"Good evening mister Emp." She told him in her usual polite way.

"Hi, good evening. Have you seen the others?"

"Yes indeed, they left a message for you. They said you were taking too long and will be waiting for you at the 'Three hulking trees' tavern."

"The tavern? Where is it?"

"It is just down the road to the left. It is decently large and the sign represent three huge ominous trees, you can't miss it."

"Thank you Esther."

"It's always a pleasure to help." She smiled.

Knowing where everyone went, Emp left the school and walked down the street to the tavern. Emp had never been to a tavern before. He wondered what it was like inside. He also wondered why they decided to go there, he had thought that they would just go to the room of one of them and eat something but instead they chose to leave the school.

The place he found himself in front of soon after was a large building low to the ground. It was solidly built of stone and plaster walls. It did not seem out of place compared to all the other constructions designed to appeal to the n.o.bles living close by. Clearly the person owning the building took great care of it as it was in fine condition. Warmth as well as laughter were radiating from it, inviting everyone inside.

Emp pushed the door and stepped inside to discover the strange scene taking place there. He now knew why they chose to come here. There was way too many of them to fit in one of their rooms. Almost all of the boys in Emp's group were here and Brenia had joined them too. Only George wasn't here. Adding to the twelve students, there were a lot of other customers as well making for a very animated place.

From what Emp understood of what he was looking at, the group had started the evening around a set of gathered tables that were close together. Now though, they had scattered across the room. Many still remained at the tables but some had drifted to the bar or at some kind of game table.

The strangest thing he could see was Zoran who was laying under one of their tables. How did he end up there and why did no one seem to care?

It didn't take them long to notice his arrival and Kenneth called out to him almost immediately.

"Hey Emp the survivor is here! Come on, come here and sit down with us."

The first thing that happened after he joined up with them all was that Ivar asked him how it went at the tea and cake party.

"I bet they talked about jewelry the whole time!" Nereus said. "Girls are like that after all!"

The rest laughed until Brenia slapped her mug onto his forehead which made everyone laugh even harder. Still, he was right, the topic had been prompted by him though...

"So, are you fine?"

"I think so." Answered Emp, at least, he wasn't hurt anywhere.

The others nodded in approval. As long as he was fine, the rest didn't bother about what had happened there but an important question remained for Emp. He still didn't know what the best cake was. He decided to ask for their opinion on the matter.

"Say, what kind of cake is the best? Which one do you like best?"

"Not good, they fed him so much cake he can't think of anything else." Worried Ivar.

"Don't give in to it yet, we'll save you! Bring on all the salted meat you have, we'll counteract the sweetness with the power of salt!" Claimed Norval.

Emp had no idea what was happening.

"Why salt?"

"Everyone knows that saltiness is what makes a man manly!" Loudly stated Odilon.

"True, it's like the day of the secall." Said Nereus, still holding his forehead.

"What's that?" The others asked.

Nereus stepped up and told them about it with pa.s.sion.

"Back home, you can't climb on a s.h.i.+p headed to sea unless you can prove that you have the will to resist its call and the thirst. To prove it, you have to go through the ritual of the secall. The day before the ritual, you are forbidden to drink anything from midday up to the beginning of the ritual on the morrow. When the tide is at its lowest, the aspiring crewman must step into the waters of the sea until it's up to his knees. Then, he drinks a full bowl of seawater and stands there. To be acknowledge as a worthy man, you must stand still until the water reaches up to your neck. You must not reject what you drank and you must resist the urge to drink more. Failing this proves that your will is weak and you will never be allowed on a sea faring s.h.i.+p. That's why, a true man can take in the salt. I pa.s.sed the secall two years ago, the thirst is unbelievable." (1)

That was an interesting custom but what did it have to do with cakes?

The group called for some more food to add on to what they already had. They just wanted to refill the table, prompting Emp to eat and drink with them. Emp was pretty full because of all the cake he had eaten already but to please them, he had a few bites of salted meat. As for the drink, he said he would go get some later because for now, he was way more curious about why Zoran was sprawled at his feet than he was thirsty. There was also the fact he didn't really want alcohol like the rest but there was no reason to say it aloud.

"Zoran? We had him drink a few big mugs with us. He threw up after just a few and then collapsed drunk. We shoved him under the table so that no one would step on him."

What a strange but very possible scenario considering it was the meek Zoran.

"Why didn't you just bring him back to his room?" He asked.

"We could have but no one wanted to leave and more importantly, no one knows where it is!" Kenneth answered followed by a fit of laughter.

Emp had to admit, it was a pretty good reason.

