Chapitre 2: Chapter One: Caeph Village / A-hoy, adventurers?
Half breeds are rare people who are born from two different sentient races. They are usually born with greater abilities due to inheriting a wider array of things. For example, a half breed that's half orc and half elf would have the strength of an orc and the dexterity of an elf. They would also have the charisma of the elf, but the daunting features of an orc. This describes Mythere, who is a very handsome man. He has medium length slicked back pale silver-brown hair, slicked back to show off his two horns that protrude from the corners of his forehead. His eyes are a deep emerald green accompanied by thick lashes. He has an extremely well defined jawline and chin. His ears have the signature point of elves and his teeth are orcish through and through. That's not to say they aren't straight, but rather his bottom canines are so massive that they stick out of his mouth. Despite this, most people consider him the handsomest in the village. Though, his village is quite small.
!(Mythere)[https://imgur.com/mYjLHIv]
Caeph village was started by two retired adventurers, Tiba and Hilda Plasard, siblings who made quite the name for themselves when they were in their prime, but that was long ago. Before Mythere was even born, considering that they raised Mythere. They also raised Kha'na, another half breed, alongside Mythere. Though, Kha'na is a completely different half breed. She was born of a Felinion and a Human, making her a cat person. But there is another sentient race of cat people, called Lynxions, which she is not. There are many differences between her and a Lynxion and even more differences between Lynxions and Felinions. In short, a Felinion is more like an anthropomorphised jungle cat, with a cat face, fur covering the entire body, just standing on two legs. Whereas Lynxions are similar to humans with cat-like features. Kha'na would seemingly fit more into the Lynxion race, but there are important distinctions she has. She has blonde hair, a color that Lynxions aren't born with. She keeps it long-ish and mostly ties it back to keep it out of the way. She also has cat ears on the side of her head, like a human, whereas Lynxions have their ears closer to the top of their head. Kha'na is a beauty. She has beautiful deep catty blue eyes and a lighter complexion. And she has sharp canines, but none stick out of her mouth like Mythere. She's shorter than him, but not a short person, and besides that, she's very well proportioned and fit.
!(Kha'na)[https://imgur.com/Tyw4tnH]
They were both raised to be adventurers since they were old enough to walk. Mythere was primarily taught by Tiba, and Kha'na by Hilda. Tiba was a swordsman and Hilda was a rogue and they taught their classes to the half breeds. Both Tiba and Hilda were past their prime and old, but a lifetime of keeping their body in shape worked out well for them. Tiba's hair was long, gray, and thin. His face was full of wrinkles, yet it was still a very kind one. He had some teeth missing as well. He wasn't weak though, his body was still built, as he took care of himself. Hilda was around the same age as Tiba, but she didn't nearly look as old. Her hair was peppered with gray, but it was mostly still jet black. It was short, shoulder length, and straight. Her face wasn't nearly as wrinkled either. She was shorter than Tiba, but wasn't a short person. Her figure was womanly, which is to say you can tell she's a woman just off of her body.
Mythere and Kha'na are both the children of adventurers that traveled with Tiba and Hilda. Despite this, the whereabouts of either pair of parents is unknown, they simply left their children with the Plasards and left. The siblings saw this as an opportunity to raise them strong. Tiba taught Mythere discipline and self control since he knew what an angry swordsman was capable of. Hilda taught Kha'na the ways of a rogue, despite this, Kha'na has am extremely bubbly personality. Mythere on the other hand, tries his hardest to fit the 'lone swordsman' stereotype.
"When are you two going to leave the house?" Hilda asked them one night at dinner. The two responded in surprised looks with their mouths stuffed.
"Hmmm?" Mythere questioned, as if he didn't hear.
"You heard the woman! When are you two going to leave?" Tiba echoed.
"I'll leave when Mythere leaves!" Kha'na explained with a smile.
"Okay, when are you leaving Mythere?" Hilda asked more stern this time. Mythere choked on his food a bit.
"Uh. I'll leave when duty calls. Plus, what about training? Right Tiba?" Mythere responded cooly at first and then quickly looked for an excuse.
"Training?! I've been training you for twenty years! At this point you're probably better than I am."
