Chapter 20
“Where’d you end up getting off to?” Arla asked as Kalex came back to the stall. “I hope you didn’t spend all your money at one stall!” Kalex gave her his best smile. “Don’t worry, I didn’t! Actually, would it be alright if I bought the grains you have left?” Arla looked over her shoulder to regard Kalex. “I’m not sure you can afford all of it even if I decided to sell it to you, and there’s no way it’s all fitting in that little bag of yours.”
Kalex held out two gold coins. “Would this be enough?” Arla took a step back. “Well, aren’t you full of surprises? I couldn’t take your money, especially since my remaining stock isn’t worth two goldies. Maybe a goldie and a half.” She put her hand to her chin as she tried to calculate how much her stock would be worth in total. Kalex reached into his bag and exchanged one of the gold coins for two stacks of ten silver ones.
“It’s a deal! Thank you!” He said as he laid the coins on the counter. Arla was faced with a conundrum, she could take the coins and be free of worrying about her financial issues for a while at the same time getting rid of old stock to make room for new products, but on the other hand, she was taking money from the kid she had just met and didn’t want to have that heavy on her conscience.
Kalex saw the internal struggle Arla was going through and decided to help her decision along. “No need to worry about me, I’ve been fortunate enough to have more than I need and I don’t mind purchasing quality goods.” Kalex finished by reaching into his bag and taking out a handful of gold coins. That seemed to temper Arla’s nerves and she finally relented.
“Again with the surprises! You help us with the cart and packing up this rush order and now this? You’re a good kid, Kalex. I bet your parents are so proud of you!” Arla’s heartfelt words and excited expression dropped to match Kalex’s. He only nodded and looked over to the bags of grain he had just purchased.
“I apologize if that hit a nerve, I didn’t mean anything by it.” Arla said as Kalex looked up at the taller woman. “I know, it’s just… I haven’t seen my parents in a long time and the last time we spoke was not a treasured memory. Do you mind if I gather those grain bags?”
Arla walked over and placed a hand on Kalex’s shoulder. “That sounds just awful. If you ever need to borrow an ear, I have two of them and I’m willing to lend you one. And of course! They’re all bought and paid for. You can load them into the wagon and we can take them back to the farm and pack them up for you there if you’d like.” Color returned to Kalex's face at Arla’s words. “Thank you for that, and there’s no need!”
Kalex moved to the stack of bags in the corner of the stall and dropped them into his bag one by one. Arla looked on as the sacks of grain disappeared into the bag. “Kalex, you have to teach Sorene that trick.” As if saying her name summoned her, Sorene came running towards the stall. “Kalex! I did it!”
Kalex stood back as Sorene slid to a halt holding an ordinary-looking bottle, but peeking with his presence sight, he could see that it was anything but. “It only took a few hours to make and I’m not even that tired! Look at it!” Sorene said as she shoved the bottle into Kalex’s hands. He gave an approving nod as he looked at the status.
Name: Superior Mix Bottle
Rank: Silver
Durability: 2000/2000
(Storage Vessel) An expertly crafted bottle meant to store a large amount of mass. Durability is lost as the physical vessel is damaged. Regenerates durability with myst infusion.
Artificer: Sorene Mix
Owner: None
“Sorene, this is amazing! It’s a rank up from what your old ones were and it looks like this could hold everything sold in the exchange plus the stalls and carts themselves! You’ve really outdone yourself!” Kalex was always the first to celebrate any significant breakthroughs.
“What do you mean went up a rank? To me, it just feels more powerful and I can tell that It can hold a lot more than my previous bottles.” As Kalex opened his mouth to give an explanation and to congratulate Sorene further, a man stepped out from behind a cart that was close to the stall. At first, Kalex looked over at the man the same way he had regarded everyone else he’d met at the exchange, then he felt the power ripple out from the man as he looked toward the bottle.
“What a marvelous piece of kit, I simply must have one.” The man spoke. He sounded odd to Kalex but he shrugged the feeling off after remembering Lex’s new way of translating. “I’m sorry, but it’s one of a kind and not for sale.” Sorene said evenly.
“Oh my my, I never mentioned that I’d pay for the item, I’d like you to give it to me free of charge. So be a dear and HAND IT OVER!” The world rippled slightly at the man’s statement. Without another word, Sorene moved to take the bottle from Kalex’s grasp, which he withheld.
Kalex looked to a blank-faced Sorene. “CLEAR.” He said, barely above a whisper. Snapping out of her stupor, Sorene turned to glare at the man, with Arla mirroring her gaze. “I’m going to have to ask you to step away from the stall. There will be no theft of our property while I’m here, especially if the one you’re trying to steal from is my own daughter.” Arla met the man’s eyes and gave a grimace that told him that she meant business.
Alarms rang in Kalex’s head the moment the man opened his mouth. He was obviously more powerful than the common folk who inhabited Grangardd, as he was able to enforce his words with myst, and not a small amount at that. As he was thinking about looking into the man’s status, he was cut short by an incredibly fast movement. The man extended his arm upwards and began to bring it down like an axe aimed at the top of Arla’s head.
