Soulforge Legacy Series

The instant I stepped outside the golden light of the sun sliced through the air around me. The places on my skin that it hit started to heat up. It almost felt like I was back on Earth. More specifically back during the solar storm that occurred in while I was in high school.

That single event took out most of the power and equipment as well as provided one hell of a heat wave. It was only because the old satellites had given warning that the majority of the infrastructure had been saved. Well, those parts that serviced the rich and powerful anyway. Everything else that was saved was to help support said systems.

But that was a different time. A different place. As for here, it was likely that this city was simply closer to the equator or something. Especially as the people around me didn’t look all that bothered by the heat. It probably helped that the soft breeze was a cooling balm against the already reddening skin.

A few children ran past me, laughing and crying out to their friends as they disappeared around a mound of snow. People, both young and old stood behind or near stalls, calling out to people to come check out their wares. Almost everyone looked lively and happy. There were even some non-humans intermingled in the crowd.

The scene was confusing yet nice and calming. Nothing compared to what I expected. And honestly, I didn’t know what to think.

Then, between one blink and the next, the scene vanished. Stalls that had been full of merchandise that people haggled over vanished. In their place was little more than a pile of smashed wood and torn fabric. Dirt and mud covered both to the point that it was hard to tell where the pile started and the mound of trash next it began.

And of course that was when the smell of the place decided to hit me. A mix of sun heated garbage and unwashed bodies overwhelmed my nose. It was enough to nearly cause me to throw up.

My gagging at the acrid smell was enough to catch the nearest persons attention. Well, to catch their gaze. Their eyes were vacant to the point that I wondered if there was anyone left. But maybe that was the point. If there was no one home, then they wouldn’t have to see what the city had become. What they had become.

Questions bubbled up in my mind. This city had been so full of life yet now it looked no better than the slums on Earth. No, this place looked worse somehow.

Just how in the hell had this happened? Was this somehow my fault? Or was it something else? Some one else? Could this be why the demon had been able to keep power? I mean, he had been gone long enough for the people to realize what they were doing and to fix everything, but they didn’t. They let it all fall apart.

Of course, there was always the chance that this was what happened when a city got rid of the Adventurer’s Guild. Sure the group was rowdy and got into fights, but they represented one hell of a driving economic force. Especially for a city like this. One that had nothing else going for it.

Maybe that was where I needed to go first. If there were no adventurers and the city had taken over the building, what were they using it for? Were they working on fixing the place up and preparing another group to do the same work? While it wouldn’t work as well, it would still help the city get back on its feet.

If any of that was going on, the place would be full of people doing something. And where people worked, there would also be those who talked. While the things they talked about might be useless to them, I needed any and all the information I could get. If I got really lucky, I might also catch them in the middle of a shift change.

The further I walked, the more I noticed. Of the city and the ways it had gone down hill, but also of the fact that I was being watched. Not by one or two people, but by everyone I passed. It almost felt as though I was being measured up as a target. Everything on me was being inventoried and my worth calculated. All to see if I was worth stealing from.

As I didn’t want to draw any more attention to myself by getting into a fight, I stayed near the center of the street. And judging by how the hairs on the back of my neck stiffened up when I passed a few of the darker alleys, I had been right to worry. Though, oddly enough, the amount of people on the street seemed to drop off as I got closer to my destination.

Then, as though I had crossed some unseen line drawn through the street, everything around me changed. The consistent piles of refuse vanished and the number of people out and about increased. They even looked presentable.

Some stalls were even open. Though, unlike before, no one was screaming for people to buy their wares. The owners simple sat behind the structure and waited for someone to come over. And a few did. Whether or not they were there to buy something or simply talk, I didn’t know.

Then there were the guards. Well, first off, these were the first guards I had seen since getting here. A fact that I hadn’t really noticed until now.

The guards moved in pairs as they wove their way through the small group. Every one of them scanning over everything as they passed. I froze in place as one of them almost locked eyes with me as he looked in my direction.

He looked at me for a moment before moving onto whatever was behind me. Whatever he saw seemed to be of no consequence as he said nothing and continued on his way. I took the dismissal as permission and kept walking.

While the city behind me was unkempt and the various issues were out in the open, this place was different. Sure it was cleaner, but I could feel an underlying tension. Like the place was held together with rubber bands and a single cut would cause the place to explode.

The more I felt, the more I looked. The more I looked, the more I saw. The more I saw, the more I felt. From the woman in the corner with her hand clenching her hands on the counter over and over to the kids cowering behind various stalls. Even those that were armed never seemed to let their hands stray far from their weapons.

This place was a timebomb waiting to go off. It wasn’t a matter of it, but when. And everyone knew it. Yet none of them did anything. They simply went about their lives while waiting with bated breath for the other shoe to drop.

As suddenly as the first line had been, I found myself at a second one. Unlike the first, this one separated the crowds of civilians from the guards and the former guild hall. The small fields on either side were filled with civilians as they trained. It could have been the resigned look on their faces, or the way the various guards yelled at them but something about the way they looked told me that they were not there by choice.

“You!” Today was going to be one of those days where I got to see everyone I really wished I could avoid. Reluctantly, I turned my head to look up at Michael.

The man looked haggard. Rung out. Diminished. As though the time between my escape and now had not been kind. It probably didn’t help that he was now decked out in full plate armor. Armor that didn’t look light. Especially as he was huffing and puffing from simply walking toward me.

