Chapter 24: Who needs Elves?

Tobi

Attacking the Talin gave Tobi more than a little insight into his magic. He wasn’t even sure how he’d not noticed it earlier. He realized there and then that he was going about it all wrong.

When Vallen explained magic to him, it was described as a power that flowed around his body that he could call on instantly. That wasn’t the case at all. For elementals that might be true but it wasn’t how Tobi sensed it. To get a better idea for it, he visited the Martial Hall and learned about Chi from Samson. A power that used energy to harness his body’s abilities. By mixing his mana with the chi he had successfully forced his mana to flow around his body. But it wasn’t like he’d done that ever since. He almost never merged his mana with a chi flow, he just drew from the stagnant mana pool and used the magic. It obviously wasn’t a prerequisite, but it was a factor he should take advantage of.

The second factor was his emotions. Right from the start he’d never used magic himself. Not in a literal sense anyway. There were only a few cases where he couldn’t be sure, but in almost every case where he used magic, it was his emotions that carried out his will. He didn’t draw on the magic and mentally tell it what to do, like he thought he'd been doing; he drew on the magic and felt it fly from him to do his bidding. Thinking in a more literal sense, his emotions grabbed the magic and rushed out of his body to do what he wanted or cause whatever effect he had intended. He was still doubtful, but the more he thought about it the more likely it seemed to be.

Even Elven Carpentry was affected by his emotions. It was just about as close to calm as he got when using magic, but even then the songs influenced his mood and the work he produced. The song he sang when he made the first chess set for example was called ‘Demons’ and as a result, some of his chess pieces had demonic faces. He hadn’t intended it to happen that way, it just did.

Other examples came to mind too, like when he kicked a stone on the beach out of frustration; blowing up a dummy in Samson’s hall while excited and yet a little scared at the same time; punching the crap out of a guy in the Sanctuary and causing a knockback effect against the floor; blowing a kiss of Arcane Void at a man that hit him with a mace... in all cases, he didn’t control the magic himself. He gathered the mana and directed his emotions at the target. Even Arcane Void and it's discovery, he was delusional and emotionally unstable. And that's putting it lightly.

Convinced he was on the right track, he considered one final aspect of his spells. With the exception of the spells from his throat like Lions Roar—that he’d renamed Sonic Boom—and Arcane Void; Tobi’s only other spell was Arcane Strike and it only activated on impact.

The impact could be thin air and the second point of impact could be manipulated by intention, but when he used Arcane Strike, the first point of impact was always his fist. Or where his fist struck to be more precise. To confirm his thoughts, Tobi stood a yard from the mannequin he’d made, gathered his mana in a fist and directed his anger and frustration at the target. His punch stopped in mid air but sure enough, the strike activated and the second part of the blast hit the mannequin. He’d not used much mana on it but a small amount of damage could still be seen.

Believing he could apply the same process to the palm strike he’d tried as one of his first experiments, Tobi gathered the mana, focused his intention and prepared to strike. Instead of a simple strike though, he tried to psych himself up into a small rage. Moving the mana around his hand instead of within it—having learned his lesson in Samson’s training hall—Tobi struck the mannequin with considerable force.

As Tobi’s hand hit the mannequin, Tobi frowned and his annoyance really did kick in. He was sure he hit the mannequin pretty hard yet he didn’t even feel the connection. Pulling his hand away, his mood lifted instantly. A perfect imprint of his palm was in the mannequins chest.

You have taught yourself a new ability: Steel Palm.

Steel Palm acts primarily as a defence but has offensive abilities. Unlike the spirit force counterpart used by Martial Art classes, the offensive ability does not extend beyond the surface of the target.

In likeness to its counterpart, this ability has excellent blocking potential. Depending on the amount of mana applied, perhaps even more potential than its counterpart.

Duration: As long as mana is poured into the spell.

Finally! Tobi celebrated as he looked at the window. I finally managed to make my own spell. On purpose!

It was a little limited but it had the potential to be powerful. The spell had called itself ‘Steel Palm’ and was already pretty self explanatory by the name. Mentally breaking it down into simple terms, he used the mana to create a solid barrier around his hand. It wasn’t what he planned but he was still proud of it; it was the first spell he’d created intentionally rather than by accident. To test it further, he picked up a small stone and threw it in the air before swatting it like a fly. He didn’t feel the connection with the stone at all, but the stone still flew.

Smiling with self-satisfaction and feeling a little giddy, he performed the spell three more times until finally coming up with one of his usual bad ideas. Before testing his bad idea, he wanted to understand something about the whole emotions thing. Gathering just the mana without emotion or chi, Tobi wrapped it around his hand and focused on ‘Steel Plam’. Using only his intentions, he threw the stone once more and swatted it away.

Hmm. That seemed to work. Was I wrong about the emotion stuff after all?

Walking back to the mannequin, he did the same thing and slapped the mannequin’s facial area. He used just as much mana as his attempt on the chest and tried to use nothing but his mental intention. As before he felt no connection with his hand and moved it away. The difference however was obvious. The attack on the face was the smallest indentation of a handprint imaginable. The one on the chest however was almost half a finger deep.

