Onwards, To The Hightowers

Daemon sat down next to Lydia, "Hey." He said 

They were sitting next to a small stream, it was already morning, they had managed to get out of Midpoint's jurisdiction and got a brief rest at a camp they had. 

Lydia was hugging her knees, looking at the water, her eyes were a bit red from crying. 

"You alright?" Daemon asked as he looked at the water as well, "Last night was something else." 

"I'm okay...." She said softly

She was still shaken up, not so much due to the Great Bear and the Bandits, but because of being so close to death. The Assassin had his knife on her throat and if weren't for Zaphira using Mage Hand from holding it still and Invidia cutting his throat instead, who knows what would've happened to the young girl. 

Daemon heard as Zaphira and Azael were talking behind them at the camp, discussing whether or not to cook the fish they caught in the stream.

He let out a sigh, "I need to know if I can count on you in this job, Lydia." Daemon said, "We just met and all, but I can tell you're a capable fighter. But....." 

"I know...." Lydia sniffed, "I'm sorry, I'm just not used to this..." 

"We look in the face of death constantly." Daemon said, "Adventuring is much more than rainbows and flowers, might and glory. Don't let the constant partying at the Guildhall's lobby fool you otherwise. Those fools drink all the time to forget the morbid shit they see. This world ain't pretty, you should know that." 

"I do...." Lydia said, "I do...it's just....I never had that happen. I am used to fighting wild animals....Goblins....any other minor threat....but I've never had a knife to my throat at a very vulnerable moment....It...it opened my eyes." 

Daemon nodded, "This is the cruel reality." he said

"So you've said." Lydia said as she wiped her eyes, "I'll be more strong from now on." 

"You are strong." Daemon said, "None of us, and I mean none of us, were badly injured last night. I meant it when I said that you guys amazed me." 

Lydia smiled weakly, "Thanks...." She said, "Also....I didn't think you would not think twice of killing them, those bandits." 

"Bandits...they've submitted to their fate the moment they walked that path." Daemon said, "If they don't think twice about pillaging and raping, doing as they please, why should I think twice about putting them to their graves?" 

"It's....well....." Lydia said

"I don't know what they teach you at the Darkmoon Sect, but I grew up fighting." He said, "My Father and his Father taught me that the best way to defend yourself is to be fierce." 

"Guess we're all different," Lydia said softly

"I suppose we are." Daemon said as he looked up at the sky, "Wanna know something, my dear fangirl?" 

Lydia looked at him, Daemon was smiling slightly, "Y-Yea?" she said

"You remind me of a girl I saved once." He said, "Oh, this was a long time ago, 10 years maybe? I think I was just an Iron-Rank...there was a village that was ransacked by Bandits, all the buildings burned down, and the majority of the men were killed. They had the women and children, particularly the girls, tied up as they were going to round them up and keep them..." 

"What a grim story...." Lydia whispered

"I know." Daemon said, "One of my first quests and what prompted me to get my shit together. It was an awful sight, lots of dead bodies, burnt to the crips. Horrible." 

"What happened?" Lydia asked as she looked at him 

She didn't expect Daemon, The Black Dragon, to suddenly start a story about his old adventures. What prompted him to do this? Who knows.

"Well there was this one girl that was fighting back, she must've been, I don't know 7 or 8, maybe younger." Daemon explained, "I was fighting my way through the grunts of the band, cutting them down hard. But the girl was biting the Leader's finger, hard, I think. Cause the leader, who coincidentally was also a Tiefling, an Amyrinthian though, was yelling out in pain. Well, the Leader smacked the girl away as a woman, whom I assumed was the mother, tried to get in the way of between them....well, the bastard stabbed her in the chest with his sword as the little girl watched....it was terrible.....I couldn't save her in time, there were a lot of bandits in the way." 

"I see...." Lydia said as she looked at him

"Well, the leader was going to stab the girl but I managed to get past the bandits..." Daemon said, "I didn't care about them at that point and rushed right at the fucker...with a swift motion, I used Cleave, similar to this one we just fought, and cut him down.....Not in half, though, I wasn't that strong at 14 years old.....Well, it was a bloody mess and everything but I managed to save the little girl.....she was crying and everything...." 

