Tales of Xalthia

Chapter 2: The Investigation

For once in a long while, Tsuki had been able to get a peaceful nights' rest. Being back in Eresseas makes his worries seem to go away. Nothing beats being able to sleep in your own bed. As he slept through the night though, he did end up having dreams of a scenic small village situated on a grassy field, surrounded by exotic flowers and located along a cliffside that overlooked the ocean. In his dream, he saw a younger version of himself along with two other people he appeared to be very close to. He also saw who appeared to be his parents as they were all gathered around a table, eating together. His dreams seemed to shift from one peaceful moment to the next until they took a drastic turn. The serenic dreams turned hot and red as the beautiful landscape of his dreams became bloodied and covered in flames. Laughter and cheerful talks turned into screams of terror and horror as the buildings and land burned. Images of villagers being cut down and abducted by an organized group of people. The last thing he saw in his dream were the images of his parents' bodies before he found himself being buried under falling debris.

Tsuki soon woke up from his sleep, slightly sweating a bit and out of breath. The light from the sun's rays shined through the open window from the night before as the sounds of birds chirping could be heard. He took a moment to calm himself down before sitting up in his bed. He placed his hand over his face as he thought about his dream. "Those dreams again" he said. He soon looked over to the window as birds sat on the window sill. They were dreams of a past he would rather forget. He didn't have them for a while up until his travels around Cayhill. Seeing the countryside of things as well as witnessing all that he did were definitely the cause of them coming back.

He soon got out of his bed and walked over to shut the window before heading out the door to wash up. Once he did that and changed into a fresh change of clothes, strapped his sword onto his waist and made this way through the castle and and out the front gates. He wanted to try and meet up with his companions before they left to return to where they belong. It was still early in the morning as the sun was still in the process of rising so not many were out and about. He made his way through the town and eventually reached the Iron Maiden inn. Unfortunately, the innkeeper had informed him that they had already left and he had just missed them. This bummed him out and debated on whether he should try and catch them at the town exit but he wasn't sure how much of a headstart they had on him. With a heavy sigh, he turned right back around and headed back to the castle.

After returning to the castle, he made his way to the meeting hall for the Royal Eight. As per usual, he greeted the soldiers and officials as he passed by them. After a few minutes of walking, he reached the meeting hall. As he approached the door, he saw Stahler and Mike walk out of it, equipped and ready for what appears to be a mission.

Tsuki waved to them as he approached them. "Hey guys. Got new orders?" he asked.

Mike looked over at Tsuki as he walked up to them, shaking his head a bit. "Nothing all that exciting. I heard reports of bandit activity along the lake's coastline just outside the city and Stahler looked bored so I'm making him tag along with me" he said, patting him on the back with a grin on his face.

Stahler sighed. Bandit activity were indeed a problem but nothing that he felt deserved their attention. "I just don't understand why we have to handle this. The knights should be able to rout out the bandits just fine. Having us there is just overkill" he said. There were more important things that could be worth more for their time.

Mike laughed a bit at his statement. It seemed to him that he didn't quite understand what he was trying to imply. "Oh, come on! Sure, the regular knights can handle this easy enough but if they were to able to see that the Royal Eight were leading the charge, that would surely deter anyone else from committing such acts!" he said. He then looked over to Tsuki and pointed at him with a not-so serious expression on his face as if he was trying to lighten the mood. "I know you agree with me! Say something!" he shouted.

Tsuki shrugged a bit. He could understand his logic. If a powerful force were to lead the charge to solve a particular problem, then that would definitely tell others who might try to repeat the problem to not do it otherwise they would potentially be met with the same force. "I mean, I suppose what you're saying is true but I kinda agree with Stahler on this. The knights should have no issue taking care of some bandits. Deploying the Royal Eight for something like this seems like a waste of time and resources" he said.

Mike leaned over with his arms dangling in defeat with a groan. "And here I thought that you would have my back on this" he said. With a sigh, he stood back up and face Stahler. "Nevertheless, I already agreed to take charge on this so I can't back out of it now. You have to go to your debriefing don't you?" he asked

Stahler then pointed to the door they just came out of. "Not dressed like that, I hope. The smiths prepared you some new armor. It's temporary until they're able to reforge your old armor but it'll get the job done. It's sitting on the table in there" he said. The armor of the Royal Eight was forged a little differently than regular knights' armor so it takes a little longer than usual to prepare especially since they request was put in at such short notice. However, seeing as how Tsuki wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, it wasn't much of an issue. He then proceeded to walk past him but not without tapping him on the shoulder as he did. "I wish you the best of luck" he said.

