a rough voice, some distance from the door, as the sound of footstep could be heard by the entrance; it was increasing in intensity. Until it came to a halt at the other side of the door.

    ¡°It¡¯s the storyteller requested from the guild.¡±.Relinquishing my melodious intonation, I said in a deadpan manner.

    ¡°Right, I was waiting for your arrival¡± The door opened to the sight of a tawny-skinned almost 2-meter tall burly man dressed casually: white shorts, grey shirt, and wood sandals. ¡°Come on in, let¡¯s talk inside¡±. He said with his evident strong jawline, behind a full dark brown beard, moving. I went inside the house as invited without further ado.

    The house wasn¡¯t big, it had a kitchen and living room at the same place. Everything was made out of wood, the table by the kitchen side, its chairs, the couch in the living room and its center table or the cabinet against the wall beside the crackling fireplace. All of it with engravings, twisting the wood and creating beautiful forms as if the wood itself grew that way, emanating a feeling of warmth and bringing coziness to the heart of those inside the room. By the wall, there were ornaments coming out in harmony with it.

    As he walks me to the table at the kitchen, he says looking at the pot on the stove ¡°The pork stew is almost ready, we have time to introduce ourselves though¡± then turn to look at me. The voice was indeed rough, but there was something to it that I haven¡¯t perceived before. It was a feeling of imminence as if the words were laws that the very heavens must abide by it.

    Getting out of my unusual reticence I said ¡°Sure" clearly anticipating myself thanks to my odd nervousness, and in a stern voice, I rushed with the words. "I¡¯m the writer designated by the royal library to fulfill your request. My name is Jacob Swifthands."now that I already rushed in, might as well continue. "It¡¯s an honor to be your acquaintance.¡± only when I fished the sentence that it came to my attention that I was almost falling short of breath.

    ¡°Let¡¯s sit¡± he said, and I did. His eyebrows shot up and he exclaimed as he sat across from me on the four people table, looking as if he remembered something funny ¡° Oh! The young dandy who sings girls from court to bed.¡±

    For the first time, my deadpan face fell and blood started to spread across my cheeks flushing it red. I¡¯m in my fifties, how old is he to think I¡¯m young, he himself looks younger than me! And how come he know about my nightly affairs. Pretending to not notice my embarrassment he went on ¡° So Jake, I¡¯m Henry, but you can call me Hank. Now that we know our names we can proceed to the reason you¡¯re here and make some agreements¡± and he stops as if expecting an answer.

    Regaining a little of my bearings I nod my head. Seemingly a little bit happier for some unknown reason, Hank continues ¡° Well, to summarize it I want to hire you to write some histories of the old,¡± As he says histories of the old his eyes flashes with a hint of nostalgia and he does the stop again.

    With growing interest, I once again waddle my head up and down to inform him I¡¯m all ears. Satisfied with my reaction he resumes his dialog ¡° I see you got interested in the job I¡¯m proposing to you. As for the charges I wish to know, beforehand, how much is worth your time to do so.¡±

    ¡°My fees are the same as the fixed in the guild. Two crowns per day of labor¡± Depending on the history he tells me, considering he¡¯s someone that can make the king himself go fetch a writer, the fees can be, eventually, dismissed. The histories he could have to tell should increase our knowledge about events that happened or even change the way history was recorded!

    A gentle smile crossed his face just before he opened it to say ¡° Great, I¡¯ll tell you from beginning to end the history of a great character, in charge of immense power. One that changed the course of history some time ago. A history that has never been heard of in any book, be it new be it old.¡±

    Jackpot, I thought. ¡° Really? ¡° I exclaimed unable to contain my excitement. My passion for history has always been what motivate my life. Despite my urges to not sleep alone.

    ¡°Yes, but not right now.¡± Hank said looking again at the stove ¡°The stew is ready!¡±. He stood up made the table, and served the pork stew. The fragrance was mouth watering. He filled my bowl and gave it to me with a spoon.

    It was delicious. Very simple, with fresh ingredients, probably found in the woods but it only accentuates a warm feeling, similar to the one that surrounded the rest of the house. We ate in silence, not an uncomfortable one, looking Hank eat was, mildly saying, soothing. Which brings me to question the origin of the emotions I feel in this house. Maybe the source of the ingrained warmth the house emanated was his very presence embedded in the objects. When we finished dining, Hank stood up and cleaned the table.¡±Now that we have our bellies full, we can start my reminiscences¡± he said solemnly.

    Taking the bag of holding on the chair next to me, and placing my writing utensil on top of the table I asked: ¡° We¡¯ll be talking about whom? ¡°. An enigmatic grin emerged on Hank¡¯s face and almost with a jovial glow he asnwered¡° That shall be unveiled as we proceed with the story¡± the grin faded and he continued ¡°worry not, though, it shall be clear to all at the very beginning of it. Now, if what I''ll say here is true or just a figment of an ancient aimless soul is up to you to decide."

    Okay, I thought. I have a megalomaniac as patron. My earlier excitement for nothing, looking at the bright side, I¡¯ll at least earn my living here and should be glad this damned forest didn¡¯t kill me. For sure I heard that here was the lair of powerful beasts, and even sang tales of brave heroes dying facing them off before. Those bastards from the library should¡¯ve plotted against me. Send someone here without a bloody escort is murder. Yet, here I am, didn¡¯t face a single beast on my way here, the core of the forest no less! Hank should have some sort of control over the forest flora and fauna to grant me a free pass to his house, otherwise, I don¡¯t see how I could¡¯ve made my way here alive.

    It¡¯s a bummer this won¡¯t change the annals but it sure will keep me entertained. Getting my feather out of its case and placing my stack of sheets over the table, I said: ¡°I¡¯m ready to start¡±. Hank gave me a slight nod and made himself comfortable on the chair with armchairs I swear wasn¡¯t there before and opened his mouth ¡± In a far away time unbeknownst by the gods, I was born in a small village¡­¡± wrapped around the once again present fatality of his words I lost myself in writing.

    The mystery has been unveiled rather soon... a thought I barely missed due to his overwhelming baritone voice.

    ¡°Henry!! Lunch is ready.¡± Mother shouted from inside. And as a good son I am, I replied: ¡°I¡¯m coming!¡±. I was fifteen by the time, we lived in a hut by the border of the village and owned a small field for harvesting nearby.

    Arriving, after five more shouts from mom, at the table. Dad and mom were already serving themselves. I didn¡¯t do much speaking after sitting myself, just half-heard dad talking to mom while eating.

    ¡°You saw that Arnold is hanging out with Lily behind Trevor¡¯s back?¡± Mom asked, showing a little disdain in her face. The same face she does when dad look at the lady from the greengrocer in Canute when we go there to do the monthly shopping. Maybe they¡¯re seeing each other behind mom¡¯s back? And she knows? No¡­ dad wouldn''t do it.

    ¡°I knew¡± he said in a tired voice ¡° Last week Trevor saw both of em together and wanted to make things clear with him. Arnold saw him coming with an angry face and darted away in fear. But he stumbled on a rock and fell on his hand, grating his knees and elbows.¡± dad gave a little sight as if that was not enough ¡° The dumbass broke his hand on top of it, now he won''t be able to help me with the harvest.¡±

    ¡°How I only come to know of this one week after!?¡± Mom exclaimed in incredulity. Her priorities obviously far from what was on the table.

    ¡°I only know of this cause Arnold is bad at lying and I wasn¡¯t buying his bullshit. So he told me the full history. Of course, he didn¡¯t narrate it that way, but knowing him, what I said shouldn¡¯t be far from the truth.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, such big gossip and I wasn¡¯t aware of it. I should hang out more with the girls in the tavern¡± mom said in a dissatisfied tone.

    ¡°What are you doing this afternoon, son?¡± Mother said shifting her gaze from dad to me.

    Here it comes. ¡°I¡¯ll collect food in the woods¡± I said with a pleading look, knowing she would send me to do something for her. ¡° I don¡¯t know what you were doing just now when we were speaking, but Hank will need your help this year with the field. You¡¯ll need to replace your uncle since he broke his hand. Which means no more kidding around in the woods this month.¡± Dad looked at me and agreed with mom.

    I guess the puppy look doesn''t work anymore, I¡¯ll need another tactic for the next time.¡± This sucks! ¡° pouting for a second, just for the show. They know I¡¯ll help them without complaining.

    Fastening the horse in the carriage, dad and I went to the field to start the harvesting. It was a sunny day, no clouds on sight. The sun burning our skins as we labored and sweated all day. In the beginning, I was a little clumsy with the tools, but, as the end of the month was getting closer, my productivity increased tremendously. And that''s how our boring laborious days went for the month: reaping the harvest and filling the cart with it, by the end of the day we would dump it on the warehouse near the house.

    The harvest was good and we did it on time despite my slow pace at the beggining. In the end, for every sack of wheat I filled, dad filled twice as much. Not a miraculous feat considering he was bulked up with muscles and years of practice against my scrawny teenager body with four threads of beard to its name. Not the biggest of man, my dad, with his one dot eighty-five meters, but he looked like a bull when doing his job.

    Relentless.

    Tanner than ever, I went back to the forest after my long absence. My sanctuary, a place to relieve the boredom of my days, play with the critters, hunt little animals and collect mushrooms and herbs that mom could use to cook. And of course, a place with no moms to get nagged at.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Following the river, I saw a little deer on the other side of the riverbank. Fast with my hands, aiming with the bow I carried on my back, I shoot the arrow in the deer''s direction, but, in my one month vacation from the woods, I must have lost my hand for such delicate thing and ended missing the arrow. The deer ran away from the river into the woods.

    Not pleased with my first hunt in a month slipping between my fingers, I crossed the river, retrieved the stray arrow and searched for its footprints. Tracking marks through the forest weren¡¯t easy for someone who didn¡¯t have specific training. Without realizing, I got myself in the deeper part of the forest. Mom told me to never cross the river, but what can I do? I¡¯m in my teens with no fear for my life nor anything blatantly dangerous on sight.

    Chasing the little deer with increasing impatience I finally found the jumpy little fella. It was eating something behind a big rock, I could only see it¡¯s hind legs. Again aiming with my bow I shoot, this time it was right on target. The quadruped jumped and fell to the ground, with its front legs it tried to get on its feet but to no avail, without the support of the hinder leg, he wasn¡¯t going anywhere so soon. Getting closer and unsheathing my big sword, also know as moms kitchen knife, I ended its life with a swift stab behind the ribs, piercing through the heart and ending its torment.

    So I thought, the animal screeched in agony. Blood oozing out of the cut, I tried to take the knife off but the handle broke in my miscarried attempt. Shity knife, I¡¯ll talk to mom about the quality of the cutlery she buys from Harold.

    Not knowing what to do, I waited for its death in silence. It wasn''t a long wait, a big artery must''ve ruptured, in an inexplicable long two minutes the light on its eyes faded. Sad about the suffering caused to the poor beast, I started to clean it up. Promising myself to improve my executing skills for the next time I try to kill another living being. Hoping this horror show doesn¡¯t happen again.

    As I was eviscerating the animal I noticed the grass it was eating by the rock was shining a dim light. Greedy fella died by his own urges. Getting closer to better inspect the phenomenon, it was emanating some kind of green sparkling aura. Uprooting the grass, I pocket it in my bag, hoping it was a magic grass.

    As I was getting a hold of the carcass to bring it back home, I heard a ferocious roar nearby, freezing up with fear I dart my eyes around looking for a way out. Beside the place of the uprooted grass, between rock and soil, a slit big enough for me to fit in could be seen. Shocking the fear away from my legs, I jumped in the slit without thinking and went as far away from its entrance as I could.

    Shit, it looks like we aren¡¯t so different, Jumpy. In the middle of my comparison, I saw myself falling down a hole.

    Hope the beast is big enough to not fit in the slit, I thought. Looking around the place I fell, found myself in an ample cave, with water in the lower part about ten meters from the place I was. The floor was overgrown with the same grass found on the entrance. The feeling of oneness with the place was fantastic! The threat outside almost forgotten, I throw myself on the floor and start to roll around like the kid I was.

    In the middle of my glee I come to a sudden realization, how am I going to leave this place!? The hole I came from was at least four meters from the ground, far from the walls, meaning that I can¡¯t escalate the wall to reach the exit. Stopping my rolling around, I contemplate my options or the lack of thereof, I can¡¯t go back from where I came, there¡¯s no way out! I¡¯m in deep shit, mom gonna look at me and say ¡°told you to not cross the river¡±. If I ever see her again!

    Calm down, Hank, and think straight here. Otherwise I''m not going anywhere.

    Ok, If I don¡¯t come back home till noon father will probably send a rescue party to find me. But it can take too long, even days to find me! They won¡¯t start looking across the river till morrow morning, there is no point dispatching a party to their demise for a little boy. Oh god, I¡¯ma gonna starve to death in this ... beautiful, peaceful and warmful place. Well, it¡¯s not that bad¡­

    ¡°Hahahahahahaha¡± came a cackling from the spring. And I started in its direction. With only its upper body out of the water, there was an exquisite woman.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± I uttered in a rush.

