Ch. 4: Spoils of Battle
"Well...ummm…that is…," I managed to say…
This was an even bigger dilemma than the one I was in before… I absolutely could not reveal my true identity to my son…
"Hey, at least say something!" exclaimed Hugh.
I closed my eyes and answered, "Well, I do not cast this spell, unless I'm in the most urgent situations, due to the fact that…Wha-what in the seventh plane of hell are you doing?!" I exclaimed as I opened them.
Hugh had ignored me and was rummaging through the bandit's corpses…
"Hmm…not much gold in here… Ah-ha! Eureka! 1000 gold, not bad… Probably pillaged from villagers… Ah well, it's not a juicy amount but, good enough for at least a month… Hmm…I bet I could sell these weapons…they're mostly iron, but… Wait…a Killer Axe! Boy, is this my day!"
"You should know, that is not a Killer Axe, in fact it is a Devil Axe," I informed him, "A cursed weapon that spills the blood of its own wielder if he or she is extremely unfortunate…"
Startled, Hugh immediately flung it into the air and burned it to a crisp. Only ashes were left of the demonic axe. Without a word, Hugh returned to the cadavers.
"How can you bring yourself as low as to steal from carcasses?" I demanded.
"Times have changed, Pal," said Hugh, "The only ones left on Elibe are the survivors of the war. We have to do anything to survive…"
"Hmm…you may have a point," I admitted as I examined the cadavers…, "Well, as a mage, let me ask you this… Have you heard of Agatha Griselda Niime?"
Hugh froze and inquired, "How do you know Gran– I mean her first and middle name?"
"Is it a sin for me to know people's names?" I asked. I admit that although she was my mother, even I addressed her as "Niime", when not calling her mother, or mommy, or something else that implied that she was the one who brought me to this earth.
"Well… I'm…an acquaintance of her, and I'm one of the few people who know her actual name…," said Hugh, "Hey, don't look at me like that!
"It is rather hard for me to believe, but the fact that you said "Gran" and the visage that you made when quickly changing the word to "her" leads me to believe that you are her grandson…but that you refuse to acknowledge that fact," I remarked.
"No, she… Oh, all right…I won't deny it…she's my grandmother…," Hugh confessed, "You see, even though I am an elementalist mage, I come from an ancient lineage…or clan to be more precise…of elder sorcerers. The clan itself is known as the Niime. My grandma took more pride in her last name than her first and the fact that she was from the clan, led her to begin referring to herself as Niime. She became a magic celebrity…but the clan still remains in the shadows. She thinks she honored the Niimes as a representative, but she can't when such few people know about them… She considers Agatha Griselda to no longer be her name and she has totally discarded it…"
He turned to the cadaver of the female bandit who had called for allies and pointed out, "Hey Carybdis, there is a strange glowing red pendant on the…corpse with a split throat…"
I could barely restrain my astonishment…, "Th-That's a-a Talisman!"
"A Talisman? Where have I heard of those before…?" said Hugh.
"Please excuse me for saying this, but you call yourself a magician, and you aren't even aware on what a Talisman is?" I exclaimed, "Talismans are pendants with protective properties that absorb spiritual energy. Although it possesses strong potential, it can only drain a certain amount of energy, thus it cannot completely deflect spells, only weaken or subdue them. As you know, spells are merely your spiritual potential converted into elemental, archaic, or sacred magic…"
"Wait…wait…wait…," Hugh said, "I don't understand half the words you said… What do you mean by spiritual potential, anyway?"
"Forgive me, but you are rather…how should I say this…dim-witted, are you not?" I asked, "There are two forms of energy that can be utilized by humans: physical and spiritual. Physical energy of the body allows you to sprint across long distances and wield heavy weapons, and spiritual energy of the soul and mind enables you to cast the most devastating spells. In terms of the magic strength…that depends on your traits… Devotion to understanding enhances darkness and faithfulness to the unknowable strengthens light. Although nature magicians are often known as the "magicians of justice"…that is hardly the case when it comes to…certain magicians… Perseverance to your goals is what really stems into anima or nature magic."
By certain magicians I meant disgraces such as Aion the Owl of the Black Fang, the countless mages who became assassins and bandits, and the man standing before me…who uses magic as an excuse to acquire money…
"It is still quite baffling to me however…," I wondered, "this Talisman would not have been enough to stop my Flux spell… Unless…"
"Hey! What are you doing?!" yelled Hugh, "You pervert!!! Why are you running your finger down her body! Ugh! You scholars act moral, but deep down you are just a buncha corrupt perverts arncha!"
"Quiet, you scoundrel…," I muttered, "I was just ensuring that my hypothesis was correct…and it is..."
"What's your hypothesis, then?" Hugh shouted, "That the woman is dead?! My, my, what an accomplishment!"