Mike and Stahler then proceeded down the hall until they disappeared around the corner as they headed off to the castle exit. Tsuki soon entered the meeting hall and walked over to the table where his temporary armor was waiting for him. He slipped it on and adjusted it so he would be more appropriately presentable for the royal family. Once he made sure he was ready to go, he left the meeting hall and continued towards the audience chamber. Upon his arrival, the doors were opened for him by the two guards that were standing by. He stepped through the doorway and made his way up the audience chamber until he reached the foot of the steps leading up to the thrones where Taichi, Emma and Cheria were sitting in.

Tsuki took a deep breath before getting down onto one knee and lowering his head. He had to push his feelings of not being able to meet with his companions aside as he needed to dedicate his full attention on his report. "Tsuki Himura reporting for the debriefing. This may take a while as a lot had happened so I'd like to apologize in advance" he said. He fully expected this to take a lot longer than a normal debriefing session would. There were a lot of things he needed to discuss and bring to their attention.

Taichi held his hand up after he spoke. It seems he wanted to say something before Tsuki started his debriefing. "Hold off on that for a moment. Let's welcome our special guests first" he said. He then called out to a guard standing next to a door off to the right-hand side of the audience chamber. "Guard, send them in" he instructed him.

The guard looked over to the king and saluted him. "Yes sir!" he acknowledged. The guard then walked into the room he was standing next to. He was gone for a few moments and the audience chamber fell silent. When the guard came back, he opened the door once more as three people walked in from the room.

Tsuki turned around when he heard a door open following a series of footsteps that echoed through the audience chamber. He was surprised at what he saw. The three people that had entered the audience chamber were his companions that he was traveling with. "What? Guys, what are you doing here? I thought you all left already"he asked them. He didn't expect them to be in the castle.

Among the small group, there was a young girl with a staff who was around Tsuki's age, a man who appeared to be in his late thirties that had a heavy-looking and large greatsword on his back and a young man who looked slightly older than Tsuki and had steel gauntlets over his fists and plating over his feet.

The group walked up to Tsuki and bowed to the royal family. Then, the older male of the group started to speak. "Thank you for having us, Your Majesty" the man said to Taichi as he bowed in respect.

Tsuki couldn't figure out what was going on at first. Then, it dawned on him. He did let out the fact that they were staying at the Iron Maiden to Zero and the royal family so it should of been expected that they would act on that knowledge. "Let me guess, you had them summoned here, didn't you?" he asked.

Emma shook her her head a bit, raising her finger up. "You're half right. With them still around town, it wouldn't feel right to not hear about what happened from all those that were involved, military or civilian. We had Zero bring them here before they got the chance to leave. Not only that, it appears that they had intentions on saying goodbye to you before leaving anyway so it worked out for us." she told him. She looked at the group he had traveled with and examined each of them closely. "So, now that we have everybody gathered, tell us everything that had happened over the past two months that you've been gone" she said.

The young girl scratched her cheek with her finger in thought. She's never given a report to royalty, let alone meeting royalty in person. This was a lot to take in for her at first since she was a countryside girl and so she was feeling a number of mixed feelings of being humble, anxious and nervous. "I'm not sure where to begin. Since this was Tsuki's mission, I think he should explain most of it and we should just chip in bits and pieces whenever we become relevant to the story" the girl said.

The young male nodded and agreed with what the girl said. "She's right. We all joined up at different times so we can just add in our parts when he gets to them. That way, we're all contributing to the report" he said. He then looked over to Tsuki and waited for him to start.

Tsuki looked at his companions and nodded. He then took a deep breath. He had a lot of explaining to do and it was going to take quite some time but since he had his companions with him, it shouldn't be too bad. "Alright then. I guess I will start at the beginning then when I first received my orders. Do you recall them?" he asked, looking up to the royal family.

