Beastly Rose: IX
IX.Adamas sat on the floor cross-legged; his red cloak laid on the bed along with his other things piled on top of it that was already moved from the hanger pole. The small box containing the gloves that Henry made for him and given to him by his son, Darren, laid out opened in front of him and the note was in his paws. He was now wearing his light-brown shirt that Roselyn used the other night while the young woman, herself, was behind the dresser screen, trying on her Sparrow Ranger uniform that Duran had already made for her a year back. Before the beastman could read the note, his thoughts turned to Roselyn over the events that just happened recently. The first thing was her unusual mood change. Getting hugged from her is one thing, but after she opened that door it was like she was rushing out; almost as if she was trying to find him which made no sense as to why. After that, she didn’t feel uncomfortable when she removed his shirt, revealing her undergarments to him, and took the uniform to get dressed. Despite those odd events, his biggest concern was how did she manage to break through his sleep enchantment that he placed on her? He only left her like that for several hours during his predicament and having a personal talk with Marge and Henry over his recent confession surrounding the young woman. No ordinary human could break a spell like that. Not unless she was a mage. If she was one, he would’ve sensed her magic. Better yet, he would’ve smelled it. Maybe this woman had a very strong willpower and even knew from his experience that some humans do possess that sort of power. Unfortunately, the same could be said with mages.Now that he thought about it. The brown leathered knight did tell him that Roselyn was special. How special is she that would allow her to break a simple spell without any trouble or attract the attention of his target, Baranor, who wanted her as his fiancé? Whatever the reason was, it would seem that the knight could be right about her. The dream that they both experienced the other night and now this; all of it was too connected.Putting his thoughts aside for now until he found more pieces to the puzzle, Adamas focused his attention back to the note which read:To my friend, Adamas, If you’re reading this, then I either didn’t have the time ‘cause I was too busy and had other things to do and allowed one of my children to pass this gift to you, or if I retired and probably passed away as I lived my life without any regrets. Better yet, if I’m lucky enough, give this gift to you personally while keeping my mouth shut as I wanted to make this a surprise. Whatever the reason is, this is my gift to you. Adamas softly giggles amusingly over the first paragraph of his friend’s note. The gloves you see before you is the first of my finest work to be created especially for you and it took me twenty years, and a helluva lot of patience, to find the right materials to create it. It may look small to you, but I can assure you that the black material you’ll probably see is not only stretchy, it’ll easily adjust comfortably to your size. On top of that, it’s very durable and can take any known cuts from a blade or shots from a gun. As for those claws of yours, I’ve left slits on them, so you won’t have to worry about damaging the fingertips. The crystals that are attached to the gloves are actually enchanted crystals. I wanted to try mixing it with simple apparel and the results were magnificent. Not only will this revolutionize magical warfare for good mages, like yourself, this will also change how we use enchantments on not just weapons but clothes as well. Think of this as a new way to use enchanted objects with yourself being the first test subject to use this.After reading that last paragraph, Adamas was taken aback. He’s seen enchanted objects and weapons, but never has he even heard of an enchanted crystal being used on apparel before. Much less on simple gloves like these. Just seeing those clear crystals not only made him smile a little, it also impressed him to no end. Henry was right about one thing. With this new kind of enchantment, it could change everything. Unlike the red enchanted crystals that you’re used to. These clear enchanted crystals I’ve invented act the same way but with a different twist. Instead of giving a Blacksmith Alchemist a small bit of magical blood in order for an enchanted crystal to be created. All you have to do is draw your own blood and place it on each of the crystals, then let them do the rest as it’ll store your magic and gain your magical signature.Doing what was said in Henry’s note, Adamas brought out a single clawed finger and thumb, then brought them over to the right glove’s middle crystal and gently pierced his thumb. A little bit of blood flows out of it and a single drop falls on the crystal. The small drop suddenly dissipates and the clear crystal changes to a crimson red, matching that of his cloak and aura. He does the same thing to the other four clear crystals and gets the same reaction.Wanting to try on the glove’s for himself, Adamas sets aside Henry’s note and takes the glove with the changed enchanted crystals. He slowly puts his paw inside and immediately it glides right through with no trouble at all. Not only did he not feel any discomfort or feeling the glove hugging his paw, it truly was comfortable; just like what the note said. Giving this glove a little test, he unsheathed all five of his claws and clutched it. The beastman didn’t feel any of his claws pierced through which gave him a small nod of approval. Picking up Henry’s note, Adamas went right back to reading it as he needed to know more about these gloves. Just like how you would treat any enchanted weapon with a crystal, especially Master Kaldin’s sword he made for you, put as much magic as you can into the gloves. The more power you put into them, the more you’ll increase both its physical and defensive strength by five times its normal rate while storing more of your magic. However, there will come a time when you’ll meet someone who’ll be more powerful than you. I can’t promise it might happen or maybe it will in the centuries to come for you, but if it ever does come to that I have something that’ll turn the tide in your favor. Whenever your back is against the wall, all you have to do is bring either glove or both if it ever comes to it, then say the word “Release” as it’ll unlock all the stored magic you put into them and replenish your powers.Though I must warn you, there is a downside to this. Once you release that power, depending on how much you’ve put into them, both the crystals and the glove will disintegrate. So only use this as a last resort when you have no other option. Fear not, my friend, I’ve taken special measures whenever the gloves are destroyed. They may last a lifetime, but they’re still just test products and need to be improved drastically. Sooner or later, I’ll be gone from this world. My legacy, however, won’t as the Taversh Blacksmith Alchemy will continue on through my children and their children’s children. With them continuing my work and creating their own creations in improving the land, they will be the ones who’ll help you. So once those gloves have served their purpose, come find any of the children or their descendants through me and they’ll probably make a more powerful version of the original gloves I’ve made. I’m sure with that nose of yours, you’ll know you’ve found one.Once again, Adamas amusingly giggles at the last sentence, then his heart warms over the last bit of the note that was written for him. Although my mother, Helen, may not see you again, but had high hopes that you’ll see me again and meet my family, I will always treasure the first-time we’ve met a long time ago and how you’ve not only helped me find the courage, you’ve changed both my life and Marge’s life forever. Even though fate will not give me or my first family a chance to meet you. Know that we'll all be watching you always on the other side and maybe hopefully one day through the centuries of your immortal life that you’ll find a certain someone to love. Just as my family has come to love you for who you are and not what you are. Wherever you go, you’ve already made a special place in all of my family’s hearts and they too will remember the legend of the Red Wanderer and how he met the greatest Blacksmith Alchemist in history who became inspired to become a legend