Ultimate Level 1

Chapter 346: Hope Offered

“You want us to do what?” Stacy asked. “Touch you?”

Nodding, Max focused on the group of men he had stacked on top of each other, each of them face down, chest to back, hands and feet still immobilized by their stone bindings.

“I’m going to straddle them, and then I just need everyone to touch me somewhere. This should work.”

“Dear Ockrim, I’m too pretty to die,” Fowl muttered as he watched Max climb on top of the older man’s back and stretch his legs as far as possible to touch them all.

“Okay, now you all touch me. Sooner we do this, the sooner we can get home and enjoy some time away from all the prying eyes.”

Everyone moved quickly, anxious not to have to worry about the townspeople, who were gathered around corners or peeking out of windows at what Max had been doing the last ten minutes.

Once he was certain everyone was touching him, he gave a small prayer that everything would work like Bob had promised.

[ Planetary Travel - Waypoints ]

A purple portal washed over all of them, stretching to fit everyone, and one moment they were in the center of town at the stone steps, the next they were about twenty yards from the house in a section of the overgrown yard.

“What?… We… How?” his mother started to say before turning and heaving.

Laughing, Max swung his leg over and climbed off Terrance, grinning as the rest all looked a bit pale.

“It should pass.”

No sooner had he spoken those words, than both his sister and father began to vomit, followed by the men stacked on top of each other.

“You should do something about that,” Tanila stated as she pointed at the mess of men.

The stones began to move, and soon each of the attendants were seated with their hands and feet in front of them.

“Let us go! We didn’t do anything but obey orders!”

Max turned to the one who had called out, seeing the rest of his companions nodding in agreement.

“Tell you what. I’ve got a skill that detects if you’re lying. Answer what I ask truthfully, and I won’t kill you. Lie, and I’ll make you beg for death, because I’ve learned to make men suffer for a very long time.”

Unsure whether the attendant was grimacing from the vomit that covered his robes and face or those words, Max leaned in close, putting his fingers on the man’s wrist. Like some racing animal, the heart inside his captive was racing.

“Has anyone ever been unskilled when you traveled through the towns for Choosing Day?”

“Do not answer that question!” Terrance shouted.

A wave of pressure came, and Max turned, sensing it as he stared at the older man, his eyes looking ready to hurl daggers at him.

He could feel the attendant’s body tighten, and looking back saw his mouth wasn’t working no matter how hard it appeared he wanted to.

“What did you do?”

“They don’t answer to you,” Terrance growled.

A cry came from inside the house, and a young teen girl came out, letting out a shriek at seeing the collection of men, women, and other races present.

Stacy didn’t wait, moving quickly to where the girl was, holding the baby tight and shaking like a leaf in a windstorm.

“I got her. You can go. Thank you, Nickie!”

“What… who are these people? Why are—”

“Don’t worry about it,” Max’s mom said as she moved to where the girl was. “Everything is okay now. Max is home.”

Nickie’s mouth fell open, and she turned, looking at Mrs. Hoste and then at Max, who waved at her.

“You’re talking! And he’s supposed to be dead! How?”

“It’s a long story,” Stacy replied. “Now, I’ll pay you later if–”

“No need,” Tanila declared as she moved forward, handing a gold coin to the young girl. “If you’re smart, you’ll forget what you saw and wait till you’re needed again.”

Opening and closing her mouth a few times the young girl gaped at both the coin and the elven woman.

“Yes! Thank you!”

Glancing around once more, Nickie turned and ran off back toward town.

Max’s mom turned and looked at her house, and he saw her frown.

“It’s okay, Mom. We got somewhere else to stay instead.”

Fowl nodded and moved to a section a bit away from the house and pulled out a tent that was about ten feet by ten feet.

“How can everyone fit in there?”

“It’s magic,” the dwarf answered. “Now come on inside. We’ve got food and drink waiting!”

Max motioned to his mother and sister, who followed the others, leaving just him and his dad with the men that had been captured.

“You okay, Dad?”

His father scratched at the scruff on his face and frowned.

“I… I thought you were dead, and your mother… she… she didn’t handle it well. And then your sister got pregnant, and with what had been said about you…”

His dad trailed off, motioning to the property.

“It’s been hard, and if I’m honest, I’m not sure we could have lasted much longer. I’ve sold everything. How? What happened? How are you so strong?”

Taking a deep breath, Max rubbed his bald head.

“Let me deal with these men, and then I’ll tell you, Mom, and Stacy later. Okay?”

“What are you going to do to them?”

He could see the concern in his father’s eyes but also the way his dad was shaking.

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“Let me handle this. Just know, things will be better. I promise.”

Max watched as his dad nodded and turned to head toward the tent that everyone had disappeared into. After two steps he turned and moved quickly to his son, embracing him and sobbing a few times.

There in the yard he had grown up on, remembering having been hurt before, having been the one to cry, and having been held by his dad, Max returned the hug and said the same thing he had heard many times.

“It’s alright. Tomorrow brings a new day and a new chance at life.”

Laughter and sniffing came as his dad lifted up his head and grinned.

“Touché.”

