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After Kueler bested Dallon in that duel, he relented access to the archives over to us. He really did not look bitter at all, but it seemed his smile beamed even brighter once Kueler pulled away his sword from his throat. I didn’t even think he fought for the sole purpose of winning me over to his side as his lover, there was more to it. I suspected he planted the idea of battle into Kueler’s mind to test out the skills of his old friend.

I knew that warriors have a tradition of sparring with one another the moment they meet each other in such a long time. This was a way to see just how much their friends had changed, and combat told them much more about each other that words couldn’t. Dallon might have just wanted to see how Kueler had changed since his departure from the Royal Knights many years ago, and was ecstatic to see that he had indeed changed for the better. It made me smile just thinking about it.

Kueler led the way inside the strong fortress, filled with armored knights diligently completing their daily tasks. They were the backbone of the society that Kori Soaro maintained, and the reason why the kingdom remains a global superpower to this day. The Military Knights were one of the most professional armies in the world, which was why nobody dared to invade and why everyone wanted to trade with Kori Soaro. Fear can definitely compel people to play nice.

The entire interior was stone, and decorated with red banners on the wall and crimson carpeting rolled over the cold hard stone. There wasn’t much beside that, just wooden racks that stored swords and pieces of armor. They were all warriors, but also expert organizers. Not a single item looked out of place.

While the two of us followed Kueler, we passed by dozens or so knights and turned into a corridor. Down that corridor I could see a room that looked foreign compared to the rest of the building. The room was made up of dark wood as the floor and ceiling, while each wall was covered by vast book shelves. We walked inside, and saw the towering shelves with our own eyes much closer. Each one had hundreds of books sitting in it, all hardcover and thick. This was the archives, where we had been longing to see.

The archives hold information on any notable person. It kept records of deceased or born citizens, as well as their behavioral history. Were they jailed? Had they committed a crime? All of that was archived here. Every single one of those books had details of a person, we just had to look for Isla.

Kueler slapped his hands together and grinned. “Alright, Magicians. Let’s get started!”

We both nodded our heads and began searching all around. I wasn’t sure if they caught on as quickly as I did, but I noticed that these books weren’t placed randomly. It was ordered meticulously. In this case, the books were ordered by year first and foremost, then by the last name of the individual. We already knew that Isla’s last mention in records occurred three years ago, so I ran my fingers along that hard spines of dozens of books in order to find the books dating three years ago.

I thought it would be much easier to do that, but I never realized just how eventful these past three years were. There were records of adventurers pulling off insane quests, having their adventures recording in the archive of their fallen comrades.

One such thing I came across was a royal expedition to the Dungeon of the Dead. Prince Arcite saw it as extremely vital to explore the more dangerous dungeons in order to bring back samples or specimens to study in case it were to be a danger to the citizens. He valued knowledge as a weapon, believing that knowing more of our world would help us to avoid or defend against disaster. Who knows when the monsters will suddenly decide to leave their dens and wreak havoc on society? He was the most prolific believer of that theory that all the dungeons were connected, and would eventually clash with Kori Soaro who claimed their home as theirs, so he wanted to be prepared.

The royal expedition was a huge failure. They got deeper than most, and managed to take samples of the undead corpses they slain, but they were overwhelmed by the sheer number of the undead.

It was reported that the dungeon master had come out to do battle with the expedition, and ended up engaging in combat with the hired party of adventurers known as the Crimson Rose. All four party members were of expert rank and above, so they weren’t weak at all. They even had a veteran mage and a swordsman of equivalent strength with them.

To cut things short, the Veteran Mage had been knocked unconscious by a spell from the dungeon master, but not before injuring him with a terrace spell so bad that the undead mage had to retreat. That was when the royal expedition decided to abort the mission, while being pursued by the hordes of undead.

It was the powerful swordsman that took one for the team and single handedly halted the advancing undead. He gave the expedition time to leave and didn’t give a single undead a chance to chase them.

He never made it outside. He died holding them off, it was confirmed by a squad of military knights that went in the next day to recover his body. His heroic death was forever archived in this book.

My throat tightened just reading this document. The dungeon master of that place still scared me so much. He fueled my nightmares every night. But this record shook me for another reason entirely. We were in that situation just like them, and we were lucky that we all came out alive. What scared me was the what-ifs.

I shook my head, it wasn’t the time to get all frightened by something that happened already in the past. I had to stay focused. I put the book back in its spot and continued onwards. There were many more books to look at. Many, many more.

I took my eyes away from the bookshelf to check up on my friends. “Did you guys find anything? I’m coming up empty handed.”

Both Kueler and Lio had their heads delved into books, flipping the pages occasionally. Both shook their heads and sighed.

“All I’m getting so far are records of chefs. I know you’ll like their recipes, Magician, but its not helpful,” Kueler chuckled. He couldn’t see my face, but I was giving him the stink eye. I would love to have more food recipes under my belt, but it wasn’t the time for that.

