Author: Almost to Chapter 10! Anyway, Thanks for reading up until this part! I've been slow, so please bear with me. The following chapters are going to be mature, so please be advised. You get a glimpse of what is going to happen next in this chapter!
Oh, and yeah, this chapter was late because I was planning for the comedy. I wrote two pages just on the first chapter outline, and on the character outline....maybe a bit too much planning for a comedy.
Comedy Update: I've already planned the first chapter's storyline, and I just need to smooth the edges. I'm trying to make it a parody of the reincarnation stories... I think its going to be interesting, so please do check it out when I'm done writing it. To those lazy people like me: I'll link the FF in the description!
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Here is the extra long chapter as repentance.
Chapter 9 - The Church Found.
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I woke up the next morning with a familiar severe pain around my sides.
We had returned to Jak's Inn, and we decided to rest before turning in the Quest form.
Fuck...what the hell is with my sides...Damnit..is it Evie again?
My eyes opened, and I turned to see no one sleeping next to me. It was bright outside, and the sunshine shone through the glass window across from my bed.
Ok...so it's not her..
Once I got out of bed and noticed that Evie wasn't in the room, I headed downstairs to grab some breakfast.
I've been wearing this black cloak for who knows how long....I'll go shopping to get some clothes for us and maybe even some armor for me..
I thought about making some purchases, and remembered that I still had some 1300 Hydra scales to sell.
I saw Evie walking towards me with two plates in her hands, "Roran, you woke up. I was just about to bring this up for you too..."
She sighed lightly, and I responded, "Don't worry, we can just eat here. I have some things I need to tell you, so let's go back to our room afterwards."
We sat down at a small round table, right across the reception, with two chairs located in the middle of the dining room. Everything was made out of a weak wood, with a light maple color.
I felt gazes behind me. They didn't have bloodlust, so I didn't turn around to see who it was.
A couple minutes later, we finished our simple breakfast of eggs, and had a cup of water.
We walked back upstairs to our room, and Evie asked, "So you'll tell me your story? About Nex, your brother, and don't forget Akia."
She seemed a little demanding, I was irked for a few seconds. I knew she was a slave, but I realized that I had already put her in equal standing to myself by saying that I trust her so wholeheartedly.
This is my fault....what's done is done.
I sat down on my bed, and Evie sat next to me.
I heaved a heavy sigh, and I started my story, with careful explanations and descriptions.
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I told her everything in a few hours. From the butler's face, all the way to my summoning with the skeletons.
The sun shined even brighter than before though the window across from my bed, and the light illuminated Evie's face.
It shined in such a way that she seemed like a black angel.
Evie had an understanding face, and broke the silence, "...so this is why you want to kill your family?"
I snapped.
"THEY ARE NOT MY FAMILY!"
Even after my sudden yell, Evie still stood calm, "...I understand. Let's take care of them. I'll support you, so don't worry."
I didn't respond to her words, but instead just walked out the door. Evie followed, and I headed towards Keith's smithery.
The world outside the inn was as busy as ever. The city was still bustling with merchants and many inhabitants. One could easily hear merchants yelling out their deals and 'bargains' from a mile away.
The shack was as suspicious as ever, still covered in what seems to be cheap black paint. I opened the door, and a chime sounded.
I heard a voice in the back of the shack, "...o...Oh! Wait a few minutes alright! I'll be there soon, gimme a sec."
Keith was wearing a black bandana around his neck, and he was heavily sweating. He wore a simple shirt, and long pants that covered his feet.
"Oh it's just you Roran....and Evie."
"Yea," I acknowledged.
"Alright, I've got yer armor. I'll grab it for you. It looks pretty nice. I'm actually quite pleased with it," Keith added.
Keith came back holding leather armor. I immediately asked, "Oi. I asked for lightweight steel armor. Where is it?"
Keith agreed, "Oh yeah, this isn't steel armor, but it's something better. I made this armor out of Steel Tusk Boar hide. It's top quality, in the sense that the hide itself is as hard as steel, and allows for good flexibility."
I nodded, and asked Evie to try it on. She headed towards the back of the shack, and I grabbed Keith and walked out the door.
Keith complained, "H..hey! Can you be a bit gentle?"
"No."
Keith responded to my quick disagreement, "Anyway, let's go peek. Just a quickie. It won't do much. We'll be damaging her pride if we don't try to take a look, ya know?"
I sighed, and declared, "No."
Evie opened the door, and I walked into the shack.
Keith followed with obvious disappointment.
I observed Evie's new armor. She looked amazing, since the armor perfectly accentuated the curves of her body. Her chest wasn't covered, but again, she didn't have much to cover. She was wearing a knee-length skirt, which was the same color as the leather chest armor, an olive green. The armor was mostly green, with the gut section of the armor being a dark brown. Her shoulders had guards on them, as well as her shins - both made with the boar hide. There was also a brown forearm cover, and a pair of boots that seemed rather thin.
