The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Madame Krait slouched in her chair looking completely spent. The glow in her eyes had dimmed and her jaw hung slack as she stared off into space.

  “By the Eye, did it work?” I recognized Igvild’s voice and looked in his direction. He looked at me expectantly as I slowly rose from my chair. I saw Anya rise from hers at the same time and she looked at me with concern.

  “Davros, how do you feel? You were giving off steam like boiling oysters!”

  “He’s fine, girl. What, no words of concern for poor, old Booshka Krait? Ah, the apathy of youth!” Madame Krait heaved herself out of her chair while removing a small vial from her robes, which she uncorked and drank down immediately. She sighed and some of the light returned to her eyes.

  “Check your Status, boy. See for yourself!”

  I nodded my head, but I was still looking around the room in amazement. Things were different. Looked different. I felt different. It was as I had only been looking at half the world for most of my life. I had been trapped in a tunnel where only a single candle lit my way forward. Now the Sun shone brightly.

  Name: Davros

  Class: Pyromancer

  Level: 5

  Health:130

  Mana:320

  Will-8(9)

  Focus-9

  Speed-2

  Force-4(6)

  Presence-1(2)

  Fortune-11

  Active Spells (3 of 6)

  Combustion Bolt

  Wrath Shield

  Boiling Blood

  Inactive

  Hypnotic Flame

  Special Abilities

  Imbolc’s Breath> Evolution Available

  Imbolc’s Traits

  Born of Fire

  General Traits

  Dual Casting

  Wrath Touched

  Gear Bonuses

  Ring of Sedation (-2 to Corruption Levels)

  Robe of Inner Fire (+1 Will, +1 Presence, 5% Flame Spell Reduction)

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  Follower Bonuses

  +2 Force (Valka Stavrak)

  The first thing Davros noticed was that the Curse of Ashgur was indeed gone and in its place his Focus attribute had climbed up to a 9. That wasn’t all, his Will and Force had both increased by 2. A new Trait, Wrath Touched, sent a chill up his spine and his eyes widened in shock when he saw that his Special Ability, Imbolc’s Breath had an evolution available.

  “Well, is it gone?” Anya demanded after staring at my bewildered expression for a minute. I nodded mutely, still processing what I was seeing.

  “Of course it’s gone! Who do you think I am?” Booshka Krait demanded, but I noticed she had also looked uncertain until I had verified her success. “Now then, you three have taken up quite enough of my time for today, but first…” A new notification blinked in my sight and I willed it to reveal itself.

  Quest: Enter the Forsaken Garden dungeon and defeat its cursed inhabitants by any means. Recover the Silveron Seed to clear your debt to the Eldritch Alchemist Booshka Krait!

  Success: Debt Cleared with Booshka Krait and an invitation to her hidden Alchemy Shop.

  Failure: ?

  Time Limit: No time limit, but Booshka Krait may provide a bonus reward for recovering the Seed sooner rather than later.

  It was the most straightforward quest yet. Succeed or die. Then I simply won’t fail. Strange how easily those thoughts came to him now. It really was a different world now that he found himself able to focus properly. I turned and bowed to the Eldritch Alchemist.

  “Madame Krait, thank you very much for helping me. I have a lot to think about. I won’t fail in your request.” Booshka Krait harrumphed, but I could see that she was pleased with my response.

  “See that you don’t. I was able to see much of what you were seeing, except whatever it was that happened to you at the end. I will think on it and send word should I discover anything related to what happened to you and why.” I bowed again and turned to leave. “One last thing. Someone tried to get inside my protections while I was working, but they learned a lesson for it. Be on your guard.” Both Anya and Igvild shared a look and I nodded a final time and exited the hovel without another backward glance.

  Outside the day had turned to dusk. How long had we been inside Booshka Krait’s strange hut? It had to have been several hours, but it hadn’t felt that long to me?

