The Bridge [ Part 1 ]

Two days have passed since that night. The tensions between the nobles and Emre's group had lessened. Elayna had ended up profusely apologizing to Emre the morning after the incident. Raina seemed to have told her the contents of their conversation because she seemed genuinely sorry about Raina's attitude.

According to her, Raina has always been like that. Of course, this made nothing about it right. In the end, there was a silent agreement that the two would simply avoid one another. It was an easy solution to the problem that no one protested.

Both days of travel were quite uneventful, the slow pace was terribly boring and Emre had ended up teaching everyone some word games to pass the time. Each night before dinner Ragan also resumed Emre's swordsmanship training. Emre had even managed to get to level 2 of Swordplay.

Right now they were now parallel to the small mountain range. Currently squished between a massive river and the mountain, they were more on guard for another bandit or beast attack now that their flanks were closed in. Luckily, that night had no accidents as they camped out.

Waking on the morning of the fourth day, Emre dragged himself out of his tent. He was sore from training and riding constantly, but he opted to not heal himself. He wasn't sure if healing himself would affect his muscle progress so he left it be.

Groggy and tired, he squinted against the morning light. Only two mercenaries were awake and moving around. The lady, whose name he learned was Ola, was starting to get the fire ready for breakfast. They were probably going to have leftovers from the dinner before.

Killan was up and about as well, helping Ola here and there. Gerrar was stretching outside while Conin sat drowsily just outside of their tent. Everyone else started to stir as soon as Emre exited out of his own tent with a yawn.

He truly missed a nice and comfortable bed. Of course, this was better than living in a hole under a tree… Man, that felt so long ago. In actuality, his body was only a month and a half old. Luckily his mental age allowed his human form to be an adult. It would have been very inconvenient if he had appeared as a child.

Considering the time frame of his arrival in this world, he was quite accomplished in his mind. He made it to Lesser Dragon faster than he had thought he would. Maybe it was just because Tirian willed the system to be that way.

Regardless, the camp was up and moving soon enough. Everyone began to pack away their personal tents and supplies as Ola cooked up their food. When it was done, they all ate around the fire, as usual, Emre and Raina ignoring one another through the process.

They ate quickly and set out just as fast. The river nearby could be seen through the trees as the carriage moved as fast as it could without exhausting the horses too quickly. Emre and Idris took up the back as they had been the whole trip so far.

According to the mercenary group, they would arrive at a bridge to cross the river by mid-day. After that, it would take another three days to arrive at one of the larger cities in the Kingdom. They would be able to rest there before continuing onto the capital.

Emre wished they could get there faster but there wasn't much he could do about that unless he and Idris ditched everyone to fly there. He doubted everyone would agree with that proposition. Plus if he and Idris just disappeared, he knew Raina and Elayna might make assumptions.

They had been on the road again for a few hours. The weather was quite nice but the canopy was so thick here it reminded Emre of the Black Swamp. Even despite the sun only being able to peek through the leaves to dapple the party in light, the breeze that flowed through was still quite warm.

'Emre?' Idris's voice entered his head.

'Hm?' Emre looked toward Idris on his right.

'Have you ever been to the capital?'

Oh, Idris was engaging in conversation! He was excited about this development. Usually, it was Emre who started the conversations between them.

'I haven't. Have you?'

'No, I haven't either. I've been farther north than it, but I never visited.'

'Have you been to any of the other Kingdoms?'

Idris shook his head and pondered a moment before responding. 'I actually didn't stop living with my mother up until recently.'

Emre blinked in surprise. He hadn't taken Idris for a mommas boy. And didn't he have a brother as well? Wait, how old was he? Dragons were solitary animals but he hadn't left his mother until recently, hm? Didn't dragons live for hundreds of years?

'How old are you?' Emre couldn't stop himself from asking.

'Ah, in dragon terms I am still a child…' Idris said with hesitance. 'I'm only 24.'

'Oh! So I'm younger.' Emre said.

He wasn't even that much older than Emre. They would both still only be children compared to other dragons. Idris had a small look of shock on his face at the revelation. Did he think Emre would have been older?

