Paragon of Destruction

The first days after he left Lord Jiang's estate, Arran traveled at night, hiding out during the days and taking care not to be seen when he was out in the open.

When he was a week's travel from Silvermere, he began to travel by day. By then, he thought there was little risk of being recognized, and even if someone did recognize him, by the time word reached Silvermere he would be long gone.

The lands to the west of Silvermere were rough, filled with rocky hills and dense forests, but the roads were well-maintained, and he made good distance with every day of travel. Still wary of being seen, he spent the first weeks avoiding any towns and villages along the way. Instead, he camped out in the wilderness each night.

He did not mind the lack of comfort. Lord Jiang's void bag contained enough food to last him well over a year, and although the nights were cold, he found that he could easily warm his body by circulating Fire Essence through it.

His only gripe was the rain, which battered down on him incessantly. It was bad enough when he traveled during the day, but at night, finding dry shelter proved almost impossible. He had a large piece of oilcloth that he used for cover, but even with that, more often than not he would be soaked by sunrise.

After a month, he decided he had enough.

Although he could warm himself and dry his clothes with Fire Essence, the cold and damp nights made him miserable. Putting aside his worries about being seen, he stopped avoiding the villages and towns along the road, instead spending his nights in inns whenever he found them.

His mood further improved when he bought a large oilskin tent in one of the towns he passed. Although it was made to be carried in a cart, he found that it easily fit into his void bag. Setting it up took the better part of an hour, but it made his nights far more comfortable than they had been, and he cursed himself for not having thought of it earlier.

Each day, he made sure to study Jiang Fei's notes on the Windblade spell and the Shadow seals. While he had less interest in spellcasting than he did in Body Refinement, after the work Jiang Fei had done to provide the notes he could not bring himself to ignore them.

Despite his lack of enthusiasm the work paid off, and as the weeks passed he started to see some progress. He was still a long way off from mastering either skill, but he could tell he was steadily approaching the point where he would be able to execute them, albeit clumsily.

What little time he had left after travel and studies, he spent practicing his control of Essence and improving his Body Refinement techniques. Here, too, his progress was steady if unremarkable, and he could feel that he was still growing stronger.

For several months, his travels were uneventful.

He had taken to wearing his armored coat — despite what Jiang Fei said, he thought a fine robe wasn't suitable for travel — and he found that being dressed like a soldier or mercenary was a good way to ward off bandits and other unwanted attention.

With that, few people bothered him, and whenever he entered a village or town he found himself mostly ignored by the locals. Traveling mercenaries were common enough to not stand out, yet dangerous enough to be avoided by most normal folk.

It was on a rare sunny day that he walked into one of the many unremarkable towns that were scattered along the road, and immediately, he could tell something was off. The townsfolk's eyes lit up in recognition as they saw him, and several of them scurried off when he passed.

Although Arran promptly knew there was danger ahead, there was little he could do to change it now. Even if he tried to run, whoever was after him would surely find him. So, ignoring the urge to run off, he continued through the city, albeit more cautiously.

When he reached the town square, he found it completely empty except for a dozen guards, their weapons already drawn. It was obvious that they had been expecting him.

At the head of the group was a short man with a sharp face, who looked to be their captain. The group approached him warily, finally forming a half-circle around him.

"Halt!" the captain said. "You are wanted for murder!"

Arran frowned. "Whose murder would that be?" he asked.

While he wasn't too worried about these town guards, he looked around cautiously, to see if any real danger was lurking at the sides of the town square. The guards themselves posed little threat to him, but someone might be using them as a distraction. Yet he found nothing, and he turned his attention back to the captain.

"A group of Jiang Clan members say you murdered an heir to the Redstone branch," the sharp-faced man replied.

Instantly, Arran understood the situation, and he felt some relief upon realizing that it wasn't the Academy that was after him. From what little he knew of the Redstone branch of the Jiang Clan, their strongest fighters in the region should be adepts at best.

