The usual disclaimer: I don't own the characters from Lucky Star. I merely borrow them for my own non-profit pleasure, because I love them.

The story is set in a fantasy universe, complete with trolls and magic and such. No dragons and tall people with long ears, though, and no orcs either. There's plenty of potential for evil in humans. The unusual setting is an experiment, just to see if it could be pulled off.

Astrojensen

Kagami's Quest

Chapter one: The Picnic

Far away, I'm not sure where, (and if I did, I would be there instead of here) there exists a world, like ours used to be, with hot deserts and wind-blown oceans. Lofty mountains and vast forrests.

People like us inhabit this world, building villages, kingdoms and empires. They wage war over important things like love and unimportant ones like treasures, politics and personal grudges. Just like we do. It is a world of brave warriors and evil villains, magic and wonders. And it is in this world we find our heroines, as they struggle their way over a foggy mountain.

Their capes, armor and most clothes were soaked from walking in the heavy fog and light drizzle all morning. They were going uphill on a steep trail and the fog had been getting heavier all the time. The forrest around them was eerily silent, apart from drops of water falling from the pines and firs. Only the closest trees were visible, the more distant ones were just gray shadows in the fog.

There was no sound except the dripping water, their footsteps and the clatter of their packhorse's shoes on the partly rocky trail. From their slender shapes and their voices, it was evident that both were girls. One of them was very small and carried a staff and a brown robe over her clothes, a wizard's trademark. She had the hood of her robe pulled down over her head, but some blue hair fell down over her chest.

The other was tall and had long purple hair, which she had tied up in two pigtails. She wore a black armor and carried a long broadsword at her right side. She had the reins of the packhorse in her left hand. Both were young, not over twenty years old, but their excact age was of course not revealed merely by their appearances. If you listened to their voices, you could hear them arguing about where the heck they were.

"Buying that map from the innkeeper isn't the best idea you ever had," the wizard pointed out. "We're lost again, right?"

"Oh, shut up," the warrior replied. "It's not as if the one you got from that merchant was much better! Besides, we're not lost!"

"Oh, that's good news, and my map did take us to the abandoned tower of the wizard Kerrhoum, didn't it?"

"I'm fairly sure that that was plain dumb luck on your part, and it never mentioned all the traps, did it? Or the hordes of undead the ghost of old Kerrhoum summoned to hunt us down? Abandoned my butt!"

"The map I got was from before he died, so naturally it couldn't tell about traps set up after that by his apprentice. Besides, he wasn't exactly a hospitable fellow when he was alive, from what I've heard."

"I can imagine, having seen his ghost!"

The blue-haired wizard laughed.

"He! To return to our dire situation," the wizard suddenly said in a overly dramatic voice. "Where do you think this trail is leading?"

"Well, it's not running right over the mountain, but in a half-circle around it. From what I can infer by comparing our two newest maps, plus our other ones, I think our town is two or three days away, once we get around the mountain. On the other side, there should be a river with a road on the far side, leading to our town. We'll have to find a way to cross the river once we get on the other side of the mountain."

"Do you think there'll be a ferry?"

"Most likely not. A ford, probably."

"So my feet will be wet and cold?"

"It's a tough life, huh?"

"Couldn't you carry me across?"

"What? No! Absolutely not!"

"Pleeeease!"

"No!"

"Awww..."

They walked a bit in silence, when the warrior suddenly called out:

"Konata! Look, the path is leveling out. I think we're near the top! Soon it should be going downhill!"

"Good! My legs feel like they're worn down completely!"

The small wizard sat down in a spot of wet grass and pulled the hood back, revealing more of her blue hair and an ahoge on top of her head.

"It's not as if there was much to wear down in the first place!"

The taller girl in armor looked at her friend with a smile. She was almost a head taller than her blue-haired companion and their difference in physical size was a source of constant teasing between them.

"Uhh! Not fair, Kagami! Picking on those smaller than yourself!"

The tall girl laughed. "Right, let's take a break now. The horse needs it as well, right old boy?"

