Emily's POV
Ever since that day with Liam in the training room, Emily has spent everyday trying to practice with her magic. She hasn't improved much since then, but she did feel like she could feel the water in her mind a little better now though.
It was almost if someone was holding a sword, but was unable to to carry it off the ground and swing it around. That was how Emily felt with water when she tried to control it. It was in her grasp, but she was unable to do anything with it.
She hoped she'd have the time to improve more, but fate had other things in store for her as she would find out. She found herself waiting in the living room with Jaxon and Thandor for the others to arrive.
A mission. What could it be? I'm as nervous as I am curious about it.
Emily took a glance at Thandor, who said he'd explain what the mission was once every member of Aludell was present.
I doubt teacher will tell me anything, even if I asked really really nicely. I suppose all I can do is wait for Nicole to get Liam and Karl from the church.
Turning her attention to Jaxon, who exuded his usual annoyance, Emily mustered the courage to voice her question.
"W-What do you think the mission is going to be, Jaxon?" Emily asked the boy sitting next to her, almost too nervous to voice her question.
"I don't know. All I know is our teacher SURE loves keeping us hanging." Jaxon responded, rolling his eyes in characteristic fashion.
"Now now, Jaxon. I'd rather explain the mission while everyone is here, as that way I won't have to explain it twice." Thandor chimed in with a smile, eliciting another eye roll from Jaxon.
"Aren't you nervous, Jaxon?" Emily asked, hoping the boy can relate to what she's feeling right now.
"Not really. It has been a while since we had a mission, and I've been wanting to go out there and prove myself." Jaxon answered honestly.
"Oh."
I see. I suppose that makes sense. Maybe this says a lot about me. I mean, I am a member of Aludell, so I should think the same way as Jaxon here, right? And yet when I had heard we're going to have a mission, all I felt was dread.
And then suddenly, Nicole walked into the room with Liam and Karl, who were followed by two knights right behind them.
The first was Gareth Stonehelm, Durthon's nephew. An 18 year old knight. Emily observed his deep ebony hair, reminiscent of his uncle's, and noted the discerning gaze he cast, particularly directed towards Thandor. It seems he keeps an eye on Thandor far more than he does on the rest of the Aludell members.
The second knight was Vincent Caldwell, who happened to be 19 years old. He did not look happy as he walked into the Aludell home. His hair, a shade of raven black, is meticulously groomed, framing a face chiseled with the solemnity of his responsibilities. His piercing eyes, a deep and intense shade of steel gray.
Emily knew of these knights, she knew it was their job to keep an eye out on Aludell members, to make sure they don't pull anything funny. She however had never engaged in conversation with them, and truth be told, she preferred to keep it that way; the knights made her nervous.
"There you all are!" Thandor greeted with a smile, not paying any attention to the two knights in the room.
"Sorry it took us so long!" Nicole expressed.
"Is it true? There is a mission?" Liam asked, curiosity painted on his face. A face Emily tried her hardest not to look at, though sometimes it was hard.
"Yes, that's right. A mission from his Majesty the King no less." Thandor answered, sounding serious this time.
A mission from the King himself....I feel like my mind still hasn't wrapped itself around that. To think someone that important is giving someone like me a mission is hard to comprehend.
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After all the Aludell members took a seat in the living room, all staring at their teacher, Thandor, he finally began explaining.
"The mission entrusted to us by his Majesty King Aricad II is thus; there is a very disturbing rumor spreading in the west of the Kingdom, in the Duchy of Willowmere territory to be more specific." Thandor began, all the Aludell members, plus the two knights were giving him their full attention.
"Since the start of the past month, a series of chilling murders has unfolded within the duchy. Travelers, unfortunate souls, were discovered brutally slain, their bodies mutilated beyond recognition. What makes this particularly alarming is that the killer spared neither women nor children. What's more, the murders seem devoid of any discernible motive. No valuables were taken from the victims as far as we know, and there appears to be no common thread connecting the victims."
Oh no, how awful...
Both Emily and Nicole looked disturbed and shocked by the gruesome news, but that didn't stop Thandor from continuing.
"Just who could this killer be? Is it one person, or a group of sick-minded individuals? This is where the rumor comes in. There have been a few witnesses who swear on Arlin's name that they saw a knight, his armor covered in so much blood, around the scenes where some of the crimes took place. Of course, they have no way to prove what they saw. There is a possibility they might be lying, or that whatever they saw had nothing to do with the murders that took place."
"A knight..." Vincent muttered thoughtfully, clearly absorbed in contemplation.
