"W-w-wait dragons?" Camilla was taken aback at this sudden question, unsure how to answer. Her family wasn't big on studying history.
Aurora soon interrupted her thoughts as she replied, "You mean the Eastern Dragon clans? From the little my parents taught me of our history there used to be four main clans. However I only remember a bit of two of them."
Camilla was surprised at how much her friend had paid attention in her lessons, despite her attitude of hating them.
Aurora continued after a brief nod from Amy. "The Kel'the that tended to hide away in their caves and avoided worldly affairs, and the Restengo who tended to the cycle of nature and were closely intertwined with Life and Death."
Amy nodded, "Very good. It seems you were taught well. Now to add on to your knowledge the other two clans. The first is called Hultain, they worked as the keepers of the records of the world. And the last one was called Qer'yorn, this clan, although small, was responsible for resetting the world once a certain amount of time passed."
Amy stood up and walked over to a small painting that contained three people, his shoulders visibly sagged and part of a frown could be seen from the side of his face. The painting drew the attention of the girls however they couldn't make out who was in it from where they were seated.
After a few moments passed Amy continued his small lesson, "However, they have not been seen in millennia. Some say they all died off, while others say that they are simply in hibernation."
"What about the other tribes? What happened to them?" Camilla became intrigued by this topic.
Amy made his way back to his seat. "They disappeared as well. No dragons have been seen in almost 400 years. All we have of them are scattered records."
Aurora was deep in thought as she tried to recall her lessons on history. GAH! Why didn't I pay more attention back then! She gave up after a few minutes of thinking as the door creaked open.
The maid walked in pushing a cart full of different types of crackers, cookies, cakes, and various other treats.
"Ah perfect timing as always, thank you Sarah." Amy motioned for her to place the food on the table.
Sarah bowed slightly before moving everything to the table. "My Lord, I simply did my duty. Nothing more." She began pouring tea for the trio. Afterwards she gave another bow before exiting the room.
Amy mixed his tea with his spoon before picking up his cup and taking a sip. The two girls repeated his action and each grabbed a slice of cake. After everyone had their fill of the refreshments Amy rang a bell that was on the table. Sarah returned to the room and began gathering all the dishes.
Once she was gone they resumed their conversation. "Now that we have shared our knowledge about the dragons let me ask you about the raid on your city again." Amy needed to find out all he could to better prepare to defend his people.
Camilla almost let out a sigh before it caught it in her throat, her eyes widened in realization. Wait, could they be after the statues? But why? What purpose could they serve to random bandits? None of it made any sense to her. "You don't think they were after the statues do you?"
Amy's eyes narrowed, "thats what i believe yes. Now how exactly did they go about attacking your town?"
Camilla's face took on a serious expression. "I only have vague guesses so don't take my words at face value. I saw three trolls, 5 drakes, and a small army of mist spiders and acid lizards."
"A monster horde? How did bandits manage to control it?" Amy's eyebrow raised as he considered these new details.
"I have strong guesses that they had a beast tamer. When I went to search for a weapon there was a man wrapped in a cloak with a wooden staff being guarded by about 15 others."
"A beast tamer huh?" he stroked his chin while he thought. "Perhaps we need to consider these aren't actually bandits then."
Aurora interjected. "What do you mean they weren't bandits? Who else would attack us?"
Camilla came to a conclusion at the same moment that Amy answered. "Mercenaries."
"Mercenaries." Amy nodded his head. "I see you connected the dots as I did. Now the only issue is who they are and who hired them. There are too many unknowns here to grasp the full picture."
"Is there anything else you want to know about sir?"
"No. No. This info is good enough for now. Are there any questions you two have for me? If not then we can call it an end to our little discussion. I imagine you two must be tired after your journey here."
Aurora stood up and walked to the painting from earlier. "Could you tell us a bit about our parents back then?"
Amy expressed a gentle smile. "Of course dear, it was nearly 50 years ago. We met during a group exploration of a labyrinth that was discovered near a small unnamed village. After the exploration was over we began taking on jobs together frequently and quickly rose in rank."
