Michael jolted awake from the water being dumped on his head. Miu let out a squeal of surprise as some of the water landed on her. It being his first true night of sleep since arriving it to this world, Michael looked around and surveyed the land, realising that the last two days, was indeed real and not a dream.
"HOLY SHIT THIS IS REAL!" Michael shouted, making Ezra wince at the outburst.
"Yes, it is. Now please stop yelling." Ezra said, annoyed at Michael already. "You have time to make your sled to carry that drake, but me and Miu are leaving at noon with or without you." Michael knew that it wasn't up for debate and nodded his head and he quickly got to work.
Michael got up to get started, just to realise something. "Let me borrow that stone knife you made." Michael said this as a demand more than a question or request.
"You have the skill to make your own tools, and besides, I'm not gonna be waiting if you run behind." Ezra said coldly, knowing that Michael just wanted to be lazy. Michael then pouted a little but quickly went off to make his tools while Miu followed closely behind.
He began with making simple tools out of stone and wood, his strength and speed helping him immensely. He made a stone knife and rope, and he pushed down a few trees to start on the shed.
"You know, you'll probable get stronger if you continue to do hard labour and work on your body more. It'll even make that behemoth mode of yours even stronger." Ezra said, speaking in a monologue-like tone. At first it confused Michael where the small lecture had come from, but the thought was cut off after Michael smelled the drake's dead body and looked at the two gapping holes in its head where maggots began to appear.
"How much longer till noon?" Michael asked, now hurrying on the sled.
Ezra just looked up at the sky, almost blinded himself. "About thirty minutes." Ezra said, shutting his eyes to get rid of the headache looking at the sun had given him.
Michael began to break the roots of the trees and snapped them in half. For the first time, he admired his new inhuman strength. He began to line up the logs as he weaved the makeshift rope around them, tighten it finishing up the sled.
He looked at his work and then at the dead drake. "Well, what do you think of that?" He asked, looking around for Ezra and Miu, just to see two figures in the distance walking away from him. "Oh, you motherfucker." Michael quickly tossed the drake onto the sled and tied the two horns he had broken off its head to his back. He quickly realised he didn't have rope to help to pull it.
A few minutes later, he was running towards Ezra and Miu with the drake on the sled being dragged behind him. He was running, but not at full speed. He knew he had to be careful as he didn't make rope to hold down the corpse. It didn't take long to catch up to Ezra and Miu, as they seemed to be occupied by someone.
Miu stood in front of Ezra as he chatted to the man with one hand on each shoulder. Michael dropped the rope that dragged the sled and ran at full speed when he saw the man rip Miu from Ezra's hands and ran Ezra through with a sword. The sound of Michael running caught the man's attention. He put a knife to Miu throat as if it would stop the beast's charge. "You're a dead man walking." Michael said to himself as he ran, boiling with anger.
Michael killed the man instantly as his fist collided with the man's face. He heard the sound of an arrow being released. He tucked Miu to his chest, protecting her the best he could. A dozen arrows punctured his body. Miu let out a yell of pain. Michael looked down at her and saw an arrow in her thigh.
A hand grabbed Michael's shoulder as he turned to see Ezra standing there, the sword still implanted in his chest. "They're bandits, about a dozen of them in the woods. He was at least that helpful." He said, about to fall over from pain. Ezra pulled the sword from his chest and waited a second before grabbing Miu, tucking her in the same way Michael had. Ezra then removed the arrow imbedded in Miu's thigh and tried his best at healing magic.
Michael seethed with rage as he ran towards the forest, ready to kill every last thing with in them. It didn't take long for Miu and Ezra to hear the screams of pain and fear ring throughout the plains. But the shouts disappeared as quickly as they came. Michael soon reappeared, skipping along while he dragged the bodies of the dead behind him. Ezra told Miu to sit where she stood, and she did so without question. Ezra began to loot the bandits, taking everything they found useful. Knives, bows and arrows, armour, gold and silver. When Ezra finishing up, he ordered Michael to dig a hole so they could bury the dead bandit crew.
