Chapter 3: Devour

Devour

_______________

Gray's disappearance resulted in a manhunt.

Her parents and the villagers search, but after a day, most of the villagers give up. After a second, the rest of the villagers give up. After a third, even her family gives up.

Adal keeps thinking that it would only be a short time before the hammer falls on him. Because there's too many people searching. Because he stupidly threw Gray's body over a cliff and left it there in the open. Because Riva will reveal everything.

Except it doesn't happen.

The search extended for ten miles around the main village center which is within distance of the cliff he threw her over, but no one found her body anyway. As for Riva, he actually passes her one time while walking with his father to the market to sell game. She stares curiously at him, but says nothing.

The whole thing blows over. It also gives him a great idea.

His father took part in the search and forced his sons to do it too. During the search, Data asks why they have to search so long. His father replies that the area they're searching is where most of the village never steps beyond.

He says it's just mostly empty wasteland outside the village. He also warns them to never go into the area because there are bandits around. They would get kidnapped and become slaves. He says that's most likely what happened to Gray.e s

Adal thinks going there is a great idea. The village doesn't go beyond that point? There are strangers around for him to devour? It sounds perfect.

So one day, he tells his family he is going out to hunt. He set the traps as usual, then immediately leaves for the wasteland beyond the village.

It is a long journey taking him almost two hours to reach. When he gets there, he sees the flaw in his plan. Despite what his father says, it's a wasteland. There's no one there. He sits there for hours just waiting for someone or something. Anything. It is completely dead.

Adal is determined, though. He does it again the next day. Then the next. The entire week. Then two weeks.

His actions lead to conflicts with his father. He brings home smaller catches leading to shouting and beatings. At times, he actually did worse than even his younger brothers. He continues 'hunting', though.

Finally, his wait leads to success. One day, he sees an emaciated man in some kind of leather armor approaching. His body trembles excited at the sight forcing him to stop himself in disgust.

There's a sword at the man's waist making him realize his next mistake. He's a kid. This is a fully grown man. A fully grown bandit. Devouring him seems kind of risky. His bow and arrow is likely to be of little help. They barely help him kill mice, nonetheless armored men.

Adal mulls and thinks about it repeatedly. He has time as the man is walking slowly. As he gets closer, he sees the man is limping indicating that he is injured. There is probably still no chance he'd win in a fight. However, it occurs to him the soldier man might not want to fight either.

An idea comes to him. Once again, his father's words come to him.

He takes off all his hunting equipment, rubs dirt over his body and face, then with hesitation, begin walking. Soon, the bandit notices him.

"Hey. Boy! What are you doing here?"

The bandit examines him critically. Adal swallows.

"I'm…lost. I don't know what to do."

"Where are your parents?"

"My parents died. I don't know where my brothers and sisters are."

"Hm? Was your village attacked?"

He glances at the nearby woods correctly guessing that any village nearby would likely be inside there.

"Yes. I got away by running. Can you help me?"

The bandit examines Adal critically looking him over clearly trying to work out in his head how much Adal might be worth.

"I think I can. Come with me, boy. I'll take you somewhere safe and get you food, alright?"

"I…I'm scared to walk. Please carry me?" The bandit becomes visibly annoyed. "Please. I'm really light. Just for a few minutes."

"Alright, fine."

The man walks over and he's even more frightening up close. There are scars around his face, head, and neck. There's a tangy scent of blood on him. Adal feels as if he got in over his head, but forces himself to be prepared.

The soldier easily lifts Adal up with one arm. That's when Adal slings his arm around the man's neck gripping it.

"Do you have to do that?"

"Yes, it makes me feel better."

"…fine, lets go back to my camp. It's only a few miles back where I came from."

Adal activates his power and instantly feels a surge of power going into him. The bandit pauses in confusion causing Adal to panic. He had thought death or debilitation would be instant, but it looks like he's mistaken.

The soldier's confusion quickly turns to panic. "Hey, what the hell are you doing?"

Knowing it might be his last chance, he latches tightly onto the bandit and bites hard onto his nose. He struggles viciously and beats hard on Adal. The first few punches hurt badly, but he could feel the power decreases dramatically with every second. Shortly after, the soldier collapses. Then he is a mummy.

