Chapter 28: Piercing Gale
"Ima be right back, gotta take a piss real quick" I could barely hear anything from this distance. I'm 70% sure one of them said they were gonna take a piss, now's the chance. I look over the corner and see one of the lower bandits in the brown get up and leave his resting campfire and walk outside of the ruin towards the cliff to leak. As a voidwalker, i can't let this chance to assassinate someone to slip. I slowly creep across to the other side to intercept his path. The idiot thinks of nothing as he begins to unzip and face in the direction of- "Hey! Who was that? I saw you across the corner!"
"Yo, everything good?"
"I swear if one of you shits starts peeking while I take a piss, ima have to report back two missing teammates"
"Hurry up, we can't stay here for long."
Holy fucking shit. There is no 'He'. It's 'She'. How the actual fuck am i supposed to do this now, and how the fuck is this girl pulling it off. It wasn't for long, but i caught a glimpse of the bandit. She's in a position facing AWAY from the cliff, meaning i can't just shove em off like i was planning. This is very bad. I'll need to cook something up instead, maybe I'll go for the other two since it may be easier. But They're both facing in a direction where one is facing the other, so i can't assassinate one without alerting the other. But i'm built different so I've already thought of a way, but it may be a bit of a gamble.
"Hey! I can see your dumbass."
"Yo you're probably hallucinating after the guy threw that potion on you, just finish taking a piss and get back here"
Potion? Hallucination? This is brilliant, i don't know who threw that hallucination potion but i thank you. This makes my plan easier.
"I fucking swear to Navae man, i see you. This is not a hallucination."
The others already stopped responding, it seems like they've been pissed off enough. I recalled an old story "The Boy who cried Wolf" It's a story of a boy who was seeking attention and kept lying in order to gain it by telling the village that a wolf had come to eat the sheep. All the villages gathered their weapons to fight it off, but the wolf hadn't come and the villages were angry. The boy kept doing it again and again until the villages eventually stopped coming. One day, a wolf actually came and attacked the sheep. The boy cried out that the wolf was there but nobody believed him. The same analogy applies here. Her teammates continue to doubt her, causing them not to care about what she says. Meaning an easy kill. I can see in her eyes as she begins to stand up. She looks like she's gone insane. Her eyes are devoid of life and she even looks like she's doubting herself. No matter, I'll make it quick.
"Huh, maybe it is a hallucination. That coat isn't one I recognise" She had softly spoken under her breath, not loud enough for the others to hear. A deep breath in, readying my lunge. She stands there, still looking barely intact while i lunge at her. She doesn't move, it's as if she wants to get hit by it. The momentum of my lunge was more than enough to push her right off the edge. It's a sad sight, the bandit girl wasn't bad looking. Could've possibly spared her as she's lost all will to hang unto life.
"How long left? You've been there for a while now. If you don't respond, I'm coming over."
I really hope he does. I'm hiding around the corner right now ready to push this idiot off as well. I can hear his footsteps drawing near. Until he was right around the corner to not see his friend here, but it was ME! Aloysius! In a panic, he draws his weapon but he starts to fumble. I shove him with full force but this fatass wouldn't budge. Oh shit. He manages to finally get a hold of his battle axe and overhead swings it on me. A swift backstep was all that was needed but this cliff is a little narrow and a slight fright had struck me. He swings his battle axe from the right side which i was able to parry with minimal difficulty, but he manages to block my strike just in time. He too, had a look on his face which was devoid of life and was ready to look death in the face. His next attack is another wide right swing but I'm a little quicker than he is. Before he even winds up for the swing, i'm already in a sidekick stance and i push him back just a bit, nearer to the edge. This next bit may be a little risky, but without risk, you can't survive. While he's still stumbling, i do a short run-up and jump into a drop kick to finish him off, pushing him off the same edge as I did his friend. Now all that's left is the last one.
