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Petrichor Search

🇺🇸Joel_135
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Synopsis
A girl names Laciel (Lacy for short) awakens alone in the middle of a deserted forest with only a sword and a belt with money and a note. As she seems to find out her identity, she learns about the land: guilds protect the innocent from thieves and criminals. Powers range from the people of the Tierra (plant manipulators & conjurors), Anoids (humans with the ability to transform into animals, and Ink Users (26 known Ink Powers, divulged to the highest bidder). Lacy seeks to join the guild 'No Limit', led by the virtuous yet mysterious Martil Earthman. Martil wants nothing more than to explore beyond the heavily guarded nation and to find the mythical, Petrichor Valley & Firefly Grove. Major Characters Lacy- a young girl who wants to lead a life worth looking back on Matthias- a young man who yearns to keep his family reputation out of his life Isla- a falcon Anoid, who is the doctor of No Limit Characters yet to be seen: Martil Jada Scorpion Jase Aniku Alix Blaze Marl Miko Zylon Asher
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Chapter 1 - Chapter 1 It is Here That Laciel Meets the Red Hair Boy and His Pet Falcon

    It was a sunny day. She was deep in the thick woods, sleeping in a mossy tree about 18 feet above the ground. It was a girl of about 16 years of age, medium length blond hair, brown eyes and a sword leaning against her resting area. Amnesia had struck her heavily just one day before. She does not remember anything in the slightest about herself prior to her amnesia other than her name is 'Laciel' and the fact that she was decently skilled with the dynamo sword. 

    She eventually awakened since she had not consumed any food since her loss of memory. She may have not eaten since before her accident, she could not tell because of the obvious reason. Laciel did not care to rest anymore. She was not exactly feeling stronger, in fact she was quite weak, but she sheathed her sword to a belt that she found at the tree's base and sauntered over to where there was a nice, dirt path that presumably led out of the forest. No one was with her as she strode to where there may or may not be a location with food. Good food. Cooked food. Food that was mouth-watering to the point that even someone who had just eaten would find enough room for. 

    Laciel had just about given up trying to retain any information about herself. She slapped her head for the 5th time since her accident. She almost shed a tear at this. She really and truly desired with an insatiable want to know about her personality, want she did to pursue her passion, who her family was, even what country she was living in. She relaxed her hand and let her shoulders cease constricting and decided to move on forward. If she could not remember, she would not remember and that was that. The only goal at this point was to find a way to stop her stomach from growling.

    After several hours of wearily walking down this path, Laciel saw that a clearing was ahead, just about 800 meters in the distance. She did not hasten her step too quickly, however. For some sensation that she could not place a name on, she did not feel like falling for a potential false hope situation. After all, she was also in a state of mild depression and sadness, so she did not want to add to her plight. Once she reached the end, she was greeted by a lush meadow with an open valley ahead of her. A somewhat steep decline met her as well, but it was not too difficult for her to scale down without much of an issue. What also gave her incentive to reach the bottom was the small village that was at the hill's base. "Where there's a town, there's food!" is what Laciel thought to herself as she moved down the hill.

    After stumbling a bit she arrived at the base of the town. It was a typical town, nothing too out of the ordinary. There were about 30 stone brick houses, with a bridge near the town's exit to allow citizens or visitors to go over the river below without having to wade across it. At the entrance she saw some citizens going about their daily lives: there were some young boys at the bridge with some fishing lines drawn, a man with a red garment presumably vending fruit, a mother with a young girl probably about 6 years of age, and a burly butcher with hunks of meat hanging out. Laciel observed all this and was promptly reminded of why she came down in the first place. She walked over to the man with the red garment selling the fruit and pointed to the group of watermelons. The man with the garment looked up at her, grinned with clean teeth and asked: "You want the melons?"

    Laciel nodded. The man replied, "That'll be two Ivas. You won't find prices in this area any better than right here at my stand in Ela."

    Laciel stared listless at him. In her mind she was kicking herself for not considering the realization that she was most likely out of any money or viable currency to pay for her fruit. The man pensively put two and two together. He pointed to the girdle around Laciel's waist. 'Maybe you got something' to trade in there?" 

