《Rune Masters》 Chapter 01 - A knock on the door Years he had spent, years. All in as much silence as was possible in this forsaken forest. But of course it had to go wrong at the last moment. Just as he was about to make the finishing touch to his research a loud knocking disrupted his concentration. The man that had been working on a piece of wood for a while now made a surprised reaction as the knocking on his door ensued. ¡°Furry and all! Who is it that comes a ¡¯knocking on my door at such a bad time?¡± but the person that was making all the noise didn¡¯t stop for a second. ¡°All right! I heard you the first time¡± said the man as he rose from his seat and moved towards the door. ¡°Now what is so¡­¡± the man tried to begin his rampage against the unlucky person that was supposed to be standing in front of him. Except, there was no one to be seen and the forest looked the same as ever. ¡°Come on out, I won¡¯t hurt you¡± badly the man finished in his head. But no one came and so he waited for another minute or two. ¡°Must have been my nerves playing ticks on me then¡± and with that he closed the door. As soon as he turned around though, he knew that something was wrong. He didn¡¯t have to wait long before he knew what had felt different. The piece of wood that had been on the table when he got up was no longer there. Instead it was currently being examined by a slender looking young boy. ¡°How the hell did you ¡­¡± ¡°Oh hello, I¡¯ve got to say that you are quite the patient man for waiting all that time even though nothing was to be seen. I would have stopped the very first second¡± Still a bit startled why there even was a boy speaking to him, the man began to speak. ¡°First off, patience is what you get when being alone for such a long time in this forest. Second, who are you and what are you doing in my home. And third, lay that thing back where it belongs immediately!¡± before he had finished his sentence the piece of wood was back to its old position on the table. The boy that had been sitting in one of the corners of the room on a stack of books stood up with a swing. ¡±Ah sorry I didn¡¯t introduce myself, did I? My name is Nelrim and I was just wandering through this surprisingly big forest when I just happened to see a house. If you can even call this cottage a real house at all. As for how I got in here without you noticing? Well that¡¯s because I am a mage of course.¡± On the mentioning of the boy being a mage the old man started to take a better look at this intruder. The boy was wearing a long piece of cloth as a cape with multiple colours mixed in. With a bit of fantasy and the right light the colours could even be an emblem woven into the original fabric. ¡°You a mage? You probably don¡¯t even know how many stages of casting there are, let alone know how to cast one at all. I must say that you are good in getting into other people¡¯s houses, I give you that, but that doesn¡¯t make you a mage. At best it makes you a good burglar.¡± The face of Nelrim that had shown a smile ever since the start of the conversation was getting a bit less enthusiastic. ¡°But it was how I knew where your cottage was, or actually how I was even able to get close to it at all.¡± Now that was a good point the boy had there. Because of the suddenness of the appearance of the boy he hadn¡¯t even remembered the existence of the warding spells that he had placed on his surroundings. Now that he thought about it, it was probably high time to recast a few of them. While the old man was deep in thought the boy, or should I say Nelrim, started moving again. ¡°Now that I answered some of your questions how about I get to ask a few too?¡± Nelrim clearly wasn¡¯t expecting a satisfying answer as he continued ¡°What is that piece of wood?¡± ¡°What does that concern you?¡± ¡°Well you see, when I tried to channel some mana into it, nothing seemed to happen, not even any of my mana getting in.¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. The man got a concerned look on his face. ¡°Do you always just channel mana into stuff you don¡¯t understand? It¡¯s a great way to lose your hands if you¡¯re lucky.¡± He took a few steps towards the table and grabbed the piece of wood he¡¯d been working on. ¡°If you can stay still and keep quiet for a few hours I will show to you what it does. If you however think you can¡¯t handle that task then I will need you to leave this forest at once.¡± The boy made a silencing motion in front of his mouth and sat down on a stack of books. Satisfied with the boy¡¯s reaction the man sat down on his chair and continued his work where he had left off. The man used a knife to carve things into the wood while using a pencil to add another layer of symbols on top of that. Once almost two hours had past and the man was satisfied enough with the results did he put his tools down. The moment he did the boy was already standing by his side. ¡°Not that I try to insult your hard work or anything like that, but I don¡¯t see much of a change from before.¡± Well guess that was as much for the silence. ¡°That¡¯s just because I¡¯m good at what I do.