5
Slayn and Ghim carried Parn to his house, peeled off his armor, and laid him in bed—he had injuries on his head and leg, but the shoulder was the most serious. They brought Etoh, too. The priest was uninjured but had lost consciousness upon using magic beyond his ability—when he finally came to, he quickly closed Parn’s wounds with healing magic, but by that point the goblin poison was already coursing through his body, and Etoh didn’t know a detoxification spell. He and Slayn tried every treatment they could think of, but for several days nothing seemed to make much difference.
The third day after the battle left Parn wracked with a high fever and no recovery in sight. Etoh went to the creek countless times for snowmelt to cool Parn’s feverish body—but they could only hope that the young man’s strength and vitality would carry him through.
Parn’s fever broke the following morning, finally allowing him to fall into a deep, peaceful slumber that lasted until evening. From that point on, he recovered quickly—though he was stuck in bed for three more days.
It was the tenth night after the goblin battle. Slayn sat in his house, reading his ancient books as usual, when someone knocked at the door.
“Oh, it’s you two,” he heard Ghim say from the doorway.
“Who is it?” Slayn asked as he walked over, only to see Parn and Etoh standing respectfully at the door. Ghim was offering the pair clumsy words of encouragement, which seemed to embarrass Parn—who answered with uncharacteristic restraint.
“You seem much better,” Slayn said as he looked Parn over. The young man had lost some weight, but his complexion was healthy and his eyes had a youthful sparkle to them.
“Thank you for everything,” Parn said, bobbing his head to Slayn.
“You should thank your friend. He went to great lengths to care for you. You may well have died otherwise.” While he spoke, Slayn noticed that Parn was fidgeting. “But it seems that gratitude isn’t the only reason you’re here today. Come in. Pardon the clutter.”
“Thanks,” Parn replied. He and Etoh exchanged a glance and a nod as they entered.
True to Slayn’s word, his small house was overflowing with books, equipment, and all kinds of materials used for magic. Four people was a tight squeeze, and without enough chairs, Etoh and Ghim ended up sitting on the bed.
Parn scanned the room. He seemed like he didn’t know where to start, so Slayn gave him an encouraging nod.
“I… I want to go on a journey,” Parn began haltingly. “I never wanted to live my whole life in this village anyway, and I completely humiliated myself against those goblins. And I wake up to people calling me a hero? Getting credit for something I didn’t do just makes me feel miserable.”
“It doesn’t matter how it ended, you do deserve to be called a hero for what you did. You don’t need to put yourself down,” Slayn replied, though he knew Parn wouldn’t accept what he said.
“There’s so much evil on Lodoss,” Parn continued. “Goblins—and so much worse. And I know I’m not strong enough yet to defeat that evil. But I still want to go—no, that’s why I want to go. And Etoh agrees with me. It’ll be much better to go together so we can watch each other’s backs.”
“So, you want to go on a quest to better yourselves?” Slayn asked. “It makes sense. But what is it you want from me?”
“We want you to come with us,” Parn blurted out. “You’re a wizard, and magic is a powerful tool against the kinds of things we’ll be facing. I hear there are some monsters that you can’t even hope to defeat without it! So…will you please join us?”
Ghim let out a hearty laugh. “It’s a good idea, Slayn. And as for myself, well—I’m leaving on a journey of my own soon. Might as well travel with you all a ways. And with this magician and his tricks on board, we’ll at least never want for food.”
Slayn met Parn’s gaze dead on. He recognized that unclouded, unwavering stare. Back when he’d been a student at the Wizard Academy in Allan, he had a friend—a mercenary with a strong sense of justice, just like Parn. The kind of man who’d stick his nose into any trouble he could find and always fought for what was right.
One day, he’d asked Slayn for his help taking down the Thieves’ Guild. It was a dangerous task even with a magician on board, and Slayn had refused—and tried as hard as he could to dissuade his friend. He hadn’t been able to change the man’s mind in the end and had reluctantly lent him an enchanted invisibility ring.
Three days later, his friend had been stabbed in the chest with a poisoned dagger.
Later, rumors reached him that the leader of the Guild—a man known for his villainy—had been found dead. The Guild replaced him with a more orthodox leader who respected the thieves’ code. His friend had made the city a better place. Nevertheless, Slayn still had regrets. He still wished he’d found a way to stop his friend that last night he saw him alive.
He would never forget the sincerity in his friend’s eyes. And here, right in front of him, was a youth with the same gaze, setting off on a journey to face off against who-knows-what evils.
“Dangerous, isn’t it…?” Slayn murmured.
“What was that?” Parn asked with a questioning look.
“I’m being forced to make the same decision twice.” Slayn wondered if this was the work of Rahda, the god of knowledge. He knew that even if he persuaded Parn to stay, it wouldn’t change anything—his youth, his sense of justice, and his inability to see when retreat was the best option would eventually get him killed.
But Slayn was different now. He was smarter and more knowledgeable, and he had much greater magic than he’d had when he lived in Allan. He might be able to protect this young man.
He closed his eyes and let stony silence fall over the room, then muttered hoarsely, “All right. I’ll go with you.” Slayn opened his eyes and glanced over at Ghim. “And Ghim is itching for an adventure for some reason.”
“Hm…” Ghim grumbled and looked away.
“But nothing dangerous, please. I’m a timid man.” Slayn turned to Parn, deadly serious. Ghim, however, let out a loud guffaw.
Etoh and Parn exchanged a look. They’d gotten what they’d hoped for—though they seemed completely bewildered by that fact.