Lisa awoke like any other day however this time her body felt a new sensation. Lisa felt physically drained. She still suffered the effects of mana depletion but the potency of it were not as severe.

Exerting a lazy deal of her strength, she groggily forced herself out of the bed sheets. Seeing as today wasn’t going to be a work day per say, she opted to dress more casually today. A dark purple variant of her black work clothes.

She headed for the bathing room and cleaned herself up. The next step was to see what was going on in the guild, so with little vigor, she went down to the first floor of this fairly large establishment.

The guild itself had close to no person in sight, except for a few staff. The vampire behind the counter waved at Lisa and signaled for her to come over.

On top of the counter was a large bag. Naturally, she guessed it had to be cash.

“What’s with the bag? You need me to drop it off somewhere?”

“No, no, it isn’t necessary. This bag has already been delivered.” As the vampire said this, he handed it over to Lisa, who took it with great bewilderment.

Lisa gave the bag a little shook to get a feel for it.

“Geez, just how much is in here? Is this for me? I don’t remember accepting any quests from this guild.”

“Those who you saved yesterday rushed in early this morning to compensate for protecting them.”

“But I said I didn’t want anything. Didn’t Stomp relay that message?”

“He did preach about it, but I believe the reason for why your wishes fell on deaf ears is gratitude.”

“Gratitude…?”

The vampire nodded his head.

“Yes, gratitude. Tell me, Miss. Lisa. If you found yourself in the most dastarous situation where death was imminent, and you yourself believed it would be the end, just to have your life saved by a brave hero, how would you feel?”

“Well, for starters, I think I’d want to repay that hero.”

“Exactly. A hero is only considered a hero if they save someone, and you are that hero. You saved many lives from danger. That bag you are holding is the gratitude of the people you saved. Rejecting that bag is dismissing their gratitude, and it is for that reason I will NOT allow you to refuse it.”

Hero. That title felt strange to be placed on her. She was no hero. Only saints were heroes. The intention of a hero is pure. Hers were not. Her actions may have seemed pure, but the intent behind it were anything but.

Thinking it over, she felt it was wrong to hold this bag with her own hands. She wanted to let go, but knew it would be for nought. The vampire wouldn’t allow it, so she had to take it.

Her eyes were halfway shut and her lips curled down. Her head felt suddenly heavy and it hung low slightly.

The vampire took notice of this and began to wonder.

“Is there something that may be troubling you, Miss. Lisa? Are you possibly unsatisfied with the amount you were given?”

Lisa couldn’t possible tell him what the issue was. Doing so would be risky for her and the others back at the capital. She had to come up with a convincing lie, and thought back to the day before.

The memory of those who helped popped up. Yes! She had something. Something that can be used to fool this vampire.

“It isn’t that. I was just wondering… did Stomp and his pal get anything? It would be wrong if they got absolutely nothing out of this, they had a part to play in all what happened.”

The vampire rested his chin in his hand and stood in a pondering stance.

“From the information I’ve gathered from Mrs. Stomp, I believe not. Mrs. Stomp seems like the kind of individual who hands gifts instead if receiving it. A terrible trade for a merchant.”

From the entrance of the guild, a voice rang out. It echoed a bunch before it went still.

“It’s a little rude when yer talking about the negative aspects of someone, you know. Humph! And to think I was going to spoil you guys today.”

The one who said this was none other than Stomp. His tone didn’t match with what he said. If anything, Lisa was pretty sure he was only pretending to be mad.

“Yo, what’s with the bag? You made a withdrawal?”

“What? No. Actually, I wanted to know if you guys got any rewards for yesterday?”

“Nah, we got nothin’.”

“Then we should spilled this then.”

Lisa tried to hand the bag to Stomp but he pushed it back.

“As much as I like making money, I’ll have to politely decline.”

“I don’t get it. I thought you wanted to be rewarded for your diligence?” Lisa recalled Stomp’s first few sentences when they had met.

“I did at first, but last night made me reconsider. I guess the self-satisfaction of doing such a wonderful job is a reward in itself. And besides, Shedder would just give the money back to you.”

“That makes sense, I suppose. But why I’m I only getting the special treatment then?”

Stomp began to innocently play with his fingers.

“Okay. Don’t get mad. But we may have sort of placed all the credit onto you… sorry.”

“…But why?”

“It was Shedder’s idea. I was dragged into it. If you wanna find out that badly then just ask him when he gets back.”

Lisa had been preoccupied to have notice the absence of a certain gray-haired man.

“Speaking of, where that guy at?”

“He went with Marshall and Sallustia to go investigate.”

Two names Lisa was unfamiliar with. She opened her mouth to ask about these new characters but Stomp interrupted her.

