“Rook!”

I ignored it.

“Rook!”

I continued ignoring the voice.

“Rook, would you wait one second?”

I was halted as I heard footsteps chasing after me, a hand grabbing me by the shoulder and whirling me around.

“What?” I finally asked, rolling my shoulder and dislodging her hand.

“So, are you taking the quest?”

“No.” I answered immediately.

“Why not?”

I opened my mouth to respond before I closed it a moment after.

What was I supposed to say? ‘Oh, nope, Sages are involved, and I want nothing to do with them.’

First off, Tez had no idea what a Sage even was.

Just be honest with yourself, Rook.

Second, it wasn’t the fact that I didn’t want anything to do with Sages that made me want to avoid the quest. Not really.

It was that I was afraid. I knew more about Sages than nearly anyone, of what they were capable.

So was I to be blamed for wanting to avoid a legendary quest that looked to be revolving entirely around some lost Sage artifact?

Especially if it has anything to do with… her.

I’d seen no sign, heard not a peep spoken about the Sage Above All since long ago, and yet I knew she was out there.

Somewhere.

How was I supposed to know this wasn’t some sort of trap meant to lure me in? Perhaps she had finally decided to retrieve the body of her former apprentice.

No, you know that doesn’t make sense.

Mainly, if that were the case, there was nothing to stop her from doing so in the first place. From what little interaction I’d had with the Great Sage, I knew she wouldn’t concern herself with others. If she wanted my, or rather wanted my body, she would have retrieved it long ago.

I slowly sighed, tension easing from my shoulders. It was obvious I was being paranoid; the mention of the Lost Era had shaken me more than I had anticipated.

“Think Rook. A legendary quest! Us! Not just would we be the first golds to have succeeded on something of that scale, but you as silver would go down in history!”

“And who says I care about that?” I caught her gaze, holding it.

“Well, there has to be something you care about that would make you want to do this quest.”

“Why do you want me to participate so much?”

“I…” She looked to the side, her face flashing between several different complex emotions, before finally looking back. “Look, I’ll be honest. You were there for the first major commission I had as an adventurer. Finding out you were in on this too, something wouldn’t feel right knowing you didn’t come with.”

“That’s it?” I stared at her before a snort of laughter escaped me. “A feeling.”

“So?” She crossed her arms defensively. “Sometimes, a feeling is all you need. I know you never much talked about your situation back then, and we never asked, but you set out to be an adventurer for a reason, right? Well, what could be better for that than being one of, if not the youngest person to ever set out on a Legendary quest, as well as the first silver!”

I was about to shut her down when I found myself frowning, thinking about it.

Why had I set out to be an adventurer again?

I could lie and say it was because I’d always wanted to be one, but it wasn’t, not if I were being honest with myself. What I’d really been after was the chance to leave Junaper behind. I would’ve been more than content being a simple guard in Theronhold.

And that didn’t exactly pan out, now did it?

After my master and I had gone our separate ways, I’d been teleported south to the central desert of Haerasong by the deceased Sages of the past, with the intention of ‘discovering the question of what I was seeking’ or something along those lines.

Had I found that yet? Do I know what this ‘question’ even is?

No. The answer was obviously no.

So what then?

If I hadn’t found it, then it simply meant that what I was seeking, or whatever, was still out there.

Perhaps this is it?

I felt my determination waning until, like the straw that breaks a camel’s back, one last thought snuck up on me and shattered what remained of my former resolve.

Maybe mom will finally want to see you again. Perhaps you’ll finally be worthy.

I knew. I knew logically she wasn’t avoiding me because I’d done something wrong or that she was somehow disappointed with me.

But logic be damned, I was still my mother’s son, and I missed her.

“Fine. I’ll be a part of this quest.”

Tez smiled at me, a great beaming smile that made me uncomfortable for the simple fact that I knew I couldn’t live up to whatever image of me she had formed in her mind.

I’m noticing a trend with people thinking more highly of me than I do.

If it weren’t for the fact that I had managed to do some impressive things by circumstances, I wasn’t that special.

Sure, I had two Sage rings to my name, but it had been made apparently evident that two Sage rings were still a long way off from being anything that amazing.

Iris herself had taught me that through my humbling, if glorified, beatdown.

Aside from my Sage rings, what did I have really? I lacked a mana core. I would never be capable of large-scale mana usage. Even my ability to use magic was limited to the second-by-second mana output of my rings, with no way to store the mana they generated. Regardless of the Sage mana’s potency, it didn’t change how little I had in the first place.

