{"sf1_id":792343,"sf2_id":null,"title":"The Wandering Shadow: Chapter Eight","author":"LucarioZer0","words":5098,"posted_at":"2014-12-06T06:43:00.000Z","tags":["Canine","Character Development","Clean","Human","Magic","Plot Development","Wolf"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/792343-the-wandering-shadow-chapter-eight","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/792343","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=792343\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"8The cart bounced\nalong the road, pulled by a chestnut colt. Jean and Chloe sat on the bench seat\nwhile Will and David sat in the back. Jenna was curled up beside Will, still\nfast asleep. The past few minutes had passed in silence, David waiting for Will\nto start talking.A few more\nminutes passed, impatience prompting David to ask, \"So are you going to talk or\nnot?\"Will nodded. \"I\njust...I don't even know where to really start. I...I need you to tell me...this\nfriend of yours--Greyson--please tell me he's not a lie. Please tell me this\nisn't some trick.\"David quirked a\nbrow. \"'Course he's real. Why?\"Will took in a\ndeep breath, letting it out slowly. \"Because Jenna's condition is far\nmore...dangerous than I thought.\"\"What, are you\nworried she's gonna attack you next or something?\"Will shook his\nhead. \"It's...it's not about what she could do...it's about what that energy could\ndo to her. It...there's a reason that I.O.M.E. is so strict when it comes to\nmalevolently fueled energies. It's not just because they're difficult for us to\nfight against. It's also because they can cause as much harm to the users as\nthe victims. Energies that are based around darker intentions...or energies based\naround death...can destroy people...or create monsters.\"David scoffed.\n\"Monsters? You're absolutely barking.\"Will shook his\nhead. \"I.O.M.E. has records...records we don't release to the public. We don't\nwant to cause panic and fear among the general population. But there have been\ncases when people have turned themselves or others into the most horrible of\nabominations.\"David, still\nskeptical, asked, \"What kind of 'abominations?'\"\"Most of the\ntime...you can't tell them apart from ordinary people. They can blend in. But\nthey aren't truly human anymore.\"\"What are they\nthen?\"Will hesitated\nfor a moment. What he was about to say wasn't common knowledge--and for good\nreason. \"Some of the most horrible creature you've heard of in myths and\nlegends have a basis in fact. Vampires. Werewolves. Succubae. Of course, none\nof them are actually as the legends describe them, but they all have real world\ncounterparts.\"David started to\nlaugh, but his smile faded as he realized Will wasn't joking. \"You...you can't\nactually expect me to believe that.\"\"It's not a\nmatter of belief. It's simple fact. If you choose not to believe it that's up\nto you.\"David cleared his\nthroat, feeling a bit nervous. \"So then...these creatures...where do they come\nfrom?\"Will ran a hand\nthrough his hair, rubbing the back of his head. \"Well...they aren't born. No one\nis born with that kind of darkness in them. They have to be made by someone.\nSomeone who has power over darkness or death. I.O.M.E. hasn't been able to do\nmuch research because these kinds of...aberrations...are comparatively rare.\nSometimes they're created purposely, but more often it's by accident. Someone\ntoys with energies beyond their control...then those energies consume them. And\nthat's what worries me about Jenna.\"David nodded.\n\"You're worried those energies in her body will destroy her as you know her,\nand leave some remorseless beast in her place.\"Will nodded\nslowly. \"Yes. There's also a chance...that...those energies could simply kill her.\nIt's an energy that destroys life. If that dark energy inside her isn't\nremoved...or at the very least brought under control...well, you saw what happened\nto that man's arm.\"A tense, awkward\nsilence fell as the implications of that sunk in. The images it invoked in\ntheir minds were far from pleasant. Will looked down at Jenna, a fearful pain\nlancing his heart. So much had gone wrong in their lives already and now things\nonly seemed worse. The last thing he wanted was for Jenna to have yet another\nthing to be upset about. \"David...don't say anything about this to Jenna.