Chapter 30: Pliable Mind
The last remaining bandit still staring into the everlasting infinity at the campfire doesn't look like he's alive anymore. He can't even register my presence as an enemy that had killed two of his friends. His eyes are even more lost, more gone, more broken than the two I had fought before. It's as if he was the membrane left behind a butterfly's cocoon after the butterfly had already left, nothing but an empty vessel that used to house a once beautiful lifeform. I can tell he's no longer able to withstand steady thinking, his mind is already broken by those "hallucination potions" said earlier. I used to learn my fair share of apothecary when i was younger to make poison, but i never once encountered these "hallucination potions" personally, or to be more specific, "Mindbreaking Potions". These potions were brewed in a way in which it would deplet one's sanity until it was all gone, just like this bandit's. This one's sanity must've already crumbled. Best put him out of his misery, although i doubt he can feel or see anything anymore.
Finally, it's over. I can rest. When you get the reward after working for it, the feeling is divine. Now the next goal is to find water and some food. I should probably scout the area for awhile.
Walking around trying to find food and water, i come across an odd man. He doesn't look like a bandit, or another voidwalker like me. He's wearing a white cloak, and wields two swords. It's odd because there are little to no records of there being anyone using dual weapons. And he doesn't look like a Pathfinder, as he's already someone whose found their own path. I know this because this man has certain features to him that normal people don't. A blue aura-like substance is visibly showing on the veins on his hands. He seems to be searching for something and preparing for the night. What could this guy be doing here in one of the beginner islands?
Chapter 31: An Old Tradition
Not long before I spot him, he notices me from a distance. For a split moment, I made eye contact before I ducked undercover into hiding. What's he gonna do if he finds me? Attack me cuz I'm a voidwalker? I need to leave, but there's no escaping him if we're on the same island. I don't know much about the surroundings but I bet he knows every part of this place on the back of his hand. And what's on his hands? A blue glowing substance is flowing through his veins to his fingertips. And it's only on his hands. I don't recall this being the result of any attunements. I can hear him get closer and closer until...they stopped? I can't hear his footsteps any longer, maybe he left and I was imagining things? Just as i got up to take a peek, i see a khans face in front of me staring into my soul. With an adrenaline boost, i jump back from shock and get ready for combat. But he doesn't look hostile, what could he want? "Who are you? What's with your hands?" I ask him
"Tempo itself."
"Tempo? Like beat and rhythm?"
"Yep, It's not an attunement if your wondering. It's the result of an Oath."
"An Oath?" I remember one senior voidwalker talking to Eylis about an Oath. She said something like how they were far from ready to take upon it.
"What, you don't know what that is? Doesn't your gang have their own Oath? An Oath is something you swear upon. Something that you vow to your own soul. This is my own Oath that I have created, Tempokeeper."
"So what did you vow to yourself?"
"I vow to keep in time with nature and the Song itself. All rhythm and beat are pliable within my own power."
This guy seems overly friendly in a way. Perhaps he may not be a threat but you never know. "Why are you telling me this? I'm a voidwalker."
"Why? Well, why not? Spreading the word of my beloved Oath shouldn't be something to question. This is a dying tradition, and not many follow the same path as I. So i thought that if i were to tell others about it, then possibly they'll follow me. And besides, you don't look like you can even touch me."
"What? Just cause you have glowy blue things on your hands makes you think you can beat me? I may be a beginner, but you don't look too different"
WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK AM I SAYING. I didn't mean to say that, i was too excited to fight someone stronger than me, i accidentally started to shit-talk him. Oh fuck, this is very bad.
"Oh you think you can beat me? Fine, i won't even unsheathe my blades."
Chapter 32: Tempokeeper
He said that he won't take out his weapon and that he'll only use the sheathe to fight but he still emanates a menacing aura that is way beyond my power. He doesn't say a word, he's only in his battle stance with both weapons raised. One in front of him pointing up-right and one over his head. If he's not attacking first then i will. Starting off with my signature Gale Lunge, i dash at him with excitement. Maybe this was the thrill I'd been looking for all my life. He stands there, motionless until the last second. He parries my initial attack but i had devised another plan in case it failed. After I'd been parried, i jump up to knee him in the head, but he dodges perfectly as if he'd already know what was coming. After i missed, i drop back to the ground to swipe him off his feet with a leg sweep but he dodges that too. Now I'm completely wide open. Swiftly, he kicks me with extraordinary power from his right leg, so much so that I fall instantly to the ground.
