《Souladonis: The Full LitRPG Novel》


 Chapter 1

    Beady yellow eyes trace my every step. I continue forward cautious, but unafraid. I knew full well that passing through this dark forest alone would mean encountering monsters. I even knew what kind of monsters they would be. All the little eyes glaring at me undoubtedly belong to goblins. I just had no idea that they¡¯d be this numerous.


    Goblins aren¡¯t particularly dangerous, especially not for a mage like me. Yet given their numbers, I don¡¯t want to fight them, and for their own sake I hope that they don¡¯t plan on fighting me either. I could actually kill them all despite their numbers. That¡¯s because for the past six years, I¡¯ve scarcely done anything other than battle monsters. I¡¯ve battled armbears, boar-rams, spitting seahorses, and even gigantic molten slugs. Since I¡¯m constantly in combat, my fighting skills far exceed that of the average mage. In fact, I even spent the greater part of last year mastering martial arts. Learning to fight hand-to-hand was necessary to erase my obvious weakness as a pure mage. Everyone knows that people who rely solely on magic have weak bodies. The slightest blow to the chin could knock out even the greatest of classically trained mages. That¡¯s why I trained night and day to forge my body into steel. I cannot afford to have any weaknesses. Not if I¡¯m going to reach my goal.


    I gaze over my shoulder. The beady goblin eyes continue to follow me. I know from experience that if I make myself seem large, loud, and imposing, small monsters are less likely to attack me. So to keep the goblins at bay, I make a big display of tapping my staff against the ground with every step. My staff easily makes a loud thud since six years ago it was turned into stone by the petrification curse.


    I tap away with it steadily and then take another peek behind me. To my great surprise, the goblins continue to trail me despite the noise that I make with my staff. Finally, tired of the little yellow eyes following me, I make my stand. No sooner than the moment that I stop walking, the little miscreants trickle out of the forest. My stomach churns a little as I watch them amass in a large group of twelve or so. Even though goblins are small and weak, they have one characteristic that makes them a real potential threat ¨C goblins are tool users. Now I find myself face to face with an army of tiny goblins wielding bows, slings, and knives. I still feel confident that I can handle them, but seeing multiple weapons pointed at me kind of drops my confidence down a bit. To avoid the fight, I try to scare them off by wildly swinging my arms through the air and shouting loudly. The goblins don¡¯t buy it. They place arrows on the bowstrings and stones in the slings. Their readiness to attack leaves me no choice.


    Before they fire a single arrow, I cast the Comet spell. Their small yellow eyes grow big in fright at the sight of a large fireball powering towards them. Swiftly, they dodge like deer and scatter to the wind. I immediately kick myself for using the Comet spell yet again. ¡°Don¡¯t you know any other spells?¡± I ask myself.


    The Comet spell is the one that I unconsciously default to whenever I¡¯m in danger. At this point it¡¯s starting to become a bit of a crutch. I do actually know other spells. Lots of other spells in fact. It¡¯s just that I¡¯ve been able to cast Comet ever since I was eight years old despite it being a grandmaster-level spell. It¡¯s one of the main reasons that I grew so arrogant and ruined my life six years ago. Every time that I cast it, I relive a small piece of my past. But at the very least, the goblins are gone now. So I continue my journey. Within four hours time, I reach the edge of the forest without any further goblin incidents.


    Coming out of the forest, I enter into a grassy flatland and see a small village to my right. The village is surrounded by a wooden fence formed with beams that are shaped to a point at the top. It¡¯s common for small, poor villages to use this fence design to keep monsters out. I surmise that this must be Belle-Forrest. I had heard about it while talking to some sailors back in Cammy Port. I make a habit of visiting as many new towns as possible. I figure I¡¯ll never find a cure for the petrification curse backtracking to places where I¡¯ve already been.


    Making my way to the village, I get distracted before I pass through the gates. Enclosed in square fences just in front of the entrance gate, are two small fields of mana plants. Mana plants are a cash crop that botanists fashion into mana potions to sell to mages. They¡¯re always white in the center while the tips of the leaves are various colors. The colors of the leaves tell you the quality of the plant. Said quality is determined in part by the natural magic density of the soil they grow in and in part by the skill of the botanist growing the plants.


    I kneel over the plants to examine them more closely. During my travels I¡¯ve learned a few things about mana plants. The leaves of these plants are a dark blue color, which indicates that they are high-grade plants even though the soil that they are planted in has a low natural magic density. I know that I¡¯m in a low magic density environment because of the puny monsters in the area. If there were a greater natural magic density here, then there¡¯d be far worse things than goblins lurking around. So if these plants are as good as they look, then I can accredit their quality to the one who grew them.


    Carefully, I clip a small leaf off of a plant and chew on it. The leaf has a mild minty taste to it. That tells me that the plants are not only good, but also ripe and ready to be made into mana potions.


    Knowing that there is a skilled botanist in the town gives me some hope. A good botanist will not only deal in mana potions, but also in medicinal cures and remedies. If I¡¯m lucky, then the botanist in this town will know of a cure for the petrification curse. Yet quickly I pinch myself hard to keep from becoming too optimistic. In the past six years, my every lead towards finding the necessary cure has ended in disappointment. Nevertheless, I don¡¯t give up. Or rather, I can¡¯t give up. Finding the cure is the purpose of my existence.


    I stroll into town and look around. The houses in the village are all composed of wood, have one floor, two front windows, and a chimney. Basic houses for a basic village I figure. The only real difference between the houses is the color of their paint. I¡¯ve seen lots of these little villages built on the fringes of modern civilization. Here you won¡¯t find any people of so-called ¡°high society,¡± but you will find humble, simple people who are generally of good will albeit often not well-educated.


    As I venture further into the town, I start to get the feeling that something is amiss. I see two kids playing with some sticks, a cat wandering around, a dog sitting on a porch, and a young girl walking somewhere by herself. I¡¯d expect a small village to be more densely occupied. But I don¡¯t know. Maybe there¡¯s a town meeting or something. Jogging lightly I quickly catch up to the girl that I saw. ¡°Excuse me. I just came into town and I have a few questions.¡±


    The girl stops walking. She turns around and looks at me and both of our eyes light up in surprise. Obviously she¡¯s surprised because I¡¯m a stranger wandering into a town in the middle of nowhere. But what surprised me were her big gleaming brown eyes. Not just her eyes but also the shade of her skin. I¡¯ve never seen someone like her before. She has long, straight, dark brown hair, aforementioned puppy dog brown eyes, and light brownish skin that¡¯s not quite brown nor peach colored like the skin of most of the people from ?me Kingdom. Her strange beauty leaves me at a sudden loss for words. Yet almost immediately she snaps me out of my unintentionally rude stare.


    ¡°Wow!¡± she says. ¡°I mean, hello. I¡¯m Katherine. Are you a mage?¡±


    ¡°Me? Yeah, I am.¡±


    ¡°Do you know Life Magic?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. But I just came into town and...¡±


    Suddenly, she grabs me by my coat sleeve. Then she continues her walk to wherever she¡¯s going while pulling me along with her. ¡°Come with me,¡± she orders.


    I have no idea what¡¯s going on. But the girl doesn¡¯t even give me a chance to refuse, so I guess I¡¯m going with her. As we walk I get to see more of the town. My first impression holds true. There¡¯s practically nobody around. Given the eerie emptiness of the village, I¡¯m surprised that there aren¡¯t a bunch of tumbleweeds blowing about on the dusty, barren dirt.


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    Before long we stop at a beat up house on the edge of town. The wood of the house is rotten, its windows are dirty, and some of the tiles on the roof are missing. Belle-Forest is by no means a rich town, but whoever lives in this house is poor even by small village standards. Katherine knocks on the door. Then pressing her ear against it, she waits quietly for an answer. When she doesn¡¯t receive an answer, she slowly opens the door and invites herself in. ¡°Wait here,¡± she tells me.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I agree.


    I still don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on. Yet I find myself strangely compelled to do whatever this pushy village girl tells me. It must be the eyes. Yeah Soul, she definitely got you with her eyes. Snap out of it man. Or maybe she used some sort of Illusion Magic spell on me. I¡¯ve heard that there¡¯s an all-female class of mages called the ¡°Temptress¡± class. Supposedly, they can hypnotize men. Just to be safe, I reach into my inventory bag with all of my medical supplies. There¡¯s got to be a magic remedy in here somewhere. As I fumble through my bag, Katherine emerges out of the worn down house.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. What was your name?¡± she asks.


    ¡°Traveler,¡± I answer.


    ¡°Right, ¡®Traveler.¡¯ Listen TRAVELER, there¡¯s a woman inside this house who is really sick. We¡¯ve tried lots of different medicines, but nothing makes her better.¡±


    ¡°Why doesn¡¯t she just see a doctor?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have a doctor in this village. The nearest doctors are in Magali. But she¡¯s too sick to go there, and we don¡¯t have the money to bring a doctor here.¡±


    Now it all makes sense to me. As soon as she found out that I know Life Magic, she eagerly dragged me here before I could refuse. I bet she¡¯s hoping that now that I¡¯m already at the sick lady¡¯s door I won¡¯t refuse to see her. Well lucky for her she¡¯s right. Although really, she could have told me the truth from the beginning and I still would have come. There¡¯s no point in mastering healing magic and then not using it to help the sick or injured.


    I take a step closer to the door. Katherine puts a hand on my shoulder to stop me. ¡°She¡¯s been sick for a long time. Just so you know, the house is messy. And it smells.¡±


    I lower Katherine¡¯s hand and enter the house without hesitation. Right away a putrid scent assaults my nose. It¡¯s like a mixture of vomit, body odor, dust, and rotting food. All around the house in every direction is clutter. There are old newspapers, dirty clothes, quilts, kitchen tools, and unclean dishes. On the far side of the room, there is a bed pressed against the wall. Lying on the bed is a half-awake, older woman with gray hair and pruned skin. Stepping over various knickknacks, I make my way to the woman and kneel by her bedside.


    Gently, I place my hand on her head. She groans in agony in response. Right away I remove my hand lest I suffer third degree burns. ¡°What¡¯s her name Katherine?¡±


    ¡°Hilda.¡±


    Hilda is a bit squirmy, but I do my best to hold eye contact with her. ¡°Hilda, I have some things to help you, but I need you to understand something. This mess is unacceptable Hilda. You see, there are these things called germs. They¡¯re small and you can¡¯t see them, but they¡¯re what make you sick. Germs grow in dirty places like this. You have to clean up your house and especially make sure that there¡¯s no rotting or spoiled food around. If you don¡¯t clean up your house, then you¡¯ll never get better. Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°Awaugh,¡± she groans with what I think was an attempt to nod.


    Good enough. I search around in my medical supplies again. Then I pull out two superior-grade life potions costing 10,000 ames each. They¡¯re worth quite a bit of money, but I can afford to make the sacrifice. Rising from my kneeling position, I place my hands over Hilda. Next I close my eyes and focus my mana energy. Then I cast the Miracle Heal spell followed by the Regenerate spell. The first spell is used to immediately heal severe wounds or sickness whereas the second spell has a more gradual, long lasting effect. Nevertheless, given Hilda¡¯s degree of illness, it will take more than one or two spells to make her well. That¡¯s why I¡¯m leaving her the potions.


    ¡°Okay then Hilda,¡± I begin. ¡°I¡¯ve cast some healing spells. Within the next hour or so, you should feel better. But you won¡¯t be entirely well just yet. You¡¯ll need to continue getting lots of rest and drinking lots of liquids. Also, I¡¯m leaving you two potions. You¡¯re to drink half of one potion tomorrow morning and then the rest of it tomorrow night. Then you¡¯ll do the same thing the next day with the other potion. After that, you¡¯ll clean up this mess and get better okay?¡±


    She nods in understanding. ¡°What is your name young man?¡±


    ¡°Traveler.¡±


    ¡°No, what is your name?¡±


    ¡°Traveler.¡±


    She looks at Katherine in confusion. ¡°No what is your name?¡± she asks a third time.


    I draw in a deep breath and exhale slowly. She asked for it.


    ¡°My name is Souladonis.¡±


    ¡°Sodummis?¡±


    ¡°Just remember Soul. It¡¯s easier.¡±


    Politely, I bow to Hilda and then exit the house. Katherine trails behind me. I notice that she has a concerned look on her face. Maybe I did something wrong? It¡¯s not unusual for me to screw things up. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I ask her self-consciously.


    ¡°Those potions that you gave her were expensive. We can¡¯t pay you.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± I say relieved. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the potions. That¡¯s what they¡¯re for anyway.¡±


    I leisurely walk back towards the center of town. There¡¯s still nobody around. Well, other than Katherine, who is still following me for some reason. ¡°Hey,¡± she says.


    I stop to hear what she has to say. ¡°You¡¯re a really good person Souladonis.¡±


    The irony of her comment overwhelms me. I squeeze my stomach muscles but fail to prevent myself from laughing in her face. Katherine¡¯s mouth contorts into a confused frown. Clearly she didn¡¯t get the joke. ¡°What?¡± she asks unknowingly.


    ¡°You¡¯re too quick to jump to conclusions. You don¡¯t know me.¡±


    ¡°No, but I know that you¡¯re a kind person who likes to help people.¡±


    I cross my arms unconvinced. ¡°For all that you know Katherine, I could be a death mage.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not a death mage,¡± she says with conviction.


    ¡°Oh yeah? How do you know?¡±


    ¡°Because death mages can¡¯t use Life Magic.¡±


    I smack myself in the head. Okay Soul, she got you on that one. I quickly walk away from her in an attempt to escape. Yet as I feared, she goes out of her way to keep up with me.


    ¡°Like I said, you¡¯re a good person.¡±


    Now her presumptiveness is beginning to annoy me. I stop walking again. But this time I lean my face towards her accusingly. ¡°Oh yeah? What if I did something that was so terrible that no amount of good deeds could ever make up for it? Would I still be a good person?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    I raise my left eyebrow at her confidence. ¡°How do you figure?¡±


    Katherine mimics my lean. Our faces are now only a few inches apart. ¡°Because what you did in the past only defines who you were. What you do in the present defines who you are now.¡±


    My back shoots up straight. I never would have expected such a thoughtful answer from a common village girl. Pondering her words, I turn from Katherine and walk away slowly. Truth be told, I¡¯d like to believe what she said, but I just don¡¯t think that it¡¯s that simple. As I walk away, Katherine catches up to me once more.


    Curious, she asks, ¡°So what exactly did you do that was so bad?¡±


    I refuse to answer that. Instead, I ask her a completely unrelated question. ¡°When I arrived at the village, I saw mana plants. I¡¯m assuming that means that there is a botanist in town. Do you know where I can find him?¡±


    Katherine smiles brightly. ¡°At my house!¡±


    My head tilts in reluctant surprise. ¡°You mean you?¡±


    Katherine laughs and lightly slaps me on the shoulder. ¡°No, silly. Not me. My mother.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± That makes sense. Katherine moves ahead of me and then beckons for me to follow her. Suddenly, I somehow find myself once more obeying the whims of this pushy village girl. ¡°Soul,¡± I say to myself. ¡°You¡¯ve got to stop looking into her brown eyes before she takes you for all that you¡¯re worth.¡±

 Chapter 2

    I follow Katherine to her house. I had actually already seen it when I came into the village. It¡¯s the third house on the left from the front gate. Its outer walls are painted green while the window shutters and the roof are brown. Thin vines droop down wildly from the roof for decoration. Also the dirt around the base of the house is mulched and laden with flowers. A botanist living in a nature-themed house. How shocking.


    Katherine invites me inside. Without being told, I take off my shoes and leave them by the door. I notice that there is a coat rack, but I don¡¯t use it. I prefer to keep my favorite purple cutaway coat on my shoulders. I follow Katherine deeper into the house. The kitchen is on the left just past the front door and the salon is straight ahead. Well I say salon, but clearly for them the space doubles as the living room and dining room. Katherine¡¯s mother is sitting at the dining room table creating indigo dye out of the dried roots of mana plants. A good indigo dye is quite rare and can sell for a great deal of ames. Seeing that she knows how to make the most out of every part of her plants encourages me. She¡¯s as skilled of a botanist as I had hoped.


    She rises from the table to greet me. I nod and say hello. She holds up her blue hands to explain why she¡¯s not offering me a handshake. Of course I saw what she was doing and hadn¡¯t expected one anyway. ¡°My name is Margaret Hamilton.¡±


    ¡°Souladonis. Nice to meet you.¡±


    Margaret has peach colored skin, shoulder length puffy gray hair, overly large round glasses, a white wool sweater rolled up to her elbows, and brown pants tied entirely too high up on her waist, strangled to death by her belt. She looks like the clich¨¦ school nerd who grew old without ever grasping the concept of fashion. I only halfway listen to what she¡¯s saying while I concentrate on summing her up. But from hearing her accent and the big words that she strings together fluidly, I can tell that she is a well-educated, bookworm scientist. The only questions are what is she doing in this town and why does her daughter look so different from her?


    Nevertheless, I avoid asking the obvious questions. I hate it when people ask me questions about my past. I¡¯d be a hypocrite to try digging into Margaret¡¯s history. If she says that Katherine is her daughter, then Katherine is her daughter. That¡¯s good enough for me.


    ¡°So how can I help you Lord Souladonis?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for a special remedy; one that I haven¡¯t been able to find anywhere. I¡¯m hoping that you might have something.¡±


    Margaret invites me to sit at the table. I sit in the nearest available seat while Katherine circles the table to the other side to find a seat. Then Margaret moves to a nearby dresser and grabs a small box off of the top shelf. She comes to the table and sets down the box facing towards me. She opens it to reveal potions of varying shapes and colors.


    ¡°I have all kinds of potions and remedies. Whatever you need.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for a remedy for the petrification curse. I¡¯ve tried all sorts of cures and remedies but nothing has worked.¡±


    Margaret turns the box towards herself and sifts through the contents. She then pulls out a vial of light blue liquid and gives it a little shake. ¡°Have you tried an organic/magic hybrid potion combined with acid? It¡¯s made of wild bergamot, crushed mana plant leaves, hydrochloric acid, and sugar for flavoring.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try anything. How much for the potion?¡± I ask eagerly.


    To my surprise she places the vial back into the box and closes it. ¡°Money won¡¯t do us any good. Not when the goblins keep attacking our villagers and stealing everything we have. We rarely see traveling mages and the inquisitors don¡¯t come out this far. We need someone to find their hideout and get back our stolen goods.¡±


    ¡°So in other words, if I solve your goblin problem, then you¡¯ll give me the potion?¡±


    Just as soon as Margaret can nod her head, I¡¯m already on my way to the front door. Katherine follows behind me as I exit the house. I didn¡¯t bother asking for any suggestions on where the goblins might be hiding or how I could find them. I figure I¡¯ll just charge into the woods and start blasting spells until I find what I¡¯m looking for.


    While on the way to the nearby woods, Katherine tries to get my attention. I don¡¯t stop walking. I have no time for the nonsense of a village girl right now. ¡°I have an idea,¡± she pleads.


    ¡°I have an idea too,¡± I tell her. ¡°Find the goblins, blast them with fire, get the potion, done.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but you¡¯d have to find the goblins in the forest first. That could take forever. Instead, we should fill a cart with empty boxes and pretend that we¡¯re transporting valuables to Magali. The goblins will come out to rob us, then you can use just enough magic to chase them away. Follow them back to their hideout in the forest and destroy their home. That should force them to move away from the village.¡±


    Hold on a minute... That actually makes sense! I stop walking and turn to Katherine with one eyebrow raised. ¡°That¡¯s actually a good idea. We¡¯ll go with your plan.¡±


    She swats me on the arm. ¡°See,¡± she says giggling.


    Yeah I do see. I thought that Katherine was the presumptive one, but really it was me. I assumed that she was just a foolish and uneducated village girl, but she¡¯s actually quite clever. Furthermore, her mother is a scientist. Margaret probably home schooled her too. A lot of rural villagers don¡¯t even know how to read and write, but I¡¯m willing to bet that Katherine is not one of them.


    I follow Katherine. She leads me behind the village¡¯s general store, where there is a cart and empty wooden crates. The two of us take about ten minutes or so to load up the cart with some empty crates. We then cover the boxes with a blanket to make it seem like we don¡¯t want the goblins to know what we¡¯re doing. Call it reverse psychology. Goblins are relatively smart for monsters, but they¡¯re far from geniuses.


    Yet just in case something does go terribly wrong, I take the precaution of marking our current location with my portal stone.


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    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Katherine asks.


    I show her the diamond-shaped stone in my hand. It¡¯s a stone that records its current position. That position is then marked in the user¡¯s portal record book. By tearing a page out of the book, one can return to any spot previously recorded by the stone. If I ever get into serious danger, then I can escape using the Portal spell like I did the one time when I was severely wounded on the Molten Islands. However, I never carry more than one page in my book. A lot of mages become over-reliant on the Portal spell. It makes them weak. Moreover, you can only visit places where you¡¯ve already been, and I won¡¯t find a cure for petrification by revisiting towns that I¡¯ve already searched.


    Katherine finishes examining the stone. I put it back into my coat pocket. Then I roll the cart out of the village¡¯s rear entrance. Out of the backside of the village, there is a dirt path that extends from Belle Forest all the way to the king¡¯s city of Magali. I intend to go to Magali as soon as I finish my business here. When I do, I¡¯ll let this path guide me there. But for now I¡¯m only pretending to walk it to get the attention of the goblins.


    As Katherine and I walk along the path, I check the edges of the forest out of the corners of my eyes. I hope that I don¡¯t look too suspicious. If they realize that it¡¯s a trap, they won¡¯t attack. Maybe I¡¯m giving them too much credit though. I should just think about something else and not worry about it.


    I gaze up at the fluffy white clouds in the clear blue sky. When I was a kid, my girlfriend and I used to compete to find the most interesting shaped cloud in the sky. I only won once when I spotted a dragon-shaped cloud. I guess back then I was carefree and na?ve. Life in a peaceful magic academy, with a prosperous family, and a pretty girlfriend made me believe in fairy tales and I was the invincible hero. Yet I had to discover the hard way that real life is ugly, harsh, and unforgiving. People are sick, people are hungry, people die in the street with no one to mourn them, kings start wars, the weak suffer, and mistakes can¡¯t be taken back. Gazing at clouds is useless. Power alone solves problems in this world.


    Suddenly, a howling wind rushes through the forest and sends a chill down my spine. On cue, eight little green men wielding knives emerge from the forest. They charge full speed directly towards our cart. Half of them are on our left side and the other half on our right. Apparently, goblins know how to coordinate an ambush. Quaint.


    I order Katherine to stand behind me. The goblins are only about three feet tall. Even charging at their full speed, they¡¯re not that fast. I have more than enough time to figure out which spells I should use. Like before, I could just blast them with the Comet spell, but comets explode on impact. With the goblins huddled so close together, it will be hard not to accidentally kill all of them at once. At least one or two will need to survive if I¡¯m to follow them to their hideout.


    As the goblins draw near, I decide to completely exterminate the half on the right side. I cast the Water Shark spell at the goblin in the center of the group. A shark-shaped water missile strikes the goblin with enough impact to kill it instantly and splash water over the other three goblins near it. I take advantage of the other goblins being drenched from my water spell and finish them all off at once with the Chain Lightning spell.


    Next, I turn my attention to the four on the opposite side. They¡¯re starting to get dangerously close. Nonetheless, I can¡¯t use an area-of-effect spell this time. Maybe I should try some Illusion Magic to really test their intelligence. Just before they can reach me, I cast the Stunt Double spell. It¡¯s a spell that creates an illusion of its caster. I position the copy of myself to the right side of the goblin group. When they see the other image of me standing nearby, they stop in their tracks. Then they hold a little group discussion. I watch them amused at how they discuss a little, then point at me, discuss a little more, point at my copy, and then huddle together even closer to discuss some more. For as ugly as goblins are, they can still be quite charming. Finally, they come to a consensus. Two attack me, and two attack my copy. Perfect.


    I wait until the two approaching goblins get into range. As soon as they¡¯re close enough, I leap forward and slam my heavy stone staff down on the head of the goblin to the left. I feel its skull give under the weight of my staff and I know that one blow is enough. The other goblin on the right pokes at me with his knife, but his little goblin arms don¡¯t reach me. With a slight twist of the hips, I rotate enough to swipe my staff into the side of its head. Like the other goblin, it goes down from one blow. I almost feel sorry for them. For all of their planning, they forgot to take into account the fact that I¡¯m twice their size and my weapon is much longer than theirs. Oh well. It was a good effort.


    I check in on the last two goblins. They stab at my illusion until it disappears. The moment it fades away, I can see in their eyes that they realize they¡¯ve been tricked. Looking over at me, they see that the other two goblins are down and that they¡¯re the only ones left. Right away, they give each other a quick glance, and then book it for the woods. I immediately start to chase after them, yet Katherine foolishly tries to follow me. Incidentally, I lose a second off of the chase because I have to stop her. ¡°Don¡¯t follow me! It¡¯s too dangerous!¡± I order.


    ¡°But!¡± she protests.


    ¡°Just stay here!¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    I run double time to catch back up to the goblins. It¡¯s a little harder to follow them through the trees, but I adroitly remain on their trail. Everything is going according to plan. Now I just have to reach their hideout, drive them out, and reclaim the villagers¡¯ stuff. Then I¡¯ll get the potion, use it on my staff, and if it works, I¡¯ll finally be able to go home for the first time in six years.

 Chapter 3

    Wow. Margaret was not kidding. Smack dab in the center of the woods, I find wooden supply crates, shovels, a bicycle, an ironing board, an ox cart with no ox, lots of clothes, a few pots and pans, and all sorts of everything. It seems that the goblins have been stealing from the villagers for quite some time. Either that or they plan on opening a variety store.


    Yet a lot of what¡¯s present I can¡¯t quite make out due to the lack of light. I can mostly only see shapes with a few minor details. There are tall trees surrounding me in every direction. The tallest of the trees all have trunks that go up about eight feet before they start sprouting branches. But above that point, the trees are covered in dark green leaves. It seems that all that I¡¯ve found here is a bunch of stolen stuff, crunchy leaves on the ground, and tall trees in the air. Where the heck are all of the goblins?


    It¡¯s only at the center of the stolen items that I see any goblins, but those are the two that I followed here. Now they¡¯re just standing there making some noises that could be speech, but I¡¯m not quite sure. Cautiously, I start to walk towards them. Suddenly, the two goblins begin screeching loudly and pointing at me. I don¡¯t know what they¡¯re doing, but I don¡¯t like it, and their screeching is annoying, so I cast a Comet and shut them up for good.


    I don¡¯t know about their hideout, but I at least found the stolen goods. That ought to be good enough to get the potion that Margaret promised me. As I turn to exit the forest, I hear what sounds like movement. I hold myself still so that I can listen more carefully. I hear it again, but where? There¡¯s a rustle of leaves to my right side. My eyes jerk towards the sound, but I still don¡¯t see anything. Then suddenly there¡¯s the sound of movement all around me. I look over my shoulder and see five goblins behind me.


    Reacting quickly, I barely manage to roll out of the way of an incoming arrow. As I prepare to attack the five goblins, green movement in my peripheral vision turns my head to the right. Now there are around eight goblins approaching me from that side. But how is that possible? Where are they coming from?


    Leaves rustle just to my left side. The sound causes my heart to skip a beat and I instinctively jump away. In the spot where the sound came from, I see a goblin burrowing out of the ground from directly beneath a tree. Swiveling my head from left to right, I see a multitude of other goblins also burrowing out from beneath tress. Before I¡¯m even able to fully process what¡¯s happening, I find myself surrounded by at least fifty, if not more, goblins.


    This is not good. I don¡¯t care how weak goblins are as individuals. I¡¯m in trouble. Directly in front of me, a squadron of goblins prepares its arrows. As the squadron unleashes its volley at me, I dodge and duck as best as I can, but arrows still puncture into my left shoulder, my right forearm, and left thigh. I quickly yank the arrows out without flinching: not because I¡¯m that much of a macho tough guy, but because I know that if I blink then I¡¯m getting hit with more arrows. Luckily, the arrows that already hit me didn¡¯t pierce any vital organs nor did they puncture that deeply. I simply cast the Heal spell on myself and keep dodging as best as I can.


    Still, I can¡¯t dodge forever. If I don¡¯t do something to keep these arrows from coming at me, then I¡¯ll be dead in a matter of minutes. As one more arrow whizzes by my head, I come up with an idea. They¡¯re only able to shoot at me because I¡¯m stranded in the middle of them and because they¡¯re taking advantage of my height by shooting up at an angle that allows the arrows to sail over the heads of the goblins on the opposite side even if they miss. That makes what I need to do obvious. Dip!


    I crouch to my knees to lower myself to their height. The goblins hesitate at my sudden move just long enough for me to roll towards a group of them. Now, right in front of the enemy, I can launch my counterattack. ¡°Haaa!¡± I shout as I thrust my staff into a goblin. The force of the thrust pushes the goblin through the air and away from me. Then I swing at the goblins to my right side. The mighty strike from my staff blows three of them away at once and I start to gain a little confidence. That is, until a goblin on my left stabs me in the arm with its knife. Ow! I pivot and attack towards my left. Another goblin shimmies around to my right side and stabs me in the leg. Ow! As I try to riposte to my right, yet another goblin stabs me, but this time in the back just under my left shoulder blade. Oww, oww, oww!


    I rise to my feet in an attempt to flee. As I run away, a spray of arrows chases at my backside. I dive behind a tree to escape the arrows. Right away my chest begins to rise and fall in rapid succession as I try desperately to catch a breath. There¡¯s just too many of them. I can¡¯t do this alone. I can only think of one thing to do, but that would also have negative consequences. Not to mention that I¡¯d have to live with the shame of needing such a spell against lowly goblins.


    As I consider my options, I feel a knife sink into my already stabbed left arm. ¡°Aaaah!¡± I scream. I twist around enough to punch the offending goblin in the face. It flies backwards and leaves its knife dangling from my arm. Okay. Forget it. I¡¯m either going to live with the shame of using a master-level summoning spell on goblins or die with the shame of being killed by goblins. Between the two, the better choice is clear. I focus every last bit of mana that I have left and cast my trump card. Shouting its name I call out, ¡°Ruby Red Dragon!¡±


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    Out of a puff of smoke, a 10ft tall bipedal red dragon emerges. It sees the goblins attacking me and steps forward. But due to its size, it immediately gets stuck between some trees. The goblins respond to it by launching another volley of arrows. But unlike with my soft skin, their arrows are unable to pierce its hard scales. Leaning back, the dragon inhales a deep breath, and then loudly exhales out a giant fireball at the goblins. The fireball explodes into a massive eruption of fire that kills off many of the goblins and sets the forest ablaze.


    ¡°And that¡¯s why I didn¡¯t want to summon you,¡± I quip.


    The goblins that weren¡¯t killed by the fireball flee in terror. As fast as I can, I search through my medical supplies and withdraw both a life and a mana potion. Hurriedly, I drink them, spilling about a third of their contents on my hands. Just in time I realize that my dragon is about to breathe out another fireball, but now that I have some mana back, I¡¯m able to unsummon the dragon before it makes the forest fire even worse. With the goblins and the dragon gone, I just have to stop the forest fire and then I can call it a day.


    I come out from behind my tree refuge. The fire is spreading quickly, yet it¡¯s still small enough for me to handle if I commit all of my mana to it at once. Using all of my mana, I perform my true specialty ¨C triple casting. Few are the mages who can do it, but there is a unique skill that allows one to quickly repeat a spell three times. I do so with the grandmaster level elementalist spell ¨C Water Dragon Bomb. Spraying from my magical staff, three giant dragon-shaped water projectiles crash into the fires and put them out while leaving the ground wet and muddy. I¡¯ve got to say; sometimes I even impress myself. Of course, I can¡¯t be too boastful considering I had to use every single one of my best skills in a battle against goblins. Never would I have believed it possible if it hadn¡¯t just happened. Luckily, nobody was around to see it or I¡¯d be the joke of the mage world.


    I move over to the villagers¡¯ goods and see that the fire damaged a lot of it. Crap. That¡¯s not good. I hope that Margaret will still give me the potion. Anyhow, my quest is complete and I¡¯m exhausted. Slowly, I walk through the woods back towards Belle Forest. After about three minutes of walking, I hear the voice of a girl screaming. Crap. That¡¯s also not good.


    I sluggishly run as fast as I can in the direction that the voice came from. Surely enough, I find Katherine being chased by goblins. Straining my muscles, I force myself to run faster, but my exhaustion is starting to get the better of me. To make matters worse, Katherine somehow manages to run into another group of goblins leaving her boxed in from the front and the back. In a panic she tries to veer off to the side, but runs straight into a tree. She crumbles over to the ground from the impact. The goblins form a firing line in front of her and prepare their bows. Like mad, I push myself so hard that it feels like my legs are going to tear out from my torso. The goblins draw back their bowstrings. Tears stream from Katherine¡¯s eyes and she¡¯s too frozen with fear to escape. Finally they fire.


    Grunting, I make one final push and put myself between Katherine and the arrows. I try to deflect the arrows with my staff, but due to my fatigue, my heavy stone staff feels even heavier. Successfully, I manage to knock a mere two arrows out of the air. The rest of the arrows leave me looking like a porcupine with its quills in backwards. Instantly, I can taste my mouth filling with blood as the goblins ready themselves to fire more arrows. My eyes feel heavy and the forest suddenly grows darker. Yet before the goblins can attack again, I sling a Comet straight ahead and catch most of them by surprise. The few that survive run away.


    I fall to my knees. I can¡¯t breathe. I think I took an arrow or two to the lungs. Katherine comes to my side. I can tell that she is saying something, but I can¡¯t hear her. Before it¡¯s too late, I take out my portal stone and record book. Using what little strength I have, I tear out the one page of the book and cast the Portal spell. In front of Katherine and me, a blue water-like portal appears in the air. I don¡¯t know if I manage, but I try to point my finger towards the portal. At this point the world is almost entirely black. It seems that I¡¯ll never reach my goal after all. I guess some things once done can never be undone.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Nadine. I tried my best.¡±


    I feel my body become weightless and I submit to the darkness.


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 Chapter 4

    I feel no pain now. This must be what it¡¯s like to be dead. I let my eyes open slowly. My vision is out of focus and I see only a blur. Once my eyes are able to regain focus, I look next to me and see ¨C Margaret? ¡°Wait. Am I alive or dead?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Souladonis you¡¯re alive!¡± she says excitedly.


    How the heck? I look around to get my bearings. I¡¯m lying in a bed in what seems to be a girl¡¯s bedroom. On the floor next to the bed is a bucket of red water with numerous arrow tails sticking out of the sanguine pool. Also on the floor, just to the side of Margaret, is Katherine¡¯s unconscious body. My head is spinning. I have no idea what¡¯s going on.


    ¡°How am I still alive?¡±


    ¡°It was Katherine. She dragged you here while casting the Mend spell to keep you alive. We thought that maybe if we took out the arrows and then she used her Life Magic that you¡¯d recover. But when you weren¡¯t waking up, we became scared. So she decided to try using your magic staff to increase her power. But when she cast the Mend spell with your staff, she suddenly fainted. Right after that you woke up, but now she¡¯s down and I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong with her.¡±


    I sit up straight and scoot over to the edge of the bed. Margaret¡¯s story doesn¡¯t entirely make sense. Given the severity of my injuries, there¡¯s no way that Katherine could have kept me alive using the Mend spell, which is the weakest of all Life Magic spells. Not to mention the fact that even if she had used my staff, it wouldn¡¯t have made that dramatic of a difference for her magic power since my staff lost almost all of its potency when it was turned to stone. Still, I can¡¯t deny the fact that I¡¯m alive and well. In fact, I feel fine. My favorite outfit is completely ruined, but other than that, I¡¯m as good as I¡¯ve ever been.


    I push myself out of the bed. Margaret steps back and lets me kneel beside Katherine. I reposition her from her side to flat on her back. Then placing my hand over her mouth, I check her breathing. Her breath is faint, but consistent. Her skin is pale and cold. Margaret notices me checking Katherine¡¯s temperature, and she does the same. ¡°She¡¯s so cold. What¡¯s wrong with her?¡±


    I relax unworried. I know exactly what¡¯s wrong with her.


    ¡°Mana shock.¡±


    ¡°Mana shock?¡±


    ¡°Yes mana shock. It¡¯s what happens when a mage overextends his or her mana supply. This happens all the time to rookie mages at magic schools.¡±


    ¡°Well is it serious? What do we need to do?¡±


    I summon my medical supply bag and whip out a small mana potion. ¡°No it¡¯s not serious and Katherine has a very light case of it. She just needs to drink a mana potion and she¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    Gently, I tilt Katherine¡¯s head forward and slowly pour the potion down her throat. Her body instinctively swallows the liquid, and in just a few seconds time, she wakes up coughing. ¡°Oh thank goodness!¡± Margaret exclaims.


    Katherine looks up and sees me standing over her. Quickly, she springs up to her feet. ¡°Souladonis I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m so sorry! I know that you said not to follow you, but I wanted to help, and I wanted to see where the goblins were, and I¡¯m so sorry!¡±


    I shrug my shoulders indifferently. ¡°It¡¯s alright Katherine. I¡¯m fine now. Thanks to you apparently. I had no idea that you two were mages.¡±


    Margaret chuckles a laugh of modesty. ¡°Oh, goodness no. Katherine and I are not mages. I know one or two Nature Magic spells, and Katherine learned a few Life Magic spells from a book that I had bought her one time in Magali, but neither of us knows very much about magic.¡±


    Margaret¡¯s words astound me. If what she says is true, then my miraculous recovery makes even less sense. The magic power of a mage is almost entirely determined by two factors: education and genetics. A man who inherits little magic power from his bloodline can study until he¡¯s blue in the face and still never be able to cast a single grandmaster-level spell in his entire life. Whereas someone from a powerful magic bloodline, like myself, could study only for a few years before being able to cast a spell of the highest order. This is also why practically all of the world¡¯s notable mages are nobles. Hereditary magic power plays a huge role in negotiating marriage arrangements within high society. It would not even be unfair to call it selective breeding.


    I give up on trying to understand my recovery. I¡¯m alive and I just have to keep moving forward. My next stop is Magali. As soon as I get the promised potion from Margaret, I¡¯ll head out right away. ¡°Margaret,¡± I begin with a polite tone of voice. ¡°Might I have the magic potion that you promised me? I don¡¯t mean to be rude, but I wish to make it to Magali before the Mage Renaissance festival begins on Monday.¡±


    Margaret and Katherine exchange concerned looks. I notice the subtlety of their gesture and begin to grow concerned myself. ¡°What? What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Katherine answers, ¡°Souladonis the Mage Renaissance festival began today.¡±


    ¡°What? That can¡¯t be right. Isn¡¯t it a week long festival that begins on Monday and ends on Friday?¡±


    ¡°No Souladonis, it¡¯s a week long festival that begins on the Friday of Princess Mathilde¡¯s birthday and ends the following Friday. I mean, didn¡¯t you notice that there was no one in the village? Where did you think that everyone went?¡±


    I¡¯m starting to have a minor panic attack. I¡¯ve been waiting for an entire year for the next Mage Renaissance festival. I¡¯m missing all of the opening parades and magic demonstrations. Not to mention those who arrive late tend to have a hard time finding an inn room. This is not good. I reach into my pocket for my portal record book and my face grows white with remembrance. I used my last portal script to escape the forest!


    ¡°Margaret do you sell portal scripts?¡±


    ¡°No I don¡¯t. Nor do I have any. They¡¯re far too expensive for me to buy.¡±


    Darn it. I have to hurry. I collect my magic staff and walk to the bedroom door. ¡°Margaret the potion please!¡±


    I enter into their dining room and Margaret follows me with Katherine behind her. Patiently, I stand next to the table while Margaret grabs the small box from her dresser. She sits the box on the table and withdraws the tiny blue vial from within. My body begins to shake with nervous anticipation. Carefully, Margaret hands the potion over to my shaking hands. I try to pour the liquid onto my staff, but my hands start to tremble violently and I become too fearful of spilling it. Mercifully, Margaret notices my struggle. ¡°Here, let me do it.¡±


    I return the potion to Margaret. Then I hold up my staff with both hands as if presenting a gift. While Margaret pours the potion onto the staff, I keep my eyes closed. ¡°Please work, please, please.¡±


    Margaret finishes applying the potion to the staff. Slowly, very slowly, I allow my eyes to peel open. When they set on the staff, I see the familiar color of gray stone. At once, my head droops low and I nearly drop my staff. Margaret and Katherine move in to console me, but I raise my hand to stop them. My dejected lips start to quiver, yet I¡¯m able to force them to stop long enough to whisper truthfully, ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s not the first time.¡±


    Without a further word, I head for the front door. Just before I exit the house, Katherine runs up to me and grabs at my wrist. ¡°Wait Souladonis. I¡¯m coming with you.¡±


    I turn around slowly. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°I owe you my life Souladonis. You saved me and almost died doing it. I have to repay you somehow. Otherwise, I¡¯ll live with this guilt I feel forever.¡±


    I understand her sentiment, but I don¡¯t feel like she owes me anything. I simply did what was right in the moment. Besides, she¡¯d only slow me down. ¡°Katherine you don¡¯t owe me anything, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


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    ¡°No!¡± she insists. ¡°I have to do something to make up my debt to you.¡±


    I lean over her accusingly just like before. ¡°Oh yeah? What could you possibly do for me? I¡¯m bigger than you, stronger than you, faster than you, richer than you, and more well traveled than you. What do you have to offer me?¡±


    She answers with determination, ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I¡¯ll do anything. I¡¯ll¡­I¡¯ll be your servant for one year!¡±


    ¡°Ha!¡± I mock. The very thought is ludicrous. I¡¯ve lived alone for the past six years. I do not need a servant. I turn away from her and walk out of the door. Katherine catches me at the front steps by seizing my wrist more tightly than before. Reluctantly, I turn halfway with my right shoulder facing towards Katherine and my left shoulder towards the path that leads out of town. Then gazing over my right shoulder, I look deep into Katherine¡¯s eyes. Her big, bright, brown eyes are watery and on the verge of tears. I couldn¡¯t bear to see such beautiful, innocent eyes become jaded with guilt like my own.


    Oh Soul, why did you have to look into her eyes? You knew what would happen.


    I inhale deeply and exhale slowly in a sigh of submission. ¡°Fine Katherine. I¡¯ll let you be my servant. But for three months, not an entire year.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± she shouts merrily. ¡°Let me go pack my things!¡±


    Katherine runs off to her room to gather her belongings. I smack myself in the head. There¡¯s no telling how long this will take. We haven¡¯t even left town yet, and she¡¯s already slowing me down. But true to my word, I¡¯ll wait for her and let her follow me around for three months ¨C three agonizingly long months. I probably should have just said one. I got caught up in the moment I suppose. In any case, I sit down on the front steps to wait for Katherine. Margaret promptly comes out of the house to join me.


    ¡°That Katherine,¡± Margaret begins. ¡°Once she gets something into her head, she¡¯s determined to carry it through to the end.¡±


    ¡°I can see that.¡±


    Margaret steps unto the stair on which I¡¯m sitting. I move over a tad to allow her to sit down next to me. ¡°Is my daughter going to be alright following you? I mean will there be enough food, and shelter, and money?¡±


    I curve the corners of my mouth into a forced smile to appear reassuring. ¡°Katherine will be fine as long as she does what I say and doesn¡¯t get us both killed.¡±


    Margaret nods in understanding. ¡°Say Souladonis, Katherine has always dreamed of learning magic. Maybe while she¡¯s with you, you could teach her a few things.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I snap. ¡°Bad things happen to people who get caught up in the pursuit of magic! How do you think my staff got turned into stone? I won¡¯t be responsible for anyone becoming obsessed with magic and getting hurt like I did!¡±


    Margaret is taken aback by my sudden flare of emotion. Thus to regain her composure, she presses on the center of her glasses and repositions them on her ears. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It was forward of me to ask. But could you at least do one thing? She¡¯s always dreamed of having a nice magic wand. I would buy one for her, but I don¡¯t know the least thing about magical wands and staves. If I gave you the money, then could you make sure that she gets a good magic wand?¡±


    I nod. ¡°That I could do.¡±


    ¡°Good. I¡¯ll get the money.¡± Margaret rises to her feet and reenters the house. I continue sitting on the stairs wondering how I got myself into this mess. About ten minutes later, Katherine and Margaret return outside. I rise to my feet to greet them. Katherine is now dragging a large luggage bag behind her. ¡°Are you ready to go?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Yes Master!¡± she answers enthusiastically.


    I tilt my head diagonally. ¡°Master?¡±


    ¡°Yes, isn¡¯t that what servants call their master, Master?¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Technically, she¡¯s right. Not that I could care less whether she calls me ¡°Master,¡± or, ¡°Lord,¡± or, ¡°Mister,¡± or anything. I just don¡¯t want her to start thinking that I¡¯m her master in the sense of what an apprentice mage calls her teacher mage. I¡¯m aware that Katherine is both cunning and wants to learn magic. I¡¯ll have to be careful around her lest she trick me into giving her free magic lessons.


    I move to Katherine¡¯s luggage and summon an empty inventory bag. Channeling my mana energy into the inventory bag, I place it over Katherine¡¯s luggage bag causing it to magically shrink and enter into the smaller inventory bag. ¡°Woah!¡± Katherine exclaims in surprise.


    ¡°It¡¯s an inventory bag,¡± I explain as I hand it over to Katherine. ¡°Keep it in your pocket.¡±


    Overhead, I notice that the sun is starting to set in the purple-shaded sky. ¡°We need to go now Katherine. I want to get to Magali as soon as possible.¡±


    Just before we leave, Margaret approaches Katherine with a bag of money. I watch their interaction carefully. I¡¯ve already decided what I want to do with their money.


    Margaret says, ¡°Katherine my daughter, I love you so much. You¡¯ve always dreamed of having a magic wand and becoming a great mage. Master Souladonis has agreed to help you find a good magic wand for yourself. So I want you to take this money and use it to buy a wand.¡±


    Katherine takes the moneybag from her mother. When she opens it and looks inside, she immediately shuts it as if she had seen something terrifying inside. ¡°Mom, how much money is this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s 60,000 ames.¡±


    Katherine¡¯s jaw drops in disbelief. Seeing her reaction tells me all that I need to know. I walk away and let them finish their discussion in private. While Katherine and her mother say their goodbyes, I travel to the back exit gate: the one with the road leading to Magali. Before too long Katherine comes running and waving her arms at me. ¡°Ready to go?¡± I ask as soon as she reaches me.


    ¡°Yes Master!¡±


    ¡°Good. You can carry my staff.¡±


    Katherine and I then leave the village boundary. She positions my staff in her right arm and wraps her left arm around my right arm. ¡°I¡¯m so excited Master!¡± she says.


    For the first time, I allow myself to take a really close look at her face. Her brown eyes are gleaming diamonds, her plush cheeks red roses, and her mouth a pearl arch ascending to heaven. A sudden strange uncomfortable feeling takes hold of me. I quickly shake my head back and forth vigorously.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong Master?¡±


    ¡°I must have caught some kind of bug. I guess from Hilda¡¯s house.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Well in that case we should have soup for dinner.¡± Suddenly, Katherine stops moving. I pause with her.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°You do have food don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Goody then! This is going to be so much fun!¡±


    I notice that she had been dragging the bottom tip of my staff through the dirt. I forcibly separate my arm from hers. Putting my index finger in her face, I sternly say, ¡°Hey servant! Don¡¯t drag my staff on the ground. This isn¡¯t going to be ¡®fun.¡¯ Now that you¡¯re my servant you¡¯re beneath me! You will do what I say when I say, and don¡¯t expect me to be nice about it. No great lord ever treats his servant kindly and especially not as an equal. Do you understand me?¡±


    Katherine salutes me with her left hand. ¡°Yes my good and noble master! If you say ¡®jump,¡¯ then I¡¯ll say, ¡®Right away Master!¡¯¡±


    I bury my face in the palm of my hand. What have I gotten myself into?

 Chapter 5

    Katherine and I travel as far as we can before it becomes too dark to continue. To find a place to spend the night, I take us away from the road. Never sleep by the road. That¡¯s a sure way to get robbed. Rather, we go through some nearby trees and into a clearing on the other side. Thanks to my mastery of Elemental Magic, I can use my own hand as a fiery lantern. It¡¯s convenient and it doesn¡¯t hurt at all since it¡¯s actually my mana energy molded into magical fire and not natural fire. There¡¯s a difference. A big difference.


    One such difference is that you can¡¯t cook without natural fire. Well technically you could, but the amount of mana that it would take to make magical fire burn with enough heat and consistency to cook food thoroughly makes it impractical. So I get Katherine situated in the middle of the clearing and return to the trees. Smacking at some branches with my staff, I acquire the necessary wood to start a fire. Then using my own supplies, I provide the necessary rocks to encircle the wood, thereby creating a makeshift fire pit. As per Katherine¡¯s suggestion, I place a small cauldron on top of the wood and fill it with water, beef stock, potatoes, carrots, radishes, and smoked sausage to make soup. Then finally I cast Fire Pebbles, the weakest fire spell, to set the wood on fire.


    While the soup cooks, I take to doing my evening exercises. Sitting with my legs crossed, I slowly inhale for five seconds and exhale for ten seconds. With each in breath, I expand mana energy throughout my body. Then with each out breath, I let the mana energy lessen and contract. It¡¯s a basic exercise that any mage worth his salt does twice a day.


    Meanwhile, Katherine watches me closely. Then, after observing a few repetitions, she tries to imitate my meditation. She does it wrong of course. But I don¡¯t care. It¡¯s not my job to teach her anything. I just have to let her follow me around for three months, and then I¡¯m sending her straight back to her mother.


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    ¡°Master am I doing it right?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Well, teach me how to do it right please.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    Katherine¡¯s whining ruins the rhythm of my breathing. Irritated, I chide her with a raised voice. ¡°Listen Katherine. I¡¯m not teaching you a darn thing about magic. So shut up and leave me alone!¡±


    I stop my exercise and dig through my supply bag. I take out two bowls, two spoons, and a ladle. Then I pour a bowl of soup for myself first and next one for Katherine. It¡¯s a bit hot, but I don¡¯t warn her. I just hand her the bowl silently and start to walk away.


    ¡°Meanie,¡± she murmurs the instant I turn my back. I spin around immediately and squint my eyes at her. She looks off to the side as if she hadn¡¯t said anything. That¡¯s what I thought. I sit down next to the fire across from Katherine. We eat dinner together in silence. Just the way I like.


    After we finish eating, I prepare two separate sleeping bags for us. I always have two in case one gets wet in the rain or what have you. There are few miseries worse in this world than trying to sleep in a wet sleeping bag. I would know. I¡¯ve done it before. Once Katherine gets settled into her bag, I move to my own. Before getting inside, I remove my outer coat, vest, cravat, and shirt. Out of the blue, Katherine squeals.


    ¡°Huh? What?¡±


    ¡°Oh sorry. Nothing. I just didn¡¯t expect you to be so muscular. Sorry. Nevermind!¡±


    Katherine¡¯s rounded cheeks burn bright red. As fast as she can, she turns her body to the other side to hide her face from me. I just shake my head at her. Whatever. Silly girl. I get into my sleeping bag and also turn my body away from Katherine. Finally, this long day is over. Hopefully by the end of tomorrow, I¡¯ll be in the king¡¯s city of Magali, the center of the mage world.

 Chapter 6

    The next morning I rise with the sun. Then I do my morning exercises before packing up all of my supplies. As I haphazardly toss everything together into a bag, the sound of clashing silverware wakes up Katherine. She groggily worms her way out of her sleeping bag. Yawning, some of her hair goes one way, some of it another, and the rest doesn¡¯t know what to do. She looks completely disheveled and out of it. It¡¯s quite the stark contrast compared to how she had looked yesterday. I guess even pretty girls don¡¯t always look so good in the morning. ¡°Good mornin¡¯ Master,¡± she says still out of it.


    ¡°Good morning Katherine,¡± I reply. ¡°How many fingers am I holding up?¡±


    ¡°Forty-five,¡± she yawns.


    Yeah, not quite. While she gets herself together, I take to the woods for a potty break. When I return she¡¯s not entirely up to speed, but she is more of her normal self than before. ¡°Where¡¯s the bathroom?¡± she asks me.


    I point to the trees behind us. ¡°For real?¡± she whines.


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    ¡°Ugggh,¡± she groans, stomping off towards the trees.


    Okay, note to self. For the next three months, I¡¯ll need to stay in a town. I¡¯m not going through this routine every morning.


    I wait for an eternity for Katherine to return. How is it that a girl can spend forever in the bathroom when there¡¯s not even a bathroom? Once she finally does come back, we pass through the woods on the other side and return to the dirt road.


    While walking down the road, there¡¯s not really anything to do, so naturally Katherine starts talking. ¡°Master teach me magic,¡± she asks.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Please.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Pretty please.¡±


    Fed up, I finally shout, ¡°Katherine be quiet before I cast the Silence spell on you and make you quiet!¡±


    That works. She trails behind me pouting, but quiet. Truthfully, I don¡¯t even know the Silence spell, but she doesn¡¯t need to know that. We continue walking for another twenty minutes. It sucks that with every passing minute, we¡¯re missing more of the festival, yet we¡¯re making good progress. At the rate that we¡¯re going, we should make it to Magali by sunset.


    I look behind me to tell Katherine the good news. Her brown eyes stare off into the distance at something. I turn my head to see what she¡¯s looking at. ¡°Look Master! Water! We can freshen up over there!¡±


    Before I can stop her, Katherine runs off and leaves my side. ¡°No, Katherine! Wait!¡± I yell. But it¡¯s too late. She runs recklessly towards the water.


    I chase after her, but she makes it to the water before I can reach her. Kneeling over the little pond, she splashes some water on her face. Immediately, something in the water senses her movement. I can clearly see its large shape moving through the water towards her. Yet somehow, she fails to see it despite being right at the edge of the pond. The shape reaches Katherine¡¯s position and a large cetus monster springs up out of the water biting at Katherine¡¯s legs. The cetus is a reptilian creature with spiky carnivorous teeth, webbed paws, and a long tail. As it continues to snap its jaws at Katherine, she screams and backpedals away from it. Quickly, I summon forth my petrified staff. Then casting the grandmaster level Lightning Strike spell, I blast the cetus with such a powerful bolt of lightning that it goes sailing through the air. By the time that it splashes back into the water, its body is a smoking hot sausage. It sinks for a second and then floats back to the surface belly-up.


    Katherine runs to me and throws her arms around me. ¡°Oh Master, I was so scared!¡±


    I grab her by the shoulders and hold her at arm¡¯s length. ¡°Katherine you¡¯re a village girl. You should know that monsters hang around open bodies of water. I think that you did that on purpose.¡±


    She gasps in horror pulling away from me. ¡°Master I¡¯m shocked! I would never intentionally put myself in harm¡¯s way just to make you feel guilty enough to teach me magic so that I could defend myself and not be eaten by monsters. Never!¡±


    She stares at me blinking innocently. I also stare back at her blinking. I can¡¯t tell whether or not she¡¯s being sincere. Is Katherine screwing with me right now?


