7.

The villagers gathered in the middle of the road similarly to the previous day, only now they have been gathered around Florian. He had been slightly nervous, but he put on a smile as he faced the folk.

"Hear me, people of Nezzagwyn. You are being fooled by Lord Chapman. He sabotages your harvest, making sure you cannot pay once it is collection hour!" Florian exclaimed.

He heard a few gasps within the audience. The elderly man from the previous day spoke up. "I apologise for what I am about to say, milord. But how can we trust what you are saying?"

Florian grabbed the pouch attached to his belt and emptied its contents onto the road.

The crowd gawked at the floor. Thirty green beads lay sprawled out on the ground.

"I swear that if you cannot pay Lord Chapman's tax at the next collection, you shall have my sentz as well as my head," Florian stated.

Florian could feel the tension lifting within the crowd.

"If what you are saying is true, how do you fix our harvest, milord," Thea stated.

Florian smiled at her. "My associates are handling that as we speak. Alas, our plan will only work in secrecy. Lord Chapman cannot find out about our plan or all our heads shall be on his plate."

The crowd shivered at the thought.

"I suggest we believe in him," Thea stated.

The crowd gave her questioning looks.

"Mysurs has been ruled over by casters for many ages. What difference does it make trusting one caster over another? I believe we choose the lesser of two evils." She continued.

Thereafter the crowd had many questions and he answered them as Alaric instructed.

Alaric and Ashe stood at the bank of the river.

"Why didn't you address the people yourself?" Ashe asked.

Alaric shrugged. "As much as I hate to admit it. Florian is more charismatic. If anything this was your plan you should've addressed the people."

Ashe flushed. "No-no-no, all I did was come up with an idea. You set this whole plan up."

Alaric chuckled as he kneeled.

"How certain are you that this will work?"

"Not certain at all, this is still just a theory," Alaric stated.

Alaric revealed his Rixa amulet and dipped a part of the amulet into the river.

Immense pain.

Red eyes.

Pain.

Breathe, you imbecile. His voice called.

Alaric regained consciousness to a teary-eyed Ashe standing over him.

"Are...you alright?" She asked.

"What happened?" He asked as Ashe helped him to his feet.

"I am not certain...you started screaming and started shaking."

Alaric shook his head. "Let's find out if it worked." Alaric grabbed the bucket they had borrowed from Thea and filled it up with water.

"There was..one more thing...your eyes turned purple for a few seconds," Ashe said.

Alaric paused for a moment. "Must've been from the Rixa, I guess."

They made their way back to the village.

When they arrived the streets were filled with only a handful of people glancing at them.

They entered Thea's tavern where Florian sat at the counter.

"Did it work?" He asked.

"We will not be able to know if it did for a few days," Alaric replied. "Miss Thea, would you be so kind and drink some of this water?"

Thea bowed before him. "Yes, milord." She then proceeded to dip a small bowl into the bucket and drink some of the water.

"What is this theory of yours again, Alaric?" Florian asked.

"We were told the amulet was a substitute for stria. Therefore there might be a possibility that it might be able to absorb stria out of the river." Alaric explained.

"If this does work, won't Chapman's soldiers just poison the river again?"

Alaric nodded. "I am certain that they will, but as long as we are here we will be able to counteract them. This gives us time to stockpile as much clean water as we can."

Florian noticed that Ashe had a very concerned look on her face. "What is the matter, Ashe?"

She shook her head. "It's just that-"

"She is concerned about what happened to me. Let's just say I went through quite a painful experience." Alaric interrupted.

"If that is the case, let's collect more of the water right now," Florian said.

Alaric shook his head. "No, we are not certain if it worked ." Alaric then turned to Thea.

"How often does Lord Chapman collect?"

"I believe he does it once every 30 lights, milord," Thea answered.

"And how often do merchants pass through Nezzagwyn?"

"Merchants arrive from Adhu Aqua once every 7 lights, milord."

Alaric thought for a while. "If Chapman planned to collect yesterday, we have twenty-nine days to obtain the required sentz. Regarding the merchants, only four will arrive before the next collection."

"Milord, I apologise for asking but how will you get to the merchants to purchase our decrepit crops."

Alaric smiled and pointed towards Ashe. "That is where her idea comes in."

Miss Thea and a few other women led the group towards the area they use as a farm. It had been a decent distance from the village. Stood before they were acres of brown crops. Rows and rows of dead plants plagued the fields.