    Her laughter ceased a couple of seconds after, regaining a little of her bearings. Staring up at me, she said with an amused look ¡°How can you have so many different faces in such a short stretch of time?¡± chuckling a little after she ended.

    Looking at her was mesmerizing. I couldn¡¯t help but stare at her elongated face, long wavy blond hair falling from her head as a golden river. The eyes dragged my gaze, as the tide drags the ocean, along with my very soul.

    ¡°What a bold little youngling we have here¡± She said dismissing my earlier question. And why am I all wet? Holy mother, why I¡¯m in her embrace? ¡±I like it!¡± a mischievous grin plastered across her face, one so so close to my face that the freshness of her breath could be felt brushing against my scarlet cheeks.

    Her arms nestled between our with her forefinger gently tracing over my burning cheeks, subtly going down my covered chest, and pushing me a little further from herself and,despite the wetness from the wool cloth I was wearing cooling down my skin, her finger''s soft touch didn¡¯t diminish the heat crawling down my skin, setting my mind ablaze. My mind was on the brink of collapse. Her scent was alluring, sweet lavender flooding my nostrils making my heart stomp inside my ears. Taking my hands from her back to free me of my clothing in an attempt to start something I would probably die for, I was suddenly interrupted.

    ¡°Tusa, cease the flirting with the kid. We have things to do¡± the sound came booming from the pool. The cave shook as the voice reverberated in the little cave. It made my pounding heart abruptly stop, draining all the blood from my face and something, its turgidity going to waste. The sudden change in mood almost scared me to death.

    ¡®What a bummer¡± Tusa said in a disappointed tone, look like she was also having fun... teasing me. She wouldn¡¯t go to the very end with it, would she? Mother fucker, cockblocking me for nothing. ¡°Never saw a jealous god before¡­ hmpf¡± she said staring at the deeper part of the pool. Hope he doesn¡¯t read minds though. The cave shook again. Oh, my¡­ god? ¡°Fine! Little one, let¡¯s finish this some other time¡± she said with a small grin, taking a quick glimpse at my hips and submerging in the water.

    ¡°I¡¯m not that little!!¡± I shouted, realizing what she meant by little, to the fading figure in the water. I¡¯m not that little! reassuring myself in my mind.

    Bringing myself out of the pool dripping with water and incredulity in the face. They departed leaving me trapped in the cave, couldn''t they have rid me of this lame situation, it shouldn''t be a big deal for them. Should`ve asked if this grass is edible at least. Now I¡¯ll only know after I eat it, I thought while crunching down to grab a handful of weeds on the floor and sit in the same motion.

    It had the impressive taste of¡­ turf. Don''t know what I was expecting, not disappointed though. After eating a handful of grass the feeling of satiation came remarkably fast considering what has been eaten. Leaned with my back against the floor waiting for the outcome of my eatings.

    After what I thought was one hour of waiting, the only thing that came was my sleep in the dim green-lighted cave. I¡¯ve been having dreamless nights since the day dad asked for help with the field. But this time, maybe the change in routine has stirred my subconsciousness, especially losing my mind when I saw Tusa, the dream was vivid. My parents had bared a beautiful daughter and the new house member delighted me to no end.

    Bringing her around Aretureios, the river that crosses the village, she couldn''t help but run towards the calm waters near the riverbank when she was close enough to behold its beauty.

    The adorable little lad running towards the water while the sun grew redder and bigger behind her. Making her features darker each step taken, helping her blend with the scenery. Making it easy to see the clouds behind her forming wings shooting out of her frail little back, soaked in crimson by the bleeding sun. The blue of the water from the river creating the illusion of a vast sky to fly on with those majestic wings. The rush came to a halt when her feets touched the cold water from the river. Breaking me out of my reverie.

    When I caught up to her she was joyfully building a house in the mud with a wide smile on her sandy face. I couldn¡¯t help but get infatuated with the sight. What¡¯s the worth of the sun if we can¡¯t even cherish our loved one having a good time.

    ¡°What a beautiful house, Angel. Who¡¯s going to live there?¡± I asked in a soothing voice looking at the mud-house-to-be on the wet ground, afraid that I would abruptly wake up of this idyllic world if the wrong word was said.

    She straightened up from the ground and said: ¡°Me¡± faltering a little while pointing out her index finger. ¡°Mom¡± middle finger out and a little bit more of decisiveness in her tone. ¡°Dad¡± ring finger out and a face that would make a grown up man question what could make a kid have a so stern of a face. ¡°And¡­¡± she dropped her counting hands as well as the serious face to a cute one and rushed in my direction, arms wide open and a grin bearing a cheerful laughter.

    That¡¯s a hug that I¡¯ll never have the pleasure to feel.

    ¡°Hank!!¡± came a shout from the hole in the ceiling. ¡°Are you in there!?¡± it didn¡¯t reverberate like the domineering voice that came from the water, but it was enough to wake me from my dreams. ¡°Hank?¡± came again the voice, a little bit weaker than before, as if the owner of the voice was ready to forget about this spot in disappointment and depart to look around another place.

    I opened my eyes to a pitch black cave. ¡°sigh¡± One more second and I would be blessed with a hug from my adorable imaginary little sister. And what has happened to the light coming from the grass? Did it die while I was asleep? Well, I ate it and nothing happened, it should not be of great value otherwise there wouldn¡¯t be so many lying around here.

    ¡°I¡¯m here!!¡± I shouted at the top of my lungs. It came out more like a screech than a normal scream for help. But it did its job, a weak ¡°Thank god¡± came as he praised ¡°Are you in there Hank? Are you alright?¡± he asked again with a excited tone¡° Yes! just trapped in here, though. If you guys drop a rope I might be able to get back up there just fine¡± I said as loud as my dried up and raspy throat could manage.

    Hearing that everything was fine, except the trapped situation, the person outside started to shout from right to left announcing that he had found the lost person.

    Did he hear the thing about the rope? I thought afraid he hadn`t heard me yet relieved to know there`s someone who knows where I am meanwhile waiting for my rescuers. Brushing the sleep away from my eye. Hope they don¡¯t take too long to bring a rope down here. I¡¯m famished!

    My worries were for naught, five minutes from the shouting outside and my father¡¯s head was popping out of the hole with an oil lamp. ¡°Son! Are you alright?¡± he asked concerned. Looking up teary-eyed and almost choking in my own concealed cries, I mustered a weak ¡°yes¡± out of my mouth. Had to keep a strong face.

    ¡°Don¡¯t know why children try so hard to sound tough¡­ sigh¡±. Hank said with a stern voice, seemingly to no one. Breaking my concentration and putting an abrupt stop to my feather.

    ¡°Humm¡± I said in contemplation. ¡°Maybe we¡¯re trying to show to our old ones that we¡¯re doing fine, that we can manage ourselves alone.¡± I mused in a quiet hoarse voice.

    ¡°You must be right, Jake.¡± he said contemplating the ceiling. ¡±Well, it¡¯s late now. We should sleep, tomorrow we¡¯ll resume our little chat.¡± standing up and going in the direction of the door by the chimney side, he stopped at its entrance and made a gesture for me to go inside. ¡°First door to the right¡± he said as I passed him by. ¡°The room is ready, if you want to clean yourself off there¡¯s a tub in your bathroom.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll help myself then.¡± acknowledging Hank, who followed behind me after I moved into the corridor. Opening the door and looking at the ample room. There were a big bed, a wardrobe, and a writing table. ¡°Good night, young one.¡± Hank said as he crossed my doorstep. ¡°Night, old man!¡± I replied in an unusual familiar way that I didn¡¯t intend to use. He chuckled without ceasing his walk to the bedroom.

    At least he took it lightly. Dropping my bag on the table, arranging its stuff on top of it. Shit, only brought traveling clothing. Have to remember to bring casual clothes the next time a job outside the city is offered. Opening the wardrobe to keep my things, the sight of four pairs of casual clothes blessed my vision, similar to the one Hank was using. Good, he lent me some comfy clothes.

    Bet he sure knows this writing session will take a while. It¡¯s been one night and we ain¡¯t past the introduction. Hope it won¡¯t take more than six days, the Closing Year Royal Party will take place then. Wherein music must be played and girls courted and who shines better than me at such finely crafted stage. I thought about in discontentment at the perspective of losing this once a year oppor¡­ event.

    ¡°Nice!¡± I exclaimed in excitement to no one inside the bathroom. Temporary relieving me of my rumination, the water in the tub was at the perfect temperature! God, if this place had more people it would be paradise. Smells of forest and humidity instead of the shitty air in the city. Has green and wood where you set your eyes on, instead of the shit you lay your foot on in the roads of the city. And above all the formerly stated, the royal scrubs and the shitty face they make all the time. Don¡¯t know how their facial muscles can keep up with the task, must be the scent of shit all over the place that bothers em or the folks from town, anyway, either smells the same from their eyes. Or nose?

    Covering myself with a blanket in the bed. The sleep came fast while surrounded by the gentle aura the house emits.

 Chapter 002

    ¡°Jake, wake up.¡± Hank said outside the door. Fuck, how long I¡¯ve been asleep! It feels like I`ve been sleeping for ages. ¡°Come, breakfast is ready¡± Hank added after a short pause, probably ensuring that I was awake. Well, breakfast usually is early in the morning, i thought answering myself. ¡°I¡¯m awake¡± came my lazy retort, I have a terrible mood by the morning... how can someone leave the bed with a big smile in the face? Shouldn¡¯t be a long sleep if it''s breakfast time,It¡¯s been a while since the last time I had such a good night of sleep, although it was interrupted short in the morning.

    Sitting in the bed to prepare my mind and body for the long day ahead of me. A valuable lesson learned along years of hearing boring history for days with no end to it. ¡°Just washing in here and I¡¯ll be joining you shortly¡± If you¡¯re supposed to have a strenuous day with little to no time to oneself, do it before getting up as best as you can. It might be the only time you¡¯ll have to yourself for the whole day. Especially if you¡¯re going to spend it writing the rambles of an old man through it. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be waiting¡± he said as his footsteps could be heard moving away through the corridor.

    Staring at the blanket covering the emptiness in my bed, I gave a low sight. One night alone and the grumpy man inside me comes out stronger than ever, nice. Brushing the back of my hand against my eyes in a failed attempt to clean it, I stood up. How come there¡¯s so much eye discharge today. I''ll borrow a set of clothes from the closet and head to the bathroom.

    As I tread to the bathroom¡¯s direction to do my consecrated morning ablutions, a sound coming from outside the house comes to my attention. The birds sure are doing their job today, don¡¯t know how it had taken old Hank to wake me up with all this noise. Nevertheless a delightful show for the ears, perhaps I was enjoying it in my sleep, a cause for my lack of response in spite of all the noise. I thought, bearing an improved mood as I now headed to the main room of the log house with a clean body and a fresh smile.

    While walking through the corridor, the strange aura made me recollect what happened yesterday in that cave. What¡¯s up with that grass emitting green aura from it? He mentioned it had a soothing feeling, maybe it''s the same one this house has.

    Which brings me to think about that weird dream with the angel children, it was a short walk on the riverbank yet so much sentiment overflowed from Hank. Not only his speech but his posture and something else. Something I can¡¯t quite put into words, you know when there¡¯s something on the tip of your tongue but you can¡¯t put your finger on it.

    And most important of all, how come the gods are oblivious of the time described by Hank if humans started to band together and depend less on foraging with the crop discovery roughly two thousand years ago. He lived in a post-crop-revolution era as the field harvesting along with the existence of a settlement suggests.

    A nymph was talking to a God. Aren¡¯t they immortals? How come they wouldn¡¯t know about it. Even if they died, two thousand years shouldn''t be enough to erase his story from their pool of knowledge.

    ¡°Hank?¡± Looking at a bird flying out off the window above the kitchen sink, I called out for Hank who wasn¡¯t sitting in the chair at the table we chatted last night as I thought he would be.

    ¡°Outside¡± he gave a short reply. An accurate one, no less.

    Coming out of the house, he was sitting on a chair, a rocking one, with a stranger on a regular chair over the grass-covered clearing, facing the forest with their back to the house, roughly five meters from its entrance. Birds chirping as they flew about in glee around the duo.

    The woman, as I could distinguish after coming around the chairs, wasn¡¯t in the least bit old. A girl in her eighteen at maximum. She exuded an exotic feeling about her, not quite the same as Hank and his heartwarming aura that gives rise to a welcoming feel, but one of freshness, the same one you feel when under a tree. Furthermore, it hides a wilderness, a thrill for adventure behind a thin veil, as if covering something from all to see yet craving it to be shown pridefully.

