by Dakota Krout
His brown hair was perfectly styled, his beard plaited, and thousands of body-covering scars were on full display. Luke felt no shame for his nudity; he had been alone for far too long to give a single abyss about personal boundaries or societal norms. However, hearing his only half-remembered name made his eyes lock onto the person who has spoken it. “How do you know that name? Who are you?”
“Who am I? I'm Taylor! I was one of your best friends your whole life!” Taylor moved forward, her nostalgia and slowly-kindling happiness burning down to fury in an instant. “What happened to you? Where did you go? You died! We saw you die! How could you let us believe that you had been dead all of these years?”
“Let you…?” Luke's blue eyes shifted into a deep, electric fury, and foggy mana began rolling out of them. “I was locked away for almost forty years! Who are you to lecture me? I don't even know who you are! Why should I care that you were sad?”
“I'm Taylor! Your best friend! This is Andre, and Zed!”
Taylor's next words were interrupted as Zed chimed in with, “We are also your best friends; just saying.”
Both Taylor and Luke glared at him before looking at each other one more time. The Archmage chose that moment to speak up. “I don't care how well you all know each other; he clearly cannot be controlled. He has to be put down like the rabid animal that he is.”
Before the most powerful man in the Kingdom could act upon his words, Zed stood forward between everyone else and Luke. “Hello! I don't know if you all know me, or in your case remember me, Luke. I am Zed; nice to meet you and all that. I'm a Bard, so I know exactly how difficult this sort of situation can be. Why not, instead of threatening each other, we agree to either work with each other or go off and do our own things? I am directly volunteering to go with Luke; it seems like I will get the best stories with him!”
The General, who had disparaged Bards earlier, spoke again with a clear sneer on his face, “Once more, you don't get to choose the team you are on. You will likely be in the back lines, in some tavern somewhere. Accept your lot in life, Bard.”
“No, wait.” The Archmage took a step forward; a light smile appearing on his face. “Tell you what I will do… I am going to assign quests to all of you! At that point, you can decide whether you want to tackle them yourself, or go with a group.”
Master Don looked over at Andre. “Druid Xan has informed me that you have known about your quest practically since your initiation. Now that you are the Archdruid of the Kingdom, you can choose on your own whether or not to accept this quest. For the rest of you, this is mandatory. Andre, your quest is to return life to the Scarroco desert. Bard, your quest is to keep this abomination from killing any servants of the Kingdom. Taylor, your quest is to keep their group from creating any political incidents.”
The Archmage’s gaze went hazy as he accessed data. “You; Murderhobo, is it? I'm sending you to the front lines. You're too dangerous to let roam within the Kingdom itself.”
Luke had a message appear in front of his eyes instantly.
Quest gained: Assist the warfront! You have been assigned to the front lines of combat, you will be paid an Ascender’s stipend for each week that you are able to follow the orders of your new Commander. Reward: variable. Failure: variable.
“No.” Luke instantly refused the command. “I’m going back into my world.”
“Sigil, deactivate his ability to return to… Murder World? Until his handlers grant him permission. Upon permission being granted, he gains at maximum thirty days of subjective time before he must return to this base world.” Master Don easily ordered, offering no compromise and leaving no loopholes.
Luke stepped forward with death in his eyes as his Sigil happily chimed in agreement.
“Right, well, see, what you did there... you only gave one of us a quest that doesn't require being all together.” Zed tried to explain to the Archmage, stepping in front of Luke once more. “I mean, sure, this is what I was after, but it just seems a little-”
“You got what you wanted. The others can choose whether they want to work with you… or not.” The Archmage turned his glare on Zed. “Whether he is with you or not, if he kills someone that serves the Kingdom, your quest fails. Quest failure equals jail time or death, based on your level of negligence. Whether there is a political incident determines Taylor's Quest.”
“I am certain that she would be able to control that happenstance, either in the capital or with the Murderhobo. Only Andre’s quest is actually one that is of great importance to the Kingdom; he wouldn't fail even if I did not assign it to him. This way, he just gets more rewards. Rewards that he can keep for himself, or share with you.” The Archmage finished, and Zed looked over at Andre, his eyes wide and pleading. The General that had been glaring daggers at Zed seemed satisfied by this outcome, and turned to walk away before he was called upon to do anything.
Andre was clearly hesitating; as the Archmage had stated, he would succeed in this on his own. If he included other people in his project, his rewards would obviously be lessened. However, he nodded at Zed, “Yes, let's all group up together! It'll be just like old times.”
“I will, of course, go with you,” Taylor stated to the others with a slight smile on her face, “It will be much easier to prevent an international incident if we don't… feces, where did the Murderhobo go? I mean… where did Luke go?”
They looked to Master Don to see if he had anything to say, but the Archmage simply shrugged. “I gave you your quests. You wanted him alive, he’s alive. Luke is your problem now. He went that way. Good luck.”
The newly-formed party looked in the direction that the Archmage had casually indicated with great concern; that was the fortification. That was a town. There were people in there that had no defense against an Ascender. If Luke could attack the Archmage, there would be nothing protecting those other standard citizens. They ran after him, each of them speeding forward in their own method.