"Well, really it hasn't been twenty years of training. I'm only twenty years old, so maybe fifteen years of training? If that. So, what, like another five years left?" Mythere tried to weasel out of leaving. It's not that he loved home too much to leave, rather, he didn't see the point.
"Ha! If I even live that long." Tiba responded, despite being perfectly healthy.
"Seriously though Mythere, when are we leaving?" Kha'na asked him. "Aren't you bored of this? Don't you want to go on cool adventures and save people?"
"Saving people can kill me! Not only that, but aren't there enough adventurers already? Not to mention the otherworlders. They got enough heroes." He explained.
"Well the world could always use two more." Hilda stated. A moment of introspection followed this statement.
"Okay fine, I do want to save people and go on cool adventures, but I'm not just going to look for trouble. I'm going to wait for it to come to me!" He was confident in what he said.
"You're going to wait until our village is attacked?" Hilda asked.
"What? No! That's not what I meant. I'm just waiting for the right moment, you know, a sign."
"Here's the sign! Get out!" Tiba shouted playfully. "Hahaha, don't worry Mythere, I get it, you just shouldn't wait forever. You're reaching your prime and gotta make the most of it."
"If something happens, I'll go, alright? Only if I can sense a strong sense of injustice."
"Ha! As if anything ever happens in Caeph village. I mean, look at our name! And how hidden we are." Kha'na taunted.
"Hey! We made this village!" Tiba argued.
They finished their breakfast and immediately after a villager came to the door.
KNOCK KNOCK.
"Hey, maybe this is the sign you're looking for Mythere! Haha." Tiba joked as he went to open the door.
"Huff, huff, Mr. Plasard, we have… adventurers, who need help, and wanted huff huff the elders." The villager was out of breath from running from the village center. Tiba looked back at the Mythere and the other two looked at him as well.
"What?" He replied, not having paid that much attention to what the villager said.
"Okay, have a seat, we'll follow you after we gather our things. This isn't urgent right?"
"Huff, Kinda, Huff." He replied.
"Grab your gear, we gotta go!" Tiba yelled back to them. The two half breeds sprinted upstairs and back as fast as they could. Mythere bringing a pretty simple looking longsword and Kha'na a bunch of daggers. "You two are quick. Let's go, some adventurers stopped by and need our help."
"Huff, wait a minute, huff, I'm still catching my breath."
"No time! Mythere, pick him up!" Tiba commanded.
"What?" They simultaneously questioned.
"No time!" Tiba commanded again, so Mythere picked up the villager in a princess carry.
"Don't you guys know the way to the village center?" The villager asked.
"Yes, but it's more fun this way, hahaha!" Tiba laughed and Mythere awkwardly looked into the villager man's eyes as they sprinted towards the town center.
In the distance they could see a caravan with six figures around it, looking a bit worse for wear. Some of them kneeling, or leaning tiredly.
"I brought you our elders, Mr. Adventurer!" The villager man called out while still in Mythere's arms.
"Thank you! You all can just call me Stroffo though." The front man of the group, presumably the leader, spoke and stepped forward. He looked frightening. He was large, about the size of, if not bigger than Mythere, but covered in scars. His hair was long, dark, and curly. He didn't have a beard, but it looked like he hadn't shaved in a long time. He wore a smile, even though he wasn't looking the best. He had metal gloves on, so presumably he was a brawler. "Who should I speak to?"
!(Group of Adventurers?)[https://imgur.com/4KEiXNQ]
"You can speak with the both of us." Hilda answered, pointing to her and Tiba. "I'll have Kha'na and Mythere tend to your men."
"Thank you, it'll be easier if I can just explain it to the elders." He walked with them slightly away from the rest of his group.
"So what's the issue?" Hilda asked him.
"Goblins." Stroffo responded strongly.
"Goblins?" Hilda asked while looking at Tiba.
"Yes, goblins. They raised our camp, took our supplies and some of our members. We need information on any goblins in this area so we can get justice." He explained.
"Oh of course, goblins do tend to do that. Well, we haven't seen any goblins in this area, but if we do we'll interrogate them for you." Hilda replied.
"Yeah, and we'll rough 'em up a bit!" Tiba shouted.
