Chapter 45- The Hunt Begins

The sun rose high in the sky by the time everyone was ready to set out. Roen had bid the King Leonard and Derik goodbye. They had once again given their thanks to Roen and, stationed soldiers around the abyss according to Roen's instructions.

"Roen!" A loud voice broke up the calming atmosphere of the slow caravan of carriages. Engil was seen in his wolf form running around with children clinging to his back.

"What is it?" Roen was sitting on top of a wooden carriage and was just soaking up the sun. He had been trying to relax when Engil had decided to bother him.

"Didn't you take a little girl back to the orphanage late at night?"

"She was tired, so I let her sleep." Roen tried to dismiss the matter quickly and rid himself of an annoyance. However Engil had a toothy grin on his face.

"Is that all that you did? Hmmm~ what would Eliana say about that?" Engil wanted to tease Roen a little, and tried to take advantage of the fact that he had children clinging to him to avoid Roen's wrath.

"Strike." A small golden bolt of lightning accurately hit Engil and he fell to the ground twitching. The children all screamed and ran way, but were all uninjured.

"Ah~ finally some peace and quiet." Roen exhaled a breath of air and closed his eyes. Since Engil had mentioned it he wondered what Eliana was doing at the moment. If memory served him right he guessed that she would be currently attacking the kingdom that had caused her so much trouble. As per his suggestion of course.

Suddenly a white cloth came flying at Roen and morphed around him in the shape of his usual robes. He examined the changes and grinned happily while listening to the chirping of birds and sounds of chatter.

"Peaceful isn't it?" A voice rang out from Roen's head and he knew that his glaive was speaking.

"Yes, they all live in such happiness despite the hardships that they face. I'm quite envious." Roen spoke truthful words since he knew his glaive was not going to tell anyone.

"Then why don't you try to give up your vengeance? Try to live a peaceful life, you already have enough strength to survive and protect those close to you."

"I have had thoughts about such a matter, but I realized that I lost something long ago. I'm just trying to find it."

"Then why the need for vengeance?"

"Because I need to make sure that there is no stone left unturned. Even if I have to crack every single skull of my enemies open and search the insides. I will find it." Roen's ruthless words silenced the glaive's words and soon the peaceful atmosphere returned. Warm sunlight shone of Roen's face as he closed his eyes for some much needed rest.

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~ Capital of Korick Kingdom ~

In the dead of night the sentries were lazing away as they believed that nobody would try to attack them since they came to an agreement of ceasefire with their neighboring Higloas kingdom. Though they hated each other to the bone, most agreed considering the unusual decimation of the Thaolos kingdom.

Then just recently there was a giant flash of light that seemed as if a second sun was shining in the sky. This event spurred many high officials and kings to start banding together in their time of confusion.

The war between the Cordias kingdom and the Liliit kingdom had instantly been ceased since there had been an immeasurable amount of casualties. Both kingdoms had sealed off their information networks and their recent war was soon shrouded in mystery.

Rumors were the best source of information in the ranks of the Korick soldiers.

"Hey did you hear?"

"What, are you talking about the massacre at the Cordias walls?" A lanky soldier and a lightly pudgy soldier started up a conversation since they were already slacking off of work. They both were lazing around the rations and drinking week old ale.

"Yeah yeah, I heard it was a an apostle of a goddess! They carried the wind in their hands and had weapons carved from the goddess herself!"

"No, you got it all wrong! Ya see I've got connections with a Cordias soldier, and he was sayin' that it was a child cloaked in pure white! My guess is that he is some prodigy of the Land of Sorcery; that place has always been extremely powerful and mysterious." The lanky man who had just spoke his hypothesis laid back trying to give off an all knowing image. The slightly pudgy soldier just laughed while spittle containing the stale bread he was hastily eat earlier flew everywhere.

"Hahaha you think a child can have that power! Impossible, he was probably some old man and that connection of yours was just seeing it wrong!"

"Hey, hey, quit hogging the bread! You can doubt me, but don't take all the food!" The lanky man quickly snatched up the stale bread that was in the pudgy soldier's hands.

Suddenly two arms locked around the soldier's necks and rested in their shoulders.

