Aric was stunned and his mind was buzzing. There was so much information, yet so little time. If this beast revealed everything it knew, the odds of the sun setting while they were still talking were high. This wasn’t possible though, considering their deal only regarded one question.
And yet, even with those restrictions, Aric’s mind was buzzing with so much information. Yes, most of the information he’d gotten so far was indirect and left him with more questions than answers but it was more than he’d asked for.
Then there was that one bit of information that now had his face pale. Scarlett had tried to end the beast’s life and it hadn’t worked. The reason for it though, had Aric’s mind reeling.
The beautiful red-haired girl kept her distance from the beast before them, no longer confident in her bdes. Her complexion was that of ash, and her voice came in frightened gasps: “What’s happening, Alistair? I’ve never seen something like this before.”
From what little Aric knew of the girl’s past, she had been a part of a few hunts herself. This was the first time she was seeing a corpse talking… and frankly, the same could be said for Aric.
Seeing the Bone Tiger remain animated even after its heart stopped beating made him feel uneasy. The Tiger was stuck between life and death, suspended by the power of a pact made in the Old Tongue.
All the creature had to do was answer his questions and it would be free to die… so why was it stalling?
“The Tiger will die after answering the question I asked him. He’s already dead though, so the better words for it would be that he will move on,” Aric told the girl.
“This is your doing?” the girl swallowed.
“No, it’s not… Well, I don’t think so. Can I finish talking to the Tiger first? Believe me. I’m just as confused as you are,” the boy tried.
Scarlett stored her weapon away and excused herself stiffly before jumping into the surrounding trees. She wasn’t about to closely watch someone talk to a corpse as though it was some normal thing everyone did.
The Tiger watched the exchange with a bit of curiosity before turning to the boy, “You’re an interesting couple. For a moment, I thought she’d abandoned you back in the woods.”
“So did I, unfortunately,” the boy replied with a small smile, “So, you’re going to give me an answer?”
The Bone Tiger took a deep breath, “Haste makes haste, Little One. It’s not every day you find a boy adept at the Ancient Dance of the Sword. Where did you learn to fight like that, young one?” the creature asked, curiosity coating its voice.
“My guardian taught me,” Aric responded. If there was ever a definition of stalling, this was it. Yup, this creature was stalling, “Aren’t you in a hurry to die? I can’t imagine you’re comfortable being caught between life and death.”
The Tiger sighed yet again, “You’re right. I feel like I’ve been thrown into a pit of flesh-eating worms and I’m being consumed by them, a thousand tiny excruciating bites at a time.”
Aric wanted to believe the beast was lying, but the only nguage it could communicate in was the Old Tongue. The Tiger was in a lot of pain… yet he continued stalling. He refused to answer Aric’s question but what reason could the Tiger have for prolonging its suffering?
“What is your name, young hunter? Your true name. Now that I’m dead, I see that which is hidden from the living. I see the magic that hides you from others. Could your name perhaps rhyme with the Protector? The only name known to shift in the Old Tongue yet it still retains its power. The Name of the Protector, Aric,” the Three-Cut Tiger’s voice rumbled.
Aric felt his blood go cold. Names in Valeria were indeed unique. Each name had a binding power that kept it unique to the child it was given, making it impossible for parents to utter a name that was already being used when they named their child.
It was for that reason that Aric was sure his name wouldn’t be found anywhere else. It was also for this reason that the idea of holding two names was frowned upon. That’s why people loved titles added to their names to make them seem longer and more important.
“How…?” he breathed.
The Three-Cut Tiger merely smiled, which was a sight Aric never thought he would ever see on an animal. The beast’s pale blue starry eyes stared at the boy with a distant flicker of longing, “Had I known it was you, I would not have raised my cws against you. For that, I apologise, Protector.”
With a bow, the beast apologized to Aric. Before he could speak, however, the Bone Tiger continued speaking, “Listen well, Protector. The most important ingredient for a Soul Protection Pill is a Gorgon’s Eye. You can find one with the Snakemen tribe though I warn you: An item of equal value must be traded for the Gorgon’s Eye. From what I can remember, their Queen has been in slumber for the better half of two hundred years. Waking her from her sleep should be a worthy exchange… but be careful.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“I’m not telling you that. You might have healed the wounds I inflicted on you but you haven’t repaired your soul. One more cut from a creature like me and your soul will break… unless you do one of three things. Repair your soul, shield your soul from soul attacks or increase your Temper Rank. Two of those solutions are only temporary, so I am giving you the information you need to make it permanent.”
Aric’s mind was spinning but he remained attentive. If he happened to forget something, he would just ask his guardian about it.
“Right, what else? That human town is hardly any protection at all so leave before it’s too te. Find a home protected by a domain… or make one yourself,” the Tiger said.
“What do you mean it’s hardly any protection?”
The tiger stared at him and went still before chuckling, “How dense are you, Little Prince?”
“What?” the boy shuddered.
“There you go again. Don’t ask me questions… unless you want me to disappear. I will answer the questions I made myself and when that’s done, I’ll answer the first question you asked. Any question you ask me now will result in the end of our meeting the instant I answer. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll remain quiet.”
Aric felt his knees go weak… Here, at this moment, he was getting information in its rawest form. The Tower of Seekers was a great treasure trove of information… but looking for something you didn’t know of was like searching for nothing at all.
Right here, he was getting information he knew to be useful. There were no tricks, no investigative tactics needed, no limits… well, except for the fact that he couldn’t ask any questions.
‘Does that mean the reason he gave me for telling me all this was wrong?’ he wondered.
[ He didn’t give you a reason. He told you not to ask him questions and went on to decre some of his intentions. None of that transted to why he is telling you all this. ] Alia expined briefly.
‘So, he’s going to answer everything he made up himself…’
[ He’ll answer those that he can remember. He doesn’t have much time. Soon, the pain of being caught in between worlds will prove unbearable even for a creature of his strength and when that happens, he will tell you what a Tamer is… and disappear from the world of the living. ]