    I start to open my mouth to condemn her, but end up closing it without saying anything. Actually, if something were to happen to her, then I really would feel guilty for the rest of my life. Crap, Soul. She got you. She got you again.


    I inhale deeply and exhale slowly in yet another sigh of submission. ¡°Fine Katherine. I¡¯ll teach you the basics about magic, but just the basics.¡±


    ¡°Goody!¡± She wraps both of her arms around my right arm and rests her head on my shoulder. We then return to the road and continue towards Magali. Now I have to tell her about magic. At least it will be a distraction during our long walk. But where should I begin? Well, first things first I guess.


    ¡°Listen Katherine because I¡¯m only going to explain this once. There are 13 Magic Disciplines: Elemental Magic, Illusion Magic, Sound Magic, Status Magic, which is also called Curse Magic, Life Magic, Support Magic, Craft Magic, Summoning Magic, Shape Shifting Magic, Martial Magic, Nature Magic, which is actually two sub-disciplines ¨C both Beast and Plant Magic, Script Magic, and the forbidden magic known as Death Magic.¡±


    I look down at Katherine, who still has her head pressed against my shoulder. ¡°Got it?¡±


    ¡°Got it,¡± she answers.


    I continue, ¡°Each magic discipline has four levels: Debutant, Novice, Master, and Grandmaster. With each increasing level, the power of the spells increases. Most dedicated mages are able to reach the grandmaster level in two or three disciplines during their lifetime. Yet some exceptional mages are able to go beyond that.¡±


    Katherine looks up at me in wide-eyed astonishment. ¡°Has anyone ever reached the grandmaster level in all of the disciplines?¡±


    ¡°No, never. The most ever recorded was eight. But I think that Arch Lord Aerolyso, the head of Winterspring Academy, may have passed that already.¡±


    ¡°Wow, he must be really powerful.¡±


    I hesitate to answer that. ¡°Yes and no. He should be around 92-years-old I think. You see Katherine, by the time that a mage becomes that well-versed in magic, he¡¯s usually really old. A mage that old can¡¯t channel very much mana, and even if he can, then he can¡¯t do it for very long. The one who would be really powerful is a mage that was still young and yet knew multiple disciplines at the grandmaster level.¡±


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°Ooh! What about you Master?¡±


    I walk silently for a few paces with her. ¡°It¡¯s really none of your business, but I guess that I can tell you. I¡¯m at the grandmaster level in Elemental Magic, Life Magic, and Illusion Magic. I¡¯m also at the master level of Summoning Magic. Once I completely master Summoning Magic, then I¡¯ll start a new discipline. Probably Martial Magic.¡±


    Katherine is now looking at me starry-eyed and amazed. ¡°Wow, so you¡¯re like really powerful?¡±


    I scratch my head not sure how to explain. ¡°Well I would be, but¡­¡±


    ¡°But?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a class.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a class?¡±


    ¡°Classes are what make the mage world go around Katherine. There are groups of mages who form classes, which are like guilds. Each class requires that a mage meet certain criteria to join. Most of the time, it¡¯s reaching a specified level in three magic disciplines. The disciplines emphasized depend on the class. The advantage of belonging to a class is that each class has unique skills and spells not known outside of their group. In fact, teaching class unique skills to someone outside of the class is so taboo that some classes will even send assassins after someone who leaks their secrets.¡±


    I check to see if my lecture is boring Katherine, yet she hangs upon my every word. We continue following the road to Magali as we talk. Far away in the distant hills, I can see the great walls of the king¡¯s city. I point out the city to Katherine, who cheers excitedly. We should arrive in another two hours or so. But in the meantime, we continue our conversation. ¡°So why don¡¯t you have a class Master?¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯m an idiot.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that Master?¡±


    ¡°I mean when I was a kid, I was arrogant and na?ve. I only respected Elemental Magic. I thought that all of the other disciplines were stupid or for girls. So I never bothered learning any of the others. When it came time for the students to take class exams, most of the others went while I didn¡¯t. Instead, I tried to do something ridiculous to show off, but all that I got from it was an introduction to the petrification curse.¡±


    Katherine mulls over my words in a short silence. Even though this is only my second day knowing her, I can already anticipate her next question. ¡°So what exactly happened that turned your staff to stone?¡±


    Yep, I knew it. I stop walking so that I can focus all of my effort on speaking. Despite how hard I struggle, I can¡¯t bring the words up from my chest. I try swallowing, I try sighing, I try forcing myself to shout, but no words escape from my lips. Eventually, I just give up and let my head hang low. Katherine gently places her hand on my shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s okay Master. You don¡¯t have to tell me.¡±


    I accept her mercy. Together, we begin walking again. The city of Magali draws ever nearer with each step. I can even feel a tinge of excitement starting to well up inside of me at the thought of soon being in the greatest city in the world. I love Magali. Well honestly, I hate Magali too. But mostly I love it.


    ¡°Katherine there¡¯s one last thing that I need to tell you about classes,¡± I say. ¡°Like all things in the mage world, there is a certain hierarchy to classes. At the bottom of the hierarchy, you have your basic classes. These are what are known as the ¡®unique classes.¡¯ Almost any mage that you meet will fall into this category. Yet, there is a tier beyond the unique class called the ¡®ultra class.¡¯ Any ultra class mage is someone not to be trifled with. A single ultra class mage could wipe out an entire group of unique class mages. The difference between the two is that huge. Being an ultra class mage implies having already reached the grandmaster level in at least one, but usually more magic disciplines. But even crazier, Katherine, is the fact that there¡¯s a tier above ultra class mages. Those are the ¡®ultimate class¡¯ mages. Most of the ones that I know of are Arch Lords.¡±


    Katherine starts to ask a question so I answer it, ¡°Each major country has a leading magic academy. The headmaster of said academy is the Arch Lord or Arch Lady for that country.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± she says. Katherine and I are now in the home stretch. In just about fifteen minutes, we¡¯ll be at the gates of Magali. But before we arrive, I have a question for Katherine. ¡°So Katherine tell me, just why is it that you want to learn magic? Is it for money, power, or fame?¡±


    ¡°To help people.¡±


    ¡°To help people?¡±


    ¡°Yes, to help people! You met Hilda back in the village. If I were a great mage, then I could have helped her. Or I could have dealt with the goblins myself, and you never would have been hurt. There¡¯s so much good that I could do for the world if only I had magic power!¡±


    Katherine¡¯s words caught me by surprise. This is the first time that I¡¯ve ever heard of someone wanting to acquire magic power to help people. Generally, people pursue magic for profit or any number of selfish reasons, but never to help people. I¡¯m starting to realize that there¡¯s more to Katherine than I thought. She¡¯s not stupid, she¡¯s not na?ve, and she¡¯s not seeking magic for selfish purposes. In short, she¡¯s not like me. Katherine is sincerely and legitimately, deep down to her a core, a good person. My initial objections were all misguided. There¡¯s nothing wrong with teaching Katherine magic. She won¡¯t become power-crazed like I did and ruin her life or get herself killed.


    I find myself so caught up in my thoughts that I barely notice when the dirt road ends and the paved road begins. I lift my eyes and see the outer walls of Magali right in my face. Excitement consumes me and I take off running. ¡°Come on!¡± I shout back towards Katherine. She¡¯s obviously not used to traveling for long hours like me, but she¡¯s young. She¡¯ll make it. After a brief clearance check with some guards, the front gate opens and I enter into Magali.

 Chapter 7

    Chapter 7


    I pass through the gates and behold the wondrous glory of Magali. Beneath us, the tan cobblestone pavement shines gold with the reflection of the evening sun. The buildings are old, yet all renovated with the latest works of Steampunk technology. Mages of both little and great renown flow through the streets like wine. Attractive women dressed in the most exquisite fashions prance through the streets, pursued desperately by love-stricken suitors. The scent of lush, savory foods fills my nostrils, and the sounds of merriment echo from one street corner to the next. Here in Magali the sky is bluer, the girls are prettier, and the food tastes better. Everything in Magali is better. Better and unreasonably expensive. I love it!


    I lift my arms into the air in grandiose poise. Slowly, I sashay down the street straight ahead, reveling in the beauty of the city. Passing on the right is a group of two young ladies. One is a Witch class mage dressed in the loveliest black corset. I catch her by the hand, raise it high, and lay a strong kiss upon it. The young witch smiles delighted by my boldness. I wink at her and keep moving. Magali! There¡¯s no place like it!


    As I continue down the street, a mage riding on top of a miniature tidal wave almost mows me over. I spin out of the way and let him pass. Katherine, who walks behind me, also narrowly manages to avoid a collision. ¡°See that guy riding on top of the wave,¡± I say to Katherine, ¡°that¡¯s a Pirate class mage.¡±


    Katherine observes the situation closely. ¡°Who¡¯s that chasing him?¡±


    I peel my eyes off of a tantalizing little blonde thing to check. Running behind the pirate is a tall, angry man wearing a knight¡¯s armor. ¡°Oh. That¡¯s an inquisitor. The law enforcers.¡±


    ¡°Then doesn¡¯t that mean the pirate did something bad? Shouldn¡¯t you help catch him?¡±


    ¡°Nonsense! I¡¯m not helping an inquisitor. The inquisitors are all a bunch of overpaid bullies. When they¡¯re not fighting criminals or death mages, they keep their skills sharpened on the weak and defenseless.¡±


    I take a left off of the main road and pass through an alley. On the other end, there¡¯s a wide street lined on both sides with all sorts of street vendors. I find one selling kebabs, and buy two. I also get some roasted chicken from another vendor, and fried potatoes from a third. For a drink, I purchase a bottle of red wine to share with Katherine. But then I remember that I have no idea how old Katherine is. ¡°Katherine, how old are you?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Seventeen,¡± she answers.


    Hearing her answer, I decide to get her some ginger ale instead. I¡¯ll keep the wine for myself. Once we have our dinner secure, I lead us down another series of streets and alleys until we come out by the west side docks. From there we go straight ahead until I see the battle coliseum on the right. I don¡¯t know whether there¡¯s an event going on or not, but I hope so. Katherine and I reach the coliseum entrance where there is a velvet rope and a guard equipped with a halberd to prevent free entry. ¡°Is there a show going on right now?¡± I ask the guard.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he answers indifferently.


    ¡°How much per ticket?¡±


    ¡°Fifty ames.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take two.¡±


    I make Katherine hold my kebab sandwich and wine bottle while I take out the money to buy the tickets. Then we pass through a short corridor and into the area with the large bleachers. There are a lot of people filling the stands, but we still manage to find pretty good seats at mid-level. It appears that we just missed the end of the last match. At least I assume that a guy lying in the arena unmoving means that the current match is finished. Like standard procedure for arena matches, a team of life mages surrounds the defeated fighter and scrapes him up off the ground. Wrapping his arms around their shoulders, they carry him out of the ring while the other fighter celebrates in adulation.


    ¡°Katherine, have you ever come to the battle coliseum before?¡±


    ¡°No, this is my first time.¡±


    ¡°Then you¡¯re in for a treat. You wanted to learn about magic, so watch closely.¡±


    In the opposing arena entrances, the next two fighters stand waiting. They¡¯re kind of shadowy in the descending entrance, so I can¡¯t quite make them out yet. But right now, in the center of the ring, the fight announcer holds the stage. ¡°My lords and ladies, for this, our last show of the evening, we have a special bout planned for you. First, fighting out of Iris City, Magnolia Kingdom, this man is a Fortissimo class knight, and champion of over 10 battles, let me hear your applause for Sir Ivan Goldstein! As the audience cheers, Katherine and I pitch in with half-hearted applause.


    The announcer waits for the cheers to die down and then he continues. ¡°Our next fighter, fighting out of Arpeggio Academy, ?me Kingdom, this young girl is only 16-years-old, yet she is an ultra class mage of the Asclepius genre, champion of over 16 battles, the apprentice of our very own Arch Lady Benedicta, my lords and ladies, on your feet for Carlotta Lenoir!¡±


    Immediately, the coliseum fills with deafening cheers. People are applauding and whistling so loudly that the air is completely saturated with sound. I don¡¯t know who Carlotta is, but she¡¯s clearly the favorite. I jump on the bandwagon and begin to cheer loudly too. From the left-hand arena entrance, Carlotta emerges. The cheers only grow louder as she makes her way to the center of the ring. I strain my eyes to take a good look at Carlotta. Like the announcer said, she¡¯s a 16-year-old girl, with long, wavy blonde hair, well-defined muscles, and a sword bigger than herself strapped to her back. She looks completely calm and comfortable before her opponent. This fight will surely be something to see.


    The announcer gives the rules for the match. The match will be a five-point match with one point being awarded to a fighter each time he or she can floor the other fighter. In the event of a knock out, the fight ends immediately. With the rules established, the fight begins.


    At once, Sir Ivan, the Fortissimo, lunges for Carlotta. He tries thrusting her with his sword, but she draws the sword from her back and swings it horizontally. I guess due to the contrast between the size of her body and the size of her sword, he didn¡¯t realize that her weapon was longer than his. Sir Ivan takes a big shot to the ribs and goes spiraling sideways to the floor. ¡°One point, Carlotta!¡± the announcer calls. More cheers erupt from the crowd.


    I sloppily guzzle down some wine directly from the bottle. I can¡¯t take my eyes off of this thrilling match even for a second! In the center of the ring, Carlotta and Ivan begin their next exchange. He channels his mana energy into his sword and it begins to glow blue with the natural color of mana. ¡°That¡¯s Martial Magic,¡± I tell Katherine. ¡°Now his sword attacks will be stronger. I bet Carlotta won¡¯t even be able to block them now.¡±


    Ivan swings his sword at Carlotta. She blocks it holding her large sword with one arm. He swings again. Leisurely, she repositions her sword and deflects his blow. Releasing a loud battle cry, he lifts his sword high intending to cleave it down on Carlotta¡¯s head. But before he can even pull it downwards, Carlotta gives him a swift front kick to the stomach. As his body doubles over from the blow, his falling head is greeted with a left knee to the nose. Now his head is whipping backwards with blood spewing from his nostrils. Screaming in rage, he forces his body to snap forward to advance at Carlotta. He takes a half step and then realizes that Carlotta is sticking her palm out in front of his face. He barely manages to close his mouth in time to avoid literally eating Carlotta¡¯s Comet spell.


    Sir Ivan¡¯s smoking body sails backwards through the air and crashes to the floor. ¡°One point Carlotta,¡± the announcer begins.


    Carlotta ignores him. She simply resheathes her sword, turns her back, and walks towards the arena exit. When the announcer asks her where she¡¯s going, she replies, ¡°Count.¡±


    The announcer makes the ten count. Surely enough, Sir Ivan fails to get up for ten seconds. Thus, Carlotta is declared the winner by knockout. At the arena exit, Carlotta is met by her master, Arch Lady Benedicta. ¡°Katherine look!¡± I shout excitedly.


    I point off into the distance at Benedicta. She¡¯s a woman in her early 20s with blood red hair, ghost white skin, fiery red eyes, red geisha makeup, and a purple kimono split at the bottom to allow room for a frilled black dress. ¡°Remember what I said about ultimate class mages, and about reaching the grandmaster level in multiple disciplines while still being young? Well Arch Lady Benedicta is the poster child for that. By every standard, she is the most powerful female mage in the entire world.¡±


    Katherine¡¯s eyes light up in wonderment. ¡°Wow! I¡¯ve heard about her, but I¡¯ve never seen her before. She looks really cool!¡±


    Because Carlotta knocked out Sir Ivan so quickly, Katherine and I didn¡¯t even have time to finish our dinner. So we remain a little while in the coliseum as the rest of the crowd clears out. Once we¡¯re good and ready, we too, make our exit. ¡°Wheeeew,¡± I whistle. ¡°Never mess with those Arpeggio women.¡±


    Katherine walks next to me so closely that we rub shoulders. ¡°Say Master, could you beat that Carlotta girl?¡±


    ¡°Eh he he,¡± I giggle nervously. ¡°I could beat Sir Ivan.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I asked Master.¡±


    I look up at the sky. It¡¯s almost completely dark now. One of the unique features of Magali is that there are lanterns posted on the walls here. The lanterns are one the main reasons that Magali is able to have such a vibrant nightlife. But unfortunately, Katherine and I haven¡¯t even made reservations at an inn yet, so it would be careless to go partying before acquiring a place to sleep.


    ¡°Katherine, we¡¯ve got to find an inn, but first there¡¯s one more thing that I want to do.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that Master?¡±


    ¡°Buy new clothes.¡± I lead Katherine through the maze-like streets of Magali to the store of Wilmette the Fashionista. When we enter through her front door, Wilmette comes out of her back room to greet us. ¡°Souladonis darling,¡± she says to me.


    ¡°Wilmette it¡¯s great to see you!¡± I exclaim. We exchange kisses on one cheek and then alternate to the other in accordance to the manner that nobles often greet each other. I tell her, ¡°I was half afraid that you wouldn¡¯t remember me.¡±


    ¡°I would never forget you. Nor you¡¯re bad habit of wearing purple on top of purple for that matter. You¡¯re just one big purple pumpernickel aren¡¯t you darling?¡±


    Wilmette takes a good look at me from head to toe. I¡¯m still wearing the shredded, bloodstained coat and vest from before. ¡°My goodness darling. What in the heavens happened to you?¡±


    ¡°Goblins.¡±


    ¡°Dreadful!¡±


    She grabs her measuring tape off of the front counter and begins to size me up. It was Wilmette who made my favorite purple coat before. I¡¯m hoping that she can make me an identical one. After she finishes taking my measurements, I gesture for her to take Katherine¡¯s as well. I can¡¯t have my servant looking like a slave.


    Now comes the hard part ¨C the materials negotiation. ¡°So darling, what can I do for you?¡±


    ¡°I want identical clothes to what I¡¯m wearing. For my servant, I want¡­I don¡¯t know. Something in between commoner and noble.¡±


    ¡°And would you like that magically imbued? I have all sorts of wonderful enchantment stamps.¡±


    ¡°No Wilmette! Just make them regular clothes. Also don¡¯t use higher than superior-grade materials. You¡¯re the kind of Fashionista, who will sew a tiny bell on a pocket and charge an extra 1,000 ames.¡±


    Wilmette gasps in shock. ¡°I would do no such thing darling!¡±


    She goes into her back room, then immediately sticks her head back out through the door. ¡°Are you sure that I couldn¡¯t interest you in the finest vicuna wool imported directly from Camilla Kingdom?¡±


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    ¡°No Wilmette. Just make it an unenchanted, camel hair, cutaway coat colored with purple dye. If I want magical armor, then I¡¯ll buy actual armor, and if I want expensive wool, then I¡¯ll raise my own animals.¡±


    ¡°Minimalist!¡± she mocks.


    I stick my tongue out at her and she returns to the back room. While she prepares our clothes, Katherine and I sit in the waiting room. ¡°Katherine I was thinking about what you said about wanting to learn magic to help people, and I remembered something. There is one class in which the people are dedicated to helping others. A lot of mages make fun of them for having weak magic power, but if you¡¯re interested they¡¯re called the Altruist class.¡±


    Katherine¡¯s upper body leans towards me in interest. ¡°What kind of magic do the Altruists use?¡±


    I scratch my head trying to remember. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Life Magic for sure, and I think maybe Support Magic, but I don¡¯t remember the third. We¡¯ll ask for a class guide book tomorrow when we go to buy your magic wand.¡±


    ¡°Yaaaay my own wand! I can¡¯t wait. I¡¯m so excited Master!¡± I behold Katherine¡¯s bright, cheery face and I momentarily lose myself in her smile. There¡¯s something about her smile that is contagious. I don¡¯t know what it is, but whenever she smiles I smile too. It¡¯s like her happiness is somehow as valuable as my own. I want to guard her happiness and protect her smile. No, wait. That¡¯s not right. I don¡¯t even know what I¡¯m saying. Get a hold of yourself Soul. I already told you, stop looking into those beautiful, gleaming, mesmerizing puppy dog brown eyes before she takes you for all that you¡¯re worth. ¡®Cause you¡¯re losing it man. You¡¯re losing it.


    I shake my head back and forth savagely to toss the thoughts out of my head. I¡¯m only moderately successful. Thankfully, Wilmette returns to the room with our news clothes providing me with an ample distraction. First, she presents the clothes that she made for me. She shows me a purple cutaway coat made with camel hair threads, a sapphire blue silk vest, a plain white flax shirt, a white lace cravat, and purple breeches ¨C all tailored just the way that I like. Second, she presents Katherine¡¯s clothes. For Katherine, Wilmette has prepared a green button-down short sleeve shirt with a purple ribbon around the neck, a brown dress with purple frills at the bottom, shin-high brown boots, and a purple witch¡¯s hat to top it all off. Every piece looks absolutely wonderful. I was right to come back to Wilmette.


    Wilmette places our new clothes in a sack and carries them with her to the front of the store. I steel myself and step up to the counter. Katherine asks questions while Wilmette does her pricing calculations. ¡°How did you make all of this so fast?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s what I do darling,¡± Wilmette says, still crunching numbers.


    ¡°It¡¯s Craft Magic,¡± I explain to Katherine. ¡°All magical trade goods are made through Craft Magic. As a magic discipline, it¡¯s useless in battle, but great everywhere else.¡±


    Finally, Wilmette finishes her calculations. She slides me a piece of paper and points to the bottom line with her quill pen. I immediately burst into complaint. ¡°By the Heaven Dwelling Golden Dragon Wilmette! Are you trying to rob me blind?¡±


    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t call it high fashion if it came at a low price darling. Besides, I know that you could pay that price all day and still have ames to spare.¡±


    That¡¯s not exactly true, but technically Wilmette does have a general idea of how much money I have since at one point in time I used to live with her. That¡¯s another story. Yet while I may not have more money than I could spend in a lifetime, I do have enough money to splurge every now and then. To pay her, I summon one of my larger moneybags and place it on the counter. ¡°So Wilmette are there any special quests going on right now that I should know about?¡±


    Wilmette takes a quick peek into the moneybag and then closes it and seals it away in her tungsten carbide money safe. ¡°Well darling, I¡¯ve heard talk that there¡¯s some sort of trouble that the inquisitors are struggling with. They¡¯re keeping the details a secret, so I don¡¯t know much about it. But rumor has it that nobody who has accepted the quest has come back alive.¡±


    Wilmette curls her index finger signaling for me to lean in. I comply and tilt my body forward. ¡°I think,¡± she says whispering into my ear, ¡°it¡¯s a death mage.¡±


    Now while any mage with common sense would let the issue rest at that, I, on the other hand, will unquestionably pursue the matter. The harder a quest is the greater the rewards it promises. For a while now, I had hoped to find some way to ingratiate myself to the royal court. The king has at his service an apothecary of unrivaled knowledge and skill to take care of his medical needs. If I were so much as to speak with the apothecary, I bet that he could tell me a cure for the petrification curse. So if going toe to toe with a vile death mage is what I have to do to get a cure for the petrification curse, then I¡¯ll gladly do it.


    I give my farewell to Wilmette, and then head for the door. Before I leave she has one last thing to say to me. ¡°Oh, Souladonis darling. Try not to get kicked out of Magali this time.¡±


    I smile and wink at her. ¡°No promises.¡±


    With that, Katherine and I exit back to the streets of Magali. True to her character, Katherine immediately asks the obvious question. ¡°Master, were you kicked out of Magali before?¡±


    ¡°Twice. But the first time wasn¡¯t my fault.¡±


    ¡°And the second time was?¡±


    ¡°Look Katherine, I was on a quest to escort some supplies from Magali to Manon. It¡¯s not a long distance, but long enough for us to get attacked by some bandits. I got a little too excited and I missed with my Comet spell. I ended up setting the supplies on fire and the bandits all escaped. When I returned to Magali, the guards wouldn¡¯t let me back in the city. So really I was less of kicked out and more of banned from reentering.¡±


    ¡°And the first time?¡±


    ¡°You only get one banishment story per day.¡±


    We travel to the center of the city where most of the inns are. Originally, I had planned to arrive in Magali a day early to reserve a room, but instead I¡¯m somehow two days late. We go first to the Sterlington Suites, but the inn is out of rooms. That doesn¡¯t surprise me. What does surprise me is that the Chrome Chimera, Whitewood, Cherry Shoes, and Hodge Pot Inns are all completely full as well. Dejected and desperate, we go to a small log cabin-like inn in the less glamorous part of the city. It¡¯s called the Armbear Lodge. I¡¯m sure that it¡¯s one of the older inns in the city, and clearly its glory days have long since passed. It¡¯s so dusty and worn down looking that I suspect the owners have neglected its maintenance for decades.


    At the counter booking the entries is a weasely looking man with orange-brown hair that is crossed over at the top to hide his baldness. Yet the comb-over job leaves his hair looking straggly and unkempt, so he really isn¡¯t doing himself any favors. His thick, wide eyeglasses are enormous to the point that he ought to be able to see through walls, yet I doubt that he can see much of anything considering that he doesn¡¯t notice Katherine and me until we¡¯re standing right in his face. When he finally does notices us, he hops back startled. Realizing that we¡¯re customers, he says, ¡°Welcome my lords and ladies to the Armbear Lodge. How may I help you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to reserve two rooms from now until the festival ends on Friday.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry my lord, but we only have one room remaining. It¡¯s a double room with two separate beds if that suits your needs.¡±


    I look to Katherine for her opinion. It¡¯s not ideal, but technically it could work. ¡°What do you think?


    ¡°Master, I can¡¯t walk anymore. Let¡¯s just take the room.¡±


    ¡°Okay, how much?¡±


    ¡°At 2,000 ames a night for seven nights, the total is 14,000 ames.¡±


    ¡°What! Two thousand ames a night for this place?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because of the festival my lord. Some of the other inns are charging three times that much.¡±


    ¡°Yeah that¡¯s because the other inns are actually inns! You¡¯ve got some real audacity calling this crappy shack a lodge!¡±


    Katherine tugs on my arm interrupting my tirade. I glance down at her face and get sucker punched by her tearful expression. Her cute mouth is turned down into a morose frown and her innocent, watery eyes plead with me to just pay the rip-off price. How is it that I feel like the bad guy when I¡¯m the one being robbed? Submissively, I throw my hands into the air and agree to pay. Carefully plucking through my moneybag, I make sure that I give the man 14,000 ames and not one ame more. The weasel smiles greedily and claws in my money. This is precisely why I hate this stupid city. With his money lust satiated, the weasel leads us to our room.


    To my surprise our room is actually halfway decent. There¡¯s a nice little bathroom, which I know Katherine will love, equipped with a sink, toilet, and shower ¨C all wonderful Steampunk inventions. But other than the bathroom utilities, our room contains nothing more than an empty dresser and two beds. One of the beds is even slightly lopsided. I¡¯ll make Katherine sleep in that one. After all of the money that I paid for this room, I¡¯m taking the good bed!


    I let Katherine freshen up in the bathroom first, and then I follow suit. Before bed, I complete my evening exercise, but this time I instruct Katherine on the proper form and function of the meditation. Once we finish with the meditation, it¡¯s time for bed. I move to the nicer of the two beds and Katherine glares at me oddly. ¡°What?¡± I ask her.


    ¡°Nothing Master.¡±


    I start to get into the bed, but then Katherine starts speaking again. ¡°It¡¯s just that my feet are killing me after all of the walking we did today.¡±


    ¡°Then get some rest. You¡¯ll feel better in the morning.¡± I start to enter the bed again, but Katherine speaks once more.


    ¡°My back hurts a little too. But I¡¯m sure that sleeping in this ever-so-slightly tilted bed won¡¯t make my back pain even worse.¡±


    Now I raise my eyebrow at Katherine. I know what she¡¯s up to, but it¡¯s not going to work. I selfishly slam down into the nice bed. Katherine hobbles into the lopsided bed with a groan. I pull the bed covers over myself and snuggle in nice and cozy. Katherine makes a dramatic scene of tossing and turning. I do my best to ignore her. While I concentrate on sleeping, Katherine continues to make little moans and groans of agony. Finally, I can¡¯t take it anymore. I breathe in deeply and exhale slowly in submission. ¡°Fine Katherine,¡± I say rising out of the bed, ¡°you can have the nice bed.¡±


    ¡°Goody!¡± she exclaims, springing up to her feet. I trudge over to her bed while she merrily skips to mine. Lying in the lopsided bed, I realize that it¡¯s really not even that bad. Katherine was just acting like a spoiled princess. But it¡¯s partially my own fault for treating my servant like a princess to begin with. Really, I just suck at this whole master-servant thing. If the other nobles knew about how I always end up controlled by my servant, I¡¯d be the laughing stock of high society. Katherine completely takes me for granted. She can manipulate me like a stringed marionette and she knows it.


    ¡°Master.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I like making you feel guilty.¡±


    ¡°Well stop it! It¡¯s cruel!¡±


    Katherine giggles innocent and mischievous. I pull the bed covers over myself and smile. Katherine¡¯s totally taking me for all that I¡¯m worth. But that¡¯s okay. I kind of like it.

 Chapter 8

    Chapter 8


    I had intended to sleep until late in the afternoon, but Katherine wakes me up at 10 a.m. fully dressed in her new clothes and anxious to go shopping for a magic wand. I sigh and get out of bed. I could try fighting with her about it, but I¡¯d just lose again anyway. Wearily, I step into the bathroom to get myself ready. Afterwards, I come out wearing nothing more than boxer shorts, causing Katherine to shield her eyes with her hands. As I spray myself down with a musky Winterspring cologne, I catch her taking a peek through her fingers. Right away, her blushing cheeks light up as brightly as her smile. In response, I just shake my head and keep about my business. As soon as I¡¯m adequately cloaked in cologne, I reach into the sack that I got at Wilmette¡¯s store and dress in my new clothes. Then finally, smelling fresh and robed in rich vestments, I once more feel like a gentleman of noble birth. Ladies beware!


    Or so I say. I¡¯m actually not interested in looking for a partner. I just like to flirt a lot. It helps me to take my mind off of more troubling thoughts. Well, alcohol does that too, but between alcohol and women, I retain the slightest of preferences for women.


    Thus, with my staff in my left hand and Katherine wrapped around my right arm, I return to the streets of Magali prowling for adventure.


    First, the day takes us to the same street where Wilmette the Fashionista has her shop. The prior evening I had noted the location of a magic shop that looked promising through its front window. The shop is called ¡°Cornucopia.¡± Katherine and I enter into the shop causing two small bells attached to the door to jingle. Behind the store counter, just off to the right of the door, we¡¯re immediately welcomed in by a father-daughter team. Undoubtedly, the older gentleman is the one who crafts the magical items, and the daughter is the one who uses her charm to sell them. I¡¯m sure that it¡¯s an effective strategy considering how much of a doll the daughter is. Her face is pure and unblemished, her black hair is straight in the back yet curled into two large spirals in the front, and her enchanting eyes are colored a rare purple like my own. I walk straight to the counter and pay my undivided attention to the daughter salesman.


    ¡°Good morning my lady. I couldn¡¯t help but notice that you have enthralling purple eyes. It¡¯s a trait that we share.¡±


    The gorgeous maiden leans over the counter and stares deeply into my eyes. ¡°Oh look father. He has purple eyes like me. See, I¡¯m not just some freak of nature.¡±


    ¡°Quite the contrary my lady. A peerless beauty like your own is a wonder of nature that should be celebrated and lauded.¡±


    I smile wryly at her and she wiggles in titillation. ¡°Err hmm,¡± her father coughs, ¡°how might I help you today my lord?¡±


    ¡°I am in need of a quality magical wand. I was thinking perhaps one tailored to the Altruist class, but the specifics of their species slips my mind. Might I take a look at your class guide?¡±


    The shopkeeper reaches for a tome underneath his counter. Straining, he lifts it up and lays it heavily upon the counter. ¡°Certainly, my lord.¡±


    I search through the table of contents until I find the page for the Altruist class. Then thumbing through the manual, I find the entry that tells me:


    Altruist:


    Primary Discipline: Life Mage (Debutant Life Mage)


    Sub Discipline 1: Supporter (Debutant Support Mage)


    Sub Discipline 2: Botanist (Debutant Plant Mage)


    In a world full of monsters and battles, Altruists are peaceful supporters of mankind. They don¡¯t bring much to the table in terms of battle ability; however, their specialty lies in helping their allies fight at their best.


    Turning, I show the page to Katherine. ¡°Does this sound like a class that you would be interested in?¡±


    Katherine reads the entry carefully. ¡°Yes, I like it.¡±


    ¡°Great. The Altruist class has some of the easiest requirements that I¡¯ve ever seen. I suppose by their nature, they value a compassionate personality over magical power. So all that you have to do is learn the beginner spells for Life Magic, Support Magic, and Plant Magic. After that, we can take the Steampunk locomotive down to Arpeggio Academy where you can take the class entrance exam. Your mother told me that you had a Life Magic book. Did you bring it with you?¡±


    Katherine shakes her head negatively. ¡°No, sorry.¡±


    ¡°No problem. I¡¯ll just get you another one. Good sir, I¡¯ll need instruction booklets for Life Magic, Support Magic, and Nature Magic. We¡¯ll pick them up at the counter after we return from browsing the wands.¡±


    ¡°Very good my lord.¡±


    I lead Katherine deeper into the store. Here there are rows of magical items assorted like library shelves. The various shelves contain staves, wands, swords, knives, spears, fans, boomerangs, whips, katars, nunchucks, blowguns, and numerous other weapons and tools that mages and fighters of every sort rely on. Katherine soaks in the vast array of items in astonishment. I¡¯m also impressed at not only the quantity but also the quality of the items present. This is a formidable magic store. Surely, they must do a lot of business.


    Of course, great items come at great prices. Before we choose a wand, I want to ask Katherine a crucial question. ¡°Katherine, your mother Margaret gave you a substantial amount of money so that you could purchase the right wand for yourself. I¡¯m curious to know what 60,000 ames mean to your mother. Like, how long would it take her to earn that much?¡±


    Katherine thinks it over carefully. ¡°Well on a good year after the summer harvest, we can sometimes save as much as 15,000 ames even after we restock seeds, purchase food, and cover all of our other expenses. So 60,000 ames is about four years of savings. Maybe a little more.¡±


    I nod impressed. ¡°That¡¯s quite a sacrifice that your mother made. She must love you very much.¡±


    Katherine unleashes her trademark smile. ¡°Yeah she does. My mother and I are really close. Especially since she was my only parent growing up.¡±


    While I normally don¡¯t pry into people¡¯s pasts, I¡¯ve become too curious about Katherine to deny an easy opportunity. But I still proceed with caution nonetheless. ¡°Katherine, if I might ask, what happened to your father?¡±


    Her smile tragically vanishes. ¡°He died before I was born.¡±


    Pitifully, ¡°oh¡± is the only thing that I can think to reply. After a brief awkward pause, I break the silence saying, ¡°Truly, your mother has made a great sacrifice for you. We can¡¯t let it be in vain. We have to get you the best wand possible.¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± Katherine agrees pumping her fist enthusiastically. We wade through all sorts of irrelevant objects until we come to the Life Magic boosting wands. I know that Katherine doesn¡¯t know how to identify magical items, so I quickly run through a crash course in my head. Once I have my thoughts organized, I begin to teach her.


    ¡°Listen Katherine, I¡¯m going to explain magical items to you. To understand the wand that you¡¯re about to buy, you must understand crafting materials and affixes. Almost everything that has a measurable quality in the mage world operates according to the same system. That system is a six-tier system with the levels low-grade, medium-grade, high-grade, superior-grade, ultra-grade, and divine-grade. This system applies to crafting materials, mana plants, potions, and even ame crystals.¡±


    I motion to one of the Life Magic wands. ¡°Wands tend to bolster defensive spells. Staves tend to bolster offensive spells. Both are generally made out of woods. This wand here is made out of oak wood. Oak wood is a medium-grade material. It¡¯s okay, but it¡¯s still on the lower end of the spectrum. It can be used to fashion a decent wand for a beginner mage, but I think that we want to go with one of the higher grade woods for your wand.¡±


    I reach high up on the shelf and pull down an unenchanted whitewood wand. ¡°I¡¯m thinking that we should get you either a cerulean wood or whitewood wand. Cerulean wood is superior-grade and whitewood is ultra-grade. There¡¯s a big difference between grade levels both in power and in price. The wands that I showed you so far are naked wands in the sense that they don¡¯t have affixes. So let me show you one that does.¡±


    This time I pull from the shelf a Rife Cerulean Wand of Zest. ¡°If you look at the item tag on this wand, you can see that its base material is cerulean wood and that it has the prefix ¡®Rife¡¯ and the suffix ¡®of Zest.¡¯ The prefix and suffix tell you the magical bonuses that the item grants. These particular two affixes are both for Life Magic. ¡®Rife¡¯ is the superior-grade prefix meaning that the wand grants a 25% bonus to Life Magic healing and damage spells, and it also increases the wielders ability to resist status magic by 30%. Likewise, ¡®of Zest¡¯ is the superior-grade suffix, which indicates that the wand increases the power of revival spells by 20% and casts a continuous stream of healing energy on the wand¡¯s wielder.¡±


    Katherine looks the tag over carefully. I can tell that she doesn¡¯t quite get it yet. She looks at me and remarks, ¡°It¡¯s kind of complicated.¡±


    I disagree, ¡°Nah, it¡¯s all pretty simple and consistent. Once you understand the six-tier system and affixes, then you can understand any items, materials, weapons, or armor in the mage world. But none of these wands here are quite what I¡¯m looking for. Let me go speak to the shopkeeper for a moment.¡±


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    I leave Katherine alone to study the wands. Then I approach the front counter to speak with the older gentleman. His lovely daughter is busy helping other customers, so I don¡¯t get to flirt with her anymore. ¡°Excuse me Sir, I was wondering if you had any wands with affixes for both Life and Support Magic. Something of high enough quality to be sufficient for a lifetime.¡±


    The shopkeeper strokes his chin in thought. Then he points his finger upwards as if to indicate that he had a brilliant idea. ¡°We do have one such wand. Let me show you.¡±


    I follow the good sir to the bargain items. He fumbles through a miscellaneous assortment of dusty items until he finds the wand in question. Grinning with confidence, he passes me the wand and steps back. I take the wand¡¯s item tag in hand to inspect its details. The tag reads:


    Given Name: Unnamed


    Technical Name: Vivacious Whitewood Wand of Exhortation


    Prefix: Life Magic, Ultra-Grade: Vivacious: +50% Life Healing & Damage, +40% Status Effect Resistance


    Suffix: Support Magic, Ultra-Grade: of Exhortation - +10% Bonus to Support Magic Buffs, Auto-Casts Zeal Spell on Wielder, Auto-Casts Parry Spell on Wielder


    I nod in approval. It¡¯s truly a remarkable wand. I doubt that Katherine would ever need such a powerful wand for her purposes, however, I know that this will be her only opportunity to ever get a great wand, so I want to go all out for her assuming that the price is right. Normally the price is listed at the bottom of the tag, but in this instance, it¡¯s not there. ¡°What¡¯s the price?¡± I ask the shopkeeper.


    ¡°It¡¯s on the back of the tag,¡± he answers.


    I flip the tag around and take a look. Instantly, my eyes grow wide with disbelief. ¡°What¡¯s the catch?¡±


    The shopkeeper chuckles pleasantly. ¡°The catch is that there¡¯s very little demand for high-end Life and Support Magic wands. All of the kids these days want elementalist staves so that they can cast big fireballs. You rarely ever encounter anyone specializing in magic that works for the sake of others. Thus, the low price.¡±


    Understandable, and sold. What a steal!


    ¡°Katherine!¡± I shout as I move to the checkout counter. Right away, she moseys along while the shop owner bags our items. In the meantime, the owner¡¯s daughter also returns to the counter. ¡°We should give him the purple eyes discount father,¡± she says.


    The shopkeeper laughs heartily. ¡°We can¡¯t give everybody with purple eyes a discount sweetie. But then again, we rarely see anyone with eyes like yours. So I guess this one time we can do it. What do you say we give you the magic booklets for free as part of the purple eyes discount?¡±


    ¡°That would be great,¡± I answer, duly astonished by their generosity.


    ¡°You¡¯re the first shopkeeper in all of Magali who has hasn¡¯t tried to slay me with unreasonably high prices.¡±


    The kindly shopkeeper laughs again. Smiling, Katherine whips out her 60,000-ame moneybag just as the owner finishes placing our items in a sack. He then tells us, ¡°With the free booklets and the magical wand your total price is 450,000 ames.¡±


    I look to Katherine for her reaction. I can tell from the crushed look in her eyes that at the very moment he said the price a hammer of disappointment smashed her heart. Confused, she looks at me not sure what to do or say. I had held it back before, but now it¡¯s time for me to tell her the complete truth. ¡°Katherine, I know that 60,000 ames means a lot to you and your mother, but the fact of the matter is, 60,000 ames is nothing to the mages of high society. Honestly, that much could fall out of my back pocket and I wouldn¡¯t even notice. I just didn¡¯t say anything before because I didn¡¯t want to embarrass you or your mother. So please allow me to keep my promise to Margaret and get you the best wand possible. But as for the money that she gave you, I want you to return it all to her. I was very moved by her willingness to make such a large sacrifice for her daughter. I think that she deserves to have her money back. So I¡¯ll pay for the wand.¡±


    Katherine lowers her head in silence. I hope that my words didn¡¯t hurt her.


    To pay the shop owner, I summon one of my rarely used moneybags and extract a divine-grade ame crystal worth 500,000 ames. The ame crystal is gold in color and emits a vibrant glow. I doubt that Katherine has ever seen one before, but I suspect that it would be in poor taste to show it off to her now. Discreetly, I hand it over to the shopkeeper who gives me an ultra-grade red crystal worth 50,000 ames as change. Then finally, I take the sack off of the counter and hand it over to Katherine, who still wears a sullen expression on her face. ¡°Thank you for the discount,¡± I tell the shopkeeper and his daughter.


    ¡°Come back any time,¡± the daughter says with an extra sultry growl in her voice.


    We depart from the store. Katherine trails behind me silently while I try desperately to conjure up the right words to say. I fail miserably at the task. But it¡¯s unbearable to not have Katherine as her normal, happy, talkative self. Maybe if I just start talking, then the right words will come by themselves. I stop walking. Katherine, too, stops behind me. Turning, I begin to say, ¡°Katherine, I¡­¡±


    Out of the blue, Katherine drops the sack and throws her arms around me. I¡¯m completely blown away by her sudden embrace. As she pulls me tightly to her chest, my mind goes blank. It takes a few seconds before I even have the wherewithal to hug her back. But once I do hug her back, I begin to allow the moment to really sink in. The feel of her chest against my chest is like floating on a cloud or like laying my head upon the most luxurious of pillows. The squeeze of her arms around my arms makes me feel cherished and loved. Yet despite the joy of the moment, when I realize that this is the first time that I¡¯ve been hugged since I left my mother all those years ago, I nearly tear up.


    Fortunately for me, and much to my delight, Katherine is not fast to break her hold. So gently I rest my head on the top of her head, basking in her embrace. Then, breathing in heavily, I recognize the sweet smell of her hair as lavender. Its aroma is pleasantly intoxicating. However, I may have breathed it in a little too heavily because I feel a sudden lightheadedness. Or rather that could simply be the result of having so many unfamiliar strong emotions swirling inside of me all at once.


    Katherine squeezes me a little tighter and I nearly melt into an emotional puddle. Then finally, with full acceptance, I return the strength of her squeeze and hold her tightly, as if it were all that I ever wanted to do in life. Thus we stand, hugging like fools in the middle of a busy street. But I don¡¯t care. This is one of the happiest moments of my otherwise sad, pathetic life.


    ¡°Thank you Souladonis. You¡¯re such a good person.¡±


    ¡°No, Katherine you deserve it. I know that you¡¯ll use your wand well. By the way Katherine, your wand doesn¡¯t have a name. You have to name it.¡±


    ¡°I want to call it Souladonis.¡±


    ¡°No, if you name it after me, then when you call my name, I won¡¯t know if you¡¯re talking to me or the wand. Besides, that¡¯s hokey.¡±


    Katherine makes a cute giggle. ¡°Okay then, I¡¯ll call it Traveler.¡±


    I laugh, pleased with her joke. ¡°I like that. It¡¯s a weird name for a wand. But I like it.¡±


    Finally, Katherine and I release our embrace. Then we begin to walk once more through the streets of Magali. Right away, an idea flashes through my head. I stop Katherine and have her place the sack on the ground. I then take out one of my inventory bags and conveniently place the sack from Cornucopia into the magical bag. Now Katherine won¡¯t have to carry the sack around with her. Once we begin walking again, just as I had hoped, Katherine stands off to my side and wraps both of her arms around my right arm. It¡¯s becoming a habit of hers. I¡¯m glad for it.


    After ten or so minutes of walking, we come upon the town center. There seems to be some sort of dance going on at the moment. There is music playing, bards singing, and couples joyously dancing around each other in circles. I pull Katherine along with me intending to join in the dance, but then my eyes behold something wonderful. Just a short distance away on top of an elevated platform, I spot the unforgettable face of Mathilde Barthalamos, princess of ?me Kingdom. She is sitting on a golden throne and surrounded by her inquisitor bodyguards.


    ¡°Well, well, well, Soul,¡± I say to myself. ¡°It looks like we have ourselves an opportunity for revenge.¡±


    Hey guys. I''ve decided that I can''t leave you on a cliffhanger here since this is when the story starts to get good. Thus, I''m posting two chapters at the same time. But! Before you move on, please click the rate button that''s to the left of my signature where it says, "Website, Find, Rate." Almost nobody has given me any rate points. Sad face.*


    Okay, next chapter.

 Chapter 9

    Chapter 9


    Oh yes indeed. It¡¯s time for revenge. But only after this song.


    I close my eyes and sway to the music. The melodic hum of small hand drums accompanied with flutes and fiddles wafts playfully through the air. A sound mage songstress with the singing voice of a lark bellows out the song D¨²l¨¢man, and I can¡¯t help but be carried away. Katherine, too, sways with the music. All around us the good people of ?me Kingdom dance together brimming with peace and joy. Yet my desire for revenge is undeterred by the merry festivities. Thus, I begin to form a plot in my head. I will not be denied my revenge. However, I don¡¯t want to make a scene here and ruin the festival for everyone else. That wouldn¡¯t be my style; I¡¯m more of the considerate troublemaker type.


    Promptly, the music stops. At once, I move to carry out my plot.


    ¡°Katherine stay here!¡± I order.


    Immediately, I begin to push my way through the crowd. I reach as far as the halfway point between the crowd and Princess Mathilde¡¯s elevated platform when the music begins again. Except this time the music takes a dramatic shift. Now there are trumpets blaring accompanied by a piano and stronger drumbeats. I recognize this music. It¡¯s soul music! Soul music is my jam! Heck, it¡¯s in my name! I race back to Katherine as quickly as I can. ¡°Katherine do you know how to dance Northern Soul?¡±


    Her lovely brown eyes gleam with intrigue. ¡°Do you?¡±


    I stretch out my hand to her. ¡°Shall we?¡±


    She takes my hand and I lead her into the crowd. We have to be careful because Northern Soul dancing involves kicks. I¡¯d hate to have to jump on top of someone because they accidentally kicked Katherine in the face. Yet thankfully, we find a place in the crowd where we can do our thing. I catch on to the rhythm of the music and begin with footwork. I swing my left leg behind the right then vice versa followed by three quick shifts of my feet. Smoothly, I glide to the right and then to the left getting closer to Katherine. Then finishing off my dance flurry, I fire off two quick spins as Katherine stands near me observing.


    Her face lights up with a radiant smile. It seems the lady approves. I goad her with my hands, beckoning her to join me. She removes the purple witch¡¯s hat from her head and places it in her inventory bag. Then Katherine begins with her own footwork.


    She matches my pace, sorting one leg behind the other and then alternating while making little shin high kicks. I respond with two big kicks of my right leg followed by a dip into a half split, immediately rising to my feet with a spin. Let¡¯s see how she deals with that!


    Katherine responds by narrowing her legs and then widening them three times in quick succession followed by a tuck of the left leg behind the right, a switch, a half turn dipping into her left knee, and three spins with her hands on her head with her elbows out and her hair flying in a picturesque rotation.


    My oh my! The girl can dance!


    That¡¯s hot.


    Alright Katherine, let¡¯s go! Time to bust out the sweet stuff! I make three wide spins followed immediately by footwork. Then I make two kicks of my right leg connecting straight into a left split. I transition from the split into jutting my knees out while touching my ankles with both hands. I rise from that with three quick narrow spins then go back to basic footwork while swinging my arms up and down. Shakapow! Who¡¯s the man?


    Katherine smiles cheerfully then gives me the business. She spins twice, kicks, then falls with her knees out and hands on her ankles. From there she shifts into a half split and rises into three spins.


    Alright, alright, not bad. But now it¡¯s my turn. I jump into the air with my knees out, land in that position, and then pulse up and down twice in a split before I spin up and continue with footwork. Katherine claps to the music twice. Then she speeds up the rhythm and complicatedness of her footwork. I can¡¯t quite keep up with what she¡¯s doing. Finally, she tops it all off with a super fast series of six spins.


    Wow! I don¡¯t know how she did that one. Easy Soul. You might want to calm this thing down before you get dusted out here on the dance floor in front of all these people. With that, I stop trying to show off and just have fun moving to the music. Also, since we¡¯re dancing together, I feel it¡¯s fair play to feast my eyes on Katherine. She looks so beautiful and carefree while she dances.


    She runs her fingers through her hair and then winks at me playfully before twisting into another spin. I¡¯m really enjoying this moment. She and I will have to dance again someday. But in the meantime, we only continue dancing for another two minutes until the music stops. With the song over, I get back to the task at hand: revenge.


    The crowd cheers and applauds the musicians. While they bow and blow kisses to the crowd, I easily slip through the dance floor. As always, Princess Mathilde is swallowed up in a slew of bodyguards. They won¡¯t let me just walk up to her. But I have a trick for that. Keeping my hands low against my hips, I focus my mana and cast the Invisibility spell, immediately followed by the Stunt Double spell. I time it so perfectly that nobody catches me vanish for the split second between the two spells. Now that my spells are up, it¡¯s time to carry out the next phase of my plan.


    Invisible, I walk just slightly ahead of my stunt double. I hop up onto the elevated platform with my double mimicking the action behind me. As planned, the guards rush my double while I walk right pass them. I stop in front of Princess Mathilde and kneel. As soon as the guards try to get rough with the fake me, he vanishes. I then intentionally release the Invisibility spell and reveal myself. Mathilde is startled by my sudden appearance; however, I kneel with my arms and head lowered to let her know that I¡¯m no threat to her. ¡°Who are you?¡± she asks slightly intimidated.


    Carefully maintaining a reverent tone of voice, I answer, ¡°Good Princess Mathilde, my name is Souladonis. Perhaps you remember me?¡±


    I lift my head to allow her to take a good look at my face. Speaking unsurely, she says, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t seem to recall.¡±


    I laugh to myself. Of course she doesn¡¯t remember me. What a thing it would be if she did! After all, we only met once. But she may remember what happened that day. ¡°We were much younger when we met. It would have been five almost six years ago. We were in the park together. You said that you wished you could fly like the birds, so I cast the Levitate spell on you.¡±


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    Her face sparkles. ¡°Ah yes! I do remember you. You were a sweet boy. I¡¯m sorry for what my guards did to you that day.¡±


    She should be. I have no qualms about taking advantage of her guilt. ¡°If you¡¯re really sorry, then you can make it up to me.¡±


    Her face fills with concern. ¡°Oh? And how is that?¡±


    ¡°With a dance.¡±


    Still kneeling, I offer her my hand. Her guards watch me livid. I don¡¯t know whether they¡¯re more angry at me having made them look like fools, or because the Princess actually accepts my offer and takes my hand. I walk the Princess to the edge of the platform. There is no music playing because the musicians, and everyone else down below, are watching us up here. I whisper to Princess Mathilde, ¡°Let¡¯s dance to a slow song. Tell the musicians to play one for us.¡±


    She raises her hand into the air commandingly. ¡°Maestro please play a slow song for us to dance to.¡±


    The leader of the musicians, a Symphonist sound mage, shrugs his shoulders and complies. The musicians then begin to play the kind of simple slow song that a couple can just sway side to side to throughout the entire song. That¡¯s what I was going for. I have some questions for the Princess. I wouldn¡¯t be able to ask them over more strenuous music.


    I make a tiny leap down from the platform. Then I offer my hand to Mathilde and help her down. The people of ?me part to the side and allow us to walk directly to the center of the dance floor. I take Mathilde by the waist with my right hand and interlace the fingers of my left with those of her right. She rests her left hand upon the upper portion of my right arm. Settled into formal position, we begin to step slightly to the left, then slightly to the right, and ultimately remain more or less in the same position.


    Mathilde and I stare each other eye to eye at the same level, which is noteworthy because I¡¯m six feet tall. When we had met in the past we were the same height back then as well. I just assumed since we¡¯re adults now that I¡¯d be taller. I guess when your father is a powerful man of barbarian descent, you grow up to be uniquely big and strong regardless of your gender. But that¡¯s not to say that Mathilde is unattractive or masculine looking. In fact, the opposite is true. Princess Mathilde has naturally red hair pulled back into two pigtails tied with green bows, her face is lined with freckles over her cheeks and the base of her nose, and her eyes are voluminous green emeralds. She speaks with a muted voice and an air of sadness perpetually lingers over her.


