Using his wits and willpower, Latori weaved a cast for his left arm with nothing but his teeth and his right hand. Luckily, Latori was prepared for a situation like this. He had employed branches, sinew from tree bark, and fundamental geometry to construct a crude curing station above his fire pit.

It was a three-sided pyramid formed by three branches of equal length tied together on top. In the middle, he tied a wooden grill to lay fish on top of. He tarped the curing station with the furs of dead wolves that he skinned earlier.

The boy hadn’t slain them himself. He found the wolves with gashes around the their necks and their pupils wide from shock. It came at a surprise to the boy that none of the meat on the bodies was even touched. Some vicious predator was likely hunting the dogs for sport. Not wanting to be next, Latori skinned four of the wolves and dashed out of that area of the woods. He had no plans to return anytime soon. The other two pelts that weren’t used for his curing station were designated as the boy’s comfy new pillow and blanket.

Then came the other component to cure the meat and fish, the salt. Latori had learned to harvest salt from deposits that sprawled densely along rocky spires on the beach. Low tide days were an indicator to harvest the mineral. The moon and the sea had been gracious enough this past week. White gold was plentiful, and the boy took advantage of that. His backpack brimmed with the long-lasting meals. They were reserved for long expeditions that Latori had been planning to go on. Because of his broken arm, now they were emergency rations.

“Stupid… Fallere bush… OW!”

“Latori stop poking at your arm with a stick. It will not make it heal any faster.”

“When you think about it, maybe this is your fault, Ex. If you hadn’t held back in that fight, maybe my arm wouldn’t have ended up broken. Hmph.”

“... I will concede that. I apologize. I did not expect the fight to turn out the way it did.”

“What do you mean? You even said that I should run because that particular fallere bush was more dangerous than any of the ones you’ve ever come across. What, you expected me to walk away from that without a scratch?”

“No, that is not what I am saying. Have you forgotten that it was you that wanted to get combat experience? Like I said before, if I start assisting you anytime you are in a pinch, you will not get stronger. When you are worthy enough, I will let you wield me at my full potential.”

“Oh, don’t act so pretentious. You were buried in a hole for god-knows-how-long before I found you..”

Excaliburn didn’t respond. He wasn’t going to entertain Latori’s shallow jabs at his integrity for the rest of the night.

“Quiet now, huh? Fine, be that way. Your patronizing was getting on my nerves, anyway.”

Latori pulled down his pants and extinguished the waning embers in the fire pit. Once the flames died, he turned his body towards Excaliburn and transferred the spray onto the divine blade.

“Good night, Excaliburn. Hehe.”

The boy laid down on his homemade cot and tucked himself in.

“Latori… There’s something I have to tell you.”

“Oh, you’re feeling talkative now? Right when I’m about to sleep, too. What a coincidence. Too bad. I’m going to sleep, so shut up.”

“Fine. I am sure it can wait. Good night, Latori.”

***

Excaliburn’s memory slipped by the morning,. The sword didn’t telepathically communicate to Latori what it was going to say the night before. The two just carried on with their day.

Latori awarded himself more leisure time today. He felt he deserved it, and his damaged appendage prevented him from carrying out tasks that were previously a part of his daily routine. German shepherd-size crabs scuttled across the sand near Latori as he collected shells. Mating season had just started. The thought of fresh crab made Latori salivate, but he wasn’t about to get close to these enormous crustaceans in his current state. He wondered if he could nab some of the eggs that were nested into the sand while the crabs weren’t looking.

“I know what you are thinking. Do not try it.” Excaliburn’s skill at predicting its partner’s behavior was becoming uncanny.

Latori sighed and rolled his eyes.

“... I’m sorry about last night by the way,” Latori apologized. There was a hint of reluctance in his voice–some from the act of apologizing and some from the act he was apologizing for.

“Apology accepted,” Excaliburn replied. His voice hummed warmly. The fact that he was hundreds of years older than Latori did not escape him. He knew that he would have to be the mature one.

