The second one walks with an adopted slouch, making most men give him little thought. A faded blue robe flows to the ground, the end dragging along behind him as he walks. A large, pointy straw hat rests upon his head, pulled low enough to cast his entire face in a dark shadow. Bright yellow eyes squint against the blinding radiance of the sun. His pale hands rest within the folds of his robe, the right hand gripping the hilt of a dagger hidden within.

“Finally!” the second man says, his voice coming out high-pitched and shrill, “it seems like we were traveling in that forest for days.”

“Well Kevin,” the first one answers, his voice rich and deep, “if we would have followed those footsteps.”

“I told you before, Syd,” says Kevin, “those were our footsteps.”

“And I thought we were goners when that green giant was chasing us,” continues Syd as though he had never been interrupted. “Good thing my incredible fighting skills kept him occupied long enough for you to blast him with your powerful, arcane magic.”

“Just shut up already. Look, there’s a sign, lets see what it says. ‘Wanted: Four Light Warriors to help save the world from the clutches of the evil lord of darkness, Dawz. But, more importantly, to save our beloved Princess Meagan from the clutches of the ruthless villain, Knight Shade, within the Temple of Doom. You can get properly equipped within the town with the goods that are for sale. See the king within Narna Castle to apply for the job. Large reward!’ Well, what do you think, Syd?”

“I like swords!” he replies.

“Anything else?”

“We’re gonna be Light Warriors! And I like swords!”

“Great, that is just wonderful. Well then, it says we need four people but there are only two of us.”

“I’m only counting one, yo!”

“That’s because you are forgetting to count yourself, idiot.”

“Oh. Well then I guess we only need one more person since I count as two people because I am so bad-ass!”

“Could you possibly be any dumber, Syd?”

“Huh?” he asks with a confused look on his face. Moments later he walks into a wall, not paying any attention to what is in front of him.

“Point taken,” Kevin says as a sly smile creeps onto his face. The two continue down the road in silence, entering the town's square. White stone buildings topped with a bright red roof stretch throughout the town. Citizens of Narna wander aimlessly, seeming to follow neither path nor pattern toward an unrecognizable destination. A stone well rests in the center, the water reflecting sunlight from its shimmering surface. They stand there pondering how to recruit two more people as a shadowy figure slowly creeps up from behind. The thief puts his nimble hands to work at slitting their purses, darting off with their gold.

“We should upgrade our equipment,” Kevin says after some consideration, “and then worry about companions.”

“I like swords!” Syd chimes in for no reason.

“Yes, we’ll buy you a new sword. How much gold do you have?”

“Huh?”

“Right,” Kevin says as he lets out a frustrated sigh, “how many shinys do you have with you?”

“Why didn’t you say so in the first place?” Syd says as he reaches into his pouch. “Huh, what happened to all my shinys?”

“We’ve been robbed!” Kevin says as he discovers his gold has been stolen as well.

“What?”

“Someone stole all our gold.”

“What?”

“Someone took our shinys.”

“Oh, why didn’t you say that before.”

“Just shut up and let's get our gold back.”

“But I wanna be a Light Warrior and get cool new shiny swords.”

“Look, without our gold we cannot get shiny new swords or spells that can cause pain and mass destruction.”

“But I like swords."

“Then let’s go find that thief!” Kevin says. They split up and begin searching for the thief. Kevin heads to the far side of the town and spies a Black Magic shop in the corner. Shrugging his shoulders, he decides to look in there first. Hundreds of ancient tomes reside upon dusty shelves lining the walls. A candle is burning in the center of the shop, revealing a tall man dressed in attire identical to Kevin’s. He glares down at Kevin as he approaches the counter, his glowing gaze unwavering.

“Have you seen a thief in here?” Kevin asks. “He stole the gold of my regrettably necessary traveling companion.”

“What do I look like, security?” the mage says.

“No, I was just...”

“Are you here to buy something or not?”

“No, I have no gold! That is why I must find this thief!”

“Just who do you think you are, barging in here demanding answers when you are not even going to buy anything? Do you think I am a charity?”

“I am...”

“Just get lost! Don’t ever come back in here again. You are a disgrace to the honorary class of Black Mage!”

