#this chapter is pretty much just 'male bonding' the chapter GJVBK

[huffle-dork]

Swap into the CrystalVerse Chapter 15: Fantasy Masks

Co-written with @crystalninjaphoenix 

Read Swapboys | Read Fantasy Masks | AO3 Link

Prologue | Switch | Stitched | PNPT | Septicheroes | Fantasy Masks

Taglist: @brokentimewatch @di-diwata  

It's remarkably hard to stay asleep after the sun rises when you're sleeping outside. Of course, the King didn't sleep at all, but he doesn't let Magnificent know that. He sits up and stretches like he's just waking up, then glances at the spot where Mag fell asleep.

Mag hisses as the sun invades his vision and tries to curl his tail over it. But, then he remembers where he is. And who’s with him. He quickly shifts back into his human form and coughs, trying to save some dignity. Even if his cheeks are glowing red.

Luckily, the King does not care about Mag being a cat or acting like one—aside from a general fascination with how he’s able to do it so easily. ���Good news,” he says. “I believe I figured out where we are while trying to sleep last night. Generally, of course. Specifics are difficult in the wild.” He points through the trees to the mountains. “Judging by how close the Dragon’s Teeth are and the general terrain, we might be in the Killiyearn Woods, or at least on the edge of them. And if we head the right direction, we may find Killithair. There will be no people, but there will be a road, and traveling down that is easier than trekking through the undergrowth.”

Mag's eyes brighten a bit at this but he does school his expression as he stretches out and nods. "Alright. That does sound better than trampsing through here."

“Get up, then.” The King glances around. “I believe we should keep the mountains to our left. Head north. If we don’t come out of these trees by noon the I suppose we should start heading towards the mountains.”

Mag does a little mocking gesture of the king's 'get up' behind his back before teleporting to his feet in a flicker of static. He brushes himself off and nods his head towards the king, "Lead the way then."

"Very well."

They start walking. "Killithair, by the way, was a small town that housed a... I believe the term is summer palace? For the royal family. I thought it was a waste to maintain it so I made sure everyone left." He wonders if they abandoned the food stores in their compulsion to leave.

Mag follows afterwards, studying the woods again and feeling the magic in the air. He nods, "Ah right- I heard of royals having vacation homes in other parts of a kingdom. But, of course, they can't be without their luxury."

The King snorts and rolls his eyes. "I agree with you about that. Why do you think I abandoned it? The old King and Queen said something about connecting with nature. If you wanted to do that, why have such a large palace?"

Mag laughs, "Indeed. Seems contradictory."

“Heh.” The King grins. “It does, doesn’t it? In any case, the palace was built sturdy enough that it should still be standing, even if the rest of the town is in disrepair. So we are guaranteed one night of sleep that is not out in the open.”

Magnificent stretches and nods, "That sounds like a worthy goal." It felt strange to just be... surviving. But, he had no way of searching for the annoyances now... and trying to get the king now wouldn't do much for him... they needed to be in a more public place. Patience... he could be patient.

"Indeed." The King nods. Once they reached somewhere more defensible, they could resume their.... previous encounter. No doubt Magnificent was already planning on how to get the advantage. He would have to be prepared. "I hope you're ready for more walking."

-----------

"Draco? Draco?"

In Bro and Alt's tent, Draco uncurls himself, stretching. He kneads Alt's tunic for a while before slinking off and slipping back outside.

Alt blinks awake at the kneading and smiles down at the cat before blinking and realizing it's not his own. He sits up and watches Draco slink out.

"There you are!" Marvin's voice says. "You little traitor. You must really like those two. More than me, your wizard? I'm hurt."

"He is a cat, I am not sure what you were expecting." That's Henrik.

"Shhhh. I know."

Bro turns over with blearily eyes, "wazzit?" He slurs, still blinking sleep from his eyes.

Alt laughs and stretches, patting Bro on the shoulder. "Mornin' to you too." He checks himself over then heads out of the tent, smiling shyly. "Didn't mean to steal your cat, Marvin-"

“Oh you’re awake!” Marvin gasps, then smiles. “Don’t worry about it. Draco does his own stuff a lot of the time. I’m not sure if it’s because he’s magic or because he’s a cat.”

