Light poured in through the windows of the Guild dorm. It was already the afternoon. I apparently slept in. I guess that’ll happen when Alisson is always the one to wake me up. I managed to study a bunch last night, but I’ll need some more time, even with the leaps and bounds I’ve made in learning those two spells; Telepathy and the basic light spell, at least, basic as in the correct version of it…
As I now walk to Alisson’s room, I can’t help but feel that something is off. He’s usually an early bird. I haven’t seen him since last night…maybe he didn’t make it back to our room. Maybe he got fed up with me, and just left to Freigat on his own. No…Alisson was in a bad mood but that doesn’t mean he’d effectively kill himself. He mustn’t be too angry with me if he hasn’t sought me out, and he would’ve came to me first if he wanted to head out into the city.
Even so, I hesitate to twist the knob to our door. I shake my head, and open the door, walking in in the same motion.
My eyes splash across the plain room. Alisson was no where to be seen. The bed was made, the floor was clean, there was no clutter. It looked like an unused room. Having been holding my breath, I let out a large sigh.
“He’s really not here…?”
I furrow my brow and peek my head back out to confirm the room number.
Yep, this is our room, so why then…
“C-celis! G-good morning!”
I jumped, startled, and turned back to the room, to find Alisson standing but an inch in front of me. He held one hand up by his chest, smiling. His smile seems forced…and he’s clearly nervous.
“Master.”
I bobbed my head at him.
“So, how was it?”
Alisson asked. He then shook his head slightly.
“I-I mean, how are you?”
I looked at him with a frown.
“Did something happen Alisson?”
Immediately his eyes widened.
“N-no…nothing happened, why do you ask?”
I’m not buying it.
I slip past Alisson, closing the door behind me. I carefully inspect the room, wary for anything. There was a pillow under the bed. No wonder the bed is made, he never slept in it in the first place. There was also a large gash on the floor that I hadn’t noticed before, about as big as a foot. It wasn’t caused by blunt trauma; it looked like something had sanded down the wood. The problem was, that wasn’t there the last time I was in the room.
…
“Really, there’s no need to-”
Alisson said, his hand on the back of his head.
Celis suddenly turned, and in a flash, pinned him to the wall.
“You need to tell me the truth master.”
Using ‘master’, she really is angry with me.
He wasn’t expecting Celis to come check on him in the morning. He’d been woken up by her, having not slept for a good part of the night, he had slept in. Celis was now pushing both of his shoulders against the wall, looking straight at him with suspicion.
“Master.”
She shook him.
For a moment his eyes silvered. His shoulders were about to slump and he was about to give in to Celis and start crying right then and there; How good it would feel to tell her of how scared he was.
No. I’ll keep it to myself; But, she’s not stupid, I can’t act like nothing happened at all.
Alisson was conflicted for a moment, but he eventually made up his mind.
He let his head drop low, and let his hair fall over his eyes.
“Well…I was…I was just a little shaken up was all…”
Alisson’s acting was not something he thought he’d ever use on his apprentice. He felt dirty using it, on Celis of all people. Though in this case, it was only partly an act, and partly the truth. Of course, he wouldn’t tell her of his sputtering depravity, or of his realization about her.
Celis immediately loosened her grip on him, backing off a little. Her once dark and serious expression faded away and she looked genuinely concerned.
“Y-you were what?”
He looked back up to her.
“You left me like that…I was,”
I was so scared.
“I was worried…I didn’t know where Berein’s room was and you left so abruptly that I couldn’t ask where you were going…”
Celis let go of him, backing up. Her face was one of pure guilt.
“Ah…I’m…I’m sorry...”
Her reaction, how easily she bought Alisson’s acting…she wasn’t as dubious as she was putting off, she clearly wasn’t expecting Alisson to act as he was now. What exactly she had been expecting, Alisson didn’t know.
“It’s okay Celis. Please just let me know the next time you go off on your own like that.”
He said, smiling and tilting his head.
Was it really acting if it was how Alisson felt? He still had to make a conscious effort to do such things, this didn’t come naturally – It felt like he was lying.
No. I’m just keeping a lid on myself. I can’t let her know about what happened. I know that she’d coddle me if I did break down crying like a little kid.
But Alisson didn’t want it to come to that. His relationship with Celis had, despite not interacting with her at all, been greatly complicated within the span of a single night.
She wasn’t just his apprentice anymore in his head. His view of her had changed entirely. He didn’t want to be seen in such a miserable state. His pride had come back, and his raison d’état had surged back into him.
They were at their objective. Now was not the time to try to win over Celis.
I’ll hold over my feelings, until the mission is complete.
That was his decision. Although he resolved to make it up to Celis, for now, the best he could do was to be kind, and act on the status quo. He knew very well that he was terrible with flirting, or really with women at all, in fact, he saw right in front of his eyes how by merely knowing that Celis was his love interest, his speech had stuttered and his posture was now far more nervous.
He just had to stay calm and collected.
This was normally his motive in social interaction, but now more than ever.
“Alisson…I’m really sorry, I am.”
She looked up to him pleadingly.
“I’ll never do that again.”
His heart jumped. Her expression and words in that moment left his head empty. He quickly swallowed and shook it off.
“I’m glad.”
