In the land of Academikos, the Dark Lord has been slowly covering more and more of the world in darkness and decay, only one thing can save them, the Sword of Light. The only problem? The holder of the sword disappeared years ago. But there is hope:...
The following morning, the band of travelers had every intention of breaking up and going their separate ways, but they didn't expect to be attacked by goblins first thing before dawn. Deku was terrified by the little, green monsters that tried to bite off your toes-- but all the others treated them as a minor nuisance. Even the bard just kicked them away. The warriors slew them with ease. "But we should be careful," Kyoka said. "There's not that many of them, but there could be a whole horde near here, and these things are a lot more of a threat when there's a bunch of them." Shoto had barely bothered to help, but he said "Even so, I think we should separate now." "But it's unwise to split up while goblins are around," Momo pointed out. "About the only advantage they have is numbers. Let's get out of this dell first, then split up." "Hey, since we're in the area, I want to stop at my village and get my alpaca." Denki said. "You're what?" Kyoka said suspiciously. "My pet, I left her at a friend's stable," Denki explained. "I can't take her everywhere you know, too expensive." "We are not stopping--" began Kyoka. "Actually, going through a village would be wise," Momo agreed. "Take us hither." The other boys didn't argue, so he did.
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One short stop later, they were at Tsuyu's Inn. "I don't mind taking care of your alpaca, Denki," Tsu, the owner, told him. "But next time, please leave it on a leash. It ate some customer's underwear." "Ooops..." Denki said sheepishly. "Hey," Deku said, "Are you from Green Village" Tsu had green hair. "Yes," Tsu said. "You must be a frog like me." "A what?" Deku said. "That's what they call us around here because of the green," Tsu pointed to her hair. "Frogs. It's kind of quaint." "Sounds insulting to me," Kyoka muttered. "Can we go now? I don't like all the people staring at us." There were quite a few. "It could be the shiny armor," Denki said. "You two ladies don't exactly blend in." "I think fair maidens attract attention anywhere," Shoto spoke, completely matter-of-factly, "we should go. Are we separating now?" "Oh..." Momo hesitated. "Well, we're not entirely out of danger yet..." "Hey, can't you all escort me back to my other village?" Denki said. "You kind of got me into this, and I don't want to go alone." "Tough titmouse," Kyoka said. "You chose to come after us, nimrod. Deal with it." "Oh sorry, next time, I'll just let you die." Denki snapped. "We weren't going to die--" before Kyoka could finish, Tsu clapped her hands loudly. "Excuse me, but you're frightening my guests, could you please take this fight somewhere else?" "I'm really sorry," Deku said, though it wasn't his fault. Tsu nodded. "If you're heading north, I can give you some supplies. And some simple remedies for common ailments. It's the least I can do." "Oh... wow, thank you," Deku was touched. "And if it's a party you're looking for," Tsu said. "I might know of a village with a mage in need of a job. Just five miles East of here, Grave Village." "Sounds serious," Denki said. "It is," Tsu said, with a straight face. "Ask for the order of Uraraka once you get there, tell her Tsuyu sent you, we used to be friends before she moved there." "Is she any good?" Kyoka asked. "I don't know how she is now," Tsu said, shrugging, "But she's very trustworthy." This was good enough for Deku. "We'll definitely ask her, thanks." Before they left, Tsu issued a final warning. "There's been sheep going missing from around here, they say a bandit warrior tribe is behind it, be careful going through the uninhabited terrain." Deku nodded nervously. Momo and Kyoka seemed to be having some sort of debate as they went back out of the village, and finally Momo must have won by pulling rank, for she spoke. "Sir Deku, we have a proposal for you." "Ah, already," Denki said, patting his Alpaca. "Young love happens so fast, Tibult." The alpaca snorted. Kyoka turned red with anger. Momo ignored it. "Considering we are after the same thing, and you are in such an unfortunate position, Kyoka and I would like to escort you to this other village. I would feel kind of bad just leaving you on your own to die, even if you're a man, and it sounds like this mage will be able to help you. It's on our way, so it's no trouble, and I'm sure the bylaws of our tribe allow for helping someone for a few hours, after all, we Paladins are supposed to do good works." "Whoa, whoa, you're a paladin?" Denki said. Momo nodded. "The order of Creati, goddess of craftsmanship." "Oh," Shoto spoke, he was still following them, "that explains your technique, I couldn't figure out where you got all those weapons. You must be a high level paladin." Momo flushed "Oh, I'm not that special..." "She's the best," Kyoka came to her defense at once. "She's been the most gifted since birth. No one can wield more of the goddess'es power than her." "Kyoka..." Momo looked embarrassed. Deku didn't like to admit he didn't know any of what they just said. "I'd really appreciate your help, but you don't have to do that..." he said. "Dude, it's rude to refuse a favor from a Princess," Denki said. Kyoka had been just about to say the same thing, and she looked surprised. "Oh, well then, I accept, of course," Deku said. Shoto looked up. "I guess five more miles would be okay, since it's on the way. But after that, we split up." They all agreed to this.
