The Dead King

Chapter 35 - Family Reunion

Sullivan Marin wouldn't have exactly called his mission a success. In fact, his recruitment effort had ended with less than desirable results. When he left Nocturne Castle with plans of bringing strong allies to his Kingdom, he envisioned at least three new subordinates returning with him.

Instead, he had one. Granted, the doctor was very powerful, but returning back home with just one new ally left Marin with disappointment.

With the original plan of going to the crime-ridden city of Tarenfall, Marin hoped that the impoverished state of the city would help open the door of potential recruits to his Kingdom. Instead, the fateful encounter with the Scarlet Eye brought nothing but trouble and heartache.

In fact, Marin was so fed up with the unwanted situations in the city, that when the bandits had finally been dealt with, he wanted nothing more than to head home and cut the mission short.

He hoped that the last minute offer to Travis would result in at least one more member to his kingdom, but he had made it clear that he wanted nothing more to do with the mysterious undead king.

Marin held the reigns of the cart he sat on. Gus and Eisen were in the wagon behind him, sitting and talking about anything under the sun. All around them in the cart were the doctor's belongings, his stuff that was being transferred to the castle, his new home for the time being.

At each stop, the horses were fed and cared for, and during the nights, they stayed at the city's inns. Marin and Gus were even happy to see Elmo again at the Stonefield Inn in Tresdor. They stayed up late that night, telling Elmo all about their travels and what the city was like.

They were now on the road back into White Forest. They would be home soon. There was one more important stop that had to made though. Marin had made Gus promise that he would resolve all issues with his father, in exchange of Marin teaching him the ice element. When they would reach Whitewood City, Gus would have to make good on the deal.

"Are you nervous?" Marin had asked Gus, knowing that the young lad had not contacted his father in anyway for almost five years.

"A little. My biggest fear is that he's grown bitter from my actions, and will reject me," Gus responded back.

"Whatever the case, you will have done your part. He will know where you live, and they are welcome to visit you or even join us at anytime," Marin warmly offered.

"Gus may not want that," Eisen interjected, leaning in the back of his cart by one of his dusty suitcases. "I'm sure he left his father for a good reason."

"No," Gus quickly fired back. "After all these years I think I've realized I was the one with the problem, and it took living on my own to realize that. I was crazy kid when I lived in Whitewood. I was always getting into trouble," he admitted.

"Everyone grows up eventually, Gus. I'm glad you're finding your way," Marin concluded with.

As they neared the outskirts of the city, Gus's anxiety built. Confronting his father after all this time would not be an easy task for him. He knew though, that this was something he must do. It was a small price to pay to have the great Sullivan Marin as his personal teacher, after all. He just hoped he would be able to get the hang of using an element.

Gus had asked the two elemental masters in the cart if some were completely unable to use elemental abilities.

It was rare, they explained, that some could never contact the power plane. That was the realm that all forms of the elements were pulled from. If that were the case, Gus would be considered elementally inept.

Other than that, some had a knack for pulling from the power plane, and others found it quite difficult. Time would tell where Gus lie on the spectrum.