Everybody resumed eating and talking in a lively way, complaining about a cla.s.s or telling everyone about a strange story they had once heard. Sat in a corner, Nicolas was half collapsed on the table and complained about Heida as he drank his beer.

Since he was already on the subject, Emp decided to tell him what Heida had said about him.

"Earlier at the tea party, Heida said that you weren't taking your job seriously and were wasting time. She complained a lot about how you didn't find a solution for the harvest in five years."

"She did? Wea, she don get it at all. She don understand. We aren't here to find no fancy solution! We're here because the king didn't want his princess of a daughter to starve with the rest! If neither king or duke can find anything, why, for all the forest, would their kids be able to do anything about it? She complains all day about how useless I am but they never intended for us to find anything in the first place! We're just hiding here waiting it out. Like that, if the worse happens, at least the princess is safe over here is what they think and I end up stuck with that annoying little/"

"Okay stop! You're killing the mood!" Interrupted Brenia.

After that, she climbed on the table with a chair, placed a foot on it and started a whole new story with her mug raised high. Emp was afraid she would step in some food but no one seemed to care aside from him, including the staff of the tavern.

"Let me tell you about that one time I killed those three scraglings with their own club. That ought to change your mind!"

She was also pretty red by that point and her story was a confused mess of contradictions that somehow all merged into an incomprehensible but very interesting tale that gathered the applause and laughter of even the other tables.

"Brenia, you're way more fun when you're drunk!" Called Odilon who immediately got kicked in the face by the girl.

"I'm not drunk at all!" She declared even though she clearly was. "A guy who was a death-seeker maybe thought me how to be not drunk once before he got, I had after... and so that's it."

...What?

"There is that one time I don't remember getting drunk, I almost got stabbed by a spear thingy but then I wasn't drunk and cleaved the little s.h.i.+t in half. After that I did not get drunk no more because I got the trick and I can kick just fine with a thumb up my nose."

Emp didn't get half of what she said but it probably wasn't a good idea to contradict her now. Afterward, she declared that it was pretty fun to see everyone from up there and started a song that was probably made up on the spot. Most of the others joined in for the laughter though and it soon became an unrecognizable mess of words.

Everyone was having a great time and Emp thought it was pretty funny too. As he only ate salted meat, he got very thirsty very quickly and so walked to the bar counter to see if he could find something to drink.

The woman at the counter welcomed him with a warm smile. She wore some weird clothing fitting the style of the city which left only her left shoulder bare and her navel exposed. Not only that but the colors on her clothes were clas.h.i.+ng against each other as if someone dipped them in many dye vats at random.

Her hair were braided and tied into a knot behind her head but a strand was still falling in front of her face. She kept moving it aside, often disturbed by its presence. He couldn't help but wonder why she wasn't just pinning it with the rest once and for all.

"Hi there kid, what can I serve you?"

"Something to drink that is not alcohol."

"You're asking a lot from me!" She jested dramatically before going through kegs upon kegs until she found one that would do.

She filled a mug with the liquid that looked strangely similar to what the rest drank and brought it back to him. She made the mug dance between her long and thin fingers before she dropped it on the counter in front of him without spilling a drop of it.

Emp took it and tasted the thing, it was apparently apple juice. He smiled of relief.

"Good how much?"

"Just the few leaves... What's up with you kid?"

Emp got a few copper leaves from his bag and shot a puzzled look at the woman.

"You don't seem happy." She declared.

"Do I not?"

That was a strange thing to say. Was he not happy? Everyone was having fun, he was even smiling. The woman seemed to read right through his mind.

"Everyone of your friends are having fun over there. I saw you smile and laugh at their antics too but there's no joy behind it, it's just an empty smile."

"Really?"

Was there even such a thing as an empty smile? He did not understand what she meant.

"Yeah, here look."

She crouched behind the bar and got a large silver plate from behind it. It was so thoroughly polished that they could see everything reflected in it, it was a mirror.

"I keep it here because when the n.o.ble ladies come to the tavern they often need to powder themselves again at some point and then they complain about the lack of mirror. I hear face paints are all the rage in the lower quarters of Artefine too so when it get up here, I'll be ready with this."

She gave a light tap of affection to her huge mirror and plopped it on the counter in a way that would let Emp see himself. He had never seen such a large mirror before, it was bigger than his head! In it, he could see himself almost as clearly as in a still pond but everything behind him seemed rather blurry.

It was the first time he was truly looking at himself without having to resort to the second him. The first thing he noticed was that the older generation was right, he looked a little bit like Chinui, except a lot younger. He probably never noticed before because he wasn't looking for it.

