Disclaimer: Chain Chronicle is the property of GUMI SG. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The only characters so far that are of my own are Nova and Erin.


Vice Capital

Gilbert was organizing the piles of paper on his desk when he heard the door click. The light scuff of footsteps gave him relief from the constant rustle of papers. "Did you rest well, Selene?"

"I did. Have you gotten any sleep?"

He nodded as he signed yet another document, "Some. I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to sleep."

"And you've been here ever since," Selene surmised. "You need a break."

"I'll take a nap once I'm done with this pile." Selene's gloved hand took half the stack away. "Selene-" Gilbert protested.

"You still have some work to do. It's imperative that you take care of yourself. Without you the Vice Capital would cease to function."

"I wouldn't go that far. Besides, this is a team effort. Without you by my side, my work wouldn't hold any weight. I'm just the face. You and Silva are my backbone."

"Well ain't that sweet. You just made a workin' soldier's day," a gruff voice resounded from the doorway.

Gilbert looked up from his work, "Silva, how goes it?"

"Well." The seasoned warrior marched to the front of his desk and crossed his arms. "The guilds are finally gettin' the patrol schedule down and we finished repairs on the walls. All 'n all, we've cleaned up pretty fast."

"That's a relief. How are the citizens?"

"They're moving on. They've become a hardy bunch." Silva grinned, "And I came across an interestin' bit of information."

"Hm? What would that be?"

"That girl the wizard folk were lookin' for single-handedly destroyed a mob of Black Troops."

"What?" From the corner of his eye, he noticed Selene's head pop up from her work.

"Yup, just got a report from the Town of Fortitude. Would you like to have it?" Silva pulled out a packet that was tucked in his belt and held it in front of the leader.

Gilbert scanned the document, "Unidentified magic? No traces of fire or ice element. Have our people been able to investigate?"

"Aludra's sending some of her people to look into it. It'll take a day or two for them to assess the field, but they'll contact us as soon as they have answers."

"If that's the case then we have no choice but to wait." The leader put the papers aside and clasped his hands together, "If she is joining the Volunteer Army then we'll have one more powerful ally at our side."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. Check the report again."

"She punched her companion!?"

"According to the soldier who wrote that, she didn't seem to recognize him."

Gilbert read the statement in silence thrice over. "Wait, the ogre-"

"Baiset?"

"No, the other one. Wasn't he the swordsman that busted the black market, merchant?"

"Aye."

"Selene, wasn't there an account on an assassin and a swordsman fighting during the goblin raid?"

"Yes, I recall seeing that."

"Let's contact the Assassins Guild and put a stop to that. I want the name of who was assigned to the job and see if they can give us information."

"Yes, sir." Silva turned on his heel and tossed a wave over his shoulder.

When the door closed, the leader let out a sigh. He put his pen down and shook his hand. The skin on his fingers slowly transitioned from bright red to his natural tone. He stood up and stretched his back, "I'm going to take that anything comes up let me know."

Selene gave him a faint smile, "Of course. Have a good rest."

Mystic Mountains

A bitter sent infiltrated my nose and I gasped for fresh air. Right in front of my face was a dark green weed held by a girl with pale, blue hair. She smiled at me and pulled the disgusting plant away.

"Good! You're awake."

"Who are you?"

"The name's Emma." She pointed behind her, "And he's Phillip."

I peered past her and saw a man with long silver hair. "Nice to meet you. I'm Nova."

"What's your boyfriend's name?"

"Boyfriend?" I became aware of a pressure around my shoulders. "AaaAAaaah!" I jolted upwards and fled from whatever was touching me. My heart was thudding in my chest and I took quick, shaky breaths.

"You don't have to be embarrassed. If I had my lover with me I would be holding her the very same," Phillip spoke.

"W-what are you talking about!?" I glared at him and turned to Emma. Then I noticed Velnar, with his left arm stretched out, lying close to where I had been. The pieces connected. "Oh, now I get what you're 're not in that kind of relationship. He was trying to save me from a monster and I guess he got caught too."

"A monster attacked you?" Emma asked.

I nodded, "Yes, it carried us here. Um, where are we anyway?"

"You're in the Mystic Mountains. But you said this monster carried you?"

I gave her another nod, "I'm afraid that's all I know. I can't give you a why."

"Well, if you don't know, you don't know. It's about time I woke this guy up." Emma stuck the plant under Velnar's nose.

The three of us jumped as the mage flung himself onto his feet, flames billowing from his body. "What the hell is that crazy ass Sage up to!?" Velnar roared. His gaze snapped on me and I flinched. "Why is Melchior so damn interested in you?"

