I woke face down with my arm stretched along the floor. It was a rather uncomfortable position and it caused many parts of my body to ache. The horrible sleeping position and the overstrain from the day before made for a rough combination.

I struggled to lift myself off the ground, but I managed. After I stood up I placed my hand on my head and hunched over slightly. It almost hurt to breathe, but I still had to get back to the mine. Liam would kill me if I skipped work.

It was the first step that made me realize how agonizing the pain was. My body simply refused to lift my legs, so I barely shuffled over to the door. Before I could reach for the handle, I leaned forward a bit too far and slammed my shoulder into the wall. A small grunt of pain escaped my lips.

Finally, I forced the door open and stepped outside my room. Using the railing as support, I made my way roughly halfway down the stairs before stopping. I remembered the events from the day before, and I wondered if anyone here might have seen me come in.

It seemed this wasn’t the case. I wasn’t sure how I managed to make it back, but Wang stood at his desk and smiled in my direction. I continued down the steps as I smiled back. The pain I was suffering from was no better than it was when I woke up, but the longer it went the easier it was to ignore it. 

After I passed through the front doors I headed straight for the mines. I walked in silence about half the distance before I realized I never caught the thief that had stolen my money. My head lowered and I sighed as I realized this. It was true my job paid well, but surviving with my lost payment would be nearly impossible. Liam was never exactly the understanding type, so he’d likely just tell me to deal with it.

Even in my unfortunate circumstances, I pushed on. I thought that earning more money was the simplest way to deal with losing the last of mine. 

I must have been thinking about this much longer than I thought. Before I knew it I was standing by the front door of Liam’s factory. As usual, I opened the door and called out, “Hello?”

I could just barely make out some commotion coming from upstairs, so I knew it wouldn’t be long before Liam came down to send me to work. While I waited, I took a moment to admire the sheer number of used and rusted pickaxes hanging on the wall with iron hooks. Alongside a few straight wooden canes.

The footsteps from above grew louder just before Liam came running down the steps. “I see you’re making yourself comfortable,” he said as he neared the bottom.

Liam always had a way to brighten my mood. That is when he's not yelling at me, and/or beating me with his staff. “Yes,” I said, doing my best to mimic his tone, “I didn’t exactly have the best day yesterday.”

Just as Liam was about to respond, three loud knocks echoed from the door. Both Liam and I looked at the door, and then at each other. I’m sure we were both thinking the same thing as well. No one else has ever come out here since I’ve worked here.

Liam stood still and said, “Who on Earth could that be?”

I simply shrugged and stared at the door once again. Three more knocks filled the room. I noticed Liam still refusing to answer the door. This wasn’t a surprise to me. He isn’t fond of new people, so I took the responsibility to answer the unknown guest.

Carefully, I got up from my seat and walked past Liam. There was yet another set of knocks before I cracked the door open. The person on the other side was a young man with a dirty face, but I couldn’t recognize him at all.

“Who are you?” I asked the stranger.

“Oh,” he hesitated, “my name is Edward, and I wanted to give you this.”

He held out his hands to reveal a small sack of palladium coins, and that was when it clicked. This man was the thief from yesterday. He returned the stolen money, and I could see a glimmer of kindness in his eyes.

I sighed and said, “come in.”

I pushed the door open farther and let Edward pass. Liam seemed infuriated by this. “Oh, so you’re just inviting people into my house now?”

He mumbled some words under his breath but I couldn’t make out what it was. Again, I just shrugged.

“Here,” I said as I walked with the thief, “have a seat here.”

I sat him just across from where I was sitting before, and I returned to this spot just after he sat. Liam followed the two of us and sat in a lonely chair alongside the two of us. Together we made a triangular formation.

“So who exactly is this guy?” Liam asked with a frustrated voice, “and what’s he doing in my house?”

“Right,” I agreed, “what are you doing here?”

“I followed you from the inn,” he said as if he saw no issue with the statement.

“You followed me?” I asked with a raised voice, “Why didn’t you just return my coins at the inn?”

He closed his eyes with a smile and scratched his head. “Ah,” he said, “You see, I was banned from that place a few times.”

I raised an eyebrow and said, “You were banned more than once?”

“Yeah, different names and different crimes,” he said with pride, “The man in front got too damn familiar with my face that no matter how hard I try I can’t get in.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing from him. How could he talk about his crimes this nonchalantly? Especially to me. I placed my index finger and thumb on my forehead and said, “I wouldn’t go around bragging about that if I were you.”

“Ah, well,” he responded with a straight expression returning to his face, “It’s just how I’ve made a living my whole life.”

