Hello, what's up!? Cardinal here, bringing you the wonders of fanfiction. I didn't include a AN in the previous chapter because I was rather stressed and I made a few mistakes as a result. most of the mistakes were about the timeline. This story takes place twelve years before Magi: LoM and two years after Magi: AoS. It takes place a few months before the Musta'sim rebellion as well. As most of you can tell, the story is based on the good ending of UBW, but it becomes slightly AU after that. I didn't really reveal why he had traveled to Magi, but it will be revealed in a few chapters.
As for the pairings… I'm not sure what to say. I have a few pairing in mind, but some feel a little off. My favorite characters are: Morgiana, Kogyoku, Gyokuen, Hakuei, Dunya and Yamraiha. Morgiana feels way too young to be a pairing for Shirou since he'll be thirty by the time she's sixteen. Kogyoku might be possible, but it is still rather strange for me. Gyokuen is older than him and hot, but she's rather (Extremely) evil and it would be like Shirou getting together with a female version of Kotomine. Hakuei, Dunya and Yamraiha are old enough, but trying to figure which one should be with him is rather hard. For now I won't be making any pairings. It's too early to tell anything yet.
SPOILERS!
When I wrote Asmodeus I thought I would stick to the stereotypical "Sin of Lust" image I had in the beginning, but it turned out rather boring writing her like that since Paimon already fills that genre. Instead I started writing her like a paradox. She represented sin in the bible, but I made her the Djinn of Enlightenment and Chivalry in the story. She was naked and vulgar, but her haircut and jewelry were refined (Aside from the nipple rings). The reason I chose her element to be Light was because I wanted Shirou's element to be represented as a knight. Because her entire representation was revolved around paradoxes, I made her powers and meaning as a Djinn a paradox as well. The word "Knight" sounds a lot like "Night" since it's pronounced the exact same way. "Light" rhymes with those words so I made her the Djinn of Enlightenment (Light) and Chivalry (Knight) and I made her dungeon revolve around knowledge (Enlightenment) and darkness (Night). It sounded a lot simpler in my head though.
And Yunan is very childish in this story, but he's doing it for a reason. I'm not going to tell you why though.
"Are you sure about this, Shirou?" Dalj asked. "We don't need the money that much, if we increase the prices on our remaining stock then we can make up the loss."
"I'm sure, it was my fault to begin with. I didn't think he would use me as the distraction so I let my guard down. I'll make sure to get your money back." Shirou assured him.
They were in the outskirts of town, in the parts with guards enough to feel safe at night. After Dalj had been informed about the thief he had raged about how sneaky the blond had been. Once Shirou informed him that `Yunan´ was most likely a magus, he had mellowed out and become wary at the prospect of demanding the return of their merchandize.
Not that Shirou was going to let him get away with it. Not after the way he had been used as a way to lure the stall owners into a false sense of security. He was also pretty sure Yunan had used magic to convince the poor woman at the stall to sell him the goods. The Kouga knew Shirou didn't have the cash to pay for it all so for Yunan to convince them of otherwise spoke of Magecraft. Shirou didn't notice because his own skill in hypnosis was mediocre at best.
"But you don't know if you'll survive at all. It's better to let him go with some milk and for us to go on living. You don't even know if he'll be in the dungeon in the first place!" Dalj pleaded with him, telling not to go. Shirou was undeterred however and continued to put on the thin armour he had been given.
Dalj had, with some persuasion, given him armor to help him in the dungeon. It had belonged to one of the warriors who had been killed, but very little of it seemed to fit. The chest pieces were too large for him to even begin adjusting with the same of most of the helmets. To begin with, he had never worn helmets despite their usefulness due to the dangers he was usually up against. A helmet didn't do much if the opponent could fire hundreds of Noble Phantasms at you.
The only thing that seemed to fit him were the vambraces and greaves, which he actually saw the advantages of having. He could use his swords to deflect attacks from the rest of his body, but he couldn't protect his arms or his legs at the same time. He needed a good foothold while fighting and his arms held his swords so having that little extra protection might make all the difference.
He didn't need to mention that he thought it looked cool.
Even though the really wanted to say he thought it looked cool
"It's not about the money, Dalj, it's about the fact that he stole from you and he used me to do it. I can't let someone like that walk free without punishment. At the very least, I'll have him apologize to you in person, preferably in dogeza." He said with finality in his voice. He wasn't going to let Blondie get away with this, not as long as he was around to stop it.
"Dogeza?" Dalj asked, unfamiliar with the term.
"It's nothing. I'll be back in a few hours along with the thief. Tell the rest of the soldiers to try and keep order in case I'm late. I won't be long, I hope." With that he fastened the sling bag across his chest and headed out of the inn they were staying at.
The dungeon rose over the town like some massive tombstone, illuminated only by the pale moonlight. Did he have to climb all the way up to the top? If that was the case, it might take more than just a few hours. The food he brought in his bag would probably be eaten before he reached the top. He didn't want to think about the massive pain his muscles would be in if he had to climb nothing but stairs to reach it. Escalators might not be invented in this world yet, but since it was a magical dungeon there should be some kind of magical teleportation system. At least he hoped so.
Why had Blondie entered the dungeon? Why did he want Shirou to enter it as well? The possibility that it was simply a ruse to throw him off the trail was still there, but the percentage that being true was so small that it might as well be nonexistent. From what Shirou was able to understand about the weird traveler, he didn't have the personality to try and deceive someone like that. Yes he did fool the merchants into giving him the milk and the herbs, but he had an ulterior motive for it, to get Shirou into the dungeon.
What he didn't understand was why he did it. He didn't need to use Shirou as an excuse to steal the milk, if he could use magic then he could simply convince them that they should give it to him regardless. Instead he chose to give Shirou a chance to get him back for it. the fact that he knew what Shirou and Dalj had been talking about the dungeon made him even more suspicious.
Damn it, this whole situation was annoying! First things first, he was going to conquer the dungeon, then he was going to beat the crap out of Blondie and then he was going to make him pay for the milk. And then he was probably going to punch him some more if he didn't have a good excuse for what he did.
Shirou really needed to find some stress relief soon. He hadn't been able to cook anything since the day before when he had to split the chores between him and the women of the caravan. Chopping meat and onions was not enough to help him deal with stress!
He reached the dungeon quite quickly, his fury giving him more momentum each second. The guards who stood by the opening saw him and started talking to him.
"You need permission from the City's lord in order to enter the dungeon…" When he got closer and they saw his red hair and the scowl on his face, the guards stopped and froze. Good, he didn't want to fight innocent guards before he got into the dungeon. He wanted to save his anger for Blondie.
"If you want to wake up tomorrow without broken bones I suggest you move out of the way. I'm in a really bad mood." He growled and to his relief, the guards backed away. He took it as a good sign and walked towards the gate.
The doorway into the dungeon looked like a solid piece of stone. He was contemplating how to open it when he heard a strangely familiar voice behind him.
"You need to touch the door to open it, you know." Blondie's voice said. Shirou turned around, but a finger pressed into his back and he stumbled into the solid stone.
Or what looked like solid stone, but actually wasn't…
As soon as he touched it, the grey material shined with golden light. He tried to rip his hand away from the light, but it was stuck. No, it was pulling him inside. Something was dragging him inside the dungeon!
"You! What did you do?" Shirou asked the weird traveler, who merely smiled at his question.
