One Wrong Step Forward

Karth bore a dissatisfied expression, as if he knew what it meant to be a guinea pig at this establishment. Which he did, but not at a personal level where he had been the guinea pig; that’s what his subjects are for.

But he swallowed his uncertainties and eventually agreed. Guk had promised it was simple. He simply needed someone of magical abilities to cast a spell against a new shielding spell he had been working on.

Guk dabbled in all sorts of things. Among them was magic. But he wasn’t able to conjure up anything through talent nor sheer luck, he used a cauldron, herbs and a few magical words. It was all he needed. But when it came to defence, he did need someone to play a burglar if he wanted to test his new guard dog.

They stood around a counter in a far end of the store where the shelfs were sparser and there was more space to walk freely. It was an area for experiment, Guk had said. Two bottles of opaque liquid stood eerily on the counter.

“Don’t touch that one,” said Guk, pointing at the one with a pinkish tone. He grabbed the blueish one, “This is the one we’ll try today,” he grinned.

“Get to it,” Karth said impatiently. His foot was impatiently moving in place, and his arms were crossed.

“Yes. Yes. Alright,”

Guk had fetched a spare door which he had lying in the backroom of his home. No one really knew why, not even Guk, but thankfully he had it as it was perfect for experimentation without using his official door. The cost wouldn’ have been worth it.

Liam stood a bit hidden behind the counter. Karth stood next to him. The room was circular, even if the floor was clean, there was plenty of everything on the walls. Even a random shovel was hung like an ornament, beside it was a poster of the anatomical body of cats. So they had cats here, Liam thought.

The middle of the room was lit up by a bright chandelier hanging from the high roof, and the floor was covered with a dark crimson circular rug. Guk placed the door in the middle of the rug. The small patterns on it made the whole picture look like someone had either summoned a door, or was offering it.

Once everything was in place he threw the blueish bottle at the door. A bright light shone from it. Liam covered his eyes but still peaked through his slim fingers. As the light faded he properly opened his eyes and saw that the door looked normal and untouched.

Guk noticed Liam’s confusion and offered a gentle smile for once. “My lord,” he said, nodding towards the door.

Karth ran his gaze from the door to Liam and with the wave of a hand conjured up a cloud of sprinkles above the piece of wood. The sprinkles fell like snowflakes and revealed an invisible barrier around the door.

“Wow,” Liam quietly uttered.

“Now, if you would,” Guk raised his hand as if presenting an exquisite piece of art at a gallery while telling you about its rich history and impact on the world.

That likeness however evaporated mere seconds later when Karth cast a spell of destruction and the door exploded. Thick and thin pieces of wood flew in all directions. It was like seeing those cartoon porcupine sneezes; splintered thin enough actually managed to stick to the walls.

Luckily no one had been impaled like a vampire. Liam ducked in the nick of time, hiding behind the counter; Karth used a protection spell, convenient for him; And Guk used his tortoise.

The tortoise was his pet, and experiment. Liam wouldn’t have pegged him for a mad scientist, which he wasn’t but the act of experimenting on animals gave a strong impression. What had changed about the animal in question was that it had an abnormally strong shell, which was fortunate for both the tortoise and Guk.

It was also fast and quite the jumpy bugger. Something Liam had never seen something like it. It scattered away to hide under chair next to the counter when Guk accidentally relaxed his grip and let it escape.

“Oh! Catch that bugger!” he called with distress.

Liam stood up and went around the counter to get a better look at the creature beneath the chair. Suddenly it jumped out and attempted to bite him. It was a half snapping turtle apparently.

There was a shock coursing through Liam, his adrenaline was working hard and his heart beat to the point of hurting. But now he had the automatic thinking that whenever he felt so, he was under the pressure of his magical resistance being as good as a melting paper straw.

His eyes were clenched tightly. He heard a ruff grunting, a bottle smashing, the whoosh of magic, and a hand slamming on the counter. Then he heard coughing and he opened his eyes to a scene of chaos.

Guk held the abnormally large tortoise in his hands and was placing it in a cage Liam didn’t notice before. There were shards of glass on the floor and pinkish liquid being absorbed by the rug. Karth was leaning against the counter, his breaths were quick and scarce.

Hurrying to be beside him, Liam placed a reassuring hand on Karth’s back. “Karth?!” he called.

Karth took a moment, his breath began returning to normal, “I’m fine,”

“This doesn’t look fine! What happened?” asked Liam, worriedly.

“You needn’t worry, I think,” Guk responded in place, “My other experiment broke, he inhaled a bit. I’m sure he’s fine within a day or two…”

Karth frowned and threw an angry look at Guk who simply turned his gaze, pretending as if he wasn’t being stared down at the moment.

“What is the experiment?” asked Liam, anxiously.

Guk turned away completely, he tugged at his collar and mumbled, “It’s for…” it was difficult to hear the end of his sentence.

