Master Of None

Walker had the feeling that if he hadn't asked Alice to go with him he would have been digging himself an early grave. She had come all the way over to check on him even though he could see some small dark circles under her eyes. He was sure that she had been working hard to heal people and try to become stronger using the light elemental mana to battle. She wanted to go on an adventure with him and see the world. 

"So, you look like you have been working hard. Has everything been alright?" Walker watched as Alice's face scrunched up and she debated how to respond. He knew that she still didn't like to speak much since she wasn't used to it. But she bit her lip and knew that it was unavoidable. She had his gift and it helped her so she would take advantage of it to speak with Walker more. 

"Injured soldier from the borders…" The sadness in her voice would have surely made the light change and reflect her emotions. It was only because of the bracelet that helped her hold her mana from leaking out with her words. 

"That's not a good piece of news. I was hoping that things would calm down after Pride failed his crazy attack." The memories of Pride and his brutal way of creating an army flooded Walker. He had not wanted to deal with another corrupt and evil demon just yet. There were too many things going on and they needed to solidify the unions between all the kingdoms at the summit so that they could join together and rescue the demons from corruption. "Is there anything in particular that caused more injuries? The forest elf army should have gotten there to help us and even some of the dwarven golems." Walker knew that the dwarven kings had said after the summit but he would be a fool to believe they could leave the problem alone. 

"A big demon called Wrath. He attacked for a long time." This was all that Alice knew from the fevered rambling of injured soldiers from the border walls. That a large demon had walked up to them and begun to punch holes and cause general chaos for days on end. Then suddenly the demon had left while the soldiers were left to repair and heal. It made no sense. 

"I will try to go to the cathedral tomorrow and help. I am sure that Su is looking forward to seeing her friends and won't be able to stop herself from helping anyone that is hurt." This made Alice look a lot more relaxed. Having one of two extra hands was perfect. But having Walker and Su was like having fifteen to twenty extra hands. 

"Yesterday we exhausted ourselves a little too much and I had some trouble staying awake. Midnight and the wandering blacksmith caught us and helped us inside. So, I want to make sure I find something special to bring back for dinner, do you have any ideas?" Walker flawlessly moved on with the conversation after making his promise to come to the cathedral the next day. It was becoming  a habit to volunteer time there and he didn't have any problem with that. 

"There's a new stall in the market." The stall that Alice was mentioning as a new and popular food stall that popped up the week before. It had made a big splash bringing foods from the deep sun hallow forest. This was some of the first imports directly from the forest elf city. The idea was to test the waters with something basic then slowly open up the market to more of the elven goods so that there wouldn't be a flood and a rush of new items. It was a stable idea to protect the value of other items and avoid unnecessary panic. 

"Then that's where we go. The market is a quick walk away from here." Walker grabbed Alice's hand and pulled her along before she could even respond. He didn't know where the new stall was but it was a fun little adventure to find it. 

Walker would have kept pulling Alice along looking if she didn't suddenly stop in her tracks. "What is-" Walker looked up to find a large four table stall with four elves manning it. "You didn't mention that it was staffed by elves. I didn't know they would be here trading already. We must have our own stall in the forest elf city too." Walker was ecstatic to realize that this was the start of the trade route between the cities and that within the next few months trade should be fully open. 

This time, it was Alice that made Walker follow. She waltzed right up to the stall and stood there looking while the nearby elf finished with another customer and walked over. The elf looked at Alice and the arm attached and smiled widely seeing it was someone buying for someone else. His eyes finally fell on the plaque, pins, emblems, and the rest of the glowing assortment of identifications from multiple kingdoms and stand out gear on Walker's clothing. He had never stopped wearing them out with pride. Everyone in the party did to respect their friends that they had made thus far. 

"The teacher and hero Walker. I have heard about you from a brother. He said that you gave him insight in his training. I thank you. I do not know what you did but you sparked a desire he has missed for some years. He said he would get stronger without limits. He sounded like when I was his age. Thank you very much." The other three elves heard this and also came over after finishing with their business. It seemed they all were related to some of the party's times at the forest elf city. They had all been awed and that spark of adventure had made it to others. Walker couldn't be happier to hear this new connection bridging humans and elves. 

  …..

….