That morning, Arika was the first one to wake up. She groggily rose from her spot on the ground, grimacing at the soreness in her neck as she wandered over to kick Euric awake. It took her a solid three kicks to his side before he finally answered her back by shoving at her leg and groaning as he rolled onto his back and groggily sat up.
Without waiting to see him wake up further, she moved on toward the tree that Desmond could be seen lounging in. At the sight of him, Arika frowned as she approached.
He didn’t seem very sad on the offset—especially not when they’d first met and he’d threatened Euric’s life so easily. But after last night, she was sure he was hurting inside. He had no parents, and no one else to look after him, so he was forced to live out in the wild. Forced to take care of himself at such a young age instead of just being able to be a kid.
Arika’s heart wept for the boy, but she clenched her fist in determination.
‘I can’t change what’s already happened, but I can help him.’ She decided, knocking her knuckles against the tree in lue of trying to reach the boy. She saw his leg twitch as he let out a groan and slowly rose, rubbing his eyes. ‘I can take care of him. So that he has time to just be a kid.’
Desmond quickly swung his legs over the side of the branch, dropping lithely onto the ground next to her before she had a chance to take a step back. His landing was deathly quiet, and Arika was immediately reminded of just how strange Desmond was. He was just a kid, sure, but he’d already shown how strong and resourceful he was. Not to mention...
[Desmond] - ??? Lv. ???
...She couldn’t tell what his level was. She’d used ⦓Inspect⦔ on him several times since meeting him, but aside from adding his name to the information given, it showed her nothing at all.
⦓Inspect⦔ had never failed her; She used it constantly to make sure she and Euric weren’t getting involved with people who were drastically higher level than them. It had never once returned just question marks to her, even when she’d used it on some of the high ranking knights who occasionally visited Sayavila on business.
It only added to the mystery surrounding the white-haired boy at her side.
As if he knew she was thinking about him, he turned to look up at her, an unreadable expression on his face and an eyebrow raised. It was impossible for Arika to tell what was going through his head, so she simply didn’t try to.
Instead, she dropped her hand softly on his head, tousling his white hair with a smile on her face. He made a disgruntled noise, but did nothing to stop her.
“Rise and shine, Desmond.” She patted him on the head a couple more times before pulling away. “How’d you sleep?”
The boy hummed in response before stretching his arms high over his head and bending his back in what looked like uncomfortable, yet catlike, ways to Arika.
“Good enough, I guess,” He managed through a yawn, standing up straight again. “We have a couple days left to go, right?”
Arika nodded, starting forward toward Euric and gesturing for Desmond to follow. They walked toward the edge of the clearing, where they’d entered the night before, and Euric took the lead again to clear the brush and foliage out of their way.
“Yep. Only a couple more days to go.” Sunlight peeked through the trees ahead and Arika raised a hand, shielding her eyes from the early glow. “What are you gonna do once we get there, Desmond?”
The boy shrugged in response, cupping his chin as he seemed to mull it over for a moment. Soon, they emerged back onto the road and paused as Euric put his sword away and Arika looked up and down the road. It was very early in the morning, but for some reason the forest was eerily silent around them.
Desmond seemed to notice this too as he froze in his musings and looked up and around, a tense expression on his face. Euric was the only one who didn’t seem to notice, as he turned toward them ready to say something, then stopped once he saw their expressions.
“What? D’you guys hear something?” He asked, lowering his voice as if something was listening in on them. Arika, however, shook her head as she knelt down to the ground and put her palm against the road.
“No, nothing. That’s the weird part.” She muttered, sweeping away stray rocks as she fell quiet and waited. To her side, she heard Desmond take a cautionary step back toward the treeline and Euric sighed quietly.
Suddenly, a strong vibration ran through the ground and up Arika’s arm, accompanied by a noise she was all too familiar with. She hissed before abruptly standing back up, turning toward the boys with a grimace.
“Hooves. Lots of horses. Back in the trees, go, go!” She called. Desmond needed no other instruction as he quickly darted back into the brush, disappearing in a heartbeat. Euric, on the other hand, gaped at her in surprise before he, too, felt the vibrations of stampeding hooves rumble under the soles of his feet.
