He grumbled on his desk, reading another report meant to sully his day. It’s as though ever since he took the position of lord, the world decided to keep screwing him up. Whether it’d be the system or the people, or perhaps the gods themselves, someone is always trying to mess him up.
He let out a tired breath as he conjured flames to burn up the parchment, leaving it to cinders and making them dissipate into the air a second after. He made it a habit to burn up every report he read thoroughly, particularly the ones that gave him upsetting news. It helps with the cleanup.
The knights that were sent to Eve Glade either ran or never came back. While that was probably a suicide mission for some, the council expected some results that would lean in their favor.
Unfortunately, they found themselves in a rather tight situation one after another, then finally the lords of Eve Glade returned outside of their expected comeback.
Whoever scouted them entering into the dungeon that was found near their area clearly misjudged the difficulty of it. Even if there were hints of undeath involved, he should’ve known that the lords would be able to handle it with ease.
Even worse off, they couldn’t even do any decent work on the town. Somehow or another, a powerful barrier that could withstand their soldiers’ attacks and skills was suddenly created without any information of some ritual or powerful mage responsible. Not a single shred of evidence was there through their hard work and espionage.
Incompetent, the rest of them. He knew that those who accepted this mission were desperate to get into Bastion’s borders, but they shouldn’t have been that weak. After all, they came from the slums, practically asking for crumbs in exchange for work. Surely they have some form of survival instincts.
In the end, they didn’t matter at all. Eve Glade continues to exist, the lords were more pissed than ever before, and they didn’t even get what was so important for him to begin with.
A potential land filled with resources stacked upon resources. A location that hidden itself away deep within a barren land with nothing of note except for some lackluster low-level creatures that some Apprentices can get XP from.
That Sphere of Inheritance was something he’d like to have his hands on as well, but regrettably it was the cause of the barrier showing up. It had to be, otherwise it wouldn’t make sense from his earlier claims. Hence that was out of the picture too.
Standing up from his leathered chair, the exquisite make and design extremely comfortable for his bottom, the man known as Roderick walked out of his office.
He walked across several lavish halls, the windows to the outside bringing in the scent of metal, reminding him that it was approaching fall and their workers were currently creating their due materials for the Federation.
“Another report to write, once again…” Roderick let out an exhausted breath. He hated when the seasons changed. That meant more work to be noted and reported to the Federation.
It was obvious that Bastion would create the Federation’s metal weapons and armor without batting an eye. How else can they continue their existence under their name? However, those bastards from the Federation council just love their paperwork.
In fact, Roderick believes they get a kink out of it, what with their classes specializing in such a thing that they don’t necessarily need any official documents. Still, it was his duty, and if he was honest, it was the easiest one he could do.
If he had to be the lord of the entire city, he had to go outside and give speeches to the people, acting in political games with the other powers of the federation’s borders, and other sorts of interpersonal workings. He hated that, being so introverted and all.
Still, he had to give credit where credit is due. The lord of the city is clearly above and beyond most other folks, even being so bold as to attack the town with the famous Cloud and Valorie Castio who had the backing of the kingdom. Personally, Roderick wouldn’t even come close to such a town, even with the added bonus of the lords being gone. He didn’t want to be part of their targets.
Still, the information swallowed his attention whole, leaving him in this sorry mess. Eventually, he reached the room where his son was at, and even now, he could hear the ruckus and the destruction going inside.
He was having one of those episodes again. But he was getting better at controlling them. The last time was around a month ago, and the last one before that was weeks before that. It may not be much, but at the least his boy is actually listening to him.
Then again, what choice did he have? Hitting a stat block so early in his path to power is, quite frankly, a bitch to deal with.
Opening the handle, he swung the door open, noticing that the inside of it was utterly scarred with scratches. Looking beyond, he saw the hall-like room entirely in shambles. The tables were broken into wooden splinters, the furniture was ripped up to smithereens, and a young and vibrantly sweaty man in nothing but his pants was breathing erratically.
Oh, how the young are ever so faithful to their path.
I still wish he could’ve been a mage. It would be so much easier to handle, Roderick asked for the umptheen time ever since his son reached the tender age of fifteen.
“Father!” The young man, Zyler, turned back after seeing his Roderick enter. “Did they find it? The orb?!”
“Stop your shouting,” Roderick let out an exasperated air. “No, they haven’t. It was used up to protect the city.”
“Fuck!”
Zyler cursed as he swung his hand formed like a claw. The claw like swing let out a large burst of force that exploded outward, once again hitting the reinforced walls and nearly tearing them to bits.
Roderick couldn’t help but be impressed. He might have to ask the builders to reinforce them once again. Zyler was getting stronger by the day.
“Come on! How hard is it to find a goddamn attribute item!? It’s been half a fucking year!”