himself. That little spot in the Taversh family tree will be etched throughout those centuries and will never be forgotten.Your friend, always and forever,-Henry TavershIt was touching to say the least for Adamas. Henry knew deep down that there was a possibility that they wouldn’t see each other again. Something that he couldn’t blame him for, but at least he prepared himself whenever each of those possibilities arose. After all, unlike mages that live a long time, ordinary human lives are short and fragile. That was the natural balance of life itself. Before I leave, my old friend. Adamas thought. I want you to take a bow as you’ve truly outdone yourself and I’ll be sure to look out for your children’s children or their descendants whenever I have need of them.Putting the note on the bed, Adamas planned on keeping it as he may need it as proof that he met Henry Taversh. The greatest Blacksmith Alchemist in all the land who made his mark in history. He then brings the other glove out of its box and, doing like he did before, uses a single claw to pierce his thumb to draw a small bit of blood and allows the clear crystals to absorb and change them into its crimson red colors before placing the last glove on. Now his paws were covered and protected, and he was going to have his work cut out for him as he’s going to put a helluva lot of magic on each of them.While Adamas was busy reading Henry’s note and handling his new magical apparel, Roselyn was finishing up on dressing herself in the Sparrow Ranger’s uniform. After already adjusting her dagger that was now tucked under the belt, Roselyn’s mind was filled with thoughts over the things that happened; both from the night before and the dreams she’s experienced thus far. The first thing she wondered about were these “Sparrow Rangers”. Nearly all her life, she’s never even heard of them. Not until recently last night when Duran mentioned them and that he was expecting her. Who were they exactly? How come nobody told her about them and why they knew about Adamas? Thinking about the beastman, her thoughts turned back to the dreams. Although they were just nothing more than dreams, the feelings she had experienced in them left a deep mark inside of her. A feeling that she couldn’t ignore to herself and wanted to share it with him. However, that was when she wondered about the other dream she saw before awakening. It started off both strange and lovely at first, then it turned into a horrible nightmare. Just seeing the images of those villagers and how they were brutally killed by Adamas in his cub form almost made her want to shiver in fright while it left her wondering about something…Was that Adamas’ past that she just witnessed through her dreams? She highly doubted it as Adamas never even told her about his past. Roselyn still wanted to know more about him before letting out these feelings and hoped that he might feel the same. Unfortunately, she reminded herself that he told her that he’s met and slept with many different women. Did they have the same feelings as she did? If so, then the beastman obviously didn’t reciprocate those feelings. Would he do the same thing to her when the time came? Could her heart take it if he chose not to accept her feelings? Maybe she was overthinking things a little and needed to take things slowly in order to find out for herself. But that shadow of doubt had already shrouded her mind and made her think to herself that it couldn’t be possible between him and her. Adamas was the legendary Red Wanderer whom many spoke about in stories. An immortal beastman half-breed with magic who’ll live out through the centuries and remain young while she was just an ordinary human that’ll live and die old like any other human would; just as long as she stayed alive long enough to see another day. She was nobody compared to him.Giving out a soft sigh, she put aside those thoughts and decided to live out through every moment surrounding him before parting ways. If Adamas chooses to be with her, then that’s fine. If not, she’ll just have to live with it and go about the rest of her days in peace. No matter how hard the heart will break, she knows it’ll endure. All she had to do was keep going and see what happens before assuming anything.Picking up her light-leathered chest armor corset, Roselyn steps out of the dresser screen, noticing Adamas admiring his new gloves. She gives a half-smile, slowly but amusingly shakes her head, then walks over to him and gets his attention by scratching his ear, earning a small giggle from him. “Can you help me with this?” She asked, showing him the corset. “It’s my first-time and I don’t know how to do this.”“Sure.”Taking the corset from her, he sits down on the bed. Roselyn turned around and raised her arms a bit, allowing Adamas to place it on her chest before beginning to tie the laces. Giving a small tug to secure the first lace, she gasped a little, making the beastman stop his task as he asked her, “Is it too tight?”“No, it’s fine,” she answered.Continuing on with his task, Adamas made sure that each lace he secured on the corset was nice and tight without restraining Roselyn’s breathing in the process. When the last lace was tightly secured, he patted her shoulder and said, “There, now you’re ready to go.”Roselyn smiles and admires her corset armor. The way it comfortably hugged her chest without giving her any problems while at the same time showing off its protection whenever somebody tried to attack her from the front made her almost tempted to giggle in delight. Adamas smiled as well over Roselyn’s complete apparel and how, despite her appearance, could not hide her beauty; no matter what she wore. He was about to reach towards her waist with his other paw and hug her, but had to put aside that frivolous thought. The last thing he wanted was to have a repeat of what happened back at Duran’s tailor shop. Roselyn, however, could sense what Adamas was wanting to do. Instead of him coming to her, Roselyn willingly went to him as she surprised Adamas by embracing him and saying, “Thanks.”Adamas purrs and embraces her back.After throwing his cloak on and straps on both his sheathed longsword and sack, but had to carry his cross belt with daggers as he needed to ask Henry a favor before leaving, Adamas and Roselyn stepped out of the room and into the hallway; only for the beastman to suddenly grab Roselyn’s shoulder, surprising her with a gasp while he sharply said, “Wait!”“What is it?” she asked, concerned. “What’s wrong?”Adamas sniffs the air, then answers, eyes narrowed, “Someone’s here in the tavern.” “Who?” she questioned, then her eyes widened with dread. She hoped that it wasn’t what she thought it was. “You don’t think it's another one of Baranor’s knights?”“I’m not sure,” he admitted.The smell was a bit faint to him. He couldn’t tell whose scent it was, but giving another small whiff of the air, it almost felt…familiar to him; like something that he once saw before long ago. As Adamas said, he wasn’t sure.“Hold this,” he said to Roselyn, giving her his cross belt before pulling up his hood. He needed to be cautious for a moment and find out who it is while keeping his guard up and protecting the woman. “Stay close to me.”, A black cane slowly taps the ground each time it is raised. The one holding it, walking its way with brown boots towards its destination, was a young man that was nearly in his mid thirties. His blonde hair was neatly combed back and had a ponytail while his calm blue eyes remained fixed to Marge’s tavern that came to his view. He wore a fancy dark blue suit with a white cravat and matching trousers, giving off an appearance of someone who came from nobility. Following this man were four men, each of them wearing gray armor and helmets, but two of the men held spears whilst the other two possessed rifles. By the time he came to the entrance, all four of the armored men had already stopped and watched as the young man knocked on the door.There was a brief silence until Marron opened the door and said, “Oh, Mayor Wallace, good morning. May I help you?”“Is your mother here,” Mayor Wallace calmly asked.“Yes, sir, I’ll go and get here.”After Marron shuts the door, leaving Mayor Wallace and his armored men alone, he places the cane in front of him and places his other hand on top of the other. From the corner of his eye, he notices the window being covered by a curtain, raising a brow curiously before looking at the other window, seeing the same result. When the door opened, the mayor turned his attention back to it and watched as Marge stepped outside to meet him.