MLII C4, P3- "A Small Kindness"

"A Small Kindness" is the third Part of "Miracula Luxia II" 's fourth Chapter. It was released on 03.03.2021.
== Plot ==
After arriving into the city of Silvar, Jared and his allies take different paths in order to ensure the safety of Northern Avernum.
While Aleks and Devin travel to the north in order to protect the cities of Fort Draco and Formello, the young hero and his good friend- Annie, stay in Silvar with the noble intention to protect the refugees in the city from a band of rogues that is hidden underground.
Once again, Jared's sense of humanity is tested when he is forced to decide what to do with the rogue leader and whether to help a little boy who just lost his parents or not. Once again, his kindness will shine and bring hope to the people around him and ensure them that there are still heroes in this world who care for its residents and do whatever they can to keep them safe and sound.
It is the way of the heroes. And he is eager to carry it out.
== Story ==
Jared looks around and sighs.
"Ah, Silvar."- He says- "We are back."
Aleks looks at him.
"Do you remember it?"
Jared nods.
"I remember it very well."- He responds- "Here, I helped the militia fight a powerful force of enemies. This is one of the first Avernite cities that caught my eye as I explored the lands one year ago and one of the first cities that I helped all by myself."
He sighs.
"It was a great feat. It is as if Destiny itself sent me to help those troubled souls out."
Annie nods.
"I can confirm that. I wasn't around to help and I regret it."- She says- "However, I am glad that Jared was able to do something like this."
Aleks smiles.
"My little boy has grown so much."- He says.
Jared is flustered by his father's words.
"Dad!"- He exclaims- "You know that I'm not a child anymore, right?"
Aleks smiles sadly and nods.
"Yes, yes. I am aware."
He looks at the ceiling about them and sighs.
"The world has changed us way too much. Some of us were forced to mature faster than usual."- He adds.
He looks down. For a moment, it seems like he is about to break down and cry.
However, he pulls himself together in the last moment and simply sighs.
"We lost too many people. Too many loved ones."- He continues- "But we will continue fighting in the name of Justice."
He looks at Jared and smiles.
"Right, son?"
Jared nods, but he is unsure about what he is going to say. The fact that more people will be lost in this meaningless war fills his heart with guilt.
"We will keep fighting. We will bring joy and safety to those people... whatever it takes."
The four of them take a small look at the city. They see the how much the city has changed ever since they were here. All the people. All the supplies that they gathered. And, most importantly, all the hope that they have in their eyes, the fact that they still believe in the heroes of this world.
However, there is one thing that never changes, despite the fact that the world itself is changing...
Poverty.
In a small corner, far away from the main part of the city, our heroes see the slums where the refugees live- a place of despair and broken dreams. Refugees walk within them and take pains not to look at each other. Mistreated, hungry and sober, they survive in their own place. Day by day, they are forced to endure the worst things that the world has to offer.
When the heroes enter the slums, everyone looks at them. The refugees are surprised to see people who might actually help them. They try to say something, but think better of it and silently shuffle away.
The guards, on the other hand, are excited to see the people who are standing in front of them. Two of them stand at attention and salute Jared when he steps forward.
"Welcome back, young hero."- One of them says- "Thank you for visiting this lonely corner and blessing us with your sacred presence. We hope that you enjoy your stay."
Having said that, the guard sighs and returns to his post.
The last sentence that he said indicates that he is worried about something.
No. In fact, everyone is worried about something. Something is amiss and the whole population of the slum is concerned about it.
Jared looks around and sees how all of the refugees and guards are looking down, as if they are sentenced to a life in prison. Their eyes are filled with guilt and their hearts- with despair.
Looking at them, the young hero cannot help but feel the same. The fact that something bad is going on inside the slums is making him feel guilty, even if he is not the one responsible for it.
He looks at his father.
"Dad, this place is in trouble."- He says to him- "Can we spare a day to help those poor souls out?"
Aleks shakes his head regretfully. He clearly does not want to say something like this, but he has no choice.
"I'm afraid not. We must find the Elders as soon as possible, if we want to win the war against the barbaric Slithzerikai."- He responds- "I'm sorry."
Devin looks at the refugees as well. Something is clearly on his mind.
A few seconds later, he approaches Aleks.
"Mr. Kaos, there must be a way to do this."- He says- "The Elders can wait."
Aleks looks at him angrily.
"Didn't you listen to me, Devin?! The world is in danger and the only way we can help it out is by finding the elders and asking them for advice!"- He yells at him.
He calms down and shakes his head.
"Sorry, kids. There's no other way."- He says stoically- "We must go."
Jared looks at his father. His eyes show a worrying combination of determination and anger.
