Disclaimer: Trails of Cold Steel is the property of Falcom.
Sword of Destiny
by Centurious the Azure and Storm Wolf77415
The Reaper of the Twin Blades
(October 30th, Year 1203 of the Septian Calendar, Zemurian Continent, Unknown Location on the Border of the Empire of Erebonia)
It was a dark and stormy night. Yeah yeah, I can already hear the snarky comments about starting with the most cliche, unoriginal line ever. But to be fair, when you wake up to nothing but the sound of pouring rain coming down in veritable sheets. You see a single bolt of bluish-white lightning flashing across the sky, accompanied by a deafening crash of thunder sounding like two steel plates slamming into each other…I think that qualifies as a dark and stormy night, don't you think?
Needless to say, my eyes snapped open when the thunder erupted overhead. I bolted up from my resting place underneath a great redwood, disoriented and unsure of how I got to where I was. I looked to the sky, riveted by the display of nature, and I was drenched by a torrent of water to the face.
"That's some welcome! Just splash a bucket of water all over me while you're at it?" I grunted, wiping my face with little success, looking at my surroundings as another bolt of lightning illuminated the forest clearing I was standing in. It wasn't any place I recognized, and there were no familiar landmarks to help me get my bearings. "How did I end up here?" It was then a thought struck me. "Where is here anyway?"
And with that question asked. Another came to my mind. One that left me with a grim realization. "Just…who am I?" I then began inspecting myself. It was hard to tell since my clothes were caked in mud and grime. I went to the weight on my shoulders to find a pair of swords on my back, and hanging on my right hip was a dagger of some kind. "Okay, I must be some kind of warrior then?" I said to no one in particular.
A third flash of lightning forked across the sky, stopping my self-inspection. "I should probably find some shelter first. Then I can figure myself out." So I took off running, my steel-toed boots sinking into the rain-drenched mud. Luckily I found refuge in a small cave nearby. Glad to have some protection from the elements. I sat down and tried to make sense of everything. Every so often I'd get a flash of something from the soupy quagmire that was my mind. The faint hint of a face, female if I had to guess. But I couldn't quite see who she was.
A couple more images came to mind, but again it was all so difficult to grasp like it was just out of reach. Frustration and fatigue set in. I figured once I dried out some and got some rest, maybe I could start to get my bearings on where and who I was. So I let myself fall into slumber, a dreamless one. I'm not sure how long I was out, but to my dismay, it was still raining, but not as hard. "Maybe it will wash some of this mud off me," I grunted. The rain shower was never so literal at that moment.
Mustering my courage I stepped back into the rain and walked through the forest. I pulled the collar of my coat up in a vain attempt to keep the rain from flowing down my neck. Trees, trees, and more fucking trees were all I could see, swaying back and forth in the ever-growing maelstrom. I love nature, but if I had to look at one more of those oversized plant growths, I'd burn the whole forest down. Something told me I could do that quite easily, not sure why though.
A slight flicker appeared out of the corner of my eye. There in the distance was a speck of light. I didn't want to hope, but if there was a slight chance, that light would be my salvation. Willing all my strength I made for the light. The trees gave way to open farmland. I gazed out on a modestly sized homestead, A moderately sized barn standing near the small farmhouse at the center of the land, lights on in the windows of the latter.
Someone had to be home. I found a muddy trail leading toward the homestead, hopefully, someone there would be able to help me out. I heard the muted sounds of a woman sobbing, it tore at my heart greatly. She was kneeling in the mud before a simple gravestone. I wondered why she would be out here in the dark and pouring rain. I cleared her throat and the poor woman leapt five feet into the air. "Uh, I'm sorry?" I offered weakly.
"W-who are you?" The woman asked fearfully.
"Uh, that's a good question." I figured it was best, to be honest, the poor lady looked like she had enough issues and I didn't want to add to it. So I just scratched my head. "I honestly don't know myself. I woke up in the middle of the woods, and I was just looking for civilization. Your farm was the first stop on the road." This seemed to placate her a little bit, although it was clear she wasn't entirely convinced.