¡± The man motioned towards the opposite side of the table. ¡°Now please take a seat and be the first to see the fruits of my labour.¡± The man touched the centre of the ward at which a dot of light appeared. The dot of light started to spread itself as if following the nerves of the wood. It eventually became clear that the light was actually activating tons of small runes that had been carved inside the wood. For a moment the lights didn¡¯t extend any further but then something else happened. The piece of wood began to extend itself. The wood that had been as thick as an apple was now almost as thin as a letter. Again the process stopped but this time nothing came afterwards and the lit runes slowly dimmed. ¡°That¡¯s it? You made a fancy cutting board? I must admit that it looked pretty, but is it really that useful?¡± The boy was disappointed to say the least. ¡°Who said that this was it?¡± The man had a satisfied smile on his face. ¡°How about you put some of your mana into it on the count of my three.¡± The boy nodded but didn¡¯t expect much more. ¡°One. Two. Three!¡± The moment they put a bit of their mana inside of the wooden board thin figures arose from it. The figures looked exactly like the boy and the man. ¡°Now I want you to send a spell at me. No need to hesitate I will be fine, the wards will block the most lethal spells¡± if the wards are still working. The boy, not willing to hurt the man in front of him, tried to cast a paralyze spell. But instead of being cast by himself the figure that represented him cast it. And towards the other figure instead of the man himself. The man¡¯s figure disposed of the paralyze spell with a resist spell. The boy was wordless at this work of magic that had just happened in front of him. ¡°If you have time to be staring at the board then you surely have time to dodge this don¡¯t you?¡± and a bolt of lightning came soaring at the boy¡¯s character. Nelrim tried to respond as fast as the man had done, but wasn¡¯t on time and the bolt hit its target. The piece of wood stood still for a moment and after glowing once sank into the board. The other figure also sank into the board, but without glowing. ¡°I won¡¯t charge a fee for being able to play against me this time. That look on you face is enough payment for me.¡± The man touched the board and again a light appeared. This time however instead of spreading out it was like the light came back to it. With the lights beginning to fade from the board, the board itself started to transform back into its old shape. Chapter 02 - Conversation by the table ¡°That was, well, how do I put it. It certainly was more than a regular cutting board, that¡¯s for sure.¡± The surprised look still hadn¡¯t quite left Nelrims face. ¡°How did you do it?¡± The man could only smile. ¡°Do what?¡± ¡°You know what I¡¯m talking about. How did you manage to put such a complicated system in such a small piece of wood?¡± The piece of wood that was just mentioned was already in the boy¡¯s hands. It looked as if he was trying to understand all of its secrets by intensely staring at it from all sides. ¡°Ha! Wouldn¡¯t you like to know. No, I won¡¯t tell you. Years I have spent trying to come up with a method to do it, and I am not going to just hand you the solution behind it.¡± The man was noticeably getting more restless the longer Nelrim was studying the piece of wood. The boy noticed this and slowly put the piece back on the table. ¡°Talking about methods, how did you manage to find my house? You said you could because you are a mage, but even a mage wouldn¡¯t have been able to just stumble upon it. Even better, there are close to no reasons to come this far into the forest.¡± The boy stood up and walked towards a window. While looking through it he said ¡°Ha! Wouldn¡¯t you like to know.¡± Nelrim cast a quick glance at the old man and saw that he wasn¡¯t the least bit humoured by it. ¡°Alright then, since you took the effort to ask. You see, I am a runaway student from one of the academia. I can see you are a busy man so I won¡¯t bother with the details. To summarise, my view of things was not what they searched for in a student.¡± ¡°It may be quite a few years back, but from what I can remember of the academia they wouldn¡¯t just chase someone out because of a differ in views.¡± Nelrim had already moved on from looking out the window to studying the covers of the few books that stood on a shelf. ¡°Ah, but you see, it might also have had something to do with the supplies I stole from them.¡± At those last words the man started to move his hands towards his object of research and slowly pulled it closer to him, as if to secure it from the boy¡¯s reach. ¡°You actually stole from them? I don¡¯t know if I should call you brave or just plain stupid. Seeing your eagerness with touching unknown objects I¡¯d say it¡¯s the latter¡± Nelrim wasn¡¯t a complete fool and he knew that the man meant he shouldn¡¯t try to touch the books if he wanted to stay on the man¡¯s good side. ¡°You have to believe me when I say that I had my reasons for it.¡± And to make clear that he didn¡¯t want to talk about it anymore he sat back down in front of the man and just looked at the interior of the room they were in. ¡°Did you make all of this by yourself?