So my emotions play a role, but not necessarily one as big as I thought…

Still curious but temporarily satisfied with his conclusion, Tobi’s final test had arrived. He wanted to know if it could block a sharp object. Not that he planned to, he just wanted to know. Deciding against doing something reckless like slamming his hand on a nail, Tobi carved a toothpick and placed it as a nose for the mannequin. Using his Steel Palm and remembering to include his emotions and chi (just to be safe), Tobi slammed his hand onto the little splinter of wood.

To Tobi’s utter joy, amazement and relief, the spell worked—but only initially. The moment Tobi slammed his hand on the toothpick, his doubt flared, conviction wavered and spell ended. The toothpick, in conclusion, only snapped in half rather than get hammered by the spell.The second half of the wood stabbed him perfectly in the hand. The Talin—who’d been watching everything the entire time—found it hilarious but Tobi’s only thought was ‘Why? Why did he always come up with the world’s dumbest ideas and think they were worth testing?’

When he finally got the splinter out of his hand, he came to realize that his spell was actually pointless. Well, maybe not pointless but as a mage, his job was to stand at the back and fight from afar. All he had done was managed to create another close combat spell. It would help when he was in a pinch, but what good was that if his enemies were far away? His only long distance spell that was worth it’s mana was Arcane Void. Maybe Arcane Strike to a lesser degree. He needed spells that didn’t require him to physically fight his opponents.

Turning his attention to Arcane Strike and putting Steel Palm on standby, Tobi considered the spells ability to strike a distance behind the initial impact target. He’d thought of it earlier; the time he tested on the beach and struck a stone that lay behind another. In short, the spell travelled past or through the first stone and hit the second.

Stabbing a large piece of leftover wood and stabbing it into the ground behind the mannequin, Tobi decided to test how the spell worked. He stood in front of the mannequin and used his Arcane strike to punch the air with the second part of the spell aimed at the wood on the other side of the mannequin. Just as he expected, the second part of the strike moved through the mannequin and hit the wood behind.

So it worked. Wouldn’t that make armor pointless though? I’d just punch from afar and make it hit their heart or something.

Wanting to test it out, Tobi needed someone with magic resistant armor. Fortunately, there was a green guy with horns who’d laughed at him a little while earlier. A certain green Talin that thought Tobi was an idiot for slamming his hand on a tooth pick.

Asking the Talin to stand in front of the mannequin, he explained what he wanted to do. Just like with the mannequin, he wanted to punch through the Talin and hit what lay beyond. Having watched his first attempt, the Talin was interested too so agreed.

When the spell popped in front of the Talins chest and hit the mannequin behind him, the Talin frowned. He didn’t think it should be possible and seemed to be a little disturbed by it.

“Do it to me. Hit my armor and make it hit me inside.”

“Are you an idiot?” Tobi replied in shock.

“I need to know if it works.”

Unable to deny that he wanted to test it, Tobi agreed—but he did feel a little conflicted about it. He punched the air a yard away from the Talin and aimed for the second part of the strike to hit beyond the armor. It would basically blow up inside the Talin but he used a very small amount of mana to reduce the damage.

The spell failed to pass through the leather and Tobi breathed out a sigh of relief. He was a little disappointed that it didn’t work, but he was more glad about the fact he didn’t hurt the Talin.

The Talin on the other hand only told him to try again, so he did.

Moving closer with each attempt and applying more mana each time, Tobi’s eventually went for a full on attack and punched the Talin. Taking the knockback into consideration, he aimed for the the second part of the blast to hit 3 feet behind the initial punch. The spell was supposed to have a guaranteed knockback of 1 yard so that’s what he was aiming for.

The blast knocked the Talin back, but the second blast hit a point of impact behind the Talin.

“What happened?” The Talin asked in confusion as he looked to where the pop sounded behind his back.

“I’m not sure, that’s where you were supposed to be knocked back to.”

Trying again but reducing the second impact to only half a yard, Tobi punched the Talin again with the same force and same mana. The Talin moved back the same distance as earlier and the second point of impact hit him again. A critical hit effect took place too and knocked him back a further half yard.

“It knocked me back twice?” The Talin asked, as confused about that as he’d been about the mistake in the attack before it.

“It’s random. Sometimes the second attack will knock you back but not always. Kind of like a lucky hit or something.”

The Talin nodded, he clearly understood that some abilities had random bonuses. Maybe even had an ability that gave random effects too.

“Why do you think the spell can hit something behind you but not pass through your armor?” Tobi asked with a frown, “And why didn’t you get knocked back a full yard?”

Considering Tobi’s questions, The Talin moved to the table Tobi used when making his staffs and sat on it, “I am big and heavy, you can’t expect to hit me as far as a tiny human. I also have high magic resistance and wearing leather. Maybe you need to use more of your magic too. I don’t know, but magic almost never works properly against my people. Like I explained before, my people have natural magic resistance.”

Tobi nodded. It made sense but he didn’t like the limitation when the spell had previously promised a guaranteed knock back of 1 yard. The guarantee was only if conditions were met, clearly...which wasn’t much of a guarantee at all.

