Our skins were filled in the well, and our good-byes had been said. It was not even a minute’s walk down the faded path that our beloved homes were so tiny in sight. My mind had crossed thoughts as how far from home we would be until we were no longer at ‘home’, if we could count our steps the entire journey to find out distance, or even if Leion’s insatiable hunger merged with Shiva’s still-growing body’s need for food would allow us much time with food and water.
While I chuckled at the last thought, the first was answered quite clearly. Two trees, tall and fair oaks, had been carved out some in the sides. Two sentinels stood out from the trees, fine details of their armor carved into the wood as they stood holding their spears. “So we had guardians all our lives aside from our own swords?”
Leion nodded. “I was told they alone protect us from small threats, most things like wolves and bears. Yet as bedtime stories, they seem to guard us from great wyverns and chimera.”
“There is no guarantee such things do not exist. Kain revealed his neck so we would be wary that the magical world is indeed our world, it seems.” I pulled my sword from its hold, slashing down and pointing forward. “Yet I am intrigued. Those who know themselves, their element, and how to control their power may yet wield magic. How would we, I wonder?”
Shiva tilted her head and cupped her palm to her cheek. “Well, remember. Light, dark, earth, ice, air, fire. Often, each element has a personality one can attach to it. I am called ‘pure’, and Kain dubbed me “light”, so we may assume light would mean innocence or purity.”
I pat her head. “Aye, no arguing that you’re the most pure being we’ll see for ages. Yet the others are a riddle. Ice would be chilly, yet when melted, would simply make water, the foundation of life. Fire is dangerous, beautiful to the eye, and the backbone of many crafts. The earth is our home, the air spreads and breathes life into the world. Darkness… evil, perhaps?”
Leion put his thumb to his chin. “I think not. Recall, there was a weapon… Starlight? Still. Kain said it was for one who showed that even darkness holds light. Darkness most likely is not evil in its whole, but the closest friend to evil for being able to hide it.”
Shiva looked to Leion and stopped. “But fire is as dangerous… Darkness helps us, too, by allowing sleep. We could not have life without it. Water beats the shores, air rips the life from the earth when turned to angry wind, and light dries the water to starve the earth. Any element can be evil…”
Of course any element could. The world would spin, regardless of if its composure cost a man his life… I dare not say that aloud to her, though. It was a morbid thought for myself, at the time. “Yes, but ‘tis up to the world and those who control the elements how they are used. I trust you will not burn my skin with your light, sister.” I winked, and she relaxed before dashing to catch up.
Such thoughts continued… Who would be the one to wield each blade, if we could each take one? As I thought when hearing of the Mithril Sliver, being a protector by trade, it would suit me. But Leion? I saw him and thought him neither a kind nor idealist. He was not a guardian (no matter how protective; he prefers the offense too greatly), and was not an idealist. Yet he was not a man to live in the dark.
Wait. “How can we search for weapons that seem to represent elements or people when there were five mentioned, but six elements to the world? I could guess we know of darkness and light being two; Stardust and the Dragon Heart. But one with great imagination, a King, and a guardian… Until we know which element each person must link to, we know not what the sixth may be.”
A golden leaf falling from the tree caught in my mouth, forcing me to spit it out and end my speech. Leion and Shiva laughed at the chance occurrence, but I was glad for it. I looked behind me, suddenly aware of the fiery colors coating the trees and trail around us. This season was personally my favorite, and I felt suddenly foolish for not taking the time to appreciate it.
Leion stepped to Shiva’s side. “Pity we are not still as young as we once were… This season was always the most fun to hide and seek each other out.” I only faintly heard him, but recalled the memories in all their warmth and glory.
I turned to reply. “Yes, and somehow you always knew—“ The warmth was gone, replaced by ice. Charging, somehow silently, towards the backs of Leion and Shiva was a hideous creature, olive in skin and ragged in its face, brandishing a dangerously curved scimitar. “Watch out!” I started sprinting as Leion turned, swiftly unsheathing his claymore.
The creature came still, crying out “Meat!” with each step before slamming its weapon down on the ground where Shiva stood a second before. It screeched, “Me-e-e-e-e-ea-a-a-at!” with an earsplitting pitch before turning its blade toward me.
Its sideways swing let Leion swing back, catching blades together and throwing the creature’s balance off incredibly. I thrust my blade through its chest, but the creature only grabbed my sword and lifted his own to come down on me. Even with my blade digging in its fingers, I couldn’t pull it out fully; it was only in a flash of blue and pink that the hand turned lifeless and the body fell.
“What, the, devil was that!?” I pulled my sword out of it and noticed the blood seemed as brown-green as the skin. “An orc?”
“No, far too small. A goblin, I would wager.” Leion gave a shiver where he stood; the assault had shaken him, too. “So fierce for such a small body...”
He started to place his blade back in its hold, but Shiva’s hand stayed his arm. “Why are you putting it away? Did you not hear its cry? We are “meat”… and not for it alone. I fear there will be more.”
No sooner had she spoken that another goblin came crashing through the leaves to the north, stealth lost in a hungry frenzy. “Die, meat!” it shouted as it came to us, slashing down branches in its way.
When it hit a clearing, I reached to the first goblin’s hand and took its scimitar. A strong hurl sent the blade spinning to the beast as I and Leion ran behind it. The scimitar was slashed out of the air, but the goblin’s next swing at me met my blade. As we locked in a clash, Leion dashed through and was able to cut down through its neck. We both stood back as the leaves beneath the body slowly were dyed the shade of its blood.
“Leion! Ban-Ban! We must go!” She was pointing to the south now as three together began charging us.
Leion and I nodded at each other before merging on Shiva to start continuing down the path, now in a dead sprint. Along the path were yet two more goblins on a course for us. Passing both, I swung my blade into theirs to halt their assault, soon followed by Leion’s wild charge slashing through them. Shiva’s blade finished them with a clean hew through the body, but the stomping behind us only very slowly seemed to fade.
It took only a minute before our spring turned to a jog, and under the weight of our equipment and bags, I almost found myself tripping over the stones hidden under the leaves. I turned my head over my shoulder to see our pursuers still close behind. Yet though we slowed, they did not gain. I could swear to see a grin on their lips. “…Sadistic.”
Leion saw me looking back. “Quit speaking and—Bankar!” I stopped and turned around, blade held ready to strike. “What are you doing?!”
“Just fight, Leion, fight! We can not run!” Shiva had gotten to my side by the time the goblins were upon us. One swerved to slash at her as two came to me. I had one second to think and even less to slash. I pushed one of their swords into the other, crossing them together before tilting to push both down to the ground.
“Gah… Human!” Pulling at each others’ blades to get one loose met failure as I turned my sword onto the face of one. I’d turned my blade to aim for the second, but a hard, dark lump hit my face and sent me reeling to the side. My sword was pulled in a scrape of metal… the goblin had punched me and was ready to strike! I couldn’t get my blade up in time; I’d be defenseless!
“Aaahhh!” I lifted my other hand to cover my face, but still caught sight of a long sword pushing forward under my arm. The goblin’s chest was pierced through by Leion’s blade as he thrusted, appearing right behind me. I jerked to the right, giving him room as he gripped the handle of his sword and pushed it straight up, tearing through the goblin’s body. The one I struck was dead, and Shiva’s attacker had been disposed of swiftly. All that remained was for the body to remove itself from Leion’s blade. I rubbed my jaw, wanting to remove the ache as I stared at Leion. “Thank you, Lei.”
Shiva looked depressed at the death around her. “Ban-Ban, why did you stop?”
“We could sprint, but no faster than they. Yet when we slowed, they had not gained nor lost a step from us. I felt they wanted to simply wait for us to tire. A sadistic chase…” I gave my sword a flick and swing, shaking off what blood I could. “I would rather fight with some energy and a chance to live than fall from exhaustion to creatures that seem to know no end to running.”
“Hah. I am glad you could figure that out and stand to fight; I hold no love of fleeing.” Leion clapped his hand on my shoulder before replacing his claymore behind him. “Let us continue. It may be night soon, but we should at least get away from this area.”
I nodded and sheathed my own sword again, but didn’t remove my hand for a fair few minutes as be began again. As we continued east, the trees seemed to hold more leaves, and even a rare few still green. How they stood out from the rest of the trees was a fair sight indeed.
“This blood reeks of filth…” Leion pinched his nose shut and grimaced. “Please, say we have some way to clean ourselves of this foul smell.”
“I do not like it, either, but we at least need a stream or river before we may wash our clothes.” Shiva turned to him and smiled. “At least our sheets are not so revolting; we may have a chance to sleep free of the smell.”
I chuckled and kept walking. “I must be lucky; my own clothes are not stained so badly. However bad the stench, though, we can not simply wash it away with our water.”
“Speaking of which…” Shiva pulled out three skins and passed them about. “Come. We’ve walked at least a mile; we should rest while there is still light.” In a silent agreement, we found a soft, open patch of grass to set down on and passed around strips of dried meat. A proper meal was for later, when we could afford to camp fully.
“We may have two more hours of light to travel by before we must stop to camp, unless we choose to travel through the night.” I looked down at my meat strip before taking another tug at it and a swig of water. “Though walking in the dark is probably no worse than during the day…”
“But certainly no better. Should we sleep, we will need to take turns watching for more of anything after our thro—“ He stopped all movement, except for his eyes trailing something off behind Shiva. I turned, slowly, to find a lone wolf (a rarity, as they normally travelled in packs) sniffing about. “Will our problems never end?” he whispered, but even that set the wolf’s ears to us. It took another smell at the ground, then in our direction before roaring and charging at us.
No different than in the village, a lone wolf was little trouble, at least. Standing between it and my partners, I drew my sword and waited as it dashed. I turned my feet right and gripped the sword, waiting for its lunge for the throat to begin before stepping to the side with a strong slash that caught it in the mouth, tearing through enough to kill. The body fell in a heap, but I looked at Leion. “Do you suppose it was a scout from its pack, too?”
“Possible, but the beast did not roar or howl. I think it was on its own, and simply hungry for out meat.” He reached over and gave Shiva a pat on the back. “Shiva, you may want to turn away for this. Normally it is done indoors, but… well, we have no doors to be in.”
It took her all of two seconds to realize what we had planned before she nodded and walked across the trail, sitting with her back to us and finger tracing the grass in idle drawings. “Lei, let us finish this as fast as possible.” He nodded and we rummaged the supplies sack for the knives inside to tan and cut some meat from the beast. After all, though we’d been given food, we were far from given a supply to last us the entire journey.
Leion lifted the body and tossed it from the trail, so scavengers would be off the beaten path enough to not crowd it looking for more. Myself, I was rubbing the meat down with what salts we had, trying to get it as preserved as the rest of our store. With it done the best I could do, the meat was wrapped in what skin we had collected. Leion took hold of it as I doused my hands some with water to at least wash the red from it.
“Shiva, we are finished.” She turned to face me with a smile, but I still caught the painful, reproached look in her eyes. “Sis… We cannot survive by what is in our bags alone. The meat we eat has to come from something, and we do not want you to have to experience the process yourself. Please, smile?”
She took a deep breath and tried again, this time much more genuine. “I am sorry, Ban-Ban… I just do not like knowing we have to hurt or kill.”
Leion picked up his bad and placed it over his shoulder, wolf hide in the other’s hand as he smiled. “Even I do not enjoy doing harm, Shiva. But I would sooner harm others than let us be harmed. Come on; we need to leave this place, too, before anything finds the wolf’s body.”
She nodded and, once again, our feet began setting us off on the trail to Willowfields. The trail past that was thankfully clear, leaving us only one surprise in a fox running across the path. As the sun came to setting, the reds of the sky mixed with the yellows of the trees to create a fiery vision, rare in its beauty. Such sights were my main reason for the love of the season.
“Should we stop and begin making camp, Ban? Or do you feel a few more steps in the dark will do us well?”
I slowed and looked around, turning in place to view our surroundings. “The area is not clear enough for a camp, I think… And it would do well for us to gather wood between here and wherever we may actually stop to set up.” I spotted a large, dead branch amidst the leaves in a tree to my right and tugged it down, bending what it connected to until it snapped and yielded me a fine set of wood to break apart for bundling.
Taking the cue, we continued down the trail, gathering what our arms would hold in hopes that a good enough clearing would relieve us of our burden and allow our first night to be more peaceful than the day.