“Riiight. I forgot you weren’t there last night. To put it short, we were talking with that fancy dude from last night, Marshall. Then we started drinking with the guy at some point. Later this chick showed up and joined us, the lady in question is Sallustia. It was really great, even Bruce joined in on the fun. Isn’t that right, Bruce?”

The vampire who had been listening quietly found himself suddenly included in their conversation.

“Correctly so, Mrs. Stomp. Last night was a…memorable experience for me.”

“Sorry, sorry, just got sidetracked a little. Okay, then the topic of yesterday popped up and we gladly explained what happened, then Sallustia asked if one of us could come with her to the woods to do some investigating.”

“Hold up, I thought Shedder was against going back their?”

“Believe me, he begrudgingly accepted. Marshall also went with them cuz Sallustia wouldn’t stop nagging the guy. So now, I’m just keeping myself busy ‘till Shedder comes back.”

Lisa has to take a second to process all the information Stomp spilled out at once. She figured by association, she was distend to meet this Sallustia woman and probably that Marshall guy again.

Going off of Stomp’s experience with the two, it didn’t sound all that unpleasant to Lisa.

As long as they avoid specific questions about her personal life, she sees no issue interacting with Sallustia and Marshall.

She glanced down at the bag she held and wondered if she was supposed to carry this thing around with her all day.

She turned to face the vampire once more and asked, “Is it fine if I put this in my personal bank?”

“Certainly. I only require your card and the bag.”

After handing over the requirements, the vampire swiftly left for the guild’s back room.

Stomp must’ve had a big breakfast this morning that filled him with tons of energy for he could not stop moving from side to side.

“What’s on yer agenda?” Stomp inquired.

“I… really don’t know. I should probably get out and look around, you know, to get a feel for this town.”

“Mind if I tag along? Just in case you get lost. I may not look like much bit I got a good memory.”

“Why not. I’m just waiting for my card then we can bounce.”

The vampire Bruce returned shortly after with Lisa’s card in hand. Taking back what belongs to her, she, with Stomp, set out to wonder the streets of Stillhorn.

The streets were bustling with an absurd amount of activity from all the races. Managing to squeeze their way through the crowd, they opted walk along the riverside.

“Lively city.” Stomp stated.

“No kidding. You’d think this place would only have half of its population, but no, for some reason the animals are acting strange and it’s a danger just going into the woods.”

“Really a shame, isn’t it? They’d be having more fun at the capital than staying put here. Let’s hope Shedder and the others have a lead.”

“I hope I find my lead.” Lisa whispered more so to herself. It was still too early to hunt down anyone, and the vague description didn’t help much either.

‘A young kid in roughed up clothing. I can’t believe I’m going to kidnap a child. That’s if they’re even real.’

Shadows sailed overhead and they looked up to see a flog of birds rushing to a faraway tent. The flog descended from the heavens themselves and as if they all shared the same mind, began ‘attacking’ the tent.

“Now that’s something I haven’t seen. Should we go check it out?” Lisa asked.

“I don’t see any reason for why we shouldn’t.”

The due made a beeline for what they considered to be the most entertaining aspect of this town. Several minutes had gone by before they reached their destination. Lisa would have arrived much sooner had she been alone, but she waited for Stomp since he was no where close to matching her speed.

Stomp sat down on the hard pavement as he tried catching his breath. They were positioned outside one of the many shops, steering clear from getting swallowed up in the crowd.

“You… you are quite a fast lady… I hope you know that.”

“I’m actually not in great shape. I’m still suffering from mana depletion.”

“Didn’t you use the manadite I gave you?”

“Nope. I’m not gonna waste something that valuable on myself.”

Stomp laughed between breaths as he forced himself to stand again. He patted his rear before locking his gaze at Lisa.

“I can’t really blame you for it but there are other ways you can recover, though.”

Lisa nodded sagely as she herself already knew about the variety of ways to recover from lack of mana.

“I’ll be fine, so don’t worry. After checking out that onslaught that’s going, I’m gonna go hit up a restaurant near by.”

Stomp smiled nervously which Lisa found quite odd of the blue merchant.

“I don’t suppose you’d mind again if I joined you?”

“I’m not apposed to the idea. It’s better than talking to a crow.” Lisa stated as she walk off.

“Talking to a crow…?”

The duo arrived to an all out brawl between man and animal. They stood far from the action but could still see everything without issue. A portly man dressed in a ringmaster outfit, with the assistance of his guard, vigorously fought their battle. It ended no sooner than they arrived. The outcome had been predicted from the get go. Only a fool would think otherwise.

Bird corpses covered the front entrance. Blood tainted the hallow pavement. It wasn’t the preferable sight anyone would want to bare witness to.

Throughout this entire awful display, Lisa did however take note of the odd behavior the birds were showing.

