Scene II – Warriors of Light and Dark

"Prontera?"

The high priest nodded, his black hair still unruly as strands bounced around his face. The three had gathered in the town square of Yuno early in the morning after their fateful…or drunken, however you might put it, encounter with each other. Yuresia had no qualms about leaving the Magic Academy now that she had a goal to fulfil and a (very general) direction on her compass, but it was another thing to hear such a ridiculous proposition.

"But…Prontera is the capital, the most populated city in Rune-Midgard!" The sage cried in disbelief, "How can someone like him hide there?"

Hiroki shrugged to suggest he didn't know the answer. But last night he spent hours convincing the girls to at least give his idea a try. And they reluctantly agreed.

Yuresia leered at the priest. But wherever Vanhugen may be, he certainly wasn't in Yuno. She would recognize that bastard anywhere he went, his satanic laughter, his high, sneering voice, and the blurred albeit unforgivable memory of him striking her down and stealing her family's most precious possession. Finding her parents both dead when she was conscious again only strengthened her hatred for the foul beast himself. Although she never quite understood, why is it that her father never sought to use the card himself…? Brushing the thought aside, the blue-haired girl concentrated on the matter at hand.

"But how are you so sure he's in Prontera…?"

"I'm not." The high priest chuckled to himself and scratched his head again, pure black gleaming in the morning sun. The sage stared daggers at him, her fists clenched, why was it that they're listening to this crazy man rambling on? As if he felt he had gone a bit far, Hiroki's playful expression turned serious as he continued.

"I heard that a very strong wizard resides in Prontera, no other magic wielders could contend with him. It was a bit suspicious, since..." He paused again, seeming to think carefully about how to put his thoughts into words.

"Since he appeared…so suddenly, a few years ago…"

Yuresia raised an eyebrow. Why, out of all places, would Vanhugen go to Prontera…? She highly doubted he would be anywhere but the most remote of places, but this high priest seemed sure even though he insisted otherwise…he seemed too sure.

Sometimes Yuresia hated herself for her indecisiveness, a part of her wanted to believe that it was true, that she would go to Prontera, meet the traitorous man and stab him squarely on the throat. But another part of her screamed suspicion, why Prontera, why not…Glast Heims, or another place evil villains all tend to go? And this high priest, attractive though he may be (she mentally kicked herself for that thought), gets on her nerves for being so light-hearted about something she holds seriously.

"Hey Eely, I heard that some perverts dress up as priests to lure young girls." She whispered to her alchemist friend.

"I think they're only interested in boys." She whispered back, nodding in a seen-it-all sort of way, "And by the looks of this guy, I don't think he needs to dress up as a priest to lure anyone."

"But still…"

"Sitting and rotting in Yuno won't get you anywhere, Yure." Irya supported the plan, since the merchant had obvious monetary needs and was eager to depart the floating city; Prontera has much more opportunities for trade than the suave but solemn atmosphere in Yuno could offer.

And when she was indecisive, Irya was the deciding factor.

Hiroki, seeing that the taller girl had given in, took out a blue gem. With the muttering of a chant, the gem disappeared, but on the ground before the high priest was a white, whirlpool-like portal.

"After you, girls." The high priest politely stepped aside for his companions to enter before him.

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When she opened her eyes in the next instance, the young sage found herself standing atop the cobblestones of the bumbling streets of…Prontera. Rows of red roof-topped houses leapt into view, though mundane they might be compared to the lavish carvings of stone she was used to looking upon in Yuno, this place had…more life and colour. Merchants from all around Rune-Midgard were setting up their shops, selling various oddities she had never seen before. Every class imaginable roamed the streets despite the young hours of the day, mostly priests and knights since this was the city of their abode. In the distance, she could see the majestic structure, with its distinct blue-topped spires and forts, which she took to be the castle of the King, ruler of Rune-Midgard. And…

"Master Hiroki!"

Snapping out of her sheer wonder at the vivacity of the streets of Prontera, Yuresia, along with her two other companions, turned towards the source of the distinct female voice.

