To the south of the Seven Cities lies the Niwl Forest. Don’t go in. The road ends. The mist begins. Monsters lurk. You will get lost. End of story. Not many come back alive. They can be counted on one hand. And you’re not one of them. So, stay here. Live your life in safety and comfort. Forget about the cursed forest before your curiosity gets the better of you. If you go there ever, you’ll keep being drawn back to it. You’ll be drawn in. It’ll suck you in. It has sucked so many people in. So many…

–Mother to her son

“Ohohoh? What’s this?” I say. My waltz along the top of the short wall halted at a seller’s tent. I smirk as I look through the man’s wares, then reach down with my umbrella and scoop up a purple fruit from a basket. The iridescent shine to it glistens in the sun as I bite through its skin. Yellow juice dribbles down my chin. I flick my tail in pleasure.

“Mr. Quilin, sir. I would appreciate it if you bought my fruit before you eat it. Otherwise I would have to call a city guard, and we both know we don’t want that,” the seller says with a frown. I squat down and balance a coin on the point of my umbrella. His eyebrows draw together as he looks up at me.

“This is a Damsel Plum. They’re not usually in season at this time of year. Where’d ya find it?”

“I’m afraid it’s a trade secret, sir.”

“Just between you and me, I would be careful selling those here. George Hendle’s private garden up in Merope may be easy to get in and out of, but the fruit from his orchard has a very distinctive taste.” I smile as I take another bite and push the tip of the umbrella closer to his nose. The man pales and snatches the coin on the end of the umbrella, quickly shoving it a metal box and stuffing that in a bag.

“I must apologize sir, but I realized that a serious piece of business has been neglected. Therefore, good day to you sir, for I must be closing.” He hurries off, leaving behind his baskets of plums. I laugh and finish off the one I had been eating as I look around the busy market. It was mid afternoon. The shadow from Alcyone’s castle draped over the people bustling in the south side of the street. It’s still manages to be a stiffing day despite the cooling wards and the slight breeze. I pull open my umbrella to shade myself from the sun as I look out over the crowd. Squinting against the sunlight, I see something glint as it moves, pushing through the people like a boat through water. Then, I grin.

“Oi! Everand! When did you get back? I thought you were in Asterope!” I call, drooping the umbrella behind me as I wave. The glint in the crowd moves towards me.

“Nope, we just got back. Still have that red umbrella, I see,” Everand Alcyone says, returning my grin. He runs a hand through his dusty blond hair. The seven stars on his armor catch my attention.

“I can see. Looks like I caught you at a bad time.” I eye the squad of men trailing after him. “Hello, Sir Reinhardt.” The older guard standing at Everand’s shoulder grunts at me to return the greeting.

“No, it’s fine. We’re just headed to the castle. Why do I always find you squatting on a wall. Get down, you’ll make me have a crick in my neck.”

“I enjoy it. It’s easier to see everything.” My wooden sandals clatter as I slip to the ground. “Plum?” I pick up another fruit.

“You’re selling fruit?”

“Nope, confiscating contraband.”

“You’re not supposed to eat evidence. Where’s the seller?” He glances around.

“Ran off. You were looking for Commander Llid weren’t you? How’d that go?” Everand places a hand on his forehead in exasperation.

“You, why do you always do that? You know you’re supposed to arrest him.”

“I forgot my seal.” I shrug. “So, how’d it go? Where did the mysterious Curo Llid disappear to? Everyone’s dying to know.” A man I hadn’t noticed before standing near the back of the group flinches. I raise an eyebrow as I twirl my umbrella.

“I’ll tell you while we head back to the castle.” I follow him as he begins to push south through the crowd followed by his squad.

“Father told me to go to Asterope first. That’s the last place anyone had ever seen him. His platoon is stationed there to keep an eye on Haruime Ro. Everyone know’s he’s bound to make a move on the Seven Cities, and Father thinks it’s soon. Tengu never sit still for long. Of course, you already know all that. Sorry, it’s been on my mind. With Commander Llid disappearing as suddenly as he did, it bodes ill for the Seven Cities.”

“He really did just vanish, then?”

“Yes. He did. One of his men was the last on to see him on the twentieth day of the month of Jasad at around the third bell, right about when the sun was rising. Honestly, we didn’t find much more than that.” We turn a corner out of the busy market onto a much wider road. The crowds thin as we head further down, the buildings changing from shops to mansions and villas of the wealthy and noble.

“Nothing at all?”

“No. No sign of struggle, no tracks, and no one supposedly saw him after that.”

“Out of thin air.”

