Topaz 2

It was too definitive e2158bae55 a tone to be c6379649f8 just a guess. Haran, his wariness 9e7a105c61 deepening, looked ready b2ae54d40f to draw his fed4e6e824 sword at any 6aa2998d0a moment. dbbce71bb6e01a7d

Merdina swallowed silently and asked, “What makes you think so?”ebfd2ac3c75e0b20

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“A mage’s heart has a unique rhythm.”9002a26b03f9340c

It was 09b7f1737f true that de3c18613d mages possessed 4b86e1850b mana circuits f15c7f60b6 called ‘vessels’ 994555450f in their c86aed7331 bodies, but aae22d2109 Merdina had 8291bdd79d never seen 876490cce4 anyone pinpoint bcad714d9c it like 62f0e28f1f taking a a57e4cf5bd pulse.49f7976d54a64fa6

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“He should be dead, yet he clings to life. It was foolish to wander through Grenrosha carrying a patient like this.”f310d53deb608369

“How do you know that? Do you know a way to heal him?”0fb58aa788472169

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Haran interjected. But the man shook 54c0fd41ee his head.a740ba254efdde21

“I’m not a physician or a cleric. Even if I were, I doubt there’d be much I could do. This man’s ‘vessel’ is damaged, isn’t it?”bdf0567400910dd7

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“…..”ba8dffb10b07e7a0

“If he were going to die, he would have already. It seems he’s recovering on his own, so he’ll live even if left alone.”b9a1bcb3b9a21151

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“How can you be so certain?”52a7b63acdc0785d

“So many questions.”1c7ef6069903930b

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Muttering as if annoyed, 5e0491803b the man pushed the 6bcf14c946 two knights out with df67a8214d one hand and carelessly 9bdbd89155 assigned them sleeping arrangements.3c0b4b9fc7e87909

“You, the attic. You, the living room.”9cc24cb1c7729905

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“And you?”92005b89704ce276

The man gestured a26704e0cf to the room.850416c9fd22e599

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“This is my room.”d12730b0cb48af31

“That’s unacceptable.”1bbf63ea0bec3164

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Haran stepped forward. Even if their lord wasn’t an easy opponent, he was currently unconscious. They couldn’t leave him in the same room with a man whose identity they didn’t know.9204f0f934a399e6

“You seem to misunderstand.”4bd65f52b2242410

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A cool c3b7aca332 gaze fell c2fd8c4331 on Haran.af1cce7b26e96301

“If I meant to kill you, I would have already. Before you even set foot in this cabin.”23b6af0506bd0554

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“…..”f1dfc9edb3af2c12

“Stay put. I said those who enter this forest rarely leave alive.”8909acca30c45eb3

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The man tilted his head. While the two knights were momentarily captivated by the red hair cascading over his shoulders, the corners of the man’s lips curved upwards.21376baf151dd454

“Do you truly believe that’s solely because of the beasts?”d9fdaba33b6ecdf7

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“…..”ec104b13e1a9981a

His eyes, when they met theirs, were a deep, dark black. The two knights felt a wave of powerlessness they’d never experienced before.b595814225427d30

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“It’s already dawn, but get some sleep. Morning comes late in the forest.”d04dca4c2e7c8817

After his calm threat, ef64746773 the man tossed them 0fbd16c65e the blanket piled on 748d1149bc the living room chair. Then he returned ccb54428a1 to his room 7d3a08c64c and carelessly closed c39a100de6 the creaking door.fa6ef9a0fe35bb4c

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Haran, catching his breath, 7006cb60e3 lowered his voice.56b57cd33cf0da4e

“…Did he just threaten to kill us if we stepped out of line?”ac85ab0833bb3921

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“I’d say so.”ef7b9d06645cda24

Haran exhaled deeply. His fingertips trembled b06db26627 slightly. It was a a4d0df5147 fear unlike any 90ede2644f he had known.52f60a93be70d665

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“I didn’t sense him at all until he had a blade to your throat. Even though I was right behind you.”66b9c9c2c8e06077