And yet, first Rosalina, and now Tez was looking at me with such expectations. Ten, twenty, maybe in fifty years, I could live up to them.

But not as I was now.

I looked away from Tez, unable to stand her bright eyes any longer, trying to change the subject.

“So, your brother…?”

“Oh, he was promoted to Copper, but he decided he would never strive higher.”

“Why?” I picked absent-mindedly at the silver bracelet that marked me as a silver rank.

“Wasn’t worth it, or at least that’s what he said.” Tez shook her head as if she couldn’t understand it. “I think his plan was to save up enough from doing commissions that he could eventually head on up north.”

“North? Why north?”

“’ Dunno.” Tez shrugged. “He’s just weird like that, I guess.”

“Right.” I nodded as the conversation dried up.

Well… this is awkward.

So caught up in the current events, we hadn’t really had a moment like this, and now the years without seeing one another were finally catching up.

Tez had changed, and while it wasn’t all that dramatic, she had lost a bit of that awkward teenage demeanor, standing taller with eyes that spoke of experience and the simple fact that she was in her twenties now.

Being the first to break the silence, she gestured toward me. “So… you’ve changed.”

“I have?” I looked down at myself, surprised.

I didn’t feel much different from years ago.

“You’re taller, for one thing.” She crossed her arms, and a teasing smile appeared on her face. “Filled out nicely too.”

“Hey.” I felt my cheeks flush, uncomfortable territory for me.

“You used to look like someone had stuffed some half-baked muscles in you. I always was surprised how you could swing your sword the way you did.”

“You know, I’d been using swords for years before I met you.”

“I’m just saying it how I see it.” Tez gave me a firm poke in the chest. “Wow, even that’s hardened up.”

I felt myself flushing once more, uncomfortably warm.

“You got yourself a girl now?”

“I- uh, uh.” I flailed my arms, unready for any of this.

“Definitely pretty enough for it.” She crossed her arms over her chest, giving me a once over. “Definitely.”

Damnit. This is not what I was prepared for.

I wasn’t going to lie and pretend I didn’t know what she was talking about. Mirrors existed, after all. It was just the first time someone was so…. forward about it.

Damn Sages.

Was I supposed to tell her that it wasn’t my doing, that my genetics had likely been twisted, turned, and warped to create the ideal vessel for a long-forgotten Sage, only for them to never actually be reborn?

That I was engineered, to be attractive by most standards?

“Err, you remember Rosalina, right?”

Tez’s eyebrows scrunched together as I so smoothly rushed to shift subjects.

“The girl from back then?”

I had to resist wiping at my brow in relief, Tez taking the bait.

“Y-yeah!” I waved my arms again, perhaps a bit too excitedly. “She lives here now.”

“Oh?” Her eyes looked past me as if she could see her elsewhere in the city.

She can’t, right?

“You don’t say.”

“Yeah!” I shook my head with renewed vigor. “You should say hello. I’m sure she would appreciate seeing you once again!”

“Hmmm.” She seemed to think about it before shaking her head in denial. “No, I think I’ll pass actually.”

“Why?”

“Probably better, considering our, er, connection.”

Oh. Right.

“Now, as for you.” She poked me in the chest once more. “If you want, feel free to come, let’s say, ‘catch up with me.”

“Yeah, that would be nice.” I took a deep breath, relieved that I had survived the encounter.

“I’ll be in my private room at the Gold lodge. Just ask for my room, and they’ll know to let you up.”

And with that, she gave me a wink before sauntering off.

Oh.

Oh.

Oh.

My brain finally rebooted.

She was hitting on me.

She was aggressively hitting on me.

Is it really hitting on someone if you’re straight up soliciting them for sex?

I wasn’t blind; you’d have to be as dense as a steel ball to not understand what she meant, and I won’t lie.

I thought about it.

Look, when you have a pretty, confident girl making advances like that on you, you find yourself with quite the muddled head.

Eventually, though, I managed to calm my nerves after they had gotten all jumped up. While I wasn’t against her… offer, in fact, it was really appealing, something about it didn’t feel right.

Also, probably best to consider you’re about to go on a major quest with her.

All I needed to do was make things awkward before we entered a supremely dangerous ruin dating from the time of the Sages. At best, it could make teamwork difficult.

At worst, it could lead to a total party wipe.

Perhaps I was being dramatic, but the thought helped galvanize me as I set out from the guild, which the rest of the adventurers who had been a part of the meeting had already left. I made sure I went in the opposite direction from where Tez was staying.

If I do this quest, I best prepare while I can.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You want what!?”

“Oh, c’mon. Samgen, it’s not that much of a request.”

