Fable Seekers#2
New Beginnings
Marco felt his eyes creep open as the light of the morning sun kept trying to break through. He sat up and yawned while stretching his arms. He looked around at the forest around him and smiled. It had taken at least 2 weeks of camping out like this before he could truly say he enjoyed it. He rolled out of his sleeping bag and began to perform push ups. It was time for his morning workout routine.
Three weeks had passed since he had left the Kingdom, since then he had heard that the Princess' of St Olga's Reform School had gifted 'Princess Turdina' with an honorary degree. Moon had informed him in her return letter that Star and Pony Head had attended to collect it on his behalf. Apparently Miss Heinous burst in revealing him to be the boy that he is with the apology video but the Princesses didn't care as it was in the teachings of Turdina that they found solace. It had amused Marco to no end that a legend of him existed somewhere.
Marco finished his morning work out and then consulted the guide in front of him. It was given to him by Higgs and contained everything a Knight could and should know. He decided to study hard in his free time knowing that knowledge was as powerful of a weapon as muscles were. He jumped up and grabbed some fruit from the tree above before biting into it. He walked over to where he had left his satchel by the camp fire and began to read.
"Although it is not a necessity, some Knights have taken the time to learn the skills of mages. Some magic can be used by anyone who has a high enough tolerance to magic. If you wish to know if you are capable of such a feat simply utter the words below to cast a 'fire ball' spell.
'Crimson blaze from deep below, I summon you to slay my foe,
Roast their hide and burn their soul, As fires roar and burn them whole.
FIREBALL." Marco finished off his fruit, still unsure of what it really was, and decided to give it a go. He readied his stance and faced away from the more flammable parts of the forest. He breathed in deeply and then exhaled. He could already feel the heat. It was a little too hot mind as he looked down and noticed his trouser leg on fire. Marco rushed to the nearby pond and jumped in, breathing a sigh of relief as the steam rose from the water.
"...Wow... That was just... Wow." Marco looked up from the pond to see Heckapoo laughing at him from above. Marco moaned before standing up and walking past her.
"Oh don't be like that, I'll even dry you off." Heckapoo whispered some words quickly and a strong breeze surrounded Marco taking all the water with it.
"Thanks.. Now I'm leaving." Marco declared as he started packing up his stuff. Heckapoo groaned but followed after him.
"Come on Marco, don't be like that! I just wanted to ask if you had thought anymore about my offer?" She beamed a smile at him, hopeful of his reply.
"And once again it's NO! Seriously it's the 14th day in a row you've asked. You're really not hearing me when I say that I want an independent adventure away from everyone I know where I can grow by myself." Marco had grown tired of her requests. A week into his travels he passed his letter through to Moon only for Heckapoo to pop out. She had learnt of his adventure after pestering Moon enough that she revealed the details. Now she came daily to question the boy following the trail of portals he used.
"Marco! I'm asking you to come on a REAL adventure! Come with me back to my dimension! You'd have more than just two years and we could do it together. You could help me with work and I could teach you loads of stuff! And when you get too old there we'll come back here and adventure some more!" Heckapoo grinned again, still not relenting on her request. Marco frowned as it became clear that she still didn't understand him.
"Heckapoo, for the last time, No. This is more than just some adventure. My whole time in Mewni and other dimensions I have been surrounded by either powerful people, royalty or the secret government that rules over magic. I want an adventure for me.. I just need this time to discover who I really am and what I'm truly capable of and if you can't respect that then maybe I will have to rethink our friendship." Marco knew he was being cruel but he needed the girl to take the hint.
"Cool... Sure that's fine... You ever change your mind, just hit me up." Marco could hear how hurt she was in her voice. He turned to apologise when he realised she had already left. He felt guilty but it was a necessary evil. He had to refuse so much from Moon and the others already. From armor and enchanted swords to even being given Nachos to make travel easier. He was tempted but knew it would rob him of his real experience. He turned back to his stuff and finished packing it up. He was ready to go when he decided to give what the book had said a go.
Reaffirming his stance Marco readied himself for the spell.
