Aldis thought for a bit after cheerfully stating.
"İ can create basic runes for the raid!" he yelled and pulled out a piece of limestone.
"BEHOLD!" Aldis pulled out a wooden horse which belonged to him for years.
Arlo recognized it.
Aldis used his kitchen knife to make his finger bleed. Then he scribbled an object onto the toy.
Aldis dropped the toy on the floor. The wooden horse started walking with the crude legs it had.
"Are you a sorcerer too?" The sorcerer bodyguard asked.
"Well can't you see?" Aldis smug was flowing out of his body.
"Interesting…" The duchess said.
Arlo seemed reluctant about Aldis showing his little magic tricks to anyone who asked him to.
"Aldis, maybe we should just leave the Duchess and her division alone." he whispered to his brother's ear.
But the words weren't getting heard by the sixteen year old smuglord.
"Would you like to be a full fledged sorcerer?" the duchess asked.
'İ don't like where this is going…" Arlo thought. 'Are they going to take us away?'
Aldis seemed to be exploding with excitement. He was childish compared to his friends that were the same age as him. Arlo always thought he would probably change this side of his.
"YES!" he stuttered "B-but can i?"
The duchess smiled, this was the exact answer she was waiting for.
"Well you have two options; Try your luck to study in the royal sorcerer society OR stay with us and become the disciple of my bodyguard who is also the second division captain."
The sorcerer seemed proud while the duchess introduced her.
"You can also gain first hand battle experience…" The duchess continued.
The sorcerer talked for the first time.
"Give me that leg of yours."
Aldis hesitantly removed his wooden leg and gave it to the sorcerer.
"Take a look, this is the level of power you can learn if you come with me."
The sorcerer's hand started to glow yellowish, then the glowing poured to the wooden leg and made it look gilded.
"Woah." there was no sign of smug left in Aldis's face.
Yellow gilded leg started to carve itself, it looked like it was shaping the wood by melting the unnecessary parts.
The leg now had joints and looked like a real shoe with a real leg.
Aldis was shocked and stuttered to the sight of his new leg.
Without wait he bluttered something like.
"İ'll join…"
Arlo felt disturbet when he saw the amazed look on his brother's face.
The duchess turned to him "Do you also have some abilities?" It seemed like she was not sure what to call him. He only looked two or three years younger than herself.
Arlo made a sign meaning "no"
"Well too bad, but maybe Paladin Risen here can offer you a position as a squire hmm?" Her look made Arlo question if he was rude by being careful about them.
"I am thankful for the offer Duchess." he blurted.
Arlo grabbed Aldis who was enjoying his new comfy leg.
"İt is late so we sho-"
"Arlo isnt it like only midday?" Aldis seemed curious about Arlos actions.
Arlo became still maybe there was no point in trying to protect Aldis, he could do that himself already. He had great social skills.
"Nevermind…" Arlo gave up.
'Maybe it won't be that bad to join them… At least some stable income, job and food.' Arlo shrugged.
A week passed by since Arlo and Aldis ran into the royal division led by the duchess and her two bodyguards.
Arlo actually picked some things up while scouting, and Aldis started to learn the core of apprenticeship by carrying items and etc.
They still had two weeks of traveling left to arrive at the dungeon raid. On the way they stopped at various towns to pick up supplies and stuff.
Arlo was still anxious for some time but now since he witnessed the division liberating a caravan of merchants being attacked by bandits, he lowered his guards a little.
The merchant caravan was promised security until they arrived at the next town.
Even so the duchess did not charge them anything at all.
—---------------------
Arlo stopped scribbling to his journal and turned to Aldis in their small so-called "Squire class tent" his brother was trying to carve a rune onto a wooden shield.
"So, do you really plan to stay with the division forever?" Arlo asked. He wasn't sure what to expect from his brother.
"Well, yeah, I think so." Aldis smiled.
The tent's atmosphere becomes awkward with Aldis smiling and Arlo looking straight up gloomy.
"You know… Our mother, she asked me to protect her…"
"Ya! so wouldn't it be good for me to be able to protect myself?" Aldis questioned his brother.
Arlo was bothered but he managed to keep cool. "It's just… you can be too trusting sometimes."
"Ahh, stop it bro, there is no need to be bothered by something like that." he dismissed Arlos worries. "Now, Master Seron called me after dinner, for something like new training of some sorts?" he looked back to Arlo.
"Don't worry we will be fine!" He left with a warm smile that calmed his brother.
After some hours passed Arlo tried to sleep but Aldis was still not back. 'Maybe the lesson is still not finished?' he guessed.
'what harm can there be if I check on them?' He decided to go outside.
The embers were still intact but there was no one to be seen. He heard a small noise. Was it the merchant woman that joined them until they arrived at the next town?
Arlo followed the noise and saw the guard tents.
The thing he saw confused him, 'Wait! wasn't she married to a blacksmith in the capital city? What is that guard doing with her? Oh no!'
Arlo rushed to help the poor woman but then stopped…
'There were other merchants with us too… is this happening to them too?'
'is the division not as clean as i thought?' 'No! the captain should know if something like this is happening.' These thoughts flew over his mind.
He entered the guards tent and looked away from the sight. The guard did not notice him, he was too busy with the woman.
Cries of the poor woman broke Arlos' heart…
Arlo grabbed a thick log.
"S-stop!" he yelled to the guard.
The man did not care "Oh, it is you newbie. Get outta here or things will get messy!" he threatened Arlo.
The man was only two or three years older than him.
"Y-you are raping her?"
"Ya, so what?"
Arlo knocked the man out with the log.
'why?' He gave the woman a look. She was looking at him as well.
He tossed the log to the woman and grabbed the man's short sword from his clothes.
"İf this is going on with everyone else… Save yourself and the others."
"The guards are far too careless, they won't notice you…"
Then the rocks fit to their places.
"Oh no! ALDİS!"