FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

After a LONG time of writing this chapter and it coming out MUCH longer than I had anticipated... Here's the second part of a new series I've been working on for awhile. Enjoy it and maybe it will spur me on to write more and get it up faster. Enjoy either way though.

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Spin round and round

It was hot and the sun was shining down on the two young foxes. It had been two days since David and Astrum set out from the Hell Mountains and towards the largest city in their land. Deysyn was able to grow so large in their harsh land because it was settled around a river. Because the river flooded yearly in the spring when the mountain tops would melt it was very prosperous. The water and flooding made the soil healthy and moist to grow a variety of foods for them to farm and it also supplied them with a bounty of fish. It was also said to be a pretty busy city with plenty of jobs and people so it would be a good place to rest and get some idea of what to do next.

"David... Can we take a break? We've been walking for hours and I'm thirsty." Astrum was starting to drag again and he was panting hard. They had been walking ever since they woke up and had something to eat and that had been hours ago.

"Ok, Astrum, we can stop for a few minutes, but after that we have to keep going, with any luck we can be at the city gates before nightfall and sleep on a bed or something. I sure know we could both use a nice soft bed to sleep on. And besides we're almost out of water and food so the sooner we get there the better."

David took his sword from his belt loop before he sat down and got into his back pack. He rummaged through it for the last of the food he had and picked out some bread and some jam that he'd brought to make a small sandwich for the young boy. At first it was a bit annoying to have another person with him all the time but he was starting to appreciate having someone around. It was almost like he had a little brother with him.

"Has he said anything?" Astrum looked up at David as he took a bite of his sandwich and then back down at the sword that lay in his lap.

"Nope, I haven't heard a word out of him since we left the Hell Mountains, but I know he's still there, I can just feel him."

In all honesty David did still feel the fire spirit Jitenhitokage but he didn't actually know if he was still there. The spirit hadn't said anything to him since that night and no matter what he did he wouldn't talk. He didn't know if he'd upset the spirit or what but it was all a bit new to him so he wasn't sure just what to make of it yet.

"Don't worry; he never was much of a talker." Astrum took a sip of some water and held it up to the larger fox.

"Thanks, Astrum. I just hope he sticks with us and I can try to use his power again. Hell if I know when we're gonna need it again."

David sighed and ate some of the bread and the last bit of the dried meat he had. He hoped that they could just make it to town before nightfall so he wouldn't have to worry about any more monsters for awhile.

"Well..." David stood up and dusted off his pants before sticking his sword back into his belt loop, "Let's get going, we don't have much further to go and the sooner we get there, the sooner we can find a place to crash and I can hopefully find us some means of supporting ourselves."

They kept on walking again, for hours and hours more. They took a few breaks to drink and conserve their strength, but never for very long. David was concerned about spending another night out in the wild after all that happened and he wanted to make sure that at the very least Astrum would be safe. It was strange but David was becoming more responsible than he'd ever been before and in ways he didn't expect, but then again he never did expect to travel to an old volcano, find out he was a summoner, and get attacked by a monster three times his size.

"I SEE IT!" Astrum yelled happily as he pointed off into the distance.

David looked up and laughed at seeing the city as well. They'd finally made it after the many miles they traveled.

"C'mon, it's just another 3 miles, Astrum, and once we're there we can find an inn and get us something to eat."

Astrum's tail wouldn't stop wagging as they kept walking getting closer and closer to the city. They could hear the sounds of people coming from that direction which spurred them on to move as fast as they could. The city had several tall buildings that they could see scattered across the city, but other than that it just looked like a lot of small houses and businesses that weren't beyond being two floors high.

As they finally reached the edge of the city they looked around at the various sites before them. There were people of all species and backgrounds going about their daily lives. Women were carrying fresh baked bread for meals, men were hauling materials for building or crafting, and children were playing about and chasing each other all around.

"Wow... Big place isn't it, Astrum?" They both looked around as they walked along the town, there were several shops that sold a variety of things from toys and food to weapons and armor. They walked along a few streets until they finally came across the place they'd been looking for: an inn and tavern.

On the sign that hung outside the door was a picture of some type of leafy stem and a yellow flower under the words "Broom's Inn". It looked like a respectable enough place and so they went inside.

Astrum stood next to David at all times, looking around curiously but also cautiously to see if there was any trouble coming. After being on his own for weeks he had learned to be sharp about the things around him so nothing could take him by surprise.

"Um, hello?" David stood up next to the bar and waved at the bison that was behind the counter. He was a large specimen that towered at least seven feet tall and four feet wide and looked about as mean as they come with his large pointy horns and tiny glaring eyes.

"Yeah? What can I do for you two? You new around these parts?"

"Yeah we came from the east of here and we're looking for a place to stay for the night and some food. You got a room that we can have?" David looked up at the tall bison and tried his best to remain calm from the intimidating gaze of this large person.

"Yeah I do have a room, single room with one bed that should be big enough for you and the kid to sleep in, won't bother me none, or you can take a room with two beds but that'll cost ya more."

David nodded, "We'll take the single one then and figure out how to sleep there, sir." In all honesty David was going to have to be pretty frugal for awhile. When he left home he'd sold all the things he didn't need to the villagers for money and funds to make it here, and while they were generous with it all, he only had around 500 Argles to his name currently and while that might last awhile he didn't want to risk going broke.

"Ok then, that'll be 150 Argles, you pay now and you get to eat here for free tonight at dinner time."

David just stared at him mouth agape, he couldn't believe it that this would cost 150 Argles to sleep here for the night.

"Something wrong there, buddy?"

David shook his head out of his stupor, "Uh no, it's just... isn't that a bit expensive for just one night here at an inn?"

The old ox chuckled and shook his head, "You two must be way out from the boonies to think that, truth is that's pretty cheap here. Plus it includes a meal for the night so take it or leave it buddy but you won't find a better deal than that any time soon in this city."

David sighed and got out the bag that held his money and counted out 150 Argles before he handed it to the man.

"Great, now here's your key, dinner starts at 6 and lasts until 8 after that the kitchen is closed and you're outta luck." The old ox handed him a key and then went to tend to another costumer.

The two foxes then proceeded to make their way up the stairs and found their room at the end of the hall. Once they got in they put their stuff on the floor and David plopped down into the bed and groaned.

"A hundred and fifty Argles for a single night in an inn... We have to find some money fast, Astrum, cause I can't afford another night here."