When Michael finished filling in the hole, Ezra looked at the sword that was used to try to take his immortal life. Ezra then presented it to Michael as if it was ceremonial. Michael didn't even attempt to contain his laughter.
"You know, you're supposed to say something when you present something after a 'war'." Michael said, mostly joking. He was curious if Ezra would make another attempt to satisfy the drama side within Michael.
But much to his demise, Ezra just got up and threw the sword aside. "You squandered your chance to be sincere, my King." Ezra responded, in an irritated tone, Michael glanced in Miu's direction, as if recalling something far more crucial, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw there was no arrow in her leg.
Miu assumed a hostile stance as she looked at Michael with disdain. "Are you actually a king?" With disgust and malice in her voice, Miu questioned Michael. The two men exchange looks before laughing, making the small elf child lose her hostile demeanor.
Ezra pointed towards Michael, practically collapsing from laughter as he did so. "You a king?" Ezra said through laughter. He then tried to be serious by holding in his laughter, which didn't work, but he continued his skit as he was going to do. Ezra then bowed his head to Michael, "My king, it seems your identity has been revealed." He spoke to Michael in the manner of a knight reporting to his superior.
Michael stopped his laughter and took on a regal stance and said, "It seems that way, my loyal, wise man." The laughter and joking tone of the two men confused the little girl, Miu.
After a few more minutes of laughter, the two friends turned to the elf girl. "I'm no king." Michael said, wiping tears from his eyes.
"Yeah, the world would end if that were to happen." Ezra said, wiping tears from his cheeks as well.
The girl tilted her head and asked, "Then what are you?"
"We're just two moronic degenerates that were given too much power," the men said, speaking the same thing in unison. Miu didn't know what a 'moronic degenerate' was, but she was glad to hear that her companions were not of royal blood.
Ezra waved his hand, making a small portal appear, and began tossing the loot from the bandits Michael had killed. He then snapped his fingers and, like a loyal puppy, Miu came to his side and they began to walk towards the town once again. Leaving Michael to grab the sword Ezra had tossed to the side of the ground and catch up with the other two.
Ezra then spotted Miu limping and, without even thinking, picked Miu and put her on his shoulder like a father would. He then stopped in his tracks and both he and Miu looked down at the ground in an awkward manner. "I'm sorry. Do you want down?" Ezra squeaked out. Miu shook her head no and Ezra then continued on but he moved as if robotically, but he soon returned to his normal stride.
Ezra looks behind him to see Michael walking along, swinging the sword in the air like a toy. "I thought you were bringing the dead drake for the 'free' dragon slayer title." Ezra said, knowing Michael's intentions for the drake's dead body.
The statement made Michael pause for a moment and then look around for the sled which sat on the hill behind them. "Shit." Michael said as he dashed at full speed towards the drake and began to push it in the direction of town. 'How dare you forget my body,' a voice said to Michael, who didn't hear it since he could only think about how stupid it was to leave the dead body.
"You know, whenever you don't have an orange veil of magic surrounding you, it seems that your endurance has increased with the rest of your abilities." Ezra commented, noticing how Michael hadn't had any fatigue while pushing the massive dead body.
"'You will also be grant you magical affinity and increase your current physical abilities by a thousand.'" Michael said, quoting the deity when he had gotten to the side in which Ezra held Miu on his shoulder.
"This world has a currency." Ezra said, lifting his hand, which held a large bag filled with the gold and silver coins they got from the dead bandits. "And this won't last us forever, so we're gonna need to find a way of making more of it."
Michael nodded his head in agreement. He wondered if this world was like the games he's played where there would be guilds and taverns for travellers to take a job and get paid. "In my opinion, you're the smartest one in the group thus far. So what do you think we should do?" Michael asked, looking at the dead drake think it could be sold for a high price.
"I think a normal drake wouldn't sell for much. But since this one was strong enough to require sacrifices, I feel like this one would sell for a pretty penny," Ezra stated as if reading Michael's mind, "But after that I'm not sure."
