http://royalroadl.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=30624 ----------------------------------

The night's cold and calming, like it usually is. However, the cool air doesn't feel as nice today, it just makes me feel like everyone else, freezing. I don't know why, on normal days the wind blowing past my face would carry all my stress away. Maybe it's because of what happened in class today, maybe it's because she was scared, maybe it's because the look she had absolutely shook me.

I knew something was wrong when she started clutching at her chest, I should've stopped the battle right there. I should've dashed on over and asked her, "What's wrong?" I haven't known blue hair for very long but I know she would've just smiled and said, "N-nothing, I'm fine." in that little stuttering voice of hers.

Right now, there's no doubt that if she or Axel were in danger, I'd go save Axel first. Knowing her, she'd be just fine. But this didn't involve anyone else, she was scared, and I didn't protect her like a teammate should have. When it comes to winning, what I did was the best option, but winning doesn't matter.

I'm walking, no, I'm speed walking through the city to get to the damn warehouse. I knocked on her door, I went to see her and she wouldn't open it, "No guys." Iris said. She never seemed very comfortable around me but I just assumed that was because I always messed with her. I never thought about the idea that she had troubles with men.

The problem is that it irked me, it irked me that I didn't do anything about the problem. When I went to go see her, all I did was stand in the doorway while she huddled in a ball on her bed. When I asked my master to train me, I asked him to train me in more than just fighting. I asked him to tell me the ways to talk to people, I'm still not very good at it but I wanted to use it to at least help somebody, anybody. In the end, I was only able to say a few things to her.

*Boom*

I throw open the door and shout, ignoring my usual check of the room. "Carlyle!"

My voice echos through the room as if it were a canyon. Many of the other members stir from their hiding spots, I see Anne, Garrett, and Adrian. Carlye lazily turns the barrels with his usual book in hand.

"I'm leaving to go visit a family member, I don't know when I'll be back. Maybe a month at the longest." The mail system I used wasn't the fastest, it was a much cheaper and more affordable way to send things. That's why it took four weeks for my sister and I to communicate.

His eyebrows knit and he closes the book, "I don't mind you leaving but what's up with the voice." that's right, I was shouting.

"S-sorry, I just wanted to tell you that." I bow my head and turn around. "Bye." with that I turn around and bound out through the door.

"W-wait up." I hear Anne's voice behind me. "What's wrong? Did something happen to them?" she runs up in front of me, blocking my way.

I sigh, "Yeah, something happened." her face drops. "But my family's fine, it's just that something happened to someone I knew today." the fact that I didn't do anything, the fact that I went straight to the headmaster's office after school ended, I just didn't feel like the person I wanted to be.

"I see, you and that person must be pretty close." she says. "The way you worry about them like that."

Pretty close huh? Me and blue hair? I was ashamed to hear that comment. Worried? I wasn't worried that much when Axel told me to see her, I was just worried because I should've been, it wasn't until I saw her in her room that I was really worried.

I swallow back my saliva. "Yeah, we're like two adventurers in a party."

"Is that a joke?" she asks raising one eyebrow. Her weight rests on one foot, and her arms are crossed.

"Something like that." I force my cheeks to go up in an awkward smile. "I'm leaving tomorrow so..." I point behind me with my thumb. "I'll see you guys later."

She nods, her worry is easily seen on her face. I wonder if it's because she feels like she owes me or because she cares.

-------------

The next morning, I wake up early but don't go for a run, I'll have to be traveling long so I'll save my energy. I push my thoughts from yesterday out of my mind and begin stuffing my clothes inside of a case, Hector arranged a caravan to take us to the Green City.

I initially thought of him as a spy the headmaster sent to keep me under watch, but when I saw how quickly he went to find a caravan and the look on his face when he was told to go to the Green city, I simply saw him as an excited tourist. Maybe it's better described as a boy who's visiting his favorite uncle for the first time in a while.