Was all he managed to say before he had to turn around to avoid showing Celis his obviously red face.
Alisson, with his shoulders up by his head and his cheeks crimson, smiled to himself, his eyes open and excited.
She doesn’t hate me…!
…
“These cloaks look like they fit.”
Alisson said, holding two cloaks that were folded into squares. One was dark blue, and the other was white. Alisson looks so much like a girl, looking so enthusiastic about clothing…
He’s been a lot more energetic this morning. I really don’t know what to think about it. How he acted, was exactly how Alisson from before his outburst at Lavjoure’s would act. I, I really don’t know how…but it looks like he really did just need some room.
I’m happy nevertheless, but this all seems too good to be true. I doubted Alisson, I thought he was putting on an act. But, it’s clearly not. I can tell. I just wonder what happened last night with him…
I really wanted to cuddle him when he said he was worried about me. The way he said that, he sounded more scared than he was worried, which I don’t know how to really interpret.
“Mm, they look good.”
I nodded in response to Alisson.
The light of the sun splashed across our faces as we exited the small tailor shop, clad in our new cloaks. Next, we walked over to the smithy that we’d dropped my armor off at the night before. The walk through Pūshkinskaya’s inner district was the closest thing to normal about this town, the only part of it that could be recognized as a functioning settlement. The rest of the town was too derelict and destroyed to be seen as a human bastion. Still, even the people in the inner district didn’t smile, they didn’t talk in public, there were not many horse drawn carriages of goods moving around – the town seemed still.
Clouds approached as we entered the smithy. There were a few other adventurers, all of whom were staring at me and Alisson as we walked to the front. I could hear them whisper about us. Most of it was in awe, as the adventurers were mostly lower ranked. The one group of Four-Striped adventurers looked at us with frowns and bit lips, wary.
Alisson stepped up to the desk, and lifted one of my pauldrons out of a bag that was set out for us.
He nodded after a moment, and put the pauldron back.
“Good work.”
“That’s fifteen pieces, per contract.” The lanky smith said behind the counter.
Alisson, as usual, dropped thirty coins onto the desk, hoisted the bag of armor, and turned wordlessly.
“We’ll meet up with Crimson, they should be in the hub right about now. We need to stock up on items for our coming incursion into Freigat.”
Alisson said, handing me pieces of my armor while we walked. I was able to easily put on my armor plates as I walked.
“It’s really time?”
Alisson nodded.
“The time of prophecy is at hand.”
He replied with a stone-cold expression. I couldn’t tell if he was just masking our conversation or if that’s really how highly he treats the mission.
“The expedition of adventurers should be returning anytime today, we should be ready to be sent in as soon as tomorrow.”
I look to Alisson warily.
“Will Crimson really go in so quickly after being on a contract for a week?”
Alisson shook his head.
“That I don’t know. Hopefully the monetary incentive is great enough for them. If not, I have my persuasion, and,” Alisson tapped his hip, wherein I heard the jangle of coins. “…A little incentive of my own.”
We could just hire Crimson to go with us. In fact, we could hire, like, multiple teams, without having been in them. I talked with Alisson about this, but ultimately he said that it was better to have a small and loyal group in a dangerous environment like Freigat. Shields aren’t shields if they just grow a pair of legs and run away before taking damage.
Alisson handed me my stilettos, which I quickly slipped into my holsters on my back hip.
“Even with Crimson at our back, I’ve realized from our last contract out with them that we need more consumables. Scrolls and imbuements. Maybe we should get your weapons imbued while we’re at it.”
Alisson said, handing me my baselards, which I clipped into place on my wrists.
“Well,” Alisson continued, with the members of Crimson in sight on the floor of the guild hub, “Whatever happens, we’ll get set to come out swinging.”
…
“Ah, there you two are. Ferris, Alavier, come on, let’s get going.”
Dane said as we neared. The entirety of Crimson moved out as one. Berein neared me.
“How’s the morning been?”
She asked in a slight whisper. Oh brother. It’s none of your business.
“Better than it was yesterday.”
I said, giving Berein a concession to hopefully stave her off. She smiled happily in response, almost with a sneer.
“So, what kind of gear do you have? I can point you to all the best smiths in the city.”
Dane said, walking right next to Alisson.
“I’m afraid that won’t be necessary. Me and my sister have already made preparations on that front.”
Alisson said, parting his cloak and showing Dane the refurbished armor.
“However,” Alisson continued, “I’d still like to see to it that we have adequate consumables and imbuements.”
Dane nodded, and waved over Berein.
“Show them the ropes then, we’ll be around…”
Dane’s voice had started strong as usual, but something made him trail. His gaze had set on something off in the distance, further down the road. There was a large crowd gathered.
“They’re back.”
Dane said.
“Well, what are we waiting for, let’s go!”
Amelathet said, skipping forward. Rei however reached out, and grabbed onto her collar. Rei shook her head.
“Do you hear that? There’s silence. There is no celebration. Something went very wrong.”
Rei said simply. Amelathet nastily shoved away Rei’s hand, but dropped back. Cautiously, the seven of us in Crimson walked down the road toward the crowd. It was at the gates of the city, in the slums. Evidently, the expedition into Freigat had returned. We pushed our way through the crowd, the dirty and squalid residents easily making way for us adventurers.
