Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail
Seeking Help
Edmond sighed happily as he reached Clover town. The afternoon sun beating down on him slightly, but thankfully he didn't intend to stay in it for long. The city was slightly larger than Ginville, and had plenty of places for him to stop and eat before he went to the train station. As he went into a local restaurant to take care of his dietary needs, his mind was more focused on his situation, and just how careless he had been since coming here.
I guess I assumed everything would be fine since I've watched the show… But now that I think about it, there are some pretty dark moments in the series. Edmond thought as he stared at the menu in front of him, quickly picking out a basic meal to satisfy his needs. And Considering its Erigor, It might be smart to get Team Natsu involved. Despite his earlier thoughts, he couldn't help but feel slightly giddy about being able to meet the legendary team. Honestly, I probably only need Erza, but it never hurts to get all of them involved. His thoughts were broken by the waitress that came to take his order. Thankfully the interaction was short and sweet, even if the waitress had been a little flirtatious.
"I guess Harry was right… like he typically is." Edmond said quietly as he thought about the one of the last things he and his friend had talked about. Now that he knew, he could practically feel the stares of some of the women in the restaurants, and honestly wishing he didn't. For how smart Harry is though, why wasn't he more cautious? Pot, meet kettle. I'm no less guilty than he is in that regard, especially considering I know that kind of dangers that exist. It's too late now I suppose. Edmond thought as a slight depression entered his mind, making him frown deeply.
Once his food arrived, he ate quietly as he continued to wonder how else he might be able to use his magic, and hopefully get his friend out of the situation he was currently in.
The Train ride to magnolia had been uneventful as the vehicle brought Edmond to his destination. The crowd busily flooded out and once Edmond had stepped off, he instantly recognized the station, the area almost being a surreal replication of the anime, but looking realistic. It was both strange and satisfying for him to see it like it is. Nevertheless he moved his way out of the station and was able to rather easily spot a familiar peak of the fairy tail guild hall. The building in the original state before the phantom lord arc. He began to move towards the building at a brisk pace.
"Alright, so it's definitely before Phantom lord, but by how long? Am I at a point before Lucy ever shows up? Maybe." Edmond said quietly to himself as he walked along Magnolia's streets. "But what if I'm even earlier in the series, like, before Erza became an S-Class mage or something!?" That particular thought left him as quickly as it came however, as he remembered just who he had dealt with just yesterday. "No way, Erigor is around, and presumably not with the eisenwald guild, so it's at least after the lullaby arc. That narrows the current time by a lot actually." Edmond said to himself as, before he knew it, he was before the recognizable entrance to Fairy Tail.
As he approached the building, he began to feel a bit of nostalgia. Gosh, I feel like it's been so long since the guild hall looked like this. I never really considered how short of a time this version of it was around for compared to the others. As he continued onward, he found himself in a sudden state of urgency. I have to remember why it is I came here. My friend's life is on the line. As he walked through the door of the guild hall, he took a brief pause. He found immediately that he recognized most of the faces present, then a couple in particular as he saw Mira and Lucy at the bar in conversation about something. He then proceeded to walk swiftly to the bar, and upon arriving, Mira shifted her gaze to the new arrival. "I need your help." Edmond proclaimed "It's very urgent."
"If you have a request then you are most welcome to post it on the request board over on the wall." Mira directed, gesturing to said board. Lucy looked at Edmond with a bit of a shock, surprised at his appearance.
"There's no time, I came to request this job in person because of its urgency. I have to take a team immediately." As he spoke, He became a little more urgent in his tone, hoping to convey how he felt, and how important this was to him.
"Wow, it must be really urgent if you came here yourself!" Lucy said as she began to involve herself in the conversation. "What happened?" Edmond looked to the blonde, her features easily recognizable to anyone that had even glanced at a poster or ad for the show. He had to pause a bit due to her looks, and the fact she still sounded exactly like the show, but quickly recovered.
"Its… my friend." Edmond said, trying his best to slow down. "He's been captured by bandits led by a guy named Erigor. He's being forced to build some kind of weapon for them, but who knows what they're putting him through." Both Lucy and Mira perked up a bit at the mention of Erigor, with the former becoming more on edge, while the latter seemed to adopt a look of distaste.