"I was waiting for you to come, but you sure took your time. I figured you needed a push in the right direction. I'm going to pay for the milk I bought so just take your time and have fun!" Blondie said, still wearing that irritating smile of his.
"You son of a…!" he was unable to finish his insult to the offender's mother as the light dragged him inside and everything became white.
When the light subsided he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He could see the entire planet! Beams of light erupted from the earth and into the distant space. He could immediately tell that it wasn't Earth. The continents were much too different. He might not be the best at geography, but he knew enough to list all the continents. He couldn't see a single continent he knew from his own world.
Just as he was thinking that, one of the beams of light crashed into him and he blacked out.
Darkness.
If Shirou didn't feel the stones underneath him, making him groan at the uncomfortable position, he would have thought he was asleep. Darkness surrounded him, to the point that he couldn't see a thing no matter where he looked. It was different from the darkness he was used to, the absence of light. This abyss was not the result of something created when there was no source of light, this thick and almost tangible void was the result of something devouring all that light stood for.
He sat up, hearing the crack of his spine as the disks moved for the first time after a long rest. How long had he been out? It couldn't be that long, he was a light sleeper after the Holy Grail War. It was hard not to with the threat of Caster's traps lurking in the back of his mind every time he went to sleep.
He heard something move and all thoughts of his long rest were thrown out the window. He was trapped in a dark abyss and he had no idea where he was. This wasn't the time to reminisce about events that happened a year ago.
He traced a short sword, a gladius to be precise. It had been a mystic code he had seen during his travels. An Italian magus had asked for assistance in eradicating an apostle infestation and had himself engaged the undead monsters. The gladius had been his weapon of choice. It had the simple ability of using Mana to encase the blade in flames hot enough to incinerate flesh in seconds. It couldn't shoot out flames further than a few inches away from the blade though so it was solely a weapon meant for close combat.
The blade erupted in flames and his surroundings became visible. Holding the impromptu torch in front of him, he could finally asses the dungeon. It was a cave, a huge cavernous coliseum with several caves lining the walls. The cave was made out of grey stone, similar to granite, but he could tell it had some magical properties. Specifically towards light.
The flames that encased the gladius were hot enough melt ordinary steel, the light it gave off should have illuminated the entire coliseum. But even though he was reinforcing his eyesight, he could barely see the other side. The stone was somehow absorbing the light instead of reflecting it back to Shirou. It didn't make that much of a difference, but it made him worry about the purpose of the stone. What could cause the architect to build a dungeon made of stone that absorbs light? There had to be an underlying reason for it.
But what was he supposed to do? Should he go through one of the caves? Judging by how many he saw on his side, there had to be hundreds of them. it was feasible for him to find the right one without assistance.
"Need some help?" Blondie's voice broke through the silence. Shirou jumped at the noise, surprised.
"What the hell? What are you doing here?" the oddly dressed traveler was standing near a large stone tablet near the middle of the coliseum. Shirou hadn't noticed it due to the poor visibility and the fact that it was colored the exact same as the entire cavern.
He was also floating in the air.
"Well, after I went to the inn to pay for the milk I bought earlier, I realized something. The first trial of this dungeon is a riddle written in Torran. What if you didn't know how to read the language? I asked the Kouga and they said you didn't know how to read or write at all. I was lucky you hadn't tried to go forward yet, it would have been a huge mistake." He said, bumping his fist against his head in a childish manner.
Somehow it just made him want to punch the blond nitwit even more.
"I see, you do realize I wouldn't have to go into the dungeon if you simply paid for the milk in the first place?" His grip on the gladius tightened as his anger returned with a vengeance.
"If I did that then nobody would have cleared the dungeon. It's been three years already and nobody has tried entering in over a year. I raised the dungeon in order to help the villager, but it grew too big too fast. Now I need someone to clear it before the city collapses, you know." Blondie argued.
He had raised the dungeon? Was he the architect behind it?
"Who are you? And what are you? There's no way a simple magus can raise this entire place all by themselves." He was dangerous. Too dangerous. Shirou had assumed he was some kind of magus, but this surpassed his expectations.
"I'm Yunan, a traveler. Although some people call me a magi, I prefer to spend my time traveling th world and seeing new sights." Yunan smiled, an expression of benevolence on his face.
Magi?
"What's a magi?" magi was the plural of magus. Did he mean magus and was simply unused to the language? No, every country in this world spoke the same language.
"You don't know what a magi is? What kind of traveler are you, to not know what a magi is?" Yunan asked him. For the first time since they met, Yunan was the one who looked surprised.
"A dumb one." Shirou answered.
Yunan frowned at his answer and Shirou felt a small satisfaction at the reaction. "I guess I have to teach you while we walk then, but first we have to solve the riddle, won't we?" he motioned for Shirou to approach the tablet.
The tablet was covered in strange markings, odd figures that Shirou had never seen before. Not that he understood the written language of this world either, but this looked to strange to classify as even a medieval language. It appeared far too ancient to be from even this age.
"The language of Torran is spoken by the Torran tribes all over the world. For some reason, it is used in dungeons to give riddles and clues. Have you seen them before?" Yunan asked. Shirou shook his head, he got to this world two days ago so his literature studies were a bit behind.
"I see, then it was a good idea I came here to help you. First of all, the riddle is the key to moving forward. Without deciphering the riddle, progress becomes impossible. Give me a minute." The blonde `Magi´ said with confidence.
While the strange man read the tablet, Shirou inspected the coliseum. It was huge, far larger than the tower had been. How was that possible? Were the laws of magic and magecraft in this world different than his own? Perhaps true magic was more common due to the primitive technology available. It still didn't explain how the beanstalk could raise this entire dungeon in a single night.
Did it have anything to do with the `Magi´-thing he was talking about?
Suddenly a scent caught his attention. It was sweet, almost overpoweringly sweet and it reminded him of cooking and food he used to make as a child. His first meal that wasn't burnt charcoal made by his father or Taiga, the first meal Sakura made for him when he injured his shoulder, the first time he cooked with the kitchen set Taiga had given him for his birthday.
`Where is it coming from? It isn't emanating from the coliseum itself otherwise I would have noticed it earlier. It must be coming from one of the caves, but which one? He walked away from the tablet and took his torch with him, ignoring the "I'm still reading this, come back with the light!" Yunan gave him. He walked closer to each cave and sniffed for the source of the smell. If it didn't get any stronger he would leave to check the next one. After about five minutes of searching, he found the opening the scent was coming from.
As soon as he stood in front of it, he knew it was the right one. The aroma coming from the opening was overwhelming his sense of smell, making him breathe with his mouth to avoid gagging. Even though the smell in itself was intoxicating good, the sheer intensity was too much for his nose to take. He took a step back and inspected the entrance. At first it looked like a simple cave entrance, but at a closer look it was more than that. Each opening had a different theme. Some had small carvings of animals while other depicted different elements or plants. Each cave had its own theme and this one was not different. The entire opening was surrounded by carvings of various items. The sun, a lit candle, a bonfire, a torch as well as many other sources of light had been carved into the grey rock with excruciating detail. The flames form his gladius made the shadows dance and all the different depictions seemed to light up in a variety of colors. Wait, they did light up in a variety of colors!
"Hey Yunan, I think this is the right one." He yelled back at the `magi´ reading the stone tablet. The blond traveler looked up surprised at the declaration.
"What? I just solved the riddle, how can you be so sure?" he asked back as Shirou went to inspect the pictures.
