Another day had just begun in the city of Prontera and it seemed everyone was taking advantage of the sun that was shining over everything. As we walk down the crowded streets we see people of all types and ages going on whatever business they might have. Continuing to explore, we come upon the marketplace. Like every day before it, it remains a hive of activity. Stores of all sorts line the street with their owners each vying for attention.
“You won’t find a better deal elsewhere! Come to Manus’s clothing shop for all your fashion needs!”
“2 for 1 sale, only at Lemoore’s Emporium! We have pots for dirt cheap!”
“Is life bringing you down? Your spouse giving you a hard time? Then cry no more and buy a love potion today!”
We soon find ourselves at the town square. As we gaze about we see a group of swordsmen crowding around one particular store. Curious we move closer to see what’s going on. A portly merchant stands in the center of the group and in his hands is one of the most exquisite swords we have ever seen.
“COME ONE, COME ALL,” he bellows, “Take a look at what I have for all you brave adventurers today! It’s a sword yes, but not just any sword! It is in fact a sword forged by the greatest blacksmith of our time Logan Steele! The legendary Dragon Slayer of which only three were made! That’s right three! And today one of you brave adventurers can get it!”
“How do we know if it’s real!?!” shouts one swordsman.
“Excellent question my dear fellow!” boomed the merchant. “I just so happen to have next to me Steve Lovell, who is the owner of our city’s most esteemed weapon store, Prontera Anvil!” A large applause follows as a rather muscular man with silver blond hair and piecing yellow eyes enters the circle. “That’s not all folks! Also with me today is also Duval de Valles, owner our beloved auction house!” Another large applause follows as a slim black haired man bows before looking upon everyone from beneath his spectacles. “These two esteemed gentlemen will look upon this sword and prove to you all its authenticity!”
Silently everyone watches as the two men begin looking over the sword. Duval slowly goes over the workmanship of the pommel as Lovell carefully examines the scabbard. Slowly Duval works his way up to the grip whereas Lovell takes out a magnifying glass and peers at the scabbard’s locket. Satisfied Lovell puts the scabbard down and joins Duval in examining the cross guard before moving onto the blade itself. After what seems an eternity both men glance at each other before silently placing the sword down. At this point everyone around was at the point of rioting to know whether or not this sword was indeed one forged by Steele.
“Well it looks like they have come to a decision. S-so what’s the verdict gentleman?”
Once again glancing at each other Duval slowly answers, “After careful examination of the object in question…Mr. Lovell and I can say with utmost certainty…that this sword……...is indeed what our friend here implies it is. That it is a sword which was crafted by Logan Steele himself and is indeed one of the three Dragon Slayers that he had forged.” Smiling Duval turns to the merchant, “You sir are a very lucky man to have come upon this work of art.”
Laughing, the merchant claps Duval’s and Lovell’s shoulders and shouts to the group of onlookers, “THERE YA HAVE IT FOLKS! IT’S REAL!” But then suddenly the merchant falls silent. “And it is because of this, that I have decided I won’t be selling this weapon.” With a gleam in his eyes he continues, “Rather my belief is that something like this must be earned! Just like the Captain of the Prontera Guard, who too wields a Dragon Slayer, you must earn this blade!”
Stunned everyone just stares in disbelief. Slowly the merchant rises up and announces, “That is why I will be holding a Tournam-“
Suddenly a blood curdling scream rips through the air. Shocked everyone frantically looks about to see the source of the sound. A woman runs into the square, her clothing in disarray.
“DRAGONS!!! DRAGONS ARE ATTACKING FROM THE WEST GATE!!!”
Panting the woman tries to catch her breath as the square bursts into movement. Shopkeepers race to board up their buildings as townsfolk and adventurers race for safety. Silently the merchant sheaths the Dragon Slayer in its scabbard and places it in his cart. “Well then,” he says, “this is convenient. Anyone who wishes to own the Dragon Slayer can earn it by getting rid of the dragons!” With that he slowly turns around and at a brisk walk proceeds to the west gate followed by a dozen or so swordsmen and other adventurers.
As they neared the gate, they could all see the devastation that had taken place. One lone Gold Acidus had taken out an entire squad of Pronterian Guards. As the group stopped the Acidus saw them and with a loud screech it began to charge. “Well then,” the merchant calmly said, “Who’s going to slay that dragon?” Before anyone of them could move a knight jumped in front of the charging Acidus and grabbed its head. With a grunt the newcomer stopped the Acidus in its tracks and threw it against a building as if it was a rag doll.
Shaken the Acidus growled and faced the knight. Breathing in deeply it gathered up its magic and then with a loud clap released it. A wave of fire raced out towards the knight, who just stood there and watched it come on. At the last possible second he side stepped the attack and rushed forward. Before the Acidus could do anything, the knight slammed into it and sent it reeling back. With a mighty roar the Acidus took flight and once again began to gather its magic. The knight silently unsheathed his sword and without hesitation launched it toward the dragon. It slammed into chest of the Acidus and no matter how hard the Acidus tried, it couldn’t keep flying and slowly began to fall towards the ground. With a crash it slammed into the ground and as it lay dying the knight walked over to it.