“Perhaps both,” Henrik mutters. “Good morning, Alt. How did you sleep?”

Alt laughs then smiles at Henrik, "umm... surprisingly well. I think Draco helped with that." He bends down to give the cat many pets.

“I’m glad he helped you,” Marvin says, smiling. “Maybe he sensed something was wrong. Do you have familiars where you come from? Hmm… probably not, because you don’t have wizards. Basically, they are magical animals we can summon.”

"Dude I wish!" Alt laughs, "Glitches is... basically my shadow though. We do everything together... it's... weird not to have her around."

Marvin smiles. “I understand. It’s the same with Draco and me. Which is why I can’t believe he BETRAYED me—“ He laughs and pets Draco.

Bro stumbles out of the tent, messing up his hair and yawning loudly. "g'morning-"

“Good morning!” Henrik says brightly. Clearly people in this universe are much more used to waking up early. “We were going to wake you up for breakfast.”

"mmm yes- breakfast good," Bro mumbles, rubbing at his eyes. He's usually a morning person- but the last day of running around has definitely caught up to him.

“Come come, back to the fire,” Henrik says. “And do not worry, I’m sure you will be home soon. We already sent messages to other camps to look out for that other man.”

Bro whoops quietly and starts to head towards the fire. Alt chuckles and gets up to follow, "... did we even give you a description of what to look for...? I mean... it might not matter actually... knowing him he's probably in a disguise...."

“You did not, but we told them to look for strangers with unusual magic,” Henrik says. “We did assume he may disguise himself as well. It is fairly easy to do here, if you have the right charm.”

"Yeah, his magic will probably give him away... I've noticed ours is very different than what's around here." Alt replies.

Like last night, the fire is roaring and surrounded by people. The food appears to be more meat, some baked potatoes, and oatmeal—which is unfortunately blander than in Alt and Bro’s world since it appears the Phantoms don’t have sugar or other spices. There is honey, though. That helps.

Bro gets into line and seems more peppy as he digs into his food. The oatmeal is weird but- eh he's had worse. Alt avoids it altogether.

It's not long before Jackie, Chase, and Jameson all join the group.

"Oh good you're still here!" Chase says, laughing. "I was half-wondering if you'd disappear and leave only gold behind. But no, you're clearly here to stay."

"Don't bring up gold, they might feel bad that they can't give us any!" Jackie says. "Oh wait, do you even have that in your world? Is it still valuable or do you use something else for currency? People here sometimes still use jasper--that's a sort of rock--but we've mostly started to use coins. I don't think you'd need to use currency of any kind though since you've been here the whole time." Clearly, Jackie is full of energy this morning.

“Why would we leave gold behind? Is that what the ‘fair folks’ were known for? Turning things to gold?” Bro asks between bites.

Alt rolls his eyes with a laugh, “I think he means like money, Chase. For hospitality? But to answer your question Jackie we have gold but it’s mostly for jewelry now. We have established currency in our world. It’s mostly… ugh- fuck how do I explain digital- powered by… lightning? Now?”

Jackie's eyes widen. "Wow. I-I don't think I can even imagine what that would be like. Lightning money."

"It sounds like your world uses lightning the way ours uses magic," Marvin says.

“Yeah in a way,” Alt laughs.

"As for the gold, I mean--there are some stories where the Fair Folk would do things like that," Chase says. "I know one where a man was challenged by a stranger on a red horse to a race, which he couldn't have possibly won. So he got clever and tied the stranger's horse to a tree. The stranger, impressed by this, killed a deer and gave it to the man, but he could only take some of it home. When he arrived there, he found the meat had turned into gold."

That's why you must be smart and respectful to the strange, Jameson says. You never know what you could win.

Bro and Alt listen to Chase’s story, pretty captured by his storytelling. Bro grins, “That sounds just like the fables our aunts would tell us! Always a moral~ Neat!”

Chase grins. "My kids always loved my stories. I'm glad it holds true for adults, too."

"You're a great storyteller, Chase," Jackie says. "You could've made a living that way if you didn't have to be a hunter."

"Well I like hunting too, even if I'm only an average marksman."

