Bauer stared at the wooden ceiling directly above, often swapping his gaze between the ceiling and the gathering of soot on a beam at one end of the house, where a fireplace laid below.
Well, it's about time we get these needles out... This is gonna hurt like a bitch, so he thought, his hands growing restless as his fingers tapped the sides of the table he laid on, playing a rhythmical percussion line. This shit is already hurting now that I think about it.
"Have no fear, young man," said Maleagant as he brought forth many concoctions and tinctures, having Bauer consume each one. "We shall get these needles out, and you won't feel a thing."
Thanks gramps, he replied in his mind while a sharp grimace crossed his face thanks to the repulsive flavours. He let out a heavy breath as he closed his eyes, before raising his brows and opening his eyes. I need to learn how to make those things. I don't feel the pain anymore... Wait...
Yes, he may not have felt the pain, but neither did he feel his limbs. He looked to his right and left, finding that neither his arms nor hands responded to his desire to move them. He raised his head and looked at his legs, bent so that his feet laid flat, though those refused to listen as well.
"By now," continued Maleagant, pouring a dark red liquid from a glass bottle onto a tablespoon, "you will have noticed that your body isn't responding to you." He walked over with the spoonful of liquid, holding a hand under his other, more shaky one, before giving the liquid to Bauer. "You will only have to wait a couple of minutes after drinking this liquid, and then we'll take out the needles." He chuckled.
Again, the bitter flavour left a contorted face that boldened all of the creases on Bauer's scarred face. Though the intensity of the bitterness left a burning sensation running down his throat, chest, and eventually his stomach.
"Kane," called out Maleagant, watching the boy enjoy the warmth of the fireplace, sat on a brown, square carpet, "help me out, will you?"
"Yes, Sage," he replied immediately, wasting no time as he walked over to Maleagant.
He took a look at Bauer resting on a beige wooden table he could only assume was a dining table, which always struck as odd since he never saw anyone else in Maleagant's home, nor did he think Maleagant had any family. He turned his gaze to the dark wood grain logs that formed the walls, plain and empty. Though what sat on smaller tables just in front of them was far more interesting, like beakers, vials, herbs stored in bottles, tinctures, chests, and all sorts of books laid against a table reserved just for them.
In the corner of the wall laid a doorway, though with no door to use. Kane watched as Maleagant rushed into the room and ran out, bringing out several tools at once and placing them on another table right next to Bauer's head.
"Uh, Sage?" called out Kane, his brows standing up as he looked at the pile of many tools, which only kept piling up with each time the old man entered the room. "What are all of these tools for?" We don't seriously need to use all of this shit, right? Fuck man, why am I doing this? Actually... "What did you want me to do?"
"Put all of those tools in the chest across the room," Maleagant's voice called out.
"Oh, okay." He grabbed the tools, struggling to hold them in his skinny arms. Thank fuck I'm not dealing with Bauer's bullshit.
"Oh and one more thing!"
"Yes?" he looked back.
"I'm going to bring some items for sanitizing the wound," the old man reappeared standing at the doorway, holding a transparent bottle of equally transparent liquid as he looked at Kane, "and I want you to clean around Bauer's wounds. Also, I'll need your help with removing the needle's from our friend's arms if you don't mind."
Say you mind, say you mind, say you mind, a voice begged in Kane's head, though his mouth said otherwise. "Okay." Of course, that sparked a fierce debate with the voice in his head, knowing that he wasn't exactly mentally prepared, let alone mentally strong enough, to deal with removing things lodged into people.
Bauer also wanted to voice his concerns, though he figured it was probably useless and stupid anyway. But on the other hand, he genuinely doubted that Kane would be able to perform the given tasks properly, and potentially cause him more problems than just needles poking through his arms. If Kane was going to help out, at least he could've been put to sleep before... is what he thought.
"Alright, Bauer," said Kane as he approached the table, looking over Bauer, before standing back and analyzing the wounds, whispering, "I'm gonna be real honest with you, all I know is the difference between jack shit and fuck all about what I'm supposed to do, but," he returned to a regular volume, "I'm sure it'll be fine."
"Well maybe you should consider telling him that?"
"It'll be fine, trust me."
"I hope it will be, because if you can't even clean around a wound then I don't know what to tell you. You might be as dumb as the other laymen."
"Eh," he poured a bit of the transparent solution onto a cotton ball, before pressing it around the coral coloured needle, "at least not so dumb as to actually join Nefandyr."
