A faint blue light similar to that emitted by mana crystals illuminated the ceiling of the room. There was a strange, subtle, unidentifiable smell of chemicals and herbs, and soft, indistinguishable noises. Kaen's heavy eyelids opened slowly.
His head was spinning and his senses were slow to return. It was as if he had been hit on the head.
He tried to move his hand but failed. His hands and feet were immobile, as if blocked by something.
Where did I end up? Why am I stuck? Kaen could only remember smoke and that strange smell. He looked around, keeping silent for fear of being heard by other magical beasts or scorpids.
When he lifted his head from the stone on which it had been resting, he noticed that his hands and feet were tied to a hard, stone-like surface, similar to a hospital bed.
Kaen began to feel uneasy. He was not alone, he sensed a presence. He could hear strange sounds; whoever was there with him was doing something strange.
"Oh, you're awake, boy."
A voice, far from hostile, broke the silence. Kaen fidgeted, trying to rotate his wrists and free himself from the straps, but to no avail.
The speaker stood behind him, out of his field of vision.
"It's no use getting worked up. No one can escape from there while under the influence of Narthasil's roots. Not even with a power like yours."
Accompanied by the sound of footsteps, the voice slowly took the form of an old, bony, bald man with a long red beard.
The old man who had immobilised Kaen had so many runes covering his face that his features were barely recognisable. He looked strange, but not hostile.
Large black metallic earrings enlarged his lobes, and his long, wizard-like cape was more worn than the rags miners wore daily. One of his hands rested on a long wooden stick that helped the mysterious old man walk.
"A root of what?" Kaen asked, who was still trying to recover. "My head is spinning. What on earth did you give me? I remember those damn mana-filled insects, then the explosion, the smoke, and then nothing else."
"Narthasil roots will ease the pain of the wound on your leg. The numbness and decreased physical strength are only temporary side effects. The stinger pierced your calf, so I decided to medicate you before choosing what to do with you" the old bearded man replied . "I have about half an hour to figure out whether to use your organs as I see fit or be persuaded to let you live! Eheheh!"
When the old man with the tattooed face began to laugh, Kaen knew immediately that he was insane.
Kaen stood still for a few seconds, staring at him.
He had dressed his wounds and saved his life. Why?
No one had ever made such an important gesture for him before. No one in Drosven Hollow helped others, Kaen and Riven had always known that.
Overcoming his usual distrust and mustering an effort to respond was something Kaen had to do. "Thank you for healing my wounds. I wouldn't have been able to get rid of all those strange monsters without your help" he said, trying to locate the pickaxe with his eyes. "May I know who you are and where I am?"
"Where are you? Ehehehe! I don't know what a miner is doing around here, you must be lost!' the old man exclaimed, moving closer to Kaen to look at him. His eyes were golden like amber. "I don't know the name of this place. All I know is that it's very, very deep. It's so deep that those pieces of shit can't find me! It's been a long time since I've met anyone. You know, I haven't had many visitors lately."
As he spoke, the strange old man turned his head left and right, imitating the gestures of an intrigued animal. "Oh, right! My name? It's Theryn Mistwater. You can call me... Theryn. Mistwater. Theryn Mistwater."
If Kaen had previously only suspected that old Theryn had a few screw loose, he was now certain.
Suddenly, the HUD reappeared.
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[Mana Density Nearby: LOW]
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"Low density? " Kaen realised from reading the HUD that he must have been facing a mage or someone who wielded a magical artefact.
He clenched his fists and felt the power of the Void flowing through his veins again. At that very moment, he realised that he could break the straps with ease by using the power of the Void.
"What about you? Who are you, and what are you doing here? What drives a miner from Drosven Hollow all the way down here?" Theryn asked. The old man took a step back, pointing his staff at Kaen and changing his expression from friendly to suspicious.
A Mage? If Theryn had been a mage, it would have been preferable to knock him out before he could cast a spell, despite what he did for Kaen.
However, even if he had gained a new skill, killing another mage would have earned Kaen more Fragments of Null, the essential currency for increasing the level of resonance with the Void.
"My name is Kaen. I ended up here because I got lost" he replied, acting. "If you would free me and show me the way out, I would be very grateful. I would leave immediately" he continued, trying to gauge his interlocutor's reaction.
Kaen opened and closed his hands, ready to break the straps and kill Theryn in cold blood. He didn't care that he had saved him. If he had been a mage, death would have been the consequence. Getting stronger was all that mattered.
"Um, you got lost, you say? Yeah, you looked like a poor lost puppy while you were fighting those scorpids. Actually, letting you go would be a real shame. Did you know that the bile in your liver is a powerful antioxidant and thickener when combined with mineral powders such as sablevein, quartz, or obsidian? Oh, lord, I was once considered the best alchemist in Veyrad."
Although Theryn's monologue had been incredibly fast, Kaen sensed a nostalgic tone in his last sentence.
In fact, as he focused on the details of the room, he noticed things that had previously escaped his attention.
An enormous desk was filled with several rows of vials, ampoules, bottles, stills of all sizes and shapes, distillers, scales and other strange laboratory equipment. Next to the desk stood an oven, alongside many glass cases containing animal parts, strange herbs, roots, and bizarre pieces of unknown creatures.
Theryn may have been telling the truth. But why was there an alchemist in a wizard's cloak living completely alone in the depths of Drosven Hollow?