/monster/ - The Last Bastion of Romance★

After rubbing his steel plated head, the knight looked over to the harpy and his sword behind her. He steadied himself to his feet walked by the harpy to pick it up. All the while the harpy sat petrified, tears falling from eyes, shaking, and whimpering. The knight reclaimed his sword. The leather straps of its sheath soaked and the metal glimmering with water and sunlight. He then turned his attention back to the terrified harpy.

In her eyes, she was facing an executioner. A metal clad bringer of JUSTICE brought back to give her her dues. In reality, the knight was just confused about the sobbing harpy. He knew he should be mad that she's the one send him falling. But looking at such a helpless creature softened his heart. He took a step closer and extended a hand in aid, reciprocated by her jumping backwards again. The knight scratched his head, wondering what to do. Scaring a girl like this would make him a faggot and so this must be corrected, less it besmirches his honour.

He strapped his sword to his back once again and raised up his hands. Gingerly, he walked towards the frightened girl, trying not to scare her any more than she was. She turned away and closed her eyes, not wanting to see the end. Meanwhile, he knelt down to her and gave a metal hand. A fearsome minute passed in the harpy's head before she dared to open her eyes. Before her was the steel juggernaut, still with a hand out. Her face paralysed with terror once again.

"Please don't kill me Sir Zombie Knight!" she yelled in desperation. "Please please please don't kill me! I'll do anything to make up for accidentally killing you, just don't kill me!"

The knight recoiled from the sudden high-pitched pleadings. A little bird like this shouldn't be fretting for her life, especial from someone like himself. Having someone as defenceless as this be so scared of him would make him a huge faggot, and that must not stand.

"I'll stop taking shiny things and everything! Please! Just let me live!" she cried again.

Her words caught his attention like a mongoose on a snake. "Taking things". A hunch went through his mind. He opened his hip pouch and pulled out a rolled piece of parchment. As he walked through a nearby village he received a flyer warning of thievery in this stretch of the woods. It also gave a reward for taking care of the menace. Then he realised, he can take care of two birds with one stone. Do a public service and avoid being a faggot.

He held out the paper to show the harpy. She flinched, but then eased herself into reading the notice.

"Rampant thievery? Do you mean me?" she asked, her voice still recovering from the onslaught of crying.

The knight nodded.

"D-Deal! I'll stop thievery if you let me live! I'll even return the last shiny thing I got!" she said as she rose to her feet. "I-If I return it, will you pass on peacefully and not hurt anyone?"

The knight cocked his head to the side. Last time he checked, he was a strapping young knight on a quest of penance, not an animated corpse.

"I'll take that as a yes! Wait right here!" the harpy said before she took flight again.

After a minute wait, she returned with a brown flax sack in her avian feet. As she touched down, a metallic clang came from the sack as it touched the gravel of the creek. She took the sack into her feathered mitts and handed it to the knight. Inside was a lone silver flagon, polished with intricate floral etchings. On its bottom was a name hard stamped into the metal. Uriel Bosumberg. The name rang bells, or well, empty cups in his head. Uriel was the owner of an inn in the nearby town of Windon. To the knight's knowledge, he was complaining about a stolen heirloom. The knight remembered this well, the fat old man was being quite the faggot about it.

Putting the flagon back in the sack, he beckoned the harpy with his hand to follow. The only way back to Windon was along the creek since he couldn't climb the steep banks. Funnily enough, it would be a shorter journey than following the roads, but it's at the cost of soggy feet. However, soggy feet are a meagre price to pay for unintentional efficiency.

The harpy followed the knight's lead and so the two began to journey down the creek. As they walked, the harpy attempted to make small talk with what she thought was a walking corpse. But alas, all that she received with was silence. The knight would have loved to talk to her on the trek, telling his escapades and service to his kingdom. But unfortunately, he has his honour to uphold and so he refrained from speaking.

After half an hour of trudging through shallow water, the two finally made it to the climbable banks of the creek near the town. Children both man and monster were merrily playing in the clear waters before they noticed the man of steel draw close. A lot of the kids circled around and gawked at the knight as he and the harpy climbed back to dry land. A boy and his kobold sister barraged the knight with questions as a spidergirl crept onto his back. The harpy panicked and tried to shoo away the kids in a feathered frenzy, only to get blank stares in return. After plucking the spidergirl from the knight's back, the knight took the harpy by the hand and hurried to the inn.

By the time they reached the inn, a small crowd already looked on with silent eyes. The knight noticed a small flyer on the notice board just next to the entrance. He snatched it, keeping it in his hands as the two went inside. The smell of the tavern section of the inn was one the knight couldn't forget. It was an odd concoction of spilt honey mead, roast pork, bile, and aged pine. Strange, unruly, yet roughly homely.

As the two walked towards the bar, patrons of the tavern gossiped to one another. Adventurers and travellers took noticed of the dull steel knight. Not to mention the distinctive the coat of arms etched to his pauldron. A black book with a jagged impractical dagger across it. It was the coat of arms of the kingdom of Chavichad.

"Look at that chav, he doesn't even have his collar." a man said under his breath.

"Not even in polished gaudy armour. Must be one of their flunkies." another whispered.

The remarks bit into the knight. In any other circumstance, he would defend himself with a verbal slaughter from his machete of a tongue. Alas, charged with a vow of silence means he must face the brunt of any verbal wrong sent at him. They are just words in the end, but it is fun to snap back and he missed it so.

The knight handed the harpy the covered flagon and pushed her towards the bar. Behind the waxed and worn wood table top was a portly man with a peppered grey beard. With a corncob pipe kept in the corner of his mouth, he hummed to himself as he wiped the counter with a rag. The harpy and knight came up to the bar and the man gave his attention to greet them.

"Welcome to the Pen and Cask Inn, what can I do for you today weary folk?" he said with a cheery accent. He took a more decerning look at his new patrons, both seeming familar in his eyes. "Oh, it's you, the mute tinman. Look I don't feel like playing charades again with an outcast from god damn Chavichad. What do you want and who is this rather familiar looking bird."

The harpy placed the sack on the bar table, only to get a bemused look from the inn keep.

"I came to return this," she said, "I made a big mistake recently, and this is the only way I can make good from it."

The inn keep's eyes widened as he took the shiny flagon from its flax cover. "My heirloom! Wait. You were the thieving magpie that stole it!"

"I am and I'm sorry." the harpy shyly replied. "Taking shiny things and trading them on were the only way to get food."

The inn keep raised a brow. "Have you ever thought of getting a job? For goodness sake, it's not hard if you live nearby."

"I don't have a real home."

The knight took a step up to the bar and placed the flyer he ripped outside on the counter. It was notice of hiring for a tavern barmaid. The inn keep looked at it and stared back at the knight.

"Oh for god's sake, no, I don't want to hire a tin can."

The knight shook his head then pointed at the harpy. The man looked back at the knight with a deadpanned expression.

"You want me, to hire a homeless thief?"

The knight nodded.

"And why should I do that? It's not like I'm offering board."

The knight then pulled out the parchment that warned about the thievery in the woods. The signature to the notice was Uriel Bosumberg. The inn keep winced.

"Okay, so? Do you want me to pay you now?"

The knight shook his head, then slide the notice in front of the harpy before pointing at him.

"For the love of…I don't have time to be playing your damned charades Sir Knight! What, do you want me to keep the money or something?"

The knight nodded.

"Oh, and that would somehow pay for her board or something if she works here?"

The knight nodded again.

"Oh please. Why should I hire a thieving bum magpie?"

The knight gently took the back of the harpy's head and tilted it upwards towards the inn keep. The harpy bore an adorable expression akin to a lost puppy. Wide-eyed, a slight sad pout, and big rosy cheeks that exuded a warmth to melt the iciest of hearts. After a few seconds of direct contact of unfiltered cuteness, the inn keep caved to the knight's demands.

"Okay, fine. If it keeps a sorry lass like her off the streets and out of trouble then fine. I'll keep the reward and she stays and works here. Sounds good?"

The knight nodded enthusiastically.

"Good. Now get out, you over glorified tin can."

The knight honoured his request, turned around, and walked out of the inn. As he to walked down the street, he felt a tug at his hand. It was the harpy again with a worried look on her face.

"It's all taken care of now, aren't you supposed to, you know, stop being a zombie?" she asked befuddled.

The knight knelt down and removed one of his gloves. Underneath the metal, plating was a healthy human hand. The knight touched her cheek, feeling the warmth in her skin as she could feel the same in his. The harpy's face glowed in joy before the knight patted her head and arose. Putting on his glove, he turned around and walked away.

In the harpy's head, for all she knew, she just saw a miracle. Doing good brought a kindly knight back to life, and gave her a new chance at hers. With tears of happiness welling in her eyes, she waved her winged arms as she yelled to the knight.

"Thank you for everything Sir Knight! Don't die again!"

A small chuff escaped the knight, feeling happy for the girl. With a sense of a job well done, he raised his arm up and out, giving a thumbs up as he walked away. For another day, he avoided being a faggot.

Nice tale, full of keks. pls continue.

"Nyahahaha! You're as agile as a newborn kitten helmet boy." she said as she laughed and pointed.

The knight looked at her. He felt increasingly irritated and had the strong urge to give her a rude hand gesture. But that would be exactly what she wants. Instead, he pointed at her.

"Oh? What's that? Do you want something helmet boy?"

The knight nodded as he placed his hands on his hips.

"Oooh, I get it! You want a chase for the little book. A game of cat and mouse is one I will graciously entertain." she said with a bow.

The knight started to walk forwards, unimpressed by her showmanship. She let out a quiet chuckle as she looked back up to him.

"Impatient little fella, aren't you? Well if you so insist." she said before running away. "Come chase the yarn!"

The knight just as hastefully took off in sprint after her. Through the dirt streets of the town, he gave chase like a hawk on a hare, darting from street to street. All the while, the cat burglar mocked with cat themed remarks such as "I hope you aren't purrticularly keen on getting this back." and "My my, wouldn't it be meowonsterous of me to rip up the book? You better catch me!". The constant taunting fueled the knight's want to show the woman that the will of a knight is greater than the guile of a thief. That and it would be funny to shut up an overly confident and taunting cat.

The burglar took a sharp turn down a small alleyway and slipped out of the knight's sight for an instant. As the knight turned the corner, he was met with a shallow ally filled with construction refuse. Sitting on the edge of the roof of the far wall was the burglar. She grinned mischievously as she swung her tail in her hand.

"Nyahaha. You really are serious about catching me, aren't you?" she asked in playful condescendence. "I am one formidable feline to chase and I must applaud you, you give a better chase than the guards."

The knight stood still, just letting her words fly past him. The catgirl noticed his strong stoicism and took it as a challenge.

"Well, you are certainly not one for words. What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"

The knight gave a silent sigh of exasperation. This woman was putting his patience to the limit and his will to uphold his sentence. He clenched his fist behind his back as he took the brunt of the lingual lacerations.

"You know, if you're feline down you can just give up now. It is late night after all and a kitten like yourself needs his beddy-byes."

The knight stood firm, mentally wading through a bog of curses and a fog of middle finger laden instinct.

"Still keeping tight-lipped huh? Your concentration must be whisker's width from snapping."

Another pun, another punch to his sanity, but the knight stood strong. The cat girl's eyes narrowed and ears twinged in annoyance from a non-responding audience. She stood up from her roof tile seat and looked down on the knight with a snide expression.

"Good luck clawing your way up here, helmet boy." she said before casually walking off.

The knight's mind then kicked into overdrive in an attempt to figure out a way to the rooftops. Near the top of the far wall was an old iron weathervane that sat still. All around the ally was the refuse of a building project. Some wood crates here, extra bricks there, and a length of rope other there. Then an idea clawed to mind. Scale the wall. He grabbed the spare rope and tied it into a lasso. With hastened vigour, he swung the lasso towards the iron decoration. Thanks to his knightly skill he hit his mark. With a quick tug to tighten the noose, he threw caution to curb as he quick ran up to the wall and started scaling.

The weathervane creaked with strain as he pulled himself up the wall. Inches away from the ledge, the weathervane pulled away from the wall with a crash. With cat-like reflexes, he lunged towards the ledge. Barely he landed his arm on the black roof tiles to catch himself. Swinging his weight, he pulled himself onto the roof with a strained groan. As he steadied himself, he noticed a familiar figure leaning on a chimney.

"Purrsistant little pest aren't you?" she asked with a straight face. "For once I didn't expect to be genuinely made a mouse in a chase like this."

The knight was too busy trying to catch his breath to notice the obvious pun. The cat girl gritted her teeth and huffed.

"Why won't you react?" she asked under her breath. "Anyway, this is where I have to cut and run. Can't have you follow me till daybreak like a lost kitten."

With that, the knight dashed straight for her. With a bored sigh and a roll of the eyes, the catgirl ran. The knight gave chase over the rooftops, following the cat burglar over buildings and vaulting over chimneys. All the while she tried to get some kind of feedback from the knight.

"C'mon kitten, shouldn't you be, uh, be…be…" she said before having a catastrophic realisation. She has run out of material. To her dismay, she ran in silence, increasing growing bored and upset at the staleness of the chase.

Traversing half the town, she made way towards her last trump card. The stables. She knew she could lose him in the stables with all the hiding spots around it. But she had the annoying thought stick in her head. Was this really a victorious heist if the hit wasn't left annoyed? With that saddening thought, she had one chance left to make it feel worth it.

She ran herself to a corner. In front of her was the knight and behind her a drop into a huge pile of hay. She stared at the knight with an unsteady grin and weak knees. Meanwhile, the knight's body felt ravaged by the great effort he's put it through. He also started to grow sick of dealing with thieves. That odd harpy from a few days ago was enough, but this burglar was a deeply annoying furball. Surely being this much of a nuisance is faggotry in itself?

"End of the line helmet boy." the catgirl said with a voice of wavering confidence.

The knight looked on, breathing heavily and mentally preparing himself for the next barrage of catty insults and taunts.

"C'mon, don't tell me that innocent old me has you in a hissy fit? I mean, c'mon, does cat got your tong-" she said before stopping herself. She looked at the knight with horror and frustration.

She committed something she's never done before. She used the same joke twice in the same chase. Her lip quivered and tears began to well in her eyes. In her years of being a cat burglar, not once was she met with opposition as staunch as the knight. Not once giving in to frustration. Not once giving a retort in an attempt to equal the banter playing field. Tonight was the night she lost a chase, not due to being caught, but by failing to entertain herself. Yet she believed she did everything right to get a rise out of him and lashed out.

"Why are you always silent?! How can you not react to my golden material?!" she cried out with anger filled tears rolling off her cheeks. "Are my jokes too good for you or something?! Is my humour too high brow for a helmet wearing freak like you?!" She took the book from the living of her vest and threw it at the knight which was met with a well-timed catch. "Take your stupid book back! I didn't need the measly silver anyway!"

With the end of her tirade, she turned around and jumped off the rooftop. The knight ran to the end of the roof and looked down to find the girl. Below he could see a large pile of hay in the neighbouring stable. The horses were spooked and stayed to the far end of the stable's fence. From the right, he heard the sound of tumbling metal pails and a sharp stray cat's wail near the direction of a dilapidated house. The knight felt torn. Once again he overcame a thief, but at the same time brought himself into a situation that goes against his codes. Making a woman that hasn't done much outside of being an annoyance cry is rather faggoty. Even if it wasn't his intent and was following his code, leaving the situation as is pathetic.

Stomaching his pride and desire to leave he took the plunge off the building and into the hay below. The landing was less than comfortable. A multitude of straws stuck into his arms and were lodged in holes of his helmet's faceplate. As he pulled the straws away he walked towards the old house. The tiled roof was perforated with massive holes and a hint of decaying wood floated in the air. Its walls were covered in flaking plaster that was now the canvas of graffiti. Some of the likes of "Property of Biggus Dickus", crude pictures of naked women, and caricatures of what the knight could assume to be town officials. Inside the knight heard the faint sounds of sniffling and footsteps. He made his way to the broken front door and stepped inside.

At an ancient table with a mismatched wooden chair, the catgirl sat moping in her arms with her face buried. Her ears perked up as the floorboards creaked under the knight's feet.

"What do you want?" she asked as she peered up at the approaching knight.

The knight held out his book before the cat girl looked away displeased.

"Gloating like that is as cruel as dunking a cat in water."

The knight shook his head before he walked up to the opposite side of the table. He placed his book and opened it to the first page and slid it in front of the catgirl. Her eyes opened with intrigue as she read through the first page.

"A guardian knight of the monarchy of Chavichad?" she asked confused. "What are you gonna do? Skin me? Do the realm a service of getting rid of a burglar? I warn you, I do have claws and I don't see a weapon or a scrap of armour on you other than your head."

The knight shook his head before he flipped through the pages to a later entry in his book. On the page was a command not written in his handwriting. The command was a quest set as punishment for a crime of family besmirchment. A quest that the cat girl knew was a dead end, added with three rules that cannot be broken. All signed by ruling monarch of Chavichad, King Bernhardt Fastcannon, son of the late King Löwehardt Fastcannon V.

"What is this madness?" the catgirl asked as she raised her head and sat up straight in her chair. "Find the Sword of Kingdoms while following these absurd rules? I thought my situation wasn't the best, but forced to follow a fairy tale? Just give up and go do your own thing, that is just a stupid waste of time."

The knight shook his head as he pointed towards the last rule he. Don't be a faggot. The catgirl raised an eyebrow.

"Don't be a faggot? You're pulling my tail, such a command must be a cruel joke pulled on you." she said with disdain. "Even if you do hail from that brash and wealthy kingdom, such an order is ludicrous for punishment."

The knight shook his head again and waved his hand before tapping the rule again with his finger.

"What are you getting at? Why is that rule so important to you and why are you showing all this to a random thief? Am I missing some kind of insight into Chavichad culture?"

The knight shrugged his shoulders before the sound of cockerels pierced the air. Sunrise was soon and the knight must be in at least his cuirass and faulds before the day starts. He took the book off the table and dashed out the door leaving the perplexed woman behind.

"Hey! Answer me!" she said as she kicked over the table in chase. By the time she made it to the door, to her surprise, the knight was already over the stable fences and on his way back into town. She learned on the door, thinking to herself on all that happened.

'Why on Earth would a knight follow such ludicrous rules?' she thought to herself. 'Does he have no self-respect?' She glanced up at the sky which started to turn into a dull pink with daybreak. 'Don't be a faggot, huh?'

As she sky gazed, time continued to turn to early day. After an intense and muscle rending sprint back to the inn and another perilous climb up the chimney with weak legs, the knight made it back to his room. Minutes before the sun peered into his rented room, he was busy securing the last bits of his armour. A night of rest from a long day of travel turned out to tire him more. Leaving his body craving rest and his muscles on the verge of pulling off his bones from overuse. But alas, with the start of a new day, he had no time to waste on sitting around moping on lost sleep. Wasting time complaining is the faggot's way of doing things and he is no faggot.

As he walked downstairs, he was greeted by the kind innkeeper of the place. She was one of the few in the knight's travels that were patient with him and his rules. Such kindness is a refreshing turn of pace from the usual business of being hurried out the door once his night of stay has ended.

"Good morning Sir Knight." she said with a smile. "Hope you slept well, there was a bit of a racket last night."

The knight was aware of the aforementioned "racket" but played along with feigning ignorance. So, he scratched the back of his head and held out his free palm in a shrug.

"Guess you must have not heard it. Was a tiny bit worried that the resident burglar might have paid a visit."

The knight cocked his head, egging the inn keep on to tell.

"Bah, just some catgirl named Delilah. Riles up people while stealing. Just be glad you haven't had the displeasure of meeting her."

The knight nodded before walking past, waving goodbye as he headed for the door.

"Happy trails Sir Knight. May fortune smile on you."

As he left the town, he felt a bit motivated with that wish of good will. Despite his body being in poor condition, his mind was rejuvenated and ready to continue on with his quest. However, he did wish he still had a horse to ride on to speed things along. He did miss his old war horse, Veyron, and hoped the royal stables were taking good care of him. But nevertheless, he had a duty to carry out and a worn body and a sarcophagus of metal weren't going to stop him anytime soon.

As he made his way down the forest trail, a shadow stalked him from above, silently hoping from tree to tree. Peering from their leafy canopies, the catgirl cat burglar Delilah looked on.

"You've peaked a cat's curiosity Sir Knight. Show me what you mean by 'Don't be a faggot'."

Have a bump of anticipation

"Another knight of the kingdom and not in with our party?" the man on horseback asked in a snide voice. "Standing in crummy armour and horseless to boot. Point and laugh bros."

As he commanded, the other men on horseback pointed and proceeded to laugh vigorously at the knight. The laughter went on for a straight thirty seconds before the leader held up a hand in command to cease.

"Anyway, what is another knight from home doing way out here? Let me see your book."

The knight's blood ran cold. As per custom in Chavichad, when a knight asks another knight for their book he must comply. This is to show that neither knight was a faggot for hiding something. Reluctantly, he gave his book to the man and he received the man's inturn. The man's book was bound in bright unmarked white leather with gold corners and spine trimming.

He opened the book and read the first page filled with basic details. It belonged the knight known as Sir Jett Ironwite. According to his book, he was the son of a prominent stable owner and horse breeder, renowned for his hardy and affordable mustangs. Jumping to a later entry, it was shown he was chosen as the kingdom's representative for the jousting competition at the Kingdom Fair. This was by virtue of him being okay at jousting and his father "helping" out with "sponsoring" and "persuading" officials.

As the knight looked up from the book he came eye to eye with Jett. A few chuckles came from Jett before he went into full blown laughter.

"Ahahahaha! Oh, this is great comedy!" he said while holding his stomach. "A knight, let alone a bodyguard of the King, sent out on a fool's errand like that? Ahahahaha! Laugh and point with me bros!"

The other knights all broke out in laughter once again on Jett's command. The onlooking crowd also began to join in on the mocking laughter.

"Oh, this is beautiful. I commend you for not being a faggot and keeping to your sentence, but oh man. You sure got the shit end of the stick bro."

The knight desperately wanted to tell him off for being a faggot for needing daddy's help to get where he was. It was unknightly and telling on how he got his status of a knight. Being born noble usually shouldn't be a problem as long as they followed chivalry, but to have such things handed to you. Truly a spoiled faggot. He gave the pristine book back to Jett and the knight got his.

"That book perfectly matches you, bro. Used, tattered, and should just be thrown away for something better. Like a stunner, like myself." he said proudly.

The knight couldn't stand for this any longer. He knew faggotry when he saw it and it was plain as day. In silent anger, he held up his hands and gave Jett two steel plated middle fingers. An audible gasp came from everyone right as the laughter stopped.

"Oh. So the reject thinks he's in any position to back talk me. I'm sorry, but which big guy in charge of our kingdom basically told you to 'fuck off' again?"

The knight took no delay to flip him off a second time. Another round of gasps came from everyone nearby.

Jett scowled from underneath his helmet. "Fine. Go on your way then, reject."

The knight nodded and walked past him. Before even walking far away, Jett called him out on last time.

"Mind your head, reject!"

Before the knight could turn around, a blunt force crashed against the back of his head. Instantly he fell to the ground as Jett and his men laughed as they rode away. The knight's head felt woozy with his eyesight blurred and hearing tinny. He tried to pick himself off the ground but kept falling back on his chest. Before he started to lose consciousness, a soft voice and a shadow descended upon him.

"Oh dear. This won't do at all."

After hearing those velvety words, his eyesight faded and he passed out. During his time asleep, he had another quick dream about the field. Clouds now floated overhead and their shadows drifted atop the grass. The dream didn't last long as eyesight soon came back to him as he abruptly awakened. He found himself in an unfamiliar place. Laying on the steps of an what seemed like an altar with a pillow under his head. Above him was a stone ceiling with intricate carvings sculpted into the supporting arches and columns. At the far end of the huge room, he could see huge wooden doors and a stain glass mural above it.

On the step above him, he saw his helmet staring back at him. He picked it up and looked on it's back. There was a dent that was partially hammered out and a few streaks of blue paint. He put it back on his head as he swivelled on the steps and sat up. It clicked that he was at a church somewhere, but why? He sat and tried to remember what happened. An odd confrontation. Some stood ground. A cheap shot. The dent on his helm. He was certain, there was a faggoty knight from his home that needed a good foot up his ass for a lesson.

Before he stood up, the sound of a creaky door opened followed by distant chatter.

"Well, I've got a horse. Why can't I enter?" a man's voice asked.

"Because you are only an adventurer, not a knight trained specifically for the challenge." a woman's voice replied.

From the right side of the church's atrium, a man and woman walked in talking to each other. The man, by all means, looked like an adventurer. Leathers for armour, some steel limb guards, pouches everywhere, and an axe on his hip that has seen some work. Not to mention the man's rugged face and stubble. The nun, in contrast, was a very refined and well-figured woman. She was a seraph, a monster with a human body with wings on her back that allowed her to fly. The light pink feathers matched the stray lock of curly hair that escaped from underneath her headdress. To most, it would seem like she was an actual angel walking the Earth.

Both noticed the knight now sitting on the altar steps, patiently waiting.

"Percival, it seems your steely guest has come to." the man said.

"So it seems Arondight." she said as she walked up to the knight. "Are you okay Sir Knight? You took a rather nasty blow to the back of the head."

The knight nodded. A measly cheap shot like that wasn't gonna hold him down for long, but getting help from kind strangers is nice. He got up and extended a hand in gratitude. Percival blushed.

"Oh my. Is a knight willing to shake hands with a nun like me? This must be a good omen." she said with a hand held to her check and the other in the knight's grip.

"Not a knight I've ever seen." Arondight said as he came beside her. "Aren't they meant to be, you know, shiny? Plus, take a look at his pauldron. He's a chav. I don't think they are the best knights around to feel honoured by."

"Nonsense. A knight is a knight, right? They all uphold honour."

"Then what do you call what happened in the market plaza? Hitting someone unarmed in the back. Let alone the flipping off he did. Chav knights are not knights to idolise."

"Oh…"

Percival stood silent, unable to argue what Arondight said. Arondight sighed before he uncrossed his arms and placed his hands on his hips.

"Are we done here? I need to go fix that mess in the flower bed and then go sign up for the jousting competition."

"Oh no you don't." Percival said defiantly. "You are not going to that competition. You are not trained for it."

"But think of the prize money." Arondight said pleadingly. "With that prize, we can get a stone mason to fix the angel statue at the town gates. I'm pretty sure Mother Bertha would like that."

"I'm sure Mother Bertha would like the flower bed getting cleaned up." she said with dismissive eyes. "Just stop with that, okay? You're not a knight and not trained in jousting."

"Perci c'mon. Let me help for old times sake. You're my best friend and even if you did quit being a mage to become a nun I still want to help you out."

"But nothing. I don't want you getting hurt at the hands of a professional."

"Professional? C'mon, I'm a professional adventurer and so were you. Remember that time I fended off that horseback bandit with a tree branch while riding Corolla?"

"You smacked him with it. You call that jousting?"

"Close enough."

As the two continued to bicker, the knight took out his book. He stared at it's beaten cover and thought on Jett's words. Tattered and worn. Needing to be traded in. From a fellow countryman that stung more than if it came some stranger in a tavern. But hurt feelings were nothing when compared to the responsibility he now took upon himself. To stop faggotry when he sees it. The attitude of Jett was something that could not be overlooked. A knight like him must learn the lessons of what makes a knight a knight in Chavichad. But just as he feared, the new king has allowed these teachings in proper conduct to slip.

His concentration and the two friends' bickering ceased when the doors to the church flew open. Standing in the middle of the light-drenched doorway was a shadow of someone of very thin and crone-like stature. Out of the light stepped another nun. It was an old human woman, bespeckled and narrow-faced.

"Which one of ye gits let me dog out today?" she asked in a thick highland accent.

Arondight and Percival quickly glanced at each other.

"Wasn't me." Arondight replied.

"Well it was fockin' one of ye. Old Ladybird took a shite in the flower bed and neither one of ye decided to clean it up. It's fockin' disgutin'. Hurry up take care of it, I have matters to attend to and I expect a fellow sister and her bum friend can do some work."

"Who are you calling a bum?" Arondight asked, slightly annoyed.

"Who do ye think, mister raggedy clothes and unshaven face?" she replied with a scowl. "Now get bloody to it or I'll see that neither of ye get supper tonight."

"Last I checked you're not my mother."

"And last I checked ye here under the hospitality of Sister Percival. Show some respect and do some bloody work ye bum." she said with vicious finger-pointing before leaving.

An audible sigh filled the church as the three relaxed after Mother Bertha's scolding. Arondight sank his head in defeat.

"Am I really getting stuck here to pick up dog shit?" Arondight asked.

"I told you to do it." Percival replied. "I knew she was gonna take issue with that."

"I still don't understand why you work for an angry old bird like her anyway." Arondight said.

"Mother Bertha's a respectable abbess and has helped me find my calling. She can be nice too, you just have to carry your weight around here."

"Being as gangly as she is I can see why she needs people to carry that weight."

"Arondight!"

"What?"

The knight took a step away from the ensuing bickering and took a second to think of a plan. Jett needed a firm boot up his ass to teach him the basis of what all Chavichad knights strode to uphold. Honour in not being a massive faggot. But with his current situation he had no idea on how to teach Jett such a lesson. The spoiled brat was only here for the jousting competition and maybe for recreational drinking afterwards. Today was the knight's only chance to get to him while he performed. Then the knight realised. He could beat Jett at the jousting competition.

Showing him up at his own sport will be more than enough to knock some sense into his air bloated skull. But the knight was at an impasse. He did not own a horse, well, had a horse on hand. If he could he would have loved to ride in on his trusty steed Veyron, but he was still back at his home stable.

"For the last time Aron. No! Even if you do have what you need you are not going to that competition. Just swallow your pride and get to cleaning." Percival said sternly.

The knight's attention peaked once again. Even if he doesn't have a horse, there is someone who does. The knight turned to Arondight, placing a hand on his steel chest and nodding his head.

"What do you want?" Arondight asked. "You seem eager for something. Spit it out."

The knight held up his hand and clenched it into a fist. Arondight only took a second to process what he meant. The manly desire to set things right radiated from the knight and Arondight fully understood.

"Oooh, I get ya. You want to show up the guy that hit you?"

The knight nodded sternly.

"I getcha. But what of the prize money?"

The knight pointed at him. The knight didn't need a huge sum of money to travel on. He had enough from doing odd jobs in different towns. Besides, the idea of the money being used to fix the angel statue was a good and noble gesture.

"Wow, really? You are really okay with giving it to us?"

The knight extended a hand. He wanted Arondight to know he won't turn on his word. His homeland might have a spotty reputation, but he was still a knight and honour must be upheld. That was what old King Löwehardt taught him.

"Well, I think we found a compromise Perci." Arondight said. "I don't get hurt and he helps us out."

"I dunno." Percival said unsure. "That head injury was only just treated. Even with holy magic, he might still be slightly dazed from the hit."

The knight gave a wave to show he's fine. Such a small injury is not enough to stop him on his desire administer proper knight education.

"Well, if you say so, I can't really stop you Sir Knight. But please do be careful." Percival said mildly concerned.

"Then it's settled. I'll let you ride Corolla. You win the prize, beat the guy that hit you, and we get the statue repaired." he said as he took the knight's hand with a chuckle. "I guess you're alright for a chav knight."

"And you told me not to be honoured by him." Percival said playfully.

"Hey, I can be wrong about people. But I guess your instincts on good folk hasn't changed." Arondight replied

"All have the capacity for good under the eyes of our Lord. But I must admit, I do have an eye for the most noble of his children."

"Is that why you decided to tag along with me for so long?"

Percival chuckled. "Perhaps. Now, I'll take our knight friend to Corolla."

"Hey, why are you doing that?" Arondight asked.

"Because you have dog mess to clean up. Plus I do feel like eating tonight, so please do it. For me?" she asked with a glowing smile.

Arondight was taken aback by the request paired with such a friendly face. The same face that got himself and her out of many situations years ago when they adventured together. He sucked up his pride and sighed in compliance.

"Fine, I'll do it. Say hi to Corolla for me."

"Will do." Percival replied with a nod. "Let's go Sir Knight. We have a bit of a walk ahead of us. And can you tell me as to why you don't speak?"

After the two left, Arondight was alone in the church. He shrugged in defeat.

"So I have to do what that old bat says and I'm stuck tagging behind." he said to himself. "Just dandy."

"Who ye callin' an old bat, ye fockin' bum drifter." a voice said from the right.

Arondight flinched and looked from where the voice came from. Standing in the door where he and Percival entered was Mother Bertha.

"H-How did you get in here?" he asked in shock.

"There's more than one way to get in ye daft bastard. Now hurry up and clean up the bloody flower bed!"

>>210836

Seraphim are six winged angels that covers their face and feet with four of their wings, there name means "burning ones"

Using the word seraph to describe a mere mortal nun is lame. LAAAME

>>210841

Good shit. Keep it up please

>>210959 He's right. Seraphim are top level angels. In any fantasy setting you would never find one working under a human. I suggest retcon it to her being a regular Angel.

>>211386

Forgot to sage. God fucking dammit.

>>211386

Isn't that falchion from the wrong time period?

Through his earned nobility, he had the pleasure of joining other knights on nights out celebrating. Although it was much alike when he was just a lad, a humble soldier going out to taverns, this time around he had wealth to throw around. With such wealth and alcohol being tossed about like, a person was bound to see strange sights such. Some such as knights running about in nothing but their helms and underwear. Not only that but being chased by equally scantily clad woman. It was this way an old war friend of his met his foxgirl wife.

As he reminisced about his fun times back home, Percival lightly tapped on his shoulder.

"Sir Knight," she said gingerly, "I believe the competition is held over there." She pointed a tent that sat beside a larger stable tent in front of an impromptu jousting field.

The knight nodded and stopped Corolla. He and Percival climbed off the horse before Percival took the reigns as a leash.

"Thanks for the ride Corolla." Percival said as she stroked the horse's neck.

With reigns in hand, she and the horse followed the knight up to the green and white striped tent. The strong smell of stable wafted in the air along with the neighs and trodding of horses. Behind a desk cleaning up was a man in fine puffy clothes. He didn't notice the knight walk up as he had his nose well buried in papers and betting forms. As he continued to rummage, he continued to ignore the knight's presence as he worked. The knight then knocked on the wooden desk to get the man's attention. The man stopped working with a discontented sigh then looked at the knight.

"What do you want? I'm busy looking for bet winnings." the man said unamused.

The knight pointed his thumb back at the horse then at the field. The man looked at him perplexed.

"What?" he asked sharply. "Look, I'm gonna be in some deep trouble if I don't find these bet winnings. State your business or piss off."

"I can help with that." Percival said as she walked next to the knight. "He's looking to join the jousting tourney."

"Well, sod off. The tourney ended and I'm missing money." the man said as he rummaged through boxes.

"We're late?!" Percival asked in shock.

"Can't be late to something that's over miss. Sister. Whatever." he said while waving back a hand. "Some knight from Chavichad won the competition. To be honest the entire thing was a mess. Most in the competition were well into their cups before even starting. Knights drunkenly hitting each other with lances. It was no wonder that prat won."

"Then, we missed our chance to challenge that knight." Percival said sadly.

"Well if you can find him you might be able to challenge him. Now get out of here, I have money to find." he said as he flipped over a chest.

Percival and the knight walked away dejected. Missing the competition was insufferably embarrassing and infuriating. The troubling news brought a cloud of despair around the two. The knight believed he had lost his one chance at correcting a fellow knight's attitude through sport. As the two walked, they stumbled across a crowd of people circling around something. The two couldn't see past the countless heads in the crowd, so Percival took to the skies to see. As she flew over, she saw something that lifted her spirits. Down below was Sir Jett and his men standing and currently arguing with Arondight who finally made it to the fields.