"Maybe we should go look around town, see if we can find some way of getting money. My poppa taught me how to skin fish and animals and my momma taught me how to sew leather goods, so maybe I can help out for some money there. Although I'm not that good at it yet but it's better than nothing."

The kid was trying to be useful to David, he didn't want to be a burden to him because in all honesty, he liked the bigger fox. He thought of him more like an older brother figure than that of some special guardian.

The two left their stuff in their room taking only their money and the sword that David felt was almost like a part of himself now and started to head out. They wandered around the city looking at various shops and places asking about work and if they knew someone who needed a set of hands. Sadly, though, after a few hours of searching they couldn't find anyplace and so sat on a bench outside a bar in defeat.

"Damn it, even after all that we still couldn't find any kind of work. I don't know what we're gonna do, Astrum..." David lowered his head and looked around not seeing Astrum anywhere. "Astrum? Astrum where are you?"

"Right here!" Astrum walked back from a board that had a lot of papers posted to it and held up a flyer. "What if you tried this, you're pretty strong so you might be able to do this."

"Huh?" David looked at the flyer the young cub had brought him and read it out loud to himself. "Deysyn City Tournament, fight your way through the ranks to get a chance at fighting the Champion. For anyone who beats the champion they will walk away with..." David's eyes nearly shot out from his eye sockets when he saw the number that was written on the flyer "10,000 ARGLES!?"

Astrum nodded his head real quickly wagging his tail, "Yeah you could fight with Jitenhitokage and no one would stand a chance against you two! And with that kind of money we'd be set for a long time until we could find work, or we could even start up our own if we wanted to."

"Okay, okay, lil' guy, first things first. First I enter this thing and try to win, remember I'm still new to this whole thing, and plus," David looked at the flyer and sighed, "It's a hundred Argles to enter this thing, and not to mention there's a good chance I might not win, I'm not that good with a sword or fighting at all for that matter so if I enter and loose we're out a hundred Argles and without work we're pretty much both royally screwed."

"Don't worry, you'll definitely win, you have a spirit on your side and you're already plenty strong. And even if you don't win, it won't be a big deal, we'll just move on to another town, this isn't the only city in the world after all, there must be other people who will need help from someone like us."

David just had to smile, the kid was still an optimist after all that happened to him, and it was pretty contagious. Just looking at the smile the kid had on his face gave David confidence and he felt like it would actually have been possible for him to win this thing.

"ALRIGHT!" David stood up suddenly and got a cocky grin on his face, "I'm gonna enter this thing and I actually think I can do this!"

Astrum smiled and they both started to walk towards the area that was going to house the tournament. After asking around for awhile they finally arrived at a huge round building that was several stories tall and curved around into an arena. The two foxes watched as several people of all types and statuses walked into the main entrance and after a moment to take in the site of such a large building they went in and walked up to a desk at the side of the lavishly looking room.

Sitting behind the desk was an elderly looking grey cat who was looking over some kind of papers.

"Excuse me? Can you tell me where I go to sign up for the tournament?" As David stood before the cat he looked him over from behind a thick pair of glasses; making his eyes look all the bigger to the foxes

"Are you signing up to participate, or are you here to watch, youngster?"

"I'm here to enter, sir," David was taking deep breaths to keep calm and the way this male was looking him over like a piece of meat wasn't helping any.

"Heh, a squirt like you? Entering the tournament for the prize money, huh?" The old cat chuckled and reached into a drawer of the desk he was sitting behind with a smile. "If you really want to fight and get hurt, young un' then you just pay me and..." the cat pulled out a form and placed it before the fox, "Then you sign this, just some basic forms saying that if you die your belongings will go to us and a few other things." The old cat was grinning wide, old yellowed fangs showing, but David just growled a bit and got out his money.

"I'm going to fight alright but I'm not going to go and get myself killed you old fart so shut up." He put down the 100 argles on the table and signed the piece of paper grumbling at how the old cat looked down on him so much. Once the feline counted out the currency, he pointed to a door behind him and smirked that creepy smile of his showing one of his yellowed fangs.

"You..." he pointed at David, "Go through this door and they'll get you ready to fight..."

"You however..." he moved his finger to Astrum, "Will go over to that big door in the middle, it will take you to the arena where you can sit and watch the carnage that your big brother will have to suffer through."

The cat cackled and the two foxes went away from him over towards the big door that Astrum would have to go through.

"You're going to be alright, right, David? I mean I don't mind sleeping outside and stuff, I've done it before and I can do it again until we find some work."

David smirked down at the cub and ruffled his hair, "Hey now, what's all this talk about? You don't think I can't win this all of a sudden? Where's that over confident fox that believed I could do this?"

Astrum just frowned and looked away and David saw that the cub was concerned about him. David had just recently become the only family he had in the world now and he didn't want to see him get hurt.

"I'm not going to get hurt, Astrum. Remember? I have a spirit with me, and how many people can say that? If worse comes to worse and it looks like I might get hurt, I'll give up and we'll figure out something to do, alright?" He held out his hand with a warm smile to show that he meant what he said and Astrum looked up at him and just hugged him around the waist.

"I just lost my parents not long ago... I don't want to lose you so soon after meeting you, just please be careful."

David chuckled and pet the cub on the head, "Hey, I'll be fine, now go on and get a seat, your big brother has some major tail to kick!" He gave a grunt and a cocky grin as he turned and started to walk towards the door he was told to go through. Astrum watched him as he walked into the room and started to smile, he'd never had a brother before and having David call him his 'big brother' made him happy, it meant that he had a family again, and he knew deep down that David would be ok now, he had Jitenhitokage with him so he'd be fine.

David however wasn't as confident as he put out for Astrum, he didn't have any kind of combat experience and no other training other than that incident with the monster in the caves. If he was going to do this he'd really have to focus on that event and figure out what he did.

"But I didn't think or do anything, all I did was feel what I had to do and then I did it..." David muttered to himself as he walked by several other people who were getting ready to fight. There were several strong looking males all around him, all of various sizes and ages but the one thing they all seemed to have in common is that they all looked stronger and more capable than him.

"Ya wanna rent a sword 'dar, fox?"

David looked over to the sound of the voice and saw a rat with an eye-patch over his left eye and dressed in rags with only a rope tied around his waist with a pouch to hold money.

"Excuse me?" David turned and went over to the rat and saw that behind him he had several swords, weapons, pieces of armor, and a lot of battle equipment that all looked like it had been very well used full of nicks, dings, and several looking as if they'd fall apart at any moment.

