Fork This Life!

Chapter 20: Brave Sir Fork (Runs Away)

(POV Gerald)

There are quite a few interesting places in this city. The docks, of course, have many boats moored: fleets of fishing vessels, hordes of merchant transport ships and veritable tides of galleys, caravels and carracks, the names of which I only know from the conversations of sailors.

A theatre, currently housing the enactment of a play as scores of well-dressed men and women watched on, oohing and aahing in appreciation as the actors build the story in a crescendo of excitement, intrigue and the ever-present element of romance.

Tents and stalls set in a sprawling network, crowds milling about as vendors called out their wares and professing their quality, regardless of the truth of their claims. Jugglers, magicians – the sleight of hand kind, mostly – and clowns attract their own small crowds as they perform, periodically emptying their hats and buckets quietly into a concealed purse so nobody notices how much they are truly earning.

Bars and taverns slowly filling and growing more raucous as the day wears on, men emptying their pockets and their stomachs with equal frequency as they laugh and cry over games of chance, games of skill and exaggerated stories shared between friends and strangers alike.

Then there are those too busy working to be enjoying those: The blacksmiths, pounding metal with their hammers even after the sun has set; the jewellers, inspecting, cutting and polishing precious gems; the guards, watchful and cautious as they patrol the walls and streets of the city.

Carpenters, masons, architects, laborers, judges, historians, mercenaries, soldiers, adventurers, travellers, tourists, citizens and more, too many to recount.

But perhaps the most interesting places are the last two.

The headquarters of the navy, with its many people organising the protection of the Empire’s waters, as well as the wealth of information to be processed, resources to be organised and moved and political machinations that come with it all.

And the most interesting is the mage tower that overlooks the whole city, standing tall and covered with various magical patterns.

At first, I thought I might be able to use my mana sight to look inside and lip-read people to learn magic, but it is not to be. Much of the studying and learning that is being done inside the tower is from magical tomes, and while my mana sight is now at expert level, I still can’t tell the difference between ink and page.

The conversation is little better. Most of the topics being debated are too advanced for me to take anything from – it’s like a kid learning basic addition, multiplication etc listening into the conversation between high school students learning advanced algebra and trigonometry. To me, it’s as if they’re speaking an alien language, even if I know what the words mean individually.

Still, there are a few things I learned. For instance, the mains schools of magic were known as: Creation, Destruction, Restoration, Alteration, Summoning and Illusion. Not that I know what those mean, outside of the obvious interpretations of the names themselves.

After realising the futility of it, I focus my attention elsewhere. Ferdinand is still going through his list, apparently without success so far.

I wait for a while, and eventually Ferdinand stops looking for people and starts looking for an inn.

I spend this night much as I had the previous ones: meditation, telekinesis and form manipulation – self.

The next morning, Ferdinand resumes where he left off, and I (when not training) observe the townsfolk out of boredom.

Three days pass quickly by, with Ferdinand running out of names – and hope.

But finally, when he finds the second from last person on the list, we get our lead.

“Richard? I saw him recently, yes. Must have been… a week or two ago. What? He’s dead? How terrible… Well, I’ll tell you what little I know. Richard came to me to see if I knew anyone in the information department of the navy that was fairly high up and discreet. Richard hadn’t been around these parts for years, see, so he didn’t know who was still around and who wasn’t.”

Hoo boy, this one’s a storyteller.

“Why, yes, said I, and so do you. See, he had a few students way back in his heyday, and one of them just happens to have gotten promoted to head of the department of information. So, I says, you remember little Harry? And he says yes, and I says that he’s the head of information now, and he says well I’ll be darned, that’s perfect, thanks me and heads off.”

Ferdinand thanks him and starts to head off.

The old man calls after him. “Lad, you do know that if Richard couldn’t handle it, you got no chance, right? Let it be. What’s the point of trying to avenge him if you just get yourself killed too?”

But Ferdinand is already through the door. He does have a good point, you know?