“You know how valuable they are, and how many are searching for them just like you,” Roderick shook his head. “Unfortunately, that’s how it is. You need to accept that.”
“Damn it…” Zyler growled intensely, but his father refused to do anything about it. Knowing that, he slumped back on the sofa, crossing his massive leg over to the other with a scowling face. “So, Eve Glade is still there?”
“It is,” Roderick answered. “And we might have to expect some backlash from that.”
“Who wouldn’t be pissed?” Zyler let out a scoff. However, his brows knitted once again. “But how possible is it to kill them all and take them for everything they own?”
Roderick knew his son wouldn’t give up that easily. While setback after setback is a thing, if there was one thing their family can be proud of, it’s their stubbornness.
Roderick grinned as he answered. “Very impossible, but we already made up a plan. I plan on elisting help from the Federation regarding this matter.”
“You don’t think those Federation fucks are gonna leave us in the dark?” Zyler asked, raising a brow.
“Language, boy,” Roderick chided, leaving Zyler to roll his eyes as usual. “Only beasts curse. Are you a beast, Zyler?”
“Depends on the time of day,” Zyler grinned. “At night, though–”
“Stop,” Roderick closed his eyes. “I don’t wanna hear about my son's night life right now. At least not while I’m sober.”
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Zyler only shrugged as he saw his giant father of over 7 feet sit down on the remaining unbroken furniture. It nearly broke from the weight, but it still held, as it was also reinforced to handle his son’s ferocity.
“Anyways, you’d be right about that. The Federation would be against helping us, but this time they have no choice. We have enough to blackmail them with if they don’t give us any solid backup in case Eve Glade responds.”
“Shit, you’re a sly bastard, grabbing them by the balls like that,” Zyler scoffed. “Still, we’re talking about some powerful Journeyman here. Ya think that’s gonna be enough?”
“Might as well, but I doubt it won’t go any further than that. The almighty kingdom won’t allow such a high stakes fight going on within their borders. Not if they don’t want their enemies finding out about it and taking advantage.”
Zyler rested his head on the top of the furniture, gazing up at the broken and torn up ceiling.
“And if it doesn’t work out?”
“Well, we’d be in a pretty shitty situation then.”
“Hah! You’re really stuck in a crap position, huh?”
“Hey, soon enough, you’re gonna be in this crap position, and I’ll be resting in retirement with all the bitches I could ever want.”
“Heh, now who’s talking about their night life?”
Zyler grumbled, putting his head on top of his fist. As he stared at his father, he asked again, this time in a serious tone.
“But seriously–you think that might be enough?”
“You make it sound like you’re worried for once… what’s on your mind?” Roderick asked, and the moment he saw his son shift his posture, a greedy grin on his face, he already knew it.
“I’m saying that you might need my help against those lords, Father.”
Once again, Roderick let out a frustrated breath. He just had to have some way to get a hand on fighting the lords. He really wished his son would’ve grown up to be a mage like him.
…..
Everyone in Eve Glade was really somber and sad today. When Clara woke up the next morning, nobody worked, and nobody had fun.
Everyone had to work to help fix the town that the horrible knights destroyed.
Why did those knights do this? Why did they hurt the nice people in her new home? They were so nice to Clara, often smiling and giving free things like bread and candy whenever she and Ana passed by.
Even when they got into trouble one time after Ana hit the table that caused their stuff to fall, they didn’t yell at them. And being the good girl that she is, Clara got Ana to clean up before leaving.
The people never got mad, and instead just politely said to not do it again. If it were Sissy, she would yell at her, but it was only normal if you do something bad.
But she doesn’t understand why those people did such things. They hurt others, and even though they begged those knights to stop, they still continued.
Even worse, people died. People actually died that day. The old woman that they would walk past was now gone. Everyone who knew her cried, their tears an unforgettable thing in Clara’s mind.
She cried as well, including Ana. They kept crying, even at night. Ana’s Mommy and Daddy, Sissy and Bobo held them tightly, telling them that everything was alright.
Ana was so worried about upsetting her parents, but they were more than happy to find out that they used the orb to protect the town.
Cloud was really angry. Clara could tell, even if he smiled at them. When he returned, he talked to Val with such fury in his eyes. Even after dealing with the bad guys, he was still very angry.
Bobo looked more sad than angry, but she saw Bobo when that bad man was about to hurt them before. He looked sad now, but he was so angry back then. He looked really scary.
But the moment he saw Clara, he instantly turned back to being Bobo again. She liked him better when he was smiling and looking silly, not angry and scary.
Sissy often looked angry and scary, but she always knew that Sissy is an awesome person, so Bobo is the same. Still, Clara didn’t like how bad he felt.
Val looked a little tired, though. The next day, Val would usually go out, but Cloud told her not to move for today and to keep resting. They said that Bobo needed to stay in too, but he refused. He said that people are hurt, and that they need a healer.