"Really? You ended up all the way out in the middle of nowhere and you don't know how you got here? I find that hard to believe." A little steel had entered her voice. Despite her grief, this woman had a strength about her. I saw her hand go to the folds of her skirt, probably thinking about going for a weapon.
I tried to make myself as non-threatening as possible, but I was starting to get very frustrated. "Believe me, I have no idea how I got there! My mind is a total blank. I don't even remember my name. All I know is that I have a pair of swords on my back, and I'm filthy. It would be really nice to get into a place where I can dry off." I tried shrinking down to appear more lost and vulnerable, hey every little bit helps! "Is it so hard to ask for some food and shelter for the night?"
The woman regarded me for a few more minutes, before she sighed, her shoulders relaxing. "Fine then, but if you so much as twitch wrong, then I'll put one in you faster than you can blink." The woman's face softened. "You must be soaked. It's probably not good for me to be out either, but I can't help myself." Her voice cracked a little, as she looked at the wooden marker. "It's just so hard to believe he's gone," I said nothing, and the two of us went inside. I was greeted by the warmth of a roaring fire in a stone fireplace.
She turned to face me with her hands on her hips. "First order of business, disrobe right now. You are not going any further into my home like that." She indicated my filthy attire. I blanched at this, but she just waved her hand. "And you can relax, it's not like I've ever seen a man naked before. I'll go ahead and get your clothes washed." I removed the heavy, mud-caked jacket, letting it fall to the stone floor, feeling a little bad about any mud it got on the clean floor.
That left me in a linen shirt that was probably white at one point but was now the ugliest shade of brown imaginable, seriously it looked like multiple people puked on it. The shirt joined my coat on the ground. My pants and boots were also caked in mud and who knows what other grime. As I bent over to untie the latter, I heard a slight clinking sound and noticed the pair of metal tags hanging around my neck.
Finally, a clue to my identity! I stood upright, holding the tags close. Unfortunately, most of the writing was in some weird language I couldn't make out. But the one thing I did recognize was a single word of four letters. "Ezra," I said as the woman picked up my filthy garments. "I think my name might be Ezra."
She cocked her head slightly. "Well then, hello there Ezra. My name is Nancy." She gave me a small smile. "The bathroom is down the hall. Get cleaned up." I will say the bath was outright heaven! I could have stayed in there for an eternity. A knocking came at the door and Nancy stuck her head in, putting a pile of dark green cloth on the counter. "So you don't have to walk around in the buff."
The garment in question was a simple bathrobe in dark green. At least I wouldn't feel awkward about flashing my junk to the world. Once I had dried off. I put the robe on and sat down in the modest living room. Nancy came out with a cup of tea. "Your clothes should be dry in the morning, so you can rest here for the night."
"Thank you," I said. We both sat in uneasy silence for a few minutes. I noticed her looking at me with wistfulness in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, it's just that robe belonged to my husband." Okay, now we were getting somewhere! Nancy did her best to bite back her tears, but it was a losing battle. "It's just hard to accept that he's gone. We were hoping to start a family in the next year or so. But now that's all gone." Her sadness became tempered by rage. "Those Red Constellation bastards! Damn them all to the deepest pit of Gehenna for what they did to him and the others!"
"What exactly happened?" I asked, feeling a surge of anger inside me as well.
Mustering her strength, Nancy told me her story. "There's a small town not too far from here, it's called Dreichelsfield. There's not much to the place, but it's the closest piece of civilization in this part of the Empire. You can imagine being so remote, monsters are a big problem around here. A few weeks ago, our genius of a mayor decides he's going to hire some jaegers to deal with them. They got the job done, but they demanded hazard pay after one of them was injured. The mayor refused. So they killed him, and decided to make the town their own personal playground."
