Return of the Runebound Professor

“You sent who to investigate them?”

The cloaked man shrank back from the voice in the shadows, the back of his neck prickling.

“E-Ezwad and Zael. It was just some slink in an alley. I hardly thought that we would need anything more.”

The temperature in the dark room dropped sharply. The cloaked man’s next breath came out in a puff of frigid white air, but he didn’t dare wrap his arms around himself to conserve his warmth. He stood as still as a statue, not even risking swallowing.

A flash of heat tore the frost away, and with it came a flicker of light as candles lit all around the room. The light washed out, just barely illuminating an elderly man that sat in an old wooden chair at the back of the room.

His features were tanned from years of work under the sunlight, and his face covered with smile wrinkles. His hands rested on the top of a plain wooden walking stick, and his clothes looked like something that could have been found on a beggar at the side of the street.

He was, by every single measure of the eye, entirely unimpressive.

“I apologize. This is my fault,” the man said, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers and letting out a soft sigh. “I was overly caught up with my own tasks and did not consider things from your point of view, Halden.”

He knows my name. Shit. Shit. Shit.

The elderly man raised a finger to his lips, his eyes crinkling as he smiled and gently hushed Halden.

“It’s okay, my dear lad. If anything, I must beg your forgiveness. I have caused you stress.”

“N-no. You haven’t done anything like that, Magus Gentil. There is absolutely nothing to apologize for.”

“No, I am afraid I have gravely wronged you.” Gentil shook his head, then let out a heavy sigh. “Your men – Ezwad and Xael, was it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“When did they leave?”

“Last night, as soon as we got the information on the target.”

“You will not see them again.” Gentil spoke as if he were mourning the loss of a beloved – but something about his tone was wrong. It was sadness, but not one with reverence to human life. It felt more like he was informing a child that he’d just taken their dog out to the back of the building and killed it for pissing on an expensive rug.

“I – what? Why? Have they offended you, Magus Gentil?”

“Nothing of the sort. Your adventurer company has been lovely to work with. Unfortunately, due to my negligence, you seem to be under the belief that those lads can handle the threat you’ve sent them after. They are going to die.”

Halden opened his mouth, then closed it again. He swallowed. Ezwad and Xael had been with him for four years. The two were idiots, but they were good at their jobs – and their constant bickering always tended up to light any room that they were in.

Damn it all. This was meant to be a simple job. I should have known it paid too fucking well.

“Who amongst my men passed the information of this job to you?” Gentil asked, his tone so soft that he might have been speaking to a newborn.

A hand of ice enveloped Halden’s heart, but it was mixed with the sweet taste of relief. Gentil’s focus wasn’t on him – or his men. It was on his own people.

That only makes sense. If Gentil really did have some information about the target that his people didn’t share with ours, then it isn’t our fault. Thank all the gods that might be listening – and also the ones that aren’t.

“It was Lenk,” Halden said. “But–”

Gentil raised a finger and Halden’s mouth snapped shut.

“Do not fear. As I have already said, the fault of this lies entirely on me and my men. Do you require any additional recompense for this tragedy?”

Damned Plains, no. I want nothing more to do with you. I never should have accepted this deal in the first place.

“No such thing is needed, Magus. If Xael and Ezwad do die, then they died in the field. We’re all aware of the risks.”

“You are an understanding man. If only everyone I worked with were as forgiving as you.” Gentil rose from his chair. Halden couldn’t bring himself to move as Gentil set a rough hand on his shoulder. “All is good between us, then?”

“Absolutely good, Magus Gentil. There is nothing to worry about.”

“I am delighted to hear that.”

Just please let me leave.

“However, I am not satisfied.”

Halden’s hair stood on end. “I’m sorry?”

“I must insist on restitution,” Gentil said, leaving a hand on Halden’s shoulder as he walked behind him. Gentil’s hand traced along his back in what should have been a comforting gesture but was anything but, raising goosebumps wherever it touched. “Two lives have been lost because of my incompetence.”

“Magus Gentil, I–”

“So, in turn, I will aid you. Two lives,” Gentil said, completely disregarding Halden’s words. “Is this sufficient?”

As if I can say no. I’ve heard what happens to people that reject your so-called gifts. Damn it all.