"E-Erigor, as in, the former Eisenwald member? The same guy that did a bunch of assassinations and stuff?" Lucy asked tentatively, shaking a little as she remembered her encounters with the dark guild assassin. Mira seemed in contemplation as the blonde asked this.
"I… I guess, he did say that he was hired to kill someone." Edmond said tentatively, not wanting to give away too much of what he knew, but as he thought back to when he saw the scythe-wielder, a convenient string of dialogue came to his mind. "So, I guess you're right." Lucy shook a bit at the information, while Mira only nodded.
"So this is urgent. And what kind of weapon did he want your friend to make?" Mira asked, attempting to get as much information about the job from him as possible.
"All he said was that he wanted one that could destroy a city." Edmond said darkly, making a shiver go up Lucy's back, while Mira's gaze turned sterner. "So please, the mayor of the town said he was willing to pay anything for the job. I need to get my friend back, and I'm definitely going to help anyone that's willing to come along." Edmond said with a sort of resolve he himself had not expected. Mira seemed to smile a bit as he said this, and she nodded assuredly.
"Don't worry, we'll get someone that can help, I'm sure." Mira said confidently, making Edmond breath out a small sigh, even if he didn't have anyone going with him yet.
"Yea, we have plenty of wizards that are willing to help hehe." Lucy said nervously as she shifted to a seat further away from Edmond.
As Lucy said this, an excited-looking pink-haired boy suddenly sprung up from out of nowhere "I'll take the job!" He exclaimed as fire leapt from his mouth. The sudden outburst caused Edmond to jump a little and nearly fall. Mira seemed a bit apprehensive at the boy's outburst, a bit concerned about him taking it.
"Natsu, I'm not sure if that's-" Mira was then cut off.
"Don't sweat it Mira! I've taken care of this guy before, it should be a walk in the park this time!" Natsu flexed his arm as he procured a wide smile, the dragon slayer's words being heard throughout the guild as he yelled. Lucy facepalmed as he said this, obviously already over how the pink-haired boy was acting. Edmond was a bit stunned to see the scene play out, as if the anime itself was playing in front of him with real actors.
Mira frowned slightly "Given that the job hasn't been properly submitted I really shouldn't let you go without an S-class wizard with you as well, but Erza and Mystigan are both on jobs of their own right now. The only one here right now that could go is Laxus." Edmond heard a 'puh' from above them as the name "Laxus" was mentioned. He knew what that meant.
"Ah, we don't need 'em, we got this!" Natsu exclaimed excitedly. And was soon joined by a small blue cat-like creature with white wings and a green knapsack on his back.
"Aye sir!" The cat exclaimed in perfect english, making Edmond stare at the strange creature curiously, knowing it was Happy, but at the same time, still not believing a talking cat to be possible. Natsu then seemed to realize something as he looked at Edmond with a welcoming smile.
"Oh right, never got your name. Mine's Natsu, and this is Happy." Natsu said, pointing to himself and then the blue furred cat being kept afloat by his non-flapping wings. The cat punctuated his introduction with a small 'aye sir' before Natsu looked somewhat expectantly at Edmond. The young man took a moment to shake himself from his stupor before answering.
"Yea, uh, my name's Edmond." He said a bit hesitantly, still a bit mesmerized by speaking to the actual Natsu. "And, like I said before, I really need someone to help me rescue my friend. So if you're willing to take on the job like you said, I'd be really grateful." Edmond said, relief and worry coming to his mind. Relief that someone was going to help, but worry that the person… was Natsu. The dragonslayer looked at him with a neutral look, reading Edmond's face and upon finding whatever he was looking for, or not finding it, he smiled brightly.
"Well then Edmond, you can count on me to get your friend back!" Natsu said confidently, making Edmond chuckle somewhat nervously, hoping someone else would be willing to tag along too.
"Well you guys have fun with that, I really hope you get your friend back safe and sound hehe." Lucy said nervously, as she faced the bar again, suddenly trying to act inconspicuous, but Natsu wouldn't have it.
"Aw come on Lucy, we're a team! We gotta stick together. Plus, he really needs our help with this." Then a thought came to Natsu. "How much are we getting paid anyway?" Facing Edmond, he asked this, and the black-haired man hummed.
"The mayor didn't specify a price, instead he offered to pay double the fair price for a quest like this. So take that as you will, I'm not sure what that would equate to." Edmond said as he thought for a moment, but Natsu simply pumped his fist.
