Cabin Condition / The Immortal Stone Bearer
*THUNK*
"W-what the?" Maxwell's glasses almost fall off his face as the carriage stumbles and gets stuck after bumping into something.
"I ain't gonna be the one that gets down to check, just putting that out there now." I lean back as I sit next to Maxwell.
Truth be told I don't feel like doing anything.
I woke up way too early to be bothered to do anything today.
It's one of those days where you wake up at like 5AM and no matter how hard you try, you can't go back to sleep.
Maybe laying on the grass and waking up to the cold air of the morning had something to do with it.
I just now remembered I'm not a morning person.
"Huh!...Boulder Catalyst Blade for who has to get down and check?" Maxwell offers.
"Alright alright." I instantly find out this must be this world's idea of Rock Paper Scissors, and it excites me.
I never back down or give up.
"On shoots.. Boulder, Catalyst..."
"Now now hold on." I interrupt. "Seriously? You wanna go on shoots? What are you, ten?" What ever happened to going after scissors? And who's the bimbo that decided on implementing the 'Shoots' part? "It's called Boulder Catalyst Blade, not Boulder Catalyst Blade shoots you're a loser."
"Fine fine, we shall go on Blade. Now let us take part in this battle.. prepare to face your untimely loss.." He adjusts his glasses. "Boulder.." He throws out his hand.
"Catalyst..." I do the same. I've got a good feeling about this one. I can't even begin to tell you when was the last time I took a loss on this game. "Blade!"
"...."
"God damn it." I shouldn't have thrown out boulder.
It was a well and hard-fought battle.
"Heh .. the path of a Swordsworn is indeed the rewarding one..." He pulls on his fedora and covers his eyes mysteriously.
"What is it you two idiots think you're doing? Get down there and check the source of the delay." Rin pokes her head from the carriage.
I hop off the carriage and proceed my walk of shame around it, then I notice the root of the problem.
A slime the size of a pillow has become one with the wooden wheel.
"Well, there's your problem." I say to Yukki who just suddenly appeared next to me.
"Hm~?"
When did she get here?
"Well helloo there my gelatinous friend~" She kneels to poke at its slimy skin.
"I don't think you do that to slimes."
"Oh it's not bad! I think slimes are soo cute..." She slides her finger across its smooth wet surface.
"I think I see a severed hand inside it."
"Ah-.." She freezes and stumbles back. "Ew ew ewwwie! I don't like the carnivore ones!"
"Wait slimes have diets?" You learn something new every day.
"Mhm! The ones I really like are the small ones that will sometimes hold treasure inside them!" She says very enthusiastically.
"That is disgusting." Rin just appears out of nowhere.
"I see something shiny in that slime." I'm tempted to reach in there myself.
"Did someone say shiny?" Maxwell also just appears out of nowhere. "Ah yes, monster loot. A Swordsworn's greatest reward." He kneels and YANKS the slime from the wheel then reaches inside it to pull out the severed hand that is holding the shiny item.
Dang, he beat me to it.
"What is this? What do my eyes see? This.. this isn't loot!" He once again YANKS the item the hand is holding onto, only to reveal it's just an empty vial. "This is just discarded alchemy junk!"
"What? Alchemy?" Rin has a shocked expression. "What is alchemy doing this far out?"
"AAAHHH!"
We all jump as we hear a distant scream that came from within the forest before we all look at each other to study our reactions.
"Now, I know it may have looked like I was scared, but I assure you, I was not." Maxwell tugs on his fedora. "A true Swordmaster knows only to fear themselves, for losing sight of what makes him a an esteemed warrior is the path that leads to ruin and disarray."
"Inspirational."
"It seems someone is in trouble and in need of help. Yukki, go out there and check. Alone." Rin says coldly.
"Huuh? But I get soo lonely prez.. I'll take Alek with me!" She grabs my wrist.
"Absolutely not." Rin crosses her arms.
"Too late!" She says as I just let myself slowly get dragged into the forest.
I don't even have the will to resist, this morning already ruined my mood for the foreseeable day.
My loss in boulder catalyst blade had nothing to do with it.
Definitely not.
"Heh.. It would appear it is up to us to guard the carriage. With my warrior spirit and your uh.. tenacious nature, we will block out all of the forces of thievery that threaten to take what is ours." Maxwell adjusts his glasses dramatically.
"Hmph. Hey! Wait for me this instant!" Rin starts catching up.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"Well?"
"Weeelll~?" Yukki repeats.
"Well.. what?" Rin asks.
"Yes.. it does appear to be a well.." Maxwell leans against a dried up well. "Perhaps the screams came from down here.." He peeks into the well. "Oi! Is anyone in need of assistance?" He says as his voice echoes back to him from the empty well.
"What? No, I meant who's gonna go in there and check?"
The four of us are currently looking at a worn-down cabin out in the middle of bumsville.
I swear, every time an empty cabin in the woods gets involved, I am reminded of the events that occurred five years ago.
Maybe I just have a knack for discovering abandoned cabins that will unpredictably put me in some kind of secret encounter like it's a video game.
Which is also why I won't be the one that goes in and potentially trigger the unwanted event.
"Alright team, huddle up." I propose as I approach Maxwell and bring him in for a close discussion. "You guys gonna join the discussion or are you just gonna stand there like clueless chickens? Get over here now! Time is of the essence!" I say as Rin and Yukki look at me as if they're trying to decipher what I meant.
"Oooo I like discussions!" Yukki approaches and joins the huddle session.
"Just what is going on here?" Rin keeps the puzzled look on her face.
"You wanna be left out of the discussion? Get in here now Rin, we haven't a moment to waste!" I fear nightfall will approach faster than my loss at boulder catalyst blade.
"I-.. very well." Rin eventually joins the discussion.
We are all now huddled up, prepared to have one of the most important conferences out in the middle of the woods.
"Alright, first thing's first, who's gonna go in there? Because if I'm being completely honest with you guys, and this is personally my opinion of course, but.. I don't really feel like going in there, like, I'm sorry, and of course it's just an opinion. Just a personal opinion though. Like, as much as it pains me, and again, just another personal opinion.. but I would much rather go down that well to look for some kind of secret chamber than to go help out a potentially dying person. Now I know that sounds harsh or cruel even, but again, it's just my opinion."
"What?" Rin looks at me in cold confusion.
"Hmm.. I see I see.." Maxwell has a look of absolute focus.
And Yukki just stands there, smirking as if she's ready to laugh.
"I'm just saying. It's just an opinion. And let me tell you something else, but that cabin right there? Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's haunted. See where I come from, you don't just go into a cabin in the woods. No no no, you turn around, and you book the HELL out of there. I'm talking straight up gunning it.
"Alek." Rin calls out.
"And let me tell you more, see, I could be in the carriage right now. Like physically. Like I could be there guarding our stuff and our only way of reaching Azula. In fact I am now concerned if our ride is still even in its original spot."
"Alek."
"Wait no hol' up, that's actually a scary thought. If we lose the carriage this far out from human civilization, we might actually be boned."
"Alek."
"No wait we'll be fine, we have Yukki here to give us a ride on her biga-"
"Alek."
"What?"
"I refuse."
"Awww.. what do you have against Stickers, prez??" Yukki says in a low tone.
"You do make a solid point, Alek." Maxwell says. "However as a Swordsworn, I cannot allow myself to walk away from those in need of help."
"God damn it Maxwell, WORK WITH ME HERE BRO."
"Then that settles it. We will all proceed into the cabin." Rin yanks onto my shoulder as I try to quietly walk back to the carriage that is probably not even there anymore. "That includes you, vice president Alek." She says in a cold and unforgiving tone, reminding me of my unfortunate role within the Academy.
"Siiiigh" I walk up the small dirt path that leads to the cabin, taking note of all the broken clay pots scattered around and the withered plants inside them. It's pretty clear this cabin is uninhabited and uncared for, which is also just another reason not to go inside the damn cabin.
