Tarmon watched Arturo and Jen leave. Achillion was already in the city, most likely talking to some woman, and he was left alone. He had an idea of what he wanted to do while everyone was busy.

  As of right now, Azzellia was the only nation in Aidris where rogue power users could practice the power without fear of the mages. At least, that’s what Tarmon thought. Since becoming a rogue power user, he had done his best to hide his powers. Now he didn’t have to do that, and for the first time, he could practice the power, improve his skills, and become useful.

  There was one spot in Carhan that Tarmon could think of where he could find knowledge about the power. When he was a lord, he had all sorts of contacts, and he knew where the black market was. Usually, the black market had information on the power, whether it was some writing or a full book. If he was lucky, there could be a book.

  Now was the best time to check the black market out. He didn’t want his friends to know, not until he could use the power more efficiently. A silly reason, but Tarmon had made up his mind about that. There was a chance he wouldn’t be able to improve with the power without a teacher, and he didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up.

  With that, Tarmon got up and walked out of the inn. He had money, even though his lordship was revoked due to becoming a rogue power user. It made him hate the mages, even if there was a benefit to his punishment. He wouldn’t have met Arturo or Jen, and that was worth everything he had gone through.

  Thankfully, many of the lords in Carhan paid off the guards to ignore the black market. It was something King Lerin had tried to stop and failed to do so. His son, Talon, didn’t seem to be making any effort to shut down the black market. The invaders could be thanked for that.

  That was another reason to seek out a way to improve his skills. The invaders would have their own power users, and Tarmon wanted to help keep the Shields of Aidris alive. A single power user could do things a hundred soldiers couldn’t. It would be nice to heal his comrades as well in a quick manner, whereas it took too long for people to recover from injuries due to his lack of skills.

  He walked into the lower levels. The black market was always located in the lower levels due to the higher security requirements in the upper level, and the middle section was risky. You never knew what the guards would do. Besides, most of the people who bought from the black market were tourists, and they always entered through the lower levels of the wall.

  Tarmon walked into the lower levels without so much as a glance from the guards. Various people lived here, from the lower class to middle class. The nobles all resided on the upper level of the walls. He wondered how his family was doing. When he became hunted by the mages, he imagined the hardship his family went through. He did try contacting them, and they weren’t all too happy about that. Another problem for another time.

  When he walked into a dark alleyway, he saw a shady person with a hood covering their entire body and face. This was the spot. Tarmon was glad it hadn’t moved. He moved past the hooded figure and opened a door, which revealed a staircase, and he walked down.

  A couple of men walked by him, each looking fierce but said nothing as they passed. Tarmon hoped nobody would recognize him. The last time he came here was seven years ago, in search of an artifact. Before he could use the power, he used to love coming down here to find artifacts. Ever since he discovered the power, he didn’t care as much anymore.

  As he made his way down, he could hear lots of noise. Tarmon couldn’t help grinning; this was the black market he remembered. He opened the door at the bottom and walked into a large group of people. Some were yelling at one another, while others were bartering or testing out items. This was the place to find power-forged weapons, artifacts, or other mysterious items.

  There was a pop, startling him, and Tarmon looked to see a ball of thick black smoke. A man came walking out, laughing as if he’d heard the funniest thing, and pulled a tiny black ball out of his pocket.

  Shiny weapons of various kinds were lying around. Some were created for decoration, while others could be special. Tarmon wouldn’t know unless he asked or tested out the weapons. He could sense the power somewhere in here but there were too many people to guess who was using it, not without looking closely.

  “Hello, are you interested in some spicy mekkle?” A merchant asked.

  “No thanks,” Tarmon said. Drugs were the last thing he needed. Had he been asked back when he was a lord, he would have bought some without hesitation. It was strange how much his life had changed since learning he could use the power.

  The merchant tried to ask him something else, but Tarmon tuned him out. He knew who he was looking for. Petro Mordano. That was the name of the man who would possibly have anything with the power. He was a dangerous man. Anyone who double-crossed him was in for a bad time, especially if that person ripped him off.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Tarmon walked around for over twenty minutes before he found Petro. There was a small group of people looking at his items, and he could hear Petro trying to convince the people to buy various items. From the way he was talking and smiling, you wouldn’t know he could be intimidating.

  He straightened himself and walked up to Petro. “I’ve got a question for you,” Tarmon said.

  “A question?” Petro said and turned to one of the potential customers. “That’s a real good artifact. If you hold that ball in your hand, squeeze and throw, it’ll turn into a fireball. The best part is it's reusable.”

  “You don’t say?” The customer, a large man with a thick beard, said. “I could use something like this.”

  “For you, two gold pieces,” Petro said.

  “Deal,” the man said and handed over two gold pieces.

