"This is the last thing I wanted...." Brodin said as he walked alongside Lucian, "Why did you have to say that?"
Lucian looked at him as they both walked behind Lunaris and Astorias, making their way to the edge of the burning town, "Well, I know that being on the run won't be easy nor fun with you." He said, "And besides, if I'm going to be stuck with these people, I might as well have someone I can trust on my side."
"You're a fool for trusting me, a stranger." Brodin said, "We just met."
"Hey, you could've just left me to die on plenty of occasions." Lucian said, "But you didn't. I feel like you can be trusted."
Brodin frowned, "You're a strange one." He said
Lucian shrugged, "Hey, we're both Traversed, we have to stick together." He said with a slight smile, "Right?"
"If you're too trusting of others, you'd get hurt." Brodin said with a sigh
"Yea well-" Lucian started
"Shut it, Lu-Lu!" Astorias snapped at him
Lucian scowled as he looked at her, "What you call me???" He said
"Lu-Lu~" Astorias said as she winked at him, "Keep your mouth shut!"
"You little..." Lucian said
"Ho? You wanna fight???" Astorias taunted
"Enough." Lunaris said as she stopped and looked at the wall of smoke, "We need to douse the flames and make sure the ground is stable."
One of her men walked up to her, "Yes, we're about to start using the barriers." He said
Lunaris nodded, "Good." she said, "Astorias, what are you waiting for? You can leave now."
"Huh? I'm not going anywhere without my Calamity." She said as she pulled Lucian by his sleeve, "Right, Lu-Lu?"
"Don't call me that." Lucian said with a frown
"We've been through this, Astorias, he's under my custody." Lunaris said with a serious expression, "I will not argue with you about this."
"Huh? You're too soft on this boy." Astorias said while her eyes smiled, "You must let me have a few weeks with him, he'd be ready to be on the frontlines."
"That sounds ominous." Lucian muttered, "Leave me alone."
"No." Astorias said, "The Arch-Magus wants your Dragon Calamity to be controlled. You need at least 3 Seals undone, I'll help you with that. Lunaris won't help you progress much, but I can."
"No." Lunaris said, "You're not a teacher, you'll simply break his seals by force, making him fight for his survival."
"That is the best way for a Calamity to be controlled, I would know." Astorias pushed Lucian away
Lucian patted his coat, "You would know? You're a Cursed One?" He asked her
Astorias nodded, "That's right." She said, "I'm a Cursed One, a powerful one at that."
Lucian looked around, "Now that I think about it, where's your sword?" He asked
"Don't worry about it." Astorias said
"Lady Lunaris, Death Knight Astorias." A voice said
They all turned to see a large man clad in armor, a black cloak flowing in the wind behind him, he wore no helmet though, revealing his chiseled face, covered in scars as his blue hair flowed in the wind as well. His dark brown eyes were looking straight at the Paladin Knights, no hint of fear or nervousness.
"And you are?" Astorias asked
"I am Ser Ortheon." He said, "One of the Knights that serve under His Majesty, The Bull King."
Behind him, there was a massive squad of armored me, around a hundred or more. Brodin shifted with unease, not liking where this was going.
"Ser Ortheon, I've heard of you, pleasure to meet you." Lunaris said, "How can we help you?"
"Hand over Brodin, The Artificer." He said seriously, "And the Calamity. The Bull King's orders are absolute."
"Didn't we just have a chat with the other Knight?" Astorias said, "This guy wants to argue more with us?"
"Ser Cretan does not speak for the King." Ortheon said, "I do. He personally sent me to search for the Calamity and the Artificer. They're the reason this incident happened; Rivertown was almost destroyed. They need to answer for that crime."
"My apologies, Ser Ortheon." Lunaris said while crossing her arms, "But I am afraid I cannot hand them over. Both Lucian and Brodin are under my custody. And I say that they stay with us."
"You don't understand." Ortheon said, "That Lucian fellow is the Dragon Cursed One. He laid waste to a milling village not too far from here. Killed three people. While they are lucky that no others were harmed, he still took innocent lives."
"I am aware." Lunaris said, "But I think you don't understand. My Arch-Magus has given me strict orders to keep him under our custody."
"That may be so, but you are in our country. The Order is merely a guest of the Bull Kingdom." Ortheon said
Lucian sighed, "This is going to be a pain, huh?" He muttered
"Lu-Lu is mine, buddy." Astorias took a step forward, "You wanna fight for him? I'll take you on."