\"\"Why not?\nShouldn't she--\"\"No. I don't\nwant her to worry about it. I just want to get this handled as quickly as\npossible.\"David considered\narguing for a moment, but decided better of it and asked, \"So what's our plan\nmoving forward then?\"\"Same as it has\nbeen. Get to this friend of yours...and pray that he can do something to help.\nActually...once we get to Paris...I want us to take one day to rest from traveling.\nJenna and I have been traveling almost nonstop for the past two weeks now. We\ncould use at least one day.\"\"Right then,\nwhat about after that?\"Will hesitated\nfor a moment. He wanted to travel as fast as possible, but at the same time he\ndidn't want to do anything he was uncomfortable with. In the end he decided\nthat he would have to live with some wrong doing if it meant saving Jenna.\n\"When we leave for Arles...I want you to do whatever is necessary to procure a\nfaster method of travel.\"David leaned\nback against the side of the cart, looking Will over. A smile formed on his\nlips. \"And there it is. Desperation, rearing its head. Shocking isn't it? The\nclarity it gives you?\"Will scowled.\n\"I'm not proud of this decision. I'll probably feel guilt over it for a long\ntime. But right now my main goal is to make sure that Jenna is alright. I'll\ndeal with my moral issues once that's taken care of.\"David shrugged.\n\"If you insist, who am I to argue then? Hey, maybe we could make things simple,\nand I could just make these two think they still have their cart for a while,\nthen we--\"\"You aren't\ngoing to steal from them. If you have to resort to theft, then fine. But these\ntwo have helped us and you will not\nsteal from them. Am I understood?\"David sighed.\n\"Still have some limits then. Fine, I'll find some other way.\"\"Good.\"Silence fell\nonce more as the cart continued bouncing along the road, Jean and Chloe\nblissfully oblivious to the fact that they had avoided a second attempt at\nrobbery.***There\nwas darkness all around. Jenna looked around, confused. Where was she? She\nlooked down at herself and felt a sudden burst of joy. She was human again! Her\nbody was just as she remembered it. The joy faded all too quickly though as she\nfelt a sharp pain in her chest. Her skin started to tingle then to burn. She\nfell to the ground, landing on all fours. She clenched her eyes tight, praying\nfor it to be over. When she opened her eyes again she looked over herself. She\nwas a wolf once more. She let out a mournful howl as even she faded from her\nown sight.***Jenna's eyes\nsnapped open. She was breathing heavily and her whole body felt sore. She could\nhear wheels rolling along a cobblestone road, accompanied by hooves clopping on\nthe same surface. She looked up to see a blue and black sky, where the first\nfew stars were shining. It looked as though the sun had set not too long ago.She let out a\nsigh. It wasn't the first time she had had that dream. It had been haunting her\nmost nights since her transformation. She shook her head, trying to clear the\nimages from her mind.Jenna looked\naround, trying to figure out where they were. It was obvious they were in a\ncart. Looking up she could see Jean and Chloe on the driver's bench, though she\ndidn't know them by name. Those two must\nhave offered to take us to Paris, she thought. Rather nice of them.Looking the\nother way she could see Will and David, both fast asleep. She had been hoping\nWill was awake as she rather felt like being hugged. She laid her head down\natop her paws and let out another sigh. She couldn't do anything to make\nherself feel better. She couldn't even cry. She settled for letting out a\nsingle, long whine, though it did little to unburden her mind.She had\nforgotten though just how light a sleeper Will was, and that one whine was\nenough to rouse him. He looked around in confusion then his eyes fell on Jenna.\nHe crawled over to her and smiled when she looked up at him. \"Hey. Glad to see\nyou're awake. Are you feeling alright?\"She hesitated\nfor a moment then darted into his lap, snuggling in close to him. He sighed. \"I\nguess that's a no then.