Lucid slipped out of the large wooden bed. He moved his legs very slowly. He placed his bare feet flat on the cold wooden floorboards. He did not want to make any sudden noise. Ayame lay right next to him on the mattress. She had leaned her head heavily onto his shoulder just a few moments prior. She snored quietly in the dark room. Her breathing was deep and regular. Lucid had touched her forehead gently with his right hand. The physical contact had produced an immediate reAaction. She fell asleep almost instantly.
Lucid stood up in the dark room. He lookAed down at his right hand. He turned his palm upward. He stared at his fingers in the dim moonlight filtering through the tavern window. He tried to understand the exact mechanism of the magic he had just used. He felt a lingering cold sensation deep within his own veins. The fate essence did not feel like normal physical energy. It felt heavy and dense.
'You can direct fate essence now,' Alice spoke clearly inside his mind. Her voice resonated perfectly within his thoughts.
Lucid kept his eyes on his hand. He flexed his fingers slowly. He watched the joints bend and straighten. He tried to summon the cold feeling again. He tried to push the heavy energy out through his fingertips. Nothing happened. The skin looked completely normal in the dim light.
'You cannot heal injuries in the exact same way you manipulate the threads of fate through your domain control,' Alice continued. She sounded exactly like a patient teacher instructing a slow student. 'Healing requires a completely different alignment of magical energy. Healing reconstructs damaged physical matter. What you did tonight was entirely different. However, you can also control the bodily functions and the physical energy of someone else. You proved that just now by forcing her nervous system to shut down into a resting state.'
Lucid lowered his hand. He felt a strange mixture of shock and confusion. He did not know he possessed this specific capability. It had simply appeared useful in the moment.
"Yeah," Lucid muttered softly into the quiet room. "But how did you make her fall fast asleep like that."
He was bewildered. The magic felt entirely foreign to his own physical instincts.
Alice chuckled slowly in his head. Her mental voice carried a distinct hint of teasing amusement.
'I have my ways, my fragile mortal,' Alice replied.
Lucid frowned in the dark. He did not appreciate the nickname.
"Not suprised you controlled my body into punching her after all....."
"And stop calling me that," Lucid grumbled quietly.
He turned away from the bed. He walked toward the heavy oak door of the room. He grabbed the iron handle and turned it slowly. The latch clicked softly. He pulled the door open and stepped out into the hallway. He closed the door behind him with extreme care. He walked down the wooden stairs and exited the tavern completely.
The night air felt sharp and cold. Lucid walked out onto the dark street of Tyriana. He looked over his shoulder. He observed the quiet buildings behind him. The town appeared exactly the same as it did when he had first arrived from his long journey. The stone walls looked gray in the moonlight. The wooden signs hung completely still above the closed shop doors.
However, the main difference tonight was the sheer emptiness of the area. The streets seemed far less crowded than usual. Lucid did not know why the town was so completely deserted. He looked at the tall windows of the residential buildings. The glass panes reflected the pale light of the moon. He saw absolutely no candlelight burning inside any of the homes. Usually, the taverns and local inns produced loud noises late into the night. Usually, drunken merchants stumbled down these exact roads. Tonight, the silence felt incredibly heavy. It felt oppressive. Lucid adjusted his dark collar against the cold wind. He made his way down the long cobblestone road. His boots made loud tapping sounds against the hard stone surface.
He walked steadily toward the main town square. He reached the open plaza. He saw the large stone fountain in the center. The water flowed gently from the top tier and splashed into the wide lower basin. Lucid stopped walking for a moment. He looked past the fountain. He looked to the opposite side of the intersecting road.
He saw a heavy square iron latch set deep into the stone pavement. The metal latch looked rusted and old. The sight of the metal cover triggered a sudden rush of memory. He hastily remembered lifting that exact latch with both of his hands. He remembered the heavy weight of the iron. He remembered going down into the dark, foul smelling sewers below the town. The smell of the stagnant water had burned his nostrils. The damp darkness had clung to his clothing. He shook his head slowly to clear the unpleasant thought from his mind. He did not want to think about the dark tunnels underneath the stone streets.
He also remembered the main reason he had entered those sewers. He had retrieved a specific combat knife from the dirty water. He remembered holding the heavy steel handle. He remembered the balance of the blade. The memory of the weapon brought a bitter taste to his mouth. That specific knife was entirely gone now. It had shattered completely during his journey through the massive Red Mountains.
He remembered confronting the giant wolf in the mountain pass. The beast held a terrifying highest rank classification. The wolf was massive and incredibly fast. Lucid remembered striking the thick hide of the monster. He remembered the exact feeling of the metal blade snapping into multiple useless pieces in his hand. The sheer physical force of the impact had numbed his entire arm. Lucid rubbed his right hand absentmindedly. He forced his mind to return to the present moment.
Lucid walked past the fountain. He looked up at the high stone walls located at the far end of the square. A large metal gate stood between two thick watchtowers. The gate led directly up to the upper districts and the nobility estates. He saw several town guards standing near the closed gate. The guards wore heavy iron breastplates over thick leather tunics. They wore metal helmets that covered the top half of their faces. They held long wooden spears with sharp steel tips. The steel tips caught the moonlight and gleamed brightly in the dark. There were far more guards stationed there than usual. Normally, only two guards watched the gates during the night shift. Tonight, Lucid counted at least eight armed men standing in a tight defensive formation. They looked highly alert. They constantly scanned the empty square for any sign of trouble.
Lucid stood quietly in the shadows of a nearby building. He looked at the quiet plaza and the tall gates.
'This place brings back many memories,' Lucid thought to Alice.
Alice giggled softly in his mind. The sound was bright and clear.
'It certainly does,' Alice responded. 'The town holds a lot of nostalgia for us both. It is also a very quiet place compared to the larger cities we have visited.'
Lucid agreed silently. He enjoyed the quiet atmosphere of the border town. He listened to the gentle splash of the fountain water. Then a new sound broke the total silence of the night.
He heard the distinct notes of a stringed instrument in the distance. The sound of a violin drifted over the rooftops. Lucid recognized the sound immediately. He knew exactly what the sound was. He also knew exactly who was playing the instrument.
'That must be the drunken bard,' Lucid thought.
He knew the bard was actually the regional governor of Tyriana operating under a ridiculous disguise. Lucid decided to investigate the noise. He changed his walking direction. He made his way down a narrow side street. He walked steadily toward the source of the violin music.
He turned a sharp corner and entered a smaller market courtyard. He saw a group of people gathered near the center of the space. The crowd consisted of normal human townsmen and several demi-humans. The demi-humans possessed soft furry ears and long animal tails. One demi-human had a thick tail covered in gray fur that resembled a wolf. Another had short, rounded ears that looked like a bear. Their tails wagged back and forth in time with the music. The demi-humans seemed highly entertained by the unexpected late night performance. They clapped their hands together loudly.
The people surrounded a tall wooden shipping crate. A person stood directly on top of the crate. The person wore a bright blue hat. The wide brim of the hat pointed downward. It completely shadowed the face of the musician. The person held a wooden violin under their chin. The person moved a thin bow rapidly across the tight strings.
Lucid walked closer to the edge of the gathered crowd. He expected to see a lively and energetic performance. The governor usually danced and leaped while playing the violin. However, Lucid quickly noticed that something was terribly wrong.
The physical movements of the person on the crate were completely stiff. The musician did not sway to the rhythm of the song. The person stood entirely rigid.