The knight rose from his bed, waking to the feeling of a weight crushing down on him. Inspecting himself, there was no outward sign of a culprit, no person or thing sitting on top of him, yet he still felt crushed. ‘I hope I finish this training today, even my body is getting fed up with it.’
As the knight left the room, having dressed and prepared himself for breakfast, he stumbled on his neighbor leaving her room. “Her Sarah, sorry about the head pat yesterday. I didn’t think about it till now, but it was probably really condescending. The only reason I did it was because Adriana did it, and I was really trying to get you to calm do-“
“You worry too much.” The girl patted the knight’s head, stretching her arm just to reach his hair. “Vanessa used to put her finger against my lips to shut me up. She learned it from my mom.”
“Oh yeah, I wanted to ask you that! Do you plan to go back to your parents, or do you want to stay here?”
“My parents have gotten used to me living with Vanessa and the others, so I think it’s better if I stay here. Besides, I like living with you; it’s usually quiet and no kids screaming, not like back in Elvenbur.”
“I’m guessing that’s where you lived. Can I ask, you mention Vanessa a lot, what was she like? If you don’t mind me asking that is.” Matt had felt guilty for asking, recalling how the archer reacted while recounting the events that transpired.
“Vanessa was like you and Jessica combined, she could be hot-headed but also a good leader. She and I were, um…actually never mind that, she was a good leader, and we had good times. She was a swordswoman like you, though she was all offense, using fire and earth along with a greatsword.”
“I’m guessing the fire element is what made her compassionate. Am I getting that element theory thing, right?”
“Um, well, nobody uses that idea anymore. It was popular for a while, but too many people let it control their lives, so it was abandoned. Even though I still like using it, I don’t let it decide how I see others, or what I expect from them. I like to think people’s personalities are what decides their elements, not the other way around.”
“Oh, alright then. I suppose that makes sense.” The knight was a little disappointed, he still wanted to believe he could shape his destiny.
As the two sat down at the table, Matt surveyed the house. “Where did John go?”
“Your father left to begin training kids for the summer. Perhaps when you meet him tonight, you should consider apologizing for last night.” Making eye contact with the woman, the knight could feel her cold gaze penetrate his heart.
“No,” He remained defiant, “I meant every word of what I said last night.”
“You know as well as I do that your father had nothing to do with your brother turning traitor. He left on his own accord.”
“You’re sort of right, father wasn’t the only one to send her away. If you were there for her, even if John wasn’t, Lucy might not have left.”
“Young man, Luke is your brother, he is my son, no matter what he calls himself.” The woman turned around, Matt relieved to no longer be a victim of her stare. “Just, try to keep this family together until this incident is over. I know the queen said you could have anything you and your friends wanted, so ask for a house and leave us alone.”
The knight watched the woman return to the kitchen, feeling the venom from her last words. He didn’t feel guilty for what he said, for his accusation against her, or how he upset her. Rather, he felt bad for subjecting the archer to the scene. “I’m sorry you had to see that Sarah.”
“Well Brisben was a bust, I hope we find something at Hulli.” The cleric had followed behind the rogue, wishing Matthew had taught him how to read a map as well. “You’d think they teach us how to read a map in school.”
“Nah, too busy teaching us useless garbage like the history of the monarchy.” Pulling down the map, the rogue took in the vast expanse of trees to their left, and the desert to their right and ahead of them. “If they’re not in Hulli, we might have to check Branton, and without Brian, that could take forever.”
“Hey Adri, do you think Sarah and Matt are gonna, ya know?”
“We’ll all be hopeful, for both their sakes. Wouldn’t mind taking Sarah to the shooting gallery when we get home.” Adriana’s thoughts wandered to the archer, hoping that if she wasn’t clinging to their leader today, she would instead stick with the dragoon, if he was still alive.
“What did you want to ask Matt?”
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“It’s something about Lucy. I don’t want to talk about.” Not wanting to press the matter further, Eric left her to continue contemplating.
The two continued to journey, taking time to rest on the side of the dirt road. “Ya think there’s going to be any carriages or wagons? Kind of miss Anita whenever I think about wagons.”
“Well to answer your question, no. Matt said no search teams have been sent north. If no search teams are being sent out, that means no worries, and that means no travelers.” The rogue took a deep, longing breath after answering the cleric. “I miss her too. I could really use her weird humor right about now.”
“I think we all could, especially Jess. I don’t know what’s up with her, but she seems meaner than ever.”
“I think Sarah has made her pent up, for obvious reasons. She needs to just except Matt only sees her as a friend. If her nose wasn’t broken, I would’ve broken it after what she said to you yesterday.”
“It’s fine Adri, I was more concerned than hurt by it.”
“You really shouldn’t take crap from her.”
“It doesn’t bother me though. I know what you mean, it’s just I’d rather not bother.”
A small town had rose from the sandy region, stealing the team’s attention. “Looks like a smaller version of Branton. Hopefully a much, much smaller version.”
