《Vital/Life》


 Chapter 1: Greyfield

    The night had already fallen, covering a long and unkempt dirt road as a rather largeand well built traveler marched on, carrying only a travel pack slung over his shoulders and a bundle of blankets in between his arms. Travelling alone at night, even under the moom''s light,was a very dangerous thing to do as any number of things can ambush unsuspecting travelers. However the man in particular did not seem to mind the darkness so much, as he continued to walk with full confidence in every step. He appears to be a very well built man with black short hair and a face that has most definitely seen its fair share of fights. Whether those scars were inflicted by man or beast however, remains unclear.


    He peered left and right, examining the shadows of the trees for any movement. When all seemed clear he placed his gaze foreword at the long stretch of road he had ahead of him.With a soft *pit* *pat* to his steps, the man began his journey once again.


    After two hours of non stop marching, his feet felt worn and his legs began to ache as he has been traveling since dawn without rest.


    ''We¡¯ve still got quite a few more hours ¡®till we reach the village, then we can finally rest. If only I had a bit more money I could have hired a carriage to take me the rest of the way.''


    As he thought to himself, the tiny bundle within his arms began to squirm. With a warmsmile the man gently pries open the folds in the little bundle he was holding, as a tiny pale face peeks out from within. Inside is child, a baby boy to be specific. The boy had inky black hair that even the moon¡¯s light does not reflect and a set of dark brown eyes that stare curiously back at the unshaven and rough faced man.


    ''Ah, what a cute face. All right! I¡¯ll definitely give it my all. It¡¯s only few more hours of walking. How hard can it be?''


    With renewed vigor andwarmth in his chest the man lifts his spirits and picks up his pace.


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    A few more hours have passed and the man¡¯s spirit has yet to falter. He was not too far from his destination. Yet, even with his regained strength the man slowly becomes bitter as his thoughts drift towards the village he was heading towards, and then towards the man who was supposed to meet him there.


    ''Brenan that bastard, he better not be lyin¡¯ to me about finding me a new house. I trusted him with damn near all of my money, so he¡¯d better come through with our deal.''


    Embittered and in deep thought, he suddenly heard movement coming from the shadows of the trees next to him. The man sharpened his eyes as he pauses, examining every inch of the darkness and listening to the swift patting of feet that were quickly approaching him.


    Suddenly, two rat like creatures jumped out wielding tiny, very crudely made spears. The creatures hissed as they pointed their spears at him, pointing their spears over their tiny heads and up towards the man¡¯s knees.


    The man¡¯s eyes shifted down towards the little bundle he was holding as he heard the soft sounds of slow breathing. The child had already drifted to sleep and the sounds of the new attackers have yet to wake him. The man looks at the child warmly then he glares at the imposing Ratmen with sheer hatred.


    ''Graahh! I¡¯ll kill anyone who even thinks of waking him up!''


    After taking a few deep breaths and calming himself, the man, without the slightest bit of alarm, relaxes his posture and carefully shifts the child to his left arm. While still being completely relaxed, he then pointed at the two Ratmen and muttered a single word.


    ¡°[Spark]¡±


    Suddenly a small orb of ember shoots towards the Ratmen at high speeds, exploding into a small blaze just before impact on the creatures. Frightened the critters hissed and fled back into the shadows were the sounds of their scurried feet can be heard running deeper into the woods.


    Clinging to the bundle of cloth tightly to his chest. the man continues on the dirt road.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------


    After a few hours without rest and peeking back into the bundle of blankets every so often, the man had finally made it to the town, Greyfield.From what he can see the town was quit rustic withsmall cottages and shops dotting the area here and there.


    As he arrived at the town entrance, the traveler was hailed by a single tall and lanky man covered head to toe by a single plum colored robe. This new stranger¡¯s clothes were nothing special. They were simple, and had light embroidering on the arms.


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    ¡°Ahh , it seems you have made it safe and sound. I take it your journey was a smooth one.¡±


    ¡°It was definitely a long one, I can tell ya'' that. ¡®Specially since there weren¡¯t many carriages headin'' south. Makes sense. Not much business to be had ''round here. Anyway, what about you? Where ya'' here jus'' for me?"


    The robed man smiles weakly, ¡°Not exactly, I was here to sell another house. After all, you are not the only one who moved here to start a family.¡± Suddenly a tiny sneeze diverts the man¡¯s eyes to the little bundle.


    ¡°Is that..?¡±


    ¡°Yep. Let me show ya''!This here¡¯s little Eiso.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, what a lovely little face. Perhaps he will grow up to be a strong and smart man.¡±


    ¡°HA, of course he will. Look who you¡¯re talkin¡¯ to. There¡¯s no way he¡¯ll turn out any different.¡±


    ¡°Er...I¡¯m...sure.¡±


    ¡°Any way, mind showin''me my house. We¡¯re a little tired here.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, right then, follow me.¡±


    The two men, with child in tow, began to walk through the town and towards the eastern most edge. The buildings they passed have on their way had all gone dark. Evidently all of the villagers are now sleeping and the only sound to be heard is the gentle breeze of the wind.


    As they are walking the robed man turned to the traveler wearing a chipper smile.


    ¡°By the by, have you heard from the rest of our party? You are the first person I have met from our previous travels, so I have been curious as to what their lives have led them.¡±


    ¡°Last I can tell, they seem to be doin¡¯ just fine. Russell became captain. An¡¯ last I remember, Milanorworkedat the kingdom''s capital. As for the other two, I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°I...see. That is a shame. I had been wondering as to what has happened to them, but I suppose that it cannot be helped.¡±


    They then passed the village¡¯s crop field that dot the ground on the town''s south; the smell of tilled earth is still fresh in the air.


    ¡°I apologize for the house being a little bit out of the way compared to the other buildings. At the very least it will be fairly quiet and peaceful.¡±


    Finally after a considerable amount of walking, they arrived at the last building on the road. The house in question had been, for the most part, surrouned by trees and look more like a fairly well built cabbbin, with two floors and a small wooden fence. Vines grew at certain points around the building and the wood finish looked worn and had lost all of its color giving it a rather depressing appearance.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry Deckard, but with the money you provide, this was the best I could find¡±.


    ¡°No... It¡¯s fine. In fact, I say it¡¯s pretty damn good. It jus'' needs a little muscle work an¡¯ soon it¡¯ll be good as new.¡± As the traveler looks proudly at his new home, his grin turned slowly into a small frown as he looks to the robed man.


    ¡°¡­Strange.¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s strange for ya'' to be this reliable.¡±


    ¡°Is it really? I¡¯m rather hurt, and here I went through all of the trouble to procure you this building,¡± the robed man lets out a heavy sigh, ¡°and here I thought we were all friends.¡±


    ¡°We are. That¡¯s why it¡¯s strange that you would be able to handle money so well. I still haven¡¯t forgotten what ya'' did last time.¡±


    ¡°Er¡­ w-well¡­t-that¡¯s all in the past. As you can see I have turned over a new leaf since then.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­I suppose ya'' have¡±.


    After a brief moment of silence that was broken by gentle wind, the robed man pulled out a rolled up piece paper tied by a ribbon and a small key, from his bag.


    ¡°Well here it is¡­the key and the deed to surrounding lands. All of the furniture and beds have already been placed inside. Well. With this there is no reason for me to stay here. I have to get back the Capital tomorrow morning. After all, there is still much money to be made.¡±


    ¡°I see. In that case¡­¡¯til we meet again Brenan.¡±


    Seeing the traveler extend his hand out, the robed man gives a small smile and shakes it.


    ¡°Untill we meet again Dekard.¡± With that, the robed man departs towards the center of the village.


    The traveler then entered his new house, dropping all of his possessions onto the nearest table as he takes a good look around.


    Inside he found a single table with two chairs, a cook stove, and other assorted baubles. As for the walls, they are very well made and sturdy. The previous owner was a bit of a shut in, hence the great condition, and apparently the, ¡®at a glance¡¯ shabbiness was confined to the outside only since the inside was very well kept and worth far more than what he had paid for.


    ''Brenan¡­ so ya'' did go through a lot of trouble, huh.''


    With a warm felling and a new found respect for his ¡®friend¡¯, the man took the child into one of the upstairs bedrooms that contains a shelf filled with books as well as a single crib. He then placed the sleeping child inside as he gently patted the boy¡¯s head.


    ''Night kiddo. See ya¡¯ tomorrow.''

 Chapter 2: Novamas

    Excerpt from the book ¡°Guide to Mana, Hostiles, Techniques, and other Worldly Matters¡± by Roland Maris


    ¡°Mana (aka-Spirit Power): Mana can best be described as a secondary life force.


    I have found thatit is an energy that that is produced by all living things and allows said living things the power to manipulate their environment.


    It is unclear as to whether mana is a simple byproduct that is emitted from all living things, or if it is the sole sustenance that everything needs in order to live.


    Regardless of its origins it is undeniable that without mana all living things, especially those of higher intelligence, would not be able to prosper as they do today¡­¡±


    ...


    A young inky haired child quickly skips a few chapters ahead with a smile on his face and a glint in his eye.


    Introduction to Casting:


    ¡°Once you understand the differences in the elements as well as your proficiency in them, you can then begin casting. Casting magic is a fairly simple process that is relatively easy to do but very difficult to explain.


    Step 1.Charge: Gather what you believe is to be the necessary amount of mana needed to cast the spell into; as an aid try to imagine the nature of the spell you wish to cast (the flowing of water, the hard and tough nature of stone, and so on.) This process can take anywhere between a few moments to as long as several minutes depending on the spell. WARNING: As a precaution, DO NOT force a spell if you feel it is not your element Start with a small amount and then work your way up until you are successful.


    Step 2.Form (Optional): This is a step that cannot be explained in detail. At best, it can be described as manifesting your emotions into the desired element.


    NOTE: Depending on the individual¡¯s skill and the nature of the spell, this is not always necessary.


    Step 3.Incantation (Optional): This simply requires reciting the word or words to trigger the desired spell.


    NOTE: Truth be told, this is a rather unnecessary step. Incantations are simply ideas put into words so it is very possible to skip the incantation entirely and use either your thoughts or your emotions. With that in mind, use incantations as a crutch until you can go without it.


    Step 4.Release: After the spell is triggered, the nature of your choosing will then flow free.¡±


    ...


    ''Right! Now I just need to choose the right spell.''


    Sunlight peered into the boy¡¯s room which had little in the way of luxury, containing only a simple bed, a worn wooden desk piled with books of all shapes and sizes, and a single battered chair.


    The reckless boy, who has been sitting on the floor indoors for quite some time now, with several other books stacked around him, then begins to turn several pages in the massive leather bound book sitting on his lap.


    ''Hmm¡­How about this one? [Novamas]''


    ¡­.


    ''This one sounds easy enough!''


    He then places a bookmark as he sets down the book, and begins to shove aside the towers of paper that surround him. Finally clearing the way he cradles the book with both of his arms as he makes his way out of his room, down the stairs, and out the front doors. However before he can open the doors, a firm and calm voice calls out behind him.


    ¡°Boy, what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Nothing!¡± He responded automatically, as he jumps at the sudden call.


    He slowly turns around and meets face to face with a rather plump middle aged woman. She wore a simple hand woven dress, had her hair set into a tight bun, and had a round and kindly face. However, that kind face was, at the moment, replaced by one with skepticism as she eyes the massive leather bound book in the boy¡¯s arms.


    ¡°What is that in your hands?¡± she asks. The boy looks up to the skeptic face, as his height only reaches the woman¡¯s waist.


    ¡°A-a book?¡±


    ¡°Is that a question?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­I mean¡­it¡¯s a book.¡±


    The woman¡¯s eyes become sharper as she presses him a little further.


    ¡°Oh¡­ and what kind book is it?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The boy says nothing, choosing to instead stare at the ground.


    ¡°May I see it?¡± She asked in a commanding tone.


    Slowly the boy unfurled his arms as he presented the book, keeping his eyes to the floor.


    The woman snatched it away and immediately opens it to the bookmark as she begins reading. Her eyes widen with every passing word presented before her.


    ¡°Where in the world did you find this!?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it neat? I found it in one of father¡¯s old rucksack. If I study it hard enough, I think I can find how to use some magic!¡±


    ¡°For the love of... I will be dealing with your father later. In any event why do you want to know magic? It is not as useful as you think it is.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true! With magic there will be a lot of things I can do! I can cast fire to burn monsters, or call for rain to water crops! There¡¯s so much I can do!¡±


    ¡°Oh, I can¡¯t be too sure of that my dear. As dangerous as beasts can be, far more towns and villages have be destroyed by the hand of the flame, and farming needs more than simple water. It needs someone to till the soil, care for the land, and harvest them crops when they are ripe and ready. Besides, I think there are other areas you should but more effort into."


    ¡°Like what?What else could there be!?¡±


    "For starters, why don''t you start playing with other children, or perhaps, and I cannot believe I am saying this, maybe you could explore the surounding area; things someone your age should be doing instead of cooping yourself up here. After all, don¡¯t you want to talk to someone else other than me all day?¡±


    The boy simply shakes his head and responds with a dazzling smile.


    ¡°Nope!Don¡¯t need any one else, and I don¡¯t need more friends; I have both you and Dad, and that¡¯s all that friends I''ll need!¡±


    The caretaker''s cheeks flair up in a rosey pink hue, ¡°W-well, that is awfully sweet to hear from you my dear. But¡­well¡­what I meant was, you should probably make friends closer to your age understood?¡±


    The boy only smiles and nods at the question.


    ¡°Honestly, what a¡­peculiar mind. From now on you are not allowed to use something that you have no understanding of.¡± With her face a still a little flushed she composes herself once more. ¡°N-Now that we have that squared away, would you be a dear and accompany me to the market. We are fresh out of ingredients and need to stock up. That is¡­unless you want to try and eat water for supper?¡±


    ¡°Yes, nana.¡±


    ¡°What was that?¡±


    ¡°Yes Mrs. Burrough!¡± The boy responded automatically.


    The caretaker gives a satisfied smile as she tenderly leads the boy by the hand out the door and towards town.


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------


    The town''s center was alive with the buzz of people scurrying between shopping stalls and food carts as the town''s folk loudly declare the quality, or lack thereof, of certain foods and trinkets. Voices, some angry, some rather insistent, cried throughout the square as people haggled down the prices of food and toys.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give ya¡¯ two silver for that loaf¡­ no, not that one! The fresh one over there!¡±


    ¡°Oh come, ON! This wood sword looks battered to all hell! AND, it¡¯s even missing the cross guard.....I¡¯ll take it for five silver.¡±


    In fact there were so many new inhabitant as well as newly erected buildings that the Lord that owns the land, in cooperation with the town''s elder, will soon build a few extra buildings as well as a much need apothecary and church which meant¡­


    ¡°We¡¯re finally going to have a healer in town,¡± loudly declared the shopkeeper of a general store to the plump caretaker as he leaned closely on the counter top.