The horse snorted and looked at Kagami, as if it understood perfectly. Perhaps he did.

"OK, it's decided then. I can see a small brook about fifty yards away, crossing the trail. Let's stop there."

"I can't move another step, much less get up now!"

Konata laid down on her back, her left arm over her face in a theatrical position. Kagami was not affected at all, and took just one look at the blue-haired wizard girl, followed by a snort. She knew very well that Konata was very athletic and far from as tired as she sounded.

"Well, I guess the horse and I can make it back to the town on our own..."

Kagami began to walk towards the small brook.

"Kagami, at least help me up."

Konata held her left arm up, waiting for Kagami to grab it and help her up.

"No, you're the one who wanted this "little trip". Show some responsibility and get up yourself."

"Ah, so that is your true nature! Evil woman! Leaving your exhausted friend behind to a certain doom, starving and lonely."

Kagami walked on, whistling a little melody. Konata sighed and got up.

"Oy, wait for me, Kagamin!"

Kagami just smiled to herself. It was not often she could win this easily.

They unloaded some of their luggage from the packhorse, so he could rest a little and Kagami gave him a small portion of oats from a small sack.

"Sorry, old boy, but that's all there is, if we want the rest to last for a couple more days. Our journey turned out to be a bit longer than we anticipated!"

The horse snorted and began to eat leaves from a small birch tree.

"At least he can find something to eat up here," said Konata. "We haven't got much left ourselves, and we haven't seen much wildlife up here, save for small birds and crows."

"Yeah, the last couple of winters have been hard. Most wildlife starved to death and hungry farmers ate most of the rest."

Kagami shuddered a bit by the memory of the extremely harsh winters. Many poor people had shared the same fate as the wildlife and starved to death. Many others had used all their money to buy food from the merchants from the southern lands. The resulting poverty was what had driven the young girls out into the wilderness on a risky adventure, to try finding a treasure rumored to be located in a remote and abandoned tower. Kagami turned to her companion:

"What do we have left to eat?"

"A few of those dreadful stone breads and two more pieces of dried meat!"

Konata looked at the stone bread with disgust written all over her face.

Kagami smiled.

"Let's eat the meat now. Once we get to the river, I am sure I can shoot a trout with my bow."

"Yay! A hot meal would be nice for sure! Now just don't scorch it like the rabbit!"

"Why, you..! You can cook it then!"

"Sure! Cooking a meal for my Kagamin is a pleasure!"

Konata looked at her friend with her large green eyes. She had a glint in them that made Kagami blush, for some reason. This had happened quite often recently.

"Do- don't say it in such an embarrasing way!"

"Aww, it's not like there's anyone who can hear us anyway," Konata said. "Apart from the horse..."

It was as Kagami had said. The trail was going downwards now, and the jorney got easier. As they went down into the valley, the fog lifted little by little and soon they were walking in the light from the sinking Sun. By the time the Sun was two handwidths over the horizon, they could hear the river. Soon, they stood on the riverside, between the birches and willows that grew so richly in the lower parts of the forrest. The trail lead right into the river. There was apparently a ford here, but the river was flowing awfully fast and looked deep – and cold. The water was a bit muddy, so the bottom wasn't visible.

"Well, finding the way across the river was not so hard," Konata commented, when she saw the trail leading into the river. "The only problem: The road is on the bottom of it! And no ferry in sight."

"It's wider than I thought," Kagami said, biting her lip. "I wonder if we can get across here or if we should move upstream and try to find a shallower ford. The stream looks bad. The snowfall in the mountains was heavy this winter and all the rain of late hasn't made it better. The river is deeper than usual, even for this time of year."

"Well, I don't want to walk another yard today anyway!"

"Right. I'll see if I can catch a fish. You set up a camp and make a fire."

"Yes master!"

Konata bowed, like a servant. Kagami sighed. Konata was hopeless. Always teasing the world around her.

