Chương 33: Chapter 32 - That’s Your Prerogative

"One almost has to think you're building a new agricultural center here Mister… hmm I suppose you don't have a surname, do you?"

"Sister… what brings you here?" I asked, looking over at her and trying to maintain an air of 'nothing to see here' energy.

"I didn't hear any screaming, is Darla still in labor?"

"False contractions I'm afraid," Gwendoline admitted with a smile before gesturing to the spot next to me.

"May I sit?"

"Um… sure, I guess," I said cautiously, trying my best not to jump to conclusions about why she was deciding to bother me. I'd been sitting on a chair near the back of my cabin, looking out at the cleanly cut channels running down from the raised, slightly ornate basins at the start of each one. The fields that I'd managed to get planted in the last week were seeing perfect levels of watering thanks to just how Bram went wild with my project.

A simple system of channels had become massively improved by the inclusion of various sluice gates, drip-through bottlenecks, and a drainage system that ensured no field ever actually got waterlogged. It didn't even take him all that long once he'd finished my project before he moved on to starting the more public plan after it had–unsurprisingly–been quickly approved by the community as a whole.

To be fair though, they really would have had to be stupid to vote against the kid over something like "easily accessible, clean water." I was finally making real progress of my own. Two of the main fields had been planted with barley now that my Property Interface listed the Soil Quality as "Above Average" and another two were filled with wheat.

Small sprouts were already showing thanks to the Speed Potion—something usually meant to increase a person's reflexes—that I'd mixed into the fertilizer, and the single field I'd started to grow my hop rhizomes in wasn't going to be all that far behind. I even had most of the field's trellises dug in so that they'd be able to grow upward in no time at all.

Though I didn't tell anyone, I'd used my Translocate spell a few days earlier and teleported myself to Gold's Lodge, then snuck off into the forest and flew myself as quickly–and discreetly–as I could to Hedgely. All just so I could buy a few dozen barrels of fertilizer, one at a time just so no one asked how I was transporting them. The biggest problem with Translocate was that the spell only allowed me to move just myself and only to places I had physically been since I woke up on each reset. Well…

that plus the ridiculous amount of reagents you needed to expend. While Manticore Dust normally made the spell cheap to cast thanks to its Phasing property, unless you were actively delving into Frontier Dungeons, finding it was nigh on impossible. Thankfully, if you didn't have that, the spell simply took from your supply until it determined the value was equal.

In this case, taking all of my Blue Fairy Bulbs, Duskroot, and then every last bit of the remaining Lion's Dawn parts I had kept just to get me to Gold's Lodge and then back to my cabin from Hedgely. It was worth it though. Because my fields were thriving and not even Gwendoline suddenly standing over me was going to bring me down from that… well… at least not just by existing in my presence.

"So what can I do for you? I can't imagine I have anything you need to help with Darla," I said, cutting through the small bit of silence that had come over us as she took in the fields.

"If you were further along you might, if I'm not mistaken that field over there has been prepared for magical reagents, no?" she asked, pointing out toward a smaller plot I had set up on the back edge closest to the Grand Oak Forest's treeline.

"Well, I am an Alchemist," I said with a shrug. It was pointless trying to hide that I was growing them. The more I tried to downplay and hide things, the more I realized just how much more suspicious that made me. Up front… er… honesty was the quickest way to quash those pesky theories. If Gwendoline was going to have to bother me, I was gonna be just plain old, Manaway-abandoning, Corbin the Alchemist… that was going to brew ale.

"There's always going to be a use for the reagents and I'm honestly a bit tired of being stuck at level five. I'd like to be able to create more consistent, higher quality mixes."

"I suppose that makes enough sense," she agreed with a smile, then didn't press further. After a few quiet moments where I almost began to think this was just a random if casual visit, she dashed that hope.

"I received a… privileged message this morning."

"Oh? And that concerns me?" I asked, trying not to sound short.

"If you'd like to think it doesn't, I suppose that's your prerogative, but I think you and I both know there's more to you than you let on," she said pointedly, her hands clasped atop her lap, even as she kept her eyes on my land. I somehow managed to keep my mouth shut, taking a second before condemning myself with the first denial that came to mind. I mentally counted to five, then breathed out.

"What do you mean by that, Sister?" To that, she just let out a sigh, shaking her head lightly. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"I may not have the Prince's Royal Trait, but I do have common sense. I'd be a poor Sister if I couldn't read between the lines. But if you insist on having me say it aloud, I will," she said, looking at me as if to offer me one last chance to speak up.

"Say what's on your mind," I said, refusing to go along with it.

"Why are you running from us, Corbin?" Gwendoline asked, rather somberly.

"I could have left it alone… maybe you were afraid of the prophecy… I know I am… Her hands tightened and she looked down at them.

"While I haven't brought this to the Steward just yet… I thought you should know that Lord Drake has called for a thorough investigation to find his son's attacker. He's called it a direct insult to his name."

