John was running down the road trail with his Leonidas perched firmly on his back and with his arms wrapped around John's shoulder.
John was very determined to reach Crimson Castle as soon as possible to assist his family and friends and to warn them of the upcoming danger if he was able to reach them before the enemy arrived. Further, with each step, he propelled himself forward, taking huge strides that were purposeful. If someone were to look at how John was running, they would surely think that the boy was being possessed by a leopard.
While John was running at full speed for an hour, he could feel that his legs were starting to get a little tired, and he could not help but ask Leonidas. "Are we there yet?".
Leonidas took a few sniffs, and he could instantly tell that they were quickly approaching a group of people. "Yes, we are getting closer."
John felt relief; he didn't want to further waste his energy on running in the wrong direction. The sooner they can find out which direction the Crimson castle is, the better.
"Old man, what are we gonna do if they are bad guys, or what if they can't help us?" John was worried that they might not make it in time to the castle.
Leonidas was worried as well; however, he had a calm expression on his face. "You recently killed a troll; even though there was a little bit of luck involved, are you really afraid of some weak humans? And to answer your other question, we just have to find somebody else who can help us; we have no other choice."
John lightly nodded his head and began picking up the speed. After a few minutes of sprinting, John then ran up a steep hill, his heart pounding with urgency. John had run at full speed for quite some time without resting, and running up this steep hill made him feel the strain on his legs; furthermore, the added weight of his grandfather did not help improve the situation.
Leonidas could see how John was struggling up the steep hill. "Don't tell me you are getting tired, boy; this was nothing to me when I was your age; you should be twice as strong as an ox."
John ignored Leonidas's comments; he clenched his teeth and forced his legs to propel them upward. Beads of sweat started glistening on his forehead; his friends and family members were the fuel that kept his tired legs moving ever forward.
"Move faster, boy; put your back into it," Leonidas said, urging John to move faster.
John was getting irritated by his grandfather. "I am already trying my best, you old fart; if you don't keep your mouth, I will drop you down this hill."
Leonidas did not say anything else and clenched his teeth. "This fucking twerp; just wait until I fully recover," he thought.
A little over 20 minutes passed, and they finally reached the pinnacle of the hill. John's arms were getting a little tired as a result of holding on to Leonidas; however, a sense of relief washed over him after reaching the top of the hill.
John and Leonidas looked ahead, and they saw a wooden bridge; however, there was also a small group of men that made camp a few meters away from the bridge. The men were in a cheery mood; it was all smiles and laughter. The sun was up, and it was a good day to drink some ice-cold beer under the shade of a tree. John and Leonidas could hear the men as they walked closer to their location. "Old man, I am getting a bad feeling. don't' you think we should slip past them and cross the bridge? Maybe we could find somebody else."
Leonidas did not think it was a good idea. "Nonsense, we are going to walk up to them and ask them where we are and how to get to Carmine town, which is the town near Crimson Castle."
As John moved closer to the camp, he readjusted Leonidas on his back to prevent him from slipping and falling. While the four groups of men were talking, they could hear a tweak breaking. Sensing there was something nearby, they all grabbed their weapons, but a boy came through the bushes with a man on his back.
"Excuse us, we mean you no harm; we are lost. Can you maybe help us find our way home?" John said. John quickly noticed that there were four men sitting by the fire, and their wooden cups were filled with beer as he saw the white foam coming from their cups. He notices that on the fire was a pot and that they were probably busy making something to eat. Subsequently, Leonidas had already observed everything John was noticing; he turned his head and saw that the men had four horses near their tents.
The men looked at each other, nodded their heads, and the man with short brown hair stood up. "Do not fear us, my boy; we thought you were one of the wild animals that inhabit this area. My name is Cory; please take a seat."
"I am sorry we are really in a hurry; our flying boat broke down, but we managed to survive. We do not know where we are and urgently need your assistance. Can you kindly give us directions to Carmine town?" Leonidas asked the man named Cory while on John's back.
"I am afraid that you are probably 10 hours away if you go on foot." He then took out a magical map in the form of a small cube with a small round button in the middle. Cory pressed the button, and something akin to a hologram appeared, showing their location as well as that of other towns and cities. The map was almost like a GPS found on Earth. John was fascinated; he had never seen anything like it.