“I guess I'll just catch up, then?” Zed yelled as Andre and Taylor blasted across the terrain faster than most spells would travel. They spared him a glance, noting that he was running only slightly faster than most normal humans could. However, no matter how fast they were, Luke had quite a head start and they were uncertain of where to begin looking for him.
Andre’s eyes widened as he was struck by a realization, “His family! He's been gone for so long, there is no way he does not want to see his family! Quickly, we have to get there first!”
Both of them were already traveling at their maximum speed; Andre zipping across the ground, the plants in the area practically launching him forward, while Taylor floated over the ground on a current of invisible mana. They reached Luke's old house in moments, and could see his parents and sister working in their workshop… but there was no sign of Luke.
They looked at each other in confusion, and Taylor spoke what they were both thinking. “Where could he possibly have gone, if not to see his family?”
A sound like a tree being shattered with a single punch reached their ears, quickly followed by screams. Without hesitation, the two of them reacted by moving as quickly as they could toward the source of the disturbance. What they saw confounded them to the point that they weren’t certain how to react.
Luke was stepping out of a guard post; he had apparently collected all of the weapons and armor that had been in storage. A soft blue light was radiating off of his body, yet somehow not reflecting off of all of the metal that he was carrying. Of course, he was not simply holding everything; he had wrapped it all in a blanket salvaged from a bed, which he had then tied to a long mop handle.
“Hobo, indeed,” Taylor sighed with resignation as she moved grumpily toward the post.
The guards of the town were rapidly closing on the area. “Scum, how dare you attempt to steal from Baron Woodswright! Prepare to lose your hands!
For some reason, Luke didn't react positively toward the threat. In an instant, he was in front of the Guard w
ho had just threatened him, his hand raised to crush the man's skull. A vine wrapped around his arm, pulling him backward just before he turned his potential energy into a truly dangerous attack.
Taylor addressed the guards to calm the situation, “Hold! I am Taylor Woodswright, heir of the Baron. I will explain this issue to my father, and you will not be held accountable for the actions of a newly-minted Ascender.”
The guards had already been turning pale from the speed at which Luke could move, and every single one of them had felt the brush of death when he had raised his fist. Hearing that he was an Ascender, coupled with the fact that Taylor was going to take the blame, allowed them to retreat quickly. Andre stood next to Luke, staring at him as if he were a dangerous animal; to be fair, Luke had earned that glare.
“What in the world is wrong with you? Why would you attack a guard; no, before that, why would you rob an outpost in the first place?”
“I knew they had decent quality weapons and armor. I wanted them.” Luke looked at the vine that was still wrapped around his arm, and with a simple pull, it exploded into plant fibers.
“Celestial above, what is your Fitness characteristic at?” Andre gulped as he took in the rippling muscles and shredded plant. Luke ignored him and walked away, heading back toward the forest. “Are you really going to leave without seeing your family?”
For the first time, Andre saw hesitation appear on Luke’s face. It cleared up a moment later, and the Murderhobo continued his straightforward march out of town. “I gave up on seeing them long ago, and this quest is mandatory. Can’t even remember their names, so why bother going through that all over again? I need to get back to my world, I need to save... forget it. I’m not going to slow myself down right now. I can already feel this brand trying to make me walk. I’ve decided that I might as well get some decent gear before I’m forced into someone else’s war.”
“Your family probably still thinks you’re dead!” Andre helplessly called after him.
“Probably…” Luke didn’t slow down. “…for the best.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
The four members of the newly-formed battle team were walking at a leisurely pace - or a frantic jog, for Zed - along a road that had clearly been beaten into the ground by thousands of feet. There was no true rush, only the fact that Luke couldn’t handle facing his family after all this time was making them go now. Sure, they had orders to go, yet they did not have a specified arrival time. In fact, the majority of them were pleased with what was essentially a break for the first time in decades.
Taylor was not as happy with the situation; she had been looking forward to seeing her family again. Andre had wanted to see his old mentor and teacher, and Zed was looking forward to a pint of ale without a retainer that hated him breathing down his neck. However, knowing that Luke was going to go with or without them meant that they had to put aside their own plans. In all fairness, Andre did not have any living relatives in the village, and Zed was still looked at with suspicion by the people that had known him for what was less than three years ago for them.
“The fact of the matter is that only about a third of the people that went into the Initiate trials came out.” Taylor was explaining to Zed as they walked at a human pace. “I was told that part of the issue was the age of the people going into the trials. Normally, they don’t start until later, sometime around the twenties. We got ‘lucky’ because of the need for people to fight in this war. Anyway, starting that late allows people to get into the right headspace; to have a firmer foundation for who they are. Then, when the Sigil is applied, there isn't too much fluctuation. Apparently, many of the people failed simply because the Sigil forced them to maintain an immature mindset. They died for it.”
“Seems like something the Kingdom should be held accountable for.” Zed shook his head sadly. “Look at it this way; the Kingdom forced a certain mindset. Most of the people that died during the Initiate training period were those sent to low Mana-density worlds, which means a low time dilation. Correct?”
“I think that is correct?” Taylor raised an eyebrow, not sure where he was going with this.
