I'd taken some time to myself turning down another alley way, out of sight of anyone who might be watching or following me.

I'd stood for a while and couldn't help but tremble a little.

It was the first time I had really 'let loose' in a way, but it wasn't the confrontation that had shaken me. It was the fact that I knew that what I had done, despite it being devastating to a building and no doubt terrifying the thugs and their boss, was only a fraction of the power I could wield now.

I knew it, I knew I could do much more.

I had to take that moment to come to terms with the fact that if I chose to, I could leave Diggin a smouldering pile of rubble. It would push me to my current limits, my well and the density of the power there would be emptied, but I could do it.

Lives could be destroyed just as easily as physical things, even without meaning to.

It was the thought that an uncontrolled and wild moment of magic could have unintended consequences to people I had no wish to harm.

There could have very well been a child walking on the street below when the wall had fallen down onto it, there hadn't been, but that was only by chance.

I knew that I would feel no remorse for the kinds of men like Filch or those who worked for him if they were hurt or even killed. I even knew that I would probably take many lives before all was said and done and had long since accepted this, but I didn't want to blood of innocents on my hands and certainly not because I was reckless or foolish in my actions.

I had sat down at some point without realising it, I slowly came to terms with a new resolve, a personal vow to do what I could to think through my actions before I risked wielding the kinds of forces that could harm the innocent.

I had to accept a balance within, one that wouldn't hamper me from acting but also wouldn't allow me to act without forethought.

It was a small epiphany but it was a truth that was soul deep, that any who had the kind of power I held should wield such power with caution.

I wouldn't be some meek fool who refused to do what must be done out of fear of causing harm, but at the same time I wouldn't knowingly risk the lives of innocent people because it was convenient or because I didn't care.

I had risen back to my feet and headed for the workyard a slightly changed man, a small change perhaps, but one that I felt was profound.

I was subdued as I explained what had happened to Marley, as perhaps the only person who I could consider close to a friend in this world, and one who knew about my past and my uncle, he was more understanding of my actions than most anyone else would have been.

He thought it might be a good idea for me to return to Moreland's Rest though and I couldn't disagree.

I wasn't needed here now, neither was Marley, the other workmen we had brought were more than enough to direct the remaining labourers and work at their own tasks.

It seemed like a good idea to be gone from Diggin for a while, at least until people forgot.

We wasted no time, the two of us gathered our things then went into the village proper buying up a few supplies.

We were headed back down the western road out of Diggin before the sun began to set that night.

When we reached Moreland's Rest a couple of days later, I had taken my room back at the inn once more and spent the rest of that day in quiet contemplation.

I re-evaluated my plans and all the countless contingencies I had come up with. I picked through them to see if I had overlooked something that was needlessly harmful to those who deserved no ill fortune at my hands.

I found that while my plans had their more ruthless parts, they weren't the kind of things that concerned the uninvolved or innocent. I felt a little easier inside when I came to that realisation, something unclenched and the moroseness of the last few days lifted from me.

The next day I had returned to the Moreland's Rest workyard and both Marley and myself had set about continuing the work on my wagon with a vengeance.

While we had been gone, the other workmen had been crafting smaller parts for the wagon in their 'spare time', while they hadn't actually fitted any of them, they had prepared a lot of things for Marley.

He was able to spend more time putting the wagon together and less on stopping work and having to prepare pieces.

While he did this, I was at first carving runes onto the bare frames on the wagon and the parts that would be soon hidden away. As we progressed together I eventually started setting rune carved pieces into larger parts of different materials that would be going into the interior of the wagon.

Stone inlays covered in runes were set into mundane wooden frames, small iron workings were attached to rune covered wooden pieces I had painstakingly carved.

When one was done, Marley would take it from me and fit it into the wagon while I moved onto the next piece.

In a surprising amount of time, my wagon was almost finished.

All that was left was some upholstery that would be done by an outside professional once the paints and finishings were dried.

And before long even that was done and I found myself having to make preparations to leave.

I was putting it off as I examined my wagon once more.