"You're 300 years too early to fight me, little knife."
"What the hell did you do? Bro thinks he's Katakuri"
"Hey fuck you, man. I already told you, it's my Oath as a Tempokeeper. I'd already predicted the timings of your moves before you even did them."
"Are your dual weapons also part of your dumb Oath?"
"No. It's somewhat related i guess. You see, as a Tempokeeper, I'm also a musician. I can play many instruments, piano, bass. But i mainly play the drums. As a drummer, my coordination is above average than others, allowing me to wield two weapons at once. I've come to Erisia not to fight voidwalker freshies like yourself. I need materials because my drum kit broke. Specifically, Megalodaunt hides, iron, and wood."
I'm interested in this man's Oath. Tempokeper sounds it could be handy in combat, Even though he was just fighting a freshie earlier, the concept behind being able to predict one's movement before they move themselves seems useful
"Tell me more about Tempokeeping"
"Oh? Interested are we? Tempokeepers are pretty underground. The only Tempokeepers i know are me and my previous band. There used to be a lot more but people started to drift away from music and there weren't as many people willing to learn Tempokeeping as there were before. There are sub-branches to Tempokeepers. For each type of instrument a Tempokeeper plays, they've picked up a sub-branch. Currently i take the "Percussionnist" branch that utilizes percussion instruments like the drumkit, bongos and tambourines. Of course, there are other branches such as String, Woodwind, Brass and Keyboard"
What this man was saying didn't click with me, i understood barely half of that he was saying.
"You look puzzled, do you even understand anything of what i just said?"
I shake my head slightly, signaling i understood some parts of it but the majority went in one ear and right out the other.
"If you ever decide to pick up Tempokeeper then come look for me in Miner's Landing. I'll pass it down to you."
After he said that, he had left. Maybe I'll look into Tempokeepers afterwards.
Chapter 33: A Night in Erisia
It's night. I'm laying on the broken wood floor of the ruins, next to the campfire that looks like it won't fizzle out even in the fiercest of snow storms. I lay awake, reciting what the Tempokeeper had said. Percussionist? Miner's Landing? It births many curiosity within my brain. I slowly drift of and let my brain rest and i keep thinking about Tempokeeping. Slowly, slowly. The crackling of the campfire grows quieter and quieter until. I'm back in the white halls of the dream.
I scurry around to try find Quatermine, i have so much questions to ask him. Corner after corner, hall after hall, it's as if this place was a special made labrynth just for me to wander endlessly. Until i spot an opening to a room with a woman, still looking at pieces of paper. It's Eylis! It may not be Quatermine but she may be able to tell me some stuff.
"Eylis!" i cry out. She turns her head, questioning as to why i had called her name. "Eylis, i've got a lot of questions." i ask her, still trying to catch my breath.
"You get three answers."
"What do you know about Oaths? Do you know anything about Tempokeepers? Is there an Oath i can take?"
"Oaths are something you swear upon your soul. It's another application of the Song just like Attunements. I've never heard of the word 'Tempokeeper' ever in my life before. And no, there is no Oath you can take. No knife is worthy enough for the Oath i give."
"Why not? Whats so good about the Oath?"
"It just is. It's too much for you and would be wasted if i'd pass it down to you. And you shouldn't be here anymore. It's about time you wake up."
Wake up? I just here though. Is my sleep cycle really that bad or is it something else? Just as i was thinking, my eyes blink open and my body jitters. I can sense danger coming closer. It has a foul smell, a smell of an acidic aroma that could kill a squad of bandits under a minute. All my senses are telling me that this danger is very dangerous. I don't want to peek outside because i know it will result in a bad ending, i can tell. But this situation is too exciting, i can't help myself.
As i get up slowly, i tiptoe to the entrance to take a peek from around the corner to see a pale monster that looks to be 4 foot tall and has odd oversized goblettos growing out from it's back. What the hell it that??? Beginner island my ass, that thing looks like it's allowed to judge a book by it's cover and get away with it.