An Artifact and a Collector

With the Well detached from the leyline, and sealed up, Revenant's job was done. As the other ponies celebrated their success and the reversal if their enchantments, Revenant smiled a little and turn to leave. As he slowly walked back down the path, away from the wall and away from the other ponies, his thoughts turned to the mare he had met. And as he continued to march on, his mind began to wander, and he began to sing an old ballad he had learned when he was a foal.

The Well was quiet again now. Knick Knack took a moment, just to linger over it... she might not ever encounter something like this again. It wasn't until she looked around that she realised the mysterious armoured stallion had vanished from the group of ponies. It was only then that it hit her how many more questions she had to ask – how many things he had left unanswered. Excusing herself hurriedly, she turned in the direction that she had last seen him and trotted after him, hoping she was heading the right way...

The forest was already turning dark and unfriendly again without the group of other ponies, and she thought she must have made a mistake in direction before she heard a soft thread of a song winding between the trees. She slowed her pace a little to a cautious but quick walk, and made her way towards the noise.

As Revenant continued to sing he slowly came to a stop, and slowly stopped singing, and began to frown. Surely she hadn't meant that much to him, had she?

((Cute how Knick and Just both sing to themselves when walking))

Knick went to call out, and then rather abruptly realised that the pony had never even introduced himself. More than that, he had avoided the subject of his name altogether. She came to a halt. How much did she know about him, really? Could she even trust him? And how much would playing it safe be worth to her over perhaps finding some answers?

But then the singing stopped, and Knick Knack realised she did care quite a bit about finding out more from the mysterious stranger, and taking a leap of faith she pressed on to break clear of the trees and catch sight of him, facing away from her as he stood silently. She noticed he had stopped moving and was lost in thought, and she pulled up short too, standing awkwardly with one hoof raised. How did one even start a conversation in this situation?

"I barely know her, I see hundreds of ponies in a day. They all introduce themselves, tell me their names. I never remember them, as I never care enough to...But..." As Revenant continued to speak, he looked up at the sky that could faintly be seen through the leaves. "Why do I remember, out of all of them, THAT name?...Why do I remember your name, Knick Knack? Were it any other pony, I would have already forgotten..."

"Perhaps you should tell me why it's stuck with you," she said, answering his rhetorical question with a frown as she approached. "Given I don't even know yours." If there was one thing she hadn't expected, it was for this pony to be asking himself questions about her.

"Miss Knack, I did not realize you'd followed me. I was just about to turn back and ask you if you'd like to accompany me on my travels, and learn ancient magic."]

Knick Knack stopped short, lost for words. All she was able to get out was a spluttered series of questions, "Me? I – What... now? Just like that?"

"Just like that." Revenant smiled as he turned around to face her. "So, do you accept?"

"I don't even know your name!" Knick Knack protested. "And what interest could you possibly have in inviting me along like this? I hope you understand this is all a bit confusing for me." She paused, half of her mind still ludicrously running through the arguments for why this wouldn't be a good idea and trying to dispell them. Her caravan was locked and warded. She'd have to come back and fetch it at some point but... what did she really need from it? "However... if you answer some of my questions... then... it doesn't sound all too ridiculous." Her voice had dropped uncertainly towards the end of the sentence. She couldn't even believe she was saying it, but there she was.

"My name is Revenant, and save your questions for after this, I am going to teach you a bit of ancient magic that should come in handy in a pinch." As he spoke Revenant pulled a book that was at least 500 years old out of his saddle bag and began to flip through it.

Knick Knack appraised him. "Revenant... well, you certainly are used to having other ponies do what you tell them, aren't you?" She was grumbling, but even as she said it she was walking over. How could she not, with a book like that?

"Ex-Captain of the Crystal Guard. Now, ancient magic works off of runes, so you'll need to learn to cast magic using rune." As he spoke, Revenant moved to stand next to Knick Knack. The pages were clearly made of hoof made hemp paper, and was covered in writing of an ancient dialect. One of the pages was covered with runic writing that seemed to follow a pattern.

"Captain? That's fairly impressive..." Even as she answered, Knick Knack poured over the unfamiliar runes carefully. "Is it very much different to casting using a regular spell?"

"I suppose, the king was my father, but my mother was...a commonpony. It doesn't draw power from you, it draws it from the runes. If you draw the runes wrong, or don't believe in them, you'll never be able to use ancient magic." As he spoke, Revenant began using his horn to draw the runes in a circle in the dirt. As he drew them they glowed an angry red with purple vapor coming off of it

"The King–? Oh, forget it." Knick Knack laughed and bent to examine the runes that Revenant was drawing in the dirt. "Believe in the runes, copy them exactly, noted. What's the spell for?" She asked cautiously.

"It's a teleportation spell, but it allows you to control and steer yourself while you're teleporting. If you want I can also teach you some basic dueling spells." As he finished the runic circle Revenant transformed into a cloud of shadowy mist, and shot to the other side of the clearing before reforming.

Knick looked up as Revenant reformed on the other side of the clearing.
"... Interesting," she said faintly. If nothing else, this was not a pony to cross. "I'd definitely like to learn some duelling spells if I'm going to be coming with you. Goodness knows what kind of trouble you attract." Her tone was serious, but she was smiling as she looked down at the runes, which were still faintly smoking on the ground. "So how is it done?"

"Trace over my runes, and put your magic into them. You can to this Knick, I believe in you." Revenant smiled a bit as he watched her.

"Oh, well, if you've got faith in me, what could possibly go wrong?" Confident as the sparring reply was, Knick hesitated before she lit her horn up with a faint purple glow to trace over the runes. She tried to remember the order that Revenant had made the strokes and went slowly through the design until she got up to the final circle. She looked up at him. "So now do I just –" There was a small whoosh and a flash of lavender magic and she only just avoided knocking into him as she tumbled out of the air beside him. She had fallen off balance, but didn't seem to mind, laughing loudly at the sensation of the unusal teleport. "I guess I just do that," she chuckled.

Revenant laughed as he leaned down and gently helped Knick back to her hooves. "You have a lot of potential. It takes most ponies at least 10 tries before they can do what you just did." He smiled a little as he finished speaking

She grinned at the praise as he helped her up. "Thanks. I guess I... 'get' magic more than some others, it's an intuitive thing for me. Doesn't do much when I need to memorise a whole lot of spells but this kind of thing is making sense..."

"I will delight in teaching you the ancient ways, and...dark magic, if you wish." He did not know why he'd offered to teach her that, as he'd never offer to teach anyone else.

Knick went abruptly silent at this latest offer. No. Definitely not. There's no way you're agreeing to this. No way. What she said instead, voice low, was, "Aren't there some kinds of... side effects... of Dark Magic?"

"Your eyes will change, and so will your horn if you use it a lot. If you let the darkness corrupt you though...you will change completely, and be ruled by hate and greed." Revenant then looked down at her,their faces mere inches away, and spoke once more. His words were quiet and gentle "I would never let you loose yourself Knick Knack. No matter what, I'd save you from your own darkness."