Grumalla

The next day, Kyra Rodotis and the other knights under Arsen who went to their families returned. They joined the others in their morning routine of training and helping around the manor.

Aeneas continued his training with Donos and Tiriara at his training spot in the woods south of the Caspius manor. As days passed and the time for his next tournament drew closer, the boy became more anxious. He would swing his sword even after Donos tells him to rest.

When the twenty-fifth of the month arrived, Aeneas had to visit Pergis to register for the tournament on the thirtieth. He planned to go with Eluard like the last time. But, Arsen commanded Donos to go with them since the case of maddened beasts around their area kept growing for the past few days.

The three of them were already mounted when Tiriara popped up outside the gate of their manor. Konon was with her. They greeted the people in the manor with the Panteran bow.

"Where are you going?" Tiriara asked.

"The town of Pergis," Aeneas answered.

Tiriara imagined the town in her head before asking, "Why?" Aeneas briefly explained why he needed to visit Pergis. He also said that Donos and Eluard were there to accompany him since his brother wouldn't allow it if he went alone.

Tiriara nodded, she glanced at Konon then turned to Donos, "Can I come with you, Uncle Donos?"

Before Donos could say anything, Aeneas replied with a grin and said, "No, you can't."

"I'm not asking you, stupid."

Konon apologized to Donos for how Tiriara called him. To which the knight replied with a laugh and said that it was his honor to be called uncle by the young lady Chronis.

Tiriara begged. She wouldn't move out of the way. Konon tried to coax her but she wouldn't budge.

"We do not have a steed, young lady," the knight said.

"Then, we could borrow one from lord Arsen."

Aeneas told them that his older brother and some of the knights had just departed. Arsen received a letter from the town of Oraza asking for aid against a silverback that had gone mad on the road towards their town. It was attacking and destroying anything that it saw.

"What's a silverback?" Tiriara asked.

The boy made another comment of how Tiriara needs to return to school, before saying that it is an adult grumalla that has a patch of silver fur on its back, hence the name.

"Oh…" Tiriara muttered.

At the same time, Donos asked one of the knights that remained in the manor for a steed. Konon thanked Donos for his understanding and said that one harion would be enough.

When Konon received the steed, he gestured to assist Tiriara in mounting it before he did. The girl turned to Aeneas and scuttled towards him.

"What are you doing?" Aeneas asked.

Tiriara told him that she wanted to ride with him. She said that his steed, Orion, looked way more elegant than the others and that she wanted to ask him more questions about the grumalla his brother went to fight.

Aeneas sighed, "Do whatever you want," he said. When he saw the girl with a grin on her face failed to jump to the saddle the first time, Aeneas offered his help.

"Thanks, Aenie!" Tiriara said as she sat behind Aeneas.

Donos moved at the front, "Let's go," he said.

The journey from the Caspius manor to the town of Pergis is around thirty minutes with the harion running at its natural speed. So far, nothing has hindered the group towards their destination as they traveled via the brick road towards Pergis as they always did. The road wasn't busy at the time.

On their journey, Tiriara and Aeneas were talking to each other. The girl has been asking him questions about the silverback.

Grumalla's are quite similar to gorillas but bigger and more menacing. They are thrice the size of an average adult human. Both males and females were buff with thick muscles. The thick hair around their body is black, but a huge patch on their back is of a different color. They also have curved horns on their head. The amount of which could vary between two to four per grumalla. Unlike other creatures, they were observed to have better intelligence. They live in groups that are composed of several families led by the most powerful among them.

Common grumallas have a patch of silver hair at their backs, while there are rare ones that have a golden patch. Known as goldenback, these grumallas were the ones leading their group and were known to possess great power of destruction.

Sometimes, travelers would report traces of large destructions in a forest where these creatures settled for territory. Areas of uprooted trees, destroyed rocks and small hills, and uneven ground with craters of varying depths. It was documented that it was caused by wars between groups of these grumallas.

Amazed, Tiriara's eyes sparkled, "Woah… Now, I want to see one!" she said. Her loud voice startled Aeneas and felt a bit annoyed.

"Wait," Aeneas said.

"What?"

With a grin, "Aren't you one?" The boy said.

Tiriara pulled Aeneas's ears from behind. It made him groan in pain telling the girl to stop and that he was sorry. "Stop already, we might bump into the others," he said. The girl told him to tell more 'amazing' stories for her to let his ear go. Aeneas answered with the excessive nodding of his head.

In the distance, the vibrant town of Pergis materialized. When they reached the town, they went to the western stables where the old man greeted them.

"I see that young lord Aeneas has visited the town again," the old man Thalis said before greeting them with the Panteran bow. He noticed a girl riding behind Aeneas.

"Aren't you too young to have a fiancé, young lord?" the old man said while playing with his beard.

"S-she's not my fiancé. She's a grumalla," Aeneas said.

Tiriara hit the boy in the head. She said that she'd never be his fiancé and was only his friend.

The old man replied with a slow laugh as his men approached them and took the reins of their steeds.

Aeneas and the others returned the gesture of bowing when they unmounted.

"Take care of them as always," Donos said to the workers of the old man. They nodded at him with a smile.

Then, the renowned knight, Donos, introduced the other knight beside him. The old man bowed and was ecstatic to meet another knight who had the rank of commander. Konon said to the old man that it was an honor to meet him. When asked why he was with them, he said that his young lady wanted to come so he also had to.

Thalis stared at Tiriara.

"Ah, she's the daughter of Chiliarch Chronis," Konon said.

Old man Thalis played with his beard. The name was familiar but somehow it slipped his mind and now he tries to remember. After a few seconds, "T-the guardian of Arsida? Lord Nireus Chronis?" he said, his voice much louder than normal.

Konon nodded, "Yes, him," he said.

Thalis bowed, this time much lower. Tiriara felt embarrassed and told the old man that he didn't have to bow in such a way. She said that her father being the guardian of Arsida doesn't make her have the same authority as him.

"Oh, look at this grumalla acting humble," Aeneas whispered to her. He exaggeratedly mimicked her words and also whispered that she was flaunting around that she was a Chronis when she wanted to have a duel with him the first day they met.

Tiriara caught Aeneas in a chokehold, "I said stop calling me that," she said, tightening her grip on his neck. It didn't take long for Aeneas to start tapping her arms and trying to apologize.

The adults find their bickering hilarious. Laughter came from them. Even Eluard was laughing and was happy to see how Aeneas acted around Tiriara. He wasn't just the always serious kid who felt the need to prove his worth on his own accord, but a boy joking around with someone his age.

After a few more exchanges of words with the old man, the group headed for the Coliseum where Aeneas aims to register for the next tournament. Tiriara and Aeneas were talking about random stuff. Imagining things that adults would say could never happen. Topics like: what would happen if the sun disappears, will the Zeal-bearers of the proud Lion lose their power? Aeneas wouldn't have imagined or thought about such topics which most adults view as childish talks if he hadn't met the girl.

On the way, they passed by a group of people on the sidewalk. It was the same group with big wooden boards that had the words: "Stop the use of Magic! Magic leads to the Age of Insanity!", written on them. This time, Aeneas noticed a boy around his age standing in the middle. He has dark brown hair and a mask that covers the right half of his face. The mask was black and had no design.

Like many of the passersby, Aeneas and his group paid no mind to those people. It was only he and Tiriara who kept glancing back at them until they couldn't see them any longer.