Tales of Xalthia

Chapter 29: Divided Town

Tsuki and his companions found themselves in a strange space after using the Warp System in Esseand to reach Dagbor. It was as if they were going to hyperspace from the futuristic, space movies. Before they knew it, they eventually appeared in a similar room. The Warp Chamber was almost an exact mirror to the chamber in Esseand. There were numerous computers around the room with a bunch of monitors and gauges. Once they all appeared on the circular pad, they could feel the air become lighter due to the Warp System powering down. They looked around a bit as they stepped off the circular pad. Besides Elle, no one was used to being warped over long distances. As a result, it took them a few minutes to gather themselves.

Tsuki shook his head, shaking off the sense of dizziness. The feeling felt completely different than when Elle had used her Teleportation Artes to get them out of Eresseas. "Ugh, that wasn't a very pleasant experience. I feel like I'm going to throw up" he said. He was not used to Teleportation Artes, let alone a Warp System that can transport them to a much greater distance.

Elle patted Tsuki on the back and approached one of the consoles. "You'll get used to it in no time. I have a feeling that we'll be using them a lot while we're in Ersheath" she said. She then read some of the gauges and other things that were on the various monitors. Everything appeared to have gone smoothly. No excess Mana was produced and the Aer exposure count was kept to a bare minimum. Once again, she was surprised at how smoothly it went. "It appears that the Warp System operated without issue. Not only did they successfully revive a partial amount of the old technology, but they managed to get it working properly" she said.

Luan stepped forward and stood next to Elle. "Raiku is a very smart individual. He is no fool when it comes to technology whether it being a thousand years old or just a couple years old. You could say that Raiku is a sort of tech wizard" she said. She then scanned the room briefly and approached a different console. She then interacted with it for a bit and eventually nodding at the group. "Teleportation complete. We're in Dagbor now" she said.

Tsuki looked at Luan and nodded. "Good to hear. Let's go try and meet up with the Esseand commander in town and get a feel on the current situation is. From there, we'll-" he said.

Just then, he felt a strong pressure hit him which caused him to freeze where he stood. Not long afterwards, he felt his mind become foggy. There was something familiar about this feeling as he's had this happen to him before in the past. He felt his mind slip away from reality and before he knew it, he found himself in space cut off from reality with visibly flowing Mana and Aer. It wasn't long after that when he saw a familiar figure appeared in front of him. It was the boy that appeared had appeared in some of the visions he had back during his mission from Eresseas.

Tsuki was a bit surprised by the sudden and unexpected appearance of this mysterious figure. It's been a long time since he last had these visions. "It's you again" he said.

The boy nodded. "Yes. It appears your powers have awakened since our last encounter. Although it's only a little bit, you've managed to gain a sense of control over it" the boy said.

Tsuki shook his head. "I still have much to learn. However, I'm not a pure blooded Ancient. Our common acquaintance has told me that" he said.

The boy drifted closer to Tsuki and put his hand against his chest. "Allow me to look into your soul for a few moments" he said. The boy then closed his eyes for a few moments. The Mana around them started to swirl around them as he fell into what appeared to be a state of meditation. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and back away from him a bit. He appeared to be puzzled about something. "Very interesting. It is indeed true that you're not an Ancient from any bloodlines. Yet, it accepted you as its new master. Very interesting..." he said.

Tsuki tilted his head. His power accepted him as its master? That comment confused him. "Its master? What do you mean?" he asked. He was still pretty much in the dark about the whole concept behind the Ancients, their history and why he was bestowed their power. However, he does know that the power of Ancients is mighty. He felt the magnitude and level of its power back during his fight with Caius and its capabilities. However, at that moment, it was a sudden burst of strength and power. A taste of what it felt like to wield godly power.

The boy folded his arms and held them close to his chest, shaking his head. "Pay no mind to what I just said. Allow me to explain a little bit about Mana. Mana is what gives life to all things. Humans, demons, monsters, the Great Spirits and even the land. Basically, it's supercharged Aer since Aer is what fuels Mana. Each living being has their own unique Mana Signature and yours is extremely unique" he explained.