"You saved her, huh?" Lydia said with a slight smile, "Must've been traumatic for the poor girl...." 

"Yea, definitely." Daemon continued, "I continued fighting off the other bandits, trying to keep them off the corralled women and children, cutting them down one by one. My Fury was running low by the minute, but I persisted. Me, an Iron-ranked adventurer, who was too fucking stubborn to join a party.....I was fighting hard to save these people....as they watched me savagely cut down the ones responsible for their hell, their nightmare...." 

"You saved them, still." Lydia said

"I did." Daemon said, "At that point, as I stepped on the blood-soaked dirt, the blood of the bandits that I killed, I realized.....that this world wasn't so black and white....there were situations where good men....and women...will have to get their hands dirty. And for an Adventurer like myself, there would be situations like that; not everyone gets to survive...." 

He looked at Lydia who was giving him a sad look. 

"Point is." Daemon continued as he pointed at her chest, "You're alive, by fate or chance, you didn't die at the hands of that assassin rat bastard. So don't be stupid enough to drop your guard and get yourself killed in this job, Lydia." 

Lydia smiled slightly, "T-Thanks..." She said, "I'll keep that in mind. Hey, by any chance, do you know the name of that girl you saved?" 

Daemon blinked, "Why?" 

"I don't know." She said, "Normally on these types of stories, the damsel in distress tells the hero her name, no?" 

Daemon rubbed his hair, "I don't know, she might've told me her name." He said, "It was a long time ago.....anyways, what does it matter to you?" 

Lydia tucked her hair behind her ear, "N-Not much..." She said, "I'm a big fan of yours, hearing a story like this is rare, you know. My fellow fangirls might be envious..." 

Daemon nodded, "If you say so." He said standing up, "Come eat breakfast, we're getting ready to continue onwards." 

He walked away, leaving Lydia sitting by herself. 

"Why would he randomly say that story....?" Lydia muttered to herself before letting out a sigh, 

"Okay...." 

************************************************

"Are we ready to go?" Invidia said as she readied her quiver, "We need to get to the Hightowers by today." 

She was sitting on a log, carefully organizing her arrows. 

Azael wiped his mouth with a rag, "All done." He said, "That fish was quite delicious." 

"Told ya." Zaphira said with a smirk, "But you were all against it." 

"I had my doubts." Azael admitted, "I apologize." 

"Kiss my feet then." Zaphira said

"Don't be weird." Daemon said with a frown, "We should be good in a minute, Invidia, don't be impatient." 

"The more days that pass by, the more anxious I get." Invidia said with a serious frown, "Rub-My Friend is still in her Horse form." 

Lydia's eyes glimmered, "You were about to say her name!" She exclaimed, "What is it? Ruby? It's Ruby, right?" 

Invidia closed her eyes, "Don't worry about it..." She muttered

Azael chuckled, "We're your companions, Invidia." He said, "It shouldn't hurt to tell us the name of your friend." 

She opened her eyes and sighed, "Fine." She said, "Yes, it's Ruby. Her name is Ruby. She's a dear friend of mine, she happened to be cursed by a wretched Druid." 

"Finally opening up, eh?" Zaphira said as she leaned on her arm, "What kind of Elf is she?" 

"Half-Elf...." Invidia said, "She's....young...." 

"Younger than you?" Daemon asked, "That's something." 

"I'm older than you!" Invidia said, "I'm 50!" 

"Ha!" Daemon laughed, "A mere kid for an Elf!" 

"Silence!!" The Elf bellowed, "Do not mock me!" 

"My Gramps is older than you, hehe." Daemon said with a childish smirk, "He'll definitely call you a kid." 

"How old is your gramps, Daemon?" Zaphira asked with curiousity

"Now that I think about it...I don't really know...." Daemon said as he placed his hand on his chin, "He did tell me a story about how more than 50 years ago, he fought and killed a Wyvern with his bare-hands." 

"Eh?" Zaphira said, "What kind of monster is your Gramps?" 

"Oh, he's crazy strong." Daemon said, "Scary too." 

Azael chuckled, "Of course he is." He said, "If he's your grandfather, of course he is." 

Daemon stood up, "Alright, enough chit-chat!" He said with a smile, 

"Time to continue our journey! To the Hightowers!"