Chapter 4 : Tranquil Travelers

As we marched I took the time to look at the people I would most likely be spending most of the crusade with, well the important ones anyway.

Adrian Azzurro the noble riding beside me the second son to the Alzavola family.

Compared to my family symbol which is a red flower with white outlines on a vertical red line in the middle with white sides.

Adrian Azzurro's family symbol is a purple horse riding over teal waters.

He was a tall and lean youth much like myself so it was easy to tell we had been raised with a similar focus of swordsmanship and magic instead of politics like the heir of a family would.

By the way he carried himself I looked forward to seeing his ability compared to my own.

His skin, eyes and hair were all a light brown color.

Adrian's hair had the front part combed back while the sides hung down freely reaching his chin.

He had the face of a handsome noble with gentle and soft facial features, if not for the thin mustache and goatee he could even pass off as a decent woman.

If my memory serves me correctly we are nearly the same age with him being only a year or two older, 20 or 21?

Adrian Azzuro wore a white feathered teal archers cap and a long sleeved noble tunic with a purple coat over it that had white cufflinks with gold buttons each engraved with a horse symbol.

His purple pants were a rider's hosen with matching white horse riders boots, the colors were very bright and flamboyant.

I could see a rapier with a gold hilt on his belt, an arrow pouch on his back and a recurve bow hanging by his horse.

He gave the impression of a noble archer prince.

Then there was the third noble of the group Ezio.

Ezio Eugenio the noble riding besides Adrian Azzuro an uncle to the current heir of the Cinghiale family.

His family symbol is an orange boar over a white field.

A quiet and somewhat anti-social fellow too engrossed in reading his alchemy book.

I've only heard him speak his name or say yes or no on occasion.

Ezio had white skin that looked clean and smooth with the face powder he had on.

Ezio's hair was brown with grey streaks on his big bushy beard, his hair was cut short and neat.

I did not know Ezio's exact age but he was probably in his early to late forties maybe even older hard to tell with all the fat, hair and powder on his face

His eyes were big and blue with long eyelashes giving him a bizarre contrast of big pretty eyes.

Most of his face and neck were covered by the big bushy beard, he had a pudgy nose, rosy cheeks and fat lips.

He was a plump noble that wore a large round baggy hat with a white strap and tassel on top.

He wore a baggy landsknecht shirt with long baggy sleeves.

Matching his baggy trousers with tight linen long socks that covered the calf and sported a pair of pointy leather shoes.

His shirt, trousers and hat all had a pattern of large vertical orange and white stripes.

In all honesty Ezio's clothing made him look even more bulbous in shape.

The Eugenio's were a minor noble family so I knew very little of them in general.

I don't know much about Ezio Eugenio other than the rumors that he is a reclusive alchemist.

His political presence is practically non-existent, I suppose he is the perfect candidate for the Dark Forest crusade.

Regardless if me Adrian or Ezio die we will be seen as martyrs making it a win, win situation for our family's to build relations with the church whether we live or not.

I knew nothing of the two holy healers, master and apprentice duo most likely because they came from commoners or peasantry.

The old priest Father Marco a hunched back pale old man whose age could be anywhere from 70 to 100 and the young holy healer apprentice Charlie a boy probably no older than ten.

Charlie and Father Marco wore identical long white robes with the symbol of the church printed on the back, a cross with an eye in the middle colored black.

The robe had black trims on the sleeves and bottom with a cone cowl attached on the back with a smaller symbol of the cross and eye printed on the hood.

They both have a bowl haircut with the top of their heads being shaved bald, Charlie is a ginger headed boy with green eyes and freckles.

While Father Marco had thin grey and white hair, dull blue eyes and a wrinkly clean shaven face.

Last but not least the man leading the group Sir Antonio Muratori.

I haven't seen Sir Antonio Muratori's face beneath the helmet yet, but his deep and regal voice gives off the impression of a hardened warrior.

