“I will find the bastar..hick*.....That killed my so...hick*..son.” Guardsman Toflins drunken words contained anger but even more sadness.
“Toflin, that’s your fourth bottle, you should just relax for a little now.”
“I will relax alright...hick*....I will relax...hick* When my son's murde….hick* murderer is displayed for the whol…..hick* for the whole town to see.” Slapping the table Toflin almost fell off his seat before guardsman one (Gulliver) caught him, helping him position himself back up.
So far all we have is that it was a beastman. But we searched everywhere even the outskirts in the forest and…….nothing. But something tells me that kid knows more than he's letting on. He's good at hiding his emotions for a kid but everyone’s mask slips sometimes. It was only a second…..no less than even that but at that moment I could see it.
Picturing the scene Guardsman Gulliver couldn’t help but shake his head at the whole situation. In such a quiet town the most you will usually hear are the usual fights, a few curses spouted, and maybe some shattering glass.
“Ahh...hick*....you pussy…..hick*.....you go killing a kid…..hick* then run!” Guardsman Toflin in a sudden fit of rage stood up grabbing his stool throwing it at the glass case containing all the fine ale decorating the wooden floor with shattered, frangments of glass, the pungent odor of the strong ale gnawing at the nostrils of all present.
“What was that noise?” An older man came out from the back of the pub to a scene that made his heart touch his toes.
“MY ALE!!!! Who did this?!?!” He scanned the room stopping his eyes on Toflin.
“You bastard! You think just because your a towns guardsman you can do whatever the fuck you want!”
“Old man, I’m sorry about my friend here, I will be sure to pay for all of the damage.” Guardsman Gulliver said, throwing Toflins arms over his shoulder supporting him on their way out.
“You better, and have all of it paid fast too! Now get out of my pub!” The old man said causing a scene shooing the two away with his hands.
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“Quite an event huh?” Gulliver said noticing Toflin sobering up.
“I’m sorry…..” Toflin stared at his leather boots, now completely soaked from the constant pouring of his tears from just a few moments earlier. His head hung low causing his coffee brown hair to hang freely infront of his face, all that was going through his head at that time and moment were the birthing moments of his one and only child. The one who was meant to grab the torch of his legacy and add to the flame, but at last that was impossible. Now he was only left with a dead son and a missing wife. How had his life gotten to such a miserable state? He was at the point were he couldn't find anything nor anyone else to blame but himself for not being able to protect, and look after the ones he loved the most.
“There’s no need to be sorry. I know the pain of losing a loved one.”
Gulliver sat down in a chair across the table from Toflin thinking about his brother. Gulliver was originally a knight in the kingdoms army, His brother was a shopkeeper, He couldn’t help but crack a smile at the old memories of walking into his brothers store and just chatting about life, flirting with female customers, although it was never to get the girl more just to get under his brothers skin who considered it rude to his customers. But that all came to an end quickly when he was framed. The official decree issued by a general himself claimed to have seen him stealing ore from multiple mines. He was sentenced to 15 years, he ended up dying early in his sentence due to malnourishment. When Gulliver found this out he abhorred the kingdom, causing him to leave, leading him to his current location.
I know it more than you could ever know.
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I sat down next to my mom stuck in my thoughts. That night played out in my mind over and over again. Everything from the bones crunching to the teeth littering the floor. Such a bloody incident caused by me, yet I don’t even feel the slightest bit of shame. Am I still human? Do I have the mentality of a beastman now? The day I found out that my dream was reality and examined the scene I couldn’t help but let a smirk find its way onto my face. The big bad wolf in town was now the big bad corpse after all. It was truly amazing, one second you could be on top of the world and the next…….gone.
I didn’t know what was gloomier, my thoughts, or the atmosphere I was engulfed by upon stepping into this house. Surely it would be my thoughts wouldn’t it? But one would need to know that, that is just how gloomy of a feeling this house left on a person, it could really match up to thoughts like these. These were the thoughts going through my head before being snapped out of it by the sound of knocking on the door.
Opening the door revealed a smiling Zenith.
“Hey, Linus did you see it?”
“See what?” I played dumb like I didn’t know what he was talking about, not really wanting to talk about it.
“C’mon the beastman. I heard he had claws a foot in length and stood at a towering 7’ tall with muscles that were the size of a person's head.”
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Well they blew that out of proportion.
“No I didn’t see anything.” I looked outside at the spot that was now cleaned up.
“Let me come outside, I need some fresh air.” Stepping outside I let the cool draft press against my face before turning towards Zenith.
“Zenith, how much do you think sleep potions are?”
“Huh? Oh i’d say around ermmm…..40 silver for a good one but the cheapest maybe around like….uhhh….2 silver.”
“You think I could borrow 2 silver?”
“Tryna buy a sleeping potion?”
“Yea, sleeping has been difficult lately and I think I need a little rest.
“Oh, ok yea. Don’t worry about paying me back, think of it as a gift.”
I took the 2 silver from Zenith’s hand without hesitation before turning around walking towards the potions shop, Zenith not far behind.
“Y’know, with the 2 silver I gave you, you could get a way better potion.” Zenith said, hands interlaced on top of his head in a relaxed nature.
“It all depends on the circumstance.”
“Yea, true.”
We ambled along through the murky streets. Unusually empty the only sign of life were the sounds of nature. The birds could be heard, continuing their daily duties and the wind could be heard rustling the trees. We talked about nothing, regular youthful conversion. So is this what it feels like?