"What is that smell?" Rin asks in a revolted tone as she and the other two weirdos follow behind me.
"I really don't know, this is stupid. It's probably just a rotting eggplant or something. Also, this is all just stupid." I step onto the small stairs and onto the ruined wooden front porch. "Hello helloo anyone there helloo." I ask loudly as I bang on the wooden door repeatedly.
"What is the matter with you?" Rin crosses her arms behind me.
"Oh don't think too much into it, prez. He's just having fun! Riight Alek~?" Yukki winks at me.
"Yes, I see.. perhaps it is valid to say he is quite ready to engage in this upcoming endeavor." Maxwell nods to himself.
"Huh?" I look behind me to see what in fuck they're on about, then back onto the scratched wooden door as it slowly creaks open from the force of my knocking.
We all step inside and scan the room.
It's just a normal cabin with a table in the middle, a fireplace, a bed in the left corner, and a small short hallway to the right, that's it.
There's literally nothing else in here.
"Anyway, welcome to the establishment." I take a step into the room. "If you could all just step inside with me here, w-watch out there's ghosts. They'll get you, they've already got Maxwell."
Rin and Yukki look behind them and can confirm Maxwell is indeed missing.
"What? Ghosts? Hmph. That is a foolish thing to say." Rin narrows her eyes. "There is no such thing as 'Ghosts'."
"Oh yeah? Then who's hand is that on your right shoulder?"
"W-what?" Rin's expression changes instantly. "H-hand? Don't be thickheaded, there is nothing behi-."
She stops midsentence as she looks at the pale man behind her, grabbing onto her shoulder.
"Eeek! When did he get here??" Yukki yelps as she hides behind me.
*SCHCKLL*
The pale man's face rips open in half, exposing long fleshy tendrils and a row of teeth along his loose and stretched bloody skin.
*SHIING*
The man gets sliced in half, his separated corpse hits the ground with a PLOP.
"I have arrived just in time." Maxwell sheathes his katana.
"Just what was this.. disgusting thing?" Rin looks down at the thing on the ground that looks like something out of a horror sci-fi movie.
"Probably an alien."
"An.. alien?" Yukki tilts her body slightly down to study it. "What's that~?" She smirks in confusion.
"It's like.. some kind of weird monster or something?" I say as I reach for the half-eaten sandwich in my pocket then taking a bite out of it.
I still think it could've used more ham.
"What are you doing?" Rin asks in complete confusion as she watches me eat the half-eaten sandwich that's been holed up in my pockets for two days.
"What? It's a sandwich, it's healthy for you. *chomp*"
"No one has ever said that." She shakes her head.
*Rggrggrgrgr*
I look down at my feet and see the top half of the alien thing trying to crawl up my leg and wrap its fleshy tentacles around my neck like a little freak.
"Maybe it's hungry." I shove half of my sandwich down what looks like its mouth hole.
*GRGLRGRLGRGLRR*
It starts to shake violently and twitch before dropping on the ground and withering away like it's some kind of malnourished plant.
"You dare take me by surprise and return from the dead to exact your revenge? Where is your pride?!" Maxwell struggles with the other half of the alien thing as he tries to swing his katana over and over while it has its tentacles wrapped around the blade.
"You are hopeless." Rin raises her rapier and fires a magic arrow at it.
*FSSHLL*
The projectile does look like it pierced its skin, but the wound instantly re-tangles itself as if nothing happened.
"What?" She asks in surprise.
*SHIING*
Maxwell slices it in half, but it reattaches itself.
"What in damnation? My blade didn't get dull did it..." He starts inspecting his katana.
It then throws itself across the air in Yukki's direction with a loud screech.
"Maybe this one's hungry too." I raise my other half of my sandwich in front of Yukki's face before it could attach to her.
*GRGLGRGLGRGL*
It starts choking while my hand and my sandwich is dug into its weird mouth, before it eventually stops moving and withering away.
"Sucks. I was hungry." I say with a broken heart as I throw the ruined sandwich out the window.
*MRROOW!?"
Woops, I think I hit a cat.
"I am sure you all have questions, but before you ask, follow me, look what I found." Maxwell turns away and goes into the small halfway on the right before we all look at each other then follow him.
He moves the dirty old rug and reveals a rusty iron hatch, before opening it.
"This way." He says as he climbs down the latter and into the darkness below.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"Just what.. is all this?" Rin says in an uneasy tone as she looks at the various capsules with human brains and guts across the shelves within the small stone room.
"Some kind of weird lab, you know, real nerdy stuff." I inspect the vial in my hand with some weird worm inside it.
"Ooo~ What's that? Show me!!" Yukki tries taking it from my hand.
"Hey hey watch it, I found it first." I tug on it as she tries stealing my weird loot.
"Oh come on! Just let me see!!" She starts tugging harder.
"What is it you two are doing at a time like this? Control yourselves, now!" Rin yells.
"Uh oh."
The vial falls from both of our hands from the force of our tugs then explodes on the ground.
"Look what you did damn you!?"
"Mee? Your pull was too strong you dumbo!" Yukki pouts.
"Yeah? Well you're a reta- wait where's the worm.."
"The what?" Rin asks in confusion.
"Behold." Maxwell raises his hand and shows us the small weird worm dangling from in between his fingers.
"Don't touch it!" Rin smacks his hand, causing him to drop it, which explodes into a mush as if it were glass. "You dimwitted fool. What would have happened if it bit you and infected you with an illness? If you were to die now, how would we get back to the Kingdom? Do you not realize we need you so you can return us? You need to learn to allocate your thoughts in your common sense rather than not think at all." She says, hands on her hips like she's a strict older sister giving her cold lecture.
"Actually, we have Yukki's bi-" Rin instantly turns her glance onto me, stopping me from saying what it is she never wants to hear ever again. "Ok I'll shut up." I turn away to look at the rest of the room.
For some reason, there's a lot of potted plants along the shelves and tables. Whoever's lab this belonged to must really have had a passion for gardening.
At one point I wanted to get into gardening just to have at least something to care for
So, I can respect the hustle.
"Feeling sentimental there, Alek~~?"
"I do get sentimental, especially when I look at the sky. Also when I feel something elemental building under my eyes."
"What?"
"Anyways, no source of the screaming here, let's all go back now yeah?" I ask in an excited tone, before picking up the only small potted plant that's in mint condition from the table behind me.
It looks like an average herb you'd find anywhere, except this one is shaped like a weird plant with seven thin leaves, also it has a strong smell.
Yeah I'm gonna take this.
"And what do you intend to do with that?" Rin asks as she looks at me holding onto the small potted plant.
"I am going to provide the care and love its previous owner couldn't give."
"What?"
"I'm gonna take it back, for evidence."
"I see, very well." She turns away to continue reading the small book she picked up from one of the shelves.
Damn it, I knew that was the only answer she was gonna accept. I can't believe I have to work so hard just to gain her approval like she's my frickin big sister or something.
"Ooo nice plant ya got there.." Yukki attempts to touch one of its thin leaves.
*SMACK*
"Hands off the merchandise."
"Oww!" She rubs her hand after I got done swatting it away.
.
.
.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"And that is when I said, 'Perish under the stars of the Luna constellation!' To which I proceeded to pierce through its thick skin." Maxwell says as we follow behind him and towards the carriage.
"You've told this one a gazillion times! Tell a different one for a change!!" Yukki groans.
"I don't see what there is to boast about, it was only a common troll." Rin says, tired from Maxwell's yapping.
"Ah, but it was no mere troll, this one was carrying a large burning stone from the volcanic wyvern fields. But yet again, I emerged victori-.. STOP IT RON!" Maxwell runs ahead to stop the white horse from chomping on a girl's long blue robe.
"L-let go! How dare you treat your captor like this!" Says the girl with brown hair, fighting to stop the horse from biting off her skirt.
