“History of the Spotter Consensus” - By Rufus Ast 3220 A.C

Gallahan’s Spotter Association:

Directly under Valerie herself, though not as a “Shield” but rather a simple leader. The GSA has three guardians to it’s name, each leading large Legions that are, similarly to the SC itself, decentralized and autonomous. It is also the smallest branch in terms of numbers. Outside of Valerie and the Guardians, the members of the GSA are regarded as brutish and simple by the other branches. They are also comparably as strong if not stronger in terms of sheer firepower when compared to the more numerous branches.

The GSA’s “Values” are: Family, Loyalty, Overwhelming Power.

The Northern Gem:

Led by Kassandra, TNG has five Guardians to it’s name. The reason for that is, that The Northern Gem also is the branch that covers the biggest chunk of the continent. That also means it’s the most numerous and spread out, The Northern Gem is completely centralized, with the tip of the power curve sitting with Kassandra. TNG members are usually refined, uptight and “royal” in their demeanor, valuing courtship and pleasantries as well as presentable armor and weapons. Due to this being in direct opposition to the GSA’s way of doing things, members of both have a long standing rivalry that has boiled over into all out skirmishes against smaller member groups.

The “Virtues” of TNG are: Beauty, Silence, Precision

Seadragons & Squids:

Seadragons and Squids are led by Pathy. SnS have four Guardians working for them. One for each of the Great Sea’s they work with. Probably the most vital for the SC. They are hardy, boat dwelling and unprepared for anything land related. They’re also rowdy and love their booze.

The “Chants” from SnS are: Boats, Sails, Fish!

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On the next day, back at the Cowbell

The familiar sound of cicadas fills my ears while I rummage through Nyxie’s things at the shack where she lived. I’m looking for sentimental stuff that she had around.

Oh?! I think I got it, it’s a small wooden box, haphazardly put together with some thin pieces of wood and nails. It’s barely holding together, but there’s definitely stuff inside.

I’m tempted to open it, but it’s not nice to dig into someone’s stuff. I put the box into my bag and stand up. This place is in ruin, It’s a miracle this girl’s even remotely normal considering her upbringing.

I walk out of the place and begin making my way back to my Inn. The walk is short, but it feels a little bit like a pilgrimage. We more or less killed Nyxie’s parents in the cave in, I wonder how will she react… Especially since I’m about to tell her.

How do you tell a teenager that they’re never going to see their parents again? I’ve told families of soldiers that the father will never come home, but that was a duty. They didn’t mean anything…

I enter my Inn, the group of spotters is rowdy as usual, they’re still celebrating their victory from yesterday. As they should! The drinks are free for anyone who took part.

Tradition is that when members of a team falls and that team celebrates, they are required to drink for the fallen members. As in drink what the fallen would drink as well, as such Jax’s table has additional two mugs and a pitcher specifically made for the occasion. It’s pure white with black markings in old Efian to indicate “that drink’s for the fallen”.

The crowd cheers while I make my way through the lobby, I wave to everyone and head into the backroom where Nyxie originally was put to have some rest.

Sunshine pushes through the open windows and Nyxie’s currently humming to herself while reading a book we gave her to pass the time. The very cheery atmosphere of relief and safety is thick here.

- “Nyxie, how are you doing?” - I sit down on the bed next to her and pat her head, rustling her hair around playfully.

- “I’m alright ma’am. Thank you for letting me stay here.” - The precious gremlin closes the book and smiles at me, wincing from my hair rustling.

- “That’s good… Can you tell me how much you remember from yesterday?” - After taking my hand from her head I ask the first question. I have no idea what I’m doing but I should probably slowly build up to it.

- “Well… I remember being taken by my dad and a guy in a cloak from here, then I don’t remember much until you and the red haired lady showed up.” - Okay… I nod to Nyxie and wait for her to continue. - “The big lady picked me up and we left, I think my parents stayed behind. “

So she’s aware of how she got out, that’s good. Especially since she knows that her parents didn’t come with us.

- “Do you know what happened to the cave after we left?” - This is the big question…

- “No ma’am… Why?” - Nyxie… I guess it’s time to break the news. This goes against everything I stand for…

- “I’m not going to lie to you Nyxie. Your parents stayed behind in the cave and it collapsed while they were still inside.” - There, I said it!

- “Did they get hurt ma’am?”

My heart sinks, I thought I could just tell her what happened without going into much detail. While thinking about what to say next I notice I’m biting on my lower lip.

- “Nyxie… Your parents are no longer here. We’ll be taking care of you from now on.” - I have to put the hammer down, I can’t drag her along in uncertainty!

- “They left? Where?” - …! My eyes begin to tear up lightly as I contemplate what to say next.

If I just tell her what happened, all that wonderful innocence will be lost. I will take away her childhood, put her on a track in life that enters a dark tunnel and never reaches the exit.

- “They’re gone Nyxie… Forever.” - I put my hand over my mouth, gently sliding my thumb across my lips. There’s no going back from here.

- “Gone…?” - Nyxie puts her book down and looks at me with her sky-blue eyes. - “They’re dead…?”

- “I am so, so sorry Nyxie… We did everything we could…” - I pull Nyxie in for a hug as she’s dumbfounded by the realization of what’s happening.

We spend the next few minutes like that. Nyxie is sobbing loudly into my chest as I try to comfort her, but I know that nothing I do will change anything. It will never get better for her, it does not go away. This will stay with her for the rest of her life.

Nyxie cries for a little bit longer, before ultimately draining herself from all strength and falling asleep in my hands. I tuck her in with a kiss on the forehead and put her book on a cabinet nearby.

I make my way out of the room, quietly opening and closing the door to Nyxie’s room behind me. Most of the Spotters in my Inn look at me, I clearly must look like a wreck cause the entire hall dies down, the noise doesn’t stop but it’s much more quiet.

Everyone’s currently looking at me and their eyes draw the same feeling, we all know what just happened and what this means. I look away from them and head over to Xerra’s room. She’s been down for the count from our fight with Leshy.

- “Knock knock you lazy bitch. How long are you going to pretend like you can’t move?” - I enter Xerra’s room, trying to up the atmosphere just a little.

- “Shut up, you know it’s on you that I’m like this? Why didn’t you just force Leshy down and instead did the whole area huh?” - Xerra’s partly right, but I didn’t have that much time to think about that. I wink at her words.

- “I just had to remind you who’s the boss here and make sure I don’t have two raging cunts on my hands to deal with.” - Xerra laughs loudly and slaps her stomach. - “How you doing Xerra? You’re going to be fine?”

- “Oh I’m alright. Most of the damage has healed but the way he was shitting Wave everywhere gave me crazy vertigo. I should be able to walk just fine now, but I’m taking the time to be lazy for the day!” - Smartass, dodging her duties.

- “Alright then. I told Nyxie about her parents.” - Xerra wanted to know how she'd react to the news.

- “And?”

- “As you expect, she cried herself to sleep.” - Xerra nods and thinks for a little bit after my remark.

- “Understandable, did you check on Leshy? I didn’t hear anything about him after we came back. He still alive?” - Xerra’s concern is understandable, not even two weeks ago we were kicking his ass during training and now he got his ass kicked by us for real.

- “Yep, still alive but passed out. From what I understood after Sarah examined him, he has extensive muscle damage, broken ribs, both of his arms and legs are broken, ripped tendons. It’ll be a miracle if he walks out of this, frankly this is worse than the Ludocanis’s bite by a wide margin.” - Xerra is carefully taking in this information, nodding to everything I say.

She taps her chin for a little bit, mimicking my signature thinking pose.

- “But he has that crazy wave ability to heal. I wonder if he can put himself together… Would be a waste to loose such an asset, not to mention I got kinda attached to the kid.” - She scratches her forehead, she’s so nonchalant about all of this. She’s always been like that after battles though so it’s not a surprise.

- “We’ll see when he wakes up. I’m staying positive, that fucker’s more resilient than I thought.” - I’m not lying here, that kid’s impressive.

- “He’s definitely exceeding my expectations for a fresh spotter. Though I feel like there’s more to it. Like he’s not entirely truthful?” - Xerra’s hit the nail on the head…

We exchange a handshake on my way out of her room. Time to check on Leshy, I haven't seen him since we brought him over so I don’t really know what to expect.

I knock lightly on the door… More as a courtesy than seeing if he’ll let me in. The door creaks open and I make my way inside. Leshy’s out on the bed, there are big purple-burgundy bruises all over his body. His arms and legs are in splints made by Sarah and his head is supported by the neck with a wooden brace and leather cushions.

I move closer and take a seat on a stool next to his bed. He looks peaceful, still breathing. That’s always good! Leshy, Leshy…

- “What do we do with you?” - I know I’m talking to myself, but somehow I feel the need to just talk outloud. Guess I gotta blow off some of my own issues. I hope you don’t mind Leshy. - “You show up out of nowhere and cause issues. All of this is technically because of you.”

If he didn’t catch Nyxie we wouldn’t be here. But Nyxie would still be stealing, living like cattle out of that shed.

- “What made you go berserk? I’ve never seen anyone go crazy like that.” - I look around and notice the brooch. There’s a strong “aura” to that thing now. Unlike the first time I’ve seen it, this time it seems active? Is it related to Leshy going berserk? - “What, are, you? Come here.”

I lean over and unpin the thing from Leshy’s belt. When taking a closer look at it, nothing special happens but the feeling that this thing is ancient persists. I look over at Leshy and pocket the Brooch, this needs to be looked at.

He shifts a little bit with a grunt. While he can’t exactly turn and stuff, he’s at least trying to be comfortable, that’s a good sign.

- “I was curious for a while now. You mentioned your origin, where you came from when you were training… It’s probably just a coincidence but a long time ago I’ve met someone who matches your story of how you got here, one to one.” - I look at leshy as I talk to myself. He’s not reacting at all, I’m not sure if I want him to hear me talk or if I just want to be able to speak without worrying if anyone will hear me.

- “She was a fierce one, more powerful than me in some aspects. She would race herself through the country for fun. A real monster that one, makes Xerra looks like a mouse.” - I chuckle to myself, I wonder if she’s still alive, it’s been almost forty years since we saw each other.

- “Leshy… I told Nyxie about her parents finally. She doesn’t know that it’s your… I don’t want to say it like that, but I didn’t tell her their parents are your fault. Jax also lost two in that cave-in you caused.” - He shifts around a little bit, even if he hears me, this is one thing he should hear. - “I told Jax you caused it. He took it quite well, they all understand the job and it seems you do too.”

I sigh and press my thumbs into the bridge of my nose.

- “It’s just horrible that all of this, while overall positive since we saved an innocent life, also means that we took that innocence away. In one way or another everyone contributed to this outcome.” - I squeeze my eyes shut. - “I shouldn’t have let you rush ahead and chained you to my leg or something. You stupid fuck, you could’ve just let us do our thing…”

- “Nyxie’s alive?” - Leshy grunts, I barely heard him talk. Immediately looking up at him I see he’s awake. His eyes are open and looking at me.

- “Yes, she’s alive and well thanks to you.” - How’s he awake just a day after?! Is his connection to the wave involuntarily healing him slowly? - “How are you feeling!?”

- “Fairly well all things considered… I should go back to sleep…” - I gently pat his shoulder and nod.

- “Yes, rest Leshy. I’ll tell you everything that happened when you’re all better! Just hang in there buddy.” - Without a moment wasted he’s back asleep. Good news, Leshy’s alive and better than expected. Bad news, I have no fucking idea how.

I make my way out of the room quietly, letting the guy get his beauty sleep. I’m feeling a bit more… chipper, I guess Leshy’s state and Xerra’s shenanigans put me at ease a little bit.

There’s one more thing that I have to do today to end this thing for good…

- “Sarah, you’re taking over while I’m gone. I’m going to pay a visit to the Chief Guard” - Sarah nods as I make my way through the lobby, I make sure everyone hears me say this.

Luckily those are some smart fuckers, Jax and what remains of his team along with Novel and her group both stand up and begin packing up while I make my exit.

