Part 1

Clink! Against the stone paved road drops one of Nina’s crossbow bolts. Dumb stricken, we find ourselves standing quietly in front of a ginormous marble-sculpted gate. This is the Teleknights’ HQ, a mansion supported by thick gigantic classical columns, decorated in the center with a huge bronze statue of a sword that stands tall in the middle of a fountain, sporting enormous arching windows that are decorated side to side by marble figurines. A mansion perhaps is an understatement. I’d call it a palace, one that stands proud in the middle of a property that spans hectares, protected by tall perimeter steel bar fencing and surrounded by a labyrinth of flowers and greenery. Did we, perhaps, get the wrong place?

Bang! Ricardo slams his gauntlet against the gate’s thick bars of steel. “WOAH! This is great! ALBERT! ANYONE HOME!”

A sleek man in armor approaches us at the gate. Brown wavy hair, stubbly chin, calm and laidback as opposed to the prudish and stiff knight that we know. The fellow looks familiar.

Relaxed, he greets us with a wave and a smile. “If it isn’t young Linus. What business do you have in our estate?”

“Sir Richard, good timing. We’ve got some matters to talk about.”

“Good timing indeed. We’re running short of lamp oil to light the halls. I wish we had a smaller quarter. A great honor for the king to award it, right, but the maintenance on this one is too much of a hassle for us mere knights.” Richard slowly strokes his stubbly chin. But piss that, Mr. Knight. Somewhat this false modesty of complaining about the king’s estate pisses me off.

“I understand you’re upset, young Linus, but really, I’d prefer if the king didn’t ask us to relocate to this gaudy place.” He apologetically scratches the back of his head.

“Warlock! Sorcerer! Are you reading my mind?” I point a finger at him.

“I’ll explain. Come inside.” The knight unlocks the gate and escorts us inside the palace.

As we step inside, articles of gold, silver, and bronze immediately greets us. Paintings and sculptures are on display in the wide, wide hallway; the place gives the impression of an art gallery. Like a reliable tour guide, Richard explains, confirming my suspicion that the place is actually a palace. A sickly prince used to reside in this place, but since he died, this palace had been largely unoccupied until the Teleknights relocated. The king believes it’s necessary due to the growth of the Teleknights.

After passing several doors, he opens one to the left and lets us inside. Bookshelves surround the room and a big, big window provides the room with adequate lighting. As I sit on the sofa, my body slowly sinks on its comfy cushions. This is life. I could fall asleep.

“Erm!” Richard coughs before I could even relax. Having served tea, he immediately dives into the topic. He reveals that he is a telepath, one who can read people’s thoughts. He mentions it is not concrete, and that he cannot hear exactly what people’s thoughts are, he feels them. Given his ability, explaining our cause becomes easier.

He nods as he sympathetically listens to my plea, yet somewhat I feel that he doesn’t look too happy about it. Furrowing his eyebrows, wrinkles manifest on his fore head. He started rubbing his palm against it, expressing a little displeasure about the conversation.

“Enough! I’m sorry to hear about your struggles, little Linus. And again, I’m sorry but I can’t help you with the dragons. We don’t have enough men.” remarks the knight, expressing his anguish. Not fair. Hearing and seeing his response are far more painful to me. I come here for nothing. But he may have a good reason, so I would like to hear it out.

Gracefully sipping tea, Richard slowly explains the complications. He says that the Teleknights, the royal army, and the king are all aware of the dragon pestilence in the Northern Rocklands. However, much like in Master Kong’s tale of Seymour, the king is currently preoccupied in defending the country against the barbaric invaders of the south. It seems that Papa Smith’s gang of pirates allied themselves with the Southern Islanders. They, our enemies, are all too eager to go on a war to conquer the River Kingdom so three out of four of the Teleknights’s forces are dispatched against the threat, the reason for Sir Albert’s current absence. He is meeting with the king and his council to discuss matters regarding the issue.

“Should I assist you in dragon subjugation, do you think we can win?” We should, right. You’ve seen how powerful the explosive kegs were on our battle against Crimson.

Richard’s face brightens. “You’ve gotta be kidding! But yes, those powder kegs may just work against the dragons, given the right application. Still, manpower is a problem. We need more men to set the traps.” With the problem at hand, Richard’s facial wrinkles manifest themselves once more, expressing difficulty.