"Hey you guys heard about Cordias?" An overly familiar man suddenly poked his head out from between them and eyed the ale greedily.

"Ha! We know what you're after John! No, you're getting none of our alcohol! Go scavenge off of the others!" The pudgy soldier said in a furious attack of spit.

"No, no, you misjudge me too soon you know. I just wanted to share my side of the story you know! Apparently there's talk of a dragon appearing. And not just any dragon, it was an elder dragon!" The overly familiar soldier said proudly while sticking out his chest and slowing inching towards the bottle of ale. The two soldiers just looked at each other and started to laugh hysterically.

"Hahahaha you hear that! He says it was a dragon! Hahaha that's too funny!"

"Hey is there something wrong with you! Hahaha dragons are myths, fairy tales, they are your imagination! Hahahaha! I bet he would believe it if I gave him a bow and arrow and tell him it was a ancient dragon slaying weapon!"

"Hey, I killed a lizard just recently. Maybe I am now a dragon slayer!" The two broke into a series of gut clenching laughter while insulting the overly familiar man, who was leaving the area quickly with a bottle of ale in his hands. It wasn't until later did they notice that they've been robbed.

"That damn wastrel! He took our hard earned alcohol!" The two erupted in anger when they realized the overly familiar man was already long gone. They picked up their spears and raced after his trail. They ran outside into the cold night and found the man standing on top of one of the walls staring at them with a smile. A sudden shiver ran down their spine, but they put that into the back of their mind as they charged at the man.

"I'm sorry to say this, but I guess this is where we part." They had almost reached the man when they heard these ominous words and the man's eyes glowed purple for a second before he disappeared. They rubbed their eyes for a second trying to understand what he had done.

"Did, did he every have the ability to go invisible?"

"N,no, he just survived a couple of battles and then was stationed at security a long time ago. He should be a useless drunkard..." The pudgy soldier answered the lanky soldier's question with a trembling voice. They both were trying to wrap their heads around what he had done.

Swish

Swish

Suddenly they heard two undistinguishable noises and when they turned they saw the head of an arrow right before it pierced through their windpipes. They quickly lost the luster in their eyes as they both slumped to the floor in unison.

Several black clothed figures appeared around the dead bodied and two of them stripped their clothes while putting on the Korick's soldier's armor. They threw the bodies in an inconspicuous place while tidying up their appearance.

"You two stay here and monitor all their movements. Send a light if anything unexpected happens." A female voice rises out of one of the black clothed figures and leaves with the other five after giving orders.

"Princess, the targets are coming up." A gruff voice comes out of another black clothed individual and he addresses the female.

"Take aim...Fire." In a quick series of movements the two men in the back of the group pull out bows that were situated on their backs, notch an arrow, and release.

Swish

Swish

Thud

Thud

The previous events repeated themselves over again till the group was reduced to only the female member and the gruff voiced individual.

"Have your men secured the gates?" The female asked without looking towards the man.

"Yes, we're ready to move out on your command."

"Good, go regroup and wait for my signal." The female turned and left; leaving the gruff voiced individual to travel on his own.

The female landed lightly on the ceiling of a large building and removed her face veil. She had wild, short cut amber hair and sharp hazel eyes.

"Princess Eliana." A familiar voice sounded out from the shadows and the overly familiar man showed himself. He was cloaked in a pitch black cloak that seemed to blend in with the night. He only exposed his head or else Eliana would have a troubling time finding him.

"Tell Roen thanks for your help, but please let me do this on my own." Eliana spoke with a mixture of gratitude and brutality. She had resolved herself to rid the people who had tried to kill her, and didn't want Roen to interfere. This was something she had to do on her own. The overly familiar man bowed and put on his hood quickly disappearing into the darkness.

Once Eliana was left alone she pulled out a bow and arrow and attached a small piece of paper to the shaft of the arrow. After making sure it was secure she shot it in the direction of the gates of the Korick capital walls. She put back on her veil and turned towards the castle in the center of the city.

"Let the Blood Hounds hunt well tonight." She gave an ominous declaration while her unhindered steps swayed towards the castle.