Chapter 21: Strange encounters!

Lucian's body had gone into lockdown as it tried to recover from the sudden use of magic, something it wasn't used to at all.

"Master!" Hestia shouted as she watched Lucian's body start to shut down and struggle.

He felt as if his muscles were burning, he couldn't see anything and unknowingly to him he had even started to froth from the mouth as his body struggled to deal with the vast magical pressure that had been placed upon it in his outburst.

"Master! I don't know what to do!" Hestia shouted as she kneeled over his body trying anything she could think of to snap him out of it.

"Oh my, so this is where that outburst of magical energy came from." A voice said from behind Hestia.

Hestia turned around to look at who the voice belonged to, putting her guard up in a second.

"Now, now you can relax, I'm not going to hurt you." The woman behind the voice said.

Hestia could see that the owner was an Elf woman, she was tall with fair skin and long black hair that reached her waist.

She looked at Hestia and then to Lucian with her pricing blue eyes as if reading into their very souls.

"Back off!" Hestia shouted as she ignited a fireball in her hand ready to attack at any moment.

"Dear child that level of magic won't affect me." The Elf said as she ignored Hestia and kneeled down next to Lucian, placing her hand on his chest.

Hestia was shocked that she didn't feel threatened by her fire and couldn't seem to get a read on her strength.

"To think that such an intense magical aura came for this boy... Seems he can't control his powers yet and has burnt through the reserve magical cells in his body." She said out loud.

Hestia didn't have a clue what she was talking about and it showed.

"Dear creature... You didn't know?" She said with a small smile.

"All beings, whether human, Elf, Hobgoblin..." She said letting Hestia know that she knew what she was.

"We are all made of flesh and blood. But what really fuels us, what really makes us alive is the magical energy that is bound to our very soul. Our soul's magical energy can be harnessed by our physical body allowing us to control the very elements around us. However if one pushes too hard they will drain their magic reserves in the body leaving them exhausted." She explained as she placed her index finger in the centre of Lucian's chest.

"In life or death situations. Or when one goes through extreme emotional stress, one can tap deeper into their body allowing them to use the deepest of their reserves of magic. Even to the point where one could use up the magical energy that keeps our bodies alive.

Normally doing this will result in death, or a permanent reduction in the amount of magic one's body can store due to the stress on the bodies cells." She continued as her finger suddenly started to glow.

Hestia watched as Lucian's body suddenly relaxed as whatever the Elf was doing seemed to be working.

"But there are some beings that have almost an infinite amount of magic... Allowing them to tap into a river of universal magical energy, never tiring." She then said as Lucian suddenly took a breath and sat upright in shock.

"You are one of those beings..." The Elf then said as she stood to her feet, waiting for Lucian to recover.

"What happened?" Lucian asked as he looked at Hestia and then to the Elf that had just saved him.

"Oh master, you're ok!" Hestia shouted as she hugged him tightly.

Lucian looked up at the Elf who had a smirk on her face, waiting for him to stand back to his feet.

"Did you save me?" Lucian asked as he stood back up taking in her features.

"Yes, your welcome by the way." The Elf said waving her hand as she inspected her long red nails.

"Thank you," Lucian said slowly still trying to remember what happened.

"Please, no need for that." She said, placing her arms by her side.

"As I was just saying to your friend here. You simply burnt through your current magical limiter. Your body was only in shock and would have recovered in time on its own as it slowly replenished your cells with magic."

Lucian didn't have a clue what she was going on about and looked at his hands as he tried to feel what was going on in his body.

"I feel... Stronger." He said not sure why.

"Not physically anyway. I simply helped your body to increase the amount of magic it can hold at one time, your welcome." She said.

Lucian didn't know what she was on about but he could tell she was right.

"What are you?" She then asked looking directly into his eyes.

Lucian felt a little tense all of a sudden, feeling as if she was looking into his soul.

"You... I have only met one other being that possesses the same magical potential as you." She said doing a full walk around as she inspected him more.

