Chapter Text
Narev Roots lived a normal, quiet life in a normal, quiet town, right on the outskirts of The Royal Capital. With a population of two hundred at most, the village of Mishemai was the type of place where nothing ever happened. There was peace and quiet and normalcy, away from the business of a city. Sometimes, the town would get visitors- mostly travelers heading for the capital, or Magic Knights going off on a mission who needed a rest. Other than that, all Narev had to concern himself with was tending to his gardens and going to church every week.
It never crossed his mind that strangeness would come his way.
Narev had been foraging in the nearby woods when a loud crash had caught his attention. His first thought was that it could be a bear or a deer. They were rather common around these parts, afterall.
Should he go investigate? Probably not. This was worrying. Should he go tell the other townspeople? Probably. That would mean having to share the intrigue with ten other people and being pushed to the sidelines due to his weaker magic. He wouldn’t get to take part in it all, and for all his love of peace and quiet, Narev wanted some danger. He was bored. Living in Mishemai was boring. His magic was used for boring things, his routine was boring, HE was boring.
He shouldn’t go and investigate the possible bear or thief, and he definitely should go find other people to have his back. He did not do either of those things.
Narev laid his basket of foraged goods between the lower branches of a nearby tree and approached the area where he’d heard the noise. A bead of sweat rolled down his cheek and his hands were shaking. If this turned out to be just a couple of kids rough housing he was going to be so disappointed.
There! A hint of something red between the leaves and branches. As quietly as he could, Narev picked his way through the dense environment. His grimoire was heavy at his waist, its magic itching to be used.
He peeked through the thick branches at the red. It was a scarf, wide enough to be confused for a cape and worn at the edges from ages of use. He kneed to pick it up, thumbing the fabric between his thumb and forefinger. He folded it neatly in his arms and pressed on.
Barely a few steps later, he stumbled into a small clearing. It was partly darkened by the large trees on its edge, whose leaves stretched above Narev’s head and partly hid the sky.
It would all look quite normal, evoking Narev’s younger days of frolicking through the woods with his siblings, if it weren’t for the two bodies on the ground.
One was small and on the chubbier side, clad in a short blue coat with a hood and strangely cropped black pants that ended at his knees. He had strange pink footwear made of what could’ve been wool, or fur, one of which was a few meters away on the ground. He had curly white hair and a dark, round face patched with stubble.
The other was much taller. Even while laying down face first into the ground, Narev could tell whoever this is was taller than anyone he’d met before. This one wore strange, rounded white armor made of neither metal nor leather. He wore big red gloves and calf-high red boots. They matched the red of the scarf Narev was holding in his hand.
“Two strangers passed out in the woods,” Narev said to himself, “what can you do? Perfectly normal situation. Maybe they were robbed. ” He couldn’t carry them to the town- one looked too heavy and the other looked too tall.
He walked closer to the two figures and crouched down. “Hello?” He said. He gently shook the smaller one's shoulder. “Please startle awake.” They did not.
Narev sighed and got up. He took out his grimoire and flipped through to the page featuring his Nature Wagon creation spell. It was small, but it could carry the two to Narev’s home easily enough. Probably.
“Creation Magic: Nature Wagon,” Narev cast, the grimoire floating above his hands flashing a deep green.
Green vines and brown roots emerged from the ground underneath the two sleeping strangers, weaving and interlacing into the form of a wheeled wagon. It was a little unsteady and the wheels couldn’t quite be considered round, but it should work just fine.
Narev nodded to himself in satisfaction.
And then realized he didn’t have his poney with him to pull the darn thing.
Hm. Well. Guess he’d have to put his farm youth’s muscles back into use.