“Having woken up to that chaos after…how long has it been? Who knows? The chill in the air made me shiver ever so slightly, my bare chest was probably the reason…where is my shirt? I’m pretty sure I entered dormancy fully clothed, at least I have pants. Then there was the issue with the child. It was the only one left I could find that was breathing. How depressing. The cave…cave? When did I end up in a cave? Ugh, whatever. The cave was sealed, the collapse of the roof saw to that.

Picking the small body up I walked towards the entrance and asked the rocks to move. Well, not so much ask, as demand. It’s been a while since I’ve used them, so I might have put too much effort into it? The sound was deafening, oops. Thankfully the little one was already passed out or she might have done so after seeing and hearing that racket. But it sure cleared the rocks out real quick!

It was night, the sky was clear, stars twinkling their existence while the moon selfishly tried to block out their brilliance. I breathed deeply, taking in the air that I have so long missed and done without. I could hear the wind blowing through the trees and grass also making my knee length hair dance. Knee length hair? Ugh…I’m going to need another haircut. I looked down at the small body in my arms and noticed it was a she, and not as small as I originally thought. She looked to be 15…17? I was never good at guessing ages. I could feel the rasping of her breathing on my arm and hushed the wind so I could hear better.

She was sick. Very sick. I looked around the area and saw, quite possibly the saddest village I’d ever laid eyes on. The buildings were falling apart, the roofs had holes and cracks in them, the fences that tried to define a border of ownership was all but rotted away. Luckily what I was looking for was in the middle of it all. I walked to it and gently placed the girl’s body next to the well and looked into it. Nothing. I scolded the well for letting me down and waited for a moment. Then dropped the bucket, and pulled up the water.

I then thanked the water for helping me to help the young lady and poured some across her chest, which I felt bad for doing since she wasn’t wearing much of anything, and it was pretty chilly outside. Then I put some water into my hand and had her drink a few times. I took some myself since I couldn’t remember the last time I had a drink.

When I was done taking care of her body, I carried her to a nearby house that looked the least prone to collapse and laid her into a bed and covered her up. I then sat next to her and in order to collect my thoughts began to meditate on what has changed, with the world, and with me. I must have been invested quite a bit because that’s when you fine gentleman found me. And now here I am. Honest.”

“…..”

“What?”

“..There’s something wrong with you isn’t there? Do you seriously think we’re going to believe that?!” he slammed his fist on the table and stood from his chair.

“Well…it’s the truth.”

“Fine, so let’s go over it again then, shall we?” he sat back down and while his face was red with anger began to recount the tale he just heard.

“You woke up half naked in a cave, that you don’t remember going into, that was collapsing, found a room full of dead bodies save for one half naked woman that you carried out by politely asking the boulders to make way. Then you told the wind to be quiet so you could press your face to her breasts and determine if she was sick. To which you carried her to an empty well, poured water over her, forced water into her mouth and, as you so eloquently put it ‘took care of her body’. Then you put her into a bed and meditated for an entire night and most of the morning, while completely oblivious of everything around you, until one of my men got your attention?”

“Well….”

“And you’re trying to say that you’re not a criminal after hearing something that crazy!?”

“Well when you put it like that, then yeah I sound like I’m guilty!”

“How else are we going to put it?!”

“Not like that!” the disheveled man with no shirt and a rugged beard and hair that reached the floor pleaded.

“This is ridiculous. You’re wasting my time! I’ll have you hanging from the gallows first thing tomorrow!” he stood so quickly the chair fell backwards, and he stormed out of the room. The guard quickly opened the door and closed it behind him.

The man stormed back to his office where two soldiers stood waiting at attention in front of his desk. He made his way around the desk, pulled his chair out and dropped into it with a heavy clang from his armor.

“He’s mad…completely out of his mind.” He placed his elbows onto the desk and rested his face into his hands.

“We tried to warn you Commander…” Lestith was still at attention with Grandall by his side. They waited patiently for the Commander to acknowledge them.

“Any word on the young lady you found with the…assailant.” He finally looked up from his hands at Lestith.

“Yes, sir. It appears other than being very malnourished, minor bruises and lacerations and dehydration, she appears to be in good health. Also, the healer has made note that none of the injuries are recent.”

“And has she awoken since having been brought here?”

“Just once, sir. She was quite hysterical. Screaming about the rocks falling, her family being crushed and then…” he paused and swallowed hard.

“And then?”

“She was going on about a figure on the pillar of darkness?” He reluctantly finished.

“What in the hells’ that supposed to mean?” Lestith and Grandall looked at each other and then back to Commander Braddock.

“I’m afraid we don’t know, sir.” The room fell silent for a moment. “What are we going to do with the, prisoner, sir?”

“There’s nothing we can do. It was clear the bodies were crushed by the cave in, and unless the old timer is capable of bringing a mountain down he isn’t responsible. The wounds on the girl are old indicating that she wasn’t recently assaulted. And there doesn’t seem to be any signs of foul play. We have to let him go…”

“You can’t be serious!” Grandall blurted out unconsciously. “I’m sorry, sir.”

