Book 1: Chapter 15: Lone's Worries and Hazel's Dismay

Book 1: Chapter 15: Lone's Worries and Hazel's Dismay

Its weird, Lone thought to himself while he ate some of the food the elves had offered him and Sophie.

The two of them were sitting on a log within the elven camp. The talk with Chieftain Rewaleh had ended fairly swiftly after she had requested his aid.

Lone didnt want to commit to anything. These people seemed sympathetic, but he had lied to them.

Not only that but they seemed on edge. Untrusting, even. Beneath their kindness hid a darkness Lone had seen before. Specifically, in his father.

Theyre hiding stuff from us, Im sure. I just dont know what or why While he was guilty of the same thing, he felt certain their reasons differed wildly.

Before long, he had finished his food and discreetly stored Sophies. Call him too paranoid but he didnt want her to get poisoned.

At least if their food had been spiked, he could likely heal from the effects quickly and maybe even get a skill from it. Sophie was their escape artist, after all, what with her Teleportation.

Thankfully, no notifications came up and everything seemed to be well with the food.

Once they were finished, Lalroh approached them. Will you be staying here? We have little room but were happy to offer you our protection. Though we come from different species and backgrounds, we share a similar fate.

Thank you, but no. We should return to our cabin. I know you dont think its very safe but we can protect ourselves. It has been a great experience to meet you all and to learn were not alone, Lone replied with a smile.

He put Sophies hand in his own and added, We should get going before the sun sets.

Lalroh frowned and creased his brow but ultimately nodded. Allow me and a few men to escort you back at the very least. I know you said you have eliminated an entire scouting party of the green devils, but it would give us some peace of mind.

I dont know if that makes them less or more suspicious, Lone thought with an internal sigh.

He never was very good at deduction games though he was trying his best. Perhaps hed earn a skill that would aid him with enough effort.

He nodded and smiled. Thank you, that would not go unappreciated.

Once they were back in their cabin and after Sophie had made sure there was no one monitoring them, Lone used his new skill.

Illusionary Dome, he chanted.

He felt his body almost go limp as a dull pain entered his mind. Damn-near every drop of MP escaped his body and slowly became a far small and thinner barrier that barely covered the entirety of their little cabin.

It only had a diameter of 10-meters and it clearly drained Lone more than he was comfortable with. However, it offered an extra layer of protection that they couldnt just ignore.

If its good enough for the elves, its good enough for us, Lone thought as he flopped down onto the boar-skin blanket and winced as he endured the pain.

Congratulations! The illusion magic skill [Illusionary Dome] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 2.

Thankfully, he still had 80 MP leftover so he wasnt completely spent and the pain was, ever so slowly, becoming more and more bearable.

Sophie laid down next to him and asked, Are you okay?

He chuckled. Yeah, Im fine. Thank you.

Mmm She grabbed onto the tail that he had moved her way and asked, "Why couldn't we stay with those people, Lone? They seemed helpful."

There was a hidden reluctance in her voice that he could sense. Lone felt that the more he got to know Sophie, the easier such things became to spot.

He scratched his cheek and answered, "I don't trust them is the long and short of it. They were helpful, certainly, but I feel like we stand to lose more if we stuck around with them for too long. I dunno. Something seems fishy with them."

Huh Sophie paused to think on the matter for a moment. What does fishy mean?

Hahaha I didnt expect that. Right. You cant speak English, can you? That was a surprise to learn this morning, Lone said as he closed his eyes. The headache was starting to fade a bit now since his MP was regenerating.

Fishy just means suspicious, he said casually. Its a term more so than it is a word.

Huh I dont even know what the language I speak is called Soph expressed with a bit of longing in her tone.

Lone furrowed his brow. Ive no clue. It could be Old East Slavic, Old Novgorodian, Gothic, Old Norse. Lots of options. The world was a very split place back in your era. Hundreds of kingdoms, dozens more languages and local dialects. Yknow, diverse as all hell.

He grinned a little before saying, Your accent is nice though. I just thought you could speak English for some reason. Dumb of me, thinking on it a bit.

Yours is pleasant too. Its rough, like mine, Sophie said with a warm smile before something seemed to click with her. Did you s-say Novgorod?

Lone raised an eyebrow. Yeah? Old Novgorodian. I dont know nor could I pronounce the actual term but thats the English for it. I have no clue how youre hearing it though. Why?

Im from Novgorod, Sophie said with a deeply nostalgic yet pained tone in her voice.

The double period lesson of English would have bored Hazel beyond belief were she not still shaken up by Mister Blacks attitude.

What a creep. Im 15, for Gods sake! I should report him though I doubt anyone would actually believe me unless he actually assaulted me and was caught in the act. Fucking predators in decent positions of power Protected by the system, she thought with venom.

