Chapter 2: Rotating the gear
As morning rolled in from across Mt. Mjolnir, the vendors in Prontera began to set up shop, bring out new merchandise and set prices for the day. Just about every stall had at least two people outside speaking about the incident of last night. Word spread around almost like a virus, the children even knew of the flames that broke out at the clinic, the royal guard's summoning and the accused stalker that got away. There wasn't a person in the streets who wasn't talking about it.
Inside Hollegren's shop, the sound of hammer being introduced to iron was halted for a moment as the grand smith, Hollegren, himself stared at the man who had just entered from his back room. He wiped the sweat from his face with a dingy rag and stepped to the counter with a greeting smile.
"What can I do ya for stranger?" He asked, his arms crossing his chest in a neat fold.
In front of him was a man who was clearly from Amatsu based on his garb. He sported two katana at his waist and geta under his bandaged feet.
"My name is Jinzo Ootori. I was called for by your king in response to a disturbance regarding the stalker. Could you be so kind as to tell me where I can find your king?" The man asked in the most polite tone with hints of his accent.
Hollegren listened and nodded his head while heading across from the counter. He took Jinzo outside, careful to avoid the small troupe of kids playing outside of his shop. Out by the center of the city, he pointed to the castle at the end of the road. With his thanks, Jinzo took his leave, making his way towards the towering castle. Hollegren was one to keep to his own business so without questioning the exact happenings of last night, he headed back into his shop to begin again his toil.
Inside the pristine castle stood many a knight with armor bearing the royal seal. Each one of them were lined up with arm to chest in a salute to the three people ahead of them. One of the men was a Rune knight with short blonde hair, piercing gray eyes and a posture so straight, it made diamond look fragile; Sir Alterin Fordmet XI, the other a Royal Guard with slicked back white hair, black and gentle eyes and a large frame built for taking hits; Seban Di Orland and finally a small framed Ranger with dirty blonde hair, rough facial features with accompanying stubble and black paint under his eyes; Wolfe Advocat. While waiting outside of the large branded double doors, each one made sure to pass the wall of sight formed by two of the guardsmen to ensure no one other than them entered the building.
The doors opened slowly as King Tristram III, his son; Alan Tristram IV and his daughter; Elena Tristram, stepped from the large room with their royal outfits on. The two children stepped to the side and allowed their father to speak.
"I welcome you my knights and you as well Wolfe of the Hounds. I surely trust that your trips here were smooth and swift." He spoke with an elegant tone, not a bit of defect in his voice.
Wolfe smirked and folded his arms, the dozens of belts around his waist making noise as he did so.
"Eh, the airship rides made sleeping a chore, but hell, as long as I get to come here and do some hunting, I can let that slide. Right 'Tin man'?" He asked, referring to the Royal guard.
Seban did not respond he only kept his attention to the king as his code dictated him to do so.
"That will be enough Wolfe, you may be from Einbech, but please know that we here will not tolerate any rambunctious behavior, is that understood?" The king said as he entered the room while summoning the others in.
Wolfe only snickered and followed behind while the other two quickly followed behind, their armors clanging with each step. Inside they noted the circular table which already had occupants at the seats. Sitting before the new arrivals were other members that the king called, a short bio chemist who had one too many bottles of potion attached to the inside of his coat, gorgeous twin sisters who were sorceresses, a dark skinned warlock who's eyes gave a mild blue glow and a female rune knight who had the longest hair in the room. They each stood and began introductions to the few who joined in.
"Edgar Mercer, Leader of the Alchemist guild of Al De Baran. Pleasures all mine gentlemen." The Bio Chemist spoke.
"Hee hee! I'm Lina and this is Terra. We both represent the magic lineage of Geffen!" The first twin spoke, her sister obviously more poised and controlled as she only nodded and gave a half hi.
The warlock waved his hands in the air as ether began to spill from his fingers and form words in the air. 'My name is Cortez, Also from the magic lineage. As part of my current mission, I am not allowed to speak so I do hope my ether letter spell will be sufficient. I hope we will work well together.' It read with glowing blue words that fizzled away into white and blue sparks.
The rune knight saluted and stood to attention before taking a breath.
"I am captain of Izlude's Knight Division; Sir Alverk Orin of Izlude. It is my pleasure and honor to work with other members of the royal army. I hope my skills with at least be of equal to yours sirs." She humbly spoke to her two superiors who entered.
The king took his seat and offered the remaining to the three who entered late. As they all sat, his children exited the room and released a sigh of relief.
"Goodness, father certainly knows how to pick them. They all had that….that aura about them. It was almost as though I couldn't breathe, their power was so overwhelming." Elena spoke with light breaths while wiping her forehead.
"I know what you mean. There is especially something about Wolfe….He smells of blood and I'm fairly certain he won't follow anyone's rules once his target is in sight. We'd best keep a lookout for any trouble from him." Alan cautiously said while heading up to the living quarters door and opening it for his sister. "It's best we let father handle this though…I think he knows best. Though I wonder if all of this is really needed for one stalker…"
Back in the room the king had already introduced Wolfe, Alterin and Seban to the others. With intros done and over it was immediately time for business. Just as the king opened his mouth, the doors opened and Jinzo stepped inside with a formal bow.
