63rd of Season of Earth, 56th year of the 32nd imperial era

Newt stared at the booklet with greedy eyes. "Can I read this?"

"No," Blackfist said flatly. "I threw it right in front of you like that to brag about my expert calligraphy and hobby as a writer."

Newt hesitated while Blackfist went back to his seat, shooting him a flat look.

"That was sarcasm. Of course you can read the book, and you need to work on your people skills. Being strong and smart will only carry you so far." Blackfist paused, seemingly considering his next words. "You need to learn how to be a person before you learn how to be an awakened. Otherwise, you will fall to pitfalls which would never ensnare even the most common of the non-awakened."

Newt stared blankly.

"Are you following what I am saying?"

"No," the youth admitted sheepishly.

"Go, get wasted, do drugs, roam the world like a bandit or a beggar, pretend you are not an awakened whenever you can. You are staying at that fancy brothel, are you not?"

Newt blushed.

"I did not send you to Tickle and Giggle by accident. Rent the whole place for a day and a night." Blackfist shouted, spreading his arms, his hand zipping just above his enchanted teapot. "Have naked women serve you, feed you, eat off of them. Drown yourself in them. After a week you will grow jaded to beauties, and you will not turn into a strawberry when a pretty girl addresses you."

Blackfist lowered his voice, piercing Newt with a pointed look.

"You look like you are going to have a stroke." Which Newt didn't find impossible. He was fairly certain he was near fainting. "All human vices are just that, human. I will not recommend you drown yourself in slaughter — your mind seems too frail for that, but you need to immerse yourself in vice to grow numb to it. I can bet you would not look at your Jasmine twice if you spent a fortnight fornicating as a brothel's sole customer."

"Jasmine's my friend," Newt said, appalled, embarrassed, and just a tiny bit intrigued.

"She is a common whore, willing to sell her body and charm for manarium. Which makes her very expensive, but not that uncommon."

Despite being harsher, the words stung less than when Blackfist first spoke about Newt's childhood sweetheart. He wasn't sure whether he was coming to terms with the truth or getting used to the false accusation. He pretended it was the latter, but a part of him knew otherwise.

Tactfully, Blackfist changed the subject. "Now, I would like us to be friends, or at least to have an amicable relationship, but that does not mean I will let you walk all over me. I am not a doormat. I demand respect, and I will treat you with respect in turn. Do not try to betray me. I will destroy you if you do, and you will never see me coming. Other than basic human decency reserved for peers, I have no expectations."

The townlord looked Newt in the eye, drilling into his soul. "Are my terms clear, and are you willing to form a positive relationship with me? I believe I have made it abundantly clear why I think we will both benefit from this partnership, and I will be the one to entrust my life to you first."

Newt remained silent, considering those words before nodding.

"Good. If you need help, I will help. In the beginning, we will help each other on a favor for favor basis, quid pro quo, and we will see where it goes from there? Do you agree?"

Newt nodded again, not understanding the townlord's three-word-chant, but he didn't wish to interrupt the man.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"I have provided you with some compensation for your two secrets, but the debt still exists in my book. Since you didn't spell things out directly, neither will I, but you will have as many or more hints than you gave me. Is that fair?"

Newt nodded.

"As for the payment for keeping watch over me during my most vulnerable period, I believe I have promised sufficiently adequate compensation. Do you agree?"

This time, Newt didn't immediately nod in agreement. "Do you expect anyone to pursue you?"

"No," Blackfist said flatly. "I will leave everything behind, save for the resources I will need to reach the third realm again. I have even made certain arrangements to keep the interested parties busy. But one should always take precautions against ugly surprises, regardless of how confident they are. That is a free lesson - what can come back and bite your ass, will."

Newt considered the weird advice before weighing the risks and the rewards, finding that the latter outweighed the former.

"I agree."

Blackfist gave a sharp nod. "Good. Do you have any more questions, or do you want us to discuss the layout of your realm and the direction in which you wish to develop yourself?"

"I have one other question, but I need to know what the answer would cost me."

Blackfist steepled his fingers and leaned back. "Just discussing matters and concepts costs nothing. We are sharing tea and insights for mutual benefit. If I can help you, then one day maybe you will listen to me and offer advice, helping me in turn. Go ahead, what is your question?"

"You have mentioned a path. What is that?"

Blackfist steepled his fingers. "The concept is very broad and very vague in the literature I have read. I have only found hints of it in books for initiates, and a few more mentions in books for questors, but I will try to explain my own conclusions, which could be wrong... You may consider your path a personal philosophy, a goal and the way you achieve it, your moral compass, and much more."

Blackfist frowned. "It is difficult to put into words, as I have not contemplated it enough to explain it to others. But, basically, your path is you. Your ideal you, and all versions of yourself between where you are now and where you want to be."

Blackfist paused. "Does that make sense?"

Newt shook his head. "No, but I think I understand what you are trying to say. So why did you choose friendliness as a path?"

"Several reasons. For one, I am good with people. Also, I am sick of fighting. The higher you climb, the less you gain, making the conflict not worth the risk, and any losses you may suffer are generally lethal or extremely expensive. I am not saying people cannot climb all the way to the top by just being mindlessly violent, but I am saying it requires more than brute strength, and I am not willing to gamble on my future."

Blackfist leaned back in his chair and gazed at the ceiling.

"I think I will pursue alchemy and blacksmithing to an extent, and purchasing ingredients, gaining access to forbidden areas to harvest them myself, and selling products all require an exemplary reputation and a trustworthy name. Naturally, they are secondary disciplines, and I will keep them secondary. No matter how friendly you are, others will rob you if you are too weak to protect your goods or worse, they might imprison you to craft for them until you wither away and die. Do not forget that - being exceptional without power to back it will lead you to a miserable fate if you fail to market yourself properly."

Even if he didn't quite understand everything Blackfist mentioned, Newt nodded along. The townlord's decision made sense in the context of what he wished to do and how he wished to live his life. As for marketing himself, Newt didn't get it. He wasn't merchandise, how would he go about advertising himself?

"What should my path be?" Newt asked aloud, then clamped his mouth shut in embarrassment.

"Are you asking me or yourself?" The man's gaze suddenly turned so intense it made Newt's skin crawl, and he wanted to shrink back, but any attempt to do so would see him on the floor, stumbling over his chair.

"I was asking myself, but I would like to hear what you think." Uneasiness lingered in the back of Newt's mind, but he decided that Blackfist seemed genuine enough, despite the sudden intensity. With time, he might grow to trust the man more, but bouncing ideas with him seemed acceptable for the time being.

"Your two elements are extremely interesting and have a wide range of possible evolutions. Then there's you." Blackfist calmed, steepling his fingers as he looked Newt in the eye. "You have the air of a wandering hero in the making. Someone who roams the world and offers help or fights injustice. Chivalric orders would love a member like you, and assuming you do not mind the constraints of a large organization, they might be a good fit for you. Unfortunately, you would have to travel far towards the heart of the empire to find a worthy organization."

Blackfist cleared his throat and leaned closer. "Could you tell me more about what you wish to achieve in life? What do you think defines you as a person?"

"Well, I would like to find my parents. Then there's the state of my family and our estate…" Newt bared his soul and felt an invisible load weighing his heart lighten.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.