Chapter 16: The master and the descent
"Tell me everything you know about this place, and if you remember something about Titania. Also, who is your master, the former wielder of this weapon."
"I don't remember a lot since I've been in this place from the moment I was a small Treant that gained the blessing of my master to evolve into another form. I don't know who my master is, but he told me to protect this Mountain and the gift he placed for future generations."
"My master, like you, is a human with immense power and spirit that could shake the earth and sky. I remember that he had a black moon on his forehead, as for most of his appearance? It is foggy. Time has marked me and my memory."
"Okay, I understand that you don't remember who this master of yours is, but give me something at least. Pieces that might be interesting for me."
"I've been contracted to protect this Mountain from people who would wish to destroy it and act as judge toward those who would want to receive the master's sword. This is my purpose that has been denied now that you have gained the sword. I am no longer required and can return to mother nature."
"As for the Fairy, I don't know anything about her since our paths never intertwined."
"Similarly, for the sword, I don't know anything apart from the fact that it used to be the master's weapon in battle."
Hearing the Guardian's dejected old voice that didn't give much information, not feeling that it was lying from its tone, right in front of him, the old man shifted back to its true form, beginning to take roots in the bloody ground.
"It was a pleasure fighting you, human. You are worthy of wielding the sword."
Titania whispered what was happening in front of him, and having some understanding of what was going on, he put a stop to the Guardian's end, mentioning in a calm tone.
"Wait, wouldn't this be an easy way out? Simply returning to nature like a coward."
"What do you mean, human?"
"Simple. I want to contract you. If that person managed to contract you in the past, what could stop me from doing the same?"
"I am tired of lurking inside this forest, human. Let me rest."
"Who told you that I will make the same stupid contract of bounding you to this Mountain? You are called a "Guardian" by the islanders of Picodras. Doesn't this tell you a lot?"
"It is just a name that the humans gave me, trying to comprehend my existence in an easier form."
"That is just one of the parts of the story. From many of the legends and stories of the island, you are a being that brings spring and a good harvest.
Someone who protects the shepherd from the beasts lurking in the mountains and forests, the protector of the travelers. As you can see, you aren't truly insignificant to the island's people."
"Interesting, then what do you suggest, human?"
"I want to contract you to defend the whole island from the evil people who might come to the island. What I mean by evil people is a simple concept, killers coming from the sea with a desire to pillage the innocent.
Apart from this, you'll be free to roam around the island, to integrate with the people here, maybe even learn to live like one of the humans."
"You should be capable since your intelligence seems far superior than even a common man."
"Protecting the entire island? This place is an island?"
"Mhm, but the island is quite large compared to other places, so you'll not feel bored roaming around, exploring the places."
"It doesn't sound too restricting compared to the contract of my former master."
"Of course, an old fossil of the past who has the brain of a barbarian can't compare to a renaissance mind such as mine." remarked Vlad, boasting about his knowledge and mind as if he was the cause of the Renaissance Movement, quite shameless.
"Sorry to mention, young human, but you are far more barbaric than my former master."
"..."
In that silence, he heard Titania chuckle at his expense, making him frown, but he didn't overreact, keeping his class, and soon, the Guardian remarked with an agreeing tone to his proposal.
"I don't mind. Maybe in this way, I can atone for the times I've wounded the people who challenged me, succumbing to the beasts. However, do you know how to form the contract?"
"No."
Vlad scratched his neck, trying to find something in his mind, from the books he had people read for him and the ones he read in his first life about alchemical knowledge, but nothing came into his mind.
"Can't we do it verbally? It's not like I really want to bind you to a place per se. I just wanted a guarantee that you will not go about killing people for no reason. Since this island is my adoptive home, when I return in the future, I don't want to hear that it was suffering from the wrath of some monster."
"If you can show me trust, I will promise you that I will keep to my word of not harming the innocent people and protecting them from the beasts of the mountain under my influence."
