Chapter 45 - jason

Chapter 45 - jason

   12:00 PM       Darrell S.

---

“I think we’re getting better at navigating the city,” Kaiden says as we make our way up the street.

“What makes you say that?”

“We actually found the place, and took the right bus this time.”

“We haven’t found it yet,” Kaiden points down the road, “okay we’re not too bad.”

I expected a convince store from the outside, but inside looks like more like a general store that happens to have a pawn shop attached. There is nothing convenient about this place. Candy, chips, musical equipment and electronics all jammed into this small shop, seemingly at random. One Orc sits at the counter, behind a bulletproof screen, not even noticing us walk in.

“Is that the guy,” I point to the Orc.

“Yeah, that’s him.”

I make my way over to have a conversation. The Orc is asleep, unbothered. A little pudgy for the Orcs I’ve been fighting, but I suppose every Orc isn’t trying to live the warrior way still. This guy is trying to live the relaxed fit life. I knock on the window and he almost falls off his stool.

“What do you want? Hurry up and buy something,” he’s obviously upset.

“I’m here to talk about your brother.”

“I don’t have a brother,” he denies it. An obvious lie.

“The one who goes around extorting business along the river. You know, the one with the two-bit criminal organization that used to be in the abandoned building,” I try to refresh his memory, the calm way.

“Doesn’t ring a bell,” he stays firm.

“Do you have any of those lemon-flavored cupcakes you used to bring to us,” Kaiden leans from behind a shelf to ask.

“Yeah, right over by the….shit,” he knows he messed up by acknowledging Kaiden.

“Thank you,” Kaiden smiles and points his fingers at him. A goofball.

“So, now that we have that out of the way. I need to know where your brother is,” I bring us back on track.

“Why do you want to find him? That your kid? You want revenge,” he jumps to the worst.

“Alright, let’s start this again. I’m Jason, that’s Kaiden. Nice to meet you,” I introduce myself properly this time.

“The name is Blazr from the clan Valthurg. I don’t participate in the current family business,” he’s calmed down a little.

“What was the old family business,” Kaiden asks with an arm full of snacks.

“Legit business, manual labor, construction. My brother thinks he leads the mob. We never did this crap under our father. My uncle had to have gotten into his ear,” Blazr stops, as if he’s said too much.

“If you tell us where he is, we can get you back on track,” I make the offer.

“I can’t do that,” he answers.

“Well, why not? You want him stopped. Jason can do it,” Kaiden is bad for interrogations.

“Because if I told you where he was, you’d try to go kill him, and my entire clan would fight back. They would kill you and I can’t have that on my conscience. Then again, you might kill them all, and I would have to avenge them, even if I don’t agree with their life choices. Everyone who has gone bad just needs one person to bring them back to the right side. I’m trying to be that person so I can’t tell you where they are. Even if we’re not fighting wars anymore, we still have our honor as Orcs. Good or bad. Sorry.”

“Are you fucking serious? Your brother is beating up old people and stealing their restaurant profits but you want to talk about honor? You are one ass backwards Orc,” we’re going to do this the hard way now.

“Jason, I think we should go,” Kaiden pulls at my hand.

“Not until we get answers.”

“He’s not going to give us anything. Look at him, he’s on the verge of tears right now. We’ll find the place another way,” Kaiden pleads with me.

“I owe you for the hobgoblins, so we’ll leave.”

Outside the shop, I’m pissed. I can’t bring Kaiden along if he’s going to stop me every time he thinks I’m being too mean. Sometimes you need to be mean to people so things get done. Especially in this line of work. You can’t just hug it out with everyone. Sometimes you need to kick in the door and make them understand you mean business.

“Why did you stop me? I wasn’t going to hurt him,” I need to know his reasoning.

“Because we got what we needed,” he shrugs.

“What?”

“You said that the Orc Clans all have their own communities, right? Well, we got their family name. Valthurg. We just give it to Sorkina and let her do the rest.

“I’m sorry, you made the right call. I let my emotions get in the way. Good job.”

“What’s that? I can’t hear you. Almost sounds like you said sorry,” he mocks me.

“I can still beat you up.”

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Chapter 44 - Jason

Chapter 44 - Jason

   12:00 PM       Darrell S.

