Ben was surprised to see Adui sitting idly on his bed, staring at the empty wall like a retard. His room was messy, there was an open trunk on his bed which was still empty, while his bed was filled with unfolded clothes. Seeing the messy room and him in a trance, Ben didn't understand what was happening there. A moment ago he was yelling at him that he had a lot of work to do and had to leave as soon as he can. He was especially adamant about the fact that he could not waste any moment of his time. That is the reason he agreed to make tea for both of them.
"What the hell happened to you? Why haven't you finished packing yet?" He asked while walking closer to Adui. Hearing him speak Adui got his stupor and looked at him. "Oh… I am sorry got lost in the thought for a moment"
"What thought might that be?" he asked in a high-pitched voice. He was supposed to be the guest of the house and yet here he was making tea for both of them, while Adui, on the other hand, was sitting idly. He was furious. "You were enthusiastic and full of energy a moment ago, and now here you are with your gloomy aura sitting there like a retard."
"Well, Ben… I was just thinking… Why.. Why the hell am I doing this… Preparing so hard for a job, that… I don't even want anymore."
"You don't want to work for that woman anymore?"
"No. It is just that… When I started packing my trunk, I saw that my trunk… it was covered in a layer of dust. I have not used it in a long time… That got me thinking about my whole life." A frown appeared on his face as heard Adui's analogy. 'The fuck? The constant abuse from that bitch didn't make him rethink his life. But some dust worked wonders on him? Why are all these Mages, such weirdos?;
"You must be thinking I am a weirdo." Adui said noticing the frown on his face.
"Nah… You are not a weirdo. You are just… different."
"Let me tell you something… When I was a kid, my father and I used to talk about going on adventures. We used to dream about roaming the world and seeing everything that it has to offer… But then he died in that shipwreck. That day not only I lost my father, but also my leg… That was a very low point time for me…" he then pushed himself up and walked up to the window of his bed.
While looking outside, he sighed. "But then I got awakened and found out that I am a Mage. It was then I promised myself that I will roam the world around for my father's dream's sake. But then I got the job as an alchemist working for that bitch and since then I have been stuck in this town."
"What does that have to do with the dust on your trunk?"
"That dust reminded me of what I have become. I didn't use the trunk for a decade… To hell with the world, I haven't visited the capital of our country for fucks sake. I have worked very hard for the past years thinking that I was carving my way toward my dream. But I was wrong…" he then turned around and faced him.
"Maybe Gizelle is right. I have only ascended two times in the past decade. I am a failure…" Adui then came back to his bed. He looked sad and could have used some comfort right about then.
While on the other hand, Ben looked at him weirdly. He could not understand what this man was moping for.
As a man in his fifties, he had 6 children who didn't want anything to do with him. He had been married four times and his latest marriage ended when his wife traded him for a young man. He doesn't have a lot of money and is destined to be alone in his life. His life was depressing and sad. But Adui on the other hand had everything that he ever wanted. He couldn't just see it yet.
As a friend, he wanted to help Adui. So he did what most friends would do in the situation. He walked up to him and raised his chin. With eyes full of love he stared at him and he passed him a sly smile. It is then he raised his hand and slapped him as hard as he could…
SMACK
"What the fuck Ben?" Adui said while pushing himself up. Ben then shrugged nonchalantly. "That is what you get when you say stupid things like that."
"Stupid things? I was crying my heart out to you. And you slapped me."
"Mother fucker, listen to me. You are sulking over nothing. You are in your twenties. You are a Mage who would live a very long life. You may not have power and you have not accomplished your dreams… But you are still alive and kicking. AND YOU ARE YOUNG. If you haven't lived a good life till now, then go out and live it then. Who the fuck is stopping you?"
"It is not that easy you know." He replied and then sat down on his bed again.
"Adui, I have lived my life without planning out anything. Yeah, I am not in an idle situation right now, but I sure do live a good life. And if I could do it, you can as well. You are a Mage for fucks sake. I have seen you do shit that I could dream of doing. So what you are strong as the mages out there? Who the fuck cares? Go live a life. And stop sulking. It is embarrassing." The words worked their magic on Adui, as he started seeing his situation from his friend's perspective. He started to understand that all may seem lost but in reality, he was still in control and could make something out of himself.
"You know what you are right. I am young. I am a Mage. So I won't be able to see the world out there. I will live my life. From now onwards, I will do what my guts tell me to do. I. Will. Follow. My. Guts. From. Now, Onwards." Adui declared.
"Good for you. So what are you gonna do now?"
"I will go and get that land for Kaisel."
"Who is Kaisel?"
"Doesn't matter, Ben what do you say about going on an adventure with me?"
"Me?"
"Yeah. You are unemployed and you know how to drive a cart. We can both go together."
"Sure. But you are paying for my expenses."
"Done."
***
After packing his trunk, Adui handed the trunk over to Ben, and also gave him and instructed him to charter a horse-drawn cart for them. Not a carriage, but a normal cart, and meet him in two hours outside of city gates. Ben who was so excited about the trip, ran fast as he could to get the cart. After he had left, Adui also started working.
'Follow your gut. Just follow your gut.' Like a mantra, he kept on repeating the phrase in his mind. He then went to the desk, pulled out some pieces of parchment, and started writing letters. He may not be as influential as Gizelle, but he had his contacts and they were 1000 times better than hers. These contacts all owe him a lot, and the time had come for them to repay him for the favors that he did a long time ago…
The first letter he wrote was to a man called Jarad. He was a clerk at Gorgon Kingdom's library and was also the husband of his childhood friend. He wrote him a letter asking him to dig out any details about the Ulaspas family. He wanted to know any kind of history that could be dug up from the archives of the royal family. In the letter, he also mentioned that they lived in the disputed valley of Baron Hubert and Baron Geon which might help him in his research.
