two days have passed since Will and Elaine left the town of Ecrin and continued their journey towards Ruun, the city of merchants, to find allies and gather support for their cause. The day was sunny and calm, the gentle clouds swimming across the sky and the gentle winds flowing through the verdant countryside. Elaine looked over towards her ally, Will, and saw that his body had recovered well since the bandit attack due to their stop in Ecrin. Looking at his stoic shoulders and broad back Elaine was impressed by his unyielding desire to avenge his home. Her thoughts however were interrupted by a cramp in her right leg, shouting out in pain Will turned around and looked at Elaine in confusion and worry.

"Are we there soon Will, my body is aching from the constant traveling." Elaine exclaimed in annoyance as she gently massaged her tired leg.

"Soon my weary friend, this is the tenth time you are asking since leaving Ecrin."

" I know, but this is so boring, why didn't you tell me traveling long distances would be tiring?"

"I guess it slipped my mind." Will chuckled at his traveling companions expense. "In a few hours we will be arriving at Syben, a famous town renowned for their wine and cider."

Contemplating her thoughts for a moment Elaine suddenly asked, "I have been wondering something. You're a former prince from the northern regions, but you seem to know a lot about the south, how?"

"Well, since I was the second prince of my country, I would never have thought to inherit the throne, that was since my birth the right of my elder brother. My father made me instead focus on the continent and the politics and general knowledge of the north and south, to train me in becoming a good advisor to my brother when he finally would have taken the throne." Will explained, his mood slightly turned melancholy, thinking about his family.

Sensing the mood swing from Will Elaine thought quickly and asked a follow up question to his prior statement, "This cider you are talking about, why is it famous?"

"Thats because they use a special type of apples and a fermentation technique kept secret by the town mayor and the brew master of Syben."

"Can we try it?" Elaine looked at Will with expecting eyes of astonishment, hearing of the so called infamous drink.

"I guess we can, we have already been delayed in our journey due to this injury, so we can recuperate for a few hours in the town before heading towards Ruun.

Continuing their conversation about regional delicacies Elaine wanted to try after Will explained them, they finally set up camp as the waning light of the sun passed over the horizon and the twin moons began crossing the night sky, one shining a bright white light over the ground whilst the other gently staying further away, looming in the background.

Laying on his back Will looked up towards the twin moons and broke the silence of the evening by asking Elaine, "I was also wondering Elaine, Does your kin have any myths regarding the twin moons, I only know them as the eyes of Mona."

"Mona? what is that?" Elaine asked back, confused by the word.

"Mona is the goddess of night, the twin sister of Sol, the god of light. The two moons are said to represent her eyes to protect and watch over the world in her brothers sleep.

"Thats interesting, my kin called them cúpla, meaning twins. Like your story their are twin guardians of night and a branch of my kin is called moon elves, they have white hair and silver eyes, showing their affiliation with the moon, the brighter moon is called Echors while dark moon is called Triat in my tongue."

"How interesting that two very different cultures have similar ideas in regards to the twin moons." Will exclaimed in surprise.

Slowly seating himself upwards Will began cleaning and examining his twin blades, but his hand suddenly stopped in his movement, causing Elaine to look over in wonder.

"It seems one of my swords have been damaged since the battle in Cymbal and the bandits." Will solemnly explained whilst gently thumping the chipped part of the sword with his thumb.

"Can it be fixed?" Elaine asked.

"Unsure, we have to ask a blacksmith whilst in Syben. so I guess we really have time to test this famous cider." Elaine smiled in joy hearing that they can test the cider after all.

Another three days passed and at midday on the fifth day they had finally arrived at the town wall of Syben, its stone wall protecting the town from sieges and invasions from enemy forces. During their final distance they passed half a dozen of smaller monsters crossing the large fields, not able to handle the group due to Will's injuries they agreed to inform the mayor of Syben to send out a notice to the adventures and other soldiers in need of money to hunt them down and sell them at the local merchant guild. Arriving at the outer edge of the town the duo slowed down their pace to not run into the civilians and hopped of the horses. handing the reins over to the stable master located a few dozen meters away from the large gate leading into the town.

"Pull your hood up, we don't want the wrong people to see your heritage." Will explained while looking around to see if they are watched by anyone. Not fully understanding what Will meant Elaine wanted to ask but remembered his knowledge of politics in the south and simply accepted his order and pulled up her traveling hood, covering her hair and ears from unwanted attention.

