Yarro decided to his Peacekeeper rounds across the bridge from the village hall in Wicca, where he was stationed. There, the park, the Southern Mines, and most of the shops were on the western side of the village. The sun had already risen, and many folks were up and about. In the park, the morning crowd had already started their elemental practice drills. Most of the folks in Dawic are of the Earth element, due to the mining facilities. Yarro was a water element, which only served to further alienate him from the community when he first arrived. Luckily with his charm and naturally outgoing nature, he was able to slowly win many of them over.
He wore his still shiny breastplate over a pale orange tunic, which was a little bit looser than when he first arrived almost a year ago. His calloused hands ran over his head and grabbed his shoulder length braids into a half bun, the iron metal end pieces clinked against each other as he did.
Yarro first stop of the day was the park, where Julia led the practice. It wasn’t a large park by any means, certainly smaller than any of the kind he visited back at home, and this one had small patched of upturned dirt from all the practicing. The back of the park was lined with the river that ran through the middle of town, and a waterfall just a bit farther back up against the mountains. Sometimes at night, when most folks were inside after a long day, Yarro would like to sit under the waterfall and enjoy the feeling of cool water washing over him.
Most of the participants here were kids still learning to control their element, desperate to help their parents in the mines. There was also the town’s oldest couple, Jochel and Pearla, who ran the tavern. They were old enough that they could barely keep up with the younger folks in their boundless energy. “Good morning, everyone!” Yarro called out. He was met with varying enthusiasm, Jochel the most disdainful. He decided to partake and went to the back of the group to practice what he could of Julia’s earth demonstration with the river water from behind them.
Water moved differently than earth, no naturally it didn’t behave the same way. A punch with an earth element will throw a rock or slide a piece of land in the direction a punch was facing. A punch with water will get a continuous stream moving in the direction of the punch, and Yarro would have to redirect the water before he lost range and have it fall inert. It would certainly cause trouble with the rest of the group. He knew most of the basic water training, but he still needed to keep up with practice and not become rusty to the point where he would be useless in the event of some danger. He already wasn’t practicing as much as he wanted. However, he still had his doubts he’d ever be completely competent in his water abilities.
After about 20 minutes of Julia’s training, she dispersed the group. “OK everyone, that’s all for today. But Peacekeeper Yarro, if I could see you for just a minute?” The children cheered and ran off. Some went off to the mines, and some just ran further in the park to show off with their friends what they just learned. Yarro walked up to Julia, nervous she might try to stop him from practicing. It was odd and distracting for a different elementalist to be practicing with them, but he would have to insist he needed the practice.
“Good morning Julia. You always know how to teach in a way that reaches those kids' ears. I swear they never listen to me.” They both chuckled a little.
Julia glanced over at the children practicing. “Children are excellent at absorbing their mentor’s lessons, but only when they want to. Listen, I’ve noticed there’s been someone picking some of my tomatoes growing by my window. Have you seen anything?”
Ah, so it was guard business. Julia was growing some food in a small, personal garden behind her home. She had a bit of a green thumb and every time he passed by on his rounds he couldn’t help but admire the vibrant vegetables. “No, I can’t say I have. Was a lot stolen?”
Julia sighed, and crossed her arms. She was angry, but it wasn’t directed at him. “Well at first, there were just a few here and there, and I thought it was just some critters. But lately more and more of them have gone missing. I don’t know why they would steal either. I have plenty of tomatoes. If they would just ask, I would be happy to part with a few of them.”
That’s true. Yarro had noticed Julia has the largest tomatoes in the entire village, and everyone knew she was certainly kind enough. But maybe that was it. Whoever was stealing from her might have been taking advantage of her kindness. “And none of the other vegetables have gone missing?” Julia shook her head. “Well, I’ll stop by and look around, see if I notice anything.” Yarro put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest a little. He got to do very little criminal investigation work and he was a bit excited at finally showing off his deduction skills. Not that he had much to begin with.
Julia gave a small smile. “Thank you. Please let me know if you find anything.”