Adal stands up and looks at himself. He feels incredible. Even the pain from the bandit's hits has disappeared entirely.

Immediately wanting to test himself, he forms his energy ball again and throws it at the ground. It creates a small crater. What a difference.

He forms the ball again and slams it against his own palm. He feels a strong stinging pain for two seconds. It's not likely to win him a fight against anyone, but it's so much stronger than what it was before.

More. He wants more.

He recalls the soldier talking about camp back the way he came. Adal wastes no time in heading there. An hour later, he sees two men in the distance. Getting some control over himself, he gets behind cover and sneaks towards them.

One of the men look much like the soldier he devoured, but the other looks different. Bigger, beefier. He's also just lying in the shade of nearby dead tree sleeping while the other does all the work. Adal looks at both hungrily. He picks up a nearby flathead stone with a sharp edge and sneaks closer.

Eventually, the working soldier walks off some distance to check on some animal skin he has hanging up. Adal takes his chance. He sneaks behind the sleeping soldier and stabs him in the neck.

The man jostles and begins gurgling but Adal is already on him devouring. The other soldier hears the noise and sees what's happening letting out a shout, but the man is already a mummy by the time he takes out his weapon.

Adal is so consumed with desire for more that he didn't even think. He just forms an energy ball and throws it at the other soldier. It hits him in the chest and the force of it actually knocks him onto the ground. It didn't stun him for more than two seconds but Adal is already on him devouring.

As with the first soldier, there is a struggle that gradually grows weaker. Then he is a mummy too and Adal feels like he's on top of the world.

He forms an energy ball and throws it at the tree where the other soldier had been sleeping. This time, the force is strong enough that bark exploded outwards and there is a dark singed spot where the ball had hit.

He is happy with the results. That much of an increase in power from just devouring three bandits? What if he devours three more? Ten? A hundred? Can he keep increasing his strength? Is it possible for him to become Earth grade?

Adal knows he isn't in his right mind. Too many things are passing through his head. The absurdity of thinking that he could be Earth grade fights with the knowledge that no one like him ever did that. The knowledge that he's strong enough to kill three men and realizing that he's a seven year old boy who just killed three men.

The vague acknowledgement that infinite power is within his grasp and the fact that it would likely require an immense amount of killing to achieve it. It doesn't bother him. Why doesn't it bother him? Why does he have this ability?

It's a strange feeling. It feels like he's standing at the line verging between sanity and madness. He can't tell which is which.

It takes a while for him to get back to himself. He hides the bodies by throwing them behind some boulders until they are no longer easily seen. This is the wasteland, though. Even if he leaves them out in the open, they are unlikely to ever be found. No one is likely to even care.

Returning back, he does the same to the first soldier he killed. Picking up his supplies, he begins the trek home collecting the animals that got caught in his trap along the way. There aren't many.

When he comes home and shows his father his catch, the man sighs then tells him to lie on his stomach almost mechanically. As if he's just going through the motions.

Adal does as asked and his father begins hitting his back with a strap. Funny, it doesn't really hurt. He knows it hurt only a few days ago. Is his father just not doing it as hard or is this a result of his newfound power?

He really doesn't know. He figures it doesn't matter. Either way, he's going to keep devouring.

The time arrives when it is his sister's, Bird, turn to take the magic test. She actually gets a pretty decent score of 18 seconds and she has a magic type of water. This is better than how both Data and Doto has fire, and he has…nothing.

His father is visibly heartened by this. He once mocked all his sons regarding their magic type. He says Data and Doto has the ability to do the same thing as him but less useful, and Adal has the ability to do nothing.

With Bird, though, that means they can more easily get water which is needed for drinking, farming, washing, and much more. There were times Roko had to grudgingly buy water from the market and he often mutters his resentment of those who could create water and sell it. Now his family is among those ranks too.

It's strange how luck is doled out to the world. Theoretically, all magic types are evenly distributed. However, it doesn't look that way from seeing Swaying Forest village. Most people here are fire type.

Fire is very useful, so that's good, but why are other types so small? Earth types are also rare, but they aren't wanted. There is a good amount of wind users and they're kind of useful. They make great servants during summer because they can help keep you cool. Water types are highly desired but they're also rare enough that they can sell water in the market. They're the core of many merchant families.

