“Why didn’t you kill them?” Perideen asks me as we wait out the storm in the clinic waiting room. Natalia is still shivering, asleep. We leave her on the bench until it’s dawn. “You had all the right. Now they’ll get away. Probably leave town.”
“I thought about it.” I reply. In my hand, the block of tartufo cheese has grown moldy and wet from the rain. Turning it over and over, I can’t find a bit of it that’s salvageable. Not that I think Natalia would be able to enjoy it after what she’s been through. Damnit…it’s all ruined now. “But I think there are other people more worthy of my vengeance.”
“That’s not an answer.” He pushes me. I look up from the cheese.
“Why do you care?” My eyes find Perideens. He shrugs, holding up his hands.
“Because…when you participate in the trials, there is no place for misguided mercy. You must be ruthless. Strike down those who would seek to do you evil. Even retribution may not be enough. If you wait for someone to do evil onto you first, then it is already too late. You have lost.” Perideen shakes his head. The lightning flashes overhead, making the scar over his eye stand out. He looks a little evil himself right now. “Perhaps I was wrong. Maybe you don’t belong with the Rainstopper Sect…”
“Oh, shut up.” I glare at him. “I let the damn idiot go. And that stupid woman as well. But I’m not soft. And I’m not a child. Look at me. LOOK at me. Take a real good look.” This time, I don’t hesitate to meet his gaze. I stare right into the assassin’s eyes until he understands that I am not afraid of him. Finally, Perideen relents, blinking first. I let out the breath I’ve been holding, and continue thinking. The storm seems to be clearing up. We can go soon. “Perideen, tell me, do you think I’m strong enough to win the trials as I am right now?”
“The trials aren’t for a month, Myrr.” Perideen glances out at the storm too, watching it recede. “The Secthead almost died fighting in the trials at your age. And she was stronger than you are. It will not be easy.”
“I see.”
“Are you still going to go?” He questions me again. I don’t answer for a while. Just stroke Natalia’s hair and contemplate her broken leg in its cast. The angle is still off. There’s no way to properly set it at this point without magic in this world. “It’s not too late to turn back.”
*Rumble*
Thunder passes overhead, and the building groans as it shakes the foundations. I remember how Romy told me I couldn’t leave until I could stop a thunderstorm. I toss away the ruined tartufo into the mud outside. Closing my eyes, I curl my left hand around the Bloodstone. It’s cracked depths are a constant reminder of what I’ve lost because of Meirkeep’s assassins. Standing, I crack my back. The final raindrops are letting up and though the skies remain dark, I think we’re ready to head out. There’s a carriage waiting for us at the station. Since Perideen can’t carry both Natalia and I, it’s going to take a while to get to the Rainstopper Sect. I open my eyes. It’s time.
“Oh, I’ll be going. And you’re going to train me.”
“Hehe…train you in what?” Perideen grins, sensing the change in me. He lifts up Natalia on a makeshift sling on his back. “Killing arts? Defensive techniques? We have two weeks until we get there. The Secthead said to teach you anything you want to know.”
“All of it. Every day, fight me until we get there. Show me everything you know.”
“As you wish.”
#
The Cliffs of Sisyphus were formed like a crescent moon, taking up an entire valley’s worth of space, composed of layers of white stone, folded together like a cake. At the bottom, numerous trails converged to form an entrance. A pair of black gates accepted those seeking to enter the Rainstopper Sect. All needed to pass through this doorway to enter the world of death inside. Carved into the numerous folds on the way to the top of the cliffs were various buildings, shrines, and dormitories. Above it all, there was a small hut formed from branches and dried grasses. It looked out of place amidst all the stone structures. Abruptly, someone was pushed outside onto the rocky mesa-
“Get out! I’ll treat her, but you can get out of my sight! What were you thinking bringing him here, you know Romy would never want that!”