“Come again?” Liam impatiently demanded.

“It's for roleplaying!” Guk blurted out. Then he covered his mouth and added, “I get all kinds of customers-”

“What?!” a strong force hit Guk, he managed to avoid it partially but was still pushed back from the strike. It was Karth who had regained some strength but his expression was hazy, like he didn’t know where he was. Eventually the Khetovian blacked out, and he passed out for a while.

During that time, Liam asked Guk about the specific use of his new experiment.

“Well, role playing, you know,” he said nonchalantly, “It conjures up scenarios. Very high demand for it right now, but I’m trying to figure out a way to counter the effects; some couples do need to cancel their fun in the middle of it sometimes.”

Liam couldn’t help but flush at the thought, “So you mean there is no way to cancel it for now?” he asked desperately.

“Sorry, haven’t gotten that far. But he’s a strong magic user, I’ve heard complaints that the sensation is over much quicker for them than others,” then he added, “Maybe you should take the opportunity now,” he nudged Liam’s shoulder.

“Hm? What? No, oh no, we’re not-” he argued until he felt his hand grabbed and he felt something touch the dorsal side.

“Doesn’t seem like that to me,” Guk cackled, “Never seen him like this have ya,”

Karth stood on one knee, he was kissing Liam’s hand. From an outsider's perspective, or at least from the perspective of the spider who woke up from his rest in the top corner of the room, it looked like someone was proposing.

“Master,” he said.

Liam blushed up to his ears, “What’s wrong with you?!” he accusingly asked while retreating his hand. It felt hot where Karth’s lips had lingered.

Karth didn’t answer. It was like he didn’t hear. Couldn’t hear, even.

Guk laughed, “Master Servant, eh?” he wiped away a tear from the corner of his eye.

“It’s not a laughable matter, I need his help. The Karth who is of actual help, not one who is under the influence of, of whatever that was.” he said, pointing at the smashed bottle.

“Sorry lad, I can’t help. But if you’re in a hurry I suggest getting to it, by the time you need him, I’m sure he’ll have woken up.”

Liam couldn’t believe his ears. In a fit of confused and worried rage, he grabbed the book and left. Karth followed with a glint in his eyes, it was resembling that of a puppy, but he still had a cool and mature air around him.

They were on the road once more, returning back to the centre of Luria where the castle was and, hopefully, Gwen and Colinus as well.

“Master? Are you perhaps not satisfied with my services?” Karth asked.

“I’m not your master!” Liam snapped.

This conversation had been going on for over half an hour, but Karth didn’t stop referring to Liam as ‘Master’. It was weird for Liam, like an odd adult play, but in hindsight, it was a bit like that. But they weren’t a couple. So it was weird. He settled his thoughts on that.

Liam’s brown boots sank into the mud on the side of the roads. It had rained, but the sky was clearing up. Tracks from passing wagons softened up deep lines along their tracks. They reached a fork in the road. Using his hand above his eyes Liam tried to look down both paths, but each stretched into a forest land and more road. They looked almost identical and there were no signs.

“What kind of place doesn't have signs at a road splitting? How can tourists find their way?” he wondered out loud.

He was so preoccupied about how he would find his way now that Karth was useless that he didn’t notice a wagon coming from behind him. It wasn’t until he was pulled back into Karth’s arms that he realised he stood in the middle of the road.

“My Master needs to remember he isn’t immortal, you can still get run down by a wagon,” Karth said.

“Could you stop? Anyway, thank you. Do you know the way? Your memories can’t be completely gone right?” he asked.

“Where do you wish to go?”

Liam’s nose scrunched. Karth spoke like some old butler working at a grand mansion. “Luria,”

“Is it to marry? Oh, splendid! I knew you’d accept my proposal.”

“...” said Liam. “What did you just say? We’re not getting married, we’re not even together. Sure, we’ve kissed but that was out of necessity for me to keep my life! I can’t marry-” he was interrupted by lips brushing against his.

Karth’s kiss was warm as always, he ended up melting into it. Then he caught himself and separated them. “Wait, when did I even agree to marry you? You didn’t say a word!” he yelled accusingly.

Karth looked puzzled at him, “I went down on one knee, kissed your hand and you pulled back, you accepted?”

“That’s insane,” Liam blurted. It had to be a lie. No way marriages and proposals worked like that, but then again, there were plenty of things he didn’t understand. It made him wonder, did he actually accept a marriage proposal from Karth?

It didn’t feel terrible, but it wasn’t Karth. This was a scenario Karth. He didn’t know what he was doing, let alone offering. Liam pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Fine. We’re engaged, so stop calling me Master, use my name like you’ve always done. And please lead the way back to Luria.” he said. The effects were bound to lay off before they reached the inner town. At least he hoped so, and if he was lucky, Karth wouldn’t remember what they had spoken of today.