Journey to the Next Town

Quis Fortis was waiting for Tempus to wake up. He already picked some fruits for the child to eat.

"Haaaahhh" Tempus yawned.

"How's your sleep kid?"

Tempus stood up and looked for his deer. He went outside the cave, but still failed to see his deer. Tempus went inside and asked Quis.

"Where's my friend?"

Quis laughed on what the kid said. He gave him an apple and sat down.

"Since when did you became friends with that deer? Eat up we'll have an early start. And about your deer I brought him earlier with me while picking fruits, he's on the other side of the cave."

Tempus rushed outside and looked for his deer. He saw it in the lake near the other side of the cave. Quis told Tempus to eat his food so that they can leave early. Tempus waved goodbye to his deer and went back to the cave.

It will take a day and a half to get to the next town. After eating Tempus and Quis started their journey. As they walked through the forest they had a conversation.

"You must keep your words kid."

"Don't worry, as promised I will tell you where I got the Time Wielder."

Tempus thinks that he can trust Quis Fortis with his secrets. He believes that Quis Fortis doesn't have a corrupted heart.

"I got this from the Royal Mage Queen, the strongest of all the mages."

Quis Fortis stopped walking because of what he heard.

"Why would Aurora give him the Time Wielder? Something must've happened to her." Quis asked himself.

Quis sensed that something is coming on a high speed. He looked behind him and saw something passed by him.

"This is bad. Tempus behind you!"

Quis dashed quickly and unsheathed his sword. He's not gonna make it. Tempus is already on the monster's range.

Quis Fortis threw his sword at the monster.

The monster noticed what Quis Fortis did. It chose to dodge the sword instead of attacking Tempus.

"I have to get rid of the swordsman so I can get my hands on the child!" The monster said to himself.

*Whoosh!*

The Monster is able to get behind Quis Fortis in an instant.

It was ready to attack from behind, but Quis Fortis kicked the monster as he turned his body.

*Blag!*

The monster was knocked down by Quis Fortis' kick.

It was shocked that a mere human was able to land a hit on him.

"Looks like I let my guard down. You're a lucky one." The moster said as it stood up.

"As expected from a new born, you're eager to test your skills."

The Monster was surprised that Quis Fortis knew that he is a newborn vampire. But he still doubted that Quis Fortis can defeat him.

"How did you know that I am a newborn vampire?"

"Only newborn vampires can walk under the sun without getting burned. I know your thinking that you hit a jackpot encountering a human while roaming around, but trust me I'm more monstrous than most of you."

Tempus was just watching the two from a distance when the newborn vampire disappeared in the thin air and so is Quis.

*Whoosh!*

"Impossible, how can a mere human keep up with my speed."

*Whoosh!*

Quis suddenly appeared in front of him. Being shocked with Quis Fortis' abilities he tried to distance himself from him. The monster knew that he would have a hard time fighting Quis and he may end up dead if he continued.

So the monster made Tempus his target.

In a great speed, the newborn vampire charged towards Tempus. He took Tempus as a hostage. The newborn vampire tried to take that as an advantaged and asked Quis to give up if he don't want Tempus to die.

"Hey you! Man on with a Sedge Hat, pick up your sword and stab yourself if you don't want this kid to die!"

Quis smiled and said

"You're really unlucky today. Of all people, you ended up preying on us."

"Don't dare to try my patience" the monster said and pointed his sharp claws on Tempus' throat.

"ignis inspiratione!"

Tempus tried to cast a spell but he lost consciousness all of a sudden.

The newborn vampire almost dropped Tempus when he tried to cast a spell. Nothing happened so he continued threatening Quis using Tempus.

Quis was wondering what happened to Tempus. He thought that maybe Tempus was not able to fully recover from the battle in the Town of the Crying Demons. He whispered to himself

"He shouldn't have used too much elemental spells if he knew that he isn't qualified enough to use them."

He almost forgot about the newborn vampire and Tempus.

The newborn vampire got mad because he was ignored. He was about to attack Tempus when a strong wind blew from where Quis Fortis is. The Sedge Hat that Quis was wearing flew because of the wind and his appearance changed before the newborn vampire looked into his direction.

"Wha-what is th-this? Whe-where did the man with the Sedge Hat go? Why is a de-d-demon a here?"

The newborn vampire got scared on the sight of Quis' true form. A huge dark shadow appeared behind Quis and took a Demon's form.

