Kagami's Quest
Chapter two: The River.
The next morning Kagami woke up somewhat dizzy. She remembered just having a nice dream, but wasn't quite sure what it had been about. She felt warm and comfortable. Was the sun already that high? She tried to get up, but something heavy was on her lower chest and belly and she was wrapped in her blankets in a unusual way, somehow. She got up on her elbows and looked down towards her feet.
"What..?"
That heavy something on her was Konata, clinging to her with her head on her stomach, snoring like a pig and salivating on Kagami's felt shirt.
"What? Konata! What are you doing? Wake up, you bum!"
Konata woke up and smiled.
"Good morning, Kagamin! You were sleeping uneasy and having bad dreams. You had also thrown away your blanket. I decided to keep you warm and cozy!"
Konata said it, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to snuggle up with your best friend like that.
Bad dreams? Kagami put her head back and looked up and tried to remember. Had she had bad dreams? She only remembered the good feeling from the nice dream she just had before she woke up. A bad dream? Yeah, there seemed to be a vague memory of something terrible in the back of her head. She shook her head, trying to loose the feeling, even if she couldn't remember the dream.
All these speculations made Kagami completely forget the fact that her best friend was snuggling up against her. At least until Konata put her head back down on Kagami's stomach and let out a yawn, like a cat in a sunbeam. She hugged Kagami a little tighter and snuggled closer.
"Hey!"
Kagami's speculations about fuzzy dreams stopped. They were both fully dressed under the blankets, but Kagami could still feel Konata's body through it all and her own body was very aware of that fact. She blushed and suddenly started to sweat.
"Get off me, you clingy little..." Kagami didn't finish the sentence. "I need to get up!"
"Awww. You're so big and soft and warm and nice, and it's such a cold morning."
"Are you calling me fat? Move! I need to go... behind a tree somewhere!"
She pushed Konata aside, which resulted in some moaning sounds. She tried to crawl out of the tent, but Konata clinged to her right leg, nuzzling her head against it like a cat and making purring sounds. Kagami turned around and sat on her behind, so she could use her left leg to push the clingy girl back into the tent, by setting a foot on her left shoulder.
"Get...of...me," she said, as she tried to push Konata away, "I really need to... go behind that tree!"
Konata finally gave up, and Kagami got up quickly, before Konata could grab her leg again and left, leaving the smiling girl behind, who now wrapped herself in both blankets.
She needed to go to the river. A bit of cold water in the face would do her good. She remembered the good dream again. And Konata, which had also been in it... And just now. She needed that cold water now. Perhaps it would help her get her heartbeat under control. Kagami could still feel Konata's hands around her leg, even if it had been through the felt trousers. It had not been an unpleasant feeling.
After going behind a bush, to do what most people has to do in the morning, Kagami went to the river to get washed a little. She immediately noticed that the water level was lower than in the evening. It was also cleaner. She washed her face and hands in the cold water near where she caught the trout. As she tied up her hair in her trademark pigtails, she heard a sudden sound behind her, and turned around. Konata stood on a rock, just fifteen feet away.
"Did I scare you, Kagamin?"
Kagami couldn't tell what Konata's smile meant, but she was very surprised that Konata had managed to sneak in on her like that. Stealth was not the forte of the midget wizard. More like the opposite. She usually liked spells with really loud sounds the most, like exploding fireballs. How long had she been watching her? Kagami decided to play it cool, though she blushed a little, simply by the thought of being observed like that.
"I just never expected to see you up so soon, that's all. I mean, it's not even noon yet!"
Kagami continued to tie her hair in her trademark pigtails, waiting for the expected feigned insult upon her teasing. It never came. Instead, Konata's casually worded reply almost made Kagami loose her balance and fall into the river.
"My bed is cold without you, and I felt lonely. I could just as well get up."
The hinted-at wanted intimacy left Kagami speechless. She couldn't find words, so she just stared at Konata for a moment. Her hands stopped tying the bow on the band she was trying to put around her left pigtail. To make matters worse, Kagami's body told her mind that it wanted some more snuggling with Konata as well. Her mind wanted to tell her body to shut up, but it seemed to have lost its voice in the shock.
