A month passed, though it didn't feel like it to Kevin. He worked himself to death, even while they were moving. He wasn't strong enough to even cause an accident yet, but he kept training.

The caravan stopped for the day when the Sun disappeared.

Khal, yawning, strode up to Kevin. "You haven't looked inside it yet, right?" he asked, drinking some water.

"No," Kevin replied, easily picking up the barrel when he was done.

"You can look inside it now. Privately." Khal strode off before Kevin could even say a word, walking into the thin forest.

The surrounding trees were tall, but they weren't very thick, which is why it came as a surprise when Khal just disappeared after walking past the treeline.

Kevin didn't follow, instead heading towards the fire. It was well made, considering how quick it was done, but that didn't stop the flames from burning high.

"Hey, hey!" Gol called, raising a cup of probably alcohol towards Kevin. "If it isn't Kevin!"

Kevin took the drink, taking a seat next to the thin man. "How's it going, Gol? The caravans treating you well?"

He laughed at that, throwing himself so far backwards he would've fallen without Kevin's hand holding him up. "Well, you're not the weak kid you were when you first joined!" he exclaimed, waving away Kevin's hand after he was upright.

"He's right," added another man, Yrt. His golden hair and bright blue eyes were a sure sign he came from Western Kaleria. He might've been called handsome, before his face was irreversibly scarred such that holes were made in his cheeks. Most of the time, he covered it with a bandanna, but he made it clear he wasn't ashamed of it. "Wonder how far you'll go!"

"Yeah, maybe he'll even learn to fight." That brought everyone to laugh, which made Kevin feel embarrassed. Still, he laughed with them.

"Wouldn't that be a sight! Hey, who'd you reckon would take him as a student?" Henry, a heavyset man that was just as boisterous, yelled out, stirring conversations he didn't want to listen to.

"I think it'd be someone the level of The Toothed Songbird," one man said, gesturing with his hands. "I've seen them before, you know. A good-looking man who had such proficiency with a blade he was kept secret from the world."

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"Please, he might not be that skilled," argued another man. "It's more likely to be The Insidious Ice Cutter! He once sheared an iceberg in half, with a flick of his wrist!"

"No, I think it'll be..." Just like that, they all started naming different Masters of the sword, proclaiming that they had done something astounding. From slaying Dragons to courting an entire village, including the men, their achievements were spoken.

Kevin gave his drink to someone else, standing up. He left, silently, invisibly.

"Why're none of you mentioning me, huh?" Bull's voice quieted the crowd. Kevin turned around for just a moment, seeing him flushed as though he had drunk an entire barrel. He just might've, as the barrel next to him was empty. "I'll have each one of you know," he said, his words slurring together. "I beat every one of those 'Masters' in a duel. They're all just some pampered fools that think swordplay is all about the sword."

"Sure, Bull," Gol agreed. "We all believe you."

"Yeah, Bull." Yrt passed Bull another drink. He took it with a quick hand, gulping it down even faster.

"It's just that, if you're so great, why're you following Khal?" Kevin found himself asking. Everyone stopped, slowly turning their heads towards him, as though quick movements would startle him.

He stood up, quickly, pointing a finger at Kevin. "I don't have to tell youuuuu..." He fell forwards, face landing in the dirt. Somehow, it got even quieter, until he started snoring. Then, everyone erupted into laughter and began to talk about other topics.

Kevin, however, walked away, heading towards the inventory.

It was all in boxes, unloaded from the caravans, staying next to the one it was on before. It was cold, this far from the fire, but Kevin didn't seem to notice. He leaned against one on the edge, allowing him to see everyone near the fire, and pulled out the parcel.

He stared at it.

He ripped it open, pulling out the contents. It was a piece of paper, written in a language he barely remembered. It was the written language of the Islanders, a group off the East coast of the continent. They lived on several islands, travelling by either walking or by boat.

He didn't dwell on those memories, instead reading what was written.

"So, you read it," Khal said, the voice appearing from nowhere. "What do you think? The Demon King's rising. It's said to have the intelligence, and wisdom, to rival the Elves. And it can commune with Monsters from a distance. Don't get me started on its own power. But it's being more controlled than its predecessors. Seems like an easy job for the Hero, huh?"

"What does this matter?" Kevin asked, placing the letter back into the parcel. Away from his eyes.

Khal spent a long time looking at Kevin, scrunching his brows. "Well," he finally said, after a couple minutes scrutinising him, "I guess it doesn't. To you. Still, I wish you'd been given this information sooner. Couldn't speak to outsiders about it. Just for fun, want to guess what it is we're carrying with us?"

"Something that belongs to the Hero," Kevin answered, realisation daunting.

"Yeah. It'll attract a lot of Monsters, some scavengers, people we'll have to kill. I don't want to ask this, but how good were you with a sword? You know, at the Academy?" Khal fell from the top of a tall box, out of view from Kevin.

"Not very," he admitted, crumpling the paper.

"We'll have to change that." He stood, thoughtful, before sighing. "We all knew we were carrying something dangerous, except for you. Really, I wanted to tell you sooner, but we did need a new porter. The last one ran when he heard. We'll begin training tomorrow."