1Hieizou.
It was the smallest of four countries occupying the continent of New Qlipott, situated in the far southern reaches where tropical weather met Asian influence and culture. Along the eastern coastline of Hieizou, the main aquatic channel, the Enten River, carried water from the ocean to the northeastern mainland. This was a popular spot for recreational fishing, but there was also a waterfall that people needed to be wary about. It was deep in the uninhabited forests and mountains of Hieizou that the citizens had not yet turned into farmland due to the population boon not happening within the near future. Not only was the slippery land around the waterfall dangerous, but there had been sightings of wild Eggbears and vicious prickleboars inhabiting the area. People began to call this area Enten Falls, and while it was a gorgeous sightseeing spot, no one believed anyone could possibly live there.
What they didn't know was that there was a well-hidden cavern behind the raging waterfall. It stretched for several miles underground, peppered with stalagmites that dripped water into tiny puddles like a soothing hymn. An underground pond had formed here due to eons of erosion within the bedrock, since Enten Falls actually had a hidden path where water could flow under the surface to reach here. While large fish couldn't fit through the path, smaller aquatic creatures like smelt and oysters could, and they provided this unknown pond with a rich habitat. The cavern walls glowed from bright patches of aqua-colored moss, and plenty of nori seaweed thrived here.
This was sufficient enough for someone to survive here, if they wanted to. And, as a matter of fact, someone did call this place home.
Ever since a world-changing event called the Great Migration occurred 10 years ago, Enten River's sole resident had not stepped foot into the outside world. That was going to change today, as she stirred awake beneath her Eggbear skin blankets and stared at the pond. She then turned her gaze to her sword. It was an elegant piece of smithery, with the blade curved at the end like a talwar and the hilt embellished with a single golden wing and a sapphire gemstone.
"Good morning," a male's baritone voice echoed in her psyche.
She didn't reply. She wasn't startled by the strange voice, since she knew him all too well by now. She held her sword and mentally replied, "Is today the day, Durandal?"
"Indeed it is. Ten years today… Such a long time when spoken in words, yet the emotions we carry make it feel like yesterday."
"The Great Migration's tenth anniversary…"
"Are you all right? I know that memory is a painful one for you."
"Don't mind me."
The young woman stood up and sheathed Durandal into her velvet-covered scabbard. The glowing moss illuminated her expressionless features, and she used the perfectly still pond water as a makeshift mirror to inspect herself. She had shoulder-length chestnut brown hair, with a small portion of it tied up into a small ponytail with a blue bow. Her sidelocks were wrapped with red hair tubes to cover her ears, and she let the rest fall naturally. Her eyes were as crisp and blue as the gem on Durandal, yet lacked human vibrancy and came off as vapid.
She tousled her unkempt hair a few times, then mentally said to Durandal, "It's not just an anniversary. You wanted me to train for this day, didn't you?"
"Are you afraid of leaving this place?"
"I'm not sure. I don't know what fear is."
"Oh, but of course. What a pointless question. Ever since then, you have forgotten what it is like to act human. I sometimes forget that myself."
"I am but a vessel, and the hand that wields you in battle. Emotions are not necessary for the mission that I have been prepared for. According to you, yesterday was the final day of my training."
"Yes. It has been long and hard, but now you have graduated as my trainee. Now we are comrades upon this road that we are to walk. It is time for us to leave this place and embark on our journey. I cannot foresee when we will be able to return here."
"You make it sound like I have some sort of attachment to this place."
"Do you not?"
The young woman got up and walked toward a particular boulder that had an unusual slit cut deep within it. This was the rock where she first found Durandal and pulled him out 10 years ago. After a moment of contemplation, she replied, "It's nice and quiet here. At least I don't have to deal with the overcomplicated affairs of human society."
"But you knew that this day would come. You had to be ready to face people once again."
"I know. I would like to say 'I'm not afraid,' but it's more like 'I can't feel afraid'."
