Geese and The Silver Arrows
In the early hours of the morning, a man hurriedly limps through the city. His wounds make it clear that he was attacked.
“He went this way!”
The man spots a dark alley and heads into it. He quickly positions himself behind a large obstacle in the alleyway as the assailants run past the alley.
“That was close. I need to close the wounds or else…”
The man suddenly falls over and blacks out.
A few hours pass by. Mason and Cole are in the middle of an unsuspecting stroll through the city, unaware that their paths will cross with a dangerous man.Cole is currently berating Mason for trying to talk with Priscilla.
“Why’d you bother even trying to ask her to come with us?”
Mason looks uneasy.
“She’s always by herself. She hasn’t seemed to make any friends yet. The least I could do is try.”
Cole shrugs.
“It’s your time.”
Mason changes the topic.
“Did you manage to practice the healing spells then?”
Cole looks relaxed.
“Yeah yeah, I got it. I’ve basically mastered them already.
As they continue walking, Mason pauses as something catches his eye down a dark alley. A pool of blood on the floor.
“Well, now's your time to prove it.”
Mason rushes into the alleyway and Cole soon follows. They crouch over the body of a rough-looking man.
“This man has been attacked.”
Mason raises his arm.
“I'm going to send a signal to call the magus police.”
Suddenly, the collapsed man’s hand grabs Mason’s arm.
“No police..”
Mason looks over at Cole. Cole shrugs.
Cole puts his arm over the man and begins to cast a minor healing spell.
“Mason, I don't think it’s enough. We’re still new to healing cuts and scrapes, we don't even have the mana capacity to heal an injury like this.”
Mason puts his arm over the man alongside Cole as they both begin to use a healing spell simultaneously.
“If we can just stop the bleeding at the vital points, we might get him through this.”
Eventually, some of the spots bleeding the most begin to clear up. Mason and Cole begin to feel weak as their mana empties. Eventually they stop as they run out. The man begins to stand up..
“Wait! You're not healed fully.”
The man ignores the warning and stands up.
“I’ve had worse. Thanks for healing me. What’s your names?”
Mason and Cole look at each other before looking at the man.
“I'm Mason and he’s Cole.”
The man points his thumb at himself.
“You can call me ‘Geese’. That's what my old soldiers called me.”
The boys seem confused. Geese jumps in before the boys could question his remark.
“You kids are students, right? What year are you?”
Cole looks at Mason, who answers hesitantly.
“We’re first year students.”
Geese finds this amusing.
“So, you’re still new to magic, huh?”
Geese jumps in again.
“Walk with me for a while. I know you just saved my life and all but keep me company for a bit.”
As they began to walk around, Cole gets curious about Geese’s injuries.
“How’d you end up like that anyway?”
Geese brushes it off.
“My friends did that. At least, I thought they were my friends.”
The air seems tense as Geese asks his next question.
“Are any of you kids looking for a teacher by any chance?
Mason seems confused at this comment.
“A teacher?
Geese responds as they keep walking.
“Yeah. A teacher, a master, whatever you call it.”
Cole explains to the clueless Mason.
“A young magus usually picks one person to be their personal tutor. It’s typical for students to pick one of their parents or maybe even a teacher and become their apprentice. But you should be careful of who you pick, they will shape your development as a magus.”
Geese gets distracted as they pass by a store selling food.
“Follow me.”
They proceed to follow Geese into the store as he proceeds to take some food and quickly hide it before leaving. The boys quickly follow. Cole is quick to reprimand Geese.
“You shouldn’t be doing that.”
Geese looks strangely at the boys with a confident expression.
“We can do what we want. You guys don’t need to worry about rules when you’re with me. By the way, it just so happens I need some new recruits…”
Before Geese could finish his sentence, the shopkeeper noticed the theft and began to chase after Geese.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?”
Geese looks at the boys and then at the shopkeeper.
“Oh, you know, just hurtin’ people.”
Geese then proceeds to clench his fist and smack the shopkeeper with such force that he falls to the floor.
“Come on!”
Geese then begins to run away and the boys hurriedly follow. Meanwhile, a shady man has seen this from a distance and casts a communication spell.
“You won’t believe who I just saw. Geese is here. Get to me as soon as possible.”
After the boys and Geese begin to get far away, Cole intentionally lags behind Geese with Mason. Cole begins whispering to Mason.
“Mason, this isn’t somebody we should be hanging around. We’ll get in trouble.”
Mason begins to brainstorm their next move.
“Should we try to ditch him?”
Cole agrees without thinking.
“Yeah. Let’s just run in the opposite direction.”
Suddenly, Geese stops in his tracks. The boys were too distracted to notice but they seemed to be quickly surrounded by a group of bandits.
“I didn't believe it when I first heard. Geese, you’re alive.”
Geese looks at the various men surrounding them.
“Ah, my backstabbing old crew. ‘The Silver Arrows’, a crew which I founded!”
The bandits look disgustedly at Geese.
“You got lucky Geese. I don’t how you survived our betrayal. We had it all planned out perfectly but you won’t get away this time. You’re coming with us.”
The bandit then notices Cole and Mason.
“Geese is starting a new crew, is he? You’re coming with us too. If any of you three try to resist or even speak a single word, we’ll kill you where you stand.”
In the distance, a figure notices the commotion.
“Just what have you two been getting yourself into…”
The figure appears to be Priscilla.
“They’re on their own. I can’t break my cover. My mission is the top priority.”
Priscilla begins to walk away from them but hesitates for a moment. A memory flashes back in Priscillas mind. Some of the times Mason has been kind to her.
‘Hey. Walk with us, Priscilla.’
‘Hey, Priscilla, why don’t you head to the city with us?’
Priscilla seems irritated as she reluctantly and forcefully begins to walk in the opposite direction, following the bandits.
“Just… this once…”