This is why Adal's father is happy his sister is a water type and will likely try to teach her how to better use her magic soon. With enough practice, she can easily add a silver a month to their income.

At last, the magic test is finished. Everybody falls into the Common grade with the exception of one child from the Bear family.

Roko snorts. "Well, I guess even luck has its limits. Bear entered three children this time but only got one Earth grade. Not that it'll stop them from living a life of luxury."

Everyone makes a move to disperse when the proctors loudly calls out for everyone to stop.

"Everyone, I have excellent news for you! This year, we of the Bear family are holding a special combat competition. We would like more exciting matches this year and, in order to do so, we're offering compensation for those who participates."

The bodies of several children in the crowd begin trembling already. Bird too looks frightened. They all know what is going to happen.

Adal's father mentioned this before after his brother, Data, asked why his arm 'doesn't move right'. Roko says it's an injury he got from competing in the combat part of the annual test when he was younger.

Normally, no one outside the Bear family and a few people with grudges competes in that part, but, that year, Bear offered everyone 50 coppers for each match they competed in and won. All the children were forced to compete and even the adults took part. Why not? The sheer amount of people meant that earning a few silvers is possible. It was too much money to ignore.

Such offers are made every now and then, but it is a trap.

People fight too hard because too much money is on the line. Serious injuries, sometimes death, occurs. Neighbors become enemies. Family who are matched against family are forced to surrender based on who is viewed as stronger creating resentment. Relationships break.

And it's all for ego. These offers are made when something happens to Bear and they want to take it out on others. The year Roko competed, one of the Bear members had lost humiliatingly in an inter-village competition. This year, many can guess why the offer is being made: Riva and Roccoco.

The last few matches – if they happen – are always bloody blowouts. A Common grade gets match against an Earth grade and they get crushed in seconds. In some cases, a child would slap around a fully grown man and injured him for life. The difference in strength is enormous. Bear knows most would rather forfeit before even getting into the ring with them so they offer more.

This year will be no different. Roko will compete as will all the other adults. His children will compete as will all the other children. Those who don't win a single match get beaten. Those who don't win enough matches may still get beaten. All, except for Bear, will get lasting injuries.

"Bear is very generous." The proctor declares. "We will offer 50 coppers for every match you participate in and win. If you fight against an Earth grade, you will be rewarded two silvers just for fighting. Five if you win."

It is too much money to ignore. Too much money.

"Daddy, I don't want to fight." Bird sobs.

"Shut up! You will fight or what you get at home will be far worse!"

So everyone signs up with some parents outright writing their children's names down. Then the competition is broken down into brackets.

It starts slowly, but also cruelly in a way. The setups are completely random and done by picking names out of a box. Some matches involve the really young children against adult men. Most of the kids' parents grudgingly forfeit the matches in that scenario. Others are heartless enough to force their young children to fight. Luckily, the men just bonk them on the head and they are so terrified that they fall over and refuse to get up despite their parents screaming at them. Easy 50 coppers for them.

From Adal's family, Doto is the first to fight and he is matched against one of the newly tested kids. Neither is good at magic despite Doto being older. It devolves into a physical struggle and Doto eventually wins because he is heavier. He knocks the other kid down and just pounds on him until he surrenders.

Next is actually their father, Roko. He gets matched against one of the village women. Adal audibly hears a relieved sigh from him when this is revealed. The woman rushes at Roko and scratches him, but he slaps her back and puts her in a headlock until she is forced to surrender.

Roko comes back not looking happy. "With me and Doto, that means we're up to one silver now. Why did it have to be her, though? That's the water merchant's wife. Buying water is going to be pricier now. Unless our Bird here can change that."

He says that staring pointedly at her.

A few matches go by and then it's Adal's turn. He is matched against an adult woman. She is the wife of the blacksmith. He can actually see her relaxing when she sees she's matched against a child.

Roko glances nervously at Adal. "You're just a kid…but she's a woman. You can win against her, right?" Adal just stares. "Well, you're going to give it your hardest. If you don't win, then I'll have the strap ready for you."

