《I Come From The Water》


 Prolog: Transfer

    I sat alone watching a fish glide through the current in the distance. The warm water brought a relaxing sensation with it and a sign of the changing season. I slid my fingers through the water trying to make as little disturbance as possible. One wrong move and the water would shift alerting others of my position. Slowly ever so slowly I let my body relax into the flow. Sliding along the currant I danced to the sounds made by the other inhabitants of the ocean.


    I twirled with the current around a jagged rock just missing the sharp edges. One cut would release the scent of blood into the water and call all the predators in the area. Useful but not what I wanted right now. Flipping back I let the lower current pull me down into a sea cave as if being swallowed. Clams lined the wall holding onto their treasures snapping shut at any ripple in the water. I swayed with the current disguising my presence as I slid pearls from any clams I passed by. Popping out the other end the current shifted yet again forcing me to adapt to a more chaotic rhythm. I swung my arms around forcing my body to barrel roll. The world spun making it impossible to tell up from down. However that was all right. I closed my eyes to the world and just felt the push and pull of the water around me.


    It drug me through many rocky outcrops that had caused the chaotic current to begin with. Cutting, spitting, twisting, and turning the current drug me through the maze of jagged rocks. Eventually the rocks ended revealing a vast sandy desert and much calmer waters. I slid my way out of the current and along the edge of the rocks so that I could look out into the desolate land. Pulling out a sand dollar I ran it across my fingers while watching shoals of fish feed. Sunlight danced through the water creating interesting shadows as if telling a story. I sat in silence on the cliff edge not minding the time that passed by just enjoying.


    There was no reason to hurry home anyway. Today was my day. No work. No need to keep up appearances. Just a quiet day of what I want. I smiled as I flipped the sand dollar up into the air. I needed the brake. Too many days have been spent in the eyes of others. I was used to traveling through the shadows, going unseen, unheard. However recently my Boss decided to use me as advertisement. Bastard.


    Just remembering the conversation pisses me off.


    ¡°Mor, where is everyone?¡± asked a slightly irritated Man sitting at his desk. He tapped his finger on the wood while looking at the empty room.


    ¡°Dead,¡± I replied from the middle of the room, ¡°Or resigned, or retired.¡± I started flipping my whale bone dagger.


    ¡°Hm, and the new recruits?¡±


    ¡°There are none.¡± I grabbed the string attached to the end and started twirling it.


    He spat out a sigh. ¡°Why is no one interested in becoming a mercenary these days?¡± I lifted an eyebrow at his muttering. ¡°I mean the pay is good. You get food and board. Sure there are some draw backs.¡±


    ¡°Like death.¡± He glared at me.


    ¡°You could die doing anything,¡± he growled. I shook my head at his argument. ¡°I mean it¡¯s not like there are a lot of jobs out there!¡± He slammed his hand down on the desk causing papers to fly. ¡°How am I supposed to run this place if we have no people!¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m still here.¡±


    ¡°One person doesn¡¯t make a mercenary corp, Mor!¡± He ran his hands roughly through his short brown hair. ¡°Go find some people.¡±


    I froze. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Go find some idiots who don¡¯t care about life or death. I don¡¯t care where you pick them up but find some.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Are you joking?¡±This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡°Does it look like I¡¯m joking?¡± I just glared at him. ¡°Look Mor, we need at least twenty people to run this place. Right now we can¡¯t even take jobs.¡±


    We glared at each other. ¡°Tsk, fine. But you better not complain about the results. You know I hate people.¡± I slammed my dagger back into my belt as I stalked out of the room.


    ¡°Don¡¯t kill anyone. You know what happened last time.¡± I waved my hand in acknowledgement.


    ¡°It was one time¡­¡± I muttered.


    I crushed the sand dollar in my hand. Treating me like a poster girl. I was a Mermaid for fucks sake. I kill and eat people, lure humans to their death, and laugh while watching. I don¡¯t play house with drunken idiots. Taking a deep breath I ran my fingers through my blood red hair methodically taking out any knots to try and calm down.


    To add to all the stress of interacting with those pea brained monkeys I hadn¡¯t been able to be in the ocean for the past month. I pulled a sea urchin out from between the rocks and started dismantling it. Stabbing the spines one by one into the sponge next to me and removing the poison sack. Placing the sack into my pouch hanging on my waist, I repeated the process with another ten sea urchins.


    With that done I went through the spines stabbed into the sponge. Choosing only the longest and thickest ones I also added them to the pouch. The process didn¡¯t take long. I added some chunks of the sponge I used as a push pin holder. I sighed at the familiar process I have been doing since I was a kid.


    It was relaxing. When I was younger my mother took me out and taught me the uses of the many sea creatures in the ocean. What could be used as weapons, medicine, and to help with our magic. I miss those days. Unfortunately those peaceful days didn¡¯t last long.


    Twenty years after I was born my Mother was taken from me. I sighed at the memory that left me alone. Sure I could live with the other Mermaids out there, but I don¡¯t really fit in. They¡¯re all about peace and thats not really my thing.


    No, I much prefer the life of a mercenary. Even if I have to take on my detestable Human form it¡¯s way better than being one of those spineless fish. Sure its dangerous and I¡¯m sure my Mother would have preferred I changed with the times¡­ Oh who am I kidding? The old sea witch would love that I still bath myself in blood. I smiled. She really was a monster of the sea.


    It¡¯s been almost two hundred years since then. Humans and ¡®mythical¡¯ creatures live together in ¡®peace¡¯ now. I laughed darkly. At least that¡¯s what the governments tell their people. If there truly was peace than there would be no need for mercenaries.


    Suddenly, the atmosphere changed causing me to break out of my train of thought. I sat up straight trying to find the cause. The water started to push away from me as if rejecting my existence. Frowning, I shoved off the rock trying to get back to the water however fate was not so kind. As I shoved off, the water vanished around me causing me to plummet to the sea floor. I hit the sand hard and groaned in pain. That was definitely going to bruise. Sliding my hands underneath me I pushed myself up. My tail quickly changed into legs to support me in this new dry environment. The webbing in between my fingers vanished. While my eyes changed from double eyelids to single forcing me to blink the salt out of my eyes. Red scales were scattered across my skin like freckles showing that I was a creature of the sea no matter what form I take.


    Shaking the water off my head, I examined my surroundings. The ocean was pushed off in a one meter circle around me. Frowning I tried to touch the water only to have it move away while maintaining that one meter distance. I scowled at this unusual situation. Here I was having a good day and the water just had to start acting weird like I was some sort of foreign invader. I stretched my limbs a little to get feeling in my legs and then ran at the water wall. Strange phenomenon be damned I was going back into the sea one way or another.


    As I stepped full speed on to the sand it started pulling me down. I stumbled and fell allowing the sand to seal my hands. I gasped in horror as the sand slowly pulled me down cutting off all my chances of escape. Struggling against the pull only made it worse. The concrete like hold over the covered areas had me panicking. As the sand reached my head the world turned black.


    ~~~


    I awoke in a forest. Yes a forest. It has been years since I have seen one but it was obviously a forest none the less. Frowning I got up. Where was my water? My ocean? My home? Taking a deep breath of air I choked. ¡°Cough, cough, cough¡­¡± Shit I forgot.Coughing out the water that was still in my lungs I regained my breathing. Finally done with my little episode I took a better look at my surroundings.


    Trees covered the area thickly causing my sight to be limited. Grass grew to be about knee high creating a second visibility barrier. I frowned. I couldn¡¯t smell salt anywhere only the sent of trees, dirt, and animals. I shifted my weight uncomfortable. Rustling sounded from my left as a rabbit quickly made its escape. I sighed. Making up my mind I started walking in a direction. If I can¡¯t see the ocean then I¡¯ll just have to find it.

 1: Getting My Bearings

    I have been walking for hours with no change in sight. I know it has been a while since I have been in a forest but I don¡¯t remember them being so big. Maybe in times past but not in the last hundred years or so. In fact in the last hundred years, forests had become protected areas. After what the humans call the Tech Dark Age there had been huge advances in environmental care and restoration. This lead to my home being relatively clean and the beginning of the forests growing back. However the forests would have had to have been growing for at least several centuries before it even began to look like this one.


    Not only that but noises that don¡¯t really belong in a forest can be heard from time to time. Such as very loud roars as if a lion was on the loose, flapping of large unseen wings, and strange gargled whimpers. I walked through the forest annoyed that I hadn¡¯t reached the end yet. Strange noises be damned.


    Finally reaching a large lake I sighed in relief at the sight of water. I dipped my toes into the edge feeling the fresh cool water against my dirty skin. I waded in up to my waist and began washing the dirt off from laying on the ground. With every bit that came off I felt more alive. Pulling the last leaf out of my hair I looked at my reflection in the water.


    Blood red eyes dulled to an albion pink and white hair with red highlights was tied back in a pony tail. I hated my human form it took away all the traits that show just how much I should be feared. A light red tattoo that ran from the back of my neck all the way down to my lower back telling a story from my younger days. It was the only thing that showed my power in my human form.


    It is tradition that all young Mermaids when they reach the age of twelve get a tattoo that will tell their story as the years pass. All your pain, suffering, achievements, titles, and crimes. Well it used to. The tattoo tradition hasn¡¯t been practiced in about 150 years. Everyone that has had their life tattooed onto them is pretty much dead. Except me.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    I ran my fingers over the top of the water thinking of what I should do next. I guess I¡¯ll ask for directions. Tapping the surface of the water three times causing the rippling to still and reflected the world around it like a mirror.


    Coventina, where is this place?


    [ Terra, Muir¨ªn ]


    Terra?


    [ The name of this world. ]


    ¡­ Is this not Earth?


    [ In some ways yes. In others no. ]


    I frowned at these words. It is always difficult to get information from the Coventina. Her will is just like the water she protects. I must find the Ocean. Can you point me in the right direction?


    [ Due east. ] The water rippled as Coventina faded from the lake. [Take care my Ula. ]


    Sigh, I looked at the water that helpfully rippled all in one direction to point out East for me. Slowly making my way out of the water I headed that direction. If luck was on my side I would not have to walk more than a day away.


    I adjusted the belt hanging at my waist. Making sure my knifes and pouch were ok and within easy reach. Even when everyone in the modern era used projectile weapons I still used a knife. Something about taking a life with my own hands just felt right. Call me a traditionalist but its so boring using a gun.


    During the war I was quite famous. I infiltrated many Human bases slaughtering all in there leaving nothing but bodies in my wake. Ah good times. I was the terror of the night. Ah I was so young, so full of life, and the need for revenge. Well with time things fade. I no longer lust for the destruction of Human kind¡­ As much. I¡¯ve learned to control these urges and put them into more constructive things like <del>torture</del>cough, cough ¡­ stitching, crafting, and art. All respectable hobbies.

 2: I Hate Dry Land

    I am beyond pissed. This blasted forest just keeps going. All the dirt that I have washed off earlier has already come back. Stomping through the tall grass and bushes I finally, FINALLY, made it to a road. The road was dirt with two track indents in it. Short grass grew in-between the indents while mud and dust settled at the bottom. Trees where cleared a little on either side to make it somewhat visible.


    ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Might as well head along the road¡­ It had become more and more obvious that when the Coventina said go east she didn¡¯t mean that the ocean was just over a hill, but that it was just east from here. The burning sun and dry air was doing little for my mood as I set off down the road heading in what I think is South.


    The road twisted and turned its way through the dense forest saving me from having to push my way through the plants, but in exchange I have to stomp through mud. As the hours passed with no change in scenery I got fed up and sat down against a tree. I leaned my head back and watched the sun slowly dip below the horizon. Red, orange, and purple stained the sky letting the world know that the day was coming to an end.


    My stomach growled in protest to the fact I haven¡¯t eaten anything all day. I lazily glanced around to check if there was anything edible in the area but soon gave up. I could live for five days without food no problem. It just became a habit to eat everyday. Watching the sun disappear below the trees I waited for what would happen next.


    For the last couple of miles I have been followed by something taking cover in the woods. They have made no move to take action even though I have left clear openings as I walked and made no indication that I knew they were there. Hoping that the cover of darkness would bring them some confidence I sat waiting against the tree with my eyes closed.


    Time passed slowly as I sat doing nothing. Buzzing sounded in my ear as misquotes emerged from where ever they hid during the day. Furrowing my eyebrows as one landed on me I waited for just the right moment. There! Quickly I slammed my hand down on my leg killing the pest. While it did nothing in the grand scheme of things it was still satisfying. Sigh.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    I opened my eyes and stood up, brushed as much grass off as I could, and began walking down the road again. If the things following me wasn¡¯t going to come out so be it. They can stay hidden as long as they like I¡¯ll just ignore them. A man emerged from the forest in front of me blocking my path. So you finally appear. He was looking at me with lustful eyes as if licking me.


    ¡°¡­¡± He took a step forward but stopped when my gaze harshened watching and reading his every move. Slowly he held up his hands in a obvious sign of surrender. When I made no move at his actions he scowled. ¡°??, ????? ????? ??? ???¡± His voice was grating.


    ¡°¡­¡± I made no sign I heard him. What language is that. I don¡¯t understand anything. Tch, looks like I have to learn a new language.


    ¡°??? ??? ??? ???????? ?? ?????!¡± His face grew red in anger as he yelled at me. Not that I knew what he said, but it was hideous to look at. Oi, your going to pop a vain. Oh, wait that might be funny to see. I¡¯ve never actually seen that before. Please show it to me hideous angry man~.


    He got even anger at my silence. ¡°???, ??? ?? ??!¡± At his shout more men came out from the cover of the woods. One of the men came up to him to calm him down. Tch, I really wanted to see him pop a vain. How disappointing.


    I watched the new men as the comforted the first one. What a good example of camaraderie. How annoying. Deciding that I had had enough of this I started walking around the men and their stupid affectionate show. Or that was the plan.


    One of the men grabbed my arm as I walked by. His hand tightened trying to pull me back. Key word being trying. I grabbed his wrist and broke it. No one and I mean No One touches me. I glared at the man as he cried out in pain and squirmed on the ground like an insect.


    ¡°??!¡± The others shouted in alarm. They pulled out their weapons and pointed them at me. Like that would save the worm on the ground. He is dead. I kicked the guy on the ground hard, sending him flying into the man behind him. Unfortunately the sword missed him and only lightly injured him. Tch, lucky man.


    The men shouted at me in their strange language and started charging at me. I rolled my neck making it pop. ¡°Let the games begin.¡± I whispered with a smile on my lips.

 3: I Am Not A Bandit

    I smiled joyfully looking at the seen before me. Limbs lay strewn randomly along the road or hanging in trees. Expressions of horror and pain where plastered on their faces as they experienced the last bit of life they had left before dying. I stretched my muscles after my little exercise.


    While their skill was poor I took my time slowly destroying them. It was really great stress relief after walking in this blasted forest all day.


    Looking over the men that now lay in pieces on the ground I realized that they had on some really fancy cloths. With little puffed out sleeves that had delicate weaving on it. Detailed embroidery decorated their cloths causing it to be unnecessarily fancy. Especially for walking through the woods.


    I frowned and looked down at myself. A pitch black bra top to leave as much of my tattoo visible, and a pair of black bicycle shorts. Two leather belts criss crossed over the top of each other holding my knives and pouches. I was bear foot as I hated wearing shoes. Am I under dressed for this place?


    Shrugging my shoulders I crouched down and started rummaging through the mens cloths. I smiled when I found what I was looking for. Money. Well what I guess is money. There were a lot of coins of varying sizes, shapes, and color. Even the picture stamped onto the lumps of metal where different.


    I frowned looking at my prize. This was going to be just as annoying as learning a new language. Sighing I placed the money into one of my pouches. Judging by the clothes that these people where wearing it couldn¡¯t be far to a town. Turning around I headed off in the direction that I hope was a town, city, farm, abandoned building, just something because I am not spending the night here in this forest. Or so help me I will find a way to burn it to the ground.


    After what I feel was the longest four hours of my life I have reached a ¡­ city. Or whatever this place considers a city. High stone walls covered the city from prying eyes. Guards stood at the gates even though it was already way into the night.


    I walked up to the guards with a smile on my face. I really want to spend the rest of the night under a roof. As I got closer the guards called out to me. ¡°??! ????? ??? ??? ?? ???? ???¡± Shit I forgot that I don¡¯t understand the language.Stolen story; please report.


    Stopping a good meter from them I waved and tried to act as innocent as possible. ¡°Umm, Hi?¡± And with that one of them lunged his spears at me. I¡¯m getting really tiered of this.


    ~~~


    (Unsuspecting Guard POV)


    Grell and I were guarding the gate during the graveyard shift. I wasn¡¯t supposed to be here at first but then I lost a bet to the guy who had this shift originally. Damn it, who would have thought that that pretty little lass would really go on a date with the Captain.


    I sighed in disappointment. Stretching my aching back Grell hit me. ¡°What?¡± I spat out in annoyance.


    Grell just pointed into the distance. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Squinting my eyes I saw a shadow of a woman walking our way.


    ¡°Ho, it looks like a beautiful woman.¡±


    ¡°Yeah? But what is a woman doing coming out of the Cursed Forest in the middle of the night?¡± Gulping once the figure got close enough we called out.


    ¡°Stop! What is your business here?¡± The ¡®Woman¡¯ tilted her head to the side. The moon shined off of her beautiful white and red hair. She had a bright smile on her face with cute little freckles dashed across it. Almost as if they were splattered.


    ¡°Wait¡­¡± I whispered out loud. ¡°Those aren¡¯t freckles¡­¡± Realization dawned on me. She was coated in blood. Dried blood! It coated her body as if complimenting her pink eyes.


    Grell started shaking. ¡°I-I said halt!¡± He yelled trying to sound intimidating, but the stutter at the beginning gave away his fear.


    I grabbed his shoulder with one hand trying to steady my nerves. ¡°Keep it together Grell it¡¯s only a woman.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure about that Tom. I mean that ¡®woman¡¯ just came out of the woods covered in what looks like fresh blood. I mean she doesn¡¯t even look human!¡±


    ¡°If she wasn¡¯t human what would she be?¡± I shot Grell a glare while we had our spears lowered at the woman in front of us. She had stopped a meter away from the tip giving us and her plenty of room.


    ¡°A ghost.¡± Grell whispered


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°A Ghost!! Tom. A Fucking Ghost!!¡± Grell shouted startling me.


    ¡°She¡¯s not a ghost Grell.¡± I growled out.


    ¡°Really? And how do you know that?¡± I could see the whites of his eyes. He was panicking.


    ¡°She was stopped by the spears you fool! What ghost would be afraid of spears?¡± The girl gave no sign of moving from her spot.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know?! One pretending to be human!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just stupid.¡± As Grell and I were arguing the girl opened her mouth.


    ¡°???, ???¡± She said in a soft melody like voice while waving her hand. I smiled and took a step forward enchanted by her voice.


    ¡°Stop it you vile witch!¡± Grell yelled as he lunged forward with his spear with every intention of impaling the poor beauty.


    ¡°Grell stop I..¡± Then everything went black.

 4: An Annoying Encounter

    I stood still as the spear from one of the guards plunged towards me. I had no plans what so ever to stop what was happening. No there was no reason to make any plans. I watched as a shadow jump down from the top of the ramparts. It quickly descended and with a spectacular display of aim, landed directly on top of the guards knocking them both unconscious.


    As the dust cloud dispersed I saw three unmoving figures piled on top of each other. Rest in peace. May the Coventina guide your way to the afterlife. Bowing slightly in respect, I turned around looking at the road that split off into three different directions. I have officially given up on getting into the town. While I could just walk in now that the guards are out of the way, I still wouldn¡¯t be able to get a room. Sigh, the annoyances of not knowing a language, and from the way that those guards reacted to my clothes I might need new ones.


    Grabbing a stone from the ground I put the road leading to the forest behind me. I threw the stone up into the air and waited for it to land. May the rock be the leader in my destined route. I smirked. I always loved wandering with no idea where I was. My ¡®pathfinder¡¯ landed on the road to the left which lead to a wide open plain. Ohhh, no trees!


    Just as I joyfully took a step down the road I heard a scraping noise come from behind me. Turning around I saw the figure of a shortgirl slowly rise up into the sitting position. ¡°?: ?? ?? ???? ??? ?????.¡± She looked around her and spotted me. Her grey eyes locked onto me as a large smile spread across her face. I shivered and took a step back not liking where this was headed.


    Noticing my movement the girl popped up like a spring. Her smile even larger than before. ¡°??? ??. ?? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ?? ?? ???? ?????. ?? ??.¡± She walked closer as she kept talking in a constant stream of sound. I frowned. ¡°???? ?? ???¡± She asked with concern showing on her face, but her smile was still there like it was her permanent expression.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    I studied her as she came closer. A sword that was as big as she is was strapped to her back, and swayed when she walked. She was wearing a pair of plain brown boots that matched her pants that was accented with a couple of belts. Her shirt is a tan cotton that hung loosely off her frame. Her grey eyes sparkled in stark contrast to her short brown hair.


    Oh, hell no. I turned around ignoring her and started down my path. Hoping that the girl would just leave me alone. ¡°????¡± The girl jogged up beside me and held out her hand. ¡°??????? ?? ????. ??? ?? ???¡±


    Without stopping I glared at the girl. ¡°Leave.¡±


    The girl tilted her head and muttered ¡°Lave?¡± Then she popped back into motion. ¡°????? ?? Lave ??? ?? ???? ?? ??? ?? ??. ?? ???????? ??? ????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ??? ??????.¡± Her mouth running non-stop. Why is she coming with me? Please just go a different way. I don¡¯t even understand what you¡¯re saying!


    Suddenly a whistle sounded from the gate. ¡°????!!!¡± Guards where gathering there and pointing my way.


    The girl jumped into action at the sound of the whistle. Running down the road she turned to me and shouted. ¡°?????! ???? ????! ??!¡± What? The guards started running after her. The scene was so comical that I couldn¡¯t help laughing. ¡°Hahahahaha.¡±


    The guards turned to me and pointed. ¡°????? ??? ???!¡± And began running towards me as well. Are you serious? The girl came back and grabbed my arm tugging me down the road.


    ¡°?? ????? ??? ??, ???!¡± She said as she all but dragged me. My eyes grew cold. Bringing my hand down to break her wrist just like I did to that maggot from earlier. The girl released me and ran. What? I was dodged? The shout from the guards that are now much closer than before made me sigh.


    To kill or not to kill? I debated for a while but in the end I am tired. I was thrown into a strange place, walked through a forest for a day and half a night, killed some pompous men, and was threatened by the guards. Glancing at the guards that were streaming out of the town like an army of ants I sighed more. I¡¯ll just run.


    Catching up with the girl she glanced at me smugly. ¡°?????¡± she asked. I may not be able to understand what she is saying but it doesn¡¯t take a genius to know she was being sarcastic. Pissed, I ran faster trying to leave her in the dust. ¡°????! Lave!¡± She cried out in surprise. Ha, take that strange Human.

 5: New Companion

    (Grey Eyed Girl POV)


    I panted clutching my knees after running as fast as I could after the woman I just meet. I drooled at the memory of the woman dressed only in her tight fitting underwear. Her skin glowing in the moon light. Lave¡­ A beautiful name.


    Her pink eyes sent shivers down my body just remembering it. Such an unusual color. Ah, I wish I could find her again. I straitened up after catching my breath. Readjusting my partner so that it rested its weight more on my waist and not my shoulders, I glanced back the way I came. Some how or another I lost the guards.


    To be honest at some point I forgot that I was running from them and was just chasing after the beauty. Sigh¡­ No, no not good. I need to figure out where to go. This road lead down to the city of Haze. It was a low lying city placed in the valley of Terror Mountain. Hm, maybe I can make some money there. Terror Mountain was famous for having problems with bandits, wild animals, and mythical creatures. Oh, how I would like to see one.


    Walking down the road again I thought of a plan. I needed to get out of this province as fast as possible. That meant that I couldn¡¯t stop at any towns on the way. Guess I was camping for the next few days. I sighed at the thought.


    If it wasn¡¯t for that poor lady I wouldn¡¯t be in this situation. When I first saw her she was slouched on the street corner with a cut on her leg making it impossible for her to walk. Following the teachings of my Mother I took her back to my inn and treated her. She told me about what happened. Apparently the noble of that area had taken her daughter and was keeping her as a slave in the mansion.


    Feeling pity for the lady and the injustice that she suffered, I said that I could go and free her but the lady said she had to come with me. After a few hours of arguing I reluctantly agreed. Last night we infiltrated the mansion to get her daughter back, but when she saw the master of the mansion she lost it.


    Pulling a dagger from who knows where she stabbed him in the arm. She was yelling about how he had killed her daughter and something about revenge. All the shouting and screaming alarmed the guards causing them to storm into the room. The lady had completely lost it and attacked the guards. In the middle of the confusion I slipped out through the window.


    Unfortunately I landed right in the middle of more guards. With as much power I could muster I ran. Finally I jumped from the walls causing the guards to shout in confusion thinking that I was committing suicide. Like that high of a fall would hurt me. Dad¡¯s training was so much worse. Huhuhuhu.


    But sadly I couldn¡¯t save the lady. I sighed. That makes 936 failures and 0 accomplishments. Why was it that every time I try to help someone I end up doing more harm then good. Well if at first you don¡¯t succeed try try again. Maybe on the 937th time I can do it right.


    Nodding my head to my self I heard the most enchanting voice. Following the noise off the road I came across a river to see the most exquisite sight. I can die happy.


    ~~~


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    (Mor/Lave POV)


    After running from that crazy girl I finally lost her. There was no way she could keep up with that pace. I stretched my sore muscles and watched the sun rise above the horizon telling me that I have now been walking or running for 24 hours.


    Looking around I noticed for the first time that I have left the plains and ended up in a lightly forested area. Great more forest. I was coated in dirt, sweat, and blood. Frowning I walked off the road. There has to be some source of water with this many trees around. After ten minutes I found it. A beautiful pristine river. It was just deep enough to take a bath.


    I smiled and stepped into the water my feet sinking slightly into the soft mud at the water''s edge. It was cool making it a welcome change from the heat that persisted even in the night. Sliding into the water so that I was completely submerged I decided that this was a good place to rest.


    I floated on my back looking up at the canopy while relaxing. Watching the birds sing to greet the morning I felt the urgeto join in. I miss my ocean. Even if I wasn¡¯t in it I still tried to stay close to it so that I could still feel the salt in the air. Giving in to the impulse I sang.


    "As the water flows


    And the wind blows


    Waves crash


    And fish splash


    Deep below


    The seas glow


    Waters rush


    But fish hush


    We lay in wait


    As bait


    Our voices soft


    Heads held loft


    All who hear us fear


    All who fear us swear


    All who catch us love


    All who see us dove


    To the sea below


    To the depths so slow


    With nothing to show


    They stay in the flow


    Once again we wait


    As bait


    Our voices soft


    Heads held loft ¡­"


    A rustling noise brought me back from the song. I turned my head expecting to see a small animal but instead found a girl. The very girl I was trying to out run. How the hell is she here? There is no way she could have caught up to me that quickly.


    I stood up and watched her. Something about her made me uneasy. Her eyes glittered in joy as she looked at me. ¡°???.¡± She said as if in a daze. As she took a step closer I narrowed my eyes. Ignoring my obvious warning, done with body language, as I can¡¯t speak to her, she kept coming.


    As if snapping out of a trance she clapped in joy. ¡°Lave, ??? ??? ???? ???. ?? ?? ??? ???¡±


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± I asked darkly knowing that she didn¡¯t understand me but hoping the tone would explain that she was unwelcome. She paused for a moment tilting her head to the side cutely.


    ¡°??? ?????? ???? ?????, Lave?¡± She asked this with hope. What was she hoping for? I didn¡¯t respond. ¡°???? ????!¡± Pure joy filled her face making my eyelid twitch. Deciding that it was best to just ignore her I made my way out of the water heading back to the road.


    ¡°?? ????? ??? ??? ???? ??. ?? ???? ??? ??? ???? ??? ?????! ????? ?? ????? ??? ??? ??? ?? ???.¡± The girl droned on as she skipped happily next to me. Then she gasped. ¡°????, ????? ??? ??? ?????, Lave.¡± Pissed at her constant jabbering I threw a knife at her aiming to just scratch her cheek, but at the last moment she tilted her head letting it slam into the tree trunk behind her without injury.


    My lips twitched. She dodged that? So she dodged me the time with the wrist as well. ¡°???? ?? ???? ???? ??? ?????.¡± She said as if lecturing and pulling my knife from the tree. Once she looked at it she gasped. ¡°???? ??? ???? ??? ???. ?? ????? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ???.¡± Turning my knife over and tracing the designs carved into the bone. The carvings in the knife was used to enhance my magic. As well as the sea glass that was embedded into the hilt. I carried six otherknives just like it. Each one was embedded with a different colored glass. The one that she held was purple representing shadow.


    Each mermaid was taught how to make weapons from a young age. Your weapon was an extension of yourself. You made your weapon alone without help. Alas this tradition was also lost with time. I shook my head and kept walking down the road. The girl looked up from scrutinizing the knife. ¡°Lave! ??? ??? ??????.¡± Running up to walk next to me she went back to examining the knife. Skipping along as she went.


    Sigh, I guess I will walk with her for a little while.

 6: So We Camped

    (Lave POV)


    It was now night time. We had walked down the road for the rest of the day in what I assume is towards a town. We haven¡¯t seen another person all day. On another note while walking I would some times catch the girl staring at me. For the first few hours when she stared I would shudder. However now I¡¯m used to it.


    ¡®We¡¯ decided to camp off the road in the blasted forest for cover. When I suggested (pointed at) the plains just over the hill to camp she laughed nervously and shook her head. The only good thing about this is that the river ran along the road the entire time. So nice. I can be clean and rehydrate myself.


    The girl was gathering some fire wood and creating a temporary shelter. It was hideous. There was no way it would stand against any sort of weather. Sticks where sticking up everywhere making it look like a porcupine with some sap dripping down from where she cut the wood. Really what a disgrace.