“I’ve waited my whole life for that one,” Max replied. “Now go inside. I’ll be there in a few.”

As his father walked away the man moved to where Terrance was and spit on him.

“Whatever happens, just know it won’t be enough to make you suffer as we did.”

Laughing, Max shook his head.

“Don’t worry, Dad, it will be.”

***

Walls rose up as stone from underneath the ground came when he beckoned it.

I could totally own the rock quarry market with this ability.

Yes… nothing better than using something so powerful to earn some gold.

Laughing, he didn’t care, and the looks the men were giving him as walls began to form and a building was created from a single piece of stone caused many of them to cry out.

Holding two lightstones, Max tossed them inside.

“I’m going to go enjoy something I should have never been forced to miss out on. You four right now are not in as much trouble as Terrance is. Stay quiet, relax, and later when I come to do what I must, perhaps you can make it out of here alive and still sane.”

“You don’t know who you’re messing with!”

Laughing, Max shook his head and stared down at the old man.

“No… none of you realize who you’ve messed with,” he replied before sealing up the building except for a few air holes.

***

Laughter came as everyone spent time talking and eating.

It pained Max to see his parents trying not to stuff their faces, but Fowl was a great host, playing up the try this role over and over.

Tanila and he laughed as his sister’s daughter, Callie, laughed and cooed as they played with her.

“She’s Caleb’s, isn’t she?” Max asked when Tanila had taken the baby to where Batrire and Cordellia had sat.

A small nod came as his sister frowned.

“I… I thought he loved me, yet… now I know I was nothing more than something to conquer. If I ever see him again, I’m going to kick his ass!”

Max pulled her in and hugged her, unable to wipe away the smile that had been there since they entered the tent, even when she sobbed silently against him.

“I’ve missed you, sis. Thank you for saving me.”

“Thank you for saving me today,” she replied, blinking and staring at him. “How? How did I get these skills? Your dwarf friend seems to think there is no way this is possible!”

Shrugging, Max turned and watched Fowl, who was building a snack out of meat, cheese, and fresh bread.

“I have a friend who helped, but I wasn’t expecting all that. Just know the system gave you what it felt you deserved. You have the heart of a warrior, and I think it recognized that. You will have to be pretty strong to face what will happen next. The real question is, are you able to?”

“What’s coming next?”

Ruffling her messed-up hair, Max winked.

“Word will get out that you’re my sister and have three powerful skills. Many will try to recruit you, and there will be a lot of offers to help you. I have some friends who would be willing to take care of you. A faction that I’m part of and would do you right. I’m certain you could take Callie with you, and they will help care for her as you go adventuring.”

She scoffed and shook her head.

“You just got here and already want to ship me off?! What about Mom and Dad?”

“Look at them,” he replied. “They’re happy. Knowing I’m alive. Seeing you get three skills. They have their own battles, but at the end of the day, what matters is that we are all okay. Besides, Mom and Dad can join you if they want.”

Max turned to see both of his parents staring at him.

“We can what?” his mother asked.

“You two can join Stacy and her daughter in the capital. I have friends there who can provide for everything you would ever need. You could run a shop, make clothes, or you could retire. Dad could get land and run sheep out there or spend all his time spoiling his granddaughter. In the end, you only need to decide where and how you want to live.”

“You’re leaving us?!”

“It’s okay, dear. He’s alive.”

Max watched as his mom glared at her husband and then sighed, nodding and stroking the scruff on his dad’s face.

“That is true… for so long… I’m sorry… I… I lost all hope.”

He pulled her close, and everyone stood there silently as the pair hugged, both crying as they released the pain of how they had really felt.

A hand snaked around his arm, and Max smiled, squeezing it and looking at Stacy.

“You’re a bastard,” she whispered.

“Which makes you one as well, right?”

Laughing, she laid her head against his arm.

“Promise me if you see Caleb, you’ll punch him for me.”

“I would… but I’d probably kill him with one punch.”

A cry for food came, and since it wasn’t Fowl, Stacy sighed and moved to where Callie was starting to fuss.

“Sorry, but I must feed her, or she’ll be a pain. Is there somewhere I can do this in private?”

“Follow me,” Tanila said as she led her to another partitioned area in the tent.

“Son, can we talk?” his mom asked.

Max nodded as both his parents came to where he was.

“Are you safe? I mean… those men… what they represent. Everyone knows the power of the adventurers guild.”

Squeezing his mom’s shoulder, Max nodded.

“I’m fine. Trust me, I’m the one person they don’t want to upset. Besides, where I’m offering you four to go has a place none will venture to touch you. I’m serious. Ask any of my family over there. Not even the queens themselves would bother you.”

Both parents glanced at the three who remained, all having moved a little closer and nodding.

“You’ve raised a fine man,” Cordellia said. “There aren’t many humans I would trust with my life, but he is one of them. Even more, he has saved me countless times and helped me be a better person. The love he has for everyone had to come from you two.”

“Oh, don’t blame me,” Max’s dad replied. “That’s all his mother!”

Laughter came as a few tears trickled down the cheeks of the woman who raised Max.

“She’s right, Mom. I’m here today because of the man you helped me be.”

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