    The caretaker nods to this and responds, ¡°Honestly I am happier that we have someone to take care of the workers. Ever since we opened that mine we had nothing but accidents. ¡° The woman sighs deeply as she thinks about the many times she had to assist in nursing the wounded workers who have had been battered and bruised due to wall collapsing and other mishaps, back to good health. ¡°Still it could be worse; at the very least I can rest from nursing duties.¡±


    As the boy looks looks at the odd glass bottle and paper wrapped packages, the shop keeper notices him and greets him with a wide toothy grin.


    ¡°Hello ma¡¯ boy.¡±


    ¡°H-hello Mr.Aris¡±


    ¡°My, it certainly has been a while since I last saw your face around here kid. Well, I suppose that¡¯s a good thing. The less I see ya the less likely you¡¯re to steal something from my shop. HA HA HA.¡±He bellows as his very laughter shakes the building. ¡°Still, it¡¯s good to see you out and about. An¡¯ speaking of petty theft, how old were ya¡¯ again?¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m six.¡±


    ¡°Six huh, and from what Mrs. Burrough tells me you indoors than out. Rather strange for your age and so well spoken too.¡±


    ¡°Oh, he won¡¯t be doing that for much longer if tries to repeat this morning¡¯s mishap.¡±


    ¡°Why? What happened?¡±


    As she recounts the events that transpired that morning, the shop keepers grin grows wider and wider.


    ¡°WA HA HA HA!!!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t laugh, it is not funny in the slightest, he could have seriously hurt himself.¡±


    ¡°Oh don¡¯ worry about it so much, I doubt he¡¯ll have the strength to muster up that spell.¡±


    ¡°*Sigh*I never thought there would be a day when I¡¯d have to tell a child to stop reading so much.¡±


    ¡°And what does his father have to say?¡±


    ¡°Ha! That oaf? He is simply happy to have a studious child. Honestly, if that man would become delight at the thought of having his mooch of of him for the rest of his life. Such an idiotic person,¡± She turns towards the boy.


    ¡°You hear that boy! Don¡¯t you ever become the type of man who only knows how to beat up things for a living, understood?¡±


    ¡°Y-yes Mrs. Burrough!¡±


    She gives a wry smile at the boy¡¯s immediate response


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    ¡°Well, at least his son will become a better scholar than his father ever will. Now then, we must be on our way, we still have much to prepare for this evening. Until next time Aris.¡±


    ¡°Yes, until next time Mrs. Burrough. Ah, wait a sec, as long as you¡¯re here, mind doin¡¯ me a favor,¡± the shop keeper ducks behind the counter and brings out a small package, ¡°my son forgot his rations for the day when he went out with the mining corp., normally his wife would make it but she seems to be busy, mind giving it to him.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­I suppose I could use this opportunity to have Eiso enjoy the fresh air a bit longer.¡±


    She takes the package and with a final wave of goodbye, the two leave the shop and continue their midday shopping before finally leaving to the town¡¯s west exit and towards the mines.


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------


    The two begin to exit the town while carrying baskets filled with flour, potatoes, carrots and various other miscellaneous herbs and spices.Looking into on of the basket the boy is practically skipping at the haul they purchased today.


    ¡°My you certainly seem chipper.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh. That¡¯s because he have the ingredients for sweet bread. You ARE gonna¡¯ make sweet bread right.¡±


    ¡°Well if you insist, then I suppose it cannot be helped.¡± Joyously the boy begins humming out loud.


    With cool winds and sparsely clouded skies, the caretaker slows down her pace to take beautiful skies and the surrounding forest. As far as she can tell, it is relatively peaceful. There is only a single path between the town and the mines that is carved straight though the forest, and not much else to distract the eyes aside from trees and other vegetation. In fact, the only sounds came from the rustling of leaves made by the gentle wind. However that seemed to be the problem. The woman stops for a moment to listen intently on her surroundings. There was almost no sounds, no birds, no small critters, not even insects, just the sound of the wind and leaves.


    She cautiously takes a few steps only to suddenly stop as she hears a deep, low growl emanating from close by.


    Her body stiffens and her arms tenses as she silently and slowly turns towards the trees. An electric feeling shocks through her mind as she spots several large hound shape creatures looming within the thick vegetation of the forest that fenced the path they are on; their eyes white and piercing, their snouts drooling thick globs of saliva. They have been there for some time waiting silently and patiently for an opportunity to arrive.


    Upon a much unwanted closer look, she notices that these beasts are not entirely what she thought they were. Their color was not the usual grey color of the common timber wolf. Their fur was pitch-black, matted with patches of hair missing. They had not only one pair of milky white eyes on their heads but several others that dotted their flank. Their bodies were completely asymmetrical and differ from one another; one had an extra set of jaws just below their normal ones. One had two heads staring blankly at her, and another with two tails and bits of sharp bones protruding from the blood soaked skin across the spine.


    No they were definitely not the hounds she knew of but instead they were a horrific amalgamation of limbs, eyes, and teeth, tacked on with little regard to the natural order. These creatures were nothing but the twisted creations of some long forgotten nightmare, and at that moment, a single solitary word came to her mind... ¡®abomination¡¯.


    She stood still, waiting with bated breath, hoping that what she is seeing is but an mere illusion; praying with every fiber of her being that those murderous and blank eyes will simply ignore them. Mean while the boy continues to meander while deep in his own thoughts, completely unaware of the danger looming not too far from him. This brings a horrifying realization as the caretaker manages to come to her senses. She prays with all of her might that no matter what happens, please spare the child.


    ¡°GRAAOOOOUGH!!!¡±


    In one swift motion, she drops everything and grabs the boy with one arm while sweeping the other across the ground in a wide circle around them whilst shouting with all of the strength she can muster.


    ¡°[VALLEMA]!!!¡±


    Thick earthen walls erupt from the ground locking the two inside, protecting them as it shook from the bodies of the beasts slamming into it in an attempt to break it down by shear force.


    *BAM* *BAM* *BAM*


    The walls are holding for now, however, cracks have already started forming and are steadily growing larger and deeper with each consecutive hit made against them.


    *BAM* *BAM* *BAM*


    The boy only now realizing what is going on, as the sounds scratching and snarling can be heard just outside, becomes stricken with fear. Powerful and violent beasts have invaded their region and at the moment their only protection is the stone prison surrounding them. The caretaker struggles to stand on her legs as they begin to shake until finally losing all strength as she collapses to her knees. She slowly grabs the boy by the shoulders, and speaks as calmly as she can.


    ¡°Eiso, listen to me. That wall will not stay up for long, so I need you to


    be a brave boy and run when I tell you. Run and keep running until you make it back to town, and when you get back you need to tell everyone what has happened, okay? Can you do that for me?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Please Eiso, say something, say that you will do it, okay?¡±


    *BAM* *BAM* *BAM*


    The foul creatures remain persistent as they scratch, dig, and claw their way in, without any sign of relent.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°EISO!¡±


    The boy blankly repeats the words with little emotion behind them.


    ¡°¡­.I¡­.need to ¡­.run¡­¡­to town¡­¡±


    ¡°And tell everyone what happened, especially your father! Can you do that for me?¡±


    The boy snaps out of his stupor for a moment before understanding what is being said.


    ''I¡­am to run back¡­I¡­..only I!?''


    ¡°NO! Please don¡¯t make me go alone! I want you to come with me nana!¡±


    ¡°I know you are scared...¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m not scared! I know what you are going to do, so I want you to come with me. Please say you will come with me!¡± He pleads as water begins to blur his vision.


    ¡°There is no need to worry I¡¯ll be alright.¡±


    ¡°NO YOU WON¡¯T! YOU''ll DIE IF YOU STAY!!!¡±


    ¡°ENOUGH! You will do what you are told understood!¡±


    The boy flinches, but finally concedes as he began to place his focus on the ground, refusing to look up.


    *BAM* *BAM* *BAM*


    ¡°¡­..¡±


    ¡°WELL BOY!¡±


    ¡°¡­Y-Yes nana. I¡¯ll do it¡­.I¡¯ll go and¡­and get help.¡± The tears he has been holding back slowly to fell and dampen the soft earth.


    ¡°¡­what was that boy?¡±


    The boy faces up to responde. Her once kind and warm demeanor was now pale and soaked in tears. Her eyes, once sharp and filled with love, were now wrought with worry and faintly contained terror. Yet despite it all, she still manages to show a glowing smile.


    The boy responded automatically, ¡°I-I mean¡­.yes¡­.Mrs. Burrough.¡±


    At the sound of her name she could no longer keep her emotions in. She flings her arms around the boy and reels him into a tight embrace.


    ¡°T-That¡¯s better. *sniff* N-now when I tell you, I want you to r-run and don¡¯t look back. W-Whatever you do, whatever you might hear, whatever you might¡­might ¡­see¡­ don¡¯t stop r-running.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­stop running, and don¡¯t¡­ever¡­look back. Can you promise me that?¡±


    ¡°I¡­promise.¡±


    With that final exchange she kisses the boy tenderly on the forehead as she slowly takes a stand


    ¡°R-ready?¡±


    The boy say¡¯s nothing but nods and braces himself.


    ¡°D-Don¡¯t worry about me, okay. I can take care of myself, so I¡¯ll be all right.¡±


    She gathers energy into her hands and waits as the pounding persists and the cracks in the walls grow ever larger.


    *BAM* *BAM* *BAM*


    The boy finally speaks up in a quite whisper, ¡°C-Can you promise me something.¡±


    ¡°What is it my dear.¡±She coos in a soft warmth.


    ¡°Will you promise that you¡¯ll come back?¡±


    Bits of debris and rock slowly fall from the walls, creating fist sized holes that allow the abominations to peer through with their blank and hungry eyes. Soon the relentless banging strengthens and becomes absolutely deafening.


    *BAM* *BAM* *BAM* *BAM* *BAM*


    She says nothing choosing instead to caress the boy¡¯s cheek and shows one last tearful smile. The creatures continue to pound with unnatural strength and tenacity until¡­


    *CRAAACK*


    Their sanctuary has finally fallen to crumbles, leaving nothing between them and absolute slaughter. The caretaker gives the boy one final push.


    ¡°NOW! RUN!¡±


    On command and operating on instinct alone, the boy sprints with one mission in mind, to return to town. The beasts take notice as they swiftly and hungrily give chase, gaining closer and closer. They gained such distance that the boy can feel their hot and rancid breath.


    ¡°LIKE HELL YOU WILL!¡± The caretaker thrusts both of her palms on to the ground unleashing the energy she has been building up.


    ¡°[STALMITE]!!!¡±


    Sharp stone spikes sprout forth from the earth, impaling the pursing creatures, spraying theirblood from their newly torn wounds as their bodies thrash and struggle. The remaining packs of creatures stop and turn their attention towards her instead, before charging in at full force. Despite his wishes, the boy continues to do as the caretaker asks, keep running, don''t look back.


    ''Everything will be fine. Nana said she¡¯ll be alright.''


    The sounds of sharp howls and bloodcurdling screams ring throughout the once open and peaceful air. However the boy persists, even as a burning sensation wells in his lungs, he sprints forth with all of the strength he can muster.


    ''I can¡¯t. I promised to be a good boy. I promised I wouldn¡¯t look back. I promise I¡¯ll do whatever you say. I promise to stop trying to usestrange spells. So please be alright. Pleases be safe¡­please stay alive¡­¡­.please¡­''


    *BOOOOM*


    Much to his surprise, a massive explosion shakes the ground as he stumbles and trips to the ground. Still, with great sickness building up in his stomach he stands back up and presses on, moving one foot swiftly in front of the other, refusing to turn back. The sickness welling inside did not only come from the shock of the explosion, but from the knowledge of what he is doing and the faded and final words he heard in the distance.


    ...[Novamas]

 Chapter 3: Please

    The boy did not know how long he has been running nor did he care, all he wanted, all he focused on, was getting back to town to warn the people, to tell them of their attack, and to confess to abandoning someone important to him.


    ¡°Eiso, my boy! Are you all right?¡±


    Before he realized it, he had already made it back. Limping from exhaustion and covered in specks of blood, he made it.


    After finally giving in and collapsing does he notice the crowd of onlookers gathering around him as well as an all too familiar and roughly scarred face that is currently tending to him.


    ¡°Dad¡­.Please¡­nana¡­she...the mines¡­¡±


    ¡°Shh¡­don¡¯t worry, everything¡¯ll be ¡®right.¡± The rough man inspects is son for any wounds. When none are found, he lets out a sigh of relief before looking to the person standing closest to him. ¡°Rilic, look after my son for me, and don¡¯t let him outa your sights, ya¡¯ hear!¡±


    ¡°Y-yes Dekard.¡±


    The boy looks up with fear in his eyes,¡°Dad¡­where are you going?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯ worry, I¡¯ll be right back kiddo jus¡¯ stay here and don¡¯t leave Rilic¡¯s side, understood?¡±


    ¡°NO! Please don¡¯t leave. I don¡¯t want you to go too!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯ worry, you¡¯ll be safe as long as you stay here. As for me, I¡¯ll be all right, I can fend for myself.¡±


    ''I¡¯ll be all right? No! Not those words again. Please not those words.''


    The boy grips tightly onto his father¡¯s clothing, refusing to let go.


    ¡°Please my boy, I need to find out what happened and find Mrs. Burrough. Be strong and stay here, I¡¯ll be right back.¡±


    ''That¡¯s ¡­right, the only hope nana has is if¡­is if dad finds her.''


    After much deliberation the boy silently loosens his grip and gives a small nod. With that, Dekard sprints off without another word, where he is soon approached by an armored guard.


    ¡°Guard Captain Dekard, what¡¯s going on? What are some many people scared? And¡­is that boy covered in blood!?¡±


    ¡°Listen I need ya¡¯ to go around and ask for volunteers for a search party. Hostile Beasts have showed up, and I need to look into the mines. As for the guards I want them to stay here and protect the town.¡±


    ¡°At your command sir! Er¡­may I ask why the mines if there are beasts that need slaying?¡±


    ¡°We need to find the source of where the creatures are coming form. We have searched and cleared these here lands before, and not once did we run into any strong Beasts. For them to show up, they could have come from the only unguarded place.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t mean!¡±


    ¡°Right, they could have easily come from the mines, which mean only one thing....¡±


    ¡°I-I understand sir! I will gather volunteers at once!¡±


    This scouting party armed themselves with whatever armor and steel they could get their hands on. After they felt adequately prepared they marched forth out west towards the mines. Soon, nothing but silence fills the air as fear takes over the actions of those left in the square, silently waiting for the return of the scouts.


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    The town center now filled with rumors as people gossiped as to what could have happened and what will happen, though those thoughts have always lead the conversations to dark places. A few people have made feeble attempts to ask the boy as to what happened, but were soon chased away by Rilic.


