“There’s been a slight change of plans. Originally we would’ve taken some two months to reach Northshield city, not counting the stops we make along the way. But I would like us to go slower. We could only walk a couple of hours every day, while the rest of the time I can teach you higher Order spells. Including the tenth Order ones.”

“I know that you have eight columns and that you can only cast Fifth Order spells, but that’s because I couldn’t teach you back in the Beast-lands. With your talent, I think you would’ve learned how to cast Seventh Order spells by now, if it wasn’t for those special circumstances.” Archibald spoke so fast he gave off an impression of a merchant trying to hoodwink a gullible customer.

“While I’m at it I can try and explain some basic concepts about True-Naming, but that’s going to be difficult. True Names and comprehension around them exist in the eye of the beholder. What I see and what you see is not the same and you probably won’t be able to understand a word of what I’m saying.”

“Even if we knew the same True Name our comprehensions are based on different lifetimes, thus causing those True Names to vastly differ. I know it doesn’t make sense, but try to follow.”

“For instance the three True Names I know stem from my childhood. They were the sublimation of the shocking scene I saw and experienced when I was at a point between life and death.”

“That explosion was engraved deeply into my mind when I was just four years old. Those few moments contained the laws of the world and such a vast amount of profound truth that it was enough for me to contemplate for two centuries. And even those two centuries weren’t enough! If I had had the chance I would have spent a heck of a lot more time on that memory.”

“Father… I can tell that you’re trying to change the subject. Tell me what happened while I was sleeping.” Wolf was worried and didn’t have the patience to listen to his father’s random word barrage.

If he didn’t stop him in his tracks, the man could go on for ages, or at least until Wolf forgot what he was worried about. The boy wasn’t planning to give in to this diversion. Not that the promise of high Order spells didn’t intrigue him. It was a good bribe. It’s just that the subject at hand was too serious.

Archibald could see that he had no way to weasel his way out of this. After a moment’s thought he realized that it was better to come clean and admit everything.

*Sigh.*

“I performed the magic I told you about and I had to pay the price for it. I don’t regret it one whit. Come on, pack up and I will explain it to you in detail while we’re on the road.”

Archibald really did come clean. He even told Wolf that he expected that he was going to die upon casting the spell. In spite of Wolf’s age, Archibald had started viewing his son as a grown man that could handle this. Turns out he was wrong. When Wolf heard that his father wanted to waste his life on changing his appearance he sobbed and cursed him as an idiot that the man was. Archibald was shocked with his son’s reaction. Being too old made people forget certain basic things.

Archibald also felt a tear run down his cheek as his heart was filled with warmth. For the first time in years Archibald felt free of worries.

***

Archibald’s worry free state didn’t last long. Less than five minute actually. Sentient lifeforms have a hard time enjoying their present, when there’s a worrisome future looming over them.

Problems Archibald didn’t think he would need to face on account of being dead came crashing down on him as soon as his touched state of mind ended.

Good thing was that he had quite a bit of money he had never used. It was just sitting there in his Ring of Holding, collecting proverbial dust, which didn’t exist in extra-dimensional space. Another ray of light was that they were now back within the borders of the Empire of Human. Meaning, there was no immediate threat to their lives by monsters and elves.

The biggest problem and the main reason for the change of plans was that Archibald Hillman, Lord of Thunder, was a politically unwanted man. It would be an exaggeration to call him a public enemy, but he was definitely a persona non grata. At least that was true for the Northshield duchy, where he used to hold the position of the previous Duke’s Court Mage and Marquess without a land.

That Duke was deposed by his younger brother and because of his loyalty Archibald ended up the way he did. Crippled, in voluntary exile. So, in short, they couldn’t stay in the Northshield now that Archibald was alive.

While this was technically an issue it could be easily solved by moving to one of the neighboring duchies. This, just like a number of other logistical issues the father and son had, could be solved with enough money. Fortunately Archibald had an abundance of it. Even Wolf was rich. Those Rings of Holding he got from the Lonely Eagle’s inheritance were worth a fortune.

After a few days of leisurely journey Archibald and Wolf reached a town. The town wasn’t big by anyone’s standards, except for Wolf’s. It was much larger than Muddy River. As the duo drew closer, Wolf could see a three meter tall wooden wall that surrounded it. It could pass as a bigger version of the Muddy River’s palisade, if you ignored some fine details, such as quality, shape and size. They were both made of wood though…

Yeah... They were completely different from the city walls he still remembered from the dreamscape.

When they came to the gate there were no other travelers there. Just a couple of bored guards. The least sloppy-looking of the guards scanned Archibald and Wolf without much interest. Infirm, dirty people in worn out clothes, looking like refugees, weren’t an odd sight these days.

“Welcome to Iceowl. The entrance fee is ten copper pieces each.”

Archibald found it a bit weird that a small town out near the border was charging an entrance fee, but he didn’t want to get into trouble. He suspected that the guards were making money on the side like this. Just like that, after his father handed out twenty copper pieces, Wolf entered his first real town. He looked left and right at the houses and everything else there was to see, causing Archibald to chuckle at the cute way his son acted.