Feeling a headache coming on, Tobi grabbed the book, his bag and finally called it a night for his experiments. Deciding to make some food and a cup of Lemon Tea, Tobi asked the Talin if he wanted anything.

“Just drink, but make food for tomorrow. Your stuff is nicer than that cafe we eat from yesterday.”

With a simple nod and a mind full of distracted thoughts, Tobi went inside.

---

Frustrated beyond belief with growing confusion, Tobi stared at his chessboard for what seemed like an eternity. The more he tried to figure out his magic, the possibilities and the potential abilities, the less sense it made. He’d almost completely abandoned his idea that emotions controlled his magic. He came to that conclusion after continuous attempts to move his chess pieces with mana. He was definitely angry and frustrated enough for his emotions to grab the piece and move it. Hell, he was surprised the damned pawn didn’t simply blow up the amount of angry mana he was sending at it.

His attempts had begun with a simple idea; If he could figure out how to move an object in front of him, perhaps he could figure out how to attack an object even further away. It just wasn’t working at all!

“OK, I am off to work. See you later.”

“‘K…” Tobi replied absentmindedly. Quickly realizing what just happened and snapping out of his concentration, Tobi jumped out of his seat, “Wait! Where are you going?”

“Bernie’s. Obviously.”

“We’re coming too.”

“I know, but I have been calling your name for ages and you didn’t respond at all.” Selene replied, “Hurry up though if you’re coming. I told her I would be there before she opened and she is already due to open.”

Quickly tucking the wand in his belt and roughly throwing the chess pieces into his bag, Tobi rushed toward out of the kitchen.

“You still haven’t changed out of your robe? When was the last time you washed it?”

Looking down at himself, Tobi shrugged. He’d never washed it. In fact, he almost never washed at all. Unlike the people of Aevitas, dirt and grime would magically disappear after a while. From himself at least; the dirt on his robes was still very visible. Only the smell of the sewers had disappeared.

“The Talin can walk me, you go get changed and catch up.”

Without another word, Selene walked out of the door and left Tobi standing there.

“But I don’t really have any other clothes…” Tobi mumbled as the door closed behind them. All of his other clothes were back at his bakery in Brackley. Or were, he doubted they were there anymore. The building had probably been repossessed or something by now. The only clothes he had was what he wore under the robe.

“Then let’s go shopping.” Darien answered happily as he appeared in the doorway, “I need to get some clothes myself. I didn’t leave any here and my other place is...well, let’s just say its occupied.”

---

“Are you sure it’s OK for us to just walk around like this?” Tobi asked looking at the various people going about their business.

“It’s fine. Despite what you may think, not many people actually know who I am. Or who my people are for that matter. At this very moment I can see at least seven of my men. Of the seven, you have met four. Can you see them?”

Tobi looked around. Everybody appeared to be perfectly ordinary people. Some were trading; some were talking and laughing; a seemingly oblivious couple was whispering to each other and laughing; a slave was passing a note to a man in fanciful clothes and all the alleyways and all shadowy areas were clear and empty.

“I can’t see them. Where are they?”

“That’s my point. We are only known to select people. Mostly we are only known to our own people. Fellow criminals. Everyone else only knows where to go if they want something from us.”

“The Sand and Stone Tavern?” Tobi replied as he remembered what Captain Braddock had said. He’d thought it odd that Braddock would send him to an inn to get a dagger, but now it kind of made sense. A dagger was an assassin or someone with a certain skillset—obviously.

“Oh, you are well informed. Tell me, how long were you in the city before you discovered how to contact us?”

“I hadn’t actually entered the city yet. I was still at the harbor.”

Darien laughed a little but his face looked impressed. He’d obviously not expected it to be so soon.

“Well, that’s how it is. Even when we move in force in broad daylight—we just look like men going about normal business. We’re very good at blending in and keeping our identities secret. Don’t you remember that day we went to Bubele’s? The men sent to stop our advance were able to guess which wagon to stop, but who was it that told them my name?”

“Ah.” —Tobi knew who had revealed Darien’s identity. He had informed them who Darien was without even a second thought, “So shouldn’t I call your name whilst we walk these streets?”

Darien considered it for a minute, “If I were bothered, I would have already informed you otherwise. Not many people know the name Darien. Those that do have only heard it in rumors. Far more people are familiar with the names Kleetz and Scrim. Again though, people don’t recognize them on sight. Their names are famous, their faces are not.”

Tobi believed that Darien was underestimating the fame of his own name. He’d heard the name Darien from multiple people already; not least of which was Captain Horts of the city guard. Darien did make a few valid points though.

“What about Sal and the people at the Copper Lantern? They know who you are.”

“Yes.” Darien replied with a frown. He didn’t say anything more though so Tobi decided he would ask Sulil next time he went to the restaurant.

Following Darien into a store that boasted an advertisement of ‘The Best Threads in Town.’

Tobi paused in wonder. The clothes on display were nothing like those sold in Anderon and they seemed to cater for everyone. Clothing such as Breeches, Monmouth Caps and Linen shirts were lining one row while their exact opposites lined the row after. Women’s clothing such as a Farthingale, Corset, Smocks and Stockings were just a few of the clothes Tobi could put names to. The entire store was a mix and match of chaos.

