"Aghhh… Who dares to disturb my precious meal time?"
"Quit the lip!" shouted a guard. "You're lucky enough to get a single visitor, so pay your respects and get on your knees!"
"What do you want me to do? Propose?"
Gart laughed to himself as the door's lock clanked open. He didn't bat an eye as all mana vanished from his hands, just in time for the lone visitor to step through the heavy wooden door in battle-tested full plate.
The guard outside shouted, "I told you–"
"That's enough!" the visitor ordered. "Lock the door already!"
"Y-yes, Captain!"
Thoom! Klack…
While the guard outside rushed to slam the door closed, neither Gartin nor his visitor spared the scared guard another morsel of attention.
"You know what you've done. There's no denying it anymore," the visitor groaned, rubbing the side of his helmet.
Gart laughed some more and shrugged. "Yeah, yeah. So I cursed the nobles and disrespected the Holyland. Woopty fucking dooty."
Smack!
Not even blinking, Gart rubbed his now red cheek with a dark chuckle.
"Oh, so the big bad captain has come to finish me off, huh? Is that the Duke's last scheme? Or is it some other noble hothead lining your pockets?"
"Nah… that was personal."
The captain reached down, offering the convict a helping hand.
Gart rolled his eyes and tossed his food tray aside. "Fiiine… Let's get this over with, for old-time's sake."
But the moment Gart accepted the man's help, the guard captain pulled away with a laugh.
"What? Did you expect me to help you? I thought you'd grown up by now."
As if in response, a nearly translucent veil of mana bubbled out of Gart like an illusory barrier.
"Man… do you always have to hit so hard?" Gart patted his hurt cheek.
"Ha, ha! Who else can get away with slapping Gart, the undefeated brawler?" laughed the captain. "It boosts my reputation plenty. Especially after you finally put a hand on the old vice captain."
"The bastard deserved it after all the shit he's put us through," Gart remarked.
"No kidding! I just wish I had been there to see him slump over in the middle of a trial."
With his helmet removed, the guard captain shared a giddy grin. "I'd pay good money to get a swing on old Diobor. But I can't be catching any more demerits, now that everything's become official."
The teasing air was shaken off in an instant. Gart looked the twenty-year-old guard captain square in his eyes.
"What are you saying? They actually let an orphan become a knight?"
"Nah, of course they wouldn't. But who said I was still an orphan? You're looking at the new and improved Chansard Tanner, heir to the Tanner Barony and soon-to-be knight candidate."
"No way… Since when did my brother become all noble on me?"
Another slap whizzed through the air, only for Gart to dodge it out of habit.
"I told you, it was personal. But for you, I'll always be Chance. There's no changing that. After all, there's no other way I'd become the man I am today without you."
"Oh please, I didn't do jack shit–"
"Stop denying it, Gart. I won't let you."
Chance clipped his helmet to his belt and removed his right arm gauntlet. Underneath, no flesh or bone was found. Just a mass of mana-conglomerated stone atop Chance's elbow. Yet it moved with the precision of a well-trained human hand.
"I don't know where or how you figured all this out, but I'd just be another backalley cripple if you hadn't taught me the basics of magic and golems."
Still, Gartin shook his head with a wry smirk.
"Says the kid who turned the broken trash of the slums into a wooden claw after just a few tips. You've got the talent for mana and the discipline to perfect your craft. All I did was speed things up a bit with some helpful words."
Chance raised an eyebrow, matching his taunting smirk. "Oh yeah? And what about–"
"What about when you introduced me to Old Man Ramsey?" Gart continued. "Or when you carried my bloody and broken body through half the city just to get the old man to save my half-dead ass?"
"Yeah, cause you joined my fight and got stabbed by the crooked guards," Chance quickly added. "They probably would've killed me then and there without you clobbering them."
"Oh, and what about right now?" Gart cut back in.
"Without your tip about the old vice captain's leave of absence, I'd never have pissed him off enough to get him to lash out mid-trial. And that's not including the care package you've brought my hungry ass."
"Care package? Who said anything about a care package?" Chance clicked his tongue and waved his stone hand in denial.
Rolling his eyes, Gart extended his hand once more.
"Why else would my sworn brother, the rising star of the city guard, allow that politicking Diobor interrupt my trial? If not because you knew you couldn't stop him without losing your position, and instead chose to help me from the shadows yet again.
"Isn't that right, Brother?"
"... I'm glad you finally understand my position. And just how much shit I put up with cause of you, Brother."
C-Clang.
Armor jostled as the two twenty-year-olds pulled each other in for a back-slapping hug.
"I can't take much more time, so I'll hand this off now."
Chance stepped back and reached into what looked like a leather coin pouch. However, a dim flash appeared as a whole, cloth-wrapped barrel was pulled out between the brothers.
"This is all I could grab. Luckily, I managed to snag the few things you'd want most. And I've thrown in some extra goodies that we'll count as a parting gift from your one and only brother."
Gart peeked under the cloth, immediately feeling a rush of warmth pumping into his bloodstream.
"Chance… I don't think 'thank you' is enough this time."
"Course it is! Consider it a down payment for all your magic lessons," Chance swiftly interjected. "Given my new noble status, it only makes sense for that I repay my debts."
With a humble bow, Gart took a deep breath.
"My Lord, Chansard Tanner, it's an honor to be your one and only brother. And, whenever you need my help again, you'll know exactly where to find me. At least till you've caught the real murderers and I'm a free man again."