  “We should return to the Inn. Valka will be there by now and he is likely yanking the mustaches off his face while glaring at the front door.” Anya remarked as she exited and stood beside me in the alleyway. Igvild was directly behind her and he chimed in.

  “Or he’s drunk.”

  “Or that.” Anya chuckled.

  “There is a lot for us to do, but I thank you both for everything you did for me today. I won’t ever forget it.” Igvild and Anya both looked at each other, then at me.

  “Davros, you seem much more…” Anya searched for the word.

  “Focused?” I said with a grin.

  “I was going to say confident, but yes.” Anya smiled. Then the smile fell. “What exactly happened after Booshka Krait injected you with her potion? For a brief moment, I was worried she had actually killed you!”

  “I’m not sure how to explain it.” I shook my head and started walking, exiting the alleyway and finding my way back towards the main road with a grin. I could remember the route! “I remembered something I had forgotten. A part of me wonders if I was forced to forget it to begin with.”

  “Yer face was all scrunched up and it looked like ye was in pain, lad.” Igvild said, speeding up to walk beside him and appraising the Pyromancer with fresh eyes. “That old Toad’s help always comes at a cost. I should know.”

  Davros glanced down at his friend. “The memory was from my time before the Orphanage. I remembered when my Father died to save me.”

  “Save you from what?” Anya asked.

  “A Wrath Mage. Or at least that’s what I think they were.”

  “Wrath Mage!” Anya gasped in horror, her eyes wide. “Davros, a Wrath Mage is a Corrupted Class. When Corruption overwhelms anyone with a spellcaster Class, Wrath Mage is one of the possible outcomes. It is permanent.” She frowned. “It is one of the arguments for the Level Seal the Temple insists upon.”

  Davros stopped beside a shop selling fruit. The apples looked crisp and fresh, but Davros could tell there was a spell carved into the wood of the stand that was helping to preserve them. There was so much more he was noticing and sensing about the world around him. It was almost too much.

  “Does it make one safe to be level blocked at Level 19?” he asked. Anya shrugged.

  “The more power one acquires, the more it corrupts or so the saying goes.” Anya answered quietly. Anya walked up beside Davros and gently placed her hand upon his shoulder to turn him around so he could look her in the eye.

  You are so beautiful, Anya. Every detail of her face, even the scar she had, only enhanced her appeal in Davros’ eyes. He moved to pull his scarf up over his own face, having forgotten to do so when leaving the alleyway, but Anya stopped him.

  “Davros, Wrath Mage is a Forbidden Class. They are hunted ceaselessly by every sect of the Temple of the Eye in the East and in the West. It is the one thing they all agree and cooperate on. For you to have been attacked by one…” Anya shook her head. “It is not only incredible you survived, but that…wait.” Anya drew closer to me, whispering. “Was that the origin of your Curse? A Wrath Mage placed it upon you?”

  I swallowed. “I believe it to be a fair assumption. My Father placed an object in my hand and the Wrath Mage launched an attack that hit me in my head. The object, again I can only assume, teleported me to safety. I am still sorting through what happened to me afterwards. It is still difficult to remember.”

  Anya nodded slowly and patted me on the arm. Igvild grunted as he eyeballed the fresh apples.

  “Welly, then like th’old bat said, the Mage’ll know his Curse is lifted and come lookin’ fer ye. Eye only knows how, but then I don’t pretend ta understand magic, ye ken?”

  I felt my skin prickle and I started walking again, both my friends matching my pace. I was thinking about my Father. His fury, his desperation. It should have filled me with rage, but that was the path to Corruption. The path of the Wrath Mage. I took deep breathes, filling my lungs with the scents of the marketplace. Fresh breads, fruits, sizzling meats and gathered bouquets of the season’s remaining flowers before the Winter storms came. It was a welcome distraction and I didn’t speak again until we all turned a corner and saw the Inn.

  “I’ll be ready for them,” I whispered coldly.