Stomp seemed to have a similar line of thinking. As he not so subtlety gestured at the corpses.

“Similar behavior, just like the animals outside.” Stomp stated as a matter of fact.

“Looks like this place is also being effected. But the question by what.”

“This might not be all that important, but this thing that’s making the animals go nutso, does it have a range to it?” Stomp’s inquiry made the gears in Lisa’s head turn faster.

“I’m not sure. But if it does, then that’s one hell of a range to have. But if you ask me, I’m certain that whatever is causing them to turn aggressive, it’s at its strongest here.”

Stomp’s surprised face was to be expected. But what she had said did make since to her, if you paid closer attention.

“I think I might be following things a bit slow. Mind elaborating?”

Lisa rested a hand on her hip, dangerously close to her throwing knives. A faint smugness surfaced as she began her pragmatic explanation.

“Notice the difference between the animals here and the ones outside. The critters in the woods were hostile at us and at any moment could have attacked, but they didn’t. –Except when you yell out, I suppose. But here it’s different. Ask yourself this, why did they attack that tent?”

Stomp’s lips remained shut. It seemed like he couldn’t give a proper answer. So Lisa went on.

“What we’ve seen so far, the animals here that have been affected turn hostile and they do attack. But I don’t think they just mindlessly attack anyone. It really doesn’t make sense to why they would target this place specifically. It would have made more sense to go after any of the markets or restaurants, but they didn’t.”

“So what you’re trying imply is that they were ordered to attack.”

“Yeah. By something or someone. Those birds went as far to throw their own lives away. So the influence this thing has over them here is terrifying. Those bears we fought ran away when their numbers dropped. Which should mean that they still had some control over themselves.”

Stomp clapped his hands on Lisa’s theory. Lisa failed to hide the corner of her lips curling upwards as Stomp praised her.

“Wow! I’m really impressed. You noticed that small of a detail? You should probably quit being an adventurer and change to being a detective.”

“Thanks… But don’t get too excited yet. This is only a theory. I can still be wrong about this, which is likely. I still don’t know much about what’s going on behind the scenes.”

Stomp placed a hand on Lisa’s shoulder, and shot her a toothy smile.

“Don’t worry about. We’ll just wait for Shedder and the other to come back and we’ll ask if any animal was behaving more oddly over there than here, and then we can just go on from their.”

Lisa responded with a lazy nod. She was ready to leave but Stomp’s grip on her was firm.

“Before we leave, I should tell you that I know that man.” Stomp eyed to portly man who had knit his brow in frustration as he angrily marched into the tent.

“Is he a dangerous guy?”

“His a very sketchy man. I try to avoid him at the merchant guild. Try your best to limit all interactions with him. You’ll only get yourself in trouble with a guy like that.”

The blue merchant frowned as he said this.

Lisa knew there was more to be revealed about that man, but like usual, she hadn’t been to curious to learn more. Despite what her conscience was telling her.

Lisa and Stomp explored the town to their hearts content but in all honesty, it was utterly uneventful. They grew tired from exploring a town that didn’t had much more to offer, so they took a break at a restaurant that had caught the attention of Stomp.

Lisa was overall not a chatty woman, so conversation didn’t last long. Stomp on the other hand kept on talking about trivial things even when Lisa hadn’t contribute much to the topic, mainly because she really couldn’t think of anything, it was just one of those topics you really couldn’t talk much about, but this wasn’t a problem for both parties.

Lisa didn’t mind listening, she enjoyed what the merchant had to say. She just ate her meal and stared at everything beyond the glass window.

The sun was still high up and the gigantic rift in the sky gave off its usual pink glow. The two had nothing to do so they went back to the guild. The guild itself was spreading with more life than it had this morning. Lisa surveyed everyone presents, but couldn’t spot the one they wanted to see most.

Stomp released a disappointed sigh.

“Still not back yet, huh? His gonna make me worry if he keeps doing this.”

“You really worry a lot about someone who can handle themselves.”

“Its only natural that I would. Wouldn’t you care about your best friend?”

There were only a few people the black-haired woman was close with, and out of all of them, her best friend had to be the goldie drunk. Even with her addiction.

“Unfortunately for myself, I do care about my closest hanging bud.”

“Then you should be able to understand why I worry a lot about Shedder. His still a growing boy, after all. Human life is very fragile. Even a small, untreated cut could lead to a nasty infection that could potentially lead to death.”

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Lisa had to agree with the blue merchant. The world they existed in was a far cry from what it used to be. Remnants of the Great Revolt are scattered across all nations. They threaten the very existence of everything. It’s nothing short of a miracle that fate had not decided an encounter with those things while in the forest.

Thinking about soothing words to ease the heart of the blue merchant, Lisa spoke the words that surfaced in her consciences.