    ¡°What in the world is wrong with you!? Can¡¯t you see he¡¯s been through enough for today!?¡±


    Soon, no one spoke as everyone in town decided to remain silent once again and wait for the scouts to return with news.


    One, two, three hours pass and yet, the party has yet to return. It wasn¡¯t until sundown that the scouting party finally arrived. It was then that many of the Towns folk let out gasps as they saw the state of the party. Out of the hundred or so militiamen, only a third returned bleeding, battered and bruised. Among them were a few severely wounded as well as a single woman covered in a single blanket, laid out on a makeshift stretcher carried by two people, one of which was Dekard.


    ¡°Make way! Wounded coming through.¡±


    Several people crowded the party, bombarding them with questions.


    ¡°What happened, did you find out what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Where did those things come from?¡±


    ¡°My son! Please tell me if you found my son!¡±


    That last question came from the shop keeper that Eiso recognized. His once cheery demeanor is now distraught and terrified.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Aris, we only made it to the entrance. It¡­well¡­it didn¡¯t look good.¡±


    The shop keeper falls to his knees after hearing the news. Never the less the crowd continues to interrogate the party until someone yell out with irritation.


    ¡°Can you PLEASE, make room? We can¡¯t talk right now and we have some her who are wounded so MAKE WAY!¡±


    The crowd opened a path at his command, and after seeing injures that were inflicted on them, the crowed became too frightened to pursue any further. The boy on the other hand, shakes off the man who was supposed to look after him and loses him in the crowed.


    ¡°Eiso, where¡¯re you going? Hey don¡¯t push!¡±


    He follows them into one of the houses that have been fixed up into a temporary infirmary.


    ¡°Sorry, but this isn¡¯t place for kids, leave at once.¡±


    After being denied entry, the boy sneaks around the side and peers into one of the windows. Inside are several tables as well as freshly rolled out blankets to form makeshift beds. Four people were set on these ¡®beds¡¯ one of which was the laid out woman. The men are in very bad shape. One has a badly bandaged eye patch while another is missing his arm entirely though he wan¡¯t moving. As for the other two, they have most of their bones broken and are barely breathing as is. After much hesitation from one of the temporary nurses they finally decided to look at the woman under the blanket.


    The boy stifles a scream as he saw the mangled mess before him. It was Mrs. Burrough, and the condition she was left in made all that saw her gasp in horror. Her left leg just below the knee is torn off exposing a bit of bone. Her right arm shredded, some flesh exposed and bent in a horrific position and her left arm had been blackened and scorched to a crisp up to the shoulder. Yet even with heavy wounds, she is still alive, breathing, and unconscious.


    One of the guards eyes her scorched arm and asks the nurse with some hesitation.


    ¡°D-Did those Beasts do that?¡± he sputters, looking at the charred mess before him.


    ¡°No, I think those are self inflicted,¡± the nurse mutters.


    ¡°I¡­ didn¡¯t know she was fire aligned as well,¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think she is, at least, not to a very heavy alignment.¡±


    ¡°I see, then that explains it¡­ah Dekard!¡±


    ¡°Just asked the elder if he can get folk to fork over any medicine.¡± Dekard looks at the injured woman with a deathly


    pale face. ¡°So¡­how is she.¡±


    The nurse looking after her refuses to make eye contact, ¡°We cauterized the leg and stoped the bleeding for now, but¡­.¡±


    The nurse looks down grimly at her patient. She speaks to Dekard once more, again, refusing to look at him, ¡°I¡­well¡­ I don¡¯t suppose that healer is going to be coming soon.¡±


    ¡°No, from what I hear the healer won¡¯t be in for another week.¡±


    The nurse looks once more at the devastation left on the woman¡¯s body.


    ¡°She¡¯s incredible. How has she managed to live this long?¡±


    ¡°She a tough old hag I can tell ya¡¯ that.¡± Dekard answered. ¡±When we found her she was in a stone shell with a whole pack of those beasts clawing at her.¡± He looks over her with a look of pity and sorrow in his eyes. ¡°Tell me ya can save her.¡±


    The nurse grabs a wet cloth from a nearby bowl and begins to wipe the dirt off of her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but there is nothing more we can do for her.¡±


    ¡°GRAAHH. DAMMIT.¡± Dekard in a fit of anger and punches the nearest wall, leaving behind a massive dent.


    The sudden spout of rage frightens every one inside as he storms out of the house. Soon those that remain turn their attention back to the wounded. The boy, seeing everything, becomes desperate once more.


    ''NO! Please! There has to be something they can do, anything! Don¡¯t just give up! Please don¡¯t give up.''


    The boy collapses from the window and prays to no one in particular.


    ''No...you...you have to help her. Please¡­ someone¡­ anyone¡­help her. Don¡¯t let her die.''


    He can barely keep what little composure remains, as a single idea clicked inside him.


    ''Healer¡­.she can be saved if we new healing¡­..wait... Healer! I know where to look for healing magic!''


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Standing up once more he makes a dash to the only place he believes he can get help.


    ------------------------------------------------------------


    The familiar burning sensation seeps into the boy¡¯s legs as he sprints back up the dirt road leading east. His body screaming for a chance to rest, yet he ignores it and forces himself to continue on.


    At last, he makes it back to the familiar building with the small fence and overgrowth climbing up the walls. The boy flings open the door and frantically climbs the stairs inside and up to his father¡¯s room, were he wildly opens every cabinet, every nook and cranny, while flinging all of their contents outside.


    ''Come on! Where is it? I know Nana stashed it here before we left! I have to find it.''


    Finally, with a triumphant look, he finds what he is looking for exactly where he found it earlier. Inside one of his father¡¯s old traveling bags he pulls out a rather thick leather bound book. With the book in his possession he runs back out and into the moonlight a he frantically opens the book, and turns it page by page.


    -------------------------------------------------------------


    An hour or so goes by as the moon rises from the sky and shines brilliantly on the town. By this time many of the people in town have gone to rest, too worried and tired to stay up and gossip any more, leaving only the guards to patrol for any incoming threats. It is by then that the boy finally makes it back to the infirmary, this time, carrying a thick leather bound book.


    After studying a particular section in the book over and over again for the past hour, the boy bursts into the building and immediately seeks out the wounded woman who has already been bandaged by the nurses to the best of their abilities.


    He carefully sets down the book on the bed and immediately flips through the pages.


    ''Please, hang on just a little longer.''


    He then lists off the instructions on casting magic.


    ''Okay first charge with mana.''


    Energy filled with warmth gathers at the boy¡¯s fingertips.


    ''Right, next is form.''


    With great difficulty he pushes forth his wish to care for someone, to restore them, to save them, to see them smile once more.


    ''And finally, the incantation and release.''


    ¡±What in the world are you doing here?¡±


    The nurses heard the commotion from upstairs and came down to investigate. Ignoring them, the boy pressed forth, and prays that what he is about to do, will work.


    ¡°[Restra]¡±


    The nurses that have gathered there, gasp as they witness a warm glow emitting from the boy¡¯s hands. White light wraps around the woman¡¯s wounded body as the boy kept pouring magic into her. The wounds on her left leg seal up beneath the bandages. Her broken right arm painfully sets its self into place with a few forceful snaps, and her scorched arm, though still blackened, slowly regains its soft texture. After a minutes, some color had returned to the woman¡¯s pale face, however¡­


    ''W-Why!? Why isn¡¯t this working? Why hasn¡¯t she woken up? She should be completely healed by now!''


    Indeed, the woman did not seem to respond to any of the boy¡¯s treatment.


    ¡°[R-Restra]!¡±


    Once again, a warm white glow surrounded her, and yet¡­


    WORK! It has to WORK!


    ¡°[RESTRA]! [RESTRA]! [RESTRA]!¡±


    Yet again, the familiar warm light returned, encompasses her and leaves, but the woman has yet to regain consciousness.


    ¡°Re¡­Restr¡­..¡±


    The boy collapses onto the bed sheets, unable to go on.


    ''No! I can still manage. I can still try!''


    He tries once more to gather energy into his hands, but this time nothing happens, he is completely empty of mana.


    Desperation fills his mind, as he tightly grabs onto the woman¡¯s bed sheets.


    ¡°Please nana¡­please wake up¡­ please say something¡­.please¡­¡­¡­ don¡¯t go.¡±


    The boy was done. Filled with emptiness and fear. All three of them were to be a single family. With her gone, this family was incomplete, a puzzle missing its centerpiece. She was his guardian, his shield¡­his friend. She protected him with her life and yet he could do nothing to help her in return. He did not want to admit it, but in the back of his mind, he knows why she isn¡¯t waking up. He knows that he will never speak to her again, that he will never get to laugh with her, he will never be scolded by her, and he will never smile with her¡­ever again.


    ¡°¡­no¡­nana¡­I¡¯m¡­.sorry¡­¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­.


    ¡­¡­¡­.


    ¡°¡­¡­..what¡­¡­.was that¡­¡­¡­.boy?¡±


    Looking up, the boy becomes absolutely stunned. The woman was awake and smiling faintly at him and his pitiable state. The boy is in complete shock. He can¡¯t believe it. How can he? Yet, there she was, with her kind and motherly face, and so he responds the only way he knows how.


    ¡°I mean¡­¡­.I¡¯m sorry¡­¡­Mrs. Burrough.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­much¡­¡­..better.¡±


    Finally he cried. After being hassled by the perpetual fear of death and loss, he finally releases all of his emotions. He cried as he tightly grips on to her bed sheets, soaking them in his tears. He ignores how pitiful he looks, he ignores the fact that several other people have gather and observed everything that had happened here. All that matters is that she is alive. The caretaker tenderly strokes his hair and whispers in a very tired and sweet voice.


    ¡°¡­..Thank you¡­Eiso. You¡­.have been¡­.very ....brave.¡±¡¯


    The boy says nothing as he keeps his firm grip. He wanted nothing more than to feel her warmth for as long as he can, and soon the two slowly drift into a peaceful slumber.


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Three weeks have passed as Eiso prepares to remove a single loaf of sweet bread from the still heated oven. He had been up before sun rise preparing what looked like a particularly sweet picnic basket as it was filled with all sorts of sweet treats ranging from cookies to simple sweet breads. He finishes preparing and begins to make his way when he is interrupted by a muscularly built man with droopy eyes and a stifled yawn, a man who happened to wander in after smelling the sweet treats.


    ¡°Oh, up already, where¡¯re you headin¡¯ off to?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna go visit Mrs.Burrough today,¡± says the boy with a bright smile. Seeing that his father is eyeing the bread he prepared, he pulls out one of the loaves he made and offers it to him.


    ¡°Ah, thanks. Well then, be sure to stop by Sister Diam afterwards when you¡¯re done.¡±


    ¡°Will do. Bye dad.¡±


    With a wave of goodbye, the boy walks out the door towards the southern edge of town.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------


    As the sun slowly rises from the horizon the boy finds himself in a particularly deserted plot of land as few people would want to be in this section of town. Treading lightly through the freshly mildew ridden grass he makes his way through trying to reach his destination all the while looking at the frayed stones and overgrown tufts of grass that sit around him.


    ''Not many people like to come around here. I suppose this place has bad memories for everyone.''


    Soon he finds the particularly soft spot of grass he had been looking for and sets down the basket of sweets in front of him. Pulling out a single loaf of bread, he sets it down in front a single stone tablet.


    ¡°Morning, Mrs. Burrough I brought you some sweets this morning. It¡¯s not much, but I made it myself.¡±


    Eiso sits down onto his claimed spot, pulls out another sweet bread from the basket and quietly munches on his breakfast as he observes the soft trees and fluttering birds around him. After a few minutes he breaks the peace filled silence.


    ¡°I...think I¡¯ve made my decision. I know you were joking when you said to be better than dad, and since I can¡¯t imagine anyone better than him, I know what you really meant. I will work hard to be strong enough to protect people. I¡­ don¡¯t want to see anyone else die. So please don¡¯t¡¯ worry about me. I¡¯ll be the kind of person who¡¯s able take care of myself. I¡¯ll be¡­all... right."


    With a shining smile he leans forward and gently places a hand on the stone tablet that read:


    Burrough of Greyfield. A Mother to all.

 Chapter 4: Tutelage

    Eiso is yet again reading from his most prized possession. After telling his father that he had been reading from it for some time now, he agreed to lend it to him for the time being, stating the he ¡°Was never into much book learnin¡¯ anyway.¡±


    As he comes across terms such as ¡®Hostile¡¯s and Beasts¡¯, unpleasant thoughts and images entered his mind as he recalled that horrible day. So many Beasts, So much blood, so much¡­pain. It was not until he heard other voices that he finally snapped back to reality.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t be greedy. Just tell me already!¡±


    ¡°No way, I worked so hard to find out how! There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to give this power to anybody!¡±


    Eiso had been lounging around underneath a particularly shady tree in the middle of an empty field when he heard the voices of other children playing some distance away from him. Looking up he spots a red headed boy a few years older than him accompanied by a little girl with brown and bobbed hair.


    ¡°Come oonnn. Just tell me. It¡¯s something bad I know it! Tell me what you are gonna¡¯ do, or else I¡¯m gonna¡¯ tell your dad!¡±


    ¡°T-Threaten my all you want, there¡¯s no chance I¡¯ll tell a little kid!¡±


    As much as Eiso was curious as to what they were talking about, he decided to ignore them for the time being as he had other business to do in town. Brushing of the dirt from his trousers, he packs away his book inside a knapsack, flings the single strap over his shoulder and begins walking back.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------


    It is a rather beautiful day as Eiso was walking through the streets, observing other passersby. Everyone Eiso ran into was somber and generally quiet as they went about their business repairing houses or harvesting crops. In fact, the only people that lightened the mood to any extent were the other children, laughing and playing, blissfully unaware as to what happened just a few weeks ago.


    The nights from that day on had been the most stress filled anyone of Greyfield had ever experienced. Anyone who lived on the outskirts of town, or close to it, had to be relocated further in, as everyone had been assigned a task to carry out. During the day, the townsfolk had been forced to laboriously create and maintain the temporary barricade surrounded the town. Thanks to the use of earth spells its construction they were well protected thought the maintenance was rather taxing. However, the true problems arose once the sun fell. During the night, the Beasts that those in the town named those ¡®Wretched Hounds¡¯, would come in packs, attacking the barricade until they succeeded in tearing it down, and every night they have done so without fail. Those Beasts slaughtered any and all that got into their path, until the guards have finally been able to down them through their combined efforts of magic and steel. Still, all they could manage was to hold on until reinforcements arrived from the Lord of their region. Three weeks have passed since the infamous ¡°Mine Incident¡± and the people of Greyfield are still recovering from the initial shock. Even now, after the beasts have been quelled there is talk of abandoning the town for safety, something that Eiso¡¯s father has seriously considered. The only thing bringing up the mood was the children themselves. Their happy demeanor was slowly infecting most of the adults, bringing smiles to their faces.