“It’s fine Grandall. I understand your frustration, but my hands are tied. By all accounts, he has done nothing wrong. There is no proof. And unless the woman wakes up to say otherwise, we cannot hold him” he stood up and waved his hand dismissively at a soldier in the next room through his open door. “We have to let him free.”

A few moments later Lestith and Grandall watched as the soldier from before escorted the half-naked man through the building towards the exit. Looking out of the window of the Commander’s office, they saw him being pushed onto the street and stumbled onto the dirt ground just outside.

*****

He had found himself suddenly shackled, thrown into the back of a carriage under guard and transported across the countryside for 3 days, and he had no idea why. The girl was healed and was made sure to be kept safe, unless something had changed in the time he was last awake, he couldn’t figure out what he had done wrong.

Stumbling through the city, his bare feet and tattered pants and bare chest were bad enough. But he had a thick gray beard and knee length gray hair that made him look even further like an old homeless man. He could see, and even feel, the glares he was receiving from the people that kept their distance from him. Nobles, merchants, serfs and even peasants that were tasked to keep the cobbled streets and walk-ways clean, wanted nothing to do with him.

He walked for hours through a city he has never seen before in search for nothing in particular. The differences between the buildings the farther from the Capital Knight’s Hold he got, the more obvious they became. Typical of kingdom cities, the farther in from the walls you get, the higher class live, the closer to the city walls, the more they are home to the poor. He couldn’t help but think how some things never changed. The smells from each district were also quite distinct, but he chose not to dwell on that.

The roads went from cobbled and well maintained walk ways to trodden dirt and gravel to unkempt and hole-filled mud and loose dirt. He could hear the sound of music, laughter and yelling from around a corner, as he turned he saw a few drunken and rowdy men outside of what seemed to be a tavern, quarreling and pushing each other around. He didn’t pay attention to what they were yelling, because he didn’t much care, he was more concerned with the music and the smell of cooking food. His mouth began to water but he quickly realized something. He had no money to speak of.

“I got 2 copper on Dozer!”

“4 copper on Kessler!”

The yelling and pushing became louder the closer he got, and when he heard what seemed to be gambling, his interests changed. If he could get money, he could get food. Slowly sauntering towards the back of the wall of men making a circle for the two people beating each other senseless, he realized it was some kind of street fight, and there was money being tossed around as to who would win. Having been slouching the entire time he was wandering the streets of the city, he stood straight and looked over the crowd of people, there he saw who exactly was doing the fighting.

One of the men was a larger, overweight man, bald and covered in grime. The other was much more muscular, tall and wide shoulders, clearly someone that knew how to take care of himself in a fight, the scars across his arms and face telling a clear picture. He didn’t know who Dozer or Kessler were, but if he were to guess who the winner was, it was the one with scars and a more muscular physique. Not that an overweight person couldn’t win, but this particular overweight person was out of his league. Not even a few minutes into the fight, he was panting, sweat dripping from his bald head and his moves were turning sluggish. Even if the other man didn’t start hitting him, the fat one would have collapsed from exhaustion.

“C’mon ya fat bastard! Get in there an’ kick his ass!”

“Take him out already Kessler! I need me some more drinkin’ money!”

The shouting was almost deafening. He continued to watch mildly uninterested since he already knew the outcome. The fat one threw a quick, for his stature, right jab and missed completely. The other fighter deftly dodged to the right and came to stand to the large ones side, and in one swift motion struck him square in the kidney twice. As he began to stumble, he made a solid right hook and connected to the side of his jaw and it was over.

The fat one dropped his arms and stood still for a brief moment and toppled to the ground, unconscious before his head made contact with the dirt. The cheers erupted making what he thought couldn’t be any louder, even more unbearable and caused his eyes to go wide.

“An’ there ya have it folks! Kessler has done it again! Is there no one that can take on the champ of the street ring?!” the small skinny figure came out of the crowd and began to announce the winner. “Who’s got the balls to get into the ring with the champ eh? Only cost ya 1 copper to enter! If ya win, we’ll give ya 50% of the winnin’s fer today! And last I checked, that was 2 silvers worth, folks!”

The cheers turned into murmuring and quieted conversation among the crowd.

“I’ll have a go.” He raised his hand from the back of the crowd.

“Oh, what have we here!? A challenger? C’mon boys, let the brave man through!”

The group parted themselves to make way for the voice that came from behind all of them. Before he raised his hands, he gently reached into the pocket of the man in front of him and fished out exactly 1 copper coin. His fingers were quick, but he took very little pride in using them in such a manner. He moved through the group and made it into the center of the ring of people. There was total silence.

No more murmurs, cheers or quiet conversation. Instead, everyone was stunned by the figure that challenged the proclaimed champion. Not having any changes from his completely homeless looking visage, the crowd roared into laughter. He was slouching once more, his beard and hair were a frizzled mess from the heat and sweat from the walk through the city and he was filthier than the fat man he saw just before.

“Sorry old man, but…fer yer own safety, you should leave!” Kessler shouted while laughing. He was sitting on a bench just outside the tavern, with two scantily clad women in each arm. Both of which were laughing.