    Laciel noticed her belt as the man had mentioned. There was a pouch hanging from the side. There couldn't actually be money, or Ivas as he put it in here. That would be too convenient. But she did not really have a choice so she took the drawbag and opened it. Much to her surprise and delight there were round brass coins. After doing a quick count there were 14 coins, 5 large and 9 small and a note. Laciel took a look at the note, but ignored it for the time being. She lifted one of the large coins up to the vendor and asked him if it would be enough. The vendor was taken aback, and confusingly stared at her. "Are you kiddin'? he asked. "That's a…" he paused mid-sentence. A greedy look entered his eyes. "Close, but a little short. Maybe another would make it square. Gawt another one in there?" he pointed to Laciel's bag.

    Laciel was about to pull out another large coin when she heard a shriek right in front of her. She looked up to see the vendor getting smacked on his head with a rolling pin by a woman. Laciel immediately put her hands to her mouth, both shocked and a little amused at the situation. "Wut're you doin' Leah? That really hurt!"

    The woman looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties with a mop of curly brown hair tied into a mop. A small girl stood by her. The woman, presumably Leah glared at the vendor with the red garment and shook her head fiercely. "Foul play at work here Heatham? Don't even bother to answer. I saw you about to pluck 200 Ivas from that poor girl."

    Heatham (the vendor, pronounced Hee-tum) rubbed his head and groaned, "She ain't no poor girl, Leah. Look at 'er! She's armed with a sword and is wearing clothing similar to what the local bounty hunters wear. And she's probably loaded too! Ouch!" Heatham shrieked again after receiving another blow from Leah.

    Leah shook her head again. "That don't mean you pillage this girl. She's probably making a living fair as we are."

    Heatham sneered at Leah and growled. "You ain't even my wife, woman. Why should I be subject to your beatins?"

    Leah raised her pin in a threatening manner. "It's this kind of behavior that's going to keep you from getting one. And the good Lord knows that you need one to keep your head straight." Leah turned to Laciel who by now was just observing this scuffle with wide eyes. Leah forced a half smile at her. "I'm so sorry about Heatham. He's fine once you know him, but he doesn't stray from taking dirty fleece bargains on passer-bys. Here are a few melons slices." Leah grabbed 5 slices of watermelons from a cutting board to the side of the fruit baskets. Heatham tried protesting but was waved off. Leah handed them to Laciel, "Sorry about that. Our town Hiyoto has fine people, well most people," Leah glared at an annoyed Heatham, "please accept these as an act of forgiveness."

    Now it was Laciel's turn to protest. "No, I couldn't, that wouldn't be right! Besides I have enough money, I think." She raised the sole coin up to view of the others. "I assume this is too much?"

    Leah nodded her head vigorously. "Indeed, that is a 100 Iva coin. So that makes it 50 times the amount that he was trying to sell to you earlier." She glared at Heatham again, who by this point was still sulking. "But I insist. If you don't take these I won't treat you to my famous home-cooked garlic bread and beans! It's a tantalizing offer that I wouldn't refuse if I were you. Come on now, they're starting to drip on my blouse." Heatham attempted to make a crack about how Leah's food was not that famous, but stopped dead in his tracks when Leah lifted the rolling pin again without even batting an eye.

    Laciel hesitated before a loud stomach growl put an end to any argument she would have brought forth. She pocketed the money, and graciously took the fruit and sucked on them, devouring the fruit up to the green part of the rinds all in a matter of half a minute. Laciel gave a sigh and a smile of satisfaction that only one whose thirst had just been quenched while simultaneously being relieved of hunger, somewhat. The little girl stared wide-eyed at Laciel. She then stated, "I've never even seen the soldiers eat that fast before!" Heatham and Leah also were somewhat dumbfounded at what they had just witnessed. Leah sheepishly gave a half-shrug and a grin. "I just haven't eaten in a bit, you feel me?"

    Heatham started to gush on about how weird it was when Leah conked him on the head again. "Oh can it, Heatham. She was obviously starving, so manners shouldn't be of any concern to you. Anyone who knows you can attest to that!" She turned to Laciel and smiled, "Well, no matter. How's about that garlic bread?" Laciel nodded her head. "Thank you so much, you're a very kind person. Does this happen to all visitors of Hiyoto?" 

