Michael trudged down the road a little worse for wear. He was exhausted after the last two nights since separating from Thomas. His nightmares of losing his world and family were getting worse. They were making him feel irritable and depressed. He wished Thomas was still around.
During his trip, he came across a broken and busted carriage, as Thomas predicted. This carriage was different from what he expected, though. Instead of the usual wooden wheels one would expect of a ‘carriage,’ these ones looked like tires from Michael’s world. The main body also seemed to be extended at the front. Checking inside, it looked like the driver’s seat of a car, with a steering wheel, pedals, and all. The back area looked luxurious at one point, but now it was damaged and torn.
Michael searched as best he could but had no luck finding a key to the trunk. But he did notice one thing about the location. In a muddier area, Michael saw what looked like old bootprints. At first, he thought it could have been the people who owned the carriage or perhaps some soldiers from the garrison Thomas mentioned, but he changed his mind after finishing his inspection. The carriage and what was left of bodies were stripped of anything useful or, in particular, valuable.
Thomas may have assured Michael that he could take on brigands if he encountered them, but he could not help but be scared. Michael was beginning to worry about his sanity slipping with the condition he was in.
Michael had not run into anyone in the last two days. The trunk on his back that he secured using straps from the carriage he found could have been abandoned since he couldn’t find the key, but it was his stubbornness of not wanting to give up the potential loot inside.
It was late afternoon when the worst situation occurred.
Buster
Class: Swordsman (Rank 6) (Criminal)
Str: Rank 4 Dex: Rank 3 Int: Rank 2
Status:
Physical: Normal Magic: Normal Mental State: Confidant
Injuries:
Left leg (Old) Right Foot (Old): Missing two toes
Skills:
Swords: Rank 6 Melee: Rank 4 Ambush: Rank 4 Leadership: Rank 4
Stealth: Rank 3 Survival: Rank 4 Dodge: Rank 2
Abilities:
Cleave Tri-Point Puncture Charge
“Well, well, well. Looky what we ‘ave here? A beast with a trunk.” Buster said, gaining laughter from his six companions.
“What do you want?” Michael asked coldly. His irritation from several sleepless nights building.
“Well. Ya see that trunk there belongs to me.” Buster replied coyly.
“How do you figure that?” Michael lowered the trunk off his back onto the ground. He would abandon it if need be, but right now, he felt he needed to not be weighed down by it.
“Who else would have the key other than the owner?” Buster asked with a smirk.
“You have the key? Can I believe that to be true?” Michael asked, testing the man.
“I swear in Sylfaerune’s name that I possess the key to that trunk.” A quick haze of light passed over the man.
The name caused anger to begin boiling inside Michael.
“I am surprised that a goddess would support brigands,” Michael growled.
The group began laughing at him.
“As if Sylfaerune would abandon her favorite race. She doesn’t care what we do, so long as we offer her our prayers and faith.” A wicked smile came to Buster’s face.
HAAAAATE
Michael roared angrily and charged forward with the worn sword leading the way.
Buster was taken by surprise and was impaled in the stomach by Michael.
“Graaaah!” Buster yelled through his blood-filled mouth as Michael lifted the impaled man.
Michael had never been so angry in his life. His blood felt like it was boiling. He only wanted to kill the bastards.
“G-Get the bastard!” One of the other brigands called out.
Two of them charged at Michael from his sides.
Michael pulled his sword out of Buster and threw the man aside.
The brigand on his right swung his axe down, and Michael swung his sword up to meet it.
To Michael’s misfortune, the worn blade snapped under the force of the collision. Michael barely dodged the rest of the swing.
The brigand was elated, thinking Michael would be an easy kill now, but to his demise, Michael did not pause in his attack.
Following the breaking of the blade, Michael thrust the broken remains into the man’s throat without hesitation.
The second brigand swung down at Michael’s head with his sword, only for it to bounce off of Michael’s horn.
With the dying brigand falling backward, Michael grabbed the man’s axe and swung it horizontally into the stomach of the one that had struck him.
A couple of the brigands turned tail and ran toward the forest they came out of. The last one was standing still while focusing. While looking at the man, Michael could see a nearly transparent white smoke gathering between the man’s hands. The smoke had a thin line that ran into the ground and spread about the ground Michael was standing on.
The moment the smoke from the man’s hands plunged into the ground and toward Michael, his instincts told him to escape the area. Jumping to the side, he looked back to see several earth-like spikes shoot up from the ground where he was.
