Cypher leaned up against the tree Alvin had appeared from, and pulled out his canteen, taking a few big gulps of ice-cold water from the enchanted container. “Somebody has to do something, Alvin. I’m no sellsword,” began Cypher, a look of concern on his face, “and I certainly don’t want the money they offer me, but they can’t do it themselves and we all have to make ends meet.
“Doing these jobs helps everyone in the area, but delving into some unknown tomb for a magical artifact doesn’t really help anyone but you, does it? I mean, I know you aren’t the type to hoard treasure needlessly but really, what’s so special about that trinket anyway?”
Alvin frowned at Cypher before speaking, “I’ll tell you that when you actually decide to help me find the damn thing.” He sighed deeply as he moved closer to his former disciple and patted his shoulder. Cypher looked at him suspiciously for a few moments and figured Alvin was up to something.
“What are you even doing here? Did you really come all this way just to offer me a job?” Cypher studied him carefully, watching for any hint of a lie upon his face, not that he expected as much from his old mentor.
“That’s… part of why I’m here,” Alvin responded.
Cypher raised an eyebrow, “And the other reason?” Alvin chuckled and turned back to look at the crumbling stone as a large chunk slid to the ground.
“You know, it’s not easy being an Academy board member. Things have been really touch and go since you decided to leave. You’re no stranger to the headache you caused me when you made that choice. Headmaster Sequinnen has been running me ragged to make up for that… shall we say, failure.
“I think after all that I’m entitled to a little time off too. I’m simply enjoying my open schedule by taking a nice walk through the countryside. I happened to notice you were nearby so I came to scope out the situation. Not that you needed any help, but watching you work is quite the spectacle and how could I turn down the opportunity to see you in action?”
“Uh-huh,” Cypher said raising an eyebrow, completely skeptical of Alvin’s claim, “Ever the spectator, never the combatant. Why is that Alvin? Surely you didn’t earn your seat on the board through charisma alone, and I can’t imagine the headmaster promoting you for no reason,” Cypher said with a joking tone in his voice, the atmosphere between them easing up a bit.
“Maybe one day I’ll tell you how I pulled it off. You’ve got your secrets and I have mine. For example, why it is that you won’t just help an old man out with one little chore. You can play the hero all you want Cypher, I get it. But you can’t look me in the eye and say that you do this only to benefit the poor little merchants and villagers who can’t afford to hire some of Maid’s men.
“As you said, we all have to make ends meet, and last time I checked, you’re the one who decided to donate your entire fortune to rebuild Haelwin town. I know that the sudden increase in Zightbeast packs is something to be concerned about, but how long do you think you can maintain your current lifestyle working for scraps and the thanks of poor farmers? At least think about joining the Royal Knights! You know that they’d welcome the son of Fenix with open arms!”
Cypher grew annoyed at Alvin’s prodding and started walking away, tired of this conversation to nowhere. The two of them had been through this discussion several times before, and Cypher knew that in another few weeks, they’d probably be having it again.
“Alright, alright, I can take a hint,” Alvin said with a chuckle, “but know that my offer continues to stand. When you decide you wanna do more with your life than scrounge for scraps you know where to find me,”
“Goodbye, Alvin,” Cypher said as he pulled his saber from the dim flickering heart of the golem, knocking it against his boot to release a few of the clumps still clinging to it. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
With that, Cypher returned to Caris Village to inform the village elder of the golem’s timely demise and collect his payment.
The elder of Caris Village was a kind older man in his late seventies. Where once he stood proud and defended his village with his own two hands, the passage of time had done him in, leaving him old and wrinkled. A sharp curve in his back from the years of combat, broken bones that had failed to heal properly, and various scars were his rewards for years of dedicated service. He was, after all, not a Conductor like Cypher.
“You have our deepest thanks, young man. Here is your payment just as we agreed, though, are you sure you don’t want more? Judging from the size of that golem it was fairly powerful. Back in my day, it would have gone for double, even triple this amount and needed just as many men to take down!”
