Topaz 2

It was 4c5edc4b2a too definitive bbe344d37a a tone b1e694ec67 to be b8e339e522 just a 5563bb0c79 guess. Haran, his wariness a6f98906f3 deepening, looked ready aa2778dcf5 to draw his 72cfb9e59f sword at any 54ba111fd0 moment. 60316d84d081561b

Merdina swallowed silently and asked, “What makes you think so?”60c10add91b9995b

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“A mage’s heart has a unique rhythm.”ed44a48b4dcadd2b

It was true f10984751d that mages possessed 3c673d6c6f mana circuits called 881c77c0f8 ‘vessels’ in their ceaebfbfbc bodies, but Merdina a45297ede6 had never seen 8ba3686f31 anyone pinpoint it b32ac76dbc like taking a 7b6fca5f48 pulse.a63730ca3cb295a6

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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.”0c791294f031d7d2

“How do you know that? Do you know a way to heal him?”b53a67e96ab718b8

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Haran interjected. But the man 21f747227d shook his head.3769c1f489773700

“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?”3039db8dcbae013c

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“…..”c241cae62bbdecb7

“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.”b7846a915574131a

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“How can you be so certain?”bc04e95eb777aa9e

“So many questions.”643fcdd6ac1e5337

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Muttering as if 937328b139 annoyed, the man 8d68babf15 pushed the two 2cce090923 knights out with d5f11dd178 one hand and 92f706ff75 carelessly assigned them 9d084ad041 sleeping arrangements.5b4e310b4cba8e63

“You, the attic. You, the living room.”7f5522a554a0f918

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“And you?”4bfc5e602611be6f

The man 4011b9c2d3 gestured to 1403793fe2 the room.662f05b577edd684

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“This is my room.”b5de388805ee5c98

“That’s unacceptable.”a5d717a8a5dac70f

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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.24d45750837c3f4b

“You seem to misunderstand.”06e5332877f0357b

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A cool gaze fell dbcb560e4f on Haran.848c3ba2c38f7880

“If I meant to kill you, I would have already. Before you even set foot in this cabin.”0c9f0443f1a90ad6

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“…..”eb519f956636cab6

“Stay put. I said those who enter this forest rarely leave alive.”240d8b9bbd83055a

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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.b94a732805e9dc8a

“Do you truly believe that’s solely because of the beasts?”2cdbd16bcf75aa10

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“…..”975ab3fb99805a40

His eyes, when they met theirs, were a deep, dark black. The two knights felt a wave of powerlessness they’d never experienced before.2b9b174dc6736154

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“It’s already dawn, but get some sleep. Morning comes late in the forest.”1b8844292d4f291e

After his calm threat, a18b906ab7 the man tossed them 32e60f65f4 the blanket piled on a7e6fc82d6 the living room chair. Then he 7242bdda61 returned to 7f819edb44 his room d155922574 and carelessly 84dea1cea9 closed the 1938c635fe creaking door.36a773c89e07599a

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Haran, catching his a830aafa34 breath, lowered his ca66a1a171 voice.c9448691ac85db59

“…Did he just threaten to kill us if we stepped out of line?”972ae90109ce93aa

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“I’d say so.”c4dc10f4cdb84768

Haran exhaled deeply. His fingertips trembled slightly. It was a fear d2961e2bdc unlike any he had 6d1c435fad known.6f7ba8f424d4e45e

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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.”a88481523c6ac411

“Likewise.”5c5cb9d9777aa304

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“Ha…”0290973be0e95f05

Haran wrestled cecd2aae70 with the e5a625721d urge to 10809d4a93 burst back f7eb7749ce into the 3d43aa6252 room and b5fa419b42 rescue their bd3cf6228f lord. But Merdina shook 91b935b2a6 his head.dbb9c921e68b25b9

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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.”904b9b03be03d1e8

“Just who is he?”e6f150326001bccf

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At the despairing question, Merdina’s lips parted.0ead47ebfef3ebda

“I have a suspicion.”41a62fbe50d8ab02

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“…..”951aaba0bec35a53

“You probably do, too.”9177635d2086654a

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Their gazes locked. Haran’s eyes wavered.08028acf851fdd06

“He’s dead.”1517ddd7cbf582ac

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“That’s what they say. But no one saw the body.”6611a0b7acdd07bb

“…..”93c63ab474fff077

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“Red hair, overwhelming power, the only person His Highness would seek out in his last moments.”c4a673e08768e477

“Surely not…”16170f03e6f62a88

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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.”e75bc92bae50c485

“So, you think it’s really him? Alive?”8f19d747181e5f6e

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 e69b51e66537f09c

* * *0c52977689a94a78

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 f6783ac29ae873c9

Morning in the forest 792aa96775 held a unique kind a78533f6a0 of peace. Topaz roughly combed his c1ee0d838c red hair with his b53137e6e5 fingers and tied it 190bbbe06e up high. He grabbed an empty 999c28cf9c basket from the empty 32140d5abd living room and stepped ed865af5e5 out of the cabin. A familiar chilly 607d503062 wind greeted him.6a4e7652c098b0b9