"Good. Do we have a deal?"
"What's that?"
"An agreement?"
"For certain, young human." replied the old man, who morphed back from its true form that was reaching 8 meters to a human form, getting on his feet to look at Vlad from head to toe, gazing at his black eyes.
Next, he saw Vlad extend his right hand toward him, opening his palm peacefully.
"That's how we humans seal verbal agreements." explained Vlad what he was doing, to which, after the Guardian understood this concept, went to shake the young man's hand.
.
Before continuing his journey back with most of his partially closed wounds, he handed the old man a flask with a green liquid extract, explaining what it contained and how he should use it.
"What I gave you is one of my best creations called Sylvan Elixir, from Crystalized Bloom, Dreamleaf, and a classic healing potion.
The potency of this concoction is so strong that it will heal most heavy wounds without struggle, however the after-effects will be diverse, from dizziness to drowsiness, loss of appetite, to loss of strength. You can expect most of those common signs, however, the effect is assured.
I managed to heal one guy with one of those even though his stomach was opened up badly, with his intestines spilling out."
"Hey, can you stop talking about those disgusting things? I will puke on your face." reacted Titania, stomping on his nose with her bare feet, tickling him a bit, and even though he knew she didn't like it when he talked about those things, it was required of him to explain his potion effects.
"Okay, no more of those details."
"Young man, I will remember to use this potion of yours when it is required. I wish the two of you a pleasant journey." remarked the Guardian, who took the flask in his hand, bringing it inside his tarnished clothes, while Vlad turned to continue his journey back, still skeptical about his surroundings.
Tapping along the way using his black cane, he was guided forward by Titania, and this time, he took his time to listen to the Fairy's description of the surrounding sceneries, painting some of the views in his mind. He felt relaxed on this hike, having quality company along with him, not feeling like an outcast.
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Titania was also excited seeing so many colors in front of her golden eyes, hearing the song of the birds happy seeing her, chirping as if they were greeting their Queen, which triggered Vlad to make fun of her.
"Would you look at that, little Titania? Those birds are so excited. When I passed by the forest, it was dead silent. They didn't want to accompany me whatsoever."
"That's because the little ones can feel your state of mind. Even now, they are afraid of you and your black eyes, but once they saw me, they started to accompany us.
You should be thankful to me, else who would stick along with a bad person like yourself?" teased Titania, who waved at the small birds that started pinching on Vlad's hands as if they were sent by the Fairy to get revenge on Vlad for teasing her.
Trying to scare the birds from pinching his skin, it worked at first but the Fairy giving them some hand signals that brought them back, paying back Vlad fully, making the entire journey a comedic show to a young lady in particular, laughing and having fun at the expense of someone else.
Vlad reacted as a man of his age should, ignoring everything and minding his own business, no longer caring about the buzzing birds and even the laughing Fairy who acted like a pesky child.
Being focused on his path, walking by relying on his senses, thinking in particular about how he had those weird moments when he felt like knowing where certain movements of the Guardian would be directed.
He had no idea how to explain that sensation, and along the way, even Titania calmed down, influenced by Vlad's somber attitude.
She watched the surroundings in silence while having the birds scatter around, and it even looked as if her help was not required at all since Vlad kept his path straight, on the cleared road, steady and without rushing himself.
Not being used to staying silent since meeting Vlad, she asked him about all sorts of things, which the latter only gave her vague responses.
Feeling bored since Vlad didn't want to talk with her, she relaxed on his head, braided his hair in such a way she made a comfortable bed, and without even telling him, she took a nap.
.
.
Unknown to how long time passed with Vlad not taking a break from his walk, the Fairy opened her eyes from the long nap and watched the night sky, glittering with stars, while her surroundings were the forested area of Galena Mountain.
Checking on Vlad, she saw that he had his eyes closed, and the two taps of his cane were in a steady, monotonous song, guiding him forward, and at last, after even she had forgotten what time was, the duo stumbled upon a crossroads.