Konata also seemed to wait for an expected reaction, but when it didn't come, she jumped down from the rock. She walked the few feet to the river, where she kneeled down and began to splash cold water in her face, making bubbling and snorting sounds in the process.
The morning was sunny and birds were singing as if their life depended on it. They ate the rest of the trout and mushrooms for breakfast. Konata made a tea from pine needles which was surprisingly refreshing, if somewhat bitter. Before breaking down the camp, they went down and looked at the river. Konata looked at it and sighed.
"Still no ferry. I will send a complain to the emperor. The rivers in his empire are terribly poorly equipped. You have a hard time finding either ferries or bridges."
"Good luck. I wouldn't wait for a gold-trimmed letter in response."
"You don't think I would do it?"
"Oh, you probably will, if I don't stop you. Strangely, in matters like those, you're somehow filled with energy all of a sudden."
"Am I not always?"
"When you're having fun, yes. Otherwise, you're a lazy bum!"
"Kagamin! You're hurting my feelings!"
Kagami felt a sting of guilt. Perhaps she had been too harsh. She never did get to apologize, before Konata offered her a way to do so:
"As an apology, I think it would be fair, if you carried me across the river!"
"What? No way! We already had that discussion!"
"But Kagamiiiin! My legs are so short, and the river is sooo deep!"
Konata stretched out her arms, to show Kagami, just how deep she thought the river was. Kagami folded her arms and looked sternly at Konata.
"I'm not going to do it. Period. Even if you're smaller than me, you're too heavy."
"Then I can ride on the horse!"
"No. He's almost overloaded as it is."
Konata was running out of options. She pouted.
"My poor feet are going to be cold," she said, as she had done when they first inspected the river.
Kagami laughed and rustled Konata's hair, without thinking about it.
"It's a tough life, huh? I guess you didn't realize, that was one of the disadvantages of being an adventurer."
Kagami's hand on Konata's hair seemed to have a remarkable effect. The pouting Konata suddenly looked up and brightened in a smile. Kagami didn't notice at once, but pointed at the river:
"Look, at least the water level has fallen quite a bit since last evening. We can at least make it across and be home soon."
"As long as you're with me."
"Huh?"
Konata turned to Kagami and smiled. A honest smile, without teasing.
"You said, wet feet was one of the disadvantages of being an adventurer. I said, that as long as you're with me, wet feet doesn't matter."
It took a few seconds for the words to sink into Kagami, but the result was not so long in taking effect. She turned red as a beet in one second flat.
"S- such an embarrasing... thing to say."
Konata was apparently in a bright mood now and smiled.
"Shall we prepare for the crossing, Kagamin?"
"Ye- yeah, sure."
They packed up and prepared for the crossing. Kagami had not donned her armor this morning and had instead packed it securely on the old horse, together with her felt trousers. She then tied a rope around her waist, which she then tied around Konata's waist and then to the horses pack saddle. Konata, who was also just in a shirt and shoes, having taken off her robe and trousers and packed them on the horse, looked at Kagami with a big smile.
Kagami looked at Konata, entirely misunderstanding the reason her friend was smiling, and explained:
"If one of us should fall, the horse and the other should be able to hold her, so one of us isn't lost in the river. I doubt that the horse will fall, but if so, we might need to cut the rope fast. Keep your knife ready!"
"I know all that, Kagami," Konata replied with a smile. "I just found it amusing that you have now tied us together for real..."
Kagami looked at the rope for a moment, before she realized, exactly what Konata was talking about.
"I have waited for this moment, Kagamin!"
"What? Oy! What is it with you and those embarrasing remarks lately?"
They walked slowly out into the river. The ford was not nearly as deep as Kagami had feared. It only reached up to just over her knees. The water was incredibly cold. She gasped, but knew they had to move on. Their feet were soon numb with cold and the stones slippery and treacherous.