"I said do ya wanna rent some equipment dar, fox? Real cheap 'ere, git ya good sword 'stead a dat rusty piece o' crap ya's got on ya waist dar, fox. On'y 20 Argles for a real good sword and 15 for da armor. What do ya say dar?" The old rat stepped back and showed the extensive collection he had available to David, but hearing him talk down to his sword like he did he didn't want to have anything to do with him. Jitenhitokage may have been an old sword and not the prettiest thing, but David knew of his real strength and he was going to trust in that.

"Thanks... But no thanks, I'm good with what I've got."

The old rat just shrugged, "Suite yaself dar, fox, but if dat's da case then git outta da way. You dar! Young hare, you's look like ya could use a nice sword to use..."

David just walked along the room and took a seat on an empty stool as the rat tried to get money out of the other various participants. He pulled his sword out from his belt loop and sat down out of the way and tried to calm down again. All of the people seemed to think he was going to lose this competition, and quite possibly his life, and now he kept wondering if he was going to be able to do this like he'd told Astrum.

He decided to just sit and think for a little bit. Maybe if he thought for awhile he could figure out a way to summon his spirit again, or, if nothing else, be able to come up with a decent strategy for this thing.

"LADIES, GENTLEMEN, ASTEAMED PATRONS OF THE ARENA!" A loud booming voice was heard outside in the arena floor where the fighting was to take place. David looked up towards the arena area and walked over to a window to see what was going on.

"Today's matches will put some of the strongest fighters around, against our esteemed champion! Will they be able to beat the one who has held the title for well over a year...? We'll see shortly as we start our tournament to decide who will face the Champion for the title and for 10,000 Argles!"

A round of applause and cheering came flooding down from the stands as the announcer, a broad chested wolf of brown fur and dressed in a light garb of pants and a bright shirt that would grab the attention of the audience, backed up onto a raised platform off to the side of one area.

"And now... Let us begin the tournament! First up from the red side is a favorite of the grounds, having fought here several times and doing fairly well. I present to you... AUSTIN HORTOR!"

As David looked out the small window a rather large and imposing reptilian man of some sort walked out from a door painted red on the other side of the pit. He was easily 6 feet tall standing and that didn't include the long thick and powerful tail that hung behind him. He had a long muzzle on his rather flat head and in that mouth of his were some very sharp and jagged looking teeth. Needless to say the man looked imposing just from those two facts alone. What he was wearing though made him look even rougher. He wore a leather guard plate over his chest and torso, covering his body with metal plating put over his joints and more vulnerable spots, he wore long trousers with decorative greaves over his legs and shoes. And to finally top off the look of a creature not to be messed with, the reptilian known as Austin also carried a long broad sword by his side that looked like it could easily cut a man in half.

The reptilian let out a loud roar and the crowd went wild with excitement, apparently this man was a big shot here and the people liked to see him fight. He moved about cockily and stood near the middle waiting for his challenger. David took a deep breath and seriously hoped he wouldn't be the one that would have to fight this guy first. He would like to at least make if through the first round.

"And from the white side, we have a new comer to the arena!" David gulped audibly. Hearing the words 'new comer' he immediately thought of himself and he almost wanted to pass out when the announcer continued, "The guy's new here so let's give it up for MALCOLM ARTEL!"

David almost passed out as he heard that. Hearing that he thought he was going to be the first one to fight and to fight against that guy, but he felt sorry for whoever had to fight that monstrous reptile.

"Heh, this'll be fun." David looked to the right and saw the large rabbit that stood near the door. He pushed open the doors and walked towards the middle where the other was located and smiled politely to the man he was to fight.

"Ok you two, here are the rules: you're both allowed to fight anyway you like with any weapons, abilities, or whatever you have on you now, you fight until one of you is knocked out, gives up, or dies, and to keep things simple since we have a lot of people fighting today, we will limit your fight to 5 minutes. If in that amount of time there is no winner, you shall both be disqualified. Now take your stance and... FIGHT!"

At that said the announcer backed up and the two drew their weapons. The reptilian drew out his long broad sword and the rabbit known as Malcolm drew out a long spear type weapon of unusual design. It had a very broad blade on both sides of one tip that almost looked like a spade and at the other end was a large metal rod with a lot of bumps on it. David had never seen something like this before but from what he could tell it looked like it would be a rather heavy weapon.

"Five Argel says the rabbit loses in less than a minute."

David looked to his side where a few dogs were watching the fight and saw that one was holding up some money for the bet.

"HA! I say the rabbit is knocked out in less than 30 seconds."

They both laughed at the spectacle before them, but David stayed silent. He couldn't tell why, but he didn't think the rabbit would lose so quickly. He looked on as they moved about each other, the reptile watching the smaller rabbit as the rabbit did the same to him. Each man was studying his opponent waiting for the chance to strike.

It seemed as if this would be a battle of wits seeing who could outdo the other when the rabbit spun his blade down at the reptile. The larger male easily dodged the attack and quickly moved forward to attack when suddenly the back part of the weapon that looked like it was much heavier came around and smashed down onto the male's head, sending him to the ground, and effectively knocking him out cold.

The stadium was stunned and the rabbit smiled proud of himself as the announcer checked the other to see if he was really out. After poking him with his foot for a second he looked at the rabbit and blinked.

"Well...uh... Ladies and gentlemen... It seems we have the winner of our first match... Malcolm Artel... The winner will please move back to the stadium while we collect Mr. Hortor and make sure that he's ok."

A couple of people dressed in white came out with a stretcher and loaded the reptile and carried him through the red door where there was likely some sort of medical section set up for the injured. After the stretcher had vanished into the other door David just let out a long sigh wondering just what he'd gotten himself into. These guys were all wicked strong and David didn't even think he was even in the same world, let alone the same league as these guys.

Regardless, though, he had to do this to get some money. If this didn't work he had no idea what he and Astrum were going to do.

'Can't think like that, I just have to keep calm, trust myself, and try my best. Worst thing that happens is I loose and we have to just find something to do'.

David took a deep breath and looked out the window he's been hanging around for the first few fights when he finally heard his name being called. He took a deep breath and walked to the arena door as he started to walk into the arena. He blinked a bit as his eyes readjusted to the sunlight and he stood towards the center of the ring where the others had been before him.

