A knot of apprehension and relief tightened in Roric's chest. He needed answers about why Roric was in such bad shape, and he knew his former teacher was too stubborn and too proud to give them up easily.
A subtle warmth bloomed in Roric's chest, a sensation he had learned to master over the years. It was the activation of his resonant, a powerful aspect of his Trait. Using his second 'Resonant', which allowed him to manipulate the bonds between people to subtly tug at the threads that connected Roric and S.K ,signifying their connection as master and pupil. The, silver thread of connection that now pulsed with a faint warmth, a feeling of fondness which was to make the old man more inclined to answer whatever questions Roric asked him truthfully.
He felt a deep sense of unease, a slight wave of guilt washing over him. But he needed to know. He had to know why S.K. was in this state, why he was here, and what he was running from.
"There've been rumors of you travelling around, S.K., but I never thought my proud teacher would be selling some of his own creations just to get by, and in such a bad shape at that." He said casually then paused, his voice softening. "Are you alright?" he asked.
The words "Bad Shape" caused S.K. to flinch, a subtle, almost imperceptible movement, but Roric's keen eyes caught it.
"Don't you dare," S.K. snarled, his voice a low growl.
"I am not in a 'bad shape'. In fact, I'm living my best life. I've never felt more free."
Roric chuckled.
"The audacity these boys have gotten," S.K. grumbled, taking a swig from his gourd.
"It was just yesterday that they were looking at me all sheepish and innocent while I opened their eyes to the world and now look, one of them is even daring to use their Trait on me."
Roric froze, the laughter dying in his throat. It was then that he noticed a lantern-like artifact on S.K.'s display suddenly flickered to life, a small blue flame dancing within its glass. The lantern's its blue light cast a faint, ethereal glow over the old man's wares.
"Have a few short years made you forget who I am? You really thought I wouldn't have some way of detecting if any Trait was being used on me?" S.K. scoffed, a smug grin spreading across his face.
"What kind of Grand Artisan would I be then? The flame changes color according to the trait, and reflects it back on itself with the same intensity, cancelling the effect out it's only a Grade 5 artifact.."
Roric's face flushed with a mixture of embarrassment and respect. He bowed, an action that warranted a lot of curious glances from passers by.
"My sincerest apologies, Professor. I was out of line."
S.K. just scoffed and took another long, deep swig from his gourd.
"Of course you were." he said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Now raise your head and didn't i tell you to drop that honorific?"
Roric straightened up and met his teacher's gaze.
"I thought you wouldn't answer me truthfully if I didn't try that method," he said, his voice quiet.
S.K. looked at him for a long moment, a flicker of something unreadable in his blue eyes. He picked up the lantern and blew out its flame.
"You haven't changed one bit, have you, Roric? You've always been the paranoid one, always suspecting that things are more than they appear."
He looked up at the sky as the sun started to set, painting the clouds in streaks of pink and orange.
"There's nothing to worry about. I'm fine. As I said, I've never felt more alive in my life."
He then let out a rare, genuine smile, a warm, nostalgic look on his face.
"I'm proud of how my students turned out. You and your group more especially. You, the ever-paranoid one, Elara the arrogant noble, Alaric who didn't have any Flow, and the rest of your bizarre friend group."
Roric smiled, remembering the good old days. The endless ickering between Alaric and Elara, the absurd pranks they pulled, and the times when all seven of them would get into trouble but just laugh it all off. Now it was just him Alaric and Elara, he wondered what the other four where doing right now . The memories were a bittersweet balm to his weary soul.
"Where are you staying, S.K?" Roric asked.
"Are you willing to have dinner with me tonight? I'll even invite Alaric and Elara, and we can have a small get-together, for old times sake."
S.K. waved him off.
"I'll be leaving Blackwood this evening, boy. There's a place I need to be."
"Don't you want to use this opportunity to tell my daughter about our days as students and use my behavior to advise her?" Roric asked jokingly, a smile on his face.
S.K. looked at him with a deadpan expression.
"Don't treat me like I'm some old grandfather, I'm not that old. And I'm not good with kids, so I'll pass."
Roric's smile faded. "That's a shame," he said, holding out his paper bag.
"Whats this?" S.K. asked
"I bought these pastries for my daughter, but I don't have anything to give you teacher since this is our first meeting in years, and I didn't exactly prepare."
S.K. looked at the pastries, a flicker of something like hunger in his eyes, but his expression remained stubborn.
"I don't need charity, go give them to your little girl." he said gruffly.
"It's no problem," Roric stressed.
"I can just go and buy more." He gestured towards the cafe, but as he did, he noticed the owner was flipping the sign to 'closed'.
S.K. let out a long sigh of defeat and snatched the paper bag, putting it beside him on the ground. He then began to rummage through a sack he was leaning his back on the whole time. After a bit of searching, he pulled out a bracelet and gave it to Roric.
"Give this to your daughter as compensation for the food."
"Are you sure?" Roric asked, holding out the bag.
"I can always come back tomorrow."
"Shut up and take it boy." S.K. said throwing the bracelet to Roric, who reflexively caught it. It was a beautiful thing. It was shaped like a laurel wreath and was made of a translucent crystal that refracted light so that some parts of it shone in rainbow colors as it glistened in the setting sun.
"That's my second-best piece. The first best piece among all the junk I'm selling was a pendant that could manifest miracles."
Roric raised his eyebrows.
"Manifest miracles?"
"Yeah, unbelievable right?" S.K. said, a rare note of genuine pride in his voice. "But it just goes to show how great I am. I would have given out that one instead but few days ago, a blonde-haired brat came and claimed it. Stingy little mouse that one."
The description of a blonde-haired brat made Roric think of Elias, but he shook the thought off, wondering what the boy would even be doing in the city.
S.K. explained that the bracelet, which he had named the 'Favored Grace', was a form of good luck charm.
"It functions by passively altering outcomes and amplifying the probability of good things happening against bad things in a rational of 60:40. It can increase if the user actively pours more Flow into it, and by inverting the energy to Anti-Flow, it can cause varied misfortune to others."
Roric looked at the bracelet, his mind reeling. He to ask if his teacher was really willing to give this away but he knew the old man would get annoyed and so he thanked his teacher, wished him a safe journey, and walked away. As he did, he thought that after this evenings operation, he would go to the Keep and meet with the children and see how far they had progressed on their own.
S.K., on the other hand, took a swing from his gourd and tried it with a bun from the paper bag, all while a presence observed him from an alleyway across the street. It soon faded away as the person watching walked away, melting into the shadows.