"I am sorry, Zellach, but no lessons today." Zendric said to his young apprentice.
"Why not?" Zellach asked politely.
"I am expecting a visitor today." He replied. "Someone I must speak with in private."
Without another word, Zendric shut the door in Zellach's face. Zellach let out a sigh. He knew it that despite his desire to argue, it would be futile. Zendric only changed his mind if the other side of the argument did something that impressed him.
"He could have at least told me who he was meeting." Zellach said to himself.
Then, the young wizard pulled his badge out of his pocket. The badge had the image of a silver dragon standing atop a mountain. This badge was proof that Zellach was a Knight of the Silver Dragon. After he and his friends stopped an internal plot to conquer their town, Curston, and saving the wizard Zendric's life, they were awarded membership of the greatest order of knights ever created in Curston's history. Though a few years ago, their ranks were basically wiped out, making Zellach and his friends the only members at the moment.
Zellach was the one who convinced his friends to embark on their first adventure. He was a prideful young wizard who wore a red robe. His hair was long and golden, his eyes were sapphire blue, and he was a bit tall for his age. While he may be the oldest member of his group, Zellach is only fourteen. In close second is the only female member of the the Knights of the Silver Dragon, Moyra. She is a young thief with red hair and green eyes. The youngest member of their group was Zellach's thirteen year old brother, Driskoll. He may be a bit of a cry baby, and he gets scared easy, but he is always there when you truly need him. Driskoll's hair may be the same as his brother's, but he has their father's brown eyes.
As Zellach walked home, he wondered what he would do with the rest of his day. He snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed Driskoll and Moyra running towards him.
"Zellach, we got a problem!" Driskoll yelled. "Please, help!"
Seconds later, Zellach saw what his brother and his friends were running from. A gang of thugs, lead by an ugly troll with one eye, was chasing them. And, now that Driskoll had asked Zellach for help, it seems they were after him as well. The young wizard turned and started running. In a matter of moments, the three of them were running side-by-side.
"Come back, you little thieves!" The troll shouted.
"What did … you do?!" Zellach said between breaths.
"Talk later," Moyra replied, taking the lead.
The three young adventurers ran as fast as they could, but the troll and his gang were slowly closing the distance between them. Then, they turned a corner and Driskoll ran into a figure wearing a black cloak. Both of them ended up on the ground. As Moyra and Zellach helped the two to their feet, the troll and his gang surrounded them. There was no escape.
"No way out, you little thieves!" The troll said with a smile.
This troll's teeth were completely yellow and his breath stank. There was an eye-patch over his left eye. He was barefoot and wore a shirt so small, his entire stomach area was exposed. The troll was quite fat and wore a necklace made of what looked like animal bones. Hopefully.
"I didn't steal anything from you, oof." Moyra said. "We bet on a frog race and I won."
"My frog just got distracted and I know you are somehow responsible." The troll replied. "Now, give me my money, and I will consider letting you go with just a few bruises."
"Let me think about it." Moyra said.
A moment later, she kicked him in the knee. The troll did not even flinch.
"Bad choice." The troll replied as he raised his fist.
As the troll's fist came down on Moyra, the cloaked figure got between them. This person countered the punch with one of their own. What happened next was a surprise. Moyra and her friends heard bones break, followed by the troll screaming in pain. The force of the cloaked figure's punch must have broke every bone in the troll's hand.
"You are unusually weak for a troll." The cloaked figure said. "Pathetic!"
"How dare you!" The troll shouted between screams. "Get him boys!"
"Him?!" The figure repeated, then punched the troll in his face.
Then the rest of the thugs charged at the cloaked figure from all sides. All they accomplished was running straight into each other. For a moment, they just stood confused.
"Hey, idiots, over here!" Someone shouted.
They turned and saw a fifteen year old girl holding a black cloak. She had shoulder-length pink hair. Her blue eyes were as fierce and focused as a hawk's. Her clothing consisted of a white shirt, brown leather jacket, combat boots and padding on her elbows and knees. In her hand, she held an iron spear with a flame-like crest engraved into the blade.
"Normally, I would just throw a few punches and let you run away." The girl said. "But since you thought I was a boy, I hope you are ready for a serious beat down!"
Without even replying, the thugs charged at her. The first one got a kick to his face and fell backwards onto the ground. The next one was hit in his stomach by the non-lethal end of the spear. Then, three of them tried surrounding her again then attacking all at once. When they did, the girl gracefully knocked them all out with a series of kicks and swings of her spear. Now, there was only one thug left, but he realized this girl was dangerous. So, he ran away. The girl picked up a stone and throw it at him. He fell to the ground.
"Nice work." Moyra complemented the girl.
"Who exactly are you?" Zellach asked. "You are not from around here."
"Indeed, I am not." The girl replied. "My name is Veronica."
"Well, thank you very much, Veronica." Driskoll said while shaking her hand.
"It was no problem." She replied. "Those thugs were quite weak."
"None the less, we are grateful." Zellach said. "If there is anything we can do for you just ask."
"No thanks." Veronica replied. "Only weak beings ask for help. Now, I have somewhere to be."
As Veronica began to walk away, Zellach noticed something about the direction she was headed. A thought took form in his mind.
"Hey, let's follow her." Zellach said.
"What?!" Driskoll exclaimed, confused.
"Why do you want to do that?" Moyra asked.
"I think Veronica is the visitor Zendric is expecting." Zellach replied. "Now, I'm curious."
"Well, that girl also has me intrigued." Moyra said. "I'm in."
The two of them started walking, but stopped when they realized Driskoll was not following.
"Are you serious?!" Driskoll sighed. "We have already seen plenty of action this morning. Who knows what we could encounter if we follow a warrior of her caliber? She took down those thugs like they were bugs. If she and Zendric and her have business, let's just leave them to it."
"Driskoll, we are now Knights of the Silver Dragon." Zellach replied in a serious tone. "It is our duty to complete quests and protect innocents. We will no doubt face challenges in the future that will be far more dangerous and terrifying than following a single girl."
"What are you saying?" Driskoll asked.
"If you have not the courage to face the future dangers, then you should reconsider being a knight." Zellach said.
"Hey, don' you think that is a little harsh." Moyra commented.
"Perhaps, but this needed to be said." Zellach replied.
Driskoll tried to think of what to say to his brother, but had no words. Part of him wanted to tell his brother that he could handle all the dangers they would battle in the future. However, the rest of him believed that Zellach was right. Driskoll knew he was a weak boy; both physically and mentally. Unlike him, Zellach was a natural leader and had many skills, including wizardry. For a while now, Driskoll has doubted if he was of any use to his brother and friend. He still wanted to stay with them, in spite of his weakness. Was that selfish?
As Zellach and Moyra began walking towards Zendric's tower, Driskoll stood for a minute. After debating matters in his head, Driskoll followed them.