"Alright, we're here," said the old man, unloading all his equipment from the back of the carriage.

Lear got up and stretched his arms. The sun beamed down on his face, waking him up. The sight of a welcome landscape could be seen from behind him, a beatiful view taken in by the natural essence of nature.

"Seems like you had a nice rest. The other one that was with you here already left, just in case you wanted to know. What a curious person that was," said the old man, scratching his head. "He just gave me a coin and rode up on the carriage. I didn't even get to take a good look at the fella's face."

"I see. That person was pretty odd, not speaking at all. But I guess there's not really much to talk about him. Might not be a people's person."

Lear got off the carriage with his belongings and surveyed the area. The area he touched down on was gloomy. There were almost no people outside, as if it were a ghost town. Most of the stands and stores were run down and decimated, and its inhabitants were nowhere to be found for the contents of the supposed stands and stores were ransacked and pillaged, with nothing left to salvage. There was an unruly atmosphere in the air, and not even guards were present around the area. Lear thought it odd as the transition from a place filled with energy and people to a place bereft of that had such a large margin. He didn't know the cause, but was genuinely curious as to why it was so.

Furahm was a town that wasn't as advanced as the rest. Most of the buildings were made with wood and simple materials, unlike the city where it was made of bricks, stone, and expensive hard-wood. It lacked most of the necessities such as a forge or a stables and those kinds of things, but the town functioned as it would a farming town.

The fact that it was constantly under threat didn't make things any better. If any, it prevented the town from flourishing at all. The people living here had it tough yet could not do anything to fix the situation or make it better.

"Hey, Gramps, why does it look like a storm just came by here? The place is deserted. Are you sure this is the place?"

"Oh, so you haven't heard about Furahm's state yet, haven't you? Hmm, I'll tell you then. I can't have a youngster like you be oblivious in these parts. You see, Furahm's on the very border of the kingdom. It is a town that is isolated from the rest of the towns. We are constantly being attacked by bandits and other kingdoms. Sometimes they threaten us to give them our supplies, so we give them what they ask for. We can't fight back against them, so our only choice is to do what is asked of us, even when it means that we won't have anything to eat. As long as we can keep living, that's all that matters."

"That's horrible. Can't you just move away from this town? It's dangerous living like this. Aren't there people who are here for that sort of thing, like guards or soldiers?"

"The Emperor doesn't seem to be sending people here to guard us anymore. It's been months since the last regiment was sent here, and the last one was recalled because of the current war with another kingdom somewhere, so almost no one remains. Those that were stationed here can barely do anything do defend us either. Moving is out of the question. We don't have any other place to call home. This is our home. If we leave our home, we won't have anything left for us. We just make enough to feed ourselves as farmers and hope for the best."

"Hasn't anyone told the Emperor about this yet? I'm sure that your pleas would be heard if you went to him personally."

"It's not that easy. He's quite a busy man, and no simple farmer can get an audience with him. It has to be the representative of the town that does that, but he has gone and run off somewhere. The man didn't make an effort to hide his terror and simply ran off with one of the horses from the other farmers. He was a despicable man, that one. Good riddance to him though. He was crooked and corrupt, using up the town's tax money for drinks and celibacy."

"How are you all get by, then? If there were bandits, then I thought that they would have taken the town if that were the case. I don't see much of a garrison guarding the place."

"Ah, yes. Well, a spry young man came along drove them away all on his own. It surprised everyone, but we were thankful. Because of what he did, those rascals haven't come here as much since that time. We haven't seen him since, so we hadn't gotten the chance to repay him in any way that we could."

"One man? That's amazing! But still, there has to be a way to fix things here, isn't there?"

"No need to worry about that. You're still young, so leave the worrying to us adults. If we've gotten by fine since then living as we have, then that means we'll be fine moving forward. But thank you for your concern. Just be careful, alright? Even if there are no bandits around, there are troublemakers everywhere here. I hope that you find that place you were looking for."

The old man tipped his straw hat and sat up on his box and prepared to leave. "Oh, I almost forgot that you're an adventurer. No doubt people will need your help. If you can spare them your time, then it'll help them a lot more than you think. Farewell now!"

He rode away from the so-called plaza, leaving Lear to think about the state of the town himself for he didn't know what to make of all the information given to him. Though it was suspicious as to why this had all happened to the town and nothing had been done to remedy the situation, there was his own worries to take of.

"Now where do I start anyway?" Lear asked himself.

He began wandering the streets to search for any signs that might point him to the place called the Eveningtide.

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He aimlessly walked through a deserted street where the windows of the houses on the sides were barred off with planks. Most of the windows of the shops he passed were destroyed and their contents picked clean. Boxes, crates and barrels littered the streets Lear walked through, and from them were spilt food being eaten by rats and insects. Some were useless looking items already destroyed by the acts that transpired before Lear arrived.

He would feel as if he was being stared at and see eyes momentarily from the barred-off windows of the houses he passed by. The unnerving feeling of being an outsider was what made Lear panic and on guard, not knowing what could happen next.

He glanced briefly into one of the alleys and found people leaned over the walls. They didn't exactly look like the type to converse and exchange small talk with because of their rough looking faces and the sharp blades they played with. Lear couldn't make out what they were talking about so he left them alone. That, and because he didn't want to stir up any kind of trouble.

He continued cautiously with the hilt of his sword close at hand. He felt the striking danger of simply being around the deserted areas alone. At any moment, there was a chance of him being assaulted, and if he was not careful, killed.

