Several days had already passed since leaving the town. Jordan and Lim relaxed a bit as there was no place for any “sexual predators” to hide, and it got more freedom, able to wander away from the carriage during breaks. One of which, they were currently on.

Lim stood by the carriage searching for the elusive picnic basket, Jordan sat on a fallen log reading an unmarked book, and Etrius, sat high in a tree, watching the area. They didn't seem to care why it was in a tree, and it wasn't so sure if they even knew where it was. They weren't worried though, so it didn't feel the need to tell them. Things were peaceful in their little camp as everyone was absorbed in their own task.

 

“Lady Hunt.” Lim said, finally pulling the basket out. “Would you like a snack?”

“No, not at the moment.” Jordan said not looking up from her book.

“Washington?” Lim asked, looking around the camp. “What about you?”

“No, I'm good.” Etrius replied from the tree.

“Wha-” She asked looking up. “Washington what are you doing!?”

“Relaxing.” It said, laying down.

“Get down from there, you might hurt yourself!” She said reaching out as if to catch it.

“You're not my mom.” It said not moving.

“Wash!” She said worriedly.

“Don't make nicknames for me.” It said.

“Please come down!” She pouted.

“Fine.” It sighed.

 

Etrius made its way down the trunk and as it did, it purposely chose the most hazardous route to see Lim panic. When it reached the bottom, Lim immediately started looking over for any injuries. When she found none she looked at Etrius, both relieved and angry.

 

“Don't ever do that again!” She said, looking it in the eyes.

“Why?” It asked.

“What if you fell?” She asked.

“I would walk it off.” It said.

“What if you couldn't ‘walk it off’ because your legs were broken?” She returned.

“I would crawl it off.” It said confidently.

“Wash!” She said.

“Alright, fine. I'm sorry.” It lied. “I won't do it again.”

“Promise?” She asked.

“Eh…” It was unable to promise that. “I’ll reflect on my actions.”

“Good.” She breathed a sigh of relief. “What were you doing up there?”

“I was just relaxing.” It said.

“How can you relax like that?” She asked. “Weren't you afraid you might fall?”

“No, not really.” It said.

“You honestly had me worried.”

“I'm sorry.”

“Just don't do anything that dangerous anymore. Okay?”

“Sure. By the way, what is she reading?”

 

Lim looked over at Jordan and inspected the book for a bit. Jordan was still reading, oblivious to what was going on. She looked more focused now than Etrius had ever seen her before. Upon recognizing the book, Lim turned back to Etrius.

 

“If I'm not mistaken, then that would be a design book.” Lim said.

“Designs of what?” It asked.

“Guns.” She said.

“Why exactly does she have that?” It asked.

“Oh, that's right you don't know.” She said. “Her father invented the first practical and mobile guns.”

“Really?”

“Yes, right now she is helping to improve the design and make it more useful for soldiers and rangers.”

“Rangers?” It asked, taken aback.

“Yes, the rangers asked her father for a more accurate gun.” Lim said. “They can't seem to hit anything, but yet the assassins always seem to find their target.”

“The assassins?” It asked slightly worried.

“Oh that's right, you probably don’t remember.” She said. “The assassin guild is an organization trying to dispose of the monarchy and weaken the kingdom so it can be taken over. The rangers on the other hand are those chosen by the king to combat the assassins. Over the past few years, they have been largely successful with the assassins being mostly destroyed.”

“I see.” Etrius said. “So, just for reference, if you came across an assassin, what would you do?”

“Well, given the record, I would probably be tied up and wait to be rescued by a young maiden.” She smiled.

“Ah…” Etrius said.

“...” Lim looked at it.

“...” Etrius had no clue what to say.

“...” The two stood in an awkward silence.

“I’m gonna go for a walk.” Etrius said.

“You do that.” Lim smiled.

