The Last Favor

Chapter 15

While Tristan was walking out of the cottage, the son who had just lost his mother was waiting for him.

“Here’s your reward as promised.” A silent tear cascaded down his face.

“Keep your money.” Tristan kept walking.

When he finally reached his room in the tavern, he was not surprised to find it empty. He hadn’t seen a single glimpse of Bryce after what had just happened, nor any sign of him. To Tristan it felt weird, returning to that room alone. He wanted to pretend that the reason he was uncomfortable was simply because he initially had no plan to return. But it was obvious denial. How could he get attached to someone so quickly? How could he let his guard down? Tonight was a reminder of exactly why he should have never let anyone stay by his side.

***

Bryce was still running. He had no place else to go. That wasn’t unusual for him. Somehow at some point, he genuinely believed he’d never feel this lost again. Once he had found Tristan, he truly thought things would get better from there.

He still remembers how Tristan came up to him the first time unbothered and uncalled for, how he threw him over his shoulder like a potato sack for no apparent reason and the taste of the cold yet delicious bread he gave him; it was his only meal that day. Even now, the warmest experience in his memory is that first night he fell asleep in Tristan’s lap. When all seemed wrong in the world, he was convinced that his lap was the safest haven on all of Ecanistus.

But he was mistaken. He was wrong on so many levels. All of it was a lie. Tristan was using him conveniently in missions. He never once cared about him or his wellbeing. Hell, he hardly ever shared his food. He should have listened to Adelaide. She warned him and he should have listened to her.

The next day, Bryce went looking for Adelaide. Unfortunately, he had no idea where to find her. Usually he and Tristan would run into her in the woods or the tavern. The forest is too big a place to search and the tavern is where he would probably run into Tristan.

Eventually, he chose against looking for her. There was no point in going around aimlessly looking for a stranger that could be anywhere. Instead, he went looking for easy quests he could accomplish by himself. After all, Bryce still needed an income and he felt like he had learnt enough about hunting from his experience and how to go about it. He realized he still had a long way ahead but he was confident he could figure out how to improve himself using more experience and research.

“Bryce?” a familiar voice called out in the middle of the market place.

“Ada!” yelled back Bryce who immediately ran to her crying. “I’m sorry. You were right. You were right. Tristan is a bad man, really bad.”

Ada hugged him back silently. She didn’t want to ruin this moment for them.

Bryce had no intention of telling her what had happened. He was sick of playing it in his head. He hated admitting she was right; it felt like a stab to the heart.

About an hour later, Adelaide needed to go for a hunt. That was when her first fight with Bryce began since they joined sides.

“You cannot come with me” she explained, “it’s too dangerous.”

“So what?” he argued, “I can take of myself. I can’t just leave you to fight all alone. If I never come with you, I’ll never learn!”

“No Bryce. I’ll let you come when you’re old enough. Just practice archery or something when I’m gone. I won’t be long.”

Bryce was enraged by the way she orders him around like she has the whole world figured out when she couldn’t even find a Dearb. She was no better than him. So, he had to do the obvious; he followed her into the woods without her knowing.

Meanwhile, Tristan’s morning was not any better. The bloke kept tossing and turning all night long. He couldn’t stop thinking about last night, how she was begging, crying, hissing and how the blood wouldn’t leave his hands no matter how many times he cleans them. He couldn’t stop himself from thinking of a time she was a caring mother with a warm heart, a time before the taboo. How he once wasn’t considered deadly wherever he went.

But there was no undoing his mistakes.

When the morning came, he forced himself out of the room. It’s been too long since he took an actual quest. But he wasn’t sure he was capable of handling one today since he was still tired. So, he reached for the coin in his pocket and tossed it. “Blessed”

Four.

He might as well take a damn job then. He headed to the board near the tavern and found this one quest he had seen a few times before but ignored. With a reward of a 1000gold, anyone who could take down this Bablek will be considered a hero in town.

Bablek is a lake creature that’s 16 feet long with poisonous tentacles and fire for breath. It’s the only monster capable of using magic and is by far one of the most dangerous creatures alive. Facing that creature alone is a suicide mission, one that is perfect for someone with a death wish like Trystan.

And thus, the hunter headed towards the lake in the forest to either kill this creature or get killed, whatever happens first. The journey wasn’t long, barely a few hours. He prepared his potions before leaving as he always does and was about to activate them as soon as he saw the lake.

‘You have got to be kidding me’ he thought to himself when he saw the kid and Adelaide loudly arguing near the lake like fools.