6

  Reunion

  Adam slowly came to and opened his eyes, but he saw nothing but darkness waiting around him. Then it hit him all at once, flashes of violence, blood, the alley… the thugs. He bolted upright and slid his hand under his shirt, down the side of his stomach, but felt only smooth skin. No injury whatsoever. Did he die? Again? He was sure he’d been stabbed right in the gut, he could still remember the intense pain. Had those soldiers had saved him? The ones he remembered rushing into the alley just before he passed out, or perhaps he really had died and come back, and they’d brought him here to question him.

  Speaking of, where was here?

  Adam looked around the dark room in confusion, then his gaze saw the metal bars in front of him and understanding dawned. He was in prison again, twice in the space of a few days. This time, at least he knew his offense. It was the fight… no, the murder. Those men, he’d killed them, the three of them. And it couldn’t be described as self-defense. He’d wanted them to die more than he’d wanted to live. Adam had felt that kind of anger before, that deep darkness that completely swallowed his mind, it had always been inside him. But he’d never felt it so all-consuming as to take the lives of several men.

  It was hitting him now, the weight of his actions, but there was only acceptance of what he’d done… no guilt, no remorse. Was that normal? He’d killed three men, sure they weren’t good men, but they were human lives all the same. One of them had even tried to beg for his life, yet Adam hadn’t considered sparing him. Was that even self-defense?

  “The second time in two days, you must really like our dungeon,” a familiar female voice said, mixed with the clink of her armor, and Adam’s head snapped up in an instant.

  Adam let out a slow breath to calm himself. “It’s cozy,” he said.

  Elsa stopped in front of the metal bars and folded her arms, staring at him. He didn’t shift his gaze away in guilt despite the frown carving her face, instead he tried to see in her emerald eyes why she was here; was it to question him? Or was it because of the oath he’d broken? She’d stated she would be his punishment if he hurt anyone in the city. If the latter was the reason, he hoped the punishment would be a quick death instead of torture.

  “Also the second time you’ve been covered in blood,” she said.

  Adam glanced down at his body and saw streaks of red smeared across his shirt. His hands, too, were stained dark with dried blood, especially his knuckles, swollen and ugly, with crusted flakes caught underneath his fingers. Knowing the blood belonged to another person, someone he’d killed, didn’t faze him as much as it should have. In fact, he didn’t really feel anything. That wasn’t normal. Something was definitely off with him.

  It wasn’t that he expected himself to cry or mourn their deaths, the men were ruthless and would have done the same to him in a heartbeat. But he’d never taken a life, he should feel some type of way about it, shouldn’t he? Like remorse? Guilt? They were humans, just like him, and they probably had families, as he did. Adam knew he was trying to humanize the men to make himself feel some remorse, but that was normal, it was human.

  Yet, try as much as he might, he felt nothing for the men. He’d read books, watched movies, he knew the feelings he should feel at taking a life, but they just weren’t there. Had he always been like this? Or was something happening to him here?

  “Tell me what happened,” she asked, her gaze lingering long on him, and for a brief second, he thought he saw sympathy in her eyes despite her frown.

  Adam hesitated, jaw tight. “I was attacked,” he said slowly, and began to gather his thoughts. “A group of kids led me into an alley where some men were waiting, three of them. They wanted to rob me first, then they noticed the shirt you gave me and figured they could make more if they held me ransom. I fought… I killed them.”

  Elsa’s frown quietly eased from her face as he finished his story, and she released a breath of her own. “They’re not dead, they were badly hurt, but they’re not dead.”

  His head snapped up. “What? I thought—”

  “There was a healer among the patrol unit that found you,” she explained. “You did a lot of damage to the men. If the healer had been there just a moment later, they would’ve died, and you as well. You were hurt badly, the stab wound would’ve killed you.”

  Adam’s heart lightened a little at the knowledge that the men were alive, no, that he hadn’t killed them. But it didn’t completely silence the thoughts nagging at the back of his mind about his lack of feeling when he thought he had, about what he was, or what he was becoming. That was something he needed to think more deeply about.

  Also, he hadn’t died. They had healed him. His fingers reached down to his stomach again, and he felt nothing at all that indicated he’d been struck. Was that something normal in this world? Nobody had scars? No, one of the men who’d attacked him had a scar. There was so much he didn’t know, and couldn’t wait to figure out. Still, magic was such a great thing. He could only imagine if it existed on Earth, the things they would’ve accomplished with it. Then again, maybe it was the lack of it that had forced them to adapt, and to advance in science and technology. Maybe it was a trade off, and one couldn’t have both.

  “Thanks,” Adam muttered, “for saving me.”