 

Etrius quickly walked off into the forest with nothing in particular that he wanted to achieve. Once it was out of sight, it took a deep breath. Looking at the trees, it wondered what it should do. Eventually it decided to try its power again. Much to its surprise, something happened. its hand emitted a dark light, one that was barely noticeable. Realizing what spell this was, it quickly touched a tree. From this tree, it felt the magical essence held by the trees flow into it. It was a very little amount, but even this little amount meant that its power was coming back. If it could gather enough of this magic then he could use it to regain its own power. With this in mind Etrius almost smiled as it realized that the unionizers were losing leverage. With devious thoughts in mind, Etrius did not notice the approaching footsteps.

 

“Hey Etrius.” Jordan called out from behind.

“Oh, hey!” Etrius said, turning around. “What are you doing out here?”

“I could ask you the same thing.” She said looking at it’s hand. “Did I miss something?”

“No nothing.” It lied.

“What were you doing?” She asked.

“Nothing, there was just a spider on my hand.” It said.

“Spiders.” She said looking repulsed. “I don’t like spiders.”

“Many don’t.” It said.

“Everything about them is awful.”

“Is that so? In any case, what are you doing out here?”

“I was just about to test out a gun design.”

 

Etrius looked around, but didn't see any targets, or gun for that matter.

 

“Unless you're really good at hiding things, I don't see how you can test a gun without a gun.” It said.

“I don't need a gun, I can just summon one.” She said.

“Summon one?” It asked.

“Yeah, as long as I know the design of the gun, I can create it using magic.” She said. “It's much simpler than what you think.”

“You can use magic?”

“Yeah, where do you think I'm going?”

“...” It took a moment to think about it before realizing that it had no clue as to where they were going.

“Oh, that's right, I didn't tell you!” Jordan said, also realizing this. “Well, it would be simple if I start from the beginning, but it's a long story. Do you mind?”

“How long exactly?” It asked.

“Well,” She started. “It all began about one year ago…”

The sun was setting over mountains as two shadows walked up a path. From a quick glance, you would guess that it was two sisters, or close friends. However, it was actually a master and her servant, a maid to be specific.

 

“Lady Hunt, it's getting late.” Said Lim. “We should really get inside soon.”

“Oh, come on!” Jordan said. “It's not even that late!”

“The sun is setting.” Lim pointed out.

“We have time.” Jordan said.

“Your father won't like this.” Lim said.

“He won’t mind.” Jordan said.

 

The two continued walking down the path to a warehouse. Inside it's locked and guarded doors hold new and dangerous weapons. From cannons to arm ships, to guns for soldiers in the field. Designs and prototypes were being developed here. Only a few people would be allowed to enter, and they were part of the lucky few.

“Wait.” Etrius said.

Jordan looked at it. “What?”

“What does this have to do with magic?” It asked.

“I'm getting there.” Jordan said.

“You know, you could just tell me.” It said.

“Anyway…” She continued.

After giving the guards the usual formalities, Jordan and Lim entered the dimly lit warehouse. They walked to the far end to a cluttered table. On it was one of her father's newest works. It was a rifle fitted with the newest firing mechanism and fastest reloading time of all of the rifles. Or at least that was the claim.

Jordan had never seen it in action nor had she heard her father brag about it much like he usually does. There was a great deal of secrecy with this particular rifle. Its existence itself was also hidden from her and the guards. Why was that?

 

“Lim look!” Jordan exclaimed. “There it is!”

“Wow. It umm…” Lim said. “Looks like all the others…”

“What are you talking about? It's completely different!” Jordan said.

“How so?” Lim asked.

“Just look!” Jordan said. “It has a new firing mech- wait a second…”

“...” Lim looked on in silence.

“This is the one I made for his birthday!” Jordan said. “You can even see his name on it!”

“Didn't you make that years ago?” Lim asked.

“I did. I thought it was in his room.”

“Well I guess he must have moved it.”

“I was so proud of it too. It was the first one I ever made, and it was perfect.”

