Hearing a noise at the edge of the campfire, Edol paused to glance up.
Beautiful.
Large, soulful eyes stared back into Edol's, drawing him in.
"Wo…"
A small gasp escaped Edol's mouth as he gazed at the figure near the edge of their campsite.
A face more perfect than any he'd seen in any dream before.
Standing next to a tree was a horse.
Its large brown body was covered in a smooth, clean pelt that looked well-maintained. A few bags were slung over the horse's back, accompanied by a leather saddle.
'Dang… that's a cool horse! I've always wanted to see one in person!'
"Ooo, free horse! See, I told you I have a protagonist's luck, Edol! Even after I've been turned into a bird, my luck has remained!"
Ghost's words snapped Edol out of his trance, and his eyes quickly scanned the forest surrounding the horse nervously, looking for any sign of a threat.
"Yea, definitely. A horse just wandered deep into the woods, right to us, on its own. Look! It has a saddle on, there is definitely a person here too!"
Still, Edol couldn't see anyone around even after a minute of looking.
'What if this idiot bird is right?'
"Oi Ghost, can you grow an apple like you do those potatoes? I'll try luring the horse over!"
Somehow unconcerned with the possibility of being ambushed, Ghost turned his back to the horse and started mocking Edol.
"Mm yea, just give me a second. Apple… apple. Oh yea, an apple tree! Heck, while I'm growing one tree, why not two? I've definitely got the mana to do that!"
"My bad, forgot you have snail speed mana regen. Ah, if only you were as great as me. Guess you'll have to grow a carrot instead."
Ghost frowned at the loss of the insult battle, but still reached down the dirt with his beak. A moment later he pulled a pristine orange carrot from the earth, sending a few crumbs of dirt flying at Edol.
"Oops, my bad. I was so busy using my awesome life magic that I forgot you were there. Oh, how sad that you need to rely on someone else for such simple things."
"What happened to listening to you in a crisis, that you'd be responsible? You're just messing around!"
Ghost waved his wing dismissively, shooing away Edol's worries.
"Just relax, bro. I already saw who is with the horse while you were chasing me. It's a young girl, and she's hiding behind that tree to the right. The two of us can easily take her on and steal her horse!"
Edol sighed, silently decreasing his evaluation of Ghost's morals in his mind. Banditry? Really?
"Girl, we know you're hiding behind a tree to the right. Just come out before my idiot bird here does something stupid."
After a moment of hesitation, a head poked out from behind a tree a meter left of the horse.
"-Cough, left, I mean."
Would this stranger believe him if he claimed a talking bird lied about her position? Probably not.
The girl stepped fully out from behind the tree, looking at Edol with hope glimmering in her eyes.
She looked to be in her mid teens, and her dark hair contrasted with her slightly sunburnt arms.
"Your bird! You must be from the northern villages, is my dad there?!"
Edol felt a bit of regret wash over himself as he listened to the girl, realizing that it might not have been farfetched to tell the girl that Ghost was the one who didn't know left from right.
"Well, if he was there, then I hope that the destroyed town I found north of here wasn't said northern village."
The girl dropped to her knees, despair washing over her face as tears started to fall.
'Shit, I think I said the wrong thing.'
"B-but, if you have a summon, then you have to be from the northern villages…"
The girl looked back up at Edol, finally taking note of his light blonde hair. As memories of the few times she'd visited the villages with her father in the past ran through her mind, something jumped out in her mind.
'The people of the northern villages moved there before Easthill's expansion, and no one moved there after the wars… so there should be no one from the villages with blonde hair.'
Luckily, Edol started talking before Willow could finish with her conjecture.
"It's ok, don't cry! I-I'm just a relic hunter, I got lost in the woods, I don't know the area! I'm sure your dad and his villager buddies are fine, I probably just found something else!"
Willow looked up, suspicion and hope blending in her eyes.
"Your bird then, how do you have a summoned bird? Only the people of the northern villages have summons!"
Edol glanced over at Ghost, hoping for an explanation on summons. Unfortunately, it seemed his feathered friend hadn't even heard of the term.
"This, uh… this is Nibbles, my pet! I found him when he was just a chick… but I'm afraid I haven't been a very good father to him. Even now that he's all grown up, he-"
Edol's voice started to crackle a bit, and he tried to mask it as nearly breaking into tears.
"He still can't fly! I'm sorry, little Nibbles! I'm sorry I failed you as a father!!"
Ghost, of course, none too please by his newfound backstory, rushed Edol, pecking with a vengeance.
"This… this is why I named him Nibbles. He does this whenever he's happy, but- but it just breaks my heart! Even after I've failed him, he still loves me so much!"
Willow watched Edol's poor acting, a slight smile breaking onto her face, thinking the brit was trying to cheer her up to ease the news of her father's probable passing. The faint memory of Edol calling Ghost an idiot just minutes before narrowly escaped her memory, and she motioned for Ghost to stop his assault.
"Can you show me where you found the destroyed town in the north? You said you are lost, after you show me the way there, I can guide you back to Edain."
Edol quickly agreed, scooping up the forgotten carrot from earlier as he bolted away from the still-pissed bird.
'Please, protect me, horse! I bring a carrot as tribute!'