Skele calmed down, trying not to get impatient. He turned to the old man as calmly as he could, though in Amilio's mind, he was failing at this spectacularly. Not to mention, he seemed to have startled the old man with his profuse sweating.
"Hey, old man. Can you lead us to this young man?" Skele barely managed to say without stuttering. He was so excited he wanted to immediately run toward this god sent hope. Unaware of the hope he represented to Skele, the old man answered the question.
"I don't mind, but what's with the sudden interest?" the bewildered man asked. He could see the intense passion in Skele's eyes but had no idea what could possibly ignite such a feeling. It wasn't as if he even knew that young man.
Skele hesitated for a moment, deciding whether to tell the truth, and decided it was better to be honest here.
"I am currently looking for the prison where he is working."
Hearing this, the old man stared at him once again. "Young man, if you appreciate life, don't even look for that place."
Hearing this, Skele felt like life was unfair. It wasn't like he had come here by choice. He wanted nothing to do with that place.His life was far too precious to him. He had been dragged here against his will. Yet, he could only meekly smile and say,
"It's fine. We are stronger than you think. We need to know where that prison is"
"I've heard of young people being reckless, but this is a new one for me," the old man could only sigh.
"After breakfast, I will introduce you to him."
The old man couldn't help but resign himself to this. He could have denied the request, but looking into Skele's eyes, he knew the young man was determined. He might as well help him. Whether he was helping him or sending him to an early grave was another matter altogether.
As he ate his breakfast, Skele couldn't help but look at Amilios. Why did it feel like he was the only one who was excited about this? Amilios looked no different than he usually did.
After the old man finished eating, he took Skele with him. Amilios, who had gone invisible, followed relaxedly from behind. It didn't take many steps before they stopped to knock on the neighbor's door. It was a shabby house that looked barely held together.
A middle aged man opened the door. When he saw the old man, he smiled and welcomed them. As long term neighbours, the two knew each other well. Here in the village , everyone was familiar with each other, and it felt more like a family than in the big cities.
The old man exchanged a few warm words and introduced Skele, who shook hands with the middle aged man. It occurred to Skele that he had gotten so used to calling "old man" that he never learned his name. Would it be weird to ask now? Thankfully, an awkward moment was avoided when the neighbor addressed him as Elder Rasmus.
A young man in his early twenties returned and saw the visitors. He was already familiar with Old Man Rasmus, but he didn't know the man next to him. He introduced himself and made tea for the guests. Skele couldn't wait any longer, as Old Man Rasmus and the middle aged man were jumping from one conversation to another.
"I heard you work at the prison."
Amilios, who heard this, looked at Skele. He had waited patiently for hours, and now that Skele was finally asking a question, it wasn't the right question . Was his brain still working?
Skele, almost as if reading Amilio's thoughts, tried to convey a message with his eyes "Human communication requires certain steps. You can't ask directly without a little warm up."
Amilio nodded. Seeing this, Skele felt happy inside. It was good to teach. In reality, Amilios had no idea what message Skele was trying to convey. He possessed no such skill as reading eyes.
"Ah, yes." The young man looked down, his mood dampened by the mention of the prison. He had only worked there for a year, and that place was terrifying. Why was this man asking him such a question?
Seeing this reaction, Skele knew that the more he danced around the topic, the more annoyed the young man would become. It was better to shoot straight and get it over with.
"Actually, we... I'm looking for the prison's location. Is there any possible way you could tell me where it is?"
The young man looked at Skele and concluded he was a madman. He shouldn't get involved with him in any way. Everyone else was running away from the so called prison, but this guy was looking for it. If he wasn't crazy, what was he?
People thought he had chosen this job. They were absolutely wrong. He had been chosen simply because he had no background and was in the wrong place at the wrong time. His whole village was held hostage, that was how every guard was selected. Absolute loyalty didn't exist, so the noblemen created absolute obedience.
The young man wasn't stupid enough to tell all this to a stranger he had just met. He simply said, "I don't know. We're blindfolded until we get to that island."
An island, huh? This detail didn't escape the notice of either Amilios or Skele.
Skele smiled back and said, "It's fine. Thank you for having me and for the lovely tea. Elder Rasmus lets go home"
Old man Rasmus couldnt help but repeat to himself Home? When did this become your home ? Well it is your inn currently but why does it feel like this guy was truly making it his home. I must be imagining.
Old Man Rasmus said his goodbyes to the family and headed back with Skele. When they got home, Skele offered the old man a few gold coins for his payment and lodging. Old Man Rasmus, being honest, felt he was being paid too much and refused. Skele looked at him and felt he was being underestimated. If he wanted to pay, who dares to refuse.
The money not being from his pocket helped a lot giving whatever. Raiz would call this shameless but skele calls it freedom.
Skele explained that the gold was for the information and the help. As if that wasnt enough, he made another excuse on the spot. Some of his friends and family would be making their way here and would need a place to stay. "Use that gold to build a sturdier inn," he said, "and use the rest however you want"
The old man couldn't refuse this, as it was no longer just a gift but a deal where he would have to welcome guests with a better inn.
Amilios and Skele left that same day, not forgetting to say their goodbyes to the kid, too.
It was only after finally leaving that Skele realized they still didn't know the kid's name. He was fine with it, but what about Amilios? He was his big brother, for God's sake. Shouldn't he at least know his little brother's name?
"What does it matter whether I knew his name or not? I would still be able to recognize him nonetheless," Amilios said plainly. He had gotten so used to calling him "little brother" that the name itself was forgotten.
Amilios and Skele left the village. The villagers could only see Skele as he walked off, but this was just a show. They came back but this time,Skele was now also invisible beside Amilios. Amilios felt the drain on his mana now that it was double, but his mana recovery rate was still stronger.
Amilios and Skele waited for days until it was the young man's turn to go back to the island again. From the information Skele had gathered, the guards weren't given many vacations,just two times a year, and each wouldn't last more than a week.
The young man said his goodbyes to his father. He wouldn't be seeing him for another six months. The emotional farewell ended as he headed for the nearest forest. There, he did something that felt weird to Skele.
He sat down by a tree that had been marked with an 'X'. Then, smoothly, as if he had done this many times before, he took out his blindfold and put it on. He sat down near the tree and waited. Nothing happened for a while, but after an hour, a carriage headed his way.
Two strong men came and picked him up. A third man, driving the cart, opened the door for them. Inside, there were already four other men. He was put inside, and nobody said a word, as this was the standard procedure.
The three men repeated this process continuously, picking up young people as they went. They finally reached a river where different boats were waiting. The young people were loaded onto the boats, which then set sail.
Amilios, was now holding skeles hand as he was flailing in the air. Both of them were still invincible as they flew alongside the boats.
They finally saw a large island after a day of sailing. It looked deceptively beautiful for an island that housed a prison and served the schemes of dirty nobles.