“Well, good morning, Mayor Wallace. To what do I owe thee the pleasure of you once again visiting my establishment?”“Curiosity,” he answered. “Nothing more.” He points to the spearmen and riflemen while ordering them, “You two stand guard and you two come with me.”The riflemen followed the mayor into Marge’s tavern, leaving the spearmen to stand outside the entrance.“Now, Mayor Wallace,” Marge said, her daughter Marron accompanying her. “There’s no need for you to bring your men here. As I’ve already told you the other night, everything’s fine.”“Will see.”Sitting down at a table in the middle of the tavern, Mayor Wallace slowly took in his surroundings. Normally, whenever he visits Taversh’s Tavern, this place would’ve been packed. After all, the tavern was pretty popular in Ackerman Town. But looking back from last night, his thoughts turned to the red cloaked mage that he heard about. There was something familiar that caught his attention over this red cloaked stranger, something that he was always told about through stories ever since he was a child. Although he had his doubts, he had a feeling that the mage would probably return here. Even if the mage did try to leave last night, his soldiers that he ordered to stand down and keep guard at the entrances would’ve found him and arrested him, then brought him in so the mage could be properly questioned.“I noticed that your business is less crowded today,” Mayor Wallace stated the obvious before looking at one table, seeing Henry waiting on a table where the food hadn’t been touched, his hand holding a tankard of ale. “And your husband seems to be in good spirits as well.”Mayor Wallace gives Henry a small wave, to which the Blacksmith Alchemist nods and raises his tankard in a greeting manner before taking a sip.“But there’s one last face of your family that I don’t see. Where’s your son?”“He’s in the kitchen cooking with the other workers. Speaking about that.” Marge looks at her daughter. “Marron, head into the kitchen and tell the chef to whip up something for the mayor, it's on the house.”“Yes, ma’am.”No sooner had Marron left for the kitchen, Mayor Wallace turned his eyes up to the second-floor, seeing two individuals; one in particular wore the familiar red cloak and the other standing next to the mage was a black haired woman, holding what appeared to be to him a cross belt with daggers. Without taking his eyes off them, he said to Marge, “So tell me, what’ve you told the Captain the other night?”“I told him a bunch of ruffian knights came into my tavern and caused a bit of chaos which scared away my customers, then the red mage came and killed three of the knights and let the last one go. He saved not only me, but both my daughter and husband, and even healed me and Henry. After that, the mage left. He’s probably long gone by now, so again there’s no need for you to bring your men here.”“Really now?” Mayor Wallace smiled, amused at Marge’s failed attempt in trying to lie to him. He tilts his head towards the duo while adding, “Care to explain that up here?”Confused, Marge looks up to the direction Mayor Wallace was looking at; only to gasp when she saw Adamas and Roselyn on the second-floor. Ever since the mayor unexpectedly arrived, especially at the worst moment due to the beastman still remaining here, she hoped that she would buy some time until Adamas was done with whatever he had to do up there. Not to mention (which wouldn’t surprise her if that did happen up there) talk some things out with Roselyn if he had the time and maybe plan something special for her. The thought of it made her want to smile, but reframed herself from doing so, over the discussion she and Henry had about Adamas’ confession and what they told him to do long before the beastman left for the young woman and Mayor Wallace arrived. Now those happy thoughts had changed to worry for her friend's wellbeing and grew concerned of what might happen if Mayor Wallace ordered his men to arrest Adamas from defending her family or, worst of all, him being a beast. Either way, she tried to convince Mayor Wallace by telling him, “Please, Mayor, try to understand. He’s not the-”Mayor Wallace raised a hand to her and slowly shook his head, then waved a little, ordering Marge to stand aside.Giving a somber sigh, Marge did what she was told while mentally praying to God that the mayor would at least be merciful.After hearing the conversation that transpired down below, Adamas, with Roselyn following him, descended down the stairs. However, during that conversation, he heard the name “Wallace” and right when he saw the mayor’s face, that’s when he recognized who it really was and the scent that he smelled earlier confirmed his thoughts. “Go join with Henry at the table over there,” Adamas whispered to Roselyn, tilting his head to the table where the Blacksmith Alchemist still waited. With a nod from her, the young woman left the beastman, still wondering what was truly going on but put it aside for now, while Adamas went to Marge, placing a calming gloved paw on her shoulder, letting her notice that he was wearing Henry’s finest creation, before saying to her, “Don’t worry, there’s no point in me hiding anyways. Now go be with the others, I’ll be just fine.”Taking her friend's words to heart, Marge gives a small nod and goes to join Roselyn and her husband, Henry, while hoping that Adamas knew what he was doing.Waiting until Marge sat down with Henry, Adamas pulls a chair and sits in front of Mayor Wallace. The mayor, however, smiled and chuckled a little. “It’s funny,” he said to the beastman, “I thought you said ‘there’s no point in hiding’? Yet, you still wear a hood over your head. It’d be rude not to know your face. So why do you wear it?”“I have my reasons,” answered Adamas.“Then take it off.”“I will not.”Adamas sees a soldier on the mayor’s right about to move and will probably forcibly take off his hood, but the mayor simply holds out an arm before the soldier could make a single step and slowly shakes his head.“Why?” Mayor Wallace asked. “Are you afraid?”“I am not afraid.”“Then take it off.”“Then you and your men will be afraid.”The two soldiers looked at one another, confused. Mayor Wallace gives the red cloaked mage a half smile, knowing that he was right. His men would probably be afraid of what they might see. He, himself, was not.“Leave us,” he ordered the soldiers. The two soldiers bowed and left the mayor and mage alone, joining the spearmen outside.There was a brief moment of silence between the mayor and the red cloaked mage, then the mayor chuckled a little again before saying to the mage, “So it’s all true then, isn’t it? The stories and legends that surround you, I mean.” He smiles, adding, “You’re the Red Mage of Death or should I actually call you…” He leans forward a little, smile not fading for a moment. “Adamas, if I presume correctly?”Mayor Wallace couldn’t see a smile within the shadows of Adamas’ hood, knowing that he got the answer right. “I go by many titles that you humans have given me,” Adamas shrugged. “Your face, however, is something that I remember all too well and it's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance…” He removes his hood, revealing his face to him as the mayor didn’t show any sign of fear and more out of interest. “Descendant of Sir Frein Wallace.”“So you truly do know about my descendant? Even after I was told about him since I was just a child, Sir Frein met a wandering warrior mage who helped him reclaim his land from a traitorous brother who sought help from another mage. Bringing with him nothing but death to his enemies till that land had returned to what was rightfully his. Only if the warrior mage was paid the right price, of course.”“At least they were right on that story,” Adamas chuckled. “I was allowed to have what was left of their treasures, since most of it was squandered, and a bag of food. Sad as it was, after Sir Frein executed his brother, it would take him a very long time for his land to return to its proper glory. Despite him being called ‘The Penniless Barron Knight’, he managed to keep his word. I for one had seen his land when I returned to it a few centuries later. But I doubt you’re here for pleasantries or wanting to hear my side of your descendants' tale. Are you here to arrest me or have me executed on the spot?”