Chapter 15 RACING AGAINST SUNSET
It was almost sunset, and no one had seen the hide or hair of Magnus. He had yet to come out of his room. Either that or he had done an amazing job of avoiding his companions for the entire day and had even managed to slip back in before they returned. The first was far more likely, but it was very unnatural to be asleep for that long. If he didn't get up soon, he would be in no shape to participate in the tournament.
Xyra and Darren were standing in front of Magnus's door, just waiting for him to come out. They were both slowly losing their patience. Soon they would have no choice but to go in and see just what was keeping the sorcerer. He probably hadn't even eaten yet, considering the fact that he hadn't sought them out at all during the afternoon. It's not like he was obligated to eat with them, but it would have been nice if he had. Something about this situation just seemed odd. No one, unless they had been sleep-deprived, could sleep for an entire day.
"Should we go in?" asked Xyra curiously. Darren just scowled in response, his eyes glued to the door. He really was getting sick of waiting. The agitation was crystal clear in his eyes, and it reflected greatly in his posture.
"Just a little longer," he growled as he crossed his arms and began taping his foot defiantly. Despite his claim, Xyra had a feeling that the idea of waiting "a little longer" was going to come to a rather abrupt and violent end. His movements were becoming more and more frenetic with each passing moment as his scowl eventually turned into a full-fledged glare. It was official—Darren's patience had run out.
"That's it!" he shouted as he reached for the door. "This is ridiculous! No one needs to sleep this long!" With a turn of the door knob and one forceful shove, he threw open the door, causing a rather loud crash to echo as he carelessly smashed it into the wall.
Xyra was the first one to enter the room, seeing how Darren had so kindly opened the door for her. Her eyes went right to the bed, and lo and behold, Magnus was indeed sound asleep. It looked like he hadn't gotten up once. A normal person would have been disturbed by something by now, either by noise or sunlight. The second wasn't even an option in this case. His shutters were tightly closed. Not a single ray could penetrate them.
Darren sighed in frustration as he saw Magnus sleeping the day away without a care in the world. For a sorcerer, he was far too laidback. Most sorcerers were pretty serious people who spent a good portion of their time studying, practicing, and gaining magic power, most of which was achieved with the help of hunting. It provided an excellent source of practice and income. Magnus was just the opposite, except for maybe the gaining power and demon hunting parts. His demeanor really gave the impression that he was somewhat naïve and a little careless. He didn't appear to have even a single spell book on him for which to study his magic, something that a great number of sorcerers never traveled without. He was either insanely powerful or just plain foolish. It was honestly hard to tell.
The hunter began to head across the room, having every intention of waking up the sleeping sorcerer, but before he could get even a fourth of the way there, someone ran into him from behind. He was nearly knocked over, catching himself just before he could fall. He quickly whirled around and gave the figure behind him a glare. He had to glance down, however, seeing how the object of his irritation was a bit shorter than himself. It was an old man with beady eyes, dressed entirely in dark robes. There was an annoyed glare on his face to match Darren's.
"Outta the way," said Gareth as he brushed right past the hunter and began making his way towards Magnus.
Xyra and Darren stared on in complete confusion as the gruff old man stopped next to the bed and set down a parcel he had been carrying. A sigh escaped his lips as a deep scowl appeared on his face. His beady black eyes were staring aggravatingly at the young sorcerer, who still had yet to notice that there were three rather upset people in his room. He seemed blissfully unaware of everything.
"Stupid boy," Gareth remarked as he reached into his long, heavy cloak and pulled out a small piece of paper, infused with a blood-red gem and covered in black ink. It had a symbol written on it, one made up of circles and triangles. He set it on Magnus's forehead and muttered a few words. Soon enough, the charm began glowing.
"W—what are you doing?" asked Xyra, her voice shaking with unease. This man had just run right in and cast some sort of spell without saying or explaining anything, and she and Darren had been too caught off guard to do anything about it. How were they supposed to know if he was a friend or foe? Exactly what was he doing to Magnus?
"This idiot placed a sleepin' spell on himself," Gareth explained. "I take it you two were comin' ta wake him. No matter what ya woulda tried, it wouldn't work. You'd have to really slap him to get him outta this kinda trance."
"Just who are you?" Darren asked a bit roughly, not seeming too trusting of the old man. The fact that Gareth had run right into him and then hadn't said a word of apology really didn't help his impression any.
Gareth was about to answer, but a soft moan followed by a yawn quickly drew their attention towards the bed. Magnus was slowly beginning to sit up, stretching his arms over his head as he did so. He yawned yet again before finally opening his eyes. He had to blink at them a few times to get everything adjusted, seeing how he hadn't used them for an entire day. It wasn't long before he could make out three figures standing in his room, but the closest person came into view first. It was someone he had been more or less expecting to see.