"Crimson blaze from deep below, I summon you to slay my foe,
Roast their hide and burn their soul, As fires roar and burn them whole.
FIREBALL." Marco watched as a swirl appeared in his palm before blasting a small fireball at a nearby tree. It barley singed it but he had done it. Before he could even celebrate he watched the world turn black and collapsed onto the leafy ground below.
/
"Do you think he's alright?"
"Not sure? Not right in the head, that I know. Who tries to do a new magic incantation for the first time when alone in the forest. Foolish child." A woman's voice rang out.
"He looks very young, do you think he ran away from home?"
"I'm sure he has his reasons for being out here. We'll know when he wakes up."
"You mean when he stops pretending to be asleep?" Marco felt the carriage jolt to a stop as several figures hovered above him. One then proceed to poke him in the cheek forcing Marco to jump up and volt over him. He rolled across the ground and began to sprint into the trees. He took note that the sky had turned dark meaning he'd been out of it for almost a whole day.
Marco came to a halt and hid behind a tree. Trying to catch his breath he checked which of his possessions he still had on his body. Scissors, Check. Gold, Check. Dagger, Check. Anything else was now in the possession of who ever had taken him. He peered right to look behind the tree when he felt warm air being breathed onto his neck. He turned to see a man in a bandanna smiling at him.
"Well it's good to see you have life in ya!" The man chuckled as Marco started running again. How had he caught up with him so quickly? How hadn't he felt him behind him?
Before Marco could answer any of these questions even inside of his mind he felt a tree branch wrap around his leg and fling him into the sky. He tried to grab his scissors and cut open a portal when he crashed into something very hard. He looked up and saw another man's face looking down at him. This man was covered in scars and seemed to be wearing an eye patch over one eye.
"Easy there boy. Don't hurt yourself." Marco jumped back and readied his fighting pose when the females voice seemed to ring in his ear.
"Lumen!" A bright light blinded Marco as someone grabbed him tightly. He tried to break free of their hold but was unsuccessful. He still struggled to see when he was sat down back on the carriage. He looked up at the people in front of him, able to see them properly for the first time.
The man wearing the bandanna smiled widely again. He seemed to have light brown hair and amber eyes. He was dressed lightly but had a set of daggers strapped to him. Marco looked at his clothes and realised that someone that slim and light would definitely be able to sneak up on him.
The larger man with the eye patch had black hair and black stubble. His scars seemed extensive and seemed to carry on under the thick armor the man wore. He resembled the Knights of Mewni a little in his silver armor but his seemed like it had seen more battles with chinks and dents all over. He carried a sword at his side but also seemed to carry a large shield that was half his size.
The female was dressed in dark green robes that gave her figure away easily. To say she was attractive was an understatement as she took off her hat and shook her bright red hair. If not for the dark glare she gave Marco he might even have blushed under her gaze. She lent on her wooden staff and turned to the final member of their team.
A man who seemed to ooze authority. He had dark brown hair and a trimmed beard. His clothes were a mix of the others as he wore a lighter armor, carried around a set of throwing knives down his legs and had a long sword strapped to his back. He smiled at the boy as Marco tried to look like he wasn't afraid.
"Now I got to say when we picked up a boy who had passed out of the woods I wasn't expecting him to run off the moment he woke up. You are clearly more than meets the eye to give the ever swift Sven a run for his money." The man chuckled loudly.
"You and me both! I almost lost ya' in those woods ya' know. I don't know what I'd do if some little critter got lost because of me." The man apparently named Sven breathed a sigh of relief.
"Ignore them. Why were you stupid enough to attempt magic like that?" The woman asked not taking any notice of her peers. Marco wasn't sure what she was getting at so didn't answer. This annoyed the woman further who went to raise her voice when the leader raised his hand.
"Hey, It must have been scary waking up in some carriage around people you didn't know. My name is Alexander but you can just call me Alex, the small ones called Sven and the large one is called Tank. No I'm not kidding it's like his parents knew he'd be a giant. Finally the grumpy lady who you offended by not taking magic seriously is called Lily." He thrust his hand forward to shake Marco's. Marco hesitated for a moment before returning the gesture.
