Leo planned on returning to his friends. He really did. He just had no interest in taking the direct way back to Wayward. That was both because he felt guilt for lingering so long away and fear that they might have already moved on.
He could face a horde of zombies now without blinking. He could fight abominations that would freeze most men twice his age in place with fear. What he had trouble with was the idea that he might go back only to find the place abandoned and be stuck fighting alone for the rest of his life. That was a terrifying thought, and as long as he kept at it,
So, he was more than a little surprised when he found some familiar faces foraging through the same semi-abandoned town he’d been about to dig through himself. Of course, Leo was only looking for another fight, whereas Toman, Sam, and Cynara were looking for something more useful, like food or tools.
When he saw them, his first impulse was to explain, and his second, paradoxically, was to run before they noticed him. Leo wasn’t a coward, so he resisted that and instead started walking toward his friend. Sam did a double take and had her sword halfway out of her sheath before her eyes widened, along with her smile.
“By the Gods, it’s him!” she gasped before yelling a second time, “He’s here, everyone. We found him. We found Leo! He’s alive!”
That was enough to get everyone’s attention, and on instinct, he looked around the area, worried that such noise might attract unwanted attention, but there was nothing in the area. He’d long ago killed the undead of the region, and now the dark plumes that marked the worst of the evil were all but gone.
That’s one more sign that I should have returned months ago, he chastised himself as he embraced Sam, noticing how she’d grown since he’d been gone. She was more woman than a girl now, but then the same was probably true for him.
Leo might have chastised himself, but no one else did. That would come later, he was sure, but for now, it was all hugs and smiles as they finally confirmed he was still breathing.
“We thought you were dead!” Cynara said as her hug lingered just a little longer than Toman or Sam’s had.
“I never even came close,” he lied, not sure what he should tell them about his adventures to date.
Instead, he just listened as they explained how much Wayward had improved while he’d been gone. “It’s got so many proper cabins now that we might have to name it something else,” Toman said with a laugh as they all sat in the shade of an elm and caught up. That earned him a swat from Cynara, who still hated the name, but it was clear that Toman had been expecting it.
“Between the fish and the hunting, food is rarely a concern these days,” Cynara explained cheerfully. “It's a proper town now, with houses and gardens. We might even get our first crop of wheat this year, but the one thing we’re really missing is tools.”
“And people,” Sam chimed in.
“And people,” she agreed. “There are just so few left. We eventually sent people all the way to Rahkin, but there was no one there.”
“Rahkin?” Leo answered, finally, with a shake of his head. “No, there wouldn’t be there. That place is dead. I was there for months and months, and I never found a soul that was still breathing.”
“Months?!” Sam cried out. “Months?! How could you have been there, and we still didn’t find you. I told you that’s where he went. I told you.”
“It’s one of the places I went, and most of the time, I was pretty deep in the catacombs looking for more of the dead,” he answered, deciding not to mention the bone dragon, the zombie crab, or any of the other grotesques he’d struck down along the way. “You wouldn’t have found me, but hopefully, you found some of the survivors I sent your way.”
“The Johansens and those merchants?” Toman answered. “Yeah, they made it safe and sound. They’re the only reason that we still held out hope that you were alive.”
Of the three of them, Toman seemed angriest with him. He’d grown, too. He’d grown into a fine young man, too, and at less than a year older than Leo, he was obviously still his semi-permanent rival, even if Toman no longer had a chance of beating him after all he’d been through.
“I’m glad to hear it,” Leo nodded, relieved. At least someone had made it.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
There had been other groups, but if his friends didn’t mention them, then they hadn’t been so lucky, and he opted to keep that sad fact to himself. It was his failing in a way, so it was his burden to bear.
“You know what else would have been good to hear?” Toman continued. “I’m sorry. Or really, any message. That would have been nice.”
Leo sighed as Cynara said. “Stop it right now, both of you. This is not the time for arguments. We’ve only just been reunited!”
Leo nodded sadly to that, but Toman's face darkened. Then he got up and stormed off. Leo thought about going after him, but he was exactly the wrong person to do that. His presence would only make everything worse.
“This is all my fault,” he said finally.
