Waking up again was an immediate relief, followed by a lot of pain. “Oww…” I whined.

  Adam was standing above me with an expression of concern. “Hold on lad, Don’t be moving around now.”

  “Whuzza… owww. Owww! Owwuh!”

  “Hey, calm down.” Adam said, before giving a grin. “That answers my first question at least. Drink this!”

  “Ahhh…What am I-mmmph!” I murmured, hardly standing up before a gloss bottle was pushed into my mouth. I instinctively drank down what was being pushed into my gullet, an instinct frequently made fun of back in high school and now being used against me here…

  *Imbibed Potion of Tranquility*

  *gained Deafened Pain status effect*

  *Gained Lucidity status effect*

  “...Oh. It was a potion. You could’ve explained that.” I noted with a slight frown, before it slowly widened to a smile. “Hey Adam! I am so glad to see a familiar face right now!”

  “Glad to see you too, lad. You tellin’ me you don’t have that kinda potion in your world, though?”

  “No, we got something like it, but they give it to you with a needle.” I explained. Adam gave a grimace at that.

  “Can’t imagine that’s pleasant.”

  “Oh. I had some when I broke my leg a few years back. It’s not fun going in, but after that everything is just terrific.” I replied. “Where are we?”

  “Castle infirmary. Ionos let me know what happened when we bumped into each other in town, so I rushed down after letting the family know.”

  “And they just let you in?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “I’ve served my time in the guard. And there’s enough of ‘em what know my wife through their wife, so when I mentioned Chloe was worried, everyone got out of my way. Just because she’s my guiding gemstone doesn’t mean everyone else doesn’t see how beautifully she shines~” Adam added, his voice almost going sing-song at the end as an indulgent smile crawled across his face. I was forced to suppress an immediate cringe on how sappy all this was… but I also felt a little surprised.

  “...Err, so the guy that tried to kill me. The Ravencroft guy or whoever-”

  “The assassin… yes, I was told a little bit about that, but it seems whatever it has to do with has the king with a bee in his bonnet. No surprise, given it damaged his castle. The debris alone from the grenades ended up injuring a few of the staff and one of the king’s men-at-arms when it blew up, so it’s raised a bit of a stink. I confess I wouldn’t have thought it possible for someone to sneak into the king’s own castle, but...”

  Adam just gave a helpless shrug. “It’s all a little bit over my head.”

  I stood up in my bed, putting a thoughtful hand to my chin as my tired brain tried to sort itself out. “He seemed to want to kill me, specifically. Not Victor or anyone else. Just me in particular. Would love to know what I’d done to him.” I grumbled, my vindictiveness cutting through the potion’s effects for a second.

  “...I did ask around, and found not a whole lot out about that whole mess, but I got enough that I think I know the basics of what’s going on there. Of course, I am a farmer, not a watchman, so, uhh… take it with a grain of salt. There’s a lot I don’t get here."

  I gave a sigh, hearing that. “...Thanks for looking into it. And, you know, for coming down here. You really didn’t have to.”

  “‘Course I did! What kind of boss would ignore their employee in his time of need!” Adam insisted, placing both hands on his hips as he laughed in a fashion I swore I’d seen in an old cartoon before. “Gotta make sure I’ve got my farmhand well enough for next harvest.”

  He gave me a wink as I tried and failed to force a smile down.

  “...Oh! Before I explain all that, thought I should tell ya, Mary’s just over in the next room.” Adam added, “She fell asleep waiting for you to wake up, but I’ll wake her after I tell you what’s going on. She’s… still pretty shaken up, about the whole thing.”

  I quirked my head, but my mind, even with a potion of calm, wasn’t in the mood to process how I felt about that. “...Right. I’ll try not to freak her out.”

  “Then keep your organs firmly in their casing and avoid getting too conspiratorial for a bit - just let her enjoy the fact you’re in one piece.” Adam leaned on the end of the wooden bedframe, his massive frame almost seeming small compared to the sheer size of the medieval infirmary we were in, a massive stone citadel set with rows of beds with a small cross inlaid into their frames, and a lot of light coming through funny rainbow glass across the area.

  “Turns out that some people have found out there’s a fifth hero… not that it was ever kept as a big secret, mind, given we met ya and all.” Adam noted, seeming almost frustrated as he tried to keep to the subject of his own story. “But because the prophecy said there’d be four heroes to save the world, and there’s five now, turns out a few people decided that means the prophecy’s broken right now. And that if you’re alive, then this prophecy can’t come about..”

  “...Pardon?”

  Adam just gave an exasperated sigh. “They think that if you’re alive, the world’s doomed.” he replied with a frown. “I don’t fully understand the reasoning, but there’s been some murmuring that people think they need to correct it so the prophecy can come true.” He added with a frown. “...Seems to me like if there’s already something even the wisest didn’t account for in some thousand-year old prophecy, then there’s a good shot that solving it’s not as simple as just killing someone that’s not supposed to show up. Maybe you fulfill a different prophecy we just forgot about, right? ” Adam grinned, crossing his arms as he looked for my reaction for a second… before turning as the door creaked open. “Either way, rushing to an answer and sacrificing people’s turning back to the old ways, and no one wants that.”