“You’re right… How should we deal with this?”

Ricardo suddenly stands up, making a fist. And suddenly, the back of my skull smarts sharply, my vision shakes and dims momentarily, and my ear as well rings.

“OUCH! Old dog, what did you do that for!” I lash back at Ricardo for suddenly hitting me at the back of my head.

“That, that kid! Hahahaha! Your problem is solved tomorrow.” Ricardo once more shows his sparkly white teeth, smiling stupidly.

“Oh, that may work as well.” Richard nods in agreement. My skull still smarts and I don’t get it really.

Later on as I am still puzzled, I get Ricardo to explain the details of the plan. It is really simple. All I have to do is to win against Freddie tomorrow. I just have to set some wager of some sort before the fight. So if I won the match, I could possibly solicit his assistance. I didn’t expect ideas to come from the mouth of the notorious problem gambler, Ricardo. This one saves the day.

After having a victorious lunch at the Teleknight palace, we immediately take the walk back to Faye’s place. As usual, it is an ordeal to deal with the people on the streets, but it’s not something that we cannot get used to. We have Ricardo to thank for once again he parts the crowd to make way, acting high and mighty by sweeping people aside with the aid of his halberd’s gleaming yet intimidating blade and his usual obnoxious smile. For once I thought he was like one of those royal guards in one of those medieval movies.

Back at Faye’s, I order gunpowder chemicals. This time, too, I order more materials than usual, lead especially. We’re very lucky to get the dense metal very cheaply only because there’s little demand for it; no demand, not even from the military. Its uses are also very limited in this time period, so I think I’ll strike luck on profit should I make lead acid batteries for the purpose of lighting. Not to mention that lead is a recyclable material. But its main purpose is for the destruction of the dragons. Combined with powerful explosives, they make fine shrapnel that is sure to devastate not only living beings but armor also.

Next, I talk to the master about my thoughts on the strategy, and even he has no objections. But he fears the spread of our secret formula, so he advices me to bring the chemicals back to Richard’s place. Granted, I ask Faye for a wagon to transport us and our goods to the Teleknight’s HQ. I pay her a generous amount for the goods and services she renders, and in return she gives me a tight hug and a light kiss to the cheek, whispering “Come back anytime, alone. We’ll do this, and that, and those ~ tee-hee!” For a moment, my spine tingles at the thought of an older woman suggesting such things to a kid. God, I thought I got away from Artemis, yet here comes second. No offense to Faye, but my stomach churns just imagining my old aunt Sallie whispering similar things to the kid me. Gross!

Back at the palace, Richard welcomes us. He lends us the backyard for the manufacture of the explosives. Right away, the master, Nina, Ricardo, and I get to work, putting the essential equipment in place. Ricardo lends us his strength at the millstone to crush the chemicals, while the rest of us mix, pack, and test them. Without the master’s disciples, it is tough work, but we cannot ask just anyone for help either for security reasons.

In addition, I make some alterations to my pocket bombs. Of its current state, I believe it’s far too powerful to be useful, unless I’m to fight powerful psychics like Crimson. So I’m basically nerfing it and adding more features to make it more functional. As a result of some experimentation, I come up with a few practical modifications.

With the addition of ground metal oxides, the powder burns brighter and longer which is useful for signaling purposes, an improvised flare. To make it handier, I devise a detonation pin, a tiny string that if pulled will ignite the powder in the explosive. However, even in its current state, it’s pretty useless to anyone except for me. With my arm strength, I can throw it very far up in the sky. In the future, I may as well ask my smithy labs in Scientia to design a flare launcher.

Just when I think I have had my share of fun with the new blend, my companions press on through the night with more experiments. Nina, Master Kong, and even Ricardo are very enthusiastic; their eyes glitter watching the sparks go off. The master himself is amused by the brightness the metal oxide crumbs add to the powder, so he tweaks the formula a little more by grinding the metal oxides finer, which results in in a powder that burns even brighter, the only defect is that it burns faster and louder, making it useless as a signaling device.

But I thought it can be used as a distraction, or one of those flashbang grenades. The test results are remarkable. During the test, the prototype explodes, creating a bright momentary flash coupled with a big loud bang. It is of course not as powerful as the pocket bombs I used in the fight against Crimson (remember the flying members, gross) but jarring enough to incapacitate multiple opponents without killing them. I’m pleased with the results, so I manufactured more of it with the help of my companions.

