Overlord: Cain of Ainz Ooal Gown
I don't own Overlord
Warning long author's note
A/N: i know that in the beginning that this is basically a copy of the beginning of Overlord and i am planning on the major changes kicking in around the time of the kidnapping...that being said when it comes to his friends and guild mates Cain isn't as free minded as his original counter-part due the fact that being a living being wouldn't allow him to spend nearly as much time pondering on them and his stress levels and emotions aren't constantly repressed, due to his living state and despite having the extra skills/classes of the undead they are something he has to activate and as such he sleeps and become distracted even if temporarily by smaller things cutting into even more of his thinking time, so he is still very much on the lookout for his friends but its heaped under all his other worries at the moment and i know i probable didn't write in any signs of such things if for no other reason than that i forgot to while writing so you have my apologies for that. end of A/N
Cain blinked at the little dingy cart as it rolled along he had been assigned to the right rear guard something he really wouldn't have been opposed to if it wasn't for the horses' dropping, they were seemingly healthy and well fed.
This of course meant that there was an occasional mess that he had to avoid least he get the dung in the ridges of his armored feet and even that wouldn't have bothered him as much as his nose.
His sense of smell was increased beyond human levels and he could smell the dung as if it was directly in front of his face not on the ground as they walked which was why he almost sighed in relief when he heard Nfirea say that they should take a break.
As they pulled over next to a small stream Nfirea unhitched his steads and guided them to the water allowing them to drink at their leisure while all but two of the adventures rested, the remaining two stood as guards.
Cain rested with his back against a large stone Rubedo seemed to take this as a chance to try and hang off him a bit while Lukrut, who seemed to think this was slight display of worry spoke.
"Don't worry Ruby as long as this team has me as its eyes and ears nothing will sneak up on us, aren't I great?" as he finished he turned to look at 'Ruby' who wasn't paying him the slightest of attention making the group laugh as Lukrut's head drooped.
On that note Rubedo was doing a mix of standing and leaning on Cain occasionally muttering sweetly at him while rubbing on his chest much to Cain's embarrassment.
Lukrut recovered and spoke again this time in a semi-serious way "Ah despite the age between you two, Able are you and Ruby lovers?!"
Cain and Ruby responses where instantaneous but were in complete and totally opposite directions "No we are not lovers!" was Cain's response.
Rubedo turned away from Cain with a blush and spoke while clasping her cheeks in her hands "Ahh Able they think us lovers my elder sister would surely be jealous hehe I think we would make for great lovers."
The group laughed at Cain's and Ruby's responses finding the contrasting or almost desperate cry in Cain's case to be funny.
Nfirea despite his honest laugh felt a bit of tightness in his chest Ruby seemed to be his age maybe a tad younger and yet she was pining openly for Able it made him fearful about Enri possibly meeting the man.
Not that Nfirea had any right to feel that way seeing as he hadn't made a move on her yet or at least that's what he told himself to lessen the feeling a bit before he laughed again as Lukrut tried to flirt with Ruby only to be rejected via no acknowledgement again.
After 20 minutes and a bit more banter they were all back on the trail this time Cain and Ruby were in the front while Lukrut took a position in the cart while the remaining members guarded the sides and back end of the cart.
The sun was almost directly overhead when Lukrut called everyone to a stop as he cautiously looked out into the forest to the left of cart and as everyone else turned that way he pulled his bow from around his shoulder and knocking and arrow.
"Get ready we are about to have some company!" said Lukrut and as the blond finished talking a line of goblins emerged from the tree line followed closely by several ogres.
Cain drew his swords and stood while Rubedo put on her own weapons, a set of spiked and clawed gloves which clashed drastically with her appearance as the claws were savage and slightly hooked backwards.
While the spikes her knuckles were jagged truly they were vicious looking weapons and their color brought to mind the flesh of a demonic beast a dark greyish-black with streaks of blood red intermixed and the bladed bits themselves were a deep shiny red.
The swords of darkness shuddered when they looked at the two 'new' adventures in a new light before their focus returned to the approaching threat.
Lukrut made the first move launching an arrow at the goblins only for the green skinned monsters to laugh as the arrow fell painfully short of any of them before they all charged the cart.
