Book 4: Chapter 6: A Lot to Learn

Book 4: Chapter 6: A Lot to Learn

After visiting Isaac’s house and catching up over a cup of tea – during which Artemis jumped in Miguel’s lap, where she remained the entire time – they went to dinner, where they were served spanakopita. Everyone enjoyed it at least as much as Elijah, which was gratifying. After that, they headed to the inn, where they rented a pair of rooms – one to be shared by Elijah and Miguel, and another for Biggle – from Agatha, who seemed delighted to see Elijah.

“Everyone seems to like you here,” Biggle remarked as they climbed the stairs. Fortunately, he didn’t have any issues with that, despite his size. “Surprising.”

“How so?”

“You don’t give off the most approachable aura,” the gnomish Alchemist stated. “Most people in Ironshore are terrified of you, and for good reason.”

“That’s only because I killed a few people.”

“As I said – a good reason,” the gnome stated. “In any case, I look forward to meeting this other Alchemist. I have had few opportunities to discuss my craft with someone with the same class, though that Chemist has all sorts of delightful ideas. I look forward to working with her as well. You humans are full of surprises.”

After that, the group separated, and once Miguel was settled and asleep, Elijah silently left the room and headed back to Atticus’ shop.

For his part, the weapons dealer seemed surprised to see Elijah. “I’m sorry, my friend. I am not up for celebrations tonight,” he said.

“It’s not about that. I wanted to ask for you to keep an eye out for a couple of things,” Elijah said. Then, he told Atticus what he was looking for. Afterwards, he said, “I don’t know if you’ll find what I want, but I’m throwing out a pretty wide net. Hopefully, someone will find something suitable.”

“Indeed. I’ll keep watch for anything that might work, my friend.”

Then, seeing that Atticus was in no mood to entertain guests, Elijah said his goodbyes and headed back to the inn. He’d already found that Delilah was once again out of town – this time, running the local tower with her team – so he had nowhere else he wanted to visit.

Except maybe the tavern, though he resisted that urge. He had no wish to become an alcoholic, after all, so even if it might’ve felt temporarily good to once again drown his sorrows in an ocean of alcohol, he knew it was a bad idea.

Still, it was difficult.

After returning to the inn, he slept poorly, and when he rose the next morning, he felt even more anxious to get on with the task at hand. He’d spent most of the night lying awake and thinking about his sister – or more accurately, her death – which did not put him in the best frame of mind. If the lives of children weren’t at stake, he might’ve abandoned everything else and flown off to Easton at that very moment.

But he’d promised Konstantinos that he would help, so help, he would.

Elijah rose before dawn, and he was happy to see that Miguel did the same, though he did grumble a little about how early it was. Soon enough, the pair had taken care of morning necessities, and even as the sun had begun to rise, they went to fetch Biggle. The gnome was clearly not an early riser by habit, but when he saw Elijah’s no-nonsense expression, he hurried to ready himself for the day’s travel.

Only a few minutes later, he joined Elijah and Miguel as they ate a breakfast of fat sausages and fluffy eggs as prepared by Agatha. The meal was just as amazing as always, and all three ate with the gusto of starving men. Miguel put away enough for three people, reminding Elijah what it was like to have once been that age. Back then, he’d eaten his parents out of house and home, and he hadn’t slowed down until after college.

That was the joy of a youthful metabolism.

Though, that prompted the realization that Elijah probably didn’t have to worry too much about overconsumption anymore. Even if he wasn’t so active, he suspected that it would take a truly impressive degree of sloth for his body to degrade on its own. And besides – he was only thirty-one years old. With his cultivation and attributes, that meant that he was less than ten percent into his expected life span.

In any event, they finished their meal and, after Elijah paid, they set off, leaving Argos behind and heading in the direction of the swamp. In the past, Elijah had taken a roundabout path, only turning south when he hit the ravine that cut across the terrain. However, he expected that the trip would be much faster this time around, largely because they intended to travel directly toward the swamp.

The issue with that assumption soon became apparent, though.

“It’s not my fault you’re giants!” Biggle complained, pumping his legs to keep up. “Even with my pep-it-up potion, I can’t – wait, what are you doing? Stop that! Stop that this instant!”

