Arrival & Parting

Haalfrin had grown bored of the story at the beginning, when the merchant had said, "Some souls are too evil for even the Death gods to take."

This was so completely untrue that he couldn't even find it funny. So, he listened to the rest while not completely paying attention.

Unlike Haalfrin, the 12 Stanrock boys are completely enraptured by the story.

One of the youngest boys is the first to speak up - a 14 year old boy. "Wow... What do you think happened to the ax?"

"...Didn't I say it was still in the Pit?" the merchant replies, slightly puzzled.

The boy looks down sheepishly and adds, "Well, me and by friends all grew up by the mountain around the Pit. We all had to pack up and leave our villages because there was a massive breakout from the Pit, and a lot of evil escaped from there."

One of the boys briefly glances at Haalfrin. "Yeah. I heard the Demon of the Pit just escaped."

All of the Stanrock boys look at the merchant expectantly. It's as if they were waiting for the man to start freaking out.

Instead, the merchant shrugs. "Well, it's only a story. In my own opinion, the imperial family probably just made the 'Demon of the Pit' up to hide their embarrassment when a large prison break happened."

"Nu-uh!" the 14-year-old boy denies. "The Demon of the Pit is real!"

The merchant, as well as all his other companions, start laughing out loud. "You still believe children's stories! Haha! How old are you again?"

"...14...."

"Well," one of the stable hands says, "That's about the age when we start to grow up and stop believing everything we're told. Don't worry. You'll get there soon!"

Hearing this conversation, Talfon and Nella are barely containing their laughter.

Haalfrin, on the other hand... he shrugs casually and butts in, "You're right. The story you just told is a children's story. However, saying that the Demon of the Pit doesn't exist is also a bit of a stretch. In reality, the 'Demon of the Pit' is just a really powerful mage that people started calling a demon because he was really strong and he killed a lot of people. That's it. There's no magic ax, and there's no such thing the lingering dead; the Death gods are QUITE thorough in cleaning this world up of spirits."

The merchant and his employees look at each other, and they don't know how to respond to this.

When put like that, the story sounds... pretty normal? Because Haalfrin had managed to extract any fantastical elements from his side of the story, it suddenly feels a lot easier to accept.

One of the caravan guards thinks to ask, "How do you know about the 'demon'?"

Prella looks at Haalfrin hard, but the man himself ignores her.

"Just because," Haalfrin shrugs, "These boys were right when they said that they grew up around the Pit. The Pit was dug into a mountain, and these boys lived around the mountain. A few months ago, the 'demon' broke out and destroyed the rest of the Pit."

"There's no way a single mage can do that much damage," one of the guards scoffs.

Haalfrin shrugs again. "Well, suit yourself."

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Several days later, the 12 boys and 4 mages arrive at a town called Leadale. They part ways with the merchant's crew, and they even leave Prella behind.

Prella insists on going back to her family, after all, and the Vanterri estates are in the opposite direction of where Haalfrin and the others were planning on going.

So, once the entire company reaches the safe walls of the town, Haalfrin and the others don't even bother shacking up in the same inn as the merchant Prella.

There are no big holidays this time of year and it's not harvesting season. So, the inns are mostly empty.

Haalfrin, Talfon, and Nella in particular get very emotional looks on their faces when the innkeeper serves them ale. Freyya had certainly given them a lot of alcohol over the years, but it was nothing like some good, bitter ale that still tastes like home.

Most of the boys who came with them were too young to be given hard drink, so when Haalfrin gets Prella to volunteer to pay for all the drinks, the 12 youngsters go wild and pass out within the hour.

Once the inn is finally quiet again, the 4 mages sit awkwardly at a circular table, looking at each other.

"Haalfrin?" Nella says while glancing at Talfon, "there's something we need to talk about, and we figured now was the best time?"

"What?" Haalfrin takes another swig, "you wanna part ways now?"

Talfon flinches, "How did you know that?"

Haalfrin shrugs, "I know you've always wanted a peaceful life in the woods somewhere. You also know me pretty well. You're not very likely to have a peaceful life if you hang around me."

He then turns to Talfon, "I know you'll go where Nella goes since you've been in love with Nella for hundreds of years now."

