They started sorting through everything, the accumulation of a life. They found the dimensional bags, placing Gary’s things in one and Rufus’s in another. That was only a portion of the pile; the rest they started putting in the remaining bags.

Jason brushed his hand along the spines of books on one of several bookcases.

“She always wanted me to pay more attention to magical theory,” he said.

“Take them,” Gary said. “She’d want you to have them.”

“You’re sure?”

“Just make sure you read them,” he instructed Jason. “You have no idea how often she complained that you wouldn’t learn magic properly. She saw so much potential in you.”

“I don’t know about that,” Jason said, “but I’ll try to live up to it.”

* * *

Returning to the support camp, Jason and Gary headed for the large dormitory tent where they had left Rufus. As they drew closer, they heard a commotion coming from the tent and saw people evacuating it.

“MY SON ALMOST DIED BECAUSE YOU COULDN’T HOLD THE LINE!”

Gary and Jason went into the tent. Rufus was standing, his expressionless gaze on a man who had clutched the front of Rufus’s clothes in a first. He was yelling invective at Rufus, blasting out his bronze-rank aura. Everyone else had either backed-off or left entirely.

“What good were you?” the man continued to shout in Rufus’s face. “You couldn’t even protect yourselves!”

“I do not like where this is going,” Gary said, stepping forwards.

“Still nothing to say?” the man kept yelling. “That worthless friend of yours wasn’t worth the dirt her blood stained!”

Rufus’s expression remained blank, but a golden sword appeared in the hand at his side. Gary’s hand was faster and stronger, clamping down on Rufus’s arm and holding it in place. Gary’s other hand formed a fist, which crashed into the face of the yelling man without Gary so much as looking at him. His gaze was on Rufus, who looked back at him blankly.

“You dare?” the man asked disbelievingly from the floor.

Gary turned to face him.

“Leave. Otherwise, I will let him kill you.”

“He wouldn’t dare!”

“Look at him and say that again,” Gary said, stepping aside while keeping a solid grip on Rufus’s arm.

Rufus looked down at the man and the man looked back. What he saw in Rufus’s empty eyes unnerved him more than the sword in Rufus’s hand and he scrambled away, out of the tent.

* * *

After a brief discussion, Gary and Jason decided that the camp was no good for Rufus. Vincent wanted to stay behind and try and help the camp, futile as his efforts may be.