¡± The boy asked. ¡°It is surprising how much you can do if you have as much time as I have. My research is important, but once in a while I want to put my mind to something else. That¡¯s when I make improvements to this home of mine.¡± The man looked at the ceiling for a moment, as if remembering all the moments that he had worked on improving the house. ¡°It may not be pretty, but it functions properly.¡± Suddenly sound could be heard coming from the rooftop. It started slow, but steadily grew in volume. The man looked outside and saw that it was raining. When Nelrim looked at the man he could see conflict in his eyes. Just about when he was going to ask the man what he had on his mind the man spoke with a sigh. ¡°Boy, aren¡¯t you a lucky one. Usually I wouldn¡¯t have let you stay here, but seeing how hard it rains I just can¡¯t bring myself to send you out.¡± Nelrim was surprised. He hadn¡¯t thought that the man was wondering about something like that. To be honest, he would have been less surprised if the man had send him out of his home anyway. The man walked towards the fireplace and put on a kettle for warm water. ¡°Since you introduced yourself, and you are staying the night, perhaps it would be best if I returned the favour. My name is Forihr and I have worked most of my life in this house where I study.¡± That last sentence was cut off because Forihr closed his mouth, not willing to share details about the content of his research. ¡°I can prepare you a meal, and if you are willing I would like to ask about the situation out there. It may have already been forty years since I was outside of this forest and things have probably changed a bit since then.¡± Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Nelrim wasn¡¯t the person to turn down a free meal and agreed to the man¡¯s offer. Not long after that they each had a plate with some bread and some vegetables from the man¡¯s garden. ¡°Well, where should I start? Would you like to hear about the academia or about the politics?¡± The man smiled and said ¡°Either is fine. I will let you decide on that.¡± Forihr was not a perfect judge of a person¡¯s character, but he could tell that the boy liked to hear himself speak. He would soon be proven right as the boy began talking. ¡°I don¡¯t know what it was like when you were still a part of civilization, but in the time that I was alive not much has changed.¡± The boy paused for a moment to come up with a good starting point for the rest of the conversation. ¡°The academia have gotten more students than other years, which led to the building of a sixth in Ythar. This caused quite a bit of discussion between the scholars¡± Forihr frowned. ¡°Why would they have a discussion about that, wouldn¡¯t they all benefit from more students?¡± ¡°So you would think. It turned out that is indeed the case. However, those who are assigned to the new academy are more likely to be able to gain a higher position. In the end they decided to have each of the five academia to be equally represented.¡± Nelrim paused again for a moment. ¡°This will likely mean that the sixth academy will be a battlefield behind the scenes where the academia fight for the most influence. ¡± It was becoming dark outside and the rain hadn¡¯t stopped once. The man stood up and lit a few candles. ¡°It is getting late, perhaps it would be best to continue tomorrow. My house isn¡¯t exactly prepared for visitors, but I think the floor will suit you just fine.¡± Nelrim took a deep breath. He could have expected this, but still, sleeping on something other than a bed was not his favourite of activities. ¡°At least it is better than sleeping outside. Thank you for your generosity.¡± The man smiled. ¡°Oh but do not think this is all completely free of charge. I expect you to work to repay me. Enough of that for now though. Let us first sleep.¡± With that said the man walked into a door which probably lead to the sleeping compartment of his house. Nelrim stood up from his chair and looked around him for a place where he could sleep. He didn¡¯t have to look for long because not long after he left, the man returned with a woollen blanket and spread it on the ground. ¡°There, now I expect you to not wake me up unless it is necessary.¡± The man started to walk away again, but turned around just before he reached the door. ¡°And please, do not touch anything other than your own property and that blanket.