The fire cracked and popped between the two men, George stood frozen with confusion etched upon his face. He coughed slightly before speaking.
“Who are you?” George asked, his posture moving to a defensive stance.
“Me? I am but a simple hermit.” The old man replied with a sly smirk
“I very much doubt that.” George replied
“Oh, why do you say that?” The man asked, tilting his head to the side, as he did his long white beard shifted and fluttered like a drape.
“No normal man, nor hermit, could have passed my barrier without my knowing.” George said, puffing his chest out slightly.
The hermit gave a small chuckle to George’s words, “Oh your barrier is mere child’s play.”
“Your lies will not work on me, that was a high level barrier I cast. No way you got past it without my knowing.” Replied George.
“Well clearly I did.” The Hermit replied while waving to himself as if showing off that he was truly there.
“What magic did you use?” George snapped.
“Hahaha, I used no magic, yours is just weak.” The hermit replied with a sly grin.
“So insults is how we are going?” George hissed.
“I am not insulting, merely stating a fact. Your magic is barely above a childs.” The Hermit spat back, a slight tone of insult flowed with the words.
“Do you think I will stand for this?! I am a proud battle mage, and I know no mere Hermit could pass my barrier!” George roared, rage bubbling up inside his chest.
“Oh?” The Hermit mused with a smirk “And what is it you will do?”
“Teach you a lesson!” George roared, his hand snapping up, his finger pointing at the hermit as air swirled around it. “Thüm Ga!”
The air around George’s finger solidified and formed a makeshift arrowhead before launching forward at the hermit. The old man merely chuckled before blinking harshly, the arrow of air that was barreling towards him merely vanished into the surrounding air. George stood there with disbelief across his face.
“Is that all you have to offer?” The old man taunted, his yellow teeth showing from his wide grin.
“I’ll show you old man!” George barked, his stance turning into one of a sprinter about to begin a race. The mana flowed through him and into his legs as a small twinge of purple light flickered behind the amber hue of his eyes. The old man noticed and his smile grew with wicked glee. Before the Hermit could comment on what he saw, George burst forward, his feet tearing the earth up beneath him. His mouth was moving rapidly and though the words could not be heard, the results were clear. A film of air formed around George's fist as he cocked it back, it took shape and gained mass, coating his hand in what seemed like armor made of air. Roaring a battle cry, George flung his fist forward. Now only a few feet from the old man, a wicked smile formed on the young man’s lips. It was cast aside as the old man brought up his hand and motioned it to the side as if swatting away a fly. George felt a great pressure on his side and without any time to truly react, he was flying sideways through the air. As he tumbled over and over through the air, the only thing that stopped his flight was an old ash tree. Slamming into its gray trunk George groaned and collapsed before it. He spat a small amount of blood to the side and gazed with utter hatred up at the old man chuckling before him.
“Is that all you have boy?” The Hermit mocked.
George shuddered. Getting to his feet, he wiped away the smear of blood from his lips. His right hand flexed and small arcs of blue lightning danced between his finger tips.
“Litüm Va!” George yelled, his voice like a choir that tore the very air asunder.
As the words left his lips George raised his hand with the arcing lightning letting free the torrent. The bluish white lightning tore through the space between the two men, its target the old man’s chest, but as it reached the halfway mark, the old man raised his hand. A storm of purple lightning ripped forth from the wrinkled fingers and met George’s with a thunderous boom. George flinched under the enormous pressure as the two crackling streams of light met, and within seconds, George’s attack was consumed by the purple streaks. They flowed without restraint towards George wrapping his body in purple energy. George tried to scream from the pain but the lightning forced his voice to be silent. George gritted his teeth, fighting to stay conscious as the purple lightning tore his body apart. It was as if his nerves were being lit on fire as his body twisted and contorted in unnatural ways. George fell to his knees as the lightning and pain receded, lifting his head slightly he met the gaze of the purpled eye Hermit.
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“Impressive.” The Hermit mused “Most do not survive that, there might be hope for you yet.”
“What…what was that?” George eked out through jerking vocals.
“What do you mean?” The Hermit Asked.
“How did you….” George fought to say.
“Oh, magic silly.” The Hermit said laughing.
George tried to stay conscious through the immense pain but blackness started to creep into his vision. Falling onto all fours George coughed up more blood and began to feel dizzy and the old man approached.
“Do not worry, rest now.” The Hermit said softly.