Tsuki scratched the back of his head with a confused expression on his face. What the boy was saying sounded close to gibberish to him due to him being unable to understand what he was saying. It was like he was speaking in another language. "Mana...Signature?" he asked.

The boy nodded, holding his hand out. Moments later, a light blue flame formed in the palm of his hand. "To put it in terms you might understand, think of Mana Signature as a living will. You see, not everyone born is with a Mana Signature. As a result, some people look towards other methods of utilizing Mana. Take the Arte Symbols that some of the Honegroth soldiers have embedded on their backs for example" he said.

Tsuki was still as confused as ever. The more they talked about this, the more lost he becomes. How is everything he's been saying relate to him? "So, what's so interesting about my Mana Signature that makes it so unique?" he asked.

The boy pointed at Tsuki. "There are many forms to Mana Signature. However, yours is one-of-a-kind. You have a Mana Signature that's pretty common among people of this world but for some reason, it recognized you, a normal human, as its master. An event like that is extremely rare and almost unheard of. Not only that, but you never underwent the trial suitable to your power in order to be recognized in the first place yet you were able to harness some of it. I have a feeling things are going to get a lot more interesting from here on out" he said.

The boy talking in riddles only made Tsuki that much more confused. He had no idea what he was referring to that made his Mana Signature so unique. It was like he was trying to avoid telling him what it was for some reason. "It? What are you talking about?" he asked.

Just then, the space around them started to shake violently. Followed by the shaking was a feeling of extreme heaviness and uneasiness.

The boy had an expression on his face. He appeared to know of what was the cause of this. "It appears that there's a powerful force around you that's causing interference. Stay on your guard because the only people capable of this are-" he said.

Before the boy could finish what he was saying, he had vanished along with the unknown space around them. Moments later, Tsuki found himself back with his friends. To them, it appears that he had blacked out and fell unconscious. His vision was dark and he could hear the voice of Cheria calling out to him though it was muffled a bit so it was difficult to make out what she was saying. It wasn't long until he opened his eyes and found himself staring up at Cheria's face. His return from his strange vision was different this time around as some of his senses were blurred and deafened. It took it moment for his senses to return to normal.

When Cheria noticed that Tsuki was regaining consciousness, she placed her hand on his forehead. "Tsu! Are you okay? What happened?" she asked. Her expression was that of worry and concern. To her, Tsuki just suddenly collapsed without warning.

Tsuki put his hand up and covered the left side of his face as he started to sit up. "Ugh...yeah. I'm not sure what happened. I just blacked out all of a sudden" he said. He still didn't want to tell them the real reason for collapsing out of nowhere because he still hasn't quite figured out why this has been happening to him. If he were to tell them, it would just raise more questions that he couldn't answer.

Cheria tried to feel his forehead with her hand to see if he had collapsed because he had caught a fever or something. It wouldn't be all that surprising, given the fact that they've hardly had much time to rest since the arrived in Ersheath. Unable to tell if he had a fever with her hand, she used her other hand to brush the hair up from her forehead and used the hand on his forehead to brush his hair out of the way. Moments later, she leaned forward and put her forehead against his. She still felt no fever. "Hmm...it doesn't seem you have a fever or anything. Maybe it was just exhaustion catching up with you" she said.

When Cheria put her forehead against his, he felt a bit weird and embarrassed especially since it was in front of everyone. "Don't worry, I'm not sick or anything. You don't have to check. It's probably just the exhaustion" he said.

Lynette scratched her cheek with her finger, looking away as Cheria tried to find out if he was sick. One would almost think that they're more along the lines of lovers rather than princess and knight. "It's amazing that the lines between you two seem to blur. One would easily get the idea of you two being lovers rather than a princess showing concern for her knight" she said.

