“So, did you patch things up?” Clayton asked me with a side glance.

“Patch things up? What are you talking about?”

Clayton shrugged. “With Sylvia? That fight the other day looked like it got pretty heated.”

“Ah. Yeah, I guess it did, huh? Things are fine now. I guess you can say we came to an understanding,” I said.

Clayton chuckled and grinned. “Good, good. I wouldn’t want you two to break up or anything. I’m also surprised you so readily agreed to come with me today.”

“That would be bad, yes. And there are things I uh… need to attend to in private,” I admitted awkwardly.

Getting some real privacy is becoming more of a challenge for me, it seems. And there is no way I’m doing it outside again. I have standards.

“Is that so? I didn’t imagine you were one to keep secrets, Voker.”

I turned my head and met Clayton’s smiling face. “I’m wearing a mask? I never really take it off?” I said, confused.

“That’s true. But you are just such a straightforward guy. Honestly, I’ve already kinda forgotten about the whole mask thing. I think it would be weird to see you without one on,” Clayton mused.

I’m not sure if people getting used to me wearing my mask all the time is a good or bad thing. I’d rather not be Voker Winterheart if I could help it.

“Mhm,” I grunted. “Anyways, do you buy from the guild since you are a retired adventurer?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

“Sure do. It’s cheaper that way for me in the long run. Buying from a merchant or the city is a pain I would rather not deal with.”

“Do you sell the wool to the guild as well?”

Clayton shrugged and readjusted himself on the carriage. “About half, yeah. I’ve got a few clients lined up that buy from me directly. Mostly noble types wanting to get instant access to the wool for the following winter.

I nodded along at his explanation. The Shamb wool was some high-quality stuff, and it seems to be sought out by just about everyone. The winter coat the Pruits let me borrow is lined with the stuff, and it’s ridiculously comfortable and warm. Clayton told me that some nobles even use the stuff as insulation for rooms. The wool is also in high demand in Luminar, which is much colder than it is here in the south.

But with the high-quality product comes high risks. The Pruit ranch is typically assaulted by bandits at least once or twice a winter, but we have only seen signs of them so far. Monster sightings have also gone down in the last month or so compared to the beginning of our job.

Sylvia mentioned that maybe we scared away the bandits and monsters, and I’m starting to believe that we actually achieved that. Maybe since monsters have constantly been dying and not getting anything out of it, they have finally decided to stop showing up?

Same with the bandits as well. I’m sure a scouting party must have been watching from afar and saw either me or Sylvia dispatch a monster or two and decided against making an attempt on the ranch.

Either way, it was all guesswork. Unlike last time I went to Nactus, Clayton and I had to sit in the carriage line, which was moving at a snail’s pace. The guards were taking their time checking each and every merchant or farmer. Clayton mentioned a side entrance, but apparently, they shut that down during the wintertime, which seems like a mistake to me.

“Papers, please,” an older guard asked. His hot breath reeked of booze, and the guy was clearly not having a good time standing in the snow.

But at least he said please.

Clayton was fishing the proper paperwork out of his bag when I flashed him my Ruby guild tag. The guard looked surprised and gave a low whistle. “Not every day you see two Ruby adventurers. Let ’em pass, boys!” he yelled to his subordinates.

Clayton laughed nervously to himself. “Seems being Ruby has its perks. I ranked up to Topaz then retired right after pretty much. It makes me feel like a chump for barely making it to that rank.”

“No need to be down on yourself about it. Do you regret it? Retiring early?” I asked.

If Clayton hadn’t retired early, I imagine he could have made it to Amethyst with his skills. He also has a hardworking attitude, so seeing him make it to Ruby after a few years of training wouldn't surprise me.

Clayton smiled faintly and looked forward as he guided the Cradal pulled carriage into the city. “Sometimes, yeah. Living the life of a free man doing whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. Spending days out on a quest with your boys only to come back into town and celebrate. Yeah, I miss those days, but I don’t regret retiring early.”

“Why’s that? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Clayton shrugged and gave me a kind smile. “When you have your first kid, your priorities change. I stopped adventuring for fun and started adventuring because I needed money to raise my kid. No more spending late nights in the pubs buying rounds for everyone. Instead, I sent every extra coin I didn’t need back to Jess. I went back to the ranch every long break just to see them. And you know what?”