"You're better than any of us in this group," Henrik says. Then glances at Bro and Alt. "Ah, sorry, I should not make assumptions."

Bro grins and points at himself. “I’m a pretty good shot! …though I haven’t used a bow since… oh- maybe it’s been a while.” He laughs. “But I can shoot lightning and I’m pretty accurate with that!”

Alt shrugs, “I’m just happy when I hit something. Probably can’t hunt worth shit.”

"I could... try to teach you, if you like," Chase says haltingly. "I know you two have your magic, but it could always be good to have some other skills in this world," Jackie suggests. "Ooh! Or I could teach you swordfighting, Or, start to, at least, it takes longer than you expect."

Marvin rolls his eyes. "I get along fine with just my magic," he mutters.

"Oh, do not be so sour, Marvin," Henrik says. "It is your choice like it is their choice."

Bro stims excitedly, “I WANNA LEARN TO SWORD FIGHT!!” He probably shouts too loudly. Alt pulls on Bro’s arm to drag him back with a laugh.

Jackie smiles wide and flaps his hands. "Well I want to teach you so that works out!"

Henrik laughs. "I have not seen you this excited in a while, Jackie."

"It's not every day you get to teach a man from another world how to wield a blade," Jackie looks at him and grins.

Alt studies Chase and grins. “While I do have my magic… it could be fun to learn. Just in case-“

"Ha, I-I guess we should all head over to the combat field after breakfast, then," Chase says, smiling shyly. "Jameson, you're coming too, I'm going to continue our lessons from yesterday."

Jameson shrugs. Fine by me.

Alt smiles at Jameson, “Hey at least we don’t have to learn alone right?”

Jameson smiles back. True, there's that. I'm sure I'll make a fool of myself with the arrows regardless but that does make me feel better.

"Well if the rest of you are going I might as well too," Marvin mutters.

"I did not say I was going," Henrik says.

"But you are, aren't you?"

"It'll be fun to see."

Bro hovers a bit in the air, his excitement palpable. “Whoo!! This is gonna be so fun!!”

Alt wrangles his brother back down to earth, “You’re gonna float away if you’re not careful, Chase!” He laughs.

"Everyone finish up," Jackie says, voice muffled as he starts shoving food into his mouth.

"Jackie, manners!" Marvin gasps.

"Damn the manners! Go fast!"

“You heard the man!” Bro says, following Jackie’s example to shove the rest of his food in his mouth.

“Oh my god-“ Alt mumbles in exasperation.

Marvin looks at Alt, matching his exasperated expression.

"If you two choke I will say 'I told you so' as I save you," Henrik declares.

Luckily, neither of them choke, and it's not long before they're heading over to the combat fields. Jackie asks for some space, and manages to clear out a section between the dragon wing bones. This is a perfect spot for everything to happen at once, as Chase sets up some distant targets while Jackie finds a pair of wooden practice swords. Henrik and Marvin sit down on the bones to watch.

"Make sure everyone picks up something that's the right size," Jackie says. "Other Chase, you're taller than me, so you can probably handle a sword with more reach. And elders and sisters, Jameson, don't try using a longbow again."

Bro bounces on his heels before looking for the right practice sword. He tests out the grip and weight before playfully striking at it at Alt, who tries to block it with his arm. “Alt! Doesn’t this remind you of us playing knights as kids??”

“You were the knight, I was the dragon!” Alt grins, playfully batting Bro away with a spare shock of electricity.

Bro hops away, laughing. “Ah yes! My fearsome baby brother! The 3 foot terrifying dragon I had to defend the biscuits from!”

“Nuh-uh! If anything I was defending them cuz you’d eat them all!” Alt pushes at his brother before glitching over to find the right bow.

Jackie smiles fondly. "I played warrior with my siblings, too. It got me so excited to train on Fiornear Field with all the rest of the warriors."

"He was so excited that he ran away at twelve to go do that," Marvin calls from the sidelines.

"And I was great for my age!" Jackie picks up a pair of practice swords, looks at them both, then puts one down.

"I think this'll be a good one for you, Alt," Chase suggests, pointing one out. "It's already strung so you won't have to worry about that. Jameson, though, you should try, so here." He hands an unstrung bow to Jameson, who looks at it curiously and then starts trying to loop the string around the ends of the wood.