Bauer hissed in pain as he felt a burn around the wound. He may not have been able to feel his arms, but he sure did as hell feel the burn of the disinfectant, which did strike as odd, but it wasn't unbearable so he didn't mind it much.
"There," said Kane, walking over to the other arm as he added, "that's not too hard."
"That's a relief."
"The fuck is that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, just get it over with. This shit burns."
"Aye, aye, captain."
As requested, Kane quickly went through with disinfecting everything, made certain that he was doing such a simple task properly by the hisses of pain Bauer would let out. Conveniently enough, Maleagant would arrive just after Kane had finished disinfecting, marking the time to start removing the needles.
"Kane, I want you to hold his arm straight," said Maleagant, taking a seat on the ground underneath Bauer's arms that Kane held up, speaking slowly enough for Kane to count the words, which signalled to him to importance of his job. "Make sure they are not fully extended, otherwise it will be harder to pull the needle. Also, you cannot move the arms when I say I'm removing the needle. Understood?"
"Yes, Sage."
"Okay, then I shall begin with the first one. I'm removing the needle."
Kane extended Bauer's arm, making sure not to go too far, lest he cause more issues for the Sage and the patient. Despite it taking about a minute, Maleagant did stand up, putting the bloody needle aside on a piece of white cloth.
"Good," he said, going under the other arm. "Now let's get to work with this one."
Again, the process did take a while, but it went smoothly. Next were the legs, which were even easier since Kane only needed to restrain the feet to secure the leg in place. The removal of the needles in the legs also went by faster, and Bauer felt relieved knowing that he'd be spared the pain of his muscles writhing against the foreign object.
"Well done!" said Maleagant, carrying the tray of bloodstained needles into the other room. "Now," his voice echoed, "all you need is to rest for the night."
"I need some fucking rest," mumbled Kane, feeling the weight of his eyelids increase with each passing second. "It's been such a long night."
"I appreciate it, Sage," said Bauer, continuing to lay on the table, "but I must leave as soon as I can."
Maleagant's head peered around the doorway, wearing a frown. "And why is that?"
"The nefandites will be searching for me. If they find me here, then they will not hesitate to incorporate you all into their human sacrifices."
"And you believe they won't come here anyway? Hmm?"
"W-well... they would, but I can go and fight them. After all, I once stood by them and watched as they destroyed people's lives."
Maleagant pressed his lips together and at the ground, playing with his beard before he stepped back into the room, walking over to Bauer.
"Young man," he said, pulling a chair next to Bauer and taking a seat, "we all make mistakes. Believe me I've had my fair share! However, that does not mean that we should continue to make mistakes when we know we're doing something wrong."
"But I have nowhere else to go... and I must try stopping them at least. A Final God has emerged, and I feel like I'm not making use of my time. I could be fighting them. I don't want to say that I should've fought. I don't want to carry more regrets."
Maleagant nodded, pondering on the words. "Do you know what the definition of regret is?"
"I... I guess it's a feeling of wishing that I had done something else when I had the chance?"
"Yes, exactly. To put it simply: regret is an opportunity missed."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because you are rushing to a decision. You are making a choice based on regret. That is a mistake."
A loud bell rung across the town, forcing Maleagant to put a pause to his words. Wasting no time, he stood up and picked up his walking stick, ignoring the questions the other two asked as he stepped out, slamming the door behind him.
"What is going on?" asked Kane, breaking the silence while and Bauer stared at the dark door.
Bauer let the question hang in the air for a bit, pondering on the Sage's words, before saying, "I don't know."
***
The moon had finally disappeared behind the mountains, letting the sky engage in a battle between the darkness of dusk and the light of dawn. The echoes of the city bell travelled with the chilly wind, while Maleagant walked against the wind, eager to find out why the Bell of Peril was rung.
Could it be? he wondered as he held a hand over his face, blocking the harsh and relentless wind. It would be quite bad if it was.
He walked onward in solitude for about a minute, nearing the intersection leading to the southern exit of Thalamar, finding every guard he'd come to know over the years standing together, brandishing their weapons. A group of them charged forth, disappearing behind the buildings. Maleagant, seeing that the guards were rushing out, dropped the farce that he was a senile old man, and ran against the wind, each stride larger than the last, until he got around the corner.
Maleagant watched as red and green lights flashed in the distance. It's them. He watched as guards ran through the grass, intercepting none other than the nefandites, and there were more than just laymen and militiamen.
Maleagant looked off to the platform a guard stood atop, where the Bell of Peril rested. "Guard! Do not send anymore of your men into battle!" he commanded.
The guard looked down, removing his helm just to make sure that he wasn't imagining things, revealing the face of Ephraim.