    ¡®I suppose the best remedy would be to make our own light mood.¡¯


    Eiso thought to himself with a sunny disposition as he opened the doors to the apothecary¡¯s work shop. The shop itself had shelves stacked upon shelves, filled with veils and jars of liquids that came in a variety colors. Flasks of viscous green and potions of a luminescent blue this shop had everything to cure most ailments. As interesting as it was to look at the shop¡¯s fine products, Eiso had other business further back behind a set of curtains. Reeling back the cloth before him he found the person he was looking for. Inside was a soft linen bed and beside it was a single elderly woman wearing simple black robes and reading papers on a desk


    ¡°Good morning Ms. Marle.¡±


    ¡°¡­Hmm.¡±


    Satisfied by her usually stern response Eiso sets aside his things into a corner before pulling out a single book labeled ¡°Medicinal Synthesis: Beginner¡¯s Edition¡± and began reading its contents. After an hour or so of nothing but silence and the occasional scratching of a pen, he was


    interrupted by a knock on the counter up front.


    ¡°Hello! Can someone help me?¡±


    Without skipping a beat, Eios jumps up and greets the potential customer. What he found was a guard assisting his friend who was battered, bruised, and bleeding. Attempting to keep his composure after looking at the man¡¯s wounds, Eiso greeted them.


    ¡°G-Good Morning sir! How can I help?¡±


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s you, kid. I actually need some healing done.¡±


    Ever since that Dungeon was found, Eiso had been rather busy. In the five days it took for armed forces to give the town relief he was tasked with the job of patching up the guards that were injured in fighting off the Wretched Hounds. Many were gruesomely injured, however many were thankful that the situation did not get much worse, as those injured were able to scrape by with their lives. As much help as he was, problems came with the fact that he was still very new to using magic. As such, he was only able to heal a few people before running out of mana and being overwhelmed with exhaustion; so many wounded, yet only a single child there to help them.


    Still, a job was job and as such, he directed the two men into the infirmary as the guard began removing his friend¡¯s armor. The man was definitely bruised badly but thankfully the seemingly large claw mark that made it past his armor left only a shallow wound. With this much it was not too difficult for Eiso, and so, he places his hands over the wounds.


    ¡°[Restra]¡±


    On command, warm flowing white light emitted from his palms and into the man¡¯s wounds, sealing up the claw mark and bringing color back to the bruising.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°..!¡±


    A smile spreads crosses the wounded guard¡¯s face.


    ¡°¡­ah, that¡¯s much better! Thanks kid.¡±


    Ms. Marle had finally looked up from her desk.


    ¡°That¡¯ll be 570 Silver¡±


    ¡°My LORD! That MUCH!?¡± The guards were dumbfounded at the cost.


    ¡°Erm¡­Ms. Marle, I don¡¯t think we¡¯re supposed to charge for that.¡±


    ¡°Pahh, if that¡¯s the way it is we¡¯ll never make any money. As for you two, just tell the rest of the men not to be so damn confident just because you have someone here to patch you up.¡±


    ¡°Erm¡­It¡¯s fine Ms. Marle.¡±


    ¡°No it¡¯s NOT. That over confidence of having a healer is gotten people killed before, and neither you nor Diam will be there to prevent that.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­excuse me? I came here on Sister Diam¡¯s directions. You see¡­ I need someone to help my son.¡±


    Next, a red haired man walks in with an equally red headed boy that was a few inches taller than Eiso whom he recognized immediately as the same person from earlier that was arguing with a little girl. Based on the look of guilt on his face as well as the burn marks on his arms it is easy tell what happened.


    ¡°My idiot son tried to use a spell improperly.¡±


    ¡°HAH it wasn¡¯t improper, it was perfect! I just, got a little carried away is all. Besides, I¡¯m fine. See!¡±


    ¡°Like hell you are! Where in the hell did you learn how to use magic anyway! You damn near set the field ablaze! If Papri don¡¯t tell me about what you were doing¡­¡±


    ¡°Tch. I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d actually do it.¡±


    ¡°You little¡­!¡± Before the father could say anymore, the elderly woman cut him off.


    ¡°Really? Another careless father! Fine just send him to the back. Eiso! Take care of him.¡±


    Much to the father¡¯s displeasure at the passing remark he gave a curt nod egged his son to take a seat.


    Eiso nodded as he rolled up his sleeves before giving a command and beginning the treatment.


    ¡°Right then. Just sit still for a moment, please.¡±


    Just like before, Eiso gather mana to his hands, muttered a single word, and allowed a white light to restore the boy, slowly erasing the burns on his arms until there is not a single mark left. Eiso looks up to see the boy only to be confused by his expression.


    ¡°Wow! You can use magic? Like¡­real magic, without it backfiring or anything?¡±


    Unsure as to why the boy is acting as such, Eiso responds in an effort to


    quell his excitement.


    ¡°Well¡­ I suppose I can, I mean¡­ it is a little tiring but not all that hard to use.¡± He said, hoping to calm him down a bit. However, his confirmation did not help in the slightest as the boy¡¯s excitement only seemed to increase as he began to muttering to himself.


    Before Eiso could ask if there was something wrong with him, a shouting match seemed to have started between the elderly woman and the red haired man.


    ¡°Not being able to discipline your own son. HA! An idiot father and an idiot son! Not too far from the tree as they say.¡±


    ¡°WHAT! Why, you old hag!¡±


    Before they could throw their fists at each other, The soft and calming voice came of a young woman came from the front of the Apothecary. ¡°Pardon me, but may I ask you two to please quite down. That is no way to act in front of children.¡±


    Before anyone else can say anything, the elder woman responds first.


    ¡°Hmph. I suppose you being here means you finished your duties?¡±


    ¡°That is right. I finished the prayers for today.¡±


    ¡° ¡®Bout damn time! Having children do your work for you. What kind of church are people running these days?¡± muttered the ¡®old hag¡¯ underneath her breath.


    Ignoring her not too subtle retort, the lady in white robes turns her gaze towards Eiso before giving a brilliant and beautiful smile that made the boy next to him fidget and blush.


    ¡°Thank you Eiso, you have helped me so much in the past, your work is done for the day so why don¡¯t you leave early and enjoy yourself for today?¡±


    ¡°If you say so, Sister Diam.¡±


    Just as Eiso flung his knapsack over his shoulder and began walking out the door, he felt a hand gently grab him by the shoulder.


    ¡°Oh, can you wait a minute? Here.¡± She shows him with a small leather bag.


    Eiso grabs the pouch presented to him and peaks inside to find a handful of thin silver coins the size of thumb nails. ¡°It is your payment for today. I am sure the church will not mind me doing this. Again, thank you for helping me today.¡±


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡±


    Timidly Eiso looks up and simply nods at the woman¡¯s suggestion, before quietly walking out the door. As he was leaving, another man walked in, wielding both bow and quiver, as well as a bleeding hand.


    ¡°Hey can someone here help? I was out hunting and¡­. well...¡±


    ¡°Oh, for the love of¡­another one!? When will you people learn not to hurt yourselves!?¡±Smiling, the robed woman approached the hunter with both hand while muttering a single word under her breather, letting out a similar light to before.Seeing this, the old woman appraises the work, ¡°That¡¯ll be 415 Silver.¡±


    ¡°WHAT!?¡±


    Leaving their conversation behind, Eiso stepped out into the brightly sun light day.


    ¡®Well¡­there isn¡¯t much left for me to do. I think I¡¯ll just go home for now.¡¯


    However, as he was about to leave, he was suddenly called out by a somewhat demanding voice.


    ¡°Hey! Hold on a sec. They said your name is Eiso right? Where are you headin¡¯ off to?¡±


    Turning around, he looked up to find the same reckless headed child.


    ¡°Me? I¡¯m going home. Why?¡±


    Letting out a sigh of relief the boy answers, ¡°I see, well, the names Tynan and you see¡­I was wondering. Um, do you think you could help us out? It¡¯s alright if you say no, but you see¡­well.¡± Slowly, the boy picks his next few words carefully, ¡°I was kinda hoping you would teach us some magic.¡±


    ¡­.


    ¡°Um¡­sorry, but I can¡¯t help you there.¡±


    ¡°WHA-! Why not?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not all that good at using magic, besides, I¡¯m sure you can ask someone else to help you.¡±


    ¡°But, I¡¯ve asked almost everyone already, and no one else wants to! There all greedy if you ask me,¡± he replied haughtily.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡®Maybe there is a reason for not teaching you. Besides, I just started learning it myself.¡¯


    ¡­¡­


    ¡®Actually, if nobody tells him how to cast properly then he¡¯s probably just going to try again any way, and by the looks of it he¡¯ll¡­¡¯


    The boy stands waiting in bated breath for his answer until finally, Eiso comes to a conclusion.


    ¡®Well, I did promise to help others if I can. I suppose this is another way of helping.¡¯


    Taking a deep breath, Eiso puts up his resolve answers.


    ¡°¡­Fine.¡±


    ¡°Perfect! Come on then! Let¡¯s go find the every once else. Hey Dad. I¡¯m taking off, and will be back before sundown!¡±


    The boy¡¯s father says nothing as he simply throws his arms into the air in frustration, as he watches his son dragging the dark haired boy by the shoulders, and towards the empty fields.


    -------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡°Pfft¡­HA HA HA! What a moron! AHA HA HA HA HA!¡±


    As both the boy and Eiso made their way back to the tree he just occupied this morning, they found two girls that were in standing under the shade.


    The taller of the two had brown hair tied in a ponytail and was buckled over, holding her sides in laughter, while the shorter one, whom Eiso recognized from earlier, was beside herself with a look of concern.


    ¡°It¡¯s not funny! He had fire in his hands for a little while, and then¡­.it was scary! Very, very scary!¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha¡­W-Well¡­haha¡­ that idiot should have known what would happen using something like that¡­hahaha!¡±


    The boy in question was not all that pleased at what he was hearing.


    ¡°Oi! Quit it, will you! ¡°he shouted.


    ¡°Ha ha ha, why should I? I¡¯m free to do what I want, right? If I find something sad, I¡¯ll cry. If find something happy I¡¯ll sing, and if I find an idiot who doesn¡¯t know common sense¡­ AHA HA HA HA HA HA HA!¡±


    ¡°Enough! That accident won¡¯t happen again, now that we have some on here who can help us!¡±


    ¡°R-Really, someone can teach us magic!¡± piped up the smaller girl excitedly.


    ¡°You bet!¡±


    Still gripping her stomach, the older girl points to Eiso.


    ¡°Ha ha¡­Who¡¯ll teach us, him? He looks younger than we are¡­ha ha.¡±


    ¡°Of course he will! I saw him use it myself! So we¡¯ve got it all taken care of.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°I said we did, didn¡¯t I. Anyway introduce yourselves, will ya!¡±


    Slowly collecting herself, the older girl wipes away her tears, ¡°He he he¡­ oh, *Ah hem*. I¡¯m Rikka, nine years, and this here is my little sister, Papri.¡±


    Evidently she attempted to have the smaller girl introduce herself, however the little girl instead retreated behind her sister, choosing to only stare intensely at Eiso with her deep amber eyes.


    ¡®W-What did I do?¡¯


    Completely oblivious to this, the red headed boy re-introduces himself.


    ¡°As I said before, I¡¯m Tynan, nine years as well, and you?¡± he asks while the three of them stare at him expectantly.


    ¡°Oh¡­well¡­I¡¯m Eiso, six years.¡±


    ¡°I knew it; he is younger than us,¡± piped Rikka.


    ¡°Like I said, he knows magic. He¡¯ll defiantly be able to teach us.¡±


    ¡°By the way, where are you from?¡± Rikkaasks as she quizzically looks at Eiso.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m from here. Greyfield.¡±


    Rikka raises and eyebrow at this, ¡°Really? We¡¯ve met pretty much everyone around here. How come we don¡¯t see you around?¡±


    Eiso looks down, feeling a little saddened. "I''m sorry... I just...never really..."


    Seeing this, Rikka awkwardly changes the subject.


    ¡°W-Well, enough talk! How about a demonstration! I want to see what you can do first hand.¡±


    ¡°Hell yeah!¡±


    ¡°Uh, huh!¡±


    Even Papri, who was very weary of Eiso just moments before, piped up in excitement.


    With Tynan brushing off a bit of grass and Papri pulling down her skirt for comfort, the three of them took a seat on the grass underneath the tree and began to focus on him.


    ¡®¡­ So much pressure!¡¯


    Shaking off his anxiety Eiso thinks for a moment. Aside from Healing there is only one other spell he knows. With that in mind he begins to focus and build mana into his left hand, letting out his second spell.


    ¡°[Lumen]¡±


    Multiple orbs of light ballooned from his hand, illuminating the shady tree with bright white light. Steadily the orbs rose until Eiso moved his arms as if conducting. The orbs floated here and there, flowing alongside the flowing wind, dancing to the tempo and rhythm of Eiso¡¯s hands. The three spectators watched in awe at the beautiful light show before them; dipping, swaying, bouncing, the orbs just skip across the winds. After a minute or so, with the wave of his hand, he popped the orbs into a flurry of dazzling radiant lights.


    *Clap**Clap**Clap**Clap*


    While the small girl, Papri, simply continued to stare, the first to speak up was Rikka."So you really CAN use magic! Incredible!¡±


    ¡°So¡­what spell was that?¡±


    Turning to Tynan, Eiso answered, ¡°Erm¡­it was called ¡®Lumen¡¯. It¡¯s a spell used to make light, although I use it mostly for night reading.¡±


    ¡°SEE! I told you he can properly use magic! Now! It¡¯s time for you to tell us how you do it.¡±


    Rikka lets out a sigh, ¡°We tried casting spells before, but we still can¡¯t get it to work. We can¡¯t even make a single drop of water¡¯¡±


    ¡°Let me think. Are you gathering enough mana to use? Does your form flow


    properly? Are you using the right incantation?¡±


    ¡°W-What! Um. I-I think we are¡­sort of ¡­ you know¡­. doing it right¡­ I think.¡±


    Thinking as to what their problem might be, Eiso pull out his book and flips it open to a certain page.


    ''¡­.an individual¡¯s alignment is essentially a simple way of generalizing whether a person is efficient (or at the very least capable) of using a certain element. Usually split into five categories of element and four tiers of ranking (though some claim that there is actually five), the four rankings consist of [Low Rank], [Mid Rank], [High Rank], [Master Rank], and the debated [Legend Rank]. ¡­. ''


    ¡­.


    Snapping the book to a close, he begins to explain the problem. They simply were using the wrong spell for their alignment!


