The older gentleman had a thick peppered mustache with bushy eyebrows. If it wasn't for his goofy bean hat that he was wearing I would say he had a very wise air about him. The aura around him was filled with vitality despite being an old man. The other young man beside him was strikingly handsome with long dark hair. He has a stoic face and his eyes are intense. He had a strong build, and seemed like he was someone who could put up a good fight. Both of these guys are definitely not ordinary, but I am unsure if Darwin would even notice that. "So Darwin, who might this young fellow accompanying you be?" The older man asked. Darwin instantly perked up. "A-ah! Yes, this is Sid. He arrived here not too long ago and has been staying with me. Oh! And this dog is Dutch." He said, gesturing to Dutch who was sitting down wagging her tail with her sword in her mouth. "D-don't mind the sword, she seems to carry it around with her everywhere. She also arrived here with Sid." Darwin finished. "Ahhh I see, so this young man arrived here at the edge of the forbidden lands? You must have quite the tale for us young Sid. My name is Peter Columbo, and this is my son Navy. Though my friends refer to me as Black eyed Pete hence my silly hat heh heh." The old man said with a wink. He's definitely going to hold that over me… "We are Tavern owners from the south of the Cashmere kingdom, though we don't affiliate much with the government there. We live on the outskirts of a small coastal town called Serenade. We run the Jumping Bean Tavern, famous for our signature spirits. Have you ever heard of us?" Pete asked. "Hello, it's nice to meet you both." I said with a slight bow. "I unfortunately haven't heard of your Tavern… I am actually originally from the Kingdom of Bane, and I lived in the slums there so I don't really know too much about the world. But Darwin has been teaching me quite a bit about the plants and beasts around this area." When I mentioned Bane, the younger man named Navy locked eyes with me for a brief moment before Pete spoke up again. "Hmmm Bane you say? That is quite a long way away from here. You'll definitely have to tell us how you ended up out here. For a boy the same age as my son to sail all the way here is quite impressive." Darwin interjected and said, "Oh he didn't sail here, he came from the center of the forest." Pete's eyes widened for a moment and he began coughing. Navy then began staring at me with a serious gaze. Does this guy even speak? "Goodness, you said the center of the forest? How in the world did ya manage to end up there? They call this area the forbidden lands for good reason y'know?" Pete said with an astonished tone. "Ha ha… yeah, I kinda just ended up there." I said innocently. I didn't want to reveal too much. I know that Darwin really trusts these people, but this is only my first interaction with them after all. I was pretty forthcoming with Darwin about my situation, but he was just a kid out here in the middle of nowhere all alone. I should be more careful with who I share details about myself with. I glanced over at Darwin hoping he would understand, and then I continued speaking. "It wasn't all too bad making my way here. Especially since I met Dutch while I was out in the forest. She's a very reliable pooch I must say." Pete was looking at me intently now, and I could have sworn I saw a glint of bright blue light flash across his eyes for a very brief moment. "Hmmm no need to explain any further youngster, but don't sell yourself short. It is certainly no easy feat to travel within this area. I have done so quite a few times in my glory days and it was always a treacherous journey. That dog there does seem quite capable indeed. What an interesting animal to carry around such a weathered blade. I'm quite curious hoh hoh!" "Ah, by the way Mr. Pete, did you say that Navy here was around my age?" When I asked that question, Navy then spoke up for the first time since they had gotten here. "Yeah, I might be a year or so older than you. I'm only 15." I was shocked by this at first since he was pretty big for a 15 year old, but then I recalled how large Ivan was and it didn't seem so crazy after that. "Wow you must train pretty hard to be that big at 15 ha ha.." I said while trying to avoid Navy's serious gaze. "Ho ho ho, it looks like my son has taken an interest in you young Sid. Usually it takes Navy a bit longer to warm up to people." Pete said as he patted Navy on the shoulder. Navy still held his serious gaze towards me and I was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable. "Ha ha, uhh is that a good thing?" I asked in a semi-joking and semi-serious manner. Navy then spoke up again, "Sid, was it? I can tell you're strong. Spar with me." Navy stated very seriously. Darwin chimed in, "U-Um, do you really think that's a good idea Navy?" I glanced towards Pete to see if he had any kind of objections towards this but he just stood there smiling nonchalantly like a proud father. "Hm, can I ask why you would want to spar with me? What makes you think that I am strong?" I questioned while locking eyes with Navy. Unexpectedly, Pete responded instead to answer my question. "Well young Sid, you see my son here is actually planning to become a knight in the near future. He wishes to travel to the Kingdom of Morland and join their Knighthood just like his old man did back in the day. It's quite a rigorous process. Although I have been training Navy myself, I have urged him to seek out training partners. Unfortunately where we live, there are few and far between individuals that could rival his strength. So now that we were blessed to have met young Sid, I think this is a great opportunity to see how far he has come." "Knights huh? I didn't know there was a place like that. Bane has some pretty powerful soldiers but I have never heard them being referred to as knights. It makes sense though, I could tell you guys weren't ordinary tavern owners based on how easily you scaled this stone spire. I can understand why you want to spar, but what I don't understand is why you think I am strong. So once again let me ask, what makes you think I am strong enough to spar with Navy here?" I questioned skeptically. "Come now Sid, it is quite apparent to us that your life energy far exceeds that of any average person. Even more so than I." Pete said as his eyes began to glow a fierce cerulean blue. "You guys, you're blessed aren't you?" I said in response to Pete's words. "It's quite easy for people such as us to recognize one another, no? Ho ho… On top of that, you aren't exactly concealing your vital energy young Sid. It can be dangerous in the world to simply let it flow out of yourself such as you're doing now, it can attract quite undesirable attention. And well, your vitality is unlike anything we have seen before." Pete said with a kind smile. I didn't know that it was so easy to tell that I had a blessing. Clearly there is some way to detect it and another way to conceal it. If sparring with Navy could possibly get them to teach me this method, then this may be an opportunity for myself as well… "I can tell what you're thinking." Stated Navy. "If you spar with me, I will teach you how to conceal your power." I stood there contemplating this situation. Ultimately there should be no harm in a simple spar. Additionally, on top of being able to learn how to conceal my inner energy, having real fighting experience is second to none. "Are we allowed to utilize our blessings in this bout?" I asked. For the first time, Navy's stoic face changed to a small smile. "I wouldn't have it any other way." Navy replied. "Alright then, but don't be surprised if something unexpected happens." I stated plainly. "No worries boys, I will watch over this bout and ensure it doesn't go overboard." Pete said reassuringly. I was a bit nervous at first. I had never actually sparred with anyone before. When it was just Ivan, Oli, and Myself we would sometimes wrestle around or practice "finishing moves" but in reality we didn't really know anything about fighting. If it wasn't for the time I was able to train with Gwyn, I'm unsure if I would have accepted this spar. Even so, there was no chance I was gonna lose.