"Thank you for helping me, but I'm afraid I have to go and take care of something," Lucian said a little harsher than he insinuated.

The Elf laughed a little as he said it and then reached into her pocket.

"Very well. However, you intrigue me. If you ever wish to learn how to control that magic of yours, then come and find me." The Elf said as she flicked her hair and turned on her heel.

"Oh, my name is Syndra." She said only stopping for a moment as she flicked what looked like a business card onto the floor before she walked off and disappeared.

Lucian watched as she disappeared out of the ally and then turned to Hestia, who picked up the card.

"What happened?" He asked still confused.

Hestia explained the whole thing to him as well as what Syndra had said to her and how she explained how the whole magic thing worked.

Hestia then handed the card to Lucian so he could get a look at it.

It would seem that she was some big-time magic teacher and owned an academy, teaching people how to use their magic.

Lucian pushed the thought to the back of his mind as the feelings of Ron came back.

"First thing is first Hestia. We are going to find that group of bastards and make them suffer." Lucian said through clenched teeth.

Hestia nodded also agreeing with him.

"Yes, master." She said remembering the feeling of his intense magic and how it almost pinned her down.

With that, the both of them walked back into town as Lucian tried to get a whiff of their scent.

He didn't need much he just needed anything, anything that might point him in their direction.

Lucian found himself on a quiet street as both he and Hestia had been walking for a while now. He had even ended up on the bad side of town where Ron had told him to try and stay away from, though that didn't matter now.

"Hey honey, you looking for a good time!" A half-naked girl shouted from a window as Lucian passed a small house on the corner.

He hadn't noticed it at first and realised it was a brothel.

"No thanks." He said not giving the girl the time of day, continuing to walk in search of anything.

"You are certainly right to avoid such a place." A familiar voice suddenly said, catching Lucian off guard.

He turned to see who it was and was surprised to see Colin of all people.

"Colin?" Lucian asked very stunned.

"Yes." He said not sure what Lucian was referring to.

Lucian remembered Colin was one of Gilly's men and worked at the main desk in his shop.

"What are you doing around this part of town, Lucian?" Colin asked.

Lucian could see he was holding a brown paper bag with two hands and was well dressed as always.

"I'm looking for a group of murders," Lucian said bluntly.

"Is that so?" Colin said surprised as he raised one of his white eyebrows.

"Anyone in particular." Colin then asked.

"Ron was murdered last night," Lucian said with a heavy heart.

"I'm looking for a group of barbarians who follow a steel rank adventure called Kain." He then said with a serious tone.

Colin didn't even flinch at the news of Ron's death and simply looked Lucian in his eyes.

"I'm sorry for your loss. Lord Gilbert will most certainly be displeased to hear the news." Colin then said.

"I do however know of who you speak." Colin said.

Lucian suddenly gripped Colin's neckband and pulled him in closer.

"Where are they!" He demanded.

Colin did not look impressed and simply slapped Lucian's hand off of him before dusting himself off.

Lucian looked surprised at how strong Colon was.

"Sorry... It's just."

"No need to explain to me," Colin said understanding his rage.

"If memory serves, I last saw them leaving town this morning. Something about outstaying their welcome and heading to Riverside town." He said, understanding what they were on about now.

"Perhaps if you are quick enough you will find them on the road, they are travelling on foot after all," Colin said as his expression grew hard.

Lucian nodded, not liking Colin's bloodlust.

"Thanks..." He said as he quickly headed off towards the main gate of the town.

"Come on Hestia, we can't let them get too far!" He shouted back to her to keep up.

Colin watched as both of them ran off, keeping an eye on Hestia and he slowly pulled his little crystal out of his pocket to make a call.

"The plan worked. They are on the move." He said into the magic crystal.

"Very good, follow them and get me that Hobgoblin." The voice on the other side of the crystal said.

Colin didn't say anything else as he placed the crystal back into his picket before suddenly vanishing.