The Curse from Another Land.
Caeli and Albion wandered together close to a path leading to a nearby village. Despite them being tired, they continued to walk, not stopping for anything.
The girl turned to look behind her to ensure they weren't being followed - "Still nothing. Good, we're safe for now" - despite her knowing the teleportation spell better than her siblings and getting both her and Albion as far as possible, she was still weary. This land was still unknown to them, after all.
"Everything should be fine, right? We're as far from them as possible" - Albion said. Caeli simply spared a look at her brother before looking towards the village.
"I hope it is…" -
The two made their way inside, finding the inhabitants performing their nightly duties, including preparing the tribute for Morgan's army, since they would come in a few minutes to collect it. After seeing how everyone was in high spirits, they decided to see if they could stay in for the night.
In the center, they found a strange scene happening. A man, dressed in black and blue robes with Morgan's symbol on it, was preaching to the townsfolk about a curse that came from a land far away. Curious, the pair got closer to listen.
"Beware, o dear citizens, for a curse has come to our glorious kingdom, and it intends to ruin our everlasting peace!" - he preached to whoever was willing to listen - "The Army of Beasts fought the Harbingers of said curse, yet they failed in capturing them" -
With that last mention, Caeli and Albion realized that the curse referred to themselves and their siblings.
"Let's go, I'm not interested in hearing any of this anymore" - Caeli grabbed Albion by the hand and both left, arriving at the town's inn a few minutes later. Since they had no money, Caeli used an illusory spell taught by her mother to make the innkeeper believe they were paying the right amount to stay for a night.
From the comfort of their room, the siblings saw as Morgan's army came to collect the tribute before leaving, as they had more important duties to attend to. With them out of the way, it seemed like the pair could rest easy.
However, things are never so easy, aren't they?
A few hours later and once the two were already asleep, they were suddenly woken up by a loud roar followed by the screams of the terrified villagers.
"What? What's going on?" -
Looking out the window, Caeli saw what was causing all the chaos. A horde of wyverns came flying from a nearby forest and started attacking the villagers. Their farming tools were barely of use against the beasts, and they were slowly getting overwhelmed. Without the soldiers, they would quickly fall.
"Can't even have a peaceful night now can we?" - Caeli said as she made her weapon appear in her hand, with Albion doing it soon after - "Cover me" -
"Consider it done" -
Opening the window and jumping through it, Caeli landed in front of a villager that was about to get killed by a wyvern before killing the creature with a single swing of her weapon, crushing its head instantly.
Without waiting, the girl rushed against the other attackers and used her Anfaid Mord to dispatch them quickly, with Albion killing the ones that managed to dodge his sister's strikes with his powerful arrows.
As one of the wyverns tried to bite her, Caeli dodged the hit and slammed her hammer into the ground before chanting something only she could hear, and creating waves that expanded all around the village, covering the wyverns in a blue glow.
Albion descended from his position and walked towards his sister - "I thought you couldn't use that without mom's help" -
"I thought the same, but I had to try it. Good thing it worked" -
The girl used one of the skills given to her by Morgan, Harmony in Suffering, which allowed her to manipulate the bodies of those caught in the waves emitted by Anfaid Mord, although for this specific circumstance she made sure to only affect the wyverns and not anyone else.
Albion turned to look at his sister, noticing that she was sweating and her arms were slightly shaking. Holding Harmony in Suffering was tough for her without Morgan's help - "I think it's about time" -
"Yeah… You're right. Now, Eins!" -
With the shout, the blue glow around the wyverns turned red and they started to shriek in pain before being crushed by the attack, spilling their blood everywhere as the dead bodies fell to the ground. Albion turned around, not wanting to see the scene.
The villagers slowly came out from their homes to see the siblings standing next to the bodies of the dismembered wyverns. Caeli and Albion met their eyes with theirs, but their answer was not something the pair expected.
"The Cursed Ones!" - one of the men in the village yelled, surprising the two.
"What? But we…" -
"They're the Cursed Ones! Kill them!" - another man yelled.
"Deliver them to Queen Morgan! Now!" -
"They deserve death!" -
"You don't belong in this world!" -
The screams of hate slowly made the two back off as the mob moved slowly towards them, until they made a full sprint against the two.
Not wanting to hurt the civilians, Caeli activated Harmony in Suffering again, stopping them in a second.
"And here I thought we could at least stay hidden. But how did they…" -
"I'm not sure, but they only acted that way after we used our weapons. Maybe they were told by the army… But it's too little time…" -
Trying to comprehend how the villagers would have known who they were, they were distracted by the sound of a horn in the distance and several footsteps quickly approaching them.
"Don't kill them, just incapacitate them" -
"I wasn't planning to, don't worry. Drei!" -
After the shout, the stuck villagers fell asleep immediately, as Harmony in Suffering had knocked them out with its third command. With the footsteps getting closer and closer, the siblings ran away as fast as they could while they looked for a hiding spot.