Durandal let out a despondent sigh. "I often worry about how you will cope with fellow humans, especially with what happened back then…"
"Then give me instructions on how I should respond for now. Once I've accumulated enough experiences, I should be able to make sound judgments of my own."
"Very well. Once we leave the cavern, our first order of business should be to go to the town at the base of the mountain and scope out the situation. You should consider resting at the inn tonight to freshen yourself up – your appearance is absolutely awful, and people will react negatively toward your poor hygiene."
"They would understand once I've explained my situation."
"You musn't do that. Don't tell anyone that you have lived here alone for a decade. Make up a different story, like you're a traveler who hasn't been to town in a long while."
"Understood."
"And you need to get some better clothes. The ones you have are horrendously torn and unsuitable for harsh climate travel. You should bring those Eggbear pelts with you and barter them for a better outfit and some rations."
"Understood."
"Oh, and you should consider-"
After patiently listening to Durandal prattle on about his suggestions and various bits of needless advice, the young woman tied the scabbard to her waist and wrapped up the bear furs into a package that she could carry. During this whole time, she had not actually said a word aloud. It wasn't like anyone was around to hear her anyway, so she was used to being quiet for days at a time. As she walked toward the entrance concealed by a raining torrent of water, the sound of vicious splashing echoed through the hollow cavern and drummed through her ears.
She stepped through the waterfall as if she were taking a cold shower, her hair and clothes now drenched. She had come through here numerous times to hunt, yet this time it was different. She was leaving this silent, forgotten abode… perhaps for good. Yet the vacant-eyed young woman did not look back. She only moved one direction through life, and that was forward. It didn't matter if her destination was unknown now; she would just continue forward as always.
TALES OF OBSCURA
"Story of Facing Past Transgressions"
Based off of Namco's Tales of… series
Written by Benit149
Chapter 1: Silent Swordsman in Red
New Qlipott.
This was the name given to a beautiful blue planet full of lush nature and wildlife, untainted by human hands for countless years. That was until 10 years ago, when a historic event occurred dubbed the Great Migration. Back then, the original planet called Qlipott was on the verge of dying, and its final residents found a way to transport themselves from their world to this one. After the Great Migration was successful, the joyous pioneers gave the name New Qlipott to the world that embraced their fresh start.
The people were scared at first, for they didn't know what to expect from this uncivilized land. Fortunately, they brought their knowledge and technology with them, which enabled them to explore the land safely. Eventually, the people scattered all over what was discovered to be a large island continent and settled in small villages. They even carried their forms of government and distinct societies over, rapidly establishing four distinct countries that were each situated at a cardinal point.
To the west was Eikimi, a land revered for its peaceful citizens and gorgeous, untainted landscapes. To the east was Eikimi's ally, Sumizome. This was a nation that boasted tremendous technological advances, and was the largest country of the four due to its rapid development attracting people from all over the continent. To the south was Hieizou, the aforementioned smallest of the countries, but it maintained autonomy by basking in booming fishing and tourism economies. Finally to the north was Kitanosawa, a land reserved for non-human races who wished not to intermingle with humans. In 10 short, very fast-paced years, New Qlipott's fledgling citizens re-established themselves upon this vast continent. Already, people were dreaming of being the first to fully explore and map the continent, or to sail to the outer worlds, or to discover all sorts of new species of flora and fauna. They wanted to mark their place in this new world's history, and sometimes that caused friction between such starry-eyed explorers.
Yet, their squabbles were nothing compared to the true darkness lurking within the shadows that the Great Migration brought with these people. After all, no matter what world humanity's story took place, human flaws and emotions would always follow them. As hope was being planted in New Qlipott's soils, despair likewise found a way to sneak in, and it wouldn't be long before their toxic fruit began to poison everyone. Even after just a decade, the very first signs of trouble were beginning to be apparent…
As said before, Enten River ran along from the eastern shores of Hieizou and flowed westward inland, bringing with it bountiful harvests of fish and marine life. The primary town that had been founded along the river was Kawabata, situated on the river's west side so that it would be easy for the Yotsuda Steam Line to access from western Hieizou and the northern countries. Many residents of Kawabata actually didn't want to leave their quaint little town, so Yotsuda was primarily utilized for shipping fish to other locales, as well as bringing curious tourists in.