"All right! That settles it then, we're taking the job! C'mon Lucy, lets go!" Natsu said as he grabbed the blonde from her seat and began walking quickly towards the door. Lucy's cries of resisting were not heeded as Natsu and Happy both practically and literally flew out the door.
"Hey! Wait up!" Edmond cried as he made to follow them, trying to keep up with the excited dragonslayer. Mira only sighed as she watched them run off, hoping that they wouldn't get into too much trouble.
Arriving at the train station was a short affair, as Edmond, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy all arrived at the large building. Although there were now quite a few people piled outside of the station, all in line to get to the trains. Natsu grumbled something under his breath, and Lucy seemed to eye the crowd curiously. Edmond was about to ask what was going on, but a man in a conductor's uniform began to speak up.
"Attention everyone! It seems a large section of the tracks leading outside of magnolia have been severely damaged! I regret to inform you that we will not be taking any more passengers, and all trains have been delayed until the tracks are fixed." The conductor's speech was met with shouts of outrage, annoyance, and defiance, with the exception of one.
"All right!" Natsu yelled out happily. "No Train ride for me! Woo!" Edmond merely chucked at Natsu's antics, as he knew that the dragon slayer had horrible motion sickness. Lucy on the other-hand…
"No!" Lucy exclaimed, horror settling on her face. "Don't tell me we have to walk all the way there!? I can't walk all that way!" She cried in misery, if in a slightly over-dramatic style. Natsu put a friendly arm around her shoulders, and smiled brightly.
"Don't worry about it Lucy! This just means we'll have more time to enjoy the scenery!" Natsu said with excitement, but Lucy sent him a death glare, which he heartily ignored.
"You're just happy you won't be on a vehicle." Happy chimed in helpfully. Edmond figured that something like this would happen. Although, is it because of pure bad luck, or did Erigor have something to do with this? Edmond thought suspiciously as he watched the crowd calm down slightly, but not by much. "So that means we'll have to get to Ginville on foot." Happy continued, looking at Edmond.
"It would seem that way." Edmond replied, a sigh escaping his lips. If we follow the tracks, though, we may be able to find out how this happened. Edmond walked towards the edge of the station, looking on towards the railroad.
"Hey, where ya going? The road's that way!" Natsu called to Edmond who turned to him.
"I think our best bet would be to follow the tracks. It may not be the normal way, but I think it might be quicker" The dark haired man responded "Besides, maybe we can figure out what happened to the track."
"Thats not a bad Idea! I've never really tried that before. C'mon Lucy, Edmond's got the right idea!" He said as he jogged after the man. Lucy looked at them incredulously.
"But thats going to be even harder than a normal trail!" Her pleas were once again ignored as the males continued their trek in following the train tracks. "Ugh! Why am I always the one that has an issue with these kinds of things?" She asked herself tiredly as she reluctantly followed them.
Edmond had been focused on followed the tracks for quite a while, occasionally glancing at the scenery around him, but otherwise staying focused. So when Natsu suddenly spoke out to him, he jumped a bit.
"So are you a wizard?" Natsu asked, hands behind his head as they walked.
"Well, in a sense you could say that." Edmond responded to the question, scratching the back of his head. "I use magic, so I'm a wizard, but I'm not a member of a guild." Natsu hummed after he said that, before continuing his questioning.
"So what kind of magic do you use?" Natsu asked curiously. Edmond glanced back at the dragon slayer with a sheepish smile.
"Its uh, cosmic make magic. It allows me to create things out of cosmic energy." Edmond said as he allowed some of his magic to release from his left hand, a small shower of cosmic sparks flying out. Natsu, Lucy, and Happy all seemed intrigued by the sparks that he showed, and curious about the magic itself.
"Cosmic make? How does that work?" Lucy asked curiously as she involved herself in the conversation. Happy put a paw on his chin as he thought about such possibilities.
"Can you make fish?" Happy asked innocently
"Is that all you think about?" Lucy asked in exasperation.
"To be honest, I don't really know how it works." Edmond admitted "In fact, I don't really know much about it at all." The other three stared at the wizard curiously at this new information. "It just kinda comes naturally, and I've been experimenting with it ever since I discovered it to find out what all I can do with it."