The newborn vampire was intimidated in Quis' existence. He fell on his knees while shaking. Demons are far more superior than vampires in any aspect. Quis is not just an ordinary Demon he has a blood of a Night Hunter, the strongest kind of monster running through his veins.

The newborn vampire was stunned by the power of the one in front of him. He was not able to even lift a finger.

"I told you, you were unlucky."

The newborn vampire was sweating as Quis walked towards him.

"I will give you a wound that will never heal as a souvenir"

Quis' claws penetrated the newborn vampire's rib cage and removed his heart. The monster lost consciousness and fell on the ground.

"You accidentally stepped on a Lion's tail and thought it was of a Wild Cat's."

Quis took Tempus' body and carried him on his back. It is getting dark again and they are still half day away from the next town.

Quis and Tempus stopped by a huge tree. He placed Tempus down and looked for some firewoods. Few minutes after Tempus regained consciousness. He saw someone standing beside the tree in front of him.

"Quis is that you?"

The man turned facing his direction. He was shocked from what he saw.

"Aaaaah, a Demon! Quis! Quis! Help me!"

Quis realized that he lost his Sedge Hat. He walked towards Tempus.

"Shhhh! It is me Quis. Keep your voice down or we'll be in trouble."

Tempus stood up and tried to cast a spell but he lost consciousness again. Few minutes later, he woke up.

The Demon that he saw earlier was still there. He moved back a little and asked.

"Are you really Quis? What happened to you?"

Quis explained everything to Tempus.

"In the battle earlier I lost my Sedge Hat that Aurora gave me. This is my true form. You can see me as a human being last time because of the Sedge Hat's help."

Upon hearing Quis talked about Aurora he remembered about Quis' story. He calmed down a little and said

"I thought you just made up that story."

Quis smiled and said

"I have to find my Sedge Hat, it is the only gift I received from Aurora."

For the third time Tempus heard the Royal Mage Queen's name, he decided to tell Quis everything about him and the Time Wielder.

"Quis are you on the Royal Mage Queen's side? If you are I need your help!"

Quis wondered what Tempus was talking about so he listened till the end.

"The Royal Mage Queen is missing. The last time I saw her was the time she gave me the Time Wielder. She looked like she ran for her life. After that a rumor about the Royal Mage Queen's disappearance spread throughout the whole kingdom. So I put my life on the line by slipping into the palace and found out that the rumor was true."

Quis stood up and told Tempus to rest.

"Rest now young mage, I will go look for my Sedge Hat so we can move from town to town without me standing out."

"I can use my clairvoyance to look for it."

Quis refused the young mage's offer.

"Save your strength we will leave first thing in the morning. I cannot waste time knowing that she may be in danger."

Quis head out after saying those words. Tempus was glad because Quis will accompany him through his journey.

The next day Tempus woke up because he heard a group of men talking. He looked around and he can't see Quis anywhere.

"We will have a feast a after we received the bounty on this guy's head"

"Yeah right, we will be eating like Kings for a week."

Tempus saw three Head Hunters near him. One of the Head Hunters stopped and sniffed the air. He signal the other two to search the area.

*Sniff!* *Sniff!*

"I can smell burned firewood. Someone spent a night here."

The other two started searching. Tempus had no idea what will happen if they saw him. He decided to hide. He stepped his left foot backwards and the used the right foot to turn around. He accidentally stepped on a dried twig.

*Snap!*

"Over there!" He heard from the Head Hunters.

Suddenly someone grabbed him from behind and covered his mouth. It was Quis. He was holding a wanted poster. Tempus was shocked because he saw his own image on the wanted poster.

"Hide don't let them see you. Let me deal with them." Quis whispered to Tempus.

Quis stepped out to where the Head Hunters can see him.

"How are you doing, my fellow warriors?"

Two of the Head Hunters aim their bows at him. The other one ordered them to go look around. One of the Head Hunters saw Tempus.

"Sir the I saw the wanted kid!"

The leader of the Head Hunters unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Quis. While the other one is aiming his bow directly to Quis' head.

"Take the kid! Kill the man!" The leader of the Head Hunters ordered.

Quis smiled and said

"Of course we can do this the hard way. You guys ain't even enough to get me warmed up."

One of the Head Hunters fired his arrow, but Quis dodged it by leaning backwards. Quis picked up a rock and threw it as hard as he could at the one who fired arrow at him. The stone hit the Head Hunter's head and instantly killed him.

