The next day the students didn't have school so Warde decided this would be a good time to take me to town to go by some protection. Not that kind but another one for me.
"Knowing what I know from you now. You are going to get into another fight. So I think that getting you a weapon of some kind will keep people at bay at least." his explanation was. We got on horses and he led us into a small town nearby. The entire time there was a feeling that seemed to be drawing me somewhere, like a light tug of rope.
As we entered into town we first head to some book stores and we stocked up on wind magic books like, 'The Wind Mages' Combat Basics' and 'From Wind Mage to Wind Titan'. I guessing these were for obvious reasons, but it didn't stop me from chuckling. It was like the small kid who buys karate books so he can learn to fight. After we were done buying those thing we went to our first weapon shop.
"Welcome good sir." said the store clerk as we entered.
"Good morning sir, I am here to buy a weapon." Warde said as we walked in. Of course your here to buy a weapon, you cone to a weapon shop for that reason.
"Of course sir." the clerk said, "But if I might say so myself, you seem to be bit small for any weapon here." Warde gave an angry look and pointed to me saying "It not for me, it's for my familiar here."
"A human familiar! I haven't heard of that one. Is that even possible?"
"Yes it is. Now can we get going?" Warde said impatiently. I felt that now was the time to pipe up and so I said to the group at large, "I dont think I will use a weapon sorry." Warde funded to me with a dumbfounded expression and said "Do you actually think that I will let you go around without a weapon?"
"No but I don't want one. I can't use weapons and even if I did learn, I would eventually fall back to my hands anyway." I said.
"Well then what do you want because your getting something to protect yourself with and thats not an options!" Warde told me.
As if answering the question, a voice in the back of my head said "Armor," very softly like a whisper. The idea had taken hold of me and I really like it so I voice it, "Maybe some armor"
"Armor? Why armor? That is something I just wouldn't expect from you." Warde said with laugh. I could understand this because I was the guy who not only started the fight but was usually the guy the first punch. Yet something told that this was me, and I agreed with it. Yes, I was the guy who threw the first part but I was just responding to someone else pressure. The fights that I did get into were either because they were picking me for a fight or because a guy was picking on someone else so armor did fit my lifestyle.
"Well yeah, I think it would work. Besides, if I get a good pair of gauntlets it be like having a weapon." I said.
"Well I don't have much but I do have some in the back." the clerk said leading us behind the counter into a another larger room. The room was stuffed with armors and shields, from top to bottom. One wall was devoted to just sets of armor from gold to silver to what looked like scale armor. Another wall was devoted to just individual pieces like pairs of gauntlets, helmets, breast plates, boots and so forth. A third was devoted to shields, large breast plates and a couple sword that look big enough to wreck a decent size car. The last wall as mail order system, where you could design your own armor set from what it's made of to it's design. Saying he had a 'not much' was more or less an understatement. As I looked through all the elections, the sense I felt pulling me was getting more noticeable. I tried a couple gauntlets with helmets but none of them seem to fit right.
"How much are those?" Warde asked the clerk, pointed to the steel helm that look like the ones from 300 and the gauntlets that looked too similar to the Nintendo Power Glove.
"The helmet is 230 gold pieces and the Gloves are 140 gold pieces."
"That much!? For something that feel this uncomfortable." I said.
"Well hurry up and make your choice then, we don't have all day." Warde complained from the other side of the room. I dropped the stuff and began to look at the others.
"Here! Over here! Dammit over here!" I heard a voice say faintly. I turned to where the voice was coming from and asked "Did anyone else hear that?"
"Hear what?" ask Warde. Ok so I guess I am going insane.
"Your not going insane, only you can hear us!"
"Yeah so quit questioning your mental stability and come get us!"
I sighed, trying to understand what was going on. I followed their calls till I found a pair of small old gauntlets, that went half way up my arms. They looked like they were made with a low quality metal and they were rusting every. I wondered if I had picked up the right pair, but this was confirmed when the voice I had been hearing the entire time now sounded like they were right next to me.
