Balthazar rummaged through his backpack as he took and added things while quietly grumbling to himself.

“You know it’s just a short trip up into town, right?” Madeleine said, standing over the crab behind the bazaar’s counter with both hands on her waist. “Not like we’re going to travel to Marquessa or something.”

“A merchant always needs to be ready for any potential business opportunity,” the merchant replied without taking his eyes or pincers off the bag. “Besides, I don’t know what to expect from the mayor. Maybe it’s a business opportunity, maybe it’s… something worse.”

The baker rolled her eyes. “Come on, Mayor Bergen is a good man, in his own way. I’m sure he means you no harm.”

“You read the message,” Balthazar retorted. “And have you seen the girth of his arms?! No, I’m not going in carelessly.”

“Friend!” Bouldy added from his sitting spot near the back entrance.

“Yes, yes!” said Druma, the tip of his nose peeking over from the other side of the counter. “Bouldy right! Boss should take friends to town, to protect!”

The crab sighed and rolled his eyestalks.

“I would, but considering I don’t know how shaky the ground I’m standing on is, I’d rather not march into town with an intimidating giant made of stone, a scary goblin wizard, or a mean fire breathing drake behind me. It would raise too many eyebrows.”

Druma’s hat disappeared behind the counter with a hop and a whispered giggle came from the other side. “Hihi, Druma is scary!”

Madeleine shook her head as she looked down at the crab.

“Right, because a giant talking crab walking into town wearing a monocle and a backpack won’t raise any eyebrows.”

“Hah!” exclaimed Balthazar. “That’s what I have this for!”

The merchant reached inside his pack and retrieved a black handkerchief from within, holding it between his two pincers for the girl to see.

She cocked an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

With a grin, the crustacean threw the square piece of black cloth over his eyestalks, creating a tiny hood with it that barely covered the space between his eyes and where they connected to his shell.

“A disguise!”

The young woman closed her eyes and let out a long sigh. “Oh, you silly crab…”

“What? This thing has a +1 to stealth!”

Madeleine chuckled. “Yes, I’m sure nobody would notice you.”

Balthazar took the tiny napkin off his shell and grinned.

“I’d be like a shadow! A shadow crab!”

The baker’s chuckling increased to full laughter. “Ooh, so spooky!”

“Hey, don’t mock me, girl! I can be pretty intimidating, if I want to!”

Madeleine threw her head back and clapped once as she let out an unladylike snort of laughter.

“Yes, I can see it—Balthazar, the sinister mastermind!” she said, while wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. “Not sure who would ever believe that, but alright.”

***

Ren dared not move a muscle, remaining completely still while crouching behind his rock as his mind raced.

“Followed me all the way up here without even a break,” the man in black said, still facing the mountain’s peak with the box in his hands. “Not bad.”

There was no way he knew. He couldn’t have known. Ren had been flawless in his pursuit, always maintaining a safe distance far beyond what would even be reasonable. His stealth skills were unrivaled. Every part of his body was covered by enchantments that muffled his every move. Even if his target had spotted him at some point during the chase, he would have known, thanks to his incredible perception.

He’s bluffing. He couldn’t have known all along.

A calm sigh came from under the Stranger’s hood, only audible thanks to Ren’s enhanced sense of hearing.

The man clutched the small chest tighter, his bandaged fingers protruding from fingerless gloves acting as a shield against the howling blizzard.

“I almost couldn’t tell when you started following me outside the general store where I got the shovel,” he said. “Not bad at all.”

Ren’s eyes widened with a start. It was no bluff.

The champion stood up from behind his cover, tall and proud. With his heavy gray fur mantle fluttering behind him, the adventurer walked around the rock to stand a few paces away from the man in black.

The Stranger finally turned, his dark figure contrasting against the whiteness of the scene behind him like a black hole from which no light could escape.

Ren could make out no useful details about his gear. For all he could tell, the man before him wore no perceivable armor, his clothes were old, worn, and devoid of any visible magic, and he carried no weapons, not even hidden ones.

Grabbing his smartmirror from its pocket, the adventurer glanced down at the glass screen as the artifact scanned the figure across from him.

[???]

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

With a quiet grunt, Ren stored the crystal rectangle back in its pocket. Whoever that man was, he was no vagabond. He was resourceful enough to block the effects of his unique device, something the champion had never seen.

“Who are you?” the adventurer asked, bluntly and unceremoniously.

If that stranger was as clever as he seemed, then he already knew why Ren was there, and there was no point in not being direct.

Despite the man’s black cowl covering most of his face and Ren being unable to see any facial features, the champion could still tell the stranger was smiling.

“I am but a humble traveler, on a journey to retrieve something for someone.”

Ren’s lip curled at the man’s non-answer before his gaze went down to the small box he was holding, half covered by the black mantle the stranger was wearing.

“What’s in the box?” the champion demanded, his voice betraying a hint of entitlement.

“You sure are very nosy for someone I just met,” the Stranger replied, with a hint of amusement. “You remind me a lot of a crab I once sold a golden statuette to. You are both very… curious.”

Is he comparing me to a crab?! Is he mocking me? Is this some kind of test, or a riddle?

Ren took a deep breath. If that man was everything he suspected he was, then this was as close as he had ever gotten to getting some real answers, and he needed to keep his focus.