    As I got closer, the feeling didn''t intensify but a better view of the stranger could be witnessed. She didn¡¯t have a voluptuous build as the concubines of the nobles usually had, just a captivating beauty bolstered by its wild plainness.

    When eye contact was possible, she opened it slowly and fixated it on me. The yellow iris, burning my own slightly darker eyes with fierceness, impelled a sudden stop to my walking. ¡°Hello¡± she said with a bit of cautiousness but not the least bit timid, on the contrary, the fervor present in her tone was no lesser in intensity than the fierceness from her motion stopping eyes, even when it was said in a low voice, nor the stuffed out chest with her perfectly erect spine while seated in the wooden chair. A regal stance ready to challenge the world.

    How couldn''t I be overwhelmed by all of it?

    How come anyone introduced to me in this house makes me lose my gait.

    When the lack of response from my part was evident, she gave me a small grin, and I swear, two fangs as white as ivory could be seen coming out of her thin lips. Followed by a chuckle from Hank ¡°This, young one, is Nevere. A student of mine.¡± he said trying to mediate the situation ¡°She doesn¡¯t bite, though¡± he finished after a short pause with a wide grin of his own, a gentle one no less, as if he had read my mind and made an innocent mockery out of me or... was he helping me out of my silence by distracting me?

    This strange aura of his is inducing mixed feelings on my already shaken head.

    No more than ten minutes from my matinal rituals and it is already paying its dividends. Good job past me, good job. I thought with pride, the last bit of it.

    I seriously don¡¯t think my heart can take another encounter like this.

    ¡°Hello¡± I uttered nervously, very different from the ferocious tone Nevere expressed herself, like a sheep bleating to an intruder wolf.

    ¡°And this is Jake¡± Hank finished for me in his chair, pointing his hand in my direction. The old herding dog helping the stray sheep out of tough circumstances.

    "Jake, accompany us in our frugal picknick, the table has fresh fruits, juice, and bread." Hank informed me and after a little break, his face did a little twitch and finally, barely containing himself, complementing "If you don''t mind a suggestion, the papaya has an excellent taste, the sweetness is just spot on."

    Looking at his sparkling eyes while presenting his suggestion, like an old grandpa giving advice to his grandchild, I couldn''t help but be heartfelt. "I''ll make sure to have a taste of it, Hank. Your recommendation is very welcome."

    A laughing snort came from Nevere as I was getting a papaya¡¯s half from the small table. Between chuckles, she muttered " You two spend a night together and becomes best buddies. He''s even using the same type of clothes as you." ceasing the laughter and a straighter countenance, she finished her thoughts " I''m glad you''re making new friends, though" then she peeled a banana and started to eat it.

    ¡°It''s always a joyful occasion to make a new friend" Hank said " We''ve come to know each other for a brief time, that''s true. Yet, the sentiment bonding the two of us growing stronger in the inside is undeniable. But who knows what''s stored for the next day. Maybe tomorrow we''re at each other throats." he said with a dim light in his eyes.

    "Don''t start with cheap sentimentalism, old man" Nevere intervened. " Yesterday you summoned me here to hear what you have promised me. The histories of the time you were young and refused to talk about it with me till yesterday. And for only god knows why you took this long to do it." she said taking her focus away from the half-eaten banana and looking at my innocent self, pondering over the origin of a new chair at Hank''s side, with a papaya and a wooden spoon, one on each hand. He grew an armchair for me on this one at least.

    "Right, in light of your complaints, I was going to inform you that we started yesterday night my reminiscence..." Hank was saying when "You.." Nevere tried to cut him but he insisted impassively "...and I have the intention to continue it today, yesterday was just a small talk to get the engine oiled. And it has apparently worked, like you said, we''re best buddies now." looking at me with a glint in his eyes as he continued " Nothing that will jeopardize your understanding of future past-events, naturally" he finished and gave me a discrete wink with his left eye, the one Nevere couldn''t see.

    "True story, Hank. Just some tale of a fearless young man hunting a little deer in the village''s backyard forest, just to find a peerless woman and gods. Nothing of worth." giving a little help to the old fella. Who knows how much help he needs with an obvious headstrong student like her.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    " Gods and a woman?... hmpf. Glad I didn''t rush here yesterday to hear you two babbling about woman." at least she didn''t sound displeased with the hyperbolic way I addressed yesterday events. And damn man, this papaya is so delicious. ¡°Now that scaredy cat is here we can begin, Uncle.¡± she finished.

    ¡°Not so fast Nevere, I¡¯ll only start when Jake finishes his breakfast. He needs to set his pen and papers on a desk beforehand. And you need to demonstrate the spells in the spellbook I asked out of you to practice this month. Don''t you go thinking I¡¯ve forgotten about it? Stand up, you can start with Nevasca.¡± when he said the last word, despite not knowing what it meant, I felt a slight disturbance in the ambient as if it reacted when hearing it, pleading to do his bidding but in the end getting somehow frustrated.

    Nevere stood up and materialized a two-meter staff with a rainbow jewel attached to each end of the white shaft. Oh, that ring on her finger must be a spatial ring. I thought in surprise, it was the first time I saw someone draw something out of it from this proximity. They are a scarce resource in the empire, only people with great influence could possibly have it. The last time one came to my sight was when the emperor himself was giving an opening speech to the Closing Year Royal Party, he produced an azure long sword from thin air, but, fortunately, it wasn''t the most mind-boggling part of the presentation. As he brandished the sword and pointed it to the heavens, a majestic fire dragon, the same shade of blue as his sword, soared through the skies as his lips moved with a soundless chant, fantastic. At the time, the sword appearing out of nowhere couldn''t catch much attention in the middle of the event. You know? an azure fire-dragon doing an aerial show of acrobatics and stuff for all to see. Then, after five minutes of maneuvers, mighty roars and dozens of fire-breaths the dragon went high up in the skies and exploded in a beautiful spectacle of lights.

    Yeah, a sword popping out of nowhere doesn''t look that exceptional.

    Nevere looked at the forest fifty meters from us and pointed the staff in its direction, suddenly bright blue little runes appeared and started to rotate around the forward jewel of the staff. Then the clouds started to blacken and a cold wind rushed against us. Hank was looking at it intently as the clouds were darkening, with his flying dark-brown hair. Until he produced a small grin and waved his hand once. The forming storm soon dissipated before it could shed a single drop of water. ¡°Well done, child. Proceed.¡± he said as if nothing happened.

    Another set of runes, this one green, appeared again around the same jewel of the staff and a gust of wind rushed through the forest, cutting trees for couple hundred meters in a big arc. Holy mother, how can someone so young yield so much destructive power? Another nod and wave of hand from Hank and the forest started, bustling to reconstruct itself, the trees on the ground created wood arms and reattach itself to the ground with the aid of the new limbs, the same way it was before the magical gust of wind had hit it.

    ¡°You can improve a little with the rune''s cast time. The amount of mana summoned, though, went beyond my expectation for a chantless spell cast at such high speed. Truly great work, child. The last one now.¡± Hank added.

    A brown set of runes appeared this time, and the floor shook as two giant four meters tall hands erupted from the ground ahead of us and started to fight each other in a series of slaps, punches and chops. Every hit that made contact, the ground trembled. Again, Hank waved his hand and the giant hands crumbled to dust. ¡°The cast time was perfect with this spell, lass. The finer control of the magic after its cast, on the other hand, could be smoother. Try to leave a mana link to your magic, this way you will achieve finer control of your spells after you cast it. You¡¯ll need to manipulate your mana to make the thread thinner, that way you¡¯ll use less mana to control it. Got it?¡± he asked Nevere ¡° Yes Uncle.¡± she consented. ¡°I¡¯ll have you practice more spells that require a finer control after its cast. It should further improve your control over the mana thread as you get used to it through practice.¡± he said to her, and she nodded in agreement. "Youngling, you can resume eating."

    "Oh, sorry. It¡¯s not every day you see someone displaying magic of this caliber." I amended in a rush not even trying to conceal my amazement for the display of prowess shown by Nevere. The fresh feeling I felt when we just met intensified and her face was brimming with pride when I said that with such regard. Hank¡¯s face was jubilant too. Who doesn¡¯t want your pupil to succeed in his pursuits, furthermore, when it¡¯s in the pursuit of magical arts, renowned for its difficulty to achieve mastery over. I don¡¯t know much about magic, but I¡¯ve come to know a few magicians from the low city and they can¡¯t even hold a candle when compared to what I have just witnessed, showcasing how amazing she is at such young age. Of course, it wasn''t as grand as the emperor''s fire dragon. But hey, who''s the emperor other than the empire¡¯s ultimate protector. As for Hank?

    "Fast, uncle. Summon a table for Jake" Nevere said when she confirmed that the last bite of papaya went down my throat. Finished the magic demonstration, she stood beside the small table until I finished the papaya with her right hand holding her staff on her shoulders and her left foot pushed the towel over the small table and rested on it. Her left arm was resting on her elevated leg, which supported her arched body.

    "Wait a sec-" just as I was going to explain that my feather and papers were at my bedroom, a tree started to grow near us, startling me out of my speech. Its branches stretching and thickening until we were bathed by its shade, the singing birds who had fled when the bustling tree came upward, now lodged themselves in its branches. Providing they don¡¯t shit while above us, all is fine. Suddenly, four sticks grew at my feet. Elongating as they took the form of an elaborated desk, this one a bit more rustic than the one inside the house, with leaves coming out of its leg and flowers blossoming in the table top corners as well as a cushion? What is this on the right side for?

    Hank, who was at the chair by my side, stretched his hand in my direction, with an untainted white feather, a transparent gem was attached between the tip and its body, in his grip. "Use this magical feather. Guess you''d lose some years of your life if you took your time to fetch the one in your bedroom right now." He said utterly unfazed.

    Still a little dazed I said "Oh! Thanks". Well, suspect that, at this point, what Hank does here can''t be considered magic anymore. "But I still need to get the papers in there." I continued after a couple of seconds. Just to be greeted by a small chuckle. Not even sparing me a glance, as he took attention of Nevere leaving the table side to her chair''s direction, he said:"look at your desk, Lad." and I did, leaving my sight of her. Only to see papers neatly stacked over it.

    When I turned over again, Nevere was pulling her chair to face our direction, right beside my desk. The table with food had vanished alongside my papaya peel and spoon. When she noticed we were looking at her, she said: ¡°What? I don¡¯t like looking to the side when hearing someone, right? Don¡¯t we have to look at each other face when talking?¡± her lost regal posture resurfaced mid-sentence. Her intentions clear: am I right or am I very right? Scrubs. She turned her chair to face our direction. Finished it by pushing the other side till the right armchair bumped at the side of my table, then she hopped over the chair and looked expectant toward Hank.

    "Alright, lass." Hank said sounding defeated. "You ready with the pen, Jake?" he said turning his gaze at me with an invigorated excitement in his eyes. His aura as if on cue shifted to a livelier mood.

    "I don''t have ink." I responded. Hank chuckled and said: ¡°just think there¡¯s already ink on the tip.¡± Looking at hank as if he was nuts, I did as he asked me to. And at this point, I confess, don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll be surprised if it works or if it doesn''t. Dipping the tip of the feather over the paper, it did indeed scratch it¡¯s surface with a black tincture, as a misty cloud started to pass through the gem attached to the quill.

    This shit sure is magical.

    This quill would be a very welcome acquisition for me. The ink in the streets are worthless, the sellers water it to increase profits, thus the ink loses severely in quality. And the good ones are prohibitively expensive. My income as a writer isn''t enough to support these luxuries. The only option available is to manufacture my own ink, monotonous long hours grinding plant dyes. To top it off, the ink from this pen is thicker than normal and it has something that makes the letters glow in a multicolored way, giving an extravagant feel to it.

    "Uncle, is it powered by a mana crystal?" Nevere said propped over my desk over the estrange cushion and looking at the ink flowing out of the pen into the paper. Ha! The cushion is for you! How does Hank new she would do that? She came so near to the desk just to look at what I''m writing, little twerp! And when did she get in there?

    Hank didn''t immediately reply as he was looking at the ink with a slight frown. After a brief moment of contemplation, he struck a short "No" to which Nevere brows jumped up in surprise. " Ho..." She started but lost her words as she spoke.

    Guess I''m not the only one surprised here. But something tells me they are thoroughly surprised, different from my ¡®yet not so surprise¡¯ " That''s a good question, child. One that I, unfortunately, do not have an answer to." he said with his frown still on the face " The how is a puzzle I can''t solve yet. However, the what, that... that''s different. Having chromatic mana and still be magic unawakened at such an age... terrible lack of foresight by the empire." Here he started to mumble.

    "That old fart don''t take care of the realm in a long time. While he stays locked up in the Palace, doing only God knows what, those two old foxes from the council who can''t see two fingers further from their arses are colluding with merchants to pocket extra cash. Dad has been out for more than ten years now. Sleazy bastards, the day I redress this situation has yet to come, and they are the first on my reckoning list." She said losing herself in rage as she talked.