"Ahahahahahaha~~!" A girl with purple hair and pink highlights in pigtails is right behind her, laughing uncontrollably.
"HYA!" The girl with brown hair falls onto the ground as the psycho white horse lets her go.
"Jeez, Ron! Tone it down, man!" Maxwell feeds it a small carrot. "Is it good?"
"Haah.." The girl with brown hair stands up, dusting off her long blue robe then adjusting it. "I owe you one, I have never seen a horse so intent on killing me..."
"Ahh, pay it no mind, it was merely what a Swordsworn would d-.. wait did you just say 'Captor'? Maxwell shoots her his gaze.
"Yeah, we were on our way back from Lu-" The girl in pig tails stops midsentence as the girl with brown hair bumps her shoulder. "Wait... you guys are from the Luthran Kingdom?" She says as she looks at our uniforms.
"That is correct." Rin steps closer to inspect them. "That robe.. could it be you are from Azula?"
"Uhh.. yeahhh.." The girl in pigtails says in a hesitant tone for some reason. "We're actually on our way back from uh..." She starts to fidget with her weird looking gun, which looks like a combination of a musket and a long staff. "Oh! We were climbing trees and looking for bird nests!" She gives a prideful smirk.
"R-right..! We were just climbing trees." The girl in brown hair gives her a menacing glare as she said that last part. "A-anyway.. this carriage wouldn't happen to belong to you, right..?"
"Hm." Maxwell stands in front of the carriage and reaches for his katana. "I expected our carriage to get stolen by bandits, but I never expected bandits from Azula would be pulling this stunt.."
"E-easy there, big guy! W-we didn't know it was yours, haha.." The girl in pigtails scratches the back of her head. "We're not bandits! W-we're Knights just like you! W-well, we're called Scholars in Azula.. haha.."
"Or mages." The brown haired girl says casually, looking away.
The girl in pigtails smiles nervously. "We got off on the wrong foot, let's start over, kay?" She extends her arm out.
"Alright, I will accept your words. But don't think I will drop my guard for even a second. A Swordsworn is sworn on keeping his warrior instinct active at all given times. For being one that wanders off into the unknown within their inner mind is no warrior, but a slave locked behind the thick bars that binds their soul from achieving that which allows them to advance and evolve as a Swordsman.."
"Huh?"
"Hah?"
Both girls look at him like they got lost halfway into his inspiration.
"Just go along with it~" Yukki says with a wide smile.
"Oh right! I'm Kanon! And this is Lillia." The girl in pigtails says as she places her hand on the girl with brown hair's shoulder and patting it repeatedly.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance." Lillia removes Kanon's hand from her shoulder and bows politely.
"Rin." Rin says, adding nothing more to her bland and serious introduction.
"Hiii~! I'm Yukki!" Yukki places her finger on her cheek and winks.
"Just call me Alek." I say as I board the carriage and place my newly earned plant on my lap.
"From today onwards, you will remember me as Maxwell, the Swordsworn..." He crosses his arms dramatically with his usual fedora covering his eyes mysteriously pose.
"Hey can you guys wrap it up? We still have that one trip to Aluza."
"Azula." Rin corrects me coldly.
"Yeah sure. And we should reallly get going, you know, like right now." I stroke my plant's leaves.
"Ah yes, our objective to Azula." Maxwell boards the front of the carriage and grabs onto the lead. "Now that we're introduced, and I know not to smite you with a warrior's blade.. for now.. You may join us on this venture."
"Really? You are so nice!!" Kanon holsters her rifle. "Let's go Lillia!"
"Haah.." Lillia sighs as she boards. "And don't forget the honey buns you owe me."
"Haah!?" Kanon complains as she boards behind her.
"Hey! Scoot over, prez! I'm getting squashed in here!!" Yukki yells out as her small frame is getting squished in between the newcomers.
"Good. Cockroaches need to meet their end at a certain point." Rin remains motionless, her legs crossed.
"Oi oi! Settle down back there." Maxwell demands as he gets the carriage moving.
"Ugh! It's cramped as heck in here!! I'll just have to go in the front with Alek~..." Yukki stands up before she pokes her head out from behind. "Hiii~!"
*SLAM!*
"Owwww! What'd you do that for dummy Rin?!"
"You will do no such thing. Now be a good little cockroach and return to your den." Rin says harshly.
"Geez! You didn't have to pull on my legs so forcefully...!"
"Oi! I said settle down! Do you want me to turn this carriage around?" Maxwell yells out again.
This is gonna be a long trip.
.
.
.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"And then, that is when I proclaimed, "Fall under the judgment of my blade!" to which I proceeded on slashing half of the monster's body, clean."
"That is not what you said in that moment, Maxwell." Rin says, unimpressed as always.
"W-well it sounded cooler in my head..." He adjusts his glasses.
"Still, a monster that can regenerate and control its limbs in such a bizarre manner? I've.. never heard of such thing..." Kanon says in bewilderment.
"That's probably why we were called to Azula."
"Oh, so you've been sent to investigate. It must be really serious..." She grips her rifle on her lap.
"Anyways, it wasn't all that scary.. heh..." Yukki says smugly.
"You say as you hid behind Alek after screeching like a rat." Rin replies mockingly.
We've been travelling for about a day and a half.
Last night was just as bad as the last, with the cold air of the morning hitting my face as well as waking up too early.
Not even gonna try and imagine how cramped it must have been for these suckers sleeping in here.
But it doesn't stop there, because the air has started to get colder, and the clouds have gotten thick.
Extra thick.
I hope the long robes the academy provided us with will be enough to stop my limbs from going black and falling off.
"Lucifer, heat my body up and keep me warm."
"You must really want to burn down to your bones, hm~?"
"God damn it."
"Hmm.. the clouds have turned a slight shade of gray and blue.. yup, Azula is just up ahead. Shouldn't be long till we get there." Kanon says as she peaks and looks up at the sky.
I look up at the sky and can see the clouds do have a certain slight gray and blue shade to them.
The sound of hooves walking on dirt is now replaced with the sound of snow cracking as the landscape ahead begins to render snow.
"Hehehehe~ I can't wait to make snow angels..." Yukki giggles to herself as she pokes her arm out to catch the snowflakes that have slowly started to fall.
I sure do hope we don't run into some abominable snowman or something.
*THUNK*
The carriage suddenly stops as it bumps into something.
Again.
Maxwell looks over to me.
I look over at him.
"BOULDER! CATALYST!..."
"BOULDER. CATALYST..."
"..."
"DAMN IT." I will never throw out boulder for the remainder of my lifespan.
I stand up and place my plant down where I was sitting before I hop off the carriage, my boots touch the snow as I do a second walk of shame all around the carriage.
"Hmm.. well there's your proble- OH SH-" I nearly jump out of my boots as I turn around to see Yukki once again invading my personal space.
"Pfftttee-heeh-hee-hee-hee~~~!" She turns away and starts to giggle to herself.
That's not even funny. I seriously thought she was an abominable snowman catching me lacking and seconds from eating me.
I regain my composure and look down at the ice slime that has become one with the wheel.
It's like a normal slime, except its blue, with snow around its top.
It's an ice slime.
"Hiiii." Yukki kneels and runs her hand around its ice hard surface. "Aww.. no treasure inside this one.."
"Did someone say treasure?" Maxwell says as he walks around the carriage and meets us at the back.
"Relax, she just said treasure." I shake my head in disappointment. "There is no treasure."
"What?" He looks down at the ice slime consuming the wheel. "What is this?"
"It's an ice slime."
"It's pretty obvious." Yukki shrugs.
"I see... get it off the wheel!" He pulls out his katana and begins WHACKING at its hard surface.
"What is going on back here?" Rin appears behind Yukki before looking at the wheel. "What is-.."
"It's an ice slime."
"It's pretty obvious." Yukki shrugs again.