“Have faith in him, okay? You were confident about his capabilities yesterday, so why start doubting them now? His not alone. I don’t know anything about the other two, but surely they can fight, if not, then it wouldn’t make sense why they would go there when it’s steadily becoming a dangerous territory.”

Stomp opened and closed his mouth. This went on for several seconds before he seemed to have constructed a conversable sentence.

“…Thanks… I was fine with him fighting those monsters cuz you were with him. He knows what his doing, after all. I only worry about him now that you’re not with him, but it should be fine. Besides, his theoretically immortal, so I can ease up a bit.”

“Wait, what…?”

“Ah, shoot. His really gonna give me an ear full about that. Please don’t tell him I said that. Mind keeping this secret exclusive to just us?”

Scratching his cheek, the blue merchant begged the black haired-woman.

“Uuh, alright… We can just put that hot topic on the side. Is there anything in particular you want to do in the meantime?”

“You wanna play a game of cards? That’ll make time fly by faster, or any other game that you find to be entertaining.”

“I’ll bite. But do go easy on me, okay. I don’t got much experience.”

“Isn’t there a saying that failure is the best teacher? And if that’s the case,” Stomp’s friendly smile grew wide. “then you’ll become a pro when up against a god like me.”

Lisa had a good feeling that she made a mistake by accepting this match against the blue merchant. One look at that dark, innocent smile was more than enough reassurance that she was in fact not going to have fond memories of this particular afternoon. A little part of her shuddered at the thought.

______________________________________________

“Does anything look out of place?” Sallustia directed this question to none other than the gray-haired man.

Shedder shook his head with both relief and disappointment. Relief, that the scene had not been tampered with. And disappointment, for not finding anything useful that could provide an answer to their burning queries.

They were at the same location where Lisa had her solo battle, the same battle Shedder had been absent for.

Shedder stood up and released a silent heave. “No. Everything has remained untouched. This investigation has unfortunately amounted to nothing. No, it may just be my lack of attentiveness for observation. Lisa may have taken notice of a detail we failed to discover.”

Marshall who hadn’t done much to help out finally spoke up. “If that chick might know something, then why didn’t we bring her with? Now we got to come back to this danger zone.”

Sallustia gave Marshall an angry glare before letting out a sigh of her own. “She pushed her body to the limit. Not just for her own survival, but the lives of others. She’s a hero, an example of what a knight should strive to be. Forcing her to come here in a weaken state doesn’t sit well with me. We can hopefully gather useful information from her later.”

Marshall looked to the side as he says, “Still, you could’ve had just left me back at the guild and I’d have asked her myself.”

“She may be unwilling to share vital information with a stranger, especially with a man she might have a bad opinion of.” Shedder nonchalantly spoke those words without a thought about how Marshall may react.

“Damn, you might be right about that. Maybe she told Stomp or Bruce already?”

“That is something we’ll learn when we return. But for now, I think departing quickly as possible would be for our best interest. More hurdles might be thrown our way the longer we stay.”

Sallustia crossed her arms closely to her chest. “I agree. We merely got lucky with the last surprise attack, and an even more powerful foe could show up at this moment.”

Marshall shoved his hands in his pockets and walked off away from the two. “You ain’t hearing any objections from this man. Let’s say our farewells to the heaps of dried blood and decapitated corpses laying about.”

Shedder and Sallustia followed Marshall back to their ride back to Stillhorn. The two felt a tinge of frustration at the their lack of findings. They had nothing to go off of, no leads to direct them, and they’re only hope could possibly lie in a mysterious woman.

______________________________________________

How long have they been playing? How many times has she heard the blue jerk laugh? How much more could Lisa persist? At her current lose streak of 23, it would not be far fets to state that it would be now.

“Oh dear, I won again. Not that I’m surprised. The game starts losing its excitement the more wins you rack up. And by now, I was expecting that you would’ve turn the tides a bit?”

Lisa rested her crossed arms on the table and lowered her head, lazily gazing at the victor. To her credit, she had shown some level of improvement in each game, with every match lasting longer.

“I said I hadn’t had much experience when it comes to cards. And I’m tapping out. This isn’t fun anymore.”

“Yeah. I don’t wanna keep on playing if you ain’t enjoying it.”

Stomp took of his hat and drew the deck back in it. Lisa wasn’t sure how she would go about to explain this to someone. It just… vanished.

“I couldn’t help but notice that you made those cards dissappear inside your hat, what’s up with that?”

Stomp mounted his hat on top of his head, and resting his chin inside of his palm.

“I dunno. It’s just something I can do. Just one of my abilities, I guess. The only who can give you a proper answer to that is death.”

“Who? Like your parents?”

