Day Two: In which Lukas and Matthias still keep their cool and Emil is not surprised to find out whose fault this all is.

Chapter 2

Thankfully, the rain had died down overnight, leaving the morning bright and sunny. Emil woke up slowly, as usual. He panicked for a moment, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling, then the memories of the day before sank in. He sat up suddenly, then clutched his head as the movement made his head hurt. He hissed at the light streaming in through the wooden shutters, which someone had thrown open at some point.

"Still not a morning person, then, little brother" Lukas commented. Emil turned his head to see the other two entering the room. Matthias held a mug in each hand, while Lukas was carrying a tray set with plates a bowl of something steaming.

"Shut up" the teen said. Lukas raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything, he placed the tray on the small table. "Come on, breakfast."

Groaning, Emil heaved himself out of bed and rummaged around for his boots, pulling them on and slumping down on the seat.

"Why were you up so early?" he asked around a mouthful of bread.

"Talking. Well, he was." Lukas pointed to the Dane, who grinned. "Yep! Turns out we're pretty much exactly where we last saved. Well, the last time we wrote anything down, anyway. So the nearest large town is about a day away. We can go there and get a map, so we can start to find the others. Lukas has an idea where his magic buddies are gonna be, so we're planning on finding them first, then the others. That sound good ta ya?"

Emil merely nodded, too tired to think any further. As long as his idiot of an older brother was trying to find a way to send them back, he didn't much care for the details.

After the breakfast (the bowl turned out to be a stew of some kind, which he flatly refused to eat) they gathered their cloaks and bags and set off.

Luckily, the day was warm, the storm of the night before having blown over. It was prefect weather for travelling, not too warm and not too cold, with a light chill to the air that was just enough to make them feel fresh. Matthias, it seemed, had taken to their situation with his usual boundless glee, and looked every inch the Nordic warrior he had lived as for so many centuries. His eyes twinkled with happiness, his face alight with the thrill of adventure, wondrously happy to be back in a time he had loved so much.

The other two were less pleased. Lukas bore it as he did everything else, with a bland expression and air of faintly bored amusement. He didn't seem particularly bothered with the turn of events, and seemed perfectly content to play the part of a wandering mage.

Emil, on the other hand, was decidedly not happy. Playing games was one thing. He loved his consoles as much as any teenager. But he preferred them to be resolutely on the other side of a screen, as they should be. Being thrust into one so suddenly, and all due his brother and their little 'magic trio's misuse of magic, was another thing entirely. If the numerous fairy tales his brother had read to him as a child were anything to go by, this could not end well. He was suddenly reminded of the numerous shows and games that Leon watched with Kiku and Mei, and had dragged him into watching as well. One, in particular, highlighted exactly what could go wrong.

He felt a rush of fear sweep through him. "We are safe, here, right guys?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

Lukas turned to him. "Why? Are you scared?"

Emil looked away, frowning slightly. "No. Just wondering" he blustered.

Lukas smiled slightly. "Don't worry, lillebrør. We won't let anything happen to you. I told you that. Now keep walking. We have a long way to go."

"that's not really what I meant" the teen muttered. His apprehension didn't lighten, but, sighing, he resolved not to think about it, following behind the other two resignedly.

They stopped after a few miles, when the sun was high in the sky. Lukas and Matthias could easily have carried on for a few more hours, but seeing Emil flagging, the Dane had called a break, declaring a point in the distance to be 'the perfect spot for a picnic, don't you think?"

It was indeed. The path they were following had curved though the landscape and up along the base of the mountains in a gentle incline, rising for a few miles until the contours of the mountain led it down again. They were now walking down the path along a wide ridge overlooking the valley floor. A gentle ribbon of water ran and stretched along the middle of the valley, bordered on either side by a wide expanse of grass, dotted with hundreds of bushes and flowers and the occasional short, stubby tree.

The place that Matthias had pointed to was a perfect little plateau near the middle, with a stretch of short grass just at the edge of the stream, in perfect view of the surrounding landscape.

As soon as they reached it, he lay down in the grass and stared up at the sky, looking for all the world like a child. Albeit a very tall child, carrying far more weaponry than was strictly necessary, but he looked so happy that the other two simply shared a glance and sat down on either side of him.

"This is great, isn't it Norge?" he asked.

"What happened to using names, Matthias?" the Norwegian asked.

"Bah. There's no-one here. It's like old times. We used to go on picnics like this all the time, just us three. You would take a basket and blanket and we would walk out where no-one would find us. We'd spend the whole day away from the castle, doing nothing. You would sing and Icey would run round trying to catch butterflies and dancing. Then when he got tired I'd carry him back and he'd fall asleep way before we got back." He sighed, lifting a hand towards the endless blue expanse above him. "What I'd give to go back then."

