Chapter 4: Detour

"You're kidding me, right?" Nidan asked incredulously.

"No, we are not," Kent replied, dead serious.

Nidan slapped his forehead. They were knights of Lycia, but they had forgotten something fundamentally important. They had forgotten to buy food at Bulgar. Now, Nidan was having to estimate how long their food would last now that they were feeding four. Not to mention, the two new additions had rather large appetites.

Lyn handed out the rations while Nidan finished his mental calculations. They'd last about two weeks, no more. Their food supply was supposed to get them through the Bern Mountains, but it looked like they wouldn't even make it to the mountains at that rate.

"We're going to have to stop at the next town to stock up on food," Lyn stated matter-of-factly.

"I fully agree, milady," Kent stated.

"I third that motion," Sain added cheerfully.

"Don't I get a say?" Nidan complained.

"Are you really going to say no?" Lyn asked him.

Nidan's response died in his throat. Just because everyone made up their minds about the plan without his consent was no reason to say no. Getting food at the next town really was the wisest choice.

"Fine," Nidan relented. "But I'm sticking with Sain."

"Aw, no fun," Sain complained.

"Then it's settled," Kent stated. "What is the next town, Lyn?"

Lyn thought for a moment. "Gradon," she stated.

"What's Gradon?" Nidan asked. "I've never heard of it."

"So says the amnesiac," Sain quipped.

"Stow it," Nidan told him.

"It's a small town," Lyn stated, ignoring Sain and Nidan's antics. "It isn't really known for anything, but we'll be able to buy food."

"That's all we need," Kent stated.

"Woo hoo, town!" Sain called.

"And that's why I'm sticking with him," Nidan muttered.

Sain rubbed the back of his head. Nidan rubbed his hand. That was the third time he'd had to stop Sain from flirting with some random village girl. Nidan was really getting annoyed. They were supposed to be getting extra weapons from the town's blacksmith, but Sain was slowing the process down with his attempts to flirt.

"Why must you deny my passion?" Sain asked, a little too loudly for Nidan's comfort.

"Because you passion is annoying and has the potential to really get you in trouble," Nidan explained irritably, again.

"That is no reason to stop my fire!"

"Please stop already," Nidan practically begged, having run out of the fire needed to be angry. "Just help me get the weapons."

"Very well, my lifeless companion."

Nidan groaned.

They found the blacksmith without further incident. They bought two lances, iron tipped, as well as two iron-forged swords.

"We have the weapons," Sain started, "now let us return to our valiant companions."

"No," Nidan stated, grabbing Sain's arm. "I think it would be wise to grab a couple of vulneraries."

Nidan pointed to a shop that was just across the road. Since there were no crowds, it was relatively easy to reach.

Nidan opened the door, and was followed in by Sain. The shop was low-lit, and had all sorts of odds and ends. Nidan browsed the shelves, ignoring the tonics, tomes, and healing staves. Finally, he found the vulneraries. He grabbed five of them, tossing three to Sain, who almost dropped them.

The two of them walked up to the counter. The shopkeeper was a young woman whose hair was half covered by a shawl. Her robes were those of a cleric, and she looked like she knew what she was doing in that respect.

"Is that all I can help you with?" she asked, eyeing the pile that Sain and Nidan had made.

"That will be all of it," Nidan said, stopping Sain's flirt before it even started. The brown-haired knight huffed and insisted he was innocent.

"That will be 1,500 gold," the shopkeeper said with a smile.

Nidan groaned as he opened his pouch, counting out the gold. Lyn had been kind enough to loan him some gold, which she insisted he wouldn't have to pay back, but he was planning to anyway.

As he handed over the gold, he noticed a strange glint in the shopkeeper's eye.

"Are you a magic wielder, by any chance?" she asked.

"Would you lower the price if I said yes?" Nidan replied.

"Nope," the woman chuckled. "But seriously, are you?"

"No," Nidan stated. "Why would you think that?"

"There is a subtle magical aura around you," she replied. "It seems to be tied to everything you carry. It's in your cloak, your swords, your pouch, and even your body."

"How odd," Nidan stated.

"There is a very magical aura about you, fair one," Sain started flirting.

The woman let out a light laugh and light blush, all while saying, "Thank you, good knight."

"Ignore him," Nidan practically groaned. "He tries to impress all the ladies."

"And I'm sure he succeeds a lot," the shopkeeper replied.

"Please don't encourage him."

"Here you are," the woman stated, handing them the vulneraries and a small pile of gold.

"What's that for?" Nidan asked.

"It's the flattering-knight discount," the woman said with a cheeky smile.

Nidan slapped his forehead, taking the vulneraries and the gold, quickly heading out.

"Why are we leaving?" Sain asked from behind, rushing to catch up. "I finally had someone respond!"

"That's exactly why we're leaving," Nidan retorted.

Sain let out a dashed-hope sigh and followed Nidan. Now that they had what they needed, Nidan was intent on finding out where Kent and Lyn had gone. Nidan hoped that they had found lodging, as sleeping outside wasn't really agreeing with him.

