Chapter III: The Town of Magvel
Memories of her old home flooded back to Cynthia the moment that they set foot into Magvel town but she was long past the crying stage. Children scrambled after dogs in the roads causing donkeys and horses to stop in their tracks from time to time and there was a great mixture of livestock and people in the dirt roads. Small white shingled houses were lined serenely along the streets and small shops were set up everywhere. "Well let's see, we need food and clothing," said Cynthia, walking towards a tailor's shop. She turned towards Siegfried, a puzzled look upon her face as she observed him staring wide-eyed at a large group of men, who everyone seemed to be keen to avoid. "What's wrong, Siegfried?" Cynthia asked, eyeing the rugged men with suspicion. "That is the gang of bandits that I once belonged to... the Black Wind," muttered Siegfried disbelief written all over his face. "You used to be a member of the Black Wind? The most feared and ruthless bandits in all of Europe!" she exclaimed swinging her head to the blonde. "Yes... I was their leader," he growled, adverting his blue eyes in shame.
"Well then I guess that evil sword chose a suitable puppet for its evil-doing. You probably had fun killing all of those people," she snapped, running off into the crowd. She ruthlessly pushed past the Black Wind as they walked and had vanished before they could protest. Siegfried halted his pursuit of her then and stood face to face with his former colleges. For a moment, they simply stared, disbelieving, at him. An impressively tall dark-haired man with smooth ebony hair and nearly black eyes rushed over to the blonde. "Is that you, Siegfried? What am I talking about? Who else would have such pretty blonde hair and blue eyes?" he teased giving him a friendly clap on the back. Smiling, Siegfried replied, "It's nice to see all of you again but I need to find someone now." A short thin man no older than twenty sped towards Siegfried, his floppy brown hair rising and falling with each step. "No way! You owe us an explanation. You've been gone for nearly six years!"
"I guess I can't get out of it then," he muttered. "Sure can't," a broad-shouldered redhead laughed. "But we should get a room and talk there." Siegfried nodded and he hesitantly followed his old colleagues to a large cleanly inn nestled at the edge of the town. The dark-eyed man lead the way into the warm inn, everyone scrambling into corners or the side of the walls as they walked by. "We're going to be staying here for a day if you don't mind," he grumbled to the innkeeper. The balding thin man was standing stalk-still besides his uncontrollable shivering and he squeaked, "N-no problem at all, sir! We w-will reserve the very best rooms for y-you and your men." He signaled to a maid who scrambled up the stairs, leading three people out of their rooms a moment later while she promised them compensation. Once they laid eyes on the bandits they did not complain, snatching up their money and rushing out of the inn. Once settled into one large room, all circled about Siegfried, the gang demanded his story.
With a deep sigh he said, "I'm sure that you all have heard of the fearsome Nightmare. Well... he was me." His blue eyes scanned the astonished faces of each man and the twenty-year old finally exclaimed, "Wow! What came over you? You never liked killing people." "It wasn't me. It was this sword I found about six years ago when I went out to search for Soul Edge." Soon he was retelling the entire story the bandits greedily consuming each word he spoke with wide-eyed enthusiasm until he'd finished. "So that rude little btch who pushed past us was this Cynthia who saved your life?" asked Keyol. "It's a good thing you told me now because I went and taught her a lesson in manners." Siegfried shuddered at the thought of what became of people Keyol decided to teach "lessons." "Well we should get some shuteye, guys. Good to have you back, Seig," mumbled a bald man with an eye-patch. Other members of his former gang crowded around him to welcome him back as well before they all went to sleep.