We walked through the ruins of a city that morning, with the ravages of war still visible in places.
"Doesn't look like the right place, does it boy?", Sight stopped and asked, taking out his water skin.
We hadn't stopped once in the three days since we took off from Valhalla. It was a perilous journey but we couldn't waste a second. And now when we got to our destination, it was nothing but a ruin. The sun overhead was boiling my head and my feet hurt from all that walking. Noticing my face growing red, Sight emptied his water skin on my head. It was a brief moment of relief but the sun shone too strongly today.
Was it summer already? I hadn't been much aware of the weather lately. That red sky was the only thing we could see for a while.
As it turned out, the same phenomenon had occurred in this world too. I may have rewritten the culprit and the outcome but most of the happenings were the same. For one, in this world too, Sight had used his eyes to cast a tremendous barrier. This wasn't something I learned last time, but apparently that barrier cost him his eyes. He was really blind now. He still had the same bandages wrapping his eyes though. He must have gotten used to them. His wide brim hat hung low, and you could barely see his face at most times, so it didn't feel odd.
"What now, Sight?", I asked, after we'd wandered around a bit more.
"D'you see anything, boy?", he asked me.
"Nothing like what we're looking for. But maybe its buried somewhere. Lady should have been more specific", I sighed to myself, "But I don't expect that from that woman."
"Well, if she didn't say it, boy, then it ain't buried."
That was one way to look at it. This time we were searching for a sword. Lady did say that the sword might be hidden but once "you see it, you won't miss it."
With that belief we searched the entire ruin. But something told me, it was merely Sight being Sight, wandering around without any motive.
There wasn't even any shade in that place. I wiped the sweat off my forehead, and looked at Sight who was leading the way. In that blistering sun that shone down without reserve, Sight's huge figure dressed in a white trench coat, with his white hat, and a grey pony tail that dangled on his back, looked far too overwhelming. I felt like I'd get blinded if I stared at him much longer.
But the old man walked on without a care.
"It must have rained here right before we came, boy", he finally stopped and said.
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It had to be a joke, I thought.
"I don't think so, Sight", I answered, weakly.
"No. It most certainly did."
Saying so, he quickly drew a magic circle on the ground. An inverted circle at that. And then he cast it by placing his hand over it. Some waves ran out of it, covering the whole ruin. Soon enough, something like glass appeared to be shining in the sun.
"A barrier..."
With a couple more waves from the circle, the glass dome covering the whole ruin shattered. And there lay another ruined city before us. Freshly destroyed, charred from one end to the other and smoke filling up the skies. Suddenly the sun was blanketed by the smoke that rose from the destruction that lay before us now.
"We were too late, boy", Sight said in a low voice.
"You there!", a voice called from behind us.
We turned to find a man, holding his sword against us. He was already injured and bandaged in most places. Yet he looked apprehensive, ready to fight.
"Hello knight", said Sight casually.
He said nothing, perhaps a bit unsettled, but keeping his guard up.
"We're not your enemies. We're here to help", I intervened before Sight could say anything, "What happened here?"
"Bedivere, they undid the barrier", a woman came up to the knight and said in a low voice.
She wore a worried look on her face. It was apparent that they had been fighting against something.
Another man appeared behind us, another accomplice of theirs.
"I'll take care of these", this one was a lot bigger, but certainly another knight.
"We don't want trouble", I said once more, though I was ready to throw down if someone came at us.
"Stay, Galahad", the knight named Bedivere lowered his sword, "Let us hear them out."
"We've come from Valhalla", I said, just as Lady had instructed.
Their expressions swiftly changed.
"Valhalla?!", Bedivere walked up close to us, "Only you? That's all?"
"Eh? Well..."
"Looks like they want more of us, boy", Sight chuckled.
"No...it doesn't matter anymore. You're too late, already. The sword is gone", Bedivere said, turning away from us.
"Gone where?", I asked.
He sighed.
"In any case...why don't you come with us? I'm sure you'd like to meet the rest of us first", he said, with a tense expression on his face.
"The rest of you?", I asked, as Sight and I moved to join him.
"Yeah. We've got a safer place right there", he said before leading the way, Galahad followed too, "There are more of us but even with our numbers, we couldn't do anything. That's why I'm surprised this is all Valhalla sent. No offense."
"Two is enough, knight", Sight said.
"If that's what you think", he said, as he opened the door to what looked like a stone barracks, "then surely, all the Knights of the Round Table would have been enough too, don't you think?"
That rang a bell. Where? I couldn't tell. There were 12 of them, with worn down, suspicious looks in their eyes, glaring at us as we entered.
"Who are these?", one of them asked, in an authoritative voice, wearing a scowl on his face.
"The intruders. They are from Valhalla", Bedivere answered.
"Valhalla, huh?", he sniggered, "Welcome to you, then. I am Lancelot of the Knights of the Round Table."
That rung a bell, again. Where? I didn't know.
"Hello, Lancelot", Sight greeted him, without a hint of seriousness.
"About that sword...could you tell us where its gone?", I cut to the chase.
"That sword? Didn't you just see it? It's right out there!", Lancelot pointed towards the door.
"Out there?"
"Look!", he opened the door and pointed to the charred, burning ruin of a city.
"Eh?"
"That's the damned sword you're looking for."