When a prince asks for a feast, then it is a feast he will get.
This is what Dorin and Johan found out as Mordecai led their group to several black vehicles with small flags on their side mirrors displaying the Alcione Crest.
"Where are we going?" Johan asked as they entered the long car. "Woah, is that a store?" he pointed at the interior where a bucket of wine stood waiting to be served on top of a small compartment stocked with food.
"Would you care for some refreshments, sir?" asked a lovely woman dressed in a tight red dress.
"Is there something to eat?" asked Dorin when Johan lost his tongue.
"Of course, sir, there are finger foods available on the counter." The woman passed a silver tray.
"Woah, I've never been in a royal limo before..." said Margarette as she sat beside Dorin, followed by Matt and Prince Xander.
"I'm afraid though, that the rest of our companions would have to follow us on the SUV's," said the prince, but the group was already busy eating the hors devours.
"These are good..." said Johan as he stuffed small sandwiches in his mouth. "But why are they so tiny?"
"That's so you can taste all of them!" Dorin suggested.
"I thought you said you were leaving?" Margarette asked Sgt. Owen.
"Wouldn't pass this chance for a new elemental dagger," replied Matt as he drank some wine. "Besides, I've still got a question or two for that Ignacius mage over there."
"I also want to have a word with you regarding the magic sword you own," Prince Xander said. "May I know where you acquired them?"
Matt looked worried.
"Oh... I-I just got them from my grandfather's attic..." he answered in a low voice. "He used to have an antique shop in the capital..."
"That is very interesting!" Xander looked genuinely intrigued. "Can I see the rest of your weapons?"
"M-maybe later..." Matt replied, "your highness..."
"Oh, Xander is fine. I will look forward to that, then."
It didn't take long for the group to reach their destination. It was an open barbecue restaurant with small huts where groups of people can stay as they take food from a long buffet table. Xander lead the group to the biggest hut in the area and told them to get anything they want.
"I'm riding the limo when we get back," said Lilith, drawing daggers at Matt.
The other didn't seem to notice her though, as Xander, Dorin and even Johan surround him with Boulvar and Venet to look through his extensive weapon collection.
"Your collection is truly astounding!" Xander exclaimed as Matt took out one weapon after another and laid them on an empty table.
He had several daggers, six swords, three axes, and other magical objects, including musical instruments like a lute, some pipes and a couple of flutes.
"Is this the bastard sword Johan used?" asked Xander who picked the sword with both hands.
It was heavy. He suddenly got new found respect for the younger boy.
He tried to wield the sword, endowing it with his fire magic, but the blade only turned a shade of purple. He turned to Johan who was busy with a dish full of roasted meat and took one of his hands.
"Wha–"
Prince Xander placed Johan's hand on the sword hilt which immediately turned the blade to a light shade of blue. "Hey, I'm eating here!" Johan pulled back his hand and continued eating.
"Hmm... Interesting," said Matt as he rubbed his chin. "It seems that Johan's flame burns hotter than your own. No wonder he's an Ignacius!"
"I wonder if my father can produce a blue blade as well?" Xander mumbled.
"Do you perhaps doubt him?" Matt asked, his face serious.
Xander simply smiled.
"How much would you want for this bastard sword?" he asked Sgt. Owens instead.
"Not for sale," the other replied.
"But... you can't use it anyway!" replied the prince, "Wouldn't it be better if an actual mage uses it to its full potential?!"
"Now, I'm really not selling it just because of what you said," Matt replied with an irritated look on his face.
"Eh?!" the prince looked disappointed.
"What seems to be the problem?" Mordecai was suddenly beside the prince.
"I just wanted to buy the bastard sword," Xander said with a pout. "Come on, Sgt. Owens, name your price!"
"I want your title as 3rd prince," said Matt, his face blank.
"Hey, can I have this golden flute?" Dorin asked from behind them.
Matt looked at his direction.
"That one's busted. Play a tune and you can have it."
"Wow, thanks a lot, Matt!" Dorin said happily as he cleaned the mouth piece and placed it to his lips.
A gentle kiss awakened the flute.
Matt's eyes widen as a soft tune came from the once soundless instrument. It was the sound of the wind blowing, the whirl of a whirlwind, the sigh of a zephyr. And the very notes made Boulvar's hair stand on end.
"What a lovely tune," Mordecai told Dorin, the smile gone from his face. "May I know what it is called?
"It's the 'Song of Aerials'!" Dorin said proudly, "My mother used to sing it to me when I was a kid."
"Is that so?" Prince Xander said, "I remember my father used to sing a song called 'Song of the Ifrit', it kind of has the same feels as that tune you just played."
"Really?" Dorin said, excitedly, "Can you sing it? I Heard there was a 'Song of Phases' too!"
"It goes something like this..."
Prince Xander starts to hum. Then he said words that have long lost their meaning. As he sung, he made small steps that consists mostly of stumping on the ground.
"No, you've got the words wrong!" Johan suddenly exclaimed with his mouth full.
Xander faced him, his brows raised.
