"Identity.”

The left guard commanded. However, having done this process countless times I was already unstrapping my gauntlet and focusing my essence. Bright yellow words started to take shape on my forearm revealing my name and race. Name: Race: Barth Fol’Reath High El

Having confirmed our identities the guards parted and let us walk through the giant wooden doors. I looked over at Marden who was now whispering to one of the watchmen,

“Do not let those kids out of your sight, they are under our protection.”

Pushing the door open I walked inside where I walked into the dimly light interior where we greeted by one of the servants draped in a simple blue robe reaching all the way to the ground.

“Dear adventurers, what brings you to the esteemed manor of Har?” The servant asked.

“We need to speak to the lord himself immediately, it concerns the safety of this village and future logging around the area.”

The servant's eyes widened at Marden’s reply for a brief second before he regained his composure.

“Understood, follow me.”

Trailing behind the servant we were led down the hall and up several stairs which were lit by hanging candlelights. We arrived in front of a grandiose throne beautifully stained a deep, rich brown, with expertly carved figures and shapes running over the surfaces. However, it was empty.

The servant exposed a necklace and clasped it in his hand while closing his eyes.

‘A telepathy token, huh. This village is far better off than I thought.’

The tokens cost a fair amount as only the magicians well practised in both manual crafts and the arcane could create them, yet they also place seals allowing only the creators to recharge the token.

“Lord Har will be here shortly.”

The servant spoke up with his eyes now opened, having finished informing his master. I took the opportunity to look around the hall.

‘Almost everything was made up of wood. To be expected I guess, considering it is their prime resource and export for the capital.’

The builders stuck to the traditional style of having upper, interior balconies looking down onto the throne floor with two spiral stairs on each side leading up to the top floors. There were several shadows moving about the windows, overlooking the throne floor.

“Welcome dear adventurers, I was informed that you have news concerning the village’s future?”

A voice came from my side. Har must have had one of his magicians teleported him onto the throne,

‘Flashy entrance, too bad we have seen it countless times’.

“As per your request, the guild had sent us to investigate the forest where we encountered and eliminated a creature whose identity shall be kept confidential. However, the battle destroyed a large section of the forest leading to the deaths of countless florans.” Marden spoke up, summarizing our encounter.

There was a cold glint in Har’s eyes, “Very well, by how much do we have to cut down on our logging?”

“No less than half for the remainder of the year.” I observed Har’s face as it began to twist,

“You understand that that will sorely damage our economical status?”

“Perfectly well, but I hope you also understand the battlefield your village shall become if they were angered any further?” The two men were now glaring at each other, willing the other to subdue.

“What about the payment for your services?”

“Completely covered by the monster’s body that will be recovered within the week.” Just as Marden mentions the compensation an ever so slight smile formed on the corners of Har’s lips,

“I will make sure everyone stays clear, but should there be an overly curious child? What then-”

“It is your duty as the Lord to make sure this information does not spread. If that is all, then we will take our leave.” Catching the signal to leave, I turned on the spot and headed for the exit.

Once Marden gave a respectful bow and caught up I asked, “Think he will leave it alone?”

Marden shook his head and closed his eyes.

“He realised the potential fortune lying in his forest, no way he would just ignore it. Listen, I placed some wards around the body but seeing as how he has a magician capable of teleporting, I can’t be confident that they will last a week. Would it be alright for you to take the kids to a smithy and tailor while I strengthen the wards?”

I came to an abrupt halt and stared at Marden completely dumbfounded.

“You don’t mean…?”

Seeing no reaction from Marden I went on,

“You want us to take them in as apprentices??”

Marden now stopped to look at me, filled with determination

“Precisely, I know they are just kids, but our term is overdue by half a century. How many more will we reject before being satisfied?”

“I suppose, but we haven’t seen their links yet. Or if they will even form.” We resumed our walk towards the exit,

“You have seen their capabilities without one, it is more than enough to assure a powerful link when the time comes.”