Seeing that my companions are still eager to go on with the experiments, I decide to continue, recalling more of the police’s special weapons and tactics. This time, I add more organic chemicals to the mix, which increases the amount and blackness of the smoke that the powder produces, making a tactical smoke grenade. A smoke screen provides cover that is useful for escaping and protection from ranged fighters, making it invaluable in battle tactics.

And lastly, with a minor reduction to the powder, I add some stone beads as shrapnel, making an anti-riot grenade. The only thing that concerns me is safety. If I don’t distance myself far enough from it, I may also be hit by the projectiles, but not that they can hurt me. For this, I think I might ask some smithies to forge a shotgun, not only will that make it safer for the handler to handle, but that will also make it more effective in terms of accuracy and utility. I imagine it being useful to females, like Nina. It’s a good way to incapacitate a large group of opponents without necessarily killing them.

After that, I decide to call it a day, though I’m pretty sure we’re a few hours past midnight. And about to sleep, my conscience bothers me for a bit for devising the weapons today. It isn’t in my nature to support their use, but thinking of the widespread violence and injustice in this land, I think it’s far more crazy to do nothing. I’ve seen enough with my encounter with wild monsters, animals, dangerous individuals, and the state of lawlessness in some parts of this land. It’s enough to challenge my old perspective.

Being virtuous in this position isn’t being harmless. Sometimes, the power to harm is essential. I prefer peaceful solutions to conflicts, but in this day and age wherein violence is common, I don’t have much of a choice but to develop weapons that will protect my precious family, friends, and dreams. Might does not make right, ideas and ideals do, but might is essential to protect and maintain those. Thus it is essential for one to arm himself not only with essential knowledge but with weapons for self-defense in this dangerous world.

Eventually I wear myself out arguing and grappling against my own daemon; I fall asleep without even noticing it and without knowing I even got into bed. It feels realistic, debating a shouting match with the doppelganger in my dreams. As he runs out of arguments, he starts swinging his fist against me left and right, which favor I return. It’s a long, long dream, and a hard fight. For what I know, I successfully subjugate and prevail against him using my newly devised tactics in the last moments of my sleep. And for an odd reason, being on top, staring at my worn out mirror image feels peaceful, warm, and comfortable; sweet, and preferably I would have stayed in the same way if I haven’t woken up to this rude, loud, and stinging smack in my left cheek. As I slowly open my eyes, I see Nina beside me, in my bed. Flustered, she wraps herself in a blanket and immediately runs out of the room, yelling “IDIOT!” out of the blue. Curiosity, I might be led to ask her later on. Did she come to wake me up?

Oh right, the time to settle things with Freddie has come.

Part 2

Early in the morning, we rush off to the northern gate. The sun peeks weakly over the deep blue mountains of the north, blanketing the entire horizon with a thin layer of golden light. Steadily, his influence grows greater, overcoming the purplish hue of the early morning sky with his golden rays, illuminating the wide open field that we stand on. The grass still covered in morning dew glitter brightly and the breeze blows coldly over my shoulder.

Across, Freddie stands, wearing a full suit of plate armor. He draws his long sword. Its blade gleams under the sun’s morning radiance, and its edge is made even sharper by the fierce and deeply displeased look in his eyes. Under the vigorous cheering of his supporters, he shuts his visor close and tightens the grip on his sword’s hilt, prepared to strike.

As it stands, the duel looks one sided. While he wears a plate, mine’s just a vest, not to mention that I’m just about to go seven this year. It’s at this moment that I break the momentum by thrusting my killer bat to the ground. I gesture with my palm, stop.

“It wouldn’t be thrilling if we didn’t have anything to wager in this battle.”

“Kid, you jest. Isn’t staking one’s honor enough? Do you wish further humiliation?” He swings his sword to the side.

“I fight for a different reason. I thought all along it’s about the slaves. Should you lose, I’d like you to free them. I’d like to have them.” I point a finger to his eye.

“And should I win, I would like you to grovel to my feet, in the plaza, where all the people in town will see. I feel that you ought to learn some respect of authority.” He returns the favor, pointing his long sword to my eye.

