While Arthur and Margaret focus on their cultivation, life continues peacefully in Fletcher Village, but outside their safe bubble, the world continues to bare its fangs on the unfortunate.
Aria really chose the best place to make her home where no one could find her family. The village is in front of the central area of a wide range of barren mountains and surrounded by the Grimwood forest, a gloomy and desolate place. Perhaps there was something good in that place a long time ago, but nowadays, there is nothing remarkable there, unable to arouse any interest.
Traveling merchants may reach the village to trade with the farmers, but other than that, it is very rare to have any visitors due to its location. The group of bandits who were unlucky enough to cross Arthur's path was one of those rare occasions.
A few dozen miles south of Fletcher village is the large stone road that Draven mentioned to Arthur on that dark night. The King's Road is a road thousands of miles long which connects multiple kingdoms in the southern part of the Eldoria Continent.
The road is always busy with merchants, soldiers, nobles, and people from all walks of life who travel within the Lumindell Kingdom. To the East are some towns and forts that border the most inhospitable and mysterious area of Eldoria, but to the West is the neighboring kingdom of Ravenwing, as well as other important locations.
The place closest to the entrance of Fletcher Village is to the west, a developed town called Lakeview. And unlike the place where Arthur was born, that town has thousands of inhabitants, a complete urban center protected by strong walls and surrounded by dozens of farms that supply the whole region.
Right now, several mysterious figures riding impressive horses follow the path leading to Lakeview, each of their bodies covered by black cloaks, with their big and strong horses protected by large, shiny armors which seem more expensive than Arthur's whole village.
All the ten horsemen carry big backpacks, weapons of various types, and typical traveler's tools. Their equipment is engraved with bright insignias with the image of a four-pointed star, the symbol of the royal family of Lumindell.
"Make way!!" The horseman at the front of the group shouts and uses his Astral Energy to make his voice echo across several miles radius.
The hundreds of people along the road and in front of the town's gates quickly move aside, making room for the ten horsemen to pass. That man's voice is so strong that there is no doubt for anyone that he and his group are very powerful and dangerous individuals.
"What the hell??"
"Who??"
"Black knights??"
"Get ready!!!"
Hundreds of guards gather at the main gate, all apprehensive due to the power that the male voice carried. Seconds seem like hours as they fear the mysterious owner of the voice.To their relief, however, when the ten horsemen appear in front of the gate, with their insignias visible, fear is replaced by admiration. "Stay calm; they are royal knights."
It's basic knowledge for everyone in the Kingdom of Lumindell that only the most loyal and important people to the Royal Family carry such bright insignia. So the guards can breathe easily while the population even applauds the horsemen, who enter the city at full speed, ignoring everyone.
They pass through the gate of Lakeview and continue at high speed for another half mile, crossing the outermost area which represents the outskirts of the city. Soon, they arrive at the central area of the town, mainly formed by a large square with beautiful, verdant trees and various stone buildings.
It's almost night time, and there are hundreds of people everywhere: peasants, workers, soldiers, adventurers, and nobles. Everyone stops what they are doing when they see the ten horsemen appear and dismount in front of a large and elegant tavern.
Nine out of the ten, including the man who was at the front of the group, dismount first and make a circle around the last mysterious figure, who also wastes no time and jumps off the horse.
"No time to waste; you already know what to do," That person speaks in a commanding tone, and her feminine but firm voice makes it clear that she is a strong woman.
"Yes, my Lady!" The other nine knights bow slightly and speak in a respectful tone, a mix of male and female voices, before mounting their horses again and all going in opposite directions.
The woman who gave the order takes a gold coin from the small bag in her belt and tosses it to the man who takes care of the horses at the stable.
"Take good care of her." The woman speaks in an authoritative tone and points to her black mare.
That man can't believe that he earned a gold coin for the first time after spending several years earning only bronze coins and rarely a silver one in his job.
"Thank you, my lady!!!" The man bows so low that he almost hits his head on the pavement.
The woman ignores him and strokes the mare's mane before picking up a long weapon behind its saddle. That weapon is wrapped in several layers of black cloth, shaped like a long spear with the blade of an axe near the tip, an unknown type of weapon to the surrounding people.
