Chapter 1: Chapter 1

The market street in the heart of the city was as busy as could be expected by the time the two newcomers found their way onto it. Not as busy as Market Day, of course, which was still two days away. But Milagre was a bustling city at all hours of the day, and even outside of that day unofficially reserved for the bulk of trading, the city still saw thousands of gold coins trade hands in the market, whether in the more permanent shops with their worn but maintained buildings, or by the flashy displays outside the temporary stalls that were rented out by traveling or minor merchants.

It was one of Milagre’s greatest alluring features, even if it paled in comparison to the markets of Sheran. This was the thought that crossed the minds of the two new arrivals. Both were young women of elven descent. But this was where the similarities between the two came to a sharp halt. One was tall and graceful in her movements, like a stalking beast prowling between the trees. She had a long bow strung over one shoulder and a jade-green dragon hatchling perched on the other. She watched her surroundings with sharp, intelligent eyes, carefully taking note of what was before her as if checking for threats.

Where the first woman seemed guarded and suspicious of the racket of Market Street, the second was staring around at the colorful stalls in awe. Her mouth was slightly open in amazement, and she took no efforts to disguise her glee at finally visiting the capital city of Tyrman. It was wonderful! There were so many different kinds of people here compared to the exclusive druidic commune where she’d been raised. Clutching the thick wooden staff she carried with her, she gave a little hop on her toes, barely able to contain her excitement.

“Stay focused, Falynn,” the first woman said, her voice curt. “We’re not to be distracted. After we pay our respects, it’s off to the Adventurer’s Guild. We don’t have time for distractions.”

Falynn, the eager girl, frowned at that, her small mouth forming a pout. She didn’t know why she’d agreed to take Roni on as a guard. Well, she reminded herself, it hadn’t exactly been her decision. It was the condition her parents had placed on giving her permission to venture out of the forest. Just give her time, she thought, and she’d get the wild huntress to lighten up.

“Surely we could just stop somewhere for food,” she said, her voice taking on a pleading note. “We’ve been on the road so long! I’m sure Gadderoth is hungry too.”

That caught Roni’s attention, as she knew it would. Roni might not care about other people or creatures’ feelings, but she cared for the hatchling that she’d adopted as a companion. In time, Gadderoth would be a fierce beast who hunted alongside her. But for now, he was practically a baby and so depended on her for survival. Then again, he’d just eaten a few hours ago. It would be time soon enough, but for now, they could push on.

“No,” she said, her voice firmer than before. She would not be fooled by Falynn’s attempts to distract her from their goal. “We can eat after we’ve spoken with the Guildmaster.”

Falynn pouted again but raised no further complaints on the topic. It was, after all, their purpose for visiting the city. Their official purpose, at least. Falynn swore that she’d see more of Milagre before they left it. Roni, seeing her capitulate, nodded approvingly. She didn’t enjoy being saddled by someone as green as this girl, but she knew that she needed money to survive in civilization. Since she couldn’t exactly travel to the forest and back each time she was hungry, she’d agreed to act as a guard and traveling companion.

The Shaso family of the Dagorra Forest was an important and influential one. Even Roni, who’d lived on the outskirts of the dense woods, away from both civilization and druids, knew of the Shasos. They were among Longfang’s closest and most ardent supporters. Falynn’s mother was even a Grand Druidess, one of seven decision-making figures in the forest, who interpreted Grimr’s will and passed it along to the rest of the forest’s inhabitants. They were not a family that a smart person would willingly cross.

“Let’s go then,” she said.

Falynn, for her part, was heartily tired of living in a druidic colony. She knew that it was important to love and serve the God of Nature, but she also knew that she should have experiences outside of the forest if she was going to be of any use to Grimr. She could woodshape, the art of twisting living wood to a shape she desired, better than almost anyone else in the commune. But she couldn’t work other forms of nature magic as well. For that, she needed practice.

That was one of the advantages, for both of them, of joining the Adventurer’s Guild. Falynn could get experience by traveling, getting to see more of the world and learning new things. Then, when she’d learned enough, she’d return home and follow in her mother’s footsteps to become a devoted servant of Longfang. Roni needed to train Gadderoth, and really, life experience could help anyone. Even though, compared to the druid girl, the elven ranger was already practically bursting with life experience.

“Do you think it will be hard being an adventurer?” She asked. Roni only grunted in reply, which she’d expected. She babbled on, not caring that the other girl clearly wasn’t in the mood to chat. “I think it’ll be pretty hard. You hear stories all the time, don’t you? All the scary stuff that adventurers have to do?”

 

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It was nearly an hour later that they found their way to the Issho-Ni Training Grounds in the Northern Residential District. It was the largest private compound in the city and, as such, had space to lend to other organizations, such as the Adventurer’s Guild. The administrative center of the Guild was an impressive, three-story building located at the very back of the compound, which meant that they had to cross the entire property, watching the many training soldiers, apprentices, and Masters of Issho-Ni around them.