“Fine by me, but I request that for fairness’ sake, I be allowed to use weapons of my choice as you are allowed to wear a fine suit of armor. I’ll be using these magic stones in addition to my club for this duel.” Casting my killer bat aside, I unbuttoned my vest to reveal the hidden attachments, my treasured pocket grenades.

“Fine by me. Seeing that you’re using trickery, I as well should be allowed to engage you with my psychic ability.”

“Then let’s begin.” A gust of wind blows harshly on my favor. And following the current, I rush forward to swing my killer club at my opponent.

Odd sparks arc over Freddie’s armor. As if wearing nothing, his movement comes unobstructed. He swiftly slides to the side, avoiding my strike, thus the attack misses and bites the earth, blowing mud and dirt all over the place. And like the sudden burst of a bubble, he quickly vanishes from sight. Clink! But not without a flaw, his armor clatters.

As my hearing reveals, I turn around to meet my aggressor. Sparks fly as metal grinds against metal. My club meets the blade of his sword head on as it rapidly falls from the sky. But too light, the momentum from the swing can’t even be compared to Ricardo’s or to Rocky’s. Pushing against it, I feel very little resistance coming from my opponent. The clash tells much how my weapon overpowers his in terms of raw weight. And in strength, I have a similar sense of superiority.

I advance my right foot forward, gathering momentum as I twist my body to the right side. Followed by a circular motion, I unleash the stored tension from my arms to the killer club in full swing.

Freddie then grips the middle portion of his blade to add more leverage in an effort to push my club away. Once more, odd blue sparks arc over the joints of his armor. I feel more resistance coming from him, but not enough; eventually he loses to the momentum. His boots sinks into the soil and plows the mud in a straight line as he gets pushed far, far back.

Steam rises from his boots. “Dangerous!” He regains his fighting stance and brandishes his sword to the side. Blue sparks arc into a frenzied dance all over the youth’s plate armor. Like a flash of lightning, he springs forward and throws a thrust towards me, fast, it can’t be dodged.

In a flash, I am reminded of baseball. And like a batter, I concentrate, waiting for my ball. At the right timing, I coordinate my legs and body to twist in a sudden motion to the right, transferring much force in a circular motion to my arms and then to my killer club. CRASH! It hits the middle of the blade, right on, deflecting the strike. Freddie gets thrown to the side.

“I knew it.” Freddie jumps forwards and delivers a strike from above. Clang! His blade bites against my club once more. Out of the blue he yells, “ARC FLASH!” The frenzied blue sparks flow from his armor, to his sword, and reaches my killer bat, flashing blindingly white, momentarily. Electrifying, I must have felt a hair raising thousand volts. My fingers go numb, instantaneously letting go of the weapon. Out of fright, my instinct takes over, leading me to jump far back, several yards away.

Steam and a familiar burning smell come off my hands. My numbing fingers awaken to the burning and stinging sensation of first degree burns. Electrocution, is it? I did not expect fighting a foe who can command such a dangerous psychic ability.

“Cowardice! Don’t run away!” Blue arching sparks shrouds the entirety of his armor and his blade. He lunges forward in pursuit and showers me with a barrage of lightning fast slashes. Unarmed, I dodge and deflect some blows barehanded, opening small cuts in my arms. Blood starts to gush out the freshly opened wounds. Stinging they may be, yet they are not unending. Given a pause in his attacks, I channel force down to my legs and to my feet. Kicking the earth, I launch myself a great distance away from him. At the same time, the act splatters dirt against Freddie’s face, which seems unaffected given how he hides it behind a visor.

But oddly, he stops his pursuit, and from a distance raises his left fist in the air. Trembling and frenzied, blue sparks gather into it, converging and materializing into a luminescent white rod-like object. He then locks sights into me and throws the rod-shaped stuff as he would a throwing spear, yelling “Take this! ARC BOLT!”

Instinctively, I jump to the side as high and as far as I can to avoid the mysterious projectile. For one thing, I know that he commands the power to control electricity. And if the stuff he throws is as good as lightning, I might as well be electrocuted should the thing misses and lands on the ground. I’ve read on some science publications how a lightning strike on the ground can electrocute people standing in its close proximity. So better be careful than sorry. Given the numerous wounds that cover my arms and legs, I can no longer afford to be caught in a surprise.

