"How you're holding up?" Elder Larok asked as he handed a small waterskin to Alex, sitting near the young man on the log he called a bench.
Alex moved his crutch to the left side of his body, allowing the elder to properly sit down on the bench beside the young man. Taking the goat waterskin, he threw a curious look at the old Recen, somewhat surprised by Larok's actions.
Although not weird, it was certainly unexpected for the battle class teacher to act this way, especially towards a student.
Larok didn't seem to care that much about this, certainly not as much as Alex expected, but he wasn't in any position to teach others how to act and behave.
Taking a large mouthful from the gourd-like vessel, he almost spewed the contents out.
The elder seemed to have been waiting for this moment as he immediately burst out laughing.
"What's the matter, young'un? The water's too spicy for you?"
Alex wiped his mouth from the poison-like concoction and turned a sharp eye at the elder. He let the matter go, answering his previous question instead.
"I'm holdin' up just fine." He said, waving his crutch above his head. "Praying for the day when I'll throw this piece of garbage as far as can I see."
Larok grinned from the side. "What? Being a cripple, even temporarily, is too much for you? Can't go have as much fun as before, right?"
Alex shook his head, smiling faintly. After passing the Last Trial, his body was in the process of slowly changing chemistry and composition, and as such, random 'malfunctions' could occur at any time.
In his case, Alex was unable to properly maintain his balance without the aid of a crutch. To him, it was as though he was learning to walk once again. It was frustrating.
These last few days have certainly made him aware he took being able to walk and stay upright for granted. If this experience was to help him in any way, it would be in his control over his limbs.
Falling silent for a moment, Alex turned his gaze to the fortress' central courtyard below.
"How do you deal with those haunting images?" He eventually asked, causing the elder's cherry attitude to also dip.
Shacking the waterskin, he said with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "You don't. You can't. The most you can accomplish is to lie to yourself."
Gulping down at least half of the liquor inside the pouch, he continued.
"'This is the only way to keep our peace' or 'This is what his majesty ordered. We're just following orders.'" Spitting on the ground, the elder looked at the rest of the kids training in the courtyard with a weary-looking face.
"A bunch of bullshit, all of it."
Alex nodded his head and sighed. He more or less understood Enrilth's situation. A shaky peace required sacrifice and it was the Recens who paid that price.
Not wanting to deal with this downcast atmosphere any longer, the new Recen asked in an attempt to shift the conversation.
"What about the Head Priestess of the Sky Temple? Did she find whatever knowledge she was looking for?"
"Bah!" Wiping his mouth off the alcohol, Larok threw the waterskin into his pouch before replying.
"She was beaming." He laughed, running a hand through his short-trimmed hair. "You can't possibly imagine how much younger she looked, haha. I can't..." Barely containing his laugh, the elder struggled to speak. "She almost pounced on old Geralt when she saw herself with the documents in her hands, ready to devour him whole, hahaha."
Alex smiled as well, imagining what that scene would've looked like. He would've wanted to see Elder Pyrus' expression the most.
"Do you know when I'll be able to learn some magic?"
Larok stopped laughing after a few more moments and looked at Alex more seriously. "You won't learn magic." He said matter-of-factly.
"What?" Alex shouted, baffled. 'I won't learn magic? How is that possible? And why?'
"Hold up, let me finish." The elder raised a hand and coughed twice, taking the air of a teacher. "What we perceive as magic is merely a concept. It isn't something that can be taught, the same way gravity can't be taught. Magic is anything and everything that seems to break or circumvent natural laws.
"What can be taught, however, is the process of taking advantage of this force called magic, mana or whatever."
Standing up from the log, Larok stretched his middle until a pop was heard, then continued.
"However, I wouldn't recommend you follow these processes and teachings as they usually are incredibly vague or general, and anyone with half a brain and a modicum of mana inside their bodies could accomplish them.