Kagami walked for a little while along the river, until she found a calm spot a bit downstream. Here the water was clear and steady, and it didn't take long before she spotted a large trout under a tree trunk. She had her special fishing arrow on the bow, tied to a very thin, but strong line. The line hung loose on her left index finger as she bend her bow with her right hand. She was left-handed, which was very unusual for an archer, but she was as good a marksman as most of them.

She carefully studied the water and the shadows under the treetrunks. There!

She let the arrow fly. Even before it hit the water, she knew she had got her prey and jumped into the low water. A large trout is strong, and if she wasn't fast, it could get away with her precious arrow. She grabbed the arrow above the fish, so it couldn't slide off the arrow. The head was barbed, so it couldn't slide off that way. When she got it up, she happily noted that it was a big one. Bigger than she had first estimated. There would be more than enough for the both of them.

When she came back, Konata had collected a bit of wood, made a fire and was preparing sticks to fry the fish on. Apparently, she didn't doubt her friends ability to catch one, which made Kagami smile. Konata always teased her, and Kagami always lectured the lazy and sometimes embarrasingly poor-mannered Konata, but they also trusted each other to the end of the world. Konata had also hung their small tarpaulin on a thin rope between two trees. Stones and sharp sticks stuck through holes along the edge of the tarpaulin kept the edges to the ground. It wasn't much of a tent, but real tents were expensive and the old, dirt gray tarpaulin, with the countless stains of varying colors, had a surprising ability to blend in with a wide range of surroundings, which had saved their life more than once already. Konata had cut down a lot of dry grass and spread it on the ground inside the tent. They could sleep quite comfortably tonight. Kagami left the fish to Konata and walked about a hundred feet up the trail. Their camp couldn't be seen from the trail and the fire wasn't making much smoke. Perfect!

"Still need to check, huh?"

Konata stopped working on the frying stick and looked sternly at Kagami when she returned.

"I am not a beginner anymore!"

Kagami looked flustered at Konata. She had not intended to insult her friend. Old habits just don't die easily.

"I just.."

"You're cute when you blush!" Konata interrupted with a big smile.

"Wha..."

Kagami was speechless for a moment. Konata continued working on the stick, correcting some invisible detail with the knife. Her smile just grew.

"Just teasing you!"

Kagami didn't need Konata to explain that to her, but she wondered why Konata had to choose all those embarrasing topics to tease her with lately.

The hot trout was a feast after a week on stone bread and dried meat. Konata had also found some mushrooms on the way down the mountain, even if it wasn't the season. It must have been due to all the rain. Both were grilled over the fire on sticks. The late spring Moon hung high in the evening sky, near first quarter. It was clear and was going to be a cold night. Even a night in late May could be bitterly cold in the mountains. The stars were slowly coming out. Their horse was snorting in the background, munching on the abundant grass and leaves near the river, fighting with the occasional early fly or mosquito. The world slowly got quiet, as the choir of birds went to sleep. A few moths circled around the fire.

Kagami had taken off her armor, except the heavy felt shirt and felt trousers she wore underneath the steel plates and chain mail. She had wrapped a blanket around her to stay warm, as had Konata. Kagami was busy oiling some of the leather straps that kept the armor together, to keep them soft and flexible. Konata was sitting next to her, reading a thick book. She would flip through the pages, reading a little here and there.

"It is almost like one of those picknicks we used to have when we were younger," Kagami thought, as she looked at Konata.

Back then she would also always be reading books, but then usually those cheap thrash action novels about heroes and stuff. Some of them had drawings in them, some more than others, and they could be found in cheap bookstores in the large town a half days worth of travel down the river. Konata would use all the money she made as a waitress on them, which made Kagami worry about the economic future of the young mage. Kagami stopped polishing and just looked at her friend. Despite all the faults of said friend, Kagami really cared about the young blue-haired girl.

Konata looked up on Kagami, who immediately looked away and began to polish with considerable vigour. Had she noticed her staring on her? If so, she didn't let Kagami know in any way.

