Jura jumped down and created a cloud of dust as he landed on the ground. He whipped up a dust storm with his pickaxe and shovel scraping across the ground. “Always picking the most troublesome enemies, huh.” Jura remarked. He stood over the group who looked around and couldn’t see the cloaked knights that were only a few meters away. “How did you find us?” said Metas as his raging crimson wing slowly waned like a fading fire. “That. Led me to your location.” Metas looked towards his twisted arm. “Anyways, we have to get out of here.” Said Ellyn readying herself with only her arm to serve as weapon.

The knights slowly walked towards them with their lights held high trying to see through the smoke. Jura jumped through the smoke and left Metas as the cloud of dust began to clear. “Hmm, what?” Metas looked around and saw that they others were no longer there. The cloaked knights rushed him but he flared up his crimson wing and pointed it threateningly and kept them momentarily at bay. Jura cast a shadow under the moon and jumped down, swiftly picking up Metas before the knights closed in. A few arrows flew through the air which were promptly deflected by Jura with his pickaxe while carrying Metas with his other arm. The arrows that flew surprised Metas with the speed that they went, being barely able to notice them before they were mere feet in front of him.

Jura landed faraway and quickly ran, bringing Metas behind a wall of a distant ruin on the very edge of the city. Yuria readjusted her hat, startled. “You run fast!” She exclaimed. Jura snickered and leaned on the wall, his tall frame almost going over the wall of the small structure. A sharp glint in his eyes and wisps of gray hair were what all that could be seen in his concealed face. “Over the years, I’ve gone slower. Must be my old bones getting tired.” “Skip the jokes old man, that’s the second time you’ve saved us, why?” Metas sat down on the floor and rested on his spear that he embedded onto the ground.

“Well, the first time is because you were intruding in the forest, the second well, its because you’ve been branded by darkness. You’ve been chosen.” Said Jura. “Chosen? What does that mean?” Metas asked. “Let’s just say I was led here by it.” Jura remarked. “What led you?” “Said Metas. Do you know about spiritual beings? Higher powers?” Jura asked. Yuria who was strangely silent answered him. “Yes, Pharros told us about it.” “So, I don’t have to explain any further.” Said Jura. “The world, the abyss, what do we have to do with it.” Said Yuria looking at the enchanted chalice and at her hand. “Shh…” Jura motioned for silence. “Looks like we’re not done with them yet.” Metas looked around the wall and saw a few cloaked knights looking around in the distance. “Are you going to use those weapons?” asked Ellyn. “No, I prefer not to.” Jura exclaimed.

The knights soon stopped searching and went back to where they came from. Metas sighed. “I didn’t imagine it would be this hard to go back to the city. Going there back and forth when I was younger seemed like normal life.” “I almost forgot you were a goody-two shoes knight before this.” Said Yuria with a smile. “Yeah, we really don’t know about you… Why do you want to go back to the capital?” Said Ellyn. Metas stood up with the aid of his spear to help himself up. “Hmph.” Ellyn then crossed her arms expectantly. “There’s three reasons why I need to go back.” He remarked.

Jura stood a few feet away half looking around the surroundings and half listening to the conversation. “Firstly, we need to steal a relic from the castle.” “Why?” Yuria fiddled with a small stone she found on the ground. “One, these relics can only be used by certain people. And now that there’s a lot of them popping up, soon the kingdom could get one of them to use it.” “Like that one?” Ellyn pointed to enchanted chalice that Yuria kept in her possession. “Yes, but even stronger. I hoped that I found somebody that could’ve taken it or used for something else.” They looked down in silent distraught.

Jura walked up to them and continued the conversation. “The increase of those who have been touched by the higher forces is no coincidence. The strings of the world have begun to spin to their will.” “You keep talking about they, them. Who are you talking about? Are you under the service of ‘them’?” Metas pointed his spear at Jura with his good arm. “The capital’s not going to be safe. Dangerous things and forces are in play, that’s all I’m going to say.” Jura remarked.