Alt nods and studies the bow. He tries to hold it experimentally, drawing back the string to see how hard it was to do. Chase had a big medieval phase when they were boys so their aunts got them some lessons. But it’s been years…

The string of the bow is surprisingly really hard to draw back. "Oh damn, wait, I almost forgot our arm guards!" Chase rushes over to the other side of the weapons rack and grabs three pieces of leather. "Stupid. Here, put that on the forearm that's not drawing the string. Ah, and double check which eye is dominant, hold the bow with the opposite hand." As he says that, Jameson closes one eye after the other, then hurriedly switches which hand he's holding the bow in while Chase isn't looking.

Alt pauses and blinks then starts to follow Chase’s instructions. He puts the guard on his left forearm after checking to make sure which eye is dominant. His right is, so he holds the bow with his left. “Alright- I think I got it.”

"Great job!" Chase says, checking both of them. "Okay, now footwork is very important. Keep them shoulder-length apart, like this." He demonstrates. "You're turned sideways relative to the target. The same foot you're holding the bow with should be in front. Jair, move a bit to the left, you want to be directly in front of the target." Jameson nods, taking a few steps left, making sure where he is by tracing a line with his hand.

Alt puts his left foot forward and draws his sight towards the target. He’s pretty good at judging distance, considering he’s an artist. He lines himself up.

"Alright, other Chase, we'll start with two-handed fighting since that's easier, but I usually fight one-handed. And with two swords. Heh, they never see it coming..."

Bro grins and nods, “oh yeah you can just call me Bro if you want! That way it’s less confusing~! But sounds good!” He tries to flip the sword and fumbles with it a bit before catching it.

"Brá... no, Bro," Jackie tests it out, then laughs. "It's so strange." He laughs harder when Bro fumbles with the sword. "You have to be careful, Bro! If that was a real sword it would really hurt to drop it on your foot. Here, steady your grip, like this." Jackie demonstrates. "No fancy tricks yet, as tempting as it is."

Bro grins sheepishly, “Right. Focusing- I can do that! Whatcha got first for me, teach?”

"Well, my own teachers made me spend a long time just holding the sword and practicing lifting it and all that. To build up the muscle. But I think we can skip that with you since you definitely seem strong enough." Jackie pauses. "Iiiiin that case... okay, I'm curious. I'm going to attack with mine and you block. No specific moves, just do what you think. Then we'll reverse."

Bro grabs into the hilt of his sword with both of his hands and grins. “Lay it on me!”

Jackie grins. "Alright, if you insist." And he goes in for the attack.

Meanwhile, Chase is demonstrating how to nock an arrow. Unlike arrows in the modern world, there's no plastic part at the end that neatly fits on the string, only a small divet on the end of the shaft clearly made by a knife. "There are three vanes--that's the individual fletching bits--and you need to line it up so that a single one points away... elders, they're really going at it already?"

Bro shouts out and gets hits on his leg on the first swing, jumping back. But then as he tries to block the second one he gets hit on his arm. “Jesus!!”

Alt laughs, trying to notch the arrow, “that sounds about right-“

Jackie backs off quickly, smiling triumphantly. "Hey, you almost got it! You are pretty fast."

"You still beat him, Jackie!" Henrik calls.

"Hey, I'm trying to be encouraging!" Jackie shouts back. "Okay, okay, now you go for me."

Bro grins and nods, slipping back his foot and then trying to hit a couple blows on Jackie.

"Whoa!" Jackie takes a step back and defends himself, blocking all of Bro's attacks. "You have the energy, I see! That'll go a long way, but not all the way." He lowers the practice sword, smiling. "Alright, you're doing what a lot of beginners do while attacking, which is focusing on your opponent's front torso area. It's an instinctive thing, I think, to go for the center of mass, but, as you remember from what I did, a lot of sword attacks come for your sides and legs--because people tend to also focus on their own front torso area while protecting. You need to be aware of your whole body."

Bro thinks this over and then nods, grinning, "Makes sense! Guess its opposite of fighting with your fists- there you try to go for knocking someone off balance, usually from the center!"

