Chapter 6: Spreading Word
L'Arachel, along with Dozla and Rennac, return to Rausten Castle, and a guard standing at the gate says, "Welcome back, Your Majesty!"
"It's good to be back, but I don't have time for pleasantries." says L'Arachel. "I need to speak with my uncle. Do you know where he is?"
"Currently, last I heard, he was in meeting with the Raustian Senators." says the guard. "But I imagine at this time, he might be close to finishing."
"My uncle is pretty much a good enough talker to end those meetings fast." says L'Arachel. "At any rate, I have an utter urgency, so I need you to go fetch him for me."
"Yes, Your Majesty! Right away!" says guard before he leaves.
"No doubt, when full news of this reaches Rausten, the Senate won't be very thrilled with such Terrors now being present to harm the people of this continent." says Dozla.
"No, they won't be, and I know for a fact they'll be more than willing to help us in this endeavor." says L'Arachel.
Rennac just hums to himself a bit.
"Rennac? Is something wrong?" asks Dozla.
"Just thinking about things." says Rennac.
"That might be dangerous for someone like you." says L'Arachel teasingly.
"Right now is not the time to joke." says Rennac.
"My, that was surprisingly curt of you to say such a thing." says L'Arachel. "And even more so that you're also right. This news needs to be brought of and fast. Let us head inside."
The three walk into castle after that exchange.
After getting inside, Mansel approaches the three and he says, "Ah, there's my darling queen of a niece. How fare you? Did things go well?"
"Well, I don't know if well is the best way to describe things at the moment." says L'Arachel.
"Yes, no doubt, more of the late Demon King's forces continue to attack places in Magvel on occasions." says Mansel. "We must continue to purge them from this land, or no peace will ever truly return, and I know Ephraim will have a truly trying time in hoping to rule both Renais and Grado."
"And that also brings to mind another development that's of the utmost urgency." says L'Arachel.
Mansel's brow furrows and he says, "Do tell, please."
"Well, the Terrors we fought were killed, but... Not all by us." says L'Arachel. "We joined forces with our old allies, Lute and Artur, but were quickly surrounded. That was until a new type of Terror showed up. They killed the other Terrors with surprising ferocity, but then turned their gazes upon us... Until a young lady of their kind appeared and actually fought them off for us for some reason, seeming to have even greater strength, agility and abilities than even them."
Mansel looks even more serious, and says, "...And what kind of Terrors were they?"
"Believe it or not, Uncle... Vampires... The greatest of monsters from the old legends, outside of the Demon King." says L'Arachel.
"I see." says Mansel with a deathly monotone seriousness.
"What's more, this female vampire that 'saved us' was no mere vampire." says L'Arachel. "She actually absorbed the souls of the other Terrors, then fought with magic while also summoning these two avatars from the looks of things, one being a red demon and the other, a blue angelic figure. And most troubling of all? She was able to survive being in the sunlight, contrary to what's supposed to happen to vampires during that phase of the day."
Mansel pauses, but then asks, "...What did this girl look like in appearance?"
"Well, from what I remember, she was quite short but also rather well-endowed from what I noticed, being slender but also curvy." says L'Arachel. "She had a dark tan complexion, white hair, and eyes that were either purple at one point or red at another."
Mansel just says nothing, and his expression turns even more serious.
"Uncle?" asks L'Arachel.
"Lord Mansel?" asks Dozla.
Mansel has his back face them, and he says, "L'Arachel, my precious niece... If you see that vampire again... You must eliminate her. I can only guess she wasn't at full power, so she should be more than vulnerable."
Rennac glares a bit.
"Of course, Uncle Mansel!" says L'Arachel with a bold, determined smile. "She shall fear the name of the Beautiful Princess of Peerless Beauty before she dies like the monstrous filth she is!"
Mansel turns around with a reassuring smile, and says, "I have no doubt in you, my precious niece. You will do what is needed of this world, that much I can be sure of. Still... I will need to share what I know, but first, I will need to make a quick visit to the library to retrieve an ancient artifact of a text to give you more information on what you're dealing with here."
"Thank you, Uncle!" says L'Arachel. "Any information on this new fiend will only make our job that much easier. Dozla? Rennac? We rest here for tonight and take things easy, but afterwards, we prepare what we can, set off to slay this bloodsucking villainess! Are you with me!?"
Dozla gives a hearty laugh and says, "Of course, My Queen! Anything to free this continent from the clutches of the those that would spread destruction to the innocent and pure!"
Rennac just continues to be in thought.
