"I can cut off your arm right now, and you won't have to worry about the solra anymore. It won't be painless, but if you have a priest or nurse do it, they might miss some Solra or make it even worse."
"So, what will it be?"
Samael looks at the man with a fiery determination in his eyes. His mind goes back to when he encountered Shivaxi in his mind space. He spoke so highly, so confidently, and now he was going to prove that it was a lot more than just talk.
"Take my arm. I'd much rather die than become a slave to Shivaxi. Besides, there are plenty of legendary one-armed warriors. I'll just add to the list!"
Samael prepared himself for the strike, his face sweating, heart pounding out of his chest, with his whole body shaking. But still his eyes stay sharp and determined. He is ready.
"Sorry, Ezra, but you'll have to cover my right for a bit, just until I adjust, that's all."
The strike was swift; you could barely see it happen. The spear flew through the air without an ounce of hesitation. But Samael's arm was still there. The man stopped his blade.
The man was very confused, because in front of his spear's blade stood Ezra's left shoulder.
"What are you doing?"
Ezra, with a wide smile and sweaty face, answered while nervously shaking.
"I can't let my rival fall behind, if I'm guarding his right, they might start to slack off! So I'll leave him no choice but to watch my left."
Samael is left speechless; he even cringes a little. And the blind man breaks into uncontrollable laughter.
"That's so stupid!"
He continues to laugh while mocking Ezra.
"I'll leave him no choice but to guard my left. Hahaha, oh my! That's so lame!"
The man catches his breath and wipes his tears, slowly regaining his composure.
"Alright, alright. I'm done now. Listen, I like you boys, so I'm going to open a door for you. There's a third route you can follow. You could learn aura before the solra spreads to your body."
Samael falls onto the floor with a sigh of relief. Yes, he's determined, but it's nice to know that he doesn't have to lose an arm. After a bit of thinking, Samael and Ezra look at each other and then look at the blind man.
"Why didn't you start with that?"
The man puts his spear away while clearing his throat.
"Well, in normal circumstances, that option would be impossible for you. The closest aura master's dojo is a while away. It would probably take you about a month to get there with minimum rest and breaks, and that arm of yours only has a week with the wall I made for you. And not to mention, you were staying in a cheap inn, so you probably can't even afford the fee to learn aura."
Samael crosses his arms and ponders what the blind man said; he was right. His arm is a massive liability. They don't have good means of transportation, and they don't even know where the aura master is, much less how much the fee costs. Samael slowly turns his head towards Ezra.
"Don't look at me, I'm all out. And I can't withdraw any either, if I do, my family will know exactly where I am, and that won't be good."
The man clears his throat again to get the attention of the boys.
"Here's the opportunity I'm giving you. I'm setting out for that town very soon. There's a special type of alcohol only brewed there, and I've been craving some. You could follow me, but I won't protect you; you'll have to feed and fend for yourself. But you could come to me once a week for that arm of yours."
He throws them a map of the route he'll be taking.
"This is the route I'm taking, it's treacherous and unforgiving. The terrain is rough, the weather is horrible, and the stops in that area don't offer inns. I leave in two days, you'll find me in this spot at sunrise."
The man walks off and leaves the boys with a few parting words.
"If you're even a second late, I'll assume you went to the church or something for your arm, and if that's the case, enjoy your life. It was nice meeting you boys."
Samael and Ezra stare at each other, still confused and shocked from the whole interaction. Samael opens the map and becomes even more dumbfounded. The map shows deep forest, jagged peaks, and vast fields of swamp. Samael sees an easier and faster way on the map, but it's as if it's intentionally avoided. And at the bottom there's a little note. A note that reveals the aura master charges 10 platinum coins to teach you aura.
The price makes Samael fall onto his back, reading the note over and over again, making sure he reads correctly. But Samael smacks himself on the cheek and gets laser-focused; he won't let this stop his determination.
"Samael, you look like you have an idea on how we could make 10 platinum coins in two days."
"Actually, I have two, one is really risky, and I don't have high hopes for it, but the second one might work. How good are you at cards and gambling?"
"Never did either in my life."
Samael plants his hand into his face and sighs. He gets up from the floor and dusts himself off.
"Idea two, it is, get some rest. Because tomorrow we're going to the adventurers' guild."
The morning comes, and Ezra and Samael are up early to head for the guild. As they pass through, they encounter children showing off to their friends tricks with a football. They see merchants being bartered and negotiated with. They pass by many weapons stores with fancy-looking swords, and they are a bit sad because of their lack of funds.
Eventually, they reach the adventurers' guild and speak to the receptionist. The receptionist is a stubby man with a long beard and an eye patch. A half-dwarf, maybe? He greets the boys with a welcoming attitude.
"What can I do for you boys?"
Ezra and Samael approach the desk filled with determination and excitement.
"We'd like to register as adventurers!"
The receptionist releases an obnoxious laugh while patting his belly.
"I knew you boys would be coming soon, you're the ones who swept up a little storm on your way into this town. I'd be glad to help you register. I just need your names and age to start."
"Samael Grimoire, I'm 16 years old."
"Ezra Larind, I'm also 16 years old."
Samael pauses and stares at Ezra with a face of fear and despair. The receptionist is frozen and starts to shake nervously."
"L- Larind, you say, you surely don't mean that family, do you?"
Ezra smiles at him and pulls a tablet with his family's crest on it from his belt. Samael drops to his knees, thinking about how everything is over because Ezra forgot how notorious his family is.
Ezra looks at Samael, confused.
"What's wrong with you? And why are you on the floor?"
"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? You just told him what family you're from! Now the town guards are gonna come and raid us, or worse, your family's gonna come!"
Ezra scratches his head and realizes that Samael isn't aware of the guild's absolute neutrality.
"Ohhh, yeah, you don't know this, but the adventurers' guild is a neutral party. So they won't call guards on me, and they aren't allowed to contact my family about me."
"Now stop being so dramatic and let's get registered."