When they approached the gate the guard that Harlan knew was gone, replaced by a knight with a tabard for the local count.

“Halt.”

“We've already stopped.”

The driver grabbed Harlan’s head and forced a bow, though Harlan could’ve resisted, he didn’t.

“Apologies, sir, he is simple.”

“You are the group coming back from a butchering mission? We need to confirm that the Black Demon of Bearfast is dead.”

“Ah, I thought that the skull was left here? Sir.”

“A skull confirmed something died, unrotten meat, wagons full of it, proves it was something recent.”

The knights checked the wagons full of cold meat. Had Harlan killed it in the summer months it would’ve gone to waste or would need to be preserved on site before being transported back. Luckily for the village, the meat would fetch a higher price in its untouched state.

“We will be taking half the wagons.”

“Ah, we haven’t decided on price yet, if we could-”

The knight struck the driver and the others began tossing others off their own wagons.

Rent and the other adventurers who came with as protection didn’t dare stand in their way.

Finally the head knight attempted to move Harlan, but he wasn’t budging an inch.

“You are stealing these mens hard work, coin from their pockets, food from their mouths. That doesn’t seem very knightly.”

That Harlan had resisted and then talked back made the man furious, he drew his sword and struck Harlan.

Nobody could bear to watch, despite what he had done for them, it would be pointless to go against them.

Yet the man who screamed was not Darrath.

“Under the laws of the kingdom, any soldier who engages in banditry loses any special privileges and becomes subject to criminal investigation, not limited to arrest, imprisonment, or, a death sentence should he be caught in the act.”

The knight captain heard none of this, considering his neck had been snapped by a simple jab from Harlan.

“Who among you will challenge the law?”

The other knights surrounded Harlan.

Rent was outside of the circle, and tried to help.

“Darrath, just give up, no point in throwing your life away for some meat.”

“This isn’t about meat, it is about the principle of it all.”

Another knight tried to stab Harlan and got a splash of fire across his face.

He tried to dose it, but the sticky fire spell was more often than not a death sentence once it began to seep into the orifices.

“If men like this, who represent the law, break it so brazenly, when do they stop? They have shown that even a simple insult is worth killing over.”

Barely any of what he said had gotten through over the screams of the man whose flesh sloshed off his face.

Harlan put his rod through the man's skull, ending his suffering as he stepped off of the wagon.

“Flee, and I will not pursue.”

Foolish as they were, the 14 men left hit Harlan with as many spells as they could, uncaring for collateral damage. Had they been inside of the village homes would already be in flames and bodies would drop in the street.

Rent rushed around in an attempt to protect the men.

Harlan’s rock walls held, not that it mattered.

As soon as line of sight was broken he went into the ground.

Over the explosions of fireballs nobody noticed the first scream as a man was dragged into the ground.

Only after the third man did anyone notice that men were going missing.

“STOP FIRING, CONFIRM YOUR POSITIONS.”

The men saw Harlan pop up from the ground. It was generally a death sentence to stay underground when people knew you were there as trying to stop them from crushing the unfortunate soul was difficult to say the least.

The man closest to Harlan suffered little as his head was split horizontally by a quick strike from his rod.

“Flee, and I will not pursue.”

The current head yelled his orders before Harlan tossed a stone that dented the man’s helmet and left him brain dead on the ground.

“ADVENTURERS, YOU ARE CONSCRIPTED UNDER THE LAWS OF RAGNE. KILL THAT BASTARD.”

It was legally dubious at best, but it wasn’t like most people knew the law anyway.

Rent took a fighting stance.

“Don’t do this.”

“Let me make it quick, it will be better than whatever they are going to do if you get arrested.”

The knights themselves cared little about the men who were now forced to fight, slinging spells that hurt or even killed them.

Harlan was deeply upset by this display of wanton cruelty and began tossing back his own spells, simple bolts of fire, spiraled as one would a warmagic. He had already realized that magic being forced into simple categories was nothing but a simplification for the sake of teaching, things which applied to one category often applied to every other category in some manner.

The bolts ripped through the man like bullets, the ones who were smart enough to keep their helmets on at all times fared little better as the now white hot metal seared their scalps.

The last of the men fell and the fight ended as quickly as it started.

Yet Rent kept going as Harlan dodged with nonchalance.

“With the knights dead, you can stop now.”

“I can’t, if anyone talks, I’m a dead man.”

“I understand.”

Griv has stepped out, but not gotten involved, he knew full well that Harlan was someone who couldn’t be fought by normal men.

If he could break Rent’s hand without magical assistance, what hope did he or his men really have?

Harlan jumped back to get distance between him and Rent.

He took the same stance as their first fight, yet both sides knew enough about the other to expect that it was a faint, and if they knew it was a faint then it really was an invite.

Harlan’s skin grayed and got hot as he activated earth and fire imbibing, the first hardening his skin and bones, the second granting explosive power. He could’ve used water imbibing as well for more flexibility and to regulate his temperature, but the ability was already hard on the body, using more than two at his skill level was a very bad idea considering he still needed to flee.

“If you come at me, you will die.”