“Take a hike old man! Ya don’t look like ya ‘ave a single copper on ya!” the scrawny announcer was harassing him now.

He held out his hand and on the palm of it was a single copper coin. The crowd quieted down and they began to question the sanity of the homeless old man.

“I got a copper here. I can get 2 silvers worth if I win, right?” he asked innocently. Again the crowd erupted in laughter.

“He can’t be serious!”

“He’s gonna get ‘imself killed!”

“Run on back to ya hole, ya crazy bastard!”

The insults increased and started to annoy him. But he noticed that Kessler wasn’t laughing anymore, he actually look annoyed himself.

“Fine! You wanna die that badly ya crazy old fool!?” he stood up and took the copper and tossed it to one of the women he was sitting with. She placed it in her cleavage and moved closer to the other woman, who then put her arm around her and both looked at him seductively.

“Alright you lot, you saw the old fool! He placed his bet. He heard our warnings…he ignored us! Not my fault if this crazy bastard dies on me!”

The crowd started to throw in their bets as well, of course every one of them was betting on Kessler. It was no longer betting, but just throwing money into a pot that was going to get larger for no reason other than to see a homeless crazy old man get killed.

“1 silver on the old man!” The voice boomed from the doorway of the tavern and stunned everyone into silence. The owner of the voice was an incredibly large burly man. His arms easily as large as the body of the homeless man that was about to die.

“What do ya think yer doin, Barin?” Kessler hissed.

“Oh you know me. I do like rootin’ for the underdogs. ‘Sides…he looks like he’s got spirit!”

“Ya better back that bet up with coin instead of words!” he growled. Barin shrugged in agreement, and then walked over to the bench with the two women and handed 1 silver coin to the closest one. She gingerly took it from the hands that were large enough to encompass her head, and once again placed it in her cleavage.

“Better?” he chided.

“Alright folks! The bets are placed, the odds are incredibly in Kessler’s favor! It’s obvious who the winner is here folks! Now let the beating commence!!” the tiny announcer yelled and quickly left the center of the ring.

Kessler towered over the old man and glared down at him. His anger fueled by the action Barin took against him.

“Don’t think yer gonna get away lightly from this ya old bastard…I’m gonna beat ya into the dirt!”

The old man looked up through his ragged hair and directly into Kessler’s eyes. What should have been the eyes of a crazy, terrified and broken old man were filled with vigor, confidence and pride. Kessler took a step back in surprise. Shaking it off immediately afterwards, he put his fists up and lowered himself into a fighting stance. The old man just stood in the same position, full of openings and utterly defenseless.

Not giving him any leeway, Kessler throws a quick left jab at the old man’s face. The fist barley missed its mark and caused the hairs on the man’s head to sway from the force of the blow. Kessler regained his stance and couldn’t help but wonder if the old man had dodged. But he was confident that he didn’t move an inch.

“What the hell Kessler! Quit playin with the old man and end it already!” someone from the crowd yelled.

“Who’s playing with him?!...that was meant to knock the old fool out.” He grumbled under his breath.

Again he jabbed with his left, and again it just barely missed the mark, his fist flying just to the side of the old man’s head. He then follows it quickly with a right hook and attempts to hit him square in the jaw for a knockout blow. But as he feared, the fist just grazes the hairs dangling in front of the old man’s face and misses.

“Kessler! What the hell man! This isn’t funny anymore! Kill him already you idiot!”

“C’mon! Quit screwin’ around!”

“Finish it already!”

The shouts were increasing, causing Kessler to get even more upset at the situation. Having seen the old man stay in the same position the entire time Kessler decides to put all his force into the next attack and one that will not be possible to miss. He clasps his hands together to make a ball out of both of his fists, and raising it above his head he swings down towards the top of the old man’s skull. Then he suddenly comes to a complete standstill. His eyes wide open, bloodshot and beginning to look up into the sky. His jaw dropped and breathing ceased.

The crowd was stunned, there was complete silence. To everyone but Kessler, they all saw what had happened. The small fist of the old man stretched out and made contact with Kessler’s abdomen. Then without so much as straining himself, pushed into his stomach, causing the force of his attack to shock Kessler’s entire body into unconsciousness. There was no flashy maneuver, no skill or technique. From the onlooker’s perspective, it was nothing more than an old man, gently pushing his tiny fist into the stomach of a giant, watching his fist sink into it, then, silence.

The old man stepped to the side and waited for the body of Kessler to fall face first into the dirt. He then gently turned his gaze towards the two women who seemed to be in charge of holding the money and he smiled big. His teeth were surprisingly white, and perfectly aligned. It would have been a captivating smile if not for the fact that it was hidden behind filthy dirt caked skin and matted sweaty and unkempt hair.

“Gahahahahahahaha! Oh, now I’ve seen it all!” Barin roared in laughter after having finally shaking himself lose from the surprise that unfolded in front of everyone. “Alright, you fools pick the dumb bastard up and get the hell out of here! It’s almost dinner rush and I don’t need you idiots scaring my customers away!”