Taichi nodded, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms. "Yes. We received reports of some high-ranking officials from Basilwell went missing. Some suspected foul play. Normally, this would be a task for the police force but then cargo of unknown origin was also discovered in one of the warehouses. After doing his own investigation into the matter, the commander discovered that the cargo and the disappearances were linked to each other and gave credible cause for alarm" he said. He remembers reading about the missive he received that day. The sense of urgency was clearly written his his letter.

Emma took out a copy of the missive they had received back then. "The commander requested us to send someone down to investigate this immediately as he felt there was an 'impending danger' on the horizon. However, at the time we received this, the other members of the Royal Eight were bound by their own respective duties so we sent you out in their place" she said. Thinking back on the missive they received, she recalled having a bad feeling about something but chalked it up to anxiety of sending Tsuki out on his own. When it came to things like this, it was protocol to send out at least two people to investigate. The timing wasn't ideal and they were forced to break protocol.

Tsuki nodded at them, having a series of flashbacks to when he first received the orders. He remembered feeling pretty anxious about them himself. He didn't want to screw this up especially since if something were to happen, he would have no back-up. He was confident in his skills at the time but he also knew that, deep down, there was something off about his orders. He just didn't know what it was so he had pushed those thoughts to the back of his head. "After receiving my orders, I went off into town to prepare and then promptly left. The trek from Eresseas to Basilwell would take about four days and I wanted to leave as soon as possible. Then, after two days of travel with minor skirmishes with the local monsters, I arrived at the village of Crescentia near the center of the Great Plains which served as a halfway point. This is where it all started..." he said.

Time then jumps back to over a month ago. A time where things were easy and should of stayed that way. With the countryside town of Crescentia serving as his first stop, Tsuki would soon realize that an ordinary investigation wouldn't be so simple. Crescentia was a small little village that thrived off of farming. It was a quiet place that was surrounded by an abundance of nature. Kids would play in the fields just outside of the village but within close enough distance for the town watch to keep an eye on them in case something were to happen. Buildings were simple wooden structures with vines and moss used as natural decor around them. It was a village that had a population of about four hundred so it was fairly big for a countryside village especially around these parts. There were other villages and settlements scattered around the Great Plains but Crescentia was the largest. The people knew just about everyone and they were all pretty tight fit. The village mostly had farmers and the town watch was comprised of volunteers who were willing to protect their town despite not having a whole lot of combat experience. Whenever someone couldn't do their job due to things like feeling sick or being injured, there would always be someone else to step up and fill in. The village as a whole operated as unified body, essentially.

With the produce and meats being widely popular throughout Cayhill, including in some portions of the Southern Lands, the place gets a steady flow of visitors. From those who want to try the villages' produce and meats while they're fresh to those who are looking for a quiet place to escape to. Because of all the contributions the village makes, they have special ties to Eresseas. They've even hosted festivals for them for special occasions at the castle. When Tsuki arrived at the village gates, he was greeted by two of the town watch who stood guard. This caused a bit of exciting commotion among the local kids and a few others as they all seemed to gather and welcome him to the village. He's been to the village a few times over the last few weeks so people would always try to make him feel at home. Among the group of people that had gathered around him, there was a middle aged lady in unique, almost tribal-like clothing. She had grey colored eyes with long, silver hair that was braided and rested down against her left shoulder going down to her chest.

The lady walked up to Tsuki and bowed to him. "Well, if it isn't Tsuki. Back again, I see. I'm beginning to think that this is becoming somewhat of a routine for you. It's only been two weeks since you last visited. If you've come to check up on our food stores for the upcoming festival, you'll be happy to know that things are proceeding as planned. We should have the first batch ready to go by the end of the week" she said. The village farmers had been hard at work and been building up stores of produce and meat for a festival they were going to be hosting in Eresseas in a few weeks. This Festival of Blossoms happens every year when cherry blossoms go into full bloom at the heart of Eresseas. It's the largest festival in Cayhill and attracts many visitors, even some from overseas. The fetival is hosted by Crescentia as they're in charge of providing the necessary amount of produce and meat so that they can be preserved for when the time of the festival arrives.

Tsuki did his normal thing and returned the greetings he received back to the villagers before looking towards the woman who approached him. "Please, you don't need to bow your head. This isn't an official setting so there's no need for it. Although I'm glad that things are going smoothly with the preparations, I didn't come here for that. I was headed somewhere else but decided to stop here to rest for a while since I've been on the road for two days" he said. He was pretty used to long travels. It was definitely an arduous endeavor at first and he hated it but over time, he got used to it. He didn't really have much choice in the matter.