---

Addition Five is here.

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Goten is dead!

Cool; a continuation. If that was all in a single mile then those three are sure going to be in trouble soon enough, hehe.

"Even with my blade digging in its fingers, I couldn’t pull it out fully; it was only in a flash of blue and pink that the hand turned lifeless and the body fell."

^ I don't understand what happened there.

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My interpretation was that Ban shoved his sword into the Goblins chest, then the Goblin was holding the blade of Ban's sword with its hand on the sharp edge which normally would cause enough pain that it would let go of the sword allowing Ban to pull it free. Then Shiva slices the Goblins hand off with the Prism sword which allows Ban to fully free his weapon.

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Scar has it mostly right.

Bankar's stab went through the Goblin's body, but it grabbed his sword by the blade and was holding on tight (ignoring its own pain) to try and take Bankar out with it. Shiva's attack killed the Goblin and freed Ban's sword; no specific target on where she struck, but enough to assuredly kill the dang thing.

Still. I don't think there'll be an epic battle scene seen every mile... Maybe just while there are few miles to travel by foot.

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A flame let off some cracking noises as wood gave way to the heat. What store of sticks we had started with lasted us all of two hours, and even then barely into the night itself. “Kain would be the first to say “I told you so”… If you feel your wood will last the night, take the size of your pile and make it fourfold.” So he had been stating over and over as he gathered the wood, leaving Shiva to tend to the food while I arranged our cloths and the ground to what would hopefully be a comfortable makeshift bed.
Dropping off what else was in his arms, Leion dropped onto the ground. “That is all I could find. If you want more, you need to search for yourself.”
I gave a small laugh and stood up, dusting my legs before starting off the way Leion hadn’t covered. “Fair enough, if you help make us each a bed of leaves with our sheets on top.”
Every small survival tip was useful at night. For example, cold air seems to travel down, while warm air rises. So putting some height, even a small amount, between the dirt and our bodies, seemed a fair idea. Meanwhile our ‘bed’ and blankets would hold the warm air in against us. We hoped, at least. As I picked out the branches and sticks on the ground in a search for good wood, I kept trying to think of what would help.
However, my arms were soon loaded enough that my attention was more on not dropping the load than what to do about camp. So I dropped off the wood, finding a fair smelling soup boiling as the beds took on a fair shape. “If every night is this good, I could enjoy the travelling for a while.” Leion seemed to be deciding if he wanted to play with the idea of makeshift pillows as he spoke.
“As long as we do not tire of carrying our own loads, it will be okay.” The fire’s dancing cast a light on her, showing a face screwed up in concentration at trying to make the soup as tasteful as palatable. “This would be easier with more light…”
I looked up, seeing only a small bit of the moon in our sky. “We should see the black moon tomorrow night. Then perhaps three weeks of more light for you.” I chuckled and looked back at the fire. “Not that it does us good now.”
Shiva grabbed a little twig from the kindling pile and threw it at me. “I could let you cook, Ban-Ban.” We all gave a small laugh before I turned to keep looking for wood. My eyes happened to find a fallen tree not too far from the patere!?”
The wood fell immediately from our arms as we ran to her, swords drawn in our hands as Leion and I ran. We found Shiva brandishing her sword in every direction, only paying half attention to us once she realized who our footsteps belonged to. “Ban-Ban, Lei-Lei, did you see anyone? They seemed a shadow to me.”
“No, we only heard you.” Leion stepped forward, closer to the fire. “Whoever is there, come on out!” His voice gave a small echo in the trees, but died out and met wind, fire, and boiling water for response. “… Whoever was there either hides well or left. We should retrieve the wood… the three of us. And no more being apart tonight. Okay?”
I nodded and sheathed my blade, only waiting until Shiva had settled enough to replace hers as well. “We sha’nt be routed or ambushed easily, Shiva. You did well to not stay quiet.”
“Yes, but… This is why we must take turns keeping watch in the night, then. I had hoped at least our first night would be less troublesome than in the day.” She kept looking around everywhere as we left the camp, tracing our steps back to the fallen bundle of logs. Leion’s foot running into a particularly thick one signaled our arrival, so we began gathering them again in hopes of making it back with no problems this time.
Leion managed to hold his load under one arm, so the procession back at least had the comfort of him holding his smaller sword in his free hand. Even with the light from the fire and that reflecting off his blade, we failed to spot what Shiva had earlier. I can’t complain, however; it meant a fight was avoided. We dropped our loads in the pile and began both feeding the fire and stacking the bundles again.
“I do not remember the pot boiling this low…” Shiva sat by the soup and began bringing out our bowls. “I know leaving water to boil will make it go lower because of the steam, but that almost seems too much for a small trip for wood.” She handed Leion and I our bowls before scooping her own down.
“No way to know what happened. We have enough to eat, so I say we at least smile at that.” I lifted my bowl in gratitude before taking a sip of the broth. “Still delicious.”
A little giggle was the last sound before we began clearing our bowls of the soup, and soon cleaning out the pot of what was left as well. If all dinners were that tasty, a life of travel would not be bad at all. I finished first, splashing a small bit of water into the bowl to clean it out while watching over the others. “I wonder, who should take the first turn at watching in the night?”
Shiva set her bowl down and stared at it. “I was thinking the same question while cooking… I would like to. It, or to be the last.”
I tilted my head and kept looking at her as her bangs hid her face, still pointed down to her bowl. She felt upset about her request… Leion noticed it, too. “Shiva, you’re asking so you can have a steady sleep, without interruption to watch between mine and Ban’s turns?” That would make sense. She never did well with asking for something for her own benefit, yet I could see why she would want to not have an interrupted sleep.
After about two seconds of thinking, I set my bowl next to hers and yawned, stretching my body left and right where I sat. “Just do not be afraid to wake us if something happens.” She looked up in a bit of surprise, but smiled again as I scooted back to the bed.
Leion gave a chuckle and followed suit, setting his swords by his side before wrapping the sheet over his body. “Wake me when you want to rest, Shiva. Ban will be the last watch.” Leion and I gave each other a smile at bringing Shiva back to normal before flopping back to try to sleep off the events of the day.
“Ban-Ban… Lei-Lei… Thank you. Sleep well.”
As was any day of fighting and hard work (added with that this was true, life-threatening fighting instead of simple sparring), sleep came quickly. Leion’s snores came faster than my own sleep, leaving Shiva to stroke the fire and keep looking around.
Her eyes watched one spot in specific, and for at least an hour. It was only when she was sure we were asleep that she decided to voice her suspicion. “You may come out now. I will not strike without a reason.”
A few seconds passed before a rustle in the leaves and a rising silhouette appeared. A figure, hands held in front of his chest to show no will to fight. Shiva stayed sitting on the ground, hands not held at her blades’ handles as she simply watched the stranger approach. As he stepped closer to the fire, she saw he seemed to don a simple tunic with a sash decorating his waist. His face was shallow, and half hidden by smooth dark hair hanging down to his stomach. Sheathed at his side was a blade much like a rapier, but very much longer and less delicate. “You are fast to trust.”
For how strong and cold his face seemed, his voice was surprisingly delicate. Shiva lifted her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. “You were fast enough to steal some of our food, yet courteous enough to not take our other possessions. Also, as it is now, you could have waited for a much better chance to strike us unaware, yet you come out in the open.”
He gave an amused hum and closed his eyes. It surprised him to be read so easily. “I… can not cook well. So I had to steal.”
Shiva’s mouth turned to a small smile again, and she tilted the pot to look inside. A small amount of the food still remained; she pointed the opening to the stranger. “Feel free. We have eaten, and you mean no harm.” He reached out cautiously for the pot, but took it and began hungrily draining the last of its contents before taking a draught from his water skin. Shiva only watched with some amusement before adding another small log to the fire.
The two sat in place, not knowing what to say as the fire dwindled. The moon nearly reached the sky’s center as Shiva’s head nodded in place with her dozing off. It happened twice before she shook her head and rubbed her eyes sleepily. “Tired?”
She nodded and gave a small squeak as she yawned. “I should wake Leion so he may watch… I cannot stay awake longer.”
The stranger’s eyes opened wide instantly. “I… should go. Thank you for everything.”
Before she could stop him from moving or ask him what his panic was for, he had turned in place and dashed out of the camp with startling speed, hair and sash floating in the air behind him. Shiva watched where he had left before catching herself yawning, and reached over to wake Leion with a gentle shake.
As he gave a shake and groan in longing to sleep again, Shiva managed one last thought. “I never found out his name…”
“Huh? Whozat?” Leion struggled to lift himself to a sitting position. “Shiva?”
“I am here, Lei-Lei. I can stay awake no longer… Sorry.”
“No worries… One minute and I will be well enough to keep watch.” The two hugged before Shiva crawled to her bed and wrapped up in the sheet, wondering if she would see the stranger again.

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Addition Six is found here.

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Goten is dead!

Cool. If I may suggest, though, it would be nice to have specified who is speaking at times when the changes are abrupt. For instance, both Leion's and Shiva's first words in this most recent post were totally vague that it was either of them, especially with Shiva where the only clue was the "cast a light on her" that followed. Also,
Ban is talking about himself returning to camp, so the reasonable assumption I had was that they reached camp and something besides Shiva was waiting for them. I had to read that section like three times before I finally realized it was actually Shiva who was talking, and at that point it starts to get annoying.

Not that I can do any better; just something to consider in future chapters.

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For a second, I thought the way you'd quoted it was how I actually wrote it. O.o

I should change "That was Shiva" to "That was Shiva's voice"... Most of the times I have someone talk without openly stating who's talking, I try to have the speaker performing an action at the same time. >_>; This time it backfired.

Sorry.

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Goten is dead!

No worries; I know what you mean. When I wrote Zamorak's Bane I was on the opposite end of the spectrum, explicitly stating who said every line. (Though I guess there were way too many characters to make assumptions anyway.)

