The shocked silence which came from him gave me a brief rush of schadenfreude. In the short interim I caught onto an odd thought at what he had said, regarding when she had gotten her capsule. It was actually around the same time I got mine.
Curiosity tugged at my mind as I then purposefully turned away from the belligerent boy and faced Lynette more fully but with a soft voice I asked. “Do you work in the medical field or with patients who need medical care?”
A silent nod was all I got for my troubles. She didn’t speak a word to me, and I felt a shiver of fear come over her at my interactions and close proximity. Feelings of my own confusion swept through me as I took a step back. Had I done something to upset her?
At my distancing I felt her briefly turbulent emotions return to the original depressing baseline of simple existence of constant fear and dread.
How long did someone like her have to be heavily mistreated in order to result in this extent of self-misery?
It seems like my time to dwell on her misfortune had come to an end as her cousin had recovered from my verbal spar. With eyes burning with belligerence, he reengaged with me in verbal sparring.
*Hmmph* He grumbled. “And what have you made of yourself since you’ve been here? I’ll bet I could get clothes and a weapon better than that within a week’s time instead of the month it took you.”
I honestly could not believe how badly screwed on this kid's head must be. In truth I was really curious about how old they were in real life.
As such, I asked. “How old are you in real life?” His face turned a bit red before he bounced the question back to me. “How old are you?!” The accusation in his voice filled with scorn.
Deciding to be the bigger man I answered. “I am 22.”
“Hah!!” He crowed triumphantly. “I’m 37, so you should respect your elders!” He declared, as if such was to be admired.
Instead, I felt increasing disdain as I continued inquiring with an arched eyebrow. “And you still live with your parents?”
“Yep!” He replied. “The entire basement of the house is mine to command.” Again, he puffed up, as if such was a praiseworthy accomplishment.
I simply shook my head in incredulous denial. At this point, I had to ask to get a better understanding of their situation.
Turning back to his cousin Lynette, I asked more politely. “How old are you?” I tried to be more careful of my proximity in order to not spook her as I did before.
A moment passed in relative silence while the boy sauntered about in celebration for being older than his unwilling guest and temporary guide. Then she finally responded in a timid voice. “I am 17.”
Oh. . . Oh my. . . A plethora of terrible things that could be going on in that home rampaged through my mind and imagination. Instantly I felt the rusty gears of being a responsible big brother come into action. My back firmed up, shoulders squared, and in my mind, I made it my personal goal to help this poor young woman as best as I could.
Glancing in barely disguised disgust at her prancing cousin, I spoke up. With as much conviction as I could in my voice, I addressed them. “Since it is already here, it would be wise to touch the translation stone to get an understanding of the local language.” Nodding to the black pillar not more than 8 meters away, I suddenly felt the wind of the boy as he rushed by me in that direction. “Last one there’s a loser!” He called out to Lynette.
I heard a soft intake of breath and a sad sigh before she too made a half-hearted attempt at running to the pillar.
As the boy/man made contact with the black stone, I got what I suspected to be a rare image of him being impressed at the display of lights and subsequent flow of energy into his body. Too soon it appeared to be over and a scowl came over him, as if affronted that something should appear to be more amazing than his great self.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Pausing to watch his assimilation of the provided translation information, only after it was done did Lynette gingerly hold out her hand to press it against the dark cold stone. This time, as the lights lit up and energies pervaded her body, she gave a gasp in surprise and awe shone in her eyes. Even after the short demonstration was over, she cast several glances back at the pillar as if in longing for a return of the brief moment of empowered warmth.
I too, might have felt a similar longing for its effects, if I didn’t have my own core of pulsing energy within me. Even now that energy gave a gentle but firm cascade of essence, as if in confirming my desire to help her.
For a moment, they each paused to take in the sudden influx of knowledge. I could easily recall the amazement which filled me at being able to suddenly understand the chaotic yelling and conversations going on throughout the marketplace. After appearing to acclimatize themselves they both looked at me as if asking where to.
Next stop was the registration desk. For the past month, there had been a growing number of guards that worked both as protectors of order within the marketplace, and dually as a kind of enforcing border guard. Their primary job was to make sure all Traveler arrivals, be it new Travelers, local resurrections, or war front returnees, registered or checked in at the desk.
Photo identities as well as general affinity tests were performed for newcomers. At that time as well, Travelers could register with the military and receive the advanced welcome packet. If they requested to stay local, they would receive a single light stone and a week free pass at designated places for room and board.
