A Warlock's Ascent

The thing about dried and preserved fish is that they are tasty when you eat them for the first time. It is fine to eat when you have nothing else to eat. And it becomes tastier when you are starving. But when you have to eat it seven days a week for every meal, the fish losses its taste. And the food starts to feel like something that is given to prisoners.

Dave who has been eating salted fish, every day, for the past week, was feeling like he was in a prison. As the world has undergone a very big change recently, the prices of basic necessities like food were at an all-time high. And as he didn't have any money, he just has to eat the food that he got.

Although there was a time when Grump offered to catch a goblin for him. He was shocked to learn that people of this world ate goblins, from what he heard, their meats a little gammy, but other than that goblins didn't taste that bad. But he couldn't get himself to eat something that is humanoid and resembled a human. Grump called him an idiot once again after hearing his chain of thoughts. But still, he still refused to eat a goblin…

After waking up, he excitedly roasted some fish over a fire and had a very fulfilling breakfast. It was his first day on the job, so he was very excited. Although there was high chance that he could die during the mission, but the prospect of earning some money excited him, at least after the pay day he would be able to have a decent meal.

He packed all of his stuff and got ready for the long journey. But it is then Grump burst his bubble, they were supposed to meet Grego and the client that night. Not early in the morning.

That day, he didn't go to practice. Grump instructed him that he should rest today. And also if he has so much time he should sharpen his weapons. So he did just that. He also put on the black color combat clothes that Grump had bought him.

They were not as durable or effective as the old man's own personal black armor. But they were of the same color. According to Grump, wearing the same color clothes would make people realize that they are from the same party. And he forced him to wear it. And soon the time went by in a breeze and the moon came out. And just like that Grump who had vanished during the morning came to fetch him at night.

"Oi kiddo… Grego sends his regards." Grump said, tossing something toward him.

It was a pitch-black metallic mask. It only covered the nose and mouth of a person. While the eyes and the forehead were out in the open. The thing that confused him was, how was he supposed to wear it. There were no strings nor any sort of attachment that could make the mask stay in its place. And it kind of smelled as well

"This smells fishy," he complained

"Of course, it smells fishy. It was attached to a corpse for more than 20 years."

"Wait? 20 years? Really?"

"Yeah… The mask belonged to a guy named executioner. He was a commoner and hell of an Artifact Craftsman. He used to wear the mask and hunt down evil merchants and adventurers that are corrupt and all…"

"Woah, and you found this on the corpse of that person."

"Yup. Me and Grego when we were about your age."

"How many years ago did you find this mask?"

"Why the hell is that important?"

"Well for starters, if you have had this mask for several years then none of you had the courtesy to wash it?"

"Well… fuck you. You want the mask or not?"

"I want a mask. But this… it is smelly and also broken. How the fuck am I supposed to wear this thing?"

"Just put it on your nose." He followed his instructions. As soon as he pressed the mask to his nose it got stuck to his nose, refusing to fall down.

"Now try to think about removing the mask from your face." Grump further instructed.

He followed his instruction, and it is then he sensed that the mask became liquid, it started flowing along his chin. And the liquid started to collect itself behind his ears. And soon two metal plates gathered themselves along his ears.

<AN- Think of an oni mask, which can retract like Starlord's Mask, from Guardians of the Galaxy.>

Grump then added. "The mask is a magical artifact. If the wearer of the mask wants to remove it then the mask becomes liquid and gets collected along the ears of the wearer. And then if you want to wear the mask again, all you need to do is think about it."

"Is that so? This is great."

"Yeah. But the mask literally has no other function. And it does not even cover the whole face. It is just useless. But it could work for you."

"Yeah… remind me to give my thanks to Grego later."

"Yeah right… You are not in the circle kiddo. You cannot talk to Grego."

"Oh! Is that the reason why you didn't want me to open my mouth in front of him?"

"Yeah. You are not in the circle yet. That means you don't get to talk to him." Grump said.

***

He and Grump stood under the moonlight in the middle of nowhere. Grump was fully armed to the boot. While he had his bow and arrow with him. They both were around 2-3 km away from Ravenshead. This was literally a no-man zone. There was not a monster nor a human in sight. Yet they stood there like it was a regular morning for them…

"So what are we waiting for?" He asked after finally losing patience.

"That" Grump said while pointing towards their north. He looked in the direction of his finger and saw that from distance a carriage was coming towards them. The carriage was emitting a dim light, which was still visible from where they were standing.

As the carriage arrived, two people controlling the carriage hopped off. They then went and opened the two doors of the carriage on either side. And it was then Grego hopped out of the carriage. Following him, another guy with a hunched back. His face was covered with a cloth but his eyes were visible. And he could see the wrinkles around the guy's eyes. So he figured that this must be an old man as well.