Adal goes up to the stage and stares at his opponent who looks warily back. The proctor shouts for them to fight.

"Kid, I don't want to have to hurt you, so how about you just forfeit now?"

She doesn't want to hurt him, she says. Adal wants to hurt her, though. He wants to devour her like he did those men. He's not a complete fool, though. Doing so here in front of all these people would be a disaster.

He had asked his father if anyone ever had the power to eat another person. Roko stared at him incredulously and called him an idiot. He asked how can such a power make money? He also says eating people is the work of demons. If anyone has such power, it would be them.

So he knows better than to let anyone know that he can do it. He wants to devour the woman so bad, though. Devouring animals just isn't the same. They don't increase his powers much at all. It has to be people.

"Are you listening, you brat? Forfeit now or I'll really hurt you. I'm more than twice your size."

That is true. Adal bets that she can't increase her power like him, though.

He forms an energy ball and throws it at her. She startles and jumps to the side just missing the attack. Adal quickly forms another and throws it at her hitting her on the side. She lets out a shout and drops to the ground crying in pain. She doesn't get back up, so the proctor declares it Adal's victory.

A huge buzz goes around the crowd. Not only is it the first match where a young child beats an adult, but it is the first match where magic is used. Most of the crowd didn't expect to see it until an Earth grade steps into the ring.

"I can't believe that kid won."

"He's the hunter Roko's son, right? Lucky bastard, he got a silver and 50 coppers now!"

"That's more than I make in a month!"

"What magic type did that kid used?"

"I heard the hunter Roko's son doesn't have a type."

"Then what the hell was that?"

The buzzing continues. When Adal gets back, his father Roko is visibly surprised. Apparently, despite his words, he didn't actually expect his son to win.

"That…is really good, Adal. I didn't know you were so good at magic. You can even throw it like that?"

Insofar as Roko knew, his son never could use magic to that degree. The best he could do was make his hands glow so lightly that it couldn't even be seen in daylight. Today, he formed some kind of energy ball and threw it across a 50 foot ring.

"Good…that's good. Keep doing it."

Roko is clearly too flustered to say much. His siblings are also staring at him wide eyed and the stares of the crowd are obvious too. Adal even catches glimpses from the proctors. Some distance away, the blacksmith is screaming at his still crying wife asking how she could lose to a child.

The buzz eventually dies down when the matches continues and new controversies happen. Resentment is created, injuries happen. All the children are slowly eliminated from the matches.

When Bird's match comes up, Roko lets out a relieved sigh. She is match against a boy that is only two years older. Bird still didn't want to fight him, but Roko is having none of it.

"Goddamn it, your brother beat a fully grown woman. You mean to tell me you can't beat a boy only a little older than you? The kid looks like a bag of bones."

Roko is right about her opponent. He is thin. He comes from a poorer family and doesn't get much to eat. Despite being older, he hardly looks any bigger than Bird. Roko builds his daughter's confidence with this.

It doesn't work. When Bird is standing across from the boy, she is still trembling. This builds the boy up.

There are a lot of thoughts and mutters on how this match would go. Adal genuinely doesn't know. It would most likely be a physical struggle but they're both nearly the same size. Maybe his sister could win with her longer nails?

It didn't turn out like anyone thought.

As soon as the match starts, the boy rushes at Bird who lets out a scream and throws up her arms to block. However, the boy wasn't aiming for a physical attack. He ended up using a magic attack. He covered his fist in flames and haphazardly hits forward with an attack that lands on Bird's forearm.

The magic wasn't particularly strong or at least it didn't look so, yet she falls screaming and crying covering a bruise that is turning blackish.

"Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no." Roko repeats in shock.

The injury isn't life threatening or likely to even result in a lifelong injury. However, it carries of a risk of great danger. For almost everybody, the method they use to create magic is through their arms. As a result, the arms are extremely important.

For adults, their magic usage is safe from everything short of an injury that disables the full usage of their arms. For children, though, it is found that a sufficiently dangerous magic attack to the area could severely impair or even cut their future magic usage.

This is why Roko is so upset. His little goldmine may have lost her ability to create money. He quickly rushes up to the stage, grabs Bird, and runs off with her not even caring about his sons. He is most likely bringing her to a doctor.