Lynette's comment reminded him of what Mike and Phi from the Royal Eight said when he returned to Eresseas. He cleared his through and stood up moments later. "A-anyway, let's get back to what we were doing" he said. He then held his hand out to Cheria to help her up.

As Cheria took his hand and stood up, Elle was staring at him. She knew that something was off but this wasn't the time for her to speculate anything. Moments after they both stood up again, she headed for the door. "If you're feeling tired, don't push yourself. This journey of ours will take its toll on everyone so you need to make sure that you're rested up as much as you can" she said.

Ramza stood there in silence, waiting for everyone to gather themselves before they left. Once everyone seemed to be ready, he approached the door and put his hand on the handle. "If we're all done here, let's get going" he said. He then turned the handle and pushed the door open.

Once Ramza opened the door, they walked out of the steel and cobblestone building that the Warp System was in and stepped into a field of cherry blossom trees with loose cherry blossoms blowing around with the wind. Along with a sea of cherry blossoms, there was a temple that served as a shrine and and prayer. There were people walking around the temple grounds in casual clothing but then there were people in clothing suitable for a temple shrine. Some of the people that were walking around gave them weird looks. A few moments later, a middle-aged woman in temple clothing approached them.

The lady approached and bowed to them. "Oh my, what do we have here? It's not often we get visitors through the Warp System that don't belong to royalty. Welcome to the Higashi Temple. My name is Kiyoko Yuma. I'm in charge of maintaining this place" she said.

Tsuki scratched the back of his head a bit. He didn't want to start a commotion but it was too late for that now. "My name is Tsuki Himura. These are my companions: Cheria, Nagi, Lynette, Ramza, Ruko, Luan and Elle. We've come on behalf of King Raiku to seek out the cause for the recent rise in conflict. It appears that we caused quite a commotion around here" he said.

Kiyoko examined them the group closely. Their clothing didn't signify that they worked King Raiku but the fact that they came through the Warp System which only very few people had access to which at least somewhat verifies that they come with good intent. "Oh, don't concern yourselves with that. It's just a little bit odd that such oddly dressed people came out from a building mainly used for members of the Esseand military and public officials" she said. Her eyes then drifted off to the side and stopped when she saw Ramza and Luan. "Mr. Tokatsu, Ms. Calloway. We welcome you both with open arms for all the effort you do for this kingdom" she said.

Ramza shook his head. Being called "Mr. Tokatsu" made him feel a bit strange and uncomfortable. "You don't have to be so formal with us. Formalities aren't necessary with us" he said. Being a man who has frequent contact with members of royalty, formal talk gets tiring to hear after a while.

Luan nodded and approached Kiyoko, bowing to her before she said anything. "It's nice to see you again, Kiyoko. However, we've come for more than just finding out the cause of recent conflict. We're also here to figure out the whereabouts of Setzu. Do you have any information that you can give us?" she asked.

Kiyoko thought to herself for a moment to see if she has heard anything. She then shook her head after a few moments of silence. "Unfortunately, I have no information to give you about Setzu. We haven't seen him around in a few days. I believe the last time he was seen around here was before the latest attack. The commander from Esseand would know more about that as well as any new information about the rise in conflict" she said.

Luan was hoping for an answer that would be comforting. Unfortunately, there was nothing to tell. It should of been obvious to her that the Esseand military wouldn't divulge information of an ongoing matter to the public. "I should of expected an answer like that. The commander isn't that stupid. It seems that we're going to have to meet with him if we're going to be pointed in the right direction" she said.

Ramza nodded. "It would appear so. There's a downside to this, however. After the recent attack, I'm sure that they've raised the town threat level to a state of emergency. In doing so, they limit entry into their headquarters to certified personnel only. It'll be very difficult for us to gain entry if His Majesty hasn't informed him of our arrival yet" he said. Even someone of his stature wasn't enough gain access to a headquarters that was in lockdown.

