As Stanislava watched the people passing by the window, she felt her mind wander. Passing ideas she had for training, old conversations, even a few dishes she wanted to try out. However, her mind eventually began to stew on a certain topic. After all, it was the reason she was in the cafe to begin with. Something about gaining a Squire, it didn't really sit right with her. She never really saw herself as someone who could teach. She felt more comfortable on the field, ending her opponents in a mixture of steel and frost. To bring someone under her wing, it felt…somewhat alien.
‘Hope it'll be better than pet-sitting,’ she thought, grimacing at the memories. Man, putting that fire out was a pain.
Letting out a small sigh, she picked up her drink before taking a small sip, the bitterness causing her eye to twitch.
Hearing the sudden sound of footsteps coming towards her, she turned her attention away from the lingering bitterness. Yeah, coffee still isn’t for her.
"So, you're the person who wanted to be my Squire,” she said, turning her gaze to the seat opposite of her. A young man, seeming to be half a decade her junior, seemed to squirm under her sight, nervousness clear on his face. As she looked over the ill-fitting armor he was dressed in, she paused upon seeing a familiar emblem. While marked out and worn, it was still one that she was familiar with.
“Someone you knew used to be part of Chimera?” she asked, causing the boy to jump to attention. By the divine, she’ll never be used to responses like that.
“Y-yeah, my sister. She was the one who inspired me to become a Knight,” the boy answered, a melancholic smile on his face. Taking a glance at his eyes, Stanislava saw remorse swimming in pools of auburn brown. Grabbing the cup of coffee, she quickly downed it, ignoring the light burn. Setting the cup back onto its saucer, she got up from her seat before patting the boy's shoulder.
"What's your name?" Stanislava asked, causing the boy to jump in his seat.
“Marcus, ma’am. My name is Marcus Grendale,” the boy said, his voice trembling. However, despite that, she saw something in his eyes. A look of steel willpower, a silent oath of dedication to grow stronger.
A look she remembered seeing in many people, herself included.
“Alright, follow me,” she said before making her way out of the cafe. As she stepped out to the street, she let out a small sigh as she felt the cool breeze hit her face.
This whole ‘training a Squire’ deal…maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.
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As Jake made his way through a beach, he noticed that the air seemed to change. It became…heavier, somehow. As if it was weighed by something. Not just that, the world seemed to change, albeit faintly. The waves seemed louder and almost melodic. It was as if he was at a concert of sorts.
Strange.
As he turned the corner, he found himself in front of a cave entrance. However, it was clear that something was different. The stone around the entrance seemed polished, not by time or the sea, but rather the work of human hands. Stepping into the entrance, he watched as it slowly changed from a cave to that of a hallway. Stalagmites gave way to statuettes, chandeliers started to hang from the ceiling, it seemed to change into a cathedral of sorts. At least, that's what it seemed like to him.
As he made his way through the halls, he noticed something. The faint sound of groaning echoed through the stone hallway, causing him to pause. Putting his hands on his weapons, he continued towards the source of the sounds. The closer he got to the source, the clearer he could hear it. It seemed…garbled in a way. It was as if he was listening to someone speaking underwater. All the core parts of a language were there as well; patterns, tone setters, the works. However, it wasn’t like any language spoken by humans.
Turning the corner, he was met with creatures that he had seen before, but only rarely. A mixture of humanoid and piscine features, the small group of Mermen seemed to be standing around, rarely moving. It was as if they were guarding something.
Silently pulling out his pistol and ax, he let out a small breath before bolting towards the beasts. Slamming the blade into the skull of one of them, he then pointed his pistol at the remaining Mermen before pulling the trigger. As he set his weapons back into their holsters and looked over the corpses, he noticed something. The skin under the scales was patchy, almost sewn together. Not just that, it seemed to be discolored, as if used from corpses.
Must've been some experiment that went wrong.
Making a mental note, he quickly harvested the materials before continuing down the hallway. As he continued to explore the base, cutting down any monsters he came across, he eventually found himself in a library of sorts. As he walked past the shelves of books and scrolls, he found what seemed to be a logbook of some kind. As he skimmed through the cursive handwriting, he noticed a pattern. Names and amounts of items were noted, alongside dates of arrival. Occasionally, there was written ‘X’s Experiment (Success)’ or ‘Y’s Project (Work In Progress)’.
‘This is a research base, huh,’ he thought. Taking a closer look at the books surrounding him, he found that all of them seemed to be related to various fields of study, from mechanics and biology to cryptozoology and magical studies.
Might as well take them.
As he made his way throughout the library, he picked out various books that seemed to be useful before putting them in his bag. Records of various monsters, manuals covering numerous chemical recipes, anything that would be useful.
Putting the final book in his bag, he made his way towards the exit. As he made his way down the hallways of the base, cutting down the monsters in his way, he found himself in front of a staircase. Putting away his weapon, he then started to go down the dimly lit staircase, his footsteps leaving a faint echo.