“Didn't it jam every few shots?”

“Okay, not perfect, but you get the point.”

“Weren't the sights loose as well?”

“Yeah the sights were loose, and barrel rough, and it wasn't exactly straight…” Jordan said. “Among other things.”

“To be honest, I'm surprised that it lasted this long.” Lim said. “It should have exploded on the first shot.”

“You're not helping.” Jordan paused. “Wait. I have an idea!”

“Oh no.” Lim muttered.

“I could make it better!” Jordan said.

“Why not just make a new one?” Lim asked.

“That would-” She paused. “That's not actually not a bad idea. This gun is junk anyway I know I could do better.”

“Especially since you’ve had years to practice.” Lim said.

“Yeah!” Jordan said. “It'll be bigger with better sights!”

 

A bright light shone in front of Jordan that made Lim recoil.

 

“It'll have a shiny new firing mechanism and silver barrel with the finest engravings!” Jordan said enthusiastically. “Not only that, but it'll have a nice polished oak finish!”

“Um.” Lim hesitated. “Lady Hunt…”

“What is it?” Jordan asked.

“In your hands…” Lim said shielding her eyes.

“Huh?” Jordan asked looking down.

 

She froze upon seeing it. A gun exactly as she described, glowing with a bright blue light. After a moment the light dimmed to a faint glow. Jordan looked at Lim, then back down to the gun. Then back at Lim, back to the gun, than back at Lim.

 

“What is this?!” Jordan asked.

“It appears to be a gun…” Lim said, surprised. “With no trigger…”

“Did I do that?” Jordan asked.

“It appears so.” Lim said.

“I made a gun!” Jordan said. “A real gun!”

“Made from…” Lim paused. “What exactly?”

“What do you think it was made out of!?” Jordan asked Etrius excitedly.

“I'm going to take a wild guess and say ‘magic’.” Etrius said sarcastically.

“Yes!” Jordan said excitedly. “It was magic!”

“You know, you could have said that from the start.” It said.

“But that's no fun!” She said. “I wanted to tell you a story.”

“So, how does that explain where you're going?” It asked.

“I didn't get to that part yet!” She said.

“You're really going to make me listen to this whole story aren't you?” It asked.

“Moving on!” She continued.

“Magic!” Jordan exclaimed. “I used magic!”

“Magic?” Lim asked. “I didn't know you could use magic.”

“Me either!” She said. “But this proves it! I must show father!”

“But what will he do?”

“It'll be just like in the books! I'll go to the academy!”

“Academy?”

“Yes! I'll go there with other special and talented individuals!”

“And do what exactly?”

“Learn to use my gift, and work for a better tomorrow! And get money! Lots of money!”

“Alright, so that's it.” Etrius said. “Your dad let you go to some magic academy.”

“I didn't get to that part yet!” Jordan said.

“But that's what happened.” It said.

“And how do you know that?” She asked.

“Why else would you be out here?” He asked.

“Well maybe I just snuck out.” She pouted.

“Can I just see the gun?” It asked impatiently.

“I'm glad you asked!” She said happily.

 

Without another word, she held her hand out in front of her and closed her eyes. A moment passed by without anything happening. Etrius looked at its hand and then hers.

“What do you think would happen if we used that spell?” Etrius asked.

“Essence transfer?” Etrius asked.

“Maybe we could get our power back faster and end the dispute.” It said.

“Good point.” Etrius said reaching for her hand.

“Yeah, but what if it kills her?” It suddenly asked.

“Yikes.” It said, pulling back his hand. “We are going to need to study that.”

“Right, well how are the protesters doing?” It asked.

“They are still refusing us access to a majority of our abilities, and one of them called me a cuck.”

“Fine, send another negotiator. See if that makes things easier.”

“Will do.”

“Wait for it…” Jordan said sensing impatience.

“...” Nothing happened.