"Kagami!"
Konata's voice was not that of the usual self-assured wizard.
Kagami turned around and discovered to her horror and embarrasment that she had forgot how short her companion was. The water reached up to the middle of Konata's thighs or even a little higher, making her much more unstable and prone to falling.
"Konata, grab my hand!"
Kagami felt a sting of panic and suddenly recalled a feeling from the bad dream she had had that night. Just a feeling, but a very strong one. A feeling of endless pain and loneliness.
Kagami reached out and grabbed Konata's outstretched hand. She pulled her towards herself and grabbed her around the back with her own left hand and held Konata towards her own right side, which was downstream. She steadied the tiny girl. Konata looked at Kagami for a moment, but remained silent, which was unlike her. She was a bit pale, Kagami noticed. Perhaps disaster had been closer than Konatas voice had indicated. They walked on in silence.
After the crossing, which had probably not taken more than five minutes, they rested on the other side and made a big fire. Both were freezing and Konatas legs were blue from cold. The water had been icy.
"Remind me, I've got to practice on levitation and staff flying when we get back!"
Konata was standing close to the fire, shaking with cold. Her voice was shaking as well, and her teeth chattered, making her sqeaky voice sound even funnier than usual.
"I am glad you have that staff that can at least make fire and light. We would be in trouble without it sometimes."
"Yeah, but I wish I could fly on it. It would be practical, for such as today."
"You'll just need to study a bit harder."
"Uh, don't say the S-word, Kagami."
"Study, study, study!"
"Uaargh! Evil words, begone!"
Konata ran around the fire, holding her hands over her ears. Kagami laughed. Konata hated studying more than anything else and Kagami loved to remind her that she needed to do it, if she wanted to become as great as she dreamed about. There was no doubt about her talent, but she was hopelessly lazy. If she really wanted to, she could master a spell in a very short time, but she often lacked the motivation to study, so her repetoire of spells consisted of mostly basic stuff and a few quite impressive (loud and flashy) ones, that she had found interesting enough to actually put some work in. And then she spent a lot of her time reading flashy novels about magic and heroes and stuff.
"I guess," Kagami pointed out, "that if you hate studying so much, then you shouldn't have chosen to become a wizard, who needs to study spells and such."
Konata stopped running and looked at Kagami.
"It wasn't a choice. It is in my blood! I need to do awesome things! I am the Blue Dragon!"
"More like the Blue Lizard..."
"Uuuh! Not fair! True size is not measure in body height, Kagami!"
"Be thankful for that!"
"On the other hand, if true greatness was measure in pounds, then you'd surely be empre..."
"Don't finish that sentence, if you value your life, Little Dragon!"
They rested and warmed up for a little while, drinking more hot pine needle tea. They were almost out of stone bread, but shared one. They sat close to one another on a blanket next to the fire.
"It's not so bad if you dip it into the tea," Kagami said, after watching Konata making faces at the stone bread again, sticking her tongue at it.
"It's still stone bread. I'm tired of it. I want a real meal, with rice and freshly baked bread, smoking hot from the oven. Or perhaps even one of Takamachi's cakes!"
"Stop talking about that, you're making me hungry! We're still three days from the town at least, and at least one and a half days from the nearest village."
"Don't remind me about it!"
"Well, the town's not going to come to us, so let's pack the stuff once more and move on."
They began packing the horse, and Kagami put on all her armor, which the horse had been carrying while they crossed the river. It would have dragged her underwater if she fell, had she been wearing it. She also took her bow and quiver with war arrows. The armor piercing ones. Her broadsword by her side, a long knife in her belt. She did it without thinking, but Konata noticed.
"Preparing for the third empire war, Kagamin?"
"Wha.? No, I just, uh, somehow.." Kagami suddenly noticed what she was doing.
"Got a feeling?" Konata continued. "Bad dreams last night?"
"Yeah, perhaps that's it."
