Chapter 5: His First Mission
2712 Words
“Okay, Arth from Frostwood! Show me what you’ve got!” Robert told Arth.
It was already morning and they were on the snowy ground below their huge tree house.
“Wait… I thought we’re training?!” Arth furrowed his brows in confusion while he was carrying an axe.
Robert laughed loudly after hearing what he said. “Chill, Arth! This is part of your training. You have to learn first how to do all the chores on our guild!” he tapped Arth’s shoulder. “And today, you’re coming with me!”
“So you’re assigned to harvest woods?” Arth asked him.
“Wood harvesting and cooking are my chores while the other members have their own,” Robert shrugged.
“Is that because you came from Frostwood?”
“Kinda’. Let’s go? We’ve gotta back here before noon to cook for the team!” Robert started walking.
Arth sighed and followed him. They were carrying their axes on their hand. Their swords were hanged on the left side of their belt and they also have ropes on the right. It was still early in the morning so fog was almost everywhere and the air is a lot colder.
“So your mission yesterday was-“
“An assassination,” Robert answered. “Our target was an executive that owns a d**g establishment in Casterfall. He drugs victims and t*****e them to death.”
“Wait… but you’re a knight… not an assassin,”
“I know right?!” Robert sighed and shook his head. “It’s because our assassin, Janshai, was sent in another mission yesterday so Lucas tasked me instead!”
“And you managed to pull it off?” Arth asked in disbelief.
“It wasn’t easy though,” Robert chuckled. “His mansion has very tight security!”
I don’t even know if I can do that. Do I also need to be versatile in this guild? Arth sighed.
A few minutes later of walking in the forest, they heard a growl ahead of them.
“That one’s yours, Arth!” Robert shouted as they encountered another high class beast. It was an angry bear and it roared loudly while charging towards them.
Arth drew out his sword and made a stance while pointing the sword to the charging bear. The bear raised its huge and sharp claws and swung it to Arth.
He swiftly dodged the bear’s claws and slashed its belly as he sled through the ground. Arth grunted as he quickly and forcefully pierced the bear’s chest when it turned to him.
He never gave the bear a single chance to attack. The bear opened its mouth letting out a huge roar while blood was already flowing out from its mouth. Arth pulled the sword from its chest and it began to bleed as its huge body fell to the ground.
“Nice agility!” Robert shouted while clapping his hands. “You could become an assassin! You have the talent of eliminating your target as quickly as possible without even giving it the chance to strike.”
Arth removed the cold blood on the blade of his sword. “I told you Robert. I want to become a strong knight, not an assassin.”
Robert smirked and shook his head. “You still don’t get it do you? Our guild executes assassination to our targets. Even when you have a sword, staff, bow and arrows or any kind of weapons, you still need to be versatile and adaptive to any kind of fighting style, hmmm? Even a magic staff can be used for close combat aside from casting spells, get it now?”
Arth stared at him for a moment and then looked down on the ground. Versatility and adaptation, I still have a lot to learn! He slowly nodded his head.
“What about knights, Robert?” he asked him as they continued walking. “Can they become mages too?”
“We knights can only cast a few and limited spells, Arth. But our strength is our physical power. Unlike mages who can cast a ton of powerful magical spells, but they become so vulnerable to harm while casting their spells. You see? Every fighting style still has their strengths and weaknesses. That’s why you can’t just focus on one,” he explained. “Here in our guild, even though each of us has our own fighting style, we still work at our best in learning the other styles to be adaptive.”
“You really know a lot, Robert,” Arth said. “You drastically changed ever since you left the village.”
Robert placed his hands on his hips and chuckled. “Well, I’ve been training with the team for three years already, so I guess you can say that.”
Arth walked towards the dead body of the bear and took the red core from its mouth. “Hey, Robert. What are the uses of these cores?”
Robert suddenly turned to him with furrowed brows. “Huh? You don’t know?! My father hasn’t told you at all?!”
Arth shook his head.
“Wait, where is the purple core you collected from the competition?!”
“The grand mage took it,”
Robert slapped his forehead and rubbed his face using his hands. “You’ve just been fooled, Arth, oh gods.”
“Why? I don’t get it.”
“You’re supposed to keep it, Arth. That core was expensive,” Robert sighed and shook his head. “Cores can be sold at high values. Some are used for experiments and medicine. There are also cores that can somehow give birth to more beasts with the same type using some procedures or rituals, but these cores are only found in legendary class beasts.”
“Like dragons?” Arth asked.
Robert nodded. “It’s for them not to go extinct.”