“Is that so,” I responded sarcastically. Liam huffed in the background, reminding us of his existence.

“The truth is,” he said, “I came here to thank you for yesterday. You saved my life from those demons.”

This caught Liam’s interest. “Demons,” he whispered, emphasizing the “s”.

Edward continued, “I don’t know how you got their attention, but they really went after you! Oh, and how did you do that thing with the fire? You took care of them so easily.”

Liam stood from his seat and said, “Vincent, these demons came together?”

I turned to face him and mumbled, “Hmm, yes?”

“And you’re saying that they came together?”

“Yes,” I responded again, unsure where he was going.

 

“And after they saw you, they targeted you specifically? This can’t be good,” he said while rubbing his chin.

“I don’t understand,” I said, “Where are you going with this?”

He ignored my question and continued mumbling, “No no no, he’s dead. He has to be.”

“Liam, what are you saying!?” I called. Finally, this seemed to grab his attention, but Edward seemed just as confused as I.

“I believe,” he paused, “I believe Barron may still be alive.”

I didn’t even know what to think. “But you said the demons devoured him,” I said with increasing worry.

“I did, but demons don’t travel in packs. Typically they’re mindless and simply wonder. According to Edward here, the demons were working together. Not only that, but they picked you out, and targeted you.”

Edward’s eyes darted between both of our faces before eyeing the door behind us. “I think I should get going,” he said as he tried to slip out of the room.

Liam pointed at the chair and yelled, “sit back down! You’re a part of this conversation too.”

Personally, I would have let him go. He was confused and he wasn’t exactly contributing to the conversation. I was sure Edward felt it as well.

Liam continued as if nothing happened, “The only reason the demons would be acting as one is if someone was controlling them. Barron had to have survived. Vincent, can you think of anything that you could have done to make Barron target you?”

“Liam, what are you even on about?” I asked as I shifted in my seat.

“Answer the question,” he demanded.

“No, I- I mean I don’t think so,” I shuddered as I recalled how I ended up in this place in the first place, “maybe- maybe there is something.”

I went on and told my story while both Edward and Liam listened. I started with the demon encounter in the main city, and how I was sent to be executed. They both seemed particularly interested in the part where I navigated the demon's tunnel.

Even decided to tell them the part where we were attacked at Emilie’s place, and how we came here to save David. However, I did not tell them about the voice I’ve heard in my dreams. I knew I gained nothing by keeping these secrets now, but I felt a deep urge to hide it. It felt like the urge didn’t belong to me.

Edward looked at me with wide eyes, “Wow, I never would have thought.”

Liam still stared into the distance and said, “Is that everything?”

“Yes,” I responded.

Liam stood from his chair and began pacing. “You said you fell into the portal. This must have been how Barron discovered you, and as a mage, he likely sees you as a threat.”

I could only look at the ground while I said, “So, you’re saying this guy, Barron, he wants me dead?”

“Most likely,” he said with dead seriousness.

In the corner of my eye, I saw Edward crack the door open and slip out. I never saw him stand up or heard the boards creak when he walked. I guess thieves have their ways. Nevertheless, I let him go while Liam was still distracted.

I bashfully rubbed my hands together in my lap and said, “So what should I do now?”

“You need to prepare,” he announced, “Barron is a stubborn man. If he wants you dead he will never stop until he has what he wants. He’ll send an army if he has to.”

“But how am I supposed to fight an army?”

Liam clicked his staff on the ground and inhaled. “Vincent, you are no longer my employee. As of now, you're my student. I’ll train you to use the staff. Though it may not be sharp, and it may not be able to kill in one blow, it’s fast and swift. A truly underappreciated weapon, and perfect for you.”

“You’re going to teach me how to use the staff?” I asked. I trusted him entirely, but it felt as if it were some kind of trick.

“Not just how to use it,” he said with confidence, “you’re going to master it.”

I never could have imagined Liam would do anything like this. Especially for no personal gain. Still, I wanted nothing more than to improve my own defense. Though, at the time I thought anything other than an elongated stick would be a better option.

After I stood from the coach I turned to Liam and impatiently asked, “When will we start?”

“Start?” he said, “We start now, but first we need to get you set with your own staff.”

“My own?” I asked. I looked over to the wall with dozens of staffs hanging along the wall, “will I be getting one of these?”

“NO!” he screamed with burning fury, “I- I mean no, meet me in the forest in exactly six hours. We're going for a walk.”

“A walk?” I asked, somewhat questioning his intentions.

“Yes, a weapon is merely an extension of the warrior. Therefore, the warrior must form a bond with their weapon as if it were alive. This will be the first step in your training.”