“Alright, if I know Phive, then he’ll be somewhere near his sister,” Dante said into the expanse that was the empty village roads, “The only question is, where is Shix, or anyone else for that matter?”

The troop had finally reached the village, Nova, complete with the scorching hot sun blazing from overhead. Renowned or perhaps infamous for its rowdy crowds, Dante had warned the group to stay close to one another in case a stray peddler or possible pickpocket chose to wrongly look at this passing group as an easy mark. Yet, as they traversed the streets, they found nary a passing soul to speak.

“We finally reached civilization, and of course there’s no one here to sell us some ambrosia, great!” yelled Jikan.

“Shix would be at the Village Chief’s office, right? Same as Jikan, she was sent on a mission to avoid public discourse, or was she sent here to do something different?” Damien, having aired some of his grievances yesterday, found himself to feel far more chipper.

“I wish I could say that you’d be right, but you don’t know Shix, she’s a bit… You know what, let’s go check anyway,” Dante said with a shrug, “I’m not expecting much, but who knows?”

“Well, that doesn’t sound too good,” Krista added, “Sounds like she’s going to cause some trouble.”

In reality, Krista could barely hold her excitement, she would more than welcome some trouble. Life alongside Shining Twilight had so far been relatively boring. Raven was an expert tracker, he almost always seemed to know when danger was close and took care to avoid it. She hadn’t gotten into a good fight since Derek.

“Move out the way, injured coming through!” A group of people run past us, carrying what look like completely uninjured soldiers, mercenaries, and various personnel. They did all look uncharacteristically pale.

“Shix, damn it,” Dante said with an exasperated voice, “New plan, Raven head to the arena and please prevent those two from causing anymore problems than they already have. The rest of us are going to look for an inn to stay in. I have a feeling that you’ll need the rest.”

Krista felt herself panicking, if Raven went alone, she probably won’t get to see any action. “I want to come too!” It was so sudden that even Krista barely realized she had said something.

“You want to go too,” Dante said before a smile appeared on his lips, “Let me guess, you’re bored and want something to do. Okay, Raven you go along with Krista but let her take the lead. Be careful, Shix is a bit battle nut herself, and Raven is one of the few people that can calm her down. Whatever happens, just make sure we don’t get thrown out the village without the Chief promising to come to Viola’s coronation.”

“I’d rather not leave you alone with Darius,” commented Raven.

“I won’t be,” Dante answered, “I’ll still have Ani with me.”

With that Dante and the rest moved out to look for lodging, all except Damien. He came close to Krista and whispered into her ear, “You sure about this, you go alone, and you’ll be left with Raven and the other two we came to pick up.”

“You’re right, want to come with me then?” Damien was not big on fights like she was, and he had been pretty adamant about not showing off their true fighting strength. Krista reasoned that saying this was probably be the best way to get him off my back and let her go.

“Absolutely, you know I’ll always have your back when it’s needed.”

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

That was not quite what Krista had expected to hear from him, “What about not showing off our true strength, if we get into a fight, especially around Raven, they’re going to learn a lot about what we both can do and not just me.”

Raven learning about Krista’s ability was more or less a done deal. On principal, she trained herself every day, displaying what she could do to anyone who cared to watch. The only person being Raven, who was the only other person that could reliably wake up at four in the morning. Actually, she really doubted if Raven slept at all.

“Who cares, your safety is all I care about here. You’re important to me, you know that, right?”

Krista quickly turned away as she felt her face flush, “I’ll be fine, you already know that I can take care of myself in a fight. You’re best left off as our wildcard. Just go, I promise I’ll be fine.”

Damien was still hesitant, but he moved to leave. A ways off he yelled out, “Actually, I have an idea! Cover your ears real quick!” She did what Damien had requested, and his body begins to exude a red aura. He took a deep breath and shrieked like a griffin Not too long later, Fierce burst into view. “Take Fierce with you, she’s probably also itching for something to do. This way, I’ll also feel better about you going.”

“You are definitely the wildcard!”

“Raven, what are Shix and Phive like?”

The two had been traveling in completely silence in the opposite direction those medics had been running from but had so far only been met with empty houses, stalls, and roads. They had even reached what looked like the Chief’s house, only to be met with an empty home. Krista was mostly speaking to herself here, fairly sure that Raven wouldn’t even respond. At least, he hadn’t to any of her previous attempts to engage in small talk.

“Shix is hard-headed but sufferable, unlike the sloth and the gorilla, she at least acts human. She’s incredibly capable, and one of the very few warriors I genuinely respect. She also has a natural charisma, much like Dante’s that makes others want to follow under her.”

“Sounds like a real stand up woman, how about Phive?”

Shix’s brother is usually quite levelheaded and has talent as a strategist, usually. Unfortunately, his disposition leaves him so weak, in most cases, so much so that a toddler would defeat him in a physical altercation. Normally, I’d consider him a worthwhile member of Shining Twilight, unlike certain others.”

“Care to explain the uncertain language you used the entire time you were describing Phive.”

“He… changes after getting a boost from Shix while using his dolls.”

“Dolls?” Raven didn’t elaborate. Regardless, as they moved further along, Krista could quite clearly hear screams- or not just screams but… cheers? “Alright, then any idea on what could be going on? For example, why this place is a ghost town?”

“What do you know about Nova?”

“Not much, really, I know that they handle most of the trade between New Dawn and Soaring Sun. I’m assuming That’s why you guys sent Phive and Shix here.”

Raven continued on, “War and turmoil run the economics and culture of Stellar. More often than not, it is displays of power that persuade the minds of the populace. That’s why Dante started a mercenary group.”

“What does that have to do with the empty streets?”

“Sometimes, war just isn’t enough for some people. Instead, the elites have made their own… entertainment.”

The cheers hit a fever pitch as they approached a small building, probably less than a story high. Strangely, the noise from inside was far louder than the number of people who could fit in the building could make.

“Sounds like the place, why don’t we-” Raven’s long sleeve cut Krista’s approach, stopping her from opening the door, “Gonna tell me why you did that or are you just going to stand there and say nothing again?”

“Dante said that you’re taking the lead here, so I’ll leave you with some advice. Watch your steps.”

Krista scoffed and walked by Rave to open the door. Immediately, Krista’s nose was blasted with smells from a combination of sources including blood, sweat, tears, vomit, and another worse smell that her mind refused to place. Taking a glance at several janitors continually cleaning the floors, Krista began to appreciate the warning Raven gave to her.