    Leah shook her head. "Most of them are loud and…" she turned to her daughter. "Hey Shea, why don't you play down at the bridge with the other kids?" Shea did not argue and scampered over to the river where the boys were fishing. She waved to her mother and she waved back to her. Laciel looked at this interaction. "Her name is Shea? How old is she?"

    "She's eleven," Leah replied. "She reminds me so much of my husband Wallo. She takes after his hazel eyes." Leah sighed for a split second but regained herself. She smiled at Laciel and said, "Where was I? Oh yeah, you were asking about the visitors. Most of them are mangy and useless bounty hunters. They're usually drunken fools who haven't tilled an acre in their lives, nor put themselves to good use ever. They also boast about how many so-called 'criminals' they've taken down, although I can guarantee on everything I own that it's all a bunch of horse crap. But you are different. For one, I haven't seen a female hunter in quite some time and you are well-kept. By the way, what's your name?"

    "Laciel."

    "Well, Laciel I'm glad you stopped by. Did you come just to observe the scenery? Or did you have some business to take care of."

    Laciel stopped in her tracks. Leah stopped too and looked back at her. Confused, she aited for an answer. Laciel though hard. Come to think of it, what AM I doing here? Did I die and now I'm on some weird trip to heaven or hell? Did I really forget everything? Am I an avatar for some puppet masters personal fun? No, I most likely just got hit in the head, or maybe my memories were erased? Then Laciel remembered the note. What did it say? This change of thought made Laciel change her thought pattern and switch over to the new topic at hand, what the note said. Maybe I wrote something down before I lost all knowledge od myself. And what if this note contains the layout of this world that I'm living in. Maybe it tells me perfect details of its currency, ruling powers, or even bounty hunters. Then Laciel thought of it in a different way. Maybe this scrap of paper is a load of crap. Maybe there's nothing to be excited about. It's probably just some junk telling me that I've been pranked, or maybe it's just a blank piece. Yeah, that's probably it. It's blank. I didn't get a good look at it anyway, so it's safe to say that I loaded a piece of paper in a pouch for no reason… DAMNIT! Nothing makes sense!

    While Laciel thought all of these in a flash, her expression reflected that of someone lost in thought with a listless expression. Leah noticed this and tried not to pry into what she could be thinking. Instead she asked her, "Hey, Laciel. You okay in there?"

    Laciel jolted awake. "Oh, oh yeah yeah. I'm fine. Uh, no I'm not here on business. Let's just say that I'm here to see if there's work in the area."

    Leah looked confused at her. "Isn't that the same thing as business?"

    Laciel blushed in embarrassment. She knew she worded that response terribly. "Well, not exactly. I'm here to see a different change of scenery like you said earlier." She faked a grin, hoping that it would fool Leah.

    It did not. Leah looked at her with a suspicious look. "If you're on the run, than I'm afraid I cannot be your ally. The people of Hiyoto have been the subject of thieves and renegades recently. You better not be one of them, and considering your attire I wouldn't put that option out of my mind."

    Laciel raised her hands to show she meant no mal intent. "No, no! I would never steal from anyone! You saw me earlier, I was willing to pay that man for the fruit."

    "That may be so," interjected Leah, "But you didn't even have a comprehension as to what size of coin matches the Iva price. I was walking over from the well at the entrance and noticed you come from the top of the hill from where the trees clear out. So you know, our town has been hit three times and eyewitnesses all say they came from the top of the hill. If you are not a bounty hunter or a thief, than who, or what are you?"

    Laciel thought hard, pondering on how she should answer her questions. To be fair she did not even have an inkling of whether she was a thief, or a bounty hunter. But what she did know was that if she indeed was a thief in her past life, she had set in her heart that she would not continue down that path. Who knows? Maybe this was a reset in her life and she was blessed to be given another and more noble opportunity in life. She squared up, looked at Leah dead set in the eyes and said, "I don't know who I am for sure, but what I do know is that I am no thief. That I know for certain."

