"Hah??? What do you mean, you just encountered another creature and it was not the monster that you are supposed to extinguish?"
A hot noon, back at the boss' headquarters.
We returned to him in order to report the 'progress' we happened to accomplish yesterday…
When I say 'progress', we meant that pathetic performance we displayed in our first-ever quest.
The two of the boys were still spooked by that traumatic encounter with the Iron Hedgemole and add it with our sleepless session in our beds, it is as if, we became soulless undeads in our appearances. Currently, I was the one who volunteered to talk with the boss since these two are useless when they are touched by their fears.
"Look boss, it is as just what I have said. We encountered this gigantic creature in the cave and chased us relentlessly, okay? Please, do not make me repeat it anymore." I blearily commented.
Sharps, are these the effects of not getting a sleep? I can hardly look at the boss at this point.
"Okay then, but how about the monster? Have you managed to feel its presence- wait… hey, are the three of you okay? You've been acting strange the moment you entered my house. What is the matter?" the boss said with concern.
"Nothing is wrong, boss. It is just… we didn't have some sleep due to that fright we have just encountered yesterday so... we feel extremely sleepy right now."
Ugh. I cannot keep this. I feel like, if I will not be not careful enough, I might just collapse on just about everything and sleep alike to a giant log!
"OH… I see. Well? Are there any things that we can do for the three of you to make you feel better?" he said hospitably.
Argh. Too much noise.
"If we can request, let us have a rest for the meantime and when another midnight comes, we will continue the patrol. *yawn* Will be that okay for you, boss?"
I need to end our conversation quickly.
"Hmmm…. If that is what you want, I will gladly allow it. But please, do not bail on us, alright? I can still make up some indecent stories about the three of you for the villagers to listen to!!! HOHOHOHO!!!" he jokingly said while roaring.
Is this man a real bona fide leader of a small village? I cannot comprehend how this guy became top pillar of the villagers around here!
Hey boss, you are fortunate that I am sleep-deprived right now. If not, I could have already chased you around the village myself!
We fortunately ended our report, gave a respectful bow, and exited the building with our fleeting bodies. To our surprise, the boss gave us a free escort with his sophisticated-looking wagon that are drawn by Estocian oxen- creatures native to our city that are traditionally used for public transport.
When the three of us were about enter to our wagon by the invitation of the ragged man, I reluctantly moved my body to go to the right side of the-…
"OOOFF!!!"
A sudden force moved my crooked back and due to the slight shock, I was awakened a bit.
I bumped into a lady clad in a white, long, and linen dress. I did not manage to look into her direction as I was not attentive enough to my surroundings because… well, I said it already many times:
I feel extremely sleepy.
The lady collapsed in our bodily impact and it made her writhe in shock. I quickly kneeled over to help her stand up and regain herself when she suddenly screamed:
"Awahhhh!!! Please… please…! Do not hurt me!!!"
The lady's body shook in terror as she hid her face in the ground pavements of the village. She gasped while making terrified sounds and seeing her like this- a lady that I am not even acquainted with, she made me feel antagonistic.
"C-Calm down, ma'am! I am not going to hurt you! Here, just let me help you stand up." I said, easing her worries while trying to get her shaking arm.
Hearing my goosey voice, the lady suddenly looked at me straight with a bloodshot eye in her face. She continued in trembling and pointed her index finger in my face while saying words in a maddened manner:
"H-Have y-you seen… h-him??? Did you? Have y-you seen m-my…ha-ha-husba-ba-band? Where is… my husband?!!"
Her eyes enlarged and twitched as she said those words in a twisted way. She trembled even further as she tried to utter every word on her query and still managed to panic from her expression. Her face- light and pale, while dripping with droplets of sweat for every expression that she tries best to portray. She opened her quivering mouth while speaking but is overtaken by panic and fear from all over her body.
I felt sheer terror from the insane and twisted behavior of this woman in front of me.