“Execution, no. From what I learned in the legends, nothing in this world could kill you. If I was lucky enough to kill you, you’d probably find a way to cheat death. Arresting you, however, that’s a different matter altogether. What I would like to know is what really happened during the chaos and what it has to do…” He tilts his head towards Roselyn, whom she had explained to both Marge and Henry over the Sparrow Ranger’s uniform she now wore with the Blacksmith Alchemist chuckling and happily exclaimed, “Well I’ll be a son of a bitch!”Henry continues to chuckle while Mayor Wallace finishes, “With that woman that was with you earlier.”“Alright,” Adamas sighed, knowing that Mayor Wallace would probably ask that question regarding Roselyn and have a pretty good suspicion on why she too was connected to the chaos yesterday. The mayor’s sharp perception was definitely a trait that this man had managed to gain through his descendant. It was something that the beastman knew all too well not to underestimate. “But you need to listen to me very carefully as it will concern not just yourself. It’ll concern everyone here in Ackerman Town.”Adamas explained everything to the mayor about what transpired the other day before he arrived and how the chaos started. The young man could only slowly nod as he took in everything to great detail. When the beastman finished explaining, there was something that really concerned Mayor Wallace entirely. “What would Baranor’s knights and mages want with clerics, Blacksmith Alchemists, and other mages?” he asked. “I do not know,” Adamas answered, slowly shaking his head.“Still,” Mayor Wallace sighed. “All this trouble…” His eyes turned to Roselyn who took a bite from her fried eggs. “Just for a single woman. What’s so special about her that Baranor would want to marry her anyway?”“I wish I knew,” Adamas shrugged. “From what I could tell, though I don’t know the full story yet as this is just a theory of mine, she was probably being forced to marry him.”“I see,” Mayor Wallace nods understandably. “Do you think it’s possible that Baranor’s small army of knights and mages could arrive here anytime?”“I doubt it, not unless they’re that foolish to come here. Even if they did, I’ll be long gone with Roselyn, so I suggest you do the same by the time I leave.”“And I will take your suggestion to heart. However, if the possibility that this army arrives before you leave, what will you do?”“Simple…” Adamas leans forward, smiling as he stated openly, “I’m going to kill’em all.”“I’m sure you would,” Mayor Wallace chuckled, knowing he would expect that answer. “Given your reputation, you wouldn't hesitate or break a single sweat to do it.”“Mayor Wallace,” Marron arrived with a tray and carrying a pitcher of ale. “Your breakfast is here.”Carefully setting the pitcher down first, Marron placed a plate of steak, fried eggs, and hashbrowns, before placing a tankard down last, then filled it up with ale.“Thank you, child,” Mayor Wallace said politely.Giving a polite small bow, Marron leaves the mayor and Adamas alone, but her mother calls out, “Marron, go get your brother and tell him to stop what he’s doing and come join us to eat.”“Yes, ma’am.”“Now,” Mayor Wallace said, taking a sip from his ale. “To get back to the point. I know I can’t ask you to stay another day, just to be sure if Baranor’s small army does appear, right?”“I’m afraid not. I still have a word to keep to Roselyn and as long as I remain here with her, I’ll risk putting everyone in danger.”“Then is it silly of me to form a contract?”“Not at all. I’ve done many contracts in my day. That’s as long as I’m being paid.” Adamas shrugs, adding, “After all, I don’t work for free, unless otherwise.”“Very well,” Mayor Wallace smiled. “Now this is more out of feeling, then knowing for certain, as I can’t predict everything that’s going to happen and probably like you I don’t take any chances. But here’s the deal, I’ll be waiting by the west entrance to see you and Roselyn off. If by some chance there was truly nothing for me to worry about, I’ll give you let’s say…a small bag of mithril coins.”This piqued Adamas’ interests as he rarely received mithril coins. In fact, mithril, along with platinum, adamantine, and orichalcum were one of the highest rewards anyone could have when melted down into coins. They were mainly kept in the treasures of the highest standard or nobility, but the other two metals, mithril and orichalcum, were something that mages, such as himself, could be used to enhance enchantments. Just having any of those two would definitely come in handy whenever he needed them.“You can do whatever you please with them once you have it, but there’s a catch. The feelings that I have are never wrong, so if this small army does appear, there’s a much bigger bag of mithril coins waiting for you; only if you give me your word that you’ll do what you must and protect or save as many lives as you can.”“You have my word.”“Good.” Mayor Wallace offers his hand. “So it’s a deal then?”Adamas nods. “It’s a deal.”He takes the mayor’s hand and shakes it firmly.“Now if you’ll excuse me.” He gets up off his chair. “It’s time for me to join my friends for breakfast, but it was a pleasure having a chat with you, Mayor Wallace.”He turned his back for a brief moment and was about to join Marge, Henry, Roselyn, and the twins that recently joined, but stopped and turned his attention back to Mayor Wallace when he said, “One more thing, Adamas. No need for pleasantries, call me Samuel.”“As you wish…Samuel.”With that, Samuel Wallace watched the beastman, Adamas, walk to the table where Roselyn and the Taversh family waited and sat next to Roselyn. Taking a knife, he starts cutting the meat while Samuel thought, Might as well enjoy this last meal. Once I’m finished, I need to have a talk with the Captain immediately., By the time Adamas, Roselyn, and the Taversh family had finished eating breakfast, the afternoon sun had shine its brightest. Samuel Wallace already managed to finish eating his meal, long before the group did, and left the tavern to have an emergency talk with the Captain over the possibility of an invasion of Baranor’s small forces; one of them being mages as the town’s army may not be well equipped to handle this sort of thing. As for the family and friends, it was agreed that they split in a group of three in order for the prepared departure to go faster; Marge with the twins and Henry, Adamas, Roselyn.For the latter, Adamas and Henry went with Roselyn to the tailor shop where Duran was waiting for her. When they arrived, the young woman noticed that neither the beastman or the Blacksmith Alchemist followed her to the door. Curious, she asked, “Aren’t you coming along?”“You go on ahead without us,” Henry said. “Adamas and I have some business to take care of.”Roselyn looked at him, confused.Adamas said, “What Henry means is that I owe him a new quiver of arrows after I, uh…” He embarrassingly scratches his ear. “Unintentionally destroyed it yesterday.”Roselyn turned to the door, then back at Adamas and Henry, conflicted as she wanted to help the beastman while wanting to meet Duran again before she left today.“Go on, Roselyn,” Adamas insisted. “Don’t worry, I’ll be finished before you, so come to the forge once you’re done. But if anything happens, I want you to yell my name as loud as you can.” He points to his ear, adding, “I’ll hear you no matter where you are.”Smiling, Roselyn went to Adamas and jumped onto him, wrapping her arms around his neck while surprising him a little. “Don’t leave without me,” she playfully teased before quickly pecking the side of his muzzle and dropping herself.Adamas watched as Roselyn went inside the tailor shop. He wanted to go after her and properly kiss her, but had to push aside that thought. Today wasn’t the right time, at least not yet. Bringing his paw to where he was pecked, the beastman smiled and softly purred. “C’mon, you big lug,” Henry giggled. “You can get all goo-goo eyes after you leave town.”While Adamas followed Henry to the forge, he asked him, “You think you can do something for me?”“Sure, just name it and I’ll do it.”Back with Roselyn, she was searching around the shop trying to find Duran; whom she had expected to find him at the desk from last night, only to see it vacant and the owner missing. However, she sensed someone was moving close to her and reacting with quick reflexes, catches a hand that was going to her dagger and twists the arm till it was at the person's back, then knees a leg to knock the person down before drawing the dagger and placing it on the person’s neck.