“What happened?” Render stood up, returning to their full height. They’d always been taller than me, but it was only now that it really felt so imposing.
I got the impression that they were about to speak, but they stopped the words before they even began to form in their throat. It was only a few seconds later, after countless thoughts of what could have happened- or more like what I hoped had happened- ran through my head that they finally spoke.
“Last night, while you were gone, the Mage Killer chose their next target. I was close to them as the fight began, but not nearly close enough to help,” They made a sound like wind rushing through a small hole, what I could only assume was a deep breath, before they continued to speak, “Kaelan Zephyr was killed. Before my eyes his head was ripped from his shoulders and taken for some profane purpose, though I couldn’t begin to guess what it could be. I am sorry.”
Oh. I see.
“It’s fine, you did your best. It’s fine.”
“Are you certain? This is not a pleasant experience for myself, but I can only imagine how much you must be suffering. To lose a respected teacher like that, it must be traumatic.”
“No no, I’m fine. It’s fine. I’m just tired, so it probably looks like I’m not fine, but I really am, ok? I should get some sleep, then I’ll be- I mean I’ll look fine, because I am. Goodnight.”
“It’s morning lad, ye must have seen that before ye came in.” Oh that’s right, Finch is also here, isn’t he?
“Is it? Well, good morning then.” And without another word I left. I think I heard Finch and Render talking about something or another, but I ignored it. At that moment, nothing felt more important than getting into my room.
The short stretch of hallway between the stairs and my room felt like miles, but eventually I crossed it and stumbled through the door in my haste. I tripped over something on the floor, a book maybe, but landed mostly on my bed anyway so I climbed properly onto it and sat with my eyes closed.
Usually Meditation came easily to me, but for some reason I found myself completely unable to clear my mind. My thoughts and emotions seemed to fly chaotically back and forth, not allowing me a moment to rest or calm myself. After some time, I couldn’t say how much, I gave up on my usual style of meditation and attempted to sort the mess my brain had turned into.
It was a strange experience, but also peaceful. The last day had been… stressful, to say the least, so it was nice to be able to do something simple, something that I could control. At some point, whilst I was puzzling out my emotions, I came to a strange realisation.
I didn’t feel anything like sadness or grief. Not even regret, for not having spent more time with him. Maybe that would come later, but after I’d calmed down from the initial shock all I could bring myself to feel was anger. It was similar to how I felt before confronting Luke and his Lobster, only what was a small ember then was more like a raging inferno that threatened to burn me from the inside.
To be honest, I was a little scared. I hadn’t felt this angry since back then, and I had no reason to believe that it would be easier to handle now than it had been all those years ago.
But I didn’t try to calm down.
If I lost this anger, what would I have left? Certainly not a Teacher, or a friend. So instead of trying to calm down, I kept the flame alive. I stoked it and held it there, deep in my chest, until I felt that I would never be without it.
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I left my room hours later, no more rested than I had entered it. The Inn was no more full than usual, and it seemed that even Finch had left it. Probably working on his Path, if I were to guess. But the lack of Finch didn’t mean the room was empty.
There, standing in some corner, was that familiar set of black armour.
“Render.”
“Zeneki.” They clicked each of their joints and then walked over to stand in front of me.
“I want to fight the Mage Killer.”
“I would not advise it. They have some kind of Path specialised in dealing with Mages. Kaelan’s strength was comparable to a level 20 Fire Mage despite his support Path, yet he still fell as soon as the Killer wished it. You will be killed.”
“I’m a Level 22 Lightning Adept, that must be stronger than Kaelan. And I haven’t lost yet.” Plus I have Scorch Affinity. Would someone who fights against people with high Affinity be able to counter it? Or would it even affect them at all?
Render sighed and then spoke, “You have more Will than sense. Very well, I will allow you to assist me. But first, you must grow stronger, and you must do it outside of the city. You’re strong enough that they may become interested in you soon, you would be worth a good amount of experience to one such as them.”
“Alright, fine. I’ll find a Job to do then. There’s gotta be something strong that needs killing.”
“I have already found something that should suit you well, whilst searching for Jobs to complete myself. If I remember correctly, a village to the north has been losing crops and cattle to either a thief or a beast. It is not something that will push your limits on its own, however the villagers may allow you to stay with them for a time. You would be able to practise your Skills freely in the forests.”
“Alright, where is it then?”
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After getting a few more details from Render, I exited through the same place as I had when I went after that Water Elemental. The village was, surprisingly, also very close to that Job too. I just had to keep following the river until the path curved away from it, and then go to the first village I saw.
I realised as I left that I still hadn’t gotten any sleep, but that was fine. With my Willpower I could probably go without sleep for days and be mostly fine, so I wasn’t exactly worried about being a little tired.
Lightning Steps had grown a lot, and with my improvements to Channel Lightning I could effectively hop faster than I could even sprint. It was difficult to estimate, but my speed must have been something like 10 times faster than my usual run speed. And with my Willpower I could keep going for hours before I had to take a break.
Whilst ‘running’ my mind couldn’t help but wander, and I felt a pang of something other than anger when I thought of how I wouldn’t ever see Kaelan again, but quickly squashed it down.
Just keep running, there’s no need to think. Practise another Skill, maybe Channel Lightning?
I let out a stream of Lightning, feeling more than seeing it build up before lashing out at whatever happened to be nearby. It was a strange Skill, especially with the way the name somehow looked slightly off, exactly the kind of thing I’d want to ask him about.
Don’t think, don’t think. What else can I do? Meditation?
Whilst I was running, clearing my head became much easier. The problems only rose when I lost the ability to detect my surroundings. A warning from Sense Danger broke me out of my Meditation and allowed me to steer clear of a branch that was jutting out at just the right height to smack me in the head mid jump.
That near-failure didn’t deter me, however, and I kept trying to meditate whilst running. Sense Danger was frankly the only reason that I could even think about doing this, and both of them ended up getting an intense workout from the sheer difficulty of using them in tandem. At some point I noticed a sudden increase in the number of trees and opened my eyes to see that I’d just barely gone past the bend in the path, turning back and continuing the last leg of the journey.
I continued my attempt at using Meditation and Sense Danger in tandem for a while longer, but eventually stopped so that I’d be able to tell when I arrived at the village. Render told me that it was called Woodhaven, and that it was supposed to be quite a welcoming and friendly place.
I wasn’t quite sure I believed that particular detail when I arrived, and almost thought that I’d somehow made a wrong turn somewhere, but there was a small wooden sign that read “Welcome to Woodhaven” by the road near the first house, so I sincerely doubted that was the case.
The people were here, and didn’t seem to be under any kind of mind control like Saltrock, but there was no sign of anyone being welcoming or friendly. Instead they regarded each other with suspicion, glaring at anyone they saw nearby as if that would unravel some grand conspiracy.
Strangely, despite clearly being new in town, I received much less of this treatment than the locals. Needless to say, I was confused. It was almost enough to make me forget the sequence of events that had brought me here. Almost.
Alright, let’s get this over with.