“You think I am lying? It’s true! It’s true! See them for yourself!” the youth said to Vincent and almost pushed the scabbards into his arms. The three guards behind the youth could do nothing more than to look on in dismay as the mere thought of stopping their young master did not dare to cross their minds.
“Hmm? Let us see it then,” Vincent took them in his hands and inspected the surface of the scabbards.
One was cyan while the other was crimson. He traced his fingers around one and felt the frigid winds of a tempest upon the icebound havens. He traced his fingers around the other and felt the pale ashes of the embers upon the enraged volcanos. Threads of aether escaped his fingers and diffused inside. The faint inscriptions that were carved on the edges burst to life and the two images of a phoenix arose from their eternal slumber. They fluttered their fictitious wings and danced across the scabbards, spewing tongues of flames and discharging shards of ice along the paths they undertook. The spectacle only lasted until Vincent moved his palm over the phantoms and the images crumbled into clouds of purple mists.
“How did you do it?! How did you do it?! This is the first time I am seeing this!” the youth said with wide eyes. He was surprised, and so were the three guards around him. Their former prudence was snuffed away by the inquisitive spirit that they all had buried deep within their hearts, ever since they too were as young as the youth himself.
Vincent did not reply, for he too was intrigued by the blades that dwelled within. And so, he clasped into one of the hilts and tried to pull it out. But alas, his arm did not move an inch. The blade refused to answer his call to unveil itself outside its gilded scabbard. He frowned and the muscles around his arms bulged out, as he once again tried to draw the blade by just using the raw might of his flesh. The outcome was the same in any case. The wilful blade refused to answer his summons till the end.
“It’s no use Mister! No one has ever been able to pull out the blades!” the youth said.
Vincent refused to give up. He resorted back to his age-old tactic of overpowering everything that dared to bar his path. His eyes glowed in azure and a relentless surge of aether brewed inside his chest. The floorboards beneath him creaked and the nearby armaments rattled against themselves. An unseen pressure enveloped all within the emporium and urged them to kneel before him.
The three guards became restless and slowly inched closer to Vincent. They shielded their young master from what was to come and steadily placed a hand on their blades. But before the situation could spiral out of control, Vincent sighed and released his hold upon all the aether around him. The air regained its calm and the emporium went back to its former serenity. The three guards took deep breaths and slowly backed away, standing behind their young master just like before, but the other patrons thought otherwise, as most of them walked out from the abode with a ghastly expression still haunting their faces.
“Vincent, this is the second time you caused a stir right in the same place,” Nathaniel said.
“Hmm? What? Who cares?” Vincent said and narrowed his eyes at the youth, seemingly very unpleased by the whole outcome. “Oi you little brat, what use are these swords if I cannot use them? Were you trying to make fun of me by giving me these blades?”
“No! Why would I? Why would I? Even my father cannot unsheathe the swords!”
“Is that supposed to make me feel pleased?”
“Umm… yes? My father is the most powerful man in the world!” the youth said with unshakable confidence.
“Heh? Sure sure, why not,” Vincent chuckled and said. “And are these swords even yours to begin with?”
“Of course… of course, they are mine, yes yes! I swear on my noble house! Swear as one of the Bloodworthes!” the youth said and pointed at the family emblem hanging on the side of his chest.
“Who?” Vincent asked.
“What?! You don’t know about our noble family?” the youth was in shock, and so were the three guards beside him.
“Vincent, the Bloodworthes are among the core families responsible for the governance of this city,” Nathaniel chimed in and said close to his ear.
“And how is that even relevant right now?” Vincent asked.
“It’s relevant because we stirred up enough trouble as it is.”
“This again? Don’t tell me that you are scared.”
“I am just concerned about all of our safety.”
“Just relax will you,” Vincent said and turned to the youth. “So why are you trying to sell this to me and not to anyone else?”
“Because no one would listen! They all ignored me when I told them so!” the youth replied.
“Well, isn’t it because your guards kept scaring them all away?” Vincent asked.
“What really?” the youth turned back and questioned his guards. “So… this is because I had so much trouble finding anyone?! Do you not know defying me might get you beheaded?! I will tell my father about this!”
“That’s not true young master! We were only trying to--” the guards pleaded.
