Chapter 4A Chapter by BobbyConsciousness filtered in like a misty haze. Yori opened his
eyes but they would not focus. The world was a blur around him, leaving Yori
unsure of where he was. His body was numb and limp as he tried to move,
mentally grasping at anything to help him make sense of his surroundings. Yori’s
sense of touch was the first to return to him. He could feel he was lying down,
his wrists and fingertips resting on a soft cloth as he twitched his fingers. It
was likely a bed he was laying on. His hearing was the second sense to fully
return. A soft lullaby echoed in the darkness around the boy. A scent wafted to
his nostrils as he took in the aroma of fresh flowers.
Wait,
am I in a field? He felt
a tender hand stroke his hair, brushing aside the tresses from his forehead.
Yori suddenly became aware that someone was there next to him. A blurred
outline of a person sitting in a chair beside the bed, a candle illuminating
the room on a bedside table close by. This realization led to a sudden epiphany. I’m
alive. Yori’s
eyes had finally regained their focus, illuminating the darkness that he thought
would be his end. He rested his gaze on the person slowly caressing his head,
who was also the source of the lullaby. Her silver hair shone in the sunlight
like water as the sun first rose into view. The thin brows above her purple
eyes were raised, riddled with concern. The young woman was leaning slightly
over him, her white robe loosely draped over her delicate shoulders. Yori
noticed the golden embroidery lining the white garb, signifying her status as a
priestess of the Church of the Sun. He quickly deduced that she must be a
healer from the church. Yori’s face flushed slightly from the embarrassment he
felt from having his wounds tended to, especially by someone so beautiful. The
young girl noticed his eyes open, as well as the pink raise to his cheeks, and
smiled at Yori while he observed her. She halted her humming and pulled her
hand from his head, placing it on her lap.
“Um, yes,
thank you. I-I’m so sorry.” Yori’s
throat was hoarse and dry. He had not had anything to eat or drink in a long
while. The girl’s voice was as sweet as her singing. She gently placed her
fingers around his, grasping his hand to console him. Yori didn’t doubt for a
second that her concern for him was legitimate. “You
have nothing to be sorry about, sir. You were wounded and I was called upon to
aid you.” She
removed her hand from his and placed a fist over her heart as if making a
pledge, proudly puffing out her chest while exclaiming the duties of a healer. “It is
the duty of a healer to-“ Yori
flung himself into a seated position and clenched either side of the young
girl’s shoulders, interrupting her as all the painful memories came rushing
back to him. The helpless screams of his parents, the smoke and heat of the
burning village, the fear of facing that dreadful monster… and Noko’s bloodied
body, her lifeless gaze etched into his mind. Willpower alone was enough to
allow him to move his body. Yori’s sudden movement startled the girl next to
him. She winced at the intensity of his grasp and the sheer volume of pain in
his eyes.
The girl
averted her eyes, training them on the glass of water she had ready for him on
the bedside table next to them. She was no longer able to look into his eyes knowing
what had happened. Her face went solemn and her shoulders drooped. Yori
immediately knew this was going to be bad news. She
spoke carefully, as if to a child, like she was afraid her words would knock
him over. This was not an incorrect assumption. Fearing the worst, Yori put a
hand to his chest to feel his racing heart. The room was blurring again as he
tried to gather himself in order to get back to the Adventurer’s Guild. He
needed to hear what happened, and perhaps they had an answer as to why as well. “Please,
drink this first. You have not had anything to eat or drink since you arrived,
and you need to take care of yourself.” The robed
girl reached for the water and bread next to her and placed the bread on Yori’s
lap, bringing the water towards his face. Embarrassed that she was about to try
and feed him, Yori grabbed the water and took two large gulps and a single
mouthful of bread. She was glad that he was eating but raised her hands to try
and stop Yori from getting up after only one bite. Yori roughly
placed the glass and bread back onto the table, and urged his legs to move,
flinging them over the side of the bed. The girl appreciated his determination
and moved aside, offering her hand to him. Yori did not take her hand at first
as he wanted to stand on his own. He attempted to push himself off of the bed
and faltered, lurching forward and almost hunkering to the floor, his legs
still damaged from the intense sprint of the previous day. The girl reached for
his chest and supported his right side, advising him to put his arm around her.
As she did so, Yori realized his shoulder did not hurt as much anymore. In
fact, nothing hurt much except for his leg muscles at the moment. He would have
to investigate this later and thank this talented healer. The two
walked side by side to the Adventurer’s Guild, which was not far from the Inn
they had set Yori up in to rest. The owner was close friends with the Guild Master
and tended to do him many favours in exchange for his patronage and good word. The
relationship helped both of their businesses. The cold brick beneath Yori’s
feet made walking on his injuries difficult, the ground feeling absurdly hard
compared to the dirt roads and paths back home. Sound echoed off of every
cramped-together building and wall, also very different from the open air of
Oseford. It was almost suffocating how close everything was to each other. The
silver haired girl fussed over Yori the entire way, constantly checking him
over for more wounds in case she missed any. She was also continuously
apologizing to the people around her as she kept bumping into them from lack of
awareness, her focus purely on Yori. Everyone was very polite to her as they
all smiled and nodded their head in a bow towards her when addressing her or
she addressed them. She
seems to know an amazing amount of people for this being such a big city.
