Part 1.
Viewing the world from the wrong side had been a monumental task to become accustomed to. The only way to compare it would be walking upside down at the bottom of a deep lake or sea. It allowed him to view things at incomparable distances and move from one place to another at speeds akin to teleportation. A shadow-warp, so to speak. Though without the concept of warp in this world, it was just referred to as [Shadow Movement].
Hanz had stumbled upon this innate ability on complete accident when he had been walking down an alleyway in Faustus. He was playing with his little sister and a neighbor friend when he jumped into a shadow in the narrow corridor, feet first. To his surprise, his feet didn’t land on the ground like he expected, instead his feet sunk into the ground, right through the stone surfacing that had made up the surface of the alley. Without any time to think or understand what was happening to him, he simply accepted his fate. The next thing he knew, he had disappeared from the world of light.
On his first trip, he found himself sinking down and instinctively held his breath. His body felt like he had sunken into a deep cool pool of water, with light shining on the surface. Yet after having run out of breath as he sunk deeper and deeper into the void, he let loose. Expecting to begin taking in water and eventually suffocate. Yet, instead of water, his lungs were met with breathable air. His anxiety was partially alleviated by the discovery; he looked around this new world.
Chief among those was that he was falling up, well he was upside down, falling into a deep dark sky overhead and below him at the same time. His equilibrium was a total mess, and he spent a little time failing to right himself to a position that made sense. Looking past his feet, at the surface of the world, he could see dark shapes moving. These shapes were of all kinds, and the darker the color, the more defined it was. In fact, on the darkest shapes, he could make out the most defined lines, as if someone was using a white pencil on a charcoal splotch, bringing it to life.
Another thing he noticed was two distinct shadows. One belonged to his sister, the other his friend. It was an instinctive sense, undeniably both those spots far above and below him, he still hadn’t figured that out yet, belong to those two. When he looked beyond, he could make out another spot, it was his father’s. He should have been home at this time, a good mile away, in their home, probably drowning in a bottle of brandy. He had done that a lot since his wife’s passing. Yet, even from this distance, though less defined than the other two, he could no doubt make it out quite clearly and was positively sure that it could be no one else’s shadow.
Now, twenty years later, he was a profound master of his art. He could meld into the shadows, essentially swimming through the world on the other side. He could jump from one shadow to another nearly instantly, as long as he could identify it.
Having left Alex to handle the terrifying shadow, he made his way deep into his world. The further he went, the more he could see. He sunk low enough to where he thought a small child, on their small legs, could take them. Yet, nothing he could recognize, on the shapes of animals scurrying along, no doubt in fear from the commotion happening up above. So further down he sunk, deep and deeper, always checking all around him, looking for something he would recognize beyond a shadow of a doubt.
“How about 300?” he said to himself. Dropping down the better part of 100 meters. He looked around fervently. His view encompassed much more than just the forest now. He could see the plains, stretching on and on seemingly endlessly. On the other side, he could even see what was going on inside the mountains. The Aderost Mountains were home to many creatures in their deep dark depths, some of which didn’t have names anymore, or had been lost to time. It was a place he didn’t even want to look at, let alone ever go there.
Turning back around, he focused on the plains, it seemed the only logical place she would go considering the proximity to it compared to the scary mountains behind him. On the plains, a fair distance away, he saw a group of fast-moving shadows heading in a southwesterly direction. He found himself drawn to the group but couldn’t explain why. His curiosity getting the better of him, as no matter how much he argued about it, he couldn’t take his eyes off of it, he made his way towards it.
His speed in this world could outdo anyone on the other side. Even Alex at a full sprint on a flat plain couldn’t outmatch his ability to go from one point to another. “At least, not yet.” He couldn’t deny his friend’s growth, physically.