  “Indeed, lad. Indeed.” Ionos’s creaky old voice came through the door, the old wizard sauntering in with a weary shuffle and a tired tone. “How are you, my boy? Oh, and, of course, Young Noah.”

  “Ahh, just fine, Archwizard.” Adam replied, giving a nod of respect. “Jus’ checking on my farmhand.”

  “Then we had the same idea. I was just thinking on sending a message along to Chloe. I’d be happy to add anything you might want me to add - message spells are easy enough, after all. Oh - and I’m not the Archwizard anymore, young man!” Ionos added, flicking Adam on the forehead in a move I think most people would have thought twice about, but Adam simply clutched at his forehead in mock pain.

  “Ack! I had thirty years of callin’ ya one thing. You can’t expect me to unlearn that in a day.

  I tap a finger to my chin. “...Any chance I could learn something like that?” I blurt suddenly.

  “...A message spell?” Ionos asked, thinking. “...It’s certainly not what a druid technically learns, but… hmm.”

  “It does have magic, and I can use magic, right?”

  Ionos gave a brief chuckle. “It can take months, even years, for every spell you do learn in this lifetime, and many complex spells can take decades. However… because you do have an innate grasp on mana, it might be possible for something as simple as Message to be learned by you. It’s one of the least complex of the pure arcana for use by others… and it is quite useful!” the Wizard added. “...with that said, I wouldn’t expect it to take any less than a few weeks of work on your part, and it will naturally have to wait until you’ve recovered… though the vitality of a hero is still clearly present within you. Most would still be on death’s door, yet you’ve shown what looks like weeks of progress from when I found you.”

  My face fell to shock as a terrible thought occurred to me. “The assassin! Is he…”

  “Lord Revanche, as I understand it, has just come to.” Ionos replied, his frown deepening. “While there’s a certain amount I cannot say as the investigation continues, he has been unsuccessfully claiming himself to be the defendant in that little ambush.”

  “He can’t be!”

  “Indeed.” The old wizard replied, his mustache whiskers twitching from side to side as he took a great big puff of that old pipe sitting in his hands. The old man refrained from speaking for a moment as he breathed in, thoughts roiling and bubbling up in my head like the smoke rings from his pipe.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “No, I don’t believe most people innocently practice self-defense with a specially made assassin’s dagger, something firmly banned within the castle, rook poison, several magical flasks specifically designed for combat, and an arcane explosive worth a hundred times what any of you heroes-to-be could have managed to afford in a week’s time. No, what’s certain is that Revanche Ravencroft was attempting to kill you, and given Victor’s testimony, as well as the muttering the buffoon tends towards when he believes he is alone in his room, it appears he was after you and you alone.”

  I give a nod. “That I… kinda gathered. I feel like that wraps everything up.”

  Ionos shook his head, the bent tip of his pointy hat wiggling with every motion. “Not so. Or rather, not everything. When I spoke of the fact that you are cleared, by way of the bejewelled destructor, that is not to say young Revanche could easily afford it either. Nor are we clear on how he snuck all of this in on his own. If, indeed, he did. No, there is some conspiracy here, and we’ve no idea how deep it goes.” Ionos replies with a look of frustration developing on his face. “I can say it is no coincidence that it unfolds now, with rising tensions.”

  Adam quirked an eyebrow as a hand instinctively rested on the dagger at his side. “So you’re saying there’s a bunch of people who plan to kill Noah?”

  Iono gave a short cough to clear his throat. “Well… Yes, but that may not be for why one might think. As you mentioned to Noah earlier, many feel the prophecy is broken while Noah is alive. Others may simply put less stock in the prophecy and see this as a perfect excuse to undermine King Cesar’s authority for allowing such an incident within the confines of his own castle.” Ionos added, giving a frown. “I’d almost applaud the aristocracy for finding ways to be disloyal saps even in a time where danger and darkness lie right around the corner. Yet others see you as an unknown that might rise up in this time to usurp them, if they do nothing, and many others simply dislike something they do not understand - and removing you simplifies their lives. ”

  I gave a frown. “Well I mean… we did stop him. So he’ll tell us all about it, right?” I asked.

  Ionos shook his head. “He’ll tell us what he knows. But Revanche Ravencroft has already gained a hearty reputation around the court for being brash, pigheaded, and vain. I imagine most who would choose to use him as an assassin might not keep him in the loop. Particularly if he is as disposable in this matter to them as he seems to be.”

  I felt irritation bleeding into myself - less than if I hadn’t had the potion, but I still seethed. “...He almost killed me. He almost killed himself.”

  Ionos gave a solemn nod. “I don’t blame you for hating him. But many people have had their families livelihood, and history built based on the events of the last war. Many feel we have moved past the point where the Black Court could possibly be a threat, with the advancements in our technology, our magic, our military… others feel that the prophecy is instead a set of calibrations to follow to the letter, something they must ensure.”