"What? I know it's an ice slime you twits. But why is it still on the wheel? Remove it this instant. We have an assignment to complete." She crosses her arms. "Remove it. Now."
"What's all the fuss?" Kanon appears behind me with Lillia.
"It's an ice sl-"
"Shush!" Kanon places her finger on my mouth.
"Come on! Unhand my wheel! Grrrrgh!" He drops his katana and kneels to try and YANK it off the wheel, but this ice slime is hard stuck on the wheel.
"Ice slimes shouldn't be this far out... they usually frequent the inner snow fields..." Lillia says as she watches Maxwell struggle with an ice slime.
"Now that you mention it.. it is pretty weird.. maybe something happened that is causing ice slimes to spread farther out from fear of something.. but what?" Kanon places her finger on her chin.
"Hurry up." Rin demands as she has her arms crossed, her finger tapping on her arm.
"Gghhhhh! Almost..got it..!"
*ZOOM!*
Maxwell's fingers slide off the ice slime's slippery cold surface which causes him to launch backwards and hit a tree from the amount of force he used.
*PSSH*
The snow from the tree's branches falls onto Maxwell and blankets on him.
"Teeheehee~" Yukki digs a carrot where his face is supposed to be.
"Well, it seems we will proceed on foot in light of recent moronic events." Rin reaches for her bag in her carriage and puts on the robe the Academy provided, as well as wrapping a fancy purple fluffy scarf along her neck. "And you can catch up when you're done with whatever this is, Maxwell." She says as she turns away and starts talking down the snow path ahead.
"Uhh yeah no worries, comrades. I shall set the carriage free from its ice-cold captor and set out to Azula alongside you. Until then, allow me time to freshen up." His voice comes out muffled as his hand digs out from the snow, then gives a thumbs up.
Yukki and I retrieve our own robes before we all turn away and start following behind Rin.
"What'd he say?" Kanon asks as she watches the carrot on his face fall off onto the snow.
"No clue."
.
.
.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"Well? What do you think?" Kanon asks with a smile as we all stand in the middle of the dark blue bricked snow roads.
"Well, it's white...and cold." I say as I start to shiver slightly.
I look up and onto the usual gigantic castle that rests at the heart of any Kingdom.
It's kind of shaped like a tall clock tower.
And it looks like it has glowing magic rings along the clock.
Actually, there are tall clock towers that pierce the thick clouds almost everywhere you look.
If I had to come up with three words that describes this Kingdom in comparison to Luthran or Ragnav, it'd say Sophisticated, Serene, and Cold.
The streets look neatly lustrous and glossy, as well as the fancy bright blue lamps that stretch along the streets.
And the various buildings kind of give off the gothic vibe of Ragnav.
Except the buildings in this Kingdom seem like a calm medieval goth.
"What are you spacing out for? Let's hurry up and do what we came here to do. We've still got plenty of student council work waiting for us." Rin says as she grips onto my wrist and drags me along the streets.
The only noise being the chilly wind travelling past my ears, and the distant chatter of people in robes talking and reading their books.
We eventually stop as we reach an intersection, the man in the middle of the road signaling with his red wand for the carriages to proceed over the bricked roads.
"Anyways, Kanon here still owes me four honey buns, so we'll leave you two here. The Supreme Sorceress should be in her tower. Just go in and take the shiny blue platform to the left when you enter the Celestial Clocktower. Well byeee.." Lillia's voice fades as she drags Kanon down the street to the left, not even giving her a chance to resist.
"Wait where the hell is Yukki?" It didn't even occur to me that she has been missing since we first got here.
"What matters right now is that she is gone, and we have all of the peace and quiet we could ever ask for." Rin grabs my wrist and starts dragging me away. "Now come along, let's go and take a look around while we are here."
"Wait aren't we supposed to go meet the-"
"Hmph." She stops walking and faces me, giving me her glare, which is colder than the weather. "I said, we are going to take a look around and- PU~HYUN!"
I watch her rub her nose in astonishment, this might actually be the first time I've heard her voice go so high in pitch. I've always thought her voice was always cold and emotionless.
"Did.. you just sne-"
"Listen to me." She grabs onto my collar and pulls me close until my face is close enough to get hit with the warmth of her breath. "You heard nothing." She squeezes my collar. "Do you understand me?" She looks into my eyes with a darkened expression.
"Right..."
"Hmph." She lets go of my collar and returns her grip around my right hand. "Let's go."
She then leads us down the streets, not saying another word.
"..."
The entire walk is just silent awkwardness.
I'm not even sure if I should say something to make it any less awkward
I feel like if I said anything to her right now after what happened not even five minutes ago, it will just bite me back in the kidney.
But then again, if she thought this walk was awkward and unpleasant, she would have just said so.
Let's go ahead and test the waters.
"Hey."
"Yes? What is it?" She looks over her shoulder.
"So.. what do you think people did before ladders?"
"What?"
"Do you think they just stood there and went.. 'Damn, can't get up there.' Heh.."
"..."
She stops walking and turns around to face me, narrowing her eyes. It's almost like she's studying me to see if I'm on any kind of Alchemy.
I've already said before that I may not be the sharpest tool, but I am in no way a drug addict.
"Hm." She gives me a look that just says 'Should I ask him if he's retarded' while keeping that cold but unsurprised expression. It's hard to say if she's looking at me in angered annoyance at the fact she has to put up with me.
Or if she just regrets ever getting to know me.
Was it really that bad?
Maybe the whole ladder thing wasn't the most ideal thing to bring up.
I should really study more ways to make conversation.
"Sit."
"Huh?" I snap back to reality and realize she's ordering me to sit on a bench overlooking the rest of the Azula Kingdom.
I oblige, my legs feel like they're gonna fall off from all the walking we did from the carriage outside the walls and all the way into the inner Kingdom.
Also from the cold.
"So? What exactly happened while you were away?" She sits next to me, crossing her black stocking covered legs.
"Huh."
"The isolated Kingdom, idiot."
"Oh right, it went pretty well." I nod to myself. It was actually kind of fun. The change of scenery is exactly what I needed. But the whole hostile world feel never went away.
Looks like this world is just danger no matter where or how far you go.
The time I spent there seemed way too short.
An episode purely about hunting and looting beasts is something that needs to happen.
I'm definitely going back.
"I didn't ask how it went, I asked what happened, idiot." She sighs, crossing her arms.
"Oh right. Aside from snooping around and blasting beast heads, nothing of note comes to mind."
"What? 'Blasted'?"
"Anyways, I pretty much just went around, looked at a couple murals, talked to various people, climbed various buildings, oh and a stranger pulled up on me to offer alchemy." Still won't forget the crazy value deal he gave me, he seemed like a nice guy.
If only he didn't look like he was on the constant run from the cops.
"I see." She adjusts her scarf. "And? How did it go?"
I lean back against the marble bench. "Before I got there, I had to deal with a giant crab that ate about ninety five percent of the crew. A real bummer, I was convinced they were badass pirates that went through a lot, and not a bunch of death fodder."
"Hm... so giant crabs do exist.. It seems father's stories weren't just scary tales to keep me from traveling the dark seas.." She uncrosses her arms.
"Overall, it was a really immersive experience, you should try it sometime." Traveling and getting a change of scenery is a nice change of pace, it's something more people should try doing.
"What?" She looks at me, eyes widened. "Are you.. inviting me to travel with you.. alone? Just us two?"
"Huh? That's not what I said at all. I meant you should tr-"
"Hmph." She suddenly recrosses her arms and looks away.
Was it something I said?
I don't understand women at all.
What do they want?
"Hii~!" Yukki suddenly jumps onto the bench in between us.
"Hmph. We've wasted enough time. Let's proceed on meeting with the Supreme Sorceresses." Rin stands up in a fast instant.
"Whaa-? But I just got here! No fair!!" Yukki pouts.
"You have only yourself to blame for wandering off on your own." Rin crosses her arms. "What could have been so important for a mongrel like you to just go off on your own?"