“I don’t want to hear it! I don’t want to hear it! You all made me run around the whole morning for no reason!”
“We did this for your own good young master! The Madame would not approve any of it if she knew of what you were doing,” one of the guards said.
“Shut up! Who cares about what Mother thinks,” the youth shouted.
“Ahem,” Vincent gave a light cough and said. “So, how much are you willing to sell these blades for?”
“You really want to take them?” the youth asked.
“Why not? But only if the price is right.”
“Price… price?” the youth was stumped as he kept scratching his head and started to count the fingers on his hands.
“You are not sure about their price? I am going to ask you again little brat. Are these swords even yours or did you just steal them off from somewhere?” Vincent frowned.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
“Of… course these are mine… I am one of the Bloodworthes. I would never smear upon my noble name!” the youth reassured.
“Then why are you this confused?”
“I am… bad at counting!”
“How about you are bad at lying?”
“Ten gold coins! Yes! Ten coins! You can have the swords for only ten coins!”
“Young Master! You cannot give the swords away! The Madame will--” the guards protested.
“Shut up! Are you all trying to defy me? The great young master! I will have all your heads when I get back!”
“You misunderstand young master, we were only--”
“Shut up all of you! You all are not allowed to talk in front of me unless you all want to be exiled away!”
The guards finally hushed into silence. They lowered their heads and stood side by side behind their young master, not daring to look at anyone or anything inside the emporium as if their mere presence was whisked away by just a few words of the youth.
“Hmm, that’s better!” the youth nodded in satisfaction and stretch his hand towards Vincent with a beaming smile. “Ten coins! Ten coins! And you can have the swords!”
“Ten gold coins? That’s far from enough to buy even a rudimentary runic sword. Why do I get the feeling that this is all just a trick.”
“Why are you asking so many questions?! Mister! You want the swords or not?”
“Well whatever,” Vincent said and picked out ten gold coins from his pouch.
But before he could pass them to the youth, an old man walked next to him and said in a voice that only he could hear, “Young man, I would advise you against it. Little Hayden is known as a notorious child of mischief all around the city. More reason why you can see none of the people here wanted any association with him.”
“Are you telling me everyone here is scared of a little child?” Vincent asked.
“Not that they are scared of a little child, it has more to do with the family he hails from, I am afraid ill fortune might befall upon you if you go on with his whims,” the old man said.
“I feel no ill intent from him.”
“That might be so, but his ill intent might be for someone else and he is only using you for it to succeed. It would be unwise for you to be entrapped in his little schemes.”
“Hmm? Why are you telling me all this?” Vincent questioned.
“I don’t want any of my generous patrons to trip into misfortune,” the old man gave a mysterious smile.
“So it appears I am talking to the owner of this humble abode,” Vincent nodded with a smile of his own.
“I am just happy to guide young heroes like you,” the old man laughed.
“I am afraid I might have to disappoint you then. I already became quite fond of these swords.”
“No no, not at all, haha. It’s your choice to take in the end. Old bones like me have no right to bar your path. Think of it as nothing much but the mumblings of a senile man,” the old man said and walked away. “Drop by next time when you have the chance. I might forge something special for you myself.”
“Mister! My ten coins! Hurry!” little Hayden jumped up and down, feeling ever restless to proceed on with the trade.
“Here, take it,” Vincent said and finally passed him the coins. Hayden grabbed onto them and threw them inside his pockets. Around seven of them missed their mark and fell down on the floorboards, but he did not seem to care. Money did not seem to be among his goals to begin with. He then brushed his hands together and laughed at himself. A playful smile crept upon his innocent visage as if he had accomplished something deemed to be impossible among the feats of mankind.
“Mister! I did not get your name!” Hayden said.
“The name is Vincent.”
“Mister Vincent, hmm, I will remember this name! Remember the one who helped me fulfil my mission!”
“What mission is it now?”
“To make an old hag suffer!”
“A what now?”
“Nothing! Nothing! Haha!” Hayden waved goodbye for one last time and dashed out from the exit. His three guards looked at Vincent with deep-rooted hatred and followed after their young master in haste.
“Vincent… I think we made the wrong choice here… just look at him, is he even okay?” Nathaniel asked.
