The journey to the mountains took several hours—a breeze compared to the weeks I'd have wasted trudging on foot. Thanks to the salamanders and their decent pace, I had a surprisingly… peaceful night. Apparently, not even the shadow creatures searching for me considered this route worth an ambush.
As I traveled the paths, I saw a few villages and several carts loaded with goods, a common sight on these roads. Farmers and merchants moved from town to town, selling their wares.
I didn't have any food with me, and frankly, I wasn't about to bother buying any. So, when I saw a few carts left unattended while their owners chatted with the villagers, I decided to do them the favor of lightening their load a bit. A little act of courtesy, right?
I made sure to take only what I needed, so as not to hurt the producers too much. It wasn't my finest moment, but survival always finds a way.
Finally, I arrived at the place Eldrek had indicated. The path had narrowed until there wasn't enough room to continue with the carriage. I stopped the salamanders and made sure to tie them up well, leaving them the last Sulfur Scales I had to keep them calm. Losing them wasn't an option.
The surroundings were odd. The path felt unique, a narrow, uphill dirt road surrounded by mountains that gave the impression there was no way around them.
Everything pointed to this being the only way forward. I walked for several minutes, the cold dawn air brushing against my skin, until I came across something unexpected: a massive stone wall blocking the path.
The wall wasn't just there, blocking my way—it looked like it had merged with the mountain itself. The edges fit perfectly with the rock, as if some perfection-obsessed genius had ensured there wasn't a single miserable gap to go around or climb over it. Wonderful.
"What the hell is this doing here?" I thought, eyeing it suspiciously. It didn't seem like a natural part of the landscape. It was stone, clearly built to block access.
I tried pushing it with all my strength, but of course, the wall didn't budge. I tried throwing a few big rocks at it, one after the other; then I hit the damn thing with a stick I found lying around—no results. Who knows how long I spent on this absurd routine, panting and drenched in sweat. Exhausted, I dropped to the ground, cursing those miserable shadow beings who had stripped me of my powers. With them, this stupidity would be solved in a second.
The first rays of sunlight started to rise, illuminating the area. I was surrounded by trees, and in front of me, a mountain that seemed endless. As I looked around, something caught my attention.
Not far away, there was a man sitting on a log by a small campfire. He looked relaxed, humming a tune I didn't recognize while sipping some herbal tea. I hadn't seen him before.
"When did he get here?" I wondered. I'd spent so long trying to knock down that wall, and at no point had I noticed his presence.
Curious, I got up and approached. As I got closer, the man's humming grew clearer, almost too cheerful for my taste. When I was close enough, I could see him properly: an old man of medium height, with a humble appearance and an expression so kind it looked like something out of a moralistic illustration. Incredible.
"Oh! Good morning, traveler," he said with a smile. "It's cold, isn't it? I was just warming myself by the fire and making some herbal tea. Care to join me?"
I looked at him suspiciously and replied, "No, old man. I've got work to do." And I started walking back toward the wall.
The old man, in a calm and friendly tone, added, "That wall's not going anywhere, and you look tired. It wouldn't hurt to rest and rehydrate."
I stopped, considered his words for a moment, and sighed. Resting for a few minutes wouldn't hurt. I turned back and went over to him.
"Alright, old man. I'll take your tea, but then I'm getting back to it."
"Perfect!" he replied enthusiastically. "I've got some herbs that will hydrate you and get your strength back up."
"Oh, really?" I replied with skepticism, watching him as he prepared the mix.
As the old man finished making the tea, I couldn't resist asking, "Do you know if there's another way up? That wall seems pretty solid, and I'm getting a bit bored of trying."
The old man handed me the cup of tea with a kind smile and said, "This is the only path up, traveler. But it's been closed for a long time. What are you hoping to find up there, if you don't mind me asking?"
His question made me uncomfortable, and my face probably showed it. It wasn't his business. "I'm just looking for someone," I answered dryly. "They told me they'd be here, but I think I've come for nothing. Just wasting my time."
My patience was already at its limit. While I drank, he just kept looking at the mountains with that serene smile, as if he was immortal and time meant nothing. I, on the other hand, could only think about how to break that damn wall.
"Beautiful place, isn't it?" the old man commented, unhurried. "These mountains… so imposing…"
"No, all I see is a blocked path," I replied, visibly annoyed. "That wall's there to stop me, and it's doing a fine job of it."
The old man let out a small laugh, sipping his tea. "Walls, closed doors… they always seem to be there to keep us out. But sometimes, young man, what really stops us isn't what's in front of us."
I looked at him, confused, raising an eyebrow. "What the hell are you saying, old man? Are you senile or something? That wall is there. Period. There's nothing else."
The old man shrugged. "Maybe. Or maybe you're too focused on what you see and not on what you carry with you."
I let out a sigh, rolling my eyes. I stood up abruptly, leaving the tea aside, and headed back to the wall. I'd already wasted enough time on this old man's riddles. So I went back to pushing it, this time with all my strength, grunting through clenched teeth as sweat started running down my back.
The old man, in no hurry at all, got up as well and started following me, humming again.
"You know, brute force rarely solves anything. It's like trying to push water to make it stop flowing. Are you sure there's no other way to deal with what's blocking you?" he said, as I kept pounding the wall, this time with a thick branch I'd found.
"Don't you have anything better to do?" I snapped, not stopping my assault on the stone. "Can't you see I'm busy?"