"And you, Rennac?" asks L'Arachel.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm in." says Rennac clearly half-heartedly.
"Wow, that didn't sound very convincing." says L'Arachel.
"Well, considering you're the one who drags me by the ear on these escapades of yours, along with the fact I'm only doing this for the money, yeah, I don't have much reason to care about your overall end goal." says Rennac.
"Well, you're just you, Rennac, but as long as I have your help, your loyalty is only an extra." says L'Arachel. "Anyway, we'll need to prepare for whatever lies ahead."
L'Arachel heads off, with Dozla behind her. As for Rennac, he heads off, but not before looking back at Mansel, who is heading off, with that same glare from before as he thinks, "This is sounding a bit odd now. Why would he want this particular vampire eliminated immediately after hearing about her?"
Rennac then walks off.
As Mansel continues to walk onward, he says, "And so... It begins."
- The Dawnbreakers' Legacy Begins -
The newly-formed Dawnbreakers are waiting outside of a small town in Renais, apparently waiting for Vash to return.
"I hope Vash returns soon." says Ester.
"Knowing that idiot, he probably found some con-artist that's going to gamble him out of whatever funds he gets." says Sam.
"In that case, I shall go and fetch him, and drag him back." says Ophis.
"No, Ophis." says Ester. "Let's just believe Vash will return here, like he promised he would."
Just then, Vash comes out and says, "Hey, guys! I got news of a job we can do!"
"Well, I'm surprised you came back out not wasting away any money." says Sam. "So, let's hear the news."
"Apparently, there have been some raids happening near the town of Sweetmill." says Vash. "Apparently, some groups connected to the old army of Grado have been ransacking places as a way to get back at Renais. Word of this would have reached King Ephraim, but it seems the attacks have been a bit more than professional, and any messages that would have delivered the news of the attacks have been killed. Sounds really dangerous and a big risk, but we might not have much choice since we do need money pretty bad."
"Well, we've got Ester and Ophis, so it can't be too bad if they can help out." says Trip.
"Let's not try to rely on them completely, Little Brother." says Sam. "Besides, while trying to make a name for ourselves AND earn the money we need, we also can't expose Ester for the fact she's a vampire, and especially we need to keep their powers to a minimum when concerning Ophis for what he can do."
"I don't see why that would be a problem of me doing what I need to do." says Ophis. "If these fools wish for death, I will gladly bring it upon them."
"Ophis, we're talking about attacks happening near a town." says Ester. "We don't want a stray hit destroying some establishment, hurting innocents. You understand that, right?"
"I guess I do, but if we hold back too much, some of these fools could escape and could cause more harm." says Ophis.
"Yes, but... We don't want collateral damage to stain our hands with blood." says Ester. "We really need to be careful about all this, okay?"
Ophis looks carefully at Ester, and says, "Okay. As you wish."
"Sweetmill, eh? I know where that is." says Bruce. "Follow me, and I'll get us there."
The groups heads off afterwards, with Bruce in the lead.
- Hand of the Returners -
Meanwhile, near a small town, an odd group of marauders seem to be on the attack as they have a group of scholars held against their will.
"Wh-What are you going to do with us?" asks a scholar.
"Listen, we don't want much." says the leader, dressed like a heavy-armored knight. "All we desire is the text on Soul Manipulation. If you give us that, we'll let you live."
"But that text is forbidden for even us steeped in the knowledge of magic." says the scholar. "It has been for eons, longer than you can imagine! The arts it teaches are too dangerous to be trusted to anyone, and that includes whatever master you serve!"
"Listen, we don't have all day for the speeches on blasphemy or what is legal." says the leader. "We're going to get our access to that text, even if we have to get the key off of your dead bodies! If you're not going to help us of your own accord, then you're no good to us alive! Take'em down!"
"What!? No!" says the scholar.
Soon, the archers under command shoot the scholars down, having them keel over in pools of their own blood.
"Get to finding the key on these fools, or any information that could lead to it." says the leader.
After that, the others go to searching the bodies, and soon, one finds a key on them that's gold and has intricate designs, and he says, "Hey, I think this is it!"
"Good! One of you, take it to their sanctum, and find that text! Lord Deandre has dire need of it!" says the leader.
A cavalier takes the key, then gets on his horse and rides off.
"The rest of you, dispose of the bodies." says the leader. "We can't have the people here knowing what we did."
Some mages and brigands appear and take the bodies to burn them.
Soon, Ester and the others appear to see the group of marauders.
