Short Lived Relaxation Attempt

Well, things might be calming down for the light dragon slayer. He’d spent a few days in Magnolia, and although he really wasn’t at his best, he was no longer at his worst. It was a bit sad that he could consider that a consolation prize, but looking at how he’d handled his first two jobs since the tournament? Well… it was pretty special to him. Sure he hadn’t encountered any real fighting, but if he had, it probably would have only fueled him. Like a sad person thinking only of their troubles. He was a man who fueled his rage with violence. It came from a feeling of entitlement, a feeling that he was so wronged that all he could control were his fists. It was childish, but if he trashed around long enough he would find some solace. That was how it had been, but Celtor had taught him better. His mentor would have been ashamed of this. Mentor, father-figure. It was so strange for Kade. He had parents, ones he could remember. He knew their names, he recognized their faces in his memory, but he’d spent twice as long with his dragon father. Maybe he felt unworthy, maybe he felt abandoned… either way, he was most likely to call Celtor by his first name than “father.” Even though the emotional attachment was certainly still there.

228/500

Kade still had an edge to him. Things hadn’t gone as he’d planned, and that helped, but he still needed more time. He still hoped that seeing the people he was meant to protect would calm him. Sure, this was Magnolia and not “his” town… but they were still his people. Being a dragon slayer meant far more than just taking what came to him. It was something special and he had a legacy to live up to. His father and mentor’s legacy. So he decided to take a small break from his questing and go to the fair. It was in town, and he hadn’t been to one in ages. He always found those events fascinating. Generally filled with youth and life. Families on an outing, teenagers going on dates, friends competing over winning toys. It was perfect for what he needed right now. He bought himself a ticket and walked inside.

Within minutes he was approached by the manager. Is this what happened when he wore a sleeveless shirt? People just kept walking up to him asking if he had time to help them? Well, that was awesome. Perhaps he should start doing that more often. It didn’t seem to bother anyone that he was far from home.

438/500

The manager of course asked about the tattoo, and introduced himself as Sir Renold. Kade did his best to be pleasant, finding himself out of practice. Luckily for both of them it was Kade’s nature to be a friendly guy. He shook Renold’s hand, though it wasn’t a second after that when Renold began explaining his plight. He spoke quickly with urgency in his voice. Children had been disappearing from the area.

“What?!” Kade asked immediately. His tone turned serious, his expression solemn. That was serious. Were they being hurt? Kidnapped? Well Renold didn’t know all the details. He just knew that it was a serious problem and he was worried. As a business man he was worried this would ruin the fair, but as a human being he worried about all the children. This needed to stop, and the children needed to be found. He didn’t want to alarm anyone though. So… if Kade could just handle this, it would be great. “Yes. I will look for them. Do you have any idea where they have been going missing from, primarily?” he asked. Renold gave him about a fourth of the fairground to search through. It wasn’t especially helpful, but Kade wasn’t going to complain. It was something, and he was a fast worker.

653/500

As it turned out Renold really didn’t know what he was talking about. Kade found nothing helpful in the area that he’d been directed to. So he quickly started exploring the rest of the fair. It was a bit of a shame he wouldn’t get to enjoy the fair. It seemed like a lot of effort had been put into the event, and it was making a lot of people happy. More unfortunate was that this same event was now a danger for children. Kade continued walking quickly, examining everything as he went, watching people for suspicious behavior, and relying on all his advanced senses.

He noticed a strange purple color in his peripheral vision. Purple… it wasn’t his favorite color, and not innately sinister, but something about the tint caught his attention. He turned and realized it was a purple light coming from the Ferris wheel. Kade ventured in that direction, not hesitating to check out anything that could possibly be a lead.

When he got close enough the area started to seem murky. As if the air itself were darker. Kade was a creature of light, and this didn’t sit well with him, but it did make him think this must be the right area. The second sign that this was where Kade needed to be was the creepy man standing there, watching him.

879/500

Kade cleared his throat, “So… hello. Fancy… meeting anyone around here,” he said, eyeing the man. He could hear some movement nearby, but couldn’t see anything. The area was too dark. He knew it was magical darkness though. He’d seen enough of Ren’s magic to know a good shadow magician. This man was good in no sense of the word. Kade didn’t get a “competent fighter” vibe from him, and he certainly couldn’t have benevolent intentions. He looked like he’d been rolling around in soot, and wore all black. Also he seemed to be rocking back a forth a bit. When he started laughing Kade cringed. Yeah, he wasn’t all there.

“Fancy indeed. Want to join my party?” he asked as he laughed. A sword formed in his hand, fluctuating for a moment before it took on its permanent form. A shadow. Lovely. A shadow sword. Kade took a deep breath, it seemed like he was finally going to get that fight he’d been looking for for days.

“I’d be glad to,” Kade said with a roll of his eyes. He pulled out his bow, then created a magical arrow from his hand. The area lit up immediately, much to this wizard’s irritation. Maybe it was irritation. Or… amusement? It was really hard to tell, he just kept giggling. Before Kade could finish the man moved toward him. Kade shot an arrow at him. The sword moved from its owner’s hand, blocking the arrow. Well, at least he’d learned a tactic. Now to take the guy out.

1136/500

Here came the sign that Kade hadn’t fully recovered from his temper tantrum. There was a certain amount of energy that Kade could exert to gauge this man. From there he could use only the necessary amount of violence to subdue him. Maybe even talk to him, if he wasn’t giggling like a school girl with a sword. That didn’t even cross Kade’s mind. Fight, good. End thought process. Or end the relevant part, the rest of his thoughts mostly amounted to figured out where to strike each time he moved.

Kade’s eyes glowed white and his aura became even brighter. His speed increased greatly as he ran toward the man. He didn’t even really need to use his magic now. The man couldn’t block, and Kade took a few punches at the man, then chopped his arm. He did a leg sweep before raising his knee to knock the man back with his blinding block. The man went flying backwards, his spells all deactivating as he was knocked either unconscious or incoherent.

Kade dusted himself off as he looked around, ceasing to glow. As the shadows faded all the missing children appeared, running from their captivity. He did his best to calm them and walk with them out of the area. He would return for the wizard and take him somewhere to be imprisoned. He didn’t need to be free to do this again. At least Kade had properly helped people today. Still, he could feel the itch to fight more.

1388/500