20
Nearby, on the edge of his plot, a small group of boys yelled and fought each other and roughed around by the river. Shallow enough to not be a cause for concern, Vander grinned and shook his head good naturedly. They were enjoying their youth, growing bonds that would be important throughout their lives. Something he envied.
The closest thing he’d had to a friend had been Madison, and that was so much more. Aside from that, his time as a Delver had been lonely. Being strong came with a heavy burden of responsibility. Each life lost while he lived on, just another tally scratched into his bunk during sleepless nights.
He’d run out of space to tally and used the walls before he’d been moved from the general barracks to the DMHA head honcho tent. From one shithole to another, all he’d gained was even more responsibility. Training, evaluating, testing, but never supporting. Those young boys, each more terrified than he’d ever been, grew together to form strong bonds.
But his walls gained more tallies every time he came back from a Door. Those who might’ve been called friend, ally, comrade all scorned him as mad for his habit and cursed him behind his back.
Those boys by the river, roughing around, had something he’d never had but hoped to experience some day. Though, he knew the truth about relationships and close bonds. He’d seen what they could do and the tragedy they’d brought. In a moment where the only answer was to retreat, a friend gives courage. A team of ten dies. In a moment requiring advancement, a friend gives courage to retreat. A team of ten dies. In a moment where one sacrifice means all others survived, they stand united. A team of ten dies.
Maybe he just didn’t understand those put under his command, didn’t know how to break them of that foolishness, those actions that went against every survival instinct in a hopeful stand against the impossible.
Not every team failed. Those that survived became heroes, lauded as prodigious for surviving against all odds. For surviving his training, even though the DMHA had put a target on his back for resisting them, for being too powerful, they’d become survivors. Numbed to the pleasures of life, they survived. Broken but alive until the guilt chewed a hole through the back of their skulls.
Breathing a shaky breath, he wiped the sweat from his hair and looked towards the sky. He wouldn’t fault the youths of this world for their innocence, nor would he curse those of the past for their weakness. After all, the DMHA had been after him. And to take down the best, you couldn’t send him into just any Door.
Again, he promised himself to never be like them if he ever found him in a position over others. He’d cherish those competent and nurture the weak. Some people just weren’t made to fight and had specialties in other fields. He knew that, the other Delvers knew that, most of the people in Wanda knew that, but the DMHA never cared about the lives of the people beneath them.
Fuckers.
Focusing on the task at hand helped calm his turbulent mind. He much preferred calm and focused labor away from the villagers. The simple task offered him peace of mind and a way to focus his thoughts away from the heavy memories and responsibilities awaiting him once he left behind the village of Crossroads.
The sun passed overhead. Lunchtime came and went, but Vander had finally found his stride, a workable rhythm that quieted his loud mind. Progress in the field was slow but steady, rewarding as the visible progress grew. The more the plow cut into the earth, the more the effort slickened his skin with sweat.
By mid afternoon, he and Stubborn finished half the field. He stopped and wiped sweat from his brow, appreciating the work he’d put into truly making the land his.
“Hard earned and well-deserved,” he muttered to Stubborn, patting the ox’s neck. Vander knew the old beast needed rest and called the field work a success for the day. A monumental success, at that. He’d focus on other tasks while he recovered and pick up the plowing bright and early the next morning. “Let’s head on back. Good work today.”
The deep grumbling from his chest was all he needed to hear. He led him over to her pen where he removed the ox’s harness with care, setting it down on a hook just outside the pen.
Once he secured Stubborn, Vander went to the barrels of fresh spring water he’d drawn the night before and emptied them in the to-size troughs. With the addition of his stored water, the water trough was full enough for the ox to drink more than his fair share, but Vander would have to remember to refill the three barrels either before he slept or in the morning.
Stubborn got quite testy if he didn’t get enough to fill his belly, and Vander didn’t blame him. Stubborn did fine work and deserved to eat well in his old age. Before the ox had finished drinking, Vander took a bucket in his hand and filled a large trough the ox fed from. The beast of burden chowed down like he’d been starved for days.