"If you do not want to help those people, I will."- He yells- "I will stay behind and help them out. You, Devin and Annie go to Formello and meet with the Elders! I do not care what they have to tell us, those people are in trouble and I am not going to let them suffer for more time than they already have!"
Aleks stares at his son. He quickly realizes that there is no way to reason with him.
He nods.
"Forgive me, child."- He continues- "I just wanted to test your loyalty towards the citizens of Avernum, to see how much you care about their safety."
Annie lets out a loud sigh.
"Way to go, testing your own son in a time like this... "- She mutters.
Aleks sighs.
"Anyway, I agree with this plan."- He continues- "Me and the rest of our friends will travel to Formello and assist them. I'm sure that you can handle this by yourself."
Annie shakes her head.
"I'm afraid that I can't come with you."- She says- "I promised that I will do whatever I can to help Jared. This is a time when we must stay together, stay strong. So, I will stay with him and help those people however I can."
For Aleks, this is surprising, but not unexpected. He nods.
"I understand, Annie."- He responds- "Thank you for taking care of my son. I appreciate it."
Devin salutes her.
"Stay safe, Annie!"
He turns to his other friend.
"You too, Jared."- He continues- "Good luck!"
Jared nods and smiles.
"Thank you."- He responds- "Good luck to you, too."
And so, Jared and his allies separate. Our hero and Annie stay in the slums while Aleks and Devin travel to Formello.
The two of them look for someone who can tell them what is going on. Finally, they find a small hut in the southern section of the slums, slightly taller than the others.
Inside, they find a young woman, sitting on a chair and inspecting a stack of papers without noticing them. The aura of a powerful mage radiates from her.
Annie thinks about clearing her throat, but Jared stops her.
"Do not disturb her."- He whispers to her- "She will see us soon when she is done."
It does not take long for the woman to notice them. When she does, she stands up and greets the two of them.
"Welcome to our sad, little corner of the city, visitors."- She says sadly- "I'm Erika. How may I help you?"
Jared is surprised to hear this name.
"Erika?"- He says- "As in Erika Redmark?"
Erika smiles.
"Yes, yes. I am Erika Redmark, but not that Redmark."- She responds- "The great incantatrix was my grandmother, bless her soul."
Annie raises her eyebrow.
"Grandmother?"- She says, confused- "No offense, but you look very young."
Erika nods.
"None taken. A lot of people think that it's weird, but it's true."- She says- "I was born decades after my grandmother died. It was really unfortunate for all of us."
She looks up.
"Anyway, I'm sure that this is not the true reason why you are here."- She continues- "Is there anything that I can help you with?"
Jared easily notices the guilt in her voice. She is taking great pains to stay calm and collected, but it is not working. She seems to be as worried as the refugees themselves.
"We are looking for the one who is in charge of this settlement."- He says- "We think that there is something going on here and we want to help with whatever we can."
Erika sighs and shakes her head. A few tears fall from her eyes.
"I'm afraid that we can't share this problem with everyone. If we do, the ones that are tormenting us are sure to come and slay us all."
She looks up at Jared hopefully.
"Please. WIll you promise that you will protect us from them?"- She asks them solemnly- "That you won't let them harm anyone?"
Jared and Annie nod.
"We will do whatever we can to protect you from those troublemakers, whoever they are."
Erika smiles and pulls a small map out of the stack of papers. She shows it to Jared.
"This is a map of the sewers. I've been hiding it in my paperwork until someone volunteered to help us out."- She says and points at the center of the map- "There is a small band of rogues in there, sent by the Slith Horde to torment us. They attack us, steal our food and scare the refugees. We tried to convince Silvar's militia to help us out, but we haven't recieved a response ever since we sent a letter to their mayor."
Jared nods.
"So. You want us to get rid of them?"
Erika nods.
"That's right."- She responds- "Do whatever you want with them. Just please, don't let them harm anyone. Make sure that everyone will be safe before you go. Okay?"
Jared nods again.
"When I make a promise, I do my best to keep it, even if I have to risk my life in the process."- He says- "This is the way of my family, the Kaos family. And I am not afraid to show that we are brave and determined to help."
Erika raises her eyebrow. She clearly did not expect to hear this name.
"You are Jared Kaos, I assume?"- She says- "My mother told me a lot of good things about you and your father."
She bows.
"It is an honor to meet someone as kindhearted as you in a time like this."
Jared nods and smiles.
"The pleasure is mine, lady."- He responds- "I am glad to help."
Moments later, he gets serious.
"But it does not matter who I am, neither what people think about me."- He continues- "Now, I am here to help the people of this place. And I am eager to destroy those who are foolish enough to harm you."
Erika nods.