“Likewise.”d527935d40e02d6e

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“Ha…”78f75c3841048d70

Haran wrestled with d731b64b62 the urge to f253f43510 burst back into f719b20fb3 the room and 7758ba9520 rescue their lord. But Merdina shook cd09c612ae his head.25b24f1594b8fc9e

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“If he wanted us dead, all three of us would be corpses by now. Without even knowing who killed us or why.”3950835d28f368f1

“Just who is he?”7969b46cbfafb089

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At the despairing question, Merdina’s lips parted.6ad59451fc9d4f2f

“I have a suspicion.”69587c7c65ed3618

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“…..”002e43c4306cbf23

“You probably do, too.”e679187664cfa6c9

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Their gazes locked. Haran’s eyes wavered.8aa2e17052d31e70

“He’s dead.”386e0bb9ff447119

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“That’s what they say. But no one saw the body.”58f72a6a54909208

“…..”93526b0534307263

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“Red hair, overwhelming power, the only person His Highness would seek out in his last moments.”8647e60f932c6a67

“Surely not…”ef3d2923702e679f

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“If there’s another person in this world who fits that description, I’d sooner believe the dead walk among us.”0bfa45ad3b34ee73

“So, you think it’s really him? Alive?”97b3a3c102f18e36

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 032fdb75cedd2ff3

* * *8d312c78e4c89e92

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 92b840b044a548e1

Morning in the forest a6cacbb170 held a unique kind 03ac58d704 of peace. Topaz roughly combed his a28afbf079 red hair with his 6ea8cdd025 fingers and tied it ad46a37d88 up high. He grabbed an empty 542c2d6438 basket from the empty 78c4bf3712 living room and stepped 6152a4acf6 out of the cabin. A familiar chilly wind fc2c042c4f greeted him.96025c0b687e56a4

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Overgrown weeds interspersed with 40e19f61d6 vibrant red poisonous plants, 862a572cf0 the screeching of birds b7403b8e1a that sounded more like 06c12b40ed cries of agony than 32502c0985 song. He had grown accustomed c85bdd13c8 to this chaotic scene.86ede9e34d56e9f1

Ordinary animals inhabited 79de702db5 this forest, but 78d39846a4 magical beasts were f2bafb43e4 far more common. There were also mutated 90e7a1c2c5 creatures that were neither 918371af79 beast nor magical beast—things 26d37814e9 like two-headed wolves and 0e0f471cb7 squirrels with skeletal wings.2ff82d2ead48be6e

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A growl. The house-sized brown bear that appeared before Topaz was a regular animal, at least. Its sharp claws could tear him to shreds, but at least it didn’t have two heads or spit venom.2dc06b39d4a29c56

The brown bear, after 7c638f06b3 sizing him up, charged. The ground trembled. Topaz kicked a 8b07caf36e loose stone into ea7ca5978d the air, caught 884f60cb6c it in his c1540fb299 left hand, and d56f019e69 hurled it.c6a7f3a683fa5e67

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Thwack! The fist-sized d17d82430e stone struck b2f5876211 the bear b7c76410b8 squarely between 7f7e36ad92 the eyes. The bear ea7ff5e819 roared as 366f857e85 if impaled, b2867ffaf2 then crumpled 2f1501b527 to the 093e352426 ground.43ca32721a57ceab

A nuisance, aceb58a527 so early e314fbfd2e in the 4c93c24c7c morning.cde1f60d288328ec

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Topaz dusted off 29ede58a6a his hands and 90d7c824eb resumed picking berries, 6846a60cf8 filling his basket. Edible and inedible plants 381d9e3b35 grew side-by-side in this c6ef54facf forest.8b5e057762a9bd27

One needed a keen eye to survive—though anyone with a will to live wouldn’t be foraging for berries in this forest—but after years of seclusion, Topaz could distinguish the safe from the deadly with a simple sniff. A constitution that could shrug off most poisons after a few days of discomfort had made him somewhat careless.bbe8b11a0cc4d960