“You grant me great honor.” Halden measured his words as best he could and inclined his head, trying to appear appreciative.

So long as one of those lives goes to me so I can actually walk out of here alive. You can give the other one to the poor bastard that screwed up for all I care.

“The first will go to your wife,” Gentil said, his grip tightening on Halden’s shoulder. “Her smithing business has been suffering as of late, has it not?”

If Halden’s blood had been cold before, now it became ice. He froze in place, his back stiffening.

How in the Damned Plains does he know about my family?

“I asked you a question, lad.”

Halden’s teeth ground. “Yes. Her business has had some trouble as of late, but I am sure that–”

“She is a talented woman. The Canary guild instructed their smith to open up shop next door to her are attempting to force your wife out with their lower prices, yes?”

“Yes. But our quality is better than theirs, so I am certain that she will persevere.”

“She will not. The Canary guild has hired a new blacksmith that can compete, even with your wife. She would have been driven out.”

Halden couldn’t even bring himself to get angry at that news. At the moment, the only thing on his mind was that Gentil somehow knew – not just about his family, but also about their close issues.

“That is… disconcerting to hear, Magus Gentil.”

“Indeed. They are vile people,” Gentil said, shaking his head in disappointment. “Thus, I will feel no loss in aiding you. Your wife’s competition will be no more.”

He’s entrenching himself in my life to make sure that I’m tied with him forever, and there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it.

There were a variety of things that Halden wanted to say to that. To plead with Gentil to stay out of his personal matters. To curse himself and the man that had convinced him to take the well-paying contract.

But, in the end, he settled on a pair of two simple words. The only ones he could picture himself leaving the room alive after speaking.

“Thank you.”

“Of course. I live to serve,” Gentil said. He patted Halden on the back, then nodded to the door in the back of the room. “The second life I grant is your own. I will send someone to speak with you soon.”

Halden’s saliva tasted like bile. “I will look forward to it, Magus Gentil. Will it be Lenk?”

“I’m afraid not. Lenk will be deep in self-reflection for the foreseeable future,” Gentil said with a sad shake of his head. “You may leave, Halden.”

Halden raced out of the room like a mouse who had just barely escaped the paws of a cat. He ran as fast as his feet could carry him, but nothing shook the feeling of Gentil’s kind, forgiving eyes following after him.

***

An assistant stepped into the candlelit room after Halden left, carrying a young, short-haired cat in his arms. He handed it wordlessly to Gentil, never raising his eyes high enough to meet the older man’s eyes.

Gentil took the cat into his arms, stroking a hand across its head gently. It let out a purr, pressing its head back against his hand. Gentil drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Thank you, lad. You appear to have left the door open. Would you get it for me?”

The assistant inclined his head and turned toward the door. As soon as his back was to Gentil, everything about his demeanor changed. Wild, sheer hatred burned in Gentil’s eyes as his lips twisted into a malicious snarl. Muscles bulged across his wiry body and his teeth ground in fury.

“Damnable, incompetent idiots,” Gentil snarled, every word trembling with hostility so intense that the air around him trembled. The cat squirmed in his hands, but it couldn’t break free. “It was so simple. All you had to do was watch the targets. Now I’m going to have to tell Wizen that Emily’s mentor and her little murderer of a friend are going to be expecting him. Idiots!”

Gentil’s tone grew louder until he was screaming, spittle flying from his lips. A loud snap echoed through the room. The cat dropped to the ground, its head crushed. Like a switch had been flipped, the fury vanished from Gentil’s face, replaced by a deep, profound sadness.

The assistant closed the door.

“Thank you, lad,” Gentil said. “Please forgive my outburst. I have had a very poor day. A good friend of mine is going to find out that I’ve completely and utterly butchered his request. I will have to ask his forgiveness, but I must ask yours first. You should not have been subjected to my anger. Will you forgive me?”

The assistant didn’t respond. Gentil didn’t expect him to – the man’s tongue had been removed long ago. For him, a lack of an answer was the equivalent to saying yes.

“Please send for someone to clean this unfortunate accident up.”

The assistant reached out, opening the door once more.

“Oh. Lad, one more thing?”

The assistant turned back to him.

A flicker of fury lit behind Gentil’s eyes once more, and his lips parted ever so slightly to reveal his teeth. “Bring me Lenk.”

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