"The entrance to the sewers is in the eastern part of the slums."- She says- "Good luck, heroes."
Jared and Annie thank Erika and assure her that everything will be alright. Then, they leave the building and enter the sewers.
Once they are in there, they look around. Guilded by the map that Erika gave to them, they explore the sewers.
Soon, they find the entrance to the center and bump into a small camp of brigands. From the looks of it, they are preparing to do more damage on the surface.
The arrival of Jared and Annie surprises them. They draw their weapons and point them at the duo.
"Annie"- Jared says stoically- "It looks like we found the people who have been troubling the poor refugees."
One of the bandits grins.
"Looks like the brave warriors are finally falling into our trap."- He says- "It's the end of the line for ya'."
The bandits stand up, draw their weapons and charge.
Jared draws his weapon and casts a spell on the ground around him. Suddenly, the targeted area is set ablaze.
The bandits who are foolish enough to charge at Jared are burned to death. The rest shoot at him with their bows.
"Oh. So that is how you will try to kill me."- He says and points his bow at them.
Since they show no sign of stopping what they are doing, he starts to shoot energy arrows at them.
Most of them fall easily, electrocuted by the tips of the arrows. The rest simply bleed to death.
He sees Annie on the ground, struggling with a bandit and picks up a dagger, dropped by one of the bandits. Since the rogue is distracted, he easily sneaks up on her and stabs her in the back without a second thought.
As she falls to the ground and quickly bleeds to death, Jared helps Annie stand up.
"Jared, I... I'm sorry."- She apologizes to him- "I guess that I'm not strong enough to fight enemies by myself."
Jared smiles and hugs her.
"Do not worry. You did well."- He responds- "You just showed a tiny moment of weakness, that is all."
He looks around and draws his weapon.
"Be on your guard."- He adds- "We are not done yet."
He points Demonslayer at a nearby large rock.
"It is all over, rogue. All of your friends are dead."- He says stoically- "Show yourself."
A filthy bandit reveals himself from behind the rock and points his dagger at them with a shaking hand. He is terrified.
"St-stand back!"- He yells- "I mean it."
Annie looks at her friend.
"Are we going to kill him?"
Jared looks at the bandit. He shivers and takes a few steps back. He points Demonslayer at him, staring at him coldly as he does.
It looks like he is about to stab him. However, he stops himself in the last moment.
He looks back at Annie and says:
"He will live."
He looks back at the bandit.
"We will spare you. However, we are not going to let you go that easily."- He continues- "Tell everything to the mayor and the militia above. Confess your crimes to them. Accept your punishment. If you do what we say, you shall be spared."
The bandit nod and shakily sheathes his dagger.
"I... I will tell 'im everything. I swear!"- He says- "Can I go now?"
Jared shakes his head.
"We will escort you to the mayor."- He says and leaves the center- "Annie, take him with us."
Without a word, Annie grabs the bandit's arm and takes him out of the sewer.
She and Jared take him to the mayor of Silvar- Mayor Augustus
"Is this the bandit leader who has troubling us for all this time?"- The man asks our hero.
Jared nods.
"Yes."- He responds- "We managed to convince him to tell you everything with the promise of sparing him afterwards."
The mayor calls for the commander and asks him to send two guards to escort the bandit to Silvar's prison. The man does what he is told without a second word.
While the guards take the bandit away, Mayor Augustus shakes Jared's hand.
"Once again, you spent some of your precious time to help us out. Thank you so much, Jared."- He says- "Now that those vagabonds are gone, the bandits elsewhere will know how they will be dealt with. It is a lesson that they will never forget."
He sighs as he watches the leader of the bandits.
"As for that man, I will question him and extract whatever valuable information I can about their societies in the rest of Avernum and inform the rest of the mayors about them. We won't let them hurt the good citizens of Avernum. Not anymore."
He claps his hands and a guards brings Jared a large money bag. The boy looks inside and sees a large amount of gold, perhaps around 1000 Gold Coins.
"For the kindness that you showed today."- The mayor says- "Such an act of heroism must be rewarded."
Jared is about to return the bag. However, he soon sees the look on Annie's face and realizes that he should rethink this.
Regretfully, he takes the bag, but not before letting out a depressing sigh.
He stands up.
"We are glad that we were able to solve this problem, Mayor."- He says- "We shall take our leave now."
The mayor stands up, bows, sits back on his chair and smiles.
"Your service is always welcomed, young hero."- He responds- "Good luck in your future endeavors. Keep the world safe from harm, just like you always have!"
Jared nods, smiles and leaves with Annie.
Once they are outside, the citizens of Silvar look at Jared and cheer.
A woman hurriedly approaches them and smiles.
"There you are, Jared."
