“Still! I can't believe that people were selling children! This is why the knights exist to put a stop to this sort of thing and protect the people of the empire. Khio seethed with fury, her knuckles turning white at how harshly her hands tightened around the reins. Even Rhetta who kept a level head held a look of distaste and some kind of darkness burning in her eyes. 'Florian is very calm in spite of the topic...Most noble ladies who suffered a minor offence would suffer from being traumatized and enraged for days.' Rhetta thinks back to before she earned her title as the strategist. Back to the time when she was a lower ranked knight doing grunt work. There was a case she assisted on; a case of the abduction of a noble lady who had called off her engagement. The ex-fiancée in question had 'kidnapped' her. For an afternoon she was subjected to stay with the man and have tea with him. When the knights arrived all ready for a fight to the death, imagine their surprise when there was
The words spoken so calmly, seemingly in her usual tone, a cold and dangerous chill rung from it. The look on Rhetta's face was dark and dangerous. An unfamiliar expression of rage is present. Khio said nothing and handed her sword over without so much a debate or comment. Rhetta unsheathed the sword, discarding the blade. She repeats the action with her own sword, until she is only left with two empty sheaths. The swords remained forgotten on the ground, Florian noticed how oddly serene Khio seemed. She turned her attention to the spooked horses instead. Florian looked at Rhetta leaving, marching straight towards the knights and opted to go with her. Khio grabbed Florian's arm with a firm grip and held her back, Khio just shook her head. “Leave this to Rhetta, there's nothing you can do right now.” The weight of Khio's words felt like a cautionary tale. Florian trusted Khio's sense enough knowing if she had to worry Khio would have been the one on the front line before her anywa
Maral and Dren look back to see Florian easily picking up their baskets and packages that had them loaded like mules. To their surprise, they struggled carrying that amount of weight and every time they got used to it, the loads only increased. Florian shifted the weight to one hand and happily waved at the dumbfounded kids. “Wow miss! You're so strong!” Maral exclaims, Florian grins bashfully “You bet I am!” The horses take a slow and steady walk, heading straight towards the village and slow enough for Florian to walk comfortably alongside them. The path draws closer to an entrance, occasionally having to retreat out of sight to avoid the gazes of the wandering knights. Eventually, they arrive in the village of Kilerth. The sun sat at its peak, affording them a few more hours of travelling. Kilerth, like many of the villages before, was a slum-like village with poor conditions. However Kilerth possessed its own peculiarity, much like night and day, the village both held the good
They walk towards the inn, glancing around to make sure no one is following just in case. Khio fastens the horses' reins to the horizontal post, with enough reach for the water trough and food. The inn's door holds a sign with the name in front. Another unique name appeared, as the sign read: 'Axe Baron Inn.' No matter how unusual a name, an inn is still an inn and some good rest is highly needed. Now thinking about it... It had been days since any of them got a decent night of sleep. Rhetta looks at the top of the door, noticing some words carved into the wood. Rhetta reads the words aloud “Ad pacificos?” “It means 'To the peacemakers.' if I recall correctly.” Florian states “What's that supposed to mean?” Khio grumbles, hating how every place has a weird slogan that doesn't make obvious sense. “It means this is the safest place for us to rest, it's the same as Onion Ore, neutral ground. Axe Baron is a little more...strict you could say.” Florian pushes open the heavy door and h
“I'm just hoping when we all get together, Basil will explain the situation to us. It's obvious he knows something we don't.”“Oho, I see you're dropping the honorific now Florian. Still- you came here on his word without knowing anything.” Khio jests and nudges Florian with her elbow. “Look, I don't call him by his title aside from an official capacity. He's always been like that, he never really explains anything and expects you to figure everything out by yourself.” “Mhm, sure...” Khio retorts, enjoying Florian's disgruntled expressions. “Basil hates wasting energy, there is always a reason for the things he does. So I will put my trust in his laziness alone.” “Still, it's difficult to trust someone hatching schemes when we don't know the outcome.” Rhetta adds, Khio nods furiously in agreement and stares at Florian as if to imply the voice of reason had spoken. Rhetta fiddles with her hands impatiently “Considering everything, you have proven that you want to help. I don't com
Khio ceases her struggling and Florian could finally let go without the fear of her wanting to charge back into the fray. Rhetta kept looking out, peaking around the area where they left their horses. Imperial knights had the same idea, so it seemed. They seized the horses, as they had imperial brands on their necks. Local knights run to join the imperial knights, the air of discord between them is evident. Just by the manner in which the imperial knights looked down on the local knights, however, still required their numbers and knowledge of the area. They would be subjected to the dirty work. They
“Khio, you received a saint's blessing! Why didn't I realize it until now!?” Florian exclaims with great excitement. Khio looks at her, the saint's blessing was some temple talk that Khio never really lent an ear to. “What?” The perplexed expression on her face said it all, she had never realized it. “Just now when you told them to lay down and they listened, did you not feel anything?”
“Is it even possible for someone to be this beautiful?” Rhetta muttered to herself. “He's so pretty!” Florian blurts out, really admiring his features.Even Rhetta who had never paid attention to the appearance of others could not deny that she was astounded by his beauty.