'I'm only 21.' Emre added on.

At least mentally… Yes, mentally he was 21 so he would keep it at that. It wasn't a lie. Although, it was a bit odd that Tirian and Animor had chosen to use two young dragons rather than experienced dragons. Certainly that would have been a better fit than someone who was just popped into the world.

'I see…' Idris seemed to get over the shock quickly.

'Yeah.' Emre nodded with a smile.

'How do you not know more about magic then?'

This was a tricky question. 'I was alone until I met Ragan. Ragan was the first person I lived with.' This was the truth, technically.

This only surprised Idris more. 'How did you survive alone?'

'I mostly hid. I only hunted when I was hungry.'

Emre knew Idris was misunderstanding that Emre had been alone for years, but he wasn't quite ready to tell Idris that he wasn't from this world. He would just have to tiptoe and only give half-truths for now.

'It must have been hard…' Idris mumbled out.

'Mm… Well, it was a bit lonely.' Emre chuckled.

Although it was only about three weeks, humans are very social creatures. They could even die from heartbreak. Silvis's kindness had been his saving grace at the time. He probably would have gone insane with loneliness otherwise.

But he wasn't a stranger to loneliness. It's not like his past life was full of friends and family. His parents weren't the best in terms of supporting him. He only had one close friend… but even that turned out to be… wrong.

Idris had nodded. It was hard for him to imagine being alone for very long. He had his mother and brother so he had company for most of his life. He was thinking that he would feel too bad to leave Emre alone even after all this.

Meanwhile, Emre was just trying to find another thing to say after Idris had grown quiet.

'My mother taught me many things…' Idris started again. 'One of the things that she drilled into me and my brother's heads is that dragons are not friendly to each other. She told me to never trust another dragon. She said that because I was young, any other dragon would surely try to use me for their benefit or try to kill me to get rid of any competition.

'But… I would like to believe now that she wasn't completely right. I believe now, despite it all, that it is possible for two dragons to become friends...' Idris looked at Emre. 'Do you think so too?'

Emre felt his heart stir as a soft smile appeared on his face. 'Yeah. I think so.' He answered with no hesitation.

Idris really was just like a kid making his first friend. Emre couldn't help but feel honored that despite his teachings, he was going to go against his mother's words for the sake of being Emre's friend. Idris smiled as well before looking back to where they were going.

'Cool.'

It was a quick and simple word, but for some reason, Emre felt like it was much more. Even Emre felt like a kid gaining his first friend. Ragan was his mentor, maybe even a father figure in this world, but Idris was different. Idris was another dragon who was also put in a situation where he couldn't escape.

It was no longer just them sticking together because they were forced to by destiny. No, instead it was something more now.

"Ah! I see the bridge ahead!" One of the mercenaries called.

Idris and Emre were pulled away from their momentary bliss as the carriage ahead began to slow. Eventually, everyone had stopped. Looking ahead, Emre could see the bridge crossing over the river. So why had they stopped?

"Something is different." Ola mentioned.

There were another few carriages near the bridge. A small campsite had been set up on this side of the river. On the other side, Emre could see another campsite and two ragged-looking people on the bridge. They stood on either side, almost as if they were guarding it.

Slowly, the carriage started moving forward again. And Emre's group followed. Some people from the carriage campsite began to move around as their group neared.

"Hello! We're friendly!" One called out, waving their hands.

Ola moved forward with Ragan by her side. They were probably the best ones to go up and talk. Just in case they were lying, many of the mercenaries had placed their hands on their hilts.

Using his enhanced hearing, he strained his ears to listen to what they were going to be saying.

"What is going on here?" Ola questioned as one of the people from the caravan approached on foot.

Unlike the people on the bridge—who looked ragged like bandits—this person looked more like a simple merchant. He looked wary but somewhat hopeful at their large group.

"The people on the other side of the bridge refuse to let us pass unless we pay a handsome fee…" The merchant explained. "They refuse to take goods… only coin. We've been forced to set up camp because we do not have enough."

"Hm… and they've not tried to attack?" Ola asked.

"No... not yet."