    I sat in a tree eating what I assume is something like an apple. It was perfectly round, bright red, and incredible juicy. The tree was full of them. I grabbed a cloth from one of my pouches and filled it with these ¡®apples¡¯. The girl tried to take it from me earlier which is why I was sitting in the tree out of her reach.


    I¡¯m sure it is something poisonous to humans and usually I try to stick to what humans eat, but this was to good to pass up. Every once and a while she would look over here in concern but I just ignored it. I planed on sleeping up here tonight. Sure I am going to travel with this weird girl, but I didn¡¯t trust her. I was going to keep as much distance from her as possible. Especially while I was sleeping.


    Plucking the seeds out of the fruit I placed them in one of my pouches. Maybe I can grow some of these close to home.


    ~~~


    (Grey Eyed Girl POV)


    We had walked for hours along the road. Somehow I have convinced Lave to travel together. At first she was really reluctant and even threw knifes at me but now she just glares. Just like a cat. Huhuhu. I found out that Lave has seven strange knives strapped somewhere on her body.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    When I saw the first one this morning I was enchanted. What was it made of? Who made it? Can I have one? I reluctantly gave the knife back to Lave while we were walking. I will get the information out of her eventually, but first we need to be able to talk to each other.


    Really where was she from. She doesn¡¯t talk much but when she does it is enchanting. I could listen to that voice all day. And her singing, sigh. While walking I noticed a light red tribal tattoo that ran from her neck down to her lower back. It was unlike anything I¡¯ve ever seen. I have heard stories of secluded groups of people that would mark there warriors with tattoos. Maybe she is from there. It would explain a lot about her and why she can¡¯t speak Common.


    When I suggested that we camp for the night in the forest Lave glared at me and pointed to the plains. Haha, did she forget that we are being persuade by this provinces guards? While she was obviously unhappy about being in the forest for some reason, she immediately brightened up once she saw the river.


    She walked strait into the water cloths and all and began to wash the dirt from the road off. Won¡¯t the knives rust? In all honesty I would love to see her with her cloths off. Huhuhuhuhu. Oh not good. I wiped the drool from my mouth. Lave didn¡¯t seem to mind that I was watching her. Nice.


    Every time the water slid down her skin it would glitter causing an almost surreal effect. So pretty. She bent down and picked something up. When she turned around I panicked. ¡°Lave, put the fruit down.¡± I said trying to sound calm. Lave just stared at me while eating the fruit. Not good, not good I forgot she wouldn¡¯t understand me. ¡°Lave, give me the fruit. You shouldn¡¯t eat that. It will kill you.¡± I reached out to grab it but she backed further into the water to avoid my hand her eyes narrowing.


    This isn¡¯t good. What she was eating was known as the Red Death. Beautiful and smelled sweetly but would kill you just as quickly. Worried I ran into the water and tried to take it from her. She dodged my charge by sliding her foot along the bottom of the river letting the flow carry her far enough away. ¡°Lave, this isn¡¯t a joke.¡± I spun sending water flying trying to grab the fruit.


    Lave smiled jokingly and slid out of reach again. Really now!This trade continued for a good thirty minutes with her taking a bite of the fruit every once and a while. By the end of it she had eaten the whole thing and walked out of the water as if the ¡®game¡¯ we were playing was done.


    I was panicking. She ate an entire fruit. No one lives past the first bite. Watching her I saw her pull another fruit out from god nows where and start eating it. Rushing out of the water I grabbed this fruit and threw it away as quickly as possible. Lave¡¯s eyes widened when I threw the fruit away. Breathing heavily I turned to her and said very slowly with hand motions. ¡°Do not eat the fruit. It will kill you.¡±


    She just glared at me making me think that she didn¡¯t understand. Then she turned and jumped up into a tree where the fruit grew. She sat down on a branch near the top and began eating a third fruit. With a happy expression on her face. I started sweating just looking at this scene. Taking a deep breath to calm myself down I tried to look on the bright side. It hasn¡¯t killed her yet. Maybe she will be fine, hahaha. Not good even my mental laughter is nervous.


    Sighing I began making a shelter to stay in during the night, and gathering fire wood. Hopefully I could keep the fire going all night to keep the misquotes away. I watched the sky darken and decided that it would be best to go without food tonight. I really didn¡¯t want to fight off any wild animals that would come lured by the scent. I¡¯ll eat in the morning.

 7: Finally A Town

    (Lave POV)


    The ground sloshed under my feet as I walked down the muddy road. It was raining causing my mood to soar. It¡¯s been four days since I got to this Goddess forsaken place. All I have seen is forest, plains, and more forest. Thankfully the fruit is holding out well.


    While it pains me to admit this but thanks to the girl, Amice, I can now understand some words of their insufferable language. All because she almost never shuts up. I¡¯ve listened to her yammer on so much that I swear I can hear her talk in my sleep. Ugh. I took a bite of the red fruit that I havestashed in a bag on my back. After the first night she hasn¡¯t tried to take it away from me anymore. Not that she ever could.


    Finally, a walled town was sitting neatly below us. ¡°??? ?????, Lave. ????? ?????? Haze.¡± Amice said happily even though she knew I wouldn¡¯t understand almost anything she said. ¡°??? ??? ????? ?? ?? ????? ?? show ????? ???????. ??? ??? ??? ??? ????, ???? ?? ???? ?? ??? ??? ?????.¡±


    All I got from that is that this is a place called Haze and we have to show something. I sighed. I would leave her if I wasn¡¯t sure that I would just be attacked at the gate again.


    We walked down the steep cliff. Lightning flashed overhead helping to light the path. Amice basically bounced down the trail. Really now. Aren¡¯t Humans supposed to hate walking in the rain? After an hour we reached the gates of Haze.


    Guards stood in front just like the other town. With the same stupid spears. Amice bounded up to them moving almost silently in the rain. ¡°???!¡± She shouted in greeting scaring the hell out of the guards. She is going to get us in trouble. I walked up slowly and stood just behind her leaving all the explaining or whatever to her.


    She chatted with one of the guards and then pulled out a card and handed it to him. He nodded his head and pointed to me. Amice said somethings making the guard nod again, and handed her a piece of paper with some scribbled writing on it. Do I have to learn how to read as well? Sigh. I guess I will try to find some pens and paper and also a map.


    We walked through the gates entering the town. My first town in this place. The buildings where made of brick no more than three stories tall. Truly a primitive town. Never thought I would miss sky scrapers. Spotting a building that could be considered an inn I grabbed Amice and dragged her over to it.


    It was time to use my free translator. Walking in I immediately smiled. It looked just like the common area at the mercenaries house. Standing a bit taller, and dragging Amice by the sheath of her sword, I walked through the crowd to the counter. A man coated in scars was washing cups while watching over the crowd. Placing the mug down he smiled a professional smile. ¡°??? ?? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ??. ?? ?????¡±


    I pulledAmice next to me at the counter while smiling brightly. A solid thud sounded behind usfollowed by a crash. ¡°????? ????? ??? ??? ???, ?? ?? ????. ??? ???? ??? ?? E ????? ??? ?????!¡± The guy yelled at the people behind us. Ah, I don¡¯t even have to understand to know what was said. ¡®Oi, don¡¯t brake my place! Get out if your going to fight!¡¯ or something along those lines. He turned back to us while Amice was distracted looking at the scene.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Shaking my head I looked back at the owner and tried to speak in their blasted language. ¡°¡­ Stay¡­¡± The owner looked confused for a second before it dawned on him what I wanted.


    ¡°??? ??? ??? ?? ??. ??? ??? ????? ???, ???? ??. ????? ??? ??? ???? ????? ?? ???? ?? ?? ??????.¡± He said too fast for me to catch any of the words. I frowned and tapped Amice getting her attention while pointing to the owner.


    ¡°????, ??? ¡­ ?? ???? ???¡± Amice askedthe owner while I looked back out into the shop, leaning my back against the counter. One particular card game caught my interest in the corner. They had trump cards laid out on the table while betting on the results. Ho, that looks fun. Flashing a toothy smile I wondered over to join in. Lets make some money.


    ~~~


    (Amice POV)


    Lave has dragged me into a strange place. I smiled painfully up at the big man in front of me. ¡°Hi, um¡­ What was it you said?¡± More banging noises could be heard behind me making me flinch. Mom warned me about these types of places.


    ¡°One room is two silver. If you want breakfast it is 5 copper. As for a bath there is a public bath house just a block down the road.¡± The man said while looking at me skeptically. ¡°Little lady are you sure you want to stay here?¡±


    ¡°Ha ha, well¡­¡± Another crash sounded behind me followed by loud booing, making me turn. What I saw made my eye brows twitch down in confusion. ¡°Lave?¡± Lave was sitting at a table surrounded by menacing looking men. She had laid a hand of cards downand was pulling the stack of coins towards her. The man that sat across from her pulled out a knife and violently stabbed the table.


    He looked very unhappy about all of this. ¡°Bitch, you cheated didn¡¯t you.¡± He growled out while standing over her. Lave just smiled and pointed at his cards while shaking her head. Making him angrier. I was panicking. Lave doesn¡¯t speak the language. She probable doesn¡¯t know whats going on.


    As I pushed myself forward from the counter the man behind itgrabbed my arm. ¡°Now little missy there is no need to be hasty. It looks like your friend can handle herself quite well.¡±


    ¡°But Lave doesn¡¯t speak the language.¡± I whispered. Never taking my eyes off the situation in front of me. The man just chuckled.


    ¡°Yeah I could tell when she was making you speak for her. However it doesn¡¯t look like she needs help. See?¡± As he said this Lave had pulled out the knife on the table and was rolling it easily with her fingers. She placed her other hand on the table. Fast as lightning she stabbed the knife back into the table in-between each of her fingers.


    She then flipped it over and handed it to the man. For some reason he was sweating while the others smiled viciously. They sat him down and forcible placed his hand on the table. With clear agitation he did the exact same thing as Lave. A scream of agony was released from the guy as he stabbed his own hand with the knife.


    The other men burst out laughing and congratulated Lave. She smiled happily and grabbed the money on the table. Walking back over to us as if she was dancing she looked at me confused. As if asking what I was doing. Thats my line!


    ¡°Hahaha, well what did I say little lady.¡± The man behind the counter said. ¡°Oi, get that guy to the medic!¡± The scream grew quieter as he was drug off to wherever the medic was. ¡°Stay?¡± He asked Lave making sure to keep the word slow.


    She smiled happily and placed some money on the table while holding up her finger. ¡°Right. One nights stay is it?¡± Slowly he pulled out two silver and held up one finger. Laves eyes narrowed slightly but then she nodded. Placing the rest of the coins in one of her pouches she tilted her head to the side. ¡°Room 301.¡± He said while holding the right number of fingers up for each number as he spoke.


    Smilling brightly she walked to the stairs without looking back. I just stood to the side and watched the whole thing take place. ¡°¡­ You seem used to talking to people who don¡¯t speak Common.¡±


    The guy shook his head. ¡°No, this is the first time that I have meet someone who doesn¡¯t speak Common. I¡¯m used to talking to people who can¡¯t hear.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°So little miss are you staying here as well?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± I placed the money on the counter and received my room number. Really I want to know more about Lave.

 8: A Guild?

    (Lave POV)


    Stretching I wondered down to the back of the inn. Yesterday I noticed that there was quite a bit of green space there with a stable. It was still quite early so no one was up yet. I made my way out to the middle of the stable yard.


    With no one around that meant that it would be easier to practice. Taking a deep breath I centered myself. Practicing on land was very different from practicing in the water. Instead of going with the flow of water I had to go with the flow of air. I have never mastered this technique and I probable never will. Air is not really my best element. I mean it has no substance. Really who can match with something they can just barely feel.


    Feeling the short breath of wind that came around the corner of the inn, I began. Slipping a dagger out of its sheath. I turned with the wind. Sliding my left foot behind me and spinning. Dragging the dagger across I twilled it so that it was resting along my arm. Grabbing a second dagger I pushed it forward letting my body fall forward into a roll. I glided through the steps that I would normally do in the water only now on land.


    Even with all these years spent practicing on land it still felt uncomfortable. Rolling meant getting caught up in any twigs or thorns. While jumping required less energy but nothing to slow your fall back down. As I spun, jumped and rolled my way through practice I frowned in dissatisfaction. Once two hours past I stopped and put my daggers away. By the end I was switching between my seven different daggers as if juggling.


    One would flip out as I threw it and I would grab a new one while pulling the thrown one back to me from its wire. This lead to all seven daggers being in motion at all times while I tried to move along with the gusts of wind. Pretty much impossible. Once I had three daggers out I was no longer able to sync up with the wind. Sigh, Really now.


    Dusting the dirt off I walked back into the inn for breakfast. Amice should be up by now.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ~~~


    (Amice POV)


    Getting up a little bit earlier than normal I had headed down to the bathroom. There was only one in the inn which felt like a flaw to me but well I don¡¯t make inns. On my way back I paused and looked out a window towards the stable. There I saw Lave dancing along with her daggers.


    My eyes widened. It was beautiful. Starting out slow and then speeding up as she continued. Daggers flew out everywhere moving around as if they had a life of their own. She was in constant motion never pausing for even a second when changing her position. As if flowing. Stunning.


    I don¡¯t know how long I stood there but Lave finally came to a stop. She slowly dusted herself off and then sighed while frowning. What could she be unhappy with? As she headed back to the inn I went and grabbed my stuff from my room then headed down to breakfast.


    Quietly sitting at a corner table, Lave was already eating her breakfast. ¡°Sigh, Owner can I have something light please. Last night this place was loud and terrifying but now there wasn¡¯t anyone here. I wonder why.


    Sitting down with my breakfast I talked to Lave. ¡°Today we should go to the Guild.¡± She glanced up at me focusing on the words. Although she didn¡¯t understand what I was saying I noticed that she understood the general meaning.


    ¡°If we go to the Guild we will be able to make some money.¡± I pulled out a copper coin and placed it on the table. ¡°We don¡¯t have enough right now.¡± Also the Guild doesn¡¯t ask questions. I¡¯ll be able to just walk in and get some work. But really, it was a dangerous place. I don¡¯t really like to take jobs from them.


    Breakfast ended quickly. Walking through the crowded morning streets we made it to this towns Guild. All kinds of people could be seen coming in and out of the Guild building. Really what a disorganized place. Walking through the door I headed to the notice board. These were the jobs that I would take.


    Carefully I read over the requests. ¡®Gather dragon root. Reward 10 coppers per plant.¡¯ ¡®Locate Gram Conner. Reward 3 silver.¡¯ ¡®Kill wild boar. Reward 1 silver.¡¯ ¡®Help plow the fields. Reward 5 copper.¡¯ ¡®Gather pixies tears. Reward 3 copper per plant.¡¯


    ¡°Lets do this one.¡± I grabbed the paper from the wall that said ¡®Gather dragon root. Reward 10 coppers per plant.¡¯ ¡°Really the requests are always the same.¡± Turning to Lave I saw her studying the board with great interest. Her beautiful pinkeyes sparkled in interest. Smiling brightly at her I spoke ¡°Lave, let¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, what do we have here?¡± asked a condescending voice from behind. This is why I hate the Guild.

 9: A Quest

    (Lave POV)


    I studied the wall that was filled with papers. All of the papers looked as if they were hand written making them difficult to understand. Not that I could read them anyway.


    Amice brought me to this building after breakfast to gather money, if I understood correctly. From just glancing around I noticed that people from all walks of life come to this building for money. I had seen people that were dressed for farm work, combat, and also normal town cloths. Really it was hard to pin down what this building was for.


    However it was clear that this was a place that people came to to make money. Amice tore a paper off the wall and began reading it. I turned back to the wall of papers seeing if I could find any similarities in writing. This is going to be such a pain in the ass.


    Ah, every paper has one word that is the same. Sigh, why am I even here. This is so annoying. Why did I have to be sucked through that weird thing and tossed here. I narrowed my eyes in annoyance. Not only was I thrown into a world I don¡¯t know, I am even stuck with this human. Well at least she is skilled.


    This world is so different from Earth. I stretched my hand out to feel the rough hand made paper. The brown color made it difficult to see the black ink. Really for having this many pieces of paper this must be a pretty important place, or at least a rich one.


    I glanced over to the desks. There where five people working behind it. On one side a person was counting plants while placing a copper coin down for each one. Another one was looking at a sword while pointing out different things. It looked like a town center and traders in one.


    A commotion behind me drew my attention. Amice stood a little ways away with her back facing me. From the tone of her voice and her posture you could tell she was pissed. I looked at the guy standing in front of her. He stood lazily with a disgusting smile plastered on his face. Laughing he reached his hand out only to have it slapped away.


    ¡°Ho~¡± I leaned against the wall to watch the show unfold. The guy stood there stunned looking at his hand. Amice placed her hand on her hip and cocked her head to the side. Her entire attitude spoke volumes.


    His face contorted in anger. With a obnoxious shout he swung his fist out messily. Tch, amateur. Amice caught his fist and yanked him forward while side stepping sending him smashing into the wall. Papers fluttered around the room as he slid down the wall.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Walking over to the fallen man she lifted him up off the ground with one hand. Hanging like a rag doll Amice growled out what I assume is ¡®advice¡¯ and then dropped him. Dusting off her hands she turned to me with a huge smile.


    ¡°Lave!¡± While waving a paper at me she spoke. ¡°????!¡± Sigh, Amice and I walked out of the building to go do whatever was written on that damned paper. Really I am going to have to learn how to read. Despite this being some medieval time period the literacy rate seems to be ridiculously high.


    ~~~


    (Amice POV)


    Lave and I made our way to the foot of the forested mountain to pick Dragon Root. Thankfully the plant is easy enough to find. The only problem would be the fact that it is poisons. However it should be ok as long as we don¡¯t eat it.


    ¡°When we find the Dragon Root we should dig it up with a knife and place it in this bag.¡± I hold a brown bag out for Lave to see. ¡°That way we wont get any of the sap on us. If you do tell me right away.¡± Lave just ignored me as we walked through the trees.


    ¡°Well you will understand when you see it. Even if you don¡¯t speak Common, you should still know what Dragon Root is when you see it.¡± As both a poisonous plant and a medical plant it is very well known. Another good thing is that it is an easy way to make money. I mean 10 coppers per plant is amazing.


    It must be because its dangerous to handle. Fufufu, lucky for me I am used to digging these guys up. My Mother would always have me go get them for her patients. As it is used to cure colds it was very useful. Just thinking back on it makes me smile.


    [ ¡°Amice dear, would you mind going into the forest and gathering some Dragon Root. The village down the road has been infected with the cold again.¡±


    ¡°But Mother, Father said that I was to practice my swordsmanship, and besides the last time I went I poisoned myself.¡±


    Mother slid the mortar and pistol she was using to crush herbs slowly to the side. A large soft smile rested on her lips. However her eyes remained cold. ¡°Amice, did I not say to gather the Dragon Root?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Yes.¡±


    ¡°I am sure that your Father will understand why you have to skip out on your swordsmanship training. It isn¡¯t very useful anyway. What is swordsmanship training other than a way to hurt others. A Saintress is a much nobler profession.


    What is the ability to hurt one when you can heal twice as many. There will always be sick or injured so you will never run out of money, and you are able to help those around you. Why must you persist down that path. Sigh, really child. How am I going to face Imperium next time I go to temple?


    Am I to say that my daughter rejects the teachings and wishes to go down the path of a heathen? Do you wish for your Mother to have to disown you? Really now, I have already talked to your Father about this. Now Amice, go and gather the Dragon Root. I need twenty five. Make sure that the roots are fully intact.¡±


    I nodded my head and grabbed a small knife and large burlap bag. ¡°I¡¯m off Mother.¡± ]


    Ah, how I miss Mother. She always knew what should be done. I just know she would be proud of me. She had a soft spot for the sword. I¡¯m sure she would be happy that I am able to follow her teachings and use the sword like Father.


    I smiled happily as we made our way through the forest. ¡°Now where are you Dragon Root? You can¡¯t hide from me. Fufufufu.¡±

 10: Dragon Root

    (Lave POV)


    We were walking through another goddess forsaken forest. However this one was way thicker than the last one. Birds and rustling could be heard through the constant drizzle. Amice was bouncing around in front looking here and there. I still don¡¯t know what we are looking for but I¡¯m guessing that it¡¯s a plant due to the way she¡¯s acting.


    I stretched lazily as I scanned the surroundings. Luckily I haven¡¯t seen anything dangerous. The animals here are strange. There is a species of green monkey that hangs around in the tree tops. However its made no move so I¡¯m dubbing it harmless.


    Suddenly, Amice squealed scaring the hell out of me and our audience. ¡°Look Lave, ??? ??.¡± She crouched down ignoring the shouts of anger and thrown twigs from the startled monkeys. ¡°I ??? ??? ????? ???.¡±


    Slowly she began to dig out a plant from the ground using her dagger. I slit my eyes, annoyed. There was no reason for her to screech like that. I thought we were under attack. And now if there are any dangerous things they know where we are. I slapped the back of her head.


    ¡°??, Lave, ??? ??? ???? ????¡± Amice dropped the plant she had dug out of the ground and grabbed the back of her head.


    ¡°You¡¯re such an idiot,¡± I told her, even though I knew she didn¡¯t understand. At least she should be able to tell that I¡¯m not happy. I grabbed that brown bag and shoved the plant inside. The faster we moved from this location the better.


    Amice pouted on the ground and started mumbling. I sighed. She was such a child. How many of these plants do we need to collect anyway? Finding the sheet of paper with what I assume has the information on it I attempted to read it.


    <h2>¡® ??? ?? ????. ????, ??? ???? = ????. ¡®</h2>


    I stood there staring blankly at the paper. I can¡¯t read it. What are these lines? It this a spell? There is an equals sign in the middle of the sentence. I sighed¡­ I knew I couldn¡¯t read it, but I still tried. Am I stupid? Why would I even try?


    As I glared at the paper, frustrated, Amice went back to digging up plants. I just want to go sit in a corner and cry now. Language was never my strongest subject. In fact you could say it¡¯s my weakest. And now I was stuck in a place where I don¡¯t even know how to count. Why is this happening?


    You know what? I¡¯m going to fight something. Thats it. Lets go fight something, that will make me feel better. I don¡¯t need to know the language of this goddess forsaken place. I began chucking to myself. ¡°Lets go kill something.¡±


    ¡°Lave, ???? ????? ???? ????. ??? ???¡±


    Giving a vicious grin I crumpling up the useless paper and threw it to the ground. While scanning the tree tops for my first <del>victim </del>Ahem.. I mean playmate, I pulled a dagger from my belt. There! The green monkeys that have been following us ever since we got into this blasted forest.


    Locking on to the closest monkey, I flipped the dagger over so that I was holding the blade. Take this you weird looking chimp! I threw the dagger as hard as I could. The monkey didn¡¯t even make a sound as the blade buried itself into it¡¯s skull. Pulling on the thin metal wire that connects to the dagger, the blade dislodged.


    The monkey fell to the ground with a soft thud. The rest of the troop stood in silence as they watched their companion die. Finally one of the monkeys made a noise. Breaking the silence and causing the other monkeys to join in. Branches were broken off of the trees and wielded the larger ones, while smaller monkeys grabbed sharp rocks.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    I started swinging the dagger lazily by the wire, flinging the blood off the blade. Enraged the monkeys charged forward, their killing intent so thick I could taste it. Cackling, I shouted, ¡°Come at me with everything you have! Let me have some fun!¡±


    Taking a step forward I meet a large monkey¡¯s charge. Slipping out a second dagger, I ran it along the monkey¡¯s side opening a deep gash. It collapsed in a pool of its own blood before breathing out its last breath. More Monkeys charged down out of the trees trying to surround me. Which I aloud.


    Lashing out, with the dagger swinging in my right hand, I swung it out in a wide circle. Four of the ten monkeys fell to the ground with their throats cut. Choked gags sounded out enraging the monkeys even further. Their eyes even turned red, interesting.


    One of the six monkeys shouted, what I assume was an order. I dodged quickly to the right as a pointed rock sailed passed me slamming into one of the monkeys on the ground, killing it. That leaves three monkeys on the ground, six surrounding me, and about ten more in the trees. Well, I don¡¯t have to worry about the ones on the ground. They will die from blood loss soon enough. I snickered at the thought. ¡°Just try as hard as you can, my toys. Try to kill me.¡±


    More stones came flying at me. Dodging them by a hair¡¯s breadth I made my way to one side of the surrounding monkeys. With a light jump I vaulted myself off the face of the one that shouted and landed in the trees. The monkey I had used as a stepping stone slammed into the ground from the force, knocking him out.


    Running along the branches, I chased the monkeys throwing stones at me. They were surprisingly good at dodging while in the trees. Every time I got within three meters of one it would jump away while the others threw rocks to hamper my advance.


    My smile grew at this game. This is so much fun. I threw my dagger while jerking the string with my other hand making it turn in the air. Like a homing bullet it landed right in the eye of a monkey. Screeching in pain, it tried to pull the dagger out.


    ¡°Your mine now.¡± I whispered while loosening the pressure on the wire. With a quick jump forward I tightened the loose string making it wrap around the monkey¡¯s neck. It lost balance and fell towards the ground effectively hanging itself.


    More rocks where thrown at me while I flew through the air to the next branch. Using the wire like a vine I swung my way around up to a higher tree branch. Once I landed I broke off the wire. It would be useless now.


    ~~~


    (Amice POV)


    I just stood there horrified at the scene unfolding in front of me. Lave had started laughing while looking at the quest paper. Oh, it was a beautiful sound. However before I knew it she had killed the first Moss Monkey. Its stiff body fell to the forest floor in utter silence showing just how dead it was. The silence stretched on like the still before a storm.


    Finally it broke as the larger Moss Monkeys screamed in anger. Wielding weapons they launched themselves at Lave. Cold sweat started running down my back. This is not good. Moss Monkeys were one thing but what if it called something bigger and more dangerous. Just what was she thinking?


    She was fine a moment ago. I ruffled my hair in annoyance. Just when we found the Dragon Root too. Taking a deep breath I turned back to watch the fight. Hopefully, this will end without calling a more dangerous being to us. I sighed in admiration, but those moves where absolutely stunning.


    Shaking myself out of my aw I pulled my sword out. Lave had left five Moss monkeys on the ground when she jumped into the trees. None of them where paying attention to me. Taking a deep breath I lowered my stance. I shoved my back foot into the ground as hard as I could launching off at the Moss Monkey closest to me.


    With a large swing I cut the Moss Monkey in two across the torso. Allowing the weight of the sword to drag me forward I spun in the air and brought it up over my head splitting the next monkey in two the long ways. My sword buried itself into the ground causing dirt to fly into the air. The last three Moss Monkeys stared at me in surprise.


    I hefted my sword up onto my shoulder and leaned my weight forward. If Lave was going to fight these things than I might as well help. Plus the Dragon Root was here. It is to much of a pain to go and find them again. Steadying my breath I lurched forward dragging my sword diagonally down the front of another Moss Monkey.


    The last two screamed and ran at me saving me the effort of going to them. Pushing the sword into the ground I used the force to propel me up over the head of a Moss Monkey. It slammed into the sword cutting it. I spun the sword around me using my arm like a wipe to cut the Moss Monkey the rest of the way. As the sword dragged my forward I spun on my toes and slammed my foot down burying the sword in the side of the last Moss Monkey.


    Spitting up blood it fell to the ground dead. Phew, well thats done. I pulled my sword out and looked around me. Eleven Moss Monkeys lay strewn across the ground some in pieces but all dead.

 10.5: Sanctuary

    We slowly made our way down the marble hallway. Our white and gold cape sweeping along the reflective floor. We chose to take the long way to the meeting hall to think about an unforeseen issue.


    Earlier today we were told that our ¡®special¡¯ prisoner escaped. Apparently it broke out of its cell in the middle of the night and snuck out before anyone noticed. Should we call it lack of vigilance or luck that let it escape? We ground our teeth in annoyance. To think that they called themselves Solitary¡¯s Holy Knights. All of them need to be reeducated.


    We walked through the intricately decorated door of the meeting room. Seven people were standing around the table with stern looks. ¡°My Solace.¡± They said while we took our seat at the head of the table.


    The group sat down and waited for us to start the meeting. ¡°Report.¡±


    ¡°Last night our ¡®special¡¯ prisoner escaped. None of the knights saw what happened. Right now I am investigating who was in charge of the watch but it may be a while to find out who is responsible for this blunder.¡± This man was dressed in a tight fitting uniform accented in red while his light brown hair was cut short.


    ¡°Knight Captain Korgin, am I to understand that instead of looking for this Heathen you have decided to look for the one responsible for his escape?¡± Asked one of the people on the right side of the table. His blond hair was braided hanging down to the small of his back. While the white and silver cloths hung loosely hiding his physic.


    ¡°I assure you Minister Brae that the capture of the criminal is being handled.¡± Knight Captain Korgin replied.


    ¡°Yes, Brae. I¡¯m handling the capture of the ruffian who escaped.¡± Answered a relatively lax looking man at the left end of the table. His feet were swung over the arm rest turning the chair into a lounger. ¡°We have already placed a bounty on his head. Right now there are posters at every Guild on the continent.¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°And what is that supposed to due? Let the people know that Solitary can not keep track of its prisoners? Or is it to inform them that our dungeons are escapable?¡± Minister Brae said distastefully. ¡°Also what money are you using to place this bounty?¡±


    ¡°Now, now just relax. The people think that this person is just wanted not that he escaped. Plus the money doesn¡¯t have to be payed. We can just kill the person who brings in the criminal.¡± Said the lax man dismissively.


    ¡°Ho, quite the evil thing you have planed. I¡¯m surprised you can say that with a strait face Chu.¡± Replied a man dressed in an entirely white robe that hid his face.


    ¡°How rude. In what way am I evil?¡± Chu showed an insulted look.


    The robed figure chucked. ¡°As you say.¡±


    ¡°As Chu is in charge of capturing the criminal, We will leave it to him.¡± We stated to the seven. ¡°Now Lai tell us what you found out from that criminal.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my Solace.¡± Answered Lai. He had a rough look while wearing a completely black uniform accented in red. ¡°It would seem that he came from over the water to this continent, just like we were informed.¡±


    A smile broke out on our face. ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°We have determined that the land over the water is reachable. We just need a capable crew. From what he told us they follow a completely different god. In fact more than one.¡± Lai said with a dry voice.


