My armour, my pride - Hero

‘What do you mean, you have no idea? You don’t even know how to help me?’

‘I know I want to try.’

The Dragonslayer looked away. He released a heavy breath. Not out of anger Garvin thought as he stared at him, but something else.

‘From all the people, you are the least expected to aid me,’ the chained man said.

Garvin smirked. ‘I help you because I still believe in you. You saved my life. And you saved my family before I was born.’ He placed the lamp on the ground and squatted against the stone wall next to the Dragonslayer.

‘I did?’ I mean, I helped lots of folks in my day.’

‘Yeah, my mom told me this story when I was a kid. You saved them from bandits.’ Garvin said.

'Those were the days,' he responded with a sigh. ‘If we had some booze, we could reminisce the old times, when I was loved by the people. Especially women. Its very nice to believe in love and all, but what women like more than romance, is status.' He eyed him and nodded with elevated eyebrows, as if he visible agreed with what he said.

‘What happened?’ Garvin asked.

But the Dragonslayer was not interested in revealing his past. He just stared into the lamp for a while. Garvin didn’t dare to disrupt his pensive moment.

'Well, the only thing I can think of, is pleading on your behalf. Maybe you could do something for them. A quest or whatever.' Garvin said. 'Or maybe you can share me stories of things you did for Greed. So i can convince them to spare your life.’

'Or i could maybe sing them a song, and then in their heightened emotional state, they would sing with me and release me. And we could have a feast with the lords.'

'Are you really going up the sarcastic road?' Garvin asked.

'Ugh, its just that.. Come on man, face it. We’re screwed. Lets just call plan A failed, and focus on plan B. Maybe C.'

'Okay, and what would you have in mind?' Garvin asked.

'You helping me escape, obviously.'

And what do i do, then, after i helped the most hated criminal around escape? Garvin asked. He saw the chained man flinch when he said criminal.

'I don't know. You come with me and then we'll split up the next town we see.'

'To become what exactly?' Garvin got up and shuffled to the middle of the cell. His boots crunching on the stony floor.

The man spoke no more.

'Why did you come here anyways?' Garvin asked. ‘I mean, are you a wanted man in every possible city from here to the Shield Mountains?’

‘Of course not, I mean. Well, I am not loved as in; ‘ooh its him!’ he said in a high voice. ‘But no one else would kill me on sight.’

‘Then why come here?’

The Dragonslayer zoned out again.

‘So thats how you avoid questions, huh?’ Garvin said. ‘Just stare into the void.’

‘I was going to swindle a bit of money, and then leave, okay? There is nothing more to the story. This city is so big nobody would ever notice me anywhere. Thats the story of the great Dragonslayer. Okay?’

It was there, clear in his head. But Garvin had tried to avoid this thought. There was no avoiding now.

‘You’re horrible.’

‘Thank you!’ The Dragonslayer tried to do a reverence but was stopped by the chains.

Garvin felt like he couldn’t spend a second more with him. He walked towards the door, thought of taking the lamp, then he continued.

‘Take me to the surface again,’ he said.

The door closed and the Dragonslayer could hear the door lock. He stared into the little flame.

Once outside, Garvin was rejoiced to see the, albeit grey, sky again. So much that he forgot what to do for a moment.

‘All this buildup for nothing,’ he sighed. He had learnt nothing from him. He didn’t answer anything that could ever help him. What was he supposed to tell the judge? No sir, he didn’t want to burn the place down. Just to swindle some coins for his next meal.

This could only end in disaster, he thought with a smirk. Maybe he would be up against someone who who knew nothing of the law. Whoever it was, there was no more research to do. The only one he could talk to was the witch. Unless he would ask Maegis for a favour. But the more he reminisced about that idea, the worst it sounded. Sure Maegis was one of the most prominent figures in town, but why would he help a man that burned down one of his shops? Ammelid was an old member of his guild, and he would defend him. It was crazy to aid the Dragonslayer. Yet it had to be done, as long as there was hope, Garvin was not giving up. Hope that the Dragonslayer could change, become a hero once more.

