Author's Notes: It starts!

Chapter One

Inquiry

In addition to being the capital of Rune Midgard, Prontera was known as an excellent point for up-and-coming adventurers and mercenaries. Though it only offered progress as an acolyte within its walls, its position at the center of the nation meant cities offering other career choices could be reached with generally the same amount of difficulty. It also helped that the Swordsmen Guild, which was a fairly popular place of employment these days, rested in Prontera's satellite city. Many would agree that part of the city's appeal were the fields around it. Being such a large place, anything of mediocre strength around the capital had long-since been mercilessly slaughtered for sport. This meant that the average novice could romp around and practice their skills on the less intimidating Porings and other such fluff. Occasionally someone would stumble across the body of some careless greenhorn, but that rarely happened.

This most likely contributed to Tyrus' discomfort. Never had he seen so many corpses within such proximity to the city.

The priest stepped tenderly through the reddened field, feeling he would somehow dishonor the dead if he strode too casually through the massacre. Now and then he would utter a small prayer toward one of the fallen, always moving on. It was as if he had stepped into the aftermath of one of those battles described in the history books. The very grass at his feet had been painted red to match the orange ball of light that hung some distance over his head. To think that a man could cause all of this....

"You alright?"

The young priest jumped. He had nearly forgotten that others were present! Tyrus half-turned to his companion with a weak smile, somewhat embarrassed that he had been so easily startled. "Yeah Lu, just a little surprised. I wasn't expecting this kind of body count." He produced a low chuckle for emphasis.

Lucia, his lavender-haired crusader partner, crossed her arms and gave him a look that was part skepticism with a touch of concern. She had been doing that a lot lately. "Are you sure? You look a little pale."

Tyrus focused his thoughts on his robes, which he went about smoothing with either hand. "I honestly haven't seen this many corpses in one place before." He brought his gaze back to her, viridian eyes meeting her cool blue gaze. "But I'm fine. Really." There was a moment where it seemed Lucia was going to press the point. It did not last though, for after a scarce few seconds she sighed in concession.

"If you say so...." she muttered with a sort of defeated shrug. "We should probably get back to our job then. Sorry." Another moment of silence, after which the pair shared a brief smile. They had worked together for two years, and though that was a relatively short period of time it had been enough for them to develop a certain empathy for one another. In the same way Lucia had sensed Tyrus' discomfort, she also knew that it was nothing serious. The crusader still could not help but silently store it away for later.

The pair traversed the field of blood and steel, heading towards a series of burnt husks toward the center of the carnage. That was where the knights that staffed Prontera's law enforcement seemed to have gathered. The walk was a brief one, but it gave the duo enough time to get a proper grasp of the scene.

The site seemed to be littered with only merchants and swordsmen, with a knight thrown here or there. Though it was hard to tell with the absurd amount of blood plastered to the soil, the land itself seemed to be damaged. There were parts where ground seemed to have burst from within, or where whole areas of grass had been burned away to leave disks of blackened char. Neither Tyrus nor Lucia communicated this observation with the other, but they both reached the conclusion that a caster of some sort had been the cause. This was not a difficult result to reach when one noted that many of the burns were in the shape of perfect circles.

Additionally, Lucia observed that most of the bodies, if not all of them, were loaded with arrows. Some of the fighters had four or five in their chests. It seemed that the attackers, whoever they might be, derived much of their killing power from archers.

The pair of knights by the carts were in deep conversation by the time they were reached. When initially reacted with alarm when approached, with one half-completing the motion needed to reach his weapon. This much more desirable emotion was hastily restored to that hard grimace one expected of the guard, if with the slightest tinge of apprehension present. The soldier on the right, who admittedly looked a bit oafish, stepped forward to greet the newcomers. "This is no place for sightseeing," he expressed in a sort of nasally voice. He managed to stand in a somewhat forceful way, bodily radiating the impression that he had taken charge. Tyrus silently complemented him on so skillfully pulling it off, but they had dealt with enough guards to know better.

The priest only gave the man his gentle smile, reaching into his robes for something. "You misunderstand us, sir." His hand closed around the object he sought, prompting him to remove it from the folds. A short piece of parchment, delicately rolled, lay in Tyrus' hands. "We are agents to the Holy Church of Prontera. It is your superiors who requested our assistance in this matter." The guard snatched the paper away. Tyrus only chuckled as the man scanned it over, brushing a strand of his blond bowl-cut hair from his vision. "Please note the seal and signature at the bottom."

