The next few days passed in a fog. Every time I looked at the other heroes—during meals, in the halls—Sid’s words echoed in my head. ‘They may try to kill you.’ Their smiles now looked like masks. My staff practice felt different; each block was against a future betrayal I couldn’t quite believe in.

  Then we were called by King Zephyr to the palace. Once there, he announced, “You will soon be sent to the land of water. You may keep your current weapons; the food and equipment expenses will be covered by the kingdom, and you may bring one person with you to help on your journey.”

  Many of us, including me, who picked Sid, chose the knights who trained us, as we didn't know anyone else. The main exception was Merlin, who chose to bring a man named Clint, probably because the knight who taught him was already taken. King Zephyr then asked, “Who is this Clint?” Merlin responded, “The guy I cut down in our outing the other day. After I beat him up he swore loyalty to me, calling me the true hero.”

  So it was decided we were to leave tomorrow after collecting necessary items, so me and Sid went to town to collect what we would need. She again had her staff and dagger. While in town, we saw Merlin with Clint. He had a club, known as the poor man's weapon, being that everybody can get a tree branch, anybody who could would prefer a mace instead.

  Then we arrived at the market, she said, “It’s a two-day walk to the land of water, so we will need two bags, dried meat, alcohol, a tent, some blankets, flint and steel, and you need a knife, even if you don't want to kill, it’s still a useful tool.” so we bought all the items and rested in preparation for tomorrow.

  The next day, we packed our things into our bags. They were a little heavy. I had my staff and knife. Sid had a buckler shield and a short sword, perfect for travel.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Leaving the city, it was windy as usual, and the path was a deep slope down the mountain, so we had to watch our footing.

  And before we left, Sid warned about Drake's and wyverns attacking people in the mountains, and pointed to a few scars which she got from them. My stick knife and wind magic should be enough to dissuade them from attacking us, and if not, we will have to fight.

  We were one of the last to leave. It takes a day to walk down the mountain, when we will be in the land of water, and then it takes a day to walk to the Kingdom of water.

  A while later, Sid told me that we were halfway down the mountain, and it would take another half a day to get to the bottom of the mountain.

  And at that same time, a white Wyvern appeared. It dived down towards me. I did a wide overswing with my staff and hit its head, causing it to crash on top of me. It was dizzy thanks to the blow I gave it. But I was right beneath its mouth, and then a sword went through its throat, and its blood flew all over me. Sid had saved me, she said, “if you can't defend yourself from a Wyvern, you're doomed, you need to get better.” Her words stung, but they were true.

  Then we came across another person who was summoned and his escort, he had his hands behind his back and wore a knife, he walked up and said, “How about we travel together?” I replied, “Ok, more the merrier", he walked close to me, then his right hand came speeding from behind his back and towards my stomach while holding a katar dagger. I was doomed, but before he could stab me, Sid blocked it with her buckler and stabbed him.

  I was in shock, thinking about what just happened. I froze in fear, with my mind repeating the moment that Sid blocked the dagger. Then his escort came charging at us. I was still in shock, thinking, she just killed someone. But Sid engaged in combat with the escort. All the while I stared at the dead body in front of me, his blood was dark red against the pale stone. My stomach twisted. Sid finished off the escort, then wiped her sword on his tunic, her face as calm as if she’d just fetched water. She walked back to me, her boots crunching on the gravel. She said, her tone flat, “I’m very disappointed in you. Remember, I told you dragons aren’t your only enemy.” I could only nod, my throat too tight for words. Then, while we walked away, I managed to squeeze out in a whisper, “He tried to kill me.”