The guards were called in soon after Arthur and Molly investigated the store. The captian of the guard Captian Trailblazer, a big man with short combed hair, brought us to the guards headquaters. A large building by this towns standards. Its three stories tall and built like a fortress with thick walls, reinforced windows and narrow staircases that turn to the right. I'm in break room sitting on a couch with my sister opposite of us is Trailblazer he's leaning on a table with an ink bottle and scroll.
Me and my sister just stopped crying. Both my parents are dead and both are believed to be murder. My mother died after being stabbed multiple times with crossbow bolts and my dad died from blood loss and blunt fore trauma to the head, both believed to be caused the emasculator they find at the scene.
"After my mom pinned him down she got the emaculator and *gulp* and emasculated him," I cringe at the memory," I backed away and thats when my dad saw me. He was screaming in pain and told me to run and I did. He kicked my mother to the ground which caused the emasculator to rip off his privates. I ran out the store to the train station where I found Molly and Arthur."
Captian Trailblazer nods his head wrighting this down on the piece of scroll.
"So your mother shot him with a capture shot pinning his arms against thte wall?" He confirms with me.
"Yes, sir," I say.
He nods."Thats what we found at the scene and everything you say collaborates what was described on the bodies," he looks up to Molly."The store is still a crime scene so I can't allow either of you to go back in just yet. Don't worry though this case is already closed in my book its just a formality that we keep it open for three days. Actually and sorry about this I do need to use a seeing stone to check your stats. Its free of charge and it'll take about three minutes."
"No problem go right ahead." Molly answers for me. Trailblazer thanks us then gets up rolling up the scroll and putting the ink bottle he was using away. He steps out the door.
Molly wipes her eyes again. Red marks are visble all around her face. We sit in silence for a minute then she starts talking.
"What do you think your stats are going to be," she ask me.
"I don't know the last time it was checked was over a year ago at school. But I did pass the mana test last time." I say staring ahead blankly.
"You passed the mana test? Thats good you probably could enroll in the school in a year if its really high.... Listen Cobon I know this is really soon, but we have to start thinking about what we're going to do now that the store is affectively closed. Crassus and Ilo will come down for the funeral, but I'm worried what Crassus will do. He's always wanted the store and we both know he isn't going to be nice about it."
I nod not really paying attention. Crassus is mean, he's my older brother. Ilo is the oldest, but I don't really know him all to well he was out of the house before I was walking. He has his own family south as a trader.
"I know they had a will so deviding the wealth isn't going to be a problem. But I don't know what they did with the store. I don't want to get in a fight with Crassus over ownership and you're too young to be heard. Do you even want the store?" Molly asks me.
I shake my head."No not really. When they discovered I had mana they made plans for me to get a grimoire to learn some low level magic spells."
"Did they already place an order?" Molly ask her eyes widening.
"I think so," I scruntch up my eyes and scratch my head trying to remember."A week ago they gave a traveling merchant some a money to prepay incase he got anything. He supose to be comming back in about a week but I don't know."
Molly stops talking and goes into a deep think mode. She kinda looks like dad when she does it. Her hand around her chin and eyes glossing over as she goes over every possibility. Mom would always tease her that she acted like dad. I stare up at the ceiling thinking myself.
What will I do now? I can't live at the store anymore even if they seal off the basement it still wouldn't be the same. Mabey I can do what Molly said and go to the school next year if I have high enough mana. The door sqeaks open.
Captian Trailblazer comes in with a two foot by two foot cube rock. It's grey and has a scratches and marks on it."It may take a minute or two for it to warm up. We've had this one for severeal decades now."
He sits it on the table a couple of inches closer to me. I know how these work and rest my hand on the top of it. It's mandatory for school children to get their stats checked once a year to check for diseases. And if they show a particularly high stat.
Like Captain Trailblazer said it took about two minutes for the stat screen to come up.
Name: Cobon Experience Level: 1(2%) Strength: 2 Constitution: 3 Agility: 3 Stamina: 5 Perception: 5 Mentality: 5 Mana Intake: 5MPH EXP Intake: 15%
"Everything seems to be in order. Your level is normal for your age while the rest of your stats are quite impressive. And you have mana, I think my daughter said something about that a few weeks ago. I'll wright this down in my report and get the case over with in the next few days."
"Excuse me," Molly asks,"does this stone have the capability to check how much mana he has?"
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Trailblazer shrugs his shoulderes,"Possibly. When it was new it could, but this things been here for decades so I can't promise anything. Try tapping on the Mana Intake segment Cobon."
I nod my head and use my other hand to tap on the screen.
Mana Intake: 5 Mana Per Hour Mana Storage: 26/26
"Twenty six out of twenty six, okay," Molly says nodding her head making a mental picture of my stat screen.
I take my hand off the stone causing the screen to dissapear. Trailblazer grabs the cube about to put it back up again.
"Do you two have place to stay for the night," he ask us.
"Yes me and my boyfriend were already renting a room at Mama's Inn," Molly answers standing up. I stand up too following her out of the break room.
"Allright then keep safe. You should be allowed back into the store by friday." He escorts us out of their headquatars then stands at the entrance watching us walk away for a few minutes.
