Kapitel 26: CHAPTER 26- THE PACT
The guards led Alaster and Astrid into a stone building. Alaster assumed it was a barracks for those patrolling the gate and nearby walls. They were led into a separate room with a desk and three chairs. There was a small fire burning in the corner, adding a pleasant heat to the otherwise cold room.
'They must have just recently started the fire.'
"Please wait here for a moment." The bearded guard said, the rest of the guards leaving.
Astrid walked right in and sat down at one of the chairs, but Alaster hung back and motioned for his attention.
He leaned in close, the man doing so as well, "Can she get some clothes? All she has is the cloak."
The man's eyes widened, but he briskly nodded and left, closing the door behind him.
Alaster walked over to the fire and briefly warmed his hands before he took a seat next to Astrid, making sure he faced the door.
"We almost didn't make it." Astrid muttered to herself, more than anything.
"That just means we need to become a lot stronger."
Astrid turned to stare at Alaster, "Can I stay with you? I know that you intended to just get me here and then leave to do your own thing, and with your skeletons you don't really need a party. But I have no one else here. Even if I went back to the Orphanage, I would be looked at like I was the reason everyone else died, and they would have to kick me out after I turned sixteen anyway. I promise I will be useful. I won't drag you down."
Alaster continued to watch the door while his mind ran. She continued to stare at him with wide, hopeful, eyes.
He knew that if he said yes, that it would slow down his leveling. He knew that the people were still hunting him, and that if Astrid followed him, she would most likely get caught up in it. The young man also knew that there was safety in numbers, and she could watch his back. If he was being completely honest with himself, he was lonely.
He had never really been the most social of people, and ever since that night, he had closed himself off even more. But humans were social creatures. They naturally desired companionship. And Astrid had already proven her use. Even weakened from being starved and beaten by the Goblins, she had still kept pace with Alaster and even protected him.
However, there was one thought that truly decided it.
Colius, while tutoring Alaster in the ways of magic, had mentioned numerous times that mana affected the user, just as much, if not more, than the environment. Fire Mages would be louder and more violent, while Water Mages would be calmer and go with the flow of the situation. Earth Mages were stubborn and hated to change when they had decided something. But Wind Mages were quick and ever-changing.
Colius had mentioned that when he used his mana, it made him feel something profound, as if he was on the cusp of discovering something vast and indescribable. That was actually why he had become a researcher.
Alaster's Mana was slow when unguided, but violent and wild when given a target to destroy. It was subtle and quiet, but he could feel himself changing the longer he used his mana. Like he was becoming more and more casual about slaughter and destruction. It was not turning him into a wild murderer who didn't realize or care about the consequences. But he could feel himself putting less value to a life.
It was a change he did not want to control him.
"Of course, you can stay with me. After all, you saved my butt out there by jumping over me and bashing that Goblin."
A blush immediately appeared, and she looked down, "You didn't see anything, did you?"
Alaster tilted his head and raised his eyebrow, "See what?"
"Nothing! Nothing! What happened to your skeletons?"
Still confused, he decided to just go along with it, "Both died, and for now, I am not a Summoner Class and you are not a Buff Class. Just think of some other generic Warrior Type. Something common and overlooked."
She nodded in understanding.
Novice Classes that could Buff were rare, but Novice Classes that could Summon were even more so. If everyone wanted to party with a Buff Class, every faction wanted to claim a Summoner Class.
It did not really matter how strong a person was, so long as they were all in the same Tier, numbers mattered most. Many Summoner Classes focus on one or two powerful summons, while Alaster's Death Mage Class appears to focus more on numerous weaker summons. Whichever one the Summoner was, Powerful or Numerous Summoner, the common denominator was that the Summoner was weak against direct attacks, even more so than other Mages.
Alaster did not want to be the weak link of his force, which is why he still kept and used the sword. When the summoner was defeated, the vast majority of the Summons' power would diminish, most outright being unsummoned. The stronger the Summon, the longer they would last without the Caster maintaining them.
As such, the common tactic was to ignore the Summons as much as you could and focus on the Caster. If you could get past the Summons, it was almost guaranteed to win. If the enemy got past his Undead, Alaster wanted to be able to at least fend for himself until they could come to his aid. Of course, he was not the only Summoner Class to have this idea. He did however have the significant advantage of being a Novice Summoner Class.
It was much easier to create Abilities while still a Novice. It grew more difficult each Tier you went up. There was a saying that an Expert learning a new Ability was enough cause to throw a month-long party.
"So, what's our next step?" Astrid asked, holding up her feet in the direction of the fire.
The corner of Alaster's mouth rose, "That depends on how our interactions with the guards go, but whatever it is, should involve you getting some clothes."
Astrid's face burned, "Shut up!"
The door then opened and in walked a well-dressed man. He was tall, but strong. His shoulder-length black hair was tied back in a low ponytail. His uniform designated him as an Officer. A low ranking one, but clearly a noble.
"Greeting children. I am the Officer of this gate."
Alaster spoke up, while Astrid shrunk in her chair, "Are we in trouble?"
The Officer waved his hand dismissively, "No, no, of course not. We just need to know what happened, and then you will be let go." He sat down in the chair across from them, "My name is Tobias, what are yours?"
"Alaster."