Coming through the city gate, was what the crowd had gathered around. A horse drawn wagons were slowly trudging along into the city. Among them were a couple dozen adventurers. All of them had their heads down low, with dark expressions. Their armor was so battered, so muddled, that they didn’t look like adventurers, they looked more like the tramps in the slums. The sight of the wagons was the reality of the expedition. Bodies were piled on the foremost one, and the wagons at the back were completely empty. There were wounded adventurers in the middle wagons. Limbs were severed from bodies, grown men were crying in pain, and some adventurers sat still in pools of blood, already dead. I couldn’t tell the difference between the living and the dead. The caravan passed through the gates and through the crowd in silence. The onlookers stared with dark faces; And some had broken down in tears, having recognized comrades or family among the dead.
“…They don’t have any cargo…” Berein muttered. “The number of wagons was twice the amount here, there has to be another group.”
Dane shook his head.
“What cargo they do have says it all; This is all that’s left.”
“Tch-!”
Amelathet clicked her tongue with a scowl, evidently recognizing that someone was not among the returning adventurers.
“Six…”
Rei mumbles behind me.
“What?”
I ask.
“Six teams of Five Stripe adventurers. That’s all Pūshkinskaya has left, counting us, Auburn, and Mystic.”
“How many teams were there before?”
Alisson asked. Rei closed her eyes, Amelathet and Berein seemed to shrink away, knowing the answer. Patsel all the while was staring blankly forward, his eyes darting between both the bodies and the alive adventurers frantically.
“Nine were sent out, about fifty Five Stripes.”
I look to the couple dozen or so that were left standing on their feet. That means that Pūshkinskaya just lost half of their veteran fighting force in that expedition alone…
The caravan passed, headed toward the Guild Hub as medics and Guild staffers now swarmed around the returning expedition. Some of the adventurers, having just barely been able to put one foot in front of the other to get into the city, collapsed then and there. Some of them didn’t get back up.
“W-well come on, let’s go get you two set up with some items…”
Berein said, breaking the ice as she stepped in between both me and Alisson.
“Hmph. Go ahead. I’m the sure Guild will want to speak with me.” Dane said, waving the three of us away. “Rei, take Pat and Amela, make sure the garrison is all set.”
Berein was quick to lead us away from that part of the town. Blood was scattered around the ground where the caravan had been, and left a trail headed deeper into the city.
“I’m guessing that’s not a common sight then?”
Alisson asked Berein. Berein shook her head slowly.
“There’s always some casualties…In fact, the number of bodies they came back with were just about usual…It’s just that they had so many people missing...”
“They had to abandon their comrades?”
Berein nodded her head.
“The sign of a either a frantic retreat or a pile of losses.”
Berein was eager to change the mood, but me and Alisson weren’t all that bothered as the rest of the residents were.
“There’s a few shops around here that deal in real nice scrolls. What kinds are you looking for?”
Normally, spell imbued objects were scrolls, because parchment was light and easily transported in large quantities whilst having the necessary mass to hold a spell. But, some people liked more sturdy objects to be the holder of spells, because parchments was of course fragile.
“Attack spells, flight spells, defensive spells, that’s all I was thinking.”
Alisson replied. He then looked to me with a tilt of his head. I shook my head slightly. He nodded.
“Well if that’s all I’ve got just the place. Flight spells though, they don’t come cheap, especially those military-grade ones we used back in the hive; Those were bought from the team’s treasury, they’re very pricey.”
“Price isn’t an issue.”
Alisson replied curtly. Berein looked to Alisson in slight confusion.
What are you doing here if you have so much money?
Was what her expression gave off.
“Anything to make sure we won’t perish.”
Alisson added, mixing in an element of self-preservation over our standing goal. Berein nodded with understanding, easily fooled. Alisson and me really just had the same exact perception didn’t we?
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
She leads us into a small shop, reminiscent of Lily’s shop in Foksly, but with shelves of scrolls and odd trinkets instead of exotic outfits. There were a few other adventurers there, almost all of them were magicians, and they eyed us with suspicion.
“Right here are those flight spells you were asking about.”
Berein pointed to a stack of scrolls.
“These ones are military grade.”
She said, pointing to two that were right next to the much larger pile.
“Hmm…You weren’t lying about their price.”
Alisson said, staring at the two scrolls. He shrugged, and grabbed them anyway.
“I’d feel safer just in case we need them.”
Berein doesn’t know this, but our objective, that structure, may be underground. After what we both experienced in the hive, I think its suicide to go underground without the firepower to blast holes in ceilings and fly out. It seems that there were only two military grade flight spells, apparently they’re quite valuable.
Berein gave us a few pointers about the attack and defense scrolls over the next half hour. Alisson and I took our time picking our arsenal of scrolls. Alisson wanted an emphasis on defensive spells similar to his Obice spell, since around Crimson, he won’t be able to get the two of us out of pinch with his barrier spell. That, and tons of attack spells, since we can’t use any around Crimson too for fear of blowing our cover. Alisson’s already chewed me out about that yesterday, I really broke that rule a lot back in the hive. It was better than dying, but hearing Alisson be so scornful to me was almost as bad.
Our shopping list was finally solidified with our purchase. The coin purse Alisson has is significantly lighter now.
