Armor
Chapter 41: Fifth Meal

My trip back to Caedun was much less eventful than my trip to the Eastlands had been. I made no pauses, let nothing distract me, and didn’t bother trying to make anyone I encountered feel more comfortable by acting human. I ignored a field of sunken ships, a strange ruin covered in arcane runes, and a skeleton working a field of wheat. Those mysteries would normally intrigue me, but there was only one mystery I could focus on, the mystery of me.

I arrived much further south than Buryn, my destination being Entden, the place where my adventure had begun. I relied on Lythia Irontooth’s navigation skills and Myphos the merman’s understanding of underwater typography to arrive just south of Cirros. I felt a distinct urge to make a short jaunt into the center of the city and make my way to Talen, but my drive for answers overrode that urge, and I began heading southwest.

It took me the better part of a day and a half to arrive at the wooden walls of the town. It was night, and rather than wake a gate guard, I climbed up a nearby tree and leapt over the walls, rolling as I did. The streets were mercifully empty, and I made my way to the headman’s office, rapped my fist against the door twice and waited.

I heard some clunking followed by a bit of cursing and a deep breath at the door before Jusuf opened it. The smile he’d managed to summon up before opening the door dropped immediately when he saw me, but he recovered quickly.

"Ser, it’s good to see you again." His voice trembled a bit as he spoke, which confirmed that news of me had reached all the way down to Entden.

"The head. Where did you bury it?"

"Pardon, ser?"

"The head we gave you to show we’d completed the job you’d requested."

"I, uh, that is we, buried it just outside the walls. Marked it with a stake."

"Out the front gate and a little north. It’s there just before the forest."

"Thank you."

I walked away and heard his door slam closed, some furniture dragged to blockade it. I had considered tying him up or doing something to silence him, but I didn’t want to hurt the poor man, and I also didn’t feel I had the time. I was too focused on finding answers.

I exited by quickly climbing up the lead up to the walls and leaping down to the ground below. I moved north along the walls and found a tree with a single stake driven into the ground in front of it.

It took a bit of digging, but eventually, I saw the darkened yellow coloring of a skull. I lifted it up and brushed some of the dirt off of it. It had been picked clean, and I was surprised to find that it was covered in draconic runes, almost like someone had carved it with a small knife. I tied the skull to my waist as I wasn’t ready to consume it just yet.

I made my way into the forest, toward my old home. When I reached it, I saw a few goblins cooking outside of it, roasting what looked to be a kobold over a spit. I didn’t bother stealthing—I simply drew my multi-blade and went to work. It wasn’t artful; I found no real challenge from them as I carved my way through the dungeon. It was simply butchering.

When I reached my former master’s hall, I found a chieftain dressed in Rubrus’s red garments. They’d been torn and belted to fit him better, but the effect was comical. He threw a large rock at me and cursed at me in undercommon. I ignored his attacks and lifted him by his robe.

"Where body clothes on?" I asked in barely passable undercommon.

The goblin bit my hand, so I shook him and asked again. He cursed a little, causing small globs of spittle to land against my faceplate, but this time, he pointed to what I assumed was supposed to be his throne. It was made up of bones, mostly human, but a few goblin and one kobold skull. I snapped the chief’s neck and went to gather the human ones. Almost all of them were covered in the same draconic runes I’d found on the skull; those that weren’t, I put to the side.

With the amount of time that had passed and the decay that had occurred, I wasn’t expecting to get all the information I was looking for, which was why I’d done my best to gather as much of Rubrus together as possible. I was glad I’d been able to insulate myself from the essences I’d eaten. The idea of becoming like him after what I was about to do made me distinctly upset. I gathered all of him in front of me, opened myself, and ate him.

* * *

I was shivering. The room was cold, and I’d only been given a scrap of a blanket to sleep in. Calling it a “room” was also not exactly accurate. It was more of a barn corner. I whispered a few words and managed to summon a small, soft flame. It didn’t give off enough heat to provide significant comfort, but it was better than nothing, and since I wasn’t sleeping anyway, it made sense to get a bit of practice in.

I moved the flame left to right, then up and down. I concentrated on growing it larger, then shrinking it down to the size of a cinder. I summoned a second one, then a third, and made them all rotate slowly. I heard a bang against the barn door, and snuffed them out.

"No practice without my supervision! You could burn the place down."

I sighed. "Sorry, master. I was just cold."

"A disciplined mind can ignore such things. Get some sleep. You’ll be cutting firewood early tomorrow."