"And here he is, David Sansau another new comer to not only the arena but our town as well," David looked to the announcer and wondered for a moment where this guy found that out, but shook it off as he went on. " Now let's see if he's got what it takes to make it past the first round when he faces the young... but battle ready Nathan Retseb!"

With that said the opposing doors opened and from out of the inner room stepped a huge horse, easily six feet tall, built like a castle wall, and looked like he could bash the heads in of anyone who stepped in his way. He was a dark brown in color and had a long flowing white mane behind him. On his side he carried a rather imposing ax that while simple in look and design also looked deadly sharp, and from the looks of the muscles bulging from the horse he looked like he knew how to use it to its fullest potential.

David gulped nervously, this guy was a warrior and likely had been training to use weapons since he was a child. David on the other had wasn't a warrior, he had never even held a sword until recently, and the only thing he ever used that would be considered a weapon was a fishing knife he used to scale and gut fish.

"Heh, this is the punk I gotta fight to get to the champ first? Heh might as well declare me the winner now and save us all the trouble." The big horse looked down at David with a sneer and drew his large axe and stood ready in the ring.

"Sorry half pint but you ain't gonna be getting past this round, sorry ya wasted your money here."

David looked at him and walked up trying to pull out his own sword from the sheath on his belt. Now he really was scared.

"YOU CAN DO IT, DAVID!"

Both the contenders in the arena looked over to the crowd and saw the young fox standing up on the bottom of the arena seats and looking out at David.

"What are you talkin' about, Brat, there's no way this guy here can win; especially with such a pathetic excuse of a sword that he's got there."

Astrum didn't falter from what the horse said, "He can so! He's a lot more powerful than he looks!"

David couldn't help but smile as the kid praised him. They'd barely known each other for a week and the kid already thought so highly of him.

"Peh... stupid kid... why don't ya go home to ya momma where ya belong."

That made Astrum stop and he looked suddenly a bit shook up at the mention of his mother. He didn't talk about his parents much and when David had asked about them before he avoided the subject.

"What's the matter, pup? Your folks abandon ya or somethin'? Not surprised considerin' how stupid ya are."

By this point David has his sword drawn and was staring daggers at the horse. He didn't care how strong he thought he was, he didn't need to say such things to the poor boy.

"I mean really, you think that this small punk can fight with a rusty ol' sword like that? I mean you gotta be just about damn stupid to even think he has a chance of beating-"

SHING!

Clang!

Thump.

David had swung his sword at the horse's large ax and where it hit the sword had heated up and melted the ax clear in half along the blade. The entire arena was quiet at the scene and David also looked at the sword he held. He didn't know he could use the power of the spirit without summoning it like he had, but he'd just gotten so mad at the horse that he just acted on instinct.

As the top half of the ax cooled from the molten red back to its hard cold black Astrum started to laugh and then cheered which was soon followed by more people cheering all around them. The horse just looked at his ax and shook. He looked incredibly pale through the fur on his face and he just looked from his ax to David and started to take a few steps back.

"I-I give up! I ain't gonna fight him!" He then started to walk back while he kept his eye on David until he was at the door where he turned and ran back in.

"Well then folks... I guess the winner of this round is DAVID SANSAU!"

The announcer yelled out to the arena and everyone continued to cheer as David made his way back to the waiting area for his next fight. He couldn't tell what he just had done but it made him feel more confident now in this contest. He looked at his blade as he sat back down in the waiting area and studied it. It hadn't changed shape like it had before, it still looked old and dull, but David could somehow sense something inside it. He couldn't put it into so many words but he had the feeling that he was somehow able to channel some of Jitenhitokage's power into the sword without fully summoning him.

David contemplated how little he knew about the magics that he possessed and while the battles raged outside he came to a decision that he should likely find someone to help him with his new power. He remembered the stories from when he was younger again, and about how summoners that weren't strong enough would be eaten alive by their spirits if the spirit found them to be too weak to properly control them. Besides not wanting to be eaten, in the spiritual or physical sense, David also wanted to become stronger so that he could better protect Astrum. That was what he had based his pact around and he figured that was a good enough reason for now.

Not many more fighters were left in the first round, and soon enough the announcer was declaring that there would be a short break before the next round.

David didn't want to stay in the waiting area so while he had the chance he went back out into the main area to get some air. After his first fight he had started to feel a lot calmer and didn't even feel surprised when he felt Astrum come up from behind him and hug him.

"I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!" The young fox was smiling from ear to ear as he rubbed his head against David's body.

"Yeah I know you did, Astrum, and I'm glad that I won." He ruffled the kid's hair a bit and chuckled, "Though I doubt I would have won as easily, or at all, if you hadn't been there shouting out encouragement to me."

The boy laughed at that but suddenly got quiet as that same horse from David's match started to head up to him. David looked up at the tall figure and saw the angry glare in his eyes as he walked up to the pair. It didn't look good and so the older fox quickly backed up a bit and held onto Astrum as his other hand reached for his sword.

"Alright, buddy, I wanna know just how you did what you did and I wanna know now! There ain't no way you coulda done that to my battle ax without some kinda magic or somethin'!" The horse towered over the two foxes and while Astrum was hiding behind him, David kept his gaze on the guy trying to remain calm.

"I don't know what I did, and I don't know even how I did it, but I won after you quit so leave us alone. We don't want any trouble."

"Well too bad, ya little, punk!" The horse reached for a sword he was carrying on his side and David was about to draw his when a pleasant voice came from beside them.

"Whoa now you two, you shouldn't be fighting out here with so many people around and especially not with a young kid behind you."

Both men looked over and saw that the man talking to them was the rabbit from the first round. He didn't appear threatening at all but he still had his weapon behind his back so both warriors kept up their guard despite the new man's easy going manner.

"Now... Nathan was it? The rules said that we could use any weapon or technique we could to fight. If this young fox here did use some kind of magic it was all in fair play I assure you. Now why don't you go home before you start any more trouble and get yourself hurt."

The horse looked between the two of them for a moment before he just turned and left, but until he was out of sight David kept his eyes on him. After the horse finally was out of sight David was able to let go of the breath he had been holding and turned to the rabbit. He was about an inch or so taller than David and looked to have a great deal of experience in life based on the look in his eye. It was one that said he'd seen many things, several of which he never wanted to, and had learned from many places. They were the eyes of an experienced man and spoke volumes about what he could teach.

"Um... Thanks for that, sir. You didn't have to really do that for us." David held out his hand to the man who smiled and shook it in his rather strong grip.