The memories were bitter, fresh in Nancy's mind, and I could feel the fury boiling inside me even more. "The Mayor had dumped the entire town's treasury into paying the jaegers, so they settled for raiding the town for whatever they wanted. Food, women, nothing was off-limits. My husband wasn't about to take this lying down so he rallied some of the village men, and confronted the jaegers. All they did was laugh and kill them." She sobbed quietly for a few minutes before regaining her composure. "I'm sorry, but this happened just last week, and it's all still sinking in. Harry was a good man, so eager to build this farm and make it successful. Now he'll never see it." Her grief was again tempered by anger. "If those bastards ended up dead, I wouldn't shed any tears at all!"
"Then perhaps I could look into this problem?" I finally spoke. A new emotion played on Nancy's face, hope. "I may not know exactly who I am, but if those are any indication." I indicated to the sheathed blades sitting against the wall. "I clearly must know how to use them. Tomorrow morning, I'll visit this town and straighten things out for you." Nancy seemed torn between fear and anticipation.
"A-are you sure about this? I mean, as much as I would love it. I also feel it's important to point out these are jaegers belonging to Red Constellation. They're some of the most lethal warriors on the whole continent. Even if you do know how to swing those blades, you'd be on your own. The jaegers have cowed the entire town into submission. I wouldn't expect any of them to help you."
"I'll figure it out." Was my simple reply, standing up with a yawn. "Thank you for the tea, Miss Nancy. I should be getting some sleep."
(The Next Morning)
You never realize how wonderful clean clothes are until you put them on. The shirt was still brown, but it didn't look nearly as bad when I removed it. The dark leather pants looked fairly worn, but still in relatively good shape. What caught my attention most of all was the coat. At first glance it seemed pretty unremarkable, thigh length, double-breasted with four large pockets, a hood for rain and cold weather, and in a deep green with gray piping on the left arm. The material seemed very durable. For some reason, it seemed like it was as important to me as the swords were. Another question I'd need to answer.
Speaking of my weapons, I inspected them after waking up. On the surface they seemed fairly mundane, one had a straight crossguard with a flat, circular pommel, the other had a slanted crossguard and the pommel was an open circle. Not to mention it had several elaborate runes carved on both sides of the blade. I checked the dagger, it had a very intriguing design, the blade had a double tip, one point further out than the other. All three weapons seemed to be in decent condition. But I figured a trip to the local smith would ensure they were in top form.
I had finished securing the baldric to my back, as Nancy came in, pushing a roll of paper into my hands. "A map of the local area will help you get to Dreichelsfield." She gave me a warm smile. "I can't begin to thank you enough for doing this."
I just shrugged. "If anything I should be the one offering gratitude. You let me stay here when I didn't know who I was. You told me your plight, and I sympathize. I won't forget your wonderful hospitality, Miss Nancy." I clutched the dog tags around my neck. "At least I know my name now, and that's a good starting point."
"Before you go, I want to give you a final gift." she led me out to the barn. "I don't have much in the way of Mira. But I can't just let you go without some kind of payment." She threw open the barn doors, revealing horses in the stables. "One of the businesses Harry and I hoped to start was horse breeding. We have a few choice specimens." She held her arm out to the stables. "Go ahead and pick one. I think you'll find the journey easier if you didn't have to walk everywhere. Not to mention you wouldn't be alone."
I started inspecting each stable before my eyes fell on one horse in particular. I just had to look it in the eye to know this was the one for me. All I had to do was look at Nancy and point at the beast in question. She smiled and nodded in approval.
(October 31st, Year 1203 of the Septian Calendar, Dreichelsfield, Erebonia)
At first glance, Dreichelsfield would seem like a one-horse town to any traveler, but the denizens would protest and say it was a two-horse town at best! Still, this simple little hamlet of five hundred sixty-two people had a great deal of pride, for it was in their town where the greatest ruler of Erebonia, Dreichels the Lionheart, began his campaign to take the throne from his twisted relatives in what became known as the War of the Lions.