On this day, a young man arrived in Kawabata via the Yotsuda Line, and he disembarked in a particularly foul mood. He stretched a few times and grumbled, "Finally. Riding all the way here from Eikimi with no stops is a lot harder than they realize. Honestly, couldn't they shell even a little more gald for me to take a pit stop? This is supposed to be 'an important job', yet they're treating me like crap. And sleeping in that bloody train is freakin' impossible. How's a boy supposed to be in top shape to do the job if he can't get his beauty sleep? Jeez…"
After ranting out his monologue, the man looked around in his satchel and found his passport to show to the lone ticket attendant. The employee stared at him with a clearly befuddled expression for a moment, which made the already irate passenger lose his patience and demand, "What? Something on my face?"
"Oh, no! Nothing at all! Let's see here… Melvin Dengon, soldier of the Eikimi Royal Army."
"Yep."
"Mm-hmm… Mm-hmm… Yes, everything checks out. Welcome to Kawabata, Mr. Dengon."
"Could've spared me the leering glance there, bub."
"I-I'm sorry for my rudeness, sir. It's just that… Well, I'm not used to seeing a dark elf. Even in Kitanosawa, meeting one is very rare…"
Melvin sighed. Despite his attitude, he was used to humans staring at him. Indeed, he wasn't human himself, but rather a sub-class of elves called a dark elf. Meeting an elf was in itself rare for humans, so seeing a dark elf was assumed to be a hundred times rarer. Melvin took it in stride however; he was here on business, not to be made into a sideshow freak.
As he exited the station, he took out a fine comb and brushed his knee-length lavender hair to straighten out any knots. The bright locks greatly contrasted his dark tan skin, long elven ears, and bug-like eyes that had black sclera and purple irises. He wore a white and black bandanna around the top of his head, a torn purple vest held together with string, purple hakama, and plain sandals. He had a pair of belts wrapped around his waist that held up two hand axes against his rear. He also had a distinct tattoo of random squares and dots running down the right side of his cheek, torso, and leg. One look at him and anyone would think he was a punk from the wrong side of the community, but he wasn't a bandit or criminal of any sort – not when his employer was Eikimi's royalty.
What was a soldier of another country's military doing in a different country, one might ask? From how gladly Melvin was welcomed into Kawabata, it was safe to say that Hieizou had good political relations with Eikimi. So long as Hieizou traded its abundant resources, Eikimi would send in patrols on a regular basis to protect the citizens from crime, since Hieizou's small-scale military was barely about to take care of its capital city at the southernmost tip of the continent. A tiny hamlet like Kawabata stood no chance if any bandits or criminals tried to cause trouble for the citizens. That was why Melvin had come; to act as security for the town until his relief arrived.
He sat upon a tree stump and unpocketed a wax-sealed envelope with the sigil of Eikimi stamped into the wax. He had been ordered not to open it until he arrived in Kawabata, so his curiosity kept nagging him like a bad itch during the entire train ride. This type of envelope was only issued to soldiers, always containing specific orders. Melvin had never received one of these before, so when his general gave it to him before disembarking, he was absolutely ecstatic with anticipation. It symbolized some sort of great trust that his superiors had in him, and he was both thrilled and worried about not letting them down.
Alright, Dengon. Time to open this sucker up and see what you have to do, Melvin told himself as he eagerly broke the wax seal and took the folded paper out.
It was approaching dinnertime when the silent girl from the wilds emerged through the woods and found the village at the base of the northeastern mountains; Kawabata, the quaint fishing village by the gently flowing river. Several boats were out on the water as the strongest men in the village fished with wide nets for bountiful catches, while the latest train out of Yotsuda Line chugged along the tracks in the distance, blowing a billow of steam out of its combustion engine and dissipating into the increasing sunset. Kawabata's women and children were in their homes, farms, or shops attending to daily business, but were preparing to wind down for the night.
