73

Patience

Furuichi snapped the twig pulling at his sullied robes after climbing the nearly vertical trail. His jaw tightened at the sight of the new hole in otherwise expensive linen. When he finally reached the plateau, the panting silvernette pried the large scroll from the inside of his tattered blue and silver robe. "Mine fallen brother, I have come to call on thee in the Guild's dire need." The stone covering the entrance of the cave covered in runes didn't budge. Furuichi cleared his throat then braced his feet into the ground. "Oga Tatsumi, I am Furuichi Takayuki, a member of the Kingdom's Guild. I have come to call on you for help."

No response.

Furuichi sniffed then threw the scroll at the dumb rock. He watched the guide spell on the scroll clash with the defensive spell on the boulder causing a brief spark. Furuichi then felt the veins bulge around his temples when the air began to reek of rotten eggs. "I know you're in there. If you don't want to come out then at least be polite about it! Do you have any idea how awful it was to climb up this godforsaken mountain? Just look at my robes! They were new!"

Furuichi heard a snort of laughter coming from inside the cave the boulder had been blocking. "You think this is funny, do you? Well, screw you buddy! I don't even know why the Guild wants your help anyway. You're 'oh so powerful', they said. I say, pah! I don't know what they see in a coward that hides behind a piddly rock!"

"Now, now, you'll upset Verivette. She's hard on the outside, but she's very sensitive about her looks. You should apologize."

"Waugh!"

Furuichi leapt six feet to the right when Oga apperated beside him.

"As for your robes… They might look better on my bed for sure," Oga gave Furuichi a feral smile. The silvernette hid his trembling hands in his robes. The offer of sex wasn't the dilemma, it was the concealment of magical presence that worried Furuichi. Any wizard that was able to conceal their presence was already a master of the mystical arts. Concealment was a fickle spell. Furuichi had seen it done but only for a few moments, it required a lot of strength and will, not to mention a considerable amount of manna. To be able to conceal magical presence for this long made Oga Tatsumi the most dangerous wizard Furuichi had ever come into contact with. "S-sorry sir! I didn't mean to upset anyone…"

"What happened to that spunky kid just a moment ago?"

"I'm not a child," Furuichi ground out, immediately forgetting his place.

"That's the spirit! I'm surprised to see such spark in an ice mage, though I can't say I'm mad at it."

"I can assure you that I'm calculated when it counts."

Oga gave the mage a not-so-subtle once over, "Indeed."

With a flick of his wrist, Oga's boulder door rolled lazily aside. "We'll discuss whatever's on that scroll inside. Unless, of course," Oga gave Furuichi a taunting grin, "you're too afraid to come in."

Furuichi balled his hands into fists and marched toward the cave with his head held high. "Ah, you do need to apologize to Verivette first. She's quite upset. Perhaps enough to roll closed too early, if you catch my drift."

Furuichi looked dubiously at the boulder. Magic taught Furuichi that all things had a mystical presence, but to have personality was something different entirely. Perhaps Oga felt something within the boulder that Furuichi couldn't feel. Oga had proven more powerful after all. "My dear Verivette. I apologize for my rudeness. You are absolutely stunning-"

Oga cackled with laughter causing Furuichi to flush a deep purple. "That isn't funny!"

"Oh ho- that was quite good! I'm going to laugh at that for days."

Oga waved his hand to beckon the burned ice mage further into the cavern. Furuichi's steps felt like he was walking with legs made of lead. Furuichi wanted so badly to go back to the castle where he was at least respected. Oga continued to chuckle while closing the door, then used a simple Luminate spell to bring light into the cave. Furuichi didn't quite expect the minimal simplicity of the den, but shook his head clear. I came here on a task, not to socialize.

"This scroll here dictates our plea for-"

"Patience young mage," Oga interrupted while putting a kettle on for tea, "All in good time."

"'Young'?" Furuichi sputtered. The silvernette was all but seeing red. Furuichi took a deep breath to argue that he wasn't some foundling coming to seek training when Oga cut off his tirade. "Peace. I meant no offense. I can see how important the delivery of this message is to you. I admire your dedication to the Guild."

The wind taken out of his sails, Furuichi hummed and nodded awkwardly. A tense silence resonated between the wizards in the dimly lit room only cut when the kettle came to a howling boil at the other end of the room. "...Right The scroll. I'll...um leave this here then head back to the castle- I know it was in here somewhere." Furuichi padded his pockets, all parts of his robes, but no scroll. Had it fallen outside? Furuichi was sure it was…

"Ah, the scroll you've already given to me? I've got it right here. And I'm not interested in saving the Guild nor the Kingdom."

Furuichi gulped when Oga's eyes burned with something the ice mage wasn't sure what to call. Furuichi was sure that the scroll was in the pocket beside his thigh.

"But I am interested in you."

Oga's eyes continued to glow in the dark and Furuichi felt his dry throat tighten into a knot. "You don't need to look at me like that. We'll go first thing in the morning. You may rest here if you otherwise do not have lodging for the night. Don't worry. I'll be too busy packing to lay a finger on you for now. Sleep well, ice mage."

"My name is Furuichi."

The ice mage's voice came out small. Furuichi wasn't sure Oga heard him at all.

"My apologies. Sleep well,... Furuichi."

The flutter of butterfly wings tickled the inside of Furuichi's belly. As Oga left the main portion of the cavern, Furuichi was left to his thoughts. Oga may be the greatest master of magic Furuichi had ever seen, but Oga was proving to be a more dangerous man.