Unexpectedly, despite his power, he might not have been around the world much. I haven't either but I've been to many of the locations within this continent. My master always was traveling, we'd go to many remote villages where he'd train me, I wonder where he is now.

After neatly putting my clothes into a bundle and tying it together with some string, I leave the room with the pack of clothes on my back. I spot Axel down in the lobby, he sits with his own bundle of clothing, his legs bounce up and down.

"Hey Axel." I wave to him. He gets up with the clothing tied to his back.

"Yo! Good morning." Like his usual self, his hair's all messy and he has enough energy in the morning to run up and down the stairs of the dorm hundreds of times. "Let's go, Hector said that he'd wait for us at the gates."

The walk to the gates was quick, with our early rise, there were almost no people to slow our way as we made for the exit and entrance of the city. Hector stands there leaning up against one of the caravan carts talking to another man. Their conversation seems to be going well, I can hear them laughing from over here.

"Hector!" Axel waves his hand in the air, his feet often leaving the ground. "You guys ready?"

The man talking to Hector ends the conversation and takes short strides over to us. His hair is short and dark brown, his face has lots of stubble and his body looks well toned, like someone who's used to working.

"Nice too meet you." he shakes both our hands. "I'm the caravan master, we'll be leaving soon when our guards arrive. Oh, speak of the devil, they're coming here right now."

Moving confidently towards us are twenty three armed guards, their gait is slow and steady, their arms rest at their weapons. Out of the crowd, I see a familiar face, the mercenary from my first D rank mission, Jones.

He stops his advance and stares at me. "Rainen?" he rushes forward, "Nice to see you again kid. You heading to the Green City?"

Glad to see he's as lively as ever. "Yeah, I'm visiting some family there."

His face falters for a moment but brightens right back up, "That's good, how's Ellar doing?" he asks with good intentions but I can't help but feel a little stung by his words.

"She's uh, she's doing alright, should be getting ready for school soon." I say. He doesn't notice my hesitation nor the unease behind my words.

"Haha. That's great! She'll become a great mage one day!" he claps his hands.

I feel a tap on my shoulder, it's Axel. "You okay?"

"Yeah. We should get going." I move inside of one of the carts and throw my clothing in. Instead of answering Axel with an, "I'm fine." I chose to back away from him. He's more perceptive than Jones at least.

"Alright!" the caravan master ushers the other people into the carts. "We're starting for the Green City."

The guards spread out and surround the caravan to protect it. Like them, Hector does the same, standing closer to the front than the rest. I also choose to walk instead of sitting down, I skipped my morning run so I'll walk for most of the trip.

"You're not going to sit?" the caravan master asks.

"No, I'll walk for now." I say to him.

"That's good, I've heard that magicians don't move around too much, it's good that you do." He puts his hat on and drives the horses forward.

I spend most of the day speaking with Jones and Axel. They get along well, mostly because they're both pretty easy going. Hector stays content with speaking to the caravan master and the other guards. I don't exactly know his role in this but he probably had us come more as guards than passengers.

The night goes by quickly, a fire is built but I choose to simply sleep in one of the carts instead of interacting with the others on the trip.

The next morning I wake up early, at the very least, earlier than the people inside of my cart. I stretch my arms wide and twist my body. Taking a step out of the cart feels like dipping my toes in water, me feet feel very cold upon contact with the ground.

*Crunch* *Crunch* *Crunch*

It's not the sound that accompanies snow but one that's perfect for the rocky road we're traveling on. Who's up so early? I turn around the corner and see a sword swing, the person's out of sight but the sword easily reflects what little light the sun's giving off.

"Hmph! Hmph! Hmph!" Each swing is followed by a grunt.

I lean to the side to catch a glimpse of the person. It's Hector, he stops and walks towards me with his sword pointed to the ground. Only a few beads of sweat are evident on his forehead, his breaths quickly steady themselves.

"Rainen, come train with me." he says unexpectedly. I wasn't expecting him to say something like that, but training's always been a good way to get things off my mind. He should also be a capable partner.

"I'm a magician though." I say to see his response.

