Chasing Once More
Disclaimer: I don't own Grand Chase
Chapter 4: Tears of the Goddess
There was a path that connects Serdin and Kanavan directly. It goes through the mountains and was for the convenience of the Traders. This was also the path that Knight Master took to get to Kanavan. Now, the reforming Grand Chase was using it to get to Serdin. Currently, the group had decided to take a break on the side of the road.
"In fairness, Red, you can cook well." Sieghart remarked as he ate his share of wild boar. "But I'll have to say, the taste is quite bland in comparison to the shorty's cooking." Elesis looked affronted.
"Well, excuse me! We didn't bring any spices, for your information!" She retorted.
"True." Ronan nodded. "But the fact that the food is cooked and not burned is commendable."
"Do you have so much doubt on my survival skills or something, Sir Erudon?" Elesis had somehow been able to make Ronan's last name sound a bit insulting. "I mean, I DID live alone for the past few years!" Elesis replied. Then she sighed. "I mean, you DO know what happened to my father…"
"Sorry, but his current whereabouts is still impossible to track down…" Knight Master stated.
"It's alright." Elesis shrugged. "I got my hopes too high when I thought we would find him in our first Chase…"
"It's alright, Elesis." Ronan patted the girl's shoulder, but Elesis threw it off.
"Don't go patting my shoulder like that." Elesis grumbled. She was about to excuse herself by saying she'll wash the dishes on a nearby stream, but Mari had already taken the initiative. Elesis simply looked dubiously at Mari. "… Sometimes, her silence makes me forget she's even around…" Elesis remarked.
"Everyone, as soon as Mari has done the dishes, we move." Knight Master said as she prepared the packhorse they rented. "We still do not know if Serdin is fine." Ronan nodded. Then he remembered something.
"Umm… Knight Master? Why did you not recruit Arme beforehand?" "I mean, she lives in the same city as you."
"I visited Arme, but… You know that she is now Guild Master of the Violet Mages right? Apparently, she can't just go ahead and leave the Guild because of that."
"Makes sense." Ronan nodded. "I mean, I sure had a hard time with the paperwork to take a leave of absence, and that's with the queen's permission…"
"True, but Elesis had it easy…" Knight Master laughed. "I mean, she just left the job to the Sword Master in the meantime."
"If I don't get a successor, Tsurugi will probably be the one who succeeds the Ruby Knights." Elesis shrugged. "I need him to learn about responsibility."
"Says the reckless leader." Sieghart commented. The others besides Mari laughed at Elesis's expense.
Mari then suddenly spoke, "I do not know whether this information is necessary or not, but the vibrations in the air indicates a young woman whose eyes are shedding water mixed with some salt." Everyone else besides Sieghart blinked a couple of times in confusion.
"Can't you just say "I hear a girl crying nearby?, like most people?" Sieghart remarked. The group sweat dropped at the very simplified translation. Sieghart then followed. "Oh yeah, you COULD say it like most people. Don't use long words for the heck of it!" Mari just shrugged in response.
"Where is the girl?" Ronan immediately inquired Mari of the girl's position. Mari pointed to a nearby tree. Elesis simply grumbled.
"Always the gentleman, aren't you?" She muttered. Then she saw Ronan wave them towards his location. There, they found a very familiar face.
"AMY!" Elesis grinned, seeing her young friend. Then she frowned when she saw the tears. "What's wrong?"
"… Elesis?" Amy blinked, seeing the red head. She then bounded with joy. "WOW, ELESIS!" Amy immediately hugged her newfound friend. Elesis winced. Then she looked back at Ronan. "Oh, Ronan, you brought Elesis with you, you cheeky boy~ Gonna introduce your girlfriend to Arme or something?" Ronan and Elesis immediately went beet red.
"WE'RE NOT TOGETHER YET!" Elesis yelled. But Amy was simply not paying attention.
"Oh, Sieghart, Mari, and Knight Master~, you were all here?" Amy grinned. Then she pieced together the clues. "Oh, are you reforming the chase or something? Let me in!" Amy grinned as she rushed towards the Knight Master. "Please, please, please?" Knight Master simply laughed in response.