“My name is Warren,” the adventurer said, loud and proud, his voice carried through the howling wind. “I am what you call in this world an adventurer. But I’m fairly sure you already know about that, because you are—or were—one yourself. My question to you is… Do you also remember

?”

A bitter wind swept between the two figures atop the snowbound peak, their silence stretching for an eternity that lasted a handful of seconds.

Then, the Stranger finally broke the silence with a low, time-worn voice.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

An outrage flared within the champion, sudden and unexpected. The man was lying, blatantly.

As Ren opened his mouth to make his indignation known, the Stranger spoke again, this time in a much more light and casual tone.

“I’m afraid I can’t help you, so now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got places to be and—”

“What’s in the box?” Warren asked again, his tone now filled with corrosive bitterness.

The Stranger stood in place quietly, his hidden gaze studying the champion from under his cowl.

“I believe that’s none of your business.”

“Open it,” the adventurer commanded, abandoning any hopes of cordial dialogue.

The man in black sighed. “Someone will need this, but it isn’t you, kid.”

Ren’s blood boiled in his veins. As everyone else in that world, this figure was no ally, no friend, no help at all. Just another obstacle for the champion to overcome.

If the man wouldn’t give him the answers he wanted, he would just have to take them.

Either that, or take whatever item was inside that box. If someone like him went to so much trouble to retrieve it and now protect it, it could only mean it was a treasure of immense power.

And Warren needed more of that.

Snow exploded into a column as the champion lunged forward, his spear instantly materializing in his hands.

Cutting through the blizzard like a furious bolt of lightning, Ren sent the tip of his weapon straight through the center of mass of the man before him, delivering a blow strong enough to sunder a dragon.

Except… There was no man there at all.

Just cold air and snow.

The adventurer turned in disbelief, his eyes frantically searching for any signs of the stranger who had just vanished without a trace.

Ren spun and swung his spear in a half circle, setting his sights on the black figure standing where he had stood just a moment before, near the rock.

The Stranger loomed there, silent and perfectly still, not even a ragged breath coming from him.

How?!

Warren’s mind raced. What kind of trickery could have allowed him to evade his flawless charge? He executed his strike perfectly, in the blink of an eye, and it hit nothing.

It couldn’t have been speed alone, his perception and senses were far too sharp to not have at least caught a hint of his movement.

It could not have been magic either, he showed no signs of charging any spells, and any enchanted items would have left a trace of magic that the champion would be able to see with his enhanced vision.

How?!

Ren took a deep breath.

Rage was clouding his focus. That was the only explanation. It was merely a fluke.

It would not happen twice.

This time, not a single snowflake was disturbed as the champion made his move.

Ren disappeared from where he stood and turned into a blur, moving randomly from left to right as he closed in on his target, who stood carelessly on the same spot. He would have no chance to move anywhere without being intercepted this time.

The champion appeared in front of the Stranger with a gust of wind, a smirk breaking through his stoic expression as he plunged his spear forward.

This time the man in black did not vanish. This time he stood right there and took Ren’s strike. The weapon had connected, he could feel it had.

The champion pulled at the spear, trying to release it from his foe’s flesh, but it would not budge.

Ren’s smirk faded, and his heart froze colder than the air around them as his eyes slowly descended to where his spear’s tip was.

The blade was not stuck in the man’s flesh. He was holding it between his fingers—effortlessly.

The adventurer pulled again, with both arms, with all the strength he had, but even then it wasn’t enough. The spear tip remained firmly held between the bandaged index and middle finger of the Stranger.

Ren felt all the blood draining from his face as he looked up at the man in black again and saw his cowl rise slightly. A face wrapped in old, aged bandages stared back at him, two eyes black as midnight piercing into his with an empty gaze.

For a brief moment in time, Warren felt the ground beneath his feet run away from him. He saw no future in front of him, and no past behind him. All he saw was regret.

And then cold reality rushed back in.

With his free hand, the Stranger carefully placed the wooden box inside a satchel hiding under his mantle while still holding the spear in place, like it was nothing but a straw balanced between his fingers.

For a brief moment, Ren was close enough to see the detailed carving of the dove on the lid of the box, and it was almost as if the figure of the bird depicted was staring back and judging him.

“I’d love to stay and chat,” the man in black said, “but Balthazar will need this soon.”

The adventurer’s eyes widened at the mention of his nemesis’s name, but he had no time to react properly.

With a flick of his wrist, the Stranger sent the spear and its wielder flying to the side with the same effort as someone who swats away a fly.

Ren landed on his back against a mound of snow, his shock so great he did not even attempt to brace for impact or keep his grasp on the spear, which dropped onto the snow like a discarded stick.

I can’t believe it…

That man, whoever he was, with his incredible power, was there to fetch something for Balthazar.

Just how strong could the merchant be that he’d have someone like that serving him?

Shaking his senses back into action, the champion sat up from the pile of snow he was sunken into and looked at where the man had been a moment before.

But the Stranger was gone, along with his box, with not a trace left.

Ren stared emptily at the snow-covered ground.

Grabbing his spear and using it as support to stand back up, Ren stared off into the horizon.

A single thought filled the champion’s mind after that encounter.

I need more power.