Of course, the match is called in the boy's favor and there is buzz about what happened. Even his parents seem surprised he attacked Bird with magic. The matches continue, though.

Soon, the children are all eliminated with the exception of Adal. Even his brothers forfeited too frightened after what happened to their sister, but Adal continues knowing his family needs the money.

On a deeper level, it's also due to ego. Beating that woman felt good. Really good. He wanted to beat others too.

His next match is against an adult man and he is initially excited, but the man turned out to not be a match at all.

He starts off giving warnings to Adal to forfeit immediately. He ignored it, of course. When the match starts, it is soon revealed the man is utterly exhausted and already pretty injured. All the matches happened one right after the other. No one had any rest. As the numbers whittled down, the breaks in-between matches becomes shorter.

The man Adal is fighting had already been in a vicious struggle against another man and got some cuts and bruises for his efforts. More importantly, he didn't have anything to eat or drink for hours. Due to not being involved in any strenuous effort and being smaller, Adal has an advantage.

Too much of advantage. One energy ball and the man is down. Adal prepares another one he intended to launch at the man's head when he hastily forfeits. The family earnings for the day increases to two silvers.

It is also likely to end there. Most of the common participants are gone. Most of the remaining are members of Bear.

Nearly everyone who had matched against them forfeit instantly. The few who wanted the money too much are forced to stay in the match until at least ten seconds passed before they could forfeit in order to earn the money. The crowd is on their side and loudly counts.

Not a single person made it to ten seconds.

Most are beaten in half that time. A few Bear members are cruel enough to stand by and let the crowd count to nine before they just crushed the person. There are some serious injuries. Possibly lifelong ones. Earth grades are just too overwhelming for the common man.

Worse, people in those grades used mostly magic attacks. As a result, there is no physical exhaustion. They also had servants who carried food and water along so they are refreshed.

The cards are stacked in their favor. They know this. Everyone else knows this. Adal knows this. So for the sake of keeping his body intact, he has no intention of fighting Bear.

At the last minute, though, the rules are changed again.

A proctor steps forward. "People, I have an announcement to make. Due to the lack of participants in the final stages of the competition who are willing to face us, we have decided to make things…simpler. From now on, those who choose to participate can select their opponents from among the Bear family. You may even choose Roccoco if you wish."

Roccoco is the newest Earth grade of Bear who has become competent in magic usage thanks to help from his trainers. Even Bear is not arrogant enough to think their newly tested Earth grade children face no danger from Common grades. They may have the magical aptitude, strength, and speed, but they don't have the skills or the control yet.

By offering Roccoco, Bear is basically saying come test our weakest member. Aside from that, it is well known this whole offer is for Roccoco to begin with.

It is another trap. Despite the lack of skill, even newly competent Earth grades are dangerous. Even skilled Common grades would have trouble. Aside from that, Roccoco is the child of high ranking Bear members. As a result, he had training from very strong members of the family and many tutors. Even at a young age, he has already attained a good position for children.

The trap works, though. Roccoco gets a challenge. What happens is enough to get the point across that it is futile.

Roccoco wanted a fight. He viciously beat the man for a few seconds using fists that are on fire leaving bruises and burned skin are over his body. Then he grabs the man by the head burning away all his hair and throws him out of the ring. The man has to be carried away.

The display by Roccoco is frightening and makes Adal question his so-called 'power'. What he just witnessed is leagues beyond what he could do. In a fight with him – the weakest member of Bear – he would absolutely be crushed.

The proctor asks if there are any other challengers. There is not.

Adal and his brothers go to pick up their winnings then return home. There, they found only their mother who asks where their father and sister are. When Adal explains what happened, she lets out a pained cry asking the heaven why they are cursed.

His brothers settle into the house, but he prepares to head out to the wasteland again. As he is leaving, he hears Data calling out to him. He turns to see his brother looking at him bitterly.

"Why you? Why are you so lucky?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You're good at hunting and now you're good at magic too. You easily won two fights while we could only each barely win one. Bird got badly injured and you're not even exhausted. Why? Why do you have so much and we don't?"

The hate is visible in his eyes, but little did he know that Adal wants to know too. Why is he able to do what he does? What is the meaning of it all? He really doesn't know, so he told the truth.