Metas disapprovingly lowered his spear and continued. “That’s the more reason we should get out of here as soon as we can.” He remarked. “Why?” Ellyn looked at him and then down at what remained of their supplies. “Reason two. We need to bring my siblings along with us.” “Okay...” Yuria and Ellyn’s eyes widened in surprise. “They’ve followed in my footsteps all my life. Even as a knight I tried to distance myself, I just attract danger to others even now.” Metas remarked.

“So, we go there, get the relic, get them and then what?” Asked Ellyn. “Then we get out of here and go as far away as possible from this place.” “We’ll go in and go out.” Said Yuria, brandishing a sharp piece of flint she found somewhere on the ground. “Yeah, how this goes, we’ll be followed by the knights, but there should be enough chaos to keep most of them on the capital. That bandit’s probably going to attack sometime soon?” Said Metas. “Yep. With his power and with the sword he’ll definitely have the gall to do it.” Ellyn used the tool kit to maintain her arm. “Any questions?” Metas looked at the others. “Nope.” Yuria said with a smile. Ellyn answered: “One thing, we need to get some more ammo.”

The group stood up to move out but Jura interrupted them. “In the issue of using a relic, can’t you do it?” he asked. Metas held his branded arm which had the power of the abyss touch his shoulder. “Its too risky, I probably wouldn’t even be able to handle it. Those flames, they’re beyond me.” Jura saw something in the corner of his eye. An energy imperceptible to the others and to the common human eye. A red glint flashed in the horizon; he saw the silhouette of a figure with one glowing red eye. He stared intently for a while before the glow faded. Metas turned back to him as they had already begun to walk away.

“Something wrong?” asked Metas. “No, I assume we’re on our way then?” Said Jura. “Yes.” Metas replied. “To where exactly?” Jura asked. “Well, somewhere.” Yuria said with a cheery expression. “I know a place we can go.” Jura said whilst gazing at his pickaxe. “Where to?” said Ellyn.

The faint sound of chimes resounded in the quiet abode, as Jura opened the door and the others curiously followed. Metas clutched his arm, as it was wrapped in the tatters of his black cloak. Ellyn felt as though she was still out of place. She was ready for any situation, but wary of this new unfamiliar world she embroiled herself in. Yuria stared wide eyed and curious. The inside of the house they entered was quite ordinary. And yet every new experience and situation was fascinating to Yuria as she never dreamed of anything but her misery-filled old life. Jura looked at the person who was absentmindedly sweeping the floor behind the counter, and they nodded back. “Hey!” Yuria exclaimed.

“Hmm?” She pointed at the barkeep, who squinted at them. “You, from the shop.” Ellyn remarked as she pointed with her prosthetic arm. “I see you’ve brought company.” The man behind the counter remarked. Metas walked in last and was seen by the barkeep. “Young sir.” He noticed Metas’ injury. “You’re welcome to use the rooms and any supplies you might need. Just be mindful of the other guests.” The man added. “Guests? So more than one?” Jura raised an eyebrow. “Yes. Two.” The barkeep exclaimed.

Yuria looked around and saw many an untouched furniture and had the style of refined taste. The ceiling was high up but the foyer that they entered were narrow. It was filled with clocks and other ornamentations leading up to the second floor, and she wondered how the place was upkept. A small boy with thick curly orange hair, sat at a chair on the corner of the room. Atop the stairs another figure stood, looking at them whilst they entered. “Hmph.” Jura grumbled locking eyes with each of them. A woman in a white dress had a vacant smile on her face and she snapped her fingers towards him. The boy mustered a little wave.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Jura was silent but had a disgruntled look on his face. “There are rooms upstairs. There’s food and supplies, take what you need. I’ll be here if you need me.” Jura remained seated on one of the stools near the bar while the others walked upstairs. The woman went back to one of the rooms not paying any attention to Metas and the group, while the boy waved towards them and Yuria waved back with a smile. There was a small hall upstairs that led into three rooms. Ellyn poked her head into the room and saw it tightly packed with shelves of items and boxes. There was a bed in each room, and Metas moved on to the next while Ellyn and Yuria entered. Metas sat on the bed with a sigh, and the bed creaked under the weight of his armor. He unwrapped his arm and saw that it was still bent and deformed, without the bone breaking through his skin.