The girl sighed, and Durandal mentally murmured, "You must be exhausted. I told you numerous times to take a rest halfway down, but you wouldn't listen to me."
"If I did, we would have only reached here when it was dark. You wanted me to rest at the inn for the night, so I took the measures needed to follow that directive before the inn closed."
"As unreasonable as ever, I see. You won't get very far with people if you keep acting like that."
"Is that supposed to matter?"
"It will, as you shall soon see."
She approached the town, equally disregarding anyone who gave her a friendly hello or stared awkwardly at her unkempt appearance. Indeed, compared to the neatly sewn clothes everyone wore, her brown dress and aged moccasins were tattered and barely wearable. She kept an Eggbear's pelt wrapped around her shoulders for warmth, but she needed to go somewhere to sell it and some other paraphernalia for money. After some exploring around the town, she eventually found the place she was looking for; a seamstress' small atelier.
A bell attached to the wooden door jingled, alerting the owner to her new guest. A woman in her early 40's called out, "Welcome! Can I help you with-? Oh my goodness!"
She gasped when she saw the visitor's shabby attire and exclaimed, "Aren't you cold in that!? The nights get real chilly around here, so you need to dress appropriately!"
The girl removed the bear pelt, then laid it on the counter along with her satchel of hunting-related items, then bluntly muttered, "I need to trade these for money and clothing."
"Oh? Well, let's take a look here."
The woman examined the goods, then held the fur and rubbed it against her cheeks in delight. She swooned, "My, my, my! This feels so lovely! Is this from the rare purple-furred variety of Eggbears? And you've got a couple of their eggs as well? Oh, and what is this knife? Isn't it made out of bone? Did you carve this yourself?"
The visitor didn't respond to the barrage of questions.
"Um… You wouldn't happen to be a hunter, would you, young lady?"
Still no response. She was patiently waiting for the exchange to be made.
"Excuse me? Are you all right?"
"What are you doing!?" Durandal scolded his owner. "Answer her!"
"But her questions seem redundant to reply to. It feels like a waste of my energy to answer such obvious inquiries," the girl responded plainly.
"It doesn't matter! This is what people call 'small talk'! It may not contribute to making the world a better place, but it helps get people to know one another!"
"… Yes, I'm fine," she finally answered without any inflection.
"Are you really okay?" the woman wondered and took a closer look at her guest's face. "You look like you're about to fall asleep any minute now."
"I think I might."
"All right, I understand. You must've had a long day and want to go to bed, but you don't have any money to pay for the inn. Tell you what. I'll take care of your fee for tonight, and then tomorrow we can talk business. Does that sound okay?"
"Why would you want to pay for someone's room when you don't even know them? Isn't it the golden rule not to trust strangers?"
"I'm told that I'm a very good judge of character, and you don't look like the type who would harm others without reason. Otherwise you would have barged into the inn and forced Margey to give you all your money, like what those upstart punks have been doing across the country lately. Instead, you're going through the trouble of selling your goods for gald when you're so exhausted. Not to mention that these materials should fetch a decent price on the market, so you must be a great hunter of renown."
Pretty sound logic, I suppose, though that 'great hunter of renown' part is hardly the case with me, the young woman thought.
"I'm about to close for tonight, so let me introduce you to Margey and get you set up for tonight."
The seamstress guided her visitor to the inn and took care of the fee, allowing the girl to get some much-needed rest.
Meanwhile, Melvin had read the sealed instructions, committed them to memory, and burned the papers with his fire magic to destroy the evidence. It was required for all recipients to perform this task so that royal orders would not be leaked to the public. He then spent the next few hours meeting up with the patrolman ahead of him and relieved them of their duties, followed by some walking around the town to inspect for anything suspicious. The only thing he saw of any particular interest was of the atelier owner guiding a squalid, expressionless girl wearing threadbare rags to the inn. Melvin had thought about asking them some questions, but figured that the older woman had everything under control.
