The Roaming Mage (4/4)

A few months after Haalfrin started living here, everyone in the village suddenly starts to get a nervous. Even though no one is saying anything, Haalfrin can feel the tension in the air from reading their spirits.

Almost immediately, Haalfrin goes to confront the chief about what's going on…

"Oh, it's about that time of year again," the old chief says. "Every year, the Kareen sweep through the villages and collect taxes from us. We're too far away from any of the major cities for the local lords to bother doing anything about it…"

Haalfrin nods, as if a few things finally started to make sense to him. "I assume that's why you were so insistent on getting me to stay here?"

The chief glances down, and the guilty look on his face answers everything.

"Fine. I'll take care of it. I'm not scared of a few Raiders anyway."

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A week later, one of the younger men comes running back to the chief, and he warns everyone that the Kareen are coming.

Immediately, all of the women are sent inside and told to hide in their houses, while their husbands guard the front doors

When Haalfrin sees this, he says to the chief, "Hiding the women probably isn't necessary. The Kareen have strict rules against kidnapping people or r#ping women."

The chief coughs uncomfortably and says, "Um… Are you sure you're talking about the Kareen? They're the most vicious and barbaric people I know of."

Haalfrin frowns a little. "I used to know a Kareen Clan… Oh… Well, it's been several centuries, so I suppose a lot could change."

Haalfrin knows all too well that young people often rebel against traditions. For all he knows, a few horny young Kareen could've disobeyed the elders and broken the code. Then, they'd spend the rest of their lives thinking that such rules are silly anyway, and they'd neglect teaching their own children the code.

Just like that, centuries of culture and tradition can be lost after a single generation.

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Only about half an hour later, a long line of tattooed men stroll into town. "O ho? They seem especially on guard today!" one of the raiders says to his chief. "Look. All the men are outside glaring at us."

The chief looks at all of the empty porches in front of the houses, and he frowns. "Where's their tribute? Do they not plan on paying us?"

One of the men behind him cackles at him. "It's about time! Do I get to actually use my sword today? I'm tired of just practicing with Taml."

"Hold your horses!" the chief commands them. "I'll have a word with the village elder. If he they really do plan on skipping out on payments, we can just kill a few of the elderly to give a warning. Make sure to leave the young ones untouched."

Young people ARE far more useful in growing food and making money. The old are disposable.

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Once the Kareen chief makes his way to the village chief's house, he finds a stranger sitting on the elder's front porch. The first thing he sees about the stranger is that there's an ax laying flat on his lap, and it appears to be made of bone.

The man himself has thick, but lean muscles, and he has long brown hair and a short, well-trimmed beard.

... And something about that ax makes the Kareen chief feel terrified. Still, even though he wants to run away, he suppresses his cowardly urges and keeps a straight face. He can't back down like this so easily in front of his men!

"Where's the village elder?" the Kareen chief demands.

"You don't need to know that," Haalfrin says. "Your business is with me. I'm going to need you to turn back now."

The Kareen chief tilts his head back and laughs out loud. "Ha! That's funny! Is that ax enchanted or something? Is that what's giving you the confidence to chase me off?" He unclips his own ax and slings it over his shoulder. "I got an enchanted weapon too!"

Before the Raider chief can bluster any longer, his ax is yanked out of his hand by an invisible force, and the ax goes to float behind Haalfrin's head.

Haalfrin then stands up and straightens his back. "I'm a mage. You can't beat me. Just go home."

The chief straightens his back in turn. "Oh? I happen to be a mage too. Plus, my boys are trained. We know how to kill mages. You should stop trying to play the hero and leave. A tiny place like this has nothing to offer you."

Haalfrin looks down and sighs, "You know… I was trying to be nice for old times sake." He rolls up his sleeve and shows off his bare shoulders. "I know they're pretty faded by now, but you can barely see the tattoos. I used to belong to a Kareen Clan, you see."

He then rolls his sleeve back down – covering the tattoos.