I went back to the endless books on the shelf and started running my finger across entire shelves of books, looking for the records that dated three years ago. My finger jumped from hard spine to hard spine, thumping against the side of the shelf dividers and collecting dust on my fingertip as well. I ran along what seemed forever, until I finally started hitting the three year mark. At the bottom of the spine in small numbers were the year the record was made. I finally find the record books from the correct time period.

Three years ago, it felt like a long time ago. Three years ago I was still dungeon diving, running around on my lonesome with a rusty dagger and basic magic to defend myself. What I lacked in proper equipment and magical prowess, I made up for it in my skill with a dagger and my sheer determination. No way did I want to live like a famished beggar, I wanted comfort. That comfort only came from grinding it out in the dungeon. I would say I did well.

After a bit of reminiscing, I began my search for the D category. Doniz was the target name we had to search for. The Doniz record dated three years ago. I was sure by then that Kueler and Lio hadn’t figured out the organization of the records yet, since I was the only one stomping about in the correct area. They were way off course.

“Let’s see… A… Albert, Alfonse, Armora…” I began listing off the last names of the people in the A category. Actually, there were quite a few people with the “Armora” last name that surprised me. Didn’t know it was that common. Made me want to search for any Glaciare records. Doubt nothing will come up, most of my family were foreigners.

I skipped through B and C fairly quickly, since there wasn’t as many people with last names starting with those letters than there were with A. I was in the D category now. I could just whiff the smell of old paper from the Doniz record.

“Daliya, Damien… Doga… Do—” I choked on my words in shock. I reached the “Do’s” but there was an issue: It went from Doga to Dola, meaning it skipped the Don’s. That was where I would find Doniz, but it was nowhere to be found. I skimmed past the remainder of the D category, then went back again to double check I didn’t miss it or it hadn’t been misplaced. It wasn’t in the D category at all. I felt like ripping pages out of the nearest book.

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What do we do now?

I bit my lip in frustration. Things just couldn’t be easy for us at all. Life always has us working for every drop of success we get. I was getting tired of it.

I called over Kueler and Lio to relay my findings. The Doniz name was not in the records, which still baffled me since I found evidence of it being recorded through the page I found in Fiar’s room. Lio reacted how I was expecting him to, his face contorting out of stress and frustration. We searched these records for nearly two hours, just straight reading record after record, only to realize what we were looking for wasn’t there in the first place. But Kueler reacted strangely. He had a goofy smile on his face, one that showed a bedazzled upper row of his pearly whites.

Why was he smiling so intently at me? The dichotomy of our expressions confused me to the highest degree. The news I was sharing wasn't something to smile about.

“You understand what I’m saying, right?” I stared back at Kueler’s happy face that shone right back at me. The only possible explanation I had was that Kueler just didn’t understand what I was telling him. But no, he shook his head and assured me that he heard every bit I said with crystal-clear clarification. “Then why are you—”

He interrupted me with a point of his finger, right over my head. I turned to see what he was pointing at.

“Yo! Howdy! How are y'all doing this fine evening?” What stood at the threshold of the archive entrance was a man I thought I’d never meet. Someone I saw recently who won over the hearts of many fans alike. It was the Maturo, the man of the hour. This time he was wearing Military Knight armor but with the main joint parts of the armor being taken off himself to remove unneeded weight. He still rocked the big golden belt buckle that was wrapped around his waist. That same belt had a sheathed sword hanging from it.

I was beginning to understand why the girls were swooning over him. Getting a better look at him from up close, he was very attractive. Not my type, but I’ll admit gorgeousness when I see it.

I had my squinted eyes trained on him. “Huh? What are you doing here?”

He leaned against the doorframe so nonchalantly. “Why, I work here, Missy!” He then cleared his throat with a series of coughs and pulled out a book hiding in his back pocket. He must have large pockets. “Y’all looking for this? He waved that book around, it looked exactly the same as the books stored inside the archives. I didn’t want to believe what was in his hand.

Kueler stepped forward towards the Maturo and let out a loud gaffaw. “You sly dog!” The two joined hands in a macho handshake, brothers in arms. “Thought you quit being a knight for that ridiculous sport.”

That jab made the Maturo chuckle. The two finally released their grips from one another. “Ridiculous? C’mon man, it ain’t ridiculous if it pays more than working for Royals.”

“A knight’s priorities shouldn’t be coin. Good thing you left the Royal Knights.” The two burst into laughter like children playing. Meanwhile I was left in utter confusion.

“Wait, so you two know each other?” I scratched my head and set my sight on the book hanging from the Maturo’s fingertips.

“Mhm! I trained under Kueler when I was a newbie in the Royal Knights. Name’s Alurek Kada.”

“Right, I’m Charliette. It’s not the first time I’ve seen you around, though.”

“Wait, you’ve been to one of my shows? You a fan?” I saw the man’s lips curl up in ecstasy. He scratched at the scruffy facial hair on his chin and his eyes smiled alongside the rest of his face.

“Yes, I’ve been to one of your shows, but I’m not a huge fan of the Matur Hunts. Sorry.” At my reply, Alurek’s shoulders sank and that charming smile of his was gone for good.

“Gah! You’re harsh, Missy.”