"This is bad," Alaric said. "Tell me, Ashe, that cast you were planning on using won't add any colour to the crops?"

Ashe shook her head.

"Are we stumped?" Florian asked.

"Not quite, We can try the same thing I did with the river," Alaric answered.

"No, you are going to get hurt," Ashe said.

"I will be fine, the stria within the crops will only be a fraction of the stria found in the river. And this will be the perfect test to see if it works." Alaric said in a reassuring tone.

Alaric crouched beside one of the dead plants. He turned his back to the group behind him, hiding the amulet that hung around his neck. He held the amulet against the plant. The pain hadn't been the same as earlier, this time it had only felt like a thousand pricks on his body. Colour returned to the plant. Brown was replaced by a beautiful green. Alaric moved away revealing the results to the group.

Ashe and Florian had been ecstatic while the women had been shocked. Alaric could hear some murmuring amongst themselves.

"Are you hurt?" Ashe asked.

Alaric shook his head. "I told you it would be okay. But we have some work to do, hundreds of crops need to be purified."

Alaric ordered Miss Thea to gather the rest of the villagers and collect as much river water as they can.

The day came to a close as Alaric, Florian and Ashe spent the entire day restoring the crops.

The next morning, the entire village alongside Alaric and Florian stood at the now green farm. They had been watching Ashe who stood in the middle of the farm. She had placed her hands before her. She began chanting, it had been the same cast she used on Florian, the night at the river. In response to her cast, a few crops in front of her grew at a rapid rate. Orange ovals began to appear on the plants. Must be what Miss Thea used to put in the stew.

The villagers did not know how to react to what happened before them. A few bowed, a few cried and a few even dared to smile.

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Florian leaned over to Alaric. "Won't casting have the same effect as using stria poisoning on the plants?'’

"No, casting influences the stria that exists naturally allowing the plants to grow. Stria poisoning is the direct injection of stria into the plants."

Florian acted as if he understood Alaric's explanation and continued to watch Ashe. Even from this distance, it was noticeable that Ashe had been tiring. She had been casting for an hour. A few crops had been fully grown and ready for harvest.

"Learn that cast," Alaric told Florian. "We need much more crops if the plan is going to succeed. Ashe might be extremely fit however she cannot do more than an hour at a time."

Florian nodded as he headed towards Ashe. At this point, she could barely walk. He helped her walk as they headed back towards Thea's tavern. Alaric stayed behind discussing matters with the villagers.

Once they arrived at the tavern, Florian set Ashe onto a wooden chair. He then grabbed two wooden mugs, poured water into it and gave one to Ashe, who downed it in one swift movement.

"Hey Florian?" Ashe said.

Florian turned towards her. "What is wrong?"

"Did you ever notice Alaric's eye colour changing?" She asked.

Florian froze. "Yes, once before, on the road here. His eyes shone purple for a moment."

"That is strange, back at the river two lights ago, his eyes turned purple for a few moments. He claims it is from the Rixa, but I am not certain of that."

"Strange, knowing Alaric he probably has it under control. I have never seen much that fazed him before."

Ashe nodded. "True though I still worry about him."

The door to Thea's tavern opened a few minutes later. Alaric entered carrying a bucket of the orange ovals.

"What are those?" Ashe asked.

"They are called Khalt, it is a vegetable found only in southern West Hominus," Alaric said. "It is what we had in the stew the other day as well."

"Is that the only thing they grow here?" Florian asked.

Alaric nodded. "It appears that the people of Adhu Aqua rely on villages along the Gwyn River to grow Khalt. It is probably then sold to other cities."

"You know a lot about the mainland," Ashe stated.

"Yes...I have studied the mainland religiously while on the island. But I too know this because...the Great City of Adhu Aqua is my home." Alaric said.

Florian almost got out of his seat. "Impossible, you are saying you lived in one of the six great cities before arriving at the island."

"Yes, but it wasn't as glorious as you made it out to be."

"What is Adhu Aqua like?" Ashe asked.

"Big. Larger than anything you can imagine. It is sad as well, there is a deep sadness as well."

"I wanna go!" Ashe exclaimed.

"Milady Ashe, I am afraid going there shall bring Master Alaric only pain," Thea stated as she entered the tavern. Instead of looking to the ground as she normally did, she stared directly into Alaric's eyes.

"I was afraid that you would be old enough to remember, Miss Thea," Alaric said.