Slowly everyone who was watching this exchange crept forward with the merchant in front. They watched as the knight slowly withdrew his sword from the chest of the Acidus and then silently slam it into its head. Suddenly the sword began to shin with a fiery light and then ignited in flame. The knight then whispered “Ignition Break.” A brilliant flash lit the area, one so bright it caused everyone looking to shut their eyes. As it faded away the knight still stood but the sword and dragon were gone. Only a pile of ash remained where they once were.
The knight looked up and glanced at the people. The merchant walked up and asked, “Excuse me but, I know you killed this dragon but aren’t there others?” All the knight did was silently point towards the gate. Everyone around quickly ran toward it and the first man who reached it gasped.
“My god….they’re all dead.”
Corpses of dragons lay all over the area; it was as if the ground itself was made up of nothing but dragon bodies. Stunned everyone could only glance back and look at the knight.
“Was this all your doing?” asked the merchant.
“I don’t know why the dragons acted the way they did but they were interrupting my afternoon nap so I had to get rid of them.” Sighing he looked at the pile of ash in front of his feet. “Looks like I need a new sword now too. What a day~”
The merchant looked on and then suddenly an idea dawned on him. “You said you needed a new sword correct?”
“Why yes, as you can see my old one is nothing but a pile of ash now!” chuckled the knight.
“Well I might have a solution for you, but first…can I have your name?” asked the merchant.
“Ah so sorry,” bowed the knight, “My name is Silvermoon, Rune Knight of the guild Infinity. But you can just call me Silver. And you are?”
“Postremo, my name is Postremo. And this is your solution.” With a flourish Postremo produced the Dragon Slayer. “This is a sword of great renown. Forged by the master smith of our time, Logan Steele, this is the Dragon Slayer!”
“A fine blade, yet I don’t get why you are showing me this.” remarks Silver.
“Well you see if you had heard me before……bah doesn’t matter. The fact is I was going to give this sword to someone who is worthy of it and I think that person is you. Take it, it’s yours.” Placing the sword into Silver’s hands, Postremo looks at the people watching. “Now let someone speak up if they think this man here doesn’t deserve it!”
At first nothing happens but then one man starts clapping. Slowly more and more join in and in no time at all; everyone who has watched what had happened is clapping.
Silver looks down at the sword in his hand and after a moment clasps it to his sword belt. “Thank you Postremo; this is indeed a wonderful gift. Yet I’m sorry to say that I need to go now.” Looking around he continues, “It’s getting a little loud here as you can see and I must continue my nap so I’m afraid I’m off to find a more…secluded spot.”
Laughing Postremo just nods and waves as Silver walks past the crowd and disappear amongst the buildings. Whispering breaks out within the crowd and Postremo looks on while smiling and said,
“That man there will one day help us all…I just know it.”
About an hour has passed since the dragon incident and as we walk through the streets, we come upon Silver dozing against the back wall of the Prontera Anvil. His helmet covers his face completely, and one arm is supporting the back of his head while the other clutches the newly acquired Dragon Slayer. He’s sleeping so soundly that he doesn’t notice a shadowy figure creep up toward where he lays. Just as the figure reaches for the Dragon Slayer, he awakes, unsheathes the sword and swings it at the shadow. Sparks fly and the sound of cold steel meeting each other in midair resounds clearly.
“HOLD UP MAN?!?! Damn!” yells the shadow. Silver, recognizing the voice, flips up his visor and sees CJ standing before him with his katar out. Slightly shocked, he withdraws his sword and sheathes it.
“Geez Silver, a little cranky from being waked up so suddenly?” laughs CJ.
“Well CJ you should know better than to bother me while I’m sleeping. Besides what were you trying to do?”
“C’mon Silver, don’t be like that. I saw it was new so I was trying to see it! Anyway notice anything different about how I look?”
CJ slowly steps back and does a 360. “Well?”
As he looks over CJ, his face turns into one of confusion. “Well um…..you changed the color of your armor?”
“Dude seriously? That’s all you notice?!? Look at me! I’m finally a Guillotine Cross! You can only become one after proving your worth to the assassin guild and also being trusted enough to be an enforcer for the guild as well. Plus if any members give the guild trouble I can well…um…for the lack of a better word…take them out. Get what I’m saying?”
Continuing to look over CJ he says, “I liked your other armor better. This one has too many spikes.” Shocked CJ looks back at him and replies, “Well I get what you mean. I do miss my scarf that made me look cool and all, but rules are rules and all Guillotine Crosses have to wear this armor.”
Silver then slowly stood up silently puts his hand on CJ’s shoulder and looks him in the eye he says. “Congratulations.” Then with a quick turn starts walking off.
“Thanks! Hey we should do a quest sometime soon!” yells CJ. Still walking, Silver raises his arm in acknowledgement.
After walking for a bit, Silver thought to himself, “Well seems like CJ got off his lazy butt and did something noticeable enough to get that new job…now I’m curious…did he have to assassinate someone? Hmm….for some reason I can’t picture him killing someone unless they really deserved it. Ah well, I’m not going to think about it too much. I just want to find a nice quiet place to sleep.”