    ¡°I¡¯m having a wonderful time at your festival. Happy birthday Princess Mathilde.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Might I be so bold as to ask your age?¡±


    ¡°You are indeed bold Lord Souladonis; bold enough to pass by my guards, bold enough to ask me to dance, and bold enough to ask a lady much less the Princess of ?me Kingdom her age.¡±


    I don¡¯t respond to that. Rather, I simply keep my hand firmly planted on her waist and stare into her eyes unabashed. We step to the music regarding one another in silence. Finally, she gives in. ¡°I am eighteen years, and you my lord?¡±


    ¡°Twenty-one,¡± I tell her. ¡°I was fifteen when we met. Fifteen when your guards beat me savagely and threw me out of the city.¡±


    For the first time her eyes lower and we break stare. ¡°I really am sorry about that.¡±


    I squeeze her left hand gently. ¡°Don¡¯t be. I¡¯m here for revenge.¡±


    Her eyes snap back up in alarm. ¡°Relax,¡± I say calmly, ¡°I don¡¯t mean against you. I have no ill will towards you Princess Mathilde. I just need to know before I attack whether or not the men guarding you today are the same ones as back then. I do not wish to harm innocent men.¡±


    She starts to look over her shoulder towards her guards, so I step out widely to the left while swinging my hips to the right. This movement causes her body to change direction and prevents her from looking towards her guards. ¡°Don¡¯t look at them like you¡¯re scared, or they¡¯ll come attack me right away. Just answer my question please.¡±


    The expression on her face is now one of mild panic. I feel guilty for frightening her; nevertheless, I shall not be averted from my intention. She answers, ¡°If I say that they are then you will attack them, so by that logic shouldn¡¯t I just say that they are not?¡±


    I reply sternly, ¡°No, because if I think that you¡¯re lying or if you refuse to tell me, then I¡¯m going to hurt all of them. So please tell me the truth.¡±


    I lock eyes unblinking with Princess Mathilde. I need her to know that I am completely serious and not making idle threats. She sees my resolve and submits to my demand. ¡°Do you see the four knights who are draped in a blue mantle with the king¡¯s coat of arms over their armor? Those are my elite personal bodyguards. Three of them are the same men as before. The other is a replacement for one who passed away from illness two years ago.¡±


    I look at the men to whom she is referring and take a mental snapshot of their appearances. I can¡¯t see their faces because of their helmets, but I¡¯ll remember their mantles. Princess Mathilde and I continue to dance to the music. I listen carefully for the moment that the music begins to whine down. Once it does seem that the song is ending, I tell the Princess, ¡°I want you to tell the three guards who beat me that day to follow me to the park and attack me.¡±


    ¡°They can¡¯t just attack you for no reason,¡± she protests.


    The last note of the song fades away. I join in with the crowd applauding the wonderful musicians. What an outstanding job they¡¯ve done. They even ended the song at the perfect moment. When the applause dies down, the people turn their attention to the Princess and me. ¡°I¡¯ll give them a reason,¡± I tell her.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°This.¡± I cease the Princess by the waist, pull her close to me, and plant a fierce kiss upon her sweet supple lips. To my great amusement, some of the people in the crowd bawl in horror at my rash action. What a masterfully dramatic way to start some trouble! Well-played Soul. Bonus points for that one. I imagine that her guards are outright pissed at me now.


    ¡°Take care of yourself Mathilde,¡± I say to the Princess. Then I shoot through the crowd pushing people aside one way or the other as I move towards the park.


    While I go, I hear Princess Mathilde order, ¡°Quentin, Killian, Fran?ois, go after him and teach him a lesson! The rest of you remain here with me!¡±


    Perfect. Thank you Princess Mathilde.

 Chapter 10

    I run all the way to the park while Princess Mathilde¡¯s elite bodyguards pursue me. The park is a simple child¡¯s park covered in sand. It features a sliding board, a jungle gym, monkey bars, a see-saw, and the swing set upon which I was sitting when I first met Princess Mathilde. Luckily, the park is unoccupied at the moment. During the yearly festival, there are much better things to do in the city than play in a park that¡¯s always present.


    I step into the sand right in the middle of the park and wait there for the guards to catch me. When they arrive, they draw their swords eagerly. ¡°Have you finally decided to accept your fate boy?¡± one asks.


    ¡°Do you remember me?¡± I ask pointing my staff at his throat.


    He doesn¡¯t respond. I alternate to a different guard. ¡°Do you remember me?¡±


    ¡°When we¡¯re done with you, there won¡¯t be anything to remember,¡± he boasts.


    Wicked pricks. I will make them remember me! I demonstrate my martial arts skills by fancifully swinging my staff around and finishing with a gallant pose. When I decided to learn martial arts, these were the exact people that I had in mind. They¡¯re all close range fighters. They can easily defeat pure mages because as long as there is more than one of them, one can simply draw the mage¡¯s spells while the other closes the distance. Once up close there is little that a pure mage can do against a fighter. Because there are three of them, there¡¯s virtually no chance of me being able to use my magic. This fight will be primarily a question of my martial arts skills.


    ¡°Come!¡± I challenge.


    All three guards come at me at once. They approach in a tight triangular formation hoping to attack me from the front and the sides. I wait until they come into range. Then I leap out to the left while turning upside down in the air. Once I¡¯m completely vertical, I stick my staff into the dirt like a vaulting pole. Then pushing off of the ground with my staff, I gain a surprisingly large amount of distance for one leap. At once, the guards pivot to chase after me, but now their triangular formation is broken.


    The leftmost guard reaches me first. He thrusts his sword straight at me with both arms. I dodge slightly to the left while parrying with my staff. Having my staff firmly pressed against his sword, I push hard to throw the guard slightly off balance. From there, I yank my staff back and knock the guard in the face with it. At the same time, I throw out a left side kick to push him away from me.


    The second guard in line immediately follows. He cleaves his sword straight down at me forcing me to defend with my staff raised over my head. He presses down hard with it threatening to overpower me and slice open my head in spite of my defense. Responding, I front kick him in the stomach as hard as I can, but there¡¯s no reaction. Unlike the other two who are both Fortissimos, this one is a Colossus class mage. Most of the inquisitors are either Fortissimos or Colossi. The Fortissimos specialize in speed and technical skill whereas the Colossi specialize in raw strength and defense. The man in front of me is like a human fortress. It¡¯s going to take much more than a little kick to stop him.


    The colossus presses down even harder. My arms are starting to give in. I have no choice but to take a risk. I reposition my legs slightly to the right. Then I let go of my left-hand grip on my staff. His sword presses through my staff while I slide out to the side. Before he can launch another attack, I slam my weapon down on his foot. He immediately winces in pain. Although my light kicks can¡¯t do much damage to these guys, my stone staff sure can. Infuriated, he tries to readjust into a horizontal swipe at me. Yet before he has the chance, I gouge my staff into the bottom of his chin and push up hard enough to take him off of his feet. He plummets to the ground allowing the third guard to have his go at me.


    He makes a vertical chop at me. I dodge to the side. Then I strike him in the wrists with my staff immediately followed by a strike to the face. He reels back from the blow. Behind me, the first guard is ready for another turn. This time he tries to get tricky with a diagonal slash to my legs. I hop over it to the right with an aerial cartwheel. When he crouches for a second slash to my legs, I completely frog hop over him. He twists around and tries to quickly get back up to his feet, but as he rises I launch an intentionally telegraphed stepping side kick. He blocks my kick with his sword, committing his only defense to his midsection. With a slight delay behind my kick, I jolt my staff straight into his eye. My staff strikes his helmet with enough force to push it inwards a little. I can¡¯t tell how much actual damage his eye takes beneath his helmet. All I know is that he goes down from the blow. To make sure that he doesn¡¯t get back up again, I jump high into the air and land hammering my staff down on his chest. Now, even if he does get up again, he¡¯ll have a hard time seeing and breathing. I can effectively count him out.


    Watching one of their teammates drop makes the two remaining guards more cautious. I once more swing my staff around in fanciful display and pose. The colossus steps off to the left while the fortissimo goes right. They¡¯re trying to attack me from the sides again. If they come at me at the same time, then I have a good idea what I should do. Otherwise, I¡¯ll have to wing it. So what¡¯s it going to be?


    They poke at me with their swords and make little feints like they¡¯re going to charge. I¡¯m sure that they want to get a reaction out of me. But instead, I remain calmly posed staring straight ahead so that I can keep both of them locked in my peripheral vision. Fed up with my non-reactive response, the colossus nods to the fortissimo. They both shout a loud battle cry and charge at me simultaneously. Perfect.


    I wait a moment until they draw close. When they reach four paces away from me, I cast the Boulder spell in front of the colossus blocking his path. The fortissimo pauses dumbfounded at suddenly being cut off from his partner. That leaves me with enough time to make my attack against him. I jump towards him rotating twice in the air. Then finally, I use the torque of my rotation to crack him in the head so viciously that my staff imprints itself into his helmet. His body bends forward for a split second and then spontaneously whips back from the force. He crashes to the ground unconscious while his sword flies out from his hand. I can guarantee he just suffered a massive concussion.


    By the time that the colossus gets past my boulder, the fortissimo is already down. He takes a quick glance at the fallen guard, and then glares at me ferociously. I return his glare with an equally menacing look. Except, I add an awesome pose with my glare.


    He continues to just stand still, glaring at me, unsure what to do. So I help him out by beckoning with my hand for him to attack me. ¡°Come on prick. Your turn.¡±


    He cries out loudly and charges straight at me. Oh yeah. He¡¯s a hotheaded one! He¡¯s also alone now, so I don¡¯t have to worry about attacks from the side. In other words: magic time.


    The colossus continues screaming his lungs out and running straight at me. I position my staff at hip level ready to thrust it out with my favorite spell. As soon as he reaches point blank range, I put a fiery Comet straight into his chest. ¡°Argh!¡± he grumbles as he goes down.


    Before he even hits the floor, I¡¯m right on top of him. He tries to scramble up to his feet, but I drop my staff down square on top of his head. He falls flat on his back. From there, he still tries to attack me with his sword, but I strike him as hard as I can in the wrist causing him to drop it. Quickly, I pick up his large two-handed sword and toss it away leaving him defenseless. I then kneel over him and yank his helmet off. Immediately, I recognize his face even though his hair is starting to gray a little. This man is the leader of Princess Mathidle¡¯s bodyguards.


    It was this man who ordered the others to attack me that day. He was the one who carried my half-conscious body on his shoulder out of the city and then tossed me to the ground like a worthless rag doll, leaving me for dead. Even worse, as he and his cronies headed back to the city, he laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world. I was only a fifteen-year-old boy. I was completely defenseless against them. Moreover, I hadn¡¯t even tried to resist them.


    Now that he¡¯s the one who is defenseless it¡¯s time for me to take my satisfaction of vengeance. The others were only following orders, so the beating that I gave them is sufficient recompense. However, this man I shall make suffer more. But first, I want him to know exactly who I am. I kneel over his face so that he can get a good look at me. ¡°Do you remember me?¡±


    He stares at my face silently for a moment. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    I spread my fingers out wide and then slap him in the face. ¡°Five years ago, here in this very park, you and your men beat a young boy senseless and then tossed him out of the city. I was that boy! The only thing that I had done was talk to the Princess. I didn¡¯t even know that she was the Princess at the time. Yet you ordered your men to brutalize me as if I had made an attempt on her life. For that unjust act, you shall now be brutalized yourself.¡±


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    I rise to my full height and clinch my staff tightly with both hands at its base. Then, drawing in a deep breath, I set about my work. First, I start with his right arm. I smash his fingers twice with my staff to make sure that he will no longer be able to hold a sword. Then I move up to his wrist, his forearm, his bicep, and his shoulder. I repeat the process with his other arm. Next I smack him one good time in his chest followed with a blow to the stomach. That¡¯s just to send him a message. I won¡¯t completely collapse his lungs until I¡¯ve broken both of his legs.


    Where should I strike first? Oh I know! How about the shin? That should hurt a lot! I lift my staff high into the air and then rain it down upon his right leg. The helpless guard screams in pain. At once, I revel in the sound of his agony. Continuing on, I smash his ankle, his foot, and then his thigh. I also give him a sturdy poke in the hip just for fun. Next I move to his other side stepping on his stomach. I then repeat my work with his other leg. Finally, I step back over his stomach to finish my business by crushing his chest plate.


    ¡°Which one of your lungs should I pulverize first?¡± I ask him.


    ¡°Please stop,¡± he pleads.


    ¡°You know, that¡¯s funny. I said the exact same thing. Do you know what you did? Let me show you.¡±


    I smash him low in the stomach. ¡°Oops, I missed.¡±


    Next, I smash him a little higher up on his stomach. ¡°Oops, missed again. But don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll get there.¡±


    I continue dropping my staff down on him blow after blow working my way up to his chest. I reach above his belly button just shy of the floating ribs when I hear a voice scream, ¡°Master! What are you doing?¡±


    I ignore Katherine and hit him again. Yet before I can strike another blow, Katherine wraps her arms around my chest from behind. I try to strike despite her, but with her arms wrapped just beneath my armpits, I can¡¯t quite get the proper striking form. I try to wiggle my way free from her. ¡°Master stop!¡± she pleads.


    I keep trying until I succeed. Immediately, I lay another blow upon the guard.


    ¡°Master stop!¡±


    I prepare for the coup de grace. This will be the blow that makes him stop breathing. I raise my staff up as high as I can and jump into the air.


    ¡°Souladonis!¡±


    I land to my feet without striking. Katherine¡¯s sudden usage of my proper name pulls my attention to her. My eyes set on Katherine, furious that she¡¯s interfering with me. But when I see a tear trickle down her face, I drop my staff in horror. ¡°Katherine, I¡­¡±


    ¡°Souladonis what have you done?¡±


    I look at the guard to check his state. His arms and legs twitch violently from shock and he¡¯s spits blood every time he exhales. What have I done?


    Suddenly, a flashback memory of what he did to me streams through my mind, and my heart hardens. I¡¯m not at fault! This is justice!


    ¡°Katherine, I haven¡¯t done anything wrong! This is justice! This man here and the others there beat me savagely when I was just a fifteen-year-old boy. They threw me out of the city and left me to die! I was so scared. I felt so weak and powerless, and I knew for sure that monsters would come along and devour me. I would have died out there if Wilmette hadn¡¯t saved me. So this is what he deserves! This is justice!¡±


    Katherine moves to the guard and kneels beside him. She lays her hands on his chest and closes her eyes in concentration. ¡°What are you doing?¡± I ask.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to heal him.¡±


    She releases her mana into the Heal spell ¨C a clear advancement from her previous Mend spell. I stand watching her confused. ¡°Did you not hear what I said? This is justice.¡±


    She concentrates her energy for another spell. ¡°Yes, and this is mercy.¡±


    She casts the Heal spell again, and then looks him over. ¡°Give me your handkerchief.¡±


    I pull my handkerchief out from my coat pocket and hand it to her. She tilts the guard¡¯s head forward and cleans his mouth out. ¡°Do you have anything to drink?¡±


    ¡°Just life and mana potions.¡±


    ¡°Give me one of either.¡±


    Without question, I summon my medical supply bag and give her a small life potion from it. She tells the guard, ¡°Here gargle this and spit.¡±


    She pours some of the red liquid into the guard¡¯s mouth. Then she helps him to turn to the side so that he can spit it out. Afterwards, she cleans his mouth out a bit more with the handkerchief. ¡°Can you breathe better now?¡±


    ¡°A little,¡± he answers.


    ¡°Good. I¡¯m going to cast some more Life Magic spells, so hang in there okay?¡±


    Katherine begins to focus her mana energy again. ¡°Wait!¡± I command. She looks at me in question.


    ¡°You¡¯re doing it wrong. Concentrate your energy into your palms not your fingers. Release the energy from there. It will be stronger and more consistent that way.¡±


    She follows my instructions and cast what seems to be the master-level Major Heal spell. But I probably just saw wrong. That does remind me, however, of her wand Traveler. I take out the inventory bag with the sack from Cornucopia in it. Then I concentrate my energy into it so that I can withdraw the sack. From out of the sack, I take out Katherine¡¯s wand and hand it to her. That should help make her Life Magic spells more effective.


    ¡°The same thing is true with a wand,¡± I tell her. ¡°Release the energy from your palms. It may seem weird at first, but it¡¯s correct form.¡±


    Obediently, she follows my instructions and casts another healing spell. This time I clearly see the white flash of the grandmaster-level Miracle Heal spell. Yet that can¡¯t be. That¡¯s an utter impossibility for her.


    The guard¡¯s arms and legs stop twitching. As Katherine prepares for another spell, I lean forward and squint my eyes. She casts her spell. Again, I see the white flash of the Miracle Heal spell. By reaction, I cover my mouth with my hand in awe. I can¡¯t believe that she¡¯s doing that! But if I don¡¯t stop her, then she¡¯s going to over do it.


    ¡°Katherine stop!¡± I order. ¡°You¡¯re going to send yourself into mana shock. I¡¯ll cast the Regenerate spell on him. He¡¯ll be up and about in ten minutes or so.¡±


    I pick up my staff and cast the Regenerate spell. Sparkles of Life Magic energy twinkle all over the guard¡¯s body. I can¡¯t believe that I¡¯m helping a man who has literally haunted my nightmares for years. But somehow, it feels good to do so. I approach the guard and kneel beside him so that he can see my face. ¡°What you did to me was awful. Make no mistake; this was an act of justice. However, Katherine has taught me today that sometimes mercy is greater than justice. So for her sake, I forgive you.¡±


    I rise to my feet with tears in my eyes. ¡°I forgive you,¡± I repeat just so that I can hear myself say it out loud. As I start to walk away, I hear the guard faintly say, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    I continue on my path. I had fantasized about this day a thousand times or more. I can¡¯t believe that it actually happened. Of course it didn¡¯t go exactly as I had envisioned. I had never planned on beating the man to death. I simply got caught up in the moment. Luckily, I had my incredible servant to save me. Thanks to her, things actually turned out better than I could have ever dreamed. By forgiving the guard instead of killing him, I now feel as light as a feather. The heavy burden of hatred and desire for revenge has been lifted from me. ¡°Katherine!¡± I call.


    She had been trailing behind me, but now she quickens her pace and catches up to my side. ¡°Yes Master?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for what I did back there. That was very ugly of me.¡±


    ¡°Yes it was, but I know that you¡¯re not a cruel person. You must have been in great pain.¡±


    ¡°I was, but now I¡¯m healed thanks to you.¡±


    Katherine giggles sweetly. ¡°You¡¯re welcome Master.¡±


    I stop walking. She takes a step beyond me and then stops as well. When she turns to face me, I place my right hand on her shoulder. ¡°Really Katherine. Thank you. Thank you for being the wonderful person that you are.¡±


    She smiles serenely and places her hand on my shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re wonderful too Master.¡±


    I can¡¯t fully agree with that, but I thank Katherine nonetheless. We walk together through Magali headed northbound towards the castle. ¡°What do you say we go and check out the castle Katherine? While we¡¯re there, I can inquire on what Wilmette was saying about the death mage problem.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to ask me Master. I¡¯m your servant for three months. I¡¯ll follow you wherever you go.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± I say.


    I look over at Katherine and we meet eyes. She smiles bright and innocent. I force my mouth into a reciprocal smile.


    ¡°True,¡± I had said. But it¡¯s not true at all. Can you not see Katherine? Do you not know? I¡¯m the one who is following you.

 Souladonis Video Review

    Hey guys. Apparently one of my earlier readers posted a video review of Souladonis on Youtube and never told me about it! I just happened to find it last night while I was browsing the internet since I couldn''t sleep. It''s a very well done review and I am extremely impressed by it.


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


    Check it out: Souladonis Review by Eclipton</a>

 Chapter 11

    Chapter 11


    On the way to the castle, Katherine and I stop into a small caf¨¦ for lunch. It¡¯s a pleasant little place with tables both on the inside and outside. On sunny days like this, it¡¯s generally better to have one of the outside tables. So Katherine and I find a spot where we can bask in the warmth of the sun and relax in the soothing breeze of the wind. I needed the break. The intense battle with Princess Mathilde¡¯s bodyguards has left me physically tired yet emotionally renewed. It had been a difficult ordeal reliving such a traumatic experience from my past. I was distracted enough not to feel the full pain of the memories while the guards were swinging their swords at me. But once the whole affair ended, I was dumped on by all kinds of emotions ¨C fear, helplessness, anger, and resentment followed by compassion, mercy, and ultimately liberation.


    At the center of our table, on top of the white tablecloth, is a white tulip in a clear vase. The tulip has its green leaves around it and its bulb is fully opened. The bud in the center of the flower is a vibrant yellow and the white of its petals is purer than snow and more pristine than the peak of a snowcapped mountain. It¡¯s the most beautiful flower that I have ever seen.


    I look around at the caf¨¦¡¯s other patrons and I realize that it¡¯s not only the flower that seems unusually beautiful. Everything around me is pure and beautiful. The women glow radiantly with immaculate skin and flawless hair wafting in the wind while the men look more honorable and gallant than their character would justly give them credit for. The tan cobblestone pavement shines more golden in the sun than does actual gold itself. The clouds are all fluffy and perfectly formed, and the birds chirp as harmonically as even the most illustrious songstress of the Milieu Opera House.


    It¡¯s not only my vision. All of my senses are more acute and purified. It¡¯s as if my very soul has been illuminated and rendered incapable of perceiving bitterness and ugliness. I wonder if this mysterious effect holds true for myself as well.


    I check my reflection in the caf¨¦¡¯s sliding glass door. Indeed, despite the beast that I am, I appear as lovely as a belle. So if this uncanny anomaly in my soul can render even one as ugly as myself beautiful, what then is the appearance of one who was beautiful from the start?


    I turn my eyes straight ahead to see my servant, but instead I find an angel sitting in her place. An angel with lavender-scented chocolate brown hair, luscious caramel skin, a slim pointy nose, plump cherry lips, and all-consuming eyes in which a man could forfeit himself forever. Her entire head is encompassed in a serene halo, and I feel unworthy to even sit in her presence. I focus my attention on Katherine so devoutly that I gradually lose my self-awareness. It¡¯s not until I hear the sound of her voice that I snap out of my adoration.


    ¡°Master are you okay? You haven¡¯t said anything in a while.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to stare. I was just lost in thought.¡±


    ¡°What were you thinking about?¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­,¡± I stall nervously, ¡°various things.¡±


    A waiter dressed in black slacks and a frilled white shirt comes to our table. ¡°What can I get you to drink my lord and lady?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like a mint tea,¡± Katherine replies.


    ¡°The same,¡± I answer.


    The waiter leaves two menus on our table and departs from us. I open the menu and take a look. I¡¯m in the mood for seafood, so when I see shrimp pasta primavera listed, I immediately settle on it. While Katherine scans the menu, I keep my eyes on her. Before long she looks up and my eyes shoot down. ¡°Hey Master. I was wondering, what exactly happened? I mean, with the inquisitors and the princess.¡±


    I lean back in my chair. ¡°It¡¯s a simple story. It happened back when I had just left home. I used my father¡¯s portal stone to come to Magali from my hometown. I barely had any supplies or money. In less than a week, I found myself having to decide between a bed or food. I chose food. So after that point, I decided to sleep in the park. I was playing on the swing set late in the evening when a young girl appeared. She looked at me enviously like she wanted to play with me, but didn¡¯t know how to ask, so I invited her over. When we spoke, she told me about her strict parents, about how she didn¡¯t have any friends, and about how she wished that she could just fly away like a bird. So to make her feel better, I used a spell script that I had to cast the Levitate spell on her. Well, it turned out that the girl was Princess Mathilde who had run away from the castle. By the time that her bodyguards found her, they were furious. They took their anger out on me beating me senseless even though I was a defenseless young boy. All the while Mathilde kept screaming for them to stop. I really thought that they were going to beat me to death. But eventually they stopped just short of that. They carried me some ways out of the city, tossed me on the ground, and left me to die.¡±


    The waiter returns to take our order. Pointing at the menu, I tell him, ¡°I¡¯ll have the shrimp pasta primavera.¡±


    He jots the order down on a notepad. ¡°And you my lady?¡± he asks Katherine.


    ¡°The same,¡± she answers.


    ¡°Very good,¡± the waiter says as he leaves us once more.


    Katherine leans in towards me. ¡°You said that Wilmette saved you. What did you mean?¡±


    I stop leaning in my chair and sit up straight just to be that much closer to Katherine. ¡°Wilmette had been out of town. She just so happened to be returning to Magali at that time and saw my body next to the road. She halted her coach and got out to check on me. When I told her what happened, she came up with a plan to get me back into the city. Wilmette has the skill of a Mesmer, that¡¯s to say, a grandmaster level illusionist mage. She cast the Invisibility spell on me and sat me right beside her inside her coach. When the gate guards tried to search the coach, she masterfully played the part of a tired damsel eager to get home and to avoid the security protocols. Not perceiving her as a potential threat, the guards let her ride into the city with me sitting next to her. I then lived at Wilmette¡¯s manor for an entire month while she took care of me.¡±


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    The waiter returns to our table and sets our hot plates in front of us. The dishes smell as incredible as they look. I wrap some of the shrimp and pasta around a fork and bite into it. It tastes exquisite. Of course it had better taste exquisite given the price listed on the menu - not that it makes much of a difference to me if I¡¯m honest.


    ¡°Katherine, I have to confess something bad.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± she asks.


    ¡°When I left Wilmette, I stole a lot of money from her.¡±


    Katherine drops her fork in surprise. ¡°Why did you do that?¡±


    ¡°Because I wanted to get away from her, so that I could continue my search for a cure for the petrification curse. I needed money, so I stole from her.¡±


    Katherine weakly picks up her fork and pokes at her pasta silently. I can tell that she¡¯s disappointed to hear the truth about my wretchedness. So I tell her the rest of the story. ¡°The next time that I met Wilmette two years later, I repaid her ten times what I stole. I also bought some premium clothes and took her out to dinner. That¡¯s why she knows about how much money I have now. Also, I just want to make it clear that I greatly respect Wilmette. She¡¯s the reason that I learned Illusion Magic. I never meant to hurt her. I was just that desperate for money.¡±


    Katherine raises an eyebrow at me. ¡°Wait, that doesn¡¯t add up. If you were poor enough to steal before, how is it that you¡¯re rich now?¡±


    I wave my hand through the air nonchalantly. ¡°That¡¯s easy. You know where money comes from right? I mean not banks, or markets, but originally.¡±


    ¡°From monsters?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. ?me crystals are nothing more than the crystallized mana of slain monsters. To get them all you have to do is kill a monster, and use a mana extraction tool to get the money. It¡¯s easy and anyone can do it. Well assuming that anyone can kill monsters without beings killed first. Normally monster hunters hunt in a group and split the profits equally. I, however, fight alone and thereby receive 100% of the profit. Due to the fact that I¡¯ve done little more than battle monsters, and I mean powerful monsters, for the past six years, I¡¯ve become outrageously rich. It¡¯s as simple as that.¡±


    ¡°You make it sound so easy. Maybe I should give it a try.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t! I¡¯m exaggerating its ease. People die all of the time trying to get rich from monsters. Besides, I wasn¡¯t trying to become rich. I was seeking monster parts to bring to alchemists so that they could fashion them into a cure for petrification. Regrettably, none of the monsters were the least bit related to the petrification curse, so it never worked out.¡±


    I wrap my fork around more pasta and shovel it into my mouth. I don¡¯t say anything further because I know that Katherine is dying to ask me the next obvious question. She holds it back as long as she can, but ultimately surrenders to her curiosity. ¡°Master you still haven¡¯t told me how your staff became petrified. Also, you said that wands and staves are given names. My wand is named Traveler, but what is your staff¡¯s name?¡±


    I put down my fork and sigh. I can¡¯t tell her the whole story about how it became petrified or she¡¯ll leave me. But I¡¯ll tell her just enough to satisfy her curiosity. ¡°My staff¡¯s name is Guilt. It was cursed by a powerful monster ¨C a gargoyle to be exact. But that¡¯s all that I will say.¡±


    The waiter returns a third time to leave the check. I prepare myself for the worst and take a look. The result: 3,200 ames ¨C 2,400 for the two pastas and 800 for the two teas. Seriously Magali? Seriously? This is why I hate this stupid city! The food was great though. I love the food. I just hate paying for it. Sure, I have millions, but that doesn¡¯t make it any less overpriced. I put the money on the table and we depart.


    The castle is only a short distance from here. We should be there in less than ten minutes. Katherine and I begin walking together side by side. I look over to her and she looks back at me carefree and oblivious. I chuckle at her and then summon one of my inventory bags. From the bag I withdraw a spare handkerchief. I then use it to wipe the pasta sauce off of Katherine¡¯s nose.


    ¡°Thanks Master. I would have looked pretty silly walking around with sauce on my nose.¡±


    ¡°Nah, even with sauce on your nose, you¡¯re still the most beautiful girl that I¡¯ve ever seen.¡±


    Katherine stops in her tracks with her mouth gaping. ¡°Awww, Master!¡±


    I continue walking not looking back. ¡°Hurry up servant!¡± I shout.


    Katherine trots back to my side. She wraps her two arms around my right arm and gazes up at me with beaming puppy dog eyes. I don¡¯t look at her. I just continue straight ahead.


    Sheesh, Soul. What are you doing? Why don¡¯t you tell her how you really feel about her while you¡¯re at it?

 Chapter 12

    Chapter 12


    We walk through the twelve-foot high cedar double doors that lead into the castle. From the front door there is a red carpet with golden triangles laced on it. The carpet extends straight ahead into the interior rooms. In this, the front room, there is a blue and black tiled floor everywhere except where the carpet is. On the walls, which are made of grayish-blue bricks, are extremely large framed paintings of King Barthalamos and other high ranking nobles. In between the paintings, large velvet drapes hang from the ceiling rafters. Slightly off to the side of the drapes is a series of armored statues. The castle design gives off a vibe that screams, ¡°This is the dwelling place of kings, queens, knights, princes, and countless other over-privileged nobles with their noses stuck up high enough to scrape against the ceiling.¡±


    Katherine and I walk slowly through the castle in silent marvel. The room is filled with numerous other tourists just as starry-eyed as us. I used to live in a large estate myself, but it was a far cry from a castle.


    Step by step, we make our way through the front room and past the arched brick ceiling divider between the front room and the first of the interior rooms. From there, there are four corridors. One to the left, one to the right, and in front of us directly on the opposite side of the room is a corridor leading straight ahead from the left and its matching corridor on the right. I don¡¯t know which way to go. Thankfully, there is a signpost with the rooms labeled for visitors. I check the sign to locate the quest manager and then head down the first corridor to the right.


    Carefully, I count three doors before I grab the doorknob, turn it, and push. Katherine and I enter into a small chamber where there is a counter with a bored-looking knight in chainmail armor sitting behind it on a tall stool. There are also two stools on the left wall and two on the right for quest takers to sit in as they wait for their reward documents to be processed. At the moment the room is vacant save for the bored knight. Seeing that there is no queue, I walk directly to the knight.


    ¡°Hello. I am here for a quest.¡±


    ¡°What kind of quest would you like milord?¡± he recites indifferently.


    ¡°I¡¯m here for the death mage quest.¡±


    The guard livens up. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


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    ¡°I heard that the inquisitors are having trouble with a death mage. I¡¯m here to help.¡±


    He suddenly becomes defensive. ¡°There ain¡¯t no death mage quest! I don¡¯t know what you heard, but you better bug off.¡±


    I try again. ¡°Look I¡¯m a powerful mage, if you just give me the details¨C¡±


    ¡°Get out!¡±


    ¡°But¡±


    ¡°Get out!¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± I firmly tuck my staff Guilt under my left arm and pivot on my axis. To salvage my dignity, I stomp out of the door and slam it shut. That was not what I expected. I don¡¯t know why he denied it. It¡¯s obvious that something is going on from the very way that he reacted. This whole affair is starting to turn into a bizarre story. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but I¡¯m determined to find out.


    Katherine and I retrace our steps. As we turn the corner into the front room, we find ourselves on the wrong side of a platoon of inquisitors walking in a V-formation like ducks. We try to get out of their way, but the one in the front completely plows Katherine over. ¡°Ahh!¡± she screams as she¡¯s thrown to the floor. I immediately rush to her side.


    ¡°Katherine are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Oww. I¡¯m okay Master.¡±


    I furiously chase after the inquisitor in the front. He continues walking as if nothing happened. I catch up to him and shout, ¡°Hey! You need to apologize to my servant!¡±


    He continues walking without even looking my way. I catch up to him again. This time I walk alongside him as I shout, ¡°Apologize to my servant!¡±


    He continues on again without acknowledging me. Losing my mind with rage, I charge directly in front of him. I plant my feet and point my staff at his face in a fighting stance. Finally, he stops walking. Behind him, the entire platoon of inquisitors draws its swords. He silently raises a hand into the air and then presses it downward. The inquisitors behind him resheathe their weapons. I keep my eyes and my staff fixed on his face.


    ¡°Fine,¡± he says. ¡°I accept your challenge.¡±


    I tilt my head confused. ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°You pointed your weapon at me. I assume that means that you want to fight. I accept your challenge.¡±


    Actually no. That¡¯s not what I intended, but it¡¯s too late to tell him otherwise now.

 Chapter 13

    Chapter 13


    I lift my staff to launch the first attack. The inquisitor sticks out his palm and says, ¡°Wait. Not here.¡±


    He makes a 180¡ã turn and passes through his men. They part down the middle and let him pass. Cautiously, I follow him through the sea of knights careful not to look at any of them directly. As I pass through, one of the men bites his teeth at me. I ignore him. If I let myself be intimidated, then I won¡¯t be able to concentrate on fighting their leader. At least I presume he¡¯s their leader. The inquisitor who bowled Katherine over is enormously tall. He has to be at least 6¡¯5¡±. He wears heavy blue and yellow armor with the same mantle draped over the front as Princess Mathilde¡¯s elite bodyguards. He has long sunflower blonde hair tied into a ponytail and the hardened blue eyes of a war veteran. I can decipher from his size and armor that he¡¯s likely a Colossus rather than a Fortissimo.


    We step into the front room where the tourists have all now become curious spectators. The inquisitor orders a line of men to form in front of the tourists. I don¡¯t know whether the line is to keep the tourists from straying into the fight or to keep me from retreating. He then positions himself perpendicular to the crowd so that even if I miss a spell it will fly into the back wall rather than into the crowd. Katherine stands off to my left-hand side. I gesture for her to position herself even further away and she obeys. I myself stand face to the face with the inquisitor about 20 feet apart. With everyone now in the proper place, the fight can begin.


    ¡°You initiated this duel, so you may have the first strike,¡± the inquisitor says.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± I ask.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to tell my name to a dead man. Have at you.¡±


    Fine then you arrogant prick. Have at this! I lunge my staff forward and release a powerful Comet. The inquisitor stands in place not even attempting to move. I raise my eyebrow at his curious strategy. Once the Comet is just about to strike him, he swings his sword down and cleaves it in half. A spray of flames shoots past him on both sides, but he remains completely untouched.


    ¡°Hmph,¡± I sneer, only mildly impressed. That must be some kind of Colossus trick. Whatever, no big deal. It¡¯s impossible to chop lightning in half.


    I prepare to cast the Lightning Strike spell. In the next instant, the inquisitor has completely closed the distance between us. He swings his sword at my neck and I duck by way of instinct alone. When he uses the momentum of his swing to spin himself around for a low attack, I leap straight up and his sword passes beneath me. However, when he spins a third time for a midlevel attack, I find myself stuck in the air unable to dodge. Desperately, I pull up with my staff just in time to have his heavy sword collide with it, sending me flying through the air. When I touch down to the ground I skip three times off of the brick floor like a smooth pebble.


    I landed to the ground wrong on my shoulder. It hurts, but I ignore the pain. Normally I would cast a quick healing spell, but this time I stay crouched low with my eyes in unblinking focus on my enemy. I may have analyzed him wrong. He could very well just be a really tall Fortissimo. If that¡¯s the case, then I need to watch him for speed rather than power and defense. Even still, I can already confirm that this guy hits like a battering ram.


    I watch the inquisitor closely. He doesn¡¯t attack. He remains right where he was when he last struck me. I¡¯m having a hard time figuring this guy out. But if I over think things, then I¡¯ll lose the fight. I have to attack to win. To that end, I cast the Water Wave spell with the intention of slamming him into the back wall.


    From directly in front of me, a ten-foot tidal wave rises up and surges towards him. He waits until it gets close to him and then charges, passing through the tall wall of water as if it hadn¡¯t been there at all. Before I can even respond, he¡¯s slightly behind me on the right side. He swings down his sword at me and I roll out of the way. As I come out of my roll, I twist and face him. By that very moment, he¡¯s already in front of me again.


    He reaches down and clenches his hand around my throat. Lifting, he carries me by the chin and charges forward. Then while still running, he tosses me up into the air and rams me with his shoulder. I sail through the air and hit the floor in a series of backwards rolls. With the last roll, the back of my head slams against the brick floor. My eyes cross themselves from the pain.


    They say that you shouldn¡¯t sleep with a head injury. But I really feel like taking a nap. I don¡¯t however. Instead, I force myself to sit up and look ahead. I can sort of make out the inquisitor but mostly I just see a hazy blur. This time I have no choice but to cast the Major Heal spell on myself. Once my eyes regain their focus, I see that the inquisitor is just standing still watching me. I rise up to my knees and immediately summon my bag of scripts. Scripts are sheets of parchment with spells written on them. They are created by a script mage who is able to cast the spell written on the script without any assistance. Thus, they imbue the script with the spell written on it. To activate the spell all that is required is a sufficient amount of mana. In this way a mage can cast spells written on scripts that he otherwise would not be able to cast.


    I fumble through my script bag for a script with the Rush spell imbued in it. Rush is a master level Support Magic spell that increases the target¡¯s movement speed. I channel my mana into the Rush script and cast the spell on myself. The spectating inquisitors begin to mock me for my action. They boo and call me a cheater and a puny mage. I don¡¯t care. I¡¯m trying to not die. If they want to see something really unfair, then they need only watch this. I focus my mana into my staff and cast the novice level summoning spell: Rhinohorn.


    The Rhinohorn is exactly what it sounds like. It¡¯s a large four legged monster rhinoceros that is permanently enchanted with the Berserk spell. It fights with only one strategy, which is to run things over. It¡¯s very susceptible to magic, but so far the inquisitor hasn¡¯t cast a single spell, so I doubt that it will be a problem. I intend to chip away at the inquisitor with lightning spells while the rhinohorn holds his attention at close range.


    My rhinohorn charges full speed at the inquisitor. It hits him square on. Impressively, the inquisitor blocks the impact with his sword, but he still gets pushed back. The rhinohorn then veers off to the side to prepare for another charge. As soon as it¡¯s out of the way, I blast the inquisitor with a Lightning Strike. The force of the bolt pushes the inquisitor back even further. I can tell that the bolt hurt him from the way that he grits his teeth while little blue sparks of lightning energy skip across his armor.


    I don¡¯t give him a break. The rhinohorn comes at him from his right side. He turns to defend against it. I time my next Lightning Strike to reach him just before the rhinohorn. Getting struck by my lightning bolt breaks his guard long enough for the rhinohorn to land an honest hit. It drives its horn into the inquisitor¡¯s chest plate and he goes down from the impact.


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    ¡°Okay Soul. This is working. Just keep this up.¡±


    The inquisitor gets back up to his feet. My rhinohorn comes at him from his left side while he stares facing me with his shoulders square in my direction. I guess he wants to try to defend against my lightning magic. So be it. I wait until the rhinohorn closes in so that I can repeat the same pattern as before. Timing the perfect moment, I cast a Lightning Strike. In response, the inquisitor leaps straight up into the air over my lightning, summersaults, and lands with his sword driving straight down through the nape of the rhinohorn¡¯s neck. The stab of his sword causes the rhinohorn to unsummon into nothingness. My mouth blasts open in dread-filled surprise.


    Before I can even close it, the inquisitor is on me. He swings at me with his sword using only his left hand. Even with the speed boost from the Rush spell, I barely manage to block it with my staff. Yet as I block his left-handed sword attack, he hook punches me in the jaw with his right fist. The blow sends me to the floor twisting around to my hands and knees. As he steps in to finish me, I push off of the ground with my hands and feet as hard as I can. I shoot up high enough into the air to bludgeon him in the face with a spinning back kick. The kick sends him staggering backwards.


    Quickly, while he¡¯s still staggering, I dash at him and leap. Then I skillfully push off of his chest plate with my left foot to gain additional height while twisting and roundhouse kicking him in the temple with my right foot. Now the inquisitor goes spinning down to the floor except, unlike me, he lands flat on his face.


    I hear him growl and he immediately springs up to his feet. He closes in on me like a lion and wraps me up in his arms. He then raises me into the air while squeezing me in a tight bear hug. The pressure of his squeeze starts to cave in my spine and ribs and I scream in pain. Desperate, I try to headbutt him in the face. I hit him, but it doesn¡¯t hurt him at all. Rather he gives me a return headbutt that hits me hard enough to bust open a cut over my right eye.


    His squeeze starts to break my ribs, making it impossible to breath. As such, I¡¯m forced to resort to my primary magic discipline. Channeling mana energy directly into my mouth, my cheeks expand out wide. I then contract them blowing out a stream of fire directly into the inquisitor¡¯s face.


    My tactic succeeds. In a sense. He hurls me through the air and I crash painfully to the brick floor. Now my back is hurting, some of my ribs are broken, I can barely breath, and blood is starting to trickle into my right eye. I rise to my feet coughing. My body is shattered and I¡¯m almost out of mana to boot. If this next attack doesn¡¯t work, then I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m going to do.


    The inquisitor retrieves his sword. He¡¯s breathing heavily and I can only hope that he¡¯s tired and forced to slow down. If he¡¯s as fast as he was at the beginning of the fight, then this ploy won¡¯t work at all. Yet do or die, this is the last gem in my bag of tricks. I cast a large Comet at him. The inquisitor bends his knees and raises his sword. I then immediately use the triple cast technique to hide two slightly smaller Comets behind the leading Comet.


    The first Comet arrives. The inquisitor swings down his sword chopping through it. Fire blows off to his sides. In the next instant, he sees the second Comet coming, but his sword is dropped low and he¡¯s off balance. He tries to fling his sword up, but the second Comet catches him. It explodes on top of him and he stumbles back a half step. With deep satisfaction, I watch his eyes grow wide when he realizes that there is a third Comet as well. He¡¯s stuck in position, helpless as it blows up in his face and sends him flopping to the ground. He lands flat on his back and his sword flies out of his hand.


    Now I¡¯m completely exhausted and out of mana. I can¡¯t even stand up straight. I burrow my staff into the floor and use it to keep myself propped up. I pant heavily and watch the inquisitor anxiously. If he gets up again, then I¡¯m finished. I don¡¯t know why, maybe wishful thinking, but I begin a ten count in my head as if in the middle of a sporting match. I get as far as seven before the inquisitor starts moving. Oh crap.


    ¡°Seven, eight, nine.¡± He stands up. I¡¯m screwed.


    Standing on his feet, the inquisitor examines my condition. I try to look threatening, but it¡¯s hard to do when you can¡¯t stand up straight nor see out of one eye. He pats himself down to throw off the dust. Then he casually walks to his sword and picks it up. He looks his sword over and then sheathes it much to my surprise. I watch him like a hawk as he moves closer to me.


    ¡°What is your name?¡± he asks.


    ¡°Souladonis, and you?¡±


    ¡°I am Chief Inquisitor Rupert des Chevaliers.¡±


    ¡°The Chief Inquisitor? That explains a lot. But what it doesn¡¯t explain is whether you¡¯re a Fortissimo or a Colossus.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense. I am a Fortissimo Colossus; the ultra class form of a Colossus.¡±


    ¡°I see. Both in one ¨C the ultimate knight.¡±


    ¡°Much to my regret Souladonis, the king is expecting me. I cannot leave him waiting any longer. Perhaps we can settle our duel another time?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m ready to go anytime,¡± I lie through my teeth.


    He turns and glances at Katherine. ¡°Your servant¡¯s name?¡±


    ¡°Katherine.¡±


    ¡°I apologize Lady Katherine. It was my mistake.¡±


    He signals to his men who salute. He then proceeds into the interior rooms while the rest of the inquisitors follow him. As the inquisitors who had been charged with lining up in front of the tourists pass, one of them looks at me and remarks, ¡°He¡¯s dead on his feet.¡±


    That inquisitor is wrong. I¡¯m only three quarters dead on my feet. That counts as survival in my book. Sort of. Just as soon as the last inquisitor disappears from view, I collapse to the floor. Katherine immediately rushes to my side. ¡°Master are you okay?¡±


    Katherine¡¯s not blind. I¡¯m obviously not okay. But it could have been worse. I¡¯m happy just to be alive. When I think about how this whole thing got started, I don¡¯t know what came over me.


    ¡°The Chief Inquisitor? What was I thinking?¡±


    ¡°You were thinking about me.¡±


    Suddenly I feel the force of a great magic power completely restore me to top condition. ¡°No girlie, he wasn¡¯t thinking at all, I assure you. Not thinking is this one¡¯s dominant character trait.¡±


    I look to my side and see a mage approaching. The mage has elegant jet-black hair, a mustache that is pointy at both ends with an equally pointy goatee, unnaturally gray skin, orange eyes, yellow, black, and orange robes, and black fingernail polish. He looks down at me condemningly as he strokes his mustache. ¡°What do you have to say for yourself this time?¡±


    The same thing that I always say.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Master.¡±


    Note: I ran a poll on the Story of Hiver Glace to ask if people want me to post one or two chapters a day. The majority said two chapters, so I will apply that answer to Souladonis as well.

 Chapter 14

    Chapter 14


    ¡°Well, well, well, little Lord Ros¨C¡±


    ¡°No Master!¡± I shout. ¡°I no longer use that name.¡±


    He strokes his mustache. ¡°No, nor should you. You¡¯ve brought enough shame to your father¡¯s name.¡±


    ¡°Master who is this man?¡± Katherine asks.


    ¡°Katherine, I¡¯d like you to meet Master Simon Bruhar. He is one of the world¡¯s foremost authorities on Status Magic.¡±


    ¡°Curse Magic,¡± he interrupts.


    ¡°Curse Magic,¡± I repeat. ¡°Master do you have any leads for me? Anything at all?¡±


    He raises his hand in front of his face and checks his black fingernail polish. ¡°I may have something. We should speak in private. There are too many ears here.¡±


    ¡°I have a room at the Armbear Lodge. It¡¯s not far from here.¡±


    ¡°That will do,¡± he says.


    ¡°Please Master. Right this way,¡± I say taking the lead.


    Master Simon promptly moves in front of me even though he¡¯s supposed to be following. Katherine lines up behind me and we end up walking in an awkward single file formation. I indicate for him which streets to turn on, but I don¡¯t dare step out in front of him again. I feel like a fool walking in single file through the city, but Katherine and I hold formation with him all the way back to the inn. We pass by the weasel in the front and go straight to our room. When I open the door, Master Simon enters first.


    Katherine and I follow in behind him. There are no chairs in our room, but I offer him a seat on the good bed. He disregards my offer as if I had said something ridiculous, so I don¡¯t press the issue further. Instead, I just remain standing.


    ¡°Master, you have a lead for me?¡±


    He yawns as if he were already bored of our conversation. ¡°Not in regards to your cursed staff. Not directly at least. Rather, there is a certain unseemly matter that you might be interested in.¡±


    ¡°What would that be Master?¡±


    ¡°The inquisitors find themselves in over their heads in dealing with a certain death mage.¡±


    I cross my arms confounded. It seems that knight was hiding something after all. ¡°I had heard a rumor about it Master. But when I went to the castle to talk to the quest manager, he turned me away.¡±


    Master Simon strokes the full length of his goatee. ¡°That¡¯s because they want to keep the matter a secret. It involves a certain member of one of ?me Kingdom¡¯s most prestigious families: the Butterfly family.¡±


    I drop my staff in disbelief. ¡°Silvia!¡±


    He shakes his head and waves his hand. ¡°No, no! Not the golden girl of Winterspring; her less competent younger sister Sidney. You see, the Butterfly family had two daughters: Silvia the older, and Sidney the younger. Silvia was a genius who went to Winterspring Academy and was honored with private lessons directly from Arch Lord Aerolyso. Yet her parents held Sidney back from the school because they were afraid that she would embarrass the family name. Sidney is in every way inferior to her sister. It¡¯s really not all that surprising that in the end she would turn to Death Magic as a way to measure up to her sister.¡±


    I hang my head genuinely saddened by the news. Silvia Butterfly had been one of my best friends growing up. In fact, she and I used to be academic rivals. Of course, she beat me out in the end, but to very this day, I still remember her fondly.


    ¡°Are you saddened just to hear that? It gets worse. Sidney has kidnapped a little noble girl. Mmmm¡­Jessica was her name if I do recall. Apparently, Jessica looks like Sidney did as a little girl and now Sidney is trying to be the mother to Jessica that her mother never was to her or some deranged lunacy like that. The inquisitors sent in teams to quietly deal with Sidney and rescue Jessica, but none of them have returned alive.¡±


    I run my hand through my hair in dismay. This is beyond my belief. ¡°So the inquisitors have marked Sidney for death? Is there nothing that we can do to help her?¡±


    He checks the nail polish of his other hand. ¡°Mmmm¡­well there may be one thing ¨C the Rite of Penance. If Sidney peacefully surrenders herself to the inquisitors, then they have a process to strip her of her Death Magic powers and rehabilitate her for society. It¡¯s an unseemly ordeal, but it¡¯s the only way to save both her and the girl.¡±


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    ¡°I see. Where can I find Sidney?¡±


    ¡°Where do you think numbskull? At her house. The Butterfly manor is not too far from here. Head out of the front gate, travel for one mile until you see a fork in the road heading west. Follow the road for another two miles and you¡¯ll see a large white mansion on the other side of a small forest. That is where you can find Sidney.¡±


    I steel my resolve. I want to save Sidney. I don¡¯t know if I can, but I have to try not only for Silvia¡¯s sake, but also for my own. I want to believe that someone like Sidney can find redemption. I make a small bow to Master Simon. ¡°Thank you Master. I¡¯ll do my best to save Sidney.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not expecting much from you,¡± he answers. ¡°You don¡¯t exactly have a reputation for saving lives.¡±


    ¡°He saved me!¡± Katherine interjects.


    Master Simon gives Katherine a once over. ¡°Who exactly is this girl?¡±


    ¡°My servant Katherine.¡±


    He strokes at his mustache. ¡°I see. So you call her a servant? How impure.¡±


    My jaw drops in horror. ¡°I don¡¯t mean anything impure!¡±


    Master Simon walks between Katherine and me and heads for the door. ¡°So you say.¡±


    Right before he exits through the door Katherine stops him. ¡°Wait Master!¡±


    He stops and looks at her with a glare that suggests she should speak quickly.


    ¡°Tell me about Master Souladonis.¡±


    ¡°Katherine!¡± I clamor. I¡¯m a little put off that she¡¯s trying to learn about me through Master Simon.


    ¡°Well you never tell me anything about yourself! You wouldn¡¯t even tell me your name at first!¡±


    Master Simon¡¯s eyes gleam and he curls his mustache. ¡°Oh. I¡¯ll tell you all about him. His name is Souladonis Theophilus Rosengarden. He¡¯s the only son of a prominent jeweler family from Winterspring. He had been at one time, the most promising young mind of Winterspring Academy. Alongside Silvia Butterfly, he even received private lessons from Arch Lord Aerolyso. But he was a fool and he didn¡¯t listen to anyone. He got it in his head to go to the Forbidden Tower, and¨C¡±


    ¡°Master that¡¯s enough!¡± I yell loudly. I approach Master Simon and push him out the door with my body. ¡°Thank you for the information, but you have to go now.¡±


    ¡°Oh, ho, ho,¡± he snickers. ¡°Little Lord Rosengarden standing up for himself. I shall celebrate your having grown a backbone and leave you in peace for now. But first, a word of advice to the girlie. This boy has a nickname back in Winterspring that sums him up pretty well. Do you know what they call him? They call him ¡®the greatest disappointment of all time.¡¯ That¡¯s who he is and that¡¯s what he does. Don¡¯t get too involved with him girlie, or he¡¯ll just disappoint you too.¡±


    Master Simon passes out of the inn cackling manically the entire way. I remain standing numb in the doorway. Katherine tries to console me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Master,¡± she says. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that he would speak about you in that way.¡±


    I reply softly, ¡°It¡¯s okay. He¡¯s right about me.¡±


    ¡°No. He¡¯s not right. He¡¯s a creep.¡±


    ¡°Master Simon is a great mage. I¡¯ll be lucky if I ever become half of the mage that he is.¡±


    Katherine places her hand on my shoulder, but I sweep it away. I don¡¯t feel good. I feel antsy and unsettled. Bad memories from my past are starting to bubble up and I have to suppress them. I know only of one way to do it. It¡¯s not something that I can do by my own power; however, there¡¯s a magical elixir that makes bad memories go away. It¡¯s called alcohol. ¡°I need a drink. Let¡¯s go to a tavern.¡±


    Katherine objects. ¡°But what about your friend Sidney?¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t stay at the tavern long. Just thirty minutes, maybe one hour ¨C tops.¡±


    I pick up Guilt off of the floor and head out. Katherine follows me silently. I bet she¡¯s disappointed in me already.

 Chapter 15

    Chapter 15


    Katherine and I journey to a tavern called ¡°Lonewolf.¡± It¡¯s about five in the afternoon when we arrive. We still have another two almost three hours of sunlight in the day. That gives me plenty of time to have a quick drink before I head off to Sidney¡¯s manor. At the door the bouncer starts to let me pass until he sees Katherine. ¡°Hold on little lady. How old are you?¡±


    ¡°Seventeen.¡±


    ¡°You have to be eighteen to enter.¡±


    ¡°Ah come on let her in. She¡¯s almost eighteen and she¡¯s not here to drink.¡±


    ¡°Sorry. I don¡¯t make the rules.¡±


    ¡°No you don¡¯t. My friend money makes the rules.¡± I summon a 10,000-ame bag and place it in the bouncer¡¯s hand. He gestures for us to go in, so we pass.


    Entering the tavern, we immediately scope out the scene. The tavern has a wooden floor, beige walls, some tables with wooden chairs in the front, a rectangular stage in the center of the building where bards or various other artists can perform, and some additional tables on the other side of the stage towards the back of the room. On the left-hand side of the room is a long-stretching bar with numerous stools laid out in front of it. Behind the bar, the barkeeper manages a wide array of beers, ales, whiskies, and wines all shelved in a display of fancy bottles. The barkeeper himself has smooth slicked back brown hair, a bushy mustache, and hawkish blue eyes that suggest cutthroat business acuity.


    At the moment the tavern has less than ten customers in it. They¡¯re mostly inquisitors on break accompanied by one or two professional drunkards. Katherine and I help ourselves to the choicest seats directly in front of the barkeeper. I hop up on the stool and lay my staff down next to my feet, resting against the bar. ¡°What¡¯ll you have?¡± the barkeeper asks.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have whatever¡¯s popular. The lady will just have water.¡±


    The barkeeper takes one look at Katherine and then shoots a knowing glance at the bouncer. Dismissing her obvious age violation, he takes a mug, moves to a large barrel with a tap on it, and pours me a dark brown ale. He brings it back to me and sets it down. Then he takes a small clear glass, fills it with water, and sets it before Katherine. ¡°In this tavern you have to pay by the drink.¡±


    ¡°How much?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Hundred ames.¡±


    I toss him a medium-grade pink ame crystal worth precisely 100 ames. I sip at my drink and discover that it¡¯s greatly sweetened with the taste of honey as opposed to the normal bitterness of ale. It¡¯s different, but I like it. Katherine quietly sips at her water beside me. ¡°Do you come to taverns often Master?¡±


    ¡°Not often enough,¡± I answer sardonically.