Tsuki folded his arms as he fell into thought. Meeting the leaders of Dagbor was their current goal right now anyway so it would be nice if they could get their current task out of the way but it seems that things might not go as planned. "Let's go and try to meet up with the commander first. If we can't get in to speak to him, maybe some of the locals might know something" he said.

Lynette nodded. "I agree. Walking around aimlessly won't do us any good. If the officials can't help us, I'm sure that there's someone around here that might be able to. We just have to look around for a little bit" she said. There are times where locals will know more than what they can learn from military and public officials and in a town centered around conflict due to the fact that Nargelond shares borders with it.

Ramza listened to them as they spoke and reach an agreement. Once they were done, he started to make his way to the stone steps leading down from the temple. "Looks like we're in agreement then. Let's make our way to the Esseand headquarters and we'll see what happens from there" he said.

Kiyoko watched as Ramza walked past them and down the stone steps. Once he disappeared down the hill, she looked back at the group and bowed at them one final time. "I wish you all the best of luck in your search. Give the good commander my regards, will you? If you need anything, feel free to come back anytime you want" she said. She then turned around and walked off towards the temple and walked into one of the entrances.

Once Kiyoko was gone, Tsuki and the rest headed down the stone steps to catch up with Ramza. It appeared that the temple sat on top of a big hill that extended high up into the air. It was a long, steep hill and along the sides of the stone steps were statues of various creatures such as animals, dragons and even monsters as well as a sea of cherry blossom trees. After several minutes of walking down the long stone steps, they finally reached the bottom. Cimbing up and down the hill was a challenge for some people due to how steep the hill was but it also served as a great way to get in some exercise too. Once they reached the bottom, they headed towards the town. After about ten more minutes of walking, they found themselves walking into the middle of a plaza that was surrounded by various buildings, restaurants and storefronts.

Nagi looked around the area as she saw the crowds of people walk by as if life was normal. Despite being under a constant state of conflict and the recent attack, everyone didn't appear to be phased about it at all. It was like these kinds of events were common occurrences and got to the point where it didn't bother them a whole lot. "For a town in almost constant distress, everything seems rather normal. I don't see much concern on their faces. I had figured that this place would have a sense of uneasiness and stress after what's happened here" she said.

Luan walked forward a bit, stepping into the center of the plaza. "Well, yeah. After all, this town as seen its share of conflict. You can say that the townspeople have grown adapted to it" she said.

Ramza looked around and pointed to a large, heavy gate reinforced with steel plating and mounts. "Beyond that gate is Nargelond territory. Due to the recent activities between our two kingdoms, intercontinental travel has become very restrictive. We'd need special permits issued by His Majesty himself if we want to get through" he said.

Tsuki looked at the large gate and scratched the back of his head. Business with Nargelond was still far into the future so there was no need to worry about something that didn't require their immediate attention. "We'll worry about that some other time. There's no reason to worry about something that's still a ways away" he said. After examining the gate a bit longer, he looked at Ramza. "So, where's the Esseand commander at?" he asked.

Ramza turned around and pointed to a two story building behind a steel gate guarded by two soldiers. The building appeared to be heavily guarded by various soldiers patrolling inside and outside of the gate. "The commander in charge of this side of Dagbor should be in there but by the looks of things, it appears that something is going on. Usually, it's not so heavily guarded. Let me do the talking" he said.

They all fell in agreement and started to approach the guarded two story building. As they walked past several guard patrols, they did receive a few suspicious looks from them. Who can blame them though? When they got closer to the steel gate, the two guards held their lances out in front of the gate in a cross shape, stopping them from taking another step further.

The guard to the left of them shook his head, gripping his lance tightly. "Halt. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed past this point. Identify yourselves and state your business" he said in an aggressive tone.

Ramza took a deep breath and stepped out from the group, standing in front of the guards. "My name is Ramza Tokatsu. I've come to speak with the commander in charge. I've come under orders of His Majesty to investigate the recent rise in conflicts this town has been experiencing. His Majesty should of informed the commander of our arrival" he said. As he spoke, he took out the official seal of Esseand and showed it to the guards to further validate their reason.