I quickly take a b-line straight to the shack where the guards perform their administrative duties. There’s where the Chief Guard is most of the time after all.

My pace is brisk and it doesn’t take me longer than 5 minutes to get there from my Inn. As I approach I take a few deep breaths and then make my way in with a knock on the doorless frame as I enter.

- “Knock, knock. I hope you were waiting for me to show up.” - The Chief looks at me with a raised eyebrow. - “You know, Human Trafficking is a very, very serious crime. Did you know that? I knew that.”

- “What are you on about Valerie?” - This jackass thinks he can snake his way out of this. What a waste of space.

- “I can either torture you until you tell me everything I want to know. Or you can come willingly as a prisoner for your crimes against the people of Nova Vertex.” - I wink at him and put my hands on my hips. - “Frankly, I’d rather you pick the first. I’ve been known for my interrogations throughout Gallahan.”

- “You dare accuse me of human trafficking?! Know your place girl!”

- “Know my place? Have you gone mad now?” - Fuck this guy… I want to end him right now! I take a few steps towards the sitting Chief and press my knees between his, spreading them apart.

I stand in front of him, looking down at his pathetic face.

- “Do not presume you have any power here child. I’ve led armies to victories that you learnt about in your tactical courses.” - Time to pressure him down, where he belongs. - “Submit to the Spotter Consensus’s judgment, or I will hand it down myself.”

With those words the entire shack makes a pfff sound as I double the gravity inside. The walls crackle and dust shoots off everything inside. The Chief holds firm for now even though he’s beginning to sweat.

- “I’m a Chief Guard of the Gallahan Crownhood Valerie. What sort of authority do you think you can have over me?!” - My brow twitches at this remark from him. He’s grasping at straws right now and hoping to somehow bullshit his way out.

Before I can do things myself, I have to make sure everything’s covered. By now the two teams are around here and listening in…

- “Note 234 in the Gallahan-Spotter agreement… Which I wrote and signed with the Crown, states that all criminal enforcement and judgment related to a Spotter's actions or actions taken against a Spotter, are under the Associations… Mine jurisdiction.” - His eyes widened. He must be realizing this by now, he’s got no way out of this.

- “What do you mean you wrote the agreement? How fucking old are you?!” - I don’t know if it’s just my perception but he’s making it easy to toy with him… Let's put the fear of god, me, in him. I lean in uncomfortably close to his face. He’s keeping eye contact, grasping the hilt of his sword.

- “I was born when you Humans weren’t even considered a civilisation. Now pick” - The first line comes out monotone, no wonder. I’m stating a fact to someone who cannot comprehend it yet.

- “I-I submit. I will stand trial and be judged by the Spotter Consensus…” - Finally! Now I can get this thing completely sorted and closed, go back to my duties and never deal with this fucker again.

- “Oh, there’s a misunderstanding here. A fundamental one it seems. I never offered for you to be judged.” - He gives a short “heh?” in response to my words. - “As the Founder and Lawmaker of the Spotter Census, you have been investigated, interrogated and tried for your crimes. And the sentence is… one arm, all of your ranks and land are stripped, your last name will be erased from any and all documents containing them.” - I lift my arm up. - “Jax, Novel. I need an arm from this idiot. Make sure he survives this, can’t have him go out the easy way.”

I put down my arm and move to the side wall of the shack just as Jax and Novel enter with two more from each team. They both nod at me, I lift the gravity increase to make things easier.

- “Jax, I can take this if You’re not up for it.” - I say to Jax, he’s been through a lot, losing his team mates. Funnily enough, he looks back at me just as Novel stretches the Chief’s arm out. He smiles at me and pulls out his sword.

- “I can take it slow, right?” - Jax says, venom’s dripping out of his mouth. This guy wants justice for his comrades, Leshy might’ve been the direct reason… But this Chief’s actions are what led to this.

- “Yes you can, my friend. Just make sure he’s alive after.” - I wave my hand towards them. If it gets out of hand I’ll step in, but for now… I let them have their own piece of justice.

- “If you try to escape, that’s another charge on your head Chief… So stay, very, very still.” - I look over to the terrified guard, he’s sweating bullets. He seems to understand his position now.

I lean back against the wall and watch Jax first rip off the Chief’s sleeve and then press his blade just above the elbow. That’s a good sign, procedure when taking an arm is to cut just above the elbow and cut off blood flow after the cut is complete.

Jax slides his blade along the Chief’s arm, the fucker’s quite resilient and doesn’t scream, though some grunts come out of his mouth as he faces the pain.

Blood begins to flow out of the open wound as Jax continues cutting through his flesh, exposing the bone in his arm to the air. A small pool of it forms on the floor, flowing around the soles of Jax’s boots.

He’s meticulously examining the open wound, dinking the Chief’s bone with the edge of his sword. Every time he does so, the Chief whimpers.

- “Jax…” - It’s time to get this sorted before our friend there bleeds out on us. - “Novel, get a rope and tie up the arm once you’re done with him. And be done quick. I’ll see the two of you back at the Inn.”

Jax scoffs at the Chief but looks at me and nods. I don’t finish watching the scene and exit the shack. Now I need to assign someone to do his job while we wait for a new Chief to be assigned here.

I don’t screw around, I need to go to bed. As such, I quickly make my way back to my Inn. It’s rowdy as usual. Sarah’s by the front desk, that’s perfect.

- “Sarah, please find someone without assignments, have them and their team perform Chief Guard duties until a new one arrives. I left the Order of Judgment in the document drawer, make sure they have it on hand.” - Sarah nods and begins working on the assignment.

- “He dead boss?!” - I hear from one of the guys drinking, a few others follow up with the same question.

- “No he is not, but Jax served as my executioner.” - The crowd gives a few “aye’s” and whistles in celebration, quickly going back to being the rowdy bunch.

That’s it! I’m done for the day, I need to fucking sleep… But I can’t! I almost forgot, I have to write a damn letter to the Crown about this asshat’s actions and my judgment. Fuck!

Cracks are showing in my demeanor, this whole day and the day before were not something I expected. Usually it’s just drunk spotters getting in trouble, not a twenty person rescue sortie.

I go behind the bar and pull out ink and quill with some paper. I begin writing, explaining everything that’s happened, from Leshy catching Nyxie in the market, to our buyout of her fine, the parent’s involvement, Chief’s corruption, everything’s on it.

After I’m done, I let the ink settle while looking for a candle. I then go back to it, fold it neatly.

I light the candle and drip some wax onto the now document and press the GSA seal into it, marking it as an official declaration for the crown and the Spotter Consensus.

- “Sarah, file this and send it to Rixen. I want it done today.” - Sarah without any hesitation takes the document and nods, quickly changing her itinerary to deal with sending this document.

After letting out a quiet sigh I run my hands through my hair, stretching out a little bit to relax my back. It’s time to hit the bed! I walk over to my room, same as always, my dark little hidey-hole. I slam on the bed face first without even taking off my clothes, quickly passing out.

A week later, Leshy’s perspective…

The familiar sound of cicadas fills my ears as I sit on my bed, staring out the window. A pair of crutches rests on my shoulder while I muster up the courage to stand up. Throughout the past week or so I have been steadily healing from my injuries.

I was asked multiple times by Xerra and Valerie how much I remember from the assault on the cave, and truth be told it’s all a bit of a blur. I remember most of it, but it’s like a slide show when I try to recall it.

They both told me not to worry about it for now, it must be easy for them to say. I know they want to keep my spirits up and stuff, but what’s done is done…

For now, let's just try standing up, that’s a good first step. I breathe out, place my hands on the top of the crutches and begin lifting myself up. Once I’m shakily standing on my own feet, I put the crutches under my armpits and begin slowly making my way out of my room.

I open the door and slowly drag my ass through the hallway to the half-stairs. It proves difficult, but not impossible. Step by step I make my way down, it’s not painful but certainly uncomfortable, stuff’s definitely wrong with me still.

After make my last step from the staircase, the spotters who were drinking until I clanked my crutches on the floor look over to me and begin applauding me for some reason, some of the guys raise their mugs as a toast while others whistle by putting their fingers in their mouth and making as much noise as possible.

I smile and wave at the group, from what I can tell all of the present were here during the assault, but some teams are missing. Probably got an assignment to deal with.

They’re applauding a murderer… What a backwards world. Sarah walks over to me and pats me on the back with a smile.

- “We are happy to see you’re better Leshy, please call me if you need help, anything. Ok?” - I nod to Sarah and say…

- “Could you maybe get me some food and water? Nothing special, just the usual meal. I’m starving.” - She nods at my request.

With that exchange done, I make my way to where the old table I broke used to be. It’s been replaced with one that looks exactly the same, made of Cherry wood. I take a seat, slowly lowering myself while using the crutches as a support for my weight.

Soon after that, Sarah comes over and sets the table with the standard meal and some water inside of a pitcher. I’m starving! While I’m eating, Sarah makes her way into one room then back out and up the stairs.

A minute later she comes down with Xerra, right on cue, Valerie exits the first room Sarah entered. They both wave and come over to me.

- “I thought I’d be missing my Boot for another week or so!” - Xerra slams down onto a chair and crosses her legs while leaning back.

- “Don’t call me that, I’m the one that put you in bed for a day.” - My retort is meant as a joke, and luckily the ladies take it as such. They both chuckle at my remark.

- “Have you tried using the wave to heal yet? Or rather, did you try amplifying the healing?” - Valerie leans in and looks at me while I take a sip of the water.

- “No, from what I’ve noticed this isn’t something I can amplify. It’s like… automatic? I don’t have any control over this rapid healing” - Valerie and Xerra look at each other and then back at me.

- “Well, we’d like you to try right now if that’s not a problem.” - What are they trying to do here? Of course I can try and heal myself.

I nod to the ladies and begin focusing. I do the usual ritual, trying to tune things out, move my focus around to line it up with what I want to do. But unfortunately, there’s nothing. Not like, I felt it a little bit and then it vanished. No, there’s literally nothing.

No sensory overload, no aura, no screeching noise. It’s all gone, and I’m sure I tried focusing the same way as always.

- “Huh. Can’t use it?” - Instead of thinking I kinda just spoke. Wasn’t my intention but the cat’s out of the bag I guess.

- “What do you mean, you can’t use it? Is there something stopping you from using your abilities?” - Xerra asks, funnily enough she’s not that concerned? She sounds more curious than anything. Valerie as well is just watching along.

- “More like, they’re not there. I do all the stuff you taught me during training including my own tweaks to get it faster, and nothing. Not even a tiny response.” - Xerra smirks and scratches her chin while thinking.

The two ladies are contemplating something deeply. At least this gives me time to continue my meal in peace. But after a couple of minutes, Xerra slaps her knee, Valerie stands up and goes behind the Inn’s front desk and starts rummaging about.

- “Alright, do you want to know what’s happening or do you want to figure it out on your own?” - What is that question even Xerra, of course I’d like to know… But I feel like this is a trick question, of course it is. Just the way it's formulated screams this.

- “No. I’ll figure this out.” - Xerra grins and nods back at me in response. At the same time Valerie returns from the front desk with a familiar looking piece of paper.

It’s a reward slip. Outwardly it looks exactly like the first one.

- “There you go, since the cave assault was sanctioned by the Gallahan’s Spotter Association and you played a crucial part in making sure that the outcome is the best it can. Here’s your reward.” - I take the piece of paper from Valerie and Xerra sitting to the side is grinning more and more. She’s gonna run out of face if she keeps widening that grin.

- “Open it! Open! I wanna know!” - Xerra’s acting like she’s about to open her own christmas present… Or rather like she’s watching someone open a present from her.

I look over at the folded and sealed with a wax seal piece of paper. Upon closer inspection, it seems to be a bit larger than the one I got the first time. The seal cracks easily enough as I bend it. Xerra squeaks excitedly, is she on drugs or something?

