Chapter 12, enjoy!

Chapter 12: Rescue

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Tah’ra was still asleep when Draygor prepared to leave the house late in the morning. It was a temporary relief for Garick and Lhi’ra, as well as a good opportunity to get more rest. They’d certainly get very little once the little girl woke, as they knew Tah’ra would start crying for her brother’s attention, and they’d have to keep her occupied.

“I’ll show Kha’na around the city, and visit Dhi’na as well. We’ll be back by dinnertime at the latest,” Draygor informed Lhi’ra as he and Kha’na stepped out of the house.

“Wait, Draygor. Come here,” Lhi’ra said with a small wave of her hand, beckoning her son closer.

“Yes, mother? Oomph! – Wait, you’re crushing me, mom!”

Draygor felt as if the breath was being crushed out of his lungs as Lhi’ra wrapped him in a tight embrace. She held him there for a few seconds, before sighing in a soft voice.

“Just… be safe, okay? Promise me you won’t go disappearing on us again, at least not without letting us know. Your father and I can’t stand the thought of losing you again…”

Draygor didn’t like the idea of going missing without notice and worrying his parents either. He had been careless before, and he would not let his guard down so easily again. It would be easier too, since he’d recovered about forty percent of his previous strength. With a solemn nod, he gazed back into his mother’s eyes.

“I promise.”

“I’ll keep an eye on mas– Draygor too, Lhi’ra. Don’t worry about it,” Kha’na piped up as well, earning her a smile of thanks from the woman.

“Alright, have fun around the city, you two. Say hi to Dhi’na for us too!”

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“Hmm, I should get a small present for Tah’ra… I can’t possibly spend every moment with her, and something to keep her occupied would be good. A small toy, perhaps.”

“That’s a great idea, master! I might get the small one something as well,” Kha’na exclaimed, nodding in agreement with Draygor’s sudden idea.

“Right then. Why don’t we stop by the markets? I think Dhi’na won’t be done with her classes so soon, so we might as well take the chance to have a look around,” Draygor suggested, and the pair started walking in the direction of the market district.

Of course, he’d noticed her still addressing him as ‘master’ and not by his name, but he simply gave a mental shrug and decided not to bring it up.

“I guess she can address me however she wants, as long as it’s just the two of us.”

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The market district was bustling with activity as usual. Draygor had come with his parents a few times before in the past, and while many of the stalls still remained, there was something different about the area. Namely, there were Elyian merchants selling their wares amongst the Gar’nashian merchants, and many were chatting quite amicably with their trader counterparts.

“Trade really is a wonderful thing, huh?” Draygor smiled at the sight. There was barely any of the old wariness and animosity that both races had held for each other a few years ago.

“You old fox, finally back from across the Rift, eh? How’s the wife and kids?”

“Been a while, you old fart. The kids are getting taller, and the wife’s still happily married. Same old, same old. What about yours?”

“Just fine, though the woman’s been nagging me to bring more home, you know? She’s not a very good soldier, truth be told, and the army doesn’t pay very well unless you’re the top of the crop. Life is tough. Say, how about buying a little something for your family? I’ll give you some good prices, hehe.”

Draygor chuckled along with the pair of merchants as he and Kha’na browsed the stalls. He could sense Kha’na’s indignation; she had been orphaned by the Ely, and had spent enough time in the Cult to foster her hatred for them. He placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her down, and it seemed to visibly relieve some of her tension. He’d have to have a good talk about this with her later.

“Let’s go over there, Kha’na,” Draygor said, dragging her to a store in a less crowded area.

It was a small toy store, with a faded sign hanging above the door, and a little bell rang as the pair entered. All sorts of beautifully crafted children’s toys adorned the shelves, from little wooden figurines to toy swords. The shopkeeper was a man in his mid-sixties, by the looks of it, and he gave them a nonchalant stare as he tapped his fingers on the counter.

“Buy something or get out.”

Draygor didn’t pay the man any mind. He didn’t really like it when people were rude, but he usually ignored them if he could.