We walk in complete silience down the road its after midday with the sun starting to dip down. My pajamas are now not protecting me from the harsh wind that is blowing down the street. The town center is bustling with activaty most being people preparing to go to Baseline the city state east of here. City states are large cities that have huge walls defending them. All of them border along the forest to keep the beast from attacking us back here. We are the closest town to Baseline, though we aren't big enough to have a name yet, the town literaly consist of one road of shops and inns going to the train tracks. Molly actually came from Baseline she's takeing a class to become a scout.
Every city state to my knowledge has a school wear they train people for classes and titles. Baseline is legendary for its scout program along with its swordsman and sheildman programs. They also have a mage program, but its not as good as the rest. Only a few strongholds have good mage program.
As we walk down the street I can see two guards standing out infront of the store keeping people out. The whole towns has heard the news no doubt. Rodrik is propably pissing his pants now that compitition for a general store is gone.
I look down at the ground watching the stone slide by beneath me.
"Arthur is sending out a letter to his family, they like me and will hopefully be okay with taking you in for a year," Molly starts talking trying to fill in the air with noise."I don't know much about the mage program at the school, but their requirements is that you have atleast fifty five in mana storage." Why is she still talking about this are parents just died for fricks sake. I understand thinking about where I'm going to live, but school, mages and inhertance!
We near Mama's inn. Its run by a married couple who's family work the cooking and house cleaning. Like every place in this town. As we near the left side of the road where they are located we are force to stop by a group of Mushman walking across the street. Mushman are prey and are usual eaten by large birds. Like the name suggest they are mushroom shaped with two cylinder legs directly at the bottom of their body which is all white. They have two eyes, mouth with sharpish teeth and holes on the front and side of the body that are the nose and ears. They travel in packs of thirty to forty. Most people don't bother them unless they they have colored markings signalling they have a abnormal property.
They live all over the continet but seem to be migrating here do to the lack of beast.
"Ahhhh that one has a baby," Molly points to a big one carring a baby on its head. This pack is rather large with what looks to be forty five members. They travel in a strait line taking a couple of minutes to pass us completely. We resume walking making it to Mama's inn and opening the door where Arthur is waiting for us.
A week goes by. My parents bodies are wrapped up in cloth and put into coffins. Ilo and Cassus arrive after resieving letters of our parents passing. Ilo is about five eight with black hair and black eyes, he has a wife with a baby girl. He practically sprited to me when he saw me wrapping me in a big hug. I hugged him back its hasn't been a good week. Crassus arrived before Ilo and did what Molly thought he would do. He looks just like Ilo and dad around five eight with black hair and black eyes. He on the other didn't greet me with a hug. The first thing he did when he came back was barge into the store and check to see if any of the merchandise was stolen then he tried to get into the safe to count the money. Which I'm sure a large portion would have just gone missing.
Thankfully one of the other trade owners saw him and alerted us. Arthur had a nice chat with him on where he would be staying.
Then Cassus demanded that we read the will right away to see who our parents left the store to. We refused saying that all siblings needed to be here.
Now we all are. And we are going to a funeral.
The seven of us including Arthur and Ilo's wife and daughter are the only ones to attend we stand in the middle of a baren platue near town where other dead have been buried. Along with the Preacher to do a sermon. The men all wear black robes and the woman black dresses.
"The aftermath of this horific tragedy will shape the lives of all those who hold these two dear. And teach a valuable lesson to everyone one who hears it." The preacher says gesturing to thte two coffins."Let us take to heart the lesson being taught here. That once you have committed yourself to one person and forged that sacred bond by wearing a ring no one else on this planet should ever gather your eye more than your spouse. In the name of Eos I bless these two to find holy santum in the after life. Amen."
"""""""Amen.""""""" We all repeat. I stand there for a few minutes watching several people walk over and lay the coffins into the ground then start shoveling dirt onto them. Molly grabs my shoulder and pulls me away. We start walking back to town now preparing for a fight. A young judge has come down to read over the will today.
"What did the Preist mean when he said that 'no one else on this planet should ever gather your eye more than your spouse'," Ilo ask his hand on his wife's back.
Molly and Arthur look at each other. We never actualling explained either of them how mom and dad died. I geuss they assumed it was an accident in the basement the crates just fell over while they were doing an inventory check.
"Yeah that was unexpected," Cassus says walking a few feet away from the group.
Molly tries to come up with a quick way to explain it to them.
"Dad cheated on mom. Mom figured out and conored him in the basement shooting him with a capture shot then using an emasculator to cut his balls off," I say quietly but loud enough to be heard,"he got out and stabbed mom to death, but died of blood loss be for we could get to him."
Ilo his wife and Cassus's mouths drop.
"Damn," Cassus says.
We walk in silence for the rest of the trip. As we near the town we walk in from behind the store. Crassus has almost completely distance himself from us now. Walking ten feet away from us. No suprise to anyone here.
We've been talking about the outcome of the store and who actually wants it.
Ilo has his own store that is successful so he doesn't have the need or time to run this one. His wife agrees. Molly already has a job lined up after school and never has had any intrest in running the store. I don't really know what I want to do, but sense I have mana getting the mage class will probably be the only option I have.
So the collective attitude of the group is to let Cassus have the store, but take as much money we can from it.
What did you expect we are children of two people with the merchant skill. Letting money walk away isn't in our blood. We arrive on the street and start heading to the 'political building'. It is where all legal disputes are settled.
We step inside the building Arthur holding open the door for us.