"I'm tired boss".
"We've been travelling for 2 weeks straight". Lee cried out as he began to feel restless even upon his horse.
"It's gonna be worth it when we get the 100 gold coins and 30 gemstones... EASY MONEY!!". Aki cheerfully replied Lee, trying to motivate him.
"We're almost there, Look!". Aki screamed out.
A small village was visible, far behind it were large mountains.
"Finally!". Lee shouted as he got tired of the seemingly endless journey.
"So what we do now is look for the governor?". Awia asked Aki.
"Yes and then we climb up whichever one is Dragon Mountain". Aki replied her.
"I've never climbed a mountain before." Awia said out loud with a little bit of panic in her voice.
"Neither have i, just don't think too much about it". Aki said to her with a smile.
The guild descended from the grassy valley, the strong winds blew leaves unto them and into the air from nearby trees.
"Hey kid, can i ask you something?". Merlin said to a young girl taking out water from the tap.
"Morning sir. Ask away". The girl replied him as he drank the water with a large bottle.
"Would you happen to know if your governor is around?". Merlin asked as he got off his Pegasus and pulled her along as he approached the girl.
"Well our governor passed away a few weeks ago". The girl said to the curious Merlin.
"Okay. How about your deputy?". Merlin asked.
"He died a few days ago in a raid on dragon mountain". The girl quickly replied him as she took another drink of water.
The group stared at each other with straight faces.
"Is there anybody we can talk to?". Aki asked the girl as he got off his horse.
"Well the next person you can talk to is our resident knight, Lady Byeol". The girl said to the group.
"Okay can you take us to Lady Byeol?". Merlin asked.
"For five gold coins." The girl said as she took her last drink and rubbed her belly.
"Five gold coins?! That's robbery". Aki yelled out.
"Or you can just look for her yourselves". The girl said as she tied her arms and began to walk away.
"Okay..okay." Aki said hesitantly, as the young girl looked back and caught the gold coins Aki sent flying towards her.
"Thanks". The girl said as she pointed them towards the center of the village.
El Diablo crossed over the small bridge by the lake and got to the centre of the town. The town was largely devastated, injured filled the streets with healers doing their best to save the burnt villagers.
"It took our cattle again, my children are going to starve, Lady Byeol. You know how it is now, in these dangerous times it's everyman for himself". A battered man blurted out as he fell to his knees.
"You know we have tried everything we can Mr Jaeger, we just can't kill the damn beast". The knight said gently as she held the man's shoulders consoling him.
Lady Byeol a knight of the Shīrudo Zhànshi Guild. It's symbol was a large pointed sword which extended beyond the borders of the shield it centered on. It's colors were red and black. She was fair skinned, had long black hair, sharp green eyes and appeared to have lost her left arm and right eye from severe burns. Her left hand was amputated.
"Good afternoon madam, We have journeyed a great distant from the wizard village of Zo, and we have chosen to take upon the mission of killing the said dragon for the agreed fee, of course". Aki said out loud as he approached the knight.
The knight looked at the young guild and turned her head away.
"What can three adventurers do to a grown dragon that an entire village can't?". Lady Byeol replied the young man as she sat upon a wooden box.
"Three?". Aki uttered in confusion.
"They have me". Merlin said to the knight as he approached with his beast.
"I had to get us food for the road". Merlin told his leader.
"Quick thinking". Awia said to Merlin as they shared a smile.
"The Black Knight huh. Yeah you'll get the job done but at what cost?". Lady Byeol replied Merlin as he looked him in the eye.
Merlin looked away.
"Why didn't you contact the knight guilds?". Merlin asked.
"We did but the other village sent a letter saying everything was right as rain." The knight replied as she dug her sword into the ground.
"The other village? What other village". Awia asked.
"You can't see it when you come but if you walk down the lake there's a large river, which you'll cross with the boats and you'll see the other village. We are called The Twin Village. The high concentration of mana in this area must've lured the dragon here, you see our villages are so close yet so different that we are viewed as one". Lady Byeol said to the Guild.
"Did you confront them about the letter?". Lee asked as he cleaned his pistol.
"We did but thanks to our encounters with the dragon we didn't have enough forces to make a statement." the knight said to them.
Aki let out a sigh as he held his waist and tilted his head back.
"Okkayyy… let's go meet the other guys, shall we." Aki said to his guild as they begun to move.
"The greatest mystery of this whole mess, is how the other village is the way it is despite being closer to the mountains". Lady Byeol said to the adventurers as she lighted her cigar and let out some smoke.
"Don't worry, when you see it you'll understand. Good luck and don't worry the old man will get you across." she added.
Aki looked at his hand containing the signed contract from Lady Byeol who was the only available personnel with access to the treasury for contracts, as she was the acting governor. He folded it and gave it to Lee.
"Hold unto that till we get back." He said to the gunslinger.
"Aye boss". Lee said as he put the document in his bag.
Awia prayed for the guild and offered them blessings as the outcome of their mission was unpredictable.
They eventually reached the river bridge by night.
"Welcome fellas."
"It's been a while since i seen new faces". A fair skinned man with long beards in a straw hat, blue jeans overalls and sandals said as he approached the guild from a wooden house, the only house separate from the village. A lantern in his hand and a half eaten fish in the other.
"My name's Albert. I'm the boat man but i also fish". The man said to them as he let out a loud laugh while slapping his knee. His teeth were visible, some appeared to be missing.
"Good evening Albert, my name is Aki. I hope we can get a boat to get across as the bridge appears to be uhmm… faulty". Aki said as he lifted his lantern to reveal the broken bridge.
"Don't worry youngins, i can get you across I been doing this a long long time". Old man Albert said as he washed his hands in a bowl and readied the boat.
"I hope y'all brought your coats cause it's gonna be a long cold night." Albert added as he laughed again.
"Oh and don't worry about your pets here, my grandson junior will take care of em". Albert said to the guild.
Junior, a skinny boy about the age of 12 came out of the house and took the beasts from the adventurers.
"He's real good with horses, you'll see." Albert said with a smile.
The members of El Diablo wore their coats and carried what they could as they entered the boat.
"I'll see you soon girl." Merlin said as he kissed Pearl's head and approached the boat.
The young Junior waved his grandfather goodbye as they began to leave the shore.
"I wonder how tomorrow will be." Aki said to the guild as layed his head.
"Don't think about it too much boss." Merlin said as he lowered his helmet and clenched his sword tightly. His teeth grinded together underneath his helm.
The boat, a small metal piece of gnome engineering based off ancient human design, powered by gemstone and hydropower, it steadily sailed down the river, it's silver color glittering in the moon light as stars filled the sky.