‘Perhaps it wouldn’t be too bad to take them in, they do show promise after all.’

“But they’re just children…what are we supposed to teach them until they get one?”

Just as I voiced my concerns a sudden chill ran down my spine, freezing me in place.

‘Something’s not right…’.

I extended my focus outwards to the front of the manor and scanned for life essences. There was a total of four, two powerful ones pincering two that were helpless.

‘What happened to the third kid?!’

Anger and worry welled up within me.

‘Why did they ignore our order?!’

‘They knew they were under our protection so why?’

I charged through the door, shattering it upon contact and let the rain of splinters cover whoever was on the other side. The two kids were indeed surrounded by the guards, one of them poised to throw a dagger at them,

‘Did they find out?’

Without a second thought I pumped my legs with essence and sprinted forward, catching the dagger mid-flight. Inches from Cato’s face.

With a quick scan of my surroundings to confirm that the kids were not in any immediate danger I started leaking killing intent to put the mere watchmen in their place.

‘How dare they go against our orders?’

They started quivering.

‘Oh, so now you realize who you angered?’

The guard was visibly stirred up, his pupils wide.

“W-wh-why are you protecting them? It’s against tradition you, you traitor!”

“On normal grounds that would be true, but I assure you that I am following a more important rule by acting as their guardian.”

I responded while releasing a greater amount of killing intent with every slow, deliberate step to instill even greater fear.

“Yo-you wouldn’t d-dare do anything against me or the guild will ban you!”

The guard tried to take a step back but I kicked off the ground with enough force to close the distance between us in the blink of an eye. Towering over him, I let out a burst of essence and he collapsed backwards on his rear.

“You’re right, but what you did there…” I pointed at the dead body,

“is more than enough proof for me to get away with something of equivalent value.”

I was leaning over the trembling, grown man. Slowly I reached for his neck, waiting for him to start hyperventilating before speaking once more.

Hearing the satisfying wheeze I lifted him off his feet and whispered a single word in his ear,

“Piss off”.

Letting go, he dropped down and sprinted towards his buddy.

‘They were just kids, yet he was ready to kill them on the spot. Why does everyone grasp tradition and hold on to it with everything they got?’

One of the kids was lying a pool of blood, not a trace of his life left.

‘I suppose they will be the perfect option to shock some sense into everyone else.’

“Marden, these boys are going to be the god damn best in the country by the time we are done with them!”

I shouted to Marden who was shielding the brats with a ward from my killing intent,

‘Right, I should probably stop now’.

Cutting of the aura, I walked towards the group.

“Oh? What made you change your mind so suddenly?”

Marden questioned me with a smirk.

“Just go reinforce the wards, and I’ll babysit them.”

Not wanting to look at his annoying smirk I ignored his remark, “We can meet up at the Eastern exit.”

“I’ll wait for you there.”

I watched as Marden took off and disappeared in the distance before I turned, and approached the future adventurers.

[Cato’s Perspective]

‘I have no idea what just happened. First there was a dagger flying towards me, then an explosion echoed from behind followed by Barth stopping the the dagger just before it impaled me.’

‘There was a moment of calm before dread came crashing down on the surroundings. It was as if the death reaper himself was resting his skeletal hand on my shoulder from behind.’

‘Yet that lasted a short while before a sense of calm and tranquility returned once more.’

‘All of these people are just insane, even with the cheat of keeping my previous knowledge and strength, will I be able to match them?’

I shook my head to refocus and scanned my surroundings once more.

‘I have to, or else I won’t be able to save Asher…!’

Marden was behind Eagle and I, followed by the two guards and Barth who was approaching us from the very front.

After they exchanged several words the mage took off in the direction we came from, while Barth just beckoned for us to lower our hoods and follow him.

‘Looks like it’s over.’

I cautiously started following him while glancing backwards, making sure that the guards didn’t try to launch a sneak attack.