"Yes, master."

Trying once again to get as much of myself as possible under the tattered blanket, I heard him walk away, back into his warm house full up on the fresh firewood I’d provided, with the recently cleaned chamber pots, and freshly plucked chicken. Damn him. Damn magic. Damn this cold.

This was the way of things, though. If a young man wanted to learn magic, there were two choices. One was to join the church and hope a god deigned to provide you with what you wanted, or you served under a master and learned. I’d heard that some masters were kind, let their apprentices live in the house with them, and worried about their wellbeing. Most masters, though, were like mine: cruel, vain men who saw an apprentice as nothing but a servant. Who dangled power just out of reach, feeding them crumbs of knowledge to keep them under their thumbs.

I was tired of it, but I couldn’t stop. Magic was everything I’d ever wanted. I wanted to be able to throw fire, lift objects with my mind, and bend the ground itself to my will. At the rate things were going, though, I'd work myself to death or freeze before I reached that level.

What if you didn’t have to?

That would be nice, but it’s a useless thought.

Not a thought, more of a question.

I started, sat up, and looked around, but there was no one nearby.

You won’t see anyone. I’m speaking directly through your soul.

Master?

Not the one you're thinking of. I doubt he has the kind of power to do this.

Then who?

I am Aurum, God of Dragons.

But, aren’t you dead?

Only physically. I left a bit of myself here in the world, scattered among my descendants. That's how I’m speaking with you now.

Does that mean…?

Yes, congratulations. It’s really quite the honor to be among my bloodline.

Uh, thank you.

Back to my original question. What if you didn’t have to suffer? What if I gave you a way to gain what you desired instantly, perhaps even tonight?

I’d take it.

Granted.

I felt my entire body shift. There was no pain, but I could feel parts of myself rearrange and change. Suddenly, I was no longer cold. I also no longer felt tired or sore from all the work I’d done. I also had something else. A spell of sorts, though perhaps it was something more like an ability.

I stood up and made my way out of the barn. The snow seemed to melt under my feet before my skin could touch it. I walked around to my master’s house. I could feel the warmth coming from it. I had a bitter memory of sneaking to the door so I could sleep somewhere where the warmth was leaking out, and my master waking me with a savage beating. I opened the door. My master was so focused on his meal and ale that he didn’t initially see me come in, but he shivered when the cold entered and turned around.

"What are you doing in here, boy!?" He grabbed his staff and stood brandishing it at me. "I’ve told you that you are not allowed in here!" He approached and swung it at my head, hard.

I caught the staff with one hand and slammed my fist into his ribs with the other.

He backed away and started muttering a spell. I could feel power building within him, but I backhanded him before it could reach its apex, cancelling the spell. I lifted him by the collar and placed an open palm against his face.

His eyes widened when they met mine. "Your eyes!"

I smiled and used my new power. I felt his soul and mind rip from his body and into my own. I discarded all of him that was useless to me and kept all of his knowledge of magic, integrating it into myself. When I’d finished, I was holding just a husk that I let fall to the ground. I gestured at the door, and it closed for me.

The next day, I left with a pack full of food, a nice red tunic my former master no longer needed, and a map. I exited the house, and once I’d made it a few hundred feet, I turned around and threw a large ball of fire at it. The explosion was satisfying, and I took a few moments to enjoy watching the barn I’d used to sleep in slowly burn to a crisp. I could faintly feel Aurum’s approval in the core of myself as I turned around and started to head for the nearest road.

I considered heading for the city and finding some use for my new spells, but I didn’t think I was ready. I’d heard of another hedge wizard relatively close by from my former master, and I was still so very hungry to learn.

* * *

I felt my awareness return slowly. I was still standing in the dungeon, a dead goblin chief nearby. That memory had been as intense as when I’d eaten full meals in the past despite only eating what I could find of his bones.

I tried to focus on the essence and pull out more memories or thoughts, but found I couldn’t. That was odd—if I’d been able to extract such a strong memory, why couldn’t I feel any more of them? I focused again, trying harder, but still nothing. I had travelled back across the world, and it had gained me only the smallest sliver of useless information.

I wanted to scream in frustration, but I couldn’t. I tried to move and realized my limbs weren’t responding either. Then my arms moved without my direction, and my hands brought themselves up to my faceplate. I couldn’t stop them, or even wiggle a finger.

"Oh, now this is interesting," said Rubrus, his voice coming from my helmet as if it were my own.