"It's a secret~" Yukki winks. "H-hey! Where are you going? Wait up!!" She calls out to me as I tried walking off, before I get stopped from Rin's grip on my shoulder.
"You dare attempt to walk away on your own? Has the little cockroach influenced your mind so quick?" Rin glares at me.
"But.. you said we were going to meet up w-"
"Okay let's go!!" Yukki grabs onto my other shoulder.
"Stop." Rin stops us once again from walking off. "Did I say it was alright to walk away? You didn't finish answering my question vice president." She digs her nails onto my shoulder, and frankly, its started to hurt more and more.
"Oh stop it prez, Alek is just soo eager to finish our little assignment so we can head back and start preparing for the day of the sword~ Isn't that right Alek? You are gonna be my dance partner, riiight~?" She shoots Rin a smug smirk.
I can almost see the steam rising from Rin's head as she watches Yukki grip onto me and smirking in the smuggest of smug smirks.
"Akane already asked me to be her partner, sorry."
"Ah-" Yukki's face goes pale in shock as she just stands there, motionless.
"That is correct." Rin gives Yukki an evil condescending smile. "You see, unfortunately for you, Alek has already been claimed by his friend Aka-" She stops midsentence as her face also goes into a pale shock.
"Yeh." I set myself free and start making my way to the clocktower.
I notice the atmosphere has remained quiet for a suspicious amount of time, so I look over my shoulder and see they're still locked in place, pale and motionless.
Not even gonna try and ask what's happening, I've got another potentially troublesome person to meet, so I continue making my way down the snowy street.
"FuFuFu~"
"Tee-hee-hee~"
"What's so funny."
"Oh, nothing~
"Nothing~!"
"No, you're not gonna pull that on me. Spill, go on."
"Its noothing, vice president Alek~"
"Astal."
"Uwahh.. goodnight.."
I'm surrounded by weirdos.
.
.
.
/*/*/*/*//*/*/*/*//*/*/*/*//*/*/*/*/
"Whoa..!" I almost slip and fall as I step onto the smooth and slippery platform Lillia instructed us to go on.
"Watch where you're stepping you idi-HYUH!?" Rin also almost slips as she steps onto the platform, before grabbing onto the statue mounted on the wall to her left for balance.
It kind of looks like a wolf holding a staff in its jaw.
"Awww~! It's so cuut- HYAA!" Yukki is the first to slip and fall onto the smooth glass-like platform as she stepped onto it to look at the statue.
What is this thing made out of anyway? Crystal?
It might be crystal or something.
The doors to the giant clocktower were pretty much open as if welcoming anyone to step inside.
And that's probably because this is the absolute biggest library I have ever seen.
It might even be the only library in this Kingdom.
We were stopped by two robed knights as we made our way to the platform, asking for some kind of authorization to access it. But we quickly solved that once Rin showed them the letter the headmaster wrote for the Supreme what's her name.
"Oww oww owwie.." Yukki stands up, rubbing her behind
*FWOOMB*
The platform lights up, then starts to ascend.
"What in.." Rin grips onto the wolf statue, trying her best not to slip on her butt like Yukki.
"W-what's the matter prez? A-afraid of heights?" Yukki smirks nervously as she grips onto a separate wolf statue.
"Have you two never been in an elevator before?" I decided to just sit. It seems like the smartest thing to do since I won't have to worry about balance and all that.
"What?" Rin looks at me, working on maintaining her balance.
"W-what's an elevator~?" Yukki asks, practically hugging the wolf statue and sweating profusely.
"You good?"
"Me? Y-yeah! N-nothing I can't handle..!" She smirks nervously.
"Don't you ride your dragon all over the skies? How are you scared of heights?"
"I'm not!!" She pouts. "I just haven't.. y'know.. ridden this high up... Teehee..hee..Gulp"
"But we're not even that high u- Jesus.." I look out the gaps in between the walls and can see we are ascending high enough to bathe in the clouds. "Well at least the view's not bad, you agree, right Rin?"
"Hmph. Do not ask me such questions at such a time." She crosses her arms before noticing her balance is gone, then returning her hands back on the wolf statue.
The platform then stops moving, before the glow disappears then going back to its original blue and gray color.
The two lanterns in front of us light up in blue flames, then the double doors slowly creak open.
"Looks like this is our stop." I stand up and stretch.
Sitting down is exactly what I needed after having my previous seat on that bench get cut short by Yukki's sudden appearance.
"Wait." Rin stops me. "I need you to listen carefully to what I'm about to tell you." She grabs me by my shoulders and looks into my eyes. "Alek, the very last thing the Supreme Sorceress needs to think is that we are unfit for this task. If you make a fool of yourself the same way you did on our first meeting, there is no doubt she will see us as a group of misfit buffoons." She narrows her red eyes. "I already know Yukki will out herself as an airheaded brat." She glances over at Yukki, who is just standing there, smirking innocently and waving. "If you pull the same chowderheaded behavior, I will look like a complete fool." She squeezes my shoulders. "I need you to cut the barbaric behavior you used on your first day, do you understand me?"
"And what do I do~?" Yukki asks in an excited and eager tone.
"You shall do nothing" Rin glares at her. "You will sit back and let me handle the speaking. Or better yet, go get lost in a frozen goblin mine."
"Haaah...? That's not fair! Why should I not get included in the same task the headmaster gave US? Not fair prez!! Not fair!!!!" She starts to wave her arms around up and down, almost like she's a toddler that's been denied her candy. "You are so rude!! You can't just exclude me fro-MHHBF?!" Her mouth suddenly gets covered in a purple light.
"That will shut you up until we are finished." Rin crosses her arms and returns her gaze to me, expecting me to comply with her request.
"Hmm.. I think not."
"What?" She stares at me, waiting for an explanation to my refusal.
"I think restricting my personality isn't very nice, don't you think? It's like.. taking away what makes an ice slime unique, like its icy and frozen layer. If it wasn't made of ice, then it would just be a bland slime.
"Alek."
"And I'm pretty sure getting your personality nerfed is a one way ticket to depression and misery."
"Mmf Hmf!" Yukki nods in agreement.
"What?" Rin gives a very confused look.
"Look it's simple, it just means tha-"
"I don't care what it implies. The fact of the matter is that you two are the biggest idiots I know and if I have to look like a mother with her two mentally defective children my mana waves will implode." She digs her red gaze into my soul.
"Well that's harsh.."
"Common sense does not care about your feelings. You will act accordingly." She narrows her eyes.
"Hmm.. nah."
"Alek."
"I'll just greet her the same way I know how." Which is my classic go-to greeting for everything.
"This is important."
"I got the bag secured, ease your worries a bit will ya?" I crack my knuckles. "You really think I'll let our first impression go to shit? Chillax and watch me handle this like an absolute madlad." I start to walk towards the double doors, rubbing my knuckles.
I shouldn't have cracked them so hard.
"Alek." She grabs onto my shoulder again. "We are not leaving this platform until you give me your word you will act in a dignified and sophisticated manner. Do you understand me?" She grips my shoulders. "Say it. Say you understand."
"Sophisticated isn't in my vocabulary." Neither is dignified.
"Oh? Has the rest of our guests arrived? Please, do come in." Says a clear and mellow voice from the chamber.
Rin shoots me a last glare before we all step foot into the chamber.
It's a large circular room with a marble throne at the other end, a large open window with a telescope peeking out to the right, a giant bookshelf to the left with a sofa and table, and a big circular table in the middle.
"It is good to see you again my comrades." Also Maxwell, who is sitting at the circular table, polishing his katana.
"Haah.. three idiots.." Rin whispers under her breath.
"Welcome to Azula, my honored guests." A tall woman with a white dress and a witch hat the size of an umbrella greets us, then bows. "And please, accept my deepest thanks for granting me your assistance in such a troublesome matter."