The lady stood upright and looked at him, holding her finger up with a stern look on her face. "Now, you know that won't do. As Mayor of Crescentia, I can't be seen as being disrespectful to the knights especially those closely tied to the royal family. Must we always have this discussion every time you come here? Honestly..." she said with a sigh. Her name was Reia Katosuki. She was fifty-six years old and she, as she said, served as the mayor of Crescentia. She had been serving as mayor for about eight years now after inheriting the position from her mother who, unfortunately, passed away due to a local disease. The transition was tough but the spirit of the village was even tougher. Despite her looks though, she was a caring leader. She was the type of person who would rather be out helping the farmers or the other villagers than lounge around in her house all day. Being able to interact with the villagers on a daily basis helps build strong trust and bonds. "If you're stopping by to rest, come to my place and I'll make you some tea. I just made some muffins as well so help yourself. I'll even walk you there myself. Come come" she said, waving her hand at him. She soon turned around and started to head into the village as the crowd around them started to disperse.

Tsuki couldn't refuse her offer for tea and muffins. He remembers that her homemade muffins were to die for and while he didn't know what kind of tea leaves she used, the tea she makes was also very good. It was definitely the best tea he's ever had so the tea and muffins alone made the stop in Crescentia worth it. He followed her into the village, stopping to greet everyone as he made his way through the streets. The smell of the air in the village was almost intoxicating. Combined with the overall fresh air and produce being grown out on the fields, it reminded him of the garden back at the castle. After a few minutes of walking along a dirt road, they arrived at a two-story house on a small hill that overlooked the village. It was the definition of a mayor's house that you'd read about in books because of its unique outside appeal and location. They soon entered into the house and were greeted by warmth of a well-kept fireplace. The first floor had a nice little living space with a couch and two chairs, sitting on top of a fur rug with a table between them and a small kitchen off to the left side. The kitchen was just the perfect size for a house of this size. There was a door that led to the master bedroom and another leading to the washroom. The second floor had two separate guest bedrooms, each having two beds in them, dressers and basic furnishings one would normally find in a guest room.

Reia went over to her kitchen and prepared some tea and put some of her freshly baked muffins on a plate while Tsuki made himself at home in her living space. Once she made the tea, she poured some into two cups and walked them over to set them on the small table between the chairs and couch along with the muffins. She sat down in one of the chairs as Tsuki took his sword off his waist before sitting down on the couch. He then reached for a muffin and took a bite out of it. It was still warm and he could taste how fresh it was. After eating it, he grabbed one of the cups of tea and took a sip of it. If he wasn't on duty, he could easily find himself overindulging in this.

Tsuki soon set the cup down on the table and reached for another muffin before sitting back in the couch and taking a bite out of it. "Oh. By the way, I was curious about something. Last time I was here, you mentioned that you were trying to teach one of the locals girls healing Artes. How is that coming along?" he asked.

Artes, in the general sense of things both Physical and Magical, are key elements for basically everyone that has an aptitude for them. Some might excel in Physical Artes but lack in Magical Artes where others might be the opposite. There are a rare few who excel at both Physical and Magical Artes. These people are typically found among royal families and other prominent settings and are considered true masters in the field of Artes. Then, you have those who do not possess an aptitude for them and thus cannot wield Physical or Magical Artes at all. The farmers of Crescentia are perfect examples of this. The only way for them to be able to wield Artes, they would need the assistance of something called Blastia. These were harmless tools that people use to help give them a fighting edge. They had been growing in popularity over the last two years but despite their benefit they have, these are only temporary measures people can take. They're fairly limited in what they can do and should not be used longer than necessary. Blastia are commonly used for those who have aptitude for Artes but aren't at a level where they can properly use them yet. They were essentially training supplement tools. Once would-be adventurers developed their skills enough to make them more comfortable with whatever Arte proficiency they specialized in, they would stop using Blastia. Those who had no aptitude for Artes would struggle to use Blastia more than those who did have an aptitude for them but they could still use them in a worst case scenario.

