Mortal Quest

"Haha! You beat those bowlegged crooks silly! My, how I wish I could have seen it!" shouted Old Thane as he wiped his mouth and put down his mug. Unlike most days, there wasn't water topping it, but beer, the frothy white foam bubbling deliciously.

Li swished the beer around his own mug, looking at his amber-shaded reflection. His expression had a slight smile to it, but he couldn't quite place it, but the smile wasn't quite full, not like it used to be.

"Yeah, I really did beat some sense into them," said Li. He sighed. "You know, old man, haven't you ever wondered?"

"Bout' what, lad?" said Old Thane.

"About me. I know you're sharp despite how loud you can get, and I know you know that I'm something much more than meets the eye."

Old Thane laughed. "None of that is important, lad. I said I would never expect more from you than I would any old farmhand, and my word is something I never go back on. It matters not whether you be some exiled warrior of legend, some divine spirit, or even a demon. To me, you are my most valued farmhand, one who will carry the labor of my hands beyond my life, one who has already given much honor to Aine and myself."

Li nodded before he took his head back and emptied his mug out. He looked out the window. The night was bright enough that moon and starlight beamed in, illuminating the firelit cottage with beams of ethereal white.

"You're right, old man, I don't know why I asked." Li cupped his mug with both hands. "Say, with you and that infinite wisdom you always boast about, mind hearing me out? I want your opinion on something."

"Oh? You're such a bright lad that it's been so long since you've asked me anything. Once you got a grasp of this old farm in that wondrous head of yours, you never had to ask of me anything."

"Well, this isn't about farming." Li looked back at the window, his eyes tracing a ray of silvery white moonlight that crossed Old Thane's face, highlighting his wrinkles. "But I have this…pendant. A wooden pendant. It's from my homeland, and it reminds me of my past. Good and bad memories both, to the point where I'm not sure it's wholly a good thing or not.

I know that whenever I look at it, feel it, I'm holding myself back, looking in reverse instead of forwards, but I know that the moment I toss it away and look to the future, I'm never getting it back. But at the same time, it's rotting away regardless of what I do.

Do I hold onto it? Toss it away? Repair it, even, knowing that it will never be the same regardless?"

Old Thane scratched his beard and grunted. "Aye, well, you may be staring at the wrong old man for an answer, young lad. The past is all I have. I live for the memories of what I have done and what I had. I farm now to give peace to a lifetime that has lived through chaos. I am friendless and loveless to honor friendships and a love that have blessed me several lifetimes over.

He paused. "The past is precious, son. What better proof of a full life is there than a rich past? What better way am I reminded that these beaten hands of mine have wrought the greatest of fortunes and the greatest of miseries both than the memories of times gone by?

But the past can also be an anchor, and a heavy one at that. Some men waste away the best years of their lives pining for the glory of a past far gone. You see, lad, the past is only precious when there is a present and future to compare it too. Keep the pendant, but do not halt its rot. When the time comes, let it become dust, but before then, cherish it, and only then will you truly appreciate that which you have let go."

Li put his drink aside. "Then what about you? When are you letting go?"

Old Thane smiled. "To be quite honest, I don't know. Before you came, I thought I had let go, was ready to rot, aye. I had my regrets, not being able to honor Aine, but what could a blind old man do? But now, with you at my side, lad? Why, I feel more life than ever! You've already honored Aine's memory, and yet I wish to live more and more to see just how far you can take this."

"How far I can take this, huh?" Li smiled. "I mean, I've already gotten my herbalist's license. Just need to get it delivered, but that'll come here tomorrow. We're on step one of a long and grand journey ahead, old man."

Old Thane nodded his head with delight. "And whatever years I have left in me, I'll spend on seeing your efforts bloom like flowers in the spring. I've got plenty of years working in this body of mine, so you best be ready to put up with me, hah!"

"Trust me, I'd be ashamed if I couldn't keep up with you and your creaky old bones," said Li.

They shared a laugh together before Li became serious. Old Thane sensed the mood shift and cocked his head.

"Old man, this…contract of the grasses nonsense," said Li. "We're not going to get it. Black Vine will, realistically, snatch it up, but I wanted to promise you that no matter what happens, I will not stop working. I will make sure that Aine's legacy is respected. I will make sure that nothing gets in the way of this farm, even if it's the crown itself."

Old Thane chuckled. "Come now, lad, I didn't take you to take defeat lying down, eh? Why don't we snatch this contract from those big pharmacy bastards?"

He also put his drink aside. "I know what you're thinking. How can you, as one man, compete with all of Black Vine? But I'll tell you, lad, it's possible. I've seen it. When Aine was alive and her elixirs and herbs the talk of town, all the highest ranked adventurers, the lads and lassies with the coin and the clout, would scramble to come here. What do you think came to Black Vine? The dregs. The nobodies.

I've no doubt that you've plenty ability to put these soulless curs under the dirt once more."

Li nodded. "I mean, I guess it's worth a shot. I'm just telling you if it doesn't work out, that you shouldn't worry."

Old Thane nodded and pounded his chest with his fist. "That's true, but my, to think Black Vine challenges us! Once they realize you've learned from the finest of Aine's works, they'll turn tail like mangy pups, they will."

A sudden thump sounded outside the cottage. There was a solid weight behind it – the weight of a human body.

Li immediately stood up. "I'll handle it."

Outside, he found Zagan, fiery black fur glistening under the moonlight. At his paws lay the corpse of a man, mangled and burned beyond recognition. In Zagan's jaws a freshly torn jugular vein still beat with dying life, its slick redness starkly visible under the pale moonlight.

Zagan swallowed the vein. "It would seem that even non-humans have been drawn to you, my master. This was a vampire, and one of lesser breed at that. Why he dared to ever approach your territory is beyond my reasoning, but when my jaws held at his throat and I commanded him the reason for his insolence, he claimed to have come from the Black Vine, whatever filthy den of night creatures that is."

"Thank you, Zagan. You're always a help." Li looked towards Riviera, his fists balling. "They've sent a visitor to me, is that it? Well, I think it's time I repaid the favor and gave them a visit."