"Some fat loot we found this time, right?" Konata smiled.

"Yeah, is that one of the books you found in the tower?"

Kagami was slightly taken aback by the sudden switch of topics, though she had to admit the topic-change was only taking place in her own head, as Konata hadn't talked about anything.

"It is. It is one of ol' Kerrhoums personal notebooks!"

"Wow! Can you read it?"

"Yeah, but many of the spells and even the potion recipes are much more advanced than I am capable of handling right now. Haven't got nearly enough magic strength or skills yet."

"Can you use any of it?"

"Yeah, there's a few attack spells, which I might be able to use."

"I look forward to see them!" Kagami said with a smile, continuing to polish the beautiful armor she had found in the tower.

It was truly something else than the old chainmail and hodgepodge of plate parts she had used to use. As if she could read Kagami's thoughts, Konata came with another of those comments that had confused Kagami lately.

"You look really hot in that black armor." Konata smiled.

"Thanks." Kagami polished on for a second, then stopped abruptly.

"What? Hot?"

She looked at her friend, stunned. What was that blue-haired midget saying now?

Konata's eyes seemed to glow in the darkness. If it was from within or from reflections from the fire, Kagami wasn't sure. She blushed heavily and looked away, which surprised her. What was happening between them lately?

"Yeah, you know, before with all those random pieces, you looked like a gray mule in armor."

"What? WHAT? A MULE??! Kagami turned towards Konata, she felt her infamous temper boiling up.

Konata continued in a tone as if she was talking about everyday matters.

"Now you look more like one of the black race horses from the desert nomads, that the emperor holds in his stables." Konata's eyes were aglow in the darkness.

Kagami felt her blood rush, first in anger, but then for a different reason as she realized what Konata had really meant. Those horses was the envy of any horseman and cost more each, than most people could earn in a lifetime. All she could say was:

"Oh! Oi, do- don't compare me to a horse!"

And that was just a whisper. Konata still looked at her, smiling. Kagami blushed even more and looked away, feverishly polishing on her armor. What was it with her? A month ago, such remarks from Konata would have resulted in a slap at the back of her head, but Kagami found it increasingly difficult to be really mad at the always teasing and joking Konata. Instead she had found herself staring at her short friend a lot recently. Sometimes, she couldn't even really tell what she had been thinking of, but she was very embarassed by it.

Kagami felt Konata move beside her, and as she looked back, Konata sat with her back to the fire, looking at the stars in the southwest. Her long bluish hair flowing down her neck and back like a waterfall. Kagami felt her face turn warm and red again. She wanted to touch that hair, let her fingers run through it. She could smell Konata, ever so faintly, in the quiet air. What? Again? Why was she feeling like that? They had been friends for many years. Friends! That's all! Why those feelings now of a sudden?

Konata yawned loudly, which brought Kagami out of her trance.

"I'm going to hit the sack. Don't worry about keeping watch. I've set up a number of magic tripwires around our camp. Only a high-level wizard can get in here without us notice. Besides, ol' boy down by the river will tell us if some bear or wolves get within a couple hundred yards."

As if he heard, the horse snorted in the distance.

Konata went in under the tarpaulin and rummaged around a little. A moment later, a faint glow shone inside it. Konata had turned a magic light on, which meant she was reading something.

"No reading to late at night!" Kagami said with a low voice. "We have a long way to go tomorrow and a river to cross."

"Yeah, yeah," was the only answer.

Even if she didn't doubt the effectivity of her friends boobytraps, Kagami sat for a while, staring into the fire, trying to get a hold of her feelings. After a while of mostly confused thoughts, she looked at the tent and saw that the glow from Konatas reading light was gone. She was sound asleep, judging by the low snoring. Kagami covered her armor with the old canvas she had used for her previous armor and put it inside the tent, at her feet. She rolled herself into the blanket next to Konata, with her sword inside the blanket and a knife in one hand. That was the way she had always slept in the wilderness and the way she was always going to, boobytraps and magic tripwires notwithstanding.