Lukas glanced over at Emil, who looked thoroughly embarrassed at the memory. "I was a child. That was centuries ago. Literally."

The blond ignored him. "Norgeeeeeee. Ya could, couldn't ya?"

Lukas looked thoughtful. "Possibly. I'm not sure if that kind of magic would work here. We may be bound to the rules of the game. If not…" he trailed off, looking towards his brother.

The white haired teen gathered the gist of their thoughts, and jumped up in horror. "NO! No way! You're not doing it! You wouldn't dare!"

Lukas held out his arms. "Come here, little brother."

Emil glared at him, taking a step backwards. "Hell no. I am not letting you any where near me. Not like this. Besides, what happened to needing a healer, huh? You'll need me to heal the stupid Dane when he does something stupid. Which I'm sure he will."

The pale-haired man smiled slightly, getting up and walking towards his brother. "I'm sure I'd work something out. We managed before, and long before we found you."

"No. Go away." Emil kept retreating. Unfortunately, he kept his eyes on his brother, meaning that he completely failed to notice how close he was to the edge of the plateau.

Seeing how close his brother was to the edge, Lukas realised the danger, and tried to call out a warning. Emil mistook the concern on his brother's face, however, and took another step back. His face morphed into shock as he stepped onto thin air, and toppled backwards. His cry of shock was cut off sharply as he hit the ground below.

Lukas ran forward. He jumped off the plateau, uncaring of the drop, and ran to his brother. He gasped.

Where there should have been simple grass, like the surrounding plain, the ground was instead covered in a mixture of uneven rocks, hidden from sight as the river curved gently to form a delta. The plateau, no doubt the result of ancient glaciers pushing their way through the landscape, had led to the formation of a river cliff, with the water depositing the rocks too heavy to carry at its base. Although only a yard or so high, a fall onto a surface like that was sure to have been incredibly painful.

The teen lay motionless on the ground. Lukas knelt beside him, slipping on the slick rocks. He stared at the pale face, eyes closed.

"Matthias!"

Alerted by the tone of sheer alarm, the Dane jumped up and ran across the grass, hurtling headlong down the lee slope of the plateau and across the rocks. Seeing the Norwegian hunched over, he threw himself to his knees.

"What happened? I saw him fall, but it's not high, so what's wrong? He's ok, right?"

Lukas' face was pinched in concern. "I don't know. He might have hit his head." He reached out his hands and very carefully lifted the teen. His suspicions were confirmed when his palm came away dotted with red. He swore harshly.

"Matthias. Go and get my bag. It should have everything you need. Hurry!" he barked.

Not wasting any time, Matthias ran back to where they had placed everything. Grabbing Lukas' bag, he ran to the edge of the plateau and jumped down, his long legs touching the ground almost immediately.

"Here." He thrust the bag towards Lukas, who took it roughly. He rummaged around, drawing out bandages and several pouches, full of the herbs and ingredients he had collected. He silently thanked all the gods he had ever known, old and new, that he had decided to let his character study alchemy as well as magic.

"owwwwww." A moan startled the two. Emil stirred, his eyes opening slowly and blinking. He tried to lift a hand to his head, only for Lukas to slap it down again.

"Don't move" he ordered, his voice stern.

"Hurts" Emil whispered. "Why am I on the ground?" He sounded confused.

Lukas ignored him, but the relief was evident on his face. He stared into his brothers face, conjuring a light around his palm and narrowing it into a beam, which he shone into the other's eyes.

Emil hissed at the light, but it evidently satisfied Lukas, who saw the pupils shrink ad expand normally. He sat back on his heels. Only Matthias would have noticed the slight trembling of his thin form.

"Emil, do you know who you are?" he asked gently.

The teen stared up at him. "What? Don't ask stupid questions, you idiot."

"Just answer it."

He sighed. "My name is Emil Steilsson."

"Good. Anything else?"

"I am the personification of Iceland, which you mistakenly named."

Lukas and Matthias shared a glance. That was the major test, and he'd passed.

"Good. Do you know why you're here?"

Emil frowned, or tried to. The movement made his head hurt, and the memory flooded back.

"Do you mean here as in stuck in the middle of nowhere in a shitty fake game because your friend can't use magic to save his life, or here as in lying on these rocks because your efforts to relive your glory days made me fall off a cliff? Because I blame you both either way."

Matthias laughed. "I'd say he's fine, wouldn't you, Norge?"

