…
The night is noisy with the happiness theme decorating everyone's faces. Silently, and unknowingly, the two Dragonians that arrived with a legion of forces decided to blend in while telling the soldiers to retreat to a safe distance where the villagers won't notice.
Taizun and Zeugen conceal themselves with a brown cloak with a hood with darker color. They casually walk in and sit near the villagers without being noticed. Supposedly, their mission is to restore the village from the dark energy that entangled in the village. So far, there's no sign of a dark energy or any sort of curse. Suspicious, Taizun and Zeugen set out to gather information. Taizun realizes that they must not fail in this one, thus every movement must be taken carefully, or else…
But the obstacle is that Zeugen casually talking freely like there's no burden of their mission on his back. He's taking booze and speaking soundly with the villagers with a friendly smile on his face.
Annoyed, Taizun pulled him out of the party and into the village outskirts. "Damn you, Zeugen. What in the blue-blazes were you doing?!" Taizun whispered. His eyelids twitched as he felt irritated by his colleague's actions.
"Eh? Party, of course?" he replied simply and without remorse.
Cracking up anger inside him, Taizun tries to block his rage from erupting. He replies while holding his tremendous irate, "I really wonder what the hell is wrong with you. Either I was being too cautious or maybe you were just straight up waltzing offhandedly as if this is a vacation. No, no, I'm 100% sure that there's something wrong in your head!"
"Ayayayy, Herr Taizun… thou toldst me to be careful while gathering information. Then zis ist ze best idea, ja? Bahahahahahahahaha!"
"H-Hah?" Taizun's forehead wrinkled in annoyance. "Seriously, Zeugen, if you keep this up, I will—
"—so this is your idea of 'gathering intel' huh?"
A man's voice is heard right behind them. The two turn around and their eyes meet with their much senior colleague: Ognist, the renowned Fire Dragonian.
"Ayayayayyy! Herr Ognist, zee decided to come here, too?" Zeugen asked casually.
"Yeah… I just wonder how you two will pull this off. I expected some serious stealth mission like that hooded assassin in the novels I read. But I find myself the two of you hanging out doing nothing."
"You've misunderstood, t-this is…" Taizun tried to justify the deeds their doing. Suddenly, a villager comes walking wobbly with a whiskey bottle in hand.
"Aieee? You don't join the party?" asked the man while proceeding to drink his alcohol.
"Party?" Ognist wondered curiously.
"YEASS!" Zeugen suddenly hops beside the drunken villager. "This is literally a way to gather information, Herr Ognist!"
Taizun rants all over the place, "No, damn you, Zeugen, that's not how it should be. We should've been eavesdropping, overseeing, and waiting. This is not the—
"—Hey, hey, good mann… who's our beeessst woman?" Zeugen cut shortly and asked a random question to the villager.
"Ooouummm? Ahh! I see, I see~~~ it's Neya. No, Meena? Ooohh, hardly I can remember… well, whatever that woman's name… I don't really care… we just off to a paaarty~."
"Hehe, zat's very nice. Where ist she now, by ze way?" Zeugen smilingly asked.
"Ah, she's at the village square, no doubt~~. Everyone knows that~~. Oh, you haven't seen her in person~~? Oooh, how poor of you…"
"Ayayayyayy… no matters, good mann, we shalt findst out ourselves'eth." Zeugen spoke strangely yet funnily. "Go along, now."
"Aye, aye~~ capitain~"
And so, the man walks away and unaware that the person their speaking to was not one of theirs.
Zeugen turns around at Ognist and says, "See? Zis is ze best method to gather intel from zees people, Herr Ognist. Blending, blending that ist!"
"Huh…" Ognist replied humming.
"No, Zeugen, that's not the best method. We'll waste more and more time like that!" Taizun retorted madly.
"So, so, Herr Ognist, you want to jump in?" Zeugen asked carefreely.
Taizun reflects and says, "Funny move, Zeugen. Bold of you to assume Sir Ognist would do something so—
"Count me in, Zeugen!" Ognist stated with a widened grin, eager to go.
"Good choice, Herr Ognist!"
"Wha… WHAAAAAAAT?!"
Finally, getting outvoted, Taizun gave up on his hope to regain and fortify the emperor's trust on them. Pessimistically, he joined the two waltzing into the crowded banquet.
Glumly, he wails, "We're done for…"
…
..
.
The three dragonians sat on a log somewhere near a villager's house. They're given an abundance of delicious beverages and snacks, which both Zeugen and Ognist welcomed with full heart, unlike Taizun, who felt depressed already for realizing that their mission is a 'no go' any longer.
"Relax, Taizun," said Ognist before munching a meat of grilled beef.
"Ja, ja, zee shouldst be hopping along with us," Zeugen stated while inhaling the delicious smell of barbecue.
"GULP! It's not that surprising that we blend in with people in doing our missions. You know that, right?" said Ognist calmly.
"No, no, this and that is absolutely irrelevant. To be honest, I'm more surprised we didn't attract anyone's attention with our horns towering from our heads like this," said Taizun while pointing his finger to his pair of dragon horns. Their horns pierced through their hood, making their so-called hidden mission not so hidden.
"That proves our presence here is not a threat to them. Knowing that is more than enough to do our mission," Ognist replied wisely. "Besides, this village was from our previous world, right? Didn't that alone is enough to explain why they're not threatened by us being here?" he added before continuing to drink ale.