Gazing about, he continues to walk up the street, occasionally greeting friends and guild members as they call out to him. Soon he finds himself in front of the inn and slowly wonders where to go from there. As he’s about to move off, the inn doors explode outward. Shocked he quickly pivots around, with sword in hand, prepared to meet the threat. As the dust slowly settles to the ground, faint footsteps can be heard, coming from within. As they get louder and louder, he tightens his grip on the sword and readies into a combat stance. Four figures finally emerge from the darkness and just as he is about to see their faces, one of them dashes out and swings at him. Too quickly to follow, he can only watch as the shadow reaches for him.
*Flick*
Startled he jumps back and suddenly sees who the shadow was. Laughing, he sheathes his sword and greets Iridescence as she stands up. “God Iri, you really gave me a scare there.” Chuckling, she bows elegantly just as three kids throw themselves at her. As they all collapse into a heap he asks, “So Iri, what’s with the kids there? Please don’t tell me they’re yours.” Scowling as she picks herself up, she quickly makes her way over to where he stood and flicked him again. “Ouch! Hey cut it out!” he laughs.
“Seriously Silver, don’t tell me you are really thinking that.” Pointing over her shoulder as the three kids were getting into a line, she says, “All three of those little nightmares are my cousins. Now that little mage over there is Heaven. She’s quite a handful given how hyperactive she is!” Chuckling, she waves over the other two. “Now this little swords girl is Patricia, but everyone is told to call her Trisha so you better too! While this rascal is named Nick and he tells everyone how he’s going to be the best thief there ever was!” Shouting out Nick yells, “I will be the best thief ever though Auntie Iri, although I would love to be as cool as your friend CJ!” Then Trisha stepped forward and elbowed Nick out of the way. Looking up at silver she confidently says, “No matter what happens, I want to become a knight just like Auntie Iri.” Smiling, he pats her head saying, “With that attitude you have Trisha, I’m sure you can.” Suddenly Heaven appeared in front of him and after gesturing for Trisha and Nick to come closer whispered, “Do you think Auntie Iri likes CJ?” Nick then said,
“She tells us no, but they hang out too much not to” then Heaven whispered “What do you think? Have they kissed or something?” Silver looked up at a confused Iridescence, then looked back at the kids who were listening in with eager anticipation and he said “I don’t know all the details, but I think the same thing as you guys. Just make sure you don’t tell either one of them that I said it.” The kids all looked at each other with full smiles and giggles, while Iridescence just stood there confused. “What did you tell them Silver?” Iridescence yelled. Silver replied “Nothing, nothing at all Iri haha.” Then Silver patted the heads of all three kids and signaled them to keep the secret. The three of them giggled and began to run around Iridescence. He then looked at Iridescence waved goodbye and kept walking.
Silver then started to walk back towards the center of town. He figured the dragons might be cleared out by now so he can go back outside and sleep in his normal spot. As he walked past the statue of Odin in the middle of town he noticed another familiar face. He spotted Ciel, a Geneticist in the Infinity guild sitting in a shop. She is an average sized girl with blonde hair. She has a curvy figure, but because she wears the official Geneticist's cloths you cannot really see it. She wears small red ribbons on each side of her head and for some reason today she seemed to have dawned a bird on her head. “Hey Ciel, trying to sell some items tod-… wh-hat is that on your head?” Ciel looked at Silver and laughed “Haha, yea this is my homunculus. Her name is Harupia.” The bird like homunculus, chirped happily at Silver. Silver leaned over and pet it with one finger on its head. It seemed like the homunculus liked it. “So Ciel what are you selling today? Anything decent?” Silver asked. Ciel replied “Well most of my good stuff was sold already. All I have left are a few white potions and this Nepenthus Bow. No one has bought this bow in weeks. Hopefully someone will find a use for it soon.” Silver then said “I’m sure you will sell it eventually, just keep pushing it towards those Archers and even some of those Rogues.” “Yea I’m sure I can sell it eventually. Oh by the way I noticed you have a new sword. What kind is it?” Ciel asked. “Oh well a merchant ended up giving it to me after I lost my sword in a fight against those dragons that were attacking the town.” Silver replied. “He just said I earned it and gave it to me. I think he called it a Dragon Slayer.”
“What? A Dragon Slayer?!” Ciel yelled in awe. “There were only three of them every made. It’s said that those swords have the ability to cut through a dragon’s defense like a knife through butter.”
Silver was stunned. “Well, I guess this sword is greater than I thought it was,” he said, gaping at his newfound treasure.
“That’s one of the greatest swords ever made,” Ciel replied. “Besides you, another of the swords is owned by the Captain of the Prontera Guard. The third is supposedly owned by a Rune Knight in the Asgard guild, but no one knows who he is.”
Silver grinned, his grip on the sword’s hilt tightening with anticipation. All the things he had just heard from Ciel sent shivers of excitement up and down his spine. “I think this sword will bring some interesting times ahead,” he said confidently.