Putting that resemblance aside, he gazed intently at himself as he tried to figure out what the woman meant.

"I worked here for a long time and I've seen a lot of different people come and go. They come to drink when they are happy, they come again when they are sad, when they are angry they fill themselves until they pa.s.s out, I've seen it all. Sometimes, there's someone thinking he's smart that pretends to be sad to get my sympathy and sometimes there are those who pretend to be happy so that they don't ruin the mood. Like you though, I've not seen often. Look at your own smile then look at the one from the girl standing on the table."

Emp did as he was told, he looked at his own face carefully before he turned around and looked at Brenia's face carefully. Both faces were smiling but the woman was right, there was something different. The smile of Brenia was better.

"Do you see?"

He turned back to the mirror trying to find what was different. As he did, he saw his smile disappear under his focus. He saw that they weren't the same but he couldn't understand what was the difference.

"I do not feel like I feel unhappy though. I do not understand why it is different."

"The last person I saw that had that kind of smile had a huge burden cast on him. He knew what he had to do but it went against his wishes. He couldn't let anyone know about his reluctance either so he hid it all behind a mask-like face."

"Is that true? How did you know since he could not tell anyone."

"I don't! I'm just guessing. What is it that's burdening you?"

Emp didn't feel burdened at all, everything he owned was stored in the bag rendering them weightless. Seeing his skeptical face, she tried another approach.

"Let's think about this the other way around, what is it you wish for?"

"I need to be the strongest."

"I can't help but see that you said need instead of wish, try again." She said helpfully.

Emp thought about what he wanted but only one thing came to his mind.

"I wish to sleep.?"

"Mhn... that one sounded more like a question. Here, sit down on that chair and close your eyes."

Emp once again did as he was told.

"Make your head empty now, don't think about the party, don't think about your duties or anyone else."

Emp tried to do it but some things still remained in his head, thinking about nothing was hard. For example, the long bony fingers of the woman in front of him would not leave his mind.

"Imagine this for me will you? Every task you had are now complete, all those things that seemed undoable are now gone, either achieved or rendered pointless by some twist of fate. You are free from all duty and nothing is asked of you anymore. You are well fed and well rested. Now that everything is done and behind you, you take a deep breath."

The room quieted around him and slowly, silence was made over is mind while he built the image. Emp pictured himself sitting on a large stone throne. One by one, his creators came in and told him he had done well, he was now the strongest, he inspired respect into anyone and knew better than the rest. He never betrayed the expectations of others or had them do something he wouldn't do himself and kept the n.o.bles in check. He restored Celtines wings and voice too. Harriett made him lunch and he had just woken up from a long sleep. Sat atop his chair, he took a deep breath.

"What is it that you want now?"

Emp felt restless, there was nothing left to do. That was it, there was nothing else. That seemed a bit scary, empty, he was stuck in the lake now, motionless. If only there was something else to do.

"No, there aren't anything else to do, now you are the only one who can decide what you will do, what you desire."

But he didn't really need anything if it was all done.

"It is not about need, it is about want."

How troublesome, he couldn't just sit there and do nothing all the time could he? It would surely get boring after a time. Then what?

"Yes, exactly, then what? A girl? Kids? Money? Power? Taste your mother's cooking one more time? It could be anything at all. You're too young to have no dreams."

Emp didn't know. He couldn't think of anything. What would he do if everything else was done? He could just go find another woodland horror to help out Greenpeaks kingdom.

"That's still not for yourself though, it should be done too. All of the things that aren't about you are done already."

Then no one needs any help. Isn't that boring then?

"I know, that's why you need your own wish. You already helped everyone else, now it's your turn, help yourself."

Help himself? To do what?

He yawned both in his head and in real life while he was thinking.

That was too hard of a question. He couldn't think of anything.

"You mean to tell me that you traveled all this time already and you still haven't found a single thing you'd want yet? That can't be right, do you have too much love for others that you can't enjoy things on your own?"

Did he? That didn't seem right either.

"Then why do you want to help others so much? Is it just because you think they deserve it? But then, don't you deserve something too? After all that work, don't you want to be rewarded?"

That was true, when someone did his job right, they were rewarded, just like how he wanted to reward Harriett for her hard work. What would be his own reward at the end, what would he ask for? He felt like his head was going in circles since a long time ago.

It doesn't have to be about logic, it's about feelings.

But straying from the designated path could lose you forever.

But sometimes, if you go straight ahead you crash against a mountain and get torn apart or you walk into a pit of mud that will never release you.

Water always follow the same path too, unless something is in the way then it goes around. On the way they meet more water that came from elsewhere.

