The Abandoned Sorcerer

by Nefarious

  Once he had his fill, he followed the road up, soon arriving at the Temple. The grounds past the temple-gates were clean and green, no sign of corpses anywhere. However, there were bloodtrails on the path leading to the temple itself, something he figured were for the corpses being prayed for. Kovas’s priests were standing guard by the gates instead of Visgamar’s guardsmen, so Orion nodded to the stoic men and moved on, increasingly spotting piles of corpses until he reached what had been the thick of the fray.

  Here, instead of piles, was a still sea of bodies, reeking of warfare, attracting scavengers and flies. Like before, he looked around for a while, taking in the scene instead of pointing fingers. Going further up the road, he finally saw Visgamar’s guards.

  They stood around the Palace’s gates, which were battered and broken down, their faces haggard but their eyes sharp and vigilant, watching the crowd that had built up in front of them. As Orion focused on the guards, the whispers from around him soon reached his ears. Rats had died; Fatso had betrayed Rats; Rats had lived and taken the throne; Grima had finally revealed himself; Risadro had died to his own men.

  Orion gulped as he looked around, finally letting go of the reins of his thoughts. The hell he stood in right now would be nothing compared to the aftermath of his revenge, he knew it. And it hurt him so much.

  36. Severed Ties

  * * *

  Breathing slowly with his head down, Orion heard her steps sound across the floorboards – he knew it was Kora without looking up. His self-guided tour had come to an end in the night before, him trudging back to the inn, miserable as could be. He hadn’t seen her then, nor in the morning after, but he knew had to face her now. Controlling his breath, he faced up, only to see her walk past.

  His expression grew strained as she began to peer around with her palm against her brow, her mouth spreading to an o as she finally spotted him.

  “Oh, I didn’t see you there,” she said, continuing the joke.

  His lips curled into a lopsided worm, too strained to be a smile.

  “Well, where were you? Running off without me? No note even,”

  “I was walking,” he said, “Looking around the city… the damage,”

  “Ok,” she said. Contrary to his expectations, she didn’t go on or question him further, instead, kicking back in her seat.

  He felt his excuses wash out of his mind as he realised she didn’t care. Honestly, her giving him space was the best outcome and yet one he hadn’t even considered. Although once he thought about it, whenever anything sensitive happened, her usual response was to close up and stay silent - she was just lucky it was the right response this time. Blowing another deep breath out, he leaned back and tried to brush the matter from his mind.

  They were both in the Seeker’s building, on the first floor by the contract board. As he waited, Orion saw Lilith walking up the unused staircase on the other side of the hall. She wore casual clothes today, her creamy low-cut blouse contrasting with her chestnut-brown hair that lay past her shoulders. Lilith had a curvaceous figure and a sensuous aura around her, something he was certain she put to good use.

  “Come on,” she called, beckoning them, “Smith’s waiting,”

  Following her down, they reached the basement, a wide room lit by Glubber’s candles. The room was filled by several cabinets and chests, a few armour-pieces and weapons cluttered over the closest ones. The remaining area was occupied by a large board with several chairs in front.

  Smith wore a bright-red eyepatch today and stood by the board, nodding as he saw them. A woman with short hair sat on one of the chairs.

  Once they had all sat down, he began. “I’m sure you all know what this is about. You two,” he pointed at Lilith and the short hair lady, “are both 5-stars, so ready to go through the Awakening. And you two,” he pointed at Orion and Kora,” are ready to go through it as well. Usually, I wouldn’t be able to do this as your rankings aren’t quite there yet, but times are changing,”

  He stopped and paused, his audience waiting with bated breath.

  “Basically, the Awakening is you guys training hard, drinking a lot of nasty shit, and training more. It’s terrible, believe me. I went through it two decades ago and the memories are still strong – it’s the sort of stuff you don’t forget. So, stop grinning so hard before I slap them off your faces,” he said, breaking into a chuckle.