"I guess that must be them." says Vash. "They do seem to have this place well-fortified."
"Even the best defenses have a chink to exploit, son." says Bruce.
"Let's try to plan an attack if we can." says Sam. "It seems they have some calvary and mages, so that's going to be an issue for some of us. Well... Those of us not named Ester and Ophis. Still, keeping their powers suppressed, we could quickly get surrounded if we make one wrong move."
"If only we had some calvary ourselves, our dilemma would be much better." says Trip.
"It seems they also have some mages, and not many of us are well equipped to fight them." says Sam.
"I could probably handle the mages." says Ester. "After the last time I drank some blood, I feel more of my power returning."
"Which worries me even more about you, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt as long as you focus that power on the enemy." says Bruce.
"Well, if you have to drink more blood, try to do it where no innocents can see you, because the last things they need to know is you being a Terror, AND that the rest of us are working with Terrors." says Sam.
"R-Right." says Ester.
"Alright, so what's the plan of attack of, Sis?" asks Vash.
"Okay, here's what we do." says Sam.
As the group start to formulate their plan, from another angle arrive a female cavalier and a pegasus knight.
"Ah, here! These must be those guys that scholar told us about that attacked them." says the cavalier. "There's certainly a lot of them, but nothing you and I can't handle, Lainey."
The pegasus knight, answering to the name of Lainey, says, "I don't know, Rhonda. They seem to have this place well defended. Are you sure we should haven't gone back to General Seth to get more knights to help out with the situation? They even have archers, and that's REALLY bad news for someone like me, especially with me being a newbie to Frelia's forces."
"So... Just don't get shot." says Rhonda.
"Yeah, easy for you to say." says Lainey.
"Listen, yes, it would have been better for us to get some extra help with this situation, but if we take these guys down ourselves, then we'll be welcomed back as heroes." says Rhonda. "Even my own cousin will have to respect me!"
"Eh, I seriously doubt that." says Lainey. "I think the thing you're going to get is another chewing out from Kyle. He's already does that enough with Forde."
"...You DO know what kind of guy Forde is like, right?" asks Rhonda. "Just stop complaining, Lainey! It's time to send these creeps running with their tails between their legs!"
As Rhonda heads off, Lainey looks up to the sky and says, "This is NOT going to go well." She then looks down and sighs, saying, "Captain Vanessa is going to be SOOOOOO disappointed in me."
Back to the others, Sam asks, "Alright! We understand the plan?"
"Yeah, we get Bruce to lead a charge while I help to pick off the mages, and you and Trip rush the archers when they start cutting loose." says Vash. "Once they unleash their calvary, we send Ester and Ophis in to do the majority of the clean up, WHILE making sure no civilians are seeing their full powers at work."
"Very good, Brother." says Sam patting Vash on the head with snide smile. "Maybe there's hope for you yet."
"That's not funny." says Vash perturbed.
"Alright, enough stalling." says Sam. "Let's do this."
"Very well. Maybe the rest of us won't die with this plan." says Bruce.
Bruce and Vash go in. Soon, Vash readies an arrow, and lets it fly at a mage, taking him down.
"What the-?" asks a fighter. "Are we under attack?"
"Not a very sharp one, are you?" asks Bruce's voice.
The fighter turns to see the brigand, only to get cut down by him.
"Attack! We're under attack!" says a solider. "Someone, let Commander Razar know what's happen-" The solider gets cut off as he gets cut down by Bruce.
Soon, some archers appear from the west direction, but before they can get any shots off, both Sam and Trip ambush them, and kill them.
A cavalier approaches the leader and says, "Commander Razar! Some intruders have surprised attacked us from the south!"
"What!? Who dares!?" asks Razar. "Rrrrgh, we don't have time to be wasting with infidels! Well, no matter! We got what we came for and Lord Deandre will be getting that text like he requested! The last thing we need is people to be following us back to our base of operations. Returners! Kill these pests, and make sure none are left alive! For the glory of Lord Deandre!"
Back to Rhonda and Lainey, the pegasus knight says, "Hey, something seems to be happening! Their forces look to be in disarray! Wait! I think some people are fighting them!"
"Well, that's a lucky break for us, but will only make our victory that much more possible and sweeter! Don't you think?" says Rhonda.
"I'll admit, it does make our chances less slimmer." says Lainey. "Very well. Let's do what we can."
"Atta' girl, Lainey!" says Rhonda. "Let's get in there, and kick some scum out of Renais!"