Suddenly-
"Hey! Back off! Get off of my client, Maria-Luna! Come on, shoo!!! We don't have the time to listen on your lunatic tendencies."
Raggedy-man shouted at the lady by using her apparent name and tries to driver her away from me.
M-Maria Luna??? That is her name?
Strange…
However, amidst the intense shouting of Raggedy-man, the Lady named Maria Luna locked her trembling hands in my shoulders. She intensified her grip at them while still shaking in my body.
"H-Hey… it h-hurts, ma'am!" I said due to pain.
She did not respond at all to my words and as she continued, she heavily panted in front of me.
She suddenly then looked me in my eyes, her own pair tinged with sheer pain, sadness, and insanity…
Then spoke softly at me…
"How about my boy? Have you seen him?"
In that brief moment, unlike her recent words, this phrase that she uttered were not mixed with twistedness and relentlessnes, but just pure worry and melancholia.
Those were the words that belonged to a mother.
I-I…
*SMACK*
The head of the lady drooped due to the force of a wooden object. The Raggedy-man smacked her with his own cane when she became uncontrollable and due to the pain, the woman once again shrieked while trembling.
With her head throbbing in pain, the woman stopped in seizing my arms and covered her head with her own hands while shrieking manically.
"There, my dear Myrmidon, let us go! Quick!"
"B-But… this woman-…"
"Forget it! She is crazy and there is nothing that we can do about her!"
The Raggedy-man shouted at me to come to the wagon but I remained standing in my place.
I-I cannot just leave her like this…
Perhaps I can use my sword…
"I apologize!"
The Raggedy-man forcefully took my hand and with a brute force, he carried me in the entrance of the wagon. In his signal, the wagon swiftly moved away in the lady.
I then parted our distance together while looking in the sight of her- still kneeling in the rocky pavements on the ground with her hands up in her head.
I tried to move my body in order to escape the wagon so that I can run to her care but due to the fright she had given to me, added with the sluggishness I feel from my body, I remained standing while staring at her saddening pain.
I…I
Argh…
"Seriously, why did you hit her head like that? That was uncalled for!" I suddenly shouted at the ragged man.
"Please, lower your voice, dear Myrmidon! I am sorry for that display of violence but around the village, that is the normal way on how to drive that insane woman away!"
What…
"Regardless… she was asking some questions! She was clearly troubled and needed my help!"
I have no exact reason as to why am I being irate right now.
"That crazy woman- Maria-Luna, has garnered infamy around the village due to her pestering tendencies in the villagers. Some reported that she lashed-out on some playing children in the past with a wooden broom and nearly injured them. The other day, she threatened the women of the village by attempting to stab them due to her unknown rage. Those are just some of the countless maddening behavior by her and ever since, in order to prevent her on doing any dangerous actions, the villagers are trying their best to stay away to her.
The Raggedy-man explained to me as he noticed that I have this expression that wants to hit him.
"Please… I apologize in that action of mine and I promise, after you eliminate the monster, we will tend to her and her family!" he continued while reassuring me.
…
I guess that will do.
However, in order to make my worry dissipate in its fullness, I have to meet her as well.
Someday, Lady Maria.
"Say…" I replied to the Raggedy-man.
"W-What is it, dear Myrmidon?"
I noticed when she clenched her trembling hands at me, but she said that she has a husband and a child…
"That Lady… Luna-Maria, right? She said that she has a husband and a child… a boy, specifically. Do any of you in the village know who they are? She was looking for them when she asked me…"
"Ah… indeed. Those are the usual words uttered by her when she practically runs around the village. Apparently, some villagers said that she lost her sanity when her husband left her and their children due to his mercenary career. The husband moved away in a faraway land and never came back for them. As for the child, I do not know the boy and I haven't even met him in the village myself but, some say that the boy works in your city." Raggedy-man slowly explained to me.
Huh… Is that so…
Okay then.
