<I don’t either, because I was half-asleep almost the entire time. I think I vaguely remember you calling out to me before you tried to draw me — thank you for that — but I couldn’t do anything about it. Rei has a way to wake me up for a little while, and she sometimes visits me to chat, but then I fall right back to sleep when she leaves. It’s so annoying.>
I surmised that Rei was shorthand for Reika, which made sense. She’d mentioned being the weapon’s guardian, and she was clearly lonely. Visiting Dawnbringer made sense both from a security standpoint and as a way to keep them both sane.
“Well, if you don’t want me to patch your rock back together for you, would you like for me to wield you for a while?”
I heard something coming from the sword that sounded like a sharp intake of breath. <You want to be my wielder? Really? We’ve only just met.>
I got the distinct impression that I was missing some context. “I was under the impression that retrieving you from the forest would prove my worth in that regard.”
<Well, yeah, but you didn’t exactly do it the normal way...and I’m still not really sold on the “bravery” part in specific. And more importantly, just carrying me and wielding me are a little different. Being a wielder is a lot of commitment, you know.>
She sounded hesitant, maybe even nervous. “I think we might be using the term differently. I meant that I would carry you, and possibly wield you in battle. Does the term ‘wielder’ mean something else to you?”
<I...uh, oh...is that all you meant?> Dawnbringer sounded embarrassed now. <I, uh, maybe you should ask Rei?>
I raised an eyebrow. “You can’t just tell me yourself?”
<I mean, well, I could, but I’m not sure if it’d be appropriate. You don’t just go asking a sword you’ve just met about things like that, okay?>
I sincerely had no idea how to respond to that. “Okay. Let’s take a step back. Would you like to get out of here?”
<Oh, goddess yes. Please.>
“Great. Want to go with me on an adventure?”
<That sounds great! Where are we going?>
I raised the sword, watching the blade gleam brightly in the afternoon light. “I don’t know. But I’m looking forward to figuring it out together.”
Chapter VI – Monster Hunters
I started retracing my steps back to Reika’s cave. Dawnbringer claimed she didn’t know much more about the layout of the area than I did, since she was stuck inside a “sacred rock” virtually all of the time.
I’d considered exploring the path beyond the sword, but my muscles were aching from a combination of excessive stone sorcery and the cuts across my skin from the cutting wind. I needed a reliable place to take shelter and recover.
For the moment, I was holding Dawnbringer up against my shoulder, much like I might brace a polearm. She still had the crystal casing around her blade. I knew I could have probably removed it easily at that point, but I was keeping it on deliberately to serve as a makeshift scabbard until I found an appropriate one.
I passed the spot where I’d spoken to the elder forest spirit. After that, it was a little tougher to figure out where I’d come from, since we weren’t traveling on a road.
I took a few false turns in the brush, but eventually found my way to what looked like the spot where I’d fought Not-Sterling.
<So...>
“So?”
<...You’re not from around here? What’s that mean?>
“I’m from another continent. It’s called Mythralis.”
<And you’re not a servant of the Tyrant in Gold?>
“Definitely not.”
<Hm.>
“Hm?”
<I’m thinking.>
“I’ll let you think a while.”
The mist cleared as we walked, with Dawnbringer’s light washing it away. No further spirits came to accost us, but I could have sworn at a few points I thought I saw what looked like a glowing sphere following us, just barely at the edge of my vision.
I considered turning back to investigate, but I was rapidly running out of energy. If my suspicions were right, it was probably harmless.
I made it back to the bridge without incident.
<Huh. Is that new? It looks rockier than I remembered.>
I hesitated before stepping onto the stone, watching for any sign that the wind was going to pick back up, but the forest remained silent. Aside from Dawnbringer’s commentary, of course.
“I didn’t like the idea of walking across an invisible bridge, so I made a few modifications.”
<Hm.>
“Hm, again?”
