It was dark but didn't prove to be a problem for either me or Schneider. Schneider followed the girl's life force and ran at incredible speed. As we dashed through the woods, suddenly we heard a scream. Schneider was going in the same direction. As we came into the clearing, I saw a girl on the ground. Suddenly, A Griecher emerged and leapt at her. I immediately drew my crossbow and shot at it. The arrow struck the Griecher's head and it fell on the ground, inches away from the girl. I dismounted Schneider and approached her. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She was injured and frightened. I scooted in front of her.
"Relax, I am here to help you," I told her.
I examined her leg. She twisted her ankle pretty bad. Meanwhile, some more Griechers emerged from the woods. Their reds eyes, staring at us. Griechers were huge, with a face similar to that of a dog but a slender body. They had long fingers with razor-sharp crawls. Drool was running down from their mouth as they stared at us. There were quite a lot of them. It would have been foolish to try and fight off all of them. The girl was shocked to see more. She out of desperation tried to crawl away and as she did, the Griechers dashed at us. I immediately whistled at Schneider and fired at the approaching Griechers. Few of them got shot and died on the scene. I immediately picked up the girl in my arms. Meanwhile, Schneider came running at me. I placed the girl on Schneider's back. The Griechers closed in. One of them climbed on my back, trying to bite my shoulder. I grabbed its face and pull him down. The Griecher collapsed on the ground.
I kicked his head so hard, that I heard its skull cracked. I quickly mounted Schneider. Another Griecher leapt at me but Schneider kicked it off. Schnieder dashed away from the scene, the Griechers chased at us for a while and then gave up. Griechers were ferocious beasts but had a peculiar nature. They only lived and hunted in their territory and rarely left it. Thanks to that, I managed to rescue the girl and take her back to the village. The old lady came running at me when she saw her daughter. She immediately hugged her tight and sobbed.
"Thank you so much, friend," Boris said.
"Just doing my job," I answered.
The old lady and her daughter thanked me too. Boris gave me some food for my journey, he insisted that I stayed the night but I just didn't have enough time. I still had a long road to cover. So without wasting any more time, I left the village and continued my journey. The next four days were pretty exhausting. No towns or villages to rest. And the food I got from Boris didn't last for long. Even Pirons needed rest regardless of the immense energy they carry. They may not be living beings but once a Piron chooses to make a pact with someone, they live a life of that specific creature that they choose to transform into.
Schneider may be a Piron, but he was still a horse. He needs to eat, sleep and breathe like one. It can change to its Piron form but temporarily. As it is the pact's rules that the Piron must remain in the form that its host decides. We had to rest in the woods a couple of times, staying on guard for any monsters. We encountered some on our journey but they turned out to be small flies. Nothing that I can't handle. After a long and arduous journey, we finally reached Mourancha. Mourancha was a cosmopolitan and picturesque city. People from all around the world used to come to our country and used to trade and visit the extensive markets in the city. While some used to set their stalls and sell goods to the public to earn money. The city was bustling with people as usual. I kept my hood up and walked through the streets looking for the Inn Adam told me about.
After searching the streets for a good half an hour, I finally found the place. I handed over Schneider to the Inn's stable and went inside to book a room. I booked a room and informed the bartender that If I have a visitor, he should send him straight in. I was pretty drained from my journey, so currently, the only thing on my mind was getting good sleep. After God knows how much time, I heard a knock on my door. I opened the door and found, Adam standing outside. I welcomed him in.
"So how was the ride? Heard you were in Hailzard last." He asked.
"Normally it takes ten days to get to this place from that far but I made it in five. What do you think I would be like?" I answered.
"True about that. But the matter was grave. That is why I had to summon you on such short notice." Adam said.
"Okay, out with it," I said.
"Not here. At the castle." Adam said.
From the looks of it, the matter was pretty serious. Not just a common day to day job. So without asking any more questions, I followed Adam to the Castle. My country, Porsavious was considered one of the largest countries in the world. The royalty of Porsavious was situated here in Mourancha. King Octavious Gregorous the third was the 52nd king of Porsavious. He was currently fifty-nine and had a single heir. That was his daughter, princess Sharina. A prodigy indeed. She had an intellect that outmatched many. She was capable enough to rule the land after her father. I knew the royal family for a very long time. My master was well acquainted with the king.
Of course, a curtain of respect also existed. When my Master died, the king personally came to our residence to offer his condolences. I promised him my services in return for as long as I was alive, just like my master. Right now, If I was summoned to the castle, that meant something had happened to the royalty.