Thea chuckled. "A few of us elders spoke about it. You do resemble him, Master Alaric."

Alaric frowned.

"Maybe you should visit Adhu Aqua. The city has changed since the last reign. And you need to face your past, Master Alaric."

"You have gotten quite cheeky these past few days, Miss Thea."

Thea laughed. "I believe it is the hope you three have given us."

"Who do you resemble? What is going on?" Florian asked.

As Alaric was about to speak, the doors to the tavern creaked open. Four blue-robed men entered. Alaric immediately lifted his hood and went to sit next to Ashe and Florian.

"Old lady, go make some of that terrible stew." One of the men said.

Alaric recognized the men from the first visit to town.

Thea looked to the ground. "Yes, milords." She made her way behind the counter and into the room she claimed was the kitchen.

The four men sat at the counter. They spoke in a hushed tone.

Florian noticed that the men occasionally looked toward where they were sitting.

"Don't do anything foolish, if they speak to us just make your answer short and concise," Alaric whispered.

They nodded at him.

Thea brought four bowls of stew. The men began eating.

"Absolutely disgusting as usual." One man stated.

"Jugz, what would expect from mysurs? Disgusting food from disgusting people." Another stated.

"I apologise if the food is not to your tastes, my milords" Thea bowed.

"Get us some water to wash down this awful taste." The one they called Jugz said.

Thea bowed again. "I am afraid I cannot do that, milord. The water of this town has been making the folk ill."

Jugz snorted. "Useless village, useless people." Jugz was about to hit Thea when something caught his arm.

Florian stood behind Jugz and held his arm in place.

"I am afraid it is terribly ill-mannered to cause a scene while we are enjoying our morning," Florian said.

Jugz and the other three men stood up and faced Florian.

"I beg your pardon, do you know who you are talking to?" Jugz asked.

Alaric walked up and stood in between Florian and Jugz. Jugz had stood at the same height at Alaric. That meant he had been quite tall compared to the rest. Jugz had also been more muscular than Alaric.

"I apologise on my associate’s behalf. I believe you are Lord Chapman's soldiers?" Alaric said.

Jugz scoffed. "You need to control your man, adventurer. You do not want to be messing with Lord Chapman."

"I apologise once again. I am afraid we are new to town." Alaric grabbed Florian and headed back towards Ashe.

Jugz followed them and placed an arm around Alaric's shoulder.

"You know what, I apologise for ruining your morning," Jugz revealed a dagger he had been carrying with him. "We had come here to kill the old lady, but I would like to give you the honour," Jugz whispered into Alaric's ear as he shoved the blade into Alaric's hands. Jugz headed back to the counter.

"They call you, Jugz. Am I right?" Alaric said.

"Master Jugz, for someone of low rank like you." One of the other men said.

"How much do you know about Rites?" Alaric asked.

Jugz and his men paused a bit before laughing.

"Rites, a duelling practice popularised in the Great Fire City of Impestra. It is quite an ancient practice back when Impestra was still untamable. Where two casters disagreed and fought righteously to prove their point. Once the duel is concluded both parties are rebuked from mentioning it ever again." Alaric stated.

"I know what a Rite is, young man. Are you suggesting we hold a Rite right now?" Jugz asked.

Alaric shrugged. "Why not, you wanted me to do something and I refuse. I see no other way to settle it. Or are you afraid of embarrassing yourself to Lord Chapman?"

Jugz laughed. "I will do it but I will not face you, I will face him." Jugz pointed at Florian.

"That is perfectly fine by me," Alaric replied.

Alaric turned to Florian who scowled.

"What is this Rite thing about?" Florian whispered.

"You will have to duel him, don't worry about it. Just focus on your training." Alaric said.

Alaric left the tavern following behind him was Florian and Ashe. A few moments later Jugz exited the tavern alongside his men.

“Is one of your men a Phen type?” Alaric asked.

Jugz nodded. He called for one of his men and the soldier stepped forward.

Along with the soldier, Alaric began to carve runes onto the road. He remembered asking Anteros to teach him the runic text specifically for Rites. The runes had formed a wide circle around which stood Florian and Jugz.

“You were the one insisting we don’t cause trouble, why’d you antagonise him?” Ashe asked. She still seemed fatigued.

“Curiosity,” Alaric answered.

“Is that it?”

“I wanted to find a way to determine just how strong we’d become compared to regular casters.”