Keith explained, "The boots are made thin for more grip and accurate handling, if you are wondering."
He smirked, and I continued, "Keith, thanks. I didn't ask for a full set of armor, but you gave them to me anyway."
Keith blushed, and put his hands on his face.
I turned back to look at Evie, and my right cheek started burning from a sudden slap.
"....why did you slap me?"
She pouted, "I felt insulted while you were observing me...woman's intuition."
I sighed, and asked, "Keith, I need a good weapon for Evie. Can you bring out your collection of spears? Also, I need some armor for me. I can give you some of these scales as payment, I have about a 1,300. You can't have them all, since I need to turn it in from a quest, but I'll give you as much as I can."
Keith nodded, and responded, "I knew you would come back and ask, so I already prepared it for you and Evie. I'll take 1,000 of those as payment. I made your armor light, since it looks like you would need to move a lot with those things as weapons."
He pointed at the two blades at my sides.
Keith stated, "I personally picked a weapon that I thought would suit Evie, if you don't mind. I couldn't find a spear, but the closest thing I have is this rather rare glaive, specially known for its use during the 1,000 Years War, when it was wielded by the Demon general Akulos...aaand so It's called Akulos' Glaive."
He grabbed a set of armor from the back, and handed Evie her new weapon.
The glaive was a majestic green. It was a lighter color than Evie's armor, but it complemented her very well. It was short, wasn't very heavy, and the blade attached to the end of the emerald-encrusted pole was a blade about 14 inches long. The blade itself was a clean silver color, with a gray dragon engraved on top. The grip was similar gray, and was a simple wrapping of cloth, tightly wound at the end of the glaive with a knot.
Evie spun the weapon around in satisfaction.
I then received the armor, and tried it on. This time, Evie was inspecting me.
"Hmm..." she lightly blushed, "...the armor looks nice... I think you should take it."
Evie voiced her thoughts, and I took a look at myself.
Boar armor surrounded my gut area just like Evie's. The color of the fabric was all a dark blue, similar to my hair color, including the shoulder and shin guards I was wearing. The only things that my armor didn't cover was my arms, my face, and my feet. It seemed that I was wearing a coat, since the fabric extended up until the length of my heels, and the jacket buttoned up, only to be covered by boar hide. The dark blue fabric had silver lining, and my boots were just simple black sandals, made of straw which was again covered in the same blue fabric. My arms didn't have any guards, but my two swords hung at a perfect angle from my sides, and their chains wrapped themselves around my arms. The shoulder guards were engraved with symbols I didn't know of, and I asked Keith what they were.
Keith smiled, whispered, "It's time," and pulled off his black wig. On his head were two horns, about three inches tall. They curved like a devil's, but it didn't frighten me.
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Evie stood next to me, ready to fight.
I motioned for her to stop, and questioned, "Keith, are you.... a devil?"
"No! I'm not a devil damnit! I'm the same as you! A demon! Except, I'm a full fledged one, that's why I have horns. I saw your ears, so I noticed that you're a half. I didn't know one lived so close to me. Oh, and by the way, I wasn't bald before, ok? I lost hair as I aged....."
Tears welled up in Keith's eyes, and I commented, "It fits you. I won't tell anyone you are a demon. So what is this engraving on my shoulder?"
Keith responded, "Yea, I trust you. The engraving is my house, the House of Belire. Each demon has a house, and I noticed you didn't have one, so I just invited you to mine....you can't refuse though, sorry. Don't worry, it's not bad. When you go to another city with demons, you'll be recognized. That's all."
The symbol was an engraving of three spiked vines curved together making a triangle. The engraving was done on a silver coin, about two inches in diameter.
Looks like I can head to the demon cities then...probably won't be moving anytime soon. I still need to check the whereabouts about Maxus and Evie.
Keith explained, "It's quite nice, I know, but be careful not to lose it. That engraving is just there until you get yourself marked by the House of Belire itself. Anyway, that's it, so please...get out. I've got some work, so see ya!"
Keith led us out of his smithy, and we silently decided to move towards the markets to gather information on the church.
People pushed, and shoved, and the crowd became unbearable. The people didn't care one bit about their rudeness, and I also knew that this was an excellent environment for pickpockets to thrive.
I knew was about to snap again, so I calmed myself down by counting from 1 to 1000, took a few deep breaths, and walked into the nearest alleyway with Evie. The day was nearing its end, but the alleyway didn't seem dangerous at all. The sunshine radiated the alley with a faint light.
I felt a stare on my back. A stare similar to the one when I was eating my breakfast.
This feeling again...someone should be here..
I turned to see that we were surrounded by men clothed in full black clothing, with red bandanas covering their whole face.
1..3..5..7...9..10.......14.. Fourteen huh? Alright this should be easy... Can't attract attention, so I should keep it low key.
I counted in my head, and I smirked, "Finally. I've been waiting to have some FUN! I must thank you all for coming here today, since I had this feeling that I needed to let out since a while ago..."