"It is simply what an allied Kingdom would do." Rin places her left hand on her hip.
"Hm.." The woman raises her head to take a look at her guests.
She looks over to Yukki, who still has her vocal functions restrained. "Ah, compressed restraining magic?" She approaches Yukki, who just stands there looking up at her with her mouth covered. "Hmm.. and it has been cast in a stable and flawless state." She looks at Rin." Could this be your doing?"
"Correct." Rin crosses her arms.
"Mmf Hmmf Mf Mfff Mffhh!" Yukki mutters out.
"At any rate, you needn't use formality. Please, call me Mandalyn." She bows, before raising her head to look at the three of us.
"Rin." Rin says, straight to the point, arms still crossed.
"Mmf." Yukki mumbles out.
"Haah.." Rin undoes her spell, then gives Yukki a skeptic look, ready to bind her mouth again if she says or does something a smug brat would do.
"Ahem. I'm Yukki!" She gives a peace sign.
"Pleasure." The woman smiles, then all three of them look at me, expecting me to introduce myself.
I know I may have said I was gonna greet her the same way I know how, but looking back, that sounds boring. At times like these, when you travel to an entire new area to meet someone important, it's best to come off as strong, and not like a deadbeat bum.
Rin was right.
Let's start with something dignified and sophisticated.
"Maxwell, you take it from here." I turn to walk away.
I'm not cut out for such things.
Dignified and sophisticated isn't in my vocabulary.
"Hold it." I had a feeling I was gonna get stopped by Rin.
I should have just bolted out.
But then again, if I did do that, I would have slipped as I ran onto the platform, so I'll leave it at that.
"Fu~Fu~Fu.." Mandalyn covers her mouth, chuckling. "You seem like quite the individual, mister..?"
"His name is Alek. Excuse his barbarous behavior." Rin says coldly, gripping my shoulder in the disappointment she knew she was gonna contract.
"I am Maxwell, the Swordsworn..." Maxwell joins us.
"Yes, you have introduced yourself a little over an hour ago." Mandalyn smiles. "Now, let us take a seat and discuss the... recent events." She slowly makes her way to the circular table and sits at the other end.
Maxwell and I do the same and sit on our marble seats.
"Hmph."
"Hey!"
As I thought, Rin and Yukki fight over a seat.
Which is the one to my right.
"Let go." Rin grips onto the chair.
"Nu! I grabbed onto it first, fair and square prez.." Yukki tugs on it.
"Oi oi!" Maxwell yells out, sitting off to my left.
"What's all the fuss?" Kanon and Lillia walk into the chamber.
"Iv avvears thevre at it avain." Lillia says, her mouth stuffed with honey buns.
"Ah, perfect timing, and welcome back to Azula." Mandalyn bows her head. "Well? Have you discovered anything of that.. matter?"
Lillia swallows, before sitting at an empty seat. "The most we've found was... a bit of destruction. But there's no doubt it has been there before.
"I see. More on that later, for now, we've an entire separate matter to discuss." Mandalyn interlocks her fingers on the table.
"Haaah I'm spent!" Kanon takes the seat to my right as Rin and Yukki are too busy glaring into each other's eyes.
"Ahem." Maxwell clears his throat loudly, bringing both of them back into the room.
"Hmph." Rin takes her seat next to Lillia.
"Tch.." Yukki takes hers next to Maxwell.
"Excellent. Now, I'm sure you will have questions, Lillia, Kanon, and I will explain. But, we must move at a swift pace, as it continues getting worse at every given moment." Mandalyn takes a serious tone. "But, as it stands, we-"
"HAAH.. HAAH.." A man in glasses bursts into the chamber, panting heavily.
"Ah, nice of you to join us, Tohdsen. You look like you could use a seat." Mandalyn offers.
"I couldn't.. I wasn't.. I wasn't able to.." He mutters as he approaches the table and placing his palms on it. "The rest of my research... I wasn't able to retrieve it..."
"Calm yourself now, have a seat and explain what happened." Mandalyn returns to her serious tone.
Everyone in the room looks at him, waiting for him to catch his breath and speak.
What did he get himself into anyway?
A tomb raid?
"Facility-703 is down.." He catches his breath and sits. "I'm afraid there's no salvaging it, it's as good as gone.. the Infestation has surely overrun it by now.." He says, wiping his glasses.
"I see.. go on.." Mandalyn urges him.
"What? 'Infestation'?" Lillia queries.
"Blegh! That sounds disgusting!" Kanon groans.
"Hmm.. that does seem like something a Swordsworn should take care of.." Maxwell adjusts his glasses.
"Now then." Mandalyn rises from her seat. "You all have questions, and they shall be answered. Tohdsen, take Lillia, Kanon, Maxwell, Rin and Yukki to your lab, explain the situation to them."
"Alright." Tohdsen stands up.
"Is it.. really that serious?" Kanon stands up.
"Just do as you're told." Lillia chews on another honey bun then stands up.
"Very well." Rin stands up. "And what of Alek?" She looks over at me.
"I wish to speak to him, alone." Mandalyn looks over at me.
"Huh?" What could the Supreme Sor-what's her name want with a dweeb like me?
The usual bad feeling creeps onto me.
"No fair!! I'm staying too!" Yukki pouts.
"No." Rin grabs onto her shoulder and starts dragging her away towards Tohdsen who's leading everyone back to the platform.
Maxwell gives me a last nod before following them out.
The double stone doors shut, leaving only me and this tall lady with her comically giant oversized witch hat.
"Rise, please." She says as she slowly approaches me.
I push my chair back and stand up.
"You.." She circles around, looking at me up and down. "There's something.. distinct about you, Mr. Alek."
"Just Alek is fine." Seriously, that just sounded weird.
She stops and looks at me, then onto Astal. "Beautiful necklace you have yourself there." She gets closer. "A gift, perhaps?"
"I guess so." I don't think stealing a magical talking book from a giant library could be considered a gift.
"Hmm.." She reaches her hand out and grabs it, resting it on her palm. "I sense... an unimaginable amount of mana, curious..." She looks at the blue jewel shining back at her. "Who gave you such irreplaceable gift, if I may ask?"
"My grandma." It was the best thing I could come up with on such short notice.
"She must have been quite the mage." She brushes her long bang from her left eye behind her ear, revealing a weird purple mark in her iris instead of a pupil. "I have never seen an artifact with so much.. mana imbedded in it. I've read grimoires with less mana than this simple trinket.." She continues eyeing Astal like some nerd looking at a hentai figurine.
"No disrespect but can we get things moving here?" I feel like Astal is gonna freak out if I keep letting this weird woman rub on her blue jewel in the suggestive way she is currently rubbing.
"M-my apologies. Ahem I tend to get fixated on peculiar magical anomalies I haven't seen." She lets go and straightens up. "Now, onto the reason I had you stay behind." She goes into a serious tone. "Have you ever heard of... the Philosopher's stone?" She looks at me, waiting for my response.
"Nah."
"As I thought." She starts to pace around as if in deep thought. "Not many know of its existence, and those that do merely believe it to be a legend." She stops. "It is a stone that grants knowledge and immortality, and is one of the few artifacts that has existed since before the four Kingdoms were established."
"Cool, so uhh where is it?"
She stands there in brief silence, before speaking. "Its whereabouts have been unknown for centuries." She shakes her head. "However..." She looks over at me. "Please, follow me." She walks over to the large bookshelf, then pulls on a book. "It's best I explain on the way."
*WoOoOom*
The bookshelf splits in two, then opens like a gate, revealing a staircase.
Honestly, I was waiting for something like this to happen.
Can't have a bookshelf without some secret chamber in it.
"This way." She starts to walk down the staircase, expecting me to follow behind her.
"I don't like this woman, Master!"
"Oh relax, she only groped you for less than a minute."
"Hah? No! I just don't like the way she looks at him!"
