I once again made my way to the top of the large clock tower. While the view of the city was glorious in the light of the setting sun, it was not my goal this time. I needed the privacy that the tower's height would offer. While I knew that no skill or spell could acquire information from me or my conversations, I still needed to be cautious of someone physically being in the area, so I proceeded upwards.
I had barely sat down at the top of the tower when a voice spoke to me from my right. "What are you doing here. I thought you'd stopped pursuing heroes," A voice said.
I turned to look at the origin of the voice and saw a partially see-through figure. They weren't wearing clothes, not that it mattered. Everything beneath the neck only resembled the outline of a person, lacking any definition or detail. The face wasn't that of a man or a woman, lying between the two so perfectly you could never tell if the person was a boy or a girl. They had dark brown hair and black eyes, once of which had a slit pupil.
"I have." I wrote the message quickly.
"Then why did you join the party of one?" The figure said accusingly.
"Use that brilliant mind of yours. The clues are there. The current hero's party is as green as could be, they don't have a goal, or at least The Hero isn't telling them what the goal is. No war, no Demon King, no monster flood, nothing that warrants the summoning of a hero. So tell me, old friend, why am I here?." I wrote my mocking comment, trying to convey my words' levity in the shape of the letters.
The figure either didn't catch onto my intended tone, or they ignored it. They placed their hand on their chin and thought about my message. They didn't take long to piece together the puzzle enough to guess why I was here in the capital.
"You came here to investigate." They said in a matter of fact tone.
"Correct, I am here to find out why this country summoned a hero. Anything else is a bonus." I responded, knowing that the figure would ask further questions.
"Why? Sorry to say, but it's not like you to investigate a single hero summoning. You usually let the world do what it wants. Any other time you would have written this off as the king vying for power. What is different this time." They asked me, clearly unsatisfied with the given answer.
"It wasn't just one." I wrote simply.
"What?" The figure sounded slightly confused, and the gestured for me to elaborate.
"I would have left it alone if this was normal. In fact, I did the first time. One year ago, I felt the signs that someone used the summoning formation. I ignored it. But, then, I felt those same signs again, six months ago, from a different country." I held the message for a second to let it's contents sink in before I continued. "I thought it was a bit odd, so I looked into it. I found the second summoning's exact location to be here in this city, but the first had been intentionally obscured. The best I could do was track it down to the correct continent." I stopped weaving my message and waited for the figure to respond.
"So, you don't know what's going on?" The figure asked, incredulous.
"No, and I don't like it." I wrote. I didn't honestly mind, not knowing. But, someone using something to hide from me implied something far more dangerous than a hero summoning.
"You've always known more than you let on. You always dig further, and you don't stop until you find the information you are after. You taught me that giving up was the only time you ever actually lose. So, why don't you know? Don't tell me you gave up after looking around a little." The figure appeared to breathe heavily, but no air was displaced. And, as the figure's words dissipated into the atmosphere, I thought about my response.
Stolen novel; please report.
"Perhaps, someone doesn't want me to know, or they are hiding from the same things I am." I looked out toward the horizon and watched the sun's final rays cast elongated shadows across the land. "Whatever they did to hide, it was good. And I didn't do myself any favors by waiting six months to look into it. So, my current goal is to stay beside this hero and see what happens."
The figure relaxed and sat down beside me, taking a moment to look out over the city. "Why fo you seem less worried than I am? When you first told me about who you are, and everything you wanted to do, you wouldn't have even considered waiting around for something to happen unless it was the final option. What's going on?" The figure asked, with evident concern in their voice.
"Since we last conversed, I finished freeing my kin, and I took the opportunity to walk amongst the races for the first time in a while. It has driven home what was taken from me." I wove the message swiftly while avoiding eye contact with the figure. "You saw what occurred at the tailor. That is an example of what I lost. I cannot cultivate those relationships, no matter how much it pains me to leave them behind." I waited until the sun was no longer visible before I continued writing. "The time between our last meeting, and today, has left me rather tired."
The figure looked over the message before asking a simple question, one that would answer plenty of others in turn. "What's the date?"
"The current date is the 16th of Heass in the Year 2187 of the calendar established after the Hero Wars end." I gave an overly detailed response, knowing it was the kind the figure was requesting.
"I'm sorry." The apology was simple, but it contained far more meaning than it would appear.
"You have nothing to apologize for. You are not to blame for how long the world took to place you upon my path again. You are not to blame for what I have lost." I wrote what I believed to be true. I did not blame them for anything and did not see any reason for them to apologize.
"I'm sorry because I should have been there. One of us should have been beside you when you met the last of them. But we weren't. We chose to take a risk to escape our boredom, and we left you alone for too long." The figure sounded almost pained while speaking.
"Relax, old friend. I am tired, yes, but I am not beaten." I wrote the message then quickly moved to show another one. "Why do you think I worked to place myself at the center of things this time. We are stepping toward a world shifting event, and I want a front-row seat." The message contained plenty for the figure to think upon, and think they did before bursting into pleasant laughter.
"Alright, that's good. Because, if you, of all people, gave up, well, I don't think the world would survive." The figure adopted a mischievous smile before speaking again. "What are we doing next?"
"I was thinking we break into the castle, do a bit of investigating. What do you say?" I showed what I wrote to the figure, who's smile grew wider at the sight of my message.
"I like the sound of that." With those words, the figure's semi-transparent body began fading away. "Oh, before I forget, go ahead and call me Scales this time around. That shouldn't count as a name." With that final message, the figure vanished, replaces by the winged serpent, which quickly occupied my shoulder again.
With Scales firmly held in place, I leaned forward over the edge and fell from the tower towards an alley below, letting us both vanish into the shadows.
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Recovered literature.
The Mighty King
Beware beware The mighty king.
Know his return, when your soul begins to sing
The Ground shall rumble, and the gods will grumble.
The veil will shatter, and the neutral shall clammer.
Beware his fury and his long-held grudge.
Beware his return, because he believes himself misjudged.
Beware beware The Mighty King.
Know his return when your soul begins to sing.
The truth shall be known, and the lies unveiled.
The world will be beset with strength untold.
Beware his glowing gaze long forgotten.
Beware him because his blood is rotten.
Beware beware The Mighty King.
This Poem was recovered in the ruins left by the hero wars. No one has been able to place what historical figure it speaks of, but some think it is referring to the first Demon King. While that is the most accepted theory, we lack evidence to support this.