A few minutes later, they reached the part of the forest where some trees were already cut down. They started harvesting woods and tied them up using their ropes. When they went back to their hide-out, they saw Alice walking out of the door. She was wearing a white cloak and a brown sling bag.
“I won’t be here for lunch,” Alice informed Robert. Then she walked passed them and left.
“Where’s she going?” Arth asked Robert.
“In the capital,”
“For a mission?”
Robert lifted his shoulders as a reply. They went to the kitchen and placed the woods on the side. Suddenly, Arth saw Janshai carrying a dead body of a wild boar and slammed it on the wooden kitchen counter.
“Thanks man!” Robert said while putting on his apron. Janshai didn’t reply and just walked out of the kitchen.
“Is he always like that?” Arth asked.
Robert nodded and chuckled. “That’s his normal attitude.”
Arth’s mouth formed an ‘o’ and then nodded. “So he’s assigned for the food supply?”
“Hunting and fishing mostly…” Robert replied while getting the knife.
“How about Luna and Alice?”
“Alice does the cleaning. Luna is the scout and watches the hideout if some intruders comes in the forest,” Robert explained.
In the afternoon, Arth was chopping the log of woods when Lucas suddenly called out the team. He rushed to the meeting room and realized that all of them are already there except for Alice. Lucas was sitting on the chair at the end of the room while the members were standing and listening to him. Arth went beside Robert and tried to catch up to what was being discussed.
“We received news from Whiteground village that the bandits have repeatedly attacking and stealing their supplies in cargo delivery for weeks,” Lucas continued. “This is a matter that we cannot let go. Luna will go to the village and see the situation.”
Luna nodded. “What if the bandits will attack again, boss?”
“They won’t anymore because you’ll raid their hideout. The messenger gave me the details and location. It’s not that far from Whiteground village,” Lucas replied. “Probably, their leader will be there so you can’t go alone.”
“Let Arth come with her chief!” Robert placed his arms around Arth’s shoulder. “Let him take his first mission.”
Arth furrowed his brows as he turned to Robert.
“I have already thought of that. Arth, can you do it?” Lucas raised an eyebrow at him.
Arth pointed his chest to confirm if the boss was really referring to him. He suddenly heard Janshai’s chuckle.
“Bet he won’t last,” Janshai said as his face was now serious. “First missions have high mortality rate.”
Arth looked down and clenched his fist.
“He’ll be fine,” Luna told Janshai. “High mortality happens if you’re alone.”
Janshai just shrugged and looked away.
“This is a dangerous mission, Arth. You’ll be raiding a hideout full of bandits with only just the two of you. One mistake could be lethal. But don’t worry. Believe in Luna’s skills, she’ll cover you,” Lucas said.
Luna turned to Arth. “You hear that? Trust this master archer here, Arth.”
“I’ll do my best, boss,” Arth replied.
“Very well,” Lucas said. “Luna, Arth, your mission is to end the bandit’s attack and theft on Whiteground village. Kill their leader and show them no mercy. Let none escape. Burn their hideout to the ground but leave the villagers unharmed,” Lucas ordered. “Prepare now, you’ll leave at sunset.”
Luna and Arth nodded. “Yes boss.”
“All right. Meeting adjourned,” Lucas stood up on his chair. “Janshai, come with me.”
Janshai nodded and followed him. Arth went directly to his room and prepared his equipment. He put on his belt with the sword on his left waist and wore his usual blue cloak.
“My first mission in this guild,” Arth whispered as he took a deep breath. “Let’s do our best, Blackwinter,” he held the hilt of his sword.
He went out of his room and walked through the hall towards the door. He saw Luna outside when he was climbing down the circular staircase to the ground.
Her long brown cloak matched perfectly with her tall height. She had a bag of arrows on her back and was holding a golden long bow.
“Is that an enchanted class weapon?” Arth pointed at her bow while admiring its form.
Luna nodded. “I got this from the kingdom of elves in the sacred mountain.”
Arth’s mouth formed an ‘o’ as he nodded slowly. That’s awesome. Chief told me that enchanted class weapons have magical effects.
“How about your sword?” Luna asked him.
“My Blackwinter? Oh, this is just a rare class,” Arth shrugged.
It was already dark when they rode on their horses and started heading towards the village. The Whiteground was located at the south of their hideout.
“You nervous?” Luna asked Arth when he saw his face.
“A little,” he replied and gave a small smile.
“It’s fine. I was also like you when I had my first mission here in this guild. I almost failed but I managed to pull it off,”
“Why did you join the guild?”
Luna stared at him with her green eyes for a moment. “It’s something about my past. My dad was a human and my mother was an elf. And they were both executed because it is forbidden.”