    "Is she really talking that way about The Great Sage?" Muttering to no one in particular as I tried to digest the casualty in the way she was addressing the old Emperor. Then it came to me. Nevere isn''t her name, it''s short for Guinevere. "Who else would I be talking about?" She unexpectedly answered in a foul mood to my musings. But she is at least ten year older than me, how can this be possible?

    "Are you Guinevere? From the imperial family of Ignatius?" I blurted out. " Took you a while to figure it out, hmm" she retorted. "But your eyes, they are no..." I tried to ask. "Oh! that''s a myth. It''s not all Ignatius that has a crimson iris, but that''s not important" she interrupted my line of thought and gazed at Hank " Old man. The pen, how is it possible?".

    Hank stopped the mumbling and looked at me. " Perhaps... his mana pool is big enough to support the travel through his body?" he said pensively. "But... me not feeling his mana is one thing, now, you not feeling it?" she said in disbelief. "I, actually, can feel his mana. It''s just that I''ve never seen a mana reservoir so deeply attached to the soul. When I quickly measured him up yesterday, I didn''t notice his larger than usual amount of mana, as I had yet to come across such an unusualphenomenon, making it slip my perception." The art of saying without saying, come on Babbler Geezer "They look like they''re merged, usually, the mana has a connection to the soul, but his. It''s like they''re overlapped. A boundaryless state. Curious." for each sentence, he would give a little break time in his musings, turning the already unbearable long explanation harder to keep up the attention.

    And what the fuck are they talking about? It''s like I''m not even here as they focused intently at my confused self. "Hey!" I said with a little louder voice than normal, trying to grab their attention. Sure that I had it from them "what''s so weird about this pen?"I finally mustered. Could I keep it as a souvenir? I thought, coveting the gorgeous little pen.

    "The pen isn''t the problem, it''s you" at least he didn''t say it was him. That would be batshit crazy "Basically, you have a mana reservoir bigger than many full-fledged mages with your magic power still asleep. Which means, in the worst case scenario, it would be thousands of times bigger than now if you had awakened your magical capabilities at the right time." hmm, so I''m fucking awesome? but suck at it. However " What is that magic awakening thing?" I finally asked what was troubling me.

    This time, less distracted, Hank explained: " You must know it as ''Nature gift'', ''Godly blessing'' or something of the kind. And it''s not totally wrong, it¡¯s just the term usually used is a little faulty. A better term would be a ''contract'' or ¡®pact¡¯. Not with celestial beings, but with the very elements. When a person awakens their magical ability, they create a sort of bond with it. This way, you acquire the capacity to cooperate directly with the elements you have an affinity, and they lend their powers when summoned. We do it by studying the ancient language and its runes as well as it''s nuances and peculiarities."

    He stopped and gave a small frown, then continued "But I digress, the point here is the pace they harness resources from the outside. When the bound is forged, the rate is increased by this deeper and stronger affinity, which grants an increased mana pool growth as they are better nourished by the elements when compared to a slumbered one. Especially if they do it while the soul is still been molded by the new body " Hank finally finished his monologue with "What I''m saying is that you would have a mana pool hundred of times Nevere''s, in this case. "

    Sometimes I''m not ready to take in the answers to my own questions. Play it cool, nothing is wrong. "Is that much? And the chromatic mana you mentioned before?".

    "Let''s get back to the history, lad. Your doubts will be answered as we go through it. As much of it will be explained as we tread this shady path." he said looking at the birds in the treetop, as he slowly rocked his chair.

 Chapter 003

    I stared deep into the eyes of my opponent, the rage evident for all of those circling around the fighting camp. Five meters from him and the light from the shining torches could be seen reflected in the sweat falling down his jaw and also covered his expanding and contracting exposed chest.

    From the looks of his breathing, rapid and deep, he''s running out of gas. Dusk was falling quickly, the sun positioned right behind me. Right, it''s been a long fight, not the most pleasurable for me neither since my right arm is burning with pain as well as my lungs. Let''s put an end to this, shall we?

    Charging yet again, ¡°mother fucker!¡± He screamed between howls, incensed. I don¡¯t blame him, to be honest. It¡¯s the fourteenth minute of fight and no blood has been shed by either party. Not for the lack of trying, though. The lunatic was charging at me without stopping for the full length of it.

    However, these ceaseless charges were paying its toll despite his evident better-prepared shape. Sidestepping his big swing motions and doing a good shield job blocking the less dangerous ones. For each blow avoided, he would get more tired, both physically and psychologically. So would I, but way slower. I''m not swinging around a hundred pound sword like a stick for the last quarter of an hour, right?

    Keeping myself safe from his swings, somehow, was not hard but not easy either. Still, my problem remains unsolved, how can I breach the difference in range from our weapons and win this shit before getting tired or worse, committing a mistake? His sword gave him at least one meter of advantage in reach, plus his large size.

    I take the initiative just to be greeted by his heavy horizontal blows. Stay in the defensive and every strike is a struggle to fence off, furthermore for each attack unleashed the following one is always stronger, it''s like he''s building momentum with each swing. There were few options if every attempt to retaliate was met with failure. Not a good circumstance to be in.

    He was a strong man, that was undeniable, two heads taller than me and packed with muscles. But, a pity, his mind works in a different rhythm, a slower one no less. Slow like a turtle if you permit such comparison.

    As he charged in my direction, his big sword in the ready to cleave me in half. Getting my shield and sword stance ready, just like boss engraved in my mind after countless hits to my shoulder, hand, neck, head... You get the feeling, right? anywhere she can hit me for my incautious and clumsy stance.

    It''s time my elaborated plan is set in motion.

    A short moment before he started the downward swing, which could be seen coming from miles. His contracting muscles apparent in his sculpted body. I kicked the carefully gathered sand over my foot toward his eyes.

    This, of course, wouldn''t stop a bull in full charge, neither would it stop the troglodyte. But, the plan wasn''t to stop him, it''s only that there''s no way I''m winning this with brawls. I had to rely over underhanded methods. The moment the sand left my foot, I sidestepped to his left, lifting the shield close to my body. Not even having the time to make sure the thrown sand had hit the intended target. His sword glanced at my shield forcing me, by its weight and velocity, to position my stance milliseconds before expected.

    There are numerous ways to beat him with the brain, though. Not that the one I used was an honored one nor the best one, still, it''s better than the alternative.

    Should have calculated the momentum interference from the blow, not that being where I wanted to be before the predetermined time would put me in a predicament, but the now probably broken arm is a big problem, though. As the sword slid across my shield in the floor''s direction, I stepped forward, gritting my teeth, and stabbed him with my short sword, giving a winning guttural roar... of pain when it finally met the hot flesh of his abdomen claiming the first blood of the fight, as well as the last blood.

    Finally, the breath I was holding was released along with the shout. The sword dipped in his gut. Blood flowing out of the small cut carved on his belly. He fell down leaving my sword behind when the strength from his legs vanished and his hand lost grip of the sword stuck on the ground and was functioning as a support.

    Holy shit, he stuck it to the ground.

    ¡°Sigh¡± if he hadn''t tried to charge me like a blind ox while obfuscated by the setting sun, he would''ve seen my feet moving right before he swung that barbaric sword mindlessly and acted accordingly, as he had done before countless times. I thought, staring at the sand-covered face of my fallen opponent and drying the sweat over my forehead with a napkin kept in my pocket after my sword was sheathed.

    Emotions are the downfall of humans. I thought while pocketing the napkin.

    To my luck, cause my shield arm definitely is broken. There is no arm tough enough to go unharmed throughout the monstrous hits from the big fella down here. When I get to my tent I''ll have Liz tend to it.

    You big but you ain''t two, Mate! Right, Liz? There will be a day she will react to my jokes or any of my thoughts whatsoever, I hope. Without her, my loss would be as sure as the rise and fall of the sun.

    She played the important role of cushion between shield and skin, minor healings and replenishment of stamina. The outcome would be quite different from the one right now without the alleviated impacts and invigorated energy. With me being the one wasted on the ground right now. A crushed arm and a cleaved body. Not a good ending.

    I honestly don''t know why the boss lady sent a rookie over to deal with this mess. It''s way above my pay grade. The boss should be the one representing the village, from all the duels we''ve held together I''ve never won against her. Not even close. But who knows what she is thinking.

    Guess my work here is done for now. I thought while my group shouted from joy. The losers? who cares? Just kidding, they would eventually be our teammates too, must be nice with them. That being said, they were miserable, to say the least. This was all that could be figured out of their indignant face and dark reticence. How come a rookie won against their champion?

    "Old man! what have you said about yesterday not interfering with my understanding of ''future past events''?" Nevere said stressing the end with a comical imitation of Hank.

    I tried speaking up for Hank. She¡¯s not the only one lost in here and I''m the only one listening to Hank along with her, however, I''ve heard last night¡¯s story. So, technically he''s not wrong when he said it wouldn''t jeopardize the story, indeed did not jeopardize it. But the lack of sense from him did, you just don''t start a narrative right in the middle of battle, what were you expecting?

    "Patience, child. This is the first time I''m narrating a story like this. Let me have some fun." Hank calmly requested of her. And continued without giving her the chance to interrupt again.

    Yeah, I''m definitely begging the shit out of Hank for this pen, look at this gorgeous multicolored shade ink.

    "That''s the broken hand? It''s more like a small bruise. Look at the size, Hank, it isn''t one inch and you thought it is broken?." Boss Lady said looking with derision at the arm that once was holding the shield, a little purple spot on it.

    I confess, there was a little overreaction on my account, but come on. It''s the first time confronting someone in a fight with such a big gap in range, I''ve never been hit so hard in my life. Even when mom would get mad and beat the crap out of me wouldn''t hurt so much. I seriously don''t know what she thought when appointing me to represent the village.

    "Come on, it was hurting so bad. Everyone in the same situation would think it was broken." I retorted in the defensive mode to her blatantly mockery. Such an easy picking for her, how come I end up in those kinds of uncomfortable situations.

    "hahahahaha" she gave a small laugh and said: "I know right. The world is filled by the brave." little prick, we''ve come to know each other for a couple of years and she treats me like that. "How did things go with Blake?" I asked, gladly shifting the subject.

    "Thanks to your victory, it went smoothly. By the way, good job with the duel, lad. Blinding the opponent with sand isn''t an honorable thing to do but what the hell, right? I was sure you would emerge victorious even without underhanded means." with the thumbs up, she said to me. "As for Blake, he said he''d honor the deal, acknowledging our group as the leader and everything. But I''m afraid this won''t be the last time our leadership is questioned. Especially now that we can pressure the others and gather more followers... so, you must keep your body in good shape and hold the leadership of our alliance when they issue a duel as challenge to the spot. " she said in a concerned voice. " as for direct confrontation, you must avoid it at all cost, but if it comes to it, you shall not show mercy!" She said resolutely.

    The plan to join forces with the nearby settlements isn''t going well. Most leaders don''t even come out of their tent to greet us when we go seek their support. And those who welcome us, don''t hold us in high regard.

    The prospects of our alliance ain''t bearing fruits for a myriad of reasons. Two most notable are:

    We live in a small village that doesn''t even have three hundred heads. Which means we don''t have enough men to form a front big enough to give a fight to the orcs, neither pressure the other chiefs to hear us and create a new one. So, most of the time when we come in with the offer for an alliance, we''re met with ridicule and mockery. Thus, the lack of men to our cause for the last year of search.

    When we can get through this painful interlude of scorn, we have to explain the importance of the agricultural land we''re losing to the orcs and that the distance, although big, isn''t insurmountable.

    After the demons had vanished, the orc tribes started to prosper and grow exponentially since the constant war among themselves isn''t enough to keep their numbers down, implicating the need for a shitload of food.

    Fucking demons, how can they simply disappear and leave this dire situation for us to take care. They were the one who kept the orcs at bay and controlled the orc''s demographics. But now, haha, there''s no one capable of stopping them.

    There''s no mountain range nor any physical barrier preventing them from coming down here. Just a big plain with great soil for cultivation. The agricultural technology they have is way too old and inefficient and they lack the brains, just like the mate I almost killed earlier, to enhance their tools and techniques, thus the need for bigger fertile soil. Of course, their belligerent society promotes those incursions.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    So, to the south, they come. With blood in their eyes and weapons at their hands in search for land and glory.

    Explaining shortly: we''re fucked

    The other day a group of orcs attacked a town near ours. Three people were killed before their warriors could arrive and fight the beasts. The strife went on till the orcs were obliterated, not without putting up a fight, though. Yielding five more fallen by their barbaric armaments.

    It''s amazing how the other leaders are blind to the threat that the orcs coming from the north represent. I know there are countless villages, towns and a few cities between us. But these numbers are diminishing as they advance inside our territories killing our people.