Arika rushed past him, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him toward the trees. She was able to tuck herself behind a bush and yank the taller man down to the ground with her before the culprits of the noise appeared behind the bend of the forest.
Headed in their direction was a large assortment of armored horses, their heavy hooves pounding the dirt road beneath them. In total, there were about twelve of them and, atop each horse, was a knight in full gray plate armor. Helmets covered their faces and each of them carried a longsword at their hip and a solid metal shield on their back.
One knight rode ahead of the rest, his armor accompanied by a rippling emerald green cape that flowed behind him as they rode forward and a shining badge indicating him as the captain of the group. Unlike the rest of the knights, he wore no helmet; revealing olive skin and long black hair tied back in a single, thick braid. His piercing blue eyes faced forward, and he wore a hard expression on his face.
As the caravan approached their position, Arika made sure to keep a hand over her own mouth, as well as one over Euric’s. She didn’t know where Desmond was, but she trusted that he’d hidden himself well.
She glanced down at Euric, whose eyes had gone wide in realization as the knights grew closer. Her skin grew clammy as she bit her bottom lip to keep any potential noise to a minimum.
‘The Mage Knights? What the hell are they doing out this far?’ She questioned, trying to keep her panic to a minimum. The Mage Knights were a thief’s worst enemy, especially out in the wilds between towns. If they were caught here...
The caravan converged in front of them and Arika was momentarily elated to see that it looked like they’d pass. Then, the captain in front held up a hand and the entire cavalcade of horses came to a slow stop. Her eyes widened in fear as she inched backward, her grip around her own mouth tightening.
The captain spurred his horse to the side, his eyes sweeping over the break in the trees in front of him. He seemed to huff, quirking his lips to the side as his horse shuffled backwards.
‘He’s looking too high.’ Arika thought, a small smile beginning to spread across her lips. ‘He’s gonna miss us.’
Suddenly, the knight captain extended his arm forward, toward the trees, as his expression warped into one of anger and thinly veiled malice.
“I command thee; Show yourselves!” His deep voice boomed out, loud enough to echo back into the forest and cause birds to rush above the trees, fleeing in turn. A feeling washed over Arika that she couldn’t explain, nor resist. It felt as if something cold washed over her, forming goosebumps across her skin as her world seemed to spin out of control, upside down, and in every other way possible. A feeling of nausea rose up into her throat but, before she could do anything about it, the sensation faded as quickly as it came.
Suddenly, her hands hit the dirt and she let out a heaving breath as her lungs screamed for air. A dark shadow stretched over her, and she realized that something had yanked her from her hiding spot behind the bush. To her side, Euric was similarly on his hands and knees, his skin gone pale and clammy and his eyes wide in fear as he let out labored breaths.
“Hmph. As I thought.” A deep, authoritative voice droned on. Arika heard the knight captain dismount his horse, his heavy greaves clanking as they hit the ground and he slowly sauntered toward the two of them.
That same cold feeling washed over her, forcing her to jerk her head back painfully and look up at the knight who now towered over her. With the sun at his back, he glared down at the two of them with contempt clear on his face.
His blue eyes seemed to glow with fury as his hand fell onto the handle of his sword, gripping it with intent, and he sneered out the word:
“Scum.”
►⚉◄
[Personal Skill: ⦓Otherworldly Resolve⦔ has been activated!]
[You have successfully resisted the effects of General Skill: ⦓Command⦔ from ???]
Desmond took a deep breath from his place behind the tree. He was several meters off to the side, watching as Arika and Euric prostrated themselves before the knight with the cape.
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‘What an interesting skill...’ The boy thought, huffing as he looked on cautiously. ‘If ⦓Otherworldly Resolve⦔ hadn’t activated, I’d be right out there with them. Lucky me.’
He watched intensely as the man gripped the hilt of his sword with seemingly malicious intent before looking away from the two thieves and scanning the treeline with his eyes once more. Desmond made sure to tuck himself back behind the tree, avoiding his gaze for now.
“You two,” He called out finally, gesturing down toward Arika and Euric. “Present your proof of identity. We have urgent business, so I would prefer we get this over with quickly.”
As if against their will, the thieves painfully sat up onto their haunches before reaching into their bags and producing a small, folded leather tablet each, which they promptly held up to him. The caped knight snatched them and flipped each open in one hand, scrutinizing over them as he gestured with his other hand to the knights behind him.