“Let’s just get something and leave,” he whispered, and Kha’na nodded in agreement.

After browsing the shelves for a little while, Draygor set his sights on a little fabric doll. It was in the image of a little Gar’nashian boy who hadn’t gotten his first scale yet. The doll looked a little similar to him when he was younger, and he decided that it would be perfect to hold Tah’ra’s attention. On the other hand, Kha’na had chosen a small wooden dagger. It probably wasn’t suited for kids who weren’t even a year old yet, but Draygor shrugged at her choice. It was the thought that counted, after all.

The shopkeeper didn’t say a word as they left after purchasing the items, eliciting a frown from Kha’na.

“It’s no wonder he barely gets any business. His attitude is horrible for a businessman. Though, the toys are of really high quality. I wonder who made them,” she noted, to Draygor’s agreement.

“He’d have much more business if he wasn’t as… dismissive, I imagine – wait, did you see that? Quick, follow me!” Draygor spoke urgently, dragging a confused Kha’na along toward a secluded alley.

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“S-someone help me!”

The girl – seemingly around five years of age – gave a muffled scream through the rough pair of hands that was covering her mouth. She gave another muffled shriek as soon as she spotted Draygor entering the alleyway, looking at him with pleading, teary eyes.

Draygor had noticed her being dragged away by a strange man out of the corner of his eye, and had rushed there as fast as he could with Kha’na behind him. The girl reminded him of his newly-hatched little sister, and the thought had been enough to spur him into action. His eyes gleamed as he infused his voice with mana, and the air in the surrounding vicinity seemed to grow heavier as he spoke up.

“Stop. Let the girl go.”

It was easy enough to penetrate the man’s mental defences, and Draygor’s command resounded in the man’s head. The girl’s assailant stopped moving immediately, removing his grip from the crying girl and dropping her to the ground with a thud. As soon as the girl came into contact with the cold stone floor, however, the man seemed to regain control of his mind. With a snort, he turned tail and immediately began sprinting off in the opposite direction.

“Kha’na! Take care of the girl and bring her back to her family! I’ll meet you back at the toy shop!”

Draygor shouted as he began running after the man, leaving both Kha’na and the girl in the dust as he gave chase.

The inner alleys of the market district was like a mini labyrinth. Not many people usually ventured in, opting to run their businesses where the streets were more populated. As a result, the man was unimpeded as he attempted to run from his pursuer.

The man was unnaturally fast, and it took Draygor all his effort to keep up with him in his smaller body, humming a little song to boost his own speed. Their footsteps echoed off the narrow walls as they turned through multiple streets, adding to the noise as the man barrelled through several obstacles, tossing them into Draygor’s way.

“Oof! – ”

Draygor cried out as he tripped on a loose stone jutting out from the ground, having not noticed it till the last second as he had been trying to avoid the various items that the man was chucking toward him. Tumbling clumsily into a forward roll, Draygor managed to regain his footing, though not without sustaining a few wounds. The ground was not the smoothest surface, and he had scraped both his knees during the fall.

The man had not stopped to gloat, turning left into another alley. With a curse, Draygor began humming the tune again, this time a little more aggressively as he continued the pursuit. Pain flared from the exposed flesh on his knees, but he gritted his teeth and pushed the pain from his mind. Turning left into the same alley as the man, Draygor grinned triumphantly as he realised it was a dead end.

A tall stone wall blocked the other side of the alley; the man was trapped!

“Halt right there!”

Draygor commanded again, his voice thick with mana as he slowed to a stop to catch his breath. Strangely, the man showed no response to the spell this time, and instead lowered his head as he continued running forward. With a loud grunt, the man smashed right through the wall, barely slowing in speed as the wall crumbled around him. Draygor watched in shock at the turn of events, and called out again in an attempt to seize control of the man’s mind.

“Stop!”

“YOUR WILL WORKS NOT ON MY SERVANTS!”

The loud, penetrating reply echoed in Draygor’s mind, and he sank to his knees, unable to move as he poured his strength into defending his mind against the mental outburst. He formed layers upon layers of mental shields against the attack, and watched in horror as all but one of his shields shattered.