"I don't know."

Then he turns and leaves the house.

A few months passes. As feared, Bird did lose some ability to use her magic. Not all, but some. She can create maybe a liter of water a day which is much less than other water type children can do. With age, she might be able to do two or three liters.

His father always expressed how little faith he had in anything, including his family, but Adal thinks Bird's injury is when he genuinely lost faith. After that, he stopped talking much and he even stopped beating them. Most of his answers to questions ran along the lines of 'fine' or 'don't care'. When Adal and his brother bring home meager catches, he just takes it and sells in the market the next day. He doesn't chastise them for doing badly anymore.

It seems he has accepted that nothing in his life will ever change. Now he just…exists.

Adal thinks he's being overdramatic. Yeah, they're not rich, but they have plenty to eat. They are also all healthy, even his sister Bird is fine despite her injury and decreased ability to use her magic. If they never become rich, then so what? They'll just serve their own food and draw their own baths instead of having servants do it.

He doesn't see why his father is so obsessed with making money. What's more important is that he grows in power.

To that end, Adal can say he is far less successful than he is at making money. Little did he know that the three men he devoured all those months ago is actually a rare treat. It's hard to find people in the wasteland.

Since then, he only encountered a total of four other people. A lone bandit who attempted to rob Adal despite him obviously being just a kid. Then a traveling merchant with two teenage children on a wagon being pulled by a single overworked horse.

None of them put up much resistance. Of all of them, the bandit turned out to be the weakest and the elderly merchant was the strongest.

The bandit collapsed and died instantly just from an energy ball hitting him in the chest. He was extremely emaciated and obviously weakened, but Adal really thought it was a trick when he died so easily.

With the merchant, Adal made the fool mistake of just declaring to him that he intended to kill them. The merchant pulled out a well made bow and started rapid firing arrows at Adal who got grazed a few times. Luckily, the man wasn't an accurate shot even if he was skilled enough to fire rapidly and had a great bow.

Using a dead tree as cover, Adal waited until the merchant had to get more arrows then threw an energy ball that manages to break the wagon's wheel sending everyone tumbling. The merchant is stunned and injured allowing Adal to quickly devour him. His children watched in utter horror before they too got the same fate.

The experience with these four taught him a lot of things.

First, he should attack carefully. He learns from the bandit, his power doesn't work if they're dead. They have to be alive when he starts devouring. The bandit cause Adal great distress because of this. He wasted a precious human.

Secondly, he learns why people turn to banditry. It can be very profitable.

Adal was about to devour the horse from the merchant when it occurs to him that he should keep some of the stuff the merchant had as it would be useful. So he decided to spare the horse as a means of transportation. He also keeps the well made bow, though he moved the other stuff into the bushes to decide later what he wants to do with them.

The horse was a wash. As soon as he brought it home lying that he caught it eating one of his traps, his father claimed the horse for himself much to Adal's displeasure. He claims the horse will reduce the family's workload a lot.

To be fair, his father was right. With the horse's help, they can carry more stuff to the market and do it faster. It saves a lot of work and time. It doesn't come as much of a benefit to Adal, though. Walking to the wasteland and back on foot takes a lot of time.

He was smart enough to keep his new bow in his favorite waiting spot in the wasteland, so he still has that. He also has the traveling merchant's stuff which comprise of some useful materials, some jewelry, and 40 coppers in money.

However, none of this solves his main issue: The lack of people.

It's been two months since he seen the traveling merchant and not a single other person has appeared since. Adal is starting to become desperate. He's even been thinking of perhaps leading some villagers outside so he could devour them.

His constant early starts and late returns are also making his mother agitated. Not his father as the man stopped caring months ago. When his mother yells at Roko and says the villagers are talking about it, he just replies that it's fine so long as Adal comes back at some point.

The answer pleased Adal so he starts waiting out later and later. Eventually, he doesn't even come home until it's very dark.

This leads to a very notable meeting.

As Adal is walking home by moonlight one night resetting his traps along the way and picking whatever animals got caught, he comes across someone waiting beside his fishing trap.

They see him and walk forward revealing themselves to be Riva.