“And you are willing to put Florian’s life on the line because of your curiosity?”

“You are worrying too much. Rites are usually not a fight to the death. If the situation becomes too dire, I will pull Florian out.”

Ashe looked unconvinced.

A crowd quickly gathered around the commotion.

“Do not waste my time!” Jugz called out.

Alaric turned towards them. He stood behind Forian and at the opposite end, the other Phen caster stood behind Jugz. They began moving in tandem. They have done various hand gestures before placing one hand on the ground. The runes on the ground shone a light yellow as a yellow translucent barrier separated Florian and Jugz from the rest of the crowd. Alaric knelt, maintaining his hand on the ground.

Florian watched Jugz as he removed his shortsword from his belt. Jugz held his sword in his hand.

He probably has more strength than me.

Once the barrier around them was erected, Jugz immediately began to chant. A portion of the road broke off and floated in the air before Jugz. The solidified gravel then shot towards Florian, who ducked. A second projectile shot at him. He had no time to dodge. He parried the gravel away with his sword. Florian hadn’t been prepared for a third projectile. He moved slightly out of the way but the gravel scraped his left shoulder. He doesn’t intend to give me any time. His shoulder had drawn blood, which now had slowly begun to travel down his arm. Florian gripped his blade tight as he charged at Jugz. He had been murmuring words as he charged. Jugz shot more gravel projectiles at him. Florian had sidestepped them as he got closer to his foe. Once Florian had been within distance, Jugz got prepared to strike him down with his blade. As Jugz was about to strike, his body suddenly lost balance. He took his eyes off of Florian for a second to look at what had happened. The ground under his left foot liquidated. Jugz reacted just in time as he leaned his torso backwards. Florian had slashed at his chest. Not deep enough. Florian had cut through Jugz’s blue robe and left a long shallow cut across his chest. Florian hadn’t expected Jugz to recover as quickly as he did. Jugz caught him with his right boot. Florian was flung backwards by the force of the kick. Florian landed on his back. He made sure not to let go of his sword. His abdominal area had hurt.

“Ilium users, tricky little bastards. Alas, you would need to do more to beat me.” Jugz exclaimed.

Florian got to his feet as Jugz attempted to strike him. Florian brought up his sword to parry the strike. His whole body swayed to the side as he parried the strike. He is too strong. He had been tired already, sweat dripped down his forehead. The difference in swordsmanship skill was evident. Jugz gave no time for Florian to cast, he was overwhelming him with his strength. Think Florian, what would Alaric do?

“You are a persistent little rat,” Jugz called out.

Florian was too tired to reply. Wait, how’d they find me that night in the forest. Florian eyed his sword as he blocked Jugz’s next flurry.

Of course.

Instead of parrying Jugz's next attack, he had jumped backwards. His back had almost been against the barrier. He lifted his sword awkwardly. His stance changed. He held the sword close to his face and angled towards the ground. Jugz closed in on him. Florian closed his eyes. He chanted as fast as he could. Jugz was upon him in a flash however he stopped just inches in front of Florian. An incredible white light shone from Florian’s blade. It had blinded Jugz as well as everyone in the crowd. The light only lasted a few seconds. Florian opened his eyes. Jugz held one hand to his eyes. Florian took the opportunity to slash at him. Florian slashed right across his torso. Jugz yelled in pain as he fell to his knees.

“Tricky...bastard.” Jugz groaned.

Florian had barely been conscious, he limply held his blade towards Jugz. He watched as the yellow barrier dissipated around them. Jugz men unsheathed their blades and charged towards Florian. This is the end. As they were about to strike him, a yellow barrier appeared around him. Alaric appeared next to him. His arms had been crossed and he made some sort of sign with his hands. The blades struck the barrier and ricocheted off of it.

“You men intend to disregard a Rite. You would dare to demean your lord's name!” Alaric exclaimed.

The soldiers looked confused at one another.

“He...is...correct. Stand...down.” Jugz coughed. He had been losing blood at a rapid rate. Following Jugz 'command, they had sheathed their weapons.

“Fetch the horses!” One caster called out. Once the horses arrived, the casters sped away along with the injured Jugz.

Ashe walked towards Florian when he had suddenly collapsed. Luckily Alaric caught him before he fell to the ground.

“Well done, you made everyone on Diable proud today,” Alaric whispered.

The crowd cheered as Alaric carried him back towards the tavern.