"I will explain fully when we are alone, but for now simply follow me and give simple answers if anyone comes to talk with you." Will continued explained as they headed towards the stables with their horses in tow, calling over the stable master they finally agreed to the price after a few moments of haggling between Will and the stable master.

"Two horses, food and care will be four silver in total" The stable master asked whilst holding out his hand, waiting for the payment. Fishing into his coin pouch he handed over the required coin before calling over Elaine to head into the bustling town.

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

Elaine looked around in astonishment as she had never seen such crowded streets before, not even in the capital of her kin, Tirnas forest, were there as many people as here. Chuckling at his companions glittering eyes his voice broke through her astonishment, "We have to head towards the mayor's hall before we can explore Syben, lets go!"

Traveling through the bustling town they arrived before a large building decorated with intricate carvings on the outer wooden pillars on each corner of the building. Walking towards the entrance the duo are stopped by one of the two soldiers standing guard beside the door.

"What business do you have with mayor Harris?" the guard approaching them asked, his right hand lazily resting on the sword pommel.

"We have information regarding a pack of spawns seen a days ride from Syben, its urgent for the mayor to get ahold this information." Will answered with a domineering but calm tone.

"Wait a moment please." The guard asked as he entered the building to inform the mayor.

Elaine meanwhile got closer to to Will, her hood still up and whispered into his ear, "Why do we need to alert the mayor, won't the group of monsters just leave?" Will answered that the group they met are scouts to find people and call over the larger group of monsters to attack a settlement. It is a great danger if the monster tide arrives here and the town is unprepared. Another five minutes passed by and soon enough the soldier had returned and called the duo to enter, walking inside the large building a servant met them and led them towards the study room, passing the hallway they were led inside the study and met the mayor.

"Greetings travelers to my humble home, my name is Richard Harris and I'm the mayor of Syben, may I know your names?" The mayor introduced himself with a simple bow and flurry of his left hand.

"Greetings mayor Harris, my name is William and my companions name is Elaine. We are currently heading towards the city of merchants but on our way we saw a group of scout spawns passing a days ride from Syben. We wanted to inform you of the possible issue before continuing our journey." Will introduced themselves simply and gave the required information to inform the town of their current problem.

"Is this true?" Harris asked.

"I can testify with my name on the line its true. I recommend pulling back the villagers and put up archers on the wall to hinder the tide, but every able man must be called to protect this town. Do you have any allies near that can send reinforcements?" Will asked.

"I can send a letter to Ruun to call the knight order for help, I have a favor with the knight captain from a few years ago. You seem pretty familiar with the monsters."

"I have been slaying these monsters for nearly a decade, I know what I'm doing, but I'm currently injured from a battle with a higher tier spawn a few weeks back and can therefore not give to much assistance." William answered, looking over towards Elaine and gave her an all to familiar look, Elaine saw it and thought for a moment before nodding back in acknowledgment. "But my companion here is proficient in support and crowd control and can help the town, for a price of course."

Sitting quietly for a few minutes in contemplation Harris finally accepted the warning and called his servant to muster the soldiers and the available adventures to battle, writing a quick letter he gave it to a servant to ride towards Ruun and hand it over to Captain Redway.

"Thank you, sir William and Lady Elaine, this warning might save my town from disaster."

Nodding in acknowledgment Will explained that they will be staying in an inn called the drunken pig until the threat is vanquished. Acknowledging his words he called for the servant to guide the duo away. Exiting the building Will asked if they should head towards a blacksmith or the cider. Elaine didn't think on the question for a moment and directly answered cider.

Heading towards their inn they entered the establishment, seeing the crowded inn they found a table for four and seated themselves and after a few minutes of waiting a stewardess walked over and asked what they would like to order.

"two plates of lunch and two mugs of your finest local cider, especially the famous kind." Will ordered.

"Alright, total cost is five silver, want to pay now or later?"

"We can pay now." Will simply answered, handing over the five silver the barkeeper headed back and called into the kitchen their order. After a few minutes of waiting their food finally arrived and Elaine looked at the mug of cider in delight. Slowly grasping the handle of the mug she put it against her lips, the aroma of freshly squeezed apples and some other aromas entered her nostrils, causing her mouth to salivate. Laughing at his allies expression he clasped the mug and took a swig from the mug, letting the liquid coat his entire mouth before swallowing.

"Holy light this is so good!" Elaine exclaimed in joy by the taste.

"I told you its famous. Lets dig in."

