8.

It had been evening when Florian regained consciousness. He had been laying on a straw bed, not unlike the one found in his room. He had been in a small room. He felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder as he moved. He noticed that his left shoulder had been wrapped in some sort of cloth. He exited the cramped room and headed down the stairs that followed. Familiar surroundings met him as the bottom floor had been Miss Thea's tavern. Ashe was asleep on her bedroll softly snoring. Alaric and Miss Thea had sat at the counter discussing amongst each other. He slowly made his way to the counter and sat next to Alaric. Miss Thea bowed to him as he sat down.

"Has that battle taught you anything?" Alaric asked.

"Yeah, do not go along with your crazy plans," Florian stated.

Alaric chuckled. "Yes, and I wanted to show you that casters from the mainland are strong. I am certain Jugz is not a high-ranked caster."

Florian nodded. "I thought I was going to die...and I..."

"Almost killed him?" Alaric asked.

Florian nodded.

"I know, it is something that you will have to get acquainted with. You chose to wield the blade, you have to take responsibility," Alaric said sternly.

"Master Alaric, perhaps you shouldn't be too harsh on Master Florian."

Florian smiled at Miss Thea. "Do not worry about it, Miss Thea. He has always been like this, even when he was a child. It would be out of character if he had said anything else."

The trio sat in silence for a moment.

"What cast did you use to blind Jugz?" Alaric asked.

"It was a simple enhancement cast. It is not dissimilar to Ashe's plant enhance cast." Florian explained.

"Can you enhance anything?"

Florian shook his head. "Enhance is one of the most basic Ilium casts. Enhancing the light as I had done earlier is usually used to light up dark areas. Using enhance for more complicated tasks requires a large stria consumption, which is not normally present in regular casters."

Alaric had been incredibly invested in Florian's explanations. At some point, Miss Thea left. They had discussed their casting ability until they had grown tired.

The following morning, Alaric stood in the middle of the road. Alongside him had been many of the women of the village. Each had been carrying a bucket filled with Khalt.

"Are you certain he will be here?" Alaric asked,

"Yes, Master Alaric." One of the women said.

A few moments later, a large carriage rode into the village pulled by two horses. A stout man sat at the head of the carriage. The carriage stopped right before Alaric. The stout man got off the carriage. The man had been incredibly short, he wore a suit but it appeared too tight on him.

"Greetings, mysurs of Nezzagwyn." The merchant said. The women bowed. The man eyed Alaric cautiously.

"I assume the harvest is still bad?" He asked.

"That is not quite the case...Noble..." Alaric said.

"Gerboud, the name is Gerboud." The merchant said.

Alaric allowed the women to showcase the Khalt in the baskets.

Gerboud had been stunned. "Impossible..."

"What perhaps do you mean by 'Impossible', mister Gerboud?" Alaric asked.

"What have you done?" Gerboud seems terrified.

"Let's discuss matters in private, Mister Gerboud."

Gerboud nodded.

Alaric ordered the women to transfer the buckets onto Gerboud's carriage. He then led Gerboud into Miss Thea's tavern.

Alaric pulled out a wooden chair gesturing for Gerboud to sit. Gerboud hobbled towards the chair.

"Mister Gerboud, we will have to negotiate the price you are going to pay for the Khalt," Alaric said. He put one hand onto Gerboud's shoulder, he then moved to sit opposite him.

"You must be mistaken, sir. This village has no Khalt, the harvest should be bad."

"My, my. How could you have been so certain of that? Have you gone to the fields to check for yourself?" Alaric asked.

"But Lord Chap-" Gerboud paused.

Alaric acted shocked. "Are you telling me that Lord Chapman has told you lies about the harvest? Are you calling Lord Chapman a liar? I am pretty sure Lord Chapman wouldn't like that."

Gerboud began sweating. "You, this is your doing. Who are you?"

Exactly, what I wanted. Alaric smiled. "Some call me merciless, some call me insane, some even dare to call me a genius. Alas, most know me by the name Jerial."

Gerboud froze.

Alaric got up and moved behind Gerboud. "You are going to buy all the Khalt this village has to offer for well over market price." Alaric ran a finger across Gerboud's neck. Gerboud shivered under the touch. "If you don't buy whatever they offer, dead. If you squeal to Chapman, you and whatever you love, dead." Alaric whispered.

Gerboud didn't say anything.

Alaric grabbed his shoulder and put some pressure on it. "Well...Gerboud."

"Yes...My Lord. I-I will do as you say!" Gerboud exclaimed.

"Very good, now we demand fifty sentz."

"But my L-"

Alaric tightened his grip on his shoulder.

"Very well, My Lord."