"Makes sense!" Jackie nods. "With fists you have to get up close. Swords have reach. It's a sort of balancing act with them. Your opponent needs to be far enough so that their whole blade doesn't just slam into you, but you need to be close enough to land your own blows. Here, let's go slow so I can show you some blocking. Defense is most important when dealing with sharp metal."

"Okay!" Bro exclaims excitedly, getting into a fighting stance with his sword. "Yeah, I'm probably better at defending than anything- but usually I focus on dodging!"

"Dodging is also good! That's why there's always such a focus on footwork in swordplay. But defense comes first. Just in case your opponent is faster." Jackie raises his sword again. "Alright. There are three basic moves: block, parry, and sweep. For blocking, move your sword to meet mine." He moves in slow-motion, making to slash at Bro's torso.

Bro nods, trying his best to pay attention, ADHD be damned. When Jackie moves he moves his sword to block the slash before it hits his stomach.

"Perfect," Jackie says. "A parry is similar, but you have to wait until the last moment. What you did just now, with moving your sword up, would be too soon for a parry. The difference is that parries will often throw your opponent off-balance so you can attack. Here, try again." Jackie makes another slash attack.

Bro nods and tries to wait until the last moment then blocks and tries to push Jackie’s sword back, “like that?”

Jackie grins. "Pretty good, but it could be better. You're a bit eager, I can tell. Here, lemme move faster, that might help." Jackie repeats it again, going just a bit quicker.

Bro nods and dances in place slightly, like someone trying to get warmed up on the sidelines before trying to parry again, maybe going a bit fast still.

"You're still going a bit fast, but let's move on for now," Jackie says. "The sweep is when you use the flat part of the blade to knock the opponent's sword aside." Jackie demonstrates. "See how you twist your arm? Timing is most important here; you don't want to miss entirely. Okay? Let's try it." Jackie goes for the same slash attack.

Bro's eyes brighten and he grins, nodding. He waits then twists his arm to sweep at Jackie's blade, side stepping and bending low to give it more power.

"Whoa!" Jackie takes a step back from the force of the swing. He cracks a grin. "That was probably too much force for this speed, but it would be perfect for an actual fight."

Bro beams, proud of himself, "Fuck yeah, progress!" He does a little fist pump.

"Progress!" Jackie repeats cheerfully. They get back to practicing.

Jameson watches the two of them. I'm glad I chose the long range.

"Don't be glad until we see your aim," Chase says. "Here, there's a knot in the string, nock the arrow so it's just above that."

Alt follows Chase's advice and nocks the arrow and then pulls back the string. "Okay- i think I got it!"

"Great form, Alt!" Chase compliments. "Jameson, make sure you're holding the bow upwards." Jameson nods and raises it a bit. "And both of you make sure your elbow is parallel to the ground. Once you think you're ready, line up the point of the arrow with the target and loose."

Alt nods and lines up his shot, trying to take a deep breath and follow Chase's advice. His aim is a bit shaky and it drifts slightly but he does manage to hit the target at least!

"Great job, Alt!" Chase says. "I know that might sound unbelievable, but hey--you hit the target."

Yes, congratulations, Jameson says. His own arrow went very wide. I don't understand how I missed entirely.

"I was watching, you're both shaking a little. There was probably also some instinctive flinching when the bow string snaps."

Alt flushes and then tests out the string, "The string is hard to pull for me I think... the tension makes my arm wanna shake."

"Let me see if it's too tight," Chase offers, taking Alt's bow temporarily. He draws and releases it a couple times without arrows. "Hmm... there is a bit of tension, but this is pretty normal in my experience. Don't worry, people are always surprised by how much force it takes to draw the bow. I'll never understand how Lukas can handle that huge longbow of his when shortbows are this difficult."

Alt laughs, “I’m probably just out of shape- arm muscle wise at least. Magic doesn’t take a lot of muscle. I bet I can aim better at the target with a spell than an arrow.” He attempts to notch another arrow, fumbling for a second before drawing back again, trying to control how his arm shakes.

Don't worry, Alt, Marvin is the same way, Jameson says.

"Hey! I have muscle!" Marvin says defensively.