"Hello, My name is Marco Diaz." He said quietly. He wasn't sure why but having all their gazes focused on him seemed to really unsettle him.
"Well Marco Diaz. Since it seems unlikely we are to make the next town any time soon we'll be camping here tonight. Would you like to join us?" Alex asked with a big grin. Marco nodded and the man cheered.
The group set about getting the camp ready. Marco watched on amazed at how they did it. Lily blew away all the dust and the dirt with magic as Sven ran around collecting fire wood. Tank moved some nearby fallen trees around the centre of their would be camp while Alex watched on making sure everyone was alright. Once Sven placed down the wood Lily shot a fireball onto the wood lighting up the camp. Alex ushered for Marco to sit beside them as Tank started to set up a cooking pot and Sven rushed to the carriage to get the ingredients.
"So Marco tell me, What's a young man like you doing out here in the woods?" Alex looked over to Lily who looked like she a had few choice words but was holding them back.
"Ermm.."
"Whoa this sounds like it's going to be a story! Wait for me!" Sven called over causing Alex to laugh and Tank to groan.
"Alright Marco Diaz. We'll wait for the food." Alex stood up and went to help Sven as Lily continued to give Marco an angry gaze.
Once they had finished cooking the food and ate their fill they turned to Marco once more.
"So Marco Diaz, Why are you here?" Alex asked again.
"Well it's just Marco, Diaz is my surname." Causing some people to shift.
"Marco, are you a noble?" Sven asked leaning forward.
"No why?" Marco answered confused.
"Not many people have surnames? Only those of nobility use such things." Tank explained.
"Wait so your names are just Alexander? Sven? Tank? And Lily?" Marco questioned.
"Not exactly, you see in our line of work you gain a title from the deeds you do." Alex told him.
"Alexander of the Dancing Blade."
"Tank the Walking Fortress"
"Sven the Ever Swift"
"Lily the Flaming Enchantress." Marco listened as they named themselves. He realised exactly what they meant.
"Oh. Then in that case it's Marco the Red Knight. That's the name I was called in another dimension." All their ears picked up at the word dimension.
"You've been to other dimensions?" Alex asked with curiosity.
Marco decided to explain everything from the start until now. From the very first day that a magical princess from another dimension had invaded his life. He told them briefly about the time in Heckapoo's dimension where time moved differently and then told them of his reasons to leave the Butterfly Kingdom on an adventure. They all stared at him shocked.
"You're from the Earth Dimension?"
"You have Dimensional Scissors?"
"Your Princess dumped you?"
"You're an idiot." Marco listened to all their first remarks and replied all at once.
"Yes, Yes, No and why?" Marco looked at Lily who seemed to like him even less since the story had ended.
"You go through that amazing life... All that wonder and mystery and almost die in the forest because of sheer stupidity." Marco stared at her confused. Alex decided to explain a bit more.
"Marco, when we found you... You were about to be eaten by a bear. We had to move quickly to heal your wounds and save you." Marco froze at their words. He looked down at his clothes and saw no wounds. He moved his hands to his back and felt three big holes where something had clawed at him.
"Lily's anger only comes from worry. When she realised you were a mage like herself and were going to die for such a foolish reason she got angry." Marco looked up at Lily who refused to admit the cause of her anger. Marco stood up and bowed to them.
"I offer my sincere thanks and I apologise to you Lily the Flaming Enchantress for not taking my life seriously. I promise you it will not happen again." Marco looked up to see them all smiling. Any doubt about his story was blasted away as they could see he had trained in etiquette. That and his dimensional scissors were sticking out of his pocket.
"I will accept your apology if you explain to my why a mage would try and learn a new spell in such a place?" Lily questioned.
"Well it was my first time trying to use magic without the magic wand my friend owns. I didn't really know it would cause me to pass out." Lily's face turned into one of shock.
