The youngest guard started forward at once at the sight of the bandits, but Samuel threw out an arm to stop him.

“Don't move!” his voice came out a little higher than intended from the tension of the moment, but the guard paused anyway.

“Smart boy.” The lead bandit sneered. “One wrong move and I spill the pretty one's blood.”

He wasn't bluffing, Samuel could tell. At the impulsive action of the guard, he'd pressed the short knife a little more firmly into Rebecca's neck, drawing a small trickle of blood. Now he locked his eyes on Samuel, picking him out as the leader of the group, and he leered across the gap at him.

“Now let's all play nice and safe,” he growled. “We just want yer money and treasure, and we'll be on our way. Try and act the hero, I kill the girl.”

The bandits spread out behind him growled and cackled in equal measures. They were obviously enjoying the scene of fear and helplessness they'd forced upon the camp. Glancing to the side briefly, Samuel could see the barely suppressed rage on the faces of the guards, noticing the way that they gripped the handles of their swords, ready for action.

Samuel glanced behind him to see what Shigeru's reaction was, and perhaps see if there was something that he could do. But when he turned his head, he noticed that the foreigner was nowhere to be seen. Samuel was sure that he'd been just behind him the whole time, but now it looked as if he'd just disappeared into the wind.

Arthur, Seamus, and the two other chefs were gathered around the fire, frozen in the shock of the moment. Arthur's face was a mix of hatred directed at the bandits and fear for his daughter's life. Seamus and the junior chefs were rooted to the spot, unable to believe what was happening.

The only two unaccounted for were Shigeru and Grimr, Samuel thought. But just then, he saw the small shape of the black cat by the back of the carriage. Just as he spotted Grimr, those violet eyes fixed on him as well, and the cat blinked once, very slowly.

Do not show fear. Grimr's voice sounded in the back of his mind. Shigeru will deal with this. Keep their attention on you, so that Shigeru isn't spotted.

Unseen to the others, Samuel took a deep, steadying breath. He raised his hand slowly to either side in a peaceful gesture and took a tentative step out of the shade provided by the trees. Grimr stayed by where he was, taking stock of the situation.

“We'll do what you say.” He said calmly, addressing the bandit leader directly. “What do you want us to do?”

The bandit jerked his head at the guards, leering unpleasantly. “Have the soldier boys drop their weapons by the wagon and stand clear.”

Samuel turned to the guards, gesturing that they should comply. They looked at him in total confusion and outrage for several seconds, but he gestured again, more curtly this time. Finally, they began drawing their weapons and dropping them into a clanging pile. Raising their own hands one at a time to show their compliance, they trooped over to the campfire and sat down with the others.

The bandit leader nodded in satisfaction, then gestured for Samuel to join them. Samuel however, was watching Grimr closely. He was wandering aimlessly around the camp now, pretending to examine something interesting on the ground. Then he padded softly over to where Rebecca was held hostage, and let out a soft mew as he looked up at her, for all the world like a normal cat.

“Cute.” The bandit leader sneered. “Your kitty's worried about you. Maybe it doesn't want to see you die.”

Then the bandit looked into Grimr's eyes, and his own eyes widened as he saw the unnatural color there. Cursing loudly, he instinctively began to make the sign to ward off evil with his right hand. Grimr hissed at him, though Samuel thought he could sense a hint of dark humor in the sound, almost as if Grimr was laughing at the bumbling savage.

The large thug abandoned his attempt to ward against evil, realizing that he was holding the dagger in that hand. Instead, he aimed a kick at the small black cat, but was too slow. Grimr leaped up to Rebecca's shoulder faster than either her or the man could react, aiming for the knife. His tiny jaws clamped down on the blade, and he twisted the weapon away from Rebecca. Between the speed of his own leap and the bandit's awkward grip on the blade, Grimr was able to wrench the weapon out of the man's hand with ease.

“What the devil?” the man began to yell, but the rest of his exclamation was cut off by a screech of agony. Grimr had jumped from Rebecca's shoulder onto the man's face and began raking his hind claws across the soft skin as hard as he could. The bandit staggered back, blinded by fur and blood, his arms flailing uselessly. He shoved Rebecca forward as he tried to pull the hissing, spitting, clawing cat off himself.

Rebecca, suddenly free but still numb with fear at the moment, collapsed onto the ground as her knees gave way. She hit the ground with a little gasp, and instinctively began crawling towards her father. Arthur rushed forward at once, grabbing his daughter’s arm and dragging her away from harm. Samuel took a few hasty steps forward, wishing he could do something to help the small black cat. He suspected that Grimr might be powerful in his other form, but he probably couldn't do much in this smaller body.