Michael looked up at the little elf girl that sat on Ezra's shoulder and had an idea. He tapped Miu's arm, gaining her attention, and asked, "Does this world have a guild or association that gives us a form of currency for completing tasks?"
"Yes." Miu said, happy to be of use for the group, "You can join one of two guilds, the adventures guild or the traders guild." Michael nodded his head in excitement, having a rough idea on the use of both, but he kept his lips shut, letting Miu continue her explanation. "If you join the adventures guild, you can accept quests posted by the people of the village in which you accepted the question from or quests posted by the guild itself."
"And these quests can range from gathering herbs to killing monstrous beasts. Right?" Ezra asked in curiosity. Miu nodded her head, confirming his question. While Michael just walked beside, the two nodded his head as he listened, not really caring about the guild. He only had a smile on his face, happy to know that the world worked almost like he thought it would.
"If you join the traders' guild, you will be tasked with acquiring items for the customer. People with money and of high statues mainly go to the traders' guild to find rare items across the land." Miu explained. "Most quests posted in the adventure's guild are escort quest where you protect the traders as they search for the rare items." She said, as if almost forgetting that detail.
As they crested the next hill, Miu pointed at the walls in the distance and said, "That is the village of Beginnill Temnit. Though many people don't know it's even here, it's known as Beginner City among adventures and traders because anyone who wants to have any chance of being a successful adventurer or trader they gotta start here."
It was a small village with medieval style walls with fields of crops surrounding it on all sides. As the group walked towards the town, they stopped now and then to pick some crops from the fields, not really caring if people would get mad.
It took longer than expected, but they eventually reached the village. Two guards stood on both sides of the village entrance. The taller of the two walked forward and held out a hand. "To enter, you must either pay the toll of one small silver a person or provide a guild card," the guard said in tone suggesting a long day of work. Ezra produced the bag, which held the pillaged money from the bandits, and hand the guard the three smallest silver coins in the bag. The guard then walked back over to his post, produced his own pouch, and dropped the coin in it. The guard waved at the group, allowing them to pass through the south gate.
The guards did not react as Ezra and Miu entered, but they jumped back, dropping the weapons in their hands as Michael dragged the sled carrying the dead drake. The guard did not jump back because of the massive beast dragged by Michael, he jumped back from the feeling of a second more sinister soul within Michael.
The expression on each member of the group spanned the entire emotional spectrum. Ezra was blank and emotionless as he looked straight ahead. Miu was full of fear as she looked down at the ground from Ezra's shoulder. While Michael was the most different, his eyes were full of wonder and excitement as he looked around the medieval style architecture.
They soon saw the crowd gathering on each side of the street. "What do you think they're looking at?" Michael whispered to Ezra. Ezra point over his shoulder at the drake. Michael then smacked his head at the simple answer. People stared in awe and shock as looked at the dead massive creature. Whispers and murmurs filled the air.
"It can't be…"
"Is that the sacrifice?"
"How in the gods did they. . ."
"Who... who are they?"
The group then stopped walking once they reached the center of a large circular plaza, which made the whispers and murmurs cease. A tall man pushed his way through the crowd. The clothing the man wore and the armed guards that followed close behind him suggested he was of high status. Ezra tightened his grip on Miu's legs and then walked forward to greet the man.
"You there!" the man spoke in a hostile tone. Ezra put down Miu and assumed a defensive stance as Miu tried to hide behind him. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU HAVE DONE?!" the man shouted into Ezra's face, his voice full of anger and caution towards the group.
Everyone turned to see when a woman's scream burst out in the square, "Cease Her!" The crowd that had formed around the group dispersed to let a woman wearing a crown and royal regalia to pass, followed by knights wearing brilliant white armour. She had snow-white hair that complemented her pale face and elongated ears. Miu was the target of the woman's pale finger. Miu tightened her hold on Ezra and buried her head in his calf. Next to Ezra, a figure materialized and seized Miu before vanishing. The figure suddenly reappeared next to the lady, with a knife at Miu's throat.