They said their goodbyes, and Yarro continued on his way to the Southern Mines. Leo, the mining manager and husband to the Governor, was chatting with Dimel, the blacksmith, about the quality of his work. It seemed to be quite a heated ‘chat’ thought. Leo was all puffed up and waving his arms around, and Dimel seemed to be ignoring him completely in favor of his work.
“All I’m saying is that your work could use a few, ehhh, improvements. The iron ore you’re refining is not as pure as Yanik’s. Maybe you two should have a chat and he could teach you a few things,” Leo said.
The forge flared up, most likely from Dimel’s reaction. He was a fire elementalist. “I’m doing the best I can. The ore comes in, it’s dropped off, all day.” He stepped away from Leo and grabbed a hunk of ore, and tossed it recklessly into the forge. “I do most of the ore in my backlog, I go home at the end of the day. I eat, I rest.” He picked up a hammer and a knife, waving them around as he talked. “Come back in the morning, and there’s more ore than when I left! I’m working as quick as I can, with no apprentices I might add, so I’m sorry my quality isn’t up to par with your expectations.” He then grabbed the hot ore out of the furnace with his bare hands, dropped it on a table, and started working at it. He was showing off his skill here, working with hot ore bare handed.
Leo sighed and stroked his beard while he thought. He was silent for a while before Yarro decided to interrupt. “Is there a problem here?” he asked.
“No, there’s no problem, Peacekeeper Yarro. Just a friendly discussion,” Leo said. After a moment he spoke to Dimel. “I know that. All I’m saying is-”
“I know what you’re saying, and it’s not going to work. I know how to work the forge, I’m a damn fire elementalist, for crying out loud!” He put a handful of the ore he chipped at in a bucket. “What I’m saying is that I don’t have the time to go chat with Yanik. You wanted quantity, I got your quantity.” The forge flared up once again. Dimel tossed more of the ore in the bucket with the rest, and tossed the bucket in the forge. “If you want quality, I can do that but it’ll cost you the quantity I’ve been doing.”
Dimel crossed his arms. The two were now in a stare-off for what felt like the longest minute. Leo broke first. “Perhaps a middle ground between the two of you, then,” he shrugged. Dimel put down his hammer and knife at the table.
Dimel grabbed the bucket of now molten iron ore from the forge, and filled a mold of a bar with it. “I can’t promise it, but I’ll try to make better bars when I can.” He put the bucket down and went to grab more ore.
Yarro nodded to himself and walked off, glad he didn’t have to get involved. Governor Erica would have raised hell if she found out he got involved in her business. The mine was her livelihood, and she poured hundreds of hours into making it as profitable as it was now. Apparently, the mine had been in the red for over a decade but the Queen had refused to close it for whatever reason. Governor Erica had come in with new tools and modern machinery her friend had developed. It was then that they had found iron deep within, after digging randomly for coal all this time.
He made his way to the residential area south of the Southern Mines. Julia lived here, and when he got to it, he found her garden completely trampled on. Broken stems and vines everywhere, uprooted vegetables strewn about. It was much more drastic than just a few stolen tomatoes. Yarro sighed. All around was a mess of footprints from multiple people, and he was able to follow a set out.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
However once he reached another bridge, the people split up, and he lost all of them due to the bridge being a high traffic area. Yarro sighed in frustration. He may know the people in the town, but it certainly wasn’t enough to figure out who was hungry enough to steal, or who simply had a grudge against Julia. Yarro had a sneaking suspicion he should have asked when Julia came to him about it. Much to his dismay, he completed the rest of his western route with no problems around early noon. No one acted out of the ordinary nor had any extra tomatoes. He crossed the bridge and stopped by the tavern for some lunch.
Before Yarro left, Pearla stopped him and handed him a small box wrapped in cloth. “Dearie, can you give this to Courtney? She hasn’t come by yet for her lunch so I figured she must be too busy with work to stop by.”
Yarro nodded and took the box from her. “I’d be happy to. In fact, I was on my way over to that area.”