Than the path branches, some go right and others left, some end up in the lake. Doing nothing against its fate just like the trees of the low woods in front of their ruler. Does the water have a ruler as well? Who sits on the throne bellow the lake, who's the still king? Will he become it at the end?

Water has no choice but to flow.

Emp wasn't water though. Emp wasn't a mindless cloud destroying itself on a peak. Emp wasn't a tree looming over a river in admiration or cowering from the wind. Emp wasn't even a traveler afraid to try another path. Emp was just Emp. If he wanted too, he could just get out of the foretold way and go elsewhere.

The question was, did he want to? To go where? To do what? He just didn't want to end up in the lake, it seemed too lonely.

"If you just wanted to not be lonely, wouldn't you be happier right now? With all your friends here?"

Then is there something missing? What was it?

"If I knew I wouldn't be asking now would I?"

It just comes from within him they all said, he should know about it, it was obvious. Why couldn't he see it then?

"Stop thinking about why you can't, think about the thing itself."

That made sense, what did he not have that he lacked, that he wanted.

"Emp! Don't sleep on us, we're in the middle of a party here!" The voice of Nereus brought him back from his thoughts and the woman at the bar clicked her tongue.

"You were almost there, that's annoying."

He opened his eyes to see that she had stored the mirror again. For how long had he been thinking like that?

"So you still haven't found your answer? I'm sorry I couldn't help. I guess you could still try the temple of Love." She told him as an apology.

"The temple of Love?"

"Yeah, there is one here in high Artefine. Love and desires are often similar no? Maybe someone there could help."

That was a great idea, maybe he would even be able to talk to Love herself. That would help many of his problems.

"Thank you for your help." He told her. "Err, what is your name?"

"Giving my name to clients is against the rules of this place so sorry! The people here just call me their lucky charm." She said with a laugh.

Emp nodded and was about to go back with his mug when he thought about something else.

"In your opinion." He asked. "What would make a good emperor?"

"A good emperor is one who knows what he wants and makes his own path carefully because everyone will follow in his steps." She said with a wink.

Emp went back to the others and watched all their nonsense for the rest of their party. It didn't last that long afterward though since they had already been there for a while before he arrived and he apparently stayed at the bar for a really long time.

Nereus told him all about how to fish with a spear while the group left the tavern merrily and went back to the school. Outside, the moon was high and the way was as brightly lit as a road at night could possibly be.

On the way back, it was Emp who carried the unconscious Zoran because he was barely heavier than Celtine. It was easy for him to take him in his arms and bring him to the entrance all to the great amus.e.m.e.nt of everyone else.

Since the rule forbid the receptionist from giving him the location of his room without Zoran approval, he just left him in the hall to be taken care of by the woman who replaced Esther at night.

Shortly after, he was back in his room to discover that neither of the girls were asleep. They were both chatting over the table when he came back, lighted by a single candle.

"Welcome back master!" Harriett exclaimed when he opened the door. "Did you have fun?"

Celtine showed him on a paper she had prepared in advance.

They were always happy to see him.

"I think so."

Emp smiled at their happiness.

***

This is the story of a man that once claimed he wasn't afraid of death. He was a proud and heroic warrior using both steel and magic. Wielding an axe in his right and fire in his left, he would charge head on into hordes of monsters and go toe to toe with sp.a.w.ns of chaos crawling out of h.e.l.l itself.

Death seeker, they would call him, but every time he heard the name he would say nay, it is glory I seek. He was arrogant, full of himself and loved nothing more than to rub is victory on the nose of everyone he met and more importantly, those he defeated.

He was once hunting for giant mountain-toppler when he found himself into the lair of Death itself. The story goes that once more, the man claimed he did not fear death.

The G.o.d laughed at his confidence and answered that he was right indeed, there was no reason to fear the inevitable. In the end, death would claim all things whether he was afraid or not. The man had been lucky that the G.o.d was in a good mood.

He went on to complete the trial Death placed upon him but instead of accepting his prize with dignity, he audaciously and foolishly mocked the trial and its creator.

"If this is all you can do, I might live forever after all."

From his words, dripping contempt, not unlike fat from meat cooking on a spit. Death was displeased. Still, he had won and he had no choice but to reward him with a gift. This, the man knew as shown on his conceited smile. But, that grin would not be undone by the one that crept up on Death's face like darkness at dusk.

From its h.o.a.rd, an old pocket watch was fetched. Once golden in color, countless ages had darkened it like decay. The object was ancient yes but a true treasure, it's craftsmans.h.i.+p far surpa.s.sing what could be accomplished in the empire.