An orange blur moved towards the pale woman, but Ezra raised his hand, stopping Michael's charge. "Go back, I will handle this." Ezra said to Michael, with a twinkle in his eye as he admired the light elf. He was angry but knew it was for the best, so he went back over to drake, crouched down and began peeling its scales off to pass the time.
"I guess you're the village chief? Who is this town's ruler?" In spite of his best efforts to seem calm, Ezra questioned the man who had been yelling at him earlier. He continued as the man nodded. He said, gesturing to the pale-skinned woman wearing royal garb, "You see, your associate over there has made a fatal mistake, and I will give them one chance to correct that error."
The man looked on in horror as Ezra spoke. He turned and bowed to the woman. "These people are not part of the village. So please Queen Alloralla Waesvalur, take my he-" the man said, his face pressed to the ground.
"Be quiet. The sound of your voice hurts my head." Queen Alloralla said, interrupting the man. "What is that name of you and your companion? And what error could I have made?" She said as she turned to Ezra.
"I will let my helmsman introduce himself once your life is no long at risk." Ezra said with a blank expression, pointing at the man that was giggling to himself as he peeled scales off the dead drake. The crowd then gasped at the statement as guards stepped forward, forming a protective circle around the queen.
"You dare threaten me?" Queen Alloralla said, her words laced with spite and anger.
"That was no threat. That was a statement. A threat would be this-" Ezra said with no emotion in his voice as he turned to Michael and said "Idiot if they don't undo there mistake in the next ten minutes you're free to do as you wish." He then turned back to the queen, performed a curtain closing bow and continued where he had left off. "As for my name, it's Ezra Mayne Lawrence Whitmore."
Ezra then stood up straight, "And as for your the mistake that will lead to your death if not undone. You have taken and threatened the life of someone we call a friend," Ezra said as he pointed at Miu that still had the knife at her throat. The queen giggled as if what he said was nothing more than a joke.
"You consider this thing a friend?" Queen Alloralla asked, almost bursting into laughter. "That is nothing more than dirt on the ground, property to be own." she said as she pointed at Miu.
"And what signifies someone like her as property?" Ezra asked with a sheepish grin, already knowing the answer.
"Humans are truly stupid. It the collar arou…" Queen Alloralla trailed off when she saw nothing around Miu's neck. She turned on Ezra with anger on her lips and curiosity in her eyes. "That's impossible. You would need a court of mages to remove that collar." Queen Alloralla's voice was nothing more than a whisper in the air. "How could you, a mere human, have the magical power to remove a collar with a death spell infused within it?" Queen Alloralla asked.
"Me? Remove the collar?" Ezra asked with a look of mocking skepticism, "At most I loosened it," He waved his hand again at the man next to the dead drake, "So he could ripe it in two. So, can you return our friend before something irreversible happens?"
"She is the property of the Elven Kingdom." Queen Alloralla spoke with a grin on her face as the word to come out of her mouth would win the argument, "If you want her to be released, I must walk away with some compensation. How about ten large gold coins?"
"We do not have that kind of money on us at the moment." Ezra said with a fake frown, looking at the ground. The Queen began to walk away as if she had won the conflict but she stop when Ezra spoke, "Now, I'm going to tell you this: I'm the good one, the one you can walk away alive from. So if I give something-"
"Kill him." Queen Alloralla said, anger dripping from her voice, the guards rushing to obeying their orders.
Ezra just smiled at this and held his arms open. "Please, I am incapable of hurting you and you have no reason to be afraid of me. How about we just relax?" As he took another step forward, a guard put a sword to Ezra's throat.
Ezra didn't flinch, just letting an evil grin cover his face, as he looked at the blade, then at the guard. "Never hesitate to kill." Ezra said suddenly grabbed the blade and shoved it through his neck as he smiled at the guard. "I can be incapacitated but not killed." The guard withdrew his blade and stumbled back.