“Excellent,” beamed the person, revealed to be Duran. “If I was your enemy, I’d be dead now.”“Oh, I’m so sorry, Duran,” Roselyn apologized, sheathing her dagger and allowing the elderly man to stand. “What was all that about?”“I had to test your reflexes to see if they were sharp and you’ve passed the test. Your father has trained you well.”“My father?” Roselyn questioned, wondering why Duran even knew about her father ever since he mentioned him last night. Now that she thought about it, she wanted to question Duran about that. “How did you know that my father-”“Everything will be explained to you soon enough. Now follow me.”Without saying another word, thinking it was best to hold off on the questions for now, Roselyn obediently follows Duran, leading her to a mannequin that was close to a wall, which somehow wore the same Sparrow Ranger’s uniform as Roselyn’s. Turning the mannequin’s head to the right, there was a soft click, then the wall opened, revealing stairs that led down somewhere. Going down those stairs, Roselyn was brought to a hidden training room that had three straw dummies, each one having a target painted in red at the center of their chests, and on the left side of the wall stood two racks, one on the right held bows and quivers of arrows, and the other on the left had small weapons consisting of short swords, hatchets, and daggers. Duran goes to the rack on the right and grabs both a bow and quiver, then takes them towards Roselyn and presents them to her, confusing the young woman. “Tell me,” he said to her. “What do you know about the Sparrow Rangers?”“Nothing,” she answered truthfully.Duran smiled at her answer. “Good. Knowing nothing is always the first step.”“Knowing nothing” was definitely something for Roselyn. Despite this act of kindness of giving her this uniform and showing her a bow and a quiver of arrows, it still confused her over the fact that Duran knows about her father and why these Sparrow Rangers have any connection to her.“It is tradition for anyone born of the sparrow to either be trained outside the nest or inside it with a master to guide until they reach their age of becoming. That time for you has already come to pass, but it’s never too late to help start your journey on what you choose to be once your wings have finally taken flight.”“That’s very interesting and all that,” Roselyn said, politely. “But what does this have to do with anything with me and my father you mentioned?”“This might come to you as a surprise, shocked most likely, but your father, Armen…” Duran smiles. “He was a Sparrow Ranger.”Silence filled the room as Roselyn was bewildered by what Duran just told her.“He…He was?”“Indeed he was. Why do I know this you may ask? Because I was his master, I was the one who trained him until he was at his age. After he left the nest, your father had written to me many letters of his adventures and how he managed to find love. When you came to the world, your father told me that you reminded him so much of himself and your mother.” He sighed, feeling a little somber, “God rest his soul as he has my deepest condolences when she passed on a Spring day.” He shrugs, his mood changing instantly while continuing, “Not to go off topic on the past, it is time for you to take that first step on whatever path you choose.”He offers her the bow and quiver of arrows. Roselyn wanted to take it, but was a little hesitant to accept it so suddenly.“Go ahead, Roselyn,” Duran insisted, sensing her intention. “Take it. I know you’ll need it as the journey you're taking is going to be very dangerous, especially regarding a certain beast.”Deep down, Roselyn knew Duran was right. The only weapon she had so far was just a dagger and that would barely do much for her. She needed something better to further defend herself. With a nod, she takes both the bow and quiver, shouldering them both till they hang comfortably at her back.“Now, before you leave. How about a bit of training first? It’d be best to learn from the man who trained your father.”“Yes, I like that,” Roselyn said with enthusiasm.“Very well, let’s start off with your archery and see if anything needs to be improved.”Stepping aside, he allows Roselyn to use the straw dummies. Taking a deep breath, she takes the bow, then reaches over to grab a single arrow off the quiver. Although it had been a year since she last held a bow, a part of herself felt prideful as she already knew how to use it. Pulling back on the bowstring, she took aim, and fired the arrow dead center on the middle straw dummies target.Duran smiles, impressed at Roselyn’s archery while continuing to watch her let loose two more single arrows on each of the straw dummies' center targets. She really was like Armen, her father, in so many ways, but could already tell there were so many more things she could learn on her journey. The possibilities were downright endless and only she could choose which path is the right one for herself.“Very good. Do you know how to fire multiple shots at once?”“Yes, my father taught me.”“Excellent! Show it to me then by firing them all.”Taking pride in Duran’s praise, Roselyn smiles and nods, then takes out all three arrows from the quiver and pulls back the bowstring while turning the bow sideways and aiming. She releases the arrows, each one landing perfectly at the center without fail.Duran clapped his hands. “Most impressive, child! Guess there was no point in improving your archery skills as you’ve managed to master that.” He stopped clapping. “However, there is one thing I need to know. Have you mastered The Arrow Catch technique?”“I have and it took me three years to master it.”“Excellent!” Duran beamed. “At least one of my techniques that I’ve passed on to the father is now given to the daughter. What about the dagger that you have? Surely your father must’ve taught you how to knife fight, hasn’t he?”“He has.”“How much have you learned?”“A lot, but I haven’t finished before…the…”Roselyn sighed and like the night before, she turned her eyes to the floor while clutching her bow tightly.“I understand,” Duran said softly. “You don’t have to explain.” He goes over to the left rack, adding, “In that case, how about I finish what your father could not?”While Duran was busy deciding what small weapon to use, Roselyn suddenly hears a small child playfully laughing, making her look around the room to see who it was, but there was nobody here except herself and her father’s former teacher.“Roselyn,” Duran called out after choosing a dagger while the laughing that she heard had ceased. “What’s wrong?”“I…I thought…” She sighed. “Nothing.”Although it concerned him a little the way Roselyn acted earlier, he decided to ignore it for now and focus on finishing her training. “Well, before we begin. Mind if I see your dagger?”Roselyn nods before shouldering her bow, then takes out her dagger and hands it to Duran. He examines it for a moment and smiles, “Very impressive, child, on making this. Even though this looks crude, your father always had a way of showing things to look past that while making daggers like these to hunt with and it would seem that he passed that knowledge onto you.” He moves his arm up and down. “Light in weight.” He puts the daggers blade flat on two fingers. “Perfectly well balanced.” He skillfully twirls it around his fingers, feeling the blade's edge without cutting himself. “And very sharp. Perfect for any hunter or knife fighter like your father and yourself.”Handing the dagger back to her, Roselyn was a little shocked at how Duran deduced it so easily. It reminded her how much her father taught on how to track and pay close attention to her surroundings. Though the thoughts of her father made her want to frown, she had to swallow the lump in her throat and focus on the here and now. The sooner she finishes this training, the sooner she’ll be well on her way back to Adamas and out of this town.