Again, this chapter was not edited at all because I'm lazy ngl :)
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Meanwhile
It had been a couple days since Claudia and Soren stepped into the portal. So far, they'd gathered that this was definitely not anywhere in Xadia or The Human Kingdoms.
They hadn't seen any mages or magical creatures so far so Claudia concluded that this was a world without magic. They did however see people manipulating rocks, meaning there was another form of non-magic going on.
"Found their magical trail yet?" Soren groaned, almost collapsing on his horse.
"Not yet, Soren," Claudia sighed. It was significantly harder to do magic with the stash of Xadian magical creatures running low.
She needed to find an alternative source of dark magic quickly if she was going to defend herself and carry out her mission.
Soren on the other hand was more worried about them than the mission. They'd eaten twice since they got here, and it was only thanks to Claudia's dwindling cache. Plus their horses were running on fumes.
"Claudia, let's put finding Callum and the dragon on pause for the time being."
"Why? The sooner we find them, the sooner we can leave this weird magic-less world."
"If our horses don't find something to eat, we won't be leaving anywhere," he pointed out. "And I'm pretty much starving too."
As soon as he said that, Claudia's stomach growled loudly. Soren gave her a knowing look and she rolled her eyes good-naturedly. Looked like they were in unspoken accord.
"Look!" Soren pointed at the ridges in the horizon. "That looks like a town!"
"How wonderfully convenient! Come on!"
She tugged at the reins of her horse and they picked up speed towards the town, Soren following not too far behind.
At the bottom of her heart, Claudia thought that this was way too much trouble for some elf and dragon. They both did. Transcending dimensions was not an everyday occurrence.
But their father was their father.
And the elves did assassinate King Harrow. If there was even the slightest chance of the Xadians using the dragon as ammunition to finish off the humans, they needed to eliminate that threat. About the princes...
Soren chose not to think too much about that. 'I'll cross that bridge when I get there' was his mantra. And that bridge was approaching.
Upon arrival of the town, their excitement fizzled out at its state. It was almost like a ghost town, with hardly any life to it. Most of the buildings were one strong breeze away from collapsing – even the best ones were in bad shape. Even the people loitering about the town looked like they had given up on life.
But to the people, Soren and Claudia looked very interesting. Their only source of excitement since the war began was the light-haired boy in full armor and the dark-haired girl in all black. In this scorching heat.
"Maybe we should get off and keep going on foot?" Claudia suggested quietly, noticing the attention they were drawing to themselves.
"Agreed."
Keeping a low profile was key. If word got around about strange strangers, it could get to their targets and make finding them even harder. Then again, Claudia was sure they weren't exactly blending in with this world. Especially the elf and her... unique features.
After dismounting and tethering their horses, they walked further into the town, looking for a place that looked like it sold merchandise.
"How do we even pay for the stuff?" Soren asked, staying actively aware of all the people staring at them.
"I'm not out of magical creatures just yet. I have spells for this kind of thing."
"Wait. So this whole time you could have just made me money if I asked for it?" he gasped.
"Yes." His sister nodded innocently. "Though it would have been a waste of perfectly good magical creatures now wouldn't it?"
"I cannot believe you." He thought about all those times he had to walk past a confectionery and not by their sweets...
"You're a knight of Katolis, the son of the High Mage and you live in the palace," Claudia recounted. "It's not like you needed the money anyway. Not like we do now, when we are, in fact, quite literally dirt poor."
Soren couldn't exactly dispute that fact. Then, as if luck finally struck them, they spotted someone talking to someone behind a shack. Anyone could tell they were trading. And judging from the looks of things, it just might have been the only shop in town.
"Yes!" Claudia cheered. "Let's go buy some f—"
"Hang on a second."
Soren gestured at the escalating situation she had witnessed. While he was looking at the shopkeeper, Claudia had noticed some children fling an egg at one of the people sitting on the street. And from the looks of it, that particular group of people bore some authority.
"You throwing eggs at us, traveler?" demanded the man who got pelted.
"No."
"See who did then?"
"No."
Claudia and Soren shared a confused look. Why would he cover for those troublesome kids? Then again, these soldiers didn't look too lenient either. Who knows what they'd do if they actually caught those kids?
"The egg had to have come from somewhere," the soldier pressed on.
"Maybe a chicken flew over."
The town was already dead but now, you could hear a leaf fall to the ground. Claudia and Soren gaped at this surprisingly sassy stranger. He didn't look like he came from money (not that they knew what wealth looked like around these parts anyway) but chances were that if he was in this ramshackle town, he wasn't rich.
"We have to help him!" Claudia whispered.
"Wait! We don't even know these people and we definitely do not want to draw attention to ourselves!" Soren objected. "Let's just get the food and get the heck out of here."
Claudia turned back and looked at the stranger, now being cornered by the soldiers. She bit her lip hesitantly. She just wasn't the type of person that couldn't get involved in something that had nothing to do with her. She always wanted to interact with people, to help them if she could. Just like how she was helping the humans by capturing the dragon.
Before she knew it, the soldiers had sauntered off with the stuff the stranger paid for. And judging by the looks of it, it was the same thing they were after – food for their animals.
Without waiting for Soren's permission, Claudia walked right up to the stall with purpose in each stride like she was the answer to all their problems.
The sassy stranger gave her a disinterested once over and turned away. Not before she noticed a large red scar stretch across his eye like matte flames. She shoved her curiosity about the scar into the crevices of her mind and focused on the storekeeper in front of her.
"Hello there!" she beamed at the storekeeper. "Those men were just awful, weren't they!"
"They're supposed to keep us safe from the Fire Nation," the keeper spat, "but they're even more of a menace to us than them."
The Fire Nation. In their little encounters with people over the past couple of days, the name "Fire Nation" often fell on their ears. And often with recent negative connotations.
"The Fire Nation?" Claudia turned to Soren, who she didn't even know was next to her now. "What would they do to this town?"
"You folk are probably not from around these parts." The keeper gestured at their appearance. "But to put it plainly, the Fire Nation would not care about this little speck on the map and burn this village down. Though I suppose that's just how war is."
At the mention of the war, the stranger turned round to leave. Before he could take another step, Claudia gripped his arm firmly, though it looked like a soft grip to an outsider.
"The soldiers took something from you, and I'd like to pay it back!" she smiled. "Because it was unfair and you did nothing wrong."
"No thanks."
Soren raised his eyebrow, unimpressed. Did he want his weird ostrich-horse hybrid to die?
Claudia ignored his answer and asked the keeper, "How much for the feed?"
"I said no thanks." He turned to leave.
"You're not the only one with a hungry horse," Soren said pointedly.
If this stranger didn't want to be on the receiving end of Claudia's good nature, he would gladly benefit on his behalf.
One of the children part of the troublesome group came out from behind the stall, practically beaming at the stranger. He was short and thin but his big brown eyes were full of life. Even despite his circumstances.
Soren almost told him off but Claudia shot him a look, almost as if to say "don't kill his mood". He just folded his arms in a huff. How would the kid learn if he wasn't corrected?
"Thanks for not telling!" he grinned. "And you guys too. You saw everything."
"Don't mention it," Soren half smiled.
The stranger simply got up on his ostrich horse, ignoring the boy's gratitude. Before he got any further, he stood in front of the ostrich horse with a very attractive proposal.
"I can take you to my house and feed your ostrich horse for you! You guys as well! They must be really hungry huh?"
Only a fool would turn down that offer. And to Soren's surprise, the sassy yet broody stranger did not object. And together the three teenagers walked, unwittingly towards their now intertwined destinies.