Two of the other knights dismounted and sauntered over, taking up positions standing behind Arika and Euric. As the captain continued to look over the documents given to him, Desmond took the moment to study the knights who had gotten closer.
[???] - Knight Lv. 12
[This person is superior to you in Strength and Endurance.]
[???] - Knight Lv. 12
[This person is superior to you in Strength, Endurance, and Insight.]
They wore full, gray metal plate armor, each knight with a longsword sheathed on their hips and a shield on their backs. Their helmets had a thin, v-shaped visor that hid their features from sight, and an almost hidden emerald green cowl that stuck out under the helmet and tucked into their chest plates.
‘They certainly look dangerous.’ He surmised, casting a glance toward the captain as he did. ‘Especially that one. That strong skill of his aside, the armor and weapons they have are no joke, either. Plus they’re all stronger than me in one way or another.’
The boy hummed quietly in thought, watching the captain as he called over another, noticeably smaller, knight and spoke to them in hushed whispers, too quietly for him to hear. He watched as the captain’s eyes flashed with anger once more before calming, smoldering as he passed the documents off to the one at his side.
[???] - Knight Captain Lv. 25
[This person is greatly superior to you in all stats.]
[This person has recently tried to use a Skill on you.]
Desmond smacked his teeth in annoyance.
‘Level 25, huh? His stats are all way better than mine, too.’ The boy huffed in anger, kneeling down slowly in the bush so as to not make any noise, if possible. ‘Even if I were to run away, he’d probably catch up to me pretty easily. What terrible luck.’
As he lamented silently from his safe spot amongst the trees, the smaller knight returned the documents to the captain and saluted—putting one hand on the pommel of their sword and the other in a fist over their left shoulder, then bowing their head slightly.
“Captain. Elliot says that the documents are legitimate.” They stated in a high-pitched, feminine and clearly nervous voice. The captain, however, didn’t seem to care as he simply nodded in response before dropping the two tablets on the ground without a second thought.
“Arika Briar and Euric O’Dunn. Draedans. You two are a distance away from home.” He stated, looking down at the two with his arms crossed. “As you must know, Gosunaji’s borders have been closed following some recent...complications.”
‘Draedans?’ Desmond thought, his brow furrowing further, if that were even possible. ‘They aren’t from Gosunaji?’
The captain knelt down, looking at Euric first. The man seemed defiant, staring the captain in the eye with a barely restrained sneer on his lips. The knight hummed, however, and turned to Arika instead, who was looking at the dirt beneath her and pointedly avoiding his eyes.
“Look at me.” The knight commanded, and Arika did; her head jerking up in almost an instant as her eyes met his and she bit her lip to suppress a cry of pain. “You wouldn’t know anything about a town named Calcheth, would you? It rests about a weeks’ journey from the border of our nation and yours. It’s gone radio silent as of late.”
Desmond felt his blood chill at the captain’s words. He couldn’t see himself, but if he could, he would’ve noticed how his own eyes grew wide, how his lips pulled back into a thin grimace and how his entire body seemed to tense in anticipation.
The others were unaware of him and his reaction, though, and so they continued on without sparing him a moment to calm himself. Arika spoke next.
“N-No. I’ve never heard of the town.” She mustered out. It was clear that she was trying to avert her eyes, but couldn’t for some reason. “Honest! We were heading back home, to Sayavila. We’ve lived there for years now!”
The captain turned back to the nervous knight from before, raising an eyebrow in question. She jumped as his gaze fell onto her, but she very quickly cleared her throat and put a hand to her chest and fell silent soon after. Desmond watched as—after a brief moment where nothing seemed to be happening—a dim white light seemed to envelope her form, accompanied by a quiet, high-pitched ringing.
The light pulsed outward, a white ring of light spreading across the grass around her feet before it reached Arika and stopped dead in its tracks. It enveloped her as well, with the thief looking on at the show of...whatever it was with both fear and awe in her eyes.
A mere moment later, though, and the glow faded from the both of them and the ringing dissipated into the wind. The female knight sighed, letting her arm fall before she turned to the captain and saluted again.
“She’s telling the truth, Captain. I detect no lies in her words.” She stated confidently. The captain hummed in response before turning to Euric, locking eyes with the man and repeating his question wordlessly.