"I do have to agree with you there, it is as if she wants to use Alek as a lab rat for her magical experiments. Shall we dispose of her and take her Arcane Rune, Allllek~~?"
"Hm! Hm!" Astal hums in agreement.
"You two are gonna have to pipe down for a wh-.. did you just say Arcane?"
"Coming?" Mandalyn calls out to me.
"We'll talk later, now go back to sleep. Both of you."
"Aww.. but I miss you~!"
"Hm! Hm!" Astal hums in agreement, again.
"You're both with me twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. You're practically a part of me for pete's sake. Now shoo." I walk towards the bookshelf.
"But-"
"Don't make me get the belt."
"My, oh my."
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
*RUFFLE* *RUFFLE*
"Your hair is very smooth and well maintained FuFu~" She says as she stands next to me, ruffling my hair. "How do you maintain it so well?"
"I honestly couldn't even tell you." I guess not eating chemical infused cow loin burgers since coming to this world had something to do with it. I haven't had oily skin for the past fifteen years.
We stepped onto yet another slippery platform as soon as we reached the bottom of the short stairwell, and we've been descending for a couple minutes.
And she's been rather touchy during that time.
The platform stops moving, and another set of stone doors open in front of us after the blue lanterns next to the doors lit up in blue flames.
It's a long bricked corridor, almost resembling a prison.
"Now then, this way." She steps off the platform and begins walking ahead.
I cautiously step off the platform making sure not to fall and break my tailbone, then follow behind her.
"You see, the power of the Philosopher's stone has been claimed by a human claiming to be the original owner of three runes." She says, back to her serious tone. "He is quite the loose cannon when it comes to communicating. I sometimes have trouble understanding some of the things he says, as I believe the long exposure to the Stone's power has withered his common sense and brought his mentality to insanity."
"Uh huh." This corridor is pretty long.
"And, despite the drastic measures to gain any knowledge from him, I have reached dead end after the other. Due to the... Ahem.. extremely unstable state of his mind, there is no telling how factual the things he decides to reveal are. He was very insistent that only one soul can bind onto the Stone at any given time." She stops moving and looks back at me. "He also tends to talk to himself a lot, claiming the little 'Voices' in his head dictate what he can and can't say, or what he can and can't do. And as such, getting anything out of him has proven to be quite the hassle."
"Sounds like a real schizo to me."
"Hm." She looks at me briefly in silence, then speaks. "I have said before, there is something about you that I can't quite get a grasp on... And it is that feeling that leads be to believe that perhaps... you may be able to have a.. 'Proper' conversation with him, hm?"
"I'm not really sure. I'm kinda just here because I've been getting told where to go, what do to, and what to handle. If you want me to talk to a demented lunatic, then I'll do it. Doesn't mean I'll enjoy it, or if I'll even put in the proper effort. What I do know is I do things for the hell of it, that's about it."
"Hm, I have a feeling my instinct on placing my confidence in you might just be what this Kingdom needed, Mr. Alek." She winks.
"We've been over this, drop the Mr. part. What ever happened to forgetting about formality?"
"You are quite correct." She nods. "Well, right this way, please." We resume walking.
I look ahead and can see the thick wooden door at the end of the corridor.
"We have arrived, I do apologize for the long walk." She says as she reaches for the handle, then twisting it.
The door creaks as it is slowly opened before we step inside.
"Miss me, stone bearer?" Mandalyn says, stepping in front of me and looking at the man behind the irons bars with a glowing symbol in the middle of the cell door.
"Hmm." He grunts as he slowly rises his head to look at us.
He has long blonde hair with a beard, vintage brown fabric clothes, scars all over his arms, a long scar over his right eye, and blank irises.
He's sitting on a wooden chair, his arms restrained behind him.
And he is grinning at us.
"Hah..HaHaHa.." He laughs, barely audible. "They were right yet again; you really did bring them." He looks at me.
"Oh? Did your invisible friends give away my little surprise guest to you?" Mandalyn intertwines her fingers. "Or was it just a result of your.. 'Foresight'? And who is.. 'They', hm?"
"HaHaH.. Foresight? HaHa.. Oh nonono, just a.. guess." He grins. "The voices.. HaHaHa..the voices..."
"And which is it then, hm?" Mandalyn waits for his response.
"The boy.." He mutters out. "Leave me with the boy." His grin disappears.
"I see." She looks at me. "I better do as he requests, or he will surely start screaming for forty-five minutes again.." Mandalyn sighs. "Rest assured, the seal will prevent him from pulling anything unsavory." She turns away. "I will await your return on the platform." She shoots me a final gaze, urging me to get anything I can out of him, the disappearing from the room, closing the door shut behind her.
"Well, if it isn't.. The Lord of Shadows, The one that walks in Death, The Deathbearer.. The Devil.. and of course.. Lucifer.. Hah..HaHaHaHaHaHaHa..!" He laughs maniacally.
*FwOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo...*
The torches in the room flicker repeatedly, before going out.
"It is good to see you again, Felthoven." The room re-illuminates in a red hue as the torches light up in blood-red flames, revealing Lucifer now standing in front of me, a long chain around her neck connected to my right hand. "You seem well."
"Wait, I thought you were the Devil?" Why did he say all those titles then include Lucifer like she was some extra separate person anyway?
"Hm~?" Lucifer turns to face me. "No, silly! You're the Devil, I'm just Lucifer now~!" She smiles at me, her fangs peeking out.
"Huh."
"HaHaH.. How long has it been, Lucifer? Three thousand years?" He looks over at me, then back to her.
"Oh come now, don't ask me. I've lost count hundreds of years ago." She walks over and stands next to me, leaning on me slightly.
She's tall as hell.
"..Hah..Ha.. Your plan of overthrowing the Empyreans has come to the sudden failure I warned you about hundreds of years ago. And where did that bring you? HaHaH..HaHa.. go on, tell me." He grins.
"Oh, I've managed fine so far without your twisted little mind, Felthoven. I'll go as far as to say my new partner here has proved to be quite the entertainer compared to your haywired potato mush of a brain~" She extends her arm around me.
"Hmhmhmhmhm.." He giggles to himself. "You will realize how short lived your confidence has been when it reaches its climax. And.. HaHaHaH.. your failures will once again bring you back to me. Your fate is inevitable, and it isn't the one you are hoping for. The voices.. HaHaHaH.."
"And~? What is this 'Fate' that you speak of, my derailed old friend?" She smirks.
"Hmm? No..nonononono.. she doesn't know.. Ah? Yes.. indeed..Yes..No, No.. Stop.. Stop.." He shakes his head over and over. "Stop.. don't.. don't bring those memories back to me.. HaHaHaH.." He starts to laugh to himself.
"Hm..." Lucifer just stares at him, smirking in amusement.
"This reunion is just breathtaking, really." I approach the bars. "But can you hurry up and tell me about the Infestation and how to stop it? I got hella student council work to get back to."
"Hah.." He looks over at me. "Hmhmhmhmhm.. so it's already begun.. Yes, it has begun..Hmhmhm.." He giggles to himself. "It matters not, boy." He drops his gaze to the floor. "Life is but a cosmic accident. Our kind.. humankind was never meant to walk the mortal plain. Our kind was never meant to continue our lifespans. HaHaH.. Our kind was never meant to live in a world that has no use for us. HaH..HAHAHAHA..!" He laughs manically again, before resuming. "You.. merely a human that bears the mark.. the one that is cursed to walk in death and bring discord and chaos...who lives in a world with no meaning, trying to find meaning.. Don't you see, boy? What does it matter if an Infestation engulfs the central continent and consumes everything humans have brought to this world? HaHaHa.. Your existence has no meaning, your existence isn't needed for reality to function.." He looks back up at me. "What drives you? Why do you do the things the other meaningless humans instruct you to do? Why do you do the things you do, boy? Haha.. you're Hollow." He grins widely at me. "Here you are, on yet another pointless quest, trying to find something to fill your void, something to give you purpose. HaHaHaHa.. That is the most foolish thing you can ever force yourself to do. You are the epitome of selfish. You really do live up to your title, boy. You are just as evil as the most evil being standing right next to you. You will continue finding ways to fill in the void that will continue demanding more until the end of time, when the skies turn red, when there will be nothing more to cram purpose onto your void, HaHa.. and then you will finally realize nothing had meaning, nothing ever had meaning, not since before the Rune of Time established a canvas for the birth of all of creation.. It will all be over soon."