"NOW! Can everyone just listen?!" Ezra starting to sound irritated. His neck fully healed from the wound. Ezra then turned back to the queen and said, "I'm losing my patience and I'm done playing this charade of courtesy. Let her go or deal with my helmsman." Ezra let out a small sigh when no move to release Miu was made. He walked over to the dead drake and sat down next to Michael with his back against the cold, dead corpse. He shared a quick word with Michael.
A bright green covered Michael from head to toe, and then he disappeared. A scream of pain rang through the plaza. All eyes were drawn to the shadowy figure that held Miu. Michael stood behind it with both its arms crushed in one hand. With her being released, Miu then ran over to Ezra. Michael then tossed the shadow to the side as if a single feather would of weighed more.
"The drake you see there was slain with my own bare hands." Michael said, walking up to the queen who just stood there.
"What is your name?" Queen Alloralla asked Michael with terror in her eyes.
"To me, you're not even worth three small copper but you may call me Gabriel Iron." Michael almost yelled. Ezra looked back at him with a 'really' face as Michael stood there proud as if he was a trophy worth admiring. "Now remove yourself from my sight before your life can no longer be spared." The Queen Alloralla's eyes widened in terror, knowing what the man before her said held more truth than she'll ever know.
Queen Alloralla turned around and ran out of the plaza with the shadow and guards following close behind. "You have no clue who you just crossed!!" Queen Alloralla shout to the group. Michael then walked back to Ezra and grabbed Miu, putting her on his shoulder.
Ezra then sat up and said, "Don't worry, we're not here to hurt you..." He paused and looked at Michael before continuing, "at least I'm not." He began to walk towards the crowd as he continued, knowing how to stir fear. "All we need is to be pointed in the direction of the guilds and a place to sleep. We'll be happy to sell the meat of this drake for gold and silver and a change of clothes." Looking back to Michael, he just simply asked, "Do you need anything from them?"
"I already got a blunt force weapon." Michael said, patting the drake's horns tied to his back. He then pulled out the sword he got from the bandit started to bend it, snapping it in half like a twig. "A new sword would be nice, one of higher quality. Oh! And some knuckles!" Ezra shook his head in disbelief.
"Well, you heard him. I suggest you get it for him before he gets upset." Ezra said to the crowd, still shocked by fear. Ezra looked at them all as they stood there, doing nothing.
This was when Michael spoke up, stomping his foot to the ground, making it collapse beneath his foot. "WHAT YOU STANDING AROUND FOR GET A MOVE ON!" The crowd started to disperse as they rushed to get the things they demanded. "WAIT!" Michael's voice rang through the village like a bell at noon. The air was thick with fear from what was left of the crowd, who stopped in their tracks.
"Do you want anything?" Michael turned to ask Miu. She shook her head no. Michael then turned to the crowd and said, "BRING US THE FINEST DRESSES AND MAGICAL GEAR FOR CHILDREN!" The rest of the crowd then disbanded.
The village head brought the group to the Adventures Guild where Michael and Miu registered as adventures and received their Guild Cards. Michael threw a fit for being put at the lowest rank, but stopped when Ezra told the Guild Master what Michael had done, making the Guild Master increase Michael's rank by three.
They then went to the Traders Guild, where Ezra registered as a trader. The group returned to the plaza, where they left the dead drake general. A half-dozen people wielding knives surrounded it, cutting into it and organized its parts. The village head then explained how they were harvesters harvesting the beast's dead body for sale.
A person seeming to be the head of the harvesters approached them with three large chests, each carried by two large men.
"The first two chests hold gold while the third hold the clothing and magical gear requested." the man explained waving his hand to the chests. Ezra flicked his wrist in the air, opening a portal, and told the men to toss the chest in it. Michael stopped the men carrying the third chest and grabbed it from them, putting it on his shoulder with ease.