“If only I hadn’t used that Level Three Bolt spell,” Kevin says as he departs from the shop, “I’d show him a thing or two. He shall see, I will exact my revenge from his hide!”

He decides to head next door and check out the White Magic shop as well, hoping to have better luck in there. The store’s layout is identical to the Black Magic shop, only more brightly lit. Behind the counter is an old woman dressed in a white-hooded robe with four parallel red stripes across the back. Her hood is pushed back, exposing a tangle of gray hair. She is currently with a customer who is dressed fully in red, complete with a cape and a hat adorned with a single white feather. Long white hair stretches down his back, getting lost underneath the cape. The old lady looks over as Kevin enters, pausing to address him.

“Welcome young man, how may I help you?”

“Have you seen a thief in here? He stole the gold of my traveling companion.”

“No sir, I have not,” she says.

“Excuse me,” the man in red responds, “but don’t you think this thief would be far away from here by now?”

“Who the hell are you?” Kevin asks.

“I am the Red Mage!” he exclaims while striking a cheesy-looking pose in the process. “The name is David.”

“And you are here in this shop because?”

“I can use both white and black magic,” David proudly answers.

“No way! How did you manage that?”

“Well, using my incredible intelligence and natural knack for expanding my vast arsenal, I simply took a hindrance on the numerical quantities of spells I could learn from either school in order to improve upon my versatility. Thus I am twice as useful as a companion because I can do a little of both.”

“I thought only women could use white magic.”

“Well, I had to bend a few rules in order to achieve that.”

“Like what?”

“I’d rather not say, its quite embarrassing.”

“Oh come on,” Kevin says, “it can’t be that bad.”

“If you knew the ritual those young ladies went through, you’d understand. I haven’t walked quite the same since then.” He turns to leave and Kevin follows soon thereafter. As they step outside an attractive young White Mage walks by, her bright red hair dancing in the wind.

“Whoa boy, there’s a hottie mage,” Kevin says as his eyes trail along as she walks by. He hesitates momentarily, but his male instincts end up winning in the end. He rushes off to catch up to her, getting by her side. “Hold up, baby. Why you in such a rush? How about you and me go back to my place and get to know each other better?”

Instead of dignifying him with a verbal response she halts. He comes to a stop beside her as she pulls a large war hammer from under her robe and, before he can react, smashes the solid head into his chest. The impact sends him flying through the air and he crashes into a wall, cracking the stones.

“Ouch!” he says, dazed from the impact. “I think she likes me.” He slowly stumbles back onto his feet and hurries to catch back up to her again.

“What now?” she asks as she spins to face him. “Can’t you see that I am busy?”

“Don’t act all shy and innocent. You know you can’t resist my awesome magical prowess and strikingly handsome looks.” Again, instead of a verbal response she bashes him with the hammer, sending him flying back into the wall. Chunks of stone crumble off the wall, tumbling to the ground below. “Yep,” he says as he gets back onto his feet and hurries to catch her again, “she digs me.”

“Persistent, aren’t you?”

“Just call it the magnetic attraction between us driving me back to you. I have amazing stamina for such a little guy. You’re guaranteed pleasure when you get on the Kevin-express all – night – long!”

This time he crashes through the wall, the entire building collapsing on top of him. Everyone nearby stares at the wreckage, mouths gaping, as a cloud of dust rises from the rubble. Kevin emerges minutes later, hacking violently. His hat is tattered and his robe is torn, but apart from some scrapes and bruises he seems fairly unharmed. He limps over to where David and the White Mage are still standing.

“Why can’t you see that I don’t like you?” she asks.

“Well, you see I am actually looking for two other candidates to come with my companion and myself to save the world. I kinda thought that your white magic skills would come in handy along the way.”

“Oh, well why didn’t you say that in the first place? Of course I’ll come along to help save the world. My name is Alisyn.”

“Hey, wait a minute,” David says, “I have white magic, too! Can I help?”

“I thought only women could use white magic,” Alisyn asks.

“Well, I kinda went through some of the rites in order to have access to the school of white magic, thus maximizing my advantages while minimizing my weaknesses.”

“You mean you got?”

“I’d rather not talk about it,” David says.

“Well then,” Kevin says, “let’s go find Syd and become Light Warriors.”