The thing was huge.

I felt like you could run out of breath trying to sprint around it.

The entire exterior was a dark wood, it was finished with protective coating that made the already finely worked wood look all the richer.

The front of the wagon, were the driver would be was a semi-covered cabin almost.

While it had the conventional bench seat that almost all working wagons did, just behind that bench seat, deeper under the overhanging roof of the rest of the wagon, was a small room-like space.

Rather than wooden benches here there was instead plush seating in a semi-circular shape, broken up by a small but highly polished cabinet door directly in the centre of the back wall of this cabin area.

In the 'space' in the centre of the seating, the focal point other than the view out of the front of wagon, was a beautifully polished and ornately carved table.

It was a small but rather than being entirely wooden, almost all of the table top itself was actually stone.

More specifically, stone I had carved runes into that could make the stone either very cool or very hot without burning the wood it was housed on.

The overhanging roof curved downwards slightly as if it would bend to reach the front of the wagon, the lip of the roof was even curved slightly to match the mildly rounded shape of the front too.

Under this roof was a hollow ridge that stood out from the otherwise smooth wood.

If you unlocked it and opened it up, wooden slats would then fall free.

These slats were woven into strong cordage that held them in place like blinds in a house, only they created a wall of sorts that once fastened to the floorboards below, would stay in a place and provide privacy for the cabin behind the drivers plush bench seat.

If the driver chose to, these slatted 'blinds' could instead be fastened to the very front of the wagon, closing off the front entirely to the outside word.

The entire front section was high up as they usually were on most wagons, but under what was the floor of this section was a large hollow space beneath for storage, accessible from a panel on the outside of the wagon from the ground.

This was the least of what the wagon had to offer though.

At the rear of the wagon, where the tall back wall stood there was a single large and very ornate looking wooden door.

Even though the dark wood was the same that made up the rest of the outside of the wagon, the door was polished so that it gleamed, light caught on the numerous ridges and panels.

The frame of the door gleamed too with the myriad of runes carved upon it.

Below the door, was a panel of wood that once opened would allow you to pull down three small but sturdy steps that would let you walk to to reach the height of the door.

Inside the rear of the wagon was not a simple roofed space for the storage of goods and materials, instead it was a tapestry of wealth and comfort.

Rich wooden panels on the interior walls, plush rugs upon the beautiful wooden floorboards and furnishings fit for any noble.

By design the furniture was both familiar and yet slightly different in small ways, rather than a chair being high backed, it was instead much wider and lower down. There were small differences that were meant to give the impression of the noble who rode within was indeed from a foreign land. A land with their own designs and quirks, the little details just different enough to be believable.

Along each side from roughly chest to head height were what appeared to be windows, despite the fact that the exterior was clearly solid wood, yet the outside could clearly be seen from within.

If you ran your hands over these 'windows' you wouldn't feel the clear glass that you would expect but instead smoothly worked stone with a surface only marred by the delicate runes that bordered the piece.

They were small copies of my glass stone from the mountain, they hadn't actually been worked as two large stone pieces but instead were actually smaller panels of stone that were joined together seamlessly after the fact.

On one side sat what looked like an ordinary but small fireplace that held within it, a small wood burner.

One that would funnel any smoke up a pipe and out of the top of the wagon roof, the runes carved upon the burner proved it to be more than meets the eye though. It would hold heat for much longer than a mundane version of the same thing, it's flat top would keep heat hours after any fire from within had died down.

Faux stone bricks that were actually just cladding decorated the rear of this small fireplace, the rich wooden mantle that arched over it had a small lantern on each end, fastened down to the wood so that they wouldn't fall.

In fact most of the things within the wagon were fastened into place or could be, the two rich arm chairs that sat either side of a small round table were all fixed into place discreetly but were able to be undone and moved freely.

Below the 'window' level along the side opposite the fireplace were various cabinets and drawers, their height allowing them serve as desks and even one stone topped one that was intended as a workstation of sorts.

Each drawer and small storage space had the means to securely sore certain contents within, some of them designed to store specific things while others were for general use.