The three of us entered a busy street filled with various stalls on both sides of the road. They were filled with various shining trinkets, glass jars with coloured fluids, assortment of armour, weapons and the odd piece of jewelry.

‘Why are we restocking for a trip?’

“Any idea why we’re here?”

I asked Eagle.

“Well, assuming that we’re in the market area not by chance, he probably has something to buy here.”

‘No shit.’

Eagle responded, looking around with amazement. This one time, I couldn’t blame him. Despite seeing it a second time, the lack of digital signs, three-dimensional figures popping out or humongous screens displaying advertisements was a pleasant sight. It gave off an exotic yet soothing feeling at the same time.

“Oh! That must be for us.”

I followed the direction Eagle was looking and noticed a sign hanging off a wooden post, on it was drawn a shirt and a needle going through.

‘A clothes shop? Having anything else to wear other than these potato sacks would be satisfying, but why is he buying it for us?’

Regardless, I followed the knight inside.

‘For a clothes shop, there are very little clothes here.’

I looked around, but all I saw was an empty room with a plain wooden floor, a desk at the end and two walls covered in various exemplary garments. There weren’t any racks to walk alongside to choose the size, or any indication of how to actually get the clothes off the walls.

I looked at Barth but he just pointed at the hanging clothes and smiled.

“Anything caught your eye Cato?”

Eagle asked as he began to walk alongside the displays.

“Not really, there just isn’t anything like this back on Earth.”

“I hear ya, but some of these look pretty funny.”

Eagle stopped in front of a particularly odd selection. The bottom consisted of plain leather boots and tight gray pants. While the upper section had a white, long-sleeved shirt with flares on the wrists and a dark green vest trimmed in a golden colour reaching down to his thighs tightened by a belt.

“Hey, doesn't that seem rather large for you…?” I asked.

“Definitely, but seeing no option for sizes, I’m sure they got it figured out.”

Eagle responded while pointing at his selection and looking at Barth. I left him and started looking for my own outfit. Finding nothing on the first wall I walked over to the other side but nothing caught my interest either.

Somewhat disappointed, I walked over to the counter where Eagle was standing alongside Barth,

‘He must be getting his clothes already.’

Approaching the table I noticed several more outfits drawn on the side.

‘Hey, that looks…not bad actualy.’

I’m not sure why, but there was one that really stood out despite being completely unorthodox.

There was a very wide scarf wrapped around the neck with half of it standing up all the way to the chin, almost like a collar. It went on top of a battle-worn, ghillie combination of trench coat and robe above and below the waist. With the top having several buttons covered by a rather wide belt, with a rope intertwined in it, wrapped multiple times around the waist to tighten the coat.

“Quite the selection there Cato, didn’t think you had the dramatic flare in you. But it definetily gives the lone-wolf look you so enjoy.”

Eagle walked up to me in his new outfit while talking. I ignored him and continued to inspect the drawing.

The robe bottom splitted off at two different points, the right side veered off from the waist while the left trailed down to the knee before meeting up at the center, halfway down the calf bone.

‘The tibia I believe it was called.’

There were also polar sleeves, with the left covered in black and gray horizontal stripes topped off with a black leather glove.

On the other hand was a dark sleeve which flared out backwards from the knuckles, with black and gray vertical stripes. All of this was finished with overly billowed, darkened pants that were stuffed into plain boots reaching just below the knee.

“?gnihtemos dnif uoy diD”

The knight asked seeing my interest in the drawing. I nodded and pointed at the wild outfit while Eagle went off to put on his clothes. I listened in on the conversation between Barth and the shopkeeper but still unable to understand a word. The owner firmly shook his head,

‘He clearly does not want to sell that outfit, but why?’.

I looked up expectantly and Barth who pulled out a medium sized pouch filled with coins.

The owner’s eyebrows would have hit the ceiling out of surprise if they could. With a big smile he ran off to the back to get my clothes. I couldn’t help but feel excited at receiving a gift. Back on Earth no one ever had the kindness to do so and charity, in any form, died out a long time ago. If you wanted something, only hard or dirty work can provide…

‘Not once did anyone even remember my birthday, except Asher.’

