Chapter 15

The hunter arrived quickly, jumping off his horse just in front before coming to Doron. “I saw a carriage, too fancy and large to be from anywhere but the Capital. With a couple of riders alongside it.” The hunter said concerned. “Gotta be them, right?”

“Probably.” Doron agreed with a nod. “The investigator is probably in the carriage.” He turned over to Tirr and Maria. “The rest of you should stick to the temple like we talked about. I should be able to handle it by myself”

Tirr frowned. “I still don’t understand why I need to hide from them. You’re going to tell them I did it anyways.”

“Best not to reveal all our cards at once. I have no doubt Roan will spill your name eventually, but for now, the less we can tell them the better.” Doron sighed. He ordered the rest of trainees to leave for the day and spread the word. He gave Tirr one last nod before following the hunter towards the village entrance.”

Tirr wanted to argue more, but Maria stopped him, saying it was almost time for lunch. He reluctantly agreed, heading towards the temple with his followers and band of children.

Doron arrived at the village entrance just as the carriage came around the last bend towards them. He saw Roan nearby, rubbing his palms nervously. He glared at Doron for a moment before looking away angrily.

They had spoken more since the initial argument, and though they never fully agreed, they had both decided it would be impossible to hide the fight with the knights. Even rushing they still hadn’t been able to remove all the damage that had been done. Their best bet was to be straightforward about what the knights had done. Their actions had been clearly hostile, and the village defended themselves, but it was the part after that they still couldn’t agree on.

They would have to reveal that they got help defeating the knights, no one would believe a small village could do it. Roan wanted to place the blame firmly on Tirr and have him go with the investigators. Doron was still adamant in not allowing him to go. In the end, they both could only hope that the investigators would understand they defended themselves.

The carriage slowed to a halt. It was a much smaller group that greeted the visitors this time, with most of the village hiding in their homes after hearing the people from the Capital had arrived.

The driver got down and opened the carriage door. A thin man in opulent clothing got out. Smiling from ear to ear as he walked towards where Roan and Doron stood.

“Greetings! This is the village of Road’s End, correct? My name Is Sir Elrik Fore, Assistant Marshal of the 3rd Knight Order. I have some business in this village and had hoped to speak with its leader and be provided some accommodations.” Sir Elrik said with a bow.

Roan stepped up, his nerves put somewhat at ease by the man’s friendly manner. “Yes, this is Road’s End, I’m the Village Head, Roan, and this is our guard, Doron. You would be welcome to stay at my house, there should be plenty of room for you and your men.”

“That would be excellent… Sir Elrik started, until a loud voice called out from within the carriage.

“Were you planning on ever introducing me?” Doron watched surprised as an athletic young woman in a simple if elegant dress stepped out of the carriage, followed by two more women dressed as maids.

Sir Elrik looked uncomfortable from their sudden appearance but put on a smile as he replied to the young woman. “I’m sorry your Highness, I thought you might prefer to wait within the carriage, at least untill we reached where we will be staying.”

“I’ve been stuck in carriages and Inns for too long Elrik, a walk will be good for me.” The young woman retorted, rising her arms to stretch and earning a quick scolding from her maid.

“Of course, your Highness. This is her Highness Claire Ena Rasor, Princess of the Rasor Kingdom.” Sir Elrik stated frankly before turning back to Roan and Doron with a smile once more.

Doron looked over the new additions worried. A Princess was far more than he had expected and left him worried about how much attention the Kingdom was paying to their small village. Worse, all three women seemed to be trained fighters from their stances and bearing. If even one of them was a shard user, it would be impossible to handle without Tirr.

He noticed the princess was looking over him the same way he had just done her. He found her grinning at him and looked away.

“Yes, your Highness my absolute pleasure to meet you, I never thought that I would have the pleasure of welcoming a royal in our small little village. You’re more the welcome to rest at my home as well.”

“Thanks, but I’d rather stretch my legs for a bit and take a look around the village.” Claire said happily. “Jill, you go with them and help prepare my room. Kerri you come with me. Claire asked for some quick direction on how to find her way back and set out to explore the village.

“The Princess has had a hard time with the trip.” Sir Elrik excused quietly, before motioning for Roan to show the way to his house. They moved slowly, chatting about nothing as they walked.