The man only spared the document a few scarce moments of his time before handing it back. He appeared frustrated, with a good amount of disgust directed at the text. "Whatever. Our captain will be with you shortly." He stalked away with his fellow soldier, curses vaguely audible from under his breath. It was Lucia's turn laugh, raising a gauntleted hand to her lips to stifle a giggle. Tyrus clasped his hands casually behind his head and turned his beaming smile toward the older woman.

"So where should we start?"

Lucia placed a hand on one hip, tapping her chin as she looked about. Her smile had faded to its prior concern as they went back to business. "That's hard to say, considering the amount of secrecy this whole mission has been wrapped in." Her gaze slowly swiveled to the carts. "My best bet would be to check there first. It was supposed to be in the wagons, right?"

Tyrus nodded in agreement, his countenance wiped equally clean as they returned to business. "Yeah, that was what he said."

"You don't know what was stolen?"

Cahir plopped onto his bed, rubbing his temples with either gloved hand. His eyes were closed as he replied to Lucia's outburst. "Nobody told me anything. At this point I don't even think the bishop knows." He braved a glance from behind his half-rim glasses, still massaging his temples. "Whatever his majesty wants found appears to be a guarded secret."

Lucia threw her hands up in frustration and marched herself towards the middle of the minute space, effectively placing herself between Cahir and Tyrus. "And he still expects us to find the damn thing?" Both priests winced as the crusader cursed in a house of God, but she appeared not to notice. "What are we supposed to do? If it gets sold off somewhere we could never find it! The thief could set it down somewhere and watch us walk by it fifty times!" Tyrus only nodded from his position at the back of Cahir's quarters. When Cahir paid him a glance he only shrugged helplessly. It was difficult to reclaim the field when Lucia was riled up. And it wasn't as if he disagreed with his partner. He was equally annoyed with this latest assignment, if somewhat less verbal in expressing his feelings.

Cahir leaned back, adjusting his glasses with one hand. "Actually," he corrected, "I have been assured that whatever was stolen will not be pawned off somewhere." The hand that had fiddled with his spectacles was now doing a sort of rotating motion. It was an odd habit he had when he was trying to reassure someone of some point. "I was told that, if you are to find this mystery item, it will be in the hands of the man who took it."

Lucia's interest was piqued. She half turned to look over her shoulder, sharing an equally interested glance with Tyrus. Did this mean that whatever was taken would be easily recognized and become too hot to sell? Or was it a matter of significance to the thief?

"Furthermore," the middle-aged priest continued, "I have it on good authority that the thief is not a man who can be easily missed."

Lucia's lavender hair shifted from her shoulder as she cocked her head. "Then they already know who did it?"

Cahir nodded dully. "That was the implication. Problem is...." his eyes dropped to the ground and he scratched at the stubble under his chin anxiously. "....they didn't give me a name.."

Anticipating another outburst Tyrus stepped forward, placing a hand on Lucia's shoulder plate. She looked at him with surprise, her mouth already open to vent her frustration on Cahir again. "Father Cahir," Tyrus began, the polite smile he was known for present upon his face. "In spite of how disastrously vague the instructions have been, it seems to me that we are being tasked with hunting a gang of robbers." Lucia gently moved aside, granting the priest space with which to approach. They now stood side-by-side. "All other complaints aside, how is this the Church's problem?"

Stillness crept into the room. All noise both within and without Cahir's quarters seemed to be hushed by this query. Tyrus merely clasped his hands behind his back, while Lucia crossed her arms and pursed her lips thoughtfully. Cahir avoided their respective stares. Did they really want to hear him say "I don't know" again?

Tyrus held his arms out for balance. Movement in the wagon was made tough by a complete lack of walking room. What was not already claimed by a bag or crate had become occupied when some box had broken open and spilled its contents into the precious space. That everything smelled vaguely like char didn't help either. There was another scent mixed in as well. Something mystifying. It's a little like coffee, but stronger. Much stronger. I wonder what that is....

The crusader propped her arms on the edge of the opening, leaning inward for a better view into the darkness. "Find anything yet?" she called out softly.

Half-stumbling on a stray apple, Tyrus called back "who knows? Maybe you should come in here and find out for yourself."

