Chapter 40 - Goodbyes and extra goodies

The journey to where Shade was pleasantly uneventful. Roberion used that time to reflect on his battle and heal from his wounds. Before parting ways, he would probably be safe. Roberion and the old couple of fiznaults made small talk, but it was obvious the conversation was a little strained. He was leaving soon, and probably they will never meet again; he knew his chances were slim.

“Hey kid, now that I remember it, you really liked that card, didn’t you?”, Raijin took Roberion out of his musings. To Roberion, the route they were traveling, was really familiar.

“Yes, it has really nice art. I didn’t know there was something like this. Apparently, there are 125 more to collect. The reward seems a little weird, but it sounds cool. Maybe it’s something good," Roberion said, excited.

"Okay, kid, but first, let’s call it medicine. It’s called the Little Crazy Surge. It boosts all your physical abilities, making you twice as powerful. For you, that is right, but for some species, they have a different reaction, maybe better or worse. The stronger you get in life, the more concentration you need for this thing to have any effect. This one you can use, but you will feel a strong backlash as it was made by people already in the middle of the road of Touched incarnation.”

Raijin continues, changing the topic a little about the medicine, “This one is at least a thousand years old already. That was the last time that some of us traveled off this planet. Before the emperor’s forces got a stronghold in the area, we didn’t see a need to go out, especially when the sacred tree was on a special stage.”

“I’m going a little off topic, sorry kid. So if it were another faction, I would say to just give up collecting these cards; these types of promotions can even be considered permanent, but the universe is an unforgiven place; sometimes this faction just ceases to exist and this collection becomes something only a professional collection would have enough money to achieve.”

“These muscle freaks, though. Freak would be the wrong word; let’s say enthusiasts; they have been here longer than I was born. Maybe they were even older than the fiznaults faction. There is almost zero chance that they just vanished from nowhere in a thousand years. Being almost a neutral party, just cooking their products, and being jacked as hell. Anyway, this is for you.”

Raijin threw at Roberion what seemed to be a notebook.

“Use this to put your cards in; it was made to conserve them. The people blessed by the lines can get pretty old. Imagine outliving your collection; it’s a heresy!"!

“Instructor Raijin, did you have any collections?”

“Well, that is obvious. I got this binder in a combo. The collection I actually have is from Posters from beyond the world; it is from the Navigator Coalition, and they had an even less chance to vanish. When we evacuate, I will at least have a chance of finishing my collection. Maybe they even released a new edition; here, let me show you one.”

Raijin produces a beautiful, folded paper. As he unfolds it, an image of an exploding star is seen. The picture was more like a video, with the process of the exploding star repeating in a beautifully crafted loop.

“That is cool.”

“It is, kid. You can get those while hiring their service, obviously for an extra fee. These penny pinchers—the more you pay in travel, the better the pack you are given—paid luck, I guess. I don't know if a kid like you would like these. They are an acquired taste.”

Roberion didn’t say anything; although the moving picture was beautiful, it didn’t seem that cool to own. He would prefer to have some sort of long video where he could cross the galaxy. Or even better, do the recording himself.

Fujin didn’t say anything to the whole exchange between the two, just listening, giving a small smile.

————

“Here we are; time to say our goodbyes, Shining Crown.”

Roberion was onto something, as the familiar visage of the chief’s place was just before him. Shade was there all along. They didn’t seem to be in the last audience Roberion was part of, though.

“Wait just a minute. I will try to summon Percival.”

It took three tries, but Percival showed up already in fighting mode. Seeing the light green couple, he relaxes.

"Hello, estimable fiznaults masters…Oh wait”, he says, looking at Roberion, finally remembering something, but instead of talking to him, he looks at the old couple again.

“Instructors, sorry to be unfortunate, but while talking with the kids, I heard of one splendid bomb! They called them blackwood seeds. How could we have access to them?”

“Aha, so you have some demolitionist tendencies. It wasn’t for nothing that you were so happy when talking with us about exploding those beasts in the forestt," Raijin said with an understanding expression.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Sorry, little knight, but we can’t give them to outsiders. They are special to us. But dear Raijin, didn’t you have something that could help our furred friend here?”, Fujin spoke with surging enthusiasm.

"What are you talking about, sweet—ah, yes. Don’t go making fun of me again! A roothorn that dropped bombs on the ground seemed like a good idea. Imagine we were in a pursuit. Bombs dropped from the roothorn, helping us make our escape as the pursuers ended in gore.”

“I’m not making fun of you, dear. Why don’t you give them to the little knight? Maybe they can work on him.”, Fujin said placatingly.

“I paid good money for them. I won’t give them for free," said Raijin stubbornly.

“You don’t even use the kit. Probably they are already obsolete; all their unused units are recycled or in some deal bin somewhere.”

“That’s…true I guess. They were already at a discount when I bought them. But I have the suspicion that these dammed goblins do it on purpose. They keep releasing new ones, making the old ones obsolete. And they didn’t even change much. Just stupid marketing.”

“I know, dear, this time you have a point.”

