After returning from the quest, the trio finds their quest giver—King David Silver—fighting against Dacien, who is the guild leader of Rael’s past enemies.
Chapter VII, Stranger: Written on December 21, 2021. 0 words from the Storyteller. 709 words from the story itself.
Chapter VII, City: Written on December 24, 2021. 5 words from the Storyteller. 831 words from the story itself.
Chapter VII, Crash: Written on December 27, 2021. 2 words from the Storyteller. 534 words from the story itself.
Chapter VII, Family: Written on January 3, 2022. 75 words from the Storyteller. 656 words from the story itself.
Total word count: 82 words from the Storytellers. 2730 words from the story itself.
Kai charged his magic, determined to stop Aurielle’s battle on his own. Jean reached out to his shoulder as she watched how the magic attacks clashed and exploded without a stop. “Uh, I don’t think this would—” Kai glared back at her over his shoulder, making her back away by that look. “Just get to the village and wait. What’s so hard about that?” Jean only replied with a sound of defeat. As Kai continued to charge his magic after the mild interruption, Rael stepped in from behind.
Before Jean could stop Rael, he struck Kai hard in the shoulder, stopping the charging process entirely. “What was that for?!” “You think you’re taking them down like that?!” As Kai and Rael raised their voices, Jean backed away from the two even further. Kai glanced at Jean and the rest of the soldiers, and sighed. “Okay, fine. Who’s going to stop those two then?! They’ve been going at it like there’s only two of them!” Instead of answering right away, Rael asked Jean if she’s doing okay and talked to her for a bit, before he turned back to Kai. “She said we could interrupt them from here, with someone’s magic.” He looked at Kai expectantly and Kai nodded.“Fine. Alright. I’ll do that.” He went back to charging his magic, until his magic energy concentrated on his arm. He waited for the magic to charge before blasting at the fight with a Plasma magic spell. “Fire!”
The attack went through the fighting opponents. It didn’t hit them, but it did catch their attention and made them fall and land on their magic platforms. Noticing the number of people on the bridge, Aurielle’s opponent hastened back towards the dock they came from. Before Aurielle followed him, one of the soldiers—Joseph—ordered her to head to the bridge, so he and some of the soldiers could go after the opponent themselves. Aurielle hovered back to the bridge, as she squeezed some seawater out from her clothes and hair.
“That Dacien guy….” She sighed as she tried to relax from the earlier tension. It took a few calm breathes for Aurielle to think about what just happened to her. With the mention of Dacien, Kai’s fists clenched as Rael could barely hear what he just mumbled. “Alright, here’s what happened. He approached me at the ancient letter room, rambled about what’s written and all, and he attacked me. Then he kept fighting… like that.” Kai’s fists relaxed a little, as he asked almost calmly. “That guy… Why would he keep fighting you for that long?” Aurielle pressed her temple as she thought all the things Dacien rambled to her, during their fight. “He sounded like he was rambling to himself the whole time, to be honest. It’s basically grudges towards me and others, from what I could tell. And while he was going on with that topic, he kept…” She glanced at the Castlian soldiers, who didn’t go after her opponent—Dacien. “If I heard it right, he kept going on about King David.” Just a mention of their king’s name alerted the soldiers, making Aurielle forget what she was about to say next for a moment. “Say, how was the investigation?”
“We only found the clues that lead to the dock, then we found and identified the same pirate ships that attacked the shore, along with their weapons. Aside from the shadow and other magic users hiding somewhere, we didn’t find anyone there.” Aurielle nodded as she heard one of the soldiers informed her, and they left the area to head back to their camp. Aurielle noticed how there were only Jean, Rael, and Kai here, so she gathered them around and asked the three for a favor. “Do you mind if I leave you two with Kai for a while? I’m visiting the king for a bit, and be back here tonight.” Kai’s eyes widened as he heard Aurielle’s request, and stepped away. “Huh?” “Just make sure they don’t injure themselves or get lost here. You three could hang out, train together, explore the village, or anything you want.” Kai gestured as if he was about to say something else, and he put his arm down, before turning to Rael and Jean. “Well?”
The readers voted for the option where Rael and Jean insist on going with Aurielle.
Once again, the story continues.
Inside the cavern where Rael and Jean tried to reach before the bridge was cut, there was a hidden hideout. Hifumi, being one of the people who hid in this dark hideout, peeked at the broken bridge outside. “You really stabbed him like that, huh?” Along with Hifumi, there’s only a shadowy figure beside him inside the hideout. “That’s only his second warning,” the shadow figure replied. “I thought you’d cut him into pieces or drown him, or something like that.” “My mission was to guard, not to kill.” “But what about the shadow clones? And the explosion I helped with?” “A warning.” “Oh.” As Hifumi talked with the shadow person, the shadow placed his hand on Hifumi’s head, ruffling his hair. He ducked his head, unsure if he wanted the shadow person to pat his head.
