Chapter One

He was turning the scroll in his hand. Turn the page? There was nothing on the back of the scroll or any sign of another page.
He turned to the other members of his party and handed the scroll over to his second in command. She was floating almost a foot above the ground and her weapon of choice, a blue ornamented mirror, hung right next to her head in mid-air. A large scroll as well as two smaller scrolls were held together by a purple rope and were fastened to green leather straps which wrapped around her shoulders and hips. Her dress, which revealed almost the entirety of her legs, was the same shade of blue as her mirror and seemed to flow on an invisible wind and a rose-coloured crystal was embedded in the middle of her chest. Black hair flowed around her head, and was half-up in a ponytail, the other half falling down to her shoulder blades. Elongated and pointed ears peeked out from underneath her locks and were decorated by crystals which were the same shade of pale pink as the one decorating her dress and mirror.
Her grey eyes looked into his. Most people would describe the colour grey as boring, but her eyes were different, like you could see stars dancing around her Irises in ever-changing constellations. Through her pale blue veil, he saw her smiling up at him. The scroll slid into her hand, as she read what kind of errand the king had for them.

A few minutes passed, while he looked out onto the pavement of the Stone Keep and the pedestrians passing each other in the market square, which was decorated in the colours of autumn for the upcoming annual celebration. He could see that all townspeople were excited for the feast and firework. Hero was secretly looking forward to the midnight dance. He hoped his best friend would give him the honour to dance under the stars with him, while the shooting stars coloured the sky in shades of red, pink and blue.
"This is weird." Her voice startled him. "There is something missing and I can't sense any hiding spells on this." She let the open scroll float in the air in front of her and frowned at it. He looked over to her. "So, what do you suggest we do?", he asked "I think we should to find the messenger. Did anybody see him?" She turned to their travelling company, who all shook their heads no. "I found it tied to our doorknob", Hero said. He explained that he had noticed it on the way back from the washroom this morning. Anybody could have left that note without them noticing because they were staying in a little inn near the large stone wall that surrounded the keep. "I guess we'll have to go to the king himself, then.", Ying mumbled. Hero agreed: "Seems like we have no other choice." The five of them packed their bags and left the inn after a hearty lunch.

They crossed through the many market stands to the other side of the keep and passed a pair of guards on the bottom of the hill leading to the king's castle. The building itself was a round shape with a chimney on top. It was similar to a bomb, with the chimney being the fuse and the castle being the shell filled with explosives.
They approached slowly and waited for the men to ask them what their business with the king was or shoo them away but instead, they nodded once in unison and let them pass. The party climbed the hill, Ying being the fastest because she wasn't really walking but floating. Atop the incline, a loud boom sounded from inside the castle. The second pair of men guarding the entrance didn't seem to mind though, so the travellers kept calm but mentally prepared for a fight. As the shiny grey doors to the castle insides were pushed open by the guards, the party entered warily, already on the lookout for possible threats.
The throne room was built as a half circle, which seemed to have no ceiling. It was barely lit, thus leaving the five in almost complete darkness. Luckily, Androxus was able to see fairly well in the dark space. His midnight blue coat vanished, as he dashed forward, to check for a possible ambush. He held his grey revolver at the ready, which looked like it had teeth attached to it as well as green crystals embedded in the magazine. Despite his metal boots, he was no louder than a soft breeze. The razor-like spikes atop his head gleamed, as he flew past the only window that was lighting the room. The Godslayer, that's what the people called him. Hero didn't know what God he killed, but he was sure he didn't want to get on Androxus' bad side.
The Godslayer returned to the rest of the party, his artificial green eyes meeting Hero's with a slight nod being the confirmation that the room was safe to enter. Hero was always surprised that he didn't flinch whenever Androxus dashed toward him. Everything about him felt dark and terrible. Androxus, lacking a mouth and nose, was not able to portray emotions as easily as other creatures living in the realm, but something about him always felt sad and lonely. Hero looked at the Godslayer, who has been a friend and part of this family of misfits for a long time already, and returned the nod. He started walking toward the single window in the room, which was built right behind the massive throne, which took up almost the entire wall and was decorated with crystals and gold.

