Chapter 121: - An Order from the Grave
The "Town Master" was in several ways similar to Kara, who had been in charge of the Outpost. However, unlike Kara, who was a "Town speaker" - a person elected in a voting system to appoint someone to lead the town - the Master in this case was of noble blood. Thus, he had no need to be elected, and was placed in this position from the moment he was born.
His house was legendary - or so Sir Bellous told them, who was reluctant to explain exactly what house the Master hailed from.
His house's wealth had fed the town and its people, clothed its inhabitants, brought merchants and farmers from far away lands to theirs, tearing the ground up for crops and mines. Ores were traded from the great city of Neverdark, and the occasional merchant from the Outpost - Neverdark's closest city - would bring their trades and wears to be bought and sold.
It was said by Sir Bellous that the land was originally discovered by the Master's ancestor, who took to the land and its beauty with his armies, warning them to never harm the land or to scar its beauty.
He cleared out all the monsters in the land, making it one of the safest places in the Glades. His family had guarded the land, even during the age of the Concor's, and when their time over the land had been long done, the Master's ancestors were crowned heroes to the people.
And thus, it was through this honor the Master's family came to own the land as their own, building the town of Kokono, for which the land around them earned the same name.
At least this was one of the many things Sir Bellous told them as they were escorted by four armed knights, similarly dressed as Belous, in what Lia now knew as a mix between chain mail and leather armor. This made it appear less "armor" like with more of a cloth touch to it.
"When you meet the Master, I ask that you be quiet, kind, and only speak when spoken to, do you understand?"
Lia could tell that Rian and Lukali did not like this man from the moment he began giving them orders on how to act and boasting about this "Master's" great and mighty feats. So, knowing this, Lia spoke first, lest they said something they might regret.
"I trust that this master of yours needs us for something?"
"You will know when he speaks with you, not before."
Lia could practically see the man's pompous and selfish attitude seething off of him. So, being the little cheeky girl she was newly discovering herself to be, she bit back.
"I was simply asking as I thought it would be better to know your Master's purpose beforehand. Lest we waste his time by asking him needless questions."
Sir Bellous got quiet and Lia could see the gears turning in his mind as he worked through the cogs and gears, turning them around and around in an endless cycle.
"Fine, you win. Since your curiosity can obviously not be contained until the Master speaks with you, I will tell you quickly why he wants you."
Secretly, from his back, Lia frowned at him, disgust ridden across her face.
'I see now why those two hate him.'
"The Master has heard of your feats far and wide, as the rumors these days often do travel. He wishes to hire you for a job, though what that job is you will have to wait until he tells you. Until then, let me warn you."
Sir Bellous took a turn on the main street, a large fountain seated in the center where children laughed and played together with one another. As he took this turn, he gave a harsh glance over his shoulder, as if warning Lia to contain her questions and attitude.
"The Master has a very short patience, even more so with what disturbs him as of late."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Lia said, with as much kindness as she could in an effort to keep the spite out of her voice. He was really starting to piss her off.
"You better."
As he began again, walking down the street, Lia finally got a clear view of The Great House that Bellous had walked so fondly of. Its main body was made of wood and iron, but the pillars of stone that strengthened its sides, reaching up towards the roof, were made of pure cut stone.
No cobblestone was used here, even a crack would be hard to find. The great stone lined the steps that lead towards the great and wide double wooden doors, decorated in gold painted hinges and iron designs.
A large statue sat on the steps, a tall man wielding a longsword in both hands, a large and thick iron shield - made of real iron just as his sword was - that sat at his feet leaning against his shin. The majestic look of the statue made both Rian and Lia stare in awe, but not Lukali. He had seen this statue before many times as Lia had to remind herself. After all, she did meet him here.
A long line of men decorated in silver steel armor lined the walls and the door, stepping aside with the brush of Bellous's hand. Inwards the doors flung, and instantly Lia was reminded - though not to her joy - of the Dorrow's manor, but in a much, much more extravagant manner.
The wallpaper was covered in golden flowers, golden baseboards, paintings of legendary fights that hung on the walls - it was all too much to describe in Lia's eyes. She was far too focused on the beauty of the scene, to realize the growing distaste that was building up in her throat, like the bile that had poisoned her taste at the Dorrow's manor.
"This way."