"Have they let anyone through?" Ragan then asked.

"Ah, yes. There was one small group that went through." The merchant nodded slowly. "We asked them for help but apparently they were given a lower sum to pay so they went through despite us." He sighed.

"Hm…" Ola looked to everyone behind her. "Shall we get rid of some trash?"

The mercenaries responded by clacking their hilts on the scabbard a few times. Emre hadn't fought humans before… This would be an interesting experience.

"How many are there?" Ragan then asked the merchant.

He seemed startled by the increasing aggression of the group and answered hastily. "I don't know the exact number, but there are more than you. We can help and provide some of our guards but…"

"That should be fine." Ragan nodded with a small smile. "Don't worry. And bring your guards over so we can come up with a plan."

"Plan-shamam!" Ola scoffed. "Let's just charge in."

"Yeah!" One of the mercenaries yelled out his agreement while the others nodded.

The bandits on the other hand had noticed the group talking to the merchant and had begun to amass their men. They were gathering in a half-circle on the other side of the bridge with shields in hand. They didn't seem like the stupid bandits in video games or novels to Emre. Narrowing his eyes, he started forward.

Idris followed after him as they passed their group and then the carriage to join where Ola and Ragan were.

'They're making a formation.' Emre conveyed to both Idris and Ragan.

'You want to check it out first?' Ragan asked.

'Yeah. We'll go see how strong they are.'

Ragan nodded Erme and Idris continued forward without a word on the outside. To everyone else it just seemed like they just exchanged a glance and understood what the other wanted.

The merchant looked nervous as the two passed on either side of him on their horses and began to near the bridge. A few guards from the caravan stepped forward and began to meet them.

"How many guards are you?" Emre asked.

"There are six of us." One answered.

The caravan was actually quite large. There were three large supply wagons in total. There were plenty of merchants in the camp waiting with anxious looks.

"Go talk to those people back there." He pointed toward Ragan. "We're just going to take a look." Emre told them.

They hesitated but Emre had already turned his horse toward the stone bridge alongside Idris. Emre wasn't very good at strategy so it was best just to send them to Ragan who had well enough experience.

The horses' hooves clicked loudly on the stone as they stepped up onto the bridge. The two guards had backed off and rejoined their main group on the other side. A half-circle had been formed with shields planted firmly on the ground, pikes, and spears sticking out.

There was no way this was just a dumb bandit group. Usually, in stories or games, they would just come out of nowhere and charge with no plan, taking and destroying all they could from passing merchants. These ones seemed to have a system going on. It was probably the work of a good leader.

The two dragons focused on their dragon detection, scanning the large group of at least 30 people. They were well set up and Emre couldn't help but note the largest tent. It was likely where their leader was staying.

Most of the bandits seemed pretty average and the mercenaries would be able to take them on. There were a few, however, farther in the back who seemed stronger. About four? They were all glaring at Idris and Emre who were looking at them from the highest part of the bridge in the middle.

The bandits outnumbered them by at least 10 people. Their group, however, had several stronger people than these bandits. Ragan, Raina, Killan, and the carriage driver were all just as, if not stronger than those four people. Then if they added Conin, Idris, and Nalia into the fray, the bandits were outnumbered in terms of strength.

Emre didn't count himself because his strength only lied with healing and radiant magic. Neither of which he could use right now. His wind magic wasn't bad, but his swordplay was slacking in his opinion. If anything, without his radiant magic, he would be just above the strength of the normal bandits.

Then two of the strong ones in the back began to move up. The half-circle moved as the two approached, letting them through before they closed the gap again. When they had left another man came forward from the very back. His mana pool was the highest.

'That one is probably the leader.' Idris noted to him.

Emre wasn't able to see his features so he paid attention to the two stronger people that were walking up to them instead. Having no horses, they had to look up at Emre and Idris. They seemed on guard, but they did not have their weapons unsheathed.

One was a large man, combating even Gerrar's size. He had a large greatsword upon his back and makeshift half-plate armor. His warm copper skin was rough and scarred and his black dreaded hair draped messily over his shoulders. In Emre's opinion, he was actually quite handsome despite his worn and torn clothing.

