“Can I pet it?”

Keziah pointed at the black dog that was peacefully laying on the ground under the table where a black-clothed man was sitting. Keziah hadn't noticed him before. The reason for his miss at evaluating the clientele could be the man's attire and the general lack of lighting in his area. He chose the dimly lit corner of the tavern while simultaneously wearing all-black clothes. It was quirky, to say the least. Keziah wasn't one to judge someone based on their choice of attire. Well, he was, but he wouldn't let it be his final verdict of someone's character. Just the first impressions. And the first impression of the man before him was "there is no way he likes the color black that much".

The man suddenly jerked his head towards Keziah, surprised by his question. He looked like he thought that no one would ever bother him, much less ask to pet his dog. Keziah thought that he spotted the faintest sign of recognition in his eyes, but it was so fleeting — and he was sure he has never seen the man before — that he decided to ignore it. The man looked slowly between Keziah and his dog as if deciding on what to do. The black dog has still laid calmly, unbothered by the situation. The stranger finally seemed to make a decision, and he leaned back in his chair.

“If you wish so,” he allowed, “but I wouldn’t recommend it. Gytrash is rather… aggressive. He rarely allows others to touch him. He was trained to be more of a hunting dog than a pet.”

“Huh, seems like a good boy to me.” Keziah put the mug with water on the table and crouched to let the dog first smell his hands. He waited patiently until the dog — Gytrash, as the man had told him, was his name — decided to move his snout and take a sniff. After a few of those, the dog snuggled his head into Keziah’s hands, allowing him to pet it. Keziah’s palms moved around Gytrash’s head and neck, causing its tail to wag a little. The owner of the dog looked absolutely flabbergasted by this. Much more than when Keziah initially noticed him. Keziah didn’t understand why the man was making such big eyes at the sight. The dog might have been usually more aggressive, but was it really that surprising to see it like being petted?

"Who's a good boy? You. You are a very good boy."

The stranger didn't say anything for a while, sitting with his mouth agape. After Keziah got Gytrash to roll on his back and gave him some belly rubs, he finished playing with the dog and stood up. The man looked more composed, like he had accepted that his dog was more docile than he had initially thought. The shock seemed genuine to Keziah, so he had to believe that this dog was indeed usually more aggressive. The man then addressed him, "You must forgive my surprise. There simply aren't that many things that cause me to be so, so I tend to overreact whenever it happens."

"Really? You don't look so old to act like you have seen it all."

Keziah took a more scrutinizing look at the stranger. He was much older than the three would-be thieves he had spotted earlier, sitting at one of the tables and maybe a little older than him. He was somewhat in his age group, maybe slightly over thirty. Ignoring the pain which admitting that he was close to thirty himself caused, he spotted that the man was of a lean but strong build. He seemed less strong physically than Keziah, but his looks could be deceiving. He certainly was of no scholar physique.

He couldn't tell how tall he was, as he was sitting down, but he didn't look short either. He carried a sword that looked like a mix between a broadsword and a longsword. A very small light blue guard protected the hand that would grab onto the golden yellow handle. Otherwise, it was a well-made but plain-looking sword. It was also the only color that could be found on him, other than black.

The man lacked a certain air around him to be an adventurer, but he definitely knew how to handle himself if he ever got into trouble. That was all Keziah got from his looks. He didn’t feel any magical power from him and Augustus was unusually quiet to ask him to extend his aura and probe for a little information about the man. He could somehow feel how Lucia was much more powerful and older than she appeared, even without having developed an aura yet. This stranger, however, gave nothing away that could suggest him being older than he looks.

“You could say that I had an… eventful youth. I’ve traveled a lot and I’ve seen a lot. That causes me to appreciate little surprises whenever I can get them,” said the stranger in black, putting his pipe back into his mouth after leaving it hanging since the beginning of the conversation.

“Apparently…” Keziah didn’t buy it, but he also had no means to prove otherwise nor the desire to. He doubted he would ever see the man again. Although, everything is possible on the road. “Well, thank you for letting me pet your dog. I must take my leave now.” he grabbed his mug and nodded in farewell.

The man nodded back wordlessly, puffing from his pipe. Keziah moved past the table and up the stairs, toward his and Annette’s rented room.

*****

"Did you see that?" said Jas to his two friends who were sitting with him at a table in a local tavern.