"What goes on in your distorted and apparently nonexistent mind truly perplexes me more than the secrets of the heaven and the earth…," I dryly added, "Her skin is doused in Holy Water, an ointment that renders you nearly immune to magic… Unlike Talismans, Holy Water is similar to a repellent…it disperses the converted spiritual energy within the spells to a certain extent… It is more effective than Talismans, but it lasts temporarily… It was quite intriguing that someone could survive the effects of my Flux, few live to tell the tale of the instable flowing of the darkness…"
"Wow, you are truly smart aren't you, Carybdis?" asked Hugh.
"Well now, someone should attend the library more often should he not?" I answered.
I removed her Talisman and signal whistle, and extracted a two-thirds full vial containing Holy Water and three Vulneraries.
After ransacking through the cadavers, our "spoils of battle" resulted with…seven sets of three Vulneraries, two sets of three Elixirs, the signal whistle, the Talisman, three sets of three Antitoxins, four Torches, the two-thirds of Holy Water, three Mines, one set of fifteen Lockpicks, few Door Keys and Chest Keys, a Red Gem…well I believe I do not have to explain Hugh's reaction due to the fact that it is quite evident…., and various iron and few steel weapons.
"Heh, even for bandits, they're pretty loaded," laughed Hugh, "Hey what's that you're holding right there?!"
"Oh this?" I replied, "I found this in the thief's pocket…"
"Th-That's a Member Card! Give it to me!" exclaimed Hugh as he lunged at me with the intention of snatching the card away from my hand.
I calmly took out a book with one hand, held the card out of his reach with the other, stepped aside, and tripped him. Even on the ground, Hugh still was groping for the card.
"Ah…I have no problems handing it over to you," I assured him, "But, what is with this fervent craving for this mere card?"
"The Member Card, everyone wants it… It grants you access to Secret Shops that hold rare valuables, treasures, and other priceless stuff…," explained Hugh, "I can't wait to get my hands on them…"
"Is that right? Then this will prove to be quite useful will it not?" I said as I slipped it in my pocket.
"Whaaat! Do you enjoy tormenting me?" exclaimed Hugh.
"As we are traveling together, I do not truly consider it to be a probl–," I was cut off by…
"Halt! Who goes there?" yelled a booming voice.
It was an actual nomad, a female one in fact, not a phantom doppelganger like the one whom I had just summoned… Her eyes had a certain sternness and aloofness to them…where had I seen them before…?
"I, Sue of the Kutolah, demand that you answer!"
"Unfortunately for you, I don't have to answer," said Hugh, "Because I can tell you're not a Sacaen…"
"That is not true! I am a Sacaen! In my veins, flows the blood of Hanon herself!" exclaimed the nomad.
"Heh… The prideful Sacaen Nomads are known for never lying, right?" said Hugh.
"Of course!" yelled the nomad.
"You're not a Sacaen, cuz' you're lying to me!" Hugh laughed, "Everyone knows that the three main clans of Sacae, the Lorca (although they were wiped out around twenty years ago), the Kutolah, and…whatever the third was called… have become extinct…earlier, you called yourself a Kutolah, so therefore, it's quite obvious that you're lying…"
I expected the nomad to show a sign of anger, surprise, anxiousness, or hostility…instead she laughed…
"Even though the Bern armies laid siege on the Sacaean tribes," explained Sue, "we were not destroyed…we the survivors of the Kutolah are intent on resurrecting the Kutolah and we have been successful…though many of our people are gone, the Kutolah wolf still strives… Excuse me, but are you even paying attention?"
"Yes…yes…that's good to know," I answered as I was reading my book.
Hugh yawned, "So your point is that even though Bern had led a foray on you, you're still alive, right?"
"Exactly," answered Sue, "But you still have not answered me….who are you? You do not appear to be bandits or soldiers…"
"Ah…I'm a mercenary and he's a…scholar…I think," said Hugh.
I was too absorbed in my reading to respond… It was then she seemed to notice the bandits…
"Ah, bandits…you slew them? Well that was rather thoughtful of you…they have been causing us trouble for some time now….," said Sue.
"Wait…these shields…," gasped Hugh, "I didn't notice before…but these guys are soldiers!"
"Correct," said Sue, "After Bern was overcome, few of the soldiers were uncertain of what to do as they no longer possessed any meaning in life…thus they joined the bandits… Isn't it ironic that bandits and soldiers are now intermingling?"
"Have you heard of someone known as Rath?" I asked the nomad without meeting her eye contact, if you had guessed that I was still reading, you guessed right.
Suddenly, she leapt from her horse, grasped my robe, and asked, "What do you know about him, ANSWER ME!"
I brushed away her hand, "Your eyes share the stoic and impassive attributes of his… You are his daughter, am I correct?"