Following the old man came another man. The man like the old man was also wearing a disguise and had his face hidden with a cloth. But this person's short height and wrinkle-free and smooth skin gave away that this person was very young. He could even be a teenager based on his height.

"Grump, I hope you are you are fine." Grego greeted Grump with a smile. While on the other hand, Grump looked super pissed at him for some reason.

"This is the client?… Are you out of your fucking mind Grego? If Carlin found out that he is not in the city anymore, she would be super pissed. Do you really want to make an enemy out of that woman?" He barked angrily.

"Things have changed my dear friend. The world that we used to live in is no more. And Carlin doesn't hold that much power now." Grego said while putting his hands on Grump's shoulder.

"But still it is too much Grego. If she founds out that you helped him and I let you help him then we both be in trouble."

"Let me handle her Grump... I tell you what, if you are that concerned about what might Carlin do, you go and stay in Vecrus after the job is done. I will send you a Raven when things over here have finally cooled down." Grego said.

"As my oldest friend, I have to ask you again… Are you sure about this Grego?" Grump asked while being genuinely concerned.

"Yup I am…. Now let's get going. You know the client Grump, so there is no need of introducing anyone. Now the mission is that you have to escort this client to Infragilis. Now, as this is a hush-hush mission, I have hired only you. And I think with your expertise you will be able to handle the mission. I have already talked to the client about some ground rules, so he would play nice." Grego said to Grump with a big smile. Then he turned towards Dave who was standing there in his mask. "You, come with me."

He followed Grego to the carriage. There the old man made him put 4 big trunks in his inventory. He also made him keep two-three boxes worth of food and other supplies as well. After everything was locked and loaded, Grego greeted them goodbye and went off with the carriage.

After Grego went off, Grump looked at the old man and the teenager that were their clients…

"Now listen up people. Here is the plan. We would start moving now and continue our path along the Midgard bridge. We will maintain our distance from the Midgard Bridge until we leave Ravenshade. And after that, we will continue our journey on the Midgard bridge. During the journey, we will try to avoid any contact with people as much as we can. That means we will sleep outside and only go to civilization when there is an emergency. Other than that, we all remain in a group. Is everything clear?" Grump said while looking at three of his companions.

All of them nodded their heads. And with that, they started moving…

***

According to the orders from Grump, all three of them were moving in a formation. The old man and the teenager were moving in the middle. Grump was leading their group and was moving in front. While he was at the back. And in the silence of the night, all of them were moving in complete synchronization…

Grump had instructed him beforehand that all the combat would be done by him. And he was to only interfere when the lives of him or their clients are in danger. And other than that, he was not allowed to make any move. He didn't really understand why wasn't he allowed to make a move, but he didn't question Grump as he seemed to know what he was doing.

Grump had instructed him to be vigilant during their journey. But his mind was preoccupied with their clients. The old man and the young man seemed very mysterious to him as they had still not removed the cloth hiding their faces. They were trying to hide their identity just like him, but he didn't understand who were they.

Grump seemed to have realized who the old man was despite not being able to see his face. Seeing this he figured that the old man must be someone important. He had previously decided that if he will pursue smuggling in the future then he would make sure that he would not become so big that he would be recognized by the major powers of the Midgard. And he would only attempt doing something ridiculous when he would have the strength to back it up.

But seeing how his first job may put him on the map of someone like Carlin, he really started to believe that lady luck had cursed him since he had met Grump…

***

In a room illuminated by a lamp, sat a lady, facing a bowl of porridge. The lady was sitting in a wheelchair. Her right leg and arm were missing. While her face and most of her right side were covered in black color patches, making her look hideous.

The woman looked pitiful. But if someone was to go back in time just a few weeks ago, they will be able to witness that this woman was never like this. Once she used to be a powerful Warlock. Her pale white skin, her glossy white hair, and her purple eyes could have enchanted any man on Midgard. But a simple mistake in the past left the woman in such a state…

It was the door of the room was flung open and a man walked in. The man closed the door behind him. He then stood beside her.

"Igor." The woman said slowly.

"Yureka… my love." The man said with the utmost affection.

"What do you want now? Came here to beat me? Or fuck me?" the woman asked dejectedly while still staring at the porridge in front of her.

"Tch… Tch… Yureka. How can you say something like that?"

"Well for starters I know you. I know your kind. I have met many like you in the past." she said with her dead eyes still looking at the bowl of porridge.

"Alright then… If you know me so well, then guess what I am here to do?"

"Well, we have fucked many times in the past, behind Sonia's back… I have dominated in the past… Also now that Sonia has become City Lord, you are here to silence me. You don't want to anything happen to your position as City Lord's lover. Isn't that right?" Yureka said softly. Hearing her Igor passed her a smile in the dark. He then pulled her chin up.

"You are right," Igor said. And it was then he made a fist and punched the pitiful lady in the face. And then continued to beat her up. He only left her when she was very close to death.