Hanz easily caught up close to the moving men, and he counted them. One, two, three… there were six shadows, there were five adult men, and then a small moving one. It looked like it was a sack, and with the speed that the men were moving, it wouldn’t be weird to see it moving up and down, but the movements were more sporadic. The sides would move up and down, regardless of the motion of the gallop. Again, curiosity got the better of him. He focused in and the shadow that belonged to the bag broke away, revealing the shadow that was explicitly Lili’s inside, hers was a shadow within a shadow. Her lines were clearly defined, the contrast between the whitest of white and the blackest of black.
Now that he had accomplished his requested task of finding her, his first reaction was to head back toward Alex. He would undoubtedly want to know where she was and where she was headed. That there was only one place the group could be headed to if they were going in this direction. “Dortmin. Platz.” He said, not worrying about his volume escaping from this world, even though he was close enough to reach out and touch the horses. “I should go back to Alex… but he is going to be focused on the fight…” he hesitated on what to do next.
“Go to Dortmin.” A voice in his head said. It was a voice he knew perfectly well. It belongs to none other than his master, Willian. Willian was still connected to him through their sister rings, and he knew all about the other world. He was now giving Hanz an order. He didn’t have to think anymore, all he needed to do was follow orders. He let the horseman pass; he wasn’t concerned about keeping up with them anymore.
Instead, she quickly shot back to the edge of the forest, distance meant nothing to him. He surfaced out of his realm and removed a dagger from his side. On one of the random trees, a far distance from where he had last seen his friend, he carved one name on the tree. “PLATZ”. It would tell Alex everything he needed to know. He then sunk back down below and jumped to Dortmin per Willian’s orders. He would do what came most naturally to him, wait and watch.
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Part 2.
Marice came before the walls of Dortmin. While not as grand or defensible as Faustus, they were still looming. He was stopped at the checkpoint, as all visitors were, by two guards in cheap-looking leather armor. It was a pathetic look, and with only two of them, it seemed rather lax; but Dortmin was in a safe place. It was deep within the territory, in a wide plain that saw no more action than occasional bandits in small numbers. So, Marice didn’t think too hard about it.
“State your business.” Said the younger guard.
“Military inspection.” He said with a weak smile. He was exhausted from the travel. The travel had been much harder on him than he had initially thought, but he had refused to let up the pace. He was determined to make it there within the week, it was now the night of the sixth day, and while Winston had on occasion attempted to slow down voluntarily, Marice had spurned back on to pick up the pace. Something he probably regretted.
“Inspection?” cried the older guard, now stepping forward. “Ya papers?” Considering Marice’s appearance, the guard was probably doubting he had any connection to the military at all. Marice was used to this.
“Paperwork here.” He said, presenting the gentleman with a packet of signed and stamped papers. Even with all the funding that Marice had freed up, they were still behind the adventure’s guild’s system of identification. Relying on a stack of stamped and signed paperwork to verify someone’s identity. “Specifically, this is a financial audit of the Dortmin Branch Office.” He added.
“A paper pusher, eh…” said the older man handing the paperwork back over. “Seems like all the higher-ups ever care about is money.” He looked down at his armor and gripped the shaft of his spear. Both of them were shoddy, lacking in proper maintenance. The spear tip didn’t even appear to be sharp after a proper lookover. He was more likely to injure someone by smacking them with the flat end versus being able to pierce flesh.
“I’ll see what I can find while I am here. Maybe we can free up some money.” Marice said in the most pleasant way possible. It wasn’t proper to discuss these things aloud, especially in a public place like the front gate. Yet he felt compelled to try and alleviate the disgruntled attitude of the senior guard. The man only returned a grunt and moved his head in the direction behind him, implying he was clear to pass on through.
Dortmin had started as a small town, and through the reign of the Platz father, had grown up nearly overnight, mostly by taking other nearby settlements. Because of that, the main portion of the city still had a local hometown atmosphere. Everyone knew the names of all their neighbors, and always kept an unlocked door; and while under the previous administration, the occupants had flourished. The new ruler was well known for his cruelty and greed. While most places would have shelled up and become hostile with grief, the citizenry here chose to remain open and help each other as much as possible despite all that. After Marice retired, this was the place he most wanted to move to, the friendliness was unmatched by anywhere else he knew.