    Maybe those further from the northern human frontier won''t see the orcs invading this area so soon, but their sons and grandsons sure will have to deal with it if nothing is done to fortify the north. And by the looks of it, there will be no arrangements ready for now neither when the time of need comes for us.

    Then it will be too late, we must move now!

    The only bargaining offer we have for now is the chief knowledge. The aggregation of all previous chiefs lifework in the field of sword art knowledge in view of the village protection. After long years of development as they fended the village against wild beasts, and soon to be orcs, the chief popularized the method to all who desire to help with the protection of our home.

    Now we sought more man to command and educate. Like me, who started to learn the arts from the lady boss when we met in the woods near mom''s and dad''s house and taught me in her spare time every now and then. Don''t know what she saw inside me to go through all the pain to train a single youth in her tight schedule, but I''m happy she did it. The work in the field isn''t my thing, you know? I''m more of the adventurous kind.

    Maybe she has a secret crush on me. Right, Liz? I persevere in my futile attempts.

    However, the merger of forces with Canute will give us a stronger voice when we court the villages next door. And that''s a game changer, as the recruitment pace should increase now, given our bigger contingent. No more ridicule when we set foot on their homes like before, a woman as a leader and a dozen ragged pawns.

    No, not anymore. Now we have three dozens ragged pawns.

    I know the numbers don''t sound as impressive as it truly is, but we live in an era where twenty well armed and trained warriors are a force to be reckoned with.

    As for almost forty with some worn out clothes and precarious weapon still can barely count as a strong group.

    I hope.

    "Guess my long monologue on how we''ll end up in a bad situation if we don''t band up together opened his eyes." Boss said in a cheerful mood. More like your cleavage showing those big perky boobs opened his eyes, though. But I digress.

    Blake was a man from Canute''s slums. He was a notorious there, famed for his hiding and assassinating skills. The former chief of Canute, Roland, could attest to it in his grave if he was alive, of course. Murdered balls deep inside whores while the wife sleeps at his big house.

    Pitiful, but somehow ironic. As the ladies in his bed were not the only ones fucked in town. Figuratively speaking, of course. He was making the town''s life very difficult with the exorbitant taxes and lack of morals. This disregard for the people¡¯s well being culminated in his death.

    The adulterous ruler, both romantically and politically, being killed via shady means. A befitting end to a well-known occurrence through the human realm.

    Now to the funny piece, Blake was hired to kill Roland by Rupert, one of the merchants he was colluding within the town, intending to claim the lordship of the town. But, destiny laughs at human plans.

    After killing Roland, Blake had a brilliant idea: Rupert''s plan was a good one and what did he do? Proceeded to kill Roland and stole his plan. After claiming lordship of the town he started a land reform, everybody has land to cultivate. Guess who didn''t like this?

    Yep, the landowners. But, anticipating the revolt from them he did a preemptive attack. Killing all possible threats. Ruthless I know, but we live in a ruthless world, all is fair. Especially if you''re being fucked up in the ass by some greedy motherfuckers.

    And I''m not defending myself here just because I won the duel by the use of underhand means.

    Nop, not at all.

    Now the town is in a precarious situation. They lack protection and organization. But Blake is doing a good job there, as his superb foresight was shown when he accepted to band together with a bunch of beggars. I give five years for him to stabilize the situation and promote growth to the town.

    "Right, and what''ll you do with the new members from Canute?" I inquired her with a tired voice. It was a hard fight.

    Sighting "I don''t know yet. Blake can''t leave the administration of Canute yet, I''ll need to appoint a commander for them" lucky me, I don''t have to deal with that bullshit. "Don''t you want to do it?" she asked looking at me.

    Fuck me. "No?" I tried, but things don''t go your way when dealing with the devil. I mean, Boss. "Come on Hank, you already proved yourself to them, it''ll be easy to gain their confidence if the one commanding them is trustworthy."

    Yeah, they''ll love me. Won the duel using underhanded means and must be the younger of the troupe. They sure will relish in their feet like a horse after a mare in heat when they know that a beardless lad who almost killed their best man will boss em around. Great.

    "It would be wise if someone with more experience leads them. You know, I''m seventeen, they won''t like a pipsqueak leading them." I said with a glimmer of hope in my eyes.

    All of it for nothing. "I think you''ll make a great leader, and you''ll need experience as I intend to make you my second in command when this snowball gets bigger." It keeps getting worse. Listen to what you''re talking, listen carefully and you''ll see where you''re wrong.

    But my fate is sealed. I just need to accept it. After a long and slow sight, I said "I guess this been in your head for a long time now." and after a short pause I complemented "I''ll accept the offer." I said begrudgingly. Should have said: Whatever, what can I do? "Hey, there''s a small lake near town that has beautiful lilies, wanna go there?" I invited her in hopes of appreciating the view with her.

    "I''m extremely tired now, and tomorrow morning I''ll need to talk to Blake again, besides I already went there and it isn''t that exciting. Let''s go to sleep, you''ll need to be up early too and presentable. Your new squad won''t be pleased if their new cap goes there with bloodstained clothes and a broken arm." she said the last sentence while closing the tent flap. Her delightful laughter fading in the night. I can''t even get mad at her.

    Fuck I''m tired. Yet she wants to increase my workload. Oh life, what have I done to you? And this sticky leather armor and outfit? Damn it all, I''ll sleep naked.

    "Okay guys, we''ll be forming a new squadron and we came to the conclusion that Henry here should be the leader." Blake said in a strict voice at the front wooden gate of Canute. "You must remember him from yesterday as he was the adversary''s champion. As prearranged, you must obey his orders while I take care of the town. Are we clear?" he was greeted by a round of "Yes, sir."

    Blake, this fella, must be a good leader. Look how obedient they are, maybe my time in here won''t be so bad if they put to hearth all his orders.

    By my side boss lady questioned, "Why are you scratching yourself so much?". Those fucking bugs, they bit the shit out of me last night. " I slept naked yesterday, and the insects had a little party in my bed, Hank''s blood being the main attraction of the night."

    She looked at me with a funny face, or was it a look of pity? "Hey, it wasn''t my fault. The uniform and the leather armor were all soaked in blood and I didn''t have the strength to change to a new set of clothes after the fight.". And I didn''t know this would happen. Live and learn, as the saying goes "Right, and you decided to sleep naked while camping? I might regret my decision of making you my second in charge. Now pay attention and don''t screw things over, your turn to speak is coming soon". Only now you think of these. The one who is having a second thoughts is me now.

    Wait, "My what?" just when my indignant what was pronounced "Now Hank, give a little speech to cheer up the crew." Blake said.

    "Hello, I''m Hank. It''ll be an honor to lead you guys. What you think of spending the day in a tavern downtown so we can get know each other better? Tomorrow we''ll do the task given to us, today we shall party to our heart contents." I''m impressed with myself sometimes, look the wide grin on their faces. Hank, the Supreme squad leader.

    "Fuck yeah. Boss is paying the ale!" someone amidst shouted, and they all started to jump and scream like little kids after knowing that their parents are going to take''em to a pastry. Look, I knew it would be easy peasy lemon squeezy. Buzz is the way to friendship.

    Wait, I''m overlooking something of paramount importance here.

    Oh boy, I fucked up good this time. Hope this promotion comes with a rise in income. Fuck me and my big mouth. Should have just said to make camp here and sing some songs as we chit chat around a bonfire before we go doing tasks the Lady boss has in mind planned for us. Now bankruptcy is, literally, a few meters from me in the form of a shit ton of ale. How in the bloody hell am I supposed to pay beer for twenty robust and probably alcoholic dudes?

    "That was better than I expected after yesterday, to be honest. That sand attack had the boys here kinda mad" Blake said in surprise about my idiocy. " You think so? All thanks to your leadership, I just gave a little push here." Just as I was thinking up of a way to pay for this mess that didn''t involve weeks of dishwashing, Boss lady stretched her hands with a satchel. Which was picked up as fast as possible and the coins counted in no time.

    Nice, 3 silvers should be barely enough to cover for the tavern expenses, thanks boss angel! I thought off in worship.

    "This will be your first monthly payment as squad leader number two. Use it wisely" she said with a large grin. Sadistic devil. How come I fell for your graces and believed you would help me out of this. I''ll be doomed before my forties if I stay by your side.

    Oh, life and its paradoxes.

    Wish Liz could speak back to me. I''m sure she can understand me, always shimmering when talked to. Should take her to the lake, think she would be happy to be together with the other lilies. The first time I went there when mom and dad brought us to Canute, at the end of the month of the cave incident, to buy some spice and beverage. I left them with the chores and went to take a look at the lake they had talked to me about.

    While admiring the lilies at the lake a shimmering light appeared in my visual range, approaching till she rested over my head. Since then she''s been following me around and helping me where she can whenever possible. At the start, she didn''t show her magical powers, only when the lady boss started to hang out with me the usefulness of her magic came to my attention and relief. Otherwise, I probably would be dead at the hands of Boss Lady and her hearthless training. Till then she would only accompany me, a lovely and cheerful little fella.

    Besides her looks, a little sprout of water-lily but as a blue ethereal existence that can float around me as she wishes, and magical properties, I''m totally ignorant of her origins. But she never went far from me and is always hiding in my clothes when there''s someone at sight. Reserved lovely thing. When I thought that she shimmered in glee again, bouncing around in the air. You see? she can understand my thoughts.

    Wanna go to the lake tonight after we indulge the new crew? I thought, looking at my chest. The place where she most often rests. A rush of warmth could be felt over my skin. So, to the lake, we go tonight. I sent my intentions to her, and the warmth spread through my chest.

    Glad I could make her happy too.

    "Old man. What cave are you talking about ''cave incident''?" Nevere barged in. This time more reserved, probably following Hank suggestion of having patience.

    "Oh, an easy to correct mistakes, lass. Got trapped in a cave at the age of fifteen. Mom and Dad were super concerned." Hank said impassively.

    I won''t sell Hank here.

    "Why Jake didn''t show uncertainty in his face when you mentioned it?" She continued with the inquires. Well, guess Hank is screwed now.

    "Hmm" he hummed slowly. " Sometimes, as you get old, you start to forget some things. You know?".

    ¡°I don''t, look at me at the peak of my beauty and power. Anyway, what about the elemental, how did it start to follow you out of nowhere? And where¡¯s she now, I¡¯ve never seen her around you in all those years.¡± Nevere asked again. As for claiming that her wisdom and beauty are at the peak ain''t a smart move. There''s an explanation for it. When you say you reached the peak means that you achieved the maximum potential you can reach in a certain area, in this case: beauty and power, which means from here onward is all downhill.

    ¡°Easy there, lass. There''s plenty of time till the story unveil those mysteries by itself. I myself took centuries to uncover them. You''re young and have time to wait a little more.¡±

    "But h-" she started again. "Rush, kid. Let me continue the story." turning to look at me, Hank questioned, "By the way, Jake, how are you doing with the pen?".

    "Everything is fine, Hank. the ink that comes out of it is superb. It''s as you have said, live and learn." the situation here is different but still.

    "Ok. If you get tired, give me heads up and we''ll take a rest."

    "Sure, Hank." but why would I need to rest if I''m only writing under this magnificent tree, sitting on a Taylormade chair and table, with this most satisfying pen. This is the dream.

 Chapter 004

    After a brief chat with Boss Lady and Blake, we settled that I would take care of ten men, myself included. They were the better-prepared part of the group, or the least unprepared. The second option sounds more feasible than the first one, but you know, we gotta keep the moral of the group up. We ain''t doing it by calling our men a bunch of unprepared folks. And we should make incursions on the vicinities to gain combat experience as we try to garner more people to participate. The ones left out would remain with Boss and receive her nightmarish training of sweat and pain or, for the fortunate souls, help with the administration of Canute alongside Blake.

    It was decided that we won''t need to make deals with the chiefs to gather people. Just go to the village and attract those interested in a better life, one with purpose and a dignified mean. We''re sure that we''ll be able to gather a lot of volunteers, the living situation of the settlements near the northern border, manly, is a misery. Thus the refugees should be easily convinced out of this suffering. Especially now that we can count on Canute as a sanctuary.

    Which from henceforth would be our headquarters, after some protest from Boss, who allegedly claimed Aretureios would be a better pick. Of course it was promptly rejected. But, what can she do? Canute has a way more developed infrastructure and almost ten times the amount of citizens. What her feelings for the village are worth when compared to the way better candidate for headquarters Canute represents. Furthermore, it''s a crossroad for two big cities: Steelstar and Mistshore. Wich will be a great boom for the coming times.

    The former, one of the greatest manufacturers of steel utensil or anything related to it. The privilege of being located on top of a mineral extrusion, coveted by all. The ease to obtain mineral resources in the almost superficial mines a treasure on itself. Attracting various master blacksmiths who are after the cheap and easy to find raw material to do their craft, creating the finest handwork in the Oplon nation, implying in one of the richest city in Oplon.