The goblins despite being smaller were faster than the ogres and began to pull ahead and while this happened Lukrut began sniping them from the cart.
Cain seemed to pause for a moment before he spoke "Which group should we take?"
Peter also stalled for a moment before he replied without taking his eyes off the approaching swarm of monsters "Take the ones on the right."
Cain nodded and once he felt that the goblins had gotten into a comfortable range he lunged using low level warrior skill Leaping cleave a skill that did exactly as it said.
However, the skill could end in two ways depending on the number of opponents or if more than one opponent was targeted.
If there was only one target it would end in downwards chop for a massive amount of damage and a moderate chance of applying a low level bleeding affect to the target or if there are several targets the skill would end with a passing slash, passing by the targets while using the blade to cleave into their sides.
However, even low level spells or skills when used by a high level player were much more powerful than when used by a player who had just learned the skill and as such Cain ended up cleaving the four goblins in half horizontally.
The speed and power behind his strike shocked everyone on the field but that shock was quickly knocked out of them as Cain preformed a basic slash attack ending another two goblins' lives.
Thus the battle started anew Lukrut continued shooting his bow even when a rock struck his arm, Ninya remained in the middle of the group casting spells as needed, Dyne made himself a nuisance for the goblins who got to close to the cart by entangling them and healing his companions as needed with his druid magic, and Peter of course was in the front slashing away with his short sword.
Needless to say to Cain and Rubedo this was more annoying than anything though to Cain at least Rubedo seemed to be having a bit of fun.
She was punching and clawing with just enough power to maul and cripple her opponents before painfully finishing them…it honestly worried Cain a bit he really would need to keep a close eye on her in the future.
Eventually the monsters got that it wasn't a good idea to try attack this group and began to flee and being a bit caught up in the moment Cain leapt towards the fleeing monster's and used another skill Extended air slash.
This skill was on the upper end of the low level skills and basically was an expanding distance attack that launched a sharpened blade of air at the targets in a triangular shape extending away from the user but as the distance increases the damage decreases drastically.
Unfortunately for the remaining goblins and ogres they were still well within the attacks range and as such they were all cut by the attack the goblins were in some ways luckier as they were killed instantly either by decapitation or having most of their heads removed.
The ogres however were cut in half anywhere from lower stomach to mid pelvis and as such were filled with pain as they slipped into shock and died.
Cain smiled to himself happy that he had gotten them all he wasn't sure if he would be able to after all it had been years since he had to use such low level abilities and his memory of their ranges and exact effects were a little…fuzzy at best.
However, when he turned around Cain was greeted with shocked stares from the Swords of darkness and Nfirea.
Peter was the first to speak "A-Able what was that attack?!" Cain froze as his mind raced was even that attack too high level?
After a moment Cain spoke doing his best to keep his slight panic from his voice "That was one of my warrior skills extended air slash."
Peter's jaw dropped as his mind raced and questions passed over him such as if it was a purely warrior skill, if he could learn said skill, and if he could learn the skill would he ever be able to use it as impressively as Able had just done?
Cain cringed slightly as everyone continued to stare at him and after a moment Cain spoke again making sure to keep his voice steady as he did so "Should we start collecting our spoils?"
That seemed to shake the group from their frozen stares Peter gave a nervous weak chuckle before he replied "Y-yeah…let get this done real quick then we can get back on the road."
Cain took a moment and watched the swords of darkness move through the corpses cutting off choice pieces from each seemingly based on the species of monster.
Cain hesitated for a moment mentally regretting not having thought to ask about monster drops in this world if there even were any.
Cain looked around him unsure if he should ask his question…spotting Ninya he decided to go for it "Ninya do the monsters happen to carry treasures of some sort, crystals maybe that they drop once they are slain?"
Ninya turned to Cain with a bit of a surprised look but replied somewhat cheerfully "No it would be nice if that were the case though…the most you find on monsters like these are their loin cloths or maybe a semi-decent weapon."
Lukrut called out from a little bit away closer to the cart in case of another attack "The only monsters that might be like that, that I can think of are dragons or some other sort of hoarding monster."