Just as Samuel went to pick up a sword to go to Grimr's aid, he was distracted by a shadowy movement out of the corner of his eye. Behind the bandit leader, still being savaged by Grimr's surprise attack, a figure came into sight suddenly. Partially hidden by the shade of the trees, he didn't even realize it was Shigeru until the warrior stepped forward into view and rammed the blade of his long curved sword into the side of the bandit's throat.

There was an intense look of determination and hatred on Shigeru's face that troubled Samuel. He'd never seen a mix of emotions that strong on someone's face before, and it didn't bode well. The sight of his long steel blade stuck through a man’s throat added to the terrifying apparition, and Samuel knew at that moment that he would never want to be this man’s enemy. Then, with a spine-tingling shriing of metal slicing against bone, Shigeru withdrew the weapon.

Grimr jumped off the bandit leader's face as the man fell, the light long gone from his eyes before he hit the ground. The bandits took a step back in shock as they saw their leader fall to the sudden and savage attack. They too caught sight of the expression on Shigeru's face, and fear seemed to run over them like a shiver. Then one, either braver or foolhardier than the rest, drew a heavily rusted blade from his waist.

“He's just one man, and there's eleven of us!” He called to his comrades. Then he turned to Shigeru and pointed the blade at him. “You'll pay for that with your life.”

Galvanized by his words, and fueled by their own outrage, the rest of the bandits drew their own weapons and charged at Shigeru. Once again, Shigeru showed that almost supernatural speed and skill. Seemingly undaunted by the odds of eleven to one, Shigeru stepped forward to meet his attackers. As he moved, his left hand drew the other, shorter sword on his hip, and in the same motion, he used the blade to cut down the one who'd fancied himself a leader.

Grimr ran clear of the whirl of blades that was Shigeru taking on the bandits. That made sense, Samuel thought. He probably couldn't back Shigeru up without revealing his true form, which was something he refused to do in front of the others. So the logical course of action for the small black cat, now that he'd finished his purpose of distracting the leader, was to get away and leave it to Shigeru.

Still, Samuel scooped up a handful of the swords left by the wagon. His first instinctive action had been to try and assist Grimr, but he knew he had no skill as a fighter. Instead, he threw the swords towards the disarmed guards. The weapons landed in a smaller pile, and he shouted at them as he turned to grab more.

“Come on! Shigeru needs help!” He forgot to use his nickname in his haste, but luckily they didn't seem to notice. They dove for the weapons, scooping them up and turning to assist the foreigner.

He felt an unfamiliar weight settle on his shoulders and turned his head in surprise. Grimr had jumped onto him without warning, and his hair was standing on end, his eyes fixed on Shigeru's fight.

Sorry, I'm going to use you to support Shigeru. Grimr's voice rang inside his head again.

“Use me how?” Samuel muttered, temporarily forgetting to reply in his head.

Grimr did not respond. Instead, he arched his back, and his pupils turned instantly into slits. Samuel became aware of a sensation much like a heatwave, originating from the point of his shoulder where Grimr sat. It traveled down his body, flowing throughout every part of him like a shiver down his spine. As the wave of energy coursed to his head, he felt his mind begin to fog over, and he quite abruptly lost control over his body, not even able to twitch a finger.

Almost as if he were watching another move from within his own body, he saw his right arm lift. The flowing energy receded from his other limbs into his chest, then down the arm that had risen. A raw sense of power cascaded down the forearm, and out of his hand in an instant. He was nearly blinded by the flash of light that erupted from his fingertip and saw a bolt of lightning arc from him to Shigeru, where he was cutting down another of the bandits. Just before it connected with the foreigner, it shattered into half a dozen different, smaller tines of energy, each arcing around the warrior, and each striking a bandit squarely in the chest.

Samuel couldn't wrap his mind around the terrifying display he'd just caused, nor did he have much of a chance to do so. The second the energy had left his body in the form of lightning, he'd become aware of instant exhaustion taking its place, as if he'd been wrung dry in a second. He felt his eyes roll back in his head, and he dropped to his knees as the scene around him turned black.

He was standing in a pitch-black cavern, surrounded on all sides by dark rock. There was no light around him, and he crinkled his eyes in an attempt to penetrate the darkness around him. He reached out blindly with his hands, feeling the rough surface of a wall right next to him. Feeling around him in the suffocating darkness, he quickly felt the ceiling out, and gained an idea of his surroundings.

What he'd previously thought was a cavern instead seemed to be a very narrow tunnel. It was only seven feet high, and perhaps four feet wide. It was a small space, and the absence of light sent a shiver down his spine. He wasn't afraid of dark enclosed spaces, but that didn't mean he liked them much either. Sliding his foot carefully forward to check for a sudden drop, he began to carefully inch forward.