The Raider chief's mouth goes agape a little. "…What are you doing here? You seem like a pretty competent mage. Why don't you come back and join my clan?"

Haalfrin shakes his head. "That was a very long time ago, and I hardly remember them anymore. If you don't leave, I probably won't feel bad about killing you."

The Kareen man takes a deep breath, then he glances to the side at his men. His men seem to understand the meaning of his look, and they all back away and fan out with their bows drawn.

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'Do you want help, bro?' Dakka asks. 'I could take care of these bandits real quick. You don't even have to worry about it. Just go back to your breakfast.'

'No,' Haalfrin says solemnly. 'I don't want you to touch these men. I'll take care of it myself.'

Without even moving from his position, a network of invisible black hands shoot out of Haalfrin's heart, and they grab each Raider by the heart and squeeze.

The Raiders don't even get to take a breath before they all drop dead. Well… "all" isn't very accurate. One of the Raiders is still standing.

Haalfrin looks over the lone survivor and sees what appears to be a 60-year-old man. Despite seeing all of his comrades die, the man doesn't appear scared. Rather, he's frozen in shock, and his face gradually turns red with rage.

'Of course this man isn't scared,' Haalfrin thinks, 'People who are unafraid of death aren't affected by Death Aura so much. Rather… this man feels like he WANTS to die? I can sense it off his spirit.'

'…Curious. That reminds me of myself.'

Haalfrin casually thinks these thoughts, and he hardly bothers to defend himself as the old man charges at him with his sword raised. "DIEEEE!" the old raider screams through tears of grief.

Haalfrin doesn't even have to lift a finger before one of the Wills in his soul shoots and out possesses the old man's sword – yanking it from his hands. Before the blade can cut the old man's throat, Haalfrin holds up his hand. "Stop."

The blade halts in midair, then clatters to the ground lifelessly.

Without giving the old man time to pick his sword up again, Haalfrin smacks the man on the side of the head and sends him tumbling to the ground – unconscious. "Get him out of here," Haalfrin orders his Wills."

Feeling a little sour, the mage turns around and heads back into the chief's house. He doesn't even watch as the old raider is thrown out of town by a few invisible hands.

"I-is it over?" the village elder asks once Haalrin steps into his house.

"Yeah."

"I… I heard you used to be Kareen. Are you ok?"

Haalfrin gives a placid smile. "What? Aren't you going to act scared or something?"

The elder shakes his head. "No? I mean, I thought you'd be feeling pretty terrible about killing fellow clansmen. Do you need some space?"

Haalfrin shakes his head. "It's really not a big deal. I thought I'd be feeling horrible, but I'm fine, actually."

Haalfrin isn't giving a platitude here. He is genuinely surprised at how apathetic he feels inside. It's like time has completely made him forget how he felt about his old clan.

…And that's actually the scary thing to Haalfrin. 'If time can make me forget relationships… then what's the point in getting to know people? If even the grief I'd have for them gets forgotten one day, then isn't that a bit too sad?'

Haalfrin isn't quite sure what this implies, but he'd rather not think about it.

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A few minutes later, Freyya shows up to collect the raider's souls. When she sees Haalfrin, she widens her eyes in surprise. "Oh! You're here!"

"Hi, Freyya."

Freyya looks around with visible confusion. "I thought you'd be over in the Threshold by now? Why are you still in Brancotte?"

Haalfrin looks at her closely and studies her face. She seems a little worried... and a little frustrated that he's languishing in such a peaceful town.

'Well, I expected that much,' he thinks.

Out loud, he replies to her, "Well... I don't see much of a reason to plowing ahead and trying to get myself killed anymore. I don't even remember why I wanted to do that in the first place."

"But... I thought you were trying to escape from prison so that you could search for a battlefield...!?"

Haalfrin sighs heavily. "Well, a thousand years is a long time for a mortal, Freyya." He then points to the east, where he knows the World Gate is. "I was mostly trying to escape from the Pit because I hate Das, and I don't like having my freedom taken away."

Freyya looks down with a troubled face. "...All right... Well... we'll talk next time."