Alaric walked past the man and sat on the opposite side of the tray of refreshments he had laid out. Silently, he watched as he poured a cup of tea for the boy to take. He then passed a ceramic sugar bowl and gestured for the boy to help himself, all while retaining a warm, friendly smile.

“Don’t you have questions?” the old man asked, the air dancing around him with a calmness that held a silent tension, like a silent scream.

Witnessing this man’s influence on the world around him was a bizarre experience. Perhaps what made it more frightening was instinctively knowing that the world around him reacted the way it did because of his presence, whims and moods.

‘So unfair,’ Alaric sighed, ‘Right questions… Where do I start?’

There were a variety of curiosities that bothered Alaric. He hadn’t interacted with the town or people of Jack’s Fall a lot but he was already letting down his guard faster than he normally would. Something was weird about this town.

His aether was recovering at an incredible pace which had never happened before. This man was powerful enough to be acknowledged by his guardian, Alia. This, too, was a rarity in and of itself.

The spirit energy Alia had sensed earlier. The astounding level of quiet respect the town's people had for this old man. The seemingly opulent mansion cast out to the far reaches of the Valerian continent that was Jack’s Fall.

Besides all that, Alaric wanted to know why he’d been separated from his friends. Why was he assigned the title of a lord when he’d barely done a thing to deserve it? Heroes were not always rewarded and even when they were, their reward was never as great as a title so grand as ‘lord.’

Alaric also wanted to know the old man’s relationship with Sister Marla. The old man, at first, had appeared to be a humble village elder, only to end up owning a mansion as large as this one. Alaric wanted to know what a family like his was doing this far from the Capital.

‘Wait, I already mentioned that,’ the boy winced. His thoughts were starting to get mixed up as he lost count of what he wanted to know or what was important to begin with.

Defeated by his swarming brain, Alaric stated calmly, “I have many… But I don’t know where to start or which ones really matter.”

With the same warm smile, the man gestured to the sugar bowl Alaric hadn’t touched. The boy nodded and took the bowl. Pausing, he noticed how even now he didn’t question this man’s motives.

The sugar could have contained something dangerous, but even then, he simply went along with everything as if he were safe. Before his thoughts could spiral even deeper into the storm of questions, the man’s gentle voice stirred him from the confusion.

“At times like that, I recommend going for the more selfish question. Our intuitions tend to care for the things that truly matter to us,” the man spoke, taking a sip of his own cup of tea.

“Alright then. Why did you tell the caretaker to treat me like we are flesh and blood? He’s calling me a lord now. Ha! A lord! And why did you separate me from my friends? Those were your orders, were they not?” Alaric’s breath went up the longer he spoke.

“Yes, it was I who gave those orders. You can rejoin your friends as soon as we finish talking. I only separated you from them so we would get time to talk in private… just the two of us and no one else.

Your friends have been escorted back to the town where they’ll enjoy the festivities. The Coming of Age Ceremony is performed at midnight when the moon is at its peak, so we still have time,” the man responded to his last question, then proceeded to the first, judging the nature of the importance of his own accord.

“And I only asked that they treat you with respect because you protected our aspirants from a highly-trained group of mercenaries,” the man responded.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Alaric’s face went pale, “Don’t you mean overconfident thieves?”

“No, I mean mercenaries. Those men who attacked you weren’t there to steal Awakening Orbs. They were there to kill you,” the old man replied.

Alaric tried to keep a calm expression, “You weren’t there.”

“But Garin was,” the man responded.

“Why would they be trying to kill a bunch of harmless children?” he stuttered.

“Because an S-class guardian hasn’t been seen in a long time. Some people would like to keep it that way. It doesn’t help that you happen to be friends with someone with an A-class guardian.”

Hearing this confirmation from someone other than the deranged thief and his own suspicions of murderous intent was a different kind of blow to Alaric’s mind.

He’d heard the man singing himself praises of being a dangerous killer… but his logic had kicked in to explain this as a mere jest. Surely a highly-trained mercenary would not be needed to take down a bunch of children.