She didn't tell Konata, but she couldn't shake the shadow of that ominous feeling from the bad dream and hadn't been able to since they crossed the river.
They walked on for a while. It soon got hot as the Sun crawled ever higher in the sky. Kagami began to regret she had donned her complete armor. Konata was unusually silent and something was tingling in the back of Kagamis neck, like if a bug was crawling under her helmet. She had also tied her hair up and stuffed it under the helmet, which had Konata raise an eyebrow. Kagami only did that when a fight was imminent. Two hours passed without incidents, so they took a break, but Kagami was still on her guard. Konata seemed not to worry about a thing, but was eerily silent, which alarmed Kagami more than anything else. They sat on a windfall in the shadow of the forest next to the road. Their horse ate from the lush grass and they drank a little water. Kagami leaned towards Konata and asked with a low voice:
"Konata."
"Hmm?"
"Can you feel... something?"
"Like what?"
"Like, we're being watched?"
"Uh, hu."
"For how long?"
"Couple of hours. Almost after we crossed the river."
"Can you see anything?"
"Nope."
"Magic?"
"I think so."
Half an hour later, it was all too clear for Kagami and Konata that someone – or something - was indeed watching them. The feeling in her neck just wouldn't go away. But she never saw anything. Whatever or whoever it was, they were damn good, which made her even more nervous. To make matters worse, the forest was very close to the narrow road here. She sighed in relief as the forest suddenly opened and they found themselves in a more open part, with some natural meadows on both sides of the road. Tall grass waved in the slight breeze. The distance to the treeline was now around 30 – 50 yards. They were not likely to be ambushed here.
But they were.
Suddenly, she saw it. No, she felt it and reacted even before she saw it, she realised to her surprise. About ten arrows came flying towards Konata from the treeline. How Kagami made it in time, she didn't know, but she jumped in front of Konata and protected her with her body. To her luck, she was wearing armor, but she hadn't thought about it. Several arrows hit her on the breast plate, where they bounced off or on the shoulder plates, from where they riccocheted to the sides. A few missed their target.
Konata didn't jump in surprise as Kagami might had imagined, had she had time to think about things like that, but cast a shield spell in front of them even before Kagami had stopped moving after being hit. Ten more arrows were headed straight towards them, but hit the magic shield seconds later and fell harmlessly to the ground a few yards in front of Konata and Kagami. Whoever had shot at them was experienced enough to go after the wizard first, instead of the stronger-looking warrior, or trying to take them both down at the same time. That was a bad sign, Kagami noted. Not good. They were not super-experienced in combat, though they had been trained for years back home. They had killed a few robbers or other bad guys in the last few years, but they had never faced a more experienced enemy.
Another ten arrows hit the shield and then another ten. Someone was trying to wear out the shield. Konata smiled. Kagami knew why. One can specialize a shield, and Konata had specialized her shields to deflect arrows, spears, stones and other physical objects. It was much less effective against magic missiles, since they always tried to avoid higher-ranking wizards as much as possible. Wearing Konatas shield out with arrows wasn't going to work unless their opponent had hundreds of archers, which Kagami doubted.
Suddenly, the rain of arrows stopped, which sent a chill down Kagami's spine. Could someone have seen through Konata's shield strategy already? If so, that wasn't good news at all.
"I see arrows isn't going to do the trick." A voice rung through the forest.
Oh no, dear goddess! was Kagami's only thought. A wizard!
A slender man in a black robe with gold embroidery on the sleeves slowly walked out from the treeline. He waved his hand, and ten men came out from the forrest on each side of the road. And what was that behind the wizard? Heavenly mother of the stars! A troll! A troll bound by the spells the wizard had laid on it. Invisible chains, but much more effective than real ones. Only the wizard's order or his death could set it free, but as long as it was bound, it would defend the wizard with all its strength and follow every order he gave. She noticed as if through a haze that the horse got scared by the sight of the troll and ran away. This wizard was not a mere charlatan or amateur. This was a real wizard, and a strategist, to make matters worse. But why was he here? What did he want from them?