Percival zipped back to the knight with a face full of excitement. "Sir Knight! I think we have another shot!"

The knight cocked his head before Percival took his hand. The knight grabbed for Corolla's reigns before they waded through the crowd of curious onlookers. As they made their way to the inner circle of people, they saw Arondight firmly standing his ground against Sir Jett and his lackeys.

"And I'm telling you to take your stuffy attitude and your gang of ass kissing bitches back to whatever gold encrusted asshole you crawled out of." Arondight said angerly.

"Bro, is a peasant like you really telling me off because of how I treated a reject?" Jett said with a chuckle.

"He's more of a knight than you'll ever be. Unlike you, he actual acts his part."

"A reject being chivalrous to a fault is nothing more than a man playing make believe bro." Jett said with a wave of his arm. "He has no wealth, no fine armour, no horse, no fame. A knight is more than just rules, bro. A knight is a nobleman and a nobleman without wealth and power is nothing."

"There is a reason why knights of your kingdom are made asses of in public. You let your diamonds blind your eyes."

"Bro, I don't expect a raggedy adventurer to understand what it means to be a knight."

"That so-called reject has shown me more than you."

"And where is he then bro? He didn't show up today to prove himself. The cowardly faggot probably turned tail knowing that someone of my worth was here. He learned his place and besides, I could take him down easy."

Percival jumped all the way to Arondight's side with the help of her wings.

"We were only late. He is more than willing to take you on Sir Knight." Percival said commandingly.

"It's Sir Jett Ironwite. Bro, I don't know what you are on about." Jett said.

From the crowd, the knight walked forward with the horse. Jett and his groupies turned their heads towards the knight as the crowd watched on.

"Now I catch your drift. Sorry to say Sir Reject, but you missed your chance at proving yourself if you had anything worth proving. Tourney is over." Jett said slyly. "And man oh man where did you find such a gangly horse?"

"Don't talk about Corolla like that!" Arondight and Percival yelled in unison.

"Wait, you're telling me that you two let Sir Unwealthy and Horseless borrow yours?" Jett asked before breaking out into laughter along with his men. "Ahaha! For what purpose? Under the faint hope that he could beat the tourney? And what of the money?"

"He would give it to us." Arondight replied. "All he wants is to take you on."

"Bro. Really? A knight willing to just part with the money to others rather than spend it out in celebration? Man, your less a reject and more a flat out failure bro." Jett said.

"Enough talk, it's time for you to prove yourself." Percival said.

"Prove my what?" Jett asked. "What is there to prove? My bros and I are knights worthy of our titles in every way. What do I have to prove against a lowly exile like him."

"Didn't you say you could beat him easily?" Percival asked quickly.

"Well duh. Of course, I can." Jett replied.

"Then prove it." Percival said before turning to the crowd. "I'm sure we all would like to see such a proud knight such as yourself defeat an exile so effortlessly." she said with arms held open.

"Let's make this interesting." Arondight said as also faced the crowd. "You bet your prize from the tourney and I'll wager my horse the knight is riding and all the money I have."

"And I wager my old mage staff." Percival said as she pulled out a small ornately carved wooden stick. With a wave of her hand, the stick grew into a twisting staff with a blue orb nestled in the end.

"Heh. Well that's great and all for you two to bet so much, but what does that useless tin soldier have to offer?" Jett asked.

The knight knew that he was handed a trump card and thanked the two friends dearly for the setup. Now was the time to go all or nothing to clench the duel. The knight pulled out his book and the other knights and Jett gasped.

"The fool is actually betting his book." one of the knights said to another.

"I know bro. That's some massive balls." the other replied.

"Jett, bro, you can't back down from something like that." another knight said. "Knight code and shit, we gotta accept duels and challenges of high worth. Not to mention that was a pretty ballsy move on that guy's part."

"Really? I gotta? Kinda first time with a callout like this bro." Jett said as he looked over his shoulder.

"Yeah, bro. If you don't, you'll not only be called a pussy but a faggot. And you know how our home treats faggots." the knight replied.

"Well, shit, don't want to be a faggot. Especially don't want to be outed as one in front of so many people." Jett said as he looked back at the silent knight. "Okay, bro. You're on." Jett turned to one of his men. "You. Go get some more tourney lances and shields. I'll be on the field with my horse in ten minutes. Also, judges. Don't forget the judges." He turned back to face the knight. "See you on the field, bro."

Jett and his gang walked off towards the stable tent as the crowd started to disperse and walked to the field. As the crowd thinned, Arondight and Percival walked up to the knight.

"I think I might have let my showmen ship get the better of me again." Arondight said with a nervous chuckle.

"I think we all did." Percival said as the staff shrunk in her hand before she put it away. "Oh, dear. I thought that when I became a nun I would get away from situations like that."

"Happens when you're friends with me. Hey, we all have something riding on this now." Arondight said as he turned to the knight. "Win it, okay?"

The knight nodded. The events played out into a display of dramaticism that would catch the attention the Jett and his men. Knights of Chavichad always have a taste for the melodramatic and this case would definitely entertain most. With the news of a knightly jousting duel spreading, many people once again gathered around the jousting field. The man behind the signup desk once again had many coming in to place bets on who would win. In preparation of the duel, officials of the fair gave Jett and the knight the standard issue shields used for the events and provided lances. After a short ten minutes of organising, the two competitors were ready. Before the knight mounted Corolla once again, he gave his claymore and book to Arondight and Percival accordingly. With a few waves and wishes for good luck, the knight rode onto the field.

As Jett and the knight took their positions to await the go-ahead from the judges, Arondight and Percival looked from the border of the field. As the judges walked onto the field, Percival accidentally fumbled with the book and dropped it. As she bent down to pick it up, a blacken furred paw like hand picked it up and handed it to her.

"You dropped this." a blue-eyed catgirl said as she handed Percival the book.

"Oh, why thank you miss." Percival said happily.

"No problem." the catgirl replied. "So, are you friends with that knight? You two are carrying his things."

"More along the lines of acquaintances but he's a good guy." Arondight said. "Do you know him?"

"Kinda." she said with a grin. "Just wanted to see how he's doing."

"A knight has an admirer," Arondight said with a chuff, "how quaint."

"An admirer? No. An observer? Yes. I'm just curious to see how he manages things." she said as she looked to her right. A few guards and the man from behind the betting desk were coming her way. "Damn. Looks like I can't stay and watch. Hey, if I find you all later can you tell me the outcome?"

"Sure thing." Percival said with a nod and smile. "By the way, I'm Sister Percival and this is my friend Arondight."

"Delilah. And thanks. Anyway, catch nya later." she said before disappearing into the crowd again, avoiding and leaving the guards confused.

"Did she just say 'catch nya later'?" Arondight asked with a jaded expression.

"Heh, I thought it to be funny." Percival said with delight. "Anyway look, it's starting."

In the field on opposite ends of the jousting fence, Jett and the knight sat on their horses with shields in arm and lances in hand. The four judges stood at their positions, two on opposite ends of the field. A man in fine colourful clothes on a just as finely dressed horse rode onto the field to introduce the duel.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Today we have a duel between two knights from the kingdom of Chavichad!" he yelled to the crowd. "Today, they will test their might against each other in a display of courage and strength! The rules of this joust will follow tourney standard. Four passes of the course and no more. Each pass shall be judged by the judges and at the end of the last pass or before a victor will be cried. Let the duel begin!"

The crowd erupted in a roar of cheering and anticipation of the event. Even Arondight and Percival joined in to support the knight.

"Beat him good!" Arondight yelled, shaking his fist high. "Show them what a real knight and a good horse can do!"

"You can do it Sir Knight!" Percival cheered. "I believe in you and Corolla!"

Despite being drowned out in the cacophony of the crowd, the knight could sense their optimism. He stroked the back of Corolla's neck, and the horse huffed and snorted in response. He may not be Veyron, but he was a fair and hardy ride for a horse of his stature. A tried and true trusty steed to his owner. Or friends for that matter.

"One the mark!" the pompous man yelled again as he held up a green flag.

Both Jett and the knight readied themselves. Turning their spines into iron bars and their nerves into stone. After a few seconds of the flag being held aloft, it was finally waved. The two spurred their horses into motion, quickly closing the distance between themselves in the sound of thunderous hooves. As they drew closer they began to lower their lances. In a split second, their lances met their marks. With a mighty shove to both, the blunt ends of the lances slide of each other's shields. The knight hit his mark, dead centre of the shield of Jett and so did he. But both failed to break a lance.

Reaching the opposite ends of the field, they repositioned for the next pass. Another wave of the flag and the two sped towards each other. This time with more speed. As their lances met, a thunderous wooden crack snapped through the air, followed by cheering from the crowd. Jett broke his lance. Percival covered her mouth in shock and Arondight sneered from the sight. Jett's men and fans cheered clamorously as he gave a wave to the crowd while receiving a new lance.

Third pass and the knight focused deeply. He needed the horse to gallop at a good speed and he must hit the shield in such a way it can't slip. The third drop of the flag and the two raced towards each other once more. Corolla was galloping at a much faster pace than before, a much more suitable pace to allow the knight to break his lance if placed well. The two came togeather again and another loud crack went through the air. This time, the knight was victorious as Jett's lance slipped. The crowd went into a wild uproar at the now levelled match. Arondight and Percival cheered loudly for the knight and Corolla.

The two knights repositioned for the last time. The silent knight's heart was beating heavily as he hasn't had such sporting fun in a long while. Even if his pride as a knight along with Arondight's and Percival's possessions were on the line. With the final drop of the flag, the two challengers ran towards each other in a chorus of hoofbeats. The knight's focus was at its sharpest at the last few seconds before contact. His reflexes made the world turn slowly around him as he lowered his lance. His lance may have broke at slight dead centre, but this needs to be a convincing defeat. So he aimed further to the left.

Finally, Jett and the knight made their pass. The tips of their lances met each other's shield. A crack of snapping wood louder than before pierced through the air. The audience fell silent as a thud and clang hit the grassy ground. Still saddled firmly on his horse with a broken lance underarm and a dented shield, the knight stood victorious.

The crowd irrupted in resounding applause at the upset as the judges called the silent knight's victory. Two broken lances and a knock down to two broken lances. To see the winner of the tournament to be beaten by a no named knight was great entertainment that all who came that day enjoyed. But none were as ecstatic as Arondight and Percival. Percival jumped repeatedly,clapping for joy as Arondight applauded madly.

Before heading back to the sides of the field, the knight rode around to the side of the fallen Jett. On the ground, Jett laid next to the remains of his lance and his shield. The knight dismounted from Corolla and stood beside Jett. Jett's helmet was knocked off to show his blonde hair and blue eyes, his face now dirtied with grass and soil. He looked at the knight with a crestfallen gaze.

"Alright bro, you won, it's clear for everyone to see." he said bitterly. "You'll get your money."

The knight bent over and picked up his helmet, slightly dirtied with muck.

"So what, you just gonna gloat over me then?" he asked spitefully. "Just gonna tell your little friends how an exile beat a nobleman?"

The knight shook his head.

"Then what are you doing? Gloat or do something bro. You're wasting your time."

The knight felt truly sorry for Jett. He really did not know the finer details of knighthood besides nobility. But perhaps, a simple gesture would teach him. The knight held out a hand. Jett looked at it stunned.

"You're playing with me, bro. Not after all that mad banter, no way."

The knight emphasised his hand with a shake for him to take it.

"Y-You're serious?"

The knight nodded. Then Jett slowly took his hand. The knight pulled Jett up back to his feet and handed him his helm. Jett stared into the grated faceplate of his helmet confused before putting it back on his head. Despite all that Jett has said and done, there is still something that knights should and must know. Sportsmanship and not being a massive faggot by gloating too much. Even though the knight would normally gloat a tad in the spirit of the duel, today he had a more important goal. Teach a knight how to be a knight through humbleness and humility.

The knight gave a hand and looked to Jett. Jett looked at his hand and slowly placed his own in the knight's. With a vigorous bump to the sky, the two knights of Chavichad waved at the ravenous crowd with the pleasure of having all eyes on them.

After returning their shields to fair staff and walking their horses, the knight and the others met near the entrance of the fair. With Arondight, Percival, and Corolla by his side and Jett and his men standing before them. After getting situated, Jett handed the knight a sack full of gold coins.

"A bet is a bet bro. You won it fair and square." Jett said. "I guess I should say something more than that? I don't know. Bros, what do you think?"

Jett's men mumbled to each other incoherently before Percival stepped forward.

"Sir Jett, your actions today has proven you might have learned something." she said with a golden smile. "Whether you stick with what was taught is another matter, but you have learned something."

"Learned what?" Jett asked with a shrug.

The knight handed Percival the sack of gold and began to walk off and away from the fair. He's done his work and now must continue on with his punishment. But first, a new inkwell and quill are well in order as a small reward for what he's done today.

"Hey, where's he off to?" Jett asked.

"I think he's done here." Arondight replied. "All he wanted to do was beat you in at the joust."

"He does have a quest to get on with." Percival said. "He has orders from his king."

"He really isn't being a faggot about this…" Jett said before the hamster wheel in his head made a full revolution. "Oh! I get it! He wanted me to stop being a faggot! Oh damn, I was being a faggot? Bros, why didn't you stop me?"

The gang of knights once again mumbled to each.

"I guess you all got a lesson today." Arondight said with a smirk. "Even though I plainly told you."

"And with that, I think the Lord smiles upon us all with the lessons we've learned today." Percival said with her hands clasped together. "Anyway, Arondight, we have to find that cat."

"The pun one?" Arondight asked with a raised brow.

"C'mon Arondight. She asked to know the result of the duel. Besides, it would be cat-tastrous if she doesn't know."

"Did you really just do that?"

"What?"

"Dear lord that was so so bad."

"What?!"

"C'mon Corolla, we have to find that catgirl quickly before Perci sends us to the grave with this cat themed nonsense."

Arondight hoped onto Corolla and began to trot away as Percival took flight to follow. Jett walked with his men back into the fair to carry on the day of festivities. Although he still celebrated with the zeal known for a man from his home, deep down something did change in him. Rather than celebrating solely out of his own ego, he celebrated for the fun of it as well. As he drank through the day and into the night with his men and others, he felt like he's had a lot more enjoyment than before. Perhaps not being so much of a faggot makes the mead taste sweeter and the laughs heartier. If that were the case, he'll work harder to keep it so. After all, being a faggot is not the bro thing to do.

Apologies for the update being so heavily disjointed. The way how I do things got a little jumbled. Hopefully the next part won't be so so stupidly broken.

Now I can sleep while listening to Joe Hisaishi.

>>212074

AND I FORGOT TO SAGE AGAIN

"A new arrival to this serene yet treacherous forest?" the Paladindu asked in a thin and melancholic voice. "You've made a terrible mistake to come here Sir Knight. A few of us arrived for the same task as you were given. Find the demon, I assume?"

The knight nodded. The tone that the man was talking in didn't spur confidence. The knight doubted that anything he will say will do much to help him.

"If I were you, I would give up." he said with a shrug. "That demon took on four of my brothers and myself. Here in the forest, we were in its element. We were picked off one by one like baby hares with a snake in the burrow. Do you know what it does once it catches you?"

The knight nodded again. He was well informed about the injuries that people who have met the demon sustained.

"No, you don't. You only know the results of the vicious encounter. I have seen what happens and it is mortifying. My brothers, pinned to the ground one by one. A tall eared beast that just leaps on top of you and proceeds to do unmentionable things. The moaning. The cries. Do you know what it's like to see a fellow brother humped into the ground with such force you can hear bones break?"

The knight gave a very weirded out look from behind his metal face. He slowly shook his head, unsure of what else the Paladindu would spew at him.

"I have brought shame upon my covenant for abandoning my brothers in fear. Thinking we could vanquish such a demon was foolish. And now, here I am, crestfallen and dishonoured, a weakling in the eyes of our Lord. Turn back Sir Knight. You face pelvic oblivion if you continue ahead."

The knight grew tired of this nattering of gloom and doom. The Paladindu was a dead end and he still had a task to do. Such pessimistic down talk was faggotry he had no time to stomach. As he walked away, the Paladindu cried out one last time.

"Doom and fractured bones are all that lays ahead of you! You may even have it worse than my colleagues! Think man! Once you're raped, there is no un-raping you! No salvation for your dignity as a man or warrior! Not even the most powerful healers in the land can repair such a broken soul! Get out of here while you still can!"

Completely ignoring the Paladindu's pleas of running, the knight went ahead wearier than before. Whatever skulked in these woods was a force to be afraid of. But fear must be contained with confidence and concentration to overcome. About five minutes after parting ways with the Paladindu, a shrill scream came from far behind him. He was certain that the Paladindu has met his molestation filled end. Well, not really an end, but a very uncomfortable and pain filled walk back to Thyme to seek medical attention.

The day carried on as the knight continued to walk deeper into the forest, but now he had a problem. Since encountering the Paladindu he couldn't find his way back to the main trail. Unsure of where to go, he took a rest on a moss covered slab of rock. As he sat down, his armour scraped against the side of the slab, peeling off a thick layer of moss. He looked at the scrape and found something strange. Chiselled carvings laid obscured under the veil of thick damp vegetation. He knelt down in front of the slab and scraped off more moss. What the moss hid was amazing to the knight's eyes. Carvings depicting the knighting of old nobles by a king. The sword the king used had halos around it and produced rays of light. It was amazing, yet confused knight. Why would such a thing be all the way out here?

The knight took out his book and quill. He opened to a blank page and drew a quick sketch of the carvings. After putting his possessions away, he moved closer to scratch off more moss. As he did, the sound of rustling leaves came from behind him. He turned his head to find nothing but swaying bushes. Then the sound of rushing wind came from in front of him along with a light thud. He faced forward again, quickly standing up with a hand on his claymore's leather ribbed hilt. Then out from the shadows, something landed on the stone slab. The figure was a blur as the knight ducked to avoid its oncoming pounce. The thing missed and jumped right overhead, but the knight now had a problem.

Being stuck in such uneven and cluttered ground was a death trap with something that agile chasing him. So with lightened feet, he ran. Not in cowardice, since that would be faggoty of him, but to find a more suitable area of combat. What he needed was a clearing and as he rushed past trees, he could see the skirting of one just ahead. As he could hear his attacker close in again, he made his break for the clearing. Past the tree line, he saw an astounding sight. Old stone ruins of what looked like a temple stood from the centre of the clearing. He could also see that in front of a tree near the ruins was a tiny campsite that looked recently set up.

As he made distance away from the trees, he scanned the tree line to find his so-called "demon". Out of sight, a shadow darted back and forth between trees and bushes, as if trying to find a way to ambush the knight still. After a long standoff, the shadow disappeared. The knight took a deep breath of relief before a white blur erupted from the tree line.

What landed yards away from the knight made his none visible eyebrows drop in the presence of such an anti-climax. What stood before him was a tall eared rabbitgirl. White haired and in leather armour that couldn't go over her white, thick, and fluffy mitts. Her leather strip skirt made it easy for her poofy rabbit like legs to move and jump to an impressive degree. Two double headed war axes swayed from her hips as the resettled from the landing. Her face bore a sinful open smile as drool fell from her lips. With cheeks deeply flushed red, her yellow irises fidgeted as she stared at the knight. She began to oddly walk forward as if her knees were weak. Her breaths were heavy and spotted with lust filled giggles as she walked towards the knight.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." she said shakily. "I just need help with a little itch." She glanced down at the knight's metal crotch guard and licked her lips. "Yeah. I think you can help me~."

The knight shook his head. He wanted no part of whatever she's thinking off. Plus he would like to be able to get back to Thyme with dignity intact.

"Nonsense. I'm just a cute rabbit, what could I possibly do to you? Now come over here and help me, or else I'll come over there and make you."

The knight took a step back and the rabbitgirl took her chance.

"Okay, I'll come to you~!"

With a predator like pounce, she closed the gap between herself and the knight. The knight reached for his claymore but was a second too late. With a thud, he fell backwards while holding on to the girl's fluffy legs out of instinct. Holding on, he forced the momentum of the tackle to spin himself and the rabbitgirl out of control so he wouldn't be easily taken down. They tumbled backwards a fair distance before they stopped with an odd squelch. The knight looked to his sides and could see rabbit legs on either side of him. As he moved forward, he could feel the hilt end of his sword stuck in something, followed by a very loud and ecstasy filled moan. Out of inquisitive thought, he moved backwards and forwards again. More load moaning. In his mind, he pictured the lewd situation he has got himself in but needed to see to be definite.

Unbuckling his claymore's sling from himself he got off his back and turned around. Behind him was the rabbitgirl with the hilt end of his claymore going up her skirt. Indeed, the situation turned out as he thought. Miraculously, the hilt of his sword glided past her underwear and into her unmentionables. For the time being, his sword has turned into a personal pleasure toy for the girl. A wave of unamused apathy washed over the knight at the sight. But, he figured this was a good time as any to attempt to incapacitate the molesting felon and so he grabbed the blade of his sword.

Gently he moved it backwards and forwards as the rabbitgirl writhed in pleasure. The girl eventual became impatient and grabbed the cross guard of the sword. With the enthusiasm of a bunny eating a fresh carrot, she continued to pleasure herself wildly. With a flurry of "Ahn"s and other lewd noises, she finished with a satisfied moan and climax soaking with her essence. Breathing heavily in recovery, she laid on the ground with a messy, yet happy and pleasure filled, face.

As the knight got up, he noticed something odd about her right foot paw pad. It was swollen and red. He looked closer and saw a small wound with something tan coloured sticking out of it. Removing his right gauntlet, he bent down and tried to pinch the odd object. As he got a grip between his fingers, he began to pull it out of her foot. It was a large spine that burrowed crosswise into her foot. By the look, strength, and the odd hollow end of it, the knight deduced that it was more than likely a manticore's spine. Made enough sense in his mind, they were known to live in these woods and perhaps this girl had the misfortune of getting into a scuffle with one.

With the spine out of her foot, the knight figured that the venom leaving her system would stop the current case of rampant pelvis cracking. With her tired out on the ground, the knight walked into the ruins of the old temple. The inside was destroyed with not much of notice remaining. Vines and moss draped the walls and the smell of wet dust hung in the air. As he looked about, he saw a white obelisk, or what he thought was an obelisk. As he got closer, he saw that it was actually a giant stone statue of a sword's blade. At his feet laid what seemed like stone rings as well. The knight pulled out his book and looked at the picture her drew. A king with a sword crowned in halos.

At the base of the statue, an etched in plaque laid covered in lichen and dust. It was a message in a language he did not know how to speak or read.

"Netrawba Tiez Erhi Eis ssad, nessiw riw Sginök sed Segreb sed Nettahcs med Retnu. Nressäweg nehciltsö ned ni Remmulhcs med sua Rerhüf trhüfeg errI eid redo nerhüf uz dnu nemmokkcüruz Eis fua netraw riw. Rehcsrreh netlhäweg red egnil."

Seemed like absolute gibberish to the knight, but this might be an important find. With quill and book in hand, he copied the message word for word and for good measure, drew what the statue would look like if pristine. As he finished and put his book and quill away, he heard shambling footsteps come from behind him. With a cold sweat, he turned around to see the white rabbitgirl walking to him with his claymore in hand. She came close and handed him the sword, hilt still wet looking but wiped down.

"Thanks for that." she said while looking away, embarrassed and blushing. "Just don't tell anyone about what I've done. Please? I didn't mean for anything like that to happen."

The knight took the sword and strapped back on himself and nodded. A small sigh of relief escaped the girl, or it was a small moan, it was hard to tell.

"Manticores. Always a problem when they pop out of nowhere and try to strong-arm you out of your things. Even worse is when they leave you with a small 'parting gift' as she called it. Not exactly a gift when it does that to me and innocent strangers. Hmph. That clip to her wing served her right." she said while tapping her axes.

The knight shrugged. He never dealt with wild manticores so he couldn't say much. He did hear they were a tough encounter if you were unlucky enough to run into one. Many stories of adventurers made into untimely husbands by a simple disarm and a prick filled with venom. But that wasn't the knight's concern right now. He pointed at the old statue after nudging the girl for her attention.

"Oh, that? I think it was a shrine to something." she said while rubbing the back of her head. "Not sure to what, but I have an idea."

The knight nudged her again and waved his hand, urging her to continue. He was interested in what that statue was and wanted to be sure he wasn't misinterpreting anything.

"Well, I think it might have to do with that old legend. You know, that sword one. It's kind of funny that people of old treated that story with such reverence they praised it like this."

After giving a small chuckle, she collapsed to her knees. The knight took her over a shoulder to bring her on her feet again.

"Thanks." she said with a tired smile. "I need to rest awhile. Two or so days of, well, that, kinda wears out a girl. Sorry to continue being a nuisance, but can you help me to my camp?"

The knight nodded as his mind was sated with her opinion. That statue was made in dedication of the Sword of Kingdoms and whatever written on that stone base would be a clue. But only if he could find someone who knows that ancient language the text was written in. Thinking about his next step, he brought the girl to her encampment. It was as small as you would expect for one person, a tiny fire pit and a pelt bedroll underneath a tree. The knight carried the girl over to the bedroll and laid her down.

"Thanks again. When I can, I swear I'll pay you back somehow." she said full of gratitude.

The knight nodded and saw that his work was done. With his trusty, yet woman scented claymore on his back and a book filled with old secrets, he set off once again. With a wave goodbye, the knight headed for the tree line. Maybe if he retraced his steps he could find his way back. Besides, a whimpering Paladindu would make an easy enough landmark. The rabbitgirl saw the knight walk away she lazily lifted an arm and waved.

"See you around friend. Try not to run into a manticore." she said with a yawn before she dropped her arm exhausted.

Finally, she caught a moment of rest after days of being in a horny rage. Blissful sleep took her as she laid in the shade of the tree. The warm summer air and the smell of the pine tree she slept under lulled her like a lullaby from a mother. All seemed quiet until the sound of shifting branches came from above her.

Out of the tree and landed beside her was an eavesdropper, an agile observer with a wide grin. The girl awoke, frightened by the sudden thud next to her. As she looked at her nap interrupting guest, she felt relieved. It wasn't a manticore, but a catgirl with black hair and blue eyes. With a yawn, she greeted her surprise visitor.

"Something I can help you with?" the rabbitgirl asked as she wiped here eyes.

"There is. I couldn't help but hear and watch that little scuffle you had with that knight there." the catgirl said. "So I just so happened to hear you want to help him out in the future."

"Oh. You saw all that?" the rabbit girl asked mortified. "W-Well, yeah. So?"

"So. I was thinking of a small deal. I'm currently keeping tabs on him for a while for 'reasons' and I could do with a little help. I'm a curious cat by nature and I tend to attract some, let's say, cat-tankerous people. All I want to do is see how my armoured friend conducts himself and I'm sure at some point you can pay him back."

The rabbitgirl sat up in her pelt bedroll and smiled. "Sounds like a hopping good time to me Miss Kitty."

The cat smiled back and sat beside her with a hand extended. "Delilah. Pleasure to meet you fellow, uh, what are you."

"Adventurer and berserker born, raised, and trained." she said as she weakly shook her hand. "My name is Mona Holotte. Nice to meet you too Delilah. Now, can you let me rest for a little while longer? I had a bit of a bumpy last few days."

>>212507

keep it up writefag, this is su-purrrr-b

Rip writefag :^(

>>216731

What a paws-itivly terrible shame. I hope he returns. For a story like this to fade away would be a cat-astrophe. Seriously though, I hope either he comes back or someone else got enough of the feel of the story to continue.

>>216757

I know the guy apparently he's got massive writer's block atm

>>216847

>massive writer's block atm

What's the matter? Cat got his tongue?

Shall we start up a new story while we wait?

Since the beginning of his quest, he hasn't had the chance to train as he used to. Keeping yourself fit was a long standing past time of people from Chavichad. But currently, his only source of keeping himself from in shape was the odd encounter and walking constantly in armour. The knight shrugged, his exercise regiment is a mess that could be described as sporadic at best.

"Safe to say you keep your muscles through trial than training then." Conan said as he reclined in his seat. "Reminds me of when I was much younger and travelled ze Gerhunmark wastes with my old warband. Nothing keeps you in shape better out there than fighting and carrying spoils. Blood, wealth, and women. Like ze same interests as a knight, don't you think?"

Well, he wasn't exactly wrong. The knight nodded since he did speak some truth in his words, although the methods behind those three points were different. A knight was paid and did not pillage. A knight met with his adversaries on a field of war, not at random with rival warbands. But the women aspect didn't really change. War chiefs and lords alike knew how to play the dance of courtship around maids and wenches. After all, drunken cat calls, wolf whistles, and body gestures are a universal language from pauper to conqueror.

"Nice to see a fellow man of blood still see ze roots of us warriors. But dat's enough philosophy out of me, I've stowed my glaive long ago for a loving wife and a business. Say, as a means to say sorry for earlier, would you like to come to my home for a workout and meal?"

The knight tapped his chromed chin, unsure of what to reply with. He would rather not take an unnecessary day of leisure. But at the same time didn't want to come off as rude to someone who wanted to make amends. Reluctantly, he nodded out of courtesy.

"Good to hear, I'll be sure to tell Origa to get ready for tomorrow. My apologies dat an old barbarian like me disrupted you from a calm night bath."

With a wave of his hand, the knight relaxed in his seat as he and Conan soaked in the waters. Some time passed before the both of them left the bath house. Before going their separate ways, Conan explained to the knight on how to get to his home. A gym placed among the trees and off the main road out of town, towards the hills. After a night of comfortable rest and paying for another day at the inn, the knight put on only his cuirass and faulds before heading for Conan's. Leaving the rest of his armour and sword behind, he walked on.

A few minutes outside of town, the knight came across a sign. Painted in red and white but tattered with cuts, scratches, and a knife stuck into it. "Quaid Muscle and Mind" it read. A yard away from the sign was the side path into the trees. A quick stroll through the wooded trail and the knight found the gym. It looked like a single floor house with a large room attached to it than a dedicated gym. The knight walked to the entrance of the building, its thick wooden front door just as battle scared as the sign.

After knocking on the mauled door, heavy footsteps approached from the other side. The door opened to a tall well-endowed woman in a plain work dress drinking a glass of water. She was an ogre. Her skin was a healthy tan and she had long and bushy dark red hair. Three long pointed black horns curved out from the top of her forehead, parting her rough bangs. She eyed the knight as she took a sip from her glass.

"So what are you here for?" the woman asked in a deep yet smooth voice with an accent lighter than Conan's. "Neither I or my husband want anything to do with your schemes. Just because we have reputations doesn't mean we still want to go on raids."

The knight held up his hands and shook his head. He didn't have a clue what the ogre was on about.

"Then what are you here for? Cookies and milk?" she asked with a condescending grin.

The knight pointed inside.

"What? Just speak, what do you want?" she asked as she looked past the knight and into the treeline. Her eyes focused on a moving figure before she sighed. "Can you duck for second?"

The knight slowly did as he was told as the woman drank the last of her water. After a quick toss in her hand, she hurled the empty glass towards the trees. The sound of shattering glass was followed by a loud yell in pain.

"Ya ya, cry when you get caught snooping, just crawl back to your hole and tell your boss we're not interested." she said as she leant on the door. "But knowing things where there is one there's more. You might want to step inside for a while bucket head."

Walking back inside, the knight followed the ogre, leaving whatever that was loudly whining in the woods behind. After the ogre closed the hefty wooden door, the two walked down a small hallway towards a large sliding door. After she pulled back the door, the knight saw a familiar man in the huge training room. Lifting stone weights in only a pair of brown pants and an animal fang necklace was Conan. He looked over his shoulder and smiled at his approaching guest.

"Good morning." he said as he put down his weights. "Thank you for bringing in our guest Origa."

"Guest? What guest?" she asked.

"Don't you remember? Last night when I got home from ze bathhouse?"

"Oh? Oh! Ya ya, I remember now. That man that doesn't speak or something. Explains why he didn't say anything at the door."

Conan approached the knight before placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't know why you would want to wear a cuirass during this, but I can't blame you." he said while he walked the knight over to the middle of the gym floor. "I can get a bit rough in sparring. Origa, can you take care of the meal and such for when we stop?"

"Ya ya." she said somewhat disappointedly. "I kinda wanted to have a hand in the training, but you did make a promise to that man."

Conan felt sorry to displease her, but then remembered something they could do to satisfy her for a while. "Actually,before dat, can you help me in showing my friend here ze results of our training?"

Origa's face lit up in delight as she gave a determined look with a smile. "The boulder demonstration, ya?"

Conan nodded with a smile. Origa muttered happily to herself as she walked to the far end of the gym floor to another sliding door. She opened it and on the other side sunlight shown through. The two men followed her outside to a small quarry carved out of a hillside. Origa was tossing about boulders to find one she liked as the knight and Conan stood.

"What I'm about to show you friend is ze power one can get from training not only your muscles but your mind and soul." Conan said with a grin.

After a minute of rummaging through rocks, Origa found a suitable boulder. Not too large but not tiny and able to sit levelled on the ground. She carried over in front to her husband and the knight.

"Oooh, I'm so excited!" she said as she clapped her hands giddily. "This is my favourite part when we get new blood!"

Conan chuckled as he walked to one side of the rock before turning back to the knight.

"Okay, this is good you have face protection. A while ago when we did this at a town fair we gave a local artisan a facial of dust and pebbles." he said as he cracked his knuckles. "Teeth and blood everywhere. Not pretty. Reason why you should not give us sandstone to do this. Anyway, you ready Origa?"

Origa patted her biceps confidently. "Ya!"

"It's show time."

Conan nodded then closed his eyes before putting a fist into the palm of his hand. Origa did the same, then all went quiet. There was no breeze or rustle of tree leaves to make an ambience, or birds chirping. It was an odd silence to hear out in the woods. The knight's hearing attuned before he noticed Conan's and Origa's breathing. Their breaths were deep and in synch, then came an odd breeze. The knight noticed at their feet that dust began to circle around like a whirlpool. Then, they moved.

Both opened their eyes and turned towards the boulder with an arm primed for a strike. Like piledrivers their fists met the rock face, but didn't stop at the stone surface. Their fists drove deep into the boulder and with one motion. After a few seconds of silence, the sound of cracking rock came from the boulder as a fissure crept around it. The boulder fell apart into two halves, showing that Conan and Origa were holding hands in the rock.

The knight stood stunned at the display. He knew that ogres could have the strength to level structured buildings like a brick house. But to see both her and a man punch their fists through a few feet of solid rock was staggering. The knight fell backwards onto his rear before the two locked both their hands and gently rubbed each other's foreheads.

"And that is why we were meant for each other!" Origa said happily.

"Of course! Only you are strong enough to not only be my favourite training partner but lover as well." Conan replied.

After a brief moment of muscle-bound affection, they two calmed down and remembered they had an audience. Conan faced the knight with a proud smile and fists placed on his hips.

"Dat is ze power of lives dedicated to strengthening yourself! Your muscle by itself is mighty, but it means nothing if ze mind dat uses it is feeble. And ze mind is nothing without a soul as steely as your armour."

Conan came over and gave a hand to the knight. The knight got back to his feet as Origa walked by the two.

"Okay, that will do for now." she said with a cheery chirp. "But after you're done with the knight I want a thorough work out with you."

"Sure sure, what do you want to do? Lifting? Sparring?" Conan asked.

"Oh ya, a certain type of sparring. You know we don't get to do that trick often and you know how much it pumps my blood." she said with a sly smirk.

"So tonight..?"