Sir Bellous led the way, pointing down a long hallway decorated with even more paintings of great wars against giant monsters, snakes, vipers and so on. One that Lia took great care in detailing was the last painting on the wall, hanging over another pair of heavy wooden doors.
In the painting, a man, similar to the one made of stone on the front steps, battled against a great and mighty drake of fire.
The Dragon.
Sir Bellous saw Lia's great interest in the painting, and quickly hurried her on, opening the door swiftly.
"Come, quickly. The Master is not one to wait on a Hunter."
With that, he led them towards a series of couches where the three sat, Sir Bellous standing beside them watching the doors.
Eventually, after several minutes of waiting, the same set of doors that Lia and her group had come through, opened once again. But the stiff standing Bellous soon relaxed when he saw that it was not in fact the Master, but another group of five Hunters who entered, led by a similar looking man to Sir Bellous.
'The master must be desperate to ask for so many Hunters in one place. Perhaps he wants us to work together?'
Though she asked the question, Cain didn't answer it, and instead kept quiet, causing Lia to worry.
'Cain?'
It was then, as she watched the second group of Hunters enter, their leader clad in silver armor, his sword and shield across his back, did Lia finally notice how still Lukali had become. With one quick glance, she realized he had put up his hood, and drawn a cloth over his face.
'Wait…why is he-'
'Did you forget why we came here?'
Cain finally spoke, his tone similar to the mood that had settled between the two parties of Hunters, eyeing each other with much suspicion as the second made their way over to a couch and sat down.
Suddenly, the realization dawned on her, as Cain's words finally registered in her mind.
'Oh no…'
'Oh no is right. Those five belong to his father's company. Best we make quick work with the Master in hopes we don't see them again.'
'Right. It can't be too bad -guh!'
It was then that Lia, who was eyeing the group of five, noticed something shocking that caused her to flinch.
A small yet beautiful woman with golden hair calmly waving at her form the group of Hunters. Though she carried a long wooden staff, Lia instantly realized that this was in fact Abigail who had accompanied the group of Hunters, and now sat down to the right of their captain.
'How in the…?!'
Seeing Lia's face and mistaking it for confusion, Sir Bellous cleared his throat, causing the two parties to snap into attention as a second set of doors - different from the ones the Hunters had used - opened wide, revealing a tall and heavy weighted man making his way into the room.
"Good evening, Master."
Sir Bellous placed on fist on his heart and bowed, followed by the group of Hunters who had come in second to Endless. However, Lia did not bow as the rest did, though she did see the reasons why, she could also guess what kind of man this "Master" was just from one look.
"Uh, yes. Thank you Bellous, you may leave us. The rest of you as well, only Aron stays."
The knights and guards bowed once more before leaving. Only one small and flimsy man stayed behind, carrying a large booklet filled with papers, someone that Lia could tell had to be Aron.
The moment the doors closed behind the disappearing knights did the Master whip out a long pipe, stuff the end with tobacco, and light the pipe with a nearby candle.
"Apologies if you don't like smoke but, I've had to deal with my wifes nagging for three days now, and I tell you I need a fresh breath of smoke if I am to remain sane."
Lia scoffed, holding back her laughter at the comment, otherwise she would have burst into laughter at the sound of his most serious yet sarcastic comment.
"Ah, well I see someone still laughs at my jokes. No one else does sadly."
"My apologies, your lordship."
"Ah, and here I thought you would treat me like a man, not a lord. Anyways, let's down to business."
The Master stopped smiling, sucking on his pipe and blowing out great clouds of smoke that rose to the roof, dissipating in the air around him.
"I know I've called all of you here out of the blue, though I do suspect that I saved you lot from an unwanted crowd of gawking fans."
He pointed his pipe at Lia, who couldn't help but smile and nod, thanking the man for his help.
"But now, business is not always as bright as people say it is. I've called you both here because I have reason to believe you are the best at dealing with this particular problem that I'm having here."
"And what problem is that, your lordship?"
The Knight leaned forward, his hands resting beneath his chin held up by his knees as he looked on with a serious expression that could kill if it was a sword.
"What else? Monster."
"But monsters haven't been seen in these parts for centuries. The lands are well known for this."
"Yes, yes, yes - I know all that. It was my ancestor who culled the lands of this filth, and it is I who will carry on the tradition. But enough of that, the reports!"