“That was close. I almost got my head chewed off.” Shivering in fear at the thought of the fearsome person inside the hut, Perideen walked off quickly. Atop the highest plateau in the Rainstopper Headquarters, he tensed his legs and jumped upwards. A small peak of white stone overlooked the rest of the sect. Hopping from step to step, Perideen quickly reached the top. Someone greeted him there.
“I didn’t expect you to return to us so soon.” The person standing on the peak was watching the commotion down at the very bottom of the cliffs disinterestedly. Dressed in the black assassin’s garb which almost everyone wore in the Rainstopper Sect, the only thing to make him stand out from anyone else was the badge on his chest. Five raindrops, signifying that he was a member of the Rainstopper Council. “Is the Secthead returning to us?”
“No. She just wanted me to take care of someone.”
“Oh? Is the Secthead submitting a new candidate to succeed her? I saw you bring the boy in.” The man turned to Perideen and looked him over curiously. He noticed that there was a bandage over one arm. “Who did that to you?”
“Heh, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Perideen rolled his eyes, somewhat embarrassed at the truth of the matter. “Elina won’t heal me.”
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“Why?”
“The Secthead…was reluctant to introduce her candidate to the Sect. I decided in the interest of our future, that the Acolyte she was raising had potential so I brought him here without her knowledge. Elina figured it out though…”
“Ahh, of course. Say no more.” He waved his hands and continued watching the new recruits filing in at the base of the cliffs. It was a long way, but with their eyesight, the man could see everything going on as if he was right in front of them. “So, this boy, do you think he can win?”
“Win? I don’t know…” Perideen closed his eyes, remembering all the fights they had had along the way. “He has potential, that’s for sure. I’ve never seen anyone improve that quickly. But he’s not at the level the Secthead was at his age. At least…not if they were to duel traditionally.”
“Mmm…potential doesn’t mean much if you die before you reach it. But most people couldn’t match the Secthead’s talent in her youth. After all, she came out on top of her entire generation.” The older assassin remarked. Stroking the handle of his dagger, he suddenly grinned, “You’re not telling me everything.”
“No…I’m not. Like I said, you wouldn’t believe me.” Perideen sighed. It was impossible to hide anything from his old teacher. “Seriously, you won’t.”
“Really?” Jarshan, the overseer, rubbed his beard. “And why’s that?”
“Ugh…you’re not going to let this go, are you?” Suddenly, Perideen was reminded of the boy he had been traveling with recently. His dogged persistence and absolute unwillingness to give up on anything was strikingly similar to that of his teacher. They sat in silence for a little bit.
“…”
Just as he thought he had escaped, Jarshan replied,
“I’m still waiting for an answer.”
“You’re such a pain, Master.” Finally unable to hide it anymore, Perideen gave in, “Okay, I’ll say it. The boy scares me. He’s freaking six and I’m not sure what he’s capable of. Happy?”
“You’re…afraid. Of a boy. Are you sure you’re my student? Did they replace you with a fake?” Disbelief swept through Jarshan’s face just as Perideen had imagined it would. “And what pray tell, are you afraid of?”
“It’s just, ugh this sounds silly!” Swearing, Perideen looked into the man’s blue eyes and found only a slight smile. “Damn you, Master. Anyways, the kid has…this look in his eyes. At first, I thought he was just another boy born with decent talents. He pissed me off. I could tell the Secthead’s been spoiling him. Practically no scars, weird magic, but an abysmal swordsman. He had potential, but it didn’t look like it was going to amount to much.” At this, Jarshan’s eyes twinkled. He glanced at his old student quickly and smirked, remembering a certain youth who had also had more talents than his ego could handle once upon a time.
“Okay. I’m assuming this story has more to it though?” He prodded for more details, now genuinely curious. Perideen rarely showed such interest in the new recruits these days.
“It does. Look okay, I traveled with him because the Secthead ordered me to, but I wasn’t planning on bringing him here or anything. Then, we ran into this Bloodfiend infestation and took that out and-“
“Wait, you ran into an infestation?” Jarshan’s voice abruptly became sharp. Perideen nodded and he relaxed. “From the sounds of it, you caught it early?”