A small drinks cabinet with a glass door would serve only for the bottles and glasses, while several drawers had a small 'sheets' inside that could be fastened to the rear of the drawer, holding any contents that were put inside firmly in place.

At the far end, on the wall that was opposite the entrance was a large bookcase and while the shelves weren't filled completely with books there were still many upon them.

Each shelf had an odd looking metal bar that ran against it's edge, small hinges to each side of the shelves would allow the thin metal bars to lift up and lock into place, barring any books from falling from where they sat.

This was not simply to prevent any of the books from falling down while the wagon travelled but instead served for another purpose.

The entire bookshelf could be disconnected at it's top rear edge and would swing down on large strong hinges at the bottom to reveal a bed upon it's backside.

What looked like two seemingly pointless but decorative protrusions at the corners of the top of the bookcase could be pulled to slide out and lock into place as small supporting legs for what was now a bed.

The wagon had the utility of being designed for travel but it had the grandeur of something else entirely.

The overindulgence in comforts and appearance were fit for nobility and that was by design too, soon Lord Al Edo would be residing here as he travelled upon the roads.

Housed above everything on the ceiling was a glowing stone, it was in fact a diamond. It was fastened in place by a surrounding rune-carved piece of common stone and was a source of power for all the various runic workings on the wagon.

It glowed like a pure brilliant star, an unintended side effect of the raw magical power it housed, one that lit up the interior of the wagon but could be covered by a small dome shaped piece of wood that would lock into place.

Rather than bleed my power into the small air vents that kept fresh air circulating in and out of the wagon, I could instead ensure that power remained inside the diamond and from there it would give power to the runes upon the vents without my focus.

There were of course other runes in the wagon and without, long planks of wood that were covered in protective runes that were hidden between the interior and exterior of the wagon.

Strengthening runes on the foundations of the wagon itself, upon the wheels and axles.

The door that had a frame littered with powerful runes, runes that would prevent many kinds of hostile actions, trying to force the door open either by picking the lock or by trying to break it in.

I had even taken the time to make another 'chest' similar to the ones I had in my book of chests.

This one was larger and was actually hidden at the back of one of the cabinets.

Rather than expend my own energies on powering the runes each time I wanted to use it, I could simply focus just so upon it and power from my shining diamond would flood the runes by my will.

I wasn't so stupid as to make this the only source of power for my wagon.

The were several smaller power sources, lesser stones that were hidden and could power the protective aspects of my wagon while another served as the back up to my more luxury orientated runes.

Even one ruby that was held in place and covered over entirely that was housed under the wagon itself, it's only function to power some of the more functional runes on the base of the wagon, ones that lightened the over all weight of the behemoth, albeit only slightly.

The horses I would have to buy would thank me though, if they could.

I would still have to buy those four strong horses and it was what I was putting off.

I had filled the bookcase with plenty of books, I had bought various materials and supplies that I would need or might need, I had even stocked up the drinks cabinet with more spirits than I would be able to drink on the way to Gresh.

I had spent time buying bedding for the new bed, then spare bedding, then cushions for the chairs and a flat cushion for the fold away desk chair.

I had stocked up the cabinets and drawers with various things, oil for the lanterns, cutlery, crockery and fine utensils.

After I had finished stuffing away foodstuffs into the wagon's hidden chest I had even bought up more seeds just in case I ran out of a few things, knowing that I could force several kinds of seeds to sprout and grow using my magic.

And yet I still put off buying the horses, I didn't realise I was stalling until Marley asked me pointedly if I was doing to try to install a bath in the back of the wagon before I finally decided it was fit for travel.

He wasn't trying to get rid of me I knew, but I think he felt it was a sleight on his work that I kept adding things to the wagon.

I steeled my resolve and the next day I found myself walking out of Moreland's Rest to a familiar farm on the outskirts, looking for some horses to buy.

As I was walking along the road, I was passed by many times by people coming to or from the town, it was only when someone called out in a tone of voice that implied they had called out a few times already that I snapped out of my own thoughts and looked around to find Captain Holt atop his horse looking down at me.