He made several motions with his hands while he spoke. "After 10 long years together we finally made Diamond rank, however we soon disbanded after Aurora's father came into the picture. Once she ended up pregnant they moved back to elven territory and I haven't heard from them since."
Aurora's ears drooped a bit at the idea that her parents abandoned their friend. "What about Camilla's parents?"
"Well i cant say much about her mother as i only met her once, her father was a great knight." He turned his attention to Camilla. "I heard he even became a renowned sword instructor after he retired."
Camilla lips formed a thin line as the edges curled upwards. "Yes sir he did. Though I'm surprised you have heard about it."
"How could I have not heard, with how often he boasted about it?" He let out a hearty chuckle. "Anyway that concludes my short story of our past together."
Both girls stood up and gave him a polite bow. "Thank you for allowing us this chance to speak with you." Aurora had a bright smile that spread from ear to ear.
"The pleasure was all mine, you two. Now before you go I have two small gifts for you, however one will have to wait for three days. Once you get settled in at an inn please check in to the Adventurer's Guild. I'll leave a notice there for you."
He moved over to a stand and opened up a drawer, pulling out an intricately decorated silver box. "This was left to me by your parents, not sure why exactly, but they said it would be necessary for the future."
Aurora stepped forward and accepted the box with another bow. "Well then Lord Amy, we shall take our leave."
Camilla mirrored her actions before the duo soon left the estate. After he returned to his office, Amy sat back in a chair and looked off into the distance. "It seems your prediction was correct, Sarina. The future indeed looks bleak."
***
The duo of girls walked through the wide streets following a rough map a butler from city hall had given them. At some point Aurora had interlocked her fingers in with Camilla's. The squire, though a tiny bit uncomfortable with doing this in public, tolerated it. During their journey they passed several restaurants and cute little shops selling odds and ends.
Aurora made mental notes about where might be a great place to start their date. Would she prefer to start with dinner or should we start with a walk? As she was pondering these things Camilla put her arm around her shoulder pulling her back from her thoughts.
"What do you think about that inn Aurora? It seems well kept but not too fancy and expensive."
Aurora batted her eyelids at her for a moment, her face turning smug. "That works for me, my dear Camilla." She quickened her steps towards the door causing her to move to catch up with the elf.
They entered the building and walked towards the counter. The interior of the building was modestly decorated with a few paintings and a couple plants spread around. A fireplace with some seats nearby was situated to the left of the door in the common area.Large candle lights were scattered around the main floor and a few trophy heads sat mounted on the walls. The wood walls were polished to a dark brown look. Aurora approached the front desk and got the attention of the receptionist.
"Hi, how can I help you young lady?"
"We need one room please."
"Alright one moment while I check the logs." The receptionist flipped through pages of a book. "Ah! Here we go. We have a one bed room left available. Are you looking to stay for the night or an extended amount of time?"
"For one month please. We will be paying in full upfront."
"Alright, that will be 15 gold for the month."
She reached into her satchel bag and grabbed her coin purse. After she handed over the gold and got the key to the room they headed upstairs.
As soon as they closed the door to their room Aurora collapsed on the bed. She thought about not changing out of her clothes and into her nightgown until Camilla scolded her.
She was forced to go freshen up before bed much to her dismay. However once she was done she walked in to see Camilla setting up to sleep on the floor. She ran over, a pout adorning her face, and grabbed her friend.
"No! You are sleeping in this bed with me tonight!"
Camilla struggled a bit trying to reject her friend's suggestion. "Aurora, it's fine! I can just sleep on the floor. I'll be okay!"
Aurora simply pulled her onto the bed next to her, trapped her with her arms before pulling the covers over them. "No arguments! Now let's get some sleep." She closed her eyes and slowly relaxed her hold on Camilla, however her arms remained a cage around her.
Camilla let out a sigh before just accepting her situation as she knew how Aurora would act if she didn't. "Fine, but only for tonight. Tomorrow I'll sleep on the floor." She nodded off to sleep after much difficulty as she hugged her companion.