"It's not 'hisheladeck', it's 'hi shella de-eck', and the tune goes a bit higher at that part!" He starts to sing it, his voice strong and true. "It means, `the burning fire will keep the heart warm'."
"You know the song too?" Xander asked him, wide eyed.
"Of course! It's a well known lullaby back at the mines, although my gram is the only one who could sing it properly with all them words and all."
"And the words, you know what they mean?" Mordecai asked.
"Of course! It's a fairy tale about a flaming prince who lost his true love and found another from a light bringer!" said Johan as if everyone was supposed to know about the tale.
"You can speak the old tongue?!" asked Xander, still staring at Johan.
"Old tongue?" Johan furrows his brows, "It's miner's speech. Although the one in the song sounds prettier and is probably more proper, but the words we use in the mines are basically the same."
Xander and Mordecai looked at each other.
"Then, can you read the old writing as well?" Xander asked, pulling out a cellphone and handing it to Johan after several swipes.
Johan took the phone and looked at the screen. Dorin and Matt peeped from behind his shoulders.
"Sorry, I was never good at reading..." Johan said with a shrug. "Ev'ry one at the mine was too busy mining that we never paid attention to the stuff on paper. My Gran was the only one in all the mine who knew how to read."
"Then, can we visit her? Ask her to read this text for us?" Xander asked again.
"My Gran died about a year ago," Johan said, his eyes staring straight at Xander. "But even then, she wouldn't be able to read your texts, ever since some bastards from the capital broke in our hut and took her eyes."
Xander fell silent.
"I-I'm sorry..." he said, "For your loss..."
"It's okay. The miners found the bastards, and they took more than just their eyes in revenge." Johan grinned. "But if it's any help..." he took the phone back and pointed at some texts. "This here means 'rock' and here it says 'metal' and 'hard' and 'danger'. I see them a lot in the mines, so I kinda know what they mean."
"Thank you!" Xander said after memorizing the symbols and their meaning. "That would be a great help indeed."
"Hey, can you perhaps translate the words in the Song of Aerials too?" asked Dorin.
"Can you give me a line?"
"Mi solla shi netto lora tana." Dorin sang.
"Not sure..." Johan frowned, "But solla means 'gold' and lora means 'kid'. The rest I'm not familiar with."
"It must be a different dialect! The ones used by the wind mages of old!" Xander said excitedly.
"I guess... maybe that's why they kinda sound the same, because they are both old." Johan laughed.
"True, they come long before the history of the Black Lands." Matt suddenly said from behind them. "Legends say that our ancestors came from a different land, or perhaps a different dimension, and that our language is derived from the combination of three languages they used from that other land."
"I see you are interested in them as well?" Mordecai asked him.
"But of course. I am, after all, a weapon master, and all the great weapons were created during the golden age of the Black Lands – in a time when the sands on their shore was still white as fallen snow."
"They say it was their folly that the land died and the magic was lost to them forever," Dorin said. "I wonder how much magic they used to actually kill the land."
"The weapons they have shows a lot." Matt took his back pack and pulled out one of his blades. A rapier, this time. It was tarnished and looked blunt. "This rapier, I have been polishing for years, but never has tarnish left its blade." He handed it over to Boulvar. "Try holding it," he told the aid.
Boulvar looked at Prince Xander who gave a small nod before taking the rapier from Matt. As soon as his hand touched the hilt, the rapier gleamed and gave off steam, turning to silver.
"Are you using magic?" he asked Boulvar.
"No, I am merely holding it."
"That's because it's seeping the magic in the vicinity," said Matt. "It is equalizing the holder's magic capacity, thus the stronger you are, the more mana it seeps from nature."
"You mean, it does not use the wielder's magic?" asked Dorin.
"Try to hold it yourself."
Boulvar reluctantly gave Dorin the rapier, and the difference in their power was quickly revealed. A strong gust of wind surrounded Dorin as he touched it, making a vortex that surrounded his body and lifted several plastic plates to the air.
"Woah!" said Dorin who quickly stabbed it on the ground. The golden rapier looked tarnished once again. "Damn, I forgot that I lost one of my bands in the field!" he thought to himself.
"That was amazing!" said Xander who was clapping his hands. "Can I try it too?"
"No. This is a weapon meant for a wind mage," said Matt as he placed it inside his sack and pulled out a long battle axe. "Would you mind holding on to my Thunder Bolt?" he asked Dorin.
"I think we've had enough!" Johan quickly said, pulling Dorin away towards the buffet tables. "We haven't tried all the food yet!" he reminded Dorin.
"Johan, do you mind giving me a translated copy of the 'Song of Ifrits'?" Xander asked, following them. "I would love to learn about this fairytale."
"It's a ballad. And I can't write that well yet," he told Xander with a shy pout. "Maybe sometime I can tell it to you."
Xander's eyes gleamed, he blushed with excitement. "Can you tell us the story right now?"
"No. I want to eat," Johan said, his brows furrowed.
"You can eat with us!" Dorin grinned.
"Then, can you sing me the whole song? Can you dance as well?"
"I never knew the dance."
"I can dance for you!" said Xander.
"Eat first. I'll sing for you later."