“Oh good. And tell Aerla as well I said hi!” Pearla waved him goodbye as he left. The box was still warm, and a bit heavy. Yarro contemplated opening it to see what he was handing off but decided against it. Courtney would know, even if he were to tie it back up perfectly. He didn’t want to be a suspect of taking a piece, especially when he himself was investigating a theft.
Right outside the Healer’s Hut up on a hill was Minae, Courtney’s younger sister. To Yarro, she was easily the most beautiful woman in the entire village, and single. She was kneeling, tending the herb garden in the front, with a sort of dreamy look in her eyes and lost in her own thoughts. Stray strands of wavy brown hair clung to her sweaty face. “Uh, hi,” Yarro said.
She jumped in fright and dropped her gardening shears. “Oh, Yarro! I mean, Peacekeeper Yarro.” She held her hand close to her heart, as if telling it to calm down, and exhaled. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you come up. I hope you weren’t standing there for long.” Minae stood up, brushed the dirt from her skirt and wiped the sweat from her face. “What can I do for ya?” She asked.
“Oh well, um, I was wondering where Courtney was? I mean, for Pearla. She asked me to give her this,” Yarro held up the clothed package. “I think it’s lunch?”
“I’ll take that,” Minae said, and reached for the package Yarro held up. “She’s out foraging, but not to worry, I’ll get this to her. But I’ll tell you a secret. It’s mostly for us.” Minae giggled and opened up the package. It looked like bread rolls, salad and noodles covered in some dark chunky sauce. Her eyes lit up at the sight. “Yum, my favorite!”
Minae instantly grabbed a bread roll, savoring the warmth it still had. “Want to come in? You must be thirsty from doing your rounds.”
“Oh, I just had lunch, but um, thank you,” Yarro said. He stared for a bit too long before catching himself. “I’ll um... I’ll just continue on. See you after, maybe?”
Minae smiled and nodded. “Sure. You’re welcome to stop by anytime.” She waved and started walking backwards toward the house. Yarro waved back, watching her leave. Then she tripped over a plant in the garden.
“Are you OK?” Yarro wanted to rush over and help, but she was already laughing and getting up on her own.
“I’m fine, thanks.” She brushed off the dirt from her bottom and waved again. “Thanks. Bye for now,” and went inside the house. Yarro waved once again, and watched her leave in a dreamily state until he heard the door close. He waited another moment until he saw Minae at the window, waving and smiling. He waved his final goodbye and left. The moment he turned away the weight of the awkwardness crushed him. Why did he just stand around smiling and waving?
Yarro made his way over to the Northern Mine, still daydreaming about Minae. There at the entrance he found Governor Erica, Clarise, and Yanik at the blacksmith out front. Clarise had her clipboard as usual, making notes about whatever it is she thought would be useful for her employer. Governor Erica was inspecting the refined ore Yanik had made in a similar manner as Leo. She had a red, long collared coat over her black vest today, black pants and black boots that went up to her knees.
Her and the blacksmith seemed to be discussing the same situation as the other blacksmith, except in the opposite direction. She praised his quality but noted his speed could use some work. The only difference was that Yanik seemed willing to downgrade his quality and take into account any criticism. He stood proud and formal; not a hint of emotion on his face. “It would be ideal to have both blacksmiths on the same page, and would keep our bottom line more consistent. Perhaps have a chat with Dimel later.”
“Of course, madam. One can always learn from anything. I’ll stop by the tavern after work.”
Erica smiled satisfactorily and finished her inspection. “I’d like an inventory of what you have and if you’re need of anything. The monthly merchant is coming up soon, so get it to me within the next few days.
“Of course, madam.” Yanik nodded again, and relaxed a bit, sensing the meeting was over.
Erica turned to Clarise. “Is that everyone?”
Clarise went over her clipboard, and flipped through pages. “All that’s left are the folks in the mine.”
“Very well. I’ll talk with Leo about them then. Make sure they have all they need.”
There was a rumble beneath them. Rocks tumbled down the earthen wall beside them. Thud, thud, thud. He felt the water tremble with each movement. “Is that an earthquake?” Erica looked towards the mines. The sounds got louder, and louder. Miners came running out the mines, screaming. Someone tried blocking the entrance but another earth elementalist unblocked it from inside.
