Chapter 9: The Gift of a Curse
Alain continued to smile even as the door closed. Then it fell off his face, and he sent his gravest looks to Denin and Rethi, who looked back at him with confusion evident in their eyes. Unwilling to say a word to either of them just yet, he turned around and walked back into the town square, then proceeded to head beyond a small marketplace that sold trinkets and household items, though it had closed a few hours ago. It was now well past midnight, so only the seediest of pubs would still be open.
"What's wrong?" Rethi whispered to him as the three of them strolled beyond the marketplace and onto the foot of a long, two-sided road that had small homes lining both sides. Streetlamps placed equally from one another staved off the darkness, and upon passing one, he could more clearly see the worry he'd aroused in his two closest friends.
"I don't like that look you're giving us," Denin said. "Don't tell me you're planning to give up."
"On the contrary," Alain said, "we've finally found our summoner."
Rethi blinked, and Denin scratched his head. "Who?" Rethi asked.
"Who do you think? Our Sorceress friend."
"Majula?" she exclaimed, shaking her head. "No way. She's a sweet woman and helpful, too."
"And yet, she's definitely our summoner."
"What's gotten into you?" Denin asked, pausing for a moment. Alain stopped beside him, and so too did Rethi. "I understand you're frustrated, but come on! We can't just start accusing trusted subjects of Ostros of being demon summoners. If you're suspicious of Majula, you must at least have a reason, my prince."
"I do. Several, actually."
"Let's hear them."
Alain looked over his shoulder to ensure that no one was observing them. At this time of night, the streets were almost completely devoid of people. Although Bradford was known for having activity late into the night, by midnight, most everyone would usually have gone home—not to mention that the commotion Dal had caused had probably caused most people to go to bed even earlier than that.
"It was the husband and wife who own the pub," Alain said to them quietly. "Did either of you get a look at them while we were there?"
"No, but…but what do those two have to do with anything?"
"They were standing across the pub near the stairs, and I am certain that the wife mouthed the words 'help me'. In fact, I'd bet my life on it. She also looked grief-ridden and exhausted. Both of them did."
"And you think this is related to our hunt for the summoner?"
"I absolutely do. Something also seemed off about Majula. She looked nervous—but also like she was trying to hide it."
Rethi shrugged. "She seemed normal to me."
"That's because it was subtle, but I definitely picked up on it." Alain fully turned his body around, now facing the direction they'd come from. "I realize it's just a hunch without evidence, but I'm sure that she's hiding something. Did you see how fast she was to dismiss my vision?"
"That…was unusual," Rethi admitted. "But I dunno, my prince. It's still really hard to imagine her as some nefarious demon-summoner."
"Perhaps you're right." Alain sighed. "Still, I'd like to discuss this with Garrick. Because I know what I saw, and that woman was clearly asking me to help her. She looked like a hostage being held in her own pub. We should consult with Garrick. He'll know how to proceed."
Rethi scrunched her lips. "I think you're making a big mistake. I like Majula, and I'm telling you: she's no demon summoner. Also, if you send Lord Ashmere barging into that pub and turn out to be wrong, the king is going to have all of us whipped." Following this, Rethi's expression formed into a sneaky, devious grin. "Not that I mind being whipped by His Majesty."
"Disgusting," Alain said. "Rethi, stop being crude. And also, stop worrying about what my father will do."
Flipping her long, red hair, she waved dismissively at him. "I'm more worried about him than you. You, I can handle."
"Whatever. Let's just get back to Garrick."
*******
Dal paced back and forth in his cell while Lord Garrick Ashmere slumped forward in his chair outside of it and dozed off for the moment. Feeling restless, Dal again rehearsed the theoretical conversation in his head that he planned to have with the prince, thinking of what the young man might say and what points he'd need to raise to convince the prince that he was no threat to anyone's safety.
They are at least open minded, he thought to himself. If I can reasonably demonstrate I'm no danger to anyone, they might just let me go.
And so, for twenty minutes, he'd been diligently coming up with scenarios in his mind in which he managed to successfully convince the prince that he really did have things under control and, despite their first impression of him, Dal was, at heart, just a regular man in an irregular situation; imagining their voices in his head, he pictured himself nailing the point that it would be in everyone's best interest to simply let him live his life as he pleased.