In terms of Arte proficiency, Tsuki is more of a Physical Artes wielder though he does dabble a bit in the Magical side of things but that's just for things like basic first aid, which is taught to everyone who joins up as a knight, and basic attack and defenseive Artes. Aside the times he's had to utilize first aid, he doesn't really practice with Magical Artes. Reia was the opposite as she was an expert in Magical Artes but severely lacked in Physical Artes. Physical Artes are pretty straight forward and are divided into two categories: offensive and defensive. Depending on the weapon of choosing for the user, offensive and defensive Artes will greatly vary in terms of execution. Everyone who wields Physical Artes gain a mix of different offensive and defensive Artes as they develop their skills. Magical Artes, however, are a little different. They're divided into three categories: offensive, defensive and healing. Just about every Magical Artes wield, much like the Physical Artes wielders, will gain a variety of diferent offensive and defensive spells to use. The stronger the spell, the more Mana would be consumed. What makes things different are healing Artes. Healing Artes have some of the most complex and diverse spellweaving. They're also the most difficult to learn and master. Those that can use healing Artes are few and far between. Healers are much sought after by the military of each nation for obvious reasons. There's still your fair share of healers around this side of the world but there's just not enough to keep up with the demand. In a lot of cases, most healers see that as potential profit and become doctors to use their healing Artes to treat the wounded charge high amounts of money to the point where it's considered borderline price-gouging. In Cayhill, these types of actions are heavily looked down upon and are handed down harsh judgment and consequences if one were caught trying something like this. Because of this, some people have developed a stigma against those who use healing Artes out of fear of potential bankruptcy and blackmail. Thankfully, however, such stigmas don't exist in Cayhill.

Tsuki picked up the cup of tea and took a sip of it. It tasted a bit sweet but it was good regardless. He then looked at the mayor when she asked him a question. "I've been sent to oversee a government matter in Basilwell. I came to this village to rest for a bit before I head out again since there are no villages between here and the Cavern of Solace" he said. It was a long walk. He's been on the road for two days now and he's had to pitch a tent to sleep in. It would be nice to sleep in a bed.

The mayor listened to Tsuki as he explained his reasoning for stopping in Basilwell. "I see. Well, this is a small village so we don't have the accommodations you're used to in the palace but please make yourself at home" she said. She wanted to make his stay as pleasant as possible.

Tsuki shook his head. "Don't worry about the accommodations. A simple bed is all the accommodation I need. I don't want to overstay my welcome" he said.

Just then, the front door was thrown open. A young girl then ran into the house and up to the mayor. She seemed to be in a hurry. She was around Tsuki's age too. "Mayor, those thugs are back! They're harassing people in the square!" the girl shouted.

The mayor sighed heavily and then stood up. She had a serious look on her face. "Not again. I'll go talk to them. Please excuse me" she said. Then, she ran out of the house and headed in the direction to where the thugs were.

The girl then looked at Tsuki after the mayor ran out and recognized his armor. "You're a knight of Eresseas, aren't you? You have to help us! These thugs have been coming here, demanding for food and money which is something we can't afford to give them anymore with the impending winter season! They've been threatening to kill everyone in the village if we don't meet their demands! If the mayor were to tell them we can't offer them anything anymore, they'll kill her!" she said. She was in a panic. She knows what the thugs would do to their mayor when she tells them they can no longer give them what they want. She then turned around and headed back to the square in a hurry.

Tsuki nodded and followed the girl. As a knight, he has a duty to not only protect the royal family but civilians as well. When he reached the square, he saw the villagers crowded around a fountain. He made his way through the crowd and saw four thugs with swords drawn. The mayor appeared to have been shoved to the ground. He then took a look at the thugs. Something about them was familiar but he couldn't put his finger on it. "Those thugs...I've seen them before" he said to himself.

One of the thugs who appeared to be the leader due to his vulgar and violent look, walked up to the knocked down mayor. "I don't care about your winter problems. You're not in a position to make demands. You farmer-folk are weak and spineless. The weak are suppose to obey the strong. That's how life works. If you're not going to cooperate with the Dark Wings, we'll just have to kill everyone starting with the mayor" the leader said. He then started to lift his sword to strike her down.

Before the thug leader had a chance to swing, Tsuki took the hilt of his sword that was strapped to his waist and lunged out of the crowd. In a swift motion, he drew his sword partial way and slammed the hilt of his sword into the leader's stomach. He then stepped back a bit with his hand still holding the hilt of his sword.