“How are we supposed to find clothes in here?” Tobi asked, “There is no order to the place.”

“You don’t. Come on.”

Tobi followed Darien to a clean section at the end of the shop. They were there for less than ten seconds before a bubbly man with pink cheeks rushed over and greeted them both. Darien cut straight to the chase and told the man he wanted seven sets of his best clothes—made to measure.

The man wasted no time in doing as he was told. He rushed around the store grabbing all kinds of clothing. When he finally returned, he had a bundle of clothes almost as tall as he was.

Dumping them unceremoniously on a table, he quickly pulled a pair of white pants from the pile and held them to Darien’s waist.

“No whites.” Darien said the moment they were held up to him.

The man didn’t reply at all and simply threw the pants off to the side. A young woman picked them up instantly and carried them back into the store. Until that moment, Tobi hadn’t spotted her at all. The man paid her no attention at all and grabbed a pair of dark grey pants instead. Tobi wouldn’t call them breeches exactly, but they did have a similar style. They were baggier around the upper leg than the bottom and didn’t suit Tobi’s tastes at all.

Darien gave a small nod and the man instantly started taking his leg measurements. Once that was complete, he held a shirt to Darien’s torso that seemed to have been cut short in the arms.

“Full length arms. Tight at the cuff.” Darien told him with a pompous tone.

The man smiled and instantly grabbed a second shirt. It was almost identical except the arms were longer. The whole process took about 40 minutes before the man had successfully picked out 3 pants, 4 trousers, 7 shirts, 5 jackets, 3 waistcoats, two hats, two pairs of boots, 10 underclothes and three types of gloves.

The man had still not spoken at all when Tobi’s turn came. He’d taken all of Darien’s measurement but wrote nothing down at all and only put the clothes to the side.

“Er…I want clothes like these.” Tobi said as he took his robe off and shown the clothes he had on underneath. They were specially made back in Brackley to be more like clothes he wore back in his home world. He’d tried on clothes from Aevitas plenty of times but they all felt awkward.

The man frowned at the clothes for several minutes before finally nodding his head.

“OK, let’s go get something to eat while he makes them.” Darien said, “We’ll be back in an hour, Gowen.” he called over his shoulder as he guided Tobi back toward the door.

“That has got to be the oddest shop I have ever been in.” Tobi noted as they crossed the road to another shop and stuffed his robe in his bag.

“Yeah. Gowen is a mute. So is his daughter that works there with him. Come on, this place sells a breakfast that makes your mouth water.”

---

Lucy / Calamity

Blinking back the sun’s rays and wishing she’d closed the curtains, Lucy turned her head to bury her face in the pillow. Feeling a rough, grainy texture rub against her cheek and move to her eye, a frown creased her brow. She was still locked somewhere between being asleep and awake as she breathed in some dust and started coughing.

Sitting up and spitting out bits of sand while brushing it off her face, she looked around in confusion.

Oh.

Remembering what had happened the night before, Calamity sat up and looked across the beach in front of her to the sea ahead. She’d arrived there the night before and finally realized why she hadn’t been able to find Ardene. She hadn’t been traveling west like she thought, she’d been heading directly south and eventually came to the shore leading to Gilleous.

Her original plan had been to head to Ardene and meet her parents as well as grab her other armor from the guild house and her spare bag. As things had been taking longer than she expected, her parents had already set off for Gilleous by horse and she thought she’d been left behind.

Exhausted from her traveling and fighting, she had logged off and left a note for her parents explaining the situation. She would meet them in Gilleous instead considering she was already on the right path. Her other set of armour wasn’t really that important anyway. Different types of armor had different uses but she was happy enough with what she had on. Unlike the more popular types of armor and the set she had back at the guild house, what she had on didn’t give her any stat gains. They gave buffs such as faster health regeneration, faster power regeneration and had special attributes such as being light in weight.

It was an important condition for Calamity who used training to increase her stats. She had discovered long ago a flaw in the system: If you had armor that boosted a stat, it was harder to train that specific stat. Strength for example. If it was level 50, you had to train enough to raise it from 50 to 51. If you had gear with +30 stats in strength though, you had to train enough to raise the strength from 80 to 81. Whilst your overall stats would be 81, the base was still only 51 so it was too inefficient for Calamity who liked to train her stats constantly.

After leaving the note for her parents, Lucy set her alarm and climbed into bed. She’d not slept in it since the game was reopened but she was far too exhausted to continue playing. She needed sleep. That had been when she had her revelation.

Her body wasn’t actually that tired. She’d not done much physically and she’d used the unit to play in sleep mode. She was only mentally tired. If she slept for 8 hours in the real world, that would be 32 hours in Aevitas. If she slept for 8 hours in Aevitas though, that was only 2 hours in the real world. Anyone could figure that out, right?

Thinking Tobi would definitely test it if it were him, she climbed back into her unit and logged in. Finding a safe(-ish) spot at the edge of the beach and surrounding it with brambles and other bushes, She crawled into its center and went to sleep. She didn’t know what happened to the bushes and brambles, but she was still there—perfectly fine, healthy and well rested. She felt like she’d had the best sleep of her life.

