Chapter 11: Chapter 10: The Gates of Pav

At the Capital, the day was hot, and the atmosphere was blistering. Normally, many would dislike staying under this weather. However, to their displeasure, a large group of people were keeping formation, led by a duo of knights under the sweltering heat. 

"How long has knight-captain not left headquarters?" Ser Eva asks Ser Fae in a bored tone.

"It has been past a year I think, he's stayed there longer than us have been members" Fae the purple haired knight answers with a tired tone.

The two were at the city gates of the capital along with knights from other orders, waiting for the arrival of the envoys from the kingdom of Asphodel. They were all to meet the famed "gray caravan" and look for the capital's guild master, Lady Kamila, who met and was accompanying the envoys as their guide. Once the knights met with the group, the knights were to escort the diplomats to their lodgings in the royal district of the capital.

Though the royal family did their best to curb information from spreading to the commoners, news of "The hands of Asphodel's" arrival still found its way to past the walls of the noble district, sending shockwaves throughout the city. At first there was heavy opposition and fear, especially from many of those associated with the different temples and churches. There were very few denominations that looked fondly on the concept of the undead, funnily enough these rare denominations tended to be called cults and heretic associations by the majority of religious orders. Rumors, incited by zealous worshippers, of the capital being turned into an undead haven became rampant among every discussion, noble or commoner.

It took a united effort from the royal family and all the major noble houses to allow this delegation to be accepted without open violence. Interestingly, this latest news made the impact of stories of the "Butcher of Pav" seem bland. Consequently, causing more resources and labor to be devoted to the arrival of this delegation to ease any fears the masses may have.

Currently, the public sentiment has shifted from furious terror to curios fear. There was a large crowd formed near the knights, waiting for the arrival of the delegation.

"Huh, it isn't every day we get to this kind of occasion in the capital. I'd almost feel sorry for Rheya if we didn't have to stand here for almost a day. " Eva remarks while fixing her green hair so that she could better wipe away the sweat on her brow from standing under the heat of the sun.

"I agree with you on that, the dead are taking their time it seems. I wish I could go back and see the royal academy again too. " Fae agrees with her.

The duo was the best of friends during their time in the academy, their families came from the same region, and they had known each other since they were children. Though they were from the same year as Rheya, they seldom interacted due to there being around a thousand members of each batch of graduates. This was the case since the royal academy catered to not only those that aspired to become knights, but also many other occupations such as mages, sorcerers, administrators, and even the odd druid. The kingdom believed in training a diverse array of talents together in close proximity with each other to ideally lessen tensions once they graduate.

Due to the academy covering both general to specialized education, they had spent over a decade as academy students. Though they had heard of a model student named Rheya numerous times through random conversation and chatter, they never ended up taking the same classes together. The only vivid memory they have of seeing her aside from graduation was when she was talking with her partner under the shade of a large Oaktree on campus. From what they heard, her partner had just lost a family member and she was doing her best to console him.

Though both Eva and Fae hadn't seen her partner ever since graduation and avoided the topic out of respect, they saw that Rheya would sometimes have these worried looks when they talked about their time in the academy. Putting two and two, they eventually steered away from talking about the academy when she was with them.

"By the way going back to the original topic, have you heard anything about why Knight-Captain Garrick never leaves our compound?" Eva, done reminiscing, asks about their first conversation about the leader of their knight order.

"No, I haven't. My best guess is that it's involved with whoever the "them" he keeps telling us to be prepared for is." Fae replies, she had been asked and thought about this many times before.

No one knew why the lord of house Asa had suddenly become so paranoid about leaving their compound. He had been asked and invited out repeatedly from various sources but vehemently refused almost all invitations, the only times he was coaxed outside would be if he had received an invitation from the royal family directly.

"Ohh, well I was digging around really hard recently, and I heard an interesting rumor about the knight order, apparently something interesting had happened a little over a decade ago." Eva mentions, her tone obviously trying to get Fae's attention.

"And... what of it?" Fae asks while pretending to look disinterested.

"I heard that five years ago, the magic knights were supposed to reinforce the "Knight of Cherry Blossoms" at the defense of snake tooth path..." Eva starts to talk about the rumor she had heard.

"Snake tooth path and the late lord Layl? Wait, you can't be serious you don't mean..." Fae interrupts her when she recognizes the two well-known details in Eva's opening statement.

"Mhm, that's right. They were assigned to reinforce the late count and his troops, unfortunately for whatever reason, they did not arrive, and it was the countess herself who reinforced her husband days later." Eva agrees and adds to her story.

"If what you say is true... then." Fae pieces things together and begins to utter the beginning of her realization.