However, Wolf wasn’t really acting like a bumpkin. Well, he was, but for a very unique reason. He was trying to find a house that resembled the Village Elder’s house.

That merchant lied to us! No wonder that old man laughed at me! It’s completely different from what I made up in that dreamscape. Just look at this! None of them are like the village elder’s house!

“Come son, let’s find ourselves a tailor. Those clothes are a tad too small for you.” Archibald said with a warm chuckle.

To be perfectly honest, Wolf’s clothes were quite a bit too small for him. Thankfully, the boy cast Protection from Elements every day, so the cold didn’t really bother him.

As for Archibald, his clothes were worn out, but still quite warm. Wolf offered to cast Protection from Elements on him as well, but the big man refused, saying he was used to the cold.

The man led the way through the widest street he could see. Just as he expected, after walking for a couple of minutes, they ran into a tailor’s shop with a board saying Fine wares. Archibald couldn’t help but chuckle at the plaque before going in.

Just as the big man had expected, the wares in this store still had quite a long way to go before reaching the level of the advertised fine wares.

Despite overestimating herself, the tailor was very professional. After she and Archibald agreed on the price and three silver coins of down payment were in her purse, the woman quickly took their measures. After thinking for a bit the woman promised that the matching robes Archibald ordered would be completed in three days time.

Wolf was very happy when they exited the shop. Archibald bought a dozen sets of traveling clothes for the both of them and Wolf would finally have some new clothes. But, more importantly, the man also placed an order for a pair of matching Mage’s robes. Meaning Wolf would finally look the part of a Mage! Of his father’s apprentice!

Father and son went straight towards the inn the tailor had recommended as the best in town. Archibald completely ignored the other piece of advice the woman had given them. She warned them to stay away from back alleys because the times were rough.

Archibald really wanted to see if anyone would actually dare mug them.

He found the answer as soon as they entered the first alley. A pair of thugs really did come out of dark nooks, amusing Archibald to no end.

“Give us your money now or we kill the boy.” One of the filthy men growled, a butcher’s knife in his hand.

Archibald looked at him, then shifted his gaze to the one at the back. They were both in their thirties, had wiry bodies and eyes that showed the cruelty they had seen and experienced. However there was something missing, which made them lack the air of true bandits.

“You kids don’t seem unable to work. Fine arms, strong legs... You could even go serve in the army or the town guard. Why are you skulking in shady alleys?” Archibald asked, not one whit afraid. These two never killed anyone.

“Look old man, just give us your money and nobody needs to get hurt.” The man nervously barked.

This wasn’t how things were supposed to go. People either resisted and got beaten or coughed up the coins. Relaxed talking made him feel uneasy.

Archibald sighed.

“Wolf just put them to sleep.” He wanted to get some information out of these wretched people, but they didn’t seem like the sort that would cooperate.

Hearing his father’s order Wolf nodded and started chanting. Thugs didn’t even understand what was going on. The kid was waving his hands and muttering some gibberish.

“Old man, we just want the money…” With those words the two wouldbe bandits fell down to the ground, snoring blissfully.

“I’ll tie them up and take their… um, cooking utensils. Then we can deliver them to the guards and let the law handle it.” Archibald said, while dubiously looking at the improvised weaponry.

“We caught the bad guys! Will they rot in prison now?” Wolf was very excited.

This was the first time ever that he had captured some real bad guys! He felt like this alley was more of an adventure than their whole four year long journey put together.

“Not really. They’ll probably be out in a couple of days. In small places, like this town, all you have to do to get out of jail for a minor offense is grease a few palms.”

“Is there a way to solve this problem dad?” Wolf asked.

He was clearly unwilling to let these two go just like that. They were criminals he had captured himself! And they would get away by using lard…

“We could kill them, but that would be excessive. I didn’t feel any killing intent from them. At most they would have beaten us up and taken our money. If that was not the case, I wouldn’t have told you to put them to sleep.”

Wolf nodded. While he was only seven years old he was by no means naive regarding such things. He knew that his father had killed three elves while they were on their adventure in the elven lands. The last time, roughly six months ago, he even had Wolf come and see the body while saying that he had to get used to such sights.

Apparently becoming a great man meant an equally great number of dead bodies, or at least that’s what his father claimed.

“When we meet thugs in the future, if I tell you to use Magic Dart, use two missiles per person, if possible. Aim them one at the head and the other one at the heart. When killing, remember that you should try and cause as little suffering as possible.” Archibald once again entered the lecturer mode, as he picked up the knives and tied up the bandits.

“What if there are more than two thugs?”

“An excellent question. That mostly depends on the situation. We’ll go through it once we settle down at the inn. I’ll give you the scenarios and you tell me what you think you should do. That way if anything happens I won’t have to tell you which spell to use. For now, let’s find some guards to turn these two in. Just remember that you must not shy from killing. Hesitation is what gets you or your loved ones killed…”

Archibald's lessons:

Giving birth to new life in the world of Masterpiece is a costly matter. Both parents have to contribute Soul Force for the creation of the infant's soul. This results in an injury that is negligible to everyone, save for Soul Refiners. For this reason most Mages decide to have descendants only when they realize they have exhausted all of their potential and they had no more room for progress.