In the next instance, I was pressed into the ground. I couldn't even see my aggressor's face. His hands were thick, calloused. As I tried to peel them off, I found I had absolutely no chance of doing so.

I aimed a blow at his face, but the blow felt like a child hitting an adult. Useless, pointless.

Still, even the weakest child can hurt an adult if they aim for the right place.

I kicked out my leg, and it hit him square in the groin. He cried out in pain, then lifted me up by my neck and pinned my against the wall, pinning my legs in the process.

Yet that had him closer to me, and I noticed two things.

One, I had met this man before, recently, even.

Two, his face was very close, and that gave me an idea.

All my breath had been stolen away, and now I felt the darkness of unconsciousness creep in. With a final effort, I put the fingernails of my thumbs into both of his eyes, thanking the fact I had yet to trim them since coming here. I felt them draw blood, and he automatically moved his hands up to his eyes to stop me.

His hands closer around my hands and ripped them away from his face, breaking one of my thumbs in the process. No cry of pain came from me - I had no breath to spare.

I scrambled for the door, reaching it with a hand before a much larger hand seized my ankle, and pulled me back and into the wall. My back smashed against the wood, and the sound was less cacophonous than I had hoped.

Still, the man was no longer intending to do this silently.

I brought myself up as he trudged towards me. Why could he see when I couldn't?

My hand grazed the chair, and I pulled it up, intending to smash it over his head. Yet when my swing reached its apex, another thought popped into my mind.

I reversed it, and threw it into the one window in the room that faced outward towards the harbour, then ran. The window shattered into many, many glass shards, and the chair hurtled out of the window, as did I a second later.

Yet the man was quicker than I had anticipated, and caught my leg as I began to drop. I heard him roar in pain as the glass that had remained stuck to the frame impaled his side, yet he held me still.

I caught on of the glass shards with my good hand, and brought myself up just enough to stab through his hand, yet he held on and was silent. To my horror, he began to pull my upwards, slowly unimpaling himself from the glass.

Putting my foot on the wall, I pushed downwards, forcing him back down into them, then moved side to side to lacerate his insides. He cried out in pain once more, and his grip grew slightly weaker for just a second, so I pushed once more, with as much force as I could muster.

He didn't let go. Instead, he fell with me down onto the ground. I smashed into the sandy grass which, if we had been any higher up, might have killed me. Fortunately, the room I was in was only on the ground floor, though it was still a somewhat significant drop.

The man's grip still squeezed my ankle, yet I could hear sobbing. I kicked my foot out, and it collided with his head. I did it again, then another time, and his grip finally released. I scrambled backwards and stood up, looking at him in the moonslight.

Four were out today, it seemed. Still strange that this planet had so many.

Yes, the man was sobbing. Crying into the sand. I couldn't tell if it was remorse or frustration that made him cry, or just the sheer pain. Either way, especially in the moonslight, he was plainly visible. The man who had approached me in the baths.

I had known from the sheer size and bulkiness - he was, by far, the largest I had seen in the guild, only Haneteku had rivalled him. I hadn't even looked at him in the bath, but now I saw he had those same markings as Haneteku had.

They were silvery on Haneteku, but on this man they were almost golden, with veins of red running through them. Skin overgrew them in places, or they grew through the skin, I couldn't tell. I'm not a fantasy race biologist.

"Why did you kill him?" he shouted.

I moved towards the back door of the guild.

He rose, and put a hand over his side. Metal poured through the wound, sealing it up with a goldish metal.

"Where is Haneteku?" he cried out, then charged straight at me. It was like a bull charging at a goat. I launched myself against the door, attempting to pull it open - but it did not budge.

An arc of blue energy cascaded from the darkness, and hit the man with full force. He tumbled to the side, his charge nullified.

As the light illuminated him, I became sure of his identity. But I looked over to the other side, where the lightning had come from.