“Will you just relax for a moment? You are overthinking things. We will be well gone from this city if something does happen,” Vincent said and anchored the two scabbards on the sides of his belt.
“We need to find a ship first if we ever dream for it to happen,” Nathaniel said and sighed. “I am having a bad feeling about all this.”
“The docks are right next to this place and I am sure we will find someone bold enough to agree to our expedition.”
“I think you meant to say… stupid enough to agree to our expedition.”
“You mean the two sides of the same thing,” Vincent smirked.
They left the emporium and walked towards the ships docked at the edges of the port. Tiresome sailors dozed off among the unloaded crates, dutiful merchants scribbled on their journals and rummaged through their goods to see if any of their wares went missing, and dauntless wanderers boarded and unboarded the countless vessels at every passing moment. The docks retained the same image from dawn to dusk, ready to heed anyone with their desired endeavours, but alas, Vincent and Nathaniel were not so lucky in that regard.
No captain of a ship came forward to take on their proposal, whether in gold or even in aether stones. For they all knew that no amount of riches could ever outweigh the perpetual axe that would hang over their necks once they ventured deep into the forbidden seas. They first passed it off as a mere jest by the duo, but when they realised the venture was all too real, their expressions crumbled away and were soon drenched in horror. Some agreed on the proposal, but even so, the look on their faces said otherwise, which resembled more of petty thieves than that of actual captains commandeering an entire hull under their wings. And as such, the duo circled back to where they originally started, without a ship or crew to haul them to their fabled lands.
“Well, that was a massive failure,” Vincent said.
“It’s exactly as I told you before, this will not be easy,” Nathaniel said.
“We just have to search long enough.”
“That’s the thing… we cannot afford right now. Did you already forget about the incident back at the workshop?”
“You are still hung up about that?”
“The Bloodworthe family are not to be trifled with, especially not in their own city!”
“Then what about your family? Don’t tell me the prodigy of the Legendary Blackburne family is scared of just this?”
“I am no longer… considered from that family,” Nathaniel said and sighed.
“Did your house disown you after you had gone rogue? Or have you already decided that all in your head?”
“How could I even have the face to return… after everything that happened?!”
“They will gladly welcome you back. Your inherited talents will be too much of a loss for the Blackburnes.”
“Things are a bit more complicated than that.”
“Is it because of Selena? I thought you already broke free from your delusions after you learned the truth about the whole ordeal. And speaking of which, I am quite curious about something. Why are you still with us anyway? Unless you are still in love with her.”
“That’s not it… my feelings for her are long gone at this point.”
“Well, that’s a solid lie.”
“What is there to lie about? I am only staying because... I need to protect my sister.”
Vincent burst into laughter and said, “When did you even care about Hertha?”
“What are you saying? Of course, I care… she is my sister!”
“Sister? You two share the same father but I doubt your father even cares about her, and the same can be said about you.”
“I do care… about her.”
“Then where were you when Selena mistreated her throughout her childhood? Wait never mind, why would you interfere? Especially when you were so infatuated with your future bride-to-be.”
“Those are all… in the past.”
“Such a twist of fate is it not? Seeing the woman you sacrificed so much for, run off with another man. So was it all worth it in the end?”
“Obviously… not,” Nathaniel said and shifted his gaze to the blue horizon, losing his thoughts among the surging waves battering against the piers.
“You are free to choose your path, hope your next one is not full of regrets.”
“That’s… the plan.”
“Speaking of plans, do you know the number of men needed to sail a ship?" Vincent asked.
“Huh? Umm… probably around thirty to forty men?” Nathaniel replied.
“How about if we only have around five people to make it sail?”
“What?! Don’t tell me… you are planning to steal a ship?!”
“Stealing is a strong word per se, let’s just call it long-term borrowing, haha.”
“We can’t! We have caused enough trouble here.”
“Of course we can. But you are right, borrowing one of these ships here will cause a few undesirable circumstances in broad daylight.”
“Glad you finally understand.”
“So let us go to the ones near the outskirts and politely ask the captains to hand them over to us,” Vincent said and his expression turned to one of utter mischief, completely out of character for a person of noble bearing such as him.
“Why did I even bother with this?" Nathaniel said and rubbed his forehead in defeat.