"He doesn't," Chase whispers to Alt playfully. "Yeah, in that case, you might just need to practice more. Here, both of you try again. I'll go too so you can watch me for reference." He moves to a target and nocks an arrow of his own.

Alt laughs, “Maybe we need to have a spell off!” He chuckles, only half joking. That could be fun… but this was equally as fun- even if his arms hurt. He nods and aims at the target again- breathes then let’s the arrow fly.

Alt's arrow flies and gets a bit closer to the target this time and he grins wide.

"Whoo!" Chase throws his hands in the air in celebration. "Great, Alt! Jameson! You both got closer!"

I still missed, Jameson points out.

"Closer is still good. Look, I've been doing this for years, and I'm still not an expert. See?" Chase's own arrow hit the middle ring of the target. "But the thing about hunting is that any hit is better than none."

Alt smiles at Jameson, "If it helps I did do some of this as a kid- Chase had a big knights phase so our aunts signed us up for lots of stuff."

That does help, actually, Jameson says, nodding.

"Didn't your parents ever make you take self-defense classes?" Marvin asks from the sidelines.

They did, that did not include bows. Did your parents ever make YOU take self-defense classes?

"They did until I threw a fit about it."

"That explains so much about you, actually," Henrik mutters.

Alt bursts out laughing, hiding it behind his sleeve. "Cut the guy some slack, magic is faster than a sword- maybe not an arrow though.. definitely not faster than a bullet though."

"I'm guessing a 'bulhet' is a type of weapon," Chase says. "Hey Marvin? Is magic faster than arrows?"

Marvin pauses for a moment, thinking about that. He mimes that grabbing-light gesture with his amulet a couple times. "Probably not," he concludes.

"Well then it has its advantages and disadvantages then!" Alt adds, "And yeah- it's a nasty one... not one you guys will have to worry about though."

"I'm glad of that, then," Chase says. "Alright you two. It's practice time. It'll be boring and hard, but it's how you get better."

After a bit more blows Jackie says "Alright, you have a choice now. Do you want to spend the next while doing the same thing over and over like I did when I was learning, or do you want to move on even if you only started here?"

"Hmmm-" Bro thinks, "that's a tough choice... I wanna learn more things!" He grins.

Jackie grins back. "How did I know you'd say that?”

"He's predictable like that!" Alt calls over. Bro sticks his tongue out at him.

“Alright, let's get to it then." Jackie says.

The rest of the morning passes with the group at the combat field, learning and practicing until hunger drove them to get lunch.

The Brody brothers enjoy their practice even if Bro has way more bruises and Alt's arms feel like jelly. But, Lunch is a relief.

-----------

The trees are finally starting to thin out. The King brushes some low-hanging branches aside and sees a rolling field. Beyond the next couple hills he can see the peak of a tower. He smiles. "Success."

"Thank the goddess-" Magnificent moans as he comes up behind the King. "Yes nature is beautiful and blah blah blah but- civilization even if it is primitive..."

The King can't help but laugh. "Ah, so true." Even if he knew how to survive in the wild it didn't mean he wanted to. "We must hurry. I wonder what will be waiting for us."

Eventually, as they get closer, some buildings come into view. Typical for this area, they are white plaster supported with wood, their roofs made of thatch. They are surrounded by a short wall, chest-high. In the center of the cluster of buildings is the palace, tall towers reaching high.

Magnificent follows after the King and studies the buildings as they pass. So different from what he was used to... little glass in sight. Which makes sense but- still weird. It's almost charming. But, like the King, he sets his eyes on the palace.

Some of the buildings' walls have collapsed due to neglect. Many are missing thatch from their roofs. The King glances at them, but ignores them. Instead he heads straight for the palace. There's a large set of heavy-looking front doors. He stares at them for a moment, then bends down and pulls a loose stone from the street. And quickly throws it through one of the glass windows.

Magnificent jumps and then hisses to the king, "The hell are you doing??"

"Saving my strength. I know you can appear through walls, but I would have to open those doors, and I don't feel like straining myself after a hike through the wild." The King walks up to the window, clears the broken glass, and climbs through.

Magnificent blinks and then chuckles slightly at the sight of the King scurrying through the window. He teleports through with little effort.

