Two Tons!

*swoosh! swoosh!! swoosh!!*

He had spent hours, days, just repeating the same basic movements. Soon, he can't feel the usual weight of the staff in his possession. It almost feels like it is getting lighter with every swing. This just encouraged him to keep up with the good work.

Meanwhile, the old man named Heath had long since buried the hunters he had killed, he also reactivated the illusion spell he had imposed on the forest. This time, anyone who tries to invade again will only be walking in circles, endlessly repeating the same route over and over again. 

"Grandpa!" 

"Yes?"

"I did it!" says Murdoc; "I can lift it quite easily," 

Murdoc gave it a few swings, doing so with so much ease, you'll be deceived to think you can do the same.

"Is that so?" Heath did not seem impressed. 

"1.5 tons," he said, effectively making the staff heavy once again.

"What did you do?" 

"I increased its weight," replied Heath, "But here, it seems, it isn't enough,"

Even though the weight of the staff had increased, Murdoc is still able to hold on to it, albeit, with a bit of difficulty.

"2 tons."

The staff got even heavier, slightly pulling Murdoc to the ground.

"There, that's more like it," says Heath, who is now satisfied. 

"Your goal is to adapt to at least five tons, and then we shall begin your next phase,"

Of course, Murdoc was pissed by this; "Maybe… you should have led with that,"

Adapting to the staff proved far harder than the first. If Murdoc hadn't known better, he'll believe that Heath never wanted him to leave, hence, that's why he gave this impossible task just to pin him.

More days went by in a flash, Young Murdoc hardly moved too far from home, he simply had no time for that, not anymore.

Heath did not relax either, being on edge had resulted to that. He can not rest until he knows how much time he has left. If by any chance, the danger he feared the most is closer than ever, he'll have to speed up or suspend his grandson's training. 

"Do not for any reason, relent," he said.

"Where are you going, Grandpa?"

"I can't say, but I will be back in a few days,"

Heath left the forest for whatever reasons best known to him. He switched to a different attire before heading east. 

A flying creature landed on his arm. There is a letter that says; "I am there, where are you?"

Heath nodded in satisfaction and sent the flying creature away, increasing his pace also. Soon, he had covered many meters within hours, but the journey is yet to end.

Almost two days after his travel, Heath had reached a large town with its gates opened to all. He blended perfectly with the crowds just as he wanted, heading straight for an inn that is now a few feet away.

"It's been long since your last visit," says a woman. She is old but not quite there.

"Good to see too, Miss," Heath, disguised as a young man gave a slight smile as he extends his hand for a shake.

Just as their hands made contact, the woman left a small note with Heath. This was done do efficiently, no one noticed what had happened.

To look natural, Heath took at least, a cup of wine, doing so while taking a peek at the note…

["Meet me at the inner room,"] it says.

He remained stationed in the same position for a little more, before standing up and strolling towards a second entrance where he found a kid among other individuals who is seemingly too young to be in a place like this. 

"Took you long enough," the little kid said. 

"Why this form?"

"No one will suspect an innocent-looking boy,"

"First of all, you don't look innocent. The presence of an underage young boy in an inn is certainly going to bring no little attention."

"My bad, I guess," the little boy said, slightly regretting his choice.

"Why did you call for this meeting?... All is well, right?"

"For now, yes?"

"Now I'm worried," says Amo, the little boy.

"I will send him out soon," Heath spoke up, "It is about time,"

"I see… and why are you telling me this?"

"Because I'm gonna need your help… He is still too young and naive,"

"...yeah, that's the result of locking him up for so long,"

"I had to,"

"No, you don't. The kid has no magic. What is the worse that could happen?" 

"You know very well why I did what I did."

"sigh… Indeed, I do," Amo looked depressed. He could only imagine how hard it must have been for Heath.

"The time we have left is probably short. At any given time, another great war will begin. If will fail, it will be the doom of us all. All lifeforms will suffer from it," 

Their discussion lasted for a little more than an hour. Amo agreed to whatever Heath wanted.

"How soon?" He asked.

"Maybe in a year… or less depending on his progress,"

It was time for Heath to return home. He stood up and was about to walk away.

"Before you leave, could you help me with this?" Amo pulled out a wanted image of a man and slowly pushed it closer to Heath.

"What did he do?"

"Very bad things… You don't have to kill him if you don't want to. He is actually more useful alive than dead."

"I am not very good at keeping people alive, so no promises,"

"Trust me, I know that," says Amo, "Do what you can, then,"

. . . .

Murdoc has gone through a lot of survival strategies all his life, so he is quite independent without Heath around. He hunts his food, cooks his own meal, and fends off wild animals. These are one the things he is very good at.

It's been days now since Heath left him behind and Young Murdoc isn't worried. It turns out that this is not the first time Heath has done this. Sometimes, he would travel, only to come back days or weeks later. Compared to that, this is nothing.

Murdoc's determination to adapt to the staff's new weight has him exercising himself none stop. It would indeed, be nice if he can finish this, at least, before Heath's return.

"Hmm?"

He noticed a little creature running towards him, seemingly terrified. It is a squirrel, or looks like a squirrel, except for the blue color of its fur.

"Are you lost, little one?" He said.

*Chirp! Squeak! SWuick!* says the Squirrel, pointing in the opposite direction.

It is unclear how, but Murdoc understood every word it said…

"Where?" He questioned, the expression on his face is completely stern at this point.

"SQwick!" says the Squirrel in reply.

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