Alveros stood, in a strangely proud way, with lightning crackling between his fingers. He was ready for another blast at a moment's notice. His staff was planted in the ground besides him.

"Are you okay, what was it, Asmodeus?" he said, looking me over.

"I'm fine. This fucker attacked me - he was in my room when I went to sleep."

"Truly?" he looked at the steaming man on the ground, then threw me something that glinted in the moonlight. I caught it, turning it over in the low light to find it was a key.

I shifted, and fuddled around with the key, attempting to find the keyhole for a good few seconds. Then the key went in, I turned it, and I was inside. I popped my head out, and looked to him, and he uprooted his staff and made his way inside.

That was, until the man moved again. He rose up, despite the cooked flesh I could smell from here. He shrugged, then looked back towards us. His feet began to pound the ground, shaking it as he moved indomitably towards us.

"That was a cheap shot, Mage. Kaltorose of Kaltor does not perish to cheap shots, nor magic, nor bright lights."

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Alveros shut the door behind him, and snatched the key from my hands. They were shaking, I found. Even not caring about death could not stop the bodies response to it.

Or perhaps… I did care? Was I enjoying this?

Either way, the door did not stop Kaltorose. A hand I now saw was covered in the same goldish metal with red veins smashed through the door, then gripped the frame and ripped it out.

This man was monstrously strong, it would seem, and that scared me more than I cared to admit. Alveros did not hesitate to send another gout of lightning right into Kaltorose' face, yet the man did not seem too bothered by it this time.

When the brightness faded, I saw why. A long metal rod was in front of Kaltorose, and it had been stabbed into the ground. The lightning had simply hit that instead.

Alveros sighed, then held his staff at arm's length.

It was now I saw that the entire pole, despite being made of metal, had three of four handholds that were made out of a green wood. As Alveros held it out, the pole crackled with invisible energy, and thin white lines condensed into the head as it grew brighter and brighter until the entire room was illuminated in a brilliant white. Despite my eyes screaming at me to look away, I was enraptured.

Kaltorose stood up straight, ready to take the blow head on. Alveros smirked, then released the built-up energy.

The effect was profound - the man was lifted from his feet entirely, then smashed back down into the sandy courtyard, travelling along the ground a few meters, like an automated plough through a field of wet mud. He only stopped slightly short of the edge to the harbour, and only then because his hands dug into the ground every step of the way.

If that had hit me, I would be dead. Kaltorose leaned upwards, but did not stand, instead moving onto his stomach and pushing himself up into a half-kneeling position.

I now realised that the room was not empty. A few people had come rushing to see what was going on, and were all staring at Alveros or Kaltorose, confused. Yet the Guild Master was looking over the scene with comprehension in his eyes, and a note of sympathy in his eyes.

He jumped from the third floor, and landed neatly on the ground, a few meters away.

"Stand back, I will deal with this from here. Kaltorose is a mighty beast, but he jumps to conclusions with far too much ease. Thank you, Alveros, for protecting the subject of his misplaced anger."

Alveros turned towards the Guild Master, then bowed deeply. He looked at me, and gestured with his hand to follow. He took me to a seat, and I sat gratefully on it. Pitying eyes surrounded me, looking at me with various emotions. Some seemed to stare with wonder. Others, with thankfulness.

"Good job I was outside practising. There around many others in the guild that well suited to dealing with a Kaltori like him."

"What the fuck are Kaltori?"

"That's a difficult question. Kaltor are one of three… er… Brother races, you might say, Kaltor, Hanez, and Kymar. They live up north, and are usually secluded. You saw the metal on him?"

"I did. He sealed his wounds with it."

"Well, they eat metal. Or at least, the Kaltor do. They seal wounds with it, and become stronger over time - they basically grow their own armour through battle."

"So Kaltorose is like, not human? Looks fairly human to me."

Alveros shrugged.

"Kaltor'Rose, not Kaltorose. They don't speak much, especially not about their history or customs. At least, Haneteku and Kaltor'Rose don't."