“Yes. We couldn’t come back with only that, though. It was the same information we had before we left, which means that even with our presence, there’s been no breakthrough on the case. Luckily, Commander Llid’s lieutenant overheard him say earlier that night that the Commander had been planning to visit with his son, Dicter Llid, soon in case he didn’t have time later because of the Tengu war lord. When searching the Commander’s quarters, there was a mostly packed bag and a letter meant to be sent to Dicter. Apparently there had been several similar ones over the course of the month, but it seems Dicter burned every one he received.”

“I suppose that’s Dicter, then?” I glance at the ragged man with patchy scruff and knife cut, dirty blond hair surrounded by the King’s Guard. His bronze skin contrasted sharply with the jagged blue swirls decorating every inch of it. Pictish markings. Supposedly, they were born with them. But then again, many people consider me more strange looking than any pict, with my purple hair so dark it looked black and the two long horns rising out of it like tree branches. My tail flicks as I grin at the thought, my slitted pupils thinning. Still, I scratch the few scales lining my check in thought, the only place on my face that had them–right on the cheekbone under the eye.

“Yes, that’s him. He was…very reluctant to come with us.”

“I see he got you,” I say, glancing at the bandage across his nose. The castle looms over us. “Why didn’t you have it healed?”

“You know why. There’s no point in having such a small thing healed. Better to save the energy for someone who actually needs it.” A coach passes us on our left. I talk a glance at it, but not long enough to figure out who it belonged to before turning back to Everand.

“And the scratch above your eye? Was that him as well?”

“No, that was from a bone-worg.”

“Bone-worg? You fought a bone-faced worg?! Why’d you take the north path? You know that’s not safe! You’re a prince for heaven’s sake. Have a little more consciousness about your safety.”

“There was no time. The sooner we find him, the better. The Tengu are bound notice soon. Maybe they even have.”

“Still… does he know where his father is?” I say as we pass under the portcullis of the castle. Everand nods at the guards stationed there.

“No. At least he says that he doesn’t. I’ll leave it to Father’s men to find out if that isn’t true.”

“What do you think, though?”

“I’m inclined to believe him. Though, I don’t condone his seeming lack of affection for his father.”

“So… he hate him.”

“Yes. It seems so.” We enter into the castle. A squire breaks off from a wall in the towering hallway to lead us to the throne room even practically everyone in our group knew the way.

“He doesn’t know where the Commander is and he doesn’t care. Why’d you bring him, then?” My eyes flicker across the hanging tapestries. Heroes and kings fought grotesque monsters in the flickering candles and dim sunlight streaming through high windows.

“Well, he resisted questioning and then assaulted the King’s guard. It’s a front to the King’s authority. Of course he was arrested.”

“Ah, yes, especially when the guard happened to be the Fourth Prince of Alcyone and all of the Seven Cities. I forgot how little privilege common folk have when it comes to the King’s authority,” I say wryly. The prince frowns.

“Not everyone is a talented wardsman. It’s a matter of course that you are given leeway over things. Still, you really shouldn’t keep going around beating up guards.”

“You make it sound like I pick fights. It’s not my fault your father, his royal excellency the King of glorious Alcyone and the illustrious Seven Cities, the mighty, wise and noble Cedric Alcyone the Third of the long and enduring line of divine king heroes has personally made a request to me to spar with the King’s Guard and the Palace Guard. Keep them on their toes and all.” Everand’s eyebrows bunched together.

“Do you really need to say his whole title? Father would have just been fine.”

“Really. I could have embellished it more.” I grin and lightly smack the back of his armored knee with my tail. Reinhardt catches my eye with a frown.

“Stop that.” The prince swatted at me. “Sometimes, you’re too much of a child, Yen.”

“Sometimes you’re too stiff. You need to loosen up or you’ll start loosing your hair.”

“I’m the stiff one? Says the lizard wearing a bath robe who spouts out the most formal of all possible titles for the king. No one does that anymore.”

“Only to mock you. What happened to King’s authority?” I finger my yukata. The robe was decorated with red maple leaves. “And it’s not a bath robe.”

“Father demands respect for his rules. Not pomp. Frankly, I could do without it, as well. This castle already has enough of it just from the decorations alone.” Gargoyles glare down at him from the tops of pillars supporting the roof. He shrugs up at them. They weren’t exactly decorations, but there’s no denying that they’re gaudy. They clink as they shift in their armor.

“What do you think of that quest?” I ask. We come to a stop before a pair of ornately carved doors. The wards on them glimmer in the setting sun. Everand places a hand on the thick nob before he spoke.