The brigand was surprised that Michael escaped and began preparing another attack. Michael wasn’t taking any chances and threw the axe he was holding.
The axe flew toward the brigand, but he was able to dodge out of the way.
Michael charged forward and was able to close the distance before the man could prepare another attack.
Leaping upon the man, Michael proceeded to pummel the man until he stopped moving.
Michael stood up from the man, breathing heavily. At the end of the fight, his blood began to cool, and his mind cleared.
“W-What have I done?” Michael asked himself. “I just… k-killed them…”
Michael had never killed anyone or been in an actual fight before. He felt sick to his stomach. What came over him to make him so angry? It almost felt like something had possessed him. The ordeal terrified him.
“No. Remember what Thomas said. They’re brigands. Bad people who pillage and kill.” Michael repeated the words to himself a few times. It offered him some comfort. He remembered Thomas recommending the goddess Io, so he decided to give it a chance.
“Goddess Io. I need guidance. Was I really in the right to kill these men? Am I becoming a monster?” Michael prayed.
A thin silver haze of light slowly flowed over him. Bringing him comfort and warmth.
“She… heard me? Answered me? I… Thank you, Io.” Michael offered another prayer.
His mind cleared up even more. Michael’s worries and paranoia felt like they were melting away, leaving him with a warm assurance.
“Ugh.”
Michael turned to see that Buster was still alive and struggling to drink a potion. Coldness returned to Michael’s heart, and he moved over to Buster.
“Wait. Please. I’m sorry. Please.” Buster begged.
Michael took the potion from Buster. “I want the key.”
“Please. I’ll tell you… where. Please. Potion.”
“I swear in the name of Io that if you take a Divine Oath for the key, I will give you the potion and will not harm you any further so long as you don’t attack me.” A silver haze rolled over Michael.
“Yes. Swear by Sylfaerune. Will tell you where… the key is. How to get it. Will leave… you alone.” A haze of light rolled over Buster.
Michael helped feed the potion to Buster and waited five minutes for the potion to take full effect.
“T-Thank you... for your mercy.” Buster said as he sat up. The single potion wasn’t enough to fully heal the man, but it was enough to keep him from dying.
“The key.”
“Yes.” Buster drank one more potion. “I hid the key away from our camp. If you head into the forest heading west for about twenty minutes. Look for a dead and burnt tree. Then look to the southwest for a patch of red moss around the roots of a tree. After that, follow the red moss four more times. The last one will have a rock at the base hiding a small hollow. The key is in there.” Buster finished his explanation.
Michael checked the man who was using earth magic. He was alive but unconscious with a concussion. Looting the man’s body, Michael took a pouch of Tress and a book that seemed to be the basics of magic. A helpful item he found on the mage was a pocket watch.
“Will you continue robbing this road?” Michael asked.
“No. I think… I’ll turn myself in and do my time in hard labor. Even with two potions, staying out here is a death sentence.” Buster replied, weakly standing up.
“And him?” Michael pointed at the unconscious man.
“Not my problem.” Buster began walking down the road toward the garrison two days out.
Michael felt there was nothing more to be said to the leaving man.
Looting the two dead men of any valuables, he also took up a belt and equipped himself with a sword and axe.
With his looting complete, Michael headed into the forest with the trunk to find the key.
Using the pocket watch, Michael timed himself out to twenty minutes but did not find the dead tree Buster had mentioned. Spending ten more minutes checking north and south, he found the starting point to the south of where he was.
To the southwest was a tree with bright red moss growing at the base of the tree.
Blood Mist Moss. Extreme caution must be taken when handling. It can eat away at flesh. If consumed, it will damage internal organs, hemorrhage blood vessels, and likely lead to death.
“Fucking hell!” Michael backed a couple of steps away from it. Looking around the forest area, he noticed the next tree to the south.
Michael followed the markers for thirty minutes until he finally arrived at the last one. Circling to the back of the tree, he found the rock that the brigand had mentioned.
Just in case, he focused on the rock.
Rock
“Well… Hopefully, there are no traps….”
Michael found a durable branch and used it as a fulcrum to flip the rock away from the tree and keep a distance from the opening.
After nothing happened, he checked the hollow and found a pouch with a Holding rank 3. Opening the bag, he could see quite a bit of Tress, jewels, jewelry, and lastly, the key.