    Last year we tried to reach out for support with one of their chief adviser. It would be a great boom to our, for lack of better words, needy equipment if they did join us. But they didn''t even welcome us to a meeting. Claiming our forewarnings are absurd as they can repel any kind of outside threat. They are heavily prepared to counter outside threats in view of the covetous neighbors. And, to top it off, they had the audacity to send a common city guard to mock us "what a handful of ragged man can help?" he said.

    Pure arrogance. When the orcs come here, they will come by the millions. Then I''ll have the pleasure to see their googled eyes jumping out of their mind-fucked head as the horde swims through the plains destroying everything on its path.

    That sounded a little sadistic, but I''m only human when it comes to mockery. However, it''s only a figment of my imagination, as that fabulous picture will hardly happen since we''ll stop this bloody shit before it comes to fruition.

    And the latter is a port city, the hub of commerce for hundreds of cities. It''s from there that mainly comes the spice we use in our dishes. Oh! mighty salt, what would I do without you. Also, a good chunk of foreign culture spreads to the country from there. As it is frequently attended by foreigners merchants, who end up sharing its costumes as they learn to adapt to ours and make what little business they could. Some even chose to live in the city in hopes of succeeding in life, further strengthening the cultural exchange in the harbor town and the nation by extension. One should ever wonder, though, how bad of a situation they were in their former country to considering this lawless nation as a good place to live.

    Our attempt to create a partnership with Mistshore went way more civilized than Steelstar. Their diplomatic team... miles ahead when dealing with outsiders. Steelstar has a thing or two to learn with them.

    They agreed to help us, though only with halved taxes in relation to port activities. It doesn''t appear much now as we don''t have means to make national commerce, much less international. But when we build up more momentum and our commercial activities get more relevant, we can use it as a way to get increased profit over the competition.

    Old fools, don''t know what they''ve done underestimating our determination to make this project achieve its purpose.

    Blake would be responsible for the task of money and infrastructure management. Boss would be the combat teacher. And little young me the one in charge of commanding the troops. As for the last call when making decisions, this would be reserved to Boss, only if it''s doable, though. Despite the amount of love held for our village, it can''t compare with Canute for what we''re planning to do.

    "Six! motherfucker!" Tiberius, a slender, long blond hair, tall and with the most vivid green eyes I have ever met, exclaimed. He was playing Truco, a common card game across the taverns of the city, against Tritus. Sentos and Silanos were at the table watching the game unfold, a wide grin stamped on their faces.

    The three had above average stature and dark-hair, matching their dark clothes. Except for Silanos, as he had a golden crest attached to a golden chain around his neck on top of it. The necklace draws a lot of attention, the yellow from it shining dimly. The contrast with the dark cloth draws a lot of attention. It should be something important for him to use it despite the kind of job they do, it''s kinda counterproductive when you need discretion. Sagila says it''s a token to remember a promise made by the tree way back then.

    They never told anyone what this promise is about, though. Maybe it''s a reminder of the last thing he has of his mother? Now I''m intrigued by this mystery! Hope someday they''ll talk about it with someone. If this someone is me, by any chance, It would make me... fulfilled.

    They consider themselves brothers. Although they don''t have the same parents, they do share a history of difficulty in the slums of Canute. After Blake ascended in position, he brought them together, as they''re fairly acquainted with weapons and the layout of the town. Blake could put to good use half a dozen trusty hands in the management of the town or on its protection.

    One other thing they are fairly good at, and Tiberius is just experiencing it on his own skin, is the ability to cheat despite the condition. It became evident when the trio''s eyes sparkled with excitement the moment they heard what Tiberius had just shouted.

    Clashing the jar in the table, spilling ale all over it, he exclaimed " Twelve!! Ya fucking dimwit." He stood up with a popped vein in his head. I can''t make it clear from where I am, but everyone in the table got wet either by his spit or the ,more likely, beverage he didn''t finish to drink when he shouted in excitement and by the look on the face of Tiberius it wasn''t pleasant. Looking at the opponent daringly, his eyes fixed on the victim with a savage grim on his plump lips. His eyebrows close to each other, forming a line right above the upper eyelid portraying a ferocious countenance in an attempt to intimidate the opponent into backing down.

    Tiberius showed his card fearlessly, taking up the challenge. Securely dismissing the show put up by the opponent. It was obvious for him that Tritus was trying to win the round by shouting, nothing but a cheap bluff. A four of hearts in hands, " Fuc-" he was right to curse Tritus while holding the second best card in the game, it was a winner''s hand. He had barely showcased his hand and was almost finishing his triumphant curse over Tritus, his face wet from the spat ale, just to take a full handed slap to his head, splashing the disgusting liquid over his forehead in a cloud. When Tritus'' hand returned, the only card that could beat Tiberius'', a four of clubs, remained stuck on the bruised spot.

    Laughter spread through the Tavern as the three still on the table were looking at, the now prostrate on the ground, Tiberius with mirth on their faces. "Good luck for the next time," Tritus said with a smirk "And thanks for the money." grabbed the money over the table and walked up to the bar. Silanos and Sentos followed suit. After ordering something to the bartender they looked over to us and waved his hand with a happy smile. When the three small glasses for shots over the bar were filled to the brim, they toasted, spilling a little on the floor, and downed the drinks in one go. Shit here sure is getting hot, I should pump my alcohol intake too. Also, make a toast to the scoundrels, I thought while filling my own mug with a flask that was sitting on the table since Vincent found out that the bartender had a bottle of his favorite drink in the back store.

    As for Tiberius, he''s a foreign coming from the southern lands, beyond the wide sea. I have heard it''s more than a year worth of travel to get back to his land, a good chunk of the trip being on deep waters. Other than that, no one knows what''s his deal. Except, he''s an excellent hunter and scout. He''s always with a silly smile on his lips when journeying into the woods. They say it''s the ambient he''s most familiar with, as the land he comes from is filled with wild dense vegetation.

    "Young fella has a long way to go if he wants to bust the brothers cheating." Vincent said. The problem with his favorite drink is that it smelled so bad that I could feel the putrid odor from across the table and he didn''t even need to open his mouth to grace the ambient with the foul odor, what''s the name of it again? Something with milk on it. He was a short haired typical ginger, with freckles and shit. Not so sure, but I would not be far off in my assumption if he was acting as ears for Blake. A meaningless tactic as we won''t have anything to lie about. But, as the saying goes, better safe than sorry.

    Walls, as I had noticed he''s usually called, was in his forties, with a stubble beard. "Ta tree little shits are responsible for the end of the drugs cartels in the slums. There''s no one craftier. Ya know?" We were talking about the implementation of basic sanitization in the slumps, saying Blake was accomplishing good results reducing the disparity of earnings in the city and improving the safety of its citizens. Fuck, that shit he''s drinking stenches! Anyway, of course, it included the demise of the savagery happening in the slums, and by the looks of it, the laughing trio there has a big part in the endeavor. "If it was only Tritus on the table, I think he would''ve seen him cheating. But with the three of them working together..." Sagila said by my side on her chair. "Only without their help, he''d have a chance." she finished after a momentary pause to give a little drama in her speech.

    Sagila was an athletic girl, around my age. All I could make out of her, probably, hyperbolical comments is that she''s an excellent bow woman. And that''s after downgrading a lot of what she had said, you know? no one aims at both wings from a fly two hundred feets from you and makes a clean hit. Not even the legendary elves and their enhanced eyes.

    "Ha! Tib can hear a tiger before he starts to encroach on him, but he''ll neva find out about tha second deck under table kept by tha other two bastards." Vincent said with an arm over the chair''s backrest, Taking a peek with his inebriated eyes at the table beside the last three members of our squad, one of them was the Troglodyte from yesterday fight. The other two bearing similar body build: ridiculously tall and packed with muscles. They were a little shorter than yesterday challenger, though.

    There were four fair females sitting there. "and Y''all know why?" he said sweeping a look at us "Cause he neva saw the depths a human being can fall from civility when cornered. The dark side of humanity" he said ominously, taking a cigaret from a satchel by his hip and stood up, Vincent lightly resumed "Excuse Moi. There''re ladies to be courted.". Not too late, though, it was getting tougher to tolerate his breath by the sip he took from that damn mug.

    He went up to the trio stumbling and futilely trying to light the cigar as the matches he was using were burning out one after the other. When he arrived at the table''s side and stabilized his footing, he again attempted to light a matchstick.

    After a few attempts, one finally started to burn, probably the last one by the way his eyebrows jumped in surprise soon followed by exhilaration.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    And the tossed box at the floor. To which the bartender gave a sharp gaze that sends a shiver to the bone. Cursing something inaudible at the burning stick, he brought it in front of his face and started to hover it unsuccessfully near the cigaret ''till he eventually hit it with the stick''s flame, not before singing a little the bottom side of his mustache. Puffing the smoke just swallowed from the cigar, he small talked with the sat fellas and, believe it or not, headed to the girls'' table shortly after, as he had previously implied despite his evident lack of... airs.

    Following nature''s course. When he spoke, they felt the odor from the mix of that disgusting thing he drinks plus the two puffs of smoke and voila. The one closer to him promptly stood up and ran away reeling from the table. Looking at her hands holding her packed mouth, she should be holding a shit ton of ale from her stomach on it. "Get the fuck off, shit bag." the furthest, and probably least affected by the odor said in disgust. The one by her side too overwhelmed to call him names, splashed her mug, throwing all her ale at Vincent.

    This time, even the almost knocked out Tiberius was rolling on the floor laughing. "Tha fuck you are to spill that disgusting ale on me?" Vincent roared not the least pleased by the unrequested shower, much less with the ridicule coming from the guests enjoying the show. His eyes bloodshot, a jackknife materialized out of nowhere in his hand and, after brandishing it high up his head, he stuck it down over the table.

    The sound produced by the knife penetrating the tabletop silenced all the laughter as the atmosphere in the air got tense. I was standing up to stop the scene before it could unfold further. You know? Who the fuck will end up held responsible for the broken furniture? Financing the ale isn''t enough, the mother fucker has to break the tavern down? I ain''t paying for his shit!

    The lady that threw the ale, now, tossed the empty mug at Vincent. He, like a good fighter, sidestepped closer to the table and, like a good drunkard, lifted his hands by reflex in a failed attempt to block the flying mug that wasn''t even in his direction anymore. Taking advantage from the closed position and open guard of Vincent, the third lady sitting on the table kicked him right in the money. Rending his already distilled mind to the painless oblivion. And this, folks, is how the brawl came to an anticlimactic end.

    Well, better he loses his money than me, mine.

    "Fucking ginger! Get your stinking mouth outa here." The kicker girl roared not the least bit cowed at the knocked out Walls. The three guys from the table beside them started to exchange money between chuckles. The scoundrels even made a bet on what would turn out of this encounter featuring: Eunuch Vincent vs. the FFF. This evidently isn''t the first time he goes through this kind of situation as the trio foresaw the upcoming confusion way ahead of it starting. There''s simply no way they placed the bet within the time it took Vincent to go from their''s table to the ladies'' one.

    At this point in time, he should''ve learned that the stinking buzz he drinks provokes this kind of reaction to the nearby random person. And this realization won''t come from us, apparently. It would be a pity to spoil this source of fun and money making. Guess I''ll have to join in the fun when the next opportunity presents.

    One that I''m not in charge of the dumb shit they do.

    As for the drink, I''ll ask around to learn the name of it, just in case. Never know when you''ll make the unfortunate mistake of ordering it unknowingly.

    "Walls, always a source of amusement" Sagila said amidst giggles. So she has a cute side down that stoic face. And that bears out my assumption about Vincent. "When the bartender said he had the abomination I was expecting this kind of reaction from you." She revealed, lifting her eyebrows over the girl''s direction. "Was impressed with your impassiveness when he opened the lid and all that came out from you was a small frown."

    "Oh, it''s not that bad" I replied. The drink stinks, sure, but not to such an extent. Reaching drubs was out of my mind. I had pictured a classic dump, not this show.

    "Now that the spectacle is over, what about the last three members, Sagila?". sitting once again in the table, I inquired about the rest of the crew. Vincent can handle himself, for now at least. Turning her head away from the knocked out ginger and looking at me, she pointed at the trio''s table and asked "They?" earning a Careful nod from me with a hint of doubt, am I talking loud and clear here, she was chatting about every one till now, that''s when Vincent didn''t cut her mid-speech with the duct network being installed at the town. We''ll have a real problem if Blake gets ''till his hips in the water, good old Vincent here would drown while clinging to his balls, maybe this well earned kick will beat him out of this sick affection of ball licking.

    Who else could it possibly be? She gave a little "Oh!" of satisfaction as if it was a great discovery, not the most reasonable conclusion. "They are known as Du, Duds and Dudley." that''s what I''m talking about, girl "What else?" you have from them. Amuse me. I tried to reach out for more information from the well of knowledge Sagila has proven to be. "That''s all" she finished.