The different carvings each had its own color. The sun was white, the candle was orange, and the torch was blue and so on. The entire entrance was illuminated in all the colors of the rainbow. As he moved the gladius closer to one of the pictures, the carving in question would shine brighter.
"So the stone absorbs light and these carvings release it in different wavelengths. What was the riddle?" he asked the stunned blond beside him. Yunan stuttered in response before he was able to compose himself.
"It… `Follow the path of self-guided light. Those who do not give will not receive, the light which is given shall show you the way.´ It meant that we should use some kind of light to let the rock absorb it and the right path will respond by… lighting up. Like that one just did. " He answered meekly, surprised by the speed at which he had found it.
"Huh, that's it? I thought it'd be something more… I don't' know, deeper?" Shirou asked Yunan uncertain. He simply shook his own head in response.
"This is the first level of the dungeon. It was merely a test of wit and intelligence. There weren't even any enemies here. Once we go through that tunnel we will probably find dangers waiting for us. Are you ready?" the oddly dressed magus asked, gripping his fishing rod… staff.
Shirou responded by drawing the Kouga sword with his right hand, illuminating the path ahead with his left. "If by ready, you mean ready to leave this place? Yeah, I'm pretty ready." Taking the first step forward.
Yunan smiled again the innocent and benevolent smile gracing his features once more. "So unlike Sinbad, and yet so like him at the same time. What an interesting man you are, Shirou."
The second level wasn't difficult either. The enemies they faced were some kind of anglerfish with a human shaped light attached to its fishing rod. Since the torch Shirou had illuminated the cave, the anglerfishes had nowhere to hide and were promptly put down.
The third level was also quite easy. The traps which shot out beams of burning light would activate if you stepped on the wrong floor panel. Yunan had some kind of magical barrier called a borg which stopped the beams and Shirou's reflexes helped him evade or block the attacks. Since the rays of light weren't real light, the speed of the beams wasn't faster than he could react, but it did burn through his clothes a couple of times.
The fourth level… was not as easy as he had anticipated.
Spears of light rained down on Shirou and Yunan as they ran for cover. The ground exploded beneath them and they were pelted by rocks and dirt. The humongous giant made of white light which had been chasing them crashed beside the crater.
"What kind of monster is that?" Shirou yelled, deflecting another spear with Kanshou and Bakuya.
"Who knows, it's the first time I've ever seen one." Yunan answered, a smile on his dirty and bruised face.
Shirou cursed and traced Archer's bow, the materials used in creating it having been discovered months ago in his world.
`Let's see if that thing can survive an explosive arrow to its face.´
Each level after that point became more and more difficult. Each time they cleared a level, a bright light would teleport them to the next one. Whether it was to eradicate the monsters or to solve a riddle, the increasing toll it took on Shirou's body and mind was showing its results. Although the toll wasn't only from the dungeon.
"Come one, just a bite! You brought enough for two, what's wrong with sharing?" Yunan whined melodramatically.
"I brought enough to last an entire day until you ate half of it. How can you still be hungry?" Shirou growled protectively over his food. The dried fruits had disappeared into Yunan's gullet before Shirou knew what had happened and he had fought to salvage what little bread was left. The blond beanstalk sure knew how to eat for someone so thin.
One would think that it was the monster levels that were the hardest to clear, but it was surprisingly the riddles that were the most troublesome. Since Yunan was the only one who could read the language, he had to be the one who read the riddle out loud while Shirou had to deal with the consequences if they guessed wrong.
"I'm tall when I'm young and short when I'm old. What am I?" Yunan read out loud. "What do you think the answer is, Shirou?"
"Candl… Grhhagh!" yelled Shirou as he struggled to push the giant fire-breathing salamander off him.
"Candy? I guess you're right, it does get smaller when you eat it. Alright, the answer is: Candy!" Yunan said as he pointed his wand at the door.
Shirou yelled in anger as another giant salamander, this one covered in ice, appeared as a result from the wrong answer.
"The answer was candle!" He yelled at the blond magus as he dodged a hailstorm of ice.
"Then why didn't you say so?" Yunan said confused while he tilted his head to the side.
Screaming once more in fury, Shirou traced Caladbolg, ignoring the burning pain his circuits were in.
Finally, after hours of fighting, solving riddles and dealing with Yunan's charade, he had finally come to a conclusion.
Yunan was hiding something.
That was obvious considering he had for some reason made Shirou come to the dungeon when he had just as easily have removed it himself. Yunan had let that piece of information slip. When he had been explaining what a magi was, he had said a magi could summon and banish dungeons as they wish. If Yunan could summon a dungeon as he did with Asmodeus, he should have been more than capable of banishing it.
So why was he making Shirou clear it instead?
"It appears we're at the end." The feminine blond said with relief. The beanstalk had looked rather ragged the last levels and he was using his staff as a crutch.
"Yeah, I bet you we would have gotten here faster if you hadn't spent all that time guessing wrong at the thirty-fourth riddle." Shirou verbally jabbed the magi. Yunan had the decency to look ashamed.
"How was I supposed to know how many stairs there were in a one story house? You didn't read the riddle. `If everything is pink in a one story house, what color are the stairs?´, what a stupid question!" he grumbled and Shirou felt a smile tug at his lips. Yunan smirked when he saw the expression on his face and Shirou quickly erased any sign of the smile.
"So how do we open the door?" Shirou asked. There were two golden handles, but when Shirou tried to pull the doors open, the entire thing was as stuck as if someone had glued them together.
"The doors were designed to be opened by two people, a magi and his king candidate. It reads the magoi of each person and if the magoi is identical on both handles then the door won't open." Yunan explained. He walked towards the left handle and gripped it. As soon as his hand touched the handle, the overwhelming force which had been holding the doors closed disappeared.
In fact, the doors disappeared as well.
And the walls and floor and ceiling…
Everything around them vanished in an explosion of golden light. It became so bright that Shirou had to cover his eyes to protect them from the painful sight. When he opened them again, the surroundings had changed. Gone were the granite walls, gone was the thick, tangible darkness. Everything had been replaced.
By a large ancient city.
Shirou could tell. His Magecraft depended on Structural Analysis to function so of course he would notice. Even though he didn't do it willingly, his eyes had for some reason analyzed the city. The architecture didn't look that old, but the history recorded in the buildings told him they were centuries old. And they were all destroyed.
Everywhere he looked, he could see nothing but the ruins of a city which had long since been destroyed in a fierce struggle. He couldn't find the reason they had been destroyed, his Structural Analysis was more suited to swords and not buildings. But he knew that a battle had destroyed this city, a battle of magic.
It was the final straw that broke the camel's back. Up until now he had thought maybe he had some chance to find a way back or that maybe it was all a bad dream, but with this sight, with this scene of destruction he couldn't deny it anymore.
He was in an entirely different universe.
And he had no way of returning home, short of finding the Kaleidoscope.
"Are you alright?" Yunan asked. The blond man was looking at him with concern in his eyes. It was the first time he had seen him without a smile or a ridiculous expression on his face. Most of the time the blond would overreact to make a point, but he couldn't see anything but concern and worry in his eyes at this point.
"Yes, I'm fine, I'm just… surprised I guess. I wasn't expecting this, guess it was too much to take in all at once." He smiled, or he tried to. It was a fake smile, and a bad one at that. It was still better than showing what was really on his mind though, so he figured it would suffice.