"Please forgive my tardiness. I was unaware of my destination, but your local smith has directed me." Jinzo spoke.
"Very well Jinzo, please take a seat, I was just getting to the reason I called you all here." The king spoke while waiting on Jinzo to sit.
"As you all know, there was a disturbance last night regarding a stalker. I called you all here to locate that man. He goes by the name of Shodelth Sekirin or better known as Sho Seki in the streets and as far as we know he has a way to move undetected around the kingdom. Last night he caused a disturbance at the clinic which led to its burning down. My guards arrived on scene, but there was no trace of him. The doctor who was present when Sho arrived informed us that Sho had fled, but not before leaving a cryptic message. We must be on –"
"Whoa, hold it there mate! You mean to tell me that you called us all out here for a fuckin' stalker, a lowly insect on the ass of society? You've gotta be kiddin' me!" Wolfe blurted out in disrespect.
Alverk stood, drawing her flamberge to Wolfe's face.
"You will watch your tone when you address the king, mongrel! Understood?" She shouted with authority.
Wolfe looked at the blade and with a shrug and smirk, he nodded.
"Yes mommy, forgive me. Hehehe."
"Wolfe, I must warn you. I know well enough of your reputation, but I assure you that my knights are more than enough to deal with you should you decide to act alone. Understand this and there should be no problems. Now… As I was saying. We must be on high alert of Sho because of the reason he was here. Months ago he brought a sick woman into the city looking for treatment for her. It was confirmed by doctor Morrix that she had a strain of argenfatum, type two. This is a disease that our records confirm to only found in the ancient tombs of the Advents, a guild of olden days who wreaked havoc among the masses years ago."
Terra's eyes opened wide, she recalled reading many a book about The Advents. The stories she heard often kept her awake at night. She almost couldn't believe she was hearing it again.
"S-so you're telling us that…They must have found the tomb?" She asked with worry in her voice.
"And? What's so bad about a stupid tomb?" Wolfe added.
"When my forefathers buried The Advents, they locked away every secret they ever had with them. The shady dealings that occurred with clans and guilds of the past, their secret techniques, even whereabouts of their family members, all of it was buried along with them. We've encountered people who have found the tomb before, but that strain has taken their lives before the location was divulged. If Sho knows where it is and has somehow found a way into it, he could unleash what was sealed and locked away for generations." The king finished with his head low, and his hands crossed in prayer fashion.
Cortez raised his hand and began to write once more. "And the girl? Who was she?"
The king grew silent for a moment before taking a breath and releasing it slowly.
"She was my niece, Sonia. She ran away with Sho years ago and has been invisible until months ago when they sought out aid. We believe she's the reason he even knows of the tombs and any other information she could have divulged. We sent her body to be disposed of in case Sho decided to return for her brain." Tristram added on.
"The brain? What for?" Alverk added.
Lina put her finger to her lip and looked up.
"Well~ if I recall right, he could use a soul linker to dig into her mind and look at any information she's ever remembered. Not only that, but he could transfer her mind into someone else and it'd be her new body, but of course it'd have to be an almost exact body for her to transfer properly." She explained.
Alverk nodded with an amazed look on her face. This was beginning to be too much for the ambitious knight who only knew life as simple chivalry. She sat back in the seat and began to process the information, hoping to remain caught up with the rest of the group.
"Then why didn't the loony bastard just swap her out before she died?" Wolfe asked with his shoulders rising in confusion.
"Well again, the body would have to be almost the same not to mention it takes a long time for the process to begin. On top of that, Soul linkers are usually skeptical about using the technique and any that will agree to do so will charge by the airship. So it was probably faster and cheaper to try to get her cured." Edgar answered while taking a pipe from his coat and placing it in his mouth.
"And now the broads dead, sounds like the poor twit got the shit end of that deal right mates?" Wolfe continued and ended with a laugh.
The King stood and sighed. His old hands pressed on the table while he looked at them all.
"At this time, our mission is simply to locate Sho. We have no leads but I'm hoping that each of you will utilize your connections with other places in the world. Surely with our combined sources, we can locate this problem. Once he is found, we will deal with him accordingly. "His royal words filling most of them with the rallying spirit.
The king's new squad stood and nodded to the king, all but Wolfe showing respect. They stood by the door in a circle and awaited the orders of the king.
"Search, that is the only thing I can command until more is known of the situation. It is nearly impossible for him to have gone too far, so I'm hoping for swift news. If he is located you will report to either Seban or Alterin first. Do not engage him under any circumstances. Understood?" His words leaving his body with commanding presence.
They all acknowledged the order and exited from the room. Each one headed to different parts of the castle since the King offered a place to stay while they were away from their hometowns. Wolfe entered his room and took a small box with an antenna from his belt. He placed it on the vanity near the window and folded his arms.
"Got all that?" He asked the box.
-Zzzzzt- "On it sir…" –click- The box went as Wolfe gave a foreboding grin while looking outside at the city and its citizens.