"Are we there yet? We've been walking for days!" Adria complained.

"Well if you could focus for five minutes, you'd know we're almost there, munchkin," George said.

"I can listen, you dolt! And if you call me a munchkin again I will kick your rear end so hard you'll taste leather!" Adria snapped.

"I will need a break from those two when we get to Shreveholm; you would think their tongues would tire by now." Simon thought.

The group continued through the woods, their horse-drawn wagon finding every bump in the road. They traveled until a couple of hours before dusk when their leader noticed something.

"Halt!" Simon commanded, " Look to our left flank."

Nestled within the thick vegetation, a leather sole was sticking out. The group moved in formation and steadily approached the brush. George knocked his spear tip against the boot while Simon moved to encircle him. George shook his head at Simon, and Simon signaled for the girls to ready their spells. With a countdown, George ripped the booted leg out of the foliage as Simon aimed his blade at the mystery figure.

"Who are you!" Simon shouted, yet only silence followed. Sensing something was off, Simon warily removed the cowl from the person's head, and lo, the man was unconscious.

"Well, don't you feel stupid?" Adria quipped, waving her finger. "You were about to gore someone while they were asleep, such a lack of manners."

"Look at his clothes, they're mage's robes," Meghan said with a squeak.

"And certainly not normal," George said.

The group searched the stranger and found nothing but a small coi6E pouch.

"Get him in the cart, we still need to find a campsite for tonight. We are doing the night watch in pairs. These things never end well."

They set up camp down the road, and Meghan performed a series of diagnostic spells on the strange man.

"He's physically healthy, but his soul is in tatters. I don't know how he's still breathing." Meghan reported to Simon.

"Will he wake?" Meghan replied, "I don't know. I've never seen soul damage this bad on someone living. He might wake up in five minutes, next week, or never again."

"Understood, until he wakes, keep him bound. We do not need a criminal catching us off guard."

The night passed slowly, Adria and Simon taking the first shift, and Meghan and George the second. They broke camp and moved with excitement as they would reach Shreveholm well before dark. A few hours into their final stretch, when the wind changed course, they smelled smoke and a sweet scent that put a pit in their stomachs. They left the wagon and their stowaway when they came across a disturbing sight. Tents broken or torn to ribbons, some splattered with blood, the last moments of a fire, and shreds of cloth that were reminiscent of their comatose acquaintance. They surveyed the scene, and Meghan reported worrying amounts of Death essence.

The party had only been there a minute when a bestial growl sounded outside the glade. Once in formation, Adria sent a barrage of stone pellets toward the sound. The beast responded with a roar, crashing into the clearing, and reared up, a burst of miasma coming from its chest. The attack reached the adventurers and sapped their strength, and Meghan felt it fighting her life essence.

"It's a wraith! Watch out," She yelled as she cast Nature's presence on George.

He charged at the beast as it landed on its front paws, thrusting his spear into its shoulder and readying his mace. Adria summoned Fire darts and Ice blades at its eyes while Simon targeted its knees with his enhanced arrows. It was all for naught as its aura seemingly consumed the magical attacks, and even piercing arrows couldn't penetrate the beast's hide. It lumbered deceptively fast at George and knocked him backward with a single, powerful swing of its massive paw. George tried to get up, but the monster was on him too quickly and was about to pulverize him when an iridescent blast of magic made the upper half of the beast disappear as if it never existed. Everyone except George looked back to see the mysterious figure slumped against a tree, unbound, and muttered, "You fools," before falling on his face. They helped extract George from under the bear's remaining half and, much more hesitantly, got near the enigmatic figure.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

"His soul is nearing collapse. If we don't get him to the healers soon, he will die," Adria said.

"You heard her. Move it!" Simon barked.

They rushed back to the wagon, brought the horse to a swift but manageable pace, and made it to Shreveholm just after noon. The Guards stopped the conspicuous party, but when the wraith and the man's serious condition were reported, they were rushed through. The healers immediately accepted the party and moved to strengthen the man with an inundation of several spells. The healers called for assistance, and two middle-aged men rushed over and chanted an activation spell that formed a magical vortex over the figure's chest. Minutes passed before the men stopped chanting, and the vortex vanished.

"He is stable, but few recover from such a state, even with our intervention." One of the head physicians said.

"He has surprised us before, but we understand the situation. That said, you run a business, sadly, we lack the funds, but not far from the southeast gate is a clearing saturated with Death essence. If you hurry, there should still be enough to cover everything," Simon said with a conspiratorial smile.

The healer nodded and sent a band of workers to investigate. With a promise to collect the man later, the party reported the wraith's encounter with the city's bureaucracy and the League before finding a decent inn. They transported the man, and Simon set a rotation to watch over him.