¡± With those final words the man walked further and closed the door behind him. Silence filled the house and before Nelrim went to his designated spot on the floor he blew out the candles. This Forihr isn¡¯t so bad after all. Giving me food and shelter for the night, and that to a complete stranger. This just shows that I did right to come here. Not long after the boy lay on the ground he was vast asleep. Forihr was still awake, but kept silent. He wondered what to do if the boy were to stay any longer. The boy probably could make himself useful, but in the end he would only hinder any research he was trying to do. The man put a spell on the door to alert him if anyone was trying to enter. Not that he didn¡¯t trust the boy, but you could never be too careful. The man slept well that night and the spell on the door didn¡¯t activate once. Yet when morning came and the man walked into the room there was no sign of the boy to be seen. Chapter 03 - Making a move Forihr stood still in the doorway. He had already prepared himself to finding things stolen or broken, but neither seemed to be the case. Instead only the boy was missing. Forihr checked to see if the notes from his research were still there, and found that they were. The man walked towards the door leading outside and opened it. He was met with a cold wind and the sound of birds in the distance. Moments passed but the boy didn¡¯t show up. Forihr thought about calling out for the boy, but decided not to. After al he only knew the boy for less than a day. With him gone he didn¡¯t have to worry about having to take care of a second person. The man waited for just a bit longer, as if to give the boy one last chance to show up. When that didn¡¯t happen he returned to the warmth of his house, closing the door behind him. ¡°Why were you standing in that door letting all the cold come in?¡± There he was, sitting on the chair he had sat the day before, looking as if he hadn¡¯t gone away at all. ¡°It almost seemed if you were looking for someone. Expecting more guests?¡± Nelrim couldn¡¯t help but show a smile on his face. Forihr had half expected it but was still surprised. ¡°No need to be so taken aback by it. Come sit down and eat something proper with me.¡± Nelrim took something out of his pockets. It looked like a package to Forihr. ¡°You really should learn how to knock sometime soon because this isn¡¯t doing any good to my health¡± The man walked to the opposite side of the table and sat down. ¡°So what did you bring that is so much better than my food?¡± The boy kept silent and instead dramatically removed the cover of the package. What was revealed was a royal sandwich; a bread with pickles, cabbage, cheese and ham. Forihr was surprised that the boy could acquire such a luxury meal. Before the man could open his mouth to give a suiting response to the reveal, Nelrim had already opened his. ¡°I figured that as a repayment for your generosity yesterday I should provide you with a bit of generosity myself. What you see before you is part of the modern cuisine.¡± What the boy didn¡¯t say was that this part of the modern cuisine was still a rarity amongst the common folk. The man and the boy both went silent as they ate their share of the meal. It didn¡¯t take long for them to finish eating, since there wasn¡¯t much in the package to begin with. ¡°It was not something I have eaten before, though it did taste quite good. Though I don¡¯t think it has repaid the honour of being the first to see being the first to see my finished research.¡± Nelrim opened his mouth, trying to complain, but he couldn¡¯t. It was as if something was wrong. Perhaps it was how quiet the birds had become, or maybe he had a sixth sense for trouble. He would never know. What he did know was that shortly after he turned his head to face the window a high-pitched sound could be heard. Forihr jumped up from his seat and quickly grabbed some books and other objects that had no meaning to the boy. ¡°What was that? Why are you packing your stuff like that? Are we in danger?¡± The boy asked, now also standing. ¡°That was an alarm I had set up a while ago. It makes that sound when a large group of armed people get within a certain radius of this house. I don¡¯t know about you, but I rather flee now and be proven a coward, than to wait for them and be dead.¡± The man didn¡¯t stand still for even one bit, not even when he was talking to Nelrim. Not even ten seconds had passed or the man had already gathered most of his belongings into a few bags that were now on his back. ¡°Quick! Come stand next to me. Don¡¯t look so surprised, we don¡¯t have much time.¡± Forihr was standing on a differently coloured. Nelrim didn¡¯t know what the use was of listening to the old man, but did so anyway. The moment he stepped next to the man a loud explosion reached his ears. The explosion was caused by a failure in the runes carved into the wood. Forihr had tested the teleportation runes a few times before, but never with a test subject larger than a small rabbit. The runes happened to work just well enough as to fulfil their purpose, but not good enough to stay stable for long after the act. Because of that they exploded and with the explosion part of the house was damaged. Most of the interior was torn to pieces though not much of value was left after Forihr stuffed most of it in his bags. The world was spinning. He didn¡¯t know if he was falling or if he was already on the ground. He tried stretching out a hand, but felt only something hard. It took him a while to realize that it was one of the bags that Forihr packed. Slowly regaining his sense of balance Nelrim tried to stand. He succeeded, albeit a bit slow and wobbly. Next to him Forihr also stood up and both were amazed by what they saw. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°I- It worked!¡± said the man with joy. ¡°We teleported!