<I think aloud sometimes! Sheesh. Anyway, you were saying that you’re afraid of heights?>
I shook my head, stepping onto the bridge and beginning to make my way across. “No, I was not, in fact, saying that.”
<Sounded like you were. If you were brave, wouldn’t you have just walked across it the normal way?>
“What, with my eyes closed? Now I think you’re the one getting confused about bravery, Dawnbringer. That wouldn’t have been bravery — it would have been blindly trusting that these tests are fair.”
<Fft. Blindly trusting.> She chuckled. <That was an awful pun, you know.>
“But it worked.”
<I mean, it worked as a pun, but I’m not convinced you’re right about the argument itself. Walking across the invisible bridge might have been both blindly trusting and brave. I suppose making your own bridge wasn’t inherently cowardly, though. I might have even called it insightful, but since you didn’t mention it, I’m not giving you any points for it.>
I paused in my step, turning to look at the sword dubiously. “You’re keeping track of points?”
<I am now. How else am I supposed to determine if you’re worthy to wield me?>
I sighed and kept walking.
Apparently, just finding Dawnbringer had been the easy part.
***
I heard Dawnbringer’s voice again shortly after I crossed the bridge.
<So, Keras of the Distinct Lack of Amulets, what sort of hero are you?>
“I wouldn’t call myself a hero at all.”
<Hm. I’d give you a point in humility for that line, but that’s not something I’m keeping track of. Humor me, though. You made it through the forest, and you’re very proficient at breaking legendary rocks. Clearly, you’re no average swordsman.>
“Is it a legendary rock now? Wasn’t it a sacred rock before? Did it get promoted posthumously?”
<You’re not getting insight points for alliteration, even if the goddess does have a weird obsession with it.>
I smirked at that. “Ah, yes. Selys stowed Six Sacred Swords silently in secret skeins, sworn to slay six similarly sacred serpents, each savage and strong, supreme within the Soaring Spires.”
<...Uh, okay, huh. Wow. Did you come up with that right now?>
“Nah, no way. I had a lot of free time when Reika was sleeping off her injuries. And I figured that if the goddess likes alliteration, it would be good to practice.”
I heard a gasp from the sword. <Wait, back up! Rei got hurt?! Is she okay? Who hurt her? When do we fight them?>
“Whoa, okay, hold on. Reika is fine.”
<I’ll be the judge of that, Keras the Amuletless, Master of Surprisingly Detailed Alliteration. Now tell me what happened!>
“She’s fine, Dawnbringer. I’m the one who hurt her—”
<Let me go! I will cut you!>
“Sssh. It was part of the tests, Dawnbringer. She attacked me. It’s part of her job.”
There was a moment of awkward silence.
<...It is?>
I nodded. “She’s your guardian. She challenges everyone who goes through the caves. You didn’t know that?”
<I... I mean, I knew she was supposed to be my guardian and stuff, but I didn’t really think about... I mean, I just sort of assumed she was mostly taking care of the forest? Maybe giving challengers some riddles or something? She fights people?>
“Yep.”
<That’s...argh. I should have asked. I should have known. After what happened with her father...>
I frowned. “Her father?”
<Never mind, that’s not my story to tell.> Another brief pause. <But she’s okay? You’re sure?>
“I’m sure. I stayed in her cave for days. We took care of each other. She showed me her favorite books.”
<Prove it.>
I sighed. “Her favorite series is Dragon’s Damsel. Her favorite book is Dragon’s Damsel 2: Damsel’s Dreams. Her favorite character is, of course, Valmyrian, the brave dragon that protects the damsel from the knight that she’s betrothed to. The princess is named Elaina, and the knight is named,” I sighed very deeply, “Sir Vicious Malbad.”
<...Hm. I guess you really did talk to her, at least. She never shut up about that series.>
“Yeah.”
<I kind of learned to like it, too, though.>
I chuckled and grinned at the sword. “Yeah. Me, too. Except the part in the fourth book with Elaina’s evil twin sister.”
