- QUARIA -
That same morning Hielgan returned to the Bouncing Clam, he found the old man had set up a bench with a sign next to it that said.
"Recruiting New Members."
As Hielgan approached he noticed that no one even stopped to ask old man Hersey about the guild.
"When they asked me if I would fill the role of Guild Master." The old man started. "I wanted to put you in my place so you could stay with the Clam longer."
Old man Hersey seemed to drift away after stating this, Hielgan sat down next to him on the bench and wondered why Hersey was obsessed with him staying at the Clam.
'Morgrain.'
The name came to Hielgan's mind again, he remember seeing it written on one of the Bouncing Clam's official documents.
"Who is Morgrain?" Hielgan asked abruptly.
Old man Hersey raised his head at the mention of the name, the name seemed to have pulled him back to reality.
"How do you know that name?"
"I saw it on one of the guild papers."
The old man looked away and lay his head on the wall behind them, Hielgan could tell the name brought back memories from his past, whether it belonged to someone precious to him or a foe that had tormented him.
Hielgan could only imagine it.
"He was my comrade, a brother among friends, and the only family I ever knew growing up." The old man continued to sulk as he explained his past to Hielgan. "We even fought in the great war together."
"You have been friends that long?"
Old man Hersey merely nodded at the query, Hielgan's eagerness seemed to be put on hold as he started to figure that the outcome may not be as pleasant as he presumed.
"Morgrain was the co-founder of The Bouncing Clam and the only trusted friend I had at the time." The old man continued. "He was an ambitious mortal with a passion for attaining new strength, though he wasn't as strong as me."
Old man Hersey chuckled and Hielgan smiled.
"So what happened, is he still alive?"
"He.. he may have found a different path as we aged, when he left I prayed to Moria that he would come back, but..."
'A different path.'
Hielgan looked down at his hand and examined the scars that he had acquired in his lifetime, from training and battles they all marked his growth. Then he noticed a new scratch underneath his arm, it seemed to have been from earlier this morning, but Hielgan did not recall hurting himself against any sharp objects today.
'Ha, it seems that boy is far more talented than I gave him thought. At least he knows it.'
Hielgan recalled the boy he had met earlier, the boy had tried to strike Hielgan with a surprise attack but he easily evaded the strike, or so he had thought.
"So Morgrain never came back?"
Old man Hersey sighed.
"Quite the opposite lad, we met a few times on the battlefield, and this time not as allies." The old man sighed. "He was engulfed in the delusions of having gained absolute knowledge, he cooperated with various underground organizations to try and bring down the Empire by using the Kingdom of Quaria as a host for his ideals."
"Ideals? He became a revolutionary?"
"Tch. Ludicrous." The old man scoffed at Hielgan's question. "He was corrupted, consumed by greed for what did not belong to him."
"So where is he now?"
"I don't know, perhaps he is planning another revolution somewhere."
The story of Morgrain piqued Hielgan's interest, he wondered if this mortal was the same one that the Princess had talked about on the day of their first meeting.
"Old man, what do the dragon and the tyrant symbolize?"
A look of shock enveloped the old man's face, Hielgan could tell that the words meant something to him, but the old man seemed to stare away into the distance. It appeared that the time they had spent reminiscing about the old man's past may have triggered memories even more ancient.
With the time he had spent with the old man, Hielgan was starting to believe that Hersey knew far more than let on.
"You must never utter those words together in public ever again Hielgan." The old man uttered suddenly.
"What are they? Who are they?"
"No! No! No! You don't need to know any of it. Not right now!"
"But..."
"Listen to me Hielgan!" The old man clenched my collar and Hielgan could feel the subtle strength behind his grip. "You do not want to get involved!"
After his threats and cautions, several moments of silence passed by, and Hielgan's thoughts returned to the boy he had found training in the square, he had immediately left him after teaching him a sword technique from his family.
"So this boy you saw..."
"I gave him a little test, it took me hours to learn, and days to master." Hielgan teased with bits of the details.
Thuud*
A loud crashing sound suddenly filled the air as a massive cloud of dust erupted from across the town, this was in the same direction of the town square where Hielgan had met the boy.
Several guards noticed the commotion and immediately rushed to quell whatever had caused it
"It's coming from the city square!" One of the guards exclaimed.
"Again! This is the second time this week!" Another lamented.
The voices of the infuriated guards hushed as their figures disappeared in the distance, the old man looked at Hielgan as though he was responsible for the disturbance.
"Alright, I will go check."
As he proceeded through the buildings Hielgan suddenly bumped into the same boy from earlier, the two stopped right in each other's face and stared at one another.
"It's you!"
"Why are you running?"
"No reason."
"What did you do boy?"
"My name is not boy!"
The boy quickly backed away and made a run for it, Hielgan rushed towards him and easily caught up and grabbed the boy by his arm.
"You are not in any trouble."
"That's what you all say. Hah!" The boy lunged up and backward instantly striking Hielgan beneath his jaw with the top of his head.