“Ah, sorry Captain!” I said a little embarrassed. “My mind was wandering.” I explained.

“Figured that out.” Holt told me dryly and continued to ride along side me as I walked. “Where you heading, son?” He asked after a moment of silence.

“To buy some horses, I hope.” I told him.

“Ah.” Holt replied knowingly. “You finally moving on then?”

I nodded.

“I've been putting it off long enough.” I said, unknowingly letting out a sigh at the end of my words.

“Is Moreland's Rest really so bad you don't wanna say here?” Holt asked me.

I smiled a little at that.

“No.” I answered. “It's a nice place and I'll probably come back eventually.” Moreland's Rest really was a nice place to live, granted I didn't have much experience living many other places but the town seemed mostly peaceful.

“Then why leave?” Asked Holt.

I shrugged but answered.

“I have things I need to do.” I said. “Things I've put off for far too long already.”

We were silent for a time as we both travelled down the road.

Holt knew where I was going, he'd been the one to recommend the place actually, as the man who raised the animals was married to his cousin.

I assumed that he was heading to the same place for whatever reason, probably a visit to his cousin.

Holt eventually broke the silence.

“You going to face whoever it was you were running from?” He asked me seriously.

I frowned slightly but nodded.

“Eventually.” I admitted. “I need to do some things first but eventually, that's where I'll be heading.”

We continued on in silence once more and again Holt was the one to break it.

“You know.” Holt said conversationally. “Heard tell from a wagon driver out of Diggin about something interesting that happened a while back.”

I knew what this was about and my chest tightened slightly, but I asked anyway.

“What did you hear?” I asked.

“Heard about someone doing some magic on the local bully boys.” Holt told me. “The way I was told, someone blew up an entire house and walked away like it was nothing.” Holt said and his eyes were looking at me intently. “You wouldn't know anything about that would you?”

I met his said evenly as I spoke.

“I heard something similar.” I said to Captain. “Only I heard those bully boys dragged some young man to their boss and tried to force him into working for him.” I said taking a cue from Holt and keeping the retelling about 'someone else', someone who wouldn't force Holt into possibly having to take action if the law demanded it.

“I heard that the man took exception to this and happened to have a little magic.” I continued. “I heard from someone who claimed to have been there, that only one wall of the house was destroyed when the young man left, not the entire building.” I looked back to the road we were moving down.

“That and that no one was killed.” I added. “Though the young man could have.”

Neither of us spoke after that but instead we moved in silence, me walking and Holt keeping a slow pace besides me on his horse.

We turned down the narrow lane that led to the farm and half way down Holt picked up his pace a little to hurry on his way.

By the time I reached the end of the lane, both Holt and Mart, the husband of Holt's cousin, were standing outside the complex of buildings.

A nice farmhouse, the huge barn and the massive stables.

Mart was looking over Holt's horse though the horse looked fine to me, probably it was a habit for the man.

“Good morning.” I greeted him as I walked up to the two men.

“Morning... my lord.” Mart said, adding the second part after a brief hesitation.

I waved this away and spoke on.

“I'm looking to buy some horses.” I said, my previous experience with the man had taught me that he liked to get straight down to business.

“What for?” Mart asked me, not in a tone that said I was an idiot for wanting to buy horses but rather the tone of a professional that wanted more information.

“Four of them.” I said. “To pull a wagon, they'll be moving some distance too but they'll be well cared for.”

Mart frowned in thought for a moment and was interrupted by Holt.

“I'm gonna go see Bernice, I'll leave you to your business.” He said.

Mart nodded and so did I.

Holt moved off towards the farmhouse and Mart beckoned me to the stables.

Mart showed me several horses and we spoke for a while, he eventually remembered who I was, or rather the boy I had been.

It was amusing that he had only remembered because of the mule I had bought from him and then later sold to the farmer Brigg, the old farmer had apparently come to Mart to check that it wasn't stolen. Mart had tried to cover up the fact that he'd only really remembered the mule but it was still amusing nonetheless.