"That was Shiva's voice" would work. Or perhaps even an extra sentence:
^_^

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Being roused by Leion came in the form of a surprised yelp. I was jerked up by the shock, but Shiva (probably exhausted more than she’s ever been) managed to not get roused by Leion’s cry. “What? What?”
He was staring at the dirt just next to the fire. Etched into it were the words, “Thank you miss”. We looked at each other after I read them aloud. “Those words weren’t there before, Ban. I faded for a second, yet they appeared there right after I came back from my doze.”
I wiped my eyes and looked again… Still there. “The only “miss” we have is Shiva. But what did she do for someone?” I looked up at the sky. The moon was still high in the sky, probably at least four hours yet from the sun’s rising. “Leion, if you dozed, you should sleep. ‘Tis my turn to watch, as well.”
He nodded before looking back at the words. “Ban… I am sorry. I shouldn’t allow myself to doze off when on duty. I would not at home, and I hate to think of having done it now.”
“Ah, no worries. We only need to ask Shiva about this in the morning. Sleep, Lei.” He nodded again and tucked into his bed again, wrapped in the cloak. His snores came later than I expected… Likely, he was feeling guilt enough from dozing that he did not want to shamelessly fall asleep. But sleep he did, leaving me to ponder what Shiva was being thanked for.
I soon found myself starting to doze as well if left without entertainment. So I found myself playing a game of lighting one small twig, watching it burn, and passing the flame to another when holding one became a risk to my fingers. The longer I stayed awake, the more aware I became. Soon the game had no use, and all that was to do was to tend to the fire and put away my sleeping sheets.
Even with that done, I measured the moon to be two hours from allowing dawn’s first light. Soon missing my sheet for warmth, I wrapped my cloak around me and settled down, watching the steady rise and fall of both Shiva and Leion. I wondered if this would be our usual regime, or if we would ever be able to sleep a full night without a roof over our heads. Whatever the case, unless something came into camp, it would be a very mundane routine.
A large gust of wind nearly blew out the fire, but sent Shiva into a small shiver. The slow, steady movements of her sleep were disrupted… She had woken, and probably pierced the warmth she had to rest by. I looked down at my cloak, wishing we had another but deciding against giving myself a chance to change my mind. I laid it out over her body, knowing she might not fall asleep again under it anyway. To replace it, I began laying out what wood we had left, allowing the fire to grow quite large. It would last just barely short of dawn, I guessed.
My guess was right; the flame began to disappear as the moon was set and the sky began appearing a sun’s rising red. Shiva hadn’t fallen asleep again, but was at least hopefully comfortable. Able to see a bit more properly, I relaxed, amusing myself once again with the fire, this time by moving the leaves that made up my bed to the fire’s remains. Handfuls at a time yielded quick bursts of light and heat before the leaves withered away.
I finally decided enough was enough with playing around and watched the glowing sun show itself between the many far-off branches of the woods. Shiva gave off a few sounds of sleepiness as she straightened up, sitting and still hugging both her sheet and my cloak to herself. “Good morning, sister.”
She turned and smiled. “You, too, Ban-Ban. Thank you for this.” She lifted my cloak and reached it out for me, letting me put it back on. “Should we let Leion sleep away?”
I looked on the ground and found what I wanted—a tiny pebble. With a careful toss, I got it to hit his ear before rolling down his face. Shiva giggled and Leion slapped his ear instinctively, groaning at falling for the trick. “How can he continue to sleep when he is obviously awake?”
Shiva burst into laughter as Leion rolled onto his stomach and pushed up from the bed. “Very funny, Ban. You’ll get yours…” He was smiling, though, so I knew he would not actually seek any revenge. Even then, he would not try to harm. “Are we leaving already?”
“Nay, not ‘til we have some food in our stomachs.” I reached into the bag of food and grasped a few strips of meat before holding them over the leftovers of our flame. “Some warm meat and a nice draught of water will at least start us well.”
Shiva watched me hold the meat close to the fire, but her eyes trailed to what I had forgotten. “Ban-Ban, Lei-Lei, did you happen to see who wrote that?” Her finger pointed at the thank-you message in the dirt, still visible.
Leion rubbed his face with both hands before looking at the marks. “I dozed in the night, and before I did, the message was not there. But once I woke, I saw it, and awoke Bankar with a yell. On accident”, he added quickly and about blushing. He probably didn’t want to seem more afraid than he actually was of the incident.
I nodded, regardless, at the recount of his story. “You slept through the yelp, so we thought to ask you once we all awoke. You are the only “miss” here, let alone that would be kind enough to help strangers. What happened in the night?”
Shiva sat on the beg, legs tucked into her chest again. She hugged her legs, but tried to hide her face behind her knees. Leion recognized the same fear I did. “Shiva, we are still okay. You were kind, and that kindness wasn’t betrayed. Relax, and tell us?”
Her cheeks lifted in a bit of a smile, but she didn’t move much. “The noise I heard when you were gathering wood sounded like a bandit, or someone. Not an animal. I had thought I saw a head of hair sitting just barely over a bush, so I waited until you were asleep to call him out.”
“Call who out?”
“I did not ask his name.” She shook her head and stared at the pot sitting by the extinguished fire. My eyes followed hers, and I caught myself holding the meat over nothing. “He was a swordsman, dressed lightly but with much cloth over his body, and with long, sleek hair hiding much of his face. But he seemed to not want to hurt… What he wanted was food.”
I looked at the meat again. Then I remembered… “There was too much stew missing to have been the boiling water’s fault. He stole from us?”
“But he left our equipment, cloths, and supplies alone, Ban. I think she trusted him from that.” Leion looked from me to Shiva again, who nodded.
“That is why I asked him to show himself. He did, and explained that he could not cook, so he had to steal from our pot. That is why what was left from our meal last night is no longer there; I gave it to him. I, too, dozed towards sleep. When I spoke of needing to wake you, Leion, he thanked me and fled. I think his message was a more proper way of saying it.” As she spoke, she relaxed her position, steadily returning to normal. Once she’d calmed, I passed about our breakfast.
“Then he trusted you, but not us. Either he fears men, or only could trust who he knew trusted him.” I lifted the meat to my lips and took a small bite, glad to at least have some taste in my mouth.
Leion nodded. “It would make sense for either, but there is no way to know unless we find him and ask. For now, we have a journey to continue.” He took in nearly all of his share of meat in one bite before springing up to his feet and starting to gather the cloths, shaking them as clean of leaves as he could. Shiva took the chance to start tracing a response for the stranger, leaving me to gather the dishes and try to store them where they wouldn’t sully the rest of what they were with.
It wasn’t but a couple minutes later that we were packed and on the road again. Once again, the heaviest satchel eluded Leion’s grasp, and was this time in mine. Where the other bags ended up, I did not know. Still, by measure of the sun, we were on our way, and finding the early hours of the walk surprisingly calm.
