Chapter 5: The Thirteen Stooges and their Choices
Personal System Calendar: Year 00012, Day 15-28, Month I: The Imperium
Imperial Calendar: Year 6857, 15th to 28th day of the 1st Month
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It's Been a While
It was not only August's world that had moved forward. Far away in Gremory City, there were those who had been far too young back then to understand much of the world, children who had been saved by a young man with golden hair and emerald eyes when their village burned and their families died.
Nine years had passed since that terrible night when raiders murdered their village and August Finn arrived to their rescue, like an avenging spirit to drive the attackers away. Thirteen children had survived that night, fourteen if you include Zig, aged one at that time, while the rest were between six and nine years old. Three of them had been nine at the time, old enough to remember everything with painful clarity. The others had been younger, their memories more fragmented but no less scarred by what they had witnessed.
Now those children were young adults. The three oldest were eighteen, legally adults by the world's sense. The youngest, little Zig, was only ten years old, barely old enough to remember the village that had been destroyed when he was merely an infant.
They had spent those nine years in Gremory City under the care of the Fernando household. Marcus Fernando's mother, Madam Susan Fernando, had become their sponsor and patron, providing the resources necessary for their education and upbringing. But the one who had truly raised them, who had bandaged their wounds both physical and emotional, who had held them when they woke screaming from nightmares, was Marta Dulce. She had been the only adult who managed to escape the raiders with them that night, and she had become their surrogate mother in the years since.
Throughout those years, the thirteen children had made a promise to themselves. They would learn everything they could, would develop skills that might be useful, and when they grew old enough to make their own decisions, they would follow their savior's path to Maya Village.
They had heard the stories, of course. A village carved deep within one of the most dangerous forests in the known world, where humans and beastfolk and intelligent beasts lived together in unprecedented harmony. They had been too young to accompany August and his companions when they returned home all those years ago. The journey had been deemed too dangerous for small orphaned children still traumatized by violence.
But now it was different. Now they were old enough, strong enough, skilled enough to make the journey.
They saw August and others from the village occasionally when trade caravans came to Gremory City, but those visits could be counted on one hand each year. It was not enough. It would never be enough to repay the debt they felt they owed. That was why they had sworn to learn, to grow, to develop abilities that might help Sir August's village thrive.
The youngest, Zig, would have to remain behind. He was only ten, far too young to make such a journey. They wanted to take him with them, but both Marta and Madam Susan had forbidden it. Thirteen was the minimum age, the age when the law recognized a person as capable of making their own decisions. Zig had three more years to wait.
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The Thirteen (Fourteen)
The children had grown into capable young people, each developing their own skills and passions over the nine years in Gremory.
The three oldest, now eighteen years old, had become adults with clear direction in their lives.
Jeany Hermes was a natural teacher. She had studied education from basics to advanced pedagogy, absorbing teaching methodologies with remarkable speed. She was intelligent, caring, and possessed a great sense of humor that made even difficult subjects approachable. Children and adults alike responded well to her patient explanations and genuine enthusiasm for learning.
Loyd Yu had worked as a mercenary since turning thirteen, the minimum age for such employment. His weapons of choice were a short sword and round shield, supplemented by throwing knives for ranged combat. He possessed mana, but his element was considered null, meaning he could strengthen his body and enhance his physical capabilities but could not manipulate any external elements. Not everyone blessed with mana had an affinity that could be found in nature. Those who did not were classified as null. Loyd was hotheaded, quick to anger, probably due to their shared traumatic past, but his loyalty was absolute and his combat skills were genuine.
Ashford Tribolt had been remarkably intelligent even as a young child, but their circumstances had shattered his early life. He had found his passion in engineering, creating numerous contraptions and crafts of his own design. He was fascinated by the mechanical nature of things, by the principles that allowed the world to function. Given proper tools and materials, there was little he could not build or repair.
The two seventeen-year-olds had found their own paths.
Mary Sween loved to cook. She had gained extensive experience preparing meals for the Fernando household, learning recipes and techniques from the estate's professional cooks. Her dream was to open her own restaurant one day, a place where people could gather and share good food and better company.
Edgar Filtt worked as a bodyguard for Madam Susan Fernando, specializing in close protection. He carried a longsword and had been blessed with the element of metal manipulation, though his proficiency was still developing. He could sense metal objects nearby and, with concentration, could slightly influence their movement or temperature. It was a useful ability for someone whose job required constant awareness of potential threats.
The three sixteen-year-olds had developed diverse skills.
Henrich Maus loved archery. He possessed a profound understanding of range estimation and trajectory calculation. He had hunting experience in the forests around Gremory and used a longbow, though he also carried a dagger for close combat and for field dressing his kills.
May Bel-lin was a plant enthusiast who cultivated anything that would grow. She was fascinated by botany, by the life cycles of different species, by the medicinal and culinary properties of various herbs and vegetables. Her small garden plot behind the Fernando estate produced an impressive variety of useful plants.