    ¡°Alright. So that means that all we need to do is to try them out one by one until we get it right!¡±


    Papri, looking incredibly worried spoke up for the first time in a while.


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t know¡­ what if you lose control again.¡±


    ¡°I said it won¡¯t happen again right? Besides, if anything goes wrong, Eiso here knows how to heal, he¡¯ll patch us back up in no time!¡± He said confidently as he patted Eiso on the back.


    ¡°I-Is that true?¡±


    Papri looks back at Eiso, though she still refuses to speak to him.


    Rikka nodded in agreement.


    ¡°I think he''s right. As long as we''re careful we won''t need to go and see the Apothecary. Well then teacher we will be in your care.¡±


    The group stood up and began to listen inattentively, prepared to listen onto every word Eiso is going to say.


    Slightly nervous under the building pressure, Eiso began to go over the basics of casting.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------


    Several hours of practicing and a few close calls later, Eiso began to feel quite proud of himself. After going through the basics of casting, which took a few hours in its right, he was able to get them cast the most basic of elemental spells.


    Through trial and error, they were able to determine who was able to use what element at the lowest rank out of the three elements they tested today. Tynan could use Fire, Rikka could use Fire and Water, and Papri could use all three, Fire, Water, and Stone.


    ¡°Ha ha..This is pretty fun once you get the hang of it. [Kindle]!¡± Tynan then began to light the tip of his finger with a tiny open flame. He then tried it again, pointing at piece of dried twig a few steps away from him, immediately setting it on fire.


    ¡°So long as you don¡¯t go overboard and try to burn down the town, [Megha],¡± teased Rikka as she began to douse the grass near her in a coat of mist.


    ¡°I SAID IT WOULDN¡¯T HAPPEN AGAIN!¡±


    As Papri began playing with the marble shaped rocks she made through [Terra], Eiso began to wonder about something. During the entire lesson, all three of them were completely focused on learning, and not once did Eiso have to repeat himself or his instructions. He himself was only able to learn out of pure desperation, so a single question came to his mind.


    ¡°Um, I hope you don¡¯t mind me asking, but¡­why are you all so interested in learning?¡±


    Tynan looked in shock at Eiso¡¯s question.


    ¡°Huh? Are you kidding? It¡¯s magic! Why wouldn¡¯t we want to know how to use it? The power to smite evil and save royalty! The power to be a Hero! It¡¯s just like the Grand Fire Maestro! ¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    This time it was Rikka who was in shock.


    ¡°WHAT! How do you not know the Grand Fire Maestro! My parents would tell me that story all the time! The stories of the man who could command the sea of flames! A man who could burn down the armies of evil with the snap of his fingers! A man who could set the sea ablaze on a whim! And who can forget his speech!¡±


    In perfect unison all three of them clenched a hand over their hearts, and recited ¡­


    ¡°I am the Torch, Evil will not harm me. I am the Flame, which will scorch the Vile. I am the Light, and I will bring end to the creeping Darkness!¡±


    Eiso couldn¡¯t help but smile. In many ways, they reminded him of himself; their wonder and amazement to the idea magic pretty much went much the same way he felt.


    After they finished their day dream Tynan asked, ¡°So¡­ you really never heard of him?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I haven¡¯t heard of any legends like that before.¡±


    Dejected, Tynan lets out a sigh.


    ¡°Ah geez. Just what have you been doing all this time? Man, what a dull life you must have had. ¡°A twinge of guilt hit Eiso once more.


    ¡°By the way, who taught YOU to use magic?¡± asked Rikka


    Eiso answered sheepishly, ¡°Me? I was able to learn through this guide book.¡±


    ¡°So¡­you were able to learn all by yourself?¡±


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s right.¡±


    Rikka looked at Eiso with even greater curiosity.


    ¡°Erm¡­what is it?¡±


    ¡°¡­.oh¡­nothing.¡± She said unconvincingly.


    ¡°..?¡±


    Confused, Eiso decides to ignore this for now. With the sun just starting to give off the orange hue of dusk he begins to pack his things away.


    Rikka immediately stopped him.¡°Whoah, hey¡­where¡¯re you going? It¡¯s still day light right now.¡±


    ¡°There is not much else I can do. All you need to do is use those steps to any spell, and as long as you¡¯re careful, it should be fine.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡° Say, why don¡¯t you stay with us for a little while longer? I wouldn¡¯t mind, we could use more friends, and there¡¯s no way I am going to talk to those other idiots again after what they did. So, whaddaya say?¡± Tynan gave off a wide grin.


    Rikka nodded vigorously in agreement, while Papri did in her usual silence.


    A warm feeling sparked in him at the mention of the word ¡®friends¡¯. Panicked and a little confused he dismissed the notion.


    ¡°T-That would nice but, I have chores to do.¡±


    ¡®After all. Someone has to prepare supper.¡¯


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s fine I guess, but you have to come by and see us again tomorrow, yeah?¡±


    ¡°Of course he will...you will see us again, right Eiso?"


    A burning sense of endearment filled Eiso¡¯s chest. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder why? He had only been with these three for a day, and yet it felt like he knew them much longer than that. Not to mention he never cared to get to know anyone else before, so why now?


    ¡®¡­..Mrs. Burrough¡¯


    ¡­¡­


    Eiso comes to his conclusion


    ¡®This is what she wanted, right? She would definitely be happy¡­right?¡¯


    With a warm smile he gave his answer. ¡°Sure. That sounds¡­ very nice.¡±

 Chapter 5: First Quest

    Written account by the name of Dimas of the Dragon¡¯s Pride Clan


    ¡°1st Day of Descent: I¡¯ve heard of this kind of job before, and as far as I can know I can¡¯t see why it was so damn popular; To risk your life exploring a dark and by all accounts, creepy cave. Not going to complain too much. What we plan to do in this Dungeon is not too difficult, just very tedious.


    In any event, we decided to try our hand at Dungeon Crawling once more and decided to investigate this new Dungeon that seemed to have showed up out of nowhere outside of this seemingly innocuous town called Greyfield, located at the southernmost edge of this kingdom¡¯s territory, and so with the largest party Reynauld could muster, the sixty of us agreed to tackle this new challenge. Admittedly, I don¡¯t think anyone in the world has ever conquered a Dungeon before and I have heard many stories of those that have tried and failed, but that¡¯s not what we¡¯re doing. In fact, that¡¯s something that never came to mind when we decided to try some Dungeon Crawling. What we decided to do was map it out as much of the floor as we can.


    As for the Dungeon itself, the most anyone could guess is that it was probably here for some time, and it wasn¡¯t known until the miners accidently dug it out. Still, whatever the reason we are here now and it¡¯s my job as acting cartographer to map out the paths as we make our decent.


    So far, today has been uneventful which is understandable since the Beasts that reside in the first stratum within the mines have already left to the surface and have been slain. Even so, the bodies of those that worked here, their bones have been strewn throughout the entrance and blood still stains both the floor and their remaining shovels. They never stood a chance.


    Our theory about the dungeon being dug out by accident has pretty much been confirmed. After an hour of exploring the mines, we found a torn down hole in a wall, an entrance to what we believe leads into the actual Dungeon itself. Once inside the difference becomes very noticeable. The walls of manmade support beams have been replaced by walls that were clearly cut through by claws as the paths twist and turn into every direction, some leading to dead ends, while others break apart into multiple branching paths. It¡¯s going to take a long time to map out every pathway. Man, my job is never going to be easy. In order to speed up the process, the party was divided into three groups and we will meet up with each other tomorrow.


    As stated earlier, today had been uneventful, despite the fact that we spent nearly the entire day inside the Dungeon, we should have run into some form of Beast or another, yet as far as we can tell it¡¯s empty. Just where did everything go?


    2nd Day of Descent: We have finally faced the Beasts at last, but¡­they were not the same ones that were described to us. They were, to put it in a single word, disturbing. They were human like in their figure, standing on two legs with pitch black leathery skin and the height of two full grown men. However, they didn¡¯t have any noses, ears, or any body hair for that matter. Their eyes were a blank stare with no pupils, and a full set of rather large teeth that consisted of nothing but molars, their mouths peeled back into a permanent and disturbingly sinister smile wide enough to reach the point of where its ears would be. My god, what in the hell are these thing! The pair we found were feasting on what we later found out was the remains of one of the miners, bits of his flesh was torn from his body and discarded, but the remains of his bones were nowhere to be seen, such a mess. I feel sick even when writing this.


    Even so, due to our superior numbers our Sub Party Leader ordered a handful of us to ambush the two. What came next was a bit of a surprise. The group was able to fell one of the beasts by aiming for its skull and smashing it with a single combined stone missile, but the second one put up quite a bit of a fight. The Beast shrugged off most spells and arrows, and our steel swords was only barely able to pierce through its thick skin. After a few minutes of casting spells, slicing with blades, and bashing with hammers the creature suddenly grabbed its dead comrade and dragged it off with surprising speed deeper into the darkness. Though we decided not to chase the surviving Beast, many claimed to have heard a faint crunching sound emanating from deeper down the paths it went through.


    We mapped what we could and proceeded to meet up with the main group today. Upon hearing our story, another group confirmed what we found, forcing us to be even more cautious. The longer we stay here the more anxious I become. Can we just finish mapping and be done with it already? This darkness is playing tricks on my mind forcing me to hear noises, and it¡¯s causing me to lose sleep!


    3rd Day of Descent: What is with these things! All day we wandered aimlessly, drawing out this increasingly complex labyrinth and marking any potential dangers and pitfalls, yet it is clear that there are creatures lurking just out of torch light. Every so often we would come across a pack of those ¡®Devil Hounds¡¯ that were described to us, only for them to run away almost immediately. Then sometime after running into them, they would come back and stalk us. It has gotten to the point that a separate party was formed just for the purpose of hunting these beasts and driving them away.


    God I can¡¯t wait for this campaign to end. That¡¯s right; it has turned into a campaign. Reynauld has decided that we are going to be frequenting this Dungeon for a while. Though I doubt this place would have any treasures yet, our money will be coming from selling the rights to our map if all goes well, since I it would be too risky to attempt to claim the bounty for conquering it. A golden opportunity and one that does not come by often, yet I can¡¯t shake this feeling of dread. I couldn¡¯t even sleep properly; it¡¯s going to drive me insane. Reynauld believes that this will be our most profitable venture yet and his confidence gives me faith. Even so, I just want it to be over.


    4th Day of Descent: Another tedious day. We march, we map, we scout, and we rest, repeat the process until we run into more Beasts.


    The real problem isn¡¯t boredom. The problem is the lack of light playing tricks on us. We have only been here for a few days, and already the men miss the sun light. Even the shadows look like they are stalking us, ready to pounce at any moment.


    The worst offender of this new growing paranoia is Nitton, much to everyone¡¯s surprise. We all knew him as a rather quite man, never needing to say more than he needs to. In fact, it was as much of a surprise if he spoke at all, much less what he said during our nights at camp. As for my interaction with him, I like to think that I have at least some connection with him. Though he never really talks all that much, I still often chat and make small talk towards him regardless, asking rhetorical question with the knowledge that he will most likely respond with a simple ¡®yes¡¯ or ¡®no¡¯ if at all.


    However, tonight he was rather¡­restless. Those around him found that he was constantly fidgeting and was mumbling something to himself. When I finally decided to ask what is wrong, I expected him to simply wave his hand to in confirmation. Instead he gave us this little speech.


    ¡®May god shin his light, protect us from the darkness. May he guide us from our inevitable slumber.¡¯


    God, I did not take him for a religious man at all! I¡¯ve seen him do things to bandits and brigands that would make any hardened soldier sick, and he picks now to give us a sermon!


    To make things worse, he pulled off a circular amulet from his neck and gave it to me. It was the three pointed star, the symbol of the church. He took it off and gave it to me, saying that he knew I wasn¡¯t much into religion, but I could think of it as a good luck charm.


    Damn, what is with him? I am grateful that he gave me the amulet as some sort of protection, and even more so that he was trying to give us some peace of mind, but instead he nearly scared the crap out of us. What was all that talk of ¡®inevitable slumber¡¯? I can¡¯t even sleep. I¡¯ll finish today¡¯s report tomorrow.


    5th Day of Descent: How can this happen! We are of the great and powerful Dragon¡¯s Pryde Clan! How can we have been so unprepared? How can we have made such as choosing to enter this forsaken Dungeon! Here my comrades lay, Riley, Mathas, even Nitton, lifeless with horror etched on their faces as they let out their last breath, here, the proof of our failure.


    We were attacked in our sleep. Those dammed Beasts. Laying in wait to ambush us all this time! We had an over watch ready to alert us but it seems even they were killed. Those horrid smiling creatures. Stop smiling! They did not stop. They could not be stopped. Barreling straight towards us. Our defenses gone, smashing anybody they could get its hands on. Picking people up and snapping their bones in half as if they were made of nothing but twigs! And those ¡®Wretched Hounds¡¯. Trampling in a single mass wave. Tearing into flesh and dragging the remains into the shadows. God! I can still hear their pleas for help, as the soft sounds of meat being torn apart silenced those poor souls for good, as I stood, doing nothing. Then the spikes. Something in the darkness was hurling these spikes made of bones at us. Picking us off one by one!


    Someone, I don¡¯t know who, sent a flare in the air by magic, my god! I truly wish he didn¡¯t do that. The sheer number of those Beasts, there were so many! Their eyes! So many dead eyes! They came. Wave after wave, so many dead. Dying. Yet the most we could do was push them back. They just kept coming and coming and coming and coming¡­.


    Hours. Days. Years. Don¡¯t know how long. The horde just stopped attacking. They retreated, leaving us alone. Those that have been left standing were few, far too few. Two hundred. Two Hundred of us started. Two hundred in an effort to make some money, now, a measly nine.


    I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m so sorry. We had no choice. We had to leave them behind. There is nothing we can do for their remains. Even Reynauld, our indomitable Leader, was not spared from the massacre.


    I don¡¯t know what will happen to the rest of our clan. Don¡¯t care; Just want to leave this god forsaken place. I want to forget. Please let me forget. I want to forget their voices. I want to forget the sea of blood and anguish. I want to forget the evil that marks that place as its own. I want to forget it all.¡±


    Deckard finishes reading the journal. This is what remains of the written account by the sole surviving member of the Dragon¡¯s Pryde clan that dove into that Dungeon nine days ago. As for the Dimas himself, he has been found only yesterday, limping back from the mines, battered and bleeding.


    Deckard looked over the paper once more. It can still be read, however many of the pages prior had either been torn out or were simply damaged to a point where the letter could not be read. Even so the description of this other creature is what his attention the most. So far, those hounds were the only monsters anyone as ever encountered, but to think there are more of those things.


    Deckard sat in the center of the compound just outside of said Dungeon, looking over the rest of the man¡¯s belongings. He had been asked and accepted the responsibility of being captain to the outpost just outside of Greyfield coal mines.