Whoever the voice belonged to was clearly stronger than Draygor at his current strength; had he been any weaker, his mind would certainly have been broken, and he shuddered slightly at the thought. By the time Draygor was able to stand again, the man was long gone. He tried to pinpoint the source of the voice as well, but found no trace of it.

“That voice… I know it… why is it familiar? And that man… his strength was definitely unnatural. He looks too ordinary to be able to run through a thick stone wall with barely any injuries, not to mention resist my mental commands. It’s strange that I couldn’t judge his level of strength as well…” Draygor murmured in confusion as he dusted himself off.

Whispering a few verses of a song of healing, Draygor felt his wounds begin to clot, though they healed no further – it was all his current power would allow. Healing magicks were extremely difficult to master after all, and required stupidly large amounts of mana to use as wounds got bigger and more serious.

With the pain in his knees partially alleviated, Draygor pondered over the situation as he limped along, trying to find the exit to the outer areas of the market district. His goal was to find the truth, but for now, only more unanswered questions came to mind.

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It was well over an hour before Draygor found his way back to the toy shop, where he found a worried Kha’na, as well as the little girl hiding behind the shopkeeper.

“Are you okay, master?” Kha’na asked upon noticing his scraped knees. She moved forward to assist him, but he waved her away, preferring to stand on his own.

“I’m fine – ”

“Did the bastard get away then? Tch, kids pretending to be heroes these days! Surely you could have called for the guard, eh kid?” the shopkeeper interrupted with a sharp glare, looking quite intimidating as he stood with folded arms.

“How dare you? Master even got wounded trying to help her!” Kha’na snapped back indignantly, returning the shopkeeper’s glare with the same intensity.

“How dare I? You should thank the gods that my granddaughter got back safe and sound, or I’d have your ‘master’s’ hide! Now get out of my shop!” the shopkeeper retorted, brandishing a broom and chasing the pair out of the shop.

“He was too much! Does he know who he’s talking to?” Kha’na stomped her feet in anger, cursing the shopkeeper for daring to berate Shaitan’s chosen. Draygor gave a small sigh as he waved his hand dismissively.

“It’s fine, pay him no mind. There are always people like that, and it’s not worth the time arguing with them. I’m just glad the girl’s safe. Anyway, we should make our way to the Academy soon.”

Just as the pair was about to leave, a small voice called out from behind.

“U-uhm, thanks for saving me, big brother and big sister!” It was the girl they had saved from her would-be kidnapper. She was a cute sight, stuttering nervously and twiddling her thumbs as she gave thanks to her saviours.

“You’re welcome. You were really brave back there, and I’m glad you’re safe,” Draygor smiled softly, giving her a small pat on the head at the same time.

“I know grampa might seem mad, but he’s actually really thankful too! He said to come find him if you need anything made. He’s a genius craftsman you know!” The girl gushed with pride as she relayed her grandfather’s message, and Draygor could see that she really loved the old man.

“Thank you for telling me. We’ll be going now, stay safe, okay?”

The girl gave a serious nod at his words, and stood outside the entrance of the shop, waving goodbye to them until they walked out of her sight.

“See, the old man isn’t too bad,” Draygor jested, earning a disdainful scoff from Kha’na. He didn’t like the shopkeeper, but kept the man’s offer in mind. “It’s actually pretty nice to have someone that stubborn and obstinate owe you a favour.”

“…True. I do feel better when I think that he owes us something. He’s still unbelievably rude though. Least he could have done was to thank you personally, master.”

Draygor shrugged silently at Kha’na’s comeback; he had no arguments with what she’d said.

“It’s almost midday… let’s get something to eat before we head over to the Academy. It’s on the other side of the city, and I don’t want to walk the entire way on an empty stomach. What do you think?”

Kha’na’s response came in the way of her stomach growling, causing her to flush red with embarrassment.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Draygor said with a chuckle, and the pair made their way to find some food.