    ¡°Heathens!¡± Shouted Brae slamming his fist down on the table. ¡°They dare sully Imperious with their false gods?!¡±


    ¡°Now Brae they are just a group of ruffians who know nothing of the world. I¡¯m sure they don¡¯t even have a money system in place.¡± Said an arrogant looking man wearing a gold and silver cape.


    We glared at Brae. ¡°Continue.¡±


    ¡°Very well. They call the land Zell. They also speak a different language. Thankfully this one spoke Common.¡±


    ¡°Then how do you know that they speak a different language?¡± Asked Chu with interest.


    ¡°He would insult me with unknown words randomly throughout the interrogation.¡±


    ¡°I bet that was a sight to see.¡± Chu laughed.


    ¡°Quite. We''ll bring this conference to an end. Bring Us that criminal. Imperious want that land.¡±


    ¡°¡°Yes my Solace!¡±¡± Everyone keeled as We walked out of the room. Zell will soon be Ours.

 11: Uncertantiy

    (Unknown POV)


    Gasping for breath I leaned back against a tree. I had just barley escaped from a horrible fate. Digging up some dirt I rubbed it over my bloody swollen wrists. Wincing at the sting I listened for any noise to indicate pursuers. By now I would have a bounty on my head. I can¡¯t go to any towns or meet with anyone.


    Ah, how am I going to leave this place. My escape routs have all been cut off. Pushing my back into the tree in frustration I closed my eyes to better focus on listening. Birds chirped quietly and insects buzzed around going about there day. Really no matter what happens the world will go on.


    I chuckled to myself at the thought. Well the animals are not a part of the human world to begin with. Way would they care what happens there. Smiling while trying to relax my tense muscles, from running all night, I heard a scream. No, an animal shout?


    Stilling to hear where it came from I was met only with silence. Must be my imagination. I have gone quite a while without sleep. I sighed while relaxing my hearing again. There¡¯s no way someone would find me this early after my escape. I am just scaring myself.


    Leaning back into the tree I tried to doze. Even though these mountains were known as Terror Mountain there really wasn¡¯t anything to scary about them. In fact it was really tame compared to what I¡¯m used to. However it would keep most people away being this deep in the forest. A good place to rest and make a plan.


    Several loud shouts and screeches echoed through the forest making me jump to my feet. I definitely did not imagine that. Listening closer, I realized that the birds had gone silent. The sound of shouts and things being thrown made its way to my ears.


    It was far enough away that I would be able to escape without notice, but also close enough that I could go take a look and see if it is really is a threat. If its just normal people then they will die from the attacks and I can get some new cloths and more importantly food.


    However if they survive then it will just put me in unnecessary danger. Hm, well I do need new cloths. The ones I¡¯m wearing now are covered in blood and holes. Not that cloths from people killed by monsters will be any different, but at least they will be warmer then this thin pair. I also really need food.


    Ok, its decided. I will go see what¡¯s going on! I crept my way through the underbrush trying to stay hidden as much as possible. Finally I reached a slightly open area. The sight was horrifying! Moss Monkeys were strewn all over the ground and blood fell like rain from above. Looking to the center of the area, where most of the noise was coming from, I saw a short girl swinging around a sword as big as her. She buried the sword into the side of the last monkey and huffed.


    Terrifying! Are they from the Church?? Slowly she drug it out from the monkey and lifted it up onto her shoulder ignoring the blood dripping down the blade. How can she even lift that?This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°Lave, what are you doing? Why did you start killing the Moss Monkeys? Now there is blood on the Dragon Root.¡± Said the short girl. The blood rain came to an end. However laughter replaced it. ¡°Geez, I wish you could understand what I was saying.¡± She stabbed her sword into the ground and started cleaning it with leaves. ¡°Though your laughter is beautiful¡­¡± She sighed happily.


    I just crouched here in stunned silence. Her companion Lave can¡¯t speak Common? Who is it? Someone I know? While holding back the urge to go ask I hid in the shadows scanning the surroundings for the person laughing. When I looked up into the trees I almost screamed. Moss Monkeys hang down, as if floating, out of the trees. Blood dripped down from higher branches soaking into the bark dyeing the tree red.


    Suddenly a woman flipped out of a tree and landed near the shorter girl. Lave, I guess. Her body was coated in blood as if she had bathed in it. Slowly she lifted a finger up and licked it. Gross. Her pale red eyes flashed and turned to look at me. I froze. She was staring strait at me. Does she know who I am? Is she here to take me back to that hell? I won¡¯t let her.


    Pulling up into a sprinters run, so that I can make my escape as soon as she moves towards me, I waited. Make your move creepy blood lady. She just kept staring at me while she liked the blood of her hand.


    ¡°Lave! That¡¯s so gross. What are you doing?¡± The short haired girl noticed what Lave, was doing. She pulled out a cloth and handed it to her. ¡°You look like a vampire. Its scary. Though it would be so cool if you were one. Are you a vampire? Please say yes.¡± The girls eyes sparkled. Way are you hoping that she is a vampire!! Are you crazy? Why don¡¯t you know what she is? She¡¯s human right?


    Lave just stared at the girl with cold eyes and took the cloth to wipe her face and hands. The girl chuckled. ¡°You look just like when we first meet.¡± Does this often happen? Is she often covered in blood? Thats scary. Why would you talk to someone like that?


    The short girl finished cleaning her sword and put it up. ¡°I¡¯m going to get the rest of the Dragon Root. We will need to clean it in a river though.¡± Lave ignored the girl and turned back towards me. Stretching like a cat she headed over to a Moss Monkey that was floating in the air. Slipped a dagger out from who knows where, she threw it at the Moss Monkey. The knife passed above it severing something casing the Moss Monkey to drop.


    Walked she pulled out a jeweled dagger. I squinted my eyes to get a better look at the unusual design. It looked familiar, I¡¯ve seen it before but I can¡¯t quite place it. She attached something I couldn¡¯t see to the end of the dagger and threw it. What is she doing she just got it back?However despite my thoughts the dagger swung in a circle flinging the blood off.


    Lave smiled apparently satisfied with the result and put it away. She then made a yanking motion and the other dagger came flying back. Invisible sting? Moving over to the next Moss Monkey she repeated her actions. ¡°Your so cool Lave.¡± Cooed the girl digging Dragon Root out of the ground.


    What is up with them? Well one thing is for sure they are not from the church. They seemed to be on a quest to gather Dragon Root. My stomach growled quietly announcing the fact that I haven¡¯t eaten anything in two days. Maybe if I ask them for some food they will give it to me? Also I really want to know where this Lave woman comes from. If she doesn¡¯t speak Common than she might be from Zell.


    Standing up I dusted myself off and walked into the small blood covered area. The short girl stopped and looked at me, while Lave just kept retrieving her daggers. ¡°Hey there.¡± I said cheerily trying my best to make a friendly smile.

 12: The 937th

    (Lave POV)


    I collected my last dagger from the hideous green monkey. Really why did it have to be so gross looking. I grimaced down at the horrid thing. I will never understand how people can see these creatures as cute. Flipping the dagger around, to clean it, I placed it into it¡¯s sheath.


    Turning around I studied the man that walked out from the tree line. He had been hiding for a while but finally decided to man up and make himself known. His cloths looked like dirty rags that were used to clean a shredder. With rips and blood stains all over the place. Really its a disgrace to even call those things cloths.


    Amice and him were having a heated discussion over what I can only assume was about his lack of¡­ well everything. It is so boring to watch two people talk when you can¡¯t understand anything. Oh I know, I can speak for them. Ok, lets time it.


    The man had a goofy smile on his face but a sharp glint in his eyes. ¡°<del>?? ???? ??? ?????</del> [ I see that you have discovered my true identity. Behold I am actually the Wondering Hobo. ] ¡±


    Amice was glareing at the man as he spoke. ¡°<del>???</del> [ If you are the all powerful Wondering Hobo of legend then prove it. ] <del>?? ??? ???? ??</del>.¡± Ops, I stopped to soon.


    The man laughed shyly. ¡°<del>?? ???? ????? ?????</del> [ You wish to see this Hobo¡¯s power? I understand then just watch me. Laser Beam!!!! ]¡± I thrust one hand forward while shouting proudly at the name for the Wondering Hobo¡¯s all mighty power.


    ¡°Lave?¡± Amice¡¯s concerned voice broke into my little play. The smile fell from my face as I focused back on the two. Really she just had to go and ruin my fun. Turning around I walked over to where my bag laid. If she is just going to ruin my fun then I might as well eat. I¡¯m hungry anyway.


    I pulled out my last red apple fruit thing. These things taste amazing. It had a wonderfully thick sweet taste that clenched your thirst. So delicious. I don¡¯t understand why they don¡¯t sell themin town.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    ~~~


    (Amice POV)


    Lave was making a strange pose after shouting randomly. I glanced around to see if there was anything dangerous nearby but it was clear.


    ¡°Lave?¡± I called out nervously. Her eyes focused on me and her enchanting smile dropped. With a dismissive attitude she walked over to her sack and pulled out a Red Death fruit. Really how many does she have?? With a large sigh I turned back to the man in front of me. He just stood there staring wide eyed at Lave. ¡°Alright mystery man what were you saying?¡±


    As if waking from a daze he spoke while still watching Lave. ¡°D-Does she always eat those?¡± I frowned at him. Of course it is weird to see some one eat a Red Death fruit without actually dying, in fact it was pretty much impossible. However he was acting as if that would explain something.


    ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t see why I need to answer the question of a strange person wondering around one of the most dangerous places in the world, with only rags on.¡± He finally looked back at me. His unusual green eyes focusing on me. Thinking about it Lave¡¯s lovely pink ones were also very unusual.


    ¡°Ah, how rude of me. My name is Gra-n. I some how got lost and ended up here.¡± He looked a little bit nervous when he stated his name, but that quickly faded.


    ¡°I see Gran. Well what are you doing wondering around looking like that?¡± He was fishy. There was something wrong with him. He looked like he just escaped from captures that had a thing for torture. Bloodied and raw skin showed on his ankles and wrists as if he had been chained for a extended time. He was also covered in multiple jagged cuts that showed the culprit wanted to inflict extreme pain.


    He smiled shyly as if embarrassed. ¡°It is rather embarrassing actually. I am a sailor. However I wished to see more of what the land had to offer. As such I hired some people to take me around. In the end I was betrayed. After stealing all my stuff, they threw me out into the wild. I was left to die.¡± He laughed awkwardly. Ah, the poor thing.


    ¡°That¡¯s horrible. How can anyone be so mean.¡± After hearing such a sad story who wouldn¡¯t want to help. I know that I have failed to help people 936 times before, but this time I will succeed. I will help him! ¡°Gran don¡¯t worry, Lave and I will help you get back to your boat. Ah, also my name is Amice and she is Lave. Its nice to meet you.¡±


    We shook hands while the man looked relieved. ¡°I¡¯m so glad. I didn¡¯t know what I was going to do.¡± His sincerity showed in his eyes.


    Digging around in my pack I pulled out a shirt and pants. Thankfully I wear baggy cloths so they should fit him. ¡°Take this. Its probably very uncomfortable wondering around in those rags.¡± He smiled thankfully and walked behind a couple trees to change cloths. I cheerfully smiled. I Amice Hill will put forth all my power to help you! Even if I have to die trying! While making a silent vow I finished gathering the Dragon Root in the area. Now we just have to wash them.

 13: Im Only Learning One

    (Gran POV)


    Somehow I¡¯ve managed to join Amice and Lave¡¯s group. I lucked out that the girl Amice is so naive. While I do feel bad about lying, there was no other choice. Plus not all of it was a lie. I really did need to get back to my ship.


    Lave hasn¡¯t even looked at me since we started walking. I would really like to talk to her, but its kind of hard when she looks like that. Shouldn¡¯t she clean up a bit?


    ¡°So Gran where is your ship?¡± Asked Amice. She had a large sack filled with blood covered Dragon Root swung over her shoulder. Are you going to turn it in like that?


    ¡°My ship is docked in Vasa right now¡­¡±


    ¡°Wow, your ship is in Vasa? That¡¯s awesome. You must have a lot of money.¡± Amice is hoping up and down in excitement. ¡°So we need to get you there? I always wanted to go.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yeah. However I don¡¯t have any money right now. So there¡¯s no wa¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, that¡¯s fine. We don¡¯t want any payment for taking you there. Do we Lave.¡± Is this girl going to cut me off every time? She turned to Lave to get her confirmation but was ignored. ¡°See she doesn¡¯t want any either.¡±


    Is that considered agreeing with you? Does she even know what you said? ¡°¡­¡± Suddenly Lave grabbed Amice¡¯s sheath and started dragging her off.


    ¡°Ah, did you find something?¡± Is this normal? Following close behind the pair I wondered about their group dynamic.


    ¡°Have you two known each other for a long time?¡± I asked unable to keep my curiosity at bay.


    ¡°Nope.¡± Came an unexpectedly simple reply. ¡°I only meet Lave three days ago. However it feels like I have known her forever. I will never forget how we meet for as long as I live.¡± Amice had dreamy eyes as she started talking about their first meeting.


    ¡°I was running from the¡­ Ahem, I mean I was leaving a town about two days walk from Haze. I left in the night because the stars where beautiful. After knocking out the two guards at the gate, I looked up to see this gorgeous lady standing there. Her white and red streaked hair shimmered in the moon light.


    Light red eyes that stared into your soul. Coupled with her wonderful blood stained body that left no gaps to exploit. You could just feel the word dangerous whispering in the air around her. Right then I knew I had to have her. It was love at first sight. After that the two of us played tag well into the next day.¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    My face cramped. Why would you approach someone like that. Wait before that did she just say that she knocked the guards out? Is she a criminal? And if we think about this story clearly, Lave is probably a murderer. Does that mean that I am traveling with some really dangerous people?


    Before I could think any further about this, we reached a large pool of water. Lave dropped Amice on the ground and walked strait into the water. Dusting off the leaves and grass Amice turned to me. ¡°Will you help me wash these? I don¡¯t think I can turn in the Dragon Root while it is covered in Moss Monkey Blood.¡±


    Ah, so they are going to wash them. ¡°Sure¡­¡±


    ~~~


    (Lave POV)


    I washed away all the blood from those disgusting monkeys. While it is fun to bath in blood while fighting, it is horrible once it drys. Makes you feel itchy. I slid my feet along the bottom of the lake feeling for any fresh water clams.


    For some reason that man is now following us around. Apparently Amice has let him join for a while. Well that might be better. She can talk to him instead of me. There found one! I dove under the water and dug out the clam. It is a strange red and blue color and about twice the normal size. I¡¯ve never seen one like it. I ran my fingers over the smooth shell. How unusual.


    Slipping a nail in between the gap, I slowly pried it open as to not damage the shell. A stunning aqua pearl about the size of a acorn sat snugly in the center. I collected the pearl and then began examining the shell. I wonder if this shell can be used to make my eye drops.


    Even though I can take human form it doesn¡¯t mean I am human. One of the things I have a problem with is my eyes. The sun is to strong blinding me and distorting my vision. While the air is really dry. My eyes are used to being in contact with water all the time. When I come out onto dry land they dry out.


    A long time ago Mermaids would lose their eyes if they stayed on land for to long. However we have since developed a cure for that. You just have to apply eye drops once a week and your eyes are protected from the dangers of land. I had lucked out when I first came here. One last dose is left. However if I don¡¯t make more then I will be in trouble.


    Well I can only hope that this shell will act the same as normal shells. Pulling the muscle out and eating it, I cleaned the shell. Finally done I popped back above the water. Really I need to find the Ocean. I am running on very limited supplies.


    Making my way to the bank I saw that Amice and the man have finished washing the plants. ¡°Lave, ??? ?? ????? ????¡± Amice asked when I made it to shore. The man was looking at me weirdly. She must have said something strange to him. Well if we are traveling together then I might as well know his name.


    I pointed at him and tilted my head to show I was asking a question. ¡°??? ?? ????? ???¡± He said. I frowned. What did he say? I sighed and pointed at him again. ¡°???.¡±


    ¡°????¡± I repeated. He nodded his head. Hm, ???. ¡°G-R-A-N.¡± Sounding it out so that I remember it. Ok, I¡¯ve got it. Gran smiled.


    ¡°??? ???? ????¡± Gran asked quietly. What did he say? There is a word in ther I have never heard before with a completly different accent. Is that another language?¡°???? ?? ???? ?? ??? ?? ???????.¡± He sighed.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t go adding in new languages as you please. I am having a hard enough time learning this one.¡± I rebutted even though its useless. Its annoying when people go and up the learning curve all by themselves. Gran¡¯s eyes widened. What did he understand?


    ¡°?? ??? ???? ??? ??? ??? ??? ?????.¡± No. No he did not. I shook my head and turned back the way we came. Lets go back so I can make my eyedrops.

 14: Just One Push

    (Amice POV)


    I placed the burlap bag up on the counter as the man behind the desk glared at me. Really, one of the reasons I don''t like taking quests from the Guild is because of the unfriendly staff.


    ¡°Here is the quest sheet.¡± I said politely while sliding it across the counter. The man just glanced down at the crumpled paper in annoyance.


    ¡°Why is there blood on it?¡± He asked blandly.


    ¡°Haha, well we had a bit of a fight with the animals in the mountain. Nothing to serious.¡± I replied nervously trying to play off the murder of twenty-one Moss Monkeys. As Moss Monkeys were highly liked for their docile behavior you will be fined for killing them. That was part of the reason we left them there. It was quite difficult to get Lave to leave them alone.


    The man raised his eyebrow in doubt. ¡°Is that so.¡± Grabbing the bag he pulled out the Dragon Root and began counting. This was a quick cash quest. We should leave Haze tomorrow. I don''t know how long it will take to find those dead Moss Monkeys but we can''t stay to find out. No way will we have enough money to pay off a fine, and I don''t want to have to brake out of jail again.


    ¡°Here is the money for completing the quest.¡± The man placed a small bag on the counter.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I began counting the money in the bag. I had gathered twelve Dragon Root meaning we should get one hundred and twenty copper coins of fifteen silver. I counted twelve silver coins. frowning I double checked the amount. ¡°Um sir I think you made a mistake. You gave me twelve silver coins instead of fifteen.¡±


    ¡°That wasn''t a mistake. You get eight coppers per plant.¡± He said with a strait face. That bastard! I know he is pocketing the other three silver!


    ¡°Is that so? But I believe the paper said ten copper per plant. In fact its right here.¡± I pointed to the sentence on the page, struggling to keep a peaceful smile on my face.


    ¡°That''s just a smudge caused by the blood. I can see how you would think it says ten but it really says eight. Now take the money and get out.¡±


    ¡°... Aren''t guild employees suposed to represent the association? What would happen if it was discovered that one of their own is skimming money?¡± I pressed.


    He just smirked and lowered his voice. ¡°I wonder what would happen. Would they believe a weak little girl such as yourself, or a trusted employee? Should we find out? I would just take the coins I was given and walk out, if I were you. That is if I was smart.¡±


    Hoho, this man is playing with fire. I took a deep breath trying to keeping my emotions under control. ¡°I see, and does this ''smart'' employee have eyes? I hardly think that a ''weak little girl'' would be able to wonder around Terror Mountain. Let alone come back alive.¡±


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    ¡°Well sweet heart it doesn''t matter what you think.¡± His smile was twisted as he said this. ¡°Why don''t you go play out on the streets with the rest of your kind. In fact you can leave the rest of the money here. As compensation for bothering an employee with false accusations.¡±


    I ground my teeth while reaching for the handle of my sword. Power abusing bastards like this need to have the shit beat out of them. ¡°Oh may, accusing me of making false accusations. Why don''t I ...¡± A hand wrapped around my mouth from behind forcibly cutting me off.


    ¡°I''m sorry Sir. My sister gets all defensive when people call her a little girl. Please don''t mind her.¡± I struggled against Grans hold, but my arm was trapped over my head and the other between the counter.


    ¡°Is that so? Well you should watch her. You never know when bad people may come and take advantage of her.¡± Replied the man.


    ¡°Your very right. Well than we will take our leave now. Have a nice day.¡± Gran shoved the coin bag into my hand and begin pulling me through the door while still keeping a hand over my mouth. He released me once outside.


    ¡°What was that for?! You know we just lost three silver coins right!¡± I yelled in anger. ¡°Three silver! Plus it''s not like anyone would miss him.¡±


    ¡°Are you planing to fight all of Haze? If you kill someone then you will be hunted as a murder. Even more so when in front of all those people. It''s a crime.¡± Gran reasoned.


    ¡°Tsk, killing someone like that isn''t a crime. Its an act of kindness. Plus you only have to avoid the town if you do something like that. Its not like they will follow you out of the provence.¡± I took a deep breath calming my emotions while glancing around. ¡°By the way where is Lave?¡± Gran sighed and pointed.


    Lave stood leaning against the wall of the Guild eating meat skewers. ¡°When I turned my back on her for just a minute she had somehow gotten those chicken skewers. I don''t even know how she ordered them when she can''t even speak. Let alone how she payed for it.¡±


    Watching Lave happily eat the skewers calmed me down. She''s so cute. Sneaking up to her I snatched the one she was eating. ¡°Tsk!¡± Lave glared at me but made no move to stop me. Instead she grabbed a new one and walked off.


    ¡°An indirect kiss.¡± I whispered in bliss while trailing behind Lave. Putting that aside this chicken skewer is really good. I wonder where she bought this? Gran walked a little ways behind us with a complicated look on his face.

 15: Hiding

    (Gran POV)


    I shuddered while watching the pair walking ahead of me. From what happened earlier I realized that Amice was trouble. If I hadn''t stopped her the Guild employee would have be laying on the ground in two pieces. And what was with the ''You just have to stay away from the provence.'' Does she do that often?


    Trudging slowly behind the pair we came upon a large crowd. An announcer stood on top of a stage, while people weaved in and out of the crowd passing out fliers.


    ¡°... for joining! Our Solace received guidance from Imperious and wishes to share this wisdom with our unworthy selves! Not two nights ago our Solace was informed that there is unexplored land across the endless water!¡± I froze and carefully listened.


    ¡°This land is filled with lush greenery and large pools of water. The weather is warm with no winter. Truly a paradise granted to us from Imperious!¡± The crowd cheered in agreement. They are talking about Zell!


    ¡°However this beautiful land that is a gift has been taken over by a foul race! One that was wiped out centuries ago but has returned for revenge! The Demons!¡± Gasps and cries of horror sounded out. ¡°Those scoundrels have stolen land that is rightfully ours! They have taken Human form to trick us! However our Solace saw through their tricks and captured a Demon in its Human form!¡±


    What the hell? ¡°Unfortunately the captured Demon proved to be to powerful and escaped!¡± Protests and accusations could be heard from the people. ¡°But fear not! Before the Demon could escape it was weakened greatly!¡±


    Amice popped up behind me. ¡°What cha'' listening to?¡± She asked while standing on her tiptoes to try and see over the crowd. ¡°Oh! An envoy from the Church.¡±


    ¡°... fliers show what the Demon looks like! If you see anything let someone from the Church know! You will be greatly rewarded!¡± This is not good. Cold sweat was running down my back. ¡°As it is a named Demon it is strong! Do not approach it!¡±


    A voice randomly calls out. ¡°If the Demons are so strong how will we defeat them?¡± Several others agreed.


    ¡°With the Hero of corse!¡± A murmur ran through the square. ¡°Our Solace has found a Hero! Someone who is brave and strong! He shall take on the Demons! With the Hero on our side we need not fear their power!¡± Cheers rose from the crowd.


    ¡°Wow, Gran this looks just like you.¡± Amice said while looking down at one of the fliers. ¡°You know, I think I saw something similar in the Guild. However the reward is different on this one. Oh, Look!¡± She cried while hitting me. ¡°Even the name is similar!¡±


    I looked down at the paper to see my face staring back at me.


    ''Name: Gram Conner''


    ''Race: Demon''


    ''Wanted for the crimes of: Plotting the downfall of the Human race;


    Injuring and murder of several Holy Knights; And escaping the Church prison.''


    ''Reward: 1 Gold''


    ¡°What''s wrong Gran?¡± Amice watched in confusion while I slowly walked away trying to sneak out of this place without being seen. ¡°Are you not feeling well?¡± I jest kept walking ignoring her. Are you seriously this dumb? Anyone with a brain would have connected the two by now. ¡°Geez, now both you and Lave are being mean to me. You guys are making me sad you know.¡±


    What am I going to do know? The situation has become even more troublesome. Really, now I need to leave this town tonight before someone notices me. And what is this about injuring Holy Knights? If I had the power to injure them I wouldn''t have been caught in the first place. ¡°Hey Amice will you do me a favor?¡±


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    ¡°Oh, you finally spoke to me. I''m glad. I don''t think I could take the silent treatment from both of you at the same time.¡± She replied brightly.


    ¡°Yeah... Would you mind buying me a brown cloak?¡± I asked sheepishly. This would be so much easier if I had money. Instead I have to ask this maniac. Truly I don''t know if I can really trust them or not but I don''t really have any other choice now.


    ¡°Sure, no problem. However in return you don''t get to stop me the next time I am going to kill someone.¡± Her bright smile contrasting greatly to the dark bargain.


    ¡°... Ok.¡± Its for the best. I try to convince myself. ¡°By the way, where is Lave?¡±


    ~~~


    (Lave POV)


    I wondered around the city after ditching Amice and Gran at whatever gathering that was. To be honest I am agitated. I''m used to being alone. Even on my missions I rarely teamed up with anyone.


    Turning off the main street, I entered a dark ally. The buildings slowly turned from spotless brick to stained and decaying wood. Houses with boarded up windows and words painted across them became more prominent. Some men stood off to the side joking around in tattered cloths, while others begged for small change.


    I wondered through the many different allies with no direction in mind. Further in the area became rougher. People that looked like thugs wove in and out the back allies. While moans echoed off the walls making it impossible to locate where it came from.


    This scene brought back memories from the Mythic War. In the year 3000 the Humans found out about mythical creatures. At first they were carful. Capturing lone people that no one would miss. Reports were popping up everywhere that we needed to be carful and always travel in groups.


    Those of us that lived in the sea had it a bit easier. No one knew where to find us. We cut ourselves off from the land and lived in our safe water believing that nothing could get us. How wrong we where.


    In 3028 the Humans attacked the mythics on land. Killing every single one they could. After finding out the weakness of the creatures they captured it was easy to kill them. They slaughtered all they came across no matter the age. A year later they managed to capture an old Mermaid. They got all the information they needed.


    I leaned back against a wall while eating some unusual bright yellow nuts. Their salty flavor making me thirsty. Five children ran around playing tag ignorant of the disparity around them.


    Year 3030 several Mermaid coves were attacked. People fled to my little cove hidden off an uninhabited island. We had managed to grow our reef so that the Humans wouldn''t be able to access the island by boat. An extensive cave system also made it almost impossible to find out we where there. However as more people came the cove became more and more crowded.


    The council forbid us from going out of the cove. My Mother on the other hand thought that was utter nonsense. She argued saying that there was no way to feed this many with just the reef. However the council was adamant. That night Mother moved us to the outer edge of the reef away from the other families.


    She told me that I was to train my stealth. I was to never be seen. No one was to know I was there or even sense my presents. If I remember right that was when I was ten. I thought while chuckling to myself. I threw the last nut into my mouth and looked up into the darkening sky. I should head back.


    I pushed off the wall and managed to find my way back to the main street. Looking at the wave of Human''s clogging up the streets I frowned. Tsk, they can just come find me. I''m not searching for them. I headed back to the inn we stayed at the first night. It was close to the main gate making it easy to find. I still have quite a bit of my gambling money left so I should be able to buy dinner while I wait for those two idiots.

 16: The Inn

    (Lave POV)


    The inn was unusually quite when I got there. Granted people still gambled and drinking, but no one spoke above a whisper. As if afraid to make to loud noises. I walked up to the counter where the owner was talking to some really nicely dress people. Swords hang from their waist in intricately designed scabbards.


    I stood off to the side waiting for the Owner to finish. Bored I watched the people gambling. Maybe tonight I can make some more money. A tongue click sounded from the table as three aces and a run from two to five was laid down.


    The sound of a hand hitting wood came from beside me. I looked to see one of the men glaring down at me. Frowning I glanced at the Owner with an eyebrow raised. Yesterday he was able to explain my room number without using words. Unfortunately he was otherwise occupied having a quite shouting match with one of the other men.


    I turned back to the glaring one. ¡°??? look ??? ?? ????? ??!¡± His hand was now resting on the hilt of his sword. With a sigh I turned back to the gambling game.


    ¡°I don''t understand you.¡± I said dismissively. The game they were playing was different from yesterday. It looks like the game gets harder with every round you play. Last time it was a triple and a run. Now its two triples and a run. I really want to try.


    ¡°??? ?????? ??? ???? ?????!¡± The annoying shout was accompanied by thick blood thirst. The inn fell silent and everyone turned this direction. I slitted my eyes and turned back to the group talking to the Owner. The Owner''s eyes were trying to signal silently to leave.


    All five of the men were now glaring at me with their hands on the hilt of their swords. ¡°??? ?? ?????¡± One of them asked. I looked back at the Owner in hopes of a translation. The man closed to me grabbed my shoulder and forcefully spun me around to look at him.


    I swiftly pulled out my dagger and stabbed it into his hand making him jerk away. ¡°Do Not Touch Me.¡± I ordered darkly. No one can touch me unless I say so. The other four were stunned by my action. I pulled on the wire retrieving the dagger and ripping the wound more making him grunt in pain.


    As if the tension was snapped with that action the people ran from the inn. The men pulled out their swords while shouting in their infernal language. Blood thirst saturated the air making it feel heavy. I spun my dagger then slid it back into it''s sheath. ¡°I assume murder is illegal in this world as well. However maiming should be fine. I mean this is self defense.¡± I said with a cruel smile.