“I-ahem, I’m thinking about going into the forest tonight. I wanted to check it out. Going around this beach all day is getting old, and we haven’t seen much of what’s in the woods. We always just go to the fishing spot and back. What do you think?”

“As long as you are careful, I am sure we will be okay. I will protect you as much as I can.”

“I need as much as you can give. There’s something hunting the wolves in there–something terrifying. We’re going to go at night. I can tell the wolves are being slaughtered during the day. If they were being killed during the night, their footprints would show that they were actively lurking and looking for prey before they were attacked. It seems that they are being assaulted while they are close together in a pack, likely sleeping or resting.”

Latori bent down and picked up the shell he was eyeing for his collection. It was a turquoise swirl, like frozen yogurt just out of a machine. He stuffed it in his backpack’s side pocket. The boy dusted off his knees and turned back towards the direction of his home.

“Let’s go rest for now. I think we should be safe if we go out during the night.”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

***

The crackling fire bent and waved. A shadow of a growing fighter danced along the cave’s walls. Latori shuffled and sidestepped. An unseen opponent traded imaginary blows with him. The boy thrust forward aggressively, but left room to defend and parry. Latori’s disciplined strikes were becoming closer to what Excaliburn expected out of the boy. Latori developed a new stance to wield Excaliburn with one hand. He dubbed it “wolf stance” after the standoff he saw between two wolves in the woods one day. Methodic feints and delicate footwork were the prime characteristics of this fighting style compared to the braver stance. The wolf stance was most akin to fencing. Excaliburn’s levity in a bonded partner’s hands would allow his master to seamlessly switch between stances once the latter’s arm is healed.

“There’s only so much you can learn without a sparring partner or a real instructor.” Excaliburn told Latori.

Latori halted his swings and looked down at his sword. The amateur swordsman’s muscles glistened with sweat from his rigorous training. Individual beads can be seen reflecting the light of the fire. His jeans were loose around his hips. They would droop slightly, exposing the V-shape that led from his abdomen to down below. The forming boulders of his chest raised and fell as he took exhaustive breaths through his mouth. Steam passed his lips into the cold night air. Just half a year ago, he would shiver and cry himself to sleep.

“Not like I’m going to get one of those anytime soon, am I?”

“Most likely not, but one can hope.”

“Okay, I’m ready. Let’s head out.”

Latori slipped on his sweater and backpack and walked out into the night.

***

Excaliburn emitted a dull flame to light the way. Latori maneuvered his sword-torch around the trees and shrubs carefully. One lapse in concentration could lead to an island-sized beach bonfire. Should he have to fight anything, he’d be at a severe disadvantage.

Insects and birds clamored melodically. Wolves, marsupials and cat-like creatures wailed and howled. Flowers with petals made up of a variety of exotic hues and patterns seemed to spill out from every direction. Some drooped. Some stood upright. Some wrapped themselves around nearby trees. As the boy disturbed them during his passage, the stamen between the blossoms released pollen into the air; the smoke from the fire carried the particles until they vanished into the ether. There was no end to the forest in any direction in front of the boy. Even though Latori didn’t know the exact size of the island he lived on, the vastness of the forest seemed impossible for it to contain by itself.

“I-I’m kind of scared, Ex… Can you hold my hand?”

“Boy, you are gripping me more intimately than just simple hand holding.”

“S-s-sorry. This is the first time I’ve been in here in the dark. It’s really creepy. Okay, okay. I just have to remind myself that I have my badass magical sword to protect me.”

Latori continued through the forest aimlessly. He left landmarks for himself behind by etching marks into the trees with a stone knife. This process left him vulnerable. He was forced to snuff out Excaliburn, put him down, grab the knife from his pocket, mark, put the knife away, and retrieve and light Excaliburn up again. Each time, he sniffled and rotated his head left and right rapidly. In his mind, he thought that any direction he wasn’t looking meant that there was something creeping up on him from there.