Ninya nodded in agreement before cutting another ear off the body of a downed monster Cain thought for a moment before he spoke up "So are we removing parts of these monsters as proof of a kill?"
Ninya nodded slightly before replying "Yep each monster species has a specific part that we can remove as proof of a kill in the case of goblins and ogres it's one of the ears."
Cain looked at the many bodies around him some of which were missing one of their ears Cain spoke again "Which ear for which monster?"
Ninya stood and turned to him before responding "Left ear for goblins right for ogres why?"
Cain thought for a moment before holding out his hand and speaking again "Do you have another knife, one that I could use?"
The rest of the group looked to him in shock as he said that even Nfirea who was still on the cart looked at Cain in shock.
"Why are you looking at me in that way?" asked Cain in confusion, Rubedo of course spoke up first.
"Able why would you do that you killed most of these things and your full body armor would make it awkward for you to do all that bending over." as Rubedo explained Cain couldn't help but feel his face flush he felt like a child receiving a kind scolding by a mother.
It wasn't helped by the swords of darkness who nodded in agreement with what Rubedo was saying Peter spoke up after a moment "Why don't you stand with the cart."
Cain wanted to argue with the group over this uncalled for job but with the seemingly unanimous agreement Cain walked away to the cart doing his best not to let his shoulders sag.
Nfirea seemed to feel Cain's mood because he remained quite as Cain leaned against cart while occasionally stealing glances at his guard.
After a bit of time they finished up the collection of monster parts and returned to the cart before they returned to their formation and began to travel again.
They traveled a bit more but they decide to come to a stop for the night despite how close they were to the village but traveling in the night even if for just an hour or two was dangerous when so close to the territory of monsters such as the forest of Tob.
Or at least it would be for the common humans of this place but Cain and Rubedo just found it annoying that they had to stop when they were that close.
However seeing as they were the minority and that they were trying to play the part of decent adventures they didn't argue and when the time came they helped set up the defenses.
There was a bit of situation when Cain took off his helmet and Nfirea almost choked on his food but after a few hard smacks to the back Nfirea was fine and they all went back to their meals.
They eventually settled into small talk between each other after a bit of talking about the past and teammates Cain somewhat somberly mentioned his past team and their gradual disappearances until he was the only one to remain.
Cain, who was distracted by his thoughts and the fire, was unaware of the sad looks he was receiving from the rest of the group especially Rubedo who scowled recalling the traitors who turned their backs on Nazarick and more importantly, to her, Cain.
Ninya gave a somewhat sad smile and went to speak before thinking better of it after another glance at Cain's face remembering her own lost precious person.
After another moment of silence Cain stood leaving some what was left of his food in his place and put on his helmet before speaking "I am going to look around the camp."
Rubedo made to stand but as soon as Cain saw her rise he shook his head and held up his hand a clear sign that he wanted to be alone for bit before he walked away.
Dyne was the first to speak "A true shame he seems like a good man…" Dyne took a moment to shake his head "to lose your entire team."
Rubedo scowled darkly for a moment before she fixed her expression but Ninya caught the look and stared at her in confusion.
Rubedo blushed slightly in embarrassment and shame at having been caught Nfirea seemed to think that now was a good time for a change of topic and as such he asked a question.
"Hey Ruby how do you and Able know one another?" the question was innocent enough and again before she could suppress it Rubedo's face twisted into a small frown before she replied.
"I am the daughter of one of his companions the youngest daughter of three at that…" seeing the surprised and curious eyes of everyone around her.
Rubedo smiled internally as a devious game came to mind and then she began speaking again.
"Able is a good man and an amazing father he has helped all his companion's children even those that betrayed him." Lukrut sputtered slightly at that.
However before he could speak up Dyne spoke as his eyes looked over to the direction Cain had walked to "H-how could…how many children are there?" but that wasn't the question he wanted to ask.
Rubedo tilted her head slightly and replied "I don't really know we never bothered counting each other but Able would probably know but there are a lot of us…its actually the reason we are out here we are taking missions hoping to help pay for everything we need."
Everyone in the group frowned and went quite that sounded difficult financially and emotionally and it made Able seem even more like a perfect person in their eyes.