"You."

She fluttered her eyes at him as she walked back inside. Conan let out a hearty laugh as he placed a hand on the knight's shoulder.

"I do hope one day you find a woman dat matches you perfectly like she does to me. Ah, it was such a wise idea to run off with dat strong ogre raider long ago. Heh, can still remember ze times when we travelled we always left broken beds and angry tired patrons at inns. Anyway, let's get started on dat workout."

The two walked back inside to the open wood gym floor. There were still weights on the floor from earlier, some benches, and a large curtain doored closet at the back end of the gym. Conan pulled back the curtain to show a wonderland of exercise equipment. Weights and dumbells to medicine balls and rounded sparring swords lined the shelves of the storage space. Conan turned to the knight with a medicine ball and tossed it to him. The knight caught the ball but nearly fell over backwards. It was stupidly heavy for a medicine ball and the knight thought it might as well been a rock covered in padded fabric.

"Did dat surprise you? Heh, it always does to people." Conan said. "Custom made sixty-pound medicine balls. Get comfortable with them, they're gonna be your friends."

With an audible gulp, the knight accepted his fate and began his workout. First were the custom medicine balls. Conan tossed them around like nothing and easily pushed them with his legs for leg presses, but the knight had trouble to keep up. With each toss and catch, he felt himself getting dragged further and further to the ground as his muscle strained to meet the regiment. The leg presses caused his legs to burn in exertion in the attempt to match Conan's pace. Then came the muscle flaying situps. With such intensity, duration, and weight involved, the knight could swear he felt his abdominals trying to tear away from him.

Next were the bench presses. This was much Easier to do, but the exercises with the medicine balls have already taken a toll on his vigour. It also didn't help that he had a screaming barbarian for a spotter yelling "C'mon! Do it!" over and over. Then they tried deadlifts. The knight could feel his back already giving out from fatigue as they hoisted weights over and over again.

Then came the last exercise, sparring. Conan handed the knight one of the metal tube sparring swords. It's weight, once again, caught the knight off guard. He was used to the weight of his claymore he travelled with and that at first was hefty, but this was worse. It was unreasonably cumbersome and the knight knew he could not do a timely or well-aimed strike with the sword. Although, it was hard to tell if this was the case due to actually being too weak to wield it or being too tired to. Struggling to hold it as it shook in his grip, Conan steadily took his in both hands.

"C'mon." Conan said as he cracked the muscles in his neck.

The knight tried to oblige, but as he swung he couldn't stop the momentum of the sword. With a ballerina like twirl, he dropped the metal tube and landed on his back with his head at Conan's feet. Conan looked down with a disappointed look on his face.

"Don't give up your day job."

Conan sighed as he put the practice sword on the floor and gave a hand to get the knight onto his feet. The knight lifted a hand up, but it dropped from fatigue. The floor took the knight into its comfort and the knight's body had no plans to move from his spot.

"Your body has had it huh?" Conan asked as he squatted next to the knight. "Well you did try and I can see you mind and soul is in it. But I guess you can't help it if you have strength like an old woman's."

Conan lightly laughed to himself as the knight laid there.

"Don't tell me ze tinman has gotten rusty." Conan said as he laughed harder. "Well, maybe I might be somewhat wrong in the soul part. You're a knight to a king, so you've already given your independence away. After all, if you yield only to a conqueror, then prepare to be conquered. And today, your weakness conquered you."

The knight tried to lift an arm to punch Conan but still didn't have the strength. To insult a knight that abides by his ruler and kingdom was a deep insult to his character. He loved his kingdom and lived to protect it. He even fought in a war to protect his home from foreign invaders years ago. The knight yielded to no one but dearly pledged his allegiance to his home. To insinuate that as a sign of weakness was faggotry.

After Conan noticed the knight trying to move his arm, he stood up again.

"I'll let you take a while to get your strength back. Don't go anywhere."

After thirty minutes of rest, the knight finally could walk on his feet again. His body ached all over from the torturous exercise and he himself still had trouble believing that this is what the brute does daily. But after seeing what he and his wife did to that boulder, he had no choice but to believe. Conan greeted him again and walked the knight over to the other side of the building. The other half was much more like a house, complete with a kitchen and dining room. In the dining room was a rough wooden table with three bowls of thick beef stew. The warm meaty aroma was pleasant and inviting with the knight's empty stomach.

Conan took him to a chair as Origa came back from the kitchen. The three then sat down and began to eat. The knight partially opened his visor to shovel in the juicy chunks of beef and cooked carrots and onions into his mouth.

"You must have worked him over to warrant such an appetite." Origa said with a snicker.

"Yeah. Shame we didn't get to sparring though, he lost his strength by ze end." Conan replied. "Really wanted to see how a knight fought. But if a conquered man couldn't reach ze end I guess I didn't miss much."

The knight stopped eating. Not because he ran out of food since he still had a few bits of meat left, but because of that insinuation again. As Origa and Conan gave a light chuckle, the knight felt somewhat insulted. Then Origa noticed the knight sitting still.

"Are you alright there? You were happily eating away and you just kind of stopped." Origa asked.

The knight nodded and continued eating. Even if he didn't like what Conan was saying, that was no excuse to be rude to his host's wife who cooked a meal for him. Wasting food like that over petty words and insulting a man's wife is some pretty steep faggotry after all. It didn't take long to finish his serving and Conan and Origa soon finished as well.

Origa began to clean up as Conan and the knight walked to the front door. After opening the door and stepping outside, Conan looked to the sky. Time flew during workout and lunch as it was already near late evening.

"I hope you got a good taste of what a real workout is like." Conan said with a small chuckle. "Whenever you're done serving another man and happen to move into Torside, feel free to come back. An old warrior like me would love to get you into proper shape."

The knight shook his hand, nodded, then made his way back to town. As he walked through the wooded path, the knight reflected on what Conan said. "Conquered by a conquerer". "Serving another man". To his displeasure, he had to admit there was some merit to his words. Or at least was. Before the current king, the knight swore his life to the late ruler King Löwehardt. During the War of Lilies against the rogue city-state of Liliara, the knight nearly died. He took on many Lili rogues on as they neared the king's command post, he even lost his orignal horse in the battle.

After finding the knight in a battered and bloody state at his feet, the king had him treated. The king personally saw the knight as he recovered and the two became fast friends. The king taught the knight what it meant to be a knight of worth in Chavichad and was a beloved mentor to the knight. King Löwehardt instilled the knight with the rigid values and stances against faggotry. He also taught the need to be a character standard and a protector for the people. Even after the king's death, the knight never forgot or faltered in these teachings. Even if King Bernhardt was much too relaxed and self-serving to instil such teachings in others.

As the knight walked on, he made it back to the main road. On his walk, he passed a small number of strange looking men all clothed in fur hides and carrying swords and axes. On of them approached the knight with a scowl. His hair was a mess and ragged under a wolf head pelt and a large scar ran crosswise on his face.

"Are you a friend of Conan Quaid?" the man asked.

The knight shook his head. The man huffed before walking ahead, barging the knight's shoulder. The knight watched them walk down the road before he continued his walk. After a short while, he was back and promptly went to the inn for some sleep. His body was still screaming from its barbarian and ogre branded physical training.

The night came and went and so did the knight's pains. Today was the day he finally continued on and find that man in Traigan. After suiting up, he left the inn for the last time and walked out of town. As he travelled the main road, he walked past Conan's sign again. This time, it was broken in two and covered in graffiti saying "deserter", "traitor", and "pussy". Then the knight heard yelling coming from the woods.

The knight ran down the side path and into the trees to scout ahead. From the treeline, he could see the front of Conan's house. Standing in front was the men he saw from last night. Two of them stood with heavy crossbows pointed at Origa. The man with the wolf pelt was in front of Conan while surrounded by the other men. The knight remained out of sight and listened.

"You could have just accepted the deal Conan. Just work for us again." the man said. "We could have gotten all the gold we could ever want."

"I hope when you get dat gold, there is some room left over for my fist cause I'm going to ram into your stomach and break your god damned spine." Conan said bitterly. "I don't care how much money you might make, I want no part of this you bastard."

"What's wrong old friend, why so hostile?" The man asked

"You threatened my wife and now have crossbows pointed at her. What do you think? Also, you're dead. I stabbed you in the face years ago." Conan said.

"It was only a slash. C'mon, we go way back, you know something like that won't keep me down for long. Now Conan, after all this time you were just here playing body builder with that thing. You could have been legendary. You could have gotten much more softer spoils than that ogre."

"Why are you here Tork? You know I don't want help you."

"Well, you remember how we work, right? If we feel like we're owed something, we take it. Well, since you ran off with the brick wall with breasts, we suffered a lack of good income. Hurts not to have your main muscle around. So we had to track you down so we can get even. Taking all your things and selling your wife on would work well."

"Don't you ever call her that! And like hell I'll let you do that! Fuck you, asshole!"

Tork snapped his fingers, and one of the hide wearing men swung an axe into Conan's thigh. Due to his thick muscle, it was wedged into his leg. Conan barely flinched as he stared down Tork.

"No. Fuck you, asshole." Tork said snarkily.

Origa cried out with fear in her voice. "Conan!"

The knight had seen enough. He knew what he must do and it must be quick and smart about it. The men with crossbows would not only harm Origa but would punch through his armour with their bolts. As he ran towards the two bowmen he drew his claymore. After springing from the trees he skewered both of the men on his sword. With a hefty pull, he wrenched the sword through the two men's sides before they dropped to the ground. The others looked on stunned, then Conan took his chance.

Grabbing the axe out of his leg and out of a goon's hand, he hacked the necks of the two men next to him. He quickly picked up the extra sword and showed Tork's men true barbarianism.

In a blind rage, he took out his anger on Tork's men. They try to put up a fight but were dispatched with either a hack job from an axe's blade or skewered by a sword's edge. It was deathly apparent that the quality of men Tork had must have decreased in Conan's absence and Tork could see it. As Tork witnessed Conan's fit of anger filled brutality, he tried to slink away, only to bump into the knight who walked behind him. Tork pulled out his sword and swung at the knight. The blade struck but harmlessly bounced off the knight's plated shoulder. Tork then felt a hand grab his recoiling arm. Slowly he looked over his shoulder to see Conan, face covered in blood and eyes filled with hate.

"This time Tork…" Conan said as Origa walked over and grabbed Tork's head. "Stay dead."

With a snap, Tork fell limp to the ground. Then a sigh of relief befell the three.

"Thank you, friend. I daren't think of what might have happened if you didn't show up." Conan said before his cut leg gave out.

"Conan!" Origa lunged to catch him. "I haven't seen you do so much damage since Trebleman's bog."

"You mean the day we first met with my warband meeting your raiding party?" Conan asked with a smile.

Origa giggled. "Let's get you inside. Hey iron man, can you help?"

The knight nodded as he took Conan's other arm over his shoulder and helped carry him inside. After being set on a bed and having his wound cleaned and face washed, Conan thought back on the last two days. The knight was nowhere near as physically strong as he was, that was a fact. But he might have been wrong about him in an aspect.

To Conan, independence was everything. To serve another man was not the right way to live. This was also the reason why he split away from Tork and killed him, well, tried to. A clean break from another man's shadow to forge his own path with the woman he loves. But now he was torn. Not only was he now indebted to another man for not only saving his life but his wife's, but it's another man who serves another.

As Conan laid in bed, his wife popped into his room looking around inquisitively.

"Missing something?" Conan asked.

"Ya. A certain knight ran off without me giving him a token of thanks." Origa replied. "Seriously, who runs off before getting paid?"

Conan chuckled. "So he just left then after everything's settled. So that's the kind of man he is."

"Huh? What are you on about?" Origa asked as she walked into the room and sat on the bed.

"I might have been quick to judge him is all. For a man dat serves another, he isn't bad at all. Still weaker than you or me, but not weak in the soul."

"Grateful he came when he did after nearly breaking him?"

"Dat and maybe calling him all around weak."

Origa giggled as she laid down next to him. "Then it's good he doesn't let pettiness get to him."

"Yeah. There's a word I heard some people in town use to describe people who let petty things consume them."

"Faggots?"

"Dat's it."

Conan laid in bed with his wife laid at his side. Thankful he still had his best training partner and lover with him. Although he would have wanted to be the one to save her, he was fine thinking of a way to repay the stray Chavichad knight.

>>217532

Today OP and his knight weren't a faggot.

good shit op, haven't been on 8ch much but I'm glad I came back

Good shit writefag; super stoked to see more adventures

With his heart now pounding from the exertion and adrenaline, he closed the gap to the cottage. He felt his heart sink at the sight of the open door, fearing for what ever happened to anyone inside. Cautiously, he went inside. The interior of the cottage was cluttered with cloth draped furniture. It looked like it was more a store room than a living space. Angry he appeared to have wasted time he turned back to the door. Then a creak of floorboards came from behind him. He then kicked over the cloth table in front of him. Nothing was underneath it. He pulled the cloth off a couch frame. Nothing underneath. As he turned to an old wardrobe, a voice cried out to him.

"Behind you!"

The knight turned around to find another zombie sneaking up on him. They both froze and looked at each other for a moment. The zombie cocked its head with a soft and presumably embarrassed "urrrrr" before trying to lunge at the knight. The knight struck it down cleaving down the middle. This time, the glow in its eyes dissipated. The knight then turned to the source of the cry, a bed frame covered with a cloth. He pulled the white dingy cloth off and hiding underneath was a girl. He hair was a pale shade of blonde, her skin a dull alabaster, and her irises an off light grey. Her white ornate dress was worn and appeared falling apart and an old pearl tiara sat on her head. The knight held up his sword slowly before she waved her hands in pleading.

"Wait Wait! Stay your sword! I'm not one of them!" she cried. "I mean. I am, but I'm not. But, just listen to me! I don't want to harm you!"

The knight lowered his sword slowly, still unsure of what to make of what he's seeing.

"Phew. Thanks. Don't want to die a second time. The first time was bad enough." she said as she crawled out from underneath the bed frame.

The knight was confused. He pointed to the remains of the zombie on the floor, then pointed at her and shrugged.

"Huh? Oh. Uh. Yeah, I don't know either." she said as she dusted herself off. "I woke up with them and they didn't attack me. I honestly can't tell you much. Anyway, why are you here? Even for someone clad head to toe in armour, this place is still dangerous."

The knight pointed back at the zombie then hit a fist into the palm of the other hand. He wasn't sure on what's happening himself, but he did know that now he needed to stop it.

"Uh-huh. Can you not talk, mister?" she asked.

The knight shook his head.

"Oh. Well, this is gonna be weird having conversations." she said with a sigh. "Anyway, my name is Rosaline of house DeMont, youngest daughter of the ruling family of Traigan. And yours? Wait you can't speak. Um, can I just call you Sir Knight or something? I assume you're a knight, right?"

The knight nodded his head. Sir Knight was the common enough name he runs with around people. Besides, it's better than being called reject, helmet boy, or tin can.

"Good. Now, Sir Knight you need to get out of here. This graveyard is not at all safe." she said as she pointed out the window. Outside they could see the many eyes of the undead skulking in the distance. Shortly afterwards, an ear piercing chorus of shrieking came over the cemetery. Rosaline clutched her head in pain as the shrieking continued.

"Here…not safe!" she said, struggling to talk. "Know place…Safer…Follow me!"

As she tried to power through the pain that drilled through her head, she took the knight by the hand and darted out the door. Countless of those shimmering eyes stared out from the mist at the knight and girl as she led him through the cemetery. After a short run past countless headstones, they came to a maze of mausoleums. The girl took the knight into the entrance of one that headed underground down a staircase. Once underground in a chamber with an opened stone casket, Rosaline struggled as she moved the heavy stone door back into place. Once she did, she collapsed to her knees, exhausted and in pain.

"Should be…safer…" she said before falling on her back.

The knight picked her up and away from the stone door and towards the centre of the chamber near the casket. The knight then put her down gently on her back. Her eyes were tired, yet an odd glow skimmed the edge of her dull irises. As she laid on the ground, the knight took a seat leaning against the side of the casket with his sword by his side. Rosaline tried to speak again, but all that could escape her mouth her pained gasps. The knight held up a hand and shook his head to tell her to stop, she needed to rest.

As they were idle in the mausoleum, the knight thought more on what was happening. Vicious zombies prowling the ground above, this girl who herself were a zombie but didn't act or look like the others. It all seemed too odd and without explanation. Even the zombies above ground were confusing. From most stories he's heard about them, they all lacked those glowing dichromatic eyes.

As time passed, the knight started to become restless. Although it is a wise thing to wait and see what the situation brings, he couldn't help but feel the need to do something. Out of frustration and curiosity, he walked over to the mausoleum's stone door and began to open it. The door was tough to move due to its weight and only moved slowly to the side as the knight forced it open. As he did so, a loud metallic clang came from the gap between the door's edge and the frame that made the knight jump backwards. Something metal was wedged in the gap and acted as leverage for what was prying its way in. As the door opened, the knight picked up his sword and stood in front of Rosaline. The door opened and standing in the doorway was a man. He was grim figured with long straight black hair and in a long-tailed black coat. He held an old shovel in his hand that looked very old and abused from use. As the knight stood with his claymore ready, the man scratched the back of his head with his free hand.

"So, uh, are you like some kind of arisen knight I have to take care of now?" the man asked in a gravelly voice. "Cause, uh, I don't think a shovel can do much against armour."

The knight shook his head as he stowed his blade. The man was human, so he was no enemy of the knight.

"Oh. You're a regular guy. That's cool to know."

As the man relaxed, an exhausted groan echoed in the chamber. Rosaline slowly sat up as she rubbed her temples.

"Hey guy, there's one of them next to you. You might want to, you know, take care of it or something." the man said as he pointed at Rosaline with his shovel.

The knight shook his head as he knelt down to Rosaline's side, helping her sit up with a hand on her back.

"Guy, are you sure? She looks just like one of those decrepit assholes outside." he asked.

"Is that how you describe every woman you come across?" Rosaline said as she lazily looked at the man.

The man jolted in surprise. "Woah, that one can talk?"

"I have a name you know." she replied.

"Rosaline DeMont, right?."

"It is Rosaline of hou-oh. How do you know?"

"It's on tomb's door."

"Oh. Right. Of course, the door has my name. Anyway, who are you?"

"Troy Enoch. Caretaker and gravedigger of the place. So if you can talk, can you tell me how all this started? It's been at least a few days of the town being in perpetual darkness and the dead walking. I kinda want to stop that so I can get to work and repair the place."

Rosaline shook her head. "Sorry, I'm not sure either. I only woke up down here and got out to only find those things."

Troy sighed. He placed his shovel on his shoulder with a grunt. "Then I guess I better get back to work and slay some more."

"Wait, you're going around killing them with a shovel?"

"Yeah."

"That's pretty barbarically brutal."

"If you think that's brutal, you should listen to my singing. As soon as this is all over, I'm gonna write a song about shovels and skulls. It's gonna be the most brutal thing the guys at the tavern will ever hear."

A moment of awkward silence settled in the chamber as Rosaline stared at the performer gravedigger. Troy started to turn away with a cough. "Anyway, I should go, looking for something I kinda need."

"Wait." Rosaline said as she steadily got to her feet. "Surely it would be better for all of us if we stay together? Between you and Sir Knight here, you two can easily get through the horde outside."

"I guess." Troy said as he stopped walking up the stone stairs. "But I need to find the mausoleum to Rome Capgue. I know the man is buried around here somewhere, but I don't know exactly where.."

"Wait, I know that name."

"You do?"

"Yeah. It was one of the old mausoleums that were here when I was alive. Assuming that all hat's happened is more tombs were built around it I could take you there."

With that, the knight took that as a sign things were settled. Taking out his sword around, he gave a nod to Rosaline and Troy to tell them he was ready.

"It seems Sir Knight is ready to go." Rosaline said confidently. "Are you ready Mister Gravedigger?"

"I guess." he said. "But I need you two to make a promise. What I'm looking for can get me in some trouble, but I think it's the only sure way to quickly end whatever is happening here. Do you two promise to not rat me out to the church or anything? If you can be tight lipped about this then that would be cool."

"Well, I'm sure if I went to the church I might be turned away or chased off so you have my word." she replied with an uneasy smile. "What about you Sir Knight?"

The sound of being complacent in something that goes against the church didn't sit right with him. However, he was willing to put it aside to end this night of the living dead. After all, he was a knight, not a paladin, he could be much more flexible in his personal beliefs without fear of excommunication. So, the knight nodded.

"Then we're all in this then." Rosaline said cheerfully. "I hope your shovel holds up, it looks battered."

"Don't worry about it." Troy replied. "It shouldn't be a problem for much longer. Let's go."

The three filed out of the tomb and back to the stone paved path that winds between the many stone tombs of the cemetery. Rosaline took the lead as they walked through the claustrophobic network of crypts. As they carried along, the sound of more footsteps, groans, moans, and grunts echoed around them. The knight held his sword ready as Troy carried his dented shovel over his shoulder. Just as expected, zombies began to stumble from on top, between, and out of mausoleums. The knight and Troy stood on opposite sides of Rosaline as the zombies made their sluggish approach.

"Uh, guys? As much as I appreciate the gesture of protecting noble blood such as myself, I don't think they're after me." Rosaline said with a raised finger in objection.

"It's just easier to do things like this." Troy said with a shrug as he held the neck of his shovel with both hands. "Keep walking. Don't want to get stuck and have some guy use my ribcage as a buffet table."

With nervous steps, Rosaline continued to walk along with the knight and gravedigger orbiting around her. The zombies finally came within striking distance as the two circled around Rosaline. With a loud clang and crack of bone, the gravedigger's shovel crushed the skull of a shambling body. A swish and meaty thwack came from the knight cutting through another's head and chest. Bodies fell one after another as Rosaline followed her memory towards Rome's tomb. It was a strange feeling to visibly see bodyguards, of a sort, around her again. It reminded her of her days alive, like the day she ran away from them to go venture in the woods. Also the same day she had that run-in with a mugger. She learned a valuable lesson a tad too late that day; don't stray from you guards, don't grandstand about your noble blood to a mugger, and the sternum and knives don't mix.

As the sounds of the undead kept a low constant ambience behind the pangs of a shovel and the slashes of a sword, Rosaline made due trying to find Rome's tomb. Much time has passed since she was alive as shown by the mausoleum section of the graveyard has become a miniature town in of itself. Despite the rampant build up of tombs, the layout was still roughly the same even if a bit scaled up. The old apple tree next to the tomb of Sir Roger Ferig, the large cross on top of her great grandmother's mausoleum, all still standing and unchanged since whatever many years she's been laid to rest. Standing by itself with a small perimeter of grass around it was a black stone tomb. All of which held within a cage of iron bars. Just as odd and out of place as she remembered, the tomb of Rome Capgue.

"Hey guys, this is the place!" Rosaline said as she waved her hand. She ran up to the metal gate, only to find it chained and locked. "How do we get in?"

"Give me a second." Troy said as he approached the gate. He nudged rosaline out of the way before pulling out a large key chain from his pocket.

Holding an old crooked iron key, he inserted it into the old lock holding the chains. He tried turning the key, but the lock appeared stuck. After fiddling with the key for a few seconds, the loud ear piercing shriek from before filled the air again. Rosaline clutched her head in pain as the knight continued to hold off the growing horde.

"Hurry…Up!" Rosaline yelled with pain in her voice and her eyes flickering with blue and yellow.

Troy then tried to get the key out of the lock, only for it to snap in half inside the lock. He looked at the ruined stump of a key then groaned.

"Fuck this shit."

With his shovel, he bashed the lock as hard as he could. With a small cloud of rust and the crack of metal, the lock fell apart and with the clatter of falling chains. The three then hurried inside the cage of the iron and closed the gate behind them. Troy rushed to the tomb's door and looked around its edges.

"Which way does this open..?" he said as he tried pushing the sides of the stone door.

Then he noticed the small indentations at the bottom the door. It didn't swing or slide open but was lifted. He lodged the end of his shovel at the bottom of the stone and tried to pry it open. As he tried to force the door to budge, his battle beaten shovel finally bid it's last as the neck snapped in two.

"Really?! Now it does that?!" Troy yelled as he held the broken handle. He tried to get a grip on the small holes on the door. Digging his fingers into the stone he began to lift as hard as he can. "Don't just stand there metal head, lend a hand!"

The knight dug his hands in and lifted as hard as he could. The two slowly hoisted the stone door upwards as dust fell from its crevasses.

"Lady, get in!" Troy yelled as he and the knight struggled to keep the door off the ground.

Rosaline staggered forward and ducked under the hanging stone. The metal from the gate creaked as more and more undead pushed against its hinges with arms grasping between the bars.

"Get ready to go inside. Try not to get crushed." Troy said as he slowly moved his hands as he went under the door.

The knight followed his lead and entered, minding not to drop the door on himself. Once on the other side, Troy and the knight repositioned their hands to the edge of the door again. With a quick countdown, the two dropped the door. The loud slam echoed behind them down a dark stone staircase, barely illuminated by the knight's lantern.

"You know, I always wondered," Troy said as he caught his breath, "why do these rich and powerful pricks love staircases in mausoleums so much?"

The knight shrugged. He guessed the people with the most money love to go all out, even in death. The mausoleums back in Chavichad for the richest of nobles were sights in themselves to behold. But Troy was right, this underground staircase business is getting ridiculous.

The two then noticed that Rosaline was nowhere to be found and the only way forward was down. They began to descend and the knight grew anxious. Something about the atmosphere was unsettling. It was as if walking through wind, yet the push was stationary and blew through the body. It was unnerving and threw Troy and the knight into heightened awareness and unease. After a walking down many steps, the two could see an odd blue glow coming from below. As they neared they could see the start of a chamber with a flat stone tile floor and walls.

As they entered, they found Rosaline standing in front of a strange black stone altar. It was covered in blue flame lit candles with an ebony wood case wrapped in chains.

"Hey lady, you okay?" Troy asked as he and the knight approached cautiously.

Rosaline turned around, showing her eyes now had an odd feature to them. The outline of her irises glowed in a steady pink. "Yeah, I'm fine now."

The knight and Troy looked to each other then back to Rosaline.

"But, uh, your eyes. They're kinda glowing." Troy said as he pointed at his own.

"Really?" Rosaline asked a little surprised. "I wonder why. What colour by the way?"

"Pink."

"An acceptable colour. Personally, if I had the choice I would choose teal but I guess that will do." She faced the altar again. "Since getting here I've been feeling better than I have in a while. And yet I can still hear the screaming but it does not pain me."

Troy looked to the knight again, but the knight shrugged. No sound could travel this far underground.

"What screaming?" Troy asked.

"Can you not hear it? I think it's them, calling for something." she replied. "Anyway, any idea what's with this place? I was expecting a stone casket but instead here is this thing."

"Rome you fucker." he said as he walked towards the altar. "All this time that riddle in the family was just for this?"

"Riddle?"

"'When forces unknown attack, look to Rome to fight back.' Some really stupid sounding rhyme that's been in my family for ages." Troy said as he inspected the altar. "Not much was known about him other than mages hated him for whatever reason."

"And who was Rome to you? He's been long dead since I was alive."

"Some far down blood relative that only those in the family who stay in this town care to know the name of."

"So even you don't really know?"

"Listen, lady, I'm following an age-old family rhyme into an ancient tomb with blue fire candles somehow lit in it. Not to mention all of this during a night filled with walking corpses such as yourself. Having something this vague is good enough for me."

Troy placed a hand on the stone altar to lean on, then drew it back with a wince. The palm of his hand had a tiny cut on it, not too deep but still drew a small amount of blood. The small drop of blood on the altar began to glow before a pulse of bright blue lines raced from the altar and up with surfaces of the room.

The three all jumped in surprised as the lights raced under foot. But their attention was soon brought back with the appearance of an eerie female voice.

"I am what men love more than life, fear more than death or mortal strife. What dead man have and rich require and what contented men desire."

The three frantically looked to each other, shocked from the sudden voice.

"So what was that?" Rosaline asked as she looked to the knight.

The knight scratched his head in confusion. Ever since leaving his home he's been getting tied up in more bizarre circumstances, but this is something else. He was just a knight, not some fairy tale protagonist from a drunken bar story. But he guessed this is what happens when you're sentenced to chase a fairy tale that might be real.

"It was a riddle. Solve it and I guess something happens." Troy said as he leant on a wall.

"A riddle? Great. I'm horrid at riddles." Rosaline said as she crossed her arms.

The knight figured out the riddle, it was nothing. But now he had a serious problem, how to convey that to those two. He clapped his hands to gain the two's attention. They both looked to the knight with discerning looks.

"What's wrong Sir Knight?" Rosaline asked.

"What, did you figure out the riddle?" Troy asked as he got off the wall.

The knight nodded, then scratched his chin in thought. He placed a fist on top of his palm, then quickly opened them to show his palms.

"An explosion?" Rosaline asked. "That doesn't sound right."

The knight shook his head. He then pointed to empty space above his flattened palm.

"What? What are you on about?" Rosaline said with a very confused face.

The knight dragged his hands down his metal face in frustration. Troy sighed as he began to walk towards the two.

"Look, we can just find a way to bust open that box without going along with this bullshit. It was probably nothing special anyway."

The lines from before lit up again, but now in a bright red that bathed the crypt in its light. The voice spoke once again.

"Nothing is my name and nothing is where all return."

The metal chains fell from the ebony chest before the chest itself began to creep open. A loud banshee-like wail pierced the air before the chest tilted forward and tumbled to the ground. Once it landed, an audible "ow" came from the box.

Troy turned over the chest and opened it himself. Inside a red velvet casing was a shovel. It didn't look like a regular shovel, it was sinister with a jagged black metal blade and an ebony wood neck braced with just as dark metal. Its handle was black leather strapped between two metal forks holding two clear crystals.

"Brutal"

Troy pulled the grim tool from the chest as Rosaline and the knight looked over with intrigue.

"So all this way for another shovel?" Rosaline asked. "I thought it was supposed to be a weapon. Not to mention it looks gaudy as all get out."

The knight felt somewhat uneasy looking at the wicked spade. It had an aura of malevolence about it that would be best to be left alone.

"As much as I do like the look of this thing, this is stupid. Dammit Rome, you better have something up your sleeve here." Troy said as he clutched the shovel tightly.

The blood from his cut touched the wood of the neck and was drawn from the cut and travelled up the neck of the shovel. The blood split into two streams, pooling into the clear jewels on the handle. With a quiet high pitched hiss, the gems became red in colour. Rosaline and the knight drew closer, noticing that Troy's stare was blank. The knight waved his hand in front of his face while Rosaline nudged his shoulders.

"Hey Mister Grave Digger, you okay?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. Just something felt weird." he replied.

"Then let's hurry up and go. Being stuck down here when extra voices are about is unnerving."

A small chuckle escaped the knight.

"What's he laughing about?" she asked with a pout.

"Obviously you. A zombie complaining about being unnerved from disembodied voices while centuries worth of dead is walking around is pretty stupid." Troy replied as he stood up.

"'Stupid'?! I'm still only a lady and a noble at that! Having to put up with this is ridiculous!" she yelled back.

"Neither of those are an excuse."

"Whatever. Let's just leave. I don't want to hear another of those ghastly wails."

"'Ghastly'? I thought it sounded cool."

"You thought it sounded cool?!" a high and shrill girl's voice yelled excitedly.

The three looked around again.

"See? What did I just say?" Rosaline said unamused.

The knight noticed something odd next to Troy. A shadow slowly formed in the dull red light across the ground. Humanoid in shape, but very obscured and looked as if it was holding the shovel in its right hand. The knight pointed at the black figure and Rosaline and Troy looked. Rosaline gave a shriek in surprise as Troy let go of the shovel. Instead of falling to the ground, the shovel just floated in place. Darkness formed a standing silhouette that somehow solidified into a being.

A petite short woman formed from the solid black. Her hair was the same as Troy's if much longer and her eyes shined a bright crimson. Parts of her naked body were covered in sharp black metal and red membrane. Her arm holding onto the shovel was monstrous, completely covered in that black metal with her hand looking like a demon's claw. She looked to Troy and reached to him with her free and normal hand. She took his hand and stepped in front of him.

She looked up to him with a smile spread wide on her face. "You truly thought I sounded cool?! Rome never complimented me on my wails before!"

"Yeah. It was a pretty brutal sound you managed to make." Troy said, stunned at the small lady.

"And I can get some constructive criticism to boot! Okay, what can I do better? I always thought I get a bit too shrill due to my voice, but I dunno."

"I think next time you need to hold your voice even. Your voice wavered instead of holding the note. But other than that it was good. I could use something like that in my songs."

"Awesome! I'll be more than happy to help master!"

"Wait what?" Rosaline said as she crossed her arms. "Master? Him?"

"Of course!" the girl replied. "He shares the same blood as Rome. Since he gave me some of it to wake me up fully, I am sworn to serve him as his instrument of destruction."

"'Instrument of destruction'? What are you?" Rosaline asked.

With a smile, the girl hopped onto the stone altar again, taking a pose like a showman giving an introduction to a performance.

"Long ago, I was the weapon of the famed dark hunter, Rome the Mage Silencer." she said in a playfully overdramatic voice. "I had many names; The Blade of Witch Bane, Black Mute, and formally The Spade of Siegman! Legendary weapon of Grave Lord Siegman of Sucalibus, the feared Bone King of Hell!"

Silence fell in the room as the three blankly stared at the girl's proud performance.

"Oh, um. You can call me by my old name before I became a weapon. What was it again? Hmmm… What was it? Err. Holly! Yes! My name is Holly." she said before hopping off the altar. "Anyway master, what do you need of me?"

"It's just Troy." he said.

"Okay Master Troy, what do you need of me?" she said with a smile.

"It's just-nevermind. We got a problem outside. Zombies are all around and we need to find a way to get rid of them."

"Have you tried just killing every single one? Wouldn't be the first time I was used to just get rid of canon fodder."

"There is centuries worth of dead. I don't think that would work."

"Fucking lame. Opps. Didn't mean to swear, Rome hates that."

"Go ahead, I don't care."

"Sweet! You're such a laid back master!"

"Ahem." Rosaline cleared her throat. "Perhaps it would be best if we tried to find the source of the resurrections."

Holly turned to Rosaline, carefully looking over her person. She raised her shovel and pointed it at her. "You got a pet one? How did you do that?"

"I'm not a pet!" Rosaline yelled in protest. "I'm Rosaline of house DeMont, youngest daughter of the ruling family of Traigan!"

"A DeMont? Been a while since I've heard that name. And as I can see the bloodline hasn't stopped being self-aggrandizing as usual." she then turned her eyes to the knight.

The knight stared back. Something about her was off-putting as if her clear eyes can see right through him. Holly lowered her arm and cocked her head.

"You. Who are you?"

The knight pointed at himself with a slanted head. He then pointed at the coat of arms on his pauldron.

"Chavichad? Wasn't that a small horse breeding village?"

"Just call him ​knight or something. He doesn't talk." Troy said. "Anyway, we should do what the lady said. We need to find the source of these zombies and kick its teeth in."

"And I might know where to go." Rosaline said.

"Really?" Holly asked.

"Down here, I can hear their calling." she said as she closed her eyes. "Without the screams, well they're still screaming, but I can hear clearly through it."

"You complain about Holly's disembodied voice but you can hear the screams of the dead. What are your prorities lady?" Troy said with a raised brow.

"'Screams of The Dead'. Could make a cool title to something." Holly said while holding her chin.

"Look. From their screams, I could hear something else in it. The calling." she opened her eyes, irises now completely shining pink. "Something, and I think someone, is doing all this."

"So as master said, we kick this person's teeth in. Give me a direction." Holly said enthusiastically.

