CHAPTER 7

The night passed quickly and quietly, as the local fauna was surprisingly quiet. Morning came with a flash, and a heavy atmosphere, as the Theandor household was not looking forward to dealing with the coming day. Grey was too tired to speak, especially after the wonder brew had been destroyed in the scuffle of the previous day, and Lyvia could only dread the mountain of dirt she would have to move to fill the crater she had made.

                The morning started slowly because of this, as even the energetic Daelyn couldn’t make the two adults dread their imminent responsibilities.

                Today’s breakfast was a silent one, as even the birds could be heard singing just outside their window. The singing managed to brighten the family’s morning, as they became lost in the high, and occasionally low, mating calls.

                He regarded the small family with curiosity, seeing himself as both a part of it and an outsider. He had thought long and hard what he would be to the family and he couldn’t find a definition for what he was to them, as he couldn’t find a definition for himself. He knew that both He and It were alive, as they were both thinking, although He did have to broaden the term ‘think’ for It to fit in. Nevertheless, they were both alive but only one of them really existed. Only of them was able to leave marks on the world, however infinitely small they may be, making it so that in He’s logic, only one of them really ‘existed’.

                ‘But that doesn’t make any sense! I exist, I am here, I can think, I just can’t do anything to the world like that little brat can. I exist in my own eyes, yet do I really exist in the eyes of the world? Am I able to exist only within another’s mind as a backdrop, a voice which whispers sweet nothings and the answers to which they don’t understand? How can I be more than that? How can I really ‘exist’?’

                He became lost in his philosophical pondering, losing track of the outside world as It had done. The birds chipper served as an excellent backdrop, before it suddenly fell away.

                “What happened?”, resounded from the outside world.

                “Why are the birds so silent?”, said another voice.

                It hadn’t said a thing, but He didn’t need to hear anything, as he could see It bouncing around like a loaded spring inside of their shared space. It’s inner anxiety clearly couldn’t contain itself, as the outside world started to shift. It started looking around, hurrying to the window alongside its parents in an attempt to find out what silenced the birds.

                They did not need to wait long, as a mass of green vines became visible through the trees, carrying the same old man that had broken the wall of the downstairs atelier.

                He decided that he would stay quiet, as his thoughts would simply distract from the peculiar old man coming their way. Pondering while It was busy tearing down the fabric of their small reality was impossible at any rate, so He might as well enjoy the show.

                The small family simply stared at the old man being carried by the Liffyd. The green mass of vines slowly pushed itself off the ground through moving its vines sideways, making it seem as if a mass of a thousand entangled snakes were moving towards their house, creeping closer in an almost unnaturally quiet way.

                The singing hadn’t completely stopped, as a chorus of muffled desperation rang out from the large creature. The previously calming songs couldn’t be compared to the pain and imminent death scenes that this creature emitted. The old man seemed to notice, and he snapped his fingers as he turned towards the Liffyd. The cries suddenly intensified, before ending with a multitude of abrupt *snap*s. Content, the old man turned back towards the family, creeping closer at an even-faster rate than before.

                Lyvia stepped away from the window and towards the downstairs atelier with a grim expression. Grey was about to stop her but decided to simply follow in her wake on second thought. He took Daelyn’s hand and progressed down towards the atelier, looking down out of the impromptu window that the remainder of the mostly patched up wall provided them.

                Lyvia was as unnaturally fast as always, as she had already reached the forest floor. She stood opposite of the green giant, still wearing an agitated and grim expression. She welcomed the old man with tough leather armour and a rapier with a slanted kite shield in hand, ready to cut away at the Liffyd.

                “What the hell are you doing here so early in the morning?! And why is that monster of yours torturing those little birds?!”, Lyvia’s voice cut through the glade like a sharpened blade.

                “Well, I said I would deliver my first batch of supplies within a few days.”, the old man’s smile turned gleeful once more, “I had a bit of free time on my hands, so I thought ‘why don’t I pop in?’”, his remark was reinforced by several pained high pitched squeals coming from the birds, before they were abruptly silenced with a quiet *pop*. The sound of bone and tissue being mushed into paste resounding throughout the clearing, earning a glare from both Grey and Lyvia, and giving little Daelyn a sickly pale expression.

                “I don’t think I ever specified you having to bring your creation along with you, did I?”, Grey’s voice turned solemn once again. The relaxed morning with his family had been interrupted by the horrible sight of this old man, and he wasn’t going to let this pest get the better of him.

                “Well, I took it as a given. I can hardly be expected to carry these fragile containers here all by myself. Aging doesn’t do much good for us dinol, you know?”