    As I sip slowly at my ale, bad memories continue to spring up. It seems that I¡¯m not drinking fast enough. I guzzle down the ale and ask for a chardonnay. The barkeeper sets a glass of white wine in front of me and demands 200 ames. I toss him the money and get to work sipping at my new drink.


    Katherine observes me gulp in the wine with undue haste. Displeased, she tries to trick me with her cunning. ¡°Master, I¡¯m hungry. We should go to a restaurant to have dinner.¡±


    ¡°They have food here,¡± I answer uncaring. ¡°Barkeeper prepare something for my servant to eat.¡±


    He enters into the kitchen through a rotating door behind the bar, and orders the cooks to prepare something. While we wait a solid twenty minutes for the food to be ready, I help myself to a third drink. It¡¯s a whisky on the rocks costing me an additional 400 ames. It¡¯s strong, but I like my drinks strong. Later, the barkeeper brings out the dish that the cooks prepared for Katherine. It¡¯s a simple plate with two bratwursts and fried potatoes on it. Demonstrating good table manners, Katherine eats the sausages with a knife and fork while wiping meticulously with napkins to keep her face clean. Watching Katherine eat reminds me of my own empty stomach. Of course, unlike her, I prefer to fill my belly with drink rather than food.


    I gesture for the barkeeper to bring me another glass. We¡¯ve now been at the tavern for roughly an hour. It¡¯s 6 p.m. and people are starting to pour into the bar fresh off from their jobs. Also at the turn of the hour a scrawny bard takes the stage backed up by a band of shoddy looking instrumentalists. They¡¯re just the opening act for the evening. At least that¡¯s what I hope. They sing a few songs about love, poverty, women they can never obtain, and then top it all off with a crappy rendition of Greensleeves.


    I down my fourth drink. Now I feel like singing. The bard and his crew get off of the stage. Nobody replaces them, so I interpret it as a golden opportunity. I¡¯m no sound mage songster, but with four drinks to my credit, I don¡¯t particularly care either. I take to the stage.


    ¡°Hello everyone. My name is Souladonis. I¡¯d like to sing a little song that I wrote.¡±


    I break into an a cappella performance of the song that I like to sing when I¡¯m sad. It¡¯s called Winter Soul. I sing:


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    Winter Soul


    As a boy I knew a girl


    her hair was black.


    We¡¯d smile and sing and play


    joke and laugh.


    Each shining winter day


    was better than the last.


    But unparalled joy


    is never meant to last.


    We rolled hand in hand


    tick for tack.


    I took her breath away


    but couldn¡¯t give it back.


    So now those happy days


    have all passed.


    The joys of a child


    never come back.


    I¡¯ve since traveled the world


    searched high and low.


    I¡¯ve spun around in circles


    with no place to go.


    Can a sinner find redemption?


    I really don¡¯t know.


    But she¡¯s entombed in stone


    and my heart is snow.


    ¡°Thank you. Thank you,¡± I say hobbling off of the stage. A few people clap. The rest ignore me. I return to my barstool next to Katherine and request another drink. Katherine leans towards me and says, ¡°That was pretty good Master. Did you say that you wrote that song?¡±


    I toss the barkeeper an entire bag of money. I¡¯m tired of plucking through the little sacks for the correct amount. ¡°Yeah, I wrote it.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s it about?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve only had four drinks Katherine. I¡¯m not nearly drunk enough to tell you that.¡±


    So I say, but then two more hours pass. I¡¯m now down eight drinks. Everything¡¯s kind of fuzzy and I¡¯m starting to lose feeling in my face. I take a look at Katherine. Her radiant beauty lights up the dim tavern like a lone candle trapped in the darkest of nights. She¡¯s soooo pretty. So pretty. I gotta tell her. ¡°Katherine,¡± I say. ¡°You know what? You are pretty. I mean, like, really pretty.¡±


    ¡°Oh Master. You¡¯re drunk.¡±


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m not saying it ¡®cause I¡¯m drunk. I neva seen anyone with skin like yours before. ¨CThat light earthy brown. I don¡¯t know what you call it, but you¡¯re pretty.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not too hard on the eyes yourself loverboy,¡± a voice says behind me.


    I childishly spin around on my barstool and take a look. I see the blurry silhouette of what is most likely a voluptuous blonde Fashionista. She could be smoking hot, or as ugly as a troll. I have no way of knowing, so I decide to play it safe. ¡°And I¡¯m sure that if I could see straight, I¡¯d return the compliment, but I can¡¯t, so I¡¯m going to assume that you¡¯re an ugly troll.¡±


    ¡°Why I never!¡± she hollers.


    ¡°Well¡­ Maybe once, eh toots?¡±


    She turns from me and stomps out of the tavern.


    ¡°Begone foul troll!¡± I proclaim loudly, lifting my mug high into the air. I slam it down and tragically it breaks. I lose most of my beverage. Nonetheless, I try to sip at the remnants, but Katherine soon stops me before I slit my tongue. Thinking pragmatically, I toss the barkeeper another bag of money. ¡°Can¡¯t you see I need a drink?¡± I complain. He takes away the shattered mug and gives me a fresh new mug filled to the brim with sweet, sweet ale. I slurp it down greedily.


    Katherine leans to my ear and whispers to me, ¡°Master you have to stop. You¡¯re wasting all of your money.¡±


    I reply loudly, ¡°I don¡¯t care! It won¡¯t make him happy! Money do-int make anyone happy!¡±


    Katherine leans away from me unsatisfied. I think I hurt her feelings. I have to apologize. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Katherine. I didn¡¯t mean to yell. You¡¯re a good girl. I¡¯m, I¡¯m, the bad guy.¡±


    Katherine plants her head in the palm of her hand. She must be bored. ¡°I know you¡¯re bored Katherine. Just let me have two more drinks and we¡¯ll leave in twenty minutes,¡± I tell her. I quickly guzzle my drink down and demand another one.


    ¡°Woah buddy. Slow it down,¡± the barkeeper suggests.


    I snap, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when I¡¯ve had enough!¡±


    The barkeeper tilts his head, ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Nevermind. A bourbon ¨C dry, please.¡±


    I toss him another bag of money and get to sipping. Katherine twiddles at her hair. ¡°Master what was that song you sang about?¡±


    ¡°Exactly what it sounds like. I killed my girlfriend.¡±


    The barkeeper is taken aback. ¡°Woah buddy! Am I going to have to call the inquisitors?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean Master?¡± Katherine asks horrified.


    I hang my head and cough into my cup. ¡°It was an accident a long time ago. I got her turned into stone. That¡¯s all.¡±


    I choke down the bourbon and ask for another drink. The barkeeper refuses me.


    ¡°What? I have money!¡± I whine.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already got plenty of your money buddy. I don¡¯t need your corpse to go along with it.¡±


    ¡°Fine!¡± I shout. I grab Guilt and descend from the barstool. ¡°This tavern smells like piss anyways.¡±


    I hobble over to the front door and kick it open, yet I nearly fall on my face doing so. It¡¯s now pitch black outside. It¡¯s too late to go after Sidney and I¡¯m drunk off of my rocker. The only rational thing to do is to go back to the Armbear Lodge and try to sleep my pathetic life away.

 Chapter 16

    Chapter 16


    I hobble down the street a little to the left, a little to the right. Katherine wraps my right arm around her shoulders and tries to keep me propped up and moving in a straight line. Yet due to our size difference, it¡¯s hard for her to support my weight all on her own. Even worse, Katherine isn¡¯t entirely certain about which roads lead back to the Armbear Lodge. I would guide us there myself, but I¡¯m too busy singing loudly and twirling my fingers in the air in imitation of a great orchestra conductor.


    Before long, Katherine gets lost. She takes a wrong turn down an alley and leads us away from the lanterns that punctuate the main streets. Panic-stricken, Katherine asks me to sober up and provide directions. ¡°Full speed ahead Captain!¡± I tell her pointing in the direction that we¡¯re already going. I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s correct nor do I care. Right now I feel as carefree as a bird flapping in the wind. Nothing could bring me down.


    Well¡­except maybe a death mage. Katherine comes to an abrupt halt starring at a man in front of us. He¡¯s a Clown class mage, but something is off about him. Normal clowns, both sad and happy, have well-proportioned makeup in clean lines and smooth circles. The makeup on this clown¡¯s face is fierce and jagged like the characteristic markings of a Killer Clown death mage. His brow is wrinkled into a menacing, psychotic stare. ¡°Hey there buddy. I saw you in the bar. You¡¯re pretty careless with your money. I¡¯m afraid that it might get hurt. You better let me hold onto it.¡±


    I try to look him in the eyes. I¡¯m not able to because he has six eyes and I¡¯m not sure which ones are the real ones. ¡°Listen you,¡± I say, ¡°I know what this is. This is a robbery. But I¡¯m not giving none of you three nuthin¡¯!¡±


    The clown looks to his left and to his right and then laughs. ¡°None of us. That¡¯s pretty funny buddy, but this is no joke. Unless you want you and the little lady to end up lying in a puddle of blood, then I suggest you hand over the ame crystals.¡±


    The clown reaches into his red overall pants and pulls out a sharpened chef¡¯s knife. This stupid clown is completely killing my good mood. I¡¯m going to teach him a lesson. ¡°Ey Katherine. Get outta here,¡± I order.


    ¡°Maybe you should just give him the money.¡±


    ¡°Run¡¯way Katherine. Hezza death mage. He gonna kill us either way.¡±


    ¡°Well then, I can¡¯t just leave you Master!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry ¡®bout me; worry ¡®bout him! I¡¯mma beat his legs ¡®til he can¡¯t walk no more. But you get outta here.¡±


    Katherine breaks away from me. ¡°I¡¯m going to go get help. Just hang on Master!¡±


    She turns and runs back towards the way that we came. The Killer Clown raises his knife behind his head like he intends to throw it. He closes his left eye and aims at Katherine with his right. Finally, he lets it rip. It sails through the air towards Katherine like a perfectly tossed dart. I casually stick my left hand out to the side and catch the knife by the handle. Before the clown can blink, I throw it straight back at his face. He quickly dips his body and the knife sails off into the distance.


    ¡°Don¡¯t-tack Katherine,¡± I warn him. ¡°You can-tack me, but never-tack Katherine. Or I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    The Killer Clown laughs hysterically. ¡°You¡¯re gonna kill me buddy? You can¡¯t even stand up straight.¡± He reaches into his overalls and draws out yet another sharpened chef¡¯s knife.


    ¡°Last chance. Your money or your life.¡±


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    ¡°Last chance. Your money or your life!¡± I counter.


    The clown shakes his head at me. ¡°Buddy, what in the world were you drinking? Even I might feel bad killing a guy as drunk as you.¡±


    The Killer Clown begins to approach me with bad intentions. I wait until he gets a little closer and then I dash at him. I make a tiny leap swinging my left leg across my body to give me rotation. Then I twist around throwing out my other leg into a right splits kick. My kick nails the clown in the temple and sends him staggering sideways into the brick wall lining the alley. He pushes off of the wall furious. Recklessly, he charges at me and lunges his knife for my stomach. I step off slightly to the side and wrap his knife arm up with my left arm. Then in a quick pattern, I elbow him in the face and in the stomach. As he bends over from the blow to the stomach, I whip up my forearm to backfist him straight in his red rubber nose. While he reels back from the blow, I finish my combination off with a powerful side kick. The kick sends the clown shooting to the ground on his back. While he¡¯s down, I get a good look at his outrageously big feet and begin to chuckle. ¡°Who¡¯s got big feet?¡± I sing. ¡°You¡¯ve got big feet!¡±


    The clown scrambles up to his enormous feet. ¡°Ooooooh buddy. You¡¯re going to die!¡±


    He comes at me swinging his knife wildly. He lunges and chops and dices while I spin backwards at a diagonal angle using my staff to keep him at bay. His attacks all miss. I come back at him with a trick attack. I pretend to roundhouse kick low and wait until he drops his arm to block the kick. As soon as he reacts, I snap my leg up and kick him in the head. He makes an angry riposte with his knife, but misses again. I stomp on his foot just to throw him off of his game. He slashes across my midsection, yet misses again. I lance him hard in the stomach with my staff and he doubles over. While he¡¯s bent over, I spin around and swing my staff into his face with both arms. He suffers double damage from the blow when it sends him face first into the brick wall. He then falls flat on his back and I give him one last good whack to the stomach for good measure.


    Well that wasn¡¯t too bad. Especially considering that I¡¯m drunk and all death mages are ultra-class at minimum. Just as I begin to wonder where Katherine is, I hear her approaching from a distance and calling for me. She comes accompanied by a man in armor, who I can only assume is an inquisitor. The inquisitor won¡¯t be necessary now. I¡¯m so awesome that I¡¯ve already got everything under control. To show off my awesomeness, I rest my foot on top of the Killer Clown and pose like a conquering hero. Katherine is going to flip when she sees how awesome I am!


    I wait until she gets close and smile. Katherine takes one good look at me and screams bloody murder.


    ¡°What? I won,¡± I say oblivious.


    ¡°Master you¡¯re bleeding!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± I look down at myself and realize that I am bleeding profusely from several locations. Suddenly I feel lightheaded. Gravity grows heavier. The earth shifts and I stumble to the left. I try to remain on my feet by correcting to the right. Unfortunately, I overcorrect and go down flat on my face. Now the heavy gravity is beginning to affect my eyelids. I struggle to keep my eyes open, but it¡¯s a futile endeavor.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­


    blacking¡­


    out.¡±


    My eyelids completely shut and I go night-night right there in the alley.

 Chapter 17

    Chapter 17


    I wake up the next day lying in the good bed, robed in nothing more than my boxer shorts. I don¡¯t remember how I got here and I have a splitting headache. The yellow sun shines through the inn room window, blinding and unbearable. Grumbling, I order Katherine to close the window curtains. It¡¯s not until that moment that I realize that Katherine is not beside me lying in the lopsided bed. I don¡¯t know what happened to Katherine. Overcome with panic, I spring out of bed sweating torrents.


    I scream, ¡°Katherine!¡±


    And again, ¡°Katherine!¡±


    I don¡¯t hear an answer, so right away I head for the door despite being in my underwear. Yet suddenly I hear her call out from the bathroom, ¡°I¡¯m over here Master.¡±


    Apparently I had passed right by her without noticing her. In the bathroom, she leans over the tub with the recently ventilated new clothes that I got from Wilmette. ¡°I was trying to clean the blood out of your clothes. Just let me hang them up, and then I¡¯ll be right with you Master.¡±


    I breathe out relieved. I still feel like crap, but at least Katherine is safe. I return to the good bed and crash down. A few moments later, Katherine comes out of the bathroom and takes a seat on the other bed.


    ¡°Master we need to talk.¡±


    ¡°About what?¡±


    ¡°Before I spend any more time with you, I need to know whether or not I¡¯m in danger from you.¡±


    Katherine in danger from me? How can she even think that? I would do anything to protect her. Simply hearing Katherine question my affection for her grinds my heart into powder. I hang my head and clutch at my chest. ¡°Katherine what are you saying? You know that I would never hurt you.¡±


    She continues speaking in an even tone of voice. ¡°Last night you told me that you killed your girlfriend.¡±


    My heart bleeds and I claw desperately at my chest from the pain. If it were to burst all together right now, I would be content. ¡°What did I tell you?¡± I ask genuinely ignorant. I can¡¯t remember much about last night.


    Katherine continues pressing me without relenting, ¡°Not much. Just that you killed your girlfriend by turning her into stone.¡±


    I cover my eyes with my hands to hide my tears from Katherine. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me. It was the gargoyle! I jumped out of the way and its spell hit Nadine instead of me. The spell petrified her. She¡¯s still at the top of the Forbidden Tower waiting for me to save her, but I can¡¯t find a cure for the petrification curse. It was an accident.¡±


    Overcome with emotion, I begin to weep bitterly. Calmly, Katherine rises to her feet. ¡°I see,¡± she says. ¡°I¡¯m going to go out for a while. I¡¯m taking my wand and the magic books that you bought me.¡±


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    ¡°Take some of my money too,¡± I tell her.


    She quietly takes the necessary inventory bags off of the room¡¯s one dresser. She had placed them there in order to wash my clothes without ruining them.


    Once I hear the sound of her opening the door to exit, I become afraid. I¡¯m afraid that now that she¡¯s found me out for who I really am, she won¡¯t want anything further to do with me. ¡°You¡¯re not coming back are you?¡± I ask weakly.


    ¡°I¡¯ll come back this evening,¡± she answers plainly.


    ¡°Do you promise?¡± I mumble pitifully.


    With that, she slams the door shut and storms over to me. ¡°Look at yourself Souladonis! You wanted to drink your pain away, but now you¡¯ve only made it worse! I¡¯ll promise you that I¡¯ll come back, but you have to promise me that you won¡¯t use drinking as a way to escape your pain anymore. Do I make myself clear?¡±


    I nod keeping my eyes on the floor. Katherine firmly places her fingers under my chin and raises my head. ¡°Look me in the eyes Souladonis.¡±


    I compliantly look into her eyes.


    ¡°No more drinking.¡±


    Those innocent brown eyes that had once shined for me now stare down at me, angry and condemning. But what¡¯s worse is that there is pain in those eyes: pain that I put there. I want to apologize with every ounce of my being, but all that I can say is ¡°Okay.¡±


    She releases my chin and my head sags low again. ¡°From now on if you¡¯re hurting, then you come talk to me. Share your pain instead of trying to bottle it all in. I know that your past is filled with a lot of hurts Souladonis, but I¡¯m here for you. So you get some rest. I¡¯ll return this evening with dinner. I promise.¡±


    Katherine exits the room. I contain myself until I¡¯m sure that she¡¯s out of the inn. Then I explode into a furious tantrum. I pound the bed with my fists. When that fails to make me feel better, I pound it with my face. That fails as well. I kick the mattress repeatedly. When that fails, I mash my face into my pillow and scream until my throat becomes sore. That doesn¡¯t help either. There is nothing that I can do or say to ease my pain.


    I feel so ugly, so wretched, so irredeemably worthless that I loathe myself with every fiber of my being. I¡¯ve tried for years to undo my disgrace, but all that I¡¯ve managed to do is to further burden the world with the abject scum that I am. Never in my life have I felt as bad about myself as I do in this moment. Even when I accidentally killed Nadine, I didn¡¯t feel so irrevocably deplorable as I do now that I¡¯ve disappointed Katherine. I¡¯m so angry with myself that the only solution that I can come up with is to lay my head on my pillow and cry.

 Chapter 18

    Chapter 18


    Katherine kept her promise. Around sunset she showed up at the inn room carrying with her a rotisserie chicken and a few biscuits wrapped up together in a cloth satchel. For a drink she provided me with ginger ale. Perhaps she intended for it to be a silent reminder of my promise to her. She said nothing directly of our earlier discussion. All that she asked me were a few simple yes or no questions to which I gave the proper response and nothing more. Now that she knows me for the pathetic creature that I am, I¡¯m too terrified to speak to her. I¡¯m afraid that with one false word she¡¯ll abandon me and return to her mother¡¯s house. Then I¡¯ll be alone again like I¡¯ve been for so many years now. But I don¡¯t want to be alone anymore. I don¡¯t want Katherine to leave me.


    It is now Tuesday morning. Yesterday I passed the entire day in the inn room and missed out completely on the festival. I fully intend to enjoy the rest of the festival, but first things first. I have to go after Sidney Butterfly.


    I let Katherine carry out her early morning bathroom routine, and then follow suit after her. When I put on my new outfit, I¡¯m a bit heartbroken to see that I¡¯ve nearly ruined it already. I say nearly and not completely because Katherine not only washed it, but also sewed up the cuts as well. Unfortunately, there were a lot of cuts and she used black thread on top of purple, so it¡¯s still pretty noticeable. But all the same, I¡¯m grateful to her for her efforts.


    We leave the inn around 9 a.m. After a quick light breakfast at a country-style restaurant, we depart from Magali. I still remember the directions that Master Simon had given me on how to reach Sidney¡¯s manor. We follow down the road for a mile exactly as he had instructed. After a mile or so, we see the road leading off to the west and follow it. On the way Katherine begins to ask me questions perhaps out of curiosity, or perhaps as an act of mercy. Heaven knows that I don¡¯t deserve to hear her voice anymore.


    ¡°Master tell me about Death Magic.¡±


    I readily answer, ¡°Death Magic is a forbidden discipline. It is illegal to learn, to practice, or to teach Death Magic. Unlike the other disciplines that can be used for various benign purposes, Death Magic is only good for precisely what it sounds like. Those who practice Death Magic are called heretics. The inquisitors are legally allowed to kill any heretics that they see on sight.¡±


    We continue walking on as Katherine takes in the information. A minute later she continues with her next question. ¡°If Death Magic is so bad, then why do people learn it?¡±


    I sigh. How the heck should I know? ¡°Maybe for power, maybe to have a taste of the forbidden, or maybe for more sinister reasons. I don¡¯t really know. The one thing that I do know is that Death Magic is a shortcut to power. It instantly elevates someone from the unique class level to the ultra class level. Even people with only a small amount of magic power can become ultra class through Death Magic.¡±


    We burn through another mile before we sit down to take a rest. Katherine flops down next to me huffing and puffing from the exertion of walking two miles. We still have one more to go before we reach Sidney¡¯s place. Katherine peers over at me and asks her next question. ¡°If the death mages are so bad, then why don¡¯t the inquisitors just arrest them all?¡±


    Were it only so simple! I tell her, ¡°Most of the death mages are able to turn their Death Magic powers on or off. That allows them to hide themselves out in the open amongst normal people. Anyone could be a death mage and you¡¯d never even know it. Well, anyone other than life mages. Trying to combine the powers of life and death results in a mage losing his magic power forever. Another thing to consider is that the death mages are all ultra class and most of the inquisitors are unique class. It takes a whole team of inquisitors to fight a single death mage, and even then they still sometimes lose. From what I understand, that has been the case with Sidney Butterfly.¡±


    I decide that we¡¯ve had enough rest. We get back on the road and follow down it for another mile. From some ways out, I see a big white manor situated on a green hill. Even though the manor can be seen from the road, the only actual way to get to it is to pass through a small wooded area that touches directly onto the road. This is a relatively uninhabited area, so there may be monsters in the woods. I warn Katherine and prepare to enter.


    ¡°Are we going to be alright?¡± she asks.


    ¡°Yes of course. Even if there are monsters, they shouldn¡¯t be too much trouble.¡±


    ¡°No. I mean with Sidney. If the inquisitors didn¡¯t come back alive, will we?¡±


    ¡°Ah come on Katherine! She¡¯s Silvia Butterfly¡¯s little sister! Besides, we don¡¯t have to fight her. We just have to convince her to turn herself over to the inquisitors so that she can receive the Rite of Penance. Just leave it to me.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡±


    She doesn¡¯t quite sound convinced. Neither am I entirely. I had heard about Sidney from Silvia, but I never personally met her. I¡¯m just assuming that she¡¯ll be a sweetheart like her sister. How could she not be?


    I push into the woods. As one might expect, there are trees everywhere with mostly dirt and a small amount of leaves on the ground. There are little brown squirrels bouncing about, a gray rabbit, and even a few butterflies. Everything feels normal and peaceful. Well, everything apart from the outrageously strong gravity. I bend down to my knees taken by surprise by the sudden force. Katherine, too, kneels beside me. ¡°Master what is this?¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°It¡¯s a trap. Sidney knew that inquisitors would come for her, so she put this gravity field here. I would say from the way that the animals are skipping about that it only affects creatures with mana. That means that all of the monsters here have probably gone elsewhere. But even without the addition of monsters, this is still the perfect trap for the inquisitors who wear heavy armor and carry heavy weapons.¡±


    ¡°What are we going to do Master?¡±


    I have an idea. I take out my bag of scripts and search through my Support Magic scripts. Yet tragically, it seems that I¡¯m out of scripts for bolstering one¡¯s physical strength. ¡°Crap. I thought that I had a Power Up script, but I don¡¯t. You wouldn¡¯t have happened to have learned any Support Magic spells yet would you?¡±


    Her brown eyes light up. ¡°As a matter of fact, I have! While you were sleeping yesterday, I read through my magic books and practiced a little. Just a second.¡±


    She takes out her Support Magic spell book and briefly reviews its contents. ¡°Okay, I got it.¡±


    Using Traveler she concentrates her mana and casts the Minor Power Up spell on me. It¡¯s only a debutant-level spell, but it¡¯s just enough to do the trick. I use Guilt as a walking stick and rise up to my feet. ¡°Katherine, climb up on my back. I can walk us out of here.¡±


    She climbs on my back and throws her arms around my neck. With her weight on top of me, it¡¯s difficult, but I manage to move forward step by step. At the rate that we¡¯re going, it will take me a while to clear the woods. ¡°Katherine, I¡¯m impressed that you learned a new spell so quickly.¡±


    ¡°Why? Is that good?¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not bad. How many other spells did you learn?¡±


    ¡°All of the debutant level ones.¡±


    I accidentally raise my voice from surprise. ¡°You learned all of the debutant level Support spells in a day?¡±


    ¡°Yes and the Life and Plant Magic ones too.¡±


    ¡°Oh shut up,¡± I say thinking that she¡¯s trying to pull my leg.


    ¡°It¡¯s true. I mean, I have to practice more before I fully memorize all of them, but I cast each spell at least twice yesterday.¡±


    ¡°And you didn¡¯t go into mana shock?¡±


    ¡°No. I had a few mana potions and I felt fine.¡±


    I trudge on with her on my shoulders in quiet contemplation. Never before have I heard of someone learning so many new spells in a single day. Granted they¡¯re low level spells, but that doesn¡¯t make it any less impressive. What Katherine did was essentially the equivalent of blowing through all of elementary school in a single day. Now I¡¯m really curious about who her father is. I know that she¡¯s not getting her magic power from her mother. Were it not for the fact that he had passed away, I¡¯d ask her all sorts of questions about him. However, after my night of wanton drinking, I¡¯m already on thin ice with Katherine. I don¡¯t want to say the wrong thing and completely sink in. But the next time that we¡¯re having a good moment, I¡¯ll ask her about her father.


    I strain out step by step until we finally exit the woods. Now we find ourselves at the bottom of a tall hill. There is actually a stone staircase built directly into the hill that we can climb up, but for the moment I need a break. I sit down on the bottom step and Katherine joins me. She looks up at the house examining it closely while she twirls her index finger in her hair. ¡°Her house is pretty.¡±


    ¡°What were you expecting?¡±


    ¡°A haunted mansion.¡±


    I laugh and then drink some water from a canteen. Katherine is kind of right. A pretty white and pink house is a bit unfitting for a powerful death mage. It¡¯s a good sign though. It shows that Sidney isn¡¯t somebody who¡¯s completely steeped in darkness. She and I will have a nice, reasonable conversation and I¡¯m sure that she¡¯ll see the logic in surrendering to the law. Besides I¡¯m a friend of her sister. Once she hears that, I know that she will trust me. Heck, she might even ask me to stay for dinner.


    I catch a second wind. Katherine and I begin climbing the stone staircase. While we climb I look up at one of the windows and I could swear that I see a curtain move. I guess now she knows that we¡¯re coming. That¡¯s fine though. I was planning on sounding the doorbell anyway.


    Katherine and I reach the top of the stairs. I turn around and take in the view from the top of the hill. We can see the woods that we passed through, the road beneath us, and also quite far off into the distance in each direction. I bet from the back of the house, one can even see the city of Magali from here. It¡¯s a pretty and refreshing view. I can see why somebody would want to put a house up here.


    I step to the front door. The door is a painted white double door with an eagle crest on one door and a dove crest on the other. Everything about this house seems fitting and proper for the prestigious Butterfly family. On the left-hand side of the door is a lever. I pull it to the sound of grinding gears finished off by the ring of a bell. I smile and wait patiently for Sidney to answer the door.


    After a moment¡¯s pause, the door opens. I nudge Katherine along and step into Sidney¡¯s house optimistically.

 Chapter 19

    Chapter 19


    The moment that Katherine and I pass through the door, it slams shut behind us. We then find ourselves in a dimly lit entrance hall with a set of double doors ahead of us in the distance. The walls are painted brown and coordinate with the bronze colored armor statues that line the hall. There are also portraits of the esteemed Butterfly members on the wall. The portraits are the type that have eyes that trace the viewer, thus giving the whole corridor a dark, eerie, gothic feel. To make it worse, the black floor beneath us is invisible because of a knee-high mist floating about.


    ¡°You wanted a haunted mansion Katherine. I think you got it.¡±


    Katherine slowly creeps behind me. ¡°Is something going to pop out and scare us? I hate it when that happens.¡± She then moves to an armored statue on the left wall and looks into its eyes. ¡°I wonder if one of these statues is a person in disguise. That would scare me.¡±


    She nervously raps the statue in the chest with her wand. Right then, it stretches out its arms and grabs her. Katherine screams at the top of her lungs while kicking her legs. But before I can reach her, the statue spins around and takes her to the other side of the wall. When it spins back to my side, its arms are empty.


    I hit the statue and wave my arms in front of it. Nothing that I do causes it to grab me like it grabbed Katherine. I get fed up with the stupid thing and stop trying to make it work. What kind of crummy device only works once anyway?


    Disappointed, I smack my head with my palm. ¡°Katherine, why did you do that?¡±


    Now I¡¯m alone in the entrance hallway with the ghoulish portraits starring at me accusingly. It wasn¡¯t my fault though. I didn¡¯t tell Katherine to do that. Of course, it is my fault that I brought her here. If something bad happens to her, then I¡¯ll never forgive myself. I have to rescue her. This entrance hallway that I¡¯m in only leads in one direction with no side halls or windows. There is absolutely nothing more to do than to go forward and pass through the double doors. So I do.


    I push open the double doors and step into the next room. It is a long and wide room with nothing in it. Nothing other than two candles lit on opposite walls, that eerie mist bouncing off of the floor, and a small door opposite of the entrance double doors. I walk further into the room. I hate to say it, but now I¡¯m starting to get a little scared. Suddenly, a bat comes out of nowhere and flies at my head.


    In response, I scream and dive like a sissy schoolgirl. The bat simply passes by innocently. Embarrassed, I scrape myself up from the ground and dust myself off. I¡¯m grateful that nobody was here to witness my brief moment of cowardice.


    I get my wits about me and press on. Slowly, I shuffle towards the small door while shifting my eyes left and right to make sure that nothing takes me by surprise. I hear the sound of the bat flapping its wings as it approaches the back of my head. This time I duck and cover as if the bat were demolition explosives. Again, it flies over my head innocently. I¡¯m starting to hate that thing.


    When I reach the center of the room, I hear laughter. It¡¯s the sound of a woman laughing. At first it comes from directly in front of me. Then it comes from the right side, then behind, and then finally the left. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up straighter than soldiers. I draw in a deep breath and push on. I reach as far as three quarters of the way to the small door when suddenly a loud voice booms out,


    ¡°WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU¡¯RE DOING HERE?¡±


    The voice sounds coarse and unnatural. It¡¯s as if there are two voices speaking at once; one is deeper and darker than the other. I ignored the laughter, but I think that I had better respond to the voice. ¡°My, my, my name is Souladonis,¡± I say shakily.


    I hear flapping from my left side. I turn my head towards the flapping and see the bat darting straight at me. When I look at it, it bears its fangs threateningly. I give into fear and drop down ducking beneath it. It passes by overhead yet again. Now I really hate that thing. I scurry up to my feet. ¡°I¡¯m here to see Sidney Butterfly.¡±


    After speaking those words, more unsettling laughter echoes out from behind me. I turn around to see the source; however, there¡¯s nobody behind me. The room is still entirely empty. Then from behind me, towards where I had just been looking, the voice resounds,


    ¡°A FOOL¡¯S ERRAND!¡±


    I snap around to the front side. The bat flies to the center from the right side of the room. Then it shoots up towards the roof and then finally rockets down into the ground. Appearing from out of the mist, the figure of a young woman emerges. She has long platinum blonde hair, blue topaz eyes, black eye liner and harsh black lipstick. She wears a black corset, with a black skirt draping from it. She has long black high heel boots, fingerless black bridal gloves, and a black headband to complete the dreary ensemble. I take the woman to be Sidney Butterfly, but she looks nothing like her sister Silvia. I realize now that I may have made a mistake ¨C a big, oddly sexy mistake.


    Sidney stands still about ten feet away from the small door. Her eyes gaze at me with merciless tension. I halfway bow my head at her not sure what else to do. Then, I cautiously step towards her careful not to look threatening. ¡°STOP,¡± she orders.


    I hold my hands up innocently and stop moving. Nervously I tell her, ¡±My name is Souladonis. I came here to talk to you. I¡¯m a friend of your sister Silvia.¡±


    ¡°YOU¡¯RE SILVIA¡¯S FRIEND? THAT MAKES YOU MY ENEMY!¡±


    O¡¯ sweet crumble cake! That¡¯s not the response that I was hoping for. Out of the blue, Sidney points her palm at me. I tilt my head diagonally, unsure of what she¡¯s getting at. The next thing I know there¡¯s a huge flaming Comet roaring at me. I dive and roll out of the way. Ensuingly, Sidney attacks me with Chain Lightning. I quickly create a barrier of mana energy around myself to lessen the damage from the attack. It still stings like a swarm of bees nonetheless. If Sidney is going to attack me, then I have no choice but to defend myself. ¨CWith offense.


    I send a Comet flying Sidney¡¯s way. She leaps off to the side with an elegant spin. Then using Summoning Magic, she casts the Stallion spell, thus calling upon a monstrous black stallion.


    I prepare to get run down by the muscular black horse, but instead she jumps on top of its back. She then begins to ride it around me in circles. As she circles me she fires off spell after spell of Chain Lightning. After a few stinging hits, I try to stop the horse with the Ground Freeze spell. Unfortunately, it doesn¡¯t work at all. I guess it¡¯s harder to trip a monster horse than a normal horse.


    Sidney shoots me again with Chain Lightning. I flinch from the pain. This is really starting to hurt. Irritated, I blast at Sidney with my own Chain Lightning spell. In response she simply stretches out her hand and nullifies my lightning with her own lightning. I didn¡¯t even know that was possible. Master Simon had told me that Sidney was the inferior sister. I think that he must have been talking about a different Butterfly family because this Sidney that I¡¯m fighting is amazing.


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    I create a Boulder in front of me. Sidney zaps me again with lightning as she rides around in a circle, but eventually she reaches the point where the boulder is between us. At that moment, I use my own Summoning Magic to call out my old friend the Ruby Red Dragon. My dragon attacks at once. It flies at Sidney and lowers its head for a ram-like headbutt. Yet before it connects, Sidney transforms into a bat and escapes. However, my dragon does manage to knock over the monster stallion.


    It quickly gets back up to its feet as angry as a horse can be. It charges down the dragon and smashes it in the stomach with its head. The bipedal dragon is knocked a half-step back but nothing more. Responding calmly, the dragon simply waits patiently for the horse to come back at it. Once the horse is moving towards it in a straight line, my dragon breathes out a large fireball at the horse. The fireball connects causing the horse to unsummon inside a tall pillar of flame.


    My dragon is doing quite well. Too bad that I can¡¯t say the same about myself. Sidney resumes her human form. Right away, the dragon comes at Sidney for another attack. In response, she swings her hand through the air casting the Icicle Volley spell. From out of the air in front of Sidney, a cluster of sharp icicles takes shape. The icicles then expand in size and launch themselves at the dragon. Because it is flying towards Sidney at a high velocity, it¡¯s not able to change its path in time to avoid being bombarded by the icicles. I watch powerlessly as my dragon takes hit after hit and then ultimately unsummons away.


    Sidney and I are now even. Sort of. I¡¯m breathing heavy and frayed from being zapped by lightning so many times. Sidney is untouched and not even sweating. It¡¯s clear that this is not a fight that I will be able to end easily.


    I cast the Miracle Heal spell on myself as a quick pick-me-up. What¡¯s really troublesome about this battle is the fact that Sidney isn¡¯t even using a staff. To be able to cast magic as quickly and as powerfully as she does without a staff requires an extreme degree of talent. In fact, I think that between us, Sidney is the superior mage. Nonetheless, Sidney is a pure mage, and everybody knows what a pure mage¡¯s weakness is. I hate to sucker punch a girl, but I don¡¯t see any other way. The only problem is getting close enough to hit her.


    I don¡¯t wait for Sidney to make the next move. Instead, I lead off ahead of her with the Comet spell. While the comet approaches her, I charge behind it using it as a screen. Sidney returns fire with her own comet. When the two meet, the comets explode forcing me to dodge away from them. I had intended to use the comet to cover more ground than what I gained. Now I¡¯m at midrange, where I still have to worry about her magic.


    She casts a barrage of icicles. I use the Boulder spell to block the icicle shards. Next, I launch the boulder itself at her. While the boulder flies towards her, I scramble to gain ground. Sidney spins out of the way of my spell. As she comes out of her spin, she launches the Water Shark spell at me. I kick out my left foot to grind to a halt. Just before the shark plows into my chest, I¡¯m able to push off to the right in an aerial cartwheel. Sidney responds with her trademark Chain Lightning spell. The lightning spell I just accept to the chest as I charge towards her.


    My sudden omission of evasive maneuvers startles Sidney. I think that she now knows what I¡¯m trying to do. To prevent me from succeeding, she tries casting the Wind Push spell. It knocks me unto my back, but I immediately kip up to my feet and continue charging at her. Only this time instead of running blindly, I point my staff out ahead of me and triple cast the Fire Pebbles spell. Nine little burning coals spray out of my staff and attach themselves to Sidney. While she hastily brushes them off of herself, I¡¯m finally able to close the distance.


    I jump high into the air and come down swinging my staff for Sidney¡¯s head. She shrills and barely manages to dodge to the side. I land and pivot. Then I make a sideways swoop for the side of her head. She points her finger at me and calls out, ¡°Bind!¡±


    Suddenly a ring of yellow energy loops around my arms. It squeezes tightly and prevents me from using my arms. Sidney quickly follows up with two more spells ¨C Silence and Enfeeble. Despite its name, the Silence spell does not actually prevent a person from speaking. Rather, it prevents a person from using magic. Her last spell ¡°Enfeeble¡± is a spell unique to Witch class mages. It makes the rest of a witch¡¯s spells more effective on her target. I should have guessed that she would use Status Magic, or as Master Simon calls it, ¡°Curse Magic.¡±


    I¡¯m now powerless and in deep, deep trouble. Sidney walks directly in front of me. Then she runs her index finger alongside my face. ¡°Prepare to die,¡± she says in her creepy, unnatural voice.


    I try to stall her. I don¡¯t have any plans. I¡¯m just throwing chaff to the wind. ¡°I thought you¡¯d be happy to hear that I¡¯m Silvia¡¯s friend. What do you hate your sister or something?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± she snaps. ¡°I love Silvia! Everybody loves Silvia! But nobody loves me!¡±


    ¡°I have a thought on that Sidney,¡± I begin humbly. ¡°It may be, and this is just a thought, but there¡¯s the ever-smallest chance that it¡¯s because you make a really bad first impression.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to criticize, but it¡¯s generally considered rude to try to kill people whom you¡¯ve only just met. That¡¯s all I¡¯m saying.¡±


    Sidney looks me in the eyes squinting. It seems that she¡¯s actually taking my words somewhat seriously. I continue hoping for the best. ¡°Rather than trying to kill your guests, might I suggest offering them a drink instead? Perhaps a cup of tea?¡±


    Sidney takes a step back and juts out her palm. ¡°This is a trick. I¡¯m going to kill you.¡±


    ¡°Either way Sidney, I still want that cup of tea. It¡¯s terribly bad form to kill a dehydrated man.¡±


    Sidney puts her hand down and steps close to me again. ¡°Do you really want tea?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I really, really do want tea.¡±


    ¡°How do I know this isn¡¯t a trick?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s it matter? We already fought once and you won. You could just as easily defeat me again if I were to try to attack you anew.¡±


    Sidney stares me in the eyes intensely. After a brief moment of consideration, she finally agrees. ¡°Fine,¡± she says, releasing me from the Bind spell.


    ¡°Right this way my lord.¡±


    She turns and walks towards the small door, and I follow behind her. It¡¯s strange that my ploy worked, but I think that I can make a fairly good guess as to why. Sidney isn¡¯t some diabolical, evil, kidnapping psychopath. She¡¯s just lonely.

 Chapter 20

    Chapter 20


    Unlike the entrance hallway and front room, the rest of Sidney¡¯s house looks normal. On the way to the kitchen we pass a cozy room with a fireplace, a maroon rug, two perpendicular couches, a mahogany table, and a golden chandelier. Next, we pass through a narrow hallway lined with windows providing a picturesque view of the surrounding environment. Then the house shifts into a carpeted area with white walls, a pool table, an elegant dinner table with flowers on top of it, and a trophy bear head hanging above another fireplace. Just beyond that room is the kitchen. The kitchen has a white tile floor, cabinets tanned the natural color of wood, a four-eye stovetop above the oven, and a sink. There¡¯s also a small kitchen table with four chairs underneath it. Moreover, the kitchen is accented with the relaxing smell of fresh pine. Sidney invites me to take a seat at the small table. I sit down impressed at how the entire kitchen is sparkling clean.


    ¡°Do you have maids here or do you live alone?¡±


    ¡°I live alone here with my daughter Jessica.¡±


    Ah yes, Jessica, the kidnapped little girl. I cannot leave without freeing her. I¡¯m sure that it will break Sidney¡¯s heart to be snapped out of her mother-daughter fantasy, but it has to be done. Regardless of how lonely she is, she cannot keep somebody else¡¯s child. While I consider the best way to approach the subject with her, Sidney sifts through the contents in one of the cabinets. ¡°What kind of tea would you like?¡±


    ¡°By any chance, do you have cinnamon tea?¡±


    ¡°Most certainly.¡±


    ¡°I do enjoy a good cup of cinnamon tea with two scoops of sugar.¡±


    ¡°I prefer my tea with sugar as well.¡±


    Sidney sprinkles some cinnamon tealeaves into a teapot filled with water. She then places it on the stovetop and turns the temperature to medium heat. ¡°The tea should be ready in ten minutes.¡±


    ¡°That will be fine.¡±


    Since entering the kitchen, I¡¯ve kept a close eye on Sidney¡¯s every move. She looks overjoyed and perfectly natural serving a guest here in her meticulously clean kitchen, and even though she speaks with a demonic-sounding voice and is robed with clothes as black as darkness itself, she somehow fails to play the part of a very convincing death mage. While I ponder her contrasting characteristics, she comes to the table and sits down in front of me smiling happily. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. What did you say your name was?¡±


    ¡°Souladonis.¡±


    ¡°Tell me Lord Souladonis. How do you know my sister?¡±


    ¡°When I was a kid, I went to Winterspring Academy. She and I were classmates.¡±


    ¡°Ah, how nice.¡±


    Sidney politely looks me in the eyes as I speak. I can tell that I have her full attention and that she¡¯s genuinely happy to be speaking with me. Given her unexpectedly friendly demeanor, I¡¯m starting to question whether or not she¡¯s even a death mage at all. I figure I might as well ask. ¡°Sidney, are you a death mage?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a Vampire.¡± She retains her eye contact (and her smile).


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°A Vampire is what you get when a Witch class mage is transformed by Death Magic. That¡¯s why I can cast Death Magic spells, turn into a bat, and¡­¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    She leans in close to me, locking eyes. ¡°I can suck out your blood.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    She falls back into her chair casually. ¡°No, not really. It just looks like that. It¡¯s called the ¡®Suck Blood¡¯ spell. What it actually does is drain a person¡¯s life energy out of his body. It comes out looking like a red mist, which the Vampire consumes through her mouth. It really does look a lot like drinking a person¡¯s blood right out of his body. Of course, it can be done with mana too, but mana is blue and doesn¡¯t look like blood at all.¡±


    I cross my arms confused about a certain matter. ¡°Sidney, if you can do all of that, then why didn¡¯t you use Death Magic on me while we were fighting?¡±


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°I find it to be distasteful. I hate using it.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t sound like a very good death mage.¡±


    Somberly, Sidney sinks into her chair. ¡°I¡¯m not. I got kicked out of the group.¡±


    I raise my left brow at the absurdity of someone being deemed unworthy to be amongst thieves, murderers, and the vilest scoundrels that society has to offer. ¡°How in the world did you get kicked out of a death mage group?¡±


    Sidney sighs sadly. ¡°It went well at first. They were happy to have me because I¡¯m rich and I have a lot of magic power. I even became an Apostate, which is a master-level death mage. But things changed after that. They wanted me to kill someone, but I¡¯m not a killer.¡±


    Interesting. I rest my chin on my fist. ¡°You were going to kill me.¡±


    ¡°That was a lie. I just like to scare people. Didn¡¯t you notice the creepy mist that I added to the front room for effect? What I was actually going to do was drain your mana until you passed out. You would have awoken in my dungeon with the rest of the people who came here trying to hunt me down.¡±


    ¡°You mean, you didn¡¯t kill the inquisitors who came here?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    I liven up with hopefulness. ¡°I had a servant. She was captured by one of the armored statues in the entrance hall. Is she alive as well?¡±


    Intrigued, Sidney leans her upper body towards me. ¡°Wait? Somebody fell for the armored statue trick?¡±


    ¡°Yes my servant Katherine.¡±


    ¡°Well then she¡¯s in the dungeon with the others. But seriously, I can¡¯t believe that worked! That never works!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t rub it in Sidney.¡±


    Sidney begins laughing deeply from her stomach. And although her voice is terrifying, there¡¯s something about her face that is innocent and childlike. It turns out that my first haunch about Sidney had been the right one. She¡¯s a total sweetheart. I think that now is as good a time as any to bring up the real issue. ¡°Sidney, you¡¯re a nice girl. Why are you doing bad things like becoming a death mage and kidnapping a little girl?¡±


    Sidney jerks in her chair and finally her smile fades. ¡°I met a man: a Vampire lord. He was the one who convinced me that if I joined the death mages, I wouldn¡¯t be lonely anymore. He and the others never truly accepted me though. They just wanted my money and power. Shortly after they made me leave, I realized that what I really need to be happy isn¡¯t friends; it¡¯s a family. So I found a girl to be my daughter. Now I just need a husband. Speaking of which Souladonis, you seem like a nice boy. Are you married?¡±


    Right, well, this is not the direction that I wanted this conversation to take. ¡°Listen Sidney. You can¡¯t just live up here isolated with a kidnapped girl forever. Eventually an entire army of inquisitors will come for you. Your only real option is to surrender peacefully. Ask the inquisitors to evoke the Rite of Penance, and then you¡¯ll be able to rejoin society. After that you can find a husband, have your own children, and finally be happy. Please Sidney, listen to reason.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Really? Just like that?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. That¡¯s what I really want anyway. But before I turn myself in to the inquisitors, I need a hug. Could you help me out?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± I answer rising from the table. Sidney also stands from her chair. We then move out into the open space of the kitchen floor. After that, I wrap my arms around Sidney in a friendly embrace. She looks longingly into my purple eyes and says, ¡°Souladonis stay with me forever.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I can¡¯t,¡± I answer honestly.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t asking.¡±


    Suddenly, she kisses me on the lips. I try to pull away from her, but she holds me in her arms as tightly as she can. While I struggle, my eyes begin to cloud with a black darkness. Before I¡¯m able to escape her, the darkness completely overshadows my eyes.

 Chapter 21

    I finally make it home from work. What a long day! I go through the front door and hang up my coat. Immediately, my daughter Jessica runs to me shouting, ¡°Daddy! Daddy!¡± I bend down and catch her as she jumps up into my arms. ¡°Look daddy. I got my report card.¡±


    I examine the tan colored envelope carefully. Jessica received perfect grades as always. I kiss my daughter on the cheek and proudly tell her, ¡°That¡¯s my little girl.¡±


    I put her down and she scuttles off to play with her toys. My wife Sidney, who had been watching me, greets me with a kiss. ¡°How was your day honey?¡±


    ¡°Good. A bit long, but good.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad that you had a good day honey. Why don¡¯t you sit down on the couch and relax? I¡¯ll bring you some tea.¡±


    I crash down on the couch. Our pet bat, Sidney, flies overhead and drops the day¡¯s newspaper in my lap. I open it up and take a look at the headline news. ¡°Silvia Butterfly saves the world again,¡± I read out loud. ¡°That sister-in-law of mine; always saving the world.¡±


    My wife Sidney brings me a cup of tea. ¡°What would you like for dinner?¡±


    ¡°Something good. How about turkey?¡±


    My wife Sidney lays down a pot with a perfectly cooked turkey in it. I take a big knife and fork and carve the first piece for our daughter Jessica. She sings and kicks her legs as I put her plate in front of her. I sit down and take a bite. The turkey is delicious. My wife Sidney is such a good cook.


    ¡°Thank you honey for the meal,¡± I tell Sidney.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome honey, but now that dinner is over, let¡¯s put Jessica to bed and spend some time alone.¡±


    I fluff the pillows for Sidney. She likes that. I turn around and see my wife Sidney standing in the doorway. She¡¯s wearing a thin black, mostly transparent nightgown and eyeing me ravenously. ¡°Jessica is asleep now. So you know what that means.¡±


    My wife Sidney pushes me onto the bed. I like it when she plays rough.


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    ¡°I¡¯m so happy to have you here with me honey. Let me show you how happy.¡± She undoes the straps of her nightgown. Then with a tiny wiggle it falls lightly to the floor revealing her full glory to me. She climbs into the bed and places herself directly on top of me. As we look each other deeply in the eyes, there¡¯s only one question on my mind. ¡°Where¡¯s my staff?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°My magic staff.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s behind you. Next to the bed.¡±


    I reach down next to the bed and pick up a blue plastic baton. ¡°This isn¡¯t my staff. Where¡¯s my staff? The one that the gargoyle petrified along with Nadine?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait! Nadine! I have to save Nadine!¡±


    I brush my wife Sidney aside and get out of bed. ¡°I have to save Nadine.¡±


    As I approach the bedroom door, my wife Sidney runs out in front of me. ¡°No! Don¡¯t go out the door!¡±


    ¡°Move sweetie. I have to save Nadine.¡± I brush her aside and step towards the door.


    Once more, she runs out in front of me. ¡°Honey did you forget? My sister Silvia saved Nadine a long time ago.¡±


    ¡°But what about my staff? Did Silvia find a cure for the petrification curse?¡±


    ¡°Yes she did.¡±


    ¡°Oh? What was it?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me Sidney!¡±


    I brush her aside and move towards the door. Immediately, she runs in front of me again. ¡°No, don¡¯t go! Stay here and be happy with me!¡±


    ¡°I have no right to be happy until I save Nadine.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need Nadine! You only need me! I love you Souladonis!¡±


    ¡°Well I don¡¯t love you Sidney!¡±


    ¡°Why? Why won¡¯t you love me?¡±


    ¡°How could I love you Sidney? I don¡¯t even love myself.¡±


    I forcibly push my wife Sidney aside. Then I charge out of the bedroom door.

 Chapter 22

    The darkness around my eyes dissipates. I look straight ahead and see that Sidney is still clinging to me. I shove at her shoulders to pry her away from me. Her light blue eyes twinkle with a hint of moisture. ¡°You¡¯re not going to stay are you?¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Her head drops and she pinches her eyelids to stop herself from crying. ¡°What you said about not loving yourself. I know how you feel. I¡¯m the same. But I thought that if you love me, and if I love you, then we both could be happy and we wouldn¡¯t have to feel alone anymore.¡±


    I cross my arms and answer unsympathetically, ¡°Happiness means nothing to me. I only desire redemption. Until I¡¯m freed from my past, I can never concern myself with happiness.¡±


    ¡°What exactly did you do?¡±


    ¡°I got my girlfriend turned into stone by a monster, and until I find a way to break the curse and restore her, I have only one purpose in life.¡±


    She lifts her head with a new hope. ¡°Can I help?¡±


    I answer plainly, ¡°No Sidney you cannot. You have to do the right thing and turn yourself in to the law.¡±


    My answer doesn¡¯t please her. She silently moves to the kitchen cutlery and grabs a long knife. She then walks towards me sticking the knife out at my face. I step back and lift my hands into the air calmly. ¡°Sidney, what are you doing? Put down the knife.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± she screams. ¡°If you can¡¯t love me, then I might as well die!¡±


    Sidney then turns the knife on herself. I reach out my hands in an effort to placate her. ¡°Sidney calm down. That¡¯s a little extreme isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± she screams again. Her whole body begins to shake violently. Needless to say, I¡¯m really scared at this moment, but for which of us I couldn¡¯t say. I take a small step towards her and she lifts the knife above her breast. I immediately stop. ¡°Woah Sidney. Don¡¯t do it. You have your whole life ahead of you.¡±


    A river of black tears drips through her makeup down to her cheeks. ¡°No I don¡¯t! Either I take my own life now or the inquisitors will torture me and then chop off my head!¡±


    I keep motioning to her soothingly with my hands. ¡°That¡¯s not true Sidney. My master told me that if you just accept the Rite of Penance, then you will be able to rejoin society and everything will be okay.¡±


    Sniffling, she asks me, ¡°What will I have to do?¡±


    I tell her truthfully, ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know Sidney, but anything is better than dying. Please. Just put down the knife.¡±


    Her body continues shaking violently, but I can see that my words are starting to get through to her. ¡°Please,¡± I ask again.


    ¡°Will you stay with me and help me?¡±


    ¡°I will do everything that I can for you Sidney.¡±


    ¡°Do you promise?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I promise.¡±


    She hesitates, positioning the knife just above her chest. Its sharp tip wails loudly from its carnivorous desire to taste her heart. I breathlessly wait for an eternity for her to respond to my supplications. Her hands continue to tremble violently while she listens to the siren call of the blade. I repeat my promise and gain her eye contact. Using the gentle purple glint of my eyes, I reassure her that everything will be fine. Her hands freeze in consideration of her options. I continue waiting breathlessly for yet another eternity. Finally, Sidney concedes and drops the knife.


    I breathe in a deep sigh of relief. That was rough. I was so caught up in the moment that I didn¡¯t even realize my own hands were trembling. I look at Sidney. Tears continue to drip slowly from her eyes as she hangs her head. I move in and hug her in a meager attempt to comfort her. ¡°Sidney,¡± I say with my arms around her. ¡°It¡¯s time to release Jessica and the inquisitors.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but I have to give you a cup of tea first.¡±


    Sidney prepares two cups of tea for us. We slowly sip it away, sitting at the small table. After ten minutes or so, we finish drinking. Now Sidney is a little calmer, and a little more resigned to her fate. After she washes the two teacups in her sink, she leads me through her mansion to her private bedroom. There, I find Jessica lying on the bed with a teddy bear. When she sees me she looks afraid. ¡°Jessica,¡± I say softly. ¡°My name is Souladonis. I¡¯m here to take you back to your mommy and daddy. Are you ready to go home sweetie?¡±


    She nods silently and hops out of the bed. But as we leave the room, she sees Sidney and becomes even more afraid. I can tell that her reaction hurts Sidney. Surely, Sidney must have known that her plan of kidnapping a family could have never worked. But as bad as I feel for Sidney, Jessica is the top priority in this rescue mission. ¡°Listen Jessica. Ms. Sidney is sorry for keeping you here, but she¡¯s willing to let you go home now. Right Sidney?¡±


    Sidney begins to sob bitterly. Then, wiping at her eyes, she faintly answers, ¡°yes.¡±


    I take Jessica by the hand. Next, we follow Sidney down to her dungeon, which is actually nothing more than an old wine cellar. Inside I find Katherine, a team of eight inquisitors, and two adventurer mages who had thought to take on the death mage quest and failed miserably. Both of the two lone mages had tried to defeat Sidney one on one. Obviously, they were doomed to fail. Yet the inquisitors had come at Sidney in two waves of four and, nonetheless, failed just as badly. I imagine that even if all eight of them had attacked her at once, Sidney probably still would have won with her speed and patented Chain Lightning spell. Just thinking about her lightning stings me even now. Ouch!