¡± exclaimed the boy with surprise. They both looked at what seemed to have been the house. They were standing on a nearby hill, not too far from their original position. ¡°You know, it took a few tries to get the runes to work together on the destination.¡± Meanwhile Nelrim was still shaking all over after suddenly getting teleported. Until a moment ago he only knew of teleportation requiring a group of ten mages. To think this took even less than half of that was just too much of a revelation for him to process. Not that Forihr minded any of this, instead he continued about how his earlier experiments had ended up in tiny bits. ¡°Weren¡¯t we in a hurry to get away from the house?¡± Asked Nelrim after he got back to his senses. Forihr, who was just saying something about the mess those tiny bits made, stopped talking. ¡°Ah, right. Though the most important thing was that we got away from the house. I actually hoped to catch a glimpse of the group of people who were coming to the house. Therefore, I suggest we sit down and wait for a bit. Not only will that make us less visible it will also cost us less energy.¡± The man following his own advise sat down and looked for any clues of persons near the house. ¡°But why the hurry if we were just going to sit and wait here anyway? Doesn¡¯t that defy the need to hurry in the first place?¡± Nelrim didn¡¯t like the thought of just sitting and waiting for something to happen, but he didn¡¯t feel like walking away without the man either. He eventually decided to sit down with the man for a while. ¡°You would be right in that aspect, yet it is always good to stay sharp. That¡¯s why I hurried so much, besides a little action won¡¯t do any harm.¡± The man had a crooked smile on his face. Nelrim didn¡¯t quite get the humour of the man, but didn¡¯t respond. Instead he silently watched the surroundings of the house. Half an hour passed and the boy was starting to get restless. ¡°Are you sure that sound of yours wasn¡¯t just triggered by a swarm of birds flying low?¡± Nelrim was just about to stand up when the man grabbed his arm and pointed towards the opposite side of the house. ¡°Look, right there. It seems we have found our swarm of birds.¡± Nelrim turned to look where the man was pointing. At first he couldn¡¯t make out anything except for trees, but one by one figures appeared from the forest. The men who had now increased in number all wore blue clothing with a red line across the chest. It was a long time since Forihr had seen such clothing. This didn¡¯t go for Nelrim, who had seen it rather recent. ¡°What are the guards of the third academy doing here?¡± The man whispered. ¡°Perhaps they got lost as well¡± Suggested the boy. Though he himself didn¡¯t even believe in that. ¡°Say, from what academy did you steal again? I don¡¯t think I heard the first time you told me.¡± ¡°Well it was hmphs¡± The boy lowered his tone at the last part, making it hard for the man to hear. But the man wasn¡¯t stupid. ¡°I already thought so, you stole from the third.¡± The five academia each had a field in which it was better than the others. This specialization wasn¡¯t the main goal of each academy, it mostly served as a way for each academy to provide something different. The first academy that was founded went in the direction of storing information. The second focused more on agriculture. The third and fourth were founded at around the same time and decided to choose opposing fields of specialization. The third went with attack magic whereas the forth went with defence magic. The fifth choose the path of politics and influencing people. As time had passed the academia became more popular because of the specializations instead of the general course. Because of this the academia responded with making their field of expertise more important. This in turn led to a widening in the gap between each academy. In the end they could hardly be called a single organization. Nelrim didn¡¯t like it, but he had to agree with the man. ¡°Yes I stole from them, but there is no reason for them to chase me with such a large force!¡± There were now about thirty people gathered in front of the house, most of which Nelrim guessed to be a mage. ¡°Now that we have an idea of what took such an interest in my house I suggest we move on.¡± Forihr slowly stood up, grabbed his bags and walked away. Just like that. Nelrim once again thought to himself that he was lucky to have found this man. Chapter 04- Shelter in the woods The sound of footsteps was accompanied by the sound of tree branches hitting bodies. Someone sighed. Silence followed. Someone sighed again, just a bit louder this time. Still there came no response. ¡°Where are we headed?¡± The boy asked. ¡°Or are we just walking to get away from those other guys?¡± It had of course been Nelrim who was the one sighing. They were walking straight through the forest, instead of taking a cleared path. Forihr looked over his shoulder. ¡°You are still young, yet you are complaining like an old man.¡± The man looked forward again. ¡°We are going to one of my friends¡¯ place. Though I haven¡¯t seen him in quite some time, so I don¡¯t know if he is still there.