  Once the man walked away, Petro turned his attention back to Tarmon. “Okay, what question do you have?”

  “I’m looking for a book that can help someone learn how to use the power. Do you have something like that?” Tarmon asked.

  “That’s a dangerous item, friend, even I have to warn you of the potential issues you might run into,” Petro said.

  “With the Ashtari around, I don’t think the mages are looking for rogue power users,” Tarmon said.

  “You may be right. I may have something for you, but it won’t be cheap,” Petro said.

  “Don’t worry about that,” Tarmon said and took out a small bag, containing ten gold pieces. He had more but he didn’t want Petro to know or he would raise his price.

  “Hmm, you might need more than that, but we can discuss the price. Give me a moment,” Petro said and walked into the back of his store.

  Smart man. If a mage knew Petro had a book about the power, they would confiscate it. Tarmon wouldn’t be surprised if mages came here in disguise and tried to find anything with the power. Well, at least before the reveal of the Ashtari. Now nobody knew what the mages were up to. The last they heard, a lot of the mages returned to Mortham Tower. Whether that was true or not, he didn’t know.

  Minutes passed and Tarmon found himself growing impatient. He noticed he was tapping his foot nervously and forced himself to stop. Perhaps Petro didn’t have a book. If that were the case, he would have to keep snooping around.

  “Oi, where is Petro? I wanted to ask him about this dagger,” Tarmon heard someone say.

  “Dunno, he went into the back,” someone else replied.

  Tarmon didn’t say anything and kept waiting. He didn’t know how much time had passed. Some of the potential customers left, and then Petro came out, holding something in a bag and plopped it down in front of him.

  “This book has a lot of information on the power. The mages would kill to have this book,” Petro whispered, looking around to make sure nobody was around. “The only reason I am showing this to you is because I recognize you and know you aren’t a mage.”

  “Recognize me?” Tarmon said.

  “Not that I know your name or anything about you,” Petro flashed him a smile, showing a couple of golden teeth in the process. “I recognize the face. You have bought many things from me and that’s all I need to know.”

  Good memory. Tarmon thought. This would make things easier. “What is in this book?” he asked.

  Petro looked around to make sure no one was nearby and showed the book. “This book was written before the war of power. I don’t know anything about the power, but there is a lot of information,” he said and opened the book.

  Tarmon saw a few drawings, showcasing some sort of technique, but Petro flipped through the pages too fast for him to know what it was. One thing was clear: this book was genuine. A rare book, and one that would be expensive. He had fifty gold on him; hopefully, he wouldn’t have to use it all.

  “Now, I don’t know what you want with this book, and I don’t care. I’ll give you this book for thirty-five gold pieces,” Petro said.

  “Twenty,” Tarmon said.

  “Thirty-three.”

  “Thirty,” Tarmon said. He didn’t care about the price; he just wanted to buy the book and get out of here.

  “From twenty to thirty? Been a while since I’ve had such an odd bargain,” Petro said with a chuckle. “Very well, thirty gold pieces.”

  Tarmon reached inside his coat pocket and took out two bags and plopped them on the table. Petro quickly reached for the bags and counted. “Well, well, this was an easy sale. Don’t get yourself in trouble now,” he said.

  “Thanks,” Tarmon said and slid the book inside his coat. He didn’t want anyone to see this. He walked quickly, avoiding all the other merchants, and left the black market. Nobody was standing outside the door that led into the market, and he kept moving.

  He didn’t slow down until he arrived back at Kape Drama. To his surprise, Arturo and Jen were still not back. Tarmon wasn’t surprised not to see Achillion or Eurisha. That meeting with Talon must be an interesting one, or maybe the king was asking for a favor in return. Either way, this suited him fine.

  Tarmon walked up the stairs and into his room. He sat on his bed and pulled out the book. It was titled: A Power User's Guide: A Lesson of Strength and Technique. Shrugging, he opened the book.

  The first page described how to efficiently utilize the power. Proper breathing techniques and keeping a calm mind. Nothing too extraordinary, until he turned a couple of pages. Creating a wave of lightning that would shoot in every direction at once. A brief glance was all he needed to know this was not an easy technique. The drawing showed a man, with a barrier around him and lightning coming out of the barrier.

  Too advanced for me. He needed to learn something easier and move his way up. The book was unorganized. A few pages later, he saw a simple healing technique, one that was even worse than the one he already knew. Then, he found a page that he could focus on. A better way to utilize the power to heal.

  This would be a good first step. Once he improved his healing, he would focus on aggressive uses of the power. Tarmon didn’t want to just be a healer; he wanted to be a skilled power user. Capable of healing his comrades and killing his enemies. The invaders were going to be tough, and he refused to be weak. He gathered the power and, for the first time in years, he began to train.