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    Finally, with everyone accounted for, we head back to Magali. All the way there, the inquisitors grumble and say bad things about Sidney, yet I stand close by her and don¡¯t allow any of them to touch her. By the time that we arrive in Magali, it¡¯s already three in the afternoon. The first thing that we do is lead Jessica to her house. Next, the two adventurer mages depart to a nearby tavern to heal their bruised egos with drink. Afterwards, the rest of us travel towards the castle. There¡¯s another dance taking place in the town square that catches my eye, but I don¡¯t leave Sidney¡¯s side. I continue on with her all the way to the Chief Inquisitor¡¯s office.


    When we enter, Chief Inquisitor Rupert des Chevaliers stares down Sidney. ¡°What are you men thinking bringing a death mage into my office unfettered?¡±


    His men don¡¯t answer, so I answer for them. ¡°These are the men that were sent to hunt down Sidney Butterfly. It turns out that they weren¡¯t dead, Sidney just had them locked up in a wine cellar.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± he states rising to his feet. ¡°You men report for a medical evaluation and then get some R&R. As for you, Souladonis, how did you know about all of this?¡±


    ¡°My Master, Simon Bruhar, told me about Sidney.¡±


    ¡°I see. Master Bruhar. That makes a lot of sense.¡±


    ¡°Listen!¡± I say pleading. ¡°Sidney is a good person. She only joined the death mages because she was lonely and wanted to make friends.¡±


    Unmoved, he asks Sidney, ¡°Is that true?¡±


    She doesn¡¯t speak. She merely nods her head yes.


    ¡°That¡¯s the most pathetic reason that I have ever heard for somebody wanting to become a death mage. To make friends. Pfft!¡±


    ¡°Please! Allow Sidney to undergo the Rite of Penance!¡±


    He sets his chin in his fingers pensively. ¡°The Rite of Penance? I wasn¡¯t expecting this, but I do suppose that it is the ideal ending to this case. Speaking of which¡­¡±


    He takes a stamp from his desk and presses it on a sheet of parchment. Then he moves in front of me and Sidney. He hands the parchment to me. ¡°What is this?¡± I ask.


    ¡°It¡¯s the deed for the quest reward. You want it do you not?¡±


    I take it and stick it into my coat pocket. ¡°I want to know that Sidney will be okay.¡±


    He shrugs coldly. ¡°That is no longer your concern. Guards, take Ms. Butterfly to the dungeon. I want to interrogate her immediately.¡±


    The guards begin to lead Sidney away. I try to follow after them, but Des Chevaliers stops me. ¡°Souladonis!¡± Sidney screams.


    ¡°Sidney!¡±


    I try to get past the Chief Inquisitor, but he¡¯s practically a human mountain. ¡°Don¡¯t hurt her,¡± I tell him.


    Coldly, he replies, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me how to do my job.¡±


    He then shoves me aside and follows after Sidney. I feel so powerless now. I wish that there were something more that I could do to help Sidney. But for the time being, all that I can do is turn in the quest for my reward.


    I venture to the small room with the bored knight in it: the one who told me to leave when I had asked about Sidney before. He¡¯s still sitting there on his stool, wearing chainmail armor, and looking completely bored. I¡¯m sure that this guy hates his job. Walking up to him, I set my deed on the counter. He looks it over indifferently. ¡°Oooh, so the big shot completed a major quest did he? I bet you¡¯re wanting a really special reward aren¡¯t you?¡±


    I ignore his rudeness. I¡¯m in no mood to fight. ¡°As a matter of fact I am. I¡¯d like the king¡¯s head apothecary to fashion a remedy for the petrification curse for me.¡±


    He looks at me with a blank stare. ¡°Did you get that?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± he says. He takes a sheet of parchment and scribbles on it with a quill pen. ¡°You want a remedy for the petrification curse from the head apothecary. But he¡¯s a busy man. Don¡¯t think that you can get it today.¡±


    ¡°When do you think then?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Two, three days maybe. Come back on Friday.¡±


    He hands me the receipt without a care in the world. He had better not mess up my request or I¡¯m going to melt his face off. But now the quest is officially completed, and there¡¯s nothing more for me to do other than wait. I exit the castle with Katherine behind me. I¡¯m clearly in a bad mood and worried about Sidney, so Katherine hasn¡¯t said anything to me in a while. But I break the silence and speak to her. ¡°Katherine, I¡¯m tired and really worn out from all of this. Do you mind if we go back to the inn and rest for a while?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t mind. I¡¯m tired too.¡±


    ¡°Thanks. We¡¯ll have a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant. Then tomorrow, we¡¯ll work on your magic.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± she says excited. She wraps her two arms around my right arm, but then quickly realizes that the mood is completely wrong for that. She detaches herself from me and walks beside me normally. I feel kind of guilty about ruining her good cheer. ¡°It¡¯s okay Katherine. You don¡¯t have to act blue just because I¡¯m a bit low-spirited. I¡¯m just really tired and worried about Sidney. But she¡¯ll be alright. She made the right choice. At least, I think¨C¡±

 Chapter 23

    Chapter 23


    Wednesday is the most peaceful day of the festival so far. Predictably, Katherine wakes me up way too early. She then hurries me along as quickly as possible and has us out and ready to practice magic by 9 a.m. I guide her through the finer points of mana control and help her rehearse the debutant-level spells from all three of her magical books. By noon she has them completely mastered. We then go out to lunch. After lunch, we return to practicing magic. This time we attempt the novice-level spells. She burns through them like no mage has ever done before. Her success prompts me to ask whether or not her father was a great mage to which she responds, ¡°Maybe.¡± Realizing that she doesn¡¯t want to tell me about her father, I drop the issue altogether. Once we finish practicing magic, we share a few slow dances in the square, have a three-course meal at a five-star restaurant, and then retire to the inn peacefully.


    Thursday is equally as pleasant. I start the day off by coaxing Katherine into letting me have an extra hour of sleep. Afterwards, we have a quick breakfast before we take the Steampunk locomotive two hours south to Arpeggio Academy. From the school¡¯s receptionist, I learn of an Altruist class professor who can oversee Katherine¡¯s entrance exam into the mage class. When we find the professor, she turns out to be such a kind soul that she agrees to examine Katherine on short notice. The professor also summons an assembly of her Altruists friends. They take Katherine behind closed doors and administer tests to her while I wait patiently outside. When the doors open, Katherine flies out and jumps into my arms jubilantly. She passed the test. The other Altruists congratulate me on my fine apprentice and even ask if I want to join them. I politely accept their praise, not mentioning that Katherine is not really my apprentice, but their offer to join them I decline. We then leave the Altruists on good terms and return to Magali. Once there, we invite Wilmette to join us in a congratulatory dinner for Katherine. We share a stupendous meal together filled with laughter and good conversation. Once the meal is over, we depart from Wilmette and retreat to our inn room.


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    I¡¯m very proud of Katherine for her achievement. Technically, with her being a unique-class Altruist mage, she¡¯s now a higher-ranking mage than me. But only technically. I can sleep soundly tonight knowing that in the morning, she will still be the one calling me ¡°Master¡± and not vice-versa.

 Chapter 24

    Chapter 24


    Friday ¨C the last day of the Mage Renaissance festival. On the top of my list of things to do today is returning to the castle to receive my reward for bringing in Sidney. I really think that today is the day. Finally, I can break the petrification curse and restore life to Nadine.


    With Katherine in tow, I return to the small chamber with the bored knight in it. As always his mood is less than spry. ¡°Good morning,¡± I say to the knight. ¡°I completed the death mage quest a few days ago. The king¡¯s apothecary was supposed to make a cure for the petrification curse for me. I came to see whether it was ready or not.¡±


    The knight in chainmail places a form and a quill pin on the counter in front of me. ¡°Sign your name at the bottom.¡±


    I sign the form and hand it to the knight. In turn he hands me a small paper envelope. I open the envelope to find a script inside. I read the script over carefully. It¡¯s a script for the Status Guard spell. The Status Guard spell is a unique spell that only someone who is both a grandmaster level life mage and a master level script mage can cast. The spell temporarily makes the target completely immune to all status spells and curses. It¡¯s an extremely impressive script that I received; however, it¡¯s not what I needed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I begin. ¡°This isn¡¯t what I wanted. I need a cure to reverse petrification not prevent it.¡±


    The knight shrugs his shoulders indifferently. ¡°That¡¯s what he gave me, so that¡¯s what you get.¡±


    I try to remain calm, but I¡¯m about to lose my cool to say the least. ¡°No, you don¡¯t understand. I need a cure to reverse the petrification curse.¡±


    ¡°And I need a girlfriend, but you don¡¯t see me complaining.¡±


    I kick the base of his counter angrily. ¡°Listen you lousy piece of mill fodder, you filthy good for nothing so and so, either you get the apothecary to give me what I want, or I¡¯m going to burn this whole castle down!¡±


    The knight stands up from his stool and draws his sword. ¡°Get out of here before I call the guards!¡±


    I start to raise my staff, but Katherine catches my arm. ¡°No Master. Let¡¯s just go. Before you do something that you¡¯ll regret.¡±


    Determinedly, she pulls at my arm nudging me towards the exit. I scream furiously at the guard and exit the chamber. Once in the hallway I bash my staff into the floor repeatedly screaming at the top of my lungs all the while. Katherine wraps her arms around me to calm me down. For her sake I breathe in deeply until my rage subsides. ¡°Katherine I can¡¯t take this anymore. My hope has been dashed to pieces so many times. I don¡¯t know what to do anymore.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be okay Master. I know you¡¯ll find another way.¡±


    Katherine is right. If this plan of mine won¡¯t work, then I¡¯ll just have to think up a new plan. Nadine is depending on me and I¡¯m not going to let her down. I fluff my jacket and straighten my cravat. Trying to sound dignified, I say to Katherine, ¡°Come then Katherine. Let us see what is happening in town.¡±


    I present my right arm to Katherine in a loop. She interlocks her arm with my own and we set off together. Once we¡¯re out of the castle, we journey towards the town center. As we near its vicinity, I see that there is a large crowd gathered. Apparently something big is happening.


    Katherine and I reach the edge of the crowd, which is huddled together in a large circle around a scaffold in the center. Standing on the scaffold are Chief Inquisitor Rupert des Chevaliers, an executioner wearing a black mask over his head, and carrying a large poleax, and the frail figure of Sidney Butterfly. Sidney is dressed in brown sackcloth and trembling with fear.


    I try to push through the crowd to get closer, but the people are bunched together too thickly for me to get through. When the Chief Inquisitor raises his hand into the air, the crowd quiets down. From the side of the scaffold, a judge ascends the stairs and takes center stage. In his hands he holds a scroll with a list of charges against Sidney. He reads, ¡°Sidney Gale Butterfly, age 19 years, you are found guilty of heresy for the study and practice of black and foul magic, you are found guilty of the assault and forced containment of servants of the law, you are found guilty of the kidnapping of an innocent child, you are found guilty of the defilement of the good name of the prodigious Butterfly family, and you are found guilty of being an abhorrent scandal upon all of high society. For these crimes, it is with a heavy heart, that I sentence you to execution by beheading.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± That¡¯s not what we agreed on! Panic-stricken, I once more try to force my way through the crowd, but I¡¯m still unable. As I struggle futility, the judge speaks again. ¡°If anyone objects to this sentencing, then let him speak now or forever hold his peace.¡±


    I shout, ¡°I object!,¡± but the judge cannot hear me from my spot in the crowd.


    Rather, it is the Chief Inquisitor who catches the judge¡¯s ear. ¡°I object on the grounds that the prisoner be granted the Rite of Penance. Should she renounce her foul ways and agree to read an Amnesia Scroll thus removing her Death Magic powers, then let her life be spared. Yet, should she refuse, then let be done to her what justice demands.¡±


    ¡°I, Judge Rosenthal, accept these terms. Let her head be placed in the chopping block that she might choose her own fate.¡±


    The Chief Inquisitor leads Sidney to a wooden device with a hole in it. He then places her into the device with her head protruding from the hole. The executioner steps to the side of the chopping block and raises his axe while the Chief Inquisitor repositions himself in front of Sidney in a kneeling position. He holds a sheet of parchment outstretched in front of Sidney¡¯s face. ¡°Sidney, if you accept the Rite of Penance, then read this scroll and renounce your Death Magic powers. Otherwise, your head shall be removed from your shoulders. Which is your preference?¡±


    Sidney¡¯s whole body shakes terribly. I can only imagine how frightened she must be with the executioner holding his axe over her head. I want to help her, but there is nothing that I can do. Sidney answers the Chief Inquisitor. Her voice is still the unnatural double voice from before but only this time it¡¯s saturated with fear. ¡°I will read the scroll.¡±


    ¡°Then proceed,¡± he answers.


    Sidney reads from the scroll:


    I, Sidney Butterfly, denounce and reject,


    The crimes of my guilt, my faults and defects.


    I have committed wrongs and travesties,


    I have loved filthiness and savagery,


    All in the name of darkness,


    and in the power of death.


    Yet I pledge now to be sunshine


    Let my wrongs be undone


    And I pray you remember:


    The night is often darkest


    Just before the dawn.


    Thus I, Sidney Butterfly, vow to amend my ways,


    Knowing should I fault again, with my head shall I pay.


    I ask that the people forgive me,


    For all that I have done.


    I sincerely plead now to have


    my death powers withdrawn.


    Chief Inquisitor Des Chevalier rises to his feet and moves behind Sidney. He then takes the Amnesia Scroll and presses it to her right hand. ¡°Channel your Death Magic energy into the scroll,¡± he tells her.


    Sidney complies. Right away, a black explosion of mana emits from Sidney. The force of the blast is so strong that it shoves the crowd back. The executioner, who had been right next to her, goes sailing through the air like a stone out of a catapult. Des Chevaliers, being a human mountain, is merely repelled a few steps back. As for me, I¡¯m pushed back with the rest of the crowd, yet I force my eyes to remain glued on Sidney all the while. The black mana that escaped from her body takes the form of bats and flies off in every direction. Sidney is still conscious, but she looks pale and drained.


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    After a brief moment of worry, the onlookers recuperate their wits. Some of the people had been afraid that the bats would attack us, but in reality, the bats were not living creatures. They were only a reflection of Sidney¡¯s mana.


    Up on the stage, the Chief Inquisitor now holds a small blade in his hands. I¡¯m not sure what he intends to do with it. He approaches Sidney¡¯s front side. Then he tells her, ¡°This day you have escaped the executioner¡¯s axe, but this blade shall remind you of your near brush with death.¡±


    Suddenly, he grabs Sidney by the hair. Then he scrapes the blade against her skull cleaving off her long platinum blonde hair. With every swoop of the blade, Sidney screams and cries out loudly. My heart aches with each patch of her hair that falls to the floor. Mercilessly, the Chief Inquisitor continues cutting until Sidney is completely bald. Then he orders her to be taken out of the wooden device. Two inquisitors hold her in front of the Chief Inquisitor while a third inquisitor brings him a black kettle. He then takes the kettle and dumps the soot and ashes inside of it all over Sidney¡¯s head. She wails in agony as the ashes touch the fresh cuts on her scalp. Now I really want to do something, but I figure that for the moment, it¡¯s best if I just watch patiently.


    Next, the inquisitors lock iron fetters around her wrists. The fetters are linked to a long chain. Holding the chain an inquisitor leads her down from the scaffold. Just when I think that her suffering is over, the inquisitor then takes her on a tour around the city. I follow behind her in the distance as she¡¯s herded around town. The people she passes on the street mock her and spit at her. They say all sorts of bad things about her, her family, and her bald head. The entire time tears rain out of Sidney¡¯s eyes. I want to go to her and tell her that everything will be okay, but now I¡¯m starting to feel guilty for recommending the Rite of Penance to her in the first place.


    I follow along until the inquisitor arrives back at the town center with Sidney. When the Chief Inquisitors sees her, he orders the inquisitor leading her to do another tour around the city. Without question the inquisitor jerks at her fetters and leads her around the city on another tour. This time they pass by the busy marketplace. Sidney keeps her eyes lowered to the ground as she passes through a river of people divided into two sides mocking her from both with her every step. I continue following along silently. Now I¡¯m determined to do something, but what I should do, I still don¡¯t know. Around the home stretch of the tour, Sidney encounters a few female mages. One of them is a Witch just as Sidney is now that she¡¯s reverted back from being a Vampire. The women see Sidney and start speaking to one another about her. One woman, an Aristocrat class mage decked in a frilly multi-layered dress, says to the Witch, ¡°Look Eva. She¡¯s a Witch mage just like you.¡±


    The Witch responds, ¡°Eww. If I were that ugly, I would kill myself.¡±


    Her comment was one more insult than what Sidney could withstand. Poor Sidney¡¯s heart melts in her chest, and she bursts into the most pitiable wailing that I¡¯ve ever heard. My heart wrenches inside of me, yet still, I keep my distance.


    Then finally, the second tour ends. The Chief Inquisitor has now setup a wooden gallows just offhand of the town center. The inquisitor takes Sidney and places her in the gallows with her head and two hands sticking out. She looks completely worn out both physically and emotionally. At least now she can rest.


    Or so I thought. Just when it seems nothing more could happen to Sidney, a row of people line up in front of Sidney with spoiled fruits and vegetables.


    As the first rotten tomato is thrown at Sidney, I fly over and swat it out of the air with my staff. The people boo me, threaten me, mock me, and throw fruit at me, but I refuse to move from my place in front of Sidney. ¡°Sidney I¡¯m here!¡± I say.


    Sidney looks up and sees me. ¡°Souladonis,¡± she murmurs faintly. It seems that Sidney is not doing too well. That¡¯s all the more reason for me not to retreat from my spot.


    When the people see that I won¡¯t leave, they throw the rest of their fruit. For an entire five minutes, I endure every sort of rotten legume that the town can muster, but once the crowd runs out of ammunition, they go away grumbling. The Chief Inquisitor and the inquisitor who led Sidney by her fetters stand nearby observing me. ¡°What should we do about him?¡± the inquisitor asks his chief.


    ¡°It¡¯s no crime to stand in the town square. He can stay there as long as he wants. But I don¡¯t think that he will want to much longer.¡±


    ¡°Chief?¡±


    ¡°Gather together a few men to go around town collecting all of the rotten food that you can find from the marketplace and street vendors. Then bring it all back here. Tell the people that it¡¯s free for them to throw. Then we¡¯ll see how long he sticks around.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir!¡±


    The inquisitor leaves and sets about his task. I squint my eyes hatefully at the Chief Inquisitor. He simply smirks and turns his back to me. Then he walks off in the direction of the castle. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s going back to his office to relax nice and comfortably while Sidney remains out here stuck in a gallows having spoiled food thrown at her. I¡¯d like to give him a piece of my mind, but I know full well that it¡¯d be foolish to fight the Chief Fortissimo Colossus again. I¡¯ll just have to settle for giving him mean stares and sliding hateful anonymous letters under his office door.


    I call Katherine over to me. ¡°Katherine, here¡¯s enough money for lunch and dinner. I want you to go and do as you please, but I¡¯m going to stay here with Sidney.¡±


    Katherine glances over at Sidney and then looks at me. ¡°But Master it¡¯s the last day of the festival. Are you sure this is how you want to spend the day?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡±


    ¡°Okay then Master. Good luck.¡±


    Katherine departs and leaves me alone with Sidney. I step directly in front of Sidney to see how she¡¯s doing. As I suspected, the Chief Inquisitor wasn¡¯t too careful about not nicking her head while he cut off her hair. I cast the Miracle Heal spell on Sidney. It¡¯s probably overkill, but I don¡¯t exactly need to conserve mana at the moment. ¡°Are you alright Sidney?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she answers faintly.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Sidney. When I told you to accept the Rite of Penance, I didn¡¯t know that all of this would happen. I¡¯m so sorry.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my own fault.¡±


    ¡°Well then maybe we¡¯re both partially to blame. Regardless, I¡¯m going to stay with you until they let you go. Okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    I sit down next to Sidney. Around a half hour later, the inquisitors return carrying three large wooden crates filled with all sorts of nastiness. Accompanying the inquisitors is a large group of townspeople eager to lop the rotten food at Sidney. Can they not see that she has suffered enough? Is this cruelty even remotely necessary? Sidney was never a true death mage in the first place. She doesn¡¯t deserve this at all. But I know that a mindless mob never listens to reason. I take my place in front of Sidney, twirl my staff around fancifully, and pose.

 Chapter 25

    A kindly looking old lady steps to the front of the crowd. She then reaches into one of the wooden crates and pulls out a mushy, rotten tomato. I lock eyes with her in an intense silent stare down. She takes a step forward and cocks her arm back ready to throw the tomato. I¡¯m not worried about this wrinkly old hag having enough arm strength to hit me, but I am very upset that she would want to throw a tomato at me or Sidney in the first place. I would have never expected such a kind looking old lady to do such a mean thing. But alas, she does. She throws it and to my surprise her arm is a cannon. I barely manage to avoid a direct hit to my chest by blocking with my staff. Yet it makes little difference. The moment that my staff connects with the rotten tomato, its sour juice bursts all over me.


    The crowd behind the old woman cheers. Right away, more of the noble denizens of Magali join in the fun. I diligently swipe away with my staff deflecting a couple of overripe apples. The apples burst into little bits and pieces, but they¡¯re not too bad as far as the juices go. Likewise, I knock away the carrots, cabbages, onions, and potatoes with no problem. But when some depraved individual throws a peeled perfectly good orange at me, its juices squirt past my staff and right into my eyes rendering me momentarily blind.


    The crowd capitalizes on my handicap and unleashes its heavy artillery. I can¡¯t quite tell what they¡¯re throwing through my watery eyes, but some grayish objects pummel me in the chest. Due to my bad vision, I fail to block or identify any of them. A moment after the sixth one collides with my chest, the smell of the objects reaches my nose. Their stench is so strong that it overpowers the rotten fruit smell. It would seem that I was just hit by six rotten eggs. Their repugnant aroma causes me to dry heave until I take a piece of moldy bread to the face. As terrible as all of this is, if it were only me then I could handle it, but the fact that this rotten food is meant for Sidney breaks my heart. What¡¯s worse is that I¡¯m not doing a good job of defending her. The stupendous people of Magali have now come up with the strategy to have one person throw an object at me while the others target her. Despite my sincerest efforts to protect her, Sidney is being continuously pelted by the rotten food almost as badly as me.


    Luckily there¡¯s some reprieve. One of the crates is empty. A couple of people in the crowd fight over the remaining objects. The ones who do manage to scrape up the remaining bits throw the normal things: tomatoes, apples, plums, pieces of half eaten chicken, and various meat remnants. Then mercifully the other two crates run out of stuff to throw. Save for one thing. I raise my left eyebrow at the quirky refusal of the crowd to pick up the last object. Nobody wants to throw it until a bearded muscular man finally declares, ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    I tighten my grip on my staff. Whatever it is, I cannot let it hit Sidney. The man reaches his hand into the crate and winces. When he lifts it up, I see a container of spoiled milk oozing its contents on his hand. As he comes forward at me, I seriously contemplate blasting a Comet straight into the crowd. But for the sake of my own integrity, I restrain myself.


    The man lets the spoiled milk fly. I focus my eyes on the container so acutely that it travels at me in slow motion. As if my life depended on it, I swat the container out of the air with pinpoint precision. Regrettably, the container was made out of glass, so I get sprayed with little shards of glass in addition to spoiled milk.


    I fall to my knees, but not because I¡¯m injured from the glass. I¡¯m just exhausted and dismayed. The gentle people of Magali, now finished with their joyous festivities, disperse laughing and slapping each other high five. I¡¯m glad that it¡¯s over because I honestly couldn¡¯t take anymore. I give myself a quick status check. My clothes are completely soaked through with the foulest liquids imaginable. I will have no choice but to burn these clothes. As for Sidney, her head and hands are caked in chunks of various food debris. I move over to her and clean her off as best as I can. Unfortunately, there is absolutely nothing that I can do for the smell. Both she and I smell like rotting, festering sewage.


    To take a breather, so to speak, I crash down on the cobblestone pavement next to Sidney¡¯s gallows. I don¡¯t know how long the Chief Inquisitor intends to leave her out here, but in my heart I¡¯ve already committed to staying with her until the end. Strangely, Sidney is asleep at the moment. I don¡¯t know whether she fell asleep from physical exhaustion or if she fainted from the stress of being the scorn of an entire city. Either way, when she wakes up, she¡¯ll find me here next to her. I¡¯ll guard her vigilantly and make sure that nobody tries to do anything worse than throw spoiled food at her.


    I sit with Sidney for over an hour. Around 2 p.m. Katherine comes to us carrying a few sandwiches and a pitcher of water. She hands me the items, careful not to soak her shoes in the vile liquids and food bits surrounding me. I can tell from the silent look in her eyes that she wants to stay with me, but she¡¯s clearly offended by my awful stench. ¡°Master I brought you lunch.¡±


    ¡°Thank you Katherine. What are you up to today?¡±


    ¡°I thought that I would come and sit with you for a while.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to force yourself Katherine. I know that I smell bad.¡±


    ¡°Master, do you remember how you reacted when I warned you that Hilda¡¯s house smelled? You selflessly ignored it for her sake. Let me do the same for you.¡±


    Katherine¡¯s eyes trace the pavement carefully for a dry spot. Knowing full well that there¡¯s no safe place to sit near me, I take my jacket off and place it on the ground with the insides facing up. ¡°You can sit on my jacket Katherine. The inside part is mostly clean.¡±


    With concern Katherine asks, ¡°Are you sure Master? Your jacket will get dirty.¡±


    ¡°Actually, my jacket is ruined. Go ahead and sit on it. I don¡¯t want you to get dirty too.¡±


    Katherine sits down and gazes over at Sidney. ¡°This is terrible Master. I can¡¯t believe that they cut her hair off.¡±


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    I half-sigh, half-exhale in frustration. ¡°This whole affair has been an exercise in cruelty. Poor Sidney will never be the same again after all of this.¡±


    ¡°Master, do you think that she will become a death mage again and seek revenge?¡±


    I take another look at Sidney. She¡¯s baldheaded, dressed in sackcloth, covered in ashes, garnished with food particles, and perfumed with an unspeakable odor. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know Katherine. But I don¡¯t think so. She told me that she wasn¡¯t a killer. I can¡¯t imagine that she would take a single life much less destroy an entire city out of anger or spite.¡±


    Changing to a more positive subject, Katherine and I chat about Belle-Forest and foreign countries. Once we finish talking about that, we discuss monsters and magical treasures. After that we talk about pets, fashion styles, and even blue hair dye. About two and a half hours into our conversation, we receive a sudden visitor ¨C Master Simon Bruhar.


    He stands off at a distance to our left-hand side. Master Simon isn¡¯t the type that would willingly approach an unpleasant smell or situation. Instead, he suffers himself the woeful inconvenience of having to raise his voice. ¡°My, my, you actually succeeded. It seems you¡¯re not entirely useless after all.¡±


    I ignore his slight against me as always. ¡°Master, look at what they¡¯ve done to her! You told me that the Rite of Penance would help her.¡±


    ¡°And so it has. Her life is spared. Besides, I did mention that it was an ¡®unseemly ordeal.¡¯¡±


    That¡¯s a pretty vague understatement considering all that Sidney has gone through. But in the end Master Simon is right. This is the best thing for Sidney. I just have to keep telling myself that.


    ¡°Souladonis,¡± he continues. ¡°I want you to come by my private chateau later. I have more to tell you about magic, the petrification curse, and your little friend Sidney Butterfly. It¡¯s not too far from here. Just a mile further north from where you went west towards Sidney¡¯s house. You¡¯ll see the signs. You can¡¯t miss it.¡±


    How nice. A personal invitation to Master Simon¡¯s house. The perfect opportunity to get verbally bashed some more. It had better be worth my time. ¡°Unless you have something important to tell me about the petrification curse, then I don¡¯t see why I should bother.¡±


    Master Simon throws his hand over his heart. ¡°I would think that seeing your dear old master would be reason enough. But even if not, I assure you that the information is worth your while. It will change your life forever.¡±


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you just tell me now?¡±


    ¡°That would ruin the fun.¡±


    Master Simon turns his back and starts to walk away. But then he stops and speaks over his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll be expecting you. And by the way, you can bring your servant as well.¡±


    Finally, he walks away bellowing his bizarre cackle.


    ¡°Master, I think that your master is evil,¡± Katherine suggests.


    Her offbeat comment catches me by surprise. I laugh heartily at her joke because I can seriously imagine Master Simon as some sort of comic villain. ¡°Master Simon is certainly a pompous jerk, but he¡¯s not evil Katherine.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Katherine and I share another laugh at Master Simon¡¯s expense, and then we continue our prior conversation about unnatural hair colors. Around 6 p.m. I order Katherine to go buy dinner for Sidney and me. Half an hour later, she returns with a bottle of white wine and two plastic containers filled with the same shrimp pasta that she and I had enjoyed previously at the small caf¨¦. I gratefully accept the food and wine. ¡°Thank you for this Katherine, but now it¡¯s time for you to go back to the inn.¡±


    ¡°What why? I want to stay here with you.¡±


    ¡°I know you do Katherine, but it¡¯s going to be dark soon. For all we know, the Chief Inquisitor is going to leave her out here all night. I don¡¯t want you to stay out here freezing in the cold night air.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯ll be okay Master!¡±


    ¡°I know Katherine, but please, for my sake, go back to the inn before it gets dark. I need to know that you¡¯re safe and warm. I also don¡¯t want you walking around at night. There are dangerous people in this town, so go back now while there¡¯s still some sunlight.¡±


    Katherine inhales deeply and exhales slowly in a sigh of submission. ¡°Fine Master. I¡¯ll go.¡±


    I stare blinking my eyes at Katherine as she walks away. That¡¯s weird. Something seems backwards. Anyhow, now it¡¯s just Sidney and me. I take a quick glance at Sidney¡¯s face. She¡¯s still asleep. The poor thing must not have slept at all last night. I know that I wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep the night before my public trial. All the same, that leaves me with nothing to do and no one to talk to.


    I lie down on top of my coat jacket and watch the sky as it fades to black. It seems that I was right. The Chief Inquisitor is going to leave Sidney out here all night.


    An hour into the night, the temperature drops. I take my jacket over to Sidney and wrap it around her as best as I can. ¡°Sidney,¡± I say, but she doesn¡¯t respond.


    I guess it¡¯s going to be a long quiet night. I sit down right in front of Sidney and rest my head on the wood of her gallows next to her right hand. Without Katherine I¡¯m lonely. When I¡¯m lonely I start thinking. Even if I try to avoid the topic, I inadvertently end up thinking about my past. For some reason I feel like venting my fears and sorrows tonight. Maybe it¡¯s selfish of me, but seeing as Sidney can¡¯t go anywhere, I use her as my unwitting sounding board. I tell her about my childhood, about Nadine, about studying magic, about my friendship with her sister, and about how I screwed up and lost it all by getting Nadine turned into stone. After I¡¯m done, I somehow end up feeling even worse than before. I guess venting to someone who¡¯s not even conscious doesn¡¯t quite have the same therapeutic effect. So to make myself feel better, I do what I often do when I¡¯m sad and alone: I sing my song Winter Soul.

 Chapter 26

    The sudden sound of chirping birds causes me to jerk awake. My eyes open to the orange light of the rising sun. I would estimate that it¡¯s about six in the morning. I glance over at Sidney only to find her staring back at me. Even though she¡¯s completely filthy, there is something spotless and unjaded about her cerulean blue eyes. ¡°Good morning Sidney. How are you feeling?¡±


    Sidney nods but she doesn¡¯t speak. ¡°Are you hungry or maybe thirsty?¡±


    Her eyes remain glued to me, but she still doesn¡¯t speak. I find the pitcher of water that Katherine brought us for lunch. Carefully, I tilt its tip into Sidney¡¯s mouth to pour in a small amount of water. After I give her enough water, I take the pitcher away expecting her to speak, but she doesn¡¯t. I guess she has nothing to say. So I simply go back to sitting down next to her gallows leaning my head by her right hand. To my surprise she places her fingers on the top of my head and churns them in my hair. I imply that I don¡¯t mind by not reacting at all.


    We continue the same way for roughly ten minutes. Then I see the Chief Inquisitor approaching from the distance. He¡¯s up bright and early, fully equipped for battle with his heavy armor and oversized sword. I think by this point I have a pretty good idea what sort of man Rupert des Chevaliers is. And frankly, I don¡¯t like him.


    He comes within a few feet of us and then pauses. Looking down at me he asks, ¡°You¡¯re still here? Do you feel some sort of obligation to this girl or perhaps some sort of misbegotten delusion of love?¡±


    I rise to my feet. ¡°Sidney is my friend.¡±


    ¡°Pfft.¡±


    He walks past me and unlocks Sidney¡¯s gallows with a key off of his clanking iron key ring. From being forced to stand in an awkward position all night, Sidney is barely able to stand up straight much less walk on her own. So to be practical, the Chief Inquisitor sweeps her up into his arms. Without a further word to me, he takes Sidney and heads for the castle. I walk alongside him, knowing full well that he would never bother stopping to answer a few questions. ¡°Now what awful thing are you planning to do to Sidney?¡± I ask him.


    He answers, ¡°The girl¡¯s rehabilitation will begin today. She¡¯ll be forced to learn Life Magic to prevent her from being able to take up Death Magic again. After that, she¡¯ll be detained for three months while we determine whether or not she¡¯s fit to reenter society.¡±


    I warn the Chief Inquisitor, ¡°If you do anything else to harm her, then I swear I¡¯ll¨C¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll do what?¡± he says, finishing my sentence.


    We stand still and grimace at each other intensely. After a brief moment, he turns away from me and says, ¡°Your friend shall not be harmed. You¡¯ve done your part for her, now I shall do mine. So you can rest easy Souladonis.¡±


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    With that, he continues on to the castle while I remain behind in town. There¡¯s nothing further that I can do for Sidney. Now I just want to take a bath and lie down in a bed for a while. To that end, I slowly trudge through the city back to the Armbear Lodge. It¡¯s now Saturday and my reservation with the inn has expired. I drag my legs to the counter with the weasel behind it. ¡°I want to reserve the room for another day,¡± I tell him.


    ¡°Sure no problem. Just don¡¯t put those clothes on the carpet. I don¡¯t want your smell to get stuck in the room.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± I assure him. I then summon one of my moneybags. ¡°How much?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s on the house. I know what you did.¡±


    His sudden generosity surprises me. ¡°Thanks. I appreciate that.¡±


    I start to head towards the stairs, but he stops me. ¡°I almost forgot. You got a package.¡±


    He reaches below his counter and pulls up a gray satchel. He hands it to me and I read the note on the top:


    Souladonis darling,


    I saw what you did for that poor girl. It was the most noble and selfless thing that I¡¯ve ever seen. My little handsome prince has grown into a fine young man! I¡¯m so proud of you darling. And don¡¯t worry; I know that your clothes were ruined by that nasty trial, so I made you some new ones free of charge.


    Love,


    Wilmette


    P.S. ¨C I added a Flaming prefix stamp to your coat. It should give some extra kick to your fire magic spells. If you like it, then stop being a minimalist and buy some enchanted clothes next time!


    I accept Wilmette¡¯s gift gratefully. I wasn¡¯t sure what I was going to wear, but now I know. With one final exertion, I mount the stairs and step in front of the door. I carefully unlock it trying to be quiet so as not to wake up Katherine. Sliding through the narrowly open door, I gently press it shut, and creep over to the beds. Katherine is asleep in the lopsided bed. It seems she left the good bed open for me in case I returned in the middle of the night. It was a sweet gesture of her.


    Remaining as quiet as possible, I enter the bathroom, throw my soiled clothes on the floor, and take a long hot bath. When I finish my bath, I exit the bathroom and silently skate over to the good bed. It¡¯s now around eight in the morning or so. I¡¯m sure Katherine will be up soon, but I¡¯m determined to get at least a few hours of quality sleep.

 Chapter 27

    I wake up at four in the afternoon. Katherine is not in the inn room. I take my time getting dressed and then straighten up the room once I¡¯m finished dressing. I don¡¯t plan on coming back again, so after checking the dresser and the bathroom to make sure that I didn¡¯t forget anything, I depart the room for good. Then I go to the front counter, thank the weasel again for his generosity, and turn in the room key.


    Next, I travel to a store that sells portal scripts. I buy five with each costing 100,000 ames. Normally I only keep one, but now that I have Katherine with me, I want to make sure that I¡¯m well prepared for anything that might happen. When I finish shopping at the script store, I stop into Wilmette¡¯s store to say goodbye. She¡¯s in the middle of assisting customers, so I keep my farewell brief. Now that I¡¯ve said goodbye to my only friend in the city, I just have to find Katherine and I¡¯ll be ready to leave Magali.


    First, I pass through the street with the food vendors. There are a lot of people around as always, but with her unique skin color Katherine is usually easy to spot even in a large crowd. But after thoroughly scanning the area, I determine that she¡¯s not there. Next, I go to the town square. There¡¯s still all of the food pieces and foul stench surrounding the empty gallows. I thought that maybe there¡¯d be people gathered in the area, but now that the festival is over, I guess there¡¯s no reason for people to assemble there. I think carefully about what locations in town Katherine is familiar with. The only other places where she could be are the magic store Cornucopia, the small caf¨¦, the castle, and the playground.


    To maximize my chances of finding her, I go first to the street with the small caf¨¦. At the north side of the street is the caf¨¦ and on the south side of the same street is the park. I walk past the caf¨¦ carefully glancing at the people seated at the tables both on the inside and outside. Then I continue on directly to the park. She¡¯s still nowhere to be found.


    As I consider my next move, two hands suddenly cover my eyes.


    ¡°Guess who!¡±


    ¡°An ugly hairy gorilla that escaped from the zoo?¡±


    ¡°Nooo!¡±


    I spin in place causing the hands to reposition themselves around the back of my head. The maneuver also causes me to stand point blank in front of Katherine. I take advantage of my position and wrap my arms around her back. I squeeze gently and she retaliates with equal pressure. ¡°Well well. You¡¯re not a gorilla.¡±


    ¡°Nope. I¡¯m your servant Katherine.¡±


    Although it¡¯s never bothered me before, hearing her say ¡°servant¡± reminds me of Master Simon¡¯s cynical poke at our relationship. The thought makes my skin crawl. ¡°I¡¯ve got to come up with a better title for you than servant.¡±


    Katherine bats her eyelashes at me. ¡°What did you have in mind?¡±


    I think I know what she¡¯s thinking. ¡°Not apprentice,¡± I say tapping her on the nose with my index finger. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡±


    I release my grip from around her. She presses her lips together and blows a frustrated puff of air through them. At the same time, her round cheeks flare rose colored. My answer clearly thwarted her hopeful expectations. I should say something thoughtful to console her, but all that I can think about is kissing her rosy cheeks. At once, I shake my head back and forth vigorously to throw out the thought. ¡°It¡¯s time to leave. Are you ready?¡±


    Katherine instantly snaps out of her malaise. ¡°Before we leave I have to show you something!¡±


    Without warning she grips me by my coat sleeve and starts dragging me through town. I smile and go along with her. It¡¯s just like when we first met.


    She takes me into the rougher part of town not so far from the Armbear Lodge or from where I fought the Killer Clown. After passing through a few twists and turns, we stop in front of a large brown building. I read the large sign in front of the building: ¡°Magali Museum of Modern History.¡±


    ¡°Come on!¡± Katherine says enthusiastically. She tugs hard on my coat and drags me inside. I¡¯ve heard of the Magali Museum before, but this is my first time visiting.


    The first display that we see is a collection of ancient primitive wands. There are also displays containing old armors and texts. As we move deeper into the museum, the time period of the displays moves increasingly closer to the present. Directly in the center of the furthest back room is a brown, green, and yellow wand isolated in a glass case. I step to the glass container and read the label beneath it: ¡°The Wand of Shaman Terranostra.¡±


    ¡°Master, have you ever heard of Shaman Terranostra?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of him, but I don¡¯t know too much about him.¡±


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


    I start to read the plaque detailing the story of his life, but suddenly Katherine collapses to her knees. I immediately fall to her side. ¡°Katherine what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I suddenly felt faint. I need some water.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll find you some water.¡±


    I look around the room for a water fountain. I don¡¯t see one, but I do see a security guard, who is watching us from a distance. I quickly skip over to him. ¡°Excuse me, my friend suddenly fell faint. Is there a water fountain around here?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    The guard starts to give me a detailed explanation of how to reach the nearest fountain. While he¡¯s still speaking, I suddenly hear the loud sound of glass shattering behind me. I whip around only to find that Katherine has smashed the case surrounding the wand of Shaman Terranostra. She reaches her hand into the display and takes the wand. I watch in disbelief at her sudden turn to thievery. ¡°Master, run!¡± she shouts.


    ¡°Hey!¡± the guard yells.


    He looks at me and I look at him, exchanging confused blinks. Neither of us knows what¡¯s going on. But before he can figure it out, I smack him in the face with my staff. He crashes unconscious to the floor. ¡°Sorry!¡± I apologize chasing after Katherine.


    When I catch up to Katherine, I ask the obvious question. ¡°Katherine what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll explain later!¡±


    We run full speed towards the museum exit straight ahead of us. Two approaching security guards block our escape. Using her ill-acquired new wand, Katherine casts a spray of Thorn Darts at the guards. Sharp little quills puncture into the guards all over their bodies. They shrill and wince in pain desperately trying to pull the little spikes out of them. Their pain keeps them occupied long enough for us to slip past them without any problems.


    Once we exit the museum, Katherine makes a mad dash for the city gates. I continue following behind her still trying to mentally process her unexpected shift of character. We manage to get through the city without any problems until we reach the gate. When the inquisitor gate guards see us running in a visible panic, they react by trying to close the gate. As the gate closes, Katherine impedes it from shutting by causing a tree to grow in its path. Without asking questions, the inquisitors draw their swords. They begin to approach us but are almost instantly swiped away by Katherine¡¯s Vine Whip spell. Teaching Katherine offensive magic may have been a huge mistake.


    We pass through the gates exiting Magali. At once, the tree that had been blocking the gate disappears and it slams shut. That will slow the inquisitors down a bit, but I¡¯m sure that they¡¯ll still come after us. My first thought is that we need to get as far away from here as fast as possible. We could use the Portal spell to instantly travel somewhere else, but the place where I intend to go is not one where I have been before. So instead I imitate Sidney Butterfly and summon a monster Stallion.


    Seeing another angry black horse sends shivers down my spine despite the fact that it¡¯s actually under my control. Only with great hesitation do I step up to it and climb on top of its back. Luckily, it doesn¡¯t try to fight me. I then reach my hand down to Katherine to help hoist her up. Once we¡¯re both good and situated on the Stallion¡¯s back, I apply pressure to it with my legs and it takes off running. I have a lot of questions for Katherine, but at the moment hanging onto the monster stallion requires my full concentration.


    After riding the horse for a mere fifteen minutes, my butt is completely sore. Thankfully, we only had to cover two miles to reach our destination. I coerce the Stallion to stop and climb down. Next I unsummon it and cast the Miracle Heal spell on Katherine and then on myself. Riding a giant monster horse hurts. Seriously.


    But all butt pain aside, it got us to Master Simon¡¯s chateau safely. Before we go inside to Maser Simon¡¯s, I decide that it¡¯s best to confront Katherine about her criminal actions in private.


    Never lacking for eloquence, I ask, ¡°Katherine! What the crap?¡±


    ¡°Sorry for surprising you,¡± she apologizes.


    ¡°Why did you steal the wand of Shaman Terranostra?¡±


    ¡°Because¡­¡±


    ¡°Because what?¡±


    ¡°Because they have no right to have it!¡±


    ¡°Oh and you do?¡±


    ¡°Yes that¡¯s right!¡±


    ¡°Why do you think that?¡±


    ¡°Because¡­¡±


    ¡°Katherine, you¡¯re not answering my question. You¡¯d had better tell me now!¡±


    ¡°Because Shaman Terranostra was my father! That¡¯s why!¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    Snap.

 Chapter 28

    I listen attentively as Katherine tells me the story of her father, Shaman Terranostra. She says:


    Twenty years ago ?me Kingdom invaded the small island country Ouroboros. King Barthalamos wanted the natural resources so that he could make his rich country even richer. At the time my mom was there doing research on the local plants. For shelter she stayed in a village with the Yugalla tribe. That¡¯s how she met my father Shaman Terranostra. He was the village healer and wise man. As he and my mother spent more time together they became more and more interested in each other¡¯s worlds and before long they fell in love.


    But their love didn¡¯t last long because of Barthalamos. He and his army constantly fought with the Yugallans in little skirmishes. However, the Yugallans always had the advantage because of their familiarity with the environment. Ouroboros is almost entirely rain forest with little dry land. My mom told me that there are monsters in the water that are so dangerous that it¡¯s practically unheard of for someone to fall into the water and make it back out alive. The Yugallan people themselves navigate on top of the water by riding giant snakes called Marsh Skippers. Without the Marsh Skippers, the Aim¨¦ army was at a huge disadvantage because they only had slow moving canoes. The Yugallans eventually punctured holes into all of their canoes and left the Aim¨¦ soldiers stranded. They figured that King Barthalamos and his men would eventually run out of supplies and be forced to leave the country. In fact, that¡¯s exactly what happened, but not before they made one final attack on the Yugallan people.


    It happened at night while nobody expected it. Somehow a large group of Aim¨¦ soldiers snuck into the village. Nobody knows how they got in. The people were caught off guard and defenseless.


    The soldiers were ruthless, massacring men and women alike. So my father ran out into the center of the village and cast a powerful spell called ¡°Pacifism.¡± The Pacifism spell makes it impossible for anyone under its effect to take aggressive actions. Shaman Terranostra blanketed the entire village under the spell. By doing so he allowed all of the villagers and my mother to escape the soldiers. My father, however, had to remain standing in place to keep the spell going. As soon as everyone escaped, he released the spell and was immediately captured.


    They brought him back here to ?me Kingdom. Barthalamos scapegoated him as the reason for why his invasion failed. He said that my father was a heretic and a savage, and that he used some sort of evil foreign magic. That¡¯s a complete lie! My mother told me that Shaman Terranostra was a grandmaster of Life, Support, and Plant Magic ¨C the same magic disciplines that I¡¯m learning now. Anyhow, Bathalamos had him taken into the Magali town square to make a big spectacle out of his execution. My father died here alone, far away from his homeland. But the worst part is that everyone believes the king¡¯s stories about Shaman Terranostra being some sort of savage boogeyman. Whenever someone speaks badly about him, it hurts me and my mother so much, but we hold our tongues for fear of also being declared heretics and executed. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t want to tell you about my father. I bet you also think he was a bad man, don¡¯t you?


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    I shake my head. ¡°Of course not. Any man who would sacrifice his life for the love of his friends and his woman is a good man in my eyes. Besides, I¡¯m from Winterspring not ?me Kingdom. I don¡¯t have to listen to a darn thing King Barthalamos says.¡±


    Tears form in the corners of Katherine¡¯s eyes. She lets herself fall forward throwing her arms around me. I catch her in my arms and run the fingers of my right hand through her hair lovingly. ¡°Not only was your father a good man Katheirne, but he must have also been a singularly powerful mage to cast Pacifism on an entire village. Pacifism is the kind of spell that overrides free will. Such spells are incredibly difficult to hold on a single person even for a few seconds. He did it on an entire group of soldiers long enough for the Yugallans to organize their escape. I can hardly even imagine such insane magic power. And you know what Katherine, I think that you¡¯ve inherited his power.¡±


    Katherine looks up at my face misty eyed. ¡°You really think so?¡±


    ¡°I know so. I didn¡¯t tell you before because I didn¡¯t want you to get cocky, but I¡¯ve never even heard of someone advancing through the ranks of magic as fast as you have. Now that I know your father was Shaman Terranostra, I understand everything. Just remind me to never get on your bad side.¡±


    Katherine buries her head in my chest and squeezes me tightly. ¡°You won¡¯t Master.¡±


    I run my fingers through her hair some more and sniff its lavender scent. ¡°Thank you for telling me about your father Katherine. Now let¡¯s go see Master Simon. Hopefully, he also has something good to tell me.¡±

 Chapter 29

    We pass through the front gate surrounding Master Simon¡¯s chateau. The sky is gray, the earth black, and the dark shadows of decaying trees hang over every inch of the land. Master Simon¡¯s front yard is so dreary that I¡¯m half surprised gravestones aren¡¯t erratically speckled all over the place. Yet as strange as it is, it¡¯s a fitting environment for Master Simon. He does have grayish skin after all. It must be the result of not getting much sunlight.


    We make our way to the front door. When I place my hand on the doorknob, Katherine suddenly tugs at my arm. ¡°Wait. We shouldn¡¯t go in. Something¡¯s wrong.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about Katherine?¡±


    ¡°I feel cold all of a sudden.¡±


    We¡¯re in a shaded area, so her sudden chill is understandable. ¡°Would you like to wear my coat?¡±


    ¡°No. I just think¡­nevermind.¡±


    I shrug my shoulders not understanding her. With a twist of my wrist, I push on the doorknob and the door slowly opens while creaking loudly. We pass though and I let go of the door. It falls shut much more readily than it opened, which wouldn¡¯t matter save for the fact that it leaves us without light. Inside of Master Simon¡¯s house, it¡¯s pitch black. Therefore, I ignite my hand on fire and lead ahead of Katherine. The absence of light on the first floor must mean that Master Simon is upstairs somewhere.


    We creep through the house step by step. I¡¯d go faster, but my walking is somewhat impeded by Katherine following directly behind me with her arms wrapped around my waist. Even though I can¡¯t quite see the details of the house, it seems that Master Simon is into images of gargoyles and other monsters. Some of the stone figures that hang from the walls are traditional style gargoyles whereas others are some sort of weird winged things with strange birdlike bodies, no arms, and the faces of babies. Perhaps the only thing worse than Master Simon¡¯s sense of humor is his sense of art.


    After wondering aimlessly on the first floor for a while, we finally find the stairs. Again, step-by-step, we climb up the stairs. The second floor is as equally dark and empty as the first floor. Fortunately, all of the stairs leading to the top are adjacent to one another so we don¡¯t have to look around before we can ascend to the next level. Not hesitating, we continue to the third floor, which is the same as the second and the first. The fourth floor too is the same. It¡¯s only when we reach the fifth and final floor that I see a trace of light from beneath a door. In fact, on the fifth floor there is only one door. As we approach it, Katherine tightens her death grip around my waist.


    I push the door open. Somehow it still manages to creak loudly even though it¡¯s just a small wooden door with three hinges. On the other side of the door, I find Master Simon staring out of a glassless, semi-oval shaped window. The floor beneath us is wood, the roof above us is covered with support rafters, and the gray brick walls are undecorated save for the two matching windows. Katherine and I step closer towards Master Simon. He doesn¡¯t speak or even turn to acknowledge our presence. Instead, he just keeps staring through the window at the empty gray sky.


    ¡°Master Simon,¡± I say.


    My voice breaks him out of his concentration. He first turns his head towards me and then the rest of his body follows. ¡°Ah, Souladonis. I¡¯m glad that you could come. I have much to tell you.¡±


    His eyes ever so briefly shift to Katherine causing her to shrivel behind me. She wraps her arms tightly around my arm and gently tugs as if trying to pull me away from him. I ignore her. She¡¯s been acting strange ever since we arrived here. Regardless of whatever reason she may have, her awkward behavior has placed an uncomfortable tension in the air. I immediately set to diffuse it by speaking familiarly with Master Simon. ¡°Master, you had some good news for me I take it.¡±


    The edges of his mouth curl into a sly grin. ¡°Do you know what a familiar is boy?¡±


    I do. ¡°A familiar is a type of creature that is bound to a mage. They¡¯re usually small creatures that follow a mage around and help him or her out with daily activities or in battle.¡±


    Master Simon folds his arms pointing his right index finger in the air. His grin remains the same. ¡°More specifically a familiar is a manifested expression of a mage¡¯s mana. That¡¯s why they can take the form of animals, monsters, or even objects. Their size too is a reflection of their masters¡¯ mana. Generally, they¡¯re small because most mages are weak. Powerful mages, however, are able to have familiar¡¯s that can be tremendously large and surprisingly complex. For example, the gargoyle at the top of the Forbidden Tower in Winterspring is a mage¡¯s familiar.¡±


    A lightning surge of understanding jolts my mind. I¡¯ve always had so many questions about the gargoyle. Before I assumed that it was just some sort of ancient and powerful monster. But the fact that it spoke modern language has always baffled me. Hearing that it¡¯s not a monster at all, but rather a mage¡¯s familiar makes a lot of sense. But it leaves one question. ¡°Whose familiar?¡±


    Master Simon dramatically smacks himself in the head. ¡°Do you really have to ask such a stupid question boy? Whose do you think?¡±


    I shake my head thinking, but I have no clue. Master Simon jumps in saying, ¡°I know you¡¯re a dunce, so I¡¯ll tell you. It¡¯s the familiar of the first Arch Lord of Winterspring.¡±


    My eyes widen from the revelation. ¡°But he died centuries ago! If a familiar is an expression of a mage¡¯s mana, then how can the gargoyle still exist?¡±


    Master Simon tilts his head back and gestures his arms out to the side as if I were the biggest fool in the world. ¡°You really don¡¯t know anything do you boy? The ENTIRE Forbidden Tower is made out of the first Arch Lord¡¯s mana. At the very top of the tower, the Arch Lord left some sort of special treasure. Nobody knows what it is, but when you went up to the top with your girlfriend, the gargoyle just assumed that you were there to steal the treasure and attacked.¡±


    It all makes sense now. When I went to the tower, I wanted to be able to brag that I got the forbidden treasure without having the least idea of what it even was. I was such a fool! Imagine, a fifteen year old fighting against the familiar of Winterspring¡¯s all time most powerful Arch Lord. I never had a chance. I never even had less than a chance. Nadine died for nothing. Absolutely nothing.