Several acolytes swarmed up to the three, or rather, the high priest himself. A couple of them were on the verge of tears as they approached the saint-robbed man.

"Y-you're back, Master Hiroki." Sniffed one of the older acolytes, her dark pupil moist, "W…we thought you…why did you disappear?"

"That doesn't matter anymore," Hiroki smiled pleasantly and patted the acolyte on the shoulder, "You can go tell the church that I'm back, but-" He then added in a small voice, "I refuse to do anything related to paperwork."

Nodding vehemently, the acolytes all beamed with joy as they ran off in the direction of the castle to announce the great news.

"You 'disappeared'?" The sage asked, staring after the vanishing figures of the acolytes. Her eyebrows arched as she then looked at the priest through the corners of her eyes.

"Urgent personal business." The God's servant shrugged off the question, "Shall we go?"

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"What do you mean he's a court wizard!"

Both Hiroki and Yuresia shouted at the merchant, who seemed taken aback by their reaction.

"Y-you heard me, the strong wizard that appeared years ago? The King took a liking to him and made him the court wizard." The merchant spoke on after regaining his posture, "Nice man if you ask me, frequents the orphanages in this city, he does."

"Well, that put the suspicion right out of me." Yuresia glared at the priest after leaving the merchant. "He can't be Vanhugen, he just can't."

Hiroki paused for a while, saying nothing and studying the young sage. Again, that wistful expression suggested something otherwise.

"The King parades the city with his officials every quarter-year." The high priest spoke after Yuresia had done her share of ranting, "Which means he walks the streets in three days. Why don't we stay and let our own eyes judge?"

Crossing her gloved hands before her, the sage pondered the plan.

"You're a queer guy," She came to the conclusion after some thought, "and I don't like you."

"I know." Laughed the high priest as his light-hearted expression returned, as with his habit of tousling his untidy charcoal-coloured hair. Then he lowered his voice.

"But please, even if you do hate me, don't tell anyone what I did when I was drunk."

"I still remember those acolytes' faces in case this all turns out to be a big fiasco..."

The sage turned up a corner of her lip in a mischievous smile as she wiped the grin off the priest's face. Her alchemist friend punched the air with a fist behind her, as she was not exceptionally dying to leave the great capital of trade just yet.

"We have to find an inn! And I know just the place." The merchant winked as she, for once, took the lead of the group.

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"THIEF! THIEF!"

A high pitched scream came from the corner of the street. A few passer-bys stopped to register the source of the voice, and among those were the three travellers. A young merchant girl kneeled on the ground, her trademark merchant bag missing as she screamed at the top of her lungs. Not far from the merchant ran a rogue in the opposite direction. Red, fur-trimmed coattails flying, and clutching something bloated in front of her.

Several things happened suddenly. A blur of white and red cut off the path of the fleeing rogue. With a visible and surprised jump, the rogue halted to a stop and glared fiercely at what was in front of her.

The man in the rogue's way wore the attire of a job Yuresia had never seen before. He looked like a monk, and certainly his physique matched that of a monk. With rippling muscles down his powerful sturdy arms and visible through the opening of his shirt in front of his chest, the man stood no shorter than six foot. His dark brown hair cut short and tied with a long, white piece of cloth from across his forehead and around. What was more eye-catching was the great buckle around his brawny middle; the insignia of Rune-Midgard embossed on a golden plate and decorated lavish carvings in gold, the belt of a great warrior of justice and light, the Champion of all fighters.

"Drop the bag, and apologize to the young lady." The tall man spoke, his voice full of might, his tone unfaltering and the meaning clear.

The rogue sneered, her pierced lips curling in an appearance of mockery despite being severely outclassed. She lowered her stance; her left hand clutched the merchant sack while with her right, she reached for one of the many daggers that were strapped beneath her red rogue garment. The man's eyes narrowed.