With his grip loosened the boy slipped from Hielgan's grip and made a run for it, but before he could get too far, old man Hersey stood in the boy's path. The boy stopped in his tracks and glared at old man Hersey because in one of his hands was a sheathed sword.
"Mr. Hersey watch out!"
Hielgan warned the old man, but he stood there without moving a muscle until the boy gained enough courage to run past him.
"You let him go?" Hielgan asked confused.
"He was not going to come willingly." The old man stated. "Plus I have an idea."
"An idea?"
Hielgan walked with the old man for a moment, old man Hersey led him through Quaria towards the prominent city square where the strange incident had occurred. Hielgan seem confused about what this idea was, but he allowed himself to relax and accept whatever came next.
When they arrived at the scene, several guards gathered around one of the statues. It appeared that it had toppled over after one of its legs had been chopped clean off.
"That's the statue the boy was practicing with." Hielgan whispered to the old man. "Could he have used it?"
"Won't change much now will it."
Hielgan was surprised at the boy's growth, it had only been a few hours since he had taught the boy that technique. His father had always called Hielgan a talent, he could learn easily and grasp the concept of abilities quickly and apply them almost immediately.
'I may have just come across a real genius.' Hielgan pondered.
The old man noticed Hielgan's moderate smirk, this was the expression of someone who was eager to forge on in new territory.
In that moment of contemplation, a crowd had gathered around the square, the old man turned to Hielgan and beckoned him away.
"As a GuildMaster, I have yet to see your skill in combat."
"Combat?"
"I had picked up this sword in case there might be a battle here, but thank Moria nothing of the sort occurred." The old man feined. "So won't you be my opponent Hielgan?"
"But the guards are right there..."
"Don't mind them, this is but a friendly sparring contest."
The old man's face lit up and Hielgan could feel him begin to emit a subtle aura from his being, then he clutched his greatsword and plucked it from the strap on his back. Hielgan was hesitant to use the large sword against the old man.
"Don't hold back too much." Old man Hersey encouraged Hielgan.
"Here I come!"
Hielgan charged toward old man Hersey with his greatsword reeled back like a fishing rod. Realizing the type of attack coming his way, old man Hersey jumped backward to avoid the radius impact of Hielgan's greatsword.
Thuud*
The greatsword strikes the empty ground sending a gust of dust blowing around the area of impact, the crowd around the square jumped from the sudden noise, and when they turned to look, they immediately notice Hielgan and the old man sparring.
"Isn't that the lad who fought the saber?"
"But who's that old fella that's fighting him?"
Before Hielgan could hoist his sword from the ground, a crowd was already starting to gather nearby.
"Getting distracted?"
Old man Hersey lunged at Hielgan with his sword extended toward his chest, Hielgan quickly raised his greatsword across his abdomen and blocked the attack. Then with a forceful shove, Hielgan managed to knock the old man back.
"I am not finished!" Old man Hersey exclaimed. "[Casus - Rippling Blade]!"
With a whirling sound, old man Hersey struck at Hielgan with quick piercing strikes that appeared to vibrate in the atmosphere. Hielgan knew he could not evade the speedy attacks, so he quickly raised his defenses with his own skill.
"[Iron Scuff]!" Hielgan's aura immediately covered his body creating a thick layer of translucent armor.
The audience gasped in bewilderment as the blade strikes clashed with the iron scuff, sparks flew in the air as Hielgan slowly stepped backward to relieve himself of the old man's persistent assault.
"Haha, you have pretty thick skin lad!"
"I know, it keeps me grounded. Ha!" Hielgan jumped back from the old man and then raised his greatsword above his head before swiping it in the empty air. "[Iron Sever]!"
Hielgan's sword gave whitish glow then unleashed a pair of air blades that curved as they flew through the air.
Seeing the incoming attack the old man quickly evaded the first air blade which crashed into the ground raising a cloud of dust, the second air blade came directly at the old man who then gripped his sword with both hands and then slashed the air blade in two.
"Wow you are really strong old man..." Hielgan commended old man Hersey, but he paused when he noticed the old man's paced breathing. "Sure you want to continue?"
The crowd had abandoned the incident and were all focused on the two as they sparred, the old man's plan was to show off his guild's prized adventurer Hielgan, and the GuildMaster in action. He had hoped that this might attract a few mortals from the spectators, but he was not sure if the hook had caught anything yet.
Hielgan could hear the crowd starting to cheer, especially after their recent exchange. Unfortunately, he could see that the old man was starting to tire out, and dragging this contest any longer would be dangerous to the old man.
"One last charge!"
The two stood opposite to each other as they both raised their blades for a final assault, the old man held the blade just below his cheek and pointed it straight at Hielgan. The crowd filled with cheers and whistling as Hielgan lifted his greatsword, but he seemed reluctant to proceed with the charge.
"Haaaaa!"
"Hoooooo!"
With a swift clash of steel, the two stood beside each other, the crowd had gone silent as they keenly watched to see who had prevailed.
Suddenly.
The old man's sword fell from his hand, old man Hersey dropped to his knee and the crowd burst with cheers, before seeing him collapse further on the ground.
"Old man? Old man!"