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    I crash to the floor on my knees. ¡°Well it seems your own stupidity has finally hit you,¡± Master Simon says. ¡°But before you lose all of that audacious hope that you like to hold onto, you should know that there is a way to weaken the curse if not break it outright. ¨CKill the familiar. Kill it and then the petrification curse should weaken enough that a powerful status-removing remedy could remove the curse from your little girlfriend.¡±


    I rise to my feet excitedly. ¡°Master!¡± But then it hits me. I still can¡¯t defeat the gargoyle. Even though I¡¯ve learned so much in the past six years, I¡¯m still nothing compared to the power of any Arch Lord much less the most powerful Arch Lord of the world¡¯s leading magic academy.


    Master Simon reads the change of expression on my face and cackles his bizarre laugh. ¡°A little short on power boy? I know you are, but in a rare magnanimous show of gratitude for you providing me with the ultimate weapon, I shall lend it to you for a while.¡±


    I tilt my head in confusion. ¡°Huh?¡±


    Master Simon squints while pinching the bridge of his nose. ¡°Aaah, you¡¯re such an idiot! I mean Sidney Butterfly!¡±


    I scratch my head obliviously. I have no idea what he¡¯s talking about. Master Simon starts pacing back and forth through the room. In a long-winded monologue, he explains:


    The ultimate weapon is a gullible fool with too much power. One who can easily be controlled and exploited. I¡¯ve taught so many fools, but all of them either lacked the power or character. It wasn¡¯t until I came across Sidney Butterfly that I found all of the right ingredients in one person. She was the failure daughter of the Butterfly family, but because of her more successful sister, I knew that she had a great deal of magical power within her. She simply lacked the ambition and self-esteem to bring it out. Furthermore, she was lonely and eager to be loved. All I had to do was promise her companionship and I was able to play her like a fiddle.


    I told her that if she joined the death mages, then she¡¯d have friends who would look after her and care for her. She joined immediately. My next move was to wait until she grew strong in Death Magic power. I thought that I¡¯d have to wait for years, but egged on by her supposed friends, she flew through the ranks and in mere months became an Apostate, a master-level death mage. Thus, with her sufficiently built up, all that was left was to tear her back down.


    It was easy. Far too easy. The death mage group blatantly took advantage of her wealth, thereby sewing doubts in her mind. After that, they demanded that she kill. I knew that she was too soft to take a life. Instead, she was forced to retreat back to her house, where she went right back to feeling lonely and unloved. From there, the last step was to have her captured by the inquisitors. I knew that even Des Chevaliers, who sees justice in terms of black and white, wouldn¡¯t have the heart to lop poor Sidney¡¯s head off. His only choice would be to take her alive and force her to accept the Rite of Penance. In doing so, he would have played right into my hands. Regrettably, I made one miscalculation. I expected Des Chevaliers to capture her himself, yet for some reason he sent teams of his men. I was very worried that they would kill Sidney, but fortunately her power proved too much for the run-of-the-mill inquisitors.


    Des Chevaliers and I found ourselves locked in a stalemate. He couldn¡¯t risk losing more men, and I couldn¡¯t step in directly lest my role in the whole affair be verified. I knew that he was already suspicious of me, but he had no proof and could do nothing. Fortunately, an x-factor strolled into town that I could use ¨C you. Like Sidney, I knew that you could easily be exploited. All I had to do was say that it would help you find a cure for the petrification curse, and you¡¯d do anything. So I told you about the Rite of Penance and sent you to capture Sidney. I didn¡¯t know whether you¡¯d succeed or not, but it was worth a try. Much to my delight, the next time that I saw you, you were sitting in front of little miss Sidney, who had already had her Death Magic powers stripped by an Amnesia Scroll. Now everything is complete. As soon as Des Chevaliers teaches her a single spell of Life Magic, Sidney will undergo a sudden transformation that will make her an ultimate class mage. Then surely enough, she¡¯ll come flying back to me asking about what¡¯s happened to her, and I¡¯ll be here willing and waiting to comfort and reassure her. Then I¡¯ll use her power to help me kill King Barthalamos and take the throne for myself! Kwahahahaha!


    The sound of a wolf howling in the distance chimes in with Master Simon¡¯s maniacal cackling. I turn around and wrap my arm around Katherine¡¯s shoulders. ¡°We¡¯re leaving.¡±


    Walking quickly, we try to escape through the wooden door. But before we even reach it, Master Simon somehow moves from the other side of the room to in front of the door. Except now, his appearance has changed. When I take a good look at him, my heart freezes in my chest. His jet black hair and gray skin are unchanged, but now he has black circles around his eyes, his painted black fingernails are longer, his orange and black robes are now pure black, and a brown bat familiar rests on his left shoulder. ¡°Going somewhere?¡± he asks while stroking his pointy mustache.


    ¡°No, you can¡¯t be a death mage!¡± I tell him. ¡°Back in the castle you used Life Magic when I was injured by the Chief Inquisitor. You healed me!¡±


    Master Simon checks the nail polish of his right hand. ¡°That was a Full Heal script. There¡¯s no reason that a death mage can¡¯t use Life Magic scripts. They only require channeling raw mana energy into the script and not directly molding one¡¯s mana into life energy. Even you should know that.¡±


    Crap. He¡¯s right. I should have known. I should have known everything. But I didn¡¯t. Katherine and I have to escape. The only exits from the room are the door and the two windows. We¡¯re on the fifth floor, so the windows aren¡¯t an option. But maybe if I attack him, Katherine can escape through the door while I hold his attention. I break away from Katherine and leap through the air at Master Simon in a flying side kick.

 Chapter 30

    Master Simon zips out of the way of the kick and my foot collides with the closed door. Half turning, I begin to tell Katherine to run for it, but my eyes catch sight of Master Simon. He¡¯s standing directly behind Katherine with his left arm wrapped around her. Leaning in closer to her, he takes a deep sniff of her lavender-scented hair. ¡°Such a sweet smell,¡± he says. ¡°It¡¯s fitting for a comely maiden. Or perhaps not a maiden, eh boy? Most certainly not after I finish with her tonight!¡±


    Anger instantly overwhelms all of my senses. I scream loudly and ignite my entire body in flames. Before I know what I¡¯m doing, I charge at Master Simon intending to rip his head off. With a shove of his right arm, he throws Katherine off to the left side of the room. As soon as I¡¯m within range of him, I punch at his mouth hoping to wipe the grin off of his face. To my great surprise, he blocks with his left arm, and counters with a right cross to my nose. My head jerks back, but I¡¯m not hurt. I try to follow up with a front kick, but Master Simon kicks me in the shin preventing my leg from rising. I blink in surprise and catch an uppercut under my chin that lifts me into the air. As I float Master Simon leaps up and sends me darting to the ground with a powerful left chop.


    I crash down hard and let out a moan from the impact. Katherine, thinking I¡¯m hurt, immediately runs towards me. ¡°No! Stay back!¡± I try to warn her.


    It¡¯s too late. Master Simon cuts right in front of her. ¡°I want to taste you,¡± he tells Katherine.


    ¡°Eww!¡± she quips.


    Suddenly, Master Simon¡¯s mouth opens unnaturally wide, much alike a snake detaching its jaw. He repeatedly motions with his hand for Katherine to come forward, but rather than her whole body, it¡¯s only her red vital energy that comes forward. It looks like a mist of blood flowing through the air directly into Master Simon¡¯s mouth. After a few seconds, he stops and Katherine falls to the floor. Master Simon then turns his attention to me and says, ¡°She tastes delectable. No wonder you keep her as your servant.¡±


    Once more I scream in rage and spring up to my feet. I then jump through the air at Master Simon bringing my staff up over my head. I swipe it down trying to cave in his head, but he moves out of the way. My staff impacts with the floor and punctures straight through the wooden board beneath it. Without missing a beat, I kick off of the floor at Master Simon. The moment that I¡¯m close enough to hit him, I wildly swing my staff as hard as I can for his head. He quickly ducks leaving me spinning off balance. As soon as I complete a 360o, he sprays a black bolt of mana energy at my chest. I¡¯m able to block it, but it rages against my staff like a charging bull, thus forcing me towards the back wall. I fight against its force by creating a shell of pure mana in front of me. Then using all of my physical strength, I parry the bolt into the ground with the left side of my staff just before I hit the wall. Pieces of wood spray up everywhere, forcing me to close my eyes to avoid splinters.


    When I open them, Master Simon is standing to my left side. I turn to face him, but immediately I get slapped with the backside of his hand so hard that I sail through the air, landing in the center of the room. Master Simon zips over in front of me. I quickly stand up and point my staff at him. In response, he touches the tip of my staff and says the word, ¡°Backfire.¡±


    I ignore him and try to cast the Comet spell, but something doesn¡¯t feel right. I lose control of the spell and fiery mana energy explodes right in my face. My failed spell leaves me burned all over and covering my face. When I uncover it to look at Master Simon, he leisurely waves his hand through the air saying, ¡°Death Wave.¡±


    From in front of him a black tidal wave of dark energy gushes out and carries me straight back into the far side right wall. The moment that I collide with the wall, the black energy explodes leaving me burned anew. I slink to the ground with my back pressed against the wall. I¡¯m still conscious but I¡¯m dazed and in great pain. Then like a true comic villain, Master Simon can¡¯t help but start boasting while he has me down.


    ¡°I bet you¡¯re wondering what this great power is, aren¡¯t you boy? This is Death Magic. That little twit Sidney only learned it to fit in with the group. She hated using it, and I bet that she didn¡¯t even use it when you confronted her at her mansion. I, however, have mastered Death Magic in order to dominate. I have no qualms about using it readily.¡±


    While he talks, I discreetly withdraw a magic remedy from my medical supplies bag. Using the remedy, I remove the effects of whatever ¡°Backfire¡± is. Then before Master Simon can finish his monologue, I shoot up to my feet and triple cast the Comet spell at him. Seeing my three large fireballs scorching through the air towards him shuts him up. Yet calmly he walks towards me while simultaneously taking a little sideways step. ¡°One,¡± he says as the first fireball passes him. ¡°Two,¡± he says with the next. ¡°And three,¡± he says as the last one whizzes by him.


    ¡°Triple casting. I suppose I shouldn¡¯t be surprised that you learned it. Your problem was never that you lacked talent. You simply lack the initiative to finish your lessons. A real mage would have used a super technique in your desperate situation, but as you never completed your training, you don¡¯t even know one. Triple casting a regular spell is a sorry imitation of a super technique. I mean seriously, three Comets all go straight boy. All anyone has to do is step to the side and they all miss.¡±


    Master Simon breaks into his cackling, which is more than grating on my nerves at this point. I adjust my aim and cast the Lightning Strike spell. He blocks it with a combination of his palm and a shield of black mana energy. ¡°Since you don¡¯t know your own super technique boy. I¡¯ll let you see mine. It¡¯s called ¡®The Impaler.¡¯¡±


    He closes his eyes and begins threading his right hand through the air in concentration. I brace myself. I don¡¯t know what to expect, so I have to be ready for anything. He finishes the preparation for his technique. Shouting loudly he calls out, ¡°The Impaler!¡±


    Suddenly, the ground beneath my feet turns dark and thin black spikes expel out of the darkness impaling themselves through my legs. I wail in excruciating pain and fall flat on my face. Several dark lances remain gouged through both my left and right leg. The debilitating pain is so extreme that not only are my legs affected, but also my entire body is left paralyzed in agony. I squeeze my fist and grit my teeth trying not to bite my tongue off. Master Simon cackles as he watches me squirm.


    ¡°Did that hurt? That was a greatly reduced form of my attack. I could have easily killed you if I had wanted.¡±


    Master Simon approaches me and steps on my left hand causing me even more pain.


    ¡°Look at you. You were always such an arrogant child. You turned your nose up at Curse Magic, refusing to learn it in favor of Elemental Magic. Now your entire life revolves around a curse. You¡¯ve insulted my magic skills and refused my lessons, but I am a kind master and I will give you another chance. Join me and I will teach you the power of Death Magic just as I taught it to Sidney and all of the other Vampires of ?me Kingdom.¡±


    I force myself to stop gritting my teeth long enough to answer him. ¡°Never!¡±


    He shakes his head disapprovingly. ¡°You really are slow to learn boy. You can¡¯t even see your weakness while you¡¯re lying in a puddle of your own blood. Or maybe it¡¯s my fault as a teacher. Maybe I¡¯m just not communicating in terms that you understand. So let me put it this way. Your refusal to understand the power of curses cost one girl her life. Your refusal to understand the power of death is about to cost another girl her life.¡±


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    Master Simon moves over to Katherine and grabs her by the leg. ¡°What are you doing? Leave her alone!¡± I yell.


    He doesn¡¯t listen to me. He drags her by the leg and positions her against the far left wall directly opposite of me. I try to crawl towards him but moving even a half-inch applies pressure to one of the spikes in my left leg causing intense pain to circulate through my veins. I grind my teeth hard to keep from screaming out. I don¡¯t want him to know how hurt I am so that maybe I can scare him off with a mean grimace. Yet my pain is apparent and he never had any reason to fear me in the first place. I¡¯ll have to think of something better to save Katherine.


    I channel my mana into my left hand and try to cast the Ruby Red Dragon summoning spell. It doesn¡¯t work. Due to my critical injuries, my nervous system is overriding my intentions and committing what mana I have left to keeping me from bleeding out to death.


    Master Simon grins at the frustration written on my face. Speaking pompously he states, ¡°I¡¯m going to kill this girl now. If you don¡¯t like it, then stop me.¡±


    He loosens his detachable jaw and begins to suck in more of Katherine¡¯s vital energy. Through sheer strength of will, I ignore my horrendous pain and crawl towards him. Unfortunately, it would take me an hour to reach him at the rate I¡¯m going. Suddenly, he stops breathing in her energy. ¡°Let¡¯s try your mana,¡± he says.


    He starts again, but this time a blue mist arises from Katherine¡¯s body. Once he gets a taste of it he starts coughing violently. ¡°Too pure¡± he wheezes. ¡°It¡¯s like sucking in a mouthful of cinnamon. I¡¯ll just stick to your vital energy girlie.¡±


    Again he starts sucking in her life force.


    I cry out, ¡°Nooooo! Don¡¯t kill her. Please, I beg of you!¡±


    Master Simon bursts into a wild cackle. ¡°Hilarious! Little Lord Rosengarden begging for the life of his servant. You really are pathetic through and through aren¡¯t you boy? Fine. I¡¯ll just leave her like this. Unless she gets a life potion, she¡¯ll be dead within the next ten minutes anyway. If you¡¯re so arrogant that you still think you can reject the power of death, then save this girl¡¯s life. Once you fail and finally see things my way, come and find me and your new training will begin.¡±


    Master Simon emits one final cackle and transforms into a bat. Next, he flies out of the window off into the gray sky. His bat familiar swoops down from the ceiling rafters and chases after him.


    With Master Simon gone, I¡¯m free to go to Katherine. No matter what, I have to reach her in time and give her a life potion.


    I inch forward on my elbows and try to come up to my knees, but the spikes in my legs make the pain too intense. If I pull them out, I¡¯ll die from blood loss long before I reach Katherine. My only option is to crawl to her using my arms only.


    Thus, I crawl. After gaining only a tiny advancement, I have to take a break. I¡¯m doing my best to ignore the agony rippling through every cell in my body, but the concept of mind over matter only takes one so far. I feel faint and dizzy and my eyelids are anvils. My body is trying to shut down on me, but I won¡¯t let it. I dig my fingernails into the wooden floor and literally claw on.


    I expend three precious minutes without making any significant progress. At the rate that I¡¯m going, Katherine is as good as dead. Battling with my body¡¯s instincts, I squeeze out enough mana to expand my medical supply bag. A life potion won¡¯t do me any good while I¡¯m bleeding out from my legs, but if I chug a mana potion, then it might be just enough to help me reach Katherine. I consume a superior-grade potion to recover some power. Fortunately, it¡¯s exactly what I needed to carry out my plan.


    I lay my hands on the floor in front of me and cast the Ground Freeze spell. A bridge of ice forms connecting me to Katherine. Now I can use my arms to slide instead of crawl.


    Once I¡¯m properly settled onto the ice bridge, I find that it¡¯s more like swimming than crawling really. Not that it makes moving easy, but at least I¡¯m getting somewhere. I struggle on and on as fast as I can, but I¡¯m running out of time. ¡°Katherine!¡± I shout. She doesn¡¯t respond.


    I keep swimming towards her, but ten minutes have already passed and I¡¯m still about five minutes away. ¡°Katherine!¡± I repeat desperately. My condition is growing worse and I can barely keep my eyes open. Under normal circumstances, I would have been out cold a long time ago.


    As feelings of giving up start to creep into my mind, I remember the time that Katherine and I first hugged. It was when we had just left the magic store Cornucopia. I was worried that she was upset with me and then out of the blue, she hugged me. I hadn¡¯t been hugged in so long that I had forgotten what a hug felt like. Then there was the time that she kept me from beating the inquisitor to death and taught me about mercy. After that, she was tough on me and made me promise not to drink my problems away. More recently, when I was discouraged that I¡¯d never find a cure for the petrification curse, she tried to comfort me and exhorted me to not give up. I¡¯ve only known Katherine for a short time, merely a week, but somehow I can no longer imagine my life without her. I can¡¯t give up on her. I can¡¯t let her go. I love her.


    I press my palms into the floor hard and lift my upper body off of the ground. Then I throw my left arm forward as far as I can and crash down. Then I repeat the process with my other arm. It¡¯s a careless technique and it hurts like the dickens, but it will get me to Katherine quicker. I continue thrusting myself across the icy floor until I reach Katherine. As fast as I can, I whip out my most powerful life potion and start to pour it into her mouth. She¡¯s been down for thirteen or fourteen minutes, but I still have to try to save her. I finish pouring the potion into her mouth and wait.


    ¡°Katherine!¡± I shout.


    She doesn¡¯t respond.


    ¡°Katherine, wake up!¡±


    I start shaking Katherine as if to wake her from sleeping. She doesn¡¯t move. I shake her some more. When she still doesn¡¯t respond, I run my hand along her arm to check her temperature. Her skin is pale and cold: frigid cold. I place my face over her mouth. I can¡¯t feel her breath either. I think she¡¯s¡­


    My strength falters and I fall on top of Katherine¡¯s body. I then reposition myself so that my head can rest on her chest. Then finally, I wrap my arms around her and begin to cry brokenheartedly. I¡¯ve failed Katherine. I failed her like I failed Nadine. I can¡¯t continue like this. I can¡¯t go on without Katherine. ¡°Katherine I¡¯m so sorry. I didn¡¯t mean for this to happen. I never wanted you to get hurt. I...I¡­¡±


    Even now I can¡¯t bring myself to tell her how I really feel about her. Master Simon was right about me the whole time. I¡¯m nothing more than a pathetic disappointment. I let down the girl whom I loved and admired most. Overwhelmed with grief, I succumb to my misery and weep uncontrollably while squeezing Katherine in my arms.


    Unexpectedly, I hear, ¡°Soul, I¡¯m okay.¡±


    Hearing the quiet sound of Katherine¡¯s voice doesn¡¯t comfort me the least bit. I¡¯m happy that she¡¯s alive, but my weakness is what allowed this to happen to her in the first place. Instead of rejoicing, I hold her all the more tightly and continue to weep inconsolably.

 Chapter 31

    Katherine slips her arms around my back, weakly returning my hug. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Katherine. If I had listened to you, then this would have never happened.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I repeat as I fall out of her arms. I crash to the floor flat on my back. ¡°Katherine, I¡¯m not going to make it unless you heal me.¡±


    Katherine sits up alarmed. She takes one look at my legs and her hands shoot over her mouth in horror. I don¡¯t have to explain the details of what happened to me because the thick trail of blood stretching from the far wall to my position tells everything.


    ¡°Katherine I need the Miracle Heal spell. It¡¯s a grandmaster-level spell, but you can do it. You¡¯ve done it before without realizing it. For example, when I was at the brink of death from the goblin arrows, you kept me alive using the Miracle Heal spell. You thought that you were using the Mend spell, but you weren¡¯t. I understood this when you healed the inquisitor that I injured. You have the immense magical power of Shaman Terranostra, but you don¡¯t know how to control it consistently. The spells Mend, Heal, Major Heal, and Miracle Heal are all essentially the same spell separated only by the amount of mana used when casting them. Don¡¯t worry about the details, just use your father¡¯s wand and do your best. I know that you can do it.¡±


    Katherine summons her father¡¯s wand and positions herself over my legs. ¡°This is going to hurt,¡± she warns. She takes hold of one of the black lances in my leg. With a quick yank, she pulls it out and tosses it away. I grit my teeth and scream silently. Again, she pulls out another lance. The pain is maddening, but I do my best to endure it. Again and again, she yanks out the black lances until they¡¯re all removed. I can tell that their removal agitates my wounds and the blood begins to pour freely from my legs once more. My life is entirely dependent upon Katherine now.


    She gently places the tip of her wand on my left leg. Channeling her mana, she casts the Miracle Heal spell, causing the somber gray room to flash bright white. My leg feels better, but it¡¯s going to take more than one spell to heal wounds as severe as the ones that I have. She focuses and repeats the spell. My wounds are starting to close, but they¡¯re still not healed yet. ¡°Again,¡± I tell her.


    She obeys and repeats the spell. ¡°One more,¡± I request.


    The room illuminates with one final flash and I feel strong enough to stand. I rise to my feet in celebration. ¡°Katherine you did it! I knew that you could.¡±


    I turn towards her and we immediately hug one another. Affectionately, I rub my cheek against her soft, smooth cheek. ¡°I was so scared Katherine. I don¡¯t know what I would do without you.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t be without me. I have to stay with you for three months, remember?¡±


    Oh right. Three months. Only. I hide my frown by keeping my face pressed against hers. I¡¯ll have to worry about what to do when her time as my indentured servant ends later. For now our top priority is getting out of here before Master Simon comes back. I release Katherine, so that I can withdraw my Portal spell book. Ripping out a page, I create a blue portal in the room right next to me.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Katherine asks.


    ¡°To Magali. We¡¯ve got to tell the Chief Inquisitor about Master Simon.¡±


    Katherine tugs on my arm. ¡°But we just left there after I stole my father¡¯s wand. What if they put us in prison?¡±


    ¡°I know Katherine, but we don¡¯t have a choice. You go through the portal first, and I¡¯ll follow.¡±


    Katherine silently obeys and passes through. I follow behind her. The portal takes us to where the cobblestone pavement begins just a short distance outside of the city gates. To my surprise the sky, which was gray at Master Simon¡¯s chateau, is blue here although the sun is starting to set. The whole affair that occurred at Master Simon¡¯s chateau took no longer than an hour, nonetheless, it felt like I crawled towards Katherine for days. But objectively speaking it was only an hour, so when the gate guards see us they¡¯re duly surprised.


    ¡°Hey you two! You¡¯re under arrest!¡± one of the guards shouts.


    While they run towards us with their swords drawn, Katherine and I raise our hands into the air to surrender. They immediately confiscate my staff and Katherine¡¯s wand. She tries to fight with the guard a little bit, but his strength overcomes hers and he rips the wand from her hand. Right away, her lips droop into pouting. I feel bad for Katherine, but this has to be done. As the guards lead us to prison, I try to calmly explain the situation. ¡° You have to take us to the see the Chief Inquisitor. I have to warn him about a very dangerous death mage.¡±


    ¡°What are you barking about?¡± one of the guards asks.


    ¡°I¡¯m talking about a Vampire, my former Master. It turns out that he¡¯s been teaching Death Magic and plotting against the king.¡±


    The guards stop in their tracks. ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°Just take me to the Chief Inquisitor and I¡¯ll explain everything to him.¡±


    The two guards stare at each other briefly and then nod. While we pass through Magali on the way to the Chief Inquisitor¡¯s office, a white dove randomly lands on my shoulder. I take it for a pigeon at first and try to shake it off, but it doesn¡¯t fly away. After closer inspection, I realize that it¡¯s a dove. ¡°Look Katherine. A dove landed on my shoulder.¡±


    One of the guards arresting us sneers. ¡°A dove is supposed to represent good luck. But seeing as you¡¯re going to jail, I don¡¯t take it for your lucky day mate.¡±


    ¡°You never know,¡± I answer.


    Once we reach the castle, I try to reason with the dove. ¡°Listen little dove. You don¡¯t want to go in there. You¡¯ll get lost and be trapped in there forever. Or even worse, the cooks might catch you and serve you to the king. You should fly away now.¡±


    Like magic, as soon as I say the words, the dove flies away. We all watch in marvel for a moment until one of the guards gets impatient and shoves me along. Next, we stop in front of the office of the Chief Inquisitor. They open his door without knocking and push me and Katherine through. They follow through the door behind us. ¡°Chief, these are the two who stole the wand of Shaman Terranostra. This guy here was saying something about a death mage. We thought that you might want to talk to him.¡±


    Silently, the Chief Inquisitor pushes his chair away from his desk and rises to his feet. Then he steps around his desk and moves in front of Katherine and me. I bet he¡¯s practiced the whole silent treatment routine a thousand times. He probably thinks that he can intimidate us with his size. But even as big as he is, I distinctly remember putting my shoe in his face with a flying roundhouse kick. I quietly smirk to myself at the thought.


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    ¡°You again?¡± he asks.


    ¡°Did you miss me?¡±


    He ignores me. ¡°You¡¯re the girl who stole the wand of Shaman Terranostra? What possessed you to do that?¡±


    Katherine takes a step closer to him thereby having to tilt her head all the way back to look him in the eyes while she talks. ¡°I did it because none of you have the right to have it!¡±


    He asks the same question that I did. ¡°And I suppose you do?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! Shaman Terranostra was my father, and I don¡¯t care anymore who knows it! Despite whatever you may think about him, my father was a good man and he doesn¡¯t deserve to have his wand on display like some relic!¡±


    The Chief Inquisitor folds his arms resting his chin in the fingers of his right hand. ¡°Your mother was that botanist then? The one with the huge glasses?¡±


    ¡°Huh? You know my mother?¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± He turns his attention from Katherine to the two gate guards. ¡°Give her back her father¡¯s wand. It¡¯s her right to have it.¡±


    The two guards look at each other puzzled. One of them summons up the courage to question his boss. ¡°But sir, surely you don¡¯t mean to give this young girl the powerful wand of that heretic Terranostra?¡±


    The Chief replies, ¡°Do as I said. Shaman Terranostra was a good man. His daughter should have his wand.¡±


    Now the guard pushes his luck. ¡°Sir you can¡¯t mean that wild savage-of-a-man shaman.¡±


    His words anger Des Chevaliers. He steps forward beyond Katherine and me and stands hovering over the smaller guard. ¡°Are you questioning my judgment soldier? I was there personally in Ouroboros. I watched Shaman Terranostra sacrifice his life to save his people. I will not have such a man badmouthed in my office! Do I make myself clear?¡±


    When he raises his voice the small guard nearly wets his chainmail knickers. He quickly hands off Terranostra¡¯s wand to Katherine and then he and the other guard flee the scene leaving us alone with the Chief Inquisitor. Katherine clenches her now official new wand to her chest. ¡°Thank you,¡± she says to the Chief Inquisitor.


    He ignores her. ¡°You had something to say about a death mage?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s my master, Master Simon Bruhar. He¡¯s a Vampire and a teacher amongst the death mages. Not only that, but he¡¯s also the one who tricked Sidney Butterfly into becoming a death mage. It turns out that he was manipulating me to do his work. I don¡¯t quite understand what he was saying, but he told me that something would happen to Sidney and then he could kill the king and take the throne for himself. You have to stop him.¡±


    The Chief Inquisitor resumes his pensive stance. ¡°So Lord Bruhar is a death mage after all? And a Vampire Lord to boot: a lord being a regional teacher and leader. Perhaps even, he¡¯s the dreaded Death Mage Overlord of ?me Kingdom for whom we¡¯ve searched for years. Tell me, did he mention anything about an Overlord or being an Overlord?¡±


    I answer honestly, ¡°I don¡¯t know. All I know is that he¡¯s extremely powerful and extremely dangerous. He nearly killed Katherine and me. You have to do something about him.¡±


    I briefly look up at the single window in the office. It¡¯s just an open hole in the brick wall with two iron bars in the center. The little dove that had landed on my shoulder earlier is standing in the window just past the bars, but not quite in the office. ¡°Hey look the dove that landed on my shoulder,¡± I say pointing.


    For no apparent reason, the Chief dashes over to the window and scares the dove away. ¡°The last thing that I need is a bird flying around my office messing up my papers,¡± he says. Then clearing his throat, he continues, ¡° If what you say is true Souladonis, I fear your master is even more dangerous than you think. We¡¯ll have to go after him right away. Meet me here tomorrow morning. I have to find a certain man to give us backup. Then the three of us will go after Bruhar.¡±


    I¡¯m not sure I understand what he¡¯s saying. ¡°The three of us? Don¡¯t you have an army of inquisitors for that? Why do you need me at all?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, none of my men are capable of fighting a Death Mage Lord. You will guide us to Bruhar, and then my partner and I will defeat him. Be here at sunrise. Is that clear?¡±


    I cross my arms displeased. ¡°No deal. I don¡¯t see why I should help at all. Nothing would please me more than to see Master Simon pay for what he did to me, Katherine, and Sidney, but it¡¯s your job to fight death mages not mine.¡±


    Calmly, the Chief Inquisitor clasps his hands together behind his back, knowing full well that he¡¯s about to trap me in a checkmate. He says, ¡°I know of a man who has knowledge of the petrification curse. It happened back when I was a rookie inquisitor, but there was a bizarre incident that I¡¯ve never forgotten. Somehow an alchemy professor got his entire staff of research students petrified. Half of his right arm was petrified, but the rest of his body was unaffected. I remember that when questioned all he would say was, ¡®It was just a fantasy. The gods don¡¯t allow it.¡¯ If you help me Souladonis, then I¡¯ll get you all of the information on him that I can find. He¡¯s the only man to ever survive being petrified and he¡¯s your best shot at finding a cure. That¡¯s what you¡¯re looking for right? A cure to the petrification curse?¡±


    ¡°How do you know that?¡±


    ¡°Sidney told me. She told me a lot about you. So do we have a deal?¡±


    I sigh in submission. At this point I no longer even have a choice. He had me with the word ¡°cure.¡± I nod my head.


    ¡°Deal.¡±


    Katherine and I then leave his office. We go to a local restaurant and have a quiet dinner, during which we barely speak. I don¡¯t mean to neglect Katherine, but I¡¯m too consumed with my thoughts. More honestly I should say that I¡¯m too consumed with my fear. Even if I fight alongside Chief Inquisitor Des Chevaliers and his partner, we still might not be able to defeat Master Simon. After dinner we retire to the Sterlington Suites. Katherine and I exchange a few pleasantries before bed, but I know that she can tell what I¡¯m thinking. If things go wrong tomorrow, then tonight will be our last night together.

 Chapter 32

    Bright and early I meet up with Chief Inquisitor Des Chevaliers outside of his office. There¡¯s another man standing beside him, wearing gold plated armor unlike anything that I¡¯ve ever seen. He looks like a powerful warrior. Or rather I should say, he looks like he had once been a powerful warrior. He has to be pushing 70 if not older. To avoid being rude, I extend my hand to him and try to force down my inner panic. He takes my hand with a firm shake. ¡°Maximus Thunderforge, Dragoon,¡± he says.


    I¡¯ve heard of the Dragoons. They¡¯re legendary warriors who were responsible for defending towns from dragons. The only problem with that is that there hasn¡¯t been a dragon attack in ages. I don¡¯t think an attack has even occurred in my lifetime. At his age perhaps he had personally fought dragons, but I don¡¯t bother asking. The air is too tense to start the day with 21 questions. Des Chevaliers, Thunderforge, and I silently nod at one another and then set off.


    We pass through Magali, out the city gates, and march towards Master Simon¡¯s chateau. Along the way Thunderforge gets so excited that he can¡¯t help from chatting. ¡°Have you ever seen a dragon lad?¡± he asks me.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, a wee whippersnapper aren¡¯t ye lad? Back in my day, dragons swooped through the air hovering like vultures preying on the weak and defenseless. They could swallow a wee child with one gulp, that they could. You don¡¯t see ¡®em anymore. We did our job well. Too well we did. Made ourselves useless. My own boys know the Dragoon forging techniques, but got no clue about actual battle. Darn shame it is. As for me, I just want one last hoorah. One last great battle before I go quietly into the night.¡±


    Again, I don¡¯t mean to be rude, but he¡¯s clearly an old man. ¡°Don¡¯t push yourself too much, or you won¡¯t make it to a quiet night.¡±


    He laughs heartily and smashes me hard on the back with what was supposed to be a light pat. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me lad. I may be 69, but I feel like a man ten years younger, that I do.¡±


    I raise my left eyebrow and toss Des Chevaliers a doubtful glance. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him Souladonis,¡± he says. ¡°Maximus Thunderforge may not look like much these days, but back in his time he could fell a dragon with one blow.¡±


    I take another look at Thunderforge. He senses my disbelief. ¡°Don¡¯t believe him do ye lad?¡± he asks. ¡°It¡¯s called the Heart Thrust, the Dragoon super technique. Uses all of a Dragoon¡¯s mana in one decisive blow. Leaves him defenseless afterwards though. Speaking of which, got a mana potion I can have lad? Biggest one ya got.¡±


    I summon my medical supplies bag and reluctantly hand him a divine-grade mana potion.


    ¡°Woo wee! Big one ain¡¯t it? Right expensive if I¡¯m not mistaken. But don¡¯t ya be worrying lad, I¡¯ll get it back to ya or at least get ya a new one.¡±


    I take my potion for loss and continue the rest of the way with quiet determination and focus. I know that I have to fight my best, or I¡¯ll never see Katherine again. That thought alone will motivate me to persevere no matter how rough things get.


    Once we reach the chateau, we pass through the door without hesitation. This time a collection of lanterns spaced out on the surrounding walls illuminates the otherwise lightless first floor. Des Chevaliers unsheathes his overly large sword, Thunderforge summons a golden spear, and I squeeze my stone staff a little tighter. After we move a few steps into the house, a bat flies to the floor in front of us. It changes shape and becomes Master Simon in his death mage form. Next, his bat familiar arrives landing on his shoulder. ¡°Well, well, well, little Lord Rosengarden brought the Chief Inquisitor. I¡¯m disappointed in you, but I suppose that¡¯s par for the course with you isn¡¯t it boy? Regrettably, involving the inquisitors means that I have to kill you this time.¡±


    He turns his attention to his bat familiar and rubs his hand against its face. ¡°What¡¯s that lovely? You want to kill them? That¡¯s a bit greedy of you, but I suppose you do need your exercise. So be it.¡±


    His bat takes to the sky in the center of the room. Call me overconfident, but I don¡¯t feel too threatened by a creature that I can take out with a single swipe of my staff. But all the same, we take our fighting stances. I start to cast Comet at the bat in a preemptive strike, but something unbelievable happens. Right before our eyes, the bat becomes the size of a small dragon. Each flap of its wings reverberates with the sound of swooshing air. Its mouth falls open and I get a good look at fangs like sharpened swords aligning its mouth. My overconfidence dies instantly.


    ¡°Remember what I was telling you about familiars boy? Well this is my Apocalypse familiar. It will be more than enough to deal with you three.¡±


    Master Simon releases his signature evil cackle and then flies away in his bat form. I brace myself for a difficult battle with his familiar. Yet for as serious as the situation is, Thunderforge looks downright giddy. ¡°Oh! Oh! Let me have this one lad! It¡¯s just what I been needing. A good ol¡¯ proper bat-shaped dragon that it is. Worthy of an old man¡¯s final battle methinks. You two go on and deal with the little fish. I be casting my net right here and reeling in a big one.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure about this Maximus?¡± Des Chevaliers ask.


    ¡°Darn certain. Be on with ye now.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go Souladonis,¡± Des Chevaliers says to me.


    We make a wide circle around the Apocalypse familiar and dart for the stairs. As we go I take a look back at Thunderforge. Incredibly, he hobbles forward a few paces at the giant bat and then leaps so high into the air that his head nearly hits the ceiling. I can¡¯t believe my eyes. Master Simon¡¯s chateau is colossal. The roof has to be at least 30 ft. high. ¡°How did he do that?¡± I ask Des Chevaliers.


    ¡°There¡¯s more than meets the eye with him Souladonis. Now focus on the task and don¡¯t worry about him. He¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    I take one last look at Thunderforge. He¡¯s riding on top of the bat¡¯s head giggling more than a baby playing peek-a-boo. I don¡¯t know whether he¡¯s brave, crazy, or just plain suicidal, but either way, he¡¯s on his own now.


    Des Chevaliers and I climb up the stairs to the fifth and final floor. We run to the one wooden door and the large inquisitor kicks it open. When we pass through, Master Simon is standing there waiting for us. At once, he grins slyly and our battle begins.


    Des Chevaliers goes for his Triple Slash technique. He moves towards Master Simon in a blur and swipes for his legs. Unfortunately, he misses by a long shot. For as fast as he is, Master Simon is even faster.


    Standing directly behind Des Chevaliers, he places his palm on the inquisitor¡¯s back and unleashes his Dark Bolt spell. The black projectile pushes Des Chevaliers face-first into the back wall. I take advantage of Master Simon¡¯s facing away from me and fire a Comet at his back. He zips out of the way of my projectile, which instead travels towards my former enemy turned ally. Luckily, he rolls on the floor and I don¡¯t accidentally hit him.


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    Master Simon suddenly appears to my left. He stretches his hand out to zap me with a Dark Bolt just like he did Des Chevaliers, however, this isn¡¯t my first time fighting him. I anticipate his action and dip down into a spinning sweep kick at his heels. My right leg cuts through both of his legs causing him to plummet to his backside. Immediately, Des Chevaliers follows up my attack with the same falling lunge that he did to destroy my Rhinohorn. Just in the nick of time, Master Simon is able to take his bat form, pulling his midsection out of harm¡¯s way. He flies to the other side of the room and retakes his human form.


    We all ready ourselves for the next exchange. Des Chevaliers uses the Martial Magic spell ¡°Fire Enchant¡± to set his sword ablaze. I take out a Rush script, and cast the spell on myself using the piece of parchment. If I¡¯m to have any chance at catching Master Simon, then I¡¯ll need the speed boost.


    We begin again. Master Simon blasts a Dark Wave at me. I fearlessly charge forward at the tidal wave. When it gets close, I jump over it and land in a roll. At the same time, Des Chevaliers closes in from my right side. Master Simon curses him with Enfeeble, which will cause him to take increased magical damage from any offensive spells that hit him. However, that does nothing to stop his charge. He reaches striking range with Master Simon, raises his sword arm like he¡¯s going to swing, yet stops midway. Master Simon zips to dodge. Immediately, Des Chevaliers hurls his sword at Master Simon¡¯s new position. The surprise attack catches him off guard.


    It takes me a second to process what happened, but the next thing I know there¡¯s a monster harpy laying on the floor with Des Chevaliers¡¯s sword lunged through its stomach. Apparently, Master Simon considers it a valid tactic to use summoning creatures as shields. I know that there are some mages who hold that practice, but I¡¯ve always considered it to be kind of evil. Although at this point, it¡¯s well established that evil is what Master Simon does best.


    He starts blasting Dark Bolts at Des Chevaliers in a barrage of triple casts. In response, Des Chevaliers sidesteps and weaves desperately evading the attacks, but unless I help him, it will only be a matter of time before he gets hit. Thinking quickly, I remember back to when Master Simon refused to get closer to Sidney¡¯s gallows because of the rotten food and bad smell. Master Simon loathes unclean things. That tells me exactly what spell to use on him. I channel my mana and cast the debutant-level Illusion Magic spell ¡°Bugs¡±.


    Creepy crawling spiders, scorpions, beetles, and worms appear all over Master Simon¡¯s body. He jerks back and starts swiping at himself fiercely. ¡°Filthy Illusion Magic!¡± he grumbles.


    At once, I begin channeling a large amount of mana for one of the most powerful spells of Elemental Magic: the Water Dragon Bomb. Before he can break free from my illusion, I fire a large dragon-shaped missile that hits Master Simon spot on. The Water Dragon Bomb blasts him with such force that his body is launched all the way through the air into the back wall. He hits the brick wall ushering a thud from his crushing body that can be heard for miles. Surely, an impact like that must have killed him.


    Master Simon peels off of the wall and falls flat on his face. Des Chevaliers retrieves his sword and we both stare uncertainly at my former master¡¯s corpse. All of a sudden, Master Simon pushes his upper body off from the ground. ¡°You filthy wretches! You think your power can stop me? You have none! I will show you power!¡±


    He rises to his feet and lifts his arms high into the air. ¡°Behold the Vampire super technique: Terror of the Night!¡±


    I watch him unblinking. Groaning loudly, he starts to concentrate his energy, but for what sort of magic I don¡¯t know. Darkness shuts out the light in the room and a dark mist suddenly covers the floor like at Sidney¡¯s house. I continue to observe in horror as Master Simon¡¯s two canine teeth elongate into pointy fangs. His ears grow longer and his light gray skin becomes a much darker gray. He begins cackling his annoying cackle, but now his voice is deeper, coarser, and has that same unnatural reecho that Sidney had while she was a vampire. Last, a strange black and red cloud of energy emits from his body. He stops groaning and lowers his hands into the air. ¡°Behold my true power! Before I was fighting you with only a fourth of my ability, but I shall hold back no longer.¡±


    He points his finger at Des Chevaliers. ¡°You die first.¡±


    Nonchalantly, he flings his wrist at Des Chevaliers and casts an enormous black comet. His black fireball is much larger and faster than the comets that I cast. In fact, it¡¯s so fast that Des Chevaliers has no chance at all to dodge. Yet like a true veteran warrior, he keeps his calm and strikes at the fireball with his sword. I recognize the technique as the one that he previously used to cleave my comets in half. But unlike with my comets, when his sword collides with this fireball it doesn¡¯t split in two. Instead, it locks against his sword and pushes vigorously towards him. Des Chevaliers grits his teeth and pushes back with all of his physical and magical strength. Unfortunately, it¡¯s no use. His sword snaps in half, allowing the fireball to reach him. There¡¯s a tremendous black explosion that sends dark flames and pieces of armor flying about everywhere. I barely manage to avoid taking one of his shoulder pauldrons to the head.


    Des Chevaliers goes rolling across the floor smoking and unconscious. ¡°You¡¯re next,¡± Master Simon says to me.


    I prepare myself for anything. Master Simon vanishes before my eyes. I don¡¯t see him, but I sense his dark aura behind me. Without turning I lunge my staff backwards at him. He catches it in his left hand and jerks Guilt from my hands. As he tosses it away, I jump up and spin around while crescent kicking for his head. His right hand catches me by the ankle and he twists, slamming me into the floor. My breath bursts forth from my lungs, but I don¡¯t give up. I kick his wrist away with my left leg and roll backwards while simultaneously springing to my feet. Next, I spinning hook kick at his head, but he ducks beneath the kick. I immediately transition into a side kick. This time, he catches my foot in the palm of both hands and shoves me away. I get tossed back ridiculously far for a light shove. Nonetheless, I come dashing right back at him hoping to somehow get a hit.


    As I charge forward at him, he just shakes his head. ¡°Pathetic.¡±


    Then, he raises his right arm high into the air and says, ¡°Tempest.¡±


    In the next second, he whips his arm downwards and I¡¯m instantly squashed in place by a powerful, descending gust of wind. I hit the ground face first, hard enough for my vision to blur. Immediately, I try to force my arms to push me up, but I¡¯m too damaged and the weight of the wind bearing down on me is far too heavy for me to overcome. It seems that my fear was correct. Even combining forces with Des Chevaliers isn¡¯t enough to take on Master Simon. We¡¯re defeated.

 Chapter 33

    Even though Des Chevaliers is out cold and I¡¯m half dead, Master Simon still can¡¯t resist breaking into a monologue. He blabbers, ¡°Thus, Winterspring Academy¡¯s greatest disappointment of all time lies defeated and broken. You had all the chances in the world boy. Born of noble parents, educated in the finest school, given private lessons from the world¡¯s most powerful mage, and yet you still somehow managed to ruin it all. I have to say dear boy, you almost make failing an art.¡±


    He starts pacing the room back and forth stroking his mustache. He¡¯s clearly pleased with himself right now. ¡°If you¡¯re going to kill me, then just kill me,¡± I tell him.


    ¡°No, no, boy. To the victor; the spoils. I want to etch into your brain just how big of a failure you are. Then as your good master, I shall honor you with one last favor and end your miserable life.¡±


    Out of nowhere a large boom rings out from beneath us causing the entire chateau to shake violently. Master Simon cackles wildly. ¡°Well it seems that my Apocalypse familiar just earned his dinner. But where were we? Ah yes. I was going to tell you about how much of a failure you are. Where should I begin? I guess that I should just skip ahead to the end; otherwise, I¡¯d be chronicling your failures for days wouldn¡¯t I boy?¡±


    He checks the black fingernail polish on both of his hands. I wish that I could just die, but unfortunately I cannot. I have to listen to his arrogant boasting helplessly. He continues, ¡°You know, I could have given you a good position in my kingdom ¨C one just slightly lower than your little friend Sidney Butterfly. Although you yourself are mostly useless, you did bring me back my little songbird that flew away from her gilded cage. I think I¡¯ll make her my wife, or at least one of my wives. I wouldn¡¯t have minded having your servant either, but sadly I had to kill her to make a point to you. A point that you still somehow failed to comprehend. So now you die, the king dies, the Chief Inquisitor dies, and anyone who gets in my way dies. Just as soon as Sidney arrives, the final phase of my plan can begin.¡±


    He cackles some more. I try to pull my hair out, annoyed beyond all measure. Then suddenly, he sees something that surprises him and stops his stupid laugh. ¡°Ahhh Sidney! How long have you been there? Come to your master.¡±


    I look over to see whatever he sees. The same odd dove that had landed on my shoulder in Magali is now perched in one of the semi-oval windows built into the wall. ¡°Sidney?¡± I ask.


    The dove flies down to the floor in between Master Simon and me. I watch in amazement as the little dove grows into the form of Sidney Butterfly. At once, she says, ¡°Master Simon I don¡¯t understand why you¡¯re fighting Souladonis. Isn¡¯t he your student?¡±


    Master Simon shrugs his shoulders. ¡°He was but he betrayed me. Be a doll Sidney and finish these two off for me.¡±


    Sidney turns around and I get to see her from the front. Unlike the dark clothes that she wore before, now all of her clothes are colored a dazzling white. She wears a white one-piece dress, with white gloves, and white heels. Also, she has a white veil resting over her head to conceal her baldness. She practically looks like a different person. Yet there¡¯s one thing that has not changed about her. ¨CHer cerulean blue eyes.


    She steps towards me and kneels in front of my face. I don¡¯t know what to think of her new transformation. ¡°Is that really you Sidney?¡±


    She places her hands on my cheeks. Next, she stares deeply into my eyes while her own eyes sparkle. Abruptly, she kisses me on the forehead. Then she sings:


    As a boy I knew a girl.


    Her hair was black.


    We¡¯d smile, and sing, and play


    Joke and laugh.


    Each shining winter day was better than the last.


    But unparalleled joy is never meant to last.


    ¡°My song Winter Soul!¡± I exclaim surprised. ¡°You were awake the whole time?¡±


    She answers, ¡°Don¡¯t worry Souladonis. I¡¯ll take care of everything.¡±


    Placing her hand on the top of my head, she calls out, ¡°Blessing of the Heavens!¡±


    An array of white sparkles illuminates my body. Instantaneously, I feel as fresh as a newborn. I rise to my feet to check on Des Chevaliers. When I start to tell Sidney to heal him too, I immediately shut up because he¡¯s already on his feet returning my confused blinks.


    ¡°Sidney what are you?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Good question. I¡¯ll ask Master Simon. You stay back.¡±


    Sidney confidently steps away from me and towards Master Simon. I decide that it¡¯s best to just ride with the situation and huddle against the back wall with Des Chevaliers. Master Simon scowls furiously at Sidney. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing? I said kill them not heal them!¡±


    She ignores his anger. ¡°What am I Master? What is this transformation that I¡¯ve undergone?¡±


    Master Simon strokes his goatee. ¡°So you don¡¯t even know yourself? You¡¯re a White Witch: an ultimate class mage.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± she says calmly. ¡°Before when I shape-shifted, I became a bat. Now I become a dove. I¡¯ve been sneaking out of my castle cell and following Souladonis around. I heard everything that he told the Chief Inquisitor. You¡¯ve been using me for a long time, and I¡¯ve been greatly hurt because of you.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but look at the power you¡¯ve acquired! This is the potential that I knew you had within you. You should be thanking me!¡±


    ¡°I suppose that I do owe you some debt of gratitude. For that I shall do nothing more than leave here peacefully with Souladonis and Rupert.¡±


    Sidney turns her back on Master Simon and walks away. He becomes so infuriated with her that the sweat on his brow starts to steam. Nevertheless, Sidney ignores him and calls to us confidently, ¡°We¡¯re leaving.¡±


    ¡°Maybe we should go,¡± I admit to Des Chevaliers.


    ¡°No!¡± Master Simon snaps. ¡°None of you are going anywhere! How dare you defy me Sidney? I made you!¡±


    ¡°No Master. You turned me into something that I never wanted to be. I would have lost myself forever were it not for the kindness of Souladonis and Rupert. They actually cared about me, but you only ever cared about yourself.¡±


    Finally, Master Simon¡¯s temper reaches its boiling point. ¡°Learn your place you hog!¡±


    He juts out his palm and projects a large flaming black Comet like the one that he used to take out Des Chevaliers earlier.


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    Calmly, Sidney raises her palm and blocks the Comet with a barrier of white mana energy. ¡°White Ice,¡± she says.


    Right away, the fiery comet is frozen solid in crystal-like ice. Next, she pushes her palm forward and the frozen comet shatters into numerous spiky shards. Sidney pushes her palm forward once more, launching the ice shards directly at Master Simon. He covers himself with his arms and puts up a black mana barrier around himself. The ice shards either pass by him or melt against his shield. He¡¯s not hurt, but I suspect that if he grows any angrier, he¡¯s going to pop a blood vessel or something.


    ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± he roars. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you all!¡±


    He points his index finger at Sidney. ¡°Bind!¡±


    A circular ring of magical energy clasps around Sidney¡¯s arms. Now she¡¯ll be helpless. I start to run to her aid, but she leisurely stretches her arms out to the side causing the ring around her to fragment into tiny pieces. ¡°Oh,¡± I say stopping in place. I return to my spot against the back wall with Des Chevaliers and mind my own business.


    Next, Sidney points her finger at Master Simon and casts Bind on him. He wiggles and writhes trying to free himself, yet he¡¯s unable. Screaming loudly, he strains his mana until the ring finally breaks. Completely lost to fury, he retaliates with the Enfeeble spell making Sidney more vulnerable to his magic. Casually, Sidney takes in a deep breath and with a puff of her lips, dispels the curse from herself. As I watch Sidney make a fool out of Master Simon, I almost want to imitate his annoying cackle, but that might make him attack me, so I don¡¯t.


    Acting out of blind rage, he casts the Chain Lightning spell at Sidney. Big mistake. Sidney absorbs his lightning into an orb of electricity building at her fingertips. Once he stops firing, Sidney does him one better. ¡°White Lightning,¡± she says as she propels white-colored electricity back at him.


    Master Simon freezes like a scared deer, powerless before Sidney¡¯s magic. The lightning singes him and he winces in agony. After a few seconds, Sidney releases her spell. Traces of white electricity skip all over Master Simon¡¯s black robe and he shrinks to the ground convulsing from the pain. I almost feel sorry for him, but then I remember what he did to Katherine and I want Sidney to fry him some more.


    Yet having the compassionate heart that she does, Sidney lets him off the hook. ¡°It¡¯s over Master. We just want to leave in peace.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll leave in pieces!¡± he retorts. He closes his eyes and starts threading his right hand through the air.


    I shout, ¡°Sidney look out! It¡¯s the Impaler!¡±


    Right away, Sidney holds out both palms for a new spell. ¡°Heavensent Familiar,¡± she calls.


    In front of her appears a beautiful unicorn, radiant, and glimmering with electricity sparking freely from its body. Sidney hops on its back and it immediately starts running around the room in erratic evasive maneuvers. Underneath its feet a black portal appears. Out of the portal a large black spike shoots up. Unlike the small lances that were gouged into my legs, this spike is large enough to impale a giant. It seems that before Master Simon was only toying with me. This time he¡¯s casting his most powerful spell for real.


    The Heavensent keeps moving and the spikes keep coming. The room is only so big, so whenever it reaches a wall, it suddenly has to cut the corner quickly or face a brutal death. Luckily, Sidney¡¯s unicorn is fast and agile. It¡¯s easily the most graceful, most majestic animal that I¡¯ve ever seen. With its white aura it seems like a pure-hearted, gentle creature that would never hurt a fly. Yet looks can be deceiving. It slips past the black spikes, lowers its head, and runs Master Simon through his heart with its horn.


    Blood drips from Master Simon¡¯s mouth and the light fades from his eyes. The Heavensent takes a half step back and lowers its head to the ground, allowing Master Simon¡¯s pierced body to slide off of its horn. Sidney descends from her unicorn and gives it a big hug. Then she unsummons it away. Des Chevaliers and I cheer triumphantly and run to Sidney¡¯s side. I catch her in my arms and lift her into the air. After a little spin, I set her down and we hug normally. ¡°That was amazing Sidney. I can¡¯t believe that you beat Master Simon by yourself!¡±


    ¡°Not by myself,¡± she says running her fingers across my cheek.


    ¡°I hate to ruin the moment,¡± Des Chevaliers begins, ¡±but we need to go help Maximus.¡±


    Sidney and I nod in unison and we all head for the door. On the way, I notice the ground beneath our feet turn black. ¡°Look out!¡± Sidney shouts. I panic and freeze.


    ¡°Wind Push!¡± Sidney says. She uses her magic to blow me and Des Chevaliers into the distant back wall while propelling herself towards Master Simon.


    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you yet!¡± he says barely able to stay on his feet. Again, he starts to attack us with the Impaler, but notices a large storm cloud over his head. He looks up puzzled at how a cloud could be inside the building. Suddenly, a tornado forms around him and raises him spiraling into the air between the floor and the cloud. Then out of the cloud a series of white lightning bolts rain down on him setting him ablaze in a white fire. He continues to spin in the tornado while on fire and being struck by lightning for ten seconds. Finally, the cloud dissipates and he falls heavily to the ground burned to a crisp. If Master Simon wasn¡¯t dead before, he¡¯s definitely dead now.


    Des Chevaliers and I regain our composure and return to Sidney. ¡°What was that?¡± I ask.


