Adam woke up the next day feeling exhausted and tired. Some of the faint sounds he heard when he woke up seemed to say that it was early in the morning. In fact, it was about the same time as he normally would have woken up before he had gone to war. With his elemental sight, Adam could see quite a few people in the central courtyard already! Alfred, Kerrick, and Alan were practicing sword movements with three others. Kerrick's wife, Helen, Emilia, and two others were just starting to stir from their beds like Adam. It seemed martial mastery had been heavily imprinted into a majority of the family.
Not wanting to disturb them with his sudden presence, Adam got up and exited the house to sit before Silber's grave. Lost in his memories, it wasn't long before Emilia came up to Adam. “Father, breakfast will be ready in a few minutes. Why don't you come back inside?”
It was so strange being called father by Emilia! Still, Adam responded and got up before slowly walking to the house. When Adam walked into the dining room, Alfred and the others walked in at the same time from the other side. Alfred gave Adam a smile: “Good morning, Adam.”
Adam nodded back: “Good morning. Where should I sit?”
The current table was far larger than the one Adam remembered. It had to be, in order to fit all the family members around it. Somehow, there was barely enough room for everyone there! If the family got any bigger, though, it would start to become a problem. The table was currently full of dishes and food for breakfast.
Emilia went over to a spot and pulled the chairs out: “Sit over here with me, father!”
“Uh, sure.”
Adam felt a little awkward interacting with Emilia after he found out she was his daughter. He just didn't know how he was supposed to act! After Adam sat down next to Emilia, Alan chose a spot next to Emilia and the others started sitting down as well. Everyone else knew who Adam was and had heard his story, but they were unsure of how to interact with him. Was he Grand Uncle? Uncle Adam? Just Adam? Even just finding a way to address him was filled with tons of questions.
As everyone was sitting down, Helen walked in with the last of the food dishes for breakfast. Alfred said: “Helen, why don't you sit by Adam. I'll just sit with Kerrick over here.”
Helen put the dish down and said: “Oh no you don't, you big oaf!”
Helen grabbed Alfred by the arm and led him over to where Adam was sitting. She placed Alfred one spot away from Adam so she could take the spot between them. “I am too old to worry about this nonsense!”
Helen put her hands on Adam's head to turn him her way and kissed him on the lips! Everyone stared in shock as she then turned around and did the exact same to Alfred! “I love both you old fools so stop worrying about the stupid details!”
Helen then sat down to start breakfast. One of the grand children whispered to another. In the silence that followed from the shock of what Helen just did, everyone could hear the whisper. “Didn't grandpa and Adam just indirectly kiss through grandma?”
Everyone besides Alfred and Adam started laughing at this point. The two just started eating with a slightly grouchy demeanor that made everyone laugh even harder. After the laughter finally died down, everyone started talking to others about various subjects. Emilia asked Adam: “Father, now that you are back, what will you do?”
This was a question that interested others at the table, especially Alfred and Helen. Adam paused for just a second before answering: “Well, I had wanted to talk to Cathryn about a few things... Does anyone know if she is still around?”
Helen nodded her head. “We don't keep in contact with her, but it seems she is somehow still alive! Didn't you one time say that spiritualists could live longer lives than most people? Anyway, I think she should still be at SILU.”
Adam nodded his head. He then turned to Alfred: “I imagine that Clayton is still around too?”
Alfred said: “Clayton should still be alive, yes. However, whatever sect he learned his martial arts from called him back and he had no choice but to comply. The Silver Saviors are still running, but Clayton is no longer one of our members...”
Adam nodded his head once more. There was so much more that had happened than what was discussed the night before. After another moment, Adam asked: “Where did you bury mother? I think I would like to visit her before anything else.”
Sometime after breakfast Adam, Helen, and Emilia departed to a cemetery that existed in Hessler. Due to the fact that space was limited in the city, the cemetery did not bury its residents. Instead, their remains were cremated and spread over small obelisks, that were around a meter high, that families would purchase. Each family would own one obelisk and the whole family would have their ashes scattered on it. The names of the deceased would be imprinted upon the faces of the obelisk. They lit a few candles upon the obelisk and stood in silence for a time.
After visiting the grave obelisk, Adam left on his own to visit SILU and to talk to Cathryn. As Adam walked in, it seemed hardly anything had changed since he had left. There was hardly anyone there who remembered him, but everything else was the same.
After walking into the building, Adam went up to a receptionist at a desk. “Hi, I would like to talk to Miss Cathryn.”
The receptionist looked up from whatever paper work she was doing and asked: “Do you have an appointment? Miss Cathryn does not typically see common people.”
Adam no longer had the badge he had initially received when he became a student here, so he longer had any credentials with which to use. There was one thing, though. Adam gently waved his hand out, causing a breeze that swept some of the papers up into the air. “Tell her that Adam has returned and wishes to speak with her.”