"That was your first attempt at using magic!? How? I checked on the aftereffects of your spell and it was a perfectly formed fireball. Any one else would have only made a little heat appear on their first try. The reason you passed out is clearly two fold. One, Learning a new spell means to imprint the magic into your mind. It takes a lot out of the body if one doesn't possess a catalyst like your friend's wand. And two, a persons magical capacity is limited unless they train it, if you use up all your energy at once you'd pass out for sure. You need to train that ability and essentially level up your ability to use magic." Marco listened carefully before taking his notepad out and writing down every word she had said.
"What are you doing?" Tank asked amused.
"Taking notes. I mean, this journey is for me to train and get stronger. If someone is willing to teach me I need to be prepared to learn."
"And are you prepared to learn?" Lily asked with a mischievous smile.
"Certainly. I want to be the strongest I could ever possibly be. I want to travel all across Mewni, helping people and doing loads of different things. I want to experience all that I possibly can. I need to learn new skills and techniques to get stronger so of course I'm prepared to learn." Marco recounted his objectives and smiled widely. The four others looked at each other and then nodded.
"Marco, I have a proposition for you" Alex spoke all of a sudden. Marco turned to face him and noticed the others waiting with anticipation.
"Yes?"
"You see we are part of the Adventurer's Guild. We intend to rise through the ranks and create a name for ourselves. We are the Fable Seekers. A party of people who will take any quest no matter how meagre. We will face any challenge and one day hope to be the talk of fables and myth. We want to know if, and even if it's only for the 2 years you spoke of, join our party?" Marco's eyes went wide when he heard the proposition.
"Wait.. What do you have to gain by inviting me into your party?" Marco questioned.
"Well in terms of gains I think it's an equal for both of us. For you, you would get back up, companions and people willing to support your cause who see you for the you now. We'll teach you everything we know so you can grow all the stronger. For us, we would gain a powerful ally. You may still be starting out on your journey right now but with a little teaching and a little time we would have a fifth member of our team. Your fast like Sven, will be able to fight like me, strong like Tank and able to use magic like Lily. A balanced member to complete our team. The Jack of All Trades so to say."
Marco considered carefully what they offered him. These people had saved his life, asking for nothing in return. They looked after him and kept him company. They could be trusted and were good people. He had already seen a brief part of what they were capable of so he knew they were strong. If he learnt from them he'd surly grow quicker than if he stayed solo. He would travel and complete quests. It was a perfect arrangement.
"Sure! That'd be excellent!" Marco answered as everyone cheered and welcomed him to the party.
"Well Marco, since we met due to you trying to learn magic let me teach you something real quick." Lily said with the first smile had seen her show. He was right, she was beautiful when she smiled.
"Okay!" Lily stood up and faced out into the dark.
"Guiding light of holy power, come forth for me this hour,
Be rid of darkness and the night, Come to me the brightest light,
LUMEN!" Lily held her staff up high as the light burst forth. Marco recognised it as the spell that had blinded him before. He watched as the dark woodland area around them was filled with dancing lights. He smiled and marvelled at the sight before him.
"Go on Marco, give it a try." Lily ushered. Marco nodded as the light faded around them.
"Guiding light of holy power, come forth for me this hour,
Be rid of darkness and the night, Come to me the brightest light,
LUMEN!" Marco yelled out as from his palm the light burst forth again. He smiled briefly before everything went dark again and he fell to the floor.
/
Thud
Marco woke up with a jolt as he saw Lily, Tank and Sven smiling at him. He could see light shining through the holes of the carriages outer fabric. It was now day time.
"I thought you promised not to repeat your carelessness?" Lily asked him causing him to freeze. He didn't know whether to swear or apologise first when she started to laugh.
"I'm kidding, I was worried you'd be too excited to sleep so I thought I'd let you have a dreamless sleep as you recovered from the drain. You get to learn a new spell and rest easy so it was win-win. If you are hungry however there are some left overs from breakfast. Just ask Tank to get them for you. Once again, Welcome to the Fable Seekers Marco." Lily chuckled again before walking to the front of the carriage out of view. He heard Alex' voice from behind the cover so assumed he must be driving.