The prospect of having a Mage tower in the middle of their country was a very powerful motivator for him, and he meant it when he promised Kaisel that would he try to get the land for him. But Mage towers are very expensive and hard to build, which got him thinking about the resources needed to build them. Their kingdom is very small and wouldn't have enough resources to build such a thing, so it doesn't make sense that Kaisel was willing to make a tower here in the first place.
And then Kaisel's concern about being secretive about his identity…
The way he saw it, Kaisel was planning to make Gizelle the figurehead of their group and acquire the land for them. He would rule from the shadows while Gizelle would face all the backlash that might come in the future.
'But why would he do that? Why was he hiding? There was literally no one that could come closer to his strength, at least in our country. Then why hide?' For now, as he could not find out about that man's past, he decided to try to dig up his family's past. He didn't know whether it would be any way beneficial for him or not, but his gut was trying to tell him and he had decided to listen to it.
He then wrote another letter to one of his acquittances about the dispute between Baron Geon and Hubert. He wanted to know more about the dispute as well as he wanted to know the weak points of both houses. This way he would be able to have an edge when he negotiate with them for the land…
After sending all the letters through Post Guild, Adui bought some more supplies for his venture and then started making his way towards the town's gate. With a leather sack full of supplies when he finally made it to the town's gate, he was surprised to see that Ben was not there. Disappointed he stood there waiting for him for half an hour. And when finally as he was about to lose his patience, Ben showed up with a cart as he requested.
"What took you so long?" Ben just passed a smile to him. "While going home I bumped into George. He was also fired. And guess what… that bitch ordered the workers to get rid of the herb garden that you painstakingly planted."
With Fists clenched and anger in his eyes, Adui scrunched his face. "She didn't."
"Yup she did. What worry not, I anticipated that you will have this reaction. So I gave some of the gold that you gave to Geroge. I ordered the guy to get in touch with the people that are still in the shop and secure those herbs and store them somewhere in the vicinity and take care of them." A smile bloomed on Adui's face as he heard what Ben had done, he truly was a good friend.
"Good man."
"Now hop on then… And tell me about this Kaisel guy and where the hell are we going."
"Sure."
***
Under the rays of the moon, Adui was stirring the pot of beef stew for him and Ben. The food was almost done and Ben was feeding the horse just by the campsite.
"Adui… can I ask you something," Ben said while pushing a small stack of hay toward the horse.
"What?"
"What is your plan? You said earlier that you don't want to work for the bitch, but here you are traveling to charter a deal for her. What are trying to do?"
"Well, I thought about it. I will never for her again. But if I acquire the land for the Kaisel, I may be able to curry favor from him. And maybe I will be able to negotiate a position in Mage tower."
"So you are doing this to get a job at Mage tower? Seems like a lot of work for something so.. Menial?" Adui then took the pot off the bonfire. He then fished out some bowls from his leather sack and started serving stew to both bowls.
"It may seem like this… but for a mage, this is a very big opportunity. A Mage tower is like a heaven for cultivation, experiments, growing herbs, and many more things. If I could get a job there then, who knows may one day I will be able to actually fulfill my dream." Putting hay aside, Ben then came and sit down next to him.
"Suit yourself. Now let's see what is for dinner." Ben then took his bowl from his hands. With the first spoon of stew, a smile bloomed on Ben's face.
"Fuck… this is the best goddamn stew I have ever had in my life."
"Happy to serve." After the stew, both of them fell asleep peacefully…
Nothing major happened for the next four days. Every now and then they would stop at some village for hay and food. They would always sleep outside rather than getting a room in the inn, Adui wanted to get to House Hubert's territory as soon as he could, and going to inns for rooms could potentially add one or two more days to their journey. That is why even after several protests from Ben, he didn't change his mind.
On the fifth day, they finally entered the territory of Baron Hubert. The territory mainly consists of a lot of villages and some holdfast. While there are only two notable towns in the territory out of which was a town called Huston. That town is home to Baron Hubert and his family.
He didn't know much about House Hubert and its descendants but he did know that they were relatively newer houses and some basic stuff about them. Around 50-55 years ago some barbarians were pillaging villages around the coast of the Gorgon kingdom. And ultimately a large force of barbarians invaded the kingdom.
Huston Hubert was the commander of the Royal Army at that time. And due to his excellent service during the war, the king gave him this territory as a prize for his service. Huston died a decade and a half ago, now his son rules his territory. To give tribute to his father, his son renamed their hometown after him.
But the basic knowledge of the territory would be not enough to make the current head of house Hubert sell that parcel of land to him. That is why as soon as he entered the territory of House Huston, he went straight to the Post Guild to check his letters. There were two letters under his name which turned out to be the information he asked for about House Hubert and House Geon.
Although he was a little bit disappointed when he did not get a letter from Jarad who worked in the Royal Family's Archive, he was really looking forward to reading up more about Ulaspas Family. After all, they are the first Bloodborn family he had ever encountered.
'Maybe Jarad is having some trouble getting the information. Let's be patient and wait for his reply,' he thought.
As the noble custom dictates, he sent Ben to the castle of Hubert's family with a letter announcing his visit the day after tomorrow. He made sure to mention his name and Rank in the letter.
The next day he just studied the material he already has to prepare for his pitch to Hubert. And finally, the day came when he had to meet with the Head of the Hubert Family.