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    The men knew I was mocking them and became enraged. Rushing forward like a bull the closest swung his sword down in a large arc. It was a practiced move meant to impale the head. Well that is if it actually hits the target. I side stepped and slammed my elbow into his ribs hearing a satisfying crack.


    He doubled over coughing trying to breath through his broken ribs. Ooh, maybe I priced a lung. I thought happily. Another man rushed forward while swinging his sword to the side. I pulled out my dagger and caught the blow. Surprising the man. Pulling out a second dagger I slammed it into his lunged leg.


    ¡°Really now. You shouldn''t leave openings for your enemies to exploit.¡± The man cried out in pain and fell to the floor clutching his leg. This time two came together. They came from either side in hopes to get me off guard. I pulled the dagger out of the crippled one and flung it. It planted itself into the arm of the unsuspecting man causing him to drop his sword.


    The other man lunged forward in a piercing move. I slammed the hilt of my dagger down on the base of the sword braking it. Then pulling the man towards me I punched him in the neck. He collapsed on to the ground gasping for breath.


    Sheathing both of my daggers I turned to face the last man. He leaned against the bar while clapping slowly. Is he an evil villain? Pushing himself off he made his way towards me. ¡°?? ??.¡±


    I tilted my head trying to keep an eye on all five of the men. The one walking towards me pulled his hands up into a shrug. ¡°?? ?? ???? ??? ?? ???? ???? ????? ??? ???? ???? ??? ?????.¡± I relaxed my posture purposefully creating holes in my guard. The man had a loose smile on his face as he stopped about two meters from me.


    Suddenly he lunged forward with his sword. I pushed the weapon to the side making it miss me. However instead of losing balance he kicked his leg up aiming for my gut. Pivoting I caught the leg and yanked it forward pulling him. Quickly he brought his sword up deflecting the dagger aimed for his shoulder.


    I slammed my foot into his hip making him fall back. Pulling out a second dagger I planted it into his foot and stomped down on it nailing him to the ground. He grimaced and stabbed his sword towards me. Grabbing his wriest I slammed the palm of my hand into his jaw pushing his head up.


    Taking a step back he crippled to the ground. Putting my dagger away I looked at the fallen men while frowning. They had been incredible weak. The Owner stood behind the bar sighing at the sight. ¡°??? ?? ??????.¡±

 17: What To Do

    (Amice POV)


    ¡°Lave, what have you done?¡± I asked in confusion while looking at the scene in front of me. Five men laid on the floor with pools of blood forming underneath them. They were dressed in the Church''s Holy Knight uniform. Granted it was pretty low ranked.


    The Owner of the Inn was cleaning up the scattered drinks and shoved tables. ¡°Created a mess. That''s what she''s done.¡± He replied gruffly. Lave was examining a sword that came from one of the men. She flicked it a couple times testing it out. With a nod of satisfaction she took the belt and scabbard from an unconscious man with a foot wound, and wore it.


    ¡°Did she really just steal a Holy knights sword?¡± Asked Gran. He was just standing in the entrance refusing to enter the Inn.


    ¡°Hm, that''s what is looks like.¡± Lave started going through their pockets pulling out coins and anything she is interested in. While a still conscious knight is struggling to get up.


    ¡°And now she''s just mugging them.¡± Gran groaned in defeat. I walked up to the conscious knight and knocked him out. ¡°Why would you do that!?¡±


    I furrowed my brows at him. ¡°What? You want him to remember what we look like? They already know what Lave looks like. We don''t need them to remember us as well.¡± I started going through his cloths looking for some ID.


    ¡°She''s right you know. If you don''t want to be involved with the Holy Knights its better if they don''t know your face.¡± The Owner said now whipping blood off the floor and counter.


    ¡°I''m sorry but why are you so calm? This is your Inn and there are five unconscious Holy Knights laying on the floor. Shouldn''t you be doing something about it?¡± Asked Gran.


    The Owner chuckled. ¡°This isn''t the first time people have fought in my Inn and it certainly won''t be the last. Though it is the first time Holy Knights have ended up on the floor. However that''s just the kind of place this is. Law doesn''t really hold well here.¡±


    ¡°Ah, found it.¡± I pulled out a metal card with the knights name and devision on it.


    ''Thirteenth Devision''


    ''Companion At Arms''


    ''Clarence Gem''


    ¡°Ha, these people aren''t even Knights yet.¡± I laughed while flicking the card. ¡°With luck whatever they say will be dismissed as a lie.¡± I shoved the card back into his coat pocket.


    ¡°I doubt it little missy.¡± Interjected the Owner. ¡°They came here looking for someone. Showed a wanted poster and everything. My guess is, they''ll take anythin'' they say as the truth. In fact it looked an awful lot like the guy standing over there. Not that I care.¡±


    ¡°Well I guess we''ll just have to leave town before that.¡± I replied happily. ¡°No offense but I really didn''t want to stay here tonight.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, yeah I wouldn''t imagine my Inn is good for you. Its more for her kind.¡± The Owner said with a thumb in Lave''s direction. She stood up and walked to the Owner pointing at a bottle behind the bar. ¡°Ah, that''s two copper.¡± He said holding up two fingers and grabbing a mug.


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    Lave nodded and placed them on the counter, and began drinking. Ah, that''s so cute.


    ~~~


    (Lave POV)


    I managed to make quite a bit of money today. True some people would say that taking money from people you beat up is wrong. However I prefer to think of it as gambling. They gambled that they would win and beat me up, but they lost. So now they have to pay up.


    There is an old saying. ''Treat people the way you want to be treated.'' And if your going in to kill, maim, or otherwise harm then you should expect the same thing from your opponent. In fact I expect a lot worse if I am ever to lose. Just imagine how much a poor defenseless Mermaid would go for on the black market. Not that my new master would make it out alive if it ever came to that.


    I chugged the last bit of drink and set the wooden mug down. It wasn''t as strong as I had hoped, but still good. Nodding to the Owner I turned to Amice and Gran for what we would do next. Gran was sighing with a depressed look on his face and Amice was in one of her usual dazes.


    Ah, while I''m thinking about it I need a map. Now how am I going to get one. Looking around the Inn I saw what looked like a child''s drawing of some of the city streets. Tapping the bar I pointed at the ''map'', widened my arms, and tilted my head hoping he would get it. The owner looked confused for a moment.


    ¡°??? ????¡± He asked. Hoping he got it I just nodded. He scratched the back of his head while looking troubled. Sighing he walked to the back of the building. Banging and a couple of crashes rung out through the building. Finally he came back with a folded and dusty paper.


    ¡°??? ??.¡± He unfolded the paper out on the counter. The map was very faded and torn in some places. Obviously it has been used for quite some time. ¡°??? ??. Haze ??? ???.¡± The Owner said while pointing to a word next to some poorly drawn mountains. Well at least what I think is mountains.


    I nodded while analyzing the map. There has to be an ocean somewhere. Don''t tell me this is a world without a large body of salt water. I had a moment of panic until I noticed that there where strange cut off areas on the map. Pointing at one I tilted my head.


    ¡°????, ?? ??.¡± He moved his hands in a wave like motion. Pointing at that spot again I made a drinking motion. ¡°??.¡± He said while shaking his head. Yes! That''s what I want. Amice finally came over and was studding the map next to me.


    ¡°?? ??? ??????? ?? ???!¡± She said happily while pointing at a word near the strange cut off that means ocean. Gran ran over and started arguing with Amice.


    Ignoring the two I pulled out a couple sheets of paper, a urchin spine, and some ink. I found that normal pens and pencils don''t hold up so well in the water.However they do make some amazing and cheap water proof paper. I began copping the map so that I would have one. As I struggled to write the words down the Owner motioned for me to give it to him. He spun the paper and wrote the words down for me.


    Shaking it so that the ink drys quickly I thanked the Owner. Which really was just a smile and a nod. Quickly I folded up the improvised map and put it away. I really need to make my eye drops. I thought with a sigh.

 18: Dont Ask

    (Lave POV)


    We sat around the lake we were at earlier today. Amice and Gran where asleep leaning against some trees. I sat at the waters edge examining my newly filled eye drop vile. The cloudy purple mixture swirled in the container looking very toxic. Usually its brown in color. I thought in dismay. Well either it will work really well or it will kill me. I sighed while placing it in one of my pouches. Its probable purple because of that claim shell.


    Actually thinking about it now, when this was first developed there where several accidents where people became permanently blind or burned their eyes out. I shuddered. If its poisonous I hope it kills me. I don''t want to feel my eyes burn to dust while I''m alive.


    Well I''ll worry about that tomorrow. I dipped my toes in the water and laid back on the grass to gaze at the moon. While we where running from town I forced Gran to tell me the names of things. Unfortunately I only remember at most half of the words.


    I tapped my finger in annoyance while letting out a sigh. To be honest I was hoping to avoid doing this but its becoming a problem. Granted it won''t really help me learn the entire language, there is no guarantee it will actually work, and it makes me feel incredible sick afterwards. However I will be able to make basic conversation. Hopefully.


    Well its worth a try I''m not really patient enough to learn a language the traditional way anyways. Getting up I swam to the deepest part of the lake. Taking my mermaid form I dived under to the bottom of the lake and sat down on a rock. The water was pitch black around me as if I was surrounded by a curtain.


    I pulled out a bottle labeled ''Punch''. It was a joke name I put on it so no one knew what it was. This thing has been band from use since the nineteen hundreds. Cost me a pretty penny to get it too. Its what people who claimed to be prophets would use to have ''visions''. Basically what is does is make you run through everything thats happened for the past week. Over and over again until it wears off. I grimaced.


    ¡°Well bottoms up.¡± I took a gulp of the liquid and relaxed. This will be one hell of a ride. Images and noises flashed around me as if playing on ten different movie screens. Each a different scene from this week. Over and over it played until the memories from this week became jumbled and mixed. Noise turned to distinct sounds. Faces blurred and distorted.


    Hours pasted and distinct sounds turned to words. I was no longer sure what was english and what wasn''t. Conversations that I shouldn''t have understood repeated. After what felt like an eternity it stopped. The visions ended. The world shifted sharply as I fell off my rock.


    ¡°Ugh, never again.¡± I groaned as I unsteadily sat up. The water was lighter now. Fish hovered around watching me from a distance wondering what I was doing. My head is pounding! Goddess I hope this worked. I slowly swam my way to shore transforming back into my human form. Reaching the bank I coughed up water and collapsed. I swear if this doesn''t work I will kill the guy who sold me this.


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    Steps sounded out in front of me on the grass. Each stomp an agonizing reminder that my brain was unhappy with me. ¡°Lave?¡± Called a quite voice of concern. I scowled. Her voice was the one I heard the most over the week. Her pension for one sided conversations made it so there was never a moment of silence.


    A hand touched the middle of my back trying to get my attention. Go away! Your making my head ache worse. ¡°Are you feeling ok?¡± I froze. Did I just understand her? I looked up to see Amice frowning in concern. ¡°Does your ?? hurt?¡± Ho, it worked. Well mostly. You may live another day black market dealer.


    ¡°Why are you even asking? You know she doesn''t understand you.¡± Asked Gran as he wondered over here.


    ¡°I believe that through the power of love my words will reach her.¡± Amice replied heatedly clasping her hands in front of her. Did she just say the power of love? Are we in a movie or something. ''The power of love will overcome all!'' ¡°How are you feeling Lave?¡± Concern apparent in her eyes.


    Sitting up I scooted away from a delusional Amice. Thanks but I''m not going to join your little fantasy world. ¡°Fine.¡± I replied while getting up fully. The world swayed but I still managed to stand.


    Amice gasped. ¡°You can understand me?¡± She asked excitedly.


    ¡°No.¡± I began walking down the mountain to the road.


    ¡°Gran! She can understand me!¡± Amice exclaimed while hopping up and down in excitement. ¡°I told you that my love would get through to her!¡± I picked up the pace hoping to get away before things got to heated.


    ¡°Um, sure?¡± Gran just looked confused. Well I guess it would be strange if someone woke up one day and could speak the language. Wait why can I understand her strange sentences? I should only understand the words that have been said around me a lot. Does she alway speak like this?


    ¡°Now she can her me praise her beautiful snowy red hair that flows majestically as she walks. Her brilliant blazing eyes that will shine with a thirst to kill at any moment. That smile...¡± I threw a knife at her unconsciously as I shuddered. ¡°Ah, Lave why would you do that?¡± She scares me. This is the first time I have ever meet someone like this. Have I really been traveling with her for the past five days?


    She picked up the knife and looked at it with bright eyes. ¡°Now you can tell me all about you. What is your family like? Do you have any friends? How about a b...¡± I threw another dagger at her which she dogged.


    ¡°Amice I think it would be best if you stopped.¡± Gran reasoned.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Amice took a step towards me. ¡°¡±Look she is so happy to understand me that she is throwing daggers.¡± She replied with a bright innocent smile. My skin crawled as I started running. Unfortunately that was the trigger for her to chase after me like a wild animal. ¡°Where are you going Lave?¡± Her smile growing bigger as we ran.


    ¡°Did you want to play another game of tag like when we first meet?¡± She skipped over branches gaining on me as I somehow managed to trip over every single one. ¡°This is so much fun!¡± I don''t want to be in this world anymore! Take me home!

 19: True Intentions

    (Lave POV)


    It has been three days since I learned enough of the language to communicate. Gran and I aresitting in a tree out of sight, as Amice gathered some food form the town in front of us. For some unknown reason Gran was unwilling to go into town, and I couldn''t go into town unless I wanted to be arrested.


    Apparently its consider a capital offense if you attack their ''Holy Knights''. Which just shows how much power the church holds on this continent. In my experience that is never a good thing. Maybe if it was a peaceful religion but this one obviously wasn''t.


    I stretched while shifting into a more comfortable position. ¡°So Gran, why wont you go into town?¡± Gran shrugged.


    ¡°Well I couldn''t leave you alone.¡± He said with a smile making me burst out laughing. Couldn''t leave me alone? Isn''t it better to have someone with Amice?


    ¡°Oh, come on Gran you and I both know that''s a lie. I also know that Gran isn''t your real name.¡± I said with a light knowing smile. ¡°Now why don''t you tell me what''s really going on.¡± He just watched me silently. ¡°Or should I say what I already know?¡±


    As Gran just continued to glare at me I pulled out a sheet of paper that has Gran''s face on it. ¡°First your name isn''t really Gran. However I don''t know what it actually is as I still can''t read this blasted language. I could always ask Amice to tell me what it says, though.¡± He squinted his eyes at me trying to figure out what I was getting at. ¡°It really is an amazing likeness, isn''t it.¡±


    ¡°Not that its important. I couldn''t care less what your name really is. What I want to know is why you are traveling with us?¡± My smile dropped. ¡°For some reason you are wanted by the Church. And while I don''t care what the rules of this Church are. I do care if you are going to drag me into something troublesome.¡±


    I stabbed the paper into the tree trunk. ¡°Now why don''t you tell me what you want. I''ll decide what to do from there.¡± Gran opened his mouth. ¡°Think carefully about what you say. I''m not known for my patience, and I have had a really stressful week and a half. Don''t give me a reason to take it out on you.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± He clipped as he took a deep breath. ¡°My name is Gram Conner. An Explorer from the content Zell. I came to this content to see what was here. In fact i have been to several other islands besides this one.¡± He said as if he was waiting for me to gasp in surprise. Disappointed by my lack of reaction he continued.


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    ¡°One day while I was exploring a city near the ocean I got in trouble for having counterfeit money. Of corse it wasn''t counterfeit I just accidentally pulled out the money from my home when I went to pay.¡± Gran looked offended that they would even think that. ¡°I was arrested by the guards and interrogated. In the process they found out that I wasn''t from here.¡±


    ¡°Before I knew what was happening I was transferred to a prison in the Church. They tortured me to get as much information about Zell as they could. One night I overheard one of the guards talking.¡± Wait, no... ¡°They were planing to go and take over my home.¡± No no no! ¡°They were saying that we were a country of Demons that needed to be exterminated from this world. And in the name of their God they were going to start a holy war.¡±


    Why do you hate me! I looked up at the sky in exasperation. ¡°I must hurry to Zell and let my king know. The only way to do that is to get to my boat in Vasa.¡± Heaving a sigh I looked at Gran. He looked determined to complete his task and a pain in the ass to be around. Why did it have to be a Holy War? Not that he killed someone or was a criminal from the underworld. I could deal with that. But no it had to be some random Holy Crusade.


    The only good thing about this is that he was going to the ocean. So he could at least take me there. But I''ll be damned if I am helping in this ridiculous war. ¡°I see.¡± I said carefully. ¡°Well good luck with that. I''ll travel with you until Vasa, but no further.¡±


    Gran relaxed when I said this. ¡°I wouldn''t have it any other way.¡± We turned back to watching the road for Amice.


    ~~~


    (Amice POV)


    I am currently examining the goods in the connivance store. Lave and Gran sent me to town to gather food for the rest of the trip to Vasa. My lovely Lave no longer runs from me. However I still can''t touch her. Every time I try to she attempts to stab me with one of her exotic daggers. She''s so shy. I chuckled to my self.


    She told me that the dagger was made out of some sort of sea monster called a Whale. Truly interesting I want to see a Whale. Placing the food on the counter I payed. I''m sad that Lave can''t wonder around town with me right now, but that should change when we cross the province border. Right now there are wanted posters up everywhere for her.


    Ripping a poster off the wall I folded it up and placed it in my pocket. I wonder what Lave will say when she sees it. I skipped my way down the street dodging people as I went.

 20 : The More You Know

    (Lave POV)


    Holding the paper that Amice handed me, I looked blankly at a slightly demonic take on my face. ¡°Look Lave. Aren''t you cute in this picture.¡±


    I really do wonder what is going through this girls head. ¡°... They gave me horns...¡±


    ¡°It says here that you are a leader of the Demon spies that have came to this country in order to kill Humans.¡± Gran helpfully explained.


    ¡°But I don''t want to be involved...¡± I whispered accusingly at the paper.


    ¡°Involved in what?¡± Asked Amice somehow braking out of her fantasy world.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± I sighed. Really this couldn''t be any more annoying. You know what, I refuse this fate. You will not drag me into this problem. I will go home back to my quite life as a mercenary.


    ¡°But you know, I wonder what this whole Demon thing is about?¡± Amice asked while we walked down the road. ¡°I mean its been hundreds of years since the last time anyone has seen one. And that was before the Imperious Church existed.¡±


    ¡°There used to be Demons?¡± Asked Gran.


    ¡°Yeah. Apparently there used to be far more monsters as well. However they where mostly wiped out when the Demon Lord was killed.¡± Amice shrugged dismissively. ¡°I''m surprised you haven''t heard it.¡±


    ¡°... I just never got the chance.¡± Gran said.


    ¡°Hm, well its not that interesting. Supposedly there was another race called Demons. We lived alongside each other for years. However one day a Demon decided that both races couldn''t exist at the same time. They rose an army and attacked us. As towns after town fell, a Hero rose to help the us Humans. He fought against the Demon army. Finally after four years he killed the Demon Lord. With out the Demon Lord the Demons where weak. We killed them all, and no one has seen them since.¡± Amice concluded with a smile.


    ¡°Though I suppose some could have escaped, but by now there is no way there is enough to build an army.¡± Gran looked to be deep in thought.


    After leaving the mountain range Amice had visible relaxed. Before we had to travel through the forest next to the road so that we wouldn''t be seen. However currently we are leisurely walking down a dirt road that seems to be well traveled. In fact Amice appears to be a little to used to running.


    ¡°... Amice, why are you so calm even though we are wanted by the church?¡± I asked cautiously. Even though we have been traveling together it has only been nine days, and only the last four days have I been able to understand her.


    ¡°Well of corse I''m calm. Its not like this is the first time I''ve had to run from somewhere. Also I am not wanted by the Church, you are. But worry not. Even if the entire world wanted you dead I would still follow you to the ends of Terra.¡± Amice''s eyes shined. ¡°No matter what happens I will be there. Making sure not a single scratch falls upon your flawless skin. Which shimmers in this harsh summer sun. So perfect...¡±


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    I violently hurled a knife at Amice while shaking. I am afraid that if I let my guard down she will pounce me. Honestly it would be easier if she was trying to kill me. At least then I would know what to do. As it is I''m lost on how to handle her.


    Amice smoothly dodged the knife with a large smile. ¡°Ah, you are so shy.¡± She cooed. Pulling the knife back with a shudder I kept the wires wrapped around my fingers just in case.


    ¡°What did these Demons look like?¡± Asked Gran who had apparently decided to ignore the entire situation.


    ¡°From what Dad told me they look very similar to us. The only difference was that they spoke a different language and had very intricate tattoos.¡± Amice pondered. ¡°However if you ask someone from the Church they will tell you that they where horrible blood thirsty creatures bent on mass slaughter. Which I guess holds some truth since they did tried to wipe out the Human race.¡±


    I frowned looking down at the paper in my hand. A different language and has intricate tribal tattoos? ¡°Isn''t everyone a follower of the Imperious Church? Why would your Dad say something different then everyone else?¡± Asked Gran.


    ¡°Who knows. However I believe that Dad is more accurate then just stating that they were all blood thirsty creatures.¡± A cold glint entered her eyes. ¡°Plus we all know that history is written by the winners, and we won.¡±


    ¡°What? Upset that you can''t see any Demons?¡± I asked jokingly while folding the paper up as small as I can to fit in one of my pouches.


    ¡°Yes I am.¡± She declared. ¡°It is so unfair. I want to see Demons. Can you imagine what they must have looked like? Ah, what I would give to talk to one...¡±


    ¡°So Gran you a Demon?¡± I casually asked while Amice rambled on in her own little fantasy world.


    ¡°No.¡± He replied while raising an eyebrow. ¡°If anything you fit the description way more than I do.¡±


    I chuckled softly. ¡°I''m not a Demon either.¡± Though I have fought beside a few. ¡°However I do seem to meet the description of one here.¡±


    Gran watched me closely. ¡°I have been wondering this for a while Lave. Where do you come from exactly? You speak a language I have never heard before and I have traveled quite a few places. Also how did you learn Common in only one night.¡±


    I glared at Gran. ¡°It is none of your concern Duine.¡± Really its as if the gods are against me. To send me here and then tell me I look like their Demon race. Don''t kid me. As if I could be a Demon. ¡°Just focus on what you need to do. Isn''t your mission more important?¡±


    ¡°It is, but I am also very curios about you.¡± Gran replied with hard eyes.


    I scoffed. ¡°Worry not. I will not impede your mission. However you will get no information from me.¡± Gran and I stared at each other for a while before he sighed.


    ¡°So be it.¡± We continued walking quietly down the road listening to Amice carry on about what the Demon race must have looked like.

 20.5: The Hero

    (Unknown POV)


    I stood in the middle of a marble room surrounded by strangely dressed people. Frowning I thought back trying to remember how I got here. I was making a sandwich for lunch after playing some video games and then... Nothing. I don''t remember. My frown deepened as I observed the people around me.


    They are wearing white robes that covers them from head to toe keeping their faces hidden. Was I kidnapped by a cult? My sister''s random advice flitted through my head. ¡°Remember Kim, if someone walks up to you and asks ''does this smell like chloroform?'' don''t smell it.¡± My lips twitched in agitation. ¡°But if you do smell it and end up being brought to a weird place, figure out what they want and then escape when they least expect it.¡±


    Looking at the would be cult members that stood unmoving, I couldn''t help but feel more then a little panicked. My sister''s completely unhelpful advice on being kidnaped somehow making it worse.


    One of the robed figures stepped forward grabbing my attention. ¡°Welcome our Hero.¡± The robed man said while kneeling down. ¡°It is an honor to have been graced with your presents. This humble servant''s name is Eldge a Saint of the Church of Imperious.¡± The rest of the robed figures kneeled down as Eldge stood.


    ¡°The Church of Imperious is extremely sorry to have requested you here. However there was nothing else we could do.¡± I stood frozen watching these people in front of me. Who is this Church of Imperious? How did I get here? What do they want? ... Did they call me Hero? My brain flooded with all these questions while I was discreetly looking around for an escape root. ¡°Our world is in danger. The Demon King has rose again. It is shameful to admit this but we were caught completely unprepared.¡±


    Eldge''s shoulders slumped. ¡°We have once fought and defeated these Demons. There threat was utterly crushed until we thought nothing was left. Unfortunately we were wrong. The Demons lived on. Now they wish to complete what they started all those years ago and destroy our people.¡± He bowed his head in shame. ¡°This humble servant knows that it is a lot to ask of you Hero, but can you please save us from the horrible Demon King?¡±


    After watching the poor man in front of me and listening to his speech I was torn. Sure I was forcibly kidnapped from my home with no idea where I am, but these people are in need. ¡°Kim stop trying to be a hero. One of these days your going to get seriously hurt or be used by some... Oi! Kim! Are you listening to me?!¡± Ignoring my sister''s strangely accurate advice that for some reason keeps popping into my head, I smiled at the robed man Eldge.


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    ¡°Of course I will. I can never leave a person in need. Just tell me what I need to do and I will help as best I can.¡± Eldge lifted his head and for the first time removed the hood from his head. His big blue eyes looked at me hopefully.


    ¡°Your humble servant is so glad to hear you will help our people. Please let me show you to a more comfortable area so that we may discuss what should be done from now on.¡± The robbed figures stepped to the side relieving a doorway that had been hidden from sight. ¡°Let us head to a privet room.¡±


    ~~~


    (The Solace POV)


    A figure completely covered in a white robe walked into our private sanctuary interrupting our meditation. ¡°We hope this is important Marius or things will not end well for you.¡± Marius kneeled down behind us before he spoke.


    ¡°The Hero has successfully been summoned my Solace.¡± He stated blandly. ¡°I have left my most promising Saint in charge of him.¡±


    ¡°Ho, so the summing was successful? Well what does this Hero look like?¡± We asked curiously. This is only the second time in recorded history that a Hero has been summoned. A special being that hold powers way above humans. However that does not change the fact that it is a heathenous entity unaware of its traitorous ways.


    ¡°Yes, he is around 174 centimeters tall with black hair and light brown eyes. His cloths are an unusual maroon colored slacks and white collared shirt with unreadable writing on a left chest pocket.¡±


    ¡°Interesting. Did he look strong Marius?¡± We asked while opening our eyes to gaze out at the still water in front of us. Marius chuckled lightly.


    ¡°Not at all my Solace. He looked to be no more then a child. Never to have seen any form of battle or death. While I will err on the the side of caution I doubt that he will be a problem. It should be vary easy to get what we want from him.¡±


    ¡°Hm, is that so? Leave us.¡± Marius stood and left shutting the door silently behind him. An easily manipulated Hero is it? We thought as we stood and slowly made our way into the freezing water. Ripples expanding out as we moved. Now how long will it take to claim our new land? A light smile playing at our lips. We reached the middle of the pool and sat down submerging ourselves up to our chest letting the freezing water numb us. Closing our eyes we sank into our mediative state. Now entertain us as much as you can Hero from another world. We will not tolerate a boring conquest.

 21: Welcome To Vasa

    (Lave POV)


    We hid in the tall grass off the road peaking at the walls surrounding the port town Vasa. After six long days of dodging Church dogs we finally made it to our destination, only to have to sneak in. I glanced at Amice and Gran who are discussing infiltration plans. Really this was getting more and more annoying as time went on.


    ¡°There is no way that will work. It would be better to sneak in through the drainage tunnel.¡± Gran argued. ¡°At least there will be little chance of being seen by the guards.¡±


    ¡°Maybe the guards won''t see us but how are we supposed to go through the drainage tunnels? They are barred off. Unless you have something that can cut through iron it wont work.¡± Amice huffed while tapping her foot. ¡°It is much easier to go through the gate. Sure its a risk but if we do it right then no one will know.¡±


    ¡°And how would we do that right. No one in this group has anything that will let them blend into a crowd. Its like we are just screaming to be seen. We will be discovered immediately and arrested.¡± Gran ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. ¡°Maybe there is a door somewhere in the wall that is used by the thieves? If we search the wall then we just might find it.¡±


    ¡°And what if there''s not? We are now trapped out side the wall in a easy to view area. We will be shot. I would much rather be arrested then shot with an arrow.¡± The argument continued on, what would be the best way to brake into the town. Neither one happy with the planes the other was suggesting.


    I looked back over Vasa seeing people shuffle around buying and selling their wares. Looking further out boats where docked with people dragging nets of fish down the pier. People sorting out the species and distributing them around the markets. Sighing at the scurrying Humans I looked even further out into the horizon.


    The setting sun shimmering off of the crystal blue surface. Creating the illusion that the water is on fire. The wind blew the smell of salt water directly into my nose telling me just how close I was. It may not be my ocean but at least it was something I am familiar with. Taking a deep breath I can almost taste the water that is so close to me.


    Slowly but surly the sun set below the horizon causing darkness to descend. As the last rays of light left the land I stood up causing Amice and Gran to look at me.


    ¡°Um, Lave? What are you doing?¡± Asked Gran while looking around nervously. ¡°Your going to expose us.¡± I walked forward down the hill ignoring him. Expose? What does it matter? While they spend hours arguing about the best way to brake into town, I am going to do it. Talking isn''t going to solve this situation.


    I stretched my arms and loosened up my fingers as I headed strait for the wall. Right now the guards where focused on lighting torches and weren''t paying attention. Spotting an exposed beam sticking out of a guard tower, I pulled a knife out twirling it to build up momentum. Now. I launched the knife. When it was level with the beam I jerked the wire making it wrap around.


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    No one noticed the knife or the wire that ran down the outside of the wall. Pulling it a couple times I made sure it could hold my weight. Red scales coated my hands to prevent them from getting cut as I quietly climbed the out side wall.


    ~~~


    (Amice POV)


    I watched as my beautiful Lave silently climb the defensive wall. None of the guards noticed as they were too busy chatting with their friends while lighting the torches. In the blink of an eye Lave was at the top. She snuck her way across the wall and began repelling down the other side. I whistled in admiration.


