Disclaimer: I'm not saying it this time!!! NO!!! I refuse!! Don't sue me just because of that!
On the road
The old city
Eruk and Sylphiel managed to escape New Sairaag without notice by the crowd. They walked to the east through the dense forest that separated the towns of New and Old Sairaag. There was a gloomy silence among the two travelers. Both of them thought of the same question but none of them wanted to ask it. The question "Why?" was heavy in the air. They cast a few looks at each other as they walked, to see how the other was doing, but without saying anything. Eruk shot a few glances at Sylphiel, the former shrinemaiden of Sairaag.
She had been crying silently most of the morning. This was the second time she had lost her home and family. True, her uncle did not die as her father did, but she couldn't return to New Sairaag. Her tears had dried on her face. Even if she felt terrible, she tried to be strong, mostly because of Eruk, she wouldn't have him to worry even more about her, than he already did. She looked at him, he was walking, but it was clear to see that his injuries were far from healed. His silvery hair was filled with blood and much of his clothes was torn.
His head hung down, he knew it wasn't his real home he had lost, but it was the only one he could remember. They walked on. "We should head for the ruins of Old Sairaag", Sylphiel finally broke the silence, "they would never expect us to go there". Eruk made a nod "Lead the way", he said. The silence was broken. They didn't say anymore to each other, but the gloomy atmosphere had been pushed back a little.
The forest started to become thin, and the first ruins started to come into sight. Eruk started to walk into the city, but Sylphiel held him back, and shook her head, "the reason I didn't think anyone would follow us here, is that this place is haunted" she said "it should be safe for us to stay here at the outskirts though".
They found an old shed, that seemed like it could be a temporary shelter for the two travelers. They sat down inside the shed. It was Sylphiel, who broke the silence "I knew of the rumors, but I never thought it would get down to this". Eruk could almost sense her sadness, "why didn't you tell me anything Sylphiel?" he asked "I know it wouldn't change much, but at least I would know what to expect".
She looked at him " I'm terribly sorry, I never thought anyone would take their hatred out on you. I would have been able to use an protection spell to escape". Eruk had to agree, he knew her protection magic was strong, but he didn't like to think of her as a target for hatred.
"I know this it tough, but we need to think of our next move, I mean, we can't stay here forever" This time it was Eruk who broke the silence. Sylphiel was thinking for a second "We need to go somewhere safe, even if they should send people out to search for us" Sylphiel smiled a little "We should go to Seyruun". Eruk looked puzzled "Seyruun?" he said "I have heard it's a large kingdom of white magic, but other than that I know nothing of it. Wouldn't it be stupid of us to go to such a big city? That would be the first place I would look for a couple of fugitives accused of destroying an entire city". Sylphiel couldn't help smiling "I know, and under normal circumstances I would agree with you. But, you remember the girl Amelia, I have told you about?" Eruk nodded. "Well, she was there when Sairaag was destroyed, and she is the princess of Seyruun".
Eruk's face was pure surprise, he would never have thought someone like the purple haired girl knew a real princess". Both of them started to laugh. " Why haven't you told me Amelia was a princess, Sylphiel". He thought he knew most of her tales, but apparently she hadn't told him everything. "I'm sorry" she said "but, none of us ever thought of her as a princess. Well…. perhaps miss Lina did, when she needed someone to cover her expenses". Eruk understood, it seemed to be a normal thing to think of a friend and travelling companion as that, and not their position in the society.
They stopped talking for a while. "You know", it was Sylphiel who broke the silence, "we should start preparing for the night". Eruk didn't understand. It was pretty early, it couldn't be later than maybe 3 or 4 in the afternoon. He pointed these things out to her. Sylphiel didn't agree with him. "We need to gather enough firewood to last all night, and we need to barricade this house too". Eruk stood up and stretched "I get the firewood part, but why do we need to secure the area like that?" it just didn't make sense to him. "You remember, how I told you this area was hunted?" Sylphiel tried to explain. Eruk made a quick nod, it wasn't as if he had a bad memory. He knew something had to have happened to him six months ago, to make him forget his past, but apart from that he never had any trouble remembering things.
Sylphiel went on " It's not just a rumor, this place really is populated whit living death. They are not the smartest of enemies, but we wouldn't want to be surprised by them". Eruk stood up, and then made a bow to her "I bow to your wisdom, miss know-it-all Sylphiel. It shall be as you command". Sylphiel blushed, she wasn't used to this kind of reaction.
He took her hand "come on. Don't you dare to just sit and watch me do all the work". She got up and the two of them got to work. Sylphiel gathered firewood, and Eruk started to look for something they could use to fortify themselves with. He found some old doors. They would be perfect. He started to drag them back to the shed, they had chosen to be their home for the night. Sylphiel was already back, she had gathered quite a big supply of wood, it was sure to last all night.
It was a fairly simple matter to cover the two windows with the doors he found. The door to the shed itself was fine. They were pretty sure nothing would sneak in on them, without them hearing anything. Eruk went outside to see how the house looked from the outside. On his sign, Sylphiel cast a light spell. He had done a pretty good job at fortifying the shed. Even the light spell could not be seen easily from the outside.