As Rhonda and Lainey make their charge, we're taken back to Ester and Ophis, and Ester says, "I guess we better make our move, Ophis."
"I really do not see the need for such tactics." says Ophis. "With my power, I could easily decimate the enemy, and no one would risk injury."
"I know, but you remember what we talked about." says Ester. "We don't want to scare people into submission, and have ourselves exposed to such as those that would take advantage of our powers."
"That is not really an issue for me, since if anyone would have a problem with it, I would simply just show them how bad they would miscalculate their odds." says Ophis. "But I do understand that you're in a similar situation, and for that, I will abide by your ways."
"Alright, with that out of the way, let's try to help out." says Ester. "I'll rush in to try and hit their blind sides, and you attack from a distance to really cause some panic among them."
"Of course." says Ophis.
Ester then rushes in, and starts to do some spell-casting as she throws hands out to summon lightning bolts to strike down the calvary while others get hit by wind magic, and others throw off their horses by some strikes of earth magic.
"They also have a mage!" says a cavalier.
"Take her down then!" says another.
As the cavaliers are about to rush her, Ester hears another voice in her head say, "O' Blessed Daywalker, summon my power and I will bring down the might of the heavens upon them!"
Feeling this power, Ester brings up her right hand, it surging with power, which gets the cavaliers to stop and Ester shouts, "Come forth, the Monkey King, Sun Wukong!"
Out of a brilliant blast of energy that soon erupts into the five elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water comes a humanoid monkey who appears to be in his teen years wearing Chinese-looking garb while carrying a long rod.
"What kind of summoning magic is that!?" asks a cavalier. "She's not human!"
"Daywalker, give me your commands and I will take down this filth!" says the humanoid monkey.
"Right." says Ester.
Telepathically to the monkey, she commands him to take the fight to the cavaliers as he takes off some hairs from his head, and blows them outward, each hair then becoming a copy of him as they all begin to assault the cavaliers.
"Holy crap!" says Vash. "I did NOT expect that!"
"That was awesome!" says Trip.
"Even the summoners of this world don't have magic like that." says Sam.
"That's a common thing for vampires like her." says Bruce. "Greater vampires are known to summon familiars to aid them in battle. However, intuition tells me that familiar is a cut above the others I've known. Yes, she's probably going to be far more dangerous than other vampires, if the fact she can pretty much pass off for a human wasn't telling enough."
Soon, Sergus and Aiya appear in their ball forms, and Sergus says, "Ester, let us join as well."
"Okay, but try to lay low so you don't give away who I am." says Ester.
"Of course." says Aiya.
Ester charges back in, and Sergus and Aiya change into their warrior forms, Ester commanding them to go forward, with Sergus sending out a red energy skull, and Aiya forms several holy-looking energy arrows to let fly at the enemies.
Taking advantage of the situation, Rhonda charges in, and takes down a cavalier in her way, and as a mage tries to attack her, Lainey swoops down and knocks him out.
"More opposition?" asks Sergus getting ready to strike the two ladies, getting Rhonda to says, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! We're not with these guys! We're good guys, trying to stop them!"
"Really?" asks Ester.
"Yeah, one of the scholars managed to reach Lainey here and me, and we sent him into safety before we came here to save the day." says Rhonda.
"More like charging in without a real plan." says Lainey. "You better be glad we have a good bit of help here to take the load off of us."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Lainey." says Rhonda.
"Well, if you're here to help, why don't we join forces?" asks Ester.
"Well, you guys seem to have most of the bases covered, buuuuut... I am a capable knight just like my cousin, soooooo... I guess teaming up wouldn't hurt." says Rhonda. "At least Kyle won't be too worried to the point his usual lectures become a lot longer. Sure, let's do that."
"Yeah, anything to keep us from getting too in over our heads will be a real help to us." says Lainey.
"Thank you so much for-hold on, my hunger seems to be taking over. I need to... To feed more. Fresh souls." says Ester.
"Uh, what?" asks Lainey.
Ester sense the life leaving the marauders that have been slain, and soon, her mouth nearly drooling, Ester opens it wide and begins to pull in those souls, devouring them whole before swallowing and feeling satisfied for the time being.
"Um... Is that normal?" asks Lainey.
"I don't think it is, but better to not ask questions right now when she's apparently an ally." says Rhonda.
"Y-Yeah, sorry about that." says Ester. "Just my... Traits kicking in."
Soon, more try to charge at them, but Ophis blasts them down from a distance, stunning the two girls even more, and Ester says, "That's another on our side, so don't worry too much."
