Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Patrol Quest
In the plains and lands surrounding the prosperous capital of the kingdom, peace seemed to be reigning undisturbed, as well. The farmers living there took care of their estates, and shared the crops that the land granted them, along with what they got from their livestock, as the afternoon sun benevolently watched over them, and the green of nature cohabiting with men surrounded them. Some little villages worked as meeting centers, in which farmers exchanged the surpluses of their work. There was no shortage of wells and runlets, at brief distance from houses and farms, from which water could be collected, as if the blessing of the Thetis river, from Creedwood, embraced the rest of the country as well.
In the middle of such an idyl, a woman and her child were walking along a small, dirtied path, connecting a village to the surrounding meadows. The path skirted a thicket, which never failed to impress the farmer woman and her son, with its denseness and its various tones of green, contrasting with the bright green of the grass. The boy, in particular, was hardly able to avert his gaze from the spectacle of towering trunks and dark fronds of which the thicket gave show. It never failed to bestow a sense of marvel and unrest, almost of powerlessness before that deep green which threatened to swallow whole everything daring to venture inside those maws.
However, hidden among the shadows, something strange lurked, It seemed to move in the darkness. At a first look, it appeared to be a kind of large fungus, yet mushrooms may not stir in the wind, as plants do...
The child was bewildered by that odd sight, and his mother attempted to call him.
"Scotty, what are you looking at?" she asked, before turning her gaze towards the thicket as well.
Suddenly, right in that instant, the fungus arose, almost as if raised by the land sustaining it. The sight made restlessness mount up in the mother, as well as her son.
Then, that strange shape stepped on its side, revealing itself before their eyes. It was a troll, with skin green as a swamp, and two small yellow eyes, glowing like fireflies. Long fur, similar to hair, flowed from the top of its head. Saliva was dripping from its bare fangs, as it growled, foretasting the imminent meal before its eyes. Its claws were quivering in anticipation. The farmer woman looked onto it, appalled, and so did her child.
"Mama, what is that?" the boy asked, with a trembling voice, filled with fear.
"Scotty... Run!" the mother shouted "Run!" The child obeyed without hesitation, and his mother followed swiftly. However, the creature did not look willing to let its preys run away in the slightest, and let out a roar, before following them. It easily gained ground, removing its distance from the two in a short time.
"NO!" the woman screamed, as she saw how close to them the troll was. It was ready to grab and devour them...
Suddenly, an arrow flew towards the creature, piercing its shoulder and catching its attention. The one who had shot it was a young man with short, slightly disheveled brown hair and eyes of the same color, a hunter dressed in a brown leather jacket with protective shoulder plates in light steel, over a white shirt, brown pants and black boots. He was hidden among some fronds.
"It was a warning shot, you monster!" it exclaimed, still holding the bow in his hand as he looked at the beast, which had turned to him and was snarling ferociously at him "You shan't make another step towards them!"
"Don't waste too much time threatening it, Kain." a voice commented, close to him. It belonged to a young man who showed up beside the hunter in that moment He had short crimson hair, and fiery eyes bearing the same color, and he was dressed in a burgundy shirt, black pants and boots, all under a black robe. He carried a black walking stick with a golden hilt bearing a small owl head.
As if confirming the young man's words, the arrow which had pierced through the troll's shoulder snapped, and as the pieces fell on the grass, the creature's wound healed quickly.
"Run." the red-eyed young man intimated to the farmer woman and her child, as he placed his hand on the owl head "We will be taking care of the monster." The two nodded and made haste back to the village, safe from the troll, whose attention was focused on the hunter and his companion, by then.
The owl's beak was pressed down, and the young man was able to draw from the stick a long and thin cane sword, much akin to a rapier, its golden hilt ending in the very same owl head. He latched the stick onto his hip and ran two fingers along the blade, making vermillion flames dance for a split-second, before giving Kain a knowing look, to which he nodded. It was then that the troll let out a mighty roar, and dashed with savage fury towards the two young men who had become its new prey.
The ruby-eyed young man charged against it with his sword in hand, and dodged its claw, before delivering a slash on its hip. More cuts followed, as the troll sloppily and vainly attempted to evade the blade. Shrieks of pain were mixed with roars of rage, as the beast angrily attempted to strike back. However, all it was able to achieve were mere rips on the youth's robe. In the meantime, the wounds his blade had inflicted upon the troll quickly closed and healed themselves, revealing themselves to be ephemeral.
As the young man kept dancing with the monster, Kain plucked two arrows from the quiver latched onto his back, and nocked one, aiming his bow on the troll.