Aleveron Flame Strikes; 16x
Enedor’dunn Shock Spears; 12x
Bourgeo‘ale Barriers; 10x
Fortuaveron Barrages; 5x
Reysarke Beams; 4x
Heff-Sha Flares; 20x
Zeslowaffen Weapon Enchantments; 6x
Ailes De Libterté Flight Enchantments; 2x
Among the most pricey, and least in stock, were the healing scrolls.
Heal: Third Tier Regeneration Spells, 10x
So, we traded out a bunch of useless rounded bits of metal, for a bunch of paper with some pictures on them. The large pictures are runes of the name of the spell, to better identify which spells are which. The scrolls themselves were quite small, about as big as my hand, I could easily fit them all in my pouches on my belt or holsters on my armor.
Among the spells we got, none of them were above the third tier in their particular branches. That was almost universal around the world; Master Imbuers that had such powerful spells were almost non-existent.
“…There aren’t any spells for enhancing one’s senses?”
Alisson asked as we left the shop, still glancing over the rows of scrolls. Berein looked to him wryly.
“You’re thinking of Rei’s spells, right?”
Alisson looked to Berein, surprised.
“Yeah, no one can use spells like that…It’s Rei’s special little secret so don’t tell anyone about that. Only Andestinian Heroes can be modified by mana like that.”
Berein said, rubbing the back of her head with a smile. We exited the shop, the cold afternoon wind splashing over us as Berein continued,
“Trying to use a strengthening spell on a normal person usually kills them, or worse. Most people can’t take any sort of mana influx, only people with tons of mana can even make use of stuff like that. Rei on the other-”
Alisson suddenly grabbed onto my and Berein’s collars, and pulled us into an alley.
“Mmph!?”
He held a gauntlet over Berein’s mouth, but not mine.
“Quiet.”
He said coldly, looking around the corner of the alley.
“They’re here.”
He flicked his head to me. I sifted past him and peeked out to see what he was talking about.
I could spot them immediately out of the sparse crowds of people. Andestinians. Three of them. They were the ones that ambushed us two weeks ago. The large, armored hero, the mage girl, and the red head. By their side was also a large wolfhound. The wolfhound was staring right at me, growling and barking, to the confusion of the Andestinians.
I quickly darted my head back into the alley.
“They know-! How-!?”
Alisson shook his head.
“I don’t know. We need to evade them.”
Alisson said this whilst still clasping his hands over Berein. She was struggling but was evidently much weaker than Alisson. Alisson leaned in to Berein.
“There are some bad people in the city now. I’d rather this be kept between us…” His eyes sharpened and he growled, “Do you understand?”
Berein looked with wide eyes at me, and then at Alisson. She slowly shook her head. Alisson removed his hand from her mouth.
“Come on, let’s get deeper into the slums. I don’t want to risk a confrontation in broad daylight.”
Alisson said, motioning to me and Berein to follow.
“W-wait, can you at least tell me what’s-”
“Later.”
I said, and grabbed onto Berein’s hand, pulling her along with me and Alisson. She stumbled to keep pace as we ran through the alley. The barking was getting louder.
“Tch-! It’s a dead end!”
Alisson cursed. The dark shadow at the end of the alley, really was just a wall. The sheer amount of debris and rubbish made it hard to tell.
The barking of that wolfhound was now but right around the corner. Alisson looked to me, panic in his eyes. He clicked his tongue and grabbed me tightly on the shoulder, pulling both me and Berein against him.
“Stay close.”
With those words, a black veil enveloped us. I suddenly couldn’t see my nose, or my legs, or my arms. All three of us in fact, were now gone. I could see the footprints in the dust below.
The three Andestinians came into view at the end of the alley, the dog barking loudly at us.
“Shut up already you stupid dog, it really is nothing.”
The mage girl said, crossing her arms. Her two companions were not as lax though. The hero had his hands on his weapon, and the red head’s eyes were sharp.
“Hm…I guess Pat’s not all he’s marked up to be then?”
The Hero said suddenly, letting his hand slack from his hilt. The red head looked at him, irked.
“Pat’s usually pretty good with this stuff…I don’t know why some alley would set him off…”
“Whatever! Let’s get going already! This town is filthy! We’ll be getting our second confirmation tonight anyway!”
The mage girl said as the three of them, plus the wolfhound, walked away from the alley. The wolfhound was still growling, but their conversation was quickly droned out in the hum of the town.
Almost immediately after all of them were out of sight, that same black veil regressed, like a wave across my body, and with it I could see myself again.
Alisson let out a large sigh. He was breathing heavily, and he looked about ready to collapse to his knees. He was very clearly completely drained of mana. Berein looked to Alisson, completely perplexed.
“I thought you said you weren’t good with magic – What the hell was that!?”
She whispered. Alisson, a hand on his heart, replied with heavy breaths,
“Please…I trust you will not speak, of this…”
Thinking on my toes, I looked to Berein.
“It’s our little trump card.”
Berein looked to me, and nodded warily.
“That’s your ace huh? Invisibility doesn’t come cheap…First a legendary weapon and now this…You’re really something Alavier…”
“I get that a lot.”
Alisson replied, walking passed me and Berein.
“I’d rather not speak of this, I hope you understand. I’d advise if you see those people, to stay away from them, for your own safety.”