Time seemed to slow for Kalex as he took full advantage of his agility stat. He was still left dumbfounded as the man’s arm still visibly continued on its path. Mustering his willpower, Kalex disappeared from where he was standing and appeared in the place Arla had been just a moment before. Lifting his hand directly into the trajectory of the chop, Kalex managed to catch the blows between his thumb and pointer finger.
The chop was powerful, he had to give the man that. The only hit more powerful than this that he’d experienced was from the Lumen, even if the power levels were very far off. The smug grin fell from the man’s face as his hand impacted Kalex’s. He could feel bone shatter as blood began to run down his arm, staining his very expensive top. His immediate response was to pull his hand away from the child who had somehow switched places with the woman who dared speak to someone of his prestige so flippantly, but his attack was caught in a vise.
Using all the strength he had, he tried to pry his hand away but to no avail. “Unhand me this instant, you worthless worm.” Kalex’s grip tightened and sounds of bone splintering echoed throughout the area once again. With a scream of rage and pain, the man moved to attack the clamp-like hand with his other in an attempt to escape.
Once his initial attack was caught, he decided that once he freed his hand, he would use his speed to take the bottle and run, but now he just wanted to get away from the freak of a child and tell his grandfather to punish these vermin. As his thought completed, he watched as the other hand of the green-eyed child moved at insane speeds to intercept his attempt at freedom. He saw his forearm bend at an unnatural angle as the boy's hand hit squarely in the middle of it. The pain came a moment later. While the man stared at his arm in shock, Kalex pulled up his status.
Name: Wendal Oak Light
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Race: Human (Enternia)
Rank: Platinum Sayer
Maturity: 148/400
Path: Drop of Glass (Adept)
Vitality: 213/340
Myst: 643/700
Strength: 126
Wisdom: 5
Agility: 80
Charisma: 9
Luck: 2
The first thing Kalex noticed was the lopsided stats that made him understand his path. A drop of glass is strong but would shatter if force was applied in the correct spot. Wendal’s strength was impressive considering it was much higher than even the Overlord’s was pre-draining, but his vitality was laughable.
Kalex watched as Wendal looked at his broken arm in shock and considered letting the man go. His thought was cut short by a much stronger presence enveloping the area Kalex was in. “Unhand that man this instant! I will not tolerate actions done against my grandson! By my decree, you will be thrown in the dungeons and left to rot! Nobody slights the family of Oak Light!” With his arrogant speech as the preamble, Elder Oak Light attacked.
Kalex had seen the attack before anyone else did and was able to react quickly. He first wrapped his presence tightly and heavily around Wendal to hold him down while he engaged the Elder. While Wendal went down and was laid flatly against the ground, Kalex was able to dodge the glowing hand aimed squarely at his midsection.
The Elder backed away and glanced at the two women who stood in front of the stall. Before any move could be made, Kalex became a blur as he moved to stand in front of the Elders's eyeline and tilted his head upward in challenge. The Mix’s had been nothing but welcoming to Kalex and it was partly his fault that this was happening. If he hadn’t given Sorene tips on how to better craft her bottles, Wendal would have never attempted to steal from her. With a deep breath, Kalex readied himself for a fight as the Elder gave no inclination of standing down.
“You’re quick, boy, but are you faster than light itself?” The Elder opened his palm in Kalex’s direction and it began to glow. A solid ball of light wriggled in the Elder’s hand as it became more and more unstable. Kalex needed to think of something fast, if the Elder truly was using light, it would be almost impossible to protect the Mix’s and the bystanders from the blast. Kalex was too late and a bright beam began discharging from Oak Light’s palm.
Kalex needed to block this attack, the myst rolling off of it was the brightest thing in Grangardd and he didn’t want to get hit with it. Kalex felt movement from Wendal as he tried to fight against the presence holding him down, and that gave Kalex an idea. He pulled his myst with Wendal still tightly wound in it, into the incoming beam of bright white light. The impact lit the area like a second sun.
The Elder, realizing what had just happened, cut off his attack. As the light receded, Elder Oak Light frantically blinked his eyes to clear them and also to see what he had just done. Smoke rose from the figure laid in between Kalex and the Elder. Wendal was unrecognizable, his skin was dry and paper-thin with bone protruding everywhere. The husk exhaled one last time and tilted his head towards his grandfather.
“No.” Wendal said almost inaudibly as ashes poured from his mouth.
“No! My boy!” The Elder exclaimed as he ran over to the corpse that was rapidly losing cohesion. “You did this, you vile creature! You will pay for this with your life!” Elder Oak Light moved faster than before and was able to strike Kalex in his arm.
Kalex blocked the blow but felt an odd sensation the moment the Elder’s light touched him. The Elder backed away after delivering his punch and smiled grimly. “You’re mine now! Say goodbye to your friends!” Kalex immediately felt some foreign myst attempt to control the arm that had been hit. If this was done on anyone weaker than himself, he knew it would have the desired effect of taking control.