His reputation is well known throughout the kingdom as the Knight who fought off the infamous Black Bear bandits leader Bao Axl.

The armor he wore was identical to the knights around him all except for his helmet.

The helmet being a Frog-mouth helm.

While the other knights had Armet helmets.

Along with the knights Sir Antonio Muratori wore a red tabard that had the kingdom's symbol printed on the chest an upside down white long-sword, with full body chain-mail underneath.

The red capes worn had the kingdoms symbol printed on them too.

Unlike the knights who were armed with short spears and red painted long-shields with the kingdoms symbol printed on them.

Sir Antonio Muratori's weapon was a huge man sized two handed golden mace that emitted a magical aura of holy light.

It reminded me a lot of my family's golden dragon great-sword.

Victor Vincenzo : ("What I wouldn't do for a weapon like that, hmm".)

I closed my eyes and day dreamed about wielding such a weapon imagining myself slaying dragons and taking on entire armies of fiends and enemies single handed.

My constant daydreaming helped ease the boredom of this long and tedious journey...

t's been perhaps an hour or more and I have yet to notice anything strange about this forest.

Even the animals and insects are mundane, nothing out of the ordinary.

I suppose that is a good thing.

But still I get an uneasy feeling whenever I look up at the trees.

They are getting taller the deeper we go and the light of the sky is becoming more scarce, making the forest dark even during the day.

Victor Vincenzo : ("How did all those people disappear in a forest like this?")

I can't imagine why or how, if the culprit is a creature or monster of some sort then the army will surely handle it.

But if it is some kind of magical effect of the philosopher's stone then that will be a very different matter.

Holy Relics are said to be items of great magical power, capable of breaking the common rules of magic as we know it.

Victor Vincenzo : ("If I were to somehow attain it".)

With a wide smile on my face I licked my lips at the thought of wielding such power.

Adrian Azzurro : "Friend are you hungry?"

Victor Vincenzo : "Huh?"

My stomach growled at the mention of food.

Adrian Azzurro : "My name is Adrian Azzurro but I bet you already knew that Victor Vincenzo of the Fiore family, it is my pleasure to finally meet you".

Victor Vincenzo : "The pleasure is mine."

My stomach loudly growled again making me feel awkward.

I was about to reach into my horse pouch to grab a sip of water from my container.

Hoping that the water would fill my belly enough to quite the growling until.

Adrian Azzurro : "If you drink now you'll have to hold it in until we set up camp try to bear with it friend".

It had been nearing my usual dinner time so I was a bit famished.

Hearing his words I was persuaded to ignore my hunger and endure it.

Victor Vincenzo : "No I can wait, this is my first time feeling hungry, i'm just getting used to it".

Hunger was a rather odd thing for me to experience considering that prior to today I had never missed a single meal in my entire life.

I never knew what feeling hungry was like until now, I hear peasants experience hunger on a daily basis, this feeling of an empty stomach and the ache that follows.

Uncomfortable but tolerable, I cannot believe that there are people who complain about being hungry if this is all it feels like.

Making such a big fuss over nothing, my father is too lenient with his subjects and not with his children.

I find myself growing ever more distasteful of commoners and peasantry.

Adrian Azzurro : "For a spare to a spare you must have quite the luxurious life if this is your first time dealing with hunger".

Victor Vincenzo : "You are only a brother away from inheriting your family name surely you have never missed a meal too".

Adrian Azzuro : "I am envious of your family's wealth."

Victor Vincenzo : "You say that but you get more money in a day from your family then my family gives me in a month".

Adrian Azzuro : "Really?"

With a briefly surprised look on his face Adrian continues.

Adrian Azzuro : "But still when my father passes and my elder brother claims the family name my inheritance will only be a small fortune".

Victor Vincenzo : "I will be surprised if my father even gives me a small fortune when he passes, rejoice friend ".

Adrian Azzuro : "You jest how can the prestigious Fiore family not have a large inheritance planned for one if's sons?"