Although the town had admittedly lost some of its luster due to its current circumstances. At least the owner of the local pub seemed to think so. Given the raucous laughter coming from one of the tables, he was probably onto something. The four men sitting at the main table were the main reason for the town's troubles. Operatives of Red Constellation, one of the largest mercenary companies in all of Zemuria, had effectively taken control of the town after the Mayor refused to pay them extra for the near-death of one of their number.
"Hey, barkeep! Keep the booze flowing!" One of the Red Constellation jaegers angrily banged on the table, laden with empty liquor bottles of differing types. The barkeeper gave him a stinkeye but was cowed by the jaeger holding up a long combat knife. The commander growled in frustration. "Damn this is the worst posting ever! You want to talk about the Dark Ages, barely any electricity, no trains. How long are we supposed to be holed up in this scummy town, boss?"
The squad commander just grunted as he knocked back another mug. "Until the boss shows up. I don't like it any more than the rest of you guys do. But that's the reality. Where're our drinks?" He barked at the bar owner. A young woman, the owner's daughter, came out from behind the bar, holding a tray of full beer mugs. The commander gave her a lecherous sneer, slapping her on the ass as she handed them the fresh tankards. This earned the jaegers a dirty look from the barkeeper's daughter. "Well, even if the town is shit, at least there's some good things about it."
The older man harrumphed as he washed some of the glasses. "This town has a heritage to it. Even when we're just a single building, a couple of horses, and the old well. His Majesty Dreichels spent much of his youth here, he set out with his loyal retainer, Roland Vander, and a force of seventeen Nords. We're proud to be the origin point for our greatest ruler."
The commander snorted derisively as he knocked back his drink, letting out a loud belch. "I hate to break it to you, old man, but not much has changed in 250 years. This town's still shit, and those horses crapping outside don't help the smell at all!" This earned jeering laughter from his compatriots and angry scowls from the bartender and his daughter. "So how about some more drinks?" He held up his empty mug, the last few drops of booze falling out. "I've run out it seems."
"Since you're such a great storyteller, how about another grand tale?" Another of the jaegers spoke up mockingly. "A scary one, it is All Hallows Eve after all! Or we'll get down and scary with your daughter!" He squeezed her ass when she passed by to clear the table. The girl shrieked, aiming to slap the lecherous pig, but then caught sight of the combat knife still in his hand, so she relented. If either she or her father stepped out of line, they would both be shot, but not before she was gang-raped.
Although the bartender seemed emboldened by the jaeger's challenge. He put the glass he had been washing down. "Okay then, you want a scary story that will haunt your nightmares forever?" The older man smirked, noting how the sky was darkening, and a flash of lightning. "Be careful what you wish for boys." He couldn't help but smile slightly at the way the jaegers flinched when the thunder clapped. "You just might get it."
With the atmosphere set, the barkeeper began his tale. "There are stories around these parts about how on this night of nights, the personification of Death itself rides through the countryside atop his black steed." He paused for dramatic effect. "He's on a mission from the farthest depths of Gehenna to reap the souls of sinners who refuse to repent to Aidios for their sins. The Nordic traditions state this night is a turning point in destiny. This Reaper of the Blades comes to sow the sins of mankind, and I hope he comes to set his justice on you for all you've done!"
The jaegers just laughed. "Death personified on his dark horse? What a laugh! You see this, old man?" The commander pulled out his pistol. "This is the personification of death, and I'm his fucking arbiter. Forget the sword, this is the time of the gun!" He slurred, waving his arms about. "There's no Aidios, and no one in town who can challenge us!" There was another flash of lightning and the sound of a horse's shrill call. The barkeeper and his daughter paled.
The jaegers got up from their table and rushed to the windows. Outside was a massive horse, a Clydesdale with fur, mane, and tail, all dark as the night sky itself. A cloaked figure descended from the mighty beast, giving it a light pat on the side before heading to the door. Everyone could hear booted feet on the wooden porch, the doors squeaked open, admitting a hooded figure swatched in a dark coat, a pair of swords handing on its back. "Good evening, folks. I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" The voice was neutral, betraying nothing about this newcomer.
The jaegers weren't impressed. "Is this some kind of prank old man?" The squad leader's grip tightened on his pistol.
