A/N: Been a long time… Hope you guys like this..
FORGOTTEN LEGACY
--- Stroke of Luck ---
The red-haired wizard chuckled softly. She was amused by the young mage's reaction.
"She didn't like what she saw, ne?" she asked, quirking a brow at the hunter and then dissolving into giggles again.
The hunter glared at the spell-caster intending to silence her but it just resulted into the opposite of his intention. The woman laughed harder.
"Shut up…," he snapped and then walked away.
Saithe walked towards the suburbs of the city with an air of someone who was very familiar with the area. The dwellings were beautifully crafted as what was befitting for the magical city and were embedded with at least one rune symbol in its entire structure. It was strange, really, but was the custom. The old folks said that the symbols called the guidance and blessings of the gods and goddesses.
The hunter stopped at a tall and darkly-painted structure and then entered it after a moment's hesitation. The inside of the building was gloomy and dimly-lit. Only one candle lighted the entire floor of the building.
With cautious steps, Saithe moved towards the back of the building. He glanced around making sure that none was with him in the area, reached down on the dusty floor and opened a well-hidden, wooden trapdoor.
The room under the trapdoor was in total darkness and smelled strongly of karvodailnirols and detrimindextas. After a minute-long breather, he stepped slowly, careful as not to step on anything unpleasant, and, using his hands, felt his way towards the edge of the room, keeping mostly near the walls.
The hunter stopped at the edge of the narrow room. Steps that spiraled downwards greeted him as he turned around the corner. A reddish yellow sort of glow could be seen dancing at the walls at the last step that could be seen by his eyes. The stairs was narrow and well-hidden. Those who did not know the exact location would take a day before they found this.
A very good place to do something illegal…
With quick strides, he arrived at the bottom of the steps. Heat washed over him as he came face to face with a blazing hearth. Several iron ores, green earths, and oridecons could be seen in the fire.
Shifting his attention from the hearth, Saithe moved towards an old man with gray hair tied at the nape. The elderly man appeared not to have sensed the hunter's arrival and continued his pounding of the iron ores on the golden anvil.
Not even bothering to wait for a greeting from the old man, Saithe pulled out a large pouch from his backpack and threw it at the feet of the blacksmith. Undaunted by the noise made by things inside the pouch, the blacksmith continued his work.
"Check it," Saithe said quietly.
Finally acknowledging the hunter's presence, the blacksmith looked up from his forging and said, "The things are complete, I trust?"
Saithe nodded.
Eurlen the Forger, as what the blacksmith is called, stood and picked up the pouch from the floor. He walked towards the table and poured the contents of the pouch on the table's surface. Apparently satisfied with the contents, he returned the things into its pouch and then pulled a number of gold coins from his pocket, turned, and then handed it over to Saithe. With that done, the blacksmith strode to where he was before and went back to his forging like though nothing significant happened over the past few minutes.
The hunter on the other hand was counting the zeny he was given. Finding it in the right amount, he pocketed the gold coins and then went back the way he came towards the old cobbled streets of the magical city outside the gloomy building.
Good thing that was over, he thought with a sigh of relief. He never liked dealing with these wayward blacksmiths. But alas, he can do nothing about it. It was the only job he could get that paid an ample amount of money that could support his family's luxurious lifestyle.
Having nothing better to do and with a lot of time on his hands before he was required to report back to base, Saithel decided to stroll around the city thinking that he might find a girl he could hit on. As he passed by the Geffen tower, he instinctively looked up to the window where he saw the young mage earlier. It was closed and the blue curtain was drawn, preventing him from seeing anything inside. He stopped and stared at the drawn curtains, thinking about the girl he had seen earlier. The abrupt change in her expression --- from excitement to a dead blank look --- bugged him so much.
"Hi…," a voice whispered softly.
Saithe pulled his gaze from the window and settled it on a blonde with a face and figure that men would kill for. The pretty woman was smiling timidly yet seductively at him, lowering her eyes to add more to the stunt she was trying to pull on him.
Saithe smiled at the girl and for no apparent reason, turned on his heel and walked back towards the tool dealer he passed by a few minutes ago. The image of the mage was bugging him, making him lose his appetite on his conquest for a willing girl to go to bed with. Normally, he would have jumped on the opportunity to talk with a girl and maybe seduce her to bed with him later. But now, he did not feel like flirting with anybody.
With that in mind, he went to the tool dealer for a couple of butterfly wings.
"What a bugger…," Saithe muttered to himself as he shook his head. "I might as well go back home…"
After his shopping, Saithe stepped back outside and pulled out one of the enchanted wings. With a final glance at the tower, he crushed the butterfly wing, allowing its magic to work on him. A split second later, he disappeared… off to an unknown place somewhere in the vast continent of Rune Midgard.
oooOOOooo
"Are you serious, master?" asked a female voice.