Of course, there were always exceptions where if a new Traveler proved to have a good magical affinity, then they could be sponsored by a guild representative. I never needed to learn much about that as I was already well settled, but I had some hope this time, if it meant getting this young woman away from her unpleasant cousin.
Arriving at the counter after a short wait in line, a bored looking attendant who looked to have some mousy traits motioned for the boy to step forward. “Name?” He enquired with a little squeak in his tone.
Puffing up like young rooster he proudly announced, “Masterkiller69.”
A moment of silence passed as the attendant gave a less than impressed scowl at the generic gaming name.
He then spoke up with a clipped tone. “We do not accept nonsensical names such as that for registration. Let’s get your picture taken and your affinity determined before we get back to that. While we do that, you can take the time to either think up a more reasonable name, or you can simply give your alter world name. We don’t care either way.” His eyes shown with seriousness at his statement.
The boy looked for a moment like he would rebel. In reaction, I watched the two guards on either side of the counter grip the handles of their sheathed weapons while pointedly looking at the teen. I felt my lips quirk up and my eyes lighten in gleeful hope at possibly watching the annoying brat get his ass handed to him.
With a scowl and slump of his shoulders he muttered. “It’s Joel. My name is Joel.” His mouth puckered up as if he had just tasted something bitter and wanted to spit.
It appeared he liked to bully the weak while fearing the strong. I laughed quietly to myself thinking that he must not consider me to be very domineering. I couldn’t help with visibly assessing the two guards to our sides. They were both of wolfen origin and appeared fairly skilled in their perspective weapons and leather armor.
It was strange though. A part of me seemed to feel that my physical enhancements were greater than theirs. I couldn’t guess at what level they were at with their weapons training, but another part of me yearned to find out.
Actually, I had to pause and reconsider. The emotions coming off of them, although clouded, alluded to a desire to put a young upstart in his place. I had to wonder if my desire to clash with them stemmed from their own emotions. I normally was not a pro-actively confrontational man, but I would stand firm in my convictions. The desire to see how you compare against your peers physically was a normal manly thing to do, yet I quite frequently couldn’t care less.
“Hmmm.” I muttered lightly to myself at this new development. No one seemed to hear me, except Lynette who cast a shy glance my way.
The front desk attendant appeared quite used to this situation and thusly spoke. “Excellent. I shall record that here under your identity card. Now let’s get your affinity evaluated.”
Pulling out a paper that I was familiar with, it appeared to have the basic water, earth, fire, air, and lightning affinities. Additionally, this one included the light element and all elements appeared to be tested to include the 4th tier.
Enough curiosity must have shown on my face that the attendant turned to me and continued to speak, even as he pulled out the necessary implements of knife and healing cream. “Are you surprised by the extent of the test apprentice Andrew?” He asked.
Joel shot a look at me in surprise. Was it due to the attendant knowing me by name and title?
“I am.” I replied. “I only got the first three tiers evaluated with the advanced assessment.” Pausing to look around and take in the massive number of Travelers I continued. “I understand due to costs that only the basic elements and light are evaluated here, but still, four tiers?”
A look of mild frustration clouded the attendants face and a hint of muted jealousy trickled over to me, felt only by my empathic senses.
“It is quite the expense, but you Travelers have proven to be quite talented. There has even been talk of spending resources to switch to the advanced assessment like you had, for all Travelers. However, at the time, such has been reserved for those sponsored or those who have proven themselves highly capable in the military assignments.”
Looking me over more closely he added. “I heard you had some complication with your initial assessment but that it was hushed up quite well. Would you care to share with me your results?”
I quirked an eyebrow at his request before blandly replying. “My jealous master has warned me against sharing such information.” Then I thought for a moment as an idea sparked in my mind. I needed an excuse to any who have or might witness my strength in the future, and so this might be a good way to establish credentials. With that decision made and suppressing a smile at the complications this may cause for future opportunistic adversaries, I gave a misleading answer. “All that I dare say is that I had a better than average result to my earthen and nature affinities.”
“Ahhh. . .” Enlightenment shone on the attendants face. “That makes good sense for why you apprenticed under Apothecary Victoria.” He then chucked before adding with a pointed glance at my sash. “I admire your ability to be taken in as her official apprentice.”
“Now then, back to you.” He said speaking to Joel.
That entire time, Joel had remained miffed at being sidelined during such a momentous occasion in what I suspected was supposed to be his moment of triumphant revelation. I snickered lightly under my breath. Who knows, he might still get it.
As I had done twice before, Joel took the knife and bled onto the paper. He had hesitated for a moment at inflicting pain upon himself, but proved willing to experience a tiny bit of discomfort for expected rewards.