The slip undoes itself and opens up on the table. The contents in there take me quite by surprise, though I don’t fully understand what they mean…

The reward slip:

I Valerie Nova,

Founder and current acting Shield of the Spotter Consensus, as well as current acting Shield of the Gallahan’s Spotter Association.

Award the spotter Leshy Forestborn, current rank: Boot (Boots on the ground), the following rewards.

For his actions that brought order to chaos during Nyxie Forestborn’s rescue and under Guardian’s Xerra Virroth’s recommendation, I grant him the rank: Protector.

From this point onward, Leshy Forestborn will answer directly and only to Guardian Xerra Virroth and Myself as a Delegate of the Gallahan’s Spotter Association.

For his actions that helped bring trial and judgment to the Chief Guard of Nova Vertex for his corruption, I award him 50 000 Ri, paid out in monthly allowance of 1 000 Ri.

- “Protector? What does that mean?” - I look over at the ladies, I understand that the monetary reward is significant, too significant for me…

- “It’s understandable that you don’t know, there’s only twenty two Protectors and they get hand picked by their guardians. Think of that rank as an extension of Xerra’s power. And she has some power to throw around.” - Valerie explains. - “This rank lands you outside of the standard rank curve that everyone else has to deal with, instead it puts you directly under a Guardia. This has technically already happened when we bought out Nyxie, but this is a formal recognition of that fact.”

Hold on… They know me for just over a month, I kill a bunch of people and I get rewarded with a promotion to the third highest rank in an organization I don’t fully understand yet.

I know that they don’t know where I’m from. And I can’t just tell them stuff about me, but this is too much.

- “I cannot accept this Valerie, Xerra. Please, don’t ask why.” - Valerie audibly facepalms and Xerra looks at me.

- “Told you he’d react like this Valerie… Leshy, you better give me a dang good explanation why YOU of all people can’t accept this promotion?” - Xerra asks, she’s still smiling but the tone’s a bit more serious.

- “Xerra, you were the one to come to my room and talked to me about what happened. I killed ten people and almost killed the person we were supposed to save.” - I’m not really frustrated at this. This is a nice gesture, but rewarding those actions I took in the cave… Not happening. - “I almost ruined our plan by acting emotionally and then I proceeded to get into a fight with you and Valerie. Please tell me, why should I be rewarded for that?”

- “The fuck are you talking about?” - Huh? Xerra’s tone shifts from kinda serious to mocking for a second. - “The only reason, that Nyxie is alive, is because YOU let us. Thanks to you, Valerie was able to try and judge the Chief Guard… Although that was more of a formality at that point.” - Xerra’s rattling off everything I did in a matter of fact way. - “You killed some fucking scumbags, so what. Get over yourself, these people wouldn’t even blink before slashing your throat. Instead you wiped the floor with a frankly quite powerful Wave user. How would I not want someone who can do what’s right to be my Protector?”

I look away from the piece of paper and to the side. “Do what’s right”, what does that even mean?

- “Think about it for a day, you’re free to refuse if you really need to.” - Valerie interjects, her hands are propped up on her hips and she’s looking at me with a slight smirk. - “On another note. Xerra, Nyxie’s been cooped up in her room for a few days now.”

After that, she just walks off nonchalantly. She’s a strange woman, how can she carry this much confidence is a mystery. Xerra sighs and stands up from the table.

- “Think about it Leshy.” - She then walks off as well to the rowdy group of spotters, forcing herself in between two people and loudly calling for a drink.

This woman’s professionally trolling everyone around her. She’s either overly serious or bubbly. I don’t understand either of them at this point. Well… I finish my meal, there’s not much of it left anyway. After that I just lean back and stare at the piece of paper declaring my random ass promotion.

I’ve been here for what? Four weeks? Originally I thought that this is just a dream about Vertex, the game I’m a QA for, or was a QA for, and a lot of details fit. Unfortunately though, the Spotters work nothing like they do in the game and Valerie isn’t even a named character.

Generally speaking I consider myself an atheist, but randomly shifting universes out of nowhere… I cannot explain it, whatever is responsible for bringing me here must have a grotesque sense of humor.

Anyway, thinking too hard about this now is going to fry my brain. I’m missing crucial information. Lets go and check on Nyxie, I’m worried she’s not doing too hot right now.

I grab my additional pair of legs and prop myself up on them. With these crutches I can cover any distance, given enough time! I slowly start shimmying my way to the backroom where Nyxie should be.

- “Sarah, could you please let me see Nyxie? She’s been isolating for a few days and we’re worried.” - She nods and knocks on the door.

- “Come in.” - Nyxie’s voice can be heard through the door. Sarah opens the door for me and waits for me to enter, before closing it behind me.

- “Hello Nyxie, how are you doing this fine morning?” - She doesn’t look… bad? She quickly gets off her bed and sets up a chair for me to sit on. I wish kids were like this where I’m from. - “Thank you!”

I smile wide at her and slowly make my way over to the chair, plopping my ass down on it with a grunt.

- “We haven’t actually properly met yet, Nyxie. My name is Leshy Forestborn. In some ways I’m responsible for your current… situation.” - Let's not beat around the bush, kids are smart, they catch onto things faster than adults give them credit for.

- “Hello, I’m Nyxie Devrant… Forestborn! Nyxie Forestborn.” - Right, she took my last name for some reason. The paper stated as much. - “What happened to you mister? Are you going to be okay?”

This sweet little thing…

- “I’ll be alright! These are just so I don’t have to use my legs too much.” - I clank the crutches on the floor. - “How have you been doing? Valerie’s been worried about you.”

- “Worried? I’m doing good, the food is very nice and the lady, Sarah, gets me books to read.” - So she’s a reader, interesting. I always thought that kids in her situation would be at the very least illiterate. - “You were the man that caught me in the market, right?”

Nyxie’s being quite nonchalant about this. A little detached and that worries me.

- “Yes Nyxie. I’m responsible for your pain and suffering the past few weeks.” - Nyxie’s eyes shift. At first she was just entertaining the conversation, looking past me. Now she’s looking at me. - “Do you know what happened to your parents?”

I really don’t want to do it, but I have to make sure she understands who I am before we talk further… Or don’t talk at all.

- “Yes…” - She answers quietly.

- “You’re a very smart girl and the last thing I want to do is lie to you Nyxie. Although I didn’t do it directly, my actions during your rescue are what took away your parents…” - Nyxie doesn’t move or react in any significant way. She seems to be processing this information for now.

I stay quiet, there’s no reason to rush this conversation for anyone's sake. We’re both dealing with our own issues right now. Some time passes, could be minutes, could be hours… Feels like an eternity.

- “Leshy, thank you for helping me.” - …! I cover my face with the palm of my hand as tears begin streaming down my cheeks. Don’t cry! She doesn’t need to see it!

I… I did all of this to her! She could hate me, punch me and scream at me for putting her in this room, without anything to fall back on! And this girl…! This girl!!!

I’m a monster!

I can’t cry, not here! I force it down. Squash down the emotions for now. I take a very deep breath and look up at the ceiling. I focus on its texture, the snow white color of it for a little bit. Seeking refuge in its mundane, plain look.

- “You caught me off guard Nyxie. Sorry.” - I take some more deep breaths and look at Nyxie who’s sitting patiently. - “Did Valerie tell you what’s next? I’m curious how much she shared with you.”

- “She said I will be trained by you and Lady Xerra to be a Spotter?” - Alright, so she knows what’s next.

- “Nice, at least you know what’s coming… Kinda.” - I scratch behind my ear and think for a second. - “All things considered, are you a little excited? Do you know what Spotters do?”

- “I am excited, but I’m not sure what Spotters do… I hope I won’t be trouble.” - That’s where her mind is. She’s trouble for people?

- “Trouble? To people around you? Hah!” - Let’s lift her spirits a little bit. - “Can you stand up Nyxie? I have something to show you!”

Nyxie quietly complies and gets off the bed and stands in front of me.

- “See? You’re already less trouble than me, two strong legs, arms that will lift mountains one day and a very, very sharp pair of eyes.” - I poke her stomach with my index finger with a smile. She jumps from the sudden poke. - “You’ll do fine! Just make sure to come out of the room sometimes. Show your face to people, they want to meet and know the girl they worked so hard to keep safe.”

Nyxie nods affectionately. With that I pat her head and rustle her hair a little bit, before lifting myself off the chair. Nyxie without hesitation runs over to the door and opens it for me.

I give her a simple thank you and exit the room. As I do, Sarah comes over.

- “Do you want some snacks Nyxie? We just got some Uruga if you’d like!” - Uruga? A fruit probably. Would fit the idea of a snack.

- “Yes please! Thank you. Please get well soon Mister Leshy!” - Nyxie waves to me and Sarah begins rummaging and putting up a snack for Nyxie.

- “Nyxie, Leshy is just fine. You can drop the Mister, it makes me feel senile. Hah!” - With that I make my way over to Valerie’s room.

Knock knock

- “Come in!” - Valerie’s voice is quite loud and stern from behind the door.

I crack the thing open with a “Excuse for the intrusion” and slowly make my way into the room. It’s a dark room without windows, with a makeshift desk and a simple bed, nothing else.

Valerie is sitting by the desk, scribbling about on pieces of paper.

- “Busy?” - I knock on the frame.

- “Nope, come in. And close the door behind you.” - No courtesy of helping me huh? Figures, tough love from her and Xerra are like a trademark at this point. - “What’s up Leshy?”

Valerie stands up off her chair and sets it out near the bed, she then sits down on her bed and presents the chair to me.

- “I talked to Nyxie…” - I shimmy my way over and sit down on the chair with another grunt. Man I hope those legs get themselves sorted fast. Valerie looks at me with her emerald green eyes, searching for something on my face - “...She’s doing fine. Made sure she knows what I did.” - Valerie’s face turns into a slight grimace.

- “I specifically didn’t tell her, she’d never want to have anything to do with you.” - Oh how wrong you are Valerie…

- “Listen, you’re a great leader, people respect you and want to work for you. But this is a kid. I never thought I’d give you some wisdom, but kids are smart. Very smart.” - I lean back in the chair and exhale loudly.

- “And how did she react?” - That matter of fact tone of hers, she seems to think it was a bad Idea.

- “She thanked me for helping her sincerely and I gave her a pep talk to not be cooped up in the room alone. Told her to come out and meet the people that worked to keep her safe.” - Valerie raises one of her eyebrows, surprised.

- “And she took it like that?” - I nod at Valerie’s question.

- “She thought she’s a burden, told her to stand up and said that she’s already less of a burden than me. She’ll be out by the end of the day, I hope.” - Valerie taps her index finger on the chin, thinking about my words.

- “Well, I now owe Xerra 10 Ri. Congratulations, you made me lose money by being you.” - They had a bet… These two were betting, if I can talk to Nyxie or something? Dear lord if there’s any, please smite these two for being so confident in themselves.

- “You two are horrible, you know that Valerie?” - She nods with a smirk, leaning back. She’s acting all smug now. - “Anyway, that’s not why I’m here. I have a request. It ties into the reward slip” - I show the piece of paper with my promotion on there.

- “Yes? You’re not getting more money if that’s what you’re asking, you’re already making more than anyone other than a Guardian.” - I facepalm audibly at her remark.

- “No, money’s not the request I want to put in front of you. Instead…” - I take a deep breath. - “Look, with the rate I’m healing, probably in two days I’ll be able to walk around just fine. When that happens, I want you personally to take me to the shack we stayed at when I was training.” - Valerie’s face turns to the signature “ooooh?”

- “And why would you want to do that?” - Glad you asked Valerie.

- “I want to be left alone there, survive on my own for a few days and just… figure shit out. I know that what we did was a necessity and I understand now that the people I… killed, would likely die anyway.” - She nods and beckons me to continue. - “But I can’t accept that this is all I am, a murderer. Life is sacred, and if I am not capable of saving a life without taking one, then frankly I should quit being a Spotter.”

- “Alright. But you’ll be completely on your own, if you die out there, you’ll die alone.” - I give Valerie a thumbs up. - “Alright. I can give you a few days on your own.”