  Elsa gave a slow shake of her head. “I didn’t do anything,” she said. “Maybe it was even my fault, I was the one who gave you the shirt, and I apologize for that.”

  Adam didn’t argue with that, instead he thought maybe she could even overlook the oath he’d broken as it was partly her fault. “So, what’s going to happen to me now?”

  She tilted her head. “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “The oath,” he said hesitantly and tightened his jaw. “I didn’t mean to break it. They attacked me, I was only defending myself. I didn’t set out to hurt anyone.”

  A soft chuckle escaped her throat, and the corner of her lips lifted in a smile. “Don’t worry, you’ll face no punishment from me or anyone. You were attacked, it would be a sin to punish you for defending yourself. As you said, you didn’t set out to do harm to anyone.”

  His brows tightened. “I thought that was why you found me? Why I’m here?”

  “I didn’t find you, a group of kids reported the incident.”

  Kids? Could it be the same ones? Why would they report the incident after leading him into it in the first place? Did they regret their actions? Or was it because they’d watched him almost kill the men who seemed to be their partners? He couldn’t guess the reason, but it didn’t matter either way. He’d learned a lesson, or rather he’d gotten confirmation. This world wasn’t so different from his own, no one could truly help you… only yourself.

  “So, I’m free to go?” he asked slowly, guardedly.

  Elsa didn’t answer with words, instead she just reached to her belt and drew the ring of keys, then quickly unlocked the cell gate and stepped aside.

  Adam rose to his feet, his limbs slightly heavy as though they hadn’t been used in a long time, but he managed to make his way out of the prison without any problem.

  “You’ll need this, there are old clothes inside,” she said and offered him a bag, then pulled it back hesitantly. “Though after what happened the last time, maybe it’s best if—”

  “No, it’s fine,” Adam said and took the bag from her. “I’ll take it.”

  She nodded and stepped back. “I’ll bring you others.”

  That stopped him a moment. He could understand her bringing him clothes the last time because his blood-stained appearance might raise concern among the public, and he understood it this time as well, for the same reason. But what she’d said just now, her offer to bring him other clothes, he didn’t understand. It went beyond any civility or obligation she owed him. Her concern for his wellbeing should naturally end once he was out of her sight, yet she seemed to care for some reason. He couldn’t understand it at all.

  Katryn had told him she liked to help people, but was that all there was to it? This bordered on excessive, as though she wanted to ensnare him to her. And he knew she didn’t trust him despite the kindness she showed, he’d noticed the three soldiers waiting outside the inn when he wanted to find the cathedral, but it was the correct thing to do so he hadn’t given it any thought at all. Still, having soldiers watch him, then coming later to show him kindness was confusing and odd. If she distrusted him, why keep helping him?

  Adam liked when people were straightforward with their actions, whether they liked him, or hated him, it didn’t matter, as long as they were clear on where they stood. He wished she’d just state clearly where she stood with him, that was the problem.

  “Why are you being kind to me?” he asked, turning to face her.

  Elsa hesitated a moment. “I owe you this time, part of what happened was my fault.”

  Adam still held her gaze. “What about before? When you paid for room and board for me,” he said, his voice low with a mix of curiosity, and veiled suspicion. “I don’t know how it is here, but where I’m from, people don’t usually help strangers like that.”

  She swallowed, then looked away for a moment, seeming to consider something as her chin tightened. “You needed help, it was the decent thing to do.”

  “But you don’t even know me,” he pressed still.

  “I don’t, but it doesn’t change the fact that it was the decent thing to do.”

  Adam didn’t know whether he believed her, but it wasn’t like he could force her to tell him the truth, or even do anything if she turned out to be lying, not when she’d already demonstrated just how much more powerful she was than him. If, or when, she considered him a threat and wanted him gone, he knew there would be little he could do to stop it.

  “Alright,” he said, dropping the matter. “Thank you for helping me.”

  Adam turned from her and peeled off the blood-stained shirts and pants. She might be watching, studying him like before, but he didn’t really care this time. He slipped on the clothes she’d brought, gray shirt and dark pants, and it fit his body comfortably. He knew nothing about the fashion of this world, but he could tell the clothes were of high quality by how soft they felt against his skin, and yet she’d called them old. Just like the ones from yesterday, ‘spare clothes from the training ground,’ as she’d put it.

  Spare clothes that had made him worth kidnapping. He knew already that she was someone of high status in this kingdom, a gold-rank knight, but just how high up was that?

  “I’ll show you out,” Elsa said after he was done putting on the clothes.

  Adam gave a nod and started to walk beside her, silencing the thoughts he had about the woman for now. There were far more important things to focus on right now.

