Black Onyx - Forgotten Magic

"Bloody cowards!" The Guildmaster was currently in a really bad mood. The new table already creaked under the pressure of his fists.

"Calm down, Crobus. You will break this nice table your daughter gave you." The one that spoke was commander Javiar. He was currently in Headmaster's office discussing the recent events.

The Guildmaster took a deep breath and then exhaled to calm himself down, saying, "You are right, I get too emotional too quickly." He stood up and went to look out of the window. He sighed again.

"I have seen many thieves and murderers in my time as a Guildmaster here in Geldern, but I have never seen someone kill themselves as fast as those guys did. You leave them out of your sight for one second and they immediately swallow poison. And we didn't even threaten them with torture."

Javiar stepped closer and said, "Look at the bright side, at least we confirmed they belong to the Blood Sun Viper sect. If I'm not mistaken they were all Green Scales working under Green Fang."

Guildmaster Crobus frowned and said, "I know all that! It's just… I can't figure out why would they be here. And they only targeted our young warriors… What is their goal?"

"Do you think that new guy has something to do with it?" Javiar asked after a while.

"Gerald? No, I don't think so. Based on what has happened, it's more likely that he got dragged in by accident. I'm still curious how he got his hands on the poison though."

***

Meanwhile, Sera and Gerald already arrived at the meeting place at the west city gates. There weren't many people walking around this early in the morning so a wagon near the gate stood out quite a lot.

"That's probably our employer… Let's check it out," Gerald said and walked towards it. He came to what appeared to be the owner of the wagon and asked, "Mister Rulgo?"

The man turned around and said, "That's me. What do you want?"

Gerald smiled wryly. This man was apparently not easy to talk to. Still, he politely answered, "We are from the Warrior's Guild, we came to escort you to the capital. I assume you still need us?"

Mister Rulgo looked him sideways and said, "Ah? Just you two? Well alright then, I guess we will have just enough people now. Those guys are also coming with us." He pointed at a group of six not far away.

Gerald nodded towards them in acknowledgment and they gestured back.

"Excuse me," Sera interrupted, "Could you give us some time to get something to eat before we depart? I'm starving."

Rulgo looked her up and down and snorted before waving his hand, saying, "Go, I'll give you one hour to take care of your things. Don't be late, and also, pack some extra clothes. We probably won't be stopping at any taverns along the way. The longer we stay on the road, the more chances of bandit attacks."

He turned to the group of six and said, "You too. If you have anything to do, do it now. We won't be stopping until night."

All present quickly dispersed, each going to take the necessary equipment for the road.

Gerald quickly packed his stuff, including a small wooden box full of potions that he prepared just for this occasion. It was his opportunity to make it big in the capital.

Before the hour was up, everybody returned to the meeting place and got ready to depart. Everyone had some extra stuff with them.

They all had traveling cloaks with them. The outside layer was made of waxed soft leather to keep the rain out and the inside was made out of fluffy wool for better insulation. Gerald and Sera had it as well and they also packed some dried food for the road.

Rulgo was a middle-aged man, he was of average height and his face was also quite common looking. Apart from his somewhat unfriendly personality, there was not much that distinguished him from the rest of the older men in Geldern.

When he saw that everyone was present, he decided not to dally any longer and they immediately departed. Although, no matter how fast he wanted to travel, the pair of donkeys that pulled the cart didn't seem to care as they walked at a slow pace.

It didn't matter how much Rulgo cursed, they would just move lazily and step slowly along the road. Since they were going so slowly, his eight escorts had no problems keeping up. In fact, the donkeys were the slow ones.

The road was not in the best condition and they traveled slowly so the youngsters had plenty of time to chat.

Their employer, mister Rulgo, was a carpenter who decided to move to the kingdom's capital for an increase in business. He supposedly already had a workshop there and he now only needed to move his belongings there. The cart the donkeys were pulling was full of tools and furniture.

Gerald also came to know the other team a little better after some time. They all belonged to a group called Silver Phantom. The leader was a warrior named Derrick, he was a bit over twenty. His brother Doven was three years younger and was also a warrior.

There were also two mages, Nina and Owyn. They were a pair and they always stuck close to each other like two love birds.

Of the remaining two, the man was called Gelen. He was an Archer, who specialized in stealth and long-range attacks.

The last one was a hunter, like Sera, named Kara. She also had an unexplained fascination with hunting animals so she and Sera quickly became friends and spent most of the time talking and laughing with each other.

Gerald chatted with others for a bit, but he preferred to just listen and observe. The road was quite long and boring so his thoughts often floated away and he oftentimes found himself lost in thought.

He was recently trying to use magic in many different ways. He tried, for example, to feel his surroundings through Mana around him. Just like he was able to control stones with his mind, he attempted to feel the shape of the world with just his mind.

It was not an easy thing to do, especially since the world was made of so many different materials. Whatever was not made of pure stone was just a hazy blob in his mind. Stones were a little better, but he still couldn't get the shapes quite right.

He learned to control water a few days ago. It just happened one day when he got a flash of inspiration. If he imagined that the water he tried to move was encased in something like a water balloon, then the Mana under his control would form in that shape and control a thin layer of water on the surface.

That way, the liquid inside would have nowhere to go, and this would also decrease the strain on his mind since he controlled only the outer layer.

The road they were walking on started on the west side of Geldern and it continued that way for almost half a day. In the afternoon they reached the river that ran close to the north side of Geldern.

Gerald just recently found out that it was called the Wailing River, and that is because it originated in the Wailing Mountains to the north. It got that name because the wind blowing across the mountains produced wailing sounds.

The road led them over the Wailing River and it then followed the stream southwest until it made sharp turn south. The scenery was quite nice on this part of the road. A crystal clear river on the left and green hills and forests on the right.

The donkeys oftentimes stopped to take a few bites of emerald-green grass, which slowed their speed even more. Rulgo already gave up and let the donkeys eat, since they wouldn't move no matter what if they weren't satisfied.