In a dimly lit and lusciously decorated room, a woman was kneeling with her head down in a gesture of respect.
"I am. Track the assassin down and kill him."
The master, to whom the woman referred to, had his back to his visitor. With Albertan whiskey in hand, he stood by the windows, gazing out at the moonless night.
"He knows too much already. As I observed when he came to report, I cannot hold his loyalty, He will be a nuisance if not killed immediately," he added softly as he took a sip from his wineglass.
"As you wish, master," the woman replied, sadness reflected in her eyes.
"I hope you do as I said…," spoke the master as he turned to face the woman. "Do not let emotions get in your way."
The woman looked up and then quickly dropped her gaze. "It will be done."
oooOOOooo
One cool and moonless night in the desert of Sograt, a lone wizard trekked the sandy dunes heading towards Morroc. As she entered the northern gate of the walled city, she slowed down her pace and surveyed her surroundings with contained wonder.
What had been a controversial diminutive town, Morroc had changed into a place never dreamt of by the people of Midgard centuries ago. People had filled Morroc up gradually as the years went by making the once little town into a city of its own right. Also, Morroc's notorious reputation of being the haven of hitmans and thieves was now buried into the depths of the city's history as the cause of such linking was erased from the face of Midgard one fateful night of long ago.
The wizard smiled to herself as she absorbed the sights and sounds of the city. She liked the metropolis' serene and welcoming atmosphere. It somehow drained the tension in her muscles and erased the nervousness that was borne out of unfamiliarity. She felt relaxed here, a surprise really since she was expecting a harsh aura hanging about the place. It was an expectation born since Reiane had been one of the recipients of the stories of ancient times told by the old bartender in Geffenia. Morroc's old reputation still cast shadows of doubt regarding safety on tourists, travelers, or just about anyone who would want to come here.
I want to live here…
Reiane Carfass, now a full-fledged wizard, chuckled to herself as soon as the thought crossed her mind. Didn't she just promise herself that she would settle down back in Payon after her wizard test? And now she was betraying her hometown by considering the idea of living here.
Smiling, Reiane sighed and pulled down the hood of her cloak. Deciding to handle her body's necessities first before proceeding with her self-set mission, Reiane headed for a humble-looking pub and entered it, taking off her traveling cloak as she sat down on a table by the window.
A waitress came over. "What'll it be, Madame?"
"Just lunatic stew and some ale," the woman replied politely.
The waitress bowed her head then headed for the kitchen to inform the cook of the order.
While waiting for her food to be served, Reiane busied herself by staring at the window and drowning in the stream of memories. A sad smile shadowed on her lips as she remembered events of the past that had made her life a happy one.
The sound of the pub's door being slammed hard on its frame jerked Reiane from her reminiscing and back to reality. Instinctively, as most people would do, Reiane turned to look at the new arrivals.
Two women entered the pub. One was a blonde with short layered hair and wearing a loose skirt over slacks paired off with an off-shoulder top. The other one had russet hair clipped at the sides with stellar pins and was wearing a skimpy tight skirt and a snug purple blouse.
Seemingly oblivious to the people's attention, the two moved towards the table near Reiane's and settled down.
With the show over, Reiane turned her attention back to the window and continued her interrupted staring at the sceneries outside. She sighed heavily.
The journey she would be taking will not be an easy one. She had nothing to start with except for some vague information on a stupid letter that was dated a year before. To complete her mission would take a miracle; thus, now she started praying to the gods, a deed that was no longer practiced, to send her something that would point her to the right direction.
"Your order," said a female voice, interrupting her thoughts.
Reiane nodded impassively at the waitress then focused her attention on the food and began to eat it. She moaned softly in delight, reveling at the stew's luscious taste. The lunatic stew was superbly cooked and totally divine in the mouth.
For no reason at all during the course of her meal, Reiane looked up from her food and caught one of the new arrivals staring at her. The blonde smiled politely at Reiane before looking away and engaging her companion in a conversation.
The woman's gaze was settled somewhere on Reiane's chest. Puzzled, Reiane looked down to her upper body, trying to look for something that might catch anyone's interest. The amethyst necklace glinting atop her bosom caught her attention.
Reiane stared at the young woman with wariness and puzzlement.
"What was that for?" she asked herself.
After a while of pondering on the matter, Reiane refocused her attention on the stew, all the while trying to shrug the lurking uneasiness off her mind in order to enjoy the meal.
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TBC…
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A/N: Please don't forget to leave a review or even just a comment.. Thanks…