The two girls quietly stood up and were about to make a quick getaway. The old man lost his smile and raised his hand in quiet protest. They were going to walk away without him getting his earnings.

“Hold on you two!” the two girls flinched and came to a halt at the voice. “Don’t think you’ll be gettin’ away without paying this gentleman his earnings now.”

They turned and both smiled at him, and had faces of pure innocence as if they were saying it was totally an accident and they would never do something like that intentionally. The first girl fished into her cleavage and pulled out the silver coin and handed it to Barin. They began to turn away once more. Barin immediately cleared his throat. Causing them to flinch once again. The second girl fished inside her cleavage, which after looking closer, was much more pronounced than the firsts, and pulled out 3 silver coins and handed them to Barin.

“Thank you ladies. That will be all. Now get out of here and tend to that moron Kessler!” he growled.

The old man watched the scene unfold and with his mouth still agape and his finger in the air in silent protest was hopeful that he would get at least one of the four coins. He slowly looked up at Barin and waited.

“C’mon in you dirty old begger. You look like shit, and smell like it. For one silver coin I’ll feed ya, give you a room for the night and get you a bath and maybe even a haircut and a shave….ya look like ass!”

He turned back into the tavern and disappeared behind the two swinging doors. The old man timidly followed close behind. When he entered the tavern, the smell of cooking food made his stomach tense up in pain and his mouth water. The patrons that were already inside looked at the old man and cheered and raised their glasses to him. They had apparently seen the ordeal from their seats through the large window in front of the tavern.

“Adalyn! Adalyn, girl get yer ass down here!” Barin yelled up the stairs to the side of the bar closer to the back of the tavern.

“Ugh, what do you want old man!” a cute girl poked her head from the stairwell, her honey blonde hair waved to the side as she did so.

“Don’t talk to yer father like that, ya ungrateful little…” he grumbled and didn’t finish the sentence. “You got work! I need ya to help clean this wily old man up and get him some food and a room!”

“Oh, c’mon dad! You know I don’t like doing that!? It’s disgusting!”

The old man couldn’t help but blush. He slouched even more and cast his gaze downward.

“Hey, if you don’t wanna give the old man a bath you can bathe me instead!” one of the patrons from a corner table yelled.

“Shut up Tom! I’ll not have ya be harassin’ my daughter!” Barin yelled in reproach. “I’ll have no arguments from you either young lady! He’s an elder, and clearly needs some help with cleaning up. I need to take care of the dinner rush and there’s no one else ta do it!”

“Ugh! Fine!” she rolled her eyes and yelled. She stomped down the stairs and walked to the old man, holding her breath and leaning her head away from him she grabbed his filthy hands and led him upstairs to the wash room up the stairs.

The room was rather large and had a huge copper bathing tub towards the back of the room, next to it was a shallow bin that looked to have a drain leading directly outside. There was also a changing blind, a hand wash basin and clean towels with a razor and scissors on top of them. The old man couldn’t help but think that bathing and grooming was a regular service this tavern provided.

“Ugh…hurry up and get into the basin next to the tub so we can wash off most of this…filth.” Her voice was filled with disgust and contempt. “And don’t get any funny ideas either! I’m only here to wash your hair and back, the rest is up to you!”

“I uhh…” he paused and turned to look at her. He noticed her features more clearly now that he wasn’t being pulled along by her. She had beautiful hazel eyes, her skin was milky white and smooth, her hair was shoulder length and straight. The clothing she wore was a simple brown cotton dress, with a white apron. She cringed when she saw him looking at her up and down. “I am able to wash myself, if you wish to do something else?” he asked timidly.

“Thank goodness. You know how to shave as well I take it?” he nodded in response. “Excellent, the razor and scissors are there, the shaving cream is behind those towels. Make sure you clean good…father will have my hide if he found I didn’t help. While you’re doing this yourself, as you should do, I’ll prepare your room and bring up some food. Try to be done within a half…” she paused and looked at him again “Within the hour, if possible.” She shook her head and left the room, slamming the door behind her.

The old man let out a deep sigh and turned towards the washing basin. He couldn’t remember the last time he shaved, he did enjoy the routine from what he remembered. He walked to the basin and looked into the mirror. He couldn’t help but think that this particular tavern had quite a few higher end amenities for being located in what could only be called, the slums. Shrugging his shoulders he got to work cleaning himself. He would first start with washing his hands and face, then shave.

He looked at the length of his hair and wondered whether to keep it or not, pulling it back and holding it in a ponytail he turned his head and looked into the mirror to see whether it suited him. Not entirely displeased with the appearance decided to just trim it and then place it into a tail for now.

Having his unruly hair out of his way he looked at his lengthy beard in the mirror, turning his face from side to side and up to survey the tangled mess it was in. Taking the scissors from the towel beside him he began to trim down the gray mess on his face. He trimmed it to no more than a scruffy beard and switched from the scissors to the shaving cream.

Getting a nice lather from the cream he began to apply it to his beard with the brush in nice thick coats. Picking up the razor next he got to work getting rid of the facial hair he was never fond of growing.

