Well, step one to helping him is wanting to help him, so at least you got that one downpat. Step two's probably to have a really dope sword, [ Magnus says, looking pointedly at Darin's sword,] so that's steps one and two all dealt with.

[ He shrugs. The smart thing would probably be to tell Darin to kill the guy, save himself, not subject himself to that sort of power and misery. But that's never how Magnus has lived his life and he doesn't think that's how his new friend lives his life either; life's too short a prospect to waste it on regrets. You need to keep on moving forward, no matter where that takes you. ]

You won't know unless you try. You much of a fighter, Darin?