The Runic Alchemist

Chapter 780: A Squire’s Journey Back to Her Master

And she was right. Bandits. A bit too close to the town, weren’t they?

Lumi had heard the people talk about bandit attacks being common further north, especially in the forest. They had barely even entered the forest yet. They sure had some balls to be so close.

“Come out one by one, and don’t even think about becoming a hero. We have already buried enough people today. Just do as we say, and we will spare your pitiful lives.”

A middle-aged, bearded grunt said from the end of the wagon, while trying to scare everyone with his big eyes. Daisy buried herself in her mother’s arms. The men present in the wagon eyed each other, only four of them against the dozen armed horse riders. It was no contest at all.

The man in the back, surrounded by his fellow henchmen, was even wearing a green robe – a mage. Probably their leader. Fighting a pathfinder as a mundane human was just plain suicide. The travellers started climbing down the wagon one by one, clutching their loved ones tightly. Lumi’s mother and father eyed her constantly – seeing the smile on her face, they had more or less figured out what was going on in her head.

“Don’t..” her mother whispered.

“Are you sure? Don’t just anger them,” her father added.

Lumi did not answer, though. From the spatial storage hidden under her long sleeves, she had already pulled out a cube and a hand-cannon.

“Wh.. What is that?”

“Chief! A pathfinder!”

The bandits started shouting as the robed mage started chanting loudly. Lumi knew the chanting words very well – Fireball spell.

But before the man could finish even two-thirds, Lumi aimed the hand-cannon straight at his chest and activated the runic tool. A bright burst of light laser was shot at blinding speed, leaving a hand-sized gap in the robed mage’s chest.

The bandits and all the travellers were frozen in shock. It all had happened in barely a minute. Everyone collectively saw the heavy form of the bandit leader fall from the horse. Even the horses were too confused for a second. Only when the figure fell with a loud sound did they all remember to run.

Both horses and bandits ran for their lives as Lumi aimed her cannon at another man. This time, she didn’t try to aim perfectly, though, only blasting some dirt to scare them off. In minutes, they were all gone.

“Wha.. What was that?”

Only Lumi’s father, less scared compared to others, dared to ask.

“A little souvenir from my master,” Lumi replied with a smile.

It took one and a half days for the wagon to finally reach the town called Highland Reach. The border town of Sanctuary. High, towering light blue metal walls covered the whole town area from all around. The giant metal gates were intimidating to say the least. There were giant runic circles inscribed on them with levers attached. The watch-towers were really high.

Lumi recognised the runic symbols very well. It put a smile on her face. Only he could make such a thing. If rumours were to be believed, he even did it in less than 24 hours.

The gates were wide open, but not everyone was allowed to enter or leave. Lumi and her family waited in line for half an hour before it was finally their turn.

“Name?” The official asked through a booth. The two guards stood to the side, blocking their path.

In the narrow path, the steel lever was lowered. Lumi had seen it only rise when the questioning was done. Some were allowed to go in after showing a thin metal card, while others were told to enter the side room to get a temporary ID.

Lumi, along with her family, was given a token ID. They were told to reach the nearest big city to register using the token and get their foreign Sanctum ID card. Only after living in the Sanctuary for two years will they be given the Sanctuary ID. Without that, they couldn’t travel through the waygates.

That was not good news. They had survived one journey and were already tired of riding in the hardwood wagon. Now, going from town to town would take a lot more time and money. They didn’t really have enough to cross halfway to Sanctuary land. If they did that, they wouldn’t be able to buy even a small house.

Lumi did not want to sell her runic tools at any cost.

“Who is in charge of this town?” Lumi asked once they all had the tokens and were let out of the blockage.

“The Highland Reach officials, who else?” the guard replied.

Lumi followed the man’s fingertip and saw the stone villa usually reserved for the nobles. Officials ruling the town instead of nobles? Lumi asked for more details and was surprised after hearing about the new ruling system the Lord Keeper had established.

With hopes of meeting a familiar face, Lumi and her family arrived at the villa. Unfortunately, neither Damian, Sam, Lucian, nor anyone was here at all. The guard was just about to tell them to leave when they heard a voice from above them.

“Asking for the lord keeper directly? Have you not learned to respect your elders, girl?”

She was a beautiful-looking lady in a very pricey and a bit revealing green dress. She was flying. A transcendent, Lumi realised.

“What business do you have with our beloved leader?” the lady asked again.

Lumi shook her head; she was staring at her features for an embarrassingly long time. Lumi cleared her throat, bowed a little with her father, and replied,

“Dam.. Uh, Lord Keeper is my mentor. My name is Luminisha, and I am a squire in the service of Lord Runebreaker.”

“Oh..” The lady showed an amusing reaction. “If I know the man, I don’t think he was ever knighted by anyone.”

Lumii nodded. “When we were in the Highsword Academy, my master was given the title of shieldbearer. I was one of the two fortunate enough to be chosen as his squire, my lady.”