章 12: Road Trip
Kaya stood leaned against the wall next to Mike's door. As he approached, she turned and stepped forward to meet him. Her face still had the usual frown she used when looking at him, but it seemed softer somehow. "Look, I don't want you to get the wrong idea. I'm not here for you." She paused and glanced around furtively, as if embarrassed. "I'm here about Morris."
"What about him?"
Kaya faced him fully, squaring up as if preparing for a confrontation. "He's been different since the ambush in the woods. Quieter...less cheerful. I...we are worried about him." Her voice faltered a little as she stared down at her hands. "He used to be so confident, I thought he could make it through anything, but now….." She trailed off as her trademark frown morphed into a look of worry with a hint of guilt.
Mike hadn't interacted much with Morris over the last month, so busy had he been with his training. However, he had noticed the older man become a bit more withdrawn as time wore on. It was evident that his injury was weighing on him to some degree.
After a few moments, Mike decided to break the silence that had descended in the hallway. "So, what exactly are you asking me to do?"
Her eyes snapped back up to him, frown back in its rightful place. "I don't really expect anything from you. I know you've been training for the last month, but that is no replacement for real experience. With Morris the way he is now, if you run into any real trouble on the way to Wyrport, it'll be up to you to protect him. Considering your performance in the training yard, I think that is beyond your abilities."
"You've been watching me?"
Kaya blushed slightly as her frowned deepened. "I wasn't watching you! I just happened to see you flailing around and getting beat up by Albert."
She shook her head as if to clear her thoughts. "Anyway! Even if you could handle yourself in a fight, your memory issue means you will have a hard time adapting to circumstances. So, I have a proposition for you."
"Oh?"
"See Morris safely to Wyrport, get him settled in, and help him find a path for himself." She paused, looking a little unsure again. "I don't know what he will do now. The Order pension will last a while, but he's still young. With his family situation, he'll basically be on his own. Not many people will be willing to hire him as he is."
"That's easy enough, but since you called it a proposition, I assume you have something to offer me?"
She pulled out a small, clear uncut crystal tied to a leather cord. While it wasn't particularly appealing to look at, Mike felt his gaze drawn to it.
"This is a Salvation Stone, a rare magical item designed to save the user from dire circumstances. When you crush it, it creates an orb of nearly impenetrable force surrounding you for a short period of time. While protected, you can use your will to move the sphere in your direction of choice."
Mike focused on it and used Identify.
{Salvation Stone}
Magic Item (Tier 3, Rank 2)
A mid-grade, consumable, magic item produced through Advanced Force Magic. Used to create a mentally controlled sphere of force, with a diameter of 3m, around the user. Lasts approximately 1.5 minutes.
[Seems useful enough.] Mike thought before asking, "So, you'll give this to me in exchange for taking care of Morris?"
Kaya hesitated before nodding. "Use it if you get into trouble. If you manage to make it all the way Wyrport without needing it, you can keep it."
She reluctantly handed him the stone, her gaze lingering on it before he clasped in his hand. She looked him the eye before continuing. "Keep Morris safe. If any harm comes to him, I'll make sure you regret it."
Mike felt a bit intimidated by her sudden seriousness, but felt the need to tease a little bit due to the somewhat unreasonable demands she had been putting out.
"This seems pretty valuable. Morris must be pretty special to you."
"A-Ah….." Kaya blushed fiercely at that. She was at a loss for words for a few moments before stammering a reply. "L-Look, I-I don't care about him. I-I just owe him a favor. He helped me out, so I'm just repaying him."
Mike grinned mischievously. "Alright, I'll accept your proposition. You don't need to worry about Morris."
Kaya gritted her teeth, feeling like she had lost somehow. "Fine! I don't care if you die in a ditch somewhere but don't let anything happen to him." She stomped off after delivering this retort.
Mike smiled to himself before heading into his room. [No matter the world, kids will be kids.]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The next morning, Mike was saying his goodbyes to the few people in the Order he had grown close to over the month. After talking briefly to the commander and waving to a casually observing Albert, he mounted his new horse, a pleasant-tempered mare named Barley.
He adjusted his new sword into a more comfortable position on his back, since it was too long for him to wear at his waist. He was dressed in a suit of leather armor in the pattern of the Order footmen. A simple grey traveling cloak rested around his shoulders. He checked the mare's saddle bags one last time, mentally going over the supplies stored within, before he felt himself fully ready.
He looked over at Morris who had some trouble getting into the saddle. The older man was finally able to pull himself up by using the short stump that was the remainder of his left arm as a lever. Mike felt a pang of pity while watching. It had not been his fault, and indeed he had even saved Morris's life that night, but he nevertheless felt some responsibility.
"You alright over there?"
"I'm fine!" Morris grunted a little too aggressively, before sighing. "I'm just ready to get this trip started."
"Fair enough, if you've finished your goodbye we can head out."
"I have said all that needs to be said." Morris replied while staring up at the fort's battlements.
Mike followed his gaze as saw a depressed looking Kaya watching them forlornly. He could guess what must have happened, but couldn't see any good way to solve the issue. Besides, as an outsider, it wasn't his place to interfere.
"Alright, let's go."
Despite the gloom cast by their departure, Mike couldn't help but feel some excitement. It felt like he was finally starting his other world adventure. This time he thought himself prepared for what was coming.
After waving goodbye to the surrounding Order members, the two headed out the gate. Mike couldn't wait for what was ahead.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Argh! I'm so bored!" Mike yelled while collapsing onto the neck of his horse, who placidly continued to walk along. She had already gotten used to her new owner's personality.
Mike and Morris had already been traveling for close to a week, and while the weather had been pleasant, they had barely seen anything of interest in the vast plain they were traveling across. Besides increasing his Basic Riding skill to Rank 3, nothing of interest had happened.
"There is not much to see around here. If it were not for the mining communities of the Ash Mountains to the North, the Order wouldn't even bother setting up a fort near here." Morris replied.
He had been sullen and quiet for much of the last week, but seemed to brighten while teaching Mike new things about the world. He continued after a brief pause. "In another couple of days we should be getting closer to civilization. If I recall there is a small town along the way we can stop at. They have a decent tavern there where we can rest."
He gave a conspiratorial grin to Mike, looking more like his old self. "Besides, they also have some of the 'friendliest' barmaids around, if you catch my drift."
"Morris my good man, I like the way you think. We have a long journey still ahead of us, and we should take the opportunity to rest and recover." Mike said with a similarly lascivious grin.
The road didn't seem quite so tedious now that he had something to look forward to in a couple of days. [I'm a little surprised that nothing has happened to me yet. If I were to use novels as a reference, this trip would have been the perfect time to run into bandits attacking the carriage of a princess or something.]
Just then, Morris chimed in "Hey, do you see that dust cloud ahead of us?"
Cursing his flag raising self, Mike looked in the direction of the cloud. Now that he was paying attention he could barely hear the sounds of combat on the wind.
Morris kicked his horse into a gallop. "Let's go! They might need our help."
Sighing, Mike followed suit.
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