-Bonfire-
[A very large fire. Commonly lit up during celebrations to provide warmth and atmosphere.]
The next day we made it to Al'din, and that left us on the last leg of our journey. The stretch from Al'din to Tsumi'din was by far the shortest leg of our journey, but we still decided to leave fairly early in the day. On our way out, we ran into a couple of Hunters who were taking on a job in the area. After the past couple weeks of walking everywhere, I was very envious to see them ride into town in an Aeth'mobile.
It was a pair of black cloaks I hadn't met before, but Ranfa and Fyr seemed to be good friends with them, since they ended up chatting for well over half an hour. We took the time to get a bit of extra rest, and Oroske and Raen began finalizing the reports they would submit to Danfis and the other Lords, in addition to the report of our findings in the bandit village. Once they had finished, or checked the time and realized how long it had been, Oroske went over and dragged Ranfa back to the rest of the group by her hood. She reluctantly waved farewell to her friends who just laughed at the sight.
The road between us and our destination was very busy that morning, with several Aeth'mobiles of varying sizes racing past us as we slowly trekked back home. At one point there were a handful of very large vehicles, hauling large crates as well as people. The vehicles did create a nice gust of wind as they passed by us, giving us an all too brief reprieve from the intense heat.
Finally, after a few hours, we reached the bridge across the Rift. As we crossed it, the plaza where the Aeth'mobiles usually park gradually filled with people. By the time we reached the other side, it was fairly packed, well over a couple hundred people, Hunters and normal civilians alike, gathered to welcome us back. They gave us a path to walk through, but that didn't stop them from asking all kinds of questions, nearly all of which were ignored or given quick answers. Standing a dozen or so feet behind the main crowd was Danfis, with Rel and his entourage that went to the Human Realm, as well as the Parliament member and their crew.
Oroske, Raen, and Kared all stepped forward and bowed, with the rest of us following their example. "We have returned, Danfis," Oroske said without moving from his position.
"Welcome back," Danfis said, "I am glad to see you are all safe. Come, stand up straight, all of you. Oroske, Raen, there is much to discuss, if you'd follow me back to headquarters." He then addressed the rest of us, though primarily the humans in our care, "Thank you all for your efforts, and for making this journey. The party leaders will come to discuss things with me, but the rest of you are free to spend your time however you please. There will be a bonfire and party in the central plaza tonight, and I encourage you all to attend. That will be all."
Oroske left with Danfis before I could ask him what I should do in the meantime. Nadred and Jarou ended up inviting me to come over for lunch and hang out for a bit.
"Demon Lords?" Danfis laughed, "They've got serious guts if they're calling themselves that."
"Do you know anything about them, Danfis?" Oroske asked, his report complete.
"This particular group? No." Danfis returned to a more serious tone, "That said, it's not like this is the first time the title has been used. The most notable people that were called such were involved with the Guardians, the Demon Empire, or in a surprising - or unsurprising depending on who you ask - number of cases, both. Naturally the people who held these titles were notable amongst their groups."
"Do you think the Guardians have anything to do with this group?" Raen asked.
"It's no secret that the Guardians have a history of causing trouble, but they almost always have a reason. Whether that reason is good or bad is up to the individual, of course. In this case, however, they not only don't have a reason, they in fact have reason not to cause trouble."
"What do you mean?" The Demon Parliament's visiting member asked, a young woman with fiery red hair and eyes to match.
"The Guardians are starting to make their move. They're preparing to form the Honor Guard." Oroske responded for Danfis, who nodded in affirmation.
"You mean like, the chosen ones and all that?" She was shocked.
"The very same. Naen himself came by just before you all arrived, asking if I had any leads regarding the Tsumi's chosen." Danfis said.
"Well, do you?"
"We have a few promising leads, and we're beginning to look into them further. At Naen's request, of course." He lied, he knew full well who the chosen was. However, he held a large amount of distrust in the two major political figures in the room. He doubted either of them would keep silent if they knew.
The meeting continued on for a couple of hours. They discussed the rest of everything that happened at the meetings as well as during their respective journeys, as well as dates for the next meetings regarding everything that was passed off by the two Realm governments.
While they chatted behind closed doors, Nadred, Jarou, Kared and I decided to walk around town. All over, but especially on the main streets and around the plaza, people were preparing for the party that was to be held that night. Storefronts and the sides of the streets were practically packed with people. Many stores were putting out signs that declared they were having major discounts all throughout the night. "Everyone must be excited for the bonfire tonight," I thought out loud.
"Yep!" Nadred affirmed, "Even on years when the Peace Party isn't held we have a big party with a bonfire and such at about this time of year. It's both to celebrate the peace party, but also celebrate our Clan's history. Exact dates are next to impossible to pin down, due to a lack of good record keeping practices, but we know the Clans were formed around this time, all those years ago."
"Really? I had no idea."
"That's largely me and my comrades' fault," we were stopped near the South entrance to the plaza by a familiar face, "Between dealing with the end of the Grand War, the founding of the Clans, and everything else, we weren't keeping track of the exact days things happened." Naen said. "Pardon the late greeting. Good evening everyone, how was your journey?"