                Grey remained silent at this, preferring to meet the man face to face to make some adjustments to their partnership. Lyvia wasn’t as content with such a treatment.

                “Well, how about I alleviate those backpains for you with a little prick? It doesn’t take much, just one little prick with this, and it’s all over.”, Lyvia’s eyes shone with murder, her tong tracing her lips as she emphasised each ‘prick’.

                “I won’t be needing any acupuncture, thank you very much. I prefer herbal tea.”’, the old man’s upright demeanour seemed comical.

                “In that case, I know some wonderful herbs which would do an even better job. They just take a little while, that’s all.”, her expression hadn’t changed, as her adventuring days were slowly coming back to her. The days of fighting, exploring unchartered territory, and entertaining certain guests had left her with a wide arsenal of techniques, weapons, and an attitude for all that is unsavoury.

                “I will see whatever your husband can make of it. A potion for backpain wouldn’t be impossible, would it?”

                Lyvia was about to draw her rapier, yet Grey stepped in from behind. He had hurried down, trying to get down as quickly as he could while ensuring that the little boy tailing him wouldn’t fall down the stairs.

                “Honey, I will handle this one. You can have his skin later, just let me have these products.”

                Lyvia stomped off with a ‘humph’, leaving the two men once again alone to deal with their trades. The old man looked uneasy, as if he had something to get off his chest. Grey decided that it wouldn’t be worth the time, as the morning was already practically ruined with his arrival. The only thing that could cheer him up now was a fresh batch of high-quality ingredients, and he was looking right at them.

                “What do you have for me this time? I can’t wait to get my hands on whatever is in that barrel.”, an enthusiastic smile from Grey blew away all tension. The atmosphere relaxed, as the old man’s visibly calmed.

                “I’m too old for this.”, he muttered under his breath. He leisurely walked to Grey, thoughts of confusion bubbling in his mind as he couldn’t wrap his head around the suddenly relaxed attitude of his new business partner, or scam victim, whatever you call it.

                Meanwhile, Lyvia had hurried over to Daelyn, making sure that the little boy didn’t get too close to the monstrosity. Grey’s perusing through the containers was interrupted by a curt hock. He turned around, finding the old man standing there with an annoyed and slightly perplexed expression.

                “What are you looking at me for? Can’t I be excited to finally get my hands on whatever weird farm has you producing enormous Liffyds like it’s nothing?”, he said with a melodramatic voice that carried the usual mix of contemptuous observations and unbounded enthusiasm for his trade.

                “Why are you so calm?”, the old man didn’t do anything to mask his incredulity, “Your wife and I were at each other’s throats just moments earlier!”, the old man said in a confounded voice. He couldn’t fathom how this man would be so calm while a threat approached his home so closely, how he could let his offspring run along while a creature, a magnificent one, with maws large enough to devour him whole. He just couldn’t understand how this man could be so confident in his ability to safeguard his family while being so lenient with their security.

                “I don’t think you can claim any rights from being old when you don’t have the wisdom to back it up, old man. Look closely, and I think you’ll know why I’m so calm.”, he turned back to the crates, perusing through them further, smiling as he found rare after rare ingredient. The possibilities for different potions, poisons, acids, ointments, soaps and a whole host of other products flooded his mind, awakening the eager alchemist inside of him, alongside the childish glee of feeling like a kid in a candy store.

                He reached into his pockets and took out a pair of gloves. He put them on, before carefully sampling the ingredients as to ascertain their quality. The gloves were a nice add on, making it clear that the dark elf had completely ignored the almost rabid mage standing behind him, preferring to pick through the poisonous and corrosive contents of a box instead of worrying about someone accusing him of laxness.

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                He picked up a peculiar plant, one that was very comparable to a blade of grass, only showing slight differences around the roots which were a deep green instead of the normal bleak white. The grass seemed inverted, its roots sprouting upwards as if they were the true blades of grass.

                “I have only heard of this plant, but this must the cave root grass, right?”, Grey said. He looked up from the crate with the enthusiasm of a child, both baffled and energized by the quality, quantity, and diversity of unique and exotic plants the crate contained. He expected another enthusiast to be standing right next to him, yet instead he found an agitated and raving old man.

                “How are you so damned calm?! Your son is breaking every rule of common sense by running towards seven metres high Liffyd! How in the world can you allow such a thing to happen?! By the seven world trees, you’re being more irresponsible than the eldritch churches!”, any calmness or tiredness in the old man’s voice had been replaced by a confounded exasperation. He stomped his foot like a small child, earning a curious glance from Grey and a glare from Lyvia who was standing at the other side of the glade.

                “Churches?”