“Never heard of it. We’re just tryin’ to get home.” The simple man responded. When the captain turned to the female knight again, she shook her head despondent.
“He’s also telling the truth, Captain. I detect no lies in his words.” She repeated.
The captain hummed in response before standing once more. At the same time, whatever force was compelling the two thieves seemed to dissipate as they both fell forward; Euric onto his face and Arika just barely catching herself before she would’ve eaten dirt.
“Hm. I suppose our work is done here, then.” He murmured under his breath. He turned his back to the thieves, taking hold of the reins and mounting his horse once more in one smooth action. The rest of the knights followed suit, rushing back to and re-mounting their horses.
Just before the female knight was able to mount up again, though, the knight captain raised a hand in her direction. She froze, turning to him and saluting again nervously.
“Madeleine. I have one more question for them.” He stated, turning back to face Arika and Euric who were still on the ground before him. “Do you have any other...accomplices in this area? Anyone else who may aid our...investigation?”
Desmond watched as Arika froze, her eyes pointed downward. He could see the trepidation on her face and how her hands began to shake. Euric, on the other hand, sneered as he rose up to his feet shakily.
‘This is it.’ Desmond thought, watching as the meathead of a man swayed on his feet for a moment before he steadied himself and stood tall. ‘He’s going to sell me out.’
A moment later, though, the meathead surprised Desmond instead.
“No. It’s just the two of us.” His defiant gaze turned to the female knight, Madeleine, who was repeating the same motions and gestures as before. Once that same white glow enveloped him, Euric crossed his arms and looked back up at the knight captain. “Is that all? Can we go now, sire?”
The mounted captain upturned his nose, huffing in exasperation, as he turned to Madeleine with an eyebrow raised. The female knight locked her eyes onto Euric, seemingly in deep concentration, before she let out a shuddering sigh and the white glow around the two of them faded. With a hand to her chest she turned to her captain and gave him another, though this time clearly tired, salute.
“No-no lies detected, Captain. He is telling the truth.” She reported through heavy, winded breaths. Despite her words, though, the captain continued to stare down at Euric with a frown. Euric, for his part, returned the glare confidently.
He only backed down when Arika, who seemed to have finally gotten to her feet, grabbed his arm and weakly pulled him back. She tried to smile up at the knight captain, though it was clearly strained.
“Thank-thank you, sire,” She panted, dipping her head in a slight bow as she dragged and forced Euric to do the same. “We-we wouldn’t want to waste any more of your time. We’ll be on our way now.”
For a moment, all was silent. Desmond watched on with bated breath as the captain seemed to mull over his next move in his head.
Soon, however, the man simply sighed and gestured for Madeleine to remount her horse, which she promptly moved to do after issuing another brisk salute.
“Of course.” He replied simply, not sparing Arika or Euric another glance as he turned back to the rest of his knights and spurred his horse into movement. “We have more important matters to attend to. On me!”
His horse whinnied loudly as it reared up onto its hind legs before dashing forward, with the rest of the knights following suit; save for Madeleine, who held back for a brief moment to look down at the two thieves before she, too, followed the rest of her company.
Arika and Euric watched as the caravan of knights pounded down the dusty, dirty road before quickly disappearing into the distance. Even for a brief moment afterward, they stood stock still; Euric with a look of hatred on her face and Arika with a relieved expression.
They only left their stupor when Desmond stepped out from his place behind the trees, staring after the knights with a look of disdain on his face. He quickly turned back to the others, though, and looked up at Euric impassively. The white-haired boy was quiet for what felt like ages before he smiled softly.
“Thanks for not selling me out.” Desmond said. Euric scoffed, shaking his head in exasperation before he turned away from the boy and back in their original direction.
“Yeah, well...whatever, kid. I just hate those damn Mage Knights.” He let a heady hand fall onto Arika’s shoulder, almost making her stumble as she turned to him with a tired expression. “You good, Rika?”
The woman in question sighed before nodding slowly.
“I’m fine,” She stated, though it didn’t take much effort for Euric or Desmond to tell that she most certainly wasn’t. She hoisted her bag back onto her shoulders and gestured for the three of them to keep walking. “I hate them as much as you do. Come on. Let’s get out of here.”