The bandit-like people were perplexed at my words, and didn't respond. Amidst the confusion, I motioned Evie to get moving, and I had already thrown my two wakizashis at the two men in front of me.
The blades pierced through them, and my chains rattled.
One of them charged at me, but I flung one of the bodies I pierced at him, and with my other free blade, I cut his head off.
No cries or yells sounded. Only the sweet thud of a head being sliced off and falling to the floor caught the attention of the rest of the bandits.
I retracted my weapons, and prepared for the next skirmish. I noticed that two of the twelve bandits had escaped quite stealthily.
Cowards...
Further down the alleyway, two more of the soldiers were quickly taken care of by Evie, with her new glaive.
The weapon seemed to be moving at an alarming pace, even for someone like me, who just happened to glance.
Evie's glaive flashed with a quick spin, and the the two necks of the bandits on both sides of her were slashed.
They fell to their knees.
The red liquid quickly poured down their bodies, while they choked on their own blood.
The rest of the eight men inched backwards, taking a few steps back every second, making sure that they would be out of harm's way before dashing.
All eight of them accelerated into a full sprint, but I never planned to let all of them go.
I'm kind, so I'll let them live a little longer before I hunt the rest of them down. It's like a game!
My sword was thrown, and the weapon gouged one of the fleeing bandit's back. He fell to his knees, but I didn't finish him. I let the sword lodged in his body, so he wouldn't die from blood loss.
The man whimpered, "...a...ah.."
The other seven already fled, but I didn't mind.
I walked towards the man that was on his knees, and I loudly whispered, "Don't say anything...don't yell....don't move. All of these actions will get you killed, ok? I need some information. Give it to me, and I'll let you live. "
The man nodded his head violently.
I continued, "Sounds good. First. Tell me where the church and its affiliated buildings are...this damned city is too big. Second. Tell me any rumors about the church. Lastly, tell me who you are, and why you decided to attack me."
"I....I..." The man stuttered.
"Answer me properly."
He coughed blood, and answered, "My name is Evan. I'll....I'll help. Promise me you'll leave me alive. I know I'm not in a position to ask for such a thing, but..."
"I'll leave you alive."
"Alright, " Evan confirmed, "The church can be found two miles northeast from here. It's found near the assassin's guild, for reference. There is......one affiliated building. A mile west of the Church of Light, there is a cafe. It's.... popular. The church uses it to make money, I've heard. There is only one rumor about the church. It is said that...."
He belched blood. There was now a pool of blood around his knees.
He cleared his throat, ".....sorry. It's said that the cafe is a location where one can easily pick up women due to its prime location...or something. Lastly, our group name is the Aldwins. We fight for justice, and we have been successful in helping people many times....but now, it's just a place where bandits can hatch plans... we originally wanted to steal your two swords, that's why we tailed you since the beginning. We then saw the new weapon that your wife has, and so, we greedily aimed to get those as well. Take care of the corrupt bandits, please. I was one of the original creators, but I was swayed by the money. I'll do anything if you return our guild to its former state.... "
They tailed me without me noticing for a long time.....they could help me in the future.
I saw Evie blush from the corner of my eyes.
I turned back to see Evan starting to lose color in his eyes.
I grabbed his face with my hand, and used my [Mind Perception] skill to read his thoughts, to make sure that he was telling me the truth.
He's not lying....
My expression lightened, "I'll kill them for you, since I need some pastime activities..."
I smiled, and withdrew my weapon back into its sheath.
He returned my smile.
I whispered, "You're free to go."
Evan laid there, on the floor, with the pool of blood beneath him growing with every second.
"Goodbye. Well, I hope I get to see you again. Try to take care of these dead men for me."
After finishing my sentence, I left the alleyway with Evie.
I grabbed the first stranger I saw walking back from the alleyway, and feigned a frightened expression while explaining to him that a man was dying.
The man I grabbed seemed kind. He nodded to my words, and immediately walked into the alley to see what has happened.
The day was nearing its end, and the sun started to drop from the sky. I looked up to see colors of orange, yellow, red, blue, and purple.The air around me was clean, easy to breathe in. I walked alongside Evie, through the diminishing crowd, towards the adventurer's guild. A light breeze brushed softly against our faces.
Evie exclaimed, "It's finally time to collect our rewards."
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Author: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! The room is going to be the next chapter. I at least hope so. I aimed to get to the room in this one, but it seemed that it would be too long. So I shortened it. This chapter was a bit of a filler, mainly for Evie and Roran to get some new armor.
What did you think of this chapter? Please comment! Helps me churn more chapters out!
Warning: Next chapter will have mature scenes.
Thanks for the support! I'll link the comedy FF in this story's description. Come back and check in once in a while, you might see that I finally wrote it! :)
If you find any faults in the storyline, or anything wrong with the grammar, please do comment!
Next Chapter: The Room. - Chapter 10 (Yay!)