A shudder went through the castle, as another explosion sounded and a large ball, which seemed to burn rolled toward the party. "Give your king a big hug!" With that, the ball uncurled and Bomb King himself drew Ying and Hero into his chest. After a good squeeze, he let them go and noticed the rest of the party staring at him awkwardly. His gaze landed on Androxus. "Come here, grumpy boy!", the King said and hugged him tight. The Godslayer looked to Hero and Ying for help, the latter just grinning widely at him. "Hello to you too, your majesty.", Hero finally said to the King. "Now, it would be amazing if you could release my dear friend. He is not accustomed to such friendly greetings." His mouth settled into an honest smile, as he beheld the emotionless stare of Androxus. The King released him from his firm grip. "I'm sorry, I have such an explosive personality." He looked over the party with a happy grin on his face.
One could only imagine, that it was his face because it was made from pure blue metal like the rest of his body. On top of his head sat his beloved crown, which contained his "hair", which was really just a long fuse tipped with a gold bead. Behind him flowed his fuzzy grey cape which was fastened to his body with two purple crystals, that could also be found in his arm cuffs, embedded in his crown, as well as his belt. The fire inside of his belly, right under his enormous breastplate, was glowing softly and radiated a nice warmth. Because his tummy was rather large and warm, every hug felt like being embraced by a heating blanket…made of pure steel.
His fiery eyes settled on Hero, as he asked: "So, what brings you here? I hope you got my letter?" Ying approached him. "Yes, we did get your letter and we do want to embark on the quest that you have prepared for us, but there seems to be a page missing and with that vital information." The King looked devastated, his mouth hanging open, his eyes staring at Ying. "That is impossible! I sent my most trustworthy messenger! Maeve, come here at once!"

His voice echoed through the throne room, filling it with the unnerving sound of clanking metal, as a girl arrived. She came sprinting through a large door, located on the left of the room. She was short with chin-long pink hair, with one strand fixed in a blue bead. Her small frame seemed even more petit in comparison to her blue coat that had a big pink crystal fixed to her back. The coat was almost dragging on the floor behind her and seemed to shimmer in a rich shade of purple every time she moved. Under that, she wore a simple beige tunic and grey pants, as well as knee-high brown boots. A belt was fastened around her hips, which held an array of throwing knives, the shaft bound with azure blue leather, a strip loosely dangling at the end. The blades themselves looked blunt and cracked, which made Hero assume that she made them herself.
Her cat-like eyes were a piercing blue, which looked innocently right into the King's as she spoke in a French accent: "His Majesty called?" She toyed with the loose string on one of her knives. "Do you know, who is here?" The King gestured to the party with his blue metal hands that were larger than the girl's head. Her throat bobbed and she nodded. "And do you know why they are here, instead of going on the mission that I sent them?" Again, she bobbed her head. "Where is the missing page?" The King crossed his arms and waited for her explanation. "I wanted to go.", was her simple answer. Her voice sounded as small as she was. "You what?" The King was furious. The fire in his eyes and belly burned even hotter and brighter as he conjured a small bomb out of thin air. The bomb grinned and looked lovingly up at its King, with it's big, bulgy eyes. The King's arm flew backwards, aiming right at Maeve, when Hero intervened. "Majesty!" A ghost hand came shot out of Hero's own and flew toward the King. But it was too late. The bomb was already laughing as it flew through the air, missing the girl's head by a few inches and attaching itself to the wall.
The party was ready to pounce on the King. Everyone had his or her weapons out and only waited for Hero's command. But he loosened a breath, letting his magic hand disappear. "Majesty, are you- ", he couldn't finish the sentence. "No, no, boy. Explosions first. Questions later." And with that the King threw five more bombs around the one on the wall, each one grinning in the same way the first one did. Maeve apparently knew what was coming, and ran toward the party, pushing them a few feet away. And right in time, because the King drew in a breath and bumped his fists together in front of his chest, detonating the bombs. Smoke filled the room, leaving the party coughing hard. The guards outside of the entrance just pushed open the door, letting fresh air in.

Soon, everyone was able to breathe normally again. "Thank you, little one.", Hero said. Maeve just stared up at him. She wasn't used to being seen, much less appreciated. She rubbed her hands together behind her chest. "I'm sorry for taking the second page. But I really wanted to prove myself. I can fight!" "I never doubted, that you can. And I am not angry." Her mouth hung open. Hero opened his hand toward her and she stared at it for a moment, before handing over the page.
Hero smiled at the girl and turned to approach the King, who has calmed down a little. "Majesty, can I ask you something?" The King only nodded once and glanced at Hero, still facing the wall. "Can the girl join us? We could use a little help." "No.", was the simple answer. But not from the king. Instead, a tall girl with fiery red hair strolled into the room, halting a few steps in front of Hero. "My sister is going nowhere. She still has to train more." The girl crossed her Arms over her chest, which was protected by a heavy breastplate. Her eyes were rimmed with black liner and her choppy hid one side of her face. A little wooden stick hung lazily in the corner of her mouth, as she ran an eye over Hero and the party assembled behind him, her gaze stopping on Maeve.
The small girl just walked over to her sister, admitting defeat. Before they turned to go, she promised Hero: "I will train hard. And when you come back from this mission, I will join your ranks." Hero smiled at her and nodded. "I sure hope so.", was his answer.

The party said their goodbyes to Maeve and her sister, the latter simply staring and mumbling something incoherent. After they bowed to the King, they descended the hill and embarked on the journey that would take them deep into the realm, to dangers yet unknown.