"God that took forever!" one gauntlet said.
"I know, I thought he would give up eventually" the other one said.
"Luckily he didn't right?" replied the first.
"Yup" they said to one another. I know this would sound crazy, but I knew which gauntlet each individual voice was coming from. I sighed and turned to the clerk asking, "How much for these?" Warde looks dumbstruck. The clerk said, "I been trying to get rid of those for as long as I had had them. How about 25 gold pieces?"
"What?!"
"That sleezy bastard."
"If he only knew!"
"Well you know I kinda wanna know too!" I said an frustration, then turned to the confused pair of actual people and stopped them by saying, "Not talking to you."
"Well just put us on!"
"God, don't forget to add some magical power."
"You act likes this is your first time!"
"It is!" I yelled back at them putting on the gauntlets. Nothing happened at first so I concluded I was going insane.
"Add the magical power!"
"Just focus your energy outwards towards us and we got the rest." I did what I was asked. Focusing what ever energy they were taking about into my hands. I just thought of fire from the center of my body moving towards the palm of my hands.
"My, he is good at this."
"It's surprising how adept he is on his first try."
Just as I was wondering what was I doing, flames engulfed the gauntlets and a general shock was felt by everyone. The flames began to spread and eventually covered my whole fore arms. Once they reached the top of my elbows they stopped and began to circle my arms like the transport thing from the new Star Trek Movies. Just as I was about to say something the light burnt out to reveal better looking gauntlets. The plates where made from a strong metal that gleamed white. There were inscriptions on the gauntlets, in runic letters. The edges of the plates were lined with a black metal that seems to radiate a strange darkness. The chain mail was a strong looking steel that shined red. It was an interesting transformations as the they also grew in length, the plates reaching up to my elbows without any discomfort what so ever. They looked like the deadric gauntlets from Skyrim, except less pointy and not so black.
"Worth 25 gold pieces now huh?" said the gauntlet on my left hand.
"He was an idiot wasn't he?" said righty.
"I'll say. That was pretty cool." I said a loud, admiring my new gear. I looked to Warde who had a stunned look on his face again, to break him out of it, I called, "Hey Warde pay the nice man, will ya."
"So 25 Gold pieces" he said still not looking away.
"Did I say 25, I meant 2500 gold pieces." the clerk said, obviously stumbling with the lie.
"Seem fit to raise the price now eh?" said lefty.
"I say we don't give him anything! He don't deserve it. It not like we belonged to him anyway!" righty threaten.
"Hey, come on, stop going around changing prices. You said it was 25. We are going to pay you 25. So don't blow this out of proporti-" I wasn't able to finish the word because to emphasize my point I swung my arms out. This was a mistake as the gauntlets accidentally smashed through one of the support beams in the store. I looked at the support beam and then the gauntlets and said out loud in wonder "I didn't even feel the support beam. Fucking shit! This is awesome!" I cheered, swinging my arms in the air.
"25 it is then" Warde said, pulling out the coin sack and handing him the coins. The clerk nodded without looking at him as he watched me shadow box for bit before turning to the damage to the support beam of the establishment.
We left the shop with renewed vigor. As we got on our horses, I could tell Warde was think of a something and decided to cut to the chase, "What you thinking about?"
"Two things actually." he said, "First is how you managed to not only know those gauntlets were magical and in the shop but the fact that you managed to activate the magical properties of them."
"Well believe it or not, but the reason why I knew they were there was because they kept calling to me. And I don't mean like a spiritual sense I mean in the physical sense." he looked at me puzzled and I elaborated, "Ok so you remember when I was talking to myself?" he nodded, "Well I wasn't actually talking to myself then I was talking to lefty and righty here." I lofted up the gauntlets which when I removed had revered back to their original look of being rusty and old.
"We have names you know?" righty said in an angry tone.
"Yeah, it's not like our names are actually 'lefty and righty'!" the left one said.
