Chapter fourteen: The Bartender's tales

Tales of Zack Black

How Zack started his long journey and how he was lost.

„R' ye kiddin' D? She'll stay here? As a waitress? "

„Well... yes. "

„But what about our all-male atmosphere here? It'll be totally ruined. "

„But ye said tha' ye liked girls. "

„Moi like ladies but... she's... She's Amelia, miss sunshine... Moi will be sick. "

"You can't be sick from it anymore, besides I did not have any choice. There will be Seyruun exiles in the Fort as well and I cannot send her to the Wastelands, so she will have to stay here. "

„Ye never cared 'bout us so much. "

„Ummm... Val, he saved our lives too."

„Yes, but he wasn't so nice to us. "

„You probably have to be a girl to get full service. "

„Or a princess..."

„Shut up. You where both responsible for your problems but she..."

„I did what? "

„Oh ye are up! Ye lookin' much better now. "

„I used some healing spells on myself. "

„Oui, we were just talking about you. "

„I managed to figure that out. "

„So... are you ready to start your new job? "

„Yes but... I have nothing better to wear. "

„Hmm... Xellos... no. Val, could you lend her something? "

„No problem. Come. "

---

The pub was almost full in the evening because a caravan to the Fortress was passing by. Richmond and Zrxic had arrived with them. Richmond's kids and a few other children from the caravan were running around and everybody had fun, excluding the pub staff, they had to work, work and again – work.

„Heya Willy... I mean..."

„Amelia. "

„Ye so ye arey workin' herey nowey? I willey miss ye as my helperey. "

„Sorry Zrxic, but I don't think that I can go back to the Port and I was really glad that D offered me to stay in this place. "

„Yes, he's a good guy. I'm glad that you are better so soon. "

„Tha's tha' magickey of her. Really amazin'. "

„Heh, I could use that at the smith's. But the guys are really lucky to have you around, they really need a woman touch here. "

„Do ye thinkey? "

„My wife said that. "

„And her word is law."

„Don't eavesdrop on others, Val. "

One kid stopped by their table.

„Hey daddy, bro is being mean to me! "

„No, no, no, that's not right, she started it! "

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

„This is no longer a pub but a babysitter's house..."

„We need to soothe 'em somehow. "

„Oui Val... look. Hey kids. How did the story, uncle D told you last time, ended?

„Umm... heroes saved that relic and returned it to the castle. "

„Oui, but what happened after that? And I still don't know who the mysterious thief was. "

„Ah! Tha's right! "

Amelia stopped behind the bar.

„Story? "

„Do not ask..."

„Uncle D, tell us a story! "

„But I have to work now..."

„I can help ya, don't worry. "

„Alright you two. What is this all about? "

„We wanna hear it too. "

„Oui, and... if you don't stop those little devils, they will burn down our pub sooner or later. "

D sighed and sat on his chair next to the bar, all kids were sitting around him within a minute.

„Well, what do you want to hear? "

„About that thief! "

„Yes, ye said almost nothin' bout him. "

„That is why he is mysterious. "

„But we wanna know more 'bout him! "

„It is a long story. " Said D hoping they would give it a rest. The kids however kept pleading long enough for even a rock to obey them, so D scratched his beard and began his story. While he was telling the story the noise in the pub almost died down and soon everyone was listening.

---

His name was Zack Black and he was from a famous family of powerful mages that specialized in black magic, which is where their name came from. But in the last fifty years some family members stared to disappear and in the end only fifteen years old Zack and his uncle were left. It was almost as if their family was cursed but Zack did not know fear. He wanted to know what happened to his parents and find them if possible. That was why he started practising black magic every night. He was also interested in other knowledge so he studied alchemy, astronomy and physics. He wanted to know everything, because he believed that once he would accomplish that, he would be able to find them. His uncle had helped him even when he was ill and Zack never saw him eat, sleep or even leave his tower. His chambers were underground and Zack couldn't enter that place. When he was twenty he had read all the books and he knew every magic scroll in the huge tower, still he thought that he needed to know more and more. How could he know everything when his life was meant to be so short? He was studying all his life and yet he knew so little, just one tower compared to the whole world worth of knowledge.„If I could be immortal, then I could know everything! " He shouted and his uncle listened. „I can grant you that wish, my dear nephew, but if I do that, you will lose your human soul. " „Take my soul. What is it good for? I don't need a human soul, humans are weak, they do not know anything. And still they love to live their little lives. I want much more than that. "Zack answered his question, fooled by his own desperate wish he accepted that offer without thinking. After that he only remembered the pain and sharp teeth that sucked blood from his neck.

---

„A vampire? His uncle was a vampire? Tha's why he never left his tower. "

D nodded.

„But Zack cannot be dead, he helped with finding that relic later… or it was his ghost? "

„No ghost ye stoopid, he turned Zack into vampire too, didn't he? "

„That is true. "

„So what happened next? "

---

When Zack awaken he was lying in a damp and dark room but still he could see perfectly well. His fangs were long and sharp like the finest daggers. He had thirst that he couldn't soothe no matter how much he drank and somehow he knew what happened. „Why me?!" he asked a thousand times, "I just wanted to know more. I did not wanted to be turned into a vampire, drink blood and never see sunrise again. I want to be human again! " „You can't be, you have chosen your destiny and I just fulfilled your wishes. " His uncle answered but Zack was angry and felt betrayed. „But you didn't say that you'll turn me into a vampire! " „Why should I? I see no reason why you wouldn't want to be one of us. Now you are a member of the supreme race, more than human and without human soul, just what you wished for." „No! I didn't wish for this! This is all your fault! "He casted his most powerful spell at his uncle but the old and mighty vampire wizard was unaffected. „Fool! If you don't want your new life then I will take it from you. "He said and attacked him. Zack couldn't defeat him but he managed to escape wounded but alive. That was how his long journey began.

---

„Interesting, so he was trying to find cure for vampirism? This reminds ma of something. "

„It is just an old story I read in one book many years ago. I am just trying to tell you what I remember of it. "

„And uncle D, will you tell us about his journeys? "

„Maybe, but today it is already too late for that, so maybe another time. "

„That's a shame. "

„It is but you should be in beds already, so go, go, go! "

Yelled Richmond and other parents from the caravan nodded and send their children upstairs to their rooms.

---

„Umm, D? " Asked their new waitress later that evening.

„What is it? Any problems? "

„No, I just... wanted to know, did Zack found his cure? "

„I do not know. "

„What? "

„I never read the end of that book. "

„Why? Weren't you curious? "

„No... in the end it just turned to be very boring. "

notes: First chapter updated after revision, I hope that you'll like it and enjoy FA without mistakes, again all credit for this belongs to Ao Airi and her hard work with revision. Thanks. And again if you have some ideas or comments related to story review please. Thanks to you all, I hope you liked it.