“Now then.” Duran brings his dagger up in a reverse-grip defense while bringing his arm towards his chest. “Shall we begin?”Smiling, Roselyn got into the same defensive position and without any hesitation, made the first move. Blades clanked and arms moved fast to block each other's stroke, even going as far as to use their hands to control one another’s dagger strikes without cutting each other in the process. Duran was tempted to giggle over how much it impressed him that his old student, Armen, had taught his daughter everything he knew on fighting with a dagger, despite not finishing it. After parrying another dagger strike, Roselyn swiftly swung her dagger sideways at Duran’s midsection, but Duran easily dodged that and thrusted his dagger close to her eye. “Don’t go for a swift strike,” he told her, “unless you see the opportunity, otherwise you’ll leave yourself wide open.”Pushing away his arm, Roselyn continued her offense. When Duran parries her sideways strike that was aimed at his chest, he quickly grabs her arm and turns it to her back, earning a grunt from her while he tells her, “Remember what I said last night? If you're using a dagger, don’t rely on one hand. Use both hands, unless you’re dual wielding.”Narrowing her eyes, she reaches behind and releases her grip, letting the dagger fall to the other hand. She gives a swift uppercut, nearly nicking one of Duran’s stubbles while forcing him to move back, which in turn gives Roselyn the chance to kick him, knocking Duran down on his back. Seeing her chance, she quickly jumps at him, bringing down the dagger to his chest as he tries to push her back with his wrists crossed. Giving the dagger a good hit at the pommel, without hitting it too hard, manages to bring the blade close to touching his chest.Duran smiled, “Most impressive! If I was your enemy, I’d be dead now. However…”He kicks her rear, forcing Roselyn to lose balance as she rolls and quickly gets back into a defensive stance. Using all of his experiences from training young Sparrow Rangers or facing down his enemies, Duran rebounds back on his feet, surprising the young woman.“Never underestimate your opponent, no matter their age. Now…” He takes his cap off.“Time to start the next part of your training.”He tossed his cap to Roselyn, which she easily caught while confused. “Huh?”Before she could defend herself, Duran was already in front of her. He grabs her wrist and flips her to the floor. Keeping hold of that wrist, he said to her, “You can fool your opponent to take their eyes away from you.” Taking his cap back from her, he adds while putting it back on, “Be warned that someone else will use the same tactic on you. So no matter what happens, never take your eyes off your opponent and remain focused at all costs. Now the next thing I’m going to teach you is how to control your opponent's movements. For instance…”He lifts Roselyn back to her feet while still keeping hold of her wrist.“Their limbs. As long as you hold on to any of them, you’re in control. For example…”Turning himself around without losing his grip, he brings Roselyn's arm to his shoulder.“I could easily break someone’s arm without a second thought or…” He turns again, this time bringing Roselyn to his chest and wrapping his arm around her neck while placing the dagger blades tip to her heart. “Incapacitate or kill my opponent, depending on the circumstances. Just remember when I said ‘their limbs’, you don’t always have to aim for their arms.” He moves the dagger away from her chest and pats his knee. “You can go for their legs as well.” He releases her, letting Roselyn face him as he continued, “One more thing, whenever you face a single or more than one opponent, your surroundings will be your biggest advantage. Why do I mean this, you may ask?” He spreads his arms out. “Look around you, there’s many things in this land for you to use. Take it from that rack…” He pointed to the said rack and kept pointing to simplify his explanation. “...the wall…the targets…even myself, if again I was your enemy. There’s plenty of ways to defeat your opponent than a simple weapon that we wield as it’s not just that.” He brings his hand up. “It’s the hand that wields it.” He clutched his hand, adding, “Even our own hands can be used when we don’t have weapons to hold as they too can be used to kill our enemies however we want. So engrave this in your memory, Roselyn, always be mindful of your surroundings. Because a Sparrow Ranger isn’t about defending people, adventuring, or anything of the sort. It’s about adapting to our environments.” He gets into his defensive stance. “Now, I want you to take what you’ve learned and try to defeat me, otherwise you won’t survive on your journey with Adamas. Are you ready?”No sooner had Duran said those last three words, Roselyn once again hears a child’s playful laughter, causing her eyes to dart around the room to try and find the source.“Roselyn!” Duran called sharply, bringing the young woman back to her senses, but the laughter did not cease this time. He speaks calmly, “I said, ‘Are you ready’?”Although the strange laughing did not stop, Roselyn had to ignore it for the sake of completing her training. Taking a deep breath, she got into her defensive stance and answered, “Yes.”“Good…Come at me then!”Without being told twice, Roselyn charged at Duran and once again both individuals clanked their daggers and blocked each other’s arms; only this time one was trying to grab the other while continuing their parried strokes and strikes, and pulling away their arms before one could be fully grabbed. When their arms were crossed and their daggers remained locked, arms shaking from trying to push one another, the young woman saw what was over Duran’s shoulder. Someone she had already seen before…It was Adamas, in his cub form, who was running around the floor on all fours in a ghost-like form. The moment was brief, then the room around her was slowly changing into some kind of forest before all of it vanished, but the laughing still did not stop.“Adamas,” she said softly.Duran looks behind, wondering why Adamas was here, but he wasn’t. The moment of distraction was enough for Roselyn to quickly snatch Duran’s dagger and go for a quick swipe to end this training; only for the elderly man to quickly jump back to dodge it at the last second. Unarmed, yet not completely defenseless, he was forced back while dodging each strike from both daggers before pushing Roselyn’s left arm away and spun around to dodge another strike which almost nicked his cap. Tossing Duran’s dagger up, using the momentum to flip it rightside up, Roselyn catches it, then does a diagonal slash that nearly cuts the elderly man’s shirt but manages to nick his vest.Looking at his nicked vest, Duran beamed at how fast Roselyn was quickly adapting to the training. She was like a sponge, soaking up as much knowledge as she could in order to adapt more. It truly reminded him of Armen and how he too had always adapted to everything he sees or does. Roselyn was lucky to possess that same trait as she too needs to learn everything in this land or, as he said to her before, she won’t survive her journey, and even hoped that her father would be proud of her. Just as he too was proud.Walking over to the rack, he took a short sword for his left hand and a new dagger for his right; both putting them in a reverse-grip. He needed to test her more if she could handle dual wielding for both herself and against others who might use the same or a much different method when doing this. As Duran and Roselyn circled each other, eyes not taking off of one another, the young woman made the first move and went for a right sideways strike, only to be blocked by Duran’s short sword. Though neither side could grab at a limb, their legs moved quickly while striking, parrying, and blocking each of their daggers and a single short sword, trying to outmatch the other in hopes of who could falter first.Roselyn knew she was at a disadvantage, due to Duran’s personal experiences and hers being less. She was doing her best to keep her focus and ignore the childlike laughter of Adamas, but her vision kept slowly changing back to the forest and the cub running around, even almost running into him when he went for her leg and just manages to dodge while spinning her body, parrying another dagger strike from Duran, and pushing her dagger back against the short sword, causing it to spark. Each step she took felt like she was going to step on a rock, a twig, or worst of all, trip on a branch, but knew deep down that it was all in her head and none of it was real. It almost felt similar to how she experienced it in the dream regarding Adamas, only now her mind was making it happen in the waking world. A part of herself even knew that sooner or later this vision was going to overtake her if she didn't finish this training soon. With time of the essence, her blades danced with Duran’s, forcing him to circle with her as he wouldn’t realize that she was starting to play right through her palm.After twirling her body, daggers constantly hitting the short sword, Duran was by far absolutely impressed over Roselyn’s abilities to dual wield. Although it was her first-time, he could already tell by far from this part of training, her left hand needed a whole lot of work whenever she thrusted or struck if she was to truly master dual wielding; even though her agility made up for the lack of that small weakness. What caught him off guard was when she threw that dagger, making him move his head while watching it embed itself on the forehead of the center straw dummy. Realizing too late that he took his eyes off her, Roselyn took her chance and leaped up at him, legs wrapped around his neck, and using his own weight against him, tosses him sideways to the floor before quickly getting on top of him and placing her own dagger right at his neck.