    ¡°Would you look at that Gran. Lave already made it into town without anyone noticing.¡± A blur moved through the air and dislodged the dagger imbedded in beam. Both daggers descended quickly into town. ¡°Really does make you wonder what she does for a living.¡± I turned to Gran only to see him staring blankly.


    Snickering I began walking to the gate. ¡°Come on Gran if we don''t hurry we''ll lose Lave. Lets just go through the gate. Unless you can scale a wall.¡± With a tsk he pulled his hood up hiding his face. If everything went well then we could just walk into town.


    ¡°You are both insane.¡± Gran whispered beside me. ¡°How can you just walk into a trap? They know we are coming for the boat.¡±


    ¡°You worry to much.¡± Back on the main road I set a casual pace. ¡°Even if it is a trap what does it matter? We just have to make sure not to be caught. And unlike you two I am still not wanted.¡± At least not in this town.


    ¡°Your only not wanted because the Church hasn''t figured out you are traveling with us. If they did you would be at the top of the list.¡± I walked up to the gate with a big smile.


    ¡°Good evening. How is the guarding going?¡± One of the Guards laughed.


    ¡°Well about as well as always. May I see your card little lady?¡± Passing the card I watched the other guard out of the corner of my eye. He stood there with a board expression not even pretending to care. ¡°Amice Hill is it?¡±


    The other Guard''s eyes flashed as he looked me up and down. ¡°From the Hill family?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Yep, thats the one.¡± Gran shifted nervously behind me. ¡°I take it you know of my Mom and Dad.¡±


    ¡°Of course! Every one knows of Priestess Isda and Sword Master Hal.¡± He said ecstatically. ¡°What brings you here to Vasa?¡±


    ¡°Sightseeing. I''ve never been to Vasa before. I just wanted to see what it looks like.¡±


    ¡°And who is this behind you?¡± The Guards eyes where twinkling. No doubt he thought that it was someone famous.


    I made an annoyed face. ¡°Sigh, this is Gran. Even though I wanted to go sightseeing by myself Mom wouldn''t let me. Gran here is my bodyguard.¡±


    ¡°Well that''s only to be expected Miss. Hill. It is dangerous to wonder alone and even more so for you.¡± The guard handed my card back. ¡°Please come in and welcome to Vasa. If you need anything don''t hesitate to ask the guards around town.¡± I smiled and walked through the gate with Gran following closely behind. This is to easy.

 22: Food Is Life

    (Lave POV)


    Sitting in a shadowy corner with my back to a wall I drank some beer. After braking into town I immediately went to a tavern. I am hungry. The waitress is going from table to table getting orders and placing food. Finally it arrives.


    Fried fish with some sort of cream sauce on the side. ¡°Here you are Miss. Hope you enjoy the food. If you need anything else just give a holler.¡± She said with a wink before sashaying over to the next table.


    I licked my lips and began digging in. Nothing in the world will ever replace fish as the best dish. A shout brought me back from my eating haze. I looked around spotting Amice in the doorway. Tsk, persistent stalker. Ignoring her I focused back on my food.


    Chairs were pulled out as Amice and Gran sat at my table. ¡°See I told you she would be eating somewhere.¡± Amice said triumphantly.


    ¡°I can''t believe you. Why are you eating in a Tavern? You know we are wanted right? This is the last thing you should be doing. Its like advertising come and get me.¡± Gran sighed out.


    ¡°I am hungry. I don''t care if the town is burning to the ground around me, I am still going to eat when I''m hungry.¡± I said while drinking my beer. ¡°Plus if this is the last thing I should be doing, then this is the last place they will think to look.¡±


    ¡°Its the first place I thought to look though.¡± Amice said happily while taking a piece of my fish. I narrowed my eyes at her but did nothing else. Last time I did anything to prevent her from eating my food it was more irritating then just letting her take some.


    Gran shook his head and sighed. ¡°You two are going to kill me.¡± While laying his head down on the table in defeat.


    ¡°You are just too easily stressed. Relax. Nothing bad is going to happen.¡± She said while patting his back. ¡°If your really concerned I can teach you some ways to blend in to a crowd.¡±


    ¡°How do you even know that?¡± He shot up in his chair. ¡°First off who are you? The guards didn''t even check my Id. They just let me through when they found out your name.¡±


    ¡°I''m Amice Hill.¡± She said while tilting her head. ¡°Daughter of Isda and Hal Hill.¡±


    ¡°Yes and who is that? The guard said that your mother is a priestess and your father a sword master.¡± He said frustratedly. ¡°If that''s true why are you even helping us? I mean we are both wanted by the Church. Doesn''t that go against your parents? Your culture? Your beliefs?¡±


    Amice just tilted her head to the side in confusion. ¡°Why would that go against my parents? I am doing what I think is right. I was taught by my Dad that despite what others may say or do always do what you feel is the right thing. Plus Mom just wants me to be happy.¡±


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    I snorted while Gran just dropped back down on to the table. ¡°I''m sure this is exactly what they were talking about when they said that.¡± I stated to this ditz.


    ¡°Well anyways we need to get to Gran''s ship. Do you know where it is?¡± Amice said changing the subject.


    ¡°The last time I saw it, it was docked on the southwest port.¡± He mumbled through the table.


    ¡°And where are we?¡± Amice asked me.


    ¡°How should I know? Just walk to the water and then head west. That should bring us to his boat.¡± I dismissed.


    ¡°Its not a boat its a ship.¡± Gran growled. ¡°And while that may work, it will take much longer then if we knew where we were going. It leaves us in the open for too long. And I don''t know if you realized this but you are not very discreet.¡± I rolled my eyes and continued eating.


    ¡°The two of you are ridiculous. Don''t you have a sense of danger? You are being pursued by the largest organization on the continent, you only learned the language a week or so ago, and you are sitting here in the open eating?¡± He flipped around to Amice. ¡°And you... I just don''t know what to do with you. Your the daughter of some well know Church official, chasing after some unknown woman, and doing illegal acts. I mean you almost killed a Guild official in front of a crowd. What is wrong with you?¡±


    I gave Amice a curious look. ¡°He insulted me and took some of the money from the commission we did.¡± She supplied.


    ¡°Should of killed him.¡± I agreed.


    ¡°No, that is not how you handle situations like that.¡± Gran said frustrated. ¡°What would you have done if you did kill him in front of a crowd?¡±


    ¡°¡°Run.¡±¡± We replied. It would be too much of a hassle to have to kill all the witnesses as well. Gran just shook his head.


    ¡°I give up. Just do what you want. My ship is in the southwest. I want to get out of here as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Cool. You done Lave?¡± I nodded while licking my fingers. Amice placed a couple of coins on the table and we left. ¡°So which way is the water?¡± She asked once outside the Tavern.


    ¡°Over there.¡± I pointed and began walking through the maze of streets. No matter where I am I can always tell which direction water is in. We went through the more shadowy ally ways to stay out of site of the guards. After half an hour we reached the edge of the buildings and the beginning of the port. A large open gap divides the houses and the dock. Soldiers and knights patrolled the area stopping anyone that came close to the.


    ¡°This is impossible.¡± Whispers Gran.


    Amice turned to him. ¡°Tell me when we see your ship. We are going to go through the alleyways until then.¡±

 23: Not Quite To Plan

    (Lave POV)


    We wove our way in and out of the back alleys. Any time we came to a brake in the buildings we would stop and see if Gran''s boat was nearby. This was getting really tedious. The only reason I didn''t just make a brake for the water and be done with it, is because of my debt. Even if I hate the Human race, haven''t known these people for more than two weeks, and wish to jump in the wonderful liquid abyss in front of me I still had to see things through.


    While I didn''t owe Gran anything I do owe Amice who took care of me for a week. Even if she is a delusional pervert. The problem with living a long time is that you learn how rare it is for someone to help you. So when someone does you have to respectfully pay them back. We peeked around the corner looking at the docked boats.


    As we have come further west it was possible to see a dry dock in the distance. ¡°This is where she was before I left Vasa.¡± Gran whispered while searching. ¡°However I don''t see her now.¡±


    ¡°Is it possible that your boat is over in the dry docks?¡± I asked while pointing to the well light area surrounded by soldiers and knights. Despite it being nighttime that part of the dock was in full swing. Workers cleaned the barnacles off the outside of ships, checked cargo, and repaired broken or damaged boards.


    Gran paled. ¡°I want to say no but if they know it is my ship then it is more than likely there.¡± Amice was watching the area in fascination.


    I sighed. I really wasn''t in the mood to go on a murder spree right now. ¡°Oi, noble girl. You think you can get us through that throng on people without being noticed?¡±


    Amice looked at me with shinning eyes and a light smile. ¡°Nope.¡±


    My eye twitched in annoyance. ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°No, I can''t get you guys through.¡± Her simple answer had me resting my head against the wall in disappointment.


    ¡°Why can''t you get us through? You got me through the gate without any problems.¡± Gran asked in desperation. ¡°Your family seems really respected. It should be simple.¡±


    She laughed. ¡°Yeah they are. That''s kind of the problem. Well one anyway. If I was to tell any of the knights who I am I will immediately be detained.¡± Amice said lightly. ¡°On the other hand if I was to tell the soldieries who I am then news would spread that I am in this town and I will probable be arrested.¡±


    Gran looked stunned. ¡°But the gate...¡±


    ¡°Well they are only gate keepers. So its ok to tell them. In fact you could say that it is a rather large loophole in the system. Even if you are wanted in one town you aren''t going to be wanted in another. Not unless they have a poster up like they do for you two. The soldieries also don''t speak with the knights all that often so its pretty safe to speak to gate keepers. However the soldieries patrolling around town are a bit different.¡± Amice went back to watching the dry dock. ¡°Plus I have become a little famous so even if there is no poster my name still gets around to the higher ups.¡±


    Gran just stared at her in silent disbelief. ¡°Then that means we''re braking in.¡± I stated while pulling out a bottle of yellow powder.


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    ¡°Yeah a full frontal attack.¡± She agreed. ¡°By the way what is that?¡±


    I finished rubbing the powder over my eyelids causing them to glow a slight gold color. ¡°Eyebright.¡± I said simply blinking my eyes a few times to get used to my now clearer night vision. I sighed seeing Amice looking pleadingly at me. ¡°Here.¡±


    She quickly copied me and covered her eyelids in the yellow powder. ¡°Wow, its almost like its daytime. What is this?¡± Her pupils were extremely dilated with a slight golden tint in the whites of her eyes where the powder had fallen in.


    ¡°Muscle relaxent. It forces your eyes to relax. The torches where causing your eyes to adjust to their light leaving all the shadows around them pitch black. However now that your eyes have relaxed they are adjusted to the night and not the torches.¡± The draw back of this is that if you look at any lights you''ll be temporally blinded. Though it is great for infiltration and assassination missions.


    ¡°Where did you get it?¡± Asked Gran while I put the bottle away.


    ¡°Trade secret. Now I want you to look for your little boat once we''re inside. Amice and I will be taking care of the guards while you figure out how to launch.¡± I pulled out two daggers that were in my boots while loosening the hilt on my others.


    ¡°Wait we don''t even know if my ship is in there.¡± He argued in a panic.


    ¡°We''ve been from one end of the dock to the other and this is the only place left to be searched. That means your boat is in there. Even if its not the we can still escape through the water.¡± I checked my pouches to make sure they were secure.


    ¡°Plus Gran what''s life without a little danger? My love and I will protect you. Just find your pretty ship and get it ready so we can leave.¡± Amice added looking eager to go. ¡°I want to see this new land.¡±


    Pointedly ignoring Amice''s ''my love'' comment I stalked through the shadows until nothing but bright open space was left. Watching a guard pass us by I launched into a silent sprint across the rock path. I rushed behind him slitting his throat. My hand over his mouth stifling his scream. Dragging his body I laid him in the shadow of a barrel.


    Glancing behind me I saw Amice lopping the head off of a knight. Her sword making a loud clang as it collided with his armor. Thankfully it was covered up by the sound of hammers. She drug his body off in a similar manor I had. The head rolled across the rock until it hit Gran''s feet.


    With a look of horror and disgust he let out a wretched scream alerting the dock patrol and workers of our presents. Immediately destroying any advantage we had with a surprise attack. Amice was laughing hysterically to the side having dropped the body on the ground to clutch her stomach.


    ¡°I can''t believe you just did that.¡± She gasped out as the patrol began surrounding us. ¡°You should have seen your face!¡±


    My shoulders dropped. The tension filled air losing out to Amice''s fit. A Knight stepped forward his sword drawn. ¡°Why are you...¡± He froze when he saw the knights head on the ground at Gran''s feet. ¡°Arrests them!¡±

 24: The World Is Unforgiving

    (Lave POV)


    With a reverse grip on my daggers I plunged into the charging mob aiming for the captains head, or what ever level of knight he is. Honestly I don''t know but he is high enough up there to give orders. ¡°Gran pull your self together and look for your fucking boat!¡±


    I blocked a sword aimed for my throat while kicking my attacker in the groin. As he doubled over in pain I slashed across his arm pit. Blood gushed out signifying that I had managed to sever his artery. Pushing back with a half turn I stabbed the knight behind me in the neck. His sword fell to the ground as he choked. The horrible gargling noise making me grimace. Two down and an infinitely increasing number to go.


    The undetermined rank of knight that gave the orders to attack us was no where to be found. I clicked my tongue in irritation while imbedding my dagger into a skull causing the receiver to collapse onto the ground. I was hoping that taking him hostage would give us a more advantages position.


    ¡°Lave! we are going to move closer to the ships!¡± Amice called from somewhere behind me. When I had dived into the group Amice had gone over to Gran and was protecting him.


    ¡°Yeah, why don''t we shout all our plans out to the enemy just to make it easier for them.¡± I called sarcastically. Grabbing the wrist of one of the guards I pulled him forward into another causing them to impale each other. ¡°And why did you say my name? Its like you want us to die.¡±


    Whispers could be heard through the mob saying that I was the ''demon spy'' they were looking for. At least when I called out Gran''s name it was different then the one on the wanted poster. I pushed off of a knight using him as a launch pad and causing him to stumble back into those surrounding us. Twisting in the air to get a better grasp of the situation. I threw my daggers at the people below cutting through the crowed indiscriminately. Killing some and only wounding others. I pulled the wires to keep them going.


    Landing on a head I launched off again towards Amice and Gran. Amice is proving just how deadly she is by preforming a one handed sword dance while dragging Gran who seemed to be foaming at the mouth. ¡°Tsk, what is that idiot doing?¡± Finally able to confirm what direction they are going in, I landed on someones sword my weight dragging them to the ground.


    Pulling my dagger back I sliced him across the eyes and began running towards Gran. That idiot is the one we need to find the ship and he was passed out. I huffed in anger while fending off the blades. Suddenly a torch was shoved in my face blinding me. I pulling back from the scorching heat I panicked. I pulled my scales to the surface of my skin coating my body like sturdy armor.


    Great now I''m on land and blind at the same time. I grabbed the torch and shoved the flaming end back the way it had come. A satisfying scream let me know that someone had been burnt. I thew the torch away and began swinging my daggers around like a shield and to feel if it snagged on anything.


    I blinked my eyes rapidly to try and restore vision. That eyebright will last for at least another hour. A sword struck out and crashed into the swinging dagger. It wrapped itself around the object and sliced the flesh holding it like it had a life of its own. I pulled my dagger up yanking the sword from their hands and fling it into the air.


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    The sword came crashing down hitting a random person. Shouts of warning and fear filled the air as I continued throwing the swords from my victims. Each time one fell another guard or knight would fall. Truthfully that could be avoided if they just stopped clustering or giving me swords. On instinct I kicked in front of me as hard as I could.


    A gasp could be heard as it collided with solid iron. I frowned feeling my leg being held tight by whoever I kicked. ¡°Well that''s a surprise. I thought for sure you couldn''t see with the way you''ve been swinging those daggers around.¡± I pulled one of my daggers in and slashed at the hand holding my leg while the other curved around aiming for where his head should be.


    ¡°Wow there.¡± My leg was released and I jumped back. A sharp blade passed just in front of my face. My frown deepened. ¡°You sure are giving my boys a hard time missy and the fire you started isn''t helping.¡± This would be so much easier if I could see or was in the water. Stupid Gran.


    I started swinging one of the daggers around again to shield my back and side while I focused on the man in front of me. My other dagger held defensively in a reverse grip with the flat edge resting along my arm steadying it. I sniffed the air trying to smell smoke to see if he was telling the truth. If so I have to get a move on because there''s no telling what''s in those crates.


    As my dagger collided with something I pulled my other one up guarding my heart. I staggered slightly from the force of the blow but managed to redirect it to the side. Stepping in I slashed out feeling slight resistance at the other end. Shallow. I pressed forward trying to get a more substantial cut.


    Pulling my dagger in I shoved the sword away with the other. I plunged it forward in the direction I believed him in. Nothing. I pulled back trying to create distance. Panicked shouts and running could be heard. A blast sounded behind me making me fly forward smashing into a wooden beam of some sort. Shards of wood and metal flew by and burst of heat filled the air. I groaned and slid down the pole gasping for breath.


    My ears rang causing me to be disoriented. Great now I''m blind and deaf. I rolled over so I was on my stomach and shoved up onto my knees. At least the ringing will die down after a little while. However my vision will take much longer to heal now after that fiery blast.


    A strong force sent me skidding across the ground. Muffled voices sounded out around me as I lay still waiting for the cause to make another attack. And there it was. The second pressure landed on my side I grabbed the leg and pulled causing a man to fall down next to me. I pulled a dagger out from my boot and stabbed him. A muffled shout and curses escaped from the victim.


    I rolled away in order to get up. However the ground ended beneath me. My eyes opened wide in fear as I fell. Curling up into a little ball I hoped it would lessen the impact. With a sharp crack I hit the ground. My mind spun the ringing and in ability to see making it worse. I shifted trying to get my injured body to work but a heavy object landed on top of me knocking me out.

 25: The Wanderer

    (Gran POV)


    A sharp pain to my face brought me back from the wonderful land of illusions. With a groan I looked up to see Amice leaning over me curiously. ¡°Where are we?¡± My memory a bit hazy. All I know is that I saw something so shocking I passed out.


    ¡°Under the ships that are docked on land. Lave and I need you to find your boat so we can flee Vasa.¡± She replied shortly while watching the surroundings.


    I noticed that I could only see Amice. ¡°Where is Lave?¡± Getting up and examining my surroundings a bit closer I saw flames, and shouting could be heard in the distance as people ran to put them out.


    ¡°I don''t know. She sounded like she was coming when I talked to her earlier. So I''m sure she''ll show up.¡± Amice pulled out a cloth and began wiping something off of her arms. It was blood. A lot of blood. My eyes opened wide in horror.


    Slowly I stood up and asked something that has been nagging me. ¡°Amice, why are you covered in blood?¡± I saw blood trailed all over the ground as if things have been dragged across it.


    She just tilted her head to the side and then understanding flashed through her eyes. ¡°Thats right you passed out right after I beheaded that knight didn''t you. Really that scream you made was so funny.¡± I paled. That''s right... The memory of the head rolling across the ground lifeless eyes staring up into mine. Mouth hanging open in a silent scream with blood dripping from the neck. I shuddered.


    ¡°Well after that we were surrounded by the patrols. Lave plunged into the crowed drawing their attention away from us, and I started dragging you to a safe place to wake you up. That''s why I''m covered in blood.¡± Her sweet smile did nothing to reassure me. How can anyone smile after killing people? This right here is why I am an explorer and not a soldier. All hail peace.


    ¡°So let''s find your ship. I''m sure Lave will come when she sees your ship launching from the docks.¡± I nodded unable to say anything. Even though I was held captive and tortured by the Church I am not used to seeing people killed. Even less so in such a brutal way.


    Walking away from the fire I started scanning the ships. To keep mine discreet when I visit new places it has no obvious markings. However there is one thing that I made to make it easy for me to find. The name is written in my home tongue. Most people think that it is scratches or chips caused by a coral reef as most ships don''t have a name.


    I wove my way through the grounded ships and repair material dodging the occasional sharp object. There she is my beautiful Wanderer. I know its not the most creative name but it is the most fitting. Pulling a rope hanging off the side I hiked up my ship.


    She was just how I left her. Sure some things where missing but fortunately those Church officials haven''t found my secret compartments. I examined her closely to make sure it was safe to launch. Nodding my head in satisfaction I climbed back down to Amice.


    ¡°So this your boat?¡± She asked while tapping the planks rudely. I frowned but didn''t say anything. Now that I have my ship back I can leave this horrible land and inform my king about the invasion.


    ¡°Yes, she''s called the Wanderer and has been with me throughout my travels.¡± I started pulling on the ramps to create the slide for her. ¡°Amice can you untie the ropes holding her down?¡± The wood planks slowly slid into place.


    Amice nodded and just sliced the ropes as she walked not even bothering to see if she needed to. I flinched when one particularly large rope caused the entire structure to shake. I need to finish this quickly before she brings the roof down on us.


    Shouting could be heard getting closer as I worked. I could only imagine that they saw the building shake and are coming to make sure everything is alright. Placing the last ramp section down I hastily made my way to the deck. ¡°Amice are you done yet?¡± I called while tying off the ropes and securing the sails.


    ¡°Yep.¡± Came the light reply making me jump. She appeared right behind me without a sound. I shivered trying to ignore the blood stains.


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    ¡°Good. Hold this rope and when I tell you start pulling as hard as you can.¡± I tied the rope to some weights and another rope to a large pulley system. Jumping back down to the ground I rigged the pulley so that it would work.


    ¡°Now!¡± Amice pulled the rope causing the weights to fall and making the pulley work. Slowly the Wanderer slid down the ramp towards the water. Making my way back onto the deck I readjusted the ropes. Once we hit the water I yanked on the main sails causing them to expand and catch the wind launching us across the water.


    Shouting and cussing could be heard from shore as we became out of reach. ¡°Oh, look its Lave!¡±


    ~~~


    (Amice POV)


    We hit the water hard making me fly up into the air. I laughed at the feeling while watching the sails open. It was so fast and exciting! I grabbed the edge of the ship and scanned the shore for Lave. We weren''t that far out but the people on shore couldn''t do anything to us now.


    ¡°Oh, look its Lave.¡± I said when I saw here pretty white and red hair shimmer in the torch light. She was fighting some large knight with her eyes closed. I frowned. Why are her eyes closed? People where shouting and running around behind them. The knight stumbled back as Lave continued to pressure him. He turned and ran away making Lave''s dagger hit air. My frown deepened as Lave jumped back to create distance from the running knight.


    A burst of light followed by boom blew Lave into a large wooden beam. ¡°Lave!!¡± She slid down collapsing limply onto the ground. Slowly she struggled to her knees coughing. The knight that ran earlier came back and kicked her sending her skidding across the ground. Rage boiled as I watched. I will kill him. He burst out laughing and said something while walking over to her and going to kick my love yet again.


    Thankfully Lave was waiting for that and managed to pull him down and stick him in the shoulder with the dagger somehow bypassing the armor. His shout of pain rose a grin to my face. Thats what you get for injuring my Lave. However she rolled to the side and dropped down a hole out of sight. A hand grabbed my shoulder just as I was getting ready to jump into the water.


    ¡°Stop its to dangerous!¡± Gran who was taking care of his boat noticed my state.


    ¡°But Lave is all alone there fighting al those people!¡± I cried desperately trying to think of a way to get her out. ¡°And something is wrong! She was fighting with her eyes closed and the way she was reacting was almost like she couldn''t see!¡± I have to get to her. There''s no telling what will happen if I don''t.


    The knight jumped down into the hole Lave is in. I have to hurry that bastard will hurt her more! I looked around trying to find anything that could help me, but nothing. A shout pulled me from my thoughts. The knight dragged Lave from the hole and tied her up. She lay limply in his hand as if asleep.


    He dragged her along the ground across the debris without a care for the small cuts appearing all over her body. No death is to good for him! I''ll make him wish he was dead! My feelings overwhelmed my mind causing me to blank out. When I came to I was fighting my way through the water while the boat got further and further away from me.


    The curent pulled at me trying to drag me down into its dark depths. However I refused with everything I have. I have to get to Lave. Flaming arrows flew around me aiming for Gran but falling short. One caught me in the arm causing burning pain to shoot through me. Gritting my teeth I continued my struggle.


    My energy slowly drained against my will. Exhaustion was taking over my body caused by exertion and blood loss. My eyes fluttered as I watched Lave disappear into the city away from me and into danger. ¡°No!!¡± With the last bit of strength I shouted my denial to the world. Then nothing.

 26: Predator Or Prey?

    (Lave POV)


    A dark and dingy room greeted me when I opened my eyes. I shifted slightly feeling chains scrape violently against the skin around my wrists. Pain shot through my body where I was smashed into that wooden beam and the cold air only intensified the feeling.


    All in all I wasn''t very conferrable in my new room. I wonder what would happen if I asked for a new one. Chuckling quietly to myself I examined my surroundings ignoring the pain. The room looked to be about four by four meters with absolutely no decorations. Boring grey rock coated the walls and framed what appeared to be thick iron bars. Torches light up the hallway causing interesting shadows to dance along the walls.


    Another cell could be seen across from me but it didn''t look like anyone was in there at the moment. Pulling my arms down so that I could examine the shackles I saw that they had a large key hole that locked the two together. A large smile broke out on my lips while looking at it. If you could unlock it, both your hands would be freed at the same time.


    I leaned my head against the wall trying to stifle the laughter that was threatening to bubble up. Really this is to easy. I almost feel sorry for the enemy. Not that I know who that is. With a huff I managed to calm down. I haven''t been in such an amusing situation in a long time. The last time was when I was chained to a cinder block and left to drown. I laughed so hard that day that it took me a good three hours to escape the chains.


    Well I guess I should stay here for now. I don''t know where they took my stuff and I would like to learn more about the Imperious Church. On the other hand I am really hungry... I stared at the ceiling as if it held the answer to my predicament while letting the chains pull my arms back up above my head. The noise echoed through out the area.


    Apparently that tipped the guards off that I was awake. A door somewhere down the corridor slammed open and stomping feet slowly made their way towards me. Well that solves it! My mood still running high. Oh, maybe the guard will have food!


    A man with clean cut gold blond hair, horrible scared face, and a unfeeling look in the eye stopped in front of my room. ¡°Welcome to the Imperious Church, Demon. My name is Lai. You and I will become very well aquatinted with each other while you are staying here.¡± His voice steady without a trace of emotion and that clean cut black and red uniform sobered me slightly.


    ¡°Don''t you know that it is very rude to call a lady a ''Demon'' Mr. Lai?¡± I questioned with a raised eyebrow. ¡°It would seem that your mother raised you without any manners. I''m sure she is disappointed in you where ever she is.¡±


    ¡°Forgive me. It is what I was told you were. If you are not a ''Demon'' then what might you be?¡± His face never changed even though this conversation was quite funny. I like this human. I feel like I can play with him for a while before he would died. He also has a pretty good since of humor for a torturer. There''s no way I would miss the wonderful display of knifes and other goodies attached to his belt.


    ¡°Now that is very rude. First you call me a Demon and now you question weather or not I''m human.¡± I shake my head in mock disappointment while crossing my legs to sit up straiter. ¡°As a torturer I would expect you to be able to tell fact from fiction. Otherwise you wouldn''t be very good at your job, now would you.¡±


    ¡°I can tell fact from fiction as you call it, and that is why I am asking what you are. You are not human. However I can tell that you have told the truth about not being a demon as well.¡± He lend lightly against the bars but made no move to enter the room. ¡°Now that leaves us with finding out what you are.¡±


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    ¡°No just you. I know what I am. So it is up to you to find out.¡± I smiled as I watched him. No feeling showed on his face although I a pretty sure that most people would have been angry or at least annoyed with me by now.


    ¡°I see.¡± Lai leaned down and picked something up from behind the wall. It was one of my pouches. So my stuff is right here? ¡°Why don''t you tell me what some of this is.¡± He pulled out a bottle.


    ¡°Eye drops. In fact would you mind passing those to me. I could really use it.¡± He raised an eyebrow at the cloudy purple vile, but still nodded while placing it back into my pouch. He went to pull out something else however the door slammed open again.


    Quick angry steps sounded letting me know this person was very unhappy. ¡°What is taking so long Lia?!¡± Now this is a pretty little thing. My thoughts turning slightly dark. I was having so much fun with Lai. Usually I don''t play around so much but I am pretty hungry. I wonder how long its been since I have eaten.


    ¡°Minister Brae.¡± Came the calm reply. ¡°I am interrogating the prisoner now. I would...¡± Minister Brae cut his hand through the air in a gesture for silence. His white and silver robes hung loosely on his body leaving much to the imagination.


    His long blond braided hair swung back and forth with his wild gestures reveling his lack of combat knowledge. Such a defenseless animal has presented itself in front of me. All it would take is just one little... I cut my thoughts of with great difficulty. I closed my eyes and forced my mind to focus on something else.


    Taking a deep breath I smelt the obvious stench of human. Of prey. ¡°Mr. Lai,¡± I cut into the middle of the Food''s talking. ¡°How long have I been asleep?¡±


    ¡°How dear you interrupt me peasant.¡± Came Food''s growl of anger. Its furry only entertained me and in excitement I locked eyes with Food. It shivered in fear but held its ground. Come proud prey show me what you will do. A cruel smile surfaced as I watched Food''s every move. How will you run?


    ¡°... About three days.¡± Three days is it. Far to long. Food regained its voice when Lai spoke. Lai is not food as he smells of blood and death he is another predator. Something to toy with not eat, but Food oh you look so delicious. Just come closer Food, I will make it quick.


    ¡°How could you just answer her like that!¡± Food shouted in anger. ¡°You are meant to interrogate her not answer her questions!¡± Food''s anger is so sweet. Its like a wonderful seasoning. Come Food become more angry.


    ¡°Now, now <del>Fo...</del> Brea I was answering Mr. Lai''s questions until you came and interrupted. However if you would like to ''interrogate'' me Brea, you are welcome to.¡± I turned my head suggestively. ¡°That is if you can.¡± Food is fuming.


