The road was much longer than anticipated for the twins. They were used to short distances to and from Stornval but the more they walked the less dense the population became. They were expecting a new place to stop every hour or so, but the path they tread on just kept winding through the forest. Twigs cracked beneath their boots as a birds song rang endlessly.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6rDdSZv6qd
As the sound of a river grew louder and louder, a view of a town grew near. Despite having been walking all day, Ressi perked up and sped toward the town, "Is that it? Are we finally at Donatagun?"
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuLUpcqY4K3
A sigh escaped Reldin as he shook his head, "No. This place is way smaller than Donatagun. We've only been walking for a day, anyway. We're only a third of the way there."
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtZEs3XSLD9
Ressi groaned as she slouched, dragging her feet as she walked, "Okay. Where are we, then?"
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXjmctzC4fW
Reldin took a moment to scan the area, "Hm, it looks like Riville to me."
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN64sMzaIke
"You sound doubtful, is something wrong?" Kiran asked, concerned.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBWSZg7sdAB
"Well, generally the people are very active, even at this time of night," Reldin pointed out, "Yet no one is out right now."
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOKYhxgjFSS
"You say 'this time of night' as if it wasn't dusk right now," Ressi said with a laugh.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZZQJR1OFwJ
Reldin shot her a glare as he crossed the bridge into the village. "Oh, hasn't Archibald mentioned he has family here?" Kiran mentioned.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEOxUlJWDrF
"Yes, his sister lives here with her family," Reldin affirmed, looking around. Riville was not a very large town. It reminded the twins of their hometown of Storn Falls with how quaint it was. The houses were small but nice looking and they stood alongside the path to the center of town, which had a dirty statue of a hooded figure with wings protruding out the back.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgiUuePMCxd
"Hey, Reldin, what is that?" Ressi asked, pointing at the statue, "It looks like a laguelle but instead of animal ears and tail it has wings!"
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0IBFlCcOpY
"Technically, that is a laguelle. The laguelle you're used to are beast laguelle, but the statue is that of a bird laguelle, or volnte. Volntes always have wings, though some are more bird-like with beaks, tails, or even have feathers all over their body," Reldin explained.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2DDgoaWcB
"Ooh. Okay, so why is there a statue of one here?" Ressi asked.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqGNqr7HujY
"Read the inscription."
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHrOSPaByww
Ressi obeyed and squinted at the iron plate. The hero of our town. The volnte who held back the Dynis menace. The hero requested to remain anonymous.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD6M3RMPDF8
Ressi frowned in confusion, "Why would a hero that required a statue in remembrance want to remain anonymous?"
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAeEWEnJr28
"There could be many reasons. Perhaps they did not become a hero on purpose, they could have been passing by. It could be they did not want to be known for this action, they could have been on the run and wanted in another kingdom. They probably didn't even know the villagers built this statue in the first place," Reldin answered, not quite succinctly.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2anthZ7Fo9
Ressi raised an eyebrow and opened her mouth to ask yet another question before Kiran interrupted. "So, will we be staying at Archibald's sister's house for the night?"
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkQCuINgdKh
"Might as well," Reldin sighed, "Follow me, I know where it is."
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxrHI5iuFd0
The twins gave each other an excited look. Neither of them had met Archibald's sister, they've only heard stories of his dear little sis. They were very eager to finally see the unknown Ardra Egros.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTBXgR0Nu0y
「◐」
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8H9gk1G7Xg
Reldin lead the twins up a short, cobbled path up to the door of a small home. Not too small, it was actually a bit larger than the other houses around it, but it was much smaller than any house in Stornval. The mage knocked on the door and some shouts were heard within.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW4I0uFSPnb
"Who in the hell could be knocking at this hour?!" A deep, feminine voice called.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNIw12YN7Mc
A softer voice groaned, "Sweety, it's barely after dusk, it's not that late."
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl1EZU24Gok
The first voice continued yelling, "Well with all that's going on, I'm surprised someone's even outside!"
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW3hjGQ2bTc
The second voice calmly shushed the first, "So will you get the door or will I have to?"
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIRLjXXx2zi
"I'll do it, I'll do it!" There was some muffled shuffling before the owner of the first voice shouted, "What is it?!" It took her a moment. She blinked, her eyes widened, "Rel-Rel is that you?!"
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlIOLGdNIdD
Reldin groaned, "Please don't call me that."
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTrashBmZxq
The large woman laughed and pulled the mage into a bear hug, "It's been a long time, my good friend!"
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfKuYs7KHYK
"Reldin, is this Archibald's sister?" Kiran asked, completely unfazed by the scene.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsQjc8fmaq6
The woman dropped Reldin, who was used to such affection due to being so close to Archibald, and turned her attention to Kiran. "Sure am! Ardra Egros, at your service," she gave a mock bow before pulling the owner of the second voice out the doorway, "And this is my hubby, Ikati!"
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBL3LKPZknq
The pale laguelle grimaced at the sudden exposure to people, "Please keep it down honey, you're going to disturb the whole town at this rate." He swished his jet black tail back and forth angrily, his cat ears pointed.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpY4OSnsfsb
Ardra just laughed, "That's the grumpy love of my life for ya! Come on in, you three, I have some leftovers you can have!" She turned around and walked in her home, leading her husband with an arm around his waist.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5wFRHQNtPW
The company followed Ardra in, Kiran closing the door behind them. The inside was quaint, to their left was the dining room and kitchen area that had a simple set up; some cabinets, a counter, an open hearth, and a set of a table and five chairs. To their right was a bedroom area with a bed for two and three roll-up beds. On those beds were three children that looked around Martina's age.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5RwGoygOVX
"Hey, kids, we got visitors!" Ardra announced. The three stood up curiously. "Alright I got three of these little snots, tallest one's Haylei, she's fourteen. Next to her is her brother Bailey, he's twelve. And the small one is Arale, who is nine."