He set way to the Onion And The Ointment, the name of the witches shop. The road took him past Ammelid. There was still glass on the ground, he could see it shine between the cobblestones. The burned down shop was in a sad state as were the two buildings next to it. Garvin saw the roofs were half destroyed. The scorched beams made the buildings look like the carcass of a rotting animal. The stones were charcoal black. But carpenters were working on it already. There were ladders and gantries and men with wheelbarrows, arriving with new stones. They worked in unison, sawing and hammering at the bare bones of the building. This city truly did not stand still, Garvin thought.

He arrived at the witches shop and knocked before entering.

‘Garvin! How are your wounds healing?’ he could hear from the back.

Invited by her friendly voice, he opened the door and continued to move inside the belly of the shop. There were pots hanging on the ceiling, plants crawling out of them. There were colours like red and violet and yellow. But also blue, black and orange. There were plants as big as him, it felt like wading trough an enchanted forest. The shop had completely disrupted his sense of directions. He only missed one thing. There was no smell.

He barely noticed the witch in her green clothes, as she was just stooping behind a few green leaves. She got up and grabbed her stick that was leaning against the stem of a larger plant. Then the witch tapped on a big leaf, it moved aside as a guard protecting a doorway. A staircase became visible.

‘Come, follow me,’ the witch said.

‘This is truly a place of wonder,’ Garvin said as he mounted the creaking stairs.

‘Ha, you haven’t seen much yet, young man.’

This floor was much more normal. There were a lot less plants and a lot more books. There was a table with two inversed chairs on it. And the room had actual doors with normal rooms behind. All, except the one with vials, grinders and powders.

‘Be kind and place the chairs on the ground, so we can sit,’ she asked.

Garvin did, even though he spontaneously grunted when his back started to burn. The witch had left, Garvin realised as he sat on it and looked around. She returned soon after, though, with two cups of hot tea.

‘How are your wounds doing?’ she asked as she placed the cups on the table, and sat down.

‘I need help for the Dragonslayer,’ he just responded. He was in no mood for another conversation that lead nowhere.

‘Straight to the point, I see. Was he that hard on you?’

‘Hard?’ Garvin yelled. ‘Its like talking to a wall! He literally faces death and he still acts all secretive and avoiding.’ He placed the palm of his hand against his face and looked up to the ceiling. ‘How am I going to get him out of there? Because the whole, lets build a case and do this honestly, is not going to work.’

‘I have no easy solutions for you, Garvin. If we lived close to the temples, I could have given you a transformation potion, and he could walk away looking like someone else.’

It seemed like a sound plan to Garvin. He stared at the witch with elevated eyebrows and a faint smile. Expecting she would disappear in a room, and come back with the solution.

‘I don’t have such potions, and even if I could get my hands on one, it would take months to acquire it. But there may be one way you could convince them to spare his life,’ the witch said thoughtfully. ‘The Dragonslayer could be the chosen one. There is no way of knowing, because he has never looked in the book of the chosen ones.’

‘What do you mean?’ Garvin asked.

‘If your name is in the book, it means you are the chosen one. It means you need to protect the realm. But it also mean you can’t be killed by law. This land is an old one, with many old customs. One of these ones are chosen ones.’

‘How can I find out if he is?’ Garvin asked her. Almost expecting to find such a book in every store in Greed.

‘The only way knowing if you are the chosen one, is to go all the way north and read it for yourself. Those are the ancient traditions. Go to the ancient library and find out for yourself.

‘But that’s very far away!’ Garvin exclaimed. His thoughts went to the map, he imagines his finger on the parchment going all the way up. It was just under the frozen sea, deep inside the Shield mountains. There was no way of getting there any time soon. Then it struck him.

‘Wait, you said that everyone must find out for himself. Does that mean that the Dragonslayer must read it?’

The witch nodded with a smile.

‘So they can’t kill him until he finds out?’

‘Exactly.’