CHAPTER 1
The caravan enters through the gates unfettered by customs or duties. The evening air of Praven is cool, and Kagami Taiga is drawing as much of it as he can. He is surprised that the city isn't as stinky as his grandfather's holding was. He sighs gratefully, his transport not being raided and his wealth as a poor knight intact is a good thing. He thanks the merchant for letting him tag along, pay and collects his debts to each members of the caravan, and says his goodbyes.
"Well, let's get a place at the inn, or wherever I can sleep for the night."
Taiga sleeps well that night, his meager possessions safely locked in a chest right next to his horse. He is awake just as the morning sun rises. He wastes no time to begin his exercise regiment. He begins by a simple jog around the city grounds. The whole city is still asleep.
Suddenly he feels his neck tingling. He thinks he heard a wooden sound, like a weapon being pulled from its scabbard or holster. Someone else is watching, no, intending to prey on him.
"Hello?" He squints his eyes, looking as far as he can to the street. A man is drawing his bow, and Kagami barely manages to dodge the missile flying before him. He quickly hides behind a wall. He is lucky that he had already gone through one lap around the city. Thus Kagami is already close to his weapons.
He curses that he locks his sword in his chest. He will have to make do with his boar spear and shield. He also prepared his bow and arrows. But he remembered his mother's advice to always call for help first in foreign lands. Someone may end up thinking that he is a bandit and kill him instead.
"HELP! I AM UNDER ATTACK!"
Kagami repeated the words three times. No one comes. The guards he saw last night must have been fast asleep. The bandit stops for a while, looks around, then inches closer to where Kagami is hiding. Kagami's heavy breath can be heard by the bandit, making an ambush impossible. Kagami takes a deep breath, and tries to loose his bow on the bandit.
None of it hits the bandit, but he at least hesitates to reply in kind. Kagami sees it as an opportunity, drops his bow, and holds his shield and short lance. He stabs the bandit with his lance, which is stopped by the bandit's round shield. The bandit is pushed back, but he calmly swings his mace to Kagami's face. He managed to stop it with his shield.
Kagami is pushed back as the bandit manages to enter Kagami's range of weapon and bashing his mace to Kagami's shield. Kagami managed to force the bandit to a wall, and turns his back away from the end of the street. Now Kagami has more chance to use the length of the spear to keep the bandit away. The bandit realises what is happening, and charges in, giving a strong hit to Kagami's shield, breaking it to two. Kagami holds his spear by two hand and swings as hard as he can before the bandit can swing his mace again.
The bandit is preparing to swing his mace in full force. Thus his shield is lowered from the head to the lower torso. The lance is not stopped by the shield, and lance's tip slices the bandit's neck, spurting blood and hits Kagami in the face. The bandit's face is in shock as he realises the pain on his neck. He drops his mace and falls flat on his back. He lies on the street, coughing up blood while quivering in pain.
In the chaos, a man with light blue hair runs close to Kagami. He is silent despite running as fast as he can. He looks at the bandit lying on the ground, then at the red-haired man who is holding a boar spear.
Kagami does not realise that the blue-haired man is a few feet behind him. He hears a cough. Kagami readies his stance, holding the spear two handed over his head, ready to lunge the spear into his next opponent. The blue-haired man raises both of his hands, his sword dangling by the wrist, held in place by a lanyard. His shield is a small buckler, gripped on his left hand. Kagami noted that he can't sense the presence of this odd person.
"Please, I mean you no harm, err... May I know your name, err... sir?" the blue-haired man spoke first.
"My name is Kagami Taiga. Who are you, and are you here as an enemy or friend?"
"Sir Kagami, my name is Kuroko Tetsuya. I believe it is not safe here. May I offer you guest rights?"
Kagami lowers his lance, and wipes off the blood on the tip and his right hand on his shirt. He holds his spear lazily by the left hand. The spear butt is close to the ground. Kagami extends his right hand to Kuroko. "Apologies for my dirty hands. I will gladly accept guest rights, Sir Kuroko."
Kuroko sheathes his sword, ties the sword with his frithbond, and slings his buckler close to the sword's hilt. He shakes Kagami's hand. "You may call me Mister Kuroko. Now, let's go to my house, it is not safe here."