On the way, he encountered a lone man leaning on a wall with his arms crossed, giving off an intimidating air which Lear thought dangerous.

Lear came up and asked him hesitantly.

"Excuse me, do you know a place called the-"

"You sure have a lot of guts showing yourself here in the open," the man said with a grim, rough voice, looking at Lear with a piercing gaze, cutting off his words. His rugged body and damaged armor made Lear tremble as he imagined him to be an experienced warrior.

The man came up to him and towered over Lear, his long dark hair draping over. He looked like a decorated bandit, but one that was not to be underestimated.

Lear tried to open his mouth but the words never came out.

"You've got guts, I respect a man as young as yourself for having that. Good on you," he said, placing his heavy hand on his shoulder.

"W-what do you mean?!" he said, slightly backing away.

"People nowadays are all terrified to step outside because the place is infested with ruffians, bandits and troublemakers. And what's ridiculous about that is it's in broad daylight. I never once thought in my career that I'd see danger being out so early, and there'd be no one to stop them. It made the town worse off."

"Uhm, who are you exactly?"

"Me? Well I'm the regiment captain here. The name's Valm Moor. Who are you anyway, and what are you doing in these parts?"

The man who introduced himself as Valm Moor was a man with long dark hair running down his neck. He had a beard and a presence that didn't stand out as much anymore when approached. 

"I'm an adventurer. I'm looking for a guild."

"A guild? Ha! There's no such thing as a guild here. There were guilds before, but now they tucked tails and ran after the Emperor ordered the garrison out of the town. Now this place is anything but safe."

"So you haven't heard of a place called the Eveningtide here anywhere?"

"Not at all. Don't think that exists. I should know, I live here now and constantly make my rounds."

"I see. How dangerous has it been recently?"

"Hmm, let me think. There was that army from another kingdom that came to loot the place, and there was that band of thieves that ransacked the place, then there were those other bandits that tried to seize the place, but we took care of them somehow... in this week, I don't think there's been anything so far. But that only means something is bound to come sooner or later. But if they do," the man unsheathed his rusted and chipped claymore from his back and swung it around. "I'll be sure to show them this time! Hahaha!"

"Regiment captain, huh? I don't see much of a regiment with you."

Valm's claymore slipped from his hand and flew through the air as he swung it, landing loudly on the ground with a clanking noise. He had a look confusion on his face, and his eye twitched after having heard Lear speak his mind.

He took a firm stance and placed both hands on his waist. "I am the captain, and the regiment!" he proclaimed loudly. "I was the only one of the previous garrison to defy the orders of the Emperor on behalf of the town I've sworn to protect the livelihood of!"

"Isn't that a bit too reckless of a decision?"

"Listen, kid. You're young, so you won't understand what it means to stand up when others stay down. That's what being a man means. I'll stand up till my dying breath, and I'll do anything to protect this town!"

Valm's incessant loud yelling called the attention of the rugged band of ruffians from the alleyway Lear peeked through a while ago.

"Oh, I knew I recognized that terrible yelling noise. Don't be fooled by that guy, kid. He's nothing but talk. The last time that bandit army came here and ransacked the town, he hid in one of the barrels until they left. I saw the entire thing!" the man laughed hysterically, causing the others to do the same as they remembered that time as well.

"You damn troublemakers! How dare you show yourself to me out in the open?! And don't get me wrong. It was a tactical retreat. I was outnumbered, so the only logical thing is to live and fight again!" he said, standing his ground.

"Ha, keep on talking, old man. Just be careful you don't break your bones." The men laughed and retreated back into the alley.

"Hold it right there you criminals. You were part of that ransacking! Don't think I'll let you go, this time now that you've shown your faces to me!"

One of them stopped and glanced at Valm. "You sure? I might just make you tactically retreat again, so I'd be careful if I were you."

The man's grin made Valm freeze, and as the rest of them came back out of the alley to intimidate Valm through numbers, he took a step back and raised both his hands in surrender.

"Damn you cowards. You got me this time. I'll show you next time, so watch your backs!"

"I knew he was all talk!" one of them said and laughed, disappearing into the alley finally.

"My condolences to you. It seems that you have it pretty hard being a man," said Lear in disappointment.

"Don't pity me, kid. I don't need it. I'd rather be comforted on the bosom of a beautiful maiden, not that there are any in this town. They've all been taken by those bandits and pillagers."

"I don't know what to say about that, but I do hope they're fine then. Well, good luck. I'll be on my way."

"Stay clear of the alleys or the streets at night, kid. They're far more dangerous than you think. I'll be keeping the peace most of the time, so there's not much need for worrying. But since you're an adventurer and all that, you can volunteer to help me out. It'll make things twice as safer. Oh, and a piece of advice, when I tell you to be careful at night, I mean it. Due to the state of the town, people here change for some reason. They became something like greedy devils, and they're twice as likely to backstab you the moment you take your eyes off them. Best thing to do is stay off the streets at night. But don't forget about volunteering, alright?"

"I'll give it some thought," said Lear, walking away from Valm, who looked around for prying eyes and picked up his sword.

"What an odd person," Lear said to himself. The only keeper of peace in town was someone who held the title with a trembling hand. He couldn't imagine seeing that man defend the town so the thought of coming to him for help was quite the decision.

"Might as well just continue. No use worrying about that. If it ever comes to it, I'll help them out myself," he resolved.