Advent of Eternity - Chapter 9 (Patreon)

Thin streams of magic danced from the fallen men’s bodies, trickling into Knell and Stix. Knell let out a sigh. They were so weak that they didn’t even have enough energy to get him to the next level.

People from the gathering crowd rushed over now that it was safe. They stared at the scene of carnage in shock. A large man approached them, a grim look in his eyes.

“I’m a healer. I’ll take a look at you,” he said gruffly.

“No need, I’m quite alright,” Knell said, pulling his shirt up to reveal scarred but uninjured skin. “My waterskin caught the blow for me.”

“You’re one lucky bastard,” the healer muttered. “But you do realize this means you were the aggressors, right? The Ruler will have both of your heads. You killed that man before they actually tried to kill you. There’s no way to prove that his attack was meant to kill.”

Rory groaned. Everyone stared at him in shock. Knell walked over to him and struck the man in the head with his staff once more, knocking him unconscious before he could wake. Faint streams of magic rose from the fallen men and entered him and Stix, but they were so weak that Knell barely felt it.

“Oops,” Knell said. “I’m not a very good doctor. I guess he’s not dead yet. I’d rather he not wake up while I’m still here, though.”

The healer stared at them in mute shock. Finally, he shook his head. “I take it back. You aren’t a lucky bastard, you’re a crazy one.”

“A crazy bastard that didn’t break any laws, if I’m not mistaken,” Knell said, propping himself against the staff. “I don’t suppose you’d mind staying here to help testify when the guards show up? I’d rather not get tossed in jail while an investigation takes place.”

“Fine with me. It’s been a slow day anyways. Name’s Maurice.”

“A pleasure, Maurice,” Knell said. “I’m Knell, and my quiet friend is Stix. I’m afraid she’s used up most of her social interaction for the day.”

“I just prefer to speak when it actually matters,” Stix said.

Knell turned his nose up. The three of them waited there, the crowd murmuring in shock around them, until the guards arrived a few minutes later. A trio of heavily armored men bearing polearms clanked down the streets, ridiculous red plumes dancing atop their helmets.

“What in the Sixteen Seas happened here?” the lead guard asked, pulling his visor up. “Maurice, are you involved in this?”

“No sir,” the healer replied. “I simply watched it from the crowd. You can confirm with any of the fair folk here that I only approached once the fight was over, much to my shame. I should have stepped in earlier.”

“Well, what happened?”

“These two people were attacked by a group of ruffians. The man with the staff, Knell, appeared to have been stabbed fatally. He struck the man over there,” Maurice nodded in Rory’s direction, “in the head with his staff and proclaimed him dead. The man’s companions yelled that they were going to kill these two, then attacked. Knell and his companion dispatched them.”

“This Knell does not appear to be fatally injured,” the guard observed.

“Yes, there was a slight mishap,” Knell said. He raised the waterskin. “He actually struck my wine. I was not harmed. I announced this, of course.”

“That was after he said he killed the man,” someone from the crowd voiced.

The guard sighed. “You struck a killing blow, then. I don’t suppose you’ve got proof that the man you killed was actually trying to kill you? If not, you’re at fault and will be imprisoned until we can determine the nature of this fight.”

“Actually, sir, the man that Knell proclaimed to be dead is still alive,” Maurice said. “Knell’s assessment was incorrect.”

“Which, if I’m not mistaken, means they attempted to kill us first,” Knell pointed out.

The guard stared at him. He glanced back at the crowd, but most people were nodding slowly.

“I see,” he said, shaking his head. “There hasn’t been a murder in Chrisford in years. Now there are four.”

“Three,” Knell corrected. He nudged Rory with his staff. “This one isn’t dead yet. I can fix that for you, if you’d like.”

“Three, then. Let’s leave it at that. However, it does appear that you are not at fault. There were many witnesses, so I won’t waste the Ruler’s resources any further. You may leave, but if you get caught up in something like this again, you’ll not find it so easy to escape. I’ll ensure that there’s a full investigation.”

“Understood, Mr…”

“Captain Argun.”

“Mr. Argun,” Knell finished. “I’ll make sure to keep that in mind. Thank you for your testimony, Maurice. I appreciate not getting thrown in jail for crimes I am innocent of.”

The healer just shrugged. He knelt beside Rory and started examining the man.

“Time for us to go,” Knell said, nodding at Stix. “I’m finding myself rather tired.”

Stix led him back to the inn and into her room. Once she’d closed the door, Knell flopped onto her bed with a relieved sigh. “Ah, that feels good. Moving around like that is such a pain.”

“Gods above man, that was incredible!” Stix exclaimed. “How did you know what they were going to do? Your Path is incredible.”

“That wasn’t my Path in the slightest, and I didn’t know exactly what they would do when I made my plan. I just had a very good guess.” Knell said. “But I’m glad you approve.”

“But you told me just about everything that would happen before we started the fight,” Stix said. “How did you do that?”

“Well, I knew that if I insulted him enough, Rory would probably try to cut me a little,” Knell said. “It was a simple matter to ensure his dagger struck my waterskin. That gave me a plausible reason to fight back. When I pretended to kill him, his companions would have logically thought that they were safe to attack us since I hadn’t been injured, so we were then in the clear.”

Stix scrunched her nose. “You’re telling me you didn’t use magic for that?”

“I didn’t say that,” Knell replied with a smirk. “But we’ve gotten back into exclusive information territory. For now, I really do need to rest. If you don’t mind, I’ll be stealing your bed.”

With that, he closed his eyes and fell asleep, strategically not giving Stix a chance to complain.