Smiling, Calamity got up and dusted herself off. She quickly looked around for the brambles and bushes, but she couldn’t see them anywhere. This was Aevitas though, anything could have happened. They could have been blown away or disappeared into millions of pixels due to dying. Whatever the case, she was fine so she decided it didn’t matter. Thanks to where she was, she might actually be ahead of her parents.

Wondering if she could beat them to Gilleous, she turned away from the forest that led in the direction she came from. At least now she was sure she was heading south; all she had to do was keep the sea to her left.

---

Tobi

Completely oblivious to the wide-eyed stares of Gowen, his daughter and Darien, Tobi stripped where he was standing and changed into the clothes Gowen had made for him. They were pretty comfortable and made of better quality material than what he’d been wearing. Just by changing clothes he felt a million times cleaner. The word ‘fresh’ came to mind and made him feel like having a shower.

The pockets on the pants were also a welcome bonus. They were modified a little from what he was originally wearing, but the black combat trousers with their customary side pockets still appeared to be mostly the same. The biggest difference was how much the pockets could hold. The pocket purse that originally fit in just one of the side pockets now had space to fit in at least another pocket purse right beside it within the same pocket.

“What is it?” Tobi asked looking up at Darien’s face.

“You do realize you just stripped down to your underwear in the middle of the store?”

“So?” he asked in return as he quickly glanced from Darien to Gowens daughter and back again, “It’s not like I shown anything indecent.”

“Most people use the changing rooms.” Darien countered, gesturing to a room off to the side.

Tobi shrugged. He was still standing topless with bare feet and didn’t really care that he’d just been spotted in nothing but his boxers. Why people were happy to walk around in their shorts on a beach—or worse, Budgie smugglers—and not care, while being overly concerned about being seen in their underwear; Tobi would never understand.

Putting on a T-shirt and testing the fit, Tobi’s bravado shrunk a little. The pink, flushed cheeks of Gowens daughter was making him a little self conscious. She was easily in her late teens or hitting twenty but she still had a kind of innocence about her.

“How does it look?” Tobi asked looking to Darien and avoiding the eyes of Gowen and his daughter.

“Weird, just like the clothes you were wearing before. How much do we owe you Gowen?”

Tearing his eyes away from Tobi, Gowen passed a slip of paper to Darien. He in turn handed over a small bag of money and told him to keep the change.

“What do I owe you?” Tobi asked, mimicking Darien’s phrase.

“For the entertaining show, let’s just call it even. Don’t forget your other...top? What do you call that thing anyway?”

Picking the item of clothing up, Tobi stuffed it into his bag with his robe and slipped his shoes back on, “Depends where you’re from. Where I am from they call it a jumper. Most travelers call it a sweater though. They have the same kind of clothing in their world—apparently.”

“And where is it exactly you are fro—”

Cut off by a man grabbing his arm and turning him around, Darien took a step back and reached for a blade tucked in his belt.

“Captain Horts?” Tobi called spotting the guard in the same armor as the last time they met.

“Tobi of Brackley?”

As Horts face turned from Tobi to Darien and back again, Tobi’s face paled. Horts had finally caught Darien and he just happened to be there when it happened.

As the silence stretched between the three of them, Darien pulled his arm free.

“Sorry Tobi, but this is official business. Jarod Hunt, you have to come with me.”

Darien took a step back and reached for the blade in the back of his belt. Tobi didn’t know who Jarod Hunt was, but he at least knew that Horts would have called him Darien if he knew the truth.

“Captain Horts, you have the wrong man. This is John Dillinger. When he heard I had a run in with Scrim, he sailed over here from Cohol. I’ve known him a long time.”

Horts looked back at Darien and stared at his face for a long time, “I admit I have only seen Jarod once, but I am pretty good with faces. He is older, but they look the same.”

“I don’t know what to tell you Horts, but that Mister Dillinger here has known me since I lived in Brackley a year ago. I’ve never heard of anyone named Jarod Hunt before.”

As Horts relaxed, Darien let go of his blade and relaxed too.

“I am sorry Mister Dillinger. I should warn you though; Jarod Hunt is suspected of killing a dangerous man. There will be people after him.”

“And you think they may come after me thinking I am him?” Darien replied calmly.

Horts nodded but seemed lost in his thoughts, “I apologize for the mistake. Master Tobi, I have been looking for you too. When you have time, please go to the guardhouse near the center of town. You can’t miss it, it is right beside the silver fountain.”

“OK. What is it for?”

“Matters regarding what we discussed in the sanctuary.”

---

Selene

“That’s a strange song.”

Selene laughed a little as she continued dusting one of the shelves and simultaneously wiping another with a damp rag, “Tobi sang it when he carved a staff for me. I quite like it.”

Bernie was a nice woman when you got past her rough personality, but she had no taste for music and cheery moods made her sour. She was very much the grumpy woman next door who would occasionally give cookies to cheeky children. Her sour face at Selene’s happy response was yet another indication to that fact.