He winced in pain, as he feebly held onto his spear with his hand and used his good hand to sharpen it with a sharpening stone. He dropped his spear to the ground and put the stone back into his cloak in silent frustration. Yuria entered the room with a small bundle of hay with a piece of ice, and bandages and cloth. “How’s the arm?” She asked. “Still feels awful. How about you two, still alive?” “Yep.” Yuria walked towards Metas and knelt down. She unwrapped his arm as Metas silently winced. “Where did they even get the ice?” “I don’t know they had it in some hay wrap.” She looked at the state of his arm and examined without contact.

“You know, I don’t even know how to do this, maybe Ellyn should’ve done this instead.” Yuria felt something, and lightly poked Metas’ shoulder out of curiosity, as if she was drawn to it. “Let me do it.” Metas impatiently motioned his hand for the ice. But instinctively, Metas used his left hand. His arm had healed. “Woah.” Yuria said in surprise. “Hmm…” Metas tried to look at it as best he could but observed the red tendrils creeping up his arm. “Keep it.” “Are you sure?” Yuria asked. “Yep, don’t you guys have some injuries as well?” Said Metas. “Cool.” She walked out of the room and Metas picked up his spear again. He held it tightly and looked up reminiscing on the previous events.

He thought about his family, his life as a knight, and his scars. He laid back, and stared at the ceiling. He had already lost his life that had been laid out for him, he passed the point of no return as soon as he killed one of his own. But, he didn’t even feel much when he lost what he had. He squinted as he thought of his siblings, and thought about how that would result in much retribution for them. He sat up quickly and snapped his fingers, producing a small spark of flame.

He thought about what Siegmund said to him about his flame, and recalled his time in the snow, with the ‘Dragon’. Flashes of events past popped up in his head, with the creature at the source of his power and their faith. The flame at his fingertips grew and faltered as he thought about these things. He looked at the open doorway and remembered his companions. And Felkin who failed to save. This thought made him close his palm quickly, smothering the flame. He stood up and went to the boxes of assorted items around the room.

There were leather quivers hung on the wall and he inspected one which contained arrows, and moved to another which had crossbow bolts. He grabbed it and set it onto the bed. He glanced over to a wall and saw a few metal armor plates on the wall. He walked towards it and looked down on his own armor, charred and cracked in a few places. He had weighty metal armor, a solid breastplate and had metal gauntlets, the left one having already been removed earlier. He took a pair of dark silver gauntlets and wore them, replacing his old ones.

He removed his damaged breastplate and donned an armor of small interlocking metal scales with cloth padding underneath, a leather band crossed from his shoulder to his hip, and had steel shoulder guards attached. He quickly noticed how light it was, and the heavier armor seemed to dig into his flesh when he previously wore it. He noticed that much of his injuries were already healed up as result of the mark’s influence and he quickly donned the new armor.

He looked at the edges of the roots of the crimson brand in the corner of his eye and it bothered him somewhat. He summoned forth a small spark of flame and inched it closer to his shoulder. The mark retreated like a quickly-wilting plant but his hand swung upwards and he dodged moving his head to the side and narrowly avoiding a slash from his spear. He quickly snuffed his flame out and lowered his hand and walked outside the room.

Ellyn stood in the doorway to their room, holding the ice against her head. “Here.” Metas handed her a quiver of bolts and Ellyn momentarily glanced at his new armor and looked off. “What is this place?” asked Ellyn. “I’d say its an inn, but its more of a guild house or an armory.” Said Metas. She took it from him and tapped him in the chest with her prosthetic arm. “Scale mail huh?” “Surprised you knew what kind.” Metas remarked. “The hunters in our town wore it when we were attacked by bandits.” “What’s hunters doing with scale?” “Rusty armor from way back when in there was war.” Said Ellyn. Metas paused for a moment. He gestured towards her left arm. “Oh this? This was from before that, when I was young.”