¡± Again only the footsteps could be heard. The boy wanted to break the silence and thus he talked. ¡°So we are going to a place that may or may not have someone there that you know. It doesn¡¯t seem like a solid plan to me.¡± ¡°Well then, I am open for suggestions. What would you suggest we do?¡± The man stopped in his tracks and turned around. The boy, who was surprised by this sudden change in motion, only barely stopped walking in time as to not walk against the man. ¡°I was actually hoping you had another plan up your sleeve. Because you knew directly what to do when those guards showed up I figured you had some elaborate plan for this as well.¡± The words came out in quick succession. It almost sounded apologetic. The man turned around and started walking again. ¡°You were right about the part where I have a plan up my sleeve. It may disappoint you to know that this is in fact that very plan.¡± A few seconds passed in silence, but this time the man broke it first. ¡°When we arrive at my friends place I expect you to tell what exactly you took from the academia. Unlike you I have done nothing wrong against them and I therefore have no reason to help you out any further.¡± Nelrim stood still for a moment. The man however kept walking and the boy had to quicken pace to keep up. ¡°But how can you be sure the guards aren¡¯t also looking for you? For all you know they have no clue that I was there to begin with.¡± The man scoffed at that. ¡°Not until too long ago I was only known to a select few people in this forest. The only recent change in that is your appearance and not long after that the guards followed. I think it is pretty obvious they are looking for you.¡± The man walked around a rock and disappeared for a moment. When Nelrim walked around the rock he was suddenly met with the steel of a knife against his neck. Next to him was Forihr with the same type of knife on his neck. ¡°Ah. It seems we have arrived at our destination already.¡± The man slowly moved his hand to the knife. ¡°No need to keep this here now. We don¡¯t plan on being of any harm, isn¡¯t that right boy?¡± Nelrim didn¡¯t know what was happening but decided to follow the man¡¯s lead. ¡°That¡¯s right! You may check, but I assure you that I carry no weapons.¡± The figure that held the knifes made an abrupt movement with his head, making the hood that had been hiding his face fall on the ground. The face was that of a man, though clearly younger than Forihr he was still older than Nelrim. The face contained two sharp brown eyes, distrustfully looking at the two strangers. ¡°Not all man need weapons of steel to be harmful.¡± The man mumbled something and Nelrim could swear he just saw real flames in the eyes of the man. ¡°So it was you Pierre, there is no need to keep us on your knife¡¯s edge like this. Surely you can trust me.¡± Forihr made a pleading look, but the knifes didn¡¯t go away. ¡°You I can trust, this young fellow I cannot. Perhaps he will give me cause to believe I can¡¯t trust you either.¡± Pierre didn¡¯t look all too pleased when his name was revealed just like that. ¡°What is the reason for your visit anyway?¡± ¡°How about I tell you after you remove these knifes. It really doesn¡¯t make talking any easier you know.¡± Forihr tried once more to move the knife away from his throat and felt no resistance this time. The knife on the neck of the boy had also vanished, though it didn¡¯t go as fast. ¡°As long as you remember that I don¡¯t trust that kid. There¡¯s something about his body language that doesn¡¯t suit me.¡± Pierre gave another sharp look at Nelrim but eventually turned his back on both. ¡°If you follow me for a bit then we can talk in private.¡± Forihr could see the boys lips move with a question about the privacy that couldn¡¯t be met in a deserted forest, but the man gave him a look to shut up. Pierre didn¡¯t walk in a straight line, or even in a single direction for the main duration. It made it hard for Nelrim to keep track of where they came from. Now that he thought about it a bit more, that was probably the reason why he did that. An hour passed and they were still walking in seemingly random directions. Nelrim hadn¡¯t questioned the path they took since Forihr seemed to be alright with it, but it took him much effort not to do so anyway. After what seemed to be another hour of walking the man leading them stopped and turned around. ¡°I welcome you to my shelter. I suggest you take a seat and tell me your business and what it has to do with me.¡± Nelrim looked behind the man, but saw only the forest. First the aimless walking, now a house that didn¡¯t exist. There wasn¡¯t much left or he would swear that this Pierre was crazy. Forihr walked to a fallen tree and sat on it. Nelrim looked for something even remotely looking like a chair, but saw only more trees. Pierre had taken seat on a rock covered in moss that stood on the opposite side of Forihr. The boy looked around just to be certain and then asked the question. ¡°This is your shelter?¡± Forihr couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°But of course it is. I have spent a few nights of my life in a shelter made by Pierre and can assure you that it is better than most inns.