"Astrid."
"Good to meet, I only wish it was under better circumstances. Why don't you start with where you came from? Do you live in the city?"
Alaster quickly spoke up before Astrid, "No. We were hired by a traveling Merchant. He was so cheap, he only hired Novices. Our party knew that it was dangerous, but we wanted to go out and see the world. The Merchant had said that the roads he would take were regularly patrolled, so we thought we would be fine. We were ambushed by Goblins when we stopped for the night."
Alaster stopped for a moment, looking down and simulating an emotional pause, "All of my friends were killed. They knocked out Astrid and took her back to their tribe."
"How weren't you killed?" There was no skepticism, just curiosity.
"I was actually taking a leak when they attacked. When I got back, they were already gone. So I tracked them and returned the favor."
"How so?"
"Before I left to be an Adventurer, my father gave me a small vial of poison that he had gotten when he was an Adventurer. So I waited until they all fell asleep. I was lucky that a blizzard decided to hit then, so I snuck in and poisoned their food. When the sun rose, they ate their breakfast, and by lunch, they were all choking. So I just walked in and killed all of them."
Astrid spoke up, "They didn't touch me. They only stripped me and locked me in a cage."
"I thought I had gotten all of them, but apparently, the Goblin Lord and his guards were away. We had already left and were coming here when they found their tribe all dead. We also set fire to the tribe. So they tracked us and when they found us, we were just out of sight of the city. If it had not been for your guards, we would be dead."
Tobias sighed, "I'm sorry for what happened to you. Do you know anyone in the city, or have money?"
"No. We have a few coins, but nothing great."
"Well, I think I could ask a friend of mine if he could offer you a job and roof. He is a cobbler."
"Thank you sir, but we can't accept it."
Astrid turned to him with a question on her lips, but she didn't speak. Tobias was shocked, his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide.
"Why? It's the middle of winter. How will you survive?"
"Sir, we have a debt that we must repay before all else. And I'm afraid that repaying it means we can't afford to stay behind the city walls."
"What debt? And can't it wait until spring, at least?"
"Our debt to the Goblin Lord. And no, it can't wait."
"Kid, it takes Adepts to kill Goblin Lords. It'll take you several years to get to that level."
"You're right. It takes an Adept to kill a Goblin Lord in a fight. But we won't be fighting it. We will be hunting it."
Tobias stared hard at the young man for several moments, "You won't change your mind?"
"No."
"What about you, young lady?"
"I'm with Alaster."
The Officer sighed once more, "Fine. Not like I have any authority to force you one way or another. Just be smart, and don't die. A guard will be in shortly with clothes. At the very least, I can't allow the two of you to leave without adequate protection against the elements."
"Thank you sir." They both replied.
Tobias simply nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him.
Astrid turned to Alaster, "So what is our next step?"
"I was thinking that we would take a day to rest and recover, and then we would take another day to explore the city. Then on the third day, we would try to level up."
"Where would we stay? We have no money."
"Well, we do actually have some money. I have a lot of hides and furs I could sell, if needed. But, we have plenty of food, and I can set up the shelter in an alleyway or some other out of the way spot. If we run out of firewood, which shouldn't be for a while, we can just go out into the woods and gather some while we try to level."
"Ugh, And here I was hoping that we would have a nice hot bath and an actual bed." She was not actually opposed to this plan, but she really had been hoping for a warm bath.
"I can make a bathtub, and we can just pack it with snow, but the problem would be heating it. That would take a lot of wood."
"I'll personally gather the wood, you just make that tub." Astrid was determined to make this happen.
The door opened once more, and a middle-aged woman in loose robes walked in with a bundle of clothes in her arms.
"Hello. I am here to heal the two of you and give you these. Then you'll be good to go." She explained, putting the clothes on the table.
"Now then, lad, turn this way and don't you dare turn around, or I'll leave your cut to rot. Sweetie, you go ahead and get dressed while I heal him."
Astrid did not need to be told twice. Alaster turned his chair to face the door, while the woman sat down across from him. He could hear Astrid behind him, but tried not to think too much about it.
The healer woman gently grabbed his arm and held her hand over the cut. She closed her eyes while her palm began to lightly glow. Alaster watched in amazement as his flesh began to knit itself together. The blood stayed, but by the time she was done, just a few minutes later, it was as if there was no injury to begin with.
She then waved her hand over Alaster, her hand once again glowing. His body took on that glow for a moment before it disappeared. She then did the same to Astrid.
"There we go." She said, smiling to herself for a job well done.
"What did you do?" Astrid asked.
"Oh nothing much. Just a slow acting and general heal. For the next eight hours, any minor ache or injury will slowly heal. However, if you are hurt like that again, it will disrupt the spell." She explained, pointing to Alaster's healed shoulder.
"Take it easy for the rest of the day. Bye now." She then left the room with a gentle smile.
"Guess that is our cue to leave." Alaster said, standing up.
Together, Alaster and Astrid left the room and exited the barracks. A strong gust of freezing wind met them as they closed the door behind them. Astrid wrapped the cloak tightly around her, and Alaster readjusted the hide he had wrapped around his shoulders.
Before them, lay the city and its many opportunities, and many dangers.
AUTORENGEDANKEN 
Silver_Realm
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