He had a drawl, which made me think he was from the rural communities. Because of that, he talked funny, which was something I was growing more comfortable hearing. The more I heard it, the more I liked it. But this wasn’t the time to talk forever, I had a job to do. We all did.”

Lio then stepped forward to introduce himself, and Alurek returned the gesture once more. It was purely business from then on. “So, do you happen to know where the Doniz records are? They aren’t here in the archives.” I approached Alurek closer, smelling the sweet aroma that his body poured out. I expected him to smell much worse, given his main job. It was a nice smell.

“Oh right, Missy. Here it is.” He finally handed over the book in his hands. “It was being reviewed by higher-ups a few days ago and got left in the meeting room, so I figured I’d put it back. Then I found y’all.”

I grabbed it and immediately cracked it open to read the contents. Three years ago, check. Doniz, check. At the very bottom of the first page was the name we’ve been searching for all this time: “Isla.”

Everyone, including Alurek, gathered around to read the records over my shoulder. The records started off with the marriage records like the copy of marriage certification addressed to Fiar and Isla. So the event of interest occurred not long after their marriage. Then what followed was a bunch of mundane things, like Isla’s many business license renewals in order for her to keep her stall running legally.

I flipped the next page and knew we were hitting the meat of the records. What we all stared at was an exact copy of the quest records inside the Beast Dungeon that Fiar kept. This was it. We all leaned forward in anticipation. We would finally know the truth behind Isla’s disappearance.

The quest was a simple one, just a search and rescue for two lost adventurers who had gone in to capture a matur for the Matur Hunt. We already knew this information, but the records went further in depth. According to the records, Fiar and Isla had went inside the Beast Dungeon and found their lost adventurers about an hour walk away from the dungeon’s entrance. Those adventurers were found battling an angered Matur that thrashed about and continued to charge at them without any signs of fatigue.

The records now recorded the accounts of the lost adventurers, which just about confirmed that they made it out alive somehow. Both adventurers mentioned that Fiar and Isla helped them fight the beast, but it was too feral for them to handle as well, so they all decided to prioritize their lives and flee.

One thing that the small female adventurer—a healer of sort—emphasized was the abundance of traps that littered the dungeon floor. They were hunting themed too, most traps being along the lines of snares, rope traps, or covered hole traps. As the group was running from the acceleration matur, Isla stepped on one of the covered hole traps, made from a thin and crumbling cobblestone layer, and plunged into the deep hole.

As the female healer recounted her memories of the events, this part sent chills up my spine. “We ran as fast as we could, even if my legs were burning so much. Then I saw it, the female adventurer sent to rescue us had stepped on the weak stone flooring, yelping and crying as she fell all the way down the hole hidden under it. I swore I heard the snapping noise of her legs breaking from the fall. Then the wimpers. The wimpers turned to wailing, then to pleading. She didn’t want us to leave her, but we had no choice.”

I stopped reading for a bit and caught a deep breath. I didn’t want to believe this actually happened. We all collected ourselves then dived back into the account of the healer.

“I peered down the hole and stared at her. I was right. Being a healer, I knew the human body like it was the back of my hand. Yet I knew that her femurs snapped in half, and her legs folded back so unnaturally. From all the way down she stared at me and opened her mouth through the excruciating pain she felt. She begged for her husband. She called his name through her agonizing cries. But the matur drew close, and my friend had to drag the husband away. All she wanted was her husband, but we couldn’t do anything. I wish I hadn’t seen that.”

That was the end of the healer’s account. Isla’s record also ended with her death certificate, issued only four months after her marriage certificate. I closed the book and we all stared at one another. The truth was out, Isla was confirmed to be deceased, that was her fate.

My eyes began tearing up just imagining the pain she’d been through. Dying alone in the dark, feeling the excruciating pain of your legs completely shattered and the wet blood covering you head to toe. It was my worst nightmare, and Isla went through that.

I understood why Fiar had serious trauma, to have your wife die like that, especially only months after marriage, and not being able to do anything about it… it would mentally destroy anyone. I was actually reconsidering returning Isla to Fiar, who knew what would happen if we returned her to him in that horrible state she died in? It might just amplify his trauma into something much worse. I was scared he might do something rash.

Even then, we still had to give it a shot. Showing her to him will give him closure. He never saw his wife actually die, which was why his mind perceptualized her to be alive still, from what I assumed. This was the only way to help him out. I steeled my resolve to go forward with the plan.

“We’re going to the Beast Dungeon.” I walked over and inserted Isla’s record back where it was supposed to be.

“Let me go with you,” Alurek was surprisingly the first one to offer a hand. “It was because of one of my shows that those lost adventurers needed to find a matur, so all of this happened because of me. I want to make amends.”

“Finally, I’lll be able to fight alongside another knight,” Kueler bellowed, placing a hand on Alurek’s shoulders. I smiled at their close friendship, then Lio did the same to me, placing his gentle hands over my shoulders.

“You’ll have another mage by your side, too.” Of course, my master would come along, too. We were like two peas in a pod by this point.

And thus the party lineup was made: two mages and two knights. We all banded together, to help save a friend from his sorrow.