    He looked at what little the writer had left. His bag had nothing more than a partially drawn map, an empty canteen, and a single amulet that belonged to the Church. Disappointed, he placed these things back inside and turned his attention back to the journal. As he read more of the journal a man in iron armor approached him with a salute.


    ¡°Captain Deckard. Rilic reporting for duty, sir! I am ordered to pass some news!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Captain?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Deckard simply stares at the last pages, before briefly snapping back to his senses.


    ¡°Hmm? Yes, what is it?¡±


    ¡°Erm, as I said, I¡¯m here to pass a message!¡±


    Deckard sets down the journal back with the other belongings they have recovered.


    ¡°I¡¯m headin¡¯ back to town, if ya wanna talk, do it on our way back.¡±


    ¡°I-I understand sir.¡±


    Deckard leaves steps out the outpost¡¯s gates accompanied by the man in amour. After a few minutes of walking back to town and once they came under a comfortable walking pace, the man gave his report.


    ¡°Sir. Our currently residing Lord expresses great interest in¡­¡±


    ¡°Rilic, why do ya use such honors, just Deckard is fine.¡±


    ¡°E-Even so, it wouldn¡¯t be right , sir.¡±


    ¡°Hmph, if ya say so.¡±


    Faltering slightly the messenger continues.


    ¡°Erm, as I as saying our current Lord, Lord Virisin, has expressed great interest in the resource known as coal, and as such, has placed a twenty-five thousand gold bounty on the submission of the Dungeon.¡±


    ¡°Gold? Really? Why¡¯s he so interested in that lump o¡¯ rock.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I couldn¡¯t say, all I heard is that Lord Virisin wants it.¡±


    Wondering as to the why there is an unusually high bounty, Rilic interrupted, ¡°Captain Deckard. I hope you don¡¯t mind me asking, but I heard that you were the first to investigate the mines. Just what happened? What exactly did you find down there?¡±


    Deckard¡¯s face becomes contorted in anguish as the thought of that damnable cave. So many bodies¡­so much¡­blood.


    ¡°...Nothing, no need to worry about it, It¡¯s just¡­I¡¯d rather not talk about it.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­I see. Forgive me for asking.¡±


    An awkward silence fills the air. Panicking the man attempts to change the topic.


    ¡°B-By the way, how is your son? Heard a bit of general news about him.¡±


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    Deckard gave a stern glare at the man.


    ¡°What kind of news?¡±


    ¡°W-Well, it¡¯s mostly just positive, but I haven¡¯t heard all the details, s-so please don¡¯t give me that look.¡±


    "Mostly?"


    "S-Sorry! I meant entirely! Entirely positive news!"


    Deckard stern and dark disposition crumbled at this, as it is soon replaced with a bright and cheerful one.


    ¡°Ah, I see. I that case, he¡¯s doing great! Been helping out at the Apothecary, and already made some friends. He¡¯s even been getting lessons in cooking in exchange for doin¡¯ some chores for one of the families in town.¡±


    ¡°He sounds very¡­ diligent for his age.¡±


    ¡°I woulda¡¯ said smart, but that works too.¡±


    The armored man nods in affirmation. ¡°Yes, from your description he sounds like a good child.¡±


    ¡°Praise my son more Ha Ha!¡± After a good laugh, Deckard drops his sunny attitude.


    ¡°Still, sometimes I wonder¡­¡± Deckard becomes melancholic as his thoughts drift form his son to himself. ¡°I can¡¯t stay here¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    ¡°This town, it was nice enough at first but with this new cave. I can¡¯t leave him here any longer. I¡¯ve been lucky, far too lucky to have such a life. I admit. I wasn¡¯t really into the whole idea of bein¡¯ father before I had him, but once that boy came into this world,¡± He softened his expression even further. ¡°All I ever did was to live from one job to the next. Doing what I wanted. Even when I joined a party for a bit of adventurin¡¯, I did as I pleased¡­ what a careless and stupid life I had.¡±


    Deckard looks around. They have long left the outpost and the two men are now half way between the mines and the town, with nothing but the trees winds, and the empty road, giving them company. The very same road he found Mrs. Burrough.


    ¡°Every time I think about what woulda¡¯ happened if Mrs. Burrough wasn¡¯ there.¡± He clenches his fist, and furrows his brow. ¡°I¡­don¡¯ ever want to see that again.¡±


    ¡°¡­So¡­what do you plan to do?¡±


    ¡°Who knows? I¡¯ll figure it out,¡± Deckard shrugs.


    After a few minutes go by, Deckard finally makes it back to town. As he is walking through the now crowded streets of the town¡¯s center, he comes across a very welcoming sight. He spots a young boy running towards him in a full sprint, with an excitedly happy expression on his face.


    ¡°Yep, I sure am lucky.¡± Deckard says, smiling happily as he opens his arms embraces his son.


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡°That¡¯s IT! Enough is enough! You people cannot walk in here for every little scratch you get! For the past three weeks I have been flooded with far too many patients with such superficial injuries. So anyone who isn¡¯t going to die in the next five seconds, GET. OUT. OF. MY. SHOP! ¡±


    Eiso had been stuck inside the Apothecary treating wound after wound non-stop all day as a massive line of patients poured out from the shop and into the market out front, garnering many stares from other passersby. Even he had to agree with Ms. Marle that the situation was absolutely ridiculous. He could barely tend to eight patients on a normal day, but now there were hundreds of patients in front of him that he had to take care of. Eventually he was forced to drink mana vials, whose taste was not pleasant in the slightest. It wasn¡¯t until one of the patients approached him with a question did Eiso finally manage to figure what was going on.


    ¡°Say kid¡­you wouldn¡¯t happen to know when Sister Diam will be in, do you?¡±


    Their excited looks upon entering followed by disappointment after a thorough look around as of the shop. Eiso thought it was safe to assume that they all pretty much injured themselves in the hopes of getting treated by Sister Diam herself. A mixture of amusement and annoyance overcame him, unsure as whether to laugh or not. While he thought it was funny, it couldn¡¯t be denied that they were all wasting valuable time.


    Hearing this man¡¯s inquiry, Ms. Marle became red in absolute fury. ¡°I have had it. OUT! Everyone OUT! Where closed for the day. Just get out and bleed somewhere else!¡± A collective groan was let out by the mob as Ms. Marle shooed them out. It wasn¡¯t until the last man left and the doors were slammed shut did she unleash her pent up frustration. ¡°IDIOTS! This town is filled with IDIOTS!¡±


    She continued to shout obscenities to no one in particular for what felt like several minutes, and did not stop until she noticed Eiso sitting patently on a nearby stool waiting for further instruction.


    Collecting herself she turned to him, ¡° *Cough* Well then. It seems we¡¯ll be closed for the rest of the day, so you can go on home early today¡­just¡­do me one favor.¡±


    ¡°What is Ms. Marle.¡±


    She grabbed Eiso by the shoulders, looked at him directly in the eyes, and spoke in a completely serious tone.


    ¡°Don¡¯t. Ever. Become a skirt chasing moron like them!¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes ma¡¯am.¡±


    ¡°Good, *sigh . Why did I agree to help that damn woman and her church.¡±


    Collecting his things he left the shop and out the front door.


    With the warm sun overhead, he began to walk at a calm pace to the usual tree he would often find Tynan and the others. It¡¯s been several days since Eiso became friends with them and they had continued to meet at the same spot every day after he left the Apothecary. Every day the four of them would either practice their spells or they would play a plethora of games.


    As he was halfway through the center of town, a welcoming sight caught his eye. ¡°Ah! Dad!¡± Eiso shouted, as he ran towards his father with a bright smile on his face.¡±


    ¡°Ha ha. How are ya¡¯ doin¡¯ my boy. Shouldn¡¯t you be helping at the Apothecary?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m doing great! Ms. Marle closed the shop early today because the customers started to get on her nerves.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that does sound like something she would do.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, right now I¡¯m going to go find Tynan and the others!¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Well be sure to take care of yourselves. Oh and when you are done, come straight home, I need to talk to ya¡¯ about somethin¡¯ .¡±


    ¡°Of course! Bye Dad.¡±


    With a final wave of goodbye, Eiso left, dodging and weaving through the crowd of people.


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Eiso finally made it to the tree, only to find that none of the others have showed up yet. Not wanting to waste time, He sat down and laid out a book on the soft grass, opening it, and then began flipping through the pages. It did not take long for the others to arrive, as he heard a voice call out to him.


    ¡°Hi¡¯ya Teach¡¯. Didn¡¯t know you were out early. So, what are we gonna do today.¡±


    It was Tynan with both Rikka, and Papri in tow.


    Shaking his head, Eiso waved back to the three, however only Rikka and Tynan responded in kind, as Papri once again completely ignored him, choosing only to give him a side glance.


    ¡°Sorry, Eiso, I still don¡¯t know why she¡¯s doing this.¡± Rikka whispered, pointing to her sister. ¡°I keep asking her, but she refuses to tell. She must really not like you for some reason.¡±


    ¡°Meh, forget about that, Rikka, we¡¯ll figure it out eventually, so Eiso, what do you wanna do today.¡±


    ¡°W-Well¡­ I was hoping you guys could help me practice my spells.¡±


    ¡°Heh, of course! Whatever you need, we¡¯ll do it. I mean, I did have something in mind as well. But you know, you did help us a lot! So, it¡¯s only fair.¡± Tynan smiled widely. ¡°But¡­aren¡¯t you already good at using them.¡± he asked while rubbing his arms for the non-existing burns.


    ¡°N-Not really, I saw Sister Diam use her magic, she is much better than me so I wanted to be as good as she is.¡±


    ¡°Not gonna be a problem, Eiso, I got you covered,¡± Rikka smirked as she slowly walked up to Tynan.


    ¡°Hmm? What is it Rik-.¡± Suddenly without warning, a fist flew directly into his face, knocking him to the ground.


    Papri instinctively ran forward and cried in panic, ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m okay, see, barely felt a thing.¡± Rikka answered coolly,


    ¡°She was talking to me you idiot!¡± Tynan retorted as he slowly got back up, cupping his right eye.


    ¡±Details, who needs ¡®em, anyway, Eiso, do your thing.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ignore me!¡±


    As Tynan was ignored, Eiso approached him and placed his hand over his eye, which was already swelling.


    ¡°[Restra]¡±


    The usual glow cloaked Tynan as Eiso began his test.


    While still casting the spell, Eiso slowly backs away from Tynan. The white glow grows weaker and weaker with every step. So to keep the process up, Eiso pours out even more mana. Soon he reaches his maximum range which he estimates to be about three meters. After a few moments of this, he stops the spell, completely healing Tynan.


    ¡®As long as I have enough mana, I can extend the range of my spells. Can probably do other things as well¡¯


    ¡±Good, now that that¡¯s over, you owe me, so you have to come with us to the forest. I have something I really need to do there.¡± Tynan said, rubbing his eye.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯d do anything for him?¡± Rikka asked.


    Disregarding this Tynan grabbed Eiso by the shoulders, with a bright twinkle in his eye. ¡°Please, you have to join us.¡±


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea¡­sure it¡¯s safer now, but there are still all sorts of¡­monsters there.¡±


    Eiso couldn¡¯t help but think of those wolf-like Beasts, those ferocious fangs, and horrifying blank eyes.


    ¡°Come onnnn. It¡¯ll be fine, we¡¯ll be fine by ourselves!¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m not sure.¡±


    Suspicious, Rikka asked ¡°Why do you want to go so badly?¡±


    ¡°M-Me? Uh¡­I ¡­ uh¡­just want to forage around for some goods that¡¯ll sell. Just wanna earn a little bit of money that¡¯s all.¡± Tynan said as his cheek started blushing slightly.


    ¡°Money? Why would you want money all of a sudd-.......Ohhh, is this about that girl you were talking to the other day.¡±


    ¡°What girl?¡± Asked Eiso out of curiosity.


    ¡°Yeah, what girl?¡± Papri piped up, in a very skeptical tone.


    ¡°J-Just some girl, y-you don¡¯t need worry about it. Heck, I barely remember her at all.¡±


    Rikka joyously decided to remind him, ¡°Well I do. During those nights when the hauled us off into one of those safe houses, I saw you talking to her the day those things attacked town, and then, practically every day from then on. Man, I almost forgot about those days.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, I almost forget about that too, man that was the scary, right.¡± Tynan said, attempting to change the subject.


    Refusing to let go, Papri pressed on, ¡°You were with a girl that whole time?¡± she said as clenched her fists and narrowed her eyes in disgusted.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t. She was scared so I just¡­tried to comfort her, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Comfort her with your lips more like.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Rikka! You¡¯re not helping,¡± Tynan shouted clenching his fists.


    ¡°¡­Tynan¡­¡± Papri¡¯s face was turning red, something that Eiso hasn¡¯t seen before, ¡°¡­.you were doing that sort of thing¡­.¡±


    ¡°W-What¡¯s wrong with you Papri. It¡¯s not that big of a deal.¡±


    ¡° ¡­You were doing that¡­.when we couldn¡¯t sleep¡­..when we were so scared¡­.when he was¡­¡± She muttered quietly, barley containing her anger.


    Seeing Tynan cower before the tiny Papri made Eiso pity him, still Eiso suspected what Tynan was planning but decided to ask anyway, ¡°So, why do you need the money?¡±


    With a great look of relief Tynan took the chance, ¡°Easy, I want to buy her a gift, of course! I found out her birthday is coming up, and she says that she still has nightmares of those days, so figured I¡¯d get her something to cheer her up! ¡°


    ¡°Birthday? That would men she¡¯s turning fifteen. Remind me again. How old are you?¡± teased Rikka.


    ¡°Shut it, age is but a number.¡±


    Eiso ignored this and continued, ¡°Couldn¡¯t you borrow the money instead?¡±


    ¡°I told my dad about it, he laughed and said a man should do these kinds of things on their own. That they have to be earned, not given. Besides, she deserves nothing but the best after all she¡¯s been through. Especially since she¡¯s kind, and ¡­pretty~.¡±


    ¡°Wow, you can even SEE the dream clouds around his face,¡± sneered Rikka.


    ¡°Shut up! Any way Eiso, you help me out right? This is something you should understand as a man. Right!¡±


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t know, we would need some way to protect ourselves.¡±


    ¡°No problem, I snuck out with my dad¡¯s hunting knife. Besides, we can use magic. Look, I can even make a FIRE BALL! Check this. [Fledare].¡± Tynan summoned a small ball of burning orange fire in his hands. ¡°See! With this I can defeat any Beast that comes our way.¡±


    ¡°¡­Isn¡¯t that just a signal flare spell?¡± Eiso asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s the same thing.¡±


    ¡°Not really, sure it¡¯s bright and I suppose you could burn someone, but it¡¯s still not the same.¡±


    ¡°Tch, fine, I¡¯ll just stick with the ¡®Spark¡¯ spell then, just say you¡¯ll come.¡±


    ¡°Y-You don¡¯t need me. You guys should be fine on you ¡®re own.¡±


    With a wide smile, Tynan gave his reasons. ¡°What are you talking about, it would be much more fun together! Besides, we can¡¯t just leave our friend behind.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡®¡­.to leave a friend behind¡­¡¯


    Eiso¡¯s chest flooded with a great pain of both gratitude and regret. He doesn¡¯t know what will happen in the forest, but he does know that he¡¯ll regret it if anything does while he was gone.


