After his brother left the campfire I started to beat myself up over the fact that I mentioned his little secretive job again. Nate hated that topic so much and for a good reason too, but I just had to be stubborn about it and bring it up once again. That conversation always ended up the same way and there was always a motion of our family...

“I should just stick to usual and keep my mouth shut…” I mumbled to myself.

I waited patiently for my brother to return. Not to apologise of course since that was not my style, but to see if he was alright. He was a master at disguise but I could tell what he was thinking from a single glance. We knew each other too well sometimes.

As I poked the fire once more with a stick I heard rustling nearby. Turning around, slowly, I realised it was Nate. He came from another direction that he left, meaning someone was stalking him. My hunch was not wrong since behind Lashaka an unfamiliar man was following them. He didn't look old probably around Nate's age, but he did give off an aura which told me he must have been experienced in combat.

Although, this tough demeanour did not last long, as soon as he noticed the cemetery around me he shook. His eyes opened wide and his hand travelled towards the hilt of his sword. Probably without him even noticing it. Colour drained from his face as his body froze to the spot. I looked around and it was not a surprise he looked terrified. Along with the number of bodies, there was also the fact that some of them weren't intact since our mounts had some feast on them. However, that did not change the fact that he was a wuss. I rolled my eyes thinking 'what a notice'.

My hopes of meeting someone who would actually be able to hold a conversation with us like a normal human being were shattered when his eyes focused on me with horror. I became quickly uninterested in the new arrival and continued to prod the firepit. If started to shake at the sight he would be no fun to fight - he would just die immidetely- nor would he be interesting enough to talk to. Although the fact that Nate brought him to the camp meant there was a reason for it. He and me did not waste energy on useless shit. So as soon as he entered my field of vision I gave him a look waiting for an explanation.

Seeing it Nate, looked over at the man trying to get his attention “Try to ignore it, I know the stench is unpleasant.” The man nodded his head not letting a single sound escape him. Because nothing he would have said at that point would be considered intelligent so it was better to avoid talking.

As they approached me I asked, “Who’s he?” I was never considered a patient person.

Nate shrugged sitting next to me “I don’t know, but he said he might have something for us.”

The man sat at the opposite side of us not wanting to get too close for good reasons. Behind him, Lashaka and Trutan sat obediently just in case he decides to bail on us which would not be the first time. He eyed firstly Nate then me suspiciously, as if trying to feel out our intentions, and said “The name’s Joel. I am a Bezerker from a small town called Kellwoods. I am responsible for taking care of the villagers.”

I lent my head into my palm saying “Hmm… so interesting...” I was already bored out of my mind, even more so than before. ‘Maybe it would not be such a bad concept if he died quickly, at least he would stop talking about his useless life,’ I thought and almost broke into a smile. He was just some nobleman who got a job from his family and decided to talk to runaways and murderers. Not a clever lad.

He, however, ignored my snarky comment and continued, “The job is pretty easy except as of late we are having some problems with the people there. Disappearances, to be exact. We used to have them but not in such a large number. Hence why I patrol the forest to look for the cause.”

Nate hummed from the side “It's not us, we came to these parts only a few days ago. And this graveyard is made of a gang of bandits that we pissed off.” I eyed my brother and wanted to chip in 'you pissed off.'

Joel nodded “I see that. No wonder they looked familiar, it must have been that gang that has been coming around for a while,” he looked once again at the corpses with disgust and continued, “either way, they weren’t the cause either.” He, then, turned his gaze to me. Seeing what happened he could probably guess that I had to have a class. Afterall no normal human could be so calm surrounded by this many cold bodies. “So if you both are up to it you can try to find the cause of this. I assume you are interested in price.”

My eyes lighted up at this statement “Do you offer some?”

“Not me but the elders do. It’s a silent plea, but if you question them they will tell you.”

I stood up asking “So where are we going then?” Money was something that would make me do anything. No matter how trivial or boring the job was. The only thing I didn't normally do was assassinating someone for a private reason - the jobs that Nate normally did. I was not stealthy enough for them.

Nate chuckled “You bought my brother that’s for sure.”

Joel nodded “Kellwood, it's to the Southeast of here. But I won't lead you there. I cannot show up with two suspicious guys. Also, you might not want to show off your mounts or…” he looked at Nate, “your weapons.”

Nate nodded “Don’t worry about that, little warrior. I got that covered.” Nate grinned with mischief in his eyes. His trademark. Out of the two of us, Nate was usually noticed first when he wanted to be seen, that is. His face was more square and mature which gave him a completely opposite look me. He was tall and handsome while I was short and 'cute' - according to many. Although they usually would change their minds after I would beat them bloody.

He also wore lighter clothing than me, except for his shirt, cloak and little details like his eye patch. From what I could tell he liked to be visible because that could help with his information research. Meanwhile, I usually wore dark blue clothes. I was mostly an introvert. I did not like to stand out.

Joel grimaced slightly at that nickname that my brother just came up with and said “I should have thrown you to jail. But since I cannot leave town for too long, I might as well let you roam free if you are able to help.”

I laughed “Heh, I'm in only for the money. But if you try to get rid of us you would be dead like all others here, Mr warrior.” I decided to join in on the nickname.

Joel glanced behind himself at the cemetery. “I assumed as much.” He got up eyeing me for a moment as I reached over for my staff which was resting against a tree. He then called and from within the bushes, a black horse appeared.

“Nice beast,” Nate commented.

While Joel responded, “Black Wind is not a beast, nowhere near as much as your mounts.” Trutan growled lowly as if offended. While Joel added: “If we meet by a chance pretend you don’t know me.”

I nodded “Not a problem.” I was more than happy to oblige that little advice.

Nate smirked “Goodbye warrior.”