“I guess you could call him my father by the fact he did create me. But our relationship was more of me just following him around and him just doing what he wanted.”

Lisa wondered how she was supposed to follow up after hearing that. She hadn’t anticipated such an answer.

“And what about your parents? Do you have a happy relationship with them?”

Her parents. The people responsible for her existence. Two nameless individuals who remain as nothing but shadowy figures in her consciousness.

“My… dad likes to spoil me to the point that it should be criminal. And I appreciate it, but it just becomes a little much to bear, so I just end up yelling at him, or even begging him to stop.”

“From an outside point of view, that seems entertaining to watch.”

“Not for me it isn’t. I get loving your child and giving them the entire world is what some parents like to do, but at some point you need to ask yourself when is it too much.”

“You think maybe you’re dad might be overcompensating for something?”

“I highly doubt that. That’s just how he is. A very over dramatic man.”

Something in Stomp seemed to lit up. He looked to be reminiscing about something. He then stared cross-eyed at Lisa’s purple-colored eyes, studying it with great interest.

“… Hey, Lisa?... You don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to…but is your dad by chance—”

At that exact moment, the guild erupted into deafening cheers. All those present – excluding the staff – shouted the name of a man. The same man who threw a glass at Lisa.

He merely waved a hand in the air to temper the increasing cheers. No soon after, the sudden eruption of loud noises began to stagnate.

It was only when the guild when back to inaudible murmurs did Marshall reveal his inner thoughts.

“Ease up on the love, would you? We can’t have this dashing figure go deaf, now can we?”

Standing in the doorway was two figures obscured by the sunlight shining through the main entrance. The figure on the right quickly came into view with a “I can’t believe this” expression. She was a pretty woman. Had your comical blue eyes and shorter blond hair. Dressed in the standard knight uniform, but what made hers noticeable different was the golden cape that fluttered as she proceeded to move passed the man with all the “love” primarily on him.

The other figure was more recognizable to Lisa. She only knew one person with grey hair. It was obviously Shedder. Unlike the knight, his facial features were more neutral than anything else. His eyes darted around like he was looking for something in particular.

It was always when he made direct eye contact with the blue merchant and the black-haired woman did he move around Marshall, who was still bathing in all the attention he was receiving.

They were seated at the back of the large hall of the guild, and had to make an attempt to push their way through the crowed of people present.

Shedder took a seat adjacent the blue merchant and greeted the duo with an unenthusiastic tone.

The knight took steady steps while her gaze had been on Lisa. She sat down next to Shedder and was sitting adjacent the black-haired woman. She opened her mouth to speak but was fumbling each and every letter.

When she seemed to have prepared a coherent sentence did she finally preach what she wanted to say.

“Uh… I’m… your Lisa, am I right?” The blond woman spoke with uncertainty and a lack of courage unbefitting of a knight.

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“I… I want to thank you for what you did before you came here. I would have done this sooner, but you had more pressing matters been the night before, so therefore, I’m doing it now.”

Lisa crossed her legs and straightened her posture. She started idly playing with her braided-hair.

“You really don’t have to go that far for me. It’s our duty as adventures to protect the civilians from harms way. So I’m just doing what’s required of me.”

“The same for us knight too. We must risk everything to prolog the peace times… Even if the cost is our lives.”

The exchange shared between the two made Lisa realize that adventures and knights were quite similar to each other. Both are instructed to protect and fight the dangers outside and inside the safe walls they reside in. And both jobs had the highest fatality risks worldwide.

‘Maybe I should take Stomp’s advice and change careers. I’d hate to make step-dad ball his eyes out if word got around I died.’

An interesting topic started to brew inside the black-haired woman’s head. And she wanted to get the knight’s input on it.

“If you think about it, why are we in such a rough line of work?”

With no hesitation the knight spoke flatly.

“I have the strength to save people. Strength that could change people’s lives. Strength that should be used responsibly for something greater than myself. And It would definitely be a shame if I just let it waste away… having served no purpose.”

Lisa sat in her seat stunted. As did the rest who were within earshot—which was the other two whose names began with the same letter.

The knight’s reason for being in one of the most life-threatening occupations was undoubtedly commendable. But Lisa was indifferent, in fact, she didn’t even want this damn job in the first place. It was Mavericks constant pleading for Lisa to sign up for this gig in order for her to “grow”.

Stomp had an expression that expressed his amazement.

“That’s a nice reasoning to have. I’ve heard that some knights do it out of obligation.”

The knight laughed simply.

“I can’t object. It is true that most of our units feel a since of obligation, but I can’t blame them for feeling that way. You really are asking too much when you force someone to go direct to the danger instead of fleeing from it.”

“That’s not the case for everyone though.” Marshall spoke those words with no humor or sarcasm attached.