    Alright, is she sick? What happened to all that loquacity from before? The two hundred feet shoot, the sharp senses from Tiberius, the cunning from the brothers or the... what she had said about Vincent, something about the red alert or perverted. "hmm" I returned a hopeless sight.

    The most notable characteristic of a leader is the power to deal with the shit of other people on top of yours. Thus a big dosage of tolerance is needed to get this job done. Hopefully, Boss had the foresight to get me in a position I''m suitable for. Doubt if I didn''t have it inside me she would designate me to a leading role, guess enduring her training had a great influence on her evaluation. Wise choice from her, otherwise, killing would be happening at this exact moment.

    Not that I''m getting stressed by their antics. "I''ll give Walls a hand then." Warning Sagila, I got in position to help him up. The bartender noticed my struggles and came to help me in annoyance.

    "Bloody drunken friends, Pal. That''s why I don''t usually sell that beverage. Always a source of trouble." He said while I was slipping Vincent arms around my shoulders to make it easier to pull him up. "Thought he would be left here for his troubles." he said looking at me, then swop his eyes around the tavern as if taking it into account and completed "My troubles..." with a stern face. Calm down, big fella.

    Know that face you do when the favorite flower pot of your mother is smashed by a stray arrow, and the only thing that will make you confess is the tears flowing out of her eyes. Well, hopefully, the large man isn''t my mother, Vincent here ain''t no flower pot and my poker face was enough to hide the guilty face. "you don''t say it." I said with the best face of incredulity I could muster, given the situation. Sorry Vincent, but you''ll have to deal with the big guy when you wake up.

    Come on! Don''t judge me, it was "The first time I go to a tavern and this shit happens. To boot, I''m babysitting the troublemaker. Now I have to deal with this lump of muscles and anger." I said.

    I what? There goes my feign-innocence plan.

    "Yeah, little man. The shit coming out from you ain''t appeasing the lump of muscles and anger, though." he said holding his dishcloth with both hands. The tension on it almost tearing the fabric. "Calm down. The dishcloth did no harm to anyone." I said, again, without thinking.

    "Fuck" I said weakly, with a dry throat. Why does my head hurt so much?

    Remember to never pump up the drink intake again. Drunk so much yesterday night that I can''t recall what happened and what''s this wet felling? Nice! For a first timer, ending up with pissed pants isn''t that bad if you look from a certain point of view. From another, I didn''t even throw up.

    I''m not even mad. That''s disappointing.

    The minimum should be a smooth vomit flowing out of my mouth in a bucket by the bed. Shitting is a little too much, though. The mind blank and pissed pants should be enough for a first-timer. Now that I''m experienced, and well versed in the arts of... Fuck.

    Blargh... Look, I said after the outflux of vomit stopped, an intact piece of pea amidst it. Hope my inhuman speed when eating ain''t a bad habit if I could take out anything from this occurrence. Now, I have another feat of bravery and honor attached to my first time. Mental Hooray!

    Let''s rest a little longer, though. It''s still dark outside and this hungover is killing me.

    It took two zephyrs blowing against my tent''s door and I was already rushing up to my feet. The wetness in my pants increasing until my pants were soaked again.

    "What the fuck?" Exclaiming with incredulity all over my face while looking at the dripping wet trousers. Then a sudden feeling of disappointment hit my consciousness. "Oh!" blurting after finally understanding the problem. I have totally forgotten about the promise to bring Liz to her''s birthplace lake. "Sorry, Liz." I said in a meek tone. The euphoria of drinking for the first time in a tavern with companions made me totally forget about my promise to her.

    Here''s a point to improve upon and make reference in the future: don''t forget what you promised to Liz, she too has sentiments.

    One other thing is that Liz can do a lot more than she has already revealed to me. I should learn to properly communicate with her to comprehend what she can do and make good use of her powers.

    Coming out of the tent, the moon was high up in the sky, not an hour away from its zenith. "Look how pretty the moon is today, Liz." I said in an attempt to reconcile with her while looking up in the sky, the moon was shining brightly up there with a tint of red over the usual dirty white she usually radiates. The breeze was mild, giving me a small shiver.

    Let me change my pants first, Liz. I transmitted my thought midway back to the tent.

    But my track was stopped when a sudden feeling of confidence struck me. Liz was imparting something to me by conveying her intentions. Quickly I understood she was trying to make me stop my way back for she could take care of the wet pants and, soon afterward, the water in my trouser began to dry.

    Nice, she can absorb her water now. Hence, I''ll tread the way there as she works with the drying. I thought while setting out to walk through the empty streets of the town. Vincent was right, the ground has a long strip of stirred sand. They should''ve just implanted the ducts. A pity no one cares about the things they don''t see. The credit he''ll earn by doing this improvement to the city, despite the importance to the growth of the city it represents, is nonexistent.

    Otherwise, it would turn out just like Recuest. Once was a city, now there ain''t a single soul alive there. The population, eradicated by some kind of disease a couple of decades ago. Some say it was caused by a dark magician that ravaged the region by the time, pursuing power beyond measure. That magician indeed existed, but his trail of destruction is different from the one presented over Recuest. His modus operandi is the harvesting of the life of the people. As for Recuest, it was slowly being eradicated, people dying after days bedridden. Others say it was caused by the inhospitable ambient, claiming the folk from the town threw their excrement by the window. Tainting every corner of the town.

    It ain''t sure what is the right cause for the disaster, but since then, every town started to worry, somehow, with its sanitary problems. Of course, not all went as far as building a pipe network, but with a solid foundation, we''ll be able to tread way further on this uncertain path. Therefore the luck of having Blake. His management and foreshadowing skills at our disposal is a blessing to our plans.

    Well, Blake will be stationed here and he has his things to worry about. Now, I need to decide if we''ll start our journey by getting fight experience or pump our numbers up. What you think, Liz? Can see you have finished with the water down there and for this, I''m very glad, as I was going to drop on the ground dead stiff with this cold breeze hitting against me before I could get out of the city.

    No reaction, guess Liz isn''t paying attention. We''ll do both then. We''ll head north, where we can find more people willing to move, and we''ll train along the way.

    Leaving the city behind, the torches over the walls slowly dimming and, finally, vanished from sight. Ten minutes of walk from that point and I arrived at the forest edge. Right in front of me, a narrow path filled to the brim with branches could be seen. The same one used when I first came here. But with a slight difference. The vegetation was much denser now, making the journey way harder to complete.

    It took me twice the amount of time to traverse the short passage. Nearly getting lost on the way more than once. the right track too difficult to distinguish among the leaves, flowers, bushes and tree branches all over the way. The moon, redder than before, was the only light making me stay on track along this blind walk. To top it off, Liz conveying ominous sentiments wasn''t helping me at all. Come on little bud, help me here. I''m not the bravest of men out there. If you''re trying to avenge me by making me shit myself you could just make me drink more at the tavern, under the safety of the walls.

    What kind of monster could make someone stay on the edge under such circumstances?

    "Come on, Liz. Stop with that or else I''ll go back to sleep." I said out loud, just to make sure she''ll get the message. Stopping to look at the lake in front of me and give a little drama to my speech, make sure I''m convincing enough. The first one being the most relevant at the moment, as the lake wasn''t just a lake anymore. It was a fucking river flowing out of it into the sky''s direction.

    Okay, boys. Time to wake up, this shit is too fucked up to be real. It''s a freaking flying river, and I won''t even deem necessary to point out how fucked up is the river flowing in reverse.

    Pow! That''s the sound of me crashing into some weird invisible motherfucker thing. I swear that I wasn''t running away... too fast.

    "What is this thing?" I said out loud, talking to myself while groping the air that wasn''t air. It was some kind of invisible barrier preventing me from going further away from this dammed place. The barrier wasn''t solid hard, it had some bending properties and it gave a really unusual yet familiar smooth feeling of freshness to the touch.

    After rummaging, with the sole purpose of finding my way out of here, with my hand through the air and thinking about the familiar feel for five good minutes I heard a loud chuckle from behind me.

    "I see you have grown, boy" Said a voice from somewhere I couldn''t pinpoint after the laughter ceased.

 Chapter 005

    ¡°Yet the strangest of reactions in adverse situations can still be found within your actions,¡± he said surfacing from the foot of the river with a broad smile. The constant upward water stream under the figure maintaining him above the waterline. Despite the quickness the water was moving to keep him up, there was none of it spilling away from the stream.

    The man itself was tall and lean, at least a head above me, and a light-brown hair covered his head down to his uncovered hip, but I couldn¡¯t take much out of him, as the distance between us hamper the clarity of his features. ¡°In the face of a visible state of crisis, who would have the presence of mind to fondle my barrier in such a perverted way? ... For whole five minutes, no less.¡± he continued perfectly audible despite the distance, strengthening his presence as it felt like he was right over my shoulder spilling judgment while I reached out toward the barrier for the last time.

    The fleeting moment caressing the fantastic texture of the invisible barrier will be forever engraved into my soul and will be genuinely cherished throughout my life. ¡°Goodbye, smoothy,¡± I said soundlessly moving my lips just before the barrier was gone

    ¡°And so it was, and for far more time I thought it would be possible for a scene in the mind of someone to be so clearly remembered.¡± Taking a sip from a glass of water, one Hank filled with a jar right before ending his heartfelt reminiscence, voice filled with glee as if he was experiencing the touch of the barrier just with the power of his mind. And how do I know that? Well... his open hand giving a little twitch every now and then was a big giveaway. I myself would be pleased to have a good feel or two of it after witnessing this scene unfold right in front of me.

    Wonder if I will ever have the opportunity to feel its texture someday too.

    As for the jar, it was brought to us by an enormous fiery bird, his wingspan at least twice my height. I couldn¡¯t identify his kind from the myriad of birds living in the forest. But, it had a vivid carmine color on most of its body and as you looked further away from it, in the wings direction, the color from its plumage changed gradually to orange and, at the middle of the wing, a vivid yellow to an almost white at its tip.

    A beautiful fiery bird, yet fancy.

    Along with the jar, three glasses were brought over the new table. It was inside a basket carried by his obnoxious muscular foot. Might add his razor-sharp claws appeared very dangerous from where I was looking from. And the following digression is inevitable, as well as my fear for its shinning talons.

    The table was a little taller than the one we had breakfast on, each leg had a different fiery bird face as an ornament. I don¡¯t think it would be accurate to say it was somehow engraved as it was formed that way from the beginning, an impressive act of mastery over the elements as the wood stretched and writhe over itself. Is there anything he can¡¯t do?

    Except, you know, for his storytelling aptitudes sucking balls.

    It looked like the wrist-thick branch was performing a silent dance as it was taking form. Reinforcing my idea that all the carvings inside the house were made the same way as this table, except it was made with way more thoughtfulness and attention put unto as the ornaments inside were elaborate to the point of aesthetic perfection, not that the recently formed ones were ugly, they, just, were not as perfect as the ones inside to be of the same standard.

    Not that I¡¯m an art enthusiast but I know one thing or two about it.

    ¡°Children, care for a glass of water?¡± he asked looking directly at my eyes. Dismissing Nevere over the cushion on my tabletop, and by the way she was looking intently at my papers, her hair flowing all over the table, which she had the nerve to let it off over my papers while I was still testing the quill. It took me some effort to gather my bearings to timidly put it away with the back of my hand under her watchful gaze. It was the first time out of two that she took her eyes away from the writings since Hank last started the tale, which makes Hank¡¯s decision to overlook her hydration a right one. Doubt she would drop her concentration over something as trivial as water.

    Not that she did anything scary, like tearing a forest apart or starting a storm, not to mention the clash between the earth hands; or intimidating, like when a fang pointed out of her savage smile, to earn such an assessment from me. But, the wilderness hidden underneath her yellow eyes give me the chills when it glances over me with such intensity, and, to make things worse, I can¡¯t identify what¡¯s the sentiment that originates this feeling, much less identify it as a good or bad sensation, it truly is a fucked up mess of emotions. Hopefully, my interactions with her will eventually lead me to some clue on how I can figure out what¡¯s going on in the darkest alleys of my head. That in addition to the claws from the fancy bird made my thoughts inevitably strain to a morbid path, what would happen if she tried to kill me right here, right now? The bothering question inevitably came to the forefront of my head.

    So, let¡¯s put some thought to the matter at hand.

    Well, for starters, the repercussions - or the lack of thereof - such an abhorrent act would elicit. For it wouldn¡¯t make much difference if she was from a minor house, like the Pretanos - a subordinate to the Atramentous¡¯s house - or the main house as is in our unfortunate case. The fact that I¡¯m a nobody with barely a few powerful contacts in the court warrant her freeway out of murder accusation or any other accusation whatsoever. Since she could kill me right here and there would be not a single soul who would present justice to such unfair death if I somehow incurred her wrath. Not that she needs to bow down to the current ruling power. With her powers, she could flee unscathed from the law enforcement anytime. The amplitude of her magical powers probably makes her a match to a brigadier of ten thousand strong trained warrior with a real chance of emerging victorious despite the unfavorable odds.

