Galland marched through the manor’s hall; his heavy stride made him sound like an armory during an earthquake.

“Taking your anger out on the floor won’t help,” Darren said. “Their actions only prove what we already know.”

“But to go as far as denying our help for the sake of appearances?” Galland asked, making no effort to hide his frustration.

“I’m not saying it’s justified, only expected. It looks bad for Ronan if we solve his problem and handle clean up. They need to do something. Besides, it affords us an opportunity to handle our own problem.”

Darren suddenly came to a halt. “Did you hear that?”

“No, but then again, my ears aren’t elven.”

“Excuse me,” Darren called out to one of the nearby guards. “What’s your name?”

“Sasha.”

“Who's stationed at the northwestern watchtower?” Darren asked.

“Jarell,” Sasha answered.

Darren and Galland both exchanged a glance.

“Can you describe his appearance?” Galland asked.

“Tall, dark, not so handsome.”

“Would you mind heading over to the northwestern watchtower to confirm everything is alright?” Galland asked.

“Whatever you say, paladin,” Sasha said, moseying off toward the watchtower.

“Jarell was the person who turned us away from the search party?” Galland asked.

“Yup,” Darren said.

“Brilliant. Anyhow, let’s go find that key.”

----------------------------------------

With great care, Halvor placed the door back within its frame. Once it felt stable, he inched away from it, hands extended, ready to catch the door if it fell as it had the previous four times. After a few seconds passed, Halvor slowly exhaled.

“Fixed it!” he exclaimed.

“Really?” Ace asked.

“Take a look for yourse—” The instant Halvor turned his back to the door to address Ace and Riven, a now familiar thud echoed from behind him. Halvor didn’t turn around, just hung his head.

Ace patted him on the shoulder. “It was a good effort.”

“I got it,” Riven said, pulling out her dagger. She traced the door frame with her dagger; the blade left behind a trail of light the same crimson color as the runes on it. “[Mirage].”

The red light briefly grew in intensity. Within the door frame, the street outside melted away, and in its place was a door, identical to the one on the floor.

Halvor reached out to touch the door, only for his hand to pass straight through it as if the door were made of air.

“It isn’t real,” Riven said, sheathing her dagger. “But it’s good enough to keep people from asking questions.”

“Couldn’t you have done this, to begin with?” Ace asked.

“Well, we aren’t exactly pressed for time, what with Ronan’s search party keeping him occupied. Also, I don’t have unlimited essence. Plus Halvor looked like really wanted to fix it.”

“I did.”

“You’ll get 'em next time,” Ace assured Halvor. “Let’s get going.”

“Hey, Halvor,” Riven said as the group began ascending the watchtower.

“Yeah?”

“How’d you turn your fist to stone?” Riven asked. “I didn’t hear you say anything.”

“I was wondering about that too,” Ace said.

“Oh, it’s not a skill or anything. I’m half golem.”

“Sick!” Riven exclaimed. “Still, it couldn't have been easy figuring out how to control it like that. You have a teacher?”

“I did, but he was just human.”

“Why didn’t your parents teach you?” Riven asked.

“My dad did.”

“But,” Riven paused to process the implications of Halvor’s response. “Your mom is an avatar?!”

“She is.”

“Wait what?” Ace asked, tuning back into the conversation. “How do you know that?”

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“If the dad was human, and the son is half-golem, then the mom has to be an avatar,” Riven explained. “How do you not know this?”

“Country kid, remember? My mom homeschooled me. The only other education I got was whatever books we had lying around. This wasn’t in any of them.”

“Okay, do you know how hybrids originated?” Riven asked.

“They’ve just always existed?” Ace guessed. “Same as humans.”

“That’s what some people believe, but consider this. When somebody becomes an avatar, among many other things, it changes them. In the case that they’re the avatar of a creature it ends up changing them physically to the point where certain characteristics can be passed down to their offspring.

“So, the popular theory is that originally there were just humans. Then some of those humans became avatars and passed their traits onto their offspring. As a result, hybrids slowly began to populate the world.”

“Then where did humans come from?” Ace asked.

“Nobody knows,” Riven said, shrugging her shoulders. “Anyhow, half-hybrids are pretty rare, but even then they’re often the result of two half-hybrids. Don’t think I’ve ever met one whose parent was an avatar before.”

“Hope I made a good first impression,” Halvor said.

“You did.”

“Wait, if your mom was the avatar of the golem, then why didn’t she train you?” Ace asked.

“She … wasn’t around,” Halvor said. “Dad said she disappeared shortly after I was born.”

“Must’ve been rough,” Riven said.

“It wasn’t. Maybe it’s just because I didn’t know what I was missing, but I think my childhood was pretty good. My dad worked hard, cooked well, and despite not being the smartest, he taught me a lot of good lessons. Couldn’t have asked for more.”