Being a military man, the first place he should go to would be the army officer, but regardless of what he told the guards, his job here wasn’t an inspection. Instead, he chose to head off and find a cheap inn in a quiet part of the town. He planned to spend a few days inspecting the people, before making it further into town near where the nobility resided. It was not like he had any sort of deadline to meet.
‘The Galloping Stallion’, a low-cost inn that was in the seediest part of town, though in reality, it was far from being classified as seedy. A room there would cost two copper coins a night, one extra for horse lodging, another each for feed for the hose and himself. Bringing his total to five copper a night, a price that couldn’t be found back home.
You get what you pay for though, his room was incredibly small, barely large enough for the small single bed that was in it. There was a hook on the wall to the left of the entrance where he could hang a single bag. There was no desk present, a small nook to serve as a kind of closet, and no glass on the window, only a heavy cloth. Compared to how he grew up though, it was still quaint, and best yet, it was his private room. He didn’t have to share a large hall with others, sleeping on bunks and feasting at designated times in a large mess hall, fighting for elbow room. “Perks of the job.” He smiled.
He flopped down onto the bed, not the stiffest thing he had slept on, and let the weariness of the days he had spent traveling attempt to fade away. Just as he closed his eyes and was about to nod off, he heard a voice.
“Marice. You are still awake.” It said. It wasn’t so much of a question but an observation. Marice shot up as fast as his weak body could lift him.
“Who’s there?” he asked, reaching for the dagger at his waist that he had forgotten to remove.
“It is me.” A man appeared from what looked like under the bed, but he rose far too elegantly to have been resting on his back.
“Who are you?” Marice said, weakly shaking the dagger with both hands in front of him.
“I am Hanz. I am a member of Fuastus’ Hounds.” He said reverently. “You have been tasked with assisting me.”
The mention of Willian’s elite unit, which was for the most part classified, startled Marice. “I’m just an accountant.” He said. His nerves were getting the better of him, and the shaking had intensified.
“I am aware. Your original task to was observe Platz, yes?” he asked, reaching out a hand to steady the weapon in the small man’s hands. “I am assigned here, and with permission from Holdebark, you are now assigned under me. Welcome to the Hounds.” He bowed to his new associate.
“I don’t understand. How am I supposed to help you?” questioned the bewildered man.
“Watch Platz. That is all we need to do.”
“What will that do? What about after that?”
“Nothing. We will watch our target until the muscle arrives.”
“Ah… who’s the muscle.”
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Part 3.
The exhaustion seemed to fade away from his mind and body. There was a soft warmth pressed against his body, it had a reminiscent and inviting feeling to it. Drawn in, he turned himself, pulling it closer. He could two soft squishy mounds on the sides of his face, bringing him relaxed security. “Sumire.” Was the thought that crossed his mind. “I had the wildest dream.”
Slowly coming to his senses, he opened his eyes to reveal before him a beautiful pair of cocoa-colored breasts. These obviously didn’t belong to his wife, and a twang of guilt hit him in the gut. He looked up to see the relaxed sleeping face of Evona. Her soft snoring was melodic, and while she appeared to be at peace, her entire disheveled look told a different story.
It was obvious at some point exhaustion had hit her, and she climbed into bed to get sleep, but for how long she had been up before, he had no idea. “How long have I been asleep?” was the next thought that came to his mind. “Lili!” came right after.
He looked around the room and from what he could tell, he was back inside Evona’s home. The bed was different from the one he had used before, it was larger. “This is probably her bed. Silly girl, don’t you know what it means to invite a man into your bed?” he whispered in his head. He looked down and couldn’t help but smile at her. She was the prettiest and most powerful woman he had ever met, and here she was, sleeping completely defenseless next to him. The dream of any man.
As if responding to his change, Evona slowly opened her eyes. First, she was in a daze, with a speck of drool just barely at the entrance of her mouth. After adjusting though, she realized where she was and who she was with.
“Morning sleep-“, he was cut off by the sudden rush of Evona throwing her entire body weight on top of him.