Silver bid Ciel a cheery goodbye as she finished her story, making his way once again to the west Prontera gate to finish his nap. Outside the city, birds sang in the trees, their voices no longer drowned by the shrill shrieking of the dragons that had been there only moments ago. Thief bugs scrambled to and fro, competing with mild pink porings for the treasure dropped by unsuspecting novices. Silver glanced casually around him, breathing in the fresh air and peacefulness. It was hard to believe that it had not been long ago that foreign creatures had been wreaking havoc. Beneath his feet, charred grass made crisp, crunching noises as he walked, the only evidence left behind from the entire fiasco before. Neither bone nor body remained at the scene.
“Ah well,” Silver said to himself, yawning audibly. “Now I can get back to my old spot.”
He settled down onto the ground in front of the guard post. A mild wind blew across the field, creating a soothing lullaby. The knight leaned back against the post and fell asleep almost instantly in the tranquility.
Whilst Silver lay sleeping, his guild chat phone was sounding in vain. He was so tired that he paid no attention to it, nor the conversation that was taking place.
“Hello? Anyone?” an uncertain voice said. “This is Ciel. Is anyone there?”
There was a brief pause. Then a familiar voice answered.
“Hey. It’s Iri. What do you need Ciel?” Iridescence replied.
“Well, someone just walked to the front of my shop and asked if Infinity had any time to do a treasure hunting quest.”
“Hey all, did I hear something about a quest?” another voice chimed in, enthusiastic. It was Berry, a talented warlock from the Infinity guild, with the ability to summon rocks from the sky amongst many other skills, such as freezing an entire plain with a single raise of her arms. Berry was known for her straightforwardness, but despite that, enjoyed cracking jokes every once in a while. “I’m definitely up for a little questing. By the way, I’m with Kyrena at the moment and by the look of it, she would like to come too,” she added.
Kyrena was another Guillotine Cross from the same guild. She was a master of skills, unlike CJ who had a vast knowledge of a target’s weak and critical points. Although she wasn’t as agile or nimble as CJ, she was equally as formidable with her Cross Impact skill and her ability to confuse her enemies with her Hallucination Walk. Kyrena often did not speak, but her friends knew that no matter what, she would stand by them and protect them if ever they needed her. Playful rumours circulating around the guild insinuated that Silver harboured feelings towards her.
“Kyrena, do you really want to go or is Berry making you go?” Iridescence asked, knowing Berry’s occasional tendencies.
“Y-Yes, I don’t mind,” Kyrena answered, her voice mild and quiet. “May I ask where is the quest?”
“Oh yeah! I was going to ask that!” Berry yelled deafeningly. For a few moments, the line was silent.
“The man is telling me that the quest is going to take us to Abyss Lake,” Ciel said after a while, having gotten the information she needed. “It seems that this man is some kind of researcher and he’s looking for someone to protect him while he gathers materials.”
“That sounds easy enough,” Iridescence mused. “Would you guys mind handling it at the moment? I’m kind of tied up with my cousins visiting me today. Take whoever is available and whoever would like to go.”
“Woo! This quest is going to be sweet!” Berry enthused. Even through the guild chat phone, it was obvious that she was extremely excited to begin. “HEY! Anyone out there want to come too?” she yelled by way of invitation.
An off-putting silence greeted her. A few moments later, CJ responded. “Sorry Berry,” he apologised. “I’m practicing some new moves with my job change.”
“Well, okay. But you don’t know what you’re missing, CJ,” Berry replied, not at all discouraged.
“What about Silver?” Ciel suggested. “He got a new sword that would be great for this quest! Silver, do you want to come?”
Once again, there was only silence. “Silver? HELLO?” Berry screamed into the guild chat phone. “HELLO?”
“Maybe he’s on one of his afternoon naps,” Kyrena muttered quietly before Berry managed to muster another one of her ear-splitting cries.
“That’s possible,” CJ said. “He looked uncomfortable earlier over by the buildings and he probably went off into the forest to catch some ZZZs.” He laughed to himself.
“Oh great,” Berry sighed irritably. “Just when we needed him, he’s off sleeping.”
“Why not test that new guild mate that just joined us?” Iridescence suggested, fending off the grubby hands of her cousins as she tried to carry on her conversation with the rest of the guild. “Just to see what the kid has to offer.”
The guild mulled this over, slightly confused. Finally, Ciel raised a question. “Wait… which one do you mean?” she asked uncertainly. “Didn’t we get a few recently?”
“I think she means the paladin,” Kyrena replied in her soft-spoken way.
“Wait a minute. Wait a minute,” Berry protested feelingly. “You mean to say you want us to bring him along with us on a dangerous quest? He has almost no quest experience! Are you sure about this, Iri?”
“Yes. I think it’s about time we see what he has to offer,” Iridescence said firmly.
Berry sighed. The thought of dragging a green horn along with them on the quest was not particularly appealing to her, but it seemed to have been decided upon. “Fine, fine,” she muttered. “YO! Katana! You listening in?” she roared, her entire demeanour changing quite suddenly. “We’re taking you off the bench.”
Over the guild chat phone, a new, deeper voice sounded. “Katana here. And yes, I heard everything. I’m so excited to join you guys. To be honest, I’m a little nervous,” he chuckled. Katana was new to the Infinity guild and hadn’t yet managed to make as strong an impression as the veteran members of the guild. There were rumours that he had long since been practicing and receiving tips from Ralis, but they remained unconfirmed.