Setting down the trunk, Michael removed the key and placed it on top of the trunk. He took a moment to attach the new pouch to his belt.
Kneeling before the trunk, Michael took a deep breath. Picking up the key, he nervously inserted it into the lock. He hoped this was the key for the trunk because if it wasn’t, he would feel like he had wasted so much time hanging onto the damn thing.
Turning his wrist, the key turned, and there was a satisfying Click! That followed.
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Michael exhaled heavily and began to laugh, all the tension leaving his body. He looked at the now loosened lid with a wide smile.
Opening the trunk, he found that it was pretty full of shrunken objects.
“YYYYYYYYYYYYYES!” Michael thrust his fists into the air. He was sure if he did end up with a tail, it would be spinning like a helicopter blade, with how happy he was.
From what he could see, there were many men’s and women’s clothing, cases, an odd item he was unsure about, and small chests. Michael pulled out one of the chests that grew to the size of a large lunch box. Opening the chest, he found it to be full of Tress. He knew he would be financially okay if he made it to civilization. Returning it to the trunk, he pulled out another chest to find it full of jewelry. Switching and checking the two remaining chests, he found one to have more valuables and the other to have important-looking documents.
Pulling out one of the twenty cases, he opened it to be hit in the face with a delicious scent that made his mouth instantly salivate.
Inside the case was a sizzling hot meal consisting of a thick steak, fluffy mashed potatoes, and steamed vegetables. The case also included a set of gold-plated utensils.
Swallowing hard, Michael decided to put his loot checking on hold for a meal.
Hours had gone by since Michael got the chest open. He was comfortably riding down the road on the odd item that was in the chest. It was a collapsible magic scooter.
Magic Scooter (Rank 6). A leisure item used to travel short distances. The core crystal stores a certain amount of mana. Core crystal can be recharged by either applying mana directly or allowing ambient mana in the surrounding area to be absorbed.
Effect(s): Mana Storage (Rank 6), Mana Efficiency (Rank 4), Balance (Rank 5), Repair (Rank 5).
Mana Storage
Effect(s): Stores a specific amount of mana. Current Rank: 6. 2173/3500 mana.
Mana Efficiency
Effect(s): Lessens waste of mana usage. Current Rank: 4. Mana waste reduction: 50%
Balance
Effect(s): Reduces the chance of losing balance. Current Rank: 5. Stablize: 70%
Michael was making considerable time with the scooter. He was thankful for the Balance effect since he still had the trunk strapped to his back. It had turned to night in the last hour, but he was feeling extra energetic and, with his night vision, decided to keep riding. The sky was overcast, so it made the night even darker.
Riding through the night for a few more hours, Michael felt it would be a good time to stop.
After collapsing the scooter, he headed just within the forest’s edge and found a good tree. He hung the trunk in a lower section of the tree, just out of sight, and placed the scooter on top. Climbing up further, he found a thick branch and took a seat. Unfurling his wings, he hooked them on branches to his side. This was the best method he found to sleep in peace.
During one of his nights when he slept, he got woke up to a deer sniffing at his face. He never wanted to scream that loud again. Michael had never been camping in his old world, so he had no idea what to do.
With his wings hooked at each side, he could keep himself balanced on the branch until the morning. Michael closed his eyes to sleep.
Blackness.
Michael was surrounded by nothing but blackness. Even his night vision didn’t seem to work.
“H-Hello?” His voice echoed.
The darkness made Michael shiver, goosebumps spreading across his arms.
“Where am I?” Michael’s voice was shaky.
Michael tensed up, cold sweat running down his brow.
Slowly turning, he saw something, or more like some things, far in the distance. He couldn’t make them out but felt their eyes on him. They bore into him.
“No, no, no… How do I get out of here? I want out of here!” Michael cried.
A sharp pain ripped Michael from his sleep. He was hanging at an angle in his seat, his right wing keeping him from falling to the ground. Teeth chattering, shivering, and shaking, Michael wrapped his arms around himself. The air was not cold enough to make him feel like he was freezing, but he was terrified.
“It’s going to be okay. It’s going… to be okay.” Michael tried to assure himself.
The color was beginning to return around the area. Looking off toward the east, he could see a myriad of reds, pinks, and oranges.
Michael was glad it was sunrise. He really didn’t want to be in the dark right now.
