5 days later
~Pax’s POV~
I walk out of my rented room, swinging my sack of supplies over my shoulder. A sense of melancholy fills my heart as I walk out the door and into the sunlight.
It’s been 5 days since me and William killed Marua. Since then, we’ve been recovering from exhaustion. I haven’t even seen William leave his room once.
Then yesterday…
“I’m going back to Savaria tomorrow.”
That was what William said while we were eating food in the local bar.
“What?” I said.
He looked at me and smiled sadly.
“1 month ago, I sailed over here from Savaria to help the people here,” he said. “Now that Marua’s dead, I can go back without guilt and help other places. Don’t get me wrong, I love it here, but I’m going to try and help others too.”
I looked at him. There was a look in his eyes that I had never seen before. A look of purpose.
I twirled my fork as I thought about what he said. Even after what we had gone through, we were still the same age. After a while, an idea popped into my head.
“Can I go with you?” I had said.
It was his turn to be shocked.
“What?” he had said, dumbfounded.
“We can work together to help others,” I said matter-of-factly. “Think about it, the two of us, helping people around the umm…”
“The Seven Seas,” William said.
“That. Imagine the amount of people we could help. Imagine how fast we could solve the problems in the Seven Seas.”
William looked at me, contemplating what I said. He looked wistful and he thought.
“Tomorrow, at noon,” he finally said. “Meet me at the shore.”
“Got it,” I had responded.
And so, we informed Roran of our plans to leave at noon the next day. We went to the local tavern we were staying at and went to sleep.
I walk through Darksong Village and walk down the steps to the beach. William’s there, waiting for me.
“You’re early,” I say.
“I like to be early,” he responds. He looks at my sack of stuff.
“Got everything you need?” he asks.
“Yup,” I respond.
We walk onto the sailboat. Roran stands there as if he had been waiting for a while. He grins as he sees us.
“Did you think we were going to let you guys leave without saying something?” he asks.
I look at him in confusion. And then I notice what’s behind him.
“Here kid,” he says to me. He grabs the set of leather armor with iron shoulder pads and hands it over to me.
“It’s not the most protective,” he says sheepishly. “But it should protect you well enough. It’s the best one we had.”
“Don’t give a shit if it’s leather,” I respond. “Thanks.”
He looks at William and grabs the sword and hands it to him.
“This is our best sword,” he says. “It was an unanimous decision by the elders to give you this. We used it purely for ceremonial purposes. It was owned by our first chief, Doomera, and now belongs to you. Use it well.”
“Overkill,” William says. “Why on Earth?”
Roran laughs.
“That’s what we told them,” he says. “But they refused to budge.”
He looks at both of us.
“Being recognized by us doesn’t mean much out there, but as protectors of Doom Island, you deserve this,” he says. “You will always have a home here. If you come to us, we will take you in. We will protect you if you are hunted. The Arcane Government has no influence here. That I promise to you on my honor.”
“Thank you,” me and William say simultaneously.
“I’ll be going,” he says.
He walks off the boat. But after he gets off the board, he looks back at us.
“Goodbye Pax. Goodbye William,” he says. And then he walks away.
William and me pull the board back onto the sailboat. He unties a rope and our sails unfurl. The ship begins to move away.
“Savaria here we come,” William says. “May we have an arcane adventure.”
I look to the horizon, ready for a new adventure to begin.
May we have an arcane adventure indeed.
End of Chapter XI