                The old man grimaced: “Don’t make me repeat myself and answer the damned question.”

                Silence reigned for several seconds, before Grey faintly smiled and pointed at Lyvia.

                “She is the reason I am so calm.”, he said while standing up from his squatted position. The raving old man would leave him with few opportunities to sample the goods, so he opted to enjoy the sight with his family instead. He calmly walked over towards the two, rubbing Daelyn’s head while giving Lyvia a slight kiss, which warranted an ‘Eww’ from Daelyn.

                The family seemed to completely forget the old man standing behind them, simply revelling in the sight that unfolded in front of them, as the large Liffyd became more and more insecure as the trio stared at it. Daelyn with a gaze of curiosity, Lyvia with a cold sneer, and Grey staring through the thing with a dreamy expression, all three staring at the poor monster and each of them invoking a different instinctual reaction in the beast. It had such a hard time on whether deciding to inspect the gullible prey, hide from the silent but watchful predator, or satiate its own curiosity.

                It couldn’t act on any of its instincts, as its master commanded it. The order was quick and precise, ‘pick me up and head home’. It was all that was necessary to get the creature to move, as its basic instincts were pushed to the back while the urge to do master’s bidding nagged it unrelentingly, subsiding only when the creature moved towards its master. The old man stood there with a small amount of seeds in his hand, shaking them to create a small noise which the Liffyd instantly picked up on. The large beast bounded towards its creator, hungry for whatever it was that was in his hand.

                ‘Good job. When we get home, you get eat some more.’, resounded through its mind.

                The Liffyd obeyed, stimulated by both the fear of the predator still glaring daggers at it and the promise of food. The mass of green snakes slithering towards the old man elicited a smile from him, as his orders needed no apparent reinforcement for once, kindling a hope that the Liffyd finally had some apparent sway over its own instincts through the old man’s orders.

                ‘He might actually be useful’, he thought optimistically, before realizing the effect the trio standing near him had on the Liffyd, as it clearly diverged from its path simply to evade them.

                ‘For the sake of all that is otherworldly, damn this thing!’

                The old man contemplated casting a hex on the plant monster, before he was interrupted by one the trio, the one he had least expected to address him in any form.

                “Sir, who are you? And why are you so mad at the plant monster?”, asked Daelyn.

                The little boy had been puzzled by the man from the moment he saw him, both of him were. The old man had a monstrosity at its bidding, yet he grumbled at seemingly every movement of the giant monster. The critique was only indicated by the old man’s facial expression, yet his temperament allowed anyone close by to see his emotions. Lastly, but most importantly, was the influence the old man was able to exert over the large creature.

                The question remained hanging in the air, unanswered as it was the old man’s turn to be stunned, and the Theandor’s turn to be embarrassed, as they had failed to even get the man’s name, while he was threatening their homestead.

                The old man burst out laughing, slapping his knees in delight as if he were a character in a children’s book. The laughter filled the clearing, defusing the tension as if a loaded spring was suddenly cleared of force.

                “My, my, my. I forgot to introduce myself, didn’t I?”, he said between wheezing breaths as he recovered from the uproarious laughter. “Well, this might be a bit of a chance for everyone here. None of us got to formally introduce ourselves, so let’s start over and try to forget all that happened. Deal?”, he said with a more eased and relaxed expression which only bolstered the sudden diffusion of the situation.

                “I will forgive you, but I won’t forget what happened.”, Lyvia said as she snapped back from lukewarm to frigid.

                “Eh, I’ll get what I can get. So, shall I start by introducing myself?”, the old man waited for several moments, “I will take that as a ‘yes’. My name is Anatoly Miraniye, but I mostly go by Tanner, and I am a hedge mage. I mainly specialise in raising plant like monsters and growing exotic crops, I think these two are interchangeable, but some seek to differ.”, he finished with a genuine smile. The mention of his passion truly invigorated the man, as he seemed to temporarily forget the Doriàn that was staring daggers at him.

                Silence reigned for several moments as Tanner waited for the opposite side to introduce themselves. His patience was partly rewarded, as Grey nudged Lyvia to start with herself. Some bickering later, Lyvia stepped forward and opened herself up to Tanner.

                “My name is Lyvia Theandor. I mainly practise swordsmanship with an emphasize on the larger and heavier weapons, while I also dabble in hand to hand combat. Besides that, I enjoy visiting the village, and taking care of my little walnut.”, she said as she pulled Daelyn closer. The little boy didn’t seem to mind, as he looked up and smiled at her, receiving one in return.

                The mother son moment lasted only moments, as Daelyn seemed all too eager to step forward and introduce himself.