“What?” I asked.

“I’d do it all over again. Maybe it was because we got lucky. I never had anyone in The Stars die. We had a few close brushes with death, but we always made it out. So I guess you could say the fantasy of being an adventurer never died for me. Maybe things would have been different if something bad happened, but it didn’t.” Clayton rubbed his head and gave me a wry look. “Long story short, no, I don’t regret retiring early. And if given the same chance, I’d be an adventurer again in another life, fall in love with the farm girl from the village, and have another kid then retire young.”

“That’s good,” I said, unsure how to respond precisely.

Clayton is a good man. His family is kind, and I can tell they make him very happy. I wonder if I’ll ever manage to find that kind of happiness.

Clayton shooed me away. “Go now and do whatever it is you have to do. I’ll meet you at the guild in say… two hours tops?”

Two hours? I need like… two minutes.

—

I rented the cheapest room, the smallest room possible, at a random inn. Performed my deeds. Ate brunch. Then I took a nap. All in all, a highly unproductive day but a necessary one. What did dream slime Apollo say to me again?

Having a few moments to yourself is crucial to maintaining your sanity? Yeah, I can get behind that idea. But I’ve been having a lot of these days recently. Winter needs to hurry up and end.

Ah, but I do prefer the cold weather. Maybe I got that side from my mother? Dad never seemed bothered by the jungle heat, but I don’t think Mom was much of a fan despite her not complaining about it. Either way, I miss that stupid humid jungle, but I can enjoy the snow a bit for now.

I was making my way towards the guild to meet Clayton when I heard somebody drop something behind me. I turned around and found a High Elf woman wearing white and gold priestess garbs with a thick overcoat staring at me in disbelief with cloudy gray eyes, and it didn’t take long for those eyes to become misty with tears.

“Voker? Is that you?”

“It’s been a while, Anna.”

My vision filled with silky light blue hair as Anna threw herself into me. “You! Your hand! Your leg! You… what happened to you? I heard rumors that you survived?! Why didn’t you come to find us?!” Anna said in between muffled sobs.

I felt a tinge of regret when she asked why I didn’t contact her. In truth, I probably should have left a message for her and the others to let them know we were okay. But a lot happened after we got out of the dungeon, and my goals have stayed the same.

The only reason I stayed with Dem and Anna for so long was that they taught me how to be a proper adventurer along with helping me get my foot in the door because it benefited me. It doesn’t change the fact that they were good to me, though, and reading their reports on Sylvia and my supposed deaths was rough. I should be more thoughtful about these things…

“It’s a long story…” I said with a grunt while pushing her off of me. Anna looked up at me with teary eyes. She used to be way taller than me, and now I’m just a little taller than her. “I’m sorry. I should have left a note for you guys at the guild.”

“Or you could have found us! We thought you were dead! Sylvia, is she alive?”

“Yes, we both survived and cleared the dungeon.”

“So you were the ones that killed that Wyrm… it was the same monster,” Anna said quietly.

“It was.”

I didn’t really know what to say to her. I feel terrible, but another part of me didn’t.

“Hey… uh… Voker? Wait, you are…” Clayton asked from behind me.

“A friend. We were in a party together. Anna, this is Clayton,” I said, gesturing towards Clayton.

“You’ve already found another party?” Anna said despondently.

“Not quite…”

Clayton gave me a small pat on the back and a wry smile. “I know who Anna is… it seems she has forgotten me. It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Anna? Also, Voker here is working for me right now.”

Anna wiped some of the tears from her eyes and stared blankly at Clayton. Clayton laughed awkwardly and shrugged his shoulders sadly. “Can’t be helped… wind mage? Part of The Stars? Friends with Nick?”

Something clicked in Anna’s eyes as she smiled. “Ah! The guy that tried doing five hundred push-ups at the inn then threw up from drinking too much! It has been a long time! You’ve gotten way older…”

I looked over at Clayton, and he looked like he had been stabbed in the heart. His eyes glazed over, and he nodded weakly at Anna. “Yeah… that’s me,” he mumbled.

What? I am going to have to ask about that on the way back home.

“Are you okay, Clayton?” I asked.

“Fine… just fine…” he said quietly. “Anyways… the feed won’t be ready till tomorrow, so I’ll just come back and get it then. Why don’t you stay in town and catch up.”