"You're a tough kid I'll give you that... Wait... You said you're like 30 years old in your head? That's older than me.. Are you some kind of Man-child?" Sven asked as he tried to reason something that had given Marco a headache many times.
"You have to grow old, not up. My adult mind is still childish it's just more mature so I'm sort of like... Old before my time." Marco explained. It had been how he reasoned it to his parents when he had explained why he couldn't remember a lot of stuff about earth. Star had just brushed it off saying it would be okay but he had really struggled.
"Well put! Anyway I'd eat quick if I were you we'll be arriving to town in about half an hour. There we can register you with the guild and collect the bounty from our last job. Now if you don't mind me I'm going to go and third wheel our leader and his blushing admirer." Sven winked at him before jumping out to the front of the carriage. Marco laughed as he heard Lily complaining about Sven being there while Alex proclaimed the more the merrier.
"Hey Tank, would it be alright to get that food after all?" Marco looked up to Tank who merely nodded. Marco had noticed a few details about their group. Tank was the quiet one while Sven seemed to never stop talking. Lily tried to hide her true feelings but was a really sweet person. Who, as Sven had just hinted at, had feelings for the groups leader Alexander who seemed quite carefree.
Tank passed Marco a plate that was full of different foods Marco had never seen. He didn't even hesitate to dig in and found out it was all delicious. It was some of the nicest and juiciest meat Marco had ever bitten into. Maybe it was the relief of not having to have a full diet of corn but the various vegetables was almost overwhelming. Marco devoured the whole plate before letting out a small burp.
"Pardon me, Sorry about that it was just so delicious!" Marco turned to see Tank smiling brightly.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. I cooked it myself."
"You will have to teach me how to cook as well as how to be strong as that's a skill I NEED!" Marco proclaimed. Tank nodded with a smile showing he agreed to the request. Tank settled down beside Marco after taking his plate away.
"I wanted to thank you Marco Diaz of Earth." Marco looked over to Tank confused.
"After you had told us of your story I realised I had heard your name before. I am actually a Mewman from the Butterfly Kingdom. I was away from the Kingdom during the attack of Toffee and when I heard my family was safe I was so relieved. I heard of what happened and how you fought for the Kingdom. When you told me of how you punched your fist through that creatures heart I knew it was you. Thank you for protecting my family."
"I was barley able to do anything. I got caught almost as soon as I managed to break in. I had to be saved and I wasn't able to help or protect my best friend. Even the punch through his heart didn't phase him." Marco admitted glumly. Tank looked down at the boy and came to the conclusion that no matter how old his mind was he had the heart of a young man.
"Do not dwell that on your heart Marco. You charged in to save a kingdom that was not your own. You fought and struggled to help where you could and whether you acknowledge it or not your actions contributed to the recovery of the Kingdom." Marco didn't reply to the mans comment.
"Well, if you are truly bothered by whether or not you were strong enough. The only option is to get stronger Marco." A small bump ended there conversation as Alex shouted back they that had arrived.
Tank exited the carriage and called for Marco to follow. He climbed out having to shield his eyes as the sun shone down from above. When the glare had faded enough Marco let the scene around him fill his vision. He smiled widely as he watch the bustling streets full of people before him. It was like being in a shopping mall on earth or in a capital city. There were people of all shapes and sizes. The smells coming from the food stalls blasted his nostrils with curiosity as he wondered what that could be. The sounds of vendors yelling and people conversing in languages Marco was sure he had never heard spoken flooded his ears. He turned to see the building beside him. It was a massive piece of architecture with an elegant design. The centre of the building had the Guild's insignia and Marco chuckled as it seemed like the standard two swords and a shield that you'd see in typical RPGs. He let himself be overwhelmed by everything around him to the point he didn't even notice that Alex had gone and parked the carriage before returning. His party members all stood smiling recognising the joy that they once experienced.
"You ready Marco?" Marco turned to see them all waiting for him before the door.
"As I will ever be!" Marco followed them through the doors of the guild and the to the real start of his new adventure.
Marco and The Fable Seekers!