The Burden of Knowledge

It was a sunny morning in Capital Crocus when Ozwald arrived from the Silver Wolf guild halls. It was a good sunny day, warmer than the cold climate that surrounds the guild, though he has traversed through colder climates before. He had himself hire transportation to get to Crocus as quickly as possible, as he somehow knows that nothing good would come if a parcel was to be left unattended in a bookstore for far too long. He would know, for he experienced losing his book delivery when he was on his teens.

He eventually drops himself off by the a bookstore named 'Written Antiques', a bookstore where he knows his brother Francois frequently visits to seek more books to add to his collection. Well, that is also another reason why Ozwald has come to the bookstore - his preordered book, the Wonders of Divination, has just arrived and ready to be taken. Eager to complete his mission as well as get a headstart in reading, he marches inside the bookstore. He takes a quick whiff of the establishment, the indoors smelling like fresh books, just how he likes it. There is no other scent that's good except for the scent of books, that is, if you were a bookworm.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a man wearing casual purple clothes and looks just like him, except his hair is at neck length and slightly curly. He also sports a round pair of correctional glasses. Realizing who it is, he approaches the man, who is none other than his brother, Francois. "Salutations, brother dearest!" he greets him, and Francois fixes his gaze on him and has just realized who greeted him. "Oh, what coincidence! What is an adventurer like you doing in a bookstore?"

"What is a Rune Knight doing in a bookstore?" Ozwald retorts at the banter Francois is engaging with. "Touche. Did you get the book yet? You know, the Wonders of Divination? I heard it details a kind of magic that would allow one to determine one's future." He says as he continues browsing through the shelves, looking for a specific book which is definitely not on the shelf he's in front of. "I was about to pick it up 'till I saw you. I'd love to stick around and chat, but I must see to the guild's duties."

Francois gave him a confused look, for one, he knows his brother is not interested in any guilds. "Guild duties you say? So are you saying you are in a guild?"

Ozwald takes off the glove on his right hand, revealing the guild crest of Silver Wolf. "That is right. Perhaps I've found a place to belong in? Though my heart is still bound to the alumni. There's only so much they can do for Michael that I've decided to join this guild. Heard they were focused on research and the likes." Francois smiles, happy for Ozwald that he found a guild where he could fit in with like minded mages, though he knows he would fit in with any group. "Then I must not keep you ere long. Good luck!" Ozwald gave him a wave before going to the front desk to get the books he need.


"Good day, ma'am! I'm here for mister Benjamin Rellock's book and my preordered book." The bookstore clerk nods and receives the missive Ozwald received from the owner, verifying that he is indeed a Silver Wolf guild member and the recipient of a preordered book. She proceeds to enter a room behind the front desk, looking what seems to be a storage space for reserved books and the like. Ere long, she emerges from the room carrying two books - one an oversized chunk of text and the other a hardbound cover freshly manufactured from a factory. He finds it odd, however, that he finds traces of obsidian on the book's cover. Written on it is its title, Hidden Knowledge: A Collection Of Writings Concerning The Contents Of The Obsidian Archives.

After signing the needed paperworks, he departs from the bookstore, carrying around the books with ease on his backpack. He's already used to carrying heavy stuff. He didn't have huge biceps and a strong back for nothing.

It was not before departing for Oak Town when he noticed strange individuals on the horizon. He couldn't catch an accurate description of these stalkers, but he know he is currently being watched. It's safe to assume that they want something from him, or rather, they may be targeting something that was on him. He never knew exactly why anyone would want to stalk him save for ambushing him and keeping him for a ransom. Other than that, they don't look like kidnappers.

Perhaps it was wrong of him to assume they would whisk him away given how his reputation as an adventurer precedes him. He has fought through worse fights, and gods have mercy should he be forced to take up arms against them. Wary of their presence, he proceeds to walk towards Oak Town as normal, though as of now, he is walking. He has a plan, a plan that would throw the stalkers off course and lose sight of him. Satisfied with his strategy, he continues his path forward.

It didn't take long for the stalkers to make themselves obvious, but if he's going to let them think he's stupid enough to let them go unnoticed, he would have to play dumb. They don't look like the type who would confront him with their magics anyways. He occasionally takes a breather before moving forward to his destination.

Halfway through the journey, Ozwald decides to enact his plan.

As he takes out his emerald green book, the Chronicler's Grimoire, he starts to chant his spell in silence, making sure the stalkers are not aware of what he's doing. "O Brass Cogs, turn the gears of time that I may leap forward, futurebound!" A magic circle appears beneath him resembling a clock with gears whirring and stirring within it, numbers etched unto it as well. As the gears start to move faster, Ozwald then feels himself thrust forward, slowly and surely, and gradually becoming faster, until eventually, he suddenly disappears from his location.

The dark robed stalkers were perplexed by the sudden disappearance of Ozwald, and they nevertheless should follow him no matter what.

Ozwald appears a few meters away from his previous location, grinning at the success of his plan. He knows his magic is currently weak for he has recently acquired the means to cast spells and thus cannot move as far away from them as possible, hence his plan in deceiving them by making them think he is teleporting. In reality, he just moved extremely fast that it looked like he teleported.

Content with the result, he sneaks away from the dark robed stalkers before they caught wind of his deception. Who knows how long it would take fore them before they figured out what happened? Obviously, since they would assume him to be teleporting, they would miss the evidence that suggests that he was moving at an incredibly fast speed, dismissing the obvious footprints on the ground.

For safe measures, he once again used his spell to move incredibly quickly to make the stalkers lose track of him. He casted the spell several times until he is confident they wouldn't follow him around anymore. And for an added security, he makes sure to walk down the path that won't leave any foot prints.

As he nears Oak Town, he surveys his surroundings that the stalkers are no more and out of hiding. Satisfied with what came to be, he continues his trek towards Oak Town to deliver the book his client requested to fetch for him. He asks around for the address of his client and eventually found his home. Knocking on the door, he introduces himself. "Anyone home? It's me, Ozwald. I got the book you needed."

The door opens and a man in front of him greets him. "Ah, yes. Come in, come in. I had my butler gather some refreshments before you arrived." It is plain to see that the man is none other than his client, Benjamin Rellock.

The two went inside and Ozwald made himself comfortable by the living room, dropping his backpack by his side and rummaging through it to take out an enormous book of obsidian, the one that he was tasked to bring to him. "This should be the right book, sir. Unless I am mistaken?" The man enters the living room with his butler following suit, carrying a wide array of refreshments - from tea to custard filled bread and cookies. He happily indulges, tired from his trip.

"I must say, this book must be very important. I daresay there are those who seeks to obtain it. I was being followed by some men clad in black robes. Do you know of them?" He asks, expecting an honest answer from the man. By the looks of it, he doesn't seem to know and is rather perplexed. "I'm just a book collector. Nothing more. Oh! You seem to be the scholarly type. Have you read the new book? The Wonders of Divination, I mean."

"I was just about to read it, actually. I just got it."