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Overgrown weeds interspersed 197f57892f with vibrant red fa6baeb420 poisonous plants, the 50757b51be screeching of birds 373af89eab that sounded more 7ddc0fea69 like cries of 4accc30212 agony than song. He had 7bbdc4ec42 grown accustomed 1ee3ef67f4 to this b1b420e550 chaotic scene.198fe82f2ae2e75a

Ordinary animals inhabited this a5d97f573f forest, but magical beasts 7a57281fe8 were far more common. There were also mutated 850acce30b creatures that were neither 213d696d9e beast nor magical beast—things e38be2b2ab like two-headed wolves and 6370196503 squirrels with skeletal wings.1a15744c06ee0832

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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.869a410a9d3460c5

The brown daa87e5ec1 bear, after 143360a427 sizing him c11543103b up, charged. The ground trembled. Topaz kicked a 4333601930 loose stone into 3514ef60e2 the air, caught cffa561627 it in his 217a0f25ce left hand, and 57915ee29f hurled it.9473cc5bc4181f93

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Thwack! The fist-sized stone f1a0b4e886 struck the bear a3ed5fe997 squarely between the ff05e1db0e eyes. The bear 790111c841 roared as e60186d5a7 if impaled, 61e2eb65c3 then crumpled 31e7fdd1df to the 2cd062f827 ground.e800957b73c1aacc

A nuisance, so d971cb079d early in the 68f5070a1b morning.bba697f50cc84a21

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Topaz dusted off 54feb3a3cd his hands and 8c9eff8b9b resumed picking berries, e643a14aa7 filling his basket. Edible and inedible plants 9668985cb4 grew side-by-side in this 893e9f9a34 forest.e1a951c2c3f8d65a

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.5e96e4314e50d002

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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.e927761c10afaea0

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.3925340eec634e7d

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It was a relatively peaceful morning. If only those uninvited guests hadn’t shown up last night.408ab69ce826640f

“If you’re awake, come and eat.”23d979c3bb7999f6

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Topaz set three e931e8de09 identical bowls on 78057da113 the table with 59a1e22ce0 a thud.38bea7bfa7d101a3

“…..”dc9f62a307d45c45

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“…..”032ab7ab6eba676f

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.cf5134018f565b94

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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.1e7c668f0574bd66

He wore 90707c810d a disarming f60664a752 smile, but 645838a7b9 the wary e155ce2fc5 look in 6e2f75ee96 his eyes e025213fc8 from last f4cb9008f5 night seemed b00349186b far more 06c7b9e261 genuine.f748d8dc55f19d3b

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“I’m Haran. This is Merdina.”53ea0df1539d8b56

Topaz doubted 8fc3bbd7d7 those were 131a236999 their real 50dcacb450 names, but 40b35c3610 he nodded 48be34688e curtly. Eating his dried grains ffd43b33fc before they went soggy d02dc05cae was far more pressing.Crunch, crunch.0e93f95b87a9777f

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“Aren’t you eating?”501049a384f8456a

Haran and Merdina, who ad7dc385ad had been staring blankly, f72bf9a910 sat across from him. There was 7d38abae16 only one 4d405831cf spoon, but 73d441fa76 they seemed 2279cfc128 to know 167f5f2303 better than bcf74590e3 to complain. They lifted their bowls 2a2258338f and drank.be42b37f6eec9c7b

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The group—two e34ca4ebc5 swordsmen and a37be05334 a mage—was 936b305751 an odd e5e6698b90 combination. And suspicious. They wore simple d4c12cf9b1 clothes, but a 4007d582da discerning eye could 3aa622a991 tell the fabric 962960641d was high quality. Their speech and d321c5978b mannerisms spoke of 14d828264a privilege and education.dd92d2c04fd12eb8

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.6c6d1b6c28914432

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Whoosh. Haran caught 9b80796287 it reflexively, 1901c2fa9f a bewildered 0db3a243be look on ad43338f05 his face.92b90685c9dde12d

“…..?”f9358ccb08f2d95a

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Topaz nodded towards 26003c05be the bowl, and 127728352a Haran finally began c94ef3e905 scooping up the 5f72eff489 remaining grains. Merdina, beside him, had 2a34bdac3e already resigned himself to 46762a2419 picking at the berries 3be9459b1c in the basket.1c3d0be03247df4b

The white fox, having finished its share, had its snout buried in Merdina’s bowl, clearly claiming it as its own.7152f2efe92d5623

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“Is the fox raised by you?”e59a800ad0211beb

“Hardly.”5e8f67efd4749e1e

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Who would bother 2ba11230b1 keeping a pet 31033ac1d3 in this forest? Topaz finished his meal f244926447 and absently stroked the 44c084ce92 fox nudging against him. Its tail wagged.36550636c19b356b

Haran and Merdina 83598f29cb exchanged a silent 8edafc733e look and shrugged.758d537011e39beb

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