“The one about the legendary dungeon? Honestly, I can’t really say. It’s unprecedented. A system generated quest is rare enough not to have happened for generations, but for it to be a dungeon of all things… I don’t know. I’ll wait to see what the scholars say about it. Father will most likely call a meeting if he hasn’t already. I don’t know if the Seven Cities have the resources to claim something that far north, not with a war brewing.” He takes a breath and pushes into the room. I and his retinue follow behind. The man, Dicter Llid, mutters under his breath.

“Father,” Everand calls. “I have returned from Asterope.” Cedric sits on a rather simple throne on a raised dais located at the opposite end of the spacious room. Likewise, a simple crown rests on his dusty blond hair. He looks almost identical to Everand, albeit with many more years marking his face. The aura he gives out, however, is almost overflowing with authority. He leans forward in his chair as we stop before the dais.

“Welcome back, Everand. And it’s good to see you, Yen Tao. What have you been up to since I last saw you?”

“Mostly wandering in the north market for ingredients for wards. I did make a trip to Pleione for a ward inspection.”

“Good, good.” He gives a tired smile before turning back to his son. “What news have you?”

“Father, it’s just as the reports say. Commander Llid disappeared without a trace on the Twentieth of Jasad. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to uncover any clues while there. However, we did manage to find his son, Dicter Llid, in Celaeno.” Everand motions Dicter forward.

“Oh?”

“Chevaleresse Tael, the report,” Everand says. A woman within the squad steps forward and hands a leather scroll to the prince, who in turn hands it to the king. The hall grows quiet as the king scans its contents. He glances at Dicter before continuing. Then, he rolls up the report and gives a sigh.

“So then, Dicter. Where has your father disappeared to?” He asks.

“I don’t know,” the man says sourly. “I try not to make it my goal to keep tract of him. In fact, the less I know, the better.”

“You are before the king,” a retainer next to the dais spits. Cedric waves the man off.

“You are rather cold to your father.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Why did you pick a fight with my guard?”

“My temper flared. I punched before I looked. For that, I apologize. I didn’t realize it was the prince.” Dicter grits his teeth, then gives a small bow to the king and then to Everand. This man, he has a lot of pride, but knows when to apologize. If you can call that an apology. I smile. He’s rather interesting.

“Still, whether you apologize or not, it still is a serious offense. This is my guard. I don’t tolerate those who resist their authority. My authority. I am of a mind to send you to the quarries for this insult.” Dicter cringes.

“However, I am feeling lenient today, as I have more urgent issues to deal with, as I am sure you are aware. I am willing to lessen your sentence seeing as you are Curo’s son.” Cedric stares at the pict. Dicter shivers under the weight of it.

“How old are you, Dicter?” The man frowns at the question in confusion.

“Twenty.”

“A year younger than my son. Hm.” The king stares at him once more, then sighs as he shifted positions.

“Dicter, my son will be leading a task force to search for your father’s whereabouts. You will go with them.” Dicter jerks up, startled.

“What?! No, wait–” He grows quiet under the king’s hard eyes.

“I–I’ll go,” the pict says after a moment.

“You may leave. Everand, make sure you look after him. Curo would be mad at me if anything happened to his son.” Everand nods and turns to leave.

“One more thing.” Everyone pauses. “Dicter. You said you don’t know where your father is. That’s not true, is it?” Dicter freezes. He gulps and slowly turns around before making eye contact with the king.

“South Pass. His last letter mentioned South Pass.” The king nods, then looks at Everand, who returns the nod.

“Then, Everand, if you could make sure your squad is outfitted for South Pass. No, actually. It would be better to take only half your squad. Go. Figure out who you are taking.” The group turns to leave once more.

“Yen Tao.” I pause. “If I may speak with you.” The king waves everyone out of the room, including his retainers. I nod as everyone else leaves.

“Your thoughts.”

“I am not sure what to make of it. It is a strange situation.”

“Hm.”

“What worries me more is that this is not the first.”

“Yes, I’m glad it has occurred to you as well.”

“It’s not the only thing worrying me, though.”

“Hm?”

“The system quest.” The kings eyes narrowed in thought.

“It is a strange thing, I will admit. What are your thoughts on it.”

“It…has an ominous air about it. I don’t think it should be pursued.”

“Hm.” He tapped the edge of his chair. “I shall keep it in mind then. What are you going to do?” I smile.

“I think I’ll go on an adventure. Traveling with your son sounds interesting.”

“Haha. That would soothe my worries greatly. I appreciate it, Yen.”

“Anything for my king.”

