Christopher tried to rein in some of his expectations, what were the odds of this person really being another summoned? This man might match some of his quickly thought-up criteria, but that could just as well make them a foreign traveler from one of the distant Kingdoms.

He was still excited when he asked Naan. “Did you talk to this person? What was he like?”

The man stood as tranquil as always. “It was not me that found him. Andor was the one that spoke of him. He said that the man seemed to fit the profile I relayed to him yesterday. I suggest you talk to him if you want to learn more.”

“Alright, Andor is the man with the wooden cane?”

“Yes, he should be getting some food in the communal room right about now. although I should warn you that he has been drinking.”

Christopher sighed. ‘Great… A drunk thinks that he has found a summoned, that is sure to be reliable.’

He had shortly spoken with the man on his way to Lumen. Andor had to travel in one of the wagons due to a deformity in his leg, giving him his limp. Christopher had wondered why Soul Heal could not remedy that problem, but he had not pestered the man with any questions. Maybe there were some limitations to what Soul Heal could do, or Andor just disliked the idea of them repeatedly breaking his leg to set it right.

“Thank you, I will go see him now.”

He found Andor sitting at the far end of one of the long tables, eating a bowl of the stew that had been prepared for them today by some of the cooks in their group. It was quite late so most people had already eaten; Christopher included. He dropped himself on the wooden bench in front of the clearly drunk man. He caught the smell of alcohol on his breath. Most others seemed to wisely avoid Andor with a wide berth at the moment.

“Andor, Naan told me that you found someone that matched the description he gave out?”

Andor turned his way sluggishly, his cheeks red from the drink.

“Hmph… Right, that guy. Thought he was one of em”

He somewhat slurred his words but was still comprehensible. His linguist skill did not seem to translate this much though.

“Why did you think that this was the person I had been looking for, how did this person match the criteria?”

“Said he newly arrived. And he did not know the name of the drinks. Was not from around these parts.”

He supposed that kind of fit the bill, but that would just as well describe any newly arrived foreigner, which was surprisingly not that rare of an occurrence here. He would have to explore how these people managed to travel across such distances with the always present danger of the Blight.

“Where did you find this man, and what did he look like?”

Andor though for a good while, the cogs were clearly turning slowly. Christopher was patient, giving the man the time to work it out.

“Was drinking at the Bottomless Tankard… He was sitting alone but we got him talking a little, he knew the language but was speaking in a strange manner… Did not want to talk much, but said he was from far away… He was clearly new to the city.”

Well, he could understand the man needing a drink if he was summoned. Still, it did not seem like the type of behavior that he would expect of a newly summoned with the mission of defeating the minions of Entropy. Christopher started to get intrigued regardless, it felt like this person had at least some potential to be like him.

“Alright, and the man’s appearance and clothing?”

It took Andor a long time to recall the appearance of the man but Christopher finally needled it out of him.

“Some expensive-looking robes… Was around my age, black hair, a few days stubble… Looked haggard… Darkly colored skin like the people in the kingdom of Salerem… Kind of pudgy… Was really standing out, you get me?”

“Was this person still there when you left the Bottomless Tankard?”

“Yes, he was there when we left.”

“How long ago was that?”

“Not long, less than an hour.”

Great, that meant that he might still be able to catch him there.

“Thank you Andor, you have been a great help.”

“Hah, next round of drinks are on you.”

Christopher nodded and prepared to set off. There was a bit of a storm brewing outside with strong winds and heavy rain. Christopher was reluctant to go outside in this weather, but this seemed like the best opportunity to find this potential summoned.

He hoped that the man would still be at the Bottomless Tankard, finding him would become quite the hassle otherwise. The thought of having an ally regarding his mission was very appealing at the moment. Having to change the future of Lumen all on his own was like a constant pressure bearing down on him.

He quickly set out and was drenched in a matter of minutes, the black robes clinging to his body. Visibility was low due to the dark and the rain, but the infused metal plates across the city provided some much-needed illumination.

He had some trouble following the directions to the Bottomless Tankard. He was confident that he was in the general area of the tavern, but it certainly was well hidden. He had to walk through multiple alleys before he finally found it. The metal letters infused with Soul Light were the only indication that he had found the right tavern, he would have walked right past otherwise.

