Ike, Wisp, and Shawn walked on, leaving the city behind. Ike clapped. “So, where are we going?”

“Somewhere good for training,” Wisp said immediately.

“Right, which would be…?”

She thought for a second. “The place where I grew up has a lot of beasts, and many warring sects. It’s higher realm than this area, but as long as we don’t go around conquering cities, no one’s going to bother us. I think we could both level up if we went there.”

“Oh yeah? So where is that?” Ike asked.

She turned slowly, taking in the surrounding landscape. Her brows furrowed. She dropped to the ground and put her head against the ground.

“…Are you listening for it, or something?” Ike asked.

Wisp glared at him. “I was little when I left there. It’s a totally different perspective! If I want to find my way back, I’ve got to find all the landmarks little me used.”

“You don’t have anything more reliable?”

“Are you calling my landmarks unreliable?” Wisp asked. Keeping her head tilted at a low angle, she scurried forward on her finger- and toe-tips.

“Yes. Also, never do that toward me. That was terrifying,” Ike said.

She paused. Her eyes cut to him, and a grin spread across her face. Wiggling her fingers and toes at top speed, she scuttled diagonally toward him. “Why not? What, is Ikey boy afraid of little old me?”

“Gods! Why do you do that? It’s fucked up,” Ike said, jumping away from her scurrying.

“You’re fucked up. You’re the one who isn’t using your limbs to their full potential. Quad-limb-minded boy. You’ve got twenty more appendages, why not use them?”

“Humans think of those as part of their four limbs,” Ike informed her.

“Well, humans are weak,” Wisp declared. She started to lunge at him again, then froze and looked around, wiggling her way left and right.

“Find something?”

“Yeah, yeah! I recognize this rock,” she declared.

“Oh. A rock, huh. Very reliable,” Ike deadpanned.

Shawn yawned. “Are you guys gonna chat, or walk?”

“Shut up and go back to sleep.”

Wisp hopped to her feet, dusting off her hands. She pointed. “That way. Over those mountains, there’s a range of… more mountains. They’re pretty close, and they love fighting. That’s where I came from. The war that was going on when I was little is probably long over, but I can’t imagine there isn’t another war going on by now. They loved wars. Constant battles.”

“Probably because they were so close to one another,” Ike guessed.

Wisp thought for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah. They didn’t have big, wide swathes of nothing like you do over here. It is pretty far, though. It’s not right over those mountains. There’s a desert, and a big dead region, too. If you aren’t careful, you might die before you ever get there.”

Ike raised his brows. “It’s that bad?”

She shrugged. “It was when I was little, anyways. Now that we don’t need to eat and drink, it’s probably less bad. Um… I remember the death region being kind of bad, though.”

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“Yeah, speaking of. What the hell is a death region?” Ike asked.

“Big. Empty. Dead.” Wisp waved her hand. “You’ll see.”

Ike thought for a second, then shrugged. “No time like the present.” He took off at a jog, carrying Shawn with him.

Shawn peered at him. “Do you want some of my weight?”

“Why would I want that?” Ike asked.

“To get stronger!”

Ike sighed. He rolled out his shoulders, then gestured. “Go on. Bring it on.”

“Wait, hold on! Are you training over there, Ike?” Wisp demanded.

“Yeah, so?”

“I need to get stronger! Give it to me.”

“Shawn is a he,” Ike informed her.

“He’s a training weight, and I want training!”

Shawn laughed. He waved his hand. “Guys, guys, don’t worry. You can all carry me. I have plenty of weight to go around.”

“Mine!” Wisp snatched Shawn away and put him on her shoulders. She flexed her arms. “Give me that weight! I’m going to get stronger than Ike!”

“As you wish.” Shawn let out a breath.

Instantly, Wisp fell back. She slowed to a jog, her arms working hard.

Ike slowed as well. He turned back. “Are you sure? I can carry him, no problem.”

“That’s exactly why I need to carry him!” Wisp declared. She charged onward, leaving Ike behind. Sweat dripped down her body, but she pressed on anyways. “I’m going to surpass you. I won’t let you leave me behind!”

“You know, you were stronger than me for so long. Can’t I be stronger than you for a while?” Ike asked.

“No.”

“No?”

“No. I must be stronger,” she replied.

Ike shrugged. He didn’t really have a reason for her not to get stronger. At the end of the day, in fact, he wanted her stronger. Way stronger. Strong enough to fight Llewyn alongside him. Even if she surpassed him again, he wouldn’t complain. He needed allies. More people who would face Llewyn on even footing. More people who could fight him.

As they approached the mountains, a pale figure fluttered down from the sky. Ike startled. He hadn’t heard her coming at all, but now, undoubtedly, the white-and-black bird girl stood before him. She blinked slowly, bright yellow eyes focused on him.

“Hello.”

Ike slowed. Beside him, Wisp slowed as well. Both of them stared at her. “Hello?” Ike tried.

“My master has a message for you,” she said flatly. She reached into her robes and retrieved a letter.

Ike took it. It was sealed with red wax. A signet ring had been pressed into the wax, but he didn’t recognize it. Carefully, he unsealed the letter and opened it.

Hello Ike, and companion Wisp.

I’ve been watching you for some time.

You are not alone. There are others who oppose Llewyn. Others who would stand at your side.

When you come to the king’s city, show the enclosed seal to the man at the Oxbone Tavern. We will wait for you, as long as you want. But don’t wait too long. If Llewyn takes the capital, all is lost.

—Those Who Oppose Llewyn

Ike tipped the envelope over. A small ring bounced out. It was a signet ring, with a flat, ovular surface. A dragon coiled on the ring, slender, with vast wings and two straight horns. There was an arrow in the dragon’s heart, and it lifted one claw and opened its mouth in pain.

“What? You got jewelry? Not fair,” Wisp said, peering at the letter.

“It’s from someone else who opposes Llewyn,” Ike commented. He slotted the ring onto his finger. To his surprise, it fit perfectly.

“Oh. But we’re heading to get stronger, so… bad timing?”

“Yeah, it is bad timing. But I guess better to contact us now, before we leave, than lose contact with us until we return.” Ike touched the ring, thinking. At last, he looked up. “We still need to grow stronger. Even if we met the anti-Llewyn group now, we’d only drag them down. If we want to seriously fight back against Llewyn and Lord Brightbriar, we need to be at least Rank 4, if not Rank 5.”

“So we go to get strong first, then return and sweep across the plains to destroy Llewyn!” Wisp cheered, punching the air.

The owl girl blinked. She ducked her head. “My master may send someone your way. He also has students who need to rank up.”

“How will we know?” Ike asked. After all, we’re basically planning to fight or kill anyone we meet. We’re not going to kill just anyone, but I don’t want to be in the middle of fighting some group of bandits, and accidentally kill this guy’s student.

She bobbed her head. After watching her do it a few times, Ike was starting to get the feeling that it was a tic of hers, something she couldn’t help but do. She pointed her nose at his ring. “Students will bear the same ring.”

“Understood.” Ike nodded. “Thank you.”

The girl bobbed her head one last time, then took off in a flurry of feathers.

Wisp shaded her eyes, watching the girl go. “I bet she’d taste delicious.”

Ike bumped her on the shoulder. “Don’t value everyone by their deliciousness.”

“What? How else am I supposed to rank everyone?” Wisp shook her head at him. Adjusting Shawn’s weight, she set off again. “Come on. Let’s go get strong, so we can come back and crush Llewyn.”

“Let’s,” Ike agreed. He turned away and followed Wisp over the mountain.

END BOOK 2