The Guild Master was now in the middle of the courtyard, and I could just hear them over the whispers around me.

"Kaltor'Rose. Stand down, or I will be forced to make you."

"HANETEKU IS DEAD." the man roared, dispelling any notion that he wanted this to be quiet. "AND THAT ONE KILLED HIM."

He thinks I killed Haneteku?

I mean, I helped, but I didn't outright kill him. He died because he couldn't handle the Rustwraith - that was all.

"He did not. You may read the report - Silencers killed Haneteku."

"I AM HALF A BEING. I MUST HAVE REVENGE. HE DID NOT SAVE HIM. HE WAS A COWARD."

"The blame for that lies with me. I sent Asmodeus on that mission, Kaltor'Rose. He wasn't ready for anything like that. I only intended for him to see what the guild's jobs were like."

Kaltor'Rose stopped roaring then.

"He was not there to assist?"

"No, Kaltor'Rose. He wasn't. They died to a Silencer Purge."

Kaltor'Rose slumped to the ground.

"I have made a grave mistake in judgement. What must I do to seek forgiveness?"

"Two things. You'll have to pay for the damage caused. But since you tried to kill another guild member, you will be expelled. Unless, of course, you come to an agreement with Asmodeus."

The guild master walked up to me.

"The hammer of judgement is in your hands now, Asmodeus. Let's hope you handle it as well as you do a sword."

"What do I do?"

"He was fully intending to kill you. Killing him in retribution would be extreme, but not many would be willing to argue against it. Expulsion from the guild is another option."

"Why are you giving me this power?"

"The adventurers guild is in a gray area when it comes to the law. Since we control some of the strongest people in the country at any given time, we have quite a bit of power. We make our own rules - and this is my fortress. I decreed, a long time ago, that when something like this would happen, the attacked party decides the sentence, and then a collection on the guild's highest members vote upon it. For this, attempted murder, however, I see no reason why that is necessary."

He looked at Kaltor'Rose.

"Remember that he tried to kill you. Had you not escaped, had you not ran into Alveros, you may very well be dead now. I think it is fair to let you have the final say."

"I want to talk to him. Alone." I said.

The guild master nodded, and stepped aside to let me stand up. I hobbled over - the adrenaline had worn off, and now my leg spasmed with every step.

He looked up at me like a cow about to be slaughtered might look up at the rancher about to end its life.

This world, so far, was not a happy-go-lucky romp as I had expected. When I came back from the ruins, they had accepted my version of events - they hadn't even been surprised. How many died as adventurers to facilitate that reaction?

Now, I was basically being told I could do as I saw fit - in front of many others - with a life. Vigilante justice, and I was the judge, jury, and executioner.

I crouched down. I could feel the fact that this man had given up, in a way. There was something more to his anger. Something visceral and emotional.

The words crept into my mind. He had said 'half a being'. Could it be that they were lovers? I wasn't one to judge, but it was unexpected.

"Did you love him, Kaltor'Rose?" I asked.

His eyes locked with mine instantly, but he did not speak.

"A better question. Do you believe in an afterlife?"

He shook his head.

"Then you have no wish to die, to see him again?"

"No. He is gone, and he is gone." he said, with tears in his eyes.

"Perhaps I could offer you something more. I can't bring him back. But I have a good memory."

He kept watching my face.

"I remember the faces of the ones who killed him."

He shot up in an instant, and took hold of my shoulder with one meaty hand. I heard footsteps behind me, and looked back to see the guild master with his hand on the hilt of his blade.

"You must tell me."

"I offer something more, as I said. In recompense, join me. Join me, and I will help you hunt down those that killed your love. Once that is complete, then you will be free from service."

He thought for a few moments.

"This way, there is no punishment. There is only the path towards vengeance. The path towards finally feeling whole again. What will you do otherwise?"

His eyes locked with mine with those final words, and he nodded.

I smiled in response.