"That's really bad news for that other Corbin," I said, lifting a glass of water to my lips. Just keep acting unbothered… I had to shake her confidence. Sheesh… I really was grasping at straws.

"Lord Drake specifically asked for Prince Frederick to sponsor the Southern Highland Investigators, bear witness to their findings, and to allow them to mete out punishment as he specifically sees fit…"

"Wow, I kinda feel–""Will you stop it already? It might have taken me a moment, but I recognize you from that day… you must know that by now. You might have ditched the odd garments… you might have grown your hair even… but I'm not blind." I sighed, then took another sip of water, finishing off my glass before I refilled it, even taking the time to offer some to Gwendoline who, to my surprise, accepted it… I pulled a second glass from my bag, poured it for her from the skin and then sat back down. I could fight it…

could keep denying… but if one thing had become painfully clear over the last few weeks, it was that the prophecy didn't care even the barest sliver of dawn what I wanted to do. And I was just so… so tired of it. And who knows… maybe some level of honesty would work this time… it sorta had with Daniel and Willow. Even if the latter was still giving me ample space.

"I just want to brew ale, Gwen…" I said, letting my shoulders drop, even as her eyes went wide at my casual use of a nickname I hadn't heard her ask me to call her in lifetimes.

"Frederick… the prophecy… there's nothing good at the end of all that… I wish there was but… there just isn't…"

"You… you can't know that… not even the Fates…"

"Those old hags don't know boarshit," I snapped, causing her to flinch at the word… she never did like swears.

"Have you ever considered that they made the prophecy just to cause the end of the world? That they made it to… to destroy all the other worlds that could threaten the 'sanctity' of theirs?" She stopped to take a light sip, her eyes staring thousands of yards away while looking right at the ground ahead of us.

"I… nobody has called me Gwen since I was just a girl… before I ever got to Shinecliff… Why… Who are you, Corbin?" I stood up, taking a few steps forward and looking out at the fields again.

"I don't want to answer that… it really would be the end if I did," I admitted, clutching my glass a bit harder.

"I… don't understand." I'd explained the loops to her… to Frederick… Dusk, even to Gregory once and somehow that was always their response. Like, the idea that I could live the prophecy over and over again just somehow didn't meld with what they each devoutly believed about their destiny. Maybe it was because it meant someone could know how they'd react the majority of the time. So I was more than ready for her to call me crazy…

"Do you stand with Dawn or Dusk?" I raised a brow, looking over my shoulder at her. She didn't look defensive, or accusatory surprisingly. No, she was just… curious?

"You know, if I had it my way, I'd try and get both of those classes of spells disabled around here with how much fighting they cause… I mean seriously, why does everyone think you have to choose one of them?"

"Because… because the prophecy…" she started, but trailed off as she thought about it. I let the silence linger for a bit, crossing my arms as I listened to the faint sound of work drifting in the wind from the road and Danwood. Once I realized I'd apparently stumped her–I'd have to remember that one just in case–I decided to start figuring out the immediate danger.

"So… how long until Drake's stooges get here? And I assume Frederick's riding as fast as Lightstrider will carry him?"

"How– er… Lord Drake's men should arrive within a fortnight and I believe the Prince should be here within the week. It would seem Sir De Numont has passed on his theory about who you are… and Frederick has requested you stay put until he gets here so he can verify the rumor," Gwendoline said, though there was a noticeable uncertainty in her voice.

"Great…" I muttered.

"You… you really don't want to be our companion… do you?"

"What gave it away?" I asked, then looked over and caught a look from her.

"Sorry… no, I don't. Trust me… it's better off if you don't know why."

"I'm not so sure if that's true…" she said, her lips pulling downward.

"But… to be forced into a role you don't want…" She looked out at my fields again, then back at me with a healthy amount of disbelief still.

"And all this… it's just… for what?"

"For nothing, Gwen… I just want peace… I just want to be left alone," I said. I wasn't begging, because I couldn't let myself be brought to that… but I'd be lying if there wasn't an edge to my tone. She stood up from her chair, finishing her water and offering the empty glass back to me.

"I suppose I can wait a few days before I let the Steward know about the impending visit from Lord Drake's men. It would be irresponsible to leave him entirely unprepared, but a few days should make little difference when they're still a fortnight away."

"Probably not," I agreed, still being careful with my words. I wasn't sure what was different… but there was something. I took her glass and put it away without looking away from her.

"Besides, with an attitude like his son's, well I'm not too sure if anyone here would be able to say for sure if this mystery 'Corbin' is even from or around here. I'm sure that spoiled boy had enemies from one end of the Outer Spoke Road to the other in fact. And… if they didn't find him here, perhaps rumor could spread of him appearing elsewhere." I watched her carefully, taking in what she wasn't saying as much as what she was.

"As for Frederick… well… I have been quite busy preparing Lady Darla… I'm sure he'll understand if I haven't had time to complete my search for him."