I even know what I'll say in response to their rebuttal, he thought.
All things considered, Dal was actually impressed with himself. In such a short time, he'd mapped out an airtight argument to everything the four of them could possibly say to him. No, seriously. All of it. He truly felt prepared to win any confrontation of words. And it looked like he'd have an opportunity to do so even sooner than he thought, because following the sound of a commotion from several cells down the hall, the prince himself returned along with the beautiful Rethi Sunbrae and Denin Taylor.
Approaching Garrick, who was snoring away, Prince Alain made a disappointed sigh and then bopped him on the back of his head, causing him to shoot up from his chair and look around. "Wh-what happened?" Then, as though realizing he'd been roused so aggressively, he glared at Prince Alain, who pointed his finger at Rethi.
"Don't even think of putting me on his bad side," she growled. Then her eyes turned towards Dal. "So, did this guy do his thing yet?"
Dal, approaching a bit more closely to the four of them, began the speech that he had prepared in his mind. "Your Highness," he said, bowing, "I'm glad you're back. I was hoping you could give me one last opportunity to impress upon you how benign I am."
"Benign?"
"Yes. I know you think I'm a danger to myself and others, but I believe this is based entirely on an unfortunate first impression. I'm hoping that if you see how things usually go, you'll understand that, not only am I not a threat, but I am someone who enriches the places he visits by performing a variety of roles."
The prince folded his arms. "I'm not really sure you can convince me of that, but I'm willing to listen."
Good! At least he's keeping an open mind.
Dal took a few steps back. "I will be class-shifting in twenty seconds. This will prove that what I've told you is true, but it'll also show you how harmless it is."
At this, he could see the four of them begin to stare with an intensity that made Dal somewhat uncomfortable: like he was an exhibit in some museum. Still, as long as he could show them that he was harmless, perhaps they would be convinced to let him go. Freedom was the only thing he truly desired. His pride be damned.
"You think he's really going to shift classes?" Denin whispered to Rethi.
"I believe him," she whispered back. "He's either the greatest actor in the world or a complete nutjob."
"Once, I actually was the greatest actor in the world," Dal said to them. "But that's a whole separate matter." He inhaled, then held the breath as the seconds ticked down. "All right, please watch closely. You're about to see me turn into a farmer, or a dishwasher, or something completely mundane. I am no threat to anyone—it's just that you caught me on a bad day. Everything you currently believe about me was the result of freakishly bad luck unlikely to ever reoccur. And now, you'll see what my life is actually like."
"Hmph," Garrick grunted. "Let's see it, then, go on."
"Four seconds," Dal said, anxiously. He couldn't believe he was actually allowing other people to see this. And oddly, after all this time, there was a small part of him that almost felt relieved at finally being able to reveal his secret—though mostly, he was worried.
"Three. Two. One…"
CLASS SHIFT! NEW CLASS ASSIGNED
Dal said a silent prayer to the God above, and then he waited to see what life had given him. The moment he did, he felt his own lips pull back in misery.
No. Please! Give me a break!
It couldn't be. It just couldn't be. His luck couldn't possibly be this bad. Or…maybe it wasn't. Maybe this wouldn't be so terrible after all.
It might not turn out as badly as it did the last time I got this class.
Who was he fooling? He knew exactly what was going to happen, and it was going to be disastrous. It caused a rush of fear and embarrassment to burst in his chest, and as though reacting to his facial expression alone, the four of them began shouting at him, asking him if he was okay.
"Don't look!" he shouted right back as the white light surrounded his body. "This is just a random one-off! I swear! It's not usually like this!"
"Like what?" the prince shouted.
But it was too late to reply. The light had already consumed everything but his body, ridding him of all that he was wearing, but it left behind something new. Now, he stood inside the cell wearing a splendid, dark-red, button-down tailcoat and a pair of professional slacks. In his right hand, he was holding a looped rope, and in his left hand, a piece of meat.
And then the prince shouted in surprise, and so too did Rethi. But no one could blame them for their reaction. Because right now, growling beside him, there was a tremendous adult lion roaring with its teeth bared, which caused the prisoners in nearby cells to become agitated.
