“What do you want?”

The stranger pushed the door in and stepped inside the realm travelling commission. Aeryth followed behind her. She hadn’t explored this place at all. Last time, she was exhausted after her session with the strider, along with a hammering headache, so she left after leaving his office.

“You have your license, right?”

“I do.”

The guild had said it was best to keep it on her. The fine was only forty jades, after all.

“Great,” the stranger said. The commission was almost empty. “Have you heard of Duskwoods?”

That’s the place Cinder talked about.

“I have, but I know nothing about it.”

“ErGoal lived and went extinct in the Duskwoods,” the stranger replied casually, “This is restricted information that you will not learn from any books.”

“Then, why are you telling me?” Aeryth asked, though her heart felt lighter. The information itself was useful, assuming the stranger was not lying.

“ErGoal used the power of death in their magic. Their heartstones bore corruption—rejection of life,” the stranger turned to her, “In most assimilation quests, the first thing asked is unquestioningly the antithesis of the affinity itself.”

“That…” Aeryth looked down at her uncomfortably tightening fist.

“Haha,” the stranger chuckled, patting her head, “How are you supposed to know if you are uninformed? You can fault the strider for this, but now you know to be careful.”

“I’ll be.”

“But, that raises a question on something you asked me moments ago… as far as I know, Lightning is not the opposite of death. Depending on the individual, it might be one and the same.” The stranger shook her head, “Just another observation.”

They stopped at a quest booth. Aeryth tried not to let it bother her. The stranger now knew more about Aeryth than she was comfortable with.

The guild had a hall full of small booths to look through the quest. Inside the booth, there was a glass plate filled with black-colored liquid.

“Insert your guild license here,” there was a small slit on the edge of the plate. Aeryth wondered why. But she did.

The plate lit up. The liquid in it shimmered. Words floated and aligned on the surface.

[Welcome to Realm Commissioning System]

“This is where you take commissions. You can also see the map of the lesterforge and the local vicinity around it. If you get high enough rank, you might even be able to see the map of the entire continent,” the stranger explained as she moved a dial on the side. The words on the water changed with each turn. “This is Dusk Realm.”

It was a misty forest. Thick trunks covered in vines, twisted and writhing, were the only thing she saw other than darkness.

“What is this place?” Aeryth asked, unable to understand.

“A place where night is perpetual and sunlight never reach, a place that has seen many wars, and yet, its beauty only sharpened with each—the realm of the Giants.”

Aeryth nodded. She leaned over the plate to get a clearer look. She saw no beauty. Not more a hurriedly drawn black and white painting of tree trunks. “This is where I need to go.” She mumbled. It didn’t look dangerous. Barren? Perhaps.

“This is a locked realm, meaning only people with a realm-shifting rune can enter this place,” the stranger pointed at the small rune at the lower side of the plate. It was red. “This means you don’t have or haven’t registered a realm phasing rune.”

“So I need to find with this rune first.”

“No. That is something I can give you,” the stranger said nonchalantly, “Of course, this is in return for a favor I want from you.”

“The favor you’re unwilling to tell me about,” Aeryth replied.

The stranger changed the plate once more, stopping at a commission. Aeryth read it.

[Travelling Escort

Destination: Duskwood

Requirement: Anyone with Realm Shifting Rune.

Reward: Open to Negotiate]

“I need to take this commission?” Aeryth asked.

“Yes. And no. I want you to negotiate a reward. The one who has put this commission is a person of great interest. She must enter the forest, and no one with a realm-shifting rune would be willing to help her. It has already been a day of waiting, so she must be quite desperate. Perfect time to negotiate.”

Aeryth tried to keep herself calm, but she could feel anger whispering in her mind. She had thought, really believed, that the stranger just wanted to talk to her. How naive.

She wants to use me for her goal. I should refuse, but I need to go to Duskwoods. I cannot stay stuck at ten percent. And if open to negotiation cannot get someone willingly to enter the locked realm, what can I offer to have someone help me enter the forest?

“Aeryth?”

“Is that why you helped me last week?” Aeryth mumbled. “To use me to meet your end goals.”

