I knew I couldn't trust that old geezer, I thought as I threw him a look full of disbelief.

And for once, the short, distrusting warrior and I were in complete agreement.

"Her – coming with us to – have you completely lost your mind?!" Asterix all but shouted in the old man's face – looking like an angry terrier more than anything in the process. But Panoramix merely raised one eyebrow in response.

"Not yet, at any rate. But it seems to be like you two could benefit with a little bit of company on the way. There is still so much us gauls do not know about the world beyond these protected walls."

"I have to say that I agree with our druid – and he is never wrong, is he?" The chief said, making Asterix growl lowly in response, before he stalked off from the crowd with a confused Obelix in tow.

I watched them go, waiting until they'd left to have my say in the matter.

"But sir, perhaps it's not the best-"

"You would have gone after them yourself anyway, correct?"

I frowned at Panoramix.

"How do you know that?"

"I know your type, traveler. Despite how you make yourself seem."

I drew back at that and refused to answer.

He was right of course. But only because knew exactly who their attackers were, and how much danger they were really in.

I tried to get up the following morning as early as I could, intending on heading off without the two. Who cares about what an obviously senile druid thinks? I could handle the matter by myself.

But as I walked out of the ironworker's cottage, I saw that they were already waiting by the gate. But I had the distinct impression that it was not because they were being courteous. Promises seemed to matter in this village. As I walked up to them, Asterix was polishing his feathered helmet in a detached manner and Obelix was playing with his tiny dog, and for a second I truly felt the truth of the statement "ignorance is bliss".

"Nice morning, isn't it?" I asked.

"It could have been nicer." Was Asterix curt reply, without even looking my way. But somehow, we started off on our journey without any bigger insults thrown at each other.

Great, now I had to somehow ditch them along the way. Because I had lied before – the children would not be taken to Rome.

Obelix was a bigger conversationalist, and told me that the pair of them had been to Rome many times before, as well as Africa, Britannia and a strange new land across the oceans.

"What did you do in all these places?" I asked, curious. Obelix shrugged his massive shoulders, like a trip halfway around the world was all in a day's work.

"Why, we punched the living daylights out of people who weren't very nice!" he exclaimed with pride. I blinked, coughed, and tried not to laugh.

"I see. And how were you not stopped?"

He looked at me with big eyes.

"Don't you know? Everyone in our village just drinks a little sip of the magic potion and poof! We can take on anybody. But me? I'm not even allowed a taste of it."

I tried to process all this – surely, this must be a joke.

"And why not?" I asked, playing along.

But Obelix didn't answer – Asterix did. Speaking for the first time in the few hours we'd been walking along the path in the dense forest. But he spoke over his shoulder, and didn't turn to look at me fully.

"Because he fell in the cauldron as a babe, that's why. He's got enough superhuman strength in him to last a lifetime."

I snorted and shook my head.

"Right. And you expect me to believe all this?" I asked. This time he really did look at me – dark eyes searching.

"Is that not why you came to our village in the first place? "

What was this guy's problem?! I walked ahead of him and blocked his path, forcing him to stop walking.

"Like I told you before, no. Even if I believed you, which I don't – a magic potion would do nothing to solve my problems."

A little too late I realized what I had tacitly admitted. Asterix looked up at me – and for once, there was no anger or dark suspicion in his eyes, but a strange curiosity.

That was when Obelix suddenly started shouting, jumping up and down on the spot like an excited child, pointing at the road ahead of us.

"Look! Romans!"

Sure enough, there was a blockade on the road ahead, guarded by five Roman soldiers. Immediately my hand went to the handle of the knife at my belt, and I edged towards the grass – away from the path where they could see us.

But the two gauls seemed hardly fazed at all by this – in fact, Obelix made a mad dash ahead of us. I stared after him – wondering if he was either very brave or very foolish. But then a short moment later, I saw him reach the first roman and punch him so hard, the man went flying into the bushes.

"Well, we could use a little exercise I suppose." Asterix said, shrugging before he reached for the flask at his hip and took a swig from it.

I opened my mouth to say that maybe it wasn't the best thing for him to get involved at all, and that getting drunk wouldn't solve this – but then kept it open and said nothing as his eyes began to glow a golden yellow hue.

Then his whole body sparked, like he had been directly hit by lightening – it rippled through him, rather than harming him at all. I took several steps back, watching in shock.

Then just like nothing of the ordinary had happened, he wiped his mouth quickly. When he noticed that I was not anywhere near him, he turned back to look at me. He smirked, and there was a strange energy about him now that was not there before.

"You coming or what?"