Warm white steam rises. The bolt of lightning strikes the ground and disintegrates upon contact, instantly vaporizing the grass around the area it lands on. But Freddie isn’t done yet. Again, he channels frenzied blue sparks to his left hand, preparing to shoot another round.

Fail or not, it’s about time I executed the plan. Inside my vest, my hand reaches for a smoke grenade.

“ARC BOLT!” As Freddie throws in another electric bolt, I leave a smoke grenade on the spot and jump far back. The bolt hits the area and its electric shock detonates the grenade, creating a thick wall of black smoke. Then, I grab a couple more smoke grenades from my vest, pull their pins out, and throw them around Freddie. Their explosion results in thick black cloud of smoke, making the perfect smoke screen. Using the distraction, I sneak off to get my weapon back.

“Only cowards result to such knavery! Come out!” Freddie coughs and curses as he inhales smoke. Pity, I throw a flashbang in to provide ample distraction.

BOOM! Ear shattering the explosion is, even I am not spared. My ears ring and my vision shake, momentarily. In addition to noise, the loud explosion parts the sea of smoke and leaves the young Freddie visible and vulnerable. Having prepared much, it is easy to recover, but I cannot say for Freddie, who has never in his life seen or heard of things such as explosives. He opens his visor and rubs his eyes with one hand, effectively collapsing his fighting stance, leaving many openings for an attack.

Seeing the opportunity, I rush to his side to swing my killer club in a sweeping motion against his calves. The massive club sweeps in and throws him flying on his back, disarming him. Thrown, the sword twirls high up in the air and falls, burying itself to the ground next to its owner, Freddie who cleanly hits the ground, flat on his back.

“Checkmate!” I pointed the killer club at his nose. The small crowd of spectators has gone wild, seeing the spectacle. However, Freddie is quiet; he has yet to issue his surrender. Slowly raising both hands, he seems to have accepted his fate. He mutters, “I’m done.” Then he reaches for my weapon, holding it tight with both hands, yelling “ARC FLASH!” Wicked sparks of blinding white and blue insanity furiously arc and race from his hands to the cast iron club. As there isn’t enough time to react, my hands get caught in the discharge. A thousand bolts travel from my hands to my body, confusing and stinging my nerves, making my muscles contract wildly and uncontrollably. And even if I wanted to get away, my body hears my commands not. Frustratingly, I grit my teeth and endure the pain for the moment, for the longest second in my life.

After receiving the shock, a stinging pain of a thousand daggers pierces and lingers in different parts of my body, rendering me unable to move. I fall flat on the ground, face down but fully conscious. Zapping, buzzing, and prickling electrical noises can be heard, and ticklish cold sweat runs from my forehead to my nose. Freddie must be pulling another one of those special moves of his. But, but… stop! Damn it!

“Like being humiliated? Take… WHOA!” Dug, dug, dug! CRASH! The ground shakes, and a loud banging of metals ensues.

“My young lord, don’t you have any self-control?” A familiar voice scolds Freddie.

“But… but… trickery! He uses such cowardice!” Frustrated Freddie argues against the familiar voice. Albert?

“I believe you were informed of the matter beforehand. It is your failure to recognize that as a serious threat. Therefore, I declare the young Linus as the winner of this match.”

After receiving a long winding sermon from Albert, the youth concedes and agrees to release the slaves under my care, for which I thank him a lot. With the slaves on our side, we may have enough man power to do dragon hunting. I’ll free them once we have finished our mission in Petro.

“Are you okay?” A young lady of sparkling emerald eyes and long wavy golden blonde locks, Goldilocks, reaches to me and helps me sit up. She continues, “Just a moment, don’t move.” She holds my right hand and gives it a massage; afterwards, she smoothly runs her white and silky hands along my arm. A strange glow and comforting warmth emanates from her hands. Next, she gives the rest of my limbs the same treatment. Like magic, the wounds close and my body feels so much better after the treatment. Could she be a psychic herself?

“Thank you very much… uhm, young miss, I’m sorry, I don’t have your name.”

“Me… hmm… Aria would do!”

“Your highness, lowering yourself to a scoundrel! No, no, it’s her highness for you.” Points the agitated man in armor who stands next to Goldilocks. Never mind that, I’ll call Goldilocks, Aria.