"Think nothing of it, David was it? I was very impressed with your fight and how fast you ended it, and please call me Malcolm."

"Well thanks, Malcolm, but it was really just instinct I guess," He felt slightly embarrassed to be praised by someone so strong when he had no idea what he was even doing.

The rabbit just shook his head and smiled, "Nah, kid. You got talent, instinct and power will take you a good ways but without any talent there's only so far you can go. You keep practicing your abilities and skills and you'll make one heck of a swordsman one day, mark my words."

David was taken back for a moment but couldn't help the smile that came from being praised, "Thanks, sir, I'll do my best."

"All competitors please report back to the waiting area! All competitors please report back to the waiting area! Failure to report back to the waiting area in the next five minutes will result in immediate disqualification; no exceptions!" Someone was calling from the arena again and the sounds were echoing everywhere to be heard by all.

"Well I guess we better get back to the waiting area." David and Astrum started to walk away but when Malcolm didn't seem to follow the older fox looked back confused.

"Aren't you coming? You'll be disqualified if you're not back there in a few minutes."

"Nah, I'm gonna drop out, I was just in this for the fun of it. Besides I don't wanna have to fight you anyway, I doubt it would go over well for the crowd," He chuckled and started to walk off, his weapon on his back and waving to them, "Take care of your brother, now."

David looked down at Astrum and then back at the man, "But he's not-"

"Does it matter?" The man stopped and looked back at them with that easy going smile of his.

"Huh... Guess not. Don't worry I will." He laughed and ruffled the younger fox's hair before the rabbit turned back and walked off.

"Last call for all contestants to return to the waiting area! Last call!"

"Geeze! Ok, Astrum, you go back to your seat and I'll keep fighting as hard as I can, be careful and don't leave!"

Astrum nodded and started to run off towards the stands as David ran back to the waiting area. He had cut it close but he had made it back just in time.

The next fights weren't as easy as the first round, but while that was to be expected David kept calm and kept his nerve. His 'brother' was rooting for him and they both needed the money so he was determined to win this and somehow he felt that fighting for that reason made him stronger.

When his turn came around David came out and was met with a decent amount of applause as he was met by a much older monkey of some type, whom the announcer called Harley. The man had a scar running across his face and over his left eye. Part of his right ear was also missing, giving him a rough and intimidating appearance, but it didn't frighten David anymore than the horse did. Harley had a large broadsword in his right hand and a shield on his left arm that was big enough to cover most of his torso from a frontal attack.

"I saw your fight earlier, son, but don't think I'm gonna go down easy like that lunk headed horse you fought."

"Fine, but don't think that just because that guy was a coward that I won't be able to beat you."

The monkey blinked at such a remark but smiled, "You got guts, son, I'll give ya that much."

"Combatants ready...?!" Both fighters took their marks and nodded, "FIGHT!"

David drew his sword and the monkey made the first swing down onto David's blade that was stopped by the guard at the bottom. He was strong and it took a lot from David not to fall down from the strength the man was pushing down on him. He was also only using one arm while David had to use both of his just to keep from losing his grip.

"Let your blade... dip to... your right... his blade... will fall... then rise up... and hold it... under his chin..."

"What did you say?!" David looked at his blade, he hadn't heard the spirit talk since they had left the Hell Mountains and all of a sudden he was talking and giving battle advice.

"I didn't say anything, son, you best be concentrating harder on fighting me off though instead of talking if you want to have any hope of winning this thing."

David grunted and felt his knees shaking, at the rate he was going he didn't have much to lose so he let his blade dip to the side. As he did he moved to his left and let the blade the monkey was pushing down on him falland embed itself into the ground. Before the man would have been able to even try to lift it, David had his blade pressed up to Harley's throat.

The poor man was amazed that the young fox had beaten him. He could not counter from where he was as his sword was too heavily embedded into the soil and he had no room to move that David's blade couldn't cut into should he try.

"Heh..." The elder monkey looked at the fox and shrugged, "Alright, son, I give up, you got me."

David drew back his sword as he was declared the winner by forfeit and sheathed his sword before he offered his hand to shake. After Harley shook it the crowd started to cheer as David went back into waiting area where some of the other fighters congratulated him on his win.

David smiled and thanked them as he made his way to the healing station he had seen earlier. Thankfully there weren't any serious injuries so no one was around. He still went off to a far corner and looked around before he sat and looked at his sword, or, to be more accurate, glared at his sword.

"Where have you been! I've been trying to talk to you for days and just 'now' you decide to start talking! What is going on with you I'm new to this remember?!" David was quite angry, after days of not being able to speak with the spirit he had felt as if he had lost whatever ability he had gained from it, plus if he could have used the spirit to fight he would have entered this thing with a great deal more confidence in himself and not worry so much about losing the last bit of money he had.

_"I have... been resting...young... summoner... I am old... and it has been... many years... since I was... summoned last... and you may... communicate... mentally... with me... so you don't... have to talk... to a sword... like you are... doing... now..." _ The spirit's voice was inside his head talking in that raspy shallow voice of his again.

"Mentally?" David looked confused, "What do you mean communicate 'mentally'?"

"Merely... speak your thoughts... to me... and I will... be able... to hear them... as if... you spoke... them aloud...

'You mean like this?' David tried to think and direct his thoughts at the sword unsure if he was doing it right.

"Yes... that is... how you should... talk to me... like this..."

'Ok, then does that mean that I can summon you whenever I want your help now, or are you still too tired to help me?'

"No..."

'What do you mean 'No'?!' David tensed up and glared at the spirit inside the sword.

_"If you... have to... use my... power...to much... then you will... not be... protecting... the child... like you vowed... to do..." _ Jitenhitokage took several raged breaths, and the way he talked made David wonder if the spirit was just like this or if something was seriously wrong with him.

'What do you mean 'vowed to do' and that I won't be protecting him? If I'm using your power that means I'm protecting him.'

"No... it doesn't...By relying... on my... power... you will... only prove... that you... are unable... to protect... him... Your vow... to protect him... yourself... will be... broken... and I... will return... to my... temple..."

'You mean that if I rely on you too much that you'll think I'm not even trying to protect Astrum? If it wasn't for you that... THING would have killed him and me both! I have to rely on your power, I'm not strong enough as I am! Without your help I wouldn't have even made it past the first round, because I know you had something to do with that ax being cut in half.'

