Chapter 91: The Forbidden Tomes

Bleda and Andrew came back to the town during its blockade.

The guild members let them in with great reluctance.

"Go to the guild house, please," a young lady told them. "The entire town is there. You will be protected."

"Did something happen?" Bleda asked as he got off his horse.

"Yes. A Lich was discovered by the fountain. One of our new guildies killed him, but that is not the end of that. Just go there. We have all our runes up."

The Mongol nodded. Andrew was by his side in the next second. The siren brushed his hand on Bleda's, who took it and gave him a gentle squeeze.

"I can protect you," Bleda was even ready to summon the entire graveyard for their defenses. Even if that would get the locals mad.

"I know," Andrew told him. "I am not worried about myself. This reeks of Tangra."

Bleda thought the same, but he didn't want Andrew to have a full-blown panic attack.

He nodded, leading the way.

People with backpacks were going the same direction as them. Bleda could see in their faces that they were going through the motions. Their eyes crazed.

"A Lich is no small deal," Andrew said as he looked around himself. "I just want to…"

"In the guild house with all of you!" An orc said, as he kept the doors open. "Quickly now! Before the Lich comes back!"

Bleda and Andrew looked around. Nikola and the rest of the party, together with the children, were sitting by the animated dummies.

The Mongol took out a rune book, the only one that he had been able to buy and marched there.

When Nikola saw him, he tried to smile, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"I managed to get you this," Bleda said as he sat by the group. He took Timmy out of the stroller, handing him to Andrew.

The siren needed something to hug. Something that would give him hope for the future.

Bleda took Vera.

He saw how the phoenix had grown again and was staring at the door.

The Mongol felt better, somehow.

"I… I killed the Lich," Nikola murmured so, as if he still couldn't believe it.

"Good for you," Bleda said, as he began to pat Vera on the back. The baby began to giggle.

The Mongol saw Nikola's eyes softened.

"We will be here for a long time," Bleda said, wanting to take Nikola's mind off things. "Why don't you start reading?"

The brunette did so. Leaning on Dimitri for support.

****

The rain was pelting against the guild house. The town's folk were huddled together, the children being in the middle.

Some were even crying silent tears.

All that time, Nikola read. He wrote down all the characters. Looked up their translations.

Saw the bloody price most of them required.

He was drowning in hopelessness.

In the end, he couldn't take it anymore. He stood up, beginning to walk along the training hall.

Some people looked his way, but no one stood up to join him.

"Hey!" An old man called as he pointed at Nikola. "What are you doing?"

Nikola looked at the man. Noted how red and puffy his eyes were.

"I am from the guild. My training for this month is to walk," even as Nikola said that he still felt like a failure.

"Just to walk?" The old man asked. "How did they let you in the guild?"

Nikola bowed his head in shame. He had wanted to be a part of the guild, and yet, he was now disgracing it.

"I am a druid," Nikola said. "My mana can revitalize fields."

He didn't dare look at the old man. Only when the circle of the locals parted to let the children out did Nikola realize that it was all a test.

"If this man managed to kill a Lich," most of the locals had heard what Nikola had done. "Then all of you should train with him!"

A child began to walk by his side. Another behind him. There were even a couple of giggling toddlers who were moving behind them all.

It was as if a spell was broken. The locals began to speak with each other again.

Nikola had no idea how he had given them hope. He was weak. Someone only good for growing turnips.

"How did you manage to kill the Lich, sir?" the boy next to him asked.

"With a bow and arrows," Nikola said without much thought.

"Can you show us how to shoot?" The boy asked, his expression was one of wonder.

Nikola saw the arrows lined by the wall. His bow was a comfortable weight on his back.

The brunette nodded, taking his bow out, and then going to the training arrows.

He began to fire arrows at the dummies.

One hit the head, another an eye, and the third a heart.

He closed his eyes. Letting loose arrow after arrow. Trying to think only about that.

When the first applause echoed in the guild hall, Nikola opened his eyes.

The dummies looked like pincushions.

The druid ran out of arrows.

"Back to walking now, kids!" Nikola heard Dimitri call out from his spot in the circle. "You have to grow up big and strong!"

"I want to learn how to shoot with a bow!" a small girl said. Her twin braids made her adorable, or so Nikola thought.

The brunette knew that the child's parents would not approve.

"How about this? When you get older, join the guild, and they will teach you?" Nikola asked, not wanting to be the subject of waterworks.

The beaming smile he got was a balm for his heart. He continued walking. His steps were a soft tap-tap on the wooden floor.

The rain was still pelting down on the old building, but the storm could not dampen the hearts of all those within its walls.

More and more people joined Nikola on their walk.

 He didn't want to stop.

But when his stomach growled, he knew that it was time for some cooking.

The druid knew just what to make.

There were cooking pits at the far-left corner of the training hall. He had enough produce to survive any siege.

When the smell of grilled squash and bell peppers filled the hall, laughter soon followed.

For the children were helping him with the cooking.

No longer thinking about the danger they were in.