Chapter 7
The beaten path
---------------------
Harry
---------------------
Harry woke up as the cart rocked. The fact that it was moving told Harry his brother was up, had time to look at the map, get the harness on and start walking. Knowing that, Harry assumed it to be somewhat early in the morning.
He pulled the blanket off him as he got down from the bed. He got dressed, opened the door and jumped out. He jogged to the front where Charles was pulling the cart.
"Morning ginge. You OK? " Charles asked, his voice showing more energy than Harry could ever muster at this time of day.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired. Couldn't sleep well. " said Harry. He had tossed and turned all night trying to get some good sleep.
Charles smiled at that. "Really, I would never have guessed. It's not like you kept me up for most of the night. Then, when I woke up from the little amount of sleep I had, you were dead to the world. " he said sarcastically. Charles's smile was gone and was replaced with a flat, unimpressed look.
Harry chuckled at this. "It's fine, you'll live. ".
Charles's flat look intensified. "Not funny. ".
"So, where are we heading? " asked Harry.
"If I remember correctly, if we just travel East and stick to the trail close to the train tracks, we should make it to the coast. Once there, we can get on a boat and sail to the Griffin Kingdom. " Charles explained.
"At the rate we're going, we should be there in, like, maybe four or five days. " he said.
Harry looked at him before asking, "How long have you been up to work that out? ".
"Umm...an hour at most. " said Charles calmly. Harry knew he was quick when it came to logic, math and science but he didn't expect him to be that quick.
Even across reality, he's a smartass.
"So, what are we gonna do today? Are we just going to walk all day? " he asked.
There was a delay before Charles answered as he thought about it. "I'll walk for a bit longer, then you can pull it while I read a book or something. ".
"Wait. Why do I have to pull this thing? You're stronger than me so you should pull it. " Harry said.
Charles looked at him. "You don't need to do it for long, just till I'm rested. After that we both rest and then I'll pull it again. That's fair. Besides, the fresh air might do you some good. " Charles said, ending in a smug smile.
Harry rolled his eyes and carried on walking next to his brother. They stayed quiet as they went, path clear, calm and peaceful.
Harry stretched his wings. He couldn't fly yet, but intended on practicing when they both stopped. He could pester Charles to help since he could at least go up, hover and land which were the basics.
Harry looked over his shoulder and found he had walked ahead. Charles was behind, slowly coming to a halt.
"Right, your turn ginge. " he said as he put his hands on his hips and arched his back.
"Do I have to? " he asked.
"Yes. ".
Harry wasn't happy about this. He wasn't all that strong. He was a bit faster but, in a race, Charles would win most times. He couldn't walk as far either.
"Please, can you just go a bit further. I'm still not entirely awake yet. " Harry complained.
Charles sighed before walking again. "For fuck sake. Fine, but you will pulling it soon, don't forget. " Charles warned home.
Harry decided to sit on top of the cart, using his magic to get there. While on the roof of the cart, Harry and Charles discussed magic and the spells they could do and the spell they hadn't tested yet.
They stayed like that for the next two hours before Charles finally stopped and unlatched himself. Harry was helped with the straps and before long, he was pulling the cart.
Charles stayed outside with him, only going inside to get the rune book he stole. He also picked up large stones every once and awhile, using his wings to get up and down from the roof.
Harry's curiosity finally got the better of him. "Charles, what are you doing? " Harry asked.
Charles didn't look up as he replied. "I'm trying to carve some of the runes from the book onto these stones. It said that it's a 'find me' rune, which is apparently the easiest in the book. " he explained, the sound of scratching continuing.
Harry was confused. "Could you explain that again? ".
Although Harry couldn't see it, he knew that Charles was smiling. Charles loved the chance to show his intelligence, although he wouldn't go out of his way to do so. It made Harry jealous.
"It said it helps you find the object with the rune on it. If I carve the rune into this stone and use my magic to power it, I will never be able to lose it because I will just...know where it is. " Charles said.
Harry liked the sound of that. "Wait. So if I carved it onto, say, this cart. I would just know where it is? " he asked.
"Harry, you're a fucking genius! " Charles shouted, putting down the stone. "If this works, we can carve one onto the cart. Then, if we ever get separated, we can just track the cart. " Charles said.
Harry smiled and shook his head. Charles may have been smart, but Harry was more streetwise.
"So, what other runes are in that book? " Harry said, drawing Charles's attention away from the cart.
"Oh, there's so many. After this, I want to try tether rune. And after that I want to try a golem rune. " Charles said as he picked up the book and flicked to a page.
"Huh...OK then. " said Harry as he looked forward up the trail.
Harry wasn't listening to Charles anymore. Despite what he thought, it wasn't quiet outside like how they described it in films or books. The sound of birds were muffled by the wind which he could just hear over the noise of the cart and his footsteps.