<Elaina has an evil twin sister?!>
“Did I just spoil that for you?”
<I can’t believe it! But, now that I think about it, they did talk about two shadows in the prophecy...>
***
We chatted about various books up until the point where I found the main road back toward Reika’s cave. I felt a sense of relief now that we were close to some sort of safety.
“...And, for the record, we never talked about any of these. If Reika knew I’d actually read any of those books, she’d never stop talking about it.”
<Don’t worry, I won’t tell Reika your terrible secret. Probably. You still didn’t tell me what kind of hero you are, though.>
“I thought we’d established that. I’m a hero of absent amulets and alliteration.”
She laughed. <That’s not what I mean, silly. You obviously have to have some sort of heroic roots. All good heroes do.>
I rolled my eyes. “You’ve been reading too many of Reika’s romance novels.”
<Actually, I can’t really lift books, so she reads the stories to me. And I like it. And you’re not allowed to tease me about it, especially since you’ve been reading them, too.>
“There wasn’t much other reading material available. And you’ve been teasing me about a rock since we met.”
<Which was, what, a couple hours ago? I’ll get bored of it eventually. Probably. It’s just so easy. You seemed so sincerely worried that you’d actually hurt a rock.>
I sighed. “Look, I’ve seen some strange things over the years. I’ve actually met a sacred, talking rock before. So it wasn’t exactly outside the dominion of possibility.”
<Naw... You’re pulling my hilt. You’ve met a talking rock?>
“Yep. Her name is Vendria. She’s very nice.”
A slight pause. <You’re not just making fun of me for sweet, sweet revenge?>
“Not currently.”
<What do you mean, currently?>
I smiled. “I mean that’s not off the table for the future, but no, I’m completely serious on this subject. I’ve met a talking rock, and I was concerned I could have actually hurt another one of them. I wasn’t very worried, mind you, because they’re rare—”
<You totally were. You were practically bawling. Keras, Amuletless Alliterator, Sorrowful Slayer of Sacred Stones.>
“You’re just going to keep going with those titles, aren’t you?”
<Hey, you’re the one who wanted to pull me out of a rock...after you murdered it, that is.>
“We can go ahead and stop that one now. It’s no longer funny. You’ve killed the joke.”
<Just like you killed the rock. But fine. Tell me about your heroic background, Keras. Where do you come from? Are you the last scion of a deposed line of kings?>
I sighed. “Nope.”
<Okay, how about the topic of an ancient prophecy?>
I thought about my oracle friend and her distinct lack of ability to read my future, but I still didn’t think that counted. “Going to go with ‘probably not’ on that one.”
<Hm. Are you an orphan?>
“I mean, that’s sort of a personal question, but I guess I technically am.”
<Hah! Now we’re getting somewhere. An orphan with mysterious parentage?>
I winced. I did not like where this was going. “I mean, that’s a bit of a stretch, but...”
<Oh! Oh! And you already have another magic sword! Which, by the way, I’m definitely not jealous about. I mean, if you wanted to have a single sword relationship, we could discuss it, but I’m not that serious yet, obviously...>
I put a hand over my eyes. “Yes, I suppose I have a magic sword. And before you ask, yes, I probably inherited it from my father...”
<Ooh!>
“...Who may or may not have died confronting a powerful villain...”
<Oooooh!>
I stopped, rubbing my eyes. “...And I’ve been sent on the quest to find allies to defeat that same villain by an ancient wizard. Gods curse it, I am an archetypical storybook hero, aren’t I?”
<Awww, it’s not that bad. At least you don’t have mysterious powers that you don’t understand and can’t quite control, right?>
I continued walking without dignifying that with a reply.
<...Right?>
***
Reika was waiting for us outside of the cave. She noticeably brightened when she saw us approaching, waving fiercely.
“Well, well! The triumphant knight returns, holding the damsel...in his arms...” She paused, looking me over. “With his shirt torn nearly to shreds? Oh...”