Hearing the tragic background of the lady who approached me, apparently asking for my help, made me steel my resolve in returning to her. I have to finish this request quickly and after that, I will go to her to help her in her worries.
I-I… do not exactly know the reason on why I just suddenly felt that I am concerned for the well-being of that lady.
Is it because she approached me?
Is it because she was insane?
Or is it because I was just sleep-deprived?
I do not know myself.
All I know is that, from the beginning of our quest, I thought that life was just a matter of happiness and sadness. Sure you can choose on how to live with these two happenstances and how it will affect your life, whether you will just live with it or let it destroy yourself in the process but…
I was wrong.
Due to those eyes of the lady- eyes that were devoid of any emotions other than pain and sadness, a lady that was living down in literal shreds and insanity on her internal psyche due to the tragedies she had experienced in life…
I learned that in life, you cannot always have the option to just accept everything.
There will come a time in your life where it will literally disable all of your options on how to respond in a one event. In the end, all you have to do is watch, stare, and do nothing…
Apparently, when that hits you, you have two possible fates that you will walk through.
One is the fate of change.
And the other one is the fate of despair.
Right now, sadly and realistically, a lady that I have just met- a woman who I am not acquainted with, fell in the latter tragedy of fate.
She lost herself… and still trying to claw out on her identity every single day. She was trapped between moving on and sheer sadness that, she fell to despair…
I… will come to you one day, Maria! Count on it!
When I rummaged those conflicting thoughts in my head, I noticed something.
The two boys were extremely silent amongst my banter with the ragged-man and were asleep all the time.
Hmmm. But can I blame them though?
Roy and Malthur slept heavily on their spaces as the wagon moved forwardly on our way to the city.
I sat in front of them and leaned in the side of the window and watched the ever-changing scenery of the nature in my side.
If we travelled for an hour and a half by foot to reach the village, the wagon only took us back to Estocia by half a minute. As expected of the fast and reliable creatures of the city! We sluggishly got off in the wagon when we entranced the gate of the city and we said our farewells and thanks to both of the attendant and the ragged man.
"Well then! Here you are! Make sure to get your respites, alright? I and the boss will be waiting for your return in the village soon! Well then… farewell- eugh, hey Calton! Let us exit this place now! This city is overrunning by disgusting swordfolk so get me out of here, now!!!" the ragged man said in a varied emotion.
Hey, does that mean that we are not swordsfolk in your eyes?
He was about to get inside of the wagon when I stopped him.
"Hm? W-What is it, dear smith?" he anxiously asked.
"M-Mr. Cardamon, please I beg of you, while we are searching for the monster in the village, promise me that you watch over Maria-Luna for me, please!"
Through the entire trip, all I can ever think was her.
When he heard my pleading, the Raggedy-man smiled at me and said:
"I promise you that, dear smitha!"
That is good. It is reassuring.
"Oh, and also… If I heard that you smacked her like that again, I will personally come to you and make you pay for it, ha? Got it?" I said lowly.
"EEEYAH! Y-YES! I got it, dear smith." He suddenly shouted in panic upon hearing my voice.
We waved our hands in the leaving wagon in a swift and ragged manner.
…
Now… in order to wake these three on their heavy eyes!
"Heh? So uh… how can I help the three of you?"
When I was about to make Roy and Malthur shoot up in surprise from my prank, I heard a voice.
There stood a man covered in a plate of white armor all over his body. Even in his head, a silvery-white helm is worn by him that makes his latter statement barely audible, but can still be understood nonetheless.
Hmmm? Perhaps this man works in the infantry battalion of the city.
"Oh, excuse me sir. Let us pass the gate. We just happened to travel from a village south from here and complete a quest…" I said, still trying to portray my respectful voice even if I am about to doze off in front of him.
I will pretend that I said that latter portion of my statement.
"Oh! So you are from Estocia then? Well, let me see your insignias please- wait… Lady Astoria?! Is that you?" he said suddenly.