"If that's what you say then I won't pressure you, but it think we should get a move on. This place still has enemies lurking sometimes so I think we should go as the crow flies." He said as he put his hand on Shirou's back.
"I don't think you're using that expression riiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!" The last word turned into a scream as both Yunan and Shirou floated up in the air. Once they reached a certain altitude, they both took off in a beeline for the large temple-like structure, the only building in the city which remained untouched by the battle which had ravaged the city.
"You can fly?!" Shirou screamed at the magi. Yunan laughed at his panicked expression, but Shirou was too freaked out by what was happening to notice.
"Of course I can, any magician worth their staff knows how to fly. Whoever gave you those magical tools you use must have known how to fly as well." He answered, his face positively glowing with mirth.
"I'm pretty sure they didn't know how to fly!" Except for Caster perhaps, but Shirou never asked her how she did it. He wasn't on the best of terms with the Witch of Betrayal.
"Really? Then who was it who gave you all of those interesting tools. I haven't seen any of them before and I have seen a lot of things in my time. And where do you keep them? I haven't seen any magical bag on you." Yunan asked perplexed.
"I create them using my mag…ic." He had been close to say Magecraft, but he didn't want to reveal too much of his abilities. He still didn't trust Yunan, even after getting to know him for a few hours.
"You're a magician?" he said shocked. Was he really that shocked?
`It's not like I hid my abilities that much. I've used Caladbolg as well as a ton of other mystic codes. I'm pretty sure it was obvious I'm a magus, although not a good one.´
"I'm used to being called a magus, but yes. Why does it matter?" Shirou asked, having gotten over the initial shock and somehow regaining his composure.
"It does matter! You can't see the Rukh yet you claim to be a magician. You've been using all those magic tools of yours and yet your magoi isn't going down. A magician uses magoi and Rukh in their spells so what you said makes no sense whatsoever. Also a magician cannot use a metal vessel, but I can sense that you are compatible with them so you are by definition not a magician." Yunan scolded him, once more reminding him of Sakura. It was like watching a kitten frown, he knew it was supposed to be bad, but the laughter bubbling up in his gut was almost too hard to stop.
"I guess I'm special then. Just a heads up, we're almost at the temple-thingy." Shirou warned him. Yunan puffed his cheeks in what was supposed to be a scowl, but slowed down.
"It's not a temple-thingy, it's a real temple." He said, irritation leaking into his voice. They approached the large and heavy-looking door, but the doors opened by themselves when they approached.
The insides of the temple were rather extravagant compared to the city outside. The walls were made of stone, but were painted in blue and gold. The entire roof was a golden dome and he could see golden figures on the surface. In the corners and on the middle of the hall were large piles of stone items of different nature. Staves, swords, crowns, and other pieces of junk could be seen and he wondered if there was some kind of meaning to stone that he wasn't aware of. The stone in the dungeon was able to absorb light and the entire first level had been nothing but a huge coliseum made of rock.
Just as he picked up a small coin made of stone to inspect it further, the doors slammed shut with a loud *Bang*. He knew Yunan had been surprised as well because the feminine scream had not come from Shirou.
A light emerged from the center of the room and spread out to envelope the entire hall. The stone artefacts, which Shirou had presumed to be of ceremonial value, reacted with the light, revealing a gold shine. Gold emerged wherever the light touched and he was dumbstruck by the sight.
Gold, silver and precious gems littered the floor, like confetti after a party. The piles of priceless treasures had been haphazardly thrown together, as if the person had no idea of the true value of the items. Each treasure he saw looked more valuable than the one before.
"So I have been awakened once more? Very well, who has the guts to try and be my king?" A very loud and soft voice said. It was surprising to hear such a smooth tone at the volume it was being used so he was shocked by the sudden paradox. Spinning around, he saw the owner of said voice.
A giant woman sat in the center of the room. Her black hair flowed down her back in what looked like a hime cut. She wore a large variety of jewelry as well; a tiara in her hair, several golden earing and a pair of golden hoops, several golden bangles covered her arms and her nipples were pierced with golden rings. How did he know her nipples were pierced?
She was naked.
And she was blue.
As in, her skin was completely blue…
He had to blink several times and rub his eyes to make sure he was seeing things right. He had seen a lot of strange things; A weird female knight appearing one night to save him from a man who took his love for blue tights to a whole other level, Rin's true personality as well as her tendency to splurge on anything every time he treated her to a meal, a threesome with Rin and Saber (He was still recovering from the shock of that one) and fighting his own alternate future self. It was safe to say that his life the past two years had been filled with strange and shocking occurrences.
However, he had never seen a giant, naked, blue woman… with nipple piercings.
His life had really taken a turn for the worse hadn't it?
Though to be fair, she wasn't completely nude. She wore a red shawl over certain parts of her body, thankfully her crotch was once of them.
"It's been while hasn't it, Asmodeus?" Yunan asked with a smile. The woman, or whatever the Root she was, turned to Yunan and a surprised smile appeared on her gentle visage.
"If it isn't Yunan, what are you doing here? I heard my traps go off so I thought it was some weird adventurer, but to think it was you. If you had simply sent me a message through the rukh then I would have disabled them. It would have been faster that way and we could get started on drinking right away." The giant laughed. Yunan responded in kind, a nostalgic expression on his face.
"Actually, I'm not here to drink. You know I don't like alcohol so I don't know why you keep making me drink that stuff with you. The herbal tea I give you should be much better than that stuff." The blond magi happily replied. `Asmodeus´? Scoffed at his answer.
"That garbage? Bah, I throw that out as soon as you leave. A man needs to hold his alcohol, just because to have a girly face does not mean you can have a girly attitude. Man up and drink it like a man! Besides, your reactions are too funny to stop." The blue woman said while grinning like a cheshire cat.
"I thought as much." Yunan sighed. "Nevermind that though, I'm actually here for a reason, believe it or not. I brought a candidate with me." The fashion-impaired magi proclaimed.
Asmodeus blinked, then she looked around until her eyes locked onto Shirou's own.
"This little pipsqueak?" She yelled out loud, her harmonic voice still clashing at the tone of it. "I thought I told you, I want someone who's strong, tall and handsome. This little chibi ain't got anything of that!" She admonished the blond beanstalk.
Shirou's teeth started grinding together at the insinuation. Perhaps he wasn't the strongest of fighters or the most handsome, but he sure as hell wasn't short. Having had a growth spurt in London, he now stood at a respectable 180 cm. It wasn't the height of someone who could be called pipsqueak!
"The hell is that supposed to mean? Coming from a pervert who doesn't know the meaning of the word `Modesty´ means you don't have the right to insult anyone until you cover up!" He yelled at the blue giant.
Asmodeus's eye twitched in anger and she bent down until her nose was just a meter from Shirou. "Shut up, midget! If I think you're a midget then you're a midget, got it? And is that the attitude of someone who wants to be king? Show some damn respect, dumbass!"
The voice was so loud that Shirou ears started ringing, as if someone had rung a gong gong right next to his head, but he was too angry to notice. He had just spent the last eight hours escaping deathtraps with and idiot who was hiding something from him and the blue pervert was making it worse. He was tired, hungry and he really wanted to get this over with.
"Who cares about being a king, all I want is to get out of here and make this idiot apologize for what he did. I couldn't care less about you or what you want!" He roared in her face while pointing at Yunan, all the stress and tension disappearing from his mind as he did so.