"Thats strange." Lucy observed. "I mean, how long have you been using magic?" She asked, making Edmond freeze up a bit, considering the best way to answer the question. Okay, think, how am I going to tell them I've only had this magic for like, a week? Edmond thought to himself, before he turned his head to answer.
"Well, I've only been able to use magic for… about a week." The sudden and blunt answer seemed to shock the two fairy tail wizards as their jaws dropped at the revelation. Okay, kinda expected that, but best to be… mostly honest. Edmond thought as he cringed a bit at their reactions. "Its a little complicated, but basically I've always thought that I didn't have any magic potential. Every different kind of magic I tried seemed to result in failure, until I found out about cosmic make magic. I tried it on a whim, and it just… worked."
"Whoa, really?" Natsu asked in amazement, now staring at their new companion in slight awe.
"Uh, yea, it took a while to get the stance right, but I eventually found the right one and it worked." Edmond said nervously with a chuckle.
"That's pretty cool." Natsu said distantly.
"If a little weird." Happy chimed in, flying up to Edmond's right side, and facing him.
"Yea, really weird." Lucy said a bit suspiciously, while not an inherently paranoid person, Lucy found the story of him suddenly finding the right magic to use one day suspicious. She raised her eyebrow, but said nothing more about it, deciding to let it drop for the moment. They continued on as Natsu and Happy asked Edmond all about his magic, And the dark-haired man even demonstrated some of his creations, but only briefly. Lucy appreciated the flashiness of the magic, believing it to be rather pretty, but decided not to involve herself too much. Especially considering she was focusing on just keeping up with them, the walk quickly taking a tole on her feet.
"Wait up, look ahead." Edmond said as he saw something in the distance. As he took a better look, it was a crew of workers, apparently observing the track. The completely broken and mangled portion of it at least. "That must be why the trains aren't running." He said to his companions as they drew nearer.
"No kidding." Happy said as he flew up a little higher than the rest of them, getting a better view of the damage, seeing that a rather large portion of the track was completely broken apart with broken tracks and bent rails.
"Do you think Erigor could have done this?" Lucy asked as they all paused.
"Now that you say that, there's a real possibility. But that means he knew I came here… which means I was followed!" Edmond said, holding his head in shock, Natsu crossing his arms.
"That must mean he's expecting us…" Lucy added with a gulp. Edmond could only nod mournfully. If he knows, then what's he going to do to Harry? I honestly don't want to know. Edmond thought worryingly, concern for his friend growing even stronger.
"Then we should move even faster!" Natsu urged, prompting Edmond to nod determinedly and Lucy to moan remorsefully as they all continued to follow the tracks, on their way to Clover City, and then to Ginville.
The first thing that Harry registered was the feeling of being carried over someone's shoulder, the dull pain forming on his midsection where he was mounted on someone's shoulder. However due to the bobbing, and the fact that his head was still sore and spinning from the strike earlier, he soon drifted back into an unwilling unconsciousness.
The next time he awoke, his thoughts began to spin as he realized he was laying down somewhere, on something very uncomfortable. Damn it Harry! Why did you let this happen!? We should have been on guard after the first attack! Becoming a guard for a village!? Why did I listen to Edmond? Because he's my best friend and he knows the most about this world… damn it, me. His thoughts swarmed him as he berated himself for the lack of processing he had been doing the last few days. Certainly, he had been learning plenty about the world and it's magic, but there were more pressing matters at hand when he was doing so.
"Wake up." The simple command was obviously directed at him. Harry attempted to move his limbs, but his entire body was still completely wrapped in vines, with only his head exposed to the elements. He opened his eyes, being welcomed by both the sight of dusk, and Erigor's face right above him. Upon seeing his eyes, Erigor smiled maliciously. "Good little fly." Fly? The fuck? Is he a spider or something now? Well, I am wrapped up like a cacoon. "Thought I'd get a few things straight before I took you to your little workshop." He said, moving away, and as Harry followed his form, he noticed an old run down fort of some kind not too far from him. Next to the fort was an old, but rather large, wooden building that looked to be some form of storehouse. Surrounding both structures, and extending past Harry's field of view was a tall wooden log wall, each log ending in a spike, similar to old medieval defences.