It is Erika. She shakes his hand.
"I know that you have a lot of work to do, but I wanted to personally thank you before you leave."- She says- "I'm afraid we cannot reward you since we are too poor. So, we can only wish you good luck in your adventures. If our gratitude means anything to you, you can have it all."
Jared nods and smiles.
"I am glad that we made the world better for you, Ms. Redmark."- He says- "Please do not worry about the dangers that are lurking around. If you are surrounded, fight back. I am sure that you will succeed!"
Erika is close to breaking down again.
"Those are the kindest words anyone has ever said to us."- She responds- "Thank you, Jared."
Jared nods and sees a lonely boy nearby. When he gets closer, he notices that he is very young, perhaps eight years old.
The boy looks at him sadly.
"Is everything alright, little one?"- He asks him- "Is there anything that I can help with?"
The boy looks worried. At first, it is unsure whether to tell this stranger about his troubles, but soon warms up to him.
He points at two nearby graves.
"Mommy and daddy died recently."- It says nervously- "They protected me from the bad people, but they did not make it."
He coughs.
"I... I will be joining them soon. Time's too short for me."
Jared realizes that the boy is afflicted with a Death Curse. It is more than clear that this child's time in this world is getting shorter and shorter with each passing second. 
He touches his forehead and tries to heal him, but he cannot fully save him without the help of a skilled alchemist.
He looks at the bag of money in his hand and then at the child. Without a second thought, he gives it to him.
"There is a lot of gold in there."- He says and smiles warmly- "Ask someone to escort you to the alchemist and he will help you out. I promise."
He turns to Erika, who is amazed by what she is seeing.
"Ms. Redmark, can you please take this child to the city's alchemist?"- He asks her- "His time in this world is short and he needs your help more than ever."
Erika approaches the boy and gently takes his hand in hers.
"I will do my best to save this little boy."- She says.
While the two of them are talking, a greedy merchant tries to sneak up on the boy and take the bag of gold from him. Annie silently alerts her friend.
Jared looks up and approaches the merchant. He angrily grabs him by the coat and points Demonslayer at his neck as other merchants around them stare in dismay.
"Do not even think about it, you heartless rascal!"- He yells at him- "If any of you greedy fools try to get your filthy hands on this boy's only chance for survival, I will make you pay for your crime. With your blood."
The merchant screams. As Jared lets him go, he takes two steps away from him and runs into the opposite direction.
Jared shakes his head.
"I am sorry for being so rude to those people."- He says to Erica- "Some of them just cannot understand that they cannot have everything in the world, especially when the life of a child like him is in danger."
Erika nods. She lets go of the boy and shakes Jared's hand once again.
"Thank you for being so kind to this poor child."- She says and angrily stares at the merchant who tried to steal the money- "As for those greedy fools, I will watch them closely while he is under my supervision."
She looks at him.
"Normally, I wouldn't teach such a powerful spell to someone who is not a part of my family. However, you did so many things today and I feel that it would be cruel to send you away just like that."- She continues- "Please. Lend me your hand."
Jared looks at her and realizes that she is serious about this. He sighs and places his hand in hers.
"Good."- She says and closes her eyes- "Now, let me transfer some of my magic to you."
In just a few seconds, Jared experiences a series of conflicting emotions as powerful magic flows into his body.
Soon, the magic fades away. However, the power that he gained remains. He realizes that he just learned more about magic. A new spell has been unlocked, something that he had in his mind until now, but he was not ready to execute.
Erika nods, noticing the changes within him.
"Whenever you are in danger, this spell will protect you and devastate opponents with an element of Darkness that you will face."- She says- "Now that I granted you this sacred boon, I am afraid that I must depart. This boy needs help and I must take him to the alchemist as soon as possible."
She nods and walks away with the child.
Jared and Annie look at each other.
Suddenly, Annie begins to cry. She hugs Jared and he hugs her back.
"I know how it feels, Annie. I know how much it hurts."- He says and smiles warmly- "But do not worry. I am here, and I will always be by your side. We can make it out of this nightmare, together!"
Annie nods and stands up.
"You're right, J-Jared."- She says- "I just felt sad about the kid. If it weren't for us, another life would have been wasted away."
She looks at the gate behind them.
"I think that it's time for us to go."
Jared nods.
"You are right. Our work here is done."- He responds- "Let us join dad and Devin in finding the Council."
The two of them quickly leave the city of Silvar, knowing that it will be safe... at least for now. They begin their journey towards the city of Formello- the place where the famed Council is supposed to be.
Are they really hidden there? There is only one way to find out...
Onward!
== Trivia ==
* This Part was released on 03.03.2021- The Day of Bulgaria (Aka Liberation Day).