    ¡°My super technique: White Tempest.¡±


    ¡°How did you learn all of these new spells?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. When Rupert taught me Life Magic, there was a flash of white light. After that I was different. It felt like I had always known these spells. I don¡¯t understand it myself, but apparently I¡¯m a White Witch now.¡±


    I shrug my shoulders. ¡°Works for me.¡±


    We move to the exit. Sidney and Des Chevaliers pass through, but I stay behind to get one last look at Master Simon. Solemnly, I bow my head to say a few last words.


    ¡°For all the good things that you did for me, I truly thank you Master. But for everything else, I say, ¡®you got what you deserved!¡¯¡±


    I mockingly imitate his cackle and then leave him behind for good.

 Chapter 34

    Quickly, we hustle downstairs to aid Thunderforge. Unfortunately, we arrive too late. We find him crushed against the floor with the giant vampire bat lying on top of him. His legs are completely lost under the bat, but the top half of his body sticks out. He holds his golden spear in his hand even now.


    Des Chevaliers kneels at his side, ¡°Maximus my old friend. You fought valiantly until the end. Now rest well.¡±


    Thunderforge¡¯s eyes flash open. ¡°Nah, been having enough of the napping I have.¡±


    When I look at the little old man cracking jokes while crushed under a giant bat, the only question that I can think to ask is: ¡°How the heck are you still alive?¡±


    He answers, ¡°Don¡¯t be surprised lad that I haven¡¯t gone kicking the bucket yet. The bat never touched me ¡®til the very end. I used my Heart Thrust and dropped it from the sky, but like I be saying before, the Heart Thrust saps a dragoon¡¯s power and leaves him defenseless. All I could do was watch as the big fella landed right on top of me. Woo wee it be hurtin¡¯ my legs, but your mana potion gave me the strength to stay alive, so I be thanking you for that lad. But if you don¡¯t mind, could you get it off of me now?¡±


    Combining our efforts, Des Chevaliers, Sidney, and I push the Apocalypse off of Thunderforge. Right away, he hops up to his feet like a fresh spring chicken. ¡°What be happening with the main boss?¡± he asks.


    ¡°It¡¯s over. Master Simon is dead,¡± I say.


    He clanks his golden spear against the floor. ¡°Great! Job well done then. Guess I be going home and sitting down to me pipe. Fresh new story to tell to the grandchildren I¡¯ve got. You guys be taking care of yourselves now.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want your quest reward?¡± Des Chevaliers ask.


    ¡°Nah. Repay the lad his mana potion for me and I¡¯ll be as a merry as a mulberry tree.¡± He pokes the air with his finger and a blue portal to his homeland appears. He steps through waving behind his head and the portal seals up behind him instantly. I marvel at this small display of magic. Few are the mages who can cast the Portal spell without the assistance of a script. He did it with one finger.


    ¡°Just who was that man?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Maximus Thunderforge, a legendary warrior, and leader of the Dragoons,¡± Des Chevaliers answers. ¡°Back in his prime he was invincible. He¡¯d jump a hundred feet in the air and battle dragons in the sky.¡±


    A hundred feet is a stretch, but I can believe him being the leader. While I try to picture in my mind the sight of an old guy doing aerial battle with a dragon, Des Chevaliers tells me, ¡°Come to my office in Magali Souladonis. I¡¯ll give you the full dossier on Dr. Sterblich, the alchemist who specializes in petrification.¡±


    ¡°Okay, great.¡±


    He then turns his attention to Sidney. ¡°As for you Ms. Butterfly, you¡¯re supposed to be locked up in your cell back at the castle. I¡¯m very disappointed to learn that you¡¯ve been sneaking out. You force me to extend your sentence.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± I interrupt. ¡°She saved our lives and defeated Master Simon. Doesn¡¯t she deserve a quest reward too?¡±


    He places his chin in his fingers. ¡°I suppose. What do you want?¡¯


    Sidney joyfully throws her arms around me. ¡°I want to follow Souladonis wherever he goes. I¡¯ll follow him forever.¡±


    ¡°Is that fine by you?¡±


    ¡°I guess.¡±


    ¡°So be it. I shall consider you rehabilitated. You¡¯re free to follow Souladonis.¡±


    Rejoicing, Sidney now throws her arms around Des Chevaliers. ¡°Thank you Rupert. Thank you for everything.¡±


    He reluctantly returns her hug. ¡°You¡¯re welcome Sidney. Just remember what I told you about standing up for yourself. You¡¯re your own person Sidney. Do what YOU feel is right.¡±


    Sidney nods and releases him. Then Des Chevaliers takes out his portal tome and creates a gateway back to Magali. We all pass through together. But while Des Chevaliers heads for the castle, I go to the Sterlington Suites to reunite with Katherine.


    I knock on her inn room door and wait for her to answer. As soon as the door swings open, she flies out wrapping her arms around me tightly. ¡°Souladonis, you¡¯re okay!¡±


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    I gladly embrace her. ¡°I¡¯m fine Katherine. Everything is finished now. Oh, and Sidney is going to be traveling with us from now on.¡±


    Katherine glances over my shoulder at Sidney. ¡°Oh. I see. Hello Sidney.¡±


    ¡°Hi Katherine,¡± she answers cordially.


    I pay for the inn room, take the girls out to lunch, and then eagerly speed off to see Des Chevaliers. When I reach his office, he already has the promised file ready for me. I read over it and discover that Dr. Sterblich was an alchemist in the land of Eudaimonia. The true nature of his research was never discovered, but it¡¯s clear that his entire research staff was turned to stone. He was charged for all of their deaths, but since it was deemed an accident, he was only sentenced to twenty years in prison instead of receiving a life¡¯s sentence. Afterwards, he returned to the mountains of Eudaimonia and has never been heard from since.


    I thank the Chief Inquisitor for the file and set off at once. I¡¯ve never been to Eudaimonia, so I can¡¯t get there with the Portal spell. I have, however, been to the country S?rensen, which is relatively close. From the coast of S?rensen, it¡¯s just a four-hour boat ride to the coast of Eudaimonia.


    At a northern harbor town called, Kirkpatrick, I talk to a number of men at the docks and ultimately commission a fisherman named Tony to boat me over to Eudaimonia. Tony is in his early 30s and has suffered from financial problems. I could have gone with a nicer boat, but since he¡¯s been struggling to put food on the table for his family, I decided that we could both help each other. While he steers the ship across the sea, I relax in the ship¡¯s cabin with Katherine and Sidney.


    I shake with nerves sitting on Tony¡¯s bed. Katherine sits beside me on the right and Sidney to my left. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Katherine asks.


    ¡°This is my last chance Katherine. If not even Dr. Sterblich knows how to cure petrification, then I¡¯m done. I can never save Nadine and I can never go home.¡±


    I lean over and bury my head in my hands. ¡°I¡¯m scared.¡±


    My friends try to comfort me. Katherine gently rests her head on my shoulder while Sidney sings Winter Soul. The mere fact that they want to make me feel better cheers me up. I take a deep breath and uncover my face. ¡°Thanks guys.¡±


    ¡°Master, you know that song of yours?¡± Katherine says.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s kind of depressing. You should write a new song, a happier song.¡±


    ¡°You want me to write a happy song?¡±


    ¡°Yeah I do. For me. Okay?¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll try to write a happier song for you.¡±


    ¡°Promise me.¡±


    ¡°Sure, I promise. I¡¯ll write a happy song for you Katherine.¡±


    Spending time chatting with Sidney and Katherine makes the time pass quickly. Before I know it, we¡¯re already at Eudaimonia. We depart from the boat and I pay Tony on the beach. I hand him four ultra-grade red crystals worth 200,000 ames. Tony receives the money speechless. I pat him on the shoulder and say, ¡°Take care of your family.¡±


    ¡°I will,¡± he replies with tears in his eyes. ¡°I will. Bless you sir.¡±


    I nod at him, and then we depart for the mountains. Even from the beach, the mountains in the center are clearly visible. The only question is where exactly Dr. Sterblich lives amongst the jagged rock formations. In order to find him, I have Sidney scout from the sky in her dove form while Katherine and I walk on foot. It takes her an hour, but eventually Sidney returns with good news. ¡°I found a shack on a hill. I looked inside the window and saw a man sitting there. It must be Dr. Sterblich.¡±


    ¡°Lead us there,¡± I tell her.


    Once more, Sidney takes to the sky while Katherine and I follow her from below. By evening we reach the shack. Sidney swoops down and becomes human again. Then the three of us move to the shack¡¯s front door. I twist the handle, push the door, and it opens.

 Chapter 35

    ¡°Dr. Sterblich?¡± I ask the man standing in the shack.


    Strangely, at the same time he asks the exact same question. Clearly, he¡¯s not Dr. Sterblich. He¡¯s far too young first off. At most he¡¯s the same age as me. He has black hair draping to the middle of his neck, a long blue coat, a black vest with a blue shirt hanging out of it, black pants, and black shoes. He also has blue eyes, but not like Sidney¡¯s. His eyes are deep ocean blue. He stands with his posture a bit off, but other than that, he¡¯s a fairly good-looking guy.


    ¡°Drats. I thought that you were Dr. Sterblich. I¡¯ve been waiting here for two hours.¡±


    ¡°No. My name is Souladonis. This is Katherine and Sidney. Do you know the doctor?¡±


    ¡°Nope. Never seen him before. But when I got here, the fireplace was still hot. I figure he¡¯ll be back sooner or later. Have a seat. We can wait for him together.¡±


    In Dr. Sterblich¡¯s shack there are a row of benches on either side of its single room. I imagine that once upon a time his students sat on the benches while he lectured. But now the benches are empty and there¡¯s no indication that they¡¯ve seen much use lately. The young man sits on the leftmost bench and I sit on the next bench facing towards him. Katherine and Sidney retain their normal formation at my sides. I ask, ¡°Might you tell me your name, and what brings you here?¡±


    The young man responds, ¡°My name is Nathan Bram. I¡¯m a student of alchemy and I¡¯ve read all of Dr. Sterblich¡¯s books. There¡¯s just this one recipe that I¡¯ve been having trouble understanding, so I came here to ask him about it.¡±


    I listen to Nathan attentively. ¡°Does he mention the petrification curse in his books?¡±


    ¡°Not directly. Why do you ask?¡±


    I hand Guilt over to him, so that he can inspect it.


    ¡°Wow a petrified staff! That¡¯s weird. If you¡¯re trying to fix it, then there might be a way.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I accidentally shout.


    ¡°That one recipe I mentioned; the one that I can¡¯t figure out. Unless Dr. Sterblich can help us, then we¡¯re both out of luck.¡±


    I take Guilt back and wait with Nathan. It turns out that Nathan is the leading student from Wyrmscale Academy in the country of Wyrmscale. There¡¯s been a sudden outbreak of a contagious illness that¡¯s left countless people in his country ill. The academy¡¯s leader, Arch Lord Horror, personally asked Nathan to find a way to cure the illness. He believes that there is an alchemy recipe that is the cure to the illness as well as all other maladies. Petrification amongst them. Yet the only one who fully understands the recipe is its creator, Dr. Sterblich.


    We wait another hour and a half before the door finally opens. An old man in a worn out lab coat enters the shack. He has a crossbow strapped behind his back and holds a rabbit by the ears in his left hand. His body is slanted to the right, weighed down by his petrified forearm. ¡°Dr. Sterblich!¡± I say excitedly.


    ¡°Who are you people?¡±


    Nathan answers, ¡°Dr. Sterblich, I¡¯m a big fan of yours. I have all of your books and I¡¯ve completed all of your recipes except one. I was wondering if you could help me understand what I¡¯m missing ¨C from the immortality elixir.¡±


    ¡°Noooo!¡± Dr. Sterblich screams frantically. ¡°It was just a fantasy! The gods don¡¯t allow it!¡±


    He throws down the rabbit, and then uses his left hand to pull out a bolt from his quiver. Placing the bolt in his mouth, he applies his one good arm to drawing his crossbow. Next, he uses his mouth to set the bolt on the crossbow and cocks it as well. Then finally, he points his weapon at Nathan. ¡°Get out!¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately I can¡¯t leave Doctor,¡± Nathan says. ¡°Many people are sick in my country and I¡¯m not leaving until you explain the elixir to me.¡±


    ¡°Noooo!¡± Dr. Sterblich screams again. He pulls the crossbow¡¯s trigger and fires its bolt at Nathan. Responding with blurring speed, Nathan whips out a rapier with a golden hilt and deflects the bolt.


    ¡°Please Doctor let¡¯s not get violent. That¡¯s not in your best interest.¡±


    Before things escalate any further, I interrupt. I approach Dr. Sterblich and present my staff to him. ¡°Please Doctor. I was told that nobody understands the petrification curse like you do. Is there any way at all to reverse the curse? I¡¯m desperate and I¡¯ll do anything.¡±


    He bends over to examine my staff more closely. ¡°How did this happen?¡±


    ¡°It was cursed by a monster.¡±


    A sudden look of horror overtakes the doctor. ¡°The cockatrice?¡±


    ¡°No a gargoyle familiar, but what¡¯s a cockatrice?¡±


    ¡°The Earth Ruling Golden Cockatrice,¡± Nathan explains. ¡°It¡¯s one of the four immortal beasts. There are the Earth Ruling Golden Cockatrice, the Seafaring Golden Megaladon, the Hell Burrowing Golden Cerberus, and the Heaven Dwelling Golden Dragon. In many cultures they¡¯re believed to be gods, but it¡¯s not quite clear what they are or where they came from. Others believe that they keep the balance of the world in order. I don¡¯t know myself, but I do know that they¡¯ve been around for as long as written history and probably longer. Is it correct to assume, Dr. Sterblich, that when your research staff was petrified you were trying to steal feathers from the Golden Cockatrice?¡±


    Dr. Sterblich shudders. ¡°It was just a fantasy. The gods don¡¯t allow it.¡±


    ¡°Answer the question,¡± Nathan demands.


    ¡°Yes! Yes that¡¯s right! I was trying to create a potion for immortality, but it required an immortal ingredient. We tried to steal a feather from the immortal beast, but it was too much for us. It petrified all of my students and half of my right arm. There! I said it!¡±


    Nathan approaches Dr. Sterblich and holds his sword to the doctor¡¯s throat. ¡°But you still haven¡¯t told us everything. It¡¯s here in Eudaimonia isn¡¯t it? Tell me where.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a fool!¡±


    Nathan presses the sword against his neck. ¡°Alright fine,¡± Dr. Sterblich says. ¡°If you want to die, then that¡¯s your problem. Follow the laid out path through the woods to the peak of the mountain. You¡¯ll see a trail of people petrified in lab coats. They will lead you right to the beast. And to your demise.¡±


    Nathan releases him. ¡°Fire up your chemistry set doctor. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡±


    He walks to the door and I chase after him. Katherine and Sidney try to follow me as well, but I don¡¯t let them. I order them to stay in the cabin with the doctor. I won¡¯t risk allowing them to become petrified like Nadine too. That would completely defeat the point of everything that I¡¯ve done in the past six years.


    Outside of the cabin, I meet up with Nathan and we start hiking the trail to the mountain¡¯s peak together. The trail is a narrow dirt path cutting through an agglomeration of leafy green trees. I understand that he intends to steal a feather from the Earth Ruling Golden Cockatrice, but what I don¡¯t know is whether or not he has a plan. ¡°Say Nathan, ¡° I begin politely. ¡°When Dr. Sterblich and his team tried to get a feather from the Golden Cockatrice, they were all turned to stone. Do you have a plan on how to get one safely?¡±


    The corners of his mouth turn up into a light smile. ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll come at it from above, jump on its back, pull out a feather, and then get away quickly. Our best chance is to get a feather before it¡¯s aware that we¡¯re hunting it. If that doesn¡¯t work, then I¡¯ll fight it for its feathers.¡±


    I nod in agreement with his plan. It¡¯s decisively better to try to steal a feather and run than to fight an immortal monster: especially one that can simply turn its attackers into stone. Speaking of people turned to stone, we encounter the first one a quarter mile up the path. It¡¯s a male in a lab coat. He looks like he was hit by the petrification spell while trying to flee in panic. We¡¯re still only a third of the distance to the mountain peak. That means that this man ran away quite far and that the Golden Cockatrice chased him all the way here. ¡°Looking at this guy Nathan, I¡¯m not sure that we¡¯ll just be able to run away.¡±


    ¡°Well then we had better fly.¡±


    ¡°Fly?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll show you when the time comes. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    We trek on. Like Dr. Sterblich said, we find a trail of petrified bodies guiding us to the top of the mountain. Seeing all of their terrified, frozen faces is starting to unnerve me. Nathan, however, seems perfectly calm and collected. He did say that he was the top student of Wyrmscale Academy, so I can presume that he is a powerful mage. Yet at the same time, I doubt that he¡¯s ever faced a monster that could easily turn him into stone. I remember how I went into battle with the gargoyle haughty and overconfident. I¡¯m still paying for that mistake to this very day. Just as I start to voice my concerns to Nathan, he shoves me screaming, ¡°Look out!¡±


    I fall behind a tree and cautiously peek around it expecting to see the Golden Cockatrice coming down the trail. When I see nothing, I start to wonder. ¡°Did you see it?¡± I whisper.


    ¡°You almost stepped on a caterpillar,¡± Nathan chides.


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    Coming from behind the tree, I look down at the ground to where Nathan is pointing. Surely enough, there¡¯s a little green caterpillar inching its way towards a tree. I raise my left eyebrow at Nathan, silently demanding an explanation.


    He gets the message and explains, ¡°I¡¯m like a caterpillar. Caterpillars are forced to crawl face first through the mud while the rest of the world either steps on them or ignores them completely. Back at school people use me when they need me to write magic scripts for them, but then they turn right around and call me by the nickname, ¡®Dork Genesis.¡¯ They make fun of me saying that when I was born my mother gave birth to a whole new level of dorkiness. They don¡¯t know how much that hurts me. My mother passed away when I was 10 years old. I always keep her rapier and her familiar with me.¡±


    I silently sympathize with Nathan. It¡¯s weird to compare oneself to a caterpillar, but I think I get his point. ¡°Do you want to know what they call me at Winterspring Academy?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The greatest disappointment of all time.¡±


    ¡°Ouch. How¡¯d you get that esteemed title?¡±


    I show him Guilt. ¡°I got my staff and my girlfriend petrified. Then I dropped out of school, so that I could search the world for a cure. I was Arch Lord Aerolyso¡¯s apprentice and everyone had high hopes for me. I crushed those hopes in outstanding fashion.¡±


    Nathan chuckles. ¡°That¡¯s pretty bad.¡±


    An understatement. We continue up the trail some more and pass by several more statues including one of a small girl. Her size suggests that she had been a teenager of maybe 13 or 14 years. Also, unlike the other statues, there are a few flowers placed at the feet of the small girl. I pat the statue on the shoulder and continue on. She must have been Dr. Sterblich¡¯s own daughter. None of the other researchers were old enough to have a daughter of her apparent age. I don¡¯t know why Dr. Sterblich brought her along, but I can only imagine the heavy guilt that he feels over bringing such a cruel fate upon his daughter.


    After hiking for three quarters of a mile, we finally come to the summit. The trail fizzles out at the end where the line of trees stops. The peak is nothing more than a rocky table with a little bit of grass and a giant bird walking around. Except it¡¯s not a bird. It¡¯s more of a two-legged dragon-like creature with a snake¡¯s body, a rooster¡¯s head, a hawk¡¯s wings, and rooster feet. Its entire body is covered in gold. Beyond the Golden Cockatrice, the rocky table continues for a short stretch before dropping off into a steep cliff. In the distance one can see the blue horizon, and half of the Eudaimonian island hanging below.


    Hiding in the trees, Nathan and I observe the beast trying to get a feel for its movement patterns. It¡¯s unlike any creature that I¡¯ve ever seen. It walks around for a bit, stops, looks around, and then repeats the pattern. There are neither eggs nor a visible nest on the ground. It looks like it¡¯s guarding something, but what I couldn¡¯t say. One thing that I do glean from observing it, however, is that it only ever looks in the trail¡¯s direction. In ten minutes time, it never looks behind itself even once.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we can surprise it from this side.¡±


    ¡°No and because of the cliff, we can¡¯t go around it. I do have one idea though. Do you know Summoning Magic?¡±


    ¡°Yes, at the Master level.¡±


    ¡°Alright then. Summon anything that can run fast and I¡¯ll summon my mother¡¯s familiar.¡±


    While Nathan concentrates his mana to summon his mother¡¯s familiar, I cast the Killer Rabbit spell, thus summoning the weakest of all summoning creatures. It¡¯s not powerful, but it¡¯s fast and it¡¯s small. My hope is that it will be able to outrun the Golden Cockatrice and avoid its petrification curse. Waiting until the exact moment that the cockatrice starts pacing, I tap my Killer Rabbit on the back to send it forth. It runs out wildly, immediately catching the monster¡¯s attention.


    At the same moment, Nathan summons a gigantic white phoenix with a 25 ft. wingspan. It¡¯s so big that it can¡¯t even stretch open its wings in the space between the trees on the left and right sides of the dirt trail. Even if we were in an open field, a bird of its size would still have a hard time taking off. I don¡¯t mean to criticize Nathan, but I¡¯m not quite sure that he really thought his plan through.


    ¡°Get on its back,¡± Nathan tells me.


    The white phoenix lowers its head laying its body out flat. Nathan hops up on its back and I do the same. I¡¯m still doubtful, but Nathan seems like he knows what he¡¯s doing. He pulls out a carefully sorted pack of magic scripts and thumbs through to a specific one. ¡°Large birds can¡¯t take off from a standing position,¡± he says. ¡°I¡¯m going to cast the Grandmaster Script Magic spell Omnipotence on it. Omnipotence is an enchantment that changes the target¡¯s magical power into physical strength. It¡¯s going to jump up into the air and then snap out its wings. Then I¡¯ll quickly dispel the enchantment and restore its mana.¡±


    Out of all thirteen magic disciplines, Script Magic is the most powerful yet the most difficult to learn. It¡¯s so difficult that generally speaking, most skilled script mages are 50 years or older. As a discipline it¡¯s mostly for writing scripts that allow other mages to cast spells that they don¡¯t know or to allow the script mage himself to conserve energy by converting his mana into powerful scripts that he can then use in battle without tiring himself out since casting spells from scripts requires less mana than casting spells directly. However, at the Master and Grandmaster level, there are spells entirely unique to Script Magic. The mages who can casts those spells, like Omnipotence, are so few and far apart that they¡¯re extremely hard to find. Yet even if one does find such script mages, they tend to charge an exorbitant amount of ames for their rare scripts. That¡¯s why I¡¯m curious as to how Nathan acquired an Omnipotence script. ¡°How did you get that Omnipotence script?¡± I ask.


    ¡°What this?¡± he asks showing me the page in his hand. ¡°This is a Dispel script.¡±


    ¡°Then how are you going to cast the Omnipotence enchantment?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll show you. Just make sure that you hang on. The take off is kind of rough.¡±


    Nathan channels his mana into his right hand. Aiming his palm at the white phoenix, he casts the Omnipotence enchantment. Next he says to his familiar, ¡°Lift my lamentations to the heavens, Metanoia!¡±


    His phoenix kicks its legs against the ground and we blast off like a rocket. The speed at which we ascend causes a heavy air current to push down against my shoulders. I struggle to stay standing as the sound of rushing air funnels through my head. At the top of the phoenix¡¯s jump, we float weightless for a second and then quickly begin to sink. Using the Dispel script, Nathan removes the Omnipotence enchantment from the phoenix, restoring its magical power. It then ignites the back edges of its wings on fire and propels forward. I may be wrong, but if I didn¡¯t know better, I¡¯d say that my heart failed to beat even once during the entire launch.


    ¡°That was crazy!¡±


    ¡°You get used to it.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that you¡¯re a grandmaster script mage at your age! You must be the most powerful mage of all time!¡±


    ¡°I wish. Most mages study the other disciplines first and then Script Magic last. My father made me study it first thinking that it would make me really powerful, but all that it actually did was make me great at Script Magic and wishy-washy at everything else. If something goes wrong and we have to fight the cockatrice, then I was hoping that you could handle it ¨C being the former student of Arch Lord Aerolyso and all.¡±


    That¡¯s not good. I was secretly thinking the same thing. Nobody in their right mind would want to fight the Earth Ruling Golden Cockatrice head to head. But if that¡¯s what I have to do to save Nadine, then I will. I grip my staff with resolve and prepare myself for whatever may come.


    Nathan¡¯s white phoenix swoops around closer to the Golden Cockatrice. It¡¯s so focused on catching my Killer Rabbit that it doesn¡¯t seem to notice our approach. Carefully, Nathan has his familiar hover over the monster¡¯s head while lowering itself gradually. Nathan readies himself to pounce. Judging that he¡¯s ready, I unsummon my rabbit. In response, the cockatrice stops running about and wobbles its head, frustrated and confused.


    Seizing the moment, Nathan leaps from the phoenix and lands on the cockatrice¡¯s back. Quickly, he reaches for one of its neck feathers, but before he can grab a hold of it, the cockatrice does a surprise summersault and brutally tail whips Nathan off of it. He crashes hard to the solid rock surface. From the way that he rises to his feet staggering, I can tell that he¡¯s dazed. I watch in horror knowing what comes next. The Golden Cockatrice squawks violently at him, then from its eyes, it emits the telltale pink beam of the petrification curse at Nathan.

 Chapter 36

    At once, I dive from the white phoenix¡¯s back. While airborne, I desperately cast my spell not knowing whether or not I¡¯ll make it in time. The pink beam comes within two feet of Nathan. Just before it reaches him, my Boulder spell springs out of the rocky ground right in front of Nathan¡¯s face. The pink beam hits my boulder changing it from its natural rocky brown to a dank gray.


    Flipping, I land on my feet and charge at the Golden Cockatrice while triple casting the Comet spell. All three comets land consecutive hits buying me enough time to close the distance. I leap up at the monster and swing my staff for its head. Somehow, it catches my blow in its beak and tosses me aside as if I were nothing. I land to my feet thinking. Most monsters have a weakness. Usually it¡¯s a certain element or one of the magic disciplines: Illusion, Status, or Sound Magic. The problem is that I have no idea what weakness an immortal monster would have. My best bet is to just keep trying anything until something eventually works.


    Flashing its eyes, the Golden Cockatrice fires its pink beam at me. I roll to the side and return fire with the Ice Volley spell. Tragically, my ice spikes shatter against its scaly serpent-like body dealing it no significant damage. I can rule ice magic out.


    While I think of my next spell, I get caught off guard by the Golden Cockatrice¡¯s green spit. Some of it splashes on my face, casting the Rancid Venom curse on me. Right away, the blood in my veins turns into fire. I wince and grit my teeth, but I don¡¯t take my eyes off of the cockatrice lest I get hit by the petrification curse. Predictably, the cockatrice¡¯s next move is to cast the curse. Once more, I roll out of the way despite the poison burning inside of me.


    In need of some backup, I check on Nathan¡¯s status. ¡°Nathan are you okay?¡± I shout.


    ¡°I¡¯m just dandy.¡±


    ¡°I was poisoned by the Rancid Venom curse. I could use some help.¡±


    ¡°On it.¡±


    Nathan opens his script bag and shuffles through the pages. While I wait for him to find a curative spell, the cockatrice attacks me again. This time it screeches at me casting the Vibrato spell. Not realizing that it can also use Sound Magic, I catch the full force of its percussion wave head on. As a result I get blasted into a backwards summersault and land on the rocky surface in a painful belly flop. Just as soon as I hit the ground, Nathan uses his script to cast the Purge spell on me. The entire front side of my body is in a world of hurt, but I¡¯m no longer poisoned at least.


    I push off of the ground with my arms. Then I cast the Lightning Strike spell quick-draw style. The lightning bolt catches the cockatrice in the chest but does no visible damage. It¡¯s as if its scales are impenetrable.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Nathan shouts at me. ¡°Attack its feet!¡±


    Despite its large size, its rooster feet are relatively thin. Maybe one solid hit to either foot would be enough to topple it. The only problem is aiming a spell powerful enough and precise enough to catch it in the foot.


    My first attempt is with the Boulder spell. I cast it in the correct spot, but the cockatrice steps a little to the right causing my spell to hit it in the base of its serpent body instead. Before I can get another shot, it lowers its head and charges at me like a bull. Once again, I¡¯m caught by surprise. Thankfully before I¡¯m run down, Nathan casts the Omnipotence spell on me. With all of my magical power converted into physical strength, I simply jump over the cockatrice to avoid its charging headbutt.


    I flip while twisting twice in the air. I then land on the beast¡¯s back facing towards its head. I waste no time giving its head a good smack just to see how it will respond. It answers my question with the same summersault tail whip maneuver that it pulled on Nathan. And even though I get lashed by its tail, I¡¯m not all that hurt thanks to my uncanny physical strength. Rather, I land to my feet and immediately dash back at the cockatrice. Yet still unused to being this physically strong, I accidentally crash straight into the cockatrice with a single stride. My unintentional collision catches us both off guard. Reacting quickly, I throw out my right hand and yank a feather from its wing.


    Incredulous, I allow myself to get distracted by the golden feather in my hand. Before I can refocus, the cockatrice batters me with a powerful tail whip. I sail through the air and crash at Nathan¡¯s feet. Wheezing, I crawl up to my feet holding up my prize. ¡°Look Nathan. I got one.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now go get two more just to be safe.¡±


    I roll my eyes at him. Easy for him to say. But I didn¡¯t come this far just to later find out that one feather isn¡¯t enough. I approach the cockatrice for another go. As I come close to it, it stomps the ground with its left foot. Suddenly, a large boulder springs up out of the ground. The cockatrice swiftly kicks the boulder launching it at me. I don¡¯t have time to dodge it, so I cover my face and try to absorb some of the impact with my shoulder. It does me little good. The large rock explodes against me knocking me more than a little loopy. I hit the floor flat on my back as dizzy as a goldfish in a whirlpool.


    The cockatrice casts the petrification curse at me without my realizing it. Before it hits me Nathan springs at me, catching me up into his ungraceful roll. I still have no idea what¡¯s going on until he places a script on my chest and cast the Miracle Heal spell. My head finally stops spinning enough for me to remember my own name. I quickly get up off of my butt and start reassessing my game plan. ¡°Well that didn¡¯t work,¡± I say, pointing out the obvious.


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    ¡°Maybe if I pull it to the left, you can hit its leg from the right,¡± Nathan suggests.


    I nod and start to shimmy right in a wide circular angle. Nathan does the same to the left. The cockatrice looks at us both trying to figure out whom it would rather kill first. Unsurprisingly, it chooses me. I brace for another skirmish as it comes roaring at me. It pecks and kicks at me. I dodge, duck, juke, and weave; skirting its fury by mere inches. While I elude its attacks, I notice Nathan concentrating his mana into the tip of his right index finger. ¡°Hold it still Soul!¡± he shouts.


    I don¡¯t know what he thinks I can do, but in the spirit of cooperation I take one for the team and don¡¯t evade its next attack. It bashes me sideways with its rooster head, but in doing so it remains in the same position. Right away, Nathan cries out, ¡°Divine Mana Gun!¡±


    Projecting his mana directly from his index finger, he fires out a brilliant globe of blue mana energy. Never in all of my years have I ever seen a mage project pure mana before. I cross my fingers hoping that his attack is as powerful as it looks.


    Sensing his projectile behind its back, the cockatrice turns around. I don¡¯t know whether or not monsters can feel fear, but I do know that the instant it sees Nathan¡¯s mana barreling at it, its eyes grow wide. I¡¯d like to think they grow wide in fear.


    The projectile reaches its target. I lose sight of the Golden Cockatrice in a gigantic spherical explosion of blue magical energy. For all the rumors about it being immortal, I¡¯d be deeply surprised to see it come out of this one alive. As the pressure wave from the attack reaches me, I get blown backwards, yet I keep my eyes fixed in the cockatrice¡¯s general direction. Before long, the energy dies down revealing the cockatrice on the ground lying on its side. It doesn¡¯t move, but I¡¯m too cautious to carelessly presume it¡¯s dead.


    Nathan and I exchange understanding nods. Carefully, we step towards it keeping out a close eye for the smallest sign of life. We don¡¯t see any. I think that Nathan just seriously killed the Earth Ruling Golden Cockatrice. I don¡¯t know what sort of long-term ramifications will result from its death, but at the very least, we can get its feathers now.


    Nathan and I freely pluck at its wings and fill two satchels with golden feathers. ¡°So much for attacking its legs,¡± I joke to Nathan.


    ¡°I guess I don¡¯t know my own magical strength. That¡¯s literally the first time that I¡¯ve ever used that spell in battle.¡±


    ¡°Really? Speaking of which, what the heck was that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s one of the offensive Grandmaster Script Magic spells. Unlike the other magic disciplines, the offensive Script Magic spells attack with raw mana. It¡¯s not the easiest thing to do, but in a sense it¡¯s the most effective way to attack with mana.¡±


    ¡°No kidding. You sure gave this guy a wallop.¡±


    I kneel over the cockatrice¡¯s head and examine its face. Holding my hand over its beak, I can clearly feel air coming out of its nostrils. ¡°Uhh, Nathan,¡± I start to say.


    All of a sudden, its golden body glows even more golden.


    ¡°I think we should leave. Fast!¡±


    Just as soon as we can start running, the Golden Cockatrice springs up to its feet enraged. It chases after us flapping its wings madly. I remember the frozen poses of the people we saw coming up the trail. They were all turned to stone while running. Even though everyone knows that you¡¯re not supposed to look back when fleeing for your life, I break the rule. Surely enough, the pink beam of the petrification curse chases right at my backside. I hop to the side evading it and keep running. If you know that the petrification curse is coming, then it¡¯s not all that hard to dodge. In fact, we would be home free were it not for the fact that we¡¯re running in the direction of the cliff rather than the trail.


    ¡°Metanoia!¡± Nathan hollers as we approach the cliff¡¯s edge.


    The white phoenix answers the call swooping towards us. Unfortunately, the cockatrice is a lot closer to us than his familiar. When we reach the edge of the cliff, we have no choice but to jump. Closing my eyes, I leap. I feel myself falling for an eerily long time before I crash into soft feathers. Nathan too lands safely on the phoenix. ¡°Go!¡± he orders.


    The phoenix¡¯s wings ignite and we fly off faster than a Steampunk locomotive. My heart starts beating again. Despite the stress of yet another near death experience, I can¡¯t help but laugh like a fool. I¡¯m so relieved to have survived a battle with an immortal monster.


    Nathan hears my laughter and joins in. Before long he stops and comments, ¡°I guess you¡¯re as surprised as I am that we actually pulled it off. We make a pretty good team Soul.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, except that I ended up taking most of the hits.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. But I gotta say Soul, you¡¯re an expert hit taker.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve had a lot of experience.¡±


    Nathan and I laugh some more and enjoy a leisurely cruise back to Dr. Sterblich¡¯s cabin.

 Chapter 37

    We breeze through the front door of Dr. Sterblich¡¯s cabin triumphantly holding up our satchel of feathers. Sidney and Katherine joyously run to my side greeting me with hugs. Dr. Sterblich stands towards the back of the cabin next to his alchemy table. He waves us over and we bring him the feathers.


    ¡°With my petrified right arm, it is hard for me to accurately measure out and pour ingredients. This process is too delicate for me. You shall have to perform the work,¡± he tells Nathan.


    ¡°Affirmative doctor,¡± he answers.


    He summons his alchemy textbook and turns to the very last page. While he works, I take a seat on a nearby bench. Katherine and Sidney join me and listen closely as I recount the tale of my battle with the Earth Ruling Golden Cockatrice. In just under an hour, the first batch of the immortality elixir is ready. I move to the alchemy table and examine the golden liquid contained within a clear test tube. ¡°Do you think it will work?¡± I ask Nathan.


    ¡°I have a certain theory. I believe that the four immortal beasts are not actually immortals at all. I think that their longevity can be attributed to their incomparable regenerative abilities. Like when I blew the cockatrice up with my Divine Mana Gun, it recovered completely in a few minutes. Had it really been dead, it might have stayed dead. But like I said, it¡¯s just a theory.¡±


    Dr. Sterblich chimes in. ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is that if one were to drink this elixir it would grant restoration but not immortal life?¡±


    ¡°Either that or it would kill the person instantly.¡±


    Nathan takes the test tube of the golden elixir and holds it in front of Dr. Sterblich¡¯s face. ¡°There¡¯s only one way to find out. Drink the potion doctor.¡±


    Dr. Sterblich falls back in surprise. Out of concern for him, Katherine steps in. ¡°Surely you don¡¯t want him to drink something that could kill him. Isn¡¯t there another way to test it?¡±


    Nathan maintains constant eye contact with Dr. Sterblich. ¡°Many of his students died so that he could have this potion. Here it is doctor. Drink it.¡±


    The fear on Dr. Sterblich¡¯s face is visible for miles. His forehead sweats and his lips tremble. Nonetheless, Nathan continues pushing him on. ¡°Didn¡¯t your daughter also die so that you could have this? Here it is. Drink it.¡±


    ¡°Amber,¡± Dr. Sterblich wails.


    In my opinion, treating Dr. Sterblich this way is not the answer regardless of whatever happened in the past.


    ¡°No Nathan,¡± I demand. ¡°Test the potion on my petrified staff first. If it works, then he can drink it.¡±


    Slowly Nathan pulls his gaze away from the doctor and shifts it onto my staff. I present it with both hands while closing my eyes. ¡°Please work. Please. Please.¡±


    While Nathan pours the solution over my staff, I keep my eyes closed.


    Suddenly, in my hands I feel something like movement and hear the sound of sand or pebbles falling to the floor. Opening my eyes, I see the gray of the staff fading away from the center, revealing its original red color. Incredulous, I drop the staff and sink to my knees. Even on the floor, the gray continues to fade away until the petrification is completely removed.


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    Tears well up in my eyes and I gasp for air barely able to breathe. Katherine wraps her arms around my neck from behind me and presses her cheek against the left side of my face. ¡°You did it Master! You found the cure!¡±


    Nathan picks up my staff Guilt, or rather my staff, Rosette, as it was originally called, and examines it closely. ¡°Well doctor. Your chances for survival just went up.¡±


    He gently places the staff in my hands. Then wasting no time, he gets right back in the doctor¡¯s face. ¡°Drink the potion.¡±


    He and Dr. Sterblich exchange an intense silent stare. Finally, Dr. Sterblich takes the golden elixir from Nathan¡¯s hands. Without breaking eye contact with Nathan, he swallows the remainder of the test tube¡¯s liquid in one gulp. We all focus our attention on him as we await his fate.


    Dr. Sterblich starts writhing violently scratching at his right forearm with his left hand. He lets out a loud scream as golden cracks crease into the stone covering his arm. Suddenly the stone casing shatters sending pieces of rock flying everywhere. Following immediately, we hear the sound of his bones cracking as his drooping posture resets itself. Finally, standing completely erect, he holds his right arm in front of his face and individually wiggles each one of his fingers. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it. The elixir worked,¡± he says.


    Nathan shrugs his shoulders coolly. ¡°An alchemy potion is like anything else; you only get out of it what you put into it. The immortality elixir can only restore someone to his or her optimal health. I suppose that if you drank the elixir regularly that you could live forever. Of course, that would mean continuous confrontations with the immortal beasts. Not worth the effort if you ask me.¡±


    I take my staff Rosette and approach Nathan. ¡°Is it possible that I could have an elixir to take with me?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± he answers. ¡°With all of the feathers that we collected there will be enough elixir to restore Dr. Sterblich¡¯s students, the people in my country, and your girlfriend.¡±


    He takes the second test tube off of the alchemy table¡¯s rack and hands it to me. ¡°Go ahead and take this one. I¡¯ll stay here with Dr. Sterblich and continue converting the feathers into elixirs. It¡¯ll probably take all night.¡±


    I zealously place the immortality elixir in one of my unused inventory bags. Then, I stretch out my hand to Nathan. When he takes it to shake, I clasp his hand with both of my own. ¡°Nathan Bram, you have saved my life. I will never forget you.¡±


    He places his left hand on my shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t get all mushy on me Soul. Just go and do what you have to do.¡±


    I nod and release his hand. Then I take out my portal book, rip out a page, and summon a blue portal inside of Dr. Sterblich¡¯s cabin. ¡°Katherine, Sidney, we¡¯re leaving.¡±


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Katherine asks.


    ¡°A place where I haven¡¯t been in a long time. ¨CHome.¡±


    Note: Sorry guys. I forgot to upload chapters yesterday. So today, I''ll upload three chapters and brings things up to the epic final boss fight.

 Chapter 38

    Stepping through the blue portal, my foot lands in soft, fluffy snow. I close my eyes, breathe deeply of the frigid air, and savor the crunching sound that accompanies my every step. I move slowly and deliberately, absorbing every second into my soul like a man lost in a splendid dream. Said dream comes to an abrupt end when Katherine wraps her arms around my right arm with her teeth chattering and her body shaking from the cold. I take off my outer coat and wrap it around Katherine. ¡°We¡¯ll get to shelter soon. The inn in Winterspring is close to the entrance gate.¡±


    After a short march through the snow, we come to the town¡¯s front gate. It¡¯s magically sealed to keep outsiders from entering freely. I place my hand on the gate¡¯s lock. Then channeling my mana into it, I recite the magical pass code, ¡°Tears don¡¯t freeze in paradise.¡±


    The gate clanks open and we pass through. I start to turn towards the street with the inn, but Sidney tugs me in the opposite direction. ¡°Instead of the inn, let¡¯s go to Silvia¡¯s house.¡±


    I don¡¯t have any objections so I let her lead the way. When we arrive at Silvia¡¯s humble single story house, Sidney knocks on the door while Katherine and I hang back. After about ten seconds, Silvia opens the door. Sidney stands in front of her big sister saying nothing at all. Silvia gazes at her mutely for a moment and then throws her arms around her. ¡°Sidney! What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story. I also brought some friends. One, you might recognize.¡±


    I step forward and let Silvia take a good look at me. She stares closely at me and eyes me from head to toe. ¡°It couldn¡¯t be. Souladonis Rosengarden?¡±


    I bow my head slightly. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you Silvia.¡±


    A bit confused and overwhelmed, Silvia invites us inside her house. We follow her into her salon where we make proper introductions. I present to her Katherine and she presents her fourteen-year-old apprentice Heather Byrdzyc. Apparently, in the time that I¡¯ve been gone, not only has Silvia become Arch Lord Aerolyso¡¯s right hand man, so to speak, but also she¡¯s become a successful teacher in her own right. By her own admission, she is in fact Winterspring Academy¡¯s most popular teacher as voted by the students. But when I look at her wavy shoulder length blonde hair, her violet eye shadow, magenta lipstick, sleeveless white blouse, and sensible black skirt, I can¡¯t help but think that she may have an unfair advantage at obtaining popularity points. I mean even when we were kids Silvia was attractive, but now she¡¯s just downright gorgeous. Looking like a goddess incarnate couldn¡¯t hurt her popularity. That¡¯s all I¡¯m saying.


    At Silvia¡¯s command, Heather merrily skips off to cook us all dinner. Sidney removes her white veil and reveals her bald head to Silvia. Then she tells the whole story of how she became a death mage, was used and abused, kicked out, and nearly had her head chopped off in Magali. Silvia listens attentively, while struggling futilely to choke back her bitter tears.


    For whatever reason Sidney overly lavishes my role in the whole ordeal, making me sound like some sort of guardian angel or something. I assure Silvia that I did very little for Sidney that she couldn¡¯t have done herself. Furthermore, I remind Sidney that I still owe her my life for saving me from Master Simon. All the same, in her gratitude, Silvia invites Sidney, Katherine, and me to stay with her for as long as we want.


    An hour into our conversation, Heather skips back into the room to tell us that dinner is ready. We sit down to the dinner table to find a luxurious dinner composed of steak, crab, asparagus, and mashed potatoes, all prepared by Silvia¡¯s apprentice. ¡°Does Silvia ever teach you magic or does she just make you do stuff for her?¡± I ask Heather.


    ¡°She just makes me do stuff for her,¡± Heather replies without the least mental reflection.


    ¡°You¡¯re so bad Heather!¡± Silvia snaps. ¡°Heather is Winterspring¡¯s most promising young Falconer class mage. I teach her all that there is to know about falconry.¡±


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    ¡°So then you¡¯re a Falconer class mage yourself?¡±


    ¡°Actually, a Master Falconer: the ultra class form, but yes. How about you Souladonis? What class did you end up joining?¡±


    I smile politely to hide my deep shame from my former academic rival. ¡°I still don¡¯t have a class. I¡¯ve learned Life, Illusion, and Summoning Magic in addition to Elemental Magic, but I never joined a class.¡±


    ¡°Oh. I see.¡±


    I shovel food into my mouth as an excuse to not look Silvia in the eyes. I always figured that my former classmates would have gone on with their lives to become happy and successful. It seems that I was correct. I¡¯ve traveled the entire world, battled great monsters including one of the four immortal beasts, become rich, and mastered new magic spells, but the only significant things that I have to show for my life are my servant-for-three-months and the golden elixir in my pocket. Still, I¡¯m glad to see Silvia again. It will help me to have closure in case things go wrong in my imminent battle against the gargoyle familiar.


    With that thought in mind, I cut to the chase. ¡°Silvia, I¡¯ve come back for Nadine. Is everything the same with the Forbidden Tower?¡±


    She uncomfortably stabs her fork at the piece of steak on her plate. An awkward silence fills the air, but I wait for her to answer. ¡°What happened back then Souladonis¡­everyone¡¯s moved on. You don¡¯t have to¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that as meaning everything is the same. I¡¯ll go in the morning then.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to die!¡± she shouts all of a sudden, slamming her fist on the table.


    All eyes fall on me in silence. I know what they¡¯re thinking. I know that she¡¯s probably right. But none of it matters. I have no choice. ¡°Nadine lost her life because of me. I have no right to live on happily and forget about her. Unless I do this Silvia, I¡¯m as good as dead already.¡±


    Silvia holds up her hand to stop me from saying anything more. ¡°Fine Souladonis. If that¡¯s what you feel like you have to do, then I can¡¯t stop you. All that I ask is that before you go to the Forbidden Tower, talk to Master Aerolyso first. He may know some way to help you.¡±


    I accept her advice. True to her nature, Katherine asks Silvia a million questions about Winterspring and lightens the mood in the room. We then have a pleasant meal together, share some more stories, and then settle in for the night. Heather returns to her own house, Sidney shares Silvia¡¯s room, Katherine takes the guest room, and I¡¯m stuck with sleeping on a couch in the salon. I don¡¯t really mind though. I¡¯ve spent countless nights sleeping under the stars. Having a roof over my head is more than enough for me.


    As I lay on the couch by myself, I reflect on Silvia¡¯s words. She¡¯s likely right. Logic says that I can¡¯t win against the familiar of the first Arch Lord. I¡¯ve come a long way with my magic skills, but I¡¯m far from ready for this fight. The best that I can do is distract the gargoyle long enough for Katherine to pour the immortality elixir on Nadine. I¡¯ll do everything in my power to protect them until they can escape. Also, unlike before, if the gargoyle projects the petrification curse towards them, then I¡¯ll jump in the way instead of out of the way and take the hit for them. It¡¯s the least that I can do to make up for the six years of life that Nadine has lost.


    Any way that I look at it, tomorrow is likely my last day. Somberly, I summon a note pad and a quill pen. Then carefully I write out my last will. Afterwards, I meticulously construct a new song for Katherine. I think about fully confessing my feelings for her in the lyrics, but I only manage to make an ambiguous expression of them. I rationalize my lack of courage as sparing Katherine¡¯s feelings. There¡¯s no point in telling her that I want to be with her forever when I only have one day left to be with her. That would be cruel. For both of us.

 Chapter 39

    The next morning I follow Silvia to Winterspring Academy. It feels good walking through the school grounds again. The first thing that draws one¡¯s attention as soon as one walks onto campus is the big purple hemisphere window at the heart of the center building. The window is inside the Arch Lord¡¯s office. Sometimes he can be spotted through the window staring down at his school. At the present moment, he¡¯s not at the window. While we move towards the center building, I excitedly look around at everything. I recognize quickly that it all looks the same as before. I guess it¡¯s kind of hard for a school to look different when it¡¯s always covered in snow.


    There is one thing that is different though. The secretary¡¯s room right outside of the Arch Lord¡¯s office is now Silvia Butterfly¡¯s personal office. At her request he allowed her to take the room and bump the actual secretaries somewhere down the hall. It¡¯s pretty evident to me that over the years Silvia has become the Arch Lord¡¯s undisputed favorite. Honestly, I always knew she was and that I was second to her.


    Silvia knocks softly on the door calling out, ¡°Master Aerolyso. It¡¯s Silvia.¡±


    She then opens the door and steps in. She gestures for me to follow her and I do so. We stand in front of his desk and I wait to see if he will recognize me in my older appearance. I certainly recognize him, but he does look noticeably older and frailer than when I last saw him. His skin is a little more spotted and wrinkly, his posture is a little slumpier, and he has to strain a little harder to see out of his thick glasses. I guess he still looks relatively good for a 92-year-old though.


    After staring blankly at me for a while, he finally says, ¡°This is something that I have not seen in a long time ¨C the two of you together. Tell me Souladonis, have you come back from the dead?¡±


    ¡°Not quite,¡± I answer. ¡°I can never be truly alive until I restore life to Nadine. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve returned Master. I¡¯ve come to challenge the gargoyle and to release Nadine from her petrification.¡±


    ¡°What exactly are you planning?¡± he asks, meshing his fingers together.


    ¡°I have an elixir with me that I know can cure the petrification curse. I¡¯ll have my servant Katherine pour it on Nadine while I fight the gargoyle. They¡¯ll escape while I hold its attention.¡±


    ¡°And then you escape too?¡±


    I don¡¯t answer his question. I simply stand gazing at him sternly.


    ¡°I see. You¡¯ve always had a strong sense of responsibility and now your guilt demands that you atone with your life doesn¡¯t it? You never had any intention of surviving this battle to begin with.¡±


    Silvia whips her attention to me. ¡°Souladonis, tell me that¡¯s not true!¡±


    I press my lips together in silence. Angered by my reaction, Silvia punches me hard in the shoulder. I don¡¯t react at all to the impact. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you Souladonis? Do you think anyone wants you to die for a stupid mistake you made as a child? Do you think that¡¯s what Sidney would want?¡±


    Again, I have no answer to give her. She pulls back her fist once more, but Arch Lord Aerolyso stops her from hitting me. ¡°Leave us Silvia. I¡¯d like to talk to him in private.¡±


    Silvia yanks on her hair with irritation. Then stomping away she leaves the room, so that the Arch Lord can give me a piece of his mind. There are two chairs placed in front of his desk. He motions for me to take a seat and I obey.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been gone for many years now. I presume that you¡¯ve had quite an adventure.¡±


    ¡°Yes Master. It was six years ago that I left Winterspring. I¡¯ve learned and experienced many things. Amongst them, the fact that Master Simon Bruhar was a death mage lord.¡±


    Arch Lord Aerolyso shakes his head remorsefully. ¡°I¡¯ve been informed about Simon. He craved power and cared little for self-restraint. His obsessive lust for power and status was his downfall. I fear that you too are controlled by an obsession; not for power, but for guilt. Is it really your intention to die Souladonis?¡±


    I sigh deeply and lean over, resting my arms against my legs. ¡°For six years I¡¯ve lived in a constant state of misery and depression, filled with guilt and an overwhelming urge to just not exist anymore. The only reason that I pushed on was because my life doesn¡¯t belong to me, but rather to Nadine whose life I stole. However, two weeks ago something unforeseen happened. I ended up saving the life of a common village girl who then became my servant for three months in order to pay off her life debt to me. At first I found her annoying, but now I wish that I could stay with her forever. Yet I already owe my life to Nadine. I can¡¯t just abandon her, but I know that if I go up to the top of the Forbidden Tower, I¡¯ll have to fight the gargoyle. The problem isn¡¯t that I don¡¯t want to survive Master. It¡¯s that I know I can¡¯t.¡±


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    Arch Lord Aerolyso separates his fingers and raps them together pair by pair. I can tell that he¡¯s in deep thought, so I don¡¯t say anything further lest I interrupt him. Suddenly, his eyes light up with a brilliant idea. But then he shrugs his head and goes right back to thinking. Seeing him now reminds me of how he used to do this in the past. Eventually, he¡¯ll come up with something meaningful to say if I just wait long enough. I tap my feet and think about Katherine¡¯s flowing brown hair until he speaks again. ¡°Unfortunately Souladonis, I can only think of one thing. It won¡¯t help you survive, but it just might be enough to enable you to take the gargoyle down with you if it comes to that. How does that sound?¡±


    It¡¯s not what I was hoping for, but I¡¯ll take anything that I can get. ¡°Sure. If I destroy it, then no one else can repeat my mistake.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit Souladonis! Do you know what the opposite of Death Magic is?¡±


    ¡°Life Magic.¡±


    ¡°No. That¡¯s what everyone thinks, but no. It¡¯s not nor could it be the opposite of Death Magic. You see, Death Magic is a supernatural magic, so it¡¯s opposite could only be another supernatural magic.¡±


    I turn my head slightly to indicate that I¡¯m not following him.


    ¡°There¡¯s another supernatural magic. One that very few people know about. It¡¯s the fourteenth magic discipline. I think you¡¯ll like its name: it¡¯s called Soul Magic. Yet being the true opposite of Death Magic, which takes life away from the target, Soul Magic drains the life away of the caster.¡±


    Voicing my honest impression, I say, ¡±It sounds useless.¡±


    He wags his finger in disagreement. ¡°Costly, but not useless. The power boost that it grants a mage makes it by leaps and bounds the most powerful of all the magic disciplines. In fact, Soul Magic is the family secret of the Lenoir family. They were the original rulers of ?me Kingdom for over 400 years. About two decades ago, I was contracted to teach it to the then young Arch Lady Benedicta. I was sworn to secrecy about it and only taught enough to enable me to tutor her. Now that she¡¯s an adult, she¡¯s unquestionably the most powerful woman in the world. Being the current head of the Lenoir family, she¡¯s the one and only true master of Soul Magic. I don¡¯t know as much about it as she does. Nonetheless, I can teach you the basics. I¡¯m not supposed to, but seeing as my former apprentice is locked into a death match that he can¡¯t win, I¡¯ll break my vow of secrecy this one time. However, if you do survive, then don¡¯t tell Benedicta that I taught you Soul Magic. She¡¯ll have both of our heads on a platter.¡±


    I bow gratefully to Master Aerolyso. He then summons a tattered, aged piece of parchment and hands it to me. I read it over and over again until I get the gist of altering my mana energy into Soul Magic energy. Right away, I can feel its indescribably powerful effects, but I still don¡¯t know if it will be enough to defeat the gargoyle. Either way, I will do what I must. Surviving is secondary to saving Nadine.