Gerboud brought out a large sack, he then proceeded to count out fifty jade pieces. Once he was done, Gerboud immediately returned to his carriage and took off with the Khalt.

Alaric left the tavern where more villagers gathered. They looked at him with wandering eyes.

"We have successfully procured fifty sentz for our harvest!" Alaric announced.

The folk cheered.

"Alas, our battle is not over yet. We may have already acquired enough to avoid the first collection, however, Nezzagwyn still has some journey to get through. We shall not leave until your land is stable."

The cheering continued. Some even chanted his name.

Alaric headed back into the tavern.

I am just like him.

Alaric felt the bile rise to her throat as he emptied the contents of his stomach onto the wooden floor.

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"Oh, dear. Master Alaric, are you ok?" Miss Thea said as she entered the room.

"I...am...perfectly...fine," Alaric said between pants.

Thea swiftly fetched a bucket of water and a cloth. "Was it the stew? Or the water?" She asked.

Alaric shook his head. "It is truly nothing, Miss Thea. Thank you for your concern." Alaric composed himself and began to help Miss Thea clean up his mess.

"That will not be necessary, Master Alaric," She said.

"I insist, it was my mess."

Florian and Ashe stood in the middle of the field of crops. Florian stood in front of an overgrown brown plant with his arms straightened out in front of him.

"You are using too much stria," Ashe instructed.

"You can control the amount of stria you use when casting?" Florian asked innocently.

Ashe gave him a deadpan look. "What did you learn back on the island?"

Florian scratched his head. "Uhm...to understand the Heinzidal Text and cast. The rest of the time was spent training my athletic ability."

"Oh, Heinzidal's grace...maybe I shall ask Alaric to lecture you about the intricacies of casting," Ashe said.

"That's unfair...you already had amazing athletic ability, all you had to learn was the casting. What did I have before the training?"

"Nothing." Ashe laughed.

"Not funny at all." He chuckled.

They quickly fell into silence as Florian attempted and failed the cast once again.

"How strong do you think Alaric is?" He asked as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead. It had been warmer here than on the island. It had been a change they had still been adapting to.

Ashe shrugged. "He said he fought a Nixum so I would guess he is pretty strong." "He always had an untouchable aura around him."

Florian nodded. "He can't be fazed, in his mind at least." "You noticed how the people look at him?"

Ashe nodded.

"They think of him as a messiah, Ashe." "It is not right. They are no different to us. We help them through a guise of lies."

"Maybe...it's time we left this place. Alaric warned us against helping these people. We were the ones who convinced him." Ashe said.

Florian sighed. "Maybe we deserve to feel this guilt."

"Just maybe we do," Ashe replied.

The duo worked in the field until dusk whence they returned to the tavern.

When they arrived, Alaric had been sitting at the counter as per usual. They joined him as Miss Thea brought them stew to eat. They ate their stew in silence. Miss Thea left as they ate.

"Alaric?" Ashe piped up.

Alaric did not respond, he stared into nothing as he seemed unfocused.

Ashe shook his shoulder.

"What is the matter?" Alaric asked.

Ashe paused before speaking. "Florian and I...were wondering if we can leave Nezzagwyn soon."

Alaric burst out with laughter. "What had I said that first night? Naive. That is what both of you are. You cannot back out now, we've only begun. What will the people of Nezzagwyn think, us casters leaving them to rot after giving them a glimpse of hope." Alaric mocked.

Ashe knew what he had said had been correct but the way he had said it made her angry.

The doors to the tavern suddenly opened, Miss Thea entered alongside a dozen or so women.

They bowed before the trio.

"We have come with a request. Master Alaric." Miss Thea said.

Alaric raised an eyebrow.

"We may sound selfish and what we request may be disobedient." She continued.

"What is this about?" Alaric asked.

"Us, folk have been discussing." "We wish for you three to leave Nezzagwyn and find a way to return our husbands, fathers and sons to us."

Alaric shook his head. "Impossible. That would require facing Chapman, we do not have the strength to perform such a task. And that would mean you would go back to how things were before."

"We understand the task may be extremely difficult. But what Master Alaric showed us these past few days, us mysurs had never had a reason to hope."

"No, I am just one man...there's just no way."

The women began looking downcast.

"I believe you underestimate yourself too much, Master. You are an astute young man, you remind me of-"

"No!" Alaric interrupted abruptly.

His tone shook everyone.

"I have a suggestion," Ashe stated as she stared at Alaric. "A Rite, me and you. I win and we do as these people say. If I lose, we will continue your plan and stay here."

Alaric snorted. "You cannot be serious."

Ashe looked at him sternly. "Deadly serious."

"I don't want to hurt you, Ashe."

"Then surrender," Ashe suggested.

Alaric thought for a moment. "Fine, I agree to the rite."

