Chapter 95

In the weeks that followed the attack by House Arman, the town of Hornpeak continued as though nothing had changed. The mine kept producing silver, though the amount increased with an influx of new residents, many of them miners. Merchants came through the pass, trading in Ajinari spices and furs, or Meravian bamboo and rare woods. Adventurers came and went, some climbing the nearby peaks for rare herbs — one group even attempted to hunt the coldfang serpents. They returned with a single carcass, their pride apparent before leaving for Ajinar to get paid the bounty.

Hornpeak hadn’t changed, the loss of George, Kaylee, and Etta barely felt. For me, the opposite was true. The anger I felt had seeped into my bones. Mum tried to talk to me about it, the concern for me so blatantly evident that it made me feel ashamed to know I was the cause. Despite that, I couldn’t let it go.

Gramps seemed to think it would pass, given time. After I told him about the Achievement and the new Path, he had simply thanked me for the information and then returned to our lessons — likely trying to distract me from my anger. I hoped it would help — so far it hadn’t.

Nazim took a far more direct approach, pushing me to the point of exhaustion every day through our training — it didn’t help. The pushing was unnecessary, my own drive was enough to achieve the same results. If I grew tired, I would grit my teeth and push on. If I fell, I chalked it up as another failure and forced myself to rise.

Everyone seemed to be worried about me, but no one seemed to know how to fix me — least of all me. I was devolving in the worst kind of way, using the steps added to my Paths as a way to distract myself from my loneliness.

I broke my promise to my Mother before Etta had been gone a month. In the middle of the night, I got dressed in dark clothes and snuck out of the outpost under the cover of my Skills. My fear of the night sky was gone — the nightvision spell more than enough to search for any owls looking to fill their bellies — while my Cloak of Shadows hid me in the darkness.

The ruins of Etta’s home remained, though anything inside had long since been stripped. Whether it was Joss, or some of the other townsfolk who helped themselves to any furniture that had survived the fire, I didn’t know. Joss and his soldiers had managed to put out the flames before they completely consumed what had once been the living area. The bedrooms, however, were nothing but charcoal and slivers of partially-burnt wood.

I didn’t bother looking inside the ruins of my friend's home. Instead, I turned my attention towards the dirty ground where George had fought off the soldiers sent by his family. When he had left, it had only been a quick look he gave me, but, in that glance, I had seen his intentions clearly. He’d buried something during the battle — something he wanted me to find.

I pulled my hatchet out from inside my warm jacket. Then, without wasting any more time, I started digging. My memory was good, but that didn’t mean it was perfect. Though I would have liked to have come sooner, I didn’t want to give Joss a reason to suspect that anything had been left behind. Hopefully, a month was enough for the Baron to have lost interest. Even so, I didn’t drop my Cloak of Shadows as I worked at the ground using my hatchet like a shovel to break up the crusty, hard layer of dirt.

Three holes later, I finally found the right spot — my fingers touching something cold with a slight slimy feel to it. I expanded the hole enough to see that it was the upper part of someone's arm. George must’ve cut the entire thing off with one swing. I had expected more insects and decay, but the flesh seemed somewhat preserved, deep enough in the cold mountain soil to avoid the insects that nested in the trees, but not so deep as to attract anything that lived deeper.

It took me a little while to dig out the rest of the arm, finally revealing the hand. My memories of that night told me whose arm this was and that there should be two rings on the dead noble's hand — only one remained. The band of metal shimmered a faint silver in the moonlight. I pulled the ring off and tucked it into my coat before doing my best to cover up my digging by stomping the soil back down. A scattering of leaves and broken branches completed the cover up job, but I knew it wouldn’t be enough to hide from someone Skilled. Hopefully, no one would come by for a few days and the weather would do the rest of the job for me.

Returning to the outpost was easy, my Skills geared towards such stealthy operations. I washed my hands and axe in a barrel of water next to Mum’s garden, hoping to hide the earthy scent of my night time foray as much as possible. The ring went into my stash alongside my unused Skill Seed. If Nazim noticed the smell the following morning, he didn’t say anything.

When I was alone once more I tested the ring, pushing my aether into the silver band. It drank more of my aether than I had expected. An invisible wall appeared in front of my body — forming in an instant. A defensive enchantment then — albeit a hungry one. From that day forward I kept the ring tucked away on my person, unwilling to wear it out in the open where it might be recognised.

Better to be safe than sorry though, I had thought.

The months started to roll by, with my only constants being the anger bubbling away inside of me and the training I was dedicated to as Nazim tried to drain my rage through exhaustion. My tournament prize arrived — a sword from the Baron made of good steel and long enough to be an arming sword for me now. By the time I was grown, it would only be a short sword in my grip.

Gramps used its arrival as an excuse to try and help me make a new friend, taking me to the Baron’s Keep so I could say thanks and spar with Callum a few times. The weekly training with the older boy ended when Callum unlocked his Class Path right before the first snow began to fall — specifics were sparse, but his Path was clearly something to do with Squiring. Callum was suddenly busy attending Baron Joss most of the time, and I refused to bend my schedule around his availability.

Nazim got the bright idea to try and literally cool my anger. The stream where Etta had once practiced her Water Ball spell grew deeper and wider a short walk up the mountain. Swimming became part of my daily routine, the icy mountain waters a challenge for me to defeat. A permanent campfire was set up next to where I swam, Gramps practising his Fire spells and making sure I had a spot to warm myself after I was done.

Two new Paths became available as a result.