I kept walking, trying to ignore the fact that she was describing me like one of the muscly guys in one of her romance novels.
I considered pointing out the fact that I wasn’t a knight, but that just reminded me that I technically was one. I was a member of the Paladins of Tae’os, and paladins were legally considered knights in my homeland, even if that wasn’t as significant as it had been centuries earlier.
Reika was still staring at me with an odd expression as I walked closer. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. After a beat, I said, “Good to see you, too, Reika.”
She blinked, processing, and righted herself. “Uh, yeah. Hey, are you really supposed to be holding a sword like that? Isn’t that dangerous? What if you trip?”
I’d still been holding Dawnbringer up against my shoulder, which I suppose invited the “carrying the damsel” comparison. “I don’t have a proper scabbard for her yet, so I can’t put her on my belt. I could hold her downward, but I’m exhausted, and this is easier.”
“Yeah, you look pretty beaten up.” She tightened her jaw. “You didn’t run into Raizo out there, did you?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Raizo? I heard that name once before, but...”
“Uh, let’s not talk about that right now. Come inside. We need to get those wounds taken care of properly.”
I didn’t make any objection to that. The shoddy job I’d done of patching myself up on the road was clearly insufficient. We headed back into the cave, toward the familiar section where Reika lived.
<You know, I’ve never actually been in here? I mean, not that I remember.>
“You haven’t?”
Reika paused from leading the way and turned around. “Hm?”
“Oh, sorry.” I pointed at the sword on my hip. “I was talking to Dawnbringer.”
“Oh! Of course. She can only talk to whoever is touching her.” She frowned.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
“I just....I guess I won’t be able to talk to her anymore. I’m going to miss her.”
<Aww, Rei’s so sweet. I’ll miss her, too.>
I glanced down to the sword, then back to Reika. “What’s the problem? I thought you were traveling with us. Why wouldn’t you be able to talk to her?”
“I’m not he
r wielder. I was skirting the rules by talking to her while she was trapped, but now...” Reika shook her head.
“Dawnbringer, do you want to talk to Reika?”
<Yes, please!>
I flipped the sword around, offering it to Reika hilt first. “She says she’s fine with talking to you.”
Reika took a step back. “That’s clearly against the rules. I’m not supposed to carry her unless her wielder dies, and I have to bring her back here to wait for the next person who is worthy.”
I shrugged a shoulder. “Okay, then I’ll carry her, and you can just put a hand on the hilt and chat.”
<Ooh, semantics trickery. I like.>
Reika seemed to consider that. “...I’m not sure that would be allowed.”
“If I’m okay with it, and Dawnbringer is okay with it, what’s the harm?”
Reika took a deep breath. “That particular rule exists so that the guardian of the sword doesn’t become too attached and try to take it for themselves.”
“...Meaning that the rule has clearly already failed to serve its function, because you obviously are emotionally invested—”
<And you’ve followed your great point with a terrible one.>
I glared at the sword and finished my statement, “—but you still didn’t steal the sword.”
<Better, but missing the key factor that she couldn’t have while I was sealed. Now she could.>
Fortunately, even though Dawnbringer had raised a good counter argument that I hadn’t considered, Reika seemed softened by my point.
“I suppose I could talk to her for a minute. As long as you’re the one who’s actually carrying her.”
“Great. It’ll be a good test, actually. I’m curious to see if both of us will be able to hear her at the same time.”
Reika crept closer, clearly still hesitant, and then put a hand on her hilt. “...Hi, Dawn.”
<Hi, Rei! It’s so nice to see you. Will you read me a story later?>
I watched the resistance in Reika’s expression crumble. “...Of course I will.”
***
So, while we were both in contact with Dawnbringer, we both could hear her in our minds.
Apparently, she could hear us even if we weren’t in contact, as long as we were close enough. I decided to test her sensory range later, since it could be relevant for things like warning me about sneak attacks.