At the town’s entrance, there was a guard next to a gate that blocked the way. Closing the distance, the two could see the guard was very busy sleeping. “Knock knock, could you wake up and do your job?” Adriana’s remark fell on deaf ears, the man too far gone to hear her complaints. Grabbing Eric, Adriana sunk in to the shadows, taking the two through the fence. “I will never not enjoy your way of getting around.”
Scanning the surroundings, the rogue and cleric could see the guard wasn’t protecting much. The roads were empty, quiet. “I asked for a mini Branton, not an empty Branton.” Proceeding down the road to the left, the eerie shell of a living area became more and more unsettling.
“What the heck? Adriana, check this out!” The rogue did as he asked, tilting her head at the find. In front of the two was a store, the display glass shattered and the store filled with space. “Something tells me the sins were he-“
“HEEELLO THERE!” A rambunctious voice alerted the pair to two teens standing on a roof. “What do we have here?! A lovely couple? Haha, an audience if I ever saw one. Don’t you agree, Dustin?” An umber skinned man in a sparkly gold suit and top hat had turned to an albino, lanky teen with long blonde hair. Compared to the average built, flashy looking teen, the lanky teen was in a modest green t-shirt and blue trunks. “Westin, they don’t look like they’re from around here” Dustin yawned loudly.
“Well it looks like we found the last of the seven sins.” Adriana’s deadpan delivery had killed the showman’s chipper smile.
“Tough crowd. I suppose you know our names, but I will introduce us properly. I am, Westin, Greed of the Seven Deadly Sins. My lanky, sleepy, dowzy, and all around spacey assistance is Dustin, or Sloth. But talk is cheap.” Darkness had surrounded Westin, his form changing to that of a stringy, stone-gray devil. “Young lady, prepare yourself for a show!”
Stretching his legs and flapping his wings violently, the devil flew at Adriana. The rogue had transformed into lightning as she rushed the devil, taking them both away from the other two. Returning to her normal form, she watched the devil regain his footing. “Fancy. You’d make a better assistance than Dusty, but that’s a pretty low bar. Show me some more!”
The rogue did as he asked, rushing her foe again, but this time he held his ground, only moving a couple feet as he dragged some dirt with him. “You’re going to have to think of something new if you want to beat me.” The devil came at Adriana this time, faster than before. Using the shadows of the building, the rogue barely avoided a slice by her foe’s knives.
“Yo, I’m Dustin, and I can do this.” As darkness surrounded the teen, Eric was taken aback as he watched the silhouette grow. He figured the devil’s shapes were in-line with their human selves, but this lanky boy had turned into something massive. As the form finalized, the once skin-and-bones teen now had thick limbs and a giant shell on his back. “Sorry bro, gotta take you out.”
The devil proceeded to form a ball, rolling in Eric’s direction. Jumping away, the cleric watched the ball stop. “Guess that was predictable. Oh well, I’ll just smash you.” As the devil casually made his way over, Eric tensed up, anticipating a strike on par with the boar his friends faced two years ago. As the devil raised his arm, the cleric dodged easily, surprising even himself. Taking time to retaliated, he quickly summoned a stream of water and slashed Dustin’s arm. “Ow, that wasn’t cool man.”
“Could you do more than dodge?” Westin continued to slash at Adriana, the latter of whom would disappear into the shadows at every attempted stab or slash. “Since you like shows so much, have a nice light show!” Before Westin could catch sight of what the rogue planned, he was enveloped by electricity. “Yowza! Talk about a shocking personality, but you’ll need more than that.”
As the electric current died down, the devil stood up, only to be knocked down again by a force he couldn’t see. Westin continue trying to stand, but every time he would be knocked over. “What is this?” As Westin was slammed into a building, he finally caught sight of the rogue, holding him by the neck. “I’d say that’s an exciting finale, wouldn’t you?” Westin gargled in response.
“Yo Westin, can ya help me out?!” The rogue and devil turned to see the blonde boy running toward them, Eric keeping pace. “Oh, seems you’re in a pickle too. Crap.”
“Where’s the princess?! If she’s hurt, so help me-“
“The princess? She’s fine! I wouldn’t a hair on her pretty pink scalp. We feed her, entertain her, keep her company. She’s better off with us than at home!”
“Where is she?” Adriana tightened her grip on the teen.
“Doran Mountain Range. Good luck finding the tower.” The words of the archer had begun to fill the Rogue’s mind.
Adriana released her grip on Westin, letting him fall to the ground gasping. “Tell you what, you bring the princess to Gnash in three days, and we fight to see who’s better. If we win, we take the princess. If you win, you keep her.”
“Sounds like an event to remember. Deal!” With that, the two sins returned to their devil forms, Westin jumping on Dustin’s back, riding him like a ball as they left town.
“Looks like we got a fight.”
“Yeah, we better get a home soon.”