Quis looked at Tempus and saw him fighting one of the Head Hunters. He was about to help but the leader of the Head Hunters attacked him from behind.

"Aaaah!" The leader of the Head Hunters screamed as he charged towards Quis.

Quis unsheathed his sword and slashed as he turned towards the direction of the Head Hunter. The head of the leader of the Head Hunters flew off.

"Did you know that having such a habit of screaming before attacking can cost you your life?" Quis said and laughed. Suddenly he heard Tempus screaming.

"Quis help me!"

Quis quickly pulled a dagger and threw it at the Head Hunter. It hit the Head Hunter's lungs. The Head Hunter lost its strength and slowly fell.

Tempus ran towards Quis and hugged him. Tempus was crying when Quis looked at him. Mages are usually weak on close combat, so they usually last on battle in only small  amount of time.

"It's all right Tempus nothing's gonna harm you as long as I'm around."

Tempus did not let go of his hug, instead he hugged him harder.

"Where have you been, I was so scared."

"Look I found my Sedge Hat. How was your sleep?"

Tempus let go of his hugged and held Quis' hand.

"You said we'll leave first thing in the morning right?"

"Yes indeed. Since when did you start your training using magic?"

"It's been a while the Royal Mage Queen was my instructor." Tempus answered as he wipe his tears.

Quis started walking while holding Tempus' hands. He's getting close to the child. He always wanted to have a younger brother. They continued their conversation as they head to the next town.

"Did you know that you should not use an elemental spell if you don't have much stamina?"

Tempus nodded.

"Yes I know, the Royal Mage Queen said it herself, but what can I do I had to use elemental spells on those monsters or else I will die."

Quis gave Tempus a Golden Dagger. Tempus accepted it and asked what was it for.

"Use that dagger to protect yourself if you don't have the strength to cast a spell."

Tempus unsheathed the dagger and started slashing and stabbing the air. Quis laughed at what Tempus is doing.

"You're just waving your hand at the air while holding a dagger."

Tempus frowned and used telekinesis on the dagger.

*Swoosh!*

The dagger flew and hit the a tree.

"How about that? I can use it in a long distance fighting battle better than you."

Quis hit Tempus in the head.

*Tok!*

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"This is a serious matter. You should learn close combat or you will train to improve your stamina until you can use elemental spells like it's as easy as talking."

"Hey that's impossible even the Royal Mage Queen can't do that."

Quis unsheathed his sword and handed it to Tempus.

"Here swing this thing until we arrive at the entrance of the next town."

"Seriously? Why would a mage do that?"

Quis raised his fist and acted like he's going to hit Tempus again.

"It will help you build your stamina."

"Okay, okay, but let me take a break for every deer we'll encounter."

"Fine, start now."

*Woosh!* *Woosh!* *Woosh!*

"One, two, three, four, five! ....."

Tempus continued cutting the air until they saw a deer. He decided to use illusion magic to trick Quis.

"Hmm, that's strange that deer had been following us for almost three hours already."

"Well that's good for me I will have my break as long as we can see a deer."

Quis noticed that the deer have no shadow. He knew that Tempus is using dirty trick to skip his practice.

"Since you cheated you will have to do three thousand strikes and no breaks!"

Tempus lost his strength on his legs and fell on the ground.

"Eh..."

Quis did not pay any attention to Tempus. Instead he even walked faster.

"I will not fall on any of your illusions anymore. Hurry up or I will leave you here for the monsters."

Tempus ran after Quis and started striking the air.

"One, two, three, four, five!"

*Tempus Breathes Heavily*

Few hours later they're almost at the entrance of the Town called DragonsLair.

"Two thousand nine hundred ninety seven!, Two thousand nine hundred ninety eight!, Two thousand nine hundred ninety nine!, three thousand!"

*Phew!*

Tempus wiped his face and Quis called him. They are now in front of the Town's main gate. Quis removed his Sedge Hat and put it on Tempus' head.

"Don't worry this is a town of monsters and hunters I don't need to look human for now. You should worry about yourself remember someone wants you dead."

Tempus' face is now well hidden. They entered the town and decided to spend the night there. Tempus' wanted poster was scattered throughout the town. They moved carefully so no one will notice Tempus.

"Looks like this journey is going to be fun!" Quis said with a smile on his face.