“Elliot!” With a stern gaze, Aria raises her voice against the loyal attendant. Chin held high, she turns her face away, snubbing the man. She then gives her hand to me and helps me stand up. The attendant watches the act with popping eyes. Little by little, his complexion turns pale as if he has seen a ghost. And alone he is not, there too is the youth, Freddie, wearing the same surprised expression, and trembling – their armor rattles. What the hell did I do to them?

“What’s wrong with him, Aria?”

Chin held high, she again ignores the man. “Ignore him. Let’s go to the city.” She then holds my hand and drags me towards the gate.

“Wait, my business with them… “ I point at my comrades.

Aria squeezes my hand tightly and hurries her pace, whispering “I have something to talk with you.” Left without a choice, I wave at Richard and the master, gesturing that I leave the matters to them. For a moment there, I catch a glimpse of Ricardo, gesticulating vulgar things. And there too is Elliot and Freddie, both sporting hostile glares at me, grinding their teeth furiously. They must be cursing me to death. Scary!

“Wait a moment, princess. I left something.” I grab a pebble and throw it at the Old Dog. Bull’s eye, it landed in his spiky scalp. Ricardo rubs the newly formed lump, curses, and complains, making the others laugh with his usual clownery. More importantly, I manage to divert the hostile glares with the distraction.

“Hahaha, what a brat. How long do you intend to keep me waiting?” Once more, Aria offers her hand. The wind blows, making her frilly silky dress and golden locks flutter. And the clouds part, revealing the morning sun in its fullest glory. The sun’s mild and majestic morning rays reflect brilliantly on her emerald eyes.

Formidable, there’s no way I can decline her invitation.

“Let’s go.” As soon as she hears the reply, she grabs my hand and runs, dragging me along with her to the city.

Part 3

Aria breezes through the roads, bumping shoulder to shoulder against properly dressed ladies and gents. Worse, she ignores them completely. She doesn’t even look back and apologize and just walks past them as if they were not there. Fortunately, the people do not seem to mind the misdemeanor.

Important, she makes the invitation appears so, but it does not seem to be so much, seeing how much she wastes her time and mine’s on trivial things. This spoiled Aria, the daughter of some rich lord who happens to be acquainted with my father as she briefly mentions, drags me to every boutique in the city to do her endless shopping spree. And while doing so, she’s not one bit shy to nag at the stores’ attendants about every trivial detail she finds distasteful on the clothes, the accessories, and every goods she gets her hands on, causing a lot of mischief. Strangely, no one dares talk back. After a while, the goods under my care gradually stack up to a mountain; I can hardly see where to go. How far have I fallen, and how I regret falling for her innocent charm. I expect to have a serious conversation, not to carry a load of goods for her like an attendant would.

“Linus, look, I haven’t been there yet. Let’s go!” The glitter on her eyes, the lass smiles innocently and points at another boutique. Very formidable, how can I argue against that? How far had I regressed. I can at least give her a rest to thank her for curing my injuries, for now.

“What’s wrong, Linus?” From out of nowhere, she pokes me in the cheek. Startled, I drop the goods she asks of me to carry. Out of the bags and boxes, they scatter on the street, making a mess.

“I’m sorry.” I gather them and put them back in the boxes and bags quickly.

“No, it’s okay. You must be tired. Let’s have lunch.”

A gate of steel, door handles of brass, wide arched windows of frosted and stained glass, chandeliers of silver, figurines of gold, and lamps of bronze at every table, they all glitter blindingly before my eyes. As expected of the lady’s choice, we land on an expensive and exclusive establishment. And while the waiter by the door addresses the lady in a friendly manner, he stares daggers at me for soiling the establishment’s fine, fine carpet with my muddy boots. As the lady calls to his attention, sweat runs down his brow and he smiles with lips trembling, contorting slightly. Aria must be a valued guest and friend of this establishment, me thinks.

But reflecting more at the people’s unusual reactions and judging stares as I walk deeper inside the den, I realize it must be me they are looking at. For them, my barbaric and unrefined appearance must have dwarfed the lady’s misdeeds. Goodness, how embarrassing for me to be wearing such attire at such a place. Having seated at a small round table for two, my knees start to jerk. In all honesty, I wanted to get out and get dressed at least.

