(So I accidentally deleted the original post. Everything has been fixed now, including links to this post)
One Week Later
~Pax’s POV~
“Ready?” William asks.
I say nothing as I grab the wooden practice dagger and run at William. I dodge his first swing and run at him to close the gap. What he said to me when we first sparred comes to mind.
“When you fight with a dagger, speed is necessary. You can’t block attacks with such a short blade, but it’s lighter and harder to keep track of, so use that to your advantage.”
William swings again. I duck sideways and stab at him. He dodges and swings again.
My feet are swept out from beneath me and I fall to the ground.
“Ow,” I groan.
“Alright, I think we’ve had enough for today,” William says while reaching out his hand to me.
I grab his hand and he pulls me up from the ground.
For one week, we’ve been training on the courtyard. It usually goes like this.
Whenever we spar with the practice weapons, William has the upper hand. But when I spar with my magic, he can’t get even close to me most of the time. And when he does, I release a pulse of electricity that sends him back. He has a bow, but apparently it’s too dangerous to use for practice because all of the arrows have sharp points.
We walk over to a small bar, where we get food and water.
“Alright,” he says after a bit. “Marua has a staff that, for some reason, can shoot out shadow magic. He can lift and choke you without touching you, also have no idea how that works, and he can release a shockwave around him, which again-”
“You have no idea how that works,” I interrupt. “We’ve been trying to strategize for a whole week, and we haven’t really come up with anything but train and hope it goes well.”
William goes silent, thinking about something.
“You said you came here with a bag of supplies, right?” he finally says.
I’m confused. What does that have to do with anything?
“Yeah?” I reply. “Why?”
“Can I look through it? Maybe we could find something useful that you don’t know about.“
He has a good point. Maybe he could even identify the purpose of the medallion. When I showed it to Roran, he had no idea what it was. Maybe William will.
“Alright.”
A few minutes later
~William’s POV~
I open the bag of supplies in Pax’s room. I feel my heart sink. There’s nothing in there but a book, compass, fishing rod, map, and a medallion.
Wait a minute.
I grab the medallion by the loop of rope and lift it up to observe it. It looks like something you would find around someone’s neck. Yet, why is it in here? Why would Theos leave something like this for Pax?
I close my eyes and activate the sensing ability taught to me by my mentor.
“Um, William?” Pax asks. “What are you doing?”
I don’t as I feel my sensing ability activate. I open my eyes. Everything around me looks subdued, populated by the colorful auras of nearby people. And the medallion?
I snap out of the sensing ability in shock.
Holy shit.
Because the medallion’s aura, was the exact same as the aura of Marua’s staff.
I had my suspicions about what Marua’s staff really was, but this solidified it.
“What is it William?” Pax asks me.
I look at him.
“I think I just found a way to beat Marua.”
Because in my hands is a spirit weapon.
End of Chapter VIII