Lukas ignored him, focussing on his brother. "Sit up, very slowly." Emil did so, biting back a retort when his head spun. Lukas made him lean forward, inspecting the back of his head.

"You're incredibly lucky. You must have just managed to miss hitting your head anywhere that would cause serious damage." He stared at his brother for a moment, then lunged forward and caught him in a strong embrace.

"I'm so sorry, lillebrør." He clutched him tight. Emil was about to protest, but felt his brother's heartbeat hammering and realised his utter panic. He lifted his arms slowly, returning the hug.

Matthias sighed in relief and knelt next to the two, drawing his arms around them both. "We seem to be doing this a lot lately, huh?" he commented.

Lukas drew back slightly to stare at him. "What do you mean, stupid Dane?" he asked.

"Group hugs!" Matthias replied, grinning.

Lukas rolled his eyes and turned back to Emil. "Lean forward and lift your hair out of the way" he ordered. Emil complied, his face wary. Lukas smeared some kind of paste onto a bandage and wound it around the teen's head. Emil squirmed and flinched as he felt the cold poultice hit his skin.

"Stop that. You could have a concussion. For now, you are incredibly lucky, you realise that?" his voice held a note of warning.

Emil rolled his eyes, as much as it hurt. "Wouldn't have happened if you weren't being annoying" he muttered.

Lukas ignored him, but Emil could feel his hands shaking slightly, and let the matter drop. He put up with the rest of his brother's ministrations silently.

Tying the bandage off, Lukas stood and walked over to the water, rinsing his hands and wiping them on his cloak.

"Well, I think we should press on. No more teasing, Ice, I promise." He stared at his brother, midnight blue reflecting amethyst. Emil nodded, then winced.

"Good." Lukas helped him up, then picked up his bag and slung it onto his back.

"Let's go. We still have a long way to go and I'd like to be there before dark."

They retrieved the rest of their bags and set off. They walked in companionable silence, simply enjoying each other's company. Lukas made an effort to talk to Emil from time to time, checking that there were no lingering effects.

The sun was just beginning to slip below the horizon when they reached the town. As before, they paid the toll demanded by the guards and entered through the gates. There was much more of a sense of order here, and it didn't take them long to reach an inn.

Lukas had led the way with a sense of determination, the other two following him confusedly. He didn't bother to explain where he was going, but they were used to it. he undoubtedly had some sort of plan, and they went along with it.

They saw why almost immediately. Lukas' guiding had led them to a large inn in the centre of the town. Looking up at the sign, they realised why he had known to come here. The wooden board had a faded, although perfectly legible, picture of a horned horse. A unicorn. The national symbol of the unofficial leader of the magic trio. Arthur Kirkland. One-time leader of the British empire and its vast domains, his reputation was rather diminished lately.

The fact that he was without a doubt the one responsible for their current predicament did not help.

Lukas opened the door, not bothering to look around before he made a beeline to a cloaked figure sitting with their back to the door, no doubt nursing a mug of ale. The Norwegian simply grabbed him, heaving him up and leaning in to whisper something in his ear.

Whatever it was, it had an immediate effect. The blond whirled round, his hood falling back as he did so. His eyes took in the sight of the tall Dane and shorter teen, alighting on the bandage wound around the white locks.

"Bloody hell, what happened to you?" he blurted.

Emil scowled at him, staying silent. He had never truly forgiven the Englishman for the occupation of his land during WWII, and he certainly wasn't about to now.

"Emil had a little accident, that's all. It was my fault. Now, we have far more important matters to discuss, Arthur."

The blond nodded. "Right. This way then." He led them to the room he was staying in, tossing a couple of coins onto the bar as he did so. "Keep quite though, I'm not exactly alone" he warned.

Lukas raised an eyebrow, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. Emil had a matching look of annoyance as he realised. Matthias, of course, was as clueless as ever.

Arthur opened the door and ushered them in, then shut it. He sighed heavily, slumping into a chair. His rooms were far larger than the one the three had stayed in the previous night. This was more of a suite, with a large bed in the centre of the room, tall wardrobe and tables to either side. A smaller room branching off held another smaller bed. A small figure could be seen curled up on it, seemingly asleep.

"First off, I didn't mean for this, I hope you know" he said tiredly.

"You never do" Emil hissed. Arthur raised his head to look at the teen. "Look, I know you don't like me, and you hang out with my boy far too much, but I mean it, alright?"

"he isn't yours any more" Emil muttered, looking away. It was hard to tell given the dim light of the room, but his cheeks looked faintly pink.