Berein furrowed her brow.
“They were Andestinians…I could see their insignias…For them to be up here is bad news…”
Alisson nodded to Berein, and peeked around the alley wall, to check if they were gone.
“I’m sorry to cut our supply run short, but me and my sister must speak with Dane.”
Berein nodded. Alisson flicked his head to me, and pulled his hood over his head as he exited the alley. I was quick to do the same, and escape within the crowd.
…
“This is bad. I wasn’t expecting them to still be on our trail…”
Alisson whispered under his breath as we walked through the Guild hub.
“There could be any number of possibilities why they’re here…they could’ve divided their force and sent groups to every town in the north for all we know…”
“No.”
I say, shaking my head. Alisson looked to me, intrigued.
“It’s those same three fighters, the summoner, the hero, and the red haired girl…I think it’s too much of a coincidence that they specifically would be here unwarranted…they have to be here for us.”
Alisson put a hand to his chin.
“Yes…but they should know full well that they will not win against us…If push comes to shove – We can win, Ferris.” He nodded to me, and I nodded back. “They have to be an advance party…perhaps the rest of those knights that were with them really were hampered by our counterattack, or else shouldn’t they all be here?”
I nodded in response.
We can’t break cover attacking them and making a scene. Berein seeing that we’re being hunted is bad enough, but, if fighting were to break out on the streets, the whole damn town will be in uproar – Why exactly Andestinians were attacking some random pair of strangers? That sentence on its own has a very easy and common explanation: That those strangers are Sidonians. It’s not uncommon to see Andestinians anywhere on the continent at any time, doing what it is their doing, especially since the lot of them are marked as such with their insignias. Except for that red-head, the hero’s armor and the summoner’s robes are crawling with those cursed symbols.
I tighten my fist. I know what Alisson is thinking. We’re so close to our objective. We don’t know if Andestine already knows about what were going after. They might’ve already secured what we’re looking for, and know exactly why two Sidonians are up in the north for – That would explain why they knew to immediately come to this city after attacking us.
“My, such morose expressions the two of you have…”
Interrupting my thoughts, Presír, Crimson’s advisor, was right before us.
“Well I have some news that definitely won’t cheer you up. Dane and Mr. Brasden would like to speak with you…”
Alisson broke into a smirk, clearly acting.
“Is that so? I was just heading to him as it so happens. Then please, escort us.”
Presír bobbed her head, and led us through the Guild building.
Alisson wanted to speak with Dane so that he could plead a case to sign up for the upcoming retrieval ops, if there were any. This weird. Why would Dane want to talk to us? What’s come up that would warrant that he’d need to seek us out first?
There’s a lot of potential for bad explanations on that thought.
On the upper levels of the building, Presír opens a door to a dark room, and waves us in. It was the same meeting room that we first met Crimson in. Again, for whatever reason, the room’s candles were not lit. The only light came from the overcast grey sky outside, pouring through a single window, painting the window solidly grey. Before us, was the familiarly large figure of Mr. Brasden, sitting at the table. Dane was leaning on the table, looking back to me and Alisson with a frown. On the sofa to the side of the room, Rei was laying across it, her arms crossed and staring right at me and Alisson. The door shut behind us with a loud slam.
“I’m glad you came on such short notice…We have a situation.” Dane started, standing up from the table and turning to us, crossing his arms. “Really, I’d like the whole team to be here, but this needs to be settled quickly and to be honest, I value your opinions; You’re both very mature for your age.”
Cough, 259 years old…cough…35 years old…cough…
“Something to do with the returning expedition I assume?”
Alisson tilted his head with a stern expression. Dane nodded.
“This isn’t public knowledge yet…but there are no other returning groups…What we saw on the road out there is all that’s left. The rest of the expedition are of this moment MIA.”
Alisson and I’s eyes flicker open.
“They’re not dead?”
Dane shook his head.
“The majority of them, according to the surviving members, are still in Freigat. This might not be as huge of a loss as we thought – If we can pull them out of there.”
The room was silent for a moment. Me and Alisson were, by contrary to the steeled gazes of the other’s in the room, internally gleeful. This is it. Everything is going according to plan.
Dane sighed deeply.
“None of the Five-Stripes that returned from the expedition are in anyway ready to fight. Which means that the Guild has only us in Crimson, and those in Auburn and Mystic to send out to the rest of the expedition’s aid.”
Alisson pounced to push for our agenda.
“So then our three teams are going out then? What’s the issue, it seems a trivial matter – Let’s get out there and save those Five-Stripes.”
Dane sighed.
“Look Alavier…I know you’re new to adventuring so I’ll be understanding of that statement – The other team leaders may not be as forgiving as I.”
Alisson tilted his head in confusion. Dane glared at him.
“This is the Freigat Jungle we’re talking about here. We usually spend a week preparing to head out – Most of that is saying what could be our final goodbyes. You understand? That place isn’t some hive, it’s hell. The survival rate is a little over 50%. For comparison, us taking on that Class V Hive, even with just us in Crimson, our survival rate would’ve been something like 98%.”
Alisson frowned.
“I am not one to meddle with statistics.”
“Then you’re an idiot.”
The room was silent for a moment.