“You misunderstand. Before meeting you today, I had no idea you even had any connection to Duskwood. I was going to take the commission myself. But traveling to Duskwoods is a waste of time. So, I am willing to give my realm shift rune up as long as you are willing to negotiate.”

It made sense. The stranger couldn’t have known that she needed to go. It only showed how much the stranger cared about her time.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“What do I need to ask her?”

“To give you the Rune of Err.”

“If she refuses, do I give up?”

“It is a negotiation, make her willing. I want her rid of it.”

Wait, does she not want it?

“What does this rune do?” Aeryth asked.

“It is a manifestation of unwillingness. Holding onto it, a person fails to step forward or rise higher than their current station.”

“That makes no sense,” Aeryth said, yet it seemed possible. “How does it even control something… so conceivable?”

“The world is full of coincidence, and if there are few that alter someone’s fate—a stumble upon word here, a few hurtful words in anger there, those kinds of things are enough to change someone’s future. In the grand scheme of things, it is so minute that one would not even see the effect of the rune, but it works. The girl's stubbornness steps between the future of this city. So it is time an outsider does something.”

Aeryth didn’t know what to say. Destroying it seemed like a good thing. Seemed. She couldn’t be sure. I should not mess with something so… but the stranger is going to do it herself, so if I fail or succeed, it wouldn’t change anything, right?

“I don’t know,” Aeryth said, sighing. She didn’t even know what to think of a stranger anymore. She seemed less like an eccentric mage, hiding in plain sight, and more a like schemer who shouldn’t be trusted no matter what.

“It’s your call to refuse, but how about you talk to the said person first and then make your decision.”

Aeryth contemplated. It wouldn’t hurt. “It’s a waste of your precious time, is that the only reason why you want to give me this rune?” It still heard far too fetched.

“What? No. Exploring the Duskwood would be beneficial to you, and my teacher used to say that we should always nurture mages without guidance whenever we can. So this is me repaying to my dead teacher in a way.”

“I am sure there are more mages in more desperate need of help than me,” Aeryth said. She didn’t believe a word the stranger said.

“You say that… have you seen a mage in the wild without anyone to guide them.”

Aeryth had not.

“Your silence is your answer. Everyone pledges to a lord by their choice or need. You’re in a precious position of being unbound, and I feel I have to help you so that you can remain unassociated, to grow up to be a splendid mage, uncorrupted by this city’s guides. Because that was what my master did. Tried to, at least.”

Aeryth nodded. She still couldn’t bring herself to believe. Maybe because I am unassociated from anyone, she wants to use me for her goal without bringing the ire of noble families.

“Fine, I’ll talk to her.”

“Thank you,” the stranger tilted her head. “Shouldn’t you be thanking me?”

* - -

One of the commission’s receptionists knocked on the door and left.

Aeryth waited patiently.

“Please come in,” A voice said from inside.

Aeryth twisted the knob, pushing the door in.

On one side of the tea table, the girl sat. Her vibrant blue hair flowed down to the front—over the deep blue, golden stitched shawl—reaching over down her chest. Her hand rested over her thighs, one on top of the other. The cerulean eyes observed Aeryth, the left brow scrunched down, slightly—perhaps at Aeryth’s young age, which was not more than her.

“H-hello,” Aeryth said. Perplexed. Straightening her back.

She had not expected to see someone so young. She never talked to anyone around her age since the incident. The youngest was probably Vik, who was also a year or two older than her. And Fiya was a baby.

“Please take a seat. May I see your license?” The stranger said. Her voice was quiet; if not for Aeryth’s complete attention on her, she might’ve missed what the girl had said.

Aeryth walked in, sat on the empty sofa seat, and slid the license card toward the girl.

“Aeryth…” the girl mumbled, “I am… You can call me Withero— Roy shall suffice.”

“Roy,” Aeryth said, nodding.

“Aeryth…” the girl mumbled again, “You’re not from here, are you?”

“You can tell just from a name?” Aeryth said. She had seen far too many unusual names in this city for that reason to make any sense.

“No,” Roy shook her head, “But that is not the matter of discussion. Your license does not show that you possess a realm-shifting rune.”