I Initiate a telepathic link with Ferdinand. “So, a guy named Harry, huh? At least we managed to find something.”

“Yes, but how am I going talk to him? It’s not like I can just walk into the headquarters of the Empire’s navy.” He says in frustration.

“No, but I can.” I remind him. “Just drop me off somewhere nearby.”

He smiles. “Alright, let me just ask for directions.”

“Turn left at the next intersection. After walking down the street for a hundred meters, turn right. Your destination will then be on your left.” I say.

Seeing his speechlessness, I ask, “What, did you think I was doing nothing while you were looking for people? I’ve already found this Harry guy, you know.”

“You really do have powerful skills, don’t you?” He says.

“In some circumstances, yes.” I admit. “In others, I’m useless. After all, I can’t even move without psi or ki, or fight without mana.”

Ferdinand drops me to the ground at the entrance of an alleyway nearby to the headquarters.

In a motion now familiar to me, I tunnel through the ground towards it. I’m just reaching the edge of the property when things go wrong.

The earth around me compacts and solidifies, encasing me in a solid block that starts to rise to the surface.

Caught completely off guard, it takes me a second to realise what’s happening, and the block is almost above ground by the time I come to my senses and absorb my way through the bottom of it, and further down into the earth below.

I angle myself down and away from the area as I make my escape, and then return to the surface once I deem myself far enough away.

Well, that was unexpected. These people have measures against underground infiltrators? Sheesh.

…It looks like I have to use an alternate method.

Flying is obviously out, so I will just have to use telepathy from further away. I take a look at the place, and figure out that the closest I can get to him, without actually being on the area of the headquarters, is about 30 meters away.

At that distance, I have half a minute or so of talking. That’s not going to be enough, is it? Still, I should give it a try first before resorting to more dangerous ways.

But for now, I contact Ferdinand and instruct him where to find me. After a short time of waiting, he walks into the alleyway and picks me up, stowing me in his backpack again.

“They have some sort of magic protecting the place, so I wasn’t able to find anything.” I admit.

Ferdinand frowns. “What do we do now, then?”

“Well, I should be able to communicate with him from outside, but the time I get to talk will be much shorter. And we’ll have to wait… about twenty minutes, so I can get my psi back up to full before doing it.” I explain.

“Okay.”

A brief period of meditation later, I’m back to full psi and back underground. This time I’m only just under the surface to avoid being seen, as I am currently under a busy street.

I find my target and initiate telepathy, briefly sighing with relief when it works. I had wondered if they might have defences against this sort of thing too, but apparently not.

“Hello. Do you know how Richard died?” I say, trying to keep it concise.

“Who…” Harry starts to ask, before stopping himself. “He died, then?”

“Yes, and I’m trying to find out who did it. Meet me at the ‘tipsy sailor’ tonight if you can, I can’t keep this up for much longer.” I say, naming one of the bars in the city.

“…I’ll be there.” He says, just before I run out of psi.

Alright. Let’s see what the night holds for us, shall we?

(POV Harry)

The voice confirms the suspicion that have been growing in my mind ever since the day I saw Richard. If he was still alive, I would have heard something, but I never did.

My sleeps only became more restless as time went on, to the point where my wife started asking me whether something was wrong. But I couldn’t tell her. I love her, but she just isn’t any good at keeping secrets… Ironic, considering my job…

I can hardly trust some psychic who didn’t talk to me for even a minute, but I… don’t think I’ll be able to forgive myself if I don’t go.

The ‘tipsy sailor’ isn’t a bar I’ve been to before, but if I can’t find something as simple as this, I may as well resign.

Stepping out of the flickering glow of street lamps and into the noisy interior, I scan the people inside, trying to figure out exactly who I’m supposed to be meeting.

‘The table in the corner.’ The voice speaks into my mind again.

‘Which corner?’ I ask back, hoping he is still there.

‘In front and to your left.’ He says.