“This would be easier with my bell.” She muttered.

“How exactly?” It asked.

“It enhances the user's magic power.” She said, eyes still closed. “Makes summoning easier…”

 

A minute later, a blue light appeared in her hand and formed the outline of a gun. When it fully materialized she opened her eyes and wiped away a bead of sweat.

 

“Amazing right!?” She asked excitedly.

“Do you think you could do it a bit faster?” It asked.

“I barely just started!” She said. “Besides I doubt you can do better.”

“I don't know if I can use magic.” It said, still playing its part.

“So that already makes me better than you.”

“Alright, you win this round.”

“Ha!”

“So, you going to try it out?”

“Yes, now I just need a target. How about that tree?” She pointed out.

“Trees can die from bullet wounds you know.” It said.

“Alright, that tree it is!” She said aiming the gun.

 

Etrius stepped back and looked at the tree. A loud bang echoed through the forest and shook the leaves.

 

“So… I have a question.” Etrius said hesitantly.

“I have a feeling that I'm not going to like it.” Jordan said, still looking down the sights.

“That feeling is correct. Have you ever fired a gun?” It asked.

“Did I ask you?” She asked in slight annoyance.

“You have an entire forest to shoot at, and you missed every tree.” It said.

“Guns aren't very accurate!”

“Or you just suck at shooting.”

“The bullet goes everywhere! It's not my fault!”

“Why don't you just stabilize it?”

“And how would I do that!?”

“Give the bullet fins, or you know, make it spin.” It said. “Not that hard.”

“H-how would I do that?” She asked curiously.

 

“Shit.” Etrius thought. “We are an amnesiac! We shouldn’t know this!”

“The cat is out of the bag!” Etrius panicked.

“Quick, just play it off!” Etrius said.

 

“Just use magic.” It said. “Or you could just rifle the barrel.”

“Rifle the barrel?” She asked.

 

“Fuck we did it again!” It panicked.

“How many cats will escape into the spilled beans?!” It asked.

“Someone do something!” It pleaded.

“Got it!” It answered.

 

“Make the barrel in a way the expanding gases could escape and make the bullet spin.” It said.

“Um… How do you know this?” She asked.

“How do you not know this?” It returned. “You work with guns, that should be common knowledge.”

 

She looked at Etrius in silence, then to her gun. It disappeared in a flash of light, as she pulled out a small pocket book and began writing. Without looking up she walked in the general direction back to the camp. Etrius walked with her, occasionally moving her if she was walking into a tree.

Back at camp, Lim gave a questioning look but didn't say anything. Jordan, once free of all obstacles, headed to her seat on the log. 

 

“Holy shit that worked…” Etrius muttered. “I mean, yes that totally worked! All part of my plan!”

“Anyone else think that we are a bunch of idiots?” Etrius asked.

“I.”  An unknowable amount of voices agreed.

 

Sighing, Etrius turned to see Lim looking at it, expectantly holding the basket.

 

“May I have some food?” It asked.

“I'm glad you asked!” Lim said happily holding up the basket.

 

Several days later, the group arrived in a port city, one whose name evaded it due to an important thought in its mind.

 

“I have not changed my clothes in like a week.” Etrius said to itself.

 

“Etrius?” Jordan asked.

“Yes, I am Etrius.” Etrius replied.

“Is there anything you want to do?” Jordan asked.

“I don't have any money.” It said.

“I'll pay for you.” She said.

“You already spent enough money on me.” It said. “No need to waste more.”

“Oh, it'll be fine!” Jordan said. “Father gave me plenty of money, so we have some to spare.”

“Indeed we do.” Lim said.

“I'll get you anything you want.” Jordan said. “Within reason of course.”

 

“Where did they hide it all when we were getting robbed?” It wondered.

“Where do you think?” It asked.

“Probably the same compartment she hides her porn in.” It replied.