¡± The man could see that the boy was still reluctant to sit down and gestured him to a rock at the side. The boy sighed but followed the man¡¯s suggestion and sat on the rock. Surprising enough the rock didn¡¯t feel cold or hard, but rather soft and warm. Just to make sure it wasn¡¯t his imagination he stood up and touched the rock with his hand. It was still warm and soft, though it wasn¡¯t actually soft. The contradiction made him wonder if he wasn¡¯t crazy himself. Nelrim looked at the two other men and saw their looks of amusement and made the decision to just sit down and get used to it. ¡°Before I tell you why we came to you let me first introduce you two to each other.¡± Forihr pointed his hand at the boy. ¡°This fellow calls himself Nelrim and is supposedly a mage.¡± The man moved his arm and now pointed with it at the other man. ¡°This hooded figure is Pierre. Though he may not look like it, he is actually quite pleasant company if you get to know him better.¡± Forihr lowered his arm and continued speaking. ¡°Our arrival at your place is because of the boy. Not long after he came to my house a large group of armed people came as well. As far as we could tell from a distance they were guards of the third academy.¡± At the mentioning of a large group of armed men the two knifes returned to Pierre¡¯s hands. Forihr gave the other man a questioning look. ¡°We are safe here for now, you don¡¯t think I would lead such a large force directly to a friend, now would I? Besides, I trust in your precautions to warn us well before anything of significance. ¡± Pierre put his knifes away, but he clearly didn¡¯t like it. ¡°Now on to the topic we have all been waiting for, why are the guards after you Nelrim? What have you done to upset them so much as to send a small army after you?¡± The boy liked attention, just not the kind he was receiving now. Before he started talking he first looked the two men in their eyes to make sure he wouldn¡¯t be interrupted. ¡°It¡¯s a long story, but I will do my best to keep it short.¡± Nelrim took a deep breath and sighed. ¡°When I was a little boy ¡­¡± ¡°Are you going to tell your whole life story to us? We don¡¯t have all day kid.¡± The voice of Pierre interrupted. Nelrim looked annoyed, which only became worse when he looked at Forihr who was clearly trying to hold back his laughter. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°As I was saying, when I was a little boy¡­ ¡± A momentary pause for any remarks that could be made again. When there came none Nelrim continued. ¡°As a boy I lived in reasonable comfort. Though the money my parents made wasn¡¯t always enough to support the family. Because of that I had to do some petty theft.¡± Nelrim had expected an interruption at this, but both men were silent. ¡°Life went on and I eventually became a student at one of the academia. It was only until recently that I had no need to fall back on my old profession. There were rumours going around at that time about other students going into the city and not coming back. No one really thought much of it. After all it isn¡¯t uncommon for students to quit because they are simply not cut out to become a mage. ¡± The boy stopped for a moment to take a deep breath. ¡°The students that quit according to the rumours however were almost all top of their class or at least not people who were unfit to become a mage.¡± ¡°Well so what of it. If such rumours were true then wouldn¡¯t the academy do something about it?¡± It was Pierre who made the interruption. This time it didn¡¯t seem to bother the boy at all. He even looked rather pleased. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought as well. However after a few months of waiting the academy still hadn¡¯t taken action, yet the rumours seemed to be true. Therefore I, along with a few other willing people, started an investigation on our own.¡± Nelrim wasn¡¯t sure how to continue with the next part so he just said it as it was. ¡°It didn¡¯t quite go as we had hoped. We were able to confirm the rumour, but we didn¡¯t stop there. We followed one group of students that went into the city, but weren¡¯t able to keep track of them when they went into one of the underground sewers.¡± He could still remember the horrible smell. ¡°We tried to, but the sewers are a true labyrinth and we didn¡¯t want to get lost. In the end we were only able to tell that a lot of people had followed the same path as we did, and quite recent at that too.¡± ¡°I understand that you want us to know the reason behind your actions, but I am afraid we will be here until night falls if you continue at this pace.¡± It wasn¡¯t Pierre, but the old man that said this. ¡°You may continue at your own pace, but then we will have to discuss it tomorrow. That is, if Pierre is willing to let us stay the night.¡± Now both the boy and Forihr looked at Pierre, expecting an answer. Pierre kept still and turned his head, as if listening to something. A second or two passed before he gave his answer. ¡°Seems like we will indeed be safe here for a while. Continue your story and don¡¯t try to lie to us.