Asmodeus looked at him, shocked at his reaction or what he said he couldn't tell, but the blinking and gaping mouth told him she was stunned. He felt a small satisfaction in his chest at her face, but he schooled his expression. He had gone a long way since he was that innocent boy in the Holy Grail War, but he still didn't like schadenfreude. Taking pleasure at other people's reactions might not be the same thing, but he would not become Archer. Making fun of her expression felt like it was something the Counter-Guardian would do.
Asmodeus glanced at the blond magi standing at the other side of the room only to receive a small smile in return.
"Alright then, I'll bite. What are you doing here?" she asked them both. "You said you brought a candidate, but he says he doesn't care about it. Something smells fishy."
Yunan laughed at the question, a good-natured laugh without a single shred of ill-will. "His name is Shirou Emiya and he was worried about the state of the town and I overheard the conversation. After talking to him a bit, I realized he would be a great king-candidate. So I tricked him into conquering the dungeon."
The fact that he somehow managed to make forcing Shirou to clear a fifty-something leveled deathtrap sound completely innocent was enough to make Shirou's jaw drop this time. Asmodeus seemed to share his sentiments.
"You tricked him? You don't trick people into conquering dungeons, you know. We create them to be dangerous in order to choose a proper vessel, not to satisfy you random desires." She said, poking Yunan's cheek with her delicately groomed fingernail.
"Well, since he's here and we cleared the dungeon, think you can make him your vessel? He's a really good kid, though perhaps a bit on the rude side." Yunan grimaced at the sharp object digging into his cheek.
"Oi!"
"I don't mind, the kid does have guts if the fact that he stood his ground against me was any indication." She said, ignoring Shirou's outburst at Yunan's description of him.
"Don't I get a say in this?" Shirou interrupted. Both Yunan and Asmodeus looked at him strangely before they both sighed.
"Listen, the only way to remove the dungeon is to conquer it. Yunan doesn't like to banish dungeons so he won't do it even if you ask him to." Asmodeus said, confirming Shirou suspicions, though he felt disappointed when she explained he wouldn't do it. "Also, do you have any idea what an honour this is? I'm Asmodeus, the Djinn of Enlightenment and Chivalry. I only pick the strongest of the strong to be my King's vessel so be quiet." Her tone had changed from that of a roaring volcano to a smoldering fire. It made him feel awkward again, his inexperience showing its effects. He could deal with point-blank anger, but the passive aggressiveness she was showing was difficult for him to defend against.
So he wisely shut up.
"Now then, as commanded by the nature of my being, I hereby acknowledge you, Shirou Emiya as my king and vessel and yada yada yada, contract complete." What started as majestic and elegant became rather rushed and boring at the end. For someone who looked so imposing and elegant (aside from her lack of decency), her sense of etiquette was severely lacking.
"As always, your decorum is as dreadful as Zagan's taste in men." Yunan added, barely able to hide his laughing.
"Don't compare me to that tree-hugger. I simply don't care about centuries old traditions that nobody, but we remember. Give me a bottle of booze and I'm happy!" she declared proudly.
"That's all fine and dandy, but can someone please explain what a king-candidate is and what it has to do with me?" Shirou interrupted before the situation could get out of hand. He didn't want to make her angry again, but he was feeling more than a little lost. Luckily, Yunan decided to take pity on his misfortune.
"Magi are meant to choose a king, a king is meant to create a country and lead the people and a djinn is meant to lend their power to the king. We decided that you are the one worthy of being a king, amazing right?" he explained. Shirou felt the words enter his skull, but the meaning behind them didn't register. King, as in king of knights, heroes and conquerors? They were joking, weren't they?
"What's that supposed to mean? A king, what makes you think I can be a king? Why would I want to be one anyway?" He asked the duo who looked at each other for a second before turning to him again.
"I think I might like this one," Asmodeus said. "He doesn't have the stick up his ass like most kings do. He reminds me of him a little bit."
"Him?" both Yunan and Shirou asked, before the blond continued.
"Don't pay it any mind, but I'm afraid we're out of time." The tall, blue woman said. As she said it, a light enveloped Shirou. "The time you can spend in the palace is limited because of reasons I don't want to explain. It's too troublesome, but it has to do with time-space or something. Anyway, try not to die before you learn how to use me, alright?" she waved him goodbye with a smile.
"I don't think we'll see each other for a while so good luck on your journey! Remember not to get too greedy with your treasures, spend it moderately. I'll wrap them all up nice and proper for you so it'll be easy to carry, alright." Yunan said with the tone of a mother hen. "They grow up so fast, don't they?"
Shirou was unable to respond with an appropriately scathing comment before the light covered his vision and he couldn't see anything else.
Dalj wasn't used to being nervous. He was a warrior of the northern wolf-tribe of the Kouga clan. He spat in the face of death and ignored the foolish sentiment known as fear. Over the years he had traveled the world and seen the many cities the countries had so unfamiliar territory was not enough to make him nervous.
To explain why he was nervous, it is necessary to go back a week.
(A week ago)
Dalj was no happy about the situation.
He had served under Raj for many years, but he had grown rather resentful of the man's stubbornness. He had wanted to replace the older leader, but he did not have the support needed or the ability to lead as he had hoped. When Raj had died he had been given command of the caravan, but he had soon realized he was in over his head. To make things worse, he had been given command in a land far away from his own and with a group full of women and children with only four warriors to protect them, excluding himself.
Then the fanalis had arrived. He said he was a normal human, that he had no relation to the warrior tribe of the Dark Continent, but a normal human or magician was not able to move as he did. He had crossed the distance between the bandits in seconds and then proceeded to cut them down like they were nothing. Even the magician who had captured them had proven to be powerless.
And he had magic.
He had shown Dalj some of his powers, the power to make weapon out of thin air. Dalj had asked him about it, in order to better plan ahead how to make use of the gift in a battle. Despite numerous complaints and orders, the fanalis had only shown him the spear once more, but he was sure the magician-fanalis was hiding his true powers. He might be a half-blooded fanalis, but his strength and speed was more than any human could boast to possess and he had magic to counter the magic of his enemies.
Dalj felt insignificant when he had to give the fanalis orders. Like the redheaded man could snap his neck at any moment and the only reason he was keeping him alive was because he had some use to him. Why else would he help the caravan so much in return for so little?
After all, no human could be as kind as he was without some kind of hidden agenda. Right?
So he the fanalis had gone to the dungeon, he had not known what to think. If the fanalis died in the dungeon then the caravan would be exposed. But the fanalis was dangerous as well, more so than any thief or bandit. Would he be able to take the caravan and pay for a ship to take them back to the Tenzan Plateau before he returned? It would take him days to reach the top, wouldn't it? At least that's what the rumors said.
But he knew the fanalis was aware of his home and birthplace. If the fanalis became furious at him for having abandoned him in Kotia, then the beast would follow him to the wolf-tribe. The blood of the entire village would be on his hands. Before the fanalis returned, he would have to ensure his family was safe. Raga and Toya could go to Raga's mother's tribe. They would be safe there, wouldn't they?
No, he couldn't risk it.
So if he couldn't run away from the fanalis, could he join it?
If it returned from the dungeon and found Dalj waiting for him, the fanalis would spare him and the caravan. A king's first vassals are his most valuable, or so the saying goes. The fanalis wanted to stay in the city to learn how to read while Dalj and the Kouga would leave for the plateau, could Dalj ensure one of the Kouga who could read would stay behind to aid him.