The receptionist's eyes turned big. The speed of Adam's hand was not enough to cause the papers to fly in the manner they had. What Adam had used was the wind formation to cause a small breeze! The receptionist said: “I will tell her right away.”
Adam patiently waited while the receptionist went up the stairs to Cathryn's office. After a few minutes, she came hurrying back. “Miss Cathryn said she would be pleased to meet with you. You may go up to her office.”
Adam thanked the receptionist and walked up those familiar stairs all the way to Cathryn's office. He knocked on her door like he had always done. And just as always, Cathryn's voice came out: “Enter.”
Adam opened up the door and stepped in. Cathryn was expectantly looking at Adam. Cathryn was visibly older than she had been before but her demeanor seemed as sharp as ever. She looked Adam up and down and asked: “Is that really you Adam?”
Adam gave a small smile: “It's me. More or less, anyway.”
Adam tried to only give Cathryn a brief version of his story, but as soon as she heard that he had gone through the spirit plane of death she immediately stopped him to grab a note book. She then asked for all the details. Until now, she had never heard of another spiritualist who had walked out from a spirit plane with their mind intact. Adam's experience in the spirit plane was like a gold mine waiting to be found. Adam spent most the rest of the day recounting his experience and answering Cathryn's questions. Finally, he was able to ask his own questions.
“I need to find a place full of spirit essence to continue purifying my body. Do you know of any place that would be suitable for this?”
Cathryn started to ponder. “That is actually kind of difficult. While there are no shortage of places full of spirit essence, SILU or independent spiritualists typically occupy such places and utilize the spirit essence to further various forms of research. With all the spirit essence they use in their experiments, any excess spirit essence that you could use would only be equivalent to a normal area at best. The only way for you to find a place full of spirit essence to utilize as you see fit, is to find it yourself...”
Adam was a little disheartened. He had been hoping for a quick fix to his problem. “Any suggestions on how to start my search?” he asked.
Cathryn shook her head. “All I can say is that you will need luck and to follow your intuition. I don't have any leads to places as of yet undiscovered that have a high concentration of spirit essence.”
Adam left with still many questions on his mind: “How long should I stay with Helen and the others? What should I prepare and where should I go to find a place full of spirit essence?”
It was early evening by the time Adam got home. Dinner was just about ready and everyone was filling up spots around the table. Emilia saw Adam and said: “Welcome back, father!”
The others had started to warm up to Adam and also greeted him. Emilia and Alan naturally had children of their own and they greeted him with a 'Hello, Grandpa Adam'... now that was strange to Adam! Emilia and Alan had a son and a daughter. In fact, it was their elder daughter who had already married and had recently given birth to Dylan, the child that Adam had first spotted.
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Dinner started with a couple questions about how Adam's day went from Helen and Emilia. Before they had gotten too far into the meal, Adam noticed a group of four people approaching the house and the sound of the front door opening was heard. A voice called in: “Hey everyone, we are home!”
Helen gave a bright smile as she called back: “Welcome back, Adeline and Everette! We are eating dinner, come see who came to us yesterday!”
A tired looking group of four came into the dining room. Two were older and two were younger and they looked similar. The older two were obviously Adeline and Everette while the younger two must be their children. They were unfamiliar with Adam and realized he was the one Helen had said had just come, but they didn't recognize who it was.
Everette looked at Adam with curiosity. “Forgive me, but I don't remember you. What is your name?”
Adam was at a slight loss. He had only protected the orphans that one time and hardly interacted with them. Helen chuckled as she said: “This is Adam!”
At first, Adeline and Everette did not pick up on it. Then it dawned on them who this 'Adam' really was! First they were shocked. Then they became a little excited. This was the 'Silver Savior' who had saved them so long ago. They had outgrown the worship they once had for him when they were kids, but he was still an important figure in their lives they had always wanted to know.
For well over a week, Adam stayed with Helen and the others. It was still weird thinking of Emilia as his daughter, but he had gotten much more used to the idea. He visited with other friends like Franklin, Bruno, Clyde, Darren, and everyone else he had known who were still alive. Even as this peaceful time went on, Adam knew it could not last. The longer he stayed, the more likely it was that the death essence in his body would effect Helen and the others. Even if it might take months before he started to effect the others, it was better to leave earlier and be safe rather than sorry. As Adam prepared to leave, he came to a realization. He would likely be gone for a long time and by the time he got back Helen and Alfred would likely have passed away from old age... If Adam stayed, though, the death essence in his body may cause Helen and Alfred to die faster!