---

I can’t remember the last time I woke up to freshly cooked food. The smell of Pancakes and eggs fills up my room. I think I might be a morning person now. Yesterday I thought Kaiden was joking when he said he was a better cook than me. What would a kid know about cooking? We got paid and went to the grocery store, a diet based on takeout is going to get you out of shape really quickly. He wasn’t a fan of my baked chicken last night. I didn’t think he’d try to prove me wrong this morning.

I head out into the living room to see that he’s packed the table. Scrambled eggs with plenty of mixings; peppers, sausage, onions and anything else I might want. I’ve never seen a tower of pancakes like the cartoons in real life but here they were. I know we didn’t buy pancake mix, did he make these from scratch? The kid can be annoying and clingy, but I’d be lying to myself if I said he didn’t keep finding ways to impress me.

“Right on time, I was going to wake you up,” Kaiden takes a seat.

“Did you really cook all this,” I sit on the opposite side of the table.

“Yeah, I told you. I’m a great cook,” he smiles and stops short of patting himself on the back.

“I guess I underestimated you.”

“Take a bite, start with the pancakes, I promise they’re great.”

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

“Oh, I’m going to eat a lot,” Kaiden starts loading his plate. “But, a chef likes to see people enjoy their food.”

“Alright, but this better not kill me.”

I pour a little syrup on the corner of one of the pancakes. It smells good, but that doesn’t really mean it’s good. I break off a piece with my fork and my mouth instantly fills with saliva. This is so good. The kid can’t fight, and his magic is janky at best. But if there’s two things I know he can do it’s solve riddles and cook.

“Yeah you like it,” Kaiden laughs and finally digs in.

“Where did you learn to cook like this?”

“My nanny used to let me help in the kitchen, but I never got a real understanding of baking.”

“What? You had a nanny? Are you a rich kid?”

“Very,” he shrugs and takes a bite of eggs.

“Why would you run away from all that?”

“I guess I didn’t really belong there. When my nanny died, I felt like nobody there really knew I was there. I basically walked out in the middle of the day and nobody has found me. I’m pretty sure they aren’t even looking for me.”

“That’s crazy,” is the only thing I can say. I see it upsets him so I try to change the subject. “So we need to get back to finding the Orc.”

“Got any idea where he’s at?”

“Nope, but I’ve had Sorkina looking for information. I’m pretty sure he’s at an Orc Stronghold, but I can’t really just kick down the door of each one until I find him.

“What’s a stronghold,” Kaiden is puzzled.

“Well, in the old days, they were like little gated communities for the Orcs. They didn’t have cities, but they had strongholds which where smaller and usually held one clan. It’s the same today except instead of being out in the woods somewhere they’re usually a culdesac, or housing addition or something like that. Maybe part of an apartment complex.”

“So we just have to find which one.”

“Yeah, you don’t happen to remember anything else about the boss, do you? Any lady friends, addictions, favorite foods?”

“He had a brother. I think he has a convenience store. He always brought snacks and stuff for everyone even if he was just going to get in argument with his brother. He even brought stuff for me.”

“We can use that. I’ll tell Sorkina to look for an Orc with a convenience store.”

“Can I ask you another question Jason,” Kaiden gets super serious.

“Sure, what is it?”

“I saw this movie about a vampire hunter who was also a vampire. He dressed really similarly to you. Is that why you dress like that?”

“No, I just took some modified version of my father’s gear. He actually came up with the runes that are featured on my guns and knuckle dusters,” my father was also a big fan of Blade and I didn’t know that, but I can’t tell him that.

“Oh, well that’s cool. I guess maybe a lot of vampire hunters wear that gear. Those movies were weird anyway. There were vampires, but no werewolves and the vampires were just focused on killing other vampires.”

“Never saw it. But this food is great.”

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Chapter 43 - Jason

Chapter 43 - Jason

   12:00 PM       Darrell S.

---

“How many do you,” I ask Kaiden, as he stands on my shoulders.

“There’s just so many of them. Maybe 30 or 40. It looks like they’re just hanging around. They even look happy, like they’re joking. But they don’t look like Leprechauns,” he says confused.

“Well Sam isn’t a usual Leprechaun. He’s part Elf, and he’s a werewolf. What do these guys look like?”

“Well, they look like Goblins. But, they’re way shorter, maybe two or three feet tall. They’re also really pale, like a pinkish white color.”