  I frowned. “But I’m not planning on fighting in this war. I’m staying out of the way. If I’m out of the way, I’m out of the prophecy.” They don’t have a reason to chase me down when I opt out!”

  It was Adam’s turn to sigh. “Just because you aren’t linked in with all this big hooplah doesn’t mean everyone else is going to be convinced. I’d prefer them to leave you alone, too, but plenty won’t think your type of participation matters.”

  “But it’s unreasonable!” I protested, knowing I sounded like a child, yet I felt the need to spit it out anyways.

  “People are unreasonable. I’m not expecting you to meet their expectations, Noah. But you can’t change them.”

  I crossed my arms, irritated. “It just… I was told I'm not part of this thing, and I’m happy to not be part of this thing. And now it seems like my whole life’s revolving around it lately.”

  Ionos took a puff on his pipe, before humming a few notes. “...Even if you were to live a calm life right now, Noah, you’ve come to us in a time of impending chaos. It’s possible that some may even view you as a tool to sow discord in the coming times.”

  “...So they can all get killed by the evil invaders while everyone’s fighting over a boring nerd who’s main contribution to the world is farming and taking care of a reptile?” I ask, raising an eyebrow incredulously. “I thought the whole world-ending invaders thing would have kept everyone else on task.”

  “...Almost everyone in the world knows the stories of the monsters that once came from beyond our world to ravage the land. Most of us correctly put our faith in the divination we were given on how to stop this war. But some few in the past have attempted to find a different path to survival. Those that may walk among us even now-”

  Ionos speech was shut down by the door being nearly set off it’s hinges, the doorway slamming open without anyone in front of it. A second later, a redheaded man with curved ears and emerald eyes stepped through, wearing some of the most ostentatious purple robes I’d ever seen in my life.

  “Former Archwizard Ionos! I require your assistance, right now.” flicking a hand behind him, the door that threatened to swing back now paused in mid-motion.

  “What has you so pressed, my son?” Ionos asked, puffing imperiously on his pipe.

  “There was a spell left on his clothes! One beyond my ability to fully dispel! It’s old magic - the type you specialized in countering, back in the day!”

  Ionos’s eyes flashed, as he pocketed his pipe. “Then I suppose we can’t afford to spare a single second, can we? We’ll continue this conversation some other time, Noah. In the meantime… lay down and rest. It’s going to be a rough few days for you.”

  “Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask… any chance I can take Noah out of here?” Adam asked quizzically, looking around.

  “...I don’t believe anyone’s been attentive enough in the kerfuffle to actually restrict him to his bed. And it might keep him nicely insulated from courtroom politics were he to spend some time at the house of an ill-known commoner who sells excellent corn… and sub-par sugar beets.” Ionos replied with the ghost of a smile, before hurrying on after the more serious-minded elf. “That is, if he leaves soon.”

  I give a smile. “I appreciate it, Adam, but my stomach’s all tore up from that knife wound…” I say, experimentally poking where the knife hit against all good sense and finding… a barely-visible scar, “...Huh. The healthcare here is awesome!” I say with a grin, as I look down, picking at my blade-based injuries already looking almost gone, and getting up with a start… only to feel woozy as soon as I stand up.

  Adam gives a shake of his head. “Easy now. The injuries are one thing, but you have to replace all that blood on your own. Luckily, I have the perfect solution to fix that. Something that’ll get you out of here fast!”

  “...A cane?” I asked. “...A magic carpet?” Came my next guess.

  “Close. Asked if I could borrow this ahead of time, in case you got up…”

  I heard Mary yawn just as I turned to see this amazing contraption. “Noah. You alright, man?”

  I was flummoxed by the piece of equipment that she wheeled in front of me, too awed to reply. It wasn’t that I didn’t know what it was, though the wheels looked a little different, and it lacked the usual hospital feel of clean metal and polished rubber, with some doohickeys that made me wonder if it was magic, but it was unmistakable.

  “They have wheelchairs here?”

  “Little old where you come from?” Adam asked.

  “Not that old actually… I think. Hence my surprise” I admitted. “I don’t really know my wheelchairs honestly.”

  I turned to Mary, who suddenly had a grin on her face. “We’re gonna get to push him around on a wheelchair for a bit?” She asked.

  “Oh, no.” Adam replied, as I suddenly felt my butt being placed firmly into the chair. “We’re gonna rock him out of here on the wheelchair for a bit! Old man Ionos was pretty clear on getting him out of here, fast.”

  “Well, if it’s Grandpa’s orders, what can I do?” Mary replied with a dangerous tone, as I suddenly felt a pair of strong arms behind me, and a rising sense of anxiety and excitement filled me as the chair was pushed forward by Adam, before being handed off to Mary, and some core instinct of survival urged me to grab the arms of the chair for dear life.

  “Good thing I got a nap in! Let’s see if I can set a record!” Mary yelled excitedly, a single foot kicking at the back of my wheelchair before we zoomed off at hyperspeed, my surprised shout echoing through the infirmary as we whirled at speeds unknown to man and god.