Longfoot Losers

Kyren and Lydel walked through the plaza, heading left.

"It's the second street on the left, then five houses down," Lydel said.

Kyren stayed a few steps ahead, turning down the street and counting the houses as they passed. The fifth house had a sign above the door: Mari's Inn—the same name as the poster Lydel had seen.

Lydel reached the door first and pushed it open. A woman, well into her seventies, stood behind the counter. Her long, curly gray hair framed a warm smile, and her dark brown skin glowed under the dim lantern light.

"Welcome to Mari's Inn. Looking for a room?" she asked.

"Yes, we'd love a room. You must be Mrs. Mary—your sister told me you'd be here," Lydel said.

As he spoke, Kyren stepped inside behind him. Mary's sharp eyes immediately landed on him.

"And who is this fine young man you've brought in, Lydel?" she asked with a knowing grin.

Lydel blinked. "Uh, that's my friend Kyren. Also—wait—how do you know my name? I only met your sister in the café."

Mary ignored him, still looking at Kyren. "Oh, you're a handsome one. I bet you'd love a room here. I'll even give you a discount," she said, winking.

Kyren gave a polite nod. "Thanks, but that won't be necessary. But seriously, how did you know his name?"

Mary smiled. "Everything my sister learns, I learn. And vice versa. It's our power."

Lydel muttered something under his breath before setting four gold pieces on the counter. "For both of us," he said.

They took their keys and headed upstairs. Kyren dropped his bag in his room before checking in mentally. "Liora, you still in the bag?"

"Nope! I'm sitting on Lydel's head while he unpacks," Liora said, amused. "Did you know his bag is bigger on the inside?"

Kyren smirked. "Yeah, I gave it to him."

Liora flushed. "Oh. I guess that makes sense."

"Listen, Liora, when we leave, you need to stay in the room, alright?" Kyren thought.

"Only if you take me to the plains when you get back," she bargained.

Kyren sighed. "Fine."

Kyren knocked on Lydel's door. "It's almost dark. Time to go."

Lydel opened the door, already ready. "Let's see what kind of wacky shit happens in this town."

As they made their way back to the plaza, a strange sight greeted them—at least 200 people were gathered in the grass about twenty feet from the church doors. The crowd was an uneven mix of finely dressed townsfolk and robed figures, but the robed figures far outnumbered the rest.

Kyren and Lydel exchanged wary glances before sitting down among the crowd.

The church doors swung open. A man in gold robes stepped out, a spiral symbol glowing over his mana pool. Another man, dressed in silver, followed closely behind him.

The golden-robed man—Gio—spoke first.

"Today has been a good day," he declared. "Our village thrives! The stem routes to the outskirts are running smoothly. Our mines in the outskirts are producing at record numbers. And, of course, our farmlands in the outskirts are yielding fresh bread—more than enough for all of us."

The crowd erupted in cheers.

Kyren's jaw tightened. So, they just treat the outskirts like a resource to be exploited?

Gio raised a hand for silence. "Those weaklings in the outskirts rejected our help—so why should we care? Here, we have grown stronger. And all we do is in the name of the All-Father. Even the StarMaker, before he left, praised what we built!"

The cheers grew louder.

Then, without warning, Gio stepped down into the crowd, grabbed a man by the head, and dragged him toward the church doors.

The entire crowd fell eerily silent.

Gio's voice carried over the hushed plaza. "The weak must be willing to sacrifice to become strong. And you, all of you, have dedicated your wills to me."

He pressed his palm against the man's mana pool. A golden spiral of mana twisted from his hand, sinking into the man's body. The man convulsed for a moment—but then, instead of mutating like the others Kyren had seen before, he stood up, unscathed.

Gasps spread through the crowd. Gio smiled. "We have just witnessed the first of many converts! Soon, the entire village will be like him!"

With that, he turned sharply and disappeared into the church, the silver-robed man following behind him.

Kyren and Lydel rose to their feet, keeping their voices low.

"This is gonna be way harder than in Sintara," Kyren muttered.

Lydel grinned. "I don't think so. We just have to play it differently."

Kyren raised an eyebrow. "How?"

"We make the posh guys think the church is after them—and make the church think the posh guys are coming for them. They'll tear each other apart."

Kyren smirked. "Then tomorrow, we start raiding the drug carriages."

Back at the inn, two identical older women stood at the counter.

"Hello, handsome young men," they greeted in eerie unison.

Both Kyren and Lydel immediately flushed.

"T-Thank you," they mumbled before retreating upstairs.

The moment Lydel opened his door, Liora shot out, zipping straight toward Kyren.

"Can we go now? Please?" she begged.

Kyren crossed his arms. "What's so important out there?"

"You'll see! But it's important. I swear I'm not tricking you!"

Kyren sighed. "Alright."

He followed her outside, stepping into the tall plains grass at the town's edge.

"Check your system notifications," Liora urged.

Kyren frowned but pulled up the interface.

Secret Mission: Mythical Mounts

Rewards: ?????

Would you like to accept this mission?

[YES] [NO]

He accepted. Immediately, his wayfinder compass appeared more prominently in his vision, pointing deep into the plains.

Cutting through the grass, Kyren soon stumbled upon a battle—a Stormcrest Eland was fighting off three black panthers near a river. The eland sparked with electricity, stunning one of the panthers with its antlers, but the others lunged, tearing into it.

Kyren moved instantly.

With soundless steps, he sliced through one panther, then cleaved another clean in half.

The wounded eland collapsed, breathing heavily. Kyren approached cautiously, kneeling beside it.

"You did good," he murmured, rubbing its head.

A system prompt appeared:

Wayfinder's Kin:

Would you like to bond with the Stormcrest Eland?

[YES] [NO]

Kyren accepted. Mana swirled around the eland, forming sleek armor along its sides and a leather saddle on its back.

Liora gasped. "Kyren, you just got a mythical mount!"