“You’ve got too much confidence, little cub.”

The Ursa splashed mud to block Harlan’s vision just before the exchange of blows.

Yet Harlan’s senses were not so reliant on sight, and he would not follow the rules of the engagement.

He narrowly dodged the straight that would’ve taken his head off and kicked Rent’s inner thigh.

The sound of snapping bone was quickly overshadowed by the roar of pain.

He tried to strike Harlan again, but he put too much weight behind the last attack and with a bum leg his movement was severely hampered.

Harlan’s fists struck the man like a hammer until his skin was so bruised and swollen that it could be noticed even under his fur.

A downpour began, as if to accentuate the failure of the Ursa who wheezed heavily and used the last of his energy to just barely stand.

“REMEMBER, I DIED ON MY FEET.”

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He put up his hands, ready to throw at least one more punch.

He had crossed a line, attacking him after he had lost a reason to. It was selfish and stupid, those who murder should expect nothing less than death.

Harlan rushed forward like a hawk going for a mouse yet stopped just shy of the beastkin.

The Ursa had his hands up, but lacked the energy to actually swing them.

“Why did you bother going after I killed the last of the knights? I mean the real reason.”

“I just wanted one last good fight. That snake was supposed to be my dream, you robbed me of that.

If I killed you, who killed it, I could die happy.”

“What a fucking idiot.”

Harlan pushed him over with one hand.

“And now you can die like a dog, sitting in the mud.”

Jack screamed as he rushed Harlan.

A wave of the hand, a back hand strike could end the man.

“JACK, STAY BACK.”

Harlan pulled a dagger he hadn’t ever gotten the chance to use before now.

He stabbed Jack no less than a dozen times before he fell to the ground, Rent silently wept for his foolish apprentice.

“This is your lucky day.”

These were the last words he heard.

Two days later Rent woke up, his healing wasn’t done completely, mostly it was a matter of payment.

Jen was sitting at the foot of the bed too small for him.

“Rent, I thought we were going to lose you.”

She hugged the man and handed a freshly peeled apple to him that he ate in one bite, core and all.

Then the realization hit, he was alive.

“Is Jack alright?”

He tried to get up but found himself still severely sore.

“He is fine, resting in the next room over.”

“I saw his eyes grow dull, he got stabbed so many times…”

“The doctor doesn’t know what happened, but Jack didn’t have a single wound on him, it was like he was overhealed until he passed out.”

“What are the damages for me?”

“About 80 silver for you and Jack.”

“He can pay his own damn bill.”

“You know, the first thing he did when he woke up yesterday was try to come here and see you.”

Rent sighed.

“Fine, I’ll pay for him.”

He grunted as he sat up.

“Maybe it’s time that I retire, for real, I couldn’t even beat a cub half my age. Shit, what about the knights? Does Count Oreland know what happened?”

“Seekers came and went, after seeing the state of the battlefield, they decided to give chase rather than bother anyone else. Seeing that you were beaten nearly to death alongside the other adventurers and Griv having lost an arm convinced them that you really did try to stop Darrath.”

“Griv tried to fight him?”

“He dragged you and Jack back into the village with a bleeding stump and a shattered sword.”

“I guess I had him all wrong, I thought he was a lazy shit unfit for his position. That was almost heroic, maybe if he joined in sooner, we would’ve won.”

Back to just after the sleeping air put Rent to rest.

Griv stepped close, sword drawn.

“I can’t let you leave like this.”

“You do realize you can’t beat me, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll lay my sword across my chest, hit me right at the shoulder, take off the arm and break the blade”

“Why wouldn’t I just kill you instead?”

“Ha, I’m a good judge of character, you don’t look the type to kill without a good reason. I don’t disagree with you about the knights, but there isn’t much I can do against them.”

“Are you sure about this?”

“Make it look real. Alright, 1-”

Harlan struck instantly.

Between the downpour and the fighting there were no witnesses, all people knew was that Griv went out, screamed, and came back with only one arm and a busted sword.

Harlan was currently inside of a hollow tree, evading the Seekers outside. Were it not for his ability to ward away divining spells with quite some skill and also close up the tree perfectly enough that they didn’t even realize he was in there, it might need to get messy. Harlan didn’t really know Seekers on any personal level, but the impression he got from those he did meet was that they were professionals who were drawn to the job by a sense of justice. He didn’t want to kill them if he could avoid it.

“Why did you spare him? Decided to be the meek man?”

“This isn’t the first time I’ve spared someone who tried to kill me. Rent was just mixed up, I killed his delusion, his idea that one day he was finally going to kill that wurm. He never did anything so bad that I think he deserves to die. The knights, they beat men and dragged them from their wagons for nothing but the value of that meat. Rent put his life on the line for something he believes in,”

“He believed in killing you for something as silly as missing the chance to kill an overgrown garter snake.”

“Do you think he would give his life to protect Jack?”

“We barely know either of them.”

“I think he would. I want to see more of that side of humanity, the ones who could be worth saving from themselves.”

The Seekers weren’t far from his tree, they knew that Harlan was there, but his ward stopped them from finding him after it was set up so they were relying on their mundane senses to scan the general area.