The guard examined the seal that Ramza showed him and after a minute of silence, he was able to verify that it was, in fact, the legit seal of Esseand. Afterwards, he looked at Ramza and nodded. "That's definitely the seal of Esseand. There's no doubt about it. I apologize for the inconvenience but as you can see, things here are pretty on edge at the moment. I'll go see if the commander is available. Wait here" he said. He then turned around, walked through the gate and headed into the building.

The guard was gone for several minutes. The wait felt like an eternity. What their next objective would be will depend on whether or not they'll be granted permission to see the commander. Thankfully, they had a backup plan in case they couldn't. Eventually, teh guard came back out and approached the group.

The guard got back into his original position and looked at Ramza. "I apologize for the wait. Unfortunately, the commander is in an important meeting right now with one of the officials from Nargelond's side of the town. However, he has been informed of your arrival. He told me to tell you to come back at around dusk. He should be free to meet with you all then. He also apologizes if this inconveniences you in any way" he said.

Ramza folded his arms and sighed. He figured that they would get an answer like that. After all, they were in the middle of investigating the recent conflicts in town. Especially since Nargelond's involved in this as well, it was to be expected that the commander would be busy. "At dusk, huh? It looks like we have no choice then" he said. He then turned and faced Tsuki and the others. "We have a few hours to ourselves. Let's take this time to do a bit of reconnaissance of our own. Maybe we'll learn something ourselves" he said.

Luan nodded as she fell in to thought. She wasn't that surprised that they couldn't meet up with the commander right away. After all, the commander was a very busy man. "If we have to wait until dusk to meet with the commander, why don't we try to track down Setzu? If anyone would know anything, it would be him" she said.

Tsuki sighed heavily, scratching the back of his head. It looks like they really did have no other choice. "Well, seeing as how we can't avoid waiting around, let's give it a try. Standing around here won't make the time go by faster anyway. Who knows, we might get lucky" he said.

Ramza looked at Tsuki and Luan and nodded. "Alright. First, let's check out some of the places he would of been at" he said. He then started to make his way to a series of businesses along the river that divided the two sides of Dagbor. He soon pointed to a wooden building with beer kegs in the front of it by the windows. "Pubs are surprisingly good when it comes to finding out information. It's where all the adventurers go for the latest gossip" he said.

They soon followed Ramza across the crowds of people to the pub. Once they stepped inside, they saw that it was packed full of people. The interior was wooden, resembling an old, rustic look. They could hear the chatter among the bar patrons. Pubs were great in finding out information but they were also the site of spontaneous brawls and commotions. Being in a pub full of drunks, they had to be careful not to pick a fight with anyone to avoid any unnecessary conflict. However, pubs also held another purpose. People can learn about the lay of the land and receive tips on dangerous monsters people hunt in exchange for Gald.

Ramza looked at the group for a moment. "Like before, let me do the talking. We don't need any unnecessary attention" he said. He then approached the bartender and sat down in one the bar stools. The man had short, chestnut brown hair with a small beard. He appeared to be in his early fifties. "Hey, old man! What's on the menu for today!?" he shouted, banging on the countertop with his fist.

The bartender was busy preparing drinks when Ramza shouted at him. "The menu was posted outside! Can't you read!?" he shouted. He then turned around and saw Ramza sitting at the bar. It took him a moment to realize who he was. He soon approached him afterwards. "Well, I'll be damned. Is that you, Ramza? I haven't seen your rugged face in here for ages! I see you're just as obnoxious as ever" he said.

Ramza laughed a bit. "I see you're just as sensitive as ever too. You haven't changed a bit" he said. He was friends with the bartender so they both enjoyed giving each other a hard time.