“No…it was a Blood Rat variant. And the cocoon was about to finish.” When Perideen said this, Jarshan jumped.
“Wait, what? Is the Secthead’s home okay? Did you fail to protect it…?” Seemingly increasingly alarmed, he began to shake. “Oh no…no no no. We need to go reclaim that land. I’ll draft a contingent…”
“Hold on! Relax!” Perideen held up his hand. “We took care of it. The boy and I…we dealt with the Bloodfiend. It’s definitely dead. Although the Secthead’s house was destroyed…”
“WHAT?!” Jarshan almost threw himself off the cliff in horror. “You let the Secthead’s house…she’ll never return to us now! How could you…well it was a Blood Rat variant so I suppose you had no choice…”
“No. it wasn’t the Blood Rats. The Daggas Clan attacked…listen, it’s a long story, Master.” Sighing, and rubbing his forehead, Perideen tried to calm Jarshan down. “She won’t blame us.”
“A-Are you sure?” His master wiped sweat off his brow. “One hundred percent, positively, sure?”
“Well…er…maybe not a hundred percent sure…”
“Frick.”
“Yea…”
Together, they stood and watched the recruits for the trials coming in two weeks for a little bit longer. Finally, as the sun began to set, and the last carriage left, Jarshan turned back to his student. His racing heart had calmed down a bit.
“So, the kid, you said he scared you?”
“Kind of.” Still somewhat embarrassed, Perideen cracked his neck, “It’s just…he gets this look in his eye when he’s serious. And it’s like I’m not looking at a kid anymore. There’s just…you know how the Secthead got after that incident? How she looked?”
“How could I forget?” Jarshan sighed. “She was never the same after that. We failed her.”
“Well, he’s like that…but…emptier. Hollow almost. I can’t explain it. I just know that when we were fighting the Blood Rats, he started off afraid. But at some point, when our backs were against the wall, when he was pushed to the utmost…he changed. And afterwards…well, it’s like he just knew how things were going to go. Absolute confidence, I’ve never seen anything like it before.” Perideen swallowed, thinking of what the Secthead would do to him when she found out he had brought her prized nephew to Headquarters. It was for the good of the Sect. She’ll understand…right? “I thought we were going to die, or at the least, I’d have to escape and leave him to die. In which case the Secthead would probably hunt me down herself. But…everything worked out. And he wasn’t even surprised when it did. I don’t get it.”
“Huh. That’s quite a tale.” Jarshan squinted at his old student. Ever since Perideen had learned some humility, he had never been one to lie or tell tales. “But he’s still weaker than the Secthead was, right? Why so serious then?”
“Well, he is weaker if we speak only in terms of swordsmanship.” Perideen scratched his head. Let’s not tell him about the silent casting for now. It will make for a nice surprise. “That being said, he damn near cut my arm off last week.”
“To be expected…to be expected…what did you say?” Jarshan turned around in shock only to see Perideen unwrapping the bandage from his arm. He winced as he saw white bone sticking out underneath. Something…powerful had penetrated his student’s defensive Qi and almost severed the limb. “The boy did this? How? Even the Secthead at his age would struggle to fight you…”
“That’s what I’m saying, Master.” His cheeks turning slightly red, Perideen ducked his head in shame and redid the bandage. “Myrr…he thinks of things I’ve never even considered before. It’s…disconcerting. Frightening even. To be honest, I’m beginning to wonder if the Secthead had a reason for not wanting him to come here.”
“A reason?”
“It’s stupid.”
“You just told me that a six-year-old boy almost cut off your arm.”
“Fair point. But I’m still not saying.” Tiredly, Perideen turned to go. Jumping off the peak, he laughed at himself for what he was thinking. But then his arm hurt so he had to stop. Staring at the dormitory where he knew Myrr was waiting for the trials to begin, he shuddered as he saw a small hand come out the window, beckoning him to come for another training session. Despite the pain, he hurried over because he knew that the child inside would tell the Secthead if he displeased him.
Kid, was she protecting you from us…or was it the other way around?