"Someone bring a fucking lion in here?" a voice screamed from down the hall. "Hey, guards! What's going on?"
Name: Dal Rineloch
Class: Lion Tamer
Level: 14
Abilities: Command Lion (Tier 2), Pacify Lion (Tier 1), Animal Empathy (Tier 2)
Time Remaining: 1 Hour, 37 Minutes
Dal made a nervous croak as he regarded the faces of the prince, Denin, Lord Garrick Ashmere, and the red-haired vixen, Rethi, all of whom had their mouths partially opened and their eyes widened. For a few moments, they didn't even move—as though the shock they were experiencing was so great it had petrified them.
"Okay, look," Dal said, trying to preempt their reaction. "Clearly, this looks bad for me." He raised his left hand, and the lion ate the raw steak he was holding. He then patted the creature's head and said, "Shh, it's okay, Poko." For some reason, that was the lion's name. He didn't know why or how he knew that, but it was.
"But despite how this might look," he continued, "Poko is a good boy. See?" He scratched the lion's mane. Though, with the animal confined in this cell with him, it had become very cramped, and he actually had to struggle to raise his arm. "So, uh, there's nothing here to be concerned about. I'm not dangerous. Just like I said. Um, so if you'll just go ahead and please let me and Poko out, I'll be out of your hair, and you can get back to finding whatever demon it is you're trying to—"
"My Prince, should I make arrangements to have Dal transported back to Freewind?" Garrick asked.
"Yes, clearly," the prince said. "Let them know we have a man in our custody who needs to immediately be taken to see the Great Magus." With that, he looked at the lion. "How long will you be like this? And will that creature vanish as you indicated it will?"
The question actually made Dal sweat. He slowly removed his saliva-covered hand from the bottom of the lion's mouth, and then he lifted his finger. "Okay, so, technically, no, because living things that aren't summoned via a skill don't seem to go away after I shift. But the good news is that we have an hour-and-a-half to have someone collect Poko. But…you should really get them out here sooner." Dal grimaced. "As soon as I shift, there's a good chance he's going to turn on me and try to kill me. B-b-but! This doesn't mean I'm dangerous or what I said wasn't true."
"Yeah it does," Garrick said, his tone implying there was no longer any room for negotiation. The man rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. "God above, I can't fucking believe what I'm seeing. Actually…wait a minute." He snapped his head to the right. "My prince, do you remember that incident near Holmen Lake last year in the early winter months?"
The prince gasped. "The giraffes!"
Oh, shit.
The prince pointed at him. "Dal, we don't have giraffes in Ostros. But last year, someone found five of them walking around near a lake. It's been an active mystery under investigation ever since. Did…did you do that?"
Dammit! They know!
Dal, attempting to release some of the tension, made a nervous laugh. "So, uh…what does it actually even mean for someone to 'do' something, right?" Desperately, he tried to steer the conversation away from this topic. "I mean, I would argue that it requires a voluntary, conscience decision on the part of the person taking the action. Did I ever tell you about my stint as a magician's assistant?" He cringed and made another nervous laugh.
"Oh my God, it was him!" Rethi shouted, laughing. "He's not even denying it. Dal, you're amazing!" Her voice dropped suddenly. "And kind of cute, too, if I'm being honest. Are you single?"
Dal narrowed his eyes at her. "What I am is old enough to be your father's father."
"Not physically," she said with a wink, causing him to roll his eyes. Although no one could dispute that the young woman was outrageously attractive, Dal was still almost fifty years old, and he had absolutely no interest in flirting with someone barely into adulthood.
"I respect you for that," Garrick said to him, almost as though he could read Dal's thoughts. "You're a decent man."
"Decent? He's spectacular," Denin agreed, nodding, to which Garrick also made a little nod of agreement. The prince, for his part, was practically beaming with happiness. Poko was happy too, as he was nuzzling his head on Dal's leg.
Something changed. Something Dal could not have predicted. Far removed from their initial display of shock and fear, he began to spot something much closer to delight on the faces of the four of them. And this, he found even harder to believe than they likely found his ability. Because this was far and away the complete opposite of what he'd been expecting all his life.
"You're not…afraid of me?" he asked them.