    Leah decided that she would press no further. If Laciel was lying, than she had washed her hands of feeling any remorse. Besides, her earnest answer did not seem to be that of a liar. But considering this, why is she dressed with a belt and sheath strapped to it. Also, Laciel had boots, a lightly armored jacket of sorts with short sleeves, & a leather pair of shorts. This was not normal attire for what appeared to be a girl in her teen. She's either been trained very well by a master bounty hunter, or taught herself to wield it herself through being a criminal, or just simply carries it around for decoration. I've seen plenty phonies in my day. All these possibilities and thoughts went through Leah's head but decided to answer Laciel in the best way she thought. "If you say your not a thief, than I believe you. In fact, no one but the inhabitants of this village know about the thieves recently, and I've never seen you before. But maybe you can apply to one of the protective guilds, if you're interested in putting your talents to use." She probably won't know what that is either, but I'll explain it to her. Maybe it'll do everyone a favor if she takes this idea to heart.

    "Protective guilds?" Laciel asked. "You mean like an organization that protects the people and fights criminals with the legal power to arrest them?"

    "Exactly," Leah answered. "For people like us we can either hire a bounty hunter who charges the town, or we submit a case to one of the 3 available guilds in hopes of them saving us which is free of charge by the way, or if the town is significant enough the King of the humans will send a small dispatch of soldiers to arrest the criminal. There are way too many ways to have a problem fixed but with an empire of this size, you have to make do with what you have. Understand?"

    "I feel you. You said that there are 3 guilds available. Since this empire is so large, why only 3?"

    Leah looked over her shoulder. They had finally made there way to her tavern-esque inn, just about 8 yards away. Leah looked around again to make sure that no one was hearing their conversation.

    "Is something wrong?" asked Laciel.

    Leah looked at her with a serious look in her eye. She spoke in a quiet tone, "I cannot speak of why loudly. I fear that I might be snitched on. Listen to me Laciel, will you promise to keep this a secret between you and me?"

    "Of course," nodded Laciel.

    Leah repeated her cautious attitude than proceeded, "This empire's king is a very young, but a very foolish man. He is known to drink constantly, so much so that we don't even know if he is fully up there half the time a meeting between the races, or any matter of importance comes up. He is not married so he wastes his life away entertaining himself with prostitutes." Laciel looked wide-eyed at this information because, as you remember, all this was brand new to her. Leah continued, "My incredible husband Wallo was a vocal advocate against King Kioso Masterson to the point that he was arrested by the empirial guard. Imagine that! Sending the soldiers all the way out here in a rural village because of his complaints! He's been in prison for two years now, the same amount of time that Kioso has been in control and we are only allowed to see him once a year! Wallo, a man who has done no wrong is butting shoulders with hardened criminals in the strongest dungeon in the most guarded prison simply for speaking against his ways of governing." Leah nearly shed a tear which led to Laciel trying to comfort her but Leah held herself and carried on. "Because Wallo has been in prison, he gets inside information from the guards and he's found out that Kioso has a bizarre and deep gratification in turning Tiera girls into his personal dancer sex slaves! A guard told him that Kioso punishes girls who disobey his offer by feeding them into a pit of boa constrictors and giving them only a yardstick to defend themselves. It is even rumored that he occasionally spectates it while it happens! That dirty son of a *****! He is nothing like his father Mezim Masterson who died too soon at 37 years of age! He was good and tried bringing this empire to a land of peace and an alliance for the Tiera, Humans, and Anoids alike." Leah finished this with a look of fury that slowly but surely subsided. She looked at Laciel again, but this time ignored the look on her face. "Let's go inside. And please remember to never divulge this information to anyone outside this circle between you and me, unless it is to a branded guild member. Swear to me that you will!"