"Vlad, there is a wooden placard with something written on it, Bray and Andrionas." mentioned Titania when she saw the placard, after a long period of silence.
"We're going to Bray."
"Then it is the left road." directed the Fairy, where Vlad simply chuckled, already knowing which road he should go after memorizing the placard's location and each pointer.
And since he got on the right path to home, the Fairy soon began seeing the signs of civilization, with the farmlands hitting her vision first and the torches keeping the settlement visible for any traveler.
"Wow, this is a place where humans live?"
"It is called a village. How does it look? Can you describe it to me?" asked Vlad in a calm voice, starting listening to Titania's description of Bray Village from the farms outside of the wooden walls, and once inside, she got animated once again, almost starting flying around, but was settled down by Vlad's calmness.
"You'll make a scene. Don't do something I would call stupid."
Finding his words reasonable, she acted like a translator, telling Vlad about everything she saw. Comically, she started taking her time breathing, having too much to say but not enough speed of keeping with the pace.
Once Vlad arrived at the tavern's front door that housed him one night, he told Titania with a serious voice.
"Little Titania, you better hide inside my hair and don't talk with me until we get a room. I mean it, keep quiet."
Stepping inside the tavern after almost 9 days since he departed from this place, the people settled down at the tavern immediately looked at the newcomer. Some found him a stranger, while others who were long-term patrons of this establishment stared at Vlad as if he was a ghost.
"He survived! The blind guy survived his journey to Galena."
"No way. It must be someone else that looks the same. No one comes back alive from journeying to Galena."
"Then, look at his cane and how he walks. If this isn't the blind guy who taught a lesson to Balic, I don't know who it is.
BALIC, your friend returned alive. All your prayers were for nothing." mentioned a guy from the table zone toward the tavern counter, where a man in his late 20s suddenly turned his head to see Vlad with his disheveled hair move toward the counter.
"Motherfucker, how could you return back? The guys noticed you going off from the village, departing for the crossroads. Maybe you went to Adrionas, getting scared by Galena."
Vlad and especially Titania could hear all the curses and bad words aimed at Vlad which annoyed the latter. Meanwhile, the young man, whose hearing far surpassed the hearing of a normal human, could pick on each conversation, and he showed no signs of being bothered.
*Tap*
*Tap*
"Step"
In a similar fashion from 9 days ago, he acquainted the people of the tavern with his cane taps and steps echoing in the building since his boots had some thick heels that raised his stature slightly.
Before they got to normal, they noticed Vlad already seated on an empty chair after taking off his heavy backpack that cracked a wood plank.
"Sorry about that innkeeper. I didn't know your floor was that rotten." remarked Vlad calmly, sounding a bit sarcastic.
"Young man, you returned. You really went to Galena?"
"Indeed, is there a problem?"
"What about the Guardian? Have you encountered him? Is that creature real?"
"Stop it, Innkeep, there's no way that blind shit actually went to Galena! Don't make it seem like some big thing. It is just some blind fool trying to make a name for himself using lies.
Right guys?"
"RIGHT!" confirmed most guys in the tavern after one of the guys from the table shouted at the innkeeper, who asked for some details about Vlad's journey.
Hearing those curses and mockery made Vlad smile maliciously, only saying with a cold voice directed to the guys inside the tavern cursing him.
"To everyone cursing me right now, I can tell you one simple thing. Go fuck yourself. You are buzzing too much, like shit flies. Also, your breath stinks like shit, so enough of your barking."
"WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU PIECE OF SHIT?" screamed some guys that thought of themselves as some big guns, until Vlad turned his head toward them, opening his abyssal eyes staring directly into their eyes with a murderous look that gave them a frigid chill.
The curses continued, but he didn't care about them, and not long after his return, the guys got tired of cursing him without seeing some reaction.
Yet on Vlad's head, a young lady was fuming with anger, starting to pull on Vlad's hair while some of the wood closer to her began decaying.