“Yeah, those aren’t leprechauns.”

“Then what are they?”

“I don’t know, let me stand on your shoulder and look.”

“Ha-ha so funny. You don’t have a guess?”

“Yeah, they’re probably hobgoblins. Not really goblins, but they look alike. They mostly play pranks , but can be a real pain because they move in big numbers.”

“What are we going to do? You can’t beat them all up.”

“I could be up 40 hobgoblins. Easily. They’re small, and not really fighters. I could probably do it with just kicks.”

“Well, didn’t you tell me that fighting isn’t the solution to everything,” Kaiden does listen, even if he doesn’t seem to.

“Well, don’t worry. I got a different plan.”

“Alright, lets do it.”

Kaiden jumps from my shoulders. He lands on his feet and stumbles forward, I grab the back of his shirt before he face plants. We make our way to the door. I stretch and warm up. I don’t plan to fight but anything could happen. I take a deep breath and force one of the garage doors up before making our way in.

“Hey, who’s in charge here,” I yell out.

“Will you get a load of this guy,” one of the hobgoblins yells back, the others laugh along.

“I’m not playing,” I shoot a hole through the television. I’ve got their attention now.

“Woah, what are you doing? I thought you said you weren’t going to fight,” Kaiden whispers aggressively.

“I’m not. I got this. I’m just going to scare them out,” I whisper to him.

“You want us out,” a hobgoblin with a suit, a monocle and tiny top hat makes his way to my shins.

“Yeah, and if you aren’t out of here in twenty minutes, I’ll make all of you match that, TV.”

“Okay big guy, no need to get violent. Unfortunately, we can’t be bothered to leave. Some really good basketball games this time of year. So, you’re welcome to come back later without those little pea shooters and we can talk,” he smiles at me like he just won.

“I will smash you under my booth you little shi…”

“Jason, can I talk to you outside,” Kaiden pulls at my arm and leads me outside. “I think I got this. You said Hobgoblins are pranksters, right? They aren’t going to respond to threats. Maybe there’s another way.”

“You really think you got it?”

“Yeah, I can do this.”

“Alright, but if not, we’re punting them all for distance,” I follow his lead back into the building.

“Mr. Hobgoblin, would you please leave the warehouse,” Kaiden asks the one in the top hat.

“Ah yes, of course we can leave,” he smiles at Kaiden.

“Well, will you leave?”

“Under certain circumstances.”

“Well, what are those circumstances?”

“You have to answer three riddles.”

“Well, let’s do it,” Kaiden says cheerfully.

“Alright, riddle number one,” he pulls a slip of paper from his hand. “You can see me in water, but I never get wet. What am I?”

“Oh, that’s easy. A reflection,” Kaiden answers gleefully.

“Right, lets kick it up a notch, shall we?” The hobgoblin sticks his hand in a different pocket. “Oh, a good one. I am not alive, but bring to life love, beauty and strife. Though I don’t speak, I never fail to captivate you with my spell.”

“Don’t speak, spell. Bring to life. Hmm.”

“Time is ticking my boy.”

“I know it.”

“Then share.”

“The answer,” Kaiden drags out his words. “A book.”

“Very good. One more and we shall leave,” He doesn’t reach into his pocket and his face contorts into a mild rage. No longer smiling. “I don’t have eyes, but once I did see. Once I had thoughts, but now, I’m white and empty.”

Kaiden looks stumped. I know the answer immediately. Hobgoblins. They’re pranksters. They’re jokesters. Unlike Goblins. They look like smaller versions, and they live in large groups. One similarity that gets overlooked is that they can be violent. These days Goblins and Orcs are very different with how they’ve embraced the world. Goblins can still be violent, they were always stealthier than Orcs anyway. Hide in plain sight. Hobgoblins have not embraced the new world. They’re still the same. Charming, then they cut through your legs.

“I don’t know,” Kaiden whispers to me.

“What’s that? Did you answer? Time is up,” the hobgoblin smiles.

“The answers is a skull,” I speak up.

Rage fills his face, then quickly vanishes when I grip both my guns. “Very well, we will leave.”

They move quickly and efficiently to clear out everything they brought. I feel the malice in their little mayor, chief or whatever. The others are kind enough to wave goodbye. I almost feel bad for them. Almost. I still want to punt top hat into the nearest river.

