Nightfall was approaching rapidly, so we decided to set up a fire on the side of the road and get some rest. Kubo was already fast asleep, snoring as usual which just left me and Ronan to chill out. The temperature actually didn't dip all that much so it was actually pretty warm even without the fire.
"Do you think you could explain the geography of this world for me?" I asked, curious of how other kingdoms and continents were like.
"If I must. There are five continents. Within each of the five continents, three kingdoms rule the entirety of it. The supreme ruler of a continent is known as a high priest, but they don't usually meddle with any affairs unless it affects their chosen patron. One kingdom is ruled by a member of the high priest's family whilst the other two are appointed via voting.
One kingdom usually specialises in magic whilst another specialises in physical combat. The third specialises in both. The reason why kingdoms fights so often amongst themselves is primarily due to their greed or certain personal ambitions."
"I see."
"The village we're helping is actually independent from the rulers of this kingdom because of a promise made by a past leader. It only contains a few hundred people though. Must be nice not to have to pay absurd taxes for the war efforts."
"Is our residency the kingdom's property?"
"For now. We're really close to buying it off of them, as long as they don't cause another mass inflation."
"It must be hard work, having to continuously work jobs like these."
"Not really. You get used to it after a while. It's better than working for some snooty rich guys. I should know..."
"Say, how did you meet everyone?"
"After the dragon massacred my village, the remaining survivors were taken to the main capital for 'compensation'. We got no such thing. They gave us all dangerous jobs no-one wanted to do and sent us off on our way. They said we'd be paid correspondingly, but we worked and worked and worked, yet no such money lined our pockets. For a couple of years we were subjected to vile working conditions.
One day, everyone left was fed up with our treatment and started a strike. It was quenched immediately and to teach a lesson to everyone, they took her away... I never saw Olivia again. We were forced back to work but my villagers hatched a plan for me to escape as I was the youngest. They sacrificed their lives so I could run away. I just ran in one direction, ran away when I should've stayed with them."
"You were young. There was nothing more you could've done. I mean you're like 14 right. I assume this was a good few years ago."
"You're wrong. You were around my age when you killed someone." Ronan quickly clutched his mouth.
"I did what?"
"Ignore that. I said too much."
I've killed someone. I... I hoped that I hadn't but...
"How do you know about my past?"
"You've got it wrong! Mira always spoke highly of you but she never said why she spoke about you like that. I admired the stories she told of you. How you were brave and kind. I got curious and secretly looked through her diaries. The last entry only states that you killed someone. That's all I know."
"At least that answers a question that's been badgering me. Carry on with your story." I said quietly, in some shock. Why would I need to kill someone? Can killing be justified? I'm a murderer! I took someone's life. What punishment lays at the end of my life for my transgressions?
"I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have said anything but... Anyway, I got lost in some forest where Mira and the others found me and brought me with them. Zeke, are you alright? You're really pale."
I can't think straight. My mind is in disarray. The questions are overflowing again. Someone please stop them. My mind blanked. Suddenly, I was stood above a dead body, knife in hand. Blood was everywhere. I felt cold, satisfied. What is this? Someone get me out of this nightmare. I've had enough of this crap! It must've been for a good reason right? I wouldn't have done it otherwise, right!?
My reflection appeared in the pool of blood, laughing hysterically, "Look how frightened you are. It's adorable, honestly. You see why you're hated by the Gods. Taking someone's life early isn't your job."
"Don't... listen..." A voice I'd never heard whispered but instantly faded again.
The reflection's face looked irritated and disappeared again. Falling to the floor, everything started spinning. The words were consuming me again. I need to snap out of it. Think of positive thoughts. A rising sun, blades of grass waving slowly in a gentle wind. Mira, Kubo, Mikel, Kassandra, Ronan. I regained my consciousness and startled Ronan, who seemed to be keeping watch.
"I'm sorry." Ronan said apolegetically.
"It's fine. Better to know now rather than later. You should get some rest."
"Are you sure you'll be alright?"
"Unless you tell me I committed an even bigger sin, I'll be alright."
"If you say so."
I got up and patrolled the area quickly and set myself by the fire. It was crackling, gently dimming as the night continued. Trying not to trigger another anxiety attack, I just observed the stars. It should only take another day to reach the village. After that, we'll need to hunt down the spirits then head back. Sounds simple enough.
A cart appeared in the distance. Strange, most people don't venture this late out. Slinging my shield on my back and attaching the two swords to my belt, I braced myself for anything. It might've been paranoia but you can never be too sure in this world. The cart stopped in front of our camp.
An old man poked his head out and said, "Excuse me. You wouldn't have any unneeded supplies we could borrow."
I shook my head. "Sorry sir but I'm afraid we have no spare supplies."
"What are you talking about? An adventurer only needs his life right?" He grinned menacingly. All of a sudden four men jumped out the back, all wearing hoods to conceal their identities. Great! Bloody bandits.
"Now whatever could you mean. I'm no adventurer, just a simple passer-by." I replied sarcastically.
"Grab him boys!" The old man shouted.
Evading their grappling, I unslung my shield and smashed it into one of the bandits, temporarily stunning him. After this, I quickly unsheathed my sword to deflect a strike from behind. Another tried to hit me with a mace but I raised my shield to block it, although I definitely felt the force. From the corner of my eye, I saw the fourth one heading towards my companions.
I made a break for it and slammed him into the ground. Ronan woke up, read the situation and started chanting a spell. Hitting the bandit on the floor with the hilt of my sword to immobilise him, I headed back towards others. Buying time for Ronan, I continuously deflected their strikes. Suddenly, the bandit with mace connected with my side sending me flying.