    The devastated forest by the vorpal wind sure is impressive, doubt a sea of people would fare much better against this sort of natural level calamity. That¡¯s unless the emperor himself intervenes, which is unlikely for him to do for a commoner, much less in favor of someone that¡¯s against his freaking granddaughter. And I would rather die by her hands unaware of my likely unavenged death than be reminded of how pitiful of an existence I am.

    Sad story I have found out she¡¯s a princess.

    But... I trust old pal Hank would save me when push comes to shove. By the looks of the magical demonstration presented by Nevere earlier this morning, lasting for more than a breath stretch would prove to be an insurmountable challenge, and that¡¯s after refraining from saying that I wouldn¡¯t even have the time to get on my feet before meeting my end. Not to mention that forest devastating wind, it would turn me into a headless chicken then mincemeat before I could open my mouth to muster my prayers to the heavens. Funny thing, though, would be amended by Hank like the forest was. Still, that¡¯s another thing I¡¯d rather avoid for the meanwhile, my limbs look beautiful just the way they are, well attached to the body.

    I¡¯m saying that about Hank, but I¡¯m totally unaware of his capability of doing it in the first place. However, the effortlessness it took for him to do it with the trees makes me think he¡¯s more than capable to patch me up despite the visible difference in anatomy from the subjects being amended.

    I hope.

    Just to say I¡¯m not confused by the brainstorm brewing inside my head when the subject on view is Nevere, when the bird appeared from behind the treetops, her eyes brightened up in surprise and delight, a beautiful spontaneous reaction shown from her countenance and fresh gasp as well as the drop of her perfectly aligned shoulders when she raised her hand to her mouth. However, it was one among the few that she had shown to us during this morning session. Most of her''s expressions usually bear a touch of self-restraint, taught etiquette. You can palpably feel that her expressions just aren¡¯t fitting right in her semblance. It lacks part of the essence from her within, the wilderness concealed inside her, the same one that somehow makes me shake from the inside. It hardly gets out of her like the way it did then.

    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    The power of tradition sure is frightening, not even a princess could avoid the etiquette course all ladies from the nobility are forced to attend to over their childhood. This awful tradition should be the one held responsible for her shifting and strange behavior, burying her sentiments under a mask of icy coldness she isn¡¯t even aware of, like many others that suffer from the same fate. That¡¯s the reason why, when someone( and here we shall refrain from putting names to the bulls) overflows the ladies from the court, who spend their days reading love stories that concretizes such complex feelings in the form of a young fella who will live and die for you, with pleasantries and affection they get easily infatuated and usually confuse it with love, as if someone can live up for such standards set by those insane aberrations from nature in the form of a book. Not that I¡¯m complaining of it or anything, but it¡¯s very sad to live a life where your emotions only flourish now and then when it¡¯s intensity is capable of breaking the hard cold mask of indifference molded by a pathetic tradition.

    A pity such outdated inheritance still emotionally cripples our kids.

    The face she did when the bird first showed up was good to the spirit of the place, but the one she did when the bird delivered the supplies over the table was priceless. Priceless. The expression of disbelief after the one of happiness she did before, along with a righteousbabbling ¡°The eldest carmine falcon being treated as a water attendant¡± and here she let out a long sight before adding, with a lump over her heart: ¡°if the old man saw this he would be devastated.¡±. The sincerity in her words was something that thoroughly shocked me.

    By the exasperated face she made, that fancy bird should be one of the guardians of the royal houses. I too would be exasperated if the ancestral beast who kept my house protected from external threats for the past millennium were serving water to a nobody. I wonder, however, if she ever had the satisfaction of riding it, it sure should be a magical moment for everyone, unless you¡¯re crazy. It sure is less satisfactory than writing with this magical pen though.

    Unfortunately... or fortunately? That protection part is in the past now. Humanity had enhanced its magical capabilities beyond the beast¡¯s power, hence, the figure of a guardian protector lost a big chunk of its significance to the overall population folklore. Since we began to rely more on the power of humans to protect ourselves as well as magical items and artifacts powered by mana crystals.

    The humans who excelled in magic were then called the new heroes that the bards chanted songs of over the cities¡¯ taverns. Each holding mastery over the elements beyond our wildest imagination , they were the symbol of power and safety for the population, their ultimate hope. Having its status usurped by people like Nevere¡¯s grampa and the former heads from each of the Royal Houses, now the guardian beast lived more like a House pet.

    Of course, the bird still was a powerful beast and few could match its might on a confrontation. Hence, having it serve water as a common attendant was a little too much, despite the meteoric downfall of their reputation.

    ¡°Oh! Freshwater still the best.¡± Hank said capturing my attention back to reality. A few blobs of water stuck to his beard. But it didn¡¯t take long for him to realize it and scratch his face to move the water away from the beard, especially with me looking at him with a face of amusement. Not the smartest move from his part, though, since the water spread all over his beard, not solving his problem in the slightest.

    But I forgot who I¡¯m talking about. Realizing his mistakes, eyebrows jumping up together with a cloud of mist rising around his beard and ta-da! Problem solved. Magic truly makes mundane struggles a trivial endeavor. It¡¯s a pity my awakening never came when I was ripe, now more then ever since I know I have... had the potential to shine big.

    After his theatrics finished, I remembered to answer his question, that being the sole reason behind all the show, I presume. ¡°Sorry, Hank. I was lost in my thoughts. I¡¯ll accept a glass of water, please¡± I said somehow thirsty and hungry at the same time. It¡¯s funny to already be hungry since I recently ate breakfast. The sweet taste of papaya still left in my mouth and yet here I am.

    *Rumbling* Great! my stomach is growling. Where¡¯s the table with food now that I need it?

    ¡°Are you hungry, Jake?¡± Hank asked with a hint of understanding on his undertone. Without giving me a chance to answer the question he continued with a lower voice after a brief pause ¡° Your mana isn¡¯t fully depleting but you¡¯re getting hungry. Hmm¡±.And here I thought he would offer me some food. Anyway, if I got it right, the pen is making me consume energy faster than usual. A small hurdle that can be easily disregarded in view of the greater good. ¡°This pen makes me consume more energy?¡± I asked, just to be sure, while Hank filled a glass of water. But, from another point of view, it will be great for my health, I was in need to lose a good two or three pounds anyway, get free of the slightly bigger tummy than I would like it to be sure would be fantastic.

    ¡°It does¡± He briefly answered me. ¡°The pen consumes mana to write, and you¡¯re its source of power at the moment. More mana used, more energy spent from you, a person who isn¡¯t attuned with the elements and isn¡¯t blessed by its constant nourishment. Which in return makes your stomach rumble in protest. It¡¯s like running, at the start you can¡¯t run a mile without running out of breath. As you get used to the exercise, it gets easier to breathe.¡± Hank said, surprisingly, out of his own volition. ¡°When you first start to use the pen, it¡¯s like you¡¯re a novice runner in this example. But breath isn¡¯t the thing you¡¯re running out. Just getting hungry faster than usual as a consequence of the higher mana usage than your body usually consumes. You lasting this long is only possible, however, if your body is producing mana faster than the pen can consume or your mana regeneration is mitigating heavily the mana consumption and your mana reservoir is running out really slow, which, in the pen¡¯s mana consumption case, is a small amount of mana flux, and it¡¯s not valid for inner magic spells, that uses higher amounts of mana. Worry not though, that¡¯s still impressive as the natural mana regeneration of a standard magician is, in most cases, lower than the consumption of this pen, that¡¯s why we usually use mana crystals to power it up, otherwise, we would be left out of mana fairly quick when writing.¡± Think I really would be a great mage by the way he says those things. Infinite mana at my disposal as long as I¡¯m eating something sounds pretty damn good... to the taste buds at least.

    ¡°Here¡¯s your water,¡± Hank said handing the glass he just has filled up. After taking it away from him, Hank waved his hand and, at the end of the motion, there was a wooden plate with food on it. The sweet smell of a fruit I¡¯ve never experienced before immediately invaded my nostrils, it truly was pleasant to the nose. Summoning another table that was at my hips height - while seated - to my left side, the one that Nevere wasn¡¯t in, Hank placed the plate over it with some kind of levitating magic, making sure the plate crossed over the desk right in front of my nose while doing so. Looking at the plate over the table there was gelatin, it had a slightly lighter tone of red than that of a strawberry. It was shining a little and a strange feeling or presence was emanating from it, maybe, the same way the grass little Hank found at the cave and several times more intense than the air inside the house. But the question I¡¯m begging to know is: How do I eat it? It looks delicious and there¡¯s no tableware!

    Do I stick my finger on it and lick?

    As soon as the question popped up on my head and my finger started to move towards the jelly with trembling impatience, Hank waved his hand again, which was caught by the edge of my sight, making me move my eyes away from the jelly for a brief interval, and when it was back, a sliced toast appeared on an adjacent plate, half the diameter of the main one, that should have been created while I was distracted by the weaving motions from Hank¡¯s hand but, the bizarre scene of a toast appearing out of nowhere at least was seen by me. It just started to be there, no previous indication that it would appear whatsoever.

    At least by my mundane eye. No... Should I say less than a normal person¡¯s eyes should normally see. The other day I was looking for a magnifying glass as my arms were getting too short to read without it. Not to mention the ability to discern a person¡¯s face from a reasonable distance. That privilege would have helped me out of some tough situations. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have the money to pay for a healer to fix my eyesight problems neither do I know one to beg for a little a favor. I even disturbed myself thinking that I should start saving some cash to fix my eyesight as there will be a day I won¡¯t be able to write anymore, which means less money for frivolities till I pay the treatment in the unlikely case I start saving up money for it.

    That¡¯s until yesterday, though. Now, a paragon of magic is sitting at arm''s reach from me. Which brings me to my list of things I should ask out of Hank, should include an eye heal to it? But I¡¯m getting out of topic here and it looks like Hank will restart his story as he¡¯s sitting down on his chair, this time, while holding a palm long pipe with his left hand and ponding with his pinky fingers a yellow powder into the pipe¡¯s bowl, probably some kind of herb or flower he grounded and stashed into that small pouch at an earlier occasion.

    Yeah, I sure should include it. When Nevere turns her head away from my papers I¡¯ll make one small list to not forget all the things I want to entreat. It will look beautiful with this pen!

    Making sure the bowl content was well grounded, he freed the hand holding the pipe by securing it with his mouth and reached for a matchbox on his shorts¡¯ pocket. After firing the matchstick he protected it from the gentle wind that was passing under the big summoned tree and set afire the herb on the small bowl. An intense smell reached out for me as he gently took a puff of smoke, this sure is the good stuff as the bittersweet fragrance persisted in the air for some time, mixing with the sweet flavor of the strawberry like jelly. Now, why didn¡¯t he do all of that with magic?

    It would be so much simpler, just like when he dried out his beard.

    ¡°Let¡¯s resume the tale¡± he finally said after a long and slow exhale, puffing all the smoke out of his lungs. Hank took a quick look at the pipe, verifying if the fire inside was still alight in his hand and advanced with the talking. ¡°The godlike being floating in the river right in front of me sure gave me the frights. But, there are things you need not worry over as you simply don¡¯t have the power nor the means to change its outcome, and I knew too well, despite my lack of experience at the time, that I was in one of those kinds of situations, at the mercy of the entity hovering over the water. So... why should I fret over it?¡± his pragmatism makes me question the reason he could wield such power before his path was cut short. At least he could keep a cool mind under abnormal circumstances.

    However, some things should be taken care of with utmost urgency, like the jelly.

    ¡°What can I say, it sure feels good to the touch,¡± I said to the godlike being still a little awed by the scene unfolding in front of me. ¡°Ho! so it¡®s good to the touch?¡± he exclaimed in a forced surprise tone. ¡°I see you now carry a child of nature with you too. Tusa and her whimsical actions sure change the fate of the mortals. But, I can see why she took an interest in you that day. Your behavior diverges a little from your species norms. However, it¡¯s been a long time since I last interact with your kind, and my memories might be failing me but the impression you give me sure is different. Your people usually tremble by my sole presence. You, otherwise, only get a little dumb by it. But it should have something to do with that mysterious force within you or does the mysterious force within you have something to do with you? I don¡¯t know.¡± Taking a tome and a small satchel out of the nowhere he said ¡° Anyway, take good care of your companion. It¡¯ll help you during the tribulations ahead of you.¡± The items rapidly flew to me and he resumed" My business here is done, I shall now take my leave." and just like that he vanished along with the flowing river like there never was something wrong with the lake. The moon shining brightly at its zenith, this time without the tint of red on it, though.