“Don’t eat too fast,” Vander said, patting his back affectionately before leaving him to gorge on his rewards.
When Vander stepped outside of the pen, he turned the lock three times, click-clack-click, and set off towards the village proper. Something about the calmness of the day, the peacefulness of the sun in the sky and frolicking kids by the river struck a dissonant chord he couldn’t escape.
He’d been fighting against extreme restlessness ever since he’d joined the village, but no matter where he looked, he couldn’t find any bandits. If he couldn’t find and kill the bandits, he couldn’t save the villagers. If he couldn’t save the villagers, he couldn’t escape the class assessment and find Madison.
Save… the… villagers. Save the… villagers… Save the villagers!
“You can’t be serious.”
Class Assessment: Part 2 of 3
Each part of the class assessment will reward points based on performance. The points will only be usable in the Class Shop. The shop will open at the end of the assessment after all results have been calculated.
Completion Goal: Save the villagers (0/25)
Secondary Goal: Kill the bandits
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He stopped in place to stare at the second part of his assessment. Nothing in it said the bandits were the main threat to the village. He’d just assumed that to be the case. “To assume is to make an ass out of you and me,” he muttered.
Crossing his arms, he looked towards the village from the halfway point between his small cabin and searched for anything seemingly out of place. The entire time he’d been there, he’d never once heard of a single person committing a crime. No theft, murder, adultery, or anything of the sort.
“Everything seems too peaceful. Is this an illusion then?” He didn’t think so, unless the entirety of the second part’s challenge was to identify that he was in an illusion. Thinking as much, he waved his hand in the air and shouted, “Okay, this isn’t funny anymore. Let me out. If this is an illusion, I’m so over it. Not sure who grades these class assessments, but I’m through with playing your games!”
His shouts drew attention from the people of the village. Concerned glances shot his way. Wariness seemed to pervade all the people who saw him as they slank away, doing their best not to draw attention from him.
“Can’t blame him,” he grumbled, tapping his foot against the ground. “I’d think I’d gone mad too, but if this isn’t an illusion, what’s the deal?”
Tobias, the village elder, waved as he approached. “Vander, how do you do?”
“I’m fine, Toby. I just can’t wrap my head around what’s going on here,” Vander admitted, gesturing towards the village. “It’s all quite frustrating.”
“By all means, come with me. Let’s continue this discussion inside and out of the sun over some tea.” Tobias rested a comforting hand on Vander’s shoulder and guided him through the middle of the village, kindly greeting all the citizens of their little haven.
When they entered his house, the largest with two stories and three bedrooms for his two kids built next to the town hall, his wife, Mabelline, greeted them and rushed off to prepare the tea. Tobias guided them to his study adorned with a desk, two bookcases on either side of a large window with a cabinet underneath, and an additional round table he gestured towards.
The old chief sat with crossed legs and his palms face down on his laps. “So what seems to be the issue, young man?”
Now that he sat in front of Tobias, someone who exuded a calm presence and aura of being as ancient as time itself, similar to the archmage, Vander didn’t know how to say what he wanted to. Didn’t know how to articulate the frustration of spending so much time in the village in hopes to save the people there so that he could advance the progress in his class assessment. Didn’t know how to describe the anguish burning in his gut after regaining the love of a past life, only to be powerless when she needed him most. Didn’t know how to speak, almost as if his capability of speech utterly failed him.
Anything and everything he had going on seemed like a problem for another place and time, for someone who didn’t have the paragon of calmness sitting in front of him in a village that defined peace. All of it just felt too much to explain, especially the contradicting desires to remain there and live a happy life waging a growing, tireless battle against the desire to break free, gain more power, and fight the world and anything that stood in his way for those desires.
He couldn’t help but grind his teeth in frustration. And when that didn’t work, he chewed his cheek until he tasted blood. But in doing so, a clarity overcame him. A clarity he’d experienced once before, as if he’d fought off a tinge of insidious powers that attempted to manipulate his mind.