“Well, clearly, with a higher Mana density, the Sigil has less effect. As an extreme example, Luke over there has clearly gained a totally different mindset than what he used to have.” Zed watched as Luke walked over to a tree, sniffed it, and took a bite out of it like it was an apple. The Murderhobo chewed on the wood thoughtfully, then spit it out when he realized that there was no flavor. “There is an argument to be made that the people that were going to come back were the most powerful of the people that went in. In other words, the Hollow Kingdom intentionally sacrificed dozens of people so they could scrape some benefits from those that lived.”
“Yes, that's exactly what happened.” Taylor nodded at Zed, and his face lit up. However, Taylor’s next words crushed his satisfaction. “In fact, I definitely have confirmation from the Archmage that this was precisely their plan. Now, pretend I am a normal person, or a Noble; anything except what I am. I’m not someone who is bound to the will of the Kingdom until I Ascend, I’m a commoner. You there in your head? Great. Now, tell me what you want to tell me.”
“The Kingdom is sacrificing its young-” Zed's eyes rolled up into his head, and he leaned forward while puking violently.
“Oh, look, your Sigil is judging you as breaking one of the Oaths made to the Kingdom: not serving the best interest of the Royal Family.” Taylor allowed a crooked smile to appear over her normally frosty expression. “We all do things we don't want to do, but this is one of the requirements for our Kingdom's continued survival. They are making us do things to save everyone. Sacrifices must be made. What is losing one life when you save a village?”
“A trade that I am not willing to make.” Zed wiped his mouth and stood upright. “I would never-”
“How about taking a life?” Taylor caught Zed as he started to make a grand proclamation. “We are on our way to the warfront. Are you willing to kill to keep this Kingdom safe? To keep yourself alive?”
“I…! That’s different.” Zed deflated slightly.
“Only your perception of the subject is different.” Taylor shifted her eyes forward and walked past the Bard, ignoring his sputtering attempts to respond. “This is why Bards have a bad reputation. All the pretty words; no action behind them.”
“Careful with what you say; there are people hiding in those trees,” Andre called to his group. Everyone followed his wave toward the trees he was indicating, and people started filtering out of the underbrush.
“Well, well, well. Someone has sharp eyes.” A roguish man stepped onto the dirt path and crossed his arms menacingly. “This is the King’s road, and we are tasked with putting together the funds to improve and maintain it! I'm sure that you will not mind donating to such a worthy cause?”
There was a long pause, where the only sound was the wind whistling through the trees around them. Luke looked over at Andre, then Taylor. “They are making an attempt at robbing us, correct?”
“Yes,” Taylor stated flatly.
“No, ‘rob’ is such a harsh word for this.” The man gestured at the linen sack slung over Luke's shoulder. “We could use some of that gear. Some proper armor and weapons would make our jobs much easier.”
“He is specifically… attempting to steal… my stuff?” Luke’s words were a raging snarl.
Zed rolled his eyes and spoke sarcastically, “Technically you stole that first, so… your stuff? Is it?”
“Here you go.” Luke swung the bag over his shoulder, slamming the accumulated weapons and armor into the man. The standard humans in the road had not even seen him move, and Andre only facepalmed in response. The leader of what was clearly a group of roaming marauders was crushed by the huge sack of metal, leaving a broken corpse on the road.
“Dibs on his sword.” Luke picked up the sack once more, then looked down at the pancaked man while some of the others ran, screaming about ‘Ascended
monsters’.
“You are literally carrying a giant sack of swords!” One of the remaining bandits shouted at the Murderhobo. “What could you possibly gain from having another one?”
Luke appeared in front of that one as well, and a similar scene repeated itself. He looked over at his party once more, then pointed at the corpse. “Sword. Dibs.”
That was enough to make even the bravest remaining among the bandits flee in terror. They didn't get too far, as they were running directly into the forest. Within five minutes, all of them had been collected by the trees they were running past and delivered to the four Ascenders. Each had been tied up carefully with vines, and the giant ball of people and plants began rolling along next to the road as Luke’s group continued toward the warfront.
There was an outcry from the captured bandits, especially when they began to get motion sick. However, Andre was having none of that. “I’m bringing you to the warfront as conscripts. No, hey! Listen, you can all do it my way… or you can try your luck with him.”
Complaints stopped after that, though it was clear that no one was really happy with the situation. Conversation among the Ascenders lapsed when the group realized that they couldn't discuss their personal experiences anymore, for fear of their Sigils reacting. An entire day passed as the group talked over trivial topics and tried to get closer. Taylor started wavering between letting the conversation remain lacking or just tossing the bandits into a pit. However, before she had made her final choice, Andre resolved the issue by causing sticky plants to grow over the captives’ eyes and ears.
“Thank the celestials that citizens of the Hollow Kingdom don’t count as ‘servants’ of the Kingdom.” Zed gulped as he contemplated how close he had come to dying from Luke’s actions. With their involuntary companions secured, the group used the rest of their walk to talk about the trials they had gone through. Taylor and Andre dominated the conversation, with Zed mostly chiming in to get details, and Luke grunting. On the third day of travel, a group of actual sentries made their presence known.