Night came. They had made a small fire, just large enough to give off the heat and light they needed. They took turns at sleeping. It was Eruk's turn to sleep. Sylphiel was bored, there was nothing to do. She looked at her companion, he had changed quite a bit in the time she had known him, both in looks and personality. He had let his silvery white hair grow, it wasn't as long as her own long, but still long enough to touch his shoulders. He had put on some muscles, thanks to Gen's training. In personality, he had grown to be more confident, and he was quite trustworthy. She was glad, that he had chosen to follow her, now that she needed a friend the most.
He almost reminded her of Gourry. Gourry, she hadn't thought of him for a while. She wondered what he and miss Lina was doing now. She hadn't heard from them for so long. She still though of Gourry once in a while. She had once loved him, but seeing how he and Lina had grown close, she had tried to forget about the blonde swordsman. She hoped he and Lina were happy. That would be enough for her
Her thoughts were interrupted by a scratching sound from outside. She rushed over and woke up Eruk. "Huh? Sylphiel? What's the matter?". He was barely awake. "Shhh" She put her hand over his mouth, "there is something outside". He went silent. Now the both of them could hear the sound, almost like someone, or something, was trying to get inside. They moved silently to gather what few belongings they had. The door they had placed in front of the left window was starting to break. They knew it was only a matter of time before whatever was outside got in. The barrier shattered. From were they were at the back of the cabin, they could see 3 skeletons, hacking away at the last pieces of their barrier.
"This does not look good" Eruk was slowly backing away. Sylphiel agreed, knowing more about monsters that Eruk did. "Skeletons usually hunt in large packs, these 3 are probably just the beginning", She explained "I think we should get out of here". Eruk could see that she was scared, she was shaking, and her voice was trembling. Eruk wasn't too comfortable about the situation either. The first skeleton now climbed into the room.
"This is it, no more thinking. I just have to trust my training". Eruk rushed towards the monster. He didn't use his blades just yet. It took a swing at him with a rusty sword. It wasn't that fast. He dodged the blow. Then made a punch to the head of the skeleton. Just before his fist connected with the sickly yellow bones of the skull, he made the blades appear. The skull exploded in a cloud of yellow dust. Sylphiel had moved to the door. She looked out. She could see several shadows moving towards them. There wasn't much time before they would get there. " ERUK" she shouted "THIS WAY! We have to get out of here now." He hurried to her side. They ran. Eruk took care of the skeletons that appeared in front of them.
"they aren't that tough" he thought "but I wouldn't want to be surrounded by these guys" He looked behind him, a few arrows took flight. Sylphiel stopped running, turned around and made a defensive barrier. The arrows fell to the ground. She ran on, and caught up to Eruk, who had finished of a few skeletons. They could see the sun started to rise on the eastern sky. The monsters stopped, they hated the sun. Eruk and Sylphiel kept on running. They reached the other edge of Old Sairaag. "looks like we are safe, for the moment" Eruk said. "Yes, I hope you are right" Sylphiel agreed. They started to walk on, just in case. "You know" Sylphiel said after awhile "This was your first real battle, you did great". Eruk smiled "I don't know about that" he said "I'm afraid I took a few hits". Sylphiel stopped. " Why didn't you tell me? If your were hurt, you should tell me". Eruk shook his head " no need to worry about it, I'm fine". She didn't seem convinced. She looked him straight in the eyes " Sit down. Now!" it was a command.
He sat down, Sylphiel kneeled down beside him. Her hands were glowing. Eruk could feel that he got better, that girls healing magic was really something. He had tried to be healed by her a few times, but it seemed to amaze him every time. "I was wondering" he said "that magic stuff, you think I could do it too?".
She just looked at him in stunned silence. "I was just thinking" Eruk explained "you can heal me if I get hurt, but if something should happen to you I wouldn't be able to do anything about it". She looked to be deep in thought. After a while she said " I have thought of that problem too, and I sense the power of magic in you, but I'm not a very good teacher". He knew that the girls self-esteem was very low, it was only in times of danger that she got more faith in herself.
"You don't have to worry about your abilities as a teacher, Sylphiel, I'm not asking to be a fully fledged sorcerer. I just want to learn a few tricks. If you think I have what it takes, that is". Sylphiel giggled at his formal style of asking. "I guess, I could give it a try" she finally said "even though miss Amelia would do better than me as a teacher".
He placed a hand on her shoulder "Perhaps that would be best" Eruk agreed " But, like I said, I don't need a formal teacher, just a friend to show me a few tricks". Sylphiel was still giggling "Ok ok I surrender, perhaps I could try to teach you some basic spells".
Authors notes:
Hey, another review!! You think it would be cool If Eruk got pissed at Xellos, do you Ramaon? Well, to tell the truth, that will happen. And trust me it won't be pretty!
That being said, on to this chapter. Eruk and Sylphiel are heading for Seyruun? Will they get help once they get there, or will they run into more trouble on the way? See ya in the next chapter. And keep those reviews coming, it's great to know that all of my work is appreciated.