“You should try singing yourself. It makes you feel better.”

“I used to sing. Then I married that old prune and I lost the mood.”

Selene remembered the conversation from the day before so she didn’t speak further and just continued to clean in silence. They were waiting on someone coming in to pick up an order and another person to drop off some drapes that needed repairing. Bernie had only really hired Selene because of an order that was due to begin as soon as the materials arrived. As they hadn’t arrived when they should, Bernie’s mood continued to drop.

“Why is that green oaf still standing outside?” Bernie huffed.

“Tobi thinks he needs to protect me so he won’t go too far from where I am.”

“Then Tobi should come himself. At least that way I get some eye candy instead of that oversize, green lump of muscle.”

Resisting a smile, or at least trying to, Selene moved to a different section of the shop where she could put her back to Bernie.

“You should be warned you know. My husband was as attractive as Tobi when he was young. Look at him now...great big gasbag he is.”

“I haven’t met your husband.” Selene replied, “Tobi went inside to see him while the Talin and I waited outside.”

“Hmph. You were fortunate then, I have to look at him everyday. It will be your turn next.”

Looking out of the shop window and trying to imagine a time she wouldn’t want to see Tobi, Selene shook her head. According to Tobi, it was more likely that he would randomly disappear one day. Growing old together was never something he could promise in the first place. He told her that from the start. She didn’t like to think about it, but at least he’d been straight with her. Other men would not have been so kind.

“You don’t have to be so serious, I am only joking.” Bernie said in worry.

Selene turned her head a little and spotted Bernie looking at her through the almost transparent reflection, “That’s not it. Tobi and I may never get the chance for that. I doubt we will even get married, if that’s even what he wants.”

Bernie frowned in disapproval and looked away from the reflection.

“I say something wrong?” Selene asked turning to face her properly.

“I don’t get people nowadays. Used to be a time you got married first and everything else came after. Now they waste time with relationships and question everything. Marriage gives you stability. You should just do it now before it’s too late. Who knows, you could be dead tomorrow. You have to live while you can.”

Sighing and sitting on the shop’s display unit by the window, Selene put the duster down and leaned back so the sun could warm her face. She’d already thought about how it might be if she were married to Tobi. The first time was when she lived in Brackley. She would visit him at the Bakery every chance she got and dream about him each night. She thought about it again in Cohol; the night she left the church and stayed at the mage guild. Seeing herself in a wedding gown and saying her vows to Tobi made her feel giddy, but she didn’t think it would come true...she was just revisiting an old fantasy that would never happen.

She didn’t think about it again by sheer force of will until the night they kissed.

After their lunch at the copper lantern, she actually thought it might be in the cards one day. But that was before she woke up to people banging in the hallway. Finding Scrim standing there with some city guards and telling her that Tobi had been kidnapped was like a nightmare.

When they were reunited and taken to the house they were staying at now, Selene had vowed to never let him out of her sight again; that’s why she didn’t mind him standing guard outside the shop when she was working. But now he wasn’t there and she was busying herself just to stay calm. Singing had been a good distraction but she’d barely moved two feet from the window in over an hour.

“So?” Bernie called across the shop.

“So...what?”

“Are you going to marry him before it’s too late or keep things as they are forever?”

“I don’t even know if he wants to.”

“Well if you don’t ask him soon, I might just leave my husband and ask him myself. Pretty girl like you will find someone new in no time so I’m sure you’ll get over it.”

Selene knew she was joking, but she couldn’t smile at the idea because she also knew what the woman was implying. There were other women in the world and Tobi had no reason to stay with her. If one of them tried to take him from her, would she even be able to convince him to stay?

All the times she’d bitten her tongue and stayed quiet, not said what she wanted to say. Never daring to tell her feelings in case he rejected her. Scared that he would leave her for being clingy and needy if she acted how she wanted to.

Smiling to herself as she remembered some of her more daring moments, she had at least acted how she wanted to a few times. She had acted playful and mischievous...lured him in and snatched him up. The time at the pool when they swam together had been one such moment. Her heart had been pounding in her chest so hard that it hurt, but it had been exciting too. When they kissed later that evening, she had even dared to selfishly refuse to let him go afterward.

She had nothing to lose back then though. She didn’t even think she had a chance so gave it her best shot. Whatever happened, she didn’t want regrets. Now she had him though, her courage fled. Scared that one wrong move would end it all.

Looking out the window and hoping to see him walking down the street, Selene sighed.

I know he cares for me, but that doesn’t mean he wants to marry me. All those times I wished I could be by his side...I am not going to ruin it now just because I have deluded fantasies about the future.

---

Tobi

“So who is John Dillinger?” Darien asked as they walked down the street.

Struggling to keep up with Darien’s long strides while trying to stuff his clothes and robe into his bag, Tobi had to pause and work out what he’d been asked. He wasn’t paying attention so it had gone in one ear and out the other.

“Er...he was a thief who got killed a long time ago. Before I was even born.”

Stuffing the last of the robe into his bag and finally able to match Darien’s stride, Tobi looked around the area. They seemed to be heading directly back home.

“And what did you talk to Horts about in the Sanctuary.”