I made myself small, "I-I d-don't know."

"Damn, I hate dealing with him." He let out a sigh and dispersed the flames with a wave of his hand. "You okay?"

I nodded, "You?"

He nodded and turned his attention to the other two, "And you are?"

"I'm Emma and this is Phillip. We're from the Rangers Guild in the Vice Capital. Who are you?"

"I'm Velnar-"

"From the Sorcerer's Army?" Phillip cut in.

"Uh… yeah."

"What in the name of Yggdra are you doing all the way at here!?" Phillip went bug-eyed and frantically waved his hands as he talked, "Er, I mean, for someone with your reputation to be all the way out here… it's unheard of."

"Where is 'here'?"

"The Mystic Mountains," Phillip and Emma answered. They glanced at each other in shock for a moment and grinned.

"Of course we are," Velnar sighed. "I'm supposed to escort her to the Sages, but I keep getting side tracked."

"S-speaking of which," I hesitated as three pairs of eyes trained on me, "Did you... recognize those monsters?"

"They're monsters used to train the Sorcerer's Army."

"But they're kept at the Tower, right? Why would they be out here?" Emma narrowed her eyes at us.

Velnar motioned at me, "Like I said, I keep being sidetracked but I sure as hell would like to know the reason why, too."

"You wouldn't happen to have a way of contacting them, would you?" I asked.

"I have a communicator, but it won't work here in the Mystic Mountains. There's too much interference."

"So it'll work when we leave?"

"Yes."

"Was it in your pack?"

"No, it's in my pocket."

"That's good."

The wizard frowned at me, "Why is that 'good'?"

"The monsters didn't bring our bags."

He rubbed his forehead, "Of freaking course. OF FREAKING COURSE! Trouble freakin' follows you."

My shoulders dropped, "Sorry."

Phillip stepped between us,"If I may intervene, I wish to propose a plan that will benefit both our parties. If you are without supplies we can share ours with you on the condition that you help us on our mission. Once it's complete we will guide you to the Holy Capital. How does that sound?"

"What kind of mission?" Velnar asked.

"Exterminating a nest of monsters. I can imagine it would go faster if we had the assistance of such a prominent fire mage."

"Cut the flattery and you have a deal."

Barrierboro

Febrya glared into the communicator as the reflective surface glowed. Course words ran through her mind as she imagined scenarios. She was ready to unleash her fury even though Melchior was her superior. It was well deserved after all the crap he had put them through.

A blurry image flashed across the glass for a moment and became clear. The Sage was wearing a bored expression. "What do you want?"

"Why the hell did you send those monsters after us!?" Febrya roared. "Where did they take Commander and Nova? Why are we even on this stupid quest?"

Silence fell as the Sage examined an object on his desk he glanced back at the screen. "Are you done? Because if you are I need to give you a new assignment."

"W-what? Didn't you hear anything I just said!?"

"Oh, no, I did. Loud and clear. I'm just choosing to ignore it for your own sake. If you really want to know what's going on then you'll catch those monsters and come back to the Tower. Unless, of course, you want to be dismissed from the Sorcerer's Army."

"Th-that's not fair."

"It's perfectly fair after the way you talked to me. And let's not forget that you disobeyed a direct order to immediately return to the Tower."

"But-"

"Buuuuuuuuuuut?"

"Fine! I'll do it!"

"Excellent. Report to me as soon as you arrive."

"Yes… sir." The screen went blank and she handed it back to Franz, "Thanks." Her shoulders drooped and her limbs felt heavy. All the ideas that had run through her head in the beginning had been shoved to the wayside in a matter of seconds. Her heart gave a dull throb as she shifted her focus on finding the monsters.

"So, what's the plan?" The thief asked.

"You heard the plan. I'm going to catch those monsters and go to the Tower."

"But is that what you want to do?"

"No, but I don't have much of a choice. I can't afford to make a reckless decision now."

"Man, you sure do have it rough, huh? You know, you can always join the Volunteer Army."

The mage shook her head, "No, I can't do that. Not until I finally best Commander Velnar. I need to get stronger and the only way to do that is to observe the best fire mage around."

Franz shrugged, "Just trying to give some options. I'd really like to a beautiful girl like you around camp."

She sneered at him, "You know someone's a player when they can say sickening things with a straight face."

He clutched at his heart and scrunched his face, "Why must you wound me so? I only have the best intentions!" He peeked at her with one eye.

Febrya found herself chuckling despite her foul mood. "You're so weird."

"Ah-ha! There's a smile! You look so pretty when you smile."

The mage went back to scowling,"And it's gone." She turned to the ogre who had been watching the exchange by her shoulder. "What are you going to do, Indou?"