    ¡°You insulate wretch!¡± Food pulled keys out from its pocket and fumbled with the door. A delighted giggle escaped me as Food was voluntarily giving up its life. Lai grabbed Food''s shoulder stopping him from stepping through the door.


    ¡°Minister Brea I wouldn''t do this. It would be best not to get to close to...¡± Food spun around and slapped Lai across the face. Look Lai that''s what you get for interfering with another''s meal. Food walked up to me shaking it was so angry. My smile only grew. Come closer Food I am chained right now. Come look I am no threat to you.


    Food leaned forward its face centimeters from mine. Its breath stunk as it breathed in my face completely unaware of the danger. However that''s what''s good about Food. Its stupid. ¡°Now your place wretch. You are at my mercy. No one will help you and no one will come for you. You will die in this place.¡± Food''s smile was cruel as if happy with what it said. However Food those words are meant for you.

 27: Its A Monster

    (Lai POV)


    I watched the prisoner closely. Even though she has been asleep for a long time there seems to be no abnormalities. Her banter with me was quite entertaining. However if she can banter with me she is abnormal. Not only that she has been telling nothing but the truth when I ask questions. She is not trying to hide anything.


    Even when I asked her what she was, the answer was that I just have to find out. It wasn''t a lie. She would tell me if I guessed right. However her confidence in the situation has me worried. She is chained to a wall but shows no issue with this.


    When Minister Brea came something changed. I''m not sure what caused it but, her entire atmosphere changed. Gone was the playful girl and in came something else. I watched her as Minister Brea shouted in anger for no reason.


    She leaned her head back as if fighting herself. With a deep breath she asked a question I had not expected. ¡°Mr. Lai, how long have I been asleep?¡± It was funny that she called the one here to torture her ''Mr.'' especially when she herself pointed out that I was a torturer.


    ¡°How dear you interrupt me peasant.¡± Minister Brea growled at her. Her eyes flew open and locked onto Minister Brea as if watching an entertaining animal. Her eyes no longer the light pink color that all albinos have, which is what I assumed she was. They were stained red. A deep crimson that reflected a cruel and violent nature.


    Minister Brea shivered in face of those eyes. I could not blame him for this reaction but it was unwise to show such a thing to a predator, and that is what she is. Though what kind I do not know. As if to prove my thought a cruel smile surfaced on her face. To get her attention away from Minister Brea I answered.


    ¡°... About three days.¡± Two days of travel from Vasa City and one day in the cell. However she did not need to know this only the total number of days. Understanding flashed through her eyes but she never stopped watching Minister Brea.


    ¡°How could you just answer her like that!¡± Minister Brea yelled angrily at me. Apparently having regained his nerves after I spoke. ¡°You are meant to interrogate her not answer her questions!¡±


    ¡°Now, now <del>Fo...</del> Brea I was answering Mr. Lai''s questions until you came and interrupted. However if you would like to ''interrogate'' me Brea, you are welcome to.¡± She turned her head suggestively. ¡°That is if you can.¡± She provoked Minister Brea apparently finding delight in his anger. Her true goal still remained unknown however I feel that no one should go close. I am not sure what she stopped herself from saying but it doesn''t give me a good feeling.


    ¡°You insulate wretch!¡± Minister Brea shouted. He was so far gone in anger that he missed her delighted giggle at his response to her. A shiver ran down my spine in warning. She is not something I can mess with.


    Minister Brea grabbed his keys and opened the door to the cell while I wasn''t paying attention. I grabbed his shoulder trying to prevent the situation from turning into something irreversible.


    ¡°Minister Brea I wouldn''t do this. It would be best not to get to close to...¡± Minister Brea spun around and slapped me across the face. Completely ignoring the warning i was giving. Her smile widened at the sight and looked at me in warning as if saying ''do not interfere.''


    I frowned as her eyes shifted back to Minister Brea who was walking closer to what could only be a dangerous entity. Minister Brea leaned forward his face centimeters from hers. ¡°Now your place wretch. You are at my mercy. No one will help you and no one will come for you. You will die in this place.¡± His words harsh and would almost certainly bring most to tears however not her. Her smile gain a delighted hint at the corners and an air of satisfaction surrounded her.


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    I was to late in noticing. I am sorry Minister Brea it is my mistake for not stopping you with more force. I admit it was out of morbid curiosity that I did not try to hard and that slap to the face also helped to stay my hand. However I did not wish for this to happen, but thanks to your sacrifice I can say with utter confidence that this thing is not human. No its not even a demon. It is a monster born from our nightmares.


    Before Minister Brea knew what happened her mouth grew wider with horrible sharp teeth. It was as if her jaw unhinged like a snake. She bit into Minister Brea''s neck and tore his flesh. Blood spread everywhere coating her and the wall in blood. Minister Brea gargled one last indistinguishable word before the light died from his horrified eyes.


    She chewed on the flesh and swallowed the blood as if it was the greatest thing in the whole world. Her eyes and mouth now twice as big as they were before. Slowly I shut the door and locked it trying to make as little noise as possible. I wish not to have her attention on me. Her continued interest in her ''meal'' probable had everything to do with not eating for three days.


    That is probable what the understanding was when I told her how long she had slept. What I don''t understand is why she had only shown her interest in eating after Minister Brea walked in. Well it could be just has a preference. I have heard killers have a preference for a certain kind of victim. Why can''t a monster.


    Her long tongue flicked out licking up the blood pooling on the floor. Then with a sickening popping noise she munched on a bone she tore from the body. White claws grew where her fingernails should have been . Becoming over five centimeters long. She pulled forward trying to reach Minister Brea''s body better but was stopped by the chains.


    Confusion and then annoyance flashed across her face. She pulled her hands down in front of her so she could see the lock. I watched nervously at what I am sure was about to happen. She pulled out a strand of hair. Its silvery white color shined in the dim cell. She plunged it into the lock moving it around until a loud click was heard. The chains flew up above her pulled by the wait that now had nothing to counter it.


    She looked up at me a wide smile on her face. Blood and flesh decorated her as if they belonged there. Despite everything she is still beautiful, and that scared me. It was as if she was made to use that to lure in human prey. Because looking at her now that''s what we were to her.


    ¡°Having fun watching Mr. Lai?¡± She asked sweetly playing with a severed finger as if it was a candy. She looked as if she had succeeded in a prank. There was no remorse or discussed in her over the fact that she was eating a human. If anything she just looked greatly satisfied. ¡°Really it has been so long since I have eaten a human. I was doing so well. However Mr. Lai you people of this Church just had to knock me out and then place this delectable morsel in front of me.¡±


    She tsked at me like I was a naughty child. I just watched in silence. It did not seem she expected an answer because she continued. ¡°You asked to know what I am. Look in your books about creatures of water. Maybe you will find your answer. However I suggest you do it quick. I am leaving as soon as I finish my meal. Also leave my stuff there. I wouldn''t have to come find it now would I.¡±


    I nodded my head in response. There was nothing I could do about this monster. It would seem that we needed that Hero after all. For only a monster can fight a monster. I walked away leaving the creature to her meal. I will look in the books like it suggested. My Solace will be angry at me for letting it go, especially after it killed Minister Brea. However for that I ask that my Solace be the one to catch it. I wash my hands of this creature.


    For I know not why it speared me, but I will not risk it again.

 28: The Island

    (Amice POV)


    Quite noise broke through my hazy conciseness. Why am I asleep? Opening my eyes helped little as everything is blurry. Slowly rising to the sitting position I rubbed my eyes in an attempt to focus them.


    Memories came rushing back. Lave laying limply on the ground. A knight dragging her off into the city where I can''t reach her. The water pulling me under as my strength left. I shot up looking around the room wildly. I have to go. I need to find Lave. Confusion and panic had me struggling to get off of the bed.


    ¡°I see your awake.¡± Came a cold voice in the distance. Looking around I spotted a woman wearing unusual cloths standing in the door way. Her brown hair had feathers braided in, cold blue eyes, and a light brown text tattoo that ran down one half of her face. ¡°What no thanks for the one who saved you?¡±


    I frowned slightly. ¡°... Thank you for saving me. If you hadn''t I would''ve drown. However I need to leave. Can you tell me what direction Vasa is in?¡± The more time I waste here the more time Lave is in trouble.


    She raised an eyebrow at my question. ¡° Vasa is about 13 kilometers north west from here. If you wish to leave it may be a bit to difficult for you. However before that you need to answer a few of my questions.¡± The woman sat down in a chair against the wall. ¡°Where did you get this?¡±


    She held up a leather strap neckless with a swirling blue and red pendent. ¡°Give it back.¡± I ordered calmly, annoyed that she had it.


    The lady snorted. ¡°Sure you can have it back after you tell me where you got it.¡± She dangled it as if teasing me. ¡°Really it shouldn''t be that hard of a question to answer. Unless you killed someone for it?¡±


    I scowled. How dare she. ¡°I didn''t kill someone for it. It was given to me by my love. Now hand back my protection charm.¡±


    ¡°P-Protection charm?¡± She stuttered while looking amused. ¡°Oh my dear, this is no protection charm. If anything it could be considered a curse. No mater where you go, who tries to take it, or even if you yourself try to get rid of it, that thing will always be near you.¡± She tossed my neckless back to me.


    I sighed with it back in my possession. Its the only thing Lave has given me. ¡°Good that means I can''t lose it.¡± I said happily looking at the intricate carvings on the back.


    ¡°Yes, you won''t lose it. Though it would probable be better if you did.¡± The lady sighed. ¡°It is never a good thing to receive something from the supernatural.¡±


    ¡°I didn''t receive anything from a supernatural. Lave is human.¡± I retorted while rewearing the neckless.


    ¡°If this Lave is human, then how did it make that? That neckless is a claim. It has claimed you when you accepted that neckless, for whatever reason. That means that it knows where you are at all times and it controls your fate.¡± The lady pulled out a rough pipe and started smoking. ¡°What have you done to attract its attention?¡±


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    ¡°Lave is not an it but a she.¡± I curtly replied. ¡°And if Lave is not human what is she. She looks, walks, talks, and eats like a human. In what way is that anything like a supernatural beast?¡± Getting up from the bed I headed for the door. ¡°Thank you for saving me but I really must go.¡± I walked out with the woman trailing behind. A small cove surrounded by an unusual fog greeted me.


    ¡°Gorgeous isn''t it?¡± She asked while leaning against the wall. ¡°Vasa is that way.¡± Her finger pointing out across the water into the fog. ¡°I suggest you take a boat if you can find one. The water is rough.¡±


    ¡°...¡± I turned back to the lady ¡°Are you serious?¡± She just watched me with an amused smile.


    ¡°To be honest I would never have saved you if you weren''t wearing that thing. However what''s done is done. It would be better if you waited for your ''human friend'' to come and get you.¡± She turned back to the water looking out with longing eyes. ¡°Of course I''m not sure how long that will be.¡±


    ¡°You are welcome to stay with me until then.¡± She said while turning around and walking back into the house. ¡°Also your sword is in the room you were sleeping in. You mustn''t forget your things if you are going to try and leave the island. I don''t want your mortal junk.¡±


    I watched her disappear into the building. ¡°...Where the hell am I?¡± I wondered aloud while watching the waves crash against the shore. With every crash my hopes of leaving this island to save Lave dies. I don''t know how to sail...


    I sit down on the beach looking out across the water. Lave is human isn''t she? I thought back to my time spent with her and all her cute quirks. Her ability to eat the Red Death fruit like it was candy. The fact that she couldn''t speak Common when we first meet. Her fascinating ability to disappear without me noticing. Lastly her many unusual and interesting items. Fiddling with the neckless I thought back to when I received it.


    [ ''Amice take this.'' Lave said while handing it to me. ''Make sure to wear it all the time.'' She turned back to cleaning off her daggers as if she didn''t just give me a gift.


    ''Ah, its so pretty. Thank you Lave. I''m so happy you gave me this!'' I said while putting it on.


    ''... Its a protection charm. It will help when your in a dire situation.'' She mumbled while looking at Gran who was walking back with fire wood. ''Make sure you don''t show it to anyone.'' ]


    I glanced back at the house suddenly very curious about what the woman had to say. Lave will be fine. She is strong and the Church wont kill her off after they went through all that trouble to get her. Plus there''s no way I can get off this island. Standing up while dusting sand off I made my decision. Lets stay here until Lave comes to get me.

 29: Escape

    (Lave POV)


    I licked the last of the blood off my fingers feeling very refreshed. I have so much energy! I thought in a slight haze. Truly after denying yourself your favorite food for an extended period of time it becomes even more delectable.


    Standing up I stretched out my sore muscles. Three days of sleep is not good for the body. Walking to the door I saw my items piled up against the wall. Ah, Lai left my things. He''s such a sweet heart. I cooed while chuckling. And I was looking forward to searching for them. Too bad.


    Inserting my fingernail into the lock I picked the door. A satisfying click resounded through the halls. Counting to make sure all my things are actually here and not hiding else where I placed them back into their proper place. I left my cell and headed for the door at the end of the hall that Lai used. Thankfully I was placed very close to the door.


    The room beyond was deserted. Cards and drinks sat on the table abandoned. ¡°Tsk, he must have ordered them to leave.¡± I mumbled out in irritation. Must I wonder around until I find someone? I walked through the deserted corridors, light only by torchlight, trying to find anyone I can interrogate. However all I found was a maze of empty rock walls. The longer I walked the more annoyed I became.


    ¡°How big is this place!¡± I shouted while glaring at the endless maze. No I will not admit defeat it is just a building. I will tear it down if I have to. A sinister smile floated to my face as I thought of tearing holes through this Goddess forsaken building.


    Light reflected from one of the shadowy corner in the room. I squinted just barely making out the outline of a ladder. Following it up my gaze landed on a conspicuous trap door. I am speechless. Just when did that appear?


    The trap door opened to a very spacious and clean white marble storeroom. Is it a hidden dungeon maze? Honestly it doesn''t seem very smart to have the exit to a dungeon leading to a storeroom. I mean there are so many things you could use as a weapon in here. What if someone escaped from their cell and managed to make it here.Truly an oversight on the Church''s part.


    Spitting out a sigh I began walking down the hall I am hoping leads outside. Honestly I am not very good with Human architecture. My feet slid across the marble leaving small blood stains in my wake. Not long after I spotted what appeared to be a maid. She froze in terror as her eyes landed on me.


    ¡°Oh my, I''ve spotted a weak sister!¡± I cheered. Finally someone I can get some information from. I grabbed her arm before she managed to gather the courage to run. ¡°Why hello there. I was wondering if you would answer some of my questions.¡± I flashed a toothy smile.


    She didn''t respond but she didn''t yank away either. ¡°So ~ lets start with something easy. Where am I?¡± She is trembling badly but still answering my questions as clearly as possible. She truly is easy prey for information. You would think that the Church would be more carful.


    ¡°Ch-Church headquarters.¡± She stuttered with teary eyes. ¡°About an hour f-from Kreen.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now what can you tell me about the Church''s war on Demons?¡± Kreen if I remember correctly is two days away from Vasa. Sigh, two days from the sea. She gulped trying to figure out the best thing to say. ¡°Take your time. However remember that one lie is equal to one injury, and it would be regrettable to get your clothes all dirty.¡±


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    ¡°T-The Demons are trying to k-kill us so we have s-sumoned a H-Hero to save us.¡± She rushed out while taking worried glances at my daggers. ¡°H-Hero Kim will d-defeat the Demons and s-save us all.¡± Taking a deep breath she straitened her back and looked me in the eye. ¡°N-No matter what you do Demon Spy your kind will be the ones to die in the end.¡±


    ¡°Wow, and how did you summon this Hero?¡± Maybe I can get back this way. It would certainly make my life easier. Plus whoever this Hero is sounds troublesome.


    Slight panic filled her eyes. ¡°I d-don''t know. It is a well kept s-secreat of the Priests.¡± I held her eyes making her shiver uncontrollable. ¡°Please! You have to believe me! I know nothing of how the Hero was summoned!¡± Her pleading is irritating especially after she just declared my death.


    ¡°And why should I believe you?¡± Lets play with her a little. I slipped my dagger out and held it gently against her cheek.


    ¡°P-Please Demon Spy I a-am just a h-humble Maid. I-I know nothing of i-importance. S-Spare me.¡± Her trembling grew to the point it was as if she was vibrating, and large tears streamed from her eyes. She would have fell to the ground if I had not been holding her up.


    Placing the dagger against my lips as if thinking I turned my eyes to the ceiling. ¡°Well I guess I could spare you if you show me the way to where they summoned the Hero.¡±


    ¡°Y-yes! Right away.¡± She pulled away slowly trying to see how I would react. I held my grip on the Maid''s arm as we traveled through an untold number of hallways. ¡°H-Here is the room.¡± She pushed the door open and showed me in.


    White. I grimaced. Really everything in this Church is white and gold. However this room was only white. White marble covered the ceilings, the walls, and even the floor. I walked further into the disorienting room dragging the Maid with me. She is my ticket out of this stupid place.


    With a sigh I pulled a vile of green powder from one of my pouches. Really I''m not the most magically sensitive person out there. Thankfully this solves that problem for me. Pulling the cork off with my teeth I sprinkled it into the air. The powder turned into leaves and flowers of varies sizes and colors. The Maid gasped beside me.


    I had a Sprite friend of mine make this to help find hidden traps and magical devices. The flowers and leaves drifted through the room landing on the ground randomly. Once the last leaf landed in place I examined the complex magic circle. The language was one I didn''t know and the circle far to complex for me to ever understand. I''m a warrior not a magian. I guess I''ll just have to capture one of these Priests then. They seem to know how this thing works.


    ¡°Hey, take me to the head Priest around here.¡± I demanded. If I have to capture someone then might as well go for the boss. The Maid looked confused and then panicked.


    ¡°T-That would be impossible. The P-Priests are in Vasa right now. They won''t be back for a-another two days.¡± The Maid shook her head violently to infancies just how ''impossible'' it is.


    ¡°Tsk, then show me the exit. I want to leave this place as soon as possible. Its so boring here.¡±

 30: Back Home

    (Gran POV)


    I kneeled down In front of my King. The journey to Zell was long. It is regretful that I couldn''t bring Amice and Lave with me. However informing my King of the armies making their way here is far more important. I only hope that they are ok. However that is really doubtful from what I saw.


    ¡°Gram you are back.¡± My king said softly while waving his hand for me to rise. ¡°How did your trip go this time. If I remember it was to the north.¡±


    ¡°Yes I found a country called Sol. It is a small country dominated by one religion known as Imperium.¡± I shifted slightly rubbing the scabbed wound on my wrist hidden by my cloths. ¡°It is a religion worshipping one god as the supreme ruler of the world. They are highly militaristic and have a very strict rule on its people.¡±


    ¡°Ho, interesting. And why are you telling me this in a formal audience and not in private like usual?¡± My King''s eyes flashed with interest.


    Stealing myself I looked my King in the eyes. ¡°Sol has declared war on Zell. Their armies are coming here to take what they believe is rightfully theirs.¡± My King sat back in his throne thinking about what I have said.


    ¡°... And they know where Zell is?¡± He asked while pondering.


    ¡°Yes, they are preparing their armies as we speak. They are much more advanced then any of the other places I have seen and much more aggressive.¡±


    My King narrowed his eyes and looked me over. ¡°How are you Gram? Surreally coming from such a place as left you with some injuries.¡±


    ¡°Fortunately not your Majesty. I managed to get away completely unscathed.¡± I smiled.


    My King hummed lightly. ¡°Lucius take Gram to the doctor. I will hear the rest after he has received treatment for his injuries.¡±


    ¡°Yes Sire.¡± Came a calm reply from the side.


    Cold sweat started running down my back. ¡°Really your Majesty you worry to much. I am perfectly fine. We can continue here.¡±


    ¡°If so then you wouldn''t mind a check up anyway.¡± Lucius slowly walked towards me. This is not good.


    Cracking a smile and bowing slightly I spoke. ¡°This is very troubling. I have to give information to the strategists and navy after this so I do not have time for a check up. However I am thankful for your concern.¡±


    ¡°If you are avoiding it so much something must be wrong.¡± My King looked over at Lucius. ¡°Make sure you don''t go easy on him. He seems to be injured.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Lucius pulled out rope from no where.


    I chuckled nervously while backing away. ¡°Now I see no reason for this. I mean its not like I will run away.¡±


    ¡°Then why are you backing away Gram?¡± Asked Lucius seriously. ¡°Its just a little rope. It won''t hurt.¡±


    ¡°Lucius why are you talking like that?¡± I glanced around for any escape routs but all of them were covered by guards.


    ¡°You came back after disappearing for a year with injuries and declaring a country is going to war with us. I am surprised that Lucius waited for me to ask him instead of just dragging you off.¡± My King laughed while watching.


    ¡°Surly you jest Sire. I would never do anything against your orders.¡± Replied Lucius giving my King a sharp look.


    ¡°Achem, yes well I leave Gram to you. I will visit later Gram. Make sure you don''t try to run.¡± My King looked away nervously as Lucius tied a rope around my waist and dragged me off.


    ¡°Hey Lucius you don''t have to tie me up. I won''t run away.¡± Lucius looked down at me sharply completely ignoring my argument. ¡°... Right.¡± We walked quietly through the halls heading to the medical wing. The rope rubbed against my wounds roughly making me flinch. Thankfully he didn''t notice.


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    We walked into Doctor Felan''s room causing her to jump. ¡°For Goddesses sake Lucius. You scared me half to death. At least knock when you come in.¡±


    ¡°Doctor Felan will you look at Gram''s injuries?¡± He said completely unfazed by her complaint.


    ¡°Yes, yes. I''ll do that. Now Gram when did you come back its been a year since I last saw you.¡± She sighed. ¡°Really you should come back more often the King and Lucius worry about you. Traveling around by yourself as you do.¡±


    I laughed while untying the rope. ¡°You know that I love to travel, and its much easier to travel alone.¡±


    ¡°You have been saying that for years. What would you do if something happens. You do know that it worries me as your Mother to watch you go out into the ocean all by yourself not knowing what has happened to you. Honestly its surprising that you haven''t been seriously injured yet.¡±


    ¡°Well its what I have always wanted to do. Anyways can I have my check up in private? I would rather not have Lucius watching my every move.¡± I asked Mom hoping she would understand.


    ¡°Yes I don''t see why not. Lucius why don''t you wait outside. I know you''ve been friends forever but somethings are only for families to see.¡± She said with a wink. He nodded and walked out shutting the door.


    ¡°What is wrong with you? Why would you say that?¡± I asked in disbelief.


    ¡°What? Is there something wrong with what I said?¡± She questioned while placing a hand on her hip. ¡°As your Mother I am aloud to know everything about you. Now you will show me what is so wrong with you that you couldn''t even hide it like you normally do.¡±


    With a sigh I took off my shirt reveling scars, scabbed and fresh healing wounds. Some where even bleeding in the place where the rope had rubbed against it. Mom coldly looked at the injuries assessing the damage.


    ¡°What the hell have you done?¡± She asked darkly while quickly pulling out ointments, needles, thread, and bandages. ¡°These wounds are from torture and not anything light. How are you even walking? Sit on the chair now.¡±


    I quietly sat down not wanting to anger her even more. She clicked her tongue when she saw my wrists. ¡°Take off your pants as well I''m sure that their are more injures on your legs.¡± I silently complied to the order. ¡°For fucks sake Gram. What is wrong with you. You should have had this treated as soon as you got here.¡±


    ¡°It was unavoidable. I needed to see the King first.¡± I calmly replied.


    She just narrowed her eyes at me. ¡°I guess I should be happy you aren''t dead then? Now you can''t bluff me. I am a Doctor. These wounds show months of torture. Tell me. When you didn''t send a letter for the last year where were you?¡±


    ¡°Its nothing to worry about Mom. It looks a lot worse than it really is. I should be back to normal in no time.¡± I answered with a smile. We both knew I was bluffing.


    ¡°I will treat your injuries however I can''t use numbing agent on all of these.¡± She glared at me sharply. ¡°It is not that I don''t want to, but I don''t have enough and some of these are to serious for me to use it. As such Lucius will hold you down.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I asked dumbfounded. ¡°M-Mom I don''t need to be held down. I''m sure I can hold still for you. Please don''t have Lucius come in here.¡± She grunted.


    ¡°You brought this upon yourself. Lucius come in here and hold my stupid son down while I treat him.¡± She called to the door. She turned back to me a cold look in her eye. ¡°You will tell me who did this to you and they will wish that they never even dared to lay their grubby little hands on my son.¡± Cold sweat ran down my back in rivers as I watched my Mother.

 30.5: Priestess Isda

    (Isda POV)


    I sat alone gazing into the reflecting pool in the back garden of the Church. It is truly a beautiful sight watching the ripples travel from one side to the other. Steps came running down the rock path disturbing the tranquility of this place.


    Placing my book down on the bench I gave my full attention to my rushing attendant. Gasping for breath she tried to steady herself. ¡°Priestess! Have you heard about Vasa?!¡±


    With a quite sigh I watched the attendant pull herself together. ¡°If you are talking about the dock being burned down and a Demon spy being caught red handed, then yes. The spy should be in the cells right now.¡± I opened my book back up to continue where I left off.


    ¡°Yes, well there is something else that you should know.¡± The attendant shifted nervously. ¡°Your daughter Amice was at the scene as well. She seemed to be helping the Demons...¡±


    I froze. ¡°What? Amice was helping the Demons?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes. The town guards reported her entering with a man she claimed to be her escort. Later she was seen fighting the patrols killing several Holy Knights and helping a Demon spies escape.¡± I sighed while grabbing the bridge of my nose. That girl...


    Closing the book I stood up and headed to the door. ¡°Where is Hal?¡± Its all his fault she turned out like this.


    ¡°With the Holy Knights, training them.¡± She replied while hurrying after me.


    ¡°Of course he is.¡± Really if her father weren''t such a battle nut she never would have turned out this way. She is already has a bounty on her head in several provence, and now she''s gone and helped the Demon spies. Another sigh escaped my lips.


    Exiting into the training grounds I found Hal lecturing the knights on a proper sword grip. ¡°Hal we need to talk.¡± I said forcing his attention on me.


    ¡°Of course my darling. What do we need to talk about?¡± He asked a silly grin on his face. ¡°You lot go practice your sword grip! My Wife needs me!¡± The knights scurried off making themselves busy. Really no matter how many years pass he is still the same idiot.


    ¡°... Its about our daughter.¡± I started trying to calm down.


    ¡°What has our Angel achieved this time? Saved a damsel in distress? Brought an end to a corrupt lord? Oh maybe she is fighting unspeakable evil.¡± My eye lid began twitching in irritation.


    ¡°No. She has attacked the harbor city Vasa. Setting flames to the port and helped a Demon Spy to escape the Holy Knights killing several in the process.¡± I coldly stated.


    ¡°Has she? Well good on her. It was about time. Vasa needed an update in architecture. It was starting to get depressing.¡± This Idiot!


    ¡°You do realize that this means that our daughter is now wanted by the Church? She has helped an enemy and even killed Church soldiers. The least punishment she will get is life inpmresenment and at most death.¡± I glared at Hal trying to explain how dangerous this situation really is. ¡°Not only that the Church could declare that we raised a heretic and kill us.¡±


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    ¡°Now, now honey, you worry to much. Even if the Church does declare this we can just escape. It isn''t that hard to do. Plus aren''t you happy that Amice is following what she whats to do? Sure we might have to fight her on the battlefield, but that only means I get to see how much she has grown.¡± Hal''s laughter echoed through the courtyard causing a few of the knights to look at him.


    ¡°Hal you are the reason she turned out this way! I mean really she has a bounty on her head and is wanted by the Church. Why did you have to teach her swordsmanship? If only she had followed in my footsteps and became a priestess.¡± My frustration escaping me.


    ¡°Oh come on. Its not like if I didn''t teach her she never would have learned. She has alway been like this.¡± He countered happily. ¡°I just can''t imagine her sitting quietly reading books and reflecting on the troubles of the world. In fact just thinking about it is creepy.¡±


    I sighed heavily. ¡°It has nothing to do with weather she would have learned the sword in the end or not. Why does she have your personality? At least if you hadn''t of taught her she wouldn''t be this strong. Now she just runs wild like she''s invincible. This is why we didn''t have anymore children.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Isda...¡± Hal began panicked.


    ¡°No, don''t. If we fight our child in this coming war. We will have to kill her. This is all because she has decided to fight with the Demons. Really, what am I going to do? Both my daughter and my husband are idiots.¡±


    ¡°... Priestess it is time.¡± The attendant said while looking apologetic about interrupting our talk.


    ¡°So it is. Hal today we will come to a decision about the war with the Demons. I want you to be prepared to answer your assignment. I''m sure that we will be called into question because of this.¡±


    ¡°Well we could always run Honey. Its not like they would be able to catch us.¡± Hal said carefully. ¡°I have been wanting to retire for a while now. I''m sure my people would be more than willing to hide us as well.¡±


    ¡°If it was that easy we would have already done so. However life is never the way we wish it. Plus as the Priestess I cannot retire until death. Why wish for something impossible? Instead pray that Amice goes off somewhere else and doesn''t enter this war.¡± I turned and followed the attendant to the meeting hall. If it were so simple as to have Hal''s family hide us then we would have stayed here after Amice received her first bounty. I switched my thoughts to our energetic daughter. Truly she got her since of adventure and justice from her father. My Imperium guide you my dear Amice for if not I fear that tragedy will strike our family.

 31: So I Walked

    (Lave POV)


    I grabbed a tree branch and twirled it around like a baton. So boring! Walking through the forest instead of the main road helps to keep me from the eyes of the Church however it did nothing to satisfy my boredom. Maybe I should walk on the main road and draw attention to myself. Then I can get information on the priests from whoever attacks me.


    Even though that would relieve my boredom it would also make this trip twice as difficult. I really don''t want to be here. Honestly I wish to avoid this little war. If I can avoid it and head back home then that would be great. Plus I need to train the new recruits. Well Boss can always get someone else to do that.