I'd explained that I had only needed the mule for a short time but hadn't wanted to abandon the beast of burden or leave it with someone who couldn't care for it, this had earned me a little respect in the man's eyes and our business moved along quickly after that.

About an hour later I had bought four good horses, a saddle and ropes to secure the horses together for the journey back to Moreland's Rest. I'd already bought the straps and harnesses needed to fix them to my wagon, it had been one of the many purchases I had made during the time I had been putting things off.

When we led three horses outside by their ropes and we were about to fasten them to the fourth horse which we had saddled for me to ride, Captain Holt rejoined us.

“You can tie two to mine.” Holt said and gestured to his own horse which was tied to a fence. “We're heading back now anyway.”

Shortly after, both myself and Holt were making our return journey to Moreland's Rest, each atop a horse and leading the others.

Our pace was slow but still faster than it had been while I had been on foot, we didn't speak for a long time but Holt had something he wanted to say to me.

“Do you know what you're doing, son?” Holt asked me and I frowned a little, slightly confused.

“What do you mean?” I asked. “Am I doing it wrong?”

I looked back to the single horse I was leading and couldn't spot anything that might be a problem.

Holt made a grunting sound and I looked back to him.

He was frowning at me now.

“I don't mean the horses.” Holt said slightly annoyed. “I mean with whatever it is you're planning.”

That got my attention along with the seriousness of his tone. I didn't answer right away, not wanting to give away specifics. Like it had been all those years ago, I knew that if I told Holt too much that he would try to become involved.

It wasn't that I couldn't use the help of a good man, it was just that I felt as I had back then, that getting Holt involved with this would be dangerous, more dangerous than Holt would expect.

I refused to put the man in danger, it was needless risk for someone who didn't have to be involved in this, he would do more good staying in Moreland's Rest.

“I know what I'm doing as far as I can know.” I tried to explain. “I have a general plan but I know things will change and I've planned for that too.”

“You still not going to tell me what it's all about?” Holt asked.

I shook my head.

“Can't.” I said. “It's not something you would want to know.” I lied.

We were silent for a time longer.

“You know.” Holt began. “Someone like that young man back in Diggin could hurt an awful lot of people.”

“That.” I replied grimly. “I already know.”

I looked to Holt until his blue gaze met my own eyes.

“Believe me.” I said. “I know.” There was no bragging in my tone, no confidence or anything resembling a fool who carried a dangerous weapon, instead my voice held only a knowledge that I knew what I was capable of.

I hoped Holt would understand without having to be told that I knew the dangers, I knew the dangers that not just I would face, but that others around me could face too, simply by being too close.

We kept our gazes locked for what seemed like an endless moment before Holt's face soured slightly but he nodded to me.

“When you leaving, son?” Holt asked.

“Tomorrow I think.” I said. “Maybe the day after.”

We were approaching Moreland's Rest now and the traffic on the road and the noises were getting louder.

“You think you will end up coming back here?” Holt asked, I'd said earlier than I thought I would but that wasn't what Holt was asking.

“If I can.” I said. “I'll probably be able to visit a couple of times but afterwards... I guess it depends...” I left of completing the rest.

It would depend on if I could come back or if I ended up as the corpse my uncle always wanted me to be.

I led Holt back to my inn and the stable-hand took the horses from us after I gave him some coin. Holt had dismounted when I had and he came to stop in front of me.

He sighed and offered me his hand which I took and shook.

“You know where I am, son.” Holt told me. “You know where to find me if... Well, you know where to find me.” He said, trailing off and leaving the words unspoken.

“I know.” I said. “I appreciate it, I really do, it's just something that has to be done though.”

Holt nodded and withdraw his hand.

He got back up onto his horse and looked down at me.

“I hope to see you again, son.” Holt said. “And good luck.”

I watched the Captain ride down the street until he turned off at the end.

I turned away and headed into the inn to stay for what would be my last night here, maybe for a long time or maybe the last time ever.

Only time would reveal the answers.