“Excellent!” Duran giggled, amused that she fooled him in order to defeat him. “Very well done…” His amused expression changes to confusion as he notices Roselyn’s eyes dilated; almost becoming glass-like as they didn’t see him. “Roselyn?”The young woman sheathed her dagger, not saying a single word, and stood up. Turning away from Duran, he did not notice her eyes suddenly glow magenta. The visions that she managed to suppress had finally taken over as she was now seeing a forest clear as day all around her.“Roselyn?”She did not hear him, this brought much concern for Duran. The way she was looking around the room was like she was in some kind of trance. As for Roselyn, she finds Adamas still playfully laughing while running on all fours. Unlike the last time she saw him in the dream, he didn’t wear that small crimson cloak. Instead, he wore a brown tunic with matching trousers and a rope for a belt tied around his waist. He looks behind for a second, then scampers off, continuing his playful laughter. It brought a smile to Roselyn’s lips over how cute he was acting, but why was he acting like this?That answer came when she heard a female giggling, then burst out of the tall grass. To Roselyn, the woman she was seeing was downright beautiful with her blonde hair and green eyes, and her brown dress with a white apron could not try to hide that beauty. She almost felt a little jealous if this woman hadn’t known Adamas. Now that she thought about it, how is this mysterious woman connected to the half breed child? Putting it out of her mind, she watched the woman look around for young Adamas, only for her to notice him first as she found him standing on top of a boulder at the corner of her eye. Getting down on all fours, the young Adamas smirked mischievously and shuffled his shoulders, then charged straight at the woman before pouncing on her, causing her to yelp and nearly fall over while feeling the cub’s arms wrapped around her neck. The woman giggled as she felt the child nuzzle her neck with Roselyn joining in, seeing how absolutely adorable this was. She still couldn’t figure out why Adamas was acting so kind to this woman, but it didn’t matter to her as both the cub and the woman looked so happy together.Roselyn hears another form of giggling, this time sounding like a male with a deep tone, coming closeby. When it came walking out of the woods, her eyes widened of who it was she saw…It was a beastman who looked exactly like Adamas; albeit much different than him!The beastman possessed the lion-like form that she recognized from Adamas’ adult side, but this lion beastman not only had a tail with a bushy back tip, he had three horns; both of them of the side of his head being the same as Adamas’ and a single horn right at the center of his forehead. On top of that, his eyes were ruby red and not emerald green like Adamas’, only this beastman was not him. He wore a black tunic and matching trousers with a rope belt while on his shoulder he carried a dead deer. Seeing the lion beastman made the young Adamas leap off the woman’s shoulder and ran to him on all fours. The adult beastman drops the deer and allows the little cub to leap onto his arms, then climb on him until he is on top of the beastman’s head, hugging and nuzzling into his mane. While the woman went to join both the young Adamas and the lion beastman, Roselyn realized something as everything started to connect. The way the cub was being so loving to the woman and this creature, the beastman that looked almost as half as Adamas when she first met him, and from what Adamas told her about him being a half breed through a human woman who was a mage and his father a pure-blooded beastman…These two were his parents and the woman she was seeing now was that human mage!Roselyn didn’t understand how or why she was seeing this, but at least now she could definitely tell who they were. Although the mystery over what happened to Adamas’ parents still plagued her mind, this was a good start to know more about his past. However, no sooner had the lion beastman placed his paw at the woman mage’s back, grabbing the deer’s antlers, and walked away with their backs turned while the lion beastman dragged the deer…they froze, then the entire forest along with Adamas’ parents glowed magenta. The only one unaffected by the glow was the cub, Adamas, who stood up on top of his father’s head and turned around to face Roselyn. His clothes shimmered before manifesting the crimson cloak around him. “Be prepared,” he said to her before pulling up his hood and allowing himself to be taken in by the magenta’s glow.Be prepared for what? She thought as the vision vanished right before her eyes, returning her back to the hidden training room while feeling Duran’s hand touch her shoulder. “Roselyn,” he said softly to her. “What’s wrong?”“I…I…”She couldn’t find the right words to explain what she saw that Duran didn’t. Suddenly without warning, Roselyn hears wind in her ears, yet could not feel a single breeze anywhere around her body. A part of herself felt something was wrong as she slowly walked towards the stairs that led back up to the tailor shop, eyes gazing in worry.Duran stood next to Roselyn while she said that made him worry as well, “Something’s coming.”, Meanwhile after Adamas and Henry left Roselyn at the tailor shop, they had a feeling that she’d be fine as long as she was safe with the former Sparrow Master Duran, but were left completely unaware of what was going on between them. The beastman was sitting on a chair, paws raised, his sack and longsword placed next to an anvil with his cloak folded and placed on top of it. All around him were floating sticks, feathers, and arrow tips surrounded in crimson aura as each one was slowly being made into arrows. Once one of them is finished, it is placed inside a quiver made by his magic. While each arrow was being made, the crimson crystals on his gloves glowed as he poured his magic onto them. He wanted to put every ounce of his magic stored on all the crystals and make these gloves stronger before he and Roselyn took their leave. The process would probably take some time, but he could multitask if given the chance.As for Henry, he was at the alchemy table fixing the last of Adamas’ damaged daggers. It was agreed that if the beastman were to make a new quiver of enchanted arrows to replace the destroyed ones, he’ll not only fix the daggers but make him an enchanted breastplate. Knowing Adamas, he wasn’t the type of creature to pass up an opportunity like this, especially protecting a certain beautiful woman that the beastman’s come to love.Putting the finishing touches on the very last dagger, Henry gives a satisfying smile before blowing the smoke away from the metal and placing it on the last sheath of Adamas’ cross belt that he had already fixed first. With the first part of his task done, he decided to leave his alchemy table and return this to Adamas. Once that was settled, he’ll get straight to work on making that enchanted breastplate that he promised.Going around his forge, he smiles at Adamas working his magic and how there were so many arrows inside the quiver, and it only took a short amount of time without any effort. “I see that you’re halfway done with a new quiver of arrows for me,” Henry said to the beastman.“Indeed,” agreed Adamas. “It’s almost too easy. Maybe next time you should give me a better challenge.”