It was getting very late when he yawned and rubbed his eyes, muttering, "Damn it. I think I'm reaching my limit…"
He headed straight for the bar and slipped through the door, which jingled from a bell at the top.
"Welcome," the bartender said, and Melvin took an empty seat.
"Rappig burger with Southern Sun Lager."
"Coming right up, sir."
As he waited for his meal, Melvin boredly rested his chin on his hand. Although he didn't want to divulge too many details of his secret orders, he still needed to probe the locals for information. He said, "I've actually heard some rumors while out on the road. Something to do with bandits roaming around the country."
"Indeed. Although Kawabata hasn't had any problems, I've heard of other small towns to the southwest of us having their stock stolen during the night. Tsuchiya in particular has been having the worst troubles lately, and some residents from there have actually moved here."
"What's been happening there?"
"Apparently there's been an outbreak of disease, but they've been having trouble getting the medicine they need."
"That's weird. Don't they live near a meadow that's famous for its wild herbs?"
"I really don't know more than that, but it's true that Tsuchiya has been shorthanded on help, especially with the more able-bodied citizens evacuating in droves."
"I see," Melvin mumbled and thought, Maybe I should see about going there after I make sure things are okay here. Well, if it's herbs we're talking about here, the princesses might already be buzzing straight over there and sorting things out themselves. Heh heh heh…
"Here's your food," the bartender said, and Melvin devoured his meal in record time. While he ate, the server asked curiously, "Why did you want to know about bandits anyway?"
"Just because I've never been to Hieizou before. I came here on the Yotsuda straight from Eikimi."
"I understand that you're a soldier for Eikimi's army, correct?"
"Yeah. I'm here on patrol, but if everything's going swell in this town, I might go check out what's up in Tsuchiya."
"It's reassuring to know that Eikimi has been sending capable people out to the boondocks like this. You never know when we could be taken advantage of by unsavory characters."
Melvin finished his meal and paid for it, then left the bar to check in at the inn for the night. He already had a room reserved for him, so he was easily able to just toss off his tattered vest and collapse onto the bed, dozing off at least 10 minutes later.
The following morning, the strange girl woke up and freshened herself a bit. It had been years since she took a proper bath, so it felt odd for her hair to feel so silky smooth after a good shampooing, and that her skin didn't always have to be so coarse and dirty. She stepped out and got dressed in her tattered rags for clothes, but she knew it wouldn't last much longer after she finished her business with the atelier. She departed the inn and returned to the workshop, where her benefactor was unlocking the door.
"Good morning, dear! How did you sleep?" the woman asked.
"Um… I'm not sure if my sleeping patterns are supposed to be important to you or not."
She chuckled amicably and replied, "If you can talk like that, then you must have slept like a log."
"What does it mean to sleep like a log? Logs don't even breathe, so how can they sleep?"
"It's a figure of speech. Haven't you ever heard of 'heart of gold' or 'eating like a rappig'? It's something like that."
"Can't say I have. If pure gold flowed through my heart, I'd be dead. And I don't even know what a rappig is."
"My, you haven't spent a lot of time around people, have you?" the woman's jovial manner slightly turned dour upon realizing the lack of a sense of humor the girl had. "Well, let's see if a new change of clothes can fix that for you."
They went inside, and the girl waited for the owner to go through her selection of clothes and find something suitable.
"Here, this would be perfect for you," she said, handing over a set of red and blue garments.
After changing in a private room, the hunter came back out and examined herself in the mirror. She was trying on a short red dress that had long puffy sleeves with ornamental white ribbons wrapped around the hems. On top of that, she had a blue vest with decorative pom-poms kept together with several belts around her underbust and waist. The skirt was stylized with several blue 'leaves' and buckles to make it resemble a blooming blue flower. She wore thigh-high black stockings and a pair of sturdy red shoes that matched the outfit. Although the red and white made her appear bright and dominant, the blue muted such loudness and, combined with her stoic expression, gave others the impression that she was some blood-stained sinner on a futile path of redemption.