"Thank you, I appreciate that. Well, we've been travelling for a while, you wouldn't happen to have an inn here, would you?"
"Of course we do! But don't worry about that, you can stay in our home for free. We're always grateful to adventurers. We'll provide dinner as well. For now, feel free to explore our village and see if you can track any 'goblins'." Hilda replied.
"You truly are lifesavers. Thank you." Stroffo walked away.
"Can you believe that?" Hilda asked Tiba.
"Haha, poor fool probably didn't realize that we're retired adventurers." Tiba joked.
"Well it's not like we told him our names." Hilda replied.
"Yes yes, but goblins? He should've chosen a different cover story if he's telling that to elders. We've been around, we know goblins aren't like that." Tiba replied.
"Fool, he's definitely looking for something though." Hilda added.
"Eh, I wouldn't worry about it, I've never heard of this Stroffo fella."
"We've also been retired for more than twenty years." Hilda ended the conversation there.
⇝
"Hey there! I'm Kha'na! And this is Mythere!" The bubbly cat girl introduced herself and Mythere to the remaining five adventurers.
"You two look a little strange, let me guess, half breeds?" One of them asked, a little rudely, but could've just come across wrong.
"Excuse me-?" Mythere was about to start something, but was cut off by Kha'na.
"Yes! I'm half human and half Felinion. Pretty interesting huh? Almost like a Lynxion. And he's half orc and half elf and full… of himself! Haha! What's your name?" Kha'na politely jokes.
"Cier." The boyish looking man said after scoffing. "You're very beautiful you know, for a half breed." Cier said. Cier was fully armored in dirty metal plates. Though his face was pristine. He's a very pretty man and has a very typical pretty boy hair cut. He was a bit taller than Kha'na, but shorter than Mythere. He spoke pretty suavely, even though his compliments were backhanded. His hair was a beautiful blonde and very well kept. He had a spear tied to his back.
"Nice to meet you Cier!" Kha'na replied, despite his talking. Mythere simply waved.
"Hello." A big oaf suddenly said to them.
"Uh, hi." Mythere responded.
"My name is Xane, I'm an adventurer."
"Yeah Xane, we know that buddy." Mythere replied as if talking to a child. Xane was large, taller than Mythere and insanely muscular. His whole body was covered in hair which was visible because he didn't wear a shirt. Except his head, which was extremely bald and shiny. His face was stuck with an expression that made it seem like not much was going on there. He had two hand axes on his side and kept his arms crossed.
"And your name?" Kha'na asked the other fellow in front of them.
"My name is Mako." He replied, with nothing further. He didn't look like he was from around the area. His clothing was unlike what was common here, and his facial structure was also unfamiliar to them. He had swords on his side and they were thin and slightly curved, unlike what Mythere was used to.
"Cier, Xane, Mako, got it! And do those two want to join the conversation?" She gestures to two smaller hooded figures sitting at the caravan. One of them stands up hearing them being referenced.
"The one who stood up is Max, they're our mage. And the other one is our rogue, who we call, rogue." Cier replied, bluntly. "Is that all?"
"Well, I want to know what you guys are here for if that's not too much trouble." Her enthusiasm for this conversation was quickly fading.
"We're… goblin hunting. Heh heh. I'm sure Stroffo told the elders our deal already, so I don't need to say it twice." Cier replied.
"Goblin hunting, isn't that-?" Kha'na was soon cut off.
"Looks like Stroffo is done talking and is coming back." Cier pointed out.
"Come, we're going to survey the village for goblins and then stay at the elders house for dinner and bedding." Stroffo told them.
"Well, gotta go, later half breeds." Cier turned away from them, but didn't walk away. Kha'na pouted with her arms crossed and was about to tap on his shoulder until Mythere grabbed her arm.
"Hey, let's get going, they probably want us to help with dinner." He told her as he walked away.
"But!" She started.
"They're having a rough time with goblins, can't attack them too much." He explained. Kha'na had a quizzical look on her face while she let him drag her away.
They arrived back at the house and were told to start helping with cooking and cleaning immediately. They had a lot of mouths to feed tonight and wanted to make a great impression, despite them likely being one time guests.
