“I need larger bones.” Jorun was talking to Latty, but he didn’t really care about her response. The only source of larger bones were from humans. There were no animals larger than a rabbit in this area.
“Go find some.” Latty didn’t really seem to care.
Jorun poured energy into the small little snake creature he had been tinkering with. It scuttled to life and wandered around for a moment, before he pulled the energy from it, causing it to crash to the ground.
He picked up the bones and examined them. He had been practicing his sketches and he had already sketched out how big this creature would need to be. He needed leg bones to lift it off the ground, and he would need a lot more than that. If he wanted to create a passable lizard creature, he would need the correct feet and a tail.
He would need to go and examine the bodies of the bandits and see if he could get some decent bones off of them. He hadn’t bothered to clean up the corpses or anything. Just buried them.
He looked out the window and saw that the moon was still relatively low on the horizon, so he had plenty of time to go looking into their condition.
He spent a minute cleaning up the area, putting everything back into it’s cubby hole.
The he grabbed his empty pack and headed into the night.
“Latty, I need to know where the men I killed are. Just point me in the way and I will head straight there.”
She pointed and he set off through the dark trees. The path down the hill was a little rough, but he had grown comfortable with moving around in the dark and reached the burial site without any surprises.
What he found at their barren encampment was a surprise.
Narlin was there.
The old man was rummaging through the dirt as if he was looking for something.
“Latty,” Jorun whispered to his ethereal companion.
“Yes?” She was thankfully quiet.
“What is he doing? And where did I bury the dead bodies?”
“He is practically standing over the corpses.” with that she vanished into the dark.
Jorun felt his mouth go dry. There was absolutely nothing to indicate that there was a burial site there. The only reason he even knew it was the correct spot was because Latty was telling him where to go.
“He is definitely looking for something. Maybe he dropped it there on accident.”
Jorun didn’t bother to reply to that idea. There was absolutely no way that was the explanation. He hadn’t ever seen anyone from the village out at night, much less this far from town.
He turned and started home, “Latty.”
“Yes?”
“I need to gather everything together and prepare to move. Keep an eye on Narlin for me. Pay attention for him reacting to your presence. I think he might be able to see you.”
Jorun thought about something, “You have never been around him before, have you?”
“I don’t usually spend time near the people in the village. So I don’t really know if I have or haven’t.”
“Why do you avoid people?”
She shrugged, but now that she had mentioned it Jorun couldn’t ignore what she had said. Every time he thought about her being around, he couldn’t think of her having been around other people.
“It doesn’t really matter. I think I am just happy to realize that you have been avoiding them. Just keep an eye on him and report to me what you observe.”
She vanished and Jorun went home to begin organizing his supplies. He had a lot more now than when he arrived, and it took him a long time to figure out everything that he needed to pack and bring with him.
The next day, he went into the village and got the new pack that Mrs. Hodges had made for him.
Then he began to pack everything into it. It was tricky, but he had figured out a way to move the books and the bones without drawing too much attention to them. The only thing that he was going to leave behind was the pots he had been using to make food and plant oil.
“Jorun, I don’t know what he is doing, but he is definitely doing something strange.”
“What is he doing?” Jorun looked at the ghostly girl.
“He is looking through a book. It kinda makes me think of your book.”
The words of the Tome of Death reappeared in his mind.
A few will seek to attack you.
“I need to deal with him, and I need to deal with him now. Running away will only emphasize my involvement in current events.”
He looked at the packed gear, and realized he had been panicking.
“What do you think. Can I kill him?”
“I don’t know. You killed the bandits.”
“Yeah, but I think that was different. I don’t think I will be able to get the drop on him.”
Even as Jorun said it, he realized that wasn’t entirely true. Narlin had no reason to be suspicious of Jorun. Maybe he wondered if there was something strange going on. Maybe he was trying to figure out if there was someone bound to death in this area.
Jorun thought about the chess games they had played. He thought about the time they had spent together.
It was time to use the original plan.
There were two locations that Jorun had spent a great deal of time around. One was his house and the other was Narlin’s house. He had worked a great number of ritual elements into both places. He had been planning on arranging Narlin’s death, and he had only delayed because he had come to see the old man as a friend.
Jorun just needed to finish the job.
So he went to Narlin’s.
Narlin was busy cleaning up the garden and waved as Jorun approached, “Ready for a game?”
“Sure thing. Sorry, I was busy trying out my new travel pack. I think it will work fairly well.”
Jorun did his best to smile, but he was certain that Narlin could see through it.
“Going to get on the move again?”
“Yeah, I don’t know if I am going to leave earlier than I planned, but I am definitely interested in getting out there and exploring the world some more.”
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Excited by the idea of finding some lizard creature or lost treasure?”