Two hours had gone by before Silver woke up from his nap outside the tall stone walls of Prontera. He sat up and rubbed sleepily at his eyes, yawning loudly. He slumped up against the guard post and stared blearily at the copse of trees in front of him, not registering their presence at all. Still half asleep, he slowly raised himself up and toddled unsteadily into the city.
The bustling of the town was as always, with people running around buying food and their other daily needs, and adventurers purchasing items, occasionally haggling with the merchants in hopes of a better price. All in all, it was a typical Prontera day, and Silver smiled sleepily at the familiar sight. All of a sudden, a piercing wave of screams caught the knight’s ear, jolting him awake. He looked around quickly, unsure of where the screams had come from, then dashed off in their direction.
As he ran, Prontera guards appeared alongside him, frantic and desperately trying to organize the medical supplies they had brought with them as they moved. Several of them, thinking that Silver was nothing more than a nosy bystander, tried to jostle him out of the way, eventually succeeding in pushing him to the back of the hoard. Undeterred, Silver followed them, thinking they would lead him towards the screams.
“Did you hear what happened?” someone shouted over the rabble. It was impossible to manage a discreet whisper in the noise. Silver slowed his pace and strained to hear more.
“No. What was going on?” someone called in reply.
“It looks like some people are hurt,” called another, and all of a sudden, voices rose in frenzied, morbidly curious discussion.
“I think they were some adventurers.”
“Did you hear about the gentic and warlock that were hurt?”
“Yeah, I did. I heard they were the most badly hurt.”
As the gossip continued, Silver grew more and more anxious. It can’t be them, can it? he thought to himself, worried. With renewed enthusiasm, he ran after the guards to the north end of the city, following them all the way to the front of the castle.
Hordes of people swarmed the scene for what seemed like miles. Children jumped up and down, trying to look over the shoulders of taller adults. Some whined to their parents and insisted on being carried up to see and some merely dipped under long skirts and knobby knees and fought their way to the front. There was no doubt at all that something extraordinary had happened. Silver stood on his toes, trying to look over the large crowd, but it was no use. He tried to push his way through, only to be forced back even further than he had been before.
Frustrated, he looked around for something—anything – to climb onto. He spotted a small, dark alley in the corner of his eye and quickly made his way towards it. The alley was rank with the smell of vaguely bad flour and there were many large bags of the offending stuff piled into a brown-white mountain. Silver jumped onto the pile and slowly made his way up onto the roof of one of the many buildings. He swiftly jumped across the rooftops, occasionally having to grasp quickly at crumbling chimneys to keep his balance. Finally, he found himself overlooking the scene, watching the mob of people making way for the medical guards as they moved towards what looked like a small group of people on the ground.
Silver began his descent, never taking his eyes off the group. “Crap!” he yelled, mortified, as he spotted the familiar purple cape that belonged to Ciel, singed and stained with blood. Her Filir was lying nearby, trying to raise itself weakly onto its feet before collapsing into a heap again, cheeping desperately.
Silver found himself re-joined with the crowd and once again tried to push his way through. People swore at him and muttered bad temperedly. One man told him curtly to get his own space. The knight slowly began to lose his composure and let out a deafening scream of frustration. Everyone turned to look at him in shock. A child started to point and giggle before having his mouth covered by his mother. The mob watched with rapt attention, but did not move an inch.
“MOVE!” Silver roared commandingly. “Those are my friends! I need to get in there!”
The crowd had already begun to shuffle at the first monosyllable and made a clear path down the middle like Moses parting the Red Sea. Ignoring them, Silver rushed into the middle of the circle where the medical staff were tending to his friends.
Upon closer inspection, Silver realised that he had not been wrong when he had assumed that Ciel had been there. She was unconscious on the ground. By this time, her Filir had made it to her and was resting its small head on her waist, breathing heavily. Berry was lying face down on her stomach, groaning wretchedly though it appeared that she was still in shock despite being conscious. There was a large burn mark on her back where her uniform had been slashed away.
Only a little further away from her, Kyrena was down on one knee, panting heavily. Her hand was clasped tightly at her left arm which looked badly broken. Blood was running down her face and there were various burns on her neck, though they did not seem to be serious. At Kyrena’s side, Katana was also unconscious though he looked, for the most part, completely unharmed. In his hand, he still grasped tightly at the handle of his shield, though shattered metal pieces nearby suggested that it had broken completely. The grand peco he normally rode was unharmed as well, but danced anxiously in circles around its master.
“Get this paladin’s armour off quickly before it causes more damage,” one of the medics commanded, trying to pry Katana’s fingers open so he could remove what little piece of the shield he still held onto. There was a cry of shock as one of the medics removed the paladin’s armour. The medic by Katana began to irritably tell his colleague to mind what he was doing, but he too soon gaped at the large, full-body bruise that was running from the patient’s shoulders to his waist.