A true hero strong, handsome, and he had a good heart looking after the children of his old comrade's even the ones who's parents apparently betrayed him.
Nfirea's shoulders slumped slightly he had intended to lighten the atmosphere and instead he made it worse and now his conscious was nibbling at him…he did after all invite these two adventures specifically so that he could steal from them.
Unknown to the rest of the present group Rubedo was basking in the feelings of her depressed companions and she decided that just a bit more would top it off for the night.
"I think despite everything he has been through…I think he still misses them even the ones who left without a word." as she finished talking Rubedo paused and gave a sad look to the fire before she got up and walked away towards Cain leaving her food behind while occasionally taking swipes at her eyes wiping away tears that weren't there as she smiled.
Everyone eventually settled in after finishing up or storing the rest of their food then they decided on a rotation for sleeping and guard duty Cain and Rubedo ended up requesting the first shift.
Next day
Once everyone was up and ready they ate and put up their tents and began walking again but unlike before there was a somewhat awkward silence the swords of darkness and Nfirea remained unsure of what to say after last night's revelations.
Cain who was not aware of Rubedo's tinkering remained quite because he was lost in his thoughts and didn't care to start a conversation while and the silence remained.
If Cain had not caught and imprisoned the knight that had attacked Carne village he probably would have had a few questions about the magic of the new world but alas he had put Neuronist's skills to work on the men with such questions in mind.
Thus they traveled in relative silence occasionally they would pause to shift positions but seeing as they were a only two hours out it seemed relatively short compared to yesterday's walk when something odd happened.
Nfirea was the one to notice that even though they could somewhat see the village there was wheat…just wheat stretching all the way from the village to them it was too much far too much for them to harvest by themselves.
Nfirea confused staring drew Lukrut's attention and he chose to comment "Man this is super wasteful there is no wa…" as Lukrut trailed off his eyes narrowed as he focused on the stocks of wheat but after a moment he shook his head and a light scowl touched his face.
Noticing Lukrut's unease Peter spoke up as he slightly turned to the party's ranger "What is it Lukrut?"
Lukrut's frown dipped a little deeper before he replied "I thought I saw something in the wheat but I think I was jumping at shadows."
The swords of darkness tensed up as was proper for adventures after all shadows are hardly just shadows in their line of work especially outside of a village or city.
However, it seemed unneeded as their travels remained unimpeded as they got closer and closer to the village Nfirea noticed something else new about the village a wall had been erected.
It was made of wood and nails and ropes mostly a basic, very basic even, wall but it was well constructed all the same it would do its job well against the average creatures of this world.
Or at least that is what Cain thought as he looked at the wall Nfirea however seemed more confused and worried as he looked at it.
"When did this get here?!" Nfirea yelled as he swiveled his head to try and see the far sides of the wall but all conversation was cut short as a voice range out causing everyone to draw their weapons.
"Drop your weapons now!" as Cain turned and looked at the source and saw…a goblin or rather goblins all of which were dressed up with proper armor and weapons they seemed more intelligent as well.
The goblins had surrounded them in a circular way and had covered themselves in wheat as camo and hadn't gotten close to the group of humans.
Nfirea spoke first "How, why are you here have you taken over this village?!" The goblin frowned and shook his head gently.
"No we have not taken over this village we serve the Goblin General Enri." replied the Goblin before his eyes narrowed "Now lower your weapons to the ground."
Nfirea's eyebrows rose in shock and confusion before he spoke "Enri you work for Enri?"
Peter spoke cutting off any more conversation between Nfirea and the Goblin "If we lower our weapons will you do the same?"
The Goblin now facing Peter seemed to grumble and argue with himself for a moment as his eyes flickered to Cain and Rubedo before he nodded slightly.
After a few hesitant moments Peter nodded to his group and gave a somewhat questioning nod to Cain who lowered his blades before looking to Rubedo making sure that she is doing the same.
Rubedo, who was inwardly seething at the gull of the goblin(s) who obviously sensed just out classed they were dared to aim their pathetic weapons at them and make demands but as she caught Cain's gaze she stopped her hands as they had begun to move towards her claws which were kept in a bag attached to her belt.