Hifumi couldn’t do anything right now, unless he counted hiding and following the shadow along. As he thought of someone, a figure flashed across the broken bridge to find Hifumi and the shadow person. The figure—Dacien hovered in front of the two, drenched. He crunched something in his mouth before he started speaking to Hifumi and the shadow. “I’m heading off, take care of yourselves. And Jarl, don’t let the kid get killed.” “Roger.” The shadow figure—Jarl nodded, still in his shadowy form. And Dacien left.
Hifumi didn’t even get to greet or bid a proper farewell to Dacien. He had no idea what would Dacien wanted him to do next, except to stay alive. “Do you want to follow him?” asked Jarl. “Hmm…” Hifumi then shook his head slowly, unsure about what would Dacien be up to next. “I don’t know.” “He’s heading to Summer Hold. Do you want to follow him?” “Wait, why would he get there again?” “Revenge, and another step closer to the guild’s goals. Now answer the question.” Hifumi paused for a little to think, before nodding. Jarl’s shadows enveloped him, blending both of them into the darkness. “Your master would be proud of you. Let’s go.”
…
Looking at how Kai wanted their answers, Rael turned to Aurielle, pointing at himself and Jean. “I- We’re going with you.” “I’ll be heading back then,” Kai said, turning away from the trio. He then ran back to the village. Something about Kai didn’t sit right, but Rael didn’t ask any more questions about the man. He’s just a weird stranger to him, and maybe a scary stranger to Jean. “Alright then,” Aurielle said, “let’s head back to where we left the rowboat.”
From the Brigand’s Landing to the unnamed area, the trio headed there with Rael’s and Jean’s hover spell. Upon arriving at the rowboat, Rael grabbed the bag he left before jumping into the water. With the whole time they spent inside the underground dock-like place, Rael thought the time would’ve already passed for hours. But as he thought about what happened there, he would’ve gotten killed if he stayed there longer, and Aurielle would be even more exhausted. So that’s a good thing. As the sun shined on the swamps from right above, Rael grabbed out the food he packed and ate it with Jean, along with Aurielle.
Once Aurielle finished her lunch and charged up her magic, she summoned a light hovering platform. She had her students get on it, and took a shortcut to Summer Hold across the waters. When they almost reached the shore, two fiery energy clashed in the air above their destination. It was comparable to the fight Aurielle had earlier, so she got down on the shore and ran to the city. Rael and Jean followed after her. They got into the city’s gates, and most of the citizens either hid inside their houses or watched the fight. The trio recognized Dacien from a distance above. And Aurielle also recognized the king. “What the—” Aurielle turned to the nearest citizen who was watching the fight. “What happened here?”
“Uh… That maniac ran into the king’s place out of nowhere, caused some real nasty ruckus inside the keep, and then this…” They looked into the sky as the two figures continued to battle, flames shooting out and fading away in the air.
As Rael and Jean also listened to the citizen’s response, they looked around for any other signs of attacks, aside from two people fighting in the air. Unharmed city walls, perfectly fine houses, and guards surrounding the tall keep. If they didn’t hear about the ruckus inside the keep, the situation would seem like the usual to Rael. “Hey, could you check if there’s anyone there?” Jean asked as she stopped Rael from wandering around. She then pointed at an entrance to the keep above them, connected by the city’s walls. Rael walked away, looked for anyone guarding the entrance, and shook his head. Jean nodded then pointed at a tower at the city’s corner. She moved her finger up, along the walls, and towards the keep. “Are you coming with me?”
The readers voted for the option where Rael doesn’t come with Jean, and heads towards the guards surrounding the keep instead.
Let’s continue.
Rael shook his head to Jean’s route idea, as he pointed towards the guards surrounding the keep. “Alright, let’s see if I can enter from there…” Jean left from where she was, towards the tower. And Rael headed towards the guards, to ask them about the fight above. When he asked questions and looked overhead, the battle began to slow down when he paid close attention to it. But even with the pace slowing down, they hadn’t charged their magics between the fight so far. As Rael wondered what the hell was Dacien on—taking two lengthy fights in the same day, someone tapped his shoulder from behind. “Rael?” Rael turned back and found Aurielle. “…Did something happen to you? You’ve got some blood on your shirt.” When Aurielle pointed at the side of his damp shirt, he moved his arm away from it. The blood seeped through his shirt, and Rael’s realization kicked in as the pain became more real. He got stabbed earlier, back in the dock. And he couldn’t repress the pain to the back of his head any longer. It’s getting hurt.