"You're always welcome." Ronan remarked. "But I can't help but notice the tears that stained your cheeks…" Amy touched her cheeks in reflex.
"Well… Jin hasn't been sending any messages lately…" Amy mumbled. "… He promised to send me an update at least every month…"
"Well… Maybe he's too busy lately as well…" Knight Master smiled reassuringly. "I mean, he hasn't been sending messages to me either…"
"That sounds odd…" Elesis said. "How many weeks had it been since then?"
"Three." Amy replied. "It's been three weeks…"
"How long does it normally take for a message to make it to you?" Mari followed.
"He uses a Sidtri we trained, so I'd say within 2 days." Amy said.
"… Interesting." Mari said, thinking. "The chance of coincidence is nearly zero now…" The others blinked in response.
"What do you mean?" Elesis demanded.
Mari answered, "Ronan received a false decree, and now lack of correspondence between Amy and Jin… All happened three weeks ago." This caught Knight Master's attention.
"… The Violet Mages have also stopped leaving their premises three weeks ago…" Knight Master informed. "Same goes for the reports from the elves, demons, Ellia, and a certain wanderer…"
"The chance for coincidence can be rounded off to zero now…"
"Knight Master, why have you never responded to any of my letters?" Amy suddenly yelled. "I send it to your office every week!"
"… Like I said, no amount of news has ever appeared on my desk. It is as though someone is intercepting all communications." Knight Master replied.
"If that is the case, then it is safe to say that there is a spy planted by the enemy in Serdin." Sieghart said.
"Sir Windzea was the spy at Kanavan." Ronan nodded.
"So there could be a spy within the Violet Mages?" Amy asked.
"I highly doubt that." A voice came out of nowhere. The group spun around looking around for the location of the voice, but there was no one other than themselves in the area.
"Is the Grand Chase reforming or something?" The voice asked.
"Who are you?" Knight Master asked warily, pulling out her lance.
"That is of no importance at the moment." The voice replied. "Can I ask one question though? Why are the druids being hostile?"
"What do you mean?" Ronan asked.
"… The path on the left will lead you to the Elven Forest. You find out for yourselves." A sudden blur left the tree that Amy was on and left in the direction of Serdin.
"Let's go. Recruiting Ryan might prove helpful." Knight Master said.
(Elven Forest Edge)
"We followed the mysterious voice, but who was that voice?" Sieghart asked.
"As far as I'm concerned, he must have been a friend of the Druids." Amy replied. "I mean, if he's worried about hostile Druids, he must have known them, right?"
"Ah, it's already afternoon, huh?" Elesis noted. "Let's do this quick."
"Grand Chase, are you for the archers or the druids?" A voice exited from the forest. The group twirled, searching for the source. They immediately spotted the stand-out orange-haired Vanquisher. In his hand, the Storm Pike, twirled dangerously. The voice did not joke about the Druid's hostility. They were definitely menacing.
"Ryan!" Ronan waved at the elf. "What's going on?"
"I repeat, Grand Chase. Are you for the Druids or for the Archers?"
"Both." Knight Master replied. "We are a force to protect the world, thus, we are for all besides evil." Ryan, however, simply roared.
"GET LOST THEN! YOUR INDECISIVENESS WILL BE YOUR END HERE! TO CHOOSE BOTH IS LIKE CHOOSING NONE AT ALL! LEAVE BEFORE I ORDER FOR YOU TO BE KILLED ON THE SPOT! EVEN LASS HAD BETTER TACT THAN YOU!" The group immediately turned around and sped away. As soon as they had left, Ryan spun around, a tear in his eyes. "Sorry, old friends… but I don't know who I can trust."
(Back to the Chase)
"Whoa… that was freaky…" Elesis gasped for breath. "What the hell's wrong with Ryan?"
"I'd assume that there was a problem between the two elven groups." Mari said.
"That may be true, but I wonder why he mentioned the thief kid a while ago…" Sieghart asked as he jumped around.
"That doesn't really matter right now…" Ronan sighed. "With this, I'm starting to worry about Serdin."