He reached to his side, taking a large puff of smoke from the pipe as the man Aron handed him a series of papers, all stacked on top of one another.
"Recently, I've been getting reports from farmers, merchants, travelers - the like. Normally I would write this off as heat stroke or just rumors on the trails, but…"
He grew silent for a moment, reading over several of the reports before he smacked them on the table, puffing hard on his pipe looking deeply troubled.
"The reports are too close to being the same for me to just simply ignore them. And while I would have preferred to speak with both leaders of your parties, I'll make due with one."
He nodded towards Lia with a smile on his face as the Knight frowned, embarrassed but holding his ground.
"I apologize for this, your lordship. Our captain cannot be here today because he is handling another case at the Outpost."
"The Outpost? What manner of the devils does he have to be there?"
"Well, sir, we recently sent out a group of four - our own you see in an attempt to find someone of grave importance to us. Only one returned sadly, and with his admittance to having killed the other three, my captain is in the midst of investigating this. Until then, I'm afraid his best will have to do."
"I should hope they do."
The Master began sucking heavily on his pipe once again, deeply upset that his letter had gone unanswered by their captain, though he knew he couldn't blame them. With three dead and another guilty of their deaths, his own matters more than a lord.
It was because of this that angered the lord so much, as he could find no reason to be angry at the captain for doing this.
But it was Lia who found shock in the knight's words, her mind flashing back to the Outpost and her battle against the four brothers, one of them aiding her in killing the other three.
It sounded too close to the truth to be fake. Even though Lia wanted to thank Ken back then, he had apparently left long before she woke up from her sleep, heading straight for Kokono. And with no distractions, as Lia and her friends had, he would have made it here far sooner than they would.
Though she wanted to speak and ask questions, most notably about why the four brothers were so willing to kill them, but one look at Rian's wary face told her not to.
"Ah, it's fine. We will make do without him. But either way, back on topic. I, having received these all similar reports of monsters in my woods, was forced to send out a legion of twelve men to investigate. Sadly, they have not returned."
His voice grew quiet as he pondered deeply on the deaths of his knights, and Lia could practically feel the grief looming over him like a storm cloud.
"It's been a week since then and now today I have to go and explain to the families of these knights, knights with wives, husbands, sons and daughters, that their loved one will not be coming home. I cannot express to you how much I loathe this part of my job, but it must be done. Having them wonder - praying for their loved ones safe return for this long has haunted me still, but it is better they have closure now than not at all."
"A wise decision, your lordship."
The knight chipped in, eager to ease the Master's grieving heart. The Maser didn't seem to hear him as his eyes turned to Lia, his face growing serious.
"I will not bury the body of another one of my knights again. It is time I do something about these rumors spreading. Farmers are taking up arms in fear and fighting off even my own knights, while merchants are spreading rumors on the road, preventing trade and goods from getting through here. People are whispering, talking, all the while those monsters hide in the woods. And in a town that prides itself in its community and survives off of this, I will not have it!"
He slammed his fist on a table at his side, angry and upset at his own words, causing items to shake and some fall to the ground.
"As such, I believe you all know the reason you're here today, no?"
Lia was the first to speak, her voice carrying the weight of the room by itself.
"You want us to deal with them?"
"Yes! These monsters have plagued my lands now for weeks, and I will not stand for it in my ancestors' home! I want the both of your pirates to hunt these monsters to the ground and bring me the one responsible for bringing them back."
The knight piped up, his face and words eager to call the raging lord.
"Monsters migrate - we have no way of knowing if someone is behind this or not. You don't need us to hunt a few monsters in these lands- "
"It is not a few! It is an army I tell you! They were my best knights, they would not fall to such low level flocks or herds of monsters! I tell you, someone is behind this and so help me to the gods I-"
A smooth and calm voice echoed through the room, quelling the anger of the lord at the knight's assumption. A voice that said the very thing he wanted to hear above all else.
"What do we do when we find them? The people who are doing this?"
Immediately the eyes of the Master turned swiftly toward the owner of this voice, Lia, his gaze passing between the knight and her, almost as if he was surprised she had said it instead of him.
"You…"
He pointed one lone finger towards her, filled with rage and all his anger, fueled by his grief.
"I want you to kill them!"
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