Path Unlocked! Path of Swimming (0/10)

Path Unlocked! Path of Cold Resistance (0/10)

Both were Basic Paths. Neither were added to my Active list. My daily swims ended when the snow began to fall. In the quiet chill of winter, I turned eight years old. Gramps finally gave up on convincing his old associate to come train me. For whatever reason, the weapons trainer kept making excuses. Gramps was convinced that the man was just avoiding being associated with him due to the reason for his exile. I couldn’t tell who was more angry about the situation — Gramps or me.

With only two years left till I would need to enrol at Songleaf Academy, he decided it would be best to see if Grandaunt Agnes could solve the problem. Finally, a letter was sent to inform her.

Maybe she could help, I had mused. However, maybe she wouldn’t even take me as I was. Revealing that I possessed Gifted was an option, and that should be enough — those were Gramps’ words. Despite his reassurance, a fear gnawed its way inside me that I wasn’t good enough, using the flames of my anger to fuel the worry till it tormented my dreams. I’m sureI wasn’t pleasant company during that time, but my family was patient with me — even when I wasn’t patient with myself.

My only solace from training was the book my mother had given me. Every night, by lantern light, I read its pages religiously — drinking in the knowledge. Beasts of the wilds, information on the first three floors of the Echoing Depths and Endless Plains Dungeons, the basics of Rifts — the information a way to escape my sense of worthlessness as it faintly reminded me of my dreams of adventure.

By day, I pushed forward, demanding more of myself than anyone else — even Nazim — required of me. The results showed as I improved, notifications reminding me of exactly how far I had come and yet never feeling like enough.

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Hatchets X (10000/10000)

Reward: 2 Unallocated Stats, Advanced Path Unlocked: Path of the Bloody Axe

Child Warrior Bonus: 1 Unallocated

The Path was an advanced one. The Unallocated Stats went towards Gifted, as they always did. I picked up Path of Axes once more to fill the empty slot — mostly because, even in my anger, I refused to stop practising with Griselda. When I told her I had completed the Path of Hatchets, she had simply grunted. The next time she visited, she had brought a larger axe for me to train with, the metal shiny and fresh from the forge. For a moment, my gratefulness had pierced through my anger. It didn’t last though.

Completing the Path of Hatchets had the effect I had hoped for.

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of the Completionist IV(515/500)

Reward: Extra Advanced Attribute Slot

I should’ve been ecstatic with the achievement. Mum made a special dinner to celebrate. I tried my best to enjoy it for her sake. Pretty sure I didn’t succeed. Like the angry little stormcloud I had become, I couldn’t find enjoyment in it. The sadness on her face was like a spear through my heart — a wound that made me want to change somehow. I just didn’t know how to get back to the happiness I had once felt. I returned to training.

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Footwork VIII (2500/2500)

Reward: +1 Coordination

As soon as I completed the eighth tier, I set it aside for the Path of Long-knives since I could practise it with my claw. Both improved by a lot — thanks to my own efforts and Nazim’s assistance. Winter ended, and I kept using training to distract myself from my emotional problems.

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Claw I (2500/10)

…

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Claw VIII (2500/2500)

Reward: +6 Strength, +2 Coordination

Child Warrior Bonus: +3 Strength, +1 Coordination

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Long-knives VII (2500/1000)

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Long-knives VIII (2500/2500)

Reward: +2 Strength

Child Warrior Bonus: +1 Strength

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Shieldwork VII (1269/2500)

Reward: +1 Strength

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Axes VII (1986/2500)

Reward: +1 Stamina

With four weapon Paths to the eighth tier or higher, I had three to go. Axes and Shieldwork were only one short, but Daggers still had a long way to go, even after winter ended and the pass through the mountains opened once more.

I had remained just as dedicated to my magical studies as I had my martial paths — which perhaps was a mistake but even in the depths of my depression I still dreamed of wielding magic at my fingertips.

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Aether Manipulation VIII (7794/2500)

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Aether Manipulation IX (7794/5000)

Reward: +1 Aether, 1 Unallocated

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Shadow Magic IV (1911/100)

…

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Shadow Magic VII (1911/1000)

Reward: +4 Aether

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Obscuring Shadow II (94/50)

Reward: 3 Unallocated

The unallocated Stats went towards Gifted. Aethersensitivity had increased as well, but without the extra help of my Potent Shadow Affinity, and my mediocre aether core, it progressed more slowly.

I could reliably cast my Nightvision spell now, though it still took me fifteen seconds to do so. My control of aether was just slow without an attribute to support it. From the Path manuals I had, Gramps and I had started on the second spell described — Shadowblind. I was yet to successfully cast the offensive spell.

A letter arrived in the second month of spring — Grandaunt Agnes would visit in two months’ time. I would be just short of eight-and-a-half, and I doubted I could unlock the Path of Weapon Mastery before she arrived. I started considering other options. The days ticked closer and closer, a month passing as fast as a breath. My progress was frantic, but even I could see I wasn’t going to make it. Would I be worth my grandaunt’s investment as I was? An angry voice in the back of my mind told me I wasn’t.

Sitting in my room, late at night, I rolled one of the Skill Seeds from my stash back and forth in my hand as I debated what I was about to do. Cloak of Shadows was close to evolving again, and if the pattern repeated, it would require twice as many Skill Slots as the previous one. There was potentially an achievement there, but I wouldn’t manage it before Agnes arrived.

There was perhaps another opportunity for an achievement — though a risky one. I tucked the Skill Seed back into my stash and pulled my fur covers over me. Would the opportunity present itself? If it did, I would seize it and hope that it would give me something to impress my grandaunt. But if it didn’t? Then I would have to create the opportunity myself — an idea began to form in my mind.