Chapter 20: Outcast

Chapter 20: Outcast

Rain sat on a stump gnawing at a ration. The strain on his jaw was helping him ignore the twinge in his leg. Jamus and Tallheart had wandered over to the site of the burned-down building and were discussing something in voices too low to carry.

Rain didn’t know quite what to make of the antlered man. He was the first person Rain had met that clearly wasn’t human. Apart from the antlers, he looked pretty normal, if a bit on the large side. The armor made it difficult to get a read on his build, but Rain was sure that the man could snap him in half like a twig.

He decided to let me stay here, though, so I probably don’t have to worry about that. Humm, ‘Until I decide otherwise’, he said. I better try to stay on his good side then. Jamus seems to trust him at any rate. What is with the antlers? Are there more people like him?

Hearing his name, Rain got to his feet, wincing at the pain in his leg. It was feeling better than when he had woken up under the hedge, but it was still pretty sore. He made his way over to the other two, trying not to limp too badly.

At least I will heal. That strength ring probably saved my ass. Maybe literally. That asshat threw me down the guild steps pretty hard. Would I have broken my tailbone if I landed on the stone like that without the extra health?

Rain joined the other two looking at the ruins of the small shack. The roof had caved in and only one of the walls was left standing. It hadn’t been a large building, but there was a significant quantity of ash and charred wood lying about.

“Rain, I have to go back to the city. Will you be ok here?”

Rain nodded to Jamus by way of reply. “Thank you,” he said, having been expecting this. He offered Jamus his hand to shake. This time, the mage accepted his thanks, grasping his hand firmly.

“You’re welcome. I’ll come check on you in a few days, maybe a week. Lavarro didn’t say where we are going.”

“Why does she do that? Why don’t you complain?”

“Part of the contract.”

“Contract? Not to complain?”

Jamus smiled. “She hired me to go with her on some quests. Carten too. That is why the ‘no complaining’ thing is part of the agreement, by the by. She doesn’t need our help with the monsters. She wants Mahria to learn what it is like to fight with a party.”

“So, you aren’t a real team? With Lavarro?”

“Not really, no. Carten and I are . We from team to team. It is more common than you would think. I owe her two more missions. I don’t know how many Carten up for. Once I am done, I’ll come help you pay off your fine.”

“No, you don’t have to do that, I...”

“Quiet. I don’t mind. After adventuring with Lavarro, it will be a . Oh, that means a break from work, a vacation.”

Tallheart injected himself into the conversation. “If you are going, go. I have work to do.”

“It was nice seeing you too, old friend.”

“Yes, but you still talk too much,” Tallheart replied, turning his back to the pair and moving towards the ruins of his hut. Rain watched him as he started knocking down the remaining section of the wall. He was pulling it apart effortlessly with his gauntleted hands.

“Jamus, who is he? Why does he live out here?”

“He is an old friend. If you want to know his story, ask him. I really have to go. Just try to make yourself useful, ok?” Jamus clapped Rain on the shoulder, then turned and started walking back towards the city. He gave a small wave, then disappeared into the trees.

Make myself useful, he says. I can do that.

Rain walked over to where Tallheart was working. He had finished demolishing the wall and was piling the larger pieces of wood off to the side of where the hut had once stood. There was a good amount of soot in the air from the wall’s collapse and his armor was covered in it.

“Tallheart. I can help.”

“Then do.”

“I will use a spell. It is harmless.”

Tallheart didn’t respond, tearing apart a large section of the fallen wall and tossing the pieces onto the pile.

Ok, I guess he doesn’t mind then. Let’s see if I can do this in one go.

Rain had briefly reviewed his notifications after he had woken up, but hadn’t been in the mood to think about them too much. Jamus had found him before he could work up the motivation to crawl out from under the hedge. The level up and the ranks in refrigerate, purify, and winter hadn’t been enough to overcome his melancholy.

Now in a significantly better mood, Rain walked to the center of the former hut and kicked a few pieces of wood out of the way to make a place to sit. He slipped the ration bar he was still carrying into a pocket and sat down in the ash, preparing himself for the loss of all his senses.

Purify.

He left the skill on for a good minute, using all of his modifiers. He stopped when his mana started to get low instead of draining himself dry. Opening his eyes, he surveyed his handiwork. The rubble of the hut surrounded him, but the ash was completely gone. The wooden scraps were jagged, but clean. It seemed that his aura was now strong enough to scour away the burned wood, leaving only the larger, unburned fragments behind.

Nice. It couldn’t do that before. It definitely is getting stronger, even if there is no number on it.

“That skill. What is it?”

Rain stood, turning to look at Tallheart. The man had stopped working and was watching him. His armor, though still battered and scuffed, was shining in the mid-morning sun.

“Purify.”

“Good skill.”

Rain grinned. Seeing that the antlered man had resumed working, Rain moved to help him with the rest of the debris.

“So. You are a mage.” Tallheart stated after the two had worked for a few minutes. It wasn’t a question.

“Something like that.”

“Good. Mages are useful.”

“And you? Are you a warrior?”

“No.”

Rain wasn’t taken aback by the curt response. He had expected it based on how the antlered man had been speaking to Jamus earlier.

Not a big talker, this guy.

“So then, your armor...”

“I wear it, always. It is strong. I made it that way.”

“Made it? So you are a smith?”

“Something like that,” Tallheart replied, echoing Rain’s earlier words.

Ok, so he does have a bit of a sense of humor. He is just very... direct.