“How’d he train you?” Riven asked.

“He didn’t exactly train me. He would tell me stories about my mom. All I did was try to emulate the things my mom did in the stories. Wasn’t easy, but I figured some stuff out.”

“Sounds like a guy I’d like to meet,” Ace said. “However, I can’t fail to notice that you aren’t with him, and I reckon you're a ways away from home. Why is that?”

“There’s someone I need to meet with.”

Ace noticed Halvor’s response was uncharacteristically vague, though given they had just met, he felt it rude to pry any further.

“I’m out here looking for someone too,” Riven said. “Any idea where your mystery figure is?”

“Nope, but I figured Journey wouldn’t be a bad place to start. With any luck I’ll find them on the way there.”

“That’s where I’m headed too. You looking for anyone, Ace?” Riven asked.

“Yeah, but I don’t have the faintest idea where they are, and I’d rather not meet them right now anyway. For now, I’ll just let myself be at the whims of circumstance.”

The group reached the landing at the top of the watchtower. As expected, there was nobody stationed. The only notable thing was a small locked chest.

“While you’re doing whatever that means, I am going to be getting us to that manor. Halvor, would you mind?” Riven gestured to the chest.

“I can’t pick locks.”

“She’s not asking you to pick it,” Ace said.

“Oh.” Halvor gripped the lock, his hands turning to stone, and with a quick yank snapped it in two.

Riven opened the chest and started rummaging through it. Ace and Halvor both peered over her shoulders to see what was inside.

With all three fixated on the chest, none of them noticed the armored figure creeping up the stairs behind them. Sasha carefully approached the group, unsheathing the longsword from her hip.

Sasha dived forward to plunge her longsword through Riven’s neck. As the blade was roughly a foot from its target, from behind Sasha, a hand reached from over her shoulder. A dagger held within the hand managed to catch the sword before it could pierce Riven.

Ace, Riven, and Halvor spun around upon hearing the clashing of metal.

Sasha glanced over her shoulder at the person who had stopped her attack. Behind her was a young man, with tan skin and short jet-black hair. He was adorned in marble-white leather armor with a royal blue scarf wrapped around his neck and a full utility belt around his waist.

Sasha pushed away the man’s dagger and turned to face him. As she did, the man pulled a shortsword from a sheath on the back of his hip and lunged toward Sasha.

The man was quick, but he didn’t make any effort to conceal his target. Seeing that the man was aiming to slash her throat, Sasha raised her longsword to parry the attack. However, in the instant before the blades connected, the man stepped forward. His face was inches from Sasha’s blade, and the arm carrying his sword was overextended.

Worried about the dagger in his other hand, Sasha glanced down to see the blade being thrust toward her waist right at a gap in her armor. She twisted her hands, moving her longsword in a position to intercept the attack.

However, her sudden shift in focus allowed the man to follow through with his original attack. Rather than slash with the sword’s blade, he slammed its pommel into the side of Sasha’s helmet.

The concussive force rattled Sasha briefly, but she was able to turn with the attack, absorbing most of the damage.

Sasha grasped the blade of the shortsword to prevent the man from disengaging. He tried to push forward with his dagger that was caught on her longsword, taking advantage of the fact that she now only had one hand on it.

The two were rooted in place, fighting for control of the weapons. However, their fight didn’t last much longer.

A stone fist crashed into Sasha’s helmet, crumpling it like paper. Halvor’s blow echoed throughout the watchtower like a hammer on an anvil and sent Sasha tumbling across the floor.

As Sasha slammed into the wall her body went slack. Halvor glanced down at his hand; it was uncomfortably warm as blood trickled from his knuckles down to his arm. His knees buckled.

“No. No. No. No.” Halvor began hyperventilating. “Not again. Not again.”

Ace rushed to the guard. Placing his hand on her neck, he felt a gentle pulse. “She’s okay big guy, she’s okay.”

“She’s okay?” Halvor asked.

“She’s okay,” Ace affirmed.

“Well, she probably has mild brain damage,” Riven said.

Ace glared at Riven.

“What?! I emphasized the mild.”

The cloaked man reached a hand down to Halvor. “They were gonna hang us all as scapegoats. Don’t feel bad for the people who tried to take advantage of you. Even someone as big as you only has so much room in his heart, so save it for the people who treat you well. Now, on your feet.”

Halvor took the man’s hand. “Thanks.”

“First of all, well put. Second of all, thanks for your help. Third of all, who are you?” Riven asked.

“Name’s Draxl. I already know your name is Riven. Your name is Halvor. And your name is Ace. As for how I know, well I’ve been following you, which means I also know you have a plan to steal the mayor’s key.”

Draxl pulled down his scarf to reveal the mark of a golden chain emblazoned around his neck. “And I want in.”