“I thought you were going to have to shoot him.”

“Well, you were doing a good job. Didn’t want to ruin it.”

“We make a good team right,” he smiles at me again.

“We’re not a team. Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

“We’re a team. You like having me around. Admit it.”

“No, now lets go get paid.”

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Chapter 42 - Jason

Chapter 42 - Jason

   12:00 PM       Darrell S.

---

Sam brings out some burgers and fries for us. He said we’d only be able to have whatever he had as leftovers, but he cooked these himself. I can still see the oil on the fries. I spend the next few minutes answering Kaiden’s questions between fries. When I finally taste the burger, I don’t even hear what he’s saying anymore. He takes a bite of the burger and feels the same. Sam laughs at us from across the bar.

“Never had a burger so good right,” he asks.

“The best ever,” Kaiden yells out.

“What kind of meat is this,” I ask. I’ve never tasted anything like it.

“Just regular cow meat. I’m guessing you never had food prepared with magic,” Sam asks.

“No, I didn’t even know that was a thing. I would have worked harder to improve my magic skills,” I’m genuinely surprised.

“Yeah, I didn’t know either. Turns out here in the city, things aren’t as simple as they make them seem in the temple. There’s a ton of different ways magic gets used out here. Take those burgers for instance. They look cooked, and they are. Just like any other burger. But, with a little magic, the meat doesn’t realize it’s been cooked so the protein that breaks down when cooked won’t release until it’s in your mouth. Your minds are probably blown now. Wait until you find out about all the stuff technology can do. Oh, and some people are so smart they can combine the two. You’ve seen a TV and heard a radio, right? Well, I’ve seen a radio that’s able to create visuals of what’s playing. You must not have been out of the temple long if you’re surprised by a bit of magic cooking. Burgers must be good, most people tell me I’m long winded and cut me off by now,” he pauses waiting for us to respond. “A word of advice to you boys. People in the city suck. They’re assholes, not to be trust. But, there are still good people out there. Make friends, allies, you’ll need them. Things aren’t that simple. Get a car, traffic sucks, but if you aren’t driving during rush hour it isn’t bad and it might be faster depending on what you’re doing. Property is expensive, but your line of work pays well, buy yourself a house, condo or a nice brownstone. Rent is always raising in this city. Don’t forget what you boys learned at the temple, just understand things are different in the city and everyone reacts different. Take vampires for instance. In the country, they hide. Here, they flaunt their status. Werewolves are the opposite. Not a lot of open space which we thrive in.”

“I’ll keep all that in mind,” I interrupt. He could talk forever.

“Must have finished the burger,” Sam laughs again. He laughs a lot, unlike the permanent scowl on his face and tattooed skull.

“Yeah, it was great. Best one I’ve ever had. Thanks for the advice. I’ll look into a more permanent living arrangement,” he gave solid tips.

“But, I like our apartment,” Kaiden jumps in.

“We barely have furniture.”

“Well, Mr. Sam says your work pays well. So we should just buy some. How much does this job pay anyway?”

“You shouldn’t ask an adult how much money they make,” Sam stops Kaiden.

“We’re a team. I should know how much we’re getting,” Kaiden argues.

“No big deal Sam, I planned on giving him a cut anyway. So jobs are broken down by level. D Level are pretty easy. Usually they don’t require a ton of work or combat. The mission we picked is a D Level. They usually pay between $500 and $5,000. A lot of these are manual labor, puzzle solving, maybe finding a lost object,” The highest rank I’ve completed so far is a B-Level, so I wanted to ease back in.

“Who picks the levels,” Kaiden hands Sam his plate, but doesn’t take his eyes off me.

“The Shadow Syndicate, but they aren’t always accurate, and some jobs are unranked. The next level is C-Rank. These are my bread and butter. They pay between $3,000 and $10,000. A challenge here and there, but nothing that will get me killed, but I get to throw down. Most of these are going be guarding, bounty hunting, missing persons, stopping thieves or clearing out pest problems. Pests like vampires, occasionally werewolves, and assassinations.”

“Assassinations! Have you killed people,” Kaiden asks.