  “They’ll expand on the process itself over there: I don’t know if they’ve changed anything. Anyway, look at this,” he continued, pointing at one of the pictures on the board, this one a poorly drawn beaker with green liquid in, “This is an Elixir. I’m sure you’ve heard the rumours: yes, they make you stronger, yes, they give you powers, and yes, they’re from monsters. You’ll love them afterwards but when you’re going through the process, you’ll see them as your enemies – trust.”

  He moved on and jabbed at another picture, this one resembling a crudely drawn map. “This is where the magic happens, Kajan. Filled with monsters and guarded by top Seekers, you won’t be able to get in without a rigorous identity check, though it won’t seem like that,” he said, breaking into another bout of laughter. “Ah, you don’t get it now, but you will get it by the end. Anyway, this is why I want you guys to go together as a group. It makes the whole process easier and makes it less likely one of you will die on the way,”

  He moved onto the last picture, this time a silhouette of a figure holding a sword, the Seeker’s logo. “And this is where the talk ends. Look, I know all of you have different allegiances and that, but after this you will be a Seeker first and foremost. If that’s not the case, you will be killed at Kajan so don’t bother thinking you can trick the people there.”

  Smith paused a while, before ending. “Alright, that’s it. Take any of the stuff on those tables if you like them and meet here tomorrow morning to set off together – I’ll give you my letter then. Jax, Lilith, Cyae, Kora, I wish you all the best and hope you’ll be sharing the Seeker’s cause soon,” he said, saluting at them in a change of tone.

  Cyae nodded, and promptly left, while Lilith stayed behind to chat with Smith. Orion and Kora scanned over the equipment, fully aware they wouldn’t be able to buy anything from the market. Orion picked up a new black jacket, contrasting with his light skin, and a longsword and bow with a quiver of arrows. While his strongest weapons were inside him, there was no chance he would be able to use Szu when surrounded by Seekers at Kajan. Kora picked up a yellow jacket, going back to her roots, and a greatsword that ranged almost her height. Even though she couldn’t transform at Kajan, she still retained most of her strength meaning she could use this greatsword like a shortsword

  They left shortly after and attracted a lot of attention on the streets due to her comically sized sword. It was while walking back to the inn that Orion realised he had forgotten about the dark-skinned foreigner. He had planned to keep him with Thimble for a while but considering the underworld had just undergone massive changes, the Sticky Fingers would soon be destroyed or start rising the ranks, meaning they wouldn’t be able to keep a dead weight around no matter what.

  After saying this to Kora, she agreed with him, although reluctantly as she didn’t share his massive interest in the man. Sure, he had dark skin and red eyes that made him unique in the Empire, and sure, Skitters had almost certainly joined the attack on the Saltrock’s ship for the man, but that didn’t change the fact he would continue to be dead weight if they took him in.

  Either way, they made their way to the slums, quickly noticing how quiet the area had become. The whole city had lost its spirit after the riots but the effect was most pronounced here.

  Kora spotted the watchers and waved at them as the Seekers entered the Sticky Fingers’s base. None of the people they encountered challenged them, and Orion was relieved to see there was still life in the base.

  They arrived at Thimble’s house, opening the door to realise it was dark inside. Going in, Orion searched around, finding no one until Kor
a nudged him and pointed into the darkness. Focusing, he made out the shape of a small man sitting with his head down, a blanket over his head. Orion clapped his hands together and the man turned to the sound, staring at them with red eyes which lightly glowed in the dark.

  “Are you ok?” Orion asked.

  The man didn’t reply, instead, peering at Orion’s expression for a moment, then at Kora’s.

  Orion turned to her. “I don’t think he still understands what we’re saying. What do we do?”

  “Are you sure you want to bring him? He can’t understand the common tongue, and look at his body, he can’t even fight, he’ll just be useless,” she replied.

  He stopped for a moment, pondering on what she had said, before deeply nodding.

  “Alright then,” she said,” let’s get him out of here first,” She walked to the foreigner and placed her hands on his elbow and wrist, guiding him up and out. It seemed he got the idea as he weakly shook her off, following Orion of his own accord.