Doron spent the walk worried about the princess, but quickly tried to focus. He had enough to worry about with the man next to them. This Sir Elrik was acting pleasant, but that just made Doron more worried.

They soon arrived and Roan’s house staff quickly set up the guests in their rooms, before Roan invited everyone down for some tea before lunch. Doron sat stiffly, noticing the two men standing beside Sir Elrik at the table and the Princess’s maid that stood back, but just within earshot.

Roan and Sir Elrik had been chatting for a while but stopped once everyone was settled and the tea served. Taking his cup and giving it a quick sip, Sir Elrik once again smiled at Roan and Doron, “Now to get to why we are here…”

Claire wandered through the village aimlessly, taking in the atmosphere as she walked with her maid. “Feels off, right Kerri?” she said a little after leaving the others behind. “Visitors from the capital and barely anyone came out to look? Doesn’t sound like any of the villages we’ve been through.” Claire noticed aloud still grinning as they walked.

As they moved further around the village Claire continued to look around, noticing only a few of the villagers, who seemed to finish up what they were doing before heading inside. “It’s like they’re scared…” Kerri observed after they watched one villager give them a quick greeting before disappearing inside.

Claire frowned as she wondered over the strange behavior. “They couldn’t actually have anything to do with the Knights disappearing, could they?” She thought aloud. Claire soon noticed a small building on a hill nearby, in front were a group of children playing. Claire moved towards the familiar sight, hoping to maybe get some answers.

As they approached the path up the hill the children noticed them. Most of them stopped and retreated, moving away from the coming strangers. They soon gathered behind one boy.

Claire and Kerri reached the top of the hill, smiling as friendly as they could. The boy stood facing them while holding what looked like a small puppy in his arms. As they came closer the other children huddled close behind him.

Claire gave a small wave as she reached the boy. “Hey! My name is Claire, and this is Kerri. What’s your name?”

Tirr grunted, wanting to tell off the newcomers, but remembered what Doron and Maria had said about not standing out too much and swallowed it down. “Tirr” he said plainly.

“Great name”, Claire said, trying to get the boy to relax. The other children seemed more confidant once the were behind him and were gawking at the two visitors and their strange clothes. She noticed Tirr didn’t seem to care.

“Did something happen? Everyone here seems a little tense?” Claire probed gently.

“They just don’t like you” Tirr said flatly.

Claire felt her face twitch as she tried to keep smiling, “Why don’t they like us? I think we’re nice. Plus, I’m pretty strong too…” Claire raised an arm, flexing. “This big sis can help you if there are any bad guys or Beasts around.” Claire said proudly.

Tirr laughed, the children behind him laughed too. Claire felt her face turn red and noticed that even Kerri was hiding a giggle at the children’s reaction. “What’s so funny?” Claire asked, struggling to keep her smile on in front of the little brat.

“You're weak.” Tirr said once he had managed to stop laughing.

Claire couldn’t keep it together anymore and finally broke, looking down at him angrily “What do you mean I’m weak, I’m strong!”

Tirr shook his head, “You're weak.”

“Do you think I’m weak because I’m a girl? I’m way stronger than most men.” Claire yelled angrily.

“Even in this village there’s a girl stronger than you! You're just weak!” Tirr yelled back

“Liar! I’m strong!”

“You're weak!”

“Strong!”

"Weak!”

“Tirr!” A voice came from the nearby temple and everyone looked up to see a smiling Maria standing at the doorway glaring at them. “Lunch is ready, so everybody come in.” She said to the children. As they obediently filed in, Maria looked over at Claire. “We’re having lunch, so you’ll have to come back another time…” She said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

Claire looked down embarrassed and just muttered an apology as Kerri pulled her away. They left the hill and started making their way back into the village.

“That little brat! Embarrassing me like that. I can’t believe I did that! We didn’t even find anything out! What a huge waste of time…” Claire grumbled as Kerri led them towards Roan’s house using the directions they had been given. They soon stopped though, as they reached what should be the village center.

Fresh cobblestones mixed with scorched old ones within the village’s square. Nearby lots stood empty with signs of buildings having been there untill just recently.

“The Shard User.” Kerri said quietly, looking over the scene.

Claire nodded solemnly and moved to inspect one large scorch mark on the ground. She looked back towards Kerri. “The knights were here, and they fought something…”