The frozen tundra north of the Terian Kingdom was an unforgiving place. Snow poured down non-stop, and bloodthirsty monsters roamed in packs. Only a madman would traverse this place alone. Fortunately for Seth, he had his trusty steed.
“Moses, prepare for combat.” A group of Yetis had appeared on the horizon. There were more than 50 of them, each one taller than a house with teeth the size of a human’s torso.
“Sir…” Momo hesitated.
“Yes, private?”
“How?”
“How what?”
“There are 50 of them!” In the weeks since the two had met, much of Momo’s nervousness had been slowly replaced by frustration.
“Are you afraid of math, Moses?” the warrior asked looking serious.
“…Yes?”
“Indeed,” Seth pondered. “So am I. But, worry not my Royal Steed. Numbers are nothing in the face of justice. Plus, we have these.”
Seth tapped the dragon’s ring making three shining weapons pop out. One was a golden sword which radiated light. Another was a large mace which dripped poison. The last was a black scythe that made even the snow rot upon contact.
“Legendary grade weapons…” a voice was heard from behind. Seth and Momo turned around to see the idiot mage had followed them.
“I’m not feeding you,” said Seth before climbing on Momo’s back.
“But, I can help.”
“Nope.” The duo flew towards the enemy followed by the weapons which Seth controlled with mana threads. A whirlwind of blades and death struck the Yeti army head on. Limbs detached from bodies, souls were sent into the afterlife, and even the snow seemed to be crying as it was either covered in poisoned blood, roasted by the sword’s light, or disintegrated by the scythe.
A few minutes later, only a pixie and a squirrel remained amongst a field of corpses. As if scared by the bloody duo, the clouds parted for the first time in months, and the sun’s light shone upon them.
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“See, Moses? Our journey is blessed by the Gods,” said Seth while wiping the blood off his forehead. “Now, if only we can find Guyfast...”
“Guyfast City?” asked Alastar while running towards them. “I know where it is.”
‘Damn, his ears are good.’ “Where?”
“To the south-west, back in the Kingdom.”
“But, we are in the Kingdom.”
“…No, we’re not.”
The mage pulled out his map and placed it on the roasted ground. Somewhere in the middle was Blueberry Grove. Some distance to the North was Olnset city. And, way over the border almost at the end of the map was where Alastar placed his finger.
“We are here, in no-man’s land. Where you’re trying to go is here.” He moved his finger back into the Terian Kingdom, all the way to the left side of the map. “This is Guyfast City.”
Momo sighed. “We’ve been going the wrong way.”
“No way...” Seth trailed off with shocked expression.
“There’s no snow in the west!” the squirrel shouted before slamming his head into a pile of snow.
“Well, how was I supposed to know?”
“This was your idea! I swear, if it wasn’t for this ring…” Annoyingly, Momo couldn’t remove it from his neck. Also, if he tried to run away, which he did, almost thrice a day, it would pull him back towards Seth.
“I can guide you towards Guyfast,” Alastar volunteered. “For a fee, of course.”
Seth wanted to refuse, but seeing Momo’s angry face made him reconsider.
“Fine… How much do you want?”
“Just one chrystal per day,” the mage smiled.
“You want a house per day!?”
“Research is expensive, my Lord. Also, the road to Guyfast is long and treacherous. Who knows how much time it would take to get there without a guide… or a map.”
Flames appeared in Alastar’s hand which he promptly used to burn the map to a crisp.
“Wops. Worry not, it’s all stored in here,” he said while pointing to his head. “So, young Lord, do we have a deal?”
Seth looked at the man’s extended hand but didn’t say a word.
‘Take it, take it, take it,’ repeated Alastar in his mind.
“Just do it before my tail freezes off,” Momo grumbled.
Instead, Seth tapped the ring. A dozen magical weapons popped out, all of their blades converging around Alastar’s neck. The pixie said nothing. He just stared at the mage with a deadpan expression.
“How about a chrystal per month?” said Alastar.
Still no response.
“A chrystal per year?”
The blades were getting closer.
“I’ll donate 10% to charity.”
“Deal.” In a split second, every enchanted weapon returned to the ring. “I knew you were a good man,” said Seth while shaking the pale mage’s hand. “From now on, you are in charge of maps. I’ll call you Gandalf the map guy.”
The pixie’s enthusiasm was only surpassed by Momo’s laughter.
“My name is Alastar the wise…”
“Let’s go, map guy,” said Seth while climbing on top of the squirrel. He was about to start flying further north before Alastar corrected him. The man’s shoulders slouched and he seemed deflated.
“Good job map guy,” Momo congratulated the newbie. “I’m the Royal Steed by the way.”