"Of course not," Prince Alain said. "You're magnificent."
"I am?"
"Of course. I've never seen anything like this before. Who told you this was a curse?"
"I told myself that," he explained. "Because it is."
"I strongly disagree. You should be so proud and thankful to have a gift like that."
I could never think of this as a gift. He shuddered just at the suggestion. Still, he was relieved to see that there was no hostility or fear from the prince, which gave him hope that, against all odds, perhaps there was still a way out of this for Dal.
"So…am I in trouble?"
"No, you're not in any kind of trouble at all, my friend," the prince said, actually referring to Dal as 'friend.' Now there was something he'd never imagined happening to him.
Hopefully, he asked, "Then please, Your Highness. May I leave?"
At this, Denin laughed. "Nope, sorry. The prince is right about what he said before. You're way, way too dangerous to let loose. But please don't worry. You won't be going anyplace bad. You're going to stay in a tower in the sky, actually."
Dal laughed darkly at the absurdity of Denin's lie. "You can't fool me. I know that nothing good awaits me as your prisoner."
"You're badly misinformed," Lord Garrick said. "What Denin told you is the truth."
"Don't even bother," Dal said. "I'm old enough to know how the world works. I'll be lucky if I'm even alive tomorrow."
"You know nothing," Garrick said to him.
"You really don't," Denin agreed, nodding. "From what you've told us, it sounds like you've been running away your entire life. And I don't know why you've done that or what you've been so afraid of, but let me just assure you that, here in Ostros, gifted people don't get thrown in some dungeon. They get sent to live luxurious lives, and they learn from the greatest minds."
Dal, feeling goosebumps form all over his skin, asked, "Really?" He just found the notion too hard to believe.
"Yes, of course," the prince said. "Wait. Are you telling me the reason you've chosen to be on the run for over thirty years is because you thought you'd be harmed if Ostros knew about you?"
"Well, of course that's why. And I still think that's what'll happen. I fully expect that whoever you send me to will come to the conclusion that I'm too dangerous and must die. I'll be put down like a feral animal." Sensing his lion's fear, he cooed to the animal. "Shh, not you, Poko." He also dropped the rope, which he now realized was some kind of whip. Poko did not require it. He was well-behaved.
The prince, staring at him a moment, placed his hand on his chest. "I promise you that won't happen. There is no such thing as someone too gifted. You clearly don't understand how we operate in Freewind."
"Except I'm not actually gifted," Dal said to him. "I'm cursed. There's a big difference."
"I agree," Denin said. "But wouldn't you also agree that there's a big difference between a curse and a very dangerous gift?"
How are these kids so smart? he wondered. Those fancy schools are for more than just show, I guess.
Dal himself had never been properly educated because he'd never had a stable class that would've enabled him to be assigned a school, which in turn meant he'd never been taught the BLAs, which stood for Basic Life Abilities. Therefore, he'd had to teach himself how to read, as such knowledge was only contained within classes that required it. A Lion Tamer, for example, did not necessarily need to know how to read, and so if Dal hadn't taught himself, he'd be illiterate while assigned this class. Only skills that were learned organically could be kept when shifting classes.
At any rate, as tempting as their offer was, Dal still could not fully trust them. Because the truth was that, rarely, his curse could be dangerous: far, far more dangerous than any of them understood. And as soon as they came to learn such a thing, their outlook towards him would change dramatically. If they only understood the extent of things, they would not be so sure about his fate. As far as Dal was concerned, nothing had changed: he needed to escape.
But for now, I'm trapped.
"I hate to leave you here," the prince said. "But there's a very bad thing we need to deal with. As soon as we do, we'll come back and get you."
"Wait, seriously?" Dal asked, running forward and grabbing the bars of his cell. His agitation caused the lion to roar. "You're leaving me in here?"
"We'll send someone to take care of the lion."
"His name's Poko. Please don't kill him."
"We won't," Rethi said. And in what had to be either bravery or stupidity, she slipped her hand between the metal bars and scratched the top of Poko's head. "We'll be back for you both."
Dal, feeling suddenly exhausted, sat back down in the chair. He'd been up all night and he was tired.
Despite this, he also really felt like going out and taming some lions.
I have to escape.