Escort

"What luck you have, Brodin." Lunaris said as she sat inside a closed carriage across from Lucian and Brodin, "To come across a Cursed One, then be sucked in a demonic activity. Now, you're stuck in the custody of the Darklight Sect." 

They were inside a carriage, pulled by horses on a main road that ran through the country, escorted by a large group of riders that wore the Darklight Sect coats, holding large staves on their hands. They had decided to move out to the Sect's main city, Moongate, which was located right outside the Bull Kingdom and next to the Forgotten Forests, a massive region that was full of magic beasts east of the Kingdom. 

Brodin was looking at her with a serious face, "I just don't want to involve my family in whatever issue my past brings." He said, "If playing along with you lot, then so be it." 

Lucian had his arms crossed, "Interesting." He said, "Must've been some messed up situation if those bull cosplayers want you that bad." 

"Mind your business." Brodin said seriously

"Hey, I helped you out." Lucian said

"Barely." the old man replied

"Worry not, Brodin, we'll make sure to reach out to your family, right after we question you at Moongate. We'll come to an arrangement, I am sure." Lunaris gave him a smile, "As for you, Lucian, I hope you don't expect to run away this time. You have unlocked your Calamity and if you plan to train it just so you can break free from my grasp, you'd be disappointed to hear that I will not make the same mistake." 

Lucian frowned, "Hey, lady, you said you'd convince me? Well, convince me." He said seriously, "I wanna know that you lot will have what I want." 

"We cannot return you to your world." Lunaris said

"There is no going back, kid." Brodin said

"Who gets to decide that?" Lucian said seriously, "Do you know for sure????" 

"Yes, we do." Lunaris said, "Don't you think that if there was a way out, all of the Traversed in Infernis that long for home would have already tried to find it by now? Infernis has had Traversed for more than 500 years, Lucian, it is the norm. There are bloodlines in this world that derive from Traversed, I am from said bloodlines. My ancestor was a Traversed Hero who did everything she could to get back, but failed miserably." 

Brodin looked down, not saying a word. What Lunaris said was true, over the course of centuries, Infernis had been having Traversed cross over to their world. Many become important figures that fight against the Demonic Legions and cement themselves in the history books. While some die in battle, those that don't eventually settle down and start families. Eventually, there would be a whole family line that descended from a single Traversed. It was a very common thing, so common that many natives to Infernis currently have a high chance of being descended from a Traversed. 

Lucian crossed his arms and looked away, "Yea, yea, sure." He said, "I'll believe that." 

"Believe what you want, Lucian. But deep down you know one thing for sure; you're a danger, whether you like it or not." Lunaris said, "Your presence will draw demons to you. In the span of a few days, you've been attacked not once but twice by the forces of the Demons. You are not safe and you know it. That, and you'll put innocents in peril." 

Lucian didn't say a word, merely looked away as he had a serious frown on his face. What frustrated him wasn't that he supposedly couldn't go back home, it was that he didn't remember much of his past, his life. Everything was so hazy and blurry that no matter how hard he tried to remember, he just couldn't. It gave him anxiety, it was angering him completely. 

He wanted to go back to his life but he couldn't remember his old life, so he wasn't sure if it was worth going through all the trouble. He was right next to Brodin, who claimed to be in this world for 20 years. To Lucian, that means that he'd accepted that there was no going back and decided to settle down. His Wife was mentioned, which told Lucian that Brodin didn't find his old life worth the trouble. 

Or maybe there was something more than that. 

He was still a stranger to this world. It would be difficult to adjust to it. His Calamity, while strong, has its limits. He can't just freely wander around this foreign world without attracting trouble. And if by any chance he does, what guarantee does he have that he'll win in a fight? He was attacked by a creature that took him nearly all of his firepower to handle. And right when his Calamity burned out, while able to use Sorcery, he was immediately incapacitated by Astorias. 

"Moongate is still a long ride away. We'll be sure to make a few stops to make camp, rest and all." Lunaris spoke up, "When we do that, I'll contact my Arch-Magus, let him know of the situation. He can be reasoned with, he'll make an arrangement with you, Brodin." 