Jorun laughed, “Nothing like that. I just think that there is a lot to this world and I want to see as much of it as I can.”
“Hold up while I get my garden finished. Will you be wanting some additional help with numbers as well?”
“Can’t hurt to learn, but I don’t want to wear yourself out.”
“Don’t worry about me boy, I’m not that old yet.”
Narlin finished up his gardening and walked over to his table. Jorun went ahead and sat down, preparing the pieces, which definitely were getting to the point where you could tell what they were supposed to be.
“The pieces are looking pretty good.”
“Thanks, it took a little longer than I meant it to. Pretty happy with the result.” Narlin grinned a toothy grin, and Jorun felt a pang of doubt.
“Your start.” He had set up Narlin to be white, and Narlin used the standard opening.
“Where are you thinking of going to first?”
“I guess I am thinking about going to the Capital, but I haven’t really decided.”
Narlin nodded, “You have potential to do well there.”
Jorun made his move, shifting one of his pawns and abandoning the center of the board, “I just worry that I will get caught up in bigger things than myself.”
Narlin laughed, “Everyone is dragged into bigger things. Life is a current, pulling towards destiny. You can fight it, or succumb to it. It doesn’t change the outcome.”
He moved another piece forward, and Jorun frowned. The old man usually used a pretty dynamic strategy. He would create faints to divert attention from one part of the board, and then circle back around with a knight. This wasn’t a strategy. It was a basic opening both of them had long abandoned.
He stared into Narlin’s face, but he couldn’t see anything there. The man’s wrinkled face just looked tired.
“You alright? If you are tired we can stop the game and you can just get to bed.”
“Shut your mouth. I can still beat you,” Narlin growled as Jorun took advantage of the mistake and cut down a bishop.
Jorun grinned he could see the realization in the deep blue eyes as Narlin stared at the board.
“I am willing to take the victory now, if you just want to admit you made a mistake. Narlin growled as he moved another piece forward, and Jorun did his best not to grin. It was another obvious mistake. It was a reaction to what he had just done. Narlin had just ceded his advantage as the white player.
He paused, remembering what Narlin had told him.
“You get cocky when you think you have the advantage. If something seems to good, it probably is.”
He examined the baord and realized that Narlin had turned his earlier mistake into a trap. If Jorun advanced now, he would loose two or three pieces. He moved his knight back, losing his apparent advantage. The darkening scowl on Narlin’s face was a clear indicator that he had made the right move.
Narlin looked up at Jorun, “You are getting better, aren’t you?”
Jorun kept his face as still as possible.
Narlin glowered, trying to evoke a reaction and Jorun just ignored it.
“I believe it is your move,” he prompted the old man who harrumphed in response.
“I shouldn’t have been teaching you numbers and letters. You are getting clever. I enjoyed beating you.”
He moved another piece, and Jorun studied the board.
“You said I could go and become somebody, didn’t you?”
Narlin didn’t respond, but stared at the baord.
“If I am going to go out into the world, I had better be able to handle a little old game like this. Shouldn’t I?”
It was hard to not grin as the old man, but Jorun did his best to keep his expression as neutral as possible.
Narlin looked up at him with a hint of pride, “I can’t really complain. I guess I am proud to see someone pick up the game and be able to beat me. Especially when I taught them everything they know.”
“So you are saying that you think I am ready for the capital, right?”
“I suppose, you definitely have ability, but that isn’t everything. If you don’t know the right people, there is a limit to where you can get.”
“I am sure that there is truth in that. Of course, that only matters if I am going to get involved in politics.”
“What are you thinking of doing?”
“Helping people, if I can find a way to do it.”
“There are ways to help people.”
“What would you suggest?”
“You remember asking about magic and how people were born with it?”
“Yes, I was wanting to know if there was a way to get power like that after you are already older.”
“There is one.”
Jorun’s eyes narrowed. He had already discovered that there were two. The power over death and the power of the witch. He wasn’t exactly sure what the power for witch’s was called, but he knew that it existed in the same way as his.”
“It exists for a group of people who understand the importance of things. People who can think and understand complicated ideas.”
“Like yourself?” Jorun chuckled until he saw Narlin’s expression.
“It is possible I know more about this than the average person.”
“You are serious?” Jorun got a little excited. A third power would be fantastic. It would also mean that Narlin wasn’t an enemy and he wouldn’t have to kill him.
“The world has a balance. You can understand that, right?”
Jorun nodded, “In order for there to be life, there needs to be death. People need to be a part of the cycle.”
He hated those words, but he knew that was want Narlin wanted to hear.
“Right, this group exists to maintain that balance.”
A pit formed in Jorun’s stomach as he grew suspicious of what Narlin was about to say.