Suddenly, during the dangerous dance, crimson flames flashed once again on the red-eyed youth's blade. He swung his sword and, slashing the air, traced an arc of fire, frightening and stunning the beast. It was then that Kain shot his two arrows, one after another, which caught fire an instant before embedding themselves in the shoulder and in the leg of the monster. The troll roared out in pain and fell onto its knee.
It was known that trolls had terror of fire, which sapped them of their strength and weakened their healing factor. Seeing that the monster was weak, the young mage took the chance to deliver the final blow, and his blade, still imbued with fire, sliced the creature's head off, and thus the hunt was over. Only then the tongues of fire ceased their crackling on the blade, as well as on the troll's battered body.
"Nice blow, Edward!" Kain exclaimed, giving his fellow a thumbs up, and he returned the gesture. Both had beaming smiles on their faces. However, Edward was still holding the sword in his hand, and didn't intend to place it back in the cane just yet. He got closer to the troll's body, and made a cut on it, from which green blood began pouring. Immediately, the young man knelt next to the body, took a vial from the inner pocket of his robe and collected a sample of the blood. As soon as he was done, and satisfied with the amount, he closed the vial with a cork attached to it by a piece of thin string, placed it back in the robe's pocket and stood on his feet once more, putting the blade away and taking out his complete walking stick. Once the blade was fully swallowed in the cane, the beak of the owl head clicked back in its original position. At first, Kain was surprised with his companion's behavior, but then, he smiled.
"Ah, right." he commented "Ingredients for the workshop." Edward smiled back and nodded at his friend's conclusion
"If these beasts refuse to die that easily, the key to it is within this blood." he replied "And a blood with such properties is never to be discarded, especially for an alchemist." In that moment, the two heard a curlew above their heads, and raised their eyes to the heavens, smiling at what they saw: an owl with silver feathers and shimmering topaz eyes, soaring in the sky. It lowered towards Edward, and perched up on his shoulder.
"Well done, Oculus." the mage murmured with satisfaction, stroking the bird's feathered head. The owl closed its big eyes and enjoyed its master's attentions.
"No more trolls around?" Kain asked, to which his companion shook his head.
The two began walking along the path, towards the village where the farmer woman came from, and to which she had returned with her child to escape from the troll.
"You alchemists synthesize medicine with that stuff, don't ya?" Kain asked, to which his friend nodded.
"That's right." he replied.
"Heh." the hunter said, amused "Ironic, how something that is a thorn in one's side at least when it's alive, becomes a gold mine, once dead..."
"And a source of salvation." Edward retorted, agreeing with him "Yes, ironic indeed..." The two didn't take long to reach the village, and to find the mother and her child, who smiled at them.
"Thank you!" the farmer woman exclaimed "You saved our lives!"
"You are the heroes of Albion, right?" the boy asked, barely holding back his excitement, to which Kain giggled.
"Someone's heard about the Guild, I see." he replied. The mother and her son smiled at that revelation.
"Why, you're on everyone's lips in the city, and what is said there reaches these lands, too." she explained, as the boy couldn't contain his joy.
"Yay! The heroes!" he cheered.
Suddenly, the two young members of the Guild and the people they were speaking to could hear a good-natured laugh.
"You like heroes, don't you, little Scotty?" a middle-aged woman sweetly said. She was dressed in simple clothes, of green and brown, the colors of nature, complete with a headdress bearing the same colors. On these clothes, the image of a ruby laid on a small plant surrounded by golden ears, the holy insignia of the cult of the goddess Chauntea. She smiled, as she got closer to the four of them, who immediately recognized her.
"Pastoral Sister Meredith!" the farmer woman exclaimed, to which the priestess smiled, before turning to the two young men who had saved the woman, along with her child.
"Edward Crowley and Kain Wolfwood, from Creedwood, am I correct?" "That's right!" Kain exclaimed, exhibiting a bit of a cocky streak.
"It is an honor for us to be remembered by you, sister Meredith." Edward said, bowing obsequiously before her, to which the priestess kindly giggled.
"Of course, young Crowley." she replied "Your commitment and that of your fellows for Albion has brought a lot to all of us, citizens and countrymen. You are a dawn of joy for these people as much as you are for your city."
"You speak as if we carried the weight of the whole world on our shoulders." the young spellcaster replied "I assure you, your commitment is as vital as ours, if not more so, for the peace and prosperity of our kingdom. There mustn't be any debts between us."
"Yeah!" Kain added, agreeing with his friend "You, priests of Chauntea, protect the fields and do all that is in your power to make sure the earth gives plenty of crops, guiding and helping farmers working on the land. Am I wrong, sister?" At that statement, Meredith laughed in a crystal clear way.
"You speak the truth, hunter." she replied "We all do what we can to ensure abundance in our villages. Abundance is a gift from the Goddess of Grains."