He turned to Flara, the woman who had spoken to the fanalis the most. "Flara, do you know how to read?" he asked. Aside from Dalj, Flara knew the redheaded beast the best.
Unfortunately the woman shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't. Raj and Loki were the only ones who knew how to read and they…" she stopped talking, her head held low. `Had died in the ambush´ is what she wanted to say, but it was tough to talk about the death of one's brother so soon after it had happened.
Damn, if the Kouga couldn't do it, they had to find a citizen of Kotia who could. The library was the obvious place to find one.
"Alright, I'm leaving. Tell the guards to rotate the shifts with the mercenaries we hired. They're from the Seven Seas-company so they have a good reputation." He said to Flara. The female merchant looked taken aback by his declaration.
"Where are you going? We still have a lot to sell." She responded.
"To the library, I have to find someone who can teach Shirou how to read." Hopefully they would understand the situation.
(Three days later)
Finding a tutor who didn't laugh outright at his request wasn't easy. Kouga weren't looked kindly upon in this region. Most people considered them to be nothing more than barbarians and slaves, something they had in common with the fanalis. After looking around for days he finally found a person willing to tutor a fanalis at a Kouga's request.
The woman who agreed was a young blonde girl, though it was hard to tell her true age. The expression on her face was one who had spent most of her time arguing and fighting, if the scowl on her face was any indication.
Still, she had apparently needed the money and she had demanded to be paid in advance, regardless of whether the pupil showed up or not. She would be staying in town for another month so he had that long to leave the dungeon or she would leave without teaching him anything.
Days passed and it looked like he wouldn't be coming back at all. Dalj had almost sighed in relief, but remembered he had wasted five gold coins for nothing. It was ridiculous how expensive these magicians are. She had only accepted the task after she had heard he was a magician as well, despite how baffled she was. `A magician is trying to conquer a dungeon? Ha, what a fool!´, despite having said that she still took his money!
(Present time)
And then, the tower collapsed.
The impossible building which had been built in less than a night started crumbling to pieces right in front of his eyes. But even as the rocks and stones fell to the ground, not a single piece of debris struck the earth. Only the building itself was destroyed while the city was left unharmed. Where the dungeon had stood just a few minutes earlier was nothing but a huge hole in the shape of a circle.
And in that hole stood a man surrounded by gold and treasures.
A man with red hair.
While the man's clothes had been ripped and burnt, exposing muscles and sometimes scratches where blood still flowed, there was no denying the fact that it was the same fanalis he had met a week earlier.
Hopefully the man would like having a teacher…
The bed he was lying on was soft, warm and incredibly comfortable. The covers were made of some fine silk and smelled of lavender. He turned around and the exotic smell of oils and herbs entered his nostrils. Whoever washed the sheets sure knew how to make them smell nice, even in his own world it was hard to find a competitor for the scent he was being treated to.
The sun broke through the clouds and he felt the heat on his body. How long had he been sleeping? The sun wasn't supposed to be so high in the sky yet, or else his internal clock should have woken him up a long time ago. Had he really been so exhausted to the point of sleeping through the entire morning?
"My Lord, I apologize for waking you up so early, but I must insist you rise. The caravan you traveled with is about to leave and a man named Dalj has asked to speak to you."
Shirou's eyes opened and he sat up at the unexpected noise. At the end of the bed, a man stood in a low bow. He wore what appeared to be the soldier clothing of the higher class and was of average height. His eyes were aimed at the floor, but aside from Shirou there was not a single soul in the room.
"Are you talking to me?" Shirou asked confused. The soldier nodded before he rose.
"Yes, sir. I am Lokas, the captain of Kotia's armed forces. I and my personal squad have been assigned to your personal guards. Please, My Lord, wash and dress yourself and let us be on our way." He said before he left the room.
Shirou was flabbergasted. What had happened while he was away? Did he do something? Now that he thought about it…
(Yesterday)
When the light faded, he was standing at the bottom of a large hole. All around him were bags the sizes of a horse, overflowing with riches. The cheering which came from above forced him to look up and he had to suppress a gasp.
Hundreds and hundreds of people were standing at the edges of the hole, screaming and cheering at him. Why were they happy? Had he done something to make them rejoice like that?
Wait, he had cleared the dungeon, hadn't he? A lot of them were probably happy no more innocent people were going to die for the sake of glory and riches so of course they were cheering. Silly him.
Getting the treasures out of the hole proved to be a challenge though since it involved him having to blast his way out using his bow and arrow, but everything turned out alright in the end.
"Shirou, is that you?" He heard Dalj's voice ask through the cacophony of sounds. Just as he had thought, the tall man was standing just a few meters away from him, though he had changed a lot since they had last met. The Kouga merchant had grown a beard, or more like stubble, and there were bags under his eyes. How long had he been away?
"Yeah, who else could it be?" Shirou answered, happy to see a friendly face. He didn't want to judge, not after he knew what the city had been through, but he knew most of the people around him were trying to get closer to the gold he had gotten from the dungeon. He didn't mind sharing the treasures, but he didn't like thieves, regardless of whether it was his own property or someone else's they stole from. He had seen the expressions of the people around him, expressions he had seen Shinji wear by the end of the war.
"We thought you died in there. You said you'd be gone for a night, but it's been over a week!"
Huh?
A week.
A week?
He had been gone for a week?
"I think we need to talk. Exactly how long did you say I was missing for?" Shirou asked, worry pooling in his gut.
The sad smile Dalj sent him did nothing to alleviate his worry.
(Three hours later)
He sat down on the softly padded chair and felt his muscles sigh in relief. It felt like it had been forever since he had been able to sit down on something which hadn't been the stone floor or the dismembered limb of some strange anglerfish monster. Compared to the dungeon, the inn Shirou had decided to stay in for the night was a palace. It was the most luxurious hotel in Kotia and he thought he deserved to splurge a little.
"Are you sure no one was hurt in my absence?" Shirou repeated his question to Dalj.
After Dalj had explained the circumstances to him, he had donated several sacks of gold to the slums, much to the surprise of the people present. Most of them rejoiced at the fortune while some of the beggars didn't believe their ears. Shirou had never believed people would actually thank him on their knees, watching an entire slum do it while crying was shocking enough to make his own knees tremble. The smiles on their faces made it all worth through.
He had set aside a few sacks though, for special purposes. He still needed to repay the caravan for their hospitality and he needed to save up some kind of budget if he was going to stay in this world. He wasn't going to like being here, but until he found a way back home it would have to do. He had been lucky to be found by such a kind people, but he couldn't keep relying on them to take care of him. He needed to find a way to support himself before he could do anything else.
The last sack of treasures was the one he had been adamant on not giving away. Unlike the other bags of riches, this one had a special characteristic. Mystic codes, or magical tools as they were called in this world. He had come to realize that magus and magicians were fundamentally different. He didn't know how different, but they most certainly weren't the same. Even if Shirou had travelled back in time and regained the power of magic, the still wouldn't be the same as the magicians of this world.
This bag of magical tools made him certain of it. He had seen a lot of mystic codes in his time at Clock Tower, but these were special. He would take a lot of time to properly understand them, but he wouldn't give them away to anyone just like that. Some of these were dangerous if used improperly.
Back to the question at hand though, Dalj had nodded at his enquiry "Yes, we used the money from the magi you followed and hired mercenaries to stay as guards. The extra sales you gave us also helped in clearing our merchandize away. Thanks to that, not a single item we sold went bad before we sold it."