"This reaction… it feels like the one I got from Arme…" Knight Master sighed.
"Tell us more about your visit with the shorty, then." Elesis sighed. "If we're gonna recruit her, we'll need to know her current situation. This event with Ryan might be a premonition of bad things to come."
"… I'll tell you then." Knight Master nodded. "About the day I was to leave Serdin to go to Kanavan."
/Flashback: Violet Mage Guild/
As far as anyone's concerned, entering the Violet Mage Guild is no small feat. It's even harder to enter it unseen. A great wall surrounds the entire Guild, completely frozen in ice. There were no trees in the immediate vicinity, and there's an eternal shockwave force. Any thieves would be hard-pressed trying to even get in. To top it all off, there is no gate in the wall, thus the only way in and out is to teleport. This was how the Violet Mage Guild had kept itself secure for countless generations.
Knight Master, sighed as she faced the area where a brass knocker was placed. The knocker was cold because of the surrounding ice, but that did not really deter anyone much. Grabbing the knocker she knocked twice. Thrice would have just been in bad taste as the knocks echoed through the whole guild. She suddenly felt as though she was being teleported as she suddenly found herself amongst a group of wary Warlocks, and Alchemists, and Battle Mages.
"… I am the Knight Master of Serdin, and I wish for the presence of the Guild Master." Knight Master calmly said. The Alchemists allowed their heavy pots to cascade onto the ground in relief, but the Warlocks and Battle Mages remained unconvinced.
"Everyone, put down your weapons now." A cheery voice suddenly echoed through the area. The Warlocks and Battle Mages finally rested their weapons and allowed themselves to move out of the way and reveal the source of the happy voice.
"Knight Master! Please, join me in my chambers~" The guild master grinned. She had purple hair and was somewhat short. In her hands was a powerful War Staff, but that did not deter anyone from smiling back. Although this was unprofessional, she did not care. This is how people had known the girl, Arme, the youngest Guild Master of the Violet Mages in history. A teenager that leads a guild sounds rather absurd, but it's the truth due to their skills. Arme had helped defeat many enemies that most Battle Mages could only dream of. Though some Battle Mages were envious, they were, nonetheless, inspired by her.
"Let's go then~" Arme twirled around and walked towards the main building of the Violet Mage Guild. She then turned to her members. "Go back to your training now, ok~"
/Still in Flashback: Arme's Chambers/
"It's been a long time, Arme. I haven't seen you for almost three weeks now." Knight Master remarked.
"This and that happens." Arme replied, but there was a loss of cheer. "So what brings you here, K.M?"
"Let's get down to business, then, Arme." Knight Master nodded. "I haven't been receiving any messages from any of the other Chasers lately."
"Not even Ronan?" Arme asked. "I mean, that guy is the most dutiful of all of us."
"Not even him. Even the elves haven't been giving me information." Knight Master sighed. "Now, I want to find out why."
"True, that is odd, but why do you want me?" Arme asked.
"Well… You are among those who have refused to give me any updates about. This is important because you are also the one who provides me the information regarding Lass." This hardened Arme's face as though the very mention of the name.
"The Striker's name is taboo here, Knight Master." Arme said, looking away. "I have no information regarding that thief." This caught Knight Master's attention. "… Please leave Knight Master. And do not come back here if all you wanted to speak of is about the Silver Cross Assassins." Knight Master sighed, standing up.
"… Arme. I refused to tell you this, but there might be a chance for the Grand Chase to be reformed. If that happens, I would like for you to join us once more." Knight Master walked out of the doorway.
"… I can't join you even if I wanted to… Because of the current situation." Arme sighed, turning away. This was the last Knight Master heard from Arme as a group of Warlocks appeared and teleported the Knight Master, once more, outside the guild.
/End Flashback/
"… Oh great, Lass's name just HAD to show up right there." Elesis groaned. "What's so bad about Lass lately?"
"I honestly have no idea. But I wonder about Arme's current situation." Ronan mumbled.
"We'll know when we get there, I guess." Sieghart shrugged. "That thief better not be doing any mayhem in that guild of his."
Chapter End
Ok, let's keep this pace going then. Read on and Review~