  Leaving the building, the trio entered the sunlight, spotting Thimble running towards them in the distance, his maroon clump of hair bobbing up and down.

  “Lord Jax, Lord Jax!” he called.

  They waited for him.

  “I was told yer were ‘ere. Are yer ‘ere to talk ‘im?” Thimble asked.

  “Yeah. Why was he left in dark?” Orion said.

  “I tried to take him out, but he didn’t wanna. I left the curtains open for ‘im but he’d just close it when I left. I dunno about yer but he seems loony in the ‘ead,”

  Kora nodded.

  “Hmm,” Orion said, “But yeah, we’re taking him away on a trip we’re going on. What happened to your brother? We didn’t see him anywhere,”

  “Ginger’s dead, we think. Maybe we’ll disband soon, we’ve lost too many people, put at the front of the raid for Fatso.” Thimble said, flashing a nervous smile, his eyes teary. “Come back and visit when you’re done, right?”

  Orion moved forward and patted him on the back. “We will. Just make sure you’re not dead by then,”

  “Yes, Lord Jax!”

  37. One step at a time

  * * *

  The horse’s back thumped against his thighs, flaring up the dull ache. He and Kora had sold their old horses and bought these for the journey, although he now regretted that decision. After they had collected the foreigner, they had bought what supplies they could and rented their last night at The Fat Munch. In the morning, they had come to the Seeker’s building, where Maya had briefed them on their journey.

  She gave them maps and Smith’s letter of approval. She had teased Orion but only slightly, her aura much calmer than before, maybe due to the broken arm she had gained since the last time they had seen her. When asked whether he could bring along the foreigner, she had looked at him with a raised brow, before saying sure.

  Joining Lilith and Cyae, they had spent an hour riding away from Visgimar, towards the south of the Empire, towards Kajan.

  Orion nudged his horse towards the foreigner’s, soon beside the dark man staring into the horizon. Despite Orion rolling up next to him, the foreigner didn’t turn so Orion poked him. The man was still thin but his skin was no longer shrivelled. And while it was hard to spot his scars due to his skin colour, once you spotted one, the whole range of burns and scars became clear.

  “Hello,” Orion said, waving his hand exaggeratedly.

  The man watched the hand, then looked at him with the same blank expression as always.

  “Hello,” Orion repeated.

  Although the man didn’t respond, the smallest of glints flashed through his eyes. The foreigner rolled his red eyes up as if in thought, then mimicked the wave.

  “Hell-o,” he said.

  The pale Seeker felt his lips curl up as he heard the man speak the common tongue, breaking out into a grin. “Jax,” he said, this time pointing at himself.

  It didn’t long for the man to understand what was happening. “Joiroa,” After saying his name, the foreigner seemed to fall out of the moment, his eyes glazing over and his body shivering.

  Thinking hard, Orion figured he was reliving memories, most likely the torture from the ship considering how tense he had become. Glancing around, Orion saw Lilith looking back with a strange expression on her face. Cyae watched him passively, perhaps with a small amount of disdain as she turned away from him with cold eyes.

  When Orion caught Kora’s eyes, she stared back, before shaking her head. She led her horse towards his and pulled up next to him.

  “Hello, Teacher Jax. Is your student alright?”

  “Yeah, I think he’s just having an episode. You know he’s smart, he picked what I was saying pretty quickly,” he replied.

  She nodded excessively with wide eyes. “Yes, he said hello and his name - I’ve never been more impressed in my life,”

  He rolled his eyes, not falling for her provocation. “Come on, you’ve got to admit you thought he was a dimwit before, like brainless,”

  She nodded more honestly this time. “I don’t think the ability to say hello invalidates my judgement though,”

  “Come on then, you try to teach him. You’ll see he’s bright,”

  “Ok, I will,” she said.