“If only I were. Still, my young friend. Thank you. I worry. Enough of that. Now go. Pack what you need.”I smile again and leave with a bow.

By the time the sixth bell rings, I find a group of eight people standing just inside the gate. As I walk up, Everand is talking to a wall guard.

“Are you sure, you want to go out? The sun is setting. I don’t advise getting stuck out there in the dark.”

“No, as soon as Yen Tao gets here, we’ll leave. Time is too important to wait until morning. We’ll be fine. Yen Tao is a talented wardsman.”

“That’s I am.” I walk up to him. “Are you ready?”

“Only if you are.”

“I am.”

“What about at least taking horses?” The wall guard asks.

“No,” I say as we start heading out of the gate. “You know the road doesn’t go far south. They’ll just die out there. Better without them.” The wall guard reluctantly nods.

“Fare thee well!” He yells.

“Fare thee well,” responds the prince. We pick up our pace as the gate slowly closes behind us. I cast a quick ward to increase speed, shaping the rune with mana instead of normal ingredients. Not as effective, but more practical. It’s not long before we come to the end of the road. The lantern there flickers ominously in the dimming light. As an almost ritual, we all hold our breath as we step off the last stones of the ancient road. Before us lies the Forest of Niwl, dark and foreboding even in daylight, at twilight it’s mists feel like the clammy hands of death. The trees stand out like pale bones.

“I hate this place,” I mutter as I cast [torch light] and a ward to keep the mist and monsters at bay. Small floating balls of light flicker into existence as the mist rolls back. “Well, come on.” I wave them forward, glancing at Dicter who I find surprisingly subdued. He still sports a grimace on his face, though.

The walk, though creepy, is smooth for the first couple of hours. After that, we begin to stumble on monsters. I recast the ward as the Everand and his squad kill each monster. They’re not a threat. Not yet anyway. They will be. We’re moving. Wards, even quick, are effective at keeping monsters away up to a certain extent, but that does nothing if we walk right into them. A certain amount of time is needed for the effects of the ward to work. It’s like ripples in a pond pushing a leaf away, but if the center of the ripples is moving, it can still run into the leaf. The other problem is the quick wards themselves. And the mist. Quick wards don’t have a very long lifespan. A couple of hours at most before they lose their effectiveness. I have to keep recasting them, which consumes much of my mana, almost more than my regeneration can handle. This mist makes it worse. It degrades the wards faster.

“Everand. I’m beginning to run low. We’ll need to stop for a while,” I say. Everand nods.

I set up a quick ward on the ground with silver sand. And every one rests inside.

“The mist will get thicker from here,” I say as I sit down on a log.

“You’ve been here before?” Dicter asks.

“Yeah, he has. Plenty of times. It’s the only reason we’re going through Niwl forest instead of around. This freak here has wandered to many places.” Everand responds.

“Won’t we get lost though? Everyone gets lost in Niwl.”

“Aw, Bunyip, are you nervous?” Tael asks Dicter. Bunyip? I raise an eyebrow.

“We won’t get lost,” Reinhardt says. “He has a skill.”

“Well, it’s more like a few skills that I use with a particular ward–” I stop and flip around to look at a place just outside my ward.

“Everand,” I say in a low voice. “Get ready. Something’s coming.” The air flickers and a pale body appears suddenly. Behind me I hear the ringing metal of swords being released from sheaths.

“That’s–?” I hear a guard names Derik say.

“Is that a gwisin?” Dicter finishes.

The gwisin turns towards us, blood dribbling down his chin. A mildly confused look crosses his pale eyes. I notice something in his hands. He brings it to his lips and takes a bite.

“An…arm? A severed arm,” I say. A slight shiver passes through me.

“Should we attack?” Tael asks. Everand makes a sign to hold. The gwisin chews and swallows. A wistful sigh leaves his mouth.

“Ah,” he says in a low voice. “I want her.”

Status Menu Name: Yen Tao Race: Quilin Level: 23 (38,820/52,900) Health: 280/280 (14/min) Mana: 310/310 (38/min) State: Normal Strength: 10 Endurance: 7 Dexterity: 13 Focus: 13 Will: 19 Accuracy: 14 [Ξ] Fame: 18,400 Titles: |Unusual| |Umbrella Maker| |Wanderer| |Swordsman| |Adventurer| |Merchant| |Wardsman| |Honorary King’s Guard| |Friend of Royals| |Greater Wardsman| Skills: [Insight IX] [Warding X] [Quick Ward VII] [Counter VI] [Torch Light VI] [Talisman IV] [Sense IX] [Magnetic Ripple IV]