“Alavier, you should know already of the danger that Freigat is, do I seriously need to remind you?”
Alisson was quiet for a while.
“…What is this?”
Dane tilted his head at Alisson’s remark.
“Why are you bringing this up? Me and my sister have been prepared to die since the moment we started adventuring. Surely you’re not questioning our will?”
Dane’s expression darkened.
“I am. I don’t know if you two are just naïve or if you’re really ready to get out there. Berein, Amela, Pat, they’re all veterans with at least three expeditions into Freigat under their belts. That makes you the rookies here. It’s a much different environment than a normal contract…”
“And we’re ready for it.”
Alisson tightened his gauntlet audibly. Dane breathed a burst of air through his nose.
“I’m going to pretend like I didn’t hear that. You shouldn’t say such bold things about something you’ve never experienced. The fact is, we just got back from a contract, and who knows how deep those missing Stripes are, or even if they’re still alive. I wanted your consultation on whether or not I was just being stupid by turning down this offer, but now I see that you’re going to be of no help if your so starry eyed. For being your first exposure to Freigat, these are some damning conditions, and I wouldn’t feel comfortable bringing you two along; And without the extra manpower, I wouldn’t feel comfortable going into Freigat in the first place at all.”
Dane sighed.
“I’m not going to risk the lives of my team so easily, you understand?”
Alisson frowned. I could see him bite his lip.
…
Tch…
First Andestinians show up, and now this.
Alisson’s mind was racing, frantically trying to find an argument. They needed in, with the rest of Crimson. He was expecting that Dane would be ordered or order Crimson into Freigat, but here they were with a choice. Going in to save the supposed rest of the expedition was suicidal; and everyone in the room knew it. Normally follow-up teams were sent into Freigat to cover the expedition’s retreat, in the case of monster influxes or any dead-drops. But this was a frantic mission being cobbled together by the Guild, and that spelt danger – There was a chance that sending in more adventurers could do more harm than good; if the rest of the expedition was already a lost cause.
He just needed something. He needed a crux, an exigence, some motivation for why Ferris and Alavier Euwald would want to sign their own travel tickets into hell itself. Morally, it didn’t make sense – Why would Alavier and Ferris Euwald care at all for some lost adventurers or the town’s manpower – They were but adventurers wanting monetary gain to escape this region. The next obvious reason he could wage was the monetary gain – It was lucrative. Mr. Brasden had an offer that would make the eyes of a low ranking lord pop out of their heads for. This was not an everyday offer. Despite this, the Guild still asked the adventurers if they consented to such a dangerous contract. Something about humility – Alisson didn’t try to understand. Sidonians ran on orders, not ambition, however ambition was what Alisson needed to display. In his logical mind, there was no plausible reason except monetarily why Ferris and Alavier would want to go into Freigat. Even this was dubious in Alisson’s head, for would humans really risk their lives so heavily for but coins?
No, it didn’t make sense in Alisson’s head. He needed some mix, some hook, something, anything to latch onto and run with.
He swallowed. The pressure assaulting his scrambling mind was almost crushing his head, and it made it hard to think.
Finally, he was taking too long to answer, so Alisson spit out what had been laying in his mouth.
“I…I understand…”
He said slowly, his eyes wide.
Something! Anything! I need to say something! Else all our hardship will have gone to waste-!
Alisson shut his eyes tightly in thought.
Suddenly, he felt someone grab onto his arm from the side. At the same time he heard a whimper. He opened his eyes, surprised. Celis was clutching his arm, shaking, burying her head into Alisson’s side. She sounded as though she were crying.
You…you…
Alisson was suddenly filled with a crazed euphoria.
…You genius! Yes! Exactly what I needed!
She was acting. She read the room, and knew what had to be done. This was the chance he was looking for.
Alisson looked to Dane once more, this time with shaky eyes and a crestfallen expression.
“I understand…I understand but-!” Alisson rose his hand, and clutched his heart: ”You do not understand-!” He said weakly with sorrow. “Me and Ferris are already dead if we don’t scrape together the funds to pay our debt-!”
The room was silent, everyone was staring at Alisson with dark expressions. This was true ambition. Physical and moral gain, combined, to create a unique plea and reason for Alisson. He only needed that first initial push, the rest came naturally.
“If we do die, then so be it! It’s better than passing up this chance and ending up with a fate worse than death…”
Alisson weakly muttered…his head dropping over Celis’s and his hair falling over his eyes. In those following moments, Alisson had to wait in gut-wrenching silence to see if their ploy had worked. He tightened his grip on Celis, who was still whimpering. She was doing a good job of faking it, a very good job in fact. She wasn’t really crying, but no one could tell because she had buried her face into Alisson’s side.
He heard the floor creak as Dane approached him. Alisson warily awaited his reaction. He felt Dane grab onto Alisson’s shoulder with a tight grip. When Alisson looked back to Dane, feigning confusion, he almost didn’t believe Dane’s expression. He was beaming a closed-eye smile at Alisson.
“I see now, Alavier, Ferris, you’ve a reason to die-! Smile! It’s better than despair in the face of death.”
Alisson’s scared and shaking countenance cautiously broke into a smile; half was real and half was faking it.
Dane let go of Alisson, and walked passed him out of the room. Rei was quick to jump up and follow.