Ezra parted ways with Michael and Miu to go to the village library. With the chest full of clothing and gear on his shoulder and Miu at his side, Michael walked to the weapons smith and helped make his custom steel knuckles. Once his steel knuckles were finished, the village chief ran to him and handed Michael the finest sword in the village, had a grip long enough that appears as a two-handed sword with a round pommel at the end, a huge cross-like shaped guard and a long blade with a gold-colored edge, it could also be described as Excalibur's twin, Caliburn, and a small Khukuri knife hoping it would suffice for the powerful, dirty blonde.
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Ezra stopped by the adventure's guild on his way to the library and picked out a few quests that were all located around the same area, and was now heading to the library in hopes of finding something to tell him stuff about the world. This lasted for a few hours before Ezra smelled cooking from the bakery.
"That gluttonous 'Gabriel' is probably getting hungry. I should make sure he eats before we leave." Ezra said as he left the library with a few books he was told he could keep if he wanted. I guess word spreads quick, he thought to himself, as he went multiple stores for bags, sacks, and extra clothing.
Ezra decided to keep his clothes in his usual style, black with white shirts and red cloth for design. He also picked out a grey cloak for himself that looked like an old movie style detective would wear. Now it was to the bakery. He quickly got some bread and cheese for Michael and Miu, with some turkey legs and ham cuts. He put the food in a sac he basically stole and stored the books in his new bag that he voluntarily paid for, deciding he shouldn't use his spatial magic as much as he has.
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Michael and Miu came across Ezra as they walked towards the inn. Michael hadn't realized how hungry he was until the smell of ham and turkey hit his nose, making his stomach violently growl. As they walked, Miu ran around the two like the kid she was in her new purple battle maid dress. Ezra wave his hand in the air opening portal and closed it when Michael threw the chest he had been carrying on his shoulder in it.
Ezra handed Michael some of the meat and cheese. He began to cut the cheese with his new hunting knife and layered it on the meat. Michael sheathed his dagger, lifted his hand and spoke something under his breath, making a flame appear on the palm of his hand.
Ezra's eyes widened in surprise, "How did you… Who taught…" He asked, not able to finish the thought.
With his mouth full, Michael just pointed at Miu as she ran around the two. He then swallowed his mouth full of food and explained. "The forge at the weapons smith's place wasn't hot enough to melt mithril so Miu used her-"
"MITHRIL?!" Ezra asked loudly, making Miu stop for a second and look on with curiosity before continuing her own thing.
"Yeah, we used her broken collar." Michael stated, continuing on as if no question was asked, "So Miu used her high tier fire magic, which wouldn't you know burned through her mana in like a second. So I asked her to teach me." He paused for a moment to take another bite before continuing, "She taught me, I learned, and we made a Zorlin Shape out of her old collar and added like a hundred different enchants."
Miu slowly lifted her dress to reveal a blade attached to it that was half the length of her leg. She took the Zorlin Shape out of the sheath attached to her calf and handed it to Ezra. Ezra assumed the blade would be heavy given its size, but it was surprisingly light—so light that he worried it might simply float away if he let go.
He admired the dagger's curved, jagged blade with its thin spine and slightly curved hilt, which was made from mythical wood with leather strips that made a scale like design went up the handle with gold and silver touches at the pommel. The colors of the enchantment formed a shining glow on the blade's silvery-blue mithril.
He then noticed the hook like shape on its handle, which allowed the wielder to quickly change how it sat in his or her hand mid-fight. Ezra rested the blade and made an attempt to maneuver it in his palm, but dropped it on his first attempt. The blade sunk into the ground like a hot knife through butter. Michael picked up the blade and twirled it in his hand with ease for a moment and handed it back to Miu.
"Impressive," Ezra stated in a tone of being unimpressed. He knew that the display of knife handling won't be the most surprising thing to happen in their adventures.
"Ezra, why did you do that? Like, why'd you make it seem I would kill that snot-nosed bitch of a queen?" Michael asked, moving on from the subject of the dagger, as he reached into the sack on Ezra's back, pulling out a loaf of bread. "Even I'm not that…" "stupid to kill royalty…" "in-front of a crowd." He said between bites.