Ronan finished his spell incantation and vines burst from the ground, ensnaring the remaining bandits. The old man tried to escape with the cart but Ronan grabbed his bow, fired and hit the wheel of the cart, causing the old man to tumble into the grass. Ronan yelled, "Ensnare!" and the old man was covered in considerably fewer vines but since he looked frail, I think it would be enough to keep him down.
Ronan helped me up. I winced but the damage wasn't too bad. It'll heal within a few hours anyway. We decided to inspect their cart for any valuables to return to their owners but it looked like they had only just started to plunder. There was something strange though. There was a letter that looked like it was heading to Unagi Village left on the floor. Unagi Village was the place we were heading to.
"Should we open it?" I asked.
"Are you crazy!? It has the seal of a God. The Goddess of Light, Hikari, no less. We would be struck down if we opened it." Ronan shouted.
Whilst he was blabbing on, I opened the letter. Unfortunately, I couldn't read it as it was in some sort of code but something seemed familiar about the aura surrounding the letter. It resonated with something inside me but I couldn't tell what it was.
"YOU OPENED IT!" Ronan yelled.
"I haven't been struck down by Hikari yet, so I guess you can't believe everything you're told. I can't remember but isn't she one of the stronger Gods?"
"She's the leader."
"Surely there should be a God of Darkness to lead with her. You can't have light without dark."
"He disappeared five centuries ago in the Holy War. It's presumed he was one of the Dark Gods."
"I'm just wondering, can a God be killed?"
"W-why would you want to kill a God!? There's only one record of it happening and that was a battle between two Gods. One killed the other in combat so it's assumed that only Gods can kill Gods. It causes a huge rift in balance though and causes a catastrophe."
"I see. By the way, what should we do with the bandits?"
"I'm thinking of tying them naked to a tree. What did the letter say?"
"I don't know. It's in some sort of code."
"Shame."
After dealing with the bandits, we both waited for morning to paint the sky golden, then woke Kubo up, who slept through all the ruckus, to set off for the village. The rest of the journey was pretty quiet considering. We arrived late into the afternoon. Just as Ronan had said, the village was dainty. Children were running around energetically which seemed to pique Kubo's interests.
"You can play with them if you want to, Kubo." I said.
"Really!?" Her eyes gleamed.
"As long as you don't get into any trouble and you return to the cart before the sun goes down, I don't mind."
"Thank you so much Master!"
As soon as the cart stopped, Kubo sped off to go play with the other children. Ronan and I placed the cart in plain sight for Kubo to see and headed to the village chief's hut. Two guards stepped in front of us and asked us to place our weapons into a box. We obliged and were granted access. The hut was much larger on the inside than it looked on the outside. It was plainly decorated.
An ageing, frail man hobbled over to greet us and invited us to sit down. He brewed some tea before sitting on his wooden chair situated at the centre of the room.
"Are you the people that will deal with our spirit problem?" He asked, his voice sounded weak.
"Yes. We only require a few days to locate and formulate a plan to take them out." Ronan said.
"I've heard your group has a 100% success rate in any mission you do but you look injured boy."
"Just some minor wounds from fighting a monster the other day. That's why he's here." Ronan pointed at me.
"I like your determination. What reward are you after for resolving this issue?"
"Could we discuss that later? I'm not really in this for the reward."
"That's fine with me. I'll give you some details about the spirits. They showed up a year ago after a middle-aged couple went missing, so we assume something happened to them causing this. They like luring villagers young and old into the forest, as to which we never hear from them again. Despite the smiling facade of our villagers, they are truly terrified."
"I see. What times do they usually appear?"
"From sundown to sunrise."
"I think we got all the information we require. Zeke you go on ahead, I wish to talk to the elder a little longer to discuss the letter we found." Ronan threw me a pouch of gold. "Go buy you and Kubo something to eat."
"Will do. Enjoy your chat." I said.
Exiting the hut, I repossessed my weapons from the guards. Taking a better look of the village, it surprised me how it looked like an ordinary town. Everyone wore moderately decent clothes and all the guards had pretty modern armour as well. The only thing that made the village look outdated was that they lived in huts and not houses. There was even a couple of shops here and there.
I went to find Kubo, except she was nowhere to be found. It was getting dark rapidly meaning the spirits would be roaming soon. How far is the forest from the village? I spotted a woman pacing around worriedly outside her hut and decided to approach her.
"Excuse me! Are you alright?" I asked.
"My little boy is usually home by now. I sure hope he hasn't gone to that bloody forest again." She started wringing her hands.
"How far away is the forest from here?"
"About ten minutes, why?"
"Was a girl with a wing with him?"
"Now that you mentioned it, he was playing with a new girl. Would that be your daughter?"
"It's complicated. Did you see where she went?"
"She was playing with the children the entire time. Oh no! None of the children have returned yet now that you mention it."
This is bad. Real bad. Not only is Kubo near that forest, there's a bunch of kids with her. I need to tell Ronan. Leaving the woman with a reassuring word or two, I rushed back to the village chief's hut.
"Children... are near... forest... haven't... returned." I panted.
"We'll have to talk later Eden." Ronan grabbed his things, and we both sprinted towards the forest. Panic and dread starting building up inside me. What's going to happen to Kubo? Please be alright. I should've been more specific with my instructions. I thought the forest was further away than it actually was. I should've asked about more of the specifics.
We arrived at the entrance to the forest. The sun dropped from sight. Words started to be etched into the ground in front of us. In large letters it said, 'Let The Game Begin!"