Joel rolled his eyes, and last time looked towards the graveyard, fear back in his eyes but he then turned around and galloped away on his armoured horse.

When he was out of earshot Nate and I looked at one another and without a word, we started to gather ourselves to follow after the warrior.

After a few hours of travelling, we reached the town that warrior mentioned. Despite the size of the town it was silent almost as if abandoned. I mumbled, “I thought such a decently sized town in the forest should have quite a bit of people in. Even in the late evening.” I looked around at the empty streets but could not see a single living soul. “It's so dull in here.” I pointed out.

While Nate nodded “It is, and almost… lifeless…”

I looked around once more and noticed a building which looked like a small tavern, that could be a good sign since the lights were on in there. I turned to Nate saying “Then how about we split up and see what we can find, from experience I know empty towns mean trouble, and sorting out trouble means money, and money is my call in life,” I then frowned at my brother, “besides we need it, especially since you spend half of our savings.”

He chuckled “All right, fine. There might be more to it than just the disappearances anyway.” I nodded agreeing with his hunch and headed into the tavern while Nate threw his black cloak around him, put the hood up and disappeared in the shadows of the buildings without a trace.

As I entered the old, dusty building, which was indeed a tavern, I immediately gained a lot of looks from all the people gathered inside. They mostly were old men. Not very friendly looking and each of them glared at me. Although, when in my life did I gain a ‘friendly’ look from others? So, with that, I approached the bar asking “So… What’s up with your shit hole, good sir?”

One thing I hated above all else was politeness. However, Nate always told me ‘if you will not be polite you will not get what you want’. Hence, I listened to the advice of my elder brother and applied the ‘politeness’ with my usual way of talking which in the end seemed cocky and snarky. However, I could live with that.

The barman looked at me with a frown slowly forming on his wrinkled face. “Boy, this isn’t a place for kids. Go, find a playground.”

Some men at the tables chuckled while I quirked an eyebrow “Funny, do you really want me to ‘disappear’ that badly?”

The man grimaced picking up on my choice of words. He stayed silent for a little while but then said “Look, boy, we don’t need spectators, it's our problem to deal with. So scram.”

I shrugged “So you don’t want my help then? That’s fine I'll find something else to do.” I turned around and was about to leave, however on my way out I deliberately walked slowly and made a spectacle of showing off the staff which was on my back, attached to a blue, leather belt which was around my shoulder and torso. The grumpy man caught the bait and quickly reconsidered his previous words saying “Did the elders hire you?”

I smirked subtly, and while trying to appear indifferent I turned back “Does not matter, I want information.”

Barman glared at me, probably thinking of me as a coky kid, but spoke, knowing that wizards are usually nothing to mess with, we all had sharp mouths but were powerful no matter our age. “The disappearances were always around, but lately they grew in numbers. No one knows what's happening, but Kellwood was always surrounded by monsters so…” He trailed off leaving us in silence. I nodded aware I won't get much information out of the old man.

“So, a wizard ey? Do you think you can deal with the monsters around?” Barman asked after a moment, curiously.

“Depends on what kind of monsters,” I said casually walking back towards the bar and sitting on a stool.

The barman then lowered his voice to a whisper “If you ask me I have a feeling it must be those good for nothing stray dogs.”

I frowned instantly, I was about to crush every bone in that man's body but managed to stop myself remembering Nate and I just arrived and needed information. So instead, I took a deep breath and asked: “What do you mean?” Despite the fact, I knew what that man was talking about.

“You travel, so I thought you'll know. There are rumours around that a band of lowlifes, assassins with no families…” he spat on the floor after saying that and continued “…are going around the towns nearby. They have no leash to hold them, and no master to control them so they went rogue and kill everything.” He grimaced “Not like they weren’t rouge before. Those monsters.”

I fumed inside at those words, I didn't let it show on my face, however, my hand was shaking - wanting to grab my staff. I wanted to destroy the building and burn that man into ash, the more he spoke now, the more way I found to kill him. However, I controlled himself.

Normally I didn't care about the opinions of people about mine and my brother’s classes, but when it came to wild assassins I would go crazy with rage. Nate was one of those who ‘lost their master’. So no one controlled him. Not even me. I had no power to command him, and yet, unlike others, he controlled himself. Which made him capable of living normally. If anything it was me that was having control problems.

“Is that so?” I asked quietly, begging myself not to explode, not yet at least. The whisper was not to hide our conversation but to keep my demons hidden. Then I added, “But they would just kill not kidnap, which seems to be the problem.”

The man grunted and shrugged “Whatever kid, but I've been alive for some time. I know what I am talking about.” The barman looked in the direction of an approaching client.

Seeing that the conversation ended I said confidently “Well, then keep up the shitty job you're doing at this dumpster then, good sir.” I quickly stood up ignoring the glare that man gave me and walked towards the exit.

Then from the very back of the tavern, a female voice said, “If you want to help, go to elders they will guide you.”

I ignored the screeching voice of a woman, which I hated beyond everything else. I would much rather listen to gargoyles for weeks than hearing a woman say a single sentence. Not even looking at her I left the building without another word. My eyes were still aflame from the conversation with that old man. I wanted to destroy something, needed to destroy something. However, instead, I managed to find a quiet place which offered a room for both Nate and I not too far from the tavern. Even when angry I had to do my job, which involved finding a place to stay while Nate was on an information hunt.

Once I reserved the room, I left the town and headed towards the forest in the direction where we came from. I walked in between dense trees and while waiting for Nate I used my magic to throw icicles into trees nearby to let off some steam. A fire would be a bit too flashy so I went with ice, which would soon melt anyway.

Using my powers helped me seal off the demons back into my head, the ones which were getting dangerously close to escaping. I could feel how I slowly started to calm down after getting a bunch of holes in the trees.

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