- “And one more thing…” - I interject - “Take my income and the Revertium. I want the best blacksmith you know to make some armor and weapons for Nyxie. Whatever it takes, pay it, if It’s above my current paycheck, deduce it from the next.”

- “I can certainly do that.”

With a grunt I lift myself off the chair and make my way out of Valerie’s room. We exchange goodbyes just as I close the door.

I need some sleep, all this walking with crutches is harder than I thought. I snail my way back to my room, step by step going back up the stairs, then down the hallway.

I’d like to meet Xerra as well for a chat, but from what I understand she’s been out for the past couple of days, dealing with the fallout from the Chief Guards judgment.

Anyway, I enter my room and settle down on the bed. I take off my clothes and lie down, thinking for the last few days while slowly drifting off into a sweet and deep slumber.

Three days pass…

A little over a week has passed since I woke up after the battle. While I’m still nowhere near my full strength, I can now walk on my own. It’s quite nice, not dragging wooden stilts around to help you walk!

This also marks the day where I’m going to be put in the shack. I grab all of my gear, it feels much heavier than I remember. The sword puts enough weight on my side that I have trouble keeping balance for the first few meters out of my room.

After making my way down the half-stairs, Valerie’s already waiting for me. Without further delay we go out of the Inn and make our way over to the east gate.

As we arrive, I look around, there are guards at the gate, holding steady in case someone unwanted comes. Funny how life goes full circle sometimes. This is technically where it all started, and here I am again.

Valerie extends her arms looking at me.

- “Hop on princess.” - She looks smug, amused by this.

- “We are not doing it this way Valerie.” - She chuckles and taps her foot on the ground.

- “We’re either doing it this way or you’re falling off midway. I’d rather avoid needing to scrape you off the road. So get on.” - I sigh and let Valerie Princess carry me.

This sight is comedic. I’m nearly twice her size, yet she has no issues holding me up. It’s like I weigh nothing to that woman.

- “Nobody hears about this Valerie. Understood?” - I try to sound as menacing as possible but she just chuckles while getting ready to launch.

- “Oh, everybody’s hearing about this!” - Before I have time to respond, we’re already off the ground.

Within a few minutes we land by the shack. In contrast to my first attempt at traveling that way, this was surprisingly gentle. No holes in the ground from landing, no strain or anything. She just hopped sixty kilometers like jumping over a fence.

- “I told you that you’re on your own. But because of how the Spotter’s code is set up, I have to send a search party for you after some time. So make sure you’re back before it’s too late or I’m having you pay for their fee.” - Her last words put me at ease and also make me consider my decision.

How much time is too much time? I’d like to ask her, but before I have the time, she’s one. Not even a goodbye, which frankly aligns with the way we do it in Poland… goodbyes mean an end, sometimes you just don’t say goodbye as a courtesy to the other person.

Alright then… It’s been a while since I’ve been here. Actually, it’s not that long, but it certainly feels like a lifetime has passed. The lush green plains all around me, the shack, the place I trained. I feel at home, I feel more so at home than at the Inn.

Well then, let’s start the day with some tourism. I know there’s a farmer's household nearby, I wonder if I could check it out. Actually, no need to wonder.

I begin walking as fast as I can without breaking myself to where the farmstead is. Additionally, I make sure to stay off the road. I want to see this landscape. I’m in a Titanothar’s track right now after all.

The grass reaches just about to my knees, every step I take is met with a loud-ish rustling of it. Occasionally I hear around me other sounds, like rabbits jumping around, field mice and the occasional bird landing for a snack.

The sun is still relatively low in the sky, meaning I have at the very least ten or so hours of travel ahead of me. And so I move, nature's kiss caresses my cheeks with the light, cold wind. The sweet smell of flowers permeates the area while the round and fluffy bumble bees float from flower to flower.

I continue pushing forward, reaching the slope that ends at the edge of the Titanothar’s track. It takes me a few minutes, but ultimately with some help from my trusty hands I’m able to reliably climb the slope.

After standing on top of it, a large, wide as the eye can see landscape paints itself, almost like a Vincent van Gogh painting.

This world is a wonderful place. I’m glad to have the chance to explore it like this! Let’s continue forward, the Farmstead can be seen only a couple kilometers out, it’s actually close to where I fought the fucking dog. What’s it’s face… Ludocanis?

After fifteen or so minutes of traveling through a dense grassland I arrive at the entrance to the farmstead. It’s a large open space in the middle, surrounded by three longer buildings and in the corner stands a smaller, but still sizable, house.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

The longer buildings have large, wooden beams piercing through them and clay tiled roofs. There is mortar on the lower part of the wall while the upper part has charred wooden planks with the occasional window all throughout the length of the wall.

The “smaller” house on the other hand is made of brick, not the usual red brick you’d see in older houses around europe. This is more like someone took big stones and cut them to shape, then stacked them together and used mortar to keep it all from falling apart. The roof is also a tiled red roof with a nice, thin but long chimney poking out, puffing smoke like a pipe.

- “Hello!” - While I immerse myself in the familiar looks of this farm, an older gentleman exits one of the barns with some geese in tow. - “Can I help you with anything?”

- “Hi! Not exactly, I’m from the Spotter Association, just making my way around the area.” - I bow gently to the gentleman, he instead reaches out his hand, after a short consideration I place mine in his for a firm, strong handshake.

A working man’s hands, not those of someone who just clicks around a keyboard in the safety of their room or someone who stacks boxes in a shop. The hands of a man, whose work is the backbone of the entire community around Nova Vertex.

- “Glad to have you guys visit! Please, come in for a meal. It’s just about dinner time and my wife cooked up one hell of a dinner.” - I’m being invited? For dinner in a stranger's house? I ponder for a little bit, there’s no harm in accepting, right?

- “Alright. My name is Leshy, Leshy Forestborn.” - The man smiles at my introduction.

- “John Burrow. Pleased to make the acquaintance. Now come, let me show you to the house.” - I can’t help but smirk at how sincere this man is. - “Oh, and pardon my children, they’re huge fans of Spotters. Always asking if they did anything recently.”

- “Oh, that’s alright. I can share some stories if you will be alright with it.” - John nods back at me with a wide grin.

We make our way over into the house. Outside you’d think it’s two storeys tall, but once we’re inside, the ceiling follows the slanted roof. It’s very high up with a large, candle chandelier in the middle of the house.

As we stand by the front door, the first thing I see is a Large, open area with a table in the middle and about a dozen chairs around it. Right behind the table, opposite to where I am standing sits a fireplace with a gentle fire jumping around the wood inside the fireplace.

To my left there is a large wall and a hallway carved out in the middle of it, with multiple rooms and doors to them lining the walls there. On the other side, a massive bed, surrounded by books and flowerpots with all sorts of vegetation in them. Then there’s the corner, the corner of the wall to the right of me is lined with tables, cutlery, plates. There’s food all over the place, carrots, potatoes and apples but also other vegetables or fruit I’ve never seen before. A younger lady is taking care of the meal, its scent fills the room.

- “Oh! An unexpected visitor, joining us for dinner I presume?” - The lady notices me standing by the doorway. - “Please, come on in. Apologies for the mess, we’re not often visited by strangers!”

- “That’s my wife, Lana. Please, come on in and don’t worry about the shoes, just come in and take a seat by the table. I’ll get you some water Leshy” - John leads me inside and shows me to a chair on the right side of the table from where the entrance is. I take a seat down. - “Leshy’s a Spotter, Lana. He was making his way around and thought our farm looked fantastic!”

That is not what happened, but I know how this goes. I let the man talk, solidarity brother!

- “A Spotter?! The kids are going to go crazy when they hear about that. They should be coming back anytime soon.” - The kids… I look at the chairs and count again, 11… 12 including mine. Just how many kids do they have!?

I sit around, the couple jokes around about life on the farm. We chat about what John’s primary farming is, what kind of animals he has, etc. This man does just about anything, he also as it turns out employs a large number of locals as farm hands. Turns out his farms extend all the way back to Nova Vertex.

While we joke about, the door swings open and a rowdy crowd of kids enter the house. Their ages range from anywhere around 7 years old to their early 20’s. There are girls and boys in there, all of them together making their way to the table and taking their seats.

- “Mom! Who’s the guy at the table?” - A girl, about 15 asks loudly.

- “The ‘guy’ is Leshy. He’s a Spotter for the Association, so please, be polite kids.” - Oh’s and Ah’s are heard from the group of kids as they all collectively laser focus on me, then on my sword.

Only then do they seem to connect the dots. The youngest few get off their chairs and run up to me, looking at me with their big eyes.

- “Are you a real Spotter mister?!” - Is that how Firemen feel when kids glare at them in awe?

- “Yes I am!” - I pull out the metal ID, indicating my status as a spotter. The kids make a collective “Woooow” noise and scoot a little closer.

- “And what is your rank!? Are you a guardian?” - What is my rank… Technically I didn’t accept the promotion, but I guess for the sake of their fun…

- “I’m a Protector for the Guardian Xerra.” - The kids look at me in astonishment and behind me, the sound of cooking and chatter between the Burrow couple goes quiet.

After a minute or so of a very awkward silence, with the kids in front of me slowly picking up their jaws off the ground and the sound of cooking resuming. The man of the house, John, walks over to us.

- “My apologies for the rudeness before. We had no idea a Protector had come over to visit!” - He bows deeply. I push up on his shoulder and signal him to straighten out.

- “I only just became one! Don’t worry about it, please! Treat me like any other guest.” - Well, this is awkward, I understand that being a Protector puts me two steps away from Valerie herself in terms of power within the organization. But I didn’t know it’s like being nobility in this world. - “I’m just going around the area to explore, think of me as a wanderer.”

I reiterate my point one more time to set it in stone. It seems to have worked, John has relaxed and the wife giggles in the background.

- “I’m almost done with the food, if you want to ask a question, now’s the time kids.” - I look over my shoulder and then back at the group of gremlins who are still in shock. I nod at them.

- “Come on, ask anything you’d like.” - It seems this is a once in a lifetime for them. I might as well allow myself to enjoy the moment and have the kids some fun.

- “Sir, sir!” - The youngest, a boy, jumps up. - “Have you ever seen a Titanothar?!”

- “Sadly, no I have not. Though I hope to see one in my travels one day.” - My reply is met with some frowns, they probably expected me to tell them some grandiose story.

- “Have you fought any battles? How do you know Lady Xerra?” - Two questions? Greedy. The, what I presume, to be the oldest daughter of the family asks.

- “I have, just a week ago me, Valerie and Xerra apprehended a group of very, very bad people!” - They don’t need to know the details, but this story, while brutal, is quite epic if isolated from the bullshit of it. - “We rushed to a cave filled with bad people to save a little girl from them.”

- “Did you beat the bad guys!?” - A boy, around thirteen chimes in with his question. I probably should avoid the specifics.

- “Yes! We made sure they are all put to justice and the little girl is now under my protection. Fits the rank, doesn’t it?” - I giggle and some of the kids join the laugh as well. - “As for how I met Xerra, she trained me to be a spotter with Valerie in tow. We went on a grand journey a few weeks ago. We were actually in this area for a while before returning.”

- “A few weeks ago? Son, how long have you been a Spotter?” - John interjects with his own question.

- “Four weeks.” - I answer nonchalantly.

- “You must really be something to become a Protector in four weeks after joining. You can lift mountains or something?” - Huh? The man knows a bit more than he’s letting on, considering his apparent age, it’s probably just his wisdom from being alive so long.

- “Not mountains, but I can tell you that the cave we took last week… It’s more like a lake basin now.” - John chuckles at my response and the kids get their minds blown. I swear some of them have smoke coming out of their ears.

- “Food is done! Everyone take your seats and get ready to eat!” - The wife, Lana begins quickly shimmying her way around the table with utmost grace, she’s very used to this place. Within a minute, the table is set with all sorts of food.

There’s roasted geese, stew, rice and bread all over the table, massive pitchers filled with water are already being handed around, filling mugs with the simple clear liquid. The parents on the other hand are seen to be drinking some wine, same as me.