The leader groaned in pain and fell to his knees as he saw the mayor struggle to her feet with the townspeople helping her up and getting her away from the thugs. He then looked up at Tsuki, holding onto his stomach with a bit of blood coming from his mouth. "You little runt! How dare you!" the leader shouted. He struggled to get up on his feet and faced Tsuki. "Do you have any idea who you're messing with, kid? he asked him.

Tsuki gave him a cold look. "It's funny how thugs like yourself think they have the authority to demand for food and money. Well, let me tell you one thing: it's not going to happen anymore. I'm going to make sure of that right now since this seems to be an ongoing problem for the village. I suggest you leave now and never return. If you don't, I won't hesitate to kill you" he told them.

The leader grew irritated of Tsuki. He then pointed his sword at him. "Runt, I'd watch what you say. You don't want to make an enemy of the Dark Wings. I'd suggest running along now and play knight somewhere else and let adults handle their own business" he said, almost mocking him. He then turned and started to walk in the direction the mayor went.

Tsuki shook his head. He clearly didn't know who he was dealing with. "I gave you a chance to leave peacefully. Allow me to clarify the position you all are in right now" he said, taking his sword off his belt with it still sheathed. He then swung the sheathed sword with incredible speed and power and slammed it against the leader's back, causing the leader to fall forward. "By the laws of Eresseas, you are all under arrest. I suggest not resisting if you don't want to get hurt even more" he ordered the thugs.

Another one of the thugs on the far left finally noticed the armor Tsuki was wearing. "Hey boss! Don't you recognize him? He's one of the Royal Eight that serves directly under the royal family!" the man shouted to the leader. He looked quite terrified when he had realized who Tsuki really was.

The thug leader groaned in pain as he struggled back onto his feet before looking over at the thug that spoke. He knew of the kind of reputation the Royal Eight have around Cayhill. Their reputation even expands out to some of the other nations as well. Still, after examining Tsuki once more, he didn't believe he was actually one of them. "Ha! He's just a wannabe! A pipsqueak like him could never be a guard of anything especially a royal guard. I've had enough of this runt. Kill him!" the leader ordered.

The three thugs looked at each other with a worried, unsure expression on their faces. It didn't sit right with them because they knew that they were no match for one of the Royal Eight. However, they couldn't disobey the leader. They then charged at Tsuki with swords drawn. For Dark Wing thugs, who were known to have people enlisted in their ranks with skills and abilities that can cause trouble even for Eresseas knights, they had a poor combat sense.

Tsuki sighed and stood still, letting them get close to him. When they got within arms reach, the thugs swung at him. Due to their poor combat sense, Tsuki could easily dodge the attacks by simply side-stepping. In retaliation, he made swift swings with his sheathed sword, slamming it against their backs hard enough to incapacitate them. After the three bodies dropped to the ground, he turned and faced the leader once more. "I thought the Dark Wings were an elite group of thieves, outcasts and assassins. I never would of guessed that recruitment standards were so low" he said mockingly.

The leader grew more agitated. It gritted his teeth in anger. You could almost see the veins bulge out. Tsuki was taunting him. It was an embarrassment that the Dark Wings were being beaten by some kid who thinks he's actually one of the Royal Eight. Of course, he still never realizes he's one of them even after seeing his fighting style. The leader clenched his fist tightly as he gripped the hilt of his sword just as tight."You...little...runt! You're in way over your head!" he shouted. He then charged at him just like the thugs but in a blind rage. He had more of a combat sense than the average thug but because he was in such a blind rage, his combat sense was just as poor as the thugs. Once he was in arm's length, he swung at Tsuki in a fast motion.

Tsuki drew his sword and blocked his swing. He then used his sheath and slammed it against his side with incredible speed and power. The hit was so great that it made the leader lose balance and concentration. Tsuki then spun his body around, dragging his feet along the ground swept the leader off his feet by knocking his feet out from under him, causing him to fall to the ground.

The leader groaned in pain as he was knocked down to the ground. There was added pain since his sheath was made out of iron. "Agh! How...dare you!" he shouted, coughing up blood. He basically had the wind knocked out of him.