“Prepare. We leave at dawn tomorrow.”
Rei said sternly as she passed the two of them. Him and Celis were left in silence with Mr. Brasden in the dark room. Celis was dumbfounded as she slowly unburied her face from Alisson, clearly acting, whilst Alisson was left smirking in resolute victory.
“…That’s it?”
Celis asked warily.
“Yes, you see, Dane was really jus’ testing the two of you. We’re sending in all our Five-Stripe teams no matter if they say yes or no – You are under contract directly under a Guild owned team after all.”
Mr. Brasden replied from behind the desk.
“He wouldn’t of brought us if he didn’t deem us ready…”
Alisson murmured to Celis.
“Yes, that is correct. One hint of advice rookies. Everyone knows you can handle yourselves in combat – But Freigat is a far different animal.” Him and Celis looked to Mr. Brasden, and he continued, “There is barely anytime to catch a breath, it’s just fighting and fighting, from the time you enter til’ the time you leave most can’t take it, it’s the constant stress of battle that get them, the unrelenting tides of beasts.”
Alisson nodded resolutely.
“Be sure to take care though, even if you are with Crimson and are skilled fighters, so deep into the Jungle as your first excursion might pit you up against situations you won’t be prepared for in the slightest – Stick with Dane, he’ll know what to do.” He tilted his head. “Now then, get the hell out of my office.”
Brasden said, smiling. Alisson returned his words with a subservient bow of his head, and left the room.
…
“Celis-!”
When they’d entered their room, Alisson could barely contain himself. Without thinking, he’d pushed her to the bed, his head bobbing back and forth like a dog, smiling incessantly.
“You did well, you really saved our skin back there!”
He tightened his grip on her shoulders, smiling despite himself.
He suddenly realized what he was doing, and his eyes shot open. He was being so insouciant! When he saw Celis’s face though, his fears were abraded. She was blushing, but she had a small and warm smile. Still, he was quick to amend his behavior.
“I-I mean…”
Alisson retreated back.
“Thank you.”
He said, averting his eyes with a smile.
“Mm.”
Celis bobbed her head. Alisson quickly turned and cleared his throat.
“All tasks at hand have been cleared. One final effort is all that remains.” He turned back to Celis. “This coming undertaking will be our most strenuous thus far; We fail here, everything we’ve done will have been for nothing.”
Celis nodded. A knock was suddenly heard at the door. The two of them promptly straightened themselves.
“It’s unlocked.”
Alisson said. Berein peered through the door.
“Hey Ferris. The both of you ran off so quickly I wasn’t able to ask – Do you still want to study tonight?”
Celis looked to Alisson, with a hint of concern.
“Will you be alright on your own?”
Alisson’s eyes widened and he blushed. He didn’t appreciate her talking like that in front of someone else.
“O-of course. I’ll be fine.”
He replied, his head turned to hide his embarrassment. So, the two of them took their leave from the room. Alisson was left alone, smiling to himself. It’d gotten quite dark without him noticing. Really, he should’ve been in a more dreadful state. With Andestine now in the city, for whatever reason, he had to be on guard. They could very well bust down the door to the Guild hub and storm the building in search of him and Celis.
Despite this, he wasn’t scared. There was only three of them. They could win. Really, if Alisson were in a different, more aggressive state of mind, he’d of refused Berein’s offer – And taken to the city in the black of night with Celis, to hunt down the Andestinians and kill them. Ultimately, Alisson decided that him and Celis need their rest for the coming perils of Freigat, and he didn’t want to risk a scene or increasing his level of suspicion any further than it already was.
With those thoughts, Alisson drew Enhérejär, and sunk into stance, his eyes narrowing. Before he could move however, a knot formed in his throat. He dropped Enhérejär, and he fell to his knees, clutching his throat. His eye twitched as he saw the blood that he'd coughed up.
…
“Well, here’s to finding that bastard!”
Kana lifted her mug to me, to which I reciprocated with a toast.
It’s been two weeks since we’ve ran into Alisson, and since then, we’ve lugged our buts a considerable way north. The 153rd is currently in the Tarakian capital by the coast, awaiting reinforcements and rejuvenating their strength. It’s definitely weird going through such long expanses of barren road with nothing but the three of us. We’ve only used that locator spell twice, and we’re about to use it again tonight. The first time was a test to confirm if the damn thing worked. The second time we used it while we were still back in the Tarakian Capital with the 153rd. It pointed us here, to a city called Pūshkinskaya; Some back country slum town ripe with adventurers and problems. Thankfully, their problems, aren’t our problems. Well, unless one of their problems is two loose Nekomata. But seriously, this city is a disaster, almost every single house is broken down, only the buildings in the center of the city are in one piece. The garrison was hesitant to let us in, but when they saw Arciel, covered in Andestinian insignias, and with the paperwork and word of Andestine, no one was willing to not allow us entry. We’re on official Andestine business after all, even out here in the boonies, people know that standing in our way is not a good idea. Well, at least we found an inn that was willing to take in such potentially dangerous guests as us.
Obviously Alisson will have moved by now, the question is, whereto ? With three points of his known locations, we should be able to triangulate his path, and predict his destination, which Arciel has been theorizing over for the past couple weeks.
“To think that people live in such squalid conditions. Hmph.”