Darren was right. He had told her about how he got a weird feeling from his substitute teacher, Mister Black, on the rare occasion the two of them met.

Only now did she realise just how right her currently missing brother had been.

After the double period of English came to an end, Hazel chose to have her lunch in the school's courtyard. By herself, this time.

Her mind was busy mapping out her route for posting flyers after school when her train of thought was interrupted by a hand coiling around her shoulder.

Looking to her left, Hazel was relieved it wasnt Mister Black but also annoyed greatly that it was, instead, one of her classmates from her History, French, Computing and Business Management classes, Ben.

Ben was somewhat of a jock. Short brunette hair, a well-groomed stubble that didnt fit his age, muscles, rich parents, the boy had practically everything that he could want at his age.

"Yo," he greeted as he entangled one of his fingers into Hazel's hair.

She felt her stomach churning. "Sorry, I'm busy."

She then tried to stand up but found her wrist being gripped by Ben.

"Why are you in such a hurry? There's still 30 minutes until fifth period. Wanna skip the rest of today's classes with me? My folks are at their vacation home in Milan, so I've got the house all to myself. Oh, and don't tell anyone I told you, but I also stole the wine fridge key from the old man before they left." Ben winked at Hazel and tightened his grip on her wrist.

'This dirtbag! There are hundreds of other girls flocking around him! Why does he have to bother me?! First Mister Black and now this cunt!' Hazel felt powerless.

She started weighing her options. On one hand, she was half of the mind to just slap a few teeth out of his skull before telling on him, but she figured that wouldn't do her any favours.

On the other hand, her only other viable choice was to follow along with his insane demands. That, she did not want to do.

"Hey, loser, leave the girl alone. Can't you see how jittery she is? Sheesh. Is there an afterschool class on how to become rapey or something? All of you douches somehow nail it perfectly without fail," a loud and fed-up voice said from across the courtyard.

Now that all of the attention was beginning to centre on him, Ben let go of Hazel and scratched the back of his head a bit sheepishly. "I just wanted to comfort her. Y'know, since Mister McCullen's disappearance hit her so hard and all that... Haha... Ha..."

The other boy who had spoken up for Hazel, a fifth-year - one year higher than Ben and Hazel - Scott, brushed his fingers through his gelled-up hair and spat on the ground.

He intentionally flexed his bodybuilder-like muscles and looked down on Ben. "Sure thing, Sport."

Ben audibly gulped. This wasn't the first time that Scott had shone a light on him in Hazels memory, just the first in which she was also involved.

In fact, he'd actually beaten him up once before, somewhat traumatising the 15-year-old playboy who was allergic to the word no.

"Sorry. Looks like something came up," Ben said apologetically as he got up and left.

Hazel could hear Scott's deep sigh. "Seriously, just 'cause you're pretty he goes and hits on you. I wouldn't be surprised if he thought you were an easy target since you're all upset about Mister McCullen. Kids are so fucking thirsty."

'You're a kid too!' Hazel noted mentally before she rolled her eyes. "Thanks, I didn't know what to do back there."

Scott gave Hazel an inquisitive look. "You shouldve. Show him who's boss and he acts like a bitch real quick."

"T-Thanks, I'll keep a note of that..." Hazel was starting to feel uncomfortable again.

Scott just shrugged and sauntered off. With that peculiar encounter behind her, Hazel finished up the school day and returned to her task of posting missing person flyers.

As the night was ending, Hazel finally returned home and laid down on her bed after some light dinner her mum had prepared for them.

Even she seemed to have gotten over her brothers disappearance. Hazel couldnt help but wonder if maybe she was the crazy one for actually giving a shit.

Why isnt there more coverage on it? Sure, Darren wasnt anyone special but who disappears without leaving a single trace or hint or clue or whatever the fuck else?! He had no enemies and no one has a motive to kidnap him! A body hasnt been found either so it wasnt suicide she shoved her face into her pillow.

Tears spilt out of the teenaged girl's eyes as she buried her face in her pillow. Hazel missed Darren. She missed him so much that it hurt just thinking about him at times.

She felt so regretful. Why did she only call him once a week instead of actually visiting him? She knew why.

He lived like a slob outside of his job and that disgusted her. Butmaybe she could have helped him fix that if shed just tried.

It wasnt his fault for keeping her at a distance and for absolutely despising their mother when neither of them helped him.

She was barely older than a toddler when it happened so he didnt blame her but that didnt mean she magically had a pass to ignore him when he moved out.

Now, worst of all, it was only when she would likely never see her older brother again that Hazel had finally come to realise how much she actually cared about him.