Arthur's Point of View

Temple atop Helmsforth

"A Captain?" I repeated, confused.

"Indeed. This is quite the offer, and I know Elincia will agree." Arceana stated.

"No thanks." I sneered, mockingly. "As much as I would love to join your Guard, I must decline." Was my sarcastic reply.

Arceana smirked. "I didn't think such a position would entice you. What about something more personal in nature?" She inquired, and I gave her a bored look in return. "Becoming a personal bodyguard to my sister and I is quite a sought-after position."

"Again, I'll pass," I told her. "I don't really care about joining your Guard. I'm not really the kind of guy to listen to other people's orders." I shrugged. "Been that way my whole life. I've done it before, but it's not something I'm going to do with you."

The Priestess went silent for a moment as she kept her little smile the entire time I declined each offer. "What if I gave you a position no one has held in thousands of years? In terms of rank, you'd be second to only me and my sister."

Scoffing, I replied as I stretched my arms across the back of the couch. "What position is that? Priest?"

Shaking her head, Arceana answered. "There has never been a Priest, but how would you feel about becoming a Lestranian Knight?"

One of the guards stepped forward and pointed at me with hate. "Priestess, why would you offer this man such a renowned position!? The last Knight of Lestrania perished thousands of years ago! Why now would you choose someone who isn't even from your own guard or nation!?"

It amused me that one of the guards pointed out some of the same things I was thinking. "I agree with what's his face," I said as I pointed at the guard. "You don't know me. All you know is that I defeated some Ghouls and that I pose some manner of threat to you and your sister. I cannot possibly fathom the logic behind this offer, and so I must decline."

Arceana looked amused. "The logic is quite sound. Not only did you refrain from dealing a fatal blow to my sister, but you also were patient enough with my subjects that you only injured them so they could no longer fight." Then she tapped the Ghoul's body with her foot. "Of course, we can't forget your biggest accomplishment. Taking care of demons inside our borders with vigor gives you more than enough merit for me to make such an offer."

"The answer is still no. I'm not here to be your Knight or a hero. You want a knight, go find someone who gives a shit about people, because I don't." I told her and stood up. "If there was nothing else you wanted me to come here for, I think I'll be on my way." Then I moved to leave.

"What do you crave?" The Priestess suddenly asked, and I stopped. "Surely, there must be something your heart desires. I know you need information. Ayda has informed me as such." Arceana then gestured to the Temple as a whole. "There are books, scrolls, and parchments here that cannot be found anywhere else. Whatever you're looking for, I can likely provide."

None of this made sense. "Why are you so invested in me to go to such lengths? Someone you just met has no purpose in getting such a rank and title. Things that I care very little for." I told her and thought about why she seemed so determined to have me under her thumb. "Yet, you're negotiating as if me leaving would be catastrophic. Why?"

Arceana kept her small little smile. "That's for me to know. If you agree to become our Knight, I will tell you what I know. Your questions will be answered, and anything you might need will be provided." Ringing her scepter, she eyed me. "This isn't just some random deal. I can give you anything your heart desires."

"No, you can't." Was all I said and left the room.

A few guards gave me dirty glares, while others seemed relieved, I turned the offer down. Not paying them any mind, I moved through the temple without an escort. This seemed a little odd to me, and figured it was all a part of Arceana's plan to make me a knight.

It wasn't until I was walking past some windows that I noticed a small garden of sorts on the side of the temple. Curious about this, I moved closer. The garden was small and simple. A small pond was off towards the side, with a few small trees and flowers decorating the area. However, the person sitting at a lonely stone bench caught my eye. To my surprise, another High Elf was sitting there by herself.

For a moment, I thought it was Arceana because of the pink hair, but she turned, and the faces didn't match. Although, I did see purple eyes, and she seemed to be much younger. While she looked like she was in her twenties, she actually might've been unlike Arceana and Elincia. A red dress covered her, and I noticed she wasn't wearing a crown like the other two Priestesses. This just made me more intrigued.