Lucia cracked a smile. "But my armor is so cumbersome. If I went back there I might accidentally wreck something important!"

The priest shot his partner a look of scorn and skepticism from the safety of the darkness before continuing his work. His precarious shuffle over the goods seemed to be earning him nothing in the way of information. It took him another few minutes of searching before something hit him.

"Hey, Lu. How significant do you think these robbers are?"

The armored woman perked up from her leaning position. "Significant? How do you mean?"

"Well think about it." Tyrus spoke in a voice strained through his teeth as he attempted to pry the lid off one of the few undamaged crates. "The king came to the Church for this. That usually doesn't happen unless someone important is on their death bed, poison has to be dealt with, or the undead are involved." The lid of the crate began to crack as it slowly gave way to brute force. "But what if the mission isn't what's important but.....maybe it's....the thief.....uuuuaaaaAAGH!" With this final roar the lid audibly splintered away.

Lucia nodded slowly, understanding dawning on her. "I get it....like if it's a rogue priest, or a monk, or maybe a-"

"AAAAAH!"

Lucia practically leaped out of her armor in fright as Tyrus screamed. "What? What's going on?" She had half climbed in when his voice flowed from the shadows.

"It's nothing! I....just got a little startled."

Lucia quirked a brow. "You sure?" Concern painted her tone.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be out in a minute."

She pressed a finger to her lips, wondering if she should question the incident further. He said he's fine. And what could possibly hurt him in a little cart? Still....

From inside Tyrus leaned over the box, staring at its contents. The crate itself had once been filled with potatoes. At least, that was what he thought they were. They had been reduced to shambles, however, but that which had startled him. Crawling among the mass of near-liquefied roots were thousands of squirming organisms, weaving throughout the pile. His bravery returning to him, the priest pinched one between his thumb and forefinger and brought it up to his face. Though he could not see the grub perfectly in the light, he knew very well what it was.

Skadi worms! I remember reading about these things. Something about an infestation that forced the Merchant's Guild to purge their fruit supply. He brought the thing closer, eyeing it as it attempted to wriggle from his grasp. They are supposed to be native to the Shwartzvald Republic, and their waste matter has a sharp odor similar to coffee grounds. Having identified the squirmy thing, a puzzled look overtook his countenance. But these Merchants would have checked their wares before departing. Countermeasures for this sort of thing exist. Tyrus popped the grub back into the box in the same way one might flip a coin. So how did this happen?

The sun had drifted to a higher point above their heads, and yet they still continued searching for nothing. Lucia casually leaned against the ashen frame of the cart, twirling a strand of her lavender hair about on one iron-clad finger. Tyrus had been silent for a long while, and even she was unsure of what he hoped to find at this point. The bishop never struck her as a cruel or malevolent man, but there was no way a holy man could set someone to a task such as this. She had left her position earlier for a broader look at the scene. Other than those of the caravan and its guards, there were no tracks to be found. They could identify at least two of the perpetrators as a magic user and a user of arrows, but that did little good either. There was an interesting case where half of a wheel seemed to have dissolved into air, but that only created [i]more[/i] questions. It was infuriating!

The crusader cast her glance to the distance when a sharp set of footfalls reached her ear. A Peco Peco charged the site from some way off, atop which an armored figure could be clearly seen. Mildly curious about this individual, Lucia stepped away from the wagon as the bird swiftly covered the remaining distance. It came to a sudden stop only a few yards away, upon which its rider hastily dismounted. A mustached knight with hints of grey at the rim of his pudding basin hair, though strangely without a weapon. He advanced to Lucia with the same swiftness his bird had traveled.

"You are an investigator with the Church, correct?" the man inquired in drolling voice more commonly associated with a clerk or a man of law. Lucia had hardly opened her mouth when Tyrus flew from the cart, tumbling to the ground in his frantic rush. With similar speed he leaped to his feet and hurriedly dusted himself off.

"Yes! That is us!" The priest's tongue possessed the same rapidity as the rest of him at that moment. "Are you with the guard?"

The man's head jerked the slightest bit in response. It took them a moment to realize this was supposed to be a nod. "Indeed. I have been instructed by His Royal Highness to divulge certain information vital to your investigation."

Tyrus and Lucia shared their brightest glance that day. It seemed that their efforts would not go unrewarded after all.