"Relax, Astorias." Lunaris waved her off, "We won't fight each other, we're in an alliance. Send a message to the Bull King, tell him to contact the Darklight Sect's Arch-Magus."
"You have two dangerous men under your custody, woman." Ortheon said, "The Dragon Calamity and Brodin, the Artificer. You need to know, he possesses a power that can endanger our people. He needs to answer for his crimes."
"They weren't crimes...." Brodin said
"They are what His Majesty says they are." Ortheon said, "Brodin, do you really think that your wife will be safe now that you're on the run?"
Brodin narrowed his eyes and summoned a gun, "What did you say?" He said seriously and took a step back
Lunaris extended her arm, gesturing him to stop, "Don't." She warned before looking at Ortheon, "I will not have you threaten an innocent's live simply because you won't get what you want. If that's how the Bull King wants to play it, fine, I'll personally go and speak to him. As for Brodin, he's under our custody now, there isn't a thing you can do about it. Do not make this difficult."
"Be a good boy and walk away, punk." Astorias said, "This is the thanks we get for eradicating the threat? We're cleaning up our own messes here, fuck off."
Ortheon scowled, "This isn't over." He said as he turned around and began to walk away, "His Majesty will hear of this."
"Good." Lunaris said, "We don't want a lack of communication."
As the Knight walked away, Lucian looked around, noticing that the other Knight was nowhere to be seen.
"This one looked tougher than the other one." Lucian said, "Where is he by the way?"
"Probably ran off." Astorias said as she crossed her arms, "Anyways, Luna, I'm taking Lu-Lu back to my camp. I'll contact Father and will tell him that I will oversee his training."
"No, you won't." Lunaris said, "I won't argue, like I said already. Lord Azarius has already given the order that I will be his overseer, Astorias, don't make this any more difficult than this is. He will try to run away if you're in charge of him."
Astorias closed her eyes and shook her head, "Father won't mind." She said with an annoyed tone
"Father? Sister?" Lucian said while blinking, "What? You all related?"
"I don't think so." Brodin said, "I think it's just a term of respect she uses."
"Weird." Lucian said, "Anyways, what's with you? You got a wife?"
"That is none of your business." Brodin said
"Hey, buddy, we're both stuck together. I'd try to escape but I don't got power in my Calamity's tank." Lucian responded, "And this one will definitely catch up."
He gestured at Astorias.
"So we might as well get acquainted with each other." Lucian continued
"Where's your Wyvern?" Lunaris asked with a raised eyebrow
"Lucy?" Lucian asked, "Oh, that's right, she blasted you with a massive fireball back when I escaped you."
"You let a fireball hit you, sister? Weak." Astorias mocked
"Quiet, you." Lunaris snapped
"Lucy returned to me, I think." Lucian said, "She was my Calamity incarnate, I feel like....after she returned, I felt a surge of power...incredible...."
Lunaris narrowed her eyes, noticing a slight change in his Ether's composition. While his Calamity was on cooldown, Lucian's power was still formidable. But the only issue was that his Sorcery's power wasn't enough to handle the threat that had appeared before them.
He needed more training. He needed to get used to his Calamity, especially in that form that he had assumed after Lucy merged back into him.
"Well, I'll leave some of my men here for this." Lunaris said as she looked at Brodin, "You come with us. Lord Azarius will speak to the Bull King on your behalf, hopefully, he'll come to an understanding that any strong Traversed will be needed in this conflict."
"Hmph." Astorias said, "There is nothing to worry about, you have me."
Lunaris ignored her, "For now, we head to Moongate." She told Lucian and Brodin, "Got that?"
"Moongate? What's that?" Lucian asked
"Darklight Sect's City." Brodin said, "One of the few cities that has not connection to either the Free Kingdoms nor the Imperium, directly controlled by The Order."
"Smart, this one." Astorias mused, "Say, Sister, do you have to take them there?"
"Yes." Lunaris said, "I will not risk Lucian running off. In Moongate, his training will resume. And you, Astorias, you will stay in the Bull Kingdom and oversee any demonic activities. If Tryke has a presence here, he'll know not to act carelessly with you in the area."
Astorias rolled her eyes, "Let Lu-Lu stay with me, then." She said
"What? No!" Lucian exclaimed
"Lucian will stay with me and that's final." Lunaris said
"You're not my boss, Sister." Astorias said
"But Lord Azarius is and his orders are absolute, now don't argue with me!" Lunaris said to her,
"Just listen!"