Yori was
reminded of how everyone knew each other in Oseford, as well, but here in
Esaron there were thousands of people. A pang of memory flashed through his
mind and he continued the rest of the way solemnly looking at the ground in
front of him. The ground beneath them appeared to be well-travelled, yet
well-kempt, cobblestone. It was mostly grey, with the occasional beige stone
scattered about to break up the monotonous colour. A soft voice interrupted his
quiet distraction. “We’re
here.” He felt
a tug on his sleeve and looked up to find the building he had dashed into
before. The large wood doors loomed in front of him, standing in the way of answers
he needed. He could hear the patrons inside, even through the door. They
sounded rowdy and joyful, shouting and laughing at one another’s stories. Yori
let go of the girl, wanting to support himself into the building. More
adrenaline helped carry him as his heart started racing. Him and his aid each
placed a hand on the heavy door and pushed. A bell rang above their heads as
the door swung open, and back closed behind them. Yori did not remember there
being a bell, but then again, his senses were running on pure determination when
he was last here. He took a moment to glance down at the spot where he collapsed
in front of the reception desk. The blood had been thoroughly cleaned from the
area. Not a spec was left. As they approached the desk he noticed the same girl
as before that he had pleaded with to save his friends, her pointed ears once
again holding back her light blonde hair. Like
before, she was smiling until she saw Yori. The room went deathly silent, as if
everyone was holding their breath. A chill ran down Yori’s spine as he sensed
the tension in the people around him, seated at tables with beverages in their
hands. His heart was in his throat at the anticipation of what news he was
about to hear. A grim thought crossed his mind. These
people seem to recognize me. If everyone is treating me like this, just how
many people did they not manage to save? Please let Naoki be alive! The
woman behind the desk bowed her head in acknowledgement at the healer beside Yori,
and then to him. “Hello
again sir-“
A
saddened smile flashed on the woman’s face. “Hello
again, Yori. The Guild Master has asked me to bring you to him when you arrived.
Please follow me. Thank you for escorting young Yori here, Lady Kana.” Lady
Kana smiled and nodded, taking a step back and bowing slightly to the other
woman. “I will
wait here as you speak to the Guild Master.” The
receptionist stepped away from the desk and walked to Yori’s left, gesturing
for him to follow. She had a slender build, complimented by her knee-length navy
blue skirt, white leggings, and brown and white waist-length blouse. The top of
the blouse was ruffled against her slight bosom. Yori was
bewildered. The
Guild Master wants to see me personally? Why didn’t he just send a messenger?
Guild Masters are the strongest of all the adventurers. What does someone so
important want with a useless farm boy like me? There
were countless stories told of grandeur and bravery about the fabled Guild
Masters. Yori had heard them plenty of times from the village elders and his
mother. He had been told that they were so powerful that they could fend off an
entire army of soldiers with ease single-handedly. There were tales of them defeating
gargantuan monsters that seemed they could only exist in fairy tales. These
people have completed feats so grand that the country put them in charge of
developing the next generation of adventurers. Adventurers were people that
would go explore the world, to accept quests that would mean certain doom to a
regular citizen, and to protect those that needed protecting. All of them had
been blessed with a mark other than that of the Villager, the weakest and most
common of all the blessings. The
young girl with pointed ears led Yori down a short corridor behind the front
desk, turning left at the end of the hallway. Her feet made very little noise
on the wood plank floor compared to Yori’s. Her posture was tall and confident,
and she carried herself very gracefully. She stopped in front of the first door
on their right. Yori noticed that this door was ornately carved with twisting
ridges and leaves, and polished with a glossy varnish. It stood out amongst the
other doors, which were simple and plain, all of them made with the same
chestnut coloured wood. The receptionist raised her right hand and knocked
lightly on the door with the back of her knuckles. Afterwards, she crossed her
arms behind her back and awaited a response. “Yes,
come in, come in Elina.” The
answer was almost immediate. A gentle but gravelly voice echoed from behind the
door, muffled by the wooden obstacle. Yori clenched his fist in anticipation, a
bead of sweat formed on his brow as he anxiously waited for Elina to open the
door. He was about to meet a legend. Elina
gracefully turned the copper knob and pushed the door open wide. She stepped
aside and looked Yori in the eyes. “Go
ahead, sir.” Yori
gingerly stepped forward into the Guild Master’s office, as if the floor
beneath him might crumble at any moment. The bead of sweat rolled down his face
to his chin. He felt like an ant looking at a bear. A very large man sat behind
an ornate wooden desk, the window behind him framing his muscular upper body. Long
grey hair adorned the man’s head, resting on his massive shoulders. He had a jovial,
yet thoughtful expression, wrinkles creasing most of his face as he smiled. This
hulking man made his friend Naoki look like a scrawny little child. Scars
covered every part of his body that Yori could see, evidence of the many
battles against monsters from folk tales the Guild Master had participated in.