    Pulling out a dagger I started carving patterns into the stick. I should arrive in Vasa by sunset. It has already been about a day since I left the Church. Normally it would take two days by carriage however that was if you followed the road. On the other hand it is only two days walking distance if you cut through the woods.


    Coming across a clearing with a small watering hole I decided to take a brake. Hopping onto a rock I dipped my feet into the water and relaxed. A Holy War was something I absolutely wanted to avoid being involved in. They are one of the most bloody and unethical wars that can be waged. Its basically genocide in the name of a deity.


    Looking up into the bright blue sky I thought back on the days when my parents were still alive. Our small little cove hidden from sight from both the Humans and the other Mythics. I traced my hand across the ancient words printed into my skin. No matter how much time passes the words will never fade.


    [ ¡°Mor Murch¨² it is time.¡± Taking a deep breath I steeled myself. Today I would receive my story. Swimming to the back of the dark cave the old Mer Witch sat on a bone chair behind a flat stone pedestal. Her seaweed green hair floated around untamed. Black eyes locked onto mine. ¡°Lay down.¡± She commanded her voice dry and cracking despite the water.


    I laid down, the pedestal cold against my bare skin. A needle stabbed sharply into my back drawing blood. With each stab the pain doubled. Images flashed across my eyes to fast to understand, however the emotions were clear. Pain, fear, sadness, anger, resolve, a cold hatred. With the last stab the images faded as I laid there breathing heavily.


    I turned to ask the Mer Witch but stopped short when I saw tears streaming down her face. ¡°My child...¡± she seemed unsure how to continue. ¡°The Coventina has given you a harsh path. One that will put you through many hardships. However do not despair. You are the hope of this Cove.¡± She drew a shaky breath. ¡°Come and see me everyday after your training. I have much to teach you.¡±


    She handed me a black band. ¡°Tie your hair with this and tell no one what you saw or felt. Your story is one that should only be known to you. Become strong Mer Murch¨² no The Hunting Dog of Sc¨¢thach Cove. ]


    The wind blew through the clearing signaling a change in weather. A snort drew my attention. ¡°Ho, a Helhest?¡± A beautiful black feathered horse stood watching me warily. Its three taloned legs making it have an odd since of unbalance. It stomped its back foot at me and bared its teeth. ¡°A horse said to spread pestilence and death. However seeing as how the plants are fine then you must be different.¡±


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    The Helhest whinnied and puffed its feathers out making itself look bigger. ¡°Now now, why are you so aggressive?¡± I leisurely stood up causing the Helhest to take a step back. ¡°I was just lamenting how it would take the rest of the day to walk to Vasa.¡± A smile spread across my face as I walked towards the Helhest. Its claws dug into the dirt unsure weather to fight or run. I pushed off the ground making it seem like I teleported in front of it when all I did was jump. Placing my hand on the soft feathers between the eyes, the Helhest froze.


    ¡°How would you like to give me a ride to Vasa?¡± I asked while tilting my head to the side. The Helhest lowered its head trying to make itself small and unimportant. I laughed. ¡°This is why I like animals they are so easy to understand.¡±


    Swinging my leg over its back I patted its side. The Helhest shivered but moved forward without further urging. He is such a good horse. All I had to do was either tap his left or right side and he would turn that way. It only took an hour for the Helhest to weave its way through the forest and to the edge of Vasa.


    Jumping off while it was still running I skidded to a halt. The Helhest immediately turned and ran back into the forest. ¡°Thanks for the ride!¡± I called to the terrified horse. It is such a cute creature. I wish I could keep it.


    Storm clouds had already fully formed by this point causing the sky to darken. Hm, should I sneak into the city or just walk in? The Priests should be staying somewhere in the city. Drops of water began falling. I''ll just walk in. I made my way to the gate where a crowed of people covered in cloaks to stay dry in the rain where trying to shove there way in.


    I walked up beside a carriage and pulled a cloak from one of the bags. Its faded grey color blended in with the rest. I wove my way up to the mob at the front. The two guards are completely overwhelmed by the people. ¡°Everyone form a line!¡± One called while the other checked Ids. Making sure the sword I took from the Holy knight in Haze is clearly visible, I pulled out one of the pendents and tied it to the cloak like a broach.


    ¡°Id card.¡± Asked the Guard with out looking up at me.


    ¡°Where are the Priests?¡± I asked completely ignoring his question. My voice cold an unfeeling. The Guard paused and looked at me. His eyes going from the pendent to the sword.


    ¡°... They are staying at the Church just down...¡±


    ¡°Take me there.¡± My tone showing that I would accept nothing but a positive answer. The Guard shifted uncomfortably under my gaze.


    ¡°I''m sorry Ma''am, but I have to...¡±


    ¡°Take me to the Priests.¡± My tone growing colder.


    ¡°Yes, of course.¡± The Guard looked very shaken. ¡°Jeff I''ll be right back. You handle the gate.¡±


    ¡°What? No you can''t leave me here alone!¡± Called the other Guard as we walked to the to the Church. Soon I will learn how to get back to Earth.

 32: Food And Lore

    (Amice POV)


    ¡°Why are you so sure that Lave isn¡¯t Human?¡± I asked the Lady as she cooked dinner. I had tried to help earlier but was told to sit down. After deciding to stay I was told that I was not to touch anything in this house unless it is where I am sleeping.


    ¡°Hm, well what makes you think it is Human?¡± She asked back without looking away from the stew.


    I frowned having my question ignored, but answered anyway. ¡°A lot of things actually. She fights using daggers with extreme skill. She gambles for money at the inn to be able to pay for the room and food. She eats, speaks, and walks like a human. Lastly she shows emotions. What supernatural creature would have a need for weapons when fighting or money to buy food? How would a being of magic be able to show emotions and actively solve problems?¡±


    A loud snort sounded. ¡°And what supernatural being can not do all of those things? No, I am sorry. You would not know the truth behind magical creatures. You are to young and have seen to little. Also from what I heard the one you meet must be quite old.¡± The lady placed two bowls of stew on the table so we could eat.


    ¡°Your ¡®friend¡¯ should have a few quirks that you noticed. Things that can¡¯t go unnoticed.¡± She slowly ate the food while waiting for my response.


    ¡°¡­ She ate the Red Death Fruit and lived¡­¡± I am reluctant to reveal this because it is very strange. No one can eat that and live. However Lave seemed to be addicted to it after eating it. It concerns me!


    The lady burst out laughing. ¡°Yes! I would definitely say that you can¡¯t ignore a fruit known to kill, being consumed and managing to live through it.¡± She clutched her stomach as if in pain while trying to catch her breath. ¡°Really was this creature even trying to hide the fact that it isn¡¯t Human? Who just goes and eats that thing in front of others?¡±


    I watched with cold eyes as the lady gasped for air. If she doesn¡¯t stop calling Lave an ¡®it¡¯ or a ¡®thing¡¯ soon I¡¯ll cut her. I thought darkly. ¡°Little One let me teach you about supernatural creatures. Knowledge that used to be common but has been lost through time. A story as old as the beginning of time.¡± She took a deep breath and leveled her eyes on me.


    ¡°In the beginning there was nothing. No heat or life only a vast emptiness. As time past this vast emptiness slowly formed into a solid object. More and more gathered together to create a world. World after world was formed throughout the empty space.¡± I quietly ate the soup as the story continued.


    ¡°As more time past life was born on some of the worlds. These first beings were born on a barren wasteland. There where many different kinds of creatures born. Some where weak and others are strong. Maybe it was dumb and another was smart. They may have lived alone or in groups. One maybe aggressive while another one was shy. However they all lived on these barren worlds.¡± She paused and took a sip of tea as if to gather her thoughts.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°As they grew they discovered that they had powers to shape the environment around them. Some moved rock creating mountains, valleys, and dirt. Another had the power over flame making lava and fire. Others had power over water forming lakes, rivers, and oceans. Lastly some had power over the wind causing cold air to sweep down from the nothing and freeze the earth, water, and fire. However the winds would also bring heat from the lava causing water to vanish, ice to melt, and fires to spread.¡±


    Her eyes locked onto mine. ¡°These are what we first called the ¡®Gods¡¯. They killed and procreated with each other. They cared not for the passage of time and lived through life as if they were the only ones alive. However they weren¡¯t. While the ¡®Gods¡¯ fought and created they spread magic power through the air. This magic can be found in everything. The air, water, earth, and fire are saturated with it. This ramped power was left alone.¡±


    ¡°As the years passed the power gained consciousness. It formed bodies for it to move and live. The power took on many forms and had powers of their own. This was the beginning of what we call Supernatural beings or magical creatures. Just like the ¡®Gods¡¯ they fought and lived. Forming families creating more. The ¡®Gods¡¯ continued on ignoring the life around them. Disasters would occur caused by the ¡®Gods¡¯ fights.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°If this is the beginning of the world like you said then why do we exist? Humans are not magical creatures and there is hardly any magic to be seen.¡±


    The Lady smirked. ¡°Yes, well there is hardly any magic that Humans know of now. Also not all things where born of magic. The Supernatural creatures continued to shape the environment around them to suit their needs. From these changes came life of a different kind. This life did not have the powers that Supernatural creatures possessed and just like the ¡®Gods¡¯ the Supernatural beings ignored this new life.¡±


    ¡°And just like the ¡®Gods¡¯ and Supernatural creatures before them they fought and formed families. However these beings did not ignore the other two. This new life saw the first creatures of the world as ¡®Gods¡¯ and called them such. This was caused by the fact that their power was so vast that they could not imagine it. From then on all extremely powerful beings where referred to as ¡®Gods¡¯. Next they saw the Supernatural creatures as servants of these ¡®Gods¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Humans where one of the more intelligent creatures to have been born from these none magical beings. They saw the Supernatural creatures not as servants of the ¡®Gods¡¯ but ¡®Demons¡¯ that held fake power. However some of the Humans fell in love with these Supernatural creatures. Humans that lived with the Supernaturals where taught magic and those born from the two held great power. Thus magic was given to the Humans which are a non-magical race. ¡°


    She sipped her tea as if to declare the end of the story. ¡°If this is true then why is there not any magic today? Why are there no Supernatural creatures to be found? Where are these Gods that caused disaster with their battles?¡± I have so many questions! This was such a different view from the Imperious Church however it sounded more plausible.


    ¡°Shush little one, I will answer your questions.¡± The Lady smiled sadly. ¡°There is ¡®no magic¡¯, as you put it, around because the knowledge was lost in the great wars. It should be a war that you are familiar with. It is when the first other worlder was summoned to kill the ¡®Demon¡¯ King. Many of the Supernatural creatures where killed during this war and the rest went into hiding. After the war new organizations formed and hoarded or destroyed any documents with magical information. The knowledge was restricted and over time forgotten.¡±


    ¡°As for the ¡®Gods¡¯ well, they pretty much killed each other off. The ¡®Gods¡¯ didn¡¯t make it much longer after the non-magical beings were born. Either killed by other ¡®Gods¡¯ or entered into a deep rest. Either way no one has heard from them since around 2 thousand years ago.¡± She paused. ¡°Well at least on this world. I can not speak for any of the others.¡±

 33: Strategy

    (Gram POV)


    With a large sigh I walked down the hallway to the war council. It has been four days since I¡¯ve come back and Lucius has refused to leave my side. Ever since he saw those injuries he has been watching me like a hawk refusing to let me out of his sight.


    This is exactly what I was hoping to avoid. I thought sadly while walking into the tense meeting room. Twelve people sat at the only piece of furniture in the room with papers thrown all over the place. A world map that has just been updated is placed firmly in the middle. Lucius walked to a corner in the room and stood quietly.


    Grabbing a paper from the floor I read over the contents.


    [ 26 war ships


    50 transport ships


    8 legions of Soldiers


    6 legions of Calvary


    ¡­ ]


    The list continued on about our military forces. ¡°So why is a confidential paper like this thrown on the floor?¡± I questioned the room. Even though the information wasn¡¯t entirely accurate it is still problematic if it falls into the hands of another Kingdom.


    The problem with a war starting with the Imperium Church is that it leaves us open to attack from a far stronger nation. I frowned as the people continued completely ignoring my question. With a sigh I ran my hand through my hair and sat down in an open chair waiting for this meeting to start.


    I have already given all the information I could to these people, but the King still wanted me in this meeting. Shifting my eyes to the map I thought back to the years spent exploring and each update I added. It was originally only a couple of islands around our land, but now it has filled out quite a bit. With each new land mass I found a new paper would be tacked on. This had created a patch work of paper claiming to be a map. However I bet this is also the most accurate map found in this world.


    My Kingdom Zell is considered one of the five strongest on this land. That is the problem one of five. If we were to be attacked by Imperium then that would leave us open to any other attacks. Sure we could divide the forces and have some defend against Imperium and the rest stay here at the capital just in case, but that is only a botched plan at best. Plus their confidence in winning the war has me worried.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Despite having never sailed very far from land they are to sure. It makes me feel as if they have something up their sleeve. Thousands of possibilities ran through my head while I gazed down at the map. However none of them seemed to be right. Focusing my attention back on the advisers I sighed.


    The royal door near the head of the table opened up signaling the king¡¯s arrival. Everyone stood and kneeled in greeting. ¡°Begin the meeting.¡± He demanded while taking a seat. His gaze falling on the messy table.


    ¡°Mr. Felan has provided some interesting information.¡± Begin a man on the other side of the table. ¡°However I do not see how this is of any importance to us. A small under developed Kingdom is planing to attack us? This is beyond foolish. It is much better to keep our focus on our borders and ignore¡­ Sol was it?¡±


    I knew this would happen. Several of the other nobles agreed. I watched in silence. There was nothing I could say or do that will influence this conference in a good way. ¡°I see, and what do you suggest Duke Dyerich?¡± The King asked while petting his beard. A bad habit he gained after he grew it. ¡°Leave alone a Kingdom that has threatened us?¡±


    A thin smile appeared on Duke Dyerich¡¯s face. ¡°Yes. Why should we worry over a small group of people that pose no threat. We should be more focused on the threat on our borders instead.¡±


    A scoff came from my right. ¡°Even if you do not see them as a threat Duke Dyerich, I do. They may be under developed and speak of foolish plans, but they still wish to attack a country mightier than there own. Stories like theirs are how ¡®Heros¡¯ are born.¡±


    The Duke clicked his tongue. ¡°Then what do you suggest Baron Eydu? That we leave our borders open to attack while we deal with what can be considered raids at most?¡±


    ¡°We destroy their fleet before it even leaves dock. Taking a few ships over to their port we can effectively nip the bud before it blooms. This will prevent the ¡®raids¡¯ and still leave us with ample troops for defending our borders.¡± Baron Edyu suggested.


    ¡°I do belive that you are severely underestimating the enemy.¡± Interjected someone from the left. Everyone turned to see who. ¡°History has proven that ¡®Heros¡¯, Like the Baron said, rise from these kinds of situations. Take the Meborg Kingdom as an example. They used to be a small town under the United Wara Empire. However one day they rose up against the Wara Empire and won independence. In one of the battles a Hero was born and lead the Kingdom to many more victories.¡±


    He turned his eyes to the King. ¡°It would be better to take this threat more seriously, my King. History has shown that the foolish have extraordinary luck when it comes to war. Added on to that this Sol has an over zealous religion that controls its people I would say that the threat is actually quite large.¡±


    ¡°You worry to much Jaras.¡± Came a joking reply from someone near the end of the table. ¡°You should relax more.¡±


    Jaras smiled and bowed. ¡°It is as you say Sir Rowle. However as the record keeper I have read many texts about this exact situation.¡±


    The meeting continued some saying we should ignore the Sol Kingdom and others saying we should destroy it before it becomes more of a threat. At this point I have lost interest. No matter what is chosen we will end up fighting against Sol. My only hope is that we do not end up fighting a war on two or more fronts.

 34: False Knight

    (Lave POV)


    I arrived in front of what can only be described as an obnoxious building. Its grandiose pillars, pointed spires, and two four meter tall white marble statues guarding the entrance as if they were foo dogs, seemed as if it looked down on the world. Looking at this narcissistic excuse of a building I can only snort in distain.


    [ Is it really necessary to have a building like this? ] ¡°I mean I can understand wanting to worship in a nice place but this is going a little overboard.¡± I mumbled under the rain.


    ¡°Did you say something?¡± Asked the guard nervously. As he fiddled with his hands.


    ¡°No.¡± I replied curtly while waving my hand in a silent order to leave. He saluted and walked back to the gate leaving me to my task.


    Walking in through the large open doors I searched for a Priest. [ If I find one then he''ll lead me to the head. ] The inside continued with its overbearing design. Pews sat in neat rows facing a statue of their God? Goddess?... gender ambiguous deity.


    A few people sat around with their head bowed. I slowly made my way to the front glancing into any dark alcoves I passed. Sadly none of the Priests are out in the front. Turning to the right I made my way to the first door I noticed. With any luck it will lead to the inner sanctum.


    ¡°Holy Knight.¡± A soft voice called from the pews. I stopped and turned searching for the cause. A small boy stood at the front row shifting nervously from foot to foot.


    I tilted my head slightly. ¡°Yes little one?¡± Worry and stress clearly showed on the boys face. [ This might be troublesome. ]


    ¡°I ne... If posible can you help me?¡± I clicked my tongue internally. ¡°I k-know its against the rules. However please, please help me.¡± His voice wavering and never getting above a whisper. [ Against the rules? ] I frowned causing him to drop this eyes to the floor.


    ¡°... What is the problem?¡± I asked cursing myself. [ Why care? You have a goal already. Adding more problems to take care of increases the risk. ] I glanced at the door that I was only hoping lead to the Priests. [ Plus there are probable wanted posters still up. I have only made it this far undetected because of the rain. ]


    The boy spoke unaware of my inner ranting. ¡°I-Its my Mother. She''s sick. The Doctor has said there is nothing they can do. B-But,¡± He looked back up at me with determination. ¡°If it is a blessing from Imperious i''m sure that Mother will be cured. Please I beg you, help me.¡±


    I cringed. [ An illness? Is that something you ask a Holy Knight for? Isn''t that more of a Priest thing? I don''t want to be involved. ] Looking at the little boy begging me with tears in his eyes, I sighed in defeat. I have a fondness for small things and it has worked against me many time in the past. ¡°I will help you little one. Take me to her.¡±


    A smile broke out on his face. ¡°Follow me.¡± With one last glance at the door I followed the boy out of the Church. We made our way into a run down area of Vasa. Streets narrowed down into dark alleyways creating a maze. The boy suddenly stopped. ¡°Here we are.¡± A small stone building with graffiti painted across it and a very worn wooden door greeted me. ¡°Mother I''m back!¡±


    ¡°Oh Theo, welcome home.¡± A pale skinny woman slowly made her way to the door. Her clouding eyes showing that she was losing her vision. I frowned. Whatever was causing this was shutting down her system. ¡°Who is with you?¡±


    ¡°She is a Holy Knight I meet at the Church. She said she would help.¡± He replied happily. Worry and panic appeared on her face. I stepped in shutting the door behind me. I sniffed the air smelling the distinct metallic tang of magic. My frown deepened. There are very few places that I have smelled magic in this world and so far it has all been the pure sting of Holy magic.


    ¡°I am sorry Sir Holy Knight. My son didn''t know what he was doing please ignore us and go on your way. We did not mean to interrupt your day.¡± She pleaded while pulling her son behind her.


    ¡°But Moth...¡±


    ¡°Be quite Theo.¡± She cut angrily. ¡°He is still young and doesn''t understand what he has done. Please overlook it.¡± I looked around the room seeing only a small kitchen with a dining table and a door leading to where she came from. [ The bedroom? ]


    ¡°It is fine.¡± I said blandly. Relief showed on her face. ¡°However there are a couple of questions I have.¡± She froze. ¡°Why do I smell magic?¡±


    Theo tilted his head. ¡°Magic?¡±


    ¡°Go to the room Theo.¡± She ordered while facing me squarely blocking the path to the back room and Theo. He lowered his head and walked away without complaint. When the door shut she begin admitting bloodthirst.


    ¡°Ho,¡± I said impressed with the change. ¡°Do you intend to fight me?¡± She observed me quietly. ¡°Well I only asked why I smelt magic its not like that question is worthy of attack. Unless I have been unintentionally rude. If so I will take my leave as you suggested.¡±


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°You can not leave.¡± She replied still not making a move. No doubt hesitant due to her failing eyesight and the unknown strength of her opponent.


    ¡°If I can''t leave and I can''t stay what should I do?¡± I asked with a slight laugh. [ With any luck she should know something about the magic here. ]


    She pushed her foot forward while lowering her center of gravity. ¡°Do not play with me Knight.¡± She spat the word out like a curse.


    ¡°Well isn''t that great. Since I''m not a knight I can play with you all I want.¡± I leisurely made my way to the table and sat down. ¡°Now as much fun as it would be to fight you I was asked by your son to heal your illness.¡± She watched me on guard trying to process what I said. ¡°From the looks of it your body is slowly failing you. Do you happen to know what you are sick with?¡± I asked while pulling things out of my pouches and placing them on the table.


    She relaxed her body but stayed on guard waiting for the attack she assumed would happen. ¡°... Fade.¡± I frowned at the unfamiliar name.


    ¡°What are the symptoms of Fade?¡±I pulled out a paper to write them down. I should be able to treat the symptoms even if I do not know the illness.


    Taking a seat on the other side closest to the door Theo was behind she analyzed my tools. ¡°It is as you stated. The slow shut down of the body. It starts with the senses and then moves to the organs.¡±


    ¡°Is that so. Well how far along are you?¡± I pulled out several vials of varying colored liquids.


    ¡°... Taste and smell. I will lose my sight by the end of the month.¡± She replied while squinting at the vials. ¡°What are those?¡±


    ¡°Medicine. Well its good that you aren''t very far along in this disease. If you were to far it would have been more trouble then its worth.¡± I picked up a vial filled will cloudy yellow liquid and dunked a small sponge chunk in it. Next I rolled it in some dried green powder causing it to stick to the outside. Lastly I pricked my finger and let a drop of blood fall onto it causing it it glow a sickly yellow green. ¡°Now then shall we cure your loss of smell and taste. I''ll have to make something else for your eyes but this should be a good start.¡±


    She looked at the glowing ball in distaste. ¡°I''m not touching that.¡± She said as if there was room for argument.


    ¡°Is that so? Well then I guess you are going to die a slow and painful death. It matters not to me. I am only doing this because the little one asked me to. Weather you actually use it is up to you.¡±


    She looked at the ball in disgust. ¡°... Are there no other treatments then this?¡±


    ¡°I have no idea. First off I don''t know what the Fade is so all I can do is treat the symptoms.¡± Pulling out my cloudy purple eye drop vial. I shook it while frowning. [ I wonder if this will work. ] Taking a cup that was set on the table I poured some in with iridescent white powder. Mixing the two together caused it to become clear. [ Well at least it is reacting the same. ] ¡°Here drop three drops into each eye.¡±


    She just sighed as if giving up on resisting. ¡°What do I do with the glowing death ball?¡± She asked while dripping the concoction onto her eyes.


    ¡°Eat it.¡± Replied causing her so sigh again.


    ¡°I thought so.¡± Finishing the drops she grabbed the ball and quickly swallowed. ¡°I hope this doesn''t kill me.¡± She grumbled.


    ¡°Yes, well I hope so to. It would be very annoying if it does.¡± Placing my items back into their proper place. Her eyelid twitched in annoyance.


    ¡°... So how long will it take to heal?¡± She is still cautious of me which I find strange because she took the medication. [ If I don''t trust someone I''m definitely not putting strange and toxic looking things in my mouth. Well whatever. ]


    ¡°Somewhere between an hour and six days. It will depend on how much your body is fighting the medication.¡± [ Though if you were a mermaid it would take at most an hour. ]


    ¡°I see. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Don''t thank me. Instead answer my questions. Why is there so little magic in this world? You are the first one I have smelt something other than Holy.¡± She looked hesitant for a moment.


    ¡°If you are looking for answers about magic then go to an island in the south. It is surrounded by a thick fog but if you make it there you will be able to get all the answers you need.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Well I will take your word for it.¡± I stood and headed for the door. ¡°I suggest that you keep your magic under control if you are trying to hide it. This entire house reeks of it.¡± [ Now then lets go meet those Priests. Hopefully I will not have to go to this Island to get the answers I want. ]

 35: Lets Have A Chat

    (Lave POV)


    I stood in front of the door headed into what I assume is the private corders for the staff of this Church. Ok lets try this again. With my face hidden under my cloak I walked purposely down the marble corridor. Through the many infiltration missions I¡¯ve found that no one really questions you if you look like you know what your doing. On the other hand any sort of hesitation will cause someone to come ¡®help¡¯ you.


    Reaching a door on the right I opened it to find a small empty room. Ah, I think this is a prayer room. Nodding to myself I continued on down the hallway. Four more prayer rooms and a closet later I heard voices.


    ¡°Is it true that Minister Brae has died?¡± A strong voice asked in disbelief. Minister Brae?


    ¡°Yes, I heard it was quite gruesome. The Solace is very upset about it. Apparently he went to visit the Demon in the dungeon only to be killed by it.¡± Another replied in a whisper. Ah, their talking about Food.


    A snort came from the other side of the door. ¡°And what did Sir Lai do? There¡¯s no way Minister Brae went to the dungeons without him.¡± The strong voice asked completely disregarding the others need to whisper.


    ¡°That¡¯s the thing. It seems Sir Lai did nothing. He just watched Minister Brae get killed and then let the Demon escape.¡± The whispering voice responded. ¡°The Solace is furious at him and has Sir Lai under house arrest until the matter is resolved.¡± Poor Mr. Lai. Did they take your inaction as cowardice?


    ¡°Is that so? Well it can¡¯t be helped then. What news of the Hero?¡± I leaned against the wall as if guarding the door. ¡°Has he made any progress?¡±


    ¡°Not yet. However it hasn¡¯t even been a week since we summoned him. It takes time to build strength.¡± The voice reasoned.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see why we needed to summon that Heathen in the first place.¡± Came an irritated reply. ¡°We have plenty of strength already. Surly we have enough for one simple invasion.¡±


    ¡°Heros are legendary existences that surpass the means of us humans. With him our victory is assured.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that our Lord Imperious will not grant us victory?¡± The voice now much deeper then before.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°N-No! Of course not! I would never dream of such a thing! I was just saying that the Hero just makes our victory easier.¡±


    A grunt sounded out followed by violent coughing. ¡°Get out. It seems your faith is lacking. Go prey to Imperious for his guidance.¡±


    ¡°¡­ yes¡­¡± The door opened as a man stumbled out into the hallway clutching his stomach. He glanced at me for a second before wondering down the hallway.


    ¡°I can see that you run a tight ship here Mr. Priest.¡± I said pulling the door shut behind me. A desk sat at the edge of the room pilled with papers. While a man stood leaning against it with a glass of brown liquid in his hand. I sniffed the air and smiled. Alcohol. Spotting the container off to the side I wondered over and poured some for myself. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind. I¡¯m very parched from my long journey here.¡±


    Relaxing down in an armchair the man raised an eyebrow appraising me. ¡°¡­ Not at all. How may I help you Miss. Knight.¡± He took as sip but didn¡¯t move from his spot. If he was upset he didn¡¯t show it. Interesting.


    ¡°Well you see I heard that if I wanted to know about the Hero summoning I needed to talk to a Priest. However all the Priests where gone when I came back from my mission.¡± I took a sip of the alcohol only to be surprised by the sweet flavor. I hummed in appreciation. ¡°This is quite good.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad it is to your taste.¡± He replied with a smile. ¡°Beg my pardon, but why would a knight like to know about the Hero summoning?¡±


    ¡°Well you see as a knight I am quite interested in this other world. If there is another world these Heroes are coming from then isn¡¯t it only right that we can go to this other world? If so I was hoping to spread the word of Lord Imperious. By force of course.¡± I patted my sword with a viscous smile. ¡°However it is truly a shame as I know nothing about the summoning so I have no way to spread the word in this other world.¡±


    ¡°¡­ It is a pity. However the summoning is a church secrete. You could need the express permission from Our Solace to know about it.¡±


    ¡°Oh my, I just didn¡¯t want to bother Our Solace with such a matter, but I guess I can only give up on it.¡± I spun the liquid around in the cup. ¡°Out of curiosity Mr. Priest do all the Priests know about the summoning ritual?¡±


    He smiled politely to my question. ¡°I am not aloud to devolve that information either.¡±


    I sighed and looked up at the ceiling seeing water pooling on the stainless skylight. ¡°Of course not.¡± I muttered. Why is it never easy to get the information I want?


    ¡°By the way Miss. Knight I didn¡¯t happen to catch your name. Also If you like you can hang your cloak over by the fire to dry. I¡¯m sure there is more than the summoning ritual you wish to talk about.¡± His smile was nice but I could tell he was hiding his suspicion.


    ¡°My, how sweet of you. Let me take you up on that offer. However Mr. Priest is it not courtesy for the asker to name themselves first before asking others?¡± I stood and walked over to the fireplace so my back was facing him.


    ¡°What a blunder. My name is Oras Head Priest of the Vasa sub-church.¡± Came the polite introduction. I smiled to myself while hanging my new cloak next to the fire. I don¡¯t want it to get dirty.


    Turning around I returned the greeting. ¡°Mor Murch¨² the Hunting Dog of Sc¨¢thach Cove and is wrongly accused as a Demon. It is a pleasure to meet you Priest Oras. Let us have a wonderful chat.¡±

 36: The Nightmare

    (Priest Oras POV)


    When the suspicious female knight removed her cloak I knew immediately I was in danger. The various knifes she had on her, her black reveling cloths, and the way she just walked into the Church as if she belonged all lead to assassin or something similar.