"And what is there to get straight?" Harry asked curiously from his position, taking note of the bandits around them, most of them walking around, doing chores or tending to wounds within the area. Only a few were nearby to listen to the conversation, including the wizard that could conjure the vines he was now entrapped in.
"The weapon you said you could make. What exactly are we talking about here? Because I want specifics before I let you start working in our warehouse." Erigor said with a threatening tone, Harry doing his best to keep a straight face during his talk. "So. Tell me about what you can make for us."
"I said I could make you a weapon, you were the one to specify what kind. 'A weapon that can destroy a city' isn't very specific, and is going to take a lot of time to make." Harry began, establishing with Erigor that he was a pragmatist, and trying his best to be as straight faced as possible. I need him to believe I'll go along with what he wants, a detailed explanation of a device is perfect for that. Then I can begin to plot my escape. Harry thought somewhat devilishly. "But it's possible, it all depends on what you want. It would be easy to make a detonatable bomb. Have one of your guys sneak it into the city, and then you use a device to detonate it, but it's a one-time use." Harry offered, but Erigor shook his head and a snarl appeared on his face.
"No, not a simple bomb. As appealing as that might sound, I want to be able to use this device regularly, and not put my guys at risk while doing it." Erigor said, and Harry was rather impressed that he would think about his men in such a way, the wizards around him seemed to think the same as they looked to their boss with admiration. "Its hard to find wizards to do the kind of dirty work they do. Anyway. Next!" He said annoying, glaring at Harry.
"Alright, well, given your specifications, how about a magical missile system? Something that can fire ranged magical attacks from even miles away, all targeted with something akin to a global positioning system. Perhaps a drone to accompany it so it can get an accurate view of the target, and then an AI to calculate the distance fr-"
"Get to the damn point egghead!" Erigor finally shouted, having grown more upset with their captive the more he rambled. Harry glared at him for being interrupted, but realized he couldn't exactly afford to upset him anymore.
"The point is that I can make a weapon that can fire magical projectiles capable of leveling a city from miles away. Is that better?" Harry groaned in annoyance, and Erigor hummed as he listened, trying to remember the rant from earlier and pick out the parts he understood.
"That'll do, but make it one missile or whatever. One shot, one city." Erigor demanded, and Harry merely nodded, but said nothing in return. "Release him, he's harmless now." As he said that, the vines around Harry suddenly withered and died, covering the man with brown dead pieces of plant. He got up carefully, eyeing the bandits around him. He felt two arms grab his own arms roughly from behind. "You'll be working in that warehouse over there, we'll give you materials, feed you, but we'll also be coming regularly to check on your work." Erigor explained as Harry was more or less hauled off to the building. "And work fast." The assassin finished on that note, the threat being wordlessly carried.
Upon reaching he building, and practically being thrown inside, Harry noticed just how muggy and stiff the air was, and how a good portion of the space had no floor, and instead relied on the dirt ground. The walls had several holes in them, but the space was nearly completely empty. A few crates of what seemed to be scrap pieces of wood and metal were present, but that was it.
"What if I need to use the bathroom, and what about a table to work on?" Harry asked the two men, who looked at each other curiously seemingly only now realizing that their captive would have such needs. They glanced behind them at an old outhouse, just as a larger man stepped outside of it, making a 'phew' sound as he left. Harry grimaced as the two men pointed their thumbs over to it. One of them walked over to where a spare low sitting table was, and casually picked it up, and began walking back. "And what exactly was this building used for before? Or was it always this empty?"
"You sure ask a lot of questions." The bandit that had remained commented, eyeing Harry suspiciously. "It used to contain a bunch of bricks and stuff they used to make that fort, but at some point this place was run over and everything in it was looted. Everything we have is in the fort, and we used all the leftover bricks to repair what we could." He said rather casually, and at that point the other bandit had returned, walked inside the warehouse, and set the table down inside.
"I guess that'll do then… But it'll be slow with just me working." Harry said as he crossed his arms, noting just how uncomfortable his clothes were becoming from having worn them for so long.
"Oh don't worry, you'll get some help." The one that had carried the table commented with a sly grin, causing Harry to raise his brow suspiciously.