The bartender leaned onto the bar counter. He then looked at Tsuki and the others that were standing behind him. They all appeared too young to be in a pub. He then gave Ramza an unenthusiastic look. "It seems you've come with quite the crowd. However, they seem a bit underage to be drinking alcohol. I really hope you aren't trying to get minors to drink or pay for your drinks" he said.

Ramza shook his head. "Please, I can afford my own drinks. I'm not that poor. To ease your burdens, we aren't here to drink. We've come on official business from His Majesty" he said.

The bartender raised an eyebrow and examined Tsuki and his friends once more. This time, he gave them a more in-depth look as if he was scanning them. He was quite curious to know what business they could be on that would bring them to a local bar. "His Majesty, you say? They don't appear to be soldiers under his command. In fact, they don't appear to be from here. It's quite rare for His Majesty to employ people not even from around these parts" he said.

Tsuki was surprised that the bartender immediately saw right through them. There was more to this guy than he had thought. "How did you know that we weren't from around here?" he said.

The bartender looked at Tsuki and smirked at him. "I can tell just from the looks on your faces and your choice of clothing. After all, I've been a bartender for thirty years. I've seen my share of travelers" he said. He then looked at Ramza once more. "So, what business do you have that brings you here?" he said.

Ramza leaned closer to the bartender so that what he was about to say couldn't be overheard by the people around them. It wouldn't look good on their part if other people were to find out what they were doing considering that what they were doing was kept under tight wraps by the officials and military. "We're here to investigate the recent rise in conflict under the orders of His Majesty. We tried to meet up with the commander here but he was in the middle of a meeting and couldn't be disturbed. Now, we're trying to locate a man named Setzu Tsubaki. He was stationed here up until several days ago. He hasn't contacted His Majesty or anyone else since the recent attack. So, I was hoping that you would have some information about it" he said.

The bartender folded his arms and fell into thought for a few moments. A lot of things have been happening recently so he had to get his thoughts together. After several minutes of silence, he looked at him once more. "Unfortunately, I don't know much. However, I do know that he was badly injured in the recent attack" he said.

The news of Setzu being badly injured sent Luan into a panic. His safety was a major concern to her. "Badly injured!? Is he okay!? Where is he!?" she shouted.

The bartender shook his head. "Last I heard, he's making a steady recovery but I don't have a clear answer on where he is currently" he said.

Ramza held his hand to his chin and rubbed it. "Setzu is an exceptional fighter and tactician. He wouldn't let someone get the better of him so easily in a fight. What happened?" he asked.

The bartender leaned up against the wall, folding his arms. "They were stationed at a nearby outpost in the outskirts of town. They were monitoring the rise in bandit and monster activity. The outpost had about forty soldiers stationed there. Four days ago, the outpost was attacked in the dead of night by radicals. They consisted of people from this kingdom and Nargelond and the leader of the group was that mysterious swordsman that everyone's been talking about. Setzu faced off against him in battle but was quickly defeated. In just a matter of an hour, the radical group wiped out nearly the entire outpost. Unable to win, Setzu and the remaining soldiers fled the outpost and sought out shelter to the nearby safehouses in the middle of the forest just outside of the town" he said.

Ramza grew uneasy when the bartender had explained what happened. For him, it was a little odd that someone like Setzu was defeated so easily. Whoever this swordsman was, he was someone to not take very lightly especially since he was able to form a group of radicals and wipe out nearly an entire outpost that consisted of forty soldiers. "How many survivors were there?" he asked.

The bartender sighed a bit. Unfortunately, not very many survived the ordeal and those that did survive were either wounded themselves or close to death. "At the time, there were about eleven survivors, including Setzu. What that number is now, I don't know. No one escaped from that battle unscathed" he said.

Ramza sighed heavily. He expected that the answer would be bad but it still hit him pretty hard. "Damn...how can a ragtag group of fighters take down an entire garrison of elite soldiers?" he asked himself.