  ****

  Now that a few hours had passed since leaving Visgamar, Orion regretted challenging Kora. She had swiftly discovered what he had and proceeded to slowly take control from Orion, eventually kicking him out of the conversation. Even now, he could see them talking – in simple sentences, sure, but still holding a conversation.

  Lilith had pulled up by him some hours before and they had chatted for a while. He had discovered she was charming and playful as she had teased him for a while, eventually leaving with a wink. He concluded she didn’t flirt for fun like Maya did, instead, using it as a tool. As for Cyae, the short-haired woman hadn’t displayed any interest in Orion at all, instead, opting to stay at the front of the group, scanning their surroundings like a hawk.

  They had passed several plains, all lush or at least living, but now to their sides were the corpses of fields, crop parts littered all over. Cyae slowed down and hopped off her horse, inspecting the ground and soon searching it.

  “There’s a monster den somewhere near here, been eating all the food here,” she said, her face tightening into a scowl. She was as tall as Orion and similarly lean, in contrast to Kora and Lilith. She had dark brown hair and a sculpted face, her features sharp and pointed, especially her eyes which seemed to dig into his soul as they passed over him.

  “What type?” Kora called.

  “Grub drenites from the look of the damage,” Lilith answered.

  “Yeah, Grubbers,” Cyae said. “I’m going to destroy their lair, anyone come with?”

  The other Seekers nodded. Grub drenites were cancer to crops despite only being 3-star monsters. In fact, their danger was inflated due to their numbers - they were 1-starish by themselves.

  “Right,” Cyae said. She leapt back onto her horse and trekked over the fields, wandering randomly.

  However, Orion didn’t stop nor interrupt her, instead, watching until he realised she was looking for areas with the least amount of plant waste. Although confused, he followed her, and it only took him a few minutes to acknowledge her skill as they came upon barren land littered with monster shit.

  In the middle of this area was a large bump, akin to a molehill but man-sized. Climbing off his horse, he stepped over the hole and gazed into the darkness.

  “They’re nocturnal; they aren’t going to see you,” Cyae called out from far behind. She had opened her bag and was filling a bottle with some liquid, then with another. She put a few ingredients in, the last being a clump of Grubber shit.

  “Hold your noses, this will stink,” she said as she lit a fire next to the bottle.

  “Wait, isn’t it best if you add Throllberry as well?” Kora said.

  Cyae smirked. “If you find some, tell me,”

  �
�I’m sure there was some in the forest we went through,”

  Cyae simply shook her head as she dipped a burning stick into the bottle, the liquid quickly fizzling. Holding her nose, she walked towards the hole and dropped the bottle in. It didn’t take long for the Grubbers to come screaming out, their screeching almost as unbearable as the smell spreading from the hole.

  There were many forms of Drenites due to how well they adapted to environments, some mammoth sized, some venomous, the highest even a 5-star monster, the boneless drenite. The Grub drenites the Seekers faced were yellow knee-sized frogs with mouths that took up half their bodies. Their molar teeth were their only weapons, meaning they were relatively simple to deal with as long as you watched their numbers.

  Lilith and Orion took a backward position, both using bows to kill the monsters from a distance. She was faster than him, although he guessed that was more because he hadn’t used a bow in a long while, but what was more surprising was her battle-sense. She somehow stayed aware of the whole battlefield at once, sniping down runaway Grubbers before he even noticed them.

  Kora and Cyae took the front, Kora using her greatsword to slash through the monsters to great and bloody effect, while Cyae took a more traditional route with a longsword and shield. She wasn’t as fast as Orion, and she wasn’t even close to as powerful as Kora, and yet as the minutes passed by and the stink of Grubber’s intestines filled the air, it became obvious she was the most vicious. Her cuts were clean, her defence was tight, and her attacks were always aimed at vitals.

  But as strong as the Seekers were, they soon discovered the problem with Grubber’s first hand as the tide of monsters leaving the tunnel increased instead of decreasing. Orion was forced to switch to his sword and dance around the field as time passed, quickly covered with putrid gore.