Limits

One day when I was training with the puppets, Nick came over with some bad and good news. He said "I can feel my time coming to an end. I thought I will have some more time but it seems we never have any choice when it comes to dying". I was sad when I heard that.

Nick might have had ulterior motives in the past but with time, I stopped caring about that and it seemed that Nick also dropped them down. Nick then said "I have the ingredients that you asked for. It is enough to make couple of vials of poison. If you fail all of them, I made some just in case. I also have the antidote, here take it".

Nick passed me the antidote as well as the herbs. He then said "You don't know how to create poison or the medicine and have no tools as well. I will show you the process first as I want you to gain some experience while I'm still here. Later on, you will know the basic principles and so it will come more naturally when you try to make them yourself".

I nodded my head and said "Then, where are we going to do this? Here?" to which Nick replied "Yes, I shall bring all the stuff needed and I will leave it here for you to practise". He then added "Before you do the poison, try couple of simple recipes first. Just to get used to the process. Just because I will show you how it's done, it doesn't mean you will succeed on your first try". I said "Alright, I shall wait for you here".

Nick went back to his place for the tools while I waited at my house. After a while Nick came back and he had nothing on him. I asked in bafflement "Weren't you supposed to get the tools?". I thought that because Nick was dying, he started to forget things and his memory wasn't working properly. Nick saw the look of concern on my face and smirked "Boy, do you really think, I'm so stupid as to forget what I just went to fetch? Although I'm dying, I don't have problems with my memory!"

I was confused and asked "Then where do you have all the tools?" To which Nick replied rather smugly "Ha! You know nothing boy! Did you really think I would go around with all my stuff strapped to my back like a camel? I told you that you will receive more than one inheritance and what I'm using right now is one such thing!".

I was even more confused 'Tools as inheritance? But where are they?'. While I thought this, Nick took out a small bag and put his hand into it. The next thing I saw him taking out was a large pot. This sight blew my mind, I looked at Nick in disbelief like I was looking at a magician. I said in shock "What type of sorcery is this?" to which Nick replied "This is the inheritance item. A bag that can hold couple of items while not getting bigger".

I looked at Nick as if I saw a mythical being and said "Bullshit, you just did a trick, right? It has to be some sort of trick!". Nick's smile got bigger and bigger while saying "Boy, you lived your life in a small village cut off from the rest of the world. Even people such as Rand have no idea that these type of items exist. You will learn about those things when you travel. I told you about the city called Terent, that is closest to here right? There will be people who will have inheritance items as well, then you will be able to broaden your horizons when you travel there".

Before Nick said anything else I said "Tell me. Tell me more about the outside world. If this is a commonplace thing out there, I want to know more!". Because I said it so seriously, Nick was taken aback a bit. He then said "Listen, you will explore all those things in due time. For now focus on your training and goals. When you are done here, then I will tell you which way is the city Terent. You can learn a lot of things about this world when you travel. There are loads of people much stronger than me and my inheritance is kind of worthless to those that live in cities".

Nick then continued "I left the city partly because my inheritance was compared to nothing. For you it may be amazing but to others that experienced the world… It's nothing much". I didn't know what to say while Nick continued "You are humble boy, no, Nex. Because you are not lofty, you can easily surpass me. You also have more talent than I had when I was young and because you don't know a lot of things, you will develop better".

I looked at Nick and said "Then, if all these people are amazing and even better than you, how could I compare to them?". Nick looked at me and said seriously "Don't think like that! You are different than others. Because I'm partly responsible for you, I have only one last thing that I want you to promise me". I asked Nick "What is that?" to which he replied "Don't go to the city".

I was baffled 'Didn't he say that my horizons will broaden when I visit the city and that I will learn much more?'. Nick saw that and said "I didn't mean forever. First train yourself and live in the forest. Stay away from people and develop your arts. That is all I ask. When you complete your arts, you can travel to Terent or other cities that you wish to travel to".

I looked at Nick and asked "So you want me to develop all my skills first before I visit other cities?". To which Nick replied "Yes. I want you to live in the forest and have as little interactions with people as possible". I asked "Why?" to which Nick said "Because people will taint you. Your talent is very rare and because of that the less interactions you have with people, the better. Besides this is your nature as well".

I looked at Nick deeply and noticed that his breath is getting weaker. It was the first time I noticed that Nick doesn't have very long to live anymore. Maybe I never noticed because I didn't want to notice. Due to my training with behaviour, patterns as well as my knowledge of the art of medicine, I could tell Nick didn't have long, yet I never noticed that, until now.

I said to Nick "If not for you, I would be already dead rotting in the forest. If not for you, I might never be able to learn about all the things I learned from you. I finally saw that you are dying…. I shall perfect my arts before I travel to any city. If that is what it takes to explore my life, to be alone and constantly training. I SHALL DO IT!"