"Is it possible that I can maybe buy this map from you, kind sir?" John asked Cory
"I am sorry, young man, but this map is really valuable; I do not think you can afford it."
John then placed Leonidas down near the tree, and he walked a little to where the man was standing. He was still cautious, as he did not trust the man; he knew not to trust the strangers in this world. John then took out a leather pouch, and he then showed Cory a gold coin. "Can I buy the magical map in exchange for a gold coin?"
Leonidas then noticed the men grinning at each other, and he had a bad feeling. "The greed of men," he thought to himself
"Do we have a deal or not?" Leonidas quickly said to the man
"Of course, young man, but I have another deal for you"
"And what might that be, kind sir?" John asked
Cory grinned evilly "Unfortunately I am not a kind sir, nor is any one of these men. We are bandits. So why don't you leave everything behind and we kill you quickly, without any pain. But if you resist, then you are going to wish that you were never born. Make your choice"
John backed up slowly. He looked at Leonidas. "You see, I told you, stupid old man."
Leonidas clicked his teeth "It does not change a thing, kill them"
John was in disbelief at what Leonidas just said "Old man, I don't kill"
Leonidas then could not believe what was coming out of John's mouth "What?"
One of the four bandit men had a pernach in his hands; he looked at Cory to give him the signal to attack. However, John decided to use the same strategy he used in the cave to escape from the troll. He quickly retrieved a fire and water elemental stone and used them both together to produce a huge amount of steam that enveloped the whole area where they were located. The four bandits halted their attack and decided to defend and observe the situation, as they thought the boy was going to attack. While the men were distracted, John quickly ran to Leonidas. He quickly notices that the firestone dimmed, meaning it was running low on magic energy. John put both the water and fire elemental stones back into his storage ring. He picked Leonidas up and started to run away.
"Where are you running off to? We need the map. Kill the men and take the map so we can get home." Leonidas said
"Old man, are you dumb, stupid, or dumb, huh?"
"What?!" Leonidas said in an angry tone "Are you afraid of four lowly humans?"
"Yes, I am afraid, they are four grown ass men with who knows how much of battle experience."
Leonidas became angry and irritated "What grandson of mine is afraid of their prey?"
John then snapped at Leonidas. "But I am not your grandson; you tried to kill me because I am not a pure vampire, remember... Besides, I just thought of a plan to reduce their numbers."
*Tsk* Leonidas gritted his teeth; he closed his eyes for a moment and decided afterwards not to engage further into this conversation. He kept his mouth closed to observe the situation.
As John was running out of the bushes and heading to the road trail. He saw the bridge and decided to run to where the bridge entrance was. He began to pick up speed while carrying Leonidas on his back. John was nervous and tired but his determination was at an all-time high.
He picked up speed, and his only goal was to cross the bridge; however, the four bandits slowly walked in a straight line next to each other to block the entrance of the bridge. John then came to an immediate stop.
"Hey kid, why don't you just quietly surrender? I promise it will be over in an instant," Cory said while folding his arms.
Leonidas then smirked, "You see, kid, they want to kill you; it's only fair if you kill them first. This is kill or be killed."
"Listen, nobody has to die; stand aside and let me and this old man pass. We need to get home urgently. If you let us go, then I won't have to hurt you."
The four bandits then looked at each other before laughing out loud. Cory thought that this boy had a strange but funny sense of humor. "You are really funny kid; did you know that? But for interest's sake, why should we be afraid of you?"
John then grins and pointed at himself "It's because I am a vampire"
The four men then looked at each other again before laughing out loud. "Hahahaha, Kid, are you a comedian?" the man with the pernach said as he whipped a tear of laughter from his left eye.
"Hehehe, and he said that so proudly, like we were going to run away."
Leonidas covered his eyes with one of his hands. "Idiot," he thought.
"Listen, kid, if you really are a vampire as you claim to be, then your teeth are going to sell for a good price, especially if you come from a prestigious family, so thank you for sharing that information." Cory said this while signalling for one of his men to move forward. The man who first walked forward to kill John carried a knife in his hand.
"Are you happy, kid? Is this your so-called plan?" Leonidas asked John. However, John walked to the nearby tree, and he carefully placed Leonidas on the ground. "Then I just have to use plan B," he smiles.