Harkin decided that after Aylin and Barek had dragged him out of the forest half-dead, the least he could do was return her brewery kit. She'd probably realised she left it behind and might have been panicking about it Harkin had to for sure hurry up.
Barek had mentioned heading to Craigspine Court. Harkin had only been there once or twice in his life, and even then, he barely remembered anything beyond the crooked towers and that eerie courthouse square. He figured it'd be easier to ask someone for directions.
Unfortunately, the first person he ran into was the same uptight Guild member he'd nearly brawled with back in the dining hall - still wearing that smug expression like it was stitched into his face.
"Hey, do you kno-" Harkin started, but the man cut him off immediately.
"Who the hell do you think you are? Trying to talk to me? You think I'll respect you just 'cause you're a Marked One?"
Harkin blinked. "Uh.. I was just gonna ask-never mind." He turned, already regretting the attempt, when a heavy hand clamped down on his shoulder.
"Where you trying to go, buck?" came the familiar, gravel-thick voice.
Harkin turned to find Bjorn behind him, guzzling from his ever-present flask of ale, beard wild and eyes bloodshot - but sharp.
"Oh, uh…. I'm trying to find the route to Craigspine Court," Harkin said, adjusting the brewery kit under his arm.
Bjorn raised an eyebrow. "Craigspine Court, huh? What business you got in that pit?"
"Returning something to a friend."
Bjorn stared at him for a beat, then let out a laugh that boomed through the corridor like a warhorn.
"Is it something to do with Barek and his little daughter?"
Harkin blinked. "How'd you—"
"They were the ones that dragged you in, near dead. Word gets around. So, what is it you're carrying there?"
Harkin shifted the bundle under his arm and held it up. "Just... her brewery set. Thought I'd return it."
Bjorn stared for a second, then let out a booming laugh that echoed down the corridor. "That dusty old thing? She never shuts up about her little 'potions.' Says she's gonna craft the world's first hangover-free mead."
Harkin cracked a small smile. "She's got spirit."
Bjorn snorted. "Aye, that she does. Barek's a lucky man he's got a perfect daughter for him just right after retiring from the Shieldbearer corp of Craigstine Court."
"He was apart of a corp?" Harkin asked intrigued.
"Aye, In his prime he was one of the finest shield bearers you could find anywhere." Bjorn responded as if reminiscing old times.
"Anyways you wanted to know how to get to Craigspine Court if I would bet anything I'd say Barek went through the Willowing Tredus over there." Bjorn pointed to what seemed like a gnarly forest.
As Harkin got ready to leave he turned to see Bjorn approaching with something wrapped in oilcloth. The older man handed it over without a word. Harkin took it
"Figured you'd need something for the road," Bjorn said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Food, water, and a few essentials in case you run into any unfriendly Monsters."
Harkin gave a small smile. "Thanks.... This means a lot." Harkin said with pure gratitude
He turned, ready to set off, when something tugged at the back of his mind. A word Bjorn had used earlier.
"Hey when you said 'rune' what did you mean by that?" he asked, pausing at the edge of the trail.
Bjorn let out another one of his signature laughs, deep and hearty, rolling out into the morning air like distant thunder. A few birds startled from a nearby pine flew off.
"Oh don't you worry about that just yet you must come to acknowledge that in your own time."
"That said, if you're keen on learning, you'd best stop by the Vellum Vault. It's the nearest library worth its ink - full of dusty tomes and scrolls, a bit cramped, but the Keepers there know their stuff."
"Vellum Vault," Harkin repeated, testing the words.
"But," Bjorn added, lowering his voice slightly, "if it's true knowledge you're after, ancient things, things even the Guild doesn't speak of then the Athenaeum Archives is where you'll want to go. That place... it doesn't just house books. It remembers."
Harkin blinked, the weight of those words sitting heavy in the air.
"I'll... keep that in mind," he said. "Thanks, Bjorn. For everything."
Bjorn gave a short nod and clapped him on the shoulder, nearly knocking him forward. "Safe travels, buck."
With that Harkin turned around with the pack slung over his shoulder and walked away into the Willowing Tredus.
[A couple hours later]
Harkin grabbed a strip of dried meat from the pack and bit into it hungrily, barely chewing before swallowing. It was tough, salty, but satisfyingly tasty and enough to ease the sharp pang in his stomach. He let out a breath, wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve as he sat on a nearby stump.
From the bottom of the pack, he carefully pulled out the brewery kit the one Aylin had treasured so deeply. He turned it over in his hands, brushing dust from the smooth wood casing, admiring the intricate writing etched into the corners.
Something darted out from the underbrush. One moment, the brewery kit was secure in Harkin's hands; the next, it vanished. Whatever it was had snatched it clean away.
"Hey!" he shouted, leaping up.
He caught a glimpse of it bounding away-small, low to the ground, moving like a streak of shadow. Not quite a cat. Not quite anything he'd seen before. Its tail shimmered like heat haze, vanishing and reappearing between the tree trunks as it ran.
"What in the…" Harkin muttered, running after it.
Harkin had to admit the creature was a lot faster then he expected, he managed to grab it but then suddenly it was as though his hands phased through it's tiny grey and white furred feline body.
"Huh.." Harkin was visibly perplexed. "A fucking Lynxlet of course." Harkin grinned to himself.
He pulled out a tiny piece of meat and started waving it around and just as he expected the little creature came flying into the piece of meat and starting trying to bite it, Harkin took the Brewery Kit from the Lynxlet's legs and let it eat the rest of the little meat.
"You little devil." Harkin grinned. He stroked the Lynxlet's grey and white fur as it started purring.
"Hmm I'll name you coco." Harkin said as he dropped the Lynxlet on the ground and dropped a bit more of the meat pieces before walking off.
Harkin had been walking for another twenty minutes by now when he sensed something charging at him. Harkin saw about a dozen Wretchlings moving towards him with their six limbs ready to attack Harkin.
As the Wretchlings lunged, Harkin exploded into motion. He launched himself into the air, body twisting mid-flight. Time seemed to slow.
Steel sang.
In a blur of silver arcs and crimson flashes, he carved through the swarm. Limbs flew. Black ichor splattered across the bark of nearby trees. Each strike was clean, efficient- the mark of someone who had already begun to understand his newfound power.
By the time he landed, only twitching pieces remained.
"Annoying pests." Harkin scoffed.
A couple minutes later Harkin could hear distant voices ahead of him.
"That has to be them." Harkin thought.
As Harkin quickened his pace, the trees thinned just enough for him to catch a glimpse of movement ahead. He froze again, narrowing his eyes.
Barek stood there, feet dug into the dirt, holding a cracked plank of wood like a makeshift shield. His body was angled protectively in front of Aylin, who was crouched behind him,
"Fuck off you disgusting trash." Barek's voice roared with fury.
In front of them, Harkin saw about a dozen... His blood froze. Looters. He could see Barek had done a good job protecting himself and Aylin so far, with two unconscious bodies lying on the ground. But then, most of the looters suddenly unsheathed swords or axes.