The interior of the palace is dusty and faded, a tattered green carpet underfoot and large tapestries on the walls. The King takes a moment to stare at one featuring a man with green eyes holding a sword. Then he looks away. "I suppose we explore now."

Magnificent studies the tapestry and the king's reaction and gestures towards it, "There a story behind this one?"

"There's stories behind most of them," the King says, glancing back at that one. "The royal family was big on history. That is a work honoring Samuel the Green-Eyed. The first King." He pauses. "My legacy." His voice is tinged with bitterness. Without another word, he starts walking down the hall.

Magnificent raises an eyebrow at this, and starts following after the King. But, that doesn't mean he won't push some buttons. "So- sounds like this isn't a legacy you- particularly enjoy, hm? The bitterness is your voice was palpable."

The King laughs darkly. "How shall I put this...?" He taps his fingers against his chin, stroking the beard. "We could have been so much more. But Samuel simply settled."

"Oh? How so?" Magnificent presses. "Wasn't ambitious enough? Didn't conquer enough land?"

"Exactly." The King smiles. "Why settle for half the island? Why not sail to the other kingdoms, or settle the Wyldwood beyond the Dragon's Teeth? Even back then, they would have been able to do both those things. But no. And here we have stayed."

He pushes open a door. "Oh good, the kitchen."

"Ah- I see. Do you plan to expand your territory then? Out do what your ancestors did?" Magnificent asks.

"Exactly." His smile widens as he walks across the room. "Once that annoying rebellion is squashed, all our efforts will go to the army... and the navy we do not yet have. That always seemed foolish, for an island."

"Sounds like a sound plan. Rebels are always troublesome though. Humans and their 'hope' and 'caring for others' bullshit." The mad magician snorts.

The King chuckles and looks at Magnificent. "I have never met someone else who spoke as I believed." It's a shame the magician is definitely planning to betray him.

Magnificent chuckles too and hops up to sit on the closest counter, curling his arm under his chin as he watches the King. "Well- I'm not sure you'll ever meet someone else like me, Aodhan, dear~ I'm one-of-a-kind, you know."

"I thought the same about myself before I met you," the King mutters.He reaches another door and pushes it open. The pantry is stocked, the spell used to preserve everything still intact. Good. "Would you look at that. We could have whatever we wanted tonight."

Mag eyes the pantry and smirks. "Oh good."

The King walks into the pantry and starts picking out items. Amazing that this spell even kept the fruit fresh.

He leans against the wall and bites into an apple, looking thoughtful. "I propose we stay here for the day and night. Then in the morning we stock up and head down the road."

Magnificent flops back onto the counter and lets himself lay down, even if its dusty. Feels good on his weary body. "Good enough for me."

The King nods. "In which case, we'll look around for some more. Unless you're comfortable right there."

"Oh yes the dust is very comfortable- like a warm fuzzy blanket." Mag deadpans before teleporting back to be by the king wiping himself off.

The King laughs. "Well let's see if there are some actual blankets still in here. Even moth eaten ones would be an improvement."

Magnificent sneezes from all the dust and wipes at his nose as he follows after the King as he heads back out.

As they leave the pantry and the kitchen, a bird sitting on a hall windowsill suddenly flaps off and flies away. The King stops, staring at the spot it was with narrowed eyes.

Mag blinks and follows the bird's path before raising an eyebrow at the King. "... grudge against birds or...?"

"That was a searcher pigeon," he mutters. "It could have stopped here while on its way somewhere else. We could have scared it off right now. Or... it could have found what it was looking for."

"...who would know we were here though?" Magnificent narrows his eyes after the bird now. "I mean... unless it your knights or whatever. Bet they're going crazy that their King is missing."

"They wouldn't have known we were here. But they would know now." The King pauses for a moment. "It could be from Suilthair. The warriors or some nobles could have gotten concerned about my absence. Or..." He pauses again. "Well, it's best to be prepared. Rest and food. Leave in the morning."

"Who else would just have a random pigeon searching or waiting at an abandoned palace?" Mag grumbles.

"Well, I'm not sure of the resources of those rebels I mentioned, but... it's possible," the King says, slowly walking down the hallway again.

"Hm..." Magnificent looks out the window for a second before following after the King.