Buck was walking along a long corridor, the walls filled with dark blue banners with a water droplet symbol on them.
After reaching the end of the corridor, he knocked on a door.
"Come in." A raspy voice came from behind the door.
Buck opened the door and headed inside the room. The luxurious room had many cabinets on the side and a table on the middle. Behind the table, the Commander of Rivenport's Storm Legion, Avery Gray, was sitting on a chair.
He looked at Buck and gave a cold smile. "Hey Buck."
Buck shivered looking at Avery's face and smiled nervously, "Avery! My friend! How are you?"
"I'm good Buck. Tell me, why the sudden visit?" He pointed at the chair opposite to him.
Buck sat on the chair and faced Avery. "Always in a rush huh. Okay, Let me get straight to the point." He started speaking.
"You know I buy the wood for making boats from the woodcutters in Lastwind right? And that they have to go deep within the Boatwood Forest to acquire these woods."
"Yes. So?" Avery gave a short reply.
"There is a new kid there now. Don't know where he came from. He's been coming for 4 weeks now. Every time he comes, he asks for more money saying it's getting risky due to the beasts."
He put a defeated smile and looked at Avery, "Please! You have to do something about the beasts... Shouldn't the commander look after the citizens of the town?"
"Haah..." Avery sighed. "Okay, I'll think about it Buck."
"Really!?" Buck smiled happily. "Thank you my friend, I knew I could count on you!"
He stood up from the chair. "Then I'll get going Avery. It was good to see you." He walked towards the door.
"It was good to see you too Buck." Avery was once again left alone in his office.
"Hmm... An outsider and danger in the Boatwood Forest huh... What a coincidence.." He looked at the letter on his desk and read the last line.
"And we hope you haven't forgotten our deal. -Humble Emissaries of Mayhem" Avery smiled and crunched up the letter. When he opened his hand, there was nothing there except a droplet of water.
"Len!" He shouted.
The door opened and a knight with black hair and blue eyes came in.
"Sir!" It was Len Beale.
"Len. Go tell the academic board we'll be inviting the Nox Academy's cadets here this week." Avery ordered.
"Yes Sir! Uh.. May I ask what we're inviting them for?" Len asked with curiosity in his face.
"For some hunting!" Avery gave a cold smile.
---
The week was going pretty normally for Zane. He'd wake up, eat breakfast, go to the woods with Edwin, cut wood and return before dark.
This day was the same. Zane and Edwin returned from the forest after cutting wood all day.
They returned to the house to find Jannie on the door, talking with a group of people. They were an unusual group, wearing brown robes and it seemed they were questioning Jannie.
As they neared the house, they heard Jannie. "I don't know anything like that. Please leave now."
Edwin and Zane approached her. "What's going on? Who are they?" Edwin asked Jannie.
"It seems they're searching for someone. I don't know who they are, they came just now." She answered.
"Hello, we're just searching for someone who may have come to this village recently." The person in the front of the group smiled. He had long black hair and black eyes.
"Oh... Sorry we don't know anyone like that." Edwin replied.
"Is that so..." The man looked at Zane, "Who is he?"
Jannie and Edwin followed his gaze. "He's my son!" Jannie replied immediately.
Zane looked at her with an unexplainable look on his face.
"Really? Sorry for wasting your time. We'll be leaving." The man replied and turned to walk away.
The three of them sighed but the man paused and turned back again.
"I just remembered! Didn't your son die just recently?" He questioned.
Jannie and Edwin's eyes widened. "H-How do you know that?" She stuttered.
"How I know it? Well, I'm the one who did that to him after all." He gave a full smile, all of his teeth showing.
When they heard that, Jannie stopped moving, unable to believe it.
Edwin reacted right away, his face contorted and his body dashed ahead, punching the man on his face.
He spit out blood and looked at Edwin, "That tickled. This is a punch."
He threw a punch towards Edwin and his fist connected with his stomach.
Edwin went flying back, striking the house's door and he fell on the floor.
"Honey!" Jannie immediately went and propped up Edwin, his mouth full of blood.
"So you must be the new guy here huh." The robed man stared at Zane, ready to pounce at him anytime.
"Are you guys from the Cult of Mayhem?" Zane also stared back at him.
"Tch. Cult?" The man shook his head. "The Almighty Mayhem is the only true god in this world. All the other gods are disgraces!" He spat.
The sun slowly started to set from behind the house and it's shadow enveloped the 4 cult members, blending with their own shadow.
But they didn't notice that Zane's shadow was a bit darker than the house's shadow. But this didn't mean normal physics didn't apply to his shadows. His also stretched opposite the light source, all the way to the place where the 3 cult members were standing.
Zane smiled showing off his sharp teeth, his forehead full of visible nerves. "Well, say hello to your God from me, I'll be waiting for him down here!"
The upper parts of his stretched shadow propped up into 3 thick unstable liquidy thorns, impaling the 3 cult members from behind, through their stomachs.
"What!?" The robed man glanced back and looked at Zane with burning eyes. "You really were a blasphemer! I'm going to kill you!" He dashed forward towards Zane, who was huffing.
Zane quickly blocked the incoming punch with his arms crossed, but the impact still made him fly back, towards the door of the house.
Like Edwin, he too went through the door and landed on the floor of the house.
"Zane!" Jannie was about to come running towards Zane, but he raised his hand, signaling her to stop.
"I'm fine, please look after Edwin." He stood up and dashed forward, through the door.
"You're fine after that!? Didn't you use
Zane threw a jab at him, but he parried it with his right hand and threw back a hook towards Zane.
Zane sloppily tried to move his body but the hook connected and Zane was thrown once again, towards the right side.
The cultist grinned but not for long. Zane immediately recovered and gave a mocking smile, "Is that all you can do? Come on, kill me already." Then he turned back and fled towards the wooden fences, climbing it nimbly and jumping to the other side.
The cultist, burning with rage, destroyed the fence with his fists and chased after Zane.
After running for a while, he found Zane, waiting for him in an open field at a distance from the village.
"Finally here?" he smiled at the cultist.