“You’re AWAKE!” she yelled. Wrapping her arms tightly around him. “I am so happy you are awake.” She squeezed him tightly.
“Hey! Hey!” he said, trying to wrestle his arms free from her grasp. “Are you trying to snap me in two!?” he yelled.
“Three days. You didn’t wake up for three days.” She sobbed. He could feel his shirt becoming wet. “I thought you weren’t going to make it.” He couldn’t find any words to say. He couldn’t remember what happened after the fight, all that he could remember was the world growing dark.
“What… happened? You know, after…” he asked. He was in a state of shock at her words. It sounded like he had almost died.
“You won, but you were in a mana deficit.” She explained. She was still crying but had found the power to pull back her sobbing and wiped her tears with her bare hands.
“A deficit.” He said, making a handkerchief appear, then proceeded to wipe any of the excess water that her hands couldn’t pick up. “What does that mean exactly?”
“You had used up all your mana at some point in the fight but continued to fight anyway. Your body then began borrowing your life force to use as mana.” She stopped and grabbed onto his left arm. He could feel the tight squeeze, no, the vice grip, she had on it. Whatever this meant, was apparently a tough subject to talk about. “When somebody usually goes into that state, they don’t normally ever recover.” She lifted her head, looking directly into his eyes. “Everybody who has ever gone into that state before has died. Their body drains all their life force to replace their lost mana.”
He hadn’t even considered that possibility during the fight. Sure, he had felt exhausted, especially after creating that staff. Creating fantastical elements that hadn’t existed in his world had been even more taxing on him than he could have imagined. He hadn’t even stopped to think where the sudden second wind had come from. When all the pieces came together, they hit him like a load of bricks.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“I am so happy my health is ten times what my mana is!” he screamed internally. He had no idea how close he had gotten, but it had been another close run-in with death. He was getting tired of it, he was supposed to be powerful, he was supposed to be the strongest. While both those statements weren’t entirely false, he began to understand the disparity between humes and monsters. He was beyond the shadow of a doubt the strongest hume, but what he needed now was monstrous strength.
[Inspect]. He was confident that there had to have been changed. After a fight like that, he had to have leveled up. There was no way he couldn’t. His assumption proved correct, almost like he knew for a fact that would be the case. He had shot up another five levels, and he could feel the physical changes in his stats, but the most surprising came in his skill section. He didn’t know what he would receive, he had never even bothered to analyze his opponent this time. He hadn’t wanted to. He didn’t know what he would do if he had been something too extreme and he became too scared to even move.
“Pretty silly excuse, me, scared motionless.” He tried to play it off internally but remembered back. It had almost been a reality, there was a moment when he couldn’t seem to get his body to move. The entire fight for him had been walking a razor’s edge, pushing his body to just keep moving. Had there been anything else weighing him down anymore and he may just have been too paralyzed to move.
But now, he could see it clear as day in his mind’s eye. He had two beautiful new skills, one being a boost to his intelligence stats. It explained why he felt himself thinking clearer. The other ability he had was probably what had saved his life, [Mana Absorption]. It would allow him to take in the natural mana floating all around him and use it to replace any that he was missing. He couldn’t tell the efficiency without testing it out. He was positive, that at some point after the fight, this skill kicked in and slowly started to pull in mana. First replacing his lost life force, then filling back up his lost mana reserves.
While he had been thinking through everything, Evona had been sitting next to him, her hand was still wrapped around his bicep, and while the grip of death was gone, she still had a solid hold on him. She was looking up into his eyes, watching them flicker back and forth, watching his brain attempt to process all the new information at once. He honestly felt a little embarrassed about being watched so closely by a pretty lady.
“Gonna take a picture?” he joked. He had a stupid grin on his face and his cheeks were rosy.
She hadn’t even realized the way she had been watching him, and she found herself growing embarrassed by it. Though instead of turning to look the other way, she shoved her face into his chest and mumbled something he couldn’t quite understand. “I…av…wo.”
“What?”