"Even so, we must not draw attention to ourselves. Lord Xelderon said that the village has been condemned by a curse. Not only that, the demon Dantalion is the one who put the curse. Also, from what I heard… these guys are known to be unfriendly toward strangers. They, they might ambush us when we don't see it."
"Taizun, the way you percept things are the same as your magic element—cold and hard." Ognist stated. He then grabs something from beneath his cloak, revealing to be a big ring cigar. "Keep that up and everyone will hate you, you know?" he added relaxingly.
"It's called precautious, Ognist. There's nothing wrong with being precautious with the information I learned, right?"
"Indeed, there's nothing wrong with that. Being wary of the circumstances at some place we haven't been to… it will be necessary to avoid unwanted outcome."
"If you agree with me, then why are we—
"—But you're adapting things as if it will go through the worst case scenario. Acting coldly on others, being overly rational, and throwing in your serious logic even in trivial moments, that… is your undoing, Taizun," said the fire dragonian while pointing his cigar to Taizun.
"…What do you mean, Ognist? We're on a mission. We can't act as if our mission is a joke."
"I get it, son. Mission is mission. Need to be carried out successfully? Yes. Being serious about the mission? Yes. But being overly serious? I poorly recommend that. We would tend to focus on accomplishing missions given to us without faulty and don't want to waste time, but sometimes it will make us act harshly towards people without thinking their feelings."
"We're different. I can't be like you, Ognist. You can do your job relaxingly and finished it perfectly, while I can't. I have done so many mistakes and displeased the emperor. If I proceed further like this, I… I will…!"
Ognist exhales slowly, and proceeds, "Taizun, do you seriously think I never make mistakes?"
"Judging by how Emperor Xelderon likes you, wasn't that obvious?" Taizun replied.
"Ach… Taizun, if you dare ask the emperor once, how many tasks have I failed him, you will be really, REALLY surprised. We are servants of Dragonia, trying to complete tasks and please our lord. But you know… being fearful of failing a job isn't going to help. You've always feared of not able to complete your missions. I know that very character of you, boy."
Silently, Taizun listens, "…"
"Fear is necessary, but excess amount of it is fatal. Instead of getting the job done, you'll ruin it because you kept worrying and fear that you will fail."
Ognist raises his head and looks into the villagers with a mild smile, "Now, look,"
Taizun raises his head and joins looking at the villagers. Zeugen tilts his head to look as well while his mouth is full of sandwiches.
"These people have been cursed, as you told me, yet what we saw right now isn't as what you've been told by the emperor. If they were cursed, after all, then they all will be grim-looking, hiding in their homes, praying so that the curse may finally be gone."
"…T-That makes sense, but…"
"But what we see here, right now, is a view of happy people. Look there, even that man is dancing to his heart's content. Ooh, that's one happy guy."
"H-Huh…"
"Even after seeing that, have you not realized? Probably the curse has been lifted by somebody else. Probably the dark energy that resided within this village has been purified before we reached here. Probably the demon has been vanquished. Don't you think so?"
Taizun quietly stares, after blinking once, he replies, "On second thought… you're right. Our task must've been done by somebody else. But that doesn't change the fact that this village being unfriendly towards strangers. We must… be cautious for that."
"Gee, did your icy breath freeze your eyes, Taizun?" Ognist frowned. "Saying that out loud while the villagers are here, watching their hospitality to us. You're going to make them sad. Good thing these peasants are busy partying and not hearing your cold words."
Ognist flips the cigar in his hand backwards. He continues his speech in a casual voice, "If they're exactly as you said they were, we won't be given food like this, you know?"
"…Y…Yeah…" Taizun replied slowly. He looked down to the grassy ground near the fireplace.
"W-Well, if you think we're not cautious like you, then you really need to check your eyes, son."
Taizun thrusts his face and looks back at Ognist while saying, "H-Huh?"
"I mean, seriously. Both Zeugen and I ARE aware of this village's attitude toward outsiders, you know?" Ognist stated while slightly chuckled. "If I'm not cautious, I will not have my hand hidden beneath the cloak, holding my sword. Don't you think so, Zeugen?"
"Aye-o!" Zeugen replied, implying that he also holds his weapon in hand just in case.
"Cheer up, sonny. You're right about one thing, though. We shouldn't lower our guards even though we've joined a humble party like this. Come on, now."
Hearing his senior's words, Taizun felt enlightened. "I'm sorry. I-It's just been hard in these conditions."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Alright, then, now…"
Ognist stands up and uncloaks his hood. As a result, his pair of horns tears the cloth of his hood, revealing his head part completely.
"Ognist…"
"Ayayayy, Herr Ognist, where art thou going? Ooh, you're going to find something else to eat?" Zeugen asked curiously.
"Don't say you're going to gather information?" Taizun asked nearly excited.
"Nope, I'm not doing any of those things… yet," Ognist answered.
Altogether, Zeugen and Taizun ask, "Then?"
In a moment of silence, Ognist turns around towards the two and says his intention offhandedly.
"See this cigar? I want to find a lighter for it. My mouth tastes sour and I forgot to bring my lighter. Okay, see you guys in a bit."
With that, Ognist casually walks away, leaving the two of his juniors in silence.
----------------------------------------------------
Character RPG-ed Stats
Name : Sean Williams
Class : Naprean Vanguard
Magic : Offensive
Element : Holy
Element Level : Unknown
Proficiency : Master Swordsman
Thanks for reading :)