"Not to mention, a large cut of the surplus is sold to the cities, as well." Kain commented.
"Exactly." Meredith replied, with a nod "After all, city and countryside are bound by the common wish for material and spiritual life, and the efforts they make to achieve them, such as Chauntea and Lathander, the Morninglord, are bound by their love for life itself, as well as for one another." She then asked the two young men, still smiling "Either way, is there anything we can do for you?"
"Do you happen to know where we could find the guards tasked with protecting this village?" Edward asked, to which the priestess nodded.
"You can find them in the town center." she answered.
"Many thanks." the mage thanked, before heading to where she had suggested, alongside Kain "Good day."
"Thanks! Good day to you!" the farmer woman replied.
"Goodbye, heroes!" her son waved off, waving both of his hands with boundless excitement, to which his mother could only smile.
"May the earth and heavens bless you!" Meredith waved off.
After that conversation, Edward and Kain headed to the center of the village, where they found the local militia, as Meredith had suggested them, and reported to them about the troll who had attacked the farmer woman and her child.
"Many thanks, gentlemen." the head of the militia replied "Our apologies for the trouble, but we're short of men at the moment, and are waiting to enrich our numbers."
"No problem!" Kain jovially replied.
"It is our duty, after all." his friend added, with a smile of his own, albeit more restrained.
"Sister Meredith and the clerics of Chauntea have already launched an appeal to the men of the village, and even a request for help to the Paladins of the Order of the Aster..." the constable explained.
"'Tis not surprising that the clerics of Chauntea would have asked for their help..." Edward mused, before making a request "Should the appeal remain unanswered, please inform the King and the Guild. They shall provide for the safety of the village as soon as possible."
"It shall be done." the constable replied "Thanks again for your assistance. Long live the King!"
"Long live the King!" the two youths waved off in unison, before walking away. Their patrol was at its end, and they began heading back to Creedwood, to the Guild office in particular, to report the success of their mission.
...
"It wasn't exactly the most exciting mission of our career..." Kain complained, his hands laid behind his neck, as he walked beside his friend.
"Missions like these aren't exactly the most eventful..." Edward replied, seriously "But it is from this, too, that people see the dedication of a member of the Guild to his duty."
"You're right, too." the hunter said.
In order to face the magical creatures with which men shared the land and understand which among them was worthy of their trust, in order to combat supernatural threats, the kings of Albion, through the Guild, employed the services of capable people: adventurers, warriors and spellcasters, who undertook assignments that no common man could possibly complete, fought evil creatures and served as ambassadors with the more peaceful ones, when necessity arose. Since it was a job in all respects, the services of the members of the Guild, those being almost all the adventurers on the ground of the country, were paid with the King's gold after every successful mission.
"Say, Edward..." Kain asked "Your uncle Thomas is still busy with that mission in the Far East, right?"
"Right." Edward replied, with a nod "The idea is to test the ground before proceeding with actual commercial relations with Eastern countries."
"This explains why the Lord of Commerce and a bunch of merchants have followed him there..." the hunter replied, to which the spellcaster nodded once again "Although, there are clerics dispatched with them, should things go sour, yes?" he asked, speaking with a slightly concerned tone.
"Of course." Edward replied with wide eyes, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. And so it was, in a way. "You already know how the exploration of the western continent of Solidor two centuries ago went."
"Oh yes." Kain replied "Giants, giants and more giants as far as the eye could see, everywhere, ready to squash the exploring party at all times... Brr, I shiver at the thought!"
"Yeah..." Edward murmured, sharing his friend's concern "Even at present, those colonies we were able to create there run the risk of being attacked by local giants..."
"I'm happy I wasn't born in that time." the hunter stated.
"I think many are, Kain." Edward replied "Anyway, how is your father's butchery faring?"
"Yeah, great, let's talk about something else." Kain said, almost sighing from relief, before answering "It's going great, as of late. We have meat for days."
"And how are your dogs doing?" the young mage asked.
"Amazingly!" his friend replied, with a wide grin "No need to bring them along for a trivial patrol, amirite?"
"Your parents take care of them in these cases, right?"
"Obviously! If they're not with me, they're with my parents. You can't get it wrong!" Both the friends let out a laugh at those words.
"The dogs will be happy to see you, once you're back home..." Edward commented.
"Well, they like you, too, Edward, but thank goodness you've chosen an owl as a familiar, instead of, I dunno, a pigeon." Kain joked "Or else, you would have needed to keep it away from them, if you didn't want it to become their meal..."
"Why, you think a sane spellcaster would choose a pigeon as a familiar?" the mage retorted. They laughed once more.
It was then that, finally, the two friends reached the entrance gate of the city of Creedwood.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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stone