"See what?" asked his skinny friend, Kasper.

"It was the guy that we ran into last night! The one who just told those sailors to buzz off!"

"Really? That's a funny coincidence. He must have not recognized us or else he would have said 'hello'," said Mubosh with an innocent smile on his face.

"Why would he do that, Mu, huh? We tried to rob him! We are lucky he didn't recognize us. I couldn't see his sword the night before, but that thing looks deadly. Big, too. I would say even those drunk guys were scared of it. That's why they listened to him."

"I don't know," said Kasper dubiously. "If he knew how to use then why bother with talking? Us then and now those guys. Maybe he carries it just for show. It clearly works. Not to mention he clearly looked like he was scared of them."

"That's what I thought at first, too. Didn't you see how quickly his demeanor changed once they left? It must have been an act," deduced Jas.

"But why would he do that?" asked Mubosh.

"I don't know. Maybe he likes the elves? Most people these days just ignore them, afraid of causing another race war." Jas scratched his head, trying to guess the reason for the man's actions.

"Are you trying to say that he did that to prevent a war?" Kasper chuckled.

"No—, I mean. I don't know. Probably not." Jas crossed his arms. "Whatever, the reason doesn't matter. What matters is that it worked, and it looked cool."

"I think that it was nice of him to help those poor sods," Mubosh quietly interjected.

"I don't get it. He possibly prevented a fight. So what? For all we know, he may still be all talk," said Kasper.

"You don't get it," explained Jas.

"Yeah, that's what I said," quickly added Kasper.

"It's not about preventing a fight. It's about the ability to control those kinds of situations. It's about charisma and confidence. It's about winning a fight without drawing a drip of blood. That's true power, true adventuring." The sparks in Jas's eyes were almost as bright as the stars in the night sky.

"Next thing you're gonna say is that you want to become like him. I can feel it," said Kasper jokingly.

"You know what? I do. I'm gonna become an adventurer!"

Kasper rolled his eyes at that. "Didn't we already go through this? You would have to leave Sylio and your parents. Who's gonna take care of them once they are too old to care for themselves?"

"There is still time before that happens," explained Jas. "I don't want to spend my whole life in this futureless dock that pretends to be a town. Besides, I can earn money and send it to my parents via raven. I'm sure they will understand."

Jas looked at his two friends, unsure of what they were thinking at the moment. "Look, I've been thinking about it for a while now, as you both know. That was the last push I needed to leave this town and become someone. Even if I don't become an adventurer, there is so much more out there to be. I know how you both feel about it, and it pains me to be leaving you behind, but it is what I have to do."

"What are you talking about?" asked both Mubosh and Kasper at the same time.

"What? Didn't you hear? I thought I was loud and clear enough… I'm gonna be an —"

"Not that, you idiot. The part where you said you are going alone," said Kasper.

"Oh. Yeah. I was saying that I'm —"

"Oh shut up. We are obviously going with you. Stop being so dramatic." Kasper waved his hand to Jas to calm him down and Mubosh nodded at Kasper's statement.

"Wait — you are? But what about your parents?"

"Same as yours. They will understand." Mubosh once again nodded encouragingly at Kasper's words.

"But — well, none of us are mages, so we will forever be only in the lower ranks. Are you okay with that?" Jas continued his questions like he was not believing what he was hearing.

"You are clearly okay with that, so why would we not be? Besides, that guy didn't use an ounce of magic and immediately became your idol. I don't see where the problem is," Kasper pointed out.

Jas looked at his friends, from one face to the other, almost in shock at their words. He turned to Mubosh, who was enthusiastic about the idea but quieter about it. "What about you, Mu? Don't you hate fighting?"

"I do, but didn't you yourself say that there is more to adventuring than fighting? Like three minutes ago?" Mubosh chuckled. "I've always listened to stories the sailors have told about heroes who were always saving people from danger. I also want to be like that. I would rather not fight, but I will when I have to."

Jas felt like tearing up. He couldn't believe that his friends would follow after him in his another crazy decision. They always supported him and each other, but leaving Sylio was another matter entirely. He was completely prepared to leave alone, but with the three of them, at least there would be a guarantee of companionship. He wiped the tears forming in his eyes and laughed and drank with his friends the rest of the night. It could be the last time for a while they were doing it in Sylio.