    ¡°Come on Tynan. Don¡¯t try and guilt him into this. If he doesn¡¯t want to then¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    ¡°¡­say what?¡±


    ¡°ALLRIGHT! Now that we have a Eiso as the Cleric completing the party, we can finally accept the quest! Let¡¯s go, the sooner we find some goods, the better.¡±


    ¡°Um, I¡¯m not a Cleric though. I don¡¯t remember too well, but I think Clerics are approved by the church.¡±


    ¡°Whatever, the point is with you as our healer, Rikka as the brawn, Papri as the support, and me as the Leader, we can finally make a party.¡±


    ¡°The hell! Why am I the brawn!?"


    ¡°Shut up! You know why! Enough talk, now march!¡±


    And so, with Tynan singing joyously in the lead and Papri, Rikka, and Eiso tailing right behind, the four of them made a beeline towards the forest, armed with nothing but their wits, and a few basic spells.

 Chapter 6: First Defeat

    ¡°How? How could you do this to me? I¡­. I feel betrayed. You, out of everyone¡­ you ¡­ you were supposed to be the reasonable one!¡±


    Hours have passed since Eiso and company have left to the forest and back to the Apothecary. All were seated by a sturdy wooden table as a rather grumpy older woman paced back and forth observing their every detail. The children¡¯s clothes were speckled in dirt and grime, their faces salted in sweat, and bits of their clothing were torn off. Rikka and Papri kept their eyes down to the floor while Tynan was dead silent, only staring at the incomplete medicine, soot stained stoves, and empty flasks that lined the work room. Even Eiso had to admit, that he should have thought things through, he should have understood more than anyone, how little his experience is of the outside world.


    "What a terrible disappointment." Such words pricked Eiso''s heart.


    Mustering up what a bit of courage Eiso responded, ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry Ms.Marle.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t apologize! Just what in the world where you THINKING!?¡±


    Rikka spoke with a small voice, ¡°Please Ms. Marle, we were only going to gather a few leaves and then¡­¡±


    ¡°Why? What could you possibly need them for.¡±


    Rikka said nothing but instead casted a glance towards Tynan who stood up, took in a deep breath, and recounted what happened.


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡°TYNAN, YOU FREAKIN¡¯ MORON! You have no idea what you¡¯re doing, do you!¡±


    ¡°Course I do! We just need to ¡­er¡­ collect anything useful, and then bring it back to sell in the market¡­or¡­something.¡±


    ¡°AARRGGHHH!!! I knew it. I knew we were gonna end up running through the forest without a plan!¡±


    Still relatively early in the morning, the sun¡¯s warmth pierced through the tree tops and trickled down onto a group of four young individuals, as they walked single file through the sea of trees on a worn and frayed dirt path.


    The party had, so far, been meandering for a better part of an hour through the forest, placing their trust in their self-proclaimed leader. So far, not much progress has been made, though that did not seem to damper Tynan¡¯s enthusiasm. ¡°Try not to worry about it, I¡¯ve seen a few people come back to sell pelts and stuff collected from the forest.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the thing, what exactly is it that we should be collecting.¡±


    ¡°¡­Err..¡±


    ¡°TYYNAAANNN!!!¡±


    As Rikka threw her arms into the air, Eiso had a thought.


    If it¡¯s only money, then¡­


    ¡°Hey Tynan, if It¡¯s only money you want I could¡­¡±


    Tynan suddenly held up his hand. ¡°Nope. No need. This is something I want to do myself. Once we sell some goods, we will split the money between the four of us, and that¡¯s that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great! But first we gotta, you know, FIND SOME STUFF TO SELL FIRST!¡±


    Eiso felt that Rikka was right. Although he couldn¡¯t think of where to even begin when it comes to hunting and gathering, he did know one thing that might help.


    ¡°¡­You know. I suppose we could collect some Medisa Herbs. While they aren¡¯t the most difficult plants to handle they aren¡¯t very common either.¡± Eiso pressed his finger against his forehead, fishing for his memories, ¡°although¡­they can grow anywhere, so if we keep looking in places with lots of sunlight we are bound to find them sooner or later.¡±


    Upon hearing this Tynan grabs Eiso by the sleeve in barely contained glee, ¡°What are those? Are they valuable? Can we really get some?¡±


    ¡°I-I think they are. They are used in Hemo potions and all sorts of medicine, so there must be someone who will want them.¡±


    Not to mention I¡¯ve seen how high those prices can go up to.


    ¡°Ha Ha, that¡¯s perfect! I knew it was a good idea to bring you along,¡± Tynan chuckled loudly, ¡°So, do you know what they look like.¡±


    ¡°Yes, if I see any I could point them out.¡±


    ¡°Alright, now that we have a plan we are going need a formation. Me and Rikka will take the frontline, while Eiso and Papri will support from the back. Any objections? Good! Now let¡¯s march!¡±


    Now that there is a goal Rikka fires herself up and throws a clenched fist into the air, ¡°Awesome! Now¡­ We can be Just like Nova Knights!¡±


    Eiso perks up at the sound of an unfamiliar name as curiosity pushes him as he faintly asks, ¡°Nova Knights. What is that?¡±


    Tynan looks back and answers, ¡°OH, right, I forget you don¡¯t know much common sense.¡±


    Hearing this, a tinge of guilt hits Eiso.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Basically, the Nova Knights is the name of the clan that the Fire Maestro commanded.¡±


    ¡°Are there any others?¡±


    This time, it was Rikka who answered, ¡°Yeah. Lots! There¡¯s the Chrome Blades¡­ the Falcon¡¯s Gale¡­ Ooh, and then there¡¯s the local favorite, the Dragon¡¯s Pride. They¡¯re the most famous clan in our region, though they¡¯re nothing compared the Blaze Coats.¡±


    ¡°How do you know all of this?¡±


    ¡°We sneak into the tavern north of town. They tell the most amazing stories there. Oh, that reminds me, we should make our own clan too!¡±


    ¡°Hell yeah! Now we¡¯re talkin¡¯,¡± Tynan cried out. ¡°But¡­ what should the name be,¡± Tynan looks to Papri ¡°Do you have ideas?¡±


    Papri closes her eyes for a moment before whispering, ¡°Anything you name would be fine.¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s not much help. What about you Eiso?¡±


    ¡°S-Sorry, I can¡¯t think of anything either!¡±


    ¡°Hmm, well it we still have plenty of time later so I guess we don¡¯t have to make on right now.¡± And so, they fall into silence as they marched on, searching for their plant.


    Soon they arrived to an empty clearing that was had nothing more than a single fallen log and plenty of thick bushes. Pulling out a single carving knife from his back pocket Tynan gave the order. ¡°Right, let¡¯s get started.¡±


    Over the next hour, with Eiso¡¯s help distinguishing Medisa herb, the party was able to get to work. As Tynan sheared out the last bit of the plant they pooled what the collected so far and took one final look.


    ¡°We are going to need a lot more than this.¡± Tynan grumbled, looking over their measly collection. Despite all of their effort, what they had collect was barely enough to make a single bundle as thick as their small arm. Sighing deeply, Tynan gathers the leaves and is about to set off deeper until he notices that something is off.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Papri?¡±


    After a brief search, Papri was found crouched near the edge of the clearing with her back towards the them, as they approached her, they noticed that she was staring at a tiny brown animal.


    Immediately, Rikka answered everyone¡¯s thought, ¡°I know what that is. That¡¯s a Prickly Hare.¡±


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    Indeed, it was. The small brown animal stood on its hind legs and twitched its ears towards the group, waiting patiently, and ready to sprint away at a moment¡¯s notice. While Papri stared deeply into the cute little critter¡¯s beady eyes, Eiso was very weary of the long green plantlike vine growing from its tail, and by extension thorns, poised towards them. Papri on the other had was enamored, slowly but surely, reaching out her small hand to pet the critter¡¯s soft brown fur, but just before she could, several loud snaps and a loud cry alerted the hare, as it swiftly bounded off into a nearby thicket.


    ¡°Gaahhh!¡±


    With a scream of anguish and rapid patting of feet, Eiso looked wildly in every direction, and what stood before him threw him into a panic. Dozens of Ratmen stampeded from the shadows of the forest underbrush, hissing and snapping wildly, each one handling crudely sharpened spears made of sturdy and simple twigs. The small beasts charged forth, raising their spears, swarming them in a single relentless wave.


    ¡°Get off you stupid little¡­!¡± Tynan bellows as he recklessly swings his knife. Several of the creatures surrounded him, jumping onto his arms and knees, tearing and biting through his clothing at every opportunity.


    The remaining force charges towards Eiso and the rest, but before they could get close, a sudden, single cry echoes throughout the air.


    ¡°[Spark!]¡±


    ¡°W-What the¡­!¡±


    A sudden burning flash grazes Tynan and soon, several of the Ratmen scatter in all directions, scampering here and there until they gathered together again, preparing for another attack.


    Standy next to Eiso, Rikka sends another burning orb towards the scampering horde. However, the Rats scattered at last second, only leaving behind scorched earth. The Rats regrouped again, however this time they stayed their ground, slowly and uniformly advancing step by step, their spears ready and their beady eyes fixated in a murderous stare. Tynan scrambled to Rikka¡¯s side raising the palms of his hands.


    The Ratmen suddenly stopped, hissed angrily, then turned tail and ran back into the shadows of the thicket they once came.


    Eiso, unsure as to what happened, did not have to wait very long to receive his answer. The next thing he heard sent a chilling shock down his spine. The sounds of its steps behind him were dull, heavy, and muffled as it walked on the grass. Its breathing, low, acrid, and loud as it slowly increased in tempo. Fear paralyzed Eiso in place as he wished he it was simply his imagination, however he had no choice, he cannot ignore the inevitable, and so he slowly turned to face the unknown beast.


    ¡°GROOOOAAAHH!!!¡±


    In a single instant, Eiso felt soft hands knock him to the ground following a rush of wind and a cold blooded scream. Fearing the worst Eiso looked up, only to see Rikka several meters away, slumped against a tree, limp, lifeless. A sickening, cold acid built up in Eiso¡¯s stomach. His world turned numb and grey. He could not hear the screaming, nor could he feel the intense flame burst beside him. Slowly, he forces one foot in front of the other until he reaches the peaceful looking Rikka. Only a single thought entered his mind, a spark of light to bring motion to his unfeeling limbs. A wish. A desire.


    ¡°[Restra.]¡±


    The single wish was cast. Eiso could do nothing but wait until and pray. Pray that Rikka would wake up from her sudden slumber. Moments that felt like years pass, waiting patiently, waiting for something, anything to happen. Slowly a pair of amber eyes open as Rikka stirs awake. A jolt of joy and relief shoot through Eiso as Rikka slowly sits back up, only to be replaced by the blood curdling roar of the beast as it suddenly grabs Eiso in a vice like grip, throwing him back several meters, slamming against the bark of a tree, and falling almost lifelessly to the ground. Barely registering the cry¡¯s and shouts of his friends, and with the cool feeling of air escaping his lungs and the deafening crack of his ribs, Eiso attempted to prop himself up, but an unbearable pain stabs into his sides, nearly forcing him into unconsciousness. Despite his suffering, Eiso managed to hear the faint outcries of Tynan above the terrifying roars of the beast.


    ¡°Rikka! Are you okay? If you are, take Eiso and Papri and run!¡±


    Time is distorted once again and before he knew it, Eiso was carefully being lifted up from the arms by two pairs of soft hands. Blearily, he looked up to face the creature that tried to kill him. Through the tears, he could only recognize Tynan, facing off with some sort of dull grey furred, green shelled gorilla with menacing blood red eyes.


    ¡°[SPARK]!!!¡± Tynan bellowed, sending a flaming orb towards the beast, however as it burst into flames on its chest, the beast simply grunted before letting out another tremendous roar. The beast lifted its thick arms swung them down with immense strength, attempting to crush Tynan into a mound of flesh and pulp. Tynan leapt back on instinct and fell onto the ground, barely avoiding its arms as it smashed into the dirt, leaving behind a sizable crater. Before the beast could remove its fists from the once flat earth, Rikka drew a line in the air and casted her own spell.


    ¡°[Pyrval]!!!¡±


    A wall of intense flames erupted from the earth, creating a barrier between Tynan and the great ape.


    ¡°GROOOOAAAHH!!!¡±


    Seizing the opportunity Tynan ran, however Rikka looked on in complete horror as the beast simply stepped through the flames, seemingly undaunted, before barreling towards Tynan in a ferocious charge, narrowly hitting him as it crashes into the nearby trees completely uprooting them.


    Once again Tynan lets out another spell, ¡°[Spark]!¡± This time, the spell hits the creatures exposed back, setting a small blaze. The animal rages in pain, as it rolls on the ground in a fleeting attempt to douse the fire. As soon as the flames were gone it paused for a moment before turning its eyes towards Tynan. Its face curled into deep piercing glare as it began charging straight forward with little regard to much else.


    Eiso could hear the faint cries of both Papri and Rikka, pleading for Tynan to run. He did not know why, but as his mind grew numb to the pain, Eiso casted out the only other spell he could think of. Gathering the last of his will with what little strength he has left, he quietly summoned a single spell.


    ¡°[...Lumen]¡­.¡±


    The benign spell that once gave a soft and warm glow, now blossomed into a radiant and blinding light, a ray of hope, and Tynan¡¯s only shield from a seemingly inevitable death.


    Narrowly, the ape¡¯s charge misses. Blinded, frustrated, unable to see its target, the beast began swinging wildly in place in a vain attempt to kill something, anything.


    Taking fate¡¯s opportunity, Tynan sprinted towards Eiso¡¯s side. As the four of them fled as quickly as they could, they could hear the anguished roars of the beast behind them, as it stampeded around in anger. Soon, they could hear nothing but the unnerving silence of the wind and the view of the swaying leave. Soon, Eiso¡¯s strength gave out. His hands and body would not follow his will; he could feel nothing. His ears silenced the world; he could hear nothing. Finally, his eyes turned to darkness, and he could see nothing.

 Chapter 7: Im Sorry

    The pain that once was, has dulled. Motion returned to his limbs, and although he could not see, Eiso could hear three voices whispering next to him.