“I don’t know about—”

“Yes! You should stay! Everyone is here, and they would love to see you again, Voker!” Anna shouted while grabbing ahold of my arm and pulling me tightly towards her chest.

Those are… dangerous.

“Don’t worry about it, Voker. I’ll be back tomorrow morning,” Clayton jabbed me in the side with his elbow and grinned. “And don’t worry, I won’t tell Sylvia,” he whispered.

“What do you mean by that? Hey? Why are you walking away from me?” I asked Clayton’s retreating back.

“Come on, Voker! Everyone is at the inn right now, so let’s go find them!” Anna giggled while pulling me along.

Yeah… sure… why not?

—

“You mean to tell me you had enough food for an entire year?” Alce asked from beside me.

“That’s what you’re surprised about? The guy cleared multiple floors in an unknown dungeon? Who cares about the food!” Anna pouted from my other side.

“It’s more amazing that you survived the fall. Good thing Sylvia had that magic item for you,” Dem said with a chuckle.

“Was the Wyrm the final boss? There was no way that thing wasn’t the guardian,” Alce asked.

“Yes, it was. I barely killed it, and it took nearly everything I had,” I lied.

“Most impressive. I knew you were a powerful mage. My barrier didn’t even hold it back for a moment,” Ilme huffed in annoyance.

“There was a lot of luck involved,” I admitted. I cleared my throat. “Ah… would you two mind letting go of me?”

“Nope.”

“Don’t want to.”

I sighed while Dem and Silent gave me a wry smile from across the table. I had Alce and Anna sitting far too close to me, each holding one of my arms to their chests and drinking their beers. I didn’t mind them being so close… actually yes, I do mind them… concentrating is becoming more of a task than it should be.

The inn is bustling with people, and it maxed out on capacity. People are enjoying drinking and celebrating whatever tonight’s occasion happens to be. Judging by the sheer volumes of alcohol and the types of people drinking, it seems to be an inn more geared towards adventurers. We have spent the last few hours here chatting and drinking. Well, they have been drinking. I’ve just been talking.

I recounted the story of how Sylvia and I made it out of the dungeon with some apparent changes to the account. I severely downplayed what we accomplished and Sylvia’s involvement with just about everything.

I did feel bad about lying to them, but I planned on keeping my promise to Sylvia above all else. Making sure nobody figured out who she was more critical. Besides, they didn’t need to know how we cleared the dungeon, just that we got out.

“Are you sure you don’t want a drink, Voker?” Ilme asked.

I shook my head and tapped my mask. Ilme gave me what I assumed to be a toothy frown, but it was hard to tell on a Dragonkin. “You haven’t changed at all, have you?” she said to herself.

Dem chuckled loudly to himself. “Changed!? The last time we saw him, he was a little kid! Now, look at him! He’s almost as big as me! How old are you now, Voker?”

“I… uh… I just turned fourteen?”

“Why did you say that like a question?” Alce asked.

I think I’m getting secondhand alcohol poisoning from breathing the air in this room. My head feels a little fuzzy and I even forgot how old I was there for a second…

“I don’t know?” I answered back.

“You must be getting tired, Voker. You said you were staying at a ranch outside of town, right? How about we walk you back? Say hi to Sylvia while we are at it?” Dem suggested with a smile.

“I was told that I would be picked… that… I—that somebody was coming back for me in the morning, so I should—”

“Nonsense! It’s a win-win for us. We get to walk you back and talk some more while seeing Sylvia. You get a nice warm bed to sleep in that you don’t have to pay for,” Dem said proudly.

I took a few seconds to decide if this was a good idea, but I didn’t see a problem with it. I would rather sleep back at the ranch instead of spending the night at this inn. And I didn’t want to go back to the one I stayed in this morning if I could help it.

“Okay, if you say so.”

Everyone paid their tabs, and we headed out. Despite the light snow, Nactus was bustling with people. The city seemed to be even more alive now than it was when… when I came a few months ago. Yeah, around then…

Either way, the sun hadn’t quite set, and the pink and orange sky was filled with high milky white clouds. So we took our time as we made our way back to the ranch making small talk and just generally catching up with each other.