While the dinner is rowdy, it’s not overwhelming, the family’s chatting about the farm, plans for the week, etc. Sometimes I get thrown a question by one of the parents or kids, sometimes they just ask me for advice.

I try to politely answer, holding out anything that might not fit the audience at the table. Half an hour passes, most of the kids seem to be hitting what I presume to be a food coma from the amount of meat and rice they consumed.

- “John, would you mind chopping some more firewood tonight? We’re running low.” - Lana asks. I stand up and interject.

- “I can take care of it, it’s the least I can do to thank for the dinner. And frankly, I do need to clear my mind a little bit.” - John smiles and stands up.

- “A man after my own habits, nothing clears a man’s head more than…” - John begins

- “chopping wood and mowing grass!” - I finish his train of thought.

- “Ah! You could teach my son’s some of that wisdom. Maybe they’d listen to a Spotter!” - We both have a chuckle at this weird interaction and make our way out of the house.

John then leads me to the right side, where a large pile of uncut wood and a chopping block with an axe is set.

- “Well then, I hope you know how to chop wood, right?” - John’s remark is very dadlike. I smile at him and pick up the axe.

- “I’m good, I should be done with this today.” - John raises his eyebrow at my remark but doesn’t question it. He then leaves back into the house and leaves me to my own devices.

I grab the first piece of wood, place it on the chopping block and swing down the axe. The wood splits and jumps to the sides…

The next piece of wood hits the chopping block. I lift the axe and hesitate for a moment before swinging it down to chop the wood in half. The image of the cave guard I split in half enters my head and lingers for a little.

I keep chopping a few more pieces of wood, a big one shows up on the block. I raise the axe and swing it down with force, splitting the wood effortlessly. This time I see myself chopping off the other cave guards hands with a single slice. My head starts to hurt and my vision goes blurry.

I chop wood, over and over again, the pile gets smaller and smaller. With every chop I cut through the wood, as I’ve cut through my enemies. While I don’t want to, the thoughts just show up in my head sometimes.

While my head is figuring itself out, I make sure to place the chopped pieces in a nice pile along the house’s wall for easy access.

I take another bigger piece of wood in my hands, the door to the house opens and John comes over again. It’s been a couple of hours since I started.

- “Here, some water to quench the thirst.” - He hands me a mug of water and I down it in one go. I didn’t think I’d be this thirsty, didn’t feel like I was just a minute ago. - “By the way Leshy, do you know the person that took care of the pack of Ludocanis a couple weeks back?”

- “Yes I do, why?” - I press the block of wood on my stomach and squeeze it into it with my hands. - “Do I need to scold someone when I get back?”

- “Quite the opposite, if you ever find them, tell them this...” - I furrow my eyebrows, I don’t want to reveal It was me with Valerie and Xerra. - “The Burrow family is grateful for their help, thanks to them my kids can safely play in the area without me worrying if they will come back home alive.”

- “I’ll be sure to tell them when I see them, John, thank you.” - I nod and hand John back the now empty mug. He nods and goes back inside.

- “If you need anything, please tell me!” - He yells out just before closing the door.

I squeeze the block into my stomach further, my fingers start to bleed from the pressure and ultimately the block of wood cracks and splits in my hands. The two pieces fly to the side with a lot of force, leaving puffs of dust and minor dips in the ground where they hit.

Is this what it all means? That I can just take lives and someone benefits from that? Can’t be, it cannot be that simple. I can’t just take action and go “Whoop de dooo, I’m hero wololo”. Like the fuck is that logic?

Those cave guards were scum, that fucking asshole, was scum. They all deserved to die, but I am not the one to render that judgment. I should not be the one to do that.

This man just told me I saved his kids, showed his gratitude and I dismissed it. Is there no way out of this? I can’t be praised for good actions, but I can’t be judged for the bad ones…

The sounds around me grow louder and louder, the sound of cicadas and the wind brushing along the grass and straw become a cacophony of noise. It’s a familiar feeling, but I press it down. Squash it, there’s no need for it. It only brings death and violence.

I take a deep breath, press my thumbs into my forehead and massage it a little. Let's just chop more wood, I need to thank the family for their warm welcome and food. I pick up another block of wood and put it on the chopping block.

I lift up the axe and it splits just fine, the axe sinks into the block almost to the handle. I have to shimmy it out. This mundane act continues for a little bit longer. The pile grows smaller but my mind is not any clearer than before.

I’m just about done, it’s been another couple of hours and the pile of firewood next to the house is… quite large. The door opens just as I chop the last one and this time Lana comes out with a jug, it has a short and slim neck with a rope attached to it.

- “You spotters are really a different breed of man. It’d take my husband weeks to chop this all up.” - Weeks? I guess it makes sense, even without the wave, my training made me far stronger than I’d ever thought I could be before coming to this world.

- “We do have to take care of the bad guys somehow, we can’t do it without being strong.” - Answer back, I don’t know why but it comes out like she’s a kid.

- “It must be hard, needing to take lives to save others.” - …! Fuck… I quickly put on the best smile I can, it’s a failed attempt. - “Hell, even taking on beasts like Ludocanis, I can’t imagine.”

- “Whatever you might mean Lana.” - I say in monotone. I can’t have her think she let a killer into her home and chat with her kids…

- “Leshy, my husband told me that you know the person that took care of this Ludocanis pack.” - Her face turns to a smile and she approaches, stretching out her arm, holding the jug on a rope towards me. - “You said you were here a few weeks ago with Xerra and Valerie, right? What a strange coincidence it must be! Surely you know the person very, very well. Right?”

- “Yes, yes I do.” - I say holding up the facade and taking the mug from them.

- “Well then, give this to them. They must be going through a lot, having to take care of the ‘Bad guys’ in the cave and the pack of Ludocanis. Tell them that they can take a rest.”

- “Y-Yes… I will Lana, thank you.” - A tear rolls down my cheek. I quickly cover my eyes and forehead with my hand, making it seem like I’m wiping off the sweat of chopping wood. - “I’ll be going now, tell John I appreciate the hospitality.”

- “I will Leshy, take care of yourself.” - With her words I set down the axe and start walking off and out of the farm.

Right after leaving I take a straight path back to the log shack. I don’t cry on the way back, I don’t know why but I don’t. My head feels empty and the landscape feels plain, boring at times. The sun is in the afternoon and begins its descent to the horizon.

The trip feels very long, but It hasn’t even been twenty minutes since I arrived at the familiar shack. Back at home, back in my comfort zone.

I enter the shack, its empty space is filled with memories of Xerra and Valerie drinking about and chatting about nothing important. I set down my backpack and sword, taking the jug in my hand and popping out the cork.

Oh! That smell… That’s the same as what Xerra carries around all the time. It’s a sweet, powerful smell of wine. It coats the inside of my nose, the nostalgia of this place only grows more powerful with every sniff of the wine.

I place down the open jug in front of the fireplace and take some flint and steel. I never did this before, but luckily it’s not as hard as I thought and the fire is lit in just a couple of minutes.

I plop my ass down in front of the fireplace and take a swig of the wine. Its godly taste coats my mouth and throat. This is probably the best alcohol I’ve drank in my entire life. I’m not much of a drinker, but I do appreciate a good product when I get to taste it.

- “Hi dad!” - While unsure where I’m going with this… Maybe he’ll help me figure this out. - “As you can see, I’m not in the best place. Nothing like before all of this.”

I lift my jug akin to a toast and take a sip.

- “Isn’t it funny? I got randomly placed in this god forsaken place and now I’m expected to figure it all out.” - I take another sip and smile. - “Life has a fucking sense of humor, I thought I had the bitch by the throat and figured it all out”

There’s no response as usual. I’m not really sure why I’m expecting one every time.

- “I had to take a life to save another one. Actually, I had to take several.” - I take another swing. - “And you know how much I value being alive. You know, right?”

I take a few more swigs, a warm feeling permeates my body from the alcohol entering my system.

- “Dad, what do I do?” - I know he can’t answer. - “Why is it that when I need you the most is after you died?”

I take more swigs, deeper swigs of the drink. There’s no need to hold back, nobody else is here.

- “What would you do…?” - I have no idea, this is so far away from everything he taught me in our short time together. - “If it was you, you’d just figure it out. Everything to make sure the family’s safe and well.”

The family’s safe and well… At any cost. That was how my dad operated, he’d work multiple jobs during hard times. He’d eat out of trash cans and then refuse to eat dinner just so me and my brother had something on the plate.

- “Is this what it felt like? Now, Nyxie is my family, and I have to do everything to make sure she’s safe and well?” - I take another one. God this wine is good. - “Even if it means violence? Why am I even asking… You’d kill anyone threatening your family without a second thought.

I’d kill anyone as well now that I think about it. If anyone just as much as laid a finger on my mother or brother! I would make “old testament” be synonymous with my name. I would level cities, kill thousands in the blink of an eye if it meant my family is safe.

That’s what that was, wasn’t it? I take another drink, my head feels a bit light, but that’s good. Makes it easier to think right now.

I took those lives, killed these men because they threatened someone I want to protect, isn’t it? I put Nyxie in this situation and I had to take a stand against my own stupidity.

That’s right, I don’t have to take lives left and right. That’s not what I did. I protected someone, even though the outcome put them in danger. She’s safe though, she’s alright because I made sure, nobody can harm her.

- “Is that it? Am I thinking right?” - Dad’s obviously not going to answer.

I keep drinking after this. I keep drinking until the jug’s empty. Honestly, by the time I’m finished I can barely sit straight and after the last drop exits the jug I fall over and pass out from the amount of alcohol consumed.

My god, the room’s spinning right now.

The morning after…

You would think that after drinking this much I’d have some sort of hangover, and you’d be right. But for some reason I feel great. It’s probably my inherent ability to heal quickly doing some magic in the background.

I get off the floor and look around, the fire’s out and the shack is empty. Expected. I pick up the jug and place it next to my gear. I attach the belt with the sword to my waist and put on my backpack. It feels light, lighter than before. I take the jug and strap it to my belt as well, pushing the cork in to seal it. I’ll keep a hold of this to refill it later.

Well then, I think it might be time to get this whole missing Wave thing figured out. I felt it creeping yesterday when I split the logs with my bare hands. I guess it’s not that far away from me, but I probably have to force it a little to get it running again.

I take a step out of the shack and head over to the area I used for training back with Xerra and Valerie. I kneel down on the ground and close my eyes.

And so the usual ritual begins… I focus as hard as I can on the things around me, the tree, grass fields, and the animals that are likely trotting around the area. Everything, no suppressing anything. I just need to let it flow.

The familiar cacophony enters my ears, the cicadas and rustled by wind grass gets louder and louder. It’s hard, just keeping it at this level is hard. But it’s there… I can feel it! The screeching sound from before is gone.

Then, a shift. Everything goes quiet and a presence shows up behind me. My eyes shoot open and I quickly turn around, but the presence follows, sticking to my back like a shadow.

I look back towards the field, the presence keeps shadowing me. Keeping close. I focus more on it, it doesn’t feel threatening, it doesn’t feel like anything actually. It’s just, there. It has no emotions, needs or wants.

This is the same presence I felt when I was trying to read through the Chief Guard. It must be an aspect of my abilities that I didn’t figure out yet, right? It’s not interacting in any way, not doing anything if I try to will it, nothing.

I think I should not focus on it, at least for now and continue with getting my wave back. I close my eyes and continue the ritual.

This time, I have to feel everything around me, just as before… Just as before Leshy! It doesn’t take long. In fact, It takes so little effort that it throws me off a little bit.

I open my eyes and there it is. The familiar aura, encompassing everything around me. I ‘see’ every living thing in the area. The rabbits hopping around, the two foxes on the edge of the depression this place is set in. The birds of prey above my head, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

The feeling however is much more… powerful? The distance is also far greater, it’s the same as it was when I had to tune everything out to find the Ludocanis, but this time I can still sense everything.

