“Can’t say I understand why I’m here.” Dust Demon groused. “The three of you would’ve been more than enough for this dumb errand.”

Sacred Lance scoffed. “What reason do you need? You are with us now.”

“I swing the other way, darling.”

With a nudge, Eclipse winked at Vitamort, who frowned. “Even if I did prefer stallions, if you play matchmaker, I will turn the both of you into pet projects.”

The group fell into a silence at this, trudging along as they left Braycover behind them.

The buildings didn’t take long to fade out of sight, leaving nothing but trees in one direction and wide plains in the other, with the road they traveled marking the boundary between the two.

Eclipse let his mind wander, thinking over the details of this incursion of theirs.

Vitamort said that he had heard that someone in the next town over could point them to learning more about the necromancer that besieged Braycover, but little else. Rumors were questionable at best, something Eclipse had mentioned earlier, but he had been shot down by just about everyone else, seeing as there were no better alternatives.

The wind picked up, whipping Eclipse’s black cloak around, at times making the stallion lean forward slightly to counter the drag it created. Dust Demon spread his wings and took off, circling overhead for a few cycles before landing again. He was repeating this process every fifteen to twenty minutes they traveled, checking to see if he could spot anything on the road, be it a bandit ambush or just other travelers. With the exception of a few merchants with carts and some protection, there was very little traffic.

The urge to ask if it was going to be a very long trip crossed his mind, but Eclipse pushed the thought away, knowing full well that it likely wouldn’t be a well received comment.

Vitamort’s cloak seemed to be giving him even more trouble than Eclipse’s was, the wind displacing it whenever he tried to pull it back over him. Eventually, Vitamort gave up and let the garment hang awkwardly off one side of his body.

Sacred Lance was especially quiet, though that was no great surprise. Her armor didn’t seem to weigh her down in the slightest, and now that he had a chance to look at it, Eclipse could make out all the small dents and scratches that covered it. It didn’t detract from the armor’s impressive looks, but instead amplified them. Each mark was testament to the fact that it was built for war, not decoration.

Dust demon came down from his latest ‘scouting run’ with a hard thump as his hooves hit the ground. “Looks like another traveler, just up ahead. We’ll run smack into them after a few minutes.”

Eclipse chuckled. “No, really? It’s not like the terrain is completely flat, allowing us to see for miles every which way.” He spared a glance for the forest edge to one side of the road. “Except for, you know, over there.”

With a short grunt from Dust Demon, the group continued their march, soon coming upon said traveler. It was four ponies, two earth pony stallions pulling a cart, one pegasus mare riding in it and another mare, a unicorn with a sword hanging at her side and pieces of metal armor covering her vital areas, trotting alongside it.

One of the stallions seemed to be arguing with the guard.

“But if it’s anything like they say…” The stallion began.

“It’s not.” The mare interjected. “Griffinstone’s a dump. I was there a few months before Silver Lining hired me. No decent jobs and no decent people.” As the stallion began to open his mouth, she added, “No decent trading, either.”

The stallion frowned. “There’s got to be someone with some bits to spend living there.”

“Considering how desperate they were for my pocket change, I doubt it.” The mare’s gaze snapped forward and she lowered her head. “Company.” Her horn glowed slightly, as did the hilt of her sword as she prepared for the worst.

The pegasus in the cart sat up, checking over both her small caravan and the Eclipse’s party.

Dust Demon lowered his head and spread his wings slightly, a reflex for quick escape to the air in case things went south. This had the unintended effect of causing the sun to flash off of his wingblades, which must have alarmed the unicorn as she drew her sword from its scabbard.

The next thing either side knew, the unicorn had fired a spell and Dust Demon had dashed forward, the two of them charging at one another with almost identical battle cries. It was nearly impossible to tell who had actually made the first move, as before that point they were simply throwing up their guard. Whatever the case, one of them became spooked, startled the other one and now they were throwing everything they had at each other.

Dust Demon weaved this way and that, avoided the rapid casting of the unicorn as he closed the distance and sliced with a wing.

The mare deftly blocked, her telekinesis giving her fine control over even the most minute movements of her blade. As the clashing of their steel continued, the rest of either group slowly seemed to realize that, with the exception of the two ponies in the middle of a death-match, they actually meant no ill will towards each other.

Dust Demon jumped, his wings pumping as he gave himself some altitude over his opponent. She wasn’t making it easy for him, with magical beams of energy and fireballs peppering the air around him.

The mare jumped back as Dust Demon dived, slamming his hooves into the ground where she once stood. He shot forward, quickly coming next to her and adding another flurry of slashes from his wingblades. She couldn’t cast spells, needing all her concentration to fend off the flurry of attacks. When an opening presented itself, she kicked, just to have Dust Demon grab her hoof and twist, pulling her over his head and slamming her into the ground.

The mare deftly spun and kicked Dust Demon when he tried to take advantage of her grounded state, giving her the time she needed to get back on her hooves and mentally berate herself for falling for his trap.

The two glared at each other, preparing to charge again when they finally noticed the cheering. Turning, they found all six of their companions cheering and clapping, with the exception of Sacred Lance, who seemed thoroughly unamused with the entire situation.

Dust Demon worked his jaw. “Truce?” he asked, not entirely sure what was going on.

The mare groaned, shoulders slumping. “You have got to be kidding me…”

The pegasus and caravan master, Silver Lining, was still smiling about the whole ordeal long after the situation had calmed.

She had turned her caravan around after she had learned that the rumors surrounding Braycover were true and that the town truly was under siege. She had also invited Eclipse, Vitamort, Sacred Lance and Dust Demon to tag along, hoping to have strength in numbers in the event that actual conflict arose on their journey.

“Do you know anything about who you’re looking for?” She asked, her soft voice somehow carrying past the sidebar conversation being held between the two stallions pulling Silver Lining’s cart and Sacred Lance.

“Yes.” Vitamort replied. “Or at least, someone who can point us in the direction of who we’re looking for.”

“Hooray, quest chains!” Eclipse feigned joy. “My experience bar should be filled up real soon.”

Vitamort ignored him. “I don’t suppose you know a unicorn by the name of Cane?”

“You mean Card Deck? He took forty of my bits in just a few rounds of cards. What’s worse, he’s genuinely a good player and hates cheats, so I can’t even get mad at him for it.”

“Er… Card Deck?”

“Pfft.” Silver Lining stuck out her tongue. “People call him Cane because of the cane he carries around. I’ve never seen him pull it out, but they say he can take down ponies twice his size with that thing. Of course, they say a lot of things. Hard to tell what’s true these days.”

Eclipse huffed. “Why do we need to find someone to give us directions, anyway? Can’t we just ask anyone?”

Vitamort shook his head. “We’re looking for a hermit. Some stallion spook who lives all alone, in some run down cottage, doing nothing but reading and writing books. They say he writes about everything in the world, constantly, recording history as it occurs. That’s our best chance to find out how to take down the necromancer in Braycover and Cane’s our best chance of getting to him.”

Elsewhere, eyes scanning the page as the quill automatically flowed across it, a stallion with a stark white coat frowned to himself.

“My cottage isn’t that run down.”

Scanning the page again, Scribe suddenly realized exactly what he had just read, as well as what was being written out at that very moment.

“…Well, shit.”