Methodically and carefully he slid the extremely sharp blade across his face and cleared large swathes of stubble and cream from his face to reveal clean white skin underneath. It took him two full passes with the razor to get it nice and smooth, the entire process taking in itself taking more than a quarter of an hour. Once again looking at himself in the mirror and turning his face in various directions to make sure he had got it all revealed a face no one would expect from the filthy, long scraggly beard that masked it.

Satisfied with the clean shave he then stood up straight and stretched his body out. Something about cleaning your face and a nice clean shave rejuvenates one’s body, he thought. He then noticed in the mirror just how filthy he really was now that his hair wasn’t wrapping around him like an itchy cloak.

“Wow…no wonder people were avoiding me. I’d avoid me…” he mumbled to himself. He then turned to the wash basin in the floor next to the tub and saw a large barrel filled with water and a bowl to rinse.

Taking his ratted pants off, they dropped to the floor releasing a small cloud of dust from his travel from the tiny village and through the city. He stood in the wash basin and took the bowl, filled it with water and splashed it over his head. It was cold, but it also felt good to get at least some of the grime off of him. Taking the tie out of his hair he spread it out and began to wash up. Luckily there was ample amounts of soap, because he needed it.

Making sure he was totally clean again took more than a quarter of an hour. With less than half an hour to relax in the tub, which still had steam rising from it indicating it was still hot, he gently placed one leg into it to make sure it wasn’t still boiling, and climbed in. Releasing a long, low and relief filled sigh, he leaned back and let the hot water envelope his sore body.

“This. Is. Brilliant.”

*Bang!*

The noise came from the door and caused the old man to jump, splashing the water around and getting on his face.

“Uh, um, yes? Hello?”

“If you’re about done, your room is just across the hall from this one. I’ll be putting the bed sheets on. There’s also a change of clothes and your meal is waiting. So hurry it up so I can get back to doing…” she paused, it seemed she didn’t have anything to do. “Just hurry up old man!”

It was Adalyn. He didn’t quite know what he did to upset her but then remembered just what a state he was in before and pursed his lips and nodded in confirmation. Soaking in the water for another 5 minutes he noticed it wasn’t nearly as hot as it was before, so thinking he had enough he stood up and carefully stepped out. Shaking the excess water off of his body he grabbed a nearby towel and dried his body. Then wrapped it around his waist and took another towel to try and dry his hair. But not having hair quite this long before the only thing he accomplished was making it yet another tangled mess, but this time, a dripping wet tangled mess. It was all over his body and covered his face again.

Looking around the wash basin he used to shave he tried searching for a brush or comb, but couldn’t find either. Thinking that Adalyn might have one, since women are typically more accustomed to using them. After getting the clothes from his room he would look for her and ask. He gingerly opened the door and peeked out from a small crack he made. Not noticing anyone in the hall he peeked his head out further and looked down the hall side to side. Still in nothing but a towel and his hair looking like a wild animal attacked it, he quickly opened the door to his room hopped in and spun around and closed the door in front of him. All while carefully clutching the towel around his waist so it wouldn’t fall.

“Finally clean are you?” the voice made him quickly whip his body around in surprise and saw Adalyn was still in the room. She was patting down the sheets on the bed and turned to meet his gaze. Her eyes went wide, he thought he was doomed. “What? You didn’t cut your hair? You look ridiculous! Ugh, this is why old people are the worst.”

He couldn’t help but think that her attitude was a bit rude and a little too forward in her opinions, at least openly, to elders.

“I uhh…I didn’t think you were still in here. I was going to change and see if you had a comb or brush? I decided to keep the hair long.” He finally said.

“Well whatever. Get over here and sit in the chair. We need to dry it off first.” She ordered him to sit in the chair she pulled out from a small table that had the food. He lowered his head and obediently walked to the chair and sat down. She retrieved a towel from a cupboard in the corner of the room and began to roughly rub it across his hair, starting from the top and working her way down, grabbing large portions of the thick ash white gray hair and rubbing it between her hands and the towel.

“Why…do you…have so much damn hair!?” she complained while drying it still.

“I’m sorry.” His shoulders slumped in shame

“No, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to take it out on you, gramps. I just…ugh, men.”

“Husband giving you a hard time?” he asked quizzically.

“Hus….no! I’m not married, I’m only 16!”

“Is that not marrying age?”

“W-well I suppose so, yes…but no. It’s just my…boyfriend. He’s been acting strange recently and won’t talk to me. It’s driving me crazy!” she got too rough with the drying and accidentally pulled his hair too hard.

“Ow!…sorry to hear that. I’m sure he has his reasons, no?”

“Yeah, his reason is he’s a lowlife scum!…nobody understands the way men think!” she grumbled.

He couldn’t help but think silently that women were no different, but didn’t dare say it out loud to Adalyn.

“I’ll be right back. I need to get my brush from my room.” He sits in silence, tapping his hands on his knees, then hears the thudding of footsteps getting closer. Immediately afterwards the door swung open and Adalyn stepped in with a brush in her hand. “Let’s get your crazy hair taken care of!”