"Ah, Guardian Naen," Nadred spoke before anyone else could, "It's good to see you. Our journey was long and exhausting, but thankfully passed without any major incident. To what do we owe the pleasure of this encounter?" I could tell Kared wanted to say something, but Nadred was working to keep her quiet.
"Oh, it was mostly just chance," the Guardian said, "But since I have some free time, I was hoping to speak with some of the youth of the Tsumi, if that's alright. I have a feeling they'll have important roles to play in the future of our world." That last statement had some unsettling weight to it.
Nadred was hesitant, but eventually, he cautiously agreed to it.
Naen voiced his thanks and came up to Jarou and I. The tall man had to crouch quite a bit to match eye level with Jarou, though he was still taller than me. He spoke to Jarou first, "I just wanted to ask, what kind of goals and plans do you have for the future?"
Jarou looked nervous, and after thinking for a while he finally responded, "I don't know. I guess I want to become a Red Cloak, like my mom is. I haven't given it much thought, to be honest."
Naen laughed a little, "Fair enough. You're still young, so you've got a lot of time to figure it out." He then turned to me, and asked the same question.
I had to think about it for a while. Eventually, I came up with an answer I liked. "I want to learn everything I can about the world, and to become strong enough I never have to worry about dying, or letting down my friends and teammates."
"Oh-ho. An impressive goal. I hope you succeed in a way that satisfies you." He stood up straight. "Well, that's all I really wanted to ask. Thank you for entertaining me." He said with a slight bow.
"Are you sticking around for the festival tonight?" Nadred asked before Naen started walking away.
"Unfortunately I won't be. I have some free time during the day today, but come sunset I have places to be. With that, I'll be getting out of your way. Enjoy the festivities." He looked at Jarou and I again, "I hope we'll meet again sometime." He gave a little wave, and walked down the street, away from the plaza.
Once he'd disappeared from sight, Nadred let out a heavy sigh. "It's weird seeing him here on a day like today. I wonder what he's here for. I doubt it's just to talk with kids."
"Probably had to talk to Danfis about something," Kared said. "That said, I still want to rip him a new one, I hate that bastard."
"Well, I'm glad you didn't. Probably would not have ended well for any of us."
"Tch, fair enough."
"Why don't you guys and Oroske like him and the other Guardians?" I asked. It's a question that had been on my mind for a while, but never asked.
"We've had more than our fair share of run-ins with them," Nadred explained, "They have a tendency to get in the way when we're working. We've had Hunts get completely derailed because of them. And they always, always, have some ulterior motive. Even the question he asked you two I'm sure he has some other reason for asking it."
"I see," I really wanted to ask deeper, and maybe hear a story of a specific example.
Jarou ended up asking in my place, and after deliberating on which story to tell, Nadred told the story of one of their Hunts in Market City, an important trade hub in the Human Realm. His story-telling kept us entertained until the bonfire was about to start.
Just as the sun began to set, we gathered in the plaza, where a large pile of wood was set up. The same wooden stage used during the cloak ceremonies had been brought out again, and Danfis was standing on it.
"Ahem," he cleared his throat, "Today, our representatives in the Human-Demon Peace Party returned. Tonight, we celebrate their return, in addition to the founding and history of our Clan. I am proud to have served in the seat of Danfis these past thirty or so years. Our family, and our Hunters, have played an important role these past five-hundred years. We've helped keep the peace between the two Realms, and maintained the natural order of life and death. Each and every one of you has played a role in that. And for that I'm grateful. Now then, enough formalities. I hope you all enjoy yourselves tonight. Let the festivities begin!" He raised a hand, and with a snap of his fingers, the wood pile exploded into flames.
The crowd erupted into chatter. Danfis waved and walked off the stage as everyone began partying.
Later in the night, when things kinda died down, and people had started going home, Danfis approached Oroske and Kared.
"So, I hear you briefly killed Kuro," Danfis confronted Kared, "May I ask why?"
Kared sighed, but also looked a little ashamed, "In exchange for the favor you wanted me to do, they wanted me to get results for a mission they asked me to do years ago; kill the Tsumi's Chosen. Not wanting to actually kill them, I opted for the next best thing."
Danfis pinched the bridge of his nose, "Fair enough, I suppose. I would have liked you to not do that, regardless of anything. But if that was the cost of getting the Twilight to help us out, then it's fine." He paused. "That said. I can't let you killing another Hunter go unpunished. We'll work out the details of your punishment later. But for now, I want you to stay here in Tsumi'din."
"But-"
"No, no buts."
Kared rolled her eyes, "Fiiine," she groaned.
Eventually, Oroske and Kared joined the rest of us near the fire. By then, Jarou had fallen asleep on Nadred's lap, whose legs were falling asleep quickly. We chatted for a while, and eventually I fell asleep on the stone myself. "Poor kids, probably still exhausted from the journey." Oroske said.
"Probably," Nadred agreed, "It is a very long trip. I'm impressed they were able to make it without much difficulty. The two of them will likely go far as Hunters."