Approaching footsteps grabbed my attention and I saw the owner returning with a dusty pile of clothes.

‘Again, aren’t thos-’

I rubbed my eyes to confirm that it’s actually happening, the clothes were shrinking right in front of me!

‘Right, magic.’

Still keeping my head down, I entered the remaining unoccupied stall and got changed. Not sure where to place my previous sack I just handed it to Barth once I walked out and we went on our way towards the exit.

Other than the occasional arguments, stumbles or Eagle’s questions very few things happened during our walk. The one thing that got both of our interests was a new noise, a distant banging against metal that repeated over and over.

‘So just like a tailor, blacksmithing a legitimate job here. Where we are.’

That’s a profession that had long passed, decades even. Now only automated robots and assembly lines create any sort of metal works. I walked through the wide entrance and was immediately hit by a heat wave. Eagle seemed to be completely unaffected as he dashed from one display case to the next, stopping only for a brief second before moving on.

“Aren’t you hot?” I asked him tugging at my scarf, slightly regretting the multiple layers I chose for my outfit.

“After spending six hours laying in wait in the middle of an Afghanistan summer, I never felt heat the same way again. Besides, how could I be stopped by something so trivial when all of these weapons would be worth millions in a museum!” Eagle shouted back without even looking towards me.

I started exploring the smithy from the opposite direction, inspecting the occasional sword, saber or dagger but didn’t see the point.

‘Shouldn’t modern techniques trump the old style of metal working? Besides, I have no training or experience using anything but knives or daggers…’.

I reached into the gear over my back and pulled out a spare dagger while walking towards our escort.

Making a chopping motion onto the knife I tried to carry my message across, intending to compare the weapon’s differing qualities. Barth tilted his head sideways before making an ‘o’ shape with his mouth and pulling out an ordinary dagger from inside his shield,

‘Clever hiding spot. Should he get disarmed, an unexpected dagger could save him…’.

Passing it to me hilt first, I grasped the two knives and clashed them against one another.

Without even putting a large amount of effort, Barth’s cheap dagger went right through my own as if it was made up of cheap plastic.

“Hey Eagle, did you see that?” I shouted to him over the constant banging of hammers on metal.

“No, what happened?” Eagle finally looked towards me.

“Look at this-” I took the two daggers and swing them at each other once more. Feeling the soft resistance of the mil-spec as it was sliced through cleanly.

Wheeew~

A low-pitched whistle came from Eagle,

“Damn, do you think they discovered alternate smithing techniques or…?”

“No clue, but we should probably both get one, as it will be most relevant to our past training.”

I responded and continued to the other side of the displays but was similarly disappointed. There weren’t any exorbitant weapons, only slight differences in the hilts and dimensions.

The one thing I did not understand were the assortment of jewelry stone etched into Barth’s armour. None of the armour in the smithy had sockets. I wanted to ask him but with out understanding of their language we’d get nowhere.

In the end we both went with a short dagger, similar length and thickness to the knives we had before and left. On our way to the next stop Eagle and I both rotated, inspected and examined the new knives. Despite its outwardly appearance, just holding the dagger in my hand instilled a feeling of power and raw strength that no rifle provided before.

‘We’re like kids walking out of a toy store, admiring our new possessions.’

"Hey Eagle, when was the last time you got a gift?"

"After my parents passed away, never."

'Thought so...'

"If you don't mind me asking, how old were you when...?"

"Seventeen, what about yours?" I immediately regretted ruining the mood so quickly.

"I don't remember exactly, but I was about three."

Seeing the brief shock in Eagle's eyes, I tried to think of something more jovial, but came up blank.

No more than ten minutes had passed before the bustling marketplace was replaced by rapidly thinning out houses. I looked ahead and spotted the familiar blue robed man. We silently followed Barth towards Marden and together we set off towards a distant hill underneath a cloudless sky.