After leaving the idiot Rockson behind, I had a bad feeling. I thought that if we continued on this direct path to the capital, I might encounter more idiots like Rockson.
“Comrades, we need to have a small meeting.” We stopped the carriage and had a chat, where I shared my concerns and explained that our mission was to reach the capital, but we could take our time and go by a safer route. Raiza pulled out the map of Dredprism, pointed out an alternative route, and said aloud:
“So far, we’ve been going through human settlements, but we could go through the towns of refugees from other races. If we go this way, we’ll pass through the towns of orcs and other species.”
Chizze added, “Orcs are very strong. Chizze really wants to fight one.” Kharla replied, “I doubt it. Most of the strongest orcs have been recruited for the war in Amster in exchange for the care of their families.” I think Chizze felt disappointed, but I was more curious about meeting other races.
“Alright, it’s decided. We’ll go to the demi-human villages. It will be a safer route, and we might learn one or two things that could help us on our journey.”
We decided to go to the demi-human villages with the goal of avoiding unnecessary fights.
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We are in the city of Khisphe, at the mercenaries’ guild. His holiness Darwin personally went with the group of heroes of Rusthia’s third prince, Carlo Dante...
“Your holiness, what an honor to have you at the guild of my country. What brings you here?” asked a young guild worker named Rammus Esskobar.
“It’s not necessary to call me your holiness, just call me Darwin. I’m on a personal mission. I’m looking for a man with black hair, glasses, and white gloves who works as a priest… Look, I have a sketch from a witness.”
Darwin handed the sketch to Rammus, and he made a poker face, though inside he was shaking with nerves.
“As far as we know, he’s a Silver Rank 2 adventurer who goes by the name Ester. The kingdom of Rusthia is looking for him for terrorism, an attempted assassination of the king, and the kidnapping of a family member, my young niece, a girl around 15 years old with white hair and blue eyes.”
Rammus recognized the description of Darwin’s supposed niece. He remembered that one of Ester’s companions matched that description, although from what Rammus had seen, she didn’t seem to be under any threats to accompany Ester…
Rammus, realizing the seriousness of the crimes Ester was accused of, and that he had been associated with him, only thought about covering his own back. Even if he did nothing, other guild workers could report him... So, Rammus made his decision…
“I know this man. About a month ago, he arrived in this city with three women: a half-elf, a beast-woman, and a girl with white hair like you described. But the girl didn’t seem to be kidnapped.
A worker from the merchants’ guild, who cleans pools, saw her sunbathing and swimming in a vacation home’s pool while he was maintaining the patio of a house. And that was the house where Ester, his niece, and the rest of his group were staying.”
Darwin looked surprised, but Rammus continued: “I also saw that this girl went for a walk on the beach with the half-elf and two children. I think they were the children of the man who cleaned the house they used while living in Cuencas. I’m not sure if this information will help you, but I hope it eases your worries about your niece’s safety.”
Darwin looked somewhat troubled. On one hand, he felt relieved knowing that Princess Karla was still alive, but he still couldn’t believe the story that she was so comfortably vacationing with the same people who nearly killed her.
“And do you know where this man is currently?” Darwin asked. Rammus took a deep breath and, with much regret, said...
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“That man, while he was in Cuencas, managed to get hired by the mercenaries’ guild and is currently on an escort job, taking someone to the capital of Dredprism. The client’s details are private, even to me, due to the mercenaries’ guild’s protocol. I believe he should still be on his way to the capital of Dredprism, but after that, he will be dismissed immediately...
What you choose to do with this information is up to you, but the mercenaries’ guild would prefer to stay out of this.”
Rammus was somewhat scared, thinking that what he said might be insufficient to keep him out of this conflict, but Darwin looked satisfied.
“Thank you very much for the information, Mr. Rammus. With this, I will be able to recover my niece and bring that man to Rusthia’s justice so he can pay for all his sins.”
...