…! Fuck! My muscles pulse and the aura poofs out of my view. My heart starts to beat very fast and sweat begins to form on my body.

I took it too far! Drop it! Drop it Leshy! I lose all of my focus and drop on all fours, needing to hold myself up with my arms. I’m breathing heavily as well. Relax my guy, you’ve only just managed to walk without crutches! Just, relax Leshy.

I should probably get some “rehab” going. Physio would be a good start before trying to use my powers, should’ve thought about that before. I take a deep breath and stand up, my legs are shaky but not weak. It’s probably just from the Wave overwhelming me for a second.

Take a few deep breaths, that’s right. My body relaxes and the sweat stops, I’m wet as fuck from it, but I’m not sweating more. The heart also calmed the fuck down. I think I’m good here.

Alright, now that I think about it. I should probably set some traps, I brought no food or drink. Gotta catch me some rabbits and find a source of water around here. I start making my way over to where I originally set some traps with Xerra back in the day.

I look for the general area where rabbits would move through, I luckily have some knowledge of that thanks to my rural upbringing in the original world I’m from. Though who knows how reliable that information is.

I set the traps, they don’t take too long to set up. After that I quickly make my way back to the main road. I remember feeling a large group of small animals further down the road when I was still using the Wave a few minutes ago. It could potentially mean water with fish in it.

Time to head in that general area. After half an hour I make it there, and sure enough, a nice large lake fills one of the Titanothar tracks. I grab the jug and fill it all the way up with the water, though I probably shouldn’t drink it until I boil it over the fire.

That should sort out my food situation for the next couple of days and the water is close enough to not be a problem. Hell, if I need to I can go fishing as well. So we’re all sorted on that front.

I decide to take a run back, not a full on run. More like a jog, but still, getting some movement in, getting those muscles some exercise. With the jog, it takes me half the time to go back to the shack.

The sun is just about to set just as I enter it. I relight the fireplace, pour the water out of the jug into a clean cauldron laying around and set it on top of the fire to boil it.

I spend the remaining time before going to sleep looking over my sword and gear, making sure everything’s in order. Once the water’s boiled and my gear’s all set I settle down on the sleeping roll. Thinking about the next few days and what my plan is.

Over the next three days I train. Mostly physically with the occasional attempt at using my Wave. Every time I can hold onto it longer, it also feels more potent than before. There’s clearly been a shift in it after I went berserk, it feels more sharp so to speak.

As the time passes, I regain most of my strength. I make sure to swing the sword around as well. Cannot neglect that.

Three days later…

I focus up, my mind is clear and ready. The cacophony of sounds surround me while I enter the state where Wave flows through me. The now familiar presence in the background grounds me, it lets me think straight while I do this.

My eyes open, the soft, cotton-like aura surrounds me. I can ‘see’ everything. From the edge of the Titanothar track I have an unobstructed view of everything around me.

“Eat” and “Kill” show up in my peripheral… This is a familiar aura, the primal instinct to feed and hunt. Out in the distance a pack of familiar mutts is making their way towards the farmstead.

The Ludocanis is back, a new pack. And this one’s much, much bigger than the previous one. Easily double the count with an alpha at the helm. They’re moving relatively fast, they will probably settle down around the same area we took care of the other pack a few weeks ago.

They will probably reach this place by tonight. I look back at the shack, then back to where the pack is headed. I have maybe five hours… I go back to the log shack where everything started for me.

I slam the door open, all the while keeping my abilities up and running. There’s no need to drop them, this is a good moment to have them up for a longer time. I grab the flint and steel, lighting the fireplace up and settling in front of it.

I kneel down and close my eyes. If there’s a moment you show your true self, it’s now you shady fuck. You’ve been in the background for a while now. My mind presses on the presence that’s been following me around when using my Wave.

There’s no reaction, so I press further. Pushing my conscious mind more and more into it, making it unable to hide further. It wasn’t hiding in my shadow, it thought I couldn't interact with it.

- “There you are motherfucker!” - I reach out and grab onto something in front of me. My eyes shoot open and there it stands.

A woman with dark brown hair, her eyes glow with the power of a thousand suns. There’s a moment of warmth, then cold, a sense of dread flows into my head.

Like my entire existence will be extinguished. Just like I took years off the leader from the cave. The lady nods at me, and before I realize it. She’s gone.

What in the world was that? With her disappearance, so disappeared the shadow that’s been following me. Fuck me.

How much time has it been? I can use the pack's place as a reference… they’re almost there? They’re almost at the spot?! Just how much time did I spend here?!

I get off the ground, all the while checking to make sure everything’s in order. No time to wonder about this time dilation, I have to take care of those mutts as fast as possible.

Pressing my feet into the ground, I launch off it with a puff of dust in the direction of their final resting place. They’re not there yet, as such I make sure to cover just enough distance to take me close, but not too close.

I don’t want to spook them away… I need to get rid of them. Otherwise the Burrow’s will be in danger. I settle down two, three minutes of walking away from the place where they will settle down hopefully. The mutts begin settling down near where the original attack took place.

They have stopped moving around in one direction and instead are swarming the area, pulsing like maggots out of a dead corpse. It’s time…!

I dash towards the pack and pull out my sword. The blade flickers under the light of the moon while I push my way through the tall grass and bushes.

BASH!

I blast out of the treeline and into the pack of Ludocanis, all of them immediately lock onto me. SHHHHT I slice with little to no effort through three of them as I make my way to the other side of the opening.

My feet slide on the ground as I regain my composure from the initial assault. While my eyes move around to assess the number of enemies I’m dealing with, the wild mutts growl and snarl at me.

The Alpha roars, at the same time the remaining Ludocanis rush at me, leaving trails of saliva coming out of their mouth. All of them are cackling, laughing like children on a playground.

It sends shivers through my body, hair stands on my arms. The group gets close to me, a couple of them run to the side trying to surround me. I press forward at the large pack.

SHHHHHHT My blade runs through the first one. There is a mutt on my left, it jumps at me with its fangs out at my left arm. All the while the two on my right push at my feet viciously, trying to pin me down.

I stomp my foot with tremendous force, a puff of dust comes off the ground and the following small earthquake throws them off balance. I take this moment to grab the one jumping at me from the left. My hand fits snugly around its throat.

Muscles pulse, adrenaline pushes my veins open wide and the heart is rearing to get out of my ribcage. I can do this!

Right as I throw the caught mutt at the two on my right as they try to regain balance. The ones that went on my flanks make their move. I am able to dodge one of them but the one behind me on the right latches on, sinking its teeth into my side.

I can feel the warmth of my blood coming out of my wound as it holds on and begins pulling, trying to rip out its pound of flesh.

- “FUCK!” - I slam the hilt of my sword into it, it lets go and scowls and whimpers from the impact, blood dripping out of its jaw.

With my left hand I clutch the wound, the bleeding is not that bad but the pain radiates through my abdomen. I lift my sword and tense up, my muscles pulse again, growing in mass while I blast off the ground and into the three mutts trying to regain balance.

I cut off the head of one of them with a quick slice, hitting the ground with my blade and sinking it down considerably. I pull on it…! It’s stuck!

Shit!

The remaining mutts are running at me, no longer cackling, just outright barking and snarling, salivating, foaming at the mouth, just thinking about the meal they’re going to have.

The flanking one, on the left, rushes at me first with speed. I can’t dodge it, take my fucking arm then! I stretch out my left arm as bait. Come on you disgusting fuck, bite it!

My invitation is met with an overwhelming response, it latches onto my wrist. I feel the teeth ripping through my muscles, scratching against my bones.

I brace and twist my body down. The mutt slams into the ground.

- “SIT!” - I bash its skull in with my bare fist, splinters of it fly out and a large splatter of blood lands on me. The grip of its bite lessens, ultimately letting go.

I twist my left arm out of its jaw and look at the two remaining mutts. The alpha patiently sits to the side, showing its teeth but not intervening.

- “Come at me you dirty mutts!” - I spread out my arms and scream at them. - “You filthy fucking things, thinking you can just stroll in!”

The alpha barks loudly, the sound echoes through the forest and the two remaining Ludocanis rush at me with tremendous force behind their run. I’m able to wrap my arm around one of them while dodging their attack.

The other one tackles me and I fall on my back with it on top of me. I hold it back with my elbow all the while the one I’m holding my arm around is trying to get ahold of my head with its fangs.

More power! My muscles pulse, the fabric around my biceps tightens as more and more force is pushed through my body. I clench down my arm around its neck while saliva from the one on my chest as he’s trying to bite my face off drips down on my face and chest.

I clench down further on the fuck I’m holding down and with a crack it instantly stops moving. At that moment I swing my right arm into the chest of the last remaining mutt.

It flies off my chest and slams on the ground with a loud thud a few meters away. I lift myself off the ground, blood pouring out of my wounds. The world around me twists and shakes from the pain pushing my muscles to the brink of collapse.

It’s waiting for my move. I take off and dash at it, reeling my hand back, ready for a punch. It lounges at me with a loud growl.

BAM!

I flatten its head on the ground. The area around me sprayed with the insides of its skull. Pieces of it pierce my skin and stick in.

I’m not done yet. They’re not safe until this thing falls. I look over my shoulder at the Alpha, it is ready to pounce, reeling back on its legs.

I cough and spit. The pain numbs all other senses on my skin.

- “Whatever happens Leshy!” - It jumps off and in a fraction of a second it’s next to me with its big snout already surrounding my left side. I dash to the side, just barely able to dodge.

…! Its paw lands on my stomach, with a swipe. Fuck! No time to think, grab it!.

I wrap my arms around it and pull as hard as I can. Roaring from the exertion, trying to get this thing down on the ground.

Another bite! It snaps at me while I’m pulling on its leg. His rear leg buckles and it loses balance. It barks wildly while it falls, snapping its jaw, just trying to get a bite in.

I get on top of it with my entire body and wind up with both arms above my head for a slam.

Right this moment it wiggles and slams me with its hind leg. I fly back and away from it and land on my back.

Without a moment's notice, the alpha gets on its legs and jumps over me, covering me with its entire massive body. It winds up to bite and clenches down around my head.

The putrid smell from its stomach gushes out of its open snout while I desperately hold it open around me with my hands, clutching to its fangs.

It pushes down on me more, compressing my arms, pushing them closer and closer. It’s two longest fangs just about touch my shoulder.

Fuck it! I pull up my legs under it and slam my feet on its shoulders. I then arch my back, holding onto its teeth all the while I try to extend my legs, pressing them more and more into its body.

CRACK! The fang I’m holding in my left hand begins to snap and the on in the right starts to loosen from the pull.

At the same time the alpha begins to try and pull away from me but I keep holding onto it. It lifts its head up and me with it.

I push more, at the same time it slams its head back down and me with it…!

- “HOLD ON!” - I focus as much power as I can into my legs and back while keeping hold of its teeth!

PUSH!

The alpha launches off me, its two fangs remain in my hands while blood begins to pool under its head. It’s scowling and whimpering from the pain.

Good! I pursue more, launching at it from a distance and sliding under it. I wrap my hands around its back leg and without hesitation I vault it over me.

- “AAAAAH!” - My vision turns red from the pressure but I don't let go. This thing needs to go down, right now!

It flies over my head and slams on its back, the ground shakes with dust poofing from underneath it.

While it tries to regain composure I get on it, this time I don’t reel back and instead grab with both hands onto the skin on its stomach and begin pulling it apart with everything I got.

SHHHHHT It’s stomach bursts open and I slam my fist in there, reaching all the way to it’s spine and crushing it.

The beast writhes and wiggles around trying to get back up, but it’s over. After a few seconds the alpha goes limp and I pull my arm out of its open wound.

There’s a moment of silence, the moonlight illuminates the area while I stand on top of the beast. Breathing heavily, bleeding, bruised.

ROAR!

I did it…!

I want to sit down, but I don’t know if I’ll get back up… I don’t know what pushes me to do this, what makes me grab the alpha by its leg and begin pulling it back to where the shack is.