A woman stood beside him, well-muscled, and was probably taller than Emre as well. Her skin was well-tanned and looked as if it had experienced sunburn far too many times. Two large axes adorned her hips and her hazel eyes glared toward them. They both were clearly flaunting their strong auras.

For normal people, they would become nervous and pressured by the aura, but Idris and Emre were not phased. Sure, Emre wasn't as strong as them without his radiant magic, but he was still a dragon.

"Hello, good men." She began, a fake generous smile upon her face. "Should you pay our toll then you can be let through without incident."

"What if we don't have enough?" Emre asked innocently with a similar smile.

"Then you may not pass."

"No compromises?"

"No."

"Interesting."

The woman placed a palm on the head of one of her axes, shifting her weight as the smile continued to grace her features. Idris responded in kind, placing his hand on his hilt casually, his stoic, aloof expression not changing to reveal his mood.

"It seems we'll have to get some money together then." Emre said, turning the horse around.

Idris waited to move until Emre was a few feet back before turning around as well. They returned to the group without incident. The two bandits had also turned around and returned to convene with the others.

Emre hadn't asked what the price was, so they had likely assumed that a fight was about to occur. Their assumptions were correct. Ragan had begun to get everyone together to listen to him.

Emre and Idris passed their horses off to some of the merchants to be tied up safely. Neither of them knew how to fight on horseback so they would just get in the way or get injured. Approaching the group, Emre crossed his arms as Ragan turned to them.

"What are we looking at?" He asked.

"About 30 bandits. They outnumber us by about 10, but our overall strength is better. Most of them are average strength, but there are five stronger ones. One is probably the leader."

"How strong is the strongest?"

"Probably Raina's strength. It's the leader." Raina was the second strongest aside from him and Idris.

"Raina won't be fighting."

Emre's eyes narrowed as he turned his eyes to the noblewoman. She met his gaze with a similar glare.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because someone needs to protect Elayna." Raina responded stubbornly.

"Your carriage driver is strong enough for that." Emre retorted.

A small bout of confusion spread among the group. The carriage driver who was standing off to the side with Elayna flinched. His aura was that of a regular farming man, but Emre knew that his mana pool was the strongest aside from Idris. The unfortunate part is that Emre had spoken on impulse.

Raina's hands clenched into fists and she looked back toward Elayna and the carriage driver. Elayna shook her head and then spoke to the carriage driver in a hushed voice.

"I'll fight then." Raina said as she looked back at Emre with sourness.

"Alright." He seemed satisfied as he looked back at Ragan.

The guards of the caravan were wary of the obvious inner conflict, but they were listening well once Ragan began to speak. The mercenaries glanced toward the carriage driver with questioning looks, but Emre's group did not think about it too much since they knew what Emre actually was.

"Then Raina will take on the leader. Myself, Killan, Gerrar, and Idris will focus on the four others. The rest of you will take on the grunts."

"I will join Idris." Emre interjected.

Ragan let out a sigh but didn't hesitate in responding. "Alright."

Emre glanced over to Idris with a smile.

'Friends gotta watch each other's backs, right?' He asked.

Idris's stoic face lifted in expression for but a second. 'Right.'

It wouldn't be like when they fought the dark creature, but Emre thought they had decent coordination together. They would just have to see how it worked out with their human bodies. It shouldn't be too bad if Idris focused on melee and Emre used his wind magic.

Emre wasn't quite confident enough in his sword skills even if he was at level 2 now. They would just have to choose the right opponent. His wind magic wasn't bad, it just wasn't good enough to harm a dark creature well enough compared to his radiant magic.

Unlike a dark creature, a human would feel more pain if their legs are cut up by wind blades. A small sly smile appeared on his face for a moment before he turned around toward the bridge once more. Bandits stealing from innocent merchants on the road were not deserving of their mercy.

"Time to get rid of some bugs!" Emre said gleefully.

Emre's party understood well what bugs were in Idris and Emre's eyes. It made them recall when Idris had kicked the man back in the village. He had called the man a bug at that time.

These bandits were just insects to them.