Cypher took the small bag of glittering Lumens from the elder’s heavily calloused hands and smiled at the retired sellsword tucking them away inside his tunic. “I appreciate the offer but this will suffice. That golem was little more than a nuisance. Given how easy it was to destroy I wouldn’t feel right asking for more than this so you needn’t worry,”
Cypher liked to keep his exchanges short and sweet. Sure he could stand around and revel in the pleasantries of those he helped, but at the end of the day, and despite his softer motives, business was business and theirs was concluded.
He took his leave, thanking the elder once more, and quickly headed home to wash up. Soon the sun would set and he had to get back inside before the gates closed. The Slingate activated and he dashed through, running faster to join the dwindling line of people trying to get into Seven City.
As he returned to his home beneath the Hawthorn grove and Spark ran up to greet him with excitement, he was reminded of what Alvin had said and although it was annoying to admit, he was right. Cypher had done a lot in the five years since he had decided to leave the Academy, and while his training had never been smoother and his advancements had been quick and consecutive thanks to his inheritance, his funds had run dry a while ago.
Three years earlier, the Order had completely destroyed Haelwin Town, and Cypher had been responsible for that. He had foolishly journeyed there to find a special healing herb that his greenhouse hadn’t contained. Spark, his pet Ceraunus, had fallen ill and according to one of the books in the library of his home, the only known cure was the herb that grew somewhere around Haelwin town.
The journey there hadn’t been a problem, but someone working for the Order had spotted him and reported his whereabouts. Within an hour the entire town was swarming with Order sentinels and Cypher was forced to flee into the surrounding countryside in order to escape.
At the time he was still only a Rank-Zero Conductor. He was vastly more powerful than before and nearing his breakthrough to the first rank, but he was still no match for that many Rank-three Conductors. He hadn’t been noticed during his escape but the Order members had destroyed the town, and the people who lived there had been forced to abandon their homes and flee for their lives.
Many of them were killed in the process but most of them survived and began to rebuild. The attack had been blamed on a wandering band of rogue Conductors and the Order’s name didn’t even come up at all which angered Cypher to no end. They were keeping a low profile so as not to arouse suspicion in the kingdom, but Cypher, and subsequently Alvin after he had been told about the incident, knew that the Order was still moving behind the scenes.
Still, he was responsible for all the death and destruction, and he was resolved to never let something like that happen again. A few weeks passed before Cypher had anonymously donated his entire fortune towards the rebuilding of Haelwin Town and now, after all that time the place was finally getting back to its former glory.
That harsh lesson had reminded Cypher that the Order was still searching for him and wouldn’t hesitate to send an entire army after him. He still held himself responsible and rightly so, but that whole ordeal had only pushed him further and due to that, he was able to break into the peak of the first rank between then and now.
Since that incident, however, the Order had remained quiet. But in the last few months, dozens of Rank-Two Zight-beast packs had begun to invade human territories. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, except for the fact that each time a new pack of Rank-Two’s would move into an area, a Rank-Three would accompany them.
This wouldn’t be a problem if it was a single pack, but dozens were unreasonable. A royal decree had been issued that sent a majority of city guards and Conductors in the second and third ranks out to handle these invasions, but that only applied to the bigger cities and not the smaller villages. Forces in Dellorim were beginning to be stretched thin and Cypher knew that it was just another one of the Order’s machinations.
There had been tons of information on them in the files his parents had left behind for him. Using the Zightbeasts to cause chaos and discord among the masses was a calling card of the Order of Eternal Night. As such, he was bouncing around to these smaller villages in an attempt to lure out any Order spies and interrogate them for further intel.
So far he had turned up nothing, but he was sure that he was close to finding out something of relevance. All he needed was more time and of course, money to fund his endeavors. At this point, Alvin’s offer was his only hope.
Spark continued to lick at his face and nuzzle his chin with his massive head, and that at least lightened his mood a little as he showered his friend in affection. Spark was always so eager to see him return. After a few moments of playing with Spark, Cypher sighed and let out an annoyed groan as he decided to pursue Alvin’s offer.
“Dammit old man… looks like you win.”