Ezra sighed as he looked around before answering in a whisper. "And I would've stopped you if you actually tried. It's about making a name for yourself because if you want to become a hero or whatever, you need to be shown to the people. You need people to know about you."
"Um... excuse me Sir Lawrence Whitmore and Lord Iron..." a voice filled with fear said from behind the group. They turn to see the village head beginning to bow to them as if they were royalty.
Michael had a look of smug pride, while Miu hid behind him and Ezra remained unfazed. Ezra walked forward and lifted the man up from his bowing position. "Remember, we're not going to hurt anyone. So what do you need?" Ezra asked with a small smile.
"We've prepared some of the drake meat for travel. If cooked properly, it can become a great dish." the village head said as he pulled out a decent sized cloth wrapped around something. Ezra graciously took the food and thanked the village chief as he put it in the food sack. The chef quickly nodded, and an aura of gratefulness surrounded him as he ran off.
"Tomorrow we leave for the plains." Ezra stated, turning back to the smug man and shy elf girl, "From there we go north again and head to the Fairy Forest." Ezra said, as he had a map out in his hands, looking over it.
"No." Miu said from behind Michael. The two men turned and looked at the small child. "Fairies and Elves hate each other. They'll kill us if you travel there with me." She explained with fear of losing her new found companions.
Ezra and Michael exchanged a glance before speaking in unison. "They could try." the two said. The statement seemed to make Miu ease up. Michael tickled Miu for a moment before picking her up and put her on his shoulder. The group continued walking and chatting as they did so.
"Until then, I suggest you get clothes that are a better fit for you. Or at least your style." Ezra said, looking Michael up and down.
Michael nodded as he let out a yawn, an obvious sign of exhaustion. "I think I can do that... before we leave tomorrow." Michael said as they started to walk towards an inn. Ezra followed suit as the group got a room and settled in. Miu and Michael fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the hay filled mattress. Miu's head rested on Michael's chest while one of his arms wrapped around her and his other hung off the edge.
They look like a brother and sister, Ezra thought to himself. He watched their chests rise and fall as they slept.
A dark shadow caught Ezra's attention from outside the window. A black silhouette hid in the shadows outside. The air seemed to change, making Ezra look at his sleeping friends, see their chests no longer rising as if was frozen in place, like time had stopped. Ezra turned his attention back to the black figure. It seemed as if eyes appeared on the figure, allowing it to look up at Ezra with bloodshot eyes that held nothing except the black pupil of a predator.
"What the hell?" Ezra asked himself, thinking he had just fallen asleep, and this was just a dream. A pentagram appeared at the figure's feet. The ground began to burn as hell fire spewed from the pentagram, swallowing the figure whole. The flames didn't disappear and time didn't continue; instead, Ezra's right arm burst into flames.
He collapsed in pain as smoke flowed from his clothes and cloak. He wished he had water as he rolled on the ground. After a few seconds, flames disappeared, and he heard the snoring of his technical leader, the murmuring of Miu talking in her sleep, the chatter and footsteps of the villagers outside.
"What the hell?" Ezra asked in shock and pain. He rolled up his sleeves, that seemed to never have burned, to see his arm fully healed except for a few faint glowing symbols that wrapped around his shoulder and ran down to his elbow. Ezra looked around, making sure he hadn't awoken his companions, and put his shirt on and threw the covers over his head, hoping that the markings would be gone by morning.
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When Ezra awoke, the markings that had been seared into his flesh were still giving him a slight agony. He turned around as he heard Michael snoring, expecting to see Miu still dozing on his chest, with Michael's arm over her in a protective manner. Miu, however, wasn't in his arms. In a state of terror, Ezra leaped to his feet and searched about. His eyes eventually fell on the entrance, where Miu was holding a tray with a tiny meal on it as she waited there.
"What's wrong Lord Ezra?" Miu questioned as she observed Ezra's face change from having a panicked expression to being normally expressionless.