"I'll go with you. Volunteer Army can wait."

"You're worried about Nova?"

He nodded.

"Yeah, I'm worried about the both of them. Commander can take care of himself but Nova..."

"Hey, I have an idea. Why don't I come with you guys?"

"Not happening."

"Aw! But it would be so much more convenient for me. Once you guys reunite I can just take both of them back to the Volunteer Army."

"But don't they need you now?"

"That's what my communicator is for!" He flashed the mirror at her.

"Why do I feel like this is a way for you to shirk your responsibilities?"

"Hey, hey, that's not nice."

"I don't know. What do you think, Indou?"

He shrugged, "Don't care."

"Man! You guys are cold!"

Mystic Mountains

My clothes were sticking flat against my skin as we traversed the mountain forest. The air was thick with humidity and heat- almost like an outdoor sauna. I pushed my hair out of my face and grimaced at my wet hand.

"Geez, did you get into a fight with a rock?" Emma exclaimed.

I frowned, "What?"

"Your hands."

"Yeah, I, uh... got in a fight." I looked past her and saw Velnar flash me a warning glance.

"Why didn't you heal your hands?"

"Punishment," I blurted. "It was a stupid fight and I accidently hurt my friend."

Emma smiled, "It's good to know that you care enough about your companions to suffer the full brunt of the consequences of your actions."

How am I supposed to answer that? I looked to Velnar for guidance only to find my puzzled thoughts mirrored by his quizzical expression.

"Emma, what kind of moss is that?" Phillip asked.

"Hm?" The girl gazed at where he was pointing, "Oh! That's sky moss. It's really good for treating nightmares."

As she was explaining, I caught Phillip's eye. He winked and went back to listening and asking questions.

"What was that about?" Velnar muttered as he strode beside me.

"I… don't even know. I'm guessing that there's a story behind that."

"Good cover story, by the way."

"Yeah, I guess. It probably would've been better if I had said I didn't want to talk about it."

"What you said was fine."

I nodded and turned my attention to the two guides. I felt a wave of gratitude wash over me as Phillip kept Emma's attention. It was one thing to tiptoe around Velnar, but if I had to deal with Emma's quirks too- my head would explode.

"You feeling okay?"

"Huh?"

"Yesterday you weren't feeling well."

"Oh yeah, I feel better. I don't know what that was about."

"Here," Velnar handed me a canteen. "You should be drinking water."

"Isn't it still hot from when you boiled it earlier?"

"It should be cool by now."

"Thanks." I took a couple of swigs and tried to hand it back to him.

"Keep it." He was silent for awhile before he spoke up again. "Has your power been reacting to anything?"

I shook my head, "Not that I can tell. But I've been thinking. It reacted to Black Army, but I also attacked both Trystan and Indou. What if nothing actually causes? What if it triggers a survival mechanism and that doesn't stop until I'm 'safe?'"

"Those are possibilities. We won't know anything until it happens again."

"I'm really hoping it doesn't happen again. I'm afraid of what might happen."

"Hey guys," Emma called, interrupting what Velnar was going to say. "We're going to set up camp in two hours. I know it looks early, but night comes fast up here."

As night was falling, my stomach began to churn again. I staggered as I stood up and clung to a branch for balance. My branch cracked against another and I winced. I glanced at the others. When I was sure that I hadn't disturbed them I slowly let go of the tree.

A heat wave rolled over my skin. Sweat was forming on my forehead and I wiped it away with the back of my hand. I picked up my canteen and chugged some water to relieve my dry throat. My stomach gave a sharp pain ejecting the water in my mouth as I groaned. Emma stirred in her sleep.

I waited for awhile before I moved again. With long, slow steps I paced around our site, keeping my eyes and ears on alert for animals or monsters. I was beginning to regret taking the first watch. If I were asleep I probably could sleep past my illness. Now I had to face it head on while having to keep focused on my surroundings.

My stomach gurgled and I ran a safe distance away from camp. I retched. I kept going even when there was nothing left but stomach bile. As I gagged I felt a hand rubbing my back.

"Rough night?" Emma's voice asked.

"Yeah," I panted, "You could say that."

She crouched beside me and handed me a crushed herb. "These are good for upset stomachs. But make sure that you don't drink water until the end of your watch. Otherwise, it'll negate the herb."

"Thank you, Emma," I creaked. I took the herb and scrunched my face as the bitterness left a foul bile on my tongue.

"No problem. Good night."

"I'm sorry for waking you."

"Don't worry about it."

I let out a long sigh and rose from my bent position. With heavy steps, I trudged back to camp, hoping that my turn would end soon.