The two continued working, Tallheart seeming to be content with the silence as the pile of wooden scraps grew. Feeling a bit awkward, Rain focused on the work, looking for anything salvageable in the wreckage. There wasn’t much. He did find a few small metal items that had survived the fire, which he set off to one side.

“Enough,” Tallheart said after an hour or so, just as Rain was about to throw in the towel. They had reached the point of diminishing returns, the remaining scraps of wood not being large enough to bother with.

“What now?” Rain asked, re-activating his purification aura to wash away his sweat.

“I do not want to sleep outside. We will rebuild.”

“Ok, sure. Do you have any tools, or...”

“I have what you see.”

Shit, how do we build a house without any tools?

“Go and cut down a tree, then bring it back here. I will think of something.”

Tallheart finished his meal, but made no move to leave, staring down at his feet. Rain decided to finish his ration bar as quickly as possible instead of trying to start up another conversation.

“I did not burn down my shack because of a spider.”

“What?” Rain asked, slightly confused by the abrupt statement.

“I burned down my shack, but it wasn’t because of a spider. That was a lie.”

“Oh, ok.” Why is he telling me this?

“I can tell you have questions. Ask.”

Well, if he brought it up, I suppose it is a safe enough place to start.

“Ok, why did you burn down your shack?”

“I do not know. I think... I did not have a reason.”

“But...” Rain stopped himself. He sounds so sad. What brought this on?

“Ok, so you were going to go to the city or something?” he asked instead of pressing him for a reason.

“No. I cannot go to the city.”

“Somewhere else then?”

“There is nowhere else.”

“Why?”

“Not all humans are like Jamus. I am not welcome.”

“Sorry...” Rain looked down at his boots uncomfortably.

“I do not blame you for the actions of your race.”

“So, humans and cervidians... aren’t friends?”

“No.”

“What about... other cervidians? Could you go live with them? In a cervidian city?”

“My people are...” Tallheart paused, then continued in a soft voice. “There are no cervidian cities. Not anymore.”

Shit. And I thought I was alone in this world. What the hell happened to his people? Is he the last one?

The silence stretched on as Rain considered his next question. Tallheart’s face was stony and his mood seemed to have darkened even further. Rain shivered. If anything, it had gotten colder since the morning.

“Tallheart?” Rain asked, catching the man’s attention.

“Yes, Rain?”

“Why are you letting me stay here? How do you know Jamus?” he asked to change the subject.

“We met two years ago, soon after I first came to this forest. He was kind to me, and he asked me to help you. That is enough. You may stay with me until Jamus comes back. After that, I do not know.”

“Thank you.”

Tallheart stood abruptly. “We should finish the hut. It will be a cold night.”

Rain scrambled to his feet and joined him as he stumped back towards the clearing.

By the time that the sun started to set, the two had managed to complete something that could have charitably been called a shack. It was full of gaps and the roof was just piled leafy branches, but it had four walls and a doorway. There wasn’t much room inside, but Tallheart could lie down without bending his knees or hitting his antlers on the far wall.

Rain had swept out the inside of the hut with a leafy branch, then dug a shallow hole in the ground. He filled it with leaves to make himself a slightly softer place to sleep. Tallheart had left his side bare, refusing when Rain had offered to do the same for him. Rain’s bed was completed with a pillow made from his old shirt, stuffed with leaves.

Rain and Tallheart were standing outside the hut, surveying their handiwork.

“It will do,” Tallheart said with a resigned sigh.

“Looks pretty awful, but I don’t think it will fall down,” Rain said with a shrug.

“Rain.”

“Yes?”

“Thank you. For today. You are... a good human.”

“Thanks, I guess. You are a good cervidian. You are the only one I have met though.”

“Humm. Yes. Where are you from that you have never heard of my kind?”

“Far. Very far.”

Tallheart looked at him silently. Rain considered how much to tell him. He was still hesitant to reveal that he was from another dimension or world or whatever the term was. He wasn’t sure if he could trust the antlered man. He didn’t feel threatened by his strength anymore, not after spending the day with him. Tallheart seemed to be a quiet, gentle man filled with a deep sadness in his core.

He told me a little about himself, so I think I will do the same. Trust has to start somewhere.

“I...” Rain started, then cleared his throat. “I am from... somewhere very... different. I do not know how far it is. I was... brought here. By magic, I think. I did not know the name of the city. I had never heard the language before.”

Tallheart nodded for him to continue.

“I woke up in the forest. Adventurers found me and brought me to the city. I joined the guild... maybe a week ago? I have lost track. I did a few jobs, but then I tried to make some money and... angered the Watch. Someone told... shit, I forgot his name. Someone told the asshole in charge of the guild. He fined me 500 Tel and kicked me out of the city. Now I am here.”

“Humm,” Tallheart seemed to consider.

Rain shifted uncomfortably. He hadn’t even told Jamus this much. Somehow, he felt that his secret would be safer with Tallheart than the slightly eccentric mage.

“I have heard of teleportation magic, but nothing that strong. To not have heard this language... To have never heard of a cervidian... Your home must be very, very far.”

“Yes.”

“I believe you. No one could fake an accent like yours.”

“Hey!”

Tallheart was smiling softly, the first sign of levity Rain had seen from the man since their conversation at the river.

“You should sleep,” Tallheart said. He turned and started towards the forest.

“Where are you going?” Rain asked.

“Do not worry. I will return. I must relieve myself.”

“Oh, hang on.”

Rain activated purify. He held the spell for around a minute as Tallheart’s expression cycled from mild curiosity, to puzzlement, then to pure disbelief.

“Rain? Remember that I said you could stay until Jamus returned? I take it back. You can stay as long as you want.”