The Sun was beginning to set indicating the end of evening, and the beginning of night. This caused distress to form in the hearts of Theo and Daniel.
While Theo found himself failing to get exhausted, Daniel had begun to grow sluggish, and the pain of his arm was slowing them down greatly.
They kept pushing themselves further and further, until the Sun was barely in the sky, signaling the fall of night.
Night time is considered a dangerous time in the wilderness, because mutated animals and creatures known as monsters run free at night.
Their senses and diets make night optimal for them, because they can easily find sleeping and hiding prey. This makes the crimson bear from before an abnormality, something that doesn't follow the known rules of adventuring or exploration.
Theo kept walking, using his shortsword to slice through shrubbery and clear a path while scaring off bugs and critters, but he came to a stop as he heard a sound behind himself.
THUMP!
He turned his back to see Daniel slouched against a tree wincing in pain, causing him to turn around and run over to his companion, making sure he was okay. Visually he appeared fine aside from the twisted purple arm.
"Daniel! Are you okay?! Just stay here and rest- I'll watch for the night-"
"Don't be foolish, young Theodore! The night is bound to draw monsters. You can keep moving and avoid them with your vigor- you need to leave me!"
What Daniel said is very true. Theo, up until now, has kept them safe by avoiding things he could detect with his newly enhanced senses. The bear was an exception, one that Theo knew they had to face. If Daniel were to keep moving, they wouldn't be able to outpace monsters, but Theo alone could…
"I can't just leave him though… I've carried him all the way until now… I can keep going! He will just have to complain…"
Theo felt a strange boldness he had never felt before. It was as if his heart itself was filled with courage. Could this be the dragon blood inside his body? Or maybe he just has a strange confidence in his new abilities.
"Theo- what are you doing! Put me down at once!"
Before Daniel could properly react, Theodore had picked him up in a fireman's carry, letting the broken arm dangle back with the fine arm being held like the straps of a bag.
"I've been slow until now for you, Daniel. I'm going to pick up the speed a bit now…"
"Don't be stupid! You'll get exhausted-"
Before Daniel could convince Theo, Theo had taken off into a sprint.
The wind hurdled around them in their shape, invisible to their eyes but being felt by their sense of touch. Like a bulldozer, Theodore rushed through the shrubbery, tree branches and thorns scraping against his skin as he avoided letting them hit Daniel.
His nose, eyes, and ears worked in tandem. Even in the minimum light of the setting sun, he could still see relatively well allowing him to expertly begin directing them both.
"Heavy scent left. Lots of pheromones… a monster looking for its mate. Take a right here."
"Straight ahead there's a low growl, something is hiding and waiting for us to run into it. I'll turn left, going straight again."
"A loud grumbling, and trotting, something big is running- no! Dragging!"
"Lights?!"
As Theo ran with the thrill of a hunter, a feeling new to his body, he suddenly felt a strange buzz as beams of light seemed to stream through the tree line. His eyes narrowed and honed onto them, revealing lanterns!
The loud rumbling and the trotting was the sound of a horse pulled carriage! Though that means that they aren't from an urban area, he was more than willing to take any chance of humans!
"Theo- why'd we stop-"
"There's a carriage Daniel!"
Daniel went to say something in response, but before he could Theo had jumped out of the shrubbery onto the roadway the carriage was walking down.
The carriage was large and made from a rich dark brown wood. It had windows which had two visible figures through it; a young man with green hair, and an older gentleman in a suit with frizzled, curly blonde hair.
A man in a large brown coat and black gloves, as well as a cap, pulled on the reins, causing the two horses to reel back and neigh loudly.
As if on cue, he let out a loud whistle, and the carriage door flew open, as the man in the suit stepped out with a remodeled hunting rifle, pointing it at Theo and beginning to shout.
"You bandits! Always in the same spot- Who's that on your shoulders?!"
"We aren't bandits! I swear! Please, my friend is injured! We got trapped in some old ruins and escaped-"
Theo couldn't raise his hands in defense, as that would cause the dizzy Daniel to fall, and get even more hurt, so he stood his ground without moving.
As if the man understood exactly what they said, he lowered his gun barrel, and spoke plainly, readjusting the collar of his shirt and revealing a silver chain with 3 rings on it around his neck.
"Well I'll be damned! You're both the missing SSA agents! Well it's not my place to say what to do-"
Once again on cue, the other door of the carriage seemed to open as a pair of boots with tucked in riding pants stepped out of the carriage. They stretched up into a blue tail coat with bronze buttons, and a newsboy's cap with strands of emerald green hair sticking out.
At first glance it appeared to be a young boy, but the soft facial features and thin frame fit for rapier rather than a broadsword made it rather obvious this was a woman trying to appear more masculine. Through the carriage windows it wasn't obvious at all!
"A young boy?"