“I have not yet registered it,” Aeryth replied.

“How do you possess something so precious at your age with the background of an orphan?”

“I prefer not to answer about my life and belongings.”

“Why? If it is not from a work a crime, you should boast it rather proudly.”

“I can make my own decision, and I feel comfortable not telling others what I have and don’t.”

“Then, why now?”

Aeryth took a breath, “I can realm shift and get you into Duskwoods. Anything else should not be off your concern.”

“That would be true if not for the fact I will be traveling alone with you for two days.”

It’s that far?

She kept her face straight. I thought we would be able to enter from the commission.

“I suspect you are here because of the open price, right?.”

Aeryth opened her mouth, then closed them. Asking her to destroy the rune would be too abrupt. Suspicious, and even if she agrees, it would be nothing more than blackmail because the agreement only serves to illustrate her desperation. Blackmail… The stranger is trying, no, I agreed to sit here and try to blackmail this girl, for my own benefit, not knowing anything about her….

Aeryth stood from her seat. Roy knitted her brow. “I am sorry, but I just remembered something. It was a pleasant meeting you, Miss Roy. I hope you find someone trustworthy for your journey.” And she kept walking. Out into the main hall, onto the street. Toward the quarters.

I was too caught up in the stranger's pace to realize what she wanted me to do. If she does it on her own, that’s nothing to do with me. I cannot blackmail someone for my own benefit. I will not stoop to a low level so low. I am raised better than that and I will not be corrupted by the greed of this place… No, I cannot blame this city for my own greed and desperation. I am the one wrong.

“Woah,” the stranger said.

Aeryth had no idea when she caught up with her. A chilly wind blew past her, making her shiver. Aeryth stared blankly at the stranger.

“Did she say something?”

“No,” Aeryth said. “I just realized you are trying to drag me to your level. I refuse to let my needs make me something I am not.”

The stranger chuckled. “Almost had you. Didn’t I? Well, you pass the character check if nothing more.”

“What do you mean?” Aeryth asked, taking a few steps backward.

“I was testing if your desire to progress further can drag you into doing something you find morally questionable.”

“What if I had failed?”

“I wouldn’t have given you the realm-shifting rune,” The stranger held out the rune, “It is not free, still. The task remains the same, but if you fail, you can help me out with something fun. Not something wrong. Something you will find of your interest, actually. You can decide if the Rune of Err is something to be destroyed on your journey. If yes, you can try to convince her.”

“I don’t understand you…” Aeryth said. Not taking the black crystal with a rune etched on it held in the stranger’s open palm.

“You can not trust me, but can you take a leap of faith, a risk, a wager?”

Aeryth hesitated still. She liked the stranger better last week when she was just a mage. Now, it all felt muddied.

“C’mon Aeryth. You should be a little more brazen. Is life even worth living if you have to think for five minutes before saying something? I have already said my piece, why I am willing to help you. There’s nothing more to say.”

“There is…” Aeryth took the rune, “A sorry for lying.”

“Hehe, sorry. Happy now?”

“No,” Aeryth said. She wanted to believe the stranger was helping her because of her master’s wishes and that she was a kind person. Not someone with underlying motivations.

“Well, it’s not my fault you coincidently happen to align with my job. I would rather have our conversation ended in Yura’s kitchen than you glaring at me in suspicion. It was a pleasant conversation. One I looked forward to because there was only a warm company and a curiosity about magic. I hope we can go back to it next time. My work beyond this mask is stressful, to say the least,” the stranger said, beckoning her to follow. “I was initially going to give it to… what did she tell you her name.”

“Roy?”

“This rune was for Roy, initially. But she would never use it again, but you, I believe, will make better use of it. So I decided to change my plans.”

“Why would you help Roy?” Why are they hiding her name from me?

“That is something you will remain in the dark for now. You can ask the guild to etch the rune in your hand and register it with the commission. After that, you can talk to Roy.”

“I will.”

“After you enter the dusk woods, she would propose to split up. You can either keep quiet or point out that to leave the realm, she would require a realm-shifting rune again.”