After seeing this Cain returned his gaze to the goblin who released a breath before he turned to the goblin to his side and told him to get the General.
Said goblin took off for the wall while everyone else remained in place in a somewhat awkward silence which lasted for a few minutes until the goblin returned and with him came a girl that Cain recognized.
Nfirea however was the first to speak and break the silence "Enri!" it was a shout of shock more than anything else.
"Eh Nfirea what are you doing here?" asked Enri slightly shaken at the sudden shout before her eyes looked at the cart and everyone else and her brain clicked the pieces together.
"Ah are you here to gather herbs again?" asked Enri smiling slightly at her childhood friend.
Nfirea nodded "Y-yeah I am here to gather some h-herbs…" the slight stutters were immediately overlooked by everyone dismissing it as the timid boy being timid.
After a bit more back and forth Enri finally led the group into the village while the goblins circled them seemingly on the lookout for any sort of attack.
But almost as soon as they were inside the village Nfirea, after telling them that they could move as they pleased for a bit, was dragged away by Enri leaving the adventures to themselves.
Everyone became aware of the fact that they were…not liked by the general populous the people of the village didn't do anything overly rude or hostile simply avoiding the group altogether and giving somewhat fearful glances.
Cain felt that it was natural given the villages circumstances but it also made for a unsettling or rather uncomfortable feeling creep through Cain and Rubedo wasn't taking too kindly to the stares either so Cain and Rubedo split from the swords of darkness and instead moved to a seemingly empty hill.
With Nfirea and Enri
Nfirea frowned to himself as Enri cried beside him…she had lost most of her family and friends and almost her own life as well as her sister's in a savage attack it all burned him up inside.
But he couldn't help but temper his anger he didn't deserve to be that mad he wasn't the one to lose anything unlike Enri who had almost lost it all.
That being said Nfirea had a thought he could help her if he could convince her and her sister to move to the city with him he could help support her with his wage.
With that in mind Nfirea began to reach for her shoulder both to comfort his childhood crush and to hopefully restart the conversation.
However, before he could even get half to her Enri wiped at her eyes and spoke "But my sister and I were saved by my village's savior, Lord Cain."
Nfirea quickly withdrew his hand and thought his mind racing who was Cain?
"Do you know who Cain is Enri?" asked Nfirea as he frowned and scrapped his mind for the name and more importantly anything notable about it.
Enri however gave a curious frown as she replied "I thought you would know of him Nfirea he was an incredible magic caster!"
Nfirea's eyebrows rose if a single unknown magic caster had almost passively cleared out the village of attackers that was startling after a moment he asked a question.
"Enri could you describe him or maybe his abilities to me?" however after saying that Nfirea felt his heart lurch with fear as Enri blushed deeply.
"Ah Lord Cain is a very handsome man…he has deep red eyes and his features are sharp and his hair is a solid black and he is very tall with a broad chest and his magic…he threw lightning from his hands." as Enri spoke she blushed deeper before straightening up slightly and talking about the magic she saw him use.
Nfirea's eyes lit up slightly as he shoved his fear away before he spoke his thoughts a somewhat awed tone lingering as he talked "That is probably third tier magic."
Enri tilted her head curiously as her blush lessened slightly as she replied "Is that a bad thing?"
Nfirea shook his head as he respond "No its actually really impressive it puts Cain at a really high level he could potentially be able to cast fifth tier magic if he was casting a third tier that easily which would put him into a heroic category."
Enri smiled widely and clapped lightly "Ah I knew Lord Cain was special there was no way a person as kind and strong as him is common!"
Nfirea felt himself flinch as her words hit him but again he pushed the feeling away to focus on possibly identifying the mysterious magician "Was there anything else noticeable that he did aside from his magic?"
Enri smiled softly as she replied "Yes Lord Cain gave me three magic items two horns that summons the goblins that you saw, I already used one, and a single blood red potion that healed the cut on my back instantly without leaving a scar!"
In that moment Nfirea froze…a blood red potion one of such a high quality that it healed a fatal wound with ease Nfirea's mind immediately thought of Able and the red potion that he had given to Brita.