Death placed it upon the man's palm to let him admire his prize. Only, it's precision seemed to be out of order and the clock handles would not move from the third hour.

The man complained it was broken but Death denied. What he had received was the death-seer watch and it was working as intended.

The watch shows its owner how much time he has to live still. At birth, the clock handles would show twelve and start going clockwise. When the watch made a complete cycle and showed twelve again, it was time to die.

The man looked at the watch again and was pleased to see that indeed it had not moved from three. He had plenty of time still.

But the message Death wanted to convey flew far over his head. The handles weren't in their initial position, one day he would die and nothing he would do could stop it.

The man, now in possession of this artifact became truly fearless. When going into battle, he would glance at the watch once, see that his time had not come and push forward without a care. He would take on the greatest of foes and most arduous challenges, the handles did not move.

One day, months after, he fought a particularly easy battle and left laughing in the face of his adversaries. Then, looking at the watch, he saw that the long handle had moved, a minute had pa.s.sed!

Why had it moved? Nothing had been different then usual. Maybe the ruffians he had corrected were easier to beat than he had thought but aside from the ease of his victory, it was a day like any other.

Since only a minute had pa.s.sed, he reveled in his victory to forget about it and soon, the concern left his mind.

He fought and fought again, bringing victory with him wherever he went.

Later, after a hunt he qualified of child's play, two minutes had pa.s.sed on his watch. Twice it had happened now. It must have been because of the simplistic scuffle and yawn inducing hunt. Only when fighting strong enemies did the watch not move.

He fought harder, he defeated stronger foes. But, barely a week after the incident, the clock ticked again. Were they not strong enough?

Time pa.s.sed as he sought ever stronger foes. Any monstrosity he fought he did not fear, any danger he scoffed at, the watch would not lie, they would not be the end of him. Dispatching them was easy with his power and the ability gained along with the watch.

His prowess and arrogance were now spread far and wide. All knew of his excessive boasting and grand achievements.

Still, now that it had started moving, it seemed like it did not want to stop anymore. Turning ever faster as he vanquished all that came in his path. It was now five before five.

Maybe he had misunderstood the watch. His eagerness seemed to only spur his demise forward.

The man decided to stop his adventuring and calm himself for a while, maybe the watch would stop then. He spent his time going around taverns singing and performing his own exploits to crowds of drunkards and ladies alike.

The handles did not stop. The watch kept ticking and his eyes kept drifting towards it. Every time hoping to see that the time had not changed, every time let down. It was now fifteen past seven.

Whatever he tried, the handles would not stop. Everywhere he went, pa.s.serby caught him looking at his pocket watch. He had become obsessed with the sight of his lifespan ticking away from him in an ever speeding fas.h.i.+on.

His achievements having been spread far and wide, challengers came seeking him from over the world. All wanted their mettle tested against the fearless man.

One of them had to be stronger than him. One of them would be the end of him. They were the reason why the clock would not stop. If only he could get rid of them all without fighting them, surely his life would be brought back would it not?

He turned down one and another but the clock only sped forward. It was now ten on the clock.

The circ.u.mstances were extreme, an extreme solution had to be employed. Using the blessing of Death, he poisoned the town's water and soon after, the challengers started dying with the rest of the townsfolk. In a week, from a budding city was only left an empty husk, a ghost town.

He walked on the desolated main street, with decaying corpses on either side of him. His face looked grim. Eleven and a half reflected in his pupils.

The green king from his mountain came. From afar, he wept at the desolation. From a distance, he solemnly vowed to avenge the destruction. From close by, he stared in anger at the sole survivor. Once revered hero, now broken murderer.

"Fight me!" The king challenged him out of fury for what he had done. Fight me if a true hero you ever were.

The man looked at the watch once more. One before twelve, one before death. "No." Was his answer. His loss was at hand he knew.

The king's ire would not be quelled with a simple refusal. With his sword raised high, he ordered for those accursed grounds to be cleansed. The culprit of this atrocity would be erased and buried with the result of his madness.

The court mages stepped forth and powerful magic was called from the depths of the earth. The town was buried, swallowed by the mountains, its waters turned to steam and its poor inhabitants left with their murderer to prevent the unknown curse from spreading.

It is said that Death came back later, moved a bit of ground and picked up a watch from the clutches of the cold hands of a champion, from the fingers of a fool.

Trying to escape it can only result in a faster end. Was it the watch that caused his death or simply arrogance. In the end, Death comes to all but one should ignore it as much as possible for the ticking clock goes faster when you notice its advance.

-- The death seer watch, Woes and heroes of our woods.

***

(1) I should not have to point this out but please, don't drink sea water.