"Whoever it is, it's calling for the dead to comb the land for something and bring it back." Rosaline said.

"So once again, give me a direction."

Rosaline stood uncomfortable fidgeting with her hands.

"Well? Master and I can't wait forever." Holly said.

"It's home." Rosaline replied.

"What?" Troy and Holly asked.

"I think the source is in Castle Traigan." Rosaline said with a very worried expression.

Holly nodded then walked to the staircase.

"Hey, where are you going?" Rosaline asked.

"To the castle. Duh. C'mon Master, we have work to do and I feel like I need a good warm-up exercise." Holly said with a relaxed hand wave.

"I told you to just call me Troy." he said as he followed.

"Hey wait up!" Rosaline said as she took off after.

The knight took a moment to look about the room by himself. Taking off a gauntlet, he brushed his hand across the wall. It was smooth with raised letterings etched into it. The letterings were not like the common and universal language known as English but looked rune like. The knight guessed magic runes, but he wasn't very knowledgeable about it. The most he had in contact with magic is getting drunk with court magicians and using parlour tricks to amuse bar maidens.

After heading back up the stairs, he remembered he was the only one with a lantern. Part way up the stairs he found the others waiting for him.

"What took you so long light bringer?" Holly asked.

The knight shrugged as he walked past and took the lead. After walking up for a small while, they came across the door again. Troy sighed as he stood next to the knight.

"Well, this will be fun. Up for another go of heavy lifting?" Troy asked sarcastically.

"Hold on master, I can take care of this." Holly said while nudging Troy's arm.

"Really? How can you help here?" Rosaline asked.

"Simple." Holly said as she took Troy's hand and placed it on the shovel. "He'll break us out with me."

"What?" Troy asked as he held the shovel.

In an instant, Holly disappeared in a cascade of shadow, leaving the shovel behind.

"I want you to slowly and carefully take me." she whispered. "Then, strike me against that wall and smash it into pieces!"

Rosaline, Troy, and the knight looked at the shovel unsure of what to do.

"Won't you break if I do that?" Troy asked. "My old shovel met its end by this door."

"I might be centuries old, but I'm not weak. Do it master! Use me to crush this wall and start our crusade of cadaver carnage! Unleash me back into this world as the instrument of terror I once was!" Holly said in bloodlust. "I crave for the sounds of the dark hunt once again!"

Rosaline and the knight were quiet in disbelief of such lust for violence coming from such a girly voice. But then Troy spoke, not in disbelief or disgust, but in respect and awe of her words.

"Fucking brutal."

With that, he took the shovel in both hands, brought it back, then struck. With a mighty clang, the black blade of the spade hit the wall and in an instant, to everyone's surprise, it blasted apart into chunks of rock and dust. Holly let out another wail in excitement as the three walked out of the mausoleum. The chunks of rock dented the metal cage and completely smashed the latch to the gate. All around, the zombies waited for them to return and now shambled towards them.

"Knock knock you walking bone sacks!" Holly yelled goadingly. "Welcome to my grand return to this world! Listen as I play you the percussionist's lullaby for the children of the damned with your skulls!"

The knight drew his claymore as he stood next to Troy, ready for the fight ahead. Troy sighed at once again being called master against his wished, but now wasn't the time to complain. Instead, he played along.

"Alright. Lady, if the castle is where we need to go then stay close. Holly, do as that old rhyme said you would."

"'When forces unknown attack, look to Rome to fight back.' I knew that rhyme I made would come in handy. And Rome thought it would promote power abuse and grave robbery." Holly said jokingly.

"The let me abuse a bit of that power to end this night terror." Troy said as he left the cage with the others following him. Zombies already drew close, surrounding them.

"All of my power is at your beck and call ​master." Holly said courteously. "Now…Let's rock!"

>>220080

>mfw this chapter

This is a pretty good story m8 my only complaint would be the lack of lewd stuff/rape for a monster girl based story. Love the humour by the way did you work on anything else before ? Can you link it if possible?

A whistle came from behind him as Troy walked next to him, carrying Holly in his arms as she gave a tired but happy smile.

"S'up knighty." she said with a weak chuckle.

The knight held his hand in front of her, begging for an answer to her sudden incapacitation.

"She said she's tired." Troy replied. "I don't know how a weapon gets tired but in the mean time she's off her feet."

"Ahehe. I guess I may not be weak but I'm not in shape." she said playfully. "Centuries of no use and then being used to do some heavy magic is pretty tiring. The joys of having a form that allows you to use magic instead of just being a conduit."

"Yeah. Whatever that means." Troy said as Holly rested in his arms.

The knight looked by them to see Rosaline was no longer waiting behind. The knight noticed the sounds of someone walking away down the gravel covered road. It was Rosaline, sluggishly moving away. The knight came behind and placed a hand on her shoulder before turning her around. She gave no resistance as her face showed she was in a tired trance. Her eyes back to being dull grey.

The knight patted both her shoulders with a nod. Dead or not, she looked exhausted.

"Huh? Oh. I'm fine." she said with a faint smile. "Just feel a little weak. Let's go ahead to my home, I don't think we'll be bothered as much along the way."

"Good. Some time for little miss slaughter to get better." Troy said as he walked towards them.

"'Little Miss Slaughter'. Master, does everything you say sound like a good song title?" Holly said with delight.

"Now, where to?" Troy asked.

Rosaline looked towards the castle. Something in her still heart pulled and twisted by gazing at it. It was the calling she could hear, but since coming out of Rome's tomb she felt more compelled to follow. Not out of needing to find and stop the source of this perpetual night, but for some kind of instinctual want. A growing itch that could be scratched if she played along. But only if she could get back to her home. Digging into her memory, she remembered the small mountain trail she took to reach town when she was younger. A tiny dirt path winding down the steep mountain face littered with trees and bush.

"A little further this way," Rosaline said as she pointed towards the base of the mountain, "can't be any more than five or so minutes away to the start of the trail."

The knight then took the lead, walking in the direction Rosaline pointed and shining the way with his lantern. Rosaline matched the knight's pace by his side to guide him as the Holly ferrying Troy trotted behind. Not much time passed till they came to the foot of the mountain. The knight looked at the dense wood with a hardened gut full of unease and tension. Walking into murky woods even with a guide still tugged at his instincts to not do it. But as much as he wanted to hesitate, he couldn't stop following along with tugs the girl beside him gave. Urging him to follow into the cursed looking woods.

As they penetrated the foggy thicket, Holly let out a loud and drawn out yawn. "So how much further till you find this trail?" she asked with a hand over her mouth, braced for another yawn.

"I do think we're getting close." Rosaline replied. "Just keep an eye out. Who knows what's out in these woods."

"Either we find that trail or something finds us that I can smash." Holly yawned again. "Anything to end this boredom. By the way master, you can let me down now."

Troy set Holly back on her feet. With a small stretch, she then walked by her master's side. As they still walked through the forest, flickers of memories went not only through Rosaline's mind, but Holly's. Dark woods in a malevolent night, journeying forth to end the cause of a corruptive force. It's just like old times to Holly. But tonight had a certain presence to it that was too familiar for comfort. Too personal. But as Rosaline walked up to a large tree with a large section covered in vines on its base, a memory popped into Holly's head.

"Huh. This is odd." Holly said as she looked around.

Troy looked to her. "Something wrong?"

"Just kinda felt like I had Deja vu. Something about this place reminds me of Rome." she said as she looked at Troy

"Of Rome?" Troy asked. "What about Rome?"

"I think somewhere like this was the last time I was with him."

"Can you not remember?"

"Only bits and pieces and really important things." she said as she stared out with a forlorn expression. "Some memories of the weapon in hell. Barely anything of the woman who picked up the weapon. My memories after the two met. But everything is fuzzy. Might have something to do with me getting weak after that big spell use or being left alone for gods know how long. All those years left me rusty."

"As much as none of that made sense to me, what about Rome?"

"Oh, um, yeah. On a night like tonight, I think I saw him die."

Silence fell between the two.

"Oh. Sorry to hear." Troy said as he rubbed the top of her head.

Holly smiled. "I wouldn't worry master, it's only memories. Memories can't harm me."

The rip and snaps of vines breaking came from the tree Rosaline was standing at. The knight pulled away a thick curtain of vegetation to show a natural archway in the tree. Rosaline smirked in assurance, knowing that they just found her secret trail to the castle.

"If you two are ready, we can hurry on to the castle now." Rosaline said confidently. "But if you need a minute that's fine too."

Holly chuckled, "You don't need to concern yourself about my thoughts. Lead on, corpse princess."

Rosaline's smirk levelled flat with a huff of irritation. She asked the knight to continue leading on with his light and the group was on the move again. The path they followed was tiny and overgrown with the only tell of being there was the rut of dirt that still remained. The trail hugged to the steepening incline of the mountain, elevating over trees below. Rosaline felt nostalgia walking up this route again, even if she wished it was under better circumstances. Each step on the old trail felt light and even in the damp chill, she felt warm.

The days when she was only a mischievous child looking for adventure in her otherwise well-pampered life came back to her. Breaking her parents' rules of never going out of the castle without guard supervision. Granted she completely understands now, but it was a bad habit that cost her in the end. But as Rosaline held pleasant nostalgia, Holly felt dread-drenched reminiscence.

The scenery that Holly could see over the trees is a mirror image of long ago. A mist filled ​forest. A cold wet night. The feeling of ill intent that crushed her chest like water pressure. Base outlines of that night centuries ago fluttered in her mind, trying desperately to piece themselves again. Backup plans and ways to deal with the aftermath formed a web of thought to catch the stray memories. Whatever she and Rome fought long ago was a dangerous threat that consumed them to deal with. Yet she couldn't remember most of it except graphic details. Two men in a tiny forest clearing. One crawling away, losing a lethal amount of blood. The other laid motionless on his back with a single small hole burned through his coat on top of his chest. Then the crying that faded away to a battered evil cackle.

With her mind distracted, she stumbled and tripped on the uneven trail. Before she started to stagger to catch herself, a pair of hands caught her. The grim and long haired grave digger caught her before she could even fall.

"You okay? Ever since coming here you've been a bit out of it." Troy asked as he placed a hand on her back. "Starting to get a bit worried when our only weapon against the night is not well."

"Yeah. I'm fine." she replied with a dismissive hand wave. "Just thinking on things. Got distracted, my mistake master."

"Right."

The two continued to walk as Troy scratched the back of his head, not satisfied with how his worries concluded.

"Look, uh, I'm not good with things like this." he said with a sigh. "I just dig graves and polish tombstones for a living. But I guess if I'm your master I have to be responsible for you. So if you need to talk about anything, no matter how dark or brutal, you can tell me, I guess."

Holly smiled. "Thank you for the thought master. But I assure you I'm fine. Three strains of memories are odd to untangle, but everything is okay. Trust me master, I'm as sharp as ever, just give me time."

"Then by my order, we're talking later, right? That's how this works right, you do what I say?" Troy asked, unsure of what he's doing.

Holly nodded. "As you wish master."

As they spoke, the knight couldn't help but peer over his shoulder at them, smiling in his helmet. Rosaline nudged him to pay attention to the trail so he didn't slip himself. It was a lengthy journey, but they came to be level with the old castle. Its grey stone walls reached high into the air as the main body of the castle sat beyond it. Buildings with brown tiled gable roofs made a cluster of stone and glass that stood proudly into the sky. Holly whistled as they circled around to the main entrance where a grand wooden door stood.

"Impressive home." she said. "Shame it looks like it's falling to bits."

Rosaline looked to the grand sctructure. "As much as I hate to admit it, it does look like it's seen better days. Does no one take care of Castle Traigan anymore?"

Troy shook his head. "No one has lived there for ages. The family, or your family for that matter, moved out long ago when they gave power of the town to the locals."

"So my name…" Rosaline said as she thought to herself.

"Means nothing." Holly said with a shrug. "Sad but true."

"Thanks for that." Rosaline replied harshly. "Totally not rude to say that after I offered to talk to you about your feelings earlier."

"I don't require anyone's assistance on that except master's." Holly said. "Besides, it's best to not get too hung up on stuff that's happened after your time. Just get on with what you need to do."

"But what do I have to do? I have no wealth nor power to my name. I'm undead and practically a walking relic. Unlike you Holly, I don't have something to go back to when this is over. I don't even know if I'll live, well, if you call this living."

"If you die you go back to your grave, if not you can settle that later. But we can't exactly get to that if you hold up the conclusion of grim little tale any further."

"Oh fine! If you're so eager to…to…t…" Rosaline stared blankly as the yellow and blue shimmer circled her eyes.

Her eyelids slowly fell before falling to her knees with her body limp. The knight stopped her from falling over as she weakly groaned in fatigue. The knight deemed it right to do his fair share of people carrying and so picked up the tired girl. As she lazily hugged him as he held her legs, she whispered a small "Thank you" once resting in his hands. Holly shrugged as she began to walk towards the main gate of the castle.

"Where are you going?" Troy asked.

"Off to kill the disturbance, master." she replied nonchalantly. "This dreary climate is starting to bore me and I would rather have our conversation in the sun or at least under a clear night sky."

Troy turned to the knight, "Well she has a point. The lady will be fine, right?"

The knight nodded then walked forward before Troy followed with a shrug.

With a loud crack and splintering of wood rotted and rusty iron brazed door, Troy lead through the large hole in the large doors with Holly in hand. He let go of the spade as Holly reformed from the forming shadows, walking by his side.

"You would figure that there would be some kind of reception once you knock on the door." Holly said mockingly. "Making your guests open the door for themselves is downright rude."

Rosaline grunted in annoyance of Holly's remark. She eyed the area around over the knight's shoulder. Her heart sank as she found herself in the overgrown and decayed courtyard. Instead of individual flower beds and bushes, everything came together into a mess of out of control vegetation. Ahead of them was the front door to the heart of the castle. The knight and Troy stood hesitantly as Holly waltzed ahead tapped the door with her shovel. To their surprise, the wood doors swayed open with a cringe-inducing creak. Behind the door was an old entrance hall with candles lit inside.

"Wow. That's not foreboding at all." Troy said as he rubbed his forehead. "Nowhere else to go but in I guess. Hey lady, anything to add to this?"

Rosaline feebly shook her head.

"What about you, knight? Want to go into an ancient abandoned castle with the lights still on?"

The knight answered by walking forward into the still and unusual hall. As Holly put it, the night was reaching its conclusion and the knight was eager to reach it. After all, this night has been exciting enough and getting back to quest would be swell. Especially finding that person in town that could read that passage from the ruins.

As the four of them entered through the doors, the entrance snapped shut with unnatural speed that took them all by surprise. Holly looked at the now locked doors and chuckled.

"Looks like we're expected." she said with a wily smile before turning around walking with an exaggerated hip sway. "I hope proper entertainment was prepared. Cheap parlour tricks like that don't cut it for me."

"How can you be so carefree about all this?" Troy asked with open arms.

"You forget what I am master." she pointed at him, still keeping a sly expression. "I am beast of many parts and one of them came from hell. Stuff like this is nothing. If you take up becoming a dark hunter, you'll get used to this."

"Would rather stick to my tombstones. As much as cleaving through all those zombies was kinda fun, I don't want my life on the line more than I need to."

"But it's fun~."

"But I don't want to end up like Rome."

Holly stopped and her smile disappeared.

"Shit. Sorry about that." Troy said apologetically.

Holly sighed and kept walking forward, following the dim candle lit hallway. Troy groaned in frustration as he dragged his hand across his face before catching up. The group followed the hall to a large atrium with doors splintering off in different directions. The group stood befuddled of where to go until Rosaline tapped the knight's back.

"Put me down…" she said faintly.

The knight complied and set her down. With wobbly legs, she managed to stand herself upright. Grasping her head as the strain of balance and walking caused a head ache, she trusted that strange pull to guide her. Following that pull, she walked to a door that was in greater disrepair than the others. Wood rot completely taken the door as large chips and chunks of the door were missing and its hinges rusted completely through.

"Through here…" she said as she tried to push open the door.

After a few pushes, she slumped to her knees exhausted. He arms had no strength to them and her mind felt like a carousel. The knight carried her away from the door as Troy gently opened it. Well, tried to at least. Part way into it creaking open it popped off its hinges and fell to the floor. The area behind it was pitch black and echoed mutterings slipped through the stagnant air.

Troy pointed inside with his thumb, urging the knight to take the lead. The knight sighed to himself as he grew tired of being the portable torch. After helping Rosaline back to her feet and giving her a shoulder, they began the march into the shadows. With what little light they had, they could see that the floors were covered with debris and off-putting darkened stains and streaks. With every step in the black hall, the mutterings became louder. The voice gradually gained clarity with its speech pattern. It's was a man's, somewhat squawking and high that never seemed to stay at the same speed.

Annoying to all who heard it, except Holly. To her, it was petrifying and familiar. Something in that irritating voice strummed a string of worry she didn't even knew, or remembered, she had. But her worry escalated when the content of the mutterings became audible. They reached a slightly open door with a dim green light behind it. Stealthily they entered as they saw a figure standing and talking in front of what looked like an emerald flame in the dark.

"And that's why I would like to thank you. You helped me get over a lot, and I mean a lot, of stress." the man said as he paced back and forth. "Ever since that little incident centuries ago and that new bitch at the head of the society doing her little 'hijack of fate' or whatever, I felt relegated to the sidelines." He picked up what looked like an ornamental knife off a table in front of him. He threw it at something in the dark and was met with a meaty thud. "But then I found that stupid saying and my plans began anew. The look on that pompous woman's face when I show up with an army and kingdom at my feet. So I really have to say thanks for being there for me when I needed it. Providing that support and always listening. But tonight I'm afraid has to be our last little heart to heart, for my plans are to be fulfilled soon."

Rosaline tried to get a better look but accidentally lost her grip on the knight and fell. The room then illuminated with a finger snap as the black robe draped man looked over his shoulder at his guests. Around the room the knight could see shelves full of books and what looked like magic objects and ingredients. The ingredients ranged from plants to beast body parts. But in front of the man in the mutilated mummified remains of body strung up high.

"Haven't you ever heard of KNOCKING?!" the man yelled with crazed eyes.

"We did, but you didn't bother to give a welcoming party." Holly replied.

The man took a long look at Holly, then gave a crooked smile. He began to chuckle that turned into a maniacal cackle. Holly's spine froze stiff as the man laughed to his heart's content.

"Look here jack off, you're the guy that's been causing the mess back in town, right?" Troy asked.

"Is the set up here the tell? I thought this was inconspicuous. Magic yes, but not nefarious." the man replied.

"Body parts and a person torn apart is brutally nefarious to me." Troy said as he cracked his knuckles.

"But seeing as you got here, you must have torn apart quite a few bodies yourself. You can't get mad at me for doing it in a vague surgical manner." the man said with a chuckle.

"Very funny, cretin." Holly said with a voice drenched in spite.

The man laughed again. "You think you have any room to talk here little demwym?"

"Demwha?" Holly asked with a cocked head.

"Demwym. Demi-woman. The arcano-scientific name for 'monster girl' or colloquially 'monster'. The hilarious joke that the long dead god of creation pulled on this world at the start of everything. For being the little sister to old Rome's research partner, you should really know this." the man said with a shrug.

"I'm the little sister to who?" Holly asked with a raised brow. She lifted her spade and pointed it at the man. "Talk. Now."

Another round of delight filled cackles came from the man. "Holly Holly Holly, oh my dear sweet little Holly. Why should I tell you anything if you can't remember the name of Rome's killer?"

"Killer? Are you saying that you-"

"Who else would know your name off the bat like this. Come on dear Holly, use that brilliant brain of yours, or is it lost to bloodlust? Or just lust? Or both? I never bothered to figure you ​demwyms out fully. It's always some joke about some insatiable want for human men and it's always in varying degrees from romance to rape."

Holly's eyes lit with rage as she charged the man, yelling with a desire to maim. Troy chased after her, begging her to stop as the knight picked Rosaline off the floor. With another snap of the finger, a magic barrier stretched across the room in front of the man and runes glowed green underfoot. With a crackle, green arcs of electricity covered the floor, shocking all those on the other side of the barrier. As they fell one by one, crying in pain, Holly sneered as she stared at the man.

"That temper is what got Rome killed you know. You couldn't keep it in check so he faced me alone to make sure I didn't take you. Funny in the end you come into my grasp anyway." he said mockingly.

He revealed a hand from his oversized sleeves as he moved to pull back his hood. His hand was completely skeletal and his face was gaunt with a small well-trimmed beard and moustache. Holly staggered back to her feet, screaming from the pain of the shocking and constricting lightning with eyes shaking.

"You won't take me." she said with grunts of pain. "I belong to my master. And only my master."

"I'll be your master soon enough." the man said with a grin. "Soon I'll be many people's master and show that bitch what a veteran of the society can do. I'll shed this waning mortal shell and become a lord that may never die. Truly a more practical plan than, what was it, hijacking fate. And all I need is you. A mage that can silence other mages would be unstoppable."

With all her strength, Holly dug her weapon into the stone floor with a single thrust. She stared the man down with her furious eyes as red sigils rotated around the embedded spade. After a few second delay, the floor beneath them cracked and crumbled as chunks fell away underfoot.

"Brash as always. But it's not like I didn't expect this." the man said. "We'll meet again soon enough and I'll be ready to claim you. Also, have fun with a rabid zombie that needs to eat. Seriously, why did you let one in with you? It's just gonna tear the rest of you apart. Anyway, have a safe trip."

Finally, the ground below them caved and the area behind the barrier fell. The knight and the others fell with the rubble to a black chasm below, all the while a cackle faded away as they descended. After a few seconds of falling, they met the ground. The force of the landing knocked the wind out of the knight and his body gave into unconsciousness. Right then he wished he landed in cold creek water than hard ground. But in such a situation like tonight, being alive was just as good.

The blackout of consciousness seemed to have lasted shortly to the knight as he slowly awoke in darkness. His head felt like a hangover after a night of partying for the king's birthday. Sluggishly he sat upright and reached for the lantern on his hip. Turning a small knob on the base a few times, the flame inside relit. With the glow of the lantern, he saw that he was in the middle of two large shelves lined with large barrels and bottles. A smell of fruity vinegar and alcohol wafted through the air. The knight knew this smell well. It was a wine cellar. After dusting himself and a quick stretch, he looked around to find that no one was nearby. He even had Rosaline by his side yet she completely disappeared.

He left the aisle he was in and walked to the main corridor of the cellar. Looking around, he could hear nothing besides the creaking of wood and dripping of water of wine from broken barrels. He wanted to call out to see if anyone could respond, but his rules prevented otherwise. Quickly thinking, he instead started to knock on his chest with his gauntlet. To the knight, it sounded loud enough to be heard and hoped someone would respond. He continued his search now accompanied by the echoes of clangs. The knight did feel somewhat sad he didn't have the time to try and find a rare bottle of wine. He would have loved to take a souvenir for tonight that would only last him two days. He was a sucker for good liquors after all.

As he dreamt of fine drinks with a parched throat, he finally heard something out in the darkness. It was a noise he did not know what to make of. It was a sloppy wet sound that repeated in an odd manner. Rhythmic yet somewhat vulgar. Unsure of how to take this discovery, he wearily followed the sound through the dark. Turning down another side aisle, he walked by huge casks that have fallen off their supports and onto their path. Slinking around the casks the sound came closer until he peered around one last barrel. In the dark in front of him, he could something moving on the ground in front of him.

A shiver ran up his spine as he took the lantern off his hip and held it towards the shadows. The light reviled Troy, laying on the ground. He was still breathing, but he was unconscious and his hair was splayed across the floor. The knight only caught a quick glimpse of something hunched over Troy making that slobbering sound. The knight ducked back behind the barrel. He remembered what the man said before they fell, something about a zombie. He placed the lantern on the ground and drawn his claymore. He lightly kicked his lantern across the floor to the middle of the walkway around the barrel. With small steps, he crept around with his claymore held close.

With the light, he could see that the figure hunched over was in a familiar white dress. Nudging the lantern forward, he then saw the pale blonde hair bobbing up and down. He was certain that this was Rosaline but was confused by what she was doing. Peering over one side of her, he could see what she was doing. His face froze. The cause of the sounds wasn't anything serious like a zombie eating someone as he feared, but it was Rosaline performing fellatio on Troy. Her eyes looked she was in a dead trance as she bobbed her head up and down, eagerly sucking and licking on Troy's member.

Troy's face winced in exertion as Rosaline kept her head all the way down for a few seconds. A few audible gulps came from her before she pulled herself away with a gasp of fulfilled relief. Before the knight had a chance to tap on her shoulder, he saw two shining red eyes at the other end of the black aisle. They rushed towards him with the sound of running feet. Instead of coming for him, the owner of the eyes slammed into Rosaline. The white dressed girl bounced off from Troy as her attacker came to the light. On her knees beside Troy was Holly with an infuriated look on her face.

"What the hell do you think you're doing to my master?!" she yelled at Rosaline.

Rosaline looked back with a nervous smile and uneasy chuckle, unable to properly explain her actions as she sat on the ground. To Rosaline, all she was doing was following instinct to feed. With a sour pout, Holly 's eye twinged with anger before she looked to Troy's crotch. She felt challenged of what Rosaline did to Troy. She was sure this kind of situation never happened with Rome since he was always more preoccupied with work. But this sudden territorial feeling gripped her mind in a vice. Then she realised what the man said. The demwyms and their want for men. If what that man said was true, then the feeling made sense and was even justified. No one is allowed to touch her master like that except for her. So in her mind, the next course of action was obvious.

With purpose and a straight face, she lowered herself onto Troy and took him into her mouth. The knight gave an unamused sigh as he walked around the barrel once again, distancing himself from the lewd discourse. As he walked towards a wine rack and pulled out a vintage intact bottle, he could hear Troy yelling after waking up. Followed by Rosaline and Holly fumbling to explain what happened. With no corkscrew handy, the knight smashed the neck of the bottle off. Raising his visor, he took a sip of the wine. From the taste, he could tell it was a fine and sweet port with a smooth grape flavour.

The sip turned to a chug as he drank through half the bottle. He stopped himself, trying to make sure he didn’t make himself drunk for whatever laid ahead. As much as he was good at keeping his drink, port always was a weakness to him. Troy came around the corner, still fastening the buckles of his belt with a distraught expression as he walked up to the knight.

"Hey, knight, did you see what those two were doing to me?" he asked.

The knight shook his head. He did know, but discussing what happened seemed way too silly for him right now. If this was a night out on the town, then he would be more eager to hear. Always a time for work and play he believed.

"Really? They both just said they gave me a blowjob in my sleep! Did you really not see them? If you did you could have at least sto-"

The knight shoved the bottle of wine onto Troy, urging him to take a drink. He didn't feel like listening to someone complaining about something that harmless when a magic madman is up and about. Troy sighed as he took the bottle and finished the last half. After a gasp and tossing the empty bottle aside, Holly shyly came around the barrel.

"Hey, uh, master?" she said while avoiding eye contact with Troy. "She passed out again."

Troy gave a small burp before giving a dismissive hand wave. "I'll drag her over and wait by until she awakes, I guess." He began to walk by Holly and around the corner. "You and the knight can keep watch on the other end of the hall."

"Hey master," Holly said with a meek voice, "are you mad at us?"

"I'll think of a proper response for what happened when the dead die again." he replied. "Just keep watch with the knight."

Holly sighed, "As you wish, master." Before stepping away with the knight, she gave a giggle. "'Dead Die Again'. That's another good one."

Troy exhaled deeply before giving a slight smile. "Yeah. I guess it is."

>>224696

Your style of writing reminds me of Ace.

The lengths of this update certainly does as well.

Good shit, Keep it up friend.

Both grills after the gravedigger.

Damn, I was hoping Mr. Knight had finally struck someone's interest. Even if he still had a quest to finish.

>>224974

Don't worry anon. The story is only young.

The knight put the book back into his pouch before a clang came from his side. Holly slumped to the ground, letting her shovel hit the floor as she sat next to the wine rack. The knight squatted down and shook Holly's shoulder.

"I'm fine…" she said unconvincingly. "Or not. I don't know. Have you ever had a moment where you see something and it just jogs your memory?"

The knight nodded.He figured that was a natural occurrence to everybody.

"Well, during one of the later pages you wrote down inscriptions. I can remember them being from a very ancient language. I would know cause I studied them. Well, old Holly did. I helped Rome and my, I mean her, older brother research it. Don't know what a single bit of it means, but I remember more of who Holly was. Naive and eager to help. Wanting to follow her older brother's and Rome's footsteps. Guess she got her wish in a way by picking up Black Mute."

The knight felt hollow listening to this. This didn't sound like Holly at all, it was too sullen and retrospective. He'd much rather have her usual wisecracking violence loving self.

Holly sighed as she stood up again, "Dammit. I shouldn't really be discussing this with you, I promised master this talk. Memories are just memories, right? They can't harm me. I'm a silencer of magic after all and I still have that bastard murderer to kill tonight. He is not going to get away with what he's done. Not tonight or ever again."

The knight then saw her face. It bore a neutral expression, yet tears streamed down from the corners of her eyes.

"Do I have something on my face?" she asked with a raised brow.

The knight pointed to the corners of her eyes. With her normal hand wiped away the tears with a confused look on her face.

"Tears? Why the hell would I be crying?"

Her words echoed inside the knight's hollowed heart as he clutched a fist tight. As much as he would want to help, she was right. This wasn't his discussion to have. This was something for Troy and Holly and figure out as by Troy's command. To get in the way of such a thing would be obtusely intrusive and rude. More than likely breaking his third rule due to coming between an intimate conversation such as that. He got his answer as to why she was upset, but it's not up to him to decide on what to do with her.

A small clatter of metal and footsteps came from the other end of the aisle. The light came closer towards the knight and Holly, showing the man holding the lantern and the woman by his side. There stood Troy and by his side an invigorated Rosaline. No longer looking as if she was ready to be put back in her tomb, but stood strong with a smile.

"You look a lot better, corpse princess." Holly said as she placed a hand on her hip. "So, would you like to cut to the chase and start this fight about you touching my master? I would love to start up where we left off."

There was the violence craving that the knight wanted back. Although he did wish she directed her towards someone else other than Rosaline.

"H-Hold on!" Rosaline said as she held up her hands. "You didn't give me a chance to explain properly!"

"Then go ahead." Troy said as he handed the lantern back to the knight. "I would like a clear explanation to why both of you were sucking my dick while I was asleep. And this time, don't scream at each other."

"But you were the one screaming master…" Holly said shyly.

"No screaming. Now, lady, can you tell me why you gave me a blowjob?" Troy asked.

Rosaline nervously rubbed the back of her neck. "Well. I just kinda followed instinct on that one." She chuckled weakly.

"'Instinct'? What kind of excuse is that?" Troy asked.

"I dunno! Ever since getting out of the cemetery I was feeling weaker and weaker and this voice in my head kept telling me to feed. I just, did what it said." Rosaline replied.

"A zombie that sucks dick instead of eating brains. What?" Troy asked with a dumbfounded face.

"How am I supposed to know?" Rosaline asked with a shrug. "It's not like I would do something so vulgar on a whim. I was compelled to do it from something within me and was worsened with those headaches."

"Wait." Holly said calmly. "I think I can explain this."

Everyone looked to Holly.

"Remember what that man said to me? A demwym? And demwyms have an attraction to human men? Well, I think that explains why she did that. It's her nature to do that." Holly said.

"Wait, doesn't that mean that applies to you?" Rosaline asked.

"Naturally." Holly said with a flick of her wrist. "And to be fair, I used that line of thinking to justify doing what I did. Sorry master."

"So you're both basically monster girls if we go by what that jack off said?" Troy asked as he scratched the back of his head.

Holly nodded before a low rumble rolled through the cellar. In the distance, they could hear the faint screams that they heard back in the cemetery. Rosaline turned her head to the source of the screams as her eye glowed pink.

"Whatever that man is doing, I think he's finishing up." Rosaline said with concern.

"Wait, you can still listen in on those screams?" Troy asked.

"That I can. I guess since I was awoken the same way as them I'm still linked to the source. That source being that man and his commands." Rosaline said as she motioned everyone to follow her. "It's the same as in Rome's tomb. I'm unbound yet still tied."

"So you can point us in the right direction?" Holly asked.

"I can do better. I can take us right to that man." Rosaline said with a confident grin. "Now let's hurry."

With Rosaline and the knight in the lead, they rushed through the dark of the cellar. Their footsteps loudly echoing around them as Rosaline took them around aisle and corridor to the main door to the cellar. Boarded up and blocked, Holly and Troy stepped forth to do provide their key. Rosaline and the knight stepped aside as Troy took Holly into his hand. With a mighty swing, the door and its boards flew apart and to the ground. On the other side of the door was a lit hallway. In that hallway stood creatures made of mismatched bones. Skulls of large animals, ribcages of men, horse hind legs, and arms and claws of bears. The mangled beings of bone all were held together by moving strands of blue and yellow. The strands covered them like vines and all entered the eyes of the skulls, making them solid lights of the two flickering colours. The all noticed the group and began to walk towards them, their joints sickeningly creaking as they walked. The knight drew his sword, ready to fight the abominable creatures.

"What are those ghastly things?!" Rosaline asked with a flinch.

"Shambles huh? Master, these guys are a bit tough than the meat bags we slaughtered before." Holly said. "Takes a little more to keep them down."

"So what do we do then?" Troy asked While holding up the shovel. "They're just bones, can't we just, you know, break them?"

"When they can't fight back. Master, stab me into the floor like you're trying to dig." Holly said.

"What? Is this another one of those magic things you can do?"

Holly giggled, "Perhaps. Go ahead master. They know we're here and there is no point in letting them have us so easily."

With a shrug, Troy followed Holly's instructions. Despite the floor made of stone, the spade's blade sank through it just like loose soil. An array of yellow square sigils spread out perpendicular to Holly along the floor. Then a grid of yellow lines reached along the floor, going under the feet of the shambles that crept closer.

"Dig up the floor master!" Holly yelled in excitement.

Troy did as instructed. To his surprise, the stone he pierced into gave way and cracked out of the ground. But to everyone's shock, it did not stop there. After the first chunk of stone was pried from the ground, a growing wave of shifting and crumbling stone rolled forth. It produced a hellishly loud noise akin to a landslide and was just as dangerous. The shambles in the waves wake were flung and smashed by the moving wall of shattered rock. The wave only lasted for a few seconds before collapsing in on itself with a clatter. The shambles were tossed apart, laying on the ground with limbs separated but crawling back to rejoin.

"While they're on the ground! Smash their heads in!" Holly yelled.

The knight and Troy ran forward towards the crippled monsters. With each swing of the shovel and sword came a beat of shattering bone and the hiss escaping magics. With every fallen shamble was more mana stolen and given to Holly. All the more ammunition for her to use against the murderer of her former master. With the threat of the looming shambles eliminated, resurrected guardsmen littered the halls. They walked with their old and broken swords in hand and rusted tatters for armour. The knight took the lead against the armoured foes.

Rusted ​swords meant nothing to a knight in decently kept armour. The undead performed their maddening screech before they charged towards the knight. As they came, the knight began swinging. Head after head flew off into the air as the zombies desperate tried to harm him with their decrepit weapons. Every strike they landed on the knight bounced away before the knight parted their heads from their shoulders. As each head flew, they were immediately swatted by Holly and Troy, flying towards the walls with fleshy thuds and cracks.

Cutting a path through the leather armoured horde, the group found themselves at an intersection of four hallways. Immediately Rosaline took the lead down the right-hand hallway. The lighting dimmed as the regular flames of candles appeared to lose their brightness. Rosaline could feel the man coming close and so did Holly. They came to another large door in an antechamber. Rumbling and the feeling of crushing power surrounded them. Rosaline walked to the door and placed her hand on it.