He felt tired, but he refused to sleep. Michael was scared he would end up back in the darkness again.
Riding his scooter for the last few hours in silence, he noticed something coming his way on the road.
As he rode down the road, Michael pulled his hood down more to hide his face better. To Michael’s dismay, it looked like the object slowed and came to a stop. A few people spread out over the road, blocking Michael’s path.
Unsure of what to do, Michael decided to stop within yelling distance of what he could see was a carriage like the one he had seen earlier.
“What do you want?” Michael yelled at them.
“Swear you are not a criminal!” A man in heavy armor yelled back.
Michael was confused but decided to do it. “I swear in the name of Io, I am not a criminal!”
The silver haze passed over Michael, and to his relief, he saw the group stand down from their defensive position.
“That is good to know! Sorry about that!” The man apologized and began walking toward Michael while the others stayed back.
The man stopped about ten feet from Michael.
“Sorry about that friend. Seeing someone traveling while carrying a trunk on their back makes one thing of a brigand.” The jovial man informed him.
“Ah. Hah, hah. I guess that makes sense.” Michael replied, feeling a bit relieved.
“Right. By the way, I swear in the name of Sylfaerune that I am not a criminal.” The haze rolled over the man. “You must not travel much. Most people would have made sure I did that before approaching.” The man chuckled.
Michael nervously laughed.
“Anyway. I am guessing you found that?” The man asked.
“I did. It was from a destroyed carriage a good distance down the road.” Michael replied.
“Damn. If only we had left a couple days ago. Oh well. My name’s Albus, a merc hired by the merchant there.” Albus motioned toward the carriage. “If you have things you want to sell, I am sure he would be interested in talking.”
“Swear your group is not trying to trap me,” Michael replied, which caused Albus to laugh.
“Sure. I swear, in the name of Sylfaerune, my group won’t attack you unless you attack us.” Albus smiled as the haze rolled over him.
Michael rolled his scooter over to the carriage, where a short man with a bit of a belly in nice-looking clothing hopped down.
“What is this, Albus?” The short man asked.
“Thought you might want to do some business with the demi here. Looks like he found a noble’s trunk.” Albus explained.
The merchant’s face brightened. “Really?! Yes! Greetings traveler, my name is Yanni Philbra, and I would truly be interested in buying anything you don’t want from that trunk!”
“Nice to meet you, Yanni. I’m Michael,” Michael replied, happy to be able to talk to others.
“Please, this way. Could someone bring down my trunk?” Yanni asked the mercenary group.
A couple of them went to the back, Michael and Yanni following. After the two placed the trunk on the ground, the mercs took up a defensive perimeter around the area, leaving Michael with the merchant.
The two of them opened their trunks.
“I have no need for these women’s clothing or documents,” Michael said as he pulled out a chest and a dress for Yanni to check.
“Hmm. This dress is of good quality.” Yanni felt the material and checked the many embellishments. “Looks to be a custom-made dress. Pricing for custom dresses is mostly based on the material used and the maker. Let’s see… Lupis Delqueen.” Yanni muttered as he checked the collar.
Yanni reached into his satchel and pulled out a book, flipping through the pages.
“It seems Delqueen is a bit of an older designer, but she has a well-established brand. Pricing should not be affected negatively. The material is excellent, and some buttons look like jewels. How many dresses are there?” Yanni asked.
“About twenty,” Michael answered. He was smiling and having fun doing something he had only read of in fantasy books.
“Missy! Could you help us over here, please?” Yanni called over one of the two lady mercenaries.
With Missy’s assistance, they made it through all twenty-two dresses. Yanni finished writing down his notes and calculations.
“Alright. Not all of them were winners, but I promise in the name of Tilra, I will give you a fair market price.” A haze of light flashed over Yanni.
Yanni noticed Michael’s curious look. “Heh, I am guessing you are wondering why a merchant such as myself would do something that prevents me from trying to make the most I can, huh? The reason for that is that the Philbra family has done business cleanly and fairly for generations. We pride ourselves in that, and it shows! The Philbra Merchant Group is one of six companies welcome anywhere, regardless of race or politics.” Yanni gave a broad and pleasant smile.
Michael laughed and thanked the man.
“Now, the dresses altogether, I will buy them all for 6300 Tress.” Yanni offered.
Michael agreed to the price, and they exchanged their items.
“Let’s take a look at these documents.” Yanni opened one of the books and skimmed through it. “Oh…”
“Is something wrong?” Michael asked.