    I frowned and begin chanting under my breath hoping I would make it in time. She turned around and gracefully returned the greeting. ¡°Mor Murch¨² the Hunting Dog of Sc¨¢thach Cove and is wrongly accused as a Demon. It is a pleasure to meet you Priest Oras. Let us have a wonderful chat.¡±


    Cold sweat began pouring down my back. Just four more lines. She tilted her head to the side with a soft smile on her face. ¡°What''s the matter Priest Oras? You look a bit pale. Do you need a drink?¡± She started walking forward. A slow measured walk that made the air tense. ¡°Really Priest Oras if you don''t speak then I wont know whats wrong.¡±


    Done! ¡°...Vanish.¡± The light amplified to a blinding degree covering the whole room. Slouching against the desk I breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°I made it.¡±


    A hand shot out of the light and grabbed my neck. ¡°Well isn''t that an interesting trick.¡± I chocked gasping for air. ¡°So this is what you can do with your holy magic. It tingles for sure but it is really lacking in offensive power.¡± Why is she fine!


    Her eyes locked with mine. My face reflecting back in her blood red eyes. She reached her hand up and ran her finger down the side of my face cutting it. ¡°Wow, you reek of your holy magic. Its really unappetizing.¡± She scrunched her nose as I clawed at her hand trying to get her to let go.


    ¡°Oh, I''m sorry you can''t breath can you? How will we talk if you pass out?¡± She released me causing me to fall to the floor gasping for breath. ¡°Now why don''t you tell me about the summoning ceremony.¡±


    Panicked I gasped out the only chant that could buy me some time for help to come. ¡°...Shi-eld...¡± A shimmery dome of light formed around me separating me from the girl. Please hold. I prayed.


    ¡°A shield?¡± She tapped it lightly. ¡°Now why would you do that?¡± Pulling out a dagger from her belt she slammed it into the shield shattering it like glass. ¡°You didn''t think that could stop me did you?¡± I paled in horror.


    There''s no way. Why can she destroy it so easily? I desperately crawled to the door knowing that it was futile. ¡°Now, now. We wont be able to talk about anything if you keep trying to escape.¡± Blinding pain shot though my left leg. ¡°Does it hurt?¡± Came a sweet voice through the pain hazing my mind. ¡°It''ll stop if you just tell me what I want to know.¡±


    ¡°N-Never...¡± She can''t know. It is restricted information. I repeated in my head trying to keep my reason. A sigh sounded above me. She crouched down so she was eye level with me.


    ¡°Well I guess I''ll just have to do this the hard way. Let me know when you feel like talking.¡± Her hand jerked and pain shot through my hand. I groaned. My hand now nailed to the floor with a knife. Don''t speak it is just pain. I reached over in a daze to pull it out. A second later my other hand became pinned as well.


    I looked up from the blood pooling on the floor to her. A delighted smile decorated her face as she watched me writher. ¡°B-Bitch...¡± I spat trying to glare at her.


    ¡°What language. There''s no need for that. I already told you that if you just tell me what I want to know the pain will stop.¡± If its come to this I''ll kill myself. The summoning must stay secret. ¡°Oh we can''t have that can we.¡±


    Pain rain up my arm cutting off my thoughts. I gasped inhaling some dust causing me to cough. ¡°Why is it so hard to tell me about the summoning ceremony?¡± She mused while I struggled to clear my lungs. ¡°Here let me change the question. Can you send someone to the other world?¡± Her question rang in my ears.


    Don''t speak. It is only pain. I gritted my teeth. My mind hazing over from the throbbing. ¡°Your quite resistant to pain aren''t you.¡± Another wave of searing pain passed through me only it came from just under my shoulder blade as if tracing the bone. I slammed my head into the ground when I flinched. ¡°You know I think I''m going to have to scare you to get what I want. But what should I do?¡±


    Her voice was the only thing clear. No matter how muddled from the pain I am I can still understand what she says perfectly. ¡°I know why don''t I show you a wonderful dream.¡± She said while cutting a line strait up my spine. I pushed into the floor trying to escape the blade. ¡°Good night Priest Oras.¡± Next thing I new the world went dark.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    So dark and cold. I breathed in trying to settle myself. That woman was no where to be seen. Frowning at the dark I chanted. ¡°In the spreading darkness let there be a guiding light. Lamp.¡± A small ball of light floated just in front of me. However it light up nothing. The darkness prevailed and the light went out. My frown deepened.


    ¡°Priest Oras?¡± Called a sweet voice from the dark. ¡°Priest Oras?¡± It became louder and closer. ¡°Priest Oras?¡± Came a whisper in my ear. I shuddered. The voice overlapped on its self and faded in and out. Happy and sad. ¡°Priest Oras?¡± This time from right in front of me.


    ¡°Tell me.¡± Came a different voice this time male. ¡°Tell me.¡± Dark and quite echoing around the Woman''s voice. ¡°Tell me.¡± Came the demand.


    ¡°What? What do you want me to tell you?¡± I asked the dark. Confusion and fear ruled my mind. Where am I? What is this?


    ¡°Priest Oras?¡± ¡°Tell me.¡± ¡°Priest Oras?¡± The calls continued. Overlapping, echoing, threading their way around me. I spun trying to find the source. It''s a dream! I reasoned. Nothing more! ¡°Daddy!¡± A different voice. A young voice. ¡°Daddy!¡± Once I know well.


    ¡°Lisa? Is that you? Where are you?¡± I called trying to be heard over the voices. ¡°Daddy! Help!¡± She called. ¡°Help me Daddy!¡± I panicked running towards her voice.


    ¡°I''m coming Lisa. Daddy''s coming!¡± I yelled ignoring the voices. A light shown in the dark. ¡°Over here! Daddy!¡± I ran faster. Just a bit more. A hand grabbed me from the shadows causing me to fall. More latched onto my legs and arms making me unable to move. I saw my daughter in the light chained to the ground. ¡°Daddy!¡± Tears streamed down her face. Her fear taking over her body.


    ¡°Priest Oras?¡± ¡°Tell me.¡± The voices became stronger as the hands held me down. ¡°Help me Daddy!¡± Lisa pleaded. A shadow separated and entered the light. ¡°No! No! Help! Save me Daddy!¡±


    ¡°Lisa!¡± I screamed not knowing what it is I feared but knowing I must stop that shadow. A mouth formed on it smiling wide showing rows of sharp teeth like a shark. It pulled a sword out of the shadow and drug it slowly across the ground. ¡°No! HELP ME!¡± Screamed Lisa as she struggled in the chains. The Shadow grew closer to her as I tried to claw my way forward.


    ¡°Tell me.¡±¡±Priest Oras?¡± The voices whispered in my ears. ¡°TELL THEM DADDY!¡± Cried Lisa! ¡°HELP ME!¡± The shadow stopped in front of my daughter. The sword pointed at her head. The shadows head twisted around so its smiling mouth faced me. ¡°Tell me Priest Oras.¡± It slammed the sword down cutting Lisa''s arm off. ¡°NO!¡± I cried.


    ¡°Ahhh. Daddy! Why Daddy?! Why aren''t you telling them?!¡± Blood gushed from her body. ¡°Lisa! I''m so sorry! What do you want from me?!¡±


    A new voice echoed through the dark. ¡°Summoning.¡± It whispered. Soft and calm. ¡°What?¡± I asked confused. The shadow cut off Lisa''s other arm her scream echoing through the dark causing my heart to wrench. ¡°Lisa! No!¡±


    ¡°Priest Oras?¡± ¡°Tell me.¡± ¡°Summoning.¡± ¡°Tell me.¡± ¡°Priest Oras?¡± The voices mixed into a confusing chant. ¡°Daddy!¡± My daughter sobbed. ¡°Just tell them.¡± She pleaded dark blood staining her dress.


    A new hand wrapped around my face holding it so that I have to watch my daughter. ¡°Yes, Priest Oras tell me about the Summoning.¡± The new voice being echoed by the others. ¡°Tell me or death.¡± Is demanded.


    My daughter froze and turned here. ¡°No.¡± She whispered. ¡°Please Daddy tell them.¡± No longer screaming. I didn''t speak. I couldn''t speak.


    ¡°Then death.¡± The voices chanted. ¡°Death.¡± ¡°Death.¡± ¡°Death.¡± The shadows mouth opened as if laughing. Raising its hand darkness shot towards Lisa. ¡°Why Daddy? Why?¡± She whispered in disappear. The darkness reached her and started corroding everything it touched.


    ¡°Lisa!¡± Her flesh dissolved showing muscle then bone. Blood flowed freely while her body scorched and vanished. Her screams echoed around me twisting and turning. She accused me for her death. She cursed me. If only I said. If only I told them.


    ¡°You can still save her.¡± The voice whispered in my ear while the others still chanted death. ¡°Just tell us about the Summoning and she will live. This can all be over.¡± The whispers of a devil. Sweet but poisonous. ¡°Just speak.¡±


    ¡°I...¡± I started halting before I said. ¡°Daddy...¡± Came the cry. ¡°Make it stop.¡± Lisa was now right in front of me dissolving inches from my face. Holes appearing all over her little body.


    I burst into tears. ¡°Lisa, I''ll tell them. Its ok I''ll say it now. You''ll be ok.¡± The dissolving stopped and the hands released me.


    ¡°Say it now Daddy. Say it before they start again.¡± She pleaded.


    ¡°Yes, I''ll talk about the summoning.¡± I will save my daughter.

 37: Answers

    (Lave POV)


    Watching the unconscious Priest I cleaned my daggers. This would have been so much easier if he just told me about the summoning ritual to begin with. Tears appeared at the edges of his eyes. I just shook my head and sighed. I have no idea what he is seeing.


    ¡°Yes, I''ll talk about the summoning.¡± Came a quite whisper.


    ¡°Already?¡± It hasn''t even been two minutes. Must be quite the dream.


    ¡°The summoning of a Hero is a tradition for when we go to war. It is magic from before the Imperious Church. heathenous magic that follows the old ways. Not much is known about it.¡± He gasped. ¡°No, no. I can tell you more. Just spare her.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°T-The ritual itself is preformed by Head Priest Marius. The magic circle needs to be drawn in blood. All the Priests gather and chant the spell while pouring in as much magic as possible. The circle will grow brighter the more magic it absorbs until you can''t see. Only then will a Hero be Summoned.¡±


    ¡°It doesn''t always work. Maybe a one in five chance. The blood needed to draw the circle is also a large amount. There is a need to prepare sacrifices beforehand.¡± He drew a shaky breath. ¡°As for the chant it is in a language none of us know. The summoning doesn''t always work. We just repeat the words without knowing what they mean and hope for the best.¡±


    ¡°The chant goes: ''Watashi wa watashi ni sagi no h¨©r¨­ o ataeru tame ni uch¨± o yobimasu. S¨­,-s¨­denakereba taikutsuna basho ni jinsei o motarasu tame ni.''¡± Something feels off about that chant. What is it? It sound familiar... ¡°All we know about the magic is that it was created by a very powerful magic user hundreds of years ago.¡±


    ¡°It is unknown where the Hero comes from. We don''t know of a way to go over to the other world.¡± I clicked my tongue. So they don''t know a way. ¡°Please stop. Really thats all I know. Please.¡± I released my illusion. Now it will be up to him to change the dream. But really that chant is bothering me.


    ¡°Looks like I will have to go to this island that woman told me about.¡± Grabbing my cloak I hid my face and adjusted the sword so it was obvious again. Steadily making my way out of the church I heard a scream behind me. Looks like they found him.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    I cut across the roads and stopped in a back alley right next to the port. The sky is growing darker and the rain''s coming down harder causing people to seek shelter. Making sure all my stuff is securely put away, I walk to an empty dock. The water swirled darkly below inviting me in. I smiled. Finally I am back to the ocean.


    Spreading my arms wide I fell backwards into the water letting myself sink below the surface. The tide swept me away from land as if trying to prevent me from escaping. Unusual fish looked at me in confusion as I let the current pull me into its depths.


    Eventually I landed on the ocean floor quite a ways away from Vasa. My magic released and my body back to normal. As if stretching after a long sleep. Ah, how good it is to be back.


    Glancing around I realized that I was out in the open. It isn''t good for me to be out here for to long. Especially when I don''t know what this ocean''s native inhabitants are. Thinking back on what the Priest said I could only sigh in disappointment. While I don''t have any family waiting for me in my world it was definitely convenient. Electricity and running water were swinging me in favor of returning.


    A fog covered island where I would find my answer to summoning magic. South is it? I squinted my eyes looking south through the dark water. A small thread of magic was pulling me that way making me frown. Amice is in the south. She better not be on that Island.


    Thinking back to the perverted leech that I have traveled with until now, I shuddered. Something about that girl isn''t right. I marked her so that I would be able to avoid her in the future, but I just don''t see how I will be able to if I don''t leave this world. Yet another point towards going back.


    However if she followed Gran like she was supposed to then she should be quite far from here, or at least not on the island. I get the feeling that this island is a one person place. Pushing off the sand I swam south hoping to reach my destination before anything happens. Truly these past few weeks have be filled with nothing but trouble.


    I have been in this world for little more than two weeks and I have been marked by the government as a dangerous existence that in the end caused me to eat a human. Sigh I was doing so well too. Really this place isn''t good for me.

 38: To Know

    (Lave POV)


    My wish wasn¡¯t granted. The thought floating through my mind while watching a sea monster block my path. There was truly no other way to call it then a monster. Its body an oversized four meters (13 ft) with scales varying in color. The spines flared up dangerously to prepared to attack if given the opportunity.


    It swayed back and forth in the water making its scales sparkle in the moonlight. Is that the Rainbow Fish? The fish suddenly sucked in through its gills causing the water to rush in pulling me towards it. However the force was not strong enough to pull me more than a few centimeters forward.


    Tilting my head in confusion I debated how to deal with it. I could just kill it but the blood might draw other predators. Maybe stunning it is a better choice. The fish stopped sucking in and looked like it was irritated. Opening its mouth it violently blew out air bubbles. Shit is that Vayu? It really is the Rainbow Fish! The bubbles were bigger than me and caused under water tidal waves.


    I rolled in the water making my eyes spin. Forget it lets kill the fish. My dagger sliced through the water as if unaffected by the erratic current. In seconds the knife logged itself firmly into its eye. The fish writhed in pain dragging me through the water.


    Managing to dislodge the dagger it swam off in a panic bleeding from the eye and leaving me confused as the battle was too anticlimactic. A Mirror Dory swam by lazily fanning its fins as if mocking me. My irritation rose as I looked at the fish. With a deep calming breath I continued towards the island.


    Six hours later I made it to what I assume is the island. It was a painful and taxing six hours. I learned that the large four meter fish was in fact not the Rainbow Fish that swallowed Buddha, but in fact just an oversized fish and a common one at that. The only reason it took me so long to get here is because of this stupid fish. I feel like I should call it Gaiste fish.


    Honestly what kind of predator runs away from prey after a single injury? Trudging my way up onto shore I examined the island. Thick fog covered the ocean about three meters out effectively cutting off the space. Soft black sand sunk in with each step I took alluding to its volcanic past. A thick uninviting jungle blended in with the beach causing the separation of the two to be obscure.


    Scanning the beach I spotted a conspicuous wooden shack down a ways. Stretching out my muscles I made my way over hoping that this was the island she talked about. The building is slowly being taken over by the jungle on one side, and on the other a perfect garden. This discord created an interesting scene of being overgrown and well maintained at the same time.


    Sadly the feeling of the tracking crystal I gave Amice has only grown stronger. She is somewhere on this island. I sighed while knocking on the door. This witch had better be worth it.


    The door creaked open reviling a grey eyes with short brown hair wearing baggy cloths that are easy to move in. My head dropped in disappointment. A happy squeal sounded in front of me.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°Lave!¡± My shoulders dropped further in resignation. There is no escape, but maybe if I can find a way home she can¡¯t follow me? My thoughts swirled as many different scenarios played out, but they all ended with Amice showing up out of no where. I shuddered. Why? Why is it that I can¡¯t escape? Why does she follow me? I feel that even if I cross dimensions she will still be there.


    ¡°I was so worried! The last time I saw you that horrible man dragged you off to the Church. I was planning to come rescue you but then the Lady said that you would come here and I should just wait.¡± Amice throw herself at me in a forceful hug as I shuddered. I felt like crying.


    A chuckle sounded behind Amice. ¡°I see that I do not have to worry about her safety.¡± I looked up trying to find the body the voice belonged to. ¡°Why don¡¯t you invite your friend in Amice, and we can eat lunch.¡±


    ~~~


    (Gran POV)


    I walked into the castle library hoping to find Jaras before my arms fell off. If Lucius saw me I would be tied up to the bed already. I have managed to avoid him so far but there is only so long I can avoid that blood hound. I understand that he is concerned, but I am not five and have managed just fine so far.


    Spotting Jaras at the front counter I sighed in relief. ¡°Good morning Jaras. How is your day going?¡± I asked while placing the torture devices known as books on the desk. My arms burned from the weight and I¡¯m pretty sure some of my wounds opened up again.


    ¡°Good Morning Mr. Felan. Is this the new batch of books from you travels?¡± Jaras asked as he pulled them closer his eyes shining. Honestly it was scary how much he loves knowledge. I did my habitual check for any changes in Jaras¡¯s features, but again nothing has changed. It is weird how he hasn¡¯t changed at all for the six years I have known him.


    ¡°Yes, these are from a couple different places I visited.¡± However despite the creepiness of the lack of change Jaras has to be one of my favorite people. Picking up a pale blue book I placed it in front of him. ¡°This book is from a coastal town that believes in a water Goddess named Mar. Everything there was a shade of blue. Even the paper.¡± I opened the book relieving faded blue paper and dark blue ink.


    ¡°Fascinating. How did they get the paper this color?¡± Jaras ran his hand down the page and skimmed the words. ¡°What language do they speak? I can only understand about half of the words here.¡± I took a seat on the edge of the desk to rest my legs. Over the years this has become a pattern. Jaras should really get another chair.


    ¡°From what I can tell it is a mixture of the old language and something else. Though it should be pretty easy to understand once you read it properly. The language isn¡¯t to different from ours.¡± Jaras nodded as he flipped through the pages.


    ¡°Do you have any books on Sol?¡± He asked. ¡°I am interested in what this country is like since they are declaring war.¡± With a sigh I pulled out a white and gold book from the stack and handed it to Jaras.


    ¡°This is the only book I was able to get from that country. It is a religious text from the church. However it is written in a language they call Common. So I am not sure if you will be able to read it.¡± Jaras just nodded as he flipped open the book. Unlike the last one the pages are crisp white and the ink in a dark gold. The book was not easy to get and how it managed to stay so clean I will never know.


    ¡°Are you able to read this?¡± He asked. I glanced down at the book¡¯s scrolled writing and sighed.


    ¡°My Common isn¡¯t that great, but I can read some of it.¡± I replied already knowing where this is going. ¡°However I refuse to read it while sitting on the desk. Lets go somewhere with chairs.¡±


    ¡°Excellent.¡± With that Jaras picked up the book and we headed deeper into the library. This is going to be a long day.

 39: Of the Old

    (Amice POV)


    Lave is here! I am so happy! I was even able to hug her! I have waited too long to be able to see her again. The only reason that I did not leave to go find Lave is because of the Lady. Though it does irritate me that she has not given me a name to call her other than ''Lady''. If she had not insisted that Lave would in fact show up, I would have left no matter how hard it is.


    However she is an interesting person. My eyes narrowed taking in the maraud of colored cloth she dresses herself in. According to my Mom the way someone dresses tells a lot about a person, and from the way she dresses I would say she is a priestess of something. Her dress is very similar to some of the nature priests and priestesses I have seen when my Dad takes me out to his home town. This is however a secret from Mom.


    Lunch was quite and good. It is sad that Lave sat as far from me as she could, but I am happy she is here. I was afraid of what the Church would do to her. They are not very nice to ''foreign'' influences. Though I am not surprised about her escape. The holding cells of the Church really aren''t that great. A well placed shove and the bars just fall down. Really you would think they would fix that.


    During my stay here the ''Lady'' has explained many things to me. I am no longer able to say that Lave is human. Especially if she made it here just fine. However this is fine. It is more fun now that I know she isn''t. Though I would like to know what she is, but that seems rude. I will ask later when the time seems more appropriate.


    Once lunch was cleared away the ''Lady'' sat back down and turned to Lave. ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Cacht.¡± So you did have a name to give.


    ~~~


    (Lave POV)


    My eyes narrowed when the woman said what she is. A slave, but to who? Another interesting thing is that she chose to say it in Gaelic. I did not think that this language could be found here. ¡°I see a Cacht, is it. To whom do you serve?¡± The women''s smile deepened.


    ¡°I serve all. That is my job as the last priestess of the Old.¡± She said with a bow of her head. ¡°May I know the name of the Mistress.¡± I scoffed. Of course a servant from Old, because why not. It would make since that they exist even in this world. The servants of Old have always been a mystery. No one knows who appoints them, but they are there to serve those of magic.


    I took a sniff of the air confirming the sent. A very human smell mixed with a sharp tang of blood magic. The contract I assume. They all have this sent. ¡°The last priestess?¡± I asked to confirm that she really served the Old.


    ¡°In this world yes.¡± Her reply clear as she looked me in the eyes. She is young. My sight taking in the tattoo and cloths. She might be the youngest one I have seen. No more than a hundred.


    I hummed at her response my eyes never leaving hers. I am curious just how well informed this young one is. ¡°I am Mor Murch¨², The Hunting Dog of Sc¨¢thach Cove.¡± The Cacht''s eyes widened. A sharp wood scraping sound came from beside me making me glance over. Amice stood there with twinkling eyes watching me. I paled.


    ¡°Is that your real name Lave?¡± She asked while leaning closer. ¡°What does Hunting Dog of Sc¨¢thach Cove mean?¡± Her sparkling eyes freezing me in place. I felt that if I moved she would jump. It is amazing she has kept quite for so long.


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    ¡°A-Amice it would be best if you sit back down.¡± The Cacht said while trying to calm her down. I can not tell if the stutter was from fear of what I would do to the girl or the girls actions. Honestly speaking I believe I am developing a fear of this girl.


    Amice pouted but agreed sitting closer to me than before. A shudder ran up my spine as her eyes watched my every move. This child reminded me so much of a predator that I was hard pressed not to react.


    ¡°I had not realized that a Sc¨¢thach Cove member had come here. My I ask what your mission is? If I know I might be able to help.¡± My eyes narrowed again. So she is a true Priestess of Old.


    ¡°... It is not so much a mission as a mistake.¡± I said slowly. ¡°I can only assume that I fell through a rift and ended up here. I wish to go back. This world is not for me. Coventina was not very forthcoming on information on how to get back. So I have come here to ask you a way across the rift.¡± Now here is the thing with talking to a Priestess of Old they don''t believe in chance. This can go two ways. Hopefully she is more easy going and will believe that it was a mistake and not some ''Devine Mission''.


    ¡°Ah, it is not a mistake.¡± Sigh, of course she will go with the later. ¡°If you have shown up in this world then it was meant to be. There is a prophecy...¡± Of course there is a goddess damn prophecy! ¡°... that the age of the Old will come again. One of blood and magic will come and help those out of hiding. They will bring back the fear of the supernatural. The time of Humans will end.¡±


    ¡°That could be anyone. Of blood and magic is the standard for most, if not all, magical beings.¡± A said annoyed. This is why I hate talking to anyone that is from the Old. ¡°I mean what about you. You are a being of blood and magic. Why don''t you bring back the fear of the supernatural. Honestly you would be a lot better at it as you are directly related to it. You are from this world, and you are a Priestess.¡±


    The Cacht chuckled. ¡°There is no way that I could do it, as you already know. I am bound to this island. However the Sc¨¢thach have always been the fulfillers of the Old''s prophecies. The ''Hunting Dog'' if you will.¡± My eye twitched in annoyance. Why is it always like this? All I wanted was one day off and I get pulled into another world. I want to get to the ocean, I pick up an emotionally unstable leach and get captured by some self important Church. I want to find this ''witch'' I fight some cowardly fake rainbow fish. I want to go home it turns into some divine mission.


    ¡°How would I even go about bringing back fear of the supernatural. Are there any of the Mystic left out there? How would I find them? As this is not my world why would I help?¡± My last question being the most important. I may not have had the best life back home but it was mine. I don''t need to start all over again. I mean I didn''t mind at first but this holy war thing is putting me off. Plus I really liked being a mercenary.


    ¡°Umm, who are the Old?¡± Amice asked. She tilted her head in curiosity, a bright smile on her face. Her innocent act is good, but I don''t believe her for a minute.


    The Cacht frowned slightly as she glanced over at Amice. However something flicked across her eyes and she smiled. "Why don''t we start from the beginning." She said. "There is no reason to argue and I''m sure you would enjoy a bit of story telling." Her eyes locking with mine as if asking for permission.


    I scoffed. As if she needs permission from me. As a priestess of the Old she cannot be harmed or really stopped if she so wishes. Lets hear her story with any luck I might learn a bit more about the Old.

 40: The More You Know

    (Lave/Mor POV)


    "The ways of the Old have always been a mystery. This is so that no one is able to pinpoint who is on the council. It also prevents assassination and bribery. However this means that they are not as trusted as they could be." The Cacht said. "However there are those who know at least one member of the council. They are the Cacht. We are contracted as speakers for the council. However to hold such power and knowledge we must sign a slave contract. One where we cannot disobey the will of the council and are bound to an area." Amice shifted forward in interest.


    "You signed a slave contract? Why?" She asked her eyes shining.


    The Cacht laughed. "Of course. How else would I know about the Old? Not even all of the supernatural know of them." She turned to me. "Mor is a special case. She knows more about the Old than most, but I am not sure how much. As the enforcement of the Old, the Sc¨¢thach''s are known to be just as secretive as the council. It is unusual that she would be so willing to give her name and position. Even to a Cacht." I frowned. This was going a different direction then I thought it would. The Priestess gave me a thoughtful look.


    "But I have been side tracked. You asked about the contract. The contract usually gives the holder a part of the owner''s power, shares their life span, and something that the signer desires." Amcice''s smile grew as the Catch spoke. "However if you wish to sign a contract of any kind with a supernatural you should be careful. They are usually not friendly to humans. You should be especially careful with gifts." She gave Amice a meaningful look.


    "On the other hand the supernatural beings in this world are few and far between now. It is very unlikely to meet any. I''m not sure if that makes you lucky or unlucky, Amice." I snorted.


    "Then how did you meet a council member Miss. Priestess?" She asked completely disregarding the fact that it is probably a painful subject. Someone willing to sign a contract with a Mystic is usually desperate. Especially one that makes you a slave.


    ¡°... He is a friend of the family. When I was younger he took me in and taught me everything I know.¡± The Cacht said with a sad smile. ¡°He still visits every once and a while, but time is different for those with a long lifespan so a long time for me is a short time for him.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? How did you know he wasn''t human? I mean I can understand how you can tell Lave isn''t now that I think back, but I don''t think she was trying to hide it.¡± Amice said while looking at me for confirmation.


    ¡°I''m not.¡± I stated. There was no reason to hide it on Earth, and I still believe there is no reason to hide it here. Even if this annoying church claims me to be a demon.


    The Cacht giggled. ¡°Oh, it is quite easy to tell if you know what to look for. For instance there will always be unusual quirks that they will never be able to hide. For instance my friend can not touch iron. It will burn him on contact.¡± She turned to me and smiled slyly. ¡°Mor should be rather violent and hostile to humans. Not to mention the other things that she must carry around to keep up her human appearance.¡±


    I scoffed. ¡°There has never been a reason to hide what I am. What does it matter what humans think of me. They are just food.¡±


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    The Cacht''s smile strained slightly. ¡°Yes, that is true. I have never meet a Sc¨¢thach before so please excuse me if I come off as rude.¡±


    ¡°What is a Sc¨¢thach?¡± Asked Amice with gleaming eyes.


    I sighed. ¡°I am a mermaid. The Sc¨¢thach are a race of mermaid that is strong physically. We are often hired as mercenaries or work as guards.¡± Our magic is also more on the fighting side than illusions as well. I thought to myself. This is probably why we were found in the end.


    ¡°That''s so cool!¡± Amice gushed. ¡°So what is a mermaid?¡± My eye twitched. She doesn''t know what a mermaid is? Are you kidding me? I always thought she was stupid, but I thought she was just acting.


    Laughing burst out from the Cacht. ¡°So this is what happens when knowledge of the supernatural is wiped from history. Ah, I am sorry. A mermaid is a creature that lives in the ocean. They lure humans in as prey with their beautiful singing and illusion magic. Their looks are also used to draw in their prey.¡±


    ¡°So they are sea monsters?¡± Amice asked innocently. Did she just call me a sea monster? My scales rippled across the surface of my skin as my eye twitched more. ¡°However she doesn''t look like a sea monster. If I was to go by the teaching of the Church then she is more like an water demon.¡± Demon! Did she just call me a demon! She compared me to those lying slimy bustards? I unleashed blood lust at Amice.


    ¡°I am no Demon, Human.¡± I grounded out. ¡°It is an insult that you would compare me to those lying bags of meat from the new religion.¡± I could feel my eyes changing as I spoke. ¡°We mermaids have been around much longer then they have and we have no need to fall to petty power struggles. We are a proud and truthful race.¡±


    Amice''s smile grew as I spoke becoming slightly dangerous. ¡°Aw, come on Lave. I didn''t know. There is no need to get so worked up about it.¡± I paused and looked over Amice. She sat in her chair with a large grin on her face, posture relaxed, and taking the full brunt of my bloodlust without a flinch. I narrowed my eyes. There is something very off about this girl.


    The Cacht coughed catching our attention. ¡°Yes, I would advise we switch to a new topic. One that is less hostile. I mean I do love my house and I would hate to have to build a new one.¡± She smiled pleasantly. ¡°What we should be discussing is what you will be doing from now on. It is clear that you are on a mission to bring the supernatural back into the open. From what I understand there is going to be a war very soon. I believe that this would be a good chance to showcase the power that has been forgotten.¡±


    I sighed and glanced suspiciously over at Amice. She sat looking at the Cacht with an innocent smile on her face. There is something off about this girl. She has somehow been able to keep up with me throughout the trip and dodged all of my blows. I spotted her broad sword in the corner. She is also much more powerful than her height and figure would let on. Looking back at the Cacht I sighed again. It looks like there is no way out of participating in this war. I mean it would be fine if someone hired me...