"He's through here. I can feel it." Rosaline said, her voice laced with severity.

Holly reformed herself and walked to her side. "I can as well. That magic is ridiculous; he must be close to finishing his plan. I can't believe it."

"You can't believe what, exactly?" Troy asked. "You sound like you know what he's going to do."

"That's because I might do." Holly turned around to face Troy. "I remember things master. This is what Troy died for to keep from happening. All those plans, pretty stupid how none of them meant nothing in the end."

"So what did he want?" Rosaline asked. "I remember somewhat of what he said before. Something about losing his mortal form?"

Holly covered her mouth with a look of worry. "He never got far into his plan last time. But to think he managed to pull this off…"

"Then we'll just have to finish what you and Rome started a long time ago." Troy replied. "I'm not letting this asshole ruin my home any further. Not to mention thanks to him my workload just increased a fuck load."

The knight nodded with Troy's sentiment. Letting this man carry on with his plans for a moment longer was a danger to everyone. Not to mention it was time he was brought to JUSTICE for what he's done to Holly long ago.

Holly smiled. "Thank you, master." She turned around to face the door again. "Time for you to die, murderer."

"Can you still not remember his name?" Rosaline asked.

"I can now. But that bastard's name doesn't deserve to leave my lips. Not now, not ever." Holly coldly replied as she kicked the door.

The heavy wooden door swung open to a pitch-black chamber. The knight and Troy walked in first to darkness. Nothing was visible outside of the small radius of lantern light.

"Hey lady, do you know exactly where we are?" Troy asked.

"I think the old private burial chamber under the castle." Rosaline said as she tried to look around.

"Not even my sight can pierce through pitch black. Watch yourself master." Holly said as she stuck close behind Troy.

They walked to what seemed like near the middle of the chamber, yet they still saw nothing.

"You're sure that he's in here?" Holly asked as she turned back to Rosaline.

"Positive. You can feel it too, right? From outside to in here, that presence has gotten stronger." Rosaline replied.

"Then we must be right on top of him." Holly said as she looked to her shovel.

"And how right you are!" a man's voice yelled through the dark.

A loud finger snap was followed by belches of fires coming to life in basins around the stone chamber. With the new light, the group could see many coffins lined around them in a circle. They were open and filled with an oily looking substance, submerging the corpses below the rainbowed surface. In front and away from the group outside the circle was the skeletal handed man in front of an unlit basin.

"Welcome to my final victory. Now, you two in front, why not hang around for a while?" the man said with another snap of his fingers.

From the descended two long chains of mismatched spines. They whipped around Troy's and the knight's legs and hoisted them into the arm. Holly and Rosaline were brushed away by the spines before they lifted off with their captives.

"Set us down you half dead jerkass!" Troy yelled.

The knight tried to wrench the spines free but they were as stiff as rock.

Holly immediately hopped back to her feet. She made no delay to charge at the man. The wafted his hand and a wall of magic runes flew forward. It swatted Holly back to the centre of the room next to Rosaline. With a clutch of his hand, a box of the sigils formed around the two.

"And with that, I have won." he said with a smug smirk. He began to chuckle that soon turned into his horrid cackle. "Tonight after centuries of experimentation and planning, I've done it! And all is thanks to that line passed down Rome's family. Tonight, I, Koshei of Rothsoros will take my claim as a king!"

"Koshei? That's a stupid name." Troy said disappointedly. "Anyway, what the hell are you exactly planning?"

"My ascension of course!" Koshei replied. "It's hard to maintain myself to the mortal coil and parts of myself had to give way to the ravages of time. Tonight, I split myself from the limits of the flesh! I will become immortal!"

"Seriously, what the fuck are you on about?" Troy asked with an unimpressed stare.

"Idiot! Isn't it obvious?!"

"No, it really isn't. I'm just a grave digger, I don't know magic bullshit like you do. Holly might know, do you, Holly?"

Holly propped herself onto a knee. "Yeah…He's going to turn himself undead."

The man clapped his hands and pointed. "As astute as ever. Using the bodies of dead nobles and this elaborate ritual, not only will I turn, but become something of great power. And with you separated from you master, you have no way of silencing me. Lichdom awaits me! And afterwards, I shall rip Black Mute from your form my dear, sweet, Holly."

With a showman like splay of the arms, the basin in front of him lit with a green flame. One by one the other fire basins in the chamber turned green with the light dimming. A large intricate sigil on the floor of the room shined bright white. Runes and diagrams connected all the coffins together and the oily substance's surface erupted in a stark red flame. Rosaline opened her eyes to the bright white running under her, feeling weaker than before. She couldn't lift herself off the ground and the glow of her eyes disappeared. Koshei's smirk widened to a crazed smile as he began to recite an incantation.

"Aem enrac ed maem mamina sirbenet saipoc." He then took out a small iron crown that looked like swirling vines from his cloak. On the front was a small symbol. A circle with bull horns. In the middle onyx surrounded by rubies and a diamond held between the horns. He placed it on his head as he continued. "Auteprep muinircs da eragilbo em acifiviv aem amina. Tivaloiv sitatsetop silauqea oge sotsi ihim. Aem otcepxe te!"

The fires from the coffins flared and grew taller before taking to the air as if a wind carried them. The torrents of fire swirled and collected before dashing towards Koshei. The fires went through the green flame in the basin, turning into the same colour. The fires hit Koshei and swallowed him in a pillar of fire. The man yelled in pain and surprise as the fire took him, but soon turned to maniacal cackle. As his flesh burned and lifted away to ash, bone remained. As he went through his gruesome transformation, a whisk of flame flew astray and away from the basin. The red stream flew its way to the middle of the room and to Rosaline. As she felt herself becoming weaker as if her spirit was being pulled away from her, the fire pierced the magic walls and covered Rosaline.

Holly moved to the furthest wall as Rosaline convulsed on the floor. From her mouth and eyes, the blue and yellow mana left as fire completely covered her. After a few seconds of both her and Koshei being set aflame, the fires died out in an instant with a whoosh. Rosaline laid on the ground surprisingly unscathed, but behind the basin stood a monster. Green fire lit the sockets of a skull, and tendrils of distorted light waved from the diamond of its crown. It looked at its hands, both now skeletal then touched its face. After a few badly contained laughs, it laughed loudly in victory.

"It worked! I am one bone short of a ribcage! Ahahaha!"

Holly looked on in horror. A sense of hopelessness and despair she didn't know filled her core. The outcome that Rome gave his life to stop and what she was sealed away to prevent if the threat ever returned. She felt lost. Out of the reach of her master, she had no way of using her powers.

"Now then, with the tossing off my old mortal garb, I think it's time to get on with the next part." Koshei said. "Let’s shed that weapon of its fleshy component."

The knight and Troy flailed trying to loosen themselves from their bone bindings.

"Don't you dare touch her you ivory dildo!" Troy yelled.

"Oh, so you care for the little demwym? it's not smart to get attached to tools you know?" Koshei said sarcastically.

"Holly, get up! Break down that box and kick his ass!" Troy said as he looked to Holly.

Holly sat on her knees, silent.

"Even she knows the game is over little grave digger. And no knight in shining armour can save you." Koshei said with a chuckle. "Don't worry, I'll kill you and that knight quickly and you can exist as underlings to me."

As Koshei laughed to himself, Rosaline stirred on the ground. She felt her strength return to her, but her mind felt different. She felt completely severed from the forces that pulled at her all this time. Rather than burning partially on something else's will, she felt a fire in herself regain control. He eyes glowed their bright solid pink as she stood to her feet. Koshei stopped laughing as he saw her standing behind Holly.

"What th-Who are you? What are you doing here?" he asked. He sighed before holding out his hand. "Just another zombie. How did you follow them so closely and not get killed?"

Holly smiled. She chuckled as she rose to her feet before laughing uncontrollably.

"What are you laughing about?" Koshei asked.

Holly wiped a tear from her hearty laughter from her cheek, then gave Koshei a smug smile. "You said before that you didn't bother to read too much into demwyms, but I think that has cost you. When one performs a self-spreading mass reanimation, the initial mana expenditure is huge. Huge enough to not only cause controlled animation but autonomous animation. And thanks to that so-called 'prank' the creator god made, you now look at the result of when too much goes into one vessel."

"So you remembered a bit more of the knowledge that was lost to you. So, what?" Koshei asked blankly.

"You may have made yourself a monster, but you also made a monster girl. And with that you made your death nail."

The fires in Koshei's eyes flared as he pieced together what she meant. "Impossible! You don't mean-"

"Damn right I do! Tonight, I will splinter your bones and grind them to dust! Your existence ends tonight!"

Holly then handed herself to Rosaline. Rosaline looked at her confused. "Holly, what do you-"

"Look, I might not like you a lot for touching master, but his life is on the line." Holly said as she placed the neck of her shovel into Rosaline's hand. "For a brief time being I'm going to allow you to wield me. You are going to be the one to help me crush his skull and end it all. What do you say, corpse princess?"

Rosaline shook her head, "B-But I'm not a fighter! A lady never has t-"

"Just shut up and start swinging." Holly said as she disappeared inside the shovel.

Rosaline stood there with confused expression as Koshei stared right at her.

"Never thought I would have to get this serious." Koshei said. "Corpses won't do, I'll require outside help. Serotpmeder sartsev te tagetorp ,inger sinretxe ba inimod roruf tse atargined!"

With a raising hand, black portals opened on the ground in front of him. From them came creatures covered in black tar and off yellow eyes. None uniform in figure with writhing limbs and tentacles. The staggered towards the magic box as Troy yelled from above.

"Don't just stand there lady!"

Rosaline clutched Holly tightly and took a deep breath. She wasn't a warrior or a knight or a mage, she was only a noblewoman. But right now, she needed to become something a bit more than a noblewoman. Besides, she was dead anyway and that title meant nothing now. It was now or never. With swing of the spade, she struck the sigil-covered wall. After a second of the spade pushing against the mostly invisible surface, the wall crumbled like glass. Rosaline faced the tar covered monsters with worry before Holly spoke.

"Just keep swinging. You can leave important magic stuff to me but just don't stop swinging."

With her words filled with sincerity, Rosaline believed her.

"Besides, you're dead anyway, what's the worst that can happen?"

That comment would normally irritate her but instead eased her thoughts before she charged the first of the monsters. As she swung down with at her first target, a white sigil circled on the back of the spade. As the ebony metal connected with the viscous body, it froze as frost spread through its body. Rosaline looked at it amazed.

"H-Hey! Don't just gawk at my ice sculpturing, finish it off!" Holly yelled with urgency.

Rosaline broke her stare and followed Holly's order. With another swing, the monster smashed apart in a cloud of frost. Another monster's tentacle grabbed Rosaline by the leg and dragged her. With a yelp, she was pulled across the floor towards the tar dripping creature. When she drew close she stabbed the creature through a cluster of its yellow eyes. It gave a disturbing shriek as it froze alive. Rosaline then broke the frozen tentacle that gripped her and shattered the rest of the beast.

Koshei grew infuriated at the uselessness of his summons. He looked to Troy and the knight who were cheering on as his minions fell. He had enough and thought that his captives outstayed their welcome.

"If you're going to be rude and cheer on the deaths of my servants, then it's time you see door." Koshei said as he held up both of his bony hands.

Grey sigil circles formed and rotated in front of his hands as he pointed towards Troy. Rosaline saw this out of the corner of her eye and ran towards him, smacking anything that stood in her path.

"Have fun in the next life, grave digger." Koshei said with a sinister monotone voice.

"No you don't!" Both Holly and Rosaline yelled as Rosaline jumped in front of him.

A burst of grey lightning shot from the lich's hands before colliding with the blade of the shovel. The lightning continued to strike the blade as Holly laughed.

"That's all I needed."

Multiple red sigils formed out from the spade's blade, forming what looked like a box with four outgoing spines.

"Hold on tight princess, this will take a bit out of me and you."

Koshei yelled in panic as he broke his hands-free. The absorbed lightning turned to green flame as it was pulled from Koshei's eyes.

"Stop it you fool! Not even you can absorb that much mana!" Koshei yelled desperately.

His strength was completely eaten away as he had no choice but look at the rotating red sigils. The tar creatures returned to their portals and the spines that held Troy and the knight fell apart and dropped them. They landed on the ground with a thud and clang. As the green flames were ripped from his eyes, it pooled into massive ball of fire on the moving cradle of red magic.

"Hey Holly, how exactly do we get rid of all this magic?" Rosaline asked.

"I'm not gonna lie to you here, I don't know." Holly replied. "I can only hold on to so much due to being tied to a second form and I think Rome held onto special crystals to store excess stolen mana. Even with the stockade of mana I used to perform this, that ball is still too much for me."

The stream of fire tapered off to a halt as the lich staggered forward. As he moved, bones began to fall off him and land on the floor with a rattle. He eventually tripped and fell to the ground with a clatter. His crown wearing skull rolled on the floor and stopped with mouth agape.

"If it's a mana store you want…" Rosaline said under her breath. She then lowered the shovel then lifted as hard as she could. She sent the ball of fire went flying into the air.

"Idiot! What do you think you're doing!?" Holly yelled.

Rosaline tossed the shovel aside and away from her. "Snuffing out the candle."

The green fireball landed back down on Rosaline, consuming her in a column of fire. Holly reformed herself and reached out a hand with fright in her eyes.

"Rosaline!"

As the fire persisted, something strange happened. It changed colour. Creeping from the bottom up it changed to pink. A shadowed figure stood in the middle, its head tilted up looking to the ceiling. After a few seconds of the fire persisting, it died down as it settled on the figure's body. The fire covered body looked to its hands before the flames finally sizzled out and from it stood a woman. In an elegant and slim dress of clean white with a grey puffy spiked fur collar. Her long cascading hair a pale blonde, skin pale grey, and her eyes pink. A pristine pearl tiara rested on top of her head. Holly stood up and approached the woman. The woman turned to Holly. The lower sections of her arms engulfed in a translucent pink in the shape of four digit claws.

"Rosaline is that you?" Holly asked cautiously. "Wait, there's a way I can figure this out. I fly like a bird but not in the sky, that always swims and always dry. Say goodbye at night and morning hi, I'm part of you, what am I?"

The woman looked at Holly with a perplexed expression as she held her chin in a ghostly claw.

"You know I'm not that good at riddles." she said with a sigh. "Is it your presence? I don't know."

Holly rushed towards her and took her into an embrace.

"You fucking idiot! I thought that would have killed you!" Holly said with tears welling in her eyes.

Rosaline smiled as she hugged the sobbing scared girl back. "I didn't think you cared about me this much to cry like a child. I figured following your logic of not having anything to lose held up here." She looked over to Troy and the knight groggily picking themselves off the ground. "Besides, what's the bigger tragedy? The end of one life that has already ended or three that still have much to live for."

"Still doesn't mean you have to do something that reckless and impulsive!" Holly angrily said with her head nuzzled in Rosaline's bosom.

"How hypocritical." Rosaline stroked her hair. "I learned from the best on how to act as such."

A weak and pained cackle came from the skull of Koshei. Holly and Rosaline looked to the moving skull. They parted their embrace and walked towards it. To their surprise, the Koshei was still alive. Even with all his magic drained from him, his soul stilled allowed his skull to speak.

"So. How is the power you stole, girl? Taking away my lichdom and turned yourself into a wight." Koshei said with struggle. "I hope you make good use of it, knowledge and all."

"I may some know things now, but I will never abuse that knowledge like you planned to." Rosaline said sternly. "I have no interest in such evils."

"Then it was all for nought. In the end, that woman has gotten the last laugh from me. Showed up again by that high-status upstart." Koshei said with a lamenting chuckle. "Maybe she will prevail where I failed and claim the land for all in the society."

"It's time you faced whatever punishment in hell awaits you." Holly said as she held up her shovel. "If you see Bone Lord Siegman, tell him his old weapon sent you and that it has a name now. And that name is Holly."

With a thunderous clang of metal and the crack of bone, Koshei's skull was smashed to pieces. The crown it wore flattened and its diamond cracked. The light distorted tentacles that reached from the gem dissipated and with it, the nightmare ended. Holly unleashed a wail that was more akin to a war cry than the playfulness of before. Steady in tone with no wavering pitch, just like Troy instructed. Troy and the knight groaned as they finally rose to their feet. Holly and Rosaline rushed to their sides to help them stand.

"Easy master." Holly said as she steadied Troy.

"Don't rush your steps." said Rosaline as she leant the knight a shoulder. "Now let's get you all out of here."

Troy rubbed his forehead, "Yeah, lets."

The knight nodded as well before eyeing the Koshei's crown. With Rosaline’s help, he walked over and looked at the corpse of the villain. The symbol on the crown rang bells in the knight's head, but couldn't remember why. Out of caution, he took out his book and sketched the appearance of the symbol.

"I can understand your weariness Sir Knight." Rosaline said. "Knowledge on some magic isn't the only thing I stole from him. That symbol is a calling card of corruption. I hope you don't face it again."

Her words made the knight feel uneasy with apprehension. He nodded again and joined back with the others. Following Rosaline's memory, they made their way out of the castle and back to the front courtyard. The sky above was no longer shrouded in dense cloud and the mist has vanished. A clear night sky shined above with a bright crescent moon, illuminating the land below. A sigh of relief came from everyone as they gazed at the starry sky above.

"I didn't think I would miss the boring old night sky so much." Troy said with a smile.

"Rest by moon break. Thank the gods it's over." Rosaline said.

"'Rest by Moon Break'. Master, I think that would make a good title." Holly said as she smiled at Rosaline. "Maybe not brutal enough for your tastes master, but it's still nice.

Troy nodded and the four of them left through the front gates of the castle. With the night finally placed on its timely track once again, the four of them ​travelled down the mountain path. The sound of nocturnal wildlife came back and gave the walk a calmness that was much needed. Holly felt free of burden, feeling content with her thirst for revenge sated and in the possession of a capable master. Even Rosaline felt happy that everything was over but still felt lost. She was a sort of remnant, a loose end of the events of the past few days. Nowhere to go and nothing to do.

They reached the main road to the town and the sounds of townsfolk talking and bustling around. The four walked into Traigan to find a large mob of townsfolk surrounding a small group of people in the middle. While the others couldn't see past the wall of heads, Rosaline could feel who was there. So she ran towards them, parting the crowd. The knight, Troy, and Holly chased after her, turning the heads of all they passed. Rosaline broke to the centre of the crowd and there stood a small group of scared zombie girls. They were afraid of the yelling and pitchfork wielding crowd, huddling together in fright. The town's mayor lead the persecution as he walked towards one of the girls. Rosaline ran herself between him and the cowering girl.

"Another one?!" the man asked in surprise.

"You will not harm these innocents!" Rosaline yelled in protest. "They have done nothing but cower during the night!"

"Yeah! Please listen to her!" a red-headed girl begged. "We just hid while those things ran amok!"

"Please, we don't want to hurt anyone!" another said.

"Oh yeah? How can we trust you?" the mayor asked. "You have glowing claws for Pete's sake."

Rosaline looked at her hands and concentrated. With a whisper, the claws disappeared.

"See? I mean no harm and neither do these girls." Rosaline said.

"Why should we believe you? A magic dead person coming out of nowhere to defend the last of the zombies screams something's wrong. For all we know you're behind it." the mayor said with the crowd agreeing.

"Because she isn't the one behind it." Troy said before he to Rosaline's side. The knight and Holly followed.

The crowd gossiped in shock to see the grave digger still alive. They also chatted among themselves wondering who the man in armour was and more importantly, what that demonic looking girl was by them.

The mayor recoiled in shock. "Troy?! I figured you would be among the first to die in the crisis since they came from the cemetery."

"It will take more than that to kill me. I still got my music nights at the tavern to do." Troy replied. "As I was saying, she isn't the one behind it all. In fact, she and another killed the person who was."

"Another? Who? That knight or…or…What the devil is that?" the mayor asked as he looked at Holly.

"Her name is Holly. Those two women are the people who killed the man who started this mess." Troy said.

"Bullshit! They are all under a spell! Just kill them!" a preacher said as he walked forward with a pitchfork in hand.

The knight walked towards him and drew his sword. He may have been a soldier and a god fearing man, but more unnecessary killings with him around are unacceptable. He was sure as hell to not let some faggot like this start another killing spree on innocents. Undead or not, the death-dealing stops tonight.

"Wait, what's that coat of arms on that knight's pauldron?" the mayor asked.

"Him? He's from Chavichad." Holly replied.

"A knight from Chavichad?" the mayor said in surprise. "You there! Lower your weapon! In fact, everyone do the same!" The mayor walked up to the knight. "A black cat and a white rabbit came through here a while ago and saved many of my people from the horde. They left a while ago when the sky cleared up and the dead fell. The cat told me to look out for a knight from Chavichad. Spoke highly of you. Now, if the heroes of my town say that you're good, can I take your word that these people are trustworthy as well?"

The knight nodded. A wave of relief washed over him to know that somehow that black cat crossed his path again in a way. Not to mention in a lucky way.

"That's good enough for me. I trust you know what to do with these stragglers then." the mayor said as he motioned for the crowd to disperse. He then walked back to Troy. "I hope to see the mess cleaned up soon. I'll make sure you're well compensated for the work to come and what you did tonight. Take care son."

"Yeah. Thanks, boss." Troy said before the mayor walked off.

The crowd reluctantly faded out, leaving the knight and the others in the middle of the street. The girls talked among themselves, confused about what's happening.

"Excuse me miss." one of the girls asked as she tapped on Rosaline's shoulder. "Thank you and your friends for saving us, but what do we do now? We don't really have homes since we're, you know, dead."

Rosaline thought for a second, then an idea sprang to her mind. "I'll provide a roof over your heads till I figure out what to do exactly. I have an old castle on the mountain that we can stay in for the time being, away from the townsfolk."

"Away from the townsfolk? Aww." a blue haired girl said. "I saw a cute man in the crowd."

"That can come in time, I promise." Rosaline said with a laugh. "I know what you are, and separating you from men for too long is not a wise idea. We just need to gain trust. Perhaps helping in the repair of the town is a good start? What do you say, girls?"

All the undead girls cheered in agreement and talked excitedly of being able to do things again.

Troy took a seat on a nearby toppled barrel and sighed. The work he has in front of him was monumental and thinking about it exhausted him. Holly sat on the barrel next to him and smiled, then Troy remembered. He doesn't have to do it alone again. The knight looked around and saw that everything was wrapping up nicely, then he remembered what he came to the town to begin with. He needed to find that person who could translate the text. He took out his book and flipped to the page where the name was writing down. The person who could read the passage was none other than Troy Enoch. The knight chuckled before walking up to Troy with the open page.

"What's this, a note?" Troy asked as he looked over the page. "Woah. Ancient Aranin. That's something you don't expect to see."

"Aranin?" Holly asked. "Before I was sealed away, Rome, his partner, and I were still researching that. It says here you can read this. How master?"

"I read the finished works of his notes that got passed down in my family." Troy said as he took the book into his hands. "Bitch of a language to learn. Took me three years just to get competent. I use it to make posters for my days when I go to sing. It's a fucking confusing alphabet and looks old and awesome when you add dripping ink. Still confusing as fuck. No wonder it died out, not let’s see here. Hmm. Something about a picker of rulers hidden in the water. Says it's somewhere under King's Mount or something. King's Mount. I think that's a place called Crown Rest now."

"I vaguely remember a place called that. A small mountain range with a huge forest set in the middle, right?" Holly said.

"Mostly unmapped as well and people say the place is magic. The entrance to the forest is a four-day walk westward and even then, I don't recommend going in there. Stories of people meeting their end there in mysterious ways like hanging from trees and stuff. Pretty brutal place."

The knight took back his book with a nod. He extended a hand towards Troy.

"So you are going there?" Troy asked. "Even after being told all that you still want to go. You're a pretty brutal guy, knight. Well, that's the least I could say after we spent a night slaying zombies together." Troy smiled and shook his hand. "If you ever need help, you have us to call on."

"I'll be right at master's side all the way." Holly said with a cheery voice. "See you later knighty."

The knight patted Holly's head before walking away. As he turned to the road, he waved goodbye to Rosaline. She smiled and waved back as the girls followed her lead, all saying their goodbyes as well. As she watched the knight walk away she felt whole again. She found a purpose now, to protect these girls and others that may appear from Koshei's magic. She would give life back to the crumbling walls of her rightful home as a protector to other undead monster girls. Helping them as much as she could as within her new-found power. But with that power came a sense. Possibly stolen from Koshei as with the rest of her magic, but it was acute in its telling. She could put a word to it. It was darkness. Where ever that knight would end, a darkness would follow.

>>227260

It was a comparatively long chapter, but it had a satisfying conclusion. Keep it up my dood.

So is knight ever gonna get his dong wetted? Just wondering if you have something like that planned or not.

>>227279

In due time anon.

Good read, seems sir knight still has a ways to go. So what's after the monster mash of the graveyard smash?

>>227258

I was concerned you left us for good.

I was thrilled to see you come back with such a long update. Keep its going.

>>220482

God damn it you fucking faggot that story was too interesting and sad.

Thanks for making my boring train rides exciting.

"Hey, are you the guy from a place from the east? Something-chad or whatever it's called?" the fairy asked.

The knight nodded.

The fairy sighed. "Man, you look dull for a knight. It's alright girls, it's the right one!"

A chorus of "what" and "huh" sprang from all around as more fairies revealed themselves from the flower bushes. Just as varied in colors and clothing like the flowers they sprang from, they all nitpicked and scrutinized the knight.

"But aren’t knights meant to come on horses?"

"Yeah! And have shining armor and an awesome looking weapon!"

"To be honest, he looks like a chump."

"Why can't we just let the siths take him like every other weird stranger who wanders too deep in here?"

"Letting those ghastly hillbilly cats and dogs sounds like a good idea."

They all agreed with the sentiment of leaving the knight, but the red-haired fairy yelled otherwise.

"NO! The two old ladies said that they needed to see a knight from that place from the east! We don't break promises!"

The fairies gave a collective "aw" before the red one talked again.

"Follow me. The old ladies are waiting for you."

The fairy fluttered away further down the path with the swarm of fairies following her. The knight stood stunned for a second, confused by both the uncalled for roasting from a bunch of sugar sniffing fairies. Shaking off the absurdity he continued down the path, following his summons. The trees began to fan out again, leaving more room on the forest floor for other plants to grow while the path of flowers continued. He came about another dense thicket that looked like it was concealing something like a wall. From above the red-haired fairy landed on his shoulder and tapped on his helmet.

"Sorry about the hazing, the others don't take too kindly to strangers they can't see the face of."

The knight understood, but perhaps the whole "leave at the mercy of the wilds" bit was a tad much. After all, he didn't do anything wrong. He's just here to find an ancient relic that was supposed to not exist at the order of his king.

"Anyway, just step forward to the thicket. The others have taken care of the door for you."

The knight looked at her with a skeptical eye, but when dealing with magic he knew now it was best to just play along. No point trying to make reason with something that breaks reason routinely and in further ridiculous ways. Following the fairy’s words, he walked forward towards the trees and bushes. As he stepped close, the vegetation bent and parted into a rounded doorway to a brighter section of the forest. The knight stepped through the gap. Along its edges, he could see bright tiny balls of light lifting away from the leaves and branches of the bushes and trees. Fairy magic no doubt. Though from old stories he was sure all they did was just make you their size and steal you away. But seeing as though he is still full sized and not being held captive at the whims of a tribe of flower huggers he had nothing to gripe about.

On the other side of the flora doorway was a very tiny clearing in the forest. The light rain fell unobstructed to the ground and dinged off the knight's body. In the middle of the clearing was a small windmill tower. Reclaimed by nature with flower covered vines constricting the old structure.

"Just in there. They're waiting." the little fairy said as she pointed at the windmill.

The knight proceeded to go to the windmill's front door. To his surprise, it's in good condition and completely painted in an unfaded green. The fairy hopped off his shoulder and knocked on the door. The taps were tiny and unnoticeable so the knight decided to knock himself. As his knuckles were an inch away from the door, it swung open. Instead of his hand tapping against the wood, he hit something soft. His plated knuckle meet with the breast of women. He saw a white haired elven woman in a faded blue and grey dress with a hood. For a supposed old woman, she looked nothing like it if pushing early thirties at most. She cleared her throat and took the knight's hand off her bosom.

"Thank you very much for leading our guest here Luli." the elf said as released the knight's hand. "Would you two like to come in? Aisa has prepared some tea."

"N-No, I couldn't. Being invited into your home usually means something is happening or is about to happen." the fairy said while waving her hands in objection. "I'd rather just go back to the village if that's fine."

"Nonsense. The meeting is for him today; you don't need to worry about a thing." the elf said with a friendly smile.

"But isn't it rude to eavesdrop on something important and personal?"

"Luli, I insist. Come in. It's raining and you both are best to come inside before it gets worse."

Then a crack of thunder echoed across the sky as the clouds gradually turned into a darker gray. The rain became heavier and the sound of the hard rain approaching filled the air.

"See?" the elf said with a chuckle. "Now if you don't want rusting parts and soggy wings then please step inside."

The elf cleared the doorway and the knight and fairy went inside. The interior of the windmill was like that of a cottage with all the trappings that come with it. A table with a tea set and teapot set up with scones, shelves, drawers, and cupboards lined the walls. On one far wall was a staircase going to the next floor and on another wall, was another door. It smelled oddly of cinnamon and tea inside the cozy little abode and the sound of the driving rain patted against the windows.

"Please, make yourselves at home. Aisa will be with us shortly…Hopefully." the elf said.

The knight took a seat at the table after setting his sword against a wall. Luli sat down cross-legged next to him, visibly nervous to be inside this house. The elf peered outside a window before her face lit up with glee.

"There she is!"

She ran back to the door and opened it. From the doorway floated in a dark figure in a dripping cowl and cloak. All in black and an air of

"My, you're absolutely soaked. Let me take that off you."

With an exaggerated sigh, the figure took off the wet cloak and handed it to the elf. Floating there in a short purple robe was a woman. Her skin was a pale off violet and her hair pure black. She looked to the table till her eyes met with the stare of the knight. Her yellow eyes scanned the knight up and down. She floated over to a chair opposite the night and poured out some tea.

"You could say thank you, Aisa." the elf said sarcastically.

"And you could have warned me that it was going to rain, Nona." she replied. "I know you have a good sense about the weather, yet you told me nothing about the storm."

"Well I did say to not stay out long, it would get wet."

"On an already rainy day? Yeah, no way that you meant for the downpour. Just take a seat so we can go ahead and cut to the chase with the man here."

"Well aren’t we pushy today."

"You're not the one that got soaked because some friend didn't tell that it was gonna rain harder."

The knight and fairy looked back and forth as the two bickered on about the weather like an old married couple. After a few minutes of never ending back talk the elf hung the soaking cloak on a coat rack and took a seat. The knight sat unsure of what to think of his current company.

"We know you are not exactly certain of what to think of this situation, but let's start with introductions." the elf said after taking a sip of tea. "My name is Nona, white fate seer of this millennium. And this is my associate, Aisa, black fate seer of the millennium."

"'Associate'?" Aisa asked. "Is that what you're calling me now?"

"Just some professionalism, so shush." Nona cleared her throat. "We know who you are, wayward knight of Chavichad. For seven hundred years, I, the white sorcerer, and she, the black lich, have watched over the trail of destiny."

The knight jumped at the word "lich".

"Don't worry about her, she is one of us. Demwym, monster girl, she isn't like the horror you faced a short time ago." Nona said comfortingly.

"That was a nasty piece of work you and your friends took care of." Aisa said as she took a bite of a scone. "Jerks like that give a bad name to liches like myself everywhere. Bad enough being undead and not have people trust you but come on, do you have to really poison the well for everyone else?"

"Yes, well, anyway we have seen a coming storm for the past few centuries-"

"Yet you couldn't warn me about the storm outside?"

"Can you please be quiet? Any who we have been watching the fate of the land for a long time, only ever acting when something cataclysmic comes into our sight. And now is one of those times."

"We have seen a shadow cast across the land, trying to alter the story that has yet to be set in stone. A hand that is trying to alter a coming change in history."

"And you are a pivotal actor in this, Sir Knight."

The knight crossed his arms. None of this made any sense and even if it is magical nonsense why should he even trust a word these two strangers said.

"If it is evidence that you seek to trust us, then take our hands." Nona said as she and Aisa both lent out a hand.

The fairy hopped onto the knight's shoulder again and tapped on his helmet. "I think you should do what they say. We trust these two and so should you."

More flimsy justifications, but once again he was at a standstill. After all, what's the worst that can happen if he goes along with what these two women say? He took both their hands as the fairy sat down on his shoulder.

"Then he accepts our guidance." Nona said as she closed her eyes.

"Hope you didn't each much today," Aisa said as she closed her eyes as well, "this has a habit of making first timers sick."

The room around the knight faded away to black as he and those at the table remained in the void. He took away his hands and stood up, accidentally throwing the fairy off his shoulder. Luli caught herself as she started to hover with her shiny wings flapping. The table and chairs disappeared as the two seers stood up from their seats. As the elf stood and the lich floated, a bright light came from beneath them. He looked to see that it was a bird's eye few of the forest and the surround mountain ridge, although the windmill was nowhere to be found.

"The land you see below was not always a forest that consumed all who stumble into it." Nona said with a hand wave.

The land below disappeared in water ripples before reappearing, showing what looked like a kingdom, pristine and thriving.

"The land we protect was once ​this." Aisa said. "A kingdom as grand as can be in time of antiquity. Ruled by a mighty king that kept his land in peace with an even more ancient tool of leadership. A sword of power renowned far and wide to bring prosperity and wisdom."

"But throughout that sword's existence lived a power that wished to seize it for malevolent intention. And when the blood line of this kingdom's king was tainted by this power," Nona waved her hand again, now showing the kingdom falling into ruin with fire and black clouds, "the land tore itself asunder."

"During this time of great suffering and despair, the king made one last request before his eventual death by the hands of his son." Aisa held out a hand and the image changed to two people in cloaks with a silhouette of a king. "This king asked our predecessors to hide this sword from his son and those who wish to abuse it." The image changed again to the two cloaked people handing a chest to a figure by a lake. "And so they did as they were asked. Entrusting the sword to someone that could be with the sword at all times while they laid hidden in watch."

The floor went to black again.

"Sir Knight, your fate is tied to the events of old." Nona said. "But not as they were originally intended."

Aisa waved her hand again, then a symbol appeared on the floor. It was a circle with two bent lines coming off near the top and connecting to a small circle. The knight's spine shivered as the simplistic imagery reminded him of the lich's crown.

"Kingdoms rise and fell since then, but the power that thirsts for that sword never died away. They still exist and are waiting." Nona said. "Although we carry the tradition and power bestowed by the gods of heaven and hell, know that we are not alone in seeing the threads of fate."

"We are not alone." Aisa replied.

"The power that haunts this land for the sword uses a similar power to ours. They use it to worm their tendrils of influence where ever they can."

"Always squirming in."

"And those tendrils will choke this land to death if they have their way."

"Choked like a chicken."

"Okay, okay. Stop." Nona said as she turned to Aisa while flipping back her hood. "What do you think you're doing?"

"What?" Aisa asked with a shrug. "I'm adding dramatic emphasis to the situation."

"'Dramatic emphasis'? You just used a euphemism for tilling one's fields!"

"You mean masturbation."

"Uh. Excuse me?" Luli said weakly, confused by the discourse.