Which is rather odd, because the person there isn’t even looking at me. But I walk over and sit down.

If things go south, I am more than capable of getting myself out. Sailing isn’t the only thing Richard taught me.

The person opposite me is young, but there is a certain ruggedness to him which you don’t often see in city folk. That, and the sword at his belt, tell me that he is a warrior by trade. Mercenary or adventurer?

“Hello. You are Harry? Richard’s student?” He says.

Definitely an adventurer. His eyes aren’t cold enough to be a mercenary.

“Yes. And you are?” I ask inquisitively.

“I’m…” He pauses. “A friend of Richard’s. I’m trying to find out how he died, and avenge him, if possible.”

The voice already said as such earlier… It’s likely that the voice and the person in front of me are two separate people. Not that it makes much difference.

I pull out a map from my breast pocket and unfold it. “This is where he went, but other than that I don’t know anything.” I say, pointing at the marked location on the map.

He picks it up and stows it in his backpack. “Thanks. Are you sure you don’t know anything else?”

“Well, you’ll probably die if you go there. Richard did, what makes you think you’ll be any different?” I say.

“If the person who killed Richard is too strong for me, then I’ll wait until I become stronger and find him again. But I can’t do anything if I don’t know who it is in the first place.” With that, he gets up and leaves.

Shrugging, I get up and start to leave myself. Behind me, the bartender calls out, “You could have at least bought something if you’re going to use this as a meeting place!”

Well, maybe just one.

I sit back down and order a whiskey. The bartender smiles and pours me a mug. As I slowly drink it, I listen in to the conversations between other people at the bar. Perhaps I can use this opportunity to hear the latest rumours.

One man at the bar is telling a story to his friend. “-but have you heard of the white whirlwind? No? Then let me tell you all about him. I heard this from some sailor that came on a ship from this foreign kingdom over the sea, see. So there’s this war going on between this kingdom and this other place… I don’t know all the details, but there’s this mercenary-”

“Get to the point, will you?” Says his friend impatiently.

“I’m getting there, don’t interrupt! So this mercenary, he doesn’t wear armour, he just wears this pure white clothing-” He says, before his friend interrupts again.

“But that’s stupid. He’d be dead in a second!” His friend says, clearly not believing a word of it.

“That’s the point. He goes into battle with just a spear, and he cuts through the enemy line quicker than blinking, but not a drop of blood gets on him! That’s why they call him the white whirlwind, see?” He finishes triumphantly.

His friend frowns. “Sounds like you’re trying to pull a fast one on me.”

The conversation after that degrades into a petty squabble and, disappointed at the lack of useful information, I finish my drink and leave for home.

(POV Ferdinand)

The next morning, we set off again. This time is unlike the others, as we are travelling across open land rather than on roads.

There aren’t any roads or paths leading to the place we’re going to, which is a bit odd…

It’s west and a bit north from Liensport, and north and a bit east from the city we were in before that. In other words, we’ve already gone past it on the way to Liensport. I wish we’d known earlier.

Reaching a rocky hill, I climb it and take out the map, using the high vantage point to check the landscape against the features drawn on it. After adjusting my course slightly, I climb back down the mountain and continue on my way.

Despite the soft grass folding under the tough soles of my boots, the pleasant breeze drifting coolly by and the calls of birds as they flew in flocks overhead, my heart is heavy as I walk.

I do not deny the possibility, even the likelihood that my opponent this time – whoever he may be – is much stronger than I am. But with Gerald’s help, I should be able to at least run away, or even defeat him.

But then again, maybe he is stronger than I thought. After all, not knowing how strong Richard was, I can’t guess well at how strong someone who defeated him might be.

A level in the forties?

…The fifties?

It is so far away from where I am at that I don’t even know how strong someone of that level might be. How high can stats be at that level? What skills might they have?

I don’t know.

Stuck in a state somewhere between anger and fear, resolve and indecisiveness, I wrestle with my thoughts as my feet continue to plod across the land.