    Laciel rose her right hand and vowed to her that she wouldn't share this to anyone. And also because I have no clue what she was talking about near the end, she thought. She didn't even answer my question about the guilds, all she did was rant on about how the king is a dirtbag. I feel sorry for her husband but I can't be concerned about that in this moment. Of all the worlds I could have been placed in, this is where I had to be reborn. A nation where a young king is perverse and has an incredibly spiteful behavior. And what on earth are Tiera & Anoids? I know what humans are at least, but these people I have never heard before. I can't ask what those people are because no one who take me seriously and it would further rise suspicion. Whatever, all I have to do is to find a private section inside this inn and take the time to read the note, oh wait I forgot that I had decided that it's blank. No, that's B.S. Even if it IS blank, there's no harm in looking at it. But now's a good time to just eat and relax for now. Maybe after staying here for the night, I can look to apply for a guild in the morning! Laciel resolved herself to doing this and walked inside Leah's inn. The inside was a tight, but cozy long room inside of a small building. The sides of the room had 5 dining booths in a row with tables in each booth, all neatly furnished. To her right side was a bar, but no stools as she probably never took the time to install them. Behind the bar was a kitchen with a firebrick oven and a washing station, equipped with pots, pans, and a sink to clean them all in. Laciel looked to her left where the booths were located and saw that 3 were available. One of the customers was a sleepy looking potbellied man with a beard and bald head. He had this hideous sort of a goatee that repulsed Laciel. The potbellied man also had a glass of whiskey in his hand and a lambchop in the other, only partially eaten. In the other occupied booth sat a very young man, most likely 17 or 18 years old with a mop of red hair. An eagle was perched on his shoulder and he had a bow propped to the side of his table, with a small collections arrows as well. The eagle preened itself on the boy's shoulder and the boy rose his hand and asked for some service. Leah, who was already silently observing him nodded her head and asked him what he wanted.

    "Hmmm," said the boy with a serious look in his hazel eyes. I'll take your local vegetable soup with an apricot on the side, and please get me some rabbit well done for my friend here." The boy pointed to his pet on his shoulder. 

    "Sure, I'll get those right away. You're lucky that you asked for an apricot right now because they just came in from the south side of the kingdom. But why have the eagle's meat well done? Isn't he going to eat it raw anyway?" asked Leah, raising her eyebrow slightly. "Besides, wouldn't it be better to buy the meat from the local butcher? He could feed that pet real well."

    The boy raised his finger and petted his bird, that looked a bit ticked off for some reason. "Sorry, lady Leah but it's a SHE. And this is a falcon, not an eagle. A peregrine falcon to be exact. And she isn't my pet either, she's kind of like my companion for a trip I'm on. And she prefers well done meat, trust me."

    Leah rolled her eyes slightly. "How are you going to pay for this meal? And I assume you're a bounty hunter judging by your arrows. Catch any criminals today?"

    The boy kept his finger up and smiled mischievously. "No Lady Leah. I am a hunter but I have not been employed for a bit now, if you know some work that needs to be done I'll give you a 7 day contract, half off and it's a great bargain." He smiled revealing a set of perfect, beautiful white teeth.

    Leah still glared at him. "That doesn't answer my question about the money. And no, giving me a 'deal' is just a load of bullcrap. I know you bounty hunters play games like this to get free food. Well, not here in Hiyoto! And don't call me by my first name. Don't you know it's rude to call someone by her name without permission?"

    The hunter defended himself. "I apologize profusely if I came across as impudent, I really didn't mean any harm. I only called you Lady Leah because that man over there kept mumbling to himself about Leah being the best hostess in town. When you came in and took my order, I only assumed that was your name and added Lady to be more respectful, I swear it's the truth. And I do have money to pay for my food." The boy reached for a small sack and pulled out a giant coin. "Here's 100 Ivas. Keep the change as an apology for my actions." He rosed up and bowed, handing her the money while keeping his hands to his side." The falcon at this point was perched on the table, observing this interaction.

    Leah was spellbound at this action. This boy may have been a good-for-nothing bounty hunter, but he was so polite and well-mannered. She composed herself and replied, "N-no, it's not a problem. I mean you can call me Leah if you like, I don't mind." She turned to the drunk at the booth and shook her head angrily. "That fool Ikabus. He's the town locksmith and local drunk, who sleeps wherever he wants, but he's constantly wasting his money on booze and makes my inn look bad." She walked over to the drunk and pulled his ear, yelling: "Hey Ikabus! Get your sorry rear end out of my inn! You're either hungover or drunk, or maybe both so get out!" Ikabus started from his stupor and clumsily stumbled out of the open-doored inn. She turned back to Laciel and the boy, saying: "Your food will be ready soon. And make sure that bird doesn't mess anything up." He sounds familiar but I can't place who he is. Whatever, let's get cooking! With that she started cooking multiple dishes at once with insane speed.