"We have quite a while before dinner time, but don't slack off. Mythere, they'll be using your room so you're sleeping with Kha'na tonight. Move your valuables into her room." Hilda stated.
"What?! But I-"
"No buts! If you have a problem, fight it out with her. We have to lend them one bedroom. I figured since they're men, yours would be better." She cut him off. "Tiba and I will cook, so focus on cleaning."
The two half breeds went upstairs. "So, you want to let them stay in your room instead?" Mythere asked Kha'na.
"What?! No way, they're rude, they smell, and I don't trust them!" Kha'na replied.
"If they're that untrustworthy, why would Tiba and Hilda let them stay?" He brought up.
"Maybe the leader put the moves on them or something, that doesn't mean I'm letting my guard down."
"Sure, okay." He sarcastically said. "Don't worry about the sleeping situation, I'll sleep on the floor."
"No!" She quickly yelled back. "Uh- I mean, nah, you don't have to, you can sleep on the bed with me. It's a big bed." Her face blushed slightly.
"Huh? Okay, if you say so. You aren't thinking…" He began to blush as well.
"N-no! Stop! I'm just worried about like, strangers sleeping under the same roof. If you're next to me, they'll probably not try to kidnap me or whatever. So you'll also have to like… hold on to me when we sleep." She whispered, barely audible to him.
"You don't trust them that much? I mean, the Cier guy wasn't the nicest, but they don't seem horrible." He explains, completely missing the subtext of the conversation.
"Don't you think it's fishy? I mean, goblins Mythere? What do you remember about goblins?" She asked him, changing the mood.
"Not much really, just the short stories we were told as kids. Scary stories." He shuddered.
"Exactly, but those are just stories. Do people actually hunt goblins? Are goblins really bad? What have the elders told us about them?" She questioned.
"You're overthinking things, let's just get tonight over with." He more or less shrugged her off.
They cleared out his room and cleaned the rest of the house. It didn't take the whole afternoon, so when they finished they waited around until dinner was almost done. Then they went into the village to look for the adventurers and bring them back to the house.
"Hey we're back! We brought them all here." Mythere called out as he opened the door to the house.
"Welcome in! Welcome in! Please, grab a seat wherever you please." Tiba excitedly suggested.
"Thank you, thank you. Unfortunately, our mage and rogue won't be joining us tonight, they're committed to surveying the land and protecting what little we have left." Stroffo explained.
"Oh, sorry to hear that. Feel free to take some to them later in the night." Hilda apologetically said.
"Oh ho ho! No worries, they're resilient and volunteered to. Please, we can keep the mood light. I can tell stories about my adventures if you want to hear them!" Stroffo boasted.
"Oh yes! Do tell us old timers about your adventures, we are always excited to hear about them since those two never get out to get stories." Tiba gestured towards Mythere and Kha'na.
"Ah, they'll leave in time, nobody can resist the call to adventure!" Stroffo laughed.
"Oh, before I forget, we also have wine!" Tiba shuffled towards the kitchen and back out with a large bottle of wine. "You drinkers?"
"Of course! Pour us all a glass! Well, except for Xane, he doesn't do well with alcohol." Stroffo mentioned.
"No problem with that, more for me! Heheh!" Tiba chuckled.
The conversations at dinner were long and interesting, but somewhat overheard. The stories that Stroffo told were stories that all seemed vaguely familiar, but nobody brought that up and instead feigned interest like they've never heard of it before. He bragged about slaying goblins, fighting a powerful slime, raiding the castle of the undead, and more. Of course, any adventurer would embellish their stories to sound badass, but these stories were a bit too unrealistic. Eventually, Mythere was tired of hearing them, so he left dinner early, Kha'na not too long behind. The elders stayed to keep talking, but they didn't tell stories about their past just to stay a bit more hidden.
"Why does it smell so nice in here?" Mythere talked to himself when he walked into Kha'na's room.
"It's the flowers." She suddenly spoke from behind him, causing him to jump.
"Ah! You're going to sleep too?"
"Yeah, I just can't take any more stories from drunk men. Also, that Cier guy was eyeing me the whole time, it was uncomfortable."
"Can't blame him, you're very pretty." Mythere causally slips out.