Nella spits out her drink and goes red in the face. "WHAT!?"

Talfon raises his mug and pretends to drink from his empty mug in order to hide his face. His ears are clearly red, though.

"…Anyway," Haalfrin continues, "I guess this means it's goodbye then."

Talfron slams his empty mug on the table and stutters out to the innkeeper, "I want 3 more servings of ale!"

Nella slaps him on the shoulder, "Dude!? We're all way too full to drink anymore. You wanna puke?"

"We need to take care of Dee's, Garr's, and Vic's shares," Talfon explains. "They'll never taste ale again…" They're still stuck on an island full of people who don't know how to make ale, after all.

"If we're doing that," Haalfrin smiles, "Let's just add the rest of our dead comrades on the list." Haalfrin stands up and waves down the innkeeper, who's busy filling up 3 more mugs. "We'll have 30 more servings of ale at this table!!"

"!!!" ~ Nella

"!!!" ~ Talfon

"…" ~ the 12 boys

'Haalfrin... we always felt you were a little distant with us this whole time... Why'd you have to pick now to suddenly start acting like a teasing friend?' Talfon and Nella both think this.

After Nella and Talfon pass out, some of the boys wake up and help Haalfrin finish off the rest of the mugs.

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Haalfrin ends up awakening before Nella and Talfon, though surprisingly, some of the Stanrock boys beat him to it.

It's still so early in the morning that the sky is grey, yet 2 of the boys watch Haalfrin while he silently packs his things.

"Are you really going?" one of them asks Haalfrin.

"Yeah," the other adds, "We heard you were going to this place called the Threshold. It's a Castle, a lot like the Pit, right?"

"Where'd you hear that from?" Haalfrin asks.

"We heard from Stalfon."

'Why would Stalfon think I'm headed there?' Haalfrin is genuinely confused. 'Wait... back when I was conflicted about my future, I remember confessing that I MIGHT go to the Threshold. I guess the others never really forgot what I said.'

Haalfrin doesn't feel like correcting these boys, though, so he just ruffles the shortest one's scruffy hair and says, "It's a lot bigger than the Pit. WAY bigger."

"Is the Threshold defending against a lot of demons?"

"…Sort of," Haalfrin says. "Demons are evil, but the beings the Threshold defends against aren't necessarily evil… They're like dangerous, wild animals; they live according to their instincts, but they can easily kill you." He pats the dragon bone ax at his hip. "Dakka here is a dragon, and the Threshold is the only thing keeping thousands of them from visiting our world."

One of the boys looks down and asks, "Can I come to the Threshold with you?" Hearing small talk about the place over the long voyage has certainly sparked his adventurous spirit. Besides, a thirst to see the unknown is why they left their home on that boat in the first place, right?

"You have to be a mage to serve there," Haalfrin says while patting them on the shoulders. "If you ever become a 2nd gate mage, you're free to go there."

Once Haalfrin packs his things, he swings the bag over his shoulder and points at the eldest boy. "Now, I heard you all talking earlier. Nella and Talfon agreed to look after you all. Make sure to stay close to them and listen to their words. They're both very old and wise people, and these lands can be dangerous."

The 2 boys bow stiffly and refuse to look up from the ground as Haalfrin silently leaves the inn behind.

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Haalfrin's hard boots trudge the dirty road alone, and he wraps his cloak around himself even tighter to ward off the chilly spring morning.

For some reason... Haalfrin soon starts to get irritated for no reason. The discomfort in his shoes... the cold morning, the grimy, itchy feeling in his beard... He didn't notice any of these things before on the trip up, yet these small things are driving him insane now.

'Maybe it's because I have no one to talk to, and I have nothing else to focus on?' the man guesses. 'Well, whatever. I can't exactly go back there and be with those people after that touching farewell.'

'...Wait... why was that farewell touching? Am I actually upset about leaving these people behind?'

Haalfrin had spent so long in the Pit with those people closing his heart off to them and keeping his distance from them, yet the moment he leaves them all behind, he feels lost and upset.

'Truly ridiculous.'

Regardless of how clear his own feelings have become, he continues walking down the road without looking back.

If one were paying attention, they'd notice that Haalfrin is making his way toward Alasta.

'I have loose ends to take care of, after all.'