"And they asked you to arrest me?" Arran asked, raising an eyebrow. He could not imagine that even the Redstone branch would be foolish enough to try to use common town guards to hold a mage.

"They asked us to send word if we saw you," the captain said. "Now that you're here, we will hold you until they return."

"Hold me? You?" With a frown, Arran used Fire Essence to create a head-sized fireball that hovered above his outstretched left hand.

In an instant, the captain's face paled as he seemed to realize his mistake, and several of his men stepped back in fear. Yet to his credit, the captain himself did not seem to be cowed completely.

"You might be able to kill us," he said with a grim look, "but even if you do, you will be punished for your crimes."

"I have no interest in killing you, nor in harming any of the townsfolk," Arran said. "The men who asked you to help are rebels of the Jiang Clan, and enemies of Lord Jiang of Silvermere."

The captain's face twisted in shock upon hearing Lord Jiang's name. "How do we know we can trust you?" he asked, voice now filled with hesitation.

"For a start," Arran began, "I haven't killed you yet, despite you drawing your weapons against me without provocation." He let the fireball above his hand disappear. "More than that, right now, I am saving your town from a disaster."

"A disaster?" the captain's voice trembled slightly as he spoke.

"Just what do you think will happen to the town if mages battle here?" Arran asked. "Do you think even a single building would be left standing?"

It was an exaggeration, but not a large one. With Arran's current strength, the town truly would see serious damage if he was forced to use all his power.

Hearing those words, the sharp-faced man finally lost his nerve. Threats to himself were one thing, but he was plainly unwilling to put the town at risk. He sheathed his sword, then motioned for his men to do the same.

"I've already send word to them," he said, a miserable expression on his face. "They should return within an hour or two."

"Then I suggest you lead me to them," Arran said. "I will face them outside the town."

"You're actually going to fight them?!" the captain asked, gaping at Arran in disbelief.

"I don't think you and the other townsfolk will fare well once those men learn you let me escape," Arran said.

Of course, this wasn't the whole truth. While Arran thought the townsfolk would indeed be in danger if he simply left, he also knew that if he didn't face the Redstone men now, they would come looking for him. And even if he wasn't certain of his chances facing them head-on, risking a knife to the back when he was asleep would certainly be more dangerous.

"Come with me," the captain said. "If you're going to fight them…" He shook his head, plainly unhappy with the situation. "I know a good place for an ambush."

Arran did not object. He understood that after deciding to go against the Redstone men, the captain was now bound to him — if Arran was defeated, the Redstone men would undoubtedly seek revenge for the betrayal.

"How many of them are there?" Arran asked as they walked out of town.

"About two dozen," the captain said. "Are you sure you can handle them?"

Arran shrugged. "We'll have to find out, I suppose." Worrying now would do him little good in the battle ahead, so instead, he forced himself to calm his nerves.

The answer did not satisfy the captain, and worry once more filled his face.

"What's your name?" Arran asked in an attempt to distract the man from the situation.

"Yang He," the man responded. "I'm the captain of the town guard."

"Well then, Captain Yang," Arran said, "You can call me Arran. You know, my father was a town guard when I grew up."

They spoke as they walked, both of them eager to take their minds off the coming fight. From what Captain Yang told him, Arran learned that the town was little different from Riverbend, and he was glad of his decision to fight outside the town.

Finally, they arrived at a steep hill on the side of the road.

At once, Arran recognized it as a perfect spot for an ambush. It had enough trees to provide ample cover, and although it overlooked the road, the slope was steep enough that it would make it hard to assault.

"This is the place," Captain Yang said, gesturing toward the hill.

"Good," Arran said with a nod. Turning to Captain Yang, he added, "You had best leave now."

To his surprise, Captain Yang shook his head. "I'm staying," the man said resolutely.

"It will be dangerous," Arran replied. "And you won't be of much help even if you stay."

"I know," the man replied. "But my fate is already in your hands, so I might as well help." Suddenly, a grin appeared on his face. "Besides, I've always wanted to see mages battle."