“Speaking of which, how did those guys miss that?” It asked. “Not exactly well hidden.”

 

“I mean, if you insist.” Etrius said. “I guess there's some things I need.”

“Like what?” Jordan asked. “For example.”

“Some new clothes would be nice.” It said looking at its dirty shirt.

“Then it's settled!” Jordan clapped. “We shall go shopping for clothing!” 

“Then after, we can go to a restaurant for a quick snack!” Lim said.

 

Without any hesitation, Jordan and Lim dragged Etrius to the nearest store. Inside, they spent what felt like hours picking out and trying on new clothes. In the end, however, they only bought a few outfits. They were some gray long sleeved shirts, with a brown leather jacket, ordinary pants, leather boots, and a long black and white dress that they managed to sneak in. These were the ones Etrius decided on, after being shown several fancy and bright suits and dresses by Jordan and Lim. They weren't exactly happy with its choice, but accepted it because of the aforementioned dress. And because Etrius was a sucker in not wanting to see them sad, wore the black and white dress for them, finding that it was surprisingly comfortable. It was a bit odd that they didn’t include underwear with it. That was odd, as humans often wore them, but given how long the dress was, it wouldn’t be a problem. As for its other clothes, they bought Etrius a nice suitcase to hold them.

Once that was over, Etrius was quickly brought to a nice restaurant. One that looked far too expensive to be a “quick snack”. After that, they kept walking through the town and visiting local attractions. There was a  lake, a park, a small museum, and several other things. Etrius found this all to be quite suspicious. Maybe they were doing this because it was a city and there were lots of things to do, or maybe it was something else. Not only this, but it felt as if they kept staring at it. Each time it would look however, they were absorbed in small talk. Etrius was probably just paranoid. Having a ranger hunt you down and try to kill you will do that. Then again, the two were not as sneaky as they thought. Looking in a glass window, Etrius could clearly see the two of them looking at it sadly.

It was as if they knew that it only had a few days left to live and wanted it to be happy. Jokes on them though, Etrius was rarely ever happy. And that was a fact that Etrius was proud of.

 

“Hey Etrius…?” Jordan asked.

“Yes?” It asked.

“You didn't happen to see anyone you recognize did you?” Jordan asked.

“No, sadly I didn’t.” Etrius said.

“I see…” Jordan said. “Well me and Lim need to talk to you.”

 

They pulled it into a shadow of a building and looked it in the eye.

 

“What's going on?” It asked.

“It's about us.” Jordan said.

“What do you mean?” It asked.

“The ship for the academy is leaving soon.” Jordan said.

“Oh.” It said. “Well, have fun.”

“We don't want to leave you, especially since you still don't have your memory back.” Jordan said.

“And since you don't have any money to stay at an inn, or travel.” Lim said.

“It'll be fine.” It said. “You already spent enough money on me.”

“No, you see it actually won't be fine.” Jordan said, placing a hand on it’s shoulder.

“Umm okay, explain.” It said.

“Lim.” Jordan said. “Tell her what you told me.”

“Recently, this city has been experiencing an increased assassin activity, and several outlaws have been helping them in hopes of hitting it big.” Lim said.

“What does that have to do with me?” It asked.

“Assassins don't particularly like it when some of their kind are killed. They especially don't like the killer.” Jordan said.

“And you killed two of them.” Lim added.

“They don't know that.” It pointed out.

 

What the assassins did know however was the fact that Etrius did kill several of them and led several others into a trap for the rangers. Multiple times.

 

“They have their ways.” Jordan said. “They are extremely dangerous and not to be underestimated.”

“Not only that, but that sexual predator has plenty of places to hide.” Lim said.

“I don't think she chased us all this way.” It said.

“Predators are very determined.” Lim said.

“Look, I'll be fine.” It said. “You don't need to worry about me.”

“But I will.” Jordan said. “I want to take you with us. Someone at the academy might know a way to get your memory back.”