                “My name is Daelyn. I like reading and playing outside, which I think are interchangeable, but some want to differ. Besides that, I help my dad making potions sometimes and follow the training regimen my mama gave me.”, the little boy said with a smile as bright as a flashbang, causing Tanner to recoil slightly.

                “Why does your child seem like an apostle of the sun?”, he said with a faux pained expression.

                “I think you have been inside for too long, old fart. He gets a healthy dose of parental love and sunlight, maybe you should try some of the latter.”, Lyvia hissed at him.

                “Lyvia, what did we say at the start of our introductions? A clean slate, so let’s keep it that way.”, Grey said, “Besides, we’re older than him so ‘old fart’ isn’t really appropriate, it is?”.

                “Could you please stop reminding me of my age? I know my ninetieth autumn passed, so you don’t need to keep reminding me. Besides, shouldn’t you support your wife instead of the creepy old man at our doorstep.”, Lyvia said in her faux hurt voice.

                “Yes, yes, next time a boar the size of a carriage shows up I will make certain that it doesn’t come close, okay?”

                Lyvia’s face flushed with red. “That’s is different, and you know it! Bac was a good pet and he wouldn’t hurt Daelyn in a thousand summers!”

                “Oh yes, the enormous boar named whose name is short for bacon isn’t going to do anything unpredictable! I couldn’t think of anything safer for a child. Well, maybe a horde of ghoulish racoons!”

                The conversation quickly devolved into a mental endurance contest, as the two competitors continued showering each other with one-liners, quips and outright insults. Tanner’s face shifted from its earlier jovial expression to one filled with confusion, as he could hardly comprehend the change in conversation between the two people who were his senior by at least at most a few years.

                The trance was broken by a small tug on his robe. He came face to face with the little boy as he looked down. The small child had a gleam in his eyes that he recognised as a scholar and a dedicated magician, the desire for knowledge accompanied with an unbound curiosity. This unbound curiosity was about to unleash itself, but Tanner had rarely failed in recognising a potential threat and neutralising it before it came to flourish.

                “Hush, it seems that you have a lot of queries, but they will need to be answered at another time. You said you liked reading, right?”, Daelyn nodded vigorously at this, “In that case, you can visit my little farm at any time to ask any question you want and read any book I have. But, you do have to discuss this with your parents, understood?”. Daelyn marvelled at this, nodding even more vigorously than previously, making it seem like his spine had the flexibility of the vines hanging overhead.

                The old man smiled, radiating a childlike enthusiasm in the way Daelyn had done only moments before, only a little more masked by wrinkles. He was saddened by the thought of leaving this little scholar in the making without anything of a book, so he took out a little booklet from his coat. The cover was full of scribbles, both intricate, enthusiastic, and childlike.

                “This little thing has served me well for many years, I know it will serve you just as well.”, he smiled at the eagerness in the little boy’s eyes, “There’s a little trick to this book, you don’t need anything to write in it! Just trace out the words with anything, and the words will magically appear! Make sure not to write too much though, you might get dizzy.”

                He carefully handed over the little booklet to Daelyn, before righting himself and turning towards the squabbling couple.

                “I do think we’re done here, so I’ll be leaving. Expect me within the week, with a fresh batch of ingredients.”, he turned around and walked over towards his mount.

                “Don’t you dare bring that thing here next time!”

                “I can’t make any promises!”, Tanner burst out laughing as he stepped on one of the many vines, before being whisked away as the monster began to move through the trees. The old man disappeared and left the Theandor family with a pile of dust and brighter future in a few simple containers.

                “Well, let’s get this inside, shall we? We don’t want to have a bunch of exotic plants standing outside for something to find them, do we?”, Grey said in a calm tone.

                “You better put something worthy of this on the table, because I’m not going to let you get away with this otherwise.”, Lyvia’s expression suggested no respite, yet Grey knew better.

                “What do you mean by ‘this’?”

                “Aside from using me as a mule for your ingredients and making a deal with what might be a devil? I don’t know, you tell me.”

                “Point taken.”

                The two Dynn Doriàn calmly walked towards their home, Grey with a crate in his hand and Lyvia with two barrels on her shoulders. One huffing and puffing, and the other just smiling away at her little son, who was engrossed with the little booklet in his hands.

                The little boy looked eagerly through the little booklet, scanning through everything that had already been written. Finding everything from history, herbalism, and alchemy to battle tactics, different exotic weapons, and even one or two basic spells inscribed in the little booklet. For once, both he and it were reading something with full attention, scanning every page before finally arriving at first clean slate. The first page which belonged to them, the start of their chronicles.