[And yet that mercenary failed] Alia chuckled, [I’ve been telling you for a long time that many would wish to see you dead.]

Alaric remained silent. It felt like his very mind was humming with the gong of sudden realisation. It was true that his guardian had warned him time and time again.

For starters, she never stepped out of Alaric’s shadow unless they were safely under an S-class Concealment Barrier like the one Sister Marla had placed on top of the Anti-Demon Barrier back in the Five Hills.

He remembered her warnings clearly and these warnings had been taught to everyone at the orphanage. It was why he concealed her presence all the time.

It was why he so tirelessly trained his body to be able to protect those that he held most dear… To keep those he cared about safe.

Taking a deep breath, the boy slowed his beating heart, “Thank you for everything… even though I still think you’re going through a lot of trouble for one hero.”

“You’re not just any hero. You are also a hero with the power to subdue guardians,” the old man winked.

Alaric felt a shiver go down his spine and pulled himself away from the man. A loud clink disrupted the ambient gardens as the cup he was holding fell and its contents spilt onto the wooden floorboards. Luckily, the fall was not enough to break the delicate teacup.

“Relax… I’m not an enemy,” the old man smiled.

“How?” Alaric asked.

The old man snapped his fingers at the door not too far from them. From within the mansion, the old caretaker emerged and surveyed the scene.

Noticing the spill of tea, he hurriedly approached them, raised his hands and chanted a short spell. Droplets of water mixed with the black remnants of the fragrant tea floated off the floorboards.

Ignoring Hail’s diligent presence, the village leader spoke, “It’s not hard to tell when you know what I know.”

Alaric heard his guardian scoff, [He’s stalling.]

The boy remained silent as the man continued, “There are not many people that can do what you can do… No, not even remotely close. An ability like yours falls under a certain category of abilities that knowledgeable scholars refer to as Arcane.

Powers so strong that the hierarchy of power seems to lose meaning in their presence and only a few know about such Abilities. Old Blood runs deep in Jack’s Fall. We have stories here that are older than the lives of seven oaks.

We have known of Arcane powers like yours for eons… and have also known of their significance. What they represent matters to our history. Your friend, Darla, for example, happens to possess a guardian with one such ability,” the old man spoke.

Alaric was frozen once more. What was the man talking about? Arcane power? Seven oaks? Oak trees live for a very long time, right? Old blood runs deep in Jack’s Fall. Isn’t that what Alia said? They know of my power? What about Darla? What power does Darla have? Their significance.

‘Well, crap!’ he mentally cursed.

As the drops of tea finally vanished from view, cast aside to wherever it was the caretaker disposed of spilt tea and a new cup was poured for the boy.

“Your tea, Lord Alaric,” the man offered with a gentle smile.

Alaric returned his smile and took a sip, “Thank you, Mr. Hail.”

“Oh, just Hail is fine, Lord Alaric,” the man responded kindly. Alaric narrowed his teeth at the caretaker, only to get shocked when the old man chuckled silently.

‘That devil…’

With a wink, the old caretaker left the two to their conversation, seemingly oblivious to the heavy discussion that had just happened within his presence.

The village leader chuckled to himself as the old caretaker left, “Your mind’s been filled with questions since we started talking.”

“Obviously. Everything about this town is weird… but I can tell you’re not going to answer all my questions. So what can you tell me?” Alaric asked.

“Not much honestly. If I could, I would… but that would take you more time than you have. So, I will tell you this. If you follow that instinct that kept you alive in that forest… and the same instinct that kept you from activating your Area Spell the moment you set foot on Jack’s Fall, you’ll be alright.”

“Wait! How did you?”

“The signs of a paranoid soul are among the easiest to spot, young Alaric,” the man smiled… “Plus Garin gave me the whole list of spells you’ve used ever since he met you this morning. Just how much aether can you use in one day?”

“I’m starting to understand just how loose Garin’s mouth really is,” Alaric grumbled through gritted teeth.