“Aha!” Yuria pulled out another item and brought it down onto the bed. “Hmm… Leather, wool, boar tusks, are you looking to start being a merchant?” Ellyn said with a smile. “No. All of these items are from animals. I thought you'd notice. Being a hunter and all that.” Said Metas. "Hmph." Ellyn remarked grumpily. Yuria and Ellyn loaded the items in the pack, and Metas went outside the room and walked down the stairs leading to the main room. He was looking over the railing and momentarily overhearing a conversation downstairs. “Hmm… No.” Jura remarked. “Come on, come on!” The boy was repeatedly poking at Jura in an excited manner.

Jura looked up at Yuria in familiar recollection. “Hey, you guys!” The boy exclaimed. Jura quickly stepped backwards. “Come down here! Join us for a chat!” “It's alright, you can join us.” Jura grumbled. They slowly went down the stairs, Metas leading them. “Help me convince grumpy ol’ Jura here.” The old man was silent but had a disgruntled visage.

“What’s your name kid?” asked Ellyn. “That’s nice, Jura said that to me when we first met.” Yuria was silent and was in deep thought.

"Anyways, Jura... Let's continue our conversation. Why not?" The boy turned around and said to the old man. “I’ve said it once, and I’ll keep saying it, I’m staying out of it.” Said Jura. The man behind the bar was busy polishing glasses and not paying any heed. Jura picked up a small glass and slightly raised his faceplate and took a sip before putting it down. “You’ve played around for years and years, don’t you want to do anything else instead of childish pranks?” He asked. “They never really get old, especially seeing the serious ‘strong’ knights get flustered and frustrated.” The boy exclaimed. “Huh. Reminds me of the time we spent in the castle.” Jura remarked. Something that slightly suggested or resembled a smirk was observed on his face. “Then why can’t you join me? Like old times.” The boy exclaimed. “You know what the reason is, and what my answer is, and I don’t have to keep repeating it.” Jura remarked.

The rest of the group stared in awkward silence. “Wait, inside the castle keep?” Metas interjected. “Yep. I can go in and out without them even noticing.” The boy answered. “So, you’re some kind of being? Spirit?” Yuria questioned curiously. “Something like that.” He remarked. Ellyn turned to Metas. “He’d be useful if we can get us in there.” “I don’t know if I can get you there and stay hidden. I’m not really sure how the magic works.” The boy exclaimed. “Hmm… We need all the help we can get. If we’re going to sneak in it’d be hard not to get seen, and fighting head on is going to be suicide.” Said Metas. “At least we have the old man.” Yuria said optimistically.

“Not so fast kid. What I’ve done are favors. I have other duties to attend to, I can’t help, especially if you need me to fight.” Jura remarked. “Well... At least we have this place to stock up.” Metas remarked with a sigh. Jura put down his drink and turned his attention to the white-clothed woman who waved him over to another table. He stood up as the group continued to talk.

Jura pulled out a white flower from his pocket and handed it over to her. She gently but swiftly took it from him and stared at it momentarily. “Do you mind us discussing our business elsewhere?” She asked. “No.” Jura briefly turned to the group and spoke. “I have a piece of information that may be helpful to you.”

Metas stopped talking and glanced over to him. “Your friend Felkin, he’s out there. Alive.” The woman then waved her hand and they both disappeared in a cloud of petals. "Hey wait!" Metas quickly bolted from his seat, hand outstretched but reaching nothing as they disappeared. Ellyn and Yuria slowly looked up, Yuria being seized with sudden realization and Ellyn looked confused. "What?" She remarked. "Hmm… Ah. They left me." The boy exclaimed quietly.