    Laciel took this whole event, nearly laughing and holding a single hand to her mouth to stop the obvious ear to ear grin on her face. Leah certainly puts the men around here to shame, it's actually kind of hilarious. Than she turned her attention the red haired hunter. She noticed something a little odd. He was talking to the falcon! The falcon was no longer on his shoulder or in the middle of the table but instead was on top of the table directly across him, as if to face him. What's worse is that it seemed as if he was having a conversation with it! Laciel sat down in the booth behind where the boy was sitting. She was too curious to not be eavesdropping, and she really was intrigued by this young man. She heard this:

"No Isla (prounounced eye-luh), you know you can't go Anoid here. Not yet anyway, only in an emergency did big brother say you can do it. Sorry, but those are his rules." (pause) "What do you mean? I defended you as best as I could!" (slight pause) "No, you know as well as I do that I was only kidding about the 'deal' that I offered her. Remember that it's all an act, big brother said that stopping by one of these small villages isn't bad. (pause) "Yes, I am aware that is was a crappy joke, but that has nothing to do with that matter at hand." (pause) "Yes, this is Hiyoto for sure. You heard that drunkard say so as well as Lady Leah."(pause) "Correct, Laiyo is southeast of here. We'll deal with them later." (pause) "I can call her Lady if I want to! That's the proper way to address an adult woman that I have no quarrel with." (pause) "I know you think that I'm sooo polite, and that I appear honest, but like I said it's only an act for now!" (he thumped the table quietly when saying this, another pause) "Only if it is pleasing to me, you know that I'm very picky with choice goods, you can have the rest if I don't enjoy it."

    Laciel did not like what she heard. For one thing, the boy sounded mentally deranged or lonely on a weird level. Who ever talks to their pet birds like, she thought disregarding what he had said about it being his 'companion'. I'm that 'companion' story was a cover-up too. And why is he talking about these towns, and doing jobs for 'Big Brother?' I can only assume that he means that he works for some type of crime syndicate that sends in people masquerading as bounty hunters in order to gain the trust of the townsfolk and rob the blind! He himself said that this was all an act and that he's 'very picky with choice goods'. That can only mean one thing: he's planning to rob this city like Leah told me about earlier, or maybe he just likes whispering to his bird his plans out loud. But no one would be that idiotic, would they? I have to stop him, but I can't just call him out on a whim, that'll look foolish. Let me see, what's a good way to go about this? Laciel thought hard, trying to find a way to prove her theory. She then had an idea. She got up from her seat and walked over to the boy's booth. She stared at him with a blank expression.

    The boy looked up from his conversation. He looked around to make sure that he was the intended target of this staredown. He pointed to himself. "Are you looking at me? What do you want?"

    Laciel then broke out a cute smile and answered, "Oh, nothing, I couldn't help but hearing your conversation earlier. Did you say you were a bounty hunter?"

    The boy's previously tense exterior subsided. He let out a sigh of relief (not to obviously but Laciel saw this anyway) and replied, "Yes, I am. I am looking around town for some work and I heard someone say that there are potential thieves in this area, so I'm looking to exterminate the vermin and earn some cash as well."

    "That sounds awesome!" replied Laciel gayly. "I'm a bounty hunter too, but I'm not here for work, I'm just passing by."

   

    "Are you on business too?" the boy asked, with an innocent smile on his face.

    "You could say that, yes," answered Laciel, hoping that she could keep this guy in conversation long enough to trap him in a set of lies. After all, it's impossible to keep a fabrication up on a whim without having holes in it. He's bound to mess up. "When did you come to this town?"

    The boy paused for a second. "Ugh, just now. I came in about 15 minutes ago."

    Laciel kept smiling but decided to prod the boy. "Did you talk to anyone when you came here?"

    "No, I came straight to this inn. I actually haven't really done anything except walking into this place right now." The boy answered her question but started to sense something was up.

    Laciel was almost sure she had him cornered but needed a little more confirmation before she did anything rash. "Really? You weren't overhearing conversations when you came in? Maybe caught some people talking and just accidently heard what they were saying? Maybe that hobo earlier said something in his sleep."