“Thank you for helping me, by the way…” he said gently.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s my job, honestly. I help around the house and father lets me go to the Academy to learn.” The brush was being used with great skill and care, making sure not to drag it through is hair and rip some out. She was gently tugging in small portions to get through the still damp hair and pull through any knots, whenever she went back to the hair that was now straight and smooth, and the brush on his scalp felt comforting, calming and familiar. “Almost done I think. You sure you don’t want to cut it off? It’s not really that common for men, even old ones, to have hair this long.”

“Mm. I’m sure. I figure it’s a nice change of pace from the usual.” He smiled. “You said something about an Academy? Academy for what?”

“Are you serious? You really don’t know what the Academy of Highleaf is? I thought everyone knew. Where have you been? Under a rock?” he chuckled silently.

“You could say that, yeah. Care to explain it to a hermit like me?”

“I suppose. It’s a school that accepts anyone and everyone, so long as they pay the tuition and have a knack for it, and teaches them all about Chanting, Magic and the Sages of old.” Her voice, cute and high along with the methodical brushing put his mind at ease, until he heard something that he didn’t want to.

“….Sages….” the animosity was palpable.

“Yep, the Six Great Sages of old. They were the greatest magic casters and chanters the world has ever seen. Some of them are still alive to this day, some say. Which I think is ridiculous. That would make them…thousands of years old!”

“Two thousand six hundred and eighty five.” He growled under his breath.

“Hmm?” he shook his head and dismissed it. “Well I’m learning how to be at least a Mid-Chanter, people say that I’m pretty good. But some of the incantations are just really hard to memorize and require tons of concentration! So it’s taking quite a bit of work.”

“Mid-Chanter?” he tilted his head to the side, to which she immediately snapped back straight up. “Sorry…”

“You really have been under a rock haven’t you? There’s multiple levels of being a Chanter. The more proficient you are, the higher your rank. But some ranks are only possible if you are a genius from birth, spend your entire life studying and practicing or just so happen to have the blessing of the Sages.”

She was done brushing his hair, but since she was drawn into the conversation she just continued to brush along his head, she wouldn’t admit it, but his hair was incredibly soft, smooth and in much better health than her own so she was captivated.

“Someone that can recite an entire Chant, which pretty much everyone can do nowadays it seems, is a Full Chanter, or just Chanter. The more proficient you are, or the more magical power you have in your body you can sometimes omit parts of the incantation and still get the same effect.”

“Hmm…?”

“If you’re able to do that your rank becomes higher, they call it a couple things but typically it’s referred to as a Mid-Chanter or Half-Chanter. Then there are some that can just recite the Motive words and cast it! Can you believe it? An incantation that could have up to a dozen words or more could be performed with just a handful with no loss in power? Ahh…how amazing would that be? They’re the elites of the world, and go on to work in high places of power and are typically nobility. Lucky sacks…” She mumbled after mentioning the nobility, chances are they were no different than the ones he had dealt with in the past, so he understood her animosity.

“I see, sounds pretty amazing. What makes them so special though?” he inquired.

“Well, they’re the only ones that are able to find and afford the Tomes or Artifacts of the Sages.”

“Umm…”

“Let me guess…what’re those? Jeez, you really don’t know much do you? Well anyway. The Tomes and Artifacts are relics of the Sages that have been long since lost or hidden that hold incredible power that for some reason can increase the latent magical energy and power of those who can unlock them. The ones that are found are sold at a ridiculous price, so only nobles can afford it. I mean, who else would be able to buy a dusty old book for enough gold to build a small manor?”

She stopped brushing and patted his shoulders indicating she was done. Letting out a sigh.

“Oh, did you want to put it up at all? I would think having this much hair just flowing about would be pretty annoying.”

“That would be greatly appreciated.” He nodded in confirmation and appreciation.

“Well you’re in luck then, I happen to have an extra tie right here!” she dug into the pocket of her apron and pulled out a small dark blue string and placed it on the table next to him. “Let me gather all of this up and I’ll tie it up for you.”

“Thank you. You really are too kind.” She chuckled lightly and began to brush his hair from the top of his head and gathered small bundles of the hair into her hand.

“Nah, I should be thanking you. You got my mind off of…him and got me talking about something I enjoy!”

“Ah, the academy? Right, you were mentioning something about Motive words and ranks? What are they called?”

“Oh, right! Motive words are the key terms within an incantation that actually invoke the spell. So it doesn’t matter how much latent magical power you have, if the Motive words are missing or ignored, nothing happens. The ones that can use only the Motive words are called Swift Chanters, or just Swifts for short. But they’re pretty rare, Tomes and Artifacts don’t exactly grow on trees. But the best part about being ranked higher than a Chanter? You get tons of opportunities for employment! Ranging from personal tutors to working for the Royal Court! There’s even a chance to become a Master Chanter for the Capital if you’re really good. But that’s so beyond normal people I don’t bother looking into that much. That’s all tied to politics as well, and I hate politics…to much nonsense and lies.”

She finally bundled all of his hair into a tight bunch and picked up the string from the table and began to wrap it around the bundle of hair a few times and deftly tied a simple yet tight knot, completing his grooming. Once again patting his shoulders.