\"He hugged her,\njust as she had hoped he would. After a few moments he quietly said, \"I'm so\nsorry you have to be the one going through this. I wish...I just wish none of it\nhad ever happened really.\"Jenna gave no\nresponse, allowing herself to be consumed in the moment, silently accepting the\ncomfort his embrace gave her. They stayed like that until they reached Paris\nand the sky was filled with starlight. Will and Jenna reluctantly separated and\nwoke David when they passed through the city gates. After parting ways with\nJean and Chloe, the three of them found a hotel where they could spend the\nnight.***Quentin\nshuddered slightly, a chill passing through his body. He hadn't had any contact\nwith Carmina since she had forced him to help her. Now that he stood in the\nburned out building that was home to her and her acolytes he couldn't help but\nfeel nervous. He had been waiting for nearly twenty minutes already. The room\nhe stood in was lit only by candles, and the low light was playing tricks with\nhis mind. He kept thinking he saw movement in the shadows.He took a deep\nbreath, trying to calm his nerves. Instead it resulted in his chest burning\nwith pain. He reached a hand up to his chest. Though he couldn't feel them\nthrough his shirt, he knew the scars from his last encounter with Carmina were\nstill there. Five ragged circles, giving testament to where her hand had\npunctured his skin. Though technically healed, they still caused him pain.\"Sorry to have\nkept you waiting.\"Quentin jumped\nin surprise then turned to find Carmina standing in the doorway behind him, a\nsweet sort of smile on her lips. She walked over to him, her eyes soft with\nwhat appeared to be concern. \"I didn't scare you, did I?\"Quentin gulped.\nHe didn't like this at all. The last time she had acted sweet it had ended with\nhaving holes burned into his chest. \"I...I'm fine. What did you bring me here\nfor?\"\"Well now, you\nwouldn't be much use to me if I never saw you, now would you? I just have a few\nquestions to ask then you can leave.\"Quentin nodded.\n\"Alright then.\"Carmina smiled a\nbit wider. \"Good. So then, perhaps most importantly, is I.O.M.E. still looking\nfor me?\"Quentin nodded.\n\"Yes...but not in the city. They assume that you and your...followers wouldn't be\nfoolish enough to stay in the city. So now all I.O.M.E. offices in the country\nare on alert for anyone matching your description.\"\"But they don't\nthink I'm in the city anymore?\"\"That's right.\"\"Excellent. Now\nthen, eventually I will be resuming the work that Silas and I began. However,\nwhere he wanted to inspire fear I feel amore subtle approach is necessary. It\nwas something we argued rather frequently. Now that he's gone I have control,\nso I want to keep our work...quiet. While it will still naturally involve\nsacrifices, we need to keep I.O.M.E.--and everyone else--from seeing too much.\"Quentin nodded.\n\"Naturally you and your murdering psychopaths don't want to draw attention to\nyourselves. So what is it you're asking me?\"Carmina\nconsidered punishing his insolence for a brief moment, but decided to let him\nhave that one moment. \"I'm asking how often--if ever--I.O.M.E. does any kind of\nsearches through the city's sewer systems.\"Quentin quirked\na brow. \"The sewers?\"\"Yes. We can use\nthem to move through the city undetected, as well as it being a convenient\nplace to dispose of any one whose life we take. We don't need any bodies to be\nout in the open as evidence.\"Quentin felt a\nbit sick at how casually she was referring to the act of killing. \"I...uh...don't\nreally know. I'm not an officer. I'm just a researcher. I have no clue about\nhow they run things on the streets.\"Carmina's smile\nfaded. \"That is...unfortunate. Then you will find the answer to my question before\nI next bring you here.\"\"How? It'll seem\nsuspicious if I go asking questions like that around the precinct.\"Carmina scowled.\n\"I don't care how you do it, just get it done.\"Quentin sighed.\n\"Fine. Anything else?\"Carmina shook\nher head. \"I think that will be all for now. More will come later as I begin to\nput my plans in motion. Now leave.\"Quentin nodded\ncompliantly. He was all too happy to get away from her. \"As you wish.