“Sorry,” Elijah said, having placed Biggle on his shoulders like a toddler. He could remember doing the same for his nephew when Miguel was only a couple of years old. Elijah had come home for the holidays, and they’d gone to visit the local botanical gardens that had been decorated with colorful Christmas lights. But predictably, the much younger Miguel had been incapable of keeping up, so Elijah had put the boy on his shoulders, where he’d remained for most of the outing. “I’m not going to slow down just to accommodate you. This is faster.”

“It’s also humiliating!”

“’lo there!” yelled Konstantinos from the deck. He was wearing a pair of overalls and nothing else, which put his incredibly skinny torso on full display. He didn’t seem self-conscious about it, though. “Didn’t think you’d be back!”

Elijah climbed onto the floating dock, and after Miguel and Biggle descended from his shoulders, he took on his human form. Then, he began the arduous process of cleaning the muck from his lower body while plucking any pesky leeches free. Fortunately, he’d only picked up a few small ones, and it only took a quick pulse of Soothe to get rid of the afflictions they’d carried.

Once he was done, he shook Konstantinos’ hand, saying, “I said I had a friend who might be able to help.” He nodded at Biggle, adding, “This is that friend. He’s an Alchemist, just like you, but he might have some knowledge you don’t.”

After that, Biggle and Konstantinos started a conversation that lost Elijah after only a few moments. Luckily, they were quickly rescued by Marcy, who escorted them inside – after Elijah showered the rest of the muck off – where she served them mugs of tea. Then, she told the story of how a giant man had come by only a couple of months before.

“He stormed up, half dead from all the leeches,” Marcy explained. “Said he was lookin’ for a Druid or some such. Konnie sent him traipsing off into the swamp, but his soft heart got the better of him, so he gave ‘im some potions. I wouldn’t’ve done that. But I’m not as nice as Konnie.”

“Where are the kids?” Elijah asked, looking around.

“In the other buildin’,” she said. “Bryce’s teachin’ ‘em their numbers and such. You alright in here by yourselves? I got dinner to tend to.”

Elijah said that he was, while Miguel was still entranced by his surroundings. Despite everything he’d been through, he’d lived a pretty sheltered, suburban life before the world had been transformed. As such, he had never been exposed to much in the way of other cultures. Sure, he’d visited some of Carmen’s family, though only a couple of times because they didn’t precisely approve of her sexuality. Elijah didn’t know the whole story, but he did know that the resulting falling out was why she’d left southern California for Washington state.

Either way, Miguel certainly had never seen anything like the compound. It was cozy in a way that only a true home could be, which clearly reminded the young man of everything he’d lost.

So, Elijah decided to distract him. “So, I’ve been thinking,” he said.

“About what?”

“About your future. I know you’ve been working with Colt,” Elijah said. “And he speaks highly of your skills. But I think it would be a shame if you let yourself be pigeonholed like that. You need more than just the ability to swing a sword.”

“I can use a spear, too. And an axe, but I’m not that good yet. I’m a good shot with a bow, too.”

“I’m not talking about weapons’ training. I want you to train with a friend of mine,” Elijah said. “I haven’t spoken to him about it, but I think I know him well enough to know what he’ll say.”

“What kind of friend? And training in what?”

“A dwarven friend. He’s a scout for Ironshore, and he’s probably the highest-level fighter they have.”

“Higher than you?”

“I’m not part of Ironshore. So, no. Not even close.”

“What if I want to train with you instead?”

Elijah sighed, leaning back into the couch. It was upholstered in a truly garish fabric, but it was extremely soft and comfortable. “You don’t want to train with me,” he said with a sigh. “Most of what I know isn’t really transferable. If you end up with the Druid archetype, I won’t hesitate to teach you. But I hope you don’t.”

“Why?” Miguel asked, a little hurt.

“Because it’s not a strong archetype. Not right off, at least. It’s a blend of Scholar, Healer, and Sorcerer. So, I can do a lot of things, but until I got my class, I couldn’t do any of them well. Even now, strength to strength, I can’t stand against someone with a more focused class. My cultivation helps, and I intend to put you on the right path with that. But being a Druid isn’t about learning fancy techniques or doing sword katas. It’s about connection. Instinct. It’s a mindset more than an archetype. So, unless you decided to follow me down this road, there’s nothing I can teach you better than someone like Kurik or Colt. Not about fighting, at least.”

That wasn’t what Miguel wanted to hear, and as a result, he went quiet. Elijah tried to reengage, but after a few one-word answers, he gave up. Clearly, he had a lot to learn about dealing with kids.