In an instant, the rogue vanished in a flash of white light, releasing a gasp from the crowd of bystanders that had formed. The champion stood very still, as if the act did not surprise him at all. But Yuresia could notice that his entire body tightened as if he was concentrating very hard. Rogues were sneaky fighters, once they had disappeared from your view, they could strike instantly, driving a poisoned dagger into any part of your body.

Without warning, as sudden as she had gone, she reappeared, crouching behind the great man, her jagged and rusty dagger held in backhand. She leapt, aiming straight at the vital vein of the champion's neck.

The trio watched in awe as the champion swivelled on his soft-soled shoes gracefully, the dagger aimed at his neck took a plunge into thin air. Within the trained motion of the turn, he brought up an armoured fist and struck the wrist of the rogue, sending the dagger flying, then clattering to the ground. The rogue yowled in pain as she dropped the merchant's bag and held her now dislocated right hand in her left.

"You think you've won, champ-boy," cried the rogue balefully as she tried to talk over the pain, "wait till our guildmaster comes and guts your sinews!"

"No leader of sneaks and thieves shall triumph over me." The champion replied in his simple yet resolute tone as he picked up the bad and handed it to the small girl, who was overflowing with gratitude as she caught up with them.

With one last look of hatred, the rogue disappeared into a dark alleyway.

"Ming!"

As the crowd scattered, Hiroki burst out in a gleeful voice as he rushed up to the champion. The tall man looked surprised, but withheld his posture as he greeted the high priest with a simple wave.

They know each other? The two girls looked at each other and thought simultaneously.

"I thought I told you to use my christened monk name." The champion's voice almost seemed natural when he wasn't angry. "'Ming' makes me think I'm still an acolyte."

"Alright, whatever you say, Genbu." Hiroki accentuated the name waved his hand dismissively, upon noticing the girl's faces which permeated confusion; he called them over and introduced them to the champion.

"This is…Genbu, we were rivals a.k.a. partners of sorts in our acolyte high days," explained the high priest. Yuresia nodded to the mighty man, who bowed low to her, the levels of courtesy martial artists showed were indeed extraordinary. Irya stuck out a hand, which was the common way to greet people in Einbroch, the champion took her small hand in his great palm and bowed to her as well.

Irya had thought the grip of the same fist that had dislocated a wrist would crush her own hand into a bloody pulp, and she panicked as she stuck out her hand through habit but was too polite to withdraw it. She was pleasantly surprised that the champion had gripped her fingers firmly but gently. She blushed, noticing that he was cultured as well as handsome up close, with well-defined yet humble features that did not denote him a man of any impure thoughts.

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"I had no talent as a healer, so I took the path of the champion and he went for high priest."

Genbu leaned on a fist as he sat cross-legged on the wooden floor. The small yet homey room of the inn was dimly lit from a round window atop the framed bed. Yuresia sat on the mattress as she listened to the two men discuss the old days.

"I still remember how, when you had no more will to heal, you just struck down all the zombies with your bare fists. I was horrified." Hiroki leaned against the wall as he reminisced.

"Yes, that was when I set my mind on becoming a champion…But I thought you were a strange acolyte too. You almost seemed like you know exactly when a monster would die…"

"Oh?" Yuresia butted in, remarking casually, "that's a bit like the skill 'sense' we have to learn as magic users."

"Say, where did the alchemist girl wander off to?" Hiroki shuffled uneasily and changed the topic after a short silence.

"She went to buy groceries," The sage answered. "Irya loves to cook, she says she'll 'whip up a meat stew no one can resist' when she gets back."

"I will be looking forward to it." The champion nodded and placed his palms together in a gesture of appreciation.

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A silver-haired alchemist bumbled down the market streets of Prontera, in her arms were paper bags full of potatoes, carrots, and fresh spring onions. After all, she was sure a man of the champion's size could eat barrelfuls of food before he becomes satiated.

All that was left is the meat…meat, meat, meat. She chanted in her mind as she approached the butcher's, they were nice people, and they'd always give a hard-working merchant a discount or two.