Arthur looked stricken for a moment, then recovered. Being reminded of lost colonies was never pleasant, after all, but after the collapse of his empire it could hardly be helped.

"Well, anyway. I'm very glad you're here, Lukas. Now we just need to find Vlad and we can start trying to rectify this."

"I have an idea where we'll find him" Lukas said. He took the seat next to the blond, taking out a piece of parchment. "Do you have anything to write with?" he asked.

"Oh, right." Arthur stood up and walked over to the bedside table, taking out some pieces of charcoal. He rummaged in his pocket and drew out a small wooden cylinder, which he fitted the charcoal into. "Rudimentary, I'm afraid, but this should do the trick."

Lukas took it without complaint and started writing. Seeing the thread of his writing, Arthur sat back down, watching him.

"Do you have a map?"

Arthur produced one from the depth of his bag. "Had it already for some reason. And before you say anything, no I did not plan for this in any way. I couldn't have, anyway. it doesn't work like that." He didn't look up from the paper, but his voice was directed to Emil, who frowned, unconvinced.

Lukas raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment.

The voices had caught the attention of the occupant in the other room, who stood in the doorway, listening sleepily to the argument.

"What's going on?" a small voice asked.

The others looked over to the door. A boy of around 12 years old stood in the doorway, clad in a white shirt and short trousers. His feet were bare, and he was rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Did you find anyone else, jerk Arthur?"

"Peter?!"

The boy perked up at the sound of his name, He looked towards the speaker, and seeing who had addressed him, ran across the room.

"Uncle Den!" he cried. Matthias laughed, catching the boy in his strong arms and lifting him up. He hugged him tightly, then set him back down, his face serious.

"Petey, why are you here?" he looked around. "Are fin and sve here too?"

Peter shook his head. "No. Arthur says papa and Dad aren't here. But its ok, because now you're here! And you're a proper Viking, so it'll really fun now. I can be a Viking too! Dad says I'm not allowed to be a Viking 'cause it's not safe, but I've seen papa use his guns and you use your axe to cut wood and I was born in the war so I'm not scared of blood and stuff and can I please? I'll be really good, I promise."

Matthias bore his nephew's usual giddy chatter with a smile, then, standing, ruffled his head and looked toward Arthur. His face grew dark.

"Would you like to explain why my nephew is here, Arthur?" he asked dangerously.

Arthur raised an eyebrow, his face unconcerned. "He is my brother, if you remember."

"Am not!" Peter argued. Arthur shot him a glance.

"Anyway. Familial contentions aside, I'll do my best to explain. As near as I can tell, the spell only affected those of us who were present in the room when I cast it."

Peter turned in his uncle's arms, staring up at him. "yeah. And papa and Dad had gone back to their room early. I think they went to eat candy or something, cause they were looking at each other and smiling, and they were being all secret, like they thought I didn't know." His face looked furtive, as though he had figured out a secret.

The adults in the room shared a glance. Ah, innocence.

Emil looked thoroughly disgusted. He rolled his eyes and went to stand by the window, pointedly ignoring the others.

Arthur and Lukas continued to talk in hushed tones, working out the details. Matthias listened to Peter's chatter, occasionally replying. After a while, he took him out to the inn to get something to eat, dragging Emil with him. They returned a while later with bowls for the other two, knowing that they would undoubtedly forget to eat otherwise.

Peter looked over his brother and uncle's shoulder's, trying to get a view of what they were writing. Seeing nothing but diagrams and paragraphs of dense handwriting, he grew bored, pestering Matthias to go outside.

"Look, it's clear, we can see the stars! Can we go and see, please uncle?"

"Ok. You coming, icey?"

Emil looked up. Seeing there was clearly nothing better to do, he traipsed out with the others.

They spent a few hours standing outside, staring up at the sky. Peter started a game of spotting shapes in the unfamiliar constellations, him and Matthias competing for the strangest ideas. After a while, Emil cut in, his acerbic wit making the other two laugh.

They returned with the moon shining brightly, Matthias carrying a sleepy Peter over his shoulder. He set him down on the bed gently, making sure to place a candle on the table. Seeing Emil yawning, he pushed him towards the bed too. The teen didn't look happy to have to share a room with his cousin, but relented. Peter opened his eyes briefly, then settled down again.

"You better not snore" he warned sleepily. Emil merely scoffed, sliding between the covers and turning his back on him. "You share with your brother, don't you?" he muttered.

"mm. Erl doesn't snore" he mumbled. Emil ignored him. The two fell asleep, trusting that the adults would come up with a solution to this crazy situation by the time the sun rose again.