Arc 6. A seemingly endless loss
Road to a Hero:
Three Chances in Another World
Chapter 16. Really? Another carriage?
Gray, Rosemary, Soku, and Eward begin to be pulled to the Ever-spirit forest inside the cover wagon. The driver of such a carriage is a middle-aged woman with light blond hair, dilated eyes, civilian clothing, and a cowboy hat.
Gray: “So, um, lady. Who do you work for?”
Lady: “I…don’t…know…I…just…drive…”
Her slow speech creeps out everyone except Gray, who knows what’s happening to her.
Gray {She’s high, I wish I knew stuff like that was in this world. I guess there are constants, war, racism, hate, and drugs. Lots of drugs.}
Rosemary: “Sooo, what’s your name?”
Til: “I’m…not…supposed…to…tell…you…that…my…name’s…Til…”
Soku: “Okay, Til.”
Til’s eyes widened, surprised how Soku knew her name, which tells everyone she was probably picked because nobody would believe her if she was ever caught by law enforcement. Gray leans back on the bench at the back of the carriage, thinking to himself.
Gray {If we get to fight, I can finally get to really put what I’ve been practicing to work. I could be stronger if Lincoln went with Gordon instead of Ryo, but of course, Lincoln had to be lazy, so Ryo had to be Gordon's assistant instead. Because of that, I could only get a day's worth of actual assisted training when Ryo was free, but every once and a while I could get in contact with Azelia and get help with my cloak since she used it for years.}
Again they must go on another carriage ride to somewhere important. So back in the Capital, in Erins Inn, Peter works on the Silver Chariot outside.
Peter {Since Erin’s out, I guess I’ll just work on this for the time being.}
Aggravated, bored, and trying to unscrew most of the inner workings of the vehicle. Dressed in his dirty overalls, he struggles to move each part of the car, due to his lack of strength.
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In a rage he slams the hood closed, breaking the latch, causing him to get even angrier. He’s about to go on a full tantrum but he’s stopped by Lance, who’s currently laughing at him.
Peter: “What, got nothing better to do. No hobbies? I mean I wouldn’t think you’re interesting enough to have any, but still.”
Lance stops laughing, deciding to respond to Peter with the same energy.
Lance: “Isn’t the entire thing your race is good at being strong, calculated, tactful, in other words, it’s just everything you aren't. In one word, it would just be incompetence.”
Peter stands up, throwing his wrench at Lance. Lance easily catches it, then throws it behind him, breaking a window. They both freeze, in fear of what Erin will do to them when she gets back.
Peter: “WHAT DID YOU DO!?”
Lance: “ME!? YOU THREW IT!”
Peter: “YOU THREW IT BEHIND YOU!”
For a second they both forget their hate towards each other, being blinded by terror. Sweating, biting nails, and clenching of fists, are all things they’re doing instead of fixing the issue.
Lance: “The scary lady is gonna kill us.”
Peter: “This is the first time I’ve agreed with you.”
Peter and Lance enter the Inn, cleaning all of the glass inside.
Peter: “We need a dustpan.”
Lance: “I’ll check behind the desk, you go look in that closet down the hall.”
They both spit off, though when Peter gets to the closet door, it’s stuck. Without wanting to call for Lance's assistance, he pulls and pulls on the door. While Lance struggles to find a dustpan, he hears Peters grunts so he goes to assist him.
Lance: “I guess I shouldn’t have trusted the baby to open the door.”
Lance pushes Peter out of the way, knocking him to the ground. Lance pulls on the door nop, and just like Peter, it doesn't budge. He starts pulling and pulling, putting his leg on the wall, just like Peter. Peter stands up and then begins to pull on Lance's sides, trying to help.
Then Lance's ring glows for a short second, going unnoticed by the two. A sudden burst of strength flows through Lance, giving him enough strength to pull the door down. They two fall back, being crushed by the door.
Peter: “Why…is…this…so…heavy!?”
Lance pushes the heavy door off of them, but when it falls back it makes a loud thud sound, confusing the two. They both get up and Lance flips the heavy door over, seeing that it is an iron door with a wooden front.
Peter: “Why was the closet door re…”
Peter stops mid-sentence, seeing that the door they had pulled down wasn't to a closet, it was Erin's room. Her room is barren, with white sheets, and walls with pictures of the snowy wonderland that is Oni-mas, just like the rest of the Inn. Nothing to personalize her, except for something shiny on her nightstand.
Peter: “AHH NO!”
Peter shakes Lance violently, trying to pull the door up. Unwittingly, Lance walks into her room, looking around. And right on her nightstand, is a high-class wand with a yellow crystal. Peter looks at it in confusion, but with the sound of steps coming from the common room, they both freeze in fear. Then, a haunting scream is heard.
Erin: “WHAT DID YOU DO!?”
Miles away, in a covered wagon being driven by an intoxicated woman, guiding large lizards to the Ever-spirit forest. Then, after an hour and a half of driving, they finally reach it. Everyone leans out of the wagon, staring in awe at the giant trees.
Large trees with dark wooden bodies, tall grass, and large plants give the feeling of what it really is, just a magical forest.
Gray: “So this is it, now what? We just look for it?”
Soku: “I guess.”
Gray, Edward, Soku, and Rosemary hop out of the carriage, watching as their driver falls asleep. They then begin walking into the forest, blindly stepping into the unknown, pushed further by the terrifying sounds of roars.
End of Chapter Sixteen