About midday, we were fortunate enough to find a small creek off to the side of the path. It was a good chance to refill what of our water skins we had drank through. It wasn’t until nearly another hour of walking that I remembered our thoughts of washing our clothes of the orc blood… too far to turn around and make for the stream again, for sure.
As far as we could tell, the day seemed to want to be clear and peaceful. The more we walked, however, the more we seemed to get surrounded by trees and swept by the golden leaves in the wind. So despite that the sun was high in the sky, we still were caught in much of the shade. I considered for a second, and decided to try at a joke. “Pity Shiva is a girl of Light but cannot make it; I could do with some sun on my face.”
“I could try…” Not having a clear idea of what to do, she cupped her hands as though drinking water from them and screwed her face in concentration. I’d assumed she was trying to make some kind of light appear from her body. Needless to say, being entirely untrained in magic, she failed. “Sorry…”
“No trouble, Shiva. I’m sure Ban was joking.” Leion reached over and smacked the back of my head in a playful disciplinary manner. “He should know better than to put a task on you that takes time to get right.”
“Although…” Leion and I both looked at Shiva as she got another idea in her head. She drew the Prism Sword (I realized then that changing the name I’d used for years would be too stressful to keep up with) and held it in front of her, looking at it from base to tip before concentrating again. The colors on the blade seemed to shift, but nothing aside from that seemed to happen.
After a minute, she let out a breath and stared at her sword. “Please, one more try?”
I opened my mouth to tell her that it was okay and she need not try, but… “Take all the tries you want. Father said magic is tricky and takes years, and we will not learn it idly. Nor will we learn it over a single day.” He gave her head a soft pat. “Just take care not to trip and hurt yourself trying while walking. Okay?”
She nodded and gripped her sword with a renewed sense of determination, looking at it as she started walking again, trying to keep perfectly between Leion and me so to not stray from the path. Thankfully, the trail was clear of debris enough that there was no risk of her tripping and falling on her own sword.
It seemed the thought of magic had crept into Leion’s head as well. I found him holding one hand out, facing upward and held as if holding a ball. “Trying to create a ball of something, Lei?”
“We will not know until we try. Light, earth, fire, wind, water… Hell, I would be happy if shadows came from my hand, if it meant I knew what I was and what I could do.” He clenched his fist firmly before opening it again, willing anything to appear on his hand.
“Then I suppose I should keep lead and make sure we do not make a mistake of some kind.” Leaving the two to their concentration, I stepped in front of the two of them and kept following the trail. My thoughts strayed to magic as well, though I had no intentions of trying to cast it. I already had a fair idea of what element I could embody… Earth. The blade of the guardian, the “Mithril Sliver”, led me to think it. Mithril is a rare metal of legendary strength, mined from deep in the earth. So said the story, anyway. So if I were to wield something born of the earth, I would probably fare well with the same element.
But what could I do with such an element? Create or fling stones? Turn a metal sword into rock? Have grass grow beneath someone’s feet? At least every other element (save possibly for wind) would have a use even in its simplest state. But what could earth do on such a small scale? I decided then not to pursue magic immediately. My focus was on the trail, and turning around now and then to make sure both Leion and Shiva were still behind me.
The only thing during the day that broke our stride was an encounter with a roving couple of people. They saw us and immediately went to draw their daggers, but sized us up again once I’d spotted them and ran off. “Seems we will need to keep watch tonight as well.”
Both Leion and Shiva looked up with a “Huh?” sound. I chuckled and pointed at the retreating pair. Leion gave a laugh. “They probably will not come back, Ban. But if they’re here, then I agree. We do not know what else these woods may hold.”
Shiva and I nodded in agreement. Leion stopped attempting to create something and walked on watch with me, but Shiva kept staring at her sword and concentrating, now looking closer to the handle instead of the middle of the blade. As the sun tilted down to a setting position, I could hear her humming in concentration, and breathing heavily between her efforts.
Finally, I thought enough strain was enough. I turned around to ask her to stop, but as soon as “Shi” was out of my mouth, my eyes were locked on the tip of her blade. A single bead of light was perched there, and behind it trailed a wisp of light following the path the sword took while Shiva walked. “She can do it…” Leion stopped, looked at me, and soon followed my eyes to Shiva’s sword. “Shiva, look up!”
“Huh?” She looked up, but despite broken concentration, the small bit of light remained there. “It… Light! I did it! I did…” The light began to fade as she started to celebrate. “…something.” The effort put into the light finally caught up with her, and she began breathing a bit heavily. “It is no healing or rays from the heavens, but it is at least something. Lei-Lei, Ban-Ban, I can cast magic!”
“Then you did better than I, Shiva. Now we need to know what your magic can do.” Leion stepped to Shiva and gave her a one-armed hug before looking at her sword. “I think, since it was on your sword instead of you, something about your link to that weapon let you get the light there, and so quickly.”
I nodded and remembered the trail it left. “I think you might have given your sword the power of light, rather than just giving yourself some light. If you were to do it again in a fight, I imagine it would do well against anything aligned with the darkness.” I shrugged but smiled. “No way to know unless we find out, or ask.”
With magic officially proven and on the mind, there was little point in trying to stop Shiva from getting the bead to reappear on her sword. A few times she succeeded, and the duration it lasted grew the more she tried. Within the hour, however, she became exhausted from her efforts, and unable to produce it again. “Why would it not work? I can still try.”
At this point, I stopped and turned to her. “I doubt all mages can cast magic without limits. You should probably rest and wait for either a fight or another day; over-exerting yourself physically could harm your body. I would hate to see what doing so with magic could cause.”
She gave a squeak of surprise and hastily sheathed her sword, looking down again. Leion gave a sympathetic chuckle. “Shiva, he was worrying for you, not reprimanding you. Come, come.” He opened an arm invitingly, as if asking her to come back into our group. She stepped slowly forward before getting next to me and hugging my side.
“I should have thought it through better…” She tucked her head under my arm, which was holding her. The other, free one reached over so I could flick her forehead. “Ah! What was that for?”
I laughed and hugged with both arms now. “My little sister performs magic on her first day of trying but feels sad that she is excited about it?” My arms let go and I simply took one of her hands, giving a light tug before starting down the path. “Come on. There is still light to walk by. And apparently, within our party, too.”
Once again, her face brightened and she became her happy self again. I started to wonder if she would always allow herself to feel like a disappointment despite how amazing she was, especially at her age. Hopefully she would grow out of it, though. For now, with the sun reaching the tips of the trees, we needed to start gathering wood for another fire to sleep by.