Amanda Bloues' expertise lay in magic. She was the only one from their group who aspired to become a mage, but her learning was limited to books and theories. It was harder than most people realized, to be able to join a mage association or find a school for it. There were numerous processes involved, and the costs were substantial. While the Fernando household was indeed their patron, the reality was that there were thirteen of them to support. The resources required to fund formal magical education for even one student were considerable. So Amanda had opted to study as much as she could at the public library in the City of Gremory, spending countless hours poring over magical theory, elemental classifications, and historical accounts of legendary spellcasters. Her element was aligned with spatial distortions, though she remained unaware of this fact. Spatial affinity was one of the rarest elements one could possess, allowing the wielder to distort the reality around them. Eventually, with proper training, she could learn to teleport herself and even others across considerable distances. But that achievement was far into the future, contingent on resources and instruction she did not yet have access to.
The youngest group, five children now fifteen years old, had each found their own interests.
Sia Su assisted with the mercantile business of the Fernando household, including work at Aunt Michelle's shop, Mitch-Maya's Embroidery. She was remarkably good with numbers and possessed a natural business mind. She also insisted on working with the actual labor involved in the businesses, believing she would perform better if she understood how the products were made from the ground up.
Don Garo worked odd jobs around the city. He was what people called a handyman, capable of repairs, labor, construction, and countless other tasks. He was flexible, passionate about learning new skills, and surprisingly competent at everything he attempted.
Bonny Tanner had an eye for fashion. She worked at Mitch-Maya's Embroidery, where she learned to sew her own dresses and create embroidery patterns that elevated simple clothing into fashionable statements. She could transform the most regular-looking clothes into something worth wearing to a noble's gathering.
Judge Burner had found his calling at the Fernando household's blacksmith shop. The estate maintained a small forge primarily for repairing the guards' weapons and equipment. Judge was interested in how to craft everything from general tools to weapons, though his work was still far from being truly usable. It would take significant time to nurture such talent, but he had already become valuable for maintaining the villa's guards' weapons and armor.
Juan Tamad was the oddball of the group. He appeared lazy to those who did not know better, often seen wandering the streets of Gremory with no apparent purpose. But appearances were deceiving. Juan was observant. He possessed a keen sense of hearing and was mostly unnoticeable unless he chose to be seen. He listened to gossip without bothering anyone, looking as if he was just another passerby, but in truth he gathered intelligence. At first he had not known what to do with the information he collected, but over time he had gained a reputation as an information broker. Most adults were initially untrusting of information from a young boy, underestimating what he could provide, but they eventually discovered that everything he reported was accurate. Those who knew who he truly was understood why they approached a child for their intelligence needs. Juan kept this secret from his friends, acting like a nonchalant person with no particular goals. But in truth, he wanted to become like August, a person who could gather intelligence from enemies and make informed decisions based on that information. He had only heard the adults discuss such things once, years ago, since the adults generally kept troubling matters away from the children. That single conversation had been enough to plant the seed. He wanted to be a person of the shadows. He already had a title in certain circles: "Little Shadow." He also possessed the element of shadow manipulation, which worked perfectly for his chosen path.
The fourteenth child, Zig Mann, was now ten years old. He barely remembered the village that had been destroyed, barely remembered the night of fire and blood and screaming or who his parents were as a matter of fact. For him, his family were these people and the one who took care of them was Marta. To him, August was a distant figure, someone the older children spoke of with reverence but whom Zig himself had rarely seen. When he did see August during the rare visits to Gremory, he found the man intimidating, not because of his beautiful features or golden hair and emerald eyes, but because of the aura of quiet lethality that surrounded him.
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The Decision
One evening, as they gathered around the table for a meal prepared by Mary, one of them finally brought up the topic that had been lingering unspoken for months.
"Hey, isn't it about time we head to that village?" Spoke Loyd.
Every eye turned toward the speaker. Utensils stopped moving. Mouths fell silent. The air in the room grew heavy with anticipation.
Another voice answered. "You're right. Most of us are of age now. What do you all think?" Answered Ashford.
Concern immediately arose about Zig, who would be left behind. "But what about Zig? He'll be lonely without us here, right?" Jeanyraised her concerns.
Zig sat at the table, looking at the faces turned toward him with worried expressions. He was now the only one who had not reached thirteen, the age of majority. He had heard them talk about this almost every year since he was young enough to remember. The village in the forest. Their savior August. Their debt that needed repaying.
"I…. I'll be fine here," Zig said quietly, though he felt pain in his heart even as he spoke the words. "You guys can go."
Why were they so adamant about going to that village anyway? He had only ever heard them speak of it enthusiastically, but none of them had actually been there. And that August person they talked about rarely showed himself in Gremory. When he did appear, Zig found him frightening, though he had to admit the man was striking with his golden hair and emerald eyes. But it was not his appearance that scared Zig. It was his actions, the way he moved, the aura that surrounded him whenever Zig saw him. It was the presence of someone who had killed many times and would not hesitate to kill again if necessary.