"Good morning, Gareth," greeted Magnus with a lazy smile. He received a rather disgruntled glare from the short old man.
"Mornin'? It's almost nightfall!" he shouted.
Magnus's half-lidded eyes shot open in shock, and he quickly turned to his window. He pulled open the shutters and found that it was indeed almost dark outside. The sun had already started to sink from the sky, and soon it would disappear beyond the horizon.
"I was asleep all day?!"
"Seems that way," Gareth said uncaringly. He was met with a rather frustrated glare from his young friend.
"Why didn't you wake me sooner!?"
"Ya didn't specify a time, boy. I can't read yer mind. Yer lucky I came at all. I got a shop ta run, ya know? You should really keep a better track of time, or yer always gonna be late fer somethin'."
"What do you…?" He cut himself off as realization hit. A sense of panic immediately overwhelmed him.
"The tournament!" he shouted as he jumped out of bed and began gathering his things, which luckily didn't include much. "I gotta go!"
He was about to run out of the room, but Gareth quickly grabbed onto the back of his shirt, stopping him in his tracks and pulling him back. The force was too much for Magnus in his rushed state, causing him to crash unceremoniously to the floor.
"Ya ain't goin' anywhere like that," he stated firmly. He then pointed to the parcel he had brought. "I got the stuff ya wanted, but don't blame me if it ain't quite the right size."
As soon as Magnus was back on his feet, Gareth shoved the boy over to the package.
"Now get changed so we can get goin'."
"You're coming too?" Magnus asked.
"Of course. Can't miss a single moment where ya might make a fool a yerself."
"Gee, thanks," he mumbled as he glared at Gareth, but the man just laughed and walked out of the room, passing right by Darren and Xyra, who were both still looking on in confusion. They were about to ask Magnus about the old man they had just seen, but they didn't get the chance.
"In case you're wondering who that was," he began as he opened the parcel, "He's a shop owner and a mentor—a guide of sorts. He collects information and relays it to the people he knows will make good use of it."
"He's a friend of yours?" asked Darren.
"You could say that. I've known him for quite a while."
Magnus pulled the garments out of the package Gareth had brought him. They were just like the ones he was wearing, but they lacked the damage and bloodstains. Even though the old man had told him that the sizes might not be right, they looked incredibly accurate.
Late last night, he had gone to talk to Gareth before returning to the inn. He had requested some new clothes so that he wouldn't look out of place at the tournament, but he had failed to note any specifications. He had also asked to be woken up before the tournament. Thankfully, Gareth had gotten everything right…more or less. It was quite nice to see that the old man had indeed come through for him in the end, but he had been hoping for him to arrive a little earlier. At this rate, he'd barely have time to eat, and it wasn't wise to participate in a tournament on an empty stomach.
"Could you guys do me a favor and get me something to eat?" he asked, giving Xyra and Darren a pleading smile. "I need to change before I head to the arena, and after sleeping all day, I'm kinda hungry."
"Sure," said Xyra as she began heading for the door. "Come on, Darren."
Both of them left the room and began making their way to the entrance. Before long, they were out on the streets in search of a restaurant or some sort of street vender that sold food. They had to find something fast though, because none of the businesses were going to be open for much longer, considering the event that was going to take place at sunset.
Up ahead they could see Drester's grand arena, the largest controlled battlefield on the entire planet. Almost all important tournaments were held there, and often enough there wasn't a seat left unoccupied. Today would be no different. There was already a huge crowd flocking towards it. If they didn't hurry up with their errand, Magnus would end up late, and they'd probably have to stand.
A tournament as magnificent as this, with such a powerful and intriguing prize, was bound to attract not only a huge crowd but a lot of competition. Their friend would really have his work cut out for him. It was obvious he had a fair hand with magic, but if anything did him in, it would be his age. Older sorcerers were often more experienced at honing their skills, and he was indeed on the younger end of the spectrum.
"Hey," called Darren, catching Xyra's attention. "You think he can do it?"
"What?"
"Win the tournament." There were a few doubts in his mind concerning Magnus. They had only known him for a few days, and that wasn't anywhere near enough time to pass judgment on his skill. Based solely on logic and stereotypes, he didn't stand much of a chance when matched up against those who had been casting for so much longer. Sure, he was an amazing hunter, but killing demons was a bit different from winning a sorcerer's tournament.
However…there was something a little different about Magnus. Despite his somewhat careless, laidback attitude, the man had a lot of drive and confidence, and it wasn't just for show. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who thought that. He watched Xyra as a smug smile washed over her face. Her eyes were lit with the same determination that Magnus's had. He knew what her answer would be before she could even open her mouth.
"… Definitely."