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Part seven can be found here.

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Goten is dead!

Is this dead for good?

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Heck no. :p I got into a Phoenix Wright spree, and currently Flyff has taken my interest again. This story will see its next chapter for sure, just not immediately soon.

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Goten is dead!

As long as you plan to write again I am fine with a hiatus

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Part Six can be found here.

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The night held no surprises, as far as I could tell. Leion took the first round of watching, determined to not be sleepy enough to doze off again. As he gave me a few shakes to wake up from my short nap on the grass, I observed a bright flame casting his face into bright light as it faced me. “Ban, your turn. I need to rest... No sign of the bandits we saw in the day.”

I nodded and propped myself up into sitting. “I see… Go to sleep, Leion.” He gave a nod and flopped over on top of his sheet, barely wrapping in it before settling to sleep. The fire’s crackle was all that I had for company again, but it was not so bad. At least there was no adrenaline rush of a battle to wind down from.

I set another small log into the fire, watching it catch before looking down and starting to rub my finger against the dirt absentmindedly between glances around at whatever leaves I heard rustle. Within a short time, the line traced in the ground turned to a small dent, and in shorter time to a little hole. Suddenly, an idea struck me. If I had power over the Earth…

I lifted my finger from the ground and instead held my hand over the mark I had made, wondering if I could alter it in any way. I decided spreading the earth to create a larger hole was more practical. So I started concentrating, still trying to stay aware to the sounds around me as I put a picture in my head of the hole growing deeper and wider, from a tiny ditch to an actual hole.

Of course nothing really happened. But for the few hours I sat straining myself to push the hole a little wider, I at least thought I saw a few chunks of dirt slide one way or another. False hope or not, I at least felt assured that I might not be as useless magically as I thought I would be before… So as the concentration took its toll on my energy, I at least felt on par with Leion again at the potential for more than skills with swordplay.