    ¡°Oh my! Is he going to be all right?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, with Sister here he¡¯ll be fine, and once he is I¡¯m gonna strangle him!¡±


    ¡°Please, Marle, that is a terrible thing to say, even as a joke, please, let us be thankful that they are all fine.¡±


    ¡°To hell with gratitude! I want to know what in the world they were doing!¡±


    Eiso blearily opened his eyes awoke to the scent of stale medicine and walls of potions and vials of unknown liquids that he had been so used to. Before he could become fully accustomed to the surrounding light, a pair of arms flung themselves around him as a woman squeezed out what little life he had left. Evidently the comment on strangling was not a simple jest.


    ¡°Ahh! I¡¯m so glad you came out all right, deary! You have been so kind to play with my little children; I simply do not know what I would do if anything happened to you,¡± said the woman as she seemingly tried her best to strangle him. She was a thin woman who wore a simple white single piece dress tied with a bit of string by the waste and had lengthy brown, wavy hair. She had the soft demeanor of a doting mother whose pleasant smile was a welcoming sight.


    ¡°Good. Now that you¡¯re up, get your ass up and place it with the rest of that lot,¡± grunted Ms. Marle, gesturing towards the wooden table stained in scorch marks and acid burns.


    ¡°I fear that this is a matter best left to the parents. If you need anything, please call me.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, thank you for your help Sister Diam,¡± said the kind woman.


    With a single bow, Sister Diam walked out of the Apothecary and as the two doors softly closed shut, and an uncomfortable peace, filled the room. Many emotions raced through Eiso. Trepidation, guilt, sorrow, all impacted him one after another until Ms. Marle broke that deafening tranquility.


    ¡°Eiso...you¡­ you were always the reasonable one. Why? Why would you do something so stupid!¡±


    Eiso did not know what to say. Many things ran through his mind, perhaps there was something he could have done different. For that moment, the only thing he could do was emit a pitiful apology, however¡­


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me a damn apology! Tell me what went in the hell were you thinking.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not his fault, Ms. Marle, we were only going to gather a few leaves and that¡¯s all.¡± To every one¡¯s surprise it was Rikka who spoke up with eyes wide and clearly desperate.


    ¡°Leaves? What could you possibly want with leaves?¡±


    ¡°Err- well¡­¡±


    Without being told. Tynan stood up, his eyes to the ground and a hesitant strain in his voice, he recounted their past events.


    Ms.Marle¡¯s scowl grew deeper and filled with disdain as Tynan recounted their ¡®adventure¡¯.


    ¡°I see¡±, she said collecting her thoughts, ¡°So you wouldn¡¯t mind saying why-¡±


    ¡°To buy a girl a present.¡±


    ¡°I see."


    "I...didn''t want this to happen."


    "Well of course you didn''t. If you did I would have killed you myself. But what you did was far worse. Instead of malice you were simply stupid. Now, take a good look at you friends here.¡± She whispered, forcing his head to Eiso and the rest.


    ¡°Tell me boy. Do you think it was worth it? Can you weigh their lives in silver and gold? Do you think it¡¯s worth trading your friends for money? To let your friends be snuffed out, all because of your idiocy?¡±


    It was then that Eiso finally took notice of everyone¡¯s condition. Papri looked relatively fine, only have a few tears in her skirt and specks of dirt on her blouse. The other three did not fare so well. Tynan was exhausted while having lengthy tears across his shirt with scraps of cloth missing from his trousers. Rikka looked just as pale. Her hair turned into a bird¡¯s nest with bits of twigs still caught in it; her clothing splattered in dirt. Eiso too, was dirtied by a rather disgustingly deep brown stain on his cloths from the earth.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°¡­No. I¡­ no,¡± whispered Tynan. His eyes empty. The spark of warmth and joy in his carefree eyes replaced with cold and distant sorrow.


    ¡°Next topic. Was this what you were going to use to sell?¡± She demanded as she lifted the paltry bundle of herbs.


    ¡°¡­Yes.¡±


    ¡°You really are idiots. Don¡¯t you know that that there are medical gardens that harvest those plants regularly.¡±


    This time it was Rikka turn to speak up. ¡°REALLY!¡±


    ¡°Yes, really. With something so useful why wouldn¡¯t they try and cultivate it? If you were to simply ask, you could buy a several batches on the cheap. Honestly which one of you two had the bright idea to get this garbage.¡±


    A burning sensation seared through Eiso¡¯s face. It was his turn to face the proverbial lion as he slowly raised his hand. This time, rather than anger or frustration, Ms. Marle gasped, ¡°You! But! Why? How could you possibly think these were worth anything!?¡±


    Eiso merely looked at the prices on the shelves; Minor Hemo potion ¡¯90 silver¡¯; Anti-venom ¡¯125 silver¡¯. All high prices for bottle that were only successful in gathering dust. Seeing this, Ms. Male places her hand on her temple,


    ¡°Tell me, have you actually seen the price of medicine outside my shop.¡± Eiso slowly shook his head, his face still burning and his tempurature rising.


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­don¡¯t worry about it. I should have told you about how, err, different my store is,¡± she dismissed before turning to Tynan. ¡°Still, who gave you the bright idea to go to the forest of all places?¡± Tynan remained silent for a few seconds when suddenly he jolted straight up, his face filled with shock, confusion, until finally a flash of pure anger.


    After a brief moment of silence the thin woman spoke up. ¡°If your story is to be believe, that beast sounded like it would be a Mossback Ape, an aggressive creature, and a very dangerous one too. Could be said to be nomadic since they never stay in one place for very long¡±. Said the kindly mannered woman in a surprisingly nonchalant manner. Suddenly, the warm mother, who had been silently observing for a while, spoke with both, a clear conviction, and sharp, penetrating eyes. Her welcoming glow, simply vanished as if it was a lie.


    ¡°So if I understand correctly, you three used magic to fend of the beast. Is this right?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± answered Tynan stoically, his complexion now parading a calm mask that was definitely not his own.


    ¡°Did it have a solid form?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Were you able to cast a spell without it falling apart, or blowing up in your face?¡±


    ¡°¡­Yes.¡±


    ¡°Have you used magic before today?¡±


    ¡°¡­Yes.¡±


    ¡°How long?¡±


    ¡°¡­Almost a year.¡±


    ¡°What alignment?¡±


    ¡°¡­Mostly fire.¡±


    ¡°Now. Where did you learn these spells?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Who taught you to how to use proper form. Who told you the incantations?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Perhaps you did not hear. Iam asking you forthe name of the one who taught you to use magic.¡±


    Silence pierced the room after every inquiry. Tynan, refusing to take his eyes off of the floor, remained steadfast.


    ¡°What about you two, surely my own daughters know of who it was.¡±


    ¡­


    They did nothing, choosing instead to look away.


    ¡°Oh well. No matter! We will find out eventually. And so. Eiso, it has been a pleasure meeting you, deary. Do come over to our home when you get chance. I dare say my daughters would be thrilled to have you by. But for now, I am afraid it is time for you to go home.¡±


    Unsure as to what she meant, the front doors burst open as Eiso was abruptly embraced by a familiar rough faced, scruffy bearded man. Although his father¡¯s actions were warm, the moment he parted form him, his cold, hard and furious gaze petrified Eiso. Without another word, Deckard forcefully grabbed Eiso by the arm, and dragged him out of the Apothecary.


    As Eiso staggered past Tynan, he heard a single faint whisper that forced icey cold water into the pit of his stomach as he left through the front doors, across the town square, and back to the familiar tiny fence and usual gray wooden house¡­


    ¡°-I¡¯m sorry.¡±

 Chapter 8: Pathetic

    Eiso had never feared his father nor has he ever known him to be a vengeful or temperamental man in the slightest. For the most part his father had been a loving and kind person. Even so, he expected the worst the moment the two reached their abode. However¡­ the anger and outburst he had prepared for surprisingly did not come. Instead Dekard simply declared that he would be on cooking duty that night and after their meal, he sent Eiso to his room.


    That night Eiso did not sleep. As he laid there underneath the stars, tears streaked past his cheeks. All he could do was think. Never in before had he experience this feeling from his own father. It was not fear from the possibility of his impeding wrath, nor was it quite the usual feelings of sadness and hopelessness he had been all too accustomed to. It was a new emotion.


    Anger.


    It was this burning sense of anger. Not towards Tynan. Not towards Papri or Rikka. And not even towards his own father. It was a rage that he can only direct at himself. A fury of disappointment. A feeling of being a colossal waste of space. A stabbing pain in his heart as this scorching sorrow consumes him. This agony of being a failure to his father kept with him throughout the night until dawn.


    In the morning his father instructed him thusly.


    ¡°I spoke to Marle, and you won¡¯t be needin¡¯ to go back to the apothecary for a while.¡± Eiso could do nothing but silently agree.


    His interactions with his father slowly became shorter and more distant. Each morning his father would get up early, cook them breakfast with whatever ingredients they had, and then silently slip out to town for an hour or so. Then once he got back with groceries he would set them inside before slipping out the back behind the house. The dip in the quality of their meals aside, their evenings fared no better, as his father would repeat the same process as well, only to quietly head off to his room without even so much as looking Eiso in the eye.


    The silence that surfaced between the two quickly became intolerable, and any small talk or question he would make would fail to come past his lips as the pain in him would block his throat. The only solace he could find each night are in the leather-bound pages that he carries with him in his pack, but even his usual habits felt empty and pointless. At times, Eiso would much prefer the long-forgotten outburst that never came instead of suffocating underneath this uncomfortable peace.


    At least with that he would feel some form of redemption.


    Never the less. There was one ray of hope that spouted within him. The chance to see his friends again.


    Day by Day, for weeks on end he would visit the usual shade underneath that familiar tree. From evening to dusk he would sit anxiously, unwilling to move, and night by night he would fail to see those he called his friends. For now, this all he could do. He was not allowed to stray too far from his home any more, and his father decided to take a temporary leave of absence to stay home for the time being.


    Is this how it will end? The first time he talked to someone, the first time he had companions his age, was this burning desire in his heart sparked by Ms.Burrough going to pitter out into nothingness?i Is this how far his resolve will take him? Did this mean so little to him?


    ¡­If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡®No.¡¯


    Determination filled his soul. If his father wasn¡¯t going to give him the chance to make up for his mistakes the he will do it himself! With this new resolve, he gathered his bag, got up from that tree and marched down to see his father whom he could hear chopping wood behind the house.


    When he rounded the corner, he was slightly alarmed at the sight before him. Stacked like sentry towers, were massive piles of freshly cleaved wood. Dozens upon dozens of lumber towers as far as he could see. Even a sizable clearing formed as his father mulched though a quite a number of trees. Evidently, Dekard spent most of if not all if his time home on this one activity. Hearing his approach Dekard looked up and glanced at his son, only to turn his attention back to his work at hand. Not dissuaded he pressed on standing before his lone guardian.


    ¡°Dad?¡±


    *thwack**thwack**thwack*


    Dekard simply ignored him, and continued with his ¡®work¡¯.


    This silent treatment bit into Eiso¡¯s heart. Even so¡­


    ¡°Dad. I¡­I¡¯m leaving!¡±


    Eiso practically shouted yet it was clearly enough. In the middle of a downward strike with the axe, Dekard¡¯s hands slipped on the handle, letting the tool fly spectacularly through the air and off into the distance. Not noticing this Dekard simply stared back in wide disbelief. After a moment or two Dekard finally held a firm grasp on reality once again and took to deep thought until finally facing Eiso seriously. Looking into his eyes he continued.


    ¡°I am going out to see my friends! I did something wrong. I failed them, I know that. But¡­ I have to at least try and fix this!¡± Eiso poured his heart out, as he confessed everything. Him teaching the others magic. The joy he had being together with them, and the fear had of losing them. Everything he did for the past year he laid it bare for his father to see.


    ¡°Tynan, Rikka, Papri¡­ they protected me. They did so much more even if they didn¡¯t know it, and now they¡­. Well¡­ I won¡¯t let you get in my way! I¡¯m going to see them. I¡¯ll find some way to make it right s-so don¡¯t try and stop me!¡±


    With his eyes watering he stammered his out his declaration and despite his announcement of doing so, he simply waited for a response. Another brief moment of peace looms over the two. A thousand thoughts raced through his mind. Even though he committed to his decision, Eiso could not help but feel anxious as his heart beats a heavy drum into his chest. That is until¡­


    ¡°Do remember. That day I said I got something to talk to you about.¡± Dekard spoke in a surprisingly soft voice that silenced the world. ¡°It¡¯s the day you turned seven. An¡¯ I know, you¡¯re only supposed to give a gift a fifteen, but I heard somewhere that some people in distant places would give gifts when a kid turns in age every year. A bit wasteful if ya¡¯ ask me¡­but¡­I wanted to give you this,¡± From his pocket he pulled out a small-thin decorative box. Well, small for Dekard and his immense size. Dekard opened it for Eiso to see, inside was a simple double-edged dagger with an ebony handle.


    ¡°That day with Ms. Burrough, I¡­I figured I could teach ya¡¯ to use it. I¡­couldn¡¯t stand the thought of lossin¡¯ ya¡¯, just like we lost¡­¡± Dekard shook of that last thought. ¡°It¡¯s hard to imagine you¡¯re only six.¡± He proceeded to put the box away into his pocket.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have it watin¡¯ for you when ya¡¯ get back.¡±


    Eiso¡¯s heart built up with a crescendo of joy at what was just said until finally¡­


    ¡°Good luck kiddo.¡±


    A burst of excitement and cheer filled Eiso to the brim, but as he lunged to wrap his arms around his father, Dekard raised his hand to give him pause. ¡°Whoa! Hang on there! After such a manly speech like that, the cool thing to do is to jus¡¯ walk away ya¡¯ know.¡± Though his father speaks of manliness Eiso could see tiny sparkle run down father¡¯s cheek.


    With a simple smile Eiso uttered, ¡°Thank you¡±, before turning tail and sprinting down the road, past the familiar tree and back to town.


    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Dekard watched as his son ran down the road and out of sight. The moment he could no longer see the bouncing pack his son would carry with him wherever he went, he wiped his eyes and made his way back in side. Pulling up a chair he sat down.


    ¡°FUCK!!!¡± He suddenly grabbed a clay cup on the table and smashed it against the wall with enough force to shake the whole house.


    ¡°WHAT THE FUCK AM I DOING!? GAAAHHH. I¡¯M SO DAMMED PATHETIC!!¡± After a few hours raging, shouting, resting, then venting some more he finally sat back down.


    ¡°After all this time. My son had to grow up without me. My own son had to be the bigger man and come to me. All cause¡¯ I¡¯m a failure. I¡¯m a fuckin¡¯ failure of a father¡­pathetic.¡± Dekard, covered his face on his hands, before pleading to no one in particular.


    ¡°Rem¡­I wish ya were here.¡±