Cheria thought that the story felt a little odd. In fact, it kind of reminded her about how the Menorion soldiers were empowered by Dark Arcanum, making them harder to kill and boosting their skills in combat. "Remember, the outpost was attacked around the same time Eresseas was attacked by Menorion forces. If they're at all connected with each other, there's a strong possibility that Dark Arcanum was also used on the radicals as well" she said.

Nagi fell into thought. She had a hard time understanding complicated stuff but since she was there when Eresseas was attack and experienced it firsthand. What Cheria said made sense. "I have to agree with Cheria. It definitely sounds like that's what happened" he said.

Ramza listened to what they had to say and couldn't help but agree with their speculation. It definitely made sense if he took everything that's happened under consideration. However, that's all they had to go off on. They didn't have definitive proof yet so they can't afford to jump to conclusions. "If that's the case, then it could explain how the outpost fell so easily and why communication from Setzu has stopped. If they had fallen back to a safehouse, they wouldn't have the means to contact the royal family" he said.

The bartender nodded at them though he didn't quite understand what Cheria and Nagi said. "And since safehouses are on a strictly need-to-know basis for those who need them, I can't give you a definite location on where he could be. All I know is that they had retreated into the forest just outside of the town" he said.

Ramza scratched his head a bit and thought about it for a minute. Unfortunately, he didn't know too much about the safehouses himself. However, the information about the forest was more than enough for them. At least they had something to go off on. "Alright, we'll check out. Thankfully, I'm a little familiar with the forest that you mentioned. It's a good place to start" he said.

The bartender pushed himself off the wall and reached for something on the mixing table next to him. Afterwards, he tossed the object at Ramza. "Here, give this to Setzu when you see him" he said.

Ramza reached and grabbed the object that was thrown at him. It was a set of daggers bundled together. They were in black and red sheaths with red cloth wrapped around a black hilt. "Daggers?" he asked.

The bartender nodded. "Yes. The pair he had before were destroyed in a separate conflict. I had one of our best blacksmiths craft those for him. They're a superior version to the set he had before. Tell him to be more careful with those this time" he said.

Ramza nodded and placed the daggers in his bag. "Got it. Thanks for the information. I'll be sure to stop by for a couple drinks on my free time" he said. He then turned around and faced Tsuki and the others. Now that they have a destination in mind, they knew their next course of action. Since it was still a few hours away until they can meet with the commander, they had plenty of time to investigate the forest. "Well, we have our next destination. Take some time to get yourselves ready. Once we're all set, let's meet up at the exit of town" he said.

Tsuki nodded at him. "Sounds good. However, I have one question that's been bothering me" he said. He then looked at the bartender with a serious expression on his face. "How do you know so much? For a bartender, you sure know a lot about what happened" he said.

Ramza chuckled a bit. He could understand his skepticism. "Believe it or not, he's not just your average bartender. In fact, he used to be one of the best scouts under His Majesty's command. If anyone's going to know any underground information, it'll be him. He's my go-to guy if I need to know something" he said.

The bartender laughed at him. It was rare for him to hear Ramza compliment him. "You flatter me, Ramza" he said. He then looked at the rest of the group. "My name is Claude Reid. If you guys want to know something, feel free to stop by and ask" he said.

Tsuki nodded. "I'll be sure to take you up on that. I have a feeling that we'll going to be needing it a lot" he said. He then looked at everyone else. "Okay, let's all meet up at the exit of the town like we discussed. We'll head out from there once everyone's ready. Make haste though; there's nothing but dead ends in that forest besides the direction they came from. They'll be trapped if they are pursued." he said.

They all nodded in agreement and left the pub. Afterwards, they all went their separate ways to purchase new gear and supplies for the road ahead. It was a new town so there were newer merchandise, armor and weapons. They had no idea what to fully expect. They didn't know how many radicals were left or even if they pursued the survivors from the outpost. Whatever the case, they had to make sure they were prepared especially if they were to confront the swordsman that everyone has been talking about. From everything that they've heard, they all knew that they were going to be in for a tough fight up ahead.

To be continued...