"This is where we come in. Our mission is to investigate this rumor and this blood knight of ours, in hopes of finding an answer to the murders. And while our mission is NOT to capture that blood knight, if he really is out there, it would still be welcomed."
"Are we sure it's a knight?" Liam asked, his tone serious.
"We really don't know. It could be someone posing as a knight, and that again if they really are out there and not just a rumor that was made up for whatever reason." Thandor replied before continuing. "Regardless, a civil war might break out any minute now in the Kingdom of Storith to the west of us. Having a person, be it a knight or not, going around killing people in the Duchy neighboring Storith is one of the last things we need right now."
"A.... Civil war?" Emily asked. She had no idea about any of this. Thandor turned to look at her with a smile.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
"Haha, I suppose you wouldn't know about it. There are two factions in the Kingdom of Storith right now, one who favors the King and one who favors his brother and wants him on the throne instead. " Thandor quickly explained. "The events there have nothing to do with our mission, but they are a reason why solving this mystery as fast as possible is important. Our full attention as Kingdom should be on Storith right now. We can't have this blood knight take any of that attention away "
This was starting to quickly become too much and overwhelm Emily. The idea of Kings, civil wars, factions, and all of that was too much for a girl like her who grew up in a small village.
"But just how are we suppose to find this knight or clues about him anyway?" Asked Jaxon as Liam nodded, who also seemed to have the same question in mind.
"About that, for this mission, you'll start by heading to the town closest to where the last murder occurred." Thandor responded. "Around there is also where someone claims to have seen a blood knight, making it a good place to start the investigation. The town is called Gekra."
"So, to be clear, our mission is to investigate the rumor and see what we can find out about this rumored blood knight, right?" Liam sought clarification.
"That is correct, yes. Capturing would be nice as well if possible, of course, but our main goal at the end of the day is to gather as much information about him as possible."
"And who will be going on this mission, teacher?" Nicole asked this time, her face looking pale. Jaxon was looking at her with concern on his face.
"Glad you asked, Nicole. Don't worry, neither you or I will be going. " Thandor reassured. "Neither Karl or Emily have went on a mission yet, so they should go to experience what a mission is like. I'd like for Jaxon and Liam to go as well just in case a some sort of fight were to happen, though of course I pray it won't come down to that."
"If you're not going, Thandor, then I suppose it will be Vincent going along with Aludell on this mission." Gareth finally spoke as he stared at his fellow knight.
"Wait, not all of us are going?" Emily asked, a little surprised by what she was hearing.
I had assumed all of us will tackle this mission together. Is that not the case?
"Sadly no. Rules have it only 4 of us can go at a mission at a time. Well, it was 3 before you joined, Emily. The rule is in place as some, like our lovely knight here, think it would cause too much problem too have so many witches out at once, while also making it hard to keep an eye out on all of them." Thandor spoke as he gave a fake smile to Gareth and Vincent, who rolled their eyes.
"And it's a pretty good rule if you ask me! You witches can't be trusted!" Vincent lashed out, but he wasn't finished. "And about this mission's team, I can't say I approve!" He said, pointing at Emily.
"Oh? Why not?" Thandor asked.
"That kid Karl could be useful with his magic, but her? Does she even know how to control her magic yet? What good will she be on the mission? This girl will just slow us down." Vincent spoke as he judged Emily, who looked sad, but she knew she couldn't really deny what he was saying.
It's true....I can't really control my magic yet. I doubt I'd be useful. His words hurt, but are they wrong? Won't I just get in the way?
"Hey! Don't speak about her like that!" Liam's retort surprised Emily; she hadn't expected him to come to her defense.
"Now now, calm down Liam. And Vincent? As the leader of Aludell, it is up to me to decide the teams. Karl and Emily both need the experience. The reason I'm not going is that I'm confident Liam and Jaxon can handle any unexpected challenges that might arise in this mission. Your opinion on the team does not matter, I fear." Thandor asserted, his tone unwavering despite the tension in the room. Vincent did not look happy, but he kept his mouth shut.
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As the night fell, Emily prepared for bed early, anticipating the early morning departure for Gekra alongside Liam, Jaxon, Karl, and Vincent. The nervous energy was palpable, leaving Emily doubtful of a restful night.
I'm so nervous, I wonder if I'll get any sleep.
The door creaked open, and Nicole entered, clutching an unfamiliar leather object in her hand. Her emerald eyes shimmered in the soft candlelight of the room as she inquired, "Emily, are you going to bed?"