"And try not to think about any rescue party coming either…" The other continued, supposedly trying to intimidate Harry into obedience. "Cause we got something that'll make sure no one comes lookin' for you." he said ominously, making Harry wonder if they were going to destroy the town anyways, despite his and Erigor's agreement. Wouldn't be surprised… but it makes me feel horrible that buying them just a little time was all I could do. Harry thought regrettably as he looked to the ground. The bandits snickered before they reached over to the pair of barn doors to the warehouse and pushed them close, leaving Harry in the darkness of the building by himself, with only a few rays of dim sunshine of the dusk to illuminate his surroundings.
"I guess I'll… do something then." He said a bit miserably as he went over to one of the crates and began to look through it, spotting a few rolls of paper, and a few pencils he could use. He picked up a small square piece of wood that seemed to have some rough edges. Nevertheless he began to enchant it, his magic lighting up his hand and part of the block. Once he was done with the simple enchantment, he adjusted it, and the block began to emit a soft glow. Already though he could tell he only had a few more of those in him. It probably doesn't help that I'm not being specific about the amount of magic that the enchantment absorbs, but what am I supposed to measure it in? Watts? I don't know how much a Watt is, so how would an enchantment know? Magic? He considered that possibility, but then shook his head. Maybe, but I shouldn't rely on magic to give me all the answers. I need to develop a measuring system, or if possible use a system that already exists, like Joules. "Yea, that might be possible. Maybe…" At that, he set the block on the table, and began to use the paper to draw out a possible design for the weapon, basing it off of a modern SAM system.
"I need to at least be able to produce something that looks like what I'm designing. Then I can set any plans for escape elsewhere." Harry said silently to himself as he continued to draw out dimensions, briefly looking around but soon realizing that all of these measurements were more or less useless considering he had no tape measure, nor any form of measuring tool. It would all be guesswork and done by eye. "Damn it." Harry said openly, realizing he was going to have to be careful with his work so as to not make it lopsided or top-heavy. "Oh well I guess. I'll ask for something that can measure distance when they visit me next." He said to himself, before returning to his table.
Harry sighed as he sat down and began to write down enchantments to put on the various parts of the weapon. Planning ahead would be best so I don't waste any magic energy. And maybe make these enchantments easier to make and more efficient for me… Harry thought as he wrote down potential enchantments, occasionally having to erase parts of it and write something that could be better or more efficient. Then the barn doors opened again, and Harry now realized as he looked away from his light, that sunlight no longer peeked through the walls and roof, and instead only a soft moonlight did.
"We got you some helpers." a voice said, Harry recognizing it as the bandit that carried the table for him. four new figures entered the room, all of them different sizes. Harry grabbed the radiating block next to him, and adjusted the enchantment so it was a little brighter. He approached the new figures and gasped at what he saw. The bandit he recognized was behind the three unfamiliar figures, who seemed much too young to be in a place like this.
The one in the center was a young girl, most likely 14 or 15 years of age, and holding each of her hands on either side were two even younger children. The one on her right was a boy, probably around 9 or 10, while on her left was the youngest, another girl, appearing to be only 5 or 6. Harry stared at them, complete shock on his face, as he saw their clothing was ragged and they looked to be miserable. They all had brown hair, done up in simple ways, but enough to easily distinguish their genders and reveal their faces.
"These three are going to be helping you for the foreseeable future." The bandit said neutrally as he gave the oldest girl a shove, forcing all three of them to step further into the warehouse.
"What the hell?!" Harry asked to no one in particular, causing the children to flinch a bit and the bandit to look at him curiously.
"What?" The bandit asked, seemingly confused about Harry's outburst. Harry though suddenly looked at him with a glare that made even him flinch a bit. Harry continued to glare at him, a sudden great amount of hate in his gaze.
"Why exactly do you have three kids in rags here?" Harry asked with no shortage of venom in his voice. The bandit took a step back, and the children looked confused as they glanced between the two men. "What in the hell are they doing here?" He reiterated, his hand tightening around the block of wood he was holding, seriously considering throwing it at him.
The bandit forcefully grabbed the collar of Harry's shirt, bringing him closer, and forcing the kids to move out of the way. Harry's attempt at intimidation had not worked at all, but the novice wizard held his gaze nonetheless.
"Listen here, I don't know who you think you are suddenly getting an attitude with me, but I sure as hell don't appreciate it." The bandit said with a snarl, Harry's glare edging off slightly, but not going away. "We'll bring out some beds for you and the kids, but remember this:" He leaned in even closer, Harry being able to smell his non-hygienic breath. "We own you now. And you better do as you're told, or else." His threat was followed by Harry being shoved roughly away, landing on his ass in front of the bandit, before he left, slamming the door behind him.
