***** Roxy's POV *****
Roxy, Tallhand, and Elinalise arrived in Wind Port. They had made it to the Demon Continent in record time. It was very nostalgic. She had not set foot in the Demon Continent since she had first left many years ago; she felt very nostalgic.
'It's been so long... about fifteen years ago', Roxy thought.
Roxy had met Elinalise and Tallhand by chance in East Port. They were arguing with each other when Roxy happened to overhear that they also were searching for missing people from the displacement incident.
After a short conversation with them, she learned that they were also former members of Paul and Zenith's adventurer team, 'Fangs of the Black Wolf'. Ever since then they've been traveling together, searching for missing people from the Fittoa region, Rudeus in particular.
"Let's head to the Adventurer's Guild first", Roxy proposed. The three of them started in that direction.
Once they arrived at the guild, a group of three young boys all dressed in warrior's gear, very clearly new adventurers, approached Roxy timidly.
"You umm. Would you maybe, uh, want to form a party with us?"
Roxy smiled wryly. "No, as you can see, I'm already in a party."
"Wait. Don't tell me you're Roxy Migurdia!"
Roxy had built up quite a reputation for herself as she made her way through the Demon Continent and had ranked up to 'A' rank in a mere five years. In addition she was now a King class water mage.
"Alright. Let's start gathering information", Roxy suggested.
The three of them searched the Adventurer's Guild, asking for information if anyone had seen someone matching Rudeus' description.
It didn't take long for them to find information on him.
"Rudeus you say? Isn't he Dead End's mage?"
"Dead End!?", Roxy exclaimed.
"Yeah. I'm surprised you've not heard of them. I didn't think there was anyone in the Demon Continent that hadn't heard their name at this point. They are a new adventuring party that formed about a year ago and already have risen to rank 'A'."
Roxy sighed. 'That does sound like something Rudeus would do. Irresponsibly naming his party after an infamous Superd.'
"Do you have any information on where they are now? How many members are in their Party? Do you have a better description of Rudeus from Dead End? What does he look like?", Roxy started bombarding the poor man with questions.
"Woah, Woah! Calm down lass. Actually, from what I had heard, Dead End just so happens to be on their way here to Wind Port. Dead End has three members. 'Mad Dog Eris', a red-headed swordswoman with a quick temper, 'Guard Dog Ruijerd', a righteous man who never turns a blind eye to evil, and 'Kennel Master Rudeus', a tiny mage who, despite his small stature, is an incredibly talented once in a generation prodigy."
Roxy was shocked. 'That has to be him. Rudeus must have heard the rumors about the Superd named 'Dead End' and thought it would be cool to name his party after them. Anyone who met Rudeus would describe him as a prodigy as well. It's a perfect fit.'
After asking around the guild for a while, Roxy, Tallhand, and Elinalise met back up at the entrance. All three of them heard the same thing. There's a party named 'Dead End' on their way to Wind Port, and one of their members is a perfect fit for Rudeus.
They decided to get a room at one of the nicer Inns in town and stay here for a while. Each one of them would take turns waiting at the Adventurer's Guild, hoping to make contact with Rudeus when he arrived.
Even when it wasn't her turn to wait at the guild, Roxy would take the time to explore around town, keeping an eye out for Rudeus or his party members.
On the second day in town, Roxy happened to overhear someone in the market mention that they had seen 'Dead End' over at the docks the day before. Roxy questioned him for more details and then hurried over towards the docks. On the way there, she saw two people fighting on the beach. They were both incredibly skilled.
As she approached, she saw that one was a tall bald man and the other a red-headed girl. Roxy hid behind a large rock to get a closer look. Something about the tall bald man intimidated her, yet she pushed down the urge to run as she scanned the area looking for Rudeus.
Just then, the bald man snapped his head in Roxy's direction and their gazes met. His eyes bored into her with such intensity that she was filled with an unspeakable terror.
Roxy immediately turned around and ran as fast as she could.
'A Superd! He really is a Superd! I'm dead! I need to run!'
Her mind raced as she ran as fast as she could through the market. 'He wouldn't kill me just because he saw me would he?'
As soon as she got back to her Inn, she ran in and slammed the door behind her. She ran up the stairs towards her room, but as she turned the corner at the top of the stairwell...
'WHAM!'
She ran right into Rudeus, falling down in the process. She buried her face into Rudeus' robe as she continued crying.
"Superd! Superd! It's really him! It's Dead End!"
Suddenly she felt a warm hand patting her on the head. "There there. It's going to be alright Master Roxy. He won't hurt you. I promise."
She looked up towards Rudeus, her vision still a little blurry.
"R-Rudy? Is that really you?"
***** Author's Note *****
I realize this is a short chapter. It just feels like a good stopping point. I plan to get another one posted before the end of the day today.