Chapter 21
"The Wastes?" Slade asked again, certain he had heard him wrong. Runciman was already packing up his bag.
"Yes indeed. And it means I have precious little time," Runciman said, cinching up his bag and tossing it over his shoulder. He picked up the lantern on the table and fixed it onto the top of a staff. Slade stared at it as the flame died and a dull blue light lit from within it.
"What is that?" Slade asked.
"An aether staff. A weapon of the Artificers," Runciman explained.
"You're an Artificer??" Slade exclaimed.
"I was once. There are no Artificers any longer," Runciman answered, exiting the library. Runciman was tall with long legs and even longer strides. Slade found himself jogging to keep up.
They turned the edge of the school and were headed toward the edge of town. At this point, Runciman paused and stared at Slade.
"Pardon, but... what are you doing?" Runciman asked.
"I'm going with you," Slade answered.
"This is not an evening out young man. This is..." Runciman began, then paused.
"You don't plan to come back," Slade answered.
"No. I do not," Runciman answered.
"Then I need to go with you. Because neither do I," Slade said.
"That doesn't mean you have to come with me."
"Yes it does."
"Why?"
"Because I have nowhere else to go."
Runciman paused for a moment, staring into the fierce eyes of the young man.
"My life doesn't mean anything. If you're about to try to stop something bad from happening, and I die helping you, then at least I had that. At least my death meant something, even if my life didn't," Slade said.
"My boy, I am so very sorry the world has damaged you this much that you truly believe your life has meant nothing," Runciman said. Slade shook his head.
"It's okay. That's just life sometimes eh?" Slade answered.
"If we die, no one will likely know why. You will not be remembered as some hero," Runciman stated.
"I'll know," Slade said. Runciman stared into the distance for a moment.
"Sadly I don't have the time to argue. Let's be off," Runciman said.
YOU ARE READING
Engineer's Empire
FantasíaA long journey that I literally walked through the fire to save. It was the one thing I managed to save when my house burned to the ground a year ago. I'm putting it out here for the first time for people to read. Please let me know what you think a...