“Mind them not, Linus. Try and enjoy your time here. Ahhh! How long has it been since I last visited this place!” Addressing my worries, Aria’s eyes glitter. Having served the course, she meticulously takes her time tasting every single dish served. “Well, this one’s better than one’s at home. But I feel it could have used more butter.” She wears down our time, blabbering about food, clothes, and accessories, not giving me even a sliver of time to speak my thoughts. All I can do is nod and smile. But patience, my time too wears thin. After all, I have matters to take care of.

I have had enough.

I stand up, addressing the lady “Aria, I hope this time we spent is enough to repay my debt. I as well have business to do. And… what, please I’m sorry!” Not even half done with my statement, the selfish princess, Aria, starts shedding down pearly, glittery tears. As they slowly wet her finely woven frilly garment, trouble I sense. Shivers run down my spine. Thick dark miasma starts to contaminate the atmosphere; directed all at me, how the sharp stares from the darkened eyes of the finely clothed spectators prickle. “I’m sorry, calm down. Okay, what was that? Let’s talk more about your last story.” Hypocritically, I smile as I try to defuse the tension.

“hick… alright, it’s no use then. And I just wanted to see what you are, how you are… what are you like… I know… you men are just… deplorable! OUCCHH!” Sobbing, she pounds the table with her delicate hand, hurting herself in the process.

I reach to her injured hand, giving it a light massage. Then I sit to her closer. Defenselessly, she leans at me, telling me of her closeted life at her mansion. Choice, I have not but to quietly listen and nod as she complains.

Apparently, her father doesn’t give him liberty to go out of the mansion. Friends, she has none but the people in the boutiques, and that’s only if she had the chance to see them. And the locals are just too afraid to make friends with her, further isolating herself.

“But my lady, why come and see me?” Again, I catch some hostile stares. Even so, Goldilocks doesn’t mind them in the least. Fiddling with her hair, she replies offhandedly “I thought you knew as I told you my name. Linus, our fathers arranged for us to be wed.”

My heart jumps out of my chest. My thoughts race and my eyes bleed thinking of how the good man Julius would ever have thought of such an inconvenient arrangement. He didn’t tell me, and I didn’t agree to it either. I say “you must be mistaken… I’m just a kid…”

“No, you’re not, you’re special. And no, I’m not mistaken nor am I disappointed. I’m glad to see in skin the rumored young hero of Exteris. I wouldn’t have believed it had I not seen you valiantly settle score with mighty Frederick. Father made the right choice.” She reaches my face and run her long slender fingers down my cheek. Like gems, her eyes sparkle brightly, warmly, and temptingly. Blood warms my cheeks, my ears. I feel the need to stop, thus I push her hand away.

For it is awkward, looking away I say “maybe we should talk more about this in private…” She nods, smiling so innocently like a proper young lady in her teens. Heeding my request, we journey back to the Teleknights’ HQ.

Upon arrival, Sir Elliot, Aria’s bodyguard, immediately approaches us by the gate, scolding the young miss for running away without notice. His temper is as red as the reflection of the setting sun on his armor. But Aria, strong as her resilient emerald green eyes are, minds not the abuse; in fact, she does not shy away from having a shouting match with her guardian and in a casual manner as if she’s used to have arguments with him very often. For how quiet and tranquil the scenery of the palace’s entrance should be, I’m quite baffled how only two people generate much noise to ruin it.

Deviously, Aria then kneels down and hides behind my back, using me as shield, snickering about quietly. Instantly, I catch fire being worn down by Elliot’s scorching glare. Where, just where has the proper lady gone? How can such a character be so inconsistent, I am offended!

“Oh! There you guys are. Dinner’s ready!” Dark it already is; Richard calls from the castle. His shadow flutters as much as the flames of the palace’s wall lanterns do.

Dinnertime comes, an appetizing feast of colors and fragrance populate the center of the table. Ricardo quickly skewers with his fork an entire roasted duck, keeping it all to himself. With a big smile, he takes a big bite out of the poor creature, and chugs down an entire bowl of soup. Alcohol, he downs several mugs of them. Alone he acts in such a rude manner. How embarrassing, considering that we have a guest of honor on the table. But better he sets the atmosphere as it is before an argument far worse starts between our guests. Good job, Ricardo.

