POV: Justin Tabrey

  Over a month after he’d sent the urgent letter to Whisper, he finally felt something shift in the room. It wasn’t much, just the slightest brush against the cuff of his sleeve. She was being subtle. She saw the spies watching him that even he didn’t

  Standing up from his meditating position, he said nothing as he put up his typical concealment array. As he did so, he felt several watchers snap to attention, trying to detect any change. Trying to figure out why he was suddenly moving after over a month. It was hopeless though, they would not find Whisper unless she wanted them to. Once his concealment array was up, he finally heard her voice.

  “Justin. It has been quite some time” the breeze whispered to him. “I hope you are well? Your letter described no harm to you, only that you needed me to protect a potential new Slaughterer from execution. Let me hear the plan you’ve no doubt created,” saying the last part with a bit of mirth in her voice.

  Justin blushed slightly. He always felt uncomfortable with her form of communication, but he paid it no mind, instead asking her a question of his own. “I will, but I’d like to know what held you up for so long. There is not trouble on the surface, is there?”

  Irritated, she responded “Not any more than usual. They needed me to do some spying, and my advisor didn’t tell me that I’d even gotten a letter until a few days ago. He is punished for his intrusion into my business, but I am here now.”

  Justin winced at the word “punished” but he didn’t say anything. It was a bit of an open secret, the true role of Slaughterer Advisors, and it seemed like Whisper hadn’t quite figured it out yet. She was smart and calm for a Slaughterer, but still quite battle minded and thought in simple terms. It wasn’t bad, and he really liked that about her, but he wouldn’t be the one to break the news to her. Instead, he simply moved on, telling her his plan.

  “First let me explain the situation of the little Slaughterer…” he then went into describing Dei’s situation, Oura’s response, the parents' theories about their son, and everything he generally knew about Dei. “And so, I believe that if he is still alive, he has to have become a Slaughterer by now, as no young child in such a situation lives for this long. I believe the parents know something that I don’t because they are unshakably confident that he is alive, but I didn’t want to confront them until you were here, which brings me to my actual plan. Let me start from the beginning.

  “First off, the entire act of coming to this house and searching for Dei’s karma? It was a fake plan to throw the Council off. I don't have enough of a connection to Dei to fully grasp his karmic path, but that's why I wanted you here. You are a Slaughterer, and if he is still alive, then he will be down the path of Slaughter. If I give you everything I’ve gathered about his karmic path, you will be far more suited to find him. His parents searching for him would be best, but they don't have any Karma Skills sadly. So, Slaughterer to Slaughterer karma, can you find him? If not… we may have to go to my backup plan, which I’d rather not. Here, I am linking you to what little I’ve found about him now through the Karmic plane”

  “Hmm… I hate to disappoint, but my Skills are not suited to Karmic tracking. I cannot find him with what little you have here… but perhaps there are others you could call upon that would be better suited?”

  He sighed “Yes, but none that I trust enough. None that I trust as much as you. That's why I built my backup plan around your Skills instead.” The air began to vibrate slightly around him after he complimented her, making him smile. She was still unused to positive words. He didn’t comment on it though. “It’s simple. You’re stealthy, and there just so happens to be a lightly guarded Seer’s Rest in the area. If I can get Oura out of the Seer’s Rest, you can use it to search for Dei. You have the parents blessing, my scattered karmic evidence, and a connection to him through the Path of the Slaughterer. If you use the Seer’s Rest, I can't imagine it taking more than an hour to find him. What do you think?”

  “Smart! Absolutely!” she said enthusiastically, probably more excited for his kind words than impressed by his plan. It was simple, as far as plans went, but more moving parts tended to fall apart if Justin himself wasn’t in direct control of them. Whisper would be the one to do the riskiest part, so he needed it to be straightforward.

  “Alright, let's go confront those parents about what they’ve been hiding, and get to work. I’ll send you a packet of information regarding all the security features surrounding the Seer’s Rest, and I’ll leave it to you to infiltrate. Any questions?”

  “None at all sweety.”

  He never liked that nickname she’d chosen for him, but he wasn’t going to tell her to stop calling him that. It was harmless enough, and he knew she didn’t mean anything by it.

  He nodded and dropped the barrier. For a moment he felt like Whisper was about to say something, but he must’ve imagined it because she didn’t say anything else nor send signals that she wanted to chat.

  * * *

  Justin led the two parents into their room in order to talk. The kids were sitting in the living room, looking curiously towards where Justin and the Grrata couple had turned the corner. Gor and Fou weren’t going out hunting much anymore, using up favors they’d saved for so long to become slight hermits until this all blew over. They still went out every now and again to stave off cabin fever, but it was harsh seeing the judging glances of others.

  When the three of them were in the parents bedroom, he quickly put up a barrier and got straight to the point.