\"He stopped\nthough after just a few steps. \"Uh...one quick question from me...do you...do you\nknow what Will and Jenna are up to? You had that guy follow after them so...\"\"I do. Why do\nyou ask?\"\"Because I\nconsider Will a friend and I'm concerned for his welfare.\"Carmina grinned.\n\"I see. Well then, you should know that whoever you sent them to was unable to\nhelp. That woman--Jenna, you said? She still takes the form of a wolf. They\nstill search for a way to change her.\"Quentin clenched\na fist, irritated over the joy she was taking in Will and Jenna's anguish. \"I\nsee. I'll be leaving then.\"Once more\naffecting a sweet tone Carmina said, \"Until next time then.\"***Will stood on\nthe balcony of their fifth floor hotel room, looking out over Paris. The sun\nwas setting, bathing the city on orange light. Their day of rest was almost\nover, and they would be leaving the city the next day to continue toward Arles.Will and Jenna\nhad spent the day with just each other for company, as David had left that\nmorning, saying he was going to \"go enjoy what Paris had to offer\". Will had\ndeclined to ask what that meant, as he was sure he would be happier not\nknowing. David's absence had resulted in a quiet day\nfor Will and Jenna. Though it often wound up being too quiet. While they\nenjoyed each other's company, both missed being able to talk to one another.\nThe lack of conversation made time pass at an agonizing pace. After a while\nWill hadn't been able to take it any longer, resulting in him taking his\ncurrent place on the balcony.Jenna was still\ninside, lying on one of the two beds in the room. He was all too aware that\nthey had been drifting apart recently. It was becoming common for them to sit\napart, to avoid each other's gazes. If things continued as they were, he wasn't\ntotally sure their relationship could survive. Will felt a pang\nof guilt as he thought about her being alone. He knew he should try to stay\nclose to her. She needed--no, they needed to be together during such troubling\ntimes. Yet he still couldn't bring himself to leave that spot. For the first\ntime in what felt like forever he wasn't being forced to see what had happened\nto her. It wasn't as though he didn't know, but not being able to see her made\nit feel just a bit less real.A few hours\npassed as day faded into night, Will looking out over the city all the while.\nThen Will's attention was drawn by the sound of the room's door being unlocked\nand opened. Seeing as he had put a 'Do not disturb' sign on the door, he\nassumed that was David returning. Will sighed, then turned and walked back into\nthe room, closing the balcony door behind him.As he had\nsuspected David had returned, and from what Will could see the illusionist was\nmore than a bit drunk, stumbling into the room and all but collapsing face\nfirst on to the empty bed. Will rolled his eyes. \"Do I even want to know where\nyou've been all day?\"David rolled\nover and pushed himself into a sitting position. His words came out a bit\nslurred when he spoke, and he had a grin plastered on his face. \"Well\nI...certainly didn't spend all day in one of the city's red light districts. I know\nyou wouldn't approve of that, now would you?\"Will shook his\nhead. \"Wonderful. So you're drunk as hell, and you've probably caught some\ndisease while you were out today.\"David gave an\nindignant snort. \"Give me some credit, would ya mate? I do know the uh...the\nclean from the...not so clean ones.\"Will was\nskeptical, but had no desire to continue to discuss it, so he simply said, \"If\nyou say so.\"\"Wonderful. So\nwhat did you and wolfy do all day then?\"Jenna raised her\nhead to look at David, growled once, and then returned to her previous\nposition. Will shared the sentiment, though he would have to approach it\ndifferently. \"David...don't speak so casually about what's happened to her.\"David tilted his\nhead to one side, as though he was confused. \"I...uh, alright then. So what did\nyou two all day then?\"Will sighed.\n\"About as much as you would expect. There's not much we can do.\"David nodded\nknowingly. \"Yeah...I imagine the wolf thing puts a bit of a damper on your love\nlife. You don't really get to do any...dirty things...with her like that. Right?