"Whaddya mean you can't do this for 20 zeny?"

Irya jumped at the voice. From the sounds of it, that was undoubtedly a rogue haggling with the poor vendor. She sighed, rogues always made people's lives more difficult than they already were, and they were people who never seem to understand the hardships of others and never played fair. She peeked out from behind her large grocery bags at the commotion.

What greeted her line of vision were not the familiar red and torn garments of the rogue, but dark blue trimmed with snowy fur. The man who was intimidating the butcher wore a small blue top, revealing his lean yet stiff abdominal muscles. Below the great belt buckle, white fur spilled out and edged the flap of cloth that covered down to his shins. A nasty-looking dagger was strapped to his side, its numerous jagged edges gleaming silver indicated it was taken well of by its owner. The man himself had dark blue hair tied neatly into a ponytail on top of his head, yet leaving some strands of hair to let hang loosely around his face, which, oddly, had none of the various piercing so typical of rogues. Despite his rather peculiar attire, the man conveyed none of the shabbiness that stereotyped the common rogue. Then it struck the girl.

A…a Stalker!

"…if I say 15 zeny, 15 zeny it is!"

The savage dagger was unsheathed as it was stuck forcefully and with vigour into the wooden platform of the meat stall, the butcher shivered but shook his head, he would be making a great loss at the price the stalker was offering. Irya jumped again, she really did not want this to escalate into a violent brawl. The alchemist looked around, and noticed that the merchants all seemed to not take any notice of this happening. The odd passing shopper would also give a wide berth to the stalker and butcher. It looked like no one was going to do anything about it out of fear for the Demon of Night.

Gathering up what little courage she had over her quivering legs, Irya set her groceries down by the corner of the meat stall.

"Um…excuse me…" She was sure her voice was trembling with fear as she spoke up over the quickened breathing of the butcher.

The stalker turned his gaze down at her, his piercing blue eyes rested on her small figure as if trying to stare straight into her soul like a spear through water. The alchemist wrung her fingers together uneasily as she tried to regain her stature.

"P-please stop arguing…I-I'll pay for your meat, i-it's troublesome for the butcher to settle for such a low price…" She stuttered, picking words carefully as to not anger the stalker. He stared at her some more, as if looking at some rare and bizarre creature. Then, slowly, he grabbed his dagger by the hilt and yanked it out of the wooden plank.

"It's your lucky day, old man." He told the tense but relieved butcher as he stepped aside.

Irya fumbled through her purse with trembling fingers, her heart pounding fast as she placed forth her request and asked about the total price. Even though she was not looking at the stalker, she could feel his gaze as he judged her with his eyes, from her silver hair to the bulkiness of her purse.

I'll run as fast as I can after this. I don't want to be dragged into a remote alley of the street and mugged and raped and then disembowelled for his enjoyment!

Thoughts raced through Irya's head as she paid forth a hundred or so zeny for the products. Hurriedly tying her purse to her belt, she handed a package of meat to the stalker, who had been waiting on the side. He took the bundle without a word of thanks, but simply stared at the silver-haired girl some more.

Noticing the street terror's glare, the alchemist quickly excused herself, picked up her other groceries, and ran. She did not notice that, in the movement, her purse had untied by itself and landed upon the cobblestone street.

Of course, she did not notice that someone had stepped in front of the purse and picked it up, white furs on his shoulder ruffling in the afternoon breeze.

To be continued…

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A/N: Feeling the suspicious vibes on the high priest yet? Haha. And a friendly reminder to check my profile often as I update it a lot with information about the stories and insert pictures.

Game references:

Hiding and Backstab: Rogue skill, quite powerful. First one lets the rogue disappear, when he/she is behind the opponent, backstab can be used to deal great damage.
Haggle/Discount: Rogue/merchant skill respectfully, allows the rogue/merchant to buy things from npcs at a lower price than normal, although haggle lowers the price slightly more than discount.

Sense: A wizard/sage skill that allows user to see remaining HP of monster and what element it is weak against.