"Riva? The fish merchant's daughter?"

"Yes, it is me."

"Why are you here? Did you know I was coming?"

"Yeah. It was easy enough to guess. I knew you set a trap here. Everybody knew you've been going somewhere late at night. When I came and saw there were still fish in the trap, I knew you'll be by later."

Huh. Good guess. "Alright. Why were you waiting for me?"

"To know what happened to Gray." She steps forward. "When I killed her, I thought it would only be days before I'd be hanged. Instead, nothing happened. A search went on and I was afraid again, but no one found her body. Even though I know people searched near the lake where we fought."

She inhales. "Where did you hide Gray's body? And why did you do it for me?"

Adal pauses. Riva thinks she was the one who killed Gray. She doesn't know Gray survived their fight and that it was he who killed her.

He thinks of telling her that he threw Gray's body over a cliff, but what if she goes to look for her and sees the mummified corpse? Can he just lie that way? No, it's better to not tell her.

"I hid her body in the wasteland."

"And why did you do it for me?"

"Because…I didn't think you deserved to get in trouble for it."

She didn't seem to like that answer. "Do you like me?"

He shakes his head. "No."

She purses her lips. "Your name is Adal, right?" He nods. "Marry me."

He startles. "What? Why?"

"I told you before. I'm tainted. No one has liked me since what happened to me. My own family is horrible to me. I want to kill myself…but I'm scared to. I don't want to die. I want you to marry me and build a home for us to live in."

Riva is asking for too much. To begin, he doesn't have the slightest clue on how to build a house. Second, does she not realize she's asking an eight year old to marry her? He can't help her. He can't even help himself right now.

"Riva, I don't know how to build a house. I'm good at hunting, but not much else."

She scowls. "How good are you? Do you earn much money?"

"Nowadays, I earn about 20 coppers month. I can up it to maybe about thirty."

Her eyes show how unhappy she is with that answer. Of course, a short while ago, she could have married into a family that makes hundred of times that amount. The idea must be disgusting to her.

"There is a house far from the outskirts of the village in the woods." She starts slowly. "It's not much, but I could clean it up some. It belongs to the pottery merchant's family. They wanted to sell it for a long time now, but it's so close to the wasteland and far from the village that no one wants it. I think I can get them to sell it for just ten silvers on payments of 30 coppers a month. The only problem is that the pottery merchant wants a two silver downpayment. Can you do that?"

The idea is actually very attractive to Adal. A house that is close to the wasteland? So he doesn't have to walk far anymore? He wants it.

"Uh, I can try, but how? Any money I earn is taken by my family. Same for you. If I give you any money, your father will take it as his own for sure."

"You are too young, but I am a young woman now. I can declare myself independent and move out to earn my own keep." She adds the next part bitterly. "Lord knows my family has been pressuring me to do so."

"So here's what we'll do. You find a way to get me the two silvers. I will give it to the pottery merchant in return for the house and a promise to keep paying him. I think he will give in. He hasn't been making much money lately and his sons got badly injured in the test competition. After that, you find a way to earn us a living. When you are older, we'll get married."

"Will I be living with you?"

"You legally can't. Not until you are old enough to declare yourself independent. However, your parents can't stop you from staying with me."

He didn't really want a wife, but the house close to the wasteland will help him a lot. The problem is the money. Right now, if he returns to hunting only – which he doesn't want to do – he can earn 30, maybe 40 coppers. Taking into account the cost of living, he and Riva simply can't pay the pottery merchant even the monthly payment. He will have to find a way to earn more.

For the sake of power, though, he will.

"Alright, lets do it. I will get you the silvers."

She grabs his arm. "You must also swear you'll marry me, Adal. I will not remain unmarried and your personal housekeeper. I have enough shame to live with. You must swear upon your honor and your ancestors that you'll marry me."

Adal gets the sense that she doesn't really know what she's getting herself into when she demands to marry him. She doesn't know about what he's been doing. For all she knows, her desires will get her killed. However, her tenacity is admirable. In a way, he gets the sense he doesn't know what he's getting into with her either.

This may prove to be a fruitful relationship. Or a disastrous one.

"Alright, I swear on my honor and ancestors that I'll marry you."