\"Jenna sat bolt\nupright, her eyes wide while Will stiffened and his cheeks turned red. Jenna\nstarted growling softly, and Will found himself fighting the urge to hit David.\n\"That...is none of your business, and we are not going to discuss it.\"\"Oh fine. God,\nyou're just no fun. Always so serious.\"Will sighed. \"So\nI've been told.\"After a few\nmoments of silence David allowed himself to fall back onto the bed and asked,\n\"So what do you want to talk about then?\"\"Considering\nyour current mental state...I would say it would be better if you just went to\nsleep.\"\"Bollocks to\nthat. I'm not tired. Besides, I've traveled with you two for...er...some amount of\ntime now, but I don't really know you. Why don't you tell me about yourselves?\"Will shook his head.\n\"I'd rather not. I don't think we need to bother with familiarity. We won't be\naround each other long enough for it to matter.\"\"What do you\ncare if it matters? It's something to do, isn't it?\"\"Fine. If it'll\nget you to be quiet sooner then ask whatever you want.\"\"Lovely.\nAlright, let me think.\" A few seconds passed before David asked, \"Alright, so I\nknow you're with I.O.M.E. Did Jenna have any kind of job before...you know.\"Will quirked a\nbrow. \"Really? If that's the best you could come up with...then she did have a\njob. She owned the bookstore below our apartment.\"David nodded.\n\"Ah. Can't say I care much for books. Not willing to sit still long enough to\nread 'em I suppose. So how'd you get together then? I wouldn't think a\nbookstore owner and an officer would be likely to meet.\"Will scowled.\n\"I'm going to ignore that I think that was somehow an insult.\"Tired of\nstanding, Will took a seat on the edge of the bed Jenna was on. \"We met about\nfive years ago. I was twenty at the time. I think she was nineteen.\"He looked to\nJenna for confirmation. She nodded, and he continued. \"Well, I was in need of a\nquiet place to study. I was only a few weeks away from going through my final\nexamination to become an I.O.M.E. officer. So, I went to the library, and that's\nwhere I met her.\"\"I thought you\nsaid she owned a bookstore?\"Will nodded.\n\"She only opened that about two years ago. Before that Jenna worked in a\nlibrary. I couldn't tell you exactly what got us talking, but I can tell you I\ndidn't do much studying that day.\"He looked over\nto Jenna, smiling softly. \"I knew I was smitten by the time I left the\nlibrary.\"Though she\ncouldn't smile back, Jenna had a contented look in her eyes as she stood,\nwalked across the bed to him, and lied back down with her head in his lap. Will\nallowed their eyes to meet for a moment then looked back over to David with the\nintent of finishing the story. To his surprise David was asleep in what was\npresumably an alcohol induced stupor.Will rolled his\neyes then looked back to Jenna and whispered, \"I think we should go to bed too.\nWe have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.\"She nodded\ncompliantly and the two of them buried themselves under the covers, Jenna\nsnuggled up against his chest as they let themselves be taken by sleep.When the next\nmorning came Will and Jenna split up with David, the two of them heading for\nthe edge of town. As they walked Will explained that David was going to go\nsecure them a faster means of getting to Arles, after which he would meet them\njust outside Paris. This only served to confuse Jenna, who couldn't believe\nthat Will would condone having David steal anything, as she was certain that\nwas the intention. Is he really that\nconcerned about me? Is it because of what happened with those bandits?Seeing her confusion\nWill tried to think of a way to explain it to her without revealing the true\nsource of his concern. Finally he said, \"We're doing this for two reasons. The\nfirst is that we've wasted enough time already, and it's time we put this all\nbehind us. Second...I'm tired of arguing with David on the subject. If it get's\nyou back to normal I can live with it.