    "No to all of those," the boy answered, but his smile was replaced by an uneasy half-grin. "Is there a reason for all these questions? They seem out of the blue to me."

    "Oh, no reason," Laciel answered, still smiling with the same cute look. "It's just that no one outside this town knows anything about the thieves so how would you know?"

    The boy was taken aback. "Uh-mm" he stuttered, "I heard it from a guy coming from out of this village. I assumed that he was from here."

    Laciel still kept the poker face and prodded on, "But why would he tell you all of a sudden? Wouldn't he suspect that you could be an imposter in disguise? And which way did you come from?"

    "You never know with these people," the boy laughed nervously. "People can do some really dumb things sometimes, you know? And I came from the north entrance."

    Laciel celebrated in her head. Her interrogation plan worked perfectly! Now she just needed to confront him. She looked at him squarely in the face and said, "That's would have sounded plausible except I am positive that no one has exited this town since I've been here. I came from the north entrance, and no one has entered or exited in that period. In fact, I never saw you come in by that way either now that I think about it. Got an explanation for that?" Her cute smile was now replaced with a cocky grin.

    The boy was not happy. He looked away from her face and muttered, "How do you know? For all I know, you're making all of this up. And what are you implying anyway?"

    Laciel stared at him defiantly. "I have multiple eyewitnesses that back my claim. As far as I'm concerned your story if full of holes. And you want to know what I'm implying?" Laciel had never drawn her sword before, nor had she even considered the thought that she would not know how to use it either, it came second nature to her. She kicked his bow and arrows to the side making sure they were at a distance where the boy could not obtain them by simply grabbing them. She drew her sword and raised it to the boy's chin and continued, "I believe that you're a thief. And big brother is the ringleader!"

    The boy's carefree attitude displayed just a minute earlier and now completely been replaced by a look of spite and anger. The falcon put one of her claws to her beak as if to stifle a laugh. The boy noticed this and snarled, "Now's not the time to be laughing Isla. Are the arrows intact?" He directed this query at Laciel.

    "The bow is all right, but I slashed the arrows in the split second that I tossed them aside." Laciel's defiant smirk only grew larger.

    The boy groaned in frustration while the falcon started making laughing sounds for real. "Shut up, Isla! This puts a dent in our plans, those arrows were specially crafted by Diya."

    Laciel was astounded at a falcon's ability to laugh but turned her attention to how nonchalant the boy was despite him fully understanding the seriousness of his situation. "Stop chatting with that bird!" she cried. "If you admit your intentions, it'll go a lot easier for you."

    Leah had just finished the meals and almost dropped them at the sight she witnessed when she walked out and saw what was transpiring before her. She tried to stop Laciel from going further but Laciel put her hand as a motion for Leah to halt. 'Arm yourself Leah, I've caught the thief… well, at least one of them. I've broken his means of weapons so that he can't use them against us. He's cornered." Laciel was no longer smirking now but rather had a face of grave firmness. "Just surrender so we can bind you, it'll be painless and you can state your case to the soldiers."

    But while she was explaining the situation, the boy was talking to the falcon yet again! "That'll be unfair, it's a mismatched battle." (pause) "No, running away just makes us look guilty. I have an idea." He turned to face Laciel who was yelling at him to answer her properly. He sighed, "Gee Wiz, I guess you leave me no choice. I can't just go peacefully with you, the soldiers might get fired for daring to arrest me."

    "You pompous ass!" she said with anger brimming in her tone.

    "I'm afraid it's the truth," the boy shrugged. Just then he disappeared in a flash and appeared right behind her. "But now since my arrows are broken, and you don't seem like quite the newb with the dynamo yourself, I have an idea."

    "What? How did you…?" Laciel asked, in partial shock, but the boy continued. "If you want a fight, than I'll duel you. Winner leaves the other be, deal?" The boy was slurping down the soup because at this point Leah was backed into a corner, not sure how to handle this situation. Before Laciel could respond, the boy shrieked in absolute terror. "Ahhhhh! No, it's hurts no, no, no!" The boy started rubbing his teeth fiercely. He turned to Leah, "What is wrong with you? This soup is missing a pinch of turmeric!"