Unfortunately, as curious as I was, it seemed that there was another present who didn't seem to belong. Across the garden, in a corner that was well hidden from view, I saw a cloaked figure. My eyes narrowed at this and immediately thought it was another Ghoul. Although, upon further inspection, I saw the cloak was a plain black that didn't match, but I did take notice of its womanly figure. Not only that, she stood there watching peacefully as raven colored hair blew in the breeze.

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The cloaked figure noticed my presence and turned from the High Elf to me. She seemed to freeze upon seeing me. My eyes narrowed as the two of us seemed to be in a stand-off. Something was different about this though. I knew she shouldn't be here and whatever she was up to, likely wasn't good. Proving me right, a spell was launched at me with a speed that far surpassed Elincia.

"Shit!" I exclaimed as I rolled back right as the spell shot over me.

Quickly getting up to my feet, I looked to where the spellcaster was, only to find that she had disappeared. The other High Elf sitting in the garden was none the wiser, and the spell seemed to disappear before it did any damage to the Temple. Drawing my sword, I quickly jumped up the columns and surveyed the area. The spellcaster was fleeing down the mountain.

"Oh no you don't." Was all I said as I jumped from the peak and started to fall down the mountainside. "You don't get a free shot and then try and run!" I shouted as I started getting closer.

Several nobles heard my bellow and looked up wide eyed at my falling appearance. Even the cloaked woman glanced back. Slamming into the ground, I rushed her, but she merely jumped off the side once more. Following her towards the base, I angled my body as I fell from one rung to the next.

Eventually, she came to a stop when she realized she wasn't going to be able to lose me so easily. Darting into an alleyway on the second lowest rung above the slums, I landed hard again and charged after her. Bringing Defiance forward in a thrust, the cloaked figure brought forth a sword made of energy. A white blade with chunks of metal throughout the magic holding it together.

"Who are you?" I demanded as we clashed in the dark alley.

Her sword was lighting the area, but she didn't respond. "…"

"Surely you don't think you can walk away from this with no consequences. What're you doing here, and why were you watching that High Elf in the garden?" I asked and then actually started to wonder why I was going to such lengths.

"Perhaps instead of worrying about me, you should take more care of your surroundings first." The cloaked woman eventually replied and gestured with her head behind me.

"You don't seriously think I would fall for that, do you?" I asked back.

The woman was quiet for a moment, and I knew she was studying me. "There is nothing to fall for. This place has become a beacon for all that you hate. A cesspool for the corrupted to take advantage of their toys. Then again, perhaps you no longer care as much about slavery as I thought?"

Narrowing my eyes at her words, I began pushing against her as my tone turned darker. "Who are you?!" I asked in a murderous tone.

"Someone who knows that you don't tolerate injustice despite how you may try to portray yourself." The woman replied in kind and pushed back. "Do not think for one second that you've ever been forgiven for your failures." Again, she gestured behind me.

Jumping back to put some room between us, I glanced over my shoulder to see a woman apparently being kidnapped in the alley across the street. A group of Elves and Humans didn't notice us as they picked up the Elven Noble. They likely cornered her while I was focusing on the cloaked woman. Gritting my teeth at the scene before me, I watched as they started to carry her off carefully throughout the alleys and disappeared.

"You now have a choice to make." The woman told me. "Pursue me, someone who has done nothing wrong to invoke your ire, or you can save that Elf. The choice is yours."

She spread her arms out wide after her sword disappeared. Gritting my teeth as I darted across the street to the other alley, I glanced over my shoulder to see wings spread from underneath the woman's cloak as a white aura appeared on her hands. She teleported away, and I merely frowned in response. I'd made my choice. It wasn't Arceana or Elincia from what I could tell, but this definitely made me curious. There were now four High Elves in total if I was correct. Made me curious is there were any more hiding somewhere.

"Where'd they go?" I mumbled as I ran through the alleyways.