“I need a sparring partner.” If not for the fact that he was staring directly into my eyes, I would have thought that he was talking to one of the guards to either side of me.

His demand caused a civil war to erupt in my head. One side desperately wanted to take him up on his offer. I mean, it was a free chance to take the man down. No repercussions, nothing. Hell, I could make it slow, painful. Torture him at his own request.

Unfortunately for me, the smarter half of my brain was doing what it always did; pointing out issues with my ideas. While I knew I was stronger, he had the same amount of time to grow. For all I knew he had doubled his level or gained some new skills.

Well, that and I was sure that the moment I broke out my sword the jig would be up. It wasn’t a unique weapon, but it was fairly distinct. It wasn’t worth the chance that he would put the pieces together and figure out who I was.

That part wanted me to simply ignore him. To walk away. Sure it would piss the fucker off and he would attack me anyway, but it was the safer option.

A smile twitched at the corner of my lips as I realized there was a middle ground. Something that would cause him to decide that I wasn’t worth the fight and let me go without much trouble.

With a bit of mental effort, I schooled my face and turned toward him. My bow was deep enough to be respectful but not deep enough to give him the respect he would never earn.

“Judging by your armor you focus on direct attacks. A frontliner as it were.” The words were chosen carefully to make it seem like I was a random non-player character. A civilian. Someone that wasn’t worth his time. “I, myself, am more of a mage and rear-line fighter. As such, the outcome of any fight between the two of us has already been decided.”

I stayed in the bow as I waited for his response. He was the first to break the silence with a sigh. “You are right. While it would be good for the mages in this city to gain some experience fighting against someone like me, I don’t have time to train others. So,” fuck, he was going to suggest something else wasn’t he. “I think…”

“MICHAEL!” Linda’s voice roared out of the guild hall, cutting him off. “Get your ass back in here!” Judging by his expression, he really did not want to listen to her. Still, while his expression said one thing, his actions said another.

Without another word, the man marched back into the building. For a second I debated following the asshole. To see just how the two lovers had gotten to the point where she was ordering him around rather than hanging off of him. But that would have presented more of a risk than I was willing to take.

With one final scan over the area, I found myself debating where to go next. I could go back, head to the walls and see what I could find out, or go down the alley that led off toward another section of the city.

That was until my eyes caught sight of a few officials walking past one of the buildings. It wasn’t the fact that they didn’t go in that caught my attention. It was the utter lack of anyone or anything inside the place. Like the entire structure had been completely cleaned out.

I didn’t realize I had moved toward the building until I was already within arms reach of a window. Through which I found that the place wasn’t just cleaned, every wall had been removed save for one or two. Even the back wall was gone.

Empty land stretched out beyond that wall. Other than this structure, nothing stood between the guild hall and the noble district. From the walls to the very foundations, the area had been leveled and cleared to make what looked like a new road.

That road was both a blessing and a curse for any plan we came up with. If we were to use the same gate that I had destroyed that first time, the road would speed the trip up. But that same help would serve anyone chasing us just as well. In fact, it would help them more as reinforcements would have an easier time.

To be honest, any plan to reuse that section of the wall was probably out. If anything, it might be easier to find a different section of the wall. Some place near the church. Once there, I could probably just blow it up. Well, maybe. The walls were strong enough to handle any and every monster that came upon the city. So it would probably handle a few strikes without issue.

Which meant that I would need time. Especially seeing as I didn’t have the boost from the SoulStone like I had last time. That being said, I did have a few tricks up my sleeve. Speaking of tricks, what did the second tail change?

My species tab popped up with a single thought, revealing even more asterisks than before. The one next to my mating status could go die in a river. I didn’t care what happened to the wolf. That being said, the ones next to my Race Skills and Race Points were interesting. Especially as they both led to the same page.

Five trees twisted and wove through each other. Along each branch grayed out nodes sat dormant. Of course most of the information on the screen was either blank, illegible, or simply hidden.

One eye on the crowds around me, I quickly scanned over what I could. Each tree had a label and that was it. From right to left we had Celestial, Moon Sage, Silver Tongue, Furguard, and Moonshadow. While I could make a few guesses as to what they meant, it would be impossible to know if I was right or not. Which meant I had to either go by instinct, ask someone, or ignore the screen.

My mind weighed every option as I moved back the way I came. Detouring enough to get close enough to touch the wall. Tendrils of mana trailed from my hand to trace the wall.

Finally, I realized that ignoring the screen wasn’t really an option given that what I the walls felt stronger than I had thought they would be. If I wanted any chance to get through them, I would need a boost in power. And while I could ask Inari, this felt like one of those things that would annoy the goddess. Which left me with going by instinct.

Of the options, the one that stuck out to me the most was Moonshadow. It sounded like it was the more sneaky of the options. To hide my attacks and strike from the shadows. Such an ability was something I could get behind.

Mind made up, I selected the tree only to find myself presented with three more options. Not power, just more options. One of which confused the hell out of me.

While I had no clue what Emberheart meant or if it did anything, I had thought that I already had FoxFire. So why was it presented as an option here? Then there was Silver Quill which just sounded like an odd scholar like branch. Not what I wanted to do, thank you very much.

Of course, I didn’t have to decide now. I had until tomorrow to make up my mind. Which was a good thing as my mana chose that moment to find a weak point. One that had me narrowing my eyes in concern and suspicion.