“Kleetz.” Tobi replied instantly, he’d expected the question from the moment Horts mentioned it and prepared the answer in advance, “After Scrim came for me in the Sanctuary, Horts had questions for me. I told him that Kleetz attempted to kidnap me to force me into being his champion for the upcoming games. I explained that Scrim was there for the same reason and that’s why the fight started.”

“You told him Scrim was there to kidnap you to force you to play? Not that he kidnapped Selene?”

“One of Scrims men shown up saying you were close to getting Selene. Scrim got off pretty quickly after that despite my attempts to stop him. I knew you would succeed though and didn’t see why I should tell Horts about our deal.”

Turning the corner and crossing for the alley across the road, Darien looked over his shoulder at Tobi with a look that could freeze water, “Good. You’re not one of my men so you don’t have to follow my orders, but I do expect you to keep up your end of the deal. I recommend you don’t go to see Horts.”

Tobi didn’t reply and followed him as far as the alley. He had every intention of seeing Horts despite the veiled threat. When Darien realized he’d stopped he turned back.

“I am going to Bernie’s Spindles,” Tobi explained, “It’s quicker if I go that way.”

Darien relaxed a little and gave a short nod, “I have things I need to do too. Thank you though, for getting me out of that...situation.”

“We all have our reasons for doing what we do.”

Darien nodded. As Tobi expected, it was a statement Darien could appreciate and agree with.

“And what was your reason for saving me?”

“I owe you for saving Selene,”—even though you didn’t really save her and Scrim let her go—”but I also didn’t want a guard to be killed with me as an accomplice.”

Darien chuckled, “You thought I would kill him? My plan was a simple stab and run. You really should stay away from Horts. He might seem like one of the good guys but he is not as clean as he makes out. If he thinks you can lead him to me, he will definitely string you up and hang you out to dry. And don’t expect your Talin friend to be able to stop him. If you added together the amount of times we have tried to kill him…”

“We? And how many?” Tobi asked in reply, unable to let his interest ignore the implications and unfinished sentence.

“Me, Scrim and Kleetz have all sent men to kill Horts. I have lost 15 men in the attempts and I lost 3 more in a single ambush. Kleetz hired a group of assassins who all died trying. Scrim lost 10 men to Horts and tried to do the job himself. Scrim is the only man to try and live to tell about it.”

Tobi doubted Darien’s words, but that even if it was an exaggeration there was always truth behind a story, “So you’re saying I should avoid him because he is dangerous...or avoid him because he will crush me to get to you?”

“Both.” Darien replied. When Tobi finally gave a nod of consent, Darien left looking satisfied.

Sorry, but I like people like Horts. I will be going to see him as soon as I know you’re not looking.

---

Romun

She’s just too beautiful. Romun sighed for the hundredth time. He knew the Talin had spotted him, but since Tobi got the drop on him the night before, he felt less inclined to hide himself.

She deserves someone better than that scary, blue-eyed monster. How people can see him as a man of the gods...ridiculous. What kind of Priest can’t use healing magic? Dropping out of the sky and coming at me like that. Even demons would have nightmares! I bet he bewitched her. Yeah, that has to be it. Placed a spell on her so she would fall in love with him.

Cursing Tobi with every thought that came to mind, Romun spotted Selene looking out of the window of Bernie’s Spindles. She’d been doing it all morning and at first he thought she was looking for her lover. Not any more though, he knew the truth!

That blue-eyed demon with eyes that glow in the dark had put a spell on her. When he was nearby, she couldn’t fight it, but he wasn’t here right now and the effect was weakened. When she looked out of the window, it wasn’t longing that he saw, it was fear. She was worried. Worried about the monster returning and fearing the moment she would lose control of herself again.

She looks worried even now. Anyone looking would think she is worried about that monster. Not me, my sweet. I see the truth. You are scared aren’t you? Scared of when he comes back and you have to pretend to love him. That spell with the staff too. Making it fly to him like that. That’s not normal. That’s not what humans can do. And that green beast too. What kind of human can control a beast like that?

Don’t worry my love, I will save you. When I get the chance, I will kill him for you. Will you love me if I do that for you? Grant me a little affection at least? I bet you will show me a lot of gratitude. I bet you would swear yourself to me forever. Do you want me to do it? Just look my way and I will know you heard my thoughts. Look my way and I will answer your prayers.

Staring at Selene and willing for her to look his way, her head turned a little.

Are you looking for me? Turn a little more, I am a little more to your right. Do you need a sign to help you find me?

Grabbing a silver coin from his pocket, Romun tilted it to reflect the sun back at her. As the light hit her eyes, she squinted and looked directly toward him.

Yes...here I am, my love. So you did hear my thoughts after all, that is good. Now I can kill him and know for sure it is what you wanted. When it is done, let’s leave this place together. We can have a nice...wait, where are you going?

Selene had turned to look away down the street and her face lit up, she left the shop instantly and moved down the street. Romun followed her path directly ahead and saw where she was going.

It is him. The demon has returned. That cursed power you have over her. I will break it. I will break it by breaking you and then she will be mine.

