Arthur looked around warily. He hadn't believed Boro at first, but now that he saw for himself it was undeniable.
The cultist's bodies had really vanished, not even leaving behind the blood they had spilled.
"What could have done this? And without us noticing anything at that?" Arthur asked, scratching his head. "It couldn't have been a beast, this is way too thorough."
Boro shrugged. "I don't know. But we need to catch them at all costs!" He said. He shook his fist angrily and returned to the carriage, presumably searching for snacks.
Why was his friend in such a bad mood all of a sudden, Arthur wondered. 'Don't tell me he wanted to...'
"I disagree. On the contrary, whatever caused them to disappear did us a huge favor. It would have been a real headache to explain all this to the caravan managers." Rafael said, looking around as if searching for something.
Arthur agreed with that logic. Yet something was bothering him.
He looked at the clouds, which were growing darker and closer by the minute. Quickly he unsheathed his saber and started cleaning it diligently, careful not to move his hurt shoulder in the process. He couldn't afford for his weapon to rust now. Not with a cult breathing down his neck and the academy and its entrance examination approaching.
Silently, he wondered what the cult could be after. Was it seeking to intimidate the royal family of Assatur? Was it pure malice? Or did they have some other, hidden goal?
He paused. And what was this entity they worshipped and how was it connected to his friend Boro?
'So many questions yet so few answers.' He lamented and continued cleaning his blade.
Meanwhile, Rafael was walking around searching through the grass for something.
'Come on, it must be here somewhere! I hope they didn't take it.' He prayed silently.
After searching for a while, he triumphantly picked up a small object from the ground and snuck it into his pocket.
'Success!'
Celebrating with a tiny hop, he turned around and nearly hit his head on an armor plate. Rafael tilted back his head, scaling up the giant standing before him. He was nearly 2 metres in height and entirely clad in shining armor from head to toe.
The giant took off his helmet, revealing a small tattoo on the side of his neck for a split second. Before Rafael could recognise what it depicted, the giant's hair fell over it, covering it from Rafael's prying eyes.
"Excuse me, young sir, have you seen 2 lads around your age somewhere here? I've been searching for them all morning. One of them is blonde and has blue eyes, he should be around your age and he is similar in height. The other lad is a bit younger, has dark hair like them Nordics, and he's a bit crazy sometimes if you know what I mean." The giant spoke with a deep voice, laugh lines covering his face as he smiled politely.
Then he slapped himself on the forehead and continued in an apologetic tone. "But where are my manners? The name's Daniel. I was hired to take care of those little rascals, you see? And if I don't find them soon I'll be in heaps of trouble!"
"No worries, I'm Rafael. I'll lead you to them, follow me." Rafael said, returning the smile.
'So they had a babysitter with them as well.' He laughed silently.
Naturally, Rafael was still suspicious, so he channeled a bit of mana to summon a lesser spirit. He wanted to keep his eyes on Daniel after he turned his back on him.
He led him to the carriage they had hijacked and knocked on its door.
Arthur opened, his expression relieved Rafael. Arthur had recognised Daniel almost instantly and quickly greeted him.
"Good day Daniel, how has nightwatching duty treated you? Did the bandits cause you any issues?" He asked, looking his 'babysitter' up and down. "I see your armor has earned quite a few new scratches. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, thank you, young sir. I did indeed battle the bandits but we quickly repelled them and didn't suffer any casualties. There was some collateral damage to one or two carriages, however. Some mages just don't know when enough is enough. Am I right? Oh, wait, y'all are going to the academy to become mages. Uh, strike that last part from the register will ya?" Daniel laughed slightly embarrassed.
Not a good look, to talk down on mages in a conversation with aspiring magicians.
Rafael mustered Daniel, not sure what to make of him.
At least he wasn't such a nutjob as Boro. He wouldn't have been able to cope with that, one of his kind was already one too many.
"Well, alright then, fellas. What ya say we get y'all back to our carriages so we can get ready for departure?" Daniel added, clasping his hands together.
"Sounds fine by me," Arthur replied.
"I don't care. Did you bring food?" Boro said from within the carriage.
Daniel looked troubled. Before he could say anything, however, Rafael coughed uncomfortably.
"About that, would you guys mind if I accompany you for the rest of the journey? Most of my guards... perished under the attack of the bandits so I don't have anyone to travel with anymore. I even have supplies we could take with us, doesn't that sound good Boro?"
Of course, it wasn't entirely a lie. His guards did indeed perish. It was just that most of them had been traitors, aiming to end his life. But Daniel didn't have to know that, especially not because there could still be cultists around, hiding in plain sight.
Arthur acknowledged his decision to keep the matter undisclosed with a short nod. "That's fine by me."
Boro's head shot out from the carriage. "Did you just say supplies? As in food? Welcome aboard friend!"
Daniel shrugged. It had been decided.
Under the dark, slowly tearing up sky, they returned to their carriage, supplies in tow, and continued travelling together for a few weeks.
The three children kept their eyes open, looking for suspicious activities and hidden cultists but found nothing. At this point they weren't even sure whether they were still being followed.
Not even Rafael's spirit summons detected anything out of order.
Borous yawned. Today they would stop in a small town to replenish their reserves, which he had devoured quite thoroughly in his opinion. He did a good job! The others seemed agitated for some reason though.
Could he have eaten too much? No, that was impossible. After all, he was in a growth phase and had to eat accordingly! His Nana had told him! They couldn't possibly be mad at him for that. Who could deny the wishes of an old, frail witch after all?
'Must be something else.' Borous shrugged.
They slowly approached the gate of the town as one carriage after another was let in. Nervously Borous fidgeted with the ring he had found after the bandits attacked. He was still mad at the mysterious thief who had stolen the rest of his loot. How could they?
He would hold justice against them someday! But that could wait for now. He had just caught a whiff of delicious roasted meat. Saliva filled his maw as he thought about all the delicious food he would soon be able to taste.
Excitedly he rubbed his hands together. It would be a feast!
After a few minutes of waiting, Borous was about to fall asleep. Seriously, what took them so long?
Borous yawned again.
There was a pleasant breeze and the sun was gracing him with its warm embrace.
He lay on the top of the carriage, enjoying the canvas of the clouds and the warm air brushing past him until they were a stone's throw away from the gate.
Reluctantly, he got up and knocked on the door from above. Rafael opened, immediately telling Borous they didn't have any more food for him.
'Rude.' Borous thought. Why did they always assume all he ever wanted to do was eat? That said, he could totally go for some sweets right now.
"I just wanted to get inside," Borous sighed, jumping down inside.
Life was hard, and enduring the hardships of friendship was even more so. But he was a benign and forgiving person so his friends didn't have to worry.
Daniel sat at the front, steering the carriage and his little companions were scheming on how to catch some prey. Seven of them if he had heard correctly.
He wondered, could one fry virtues? He would have to try if he ever met any.
"Hi Boro." Arthur greeted him with a cheerful smile, then continued and shot Rafael a glance. "So do we have any bait?"
"I'm not sure. I do have some things in mind, I'm just not convinced it will work as bait." Rafael said.
Clearly, he was a novice in terms of catching prey. Not even Arthur was as bad as him at hunting! Maybe he should teach them a thing or two. But that'd be such a hassle.
The carriage slowed down and finally stopped.
They had reached the gate.