His weary smile appears, "We both know you're more suited to be a magic swordsman." he shakes his head. "More like an assassin that uses magic."

Oh? That's an interesting way to look at it. My fighting style is fast, but that's for wearing down the opponent. My master thought it would be the best for me seeing how quick I was. "For you, speed is your advantage, it's what you're good at." is what he said. So, instead of training me with a single sword, he taught me how to use knives, much lighter and much more of a tool than a sword.

The training was rigorous and it focused mostly on speed and wearing down the person.

"I don't mind. If you'll teach me how to better use a sword." I say. Adding more tools to my arsenal is always good, my sword skills aren't bad but they're not good enough for me to want to carry one around. It's more of a problem than an asset.

"Alright." he reaches around to the front of the caravan and pulls out two wooden swords. "Here use this." It's long but balanced.

"Where did you get these?"

He makes a face as if I should know. "You just saw me grab it from the seat."

"But why are these there?"

"Some guards brought them."

"I see. Let's get started then" I hold up my sword and we begin.

His strikes are slower but strong, each hit rattles my sword, if I wasn't holding it with both hands it would probably fly out of my hand. To counter his attacks, I parry his attacks away with my sword, the way my master taught me to. "Swords and knives chip easily so don't use them to block too many attacks. Make sure that if you use it to stop an attack, parry the strike, deflect it." So, following his guidance, I simply move my sword and light tap away his swings.

"Very good." he stops. "Now you go, I'll defend."

Unconsciously I swing the sword with only one hand. My strikes are weaker and he pushes them away with ease. I notice my mistake and grip it with both hands, his defense is still perfect but I can tell he's having much more trouble now. I stop.

"Alright, that was good. Noticed your mistake then changed it." he nods approvingly. "Shall we continue?"

"I'll go back to attacking."

For an entire week, I spend the mornings training with Hector, my sword skills, according to him, have improved greatly. It's not to the point that I'd use it over my knives but I feel much more confident using them now. If Hector chose to attack me without restraint, I'd be able to hold him back for a while.

From what he tells me, I'm able to wield it on par with a normal knight. The way I use the sword is different from when I use the knives. The sword I parry more and focus on a good balance while when I use my knives, I tend to fight aggressively.

"Keep your eyes open guys." Jones yells. "This here is bandit territory." his hands rest on his sword, eyes constantly wandering between the trees surrounding the road.

"Have you been here before?" Axel asks.

"Yeah, I traveled through here before." probably when he left his home.

A sudden rustle in the bushes startles everyone, from it comes a dog. It runs at us, its fur is slightly bloody.

"Watch out! That's one of their dogs!" Jones yells. He pulls his sword out from its sheathe and rushes to save the guard the dog runs to.

"GUH! GET IT OFF!" The guard's pushed to the ground by the dog. It keeps trying to get his neck but he blocks it with his arms.

"I'm coming! Everyone! Get ready for an attack!" a quick swing ends the dog's life, he helps the guard up with one hand.

From the bushes, tens of people come out, many wearing brown vests. They yell with a deafening roar, the passengers are deterred and rush deeper into the carts but the guards stand strong, their experience saving them from their disordering cries. Doing their best to fend off the attackers the guards meet them in battle away from the caravans. Arrows fly from the trees.

"I'll cover you guys!" Axel holds out his hands. "Barrier!" he shields everyone in a large force field. Understanding that their arrows won't work they rush out of the forest and break through, out numbering us two to one.

I shoot off fireballs left and right, in moments like these, when other people are in danger, I can't hesitate in stopping these guys, they'll kill us if we don't kill them. I ignore their screams as they roll around, desperately trying to put the fire that slowly takes away their life out.

A group of two bandits enter a cart in the back. With the guards distracted no one's going to help them, I pull out a knife and make a mad dash towards it. Every little chance I get, I throw a knife to assist an ally, the throwing knife doesn't do much, thanks to their armor and my running, but it distracts them enough to give the hired arms a chance.