    Leah and Laciel just stood there. They couldn't comprehend this teen nor his behavior. "It's just a bowl of stupid soup! Didn't your parents teach you to be grateful!" Leah & Laciel yelled in unison.

    The boy rummaged around the kitchen looking for the magic spice much to Leah's dismay. "Sorry, but I have an overly sensitive palate. If it is not pertaining to my finite liking, my teeth will start hurting worse than a newborn with metal braces on." The boy was still rubbing his teeth with left hand to soothe the pain, while scouring the pantry with his right. He finally found his pot of gold and gave a small tap into his bowl. The orangish dust dissolved into the brown liquid with the asparagus, broccoli, potatoes, and other roots and vegetables floated within. The boy gave a resounding 'mmmmmm' and sighed as if he had just experienced his greatest moment of satisfaction yet. He lifted his fingers in a 'it's perfect gesture'. Leah and Laciel stared at him intently. It seemed impossible to find another human being with the utter joy and happiness that was experienced from eating a bowl of soup anywhere in any universe. Even if he was a suspected thief, they wouldn't stop his moment of pleasure for the world. In fact, they gained a sense of respect from him. After he had swallowed the last bit of soup he began going into a monologue of how incredible the dish was with only a dash of turmeric added to it. He loaded heaps of compliments and praises onto Leah, who blushed and said she was happy that she had made a soup that he had enjoyed so much. 

    They both snapped out of it and once again cornered the boy with a knife and a sword but the boy just leapt off the wall and behind them. "How does he do that?" the girls thought. "He's so quick, I've never seen anything like it before!"

    The boy took the pointed halves of the broken arrows and dumped them into a sack behind his back. He took his bow and hoisted it and put this behind his back too. He turned to face Laciel and proposed, "Well, the offer for the duel still stands. If not, than I'll be on my way."

    Laciel sheathed her sword and walked up to him. The boy was about 5'11,to around 6 feet tall. She looked at him and said with anger but controlled, "I accept. But how can you fight without your bow and arrows?"

    "Tshhh," the boy snorted than chuckled wryly, "A bow isn't exactly a close combat weapon. In fact by proposing the duel you should have known that I was doing so at my own risk since you have a sword that excels in close combat. Do you understand?"

    "No!" Laciel responded. As much as she wanted to bust him for thinking that he was a bandit, she also wanted this to be a fair fight. "You have no shield, and you can't use the arrows…."

    "Didn't I already tell you that I understand?" the boy interrupted. He looked at Lacy with a semi serious semi lightful expression. "Trust me, I do not underestimate you at all, as you have proven with your slashing of my arrows that you are no fake. To reach that speed while wielding a dynamo takes years of intense training, or you're just born with it. That being said, I still see no way for you to defeat me even as I am unarmed."

    "How?" asked Laciel, having had quite enough of what she considered trash talk.

    The boy laughed. "A magician never reveals his secrets, especially while in combat." 

    Laciel wondered hard at how he could possibly defend herself. He did not have any weapon to properly defend himself. In fact, she didn't even know how she was able to wield a sword, or dynamo so well with moves faster than a cat no less. Forgotten was the note, the food, or even the guild search. A match was to be made between these two and that's all that mattered at the moment.

    Just then a huge explosion was heard not far from their part of the village. The 3 parties all exited, including the falcon to see what the commotion was about. A boy about 13 years of age came running out of breath from the bridge area. Laciel stopped him and asked, "What's happening and what was that sound?"

    The boy looked at the 3 with absolute terror stricken all over his face. He panted then regained his ability to enunciate, stuttering here and there. "It's the thieves! Two of them came out of the woods and ran right for the center of town where the bridge is! One of them wields a sword and the other one is throwing dynamite from his hands! I don't know how, but it's like he's making bombs like magic, it's like he pulls them out of nowhere!" The boy shuddered and turned to Leah. "Ms. Leah, they got Shea! The robbers have Shea at the bridge and they have her hostage!"

    The red hair boy with the falcon looked grim, Leah looked expressionless as if her heart had just been torn out of her body, but Laciel dropped the boy and raced over to where the bridge was with a look of resolved determination in her now blue eyes.