"Yeeeaaaah.. Okay." says Rhonda.
As the forces are becoming thinned out, Ophis strikes and impales some marauders on his tendrils, freaking the ladies out more, but they just roll with it for the time being.
Very soon, the marauders are now down to just a few, with Razar still leading.
"Damn it all!" says Razar. "How could a bunch of riff-raff stand in the way and give us such a hard time? Well, no matter, by this time, Lord Deandre will have gotten what he desires, so either way, you've still lost!"
"We don't know, and don't really care what you were after." says Sam. "We just know you all hurt innocent people, and therefore, the price on your head will set us for a good while."
"Insolent pup!" shouts Razar as he and Sam get into a lance fight.
Bruce backs her up with his axe skills, but Razar is holding his own quite well.
Ester, having a plan in her mind, has herself, Sergus, Aiya and Sun Wukong sneak off to plan an attack.
"I feel more power coming into me." says Ester. "I think I have some new transformations unlocked. Let me try one."
Tapping into her powers, Ester soon transforms from her normal self to an Alraune, her now pink hair being long enough to cover her bare breasts while attached to the inside of a giant, beautiful flower, and having access to plant-like powers. She then commands both her familiar and her guardians to wait out things. Ester then sends some vines underground that soon catches the remaining soldiers and drags them away as they scream out.
"What the-" says Razar before Sun Wukong comes out as Ester commands and changes to a large dragon of Oriental nature that sends a torrent of water at Razar. Sergus and Aiya then strike by the former sending a wave of demonic energy and the latter sending a blast of light, both colliding with Razar in addition to the water, damaging him good before Sam lands the killing blow.
"Damn you... But even then... We'll still have gotten... What we came for." says Razar. "Glory to the Returners! Glory to... Lord Deandre!"
As Razar dies, Sam says, "Well, that was something. But what did he mention by these Returners and this Lord Deandre."
"Who knows?" asks Ester. "But he probably just tried to keep his busy long enough to distract us."
The others see Ester come in while back to her normal self, but notice she has blood on her chin, this really freaking out Rhonda and Lainey.
"What?" asks Ester.
"Ester, you need clean up after your meal, okay?" says Vash.
"Oh, right." says Ester licking her chin clean the best she can.
"So... What's that all about?" asks Lainey.
"Well, how do we put this?" asks Sam.
"Ester is a vampire." says Trip.
"Trip, did you have to be that blunt?" asks Sam.
"Sorry." says Trip.
"A vampire? They're real?" asks Rhonda.
"But how is she surviving the light from the sun?" asks Lainey.
"Ester is a... Very special case." says Vash.
"She is the Daywalker." says Sergus. "As for me, I am Sergus, Eye of Chaos and the Demon Knight, representing Ester's transformations."
"And I am Aiya, Sphere of Order and the Angelic Warrior, representing Ester's familiars." says Aiya.
"And I'm Sun Wukong." says Sun Wukong back in humanoid monkey form. "I'm one of those familiars."
"I... See." says Lainey. "So what about the rest of you?"
"I'm Sam, and these are my brothers, the oldest one here being Vash and my youngest here being Trip." says Sam. "We're trying to work as mercenaries to pay off my debt my older brother here got us into."
"I'm Bruce from Taris village." says Bruce. "I'm more or less along for the ride."
"And the other guy is Ophis." says Trip. "We... Don't know entirely what he is just yet."
"I am simply Ophis." says Ophis. "That is all you need to know."
"So, what about the two of you?" asks Sam.
"My name is Rhonda, and I'm a recent addition to the Knights of Renais." says Rhonda.
"And I'm Lainey, a recent addition to the Pegasus Knights of Frelia." says Lainey.
"So what brings two journeyman knights like you two out this far?" asks Bruce.
"Well, lucky for us, one of the scholars that were trying to get away from these guys ran into us, and we decided to come out here to help." says Rhonda.
"But... Shouldn't have you two went back to Renais to get some help?" asks Sam.
"That's what I told her, but nooooooo... She wanted to prove that we had what it took all on our own." says Lainey.
"Oh come on, now. Everything worked out fine in the end." says Rhonda. "The bad guys are now dead guys, and we had plenty of help, so all's well that ends well. Besides, like I said, my stupid cousin, Kyle would more than likely had me stay back while he and the other knights took all the credit! And hell to the no was I going to let him do that, the prude."
"Wait! Kyle?" asks Vash. "As in one of the top most Knights in Renais's forces, and one of the heroes that defeated the Demon King?" asks Vash.