Tsuki struck his sword into the ground as he looked over to the thug with his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. He wasn't amused at all. In fact, this was a huge waste of time. "Had enough yet? You're only making it harder for yourself the longer you stay. I'll say this one more time. Leave and never return" he told him. He didn't want to resort to killing him. He doesn't like to kill people unless the situation was necessary.

The leader struggled to his feet and gave Tsuki a nasty glare. He then walked over to the thugs who were out cold and tossed their bodies in a wooden cart. After that, he walked towards the village exit, pulling the cart but looked back before leaving. "You'll pay for interfering with the Dark Wings. Just you wait" he mumbled to himself. He eventually left the village with his lackeys.

Once they left from sight, the villages cheered and thanked Tsuki. If he wasn't there, the mayor could of been killed. Then, the girl who told him about the thugs approached him. "Wow, you're strong. I guess the rumors are true; the Royal Eight that serve under the royal family are quite strong" she said.

Tsuki sheathed his sword and placed it back onto his belt as he looked at the girl and scratched his cheek with his finger. "It's all a part of my job. I have a duty to carry out to protect the weak and innocent. I couldn't just ignore some thugs that were terrorizing the village" he said in response. His primary duty is to serve the royal family while his secondary duty is to uphold the peace.

The girl examined Tsuki a bit since she didn't get the chance to do it before with everything that just happened and thought for a moment. Something struck her about his fighting style. "Why didn't you kill him? He did attack you and almost killed our mayor, after all" she asked. She was curious to why he didn't use lethal force.

Tsuki shrugged at her question. "Personally, I try not to kill other human beings unless I have to or when a situation calls for it. I know that seems kind of like contradiction with my job being a knight sworn to protect the royal family and all" he answered. He didn't like senseless bloodshed. He tries not to use excessive force when the situation doesn't call for it.

The girl nodded at his answer. Despite being a knight who's constantly thrown onto the battlefield, she could understand where he's coming from but still thought it was a bit weird given his position as a knight. In the midst of all the excitement, she forgot to introduce herself to him. "Oh, I almost forgot. My name is Lynette Suzaki but you can call me Lyn for short" she said. Lynette was the same age as Tsuki with light brown wavy hair that went down to her shoulders with navy blue eyes. She then held out her hand, offering a handshake.

Tsuki looked at her hand and back up at her face. He nodded and took her hand and shook it. "I'm Tsuki Himura. Nice to meet you, Lyn" he said. When he shook her hand, he felt a strange power coming from her. He could feel a strong sense of magic coming from her. Apparently, she was some type of magic user.

Soon, the mayor walked through the crowd once more and approached Tsuki. She had a few bruises on her arms and a deep scratch on her face but nothing life-threatening. She then bowed to him. Thank you for coming to aid us, Mr. Himura. If you'd like to continue our talk, come by my house later. For now..." she said, looking over at Lynette. "Lyn, be a dear and show Mr. Himura around the village, would you? It's the least we can do for his help" she said.

Lynette looked at the mayor and nodded. "Yes ma'am" she said. She didn't mind giving him a little tour. After all, he just saved the mayor's life and possibly everyone else since the impending winter season was coming. Winters in the village can be quite harsh at times. The village was small with a population as little as one hundred, so there wasn't much to see besides huts and farmland.

The mayor nodded and looked back at Tsuki. "I'll see you two later then. Feel free to stop by whenever you want. For helping us out, I'll have the inn prepare a room for you with no charge" she said. Then, she walked past them and through the crowd and headed back to her house.

Lynette walked forward a bit then turned her head to Tsuki. The crowd started to disperse as well once everything had calmed down a bit. "I know this is a bit late but welcome to the countryside, I suppose" she welcomed him. She turned her head back around and started to walk up a small pathway that led further into the village.

Tsuki chuckled a bit. He wasn't a stranger to the countryside since he had previously lived in the countryside before moving to Eresseas. His experience in the countryside wasn't exactly a good one, however. "The countryside, huh?" he mumbled to himself. He followed Lynette as she showed him everything around the village.