With a pump of my fist at my revelation, I suddenly tilted to the side. The stress from the magic efforts finally caught up with me—I’d only barely caught myself from falling clear onto Leion. I needed to sleep… much longer and I’d be the one dozing off. I shifted a bit to shake Shiva by the leg, slowly rousing her. She at first seemed reluctant to rise, but remembered where she was and jerked upright quickly. “Haha! Relax, sister. It is not bad for you to enjoy sleep enough to not want to rise.”

She smiled and looked away. “I am still sorry, Ban-Ban.” She yawned and rubbed her eyes, leaving me to get onto my sheet and wrap up in it. “You were bored?” I opened my eyes just as soon as they had closed, and saw her pointing at the little scratch in the ground.

“I was trying to shift the earth. The scratch was my finger; I had little to no luck.” Then, a thought came through my head. “Please, do not try to practice magic for now, at least until Leion and I are awake. It takes its toll to force it repeatedly; we do not want a sleepy watch girl.” I waited for her to nod in approval before flopping my body down to sleep.

A wind blew, chilling me into tightening my sheet around me in my sleep. What disturbed me more, however, was the dream. Wind upturned a mountain, causing it to crumble within a vortex until a spark was made from the clashing of rocks. Fire engulfed the tornado, spreading over the land until the frozen parts of mountains would melt and flood the world. I could only stare at the great wall of water approaching my village, knowing full well my sword would be useless as the last shred of light I saw was snuffed by the water’s falling directly on me.

As soon as it hit, my dream went dark. And I jerked upward, awake. Shiva was shivering, and looking scared despite having the Prism Sword unsheathed and held tight. The forest was wild with noise, animals even visibly running to god-knows-where. Leion was even disturbed, staring at the fire with his fingers digging into the ground. I shook my head of the image. “What was that?”

“A nightmare. And one that spread through the whole forest.” Leion continued to gaze at the flame; it seemed to be what kept him from whatever his dream had been. “Mountains torn from their roots, world ablaze, and a flood engulfing everything…”

It was apparently the same dream as mine. But Shiva was not asleep… “Shiva, you were awake. Was it the animals that—“

“No.” She kept me from finishing my question… something really was wrong. “I felt cold, and then felt like evil was standing behind me.”

… What had happened in the forest? If every living being seemed afraid, something was going to happen. Or had happened.

Needless to say, there was no sleeping. We all sat with our backs to the fire, dozing off for moments but never catching more than an hour’s restless sleep as the forest only very slowly started fading into its usual volume. Even then, the feeling of fear was very present… The slightest wisp of wind or tiny noise would stir everything up for a moment before allowing a bit of free time again.

Dawn broke, and what few animals were able to sleep were soon pushed into activity as light hit their eyes. The three of us unanimously groaned in distaste of the morning, longing for another decent night’s sleep to wash away the feelings. Leion was the first to get past the grumpy feeling to stand up and start gathering items from the camp.

“If this happens again, we will need to skip a day of travel and simply rest.” I reached over and tugged my sheet, rolling it half into a ball and half into how it should be. “We should not have to deal with demonic nightmares.”

Shiva yawned wide, nearly letting out a roar compared to her normal displays. “We should not have to travel like this at all, if it were not for demons and things. But we must, so we will… Right?”

Leion stuffed his sheet in the supply bag before starting on the cookware left next to its bag. “Yes. If we’re to do what we can to save the world, we will try.” Before I realized why he was tending to the pot, he had slung the sash over his shoulder. He caught me looking at him. “I told you, I want to carry this.”

I sighed and shook my head, the first feelings of something good flowing as I laughed. “Fine, but you will give me one of your swords.” I held my hand out, receiving a shrug in response before he tossed his smaller blade. Better than nothing, at least… With one attached to my belt and one held in my left hand, being too lazy to apply it to the clothing, I was up and ready. With the fire snuffed and everything gathered, Shiva and Leion weren’t far behind as we found our course and started trudging along again.

Another eventless day. Until finally, we arrived at the glade in which Willowfields had set up. There was a slight buzz around the town, and certainly more upon spotting us. “Adrian! Guy!” A man started yelling for help, and we soon found ourselves with three armed men in front of us. Shiva was tucked half behind me, though I found it odd she’d be more afraid of these men than something like savage orcs. “You three. Who are—“

“Leion! It’s you!” The leader of the group spurted out whatever sound was next from his mouth as the youngest of the three brightened up and stepped over to clap Leion on the shoulder. “It’s me, Adrian. Remember? Last time we met, you got beat and blamed it on being tired?”

Leion rubbed his temples and I sighed. We had been training the entire day before Adrian wound up coming alongside his parents for a visit… He just wanted to rub his first victory in years in Leion’s face whenever possible. His father, who I now recognized as the leader, began pointing at each of us in turn. “Leion… Shiva… and Bankar?”

We nodded and Shiva stepped out from behind me. The three men gasped. “The Prism Sword!” Each of them were buzzing with chatter until Adrian finally noticed something. “Wait. Shiva has it? Not Bankar, not Leion?” He immediately burst into laughter, probably enjoying more the fact that Leion failed to be the one to wield it properly.

“Alright, that’s it. I don’t care if I’ve been walking all day, this is getting settled.” Dropping his sash where he was, Leion began dragging Adrian by the collar of his shirt into the center of the village, presumably to take up another duel with him. There were a few chuckles from the rest of us, but no objections. His arrogance was a little uncalled for, after all…

“Um, sir…” I turned to see Shiva finally speaking up. “Did Willowfields have trouble with monsters, too?” Everyone was on edge, so I’d assumed so.

“Well, not directly.” Guy turned and pointed off to the southeast. “About there is where those cretins, those orcs, came through from. But they didn’t attack us; they went around. But to make us even more worried was, last night, a foul wind swept over us. All our flames were extinguished, and our livestock went mad in fright.”

Before I could response, the sound of wood on wood started to ring out from the village’s center. Two strikes into it, Adrian’s cry could be heard while one of the weapons seemed to snap. Indeed, the head of one of the swords was flying off into the air, and Adrian appeared, backing away from Leion and into our view. It was Adrian’s sword that was shattered. I gave a laugh and simply shook off the thoughts of Adrian’s impending doom.

“Sir, we had an encounter with those orcs in the woods. If any are left, then they must have split from the group that attacked us to move elsewhere. Unless they intend to come in more waves, you will not have near as much to worry about.” Finally taking my eyes off the spar between Leion and Adrian, I faced Guy and his partner. “We hoped to be able to sleep here tonight, seeing as our rest the past couple nights have been interrupted. Then we may continue on the way to Graeburg.”

The man whose name was not known touched his chin in thought. “Hm… We had intended to take a visit that way and inquire about the monsters and situation of our area. That was in three days, and if any more suspicious activity were happening. I suppose it works out; if you three are in the expedition, we could save some people here to be our defense. If the Graeburg cavalry lives up to their honor, they would escort our few home after letting you on your way.”

Shiva gave a small laugh and bowed low. “Thank you, sir! Thank you.” He bowed back, and caught my eye. I inclined my head in thanks, wondering if I had to bow as low as Shiva.

“Now that the plan’s set, I say we should save Adr—“

“YOW!” … Save Adrian from Leion. Or not. Leion was approaching with the sparring sword still in hand, looking at the dents left in it. “Now that the lesson’s been taught, Ban, what did you talk about?”