`Extra sales? Was he talking about the crowd I drew in as a fanalis guard? Imagine that, my red hair actually helped somebody.´ Shirou thought happily.
"I see… Well, I'm tired as heck so I'm going to sleep, is there anything we need to talk about before I go?" He could feel his eyelids drooping and the sweet embrace of sleep calling for him.
"Actually, we are leaving tomorrow." Dalj said cautiously. That statement woke Shirou up more than caffeine ever could.
"What?" he sputtered confused at the sudden revelation. Dalj looked uncomfortable and averted his eyes.
"It's been a week and our caravan doesn't have any wares left to sell. We sold out carriages today and we paid a ship to take us and the horses to the plateau. We didn't know if you were ever going to come back so we couldn't afford to stay any longer. Now you're here, but you have the tutor to help you with the language so you have to stay." He rushed the part about Shirou dying, probably ashamed over his thoughts.
That's right, he had a tutor now. That meant they had to part ways. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't sad. Apart from the caravan and Yunan, he didn't know anyone in this world. To suddenly go their separate ways because of something so stupid was… just stupid. But he knew he had to do it, what else was he to do? The Kouga had to return to their village, asking them to stay would be selfish on the level of Gilgamesh. Going with them meant abandoning his desire to learn the language and discovering a way back home. If there was a way back home at all… He wouldn't be able to find it on a plateau Root knows where.
It still didn't make him feel better about it.
A knock interrupted his wallowing in self-pity and directed their attention to the door. He wasn't expecting company and the look on Dalj's face told him he didn't know who it was either. Opening the door, he peered out.
Two servants, both clad in the black and white cloth symbolizing their allegiance to the city's lord, stood outside. They were holding a chest made out of wood which looked quite heavy for the two rather thin women. The one on the right spoke while the other one kept her eyes on the ground.
"Are we correct in assuming you are Lord Shirou Emiya?" she asked, careful to keep her eyes below his own in a sign of submission. He didn't know how to feel about that.
"I… Yes, you are. May I ask why you are looking for me?" He responded, uncertain as to why the lord would want to send his servants to him. They could be assassins sent to remove a threat to his position, but he doubted it. The two women didn't possess enough muscles to take him on even two against one.
"The city's lord, Jabra Salir, sends his gifts to the conqueror of the dungeon Shirou Emiya. He asks only that you attend the dinner party he is hosting tomorrow night. Should you decide to keep the gifts and grace the nobles with your presence, then wait here and we will return tomorrow afternoon to deliver your reply to the lord." The servant said with practiced skill.
How many times had they been forced to practice that speech in the last three hours he had no idea, but judging by the ease they said it he thought it must have been in the hundreds. Accepting the chest from the servants, he brought it into the room to open it.
Both Dalj and he were rather curious it seemed because the merchant helped him open the rather heavy lid. Letting the top fall to the ground, he took a look at the contents. It was a surprisingly simple gift, for a lord to give. It was mostly clothes, different cloths made from white, blue and red fabric. He looked at the servants standing in the doorframe, waiting for an explanation.
"They are clothes meant for you to wear at the party. Would you like for us to show you how to wear them? The guards outside will guard the room while you are undressed so do not worry about being attacked." The other servant said, her eyes still on the floor.
"No, that's alright. I can figure it out myself. Tell your lord I'll be at the dinner tomorrow, but I might need some help with the directions." He told the servants. He didn't care about manners and being polite, he just wanted to sleep. He could deal with everything else in the morning.
"Of course, my Lord, by your leave." They bowed on their knees and left the room. Dalj turned to Shirou and sighed.
"Looks like you've got your hands full. Jabra isn't as bad as the rest of the lords, but he's still a piece of work. Be on your guard." The tall man said as he too left the room. The silence that meant he was alone brought back all the drowsiness he had forgotten about earlier. He yawned loudly and felt all the fatigue he had collected in the last day or so. Throwing off the tattered clothes, he jumped onto the bed. He'd take a bath in the morning, right now he just wanted to let the sandman to his thing.
(Present)
Something like that had happened, it seemed. So the guards had stayed outside his room the entire night, protecting him and his riches from whatever tried to get inside. How thoughtful, but he had a feeling the lord had ordered them to guard him for another reason. Maybe to ensure he didn't run off into the night.
Regardless, he needed to get a move on. The guard had said something about washing, was there a bath somewhere? Showers hadn't been invented yet so it was maybe too much to hope for a relaxing shower.
He found it after searching the bathroom. The large bronze tub had been filled with water and different leaves floated on the surface. He could smell the herbs from several feet away, probably their substitute for soap. Deciding not to waste time, he sunk into the lukewarm water and washed himself. The mixture of sweat, blood and dirt which he had accumulated over the last couple of days was rather disgusting so a bath was perfect if he dared say so himself.
Having rested and bathed, he walked out of the bathroom feeling fresh and clean. It was a feeling he had missed since he came to this world. It had only been four days, but the extraordinary events which had occurred made him feel like it was much longer. Being found by the caravan, fighting bandits, clearing a dungeon and finding treasures far more than he could ever have imagined, it all felt overwhelming. It was like entering the Holy Grail War all over again.
He looked for a towel, but he didn't find one. How was he supposed to dry himself? Surely they must have invented towels in this world. He found it rather impossible for them to air-dry themselves. He figured they must have simply forgotten to restock his room so he used the sheets to wipe of the water that clung to his skin. He hoped they wouldn't get angry, it wasn't like he had any choice.
Picking up his clothes, he sighed at their state. The jacket was pretty much a bunch of rage held together at the seams. The pants and his shirt were likewise ruined, his blood and that of his foes having been soaked into the fabric. He wasn't going to be able to wear them any longer, not unless he wanted to be mistaken for a beggar or a homeless person. Taiga had made sure he knew how to fix clothes, probably because her own ability was substandard, but he wasn't a miracle worker. His favorite pair of clothes, next to his blue and white jersey, was ruined.
What was he going to wear now? The only things he still had that were usable were his boots, socks and underwear. Aside from that, he didn't own any clothes.
Actually, he did. The lord of the city had given him clothes the night earlier as a gift. Could he wear them? They were meant for the dinner party, but it wasn't like he couldn't wear them a little earlier, if only to make sure they fit. He had to know if he wore them correctly, after all. He couldn't wait until the last minute to put them, only to discover he had no idea how to wear them.
Opening the chest, he looked at the unfamiliar article of clothing. They were folded with obsessive care, showing not even a single crease anywhere on the fabric. Picking it up, he was surprised by the weight of the cloth. Despite the multiple layers, the shirt itself was lighter than his own. Likewise with the somewhat baggy pants and coat, they were obviously made from some high quality material, but he couldn't figure it out without Structural Analysis. It was a fabric akin to cotton, but even more comfortable. He made sure to check it for any poisons on the surface, but he didn't seem to find any. He had studied the legend of Herakles, the towering Berserker being the source of many of his nightmares and had been stunned when he discovered that he had died from a poisoned shirt given to him by his wife to prevent him from cheating on her. The thought that someone as powerful as Berserker had been taken down by his own wife being rather hard to imagine, but it had made him wary of gifts from Rin and Saber for a while, if only as a precaution.
Rin had been a little zealous in ensuring he didn't cheat on them once she found out he was rather popular among the first generation magi at Clock Tower.
