The travel to Aspaci was mostly uneventful, which showed the stability of the Emerald Valley countryside. That couldn’t be said the same when they were closer to the kingdom, at a point where the pastoral Emerald Valley was replaced by a region that had lost its identity. Gone was the lush green plains, replaced by a wasteland of scorched earth.
This fact made Raine realize something that would make their search of the Mygaleans more difficult. There was no forest, or a forest as old as the Forest of Fear. Most of the forest they found were burned or dying from an unspecified ailment. The region was as dead as the Desert Wasteland, only with less sand and more burnt grass. He did not like either.
It did not take long for them to find out the reason. As they continued their travel, they started to meet many travelers going on the opposite direction. They looked more like refugees than travelers with their tattered clothes and miserable appearance, flanking a cart full of personal belongings. Aspaci, or rather, the north Emerald Valley region, had taken the toll on them. Raine wanted to ask them about the kingdom when Aranis made him aware of a checkpoint manned by Knights, easy to identify from their armor design. The royal blue color, along with their flag with similar color and stylized rose, identified them as the Knights of Seyduri Kingdom.
“This is outside Seyduri’s borders,” commented Raine. “Something's up. We better ask them about the situation.”
Aranis agreed, so they approached the Knights, both of whom were beast people. One of them, an Ursan, held out his hand.
“I suggest you turn around and stay out of Aspaci,” said the bear person. “We can’t guarantee your safety.”
“It’s fine,” replied Raine. “I know what I am doing.”
Raine pulled out his ornate badge. The Ursan immediately recognized it and lowered his hand.
“Ah, forgive me,” said the Ursan knight. “You are not wearing your armor, so I thought you’re one of the anxious travelers intending to go to Aspaci. But I’ve never seen Cavilen Knights this far north. I thought you guys prefer not to involve yourself with other kingdoms’ affairs.”
“I could say the same to you, bud,” said Raine. “I thought this was Cotillux, not Seyduri. What’s happening?”
“Cotillux is besieged, that’s why,” said the Ursan Knight. “Aspaci decided to break the fragile truce and attack their borders. Many of the refugees here are trying to escape the regime, and believe me when I say they are risking their lives just to get here. No kingdom, especially Aspaci, would like to lose this much potential army. But they can't do anything about it, and neither can we."
“Hey, Rem,” said the other guard, a minotaur. He had been listening to the conversation. “You said he’s a Cavilen Knight, isn’t he? Is he looking for his comrade?”
“No, uh…I’m not exactly with the Knights anymore. Honorably discharged,” said Raine. “I hope that’s not a problem for you.”
“It’s honorable, so I don’t mind,” said Rem. “There’s another Cavilan passing this road a couple of days ago. Unlike you, she wore her badge over her cloak, so I let her pass once she told me she was on a mission. I didn’t have the chance to ask her reason to be so far away from your borders.”
“Did she tell you where she’s going?” asked Raine.
“The seat of the Aspaci kingdom, Nievek,” said Rem. “Don’t ask me where that is. I’ve never been to Aspaci before.”
“Thanks, bud,” said Raine. “Oh, and good job out here, Knights.”
Rem and the minotaur Knight waved their hands as Raine and Aranis continued past their checkpoint and into Aspaci. They soon returned to their duty alongside their fellow knights.
The familiarity of Emerald Valley was abruptly replaced by the scorched valley. No matter how much Raine looked at it, the bleak, dying environment uneased him. It was a different matter if it was mostly dead like the Desert Wasteland; seeing burned-out forests, muddy terrains, and worse, a lynch victim hanging from a dead branch only made it worse in a world that had already been destroyed once. It took centuries for the world to recover.
Thankfully, they did not need to do anything to protect themselves from the chaos all around them, except maybe to help others they came across. Raine and Aranis did pass a group of bandits, or deserters, judging by their armor, attempting to lynch a woman. Aranis was the one who reacted and was going to reprimand the knights. Raine, on the other hand, chose a more direct response: with his gun. The knights, poorly trained with magic and sword, could not react swiftly when Raine shot them. After freeing the woman, they went on their way.
When they were closer to Nievek, Aranis, who was still disturbed by Raine’s action earlier, said, “That was uncalled for.”
“Saving someone is uncalled for? Aranis, I don’t know about you, but that’s not the kind of moral complexity I subscribe to. I bet you’re going to tell me that the woman is the guilty party here, and those deserters are not actually deserters.”
“I am trying to tell you not to get involved,” said Aranis. “You may find yourself in a situation where getting involved would only make things worse. I admit I, too, was not thinking correctly when I went to confront them, but you just gun them down without hearing what they have to say. What if you’re provoking a war with Cavilen?”
“That’s why I’m not a Knight of Cavilen."
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Aranis sighed. “I suppose that’s what you mean when you said, ‘not on an official capacity’. But just to be clear, let them come to you first, especially in the city. This kingdom may have succumbed to chaos, but their wheels are still turning.”
“Knowing them, I don’t think your warning’s going to be necessary.”
Aranis wondered what Raine meant, until his eyes glanced towards Nievek’s gate. The guards were surrounding a person wearing a modest, gray-colored blouse and dark red skirt that covered most of her legs. She was carrying a staff, presumably to indicate her job as a sorceress, albeit not of a higher rank, given her choice of clothing. It was considerably simpler than what Aranis was wearing. To top it all off, she wore a veil, which from afar looked like a hood.
The guards did not seem to be aggressive. Rather, they seemed to be flirting with her. It was easy to notice the body gestures from afar using her cat-like eyes, which was something that Raine must’ve seen to say what he needed to say.