  “I know you’re hiding something from me. I want to know what.”

  Both parents became more guarded, but he continued.

  “You two have no doubt been watched by spies ever since you woke up from your respective self-induced comas. Because both of you know whatever it is you’re hiding, it’s likely you shared it with one another, and were eavesdropped on immediately, meaning that the rest of the Council already knows. Because I’m going against the council right now, I’m the only one that doesn’t know whatever you’re hiding, and coincidentally the only one that wants to help. Please, for your Dei’s sake, tell me what it is.”

  The wind left the father as he slumped slightly, but the mother continued to glare at Justin.

  “Honey…” Gor said.

  “I know. I know!” she said, throwing her hands up. “I just hate it. That he’s right. I didn’t think it was as serious as it was in the early days, and now I’ve made a mistake and gave Oura a clue to find my boy before I can but now its TOO LATE to take it back! Fuck!” Saying the last part in a single breath. She refused to cry, but her eyes started to water. The situation was taking its toll on them both. “You explain it” she told Gor, crossing her arms and looking away.

  Gor set his hand on her hip and pulled her closer to comfort her, then turned back to Justin. “When Fou had to leave our son behind, she wiped her own memories about his location from her mind. As you probably know, the Skill she used was not very… accurate, in its removal. It was crude, and ended up removing more information than was necessary.

  “Rather than simply forgetting where he was and how to get there, she- with the exception of a few significant details that her Guardian tried hard to save- forgot almost everything about her time from the moment she left the village gates with Dei in her arms, to the moment she woke back up here. That might seem the same, but Fou hid somewhere for around two weeks. She could have been moving that entire time, but she said that she wouldn’t have left him somewhere unsafe.

  “That’s important, because she had to have stayed in a singular location for a long, long time. What we first asked ourselves was this: what did she do at that time? Well, the answer came in the form of a new Skill. When she woke up, Fou had a new Love affinity Skill called Embrace.

  “Its description is a bit esoteric, but basically Fou can choose one person and give that person a piece of her own Love affinity. The System is very vague in its wording, but we think it allows Dei to create his own Love mana, despite having no Love affinity.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “As you know, Love mana is known for its healing properties, so Fou thinks that the real function of the Skill is to heal Dei, because she cannot be there. For a little bit, we thought that was the only thing the Skill did, until Dei began sending us messages about his life.”

  Justin was surprised when he said that, but didn’t let it show.

  “It started with him sending a simple message to Fou. I think it was ‘I miss you mom’ or something along those lines. Fou said that a singular Kindness mana, imbued with the meaning Dei was trying to get across, popped through her connection to Love. We know she didn’t produce that mana, as she was unable to control it, so we can only guess that Dei somehow sent that piece of mana through the connection Fou left in him, to Fou herself.

  “How he did it isn’t as important as what we’ve found. I don't know all of it, as we stopped talking about the Kindness mana when we figured we were being watched, but I do know that Dei is still alive, and still sending those messages quite frequently. If there is anything else to be found, only Fou will know.”

  Justin glanced at the woman, who’d mostly recollected herself. There was a flicker of excitement even, to tell the things Dei sent to her. “He’s not only surviving, he’s thriving. He’s begun the path to Slaughter, and is almost fully grown. He’s been getting smarter every day, and he was never dumb to begin with. I think he’s almost level one hundred at this point, and he’s gained two allies to help him along. He tells me so often of his adventures, and its… impressive. What he’s done in so little time. The abilities he’s formed, the things he’s discovered, the battles he’s survived. Every month or so he describes a fight that terrifies me, that makes me think the messages will soon stop… but they don’t.

  “The way he talks isn’t how Slaughterers speak either. He’s grounded, clever, and kind. Perhaps it's his Kindness affinity that guided him down a more peaceful route, or perhaps it's something I did before I had to… leave him. But he’s far smarter than any stories I’ve heard of Slaughterers. I’m just so happy that he’s okay.”

  This time, Justin let his surprise show. Every Slaughterer that grew in the underground came out feral. Especially Gem Dweller Slaughterers, and their stronger natural Beast affinity compared to most other Sapient races. There was something about Dei that made him special, and Justin wanted to know badly. Born with a strong soul, confluent Skills before his first birthday, naturally intelligent.

  The most important and best part of what she said was his state of mind. When Justin found Dei, he would be able to converse with the boy. He’d already heard about the language packet Iora implanted him with, so Dei would know Undercant, and now Justin was finding that Dei could be talked to.

  As he was contemplating though, Fou’s facial expression flickered, and he looked at her.

  Smiling widely now despite her watery eyes, she said “Another one. Just now, I got another one!”

  “May I see it? Perhaps we can read it together.”