It took us about 5 minutes of nonstop walking until we finally came across the sign we had been looking for. The sign read ‘Cleargrove potions’ in a faint etched italic font with a potion bottle substituting for the ‘I’, hanging low slightly blocking the door, the two were forced to duck in order to enter the small potions shop. Entering the shop it was a tight fitting space with a few shelves that sat very close to one another. Overall the look wasn’t bad just not the spectacular place I thought it would be in fact it was quite unkempt. With the aroma I could tell that elderly stayed here a lot as the odor clawed up my nostrils.
“What may I help you with today, child.” An elderly lady greeted Zenith completely ignoring Linus who stood right beside the former.
“No, my friend here wants to buy something.” Zenith stated, giving the older woman a look of disappointment.
“What? The non caster?” The elderly woman turned facing Linus, she felt that with her old age she could read most people but she couldn’t get the slightest glimpse of what was going through this kids head. She knew he was a non caster so he was the last person she would expect in her store, to be entirely honest she would expect a potion to be bought for someone's pet before she would expect one for a non caster, but a customer was a customer.
“I’m sorry dear, How may I help you today?” The old lady said in a raspy, trembling voice from the lifetime of strain on her vocal chords.
If not for the fact that I really felt like I needed this potion I would've turned and left at the mention of me being a non caster. The mask only hid what was going on below, and let me tell you it was not something splendid, the moment this hag uttered the word 'non caster' a deeply sealed anger for just an instance shot up drastically. Under the mask was a boiling pot that almost shot the top off. Maybe I should give her a visit in my sleep, these were the thoughts stored very far back. Of course like usual he wouldn’t act on it.
“Yea, i just need your lesser sleep potion.”
The old lady trudged to the back, humming one of those old tunes that most of the older generation seemed to enjoy to do as well. The liquid within the bottle resembled that of the night sky, with the last pieces of light slowly creeping away just the sight of it alone made me a little drowsy, looking to my side I could see it even affected Zenith, stretching heavily with a loud yawn I could tell it had definitely affected him more.
I paid for the potion before stepping out of the shop. Heading back to my house.
“Linus, imma go back to the training field, we can link up some other time.”
“Alright, catch you later.”
Entering my home, I waltzed straight to my resting place. Sitting down on the cold, unwelcoming floor I examined the bottle in my hand. To be honest I couldn’t possibly believe it was a lesser potion, the strong sense of drowsiness it gave me was remarkable. Now i’m no expert in potions but what I do know is that you don’t feel the effects until you consume the potion, yet here I was tired as fuck without taking a sip.
I popped the cork off the top, and started chugging it down fast, The scene could be compared to that of an alcoholic being gifted with the finest ale with how fast it disappeared. I wiped the liquid off my mouth sitting there waiting for the effects.
Guess i’ll just close my eyes and wait for it to take effect.
I closed my eyes laying on the floor, fighting the cool breeze only with the thin sheet draped over my small frame.
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My eyes opened in the familiar lush forest that I always trained in also being the last place I was at before I awoke. Nature's aroma was always refreshing, I would always come here whenever I needed to clear my mind or when I wanted to practice. I just sat there basking in the beauty of the nature. The trees seemed to reach to the clouds with trees full of lush green leaves. The sound of birds chirping enhanced the experience tenfold. I could sit here all day but I didn’t have time for that. There were no instructions that came with the potion but somehow I could feel that the sleeping potions effect would only last for 4 hours.
I opened the space gate pulling out various items I had taken from the trio. Throwing anything I didn’t care about behind me. It felt like I wasn’t going to truly find anything worth anything to me until I grabbed a book out of the gate that read ‘Fireball - the basics’. I opened the book skimming through the context full of interest. This was the first time I was able to get my hands on a skill book and it had peaked my curiosity. I sat there for a whole 3 hours skimming through the same book over and over until I finally got an understanding of it.
[Would you like to learn: Fireball - Basic]
I can learn a magic skill? Fuck yea I want to learn it.
[You have gained a new skill: Fireball - Basic - The flames are lit]
Hmmm….How do I use the skill though?
“FIREBALL!” I threw my hands out in the same fashion I saw the casters from my class. But was rewarded with the sounds of crickets and birds chirping. There was no one around to see such an embarrassing scene but that didn’t save me from the feeling of embarrassment as I scratched my head in confusion.
One of them must've had something about casting skills.
[access inventory]
I opened my inventory, revealing all of the contents within it. I scrolled through all of the items. Only showing interests in the books.
Oh….what’s this?”
In my inventory list was a book titled ‘The use of essence.’ I grabbed the book out of the space gate, with a stain book cover as if coffee had been dropped onto it, it’s a shame some people just can’t appreciate such valuable things. I skimmed through the contents as I had done previously but this time it had only taken me around 30 minutes.
[Would you like to learn - The use of essence]
Yes, I would.
[Not capable of using essence, would you like to convert to mana?]
Mana? Convert? wellll…...yea, if I can't use essence what other choice do I have.
[Conversion in progress: Essence to Mana (25%)]
Damn there’s only around 30 more minutes left. I hope this shit finishes or can continue to convert while i’m awake.
“Ahhh, Quite the luck eh?” A voice sounded out from behind me.
I turned around to make out the owner of this new voice. I couldn’t help but click my tongue, one wouldn’t believe my awful luck. It’s truly terrible.
“Why did you kill that child?” The man stated looking at the beastman with disgust.
I stood there trying to give off the illusion of a mighty warrior. I had both hands behind my back giving off the aura of dominance. But little did the newcomer know the fear I was feeling.
If I were to die in this state would my real body die as well?
This thought was bouncing around my head, just the thought made me sweat a little.
“I am Guardsman Gulliver and under the decree from the towns chief you shall be punished for your crimes.”
***