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  “Out of curiosity, what were you doing before the attack?” Elsa asked and cast him a quick glance before directing her gaze forward. “Were you going somewhere?”

  This was a test, Adam caught it immediately. She probably already knew he’d been to the cathedral, but wanted to see whether he’d lie about it, as though it would confirm his character and shape her opinion of him. And it was things like this that confused him about her; she had every right to mistrust him, but why bother with the kindness in between?

  “I was coming back from the cathedral,” he answered honestly.

  “The cathedral?” she asked, feigning surprise to him.

  “I talked to Katryn, the old woman’s daughter. I needed to know certain things, and she told me the cathedral kept books, so I went there,” he said with a lift of his shoulder.

  She glanced at him. “And did you learn what you wanted to know?”

  Adam released a breath. “A little bit, yeah,” he said.

  As they made their way down the dim, narrow corridor of the dungeon, Adam kept his gaze forward at first, then a low groan from one of the side cells drew his attention and he turned, immediately grounding to a halt. Inside, were the three men, the same ones from the alley who had attacked him. They were really alive, bloodied, but alive.

  The scarred man, their leader, sat slumped against the wall, his face pale. The man’s face twisted when he saw Adam, not in rage, but in something closer to fear and he quickly averted his gaze, staring down at the floor. The other two didn’t even look up.

  Adam felt a strange emptiness stir in his chest at the sight of them. He felt nothing at all, not the burning anger from before, not even triumph… just absolutely nothing.

  Like they were so far beneath him it would be pointless to waste emotions on them.

  Elsa’s voice broke the silence. “Let’s keep moving.”

  He nodded and forced his eyes forward once more, but as they moved past the cell, a question occurred to him. “I thought they were healed.”

  “They were,” Elsa replied.

  Adam pointed a hand behind his back. “One of them still has a scar.”

  Elsa suddenly stopped in her stride and glanced at him, her brows drawn tight as if he’d said something strange. “You’re not familiar with magic at all, are you?”

  “It’s not very common where I’m from.”

  “Yes, I’ve heard of places where magic is not common, but even then they know of it a little, this ‘America Sea-attle’ must be a strange place,” she said, then started walking again. “I’m not a healer, so I can’t explain much about healing magic. But it doesn’t create new flesh out of thin air, it just helps the body regrow what it remembers. That man’s scar was old; the skin’s already forgotten its original shape. Your wound was fresh, so the body still remembered, any first-class healer could easily guide it back to what it was.”

  So, essentially, if he lost an arm, it could be reattached—or even regrown—so long as it was recent. Adam knew that something like that was possible on Earth, and under its own strict condition as well. For some reason, he always imagined magic as limitless, but it wasn’t. It had rules and logic, and that made sense. Without limits, there’d be gods.

  “What’s going to happen to the men?” Adam asked.

  “They’ll be punished for their crimes, be rest assured,” Elsa said simply, then looked at him with narrowed eyes. “Though I’m curious, how did you manage to beat them?”

  Adam shrugged his shoulders. “It was more desperation than any skill I had.”

  She smiled. “Sometimes that’s all that matters.”

  They passed several guards as they reached the stairways, then they climbed up the stone steps and exited the dungeon into the busy street. Adam inhaled a breath, taking in the fresh air for the first time in what felt like days, but couldn’t have been more than hours.

  “I’ll walk you back to the inn,” Elsa said kindly.

  Adam gave an appreciative nod. “Thanks,” he said and followed beside her.

  They walked in silence for a while, and Adam didn’t mind much as it gave him time to sort his thoughts. He was finally learning about this world, the people and its magic. But he hadn’t gotten close to what he wanted to know most about; resurrection magic. He was half certain that it existed here, especially given the way that priest had reacted to the mere mention of it. Perhaps it was some kind of taboo magic, but that wouldn’t stop him. It was all he had going to solve the mystery of how he got here, and perhaps how to go back.

  A part of him wanted to ask Elsa whether she knew anything about it, but he couldn’t risk it when she clearly mistrusted him. There was a chance that she might react even worse than the priest had. This was something he had to figure out all on his own, and his recluse lifestyle wouldn’t help him. He needed to know more people and be where there would be information. Elsa had said there were adventurers in this world, that was probably his best bet. If the books and movies were any guide, they were the ones who knew the most.

  “Hey,” he said, breaking the quiet between them. “Can I ask a question?”

  Elsa hesitated, then gave a curt nod.

  “How does someone become an adventurer here? Is there a requirement?” he asked.

  “You want to become one?” She looked at him as though he’d lost his mind.