“I’ve killed at least two dozen vampires, 2 werewolves, and one Orc for sure. Killing isn’t my first option. Usually it’s injure, and neutralize, but killing happens. Some folks get a kick out of it, and try to kill on every mission. I don’t. Every kill I’ve made has been self-defense,” every one of them was self-defense; but the list is longer than I told Kaiden. The temple was big on killing anything hostile. But, I’m not at the temple anymore.

“But you carry a gun.”

“I do. I also carry knives, flashlights, sun grenades, some explosives and a bunch of other stuff. Guns are a tool. You don’t have to kill a person with every shot. Besides, the ammunition I use is specifically for things like Vampires, Werewolves, demons or whatever.”

“I’m one of the people who kills everything that gets in my way,” Sam shows Kaiden a twisted smile with a few extra canine teeth, showing his werewolf side. “Now eat up,” he sits down a few pieces of cheesecake before heading back to the kitchen.

“B-Level almost always involve fighting. Usually with someone strong. The mission types aren’t much different than C-Level. Although at this level you might get involved in some espionage, and some of them are long term missions. Pay for these around $15,000 and $20,000.”

“Woah, you must be loaded from all the missions you did with the temple.”

“No. The temple kept most of the money. I’m certainly going to keep most of the money from jobs we do together, because I’m going to do the heavy lifting. No offense, but I’ll never short you the way the temple did us. If we were to do a job for $20,000 and the temple would pay us $100 each.”

“That sucks.”

“Yeah, it did. Now A-Level missions might even be from a politician or local figure. Might even be joining an army for a while. Pay for these is usually between $25,000 and one million.”

“Did you say one million?”

“Yeah.”

“We need to do some of those. Let’s look at the jobs again,” Kaiden says swallowing a big piece of cheesecake.”

“I haven’t really gotten to that level yet. You have to complete a certain number of missions before the next level is available to you. I’ve only gone up to B-Rank. Now, the last rank is S-Level. I can’t even tell you what the missions are like there. I can tell you the pay is at least one million, and they usually pick you out for these missions.”

“Any more questions?”

“For now, nope.”

“Good, let’s go evict some Leprechaun. Sam, what do I owe you,” I ask as he takes the plates.

“You don’t owe me nothing. You’re Dalia’s boys. Just promise to come if I call you for a favor,” he extends his hand.

“I’ll make sure to give you my number when I get a phone,” I shake his hand.

“Get a damn cell phone boy. You’re going to be screwed without one. Now take care, and if you hear from Dalia, tell her old Sam is still waiting.”

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Chapter 41 - Jason

Chapter 41 - Jason

   12:00 PM       Darrell S.

---

“Jason, I can’t go in a bar,” Kaiden waits at the door after I walk through.

“It’s not a bar, it’s a tavern. Besides it’s noon, nobody is drinking at noon. Now come on,” I take his shoulder and guide him in.

“No kids in my bar,” a gruff looking man calls out from behind the bar.

Based on Dalia’s description this is Sam. Half Leprechaun, half elf, full werewolf. His appearance looks it for sure. A bald head with faded Celtic tattoos, a wild and fiery red beard. Tall as an elf but as muscular as a Dwarf. His belly hung over his belt, but the muscle was there still. I could see the fire in his eyes, ready to fight even if he was older now. Still ready to fight.

“We’ll be quick. I promise,” I plead with him.

“I ain’t got nothing for kids,” he argues.

“We should go Jason,” Kaiden turns to leave, I pull him back.

“Kid goes where I go. Dalia said I could find work here. I’m just here to check it out,” I stare back at him matching his intensity.

“Sweet, sweet, Dalia sent you,” the intensity turns to passion.

“Yeah, I’m Jason, this is Kaiden. I’m exiled, he’s...lost.”

“Well, any friend of Dalia’s is a friend of mine. Should have just said so. If you’re looking for work, I’ve got work,” he hands me a menu and snaps his fingers.

The food items vanish and the letters rearrange. Instead of a menu, the pages hold job listings. New Jersey Devil sighting, Springhill Jack Wanted Dead or Alive, Demon haunting boarding school. Vampires holding orphanage hostage, Werewolf terrorizing the zoo. Vampire Clan seeking the return of an amulet stolen by exiled member. Assassin wanted. This is the kind of stuff I live for. If I had known this place was here, I would have been working these jobs instead of making sandwiches.

“So how’s Dalia,” Sam asks leaning over the bar and sucking in his stomach as if she were here.