  Fou nodded, and a dazzling piece of Kindness mana floated between them. Fou was shielding it desperately, pushing all other types away to make sure it didn’t dissipate. ‘I wonder… does she have all the previous messages still? Does she keep them?’

  His attention was brought to the message though, and he dropped the line of thought as it was irrelevant.

  “Hello mom!” the message said. “I’m doing well, and I hope you are too. I just picked up this cursed helmet thingy that was filled with Wrath mana, and pulled the curse out. I’m keeping it locked away for now, and don’t worry! It can't escape at all. I’m saving it in case an enemy I can't fight attacks me, so I can release it on them. I think the curse had almost three hundred thousand Wrath mana before I ate it, but really! I have it all under control. Ummm other than that, nothing really. I love you! Tell dad too!”

  The Fou looked worried by the end of the message, and Gor let out a single chuckle before Fou glared at him, making him quiet.

  “Justin, please find my boy as fast as you can. I… don’t think he’s as smart as I assumed at first.”

  “Yea yea… the curse or whatever… is that highly concentrated Kindness mana, or am I going crazy?” he asked, baffled.

  “Oh… Oh! His mana storage Skill evolved from the curse!” she said excitedly. “It was only six-times concentrated before, now its… I think thirty six?”

  ‘This boy… has evolved Concentration twice? The option only appears on a Mana Storage Skills second evolution. Does that mean his Storage Skill is level three hundred, and the boy is not even level one hundred? He will have a monstrous class… I’m almost tempted to leave him to his Slaughterer path, simply to see where it takes him. Maybe I will figure the situation out, then leave him to his own devices.’

  “Well… That’s all I wanted to know. All of this will help me immensely in talking to him, especially knowing exactly what he’s said. No matter if he’s smart, he will be cautious if he’s survived this long, and it will get him talking easier if I can prove I am a friend to you two. Thank you for sharing this with me. This is also where I leave you two, as I’ve gathered enough Karmic evidence to begin my search for him. It may take a while, but I’m quite close to finding him.”

  As he finished his sentence, both parents wrapped him in a hug, and he found himself lifted off the ground by the two rather large people. He was slightly uncomfortable with the contact, as he was only doing this because it was the objectively correct course of action. He didn’t think he needed praise.

  When they put him down, they both seemed much better than they were before. More hopeful. It was easy to have empty words that he would find their son, but now he was about to set out to actually find him, and they knew that their nightmare would soon come to an end.

  Perhaps not as quickly as they thought, because he still needed to make it to the capital and commit a few crimes, but it would not be much longer. Not much longer at all.

  * * *

  Shortly thereafter, he was walking away from the Grrata’s residence towards the city gate. He thought everything was clear-cut from this point forward, but his Foresight affinity had other plans. ‘Taking this next step is unwise. The risk of failure, the risk that Oura is correct, is too high for the potential reward. The smart thing to do is to return to the Council and admit fault.’

  The warning confused him, as it only came now, but he got it. Previously, he was acting within the law. He was not banned from searching for Dei, and they would not be able to get him in trouble. He could only gain by finding Dei first.

  Now, though, it was much more. If he broke into the Seer’s Rest, and was incorrect, he would be demoted at best, considered a rogue Shaman at worst. Unlike most other Shamans, with the suppressed emotions of Gem Dwellers, Justin feared such a fate.

  Justin was no longer doing the smart thing, but he still felt it was the right thing. That was so… contradictory.

  His entire life, the smart thing was to do the right thing. He needed to succeed in society, so he performed his duties well, protected others, and was recognized for it. Now, he was going directly against his duties, but… it felt right.

  He considered himself a pragmatist, and the correct course of action to do now was to give up. It was in his best interest to involve himself no further.

  Yet, the Grrata’s needed help. Dei needed help. One more Slaughterer wouldn’t offset the loss of a Shamanic Councilmember though, and Justin was forced to recognize this fact.

  Standing frozen in the middle of the street, Justin was faced with the very first disconnect with Foresight. For the first time in his entire life, he didn’t agree with what it said.

  So what should he do?

  It would be smart to stop here. Smart to leave the Grrata’s to their fate. If “Not worth it” could be summed up in a single decision, it would be this one.

  Yet… he couldn’t. Something deep within him, some part he didn’t know was there, rebelled against the very idea of giving up. Of letting this family suffer their fate. That part of him encouraged Justin to do something positively stupid.

  He could quell it easily. It was only the slightest ember of a flame.

  But he wouldn’t.

  Resolute, he stepped forward once more. What was intelligence if he couldn’t use it for what he wanted? What was life if it was only regrets? Justin would follow what he wanted to do, not what some affinity pushed him towards. The ember within him roared to life at his internal declaration, and Justin felt a core part of who he was became clear.

  [Affinity Gained: Justice]