With those words George could no longer fight off unconsciousness and he fell face first into the cool dirt. A dreamless sleep quickly consumed him and all his woes and pain slipped away. When he came to, he was staring at the night sky, the small crackling fire just off to his left; shifting his head, he felt a shock of pain jolt through his body and he gave a soft groan. A raspy chuckle came shortly after, George gazed across the fire and saw the old man sitting smoking from a long pipe.
“Fast to heal, and to wake. Good, good.” The man said between puffs from his pipe.
“Well seeing that I am not dead nor robbed,” George said with a groan as he sat up straight and faced the man properly, “I assume you wish to know something? Or do you just like to toy with your prey?”
“Haha, glad to see you still have some fight in you.” The Hermit laughed “And yes, I have a few questions for you. Are you feeling more cooperative now?”
“Do I really have a choice?” George mocked.
“You do not if I am to be honest.” The man replied, taking a long drag from his pipe, exhaling a large cloud of grayish white smoke.
George sighed “Ask away then.”
“Wonderful!” The man said with a wide smile “Let's start easy. Why are you here?”
George was slightly caught off guard by the simple question, and it wasn't until now that he really thought about it and truly didn't know why he was here.
“I… I am not really sure to be honest with you.” He finally spat out after several silent moments.
“Oh, well tell me what happened that led you here.”
George thought for a moment and the memory of that night was foggy at best, but he focused and slowly a picture formed in his mind's eye.
“I do not truly know, it's all a blur, but I do remember something.” George said “I was translating an old tablet that was found at the Kubal site.”
He paused for a moment and the Hermit took another drag from his pipe, as he exhaled, George continued.
“I do not know what drew my attention but something in the halls had pulled me from my work.” George said, his eyes now closed as he focused. “I heard a voice, a soft and delicate female voice. It caught me off guard.”
George's face twisted slightly as he pushed himself to remember more.
“I do not know what it said, but the next thing I know I am walking the halls, I come upon a storage room. I think it was for the things found in the Kubal forest but..” He drifted off as an expression of terror started to appear across his face.
“Something wrong?” asked the Hermit.
“Its, its…” George started “ When I opened that door.” George gagged as he remembered “The body, or bodies.”
The Hermit tilted his head and stroked his beard as he listened to George’s tale.
“The room was covered in blood, and…. and bits of people.” He said with a tremble. “ I, I do not know what happened but the next thing I know, I hear people and I run.” He panicked as he spoke. “What else was I to do? If I stayed, surely I would be blamed.”
As the young man began to spiral the Hermit simply refilled his pipe with another pinch of a greenish purple leaf.
“Calm yourself.” He said taking a puff and peering at the young mage across the fire, “What came next?”
“I…. I do not really know, the next thing I remember is climbing down the mountain face, heading here.” George said opening his eye, pain filling them as he peered at the older man
“Did I kill someone?” George asked.
“I do not know, but from what you remember it does not seem so.” The Hermit replied.
George sat silent, his mind mulling over what little he remembered. The old man flipped the pipe and tapped it against his wrist, the ashes falling to the ground around his feet.
“Well, I have heard all I need to.” The hermit said, now standing “If you find what the key you carry goes to and fear or doubt consume you, find me. There may be a thing or two I could teach you.”
George stared at the old man confused “What do you mean?” He asked, his mind already aware of the object he carried yet does not remember taking.
The old man laughed and turned on his heel walking away from the young man. He spoke again “Find me, and I shall teach you, but only if you can truly see what is before you.”
George stood as the man reached the edge of his barrier and simply walked through it, he took a step forward and yelled.
“What do you mean by that?!”
The old man simply walked forward and waved to the young mage, and within seconds he vanished from sight within the thicket of the forest. George approached the edge of his camp, standing inches from the line he carved in the dirt, he reached out. His pointer finger came in contact with the barrier he placed and he could feel the resistance.
“It's still active, but how did he…” George asked himself as his barrier pushed back against his finger.
Several minutes passed before George returned to his fire and settled for a fitful sleep. When morning came, he awoke more tired than he was the night before, and with a groan he sat up. As he rubbed at his temple, he pondered if all that happened last night was true, but looking around he saw the evidence of it. The ground tore up from his attack and the Hermits counter.
“What in the Heavens is happening..” He hissed under his breath.
An hour passed as he collected himself. After putting out the embers and destroying the barrier runes leaving no trace of him, he headed out. He didn't truly know where he was going, only that something deep within him told him to go south west, toward the Ruins of Kubal.