As soon as he began to move, a light appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, far down the tunnel. Even though it was more than a hundred meters away, the light carried easily down the small tunnel, and he covered his eyes reflexively.

It seems you have finally touched magic. I have been expecting you, Samuel Bragg. At first, Samuel thought it was Grimr's voice ringing in his head, but realized at once that this voice was much deeper. It echoed faintly as it went through his mind, giving him the impression of ancient and limitless wisdom.

Fairly certain that he was just dreaming, Samuel tentatively replied. Who are you? What do you mean, you've been expecting me?

He received no reply, save for a single word. Come.

Anyone else in his spot would surely do the opposite, and run back as fast as they could. But Samuel couldn't help but continue on forward, drawn by his overpowering sense of curiosity. Besides, he thought, if he was dreaming, then he couldn't really be hurt. Though a tiny nagging doubt in his mind suggested, very quietly, that perhaps this wasn't a dream.

Still, he tried to communicate with the entity as he walked closer to it. How do you know that I touched magic? I could have used magic before today, so what makes you so sure that this was my first time?

This time, he did get a response, albeit without words. A strong sense of amusement came back to him from down the tunnel, and he imagined that the... thing, whatever it was, was laughing at his comment. Normally, this should have irritated him, as he didn't much like being the butt of jokes. But intense curiosity drowned out any other emotions.

Finally, he reached the end of the long tunnel. He now stood inside a perfectly circular room, with strangely worked stone pillars ringing the wall. The tunnel seemed to be the only entrance to the room. A deep red carpet laid across the floor, and a massive brazier, also perfectly round, sat in the dead center of the room. Instead of flame however, the brazier seemed to be housing a pulsating, nearly blinding ball of light. Assuming this was the entity he came to meet, Samuel bowed slightly from the waist.

Well, I've come to you. What do you need of me? He glanced back up at the ball as it dimmed significantly.

My apologies for almost blinding you. It is hard to control my mana, and I needed to give you light.

Samuel nearly laughed at the thought that this entity was trying to be considerate, but thought better of it. Instead, he moved a little closer. The ball of light didn't flash any brighter as he approached, and he continued to detect no malice or hostility.

No worries. I'd introduce myself, but you already know my name somehow. Do you have a name?

There was a very long pause, and he got the sense that the ball of light was searching it's memory. I do have one name, assigned to me by mortals. Arcana.

Mortals? Samuel's head whirled suddenly as a series of images flooded through his mind. He had the sensation of falling from a great height, then of running through a deep wood and finally crawling into a narrow tunnel, much like the one that Samuel had just used.

You were hunted, Samuel thought incredulously. Why?

A deep sense of regret washed over him as the voice sounded once more. Mortals are very greedy creatures. They sensed my potent mana, and were determined to seize it for their own gain. I had to flee to this cave in order to survive. I have not left in many hundreds of years.

Samuel let out a low whistle of surprise. The name Arcana had an eerily familiar ring to it, but he couldn't place where he'd heard it. Assuming it had been part of an old story he'd heard, he resolved to research it further when he woke up.

I am sorry to hear that. But you still haven't answered my question. What do you need of me? Samuel was polite, but firm. His expression said all too clearly that he'd like to get down to business.

You will come find me. I need a champion, and you are the only mortal I have seen fit to bond with.

Samuel laughed. It wasn't out of any scorn or dismissal, but of shock at the bizarre dream he was having. Almost as if it could read his mind, the ball wavered, and he once again felt that sense of amusement.

You are not dreaming. I sensed that you had overused your own mana, and grabbed your mind as it left your body. I have brought it here, so that we may speak.

As strange as the statement sounded, Samuel could instinctively tell that it was the truth. But how can I find you? I have no idea where I am.

That is of no importance. Now that I have met your mind, you will be able to find me. Now, I will restore you to your body.

Samuel nodded, unsure if Arcana could see the movement. I appreciate that. But will I be able to wake up if I have no mana?

That is of no importance, Arcana repeated. I will gift you some of mine. It will be uncomfortable, but I am sure you will get used to it.

You'll give me some of your mana? He thought incredulously. But my body is probably hundreds of miles away.

Yes, I will give you mana. Your mind is here, and that is all that is needed. But unlike the Ancient, I require your permission.

Samuel thought back to the sense of coursing heat and energy that flowed from Grimr. So the cat had used Samuel's own mana to cast that spell? The idea annoyed him, but he supposed there was nothing he could do about it.

Very well. I will accept the help.

As soon as the thought formed in his mind, he saw a small streak of energy break away from Arcana, stretching and thinning into a long ribbon of energy. The ribbon wrapped itself around his body, and faded out of sight. Once again, Samuel felt his vision going dark.

Come. The voice sounded in his head once more. Find me.