"H-help!" a cry of horror comes from the wagon.

Inside a woman is pinned to the ground, her clothing half ripped. What are these guys doing here? Are they so sure that their buddies will win?

"Hey! Get that kid over there."

The other bandit rushes at me, his sword is pointed out and it constantly bounces as he runs. A step back and he falls forward, his thrust propelling him over the edge of the cart. I send a stun down at him.

"A spell flinger huh?" he holds the woman up and points the knife to her neck. "Don't use any spells boy, she'll be dead before it even hits."

"W-wait!" I hold my hands up, my eyes quickly survey the area, no one is sneaking up on me. The other people are huddled in the back of the cart, mostly women and children. "I-I surrender."

"Heh! You're too soft to be a magician kid." the moment his knife points away from her so he can make a gesture I activate my ability. Appearing a few feet away from him he has no chance to react as I stun him. His dagger drops and he falls down after it. I quickly take a look at his fingers, just in case. No rings are worn.

"T-thank you."

"Don't mention it. Make sure to tie them up." wasting no time I leave the cart back to the outside.

No more bandits are standing. In the short time that I was in the wagon, Hector, Axel, Jones, and the other guards have taken care of it. They were a lot less skilled than I thought they would be.

We move around and gather the bodies, the bandits number in the forties, the guards dead are six, ten are injured.

"They weren't very good at fighting." I say to Jones.

"Yeah, they're not soldiers. They're closer to villagers." villagers huh?

"From where?"

"Around here, the empire didn't send any help when they were attacked by monsters. They turned to raiding after their villages were destroyed."

I see, he should know. As a former noble, he should've been involved in politics somewhat.

The next two days go without an incident. The injured guards were easily healed by Axel and Hector, I simply provided light healing to the one's who were waiting. With my weaker magic, I couldn't help as much. The guards, who were familiar with the school, chuckled at the thought that I was in that elite school, I still healed them anyways.

The husband of the woman I saved thanked me a lot. He even invited me to eat with them. I declined their offer and they gave me some fruits instead. I shared them with Axel.

When it hits noon, we finally see the city.

"Whoa." Hector's jaw is agape, mine is too. It's even larger than our city, I knew that it would be but the real reason for my amazement is because of the tall green tower in the back. When we enter the city, we witness tons of green tiled houses.

It feels close to home, the streets are just as lively and the people just as loud.

"It's been nice traveling with you." the caravan master holds his hand out to us again. "I should've done this at the start but I'm Nail Techthorn. If you want to ever find me, I'm a part of the Merchant's Guild, just tell them that your either a friend of Nail. Nice seeing you again Hector, see me again soon."

"Bye Nail." he waves his friend off.

Axel and I turn our attention to our overseer.

"You know him?" Axel asks.

"Mhm. I know him from work."

"That's great." I turn to the nearest city guard. "I'm off to see my sister."

"Um, Rainen. I don't mean to burst your bubble but I doubt that he's your sister." he points to the guard I was going to talk to.

"Course he isn't. I was just told to talk to a city guard, they'll lead me there."

"Why would you need to talk to a guard?" Hector asks.

"Wait. What's your sister's last name?" Axel looks at me skeptically. Before I speak he stops me. "Whoops, I meant what's your mom's maiden name?"

I knew what he meant, "It's Yurfray."

Hector's eyes narrow, "You're related to nobility?" looks like the headmaster didn't know, not that there was really a way he could've anyways. No need to hide it now.

"Yeah. The house head is my grandfather."

"Whoa. That's cool." Axel pats my back as he starts walking off. "I'd love to go visit your family but I have my own matters to attend to. I'll be back here at around eight. See you guys then."

"So, you're going to follow me?" I ask. Hector nods and walks to the guard. I follow behind and tell him, "We're looking for the Yurfray family."

"Who's asking?"

"Second son of Rowan Nash Weaver and Ayleth Weaver. My mother is the third daughter of lord Frederick and Juliana Yurfray. I am their grandson, Rainen Nash Weaver."