There was one particularly deep, dark one on his left shoulder that peaked out
from under his brown tunic that caught Yori’s eye. For being of such high
stature the man was dressed simply. His tunic was bound with a leather belt at
his waist. Burgundy trousers poked out from beneath his plain shirt. Kana
walked up beside Yori, her arms still crossed behind her back out of respect
for the hulking man in front of them. She bowed her head as she greeted the
Guild Master. “Good
morning, Guild Master. This is the boy you wanted to see, the one that sent in
the request for our guild to save Oseford.” “Yes, I
know who he is. I can tell by the misery on his face, and the exhaustion in his
eyes. Come here young man. Please, have a seat.” His
voice was shockingly gentle for a man so intimidating. The Guild Master stood,
pushing his desk chair with the back of his legs and leaned on the table in
front of him. He gestured towards a maroon couch on the left-hand side of the
room as he sat in the small wooden chair opposite the couch. Yori thought for a
moment the chair would buckle under his weight, but it creaked and held strong.
As Yori sat on the suede couch, the Guild Master leaned forward and placed his
elbows on his knees, his hands in a loose fist in front of him. He looked Yori
in the eyes with his own intense sky-blue ones. “After
you bravely notified us of the attack on Oseford five days ago, we sent a party
of our finest adventurers immediately to handle the situation.”
“Dear
boy, we’re afraid that nothing remained. The village, every single building,
had been burned to the ground. There were no bodies to be found either. Perhaps
the others also fled like you did-“ Yori
launched his face forward, leaning heavily and clenched the edge of the couch.
This could not be true. It made no sense. The world around Yori began to spin
and get even more confused than it already was. “What
about my parents?! My sister! Where are their bodies?!” He
shouted in frustration at the man’s optimistic words. It was as if he was
trying to tell Yori that the worst day of his life had never happened, like he
had imagined or dreamed it all. Forgetting the difference in the strength between
him and the Guild Master, one of the strongest people in the land, he lashed
out with misdirected anger. “This is
impossible! I saw them kill my family, I saw them kill others, too! Bodies
don’t just disappear!” “As I
said, maybe the rest escaped as well? There are many scavengers in the area,
they could have taken the bodies to their dens.” The
Guild Master attempted to keep the energy in the room calm. The elderly man held
the boy’s gaze without wavering as he spoke, but his words were quickly shot
down as Yori relived that night for him. The young man described how he was
woken abruptly by the disturbances and smoke wafting into his room, saw people
and houses burning outside, and ran to aid his family, only to see them
slaughtered right in front of him. He also relayed his failure to save his
sister, the subsequent miraculous victory over the green-skinned creature and finally
his marathon run to the city for help. Tears welled in the old man’s eyes as
Yori told his story, a man that had survived countless battles and had lost
many friends and family of his own. Yori’s eyes also overflowed as he could not
contain his overwhelming emotions. Anger, fear, frustration, confusion,
everything welling up and weighing on his mind. “I’m… so
sorry… that this happened to you and your loved ones.” The
Guild Master was barely able to keep his composure himself in order to speak to
the distraught boy. “I
promise on my life, I will find out what happened to your family’s bodies and
your people, and why this tragedy has struck. There must be a reason the
crystal in Oseford failed to keep the creatures out. That barrier should have
been impassible.” His
voice dropped and became more gravelly than before. The Guild Master’s grief
and anger were apparent. Yori could see the man’s hands were clenched tightly
now. A flash of fear crossed Yori’s mind, intimidated by the fury and
destruction he knew this man was capable of.
The
Guild Master rested his hand on Yori’s shoulder, gently clenching the small
boy. The man stood and nodded towards Elina. She stepped forward and stood next
to where Yori was seated on the couch. “If you
would follow me, Yori sir, I will take you to meet the innkeeper. Once you are
settled in, we can go see your new place of work.”
Yori continued
staring the Guild Master, showing no signs of hesitation this time. He was done
being weak and helpless. He wanted to be the one that protected others. He
would learn to be strong enough to never lose anyone ever again. The old man
shook his head deliberately, letting out a sigh.
Yori did
not accept this answer and stood up brusquely, his fists clenched at his sides. “What
are the requirements? I’ll meet them!” The
Guild Master raised an eyebrow at the boy’s determination and crossed his arms
in front of his chest in amusement. The corner of his mouth raised in a smirk. “Well,
you see my boy, you have to have a combat stat above 20-“
“Sir,
that’s not-“ The Guild
Master was taken aback at first by Yori’s determination. He coldly laid out the
truth of why it was impossible, not withholding his amusement at the thought of
this Villager wanting to be an adventurer. Although Elina attempted to
interrupt him a few times, a quick glance at her proved enough to silence her
beratements.
“I guess
you’re right…” © 2022 Bobby |
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Added on March 23, 2022 Last Updated on March 23, 2022 Author |