"No." The barkeeper said, as his daughter took the lull to duck into the back room. "Uh, excuse me, I'm afraid the establishment is closed. It's been reserved by this group of fine gentlemen here." He indicated to the jaegers. But the figure was unmoved, a black leather gloved hand came up to the hood.
"Don't worry sir, I won't be long. These are the very people I've come to find." The dark cowl came down, revealing the face of a young man in his late teens. He seemed fairly unremarkable, his messy, light brown hair screamed for a comb. Not to mention his eyes, two shards of brilliant jade green, radiated an eerie depth to them. The jaegers took one look at the new arrival and nearly fell over laughing.
"It's just some punk ass kid!" One of the jaegers said, barely able to hold himself together. "Probably just barely able to shave!"
The squad leader folded his arms and gave the kid a contemptuous sneer. "What are you here for kid? You want to join up, or maybe you want to avenge your daddy? I hate to break it to you, but you're too young. I gotta say, you must be desperate if you're hauling two swords. What are you, some wannabe Vander student? Although they do look pretty fancy." His sneer grew wider, revealing yellowed teeth. "Perhaps I'll give them to my boss after I take them off your rotting corpse! He can hang them on his mantle."
"You can try." Was his simple response.
One of the jaegers scoffed. "Ha! The kid's got jokes! Hey barkeep! Give our friend here some milk!" He cackled, "This one is on me." He chucked a 20 Mira coin on the counter. "Make you drink it all up, that way you can go home and suck on your mommy's tit!" The barkeeper hurriedly poured a glass of milk before sliding it across the bar to the teenager. Who deftly grabbed it, downing it in a single gulp.
"Thanks, I needed that. Been traveling all day and I was a little parched." The boy looked at the jaeger who paid for the beverage. He gave his cunning smirk, holding up the now empty glass. "Hey buddy, think fast!" With that he threw the glass at the jaeger, surprised by the maneuver, managing to catch it. But at that moment, the stranger moved, faster than anyone could blink. All anyone could see was a slight flash of light on metal. This young man had traversed the entire length of the bar. He looked over his shoulder. "You blinked, and now you're disarmed." He shouldered the blade. "Quite literally I might add!"
Everything happened all at once. The sound of glass breaking was mixed with the sickening squelch of meat hitting the floor, as the disembodied arm sprayed blood. The jaeger screamed as he stared at the bloody stump where his forearm hit the ground. His agony wouldn't last long, as the youth turned on a dime. Just as before he moved faster than people could react, beheading the stricken mercenary in a single swing. The squad leader had to lean to the side to avoid being hit in the face by his dead comrade's head, which struck the wall before landing, his face frozen in a pained grimace.
"You little shit!" The squad leader snarled, raising his pistol to the stranger. "I'm going to take your swords and use them to frame your head when I hang it on my fucking wall!" The other two remaining jaegers let out grunts of acknowledgment, wielding assault rifles. "For the glory of the War God and Red Constellation!" With that, the fight started. Not that it would be much of a fight. The jaegers had been pretty drunk beforehand, so they weren't exactly bringing their A-game here. The youth in black was the total opposite, alert and focused.
One jaeger brought his assault rifle to bear, firing up a quick three-round burst. This would be child's play even if he had those fancy swords, nothing could stop the firepower the Red Constellation possessed. But the strange boy remained impassive, merely bringing the sword in hand up to eye level, making two quick sweeping motions. There was the sound of metal lightly hitting metal, as three holes appeared, two in the walls and one in the ceiling. The bartender looked on in a mix of awe and sheer terror.
"What the fuck?" The second jaeger said, firing his assault rifle. But the youth closed the distance before anyone could react, kicking him in the face. This in turn made the barrel point upward, sending a spray of bullets through the ceiling, destroying the light fixtures. The bartender winced in pain, wondering how much it was going to cost.