"No... David... it wasn't... JUST my... power... that beat that... monster... You have... great... untapped... potential... You had... the power... to bring me... into your... realm... in that form... If you... didn't have... that power... then it would... have been hard... to summon... me... in any... form... Because of... your power... you were... able to... bring me... into that...form... and slay... that monster... I merely... increased...your power... by several... fold... That is... all..."

'So... because I have this special power you say I have I was able to summon you and increase my power? But I never knew I had any power how was I able to do all of that if I didn't know? I don't understand this at all, Jitenhitokage.' David was now even more confused than before and all this talk was giving him a headache.

"All... will be... told... in time... young one... For now... fight as hard... as you can... and I will... help where... you need... But do not... try to... summon me... unless you... really need... too... Your powers... are still... to new... for you... to fully... control... Now... let me... rest... I have... grown tired..." The spirit yawned and before David could ask anything else the sense that the spirit was around him faded which he took as a sign that the spirit was sleeping again.

'Great... more mysteries. I so do not need this sort of crud.' David shook his head and headed back to the area with the other fighters.

The rounds and fights progressed quicker with each passing round. After each one was done they had a small break where David would check up on Astrum who would congratulate him on his latest win. In the arena hall people were starting to place bets and from the sounds of things David was starting to become a crowd favorite, likely because he was so young and new to the arena and the fact he was using a sword that was older than the whole arena could have been.

From that point on David continued to fight; each warrior he faced stronger than the last. He tried as hard as he could and had been feeling more comfortable with wielding his sword, but still every so often Jitenhitokage would give him a few words on how to beat his opponent.

'Twist your wrists and spring up', 'Dodge left when he charges and trip him with the blunt edge', 'slide under him', and so on. Most of the time though he fought well enough on his own and David felt like he could even feel some form of power that the spirit was talking about building in him at times. He would be fighting and after a few minutes of heaving sparring it seemed like his opponent would pass out from overheating.

David didn't know if he was doing it or the spirit but regardless of how it was happening he was just happy that he had made it past the final round. He was now standing over a large bull he had dodged a sword's swing at and then hit him in the head with the handle of his sword. He was actually more impressed that after trying to dodge several attacks that all it took was one good hit to his temple to knock the bull out. He'd be fine of course, but he'd wake up with a massive headache later on.

"Amazing! The young fox David has beaten Barren Sebastian, the favored to win the entire competition! The new up and comer has proven himself time and time again today and now in a few short minutes he will be facing our reigning champion!"

The crowd cheered and Astrum jumped over the wall that encircled the arena before he ran over to David

"Ah, little boy, you're not-"

David smiled as he was glomped onto by the small boy and raised his hand to the announcer, "It's ok, he's with me, and he'll go back to his seat before the next round."

The announcer nodded and David went back to the waiting area with Astrum bouncing right behind him excited about how David had run all the fights up to that point.

"You really did it! You've made it all the way to the final round, David! I knew Jitenhitokage would help you to win!"

David smiled from ear to ear as he ruffled the cub's hair and sat down on a vacant chair, "Well you're a bit wrong on that, Astrum, according to the spirit he didn't help me out much and I shouldn't use or rely on him to much because that would break the vow I have with him."

Astrum tilted his head a bit confused, "Vow? What's a vow?"

David looked up at the boy and smiled, "A vow is like a promise, or something you swear you'll do."

"Oh," the boy looked like he was thinking for a moment before he decided to speak again, "What was it you promised the spirit?"

David could only give a faint chuckle and pet the boy on the shoulder, "I promised that I would do all in my power to keep you safe, I vowed to protect you, and that is why Jitenhitokage gave me his power. If I can't protect you though then I guess I'll lose his power or something, but I'm not real sure on the details of how it all works."

"Excuse me, David-sir, if you won't mind we're about to start your match with the champion. Please come out, the boy may stay behind if he wishes, though." A tall deer like man stood at the entrance to the arena.

David stood and pet Astrum on the head before he started to head out taking a deep breath to calm himself down a bit before his final match. He had his hand on his hilt and was ready to draw it as soon as the fight started. He was trying hard to keep himself calm, but from what he had heard this 'Champion' had not been defeated the entire time they had held the title. He knew it was going to be hard, but he wasn't going to doubt himself now, he'd come too far to give up now. He was ready and he was going to do all he could to win this for them both, if they got this money after all they'd be set for a long time.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN...!" The announcer was up there again shouting out to the audience that was cheering at the final match about to start.

"Today we are lucky to have a rare sight in this young fox here, a newcomer to the Coliseum who has managed to fight his way past some of the strongest fighters we've seen here in a good long time and now that he has gotten past them all David now has the chance to fight OUR CHAMPION!"

Some drums started to beat and David looked towards where they were coming from a side of the arena where a door was located that he hadn't seen opened yet. He turned to face the door and waited as the drumming got faster and the announcer went on.

"Now... Please give your attention to our amazing champion! The fighter who was able to take down opponents using the most unusual looking weapons and bizarre techniques the likes of us have never seen!" David looked to the door and got ready, at the words 'unusual weapons' and 'bizarre techniques' David started to get nervous. He could be considered to use such things, so he figured that this champion might be some kind of summoner like he had become, but unlike him this champion would likely have a lot more experience than he would.

"So now without further a due, I present to you, the one, the only... Princess of the Arena-"

'Princess?!'

"Ms. NUMA!" And as the crowd started to cheer as, sure enough, a young female fox started to walk out from the doors. Needless to say David was shocked, after all he had heard about the champion being some great undefeated warrior he was expecting so tough and hardened male, covered in scars, and looking like he could break a normal person in half. Instead before him stood a beautiful young lady about his age, with shoulder length auburn hair a fine hourglass figure, and sparkling blue eyes that almost seemed to dazzle in the sunlight.

Not only was the champion not what he expected, what she was carrying into the battle was also unusual. In her right hand was what appeared to be a leek and tied around her trim waist was a small satchel like what you'd carry seeds in on a farm. Upon her head she also wore something that looked like a lily pad with the flower in full bloom which sat right above her left eye. Her clothing was also very fine consisting of a cloth blouse, a knee length skirt, tightly woven sandals on her feet, and leather bracers that she wore around her legs and forearms. The only thing that made her look like she was even going to fight were the bracers which David had seen on others before as a form of defense against light attacks on the limbs.

"Oooh...?" The vixen smiled as she walked up, swishing her tail and hips as she moved towards her new opponent.

"So this is the one who won his way here to fight me?" She chuckled and circled around him as David kept his gaze on her but otherwise held still.