“Take the paladin and the warlock into the castle. They need to be in intensive care now!” the head doctor shouted to the team assembled. “Bring the assassin to the examination room and one of you get her arm looked at. We need to find a bed for the geneticist to sleep in, and you!” he gestured to one of the guards, “find me another damn alchemist to come and take a look at this homunculus.”
The guard began to protest, but was quickly cut off by the doctor. “I’m a doctor, dammit, not a creator!” he shouted, his face beginning to turn a bright red. The guard hurried off towards one of the various apothecaries to find an alchemist and avoid the wrath of the doctor.
Silver was horrified. He couldn’t believe what had happened to his friends. He pushed through to the center of the area but was stopped by one of the guards before he could go any further. “Hold it!” the guard said. “Only authorized personnel are allowed in this area.”
Silver fought against the arm that was held out in front of him. “These are my friends!” he yelled indignantly. “What happened to him?!”
The guard remained unwavering and set himself even more firmly against Silver’s clawing. He looked straight ahead and refused to acknowledge Silver’s presence. He felt a slight pressure on his shoulder and looked into the solemn face of the head doctor. He saluted the man with his free hand, but did not waver against the knight. The doctor nodded in the direction of Silver and the guard saluted once again before shimmering off back to his post.
“My name is Dr. Lakare,” the doctor introduced himself. He was a tall, middle aged man with well-crafted features, though his face was careworn from his experiences. He had a fine head of silver hair that made him look even more distinguished. His face was solemn and did not betray much emotion. “I’m the head doctor here. How do you know these people?” he continued.
“They’re my friends and guild mates!” Silver said, gesturing at them as they were slowly being carried away. “What is going on?!”
Dr. Lakare cast a disdainful eye up and down the length of the knight before him. He would have thought an experienced adventurer such as the man before him would have been able to maintain his composure. Without another word, he turned on his heel and stalked into the castle, the heels of his shoes clicking sharply on the tiles.
Silver seethed. “Stop ignoring me!” he bellowed. “What’s going on with my friends?!” He contemplated running after the doctor but decided that to perturb the man who had the lives of his friends in his hands would be a bad idea.
Dr. Lakare stopped and turned smoothly, staring expressionlessly at the man. He gestured to Silver to follow him, and after a moment’s hesitation, the knight did so.
Inside the walls of the castle, Silver was surprised to see the sudden rush of activity as doctors, nurses and people who were just plain nosy and had somehow managed to sneak in bustled around. The medical staff were perspiring from the pressure and heat, looking rather put-upon. One doctor called a young male nurse to her, only to send him away again seconds later. Silver watched all this in awe and quickly side-stepped as a small woman carrying a tray of scalpels nearly went crashing into him.
The doctor took this as a matter of course. He had been in the profession for many years and such sights ceased to be new or interesting to him. “My boy, you will be left behind if you do not keep up,” he called to Silver over his shoulder as he marched down the right staircase. As if suddenly released from a spell, Silver rushed after the doctor.
The lower level of the castle was much quieter. Silver marvelled at tall marble ceilings which must have been at least twenty feet tall. Rich tapestries hung in even lines along them, occasionally punctuated by several large paintings. Tall, stately looking men draped in fine coats of ermine or heavy jackets of deep wine red with golden lace and embroidery carefully avoided Silver’s eyes, staring off into the distance. A handsome, regal looking young man at the end of the corridor leaned against a fine painted table, holding a long rod of painted gold, looked straightforwardly down at him, traces of a smile on his lips. The title of the painting, engraved on the large frame, proclaimed this to be King Tristan the Third in his younger days. The entire area was enough to take one’s breath away.
Dr. Lakare stopped abruptly before a large wooden door. He placed his hand on the handle but hesitated. He turned to Silver. “This is the examination room,” he said. “Needless to say, please don’t do anything to alarm the patients. We are currently examining your assassin friend. You are free to talk to her, though it is highly unorthodox, but try not to rile her up or interfere with my medical staff in any way.”
Silver nodded. “That’s fine with me,” he replied. “But before I go in, I have to know: What happened to all of them?”
Dr. Lakare stared at Silver, then up at the ceiling thoughtfully. “To be completely honest, I have no idea,” he mused. “Based on the injuries of your friends, I’d imagine that they fought something very large, which is what made the giant bruise on your paladin friend. Observing the burns, it also had the power to use fire. Based on these two facts, I would say they either fought many dragons or a single, very large one. Regardless, the condition of your paladin and warlock friend is not looking good at the moment.”
“Will they be okay?” Silver asked.
Dr. Lakare shrugged. “It is hard to say right now,” he said. “But with me as their doctor, they should be fine.” It was not egotism. Dr. Lakare had thrown up at his first dead body, had almost resigned during his first deployment to the scene of an emergency, but he had fought his way through it all and now had the reputation as one of the best doctors in the Rune-Midgards.
The doctor nodded to Silver and left him to attend to the two in critical condition, disappearing behind a heavy oak door that shut as though it had been skimming on oil. Silver watched him go, happy that his friends were in such capable hands, and then opened the door before him.