“Even you have to admit it, Sallustia. We got some men who practically crave for excitement like that.”

The knight turned her head to get a better look at man.

“You finally satisfied with all that attention?” It was quite evident that she was not in the slightest amused by her tone alone.

Marshall waved his hands in a defensive manner. As to indicate that she had it all wrong.

“Hey, it’s not like I wanted all those eyes on me. I can’t be blamed for just being so naturally popular.”

“Your entire profession revolves around not attracting attention to yourself.” The knight was growing frustrated and it was clearly showing.

“Alright, alright, I’ll try not to be a magnet for attention. Don’t want the golden star teaching me a lesson.”

The knight winced at the title.

“You more than anyone should know how I’m not fond of being called that.”

“It’s your fault for getting the title. Nobody told you to be the best there is.”

Shedder waved a hand to get Marshall’s attention. When his focus had been switched over to someone else, Shedder gestured at Lisa with a shake of his head.

“Oh… hi…”

“Hello.”

Marshall scratched the back of his head as he sat down next the knight.

“Hi there... You probably know my name…but I’d still like to introduce myself. You can call me Marshall. I’m the best there is in what I do.”

“Lisa. No need to exchange last names.”

“This is going better than I imagined…” Marshall took a deep breath to get ready for what comes next. “Sorry about before. You probably have a nasty opinion of me. I should have presented myself in a more dignified manner.”

“Nah. Don’t worry about that. I wasn’t behaving my best last night, too. So I guess we’re both at fault here.”

The knight had questions to what they could possibly be referring to, but had a quick realization of what she had forgotten.

She coughed loudly so the gaze of the black-haired woman would be on her.

“I seemed to have skipped a part in my introduction. My name is Sallustia, the knight who represents House Richmond, and… the one who is stuck with him.”

“Stop making it out to be that I’m a chore to work with.”

“Your very difficult to partner up with.”

Stomp had something on his mind ever since his friends came back from that awful place, but kept it to the side until everyone said what they had to say.

“It’s nice that we’re all getting along with each other but there’s something I’d like to know.”

“Your referring to our findings, no?” Shedder knew exactly what Stomp wanted answers to. After all, he knew the silly merchant better than anyone. Possibly even better than Hopper ever did.

“On the dot as always, buddy!”

“Sorry if this may not be the news you were hoping for, but our discovery has only yielded further dissatisfaction.”

Sallustia shamefully nodded her head at Shedder’s statement.

“It’s very unfortunate for me as well. As the Golden Star, it’s nerve-wracking that I don’t have a single lead, this will surely disappointment many that expected more from me.”

Lisa thought that Marshall was simply joking when he called Sallustia by the title “Golden Star”, but she called herself by that as well, and if this is to be believed, then Lisa must be more careful what she says and does around the knight from now on.

“Your not the only one who’ll get an earful from his superiors and co-workers. I might actually be more screwed than you.”

It was unsure if Marshall’s intention was to ease the knight’s concerns, or voice his own. Lisa figured it may as well be both.

“Incidentally, is there perhaps something of interest the two of you stumbled upon?” Shedder inquired.

“I’m glad you asked! There was this incident a while ago.” Stomp relayed.

“What sort of incident?”

Stomp went on to summarize every little thing that happened with that ringmaster and the crazed behavior of the birds.

Shedder had been taken aback at the mentioning of the ringmaster. Lisa still knew nothing of that balloon of a man, another thing she was ignorant about, but it doesn’t take someone with a higher intellect to understand that, that ringmaster guy was popular. For the wrong reasons maybe.

“So the animals here can also become a hassle, huh.” Marshall said.

“Around the same time we were attacked out of the blue. Something I took notice of is that there appeared to be a struggle for control, like they were fighting against something.” Shedder revealed this minor detail that he wasn’t quite sure that Sallustia or Marshall had observed.

“Then this is worrisome. The birds are already under… whatever this is. How long before this spreads to other animals?” Sallustia mumbled this to herself.

“There is some good news, maybe.” Lisa stated.

Marshall raised an eye brow at the black-haired woman.

“Oh? And what might that be?”

“I’m confident that the source for all of this is here. Somewhere in this town.”

Lisa explained her theory from before. The more she went into detail, the more sensible it sounded.

“And to top it all off. I think going through that ringmaster’ goods might give us a clue. I think there’s something inside those birds wanted.”

Instead of responding to the black-haired woman, the group merely looked off elsewhere. Shedder had a gut feeling that nobody was going to speak up. So he felt like the one who had to shoot down Lisa’s suggestion.

“Had it been someone else entirely, I’d had approved at the idea… but for the foreseeable future, I believe holding off on that is for the best. There still are other possibilities we have yet to explore.”

The knight nodded her head in agreement.