Even though Adam knew he had to prepare to leave, he had no idea where he needed to go! There were no leads on a place full of spirit essence. He could only try his luck and follow his gut in order to find such a place. Regardless, where would he even start? This question constantly surfaced in Adam's mind. To clear his head and hopefully more clearly think of how he wanted to undergo his journey, Adan went to the wall garden. From where he was, Adam was facing north. To the north, just out side the walls, was the place where Adam found Silber and saved him from the demonic bear. Adam ended up getting lost in memories of the past, starting with thoughts about Silber. However, Adam noticed something. Every single important event that totally changed his life happened in the north! Fort Erich was to the north, he found Silber to the north of the Hessler, he fought the dragon with Clayton in an area that was in the norther region of Heider, he also went north to fight in the war with Luxom! Almost every important event in his life happened to the north! Adam suddenly knew that the place full of spirit essence that he needed to find was definitely going to be somewhere to the north. He now had a general direction to take! Adam set up a deadline for the day he would have to leave and that day came way to fast.
The one most heartbroken by Adam's departure was Emilia. “Do you really have to go father?”
Adam gave her a comforting hug. “I do. The longer I stay, the more everyone will be put at risk. Think of Dylan, he was not born too long ago and is probably the most susceptible out of everyone here. He might get severely sick if I stay too long.”
Adam cast one last reluctant look over to Helen and Alfred. Once he left, it was unlikely he would ever see them again. Still, he had to leave for the sake of everyone else. Adam turned around and walked out the city gate and towards the north. Adam had decided to walk the first portion of his journey to get a bearing on this feeling that the place he was looking for was to the north. It would be hard and tiring, but he felt that it would be better in the end to do it this way.
Adam's rate of travel was slow, since he was still confined to using a walking staff to help him. After about two weeks of travel along the road, Adam came across a small village and decided to stop for a rest there. At the tavern inn, Adam played his flute to the enjoyment of others. After the night wore on, Adam was getting ready to turn in for bed. He went out side for a fresh breath of air before he slept. The night was pleasantly quiet, compared to a city like Hessler. The stars shone vibrantly in the nigh sky, though Adam couldn't see them. Adam took a deep breath of the fresh air in a small breeze rustled past. Adam almost didn't notice it, but he felt something about the breeze was odd! He couldn't place his finger on what was odd about it, though. Adam normally would have ignored such a feeling, but right now he didn't dare! He had to follow his intuition to find a place full of spirit essence and if he somehow felt there was something odd about the wind... just maybe it might be connected!
Adam needed a rested mind to ponder over the odd breeze and went back to his room to sleep. The next day, instead of continuing his travels he stayed in the village. Every time a breeze or some wind swept through the village, Adam analyzed it with his elemental sight. He couldn't see anything apparent about it being' odd' but he still felt that it was. For the next few days, Adam stayed in the village to study the wind and asked the villagers a few questions about it. They all thought Adam was the odd one when he brought up how he felt the wind was odd!
After a few days, Adam had noticed two different types of wind that came through the village. There was one type that Adam did not feel anything was odd with and that wind blew in from somewhat random directions, though mostly from west to east. Like a normal wind. The wind he felt was odd, though, always blew from the north east to the south west! Adam decided to follow the wind back to its source! The only problem with this was that Adam was going to have to go through wild terrain. The odd breeze was coming from somewhere within the forests of Heider that had yet to be fully traveled.
Adam prepared some extra provisions from the village before setting out. He didn't go through the exit of the village, rather he went past its borders directly into the forest not far from the village's edge. Every time a breeze or gust of wind went by, Adam tried to see if it was that odd wind. Every time he felt that odd wind, he would correct his direction and head deeper into the forest, towards the source of that wind.
It was tough for Adam to move forward. The terrain was uneven and unforgiving as he made his way. The provisions he carried quickly ran out and he had to resort to picking fruits off of trees and bushes as well as setting up small game traps to try and catch some meat. As hard as this was, in a way it was refreshing. There was hardly anything that was occupying Adam's mind, making him worried about one thing or another. He was simply surrounded by the simple peace of the forest. The sights, sounds, and smells were worlds apart from his time in the spirit plane of death.
For well over a month, Adam made his way through the forests of Heider. There were actually a few times where he found himself back on a road, only to go off it again to follow the direction of the odd wind. Finally Adam approached a valley cut into the earth, hidden by the forest. As Adam approached the valley, he felt his skin starting to tingle. The closer he got, the more wind there was. However, it never actually got windy. It was more like the wind was becoming more and more dense... more and more full of wind essence!
Adam excitedly entered the valley. It was wide and still had many trees within the valley itself. As Adam walked further in, the wind essence grew more and more dense! Adam couldn't help shouting: “This is it! I can't believe I found a place so full of spirit essence already! I wonder how long it will take to remove the death essence in my body with all this wind essence?”
Just as Adam was finished with his words, A dense amount of spirit essence suddenly flitted into his Elemental sight. From it, Adam heard a voice: “What are you yapping about you abomination!? Get out of domain! Get!”
[AN: For some reason, I just couldn't sit down for any length of time to write this chapter. I am probably just nitpicking but I just couldn't get the right feel into this one. Also, as always, thanks for all the comments, follows and favorites! A few more have popped up since last time.]