A/N: Second chapter is out now! This time beta was done by Devlin Dracul and Gmann (both amazing authors; check em), and it is now way more awesome than when I initially wrote it. This chapter is more action and less fluff, but you can still expect some funny moments. Enjoy!
Angelica had finished her shopping tour and stored away most of her purchases in an alternate dimension, using the Transportation Spell. She slung the traveling cloak around her shoulders; now looking the same as I, we headed towards the gate.
"Do you want to ride a horse," she asked me.
"I don't know, you can decide where we go, but I think horses are too expensive," I said. Angelica nodded with a sigh, apparently not wanting to travel a large distance by feet. "This way we will see more of those marvels we mentioned and can have a nice chat," I say, trying to cheer her up.
"I guess you're right," she exclaims through a genuine smiled. "Let's see...we have to follow this road until we arrive at a city called Lyndon, and from there we will head to the east through the great forest until we arrive at the Elven Kingdom."
"Sounds great. How far away is Lyndon," I asked.
"We should get there within a day."
‑
We left the city and walked along the road. It was a broad road made up of flat stones, smooth from all the carts and carriages that frequently drove on it; although our village was fairly small, it was a knot on the merchant route between the east and north. We occasionally saw one, carrying grain from the north or bringing back goods like alcohol and magic items with them, although the latter were rare. A lot of cheap magic products are sold, but those are produced within the northern plains. The more powerful and useful items usually were enchanted by the elves; since they were so expensive, many manufacturers preferred sending them by ship.
The land around the road itself was beautiful. It mirrored the riches of the northern plains, vast fields of wheat, apple trees and other crops were next to the road, showing off the prosperity and fertility of the land. In fact, the north produced a lot of food for the other plains as well. The farmers were mainly selling grain to the elves, or livestock and meat to the dwarfs.
"I like it," I thought out loud, "The area, you know."
"My my, so young and already planning to settle down," smirked Angelica. "Never thought you wanted to be a farmer."
"It's just...everyone expects us to be the next Paladins and it's certainly an honor and a great job, but as long as no one challenges you, you can't settle down. I don't know if I still want to travel around in my sixties," I laughed a little sheepishly.
"You don't seem to be the type of guy that is concerned about his future. Most people would say you work towards your goal, ignoring everything else," contemplated Angelica.
"And what would you say," I asked a little curious.
"Hmm...I would probably say that looks can deceive," replied Angelica with a grin.
"I guess you really know me the best," I sighed. Angelica giggled. "And what about you? Don't you worry about your future?"
"Hmm…" contemplated Angelica, putting her index finger on her lips; it were those moments that always reminded me of her beauty. "I guess you'll figure it out for me," she said brightly.
"I bet," I say with a chuckled.
‑
We had been walking for maybe four hours when I decided to have a short rest; not that we were exhausted, but it would still feel nice. I kept a lookout for a good spot until I heard running water. Focusing my hearing, I located a small creek near us. "Let's have a rest," I said. Angelica nodded.
We sat down in the shade of a tree. It was a beautiful view: the creek was glistening in the water, a few trees in the back appeared to be emeralds in the golden mass of wheat. I used the Transportation Spell to get a bottle of water and some bread, Angelica picked two apples from a nearby tree.
"I wish it could look like this forever," she said. I hummed in agreement.
"That's something worth becoming a Paladin for. Protecting the land and the people...I can't imagine what would have happened without them sometimes," I said.
"Yeah...it comes with a great risk, but every second will be worth it. Together we will transverse the plains..." says Angelica a little dreamily.
"You better not lose your duel with the Silver Paladin then," I smirked.
"As if! I won't leave you...erh, I mean..." stuttered Angelica, blushing mid-way. I chuckled a little.
"Come on, we don't want to arrive at midnight, do we," I ask, saving her from further embarrassment.
‑
We had been walking another two hours. We had left the fields and were in a forest now. The sun had started to set and basked the sky in a copper tone. "I think one more hour before we arrive in Lyndon," said Angelica.
"Except ya won't," said a voice. "That is, if ya want to keep all ya fancy stuff."
"Who is there," I ask calmly.
"Just ya usual street robber," snickered a man who emerged from the trees. He was tall, dressed in leathery clothes, and had a black beard. A lot of other men came out of the forest on all sides, surrounding us.
"Oh my God, bandits! What do we do now," I said in a mocking, sarcastic tone.
"Ya could give us all of ya money or die. Your choice," said the man.
"That's a problem. I don't want to die, but I don't want to give them my money," said Angelica in fake pondering, acting as if this was some kind of trick math question.
"So ya going to choose dying huh? Fine with me," said the bandit, shrugging his shoulder. All of his men drew various weapons.
"I think we can settle this in a different way. How about a duel," I offered. The bandit looked a little dumbfounded, then he started to laugh.
"A duel he said! Funny, ya bourgeois Ladies and Lords think everything can be solved with a fancy little duel," he laughed out, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "I'll tell ya something kiddo, life ain't that easy."
"So you decline...then I can't guarantee for your safety anymore," I stated, taking a fighting stance.
"Safety? That's it! Kill them," snarled the bandit. His men jumped at us.