Harlan waited for one of them to get to his tree, the man was feeling the bark, noticing that the moss was more vibrant green due to Harlan having just grown it.

Harlan reached through the tree like it was water and hit him with a white noise attack.

He carried the man by wrapping his arm around his neck, though loose enough that he didn’t risk actually choking the man.

“SEEKER, I’VE GOT YOUR PARTNER.”

The other man was hidden behind one of the trees, though it wasn’t hard to do so since one could hide a house behind them.

“10 SECONDS AND I’LL KILL HIM. 10, 9, 8-”

Harlan could feel the confliction of the second man as he stepped out.

“I’M HERE. WHY DON’T WE SETTLE THIS PEACEFULLY.”

Harlan walked closer with a dagger held to the throat of the comatose man.

“Why do you do your work?”

“To get rid of murderers like you. 16 knights, men with families, don’t you feel guilt over their lost lives?

Why not turn yourself in.”

“Men who were little better than bandits, who intended to steal carts full of Lindwurm meat.

What of the families of those men who they stole from?”

“We have systems in place to handle these incidents. They would be found out.”

“From what I’ve overheard, they were under a count, Oreland. What can you tell me about him?”

The Seeker would rather not make the situation worse, but Oreland was not a harsh man. Those under him either had positive opinions or very negative ones. He kept his lands safe, he didn’t over tax his people. But he had put down more than a few revolutions already, and he did not negotiate.

“I don’t personally know him, but he has ruled the county for over a decade since the unfortunate passing of his father and brothers.”

“Is he a good man, liked by his people?”

“Far be it from me to judge him for-”

Harlan pressed the dagger to his partner’s neck, drawing blood.

“Do I need to ask you again? Please, honesty will get both of you out of this alive.”

“How could I trust the word of a man like you?”

“That is fair, but I am not the man on trial, you are. Here, a show of good faith.”

Harlan cast hover and pushed the slumbering man to his partner, the wound on his neck was already closed.

The Seeker thought about rushing Harlan, but when he looked at the man with an open stance appearing non-threatening his sixth sense told him that it was a very bad idea.

Harlan had traced sigils onto the ground, not enough to morph a man, but if he blew away the leaves it would hurt to look at them.

“Please, why don’t we talk like men. I have no love of bloodshed, but I will do what I need to help those who need it. So, tell me, what kind of man are you? To defend the men who attempted to murder me when I refused to allow them to take what was not theirs without payment? An ignorant man? Or one who knows evil, but does not take a stand against it?”

“We don’t have enough information to decide what happened yet. If you could come in with me, explain the reason for the fight, stand trial, we could clear things up.”

“I have seen the nobility of the courts. I have no proof but my words, and the words of those who witnessed the killings. What hope do I have to stand against a count who is willing to send knights to steal from his own people? He would kill those villagers to stop them from saying anything but lies which paint me as a wanton murderer.”

“I take my work very seriously, and I am not tied to the count, every Seeker operates under the crown.”

“In his pocket is a bomb, if I cast a spell to activate it, you will both die. If you take the bomb and run away, I will activate it and kill you. If you leave it in his pocket and run away, I will activate it and let you leave.”

“Wait, what? Can’t we just keep talking, no need to jump to such a thing.”

“I’m done with this conversation. Make your choice, and do so quickly.”

The man began to frantically search for the alleged bomb.

“Inner pocket, left side.”

He pulled the round stone from his jacket.

“This is just a rock?”

“Sense, look at it, soulsmithing is a beautiful art, so long as something can hold the soul for just a little bit, anything is a weapon.”

“Whose soul is in this?”

“Nothing Harmful, just a fragment of your partner. So, make your choice. And if you try to throw it away, I’ll kill you both”

He looked at the rock in his hand and then to his partner, the man had just had his first child, even made him her godfather. More than once he had promised to keep him safe.

“You’ll really leave him be?”

“I’ll put him in a simple stone hut under wards to keep animals from finding him before he wakes up. He will have a headache and some soreness, but will be unharmed. Make your choice.”

He took a deep breath, and rushed at Harlan, stone in hand. He couldn’t trust him, and he couldn’t leave his partner, so he hoped to at least take Harlan down with him.

Telekinesis stopped him mid air.

“Yeah, that’s what I would’ve done too.”

Force began to press down on his neck, cutting off blood flow to the brain.

Harlan placed the two of them in a stone hut and activated the stone, which simply glowed a dim white to light up the room.

Harlan put on a new face, blonde hair, green eyes, tanned skin tone to imply a half Golden lineage.

“I think I know what I can do to find out how I feel.”

“Play games? This is… At least you aren’t killing them, does that really make it that much better?”

“No, I can put on a persona, I ruined my chance to be seen as normal when I knocked out Rent. Maybe I’ll look for mundane work.”

Harlan made a few more changes, his features became more androgynous, he shrunk himself down to 5’6, which was a very uncomfortable experience that left him resting in a carved out tree for an hour as his organs and bones shifted to accommodate this new him.

From a distance, he might appear as a young girl, but up close it should be clear that he was just a beautiful young man.