"And then you go and say it." Nona said while placing her hands on her hip. "We're supposed to do a serious and foreboding telling of the threads of fate here to an important actor and here you go on saying 'that' out loud."

"Look, I know you city born elves can be prudish about such topics because you want to distance yourselves from your forest dwelling spear chucking cousins. But come on." Aisa said.

"That's insulting! I used to have a very nice cousin who lived in the woods!"

The knight and fairy looked at each other with unimpressed expressions. For so-called old seers of fate, they bickered like children.

"Well, am I wrong in what I said?" Aisa asked.

Nona groaned, "How did you get picked to be the black seer I'll never know."

"Well, I've explained before. I was having a nice vacation in hell when this high-ranking demon told me I was chosen for something. Then they rushed me through this ceremony and then I got paired up with you."

"I can't believe this…"

"I know, right? Who the hell interrupts a person's vacation for serious work like that?"

"Excuse me!" Luli yelled. "But you just lost both of us here! I thought you two were supposed to be the wise women that the Titania trusted."

The two women looked at each other and cleared their throats before taking a dignified stance again.

"Perhaps we did let this go a little out of hand." Nona said with a slight blush on her face. "The point being is that you have a destiny Sir Knight. A destiny that some are trying to manipulate."

"Unfortunately with the nature of our position, there isn't much we can do in terms of directly helping you." Aisa said. "But knowing one's destiny aids one's mindset. Know this Sir Knight. The sword is here, and you are the one to find it."

The room faded back in from blackness, showing they were standing in the middle of the room away from the table.

"Your destiny is laying here in this forest." Aisa said. "And once you find it you must clutch it tightly. Or else the corrupting tentacles will rip it from you."

The sound of the rain has stopped and the sunshine from the windows grew brighter. Nona looked to the windows and smiled. "And with that, our time is coming to a close. Now Sir Knight, you must go back out to the forest and find the lake where the sword is kept."

"B-But how will he find the place? I have lived here all my life and even I've never seen a lake! In fact, I didn't even know this forest was once a kingdom! How much do we not know about this place?" Luli asked frantically.

"Calm down Luli." Aisa said as she floated back to her chair. "It's his destiny to find it, he just needs to follow his intuition. But as the current situation stands, fate can be pushed along a bit faster than originally set. If you care about those questions go follow the knight."

"What?! I thought I wasn't involved?" Luli yelled.

"Well, not if you don't want to." Nona replied. "Nothing truly set in stone in regards to fate and destiny. Big events are like huge watering holes of convergences of dreams and desires. We said that the knight will find the sword here, but we didn't say how. It's easy to get a picture of the past but the future only comes in vague words and allegory."

"Seriously," Aisa said as she poured out some more tea, "the reason why we figured out the thing with the sword to begin with was due to an odd vision involving a crown and a spear of light being pulled from a puddle. She thought it was door parting the sea and swallowing the land. Complete drama queen."

"Yes, well, It's up to you Luli. Do you want to become an actor on this darkening stage? Or do you wish to go back to your village on your own path?" Nona asked as she opened the door.

The knight retrieved his sword from its leaned perch and sheathed it on his back. He looked at the bewildered fairy that hovered in place. Having a guide of a sort would be nice, even if what he's looking for is still very much hidden. The little fairy looked at the door and back at the knight, pondering on what to do. Up until now she never knew of the history of her home being that dramatic. A resting place of kings and kingdoms. Not just an enchanted forest held by a few tribes of fairies, pixies, and other monster girls of the woods. Her mind was now tinged with natural and powerful curiosity. She knew that if she didn't take the chance, she would be left wondering what happened, and so she made up her mind.

"Alright! I'll help him!" she said with an energetic nod.

Nona smiled, "Smart choice."

Aisa took another sip of tea, "We'll see you once more when you retrieve the sword. Don't get lost for too long, we may be centuries old but even we get bored."

Everyone gave her a blank stare before they walked out of the windmill. The sun shined bright as a rainbow stretched overhead. The night stood on the soggy grass, breathing in the fresh rain-scented air. Nona stood in the doorway after the fairy went outside.

"As Aisa said, we'll be waiting." she said as she put her hood back on. "Good luck Sir Knight. And Luli?"

"Yes?" the fairy replied.

"Try not to cause too much trouble with him." said Nona before she closed the door.

Finally on their own, the knight walked to the exit of the clearing. The fairy sat on the crossguard of his sword, hugging the grip.

"Hey knight?" the fairy asked with a blush. "Why does your sword smell funny?"

The knight sighed, knowing full well why. A simple wash was nowhere good enough. ​Leather is much more absorbent than he realized and it probably needs a bath in scented oils to get the smell out. But who would take a knight seriously if their sword smelled of fragrant flowers? Swallowing a bit of his dignity, he walked through the tunnel of branches and leaves to the rest of the forest. Hopefully, another pair of eyes will help speed along his search. Especially if they are familiar with the area. With steps filled with certainty, he walked back into the depths of the forest to continue his search for that ever-elusive sword.

>>229460

Whats up with the sword smelling "funny"?

Is this a future thing you are going to explain or did I just miss something?

>>229725

Unbuckling his claymore's sling from himself he got off his back and turned around. Behind him was the rabbitgirl with the hilt end of his claymore going up her skirt. Indeed, the situation turned out as he thought. Miraculously, the hilt of his sword glided past her underwear and into her unmentionables. For the time being, his sword has turned into a personal pleasure toy for the girl. A wave of unamused apathy washed over the knight at the sight. But, he figured this was a good time as any to attempt to incapacitate the molesting felon and so he grabbed the blade of his sword.

Rip sir knight

I'm a bit late to the Halloween chapter, but oh my that was an awesome story.

Little Miss Slaughter, Dead Die Again, and Rest By Moon Break… I'm half tempted to learn how to compose music, in order to make these songs.

>>234404

Please don't tell me the guy has died… that would in fact be a tragedy.

The knight split the amount collection berries in half, one for him and one for her. The fairy shacked her head and split her serving in half again and gave the rest to the knight.

“I said you need more. Eat, this is plenty for me.” she said before taking a bite out of a raspberry.

If she insisted, then the knight didn’t see a point to argue. One by one he ate the berries he was rationed, all sweet and juicy. It’s been a long time since he ate freshly picked berries like this in a relaxing fashion. Sweet food, a warm fire, the sound of a quiet forest soothed him and his weary legs. After finishing his portion of berries, the knight felt his fatigue start to take the better of him. Putting his book away and resting his lantern on the ground, he lit the small lantern and hung it on a low branch on the tree he sat against. His sword rested by his side as he watched the fire die out. Luli sat on the knight’s thigh and laid back onto his hip, keeping herself balanced. With a yawn, she rested her weight on the knight’s leg.

“I’ll wake us up early so we can get on the move again,” she said as she rubbed her eyes, “hopefully we have more luck tomorrow.”

With a nod, the knight relaxed against the tree as his eyes slowly closed together. It took no time for him to slip into sleep, but once again he returned to that recurring dream with the rolling field. The sound of the calming breeze was coupled with the flutter of tiny wings. He looked around to see nothing but the shimmering grass and the clouds overhead. Unlike before the clouds were denser with a touch a grey, however, the sun still shined through. All seemed peaceful until he heard a twig snap from his right. His eyes opened again to the dead of night and the diminished glow of his lantern. It was dark all around and Luli still slept quietly on the knight’s leg. Another snap came from behind and the knight reached for his sword. Carefully picking up the sleeping fairy and slinging her over his shoulder, he took his lantern and fastened it to his belt. Slowly he walked away down a slight slope, hearing something follow from behind. Then without warning, the sound of trees snapping crashed behind him. The knight turned around and came face to face with a mighty beast. Charging him was a Golden Giant Bear, a majestic and fearsome beast of the woods. Its blonde fur glistened in the lantern light as the knight could make out a ragged red cloth stuck around its neck like a bandana. It roared as It barrelled closer to the knight.

Ducking to the side, the huge beast tumbled through a row of trees. Luli was thrown from the knight’s shoulder and was shook awake. Catching herself mid-air, she flew back to the knight’s side.

“What happened?!” she asked frantically.

Another roar bellowed through the air as the bear made another run. The knight prepared this time and tried to fell the beast. As the beast came by he took a swing at its flank, but shocked by the result. His sword was stuck to the fur of the huge animal. Then he remembered, the fur coat of these bears were covered in the sap of maple trees they mauled and the honey from bee hives they feed on. It was a walking clawing yellow ball of sticky flesh rending terror. The knight was forced to let go of his sword or else get dragged by the bear and made a bloody meat sponge.

“Wait! Let me see if I can distract it so you can get your sword back!” Luli said before flying near the bear. “Up here you honey-guzzling brute!”

The bear stared at the fairy before it took to its hind feet to swat at her. It snarled at her as she dodged every swipe, meanwhile, the knight crept closer to his sword. Grabbing its grip, he ripped the sword free the bear's sticky rear end. The bear turned to the knight and stared him down. The knight remembered being told that with bears if you appear bigger than they are they leave you alone. The knight stood with his sword held high to make himself look taller, but this was only met with the unamused stare of an angry bear. With a single swat, the knight was sent flying back down the slope. The incline gradually grew steeper as fewer trees dotted the dark area. The knight caught himself and got back to his feet, only to be thrown back again by another bat from the bear.

Flung backwards, the knight was sent tumbling towards a cliff ledge. His sword was sent flying over the edge, but he managed to catch himself on the rock face. With a sigh of relief, the knight stayed clinging to the cliff face. Slowly he pulled himself back over the edge, only to find another beast. Before him was a small pink wild board, staring him down as the knight tried to balance himself over the ledge. With a squeal, the little boar charged the knight. With a clang, the boar headbutted the knight over the edge and down below. After a few seconds of free fall, the knight landed in a large bush. He could hear the oinks from the small boar fade away as he laid in his leafy bed. After a while of laying on the bush, the knight decided he had enough for the night and fell asleep again.

After a few hours of lying motionless on a crushed shrubbery, the early dawn sun finally bathed the landscape with its orange light. The knight felt as stiff as his armour from the thrashing that bear gave him. His joints ached as he sat upright. He looked at his chest, finding his armour dented and a claw mark ripped down his left side. It was a miracle he walked away with no serious injuries. Falling from heights have become less and less scary to him as of late, but being batted around by a bear was horrifying. He stepped out of the bushes and found himself in an area with very soft earth underfoot. It was powdery and sediment filled, yet plants rooted in the loose soil. The area wasn’t packed with trees but bushes and shrubs grew rampant all over.

The lantern on his hip no longer held a light and his sword was nowhere in sight. A knight without a weapon is as useless as a toothless saw. He knew he lost it when he got swatted over, but where the sword would have fallen is a mystery. It couldn’t have gone far, but it would be nice to have some help in finding it. Speaking of which, Luli disappeared since last night and hasn’t returned since entertaining the bear. The knight hoped she’s okay, but right now he must find his sword.

Walking through the unfamiliar terrain, he found it a little hard to walk as his feet sank into shifting soil. Trudging through to where he thought the sword might land, he began to hear a tune in the air. A string of sung "la"s came past a wall of tall red leaf bushes. Parting through the vegetation he found a small mound of flowers and his sword stuck on the top of it. Sitting on the cross guard of the sword was the small fairy, swinging her legs in the air and singing to herself.

“La la la laaa la lala, la la la laaa la lalaa lala, la la la lala la la la la la la lala.”

A nice melody, and a welcoming sight after a night like the last. The knight pushed his way past branches to the patch of flowers. Luli looked over and smiled to see the knight walking up to her.

“You’re okay! I thought I lost you.” she said with a clap. She then noticed the gashes in his armour and the dents that covered his chest. “Are you okay? Those holes look really bad.”

The knight nodded as he walked over to his sword. Luli hopped off and took flight as the knight reclaimed his weapon. The sandy soil clumped the sticky residue from the bear fur into gritty flakes that the knight scraped off. With the familiar weight of his sword back on his back, he felt relief. The fairy sat back on his shoulder, awkwardly swinging her legs as she mumbled to herself.

“Hey…I’m ​sorry.” she said with a tiny and subdued voice. The knight looked at her as she gave a sigh of guilt and lowered her head. “I think the bear came to us cause I stole our food from it. There were barely any bushes and I saw a stash of berries that were just there in a tree. I took them and it followed me. I’m really sorry I got you hurt, I just wanted to help.”

Even if the idea she had was stupid regarding that those bears are highly territorial of their food stores, she was just trying. As much as he would like to tell her off on all the levels of how idiotic that was, he could not break his rules. So, eating his anger, he lifted her chin with a single finger, hoping she cheers up. Right now isn’t the time to cry, they still had a relic to find, and he needed capable eyes to find it. A completely new terrain of the forest that the knight had no idea what to go forward with. In the distance past the sparse tall trees, he could see that the area is sunken into the earth with walls of natural stone surrounding the place. He was enclosed, but that was a good enough excuse to start combing this odd stretch of the forest.

Leaving a little time to wait, he began to walk around the odd grove. Drudging through the powdery forest floor, he and Luli searched for anything strange that could be a clue. Bushes of various species blocked most of their view past a few yards and made themselves inconvenient barricades. But barriers of foliage weren’t much compared to a hefty blade of steel. Using his claymore as a machete, the knight cleaved a path through the onslaught of bushes. After a while of looking around, a sound faintly came into earshot. It shot a spark of excitement in both the knight and Luli. It was the sound of running water.

“I’ll look ahead!” Luli said eagerly as she hopped off his shoulder and flew over the bushes.

The knight continued to chop through the wall of vegetation as he could hear Luli yelling back to him.

“Hurry up and get over here! I think we found something that can help us!”

Finally cutting through the bushes, the knight stumbled onto the side of a small creek. Its crystal-clear water flowed over a bed of white sand and sprang from a small formation of stone. Kneeling by the creek bed was Luli, taking sips of the fresh water as it passed by. Following her lead, the knight took off one of his gauntlets and lifted his visor to uncover his mouth. After drinking a few palms worth he felt refreshed with the crispness of the spring water. But more importantly, he now has his trail. A water source that can be followed to some kind of lake or pool where the sword might be. After putting his gauntlet back on, he picked up Luli and placed her on his shoulder. He followed the creek to where ever it would lead. While they walked, Luli started to hum that turned into singing.

“I hear the sound of your voice, I hear it echo inside my dreams. Turning into memories as they start to fall away~.”

Oddly melancholic for such a song with an upbeat tone. Still, it was pleasant to hear as they chased the waters through the otherwise silent forest. Ten or so minutes of walking passed before they started to walk down a steep hill. Thanks to his weight the soil underneath gave way and slipped, sending the knight onto his rear and sliding down the hill. Luli cried out as she hung onto the knight’s collar during his fall. After a few moments of sliding down, he hit the bottom of the hill with a subdued thud as his behind sank into the soil. Luli laid belly first over his shoulder, seeing stars and groaning dizzily. Dislodging himself from the ground, he stood up and looked around. The knight found himself at what looked like a natural basin with a sandy slope surrounding him. In the middle of the sandy slopes was a pool of water where the runoff of the creek collected. On the top of the shallow pool, a single white lotus floated on the water’s surface.

It seemed odd to find a sole flower by itself in a pond, but odder still was the white rounded pedestal it sat upon. Whatever was beneath the water’s surface, it was buried deep into the sediment below. The knight walked to the water’s edge and removed his gauntlets. Placing his hands into the pool, he reached over to see if the pedestal would move. As hard as he pushed, it didn’t budge a millimetre. He did, however, lose his grip on the stone and slid off its side. With a small splash, he fell into the pool before recoiling out. Luli fell into the pond with a tiny splash and swam to the lotus. With laboured gasps, she pulled herself from the water and strained her dress dry.

“Jeez. Look at what you’ve done.” the little fairy said sternly. “I thought you knights weren’t meant to be clumsy like that.”

It was just an accident, not clumsiness. The knight gave her an exasperated look as he knew full well she could have just flown above him while he strung himself above the water. But his mild annoyance didn’t last long as a rumble came from below the earth. Luli hugged the flower of the lotus as it raised above the surface of the pond. As water poured and trickled off the sides of the rising pedestal, it soon became clear it was no mere stone stand. The curved and rounded pedestal was, in fact, a marble head with sculpted long hair and an emotionless expression. A Venusian naked female body came into view as sediment and water washed over and fell to its sides. After a moment, the statue of a woman was above the water in full. Her eye’s closed and her sculpted hair draped over her left eye. Sitting on her legs, there was a box kept firmly between them. It was old, studded with yellow metal crowns and covered in black lacquer, sealed despite its aged appearance.

Luli hung off the lotus that now sat tilted on the statue’s head like a headdress. After the shock of what happened passed, Luli took to the air and flew back to the knight’s shoulder as he rose to his feet. They looked around the statue, curious as to how it just rose out from the pond bed. It was sat on a flat stone that now pooled water just above its surface. Seeing not much else to do in this situation, the knight took a gamble. Stepping through the now muddy and watery bank around the statue, he grasped the box the statue had straddled between its legs. The knight gave a tug, but the box stayed in place as if it was squeezed between the statue’s thighs and not just placed between.

Luli bounced off the knight’s shoulder and onto the box. She jumped up and down in a fruitless attempt to dislodge it, then slipped on the still wet surface. She tumbled into the crotch of the statue, bumping her head on the lower part of its smooth groin. With a small “ow” she rubbed her head before looking up. On the face of the statue was a smile. Luli gave a perplexed look before looking back at the knight.

“You saw it as it came out of the ground. Did it always have a smile?” she asked.

The knight shook his head, it definetly was not smiling when it came out of the water. Cautiously he placed his hand on the bangs of hair that covered the statue’s left eye. To this knight’s amazement, he parted its hair before it fell back into place in front of its eye.

Luli’s eyes widened in surprise, “How did you do that?”

The knight shrugged his shoulders as he played with the statue’s hair again. It was an uncanny feeling, sturdy as stone yet still as malleable as regular hair. Luli hopped into the air and fluttered next to the statue’s face before touching its check. It was firm like stone yet still felt of flesh. Cold to the touch, yet somehow warmth was returning from beneath. Then a small giggle came from the statue. Luli and the knight recoiled backwards in disbelief as the mouth of the statue opened, letting laughs escape. Its visible eye half opened, showing a hazel spotted iris.

“So playful of you strangers to stroke my hair and pet my cheek.” the statue said with a soft smile. “I haven’t seen anyone in such a long time, it’s nice to be greeted in such a friendly manner.”

The knight and Luli were awestruck by the friendly reception. The smile was sincere and an air of pleasantness emanated from the moving statue.

“Is there anything that I can help you with?” the statue asked politely. “I don’t really know much about the current day, but if you’re lost I think I might be able to help. The surrounding area shouldn’t have changed that much, right?”

Luli flew forward, “We’re, uh, we’re just here to find a sword. It was supposed to be in a lake with a person guarding it. But I guess this is all that remains of the lake.”

The statue’s eye looked back and forth around. “I see that it has shrunk in size over time, but this is the lake you seek. Tell me, why do you seek the sword? What do you know of it?”

The knight stepped forward.

“The two old fate ladies told us that the knight is meant to find it.” Luli said as she pointed at the knight.

“’Fate ladies’? You mean the seers?” the statue asked with her eye opening fully. “They said that he is meant to find the sword? Well, that changes everything. Hold on a second.”

Grunts of exertion came from the statue with the slight clatter of shaking stone. Then she panted deeply, tired of trying to move when in the end, she couldn't.

“Oh no, this is embarrassing.” the statue said with a sigh. “I think my body has frozen up since I set myself in the lake. Everything is stiff and unmoving. Hey, could you two do a favour for me?”

The knight and Luli looked at each other before giving the statue a nod.

“Thank you.” the statue said with a grin. “Hopefully if the foliage hasn’t changed much, there should be two plants nearby. Scorpion fern and wild mint. You can use the leaves of the mint and the leaves of the fern to make a balm. If you two could be so kind to make that balm, I would be in your debt.”

Luli made an assuring smile. “Sure thing, miss statue. We’ll be back with that balm in no time.”

With that, the knight and fairy climbed up the bank and back into the flora of the shrunken lake. The knight looked around with concern. He knew what a mint leaf was and what the whole plant looked like, but had no idea what scorpion fern was. More alchemical ingredients or botany specimens that he would never know or need to know. In situations like this, maybe it was good to have some random tidbits of knowledge here and there about things. Would certainly help now and might have done many times in the past. But in the end, he was just a soldier that got lucky. Although taking part in the noble life a bit more might have been a good gateway to learning otherwise useless knowledge. But in the end, he can’t break his old disciplines. Service to the crown first after all.

With his mind still worried about finding the scorpion root, he snapped his fingers to get Luli’s attention. She turned to him with a “hmm?” as he tried to make a scorpion with his hands. Crossing over his thumbs and using his index and middle fingers as pincers, he made the motions of a stinger stinging and the pincers closing. With luck, Luli knew what he was on about.

“The scorpion fern? Yeah, I know what to look ​for.” she said. “It’s an odd looking black fern with three large leaves that look like a scorpion. You’ll know it when you see it.”

Such a simple and apt self-describing name made the knight feel a tad dumb for asking. It’s a fern that looked like a scorpion. Getting over his feeling of idiocy, the knight and Luli searched the forest for the balm’s ingredients. Luckily, this wasn’t as mind-meltingly long as finding the resting place of the sword. After ten minutes of searching, they found their first ingredient. Scorpion fern. A large plot of the black plant laid at the foot of a tree like a rug. The knight knelt to start retrieving some but was stopped by a shrill little yell.

“Don’t touch that!” Luli flew in front of him and landed on the ground next to the fern. “These plants have a weird ability to make us fairies limp by merely touching it. I don’t know how bad they will affect a regular human like you, so you best leave this to me.”

As soon as she said that with bravado, she turned around and accidentally touched a fern leaf with her face. The moment she did, she fell to the ground, limp and babbling incoherently. The knight dragged his gauntleted hand down the front of his helmet. Then grabbed a fern by the base and uprooted it. Thanks to his gauntlet, the leaves of the fern didn’t affect him. Whatever was on the leaves couldn’t penetrate the leather that covered his palms. Taking a few more plants for good measure, he picked up Luli and slung her over his shoulder before walking off. After another few minutes of searching, the knight found the last ingredient he needed, the wild mint. About five plants grew next to a chunk of stone, much less than the plentiful plot of scorpion ferns that grew before.

Regaining control of herself, Luli fell off the knight’s shoulder into the air. Her eyes widened at the sight of the mint plants. She landed next to one and picked a leaf off before biting into it and chewing.

“You don’t mind if I have a small bit of this?” Luli asked as she smacked her lips together, chewing the mint leaf. “Mint is a tasty plant that us fairies love to chew. Granted some of the others tell me off for chewing too much of it, but you won’t mind, right?”

The knight didn’t see a problem as long as she limited herself. After he picked up as much mint plants as he could in his open hand, it was time to return to the statue. As he walked, he was growing more annoyed at the constant gobsmacking that Luli made. She was about as bad as an old man chewing tobacco on his front porch. Then it dawned on the knight, how could she still be chewing on the same mint leaf after all this time? The knight looked at the plants in his hand to find one completely devoid of leaves. Flying by his hand was Luli, happily chewing away and oblivious to her addictive habit. The knight stopped and stared at Luli before she bumped into his hand.

“Is there something wrong?” she asked, still loudly chewing.

The knight moved his hand full of scorpion fern in front of Luli before dabbing her with the leaves. She fell to the ground, attempting to speak while her body refused to move. Putting the mint into his fern carrying hand, he picked up Luli and continued back to the statue. By mid-day, they returned to the small pond and the stranded marbled woman. The statue gave a warm smile upon seeing the knight return with the plants in hand.

“Thank goodness you found them,” she said happily, “I may be able to walk again in no time.”

Luli soon regained control of herself again and pried herself from the knight’s hand. “You could have just told me to stop eating so much! Do you have any idea how weird it is to go numb by touching those things? You get tingly all over and everything just feels hot and weird.”

The statue giggled, “Then it seems you’ve retrieved the correct plant. Now, I hope you two have something like a mixing bowl or a mortar and pestle.”

The knight scratched his chin before pulling out the small sack from before.

“A cloth bag? Well, may not be ideal but we can still do good with it.” the statue said. “What I need to you do is to rip up the mint and fern leaves and put them in the bag. Then, dunk the bag in the water and make sure the contents are soaked.”

The knight followed the instructions as Luli looked on, not wanting to get close to the fern leaves and be incapacitated a third time. The knight ripped apart the fern and mint leaves and placed them in the small bag before dunking it in the fresh water. The knight could see what looked like an oily substance covering the outside of the bag where the leaves were.

“Good, good. Now the, uh, the last part.” the statue said with a blush forming on its face. “I, ah, I need to rub that all over my body. If I could I would do it myself, but my arms can’t move. I’m sorry for asking for something this embarrassing, but if you do it then you’re free to take the sword. Please? I want to walk again.”

The knight looked at the statue with silent unbelief as Luli laughed hysterically. On one hand, this is another ridiculous situation that he would expect to find in a bad romance novel. On the other, the poor thing does just want to move again and is willing to hand him the sword. Compared to some of the other things he was forced to do, this is the most benign out of them. Steeling himself, he walked over to the statue with the oily bag in hand.

“Please. Take it slow.” the statue asked shyly.

A thread snapped inside the knight’s head, and without hesitation, he put the cloth to the statue’s body. With a small gasp of surprise, the statue tried to contain her voice as the knight rubbed her down. Moving from her arms to her back, the statue’s eyes widened in shock and pleasure from the crisp numbing sensation from the balm. No part of her body was spared from the lather, and her erogenous zones found no haven. From her inner thighs to her bosom, and to her backside, she found herself drooling and her eyes glazed over from being touched and caressed. But just as she said, eventually her limbs loosened up and became free. Her arms fell to her sides, her head cocked backwards, and her legs spread apart more, placing more weight on the box she sat on. As the balm soaked into her stony skin, it turned from as hard as rock to an odd firm softness.

As her body now glistened with the oily balm and gave a few ecstasy filled broken giggles, the knight made his move. Grabbing the box, he began to pull it out from under her. Unlike before, it now slowly moved out from beneath her but had an unforeseen consequence. The metal studs glided over her already gleaming privates, causing her back to buck with each passing stud . With the last inch of the box free, she moaned loudly as she climaxed, tumbling backwards into the shallow pond with a sloppy smile on her face. The knight didn’t know whether to call his ability to make women orgasm in ludicrous manners a blessing or curse. These situations make stupid stories to tell over a drink, but to live the moment was something else. All the while, Luli was wheezing on the ground, having trouble to find her breath after laughing for so long. The knight poked her with his finger, then she went motionless once again with a messy grin on her face. Before he did anything else, the knight cleaned off his gauntlets out of fear of causing more cases of accidental paralysis.

After quickly washing the last of the balm off his gauntlets, he looked to the box he pulled free. It had a few strange latches on it, looking as if they belonged to a hermetically sealed jar. Popping the latches open, the box’s lid sat lose. Anticipation ran through the knight’s spine. Everything he’s been through so far has led up to this moment. His ticket home. His redemption in the eyes of the king. No longer stalling, he opened the box. Inside was a red velvet lining that held something bound in white cloth and gold string firmly in place. With a few tugs, the knight pulled the object free from its housing. His heart raced as he untwined the gold string. He laid the object on the ground as he carefully unwrapped the white cloth. Laying on a bed of white was the fruit of his efforts. A beautiful and intricately crafted scabbard with a just as detailed hilt and pommel sticking from the top laid before him. The vine-like gold detailing ran over a white backdrop on the scabbard. The thick steel cross guard was etched with geometrically floral blue and white patterns. All connected to a white leather grip and a steel pommel in the shape of a cross.

The sword was as every bit beautiful as he imagined. But as much as he tried to take the sword from its scabbard, it only rattled and refused to budge.

“My apologies, through all the excitement I didn’t have a chance to explain something.” the statue said as she weakly walked to the knight’s side before sitting. “Even if I and the seers allow you to take the sword, the sword itself still doesn’t recognise you as its master. That must be earned through witnessing actions befitting a king.”

That’s was comforting to hear from the knight. His excitement got the better of him and he nearly betrayed his king’s command. The sword is meant for a king, and he was just a knight. With a nod, he wrapped the sword back up in its covers. Luckily, his belt still had a regular sword holster free, so he put the sword into the snug leather bracings. After retrieving the sedated Luli from the ground, the knight looked around. He realised he had no real way of getting out of the dried lake. The statue looked at the perplexed knight.

“Excuse me. But are you okay?” she asked. “You seem lost. You know the way out, right?”

The knight shrugged his shoulders with a shake of his head.

“Oh. Well, that’s a bit of an impasse. Actually, how about this.” the statue rose to her feet. “You take me to the seers, and I help you out of here. Do you remember the way you came?”

The knight tilted his hand side to side. He has a clue of where to go, but the only person who would know is Luli, and of right now she’s indisposed.

“Better than nothing. Lead the way.”

Taking the lead, the knight walked on with a doped fairy in one hand and an ancient artefact of power on his hip. The feeling of just knowing where he was going was trumped by this sense of accomplishment. Granted it was flat out told to him that he would find it, but such a contrived telling could be overlooked in his mind for the time being. He found the Sword of Kingdoms and now he could return home. Return to his life as he was accustomed to. But at the same time, partly back in the same situation he was in before. Even if he did serve and was willing to die for the crown, he didn’t feel the same way to the queen.

“Are you okay? You haven’t said a word since we’ve met.” the statue asked as she looked to the knight.

The knight gestured to his throat that he can’t speak.

“A mute? Strange.” she said before turning her eyes back to the forest in front of her.

“A stranger with a pension to numbing helpless fairies!” Luli yelled as she freed herself from the knight’s hand. “Three times today that’s happened to me, and I’ve had enough! How would you like it if someone just makes your body useless on a whim?!”

The statue chuckled, “I forgot how lively local fairies could be. Tell me little one, can you help us get back to the seers? He doesn’t really recall the path.”

“Huh? Oh, sure. Just make sure he doesn’t touch me with anymore scorpion fern, okay?” Luli asked as she landed on the statue’s shoulder.

“That’s a promise little one. If you don’t mind, can you tell me your name?”

“I’m Luli.”

“Nice to meet you Luli. I’m Merlina, the marble golem of the lake. I must thank you and your friend once again for helping me walk again.”

"No problem! You seem nice enough and you did let him take the sword, so it all equals out in the end."

To know her name felt good to the knight. Another name to thank for getting him this far and soon, home. A while passed before they reached the border of the lake, a tall rock face with no sign of climbable portions. The knight stood with his hands on his hips, wondering what to do next. Merlina then walked forward and placed a hand on the rock face.

“If it’s up there we need to go then have no worry.” she said as a yellow sigil sprang around her hand. “I’ll just take us up.”

Underneath their feet, a rock platform began to crawl up the side of the cliff, carrying them up. The platform stopped at the top before they walked off back onto high land. The platform crumbled and fell behind them, leaving a crash of rocks echoing out into the distance. Now back on the regular forest floor, Luli guided the knight and Merlina back through the forest. Sunset was upon them by the time they reached back to the thicket near the windmill. The knight was confused by how quick the walk was since it took them a few days to get close to the lake in the first place. Then he remembered, it was a magic forest. His perceived laws of time and space didn’t mean much to a place known for disappearances and other occurrences. A doorway through the thicket opened as if it was waiting for the knight’s return.

Passing through, they found themselves once again at the windmill. Standing outside waiting was Nona and floating was Aisa. The pair clapped as the knight stepped forward to meet the two.

“And so this arc of your journey ends ahead of schedule.” Nona said delightedly. “Well done Sir Knight.”

“But as much as she would love to keep celebrating, this is only the lynchpin of destiny towards a clouded fate.” Aisa said as she eyed the wrapped sword. “With no delay, you must return back to your home. The crossroads are converging and the event of the age is at hand.”

“Woah. You're actually taking your job seriously for once. Colour me impressed.” Nona said with a sly grin. “But astonishment aside, she is right. You have the sword and destiny waits for no one. Go home.”

“Excuse me, you two are the seers?” Merlina asked.

“That we are. Is it safe to assume that you are the guardian of the sword?” Nona replied.

“I am. You two look nothing like Jan and Rose from before.” Merlina said.

“Maybe because we are in no way related to them or each other?” Aisa said. “This job isn’t passed down by blood, we get picked. Actually. Say, how about you stay with us for a while. With no sword to guard you’re out of a job and I could use with a new subje-I mean assistant.”

“I, actually agree with that.” Nona said in surprise. “You can stay as long as you help with the work around here.”

Merlina clapped her hands together in excitement. “Excellent! A place to stay again! It will be lovely to get to know you two."

The knight could see that everything was tieing up. Merlina is taken care of, he has the sword, and now a long walk awaits him. Letting the others talk to each other, he made his way to the door in the thicket. Before he made his leave, Nona ran to side, calling to him.

“Hold on Sir Knight, we still have something to tell you.” Nona said panting. “Even though we can’t do much to help you, we can give you two important bits of advice. Let the angel do it, and remember that blood is a seal in more ways than one.”

With that, she let the knight go on his way with a smile and a pat on the back. Dark was soon approaching and he was sure he no longer had any oil for his lantern. As he began to walk through the dark forest, a little voice called out to him.

“Hey! Wait up!”

The knight looked behind him to see Luli fly up to him.

“You’re not leaving without me!” she said as she puffed out her chest. “You got me too curious about what’s happening outside of the forest. Therefore, you will take me with you. And before you say anything, this is not up for debate. The old ladies said I could.”

As much as the knight would want to, he figured that it’s pointless to argue. The little fairy was a free spirit that would do whatever she wanted, not to mention she got the go ahead of the seers. Also, having someone who knows the area help him out of the forest is a welcome bit of luck. With a shrug, he patted his shoulder. Luli’s face lit up with excitement as she flew onto her seat.

Walking past the blending trees, another unexplainable thing happened. Despite aimlessly walking, the knight somehow found his way back onto the broken stone path into the forest. Out ahead in the distance, he could see the hills leading away. Finally out of the forest and in the hills, the knight looked back at the dark forest of Crown Rest. As much as he was glad he finally found the sword, he was just as happy he never has to step foot in that weird wood ever again.

As he followed the road away, Luli looked around with enthusiasm in her eyes. For the first time in her life, she got to see the outside world. Even if it is on the shoulder of a strange knight tied up with a fate around an ancient sword, she couldn’t feel more contented. Out of joy, she started to sing again.

“And the tears that I cry, washed away by the rain. I promise this is where I’ll be, waiting for you.~”

The knight looked at the singing fairy, ready to ask her to stop. But then he found the song rather nice and calming for a walk under the approaching night sky. With his little singer in tow, the knight began his long-awaited journey home.

>>235898

Strong update. Good to see you back dude.

>>235908

Fug

As she passed through, a librarian mouse girl caught a glimpse of the passing royal. She went around the row of books and in front of the Queen. The Queen jumped backwards in fright from the sudden appearance of the girl.

“Good afternoon my Queen.” the mouse girl said cheerily. “Out to read your legends again?”

The queen placed a hand on her chest to catch her breath. “Do not sneak up on me like that! You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

“But you’re young my Queen, not to mention healthy.” the mouse girl said with a hand on her chin. “I don’t think death by heart attack is really possible for you. You don’t have high blood pressure, do you?”

“That’s intruding upon private information, little librarian.” the Queen said as she looked down at the girl with her hands on her hip. “How would you like it if I started to pester you about your private information?”

“But I don’t have anything to hide.” the girl said. “I’m a rather open book in all fairness my Queen.”

"If that’s the cause, then tell me. Are you a virgin?”