  Adam could understand the look. She believed he had no magic, it probably sounded like crazy talk to her. “I need to earn money somehow, I also want to find a way to get back home, figured I’d have more chance of doing both as an adventurer than a stableboy.”

  “I see,” she said softly with a thoughtful nod. “To become an adventurer, there aren’t any strict requirements. You just have to register with the Adventurer’s Guild. Once that’s done, you’ll be assigned a tier and class, then you can start taking jobs. That’s all.”

  “Tier and class?” he asked. “What’s that?”

  She looked at him again, as if considering something, but whatever it was, she didn’t say, choosing instead to answer his question. “Like knights, adventurers are ranked by their power, from the ninth tier up to the first, and beyond that, the rare S-tier. Classes are just their specialization, like warrior, or healer. It’s surprising you don’t know any of this.”

  “I don’t—” he started to explain, but didn’t get to finish.

  “Yes, you’re from ‘America Sea-attle’. Things are strange there.”

  Adam held back the host of other questions burning inside his mind. It was clear she was becoming suspicious about where he’d come from, and he wasn’t helping anything by asking all these questions. He decided to shift his tactics, asking a few different questions.

  “Why did you decide to be a Knight instead of an adventurer?”

  Elsa lifted her armored shoulder in a soft shrug. “My adopted father was one, there wasn’t another path for me,” she said. “He taught me everything I know about fighting.”

  “Is he still alive?” Adam asked gently, not wanting to cause her upset.

  “Don’t be concerned for me. My father is alive, he retired to the countryside a few years ago,” she said, then glanced at him. “You know being an adventurer is dangerous, as strong as I am, I’d only be on the second-tier if I joined the Guild. There are other ways to get what you want. Besides, most adventurers form a party. A solo adventurer is rare.”

  There it was again, she was concerned despite the clear mistrust she had for him. It was very strange. Still, he wasn’t deterred. Being an adventurer was the best option for him right now. But he wasn’t an idiot, he didn’t plan to start taking jobs immediately. He wanted to meet other adventurers, hear about what they’d seen outside the Kingdom, and perhaps even learn about resurrection magic; that was his motivation. After that, if it was possible, he wanted to climb the Tower of Heaven. He didn’t think it would be easy though.

  “I know it’ll be dangerous,” Adam said, coming out of his thought. “But I think it’s the best choice for what I want to do right now. I already made the decision.”

  Elsa nodded once. “Alright,” she replied.

  They continued down the busy street in silence, until Adam spoke again. “You said you’d only be on the second-tier if you joined the Adventurer Guild, then what’s an S-tier adventurer like?” he asked quietly, glancing at her in wonderment.

  She hesitated, choosing her words with care. “I’ve only met one in my life, when I was still in training. He didn’t seem human. If someone had told me it was a creature from the deepest parts of Duskveil, I would have believed them. It would take every gold-ranked knight in the kingdom just to put up a fight… and even then, I’m not sure we’d win.”

  Adam didn’t realize he was holding his breath as she finished. “And someone like that still hasn’t reached the first floor of the tower?” he asked, stunned.

  Elsa nodded. “The record said he was repelled on the eighty-sixth floor. Should give you an idea on how impossible the tower is,” she said, then exhaled. “Most who climb are adventurers content on clearing the lower floors, knights who wish to test themselves… or delusional fools like me who risk their lives on false hopes.”

  She’d mentioned that she was repelled on the forty-first during her last climb, almost losing her life in the process, and Adam wanted to ask what had happened, what wish she had that she’d risk her life to see fulfilled. But he didn’t, guessing it was deeply personal.

  They walked in silence after that.

  Adam was lost in thought, wondering what chance he had to reach the first floor if someone as powerful as an S-tier adventurer couldn’t. Other thoughts also scratched at the back of his mind, mostly thoughts about Elsa, and what her story really was…

  It didn’t take too long afterward for them to reach the inn.

  They pushed the door open and stepped inside. Adam immediately noticed the place was almost full now, but his gaze drifted to where Katryn was at the counter, and the wide smile that stretched her lips when she caught sight of them… or rather of Elsa.

  “Ms. Elsa.” She darted out from the counter and rushed to hug her.

  Elsa smiled and wrapped her arms around her. “Hello, Katryn.”

  Adam watched them together and noted that they seemed quite close. But there was something else he quickly noticed, Katryn’s look of utter contentment as Elsa held her. It wasn’t love, just adoration, or worship. What kind of history did they have exactly? Some kind of kink relationship? No, Elsa hadn’t given any indication of that. It was all Katryn.

  Katryn pulled back first. “You haven’t been coming around as much.”

  “I’m sorry about that. I wanted to, but I’ve been very busy, and still am,” she replied warmly and gestured toward Adam with a nod. “I only came to see that he got here safely.”