“Not that much of a request, my ass!” The burly man folded his arms over his chest. “You want me to get you not one, but three spare swords ready in two weeks, and not just that, but made of mana-tempered silver? Do you realize how gods damn expensive that would be? And two, do you even understand how long that would take me normally? And you need it done in two weeks. Ask me to move the heavens while we’re at you, don’t you?”

In response, I dropped three coins in front of him.

“Oh.” I saw his eyes widen as he looked back up at me. “Anything else?”

“Quick to change your tune, aren’t you, Samgen?”

The burly man picked the coins up from the counter, inspecting them thoroughly before giving one a quick bite.

“Yep, that’s real nizeium.” The man nodded, more for himself than anyone else. “How’d you get your hands on this not-so-miniature fortune?”

“Occupational benefits, we’ll call it.” I didn’t care to go into the deeper explanation of why the guild had felt the need to invest so heavily in an exhibition match that they would pay a silver as royally as they had. “So, you’ll do it?”

Samgen sighed, relaxing and looking up at the ceiling of the sweaty forge. “It’s one thing making those demands without anything to back it up, but drop this in front of me, and suddenly you’re challenging my pride. By the way-” He pointed a soot-covered finger at me. “You’re an ass for this.”

“So you’ll do it, yes or no?”

“Yes, I’ll do it, you damn brat. Mama always did tell me, ‘Sammy if you shoot for the stars, you’ll find the heavens.’ Bless her heart.”

“Your mothers’ dead? “

“No, but she is a right old bitch for living this long anyway.” He gave a hearty laugh before looking at me seriously. “But if you’re asking for equipment of this caliber, three to be exact, must mean you’ve got some serious work ahead of you. You’re not one to normally carry around such fancy equipment for no reason.”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell Samgen.”

“Oh c’mon, we’ve known each other going on two-ish years now?”

“Something like that.” I nodded.

“Would ole ‘Sammy ever go and open his mouth like some blithering crone?”

“Samgen, I hear more men gossiping at the bars than I’ve ever heard from women.”

“Bah, it’s a phrase. You get the point.”

I did, and he did have a point. Samgen Olkfreig was perhaps the most famous smith within all Dunehold. Usually, it was impossible to get one-on-one meetings with the renowned smith as I had, but after a night involving a pissed-off Crow Wraith, five barrels of Oasis Spirits-

The alcohol spirits I should mention, not the spooky kind

-and a bathtub filled with camel shit, we had become close enough that whenever I needed a new sword or repairs of any of my gear, I could go straight to him.

Mind you, still didn’t get any sort of discount from the perpetually grime-stained man.

Which I wasn’t bothered by, not at all.

I swear.

Where was I again?

Right, Samgen. For all his faults, he was anything but the gossiping sort, partly because his best friend was a hammer, and his social life was taking money from customers.

I looked around, ensuring no one was in earshot, before I leaned in, whispering.

“A legendary quest has been issued, one that can only be handled by golds for, well, reasons.”

His eyes lit up immediately, looking between the money and me, nodding as if it had all suddenly become crystal clear.

“I see.” He mumbled, his rumbling voice like gravel. “That is quite the revelation.”

“What do you mean?”

“I take it that it’s taking place near the border?”

“How did you know that?” I squinted my eyes at him, suddenly weary I was being set up.

“Follow the gear, follow the money.” He shrugged at me. “I’ve heard from several of my colleagues that a few nizeium adventurers had come looking for some gear, mentioned they had business near the border. Some of ‘em never returned, which turned out to be an issue considering they hadn’t paid upfront.”

I could only nod, likely the ones who had never returned were the same ones the guild master had mentioned hadn’t survived the ordeal.

“Hmm. Something which nizeium’s can’t do, but golds can.” He placed a finger against his chin, a splotch of soot left behind before he finally shrugged. “Bah, what do I know. I just make swords and shit. You’ve got your deal. Come back in two weeks, and I’ll have your swords ready. I take it you want your usual style?”

I thought carefully for a moment, considering it. Since I had come to Dunehold years ago, I’d experimented with what styles of swords I preferred. Ranging from the basic bastard sword I’d used as a child to the desert khopesh favored in these parts and even the light rapiers of the country’s capital.

“You know what, get me a falchion, a gladius, and a rapier.”

“Three styles. Trying to cover all your bases then.”

“Can you do it?”

“Ehh, no choice. If a customer pays, I’ll do it even if it kills me.”

“A bit extreme, don’t you think?”

“Do you want the swords or not?” The burly man stared at me, eyes making it clear this was no longer up for discussion.

“Two weeks, right?”

