With the help of some chirping birds, Nauna woke up and rubbed the sleepiness out of her eyes.
Looking around, she remembered the journey she's on. The small tent, the scattered leaves that used to be her bed, and her overfilled rucksack. These were all reminders that she left her group of exiles.
After stretching, she peaked outside the tent and saw Cyril sat down on the same branch. He still had his signature blank expression on him.
"Morning."
"Hm? Oh, good morning." He then immediately went back to scouting the area.
It annoyed her a bit but she also found it admirable. He was very focused on keeping them safe.
"Gimme a few minutes to wake up."
He nodded.
Crawling back inside her tent, she let out an elongated yawn.
"I'll be back there soon. Just wait for me," she whispered to herself.
=-=-=-=-=
A few hours after they resumed their travels, the two started noticing footprints, not from animals or creatures, but from humans.
Nauna let out a sigh of relief, but her companion put his hand over his sword's hilt.
"You okay?"
"I have to keep my guard up. You can't fight so we can't have anything happen to us," he replied.
She was annoyed at how bluntly it was said but he was right. If they were caught off-guard Nauna would not be able to defend herself. They have to be cautious every step of the way there.
'Maybe that's why he volunteered to keep watch? Actually, speaking of that...'
"Hey, did ya even sleep last night?" she asked.
"No... I didn't. It's fine, by the way. I don't really need to sleep." And true to his words, he wasn't showing any signs of fatigue at all. His eyes didn't have bags nor did he act sluggish.
The woman pondered if he was saying the truth or not, but she shrugged the thought off. It wasn't important anyway.
'Just how used to journeying are you?'
It was weird. He seemed to be unaware of the neighboring towns and nations—judging by how he doesn't know where an archbishop is. Yet he journeyed with confidence in every step.
Nauna has traveled with many people. Some were even temporarily part of her group, but they had an air of uncertainty on them. He had none. He walked forward like a loyal knight who was given an order.
'Does he trust me? I have a knife in my bag, I could easily—'
Her thoughts were cut off as she bumped into his arm.
Cyril extended his hand to the side, signaling her to stop.
"Is something wrong?"
Cyril put a finger to his mouth and did the "quiet" gesture.
After a quick nod, they hid behind the trees. She wasn't aware of what was happening but it seemed to be urgent.
Just as a precaution, she quietly pulled the knife out of her rucksack.
A bit of rustling was then heard. Judging from how frequent the sound was, it was most likely just a single person. What concerned her though was the clanking of metal that could also be heard.
Peeking from the side of the tree, the sight that greeted her was nothing but paralyzing.
A person wearing full plate armor and stood at about seven feet tall. But that wasn't even the most intimidating part, that would be the massive greatsword on his back. To say that it was big would be an understatement. The thing looked more like a giant hunk of flattened iron than any sword she's ever seen.
The greatsword was about as tall as he was and it was thicker than any average sword.
The greatsword-wielding giant planted his sword into the ground as if to taunt them.
Just then, she looked over to Cyril and saw him doing the "quiet" gesture again.
After another nod, the noble adventurer appeared in front of this behemoth of a man.
The two stared each other down as Cyril was circling him. He did this so that Nauna would be out of the equation. Just from looking at this person, he could tell this giant could kill Nauna with just his bare hands.
Pulling his sword out of its sheath, he replied, "You mistake me for someone else."
The giant then pulled his greatsword out and started walking forward.
Seems like he wasn't in a very chatty mood.
Cyril readied his blade for a battle.
'This area isn't fit for someone with a greatsword. He'll have to swing vertically.' He was taking note of their surroundings. Even though this part of the forest was less dense, it still had trees.
Just then, his body felt like death surrounded him.
Instinctively jumping away, the next thing he saw was a row of trees that were cleanly cut. The sound it made was deafening. The sound of cracking wood and tumbling trees was loud.
'This strength...' He then decided to play a more defensive role. Evidently, the area was more of a hindrance to him than his enemy. The enemy had superior reach, armor, and strength.
One of the only advantages in this situation was his speed. But is it enough to make up for it?
All while Cyril's thinking of a plan to deal with this, his companion looked on in shock as she saw the decimated trees. With just one swing this behemoth of a man cleaved through a row of trees.
She was visibly shaken. Her legs were trembling, her heartbeat was accelerating, and her breathing became unsteady. Her instinct kept telling her to run.
'We have to run,' both of the adventurers thought simultaneously.