“That’s good,” Rufus said. “But you have to accept that you’re not there anymore. This world can be hard, and life can be cheap. You said it doesn’t matter that the ones you killed were evil, but you’re wrong. You think we were the first people on their chopping block? You saw what was in that kitchen. There’s a larder downstairs with a cell to keep people in, and it wasn’t a new cell, either. They’ve been doing this for a long time. If we hadn’t stopped them, they’d have killed us too, and plenty more after. I don’t know what justice is like in your world, but in this one, it sometimes comes down to people like us dealing with people like them.”
“I’m not sure I can be that hard,” Jason said.
“I saw you today,” Rufus said. “You can be.”
“And if I don’t want to be?”
Rufus nodded. “That’s a choice only you can make. I don’t know what kind of person you were before, but this is a chance to leave that person behind. To become whoever you choose to be. That’s a rare chance. Just remember that every choice has its consequences. Even if you choose to do nothing.”
Rufus looked over at Jason, then back out at the night sky.
“I’m an adventurer,” Rufus said. “Being an adventurer can open every door, give you everything you ever wanted. Power, money, respect. Travel the world, see amazing things. Nine days out of ten, being an adventurer is the best thing you could possibly be. But on that tenth day, that’s the one when you earn all the others. When you make the hard choices, when you walk through fire so no one else has to.”
Rufus turned to Jason, giving him a weary smile.
“Has it made me callous?” Rufus asked. “Yes, it has. Has it cost me sleep? Absolutely. But there’s a whole lot of people sleeping safe and happy tonight because of me and people like me. You can be one of those safe and happy people if you want. Never making the hard choices; never doing the things that need to be done. But think about what happened to you today. You stood up in a horrifying situation and you took control. The safe and happy people don’t get to do that. When fate comes for them, they need people like me to stand in its way. That’s fine; it’s what I’m here for. But if you want to control your own fate instead of people like me doing it for you, then you have to become one of us.”
Rufus took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
“I’m not going to lie” he continued. “If you become an adventurer like we are, this won’t be the last night of sleep you lose.”
“Is it worth it?” Jason asked.
“Only you can answer that. You saved lives today, mine included, but you had to stain your hands doing it. If you got to remake those choices, would you do it all again?”
“I don’t know.”
Rufus pushed himself off the balustrade.
“Give it some thought,” he said. “When you can answer that question, maybe you’ll know what to do. I’m going to patrol around a little. You’ve got a lot to think about.”
He walked off, but Jason called out to him before he disappeared back into the manor.
“Rufus.”
“Yeah?”
“If I decide to become an adventurer, what do I need to do?”
“We can teach you,” he said, “but you start by absorbing more essences. Before everything else, adventurers are strong.”
19
I Want a Lava Cannon
“I’m not sure I’m comfortable doing it with everyone watching,” Jason said.
It was a clear-skied morning, but the magic affecting the manor’s climate dulled the scathing desert heat to a pleasant warmth. Jason, Rufus, Gary and Farrah had gathered on a terrace, sitting on some patio furniture. Most of them were gathered around a picnic table in chairs, but Gary was too big for the chairs and went to find another seat.
“But you said I could watch,” Farrah said to Jason.
“Actually, you asked,” Rufus said, “but he didn’t answer either way.”
“I want to watch too,” Gary said. He picked up a low bench, which turned out to have been affixed to the tiled terrace. Some of the tiles came loose along with the bench. Gary looked at the damage and shrugged.
“Can you please stop destroying the place?” Rufus asked. “Anisa is prickly enough at the best of times.”
“Compared to what we did to the hedge maze, this is nothing,” Gary said.
“And you somehow think that makes it better?” Rufus asked.
Gary walked back to the group and dropped the bench loudly. The legs were uneven after having been torn from the ground, but Gary was happy enough and plonked himself down. The bench loudly scraped the terrace under his weight as Rufus wearily shook his head.
“I’m part of the Magic Society,” Farrah said to Gary. “My interest in seeing Jason use an essence is academic. What would you get out of it?”
“What else am I going to do?” Gary asked. “Help Anisa organise documents? No thanks.”
“That probably wouldn’t go well for anyone,” Farrah acknowledged.
The missing member of the group, Anisa, was in the manor’s main study. They had managed to dig out various letters and other records linking the occupants to the blood cult in other regions. Before they left the manor behind, she was gathering it together for use as evidence.
“You might as well stick around,” Jason said. “I don’t want anything happening to me if I pass out again. Don’t anticipate a great show of dignity.”
“I’m still a little surprised you got your hands on so many essences,” Rufus said. “You did say you only arrived in our world yesterday, right?”
“It was a busy day,” Jason said.
“You’re not wrong there,” Gary said.
“Should I be doing this on an empty stomach?” Jason asked. “I’m hungry, but I don’t trust any of the food here. All the kitchen had was every nightmare I’m ever going to have again.”
“Sorry,” Farrah said, “but we didn’t pack food.”
“Right, you all eat money, which definitely isn’t weird. I do have some tyrannical pheasant meat. Maybe we could roast it with your fire powers.”
“I love tyrannical pheasant,” Gary said. “How did you stop it from dissolving with the rest of the monster? Do you know monster harvesting magic?”
“There’s a magic for that? It’s an ability I have.”
“Makes sense,” Rufus said. “Outworlders all have different abilities, but they’re usually all focused around giving them the tools to survive.”
Farrah nodded.
“Looting abilities are rare, and valuable, but far from unique.” she said.
“If you have enough essences to make a full set, you can get to iron rank,” Rufus said. “Then you can just eat some coins as well.”
“A full set of essences is four, right?” Jason asked. “I’ve only got two more, plus the one I already used. I don’t suppose you have another one on you?”
“Three is enough,” Farrah said. “I keep forgetting that you really don’t know anything. Once you use your third essence, a fourth one manifests itself on the spot. They’re called confluence essences, because they’re a result of the three essences you already have. In my case, I used the fire, earth and potent essences, which gave me the volcano essence.”
“Confluence essences only manifest after three essences are used,” Rufus added. “You can’t find a volcano essence anywhere. Even when essences manifest near a volcano, you’ll usually get essences like fire and earth.”
“Is that where essences come from?” Jason asked. “They just appear randomly?”
“That’s right,” Farrah said. “Your world may not have any magic, but this one has it in abundance. To the point where it just starts manifesting all over the place.”
“Most magic manifestations are monsters,” Rufus explained. “They just appear, hopefully in the wilderness, but the magic they’re made of isn’t stable. Eventually they break down and dissolve back into magic. Killing them just makes it faster.”