¡± Again Nelrim thought he could see flames in the man¡¯s eyes. The boy looked up, trying to get a guess at how long it would stay light. He wasn¡¯t sure because of the trees, but he thought they wouldn¡¯t need a light for the coming two to three hours. ¡°So the group I was with discovered that the rumours were true and that there was something going on in the sewers. We didn¡¯t want any unwanted attention and therefore decided not to tell anyone else about our discovery. We went back to our rooms and called it a day.¡± Nelrim got a sour look on his face. ¡°Seems like one person couldn¡¯t keep his mouth shut. When the dawn broke there was a guard standing at my bed. Asked if I could come with him.¡± The boy paused a moment. ¡°And did you? Did you go with the guard?¡± The old man asked. Nelrim sighed. ¡°I did. I had to. There could have been more guards waiting outside of the door and besides I had no idea where I had to go. I was lead towards the main building and into the room of one of the supervisors of my department. There I was questioned as if I was the one responsible for causing the disappearance of the students. In the end I only told what I knew and nothing more. ¡±The boy scoffed. ¡°A few days passed, but no action was taken. Instead only more students disappeared. even a few with whom I investigated the rumour. The few of us who were still around decided it was best to leave.¡± The boy stopped talking as if that was all there was to say. ¡°That wasn¡¯t everything, it can¡¯t have been. It doesn¡¯t explain why you stole supplies from the academy or how you found my house.¡± This came from Forihr who had a pondering look on his face. The boy snapped his fingers. ¡°Ah I didn¡¯t tell you yet, right? The supplies I stole were actually quite modest. I took a few things from the storage like clothing, something to eat and things like that. Really quite modest if I say so myself, no reason to chase me like this. As for the part how I found your house; I heard a few rumours in an inn about an old man living in the forest on his own. It wasn¡¯t like I had anything better to do and I figured that no normal man would just go live inside the forest. Does that answer most of your questions?¡± The boy looked quite smug now that he was done talking. ¡°Not all of them¡± responded Forihr slowly. ¡°One question that is still not answered is why this much guards are coming after you. But judging from your story you probably don¡¯t know either.¡± The man looked at Pierre. ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°Though I don¡¯t like to admit it, you are probably telling the truth.¡± The man stood up. ¡°Though it will still be a while before the night sets I suggest that we prepare for the night. There will be enough to discuss tomorrow.¡± He walked away and came back with two blankets made of intertwined leaves. ¡°I will take the first round in standing guard, you will go next Forihr and then we switch again.¡± Nelrim did the calculations and came to a conclusion. ¡°So I don¡¯t have to do guard duty?¡± ¡°No. You told us your story and it seems like you are not the cause of the problem at hand. This however doesn¡¯t mean that I trust you. Besides, I doubt you have any experience in keeping guard at night, even less so in a forest.¡± The boy was fine with that decision. Perhaps there were other people that wanted to prove themselves by doing annoying chores, but not Nelrim. If he wasn¡¯t allowed to do guard duty because he wasn¡¯t trusted, all the better. It almost made it a reason to not get on their good side too much. He would worry about that sometime in the future. There were some preparations going on, but nothing of interest happened. Nelrim decided to go to sleep early so that he wouldn¡¯t have to think about the guards too much. Forihr got a piece of wood out of one of his bags and was currently carving something in it. Pierre went on patrol and set up warning systems. After Nelrim fell asleep the two other men walked a bit away from him so that they wouldn¡¯t wake him up. Both men stayed quiet and listened to the rustling of leaves in the wind. ¡°Say¡­¡± said Forihr. ¡°Do you really doubt the boy that much?¡± The man looked at the other. ¡°His story hasn¡¯t changed much from what he told me at my house. Though he didn¡¯t tell much to begin with.¡± Pierre looked at the boy for a second. ¡°The bad thing is that I do trust him. It¡¯s just that the idea of a bunch of academy guards showing up doesn¡¯t get my all excited.¡± He sighed. ¡°I could have guessed something like this was about to happen. There hasn¡¯t been any real activity of impact recently. It was just a matter of time really.¡± Both fell silent again. Forihr was about to continue his carving work at the piece of wood, but decided against it. Instead he stood up and gave Pierre a pat on the shoulder. ¡°Try not to stay awake all night.¡± And with that he walked away and made preparations to fall asleep. This night too was quiet. All animal life was quiet. The trees stopped their whispering leaves and the wind ceased blowing. Perhaps it was too quiet. Night ended and morning came and nothing had changed.