“Nothing.” I am just happy you’re fine. She had resurfaced and was flashing him a big genuine smile. It was a lover’s smile, the kind you give when you have been thinking about your partner all day, and they just happen to walk through the door when your desire to see them was about to boil over. That kind of smile, the purest, warmest, kindest kind of smile anyone could give.
It was a smile he knew well, and while more than happy to receive it, for him it also came with a bit of guilt. It was obvious to him that he had not gotten over his wife, and he questioned if it was okay for him to be having feelings for another person so soon. It had been over a year now for him, but when it comes to your spouse, your soulmate, a year wasn’t all that much time. To him though, Sumire and Evona felt like kindred spirits, and he was well on the way towards convincing himself that maybe this was okay.
“Anything on Lili?” he asked, shutting down any prior thought. She gave a quick pout, obviously unsatisfied with his lack of mutual affection, but she understood that the most important thing right now was to ensure Lili’s safety. Knowing that, she had already sent out scouts throughout the forest to search for any clues. Yesterday a pair had returned stating that they had come upon a tree that had a recent carving on it.
“Platz,” Evona said. Her face was cold and harsh. It was a face that had no business being worn on her.
“Figures,” he responded. Getting up from the bed. For the first time since he had woken up, he felt cold. He looked down to see his very naked lower half. “Why?” he screamed, higher than he thought he could while turning around to face Evona. She responded by turning around and completely ignoring the fact that the question had ever been asked.
Not even bothering to look for clothes, probably remembering the other night in the middle of the village, he made copies of the ones he wore when he first arrived. He had started for the door when Evona spoke up. “Wait. I am coming with you.” She sounded determined, and while he was grateful for that, he was hesitant to allow her to come.
“I don’t think… I have to move fast if I want to get there. It will take me three days at full sprint. I don’t have time to wait for you.” It was a harsh response, and he knew she had the power to back him up, but time was a serious factor. The 72-hour window had long passed at this point, and his heart was near his stomach.
“I have a way that we can get there faster than that.” She said. Her smile was mischievous, no doubt because she knew that what she was hiding was beyond what he could imagine. It was a lost magic that no longer existed, and even with her [Ancient Magic] ability she couldn’t acquire it for herself. She was forced to rely on the little supply she had, so she had reserved it only for emergencies.
“You have a way to teleport?” he asked blankly. She felt an invisible fist slammed into her gut. She didn’t understand how he could have guessed it!
“How?”
“Well, I move incredibly fast. So, the only options you would have to move faster than me, especially now, would be some kind of vehicle or teleportation. From what I have seen of the village, you don’t have any stables or a kind of garage, making the only likely answer teleportation.” He was so nonchalant about it; it made her scream internally. “It was simple logic.” He added, fanning more flames.
“Yes.” She said, completely dejected.
They left the room together and crossed the house to the usually locked door. Opening it revealed to Alex a dimly lit storage room with numerous shelves lining from ceiling to floor. On most of them sat large earthen jars, individually labeled with a number and a brief description. On one of the shelves, in a corner of the room, was a triangular stack of scrolls. She walked over and began going through them, picking them up only to put them down again. After a short time, she finally let out an “ah” and turned back towards Alex with two scrolls in hand.
“These are two teleportation scrolls. One to get there and one to jump back.” She was smiling, happy to be of assistance to Alex. He took the scrolls, one in each hand. He stared at them for a short bit, and then looked back at Evona.
“You have any more?” he asked. She didn’t understand why he would need more, but she turned around and went back to where she had found those in the pile. She found two more and turned around.
“I don’t have many, so use them sparring… Where are the other two?” she asked. In the short time, she had turned around and back, both the scrolls had vanished from his hands, yet Alex was still standing there in the room with her.
“I destroyed them.” He said, grabbing for the other two. “These will be backups.”
“Why did you destroy them!?” she howled. She loved him dearly, but she was furious at the blatant destruction of long-lost magics. “Those are irreplaceable.” She was nearly in tears.