“N-no. Give me a moment. I need to contact my firm.” Yanni put the book down and pulled a rectangular device resembling a smooth teal crystal from his satchel.
Michael watched as a white smoke formed around Yanni’s fingertip and flowed into the device as the merchant mumbled something. A moment later, Yanni brought the item up to his ear.
Michael realized that the world had something akin to a cell phone.
“Hey, it’s me. Yes. I need you to check on the status of a noble family. No, I need you to do it now. Hurry to your terminal.” Yanni spoke into the device. Michael was unsure if it would be called a cell phone worldwide, but he hoped to get one eventually. He focused on it.
Crys-Link. A magic tool used to communicate with other Crys-Links. Magic must be charged into the item to make a call. Passwords or phrases can be added for security. Crys-Links can be blood bound.
Effect(s): Repair (Rank 3), Mana Efficiency (Rank 2), Blood Bind
Owner: Yanni Philbra
“Are you ready?” Yanni asked the person over the Crys-Link. “Good. I need you to see if there were any major developments or news about the County of Delta. Yes, Delta. What? I see. Go on. So, they are currently pronounced as missing. Yes, I found them, or at least some of their belongings. That is more than enough. Thank you. We will talk when I arrive in Dunluun.” Yanni ended his call and returned over to Michael.
“Okay. I won’t ask you to give me everything, but if possible, I will pay you a substantial amount of Tress for most of what is in that trunk. I have a lot more products than what is in this trunk. I would be willing to trade in items as well. If necessary, I will also give you a voucher for the remaining amount via credit from the Philbra Merchant Group.” Yanni explained with a tense look on his face.
“Are these items a big deal?” Michael asked.
“More than you can imagine. I learned from my firm that the Count of Delta and his wife went missing over a week ago. Can you tell me how you came across this trunk?” Yanni asked.
“I found it in an ogre cave. I swear by Io, it is true.” Michael answered.
“I see… That is most unfortunate for them. What of the ogre?”
“Dead,” Michael swore by Io.
“That is good to know.” Yanni massaged the bridge of his nose. “I will buy any jewels, jewelry, documents, and other clothes. I will even buy the trunk.” Yanni said.
Michael was hesitant to let go of the trunk because of its amount of storage space, but it seemed essential to Yanni.
“There is also quite a bit of Tress in there, too,” Michael said.
“The County of Delta would not care to get that back. You found it. It is yours by right. The reason why I would like to return as much as possible to the nobles is that it would be a massive benefit to our merchant group. Exceptions to tariffs and taxes, connections, priority buying, and selling, you have no idea how much it would mean to me, Michael. That trunk alone would most likely be worth millions of Tress. Most of it is in those documents.” Yanni explained.
Michael swallowed hard. “So… Your offering…”
“My merchant group is ready to pay you five million Tress for the trunk.” Yanni finished.
“Holy shit!” One of the mercenaries yelled in surprise. Albus yelled at his companion to mind his own business.
“Um, okay. I will agree to sell it all to you. I will keep the Tress and the twenty meal cases. Do you happen to have anything that could store all of it?” Michael began their deal.
A bright smile came to Yanni’s face. “Of course!”
Michael and Yanni went about business for hours, but by the end, the two were exceptionally pleased with the deal.
Michael’s two most significant purchases were as follows.
Magic Ring of Spatial Storage
Effect(s): Spatial Store (Rank 4), Repair (Rank 6), Preserve (Rank 6), Shield (Rank 6), Blood Bind
Owner: Caeldaemos
Magic Cycle
Effect(s): Balance (Rank 6), Repair (Rank 6), Mana Efficiency (Rank 6), Mana Store (Rank 7)
The spatial storage ring at rank 4 was able to hold a total of 100 square feet of space within itself. So long as it was not a living creature, it could be stored inside. Michael had trouble trying to use it as one needed to charge it with a little bit of magic to operate it. He was indebted to Yanni because he took the night to teach Michael how to access his internal mana. It mainly consisted of either a natural opening of one’s internal ley lines as they grow up or someone stimulating them to activate. Yanni laughed it off as something that could happen in the world.
The magic cycle was an item Michael was excited about. It was like a cruiser-type motorcycle with a comfortable seat. It had saddlebags on the side, but neither were enchanted with Holding. Michael learned that storage types of enchantments cannot interact with each other, so it was impossible to get Yan’s storage pack or the brigand pouch into the ring.
