Valerian, The Legendary

Valerian looked at the commander and without saying anything, he condensed a blob of water above Wakar’s head. Then he said, “This blob of water will release a drop every five seconds. The drop of water will fall on the center of your brows. The interval will shorten every ten minutes and gradually you will feel like this drop of water is a hammer. The constant shockwaves will make your brain turn to mush from the inside.”

The seven chiefs and Trin were surprised when they heard this. Valerian walked around the chair and using a wood spell tied Wakar’s head in a fixed position where the drop of water would certainly fall on the same point.

Wakar said, “You will not be able to break through my will like this.”

The chief had removed Wakar’s front tooth have been removed so that he does not bite off his teeth. Valerian shook his head and said, “I do not intend to break through your will. If I did just that, then the Clar-awks will spare you, but that would be like keeping others under the fear that someday you might escape and enact revenge on the people. So, I hope that you maintain your stature and then your brain turns to mush and you die.”

The words were spoken so lightly that the people watching all this could not believe him for a second, but they also understood that Valerian was playing mind games with the victim, and trying to break down his psych resistance. Yet, these words coming from a youngster were a bit too shocking for them.

Clar-awks were a species that believed in mercy. Valerian watched the guy in front of him and waited patiently. He was not in a rush, after ten minutes, Wakar whimpered. Valerian said, “Your Grace, is it alright if I go to the market and finish dealing with a few things?”

Trin was surprised and asked, “Master Valerian, what about this situation?”

Valerian waved his hand and said, “He will not beg for death for the next half an hour. I will come back by then.”

.....

Trin thought about it and then nodded. Valerian looked at the seven people and after a nod, he left the place. The people looked at each other for a few minutes before one of the ladies asked, “Your Grace, is it fine to let him walk away like this?”

Trin nodded and said, “You question him because you have not seen his performance. Do not worry. I am more curious about the circumstances that led to this incident. Call over Frila.”

The lady nodded and left the place quickly. Trin may be the servant beside the maiden, but she was stronger than all of them, and always worked with the interest of the clan in mind.

...

While Trin decided to investigate everything, Valerian was moving through the streets quickly and came to a tailor shop mentioned by Fern, and entered the door without any hesitation.

The shop had a similar layout to Fern’s shop, but the walls were adorned by a completed set of clothing and other wearables. The wall behind the counter had a few sample sheathes placed neatly on a wooden shelf.

A middle-aged lady was standing there and greeted Valerian with a smile as she said, “Welcome to Finessa Tailor shop, how can I help you to..”

She stopped midway when she realized that Valerian was not one of the patrons in the village, but the outlander, her polite attitude became even politer, she asked, “Master Valerian, what can I do for you?”

Valerian was surprised and asked, “Madam, how do you know my name?”

The lady smiled and said, “The entire clan knows your name by now. You captured that worm for us, and also my daughter Frila, she was aided by you in the battle. I thank you for saving her life.”

Valerian realized the connection and shook his head as he said, “You are patronizing me. I only did what I was supposed to do.”

The lady did not say much when she saw that Valerian did not want to take credit for his good deed. She said, “Very well, then tell me what can I do for you?”

Valerian walked up to the counter and from his magic pouch he took out a set of materials. The leather of the Silverback Stag-bull was spread evenly on the counter and Valerian said, “I would like a part of this leather to be made into a sheath for my sword. Will that be alright?”

The lady examined the skin and said, “It will take a few days for this skin to dry, though, I have a sheath made from the Silverback Stag-bull leather in the past. I wonder if that will be okay?”

Valerian thought about it and then he took out his sword. The weapon was placed on the table and he said, “This is the sword.”

The lady nodded and took out a sheath from a drawer in the counter and said, “Please see if this fits, if not, then I will ask you to come back after a month. This skin you have will take at least twenty-nine days to dry properly.”

Valerian tried to fit the sword in the sheath, but it did not fit. He said, “Madam, I will come after a month, thank you.”

The lady nodded and said, “This is a rare material, Master Valerian, that is why it will be taking such a long time, I apologize for the inconvenience.”

Valerian hook his head and asked, “Teacher Fern told me that if I provide the material, I will not have to pay anything.”

The lady nodded and said, “Yes, you do not pay anything, also, I want to ask you, would you like to have anything else made from the rest of the material?”

Valerian was surprised, he did not understand how to respond, when the lady said, “Regardless of anything, your actions saved the life of my daughter, this is a way to repay the favor. I will not find peace if I used the ways of business with the benefactor of my house.”

The young prince understood that he cannot get his way around so he said, “If so, then I would like you to make me a set of soft leather armor. I will use it in the Triumph Meet.”

The lady nodded and said, “It will be my honor to craft something for you, Master Valerian.”

The young man scratched the back of his head and said, “I will go back now madam. See you soon, please take care.”

The lady nodded and wished him well.

...

Valerian returned to the place where Wakar was being held, and before he could enter the room, he was able to hear screams. He smiled faintly and walked ahead. The door was left ajar and all the chiefs were standing outside the room. Trin was with them and Valerian also spotted Frila.

He smiled and asked, “So, did he start begging yet?”

Trin nodded with a solemn expression and Valerian walked inside the room with calm strides, he ignored the wailing man and asked, “Wakar, do you wish to die?”

Wakar nodded and then said, “Yes, yes, please kill me. Just make this stop.”

Valerian shook his head and said, “I can stop this for a few minutes, but I will start this again, after curing you with a quick healing spell. Over and over again until you give us all the information we want.”

Wakar cried, his resolve was washed away, and he screamed at the peak of his lung capacity, “Ask me, ask all you want, and I will tell you. Just put an end to this.”

Valerian smiled at Trin, who was gawking outside the room, and said, “He is all yours.”

Then with a wave of his hand, the water blob stopped dripping and the chiefs came inside to ask the guy variety of questions. They were basically asking for the location of the Lunake clan and the way their army worked. All sorts of secret information were enquired about.

Valerian watched from the side but did not say anything. Frila asked, “Master Valerian, who do you know all this?”

Valerian smiled and said, “Humans are notorious and they have written many books about how to torture a man and then break their resolves and mental fortitude.”

...

After the information was extracted, Valerian walked to his shack to rest, but what surprised him was a slouched figure standing at the doors. He walked closer and said, “Miss Shiba, do you know that it is not good for respectable ladies to visit a man so late in the night?”