“Done oral, vaginal, and anal. All with my boyfriend that I love very much over either nights of mutual horniness or drunken hugs getting out of hand.”

The Queen looked with disgust and confusion on her face as her glasses went askew. She cleared her throat and readjusted her classes before composing herself with a straight back.

“V-Very well,” the Queen said, holding back embarrassment and revulsion in her voice, “you may go along your way.”

“Thank you my Queen.” the mouse girl said with a smile before scampering off.

The Queen could swear she did that on purpose just to stumble her. The demwyms. She could never understand why they were so sexually unhinged. Well, that’s a half-truth. She knows full well how and why, but she never understood why they can’t just tone it back. But she remembered. She’s in Chavichad. This kingdom was built on vices and the chasing of said vices. Something like that happening shouldn’t surprise her since moving here years ago. Even someone as innocuous as that mouse girl would still just as easily have a diary of lewd acts to her name. Despite that, the Queen did appreciate the heavily instilled values of monogamy. For a place like this, she first feared she would wind up in a harem. But thankfully, it was the opposite case.

Looking through the bookcase, she pulled several books of old fables that she hasn’t heard of or loved to reread. Claiming her tomes, she left the library to head back to her room. Along the way, as she gained eyestrain, a spider girl chased for her attention.

“My Queen! My Queen!” the spider girl yelled as her eight legs carried her as fast as they could.

The Queen sighed as she turned around to the fast-approaching girl. Before her stood the red-haired court advisor in her fancy yellow vestments.

“Is there something you need of me, Carroll?” the Queen asked with books under her arm.

“There is indeed my Queen.” Carroll said while panting. “The initiates to the royal guard, today you were supposed to give them an audience.”

“Was I?” the Queen said as she stared off with a hand on her chin. “I suppose I was. Very well, take me to them. I think I’ve insulted them enough with my negligence. A formal apology is in order.”

Carroll gave a cheery smile. “Good plan my Queen.”

With her mid-day plans delayed thanks to a lapse in memory, the Queen followed her advisor to a meeting room near the front of the palace. Inside the large finely furnished room was a large group of knights, nobility, and others that found their way by chance or effort. They were ready to become members of the royal guards, and hiding within them were potentials for the Guardian Knights. All turned their heads as the Queen stepped into the room. In a wave, all knelt before her.

“You all may rise.” the Queen said as she beckoned them with a rising hand. “First, I would like to apologise deeply for my tardiness. I was too caught up in my own personal wants and neglected my duty to meet you all this day. With that, I thank you wholeheartedly for waiting on me.”

The initiates talked among themselves for an instant before a young man stepped forward.

“Don’t worry about it my Queen.” a short haired blonde man said. “We’re all honoured just to be here in your audience.”

The Queen raised a brow. “Who are you, Sir knight?”

“Sir Jett Ironwite, my Queen.” he replied.

“Sir Ironwite? Aren’t you the one that won the Kingdom Fair jousting competition a while ago…” she said before Jett delightedly chimed in.

“That I am. I valiantly performed with the backing cheer of my bros and-“

"…and lost to a no named knight?”

Snarky chuckles and laughs sprang around the room.

“What happened Sir Ironwite?” the Queen asked with a disapproving gaze. “How did you best the top that other kingdoms and lordships had to offer but lost to a nobody?”

“Because it wasn’t a nobody my Queen. It was one of our own.” Jett replied.

“Excuse me?”

“Yeah. He’s one of our own bros my Queen. A Guardian Knight at that as well. I may be good, but I’m no Guardian Knight.”

“Did you catch this knight’s name?”

“I can’t remember exactly. But I do remember this. The bro is on a quest to get that old fabled sword. You know the one, the Sword of Kingdoms.”

The room erupted in laughter at Jett. To be bested by someone chasing a fairy tale was hilariously embarrassing. An orc girl broke the laughter while still clutching her chest trying to catch her breath.

“How the hell did you lose to someone chasing a story?” she asked while choking back chuckles.

“I somehow did, but that’s fine. That guy taught me something that I needed to know, and I guess losing like that was what I need.” Jett replied.

The Queen stood with thoughts going through her head. The likelihood of hearing about that knight again in such a manner was slim but pleasing. It was only over a month or so ago when he raised his voice against her and the King and caused a scene. But to know he’s still true to his word and following his punishment was a good sign.

“I’ve heard enough.” the Queen said before the room went quiet again. “Even if it is, surprising, that Sir Ironwite lost the way he did, that is no excuse to laugh and ridicule. He took his defeat graciously like a man of his position and learned from it. I expect you all to do the same in his position.”

A chorus of “Yes my Queen” came from all in the room as Jett stood in amazement. Despite his downfall, the Queen stood up for him and made a positive example of him. At that moment in time, he couldn’t thank the knight enough since he got the cute queen of his kingdom to praise him. Engorging on fulfilment, he happily knelt to the Queen.

“Thank you, my Queen. I’ll be sure to live up to your expectations to garner your good will.” Jett said.

“I hope you do.” she replied.

“Uh, my Queen?” Carroll said as she stepped to the Queen’s side. “We’re running out of time. You were supposed to give a talk about-“

“It doesn’t matter now.” the Queen said while holding up a hand to Carroll. “Time has slipped through my fingers and I must get back to my tasks.”

“B-But my Queen!” Carroll said nervously.

“I thank you all for your time and I hope you all learned something today. Good luck with the rest of your training.” the Queen said before leisurely walking out of the room with the spider girl in chase.

Once they left, an air of relaxation sat on everyone’s shoulders before a nobleman in posh clothes spoke.

“Was hoping for a longer audience with our gracious Queen.” the pompous man said with a sigh. “Instead we get this guy that lost to a shunned knight be used as an example to the rest of us. Anyone else feeling a little demotivated?”

Mumbling came from the crowd in the room before Sir Jett replied eloquently, and swiftly.

“Bro. Can you stop being such a faggot?”

On the other side of the door, the Queen and Carroll walked by two more Guardian Knights patrolling the halls. One had his helmet off, showing his red raggedy hair and beard that made it look like he had a lion’s mane. With him was a salamander girl with platinum hair in a bob. They looked over their shoulders until the Queen and her advisor was out of earshot before talking to each other.

“So the old boss is still out there,” the salamander girl said with a relieved smile, “nice to know he’s still kicking.”

The lion-like man sighed, “Yeah. But I want the guy home already.”

“A lot of us do, Irkus.” the girl replied. “But there are still some that would rather never see him again.”

“Fuck them.” Irkus snapped back. “Even after that, you don’t turn your back on a friend. Especially a friend like him.”

“Irkus, I understand. But you need to remember that some of the other’s see him as only a commander of us and nothing more. You and I both hear their complaints of how strict he can be.”

“Then those who complained are weak-spined sloths. The reason he took the job as seriously as he did, and should, is because of old King Löwehardt. Have you noticed all the ones that complained were those who weren’t serving during Löwehardt’s rule?”

“I do. They don’t understand the way we’re raised to act.”

“And when he calls it out, he’s kicked out of the kingdom with his prestige stripped and a quest to nowhere.”

“Irkus, we both know that you can’t address the King and Queen like that. Even if he was venting the frustrations that we felt, that wasn’t the way on how to do it.”

“Yet every other time he tried to get King Bernhardt to take action, nothing came of it. What did they think would happen?”

“Irkus! Watch your tongue, the walls are thin you know.”

Irkus leant against a wall. “I know. It’s just, I want my friend back. Commander be damned, he was one of my closest friends. He helped me with the love of my life for gods’ sake.”

“He’ll be back,” the girl said with a smile, “that man always had an air around him that you knew was dependable.”

“Are you saying that his disposition is so strong he can even find a fairy tale?”

“He made one of himself with his life story from rags to riches. He’s more than our commander, he’s a friend and mentor.”

“Just like King Löwehardt…”

“Just like the King…”

As the two golden knights walked on with their patrol, the Queen and Carroll still walked and chatted as they headed towards a private room. Carroll continued to natter on about upcoming events and information the Queen needed to know. The high-pitched stream of information somehow managed to stick in the Queen’s mind despite Carroll’s voice grating on her nerves.

Ever since the leader of the Guardian Knights left for his punishment, King Bernhardt was forced to take up the responsibilities of organising the Guardian Knights. To the Queen’s prediction, he didn’t handle the sudden workload well. After having most of the palace security handled by the commander, he didn’t really know how to handle security details. The Queen then advised him to take on a few aids to help with his decisions and ease his work. All advisors were ones she knew and trusted of course.

“And for that party, you wanted to arrange, it was for your relatives and the King’s relatives along with any of our kingdom’s outstanding nobility. Is that correct?” Carroll asked.

“That is correct. All to be given a fine reception and party at the Armistra Opera House.” the Queen replied. “I don’t know why you’re going over that event’s details again. It’s set to happen in a few days.”

“Because the list was so oddly specific my Queen.” Carroll replied with a nervous smile. “Only relatives and the most influential of the kingdom were summoned for a party with no real reason.”

“There is a reason, Carroll.” the Queen said as she stopped and turned to her. “The reason why is because I deemed a party with them to be most ideal for relations right now. There has been a certain atmosphere that clouds the wealthy and influential of our kingdom. A lack of faith in my husband’s rule. Something like this would help ease said tensions.”

“But the King can’t make it to the party my Queen. He is stuck with meetings about security as the Baron of Capingale is due to visit on the same day as the party.”

“My presence should be enough to quell any descent.”

“As you wish my Queen. Also, your father is here in the private speaking quarters.”

“Good. I’ve been needing to speak with him for a while. Can you wait for me outside?”

“Of course my Queen.”

With a smile a nod, Carroll opened the door to another furnished room with a window looking out to the kingdom. Inside were two expensive carved chairs and a small round table in a room surrounded by paintings and glamour. Sitting in one of the chairs was a posh older man with short white hair and an illustrious grey coat and hat. He showed his age with many wrinkles on his hawk-like face with a pointed nose. The Queen closed the door behind her and locked the door. Small white sigils formed around her fingertips and eventually covered the door and walls in a dull white light. After a moment, the light faded away and the Queen took her seat.

“If only the people knew that their queen was a practitioner of magic.” the man said with a sly smile.

“I do my best to keep my personal life and royal life separate.” the Queen replied. “As you know full well, I value my privacy.”

“As I can tell with the muting ward.” the man said as he looked around. “Not a fan of eavesdroppers?”

“You taught me to never be trusting of my surroundings. I’m sure most would call this paranoia, but this is just what you spent so long drilling into my head, is it not?” the Queen said. “But enough about past teachings, how goes governing Liliara?”

“Very well. Nobility is under my thumb and political opponents can’t touch me. Taking over a place after it loses a war is drearily easy since no one trusted the government. But never mind my pet project, what about you? I’m curious to hear how my daughter is doing in her second or so year of becoming queen of one of the biggest kingdoms in the realm.”

“Swimmingly. Everything is going fine and to my liking. Just hosting a party to help gain the favours of the local nobility and take away some of the tension. Nobles are starting to lose faith in the King due to his lack of experience with actual kingly duties. Five years since the previous king’s death and he’s still as clueless as a spoiled prince.”

“You say that as if it’s endearing.”

“It isn’t. Political marriage to someone as dim-witted and idle as he is nearly mind breaking. Never mind the fact I must share a bed with him.”

The man chuckled, “So is it safe to assume grandchildren are out the question?”

“I didn’t even consummate the marriage. For some reason, he is incredibly weak-willed around women. He’s the complete opposite to what I’ve heard of what his father was like. Better still, didn’t want him to touch me anyway.”

“If I recall correctly, being so weak around your wife, let alone a woman, is grounds for round ridicule in this kingdom, correct?”

“Hence why you are the only person who knows. If news got out of the King being unable to stand up to his wife, the people would have an episode and all power and faith in the crown would be lost.”

“I really did teach you well about paranoia and deception. The old one’s teachings never fall to leave an impression, even to this day.”

“Or a scar…”

“What was that?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to remind you that you’re invited to the party on Saturday. Other relatives of the family and society will be there along with my husband’s family.”

“Sounds fine, I’ll be sure to go. An invitation from a fellow member of the society, let alone the appointed head, will gather quite the crowd. Not to mention one from my own daughter. But before we end this little chat, I must ask. How goes your own pet project? I know you took a great interest in fortune scrying with our elders and found something. I hear rumours and such of using fate to your advantage. Care to share what you might be doing?”

The Queen looked towards the window. “I can’t tell you.”

The man frowned. “Why not? I’m your father, you can tell me.”

“You’ve taught me the importance of paranoia, deception, and planning. Me telling you will break all three of those, and that would be a betrayal to my plans and my mind.”

“So you’re more than content to let your father twiddle his thumbs in the dark of what his asset of a daughter is doing?”

“If you think of me as nothing more than an asset, then I’m sorry for your displeasure. But I’m still a member of your family and the head of the society. You must allow me some autonomy not just out of respect of my position, but as your daughter.”

The man stood up from his seat and took off his hat. “Saturday. I expect a full disclosure on what you’re doing. That is an order from your father. Do you understand?”

“Crystal. Now please. Take you leave before you have a fit, and try to relax some at the party. I’ll be happy to explain there.”

The man gave the Queen eyes full of distrust and anger as he walked out of the room. After closing the door, the Queen got up from her seat again to lock it. After she did, she rested her head against the door as her breaths became strained as she tried to bite back emotions. She truly hated talking to that man. Meetings were always business, but that was to be expected from a man such as him. The idea of genuine pleasantries was abandoned long ago in childhood. As she regained her composure, she snapped her fingers. From the corner of the room, a person in a black cloak and shrouded face stepped out from what looked like shattering panels of light. The Queen turned to the person with her face back in its usual resting yet serious expression.

“He will be joining them at the party as you can tell.” the Queen said. “Make sure reception is quick. I want the heating for the venue well stoked and paintings to match the velvet carpets that will be rolled out that night. Also, I will be expecting that cockatail as promised. Do you understand?”

The person nodded then disappeared into shattering light. With a sigh, the Queen softly clapped her hands and the muting ward dispelled. She then left the room and on the other side waiting was Carroll.

“Is everything alright my Queen?” Carroll asked. “Your father left in quite the huff.”

The Queen nodded, “Everything is fine. He was just not happy with the choice of wine I picked for the party. He really enjoys his wine and I picked a make he wasn’t too fond of.”

“Oh. Would you like me to rearrange with catering my Queen?” Carroll asked.

“No, it’s fine. He’ll get over it soon enough. While I was in, did any courier or anyone seek you out for anything?”

“Oh! Yes, yes indeed my Queen. It appears for Saturday; the head of the city guard seeks an audience with you or the King. He wanted to discuss possibly adding more guards to the force, but wanted to seek approval from you first. Crime has taken a spike as of late. Normally we have the commander of the Guardian Knights to do this, but with him gone and the King currently occupied on that day…”

“That is not a problem, I’ll see him.”

“But my Queen, what of the party?”

“They can make due without my presence. I’ll write a letter of regards and apologies for not being able to make it. Besides, it’s nobles on a night out in Chavichad. At the end of the night, I don’t think they’ll really care. They’ll be happy to know that all the drinks are free and that women will be there. Now, is there anything else that requires my attention? I have books I would like to read.”

“That should be all my Queen.”

With an approving nod, the Queen made her leave as she walked back to her bedroom with books under her arm. With tales new and old to help pass the time, she could now patiently wait out the next few days. Everything she wanted was carrying on smoothly, and now was only a matter of time until the last few ​frays of her loose ends were cut away.

Getting pretty hype. I wonder how knight-san will save the day.

Delilah sighed, “Maybe you’re right. Instead of running, perhaps I should face my problems.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know. But it sounds along the lines of something the knight would try to teach.” Delilah lifted her head off her arms and sat up straight. “That one line he emphasised keeps circling in my mind. ‘Don’t be a faggot’. I figured all this time that me evading everything was smart, but I guess there are things I just have to stand against.”

“What’s this? This isn’t the usual line of thinking for a thief.” Mona said as she finished her drink. She raised her hand to catch the orc bartender’s attention. “Listen. Even I know there are some situations you have to hop away from, but sometimes you must stand your ground as you said. Look, I was just trying to convince you to buy a weapon or something, not give you a talk about how to look at life. Hell, I can't possibly give good life advice since I don't know much about yours.”

“I know. But you’re the only person that I can even talk to about that.” Delilah said as she meekly looked at her floppy-eared companion. “You are the first person I have travelled with after all. So I guess that amounts to something.”

“Aww, well isn’t that sweet. To think you picked me up on a whim because of that knight. To tell you the truth, it has been fun so far. And for a thief, you’re not that bad a girl.”

The orc came to Mona to retrieve her empty glass. “Anything else you need?” he asked in a deep gruff voice as he cleaned a tankard.

“Another carrot juice and gin, please. And a cranberry and gin for my friend.” she replied.

“Coming right up.” the old orc said as he walked towards the racks of drinks to prepare the order.

The loud and somewhat merry atmosphere was a rest from the fruitless travel around Crown Forest days ago. While Mona was more than willing to dive head first into the forest, Delilah knew better. She picked up on the rumours surrounding that forest on the way through various towns and figured it was a death trap. If the knight was willing to dive into such a place, she knew that either he thought the sword was there, or a clue was. Either way, when he makes it out she would follow his trail again. But still, it has been days since then and worries stirred within her. If the knight has perished within that forest, then she wouldn’t be able to observe and figure out what makes him tick. Let alone Mona wouldn’t be able to give her thanks properly.

The orc bartender came back once again with the new round of drinks. As the two girls drank and chatted on, a new arrival stepped into the mad bar. Eyes turned to see a man in battered and heavily damaged plate armour. Large gashes peeled away steel on his side and dents covered his chest. On his back was a claymore and on his hip was what could be assumed to be a sword covered in white cloth with a bright gold string. The roughnecks in the tavern eyed the man over as he took a seat at an empty table. From the man’s shoulder hopped down a tiny girl, red-headed, and fairy winged. She stood on the table, looking back towards the steeled man and talking to him. ​Mumbling and discerning conversation passed about as the tavern goers tried to make sense of this new stranger. A beaten-up knight with a fairy and a wrapped sword is no common occurrence.

Delilah took notice of the recent chatter of gossip and looked over the scruffy heads of the tavern goers. At the far end of the crowd at a table, she could see her mouse. Her eye’s widened in excitement. His appearance may be worse for wear, but there was little room for doubt. The silent knight of Chavichad has come within her sights once again, and this time, with a few surprises. The fairy for starters was odd enough to say the least, but the biggest attention grabber to the curious cat was the covered sword on his hip. Thoughts of impossibilities ran through her head before she was forced to accept what she saw with little room for doubt. For all she could see, the knight may very well have fulfilled his quest and is now returning home. But she couldn’t let this forced assumption be. No, with rekindled interest she wished to see the climax of his works. To see how that phrase of his carried him across the land to find a legend. A large grin crept across her face in delight.

“Hey, Mona!” Delilah said eagerly as she turned to the drinking girl. “The chase is back on!”

“Back on?” Mona asked. “Wait. You mean he’s here?!”

Delilah downed the last of her drink and smiled widely, “I think we’re in the home stretch for this little knightly episodic excursion of ours.” She hopped off the bar stool and disappeared into the crowd.

“H-Hey! Wait up!” Mona yelled before she finished her drink as well. After tossing a few gold coins onto the counter top, she gave chase into the crowd so she wasn’t left behind by her spirited friend.

Meanwhile, at the other side of the tavern, the knight could feel the strain lifting from his legs after his trek to reach Markusbryn. The wooden chair under him creaked as he settled his dead weight into it. Luli looked around with concern from all the stares she noticed she was getting.

“What’s with these looks? Have these people not seen a fairy before?” she asked with a huff.

The knight knew in all fairness to the people in the tavern that seeing a fairy is a rarity. He couldn’t help with the looks she attracted, but he was sure to step in if someone overstepped their bounds. With a light wave of his fingers, he urged Luli to calm down.

“If you say so.” she replied as she sat on the table.

She looked around the grizzled bar, somewhat entranced by it’s rough yet earnest look. It was violent and unruly, yet was fine with itself and didn’t pretend to be something it wasn’t. It was paradoxically relaxing. While the knight rested his feet, Luli’s curiosity got the better of her. Hopping back to her feet, she took to the air. She flew up to the bar and caught the attention of the orc barkeep. They stared at each other for a small moment. Luli bobbed around to see all the details of the old orc while he just looked back with a puzzled expression.

“I have never seen one of your kind before.” the little fairy said as the barkeep calmly cleaned glasses. “If I remember what the Titania taught us, you’re one of the green-skinned orcs, right?”

“I am.” the orc replied. “And you’re a fairy, right?”

“Yessir.” she said with a happy chirp to her voice.

“Then I have to ask,” the old orc said as he settled down a glass, “why in the hell are you in a place like this? Don’t you have a magic grove you’re meant to be living in? This place isn't the most comforting or accommodating for your kind.”

“Oh! That’s easy to explain. It all happened nearly a week ago in the forest…”

As Luli gave the bartender the story of how she’s now the travelling companion to the knight, the knight eyed around the tavern. Off to his right, he noticed an odd figure downing pint after pint of ale at a table. It was a large and portly man, covered in steel plates and chain mail. He also wore a red and white striped and blue tunic with white stars around the collar. As the fat man merrily drank another pint glass, two ragged mercenaries in coats stood on the other side of the table of him.

“So what’s a fat man like you doing in those tasteless colours?” the taller mercenary of the two asked. “I didn't know that they were so desperate for people they even give the obese a sword.”

“There’s a reason people don’t take you eagles seriously. I mean, just look at you. You’re wearing glasses under your helmet.” the other mercenary said. “Fat and poor sighted, what use does your outfit have for you?”

A mere barrage of petty remarks. Such low-grade insults should wash off the chest of any man worth his salt. However, the knight wasn’t the only one who overheard the insults. Breaking away from her conversation with the bartender, Luli felt a twinge of annoyance when she heard the two mercenaries. Filled with self-righteousness, she flew to the man’s side.

“Don’t you have something better to be doing than talking down to someone?” Luli asked with crossed arms.

“A fairy? Don’t you have a story book to run back into?” the tall one asked with a chuckle.

“Better yet, why not we just put you into a jar. I’m sure someone somewhere would pay a pretty penny for a toy like you.” the other one said with a cruel grin.

The knight heard enough. Letting a stranger stand up for himself is one thing, but threatening to sell his companion off into slavery is a brand of faggotry he would not stand for. He stood up from his seat and walked to the other table. He tapped the top of Luli’s head and pointed to his shoulder, asking her to take a seat. She complied and sat down while the two mercenaries looked over the knight.

“So what’s this beaten up toy soldier want?” the short mercenary asked. “Here to protect your fairy friend?”

“Hold on a minute.” the tall one said as he eyed the knight’s armour. His eyes focused on the pauldron that bore a now faded and scratched coat of arms. “A chav?! What the hell is a chav doing all the way out here?”

“What’s a chav doing with a fairy anyway?” the short one said as he stared at Luli. “Did his limp dick king send him on a silly quest like the errand boy he is.”

Disrespect to the King caused the knight to reply quickly in the only fashion he could. Through rude gesture. A single middle finger from his left hand would suffice to show the mercenary his ire. The short mercenary saw the finger, then promptly drew a dagger and held it next to the knight’s finger.

“You want to try that again?” he said with a displeasure filled grimace. “I’ll guarantee that if you do it again you won’t have that finger anymore.”

A threat, all the go ahead the knight needed. With his other hand, he gave another finger. The mercenary then took a swipe at his left middle finger, but the knight pulled it away. Then, the knight grabbed the mercenary by the collar and headbutted him. With a loud clang, the mercenary toppled over on the ground unconscious. His friend at the table and others around him waded through the crowd and surrounded the knight and the table. Luli quickly took off from the knight’s shoulder, well aware of the slugfest that will ensue.

“Good grief, I was alright with letting the personal insults go.” the large man at the table said as he loved the visor of his helmet. “But I guess I’m pulled into this one as well. Well, I thank you little fairy for the thought, but it was better off to just let those punks jabber on.”

The man took one of the empty pint glasses on the table, then flipped the table into the other mercenary. When distracted with the flung table, the portly man smashed the glass over the mercenary’s head. When dazed by the sudden strike, the mercenary was then sent reeling to the ground from a steel plated punch to the face. After that, the floodgates opened. Ruffian after ruffian assailed the knight and man, throwing punches and swinging with anything that wasn’t nailed to the door. Despite the man’s size, he fought like a seasoned warrior. Never made a misstep and every strike purposefully placed to bring a man down quickly. It was watching a fat ballerina of war. With every crash of glass and snapping of wood, another mercenary hit the booze-stained ground with either a broken nose or a bruised rib.

Even while the fight was centred around two people, collateral damage did eventually occur. A stray chair tossed towards the bar but was caught by the orc barkeep. After the skilful catch, he returned the chair to its sender and crashed into the back of the head of a mercenary. Another mercenary was thrown into the back of a group of thugs, causing them to spill their drinks. Said mercenary then got a further pummeling on the ground by angry drunk criminals. Drinking glasses crashed, a window shattered, a few tables were now split in two to fit their new unconscious guests.

After a few minutes of brawling, the last man hit the floor with a groan and bloodied face. To teach these idiots a thing or two about picking fights with trained soldiers, the knight took the coin purses of the fallen mercenaries. Not to keep for himself, no, but to give to the other patrons of the tavern. With handfuls of gold and silver, the knight tossed coins out to the crowd. The tavern goers cheered wildly as the reached for the falling money, hoping to buy free liquor. To cover the damages, the knight handed a few of the coin purses to the old orc behind the bar.

“If people settled things like that more often I wouldn’t have a problem with these fights.” the old orc said as he took the last of the coin purses. “Gets expensive to repair the place after brawls like that. Anyway, thanks. I should make it a rule that losers pay up.”

After appeasing the bartender, the large man placed a hand on the knight’s shoulder.

“Would have preferred to keep my drinking session quiet. But, when someone with a heart as big as that little one’s says something I guess I can’t help it.” he said as he pulled up his metal visor. The knight could see the man’s rather full cheeks and a small pair of glasses that sat near the end of his nose.

Luli flew back to her perch on the knight’s shoulder. “Sorry for causing you trouble,” she said, sulking, “I just thought-“

“It’s fine, don’t sweat it.” the man said with a boastful laugh. “Just make sure to learn that in these types of places, it’s best to keep your head down and not start anything. No good comes from trying to start a fight, but since it happened it best to end it in your favour. And hey, it all ended for the better. Ain’t that right lads?!”

A rousing cheer and clattering of drinkware came from the drunken patrons of the tavern, more than happy with the free drinks they now drowned themselves in. The knight turned to face the large man and extended a hand. The man reciprocated in kind with a smile.

“Surprised to find another trained in military martial arts all the way out here.” the man said. “Were you a serviceman in Chavichad?”

The knight nodded his head and pointed at the man, asking him of where he learned to fight as he did.

“Me? Used to serve in the Districts of Am’rka’s army. In fact, most of my current compatriots in our outfit were as well. Say, while I still have my self-appointed free time going, why don’t I introduce you to some of them. I’m sure they’ll love a guy who knows how to fight and throw away spoils generously.”

With a merry chuckle, the man took the knight under his arm and headed for the exit of the tavern. As the two parted through the crowd of patrons, they were showered in fair wishes and cheer. An odd juxtaposition given the environment. Then the knight remembered, he did just give them all free drinks. But that was a given on what to do with war spoils ever since he served. After defeating an opposing army by sacking an encampment or fort, the higher ups always used the spoils for on the spot entertainment. He remembered something that old King Löwehardt said, “If it’s not yours or your people's money, then the coffers of generosity are endless.”

After Luli waved goodbye to the barkeeper and the people of the tavern, the three left the tavern to the old cobblestone street outside. The evening sun was just started to set and the various people of the town started to make their last errands before heading home. However, standing in the middle of the street were another trio of figures. In the middle of two other men clad in same armour as of the fat man was a woman. A kikimora in a red double-breasted great coat with brass buttons stood with a displeased scowl on her scarred face. She crossed her arms as she took a great sigh, staring down the large man.

“So this is where you ran off to?” the kikimora asked, her voice laden with a thick north-eastern accent. “How many times have I told you before, I can not have my logistics officer running off whenever he feels like having a stray jar of kvass.”

“It was several pints of ale actually…” the man said as he scratched his head.

“Zatknis'. I ordered you to stay at your post, not to get drunk with locals.” the kikimora said sternly. She flicked one of her dropping grey feather-like hair bangs aside as she looked to the knight. “Kak eto?”

The knight looked back at the woman. Her clear-cut amber eyes seemed to stare right through him, like they were judging him. Her appearance was awfully contradictory to the knight as well. A pretty face yet covered in scars with a large one across the bridge of the nose. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, and with the already feather like look of kikimora hair, it looked like a feather duster on the back of her head. The colours she wore bore no resemblance to that of the two men beside her. Red with a black wool lined collar.

“I will ask again. How is he?” the kikimora asked.

“A soldier like us. Helped me out in a bar fight just a few minutes ago.” the man said before instantly regretting mentioning the last part.

“Radi boga! You have had a fight as well?! Why?!” she demanded.

Luli flew over the knight’s shoulder and hovered in front of him. She couldn’t bare herself to stare the commanding woman in the eye due to embarrassment and guilt from being the cause of the ruckus.

“That was my mistake. I just wanted some jerks to stop bullying him but I shouldn’t have gotten involved. Sorry for causing you trouble.” Luli said with a meek voice.

The kikimora’s eyes widened in surprise to see the little fairy. “Mattis, Patton, take Franklin back to camp.” She then pointed to the knight and the fairy, “You two. I want a talk with you both.”

The two men at her side and the fat man gave a salute to the kikimora before walking away to their camp. Left alone, the kikimora stepped forward with a slightly relaxed expression.

“Excuse me for my tone. I have to keep my men sharp and not slack off as Franklin did.” She stepped forward and offered a hand to the knight. “I am Alexandra Odinkorol, commander of the Dollared Eagles.”

The knight shook her hand before Luli pressed both her hands on Alexandra’s, attempting to join in the handshake.

“And you little one. I must thank you for being kind enough to stand by my men. Not many are willing to do that.” Alexandra said with a small warm smile.

“But I caused a fight,” Luli said with shock, “I thought you were upset about that?”

“Do not be mistaken, I am upset. Franklin should have done something to diffuse the situation to not cause trouble.” Alexandra said with her naturally stern look.

The knight shook his head. The fight wasn’t avoidable, his actions made sure of it. Alexandra looked at the knight with a raised brow.

“Izvinite? Why do you nod?” Alexandra asked.

“I think he means he doesn’t agree with you.” Luli said as she looked to the knight. “Back inside, the men he beat up started to threaten me then threatened him. It’s our fault that we got your guy tied up in a fight. Once again, I’m really sorry we caused you trouble. If there is anything we can do to make up for it please tell us.”

The knight looked at Luli with a stupefied expression. He worried now that the woman would have something for the knight to do, and in turn delay his return home. As much as he did agree with Luli’s sentiment, time was of the essence and he did not want to waste it.

Alexandra waved her hand, “Nyet, do not apologise. That may excuse him of the fight but he should not have been at that tavern in the first place.” She then looked the knight again. “You. You are military trained?”

The knight begrudgingly nodded his head. He could feel the request coming.

“Well, if you do not mind, and since your friend offered, I have something I must ask of you.”

A small sigh of discontent and irritation escaped the knight. He knew full well it would be rude and rather faggoty of him to turn down the offer for help now. As they stood in the street, the sound of mumbled whispers came from back alleys and rooftops. Alexandra’s eyes darted all over like a hawk searching for prey. With a small shake of her head, she motioned for the knight and Luli to follow her.

“You do not mind if we take our conversation elsewhere?” Alexandra asked as she already began to walk away.

The knight and Luli looked to each other with bewildered expressions and shrugged. They followed the odd speaking kikimora on her walk through the rough town. Meanwhile, the sounds of shifting roof tiles and breaking glass echoed out from here and there. As the knight walked, Delilah and Mona sneaked close by, making sure to not lose their mark again. While hiding around a corner of a building, Mona peered at the red-coated kikimora.

“Do you know that feather duster?” Delilah asked with a subdued laugh.

“Kinda.” Mona replied in a whisper. “I know she’s in charge of a fairly unpopular mercenary group. But other than that? Nothing.”

“A kikimora in charge of mercenaries?” Delilah said in awe. “I thought their kind were more pinned towards domestic work as maids. It is in their instinct after all.”

“Every now and then you do get the odd one out that breaks the mould.” Mona said.

“You mean like how a cottontail like you ended up being a cut throat?”

Mona spun around and stared down Delilah, “A cut-throat?! I’m just an adventurer! What about you, you little cat burglar?”

“Hey, I’m actually playing up to a stereotype here. Meowsterfully as well, might I add. Besides, if I recall correctly from a book about our kind, common species like us don’t have as powerful instinctual dispositions than others.”

“Really? So wait, you wouldn’t make a man yours when you get the chance?”

“Who said I wouldn’t? Don’t worry girl, if I see a man I want, I’ll make sure he’ll come down with a case of cat scratch fever either by choice or force. Besides, I was talking about dispositions to occupations and stuff, not that. Everyone knows monster girls like us love men.”

“True.” Mona peered around the corner again to find the knight is barely in sight. “Dammit! We’re letting him get away again!”

“Well let’s not stand here, c’mon we gotta go!”

Rushing forth from their hiding place and into the next out of sight lookout, they trailed the knight as he followed the stern kikimora. The knight ​mulled over what’s happened so far and came to one conclusion. Despite having his key for home, the world will always find some way of delaying him. But if delays must plague him, then he will try his hardest to end them quickly. After all, he has a horse and friends at home waiting for him, and he would be quite the faggot to keep them waiting for much longer.

>>245208

I'm sure I won't get board of looking

>>245208

I think you're doing a fantastic job honestly. One of the best stories I've seen on this board. I'm willing to wait for updates for a while since you put out pretty long chapters with consistent quality.

Just don't let it disappear like so many other good stories tend to, kay?

>>252267

Sorry for the delay. In between a bit of a hectic January I had to do rewrites to fit what I want to do. Next part should be up by late Sunday/Monday. Please wait warmly.

As I said, no matter what this story will conclude appropriately.

All those years on the battlefield must have given her a sixth sense. It was a tad eerie to the knight for someone to pick apart what he was so quickly with only a hand gesture and a look.

“Since we both know the struggles of soldier life, I must tell you that life as a well-organized mercenary is hard. Or at least it is for me.”

Off the bat, the knight was sceptical. He knew from first hand that mercenary work is cushy compared to that of a soldier’s. You get paid more much quickly for doing less and you don’t have to devout loyalty to anyone. Or at least that is what most say after having a few drinks at a pub or tavern.

“Both me and my men are from distant lands. I came from the frozen forests and mountains of Gopisnov, and my men from the plains of Am’rka. Ever since we began work here, we have been plagued by nevezeniye, bad luck. Despite all our efforts to present ourselves as well ordered and professional, in every victory there was always some fault people looked at to denigrate us.”

Finding a mythical sword is one thing, but curing a case of chronic bad luck was another. The knight was no miracle worker and was growing more and more cynical of the kikimora’s request.

“That is why today, I will make sure there is no room for fault. We were hired to defend the town against a coming bandit raid, but I want to go one step higher. I want their leaders dokhlyy. Dead.”

Then it all clicked together. Bandits can’t regroup and attack again once their leaders are gone and dead. In time, they disperse and leave the place alone. At least until the next strong upstart takes place nearby. The knight understood what she wanted. Make a victory look so complete with no errors that there is no other way to look at it than positively. If you can’t rely on luck, make your own. The knight nodded in understanding of the request.