Before I can decide whether or not I want this fight, my legs have already decided for me: I look up from the ground, and there, not far in the distance stands… what could be called a mansion, if you stretch the meaning of the word.

The white paint is peeling so badly that it’s visible from where I stand, what might have once been two neat hedge rows now overtake the path between them in a mass of unkempt greenery, and even the path itself has faded away into nothingness, replaced by bare, rugged earth.

This is a place that I wouldn’t feel comfortable being in at night.

And there is no going back now. Or perhaps there is. ‘can’t I just… turn around?’ A small voice whispers in my head.

But then Gerald speaks, shattering that guilty hope. ‘One person in the mansion. He knows you’re here, and he’s coming out.’

Okay. Okay, I may be panicking a bit here, calm down, calm down…

‘Get me out and touch me to the end of your sword.’ Gerald says.

Alright, I don’t get it but okay. I fetch the fork from my pack, unsheathe my sword and touch Gerald to the end of it. His shape starts distorting, and soon the end of my blade is covered in a thin layer of mithril.

‘This should give me the opportunity for a few surprise attacks.’ He explains.

The door to the mansion opens, and a man walks out. He is wearing loose clothing, suitable for fighting, and holds a spear by his side with one hand as he walks directly towards me.

He stops about ten meters away. “Who are you? I wasn’t told to expect you.”

‘NOBODY EXPECTS THE FORKISH INQUISITION!’ Shouts Gerald rather suddenly in my head, startling me somewhat.

“And who are you?” I counter. “Are you the person who killed Richard?”

His mouth stretches into a cruel smile. “Well lookee here, sounds like we have a rat running around somewhere. And I think I know who it is…” He says sinisterly. “But to answer your question: Yes, yes I am. What’re you going to do about it?”

I raise my sword in response.

“You know you’re gonna die, right?” He asks, lazily twirling his spear with one hand.

“Oh, shut up.”

I run at him, swinging my sword down at his arrogant head.

He leans to one side, and my sword passes alongside his arm… however, the swing was the opposite of harmless. A forearm drops to the ground, severed from his body by Gerald’s absorb ability.

Taking a few startled steps back, he stares at me in astonishment and anger, blood spurting out of the place on his torso where his arm used to be. “You know…” He says slowly from between gritted teeth.

A red mist explodes from his body in torrents, forming a dense cloud around his body that reeks of blood. Something about it makes me utterly terrified. The bloody cloud contracts, forming a thin layer of glossy red liquid around him and his spear. It dulls, solidifying into a set of simple yet intimidating blood-red armour and spear. “I was going to give you a quick death. Now… I won’t give you the pleasure.”

Shifting one leg backwards, his bloody boots dig into the dirt. He vanishes before my eyes, only a small cloud of dust left in his wake. The next thing I noticed, his spear is piercing into my side, and starting to cut its way back out.

I slice towards his spear.

It is a move born of desperation and the blind belief that Gerald’s absorb skill would be able to cut through the red layer and deprive him of his only weapon. Reality didn’t prove to be so forgiving of my decision.

My sword hits the haft of his spear and bounces off without doing any damage, jarring my hand and even creating a small chip on the edge of my sword.

His spear, on the other hand, doesn’t have so much as a scratch.

‘I couldn’t absorb it, he did something, what do you see!?’ Asks Gerald telepathically, in a panic.

I take a few steps backwards, putting one hand to my side. It comes back with blood on it, but not as much as I’d imagined from the searing pain now coming from there.

The man appeared to be examining his spear, so I figure I have time to respond. ‘He covered his spear and himself with some red… liquid… thing.’

Gerald responds immediately. ‘Run, now. If he’s covered in it, I can’t do anything.’

Like a fool, I stand still, as if rooted in place.