Michael bought size-appropriate clothing for himself and packed the remaining items of Yan’s, the mercenary’s Tress included, into Yan’s pack. Since he knew Yanni was heading to Dunluun, he asked the merchant to deliver the pack to Thomas Audine, along with a letter written by Michael explaining the situation. He felt that Yan’s things should be returned to his family.
To be able to clean things, Michael bought a large wooden box and a bag with Cleaning (Rank 5) on each.
One thing that surprised Michael was that he accidentally got caught for being a demon by the group, but they did not seem to mind, mainly after he used a Divine Oath that he meant no harm to them so long as they didn’t attack him.
The mercenaries still closely watched Michael as they sat around the campfire. Yanni seemed not to care that he was a demon. He even recommended a cloak with a Concealment (Rank 3) enchantment to help Michael.
“You are one odd demon. Are you sure you are a pure blood?” Albus asked for the third time.
“I am sure,” Michael replied.
One of the big things he got out of the encounter was a simple hand mirror. Michael saw that his face had not changed too much beyond his eyes being blue cat-like and the gray horns. What he got out of using the mirror was info about himself.
Caeldaemos
Class: Demon (Rank 4)
Str: Rank 12 Dex: Rank 10 Int: Rank 11
Status:
Physical: Normal Magic: Normal Mental State: Happy, Tired
Injuries:
Special: Demon-Lord Candidate
Skills:
Swords: Rank 1 Melee: Rank 2 Axe: Rank 2
Stealth: Rank 1 Survival: Rank 1 Dodge: Rank 2
Medic: Rank 1 Club: Rank 1 Element Control: Rank 6
Mana Boost: Rank 5 Mana Efficiency: Rank 5
Abilities:
Fly Glide Throw Demon-Eye Regeneration
Eyes of the Demon-Lord Unknown (Locked)
Demon-Eye was the reason why he could see so well in the dark. The Eyes of the Demon-Lord were why he would get info screens about everything. It was an ability to provide world information that would evolve the more information the user gains and learns. The locked ability confused him and made him wonder how to unlock it.
Michael was both elated and worried about learning more about himself. What worried him most was that he was a Demon-Lord Candidate. It reminded him of the final words that Sylfaerune said to him before sending him into the world.
“Have fun being hunted for the rest of your life in our world of Owtrelus.”
He was beginning to think the darkness, whispers in the wind, and the things watching him could have something to do with his candidacy and the garbage goddess’ words. Michael was afraid that she set him up to become the next Demon-Lord, the one to be hunted and killed by heroes. He hated the idea of letting her have her way or of being killed by her chosen hero.
Michael wanted to screw Sylfaerune over, mess up her plans, and become a massive annoyance. She screwed him over and took away his future and family. He even planned on pulling an epic line he liked from a movie if he ever got the chance to speak to her again.
“Caeldaemos the Benevolent.” Michael uttered warmly.
“The Benevolent? I can admit that you may be the nicest demon I have ever met.” Albus joked. Out of all the mercenaries present, he was the most relaxed of them.
“A friend of mine called me that. I hope I can meet that kind of expectation.” Michael explained, leaving out the Demon-Lord details.
“So, what do you plan to do from here, Caeldaemos?” Yanni asked.
“Probably continue to my destination. I was told that demi-human lands would suit me a bit more.” Michael answered.
“I see. Well, please do be careful on your way there. We came from demon lands, and I heard a disturbing rumor of a noble trying to expand their domain.” Yanni sighed. “Such actions of greed can lead to another war.”
“I really don’t get why nobles have gotta be so damn greedy.” Albus huffed.
“Either way, I am going to head to sleep. I gotta drive tomorrow.” Yanni cheerily said as he headed to his carriage.
“I’ll take the first watch. The rest of you get some sleep.” Albus ordered his team.
They went to their tents. The only one who stayed at the fire was Michael.
“Not getting sleep?” Albus asked.
Michael stared at the fire, hoping to burn the light into his dreams. “I… Have been having trouble sleeping lately. Nightmares.” Michael answered.
“Well, if you want to sleep by the fire here, I will keep an eye out.” Albus offered.
Michael gave the man a wry smile.
After thanking Albus and sleepiness catching on, Michael laid by the fire, staring into its light until his eyes closed.