"Bullseye."

Beck snapped his fingers in commemoration. Another mage hit with a rock to the face. Aiming with rocks wasn't easy, but he was just that good. He hit them every single time. Then again, knowing how to operate a ballista better than you know how to operate a fork does that to you.

"You don't miss a single one, do you? Now I know why ballisticians are so feared."

Sedgar was sitting on a nearby rock. He and Beck had been told to stay there due to being too heavy to walk fast enough on sand. It wasn't easy to stand still in the desert, especially with all that armor. He would preferably be on a horse, but that Malledus guy had suggested that he'd do better in heavy armor. Then he had given Wolf an axe and shield and gotten that Caesar guy learning magic. He would have disagreed, as would have Wolf, but Coyote told them to follow whatever Marth's strategist said, and Coyote's word was law to him. No idea why Caesar had gone along with it, though.

"Only now? Did the Wooden Cavalry not frighten you, sire?"

Sedgar chuckled.

"It stopped being frightening once you came out of that village and destroyed most of it with thunderbolts. You made them look like target practice."

"To be fair, it was harder than it looked. Aimin' with these things requires a lot of calculations. It ends up bein' more dependent on mathematics and raw luck than strength or skill. Every time before firin', I calculate many things in my head: chance to hit, whether I may blow someone's head off or just break some bones, or if holding' the lever back one more second to increase the projectile's force will pay off. And all of it without an abacus. After that it's just a matter of releasin' the lever and hopin' the guy doesn't run off before he gets a bolt in the ass. And apart from all these complications that involve firin' a ballista, these things also make a lot of noise and can be slow to aim and reload. I had to do all of these things before other ballisticians could spot me and make my machine into firewood. The thunderbolts really helped, though. Those things are really expensive, almost as expensive as Pachyderm brand bolts, but so worth it. Made sure that if I hit a guy, I wouldn't have to fire at him again." Beck said before stopping abruptly. "Oh, I'm sorry, sire. I must be boring you with all this."

"No, not really. In fact, I am quite impressed with all the effort you put in battle. I never thought ballistas were such complex weapons."

"Really? I always thought the size was a giveaway." Beck said before the two men shared a chuckle. "I thought you might already know that since you had another ballistician in the army before I came in."

"You mean Jake, right?"

"Yeah, Jake. He stayed defendin' camp, didn't he? Probably takin' the chance to spend some time with his girlfriend, too."

"Girlfriend?"

"Don't you know her? Pretty, red-haired, has been following our army with her own cart for as long as I can remember."

"What? She could be a spy! Does Prince Marth know of this?"

"I don't know, but I've got a feelin' he does. Anyway, I don't think she's a spy. Jake actually introduced me to her. Really nice girl. Even sold me some arrowspate at a cheap price. She also talks a lot about goin' to other continents."

"Other continents? Strange emphasis on the plural. As far as I know, the only other continent in the world is Barensia. After that, it is said the sea ends and falls off into nothingness!"

"Heh, do you seriously believe that, sire?"

"Why should I not? It has been stated as fact by many scholars and sages."

"Who spend more time playin' with sparks than verifying the credibility of their so-called «discoveries» and «facts». I was speakin' with Darros the other day, and he told me of an old crew mate from when he first became a pirate. The old man always said that in one of his raidin' trips his ship got lost at sea and ended up in a strange land, where they were attacked by flyin' people!The guy barely made it out alive. Darros also said he had these nasty old talon scars across the chest!"

"Hmpf. And are you to believe a supposed drunk old man with some scars over a scholar?"

"Who do you trust to chop wood for your fireplace? A lumberjack, or someone who watches the lumberjack while he chops said wood?"

"I … see your point. Still, I feel inclined to maintain my position. Pirates and sea men in general are prone to tall tales, whereas a scholar tries his best to deliver solid facts."

"It's okay. I'll admit that sometimes I also am a bit harsh on scholars. It's just that they seem so useless to me. Most of them care more about findin' new ways to make fireballs dance than to invent practical things. Maybe it's because of my job, but I also think mathematics and technology are much under-appreciated. They have the right idea with staves, but they don't ever try to make new ones. Heck, the only really useful ones outside of battle that come to mind are healin' staves and Warp. Imagine if they invented a staff that could fix buildings? Or one that could levitate stuff?"

"You do realize that's mostly Gharnef's fault, right? Ever since he took over Khadein, all sorts of research conducted there ceased completely."

"Well, one more reason to put a rock in the bastard's head if I see him!" Beck then stopped to think. "Wait a sec- what if we're killin' Khadein's top researchers in this battle? They may be here, bein' forced to fight for Gharnef against their will!"

"Think about it, Beck. Researchers probably don't make good fighters. Gharnef wants to kill us, not his army."

"Oh … that's right. Makes sense." Beck then looked into the distance. "Say, it's been quite a while since Prince Marth and the others marched ahead. Think we should go to them?"

"They'll be fine. What I think we should do is go assault that building over there. I get the feeling there's valuable stuff inside."

"Hmm … sounds good! I'll just bolt anyone who gets in our way!" Beck said before pulling his ballista forwards.

"Hey, don't think you'll get them all by yourself!" Sedgar said before pulling out his bow and starting to run. "I'll shoot anything that gets close enough!"

"Do you seriously think I'll let them get close enough?" Beck shouted back.

The duo then went towards the building, shooting all the mages who dared get in their way. Once they finally got there, Beck was incredibly tired from pushing his ballista.

"Beck, are you all right?"

"Yeah … whew … just need to sit down for a second …"

"Why do you push the ballista all by yourself instead of using a horse to pull it, like Jake does?"

"Phew … to tell the truth … I'm not good with horses."

"Really? If you want, I can give you some pointers. I'm a horseman, after all."

"Uh, for real? You wouldn't mind?"

"Of course not! Also, to tell the truth, I was hoping to speak more with you later, too. You're a very knowledgeable person, Beck. I believe we could learn a lot from each other."

"Sheesh, sire, you're gonna make me blush if you keep sayin' things like that!" Beck said jokingly.

"No need for «sire»". Sedgar said before raising his hand. "Just call me Sedgar."

Beck then got up and the two men clasped their hands together as a sign of friendship.

SUPPORT LEVEL UP

"Well, I'm sorry to interrupt this moment of fraternization!" A voice said from behind. Turning around, they saw Shiida, princess of Talys, dismounting her Pegasus.

"Lady Shiida! Should you not be by Prince Marth and Coyote's side? Has something happened?" Sedgar asked.

"Well, something almost happened. Gharnef appeared out of nowhere and started chasing us around! It was insane! Gordin tripped and Gharnef caught up to him, and just as we thought he was a goner, he dodges Gharnef's Imhullu! Twice! The old wizard must've gotten really embarrassed, because he warped away right after!"

"Twice?" Beck said before whistling. "That kid has got some moves!"

"Incredible! Then again, I always noticed Gordin had tons of potential ever since I first met him. And he practices hard every day with that sniper, Jeorge. To avoid being hit by Gharnef's magic is a testament to his skill." Sedgar then looked at Shiida again. "Still, that does not explain your presence here."

"Oh, that's right! Marth said there were probably treasures in here, so he gave me some chest keys and told me to come open them. Didn't expect to find you two here!" She said before running for the building's door, stopping and turning back to them. "Why are you two just standing there? Come and help me open the chests!"

"Uhh, yes, milady! Right away!" Beck said before he and Sedgar ran after Shiida, to plunder the magical riches located inside the building.

THE END