"Sage Maleagant?" he said. "You must retreat to your home! It is not safe to be outside right now! The nefandites are prepared to storm Thalamar!"
"Ephraim, hold your positions, and do not let anymore men beyond the pillars!" Maleagant returned his gaze to the ensuing chaos ahead, watching a turmoil unfold in the land, becoming littered with dead bodies and blood splatters. "I shall deal with them myself!"
"What!?" called out Ephraim, his brows furrowed and his jaw slackened as he watched the old man run into the wild like he was reliving his youth. Ephraim shook his head, deciding to heed the Sage's words. "Everyone hold your positions! We will wait for the Sage's mark!" he yelled, returning his gaze to Maleagant, who was now just a small blue speck in the distance. Man I don't get paid enough for this shit, so he thought.
Maleagant huffed and puffed, watching as guards and nefandites fell, a heartbeat for each of the innocent souls lost in the moment. With wide eyes and a clenched jaw, Maleagant pushed his limits, picking up more speed, as each step he took left behind a blue smoke that was lost in the wind.
In no time, Maleagant made it just in time to save a guard who laid on the ground, just seconds away from a knight ready to deliver him to death, who arrived in the form of a black glaive. Maleagant placed his walking stick in between the guard's face and the glaive's edge, stopping the glaive without moving an inch. The knight leapt back, assessing the situation before he made any hasty moves.
"Retreat while you still can," ordered Maleagant, looking at the guard from the corner of his eye. As soon as the guard retreated with any others who could manage, Maleagant studied the knight's armour, which gave off an otherworldly aura.
His helm was designed with a sharp and heavy triangular top, where the bottom half curved inward and branched off to the sides like a boar's tusks, giving it the shape of a star. Many thin lines streaked down, across where the helm's visors should have been, adding on to its sharp and rigid appearance.
As for the rest of his appearance, he wore segmented plate armour, layered for all the protection a melee fighter could ask for. As for the finishing touch, he wielded a black glaive that curved at the tip. Its edge serrated and thin like a shark's teeth.
"Death has come, old man," said the knight, his gravelly voice soaring with the wind, distorted by his mask. He twirled his glaive as he walked forth, ending it off with a single diagonal swing down, followed by the grass dancing in response to his theatrics. "All shall wither... under the reign of the Final God."
Maleagant wore a scowl, taking his battle stance, planting one foot forward whilst using the other as a pivot, holding the staff diagonally across his body with the tip facing downward, with one hand gripping the base of staff and the other further down. He took a deep breath, ready for a duel to the death.
The knight leapt forward, swinging down with all his might against the thick, grey, and crude weapon, though he watched as Maleagant defended the attack, holing his ground with ease, not even flinching at the collision.
Instead, Maleagant quickly pushed the glaive up and followed up with a jab straight at the knight's breastplate, sending him sliding back as the knight dug his glaive in the ground and held his chest with the other hand, grunting.
Again Maleagant took his battle stance, taunting the knight as he said, "You have much to learn, it would seem."
The knight let out a quiet yet baleful laugh, stepping forward as he held his free arm behind his back and the glaive extended out to his side. "I must respect my elders by taking it easy at first, should I not?"
"You leave yourself open," said Maleagant, stepping forward as well, switching his intention to strike first this time. "All it takes," he stabbed straight at the knight's breastplate again, "is a well placed—"
Within a split second, the knight deflected the jab over his shoulder, returning a counter attack with a downward swing at his head into a flurry of attacks, instantly putting Maleagant on the defensive once again, forced to walk back as he defended against the series of attacks.
"All it takes," said the knight, continuing to keep one arm behind his back as he swung relentlessly, "is one touch of my blade to sunder you where you stand."
Maleagant continued defending, until he noticed a pattern, and found the chance to sidestep another downward swing, stepping on the dull end of the blade and jabbing the knight on the breastplate once again, forcing him to fall on his back as he lost the grip on his weapon.
Maleagant watched as the knight quickly picked himself back up, before kicking the glaive over to his feet, which caught the knight off guard, hesitant to pick it up.
"Go on," said Maleagant, standing defenseless. "Take up arms once more."
The knight tilted his head, before picking up the glaive as he said, "You are a fool, old man. You should deliver death while the opportunity presents itself."
"No, for I shall not regret missing the chance to kill mercilessly."
The knight scoffed, staring into Maleagant's eyes. "Such noble character... shall be your undoing."
"Then let it be decided on this final round," he replied, taking his battle stance once more. "Fate shall reveal the fallen and the victor."