As always, the smithy where Mr. Friedman worked was filled with deafening cling and clatter as the ironsmythes forged tools and the occasional weapon. Weaving around two ironworkers that were hammering a white-hot hoe into shape, Tata called out over the din, "Mr. Friedman!"
The burly owner of the iron-smithy, Mr. Friedman, turned around and smiled as he saw the young man. "Tata! How's your father? What can I do for you today?" Nicol Maluvi and Mr. Friedman had been friends as children. Tata almost found it depressing that they were still in the same town that they had lived in as children. They hadn't seen any of the world. Nevertheless, Mr. Friedman was a very kind man, and an expert ironsmith.
Several sparks landed on Tata's white tunic, and he brushed them off nonchalantly. "My father's good, Mr. Friedman." Deftly, Tata grabbed the broken hatchet from his belt, threw it in the air, and caught it right below the fractured blade. He handed the tool to the large man. "My father wants to know if you can fix this."
With the eye of an expert craftsman, Mr. Friedman looked the tool over, his brow furrowed. "This doesn't look like it'd be too difficult to repair, Tata. I don't have any jobs at the moment, so I should have it done in an hour or two. Come see me then, all right?" Tata nodded. "I'll see you then, Tata, my boy!"
After a quick goodbye, Tata strode out of the deafening roar of the smithy into the main street of Porre Village. He shivered a bit in the cold crisp autumn air, then looked around, wondering what he could do for two hours to pass the time. Out of the corner of his eye, Tata suddenly caught a flash of purple and blue, and immediately turned. His heart caught in his throat as he realized it was her. Schala…
Schala Engles was sitting on a bench outside the Porre Inn, watching the passersby with an air of interest. As usual, she was dressed in her tunic that was the color of Tata's hair, with the odd blue stone on a necklace around her neck she never took off. Tata soon realized he was staring and with a red face he looked away before she could see him.
After almost a minute of standing in the middle of Porre Square feeling quite abashed, Tata made up his mind to go over to Schala. He swallowed and began to walk over to her.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Mr. Legendary Hero." Came a snide voice from behind Tata. A rough hand grabbed his shoulder without warning and pushed him to the hard cobblestone street.
Once his head stopped spinning, Tata found himself looking at a pair of boots, as immaculately clean as shoes got. He followed his gaze up and immediately felt an urge to roll his eyes. "What are you doing here, Alec? Last I heard, you were up in Truce with your drunk…I mean, father." Tata looked up at the other boy, a wry grin on his face.
In a second, Tata wished he hadn't cracked that remark. Alec Nemo was tall, slender yet muscular, with handsome features, cold blue eyes, and shoulder-length black hair kept in a ponytail. He also had one of the worst tempers ever known to mankind. "Don't you dare speak about my father that way, idiot. He's a great warrior, you know. He fought in the Mystic War. Which is more than anyone in your family did. All you can do is lie and pretend to be better than you are." Alec spat, and the spittle landed on his immaculate boots. "You aren't even worthy enough to clean that off of my shoes. Your dad's the drunk. Not mine."
Anger building up inside him, the purple-haired teenager momentarily forgot about Alec's size and temper, and got to his feet. "If your dad was such a great warrior, why did he almost get kicked out of the Army? For cowardice?"
A horrible look of rage crossed Alec Nemo's features, and the bigger boy drew back his fist. "Why you…" he growled. Tata balled his hands into fists and held them up protecting his face, tensing himself for the blow that he knew was coming.
"What's going on here?" A soft, sweet voice asked. Tata turned his head to the side. Schala…The beautiful girl was standing to his left, her slender hands on her hips and an expression on her face that expressed mild annoyance at what would have been the fight. Tata could only marvel at how regal she seemed, especially for someone who lived in Porre.
Tata was about to respond when a fist hit him solidly in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him in a painful wheeze. Stepping back, Alec Nemo dusted his hands off and watched with a smirk on his face as his former opponent sunk to the ground, gasping for breath and doubled over, holding his stomach in agony. "Moron. Never let your guard down. See, this proves it—you and your family aren't worth goat spit."
Sparks flashed in Tata's vision as he tried to draw breath. Suddenly, he felt a soft hand on his back. "Are you all right?" Schala's melodic voice whispered in his ear. Weakly, he nodded. The girl began to softly rub his shoulders. "That was just a cheap trick. He's an idiot, don't listen to what he says."
Alec laughed. "Oh, look at the two of you!" He paused, thoughtfully. "You know, the two of you are just made for each other. You're both freaks! I mean, Tata here needed to lie to make everyone think he was worth something. And you—Schala, right?" Again, Alec paused and grinned maliciously at Schala and Tata. "Not that it matters, anyway. But you! You're not even human! Look at your ears, they're freakish! Hey, everyone," Alec Nemo called to the passersby, most of whom were pretending nothing was going on. "Look at the freak! What happened, did your mother find your dad too wimpy? So she slept with a Mystic? I'll bet that's it! You're half-Mystic, aren't you! You're a half-monster!" the boy laughed coldly.
Again, Schala spoke. But this time her voice was icy, virtually all traces of the kindness she normally exhibited gone. "Be quiet. You don't know a thing. My parents were killed by Mystics when I was a child. I grew up never knowing them. If you dare say I'm even partially related to those creatures…" She hissed.
Tact was obviously not in the dictionary Alec Nemo used. "Your parents were killed by Mystics? They probably were Mystics, and ran off with them! Face it, you're just a monster. Both of you, worthless! A liar and a monster, it's too perfect!"
"Don't talk to her like that, you bastard!" Having gotten his wind back, Tata Maluvi sprang to his feet, startling both Schala, who jerked back, and Alec, who jumped. Closing his eyes, Tata envisioned that he was a Hero, and that he was saving Schala from an evil monster…he wound up and landed a massive blow right on Alec Nemo's nose.
The taller boy reeled back, his ponytail flying. When he found his footing again, Alec reached up and touched his nose. His finger came away red, as blood streamed from his nasal cavities. "Oh, you little rat, you'll pay for that." Ignoring the blood pouring from his nose, Alec spun around. His foot shot out, catching Tata right in the solar plexus and throwing him back into Schala. The two of them tumbled to the ground in an ungainly heap.
Alec's cold blue eyes narrowed. "Worthless…" he muttered, holding a gloved hand to his nose. With that, the boy turned on his heel, flipped his ponytail back from over his shoulder, and stalked away.
His vision wavering, Tata watched him go, wishing he could get up and tear his throat out…but then the world went black, leaving him alone and wishing he had never found the Hero's Medallion…