\"It wasn't the\nfull truth, but he was certain it would be enough to satisfy her. To his relief\nshe nodded to indicate her understanding. What he didn't\nrealize that she already knew he was hiding something from her. She had never\ntold him, but he was a generally awful liar. She had always been able to tell\nwhen he was keeping something from her, good or bad. I'm sure he ahs a good reason, she thought, but I would still rather he told me everything. This does involve my\nfuture and wellbeing, after all!They walked for\nabout half an hour down the road before stopping and sitting under a tree at\nthe edge of the road. Will knew he was putting his faith in someone he didn't\nactually trust. True he had come to have some small amount of trust for David,\nat the same time he found himself doubting whether or not the illusionist would\ncut and run now that they weren't able to keep an eye on him. Though when Will\nthought about it, he knew David could have left anytime if he really wanted to.\nThat thought gave him some comfort as they waited.Will breathed a\nsigh of relief as his faith was rewarded when David came into view, sitting on\nthe driver's bench of a cart being drawn by a silvery grey horse. He stopped\nthe cart in front of them and jumped down from his perch with a grin on his\nface. \"Didn't let you down, now did I? What do you think?\"Will and Jenna\nstood the former brushing dirt from his cloak. \"It'll work. I hope you didn't\ntake this from someone who really needed it.\" David grinned a bit wider. \"Now you wouldn't\nwant me to tell everything, would you? All you need to know is that Vincent\nhere will get us to Arles at a much faster pace.\"Will quirked a\nbrow. \"Vincent?\"David nodded and\npatted the grey colt on the shoulder. \"Aye. He'll be the one pulling us along.\"\"Did you pick\nthat name, or was it given to him by his original owners?\"\"I chose it.\nIt's good, isn't it?\"Will shrugged.\n\"I suppose. Doesn't really matter to me. Let's just get moving.\"David rolled his\neyes but didn't argue as Will and Jenna clambered into the back of the cart.\nThen he retook his seat on the driver's bench, took the reigns, and urged\nVincent to start moving, setting them off down the road.***Two relatively\nuneventful days of travel saw the trio arrive in Arles. Once within the city\nDavid guided the cart through the streets to the southern part of town, finally\nstopping in front of a modest two story house. \"Well, here we are. Just like I\npromised.\"Jenna hopped out\nof the cart, Will climbing out after her. Looking back at David he said, \"Don't\nget too excited. If this Greyson isn't here, you're not off the hook.\"David nodded as\nhe dropped off the bench, joining them as they walked up the path to the house.\n\"Yeah, I know. Don't worry mate. Even if he's not here, I'll stick with you 'til\nthis is all over and done.\"Will's voice\ndripped with sarcasm as he said, \"I'm thrilled to hear that.\"David scowled. \"Do\nyou always have to be so bloody rude? I know this is far from an ideal\nsituation, but I am trying to help.\"Will rolled his eyes.\n\"Right, well, when you start treating things a bit more seriously, I'll treat\nyou with a bit more respect.\"\"You know, being\nthat serious all the time isn't good for you. You need to let yourself have\nsome time to breath, you know?\"\"I--we--don't have\nthat luxury.\"David sighed. \"Fine\nthen.\"Jenna shook her\nhead as she listened to them argue. It had amused her a bit at first, but it\nwas starting to get old. It seemed like every topic lead to an argument between\nthem. Maybe they're just too different to\nget along, she mused.They reached the\nend of the pathway and ascended the steps to the door. David reached out to\ngrab the simple brass knocker and pounded it against the door three times. They\nwaited a few moments for a response, and when none came David tried knocking\nagain. There was no evidence of a doorbell, so clearly the knocker was the only\nway to get the attention of anyone who might be inside the house.A few more\nmoments passed and Will let out a frustrated sigh. \"He's not here.\"David nodded. \"So\nit would seem.\"\"Do you have any\nidea where he could be?\"David shrugged. \"He\ndoes travel a lot. Could be anywhere really. He generally works from home, and\nfar as I know he doesn't have many friends. I'm not sure how we would go about\nfinding him.