They soon arrive before Kuroko's house. The building itself looks a bit old, but a bit imposing. The walls are lacking paint. But the plasters are decorated with fine motifs. The inside of Kuroko's house looks well-decorated, for a merchant at least. The walls are plastered white, save for a few pictures detailing some battles or scenery. What Kagami thinks is a room to receive guests are decorated with a low round table and a few stools. On the table is an intricately decorated metal pot with a few metal cups. The carpet is woven with complex patterns. But the fabric looks a bit old, even if it's still strong.
Kuroko points to an empty rack. "You may place your weapons here, Sir Kagami." Kagami obliges, placing his lance carefully along with the two shards of his shield. He loosens the bowstring, wraps it around the bow, and place it next to the lance. He then ties his arrow quiver by the rack, so the arrows will not fall on the floor.
Kuroko pours some water into a small iron pot. He boils it over his fireplace. He then goes to the low table, pours two cups of water. He places one in front of him, and another cup opposite of him. Kuroko then calls to Kagami. "Sir Kagami, come, let us drink."
Kagami obliges, sitting by the low stool. His tall stature makes as if he is squatting before Kuroko. Kagami is unused to this, thus he places the stool a bit further back. He sits crosslegged before the table. "I am sorry if this is rude."
"That is alright. I am sorry for not having a better chair for you. Now, I have a proposition for you."
Kagami looks at Kuroko. Kuroko sips the drink before him. Kagami follows suit. Kuroko sighs.
"You see, bandits have always infested the countryside. I have accepted this as a fact of life, with war being a constant in Calradia. I have almost fallen to the temptation a few times when I was poorer. But I have never accepted the fact that bandits can sneak into city walls. When you fight the man you killed, do you realise that he is wearing armour?"
Kagami nodded. "Well, he could have bought it from an armourer or someone else."
Kuroko drinks again, then adds more water to his cup. "Not all of us are as wealthy as you, Sir Kagami. It is a cheap armour, often worn by soldiers of this kingdom, Kingdom of Swadia. Lords have always supplied their soldiers arms and armour according to their proper ranks. But buying the armour, even the cheapest available, is too expensive for most people. The armour also looks suspiciously similar to the ones our forest bandits often wear."
Kagami extends his hand while holding the cup , and Kuroko pours more water into his cup. "What do you want to say, Mister Kuroko?"
Kuroko places the pot on the tray, and holds his cup with both his hands. "I believe that someone is letting bandits into the city, for one reason or another. I have no idea who, and now the bandits have taken my younger brother."
Kagami places his cup on the table. "And am I going to play a part in this?"
Kuroko tightens the grip on his cup. "If you are willing. Get some men to help you defeat a group of bandits. I will show you who they are, I have seen one of them as they drop the ransom letter in front of my house. Then I will ask them, " his cup begins to buckle under his grip, "to point to where my brother is. I will try to send my brother somewhere safe, perhaps a trade school or an university. Let him be old and wise behind books or trade, rather than be killed or enslaved by mere bandits."
Kuroko looks at Kagami. Kagami can see his rage, cold and calculating. Kagami can feel his spine shivering. "I... I need to process this. I cant give an immediate answer."
Kuroko nods. "If you made a decision, find me at the inn. I need to look into this situation, finding rumours about the bandits. Sir Kagami, I need your help, and quickly. I hope my brother can still be saved when you have decided."
"Mister Kuroko, before I leave, I would like to ask something else."
Kuroko drinks from the cup, and places it back on the tray. "What is it?"
"Are there any place where we can train martial arts in the city? I need to let off some steam, that bandit is making me feel giddy. I need to bash or be bashed."
Kuroko smiled weakly. "The arena is right next to the inn. You can't miss it. But first, let us report the incident this morning to the captain of the guard."
They both go to the gatehouse and made their report of the attack. The captain follows them both the scene of the attack, where a few people are already gathering round before the dead body. After a few questions, both of them are free to leave. Kagami returns back to the inn, changes his clothes and makes ready for the arena.