“I always have a point. I won’t even buy anything from them again, here, kid. Have fun with it.” Before Raijin gave the box to Roberion, Fujin touched his shoulder.

“Dear, and what about Shining Crown? The roothorn.”

“You think that is a good idea?”

“Look at him. He looks like he found his tamer. Like he found his long-lost brother.”

Roberion thought the conversation was really weird. Looking around, he found Shining Crown looking at him attentively and with warmth, like a dog looking at his owner.

“Alright, alright, I can’t go against you, can I?! It was a sad thing anyway, no fiznault wanted to try to bound with him, he deserves better.”

"What do you say, Shining Crown? Could you bound with him?”

Roberion was a little hesitant. He already had too much on his plate.

“I don’t know. My life is a mess. I don’t have enough time to care for him.”

“Actually, the roothorn is an it. They are more like living objects than animals. They only need some light to survive and grow. The better and more powerful the light, the better. Aside from that, just treating them with respect is enough. They don’t need much care like animals.” Raijin tried to argue against Roberion's hesitancy.

“They are really low maintenance. The only thing you need to promise us is that if, in the future, he reaches a stage of change, you will know what I mean when it happens: you need to take him to the nearest fiznault tribe you can find. Lucky for you, we are everywhere. At that time, Shining Crown will need to make a choice. That is it.”

“What if he gets hurt or something?”

“They recover as if they were magic trees. As long as a vital part of him lives, he will grow. That’s why you need to keep the bangle safe, returning it to the bangle any time it is too damaged. But remember to make him get some exposition to light. They don’t get their energy from nowhere.”

Roberion wouldn’t say no to any help he could get, especially if it were true low maintenance like Percival. He could see him mounting the roothorn spear in his hand, becoming an unstoppable force as he put down the foolish undead that tried to stop his path.

"Alright, I agree.”

“Okay, don’t move. Let’s do the bound”, Fujin started floating from the air, probably using some sort of spell. Touching Roberion’s forehead. Roberion, in response, closes his eyes. He feels the energy building up. He finally feels a natural connection with the roothorn, knowing exactly where he is, like he knew who Shining Crown was. Roberion felt the roothorn sending his emotion. He was happy. They were bound.

Before Roberion could fully open his eyes, a saltwater ball crashed on his face. He heard clear Raijin yelling at him, and he couldn’t stop the feeling that the old fiznault was happy.

“Don’t be naïve, kid; you can’t just let someone bound you to anything! You are lucky; we are honorable!”

Honorable alright, lesson taken, I guess. Even with the rude gesture, Roberion was happy he had another comrade to help in his battles.

“Use this if you can’t find light, it just needs some mana," Fujin said, giving him a little glowing mushroom. It was really bright. “This mushroom can be put in your space bag. They are resistant to the frozen space effects in there. Just take it out and give some mana when you need the light.”

Alright, free things are always good, “Thanks”, Roberion says, putting the mushroom in his bag.

Looking at Raijin, he just looked at the old fiznault left hand, holding the metallic box clumsily. Getting the clue, Raijin looks at his hand, remembering he was holding the box the entire time. The fiznault gets a little embarrassed and angry.

“Just…take this kid" Raijin said, controlling his anger.

The box had a lot of writing in various languages. Reading the one in Imperial, it read Bombing Tamer Kit 101th Edition, 101 ways to bomb away. Percival looked at it with an almost uncontrollable urge.

"Percival, just wait a little after we find this Shade and talk a little . You can see what this thing is all about later.”, Roberion would let the knight take a look first at the thing. He seemed to be really into bombs. Roberion also put the box in his spatial bag.

Roberion was trying to get more time with the couple, but he knew it was time to say goodbye.

“Thank you, Instructor Raijin and Instructor Fujin. You two not only gave me things to help me survive and to help your people, you two made me feel like a person.”

“No sentimental talk here; let's just get it over it" Raijin said, hiding any type of emotion.

“You are welcome, Shining Crown. Do a good job there, and come back if you can. We will try to make a good warrior out of you.” Fujin said, amicably, giving a little hug to Roberion.

As they separated, Raijin gave a thumbs up, before looking stoic again.

“Let’s go, sweet Fujin. Time to nap.”

Both of them said goodbye to Percival. The capybara eloquently thanked the two for the bomb kit, and Percival thanked them like they had given him a sacred weapon.

Waving his goodbyes, Roberion was approached by Kunglau the Messenger.

“Hello Roberion, please let us accompany you to meet Shade”, the messenger said seriously, the other two guards from before giving small nods.

It was finally time to meet Shade.

Roberion’s mental list:

Shining Crown - New buddy - Cool roothorn that comes with a bangle. I can’t wait to do some havoc with him in battle. Before that, I need to know more about him. The fiznaults won’t like it if the roothorn dies in battle.

Notable items:

UPDATED- Unknown Drug from Brotherhood of Gains/ Fellowship of Aestheticism - Medicine - Better expect the backlash

Bombing Tamer Kit 101th Edition, 101 ways to bomb away - Explosives - Percival little treasure.

Collection binder - Card collection - Here lies the first card of many.

Bright mushroom - Mushroom - Shining Crown’s emergency food.