Cloud looked conflicted, but he didn’t deny his help. Sissy went out as well, helping the others to repair their houses.
Clara wanted to help, but Val said that they should stay in as well. The sight of outside was too much for good children like them, but Clara felt that this wasn’t what good children did.
It’s so that they don’t have to see the destruction brought from outside.
Ana felt like she was responsible, being the lord’s daughter but unable to fight. Val went to comfort her, so Clara decided to stare out into the window of the town. She couldn’t go out, but she could still watch.
As she watched the people on the outside try to repair everything, realizing that she was all alone, she could finally do it.
She began to speak to the window glass.
“Why did those knights try to hurt us?” Clara asked the window, to her reflection at the window glass.
And it responded.
“Possibly to try and hurt the people in charge,” The reflection spoke back. While it looked like Clara, it was clearly not Clara. She had a look of someone who looked like Sissy or Val, but with her childish face.
When Clara would tilt her head in confusion, the person who was not Clara tilted her head back. She always gets confused when she does this, often trying not to move at all when speaking with her special friend.
“Can I do anything about it?” Clara asked, hoping for a good answer.
“No, it’s impossible for you. Your tiny body won’t be of any help, You’ll only be burdening other people, including Bobo and Sissy.”
Clara grimaced. She doesn’t like that at all.
“It’s so unfair!” Clara snapped back.
“That’s the way of the world. Deal with it.”
Clara grumbled, looking away and not looking at her new friend. Her friend was special, but she can be mean sometimes. Still, she helped her out when she was lost and confused, and while Sissy and Bobo had no choice but to work, Clara often talked with her.
The thing is, she can’t remember when this new friend arrived. She knew that it happened when they got back to this town, but other than that, she didn’t know.
But she did feel like she’s been there ever since they got into this place.
In the end, Clara looked back at her friend. Sissy always told her that even if you dislike people, it’s rude not to face them.
“How can I help Sissy and Bobo then?”
“Wait, just like that. Wait before I am able to be awakened.”
“But, you’re awake now, right?” Clara asked, more confused than before.
“Not entirely,” The not-Clara answered, her face neutral and not showing any emotion. Clara can never tell whether her friend was angry, sad, happy, or anything. That also frustrated her.
“So when will you be ‘awakened’?” Clara tested the new word out. It still felt weird considering that her friend was talking to her now.
“Soon.”
“That’s not fair!”
“Deal with it.”
“Uggh!”
Once again, Clara faced away. But in the end, faced her right back. It was actually thanks to her friend who told her to use the barrier from the orb. Before, Clara had no clue.
But when Ana put up the orb in front of her, her friend told her about how to use it. She usually had to talk through a reflection, but her friend managed to talk to her then.
“Umm…” Clara now felt embarrassed, realizing this as she spoke. “Thank you for helping us.”
“It’s no concern of mine,” Her friend said. “If something happened to you, then something will happen to me. You and I are connected.”
“Just like… like Bobo and Sissy?” Clara asked, remembering them talking like that before.
“Exactly. We are all connected. And soon, we will fulfill our mission.”
“What’s the mission?” Clara asked.
“Something very important. But I do not have the knowledge yet. I am still not awake yet.”
Clara rolled her eyes. She was clearly awake right now. She gave up since she realized her friend will never change her mind, so she then decided to take the chance.
Something that perhaps she should have done long ago.
“Hey, I talk to you, but I don’t know your name, even though you know mine,” Clara eventually asked. Ever since talking with Ana, she decided to be more upfront and confident when making a friend.
She might be difficult, but she was clearly Clara’s friend. After all, if she helped her along with Sissy and Bobo, then she was a nice person.
For once, the person rose her brows in surprise. Clara didn’t know why, but she was excited to finally find her surprised. Finally, the friend eventually answered.
“...It’s Zoan. My name is Zoan.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Zoan!” Clara smiled. “I hope we can be good friends.”
“...You’re a strange one, wanting to be friends with me,” Her friend, now Zoan, responded.
“...But I still can’t tell Sissy and Bobo about you, right?” Clara prodded, putting on a pout and hoping that her special friend, Zoan now, would give in.
“Of course. We don’t want to make Sissy and Bobo worry before the time is right.”
Clara pouted, this time, putting up her lower lip to show exactly how upset she was. Zoan, however, didn’t care one bit about it.
So she decided to keep this a secret between her and Zoan. She felt bad since Zoan doesn’t want to include Ana either, but Sissy always told her to try and respect other people’s feelings.
So she hoped that she can help Sissy and Bobo someday with Zoan’s help. And while she has no clue what this ‘mission’ is, she knows one thing.
If it’s Sissy and Bobo, they can handle it. They’re her favorite people in the world.