"Well he is pretty handsome, I hope he's stronger than the last one though."

"Y-You're the champion?!" David still couldn't believe that someone has pretty as her could be that strong a fighter, and while he flinched a bit at not meaning to say that how it sounded it was too late to take his words back.

"Why yes I am... I see you're either not very smart or a bit put off by having to fight a 'girl' I take it?" Numa laughed softly and took her position in front of David, standing there still twirling her leek between her fingers and letting her tail sway softly behind her.

"Well, everyone it looks like this will be an interesting match. Will David become the new champion, or will this become the 50th time that Ms. Numa has defended her title?!" The announcer looked to both combatants, "Fighters, ready?" He looked from Numa who nodded her head with a smile, to David who pulled out his own sword looking more serious and nodding as well.

"Then... FIGHT!"

David waited for the woman to make her move but she just kept walking around him smiling and looking coy. She kept walking around looking at him giving him a soft smile like she knew something he didn't.

"Well if you're not going to," David started to charge at the woman, "Then I'll be the first to attack!"

David raised his sword up to attack at the vixen but she just smirked and raised up the leek she had in her hand.

CLANG!

David stared at her in shock, his blade hit the plant Numa held in her hand but it didn't cut it, it didn't even slice into it. David couldn't believe it, he knew his sword was old and likely wasn't the sharpest blade out there but still to not even make a mark on a plant sent his mind reeling, which gave Numa enough time to raise her arm and cast the sword to the side so she could go in fast and hit him in the side with the leek, sending him tumbling to the ground several feet away.

"You'll have to do better than that, handsome, I'm a lot stronger than I look. How else do you think I managed to hold the title of champion for so long?" Numa chuckled and twirled her leek again. When David looked back at the thing he couldn't figure it out. It looked just like an ordinary cooking leek you'd put in any type of dish but it felt like he'd been hit with a blunt sword.

"J... Just what the hell was That!" David picked up himself up and looked at the vixen before him.

"I believe it was known as a counter attack. Honestly did you really think a head on attack like that would work so easily against someone like me? Honestly if that's all you've got I might be able to show off a bit more this time."

She smiled at him which just made David angry again. He charged at her but instead of just swinging down on her impossibly hard leek he started to swing it from all different directions to try to get her off her rhythm and make her fall. No matter what he did though she managed to block with her weapon and moved about gracefully.

"You're not very good at this... I guess it was mostly luck that got you through all those fights. Sad I was expecting more of a fight." Numa continued to laugh at David as he kept swinging down on her trying to get an upper hand on her.

"Just how the blazes can that stick be strong enough to not be cut by a metal sword?!" David was losing it now, he had no idea what was going on and he was getting sloppy as well as losing his focus. He wasn't going to able to beat this woman on his own and he was just hoping that his trump card would know that as well and lead him his power this time.

"I imagine it is the same reason as to why such an old and rusty sword could cut a solid metal axe apart as well, but I'm not going to reveal my secrets to someone I'm facing, no matter how cute they are." She smiled at David and winked at him making him forget himself for a moment.

'No! Gotta focus here!' He took a deep breath and started to focus his power again.

'Please, I need help this time, please work.'

David held his sword in both his hands and glared at the vixen before him, he felt the power start to grow from his paws and streams of fiery red energy started to flow from his hands and up over his arms and shoulders spiraling around. He focused all the energy he felt himself giving off and pushed it into the sword. As it started to glow David remembered the spell he had made back in the temple.

"Spirit of fire, in this situation most dire, spin round and round in my hand, cut through this evil where it stands, let none escape our fiery blast, and singe all before me down to ASH! JITENHITOKAGE!" As he called out the spirit's name his sword glowed red and started to reform into his giant blade. The energy that he had focused into it erupted as flames and brought the sword up and down to cover the handle. The crowd went quiet as they saw the young fox seemingly hold a pillar of fire in his hands before it blew apart sending embers into the air revealing the new blade that went from just above his head down to just below his belt. The edge was glowing red with heat that dulled to a faint glow. While the blade looked hot, from where David held on it was cool to the touch. The magic of the summoning made only the blade intense with heat but at the same time protected the wielder from the heat.

Once the blade had fully formed and the embers dissipated from it David stood ready looking ahead at the woman who was his opponent. This might only be the second time he'd actually wielded the spirit but he felt that with this in his hands he'd have more of an advantage over Numa.

The crowd was silent as David held his blade and stared at the vixen before him. She was also shocked and started to shake a bit as her eyes went over the blade.

"You...? You're a summoner?! That's impossible the arts of communing with spirits has been lost for centuries and only those of special blood-lines can summon them. You... You can't be one of them."

"I don't know what you're talking about woman, but I do know that if your weapon really is just a plant then this thing should be able to give me an advantage!" David bared his teeth at her and gripped the sword tighter while Numa tensed up and got ready for him to attack.

When David charged at her she backed up quickly with several consecutive jumps. She was going to study him but after several more attempts she backed away and blinked in surprise.

"Is that really all you can do?"

"What do you mean?" David tried slashing at her again only to have her jump away and back up quickly.

"That is obviously a fire spirit that you summoned into your blade, but you haven't used any kind of fire arts against me..." David just stared and looked at her confused.

"Listen lady I don't know what you're talking about so stop trying to mess with my head!" He charged at her again but she just reached into her satchel and tossed some seeds at him. Ignoring them and not bothering to dodge them though, David just swung at her, but she quickly pushed the blade to the side, stuck her leek into the opening of the blade, and used the leverage she obtained from her leek to twist the blade out of his hands and send is scattering several feet away along with sending David to the ground.

David looked up at her angry that he had lost his blade and growled, but Numa just stared at him almost in sympathy.

"You have a great deal of power, you'd have to summon a spirit like that, but you lack training... Shame this had to end so fast but I couldn't afford to take the chance of you learning more suddenly in battle."

"What are you talking about, I'm not done-" David tried to get up but found that he was somehow unable to move. He tried to look over his shoulder to see what was binding him and saw that he somehow had vines covering his body that had grown and wrapped around him.

"Those seeds you didn't bother to dodge?" Numa kneeled before David when he looked up at her in shocked surprise.

"Well they were a special art I know, by manipulating the Aether of the seeds I can make them sprout and grow quickly when they come into contact with someone or thing, from there it's just a matter of manipulating them to do what I want of them; in this case binding you so tightly that you can't move. In other words: those seeds just earned me the win."