He wrapped his arms around her, holding her as her knees started to buckle from shock. “I figured something out about my ability. It is probably due to my intelligence reaching so much higher.” He said. As upset as she was, her curiosity about his abilities won her over. She wiped the wetness around her eyes and steadied herself.
“What did you figure out?”
“My ability to steal from things I kill is different than I had originally thought it was.” He walked out of the dim room and into the light of the main part of the house. He turned back around to face her. “My ability activates when I discontinue to mana functions of something.” It was a curious concept and at first, she didn’t understand the difference between the two, but then it hit her. To die meant that there was no longer life force or mana in the body, but as long as there was some life force in the body, it would be drained to make mana, making mana the most important factor. However, scrolls didn’t contain life force, but they did have mana, a stable supply to allow for one and only one casting of the scroll.
“You destroyed the scroll… and now you can cast teleportation?” the sheer thought that ancient magic like that, which had been lost to the world at some point had now made its return amazed her. Her instincts as a scholar were kicking in and the drive to turn Alex into a subject of experimentation was welling up. Instead, she stopped herself and thought for a moment. After a short while she spoke up, “On second thought, you go. I’ll be here when you get back.”
Alex was surprised at the sudden change. “Are you sure? You were pretty serious back in the bedroom.” She flashed him a devious look. “That is not what I meant!” He was beginning to realize just how careful he needed to be around her, it was like dealing with a horny teenager.
“I have an idea, but I need some time to prepare for it. Time is not our friend right now. So you go, and when you come back, I’ll be here waiting for you.” She finished with a playful tone and drew in close, planting her lips on his cheek.
It reminded him of his married life, how Sumire would occasionally do “wife play” with him. Kissing him on the cheek and wishing him a good day at work before he left. On some nights when he came home, nights that Hina would be the in-laws, she would ask the notorious question. “Food, bath, or… me?” That was always the easiest question to answer, her, every time.
This was different though, this wasn’t Sumire, and while Evona was definitely within the upper limits of his strike zone, he was still so unsure. Meaning while this was undoubtedly appealing, it still slightly unsettled him. But he kept his cool and responded with. “Now I have a reason to want to come back.”
Her eyes lit up at his response and the joy on her face was radiating off her. “YES! I’ll always be here waiting for you.” Neither of them was sure what to say at this point, and Alex had realized his mistake of pushing her along.
“Yes… er… Then please look forward to my return.” He said before turning around. He walked to the main door and opened it. “I guess… this was maybe unnecessary.” He said realizing that all he had to do now was to think about where he wanted to go, and he could fast-travel there.
“Not at all.” She said coming up behind him. “Please have a good day at work… Dear.”
He didn’t say another word, nor turn around, he simply thought about how much he needed to be away at the moment to both sort out his thoughts and, mainly, find Lili.
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Part 4.
Teleporting was far simpler than one may think, though that may be because he had acquired his ability from a scroll, instead of it being the pure magical skill from the past. The previous iteration of teleporting required a deep understanding of the location that you wished to travel to, and even then, there was a chance that you could fail and end up in some wall, a mile in the sky, or even in the depths of the ocean. For Alex, all he needed was to have been there before, have a clear image of it in his head, and it was a foolproof success. Once the image was there and he used his ability, it was as if he was temporarily swallowed into a void, only to spit back out then automatically at his desired location.
“Well… it’s convenient,” he said. Alex had ported to the closest place he could remember being to Dortmin. He was out at the rocks on the hill overlooking the plains around the city, in the spot that he and Lili had decided to pass over Dortmin and continue their journey north to find the witch. He could see the hard clay road to his left, a sign of the clear weather the area had been having. He walked over to the road and followed its flow until he saw the city. At a regular person’s natural traveling speed, it would take the better part of a day to get there. Alex on the other hand wasn’t normal, and he didn’t have the extra time to waste by going at a natural speed.
He found a relatively flat spot on the road and kicked his toes into the ground making two divots. He then took a stance similar to the ones that professional sprinters would use, lowering his torso to straighten his back. He lowered his center of gravity, feeling his feet clearer than he ever had before. He took a deep breath and then exhaled. Before the sound had even reached his ears, he was gone. There was a cracking sound that could be heard throughout the plains, yet no one could explain it.