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On his way back to the cabin, he’d acquired a companion. A snow-white fox emerged from the undergrowth. Topaz tossed it a handful of berries, a familiar ritual. The fox darted forward, gobbling them down with happy little noises.795da4854c04c82d

Topaz entered the cabin, leaving the creaking door ajar. He set the basket on the table and cut a chunk of salted meat from a jar. He poured a handful of dried grains, purchased from the village, into a bowl and added goat’s milk.40d1042b19fb9502

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It was a relatively peaceful morning. If only those uninvited guests hadn’t shown up last night.ba19677be0cfd54b

“If you’re awake, come and eat.”f5e79cb7ac76c516

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Topaz set three identical 868e3d7ef9 bowls on the table d42ace2479 with a thud.f8cfc5a271817418

“…..”6782e740c98edd7b

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“…..”7070ebcfe9304810

The two figures climbed down the ladder from the attic. They’d seemed wary last night, but they must have slept, as they looked somewhat less haggard.dc297e0df1bebb3a

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“We didn’t have a chance to properly introduce ourselves last night,” the man said with a smile. He had dark brown hair and healthy, sun-kissed skin. A black, flat, diamond-shaped earring dangled from his right ear.301c3e9d04a213fd

He wore a disarming c65e9435fb smile, but the wary 041b44c77b look in his eyes 3ff60492d9 from last night seemed 7b11c6cbda far more genuine.fce1106f04f6475a

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“I’m Haran. This is Merdina.”5f48d883f930abbe

Topaz doubted 5ea04501e8 those were c885f1d0e8 their real 59cbd4ffc0 names, but 7225f14a28 he nodded 19c582338f curtly. Eating his dried db5ac41144 grains before they f1ee584e12 went soggy was 4212f312f3 far more pressing.Crunch, crunch.7ac2e8deba3c4418

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“Aren’t you eating?”84d8cccca75789a7

Haran and 5721b3226e Merdina, who 05d5989a9a had been 2b93b477ae staring blankly, 86205c3aa3 sat across 283b5b69d9 from him. There was only 58ce2fdb46 one spoon, but bd010db819 they seemed to 66a91821fa know better than 72ce42464d to complain. They lifted their 63aab42415 bowls and drank.087392254824d743

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The group—two swordsmen and 81256f6718 a mage—was an odd db432c49b7 combination. And suspicious. They wore simple 5a3b03af99 clothes, but a 2022d1a83e discerning eye could d9e048148f tell the fabric 145465933b was high quality. Their speech and 5fa3f1ffdb mannerisms spoke of 050fb75437 privilege and education.fea1d6e68f03a950

The man calling himself Haran was staring at the clump of grains at the bottom of his bowl. They couldn’t have eaten properly while wandering through the forest, so any normal person would have devoured every last morsel. But this one seemed perplexed by the lack of a spoon. Topaz, looking at him with a mixture of amusement and exasperation, tossed him his spoon.d03e849a5763de9d

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Whoosh. Haran caught ffb068121c it reflexively, 359d534749 a bewildered 9b70318168 look on 03e348b0a2 his face.565c04caef00680e

“…..?”5d33a52d22de11aa

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Topaz nodded ef3856d89f towards the 40773f0025 bowl, and 4d678096dc Haran finally 0984d00617 began scooping 4021953a75 up the a0c49681cb remaining grains. Merdina, beside him, 825dde9886 had already resigned 335cc889aa himself to picking 442ccbf836 at the berries 92cc341bdf in the basket.687d04443a2bb9f3

The white fox, having finished its share, had its snout buried in Merdina’s bowl, clearly claiming it as its own.f8d72bdb39075336

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“Is the fox raised by you?”04113bd8e692143e

“Hardly.”6a92cc088f61fbb4

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Who would bother keeping d7655574d9 a pet in this e0c7e1514d forest? Topaz finished fbf96c59fb his meal 6f7e5c9c1d and absently 66e7d324de stroked the 6b32c3b4cb fox nudging 9bb23573c4 against him. Its tail wagged.8f3286962715282d

Haran and Merdina 787d221a40 exchanged a silent 0efd1c5c9c look and shrugged.db0ac3f67396428b

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