I knew Angelica would do perfectly well on her own, so I focused on my fight. I pointed my hand at the nearest bandit. "Divine Law," I chanted, and shackles of light shot from the ground, restraining his movements. I leaped at him. "Drilling Strike!" Surrounding my fist in winds, I hit him in the stomach; the winds tearing his clothes apart and driving my fist straight through him. He coughed up blood before dropping on the ground, dying. I pointed my fist at another bandit. "Blood Projectile!" The bandit's blood still attached to my fist was hardened and shot at the other bandit, piercing his chest; he collapsed.
I looked around. Three more bandits to go. I rushed towards them. "Stomp!", I chanted and stomped on the ground, causing a large section of earth in front of me to be forcefully ejected thirty feet into the air, sending the highway men along with it. "Lithomancy: Throwing Knives!" Another spell of mine let the bigger pebbles of the debris glow, and in midair, metal knives formed out of them. Lithomancy, the magic of forming, controlling and changing stone was powerful; you can create a metal out of rock that is better than most forged weapons. With a swipe of my hand the knives flew towards the bandits, piercing their bodies before they fell down. I turned around and saw Angelica wielding her katana. With a few quick and precise slashes, she mowed down the bandits with deadly efficiency, in the most beautiful way I've ever seen. Evading the blood, the silvery slashes cut through limbs and torsos, and in the midst of the carnage was Angelica, her golden hair flying freely.
After a few seconds the fight was already over. All the bandits were either severely injured or dead. The leader looked at us with a look of pure terror. "I guess you bit off more than you could chew," I say with a smirk. He just screamed and threw something at Angelica. She quickly created a shield, and immediately after that a small explosion shook the area. A crater was where Angelica was standing; without her shield, she would've been blown to pieces. The mere though fills me with rage. "Divine Law," I yell, binding the bandit to the ground. I walked towards him with a menacing aura. "You can try to rob us, you can try to fight us, but if you try to hurt her, I won't forgive you! Blood Boil!" A look of unbridled horror appeared on his face and slowly twisted into of agony, as his internal temperature increased to fatal levels. The bandit's ear shattering screams slowly turned into a gurgling noise once his lungs had all but melted into bubbling soup. Then the progression reached its climax when his body, which was completely obscured in red life fluid, exploded in a shower of guts and gore.
"You went overboard," said Angelica without any judgment in her voice.
"Looks like it," I said.
"But...t-thanks for caring so much..." she muttered while blushing. I also blush a little.
"Well, y-you're...you know..." I stuttered. Damn it, why did I suddenly lose my cool?! I blushed even more. "Let's go," I yell a bit loud, trying to change the topic. Angelica nodded, and with red faces we continued our walk towards Lyndon.
‑
The moon had replaced the sun when we arrived in Lyndon. Looking around, we saw it was rather small. The only inn stood in the middle of the village; lights were inviting us, shining through the window glass. We entered and saw it was clean and cozy. A few people sat at the tables, drinking beer and chatting. Smoke was in the air, some men were smoking pipes or cigars.
"We'd like to have dinner and two rooms," I said to the man behind the counter. It was an elderly man with an impressive mustache. He was bald and a little obese, wearing a stained apron.
"Well, I certainly can serve you a delicious hotpot and my self-brewed beer, but we only have one room left," he smiled.
"Does it have two beds," asked Angelica hopefully.
"No, one, but I bet you won't a problem with that, eh?" He winked with knowing smugness. "You two are the cutest couple in here since years."
"And what about my daughter, huh?" A man shouted in the back.
"Pshaw, you farmers know nothing about real beauty! When I was still in the city..." ranted the bartender, and everybody started to laugh. It was a happy village.
"Yeah, we'll take this room..." I muttered, seeing Angelica flush a bit.
"Great! Just sit wherever you like, I'll get your food right now," spoke the innkeeper with a smile and went through a door leading to a kitchen. We sat down at a table, and after a minute or so he put down two plates and two mugs in front of us. "Enjoy your meal!"
I looked down on the food. The hotpot sure seemed nice, having potatoes and beans in it. I saw diced bacon, and it looked like the basis of the hotpot was tomatoes. Then I sniffed at the mug and took a long sip. It was dark beer, a little malty and sweet, with not too much alcohol. Angelica ate a spoon of the hotpot. "It's good," she said with a cute smile.
I raised my mug. "To our journey," I said.
"To our journey," she said and we clunked our mugs together.
‑
After we had eaten, we went upstairs to our room. It wasn't particularly large, having only a – rather big – bed, a table, two chairs and toiletry equipment. "I'll take the floor," I offered, taking out my sleeping bag from the storage dimension.
"Don't be silly, it's large enough for the two of us," said Angelica.
"But..." I began, hesitation on max level.
"No buts! We've done this before," she cut me off.
"Yeah, but we were kids!"
"And now," she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You are a woman..." I stuttered with a small blush; her face flushed, but determination showed in her eyes.
"We will have to do this a lot in the future, so get over it!" as soon as the words left her mouth, she devolved from confident to a stuttering mess. "Sleeping t-together...I mean next to e-each other..." She blushed even more and I chuckled and laid down.
"You're right. Good night." She sighed in exasperation.
"Yeah. Good night."