“Even if we do have a reason to bring you, they might not let us on with an unexpected guest.” Lim said.

“Maybe we can convince them to let her come, even if it is for a short time.” Jordan said.

“No, don't risk it.” It said.

“What?” Jordan asked.

“Just leave me here and go on your way.” It said. “Don't risk your education for the off chance someone might know how to help me.”

“But shouldn't we take the risk?” Jordan asked.

“You could, but I don't want to risk it.” It said. “Your father probably paid good money to let you go to the academy, you shouldn't risk it.”

 

Jordan and Lim talked quietly as they went over their choices. Bring Etrius, and risk being kicked out of the academy. Or leave it and risk it possibly being killed in the streets. When the two decided on their answer, they turned back to Etrius.

 

“Alright it's decided.” Jordan said. “I'll send word to father, and he will send a carriage for you.”

“Oh.” It said. “Well thank you.”

“We want to make sure that you get your memory back.” Jordan said. “And this seems like the best option.”

“Well, it's more than I expected, are you sure it won't trouble your father?” It asked.

“I'm sure, besides you seem to know about guns.” She said. “You can just help out until you get your memory back.”

“Yeah, that’ll work, I guess.” It said. “Well, since that's settled, you should probably get your things ready.”

“We already did that, we just need to send the letter and wait at the dock.” She said. 

“Well, besides that, if there's nothing you want to do then we can wait by the docks until it's time.” It said.

“We already tried all the local attractions we can.” Jordan said. “Any more, and we risk missing the ship.”

“Realistically all we have time to do would be to wait at the dock.” Lim said sadly.

“We should probably go. I don't want to be the reason for you two missing your ship.” It said. “Besides we might find something to do there.”

“Alright…”  Jordan doubted.

 

Slowly, the group made their way to the docks, talking as they went. By the time they got to the ship, the boarding process was already underway. Despite Jordan’s pleas, the ship could not be delayed. Their goodbyes would need to be short.

 

“Well, Etrius.” Jordan said. “It looks like this is goodbye.”

“It seems so.” Etrius said. “It was nice meeting the both of you.”

“Even though it was only for a short time, it was a pleasure knowing you. I'll miss you.” Lim bowed.

“As will I.” Jordan said, extending her hand.

“I'll miss you both.” It said, shaking her hand.

“May I?” Lim asked, looking at It.

“Sure…?” It said, slightly confused.

 

Smiling, Lim stepped forwards hugging him. It tensed up, slightly due to fear and almost reached for its knife, but thought better of it. With that pleasant surprise over, she smiled at it, and stepped back next to Jordan and grabbed several small bags.

 

“What?” It asked.

“Should I not have?” Lim asked worriedly.

“No, it's fine.” It said. “I'm just a bit…”

“Annoyed?” She asked.

“Surprised.” It corrected. “It was just sudden, I was startled.”

“Then I'll-.” She was cut off.

“Last call for Academy Island!” Yelled a man standing by the ship.

“Well then Etrius, Goodbye.” Jordan said. “And stay safe.”

“Don't worry, I will.” It said. “Goodbye, enjoy your education.”

“We will.” Jordan said. “My father's escort should be here in a few days. Just stay put and you'll be fine.”

“Alright. Goodbye.” It said.

 

With no more words Jordan and Lim boarded the ship. It stood on the dock and waved them off as the ship departed. It watched until the people on the ship were only shadows. With that, it was left alone on the dock with only, a rather large, briefcase of clothes with it. Once they were gone, it left the dock in search of a cheap inn. Just for the night, as it planned to leave as soon as possible. It was after all a wanted assassin.

Moving through the city, it eventually entered the market district. With several stores and stalls. Hopefully it would be able to find a cheap inn here. However, that was not to happen. From behind, it heard an angry voice.

 

“The guild sends their regards.” Said an unknown man.

 

Etrius turned around just in time to see a knife being swung down on it.