They reached their home after a long run, and Nero poured the hot water he that was floating around into a small basin, and they used a damp cloth to wipe away the sweat. They were still bare-chested when someone knocked at their door, they looked at each other, then Sig said that they could enter. It was Gravic who entered to their great astonishment.

"- You freakin' idiots, I was waiting for you yesterday ! So now I take the lead, get back to the forge right away !"

And he remained there motionless, staring at them until they were in front of him on the way to the forge.

"- hum Gravic ? We actually did not eat ...

- You call me master now, you are my apprentices for shit sake ! And I have purposely come first to catch you before Lucie and Krista, I have not eaten either, Maria must be preparing what to eat precisely.

Sig remembered that he had not talked to Maria since their bath the day before, so Nero said:

"- What are you going to do for Maria ? Given her character she is not going to look at you and is likely to be even more awkward. "

" The bastard " thought the manipulator of fire, "he does not miss the opportunity to take revenge for the last time", the mestizo had a broad smile on his face, testifying well of the bottom of his thought. The three men entered the blacksmith's house and Maria appeared.

"- Grandfather, where were you ? Sig ?!" She let go the tray she held in her hands.

- What the hell are you doin' you fool ! I went to get them before the other two put the hook on them, prepare us what to eat please, we go straight to the forge.

He dragged them to the back in the cavity dug in the heart of the rocky peak, the forge heated the room in a stifling way.

"- You two, put on aprons and gloves !" He insisted on the word glove with a glance at Sig. I understood how you had forged the blade yesterday and now I will teach you the true art of forging ! There is no artifice you freakin' apprentices magicians !"

The two young men replied in unison, "Yes master ! ".

They changed and Maria brought something to sustain them, they quickly ate the cereal soup that she had prepared and then they were entitled to a mash of insults and things about forging in "the rules of art" on the part of Gravic the blacksmith.

When they were trying to make a dagger, Lucie entered the forge.

"Ah here you are! I've been looking for you since this morning with Krista, I still have your breakfast waiting for you at home.

- Tchh get lost ! They are with me there, the embarrassers out !

- Say Gravic, we said that morning was for training and the afternoon with you at the forge. Do not get them when you want !

- They must catch up for yesterday! I waited for them and they did not come these idiotic bastards !

- Well, it looks like we're going to have to reorganize our schedule " Nero said.

- Nero is right. Between training, blacksmithing, helping the village and reading lessons we risk being overwhelmed " Sig added.

"- You stay silent ! Go back to your job freakin' idiots !

- Yes Master !

Krista arrived a little later.

- You two you forge me daggers until they can cut an iron bar ! The two girls and I are going to discuss your schedule ! and the three went out of the forge.

- I get the feeling we got stuck there without our word to say.

-Well now i'm dead tired ... Sig you can pass me the water gourd please?

- Look, I'm in the same state you know, the flames seem to consume me a lot of energy and the "forging in the rules" is really tiring "

After a moment Maria returned to the forge while the two young men began to strike with a hammer some thin iron plate to give them the appearance of daggers.

"- Wa .. wait ... I'll ... you show how to do ... Grandpa's explanations are sometimes rough ..." she then took a hammer and showed them how to do it.

"- Maria, do not make it too easy for them, they must learn by themselves, these two good-for-nothing !

- Gravic wait, we have to explain to them what we have agreed.

- humph yeah, go then.

Krista then spoke:

- We will work with a system of alternation, you will be in a different activity every time, this afternoon for example Sig will be with me to train in combat and Nero will be with Lucie for reading. The news of the help yesterday spread quickly so we asked the villagers to submit their requests to the chief who then will give them to you. Requests will pass first and the lesson they encroach on will be caught up later. This is your program, questions?

- No, it's good for me and you Nero?

- I agree, too.

- Perfect then go back to the job you spineless fools ! "

Thus they spent their life in the village, they trained in combat with Krista but soon she ceased to be their trainer to be their training companion, taking advantage of them to practice as well. The same goes for Lucie and the magic practice, Nero quickly mastered the fundamentals and then helped his cousin secretly in the evening in the forest. The latter learned quickly to read and write and then they waited for the village to fall asleep so that Sig taught Nero what he learned. They brought a lot of help to the village, taking part in hunting to bring back meat, helping in the fields or repairing the houses. Gravic and Maria allowed them to master the artisanal forge fairly well. Their knowledge of their home world even made possible to create useful objects for the villagers, such as greenhouses for harvesting and wood-fired ovens and pipes for heating houses. Their lives went smoothly, at least until the arrival of a missive from the guild.

A month had passed since their arrival in this new world, no danger had arisen and the cousins were defenders only in title. But itinerant merchants passing through the village began to report attacks by bandits. The more the days went by, the more the attacks seemed to be coming closer to the village, according to the merchants. Towards the end of the warm season which the cousins considered as the summer but which bore the name of Solaris in this world, the chief summoned them with Krista and Gravic.