Diving backward out of sight as Tobi looked in his direction, Romun panicked. He doubted the demon could hear his thoughts, but that was definitely dangerous. They almost locked eyes. Those dangerous blue eyes that —

“— So that’s how he does it.” Romun whispered to himself, “In that case, I just need to cut out his eyes.”

No, no. That’s too dangerous. Demons are demons for a reason. I should just kill him properly.

“Yeah, that’s what I’ll do. I’ll kill him good and proper.”

---

Tobi

Seeing the Talin up ahead and sighing with relief, Tobi relaxed a little and dropped to a slower walk. After parting with Darien, he hadn’t been able to stop worrying about Selene the whole way there. He knew it was a useless worry but he clung to it just the same; praying that she was OK and the Talin would be standing right outside Bernie’s Spindles like he was supposed to be.

As the Talin turned and spotted him, they gave a nod of acknowledgement to each other. The Talin looked pleased to see him too. Wondering if the Talin had been as worried about him as he’d been about Selene, Tobi felt a little guilty and took note to apologize when he was close enough.

Before he was even half way there, Selene appeared in the street. The look on her face was not friendly. Slowly his pace even further and trying to work out what he might’ve done wrong, various images flashed through his mind. All he could think of was the fact he made her late earlier that morning.

“Where have you been? You were only supposed to be getting changed!” Selene raged and punched him in lightly in the shoulder before hugging him, “You had me worried.”

“Sorry, I didn’t have a change of clothes so Darien shown me where I could buy some. Everything been OK here?”

“Yeah, but I think someone was just trying to signal me from that alley across from the shop. I couldn’t see who was there though.”

Tobi looked up to the alley and spotted a shadowy figured drop out of sight.

“I will check it out. I will take the Talin with me so you wait inside Bernie’s.”

“No. I am the healer of our little group, if it’s a fight, I am just as important as you two muscle-brained idiots.”

Frowning as he walked toward the shop with her, Tobi didn’t understand her conclusion, “I’m a mage. We don’t fight with our fists or whatever.”

“Uh-huh. And I suppose you didn’t punch and kick with your fight in the sanctuary? The Talin told me that you fought like a warrior and not a mage. What kind of mage fights in close combat? And this morning I had to repair the Talin’s armor and heal his wrist. You whacked him with your staff. Don’t think that I don’t know.”

Shrinking back a little from the angry tirade, Tobi looked at Selene with amazement. He’d never seen her act like that before. He kind of liked it.

“Sorry. I am a bit emotional right now.”

“Don’t be sorry.” Tobi answered with a grin he couldn’t hold back, “that was kind of sexy. I don’t think I have seen you angry before.”

Selene looked away but Tobi thought she was either blushing or smiling so his smile only got bigger.

“That wasn’t angry.” Selene whispered. They were getting pretty close to the Talin so she probably said it so as not to let him hear, “Believe me, angry is much worse.”

“I believe you.” Tobi laughed, “Still, you can wait in Bernie’s. Watch us through the window. We won’t go down the alley, if we do you can rush out and help us.”

Gesturing for the Talin to follow as he pushed the small of Selene’s back toward the door, Tobi head for the alley across the road; the Talin close at his heels.

Reaching the alley and seeing only a few bins full of trash, Tobi hesitated at the entrance. He’d told Selene he wouldn’t go inside but as nobody appeared to be there, he wanted to check it out.

“Did you see anyone around here?” Tobi asked, staring at the bins and wondering if someone was hiding behind them.

“The little spy man of Darien’s was here earlier.”

“Little? He was about the same size as me.”

“You all look little to me.” The Talin countered with a shrug.

Smirking at the comment, Tobi lingered a second longer, “I guess it doesn’t matter. Come on I want to see if Selene can get an hour off work. I bet you’re bored of standing around here all day anyway.”

“Where are we going?”

“I think it’s about time we got you a weapon.”

***

Back to Main Page

***

Authors Notes:

Spoiler :

Shout outs to Mythu, TUSF, Kruncs, JustBCOS for point out mistakes in the last chapter. Especially that 10 yard 30 feet thing, wow—that was embarrassing!! *blushes*

A shoutout/thanks to DiamondBanker for the rating and comments too. (Think I have shouted out to all who have done so.) A little acknowledgement to show I do still read everything you guys write.

Finally a shout out to Griix for your opinions. Your influence on how this chapter turned out can be added to around 1,500 extra words. >.

I currently don't have a PR again. The guys I would normally ask...They are either behind on the chapters, busy or I haven't seen them in a while. [Well considering there are 3 people that have PR'd some of my chapters / 4 including Griix... I suppose that covers them all]

Will need to look into getting someone with more time on their hands maybe. Spotting your own mistakes is kind of hard and I get fed up of reading my own chapters 5, 6, 7 times just checking and double checking (quad checking, etc) that I haven't made/missed mistakes.

Point is, if I have mistakes that you notice...as always, please let me know.

Oh, side note on that. When you highlight a single line, I struggle to find where the mistake is in the edit window. If you could copy/paste the entire paragraph, that would be a HUGE help.

Thanks.

Aspirer <3 <3 <3

I love you all <3