"Shhhh, again it's just a rumor. Even if it's true what are we going to do? Looking at the circumstances, I have no sympathy for the captain; and in the scenario that I did, I am not in the mood to deal with the people most likely behind him holing up at headquarters. Though I'm not a daily customer, I still do enjoy going to my favorite bar in the dusk district." Eva hurriedly quiets and stops Fae from continuing her realization. They were already having a dangerous conversation; she did not want to make it even more so.

"Wait... I understand the knight captain staying at headquarters, but isn't he worried? His...."

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Ding...ding...ding

As Fae was about to say something, the sounds of calm bells pierced through the hustle and bustle of the Capital gate. This noise causes every living soul who hears it to momentarily pause and turn towards its source. They look at the road that leads to the gate and follow it along until it reaches a hill which blocks their view. After a few seconds, there comes the sounds of hooves as the scouts they had sent ahead of time had returned.

"Make way, make way! A delegation to the crown has arrived. Make way in the name of his highness the king!" Yells one of the scouts.

A few more seconds pass, and the delegation finally comes to view. A number of caravans and around a hundred cloaked escorts are walking steadily towards the city gates. Ahead of the line is another shrouded figure on horseback with a gold mask covering the upper portion of its face while exposing a skeletal thin elvish jawline. Beside him are four guards dressed similarly to the rest of the caravan with ornately carved masks that in some places expose grayish skin.

Following behind them is the only recognizable figure from the Capital, the adventurer guild branch's guildmaster, Lady Kamila. Interestingly enough, she was flanked closely by a hooded figure wearing dark gambeson and a black mask. Unlike the rest of the caravan, the figure's mask lacked ornate designs, patterns, or even the features of a humanoid face, it was smooth with minimally sized eyeholes.

Eventually the caravan arrived at the gates of the city, they were met by Eva and Fae who were assigned to welcome them. 

"Hail, honored envoys. We are members of the magic knight order, one of the orders under the service of the crown. We have come to accompany you to the royal district. I am Ser Fae, and this is Ser Eva, we will serve as your main escorts and representatives of the knight orders." Fae introduces themselves in a formal tone. 

"Greetings, Ser knight. My name is Astus of the Gray Merchants, I lead this delegation. I am grateful for the hospitality and open-mindedness you have extended to our kingdom. I would like to thank you for sending Lady Kamila ahead of time to meet and guide us. Her company was wonderful, and we also encountered many interesting things on our way here." Astus turns towards Lady Kamila and Keru. 

Ser Fae and Eva turned towards the duo. They had some interaction with the guildmaster before, however they were unfamiliar with who they assumed was her bodyguard since the figure did not dress in the same gold, white, silver color scheme as the undead in the caravan. 

Lady Kamila steps forward and nods towards the knights.

"Thank you for receiving us Ser Knights. We shall be in your care." Lady Kamila curtsies the knights.

The knights nod, but Eva senses something familiar from Lady Kamila's companion and her curiosity gets the best of her. Though it could be considered rude, she could invoke the importance of security to inquire about her interesting follower. 

"If I may, Lady Kamila, may I ask about the identity of your companion? Your strength and competence are recognized throughout the capital, in fact you are known for going on quests and journeys alone. That is why it is surprising to see you with a companion when it was reported you had left the capital alone. If you could indulge our humble curiosity, we would be very thankful." Eva asks politely, trying to be as inoffensive as possible.

"Ah, this one is Miru, a silver adventurer we came across while traveling. He was on his way here to at my request to help with the recent quest that was posted. Do not worry, I can vouch for his competence. " 

As Kamila explains the circumstances of Keru's presence, Keru reveals the necklace which held his silver-rank guild-tag hidden inside his gambeson. He then proceeds to bow and greet the knights.

"Greetings Ser Knights, I am a simple adventurer from Pav. As the Lady Kamila has eloquently said, I am here at her request to help with an assignment. Thank you for allowing my presence in this noble conversation." 

A polite and androgynous voice met the knights, it was hard to tell anything about the speaker just from listening to it. 

Ser Eva felt something was peculiar, perhaps even familiar about the adventurer. However, she felt that asking anymore would infringe too much upon noble decorum, thus she let her curiosity simmer for now and simply nodded.

"Now that that is answered, and everyone is acquainted. How about we lead our guests to their lodgings?" Asks Kamila, not wanting to stay longer and cause a commotion due to the masses' curiosity in the nature of their guests. 

Everyone nods, in agreement, and they begin traveling. 

The dark hooded figure for their part, still follows the group. However, Eva noted that he focused strictly on the road they traveled. Except for a moment where he looks in a certain direction, Eva follows his gaze and finds the tall towers of the royal academy.

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