"huuuuh" Lael's voice stretched with incredulous disbelief as he fixed me with a stare.
'it is what it is' I shrugged.
Up ahead stood the bandit leader, armed with a black great sword and built like a beast for combat as he fixed us with a dumbfounded look, his brow twitching comically.
"little sh*ts" he cursed under his breath, the wind picking up around him as I detected the release of a sharp aura. "now that it's come to this, hope you hugged your mommies goodbye" he sneered wickedly.
The travelers by the carriages cowered and fled, clearing the space for us but Lael's face lit up bright.
"now we're talking" he said, facing the bandit leader.
"Albeom. I bet I can take him down before you" he said as if placing a wager.
'Is that so'
Right then, the bandit leader's feet dug into the ground and like a beast he pounced. Kicking against the ground and shooting through the air like a bullet.
Fiwwwh
'fast' I observed as all movements slowed down in my perception. Superhuman speed, skill and a wild technique. The bandit leader was indeed strong. He'd had years to hone his skills and craft and probably, once upon a time he might have been a renowned warrior but gave in to his urges. Regardless, he's not a good person. His eyes were muddled and colored murky with the blood of his victims, His aura thick with grudges. He was a man hated by the spirits, even the grasses beneath his booths were dying.
'evil' I read his nature.
With a flick of my left hand, I magically locked onto his body as I gently pushed his left leg to forcefully kicked away his right, unbalancing him as he fell to the ground like a whip, face first.
Boom.
His momentum was great so with another nudge, I sent him whipping into the ground in a bounce as he finally hit into a bunch of trees a distance to my left.
"…"
"what?" breaking the silence, Lael looked my way.
"Done"
Filth like the bandit leader doesn't deserve the dignity of a confrontation. He should be sweeped away to the side like garbage.
Anyways, our work here is done. With all the bandits down, the travelers were now safe.
Just as I was about to turn and tell them that,
'this'
I sensed a unique magic among them.
I'd sensed it before but in a world of magic and wonder, the chances of meeting unique individuals were higher so I thought nothing of it until now.
I scanned through them and to the side, by the horses I saw a pair, boy and girl much older than me. Appearing to be in their teens, the boy's skin was tan, with long platinum hair tied behind his back and a pair of dark golden eyes. He was handsome and dressed decently in the local wear and the girl, also dressed like a local with bright porcelain skin, black hair and a pair of violet eyes fixed me with a stare.
'disguise' I noticed. I didn't mind and walked closer to them.
'I can see it' I observed from the boy.
A broad collar necklace, hidden beneath the his shirt. It was giving off an alarming sensation.
'an artifact' I observed. No. 'an unstable artifact'
"That artifact. Can I see it?" I asked, surprising them.
The girl almost jumped at me but held herself back when the boy signaled her to stand down. It was a subtle gesture, completely undetectable if not for [reading].
But that made me come to my senses.
Asking for an artifact right after we took down the bandits who were about to rob them. It makes it seem like we only took the bandits place. And worse still was the fact that we covered our faces with scarfs. It definitely made us look suspicious.
"hey, didn't we come here to save them?" Lael's voice sounded behind me, a hint of confusion and doubt in his tone.
"y-yes we did. Sorry. I just got carried away when I saw this artifact" I quickly apologized and explained.
"You're safe now. The bandits have been taken cared off" I added as I took a step back.
"tsk. You should learn to be more conscious about your environment. Getting carried away because of a magic artifact. Look, that lady almost attacked you" Lael said nonchalantly as he clicked his tongue annoyed. The lady flinched at his words.
"Anyways what do we do with the bandits now. Leave them here?" he asked.
"p-please, the guards. C-can you help them" a short plump man dressed as a merchant asked, stepping out from his hiding place.
"the guards. A few injuries and broken bones. They should be fine with first aid" I answered the man to his relief. Of course I checked on them the moment we arrived on the scene. They were unconscious so it was only only prudent to check on them but fortunately none of them were fatally wounded which was why I ignored them until now.
"Thank the saint. We have some medicines with us we can use" he said.
"C'mon, the bandits have been taken cared off. Let's help the guards" the plump merchant called the others to help the guards. He had that air about him. The ability to manage people.
'I suppose that's a merchant for you'
Anyways, with his call, the other travelers got busy with helping tend to the guards.
"also let's tie up the bandits" "Is it okay if we do that?" he said and asked us. Lael shrugged and I nodded yes.