"My! You really do make the clothes!" the seamstress beamed.
"Do I?"
"Of course! It's a brilliant mix of modern seaming techniques and historic Hieizouan culture, with fabric that won't tear for years!"
"How much does it cost?" the traveler asked, wanting to finish the sale as soon as she could.
"Well, let's see…" the woman used her abacus to do some calculations. "Those bear pelts you brought should be enough to cover it, so long as I jack up the market price when I bring them to Eikimi."
"Understood. Then if you will excuse me."
"Come again! If you need to trade any more of your materials, you know where to find me!"
She left the atelier and walked around town for a bit. Durandal said to her, "It's good that you're better dressed now and have some money, but you'll need to find a way to make enough for the journey ahead. Look around in town and see if there are any small jobs you can do."
She obeyed the sentient sword's suggestion and passed by the small farms carpeting the landscape with fields of vegetables and wheat. She spent the morning approaching each farm owner and asking if they needed any help from her, but they kept turning her down saying they had enough people. At lunchtime, she returned to Kawabata's business district and did the same with the armor and weapon shop. Again, she was turned away.
As she was heading toward the sundry shop however, she spotted a young woman in her late 20's causing a commotion with some irritated mercenaries. She heard the woman plead, "Please! I'll pay 1000 gald for the job! Please! I don't know who else to ask!"
"Sorry, lady. But we were just passing through to get some supplies for another job. We can't just cancel our contract with our current client," one of the mercenaries told her.
"We can tell one of our buddies about it in the next town, but we can't take on too many requests at once," his partner said.
"Oh, no… What am I going to do?" the woman trembled as the two men walked away.
The teenaged girl heard their argument and asked, "Is something the matter?"
"Huh? Who might you be?"
"A traveler."
"Oh… I see you have a sword," the panicked woman noticed. "Then are you good at fighting?"
"I am. How come?"
"Last night, my husband came down with the flu, and my young daughter volunteered to get some medicine and soup from next door. But she didn't come back after an hour, so I went over to see if she was still there, but my neighbor said she had never even arrived!"
"So you're saying your daughter has been missing since last night?"
"Yes. This morning, some of my friends and I went into the forest to look for her, but we were so afraid of those bandits attacking us that we came back straightaway. Oh, Hailey…"
"What's this about bandits?" the vapid girl wondered.
"You don't know!? There have been thugs going around stealing goods from nearby villages. Everyone in Hieizou knows about it through word of mouth! The capital doesn't have enough manpower to send soldiers, so we're forced to rely upon Eikimi's assistance, but I've heard that they've been having problems of their own! We townsfolk are practically left to fend for ourselves!"
"I see. So it's open season on crime."
"I'm so scared. What if Hailey's gotten herself involved with those brigands?"
"You said you investigated the forests near here, correct?"
"We tried to, but we didn't get very far. It was pitch dark out there…"
"Understood. I'm familiar with those woods. If you are open to my services, I will investigate for you."
"You will!?" the anxious mother beamed. "Oh, thank you so much! I only have 1000 gald to spare, but if you need more, I'll see what I can scrounge up!"
"No, that should be enough."
"What!?" Melvin shouted. "Someone's daughter went missing!?"
"Yeah," one of the mercenaries from earlier replied. "That woman was all over us trying to get us to search for her kid. But we already have our hands full with other jobs."
"Plus it was a cheap job anyway," his partner whispered, which earned him a sharp jab.
"Where is that woman now!?" Melvin demanded.
"She's the item shop owner's wife, so just around that corner."
The dark elf wasted no time dashing toward the place in question. He found the worried mother already in the process of hiring the unknown girl for the job, but he barged in and exclaimed, "Hey, are you the mom of that missing girl!?"