He nodded, reaching out to embrace my hand with his own as we shook on it.

“Two weeks it is.”

----------------------------------------------------------------

That’s my sword situation taken care of.

I was walking away from the forge, watching the sun as it slowed toward the horizon, going through my list of things to take care of.

Swords, check.

Armor, sort of check.

I wasn’t usually the type to wear much armor. My preferred style of swordplay limited what I could or could not wear in the first place.

On the plus side, it made traveling light easier.

The downside was I’d be done for if I ever got hit by anything significantly strong or sharp without anything to protect me.

Probably want to avoid a helmet on this quest if we don’t have a full scope of what’s inside.

The issue with helmets was that all it took was a single lightning blasting trap or electricity-producing magical beast, and you were as good as dead. Sure, you risked head injuries, but it was better than being fried before you could even do anything.

They mentioned food supplies will be handled on behalf of the guild when we get there.

Two weeks. I felt the pressure of time suddenly weighing down on me, almost suffocating me.

Two weeks until I set out on the biggest commission, no- the biggest quest I’ve ever done, perhaps even the biggest quest I’ll ever go on.

The thought, combined with my sudden perception of the time between now and then, made me feel as if I were having an out-of-body moment.

I was so small, insignificant. Two weeks. For all I knew, these two weeks could be the last two weeks of my life.

This is a mistake.

I’d never had such a strong reaction to a commission in the past, and I’d taken my share of dangerous ones. Something about this, though, was different. I was older, wiser-

Or so I liked to tell myself.

-and more experienced, but the fact was that a legendary quest wasn’t meant for someone like me. I’d had my mortality made abundantly clear years ago, only surviving the day because of the girl I now treated like the little sister I never had.

I wouldn’t have that this time, and on a legendary quest, the chance of running into something or someone of such dramatic power wasn’t a question of if.

It was a question of when.

“You okay, sonny?”

I looked up, having staggered over to stand next to a building, arms against it as if I were choking for breath.

When did this happen?

I forced air between my lips, a surge of mana calming me down as I looked over at the voice that had snapped me out of my near panic attack.

It was an old man, stooped over a cane. He had a balding patch of skin showing through the silvery crown of his wispy hair, and the right side of his face drooped low as if forcibly relaxed.

“I-I’m okay.” I swallowed more air, regaining control of my faculties.

“Good. Don’t wanna’ see a kid your age croaking in the middle of the street.”

The man chuckled as if he had made a rather clever joke.

“I-”

I stopped, watching as a two-legged frog creature hopped by pulling a cart.

Oh. I get the joke now,

I let out a quiet chuckle as the man gave me a pat.

“There ya go. A good laugh is what you need sometimes. You got a name kid?”

“Rook.” I nodded to him. “You?”

“Argus.”

“Nice to meet you, Argus.” I put my hand out to give him a shake, but he shook his head, pointing at his face.

“Stroke. Can’t give ya a good shake that you deserve.”

“Oh, apologies, I wasn’t -”

“It’s fine, kid.” He shook his hand at me, dismissing it, and as he did, I noticed upon his middle finger a ring sat, adorned with the crest of a key.

He must have seen the look on my face because he gave me a quick smile, something about it reminding me of someone else, but I couldn’t think of who off the top of my head.

“Oh, just a family ring of sorts.”

“Not a lot of crests like that.” I noted.

“Hah, we each had an individual crest. Marks us for what we are.”

He was smiling to himself as if he had said something quite amusing, but I thought nothing of it. Instead, I was stuck on how strange it was to have individual crests, but I avoided mentioning it, not wanting to offend the man by accident.

“You interested in it, kid?”

“Oh, no.” I raised my hands to deny it, but with surprising strength, he grasped them in between his hands, a strength that did not at all match what would be expected of an old man who had previously suffered a stroke.

“Take it.”

“No, no, I couldn’t.” I was beginning to feel a little weirded out, but I was still focused on not wanting to trouble the elderly man.

“No worries boy. Just take it.”

I hesitated, looking down at the ring in my hands. With a jolt of shock, I noticed that the crest of a key was gone, the ring wiped clean.

“Si….r?”

But the old man I had been talking to was gone upon looking up.

Poof.

Just gone.

I looked around, but I couldn’t find him, and there were no side alleys or open establishments for him to have slipped away in.

“Well, that’s not strange at all.” I mumbled to myself.

Not sure what else to do, I found myself rolling the ring around in my hand until, at last, I slipped it on.

Well, I guess I can hold on to it for now.

I nodded to myself, reassuring myself.

Just until I see him again at least.