Soon, they started to act more direct when one of them, a burly human male, grabbed the wrist of the woman in a threatening way. The woman tried to struggle, but the guard did not seem to heed her, at least until she slapped him. That certainly ticked the human, who retaliated with a slap of his own.
Or rather, attempted to retaliate. Moments after the guard angrily insulted the woman and raised his hand, a burst of fire spell blasted his face off, causing him to reel back in pain. It did not stop her from slapping him again, this time with enough force to down him. Before the others could react, several fireballs appeared over her and shot around her towards the guards surrounding her, which distracted them from what she was doing. The mage’s staff she was carrying was not just to concentrate her spell, but was also a staff weapon that she swung and twirl expertly. The guards were no match against her twisting and turning around them while the staff struck their faces. Raine winced when the ornate head of the staff dislocated one of the guards' lower jaws.
Raine scratched his head while witnessing the fight. He turned towards Aranis and, with a shrug, said, “I think I’ll just go right there and help someone who needs help. What do you say, Aranis?”
The dark elf sighed. “You were hoping that’s the case, weren’t you?”
Raine chuckled. “It’s not my idea this time. She, however, has the right idea.”
They immediately ran towards the fight, during which it was already over. The guards were lying on the ground injured, while the modest-looking woman stood over one of them triumphantly. The defeated guard could not do anything but raise his hands.
One of them, however, would not admit defeat. While the woman’s back was turned, he stood up and pulled out a dagger. Before he could do anything to harm the woman, however, a blast of pure mana blew his head off, spraying brain matter everywhere but the woman, who was protected by a subtle barrier spell that stopped the gore from messing her clothes. The guard she stood over saw it, causing him to scream in panic, only to be silenced by a whack to his head.
Raine walked past the body that fell to his knees without his head. He looked at the revolver and whistled, commented, “I don’t know where you found your gunsmith, buddy, but this thing packs one hell of a punch with the right input.”
“That is completely unnecessary, Raine,” reprimanded Aranis. “We’re this close to the city, and you have already caused more trouble than it’s worth.”
“The kingdom’s already in trouble as it is, and they had it coming.” Raine turned his attention to the woman. “Hey, lady. I like your move. Where did you learn how to—”
“Raine? Raine Windegarde?” said the woman. “Of all the places….”
“Do I know you?”
“Do I know you? What kind of a question is that?!”
She turned around, and soon Raine realized what she meant and reacted with a gasp, even before she pulled her veil off to reveal her fiery orange hair and tall, canine ears. She glared at him with her yellow, cat-like eyes, but for Aranis, she knew those were vulpine eyes. Like Raine, only her ears and eyes were non-human, along with her bushy, vulpine tail hidden under her skirt.
“Hima?!” exclaimed Raine, recognizing the fox-eared woman.
“Who else?!” she said, anger apparent in her voice. “So, this is where you end up after you left us?! In this god-forsaken land of death?!”
“No! I mean, technically, I did end up in a god-forsaken land of death, but I wasn’t going to Aspaci! What are you doing here?!”
“I am on a mission, unlike you,” she said with a huff.
“Hey, come on! I am not coming to this fucked-up place for nothing! I’m on a mission, too!”
“Yeah, right.”
“He is correct,” said the elf, who kept her calm. “We are here for something important. We won’t be in your way, but I do hope we can refrain from causing any more trouble. Don’t you agree, Raine?”
“Respectfully, elf, this city’s fallen into chaos, so expect trouble when we enter the gates," said Hima. "But you are right. I prefer not to provoke them. It’s better to let them know that we are not the trifled with, although blowing someone’s head off…is a bit excessive.”
“Then I suggest we stay together,” recommended the elf. "If the foul air and unruly guards didn't convince you, then you might feel...an unease."
"Yes, actually. This city...something is wrong with it. Which is why I must finish this mission. I really don't want to be distracted, especially by him."
“Maybe we should tell her what we’re here for,” said Raine. “Knowing her, being vague is not going to convince her. Right, Hima?”
Hima scoffed. “You’re the one to talk!”
“I suggest you sort your quarrel later,” said Aranis. “We are here to find information about a race called the Mygaleans. You may not know who they are, but the simplest way to describe them would be spiders. They are a race of arachnoid people, one of the Dark Races once affiliated with Nuremnia. I know you may be more familiar with Fa’ars, but they are real.”
“Well…if you say so, then yeah. It’s better we stick together, despite of him.” Hima glared at Raine, who scoffed. “My mission is to find some slaves and bring them home before the conflict between Cotillux and Aspaci started. But the thing is…I never heard about Mygaleans being sacrificed.”
“Wait, sacrificed?” said Raine, bewildered.
“That’s what I heard from one of our most trusted informants. I suggest we go in and see what’s really happened for ourselves before we draw any conclusions. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” said the elf.
Raine was going to say something, but he was cut off by Hima saying, “Good. Then let’s go.”
Without even batting an eye to the cat-eared human, Hima strode to the unguarded gates. Her attitude annoyed Raine, but he couldn’t complain. He knew she blamed him for leaving her and Cavilen behind in pursuit of a trivial and risky life as a bounty hunter. To her, his desire for adventure did not compare with settling down with her. The fact that they were once lovers did not make things easier for him.
He had a selfish reason, though. He wanted adventure. Even after he became a mayor with responsibilities, he longed for a life of danger. He became too excited, and now his coincidental meeting with Hima made him realize that it wasn’t entirely a choice without consequences.
With a sigh, Raine followed both Aranis and Hima into the city of Nievek, hoping it wouldn’t get too difficult.