“We should explore more areas before doing something hasty. It may have just been a coincidence that, that man and his boys were attack.”

“Look, I can tell breaking and entering doesn’t sit well with you guys, but we can’t deny that there might be something crucial just waiting in there. And why do you sound so apprehensive?” Lisa was failing to understand to why none of them were on the same page as her.

Stomp called out to the black-haired woman.

“Lisa, listen. That guy is an important figure in the merchant guild. If he spots you, or anyone of us, then it’s going to be serious trouble.”

“Yeah. Take it from me. If I pissed that guy off, I’ll probably have my salary lowered.” Even with Marshall’s status, enraging someone with that much influence would have some nasty repercussions.

Lisa took her defeat with a semblance of irritation. It would be sooo easy for the black-haired woman to sneak in at night undetected and back out before anyone would even notice. She’s done it enough times to call herself a pro. But that was something that didn’t need to be shared.

The knight took a deep breath and used her hands to prop herself up.

“If the outcome result in us still empty handed then I’ll go pay Aldred a personal visit. No need for you to sneak into a shady business such as that. But us spreading out would cover more ground to clear. The sun is still shining bright so there’s more than enough time for us to learn something new.”

“Hold up, you want go now?” Marshall asked.

“Was I not clear with my intention?”

“We just came back and you already want to go out snooping again? Do I need to remind that we literally fought a battle not long ago?”

“I was courteous to take your feelings in particular in account, and since you are liked among the adventures, I’m leaving you to gather useful Intel for us.”

Stomp raised hand high in the air, prompting the knight to gaze at the blue merchant.

“And what about us?”

“Before I get to that, what sections have you and Lisa wandered?”

“Oh, we, uh, mostly were just walking north. Saw nothing else to talk about.”

“Stomp, I’ll be pairing you up with Shedder. The two of you can take the east section. That’s if the two of you don’t mind?”

Shedder and Stomp were on board, and the only one left was Lisa.

“Lisa? May I have your assistants in our endeavor? It really will come a long way the more of us there are.”

The knight stared at Lisa pleadingly. The longer it went on, the more uncomfortable Lisa became. Lisa felt a sense of obligation to help out, instead of her own free will. But at the end, it really wouldn’t change much. Her two main priorities is to acquire a reputation that would make onlookers not too overly suspicious whenever she’s doing something out of the ordinary, and to find the person who’s still eluding her.

“I’m already this far in, so it’s not like I can say no. I can’t promise anything but I’ll try to help with what I can.”

The knight smiled happily at the black-haired woman as she outstretched her hand for a handshake. An agreement between two parties.

“Let us do our absolute best and life long enough to look back at these times.”

Lisa took the plunge and shook the knight’s hand with a firm grip.

“It would be an interesting story to tell my future children how I met the golden star.”

The knight grimaced at the mentioning of her title.

“Calling me by name makes me happier than being regarded by that title.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

______________________________________________

Amidst the Town of Stillhorn, nothing ensued. Wandering the western alleyways of the town were two woman of different statuses. Lisa the part-time adventure. And Sallustia the knight.

They had merely wandered the streets when Lisa suddenly made a sharp turn into a random alley. The knight followed close behind. She didn’t like the quiet atmosphere and grabbed the hilt of her sword. The sword of house Richmond.

This action was only out of the eeriness Sallustia felt.

“…”

Sallustia struggled to spit out a single word. She felt something swarming in her stomach that made her want to vomit it out. Ever since they were in the open, she had this gut feeling that they were being followed. She would occasionally turn her head and see nothing that could arise suspension. However, she became aware of a single crow that had been trailing them for a while now.

It would change directions every time the knight made visual contact but it kept on returning, and each time it became more and more arduous to spot the unusual birdie.

It was evolving. Something that shouldn’t be possible to achieve in a matter of minutes. Was this influence some sort of a new disease? Able to cause accelerated mutation at an alarming rate?

No. It’s possible, but doesn’t make total sense. Why is it following them of all people? Shouldn’t it be attacking already? It’s just… stalking them.

Does the influence effect other animals differently, or does it simply require time for it to fully take control?

Maybe… maybe…

Or could it be… Just like Stomp had brought up the likelihood of them being ordered to act out these directives?

If that is so… then the miscreant responsible for putting many of their fellow innocent human beings in jeopardy, is cognizant of them.

Does this give silent clarification of Lisa’s unforeseen reaction? Did Lisa have some awareness of their flapping stalker? Is this why their walking down this narrowed alleyway?

Sallustia felt a lump forming in her throat. If only Lisa wasn’t a new face to the knight, then Sallustia wouldn’t be so sheepish.

She was able to overcome most these feelings of timidity when Marshall was around, but now she was on her own. With no one to rely on to.