The Tavern entrance was nestled between two larger buildings in a narrow alleyway. It seemed like one of the worst places to start a business that he had ever seen, but maybe he was wrong, he could see a decent amount of People inside when he peered through the window.

While lamenting his drenched state he pondered another use of his [Soul Mark] ability. Maybe it would also function as a personal dry-cleaning service. It depended on whether his ability considered the soaked-up water as part of the robe. The alley was completely deserted, so he would risk trying it here. If some drunk patron spotted him it could just be attributed to the drink.

He dismissed the robes into his soul and a good amount of water immediately came cascading down. Excellent! His body was still covered with water, so he wiped off some of it with his hands, before once again summoning the robes on his body. The robe was completely dry and absorbed the little water that was still on his body. Much better, [Soul Mark] certainly had some strange uses.

He entered The Bottomless Tankard, the door creaking slightly. All faces swiveled in his direction but soon returned back to their drinks. The people did not look like Lumens finest, many looked grimy and had unkempt appearances.

It only took him some seconds to locate the right booth. The man sitting there looked slightly cleaner and only had some slight stubble on his chin,

He walked up to the barman, who sported a thickly braided grey beard.

“Two tankards filled with Sessu please.”

The man poured the brownish liquid into the tankards from a large tapped barrel.

“That’s one bronze and four large iron coins.”

He handed the man two bronze coins and received the change. He hoped that this potential summoned would be a little more talkative with an offering of what was basically beer.

As he walked towards the booth, he got his first good look at the man. The man had his head put down, looking towards his empty tankard with contemplative eyes. When Christopher approached the table, the man looked at him with sharp eyes.

He immediately noticed that the man was indeed pretty plump. Sharp green eyes filled with intelligence peered at him. The eyes were set over a sharp nose and a small mouth. The man had darkly colored skin, with short black hair. The dark blue robes he wore seemed very sturdy and looked to be made from some kind of expensive cloth.

“Greetings, my name is Christopher, I brought you a drink.” He shoved the tankard of Sessu towards him.

The man looked displeased at being disturbed but accepted the tankard regardless.

“The payment is noted, what do you want in return?”

What was this guy on about?

“Nothing, I just wanted to talk, that is all.”

“That is not nothing, is it now. Fine, talk, but do not expect a response.”

The man looked slightly annoyed, at least he did not appear that drunk.

“What is your name, how should I address you?” This person seemed to be quite distraught. The man rested his cheek on one of his hands.

“Bah, you all give your names to freely. Well, maybe I should adapt myself. I was called Sunchal, but now I am but a husk.”

‘Uhm, how do you respond to that?’ he wondered.

“I am sorry to hear that. Still, a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Well, this guy was clearly not from around here. Now to find out whether he was from some distant land or from another world. Unfortunately, It did not seem likely that he was from Earth. He did speak the language fluently, despite the different manner of speech, which was in line with the [linguist] skill.

“Where are you from If I may ask, I have trouble placing you.”

Sunchal sighed. “Lands from the west, I have no desire to talk about it.”

Interesting, time to test the waters. If he outright asked Sunchal if he was also summoned here, then Christopher might very well be rolling on the ground in pain for a few minutes before he got the words out. He was not even sure he could talk freely with another summoned. And Sunchal might just as well be from one of the many Kingdoms that were scattered across this world.

“I suspect that we may have both traveled unimaginable distances to arrive here.”

This statement got him a look, but he was not sure whether it was from recognition or just from confusion. Sunchal stayed silent at his statement.

“Sometimes it feels like a distance separated by stars.”

Christopher got that same look that was hard to place, he was patient this time, but Sunchal did not react at all for the next minute, just staring him down.

“I arrived in this region three days ago, what about you?”

That same damn look, Sunchal seemed disinclined towards cooperating with this line of questioning. Christopher got annoyed and decided to just whisper it out, ready to take the chance.

“Listen, are you another summoned or not”

Christopher braced but no pain awaited him, no punishment at all. Was that an actual confirmation? Sunchal just kept staring at him for another ten seconds.

“So, all of that really did happen then, I started to think it was all just a dream induced by Pavira”

‘Oh shit, he really is another summoned’ Christopher could hardly believe it.

Sunchal looked a lot more contemplative after this new revelation.

“I have so many questions,” Christopher muttered.

“I might have a few myself.”