Ashe nodded.

"We do not wish to cause harm between you masters." Miss Thea said.

"Do not fret, this is a happenstance that needed to occur," Alaric said as he headed out.

Ashe went to grab her spear.

"Are you sure about this?" Florian asked.

"He is too stubborn and too smart to change his mind. This is the only way to get him to change his mind." Ashe responded while doing a few stretches.

"Don't do anything reckless, you have been casting all day."

"I will be fine. You know, I am confident I can overwhelm him with my athletic ability." Ashe smiled. She carried her spear with the bladed edge pointed to the ground.

"Be safe, okay."

Ashe waved him off as she exited the tavern.

The evening was young. The sky was illuminated with a dark shade of blue. The night sky was clear. The light of Ysgafyn's twin had been enough to illuminate the realm even after it had dispersed for the night. The town of Nezzagwyn had been lit up with a handful of lanterns.

Many of the townsfolk stood outside their respective houses.

Alaric stood in the middle of the road, his black robe and dark hair made him look like a shadow in the night. He eyed Ashe as she exited the tavern and walked towards him. She stood opposite him about fifteen feet away.

"I cannot cast a barrier and fight you! Be careful with your casts!" Alaric yelled.

Ashe nodded.

"Well then, let's begin!"

Ashe immediately charged toward him. She kept her body low and once he was in range she struck with the blunt side of her spear. Alaric dodged to the side and attempted to grab her spear but she had been too fast and whisked it away.

Don't give him time to think. She quickly tried to strike him down. He rolled out of the way of her strike. He created some distance between them. He waved his hands around. Ashe paused.

What is he going to cast?

Alaric smiled as he stopped the gestures and charged her. Ashe hesitated as Alaric's right boot viciously kicked at her left knee. She planted the bladed side of her spear into the ground to prevent her fall. Her left knee throbbed. He is not holding back.

Ashe didn't have time to think as Alaric went for another strike. She quickly spun around her rooted spear and aimed a kick at Alaric's head. A few centimetres from his head she felt her foot strike something. There had been a pale yellow barrier blocking her from striking him. But he is not doing any gestures. She followed his eyes as he revealed something to her. At his feet, there had been a symbol carved into the gravel. Runes. He baited me.

Alaric swiftly struck her torso with a firm punch. The air disappeared from her lungs. She let go of her spear as she was tossed back from the blow. Alaric hadn't moved, instead, he opted to remove her spear from the ground and tossed it towards her. It landed a few metres away from her. Ashe regained composure. Her torso and knee had brought her great discomfort. She grabbed a few stones from the gravel road. She got to her feet and began to chant. She grabbed her spear and tossed the stones at Alaric. In midair, the stones enlarged. The stones hit Alaric's barrier and fell to the ground. Alaric however was too focused on the stones that he didn't notice Ashe's charge. Instead of attempting to strike him, she opted to disrupt the symbol on the ground. With his rune destroyed, Alaric swung a kick at Ashe. It had hit the left side of her torso. Ashe was once again tossed back by the force of the blow. She heard the clink of her spear hitting the ground. She had been panting. I can't beat him. She attempted to move. Everything hurts. She hobbled to her spear and picked it up. She held the blunt tip of her spear towards Alaric's chest. This is my only chance. She began chanting. Suddenly her spear began to stretch forward. Alaric's eyes widened in shock. The spear was going to strike him in the chest. Instead of striking him, it appeared to have passed through him. Alaric's appearance went ghostly. His body appeared to be incorporeal. Ashe glanced at his hands. His fingers had been twisted in weird ways. The spear passed back through Alaric as it shrinked and returned to its regular form. Alaric let go of his gesture and his body went back to normal again. She noticed him walking towards her; however, another figure blocked her vision.

He is untouchable. She thought as she lost consciousness.

She woke up to Alaric wrapping some cloth around her torso. Her body ached as he wrapped the cloth. The sadness in his eyes seemed magnified.

"I am so sorry." He whispered.

Ashe tried her best to muster a smile through her discomfort. "I would have hated you if you hadn't taken the rite seriously." "Now don't feel bad, I will not be able to hide my frustration."

Alaric smiled at her. "We are leaving the day after tomorrow."

"What? But our agreement was..."

"If I had won, we would stay in the town. You never stated how long we have to stay." "We will be staying for one more day."

Ashe was lost for words.

"We have a lot of work to do tomorrow, get some rest."

Once Alaric had been done treating her, he began to leave the room.

"Alaric," Ashe called out.

Alaric hummed in response.

"You are not untouchable, one day when you are vulnerable allow us in, okay?"

"I know," Alaric said as he left the room.

Ashe allowed her fatigue to wash over her as darkness crept into her eyes.