Kyrena sat tensely on a long examination table made of cold metal. Her purple rust coloured armour stood out in an almost offensive way against the white of the room. Silver watched from where he was standing at the door, relief washing over him like rain after a humid dry season. The armour that had covered her left arm had been carefully removed so that the doctors could examine it closely. A severe looking doctor lightly touched the assassin’s arm, poking and feeling and pressing. As she did so, Silver noticed the faint flickers of pain appearing on Kyrena’s face, only to disappear just as quickly as they came. The door behind Silver shut quietly with a light click, but that was enough to make the doctor look up from her work.
“Sir, you are not allowed to be in here,” she began, pushing her spectacles up. She started to march over to him to turn him out, but was stopped by her patient. Kyrena held up a firm hand to the doctor, then waved for the intruder to come to her while the doctor returned to her work, looking very disapproving.
“This is my friend. He won’t be any trouble,” Kyrena explained to the doctor by way of apology.
The look on the doctor’s face lightened only slightly and this made Silver slightly uncomfortable, though he did not hesitate in walking towards his guildmate. After exchanging curiously surreal pleasantries and inquiring about her condition, Silver finally brought himself to ask her what it was that had happened. Kyrena stared at him blankly for a moment and Silver couldn’t tell if she was looking at him or through him. She looked bitterly at the ground.
Silver placed a hand on her shoulder, taking care to be as gentle as possible. “I need to know,” he told her. “Please,” he added.
Kyrena brushed his hand off her shoulder. She lifted her face and met his eye. “Not now,” she murmured evasively. “Most of the bones in my arm are probably broken,” she explained, glancing quickly at it, then back at Silver. “And after this, she has to look at my right knee as well. I think something is wrong with it too. Once the doctor sets a cast and has finished checking my condition, I’ll come and talk to you. Meet me over by the entrance of the castle in an hour.”
Though her voice was steady, almost casual, the knight noted the tinge of anxiety in it. He knew what she was thinking: Would she be able to ever hold a katar again? Would she ever be able to stand, let alone fight, again at the side of her comrades? There was no way of knowing and the uncertainty was maddening, much more so than the uncertainty Silver faced himself. In the face of this, how could he refuse? How could he insist on knowing now like a spoiled child? Without a word, he nodded his consent, patted Kyrena on her shoulder and forced a reassuring smile. “Alright,” he said. “One hour.”
To his relief, Kyrena returned his smile briefly. After saying goodbye, Silver walked out of the door, thoughtful. He had never seen his friend so scared or worried in his life. He meandered down the fine hallway, feeling the plush carpets underneath his shoes, and then made his way back into the main hall. There, he stopped a passing nurse, inquiring after Ciel’s room. After explaining to her in quite definite terms that he had the permission of Dr. Lakare to be wondering around, she finally pointed him in the direction of the geneticist’s room. He thanked her and then dashed down the hall in the direction before being told rather sharply by another passing doctor that this was not, as he might have thought, a playground. Slowing, Silver apologised, grinning sheepishly at the doctor who watched him with hawk’s eyes until he disappeared round the corner into the next hall.
The hall he found himself in was not as fine as the previous one. Silver put this down to the fact that visitors and courtiers were less likely to wander around this area, and he suddenly felt a bit sorry for the neglected corridor. Along the walls, there were various pictures of King Tristan in various poses: King Tristan with his children; King Tristan on his hunting horse and his hounds; King Tristan wearing his crown… The paintings carried a kind of weary formality that seemed to say “We’re only here for lack of something better to put in this place.” Besides the paintings, there was a well-crafted table of dark wood upon which was a fine vase of beautiful carnations, a flood of pink and white and a singular green carnation in the middle of it all, looking slightly out of place.
Silver opened the door of his destination, peering in carefully. Too many doctors had threatened to have him kicked out and he was growing weary of having to explain his situation over and over again. It was frightfully dull. There was a middle-aged alchemist, frowning in concentration, bent over Harupia, occasionally prodding it unceremoniously, making it cheep indignantly. As Silver entered, the alchemist looked up at him and the frown on his brow deepened. Silver noticed then that this man, although obviously very knowledgeable, ill-suited his uniform. He was tall and broad and burly. Were it not for the uniform and seal which proclaimed him to be an alchemist, Silver might have thought that he might have been a blacksmith instead. Before the alchemist could protest his presence, Silver quickly explained his situation to the man, almost underlining the fact that he had the express permission of Dr. Lakare to be here.
The alchemist shrugged uncaringly. “If Dr. Lakare is alright with this, then I suppose there’s nothing much else I can do,” he said. “My name is Farroway—Augustus Farroway. Now please stand in that corner and be quiet while I’m examining this homunculus,” he continued briefly, as though repeating part of a memorized speech.
Silver did as he was told and watched the man Farroway at his work in silence for a few moments. “How is Harupia doing? Will she be okay?” he asked after a while.
“Quiet means not talking,” Farroway said, not looking up from his work. His voice contained a drawn out drawl which made Silver unsure if the man really was offended or not. “She doesn’t have any burn marks, unlike his owner, but he does have some bruising around his wings and there is a small gash on his neck,” he said after a while.