“We should have waited until you had fully recovered before doing this, Latori.”

“It seemed fun and spontaneous at the moment, okay?”

Right as the pair were about to turn back, Latori spotted a golden light in the corner of his eye.

“Ex, look! There’s something glowing over there.”

Latori pushed through the shrubbery to uncover a trail of luminescent flowers bathing the surrounding greenery. Between the flowers was a walkway of grass leading into the distance.

“Glowdose flowers. I was not aware that they grew in this place. It seems that they were planted here with the intention of creating a path. Shall we follow it?”

“B-but I thought we were about to head home…”

“You are not the least curious as to where the trail leads?”

“If I get killed, you better give me a proper burial.”

“.....” Excaliburn was at a loss for words.

The boy and the sword followed the road of glowdose flowers until they reached a small clearing. At the back of the clearing was a small pond. The water was translucent. At the bottom were large veins of navy blue minerals. Bottles of long withered glowdose flowers decorated every side of the clearing. In the center of the clearing, a piece of wood stuck out of a dirt mound.

“Wait… is that… Buried treasure?!”

Latori ran towards the dirt mound. He stabbed Excaliburn into the dirt next to him and started to fervently dig.

“Ex, I’m so excited. This has to be the best thing that’s ever happened to me!”

“Oh I see how it is. You get excited while digging up treasure but not sword Excaliburn, bane of the undead. One might say that I am infinitely more worthy than a gold chest full of gold and gems.”

“Sh. You’re ruining this. Stop ruining things.”

Within minutes, Latori uncovered an ebony chest with golden ornaments. The chest was weathered, but it did not have a single crack. To Latori’s elation, there was no lock on the treasure box.

“Yes, yes, YES.”

Latori formed a dirt ramp to the right of the chest. With his right hand, he gripped the handle on the box with all his might and pulled.

“HNNNG. GOT IT.”

Now, it was time for the moment of truth. Latori’s heart pounded in his head and ears as he grasped the cold, metal opening mechanisms.

What was inside did not disappoint. Golden coins from various parts of the world spilled out onto the grass. The light from the glowdose flowers reflected onto the coins, and the coins lit up Latori’s avaricious grin. Also in the chest were emeralds, rubies, and sapphires cut by an expert craftsman. Some were attached to baubles, while others spoke for themselves by sheer size. They twinkled like a kaleidoscope in Latori’s hand.

“I’m… I’M RICH. WOO. We’re rich, Ex! Look at all of this!”

“What good is it if we are stuck on this island, boy?”

Latori’s expression turned completely blank. He stared down at the chest. His mouth was slightly agape. The jewels slid from his palm. After a while, he mumbled indiscernible phrases to himself.

“... I… I didn’t think about that…”

“It is okay, Latori. I am sure that we will find a way off this island somehow. The prophecy my master foretold did not entail us rotting away here for an eternity. I just wish he had not set the boat on fire before he died… Senile old fool.”

Excaliburn’s attempts to comfort the boy seemed to work. Latori patted his cheeks and sighed to himself.

“Wait, boy, look. It seems there is a letter tucked between some of the gold coins.”

“Oh.. Let me see what it says.”

Latori unfurled the crunched parchment paper. Through the numerous water stains, he was able to make out the contents of the letter.

Dear reader, my name is Silve R. Blunder. This here be my treasure. I’m lucky to have made it to this island with this haul in one piece. If ye find this, leave it be. It’s mine, ye here? I have marked it with a trail of glowdose flowers so I can come back for it when tis safe. Long live the Happy Dodgers.

“.........”

Neither member of the duo knew what to say to this. Latori took some of the bottles and filled it with fresh glowdose flowers. He stuffed some of the potted plants into his backpack. Without a word, the boy and the sword headed home and went to bed.

“... Okay, but we’ll be rich once we get off this island, right?”

“Yes, boy, now go to sleep.”