As the first light of dawn pierced the veil of night, I emerged from the tavern, my mind still reeling from the scenes of violence that had unfolded within its walls. With a heavy heart and a furrowed brow, I made my way through the winding streets, my thoughts consumed by a singular purpose—to seek justice for the innocent lives lost to the cruel whims of fate.
Arriving at the tavern once more, I sought out the tavern master, a grim determination burning within me. As I approached him, his eyes flickered with recognition, a wary tension taut in the air between us.
"What do you want?" he grunted, his voice laced with suspicion.
"I seek information," I replied, my tone firm and unwavering. "Information about those responsible for the violence that erupted here."
The tavern master's gaze narrowed, his lips curling into a sly grin. "Information comes at a price," he said, his voice dripping with greed.
I clenched my jaw, my fists tightening at my sides as I resisted the urge to lash out in frustration. "How much?" I demanded, my voice edged with contempt.
"Twenty silvers," he replied, his eyes gleaming with avarice.
Twenty silvers. It was a hefty sum, one that I could ill afford. Yet, the thirst for justice burned within me like a raging inferno, driving me to desperate lengths in pursuit of the truth.
With a heavy heart, I reached into my pouch and counted out the required coins, each one a painful reminder of the injustices that plagued this world. Sliding them across the counter, I fixed the tavern master with a steely gaze.
"Now, tell me," I demanded, my voice cold and unyielding. "Who were they? The ones who instigated the violence, who shed innocent blood in the name of their twisted ideals?"
The tavern master's grin widened, his eyes glinting with malicious satisfaction. "They call themselves the Crimson Blades," he replied, his words dripping with venom. "A band of mercenaries, ruthless and merciless in equal measure."
The name sent a chill down my spine, a bitter taste of dread lingering on my tongue. The Crimson Blades—a name synonymous with death and destruction, a scourge upon the land that left naught but suffering in its wake.
"And who commands them?" I pressed, my voice trembling with barely contained fury.
The tavern master shrugged, a dismissive gesture that only served to stoke the flames of my anger. "No one knows for sure," he said, his tone mocking. "But they say he is a man of wealth and power, a shadowy figure who pulls the strings from the shadows."
Wealth and power. The words echoed in my mind like a damning indictment of the world we lived in—a world where the strong preyed upon the weak, where justice was but a fleeting illusion in the face of overwhelming corruption.
As I left the tavern, the weight of my newfound knowledge bore down upon me like a leaden shroud. In the cold light of day, I saw this world for what it truly was—a cesspool of greed and corruption, where the innocent suffered at the hands of the powerful and the just were but pawns in a twisted game of power and control.
Anger surged through me like a raging tempest, a righteous fury that burned within me with the intensity of a thousand suns. For too long had I stood idly by, content to bask in the warmth of friendship while the world burned around me.
But no longer.
With a renewed sense of purpose, I vowed to stand against the darkness that threatened to consume us all, to fight for justice and righteousness in a world plagued by darkness and despair.
For in the shadows of corruption, there still flickered a glimmer of hope—a hope that refused to be extinguished, no matter the odds stacked against it. And with Aria by my side, I knew that together, we would face whatever trials lay ahead, our souls bound together in the unbreakable bonds of friendship and love.
[today's harvest: info about 2 brothers known as crimson blades].