"Well sorry, I didn't think you would have names. I didn't think armor is usually named." I apologized, Warde look at me confused so I turned to him saying, "They are talking to me right now. They can get quite annoying!"
"Well who are you to call us annoying?!" lefty said perplexed.
"We aren't they ones calling you 'humany'."'
"No but you are cutting into the conversation so let's get this out of the way. What are your names?"
"Well we are the Gemini brothers!" they managed to say in complete unison.
"I am Gemi" the right one said.
"And I am Mini" the left one exclaimed. I thought about for a minute then remembered where I heard the names before, "You mean like the constellation?" there was silence for a couple seconds till they both went, "Oh my god!"
"We hadn't thought about that!" said Gemi
"Uh-Uh, we did even consider it that way!" agreed Mini
"Really?! Did you just decided to make up a name and coincidentally its was the name of one of the major constellations?"
"I guess so." Mini said
"Yeah! What a coincidence huh?" Gemi agreed.
"That's actually pretty funny!" I said laughing.
"Should I be scared right now or not?" Warde asked.
"Oh yeah. Well it turns out that these things can talk in my head and when we got in the shop and started looking for armor they were shouting at me to look at them."
"So they were sentient?"
"Definition please."
"Meaning they had they have their thoughts and emotions."
"Well yes they do."
"So why can only you hear them?" he asked.
"That is a good question." I looked down at the Gemini Brothers, "So why can only I hear you two?"
"Don't know." Gemi said.
"Can't say off the tip of my fingers." Mini said.
"Although you could ask Leo! He should know" Gemi said
"Definitely! If not him than I don't know who can!" Mini agreed.
"Do you have any idea where Leo the helmet might be?" I asked them. Guessing what Leo might be.
"How did he know Leo was the helmet?!" Mini asked
"He must be a genius!" Gemi replied.
"Must be! Mmh-hmm!" Mini agreed.
"Can one of you answer the question!" I said a bit impatiently.
"Well, I can't tell you where he is for certain." Gemi said
"Neither can I, but we can tell you that he is somewhere east." Mini said.
"Well maybe east. East north east"'Gemi elaborated.
"How many pieces are you guys?" I asked somewhat perplexed at the fact that the helmet of the set was some far north.
"Well you got us, which is considered one part. Then there is the helmet, that's Leo." Mini started.
"Then you got the shield, south" Gemi continued.
"And the body armor, which is actually not that far. Somewhere in the west."
"Then the belt which is getting closer."
"And the final part which is the pants. He is way down south" Mini finished
"So this is going to be a very large scavenger hunt eh?" I complained.
"Pretty much!" they said in unison. I groaned and turned to Warde saying, "They don't known why I can really hear them but the one who does know, Leo the helmet, would probably know but he is somewhere else which the didn't tell me."
"We didn't say?!" Gemi asked.
"Well we know!" Mini exclaimed.
"He is somewhere in Germania!" Gemi finished. I told this everything that they had told me to Warde and he look a bit surprised.
"Wow that's pretty far. Why are they so spread apart?" he asked.
"Because good armor has many buyers!" Mini said.
"And eventually some pieces get lost during shipping" Gemi finished. I relayed this to Warde who nodded in understanding, "So if you want to know what going on, then we have to get the helmet. Any idea on what it looks like?"
"No point asking. Its up in Germania so unless we can get an back between school breaks then there isn't a point to be here much longer. Besides, once your all grown up, I think that I can leave this world." I said. Warde gave another nod and we rode into school.
The next day we began Warde's mastery over wind magic. I had decided to ask Sasha for some help in making a sort of outline for how we should go about this. She came up with the idea of dividing it up into three groups; offensive magics, defensives magic, menial magics. The first two groups are self explanatory, the last group was more of an 'everything else' category like sleeping spells, levitations spells and even air walking spells and you can guess who was the guinea pig.
He wasn't bad at all, in fact there were only few instances where he screwed up but they were the worst as instead of anything close to what the book described happening, there was just an explosion.