"Hey! Ginge! " Charles shouted.
"What! " Harry shouted as he snapped out of his mental wanderings.
Charles jumped down from the roof, landing heavily. "Can you slow a bit? I need to piss. ".
Harry looked back at him. "Seriously? " he asked.
He shrugged. "I'll catch up. Just keep going. " Charles said as he walked into the forest.
Harry focused back on the trail. As he did, he noticed the three ponies in front of him, all seemed to be wearing black or brown rags. He stopped the cart.
"Umm...hello? " he said questioningly before deciding on looking at the three.
The one on the right was a...unicorn, if he remembered correctly. It looked like a female and she had her horn glowing. Harry remembered this as a sign of them preparing or using a spell. From what he could see, her fur was pale while she had dark green hair.
The left one was male and he looked smaller than the other two. Is he a teen or a child or something? He didn't have wings or a horn but held a knife in his mouth. He could see that he had red fur with very contrasting light blue hair.
The middle one looked like the leader. He had wings, grey fur and black hair. On the wings, there was some metal strapped to them which looked quite sharp. He was also male and was standing straight while the other two were in a ready stance.
"Charles..." he shouted back, seeing if he was there. No response.
They were already talking as he looked them over quickly again, Harry ignoring what they said since he didn't have a translation spell like his brother.
"Charles, where are you?..." he shouted back louder. Still no response.
The left one shouted, noticing that Harry had completely ignored them. This got his attention. The center one seemed to repeat something. Harry undid the harness and took it off, then looked at them confused. He didn't like the tone of the voice and prepared himself.
"CHARLES! " Harry screamed as loud as he could.
After a single comment from the leader pony, the two on the side went into action. Harry barely avoided the knife as it was swiped at where he was, before being struck with a bolt of magic.
Harry used his shadow movement and appeared in the shadow of the unicorn. Without wasting time, he jumped out, summoned his gauntlets and threw a fireball right at her. It missed, setting a fire on the ground next to her.
The leader pony swooped in and slashed Harry's arm with those wing blade things. Harry cursed and jumped back, keeping all three in sight. The unicorn fired another bolt, which Harry dodged before blasting another fireball. This time, it hit.
The fire, which looked as black as the night sky, instantaneously engulfed her and roared wildly. The odd bit of red and orange flame flick here and there as smoke started raising from the pony who was in agony.
Harry heard her terrifying screams, but couldn't do anything as the small pony slashed at him with a new found ferocity. Harry raised his arms in defence as metal scraped metal. He then brought an arm above his head and slammed it down upon the ponies head. He swayed as Harry decked him, causing him to fall unconscious.
The leader pony, who looked at both bodies laying on the floor, cried a battle cry of rage as he charged Harry. Harry could hardly keep up with the strikes which he felt came from every direction at once. He could feel every cut sting and the blood that tricked from them.
After he fell to his knees as the pegasus pony cut his leg, he looked up. He could see the pony dramatically spread his wings and showing the bloodied blades that were attached to them. He could hear him speak, anger dripping from his words. Harry's eyes widened as the blade went for his neck.
"HARRY! " Charles shouted.
His widened even more when the pony was blasted in the side with a ball of light. He looked back to see Charles. He could see scratches on him as he held a bat in his hand and prepared magic in the other. His brother did not look happy.
The pony landed and immediately got up again, shaking the blast off. The pony stared at Charles. They both charged each other. Charles threw his spell and the pegasus went to avoid it. The magic expanded and formed strings, like the ones he used in their fight with each other, and caught hold of a wing.
The magic strings didn't wrap though and missed as the wing blades cut through them. The pony thrusted its blade at Charles, which he batted away before swinging at the pony.
The pony ducked and went for the legs but missed as Charles jumped and raised his legs, the blade moving harmlessly under him. He landed back on the ground and swung the bat. It connected and the pony lost his balance.
The pony backed off and slashed with his wing blades again. Charles caught one of the slashes to the shoulder but stood his ground. He grabbed his halo and threw it at the pony before it instantly brightened into a blinding light, brighter than the sun. Harry couldn't see what happened but heard a blast of magic hit the ground and explode before another wack from the bat.
Harry blinked quickly and regained his vision. The pony was now looking from the ground, long enough to see the bat turn into a mace as Charles swung. A sickening crack and snap was heard as the ponies head was set into a position that didn't look right.
Harry fell back, resting on his elbows. Charles came over and started talking but Harry was tired. The sight of blood made him queasy, the taste of blood made him feel sick but the loss of blood only made him tired.
He wanted to sleep. His eyes closed on their own. He just wanted a quick nap. A quick nap won't hurt, right?