“OUCH!” Even better, Nina gives him a knuckle to the rib. She scolds the old man to behave properly, which quickly escalates to an argument. Fire and laser shoot back and forth between their eyes. I bet they would do better at dealing with Freddie’s psychic ability had they fought in my place earlier. Strangely, the petty squabble shows no sign of upsetting neither the master nor our guests. And in my favor, our guests keep their behavior in check not to act worse than the hooligans my mighty gang are.

Done eating, I pull out Aria alone to the backyard to show what I have been up to, recently. I explain to her my behavior at the establishment earlier, and the reason I can’t keep her company for long. I then tell her the story about the oil, and the investment I’m making in Nexus. And regarding the arrangement, I pointed at the production saying “This is what I’m up to, expanding my own vested selfish interest. I am doing this only that I can advance my business. My lady, I am not here to save you nor am I the hero you are told to believe. I am here only to disappoint. I am the worse deal you can find in the entire kingdom.” I kick a stone, launching it, stirring up some dust and dirt in the air. The last thing I’d like to happen is to attract unwanted attention from the nobles and be involved in their petty politics. I’d rather have a quiet life as a trader, like what my journey will lead me to be. And choice, of marriage and other things, I have my god given right to it.

“Coward! Take responsibility for your noble deeds. All I want is freedom. Can’t you give as much to me as you granted the slaves? Maybe… maybe I’m a bit disappointed, hoping you are as gallant and proud as your father. And of vested interest, don’t all people have at least one? I don’t expect you to be clean for I myself am not. Fine, I’ll stop playing this game. This is who I am, Linus.” Aria’s golden hair flutters in the air as much as the flame flutters in her eyes.

“My lady, tell me all the wonderful things you have heard and my deeds, it still doesn’t change the fact that I’m a kid, merely seven years of age. You might as well be a fool, like my company of buffoons, to take me seriously. Hahahaha!”

SLAP! My left cheek burns hot to Aria’s heavy palm. She runs back crying to her quarters, shutting the door so loud that it echoes down the yard. I have succeeded in repelling her advance.

Morning comes; a commotion stirs on the yard. Loud clanging and banging of metal can be heard as a battalion of the Teleknights’ telekinetic armor units (TAU) march out of the palace. There is Sir Albert and Richard by the door, shining as tall and as bright as the sun, all donned in their personal armor units. The latter wears a gloomy expression, saying “Young Linus, you may as well wait for our return. The situation at the southern coast worsened and the king summons all the Teleknights there to defend. I’m sorry. I can’t help you for now with your quest.”

Both knights shut their visors and walk away. Their silhouettes vanish in the horizon as they march farther and farther, and so do my plans about the quest, they crumble into dust before my eyes. The new and improved distillery and my hopes, they’re all gone.

Master Kong puts his hand on my shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze. “My boy, everything will be alright.”

******************

Day 15

Duel, Sir Linus challenges Freddie VIII

Nexus, Sir Linus challenged Freddie VIII to duel over the lord’s decision to punish the disobedient slaves.

The feud started as the young master rescues the rebelling slaves against their master. However, Freddie VIII, finds the act by the slaves unlawful, therefore arresting them.

Righteously enraged, the young master issued a challenge to the young lord, pointing out the wrongdoings of the slave-owner.

Freddie VIII accepted the challenge, leaving to the hands of gods the decision of “who’s wrong or right” about the matter.

The young master eagerly prepared for the fight the entire night. He devised new wonders that may help defeat his opponent in their faceoff.

The duel would take place in the morning, northern gate of Nexus.

Day 16

Sir Linus triumphs; Slaves freed

Nothern gate, Nexus, despite the overwhelming odds, Sir Linus won his match against Freddie VIII, which secured his rights to the slaves.

Freddie, during the match, used his psychokinetic abilities to control the power of lightning, which reportedly burned the young master’s palms. Followed by a shower of blows from his sword, he managed to open wounds in the young master’s arms.

Nevertheless, the young master succeeded to defeat the young lord with his newly created weapon, the flashbang. The loud noise and bright flash of light created by the newly developed weapon distracts the latter, thus giving the former the upper hand in the battle.

The upset, however, enraged the young lord so much, that he attempted to harm the young master after he had issued his surrender. He used his special move, Arc Flash, to deal a paralyzing shock to the young master.

Fortunately, Sir Albert stopped Freddie on time. He brought a medic, who cured the young master’s wound with psychokinetic powers.

After the defeat, Freddie VIII hands over the slaves to Sir Linus.