I shrugged and shook my head in mock ignorance. “About how well you were going to dominate against Adrian once he opened his mouth too wide.” Finally looking serious and tracking Adrian as he got up in a daze, I continued. “And we somehow convinced these men to let us join them in a trip to Graeburg while they ask for a report on the orcs we saw days ago.”

Adrian, holding a lightly bleeding head, returned with both his and Leion’s sword in his free hand. “That hurt… What were you so mad about?” He looked at Shiva once more, and caught the Prism Sword in his eye. “Oh, yeah. I forgot to ask; is that the real thing? Or did Kain make you an imitation? You have to show me!” He held the broken sword out, knowing the Prism Sword would cut clean through it if Shiva so willed.

But, she sighed and hung her head. “It is not a trophy, Adrian… I will not show it off as one.” His head hung, too, as Shiva straightened and brightened up again. “So, sir?” Her attention was on the stranger who had explained the travelling plan earlier. “I do not think we have learned your name?”

“Ah, my apologies. I am Erick. I am as close to a chief as can be here, and only because I do not want to be a “leader” unless truly needed.” He offered a hand, and we three shook it. “Now, with the plan set, I believe all that is left is to eat and rest for the trip tomorrow”

“Yah!” Adrian’s shout was from behind Shiva… He had crept around and swung the broken sword at Shiva’s back, his wooden blade colliding with the Prism Sword. The wood was cut cleanly and effortlessly, not even causing Shiva to get turned in place.

One… two… three… four… “YOU STUPID BOY! DID YOU NOT HEAR HER!? SHE AT LEAST KNOWS MODESTY, TO NOT FLAUNT HERSELF ABOUT AND PRAISE HERSELF AROUND EVERY CORNER! BUT YOU CONTINUE TO ACT THIS WAY!? HAVE SHAME, SON!”

I was fighting hard to hold back laughter. Leion was losing the same fight. Adrian seemed to not care about the tirade, however. “But, father, it’s the real Prism Sword! It’s the sword from the stone! Remember? Anything we tried to hit it with would simply be cut through… even blowing leaves would be sliced! She somehow pulled it, and it’s really, really hers!” Guy’s face began to grow calmer as he realized his son’s excitement. “Can I try to hold it, Shiva?”

Leion cried out, “No!” As expected, it was too late. The moment Adrian’s ambitious fingers grasped what of the handle he could get to, the blade’s colors made a small shift. Shiva began tilting back, flailing her arms and crying out in surprise of starting to fall back. Leion and I caught her arms, barely keeping her from hitting the ground as Adrian finally had the sense to let go upon seeing the change to the sword.

He backed away, and soon was under another scolding from his father. Choosing to ignore this, Leion and I got Shiva steadied back into a balance. “It grew in weight, Shiva?” I tilted my head to try to see her face as I spoke; she seemed worried.

“Yes. As long as he held it, I felt I would fall. I think… we were right. This sword will not easily let itself be wielded by anyone who seeks to do anything more than protect their loved ones.” She turned her head to look at the sword, receiving a small glimmer in return. “I think so…”

“Whatever it is, if that sword is on hand and someone tries to touch it, it can only mean two things.” Leion gave a thoughtful look at it. “It will drop you with it, or you’ll let it go and let someone else drop with it. My only worry is if it’s on your back, Shiva. You can’t exactly wiggle and let it slip from its holster.”

My eyes had been drawn to the ring on the bottom portion, where the sword would slide through. I remembered Kain fretting over the blade slicing through that ring, yet despite being drawn and removed, it had yet to break. “I think this sword responds to Shiva’s will. Even if to some extent.” Kneeling to look closer, I saw it—a dent in the ring. “See, here. When Adrian grabbed the sword, he also influenced it. Thus it broke the ring Shiva would otherwise keep safe. Also, look at Shiva’s hair alone. Held up as it is, it still is long enough to see the sword’s edge. Yet it never cuts itself over the blade.”

Shiva smiled fondly at the sword on her back. “It seems fate truly has shown us magic in this sword…”

Adrian, in his frantic defense against his father, pointed at Shiva. “Do you see!? She admitted it! A magic sword!”

“For the love of all things holy, be QUIET, boy!” Guy’s hand descended in a disciplinary blow over Adrian’s head. A cry of pain was the last we heard of him that night before the tension was broken with laughter from everyone but the irate son.

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Part Eight can be found here.

As I post this, my original word for a "dent" in the ring was filtered. "chink" is filtered when it means a "Crack" or "gap"?
(Yes, I evaded the filter via bbcode. The word itself is normally filtered.)

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Goten is dead!

I'm not sure what it is, but this part seems different from the others. In a good way mind you, I think you're becoming a better writer

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Are you sure it's not just that I spaced out the paragraphs...?
(Thank you X3)

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Goten is dead!

Part Seven can be found here.

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“Ban-Ban? Are you still awake?”

I turned my head to see Shiva staring at me, the moon reflecting on her already-bright eyes. “Aye. After sleeping on dirt and rocks, a proper bed takes getting used to again. Is something on your mind?”

“That boy who met us me in the night our first night out… He truly meant no harm. I can still feel it. But if these villagers are tense because of him as well, they should know he is not out to harm others, right?” She propped herself up on one arm to look down at me. “I do not want to risk him being hurt…”

I smiled at her and reached to rub the top of her head left and right, messing the hair over her eyes. She let out a quiet giggle at the familiar action. “We will tell them. If he managed to avoid disturbing us, I doubt he will get into trouble for one night. Sleep, Shiva. We’ll tell them in the morning.” She nodded and buried her face back into the pillow, allowing my own mind to wander.

How had she described him? A one-piece tunic from his neck to his knees, decorated only by a sash that wrapped around his waist and hung at his side. It was a dark red or brown color, overall, and his hair was very dark, smooth, and near his stomach… The idea of his sword interests me. Shiva claimed it was long and slender, but not a regular dueling sword. Everything else could have been played with by the light.

I could probably picture a hundred different ways the boy could look before my mind’s wanderings were satisfied enough to let me sleep. Being comfortable allowed me to sleep without dreams, simply deep in rest as long as my brain would allow me. Unfortunately, that wasn’t as long as I would have liked. The moment the sun crept into the window, I gasped and my eyes snapped open. Adrenaline flowed through me… I’d overslept. It was my turn to keep watch, and I slept in!

Crap! I jerked awake, looking around for Shiva and Leion. Both were asleep… in… beds. Ugh. The mindset with travelling was certainly annoying to deal with. I smacked my face into my palm and dragged the skin down, getting the paranoia frustrations out before crawling out of bed to look out the window. Erick was outside, overseeing some small resource management and affairs with equipment. Short a trip as it was between here and Graeburg, it was no laughing matter.

Adrian and Guy were also seen. Guy would make a remark, and Adrian would point out into the woods. Guy shook his head and spoke again, and Adrian pointed at his feet. The cycle seemed to continue until Guy got impatient and slapped his son over the side of the head before turning around to think. My best guess was that Guy was figuring out what to do with his son; Adrian would be a nuisance anywhere he was, most likely.

It was a pity, too. He is not a bad person, nor is he without talent and ambition. He just lacks the will to discipline himself, and grow up. So, looking out the window, I took a bit of pity on him for being treated as shunned as he seemed to be. What to do, though? He was not my family, therefore not my responsibility… right?