“Don’t know, I got exiled. She sent me a kid and a letter.”

“Teenager, she sent you a teenager and a letter. But, she’s doing just fine,” Kaiden answers.

“Still gazing into that crystal ball,” Sam asks.

“Of course,” Kaiden laughs.

“Yeah, I miss her. I used to have a thing for her. Always wanted to make love with her. Then Elsar had to stick his nose in the business. Swept her right off her feet.”

“Ew,” Kaiden whispers under his breath.

“Yeah, that’s nasty,” I add.

“You had to see her back then, smooth warm sepia skin, smelling like the perfect mixture of cocoa butter and peppermint. She had legs for days, that wasn’t even her best asset because when the she would put on a...”

“HEY,” I stop him before he goes further,” she raised me. You’re basically talking about my mom so chill out.”

“Yeah, she took care of me too. You really gotta move on. She’s an old lady now,” Kaiden adds looking mortified.

“Whatever, I’m going to grab you some food. We’re not serving lunch yet so the cook isn’t here. Don’t expect anything fancy. It’s on the house before you say anything, doesn’t seem like you can afford to pay,” he vanishes behind a kitchen door but his laugh keeps going.

“I don’t like him,” Kaiden whispers.

“Well, he’s all we got for real work.”

“We gonna go kill some vampires?”

“You’re not ready for that yet.”

“Then what are we gonna do?”

“Something simple. We’re going to go clear out some Leprechauns. They’ve taken over a warehouse.”

“The little magic guys who play with coins and fix shoes?”

“Some of them. Most of them are like Dwarves, but skinnier and they can do magic. The shoe thing started because that’s the extent of the craft skills. They never bothered to practice weapon making making because they had magic. Should be an easy job that pays well. They don’t fight as much as rumors say.”

“Is anyone going to look like what I think they do,” Kaiden asks.

“Probably not, I remember my first class on the super natural as they call it. Fairy tails don’t really do anyone justice. I thought Elves were the guys in Santa’s workshop,” I can’t help but laugh. “Whole time, Elsar was an Elf, or at least half.”

“You think he and Dalia were really a thing?”

“I could see it, even if I didn’t want to.”

“Who pays us for these jobs,” Kaiden asks.

“Depends on who listed it. This one is just cash on delivery. So the person who issued it will pay us. Others are listed by the Shadow Syndicate. They’ll get paid a fee for listing and about 90% of the money will come to us.”

“Shadow Syndicate? What is that,” Kaiden looks confused.

“A long time ago, a wizard, a mercenary and an adventurer came together as friends and took on jobs as a guild. Sometimes they hunted creatures, sometimes they hunted treasures or even people. Eventually they expanded and began to give out licenses to determine who could take these jobs as a they were dangerous. There’s a test you have to pass, do some hours with a mentor, complete a group quest with others who manage to get a provisional license. There were and still are other guilds, but they all follow the Shadow Syndicate’s license policy. Just to make sure everything flows smoothly.”

“Wait, so all the missions aren’t to kill vampires?”

“Nope, there’s so many more. There’s courier, treasure hunting, security, even medical and cooking.”

“That’s crazy. When can I get a license?”

“Well, you’ve got the test to pass, so you’ll need to study for that and score at least 1500. You can do that, you seem like a fast learner. After that there’s a skills test. It changes every year so I can’t give you an answer what that’ll be. Sometimes it’s sparring, sometimes there’s a massive game or puzzle to solve. Just show your skill. Lastly you’ll need to complete 10,000 hours of supervised training.”

“10,000? What? That’s insane. How can anyone do that,” Kaiden is overtaken with fear.

“Well, most people at the temple start missions when they’re around 16, so when they turn 20 they can receive their license. The training from 14-16 is mostly to make sure they can pass the knowledge test and skill tests. You’re a little behind so if we start now, by the time you’re 23 or 24 you’ll have a license. Some people wait until 40 to even try so don’t get discouraged.”

“This is a lot to take in, and I feel like I don’t know half the stuff I need to,” Kaiden seems to worry a lot about little things, then completely ignores the big things. He was worried about books, but not the fact that he blew up a treehouse.

“Well, the good news is we’ll be able to work on everything at once since we’re not at the temple.”

“Okay, where do we start,” there’s his eagerness.

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