Arth was about to say something but he just kept silent and listened to her.
“Being here in the north, I was already feeling different and like I don’t belong here with the humans. I also couldn’t go back to the elven kingdom because they wouldn’t accept me. I have no pointy ears like them since I’m a half-blood. Only Lucas was the one who accepted and welcomed me in their guild. That’s why I joined them,” Luna explained. “And at that point, I realized that this is where I belong.”
“I’m sorry for what you’ve been through. I know how it feels to have no parents with you,” Arth said.
“It’s okay. I’ve already forgotten about it, now that I have a new family with me,”
“So who raised you when you were still a kid?”
“A northerner like my father, he’s a grand archer in Ice Crown Citadel and he taught me how to use bow and arrows,” Luna smiled as she tried to recall her memories.
“Where is he now?” Arth asked her.
She suddenly looked at him with her brows furrowed. “He already passed away of course. It’s been over a hundred of years!”
“Oh, right!” Arth smiled apologetically while scratching his head. Luna rolled her eyes and shook his head.
They traveled for hours while riding fast on their horses. They reached the entrance of Whiteground village and Arth saw two wooden watch towers at both sides of the entrance. It was just like the ones they had on Frostwood. The guards let the two pass when Luna told them what they’re here for.
“Where’s the village elder?” Luna asked one of the guards. One of them gestured the two to follow him.
Arth looked at the wooden houses as they pass by. It was actually a bigger village than Frostwood. There were also more people and children but Arth noticed their sad expression on their faces. One child was poking his mother while rubbing his tummy to say that he’s hungry. The mother just shook her head and sighed heavily.
“The people here are starving,” Arth whispered to Luna while they were following the guard.
“I know. We’ll hear more details later from their elder,” Luna replied.
As they went to the center of the village, the people on the side of the road where watching Arth and Luna. Some children were also pointing at them while smiling. Arth waved his hand and smiled back. It was already late in the night so the dark road was lighted by the lamps and torches at the side. When they reached the chief’s den, they went inside the big tent.
Arth saw a middle-aged woman talking to a guard inside. Her eyes widened, filled with hope when she saw Arth and Luna entering inside.
“This is the village elder of Whiteground, Eleanor,” the guard told the two.
“Ah, thank the gods,” Eleanor praised as she shook the hands of Luna and Arth.
“What’s the situation?” Luna asked directly.
“It’s bad. The village is already suffering because we don’t have enough supply for weeks. Every delivery of goods and supplies to this village is stolen by those bandits!” Eleanor massaged her right temple. “We don’t even have enough men to defend and fight those thieves.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll handle this,” Luna assured her. “We already know where they’re hiding.”
“Thank goodness, wait, I’ll send some of my men-“
“There’s no need for that,” Luna cut her off. “We’ll burn them down by ourselves.”
Arth looked at Luna with furrowed brows. Really? She’s that confident?
Eleanor raised both of her eyebrows in surprise. Then she kept on glancing at both of them and seemed to be in disbelief that only these two warriors could take out an entire bandit group.
“We’ll send them all to hell,”
“Thank you,” the elder kept on saying. “We’re counting on you, warriors.”
When Luna and Arth went out of the den, they walked towards the west of the village. Ahead was darkness on the snowy plains. Arth followed Luna because she knew where the hideout is.
“Listen carefully, Arth,” Luna told him while they’re walking. “You alone will raid their hideout.”
Arth suddenly turned to her with wide eyes. “What? Me?” he confusingly asked while pointing at his chest.
“Don’t worry, I’ll stay in a distance and cover you to clear your way towards the hideout,” Luna replied calmly. “Your job is to find their leader and cut his head off his body.”
“Woah, woah, wait a sec!” Arth waved both of his hands in front of him. “You’re making it sound so easy,” he sighed.
“I trust you and your skills, Arth. So you have to trust me too,” Luna winked at him.
Oh man! This makes me even more nervous! Arth thought as he shook his head.
About an hour later, they arrived at a tall snowy hill. As they reached the top, they crawled on the snow to avoid being seen. Arth saw about thirty dark tents settled about one kilometer distance from their position at the other side of the hill. The farthest tent was the largest one and it’s probably where their leader is staying. Their hideout was lit by torches and a few bandits could be seen. They were also wearing black masks to cover their nose and mouth.
The cold wind breezing towards the two made Arth feel more nervous. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself down.
“I’ll stay here on top and cover for you,” Luna patted his shoulder and then she drew out her golden bow.
Arth nodded. He slowly stood up. He narrowed his eyes towards the enemies ahead.
Blackwinter, lend me your strength!
- Writer