Latest Chapter
Legacy Information Guild, Azmar Village. Evening.An uncomfortable silence lingers in the room, not a single person speaks as if all waiting with bated breath. The muffled sounds of the secretary informing someone that the guild master is inside, makes everyone straighten up as the mysterious visitors are separated by a door. The door opens. Kramoris strides into the room confidently, taking in all the faces present. Khio and Rhetta enter next, seeing the astounded looks of intrigue and confusion from those in the room. Laila lets out a small cackle in her amusement, Behellagh grows nervous at the sight and dreads being called a traitor by association. Hammy lets out a snort and sits at Khio’s feet. The mixed reception only proved that everyone held an uncertain position towards the empires so called traitors. Florian lagged behind the group, mostly stuck in her own thoughts while trying to figure out what kind of pitch she would use to sell her mission. How would she rally the mas
Legacy Information Guild, Azmar Village. Evening.A secretary walks to the front of Tayoshi's office, and she knocks on the door. A woman stands behind her patiently, they hear a voice from inside. “Master, the madam is here again.”Tayoshi looks up from his documents. His eyes immediately glanced over at the raven in the corner of his room, she happily perched atop one of the chairs. He received a notice of her visit alone, but he was already aware that she was here for information on someone or the other. “I should have known it would be soon when you didn't return to your master.”The door opens and Laila steps inside, as usual she walks very lightly and gracefully. Tayoshi always found it unsettling that you watched her walk without any sound of footsteps. “I did not expect to see you back so soon Ms. Belladonna.” he comments with a tired voice.“Well, you know what they say. No rest for the wicked. I have an urgent job and I need information as soon as possible.”“Who do you need
'Such a small procession for a noble? Most nobles would metaphorically rather die than be disgraced to see such a humbling procession after their death.' Trusting his intuition and the irksome feeling, the knight steps before the first carriage. He knocks on the door and awaits a response. “Pardon me, I am Sir Tybost and I would like to conduct an inspection.” Khio and Rhetta found being stuck at the checkpoint for so long highly unusual, when they thought of all the previous times when it was a matter of stopping and going. Rhetta cautiously lifted the curtain enough to see what was happening outside without alerting to her own presence. Through the sliver of visibility she saw a knight at the door of the first carriage. Rhetta gulped with the sharp inhale that stifled her gasp. The sudden inspection caught them off guard and brought the reality back to the forefront. It had been easy until now, too easy and they were paying the price. The two moved carefully so as to not rock th
The colour drained from Ayesha's face upon hearing something so morbid. She looked at Rhetta and Khio who were completely unfazed as if being fitted for a coffin were so natural. It was a natural thing after death, but not for the living who appeared so healthy. 'Is this normal? Is it because they're criminals and are preparing for the worst?' Ayesha questioned in her thoughts. She shook the thoughts from her mind and took the measurements without any further delay. The two former knights looked awfully eager for their coffins. Kramoris snickers softly in the background at how transparent Ayesha's thoughts are. She handed him the measurements and Kramoris concluded by writin
Legacy Information Guild, Azmar Village. Evening. “I asked what is taking so long.” Behellagh reiterated his words. Tayoshi holds back a sigh “To which job are you referring to? We are currently handling four of your requests simultaneously.” “F-Four?” Behellagh's surprise was evident, he clears his throat and goes back to his usual expression.
Warrior Oddity
Legacy Information Guild, Azmar Village. Early Morning. Rennier still relied on the knowledge he held of Tayoshi from years ago, things were different now. How could they not be? More than once in the spar Tayoshi had been surprised at Rennier's change and growth, but clicked his tongue at the same old habits he displayed. Tayoshi dug the blade into the dirt and kicked in lieu of his spear, Rennier fell to the ground from the hard impact. He scrambles in retreat and rolls, finding his balance and standing on his feet. He feels unsteady and tries to rec
“A magic scroll!? How do you have this?” Rhetta exclaims, bewildered and giving Kramoris the exact reaction he wanted. Her face was a sight for sore eyes, indeed, this was the anticipated reaction he had awaited. He almost wanted to laugh at his prediction. Khio had been stunned into silence. It was no surprise that being around the imperial family they were bound to hear of magic scrolls and this was the first time they actually got to see one. It had them all the more impressed that Kramoris just casually pulled it out. The emperor himself could not readily h
A monstrous creature treads into the forest, heavy weighted steps made the ground groan with every leaden trod. They were slow, unsteady steps. The creature appeared exhausted and dazed, it neared where the group were hiding. The overwhelming stench of blood and rot filled their senses.Hammy whimpered softly and backed away from the tree. Khio had her hands full trying to soothe Hammy and keep her eye on the creature. She undoubtedly had a good sense of a creature and their innate temperament, this information would help her decide on the method she needed to tame them. For some reason, this creature had no such feeling. It felt hollow, deathly and glum. The form of its body ha
'Thankfully they couldn't see what I was holding just then...Defending myself with a measly letter opener would have been difficult. Besides, I don't have a penchant for violence.' Kramoris indulges his thoughts before getting back to the matter. “As expected from the empire's greatest merchant, I see you're a man of many talents.” Rhetta speaks, it felt more like a fact than an attempt of flattery. “Second best merchant in the empire.” Kramoris is quick to cor