It would take a traveler around eight hours to travel from where he was to the city gates. He cleared that distance in just around 2 minutes. Had he not reinforced his body with mana, he may not be standing there right now. That speed would have been enough to boil your insides or at least rupture your blood vessels. He took a deep breath of fresh air, breathing during the run had been impossible. He had to rely on the mana shielding to create breathable air using the inside lining of the shielding, but he still preferred the natural air.
He had stopped just far enough away from the gate not to draw too much attention to himself. There wasn’t a large crowd of people there, only two in the queue with a third person currently being interviewed by the guards. He took a position at the back of the line to wait his turn.
This was nerve-wracking for him though. He wanted more than anything to blast his way through the gates and into the city and make a b-line for the ruler’s manor, which he assumed would be the gaudiest most extravagant building imaginable, then find Lili, rescue her, and kill Platz. Then they would teleport back to Evona’s, to safety, before planning their next step on their journey they had just barely started.
Instead, he was stuck here, queued like a trip to the DMV, waiting his turn to be asked why he was going into town. That was because his advanced adult mind was telling him that if he took any unnecessary actions before locating Lili’s exact location could put her life in jeopardy. So, now he waited like a good boy, simply wishing that the line would move just a smidgen faster.
While he was waiting, he heard a noise coming down from below.
“Hey. Alex.” The sound was coming from the shadow belonging to the person in front of him. He didn’t bother looking down, he knew that there was only one person it could be. He gave a slight head nod to indicate that he was acknowledging the other person’s existence.
“Alex. We found Lili.” Alex’s eyes grew wide upon hearing the update. It became harder for him to contain his desire to rush through the front door. Without moving his head, he looked down as low as he could, wishing to view the person talking.
The line moved up.
“We need to talk first before you go in though.” Hanz’s voice relayed. Alex furrowed his brow at the idea of being told to wait, but he refused to make any needless motions that may alert guards to him. “Meet me at the Galloping Stallion.” He said before the voice disappeared entirely.
The line moved up leaving Alex as the only occupant. He was doing everything in his power to contain his annoyance. The line was slow and the one person that could give him the information he desired was now holding it hostage from him. He was quietly deciding on exactly how he was going to handle Hanz the next time he saw him when he was waved to move forward by one of the two guards.
“State ya business.” The older of the two said. Alex was quiet at first, still holding things in. Eventually, he turned to the guard, pulling out his adventure license.
“Relocating,” was all he said. It was probably the most awkward discussion if that is what you want to call it that, of the guard’s day.
“A square huh…” was all the guard said in reply. Maybe it was because he was from a previous generation but being called a square by a man that looked old enough to be his father injured him worse than the vampire had.
“You gotta be kidding me,” he said under his breath.
“Huh?” asked the guard, still comparing the picture on the license plate to the man in front of him.
“Nothing sir. Just letting out a sigh… it has been a long trip from the capital to here.” He flashed a tired smile to the guard.
“Hmph... seems all’s in orda.” Said the guard and motioned to the others the okay. “Welcome ta ya new home,” he added, planting a heavy hand on Alex’s back.
“Thanks… thank you, sir.” He said, still acting like the innocent newbie adventurer. He turned back towards the old man and asked one last question. “Do you know the Galloping Stallion? I heard it is a cheap place to start.”
“Boy, are ya that broke?” he asked. “Southwes’ part of the city. Trus’ me, ya know when ya see It.” He finished.
Alex thanked him one last time and headed off in the direction that he had been told. Within a short while he found it. It was a nearly dilapidated wooden building, leaning to one side. It didn’t have a door, just a heavy-looking cloth draped over the entranceway. The windows didn’t have any glass in them, just empty spaces between the grills. There was also a hole in the front porch just to the right of the door.