Only a moment passed when what looked like a Master Earth Elemental burst through the mines. It towered over the buildings in the village, and the mining entrance was now as large as its shape. It let out a roar, and nearly burst eardrums of everyone around. Yarro flinched to cover his ears but still heard the Master Earth Elemental bellowing. Floods of miners still exited the mines, while some stopped to throw their rocks at them. Some tried to manipulate the Master Earth Elemental itself. Their faces turned blue from pressure as their manipulations proved fruitless.
The Master Earth Elemental took one swipe at the blacksmith and destroyed the entire forge. He and Governor Erica jumped out of the way, but Yanik didn’t make it. Clarise was already gone and he didn’t know where she ran off to. This is what he was here for! Water. He needed water. Yarro made a dash to the river, the sounds of the waterfall splashing against the rocks at the bottom became a bit louder than the destruction the Master Earth Elemental was causing.
It was larger than any other earth elemental he had seen. None of what he studied when he was becoming a guard said that earth elementals could become so tall. It must be the Master, the work of the Deities. Yarro didn’t visit the church as often as he should have, but if his mother’s bedtime stores were right, these were said to be the Deities’ Messengers. Why one was showing up now was the big mystery.
Yarro pulled a large stream of the river into an orb of rushing water. It went faster and faster, as fast as an ocean current. All the while the Master Earth Elemental was rampaging the buildings and squashing everyone that got too close. The speed of the orb got to the point where control was becoming difficult. It started wobbling, and becoming deformed. That’s when Yarro let it loose towards the Master Earth Elemental. He aimed for the jade orb that acted as an elbow joint, hoping it would detach the arm, or at least stop it from causing destruction.
The Master Earth Elemental did halt when confronted with the water. It held its arm up, the rocks and orbs forming the hand held together against the pressure of rushing water. It wasn’t strong enough. He wasn’t strong enough. When the water subsided, it roared at Yarro specifically and swatted him away. The force of the rock knocked out all the wind out of him, even with the protection of his breastplate.
Yarro crashed to the side of the earthen wall, a small gasp escaped him, and he fell into the water. Instantly the back of his head burned. He blinked hard as he tried to adjust his eyes. He came to realize there was now some faint amount of blood around him. Yarro came up for air, gasping and coughing and spitting up water. His bun had become undone, and his fingers came away from the back of his head covered in blood. So that’s what the growing headache was for.
The Master Earth Elemental was now raging, and being pelted with boulders the size of doors. It had no effect on him, and neither did his water. How do they defeat this thing? Yarro carefully made his way back to shore, dodging any rogue rocks and debris thrown his way. His progress was slowed as he kept pressure on the back of his head. His terrible headache worsened by the second and was beginning to impede his movement. His eyes couldn’t keep focus and he felt a bit of nausea rising. All he could think about was stopping the Master Earth Elemental, so why was his body not cooperating?
Erica came splashing in once Yarro got close to the shore. “No! You need to leave, now. Get help from the capital. Bring the army or something! We can’t defeat them on our own and everyone’s trained in mining, not fighting. Can you water skate?” Yarro was barely following her through the pounding and the blood rushing in his ears, but nodded all the same. Even that hurt. “Good. Then follow the river south. Go. Go!”
Yarro groaned, and took a sharp breath in. His lungs still hurt from being smacked into the water. The pain didn’t help with his element usage but he still willed the water to bring his feet up, until his feet stood on the surface. Yarro started moving his feet, slowly at first, until he was able to push aside the pain and start skating above the water.
He heard Erica shouting in the distance. “Leo! There you are. Help me evacuate the town!”
He skated past Julia in the park, helping the kids to safety. She made a hole in the park, and the nearby kids jumped in. He skated past Jochel and Pearla boarding up the tavern. He completely left them all behind. He left the screams and chaos with his head pounding and tears in his eyes. He didn’t want to go, but it was an order.