Ester starts to get a bit of images to flash before her before she develops a bit of a headache.
"Ugh, like I need to hear THAT story again." says Rhonda. "Yes, I'm happy for what he did, but he also constantly lectures me about it when I just want to get in some battle experience, always saying, 'Do you realize how hard and much of an ordeal the fight against Grado and the Demon King's forces was? Until you get a good idea of what I went through, you could never be ready for such action.' I get so sick and tired of that. So, I had Lainey and myself come this way, and we just happen to run into you all. Funny how life works, huh?"
"Yes, but it wouldn't have been that funny if you died on your cousin, so you better have been more lucky we were here to take down the majority of these marauders." says Bruce. "Two punks like you would have only caused more trouble."
"Hey, I wanted nothing to do with this!" says Lainey. "I tried my best to talk sense into Rhonda, but she's about as stubborn as they come."
"Regardless, you still could have died, and your actions due to such a half-baked plan would have gotten you both killed." says Bruce.
"Okay, okay, sorry about that, Grandpa." says Rhonda. "What are you going to do? Take us over your knee, and spank us?"
"Don't tempt me." says Bruce with a low growl.
"Hey, Ester, are you okay?" asks Sam as she approaches the vampiress, and Ester says, "Yes, I'm fine. Sorry, maybe it's memories breaking through."
"Well just let it all come naturally." says Sam. "Sorry, I don't have a lot of experience with amnesiacs, so I can't really help you here."
"It's okay, Sam. Thank you for caring." says Ester.
"Hey, if it helps the two of you out, why don't you join with us, the Dawnbreakers?" asks Vash. "We're still trying to make a name for ourselves in these parts, but we're freelance and will offer a lot in the way of support."
"Hmmm... Sounds like a good idea." says Rhonda.
"You're not seriously thinking about this, are you, Rhonda?" asks Lainey.
"You bet your sweet self I am!" says Rhonda. "If we travel with a group of mercenaries, we can get the action and experience we need, AND we should be kept safe so my nag of a cousin doesn't get his tighty whities in a bind! It's perfect!"
Lainey says, "Well, when you put it that way, it wouldn't be all that bad. Even Captain Vanessa would be a lot less worried for my well-being."
"Great! It's settled! Count the two of us in!" says Rhonda.
"Awesome! Before long, with more forces, everyone will know our names!" says Vash. "Even after we pay off the debt, I might still be in mood for more mercenary work!"
"Well, if you're going to be more responsible, then I won't look a gift horse in the mouth." says Sam.
- Finding a Lead -
After a while, the Dawnbreakers move forward, and Sam says, "Well, we did a pretty good job stopping those marauders, but... Considering they were trying to get something and must have got it, we don't know where they're really going to, or what they're after."
"That would be bad, considering we killed them all." says Ester.
"How is that bad?" asks Ophis.
"Someone needs to teach you more about how things work." says Sam. "It's bad because while we may have saved the day, we also don't know where they took what they were after, which means more innocents could get hurt, AND a bigger force could be at play here."
"There IS no bigger force than myself." says Ophis.
"Ugh, forget it." says Sam. "Either way, we need to find some kind of lead or something."
Suddenly, a female voice, "Excuse me!"
Suddenly, the Dawnbreakers see a woman with light purple hair while dressed like a cleric approach them.
"And you are?" asks Vash.
"My name is Sulia." says the cleric. "Tell me, are you all mercenaries?"
"We are. Is that a problem?" asks Sam.
"No! In fact, it's very fortunate!" says Sulia. "Especially since you all look very honorable. Listen, it's about my friend, Simon. I think he got into some trouble a while ago."
"What happened?" asks Bruce.
"Simon and I are mercenaries from Carcino, but our funds have been getting dangerously low, so Simon went to take a job that he felt I shouldn't be around for, but hasn't shown up since." says Sulia. "Of course, that was a while ago, because recently, I noticed him with a group of shady-looking men heading towards a sanctum here in Renais. Eventually, a man on horse rode up, holding some kind of large key before he went inside. Please, I think Simon is involved in something dangerous!"
"Don't worry! Leave it to the Dawnbreakers! We'll bust up this act of terror in no time!" says Vash.
"Right! Just leave it to us! Can you take us to this sanctum, Sulia?" says Sam.
"Of course. Just follow me." says Sulia.
"Well, I guess we got that lead after all, I think." says Ester.
"Yeah, lucky break for us. Let's go!" says Trip.
And with that, the gang heads off.
To Be Continued in Chapter 7