“This is when trying to be inconspicuous becomes conspicuous,” Alex said aloud. He rolled his eyes hard enough to hurt. Took a look around for any watchers and went to the side of the building. There he found a stable, its only inhabitant was a particularly odd-looking horse that decided to just stare at him, or at least Alex thought he was because he would follow every movement he made with his head. “I gotta stop getting distracted.” He turned around away from the horse. “Hanz.”
From behind him, he felt a presence rising from the ground. “Alex. It is good to see you.” He said gratefully. He reached out a hand with his greeting expecting Alex to take it and shake it.
“You grew some big balls these last few days.” Alex turned around. His face was devoid of any of the kindness and joy that one would expect when meeting a friend. “Where is Lili?” His voice was dry and harsh. Hanz knew right away he wasn’t playing around. He remembered the incident in the library, and he knew that while the words on the note he had planted in Alex’s chamber had been planned, Alex had meant them when he said them. He had to choose his next words carefully.
“I found Lili. Currently, she is fine, Platz hasn’t done anything to her. He is waiting for someone before he does whatever he has planned.” When he finished, he dropped into a deep bow. He was hoping that Alex would be satisfied with that answer. Otherwise, there was nothing he could do. The fact that Alex was standing here meant that he had successfully fought the Shadow Lord to one of two conclusions. He had either forced the creature to retreat or had outright defeated his opponent, and with Alex’s personality, the latter was the most likely. There was no one else, probably in the world that he was aware of, that could do the same. This meant that if Alex wanted to, he could go on a rampage and eradicate the city to find Lili if so chose.
“How long do we have to wait?” The response lifted Hanz’s heart, and with that, he rose from his bow.
“Mid-day tomorrow, according to Platz.” He said, doing his best to not let his relief show.
“Who are we waiting on?”
“A representative from the Church in Aquira.”
Alex raised an eyebrow, “Of course, it is the church… Why do the churches all worlds always seem to be corrupt? ”
Alex was quiet for a minute, he put a hand up to his chin, scratching his non-existent beard. “You want to find out why a supposed ally is helping an obvious enemy of the state, right?” he said.
“We have hunches, but the Lord wants more details. There may be a war.” Hanz paused and then continued, “A representative from the Imperium came to Faustus. The emperor wanted the princess’ hand, or he would declare war on Faustus.”
“When was this?” Alex asked. His voice was steady, playing off a calm demeanor and the new development.
“Four days ago.”
“While I was on the other side of the barrier then. They think that Platz is colluding with the church to attack Faustus from three sides then?” Hanz simply nodded Alex’s pondering. Alex then scratched his brow, before moving back down to wear his beard used to be. “Why not just assume that the church has betrayed him and order an attack before that can happen?”
“Fighting the church is tricky. Excommunication would be a death sentence for Hordin. There was an emperor in the past who was excommunicated, a week later demons appeared out of nowhere in the Imperial Palace and murdered him.” Hanz said resolutely.
“Well… I’ll be damned. It actually means something in this world.” He said.
“Huh?”
“Never mind. So, we need some evidence to guarantee that the enemies are closing in around us.”
“Us?” Hanz asked with surprise. The way Alex had always spoken had indicated he didn’t care much for this world or the people in it. It also seemed that held a particular grudge against Faustus itself due to the court summoning him. So, the word “us” was a surprise.
“Well, I am living here right now, and it sounds like the neighbors that want to move in really suck. So, I should do something to stop that from happening.” He gave an audible exhale through the nose, a tick he did when he was annoyed at a situation and trying to come up with a solution. “As long as Lili is okay, we can do a little reconnaissance.” He gave Hanz a simple nod but turned to walk toward the front of the inn.
Hanz did his best to contain his happiness. He didn’t doubt that the ones on the other end of his ring were also happy to have his help. He moved quickly to catch up with Alex. “So, without Lili there did you and Evona… ya know?” he asked.
Alex looked over at him and gave him a harsh stare. “No, we haven’t done anything innap-… We haven’t slept… No, we haven’t had sex.” He attempted to be as clear as possible considering all the things that had happened.
“Did she really not give me the Lucky Pervert ability?”