“I thought maybe you were faking being a weakling to get a cheap shot off on me, but it looks like I was wrong.” He says, putting a finger to the blood on the tip of his spear. Trailing that finger down the haft of his spear, he draws a trail of glistening crimson on the already red surface. As he does this, his helmeted head was bowed towards his spear, as if ignoring me.

“You’re actually a weakling, aren’t you?” He says, barely suppressing laughter. “And, I let that weakling take my arm!” He breaks out into laughter, then stops abruptly. “I’LL KILL YOU SLOWLY, BASTARD!”

‘RUN!’ Gerald screams in my head, shocking me out of my stupor.

Just as I am about to start running, and the crimson man looks as if he is preparing to skin me alive, a grimy man with tattered clothing that looks vaguely familiar steps in between us.

“Hello again!” He says brightly.

My mouth gapes open for a second, then I desperately try to warn him. “Watch out!”

He turns around casually, then a spear sprouts from his back.

My eyes widen in horror.

He turns around again, and says with a toothy smile splattered with colours so dense it’s almost more terrifying than the man behind him, “Sorry, am I interrupting something? Let me just move to the side, pretend I don’t exist.” Having said this, he walks calmly to one side, the spear sliding out of his body without leaving a trace, even on his clothing.

…What was that? What… Right, running!

I turn and start running in the opposite direction to him, sheathing my sword in the process. It barely did any good in the fight, and it would only hinder me while running. Gerald slips off the end, turning into a small spike which then turns around and moved in the opposite direction.

‘I’ll meet back up with you at the city. You aren’t going anywhere unless someone buys you time, after all.’ He says, then cuts off the link.

I almost stop, but I keep running. All I can do now is hope that both of us can get out of this alive.

(POV Gerald)

I do not think I will enjoy this experience. Not at all.

With my current psi reserves, I have maybe twenty minutes of flight via telekinesis, maybe less.

Current ki reserves… almost 6000. I have no clue how much I can release in one blast before it kills me. Before now, forty was about the most I’d used in one go.

Well, no time like the present.

While he’s still confused, I fire a ki blast with one hundred ki behind me, shooting towards him faster than I’ve ever moved before.

He deflects me with a single swipe of his spear, sending me spiralling through the air. Regaining control of myself again, I fire two hundred ki behind me. The ambient mana in the air behind me shoots away, creating an area devoid of mana, and I shoot forwards at an even faster speed than before.

He deflects me again, seemingly without much effort. “What is this thing?” I see him say. Can’t say the same about you, I saw what that window said when I absorbed your arm. I know what you are, now.

That shockwave of air gives me an idea, an idea that I can’t believe I didn’t have before. Straightening myself out again, I activate absorb at maximum radius, and fire three hundred ki behind me. The flat end of the spike that is me bends slightly, but I correct it with a thought as I speed through the air at almost twice the speed as before.

What am I absorbing? The air around me. What am I travelling through, then? A vacuum. With no air resistance, my speed won’t decrease, and I’m able to move much faster.

This time he only manages to deflect me at the very last second.

Five hundred. I even activate power stab.

I crumple into a shape close to a bullet after impact, but from the other end. I’m not able to straighten myself out, and my speed is barely higher than my last try. This time I hit him, but whatever that stuff is, it stops me dead in my tracks with little more than a slight stumble on his part.

I’ll have to try something else, and quick.

Before he can react, I transform into a sphere to better withstand what was ahead. I move again to be in contact with his... whatever it is.

One... One thousand.

You have lost 8.3 durability

We shoot in opposite directions for quite a distance. Perhaps fifty meters, perhaps nearly a hundred. Distance is difficult to get a grasp on when your range of vision expands fairly often.

From the looks of him, he’s taken some damage from this… is that a broken rib?

Well, either way, it’s nowhere near as simple to fix as my damage.

Self-repair: gained 8.3 durability

It may have instantly taken almost half my mana, but it’s totally worth it.

Alright, Ferdinand looks to have gotten a suitable distance away… Tunnel after him?

Yeah.

Gerald: Status

Ferdinand: Status