All this while, the boy and girl remained where they were.
Suddenly,
"here" the boy said to me. Holding the broad collar necklace to my face.
"Lord Tekh" the girl called out in what appeared to be disbelief.
"Patras" the boy shouted immediately in response to her in an effort to silence her. "it's Tekh. Just Tekh, remember" he smiled awkwardly.
'ah'
I see. I smiled within at them.
"Y-yes, my l-lor-sir- Tekh. Sorry" embarrassingly the girl, Patras apologized.
" that's quite the unique artifact" I observed, having taken it from him, Tekh.
"it seems old, ancient. The design is well crafted. Hm..Might. of. Kravis" I [read] from the faded hieroglyphs, the name of the broad collar necklace to their shock.
It was made of layers of intricate and complex magic formations which were engraved on the inside and outside to host the great power swirling within like a vortex.
'indeed, a mighty artifact' but …
"it appears to be unstable?" I observed peering into the artifact.
I couldn't say that I wasn't envious of it. I mean who wouldn't want such a cool looking artifact.
"it's the core bridge. It has decayed." I suddenly found the problem. The pathway in the artifact that allows the circulation of the vast power in the it had decayed, as if rusted. Resulting in poor circulation and in the end the low performance of the artifact.
At this realization I understood why Tekh hadn't intervened when the bandits stopped them.
With the artifact being in such a state, he might not have been able to handle all of them. But that's a different case for Patras. I observed keenly. They are a unique pair.
Anyways, with the fault identified, I believed I could fix it.
"don't worry I can fix it" I raised my head and said to Tekh.
Whether he believed me or not, I couldn't discern from his expression but after fixing granddad's magic circuits, this was a piece of cake. At this point I might even call myself an expert in this aspect.
'hah, a rhyme' I smiled.
The artifact held great power, a vortex of energy that could go off at any moment because it wasn't functioning properly. It was anyone's guess as to why it was still intact.
Should it have gone off, I believe this whole forest would have become a waste land. A scene of catastrophe.
But that stroke of luck brought it to me.
I tapped into the vast power in the artifact, feeling it's strong pull as it swirled within.
With the expertise of an artificer, I gently polished away the rust and decay in the core bridge allowing the power to freely circulate.
But I didn't stop here, as I guided the power to travel through the artifact polishing it's pathways and clearing the it of any and all impurities. All of this took happened in an instant and as I raised my head to smile at Tekh, I saw his eyes and body glowing gold. Perhaps it was because [reading] was still activated, I could see the connection between the artifact and him.
"A soul corridor" I was pleasantly surprised.
'so this is why he readily handed the artifact to me'
The soul corridor established a link between he and the artifact making them essentially two pieces of one whole.
If someone should desire it, the only method to obtain it is through Tekh's death.
This was a wonderful artifact. A wonderful partner. My envy only grows and I could only smile to that.
But to my side, Lael who'd come closer had his guard up. He seemed to have sensed the change in Tekh and thought it was an attack. He calmed down immediately as he saw my smile. Good. I could always leave my back to him.
"All done" I beamed and I handed the artifact back to Tekh.
"How does it feel now" I asked.
"…better, much better" he smiled in response.
"good, that's good to hear"
Having sensed that we were done, the merchant who was standing a few steps back spoke up.
"we are done tying up the bandits. Sir. Heroes. What would you have us do with them now" he asked.
That's simple.
"Could you take them to whitehold" I smiled at him and added before he argued about the burden it would place on them "my friend will guide you"
"what. I never agreed to that" Lael protested.
"C'mon…" I was about to respond to him when my heart and ears tickled.
... help…
A faint voice, as if non-existent, carried by the air resounded in my ears and resonated in my heart.
It was a sensation that arrested my attention instantly.
My eyes sharply tore through the sea of trees blocking my sight, traveling through the forest to the far end where I saw a cave and heard the voice coming from.
… Help me…
Before my brain could process it, my body was moving to action.
"guide them to the village please" I left those words behind and shot towards the cave I was looking at.
I could only guess at the confusion and shock left behind but my mind was far ahead on the cave which had a familiar wave of magic power coming out of it.
Boom! I flew into the ground, cracking it. It seemed I had become reckless by some measure.
I calmed myself down and peered into the dark cave, there I saw something that almost shocked me.
"Arshüdhem"