"You little shit!" The jaeger fired again, but the youth was already on the move. The razor-sharp edge of the blade aimed right at his midsection. Training and instincts kicked in, and he used his assault rifle to block. "Nice try, punk!" He sneered, batting the sword aside and kicking the youth in the midsection. "But you won't take down a jaeger of Red Constellation so easily!" He snapped the rifle up again, this time emptying half the magazine. The bullets flew wildly, shattering the windows and shredding the drywall.
The boy kicked over the jaegers' table, sending the empty bottles flying and shattering against the hard stone tile floor as he took cover from the wild barrage. "Flank him, he's got nowhere to go!" The squad leader ordered as the three soldiers surrounded their quarry. He pointed his pistol at the table, all three of them ready to turn it into splinters. "Face it, kid. You never had a fucking chance against us!" When the table suddenly rose, the youth hoisted it on his shoulder. The kid rushed forward with his makeshift battering ram, slamming the squad leader in the chest, sending him flying back into the bar itself, the old bartender barely getting out of the way in time.
"Boss!" One of the jaegers cried, only to goggle as the table was thrown right at him. Despite his senses being dulled by all the liquor, he still had enough mind to drop to the ground as the heavy object sailed overhead, breaking into a mess of slag against the wall. "Ha, you missed!" Famous last words, as the youth was on him, sword raised, and in two swift motions, and X had been carved through his torso. A single kick reduced the jaeger's entire upper body into four meaty chunks, showering the floor in blood.
The two remaining jaegers were pissed now. "Damn it! I don't know who or what the fuck you but I'm going to take extra special pleasure in killing you!" The leader looked to his remaining comrade, who nodded, shouldering his assault rifle as the squad leader holstered his pistol. Each of them pulled out a short metal rod from their thigh holsters. A flick of the wrist and their collapsible batons extended outwards. "Forget bullets, we're just gonna beat you to death!"
The youth just looked on with mild irritation. "Wow, you're carrying batons…against a guy with two swords. A guy who just carved your buddies up with little trouble. That's going to do you all so much good!" He brought the sword parallel to the ground. "You know what? I'm just going to end this right here and now. I'm getting bored and I'm sure the people of this town will be just happy to see you lot gone!" The two jaegers let out wordless warcries before rushing the youth. He lunged forward, ready to put everything into this final exchange.
He parried the third jaeger's baton, relieving the mercenary of his arms and legs with a semicircular swing. The stranger used the momentum to follow up with a decapitation strike. The squad leader howled in feral rage at the loss of his entire unit, looking to club the brat to death. But he was met by the razor-sharp steel, bisected from crown to his crotch, the two halves both hit the floor within seconds of each other, pooling blood where they landed.
An ear-piercing shriek tore through the air. The youth's head whipped around to see the barkeeper's daughter, who had taken shelter in the backroom through the entire ordeal, chose this very moment to see if the danger had passed and thus saw the stranger hack the last jaeger apart. Her face was a mix of terror and disgust at the macabre display before him. He took a step forward, only for her to scream again and cower behind the bar. "Please don't hurt us!" She cried, clinging to her father.
"Now wait a minute." he started, only for the barkeeper to shrink back as well.
"Please, take whatever you want and leave!" He cried out in terror as his daughter wept bitterly into her father's side. "Oh Aidios, I was just telling that old story to scare those brutes. I didn't think there was any truth to them! The Reaper of the Blades is real! The Sword of Destiny has come to bring judgment on us all!" He grew more hysterical by the minute, babbling incoherently. The youth just stood there, stunned, realizing he wasn't going to get any support from these people.
He looked to the scattered pieces of the corpses and began rooting through their pockets, finding keys with numbers on them. The jaegers had been staying in the upstairs rooms. Since the barkeeper and his daughter were still bawling at the gruesome spectacle, he simply walked upstairs to see if there was anything usable.
The youth opened the door, his eyes widened in surprise. His reaction was simple. "Wow." It was appropriate, given the huge pile of cash, stacks of silver coins, and banknotes held together by rubber bands. "So much money, this must be the life savings of everyone in town!" He picked up one of the coins. "Mira." He spoke it out, also noting the large 50 underneath. "So that's what the currency around here is called." Flipping the coin around, the inverse section had an unknown woman's face in profile with a crown and the words 'Zemuria Communis Nummus' across the top.