David struggled to free himself but despite his best efforts he could barely even squirm, let alone move. He hated the fact he had been caught like this but hated the smug look on Numa's face more than anything. He looked over to where his blade had landed and sighed, he couldn't win, and he knew it.

Bowing his head in defeat he said that he gave up and Numa was declared the winner, after which the vines retreated from him. Not happy with his defeat, David just walked over to his sword that had reverted back to its normal form and sighed. He was so sure he could have won after getting this far, but he'd been beaten, and quite pathetically.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, that was a fine and spectacular battle!" The crowd cheered as the announcer came over to David, "And just because he got this far, and for showing us such a interesting time, our new comer David here will be awarded 1,000 Argels."

The crowd cheered again as David was handed a fair sized satchel with the prize money he had earned. While the crowd cheered David looked up at the vixen again. She was smiling at him now and before she turned away she bowed to him.

After walking out with the money, both of the foxes walked back to the inn that they were going to stay at that night. David didn't say much on the way back, and kept thinking back to what Numa had said to him. He realized that he really didn't know anything at all about this power that he had acquired and the fact he would be using something that seemed so powerful and potentially dangerous weighed on his mind. He had to protect Astrum; that much he knew for certain, and he couldn't completely rely on the spirit's power either as that would show that he wasn't truly worth wielding the power, but he didn't know how to fully use the power.

Later that evening while they were eating, David looked over at Astrum and sighed. He had really let the boy down today. He had been so sure that he would win but he'd been taken down, and by a plant no less. The humiliation of it all still hung over him when he heard the doorway to the tavern area open and the innkeeper shouted out in surprise.

"Why as I live and breathe, is that the champion of the arena I see in my humble inn?" The bison smiled and walked to her smiling and taking her coat for her.

"Oh, it is Mr. Broom, sorry to drop in on you like this but I was looking for someone and- Oh never mind there he is, thank you, and might I please have a cup of the Jin-Jin tea that you make so well here?" David ducked his head in dismay at seeing the vixen walk in, he already felt tired and aggravated after the events of their fight and the last thing he really needed was to see her and be reminded of it all again. He hoped that she was just there to meet with a friend or something and that she wouldn't even take notice of him, but sadly whatever forces existed in the world that controlled such things, didn't deem it to be as she walked over towards their table.

"Well hello there you two, I hope that I may sit with you and talk a bit." Without even waiting for a response she pulled a chair over to their table and sat down looking from David to Astrum who was currently chewing on a piece of meat.

"And what do you want, lady? Wasn't humiliating me at the arena enough? Now you have to track me down and humiliate me some more?" David turned his head down and messed with his plate before he looked up at her, questioningly. "How did you even know we were staying here anyway?"

"Well I could freak you out and say that I followed your 'Aura' but I'll just keep it simple. I figured you were new in town since you didn't know me, so you'd have to have been looking for a cheap inn someplace, and Mr. Broom here has one of the best inns in the city so I thought I'd come by here and ask if anyone had seen either of you two, but lucky for me you both were here like I was hoping you'd be." She smiled at them both as a waitress brought her, her tea.

"but as to why I was looking for you both, that is a more complicated matter that I hope you will listen to."

David looked up from his meal, and looked at the vixen, he noticed that she was dressed much more plainly now. She didn't wear that weird lily pad on her head, and her style was just much more relaxed looking. He sat up and put his utensil down and looked at her, the tone in her voice said it was important and if nothing else it could at least be interesting to hear what she had to say.

When David didn't say anything Numa decided to go ahead with what she had to say.

"You see, I can tell you are new to your craft. You have little control over your power and I have a feeling that a spirit that is summoned like that is much more powerful than how you wielded it, and that is what I want to discuss with you. I think you could benefit from learning some things, and I think I could help teach you."

David flinched and stared hard at her, "Teach me what exactly and why would you do that, what could you possibly benefit from teaching me anything?"

David may not have been the sharpest of people, but even he was smart enough to know that people didn't just do things out of the blue for no good reason, and this whole thing was starting to sound way to strange to him.

"You mean besides not seeing you lose control of yourself one day and possibly going on a burning rampage and destroying everything around you in a blaze of Hellfire?" She stared at him hard, like she had just been insulted, but sighed after a moment.

"Honestly, I don't want to stay in this city anymore... I've learned all I can here and I want to go and see more of the world and explore what else is out there. Recently though there have been reports of a lot more monsters and traveling alone is dangerous. My proposal now is this: in exchange for teaching you about your powers and helping you to hone them so that you can better protect yourself and your young friend here you will follow me in my own adventure to learn more about the world."

David stared at her hard for a minute as she looked at him, he was trying hard to wrap his mind around all that was going on now. First he had to take care of a kid and now this vixen was asking to travel with them, and from the way she was looking at him possibly something even more, though what was up for speculation on his part. In the end though with his lack of knowledge on all this he figured having her around would be more of a benefit to them than any sort of hindrance. At least she seemed to be pretty strong so it would be better to have her with them.

"Alright I guess we can do that, I need to know more about these things if I'm going to be raising this kid here, and I'd also like to see more of the world anyway so I guess we can agree to that as long as Astrum here is ok with it." David looked over to the young kit who nodded with a wide smile.

"Very well then, I hope that we have a safe journey together, David and Astrum, and I look forward to getting to know you both much better in the future. Especially you David." She tilted her head and smiled at him and David had to jerk for a moment in surprise.

"Do I have to go to our room now?"

Both the older foxes looked at the youth sitting at their table and gave him a funny look.

"What are you talking about, Astrum?" David looked at the kid as he took, "Why would you think you had to go to bed?"

"Well when my mom would look at my dad like that, he'd always tell me to go to bed and then they'd go to their room and the next day they'd both look really tired but mom would be smiling really happy like something good happened."

This comment brought David to spit out a bit of the water he had been drinking and having to beat his chest in order to get it to go down. Numa on the other hand just smiled and chuckled.

"Well then, thank you for doing this. I hope that we can benefit each other and enjoy each other's company."

David sighed and shook his head, it didn't seem like Astrum and him would be settling down in this city anyway so his plans weren't wasted, but he still didn't care for this much. As they sat there and finished off their orders David kept on thinking. He would never have expected such things to occur to him when he started on his journey, and he had a feeling that things would only be getting harder and more complicated from this point on.

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End Chapter two, and I'd like to thank my beta reader Seron for all his help on this chapter. He helped point out a lot of things and really helped a lot.