"Y-Yes. I doubt I'll manage to sleep that much, I'm so nervous, Nicole." Emily admitted, prompting Nicole to envelop her in a comforting embrace.
"That's normal, I was also pretty scared on my first mission too, but Liam, Jaxon, and our teacher kept me safe. It was just the four of us back then, I had just joined Aludell, and had no idea what I was in for. You'll be fine, don't worry, I promise." Nicole reassured her with a gentle tone, alleviating some of Emily's concerns.
"I wish you were coming along with us too, Nicole." Emily expressed as she embraced Nicole back. "I feel like I'll have no one to talk too if you and teacher aren't there with me."
Things between Liam and I have been even more awkward since our last conversation two weeks ago.
I don't feel like Jaxon likes me, especially since what happened also two weeks ago.
Karl is...not much for conversations. He isn't a bad kid, I just don't know what to say to him most of the time.
And lastly, Vincent is a knight. I don't want to talk to him.
"I see. You should maybe use this mission as a chance to get closer to people. I know that won't be easy, but why not try?" Nicole suggested, releasing Emily from their embrace and looking her in the eyes.
"You...think I can do that?" Emily asked, her uncertainty evident.
"You never know if you don't try."
She's not wrong, but.....
"Also, I've wanted to give you this." Nicole said as she handed Emily the leather item.
"W-What's this? Wait, is there water inside of it?"
"Yes. This is a waterskin. It belongs to Liam, you see. He has a bunch of them, and he always uses them on his mission. He likes to fill them with water in case the need for him to use his magic came up and there was no water source near him. He told me to give you this one so you'll use it during the mission tomorrow." Nicole explained.
"He told you to give this to me?"
"Yeah, I suppose...things are still awkward between you two still, huh? I told him he should give this to you himself, but he refused. He can be a weird guy sometimes, but he means well." Nicole spoke with a small smile on her face.
"....He even stood up for me when Vincent was talking about how useless I'd be." Emily spoke, remembering that this waterskin is Liam's second time being kind to her today.
"He did! I know I shouldn't say this, as I don't want to come off as I'm putting pressure on you, but.... I'll be so happy if you two came back from this mission on better terms." Nicole said, sounding a little unsure if she should voice her thoughts or not. Emily, however, kept her thoughts to herself.
...Me too, I suppose.
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The next day, it was time for departure.
"Are you sure you packed everything you might need, Karl?" Nicole asked as she went through Karl's bag.
"I think I did." Karl simply responded as he stared at Nicole going through his things.
Meanwhile Emily had just finished packing, while making sure to place the waterskin on her waist. She doubted she'll be able to use her magic well enough to make good use of it, but it still allowed her to carry some drinking water with her at least.
"Is everyone ready?" Thandor asked as he looked at the Aludell members who were scattered around him in the living room.
"Yes!" Was how Liam, Jaxon, and Emily responded.
"And Karl? Thandor asked as he looked at Karl, but then turned his attention to Nicole.
"He's ready!" Nicole answered for the young boy, having just finished making sure he had all he might need.
I wonder if Karl is nervous. This is his first mission too, so he must be. I should keep an eye out for him.
"Alright, everyone. I'm appointing Liam as the team leader on this mission." Thandor spoke as Liam nodded, though Jaxon looked slightly annoyed.
"Why him again?" Jaxon asked, irritated. Emily could tell he wanted to be the team leader instead.
"He has the most experience out of all of you, that's all." Thandor answered, though it wasn't an answer Jaxon was happy with as he rolled his eyes.
Most experience? I suppose that means Liam has been an Aludell member since before Nicole and Jaxon. Now that I'm thinking about it, I don't know since when was the group Aludell made.
"Now listen everyone, Vincent is waiting for you outside. He has a dual role here – keeping a vigilant eye on all of you while also providing assistance when needed on this mission. Remember, stay level-headed, avoid hasty actions, and prioritize safety. Nicole and I eagerly await your safe return," Thandor conveyed with a firm yet benevolent tone, his gaze fixed on the Aludell members embarking on the mission. Nicole, standing beside him, wore a broad smile.
"And upon your return, I'll whip up something delectable for all of you to enjoy! Anticipate a delicious treat." Nicole added with a hint of excitement in her voice.
Then, the team on the mission opened the front door of the house and walked out, ready to tackle this mission.
We'll be on our way west, to a town called Gekra in the Duchy of Willowmere. I'm not sure what might be waiting for me there, but...I'll try my best to face it head on.