"Well, I thought you might like some company." The old man laughed softly, as if none of this bothered him. "Besides, that stone looks pretty tough. Are you sure you'll bring it down with a few blows?"
I paused for a second, panting, as the branch broke in two after another useless hit against the stone. "What's that supposed to mean?" I glared at him, clearly irritated. "You're talking in riddles, old man. Don't tell me you think I'll get through this with magic or something."
"Why not?" he asked with a smile. "Power never truly leaves—it just sleeps, waiting to be awakened the right way. Perhaps… you don't need to keep hitting that wall with bare hands."
"What are you getting at?" I retorted, nearly out of strength but frustrated. "They took everything from me! I can't do anything! If I could use my power, do you think I'd be here cursing at this wall?"
The old man took a sip of his tea, as if the situation had no urgency at all. "The things taken from us aren't completely lost. They're just waiting… to be claimed by someone willing to work hard to awaken them."
"Work hard? I've been hitting this wall for hours!" I replied, exasperated, dripping in sweat, my hands trembling. "I don't know what kind of work you think I need."
The old man stopped to the side, as if assessing the situation, and then added, "Maybe it's not the wall you need to break. The answer is closer than you think. Much closer… but not outside." He said this last part with a calmness that almost drove me crazy.
I looked at him, overwhelmed by confusion. What the hell was he trying to tell me? I was already on the verge of desperation, and his words weren't helping. I turned back to the wall, determined to ignore him and keep trying.
But when I looked back, the old man was gone. Only the log he'd been sitting on, the small campfire, and the steaming cup of tea remained… but no trace of him.
I stayed still. How had he disappeared so quickly? I looked around, expecting him to reappear from somewhere, but there was no sign of him. A chill ran through me as I remembered his last words.
"The things taken from us aren't completely lost… they're just waiting to be claimed."
I stood there, mulling over what had just happened. A thought crossed my mind like a lightning bolt. "Wait… what if that old man… was the Sage?" I shook my head, incredulous, as anger grew inside me.
"I'm an idiot!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, jumping to my feet. "How the hell didn't I see it?! What kind of old man goes somewhere this remote just to drink some damn tea? Of course he was the Sage!"
I spun around a few times, punching the air in frustration. I couldn't believe how stupid I'd been, chatting casually while the Sage guided me without me realizing it.
"How didn't I see it!" I stopped for a moment, took a deep breath, trying to calm myself, and dropped back to the ground beside the steaming cup, staring at the empty spot where the old man had been.
Slowly, the words he'd said started to echo in my head. "That foolish old man told me… that it wasn't the wall I needed to break… That what I was looking for wasn't lost?" I murmured to myself, recalling fragments of our conversation.
"What did he mean by saying that what was taken from me hadn't disappeared forever?"
I reflected in silence, going over what he had said. I brought a hand to my chin, thinking about the fire and the power that had once flowed through me. Somehow, his words suggested I hadn't lost it completely. That I could still awaken my power, but it wouldn't be easy.
Suddenly, a spark of excitement ran through me. "That's it!" I exclaimed, standing up. "I can awaken my power again! But… it's going to take a lot of work."
Without wasting any more time, I ran back to the salamanders, my mind racing. I didn't bother looking back or trying to break down the wall again. My mind was set. I had to go back to Eldrek. I needed his help to understand how to work and regain what had been taken from me.
Going back home wasn't an option I trusted—it'd be foolish if I did. Maybe they were still looking for me, but with Eldrek, I'd be covered while I prepared for what was coming. I patted the salamanders before untying them, a gesture that seemed to mean as much to them as it would to a rock, and soon enough, we were on our way back.
As I sped through the same villages I'd passed on the way here, something in the distance caught my attention. One of the towns was shrouded in smoke.
"What the hell…?" I murmured, pulling the reins to make the salamanders stop at a safe distance. I watched cautiously. The town was under attack, but by whom and why? It was a quiet place, known for its farmers and merchants. It wasn't a warrior's village.
I looked closer, trying to figure out what was going on. My nerves immediately spiked when I saw them. They were the same shadow elementals who had attacked me before.
"Were they looking for me?" I thought, as confusion and fear started to churn in my chest. But then, something else caught my attention.
They weren't alone.
Riding a three-headed chimera, a demi-human watched the chaos with a look of satisfaction. This wasn't just any chimera—I'd read about them. Three heads: one of a dragon, another of a lion, and the last one a serpent. A rare, dangerous beast. I didn't recognize the rider, but his presence was disturbing.
Our eyes met from afar. The demi-human looked directly at me and, with a cruel smile, relished the destruction the elementals were causing. I felt my blood freeze. "Damn it, he saw me!" I muttered under my breath. I couldn't stay here.
Without a second thought, I ordered the salamanders to move—fast.
"Let's go, quickly!" The creatures obeyed, taking off with force as the wind whipped against my face. I looked back, hoping to see if they were following me. But no… they weren't.
Even so, I didn't slow down.
By now, I was drenched in sweat. "What the hell is happening?" I wondered, feeling adrenaline coursing through my veins. Why were they attacking that place? Were they really looking for me? If so… why didn't they follow? And who was that demi-human?
I shook my head. It didn't matter. I needed to get to Eldrek as soon as possible. Whatever was going on, that was the only place where I'd be safe. I couldn't afford to stop, not now.