It was night, despite this, there was too much commotion. You could hear horses galloping, people screaming, the crackling of burning wood, blows, and people arguing about what to take
-Take everything of value, leave nothing behind, and kill anyone who gets in your way!
I was hiding with my mother and younger sister. My mother told us to hide under the bed while she went to secure the door. As she was adjusting the door with a chair, one of the raiders broke down the door to the room. My mother began to struggle with him, and in the midst of the struggle, the man pulled out a dagger and stabbed my mother in the stomach.
At that moment, I wake up in my bed, completely drenched in sweat and startled. I extend my hand while screaming.
-MOM!...
I remained silent as I held my face in my hand, my breathing ragged and agitated.
After a few moments, I get out of bed and start preparing for my patrol. I am Sandro Israt, a city guard knight. I've been doing this for a couple of years now. I'm 23, my hair is so long because I don't like to cut it. I've gotten used to having it long, and cutting it makes me feel unprotected.
As I finished getting ready, I heard the door to my house open.
-Young Sandro, I've arrived.
It was Lilith. She is the one who takes care of my house and does the cleaning while I'm not home. She also handles the cooking since I rarely have time to cook. Despite being the maid who cleans, she is young—only two years older than me.
I left my room while finishing buttoning up my shirt and headed to the front door to greet Lilith.
When I arrived, I found her smiling as always, and as soon as she saw me, she greeted me.
-Good morning, young Sandro. Starting early as usual, eh?"
-Eh... yes,- I responded with a certain dismay due to recalling the nightmare I had had- "And you too, always arriving early... today you seem more cheerful than usual.
-Oh, it's because tomorrow is my little brother's birthday and today I'm preparing everything,- she said with a big smile on her face.
I was surprised because I didn't know she had a younger brother. - You have a brother!?
-Right, I've never talked about my family. I live with my mother and brother... By the way, you never mentioned anything about your family...
-I don't like to talk about it, to be honest.
She looked at Sandro a bit puzzled and worried and thought: maybe he doesn't have a good relationship with his family. -Uh... well, sorry if I was too intrusive.
-Don't worry about it...
We continued talking for a while longer, and then I went to my room and finished putting on my uniform. When I finished, I went to the dining room where Lilith already had breakfast ready.
-Thanks for making breakfast, Lilith,- I said with a smile on my face.
-You're welcome.
After a while, I finished breakfast and grabbed my things to go on patrol.
-Goodbye, Lilith,- I said before leaving the house.
Lilith leaned out one of the second-floor windows and waved goodbye. -Goodbye, young Sandro! Have a good day.-
After a while, I arrived at the knights' headquarters. As I entered, I met one of my companions. Dorian
Dorian, he was of a race born from the mix of demons and humans millennia ago, or so the legends say. He had two horns coming out of his temples, his skin was purple, and he had a tail with a pointed end like an arrow. His hair was a bit long and reached his shoulders. For some reason, he liked to dress in dark clothing. I have slight suspicions that he's emo, but I'm not sure. He's a good swordsman and rogue.
When he saw me enter through the door, he raised his hand to greet me.
-Good morning, Sandro. They already told me what we have to do today."
-Anything good?
-Just patrolling, as always.
-Well... sometimes I wish they gave us more exciting tasks- I sighed.
-For me, it's fine that they give us only these assignments. It's better than having to go solve disturbances in the villages on the outskirts.
-You're right... Hey, where's Urizor?
-Urizor, he hasn't arrived yet.
After a while, the door opened again, and we saw Urizor enter.
Urizor, he is the son of a dwarf and a human, so he's neither too tall nor too short. His hair is somewhat curly, and he's very charismatic. He's the cleric of the team, helping us if we get injured or something. Despite that, he's a good fighter, not as much as a paladin, but he's strong.
Dorian looked at Urizor with a bored tone. - Finally, you arrive. We need to start patrolling.
Urizor, still with wet hair, shook his head. - Sorry, sorry, it's just... a girl's kitten climbed a tree and couldn't get down, so I helped her.
-You're not even good at lying; your hair is still wet. It's obvious you just took a shower.
I sighed.- Alright, alright, let's start patrolling,-Â I said to prevent them from arguing. - Hey Dorian, when do we finish patrolling?
-Yes, let's start... we finish at 6- he said with a slightly furrowed brow.
Urizor smiled upon hearing the time. - Guys, how about when we finish patrolling, we go out for a drink at the tavern? I'll buy the first round.
-Well, but only for a while. I have something to do at home. What about you, Dorian?
-That's fine, I don't have anything to do after patrolling, so sure.
After a few hours, we finished patrolling the western part of the city and after submitting the day's report, we headed to the tavern. After a few drinks, I noticed a suspicious woman at one of the tables and alerted Dorian and Urizor.
-Hey, look back there. That woman doesn't seem to be from around here and looks a bit suspicious...