Ignoring the knight, he turned and began to dig through a medium sized bag. For a few moments, there was silence except for the sound of irritable shuffling. Finally, Farroway produced a clear bottle which he held triumphantly in his hand. The bottle was small with a cork in the top of the neck. Around the rim of the bottle was a brightly coloured rope woven with several strands of rainbow silk. The liquid inside was the creamy colour of pearl and Silver could have sworn that it changed colour in different stages of the light. The alchemist poured a generous amount of it into the palm of his hand, the liquid as thick as honey, and rubbed it gently onto Harupia’s wings.
“There,” Farroway said, stepping back and seeming pleased with his handiwork. “She should be as good as new as long as she has a good long rest and at least a week of non-strenuous activity.”
Silver gawked at him. It all seemed so… simple. It almost felt like cheating. “Err,” he began, puzzled. The alchemist turned to look at him, seeming just as puzzled as he (Silver) was. “What about that big cut you mentioned?” the knight continued. “Shouldn’t you sew it up or something?”
Farroway smiled. No, it had too much smarminess in it to be called a smile. It was a smirk. Farroway smirked at him. He shook his head. “Are you the alchemist around here or am I? Yes, you know, I came to the same conclusion,” he drawled, and then he laughed a long rolling laugh that bore no trace of menace. “Trust me. He will be fine,” he added, hand on his heart as though giving a solemn oath. So saying, he packed his things and left the room.
Silver stared up at the ceiling, still terribly confused at what had just happened. He decided that it was not worth thinking about. The man had been an alchemist and he had known what he was doing. That was all Silver needed to know. Knights like him were not meant to think about how people did their jobs. He shrugged nonchalantly and went to sit by Ciel’s bedside. The sun shone oppressively outside, fighting to gleam through the heavy glass of the windows. Ciel was sound asleep, not at all troubled by how bright it was. From where he was sitting, Silver was reminded of an old story he had heard in his childhood of the girl Aschenputtel who had often gone around in clothes coated with the cinders from a burning fire. But unlike Aschenputtel, Ciel’s clothing was stained with weak maroon, almost black against the purple of her cloak.
Silver leaned over Ciel’s body and examined her face. He smiled at her open mouth and even breaths. Whatever had happened, at least she was peaceful for now. “At least she isn’t in any pain at the moment,” Silver murmured to himself.
He glanced out of the window to the streets across the way. The oblivion of the people was almost enviable. Silver cracked the window open and shut it hurriedly again as the noise from the watching patrons carried in, particularly that of the smooth baritone of the town crier, shouting the time and that all was well. He glanced over his shoulder at Ciel who hadn’t so much as stirred.
Forty five minutes had passed by. That’s what the crier had said. Silver took a final look around the room as the silence buzzed in his ears. Well, it was time to meet with Kyrena, he told himself. Hopefully, he would get some answers. People said ignorance was bliss, but right now, it was just plain frustrating.
Slowly, Silver tiptoed out of the room, careful not to wake either Ciel or Harupia. As he pulled the door shut, he looked up and saw a nurse coming towards him. She was likely going to check on her patients and he graciously left the door ajar for her, smiling at her and indicating that they were both alright for now. The nurse returned the smile. Her heels clicked on the floor then were heard of no more as the door closed after her.
Silver made his way back. Along his way, he poked his head around into the examination room where Kyrena had been before, ignoring the fine paintings just as they ignored him. She was absent from the room and with a nonchalant shrug, the knight made his way back to the entrance of the castle.
She was not at the entrance either. Silver was not sure what to think. At least, he told himself, he had not been late. He paced agitatedly in a circle, wondering what it was that prevented Kyrena from keeping her appointment. Had her condition really been so bad? It hadn’t seemed like it.
The sound of smooth rolling made him jump. If anything, he had expected the sound of hesitant footsteps or, at worst, the sound of clumsy wood on tile. But this was… He turned and managed a sickly smile at Kyrena as a nurse wheeled her gently towards him. She waved at him with her good arm. The other was wrapped up in heavy looking plaster which looked so hard that it might have been able to take out a school of orcs. A gritty looking brace clutched at her right knee. It looked almost as uncomfortable as the cast on her arm. Kyrena suddenly looked so small, Silver thought dejectedly. He hadn’t expected this. He hadn’t had the chance to prepare himself mentally for this.
The wheelchair rolled to a stop without so much as the slightest jerk. Silver thanked the nurse who bowed and removed himself from the scene. He watched Kyrena sadly. While quiet, she had always seemed so strong; and now, she seemed like a shadow of her previous self. Kyrena smiled up at him from her wheel chair. “Don’t look so glum,” she reprimanded gently. “You should see the others.”
Silver returned the smile. At least her spirit hadn’t been broken. “Push me outside,” the assassin continued. “I need some fresh air. We can talk out there.”
Silver nodded and took hold of the handles of the chair, manoeuvring her into the bright sunlight, the warm wind and the quiet squabbles of thief bugs. Kyrena did not volunteer any words. She seemed to revel in the peave, but Silver fretted beside her. Whatever it was his friends had fought, it had been enough to take down an entire team of able-bodied fighters. Was it even possible to avenge them on his own? He had to steel himself for what he was about to hear. Unbeknownst to him though what he was about to hear would change not only everything he knew about the world, but also his very future.
