Passage of time is a curious thing; it can slow to a snail��s pace or speed ahead faster than lightning. For the last few weeks, my time had seemingly flown past me and finally, now, it seemed to slow down just a bit. Slow down enough for me to really look around me and determine what I had accomplished so far and where I wanted to go from here. And so, one bright and sunny morning, I found myself wandering without the pressing need to kill monsters, collect gold or gems of finish some left over quest.
My aimless steps led me to the back of Cronus, where I had on a prior occasion, found the most marvelous balcony overlooking the ocean. Sitting here, in the evening sun after a long day of hunting, had become my most favorite activity. Sometimes I would encounter couples here, and on such days, I would quietly turn around and look for another spot to relax and bring peace to the end of my day. I had never been here this early in the day, and to my dismay, my retreat was teaming with activity. Solitude was what I was looking for, so I kept walking, remembering a spot I had briefly passed by while on a quest of some sort.
There was a waterfall, I knew, and a cliff, hidden by trees and bushes. I would sit there. But as I approached, my heart sank, the spot was already occupied. He was just sitting there, motionless and quiet, clad in dark robes with his white hair flowing down his back. I watched for a moment, felt like I was intruding and left. In the back of my mind, a spark of recognition; I had seen him before, sitting at the warehouse, quietly, and again on top of a cliff high above the city, maybe even in Elven City, but I couldn��t be certain.
Obviously I was not going to find peace and quiet today. So instead I decided to visit a place I had never seen before. I had been to the island, but fellow hunters had spoken of a volcano, where even more fearsome creatures were lurking and a mage could seriously be in danger if she were to go there by herself. Those who know me would not be surprised to hear that the promise of danger never kept me from anything. So I collected my best weapon and robes, summoned my pets and enlisted the teleporter��s services to take me to island.
From there it was just a short walk across the docks to meet the man who could provide safe passage to volcano. It cost me a pretty penny, but eventually he agreed to let me pass, and so I arrived, eager to explore and blissfully unaware of the dangers ahead.
I realized quickly that I had either underestimated the monsters indigenous to this area, or severely over estimated my own ability. I was definitely, without any doubt in serious trouble. Both my pets were dead, killed easily and swiftly by some winged denizens of hell and I found myself running for my life.
Suddenly, before my wide eyes, a shape, a mage, hardly visible, but there nonetheless. ��Use sneak��, he whispered. I was confused, scared and out of breath. Frantically looking for what he wanted me to use. He motioned for me to follow him, and cautiously I did. We stopped behind an outcropping of rock, hidden from the view of the monsters lurking about.
He introduced himself and seemed more than a little amused by my attempts to survive here. And from this moment was born my first relationship with a mentor. He was a good teacher, patient, always laughing. He never got tired of correcting my mistakes, and I made many on account of my inborn stubbornness. I owe him a debt of gratitude to this day for teaching me what I had not known before, and allow me to grow alongside him.
Volcano was his favorite hunting ground, and we would go there almost every day. On one such hunting trip he introduced me to some friends of his and for the first time we hunted in a team. It was quite an experience, to learn from many hunters and warriors at the same time. My strength and skills improved tremendously during this time.
But then, as it sometimes happens, he disappeared for longer and longer periods of time, I assumed, business kept him away and did not inquire. It was not my place to question him, I was grateful for the time he was able to spend training me. And then came a day, when I found myself hunting in volcano by myself, more confident now, able to stay out of reach of the monsters lurking most of the time. One of my old mentor��s teammates called to me to join him for the hunt if I wanted to, and I agreed. And to my great surprise, there in the team, I saw the stranger I had seen sitting so quietly at the waterfall, and high above Cronus. And for some unexplained reason, my heart skipped a beat.
I didn��t kill many monsters that day. I didn��t collect much gold that day either. I just listened to my teammates talk. And my eyes kept wandering to the dark robes and the white hair. I learned his name that day. And I felt curiously empty when it was time for the day to end. I went to sit on my balcony that night, looking out over the ocean, listening to the surf and the seagulls. And for the first time since I came here, my thoughts were not on monsters and gold and gems and pets. My thoughts were somewhere else entirely.
To be continued...
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