Eventually, I jumped up on the rooftops and started jumping from building to building. Trying to figure out where the kidnappers and their victim was, wasn't easy. This annoyed me. So, I took off my wrapping around my right eye and looked for a group of energy signatures moving throughout the alleys.

A smirk came to my lips. "Bingo." I mumbled and started closing in on the group.

Once above them, I waited to see where they were taking her. If the cloaked woman was right, slaves were a real thing, and that was something I wouldn't stand for. If I follow them, and they take me to their hideout, I might be able to nip this in the bud. I'll kill each and every slaver present. Doesn't matter if they're Lestranian or not.

It didn't take long for us to descend down a hidden path on the mountain to a section in the slums. Made sense that there would be a secret slave trade in the biggest section of the city and the lowest rung. The group went into a rather large building that appeared to be a warehouse of sorts, outside. I was more interested in what it looked like on the inside. After all, I could see dozens of energy signals inside before I rewrapped my right eye.

The flapping of wings grabbed my attention, and two Zugal landed beside me from my perch overlooking the warehouse. "What're you doing here, Arthur?" Greigh asked me.

My gaze turned wide eyed to the Captain of the Town's Guard. "I could ask you the same thing. What're you doing here, Greigh?"

"That's Captain to you, Arthur." Ziah said from my other side.

"It's 'dead man, if you're involved in this." Was my retort as I kept my lifeless stare focused on Greigh.

"Are you threatening me, Arthur?" The Captain asked.

I nodded. "By all means, take this as a threat or a warning, but I want to know what you're doing here. Now." Reaching up, I wrapped my hand around the handle of Defiance.

Both seemed on edge from me admitting that but looked more nervous once I grabbed Defiance. "We've been tracking this group for some time. Never to this location due to their magic and the illusions they cast, but you seemed to have no issues seeing through them." Greigh stated.

"In fact, you followed them without any issues at all." Ziah commented from the other side of me. "Normally, their magic helps them escape. We noticed you trailing them, so we decided to follow you instead." The female Zugal stated.

"Then, you know what they've been doing?" I asked as my hand slowly moved from Defiance.

The two Zugal relaxed at this but weren't happy I threatened them in the first place. "Kidnappings have been happening rather periodically as of late. We knew some talented spellcasters had to be involved, but we couldn't pinpoint the location or the Elves behind it."

Looking back to the warehouse, I spoke. "It's not just Elves. There were a few Humans present as well. They worked as a group when they kidnapped a woman from the rung above us. She appeared to be an Elf, but they cornered her quickly. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, no one would've ever heard them." Steepling my fingers together, I continued. "A real group of professionals, wouldn't you say?"

Both guards glanced at each other before Greigh spoke up again. "That brings us back to my initial question. Why are you here, Arthur?"

"To kill every slaver inside," I answered, and both blanched at me. "What? I'm not of a fan of slavery. Don't care if it's illegal or not. Each person responsible in there is going to die if they were apart of such an atrocious group of people."

"That's not for you to decide." Greigh said back in a firm tone.

"Who gets to decide then? The Priestesses? I don't care about them or their rules. If injustice is only addressed by the rulers of the nation or their guards, what is the point of having an opinion? Having your own personal ethics in place is for moments like this."

Greigh stood. "Were already planning on going in, and you don't need to get involved. We just need the rest of our-"

Cutting him off, I spoke. "I'm not waiting, and I don't need your help."

Finally drawing Defiance, I stood as well as I ignored the Zugal. "How do you know if someone is a victim or a criminal?" Ziah asked.

"Oh, I'll know. Don't worry about that." Was my reply.

"We cannot allow you to-" Ziah started, but Greigh moved towards her and stopped her.

"I only ask that you spare those who surrender since we can't stop you. Just know that this will be reported to the Priestesses themselves." The Captain informed me.

A smirk made its way to my lips. "Tell you what, you let them know that if I get to wipe out any other slave rings like this, I'll consider accepting their deal." Without any further prompting, I jumped from my perch and to the warehouse.