As soon as I started to wonder what I could do to help, I heard a soft, light swishing sound. I turned to see Shiva standing before a mirror, stroking her hair with a brush. I chuckled, forgetting how silent she could be without her footwear on. I opened my mouth to speak, but she put a finger to her lips before nodding at Leion’s reflection. Following her eyes on the mirror, I saw him sprawled over the bed. I couldn’t quite decide if it would be comfortable position or not, but Shiva simply giggled silently and resumed brushing.

I passed by Shiva, ruffling her hair again and earning a swat over my head with the brush on my way out of the room. She smiled and resumed brushing as I stepped out of the house to look at the progress. Adrian, in a huff, had his back to the house’s wall and was grumbling to himself. “Why am I seen as such a burden when I can do anything as well as they can? If they do not try to understand or give me a chance, then they should not be able to complain about me acting like I do… ‘Tis not even bad. They miss so much and see so little, why—“

“Adrian, be quiet.” He gasped and turned, probably wondering when I had caught him. “Even if you are right about things, the option “no” exists for a reason. Your behavior is as important as your abilities… Grow up, Adrian. Else you can be correct about everything and still not be taken seriously.” I held my gaze on his eyes until he looked down before stepping out toward the group working on the supplies. “Anything I may help with here?”

“Kind of you to offer Bankar, but we are well.” Erick was watching the supplies and pointing from one pile to another as he spoke. “I understand your party has some of your own, and we will be glad to share our food supply with yours to not drain your resources. However, seeing as we shall part, our packing should stay separate. No disrespect intended, of course.”

My hand waved dismissively. “Understandable. How long until we are to leave? And who shall be on the journey to Graeburg?”

“Adrian shall be the one to fetch you. The party will be Guy, James, and Wolfric. You know Guy, and James is a mild tempered fellow who will probably be silent. Wolfric is the farm’s keeper, and tends to either be overly serious or overly jolly. With the nature of the trip, you can probably expect serious results.” Watching someone start to shift the items in a pile into a pack, he continued. “Between the two, Guy and Wolfric will bear arms as well; the burden of the party’s safety can be shared.”

I smiled and nodded in gratitude. “That is very welcome to know… How long will the trip be expected to be?”

“You should not have to sleep for more than one night. You could arrive should you run most of the way, but we are preparing for a more lengthy trip, so the supplies will be heavier on our three representatives.”

Another nod, with a “Thank you” before turning to see about waking Leion. Shiva, now adjusting her equipment, was still in front of the mirror. Then, I remembered last night, and her worry. Turning back to Erick, I asked, “Was there anyone or anything else aside from Orcs that happened to startle the village? Like robbers or…?”

“We saw two petty bandits, probably from the north, but they were careless enough to let the dogs catch their scent and alert us. Aside from that, nothing I remember. Why do you ask?” Erick stopped paying attention to the supplies and his eyes locked with mine. They were quite prying, as though he was already reading my mind on Shiva’s description of her visitor.

“In the woods, while Shiva was keeping watch, there was a… guest. He had an opportunity to kill quite easily, but according to her, he simply was seeking food. He was either in brown or red, with very long dark hair, and a sword much line mine except longer and more rigid.” I looked down and tried to remember what all she had described… He had arrived, hid himself well, appeared during her shift in the night, and… “When morning came, I remember he left a note. The words “Thank you miss” were written in the ground.”

“I see. So this boy is not a thief, but someone simply lost and looking for food…?” His face softened a bit and his head tilted in curiosity. “What of him, though?”

“Shiva trusts him, therefore I do as well. She does not want him harmed, least ways if he does not seek to do harm.” I turned to get a glance at her; she was looking out at me and Erick, who I faced again. “Should you see him, all I ask is this. Do not attack him first?”

Erick kept looking for a second, but nodded eventually. “You have my word… so long as he does not make a move.” His eyes were quickly averted. “Lilian! Stop fretting so much over the dishes. They will survive or they will not; we will live either way.”

I muttered another “Thank you” before turning, waiting a second for any last words. With none hitting my ears, I picked up my pace back into the bedroom. Leion was finally sitting up and rubbing his hair, creating as many knots as he was removing. “Adrian will come for us when their work is done. And Shiva, your friend is save as long as he does not start a fight.”

She gave one happy hop and clapped her hands together. “Good! I had hoped he was not part of the trouble!”

“He apparently was not. Those two ruffians in the woods were, but they failed here, too.” Walking to the bed, I sat on the edge and flopped backward, welcoming the feeling of closing my eyes again. “We know we head for Graeburg, but who were we supposed to meet again?”

To my surprise, it was Leion that offered a response. “Rikkard, to offer a few horses for our travels. From there, we look at a map and pretty much head any way we please, as long as we follow what rumors and stories we know of swords in stones or some such tales.” He put his hand to his neck and rubbed in thought. “But… Where could we even start? We have the names, but do we just go around with a “Hello, I’m looking for a magic sword that can only be drawn by some pure kind of person, can you help?” to everyone we meet…?”

“Sounds good to me.” Leion and Shiva looked at me, followed immediately by Shiva giggling. Leion looked caught off guard, but soon barked a laugh as well. “Travelling storytellers aren’t rare. And how is a story supposed to spread if it does not travel?” Their reactions subsided a little, and they nodded in agreement. “The country’s vast, but not unable to be trekked. We’ll make it, and even potentially find somewhere we’ll want to live when it’s all done.”

“Ah, quit looking so far ahead, Ban.” Leion stood up and gave my shoulder a clap with his hand, something he usually reserved for saying he’s admiring me. “For now, let’s just get to Graeburg.” We all nodded and starting filing out of the room, equipment jingling on the stairs as we came out to find Guy arguing with Adrian yet again. This time, Adrian wasn’t using a whiny tone.

“And how will I be able to grow up properly if I only ever see the walls of my own home? Stop confiding me to always sitting back, and please stop being afraid of me getting myself—“

“Getting yourself what? Killed? Hurting others because you get too excited? You’re still young, Adrian.” Guy continued to stand in the same spot, arms crossed as his tone clashed between a worried father and stressed leader.

“They are no older than I am! Barely any, if they are. Yet they are leaving to go about the entire land! Just as important, there is a team of six going to Graeburg and three returning. Unless the armies of hell come to the forest, I won’t have a chance to do something terrible.” Unable to break all ties to childishness, he stomped his foot. “All we are doing is travelling to a neighboring city. I am not leaving for war, father. I just want to be able to explore without my hand being held.”

It was hard not to consider the offer. At the exchange of leaving his son in multiple, capable hands, Guy could remain in town to continue to manage it (in peace, at that) whilst the party was gone. It might also be just the turning point in Adrian’s growth that had been lacking thus far. But even then, he had a history of becoming over-eager, causing a number of accidents that if listed would be longer than his arm. It took a minute of silent thinking, but finally Guy heaved a sigh. “Ask them. It’s their choice as much as mine where you remain, since we are escorting them.”

I looked immediately to Shiva and Leion. Shiva instantly gave a nod, and Leion simply looked the other way. Given that he didn’t immediately respond with a violent “no”, that was a reluctant agreement. By the time Adrian had looked to us, I had already locked my eyes on him and nodded. “We don’t mind if you replace Guy heading to Graeburg.”

Adrian immediately pumped his fist and let out a loud whoop of celebration. Guy, always one to end such displays, immediately stepped past him and uttered, “Just remember, that means you’re carrying the pack intended for me.” Guy’s pack was the largest of the three, leaving Adrian frozen in place, and Leion stifling laughter at the turnabout.

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Quite short by comparison, but hey, it got me past that little writer's block I was in.

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Goten is dead!