"Thank you," Lyn said as she took the keys for their rooms.

When Nidan found her and Kent, they had just finished getting the food. After that, they had departed to look for lodging. They found an inn near the edge of the town with reasonable prices.

The group exited via the door at the back of the tavern, heading to the hallway that led to the rooms. When they stopped in front of the doors, Nidan realized there would be a problem.

"The innkeeper said there were only two beds in each room, right?" Nidan stated

Lyn nodded in the affirmative.

"That means that you're going to have to share with someone," Nidan added.

Everyone glared at Sain, shutting him up before he even opened his mouth.

"How are we going to split this up?" Kent asked.

"Don't look at me," Nidan told Lyn.

"Fine, I'll decide," Lyn stated.

She looked between Nidan and Kent, trying to decide which one would be more trustworthy.

"Nidan, you're with me," Lyn stated. "Only because Kent has more experience with Sain," she added, assuaging Kent before he could even voice his concerns.

Without any more words spoken, Lyn entered what would be her and Nidan's room. Nidan followed, not even glancing at the knights as they entered their room. It was nice to hear that Sain wasn't complaining. Maybe he wasn't completely intolerable.

"It's good to see we're all getting to know each other," Nidan stated as prepared his bed.

"Why say that?" Lyn asked, storing their supplies.

"Well, if we're to fight together, it's good to have trust."

"That's true."

There was a silence. Nidan finished his preparations and Lyn tied off the last of the supplies.

"So you trust Sain?" Lyn asked.

"In battle, yes," Nidan said. "But his antics can get on my nerves."

"I think he's gotten to all of us at one point or another."

"Just be glad you didn't have to follow him today. He tries to flirt every chance he gets."

"He's ignored quite a few chances to flirt with me," Lyn pointed out.

"He may be annoying, but he's not stupid," Nidan told her. "That's actually the reason that he's not completely intolerable."

Lyn laughed at that.

"If I didn't know you any better," Lyn started, still chuckling, "I'd say you were starting to like him."

"Oh har-dee-har-har," Nidan stated sarcastically. "The day I actually like him as a person will be long in coming."

There was a knock on the door.

"You want to come eat with us?" Kent's voice called. "This may be the last chance we get to eat fresh food for a while."

Nidan looked at Lyn. She didn't have to say anything for him to know her answer.

"We're coming," Nidan called.

"I just realized something," Nidan began, finishing the last of his steak, "I really like steak."

"I second that," Kent stated. "It's a rare delicacy in Lycia."

"Really?" Lyn asked, taking a bite from her own meat.

Kent nodded in response, taking a small bite of his steak and savoring the flavor.

"Out here," Lyn started once her mouth was clear, "we have all the room and grass we need to raise cattle. So, it's quite a bit more common."

"What do you think, Sain?" Nidan called. That's when he realized that Sain's seat was empty.

"I'll get him," Kent said.

The red-armored knight rose to find his partner, who was no doubt off flirting somewhere. Nidan wondered when Sain had left. Of course, Nidan would have been hard pressed to notice anything while he was engrossed in his steak. He might not care much for the inn's musty tavern, but the food was well worth it.

Nidan himself glanced around the fire-lit room, seeing if he could find Sain. Despite the fact that the tavern wasn't very crowded, Sain was nowhere in sight. Kent had appeared to pick up on that rather quickly, as the door to the street was already closing behind him.

"It's certainly going to be an interesting trip," Lyn stated from her seat.

Nidan looked over to her. Her steak was gone, and there was just a few vegetables left.

"Well," Nidan's response started, "I'd rather it be interesting and annoying than uneventful and dull."

"Be careful what you wish for," Lyn admonished.

"Yeah, yeah."

Nidan turned his attention to the rest of the food on his plate, wolfing it down in a matter of seconds. He took a deep swig of the tea that the tavern had offered. He'd declined the ale with a big, 'No, thank you,' after Sain had described its effects. Sain didn't have any qualms and had downed two mugs at an alarming rate. Which probably explained his decision to just vanish.

"I'm going to bed," Nidan announced suddenly.

As he got up to leave, the doors opened and Kent dragged in a particularly drunk Sain. Apparently, he'd had even more to drink when he left. Nidan smiled on the inside, sure that Sain would regret his choice after having that, 'hangover,' thing that Sain had described with a cringe.

"I swear to the gods and all that is beautiful that I'll never drink again!" Sain yelled to the skies, followed by a wince as he held his aching head.

Nidan chuckled. Lyn gave a light slap in the back of the head.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"You shouldn't laugh at other people's pain," Lyn admonished.

"I'm not the one who chose to drink," Nidan said, a little loudly.

"Do you mind being quiet for but a few moments?" Sain complained.

"Give him some space," Kent stated. "He does this more often than I'd like to admit, but he does get over it quickly."

"I'm never going to drink," Nidan muttered. "Ever."

A/N: So that's my first non-battle chapter. I'll try to put those wherever they seem appropriate. After all, a battle every chapter is a tad excessive. Let me know what you all think. Reviews are highly appreciated, and I do read all of them.