Daniel spoke through his slightly dizzy view, he had been hanging from Theo's shoulders for quite a bit now.
This made Theo realize something…
"My senses make me able to spot the subtle differences from a longer distance, how… cool!"
Even if Theo was composed, and had a certain etiquette on the outside, on the inside he was still only 19, and still got excited.
For the sake of not causing issues, he pretended not to notice the young girl's disguise, though when she spoke it was really hard not to call out.
"It would seem we have rather important guests… Butler! Invite them into the carriage!"
The man next to her adjusted his collar again to hide the silver chain and rings, looking more dignified in a suit and tie again, as he tucked the rifle into the carriage and bowed forwards and gestured to the inside.
"Gentleman, the Kind and Noble Potentio Heir invites you to join him on his journey to Giant's Helm."
"Potentio? I don't recognize that noble name, and they don't possess a car, only a carriage. They must be a baron family at most. If I recall correctly, there's a small plot in eastern Shallow County that has its own Lord… this may be them?"
"P-Potentio!" While Theodore was thinking, Daniel had yelled out in shock, as if stunned by the development of the situation.
"F-Forgive me, young Lord Potentio, I would never have presented myself in such a situation, had I known this carriage belonged to the son of Lord Potentio!"
Daniel began to struggle in Theo's arms, causing Theo to gently set him down, and watch as he bowed before the young noble, though Theo didn't follow.
In an awkward fashion, Theo made eye contact with the "butler" causing him to quickly mimic Daniel and bow, while listening to the young tomboy speak.
"Very well, I can forgive you, after all missing for 48 hours and surviving in these woods has surely reverted you back to a primitive state. Especially you with the orange skin, you look as though you were born in the wild. Like the old tales describing savage beast warriors…"
Theo found this young girl rather undignified. She compared a beat up young man to warriors known for tearing apart countless men. It's said that their tan skin tone was developed from the copper of blood absorbing into their skin. He did kind of resemble that…
"Forgive me, Young Lord, Guests, but the sun is setting, and we must keep moving. Get in, or get left behind, those are the options now. Jerad, you must maintain the reins, I cannot leave the young lord unattended with strangers."
The man in the brown coat at the front shared a look with the half bowed butler, and they nodded to each other, as Theo and Daniel were urged to get inside the carriage.
Upon stepping in, Theo immediately noticed the nice clean leather seats, and felt bad that he was going to stain them, but Daniel seemed to be in stark contrast as he sat down and immediately relaxed.
The two were forced to sit with their backs to the driver, and across from the butler and his rifle. The Young Lord Potentio seemed to sit there with her legs crossed, and stare out the window, occasionally glancing at Theo but looking away every time he glanced back. He could tell she was scared of him, which made him feel rather sad.
Occasionally Theo tried to make conversation, but he was always shrugged off by the butler, and Daniel was too busy catching up on his exhausted body, which was so tired it could ignore the throbbing pain of his broken bone.
Before Theo knew it, he had fallen into a slumber himself, where he had a normal dream about the morning he last saw his mom, and the taste of the breakfast he made. He missed his mom…
Before Theo knew it, the sound of the clicking had stopped, and several strange feelings filled his mind, causing him to jolt awake.
Before he was fully conscious again, he already knew that there were 8 people around him, including the 4 others inside/operating the carriage.
He sat up in his seat, perfectly straight, his eyes not being blurry, the feeling of needing to yawn already being gone. The outside world lacked the sun right now, but in front of them was a large and brilliant light shining onto the carriage from above; a spotlight.
This meant only one thing; they were at the gates to Giant's Helm, which only allowed night time entry via paperwork.
The exchange was very fast, as the documents were handed off, then stamped overtop of another stamp, which was next to a seal and crest, completing a full logo and signing off an official one time use two way travel document. The carriage did not move forwards though, as the Jerad the driver thrust his thumb backwards and pointed, speaking to the guards in a tone only Theo could hear.
"There's two guys in the back. They claim to be the missing SSA expedition team. Can't have them riding with us any further, so take 'em."
The gate officers nodded, and one stepped to each side of the carriage and gently opened the doors.
Theo had already prepared himself, facing the nearest door to himself, and the officer, as the door opened. Before the officer could ask, he already stepped out and began to stretch and loosen his muscles.
Meanwhile, Daniel had to be shaken awake, beginning to yell as the guard accidentally grabbed the broken arm.
"AGGHH- OH MY- TITAN HAVE MERCY!"
"Oh- I am very sorry sir, but you need to step out of the carriage, and come with us."
Daniel angrily hopped out of the carriage, and reached into his pocket and angrily pulled out an identification card.
Unlike Daniel, Theo had lost his I.D, but thankfully Daniel could vouch that, despite his strange appearance, he is Theodore Reinis.
Under the escort of the two guards, they were each put into a cab, and driven to respective places.