“There! Finally done!”

“Hmm? Oh, thank you.” Forgetting how long he had been sitting he stood up and stretched out once more. It was then that Adalyn noticed something she didn’t pay much attention to before. His arms and back. An old man would have loose and wrinkly skin. But his was smooth and firm. As he stretched, she also noticed the sheer amount of muscles in his back and also his arms. They were tensing and flexing with each movement. Then he turned to face her, her eyes widened and she was for the first time, completely speechless.

“Sorry for making you do something so…” he tilted his head after noticing her facial expression. “Are you alright?”

“Y-y-you….” She couldn’t form the words correctly.

She looked at his face, his smooth features were incredibly handsome, almost beautiful and his eyes were a color she had never seen before, they matched the color of his hair, but they were also full of something else, traces of color that blinked in and out of existence if you looked long and close enough. She slowly moved her glance down to his chest and stomach, the defined muscles were incredible, most of the men she saw were overweight or nowhere near as muscular as what she saw in him.

Then, something both of them didn’t expect to happen, happened. He had completely forgotten that the only thing he was wearing was a towel, and since he had been sitting and moving around slightly, but after prolonged amount of time, the towel had loosened and fell. It was then her eyes bugged out even more than she thought possible. Immediately feeling the difference in temperature in the lower part of his body he looked down, his eyes widening just as much as hers and with the speed that was almost impossible for humans, covered his ‘important’ parts.

“Y-y-you…aren’t old at all…!!” her face turned beet red and she covered her eyes quickly after the towel had fallen.

“I am so sorry!”

She vigorously shook her head from side to side in protest.

“It’s fine! I didn’t see anything…honest! There’s clothes on the bed!” she pointed quickly.

He instantly grabbed the pair of slacks that were on top and in a flash put them on, fastening them tight.

“I-it’s ok now…” he said sheepishly.

She opened a crack in her fingers and looked towards the voice and quickly closed her fingers and turned away.

“Shirt!” the yelp was incredibly cute, but not dwelling on it he listened to her and threw it over his bare chest.

“Ok…now it’s ok.” Although he couldn’t tell why being without a shirt was such an issue when he never had one to begin with.

Once more opening a crack in her fingers she peeked at him, noticing she was fully clothed lowered her hands and clutched the apron while facing him.

“You…you lied to me!” she was angry, but her face was still flushed with embarrassment, and what he thought was a slight grin.

“What? When?”

“You never said anything about being…not old!”

“Huh!? But…you were the ones that started calling me old! I never said I was old!”

“B-but…how were we supposed to know!?”

“I don’t know…pay attention?!” they were starting to fight like children.

Her eyes narrowed and her lips were pursed. He knew he shouldn’t have said what he did. He slinked back slightly and held up his hands in defense just in case. She took a deep breath in and released it.

“You’re right…It was our fault for assuming you were just an old man. I apologize.” She bowed, she was being honest.

“Uh, no…it’s my fault, I should have told you I’m not old. Well…not an old man anyway.”

“Wait here…” she turned quickly and headed for the door and opened it. Before exiting, she quickly turned her head “I mean it…don’t go anywhere!”

His mind was reeling, he didn’t know what he should do. Was she going to tell her father? He was going probably beat him senseless and then kick him out and he hadn’t even had anything to eat yet! He was beginning to panic and was looking for a way to escape before that happened. He couldn’t find anything, the only window he could find led to an alley, but the distance between the window and the building next to it wasn’t big enough for him to fit through, the window was purely to let light and air in apparently.

He then stared at the door and wondered whether he should make a break for it before she got back. He ran to the door and placed his hand on the handle, just as he was about to turn it to open, he heard the thudding of footsteps coming close. He dashed back to the place he was standing before and pretended he didn’t move. The door creaked open slowly and she poked her head through with eyes narrowed to the point they were closed and stared at him.

“What?” he looked around the room so he didn’t have to deal with that painful glare.

“Just making sure you weren’t naked…”

“Why would I be naked?!”

Ignoring the question she entered the room and closed the door behind her, in her other hand she was holding two mugs and then walked to the table and placed them down, and took a seat at the only other chair in the room.

“Come, sit. You’ve gotten me started, so I want to keep going.” She said as she sipped whatever liquid was inside the mug.

“Keep going with what?” he said timidly and covered his chest with one hand and his lower area with the other, turning away slightly.

“Don’t screw with me! Not that!” she almost choked on her drink in response.

“I’m just kidding. You’re talking about the Academy, right?” she nods in confirmation.

“Besides, you haven’t eaten yet. So you can listen while eating, right?”

“That’s true.” He walked to the chair he used when she was combing his hair, turned it to face the table and sat down, pulling the tray of food towards him. “This looks amazing.” He starts to dig in.

“Well…where was I again anyway?” she asked.

“Something about politics and spiffs?”

“Oh, right! And it was Swifts, not spiffs…” he shrugged while taking a bite of a piece of bread. “Anyway, I talked with father about why he let an old m….someone like you, have a free meal, bath and clothes. Apparently you won a match against Uncle Kessler?”

He started to cough as he heard this.