For as much as the man frustrated the knight, she became dependent on him to help her become more relaxed and less stressful around newcomers. Maybe it’s for that reason she gives the man more leeway than he deserves.

“I’m wondering when you’ll ask me? I expected you would do it the second I took that hard right?”

The black-haired woman’s soft voice guided the knight out of her trance. The knight immediately spoke but what came out was a rapid jumble of words. This went on until the knight recomposed herself in a more dignified manner.

“U-uh… I’m sorry. W-what was that? Ask you about what exactly?”

“Why we’re walking down this very unhygienic alley. Yer cue to ask about it were moments ago.”

“O-oh!... What…compelled you to take such a passage?”

Lisa stared at the knight with tired eyes. Crossing both arms with her back leaning against the brick wall.

“A buddy of mine once told me that alleyways are the main source of disposing something you don’t want someone to find. He told that it’s also a gathering place for illegal trading. A ton of murdering happens in locations as this. I can go on and on but I’m not feeling it.”

“Uuuuhh… Your friend is quite a knowledgeable fellow.”

“He knows a lot, I’ll give him that. But I want to see if there are some truth to what he says. Hence why we’re here. Maybe I should’ve asked you first. Sorry being so willful.”

The knight loosened her grip around the sword and forced a shaky laugh out of her mouth.

“No, no! This is completely fine with me. It’s a nice change of… scenery. And besides, a vital clue may as well be skulking somewhere near.”

“Happy to see you more optimistic than me about this. I thought someone like you would’ve been revolted at the idea of even being here?”

“I couldn’t call myself a knight if I was scared off by an unpleasant passageway. I’m not afraid to soil my uniform, though, it would be inconvenient for me to be seen in such a state of blemish.”

The black-haired woman strolled the corridors at a radar slow pace. The knight followed a couple steps behind. Her max attention had not been on her surroundings, but the heavens.

She swore she saw that same crow again. It had to be that exact one. It had a purple string tied around the next. That’s how she knew it was the same stalker.

Why was this thing so adamant on following them? It didn’t seem like it yearned for anything in particular. Nor did it make any attempt to close the distance. It was perfectly content staying far away but close enough to keep them in sight.

‘Now I’m sure of it. It’s following the behest of our miscreant. This crow’s behavior is far too unnatural to overlook. And Lisa has been too fixated what’s in front of her to notice this little spy. Eventually it will turn tail back to its master, then I’ll trail it back to the origin point. I don’t want to involve Lisa any further if I have to. After we’re done here, and I uncover our miscreants hideous, I’ll go fetch Marshall and the both of us can detain the perpetrator.’

The black-haired woman sauntered around the corner before freezing in her tracks. The knight became alert and swiftly withdrew her sword. When she stood next the black-haired woman, all that was visibly present was another vacant alleyway.

She scanned their environment but ultimately came to be fruitless. The one thing that did however piqued the knights interest, was a crudely makeshift bed made from scraps of cardboard and a single shredded blanket.

It was sizeable to fit a young child. The thought made the knight pity the child’s circumstances. It truly was a misfortune that poverty effect not only adults, but children as well. The knight wished she was more capable of going about ridding Shallhon of its poverty.

But the knight herself, didn’t have such funds, nor did house Richmond for that matter, to invest in such a pricey project. House Richmond was known for their excellent compatibility, not their wealth.

All the knight had was strength. But that strength was going to amount to nothing.

She turned to face the black-haired woman and found her to be in deep thought. Her eyes were concentrated on the makeshift bed.

It was difficult for the knight to get a read on the black-haired woman. From the moment they met up in till now, Lisa has had the same expression of pure weariness, and her demeanor gave Sallustia the impression that she suffered from fatigue.

The knight began to worry for the black-haired woman. She was unaware if Lisa was had gotten sick before coming here, or was cursed in the midst of her solo standoff.

Those dark bags underneath her eyes could not be so easily neglected. It is entirely possible that her sleep schedule could use a little reworking if the problem was caused by a sleeping disorder.

“We can go now. Standing here is only gonna waste more time. And I bet you don’t like being in one place for too long?”

Lisa turned her head to the side, gazing at the knight with a single eye.

The knight reacted strongly. Giving a slightly parted, wide, open mouth smile.

“Y-yes! There are many uncharted areas we still need to visit. And it would be wise of us to exploit the opportunity that remains viable to us.”

With that said, Lisa walked off, creating a distance between her and the knight. The knight on the other hand stood in place. Her face was skywards, eyeing their little stalker. It stared back, before hopping off the rooftop. It flapped its wings and flew to the next building.

‘So it’s not ready to leave just yet? It knows I’m cognizant of it… Really, this is the strangest situation I volunteered to be apart of.’