"So, innkeeper. Do you wish to know if the stories about Galena are true?"
"If you want to share this information with me. Otherwise, I won't force you to tell me anything."
"Not like you could do that. However, I will tell you, as a real warning for fools that might try to disturb the Mountain's peace. The Guardian is real and is capable of killing each of the people in this tavern with ease."
"Bullshit! Screw you, blind fuck. Why lie so blatantly?" interjected some guy who listened to Vlad's conversation with the innkeeper.
"Innkeep, it seems you are housing quite some pigs in your establishment. Is this some hogsty by chance?"
"Ignore them. I can't do anything to them. If their swine of mothers didn't teach them manners, I'd not be able to do much myself. At least they pay for their consumption which on my end is good business."
"I guess. Anyway, what I mentioned about the Guardian is true. Here I'll show you what happened to me."
Vlad raised his leather upper piece, revealing a large wound on his body which started scarring around where it began to release some yellow liquid, giving off the smell of a healing wound that wasn't so pleasant to the nose.
Balic, who had an initial conflict with Vlad when he tried to steal his money, was drinking some hard liquor when Vlad showed the heavy wound he received from his confrontation with the Guardian, and the manner it looked was irregular.
It wasn't something a sword could achieve, which immediately in his mind, the connection was made with the legend of the Galena Mountains and the Guardian.
'My God, this blind actually escaped alive from a clash with the legendary Guardian. How could he survive that nasty wound?'
"Young man, that wound … Do you want to get introduced to the village doctor and check that wound in case it catches some infection." asked the innkeeper staring at Vlad with a shocked face, watching the nasty wound on his body for the entire duration Vlad allowed him.
At this moment, others also took the chance to see, and immediately quieted down the tavern of doubters.
"No thanks, I am a doctor myself." declined Vlad in a detached manner, going back to his seat and continuing a part of his story, not giving them the whole truth of what happened, such as the Lake, only giving them some information about the fight with the Guardian which brought the tavern to a solemn state.
All doubters were silent, while those who believed Vlad after seeing his wound gulped down their saliva, having their throats dry from this scary story of the fight he had with the Guardian.
"Blind man, what about the rewards? The Legends talk about a reward for the champion. Have you gained the treasure of the Mountain?"
Hearing that, Vlad smirked from where he was standing and told everyone to hear.
"I'll leave this answer to your imagination."
"Fuck you, blind fuck. At least tell us what you got since you made us believe in your story. Don't be such a pussy to chicken out right now."
"Hah, even if I tell you what I received, it wouldn't be useful to you. So, why stress yourself?" interjected Vlad, finding it rather amusing the reaction of those guys.
With a portion of silence, he told the innkeeper that he wanted a room to spend the night and also the same stew but sent it directly to his room.
"Obviously, young man. You know the price."
"Indeed."
Touching his pockets, searching for his coin bag, he once again took out 3.000 𝔅, and after receiving his key, he got other directions for the new room.
However, this time the innkeeper took great care of Vlad, giving him the best room he had inside his building, which Titania made sure to describe, getting to know that the innkeeper wasn't some cheap guy that wouldn't invest in arranging rooms for wealthier customers.
Landing on a room that had a spacious bed, a bathtub where buckets of water were prepared, an office where one could read and write documents, and lastly, a fireplace one could use to warm up or boil water.
Soon, the innkeeper appeared holding the plate with stew in his hand, almost discovering Titania that jumped inside the comfortable bed, but since she was too small, the man didn't even bother to look at the bed, directly placing the food on the table.
"Young man, if you wish to stay more, you are more than welcome. No one will throw you from this room."
"Thank you, but I will depart tomorrow toward Picodras. However, for this treatment, I will make sure to give you some advertisements with my acquaintances."
"Ahhh, I will forever be grateful."
"Okay, stop stressing yourself, and give me some space. I don't like to eat in the company of others."