"J-just get in bed! Sleep closer to the door so you get murdered first." She blushed as she pushed him further into her room.
"Jeez, hold on, let me take my pants off." He started to take his pants off.
"Wha-what?! No you can't do that!" She shielded her eyes as he removed them.
"Well I can't sleep with pants on!" It would be quite uncomfortable to sleep with pants on.
"Erggggg fine. Goodnight!" She slammed her door and then jumped into the far side of the bed and immediately slipped under the blanket.
"Goodnight." He laid in the bed after her and went under the blanket. "So, how do you want me to hold you?" He bluntly asked.
"What?!" She was startled by the question. "Oh, umm, you can just put your arm around me or something. Just so they can't take me in the middle of the night, you know?" She explained.
"Yeah, I know, I know. You said it before." He again wasn't really paying attention or grasping on the underlying tones of his actions. It wasn't until he wrapped his arms around her that it clicked with him, but by then it was too late for him to back out. His heart started beating faster and his blood was pumping.
"Mythere?" Kha'na suddenly peeped.
"What!?" He jumped and shifted his lower body away from her.
"Do you actually not feel suspicious about these guys?" She genuinely asked.
"What? Well, I don't trust them, but I don't know, nothing is standing out that much."
"Really? Even all that goblin talk?"
"What about it?"
"Aren't those stories just, you know, stories?"
"Yeah but they're based on something, aren't they? I'm sure they're just not as interesting as they seem so they made up stories to interest us 'common folk'."
"We're hardly common Mythere, but fine. Goodnight again."
"Goodnight."
The night passed with no sudden visits to Kha'na's room. At least, none that woke either of them up. When Mythere woke up he was alone in the bed, which scared him a bit. He quickly put on his pants and checked his room and then downstairs, where Tiba was sleeping on the table with blood red wine dripping from his spot. That also scared Mythere a bit, before he heard Tiba's snoring at which point Mythere groaned annoyed. Hilda was awake in the kitchen just doing kitchen things.
"Good morning Hilda."
"Good morning Mythere. Did you rest well?"
"Yeah, slept very well."
"Not too well, right?"
"I slept amazingy!" He said with a large smirk on his face.
Hilda gasped and dropped whatever she was holding. "Under our roof?!"
"Where else? Come on Hilda."
"Well, I suppose you're both adults."
"Uh yeah? Anyway, have you seen Kha'na?"
"She left a while ago, packed for an adventure and everything. She didn't tell you?"
"What?! Are you sure she wasn't kidnapped or something? She just left without me?!"
"I'm pretty sure she wasn't kidnapped, I saw her walk out, she said she had to follow those adventurers. To which I said, good thinking!"
"What? Why would tailing them be good thinking?"
"Mythere, you can't be that dense can you? Didn't Tiba teach you better?"
"..." He responded with embarrassed silence.
"Those obviously weren't adventurers Mythere! Goblin slaying? We don't live in a black and white fantasy world! Goblins are a sentient race, just as civilized as you or I. If they were serious about goblin slaying, then they're dangerous. And if they weren't serious about it, then they were hiding something worse and thought that we wouldn't know the truth!"
"If they weren't adventurers, what were they then?"
"Bandits, do I have to spell it out for you?"
"Bandits?! And you let Kha'na go off alone to chase after them?!"
"Don't act like she's weak, besides, I figured you'd go after her right away. You just slept in."
"Argh! I gotta run then."
"Not yet! We still have things to talk about. Tiba! Wake up!" She slapped him on his back.
"Huh? Oh! Good morning Mythere! Heading out after Kha'na?" Tiba immediately asked.
"How'd you know she left?"
"She woke me up to say goodbye, like a good person would."
"Oh whatever. I'm leaving now!"
"What? With that old sword? What about your going away presents?" Tiba teased.
"What? I get stuff?"
"We had this forged for you a long time ago, we were expecting you to leave a lot sooner. But, well, you didn't." Tiba rummaged through a closet to bring out a long wooden box. "Go on, open it!"
Mythere reached forward and opened it up to reveal a beautifully crafted sword with a crescent tip and brass two handed handle with green gems in the pommel and hilt. Next to it was it's leather sheath that's reinforced with wood to keep shape. He grabbed the sword and it was surprisingly light for the size. "Woah, you've been hiding this from me?"
