Mythran's Master Of All

Ren and Sally spent a good half hour cleaning up the mess. Teepo on the other hand, chittered in delight with each new place he found to wedge himself into. Ren apologized to Sally again for messing up her shop, but Sally just shook her head and laughed. Aimus came in just as they had tossed the last of the wood pieces into the hearth of the fireplace. He carried two large bags through the shop and into the back. Ren asked to buy a bolt of fabric from Sally and she handed over her best one. He tried to pay for it and she wouldn't take it. Ren walked over to the table he'd used and picked up the three coin pouches he'd left there and handed them to Sally.

“Ren? What in the world!” Sally said when she examined the new pouches. “You shouldn't use up your fabric for something like this!”

Ren smiled to himself. He had guessed right that she'd be upset if she thought he was 'wasting' the fabric. “Don't worry, I only used scraps.” She doesn't need to know the details of how I got those scraps, though.

“I can't take these.” Sally said and tried to hand them back.

“I made them for you, to keep or to sell. Plus, now you know what to do with any scraps you might have left when you use your fabric.”

Sally looked at them closely and commented on how it was quite smart to use the same fabric for the drawstring because it increased the strength and value immensely. Ren blushed a little at the compliment. Aimus came back into the front of the shop and Ren handed him the last one.

“What's this?” Aimus said, sceptically.

“It's just... a thank you for letting me tag along.” Ren said.

Aimus grunted and took the pouch without comment. He saw the ones his mother was holding and assumed Ren had bought it from her. He wasn't about to reject one of his mother's products. No matter how expensive it looked, it wouldn't last long out in the wild.

“Come on, boy. We're wasting daylight.” Aimus said and went out the back of the shop. Ren closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He doesn't know me yet, or how much I hate being called boy. Ren thought and followed Aimus out the back door. The gate was open this time and a horse was hooked up to the cart.

“Do you know how to handle something like this?” Aimus asked, knowing full well a city boy like Ren wouldn't know the first thing about driving a cart.

“Of course.” Ren said with confidence. He went around the cart and checked all the fastenings, took the reins and hopped up onto the driver's bench. Ren checked that the brake was okay and wasn't too worn, turned to Aimus and nodded. Aimus had a shocked look on his face and Ren grinned.

Sally had come out to stand by the back door. She had watched their little exchange. “You'll have to get used to that feeling, eventually.” Sally said to Aimus, and laughed.

Aimus shook his head and got up onto the bench as well. There wasn't a lot of room, but considering they were both pretty thin, they had room to move around without too much difficulty.

“We're going out the city's south gate.” Aimus said and pointed. He turned to his mother. “I'll see you again next month.” Sally nodded and waved.

“Bye, Sally! I learned a lot! See you soon!” Ren said and waved before he flicked the reins. The horse clopped out of Sally's back yard and into the street. Ren stopped the horse and Aimus hopped off and locked Sally's back gate. He got back on and Ren headed for the south gate.

********

Darkness was everywhere. It would have been difficult for a normal person to see, but Tristan was used to it by now. He'd spent months being tortured; daily whippings, beatings, and starvation. He eventually broke free and fought his way out of the deep caverns of Shargon. He'd only just learned the name a few weeks ago; some poor idiot had stumbled into the caves by accident and had gotten horribly lost. It had happened for the most part because he couldn't see. Luckily, one of the first new abilities Tristan had gained was night vision. His eyes were almost completely black now, instead of the nice sea blue they had started as. His jet black hair was long and matted. His beautiful white and gold armor was nearly pitch black, with veins of darkness flowing through it. His old glowing sword actually absorbed light now. Tristian clenched his fist and blood flowed from a spike he had planted into his palm. Mana flowed and he felt the familiar drain again. A dark mist appeared and formed into a portal. A small hellhound, little more than a pup, stepped out and the portal closed. He reached down and fed the dog with his blood. Summoning required sacrifice. Tristian remembered how he had gotten there and what he'd had to do to survive. A twisted smile appeared on his face.

It was all that little bastard's fault.

********

Ren drove the cart for most of the day. Aimus was surprised that Ren hadn't complained once. Not about the jostling, the rough road, the heat, the hard seat, or even about having to stop to feed and water the horse every few hours.

How is he not boiling with frustration right now? Aimus thought.

Ren was having the time of his life. He'd never been outside the city, except for when he went mining for ore. The scenery was completely different in this direction. There was always something new to see. Some kind of creature, a weird looking tree, or an oddly shaped rock always crept into his vision and caught his attention. The occasional stops to take care of the horse was an opportunity to explore a new area. Ren never went far. He always stayed within sight of the cart. He had no idea what kind of dangers lurked in these spots, but he couldn't stop himself from roaming around a little. Teepo was in the same situation as Ren. They both shared the love of seeing something new, and Ren would smile when Teepo would point out a beetle shaped bush or poop shaped rock. That all came to a halt when Ren pointed upwards and Teepo saw his very first cloud. He had chittered in surprise and just stood on Ren's shoulder for hours, not saying a word.

Aimus directed Ren to pull the cart into a nice clearing, and they settled in to make camp. Ren got the cart secured properly, and unhooked the horse. He led the horse to a nearby tree and tied the reins to it. It gave the horse a bit of room to move around and graze, if it wanted to, and kind of acted as an early warning system if anything should happen close by. Aimus took out one of the big bags that he'd put in the cart and opened it. Inside was a variety of traps that he'd ordered. Ren looked closely as he unpacked several different types. Aimus took out a length of snare wire and went to the edge of the clearing. He tied it to a tree stump near the road and looped it around various rocks and trees around the clearing, then tied the end to a stick. He pushed the stick into the ground near the cart, and kept tension on it. He then took out a little bell and hung it on the wire next to the stick. Aimus walked back, along the length of wire, hitting it occasionally and the little bell jingled each time. He nodded and walked back to the cart.

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Ren looked at one of the traps near the bag. It had a metal frame and wires along the edge, and some kind of mechanism in the center. He turned to Aimus and asked if he minded if Ren looked at it. Aimus shrugged, took a similar trap, and went into the treeline. Ren picked up the trap, moved it's parts around, felt the tension in the wire, flicked the mechanism in the center a few times, then pushed the metal frame apart until it opened and the middle piece popped up. Ren instinctively knew not to hit the middle piece with his hand, and grabbed a stick that was nearby. He poked the center piece, and the trap sprung closed with a snap and held onto the stick.

“Whoa!” Ren said, in awe.