He stared at me for a short moment and refracted his words.
"OH- Forgive my rudeness! Ahahaha! For a second there, I thought that you are someone else! What happened to you? Are the three of you alright?" the armored man laughed off a casually then asked me in a worried manner.
Oh, sharps. We are extremely tired, aren't we?
Even regular people around us don't seem to recognize us at first glance.
When I was so exhausted to even retort in his question, he just then signaled the gatekeeper in the back to open the twin-metal gates of the city.
He gave us a sharp salute in his armor helm and said seriously:
"Good afternoon, my fellow swordsfolk! It is now at the third hour of the afternoon and I welcome you back in the city! Tis I, your humble sentry, at your service! As of now, there are no current or major events that are happening around the city so… uh, you can get a lot of sleep in your house in the meantime!"
Argh. Yes, thank you for reminding me of that word.
I gave a welcoming bow, dragged the three boys with their sloppy bodies, and entered the gates.
Before we completely go to the plaza, without turning, I asked the sentry in the gate.
"How come uh, we never saw you when we got out yesterday?"
I do not know the entire reason or need to ask him that. I guess, this is one of the effects when you are being delirious in your sleep-deprivation…
You tend to ask pointless and nonsensical questions.
"OH, Hahahaha. It is because I had a short bathroom break! That is all! Come now, just because I am a sentry, it doesn't mean that I am required by the city to stand in the entrance like a statue! I am a human too; you know?" he awkwardly laughed.
I just smiled at him on his carefree and light attitude in his work ethic and waved in his back while saying:
"Thank you for your services, sir!"
We reached the heart of the plaza and from there, we planned that we will meet in the exact place an hour in advance before the midnight.
With our fleeting bodies tired from our defeat of finding the monster, the three of us went to our respective households.
***
"I am…home."
I lowly announced my presence in the house and with a faint bang in closing the door, it made me realize that I miss the usual greeting of that boy, Nada.
Hmmm… perhaps I will visit his address when this first quest is done.
While waiting for a reply for my half-spirited comment, the first instinct that my body did was to reach on our ice crate that holds different delicacies and sweets and retrieve my oh-so favorite strawberry honeycakes.
I happily munched on them when I heard a tired reply.
"Greetings, home. My name is Samson. How can I help you in this fine afternoon?"
What? What are you trying to play here?-
Oh.
Haha. Very funny.
Pops let out his typical jokes to welcome me back at home after not returning in the evening and judging from the tone of his words, he seems to be upset about it.
"Come on, Pops! It is me, your daughter!" I tried to call him yet again.
"But I thought that you are 'home'? Very well. Greetings, 'your daughter'. My name is Samson. How can I help you in this fine afternoon?"
Argh. I cannot deal with this kind of embarrassing caliber of jokes!
Especially since I am practically dying to sleep right now!
"Right… *yawn* I am sorry that I never went home last night, Pops. There were some uh… malfunctions on our first quest and right now, I am extremely tired. So please, accept my apology! I will make it up to you in other days."
I said those words with a sheer display of repentance.
"I am extremely tired right now since the three of us never had any sleep so uh… *yawn* *mumble* I will sleep for this afternoon…that is all…"
I need to finish this odd conversation of us because if not, I will collapse in this very moment!
I did not hear any follow-up reply to my words so I reluctantly removed my baggage, and straightly went to my room upstairs.
I reminiscently savored the scent of my room (even though I was just out for one night), and hung the sword in the side of my glass mirror. I changed my attire and with all of the preparations in my well-deserved slumber, I prepared my body for my well-deserved sleep.
Oh bed! You have no clue about how much I have missed you!!!
With all of these random thoughts and images of my myrmidon companions, the boss, the raggedy-man, and even the lady, I promptly fell asleep.
…
…
…
"Astoria…"
I heard a cold and familiar voice in my ears.
Oh, sharps. Don't tell me-