“Don’t tempt me,” Henry jokes. “Otherwise I might ask you to make me a rifle that can shoot a barrage of bullets by one pull of the trigger.”“As if I’d know how to make something like that! I may be able to make some things, but I’m not a master of blacksmith alchemy unlike you.”“Got that right, I am!”The two shared a hearty laugh together.“Anyway, Adamas, here’s your belt and daggers. All fixed and ready to go.”It didn’t take more than a moment for Adamas to gaze at his cross belt and daggers, willing it to float away from Henry’s hand and hang itself right on the hilt of his longsword. Right before Henry was about to turn around and return to his alchemy table, so he could begin the process of making an enchanted breastplate, he noticed the beastman sighing in content while smiling. His eyes were not paying any attention to everything else around him as instincts were the ones doing most of the work. The only thing that got Adamas’ attention moments before was his arrival and that was it.Pulling up another chair, Henry sits on it backwards, smiling as he gets Adamas’ attention again by saying, “Alright, spill it. You’re thinking about Roselyn again, aren’t you?”Adamas nods.“Still thinking about what place to tell your feelings to her?”Now that Henry mentioned it to Adamas, long before the beastman went to wake up Roselyn from her enchanted sleep and after his confession over his romantic feelings for the young woman, Marge told him that once they leave that he should take her to a nice romantic spot and pour out all his feelings for Roselyn. Part of himself felt doubtful that she’ll reciprocate those feelings while a deeper part told him that she will.“What place do you have in mind?”Lowering his paws without cutting off the magic, Adamas answers, “To be honest, there’s more than one place I want to take her to, but…” He looks at Henry, smiling. “I do have one place in mind. That’s after I tell her everything about myself.” Hearing a child playfully laughing made him giggle a little while raising his arms again, resuming his work, and changing the subject. “Well, today is a beautiful day and all the children are out and about playing.”“Um, Adamas,” Henry looked at him, confused. “There are no children out.”Adamas looks to his right, hoping to find the source of the laughter. No sooner had he done that, the laughing stopped. “Odd,” he said, scratching his ear. “I could’ve sworn I heard-”He heard laughter again, then for a brief moment his vision changed to a forest with leaves slowly falling and a small human child in the form of a little girl before all of it vanished. Adamas shut his eyes and shook his head, opening them again to see if that was real or not, but he saw only the street and nobody else except himself and Henry. “Are you alright?” the Blacksmith Alchemist asked.“I…I think so.”He hears the laughter yet again, making him dart his eyes around the street to try and find the source.“What is it?” Henry asked, concerned.“Where’s it coming from?” Adamas said, ignoring Henry.“Where’s what coming from?”Adamas looked at Henry and answered, “That laughing.”“Laughing?” Henry questioned before shrugging, “What laughing?”“A child laughing.”Henry looked at Adamas funny.“Are you telling me you can’t hear it?”“No, there’s nobody out here but us.”Henry's concern grew when Adamas darted his eyes yet again, never realizing that the beastman was hearing the laughter for the fourth time. “Are you feeling alright?”Adamas turned to Henry, maw opened as he was about to answer, but remained silent. He looks over Henry’s shoulder, seeing the street completely changed to a forest while the laughing continued and everywhere around his vision began to change. “What?” Henry looks behind him, seeing what Adamas was trying to see but could find nothing. “What’re you looking at?”His concern now changed to worry when he saw the floating objects surrounded in Adamas’ aura started to flicker and Adamas turned his gaze away from him before standing up. “Adamas, talk to me. What’s wrong?”The beastman did not say a word nor did he even hear Henry talking to him as his eyes glowed crimson. When that happened, the objects lost the aura and fell to the floor while Adamas started walking away from the forge, stepping on a stick in the process. “Adamas!” the Blacksmith Alchemist called out to him, but again no answer. He got off his chair and followed him. “Adamas, say something!”“Roselyn,” Adamas said softly that Henry could not hear.What the beastman saw before his very eyes was the small form of Roselyn, swinging a wooden sword as she tried to hit the falling leaves around her while laughing in delight. To Adamas, it was really cute to see the woman that he loved act like a warrior during her young age, especially her adorable light-blue dress and a brown belt with a single pouch. However, he noticed that not all the trees were losing its leaves, except this one that was right near the girl. Looking up, he finds a brown haired woman wearing a white shirt over a black vest and tan skirt on the tree shaking a branch, her green eyes not taking off the child below her.It didn’t take long for Adamas to realize that this woman was Roselyn’s mother. Although he had no clue as to what became of this woman or why he was seeing Roselyn’s past, but from what he remembered, Roselyn never even mentioned her mother and could vividly guess what might’ve happened. Roselyn’s mother stopped shaking the branch and looked ahead smiling. Looking behind to the direction she was watching, Adamas sees a man with long black hair tied to a ponytail and blue eyes. He wore a matching green tunic that had a built in hood and trousers, and a light-brown leather chest armor. Around his waist he had a black belt and a single sheathed dagger strapped to his right while shouldered behind him were a bow and a quiver of arrows. On his right hand, he carried three dead rabbits, indicating that he must’ve hunted these little creatures.Adamas didn’t need to guess who this man was that stood before him. It was Roselyn’s father, a Sparrow Ranger who he could tell since that tunic of his was a dead giveaway. Turning his gaze back to Roselyn and her mother, the little girl ran towards her father, forcing Adamas to react in instinct by stepping aside. Roselyn’s father got down on one knee and allowed his daughter to hop onto him, giving her a one-armed hug before standing back up and carrying her. The mother climbed down from the tree and went to her husband, giving him a hug. Just as they were about to leave with Roselyn in tow…everything froze, then the entire forest along with Roselyn’s parents glowed crimson. The only one who didn’t glow was Roselyn herself as she climbs off her father and walks towards Adamas, her clothes shimmered and changed to her Sparrow Ranger uniform that the beastman recognized. Looking him in the eye, the child said to him, “Be prepared.”“Be prepared for what?” Adamas asked, confused over what the child told him.Just as the child glowed crimson, she added, “Don’t let them take me, Adamas. Remember, you promised me.”Before he had a chance to call out Roselyn’s name, someone had grabbed his arms in an attempt to shake him, but failed due to his height and strength while the beastman heard Henry yell, “Adamas, wake up!”He blinked his eyes as the vision ended, returning him back to reality while realizing he was no longer inside the forge and was standing outside of it, gazing at the street. Henry stood in front of him with worry in his eyes for his beastman friend. “What happened to you?” he questioned.“I…I don’t know.”As Adamas was trying to wrap his head around and hopefully piece together an answer, Henry said to him, “Why were your eyes glowing just now and what was this about ‘being prepared’?”Adamas was about to answer while explaining the vision he experienced, his eyes widened when he heard wind in his ears. He was sensing something.“What’s wrong now?”“Shh!”The beastman narrows his eyes and looks up to the sky, darting his eyes here and there till they stop at a single spot. Adamas clenched his gloved paws and growled, “Dammit! I didn’t expect them to come so soon!”“Who’s coming?”Henry got his answer when a beam of light suddenly descended right at Ackerman Town’s market district just several streets away from where they were. What Adamas heard through his keen ears yet Henry could not…Marron screamed.
Bookwriter94
Add Media
Style