They all found themselves in the meeting room in the chief's house:

"- Well everyone is here, please sit down, we must discuss about the recent attacks on the merchants on the roads. According to the reports of some regular merchants in our village, it would seem that these attacks are approaching our peaceful village. I am worried because the merchants who usually come at this time have still not come.

- Excuse me, chief, but where do the merchants come from?

- West. The merchants who told us these stories all come from the east, on the contrary. That is why the Duchy did not intervene elsewhere.

"- Attacks are too close to the border, so sending soldiers is not possible," added Krista. " The tension between the two empires prevents any movements on the part of either one of the two when there is this type of attack on borders.

"- So I'm afraid we'll be left to ourselves."

"- But chief, the bandits will not attack so far in the duchy anyway !" Nero said skeptically.

"- Yes, indeed, the merchants allow us to live, they bring us objects that are necessary to us, or we exchange giant wood, to which the demand is always important.

- What do you propose then?

- It's not me who's proposing, but the guild. I received a missive. She asks us to patrol the roads and make contact with the merchants.

"But we're only two, we're not going to be very effective.

- Three. We are three Sig, Krista looked at him with his steel eyes.

- Yes, excuse me, you're right.

- Not quite, why not count me too ? The question came from Lucie. I'm not as gifted as you with a weapon but I master my magic and I've been training with Nero !

- Ah, I did not know Nero, said Sig smiling.

- Yes, and indeed she defends herself well, and you know that she handles the magic of fire, and even that of earth, respond his cousin.

- So I'm also able to do it.

- Lucie it does not reassure me darling ... said the old chief

- Grandfather, you must not treat me favorably because I am family, we must all help the village and the merchants who in the life of the village.

- We'll all be together, Krista reassured him.

And Nero added behind: " and I'll stay with her if it suits her "

Lucie blushed a little. Sig had noticed that recently she and her cousin were close and it made him smile gently.

"- We will go on the main roads of the East of the village then we will divide into 2 groups. Nero and Lucie on one side and Krista and I on the other, is it ok for everyone ? Training and work are put on hold at the forge.

- Humph it does not make me happy because we had to advance on the plans that you drew but those freakin' shitbag of merchants are useful so ...

- Then it's settled. I even suggest that we start now "

Sig stood up and changed his outfit for the one he loved most : heavy fighting boots, wide pants for ample movements tucked into the boots and a sleeveless top tight fit.

Nero did the same and made his dark set appear: a blue night cape and tight doublet as well as fine boot and straight pants. At his hip hung his favorite sword with the golden knob and the silver blade, Sig chose to made his weapons appear as a last resort, preferring to use his powerful body directly to strike. Lucie went to her room and came back with an outfit similar to that of the young mestizo: thin soft leather boots up to her knees, simple trousers with a belt from which hung several purses, a light shirt with leather piece on her vital parts. She held in her hands a stick that Nero had worked at the forge with Maria to make it extremely resistant and light. Krista was already wearing her outfit: a long red tight coat and closed at the chest with a shirt underneath, boots like Lucie's and a tight black pants. Her weapon was a rapier that she kept at the waist like Nero.

Once they were all ready, they set out on the eastern side of the village by the main road, so they traveled along the road all day, taking a break only at lunchtime, but nothing happened and neither merchants nor bandits appeared.

"- I'm a little disappointed, I wasn't hoping much but it's boring to beat the campaign like that," Sig complained at dinner, " and what's more we went pretty far away from the village.

- You should not complain too much, it's a good thing nothing happens and you know it, Krista growled.

- I agree ... I was afraid when grandfather told me you were going to patrol because of bandits.

- It's nice Maria but we can defend ourselves. Well, we'll be back tomorrow, I'd rather be at the forge ... " he sighed.

"- Your attraction to the forge makes me wonder if it's really because of your affinity with the fire or if there's no other reason ..."

Nero looked at Maria but Sig did not react which disappointed the young woman. As much as Nero and Lucie had become close as much Sig had been careful not to get close to Maria or Krista, preferring to focus on his training to avoid getting into a situation like the bath. But the two ladies did not make the task easier for him, surprising him when he washed himself or him when they changed or bathed.

They finished their dinner and the girls went home, the cousins continued their routine : work their writing while waiting for the village to sleep to go to train in the forest.

The next day went exactly the same way, patrolling the roads all day and practicing at night to understand and write the language of this world then night training.

An entire week went on until one night after going to bed Sig awoke, a strange sensation forcing his senses to awaken.

"- Nero, Nero wake up !

- Mmmh what ? I'm tired you know we do not sleep much with our nightly exercises.

- I smell a burning smell.

- You're a walking flame, are you sure it's not you ?

- Thank you I know how to recognize my own flames ! And now it's something brought by the wind , I have a bad feeling.

- It's not the forge?

- No ! I'm there so often, you really think I do not recognize each of the village fires ?

- Seriously what are you ? What kind of beast are you to recognize "the smell of fires"?

- Get dressed we'll see.

- Ok ok I'm coming »

They came out of their house and Sig hummed the air, "Looks like a hunting dog," Nero thought, but did not tell him.

"- It comes from the East.