The image of Aurielle blurred, and everything turned black before he could reply to her. By the time he finally said out the first word, he woke up at an infirmary. The bandages on his face felt lighter, as the ones on his side pressed into his skin. His body sank into the soft bed, as his heart throbbed in his ears. Rael jolted up, only for someone to hold him back against the bed. It was a stranger who sat by his bed. “Good grief,” the stranger said as they held Rael. “Get up slower, alright? You could’ve fainted there.” As the heartbeat in his ear slowed down, they let Rael get up—slowly this time. He wandered around the room—with him and a few strangers—and placed his hands down on a window frame. He crouched down to get a better view outside. “They’re still fighting?” Rael wondered as the two figures battled. He hadn’t asked how long had it been, but it’s impressive that they’re still fighting in the air until now. The stranger sighed as they approached Rael, tucking their hair over the ears. “It’s my first time seeing the king like this… Not that I’m impressed, I just thought he could’ve ended the fight quicker.” Rael opened the window and stuck his head out, looking for any signs of Aurielle and Jean. But they were nowhere from Rael’s sight.
He turned back to the stranger. “Hey, could I go out right now? I have to find someone.” The stranger examined Rael’s face, for a few moments. Their focus then moved down at the bandages on his body. “No.”
Something crashed from outside, followed by a ruckus. The king fell to the ground, and his opponent disappeared. “Crap,” the stranger uttered as they poked their head out the window, trying to see the king’s state. They later pulled Rael away from the window by his arm. “Don’t worry too much, there’s enough people to help him out. Maybe he could just stand up and walk away as if nothing happened too.” “Could I go outside though?” “No.”
The reader voted for the option where Rael tries to convince the stranger to let him go, and voted for Ace/Issac and Rael’s family POV on the next part.
A special occasion, eh? I’d expect fewer people around today, since this is simply a peek at other characters’ lives. But if you do care about pieces of backstories—untold by the protagonists—this may be worth your time.
Also, Happy New Year to you all. (It’s a few days late, but let’s ignore that. We don’t even share our worlds.) (Our unstable existence is an enigma itself. But who cares? Let’s celebrate a new year together!)
🥂
On this morning, Ace and Issac were stationed at the Magic Council camp, placed nearby Summer Hold. Their shift changed today, and Issac’s head was filled with thoughts—mostly about yesterday’s attack at the Silent Tower, and Jean’s whereabouts.
Jean had been living with him and sharing his house for years. But with his job’s nature, he often had to leave her alone, or leave her with someone outside of their family. She’s already an adult, but something about leaving her behind felt wrong. Very wrong. The image of younger Jean waiting in front of his door—in the middle of heavy rain—stuck with him for years. And so did the moment she broke down in front of him, explaining her household situation—that was the night he took her in. As long as she had company to be with, he’s happy. But sometimes, he couldn’t help but to pressure himself to get his life together, so she would at least have a stable family, for once. Only if he had remaining family members to ask—
Issac snapped from his trance by a poke from Ace. “Wh— What is it?” Ace pointed at the two attacks sent above Summer Hold, and left the camp. Issac turned to check on the scouts who were still stationed at their spots, and rushed after Ace.
. . .
Soren was alone in his family’s home. His older children (including Rael) all went to different towns, and his younger ones went on adventures with their mom and grandparents, so he stayed back here. With them not around, he decided to use this opportunity to go through old items placed in the house. He went through his own diaries and memoirs, rereading entries about his children, as if to not forget about their stories. Even if some of the details were left blank, unknown for years. Like Rael’s ones.
As Soren flipped through the pages, he heard unfamiliar footsteps around, grabbed a club, and followed the sound through the rooms. “Show yourself!” The footsteps quickened, and he knew they were up for a chase. But the more he went after the footsteps, the harder it was to pinpoint the sounds along with the exact location. Had they already escaped? Did they disappear, or use one of the wizard-like tricks? Until he felt a strange warmth nearby, and swung his club towards their direction. The club hit the person in the ribs, who looked very much like his son, Rael. With Magius News issues he had read, he recognized her as Kat. But with the story behind Rael’s adoption, he also recognized her as… Katrina, the daughter of Elena Leos—the person he used to know, and the person who gave Rael up to him for undisclosed reasons.
Kat looked at Soren with a pained look, as her blue and brown eyes glared back at him. But from her stance, he noticed slight uncertainty in it, reminding him of Elena from years ago. “What are you doing here?” he asked, still threatening her with the club, despite recognizing her as Rael’s blood twin. Her eyes looked up and down him, as if she’s trying to recognize him too. “Is there anyone who goes by Soren Mills here?” “I’m the only Soren around here. Where’d you hear about me?” Soren paused for her answer, as Kat’s words struggled to get out. He wasn’t sure what would hold her back, so he continued, “Was it Ms. Leos?” Kat flinched upon hearing that name. With her look, he could tell she wouldn’t dare attack him, so he put his club down. “Follow me, we’re having a talk inside.”
After getting Kat inside the house, she looked around like she was studying this house. With all the unsolved questions between their families, this reaction wasn’t new to him. “Wait here,” Soren said to her as he left the room to grab some water. But once he returned, Kat was nowhere to be seen.