This is my pilgrimage… I grab a hold of the sword, still stuck in the ground and pull it out, stumbling around after I do. It’s clean, almost untouched by this fight.

I sheathe the blade and pull the alpha’s corpse back towards the shack. I don’t know if it takes me an hour or two, but the moon is now way over, getting ready to set.

After getting on the road to the shack I follow it, every step feels numb while the stupid amount of pain from my hand and stomach radiate through my body.

I leave a long, bloody trail behind as I pull the massive corpse with my hands.

There’s the shack… I don’t stop, I continue forward. Back to Nova Vertex, my journey will end then.

Step by step, hour by hour I get closer to the town, my final destination. The sun begins to rise and illuminate the area. I’m halfway there.

I no longer leave a trail behind me, the thing bled out a long time ago. My own bleeding continues as I push my body to its ultimate limits.

After a few more hours, the sun is firmly at the apex of its arc across the sky. I can see the gates of Nova Vertex ahead of me. Just a little bit longer.

Some of the people making their way to the fields stop and look at me, pure shock draws on their face. When I make my way to the gate, the guards stand still, their eyes wide open at the sight of me pulling this massive dead Ludocanis into town.

I pass by them and they don’t interfere. After I make it into town I continue dragging the beast through the main square, the entire thing goes quiet, everyone’s carefully looking, some whisper, some are in shock.

The women cover their mouths and the children have their eyes covered by their fathers.

It’s here, the gates of The Wandering Cowbell. I turn around and pull in its hind legs to make sure it can get in with me.

With a kick, the doors swing open, some of the spotters who were drinking immediately stand up and reach for their weapons before they realize what’s going on.

Xerra and Valerie are checking on Nyxie’s gear, they seem to be preparing to head out. The ladies and Nyxie both look at me. They also are in shock, a simple “What?!” draws on everyone’s face.

I make it all the way to the middle of the lobby and let go of the beast. Its leg drops on the floor with a loud, thump. Blood drips off my fingers and onto the floor. I look down and stare at the open wound in my stomach.

- “LESHY!” - Valerie screams and begins running to catch me. I lose my balance and fall forward, the lobby goes dark. I hit the floor and a dull thud. I can feel her pull on my arm and lift me up. Valerie's voice is muddled and incomprehensible until finally it dissipates entirely.

A sweet smell, begins entering my nose. She’s ever present, always there, always been there. The gentle aroma of her perfume shadows that of a well grown flower, nurtured and loved since its seed was planted.

I attempt to look behind me, my head seated firmly on her lap as I crutch my knees to my chest. She puts her index on my cheek and gently pushes me to continue looking forward. She pulls her hand away but I grab onto it and pull it back in, placing it on my forehead. Her pinkie slowly, carefully caresses the arc of my eyebrow.

The pure white surrounds our existences, reflecting our own fears and insecurities on us. I place my hand on hers and clutch it. The callused, coarse texture of the palms of my rubs against her soft skin.

I push my knees further into my chest, clutching them with my right arm. She takes her hand off my forehead and places it on my knee. Pushing it back down and away from my chest.

Her body shifts, she leans in and places her lips on my forehead. We connect for an eternity before the embrace ends. She takes her lips away from me. I try to turn my head back at her and the only view that meets me is the bland white ceiling of my room.

The familiar sound of cicadas plays around the room. I look out of the window, it’s just about morning. I lift up on my bed, a sharp pain stings me on my stomach. I look down to see a bandaged wound from my last battle.

Someone must’ve dressed my wounds and put me to bed. Sitting next to where my head was on a chair is a passed out Valerie. She’s snoring quite loudly actually, the position probably doesn’t help her sleep well.

I get off my bed and stand up. While my wounds hurt and my bruises certainly make themselves known, the biggest giveaway for my physical state is the dizziness. I lost a lot of blood.

While she sleeps on the chair, I stand next to her and slowly, carefully put my hands behind her neck and thighs. Once I’m sure she’s secure, I lift her up as gently as I can.

Valerie gives out a mumble, hopefully I didn’t wake her up. I put her down on my bed and cover her with my blanket. She quite efficiently grabs it and turns around, twisting herself with it. She’s dead asleep right now.

An unconscious smirk comes onto my face, until I realize, then it quickly goes away. I make my way out of the room as silently as possible. I don’t want to wake her up after all.

I go down the half-stairs and into the lobby where the very warm and cozy sounds of a bustling, beating heart of the Inn, is rowdy as ever. When I stop at the bottom of the stairs, I take a look at where I left the mutt. The corpse is gone but a large bloody stain remains and is being cleaned by one of Valerie’s aides.

She’s on her knees and scrubbing it off by hand. I just keep fucking it up, don’t I? I can’t let her clean my mess. My walk is slow and each step still feels kinda numb, from time to time a sharp sting jolts me from my stomach up.

- “Let me help you with that.” - I smile at the aide who looks at me a little concerned. After making it slowly over, I bend over and get on my knees, grabbing one of the brushes she uses to scrub the floor.

Fast steps can be heard throughout the lobby as Jax runs over and picks me up by the armpits.

- “No, no, no Leshy. You can’t do that or you will bleed onto the floor she’s trying to clean.” - He points at my bandages. Right, I have a hole in my stomach that could start pouring out my insides at any moment.

- “Please Master Leshy. Rest, you have your job, this is our job.” - She smiles, full of energy. She’s not angry at this, she seems to actually enjoy doing this. - “One of the girls will bring you some food and drink”

- “You heard the lady. Come sit with us.” - Jax puts my arm over his shoulder and helps me get to his table. I’m not sure if I want to but that decision was made for me before I could protest.

He sits me down next to a tall lady with a blonde braid and piercing blue eyes. He then sits his own ass on my other side and exhales loudly.

- “You’re fucking heavy Leshy. You’ve gone from this twig to a real tree, huh?” - Jax smiles and bumps my back with his hand. - “I almost couldn’t believe my own eyes when you waltzed in here with that fucking dog. First time I’ve seen something like that”

There are two more people sitting opposite to us, younger guys. If I had to guess, they’re anywhere between 18 and 22. But who knows with Efi’s existing. They could be half a terasecond old.

- “Meet Novel…” - He points at the lady and she nods with a wave of her hand. - “The two idiots over there are Ribbs and Gabbs. Don’t mind them, they started a week after you came and have nothing interesting to say.” - The two guys nod as well. They seem nervous at my presence.

- “Have you two ever seen real battles before?” - I ask, curious if those two can even hold a sword at this point, or whatever weapon they chose… - “Where are your weapons?”

- “We took on a pack of Ludocanis, just like everyone else does.” - Ribbs answers, his ginger hair and bright green eyes contrast nicely. He’s a rare sort, that set of traits doesn’t appear often where I’m from. - “And our weapons are in our roo…”

- “Why are they not on you right now?” - I interject before he can finish. The two boys look at each other, thinking of an answer.

- “It didn’t seem necessary?” - I chuckle at Gabbs’s response.

- “Jax, are you hearing this?” - I look over at him, he’s red on his cheeks right now and massaging his eyes with one hand.

- “Get, your fucking weapons. Pronto.” - He exhales loudly after commanding the kids. They quickly get off their bench and run to the stairs and up to their rooms. - “Fucking morons, and I didn’t even notice.”

- “Well, it’s not said anywhere that they have to carry them around. But considering our recent events… Better safe than sorry.” - I reply to him and he nods.

- “You are nothing like the guy I told about the fine. The fuck happened to you?” - He’s pressing the point again. I should probably avoid sharing too much, I’m not sure how it all sits with me just yet.

- “Well… I killed some people, helped the Burrows by killing a pack of Ludocanis alone, and got promoted to Protector.” - The room goes silent when I say the last part, Jax, Novel and six other people stand up and bow. - “Fuck…” - I blurt out after I realized what I said.

- “Sit down people, I JUST became one. Don’t make me feel too good or I might start giving commands.” - There’s a chuckle from one of the people, but they follow what I said and sit back down.

- “And I’m guessing, you’re Xerra’s Protector? Her arm so to speak?” - I nod back at Novels question. - “Well, Jax is a Primary Lead, I’m his secondary, the other people that stood up are also Primary’s and Secondary’s that are under the other Guardians.”

- “Got it, so I on paper outrank the two of you. I could make you massage my back, wanna do it Jax?” - I wink at him and he smiles.

- “Over my dead body. But I see why she’d make you her Protector, you’re the closest to an oldtimer we have.” - Oldtimer? Jax’s reference confuses me a little bit.

- “What could you possibly mean?” - While I talk, Sarah brings over a plate of food and a pitcher and mug, the pitcher has water in it. Wine’s probably not a good Idea with those wounds.

- “Oldtimers are people who were Spotters before the Spotter Consensus, there’s sixteen of them in all of the Spotter Associations.” - He takes a sip of his own drink. - “You didn’t know that?”

- “Lets just say that I’m not from around here originally, where I’m from, we don’t have Spotters.” - Jax does a weird blend of a “Hmmmm…” face with a nod.

- “Fair enough. Eat, the food’s going to get cold otherwise.” - I follow his suggestion and start eating.

- “So, Jax.” - He does a quick nod to acknowledge my attention seeking. - “I’m curious to know, how’d you get into the Spotting business?”

- “I’ll tell you, but as a reward you tell me your story!” - He cackles to himself a little and leans back. - “I’m actually from Nova Vertex, born and raised. When I was young Valerie helped my family by taking care of a pack of Ludocanis that just kept showing up on our farm and trying to lure us kids to them.” - A nostalgic smile shows up on his face. - “She knocked them around and dispatched them like worms.”

- “Farm? What is your last name Jax. Don’t dodge the question.” - Jax looks at me with one eyebrow raised.

- “Burrow. My full name is Jackson Burrow, why?” - Fuck, alright. That changes things a little bit.

- “Do you have a brother by any chance?”- He nods at my question, growing more and more curious about where I’m going with this. - “John, right?” - The other eyebrow goes up on his face. - “Well… The dog I brought the other day was likely going to attack the farm. I was taken care of by Lana and John, and talked to the kids a little. They’re very nice people”

- “No, fucking, shit?” - Jax is grinning and pats me on my shoulder. - “And here I was wondering where the fuck did you find that big of an Alpha around here.”

- “I was actually wondering, is it normal for those things to come back around after you clear out a pack?” - The question kind of answers itself, animals will inadvertently return to some of the original places they used for rest or food even after they got hunted there.

- “Well, when you have so many kids… Think of it like a table set with food and you can eat whatever you want and however much you want.” - Right, all you can eat. - “Your turn, how’d you start?”

There’s a short silence, I’m thinking very hard about what to say. Honestly, I could just give him Eleanors backstory as well but who knows what her relationship to the Spotters is. In the game, whatever character you play is a walking legend after it finishes, the only person to take down a Titanothar.

- “Well. I was kinda forced into this, I never planned to become one.” - Jax takes a sip of his wine and puts one leg over the table. - “Let's just say that I found myself around Nova Vertex one day and had to figure out what to do. Since I am from a place where Spotters and Titanothars are not a thing, I wasn’t sure what I’m getting myself into.”

- “Spotting suits you. You seem in your element when I look at you.” - Novel chimes in. - “Most people here just kinda did it. Some for fame, some for money.” - Novel is very matter of fact, she’s been quiet the whole time so it’s a bit jarring to hear her. - “So not all of us are nutjobs who want to figure out those things. Some folks just coast until they die or retire.” - Die or Retire, she says.

The two grasshorns return with their weapons and make their way over to our table. I look over at Jax and smirk, leaning in and whispering. “Do we haze newbies?” he nods and a grin shows up on his face.

- “Don’t sit down yet! Stand at attention.” - I command the two, and stand up from the bench. Seems the food worked better than expected, most of the vertigo is gone.

Ribbs and Gabbs both stop in their tracks, confused for a little bit and then stand straight with their chests puff out. Novel and Jax are audibly giggling already at this point.

- “Listen to the man, kids, he’s a Protector.” - Jax’s remark is met with eyes filled with dread from the two young boys.

