Chapter 9: Traveling
Magnus decided not to press the mysterious Dark Pit issue as they broke camp. There was enough tension over that. After Magnus had revealed that the Lilia name tied in with Dark Pit's hatred, Dark Pit remained stubbornly silent.
Dark Pit walked ahead, carrying the salted deer meat. He needed some time alone, and Magnus recognized this. Besides, Dark Pit had their guide-sword. It made sense to put him in front. To be honest, he wasn't thrilled with the idea of heading east with no idea of how far they were going. There weren't many villages in that area, and the villages that were there wouldn't have much to spare. Still, it could be worse.
No! he thought. Don't think like that. Whenever people think like that, things get worse. He most certainly didn't want things to get worse, so he redirected his thoughts to the landscape. It was rather dull. Just rolling hills with yellow grass. Yeah, it was pretty at first, but it got really boring really fast.
He looked at Gaol. He just couldn't get over how much he loved that woman. Even now, after a year of being with her, it still surprised him. He could barely remember the time when they had been enemies. He took a moment to think about what had drawn him to her in the first place.
The fact that she wasn't a typical woman was definitely a draw-in. She was tough and assertive. She always spoke her mind. Yet, she also displayed a grace and gentleness underneath her hard exterior. Her cooking was just one of the surprises in that area. They also worked together very well. Yeah, he could function as team with Dark Pit, but he felt like he and Gaol fought as one person.
Come to think of it, he thought, she and I haven't had much opportunity to fight lately. Dark Pit had been the center of their most recent fights. He wasn't acting as a member of team. He was acting as an independent.
Ah, there I go again, he thought. I really need to get my mind off that guy.
They sat down for lunch in one of the dips between hills. They made a simple fire and cooked up some of the deer meat. They didn't speak, as the silence was rather comforting. Slowly, the tension began to dissipate. For that Magnus was greatful.
It was in the mid-afternoon when something interesting finally did happen. They were still heading straight east, when Gaol heard something.
"Stop," she said. "Hear that?"
Magnus listened. "Yeah. It sounds like…" his eyes widened, "HORSES!"
Sure enough, there was a column of them galloping at them from the north. They bore men who were masked. They each carried a cavalier's sword on them. They looked like bandits. Great, Magnus thought. A delay.
The thieves came up around them and surrounded them. Their leader rode out of the formation. The only distinguishing feature about him was that he was taller and thinner than the others.
"Place your weapons on the ground and give us all of your valuables," he ordered.
"Just back off now," Magnus began, "and we'll leave you in peace."
The man let laughed sharply. "I don't think you understand your position. There are 20 of us and three of you. Even that angel of yours couldn't stop all of us."
Magnus smiled when he heard what Gaol said. "So bring about 5 times the number of men you have, and it'll be a fair fight."
"Spoils have no right to speak as you do," the man responded.
Magnus smiled inwardly. The man had just made Gaol very angry. She wouldn't hold anything but a death blow back at this point. The Dark Triad went back to back, drawing weapons. "As a team," Magnus said.
As the thieves jumped back in surprise, most likely due to Gaol donning her armor, the Dark Triad broke formation. Magnus went after the leader, who had pulled a staff out of nowhere. Gaol charged and released a massive energy beam, breaking the enemy's formation, as well as many bones.
Magnus dueled the leader. The guy was on horseback and wielding a staff, so he had reach. Magnus dodged around his attacks, looking for an opportunity to knock the horse off its feet. The leader clearly had guessed Magnus's plan and kept his horse frustratingly out of reach.
Magnus could hear a few thieves closing in behind him. He back-flipped, knocking one of the men off his horse as he went. He landed and moved his sword. A bolt from Gaol deflected off it and hit the guy he was aiming for. For the last one, he rode on a cushion of air that Dark Pit provided and slamming into the ground, taking the horse's head with it.
The leader of the thieves backed up in astonishment. He was shocked that three people had taken his entire crew out so easily. He turned to bolt, but Dark Triad would have none of it. Dark Pit shot an air cushion at him, sending him high into the sky. Gaol shot at him, and Magnus deflected the bolt in such a way that it came down and smashed into the ground, causing the last man's horse to rear. The man himself gracelessly fell off the horse.
They walked up and surrounded him. His surprised eyes looked up at the three of them.
"M-m-m-mercy!" he cried.
"Sure," Magnus said, a touch of deviousness in his voice. "But first, give us everything valuable that you have on you."
The man looked at them with wide eyes, but complied. He stood up and unloaded every jewel, coin and trinket he had on him. When he placed his staff on the ground, it shrank into nothing more than a small stick.
"That's everything," he said. "Now let me go."
"Get lost," Dark Pit said. The man predictably ran for it. Magnus noticed Dark Pit eyeing the staff.
"A power like that may be useful," Magnus said.
Dark Pit nodded. He moved to pick up the staff. He moved his Silver Sword, that's what they had agreed to call it, toward the staff. The two fused flawlessly. The knife end of the Silver Sword grew a centimeter or two, but the real gain came when Dark Pit used the power of the staff. The blades shrank away into the handle of the sword.
"Well," Dark Pit said, "that makes it easy to carry."
Without further delay, they left. As they walked, Magnus reflected on that battle. They had effortlessly worked as a team. Even with Dark Pit's new weapon power, they had been able to predict and capitalize on each other's moves. That was the team they were supposed to be. Magnus hoped it was a sign that pointed to their growing closer as a team.
They walked until the sun had nearly set. That's when they saw it. A large temple straight in their path. The way Dark Pit's sword reacted when he pointed to it confirmed what they had suspected. They had reached the place the sword was trying to show them.