- Seriously ? Ok the coincidence may be a little big. Should we warned the others?

- Not now, we first check the origin and afterwards we will notify them"

They began to run on the road they had already borrowed so many times this week. Sig, his eyes inflamed with fierce determination, guided them through the hills and valleys following an invisible trail that he alone seemed to distinguish. Suddenly as they climbed up a small hill he froze almost to the top, Nero stopping abruptly beside him.

"- What Lassi, did you heard Timmy in the well ?

- Shhh ... it's there, on the other side ... and does not compare me to a dog of such an old series !"

Nero strained his ear and heard rattling fire sounds and people talking. The two of them crawled on the ground to the top and then saw the origin of the flames: a cart was the prey of a fire, a dead drega by his side and men gathering what had to be the products of the merchants.

"- Sig ! Next to the drega ! Two people tied up. I think that the merchants are still alive !"

But Sig was not listening, in his eyes were reflected the flames of the chariot but more deeply Nero saw that it was his own fire that made his blood boil. The mestizo said to himself that he had to act quickly before his cousin charged the bandits, so he watched the scene and came up with a semblance of plan.

"- Sig .. Sig listen to me, we need to make a diversion so that we can sneak up towards the wagon. The flames will hide us and we can save the merchants ! You heard ? We're saving the merchants.

- Yes ... yes ok sorry I was ... elsewhere. Pass some stones ! Many.

- To do what ?

- You know what volcanic bombs are ?

- Yes a slag of half solid half liquid rocks that explodes when it crashed on the ground during a volcanic eruption.

- Exactly, I'll make some by heating stones and an amalgam with it. The stones in the middle will be boiling and the ones outside will be cold and as soon as they are thrown I would heat them at a distance so that when it touches the ground they explode. That should make a proper diversion. I will go to the other side to attract them and you release the prisoners. "

Nero looked at him slightly frightened, how his cousin came to think of this kind of use of his magic at such a time. Finally he expressed himself :

"- Fine, hurry then, 'cause I think the bandits have finished inventory ..."

Sig disappeared in the night, leaving Nero watching the scene, the bandits laughed and congratulated themselves for their catch when suddenly the one who seemed to be the leader approached their prisoners and pulled out a dagger.

"Shit Sig hurry up !" Nero thought as he got up, ready to go. Suddenly the sound of an explosion was heard on the other side of the bonfire.

" - What is it ?! The chief yelled, turning to the origin of the explosion.

Nero jumped up and walked to the flaming chariot like a shadow and then a second explosion was heard, closer.

"- You two, go ! " Said the chief, pointing at two of his companions.

The designated ones moved away but a new bomb exploded right in front of them, allowing Nero to join the two prisoners by taking advantage of the confusion. He detached one and just had enough time to see the fear in his eyes before turning around and seeing a sword fall on him.

Sig had thrown two bombs when he saw two of the bandits walking towards him, his cousin stuck behind the burning wagon and the three other bandits still too close to him. He then threw one right in front of the two who were coming to see what was happening, then changed his position. The chaos he had created allowed Nero to join the prisoners but suddenly Sig saw one of the bandits skirting the wagon.

" Oh no ! He'll get caught !" He thought, with reason.

He then darted directly to the place where the captives and his cousin were, but the chief of the bandits intervened, his sword drawn, which he raised above the head of the young man. He was faster and grabbed the man's face with his right hand and pinned him to the ground, continuing his race while Nero had a sword on his own over his head. Sig was not going to arrive in time, so he made a knife appeard and threw it at the throat of the man who threatened the life of his cousin. The knife stabed in his opponent and Nero seized it to free the second prisoner, Sig turned and dodged a sword that then failed to open his belly.

"- Nero bring them away !" Screamed Sig who dodged the assault of the third bandit while the other two helped their leader. The young man succeeded in pushing back his opponent with a kick to the chest, sending him crashing alongside the other three. They pulled all their swords except one who draw his bow and fired on Sig, forcing the latter to dive forward to avoid the projectile, but this allowed the other bandits to jump over, blades drawn. Nero suddenly appeared and blocked two of the assailants, but the chief succeeded in bringing down his sword to the young man who had thrown him to the ground. He managed to stop the blade by blocking it between his palms.

"- Hinhin looks at who's on the ground now," the bandit smiled.

Sig then took a deep breath and spat out a flame in the face of his enemy, who screamed in pain and backed away, allowing him to strike him to free himself from him. Nero during this time had to manage the other two bandits while the latter was drawing his bow while waiting for an opportunity to shoot, but the cry of their leader and his flight made them hesitate for a second, allowing the cousins to regain the upper hand. Sig broke the archer's weapon and Nero disarmed the last two, who then recovered their leader and fleed eastward. The latter cried:

"- You're going to pay for it ! We will come back to track you down you fuckin' swine ! We're gonna kill you and this shabby village! We spared you because you have nothing but now we will raze it to the ground, dirty cunt ! You hear me ?! We'll burn you to the ground !"

And his cries of suffering accompanied their disappearance into the night.