- “What are the values of our Unit?” - They look at each other for a little bit and then look at me. - “Seriously? It’s Loyalty, Family and Overwhelming Power.”

- “YES!” - Ribbs responds with a voice crack, at this moment Jax blurts laughing before covering his mouth with the palm of his hand. Novel is on the other hand quietly crying from laughter with a massive grin on her face.

- “There will be times you two will get into a fight with something. With every fight you will grow smarter, you will learn victory.” - I get in Gabbs’s face. - “But you’ll never be strong enough. There’s always someone who will rip your face off by just looking at you.”

I go behind them and around, looking at their belts and gear. I’m not really sure what I’m looking for. Their belts are loose and haphazardly put on though. No matter, that’s something you have to learn.

At this point Jax and Novel are no longer fully laughing, they’re giggling but also listening carefully.

- “Do you think you’re in any way ready for this work?” - The two eagerly nod… I step closer in front of them and focus on their beings, using my ability to sense their feelings and thoughts. - “You’re fucking terrified of a wounded man. You’d crumble in front of a wild dog with this mentality!”

The giggling now completely stops behind me. There’s some laughter from the other, much older men and women in the lobby. I get even closer, almost bumping my head on Ribbs’s.

- “You will have to do things, you never thought you could. Your actions can put people in jail, if you fail a mission, a family might die because of YOU.” - I move over to Gabbs. - “If you flinch, you will lose your life. Innocents will die, if you are not, ready. Do you understand me?” - Ribbs and Gabbs just stand there, they are shaking at this point and sweating profusely.

- “DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!” - I yell into their ears, making sure the message was received.

They both jump, they are anxious beyond belief. Good, they should understand those things from the get go. There’s no verbal response but I’m pretty sure this is enough.

I step away from the two boys and yell over to Sarah.

- “Sarah, bring out the expensive stuff, one for each table please.” - The Spotters roar in excitement and I go back to sit next to Jax and Novel.

But before I can, a very familiar voice rings out behind me.

- “Protector for a day and already thrashing Boots around like you own this place? Get over here Leshy, we have to talk.” - Xerra’s calling me over, grinning, hands on her hips. She saw the whole thing for sure.

I nod in response and go over to Xerra, waving my hand up to Jax and Novel with them responding in the same way.

- “Is this not something I should’ve done Xerra? I just wanted to make sure they know what's in store for them.” - She slaps my shoulder, the grin not leaving her face.

- “Oh no! This is fine, frankly we should do this more with newbies but Valerie’s opposed this for a while now.” - Opposed, I kinda get it, shark attacks in the US military never really did anything other than scar people. - “Anyway, we got work to do. I’m waiting for Valerie to wake up but I’ll certainly need you and Nyxie by proxy.”

- “What’s going on? Did we get into deep shit or something?” - I can’t really think of a reason we’d be in trouble, but then again I have no clue how stuff works sometimes.

- “Not deep shit. We’ve been summoned by The Crown and Spotter Consensus to explain the situation with the whole human trafficking. While justified, we made a bit of a mess with the forest where the cave was and the Chief’s judgment also made things shaky.”

- “Right, so we’re going through the teleportation circle and deal with this?” - Xerra looks at me confused at my remark about the circles.

- “No circles, those things can kill you if your lifespan is too short.” - What? Xerra’s being matter of fact but yet again, I don’t understand. They didn’t take life or anything like that in the game…- “Once Valerie comes down we’ll figure out the route. For now, get your gear and get ready.”

I look down at myself in my pants and boots without a shirt, still fucked up and bandaged, then look back at her.

- “Just get clothed.” - She pushes me to the stairs by the shoulder and with a laugh I go up and towards my room. Before I go in, a thought strikes me, Valerie’s in my room.

She might be still asleep or doing something… I decide to knock, before ultimately opening the door to my room. Valerie’s still dead on my bed, sleeping with a light snore to her breath.

I go inside and close the door behind me. The room turns quiet and another thought enters my brain. My heart speeds up for a little bit but then slows down. I pick up my gear quietly and start dressing up.

From time to time the metal on my gear gently clanks against itself, but I seem to have kept quiet enough. The bed behind me shifts with a mumble, just as I tie up my boots and straighten out.

I look behind and see Valerie rubbing her face with her hand, she yawns loudly and stretches like a cat before looking around and locking onto me like a cruise missile.

- “I’m glad you’re better Leshy.” - She mumbles around and looks around the room again, a little confused.

- “And I’m glad you slept well.” - I stand next to her as she sits on the bed, still adjusting to the environment. - “Come on, Xerra has stuff for us to do.” - I reach out my hand to help her stand.

- “Uh-huh.” - Mumble mumble, Valerie grabs my hand and gets up from the bed. I slowly lead her out of the room by the hand and we begin making our way to the stairs.

Just before them she pulls her hand from me.

- “Ah!” - I look behind at her and she’s lightly flush, pulling her shoulders in. She quickly goes in front of me and down the half-stairs. With a shrug I follow her down, Xerra’s waiting with Nyxie.

- “Oooh?” - Xerra looks at me and Valerie coming down the steps. - “Did I miss something?”

- “No?” - I answer confused, walking over to them. - “Valerie fell asleep on the chair next to my bed. So when I woke up I…”

- “Not a word further!” - Valerie interjects, Xerra looks at me and then Valerie, then back at me. She has a smug face on her.

I’m not entirely sure what’s happening but they’ve known each other a long time. Could be some sort of inside joke I guess.

- “So what’s going on? Why the early wake up?” - Good question Valerie, why the early wake up?

- “So…” - Xerra pulls out a roll of paper, sealed with a red wax seal that has a simple crown on it. - “... We’re being summoned to the Crown’s court to explain the whole shitstorm with the Chief and Nyxie.” - She looks at the gremlin and rustles her hair a little.

- “Right, I didn’t think we’d need to but I guess we have to now, huh.” - Valerie taps her chin with her index finger, thinking about what’s next. - “Lets get sorted out and get moving then. This’ll be a long trip and I guess a good start for Nyxie’s training.” - Xerra nods at Valerie’s plan as do I.

I walk over to Nyxie and poker her shoulder a couple of times.

- “We’re going on a trip you gremlin. Go get ready.” - I push her towards her room and she starts walking off. Valerie looks over and says.

- “Sarah, make sure her gear is on alright. It’s the first time she’s putting it on.” - Sarah bows and goes into Nyxie’s room with her.

We stand in a circle, thinking about our next moves for a while. Xerra keeps her smug face on and looks at Valerie while she’s reading the letter. After Valerie’s finished, she looks at Xerra.

- “I will burn you alive…” - Whoaaaa. Relax there Valerie. What is happening?

- “I didn’t say anything. I don’t have to.” - Xerra on the other hand puts her arms behind her head and starts walking off towards the door, laughing loudly, almost in a comedic manner.

Anyways, I pull out the map from my backpack and look over it. I don’t exactly know where we’re going, I’m more just getting an idea of the lay of the land in case something happens.

There isn’t much in terms of landmarks. The forest we annihilated during Nyxie’s rescue is over to the east, most of this is plains and farmland. I suspect everything on the east side is owned by the Burrows as John mentioned they reach up to Nova Vertex.

- “Which direction are we going?” - I ask Valerie, looking over the map. She trots over and points her finger over at a marked village. It’s marked with a big red X on top of it and the name Varsh is written under it.

- “We’re going there to stay the night, it’s about the same distance it is to the trainees hut you stayed with us at.” - According to what Valerie said, it’s roughly sixty kilometers, and we have a thirteen year old girl coming with us.

I suspect someone is going to ride on my shoulders…

- “So we’re going to have a stop… There’s no way Nyxie’s walking all this way.” - I mumble to myself.

- “Most likely, or two even. I want to use this time to train her a little, since once we reach Varsh, the rest of the way uses Sledcarts.” - Valerie mentions once again, something I don’t know.

- “Sledcarts?” - My question is met with some confusion from Valerie.

- “You never rode a Sledcart? People do it just for fun sometimes.” - Right, Valerie. But I’m not from here.

- “Never rode one, we don’t have anything of the sort around where I’m from.” - Valerie nods at my response and thinks for a second.

- “Well, I won’t spoil it for you then. It’s a cool thing, I think you’ll enjoy it.” - She elbows me and smiles. At the same time Nyxie comes out of the room with Sarah in tow.

She’s wearing a black leather onesie, similar to the one I bought for her. On her belt two small swords dangle around. They’d be daggers in my hand but for Nyxie they’re closer to short swords.

Her shoulders are protected with pearlescent pauldrons that extend down to her elbows. Her boots have the same looking pearlescent shin protectors and her chest is covered with a simple chest plate with another segment below that covers her stomach.

She’s also carrying something large, covered in a linen blanket.

- “Miss Valerie had this made for you from what was left of the Revertium Leshy.” - Nyxie hands the object to me, I look over at Valerie who’s propped her hands up on her hips.

I uncover whatever lies underneath the cloth. I didn’t expect this though.

It’s a large Sleeve made out of Revertium from shoulder all the way to the gauntlet at the end. It has a darker color than Nyxie’s armor. The shoulder pad looks similar to the head of a Ludocanis, with actual fangs from the Alpha embedded within it.

Below the pauldron the intricacy of the design only gets stronger. At the top of the bicep cover is an engraving of, what I presume to be me, in front of a large wolf, or more accurately a Ludocanis as it may seem. Ready to fight with my sword in hand.

Below it, there’s another one, separated by a decorated line. It’s the image of a four legged creature, stomping through mountains and valleys.

And below it is the engraving of three people around a fireplace with the moon above them in the middle. One looks like me, the other has long flowing hair and a glaive so I assume it’s Xerra and the last would be Valerie.

The elbow pad is made to look like an eye of the Alpha Ludocanis. It’s large and very detailed. The forearm cover is a set of simple, layered plates over each other.

And the gauntlet is something entirely different. The knuckle ends with relatively long Ludocanis fangs attached to it, each finger is it’s own segment and there is a wrist cover, joining the gauntlet to the rest of the sleeve.

- “Oh my…” - Holy shit, this is not what I expected to get. Maybe a knife or something. - “... I do not know what to say right now.”

- “Nothing, put it on! I wanna see!” - Valerie’s very chipper tone pushes me to get the thing on.

- “But before I do…” - I grab onto the left sleeve of my shirt. SHHHT I rip it off and expose my left arm. - “If I’m wearing the head of this thing, you better believe it’s protecting my scars directly.”

I slide the sleeve on, it looks like it would clatter around like metal but the sound is dull, more like acrylic? After fastening the thing on with a strap around my chest that goes under my armpit and clasps that go onto my shirt, it’s on and ready to be utilized.

- “I had some of my personal Revertium added, hence the darker color. There wasn’t enough from what was left when Nyxie got her armor and weapons made.” - Valerie grabs onto the sleeve and tugs on it.

- “Fuck, Valerie, I told you to just make something from the remaining stuff. There was no need for this.”

- “Just say ‘Thank you, oh generous Valerie, how will I repay thy involvement’ and don’t bitch about it.” - She lets go of the sleeve and slaps it quite hard. She’s very obviously checking if it’s sturdy at this point.

I think for a second on her words… If that’s what you want!

- “Thank you….” - I get on my knees and bow in front of her - “oh generous Valerie, how will I repay thy… involvement.” - In an overly dramatic, theatrical tone I deliver on her demands. She very, VERY swiftly grabs me by the collar and pulls me up from the ground.

- “Do you want people to think I’m some sort of autocrat?” - Valerie’s whispering at me after pulling me up.

I don’t really respond, putting my hands behind the back of my head. After turning around I make my way towards the door to the outside, laughing loudly, similar to Xerra’s exit.

- “Hey! What the fuck is wrong with you people today?!” - Valerie’s flustered, but she points Nyxie to the door and they follow behind me.

Xerra’s already waiting for us, pacing back and forth. She stops after noticing us and we begin making our way towards the north gate out of Nova Vertex.