Although Kalex was not able to be controlled, he still felt the power attempting to do just that. The Elder poured sweat as he tried to take control and Kalex decided to put the Elder’s myst under more scrutiny. The moment he looked, Kalex saw the thin thread connecting him with the Elder. Shaping his myst into a blade, Kalex simply cut the connection. He readied himself for the follow-up attack by shaping a barrier of his myst around himself and a larger one for the Mix’s, but soon realized that it was not needed as an ear-piercing scream rang throughout the exchange.
Cutting the connection was the worst thing that could’ve happened to Elder Oak Light. He was putting as much of his energy into the connection as his core would allow, and when it had nowhere to go, it went back through the connection, causing hectic feedback. The Elder was attacked by his own antagonistic energy and he screamed as it ran through his body like liquid razors.
Kalex kept his barriers up just on the off chance that the Elder had a trick up his sleeve. Kalex usually wasn’t the cautious type, but it was different when he felt like there were others in his care. He soon realized his wariness was for naught as a familiar silhouette approached the wailing Elder.
The chaotic energy that was surrounding the Elder stopped abruptly, the screaming followed suit. The dust that the tumultuous energy kicked up settled to reveal a bowing form.
“Apologies, honored Axiom. I was witness to the entire event and only now stepped in to intervene. Please, allow me to clean up this mess and reimburse any damages. Elder Oak Light and his following were allowed into Grangardd for trade only, if he hadn’t died, he would be banned from Grangardd and publicly shamed throughout the Realm of Seeds. With the personage we are currently facilitating, the charges would’ve been catastrophic for their sect. As it is now, please know that ties with the Oak Light Sect will severed due to this and they shall never be allowed to enter Grangardd again. I only hope this is enough, honored Axiom.”
Arla and Sorene looked at each other in disbelief. Sorene mouthed the word ‘Axiom’ and Arla only shrugged her shoulders. “Well met Elder Urok, your assistance came at just the right time.” Kalex was pretty angry at what happened so he continued. “These poor farmers and I were assaulted in broad daylight, what does that say of your city, Elder? Make sure to tighten your security and better vet outsiders who could cause harm.”
The Elder stared at Kalex for a moment before bowing so low that he looked like he was going to fall over. “I shall personally see to the safety of Grangardd’s citizen, honored Axiom.” Elder Urok ended his bow and spoke again. “The reason for finding you was not due to Oak Light’s disturbance, I’m here to ask for your audience regarding the Potentate’s message.”
Kalex felt heat radiate through his head and got the inclination to look at his status screen. Opening it up showed his status, as well as a blinking quest tab. Mentally clicking on the tab showed that the optional part of the quest and the waiting portion were fulfilled. A new part was highlighted as Kalex decided to mark off the parts he’d completed.
The Elder’s Grandchild
* Confront Madison Wickerwood in Grangardd
* Wait for the event in Grangardd (Estimated time: 4 days)
* Optional: Assist farmers with storage crisis
* Witness the Potentate’s proclamation
Kalex gave a curt nod to Elder Urok as he turned to the Mix’s. “Thank you for your hospitality, I truly appreciate the time spent with you two. As thanks, I got this bag for you, Please have Sorene look into it before taking anything out.”
He walked over and handed Arla the bag and pulled the mix bottle out from his internal storage and handed it to Sorene. “You’ve done an amazing job with this bottle. Look into how the bag works and try to emulate it on your bottles. I left a few things in the bag to help you guys along.”
With that Kalex turned and faced the Elder. Waving back at the Mix’s, Kalex began following the Elder back to the residence where he had first met the Overlord. As the mansion came into view, a power unlike any he had ever felt blanketed Kalex. His knees bent slightly due to the pressure, which was a better position than where the Elder was. Elder Urok was experiencing the same force but wasn’t strong enough to stay standing.
A deep voice vibrated the very air around Kalex and the Elder. “YOU’RE LATE. YOU MUST NEVER KEEP THE POTENTATE WAITING!” The pressure quickly waned as Urok got back to his feet.
“We must hurry, honored Axiom. I fear the Potentate will turn to more drastic measures if we dally any longer.” Kalex turned his head to the side. “The Potentate’s here? I scanned the city only recently and didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.” He scanned the mansion and could indeed see a powerful myst signature.
“The Potentate takes advantage of the space around him and can move to any place in the Realm of Seeds at a moment’s notice. His statement came to us as soon as he arrived.” The duo continued to the mansion at a much faster pace than before. After living as royalty for a part of his life, Kalex developed a distaste for anyone who threw around the weight of their titles, and the Potentate irked him in a way he hadn’t felt in a long time.
Kalex stopped and held out his arm to stop Urok. “Let’s make this a little more interesting. I wonder how your Potentate will react to a grand entrance.” Kalex grabbed Urok’s shoulder and disappeared from the street, appearing directly in front of a startled Potentate.
Kalex quickly looked at the man’s status to get his name. Royalty always hated when you called them by anything other than their title. “I’m Kalex, Nice to meet you Zilg!” The Potentate looked affronted as Kalex gave a smile that showed as many teeth as he could. From the teleport and the absurdity of what was happening, Urok fell unconscious behind him.