"Against my will." Brodin said

"You willingly stepped foot inside the Bull Kingdom, what for anyway?" Lunaris said, "Doesn't matter. The Bull King is a petty man, he was bound to lift your pardons. Is your Wife safe? Your Family? Are they in this country?" 

"They're not in this country." Brodin said without lifting his gaze up

"Wherever they are, if the Bull King truly wants you imprisoned, chances are high that he'll use your wife as leverage." Lunaris said, "You're strong, so I can make use of your abilities. So I'll make sure that petty man won't get his hands on her. 

"Yes, but you lot will." Brodin gave her a serious stare

"The world is a dangerous place." Lunaris said, "Moongate is the safest place for someone like her, all alone in Infernis. Her husband ended up in the countryside of the Bull Kingdom, that's quite far away from any other nation." 

Brodin didn't respond, merely looked back down. 

The entire situation was awkward. Lunaris didn't want to lose sight of Lucian and considering that he was willing to come peacefully so long as Brodin accompanied him, she was more than willing to have the old man on her side to keep Lucian. 

But what she didn't understand was why Lucian was so adamant about having Brodin on his side. Was there another scheme at play here? Did she have to be on guard? The last thing she wants is for the two of them to run away, which is a high chance.

The carriage suddenly stopped, "Lady Lunaris!" the rider up front called, "We got a situation." 

Lunaris frowned, "What could this be?" She said as she walked towards the door and opened it, stepping down from the carriage

As she landed on the ground, her wings extended freely. 

She walked to the front as Lucian and Brodin exited the carriage as well, curious to see what had happened. Around the carriage, all of the dozens of the riders were stopped in their horses, some small wagons were behind the main carriage, and they all looked up in front of them. 

Lunaris stopped and narrowed her eyes, "Oh boy." She said

In front of them, where the stone bridge that crossed over a river, a massive construct of what looked like purple crystals blocked the entirety of it. While the bridge wasn't damaged or anything, the Crystal was still in the way. 

"What the hell?" Lucian said as he stood next to her, "What is that?" 

"A road-block, clearly." Lunaris sighed, "And we can't cross the river either, it's deep and the rapids are strong. Strange, this bridge was clear a couple of weeks ago, what happened?" 

"I sense ether from the crystal." Brodin said as he walked in front of it, "Some sort of sorcery caused this." 

Lunaris looked around, "I don't sense anything or anyone around...." She said, "We're still in the Bull Kingdom, something's not right." 

"Maybe the King doesn't want us to leave so quickly." Lucian said, "Probably had someone cut us off. An ambush of sorts." 

"No." Brodin said, "I don't know anyone in the Bull Kingdom that has this sort of Sorcery up their sleeves. They're Battlemages, they don't use pure Sorcery." 

"Well, maybe the recruited a pure mage while you were gone." Lucian said, "You never know." 

Lunaris turned to the others, "Set up camp." She said, "And have some try to get rid of these crystals. We need to get through this bridge." 

"Is there not a way around?" Lucian asked

"No." Brodin said as he turned around and walked away, "The closest bridge is at least 5 hours away." 

"Well, we might as well go there." Lucian said

"Not worth it." Lunaris said, "That bridge leads to Minotaurus and the other populated cities. We're trying to get away from that." 

"Huh, how about that." Lucian said as he looked at the massive crystal, "Hm..." 

He felt something strange emanating from the crystal, but couldn't put his finger on it. There was a low hum coming from it, however, and it unsettled him. Something deep down told him that something or someone didn't want them to cross. 

It was some sort of trap, and he was sure of it. 

As Lunaris walked away to the side of the road where the others were already setting up camp, Lucian felt a chill run down his spine. 

"What?" He said as he looked around, "Another Oni?" 

He didn't feel anything else. It didn't feel like an Oni was stalking them. After four of them, Lucian somehow managed to attune to their smell, which was a horrid sulfuric stench that he had caught small whiffs of before engaging them. 

This was much stranger and it felt odd for him. 

He didn't know what it could be. 

"Tch." He said as he turned around, 

"Whatever."