Lucifer turns to look at me, smiling.
"Dude, what the heck. Not cool."
"Take everything he just told you with a grain of sand, he has been off his rocker for as long as I can remember, okay~?" She smiles deviously at me.
"That.. would have been my instinct, yeah."
"Now then, Felthoven, are you going to give what my dear host here has asked for? Or are you going to continue having tea parties with the little voices in your head?"
"Please...I beg you, Lucifer.. grant me death." He starts to shake. "Free me.. don't let the voices do what they threaten to do to me.."
"And why would I do something so boring, Felthoven? You are just yet another source of my amusement in this 'Meaningless' world." Lucifer approaches the bars, looking down at him as he places his hands on his head in anguish. "Mmh~ Your desolation and agony taste delectable~~" The torches start to flicker, and the room starts to shake slightly, before she turns to look at me with a sadistic smile. "We need him alive, okay~?"
"Yeah whatever. Soo are you gonna tell me what I need to know orrr.."
"Hah..Ha.." He rises his head and looks at me. "It won't matter, no matter what you do, your life will never be without its peril and dismay, boy. You have already attracted the unending attention of two factions that will continue to come after you. It will never stop. You are doomed to live your life in constant imminent crisis."
"Wait, what factions? Am I that famous?" I'm touched.
"HaHa.." He shakes his head. "Have you never stopped and asked yourself why you constantly had the attention of those that tried stealing the Rune of Death from your grasp?"
"No not really. I kind of just thought they were crazy people looking for something to do with their free time. And honestly, I'd turn to the life of theft too if I had to live my life as some hobo in a cult."
"Yes.. that is exactly what they are..HaHaH.. The Cult of Satan." He grins.
"You have followers?" I look over to Lucifer.
"Oh, not in the way you may think~" She smiles.
"And? What do they want with me anyway?"
"Merely just a group of demented mortals in pursuit of the Rune of Death, and its power. They wish to bring about a third Calamity upon the central continent to invoke the wrath of God in order to wipe out every being from the face of the world. They believe their twisted souls will reach a different reality upon their demise. A reality they believe is better than their current one." He says, looking up at me.
"Well, how nice of you to tell me. See? Isn't it nice to share?"
"Listen up, boy. I will tell you two lies, and one truth." He gazes onto me.
"Oh cool, I like riddles! Lay it on me...
He straightens up in his chair. "Eventually, you will lose yourself, and you will be a shell of what you once were." He grins at me. "You will lose someone that holds you dear..HaHaH.. And, you will lose someone you hold dear." His grin widens.
"This riddle sucks. Can you just tell me about 'The Order' or something?"
"Ahh.. yes, 'The Order'..HaHaH.." He looks down at the ground again.
Hell yeah, I've got him right where I want him.
"Well? I'm waiting, old man."
"Ghhh! No.. stop.. No more.. Ghh!" He places his hands on his head in agony again. "T-t-the...HaHaHaHaH.. the voices.. HaHaHaHaHaHaH...the voices the voices the voices.. HaHa.."
"Oh god damn it."
"Well, you tried~" Lucifer pats my shoulder.
"The Stone..." He mutters.
"Huh."
"B-bring me.. bring me the stone..." He looks back up at me. "The stone, boy.. HaHaH.. Bring me the stone.. and I will tell you what you need to know about..HaHa.. t-the Infestation.."
"Huh? The stone? What stone? You good?"
"Bring me the stone I shouldn't have brought onto this world. T-the voices.. they want the stone.. bring me the stone.."
"Sigh.. Any idea on where it's at?"
"The stone.. I hid it in the.." He rubs his hair over and over. "D-d-d-.."
"D-d-d?" What is this man on?
"Dungeon.. I hid it in the frozen dungeon of the Beryl Valley.." He returns his blank gaze onto me. "Bring me the stone.." He drops his head and looks down at the ground again.
"Are you really sending me out on a scavenger hunt?"
"..."
"Helloo?"
"..." He continues to look at the ground, motionless.
"Grand." I am once again ordered to do yet another quest.
"Well then, I believe it's time for me to return to where I belong." Lucifer says, smiling at me.
I don't think I've ever seen her with a straight face. Every time I look at her, she always has that same cunning smile on her face with her small fangs pointing out.
"Cool, happy travels." I turn away, ready to embark on yet another wild goose chase, before the chain on my right hand connected to Lucifer's neck stops me.
"Ah~ Ah~ Ahh~" She reaches then grabs onto my shoulder and turns me back around to face her. "Where do you think you're going without your favorite partner, hm~?" She leans to look into my eyes.
"I have a favorite partner?"
"Me~" She brings her right hand onto mine, then trails her finger up my arm and then onto my nose, before winking and poking it. "Boop~"
*FwoOo*
The red flame torches flicker, then go out, bringing the room to darkness, before re-lighting to their original orange color.
Lucifer is nowhere to be seen, till I notice my right hand glowing, showing the same trident-like mark, then going blank and fading.
"And what was that about 'Favorite Partner'? Hah?"
"Ah, Astal. We forgot we had you, FuFu~"
"W-we?"
"Where have you been? You totally just missed out on nihilistic values."
"Y-you told me to go to sleep! And what's this about having a 'Favorite Partner' Master? HAH!?"
"Oh~ Be a good little ghost book and go back to sleep now.."
"What was that HAG?!"
"My, oh my of my.."
"Silence. Both of you. Please." I make my way out of the room, shutting the door behind me then walking through the corridor.
I guess dungeon crawling had to happen at some point, and I guess this is it.
"Ah, welcome back." Mandalyn almost makes me jump in surprise as she bows and reminds me she's been waiting on the platform for the past ten minutes. "I felt a bit of a tremor a moment ago, are you quite alright?"
"Never been better." I cautiously step onto the platform.
"That is good to hear." She smiles. "And? I take it your little talk went well, hmm?"
"It was exhausting."
"Hmm? He is quite the nut to crack, yes? Haah.." She sighs as the platform lights up, then ascending.
"But I did manage to get at least.. something out of him.."
"Oh! This is quite the news, well done, Mr. Alek." She covers her mouth as she smiles. "Do tell me all about it over a cup of hot chocolate and honey buns in my chamber, hm?"
"I thought I told you not to call m-... did you say hot chocolate?" Alright, I'll overlook it just this one time.
But no more than that.
.
.
.
[__________________________]
A notice to students who graduated to Knight status
Please ensure your utmost guard when taking assignments outside the Kingdom walls, as it has come to my attention of the steadily increase in student fatality and missing rates due to lack of awareness, or lack of will to kill.
I understand taking the life of another living being, good or bad, is severely inhumane, and no one is safe from the trauma that comes with committing an execution. However, do keep in mind that every being outside the Kingdom walls will commit the same act with the same intent of taking your life without compassion, sympathy, or remorse.
No life is worth losing over a task that could be accomplished by a different faction, I strongly advice retreating at the first sign of imminent doom, if possible. If not, allow yourself to make peace with God in your final breaths and hope for divine mercy. The Kingdom of Luthran thanks you for your sacrifice.
No amount of prayer or hope will be sufficient to prevent any more calamities or the entropy that will eventually give rise to the world. We can only hope God gives us the mercy we as mortals do not deserve.
Continue serving the Kingdom of Luthran. Fight for the uncertain future we cling on to. Fight for all that is holy.
Fight for God's will.
- Phardwin Goldkin
[__________________________]