"You'll learn more about this later, but you should know this beforehand. Magic isn't some set-in-stone, step-by-step process. Just like art, you can be creative, and you should be creative. When it comes to magic, the sky's the limit, and you cannot touch the sky if everything you do is imitate others.
"And even if you could, it won't be as fun and exciting, right?"
Nodding to the young Recen, Elder Larok walked toward the courtyard, shouting orders and moving kids from one side of the court to the other, leaving Alex alone to contemplate his words.
"I should meet Ezek again before he leaves, huh?"
***
"Damn, it's good to see you alive." Ezek smiled, slapping Alex's shoulder as the two shared mugs of ale.
Taking a closer look at the latter's crutch, Ezek raised an eyebrow, internally measuring the distance between Enrilth and the city.
"How long did it take to get here?" He laughed, slapping the Recen's back before downing his ale.
Alex grunted and shook some dust off his pants and boots. "Don't remind me. Days I had to deal with this wooden pole, and I'm finally able to stand by myself."
"Is the Trial that bad?"
Alex scoffed at Ezek's innocence.
"It's worse than you can imagine. But this..." He said, pointing at the wooden crutch. "Is because my body's changing into that of a Recen."
Ezek nodded and placed a hand underneath his chin, a mischievous look appearing on his face.
"Aha, so you don't have to worry about pulling out now, right?"
Alex rolled his eyes and threw his empty mug at Ezek's head, who dodged it like an acrobatic cat. "It's not like I can't have kids, you know? Elder Larok said it's possible, though it is quite difficult."
Ezek clicked his tongue. "Can't y'all Recens have at least some downsides?"
"Haha, as if having a mortality rate of 90% is too lax of a downside, huh?"
"You're right."
The atmosphere between the two friends relaxed, tension leaving their bodies, making room for relief to wash over them.
Constantly thinking about the death of your closest friend - or the possibility of it - would stress out anyone. So, it wasn't too odd to feel relief upon seeing Alex alive and well.
"When you're leaving? Have you decided yet?"
Ezek nodded. "Tomorrow morning at the earliest and the day after tomorrow at the latest." He paused before remembering something. "Are you done drinking? Let's go."
Alex was confused and looked at his friend over the lip of his mug. "Where we're going?"
"Vaesa actually wanted to meet you, you know, before we leave and such."
Alex raised an eyebrow and side-eyed Ezek. "Why?" He asked tiptoey.
Ezek raised his shoulders. "I don't know. C'mon, let's go."
To say Alex was bewildered would be an understatement. It felt as though he was thrown into a mystery-comedy staged play, and he was the only character without any knowledge about what was happening.
"Isn't it weird for you?" He asked as the human was dragging him across the tavern, barely able to move his crutch in time.
"What is?"
"Your girlfriend's interest in me. Doesn't that seem weird to you at all?"
Ezek frowned and looked at Alex. "N-no?"
Closing his gaping mouth, Alex shook his head as if to wake himself up. 'Did I hear wrongly?'
"Holy sh... You're hopeless." He managed to say, realizing just how much of an airhead his friend was. 'Hopefully, this Vaesa isn't trying to do anything funny, then dump Ezek.' Alex thought before another thought made him smile wryly.
'Yea, good job saying - hopefully, she ain't a hoe.'
"What's going on, sir?"
Ezek's words brought Alex out of his reverie, quickly taking in his surroundings.
People were outside their homes, and some were looking outside their windows, but all had hesitant expressions plastered on their faces.
The man who was asked the question turned to face the two young men, quickly scanning both from top to bottom before letting out a sigh of relief.
Whatever this man was looking for, Alex and Ezek didn't have it. Though, Alex felt half relieved and half worried.
Maybe these people were watching for Recens, and Alex didn't know it. Fortunately, Alex's body was still changing and didn't have the Recen signature yet - the strange, although awesome, tattoo running down their necks and to the upper chest. Actually, it was more like a mark than a tattoo, but it looked essentially the same, so Alex just called it a tattoo.
"The nobles announced they found a new ruin somewhere in Blackwater."