Knowing they would soon have to go, Ezra looked at Michael sleeping and grumbled, "He isn't up yet and hasn't acquired any new attire." Miu approached the chair in the room's corner, sat down, and ate the breakfast she had brought for herself as Ezra murmured to himself.
Ezra then walked over to the sleeping man and shouted, "Get up, you muscle brained idiot! Or we're leaving without you!"
Michael moaned, "five more minutes..." before turning over and resuming slumber. Ezra attempted to awaken the dozing giant for a few minutes, but was unsuccessful. He quickly gave up and went to get a bucket of water.
"SON OF A BITCH!" Michael screamed as he sprung to his feet in annoyance at being awakened by the water bucket alarm once more. "You could have done anything else, you know?" Michael said as he looked at his smug face friend. He then sniffed the air and look over at Miu eating her small breakfast. When Miu saw him looking at her food, she scarfed it down like a gluttonous demon.
"I did do 'anything else'," Ezra answered as he walked out of the room with Miu and Michael close behind. "Alright 'my Lord', you need to get new clothing and your own food for the road, maybe some armour if possible." Ezra said as they left the inn. He stopped by the counter an apologizing for the mess and left one small gold coin.
Ezra tossed a bag full of coins at Michael. "Even though you can take whatever doesn't mean you should, so actually pay," Ezra said, looking at Michael with a serious expression. "Even if they insist on not taking payment, still pay them." Ezra said, as he walked away with Miu at his side, as if reading Michael's thoughts.
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Michael found a place equivalent to a tailor and chose a black coat with crimson-colored linings and trimmings that came down to his knees. He had the tailor tighten his black cargo pant and make new knee-length black boots. He sheathed his Caliburn on his back and holstered the two drake horns that he had named Samantha and Charly on his side. Then he walked around the village, grabbing for some food for the road, making sure to pay double what the item was worth.
Villagers followed him as he walked around, so he quickened his pace, making the villagers picked up theirs. As he quicken his pace, so did the villagers.
"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU FOLLOWING ME!" Michael yelled, making them shrink back in fear at the exasperation in his voice.
One of the children in the crowed shyly stepped forward, "W-w-we're…" the child swallowed "We're wondering w-why you're still here."
"Why would you be wondering that?" He questioned. His annoyed demeanor was replaced by a curious one.
"B-because the others of your party left." Another villager in the crowd stated as the child walked back into the crowd.
"They left without me?" Anger seeping back into his voice. This made all the surrounding villagers violently nod their heads and pointed towards the west gate.
"FUCK!" Michael yelled, before turning around and run out the village after his advisor and the elf girl he saw as his new sister.
Ezra and Miu had a good thirty-minute head start from the village as he headed towards the job. Michael ran at full speed, following the trail as he ran. After five minutes of running, a smile came across his face as he saw closest friend, now advisor with the small elf girl holding his hand while skipping alongside him in her purple battle maid outfit.
Miu turned around and waved with a smile that was brighter than the sun.
"Took you long enough. Are you ready to start this adventure of ours?" Ezra's tone told Michael that he planned on leaving him since he woke up. Though Ezra spoke in his usual bored, not caring tone, the smile on his face told Michael.
"Where're we going first, and how many jobs after that?" Michael asked, excited, ready to start their adventure off right this time.
"I picked up about four quests. The first place we need to go is right there-" Ezra pointed towards the forest in front of them, "Fairy Forest, it's said to be highly populated with thousands of fairy species. Pixies, ravagers, twinklers, some carnivorous, others only eat leaves or flowers."
Michael looked on in excitement at the forest, with thoughts of intrigue and curiosity. Michael couldn't wait a second longer. His emotions took hold, making the orange aura return, covering him head to toe and, not caring how it would look, he picked up Miu and Ezra, put them on his shoulders and ran towards the forest. Michael shouted as loud as his lungs would allow, making battle cry like sound. Miu soon joined in and Ezra soon after giving into the stupidity.
The journey ahead will be full of danger. But little did they know that this quest will be the first of many they will almost shake hands with the reaper.