“He’s your uncle?!”

“Oh, yeah. Father puts up with his nonsense because he’s the younger of the two. But anyway, since you won against Uncle, that must mean you know how to take care of yourself? Well, in a fight anyway.” She frowns at him. “Coin apparently isn’t your strong suit though. But the reason I’m asking is because there’s also a section of the Academy that allows for fighters.”

“What does fighting have to do with magic though?”

“Well it’s more Knight training or Swordsmen training, really. But I’m sure if you know how to take care of yourself unarmed, a sword wouldn’t be too difficult, right?”

“I…suppose not.” He wasn’t entirely convinced but agreed to keep the conversation going. It’s been a while he’s had a mutual and pleasant conversation.

“But they teach you how to use incantations as well as combat training to prepare you for becoming a Knight or Swordsman for hire if you want. The best part, if you’re accepted as a Special Candidate, you can be admitted without a tuition! In fact, you get an allowance for it.”

“Really? That sounds pretty nice. But, what does that have to do with you? I thought you wanted to be a, uhh…mini chanter?”

“Mid-Chanter! And I was talking about you, you fool! You obviously don’t have a home, or job or two coins to rub together, so you should look into becoming a Special Applicant.”

“Why would I want to go to school? I’m too old for that…no thanks.” He slumped over his bowl of stew and waved the suggestion away.

“Too old? ...You barely look a day passed 20! What are you talking about!? And if you aren’t looking to get into a school that gives you room and board, three meals a day and educates you to better yourself…what do you have better to do? Huh?”

He pursed his lips and looked into the air at nothing in particular. She wasn’t wrong, he thought. But at the same time, going to school was the least interesting thing he could think of doing.

“Ehhh…”

“Oh c’mon! Seriously, what are you going to do after you leave here then? Wander around for days, weeks…months? Until you’re shirtless, hairy and filthy and hope you stumble upon another cute and amazing young woman who’s willing to help you?”

He immediately narrowed his eyes and cast her a questioning gaze.

“What? ...that’s right, I’m cute and amazing!” they both fell silent. “Shut up.”

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to give it a shot…I mean, if I get accepted, am I stuck there? Or can I leave whenever I want?”

“I would think you could leave at any time. But I also think you would never be able to return if you did something like that. Talk about burning bridges…”

“Ok fine. What do I have to do?” he relented.

“Ah, you’re in luck! There’s a Mock Battle going on tomorrow that will determine who the candidate for the Special Admission will be!”

“Wow…how convenient!” he said in the most monotone voice he could muster.

“Don’t be an ass. You just have to last 10 minutes against the Commander of the Capital Knights without being knocked to the ground, or if you’re able to strike him fully with the practice swords, you immediately get accepted.”

He immediately lost his appetite and turned away from her with a disgusted and utterly bored face.

“Pass.”

“What!?”

“Too much of a hassle…pass.”

“Don’t give me that nonsense! You have nothing to lose!”

He grimaced after hearing her say that. Again, she wasn’t wrong. But he’s already had a run in with the Capital Knights so he didn’t want to go back to that.

“I’d honestly rather not have to deal with those guys again…”

“Again? Wait, did you get in trouble with them once before? For what?”

“I’d rather not say…” he turned away, a grimace clear on his face.

“Spill it!”

“Ugh…they think I attacked and killed an entire village and took advantage of a girl’s unconscious body…”

Adalyn immediately pushed her chair back and was about to bolt out of the door.

“Oh quit it! Of course I didn’t do that!”

“I don’t know…a perverted old man with no shirt and nowhere to go…”

He narrowed his eyes and stared at her with an expression that exuded his lack of amusement.

“Not funny.” He grumbled.

“Wait, when did this happen anyway? It wasn’t Edgewood Village was it? That only happened a few days ago…they say that everyone in the village had died in some…bizarre ritual.”

“I don’t know what the village was called, but if you mean all those people in the cave that collapsed, yeah that was it. Don’t know anything about a ritual though.”

“That’s horrible…and you don’t know what happened? But you were there?”

“I’d rather not talk about it. But let me make it clear…I did not kill anyone, and I certainly did not attack that young woman.” His tone of voice and eyes looked directly at Adalyn and left no room for her to think he was lying.

“Ok…I believe you.” She pulled her chair back to the table and pondered for a second. “But wait…wouldn’t that mean they’re looking for some filthy homeless old man?”

“Yeah, I suppose. Why?”

“Well, you look nothing like an old man, and you’re certainly not filthy either. So even if you participated, I doubt they’d suspect you were the same person!”

He curled his mouth downward and nodded in agreement. Once again, she wasn’t wrong. He was starting to like Adalyn, she was quite the clever young lady.

“Ok, fine. I’ll go, but I guarantee nothing. I’m only doing it because you’re so insistent and as thanks for taking care of me.”

“Sounds fine with me.” She smiled, proud of herself and took a sip from the mug. “Oh, you know I don’t even know your name.”

“Oh, it’s Amrin.” He blurts it out without thinking anything of it.

“Amrin huh? That’s a pretty unique name. I like it though.” She said while smiling at him.