“Well, yeah,” Cynara agreed. “But at least you’re okay. Which means you can still fix it.”
Leo smiled wanly at that. He would do exactly that. If there was nothing left to fight, then what else could he do?
“Tell me how everyone else is,” he said finally. “No one was seriously hurt while I was gone, or…”
“How could they be after your killing spree,” Cynara laughed. “There’s nothing left in a hundred miles that can hurt anyone now.”
“Two hundred at least,” Sam said, joining in.
Leo thought it was probably further than that, but he didn’t tell them that. He’d ranged past Siddrimar and most of the way to Abenend and Fallravea before he finally turned back. Instead, he just listened to the girls as they told him about everything he’d missed and what everyone was up to.
It was strange to hear someone talk besides himself after so long, but it was nice, too, and he basked in the sound of familiar voices as he lay on the grass, even when things turned to unfamiliar topics. Apparently, Reggie and Tara had gotten married, and Rin was thinking about marrying one of the Merchant’s sons. It shocked him, but it shouldn’t have. They’d all be trapped in the bodies of children for years longer than they should have been because Taz had stopped time for a very small piece of the world.
Life had to move on, though. At least, it did for everyone but him. Even after the conversation waned, he caught Cynara stealing glances at him, and he was pretty sure he knew what that meant. He might not understand girls anywhere near as well as he understood combat or taking apart undead abominations piece by piece, but he knew when he was in danger, and the way that the tall blonde girl looked at him certainly felt dangerous.
Still, that day, when they finally stopped chatting and finished searching the village, the only thing of note that happened was that, eventually, he and Toman made peace. After that, Leo told the other boy about some of the lesser abominations he’d killed, but only so he’d feel included.
“We haven’t seen anything more dangerous than a few decrepit war zombies in months,” the older boy sighed, obviously conflicted about what it would be like to fight an undying hermit crab the size of a house.
“Me either,” Leo answered, sympathizing. With all the strange social tension in the air right now, he’d give anything for some terrible creature that he could chop into pieces.
Nothing like that happened, though. Instead, they sheltered that night in a long-abandoned home, and then, the next morning, they set out to the place that Leo had been avoiding for so long.
It took them three days to notice that he wasn’t eating. “Why not?” Sam asked.
“I don’t need to anymore,” he answered with a shrug. “The light sustains me.”
He could see that they’d all grown in power since he’d gone away, but he’d grown more than all of them put together. None of his friends could hold a candle to him anymore. That didn’t bother Leo, of course. This wasn’t a competition. All that mattered was that there was no room for darkness in any of their hearts.
He eventually relented and tried a bit of the rabbit they were roasting but didn’t care for it. Instead, he made bread and shared it with them. Apparently, he wasn’t the only that knew that trick now, but they accepted it greedily just the same.
“So, can you make anything else?” Cynara asked, sitting down next to him by the fire.
“Like what?” Leo asked.
“I don’t know,” she answered with a shrug. “Tara and Mela can make Bread now, too, and they don’t have half your power, so I just wondered what else you might be able to do that we couldn’t.”
Besides go for days without sleep and months without food? He thought with a smile.
“I don’t think I can just summon a feast on command, but I can try…” he answered awkwardly, not quite sure what his powers could do. After all. The only reason that any of them even thought to try making bread was because they’d seen Brother Faerbar do that much. It’s not as if they had anyone around to teach them how to use the light they’d been gifted.
Leo tried creating a roasted turkey without success. Then he tried making sweets and even turning water into wine, but nothing happened. It was only when Sam suggested that he try fruit that it actually worked.
“By the light!” Cynara exclaimed.
Instead of a loaf of crusty bread resolving in his hand, a whole handful of strawberries appeared, which quickly vanished into their hungry mouths. It was a small miracle, but considering it was nowhere near strawberry season, he would take it.
It felt weird to Leo to be using his power for something besides murder, but maybe that time had passed. He’d been given a magic sword, and he'd used it well. Leo had purged the land for weeks in every direction. When he looked at the way that Cynara was smiling at him, he thought that maybe it was time to focus on rebuilding what they’d lost and try to make a new world that was better than the old one.