"Hiding? You're just not very observant." Hilda laughed.
"So, will that work for your adventures?" Tiba asked.
"Work? This'll be amazing!" Mythere's eyes were shining like a star in the night sky.
"Well, you better get to backing up your partner, she could be in trouble, you know." Tiba taunted.
"Right, thank you Tiba, Hilda."
"What?! Don't act like my Kha'na is some damsel in distress. She's the one who realized those bandits way faster than Mythere."
"Mythere just has a trusting heart is all, he was looking for the good in them, right?" Mythere shook his head nervously, just going along with what Tiba was saying.
"Mythere, before you leave the village, check in with other people just in case Kha'na hasn't left yet. You know she likes to say goodbye to everyone." Hilda reminded him.
"Alright fine, I'll check with innkeep. See ya!"
"Stay safe out there!" Hilda said.
"Kick some bandit ass!" Tiba added.
Mythere was true to his word, so he walked over towards the inn first after leaving the house.
"Hellooo, Innkeep." He burst into the inn.
"Good morning Mythere! How can I help you?" The innkeep was a young woman around the same age as Mythere and Kha'na. It was her parents' inn, but she ran it quite frequently. She was dressed in a very nice innkeeper outfit. It was like the normal village wear, but the whites were much brighter and the colors much more vibrant. The dress went down to her ankles and it was frilled at the end. The sleeves were short and frilly and exposed most of her slim smooth arms. She had long dark brown hair and wore it down. It didn't cover her face that much as she had it tucked behind her ears. This was good because her face was stunning; with large hazel eyes, full lips and a great smile, it's no wonder why she's the face of the inn. Even though this inn rarely gets any visitors.
"Did Kha'na drop by here on her way out?" The innkeep was visibly disappointed when she realized that he wasn't here for her. Though, Mythere didn't pay much thought to this.
"Oh, yes she did. She said that she's going on an adventure and she doesn't know when she'll see me again. And I told her 'sooner than you think!' haha." She joked with Mythere.
"Ah okay, well I'm going as well, but she seemed fine to you?" Mythere didn't understand her joke and so just decided to ignore it completely. It's not as if the joke makes sense yet anyway.
"Yes, she seemed fine. Are you intending to go as well?" She asked him.
"Yeah Innkeep, and I suppose I'll see you sooner than I think?" He tried the joke back at her, which made her blush and giggle a bit too much.
"Hehehe, yes you will. Safe travels Mythere!" She said to him while giving him a curtsy.
"Thanks Innkeep!" He went to shake her hand which made her giggle when he touched her. He walked out, not knowing why she giggled, but didn't think much of it. To other people, Mythere seemed cool and direct, whereas he just doesn't know how to make small talk that well and is just handsome while he does it.
Mythere dropped back by the elders house before he left, since it's basically on the way out the village anyway. (It's not really.)
"Helloooo?" Mythere shouted into the house.
"You're back?" Hilda asked.
"But we already said our goodbyes!" Tiba sarcastically complained.
"I checked in at the inn, Kha'na did say her goodbyes before she left, so I'm going after her!" He completely ignored what they were saying to him.
"Oh goody! By the way, Mythere, if you reach Rivelakia and go to the guild, tell the guild master Tonta that you're our student!" Tiba excitedly shouted.
"You know the guild master? She's not dead by now? You know, of old age?" He joked.
"Mythere!" Hilda said angrily.
"Oh haha! No, of course not, she's a high elf, she's got a much longer life." Tiba affirmed. "She knows us quite well, so mention us!"
"Oh my goodness… is she my mom?" Mythere asked in a half joking tone.
"No! Your mother was an orc, you silly child." Hilda scolded while Tiba laughed at the question.
"Okay, well I'm off now, thanks for everything!"
"Stay safe! You'll always have a home here!" Hilda shouted.
"Have fun!" Tiba yelled.
And so, Mythere's first adventure began.
L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS 
principleshark
principleshark Honestly, I haven't re-read this chapter since I rewrote it, but I remember liking it a lot! Hopefully past me wasn't too immature. Let me know!
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone