East of Berfiucht, Logimorica
I finally arrived, there are quite a lot of people here. Young and old, all looking healthy, and no children on the pavements ask for money.
This. This is the kind of world I want to make, vanquishing the evil and ultimately lead the pure ones to a peaceful life.
I walked towards the crowd; no one seems to have recognized me without masks on.
I walked inside another pub; worn out, with damaged walls and creaky floors.
"What can I get for you?" The bartender smiled.
"A bottle of whiskey."
"Got it." The bartender walked away in front of me to prepare my order.
Honestly, I won't be the one who will drink the beer, I am too young for that. It will be a tool that I can use for later.
"Here you go." The bartender handed me the bottle.
"Thank you." I took it and looked around.
"You…" The bartender tilted his head. I looked back at him.
"Are you an adventurer?" The bartender pointed at my arm. "You seem to have a lot of wounds and scratches on your arm, the one with the bandage I mean."
I looked down on my arms and sighed. "Yes, I am an adventurer, an experienced one in fact." I replied with a smile.
The bartender smiled in return and nodded.
"Can I ask?" I leaned closer on the table in front of him. He raised his brows and leaned his ears on me.
"Do you know Matthew Holmes?" I glared at him
He seems to have jolted for a moment and shrugged it off. He then leaned away and nodded.
"Yeah, I know him." The bartender smiled, you can really see how fake that smile is.
"Can you tell me more about him?"
For a moment, the bartender hesitated and then told me to talk at the storage room. Seems suspicious but I eventually agreed.
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"So, what seems to have scared you off back there? Is there anything scary about Matthew?" I crossed my arms.
"He. He is the most richest person in the country of Berfiucht. Honestly, people think that Logimorica is the most peaceful place in the country, but they are wrong." The bartender frowned
"Matthew hated mages and magic, it is because he cannot do it. Envy ate his young precious soul, hatred filled his veins. His goal right now is looking for adventurers and mages, and eventually locking them in a place that isn't easy to destroy or escape." The bartender laid out a long heavy sigh.
"Well, that was all I know. You should be careful, you are an adventurer yourself, and you said it, a skilled and experienced one in fact." The bartender patted my shoulders.
"You reminded me of my son." He smiled
"Your son?" I asked with the most genuine face I had ever made.
"Yes. He was a mage and an adventurer just like you."
"What happened to him?" When I asked that question, the bartender's face begins to frown.
"He was killed in front of a crowd, in the middle of the city. Burned alive and…" The bartender pauses for a moment, "…and then placed his severed head on a spear."
I furrowed my eyebrows. I made a mistake. I never should have thought that this place is peaceful and uncorrupted.
"That's why, please be careful. So that you won't end up like my son." I took his hand and smiled.
"Thank you for worrying. Don't worry, I'll avenger your son in a satisfying way possible." I smiled.
And with that information, I walked out of the pub. Looking for clues to find the 'cellar of lost mages', maybe that's where he kept my friends.
I'll find him and kill him in the most satisfying way possible.
When I continued to walk on the road, a man ran towards me and accidentally hit my shoulders.
"Ah—Sorry!" The man looked at me and quickly ran away.
"What is his deal?"
Then a number of guards ran after him, "Stop right there!!!" they ran after the man.
One, two…sixteen guards? That's quite a lot, considering that they are only running after one person.
Then I realized, the man must be an adventurer or a mage. With that, I ran after them. Within seconds, I caught up with them, amongst the crowds; the guards did not notice me.
I glanced at the man running at an insane speed. I decided to use the other streets to catch him. I ran towards the right path and anticipated where the man went.
Unfortunately, I couldn't deduce where he could turn. So I jumped and climbed up the roofs. To see where the man is going.
Found him!
He seems exhausted from running, his speed is decreasing rapidly, the guards are going to catch up.
I hesitated for a moment and decided to throw a bunch barrels towards the guards. I felt sorry for the citizens that might get hurt.
The barrels went down and the guards took notice of it and hopped away. Telling the citizens to back off, the barrels crashed and fluid from inside splashed around.
The guards were distracted, now I can track the man.
I saw him taking a turn on a small alleyway. I went towards him and jumped down the roof.
As I landed, I saw the man panting and sitting in the dark.
I narrowed my eyes, and saw blood oozing out from his stomach.
I approached him slowly; he flinched and raised his arms very weakly.
"S-stay away…" The man huffed like he had ran for 40 days
"Don't worry; I'm not going to hurt you." I walked closer.
"What do you know about me?" He glared at me
"I am a mage, just like you." As soon as I said that, the man stopped for a moment and laid out a sigh
"Seriously, why did you go to this place?" He touched his wound
"Stop talking, blood will continue to come out." I aided him
"Seriously, why do you want to help me?"
"I want to ask something about Matthew Holmes." He suddenly grabbed my collar and glared at me with angry eyes.
"What do you want to know about that piece of shit?"
"About the cellar of lost mages." He sighed and released me
"That place, I've been there 'ya know."
"You escaped that prison?!" I doubted his words for a moment.
"Yeah. It was hell; the reason why they're running after me is that I have finally escaped." The man looked at the street.
"Don't worry, I made sure to distract the guards." I finally finished wrapping his stomach with bandage.
"You…"
I stood up and dusted off my cloak.
"You are not an adventurer are you?" He sighed
I glared at him for a moment. And smiled.
"What made you think that?"
The man just shrugged. "If you want to know where the cellar is, it is pretty difficult to get in."
"So, where is it?"
"On the city square, at the middle, the statue of the great William, the founder of Berfiucht. Destroy that statue, and you will enter the very base of the cellar."
I looked at him and nodded.
"Thanks."
I walked out of the alleyway and quickly went towards the city square.
I ran and ran. And I finally arrived. That statue, the Great William, it is something worth destroying for.
I took out my hand. With soul energy surging on my hand, I casted a spell, too powerful to stop.
Fire appeared on my hand. I released the spell and with that, the statue was quickly destroyed.
Explosion happened so big, the concrete, the stones, the wood flew around, and smoke emitted around the city square—no, it is no longer a city square, it is completely destroyed.
I walked towards the middle, to where the statue was previously placed. The man was right; there is an opening down below, the cellar of lost mages.
The peaceful façade of Logimorica has finally been destroyed, dark secrets this city holds within.
TBC...