Alce recounted the story of how they survived the Wyrm as well. Apparently, the Wyrm had tried to confirm our deaths or something along those lines… at least. I think that’s what Alce said…

Anyways, it gave the group enough time to run to the other side of the floor, where they managed to camp out for a few days and scout the bridge out. But the Wyrm had disappeared, and they were able to retreat out of the dungeon from there.

It makes me wonder… wonder… I uh… what was I thinking about again?

Ah, whatever, we still have a little more than an hour till we get to the ranch. I’m also not sure why everybody came. Does everyone just want to see Sylvia that bad? I’m not even sure if Sylvia likes any of these guys.

And why… why did everyone get quiet all of a sudden?

Eh, I guess it’s getting late, and they had a few drinks. Alcohol is a depressant, after all. I have no interest in drinking that stuff, knowing what it can do to your— your… my?

I turned around in confusion, and everyone had stopped walking. They were all staring at me with all different kinds of expressions. Alce, Silent, and Ilme were just looking at me with blank faces. Anna wasn’t even looking at me at all and instead was staring at the ground with a grimace. Dem wore a weak smile.

“Ah, hello—”

“How are you feeling, Kaladin?”

“Fine? I think? I’m… not sure? It’s kind of… I just don’t really know?” I said honestly.

“I see…” Dem mumbled.

What? Wait… what did Dem just say? I—

My body moved without me telling it to. Dem lunged forward with outstretched hands, but I batted them away while taking a few steps backward. I stumbled and ended up falling over myself. I hit my head somewhat hard on the ground, and it seemed to sober me up for a moment.

Something…. something is wrong with me…

“It doesn’t have to be this way, kid…” Dem said coldly.

“What are you doing? What… what did you do to me?” I said just as coldly while quickly brushing the snow off me.

My mind. This haze… it’s been creeping up on me… making me forget things. It is making me forget that something is wrong. How long? How long has this been going on?

“We know who you really are, Kaladin. Listen, we don’t want to hurt you. Seriously, you can trust me.” Dem said while slowly walking towards me.

I took a few more steps back. “You keep calling me Kaladin. That’s not—”

“We know. Everything on the bounty points towards you. A crippled child that was missing a hand. Capable mage found in the woods not far from the escape… it’s you, isn’t it? You’re Kaladin Ambersoul,” Dem said seriously.

“Yes but no I’m act—”

What? What am I saying? My mouth moved before my mind did…

Dem shook his head and gave me another weak smile. “No point in hiding it, kid.” Everyone else wasn’t following while Dem kept moving forward.

They… poisoned me with something. But how? I didn’t eat or drink anything? I couldn’t have breathed in anything either since they would have been affected as well. Then… touch… Anna and Alce rubbed something on me…

They betrayed me.

I dipped my foggy mind into my storage ring and took out a single red vial. Then, running almost on autopilot, I unsummoned my mask and downed the red vial. The thick liquid tasted like dirt going down. The taste helped me focus, even if just a little.

Dem’s eyes went wide with shock, but he quickly returned to his natural face. “Wow… you really are a Dark Elf. And you have a spatial ring. It makes sense seeing that you suddenly brought a sword out of thin air before that Wyrm took you out.”

“Surprised you even noticed with how afraid you were,” I hissed. Those words were the first thing that came to my mind, and I couldn’t stop their flow.

Dem winced. “Whatever… you don’t mean that. Listen, I’m not sure what you just drank, but there isn’t an antidote for Cloudy Mind, kid.”

Cloudy Mind? What kind of stupid name is that? Who the hell names a poison Cloudy Mind?

I could feel my heartbeat quicken in my chest, and my veins pulse with hot blood. I looked down at my tan arms and watched my skin become taut, and my muscles flex. My mind wasn’t getting any clearer. If anything, I felt myself slipping away even more. Somewhere along the line, I just stopped thinking about things entirely.

“I don’t need an antidote.”

Dem chuckled, then sighed. “Sure, whatever you say. I hope you know this isn’t personal.”

“It is personal. Everything about this is personal,” I said in a low growl.

“Dem!” Ilme snarled.

Dem sighed again and extended an open hand to me. “We don’t want to hurt you, but just know there are two ways this will go down, kid. You either come peacefully, or we are going to have to get physical. So please don’t make us get physical,” he pleaded.

“Unfortunately for you, there is a third option.”

Dem raised his eyebrows. “And what would that be?”

“I kill all of you.”