    ¡°I think that I¡¯ve got it down now Master, so it¡¯s time for me to go.¡±


    ¡°Good luck,¡± he says to me.


    I move to his office door and open it. Before stepping through, I smile at my kindhearted master and say to him:


    ¡°Goodbye.¡±

 Chapter 40

    At long last, I stand at the base of the Forbidden Tower with Katherine. Sidney wanted to come with us, but I wouldn¡¯t let her. Fighting alongside Katherine and Sidney would surely improve my chances of survival, but if anything were to happen to either of them, then it would nullify any good that might come out of this day.


    ¡°Do you understand your part?¡± I ask again.


    ¡°Yes Master. I¡¯ll wait until you pull the gargoyle away from Nadine. Then I¡¯ll apply the immortality elixir to her. The moment that the stone releases her, I¡¯ll take her and flee the tower.¡±


    ¡°Okay good. Say Katherine, before we go up there, I want you to know how grateful I am to you for staying with me for this long. Despite our agreement, you really didn¡¯t have to. Also, I¡¯m sorry for being mean to you at first, and I¡¯m sorry for getting drunk and acting like a fool, and I¡¯m also sorry that I let Master Simon hurt and insult you. I know that I wasn¡¯t a very good master, but I meant well. Here. I want you to have all of my money and inventory bags.¡±


    I hold out a palm full of little bags all in their shrunken form. Katherine takes a little glance at my hand, and then sternly looks me in the eyes. ¡°Souladonis, is this your way of trying to say goodbye?¡±


    She folds my fingers shut and pushes my hand back at me. ¡°Put your bags back into your pocket and listen to me.¡±


    I comply not knowing what she has to say. She tells me, ¡°Everyday that I spent with you was wonderful. And yes you messed up at times, but I don¡¯t hold it against you. I know that we¡¯ve only known each other for a short time, but I feel like we have a special connection, like we just get each other. Do you know what I mean?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the sweetest, nicest guy I¡¯ve ever known. I¡¯ve often wondered why it is that so many bad things happen to you. It seems so unfair, but I feel like it¡¯s your destiny. Like all those bad things had to happen to make you who you are. The world needs you Souladonis. I need you. That¡¯s why you can¡¯t say goodbye. I¡¯ll understand if you fight your hardest and don¡¯t win, but don¡¯t say goodbye. Please.¡±


    I take my right hand and gently slide it onto her left cheek. She does the same to me. Silently, we speak to each other with our eyes. I hear the words of her heart and she hears mine. Then I let my arm fall softly to her side while bringing the other around to embrace her. She in turn wraps her arms around me and we hold each other like we did the first time outside of Cornucopia. Delicately, I sweep my fingers through her plush brown hair while taking in her perfect lavender scent. Finally, I kiss her lightly on the forehead and let her go. ¡°I¡¯ll come back to you if I can Katherine.¡±


    She quietly nods in acceptance. Then, getting to business, I tell her, ¡°There are monsters in the Forbidden Tower. None of them are very powerful. I was easily able to beat them when I was fifteen. However, fighting them would still drain my mana. I need to preserve all of my strength for the gargoyle at the top.¡±


    With determination on her face, Katherine equips the wand of Shaman Terranostra in her right hand and Traveler in her left. ¡°Leave it to me.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    We storm into the tower running full speed. A small militia of skeletons armed with scimitars tries to block our path. Katherine makes short work of the group with her Vine Whip spell. Behind them in the far right corner of the first floor, are the stairs leading to the second floor. There are six floors in all with the stairs always being on the right at the opposite end of the floor. On the second floor, it¡¯s more of the same with another group of skeletons. However, on the third floor the monsters upgrade into shrieking banshees. Katherine eradicates them in a cloud of Thorn Darts and pays them no further mind. At times like this, I¡¯m glad that she¡¯s on my side.


    The living statues on the fourth floor, we mostly evade. The ones that do manage to get in our way, Katherine beats back with her wands. When we¡¯re confronted by the somewhat powerful ghouls on the fifth floor, Katherine obliterates them in the blink of an eye with a single flash of Life Magic energy. We then climb halfway up the fifth story stairs, where I stop Katherine¡¯s advancement.


    ¡°The gargoyle familiar is just above here.¡±


    I fish through my script bag until I find my newest one. ¡°I want you to use this.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Do you remember the quest reward that I got from capturing Sidney? It was this Status Guard script. I didn¡¯t use it against the Golden Cockatrice because I wanted to save it for the gargoyle. If it works the way that it¡¯s supposed to, then it should prevent petrification. Here.¡±


    Katherine shakes her head defiantly. ¡°No. You¡¯re the one who has to fight it, so you use it. Just don¡¯t let it put the petrification curse on me.¡±


    I hesitate for a moment, but ultimately agree. Channeling my mana into the parchment, I cast the spell, praying that it works. Then, I take one last deep breath and charge up the rest of the stairs to face the great nemesis of my life. When I climb the stairs, and turn around the gargoyle stands at the edge of the tower lookout reading a book.


    Without turning to face me he says, ¡°Ambition and ruin go hand in hand. Those who overstep forbidden boundaries are swept away with the tides, like castles in the sand.¡±


    He squeezes his book closed in one hand, and then turns to face me. Nervous yet unafraid, I peer steadily into his blank stone eyes through which he has vision despite his lack of pupils. Additionally, he not only sees without pupils, but also speaks without his mouth moving. He wears a black tunic covered with a midnight blue toga, has stone skin, stone hair, and large stone wings similar to an angel, or perhaps in his case, a demon. His appearance grants him an air of sophistication and wisdom much like that of an ancient philosopher. Yet for all of his pretenses of civility, I know that in the end he is nothing more than a ruthless, dangerous monster.


    ¡°I am Souladonis, and you, you¡¯re the familiar of the first Arch Lord of Winterspring are you not?¡±


    ¡°You request an exchange of introductions? Long has it been since one sought to engage me in parlance. To honor such a rare occurrence, I shall indulge your capricious curiosity this one time. I am indeed a familiar, eternally bound in loyalty to my master Arch Lord Horatio. My name is Cornelius. Nice to meet you Souladonis.¡±


    ¡°No, this isn¡¯t our first encounter. I came here six years ago with a young girl.¡±


    I look over to the left. Scattered about on this top floor of the Forbidden Tower are a number of frozen figures who suffered the same fate as Nadine. In the middle towards the back, I see Nadine. The terror she felt in her last moment is still chiseled on her face. Likewise, she still grips the wand that she used to heal my injuries, reminding me all too clearly that the only reason she came up here was to help me. I am absolutely and unequivocally responsible for what happened to her.


    I point at Nadine¡¯s stone figure with my staff. ¡°That girl is innocent. She only came here to help me. I was the one who came to steal Arch Lord Horatio¡¯s treasure. I was just young and arrogant. I wanted to boast about taking the Forbidden Tower¡¯s treasure without even knowing what it was. It was a mistake and I¡¯m sorry. Please, let me take Nadine with me and I will go and never return.¡±


    Unmoved, Cornelius answers, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that I cannot allow that Souladonis.¡±


    He motions with his hand to a large treasure chest near his feet. ¡°Before my master died, he charged me to protect his possessions forevermore. This treasure belongs to him. Everything here in this tower belongs to him. These people trapped in stone belong to him. You shall not take away a single thing from this tower. Now leave here lest you join your friend.¡±


    Butterflies riot in my stomach and my knees wobble. I had hoped to reason with Cornelius. I have no desire to fight him. Especially knowing that it¡¯s a fight I can¡¯t win. But at the same time, I came here determined to save Nadine or die trying. If it¡¯s my life that is required, then it¡¯s my life that I shall give.


    ¡°Cornelius I offer you myself in trade for Nadine. Let me release her from her stone captivity and you can have me instead.¡±


    Even toned, he answers, ¡°A noble gesture, yet a futile one. Her life is forfeit forever. You may join her if you please, but she shall remain here.¡±


    I close my eyes and draw in a slow breath. Then, speaking to myself, I say, ¡°Well Soul, the day has finally come. You¡¯ve seen this battle in your mind¡¯s eye 10,000 times. Never once did it end well in your imagination, and surely it won¡¯t end well in reality. But saving Nadine is what you have lived for. If a man¡¯s not willing to die for what he has lived for, then he¡¯s never been truly alive. Like a fluttering candle, I want to burn myself out for my loved ones and expire in a blaze of glory.¡±


    ¡°Cornelius!¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m taking back Nadine!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re most welcome to try.¡±


    I cast the Comet spell. As my fireball cannons at Cornelius, he doesn¡¯t even bother dodging. He crosses his arms over his chest in an x-shape and takes the hit. The explosion pushes him back two steps and I silently hope to myself that he¡¯ll fall over the tower¡¯s edge. Of course, he doesn¡¯t. He unfolds his arms completely unharmed. This is the same problem that I had with him before. It¡¯s not the fact that I can¡¯t hit him that makes me doubt my chances. It¡¯s the fact that my hits don¡¯t hurt him. This time, however, I can cast more than Elemental Magic. Maybe if I¡¯m lucky, something else will work.


    Calmly, Cornelius begins to walk towards me without the least bit of hurry. I turn to the side and summon the Ruby Red Dragon. It emerges sucking in air to prepare for its breath attack. At the same time, I ready Rosette at my side. The moment that my dragon breathes out its flames, I triple cast the Comet spell. Again, Cornelius crosses his arms over his chest to block.


    The dragon¡¯s flames pour over Cornelius while my Comets explode in his face. When the onslaught ends, Cornelius is still in the same position with his arms crossed. He unfolds his arms and checks himself over. ¡°Unless I¡¯m mistaken, I almost felt that.¡±


    Suddenly, he kicks off of the tower floor, cracking the stone beneath his feet. Rapidly, he shoots towards my dragon and pulverizes it in the head with a descending hammerfist. It instantly disappears in a puff of smoke. I jump away frantically to distance myself from Cornelius. He says, ¡°Of course, I¡¯m obviously mistaken. My stone body knows nothing of pain.¡±


    I cast the Bugs illusion spell on him. Centipedes, spiders, and maggots crawl all over his body. He looks over himself and snickers unimpressed. Then out of nowhere, he flies at me with his right arm outstretched in a lariat. I tuck and roll under his arm. To be entirely made out of stone, he¡¯s ridiculously fast. Back when I was fifteen, I was light and nimble. I was also a smaller target than I am now. He never once managed to hit me before. Our fight only ended because he turned Nadine into stone and I ran away to get help. Arch Lord Aerolyso, Master Simon, and a few other teachers came answering my desperate supplication. Together, they were able to fend off Cornelius easily enough, but none of them could undo the petrification curse. The only consolation that they were able to offer me was the return of my staff Rosette in its petrified form. I¡¯ve kept the same staff for all these years as a reminder of my guilt. The guilt that I shall erase with my next spell.


    There exist certain Elemental Magic spells that are even beyond the scope of a grandmaster elemental mage. They¡¯re spells that require the mastery of both Elemental and Script Magic. For each element, there is a spell for a single target and a spell that targets an entire area at once. The advanced version of the Comet spell is called Meteor. It¡¯s essentially the same thing as the Comet spell only giant-sized. However, that¡¯s not the spell that I¡¯m going to cast. The spell that I¡¯m going to cast is even more powerful than Meteor. It¡¯s a spell that simultaneously invokes the elements of earth and fire. This spell is called Volcano. It¡¯s like casting the Boulder and Comet spells at the same time, resulting in a gigantic molten boulder. Cornelius might be able to shrug off my Comets, but this spell will even knock him on his butt.


    I summon my script bag and take out the first page. Casting this spell will sacrifice more than half of my mana, but at least I¡¯ll know whether or not it¡¯s even possible for me to hurt Cornelius. Funneling my mana into the page, I cast the Volcano spell. A tennis ball sized rock shoots out of the paper. If Cornelius could move his mouth, then I¡¯m sure he¡¯d smirk. I almost wish that he could just so I could watch the smug expression on his face melt away into fear. I guess I¡¯ll just have to settle for the sound of his stone body crumbling into dust.


    The molten boulder presses on towards Cornelius. Each millisecond that it spends in the air it expands. In less than three seconds, it goes from the size of a tennis ball to the size of an elephant. Caught up in its trajectory, Cornelius has no chance to move away in time. Instead, he stretches out both hands as if to try to catch the giant molten boulder. Nevertheless, the size difference between him and the boulder renders his action useless. As soon as it hits him, he gets carried away with it until his back slams against the stonewall lining the hole in the ground where the stairs descend.


    Realizing that Cornelius is trapped and that Katherine is beneath him, I call out her name. She runs up the stairs and comes around the wall, immediately spotting the molten boulder. ¡°Katherine pour the immortality elixir on Nadine! She¡¯s that one over there.¡±


    Katherine quickly runs towards Nadine¡¯s stone figure while Cornelius struggles behind the Volcano spell. I watch Katherine¡¯s every move in breathless anticipation. She reaches Nadine and takes the top off of the test tube filled with the immortality elixir. My eyes grow wide and my heart beats a million times per minute. All of a sudden, Cornelius unleashes a roaring battle cry. As I turn to see what he¡¯s doing, the molten boulder explodes, sending pieces of flaming hot rock everywhere.


    I dodge each piece carefully while keeping an eye on Cornelius. He looks completely unscathed and is covered in a strange purple aura. I don¡¯t recall having seen this aura before when I fought him. Whatever it is doesn¡¯t matter. All that matters is that his attention has turned from me to Katherine. He starts to bring his arm up towards Katherine and I start running in her direction. From the middle of his palm, he unleashes the same pink ray of energy that the Golden Cockatrice emitted.


    I dive through the air placing my body between his spell and Katherine. It hits me dead center and I fall to the tower floor. ¡°Master!¡± Katherine screams.


    ¡°Pour the potion!¡± I order.


    At once, Katherine splashes the elixir over Nadine¡¯s statue. Nothing happens. I push myself off of the floor and shake my legs. Even though, I was hit by the petrification curse, I don¡¯t feel any different. It seems that the Status Guard script is working. The only question is why the immortality elixir isn¡¯t working. Just as despair starts to creep up inside of me, a small crack ripples through the statue of Nadine. When I see the crack, I remember how little cracks formed on Dr. Sterblich¡¯s arm before the stone casing completely shattered. Considering that Nadine¡¯s entire body is petrified and not just her arm, it may take a while for the complete stone casing to come off. No matter how long it takes, I have to buy Katherine and Nadine the time.


    I shout my own battle cry and charge blindly at Cornelius. Instantly, he appears next to me. Before I can react, he swings his right arm and sends me catapulting away from him. I soar all the way into the distant tower wall and ricochet off of it before I even know what hit me. From on the ground, I watch powerlessly as Cornelius approaches Katherine.


    Bravely, Katherine uses her father¡¯s wand to shoot Cornelius with a barrage of thorn darts. Unfortunately, the darts do nothing more than deflect off of his stone body. He continues towards her menacingly while bringing up his arm at her. With a furious cry, I release the physical limitations my nervous system places on my mana circulation by supercharging the energy center of my body that lies just beneath the navel. This is the method by which a mage uses Soul Magic. My body begins to glow with a thick purple aura, similar to that of Cornelius. Then, with a slight kick off of the ground, I travel from my position to just in front of Cornelius in a split second.


    My sudden appearance catches him off guard. Just as he starts to react, I roundhouse kick him in the head, sinking the ball of my foot into his temple. Cornelius groans and staggers to the side. Once he stops staggering, he slowly raises his hand and touches the side of his face. Little pieces of rock chip out of his head. ¡°I¡¯m damaged?¡± he asks himself in disbelief.


    While Cornelius struggles to figure out what just happened, more cracks form in the statue of Nadine. Given the rate at which the cracks are forming, it will take four or five minutes before she can completely break out. I don¡¯t know for how much longer I can sustain the use of Soul Magic, but I¡¯m going to find out.


    Cornelius roars and charges at me. I twist into a spinning back kick and send Cornelius sliding across the floor on his backside. While he slides, I catch up to him dashing, leap into the air, and land hard on his face, pushing his head completely through the stone floor. Standing on his stomach, I lift my leg to stomp the rest of his body through, but he kicks me off of him before I can.


    I fall forward while he pulls his head out of the floor and recovers to his feet. Immediately, I brace for him to attack me again, yet he doesn¡¯t. Instead, he looks over at Katherine and Nadine, then back at me, and then back at them. He¡¯s clearly conflicted about who to focus on. To help him decide, I attack him. Amplifying my power with Soul Magic, I cast a Comet no less than five times bigger than my normal ones.


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    My attack catches his attention. To defend against my massive fireball, Cornelius counters with the Water Shark spell. When his aquatic missile connects with my fireball, the two cancel each other out. Next, Cornelius takes one step towards me. At that moment, the loud creak of a heavy gash forming in Nadine¡¯s statue fills the air. Recognizing that Nadine is about to be free, Cornelius decides to ignore me once more. In his purple aura he starts to fly towards the girls.


    Using Soul Magic, I leap through the air and land on Cornelius¡¯s back. I take my staff and wrap it around his throat, pulling it upwards just under his chin. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s possible to choke out a gargoyle, but here¡¯s to trying. I pull as hard as I can while Cornelius wiggles trying to shake me off of him. When that doesn¡¯t work, he starts driving his elbows into my side. Each hit hurts like the dickens, but I hold on nonetheless. Continuously, he bashes me with his elbows until there¡¯s another loud cracking sound.


    The rock around Nadine¡¯s body shatters. For the first time in far too long, I see the full flesh and bone form of my 14-year-old former girlfriend. In a fit of rage, Cornelius quickly leans his upper body over while throwing me with his arms. I fly through the air and land in a summersault right in front of Nadine.


    ¡°Souladonis?¡± she asks. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Katherine get Nadine out of here.¡±


    ¡°Come on!¡± Katherine orders, taking Nadine by the hand.


    ¡°Nobody leaves here!¡± Cornelius shouts.


    Katherine tries to run away, but Cornelius uses his stony feather-like wings to fly through the air after her. I rocket through the sky and bring Rosette down on the base of Cornelius¡¯s left wing. The force of my blow causes his entire wing to break off and he spirals to the ground in a heavy crash. Likewise, due to its sheer weight, even his solitary wing echoes a percussive thud when it hits the ground.


    Katherine and Nadine reach the descending staircase. Cornelius gets up and tries to chase after them. Again, I attack him from behind breaking off half of his right wing. The blow to the wing distracts him long enough for Katherine and Nadine to disappear into the lower floors. Lost in rage, Cornelius whips around at me. With a quick spin, he catches me with a surprise tornado kick to the right shoulder. The kick sends me skidding across the ground in a sideways barrel roll.


    I get up to my feet as quick as I can, but by then Cornelius is already on me. He hits me in the face with a hook punch followed by a left body blow to my stomach. I try to retaliate with a straight right, but he parries my arm with his left arm. Spinning into his parry, he comes around with a spinning backfist. I dip down low and kick him as hard as I can right between his legs. It doesn¡¯t have the desired effect. Instead, he reaches down and grabs my leg. Then with a quick twist, he swings me through the air by my leg and slams me into the ground. Three of the ribs on the right side of my body snap like twigs.


    Wincing from the pain, I summon my medical supplies bag as fast as I can. I grab the first red potion that I see and pop the top off of it. Just as I start to bring it to my mouth, Cornelius kicks my hand sending the potion bottle breaking against the tower floor. I rotate myself to my back and try to cast the Chain Lightning spell into his face. Anticipating my intention, he dodges before I even cast the spell. It misses him and he steps around me. Then he barbarically stomps on my medical supplies bag, crushing all of my potions and remedies.


    I was in desperate need for both a health and mana potion. Now that I have neither, my chances of escaping, much less winning this fight, are now gone. As I lie on the ground, Cornelius takes me by my hair in his right hand, and my coat in his left hand. He slings me through the air like a rag doll. I land on my stomach with some of my broken ribs colliding with the floor. I try to grit my teeth, but fail to keep myself from screaming from the incredible pain. Desperately, I twist around to my back to try to launch another spell. To my surprise I don¡¯t see Cornelius in front of me.


    The reason why becomes clear when he drops out of the sky landing on my stomach with his left leg. The heavy stomp of his body is so great that the stone beneath me cracks into the shape of my body. Unable to move or breath with him on top of me, I can only think of one thing to do. I quickly shoot my legs around his left leg and pull him to the side. Because my physical strength is not enough, I again have to rely on Soul Magic to get the job done. But get the job done I do. Cornelius falls to the side and I immediately use my leverage to twist his foot in a tight ankle lock. I twist as hard as I can until I hear a pop and his foot spins around backwards. For the first time, Cornelius lets out a wail of agony. If he didn¡¯t know anything about pain before, then he definitely does now.


    I let go of my hold and scramble to my feet. Cornelius also rises limping with a broken foot and two broken wings. I feel dizzy and I¡¯m close to losing consciousness, but he¡¯s not faring too much better than me. The only problem is that I¡¯m squishy flesh and bone while he¡¯s solid rock. I can¡¯t win in a war of attrition. I have to take him out in one single powerful attack. But if even a dual-elemental spell can¡¯t destroy him then what can? Perhaps, an All-elemental spell?


    The All-elemental spell is a spell that combines the natures of wind, water, fire, earth, and lightning. Ice can be omitted since in the midst of the conflicting elements, it would be reduced to water anyway. At least that¡¯s the theory. Most mages believe that the idea of an All-elemental spell is nothing more than a myth. Yet back when I was a child, I was obsessed with Elemental Magic. I used to try combining all of the different elements into one. I got as far as being able to place a different element at the tip of each of my fingers, but I could never combine them all.


    While I try to recall my experiences of combining the elements, Cornelius casts the Tornado spell on me. I get swept up in a powerful rotating wind that lifts me high into the air and then slinks me across the tower. I shift my body in the air to make sure that I land on my left side instead of the right. Ironically, by trying to avoid the broken ribs on my right, I break some on the left in addition to fracturing one of the bones in my forearm. This battle has to end soon. I¡¯m literally getting killed. However, unlike in the battle with Des Chevaliers, Cornelius won¡¯t just declare this fight a draw all of a sudden. Nor can I expect a little dove to swoop in and save me. This time I¡¯m on my own.


    I¡¯m on my own, and I¡¯m scared. I¡¯m not scared because I¡¯m going to die. Far from it. For years I wished that I would die so that I could be freed from my guilt and my never-ending quest. Rather, the reason that I¡¯m scared now is because I¡¯m afraid of being separated from Katherine. She told me that she felt like we have a special connection. I don¡¯t know if that means that she loves me like I love her, but I don¡¯t want to lose our connection. Picturing Katherine¡¯s gleaming puppy dog brown eyes in my mind, I have a sudden epiphany. I know how to cast the All-elemental spell!


    I start by creating a swirl of fire energy at the tip of my pinky. Next, I add a swirl of earth magic at the tip of my ring finger. When I start to channel wind energy into my middle finger, Cornelius springs at me. I throw out a lame excuse for a punch with my left hand. Cornelius simply moves through it letting my hand deflect off of his hard body. He clenches his right hand around the back of my head and starts punching me in the stomach repeatedly. Again and again, he punches me and catches me one good time in the liver. I would go to sleep from the pain were it not for his hitting me keeping me awake. Finally, he relents from the body blows and instead smacks me in the chin with a left elbow. Somehow, I remain on my feet, but I couldn¡¯t even tell you whether the sky is up or down at the moment. I¡¯m so completely knocked silly that Cornelius has no problem casually picking me up over his head. Then turning in the direction of the stairs, he tosses me like a javelin and I go headlong to the ground.


    Every inch of my body tells me to just stay down and give up. At this point, I¡¯ve sustained such terrible injuries that I don¡¯t know if even the best doctor in the world could heal me now. I no longer have any chance of leaving this fight alive. But that¡¯s what I expected, and that¡¯s why Arch Lord Aerolyso taught me Soul Magic ¨C the supernatural magic that allows a mage to go beyond his physical limitations at the expense of his life. Using Soul Magic, I fill my body with energy until I glow purple again. Then relying on its power like a crutch, I stand up.


    I hold Rosette in my left hand and begin to work on the All-elemental spell with my right hand. Again, I swirl fire magic energy into my pinky, earth into my index finger, wind into my middle finger, lightning into my index finger, and water into my thumb. This is as far as I¡¯ve ever gotten with the spell. I know that it¡¯s the right sequence of elements, but I¡¯ve never been able to combine them. Whenever I tried before, the conflicting elements would go crazy and cause the energy to furiously dissipate from my hands. What¡¯s needed is some kind of way to force them to stay together. Something like a shell or outer layer of a ball. To create the shell, I tried to use ice before. Unfortunately, ice isn¡¯t strong enough. It just melts. However, I doubt that soul energy can melt.


    In the palm of my hand I create a sphere of Soul Magic energy. Then curling my fingers, I place each of the five conflicting elements into the sphere. I feel the wild energy ripping away at the shell in my hand, but I don¡¯t let the shell break. Instead, I apply even more Soul Magic energy and forcibly condense it into a tiny orb. Suddenly, the orb changes from purple to effervescent white. The immense power of the orb causes it to grow as large as my hand, yet it no longer feels wild and out of control. Now the energy is serene and harmonious and beautiful. When I look at the quiet, sparkling white orb, I know by intuition that I hold in my hand the epitome of all magic power.


    Cornelius takes a step forward at me. I thrust my palm forward and release the orb. I expect the orb to fly off at Cornelius like the Comet spell, but that¡¯s not what happens. The instant I spread my fingers, the orb projects into a consuming beam of white energy that completely engulfs Cornelius. The unfathomable force of energy projecting from my hand starts to push me backwards even though I dig my feet into the ground. Meanwhile, inside of the white light, Cornelius tries to defend himself with his arms crossed over his chest. Small pieces start to chip away from all over his body and I know that if I can just hold the spell long enough, I¡¯ll win.


    To boost my power even more, I drain energy from Rosette. Cornelius groans in pain inside of the light, and I strain to keep it going. Invoking the unnatural power of Soul Magic, I strain out every last bit of mana from my body and from my staff. The white beam of energy grows even more intense. Cornelius starts to break apart even faster. He releases his guard to try to counterattack me with a spell. I scream and strain some more once again increasing the intensity of the beam. Cornelius stretches his hand out towards me and wails, ¡°Master Horatio!¡±


    Finally, his body gives way and he completely evaporates inside of the white light. I release the spell and notice that not only was Cornelius evaporated, but so were parts of the tower floor, wall, and anything else that the white light touched. Truly, that was the mother of all spells. I had wanted to go out in a blaze of glory. I think I accomplished that goal. Too bad, I can¡¯t accomplish my other goal of returning to Katherine.


    I collapse to my knees. The damage that Cornelius did to me from his spells and strikes is bad, yet the damage that I did to myself from my overuse of Soul Magic is worse. I look over to my right side and see the treasure chest that Cornelius had been guarding for centuries. This all started because I wanted whatever was in that box without even knowing. Now that it¡¯s all over, I have to at least know what everything was for. I start crawling on my arms and knees until I get to the box. There¡¯s no lock on it. I just flip the lid and it opens readily.


    Inside I find a golden magic staff. I take it out and inspect it. It seems to be well-crafted and its top layer is 24-karat gold. The magical head of the staff is a large globe of blue topaz held in place by a fixture made of diamonds. At the very least, this is an expensive staff. But I don¡¯t know what it does. I look back in the box and notice that there is a tag inside. I take the tag out and look closely at it. The tag reads:


    Given Name: Sophia


    Technical Name: Sage Golden Staff of the Mystic


    Prefix: Experience Rate, Divine-Grade: Sage: +150% EXP Rate


    Suffix: Experience Rate, Divine-Grade: of the Mystic - +150% EXP Rate


    I¡¯m not familiar with these affixes. I don¡¯t know what the tag means by EXP Rate. It really doesn¡¯t matter though. I lost my entire life over this magic staff. I lost my girlfriend, my friends, my family, my home, my education, Katherine, and everything. I rest my body against the treasure chest and let the staff fall to my side. I finally have the stupid thing, and yet it will never be mine.


    My body is filled with pain, but the pain isn¡¯t the worst part; the exhaustion is. I feel more tired than should be humanly possible. It¡¯s not the sort of tired that one can simply sleep off. This tiredness I feel permeates my mind, body, and spirit. Maybe it¡¯s the consequence of using Soul Magic, but more likely it¡¯s the feeling of imminent death.


    It¡¯s funny. In this moment all that I can think of is the pushy little village girl who took me by the coat sleeve and demanded that I go with her to cure some sick woman. I¡¯d laugh were it not for my many broken ribs.


    In reality, Katherine kind of annoyed me at first. Then she nearly got me killed. That wasn¡¯t a good moment. Yet somehow she quickly grew on me. I appreciated the way that she sincerely listened to me, and the way she joyfully wrapped her arms around my arm while we walked around. Even while she was tricking me with her cunning, there was always something playful and affectionate about her. And then there were her brown eyes. I¡¯d be content to spend a lifetime gazing into those brown eyes.


    Yet it wasn¡¯t just her beauty, joyfulness, and affection that led me to adore Katherine. It was also her strength of character. Her compassionate sense of mercy saved me from making a grave, irreversible mistake. Then she chastised me for drinking away my problems. I¡¯ve never felt more ashamed of myself than when I had to face her disappointed brown eyes. But I deserved it, and she was honest with me. It hurt, but I respected her all the more for it. There are so many wonderful things about her that I could go on forever. I hate to disappoint her again by not coming back to her, but maybe it¡¯s for the better. I know what kind of man I am. She¡¯s probably better off without me. Yet before I close my eyes, I promised her a song. I¡¯m not a very good songwriter, but it¡¯s the best that I could do for her.


    I reach into my coat pocket and take out a folded sheet of parchment. On the front of the parchment, I wrote my old song Winter Soul. On the back of the parchment, I wrote my new song, Spring Soul. I don¡¯t know if the lyrics will properly convey my feelings about Katherine to her, but I hope she¡¯ll understand what I was trying to say. I lay the paper down by my side. Then whispering the words, ¡°I love you,¡± I close my eyes.


    Winter Soul


    As a boy I met a girl


    her hair was black.


    We¡¯d smile and sing and play


    joke and laugh.


    Each shining winter day


    was better than the last.


    But unparalled joy


    is never meant to last.


    We rolled hand in hand


    tick for tack.


    I took her breath away


    but couldn¡¯t give it back.


    So now those happy days


    have all passed.


    The joys of a child


    never come back.


    I¡¯ve since traveled the world


    searched high and low.


    I¡¯ve spun around in circles


    with no place to go.


    Can a sinner find redemption?


    I really don¡¯t know.


    But she¡¯s entombed in stone


    and my heart is snow.


    Spring Soul


    Voices all around me


    Although I can¡¯t speak.


    I have no right to joy


    Until I find what I seek.


    My heart lost in darkness


    My soul cased in stone


    Cursed in each moment


    To walk the world alone.


    But then I met a girl


    Who made my life sweet.


    Despite the wretch I am


    She had true love for me.


    Brown hair made of earth


    Brown eyes gleaming of the sun


    Somehow this pushy girl


    Soon became my cherished one.


    My heart bloomed with flowers


    My soul brimmed with spring


    Each moment spent with you Katherine


    Was worth everything.


    The time has come for me now


    To answer for my past.


    If you find these words


    Then it means I won¡¯t be back.


    Don¡¯t cry for me darling


    Don¡¯t shed a single tear


    This sinner found redemption


    I die with my conscience clear.


    My heart blooms with flowers


    My soul brims with spring


    My love for you Katherine


    Is the new song I sing.


    Unparalleled joy is never meant to last


    But thanks to you Katherine


    At last I¡¯m free from my past.

 Chapter 41

    ¡°Oh Souladonis. Come back to me.¡±


    I can hear a voice calling me. I have consciousness but no strength in my body. I¡¯m not even able to open my eyelids. I try with all my might to force my eyes open, but my efforts are in vain.


    The voice speaks again. ¡°Oh Souladonis. I miss you so much.¡±


    I feel the soft touch of a hand on my hand and my awareness increases. I realize that somehow I¡¯m both conscious and asleep at the same time. I have to wake myself up, but trying to move my body doesn¡¯t work. Maybe if I try circulating mana through my body it will give me the necessary strength. Infusing my body with Soul Magic, I force life into my body and sit up calling out, ¡°Katherine!¡±


    My eyes snap open and I regain sense in my body. I find myself sitting in a bed with purple sheets pulled over my legs. There¡¯s a light blue wall to my right and a wide open door in front of me. I look over to the left and realize that I¡¯m in a bedroom. But unless I¡¯m mistaken, this room is...


    ¡°Souladonis you¡¯re awake!¡±


    I stare at the person standing next to the bed until my eyes can focus enough on her face to recognize her. After a few seconds the hazy blur fades away and I see her face clearly.


    It can¡¯t be! I know this woman. Esmeralda Christina Rosengarden. My mother!


    She hastily runs to the open door while I struggle to get out of the bed. ¡°Alphonse!¡± she shouts. ¡°Come quick. Souladonis is awake.¡±


    Oh no. I¡¯ve got to get out of here. I scoot to the edge of the bed to stand, but my knees buckle and I fall right back into the bed. Again, I try to stand, but my mother runs over to me and pushes downwards on my shoulders forcing me to remain seated. ¡°Don¡¯t try to move son. You¡¯ve been unconscious for eight days. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re feeling weak.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to come here!¡± I tell her.


    I try to break free from her grasp, but she¡¯s right about me feeling weak. Before I can escape, the worst thing imaginable happens, my father Alphonse Amadeus Rosengarden enters the room. Right away, he comes towards me shouting, ¡°Souladonis! My son!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t use your name!¡± I blurt out. ¡°I didn¡¯t use your name¡­¡±


    My parents share a look of confusion. Then they push me down on the bed making me lay down flat. ¡°It¡¯s okay Souladonis. You¡¯re safe now son,¡± my father says.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to come here,¡± I say again.


    ¡°Relax son. Just breathe and calm down.¡±


    I feel completely caught off guard seeing my parents again. Not only am I physically weak, but also my mind is blown from being in this unforeseen situation. After the shame that I brought to my family¡¯s name, I never planned on coming here again. Out of options and completely helpless, I just lie in bed and wait for my parents¡¯ words of condemnation.


    Unexpectedly, my mother leans over, wraps her arms around me, and begins weeping. ¡°My son! I¡¯m so happy that you¡¯ve come back.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re happy?¡±


    ¡°Souladonis son, what are you saying? Your mother and I have missed you terribly.¡±


    ¡°But I got Nadine turned into stone, dropped out of school, and ran away from home. I thought that you¡¯d never want to see me again.¡±


    ¡°Son, your mother and I love you very much. We will always love you.¡±


    ¡°Welcome home son,¡± my mother says before weeping even harder.


    I wrap my arms around my mother hugging her tightly. ¡°Dad, there was a girl. She has light brownish skin, and brown hair. She should have come to town with Nadine.¡±


    ¡°Katherine, you mean? She¡¯s at the academy right now. She should be back in an hour.¡±


    ¡°And Nadine?¡±


    ¡°Nadine¡¯s back at her house with her parents. She was pretty shaken up when she learned that she was frozen in stone for six years. Apparently, from her perspective the six years were only a second. She¡¯s not taking the shock too well.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I was afraid of. I¡¯ve got to go apologize to her.¡±


    I try to slide out of bed, but my mother stops me again. ¡°You must be hungry Souladonis. Let me make dinner for you.¡±


    My stomach grumbles at the prospect of food, so I agree. An hour later, dinner is ready, and Katherine returns from the academy. Along with my father, she helps me out of bed and walks me to the dinner table. They place me in my father¡¯s usual seat at the head of the table and then take the immediate next seats with Katherine on my left and my father on the right. Next to my father is my mother who has prepared a salad for each of us accompanied by shrimp scampi and rice pilaf. Before eating my parents say a prayer of gratitude for my return and then divvy out the food.


    I look down at the plate in front of me and at the smiling faces of my parents and Katherine. None of this seems real. I¡¯m starting to think that maybe I¡¯m dreaming. I ask, ¡°Katherine how is it that I¡¯m here at my parents house? I should have died at the top of the Forbidden Tower.¡±


    Katherine answers, ¡°After I got Nadine back to her house, I went to get Arch Lord Aerolyso. We rushed back to the tower to see what happened. We found you unconscious and in bad shape. Your injuries were critical, but not beyond Life Magic. After that Arch Lord Aerolyso and I carried you here and put you in your old bedroom. He said that you were suffering from the worst case of mana shock that he had ever seen in his life, but that you would wake up eventually. That¡¯s pretty much it.¡±


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Oh,¡± I say dumbfounded. I still can¡¯t believe that this is real. I thought for sure that I wouldn¡¯t see another day. I practically felt myself die at the tower. But then I guess that was actually severe mana shock and not death. Coming to grips with my survival, I make the most of my fortune and enjoy my dinner. Afterwards, I begin to feel weak again, so I go back to bed. Katherine quietly sits at the edge of the bed next to me until I fall asleep.


    The next day more of my strength returns. I¡¯m able to walk on my own, so around midday I travel to Arch Lord Aerolyso¡¯s office. He readily lets me in and I hobble over to the chair in front of his desk. ¡°Master Aerolyso thank you for coming to the tower and saving me.¡±


    My words surprise him. ¡°Me saving you? I didn¡¯t save you.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you heal me with your Life Magic?¡±


    ¡°No, not me. Katherine healed you.¡±


    ¡°Really? She didn¡¯t tell me that.¡±


    ¡°Yes, she displayed a great deal of magical power. I was extremely impressed. I haven¡¯t seen a life mage that powerful since an old friend of mine. Shaman Terranostra.¡±


    I try not to react to guard Katherine¡¯s secret, but my intrigue gives me away. ¡°That girl,¡± Master Aerolyso says. ¡°Is she the daughter of Terranostra?¡±


    I nod reluctantly. Master Aerolyso pounds his right fist in his left palm. ¡°I knew it!¡±


    I decide to change the subject from Katherine. ¡°Master Aerolyso, I ended up surviving against all odds and expectations ¨C especially my own. For six years all that I¡¯ve done is dream about finding a cure for the petrification curse and defeating the gargoyle familiar. Now that my dream has come true, I feel completely lost. I don¡¯t know what else to do with my life.¡±


    Master Aerolyso leans back in his chair and thinks. ¡°Well, you could always reenlist here at Winterspring Academy. Of course, I¡¯ll have to give you extra homework to make up for the six years of classes that you skipped. How about a book report? Write me a complete report of your adventures over the past six years. Then we¡¯ll call your academic debt settled. Deal?¡±


    ¡°Deal. Thank you Master.¡±


    I start to stand up from the seat, but he stops me saying, ¡°Wait. Before you go, there¡¯s one other thing.¡±


    He reaches under his desk and pulls up the golden staff that the gargoyle Cornelius had been guarding. ¡°This is yours. But before you do anything with it, I have to ask whether or not you read Arch Lord Horatio¡¯s note.¡±


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t see a note.¡±


    He hands me a slip of parchment, which reads, ¡°If you are reading this note, then you have acquired my staff, Sophia. Please, you must destroy it or hide it where nobody will ever find it again! Such a dangerous weapon was never meant to exist in this world. However, I owed so much to it that I did not have the heart to destroy it myself. Please, act wisely. If this staff were to fall into the wrong hands, then it could cause the downfall of all of human society!¡±


    I raise my left eyebrow glaring at the staff. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look that dangerous to me, but I wasn¡¯t familiar with its affixes. Did you see its tag Master?¡±


    ¡°I did and I had to look up the affixes myself. Apparently this staff causes its holder to learn everything three times faster than normal.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it.¡±


    I carelessly tap the staff¡¯s head against the floor. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like the ultimate weapon to me. Although it could be just the thing that I need to catch up on my studies. Silvia¡¯s gotten way ahead of me. This staff will help me to catch up to her.¡±


    Arch Lord Aerolyso sighs. ¡°Yes perhaps, but Arch Lord Horatio¡¯s warning scares me. I suppose I don¡¯t mind if you keep it, but promise me one thing Souladonis.¡±


    ¡°What Master?¡±


    ¡°Never tell anyone about what that staff does.¡±


    I have to think his demand over for a moment. It seems excessive, but I suppose that I could see the danger of some maniac stealing it and then using it for evil. ¡°I promise Master.¡±


    ¡°Good. I¡¯ll expect your report before the end of the next semester.¡±


    ¡°Yes Master.¡±


    Using my new staff, Sophia, as a walking cane, I head back home. On the way I encounter Nadine walking in the opposite direction. I freeze like a deer in front of her, but then my desperation overrides my hesitation. ¡°Nadine!¡± I shout. ¡°It¡¯s me Souladonis. I¡¯m so sorry for what happened at the Forbidden Tower. Please forgive me.¡±


    Nadine walks on, pretending to neither see nor hear me. ¡°Forgive me Nadine!¡± I plead.


    She still ignores me. I hang my head low and return to my house.

 Chapter 42 (Final Chapter)

    Four months have now passed since my return to Winterspring. I now spend my days studying under Arch Lord Aerolyso and writing my report for him. A week shy of two months ago, my arrangement with Katherine ended and she returned to her mother¡¯s house. I haven¡¯t seen her since she went home. Sidney likewise returned home, but every weekend she flies here in her dove form to visit her sister. Nadine still hasn¡¯t forgiven me nor does she seem to want to acknowledge my existence. I can¡¯t complain though. I¡¯m lucky to be alive. Expecting to be forgiven is asking far too much. I¡¯ve already received more than I planned for in life. From now on I just want to keep my head down and live the life of a simple scholar. I have no reason to complain about anything. I should be perfectly happy and content. Yet unfortunately, I am not.


    I lean back in my chair and sigh. From the left side of the room, Silvia mockingly imitates my sigh. I¡¯m too old to be in the normal classes and I don¡¯t have the credentials to be in the university level classes, so Arch Lord Aerolyso just lumped another desk in Silvia¡¯s office and called it my classroom.


    Silvia struts over to my desk and hops up on its edge, crossing her legs and leaning over at me. Today she¡¯s wearing a white and purple striped shirt, a purple miniskirt, a purple beret, and provocative red high heels. Additionally, she¡¯s sporting purple eyeliner and dark violet lipstick. All in all she looks like the kind of teacher that is only supposed to exist in a schoolboy¡¯s wildest fantasies. I hate to say it, but if I didn¡¯t see her as merely a childhood friend, then even I¡¯d be a little hot under the collar for her.


    ¡°Why are you always sighing?¡± she asks.


    ¡°Why are you always dressing like that? You look like less of a teacher and more of a floozy. Or are you just that desperate for popularity points with your students?¡±


    She hops down from my desk and returns to her seat. ¡°Don¡¯t hate me ¡¯cause I¡¯m beautiful Soulbanana.¡±


    I laugh at the sound of the old nickname that she had for me. Back when we were kids, I used to love banana bread. I¡¯d always greedily munch it down everyday at lunch. Eventually Silvia noticed the trend and started calling me Soulbanana Bread, or just Soulbanana for short. It¡¯s kind of weird to talk to someone who¡¯s known me for years after all the time that I spent wondering the world, constantly surrounded by strangers. It¡¯s a nice feeling, but it¡¯s not enough. I still feel like I¡¯m missing something. Or rather I should say, I still feel like I¡¯m missing someone. I promptly forget my friend¡¯s criticism, and sigh once more.


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be working too hard on your report,¡± Arch Lord Aerolyso says.


    I straighten up in my chair and grab my feather quill pen. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn¡¯t even realize that he entered the room. I look down at my piece of parchment and see that the page is still blank. It will be hard to convince my teacher that I was actually doing my work when I¡¯ve yet to write a single word. Unable to fake it, all I can do is apologize. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Master. I was just a bit distracted.¡±


    He steps over to my desk, takes a look at my page, and then lowers his eyebrows at me. I feel a bit embarrassed knowing that I¡¯m completely busted. Quickly, I dip my pen into ink and write my name at the top of the page. Then I look up at Arch Lord Aerolyso and smile innocently.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t gotten much work done lately Souladonis. However, what you have written thus far has been quite fascinating. I was very touched by the way that Wilmette¡¯s kindness inspired you to learn Illusion Magic.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Wilmette¡¯s kindness made a great difference in my life. I will always be grateful to her.¡±


    ¡°Wilmette was fun to read about, but how much longer in the story until you get to the part when you meet Katherine?¡±


    I sink into my chair and sigh. ¡°Too long.¡±


    ¡°You know, I¡¯ve been thinking Souladonis. We could really use someone like Katherine in our College of Life & Support Magic. With her unique background, I believe that she could excel as a student and ultimately become a great instructor of Life Magic here at Winterspring. We can¡¯t remain the world¡¯s top magic academy without the world¡¯s top teachers. Do you think that she would be interested in studying here?¡±


    I don¡¯t even have to think to answer. ¡°Becoming a great mage has always been her dream. Life and Support magic are her specialties in fact. But even though she has a great deal of natural talent, she was never formally taught the basics of magic. I¡¯m not sure that she could keep up with the rigor of Winterspring academics.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps if she had a tutor to help her then she could. Someone who could take her on in a master/apprentice arrangement. But ahh¡­I just remembered that Katherine is from a low-income family. She could never afford private lessons. That is, unless some kind soul would be willing to tutor her for free.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it! I¡¯ll tutor her Master!¡±


    ¡°Great. That¡¯s very generous of you Souladonis. I¡¯ll also place you in charge of recruiting her.¡±


    I spring up from my chair and make a break for the door. But as I put my hand on the doorknob, Master Aerolyso asks, ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡±


    ¡°I was going to Katherine¡¯s house in ?me Kingdom.¡±


    ¡°The school day isn¡¯t over young man. Sit down and do your work.¡±


    ¡°Yes Master Aerolyso.¡±


    I flop back in my chair and begrudgingly take up my pen. Each sentence I put on the page takes entirely too long, and the hours tick away far too slowly. I anxiously tap my feet and check the clock repeatedly. Once or twice I¡¯d swear that the minute hand actually moves backwards. I tough it out until finally the school day ends at 5 p.m. Then, I once more spring from my chair and dash for the door. ¡°Bye Silvia!¡±


    ¡°Good luck Soul.¡±


    Once I¡¯m outside of the building, I do something in between a walk and a skip all the way back to the town of Winterspring. I stop by the flower store and buy a bouquet of pink roses, purple lisianthus, and a white tulip in the center. I then hastily sprint back to my house and wildly fling the door open. I storm inside the house yet immediately have to stop to greet my mother. She welcomes me home with a kiss on the cheek and tells me that dinner will be ready at six. I tell her not to bother cooking for me because I have other plans. Before she can ask me a million questions, I run full speed to my room and close the door behind me. Now that I steadily live under one roof, I no longer carry all of my inventory bags with me. I had to come all the way back to the house just to get my Portal book. As soon as I have it in my hands, I rip out a page and make a portal to Belle Forest.


    The portal takes me to just in front of the mana plants bordering the entrance gate. I straighten my hair, fluff my purple cutaway coat, and walk gracefully into town. I strut up the stairs in front of Katherine¡¯s house intending to play it cool, but wind up getting cold feet instead. Considering all the time that I spent with Katherine, my anxiety doesn¡¯t make sense. Nonetheless, when I try to plot out exactly what I¡¯m going to say, I feel overwhelmed with nervousness. I rushed here as fast as I could only to stand outside of her door too afraid to knock for fifteen minutes.


    While I¡¯m still trying to work up my courage, a voice frightens me from behind. ¡°Hello Souladonis.¡±


    I practically leap out of my skin and twist around. Right away I see a woman with white hair and large round glasses coming towards the house. ¡°Oh. Hello Margaret. Is Katherine home?¡±


    ¡°She should be inside. Did you try knocking?¡±


    ¡°I was just about to,¡± I lie.


    ¡°Are those for me?¡± she asks, indicating my bouquet.


    ¡°Uhh¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m kidding Souladonis. Come in.¡±


    I follow Margaret into her house. We head into the dining room with their main table and Margaret¡¯s little box of potions and remedies. Katherine is inside her room with the door closed. Margaret peeks into the door and says, ¡°Katherine you have a guest.¡±


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Who is it?¡± I hear from inside the room.


    ¡°It¡¯s Souladonis.¡±


    ¡°Oh my gosh! Tell him I¡¯ll be out in a few minutes. Don¡¯t let him leave!¡±


    Margaret closes the door and rolls her eyes. ¡°You had better sit down.¡±


    I take a seat at the table while Margaret finds a vase for my flowers. She and I have a long talk about the highs and lows of my adventures with Katherine. Margaret liked how I bought Katherine a nice wand, danced with her during the festival, fought for her honor against the Chief Inquisitor, and shielded Sidney Butterfly from rotten food. However, she didn¡¯t care too much for our encounter with a Killer Clown, nor the way that Master Simon nearly killed Katherine, and definitely not the way that I had Katherine help me rescue Nadine from the gargoyle familiar Cornelius. In the end though, Margaret was surprisingly forgiving for all that I put her only child through.


    Half an hour later, Katherine finally comes out of her room. I rise from my chair to greet her. Katherine has her long brown hair perfectly straightened and wears a stunning black dress decorated with a purple flower design. She looks absolutely beautiful. Even more so than usual. I stare at her in a mild daze until I catch myself drooling. ¡°Hey Katherine. It¡¯s been a while,¡± I say lamely.


    ¡°Yeah it has,¡± she says smiling.


    I step backwards to pick up the flower vase, but nearly trip over my chair. In my mind I know that I¡¯m looking really goofy in front of Katherine, but I have to play it off and be smooth. I pick up the flower vase and try to hide the fact that my hands are shaking. ¡°I bought you some flowers. I know that you grow flowers, but I thought that¡­well, um¡­here.¡±


    I move over to Katherine and hand her the vase. ¡°Thank you,¡± she says.


    She breathes in the flowers¡¯ scent and then places the vase right back on the table in the same spot. I silently curse myself in my head for giving her the vase without thinking that she¡¯d just have to put it back down again anyway. My series of stupid actions is only causing me to grow more nervous. To keep myself from doing anything else stupid, and to hide my shaking hands, I sit back down at the table. Katherine joins me and Margaret, sitting directly across from me.


    ¡°How have you been Master?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to call me Master anymore Katherine. Your debt to me for saving your life has already been repaid. Besides you¡¯ve saved me a few times too. In fact, I think at this point you¡¯ve saved me more times than I¡¯ve saved you. But who¡¯s counting right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Katherine says, chuckling sweetly.


    It¡¯s so good to hear her voice again. I start staring at her face completely absorbed by her beauty. I¡¯m fully aware of the fact that I¡¯ve lost myself to swooning in her all-consuming brown eyes, yet I¡¯m powerless to stop myself. Helplessly, I fall into a deeper adoration of Katherine¡¯s magnificence than the time we sat together at the caf¨¦ in Magali. Yet staring at Katherine¡¯s face is akin to staring at the sun. No matter how bad you wish to do it, its sheer radiant sublimity can only be tolerated for so long.


    My cheeks turn to coals and I have to break my stare. I try to consciously make the red of my blushing cheeks go away, but I think that I only manage to make it worse. To further add to my embarrassment, our conversation has already lulled into an awkward silence. I know that Katherine is looking at me, but I can¡¯t think of anything to say: mostly on account of the fact that I¡¯m too stupefied to remember how to use words at the moment.


    Thankfully, Katherine¡¯s mother saves me. ¡°Well, it¡¯s getting late. I should prepare supper. Souladonis would you care to stay for dinner?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± I blurt out.


    ¡°Darn it Soul. What are you doing to me?¡± I curse myself in my head.


    ¡°Good. Why don¡¯t you kids go somewhere and catch up? I¡¯ll have dinner ready when you get back.¡±


    Katherine rises from the table and moves past me towards the front door. ¡°I know a good place where we can talk. Follow me Souladonis.¡±


    I get out of my chair and head for the door, but before I leave the house Margaret calls me over to herself. Katherine continues on, but I turn around to see what Margaret has to say.


    She whispers to me, ¡°You¡¯re just as bashful as my Terranostra, aren¡¯t you? You have to be confident Souladonis. Katherine likes you too. Trust me.¡±


    ¡°Right. Confident. Thanks.¡±


    I hurry to catch up to Katherine. Outside of the house, I immediately notice that the evening sky is my favorite purple color. The sky was the same color on the day that I began my journey with Katherine. I relay the coincidence to Katherine and she smiles appreciatively. Then, after a brief moment of reminiscing, we leave the village through the front gate in the direction of a tall verdant hill. Along the way I point out to Katherine the exact spot where I came out of the woods when I first traveled to Belle Forest from Cammy Port. Within three short minutes, we reach the top of the hill. We sit down next to each other facing the setting sun. Katherine playfully nudges my shoulder with her shoulder and I return the gesture.


    ¡°What have you been up to these days Souladonis?¡±


    ¡°Not much. Just trying to catch up with my studies. And missing you.¡±


    ¡°Aww. I missed you too.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of which Katherine, Arch Lord Aerolyso knows that you¡¯re the daughter of Shaman Terranostra. He said that he and your father were once friends. He also saw your unique healing ability when you saved me back at the Forbidden Tower. So basically he wants you to come study Life Magic at Winterspring Academy and ultimately to become a life mage teacher there. If you¡¯re interested, that is.¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m interested! I¡¯d love to!¡±


    ¡°Oh, but there is one problem. Because you¡¯ve never formally studied magic before, you¡¯ll need a tutor. You have to find someone who can take you on as an apprentice. But if you want, I¡¯m willing to do it.¡±


    Katherine merrily throws her arms around my shoulders. ¡°Of course Soul! Thank you!¡±


    Suddenly, she pulls away from me and covers her hand with her mouth. ¡°Oops. I guess if I¡¯m your apprentice, then I have to call you ¡®Master¡¯ again.¡±


    ¡°No, Katherine, you don¡¯t. If you knew what you meant to me, then you wouldn¡¯t worry about such little things as that.¡±


    ¡°Oh? What exactly do I mean to you?¡±


    I rise to my feet and move in front of Katherine. I then offer her my hands and help raise her up to her feet. I keep a hold of her hands and look her firmly in the eyes. Then I gently take her right hand and place it around my left shoulder. ¡°Katherine, to me you are my apprentice.¡±


    I take her left hand and place it around my right shoulder. ¡°You are my best friend.¡±


    Next, I wrap my own arms around her waist and pull her close to me. Softly, she rests her head against my chest while I tilt my head forward to enjoy the lavender scent of her hair. Then, raising my right hand up enough to stroke through her hair, I whisper in her ear, ¡°But more importantly Katherine.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re my hero.¡±


    She reacts to my words by squeezing me tightly.


    ¡°You¡¯re my hero too Souladonis.¡±


    Thus, we stand there together on top of the verdant hill holding each other in a loving embrace until the sun completely sets and the purple sky fades to black.


    That''s it for the first Souladonis novel. Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this book, then please take a moment to help the author by posting a review on the book''s Amazon page</a>.

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 Souladonis Book 2

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