Chapter 160 - 161
Five months had passed since Alistar had discovered the cave hidden within the forests to the south of Distan, during which time he had successfully spoken to the madman trapped within about the plan that they had agreed upon on the night that he had been gifted so much gold. It had taken two months of persistent visits before the man had managed to regain his sanity again in Alistar’s presence, at which point they were able to come to the same agreement as they had before. Thankfully, he had retained his sanity long enough to teach Alistar the spells that he had mentioned earlier, which had worked perfectly once they had been mastered to an extent.
During this timeframe, Alistar had been forced to kill several sizeable predators that had either stalked or attacked him on his way to the hidden location or on the subsequent return trips, which had toughened his nerves to the extent that he no longer hesitated when taking the lives of other animals.
These days, he visited the cave once every two weeks, always bringing along enough food and water to last the man until his next visit. Each time, he would activate the mind cleansing spell as soon as he entered the cave, returning the man’s sanity to him before triggering the memory preservation spell, which functioned exactly as described. Like this, the two were able to keep in constant communication with one another, though their designs had come to a standstill despite this fact.
Alistar still hadn’t managed to convert his newfound fortune into golden lucets, which was a pivotal point in their plan if they were to have any hope of proceeding forward. At times he was tempted to show his precious crystal to the man and ask if they could simply rely on the massive amounts of masked energy that were contained within it, but even an exquisite-class magic crystal wouldn’t have enough energy to break the curses in question. According to the man, they required at least five hundred high-class crystals, which were evidently much more expensive in the modern day than they had been in the past. Even if he were to convert all 852 golden crowns into golden lucets, he would only be able to purchase a fraction of the necessary number. Because of this, Alistar had formed a habit of accompanying Zech, Jaden and Helen on their weekly excursions, usually in the company of Corrie and some of their other friends.
Thanks to their desperate desire to raise funds, the group was able to increase their frontiersmen ranking by three stars in just half a year, meaning that they were due for a new badge in the not too distant future. It was a shame that Alistar was only fourteen, as every time they completed a hunt he was the only one that didn’t receive any sort of benefits from the guild. Even Corrie had signed up and registered with the team that his friends were slowly forming, which had simply been called Team Dozen despite the fact that it currently had only four members.
Today was a beautiful summer’s day characterized by periodic breezes, sporadic, lazy clouds, and heavy, humid air. As had been the case over the past several months, Alistar’s mind was filled with thoughts pertaining to his lack of funds, as well as the secret conspiring between him and the madman along with the ever-growing urgency of his plan to rescue Kaila. She would be around sixteen at this point, which meant that every day that she survived in those mines would likely provoke new terrors and tragedies from guards and fellow slaves alike. Just the thought of what she might be going through was enough to fill Alistar with endless anxiety and anger, to the extent that on some days it was very difficult to control the impulse to set off for Melsian regardless of his current capabilities. It was only through exercising deep, stoic patience that he was able to calm his restless nerves and stay his hand, a process that lately had involved mounting his palfrey, Star, and entertaining long rides in the fields of Caedmon’s estate.
Today was no different, though this time around Stason had insisted on joining him. Currently they were proceeding along the fringes of the surrounding forests at a lazy trot, enjoying the slight shade offered by the bordering trees. Like Star, the palfrey that Stason had selected for the day was also a brilliant shade of white, the stable master having not wanted to take a black stallion out in the current heat.
"What’s on your mind, Alistar?" said Stason, wiping a streak of sweat from his brow beneath a head of damp brown hair. "You’ve been awful quiet all throughout today’s ride."
"Just thinking about my future, I suppose."
"As someone twice your age, let me tell you that such things will always be present on the mind. Even now I worry about what sort of girl Patricia and I will raise Lauren to be."
Alistar couldn’t help but laugh. "I’d think a good girl, to be sure. Take it from me, there’s no better place in this kingdom to grow up in than here in Distan."