Daniel was taken to a hospital, presumably, and Theodore was driven through the roads, to Birdey Road, outside of a particularly ugly house, or so he thought.
He watched as the yellow house with the brick chimney left his view, and he questioned the driver of the police cab.
"Sir, you passed my stop…"
"You really think you're going home? You've been missing for 48 hours, and compared to the other guy, you're not in bad shape at all."
"48 hours? It's hardly been 12… How long were we unconscious down there?!" Theo thought to himself, falling silent in slight fear as to what would happen to him, but his worries were cleared by the kind tone of the guard.
"Don't worry kid, it's better this way. You're alive, your parents will be informed, and you'll see them first thing in the morning. If something happens, they'll be safe from you."
He did not like the guards choice of words. They knew something was wrong and had changed, and their first thoughts were that he was dangerous. Even though he is a logical thinker, his feelings were hurt by them accusing him of being a danger to his parents.
"Parents? You've talked to my mom?"
"Your father too. He came home as soon as he heard the news."
A smile curved upwards from the corners of Theo's lips as he heard his dad was home. Suddenly he felt even more impatient for tomorrow. He wanted to open the door and run down the road, but that would be a disaster!
Without another word, the two arrived at the furthest point of Giant's Helm, outside of the tallest building in the East Continent.
A giant tower with copper pipes and framing, and a giant clock in the top center stood in front of Theodore's view.
Gears were turning even late at night, causing the hands on the clock to shift, and the elevators on the sides to move up and down in a safe and slow manner.
He had never been inside anywhere except the lobby before… This is the headquarters of the Steam Smither's Association!
He got out of the car, and followed the officer into the lobby, where he was instructed to sit on a sofa and wait.
As he waited, his eyes shifted around onto the small mechanical clock on the wall, which had the hand overtop of the 3. It was 3 in the morning, and this building was still running. That's impressive.
He glanced around at the potted plants, and strangely white colored room, realizing just how fancy of a place this was. Last time he was here he didn't have such enhanced senses, so he couldn't focus on such fine details such as the marble floor, and the almost hidden pipes running through the walls. Nothing was noticeable to the ordinary eye, it was like being in a whole different atmosphere from outside.
He found himself lost, until he heard the clicking of boots or heels against the tiled floor, and turned to look.
A woman in a purple dress with an hour glass figure; and a pair of round spectacles was standing before him with a clipboard.
Before she could speak, he noticed her push up her glasses, which had an illuminating glow to them, one that overlapped with reality. He could tell they had natural energy trapped inside them. It was strange, but he didn't know what it meant.
"Mr. Theodore, if you could please follow me."
"Ok." Theo replied simply, too tired to argue or ask questions, and stood up to follow her.
They walked down a hallway to the left of the receptionist lounge, and entered a door with an employee only sign hanging on it.
They walked past visible pipes and valves, in contrast with the other rooms, and eventually arrived at a thin gear operated elevator.
She stepped inside, and gestured for Theo to follow, which he did.
They stood side by side, as she pulled a lever down from its middle input, and the elevator began to descend.
One by one, lights below the lever began to light up green, the numbers below them indicating which floor they were on.
0…
-1…
-2…
-3…
-4…
They quickly reached -5, the last light there, and the lever flicked back to the middle, causing Theodore to step forward.
Before the doors opened, the spectacled lady reached forwards and pulled the lever down again, causing the elevator to shake, and for Theo to almost lose his balance.
He looked to her, only to see her pull it again, and a loud screeching sound echoed out, and suddenly the wall adjacent to the door began to rotate!
Before Theo knew it, a hidden passage had opened, causing him to look stunned, and for her to smile at him, and gesture for him to walk forward.
Not sure what else to do, he abided, while looking back at her for a moment, before confidently walking forwards.
In contrast to before, the hall before them was very narrow, only the width of the elevator. Pipes did not align the walls, and the walls were black and made of a kind of stone or metal Theo didn't recognize off sight alone.
In front, Theo could hear the mutters of distant voices, and see the faint shining of lights to the right, indicating an upcoming turn in a right angled hallway.
As he walked, he felt a tap on his back, causing him to turn and look at the lady, who was pressing up against him and looking up into his eyes with her eyes widened significantly.
Her watched as her brown eyes illuminated purple, and rings seemed to spread from her irises out through her pupils, and he began to feel fatigue hit him.
Her voice echoed out, distorted, playing multiple times in his head, as he fell backwards onto his behind and looked up at her.
"I'm sorry for this Theodore, there's some secrets you just need to forget."
"You're tougher than you should be… Any normal person would be fully unconscious."
Theo couldn't do anything but sluggishly push his arms against the ground and behind to raise upwards, but as his head came back up, he was looking into her spectacled eyes again, and he felt a severe drowsiness fill his mind, and everything faded into darkness, leaving him to continue his dream from earlier.