Putting such thoughts aside, the clothes proved to be a challenge more difficult than he expected. He had assumed it would have been easy to put them on, but he soon realized it was not so simple. He didn't know which piece of clothing he was supposed to wear underneath and what was supposed to be on top. The shirt, pants and coat weren't at all what they appeared, appearing more complex each time he tried them on. In the end he had to divide all the articles on the bed and analyze them individually. The pants were rather easy to put on compared to the rest, considering all he had to do was insert his legs in the pants and tie the blue sash around his waist. The shirt was more difficult due to the design of it. The shirt was obviously meant to be worn close to the skin since it was tighter than the rest of the garments, but he still had two more pieces of cloth left. What looked like a coat that reached his thighs and a long and broad scarf were confusing him. The coat was rather straightforward, but it was too loose for it to meant to be worn that way. The scarf was likewise to large to be worn around the neck.
He really should have listened to the servants the night before. If he had then he wouldn't be struggling so much with putting on his clothes now. Deciding to throw caution to the wind, he put on the coat (Or at least he hoped it was a coat. For all intents and purposes, it could be a pajamas) and used the scarf to wrap it around his body from the shoulder to the hip and around his waist. Hopefully he didn't look like a total moron when he stepped out. He did not wish to be laughed at by the entire city, not without a reason at least.
He walked out of the room, sensing the looks he was given. Of course he knew he wasn't wearing it correctly, it wasn't like he knew how to wear clothing form a country in a world he had never known about until just a few days ago. Steeling himself, he walked towards the caravan.
Dalj had been saddling the horses when he saw him. The herd of horses the Kouga had used during their travels had increased with the addition of the horses belonging to the various bandits they had met. Though they had sold most of the bandit horses, they still had a few horses left without a rider, leaving most clansmen holding two or three horses while riding their own. It was a rather impressive sight, if not a little intimidating. Seeing a bunch or armed Kouga on their small army if horses would make anyone nervous.
Maybe not Saber though. Or Gilgamesh. Or Lancer, Berserker, Rider (as if anything which could be ridden would intimidate her), Assassin, Caster or Archer. He was pretty sure Rin was afraid of horses either and any equestrian creature trying to trample her would feel rather ill before it even neared her, courtesy of her Gandr.
Shinji would probably piss his pants, it didn't take much to scare him.
"I guess you weren't joking about leaving." Shirou said, faking a smile. He didn't want to burden Dalj with any feelings of guilt. The caravan had done enough for him in the last few days, making the leader feel guilt or shame at leaving him behind would be a poor compensation.
"I'm afraid I wasn't. If we didn't leave soon then the food we kept for the horses would run out and we'd have to buy more which defeats the purpose of coming here to make money in the first place." Dalj explained sadly.
"Do you need any money for the journey? I have quite a lot left so if you need anything, tell me now before it's too late." Shirou said. He had given the caravan a sack of gold the night before, but he still had more gold than he could spend in his room. He'd prefer it went to someone who deserved it rather than some greedy noble who wanted more riches than his neighbor. The caravan had deserved it more than he could care to remember.
"No, don't you worry about that. You gave us almost more than we could carry. We had to divide the gold up between the horses to ensure we could take it back home with us. We'll be fine, more than fine. You make sure to study and learn the language, I want you to teach the kids in the village when you come to visit us!" Dalj's enthusiastic reply came like a tsunami and Shirou's ears started ringing for a short second before it vanished. The man had a pair of lungs larger than a whale's. If Dalj ever met Berserker and had a shouting contest, Shirou would be in the next town with earplugs. Berserker would win, but the victory wouldn't come easy, not even with Mad Enhancement.
"If you're sure," Shirou conceded, the pain in his ears receding, "By the way, what happened to the horse I was riding earlier?" The pinto horse he had ridden was apparently not well-liked in this world due to the coloration. Horses with a single color were considered superior and more elegant so the pinto had been given a few odd looks. Shirou had however grown fond of the horse, probably because he couldn't' tell if the people were staring at him or the horse.
"That one, huh? We kept it in the back of the herd. We were hoping to sell it, but nobody wants to buy a pinto in this damn city. All they're talking about are the single color and I'm not selling a Kouga horse to these palefaces. Over my dead body can they have a purebred Kouga horse as their own." Dalj started ranting, but Shirou cut him off before he could get momentum. They'd be here for quite a while if Dalj found a good subject to complain about.
"Do you mind if I have it then? I'm kind of used to it by now so it would be a pain in the ass to have to buy a new horse." He asked, hoping for a positive answer.
"I don't mind giving it to you, but are you sure? After all you've done, I don't mind giving you a Kouga horse. They're the best horses in the world, a mixed breed like that one can't even compare." Dalj said, uncertain about what Shirou was asking. Not that Shirou would change his mind.
"I don't care, I prefer the pinto. I've been thinking of giving it a name, but I haven't come up with anything yet. Is there really such a difference between breeds?" Shirou knew nothing about horse other than what Dalj had told him; ponies were meant for the mines and children, light horses were for war while the draft horses pulled carriages. He also knew how to ride one due to the caravan's instructions, albeit rather poorly.
"Of course there is, haven't you been listening to what I've said? Kouga horses are trained to have high endurance and speed while the bandits simply take what they can. Pinto horses are the cheapest of the cheap so they're usually seen with bandits. If you're not careful then people will think you're up to no good." Dalj warned him, his voice being no more than a whisper by the end.
"Alright, got it. So… can I have the pinto?" Shirou repeated. Dalj simply sighed and nodded.
"You can have her, though I still think you should take up my offer and use a Kouga. We trained the pinto while you were gone, but it was only a week and we could only do so much. I hope you know what you're doing, nothing good ever comes out of riding a pinto." Dalj said unhappily. Shirou ignore his words.
Dalj walked away and came back later with a horse, the pinto he had ridden on his way into the city. To his surprise, a proper saddle had been strapped onto the horse's back.
"What's with the saddle?" Shirou asked. He thought they didn't have any extra saddles with them.
"It belonged to one of the men that died. Since you'll need it more than he will, I figured you should have it." the Kouga leader explained.
Shirou couldn't put his finger on it, but Dalj had changed after he had emerged from the dungeon. His way of speaking had been different, more respectful and less crude. He was still the boisterous character he had been before he had entered the tower, but the jokes were less vulgar and he watched what he said when Shirou was around. Ignoring the feeling he was getting, he thanked Dalj for the gift.
"Just make sure you don't wear it out too fast." Dalj answered when he expressed his gratitude.
The boat they were going to leave on gave the signal for boarding, the bell at the front being rung several times in a row. Saying farewell, Shirou saw the tribesmen enter the ship, the veritable herd entering the lower deck. He stayed behind to wave the ship as it left the harbor until it was only him and the mare left.
Finally, when the ship had disappeared into the horizon, did he stop waving. He must have looked silly, waving at what looked like nothing. He didn't feel silly though, only empty for some reason. Something had ended, an abrupt void had been opened in his chest. He soon realized why.
In the last couple of days he had to say good bye to a lot of things. His life in his home world being one of them and this being the latest. How many more times would he have to say farewell to his friends until he had ended up like Archer had, damning himself in the process? Was this the beginning of Archer's misfortune?
No it wasn't and it wouldn't be if he had something to say about it. Turning to the pinto whose reins he was holding, he made up his mind.
"Want to go and get breakfast?"
His only answer was the happy neigh the mare gave.
"I'll take that as a yes."