  “Did he get into trouble?” Katryn asked, eyeing him.

  Elsa at last pulled back from the hug. “A little bit, take care of him.”

  “Wait, when will you come again?”

  “As soon as I’m able, I’ve missed your stew.”

  Katryn smiled and nodded. “Alright, I’ll be waiting.”

  Elsa returned her smile, then turned to where he stood watching. “I’ll have someone come by with the clothes,” she said to him evenly. “Take care.”

  “Yeah, thanks for the help,” he replied.

  “You’re welcome.” She started to turn around and leave, but stopped short. “By the way, when you were in the forest did you encounter a squad of knights?”

  Adam frowned, getting on his guard. It was the first time she was asking about the men, he’d thought her concern was more about why he’d been in the forest, and how he’d survived it, not that he had something with the men. Had something changed? Why?

  “Yeah, I saw some armored men fighting off goblins, and then I ran.”

  Elsa cocked her head slightly. “Why didn’t you mention this?”

  He shrugged. “You didn’t ask, so I thought it wasn’t important,” he said carefully.

  “Did you see anything strange? Or talk to any of the men?”

  Adam’s first instinct was to say that the goblins had been pretty strange to him, but he didn’t want to invite more questions. “No, I didn’t see or talk to anyone. Why?”

  “There’s been renewed interest in what happened in the forest.”

  “Am I in trouble?” he asked with eyes drawn close.

  “No, you’re not. I know you had nothing to do with what happened that day. It was evident that the squad had been attacked by a goblin horde,” she said. “But if you remember anything that seemed strange, anything at all, no matter how small. Come find me.”

  Adam gave a slow nod. He was curious about what was going on, but it was knight business and he knew poking his nose into it would cause trouble for him. The best thing he could do right now was not to draw attention to himself and just let the storm pass.

  Elsa said goodbyes once more then left the inn.

  “Are you two close?” Katryn asked as soon as they were alone.

  Adam shook his head. “I don’t think so,” he answered.

  “I see,” she said. There was something in her voice that sounded off, a slight strain he caught only faintly. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe it was something. He couldn’t tell.

  She returned to the counter and Adam followed, sliding into the stool.

  “You’re lucky by the way,” she said, her voice returning to the normal note and her smile bright on her lips once more. “You didn’t miss supper. It’ll be served soon.”

  He smiled faintly. “I guess, where’s your mother?”

  “In the back, why?” She lifted a brow.

  “Elsa only paid for seven nights, it’ll be expiring soon,” he said, bringing up an issue he’d been thinking about for awhile. “But before it does, I wanted to ask if it was possible to do work around here in exchange for meals and a roof over my head?”

  “Oh, mother will probably agree, but she’ll demand that you sleep in the stable.”

  “That’s fine. I don’t mind,” he said.

  Adam truly didn’t mind at all. He didn’t plan to just laze around, if his plan went as it should, he would hardly even be in there. He just needed a place at night to rest his head.

  “Alright, I’ll go tell her. I’m glad you’ll be extending your stay.”

  “Yeah, me too,” he responded.

  ***

  Night had fallen. Lothar Djed, the Hand of the King, sat in the quiet of his office, his back turned to the man who had entered without announcement. The faint clink of armor already told him what he needed to know; it was the very man he’d been waiting for.

  “What have you learned of him?” Lothar asked

  “Nothing yet,” the knight replied. “But Elsa seems to have taken to him.”

  Lothar frowned at just hearing the girl’s name. She was an annoying pest. He would have stripped her of her knighthood if not for the fact that she was well liked and respected among many of the soldiers, perhaps even across the kingdom. The fucking whore…

  “Do you think he might cause problems?” he asked.

  “It’s hard to say, we don’t know if he had any contact with the fallen company.”

  He groaned. “Then what was he doing in the forest at that particular time?”

  “I don’t know, it’s truly worrying.”

  Lothar’s frown deepened. “Find out whether he knows everything.”

  “It will be done,” the knight said.

  Will it? Lothar wondered.

  He knew the man wasn’t loyal to him alone, he’d been handpicked to serve as a go-between for him and the partners. Lothar would’ve preferred to have his own man, one that was loyal to him, but he’d made uneasy peace with the arrangement they had now, knowing the intermediary had a vested interest in keeping the operation running smoothly.

  The door closed behind the visitor, and Lothar leaned back into his seat with a deep, weary exhale. For all his work in rooting out the old problem, a new one had already begun to bloom. He had no room for more complications, the partners were already on edge.

  Perhaps he should look into the boy himself… this Adam or whatever he was called.