They obviously weren't the same person give that one was a magic caster and the other a warrior and their eyes and hair color were different but the idea that two powerful people like them showed up at almost the same time worried him greatly.
He felt a bit of fear swell in his chest again as his mind made connection both men had the same potion ergo they likely have some sort of connection possible partners or maybe they came from the same land or maybe…they were enemies?
Nfirea's fear doubled and he felt his blood drain from his face as he thought of just what he had been intending to do on this trip…to steal knowledge from one as strong as Able and potentially enrage him and another powerful man.
Enri suddenly placed a gentle hand on his shoulder before speaking "Nfirea are you ok you suddenly went pale?"
Nfirea shook his head and swallowed roughly before he shakily smiled and spoke "Y-yeah I am ok I just had a scary thought."
Enri frowned and placed the back of her hand against Nfirea's forehead before she sighed and replied "Well I suppose I will believe you for now…but those bad thoughts better not have been about Lord Cain." finished Enri with a bit of scolding in her tone.
Nfirea forced a stronger smile and nodded slightly before he stood and spoke "I should go get ready to pick the herbs I came here for."
Enri eyes widened in shock at the sudden change but gave a kind smile before speaking "Yes I suppose if you don't plan on spending the night on the road or here that might be a good idea."
Back with Cain and Rubedo
Cain stared over a small grove of trees from the hill at a group of humans being taught archery by a few goblins after a moment of watching Cain hummed lightly somewhat pleased with them.
Rubedo however saw fit speak up "What have they done to warrant your attention Lord Cain?"
Cain raised an eyebrow and replied "They are training, they suffered a tragedy very recently and instead of falling into despair they are seeking to prevent such a thing from happening again."
Rubedo placed a hand to her chin and hummed cutely before speaking "I suppose that I can see the humor in such weak beings pointlessly seeking strength like this it does after all make them fight more before they break hehe."
At Rubedo's girlish giggle Cain lowered his helmeted head slightly and released a small sigh that wasn't what he was trying to say.
However, before Cain could attempt to correct her Lukrut jogged over coming to a stop in front of the two "Hey Nfirea has decided to start looking for the herbs he sent me to get you guys."
Cain almost groaned his temporary companion's timing was bad…well he could always correct her later so with a nod of understanding Cain began to move back to the cart.
Rubedo smiled sweetly as she followed behind Cain and Lukrut…Lukrut tried to flirt with Rubedo who simple ignored him focusing entirely on Cain as they all moved to the cart.
After converging at the cart Nfirea did a small head count just to confirm that everyone was indeed there Nfirea started the trip to the forest edge.
However, Cain noticed something Nfirea was afraid and seemingly not of the forest or the creatures in it but of Cain and Rubedo as the boy had on their very short trip, barely 15 minutes, glanced back at them 10 times and each time he thought Cain or Rubedo noticed his face would drain of color and he would whip his head around.
It was so apparent that the swords of darkness became aware of it almost immediately but chose not to say anything for the moment and ask both groups later as to what happened to cause this reaction it made it incredibly difficult to talk as the group moved into the edges of the forest.
Thus when the time came to stop everyone one of the adventures flinched as Nfirea spoke his voice crack slightly "AL-all right this seems like a good spot!"
After a moment the group unloaded the baskets that they would be using and a couple of extremely long and thick ropes which confused Cain and Rubedo.
Ninya upon seeing there confused looks smiled slightly and explained "The rope is for security we tie one end to a tree and the other to one of us and then we scout the surrounding area just to make sure that it is safe before and while we are foraging its really useful in places like these forests where it's easy to get turned around."
Cain nodded slightly and hummed in appreciation for the simple and effective method of returning to the edges of the forest.
Rubedo smiled spoke "If someone is to do that I think Able and I should he is skilled and armored enough to attack and defend himself and his armor would make gathering difficult and you should never go anywhere alone right Able?"
The swords of darkness as a whole seemed to agree with that line of thought and Cain could somewhat agree but at the same time this was his first time doing a real life quest he really wanted to do some picking if for no other reason than to complete his quest and maybe grab a few samples for Nazarick.