He then fell on one of the banknotes, most of it was smaller denominations, fives and tens, with a few stacks of twenties thrown in for good measure. The banknotes themselves were different colors, the fives were gray, the face of one of their rulers printed on it. the tens were a deep blue color, decorated with a horse on a shield, the twenties were a striking vermillion red, with a simply massive palace. "There's got to be at least a cool million!" A part of him almost felt bad for taking it, but at the same time, they weren't exactly giving him a great reception.
Locating a knapsack, he began stuffing the money inside, resolving to count it out once he found a safe haven for the night. He grunted at the weight on his shoulders, heading downstairs to find both the barkeeper and his daughter still whimpering. A part of him reconsidered giving them some of the cash to repair the damage he caused but decided against it. Their loss was his gain.
One last time, The youth inspected the carved-up pieces of meat that had once been jaegers. He found himself picking up the dead squad leader's pistol. It was unfamiliar to him, but it was shiny and looked impressive. Nickel-plated, etchings ran along the entire length of the barrel, the grips were mother of pearl, carved with the symbol of Red Constellation. For some reason he found himself putting it in the pocket of his coat.
His eyes then fell on a strange device attached to the squad leader's belt. It looked like an oversized pocket watch, he pulled it off, inspecting it for a bit. There was a slight aura of power emanating from the device. He stuffed it into one of the other pockets of his coat, resolving to examine it further. Quietly leaving the establishment, before hopping on his horse. "Come on Kelpie." He said quietly, riding into the night.
(The Following Morning)
Well, that was not what I expected…I go in there, deal with those mercenaries and this is the thanks I get? I figured those people would be happy for me turning them into so much chopped meat. But the way they looked at me was just so…wrong. This feeling was very familiar to me for some reason. Words like "Lothric" and a distorted image of a woman's face floated up in my head, but I couldn't understand why.
I had set up camp in the woods, Nancy was nice enough to provide me with a tent and bedroll. So I was at least dry. I was looking through the loot I had helped myself to. I didn't quite understand the strange devices I took off the lead mercenary. The one thing was a weapon of some kind, but I didn't quite get the mechanics of it. I remembered that it fired some kind of very small projectile at an incredibly high velocity, which probably could do some real damage to the human body.
As strange as that was, the other machine stumped me. I could sense some strange, ambient energy off it. I noticed jewels embedded within the clockwork-like interior, all giving off the same energy. One was larger than the others and seemed to be the source of most of it. I would need to find someone to teach me how to operate these things. The money I counted up to a cool 2.1 Million! I could live off that for a while, but at the same time, I knew it wouldn't last forever.
I watched the sun rise over a grand mountain range, the sky awash with orange and purple, before it would turn to the brilliant blue. The sun brightly glinted off the rushing water of the small stream I set up my encampment on. I knelt on the bank, stoically watching myself within the ongoing current as I held the dog tags in my hand. It was the first time I had ever gazed at my face and with it came so many questions.
"All I know is my name, Ezra, and I have some natural skill with the sword." My eyes fell on the two blades laying next to me in the tall, moist grass. "So I must have learned it from somewhere. These swords were made for different purposes, but I don't know exactly how. Aside from those two things, my mind is a total blank, if you don't count the random images that crop up every so often. I just don't know who I am." My grip tightened on the dog tags. I pulled the map out again studying the area, especially the towns and settlements labeled for my next possible destination.
My attention came to one in particular, larger and bolder than the others. "The State of Crossbell." For some reason that name resonated with me, calling out to me. I sighed, rolling up the map again. "Well, I suppose it's as good a place as any to start looking for answers." I broke camp, packing everything away. Now astride Kelpie, I trotted off down the road to Crossbell, unaware of where my journey in this new world would take me, or the destiny that lie ahead.