The discussion stretched long into the night. Eventually, they agreed to settle the matter by a vote. Those in favor of leaving now, and those who wanted to stay and wait for Zig to come of age.
What had prompted this urgent discussion was news from Madam Susan that a trade caravan from Maya Village was scheduled to arrive in Gremory next month. They had seen the massive wagons, Amaryllia and Adrianne, only a few times over the years. Now one of them was coming again, and it represented an opportunity that might not come again for months.
The vote was eight in favor of leaving, five in favor of waiting. Even with Zig's vote added to those who wanted to wait, it would not matter. They had agreed long ago to accept the majority decision.
"Well, it's decided then," said their hotheaded friend, Loyd. "If anyone still wants to wait for Zig, we won't stop you. But I don't think I could wait any further. We've all worked to learn these past years so that we could put those skills to better use helping Sir August. I understand the concern for Zig, but I'm already impatient as it is. Who knows when the next caravan to that place will come through?"
They had all been neighbors before the massacre. Now they had become something like a family, bound by shared trauma and shared purpose. They envied Nina and Milo, who had been fifteen and thirteen respectively when they were taken to the village. The younger children had been deemed too small, too fragile, too traumatized to make such a journey.
Edgar stood up. "If we're going to do this, we need to speak with Madam Susan and Mother Marta."
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Seeking Permission
They requested an audience with the two women who had shaped their lives over the past nine years. Madam Susan and Marta were both busy people, so they had to schedule the meeting for several days later.
When the time arrived, they gathered in one of the Fernando estate's sitting rooms. All thirteen of them stood together, with Zig sitting slightly apart, unsure of his place in this conversation.
"Now, now, what are you children up to? Why are you all so tense all of a sudden?" Madam Susan was a fair woman who did not act on impulse. She judged people by their actions, was slow to anger, and believed in helping people understand their faults before administering punishment. She had been good to them over the years, treating them not as charity cases but as young people with potential.
Marta spoke up before the children could respond. "Madam, I think I know what this is already." She looked at the thirteen young faces before her, seeing the determination there. "But I'll let them talk about it."
"Oh? Very well then, children. Talk your hearts out. We will listen."
One of them, Jeany, stepped forward to represent their collective decision. "Madam, Mother, we have decided. It has been so long already. We have dreamed of going to that village, of following Big Sister Nina and Big Brother Milo there. The time has come for us to make that journey."
The two women had known this day would arrive. The children had never stopped dreaming about Maya Village, never stopped talking about their debt to August Finn, never stopped preparing themselves for the day when they could finally leave Gremory behind. The time had long since passed when they might reasonably have been held back.
For the three oldest, Jeany, Loyd, and Ashford, it had been five years since they reached the age of majority. They had chosen to stay and wait for their younger companions, but that patience had limits. If they waited another three years for Zig, some of them would be twenty-one years old before they ever saw the village they had dreamed of for nearly a decade.
That was not reasonable. That was not fair to those who had already waited so long.
"Well, if that is what you have all decided, then I will no longer hold you back," Marta said softly. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears, but her voice was steady.
"Hmm, this will be sad for me," Madam Susan added. "I have grown quite fond of you children over the years. But time does fly so fast, doesn't it? I understand. I will inform the village of your decision. I believe the caravan will arrive next month, as I mentioned."
"Yes, thank you, Mother and Madam, for understanding," Jeany said. "We know we are leaving Zig behind, and it may seem cruel. But we made a majority consensus. Regardless of our feelings about leaving one of our own, the day has come for us to leave the nest."
Zig sat quietly through the entire conversation. Part of him felt abandoned. Part of him felt relieved. Part of him wondered if he even wanted to go to this village that meant so much to the others but meant so little to him. He had been an infant when August saved them. He had no memories of that night, no sense of debt, no driving need to repay a savior he barely knew.
But he said nothing. This was their decision, not his.
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Anticipation
The month passed quickly. The thirteen young people prepared for their departure, gathering what few possessions they owned, saying goodbye to the places and people they had known for nine years. Gremory City had been good to them, had given them safety and education and the chance to grow into capable young adults.
But it was not home. It had never been home. The home had been destroyed nine years ago, and they had spent every day since then preparing to find a new one.
Maya Village awaited them, hidden deep in the Great Forest of Lonelywood, a place of legend and mystery and the promise that it holds. They did not know what they would find there. They did not know if August would even remember them, these children he had saved so long ago.
But they would go anyway, because they had promised themselves they would, because they owed him a debt that could never truly be repaid, because they wanted to see the place where their savior had built something worth protecting.
The caravan would arrive soon. And when it did, thirteen young lives would change forever.