"Damn it." Harry cursed himself quietly, knowing there was nothing more he could do about his situation. I can't even stand up for myself, how can I do it for these kids? He thought to himself miserably. He looked to his right for the persons in question and saw that the boy was now holding the block he had enchanted earlier, something Harry had not realized he had dropped. "Uh, hi." Harry said simply, a little sheepish about them seeing and hearing all of that.
The children remained silent, unsure of how exactly to respond. The oldest snatched the block from the boy's hand, who had been looking at it with slight awe, before she held it out to him, expecting him to take it. Harry stood up, his height easily being a head or so above the oldest. He slowly reached out and took the block from her, himself unsure how best to approach them. Sometimes it sucks to be the oldest in a situation.
"Well, my name is Harrison. You can call me Harry." He offered, squatting down to be on their level, and offering the best smile he could put on. "What are your names?" He asked and for a moment none of them said anything as he put the luminous block down in front of them, acting like a lantern to stand around.
"I'm Madison." The oldest said, her voice strained, but willing. "This is my little brother Jake, and my little sister Sally." She introduced the two younger children, both of them seemingly shying away behind their older sibling at being mentioned. Harry smiled sadly as he nodded. He was about to ask another question when the doors opened again. This time three men were there, one from before, and then two more Harry didn't recognize. The two he didn't know were carrying small beds and brought each in, one was very obviously used, while the other looked as if it had been in storage for years.
"We brought you your beds. Enjoy." The bandit said simply, watching Harry as he watched the bandit back. Once they were gone and had closed the doors again, Harry continued.
"How old are you all?" He asked both with curiosity and concern, wondering just how horrible these people are.
"I'm sixteen, Jake is eleven, and Sally is seven." Madison answered quickly, and Harry once again nodded, his mind hadn't completely betrayed him before. They all look like they've missed a few meals though. That's probably what makes them look younger. Harry thought sadly, and then he stood up, the kid's eyes watching him as he did so.
"Alright then, why don't you three get some rest then. I guess that bed is what you all have been using?" Harry asked, pointing to the bed that looked heavily used, and Madison merely nodded. "Alright then, in the morning, we'll go over some stuff." Harry said as he walked away, taking the luminous block with him to the table. The kids all followed his movements, as if expecting him to do something else. Harry continued to plan, drawing out parts for the weapon, and external components, as well as a potential stabilizing system to combat rough terrain.
He heard the three of them all climb into the same bed, him grimacing at the fact they had to share one bed that looked to be barely big enough to hold himself. Damn, well, just going out of here guns blazing or trying to sneak my way out might not work if it's all three of us. And trying to leave and get to civilization too. I might be able to get us to civilization, but how long would that take? I need a quicker alternative to just walking.
"What if… we didn't have to walk?" Harry asked himself, and while the idea had merits, it wasn't like he could just make a plane or helicopter without everyone realizing it. It would have to be person sized, so maybe a jetpack or hoverbike, or… "A flight suit. Like Iron man, or something akin to it" Harry said to himself, sudden inspiration coming to him from the marvel superhero. It would be tricky, complicated, and dangerous. But it would also be easy to hide, have offensive and defensive capabilities, and would give me an element of surprise. Harry thought to himself, weighing the pros and cons of the idea. "Looks like I'll have to copy a famous superhero icon, but I think it'll be alright." He said to himself as he grabbed a new piece of paper and began work on what would be their ticket out of there.
Author's notes:
Hey guys, Black_Hawk931 here!
Here's another chapter of our collaboration "A Tale of Strangers in a World of Wizards and Guild". We're really enjoying our working on this story, and hopefully you're enjoying it as well.
We've attempted a pace change on this chapter, and we both agree that it seems to have turned out well, and we can't wait to carry on into the next. It appears that our heroes are both caught up in fairly difficult situations, and Harry now has to worry about even more than just getting himself out of his problem.
We're going to do our best to keep the upload schedule as consistent as possible, and fortunately (or rather unfortunately) quarantining has made that a somewhat easier goal to achieve.
But anyways, make sure to stay safe during the hazardous times, and as always..
Thanks for reading!