I could not help but sigh as a complicated expression formed on my face.

Victor Vincenzo : "It's complicated".

Adrian Azzuro : "hmm".

Understanding the meaning Adrian does not pursue the conversation, instead he reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a flask.

Adrian Azzuro : "Here drink, nothing but the finest should cheer you up".

Alcohol, this sly dog was he not just lecturing me earlier about drinking and bearing with it.

Still I gratefully accept.

Victor Vincenzo : "Thank you".

Putting the flask to my mouth I took a small sip before getting greedy and gulping down half of it in one go.

The drink immediately burned my throat as it entered my mouth and I could feel it go down my stomach warming my belly and easing the mind and body.

I only meant to take a few sips but this was really good alcohol.

Victor Vincenzo : "Wow this is good".

I pass the flask back to him.

Adrian Azzuro : "To a new friendship".

Victor Vincenzo : "Cheers".

Adrian drinks the rest in large gulps.

I chuckled already feeling buzzed as I tried to keep myself on my horse properly.

Victor Vincenzo : "Ha ha friend you will have to tell me~where you got that drink from~when we return from this forest".

I was drunk my words came out sloppy and slurred but thankfully I was not alone.

Adrian Azzuro : "I'll do you one better~lets buy the bloody winery!~and drink till our hearts content".

This fellow must have been a clown in his past life because he is too funny.

Victor Vincenzo : "Bwa ha ha ha ha, with what money!?"

Adrian Azzuro : "The money we make selling drinks of course!"

Victor Vincenzo : "And what~would we call our-this establishment?"

Adrian Azzuro : "Let's call it the~Spares Winery Kingdom".

Victor Vincenzo : "Ha-ha (*cough) (*cough) our families would sooner disown us~then let us shame them with~such a name".

Adrian Azzuro : "You got a better name, huh~ you drunkard".

Victor Vincenzo : "Who are you~callin drunk~ard ya lousy~drunk "

The two noble youths laughed at each other as they wobbled on there horses marching.

The two nobles talked and laughed for hours throughout the march, a real sense of camaraderie was born between the two youths in this short amount of time.

As they shared stories of there misadventures and mutual interest in magic and swordsmanship.

Victor Vincenzo : ("Never in my wildest dreams could I have imaged that my first day in this Dark Forest would be spent having a jolly good time".)

Meanwhile beside the two laughing nobles sat Ezio Eugenio with an annoyed expression on his face.

His reading had been disrupted by the constant chatter and laughing of the two drunk nobles by his side.

He had tolerated the pair for hours on end and for the first time since marching he looked up from his precious book.

Ezio Eugenio : "Obnoxious brats".

Ezio glared at Victor and Adrian speaking very clearly so that everyone around him could hear in an attempt to shut them up.

But Victor and Adrian were so engrossed in there conversations of riches and noble ladies that they hadn't even heard the grumpy noble man speak.

Ezio was enraged by the two younger nobles not even paying any attention to him.

Ezio was about to speak up and confront the pair until the old priest Father Marco put his hand on his shoulder.

He gave Ezio a deep look and shook his head and in a kind and gentle voice Father Marco spoke.

Father Marco : "Let them be our journey is long and treacherous holy son we must focus on the path ahead of us."

Ezio could not help but listen to the old priest his family's goal was too also build relations with the church so Ezio despite his interest could not find trouble with them.

With an unsatisfied huff Ezio tried his best to ignore the two loud nobles and continue reading his book.

Father Marco breathed a sigh of relief and gently patted the head of his worried apprentice Charlie who did not dare to speak in front of the nobles or his master.

Father Marco was not taking any sides when he intervened his intention was to maintain the morale among the men.

Having a noble spat here and now would only result in a huge loss of time and man power for the group and create unnecessary difficulties among them.

Especially if things were to escalate and a duel was requested to resolve the issue.

The march continued until sunset...