"Yes, I am," the woman said. "Who might you be?"
"I'm the patrolman they sent from Eikimi! Listen, you don't need to hire anyone. I'll take care of looking for your daughter, so just wait here and-"
"But…" she pensively glanced at the deadpan girl. "I already employed this young lady's services."
"D-Did you now…?"
He stared at her for a moment, noting how unenthusiastic she appeared. The woman continued, "She said she knows the forests very well, so maybe she could help you out, Mr. Soldier."
"If you say so," Melvin scratched his chin, then asked the quiet hunter, "You sure you know your way around here?"
"I lived around here for years," she said.
"Really?" the mother wondered. "I don't think I've ever seen you before."
"In any case, allow me to go ahead and search for your child. You said her name was Hailey?"
"Yes. She's only seven years old. She's a very good listener, so I can't imagine her running off into the woods on a mere whim. I'm afraid that something very bad has happened to her…"
"Understood. Then if you will excuse me."
The girl immediately headed straight for the outskirts of Kawabata, and Melvin followed her while imploring, "Hey, you really don't have to do this, if you don't want to. I can handle things just fine."
"I've already made a binding contract. I am obligated to perform my end of the deal to ensure that I earn enough capital for my upcoming trip."
"O-Okay… But I'm still coming with you. Since I'm on official duty, it's my job to do these sorts of dangerous tasks."
"Suit yourself."
Melvin grunted, realizing that he couldn't talk the stranger out of this. After several minutes of walking, they entered the forest running along Enten River, and she navigated her way through the otherwise confusing series of trees and shrubs with fluid dexterity without saying a word. Eventually, Melvin broke the tense silence between them by saying, "Now that I think about it, I didn't catch your name. I'm Melvin Dengon, a soldier for the Eikimi army."
The young woman didn't reply right away, which threw him off a little. Durandal mentally chastised her, "Pay attention to people when they're talking to you."
"… Oh. Did he say something?"
"He wants to know your name."
After the rather awkward silence, she faced Melvin and plainly uttered, "Krile." †
"Krile… what? Do you have a last name?"
"Oh… Shizumori. Krile Shizumori."
What an odd bird, this one, Melvin frowned. Took her forever just to introduce herself.
"Anything else you need to know?" she asked. Although she was being blunt, he couldn't sense any kind of rudeness or hostility towards him. It was more like she just wanted the conversation to be over so she could get back to thinking about whatever she had in mind. Furthermore, she didn't react whatsoever to being in the presence of a dark elf, which brought shivers down the spines of practically everyone in Kawabata.
"Um… Well, how good are you with a sword?" Melvin nervously asked her.
"Good enough to have survived on my own for 19 years."
"Oh, so you're 19? I'm 21 myself. I don't get to meet people around my age that often."
"Neither do I."
"Uh…" he stuttered, wondering if she had trouble connecting with others like he did, or was just plain anti-social and avoided human contact at all costs. "So, what Thauma do you have?"
"Thauma?"
"Yeah. You know, those magic symbols you get branded with as a child?"
"…"
"Do you use yours often? Mine's an Efreet Thauma, so I use fire magic in my attacks all the time. When I'm not fighting though, I use my abilities for blacksmithing. I love the smell of molten steel and the thrill of pounding it into a weapon or tool that people will use. Once in a while, I use my flames to help light up people's stoves, though it gets annoying when it's the same people asking me over and over again. They really should learn how to start fires for themselves. Then again, I'd probably be out of work if I didn't get to do that, since they pay me good tips all the time… Ah, what a pain. I'm always complaining, then contradicting myself. I really need to stop making that a habit."
"He certainly seems to enjoy the complaining part," Durandal muttered.
Krile suddenly asked Melvin, "Could you stop talking and look for Hailey?"
"Ah, right," he uttered and scoured the abundant foliage for any clues.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
† - Krile's name is pronounced like 'creel'.