After obtaining the information Darwin sought in Khisphe, he left the Mercenaries’ Guild, where a large escort was waiting for him outside, as Darwin was as important as the false hero.
After getting into the carriage, the mage Flamma and Carlo Dante’s double were waiting for him inside. As usual, Carlo was very polite, and Flamma barely tolerated Darwin as he shared his plans with them.
“Comrades, we’ve found the lead we were looking for regarding the terrorist Ester. He is headed towards the capital of Dredprism, so we will follow his trail to arrest him and restore Rusthia’s honor.” The false Carlo Dante was a “yes-man” and didn’t object to anything Darwin said, but Flamma was different.
“Hey, Cardinal, aren’t we supposed to limit ourselves to protecting Rusthia’s territory and not get involved in personal conflicts? I wouldn’t care if you went on your own, but dragging the prince and me into this, I consider it a grave lapse in judgment.” Darwin knew Flamma was right, but he didn’t care; he just wanted to see Kharla safe with his own eyes.
“Miss Flamma, I have very good reasons for taking on this task, and if you wish, you can return to Rusthia on your own.” Flamma refused, as it would be a disgrace to her family to abandon the group of Rusthia’s heroes on her first mission, so she limited herself to obeying Darwin, at least for now.
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The next day, Flamma was wandering alone through the city of Cuencas. The permits to cross the border and the preparations to reach the capital would take a few days, so she had some free time in a tourist city and wanted to enjoy it to the fullest.
Though she only wanted to show her power and what she was capable of, Flamma had been educated from a very young age in magical theory, as she was born into a renowned family of mages. They were not of noble origin, but they had climbed the social ladder by their own merit, and she only wanted to leave her name in the history of magic.
While she was calmly drinking an iced beverage at a restaurant, a phenomenon caused by the shifting of underground rocks occurred, known as an earthquake. It was mild, lasting only 33 seconds, during which people ran in panic and many valuable items fell to the ground, shattering. In the distance, the collapse of a house could be heard, and even amid the chaos, Flamma noticed that someone was in danger.
Flamma thought of many things to do at that moment, but before she could decide what to do, her body moved on its own, and she ran toward the scene of the collapse.
"Help, my mother was in that house," Flamma heard a young woman, around 23 years old, cry out, asking for help for her mother who was inside the collapsed building.
"Calm down, let me see what I can do," Flamma said as she walked alongside the woman toward the destroyed house.
"By uniting dust and water, I create clay in my hands. Take the form of small creatures that will follow my will. Earth Golem."
With her earth and water magic, the mage conjured small golems shaped like rats and sent them into the rubble of the house to search for any signs of life. To her surprise, she found two.
She asked the woman who claimed to be the daughter of the earthquake victim:
"Was your father also at home?"
"I was raised only by my mother, and I think she was alone, but I wouldn’t know if she had visitors today since I’ve been at the neighbors' house all day cleaning. That’s my job."
Flamma assumed it could be the mother’s lover. She had the house to herself and might have thought to enjoy some time together. Regardless, saving their lives was more important than what her mother did in the privacy of her home. With her magic, she conjured many more rat-golems, all with the task of reaching the victims of the collapse.
The rats crawled onto their bodies, and once many were gathered, all the rat-golems combined to form much larger golems, bigger than a person, to save the lives of the woman’s mother and the supposed lover.
The fused golems moved the rubble, pulling the woman's mother and her presumed lover out, saving their lives. From what Flamma could see, they may have suffered a concussion, but she wasn’t a healing mage, so she limited herself to getting them to safety.
Once her job was done, she bid farewell to the woman who had asked for help, who thanked her on her knees: “Thank you so much for helping my mother. I thought I’d never see her again.”
Flamma consoled the woman for a while, and once she had calmed down, Flamma returned to the restaurant where she had been drinking her iced beverage to pay the bill, since, in her rush to help, she had forgotten to pay for her drink in the first place.
image [https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/079/384/152/large/duval-saul-qweewqewwe.jpg?1724772772]