Finishing their food with glee their took the last sips of their cider before thanking the barkeeper and began heading towards one of the blacksmiths. Finding a lone blacksmith shop at the far end of the street Will gently knocked on the entrance and called out to anyone. A moment later a tall man, standing over hundred ninety-meters tall with bulging arm muscles, a shaved head and large dark beard covered his entire lower face, a black apron covered his clothes and he held a hammer in his hand.

"Good day sir, how may I help you?" The large man asked.

"Good day to you as well sir, may I know your name before business?" Will asked back.

"My name is Magnus."

"My name is William and my companions name is Elaine, I have a sword in need of repair and would like to see your opinion on treatment." Will asked whilst Elaine gently waved at the mention of her name, slowly drawing the sword Will handed it over to Magnus.

"Hmm, this sword, where have I seen it...?" Magnus asked himself. "Please follow me inside."

Heading inside the shop Elaine could see a large forge alit and several tools and semi finished weapons and tools strewn across the floor and far wall of the shop.

"This sword is interesting indeed, may I know where you got it from?" Magnus asked suddenly, still holding the sword whilst inspecting the edge, seeing the chipped parts and the damaged cross guard he made mental notes of the quality and design.

Thinking for a moment before answering, Will was unsure if he should answer honestly or not. In the end he relented and answered truthfully, "This blade was made by master blacksmith Artír Dunason of Teras Kalba."

Looking at Magnus body suddenly rearing back, his eyes open in shock and his breath still, Will looked at the shocked man in confusion but after a moment the man coughed in embarrassment and explained, "Master Dunason was the master of my father, and I would never have thought to see a sword created by my master's master. This is incredible." Whilst looking over the blade in a new light he suddenly saw the sapphire pendant hanging at the pommel. Recognizing the design he stammered out, "This... this is the symbol of the royal family of Aclan. Are you..." Before he could finish his question Will interrupted him and answered, "Prince William Tíriel Marlow, second heir of Aclan and current heir to the throne."

After fully introducing himself he saw Magnus slowly placing the sword on the anvil and dropping down on one knee, head down.

"My liege, this simple commoner welcomes you to my shop." Magnus spoke with awe and shock in his voice.

"Rise, my title is of no worth anymore, the kingdom is ruined and im in exile currently." Will ordered.

"My liege, did the kingdom fell into ruin eight years ago?"

"Sadly, yes. Some survivors and I successfully fled the capital and have been looking for other survivors for the past eight years, we are currently heading towards Salamish to gather allies."

"Did master Dunason..." Magnus asked, but didn't dare to fully ask the question. Understanding what he wanted to ask Will answered that Artír is still alive and is currently leading the other survivors towards Salamish to rally allies.

"Thank the gods master is still alive. In regards to your blade, Its possible, but not with my capabilities. Im sorry my liege."

"Magnus, your affiliation with the country of Aclan has rescinded since its destruction, I'm no longer your liege, but you can be my ally. Would you like to follow me and Elaine towards Salamish. You seem like a capable man and an experienced soldier."

Thinking about the offer for a moment he answered, "William Marlow, this lowly commoner places his hammer in your arms, to defend the homeland and its people."

"Rise Sir Magnus, your hammer and strength will be integral in the retaking of Aclan, glad to have you on board." Will exclaimed as he put out his hand, Magnus rose up, towering over Will and took his hand in a shake. Letting go he looked over towards Elaine and slowly extended his hand in greeting.

"As you heard, my name is Magnus. I guess we are allies now." His laugh reverberating through the shop. Smiling back Elaine shook his hand and introduced herself, "as Will said, glad to have you on board our merry band, My name is Elaine Nyve, druid of Cymbal forest." Magnus didn't let go of Elaine's hand as he looked over towards Will which nodded in acknowledgment and Magnus laugh erupted once again. "Can't say I've ever met a druid before. But I've heard their magic is really strong, I'm tasking you to protect my back in the future!" His hearty laughter caused Elaine to snicker to herself, glad to have such a joyous person on board their group.

"Well William, do you have a plan?" Magnus asked.

"Indeed I have but the mayor will send out a warning to the citizens of Syben due to a spawn tide which will be arriving in the coming days, me and Elaine promised the mayor to help in the defense of the town.

"A spawn tide, its been several months since the last one, any plans on how to stop it?"

"We can't stop it, the mayor will be informing the towns guard and soldiers along with adventures to help in the defense, and he has sent a letter to Ruun to assist us. We just have to prepare for the battle ahead."

"Then I guess you need a new weapon!"