\"Jenna's heart\nsank. After all the ground they had covered, they were hardly any closer to\nfinding a way to change her back. There had to be some way, some clue as to\nwhere Greyson was. He was the only lead they had. She looked around, trying to\nspot anything that could tell them something. But there was nothing.Will struggled\nfor a moment to find the words before asking, \"Is...there anything at all...that\nyou know that could help us here?\"David thought\nfor a moment then said, \"I'm not really sure. Knowing Max he's probably got some\ncontingency in place to help people find him if they need him. I mean hell, he\ncouldn't even get the post if they didn't know where to send his--wait a tic.\nMax is clever. He would leave something, in a place where he knew it could be\nfound by the people who need to. I think I might just have an idea.\"David knelt down\nin front of the door and slipped his hand through the mail slot, feeling\naround. It only took a second or two before he drew his hand back out, a piece\nof pare clutched in his fist. \"Good ol' Max. Always does stuff like this. He must've\nleft this there figuring the postal workers would find it when they tried to\npush the mail in.\"Will didn't dare\nto hope for much as he asked, \"Well what is it?\"David smoothed\nout the paper and looked it over quickly. \"Uh...give me a moment here. It's in\nFrench...and I'm better at speaking it than reading.\"Will and Jenna\nwaited impatiently as David read and re-read the note. \"Alright, I think I've\ngot it. You...er...you may not be happy with this. Apparently he's in Egypt and won't\nbe returning for...about three months.\"Will took in a\ndeep breath, letting it out slowly. \"Alright. Alright then. We're going to have\nto go to Egypt then.\"\"You...you are\nkidding right?\"Will shook his\nhead. \"Not at all. What other option do we have?\"Jenna nodded in\nagreement. It may be a bit insane to go\nso far, but it's our best chance.David sighed as\nhe saw how determined both of them were. \"I suppose I did promise to stay with\nyou until I got you to Max. Egypt it is then.\"David reached\ninto his coat and produced a map, which he unfolded to show France. Will\nquirked a brow. \"You keep a map of France on you?\"David nodded. \"More\nthan just France. I've also got Spain, Italy, Germany and England. I usually\njust go where the road takes me, but I sometimes like to know where that road is taking me.\"\"Fair enough. So\nwhat's our best option do you think?\"David thought for\na moment as he looked over the map. \"Well, we could go to Nice, and from there\nbook passage to Alexandria.\"\"Alexandria?\"David nodded. \"Aye.\nIt's Egypt's largest port.\"Will looked to Jenna\nand she nodded her approval of the plan. Will looked back to David and said, \"Let's\ngo then.\"\"Now hold on,\nthere is another option.\"\"That being?\"David grinned\nbroadly. \"Monte Carlo. More or less the same direction, also has a port we can\nget to Alexandria from, but it would be far more entertaining.\"Will sighed. \"We're\nnot going to Monte Carlo.\"\"But why not?!\"\nDavid asked, clearly not pleased with having his idea shot down so quickly.\"Because I\nwouldn't trust you anywhere near a casino.\"\"Oh come on!\nThink about it! We roll in to Monte Carlo with empty pockets. With my abilities\nwe leave a day or two later with enough money to live comfortably for...well at least\na few years!\"Will shook his\nhead. \"No. We'll go to Nice. End of discussion.\"David frowned. \"Fine.\nWe'll do it your way then. Won't be nearly as much fun.\"\"It's not meant\nto be.\"Will didn't give\nhim any chance to respond, turning his back on David and returning to the cart\nwith Jenna following a few steps behind him. David stood there for a moment,\nconsidering the potential of using an illusion to get his way. After a moment\nor two he sighed. Even as he considered it he knew he couldn't go through with\nit. \"Bastard must be rubbing off on me.\" He whispered to himself.Wasting no more time\nDavid shoved Max's note and the map into his pocket and walked back down the path, joining\nWill and Jenna in the cart. David took the reigns once more and they set off to\nthe east, all three hoping this would be the final leg of their journey."}