----------------------------------------

August woke in a bed and jumped up, feeling mass amounts of fear and adrenaline. George startled into action, grabbed the man, trying to calm him down, and said he was in Shreveholm. Seeing no immediate danger, August slowly relaxed and asked who George was.

"I'm George, mister, and who might you be?"

"I-I don't know. I can't remember anything. What happened to me," August said growing in panic.

"Woah, Woah, let me get the rest of the crew and they'll be able to help you," George consoled. "Alright?"

August nodded and George briefly left to gather the others from the ground floor. Simon entered first, followed by the girls.

"George said you have no memory, is this true," Simon questioned.

"Yes, I can put on a shirt or tie laces but that is it," August said while backing away from the four. "Who are you anyway?"

Adria took over, saying, "We're a group of adventures in the League. I'm Adria and this is Meghan. We found you barely alive in the forest over a week ago and we've been caring for you since. Your soul looked like shattered glass with pieces missing"

August learned of how they met and what followed. Still without recollection, August was escorted to the healers. The duo from the first visit guided them to a private room and studied August intensely. After many questions, a physician looked at August seriously, and with a Life-essence-covered hand, smacked the side of August's head.

"Ow!"

"Darn, I thought that would work," the healer said.

"You thought," August questioned, "when does hitting someone with magic heal them?"

"More often than you'd think," the healer said while shrugging, "I can't do much about your condition, your soul is an utter mess, and only time will tell if you can be healed."

The party returned to the inn, and Meghan brought August back to his room while the others discussed what to do with him.

"He is directly linked to that beast. He might have summoned it himself." Simon started. "It would be best to take him to prison before he regains his memories."

Meghan walked it and said, "You are right, he may be a threat, but he can't cast magic with his soul as mangled as it is."

"I know it is the 'right thing,'" Adria said with air quotes, " but what if his memories never return? You'll be punishing an innocent man."

Simon thought and said, "Alright. There are jobs we can take while we wait for any improvement. Do not let him out of your sight. Adria, spend some time with him to see if he can cultivate still, or if he is Ash."

Adria nodded and went upstairs while the others found a couple of easy tasks to pass the time and get a feel for the city. Adria taught August a meditation technique to do simple introspection. He struggled to slow down with all that had happened to him but he managed after a few hours.

"Now, enter your core and tell me how many points you see on your foci."

"I only see some gas and sparkly lights," August replied.

"What! That blast you let out disintegrated a bear possessed by a wraith. You have to be at least a last-stage warrior to do that." Adria said. "No shapes, no bright lights with connections?"

"Nothing."

Adria stepped away from August, trying to understand this enigma. Found near an obvious Horde summoning gone wrong, showcases a powerful burst of magic, and now has no cultivation.

"Let's take a trip, there is a place where we can get a better reading of your core's cultivation."

Adria then led August to the city's League branch and asked one of the attendants for a channeling stone. The lady reached under her counter and passed it to Adria.

She handed it to August and explained, "This is a channeling stone, it can detect your cultivation and your aptitude. This is a safe place but there are privacy rooms right there if you don't want people to know what it says," Adria said, pointing to the closer of two hallways with a cluster of doors marked open or in use.

"It is fine, I don't get how my cultivation is a big deal. I saw nothing in my core so why the fuss." August said, looking at Adria with confusion.

He covered it with his hand and felt a slight drain before it lit up, a warm orange display appearing above his hand.

Cultivation: N/A

Aptitude: Blaze

Adria quickly took the stone from August before hastily guiding him to one of the vacant rooms she pointed to earlier. She closed the door, and in a loud whisper said, "You're a blaze! Are you an idiot, half of the factions in the city and even more in the neighboring ones would force you to join them if they saw your aptitude. Do you want to be a noble's dog or something? It seems you truly lost all of your memories, so let me remind you. Most people are ash or kindling, with a few sparks. Blazes, on the other side, could become archmages, sentinels, or even start their own faction. You need to be under the wing of someone much stronger or reach past Crystallization fast or you are doomed.

"Look. If I know nothing about cultivation, how could I know I was risking my freedom? And it's not like you helped by squeaking and wrenching me over here. Even an idiot could tell something happened."

"Don't pin this on me, wonder boy, we thought you were faking your memory loss so you could escape while leaving a trail of bodies. Since I now know you're telling the truth, we need to meet with the others to discuss how to handle this worrying situation," Adria finished the conversation and the pair, aware of their speed, returned the stone and went back to the inn. The others weren't back by dusk, so they agreed to wait for them the following day.