Passing through the checkpoint in the center of the city had been a tricky affair. Being new to the city, they hadn’t known that documents of their business where required. It didn’t help that Roni was surly and attempted to pass through without even giving the guards an ounce of their attention. Thankfully, Falynn’s natural cheery charm had saved them, and she’d talked the guards down. She was a sweet-tempered and happy girl and had never failed to sway people to her point of view.

Now they entered the administrative building and saw a large room that served as some kind of combined reception and waiting area. A large mahogany desk at the back seated one middle-aged human woman, busy sorting through a stack of papers. There were three figures sitting in the waiting area and even more people in official clothing crossing the large open space, flitting between some task or the other.

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“Welcome to the Adventurer’s Guild,” the woman said, her voice pleasant and measured as if she read from a script. “How can we assist you today?”

Roni slapped a sheaf of papers down onto the desk with sufficient force to make the woman jump. She spoke in a dry, direct tone of voice. “We’re here to meet with Aren Rainhall about entering the Guild.”

“Lord Rainhall,” the woman replied, putting extra emphasis on the man’s title, “is busy at the moment. May I have your names?”

Roni seemed hesitant to divulge the information, so Falynn took over, to excited to wait any longer. “She’s Roni, and I’m Falynn Shaso. I believe my father would have sent word ahead about our arrival. I thought we were already accepted as members?”

The woman’s face cleared of confusion at once, and she smiled warmly at Falynn. “Oh, of course! Welcome to Milagre, Priestess Shaso! I must admit, we expected you several hours ago. Your party has already been assembled and assigned.”

She gave a meaningful look to the left of Falynn. Craning her neck to look back, she could see that, of the three people seated in the waiting area, two of them sat close enough together to be of the same group. The third, an older man in fine robes and holding a walking stick, was reading a thick book and didn’t seem related. Falynn returned her attention to the other two. Roni, who’d already pieced together the information before she could, was striding over to the two strangers.

One of them, a man who looked like he was in his late thirties, was obviously a human. He was dressed well, though his clothes were plain. A simple brown tunic and breeches tucked into a sturdy pair of leather boots. He had a heavy shield leaning against his chair, and there was a longsword buckled to his belt. He might have looked relaxed, but he was clearly an experienced warrior. His hair, cut short to obviously fit into a helmet, was black in color, though there were flecks of gray visible.

Falyn couldn’t tell if the other one was a man or a woman, but they didn’t look much older than she was. They were clad in heavy metal armor from the neck down, and though they looked like they were trying to sit at ease, she couldn’t miss the way the hands in their gauntlets were tapping insistently on the handle of a long spiked wooden club. She’d never seen a weapon that looked like that. It looked clumsy, yet somehow graceful and exotic. The owner of the weapon was less mysterious apart from their androgynous appearance. They were obviously from Nihon-Ja.

“You’re from Attos,” Roni said. Her attention was still focused on the dark-haired man, who looked up as the girls approached. “Aren’t you?”

It was only then that Falynn noticed what Roni had spotted. A patch on the man’s shoulder, bearing a farming tool clasped in a fist. It was the symbol of Attos, of course. She drew in a quick breath. “You’re an Attosian soldier?”

The man took his time in replying, appearing to mull over his words. Either that, or he was controlling his temper. Everyone knew that the Attosians had nasty, aggressive tendencies. “I was a soldier. I am no longer.”

“Why do you still wear the identifying mark of your former lord?” This came from the figure in heavy armor. Was that a feminine voice? Possibly, Falynn thought. She wasn’t sure, though, because the tone was stiff and brusque, like a man’s. “Surely your life would be easier in Milagre if you didn’t wear the coat of arms of their only enemy.”

Their only enemy, Falynn thought. So she wasn’t from Tyrman either. Two foreigners. “Well, it’s nice to meet you two. According to that lady over there, you’re going to be in our party?”

This garnered no response. Refusing to be swayed, she pushed on with a greeting. “My name is Falynn Shaso. I’m a druidess of Grimr Longfang. This is Roni, a ranger who serves the Goddess Minerva.”

“A Maiden of Minerva?” The man looked quizzically at Roni. There were thousands of Grimr’s followers in the world, even in Attos. It was rare to see a follower of the oldest of gods. “I am Leonov Barric. I was once a sergeant in the Attosian Army but now am a free man. I do not serve a deity at the moment.”

The three of them looked at the mysterious figure in heavy armor. She seemed the least willing to reveal information about herself, they thought. But, after a few seconds, she finally said, “Taiki Sato. Apprentice in Issho-Ni.”

The information registered no shock in Roni or Falynn’s eyes. Only Leonov reacted. As a fighting man, he held great respect for the followers of Shigeru Tokugawa. Perhaps, he thought, there were some interesting times ahead of him. But before either of them could continue in the vein of getting to know each other, the older man across from them in the seating area rose to his feet, gripping his walking stick.

“Now you’ve been introduced,” he said, a broad and jovial grin spreading across his face. “Excellent! Please, allow myself to introduce myself. I am Lord Aren Rainhall, Guild Master.”