Chapter 6
The couple made their way out of town that night to search the forest for any presence of a bandit camp. It was a fair distance away from Montibus, but that proved to be no issue for soldiers of their caliber. Lux and Telu found their target in a matter of minutes. Lux' plan was to wait in a tree overlooking the camp so that they could hear the bandits talking. If they did incriminate themselves then they could send for the guards. However, that night they just played music, danced, and talked until they all fell asleep. So Lux and Telu used this opportunity to talk and spend time together. They took a romantic walk in the forest and enjoyed their time alone until they got tired. Then, They returned to their tree where they fell asleep for the night
At the first light of the morning, the bandits were awake and gathered together in the center of their camp. They were planning to attack Montibus since the number of guards had been reduced lately. The bandit leader explained that the plan was to first incapacitate the guards, and then, they were to split up and loot the wealthiest homes, including the Montibus castle.
"Very well, My Dewdrop." Lux said as he calculated, "I would like you to return to the town and lead the guards to this location. I will remain and defuse the situation."
"It would be my honor, My Light." She responded softly with a smile. Telu disappeared in a flash to complete her mission.
Lux turned his attention toward the camp. He jumped from the tree and landed a small distance from the bandit meeting. Unaware they were being watched, the bandits were shocked at the arrival of a stranger. They stood silent and still, like statues.
"I am unable to allow you to complete this horrendous scheme." Lux announced.
"I realize you're all useless, but that man shouldn't be there! Kill him!" The bandit leader yelled, startling his men into action.
The first two rushed him with swords drawn only to find that when they reached him, their blades were gone. Lux, then brought a swift knee upward into one man's sternum, which led into a downward elbow strike on the other man's neck. The two hit the ground, but it gave time for the three bowmen to draw their bows. They aimed at their terrifying opponent, but none had the ability to release their attack. They had unfortunately been unaware of his ability to send a static shock along the ground which traveled up their legs and seized all muscles in their legs and arms. The men were effectively paralyzed for the moment.
There were still five more bandits at the bandit leader's command. "These cheap parlor tricks won't hold up against true military might! Everyone, attack all at once!
The men rushed toward their adversary as his hands became covered in vibrant blue sparks. In a moment, Lux shot past them touching each one with a minor shock to incapacitate them for the guards' arrival. He suddenly found himself in the middle of a very quiet camp. While he waited for Telu, he decided to investigate all the tents to see how much they had stolen. He discovered an unexpected amount of valuables from the various blacksmith's shops. He was genuinely surprised at how much they had stolen. Finally, Telu arrived with the guards who were quite pleased with Lux' work.
After they had finished their work with the guards and returning the stolen goods back to the shopkeepers, it was almost nighttime. So the couple left to meet with Ignis, and find a place for the night. Ignis had spent the previous night with various homeless people and sleeping in taverns so he hadn't found an inn to stay in, yet. There were many grand inns in the town, but they located a small one near the edge of the town which was always a preference of theirs.
"What news have you obtained?" Lux asked of his close friend after they were settled into their room for the night.
"I am unsure of the validity of the information," Ignis started hesitantly, seeming somewhat confused, "It is a near impossibility, and yet some locals clearly possessed sparse awareness of spiritual portals." Lux and Telu appeared quite shocked. "In reality," Ignis continued, "they were uninformed about the true nature of the tales they had been told. They had heard of some hunters from another town on the far side of the mountains somehow caught glimpses of a portal. This is impossible, is it not?" Ignis asked in disbelief.
"I am exceedingly taken by surprise at this news, Ignis." Lux responded, "You have done very well, my friend. I believed this was impossible as well. I do, however, believe that these hunters have stumbled onto spiritual things, even as unlikely as it would seem. Although, I highly doubt they could ever find this portal again, as it surely would not be visible if they returned. This may be the portal for which we have searched all this time. We will journey there as our next step to reaching our goal."
They agreed it was time to go to sleep for the night because they wanted to leave town immediately after they visited the blacksmith in the morning. The three foreigners pulled the bed mats off of the beds and placed them together in the middle of the floor. Such was the custom for them regardless of where they were sleeping.
Early the next morning, they left their room before the sun rose and walked through the town to the blacksmith's basement where his forge was located. He was sitting at his work bench facing the opposite direction, but turned and smiled when he saw them come through the door.
"Ah, meh favorite youngsters!" He proclaimed as they entered the room. "Tell me, have ya ever heard tell of a material called 'Viribus'?"
They looked at one another in confusion, this was definitely not the welcome they were expecting. Finally, Lux decided to answer his question. "We have not."
Seemingly even more excited than before, the old man began explaining, "Just north of here, our excavation teams have been diggin' deep into the mountains. After they got to a certain point, they found that it opened up into caverns. They recently were able to explore these caves a little more and found these odd trees. Their roots had dug down into the rock and the tree roots began taking on properties of the rocks. Anyway, our scientists brought them back up here and found that the root's strength was similar to rock but it was also soft and flexible. They've brought me quite a lot over the past coupla months to use in my designs. I'm tellin' ya all this 'cause this is the material I had everyone use to make your clothes." He gestured to a table where the sets of clothes were resting.
Lux looked at the clothes then back up at Sigurdur. "I was unsure of whether you would render us assistance after we conversed."
"I know," the old man said, "I was extremely rude to ye that day. We had all begun to lose hope and we allowed ourselves tuh act foolishly. I want to tell ya how grateful I am for what you told meh. You kept us all from gettin' blood on our hands, and you restored our hope. This wasn't just me, all the blacksmiths were thankful for yer help. They worked every second until these were completed to show their gratitude." When he finished talking, he held out his hand to Lux.
As Lux shook his hand, he replied, "I appreciate this greatly, master blacksmith. I believed you truly were a good man, and that is why we could not leave without assisting you." They all thanked Sigurdur one last time, and finished packing up their newly crafted clothes for their return trip.
They turned to leave the old man's shop all hoping they would meet again someday. Then they left together for the gates of the city to begin their passage back to the camp.