“Prevoskhodnyy. You follow what I had in mind.” Alexandra stood up and looked up the stream towards the mountain. “My scouts have found the nest where these bandits are getting their orders from. Up in the mountain now more than thirty or so minutes away by a spring where this creek comes from. Though I must warn you, we only have a rough knowing of how many are there. Ten or more and whoever is giving the orders.”

A hike with a fight at the end. Doesn’t sound that bad compared to what he’s had to deal with before, even with uncertain numbers. The knight stood up and cracked his knuckles, ready to hurry on with her task so he could hurry back on his journey. Besides, for a mercenary, she didn’t seem that bad a person and the guy he was with in the tavern wasn’t bad himself. If they are examples of what this group is, they were deserving of the knight’s kindness and respect.

“Spasibo. When this is done, I will forever be in your debt.” she said with hope in her eyes. “Allowing my men to prove themselves without blemish at long last is a dream I have had for too long.”

Her words dripped in sincerity. The knight could only imagine how hard it might have been for her. The way how she put the reputation of her men first was earnest and she wanted better for them. Never mind being a faggot for turning down an offered request, the knight would be a massive faggot for squashing an honourable dream like that. She may be a mercenary, but the heart of a soldier fires strong in her heart, and the knight could sympathise with that.

During their chat, a light rustling of foliage came from around them. It wasn’t the breeze for it was too sudden and forceful. Alexandra’s ears noticed the odd noises, and she gave a sigh.

“I was hoping we could have our talk in peace.” she said as she pulled a knife from her pocket.

Her eyes darted to a noise in a tree canopy. With a lightning fast motion, she threw the knife towards the tree leaves. A dull thwack echoed back. After a few seconds, a person came crashing down from the trees. It was a man in a tunic and scraps of leather hide covering his arms and padded his shoulders. By his side fell a small sword and embedded into the dirt below. Alexandra darted for the sword as the knight rushed Luli to hurry and hide. From the surrounding trees dropped four more men, all in different armours as if they belonged to separate bandit groups.

While Alexandra managed to arm herself, the knight, unfortunately, didn’t have time to draw his weapon. The bandits broke into teams of two, trying to outnumber the knight and the kikimora. They circled their targets, making them aware that they can strike at any time.

“So, you are the woman in charge of those nosey boys.” A bandit said slyly. “Count me as surprised that a glorified feather duster is the leader.”

The other bandits laughed before another spoke. “Don’t you have a master that you should be fawning over like a loyal dog? Or a master’s son to be oogling?”

Alexandra sighed. “This is not the first time that people were sent to kill me. You can spare me the chatter and make a move. You all be another failed attempt like the rest.”

A bandit grimaced, “That’s a lot of confidence for a foreign dog.”

“I was not boasting. I speak only in facts.”

“Then here’s a fact for ya. Even with that gnarled tin man, you’re outnumbered.”

“True. But you are the ones who are outmatched.”

Unfazed by the odds, Alexandra made the first move. In a situation like this, she learned that catching your assailants off guard is a good first step to turning a fight in your favour. The two sword-wielding bandits’ eyes widened in surprise as Alexandra left no time to waste as she attacked her nearest foe. The bandit barely deflected the swipe of the sword as he took a step back. But as Alexandra attacked, she turned her back to the other bandit. The bandit saw an opportunity and lunged forward, attempting to impale the kikimora. But this was all to her plan. With a quick duck and keeping herself low to the ground, the sword passed right over her. Before the bandit had a chance to recover from his miss, Alexandra made her next move. With force, she swept the weight supporting leg of the bandit. The hard and tough avian skin that made the majority of her leg caused a dull thud when it met the bandit’s shin. As he fell forwards Alexandra placed one last hit in for good measure. Fluidly she rose back up and gave a roundhouse kick to the back of the falling bandit’s head.

With a hard impact, the bandit face planted into the ground below, completely unconscious. The remaining bandit tried to get another slash in, but Alexandra took no time keeping up her defence. The slash was parried away to the bandit’s surprise. He kept swinging, hoping to finally get a strike in. But each hit was met and batted away, causing the bandit to become panicked. To fight someone, let alone a kikimora, that could match his strikes was chilling. Alexandra could see her chance to capitalise on his now frantic attacks. A swing came down at an odd angle overhead but was stopped by a parry that batted the bandit’s sword arm clear. With a quick dash, Alexandra closed the gap between them. Stabbing her sword into the dirt behind her, she punched the bandit squarely between the eyes. The bandit reeled, dropping his sword to cover his face. Alexandra wrestled his arms from him and balanced him on her back. With a tug and bend, she threw the bandit over her shoulder and on top of the other bandit. Picking up her scavenged sword she drove it through the two, pinning them to the ground. Dusting off her hands, she noticed a small sting on her cheek. Dragging a finger across, she noticed a very small streak of blood.

“Not even deep enough to scar. Zhalostnyy.” she said with a disappointed sneer.

While she fought, the knight had his hands full with his disadvantage. With no weapon, he had to rely on his hand to hand skill than his swordsmanship again. While trained and competent with his skill, he preferred to fight with steel in his hand. The bandits that surrounded him both had pairs of pointed daggers. Giving them one moment to let them stab at the gashes in his armour would spell death. Without hesitation, the knight made the first move. Hiding his side with the gashes, he shoulder barged the nearest bandit over. While staggered by the sudden move, the bandit tried to stab at the knight. The points of his blades only made tiny dents and holes on the knight’s exposed side. The bandit reeled and rolled over and the other ran up to the knight. The knight turned around to hide his gashed side, keeping his mind sharp to stay alive. The bandit made a stab at the knight, but missed by a dodge to the left. He stabbed again, but this time the knight caught the bandit’s arm and tugged him forward, throwing him off balance. As the bandit fell forward, the knight delivered an uppercut to the bandit’s chin, followed by another direct punch to the face, and finally a headbutt. Dazed and on the verge of unconsciousness, the bandit fell and slipped backwards into the creek and drifted away.

The other bandit on the ground threw one of his daggers at the knight in a last-ditch effort to inflict some damage. A sharp pain came from the knight’s right shoulder as the dagger embedded itself through the coat of arms. The knight yanked the dagger out from his shoulder, finding blood on its tip. The bandit jumped to his feet and tried to make a move for the knight’s gashed side. Swipe after swipe was dodged or batted off the knight’s plated arms. One swipe was grabbed mid-swing by the knight, and he took his counter attack. The knight drove the dagger through the bandit’s chest. The bandit’s arm went limp, and the knight let go.

As the bandit’s body hit the ground, the knight gave a deep sigh of relief. Luli descended from the treetops with a worried expression as she hovered around the knight’s wounded shoulder. A small stain of red covered the lower lip of the puncture in the armour.

“Does that hurt?” Luli asked .

The knight waved his hand. He’s been through worse and a dagger to the shoulder isn’t going to do much.

“You sure? That did draw blood after all.” Luli said as she tried to take off the knight’s pauldron.

His shoulder stung with pain with every sudden jolt. Reflexively, he grabbed his wounded shoulder.

“So it does hurt! We need to get that wound treated!” Luli said as she flew in front of the knight.

Alexandra dusted off her coat as she walked up to the knight, “Your experience does show. Even without a weapon, you still handled yourself well. Molodets.” She looked at the knight’s shoulder. “But with every fight, there is the chance of injury. Come, my men can help with that before you go find the bandit leader.” She started to walk towards the exit of the garden before she stopped and looked over her shoulder. “And thank you for the help.”

With that, she continued walking and the knight and Luli followed without a question. Walking back through the town they went to a large area beside the main gate in the wall, tucked behind a loaded horse stable. It was spare flat land that usually went unused, but today was home to a makeshift staging grounds and camp. Brown tents were all over, and mercenaries in the familiar red, white, and blue surcoats walked and worked about. The sound of a violin filled the air, playing folk music of a far-off land. It played slow and cheery, calling back to the home it came from. The mercenaries gave salutes to Alexandra as she walked by before they went back to what they were doing.

Alexandra guided the knight to the inside of one of the bigger tents. Inside were two rows of empty cots, and by a table at the far end of the tent sat a black-haired bearded man writing in a diary. He was oblivious to his guests as they walked up to his table.

“I better not catch you blissfully writing in that book while the bandits come. Your attention dulls when you write.” Alexandra said in a stern voice.

The man shot up straight in his seat and his quill fumbled out of his hands. “C-Commander!” he said as he gave a salute. “Sorry, I didn’t notice you come in.”

“That was the issue at hand, Sergeant Still.” she replied. “But that will have to wait. We have a guest that requires your expertise.”

Still looked by his looming commander to see the knight with the fairy on his shoulder.

“Is that a-“ he said before he was cut off

“A fairy, yes. This man needs a look at his injured shoulder.” she said with haste in her voice.

Still’s eyes focused when she said injured. “Then, by all means, take a seat on a cot. Remove the armour from the injured area and I’ll see what I can do.”

The knight sat down on the nearest cot and unbuckled the plate armour on his right arm. The white linen armour underneath was stained with a dirty red around the cut.

“I’m going to need you to take off the linen jacket.” Still said. “I can’t treat a wound through padded linen.”

The knight was apprehensive. It might be currently sunset, but light still shined. He couldn’t remove his cuirass yet due to rule two. He waved his hand at Still, putting his arm plating back on.

“You sure? That was a fair amount of blood.” Still said with a frown. “I can’t disinfect it unless I can get to the wound.”

The knight knew he raised a good point. Gods know where that dagger has been. Seeing as though he hasn’t exactly been rushed off his feet to hurry on to deal with those bandits, he might be able to make a compromise. If he comes back when it’s dark, he can take off his armour and let the man does his work. But now the knight had a problem. How does he convey that to the man? Thinking on his feet, he made simple hand movements. He pointed at himself with his thumb, then held a fist vertically, followed by two fingers pointing at his eyes to Still’s, and finally an “L” made with his index finger and thumb. The knight thought this was ingenious. A perfect series of gesture to say “I will see you later”. But alas, he was met with confused stares.

“I’m sorry, what?” Still said with a perplexed expression.

“Svyatoy ad.” Alexandra said with a hand covering her face. “What are you doing? Can you not talk?”

“He never talks.” Luli replied. “I don’t know why, but he never says a word. But he tries his best to talk and stuff by doing charades. And it’s fun! I’m super good at it!”

Alexandra and Still looked to the little fairy. “Really?” they asked in unison.

“Yeah! Hey knight, can you do it again? One thing at time?” Luli asked .

The knight looked at her but gave a shrug. If she said she could do it, he was willing to give her a try. He gave the first gesture, pointing to himself with his thumb.

“That’s easy. You.”

That was easy enough. He gave the next one, the upward fist.

“Hmm…A fist. Strength? Strong? Strong…Strong-willed? No, wait! Will! You will!”

The knight was surprised. Two for two and it only took her a few seconds to decipher what he meant. Moving along with glee, he pointed to his eyes then pointed to Still.

“That’s easy. See you. Wait, I can guess the sentence! You will see him later!”

The knight clapped and pointed at her. He was impressed how quickly she could piece together his thought.

“Yes! See? I told you I’m good at this game!” Luli said as she did a pirouette in the air.

Still and Alexandra looked to each other, bewildered by the game of charades that happened. Ambivalence was written on their faces as they couldn’t tell to either feel stupid or impressed. Still snapped out of his dumbfounded trance with a cough.

“If that is the case, I will be more than happy to treat you later. Be sure not to take too long.” he said as he reclined in his chair.

The knight nodded and rose from his chair.

"I’ll be here when you need me. Also, commander, everything is set. Sergeant Crockett is waiting for your permission to employ his little ‘project’.” Still said as he took up his quill.

“Spasibo. I will see him immediately.” Alexandra said as she began to walk to the entrance of the tent.

“Hope his little experiment works. Franklin wasn’t all too happy about the coin needed to make Crockett’s toys.” he said as he wrote in his diary.

“There is no need to worry. Everything was budgeted so we could go along with Crockett’s ideas. Franklin is upset because it meant less liquor.” Alexandra replied with a smirk.

Still chuckled as he wrote away. The three left the tent and back to the well-treaded grounds outside. Alexandra sighed as she muttered something in her native tongue, remembering her arrangement with Crockett.

“I am sorry,” Alexandra said as she turned to face knight, “but I must meet with one of my men in private. Please wait for me at the mess area while I take care of important matters. When I get back, I’ll see to having your armour repaired. Is that okay, da?”

The knight nodded and they parted ways for the time being. As he walked to the mess, Luli grumbled on his shoulder.

“Don’t you think it’s a little rude that she just walked off like?” Luli asked.

The knight didn’t feel insulted due to Alexandra having to go for a small while. From the sounds of things from Still, there is something that these mercenaries were up to. Granted it didn’t exactly sound nefarious, but it was treated with due urgency even if guests were around. The knight could sympathise with that. Nothing should come before the organisation of your men. With that, the knight shook his head to Luli’s question.

“Really? You must have weird manners.” Luli said with a pout.

They reached the tree sheltered mess. The canopies of the trees loomed over to form a natural shelter over rows over tables that end to a kitchen tent. About twenty men were there, eating cooked pork chops and potatoes with ale. A man sat In the middle of the mess on a barrel, playing the violin and filling the air with the sound of their country’s folk music. It was lively with everyone talking and laughing merrily with a homely ambience. It felt a bit strange to the knight to barge into their routine, so he decided to take a seat at one of the empty tables near the front of the mess area. As he took a moment to rest his feet and Luli went on the table for a few stretches, a familiar voice came from behind them.

“So you took on the request from our boys' favourite kiki.” A man’s voice said as something heavy sat next to the knight.

The knight looked out of the corner of his eye and saw the portly man from the tavern, Franklin. He was without his helmet, showing a receding hair line and his comically small glasses resting on his nose.

“Oh! It’s you from the tavern!” Luli said with a smile. “I hope you didn’t get in too much trouble from before.”

“Probation from alcohol as ordered by the captain.” He said with a shrug. “He saw that as punishment enough for me. Sad thing is he’s right.” He hunches forwards in his seat, clasping his hands together. “But that’s enough about fat old me, you took on the boss’s request about the bandits, didn’t you?”

“How did you know about that?” Luli asked. “It seemed pretty secret since she took us to a garden to speak about it.”

“The three other sergeants and the captain know. I’m a sergeant too so I’m in the know.” he replied.

Could have fooled the knight. The knight did catch that he was an officer but he didn’t think that high in the standings if this mercenary company.

“Anyway, thanks for helping.” Franklin said. “We have a lot riding on tonight and it will be good morale for the boys to do well.” He stared out at the other end of the mess area, watching the men take their leisure. “You know, we’ve been in this province for a while. As I’m sure our secret bleeding heart boss will have told you, we’re not lucky. But even if today doesn’t go as planned, I do thank you. One thing to help a guy out in a bar fight, another to help a guy’s family.”

The knight turned his head at Franklin.

“Remember how I said before that most of us here came from the same army? I’ve been with them for years. This mercenary job is only new.”

Luli walked on the table to stand in front of Franklin, “Then how did you meet Miss Alexandra? You guys came from places apart.”

“A disenfranchised company and a lonely tactician go hand in hand.” Franklin said as he sat up straight. “Coupled with a faithful day where our old commander ran and this travelling woman took charge, we became inseparable ever since. She guards after our dreams and we work to help with hers.”

“Dreams?” Luli asked with a cocked head.

“I always wanted to start a printing press, but a soldier's pay couldn’t bring that true.” he said as he looked at the fairy. “Every man here has something he wants to do. We’re just putting our lives first to earn our way there.”

“And of Miss Alexandra?”

“Well-“

Cutting off Franklin was a sound that exploded sharply in the air of the near night sky. The mess area went quiet upon hearing it and not a clatter of cutlery or chord of a violin came. After a few seconds, the same sound fired again. Without the background noise, it was much more defined. To the knight, it was like a cannon, but shriller and minute with a pop instead of a thunderous pow. Finally, a third bang pierced the silence. Everyone was in trance and curious about the trio of alien sounds. Cautiously, they went back to eating their food and talking, but the violin player decided to stop for the evening.

“That was scary.” Luli said as she flew onto the knight’s shoulder. "Never heard anything like that before."

A smile grew on Franklin’s face, “I’ll be damned. They worked.”

“What worked?” Luli asked.

“Well-“ Franklin said before someone shouted over.

“Say another word and I will make sure alcohol is not the only thing you are prohibited from.”

Franklin arose from his seat and faced the voice. Standing behind him was Alexandra looking at him with a cold even glare.

“Commander!” Franklin said as he gave a salute. “I wasn’t about to say anything. I was just about to explain that I can’t explain anything. Honestly.”

Alexandra gave a small huff and a smirk, “At ease then sergeant.” She looked at the knight, “Sorry for absence. Iskrenne. I should not be occupied for the rest of the evening.” Her eyes trailed off to the canopy of the nearest overhanging tree and she sighed. “However, one more quick thing requires me. Bare me one second.”

The three watched Alexandra walk over to the nearby tree. With a stern and powerful kick, the tree shook hard. From the sudden jolt, something came falling from the leaves and onto the table. With a thud, a white-haired bunnygirl laid on the table. She laid there with her head limply swaying side to side in dizziness. All the men in the mess noticed and armed with knives and forks they surrounded the table. Wary of the intruder, they were ready to strike with whatever kitchen utensil they had in hand.

“Proklyat'ye. I am getting tired of these ease droppers.” Alexandra said as she looked at the girl.

The knight stood up when he saw the girl in front of him. It was the same bunnygirl from weeks ago. The knight lightly brushed the cheek of the girl, trying to get her attention. Slowly, she came too with an uneasy grin.

“Hi again Sir Knight.” Mona said. “I hope you’re doing okay.” She laughed nervously.

“You know this okhoty dobychey?” Alexandra asked.

The knight nodded. It is without a doubt the rapist bunnygirl.

“How the hell did you lose your balance?” another voice said in trees. From the tree tops landed gracefully a black haired catgirl. “Seriously. We’re both monster girls of great agility. How did you bloody lose your balance?” She then noticed the crowd she had around her. “Oh. Uh. Hi.” She then saw the knight and instantly jumped to his side. “I’m with him and so is her. Don’t worry, we’re good.”

The mercenaries looked and murmured to each other.

“So you two are friends of our guests?” Alexandra asked.

“Yup.” Delilah replied with a cool smile.

“Good. More help for your friend as he does his favour.” Alexandra said. “Stand down. They are guests as well.”

The mass of men went back to their seats once again while Franklin lifted Mona off of the table.

“Yeah, favour. What favour?” Delilah asked.

“I’ll explain it to you as we walk. A table is no place for a dizzied guest to stay.” Alexandra said as she began to walk off with Franklin following.

Delilah shrugged as she followed her off. She looked back and waved to the knight with a smile and wink. The knight held his face in his hand from the twinge of embarrassment from the exchange. Meeting those two again was not expected by him at all, and in such a manner as well. Then again, this isn’t the most bizarre thing that has happened on his venture.

“So you know those two?” Luli asked.

The knight begrudgingly nodded.

“So do we have new travel buddies?” she asked with a glowing smile.

The knight shivered at the thought. He looked to the sky and the sun has finally set. With whatever time he had left before chasing

the bandits, he walked back to Still’s tent. The least he could do for himself before whatever laid ahead of him is to get back into fighting shape. Broken armour and untreated injury is no boon for a waiting soldier.

>>254707

don't worry about it dode

>>254699

I didn't notice the update. Thanks again fam.

Alexandra sighed, “I cannot force you to join this mission. But I must question this knight’s choice of friends and as to why he would consider someone like you one. Maybe his character is not as spotless as it appears.”

Delilah’s tail bushed up as she snapped back, “Don’t bring him into this!”

Everyone’s eyes went to her.

“I may not be the best of characters, but don’t you dare drag his name through the mud over me!” she cried. “Judge me on my merits alone all you wish, but the moment you rate him on my faults Is the moment you get cat scratches added to your scared face!”

“Delilah!” Mona jumped from her seat. “Isn’t that going too far?”

A small laughter came from Alexandra as she crossed her arms. A wry small crept on her face as she laughed to herself from Delilah’s earnest words. She looked at Delilah straight in the eyes as she composed herself to her straight commanding expression.

“Will you join then?” Alexandra asked.

Delilah stared back at Alexandra’s eyes for a moment as she took a deep breath. “Give me a weapon and I will.”

“Delilah?” Mona asked with a confused look on her face.

“Hmph. I guess it is fair enough to lend you tools for your work.” she said as she looked to Franklin. “Can you get her such tools?”

“Yes Commander.” Franklin replied before leaving the tent.

“And for the rest of you.” Alexandra said as she faced everyone. “Be prepared to leave at any moment and be sure to review the path on the map. Good luck.”

With that, she left the tent leaving everyone in an awkward silence. Mona began to edge her way towards the exit as Luli followed. Both could feel a sort of tension in the air and thought it would be best to leave it.

“Me and the fairy are going to see about your weapon Delilah.” Mona said nervously. “We’ll be right back.”

Once they made their rushed exit, the knight and Delilah were alone. They stayed where they were for a short while, both contained to their thoughts. Delilah eventual saw fit to take her leave and began to walk by the knight but stopped by his arm. She turned to him, staring through his visor. The knight noticed something in her. It was rough and unrefined, but unmistakably there. Her eyes were not the same when they first met. They were harder and more focused. The knight did not know exactly what happened on her journey following him but it changed her. Then he remembered what set her off. Being called a faggot, and having his integrity questioned. The rule he travels by, the rule King Löwehardt taught him took root and needed a push to sprout. She understands rule three and with it, learned an important cornerstone of knighthood. She finally grasped the concept of honour.

The knight couldn’t help but feel proud of her. He managed to carry on the wishes of King Löwehardt, continuing to teach this important rule and to taught it to a finicky thief no less. The knight extended a hand to Delilah. She looked at the gesture, puzzled, but figured out what he meant and shyly smiled.

“Didn’t think me throwing a hissy fit warranted praise.” she said embarrassed. “I’m not lying when I said I don’t have the best of characters. But…” she looked away, “I don’t feel content with that like I used to. I’ve seen enough of you from the sidelines. I want to try some things myself.”

She held her arm, embarrassed of admitting her faults to the knight. Instead of waiting for a handshake, the knight patted her head. Delilah’s catty ears twitched as a blush brightly spread on her cheeks.

“Jeez…Really?” Delilah asked with a huff. “This is really unbecoming of me you know?”

The knight decided to spare her of any more flustering and pulled back his hand.

“I’ll go and see Mona and the fairy about my weapon.” she said as she walked to the tent’s entrance. “Don’t worry about the map, I already memorised it anyway. I can guide us.” As she parted the fabric to the darkened outside, she stood for a moment with her back to the knight. “…And thank you….for your patience.”

Once she finally left, the knight walked back to the table with the map to read over it himself. It never hurts to be too prepared, even if a confident guide is available. The feeling of weight that burdened him lifted for the time being, and underneath his visor a contented smile stayed.

Some time passed in the night as the men of the camp prepared for a looming attack. The red white and blue bannered men armed themselves in anticipation of the attack. All issued a small crossbow, a five-sided mace, and a kite shield painted with stripes of their signature colours. They waited patiently, telling jokes and tales to each other of their lives back in Am’rka ranging from family tales on old farms and long missed sweethearts. The knight came out of the command tent once satisfied he memorised the path to the bandit camp. The air was still and the sounds of violin chords no longer heard. The entire camp felt like it was holding its breath on tonight. As the knight walked through the still camp, Delilah and the others caught up to him. The knight immediately noticed the two weapons that now rested on either side of Delilah’s hip. One a dagger nearly large enough to be a sword, and another a handled spike with a cross guard. The knight was a little confused, he thought she was only going to receive one weapon. He pointed to both, questioning why she had them.

“Oh, these?” Delilah said with a touch of pride. “Miss Feather Duster let me have two since I couldn’t decide on which.”

“More like you begged like a kitten for cream.” Mona said under her breath.

“What was that cottontail?” Delilah turned to Mona.

“Nothing. Anyway, Sir Knight, everyone is currently ready if the bandit’s attack tonight. But by the looks of things, they might be thinking tonight is the night.” Mona said.

Luli took her usual seat on the knight’s shoulder. “It does feel that way. The air around here is so tense and on edge.”

Interrupting their chat, a light came from the wall of the town in the distance. It was a red flare that shot into the sky and lingered as it steadily fell. The sound of moving armour and equipment filled the air as the fifty men of the camp began to gather at the centre of the camp. The knight and his company followed the walking swarm of chainmail clad men, mingling in between their ranks. They waited for their commander to make their appearance. With strict punctuality, she appeared with one of the men by her side. Clad like the rest, but with wavy black hair and gold pauldrons.

“Who is that guy?” Delilah whispered to Mona.

One of the men overheard her, “That’s Captain Jackson. He’s our second in command.”

“He certainly looks the part…” Mona said.

“More than you know.” the mercenary said. “Before we joined with Commander Odinkorol, he was our CO that looked after us like family. To be truthful, while the Commander supersedes him, they are on equal terms on looking over us. She may command, but we’re his countrymen.”

“Such an odd circumstance.” Luli said with a cocked head.

The knight agreed, but he did understand. If Alexandra was an example to go by, this Captain Jackson would be as or even more caring for his men. Captain Jackson and Alexandra took their places in front of their men, but the captain stepped forward. His blue seasoned eyes scanned over his troops before he finally spoke.

“Atennn-tion!” he commanded in low smoothed voice.

The men all changed their posture to a straight-backed stance.

“As you can see by the signal, the attack is upon us tonight.” Jackson said, projecting his voice. “The maggots of El Tarreñas’ Bandits are about to make their siege. Tonight is an important time for us, for we will show the people of this place, no, this very province what the born and raised of Am’rka can do!”

All the men cheered wildly, so much so even little Luli joined in.

“Never again will we have our victories brought down by petty nit-picks of naysayers and the jealous! Tonight will be our most complete victory yet!”

The men cheered once more, their roar of pride and confidence echoing to the distance.

“Follow the plan as taught. Those in Sergeant Crocket’s squad, man the ramparts of the town’s wall and provide cover with Crocket’s new tool. Those in Still’s, Franklin’s, and Mattis’ squads, normal ranged strike followed by melee once needed. Don’t worry about Crocket’s squads, they will only be hitting those farthest away from the main skirmish.” Jackson then took a deep breath. “MACES?!”

“HIGH!” Half of his men shouted back as they held their maces in the air.

“CROSSBOWS?!”

“LOW!” The other half shouted as they held their crossbows.

"DREAMS?!”

“SILVER!” They all shouted in unison. “HEARTS OF GOLD AND FISTS OF BRASS, MEN FROM THE PLAINS WIL KICK YOUR ASS! DOLLARED EAGLES ON FOREIGN SOIL, WILL FIGHT FOR WHAT’S OURS WITH BLOOD AND TOIL!”

“TO POSITIONS MEN!” Jackson yelled with pride.

“AYE AYE, SIR!”

The fifty men then made their steady march out of the camp and towards the entrance to the ramparts and gates of the wall. As they left, the captain made his way towards the knight and the others while Alexandra followed.

“So you are the people Odinkorol got to help.” he said as he shook hands with the knight. “I thank you on behalf of all of us. If things to go to plan, you will have done us a service that warrants immeasurable gratitude.”

Delilah snickered, “Calm down mister captain, we haven’t even done anything yet.”

“But you have,” he said as he looked at Delilah, “by willing to humour us and not just mock us like so many others says plenty.”

“Oh, well, if that’s the case you’re most welcome.” Mona said with a smile.

Alexandra came forward, “Time grows short. You all must begin your task.” She then looked at Luli, “And you little one, you must stay here.”

“Huh?! Why?” Luli asked.

“Franklin and Crocket require use of your kryl'ya. Your wings.” Alexandra explained.

“My wings?” Luli tilted her head.

“Meaning we need you to help carry orders back and forth from the wall to the grounds below.” Jackson said. “While my men are more than capable of carrying on if cut off from command, having a means to carry information back and forth would be valuable since Crocket’s squad can act as both scout and fire support. Only you can help in this.”

“Only me?..” Luli nervously looked away. “I’ve never been in a battle before. It sounds really scary…”

“You can do it.” Mona said in a sweet voice. “You can leave the bandits to us three. You help out the people here.”

The knight looked over to his shoulder and nodded. Luli stared back at him and nodded back with stalwart confidence on her face.

“Okay, you can count on me.” Luli said as she took off from the knight’s shoulder.

“Zamechatel'nyy.” Alexandra said. “Follow me and the captain to position. To the rest of you, good luck. Ne umiray.”

“Grim sense of humour as always Commander.” Jackson said with a slight chuckle.

“And I am surprised you understood that.” Alexandra replied.

“You make it sound like I don’t read books. Your native tongue is a tough one to learn.” The two began to walk away with Luli fluttering behind.

Left to themselves, the three decided to begin their task. Leaving the camp to one of the walls far reached exits away from the battle, the left the town as the town guards closed the huge wood gates behind them. Leading the way, Delilah followed the path she remembered from the map earlier. It was a simple route, around the south-west side of the wall to the mountain behind, then follow the creek over the mountain ridge to a plateau where the spring is. To most, a trek of this length would be perilous in the woods at dark, but for Delilah it was easy. One of the perks of being a catgirl is having excellent night sight, and since Mona and the knight couldn’t light a lantern to help guide their path, they relied on Delilah and the cloud dimmed moonlight.

Some time passed as they travelled through the wooded terrain, but a bit of unease stirred in Delilah. It was too quiet. Although as a thief, she understood full well the importance and value of silence in situations such as this. But at the same time, a whisper would calm her nerves.

“Hey knight,” she whispered, “on your hip. Is that the sword you were looking for?”

The knight nodded.

Delilah gave a soft giggle, “So you think that fairy tale is real?”

The knight didn’t think it was real. He knew it was real. He nodded along to her question.

“I hope so too.” she replied. “It would be impressive to meet someone who can make a fairy tale real.”

“Hey, should we really be talking?” Mona asked. “We might be getting close to that bandit nest and getting found out isn’t something I’m keen on.”

Delilah sighed with relief. Even though she needed to relieve some tension with idle chatter, it was nice to know she still had Mona nearby to keep focus.

“My bad, I’ll shut up now.” Delilah said with a smile.

They soon passed over the mountain ridge and the land began to level out. The sound of the running creek nearby was still in earshot through the faint rustling of the tree leaves. Staying to their path, they finally began to see the signs of nearby people. A path of crushed foliage through the forest undergrowth and red fabric tied to tree branches showing a rough path. As they walked past many of these red ties, they saw the flicker of light in the distance. Lanterns, and a small number of them. Sentries staking out in case of intruders like the knight and the others. For Delilah and Mona, getting by would be easy, but for the knight, it would be near impossible. A man in a suit of armour would be easily found by the fact the metal would reflect the light and give him away.

The three paused their advance and quietly talked to themselves to figure out what to do. The first solution came from Delilah’s mouth, and her words surprised Mona. Kill two sentries, fake it so their lanterns are still up but move away to let the knight pass through. A plan more befitting a rogue than a thief, but regardless it was a sound. The knight was taken aback by Delilah’s sudden take of the lead but welcomed it. He was interested to see how far she would take herself just to stand by his rule, but for now, the bandits were his goal. After the two girls settled on who gets what side, they told the knight to wait until the lanterns move away. With that, they left for the tree tops with nothing but the rustle of leaves behind them.

A minute or so passed as the knight waited in a nearby bush. He could see the two nearest lanterns briefly shake around before going steady again. Once an air of normalcy returned, they parted and began to move away from one another, leaving an open alley of dark. The knight made his move and walked forward. Breaching past the sentry line, he came close to the bandit camp. It was a series of hide tents with a large one put behind the others within a thin band of trees. The camp itself sat on a small island in the middle of a large pond, no doubt being the spring of the creek. A few boards of timber went across from one bank of the pond to the island to allow people to cross without soggy feet.

The biggest tent was lit up on the inside, and the knight could see a burly man with a red sash and a cow skull on his shoulder. A few other bandits followed him before he turned around and shooed them away before entering the tent. The knight knew that he was the man he needed to slay. But for all the knight could know, the other smaller tents could be filled with sleeping bandits ready to attack once stirred. But the knight had little options to take. It was either go in and do what he can or turn around. But with time as pressed as it is, the former decision would make him a faggot. A time for thought and a time for action as many say.

As carefully as a man clad in steel can be, he tip-toed over to the biggest crossing plank he could find. He placed one foot in front of the other, hoping it would not creak. All seemed fine until he took the last step near the end of the plank. A drinking glass laid by the end, and the knight stepped on it. The sound of muffled cracking glass was easy to hear, and the knight knew someone would come to look. As quickly and quietly as he could, he hid behind a nearby tree and tent. As he predicted, two bandits came over to investigate the noise. One put his lantern down to the ground to see the broken glass, then the knight’s heart paused. He left footprints. The bandits began to trace the prints back towards the tree the knight was hiding behind. The knight cursed his heavy feet, but now was another time for thought and action. Regrettably, it was action.

Before the first bandit turned around the tree, the knight’s claymore struck him with a meaty slash. The bandit fell to the ground with a large gash in his side. His lantern dropped beside him and broke at the foot of the nearby tent’s base, its flames licking the tent's hide. Before the knight could get to the other bandit, he missed his chance to silence them.

“Intruder! We got an intruder!” the bandit yelled as he drew his blade.

The knight cursed the situation, nothing is going right. Thanks to his sword’s length, he only needed to take a step to be within striking distance. With an overhead chop and another guttural sound, the bandit fell backwards. The sound of bandits getting up and rushing outside was heard all over the island. The knight knew that this was going to be a drudge to reach the bandit’s leader. Going around the tent to the middle of the far end of the camp, bandits were already running forward with weapons in hand. Bringing up his sword, the knight went forward to face them. With the number of enemies around him, all his martial skill was strained.

A slash brought back to dodge another attack. A study kick followed by a steely backhand. Constantly changing directions to the next pressing attacker. His mind blanked out anything that did not pertain to surviving, making his movements near instinctual than planned. Despite the numbers and taking hits that dented and punctured his armour, he kept his ground. It has been a long time since he fought this fiercely and his body screamed from the exertion. As bandit after bandit dropped dead or injured, another took its place. The knight knew there were either two outcomes to this situation. Either he dies of exhaustion, or he runs out of bandits.

But as the knight fought, a new figure waded through the crowd unnoticed. With the knight’s back turned for an instant, two morning stars crashed against his back. The spikes of the weapons pierced through the knight’s armour, puncturing his back and the heavy heads dented the armour inward. The knight crashed to the ground, dropping his sword to his side. His back curled in pain as he turned over to face the attacked. It was a man in a great helm with antlers and wore a bear hide for a cape.

“So you’re the one causing trouble around ‘ere.” the man said as he stood before the knight. “I’ll admit that it’s impressive you tore through so many of these scumbags. But you’re little raid stops 'ere.”

The man slowly raised his two morning stars, readying to deliver a final blow. The knight’s mind went into a frenzy of what to do. His claymore was just out of reach, and the only thing he had he could use was the Sword of Kingdoms. But he knew he couldn’t use that at risk of damaging or worse yet, drawing it. But nothing else was available, not even a dropped weapon from one of the fallen bandits. As the knight tried to figure out what to do, the man spoke again.

“Nighty night, knight.”

The two morning stars began to come down, and the knight’s body decided for him. Yanking the sword, scabbard and all, from its holster on his hip, he stopped the strike. A cloud crack pieced the air as the iron of the morning stars hit the material of the scabbard. the white cloth that covered the sword was ripped and stained with the knight's blood and fell off.