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzauATqWVR8
Ressi took a moment to process the information given. Haylei, clad in pink, was pale and had dark cat ears and a tail that matched her father's. Bailey, who was wearing blue pajamas, had fair skin and had blonde cat ears and a tail. The smallest, Arale, wore green and looked the most like their mother, with dark skin and blonde hair and the only child that didn't seem to be a laguelle. Ressi let out a small chuckle as she realized all of their names rhymed.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5tmuUsmKYT
Ardra continued the introductions, "Kids, this is your uncle Reldin, as I'm sure you remember, and… oh dear, how rude of me! What are your names?"
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtUtH7DFhc
"Ressi Victor, Official Guardian of Princess Martina Garamond!" Ressi said, loud and proud.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUKAgjSYeh
Kiran gave a somewhat sheepish wave, "And I'm Kiran."
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMa783C4uNI
"Ooh! So you're the twins! Archie has told me so much about you!" Ardra gushed, "Though I've gotta say, I thought you two would look more alike, being twins and all."
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzTKy3mo5MQ
They had never really thought about it. They really didn't look alike. Ressi, on one hand, had long blonde hair, light blue eyes, freckles, and her wardrobe was composed almost entirely of red. Kiran, on the other hand, had green hair and matching green eyes and wore almost entirely green. They looked complete opposite despite their builds being similar. "Well, I mean, we're the same height!" Ressi mentioned.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0AnX3JA6Lc
Kiran scoffed, "That's not true, I'm at least an inch taller than you."
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKShpWz0SKA
Ressi was about to bark back before Ardra simply laughed, "Well, you two certainly act like twins. C'mon, let's get you guys some dinner."
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdz0JeiWSHE
「◐」
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJm2NpqxcMH
Ardra served the company some stew and sat down at the table herself. "Well, come on, dig in!"
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf5PeG6WCgq
The twins gladly complied but Reldin simply asked, "So, why is everything so quiet around here?"
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCkV64XWGh5
Ardra dropped her smile and sighed, "You really know how to get straight to the point." She looked over at her children. Arale was fast asleep already and Bailey was on the verge of sleep as well. Haylei, however, was silently curious of the guests and stared at them from the comfort of her bedroll. Ardra looked back at Reldin, "Well, you wouldn't believe it if you didn't see it."
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡigwoswqdov
"See what?" Ressi asked, face stuffed with stew. Kiran kicked her leg to subtly remind her of her manners.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ71XNQKCoH9
"The robot," Ardra said. "Usually they're friendly folk, scary, though, all armed to the teeth but they're friendly. This guy, this guy's different."
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq5ZZZqpxIW
Reldin seemed interested, "Different how?"
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3axusKWBva
"Well, this guy is huge, for one thing. Bigger than the centurions that guard Fort Dynis, y'know?" Ardra looked astonished as if she was just looking at it, "I couldn't even see the top of him!"
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGQo1Iymtsr
"That's hyperbole," Ikati said, face resting in his palm. He's clearly heard this before and was bored of it, "I could see his head clearly."
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhGz96hlDJU
Ardra scoffed, "Yeah, whatever. Your cat eyes see everything."
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkpkJK8gbpW
"That's racist, honey," Ikati replied, unfazed.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Evo8abF6D
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Anyway," Ardra continued, "The guy was massive and he used that height to his advantage! He was all yelling and such like, 'Submit to the rule of Korzion or else!' or whatever. That, of course, got everyone all freaked out. They stay all locked up in their homes and whenever the big guy comes back they cower in fear as he causes a ruckus!"
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ00OPFexlKI
"We're doing the same thing, Ardie," Ikati interjected.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmcHLaocNrd
"It's for the children, 'Kati! We've gotta keep the children safe!" Ardra shouted, "Besides, it's not like he has many weaknesses, y'know, being a robot and all."
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHVIO4cnTON
"I told you there's a guy on his shoulder."
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP3kTdAWM0X
"And I've told you you're crazy! If there's a guy, what does he look like?"
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT0XZUxO0a2
"Well, he has light blue skin and long, dark blue hair and wears a hunter outfit. He looks vaguely robotic. He also has a quiver full of arrows but I haven't seen his bow yet," Ikati described.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsyCc0ogjS6
"Well that just doesn't make sense, why would he have arrows but no bow?" Ardra challenged.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYrjBi1EjGp
Ikati shrugged, "I don't know maybe he just hasn't brought it yet."
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4wlB9sNfWv
"And what do you propose his name to be?" Ardra demanded.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNS2Bwet354
"That's an unfair question but I think I heard the big guy say 'oh.. sure…' oh, right! 'Oshura!'" Ikati figured.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcs5XaVdSrq
Ardra just shook her head, "Anyway, we got off track. That's why it's so damned quiet here."
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0JvAngSsGx
Reldin processed all the information just given to him, "Well, the three of us have plenty of battle experience. Why don't we just take down this robot guy, or guys, when they come back?"
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiSvlkruQdV
"Oh could you?" Ardra looked delightfully surprised, "That would be great! We couldn't get the knights yet from Stornval since it's such a recent problem but if you three could deal with it, we would really appreciate it."
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWQ2aT01q2h
Reldin simply shrugged, "It doesn't sound too difficult. The twins and I will be ready first thing tomorrow morning."
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPUp18dmoYb
Ressi gave them two thumbs up, "Yep! You can count on us!" Kiran nodded in agreement.
599Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcsgQf1ZAis
"Then it's settled!" Ardra stood up from her seat, "Here, let me find you some bedrolls, you'll need your beauty sleep now, y'hear?"
ns18.221.40.152da2