However, Cain was out voted even Nfirea agreed if for no other reason than to put some distance between Cain and Rubedo and himself but before they actually put on the ropes Nfirea spoke up.
"If you run into the great king of the forest please don't kill it." Cain raised an eyebrow under his helmet and tilted his head slightly in confusion.
"The Wise King of the forest, what is that?" asked Cain much to the shock of the Nfirea and the swords of darkness.
"The Wise King of the forest is a magical beast and the master of this forest it is said to have a coat of silver and a snake for a tail." stated Dyne before taking a deep breath to steady himself "It is said that it is the reason that this side of the forest has so few monster attacks."
Cain hummed to himself and closed his eyes in thought Aura was probably still in the forest looking for signs of his friends she probably would have come across this creature at some point…he wanted to fight it.
Thus Cain and Rubedo began their trek into the woods and Cain did so with a bit of an excited spring in his step and once he did his sweep of the forefront closest to where the others were and gave the ok sign he and Rubedo went deeper in.
Once he was sure that he wasn't visible to the humans of his group he untied the rope at his waist and as Rubedo did the same Cain sent a Message to Aura.
It only took a moment for the small dark elf to answer "Lord Cain?"
"Yes Aura it's me I have a question for you, are you still in the forest of Tob…the forest close to Nazarick?" asked Cain letting a bit of hopefulness slip into his tone.
Aura response was immediate "Ah yes Lord Cain I am still within the forest why?" Cain smiled underneath his helmet.
"Have you seen a beast with silver fur and a snake like tail?" Asked Cain again hope audible in his words.
Aura immediately made a sound of recognition before she spoke "Ah that one yes I know of that one I am currently in its territory why?"
Cain was about to speak but paused and thought for a moment before speaking again "We are a on the edge of the forest 15 minutes' walk from the closest village find us and I will tell you of my request."
Aura giggled slightly "Got it see you in a bit Lord Cain." After she finished talking Cain ended the Message and turned to Rubedo who was staring somewhat curiously at him.
"What is it Rubedo?" asked Cain as he removed his helmet and placed it under his arm revealing the smiling face of his Able persona.
Rubedo smiled a little slyly as she spoke "Are you going to torment that creature…that wise king?" Cain felt his smile lessen slightly before he replied.
"No I have no intention of tormenting the beast but I do intend on fighting it and possibly taming it for Nazarick." said Cain adding a bit to his reasons making seem as though he had intended to capture it from the beginning however this caused Rubedo pouted a little.
"If you are going to give such bad news you should do it in your true form it makes the news easier to take." said Rubedo as a playful and slightly sly smile broke across her face.
Cain thought over it for a moment before he nodded slightly "I may as well let the transformation go for a bit and it will probably be best to greet Aura with a familiar face." Cain paused momentarily as his features returned to their original state.
Cain smiled gently at Rubedo as the change finished causing her playful smile to break into a star struck look and as she began to blush Cain continued "Is that better?...Rubedo are you ok." as he finished talking Cain leaned down to look at the seemingly frozen Rubedo.
The now flustered Rubedo gave a twisted smile that Cain almost flinched at as a sweet scent akin to Albedo's reach his nose however before anymore could be done Aura dropped from the tree tops directly in front of them.
"Hiya Lord Cain, Rubedo what can I do for you?" asked Aura joyously smiling widely at the two before her.
Cain turned to Aura with the same gentle smile and spoke "Ah Aura you are quick I figured it would take a bit longer for you to find us…as for what I want I would like you to drive that beast I talked about earlier here I wish to fight it."
Aura seemed stunned momentarily at her Lord's appearance his kind almost loving smile making her heart skip a beat in joy before what he said registered in her mind.
"AH Lord Cain do you intend to kill the beast?" asked Aura lightly hoping to not offend her Lord with her question.
Cain's smile simple widened but the gentleness was gone and in its place was desire, the desire to have something one has deemed rare or unique Aura recognized the look quite well as she gained a similar look when she saw a rare beast she wished to tame she almost didn't have to hear his answer to understand his request.
"No Aura I simple wish to test it before I take it for myself." stated Cain his greedy and wanting smile still in place.
Cut