Tsuki and Lynette walked around every inch of the village. They looked at the huts that ranged from small to large and a pretty big farmland. The village seems to rely on old technology of agriculture. There wasn't a hint of anything high tech compared to most places in the world. Tsuki lived in a countryside village like this when he was about five years old but something extremely tragic happened that changed his entire life. No one, not even the royal family know of it. That includes Cheria. They may not keep secrets from each other but this secret is much too tragic and sensitive to him that it's the only secret he keeps from her. All that's known is that there was a village very similar to Crescentia that was wiped off the face of the earth with all it's villagers either dead or missing as well. Many believe it was a well thought-out plan by the Dark Wings since they were in conflict with this particular village for ages. No one has been reported alive from the attack. No one even knew that Tsuki could be the only survivor from this tragic event. It's a very deep, emotional scar that he never mentions. He lost his entire family and a friend he cared for very deeply. He's all but forgotten it to avoid risks of flashbacks but sometimes, he just can't help but remember back. Sometimes, it's caused him nightmares of the same thing happening to Eresseas. He just shakes it off and keeps it to himself. When the tour was done, they ended back up in the plaza. The sun was beginning to set.

Tsuki sat in a bench and sighed heavily. "Whew...for a small village, there's a lot to see here. I haven't been back in the countryside in a very long time. It brings back memories" he said. Being in a village that closely resembles his old village, he couldn't help but think back at his village.

Lynette sat down next to him and laid her head back on the bench. "Yeah, we may live small lives but we got a lot going on. When it comes to the average thief though, it's a little too much excitement for us though" she said. She fell silent for a bit before looking at Tsuki to ask a question. "Say, I'm curious. What was your childhood like? You seemed accustomed to this kind of lifestyle. Did you used to live in the countryside?" she asked. She wanted to know a little bit more about him.

Tsuki went silent at her question about his childhood. He didn't answer her for a few moments. He tried to think of what to tell her. "I don't remember my childhood, but yes, I used to live in the countryside though" he said. He obviously lied about his past. He doesn't like to lie or make up stories but it was for personal reasons. He didn't want people to know of his past. It's a past that no one should have to ever experience in their lifetime. "All I remember is being put in a foster home in Eresseas and then becoming close to Princess Cheria when I was a kid which eventually led to me serving under the royal family" he said. Another lie as he was never in a foster home. How he got there was something he kept to himself. His village was no where near Eresseas so until he speaks about his past, it'll remain a mystery on how he arrived in Eresseas.

Lynette could tell when someone was lying. She knew that his explanation was a lie. She could tell that it was a past that had a lot of pain in it. Seeing this, she realized that she had asked a rather tough question for him to answer. She felt bad for having to ask. She knew he was lying for a reason but decided not to say anything about it until he's ready to talk about it. "I-I'm sorry. It seems I asked you a difficult question" she said, looking down at the ground.

Tsuki looked at her and patted her head gently. He knew that she didn't mean it. Then again, it's what he gets for hiding his past from everyone. He knew that people would ask such questions."Don't be. I'm used to it. You should head on home. It's getting late" he said, looking up at the darkening skies.

Lynette looked up at him and nodded. "You're right. I better head home. I'll see you tomorrow, then?" she asked, standing up and stretching. There was still so much more she wanted to talk to Tsuki about. She wondered how long he would be staying in the village.

Tsuki nodded and stood up with her. "Yeah. I'll finish what I was telling the mayor before I was interrupted and I'll be on my way again. I want to get this mission wrapped up so I could return to Eresseas" he said. He didn't want to stay away from Eresseas for a long period of time. He knew that Cheria would have panic attacks from her constant worry about him being away.

Lynette nodded. "We'll have to make sure to send you off in style then. Goodnight, Tsuki. Wait for me by the gate so I can see you off, okay?" she asked. She didn't want him leaving without saying goodbye. She waved at him one last time then walked off in the direction of her house.

Tsuki nodded and waved back at her. He then headed towards the inn to rest of the night. Once he entered the inn, he was told that his room was already paid for. He walked into one of the rooms and closed the door behind him as he entered. He took his sword off his waist and set it up against the bedside dresser. He then walked over to the window and looked out it in thought. He then had a very brief flashback that showed a village in flames with blood and corpses everywhere. His flashbacks ended with a brief image of the faces of two young girls. He shook his head, not wanting to remember anymore of his past. He held his hand over his face for a moment. "I know you're out there somewhere. I just know it" he mumbled to himself, referring to the images of the two girls. Who were these mysterious girls? He soon walked over to the bed and crawled into it. After staring at the ceiling for a few minutes, he slowly fell asleep for the night.

To be continued...