Morning soon came. But unlike the day before, Eugene was the first one awake. He blinked his eyes blearily as a wave of uncomfortable numbness rose in his body.
"Ugh." He sat up from the stiff and uncomfortable couch and looked around. Light poured into the living room through the curtains that did a poor job of blocking out the windows.
Clank!
The front door slammed open and both Felix and Dane hurried inside. Dane rushed deeper into the house while Felix remained in the living room. He fixed his nervous gaze on Eugene.
"What's wrong?" Eugene noticed the tension in the air and asked.
"Everything is wrong! Who the hell are you?!" Dane was the one who answered the question as he stormed back into the room with a staff in hand. He handed Felix a sword and the two of them stood against the door that led deeper into the house.
The noise roused May and Gustavo from their sleep, but something was wrong.
"Ugh." Gustavo grunted and his hand went to his side, the place where he was injured. Eugene's attention was drawn when he heard Gustavo's grunt and he gradually stood up.
"Gustavo, are you alright?" He edged towards the man, but Dane suddenly leapt forward and tried to stop him. Unfortunately for him, he did not expect Eugene to be a two star martial artist.
Dane's world was spun upside down and he landed on the couch that Eugene had just left with a thump. He was not done, yet, though.
"Don't think you can escape!" He grunted and waved his staff, causing multiple vines to grow out from it and wrap around Eugene's ankle.
Eugene's eyes widened when he saw this. Not only was Dane a mage, but he had actually casted a spell without making any incantations or using any mediums!
One thing that was a general rule in this world was that mages below the third tier were unable to cast spells without incantations or magical materials to aid the spells. To be more specific, they could use magical materials like spell bound items to cast low level spells, aided by incantations. This was because of their own low magical power and ability at the time.
The exception to this rule was that there would usually be some very talented mages that could use magic without incantations at tier two, but they would still need the aid of magical items. And they were also rather rare too.
Eugene's mind spun quickly and he zeroed his gaze on Dane's staff. He reached out for it, but before he could snatch it, Dane had already righted himself and waved his hand again. This time, the wooden floorboards beneath his feet turned into vines that wrapped around his feet and ankles to shackle him.
"Ha!" Felix took advantage of Eugene's occupation with Dane and dashed behind Eugene to restrain his arms. He might be a one star warrior, but the difference between one and two was not too large. With his above average strength, he managed to hold Eugene down for the moment while Dane pressed his staff against Eugene's neck.
While all this had been going on, Gustavo was only barely able to rouse himself and stagger to his feet. He was only able to stand upright thanks to May's aid.
"Stop, please. Listen to us." Gustavo said as he watched Eugene get held down. He knew that Eugene was just a second away from pulling out his weapon and dealing with Felix, but he wanted to settle this without spilling innocent blood.
"Speak quickly or we will hand you over to the city guards without missing a beat." Dane said, his eyes pinned on Eugene's face. It was almost as if he did not need to worry about Gustavo, and it was true, he did not.
"We are from the Blazing Sun City to the west of here." Gustavo started. He explained everything that had happened and who they were without missing a single point.
When he was done, Dane had dropped his staff and Felix had let go of Eugene. The vines turned back into normal floorboard and Eugene took a step back to help Gustavo.
On the other side, Dane let out a deep sigh and rubbed his face. He turned to glare at his friend with fiery eyes.
"This is the last time you bring someone back here, you hear me?! Next time you owe them, just sell yourself to pay them off!" He growled angrily.
"Ehehe, okay." Felix laughed awkwardly and turned his face away while Dane turned to look at Eugene and Gustavo.
"Look, as much as I want to, I can't help you guys. The moment the guards find out you are here, the full force of the Tahan Kingdom's military will fall on our heads. As a tier three mage, there is little I can do. And you all don't seem to be in a good enough condition yourselves. Won't you consider turning yourselves in? It will save everyone a lot of stress and suffering." Dane said.
"Never! I would rather die fighting than let the people who ruined my life get me so easily." Eugene retorted immediately.
"Fine, whatever you choose. It's your choice, not mine. Let me just offer you this, though." Dane stepped forward. "Let me take a look at him, from what I can see, there is poison running through his veins.
"Poison?!" Both Eugene's and May's eyes shot wide as they looked at Gustavo who had a pained expression on his face. The man did not show any obvious shock or reaction to this news, making a seed of suspicion bloom within Eugene's heart.
"Gustavo, did you know about this?" He asked the man.
"My life is nothing if it means ensuring your safety, Eugene. Forget about my injuries, we need to make sure you remain safe enough." Gustavo said while showing a small but strained smile. He had known that he was poisoned ever since the fight with the assassin in Blazing Sun City.