“They focus on handling the more complicated situations in the world. Enforcing the rules and orders necessary for the balance.”
Jorun’s mouth felt dry and he focused on the rapidly evolving chess board.
“I might know someone in that order, and they would be very interested in meeting someone who could help uphold the natural balance.”
“What balance is that exactly? The one that leads to families loosing their loved ones?” Jorun wanted to snap at Narlin, but he knew better than to say it. He was coming to realize everything he had suspected was true about Narlin.
He looked at the board and knew that he was winning the game. There was almost nothing Narlin could do to win.
“I wouldn’t mind meeting them.” Jorun wouldn’t do exactly what Narlin was suspecting, but he didn’t intend to tell the old man that.
Narlin pulled a slip of paper out of his pouch and slid it across to Jorun, “Show this to any guard in the capital, and they will direct you to the correct people.”
The paper was small and easily fit up a sleeve or even in the palm of a hand. It didn’t have words, just a complicated design that Jorun had never seen before. It was incredibly intricate and he had no idea how someone could have drawn it on such a small space.
He put it in his pocket, “I will do that. Thanks. Although I will prefer to stay on my path of medicine. I think I have a good idea of how I can help people.”
Narlin waved a hand, “Don’t worry about that. They would be more than happy to have you moving around. It is pretty convenient to have an excuse to travel and not have people suspect you of anything.”
That only confirmed Jorun’s suspicions.
He focused on ending the game and realized he couldn’t noticed any of the words that Narlin was saying. They sounded empty and hollow.
Pleasing words that sound good by hide a corrupt soul.
Jorun almost jerked as he heard something he had almost forgotten about. A voice. Talking to him. When had that been? Back when he was dealing with the dead from the plague, right? Images of all the people he had lost flashed through his mind’s eye. His mother and father, saying one thing and doing another. The lies, the deception, and the death.
All because people couldn’t be true to who they were.
Jorun despised them all.
Every single one of the people who would pretend to be something that they weren’t. He looked at Narlin, and the old man jerked back.
“Lad are you alright?”
“Just thinking about what happened to my family. I wish there had been someone to protect them. Someone who cared to look after them.”
Narlin didn’t look convinced and Jorun watched the man’s hands drift below the table.
He moved his queen, “Checkmate.”
And he struck.
This was the single most complicated ritual site that Jorun had prepared. He had spent days working in and around the garden, and he had plenty of opportunities to set things up in advance of this moment. He just hadn’t realized how easy it would be to finish the old man off.
The dark energy surged into life around them. It was surprisingly faint compared to the other’s he had made, and Jorun instantly wondered if there was a way to conceal the entire event.
Narlin’s eyes shot wide open, “IT WAS YOU!?!”
He clutched at it chest, dropping a strange object that he had been holding. A dagger.
“Yes. It was me.”
“You killed those bandits?”
“Yes.”
“You killed that family?”
Jorun cocked his head, “What family?”
Narlin choked, “There were two…”
Then he collapsed to the ground as if he had died. Jorun frowned as he hadn’t done anything to cause that. Then he saw the man’s feeble hand reaching to the dagger, and he jumped to seize it. The blade burned, but Jorun just needed to throw it away. Outside of the circle.
He looked at his hand. The heat had done a lot of damage to it in just that moment, and he would need to treat the wound to prevent infection.
“Lad… Don’t…” Narlin gasped, “Don’t do…”
Jorun didn’t care to hear whatever excuse Narlin had. He was only alive because of this power. His mother’s dying word echoed in his mind.
“Sorry Narlin. I liked you a lot, but you are my enemy. I cannot tolerate that revolting balance you speak of. If there was a balance, my family wouldn’t be dead.”
Narlin’s eyes grew wide as he realized the truth about Jorun’s family, “You killed… them…”
Jorun looked at his hands. They were strangely clean of all the blood and death he had experienced. He wasn’t sure why he had been allowed to survive. All he knew was that he had survived.
“I don’t know. Maybe I did.”
“Lad…” Narlin’s mouth struggled to form a word, but Jorun didn’t care anymore. He closed the circle and began to draw in the power. It sputtered and lapped around him, but this time he knew how to slow it’s effect. He drew from the old man’s heart. Nothing else.
Narlin’s eyes bulged and his mouth was flecked with foam. Then he died.
The soul was perfect. It was the single largest soul he had collected, and there was a tremendous amount of energy coming from it.
“You did it?” Latty clapped.
“Yes, I did.”
“Great job. You think I can have his body?”
Narlin laughed, “I doubt you could. It would probably destroy your body if you tried to force yourself into it.”
“Aw, I was wanting to touch stuff again.”
“Patience Latty. Patience. You have waited an eternity. You can wait a little longer.”