Arciel, across from me and Kana, didn’t share our attitude on alcohol. I’ll be honest, the booze in this world isn’t great, the alcohol content here is damn low – People don’t drink to get drunk, not like where I come from. I can definitely say that I’ve drank more alcohol in my life than most nobles in this world.
“Just be thankful your not one of them.”
I said to Arciel.
“Jeez you’re not my father Shepard.”
“And I wouldn’t want to be. If I ever have a daughter, she’ll be a hell of a lot more grateful than your ass.”
Arciel frowned at me, irritated.
“Anyway, what’s up with this city?”
I ask, putting my mug down.
Arciel looked away.
“I don’t know! It’s one big dump – What should I care!”
I looked to Kana instead.
“…It’s supposedly named after a famous poet.”
“…That all?”
“Well it’s a northern town so beast attacks are common, most of the populace is stuck in this region against their will because of the danger…Trade here is almost nonexistent and the garrison is pitifully small for what it should be to keep a safe perimeter. Oh, and this is the town where the first Guild Adventurers originated from – It has the largest and most active adventurer population anywhere on the continent.”
“Shouldn’t you be paying your respects then Miss adventurer?”
Kana rolled her eyes.
“No…those of us in the Andestine continent operate under a totally different rule set and order. But, that’s in the past. I’m a mercenary now.”
She said, shrugging. I looked away, averting my eyes from my two party members and staring into the crowds of the inn in thought.
For the past couple weeks, I’ve been analyzing the events of the previous battle with Alisson. There are lot of things that need to be unpacked so that I can reasonably counter them in my next encounter with Alisson. If I can’t learn from my mistakes or my enemy’s strengths, then I’m not any better than my neighborhood cat in the intelligence department. The thing that takes the most priority was Alisson’s weapon and his style of fighting. Andestine has never seen him use that floaty silver crap before. Reports have been sent back to the homeland and it’s being investigated, but so far, none of the 153rd or Arciel have any clue what the hell Alisson’s weapon was doing. But, the most pressing ability of Alisson’s, is one that we’ve all already talked to death.
Alisson’s magic redirection.
On paper it doesn’t seem like a big deal, but to Arciel, someone who’s only means of attack is magic? It basically negates her entire life and turns her into an ally of Alisson whenever she launches spells. Hell, it might of just been some sort of fluke, some random item or spell that Alisson will never be able to use again, but still – That ability is seriously powerful.
“Hey, what’s the chance that Alisson can use his redirection on demand?”
I think audibly, interrupting a conversation between Arciel and Kana.
“Huh? There’s no way- “
Arciel starts to shoot me down, but Kana is quicker.
“I’d guess if that were the case, his redirection would be the result of that legendary weapon of his.”
I furrowed my mouth.
“Hey Arciel, next time we fight that shithead, you should keep in mind- “
“-Of course I will you idiot! Who do you think I am?”
“Arciel Fevili-?”
“Arciel Fevili Arcielvitzi!”
Arciel said anyway, over me, not hearing my remark.
“That reminds me, if Alisson’s legendary weapon can do all that crazy stuff…what the hell is mine supposed to do?”
“Y-you have a legendary weapon!?”
Kana asked, completely surprised.
“Uh. Yeah. I never mentioned it ‘cause the damn things a hunk a junk.”
I don’t think the inn-goers would exactly appreciate an Andestinian clad in armor so casually draw their weapon, so I stopped the musings there. Kana agreed to take a look at it- Apparently some legendary weapons can’t be used by just anybody, some need a certain affinity. The rest of the night was uneventful, except the few conversations in the pub that I picked up on.
…
“The whole town’s been talking about it…The Freigat expedition returns half-dead and now Andestinians show up? Something is going on here…”
“As if anybody has an interest in this godforsaken place…They’re probably just passing through. Shush! Look they’re looking in our direction-! Quiet down!”
…
“Yeah! Don’t you know! Nekomata boys are like totally the cutest!”
“Hah…You know that they’re the usually ones on the bottom, right?”
“Bwahaha! Really!? That’s even funnier!”
…
“You ever wonder what the hell is out there, in the dark?”
“At night in the woods, outside the wall, hell I can’t even begin to guess.”
“Tch. So good people have it here…Over in the west, it’s even worse…Ever heard of Scratskoslovotskaya? Legendary town, it’s been around for a hell of a long time just like Pūshkinskaya…Only over there the people live right on the edge of the Deadzone. They say that some people actually make trips into the Deadzone…”
“That has to be fake, no way anybody just walks in there – Just being near it and your life will shorten.”
…
“So, is it time then?”
Kana asked. Arciel flattened a map across the table.
“The cooldown should’ve expired by now.”
Arciel theorizes that this ‘cooldown’ is actually a spell that’s attached to Alisson gathering mana to send its location back to the activator spell, which Arciel has.
“Alright…” Arciel took a deep breath. “Monstrat Ketser, Montre’toi.”
After a second, Arciel’s eyes widened and she gasped, almost choking on her own spit.
“What? What is it?”
I ask quickly, tilting my head.
Arciel shakily lifts her finger, and it lands on the map.
“He’s…he’s in the city…”
Her finger, was straight on the dot marked Pūskinskaya.
The three of us looked at each other.
***