While the man who takes care of the horses leads the black mare to the nearby stable, the hooded woman enters the tavern while resting the large weapon on her shoulders.
"Hey! What the!?" One of the tavern guards is startled when he sees a hooded figure entering the tavern with wide strides and holding a huge weapon.
He almost draws his sword and arrests her for questioning, though luckily he sees the glow of the insignia on the mysterious woman's clothes before making the biggest blunder of his life. Then he signals to the other guards to make way for her.
The place is full of rich merchants, powerful adventurers, and all sorts of influential people in Lakeview, all nobility, of course. But each of those people casts the same kind of envious and curious glance at the mysterious woman.
She ignores them too, and goes to the counter, causing the bartender to abandon other customers to attend to her. "My Lady?" He can see her delicate chin beneath the hood and the tips of light brown bangs.
The woman takes another gold coin from her bag and places it on the counter. "Where is the old woman?"
The bartender has a sharp mind and picks up the gold coin with one hand while using the other to put a small, square, silver token on the counter. "She is waiting for you in our best room, on the top floor."
The woman picks up the token and quickly heads for the stairs, ignoring all the commotion she's causing inside the tavern. She climbs a few floors before reaching the highest part of the building, reaching the end of a long corridor with a large double door, full of luxurious decorations.
The lower part of the tavern is luxurious, but this floor is literally the VIP area, not only containing the most luxurious furniture and decorations but also advanced magical security.
The silver token in her hand shines with every couple of steps the woman takes down that corridor, a sign of access through the various invisible magical barriers in the place. She quickly reaches the door and opens it without hesitation.
She can't see much inside the room as it is very dark, but the light coming in from the corridor through the open door illuminates a bit of the place, allowing her to see the silhouette of a person lying on a sofa in the corner of the room.
"Couldn't you have knocked at least?" A female voice sounds inside the room, her tone calm and melodious.
"No time for this crap," The hooded woman starts to walk towards the figure in the dark, stopping after a few steps, as the medallion underneath her cloak vibrates against her chest.
"Could you be more friendly, little princess?" The woman in the shadows speaks still in a calm tone with a hint of disappointment.
The hooded woman begins to raise her weapon slowly. "I said I don't have time for this shit..."
"Oh my~!" The woman in the shadows lets out a long sigh. "Easy, girl, you have time now..."
"What do you mean?"
"Isn't it obvious??"
"Cut the crap, or I will-"
"I found him, okay? Now calm down, sweetheart," The woman in the shadows says in a teasing tone as the hooded woman can catch a glimpse of her silhouette, which includes a long and fluffy tail wagging slowly.
"Where is he?" The hooded woman asks.
"Payment first, dear."
"You know what happens if you're deceiving me..." She says while gripping the handle of her weapon.
"I am a professional, you know."
"Hmm..." The hooded woman takes another bag from her belt, this one smaller than the coin bag, and tosses it on the floor in front of the woman on the sofa. The bag falls open, and some bright blue crystals roll out of it.
"Tsk," The woman in the shadows clicks her tongue and makes a movement with her hand, causing those crystals to return to the small bag and levitate to her hand. She starts counting the number of crystals inside the bag and checking their authenticity, making the hooded woman impatient.
"Do you think I would deceive you? I'm not your kind!"
"Oh?" The woman in the shadows continues checking the crystals. "However, your family isn't in the best moment, right? I wouldn't be surprised if you started doing such things."
"YOU!!" The hooded woman grips the handle of her weapon even tighter, ready to pounce on the other woman and make her pay for insulting the honor of her family.
But then, a piece of paper flies from the woman in the shadows, followed by her voice. "You're in luck, little princess; he's close; it's a dirty tavern in the north area."
The hooded woman smiles under her hood as she sees the paper in her hand, a simple map of the central and north areas of Lakeview.
She turns to leave the room, but before that, she speaks in a stern tone. "I hope you're not thinking of selling us..."
"Oh, dear," The woman giggles. "Make both of you my enemies? I think spitting in the face of the entire Royal family of Lumindell would be less dangerous."
"Good," The hooded woman says as she leaves the room. "I hope never to see you again, old fox."
"I wouldn't mind working with you again, little lioness..."