Training took place at night, as in the morning he was in school learning stuff, while I was exploring my new found gift. Once he was done with his homework, we would go outside train. The first two book we blew as they were thing that he could do in his sleep like; blowing small gust of wind and making the wind harder or softer.
The harder stuff came in the other books that we borrowed from the library. Those books had spells to do everything from levitation too shooting air canons too stoping the flow air around someone entirely. We were on the first spell; how to float and make others around you fly. This was the third day and he was having a little trouble as I was exploding every time he failed.
After the fifth attempt that night, we decided to take a break. I gave him some water and he accept gratefully, falling the spells wasn't just taxing on me but on him as well. We sat down on the ground and waited for his strength to return. It was getting pretty late and I was wondering weather we should continue or not. The moon was pretty high up. I looked up again and saw that there were two. This was the first time that I really took a good look at the sky and I hadn't realized that duel moons.
"That's new." I said to no one in particular.
"What is?" asked Warde yawning.
"The two moons?"
"How is that new?"
"I just never knew this place had two moons."
"You really must not be from around here."
"I tried to tell you that but you keep thinking I'm lying."
"Well I didn't really think you were!" he groaned. He attempted to get up but it looked like he would be able too for another minute or so.
"Get your ass back down and rest some more." I said getting up to stretch my arms a bit. I had decided to not wear the Gemini Brothers on my during the training sessions because the training wasn't for me, if the training wasn't for me why bring them?
Warde seemed to notice for the first time in those three days and ask "Where is your armor?"
"In my bed." I replied.
"Just wondering but can you do anything special with them?"
"I have tried them out, with them on I can smash through rocks and can lift a rock about as big as you without any effort." I said thinking. He nodded from his place in the ground and he asked "Do you have any special skills or talents?"
"Why do you ask?"
"No real reason." he said turning away from me.
"And there isn't a real reason for me to beat the answer out of you either but I could try." I said giving a joking threat.
"Ok, ok, ok, no no need for that." he said giving a smirk, "I was thinking of something that you could do the familiar talent show on Tuesday"
"Familiar Talent Show?" I asked, not really believing that what he said. What day was it today?
"Yeah. It's when the newly summoned familiars preform something before our piers. Eventually they pick a winner from them and-"
"I know what a talent show is." I threw at him, not angrily but more surprised, "It's just I didn't expect there to be a talent show to show off your animal slave."
"They aren't slaves, they are just familiars." be said. This discussion had popped up before and it always went the same way.
"Well fine. Let's say for a second that they aren't slaves. That still doesn't really make much sense on who has the better 'familiar' contest. Cause couldn't the guy who got the dragon just do something cool fire breathing or something and that girl with the sphinx have him do some cool trick. Some jus can't really compare to others." he was about to respond then thought about what I said. Finally making his mind he replied, "Well I guess the judges take that into account because then the dragon would win every year."
"See what I mean? It has to be very partial judging then."
"Yeah you're right. Anyway do you have something you can do?" he asked with a small hint of desperate tone in his voice. I wondered what would make him this way but decided not to dwell on it. He probably just wants to make himself look good through me.
"Fine. I have one. Just get me a grand piano." I said giving in.
He sat up looking a bit confused, "A grand piano? Why?"
"Hey do you want me to do something good or should I just fart for ten minutes."
"No, no, no. Definitely not the farting." he pleaded.
"Ok so get me a piano."
"OK, I'll get one for the Talent Show but why?"
"Because I am going to throw it around like I will do you if you don't get up!" I said popping up.
Hello! SORRY ABOUT THIS! I swear I didn;t mean to make you wait this long.
I actually had this ready a long time ago. Like in the Summer. Maybe a week after the second chapter. I know... Stupid me right?
Well sorry for not up loading it early for your enjoyment. I actually took a small hiatus from writing to try to see which stories I could finish and finally made up my mind on them. So now I will try to finish them. And this is one of those that I will finish.
Anyway have fun. Dont forget some Reviews if you want to complain.