“Take a deep breath,” Tobias instructed, leading by example. Eyes closed, he breathed in deeply. The currents in the air shifted oddly, tingling against Vander’s magic sense. “This place is a font of peace and serenity, Vander. You haven’t been here long, but if you stay, you’ll find nirvana in time.”
The timely arrival of Madelline’s appearance with three cups of steaming tea allowed Vander to break away from the gaze of the village chief and huff a deep, shuddery breath. He gripped both sides of the warm cup in his hands to stave off the biting chill that creeped into his body, deep down to his very bones.
He gazed into the swirling spirals, letting the scent fill him with warmth too. A floral aroma with a hint of milk and honey calmed his shuddering mind. His eyes widened as traces of mana buzzed within his body. Careful not to spill any, he brought the cup to his mouth and took a deeper breath.
Just as he thought, his body tingled as mana filled his body. A sip electrified his senses in a way he’d only experienced with the elixir. As carefully as he’d raised the cup, he made sure not to drink too fast. A repeat incident of the elixir incident was unwelcome, though the fact the simple looking tea caused such drastic effects made him curious.
And sure enough, he found what he was looking for.
Tea of the Ancients
A master of herbs and magic has made this tea with tenderness, love, and affection. A special recipe created by the master to soothe troubled minds and empower the spirit.
I think I might have underestimated these people, he thought, looking up at the smiling couple with awe. He thought to be afraid for just a moment, but if they’d meant him any harm, they’d have done so before now. Wolves in sheep's clothing.
Grinning, he took another sip. After the warmth of the liquid tingled its way through his body, filling him with a peaceful buzzing energy, he chuckled. “Do you think you’d be willing to share your recipe with me, Mrs. Madeline?”
“Trade secret.” She mimed locking her lips and throwing away the key, and Vander played along, clumsily reaching for the make believe key in hopes of catching it. She laughed something of honeysuckle and rustled grass, a beautiful sound that could mesmerize even the most hardy warrior. Purely enchanting, bewitching.
“Tobias”
??
“Madeline”
??
Unsurprising. Given the bouts of subtle but impossible to ignore hints, he didn’t think he’d be qualified to discern their details.
“Is everyone in this village like you two?” he asked with a healthy measure of respect.
Tobias looked towards Madeline, but she gave no reaction to his probing gaze. Seeing as she didn’t intervene, the village chief responded, “The others of Crossroad are simple villagers, living simple lives away from chaos, bloodshed, and hardship. Their efforts bear fruit in the form of a healthy community full of satisfaction and security.”
“How does all of this work?” he asked, waving towards the door and around the study. “It’s almost as if the rest of the world doesn’t exist, like this village is isolated away from the rest of the real world.”
“Nirvana is the reward for those who find it, just as the villagers have,” Madeline chimed in. She blew on her cup and took a sip, resting the cup back on the table. In the time she’d been drinking, she’d emptied the cup. “Are you not at peace in nirvana? Does this life not satisfy?”
Madison’s pleading eyes and pained wails, begging for him to save her, didn’t hesitate to come to the forefront of his mind. But not only her, all that he’d experienced in Gaia. There were too many things to do, so much to do with the new life he’d been given. Trials and tribulation, tasks to complete, responsibility to bear.
“I won’t run away.” Firm and resolute, he drained the rest of the tea and felt the flood of mana in his veins. The heady rush of power that spiked his body with adrenaline. “Whatever you’re doing to keep me here, I need you both to stop. I need to complete this assessment and return to Gaia. No matter what you both say, I won’t stay here. This is not peace for me, no haven of mine, and I refuse to be a prisoner to anybody again.”
Madeline gave Tobias a knowing look, and the village chief rubbed his white beard. “Thought so. For a time there, we really thought you might accept this way of life.”
“I never accepted this place. I thought I needed to wait for the threat to appear, but that doesn’t appear to be the case,” Vander said, glowering. His hands clenched the cup until it shattered. “Now tell me how I get out of here.”