The Saga of Eden

Chapter 1, part 8

“...And that’s how we can kill the majority of their forces within a short amount of time. It requires a bit of luck and correct timing from each of you, but if we pull it off, we have a chance to capture Narila then and there, else we might need to pull back and continue the assault the next day.” Astraka explains his plan in great detail to the other 4 members who are decades younger than him. 

It is now nighttime, and Lela has been sleeping halfway through while having dinner in the first half. Nara is fully distracted and has been doodling pictures of cats, barely hearing what Astraka said. Harmani seems to be paying attention but his face spells the word “Confusion”, he simply can’t remember most of the magical spells that Astraka mentioned, the old man tends to have a habit of going off track mid-conversations. Eden is the same as Harmani, but his mind is thinking about something around the last part.

“Do you have a question, Eden?” Astraka asks after he notices Eden wants to say something.

“Not a question, but more of an idea for the latter part of our mission. You have a plan to prevent Narila from escaping with his wings?” The part has been bugging Eden this entire time.

“I do, but this part requires a spell only I can do, so I’d rather not bore you any further with this.”

“I have a plan, and it doesn’t require any of us to cast any spells amid the fight and become sitting ducks.”

“Are you thinking about magic traps?” Astraka is intrigued.

“As a matter of fact, I am.” Eden is a bit surprised that they’re thinking about the same thing. [Perhaps Astraka doesn’t need my input, after all.]

“I guess great minds do think alike, after all!” Astraka chuckles. “But no, I don’t think it will work. Even a Talented Wizard like I am can only set so many traps active at the same time, the most I can do is 4. Not to mention Narila can fly in almost any direction to escape, it’s impossible to narrow it down to just 4 locations.” 

“That was also what I initially thought. But when you mentioned how we’re planning to finish the majority of the demons in the ground floor room, I noticed that we can bait it into the room as well.” Eden explains, pointing at the sketch of the room in question. “If the room indeed looks like this, then we have 6 windows in 3 directions and 2 doors. If we manage to beat it until it has no choice but to escape, and not destroy the room during the fight, then we can lure him into escaping through one of the windows where we lay the trap right behind it.”

“That...” Astraka strokes his beard as he thinks about Eden’s plan. “...can actually work! Much less fool-proof than mine but much safer.” He cheers happily. “You’re a godsend, Eden!”

“Wait, so what was your plan that made this less safe?” Harmani asks.

“...I guess I shouldn’t keep you kids out of the dark any longer.” Astraka sighs and takes out a piece of paper with foreign words in it. 

Eden takes a closer look at the words, then he screams and falls backward out of shock. This wakes Lela up, her tired eyes slowly shift around the room, then focus on the piece of paper Astraka is holding. The words are unknown to her, but its style looks familiar.

“Are those…” Lela tries to remember where she has seen it from, but Eden gives the answer to her. 

“DEMON CHANT! Why do you possess a DEMON CHANT?” Eden screams. He has heard of this terrible language from one of his father’s tales and remembers the terrible costs await those who use it.

“Be quiet before you get us all into trouble. It’s not mine!” Astraka quickly hushes Eden. 

Ah, demon chant. It has been a long time since I saw one. The curse text that can allow the chanter to control a demon to do your biddings. But there’s a heavy price, oh a heavy price indeed. Heavy price if you succeed, and heavier price if you manage to pronounce even one syllable wrong. The last time I saw it, the guy used the chant, failed to control the demon, and was killed in one of the most horrible ways I’ve ever seen by the demon he was trying to control- pretty brutal stuff.

“I kept this after destroying a demon-worshipping cult years ago. See this part right here?” Astraka points toward the sixth line from the top in the text. “I translated it, and this line can prevent Narila from using its wings if I chant it right.”

“Out of the question!” This time Lela is the one to shout. “Best case scenario, we win but you will die after half a year. Worst case scenario, we got ourselves another high Level demon that we need to kill and one less Wizard.”

“I know! I know!” Astraka raises his hands in resignation. “It was a stupid idea but I was desperate. Now with Eden’s plan, we can try it instead.”

------

The next day, all 5 of them spend the entire morning and afternoon sleeping, only occasionally waking up to eat. Only when night comes that everyone starts leaving Ella towards their target.

“Hey Astraka,” Eden walks over to the member of their group and says. “I have meant to ask, what is it that the 3 of you do? Lela and I travel together to seek fame...” Astraka raises an eyebrow and smirks at this part. “...No! Not that kind of ‘travel together’! We’re just fighters who work together for fame...and coins too, but that’s secondary. Why are the 3 of you together though?”

“Simple, we’re Bounty Hunters.”

[Bounty Hunters?] Eden maintains his calm expression, he feels like knowing about Bounty Hunters is a given, so he can’t just ask Astraka directly and reveal his ignorance.

“Of course, Bounty Hunters. Can you tell me more about what you...h-hunt?” Eden asks while sweating internally. [Come on, Astraka, please explain to me everything about this line of work.]

“We’re one of the best Bounty Hunters in the city,” Astraka says proudly. “We mostly deal with higher-end Wanted humans and monsters, and right now, our current target is Narila, but you know that, of course.” [Heck if I know that! Please don’t think too highly of me!]

“Nara and Harmani are my niece and nephew, I trust them with my life.” Astraka continues.

[Oh no, the conversation is about to end. I need to follow up to get him to explain more.]

“Well...Nara and Harmani just joined you recently, right? What did you do before they joined?” Eden asks, mentally he’s high-fiving himself for coming up with such a good follow-up.

“Keen observation right there, Eden!” Astraka nods happily. “Before becoming a bounty hunter, I was the leader of a pretty famous adventuring team in Ella. Back then, the Adventurer Guild was where the wanted poster in the City Square is today.”

“Yeah, I remember that building.” Eden nods.

“Being an adventurer sucks though.” Lela groans. Astraka glares at her but doesn’t say anything as she continues. “I was one for like, what, a few months? And my earnings after quitting and becoming a mercenary was ten times what I got while being an adventurer.”

“You still haven’t changed a bit after all these years, huh? Well, to each their own I guess.” Astraka shrugs and turns back to Eden. “Back then, we accepted jobs like any other adventuring teams, until the Empress introduced the Conscription Reform 2 years ago that made adventurers like us obsolete.”

[That sounds like important information that I should remember. It’s a shame, though, being an adventurer sounds like something I would love to do.]

“The Reform allowed able-bodied men and women to join the Imperial Army on a massive scale never seen before. People in the army were regularly assigned to do tasks that adventurers usually do, like exterminating monsters or keeping the road safe.” Astraka continues. “I have to admit that the Conscription Reform was a Revolutionary system, but ex-adventurers started joining the army and it left me without a team. I also joined for a few months since I didn’t want to retire yet, and the Empress assigned me a very high-ranking position. But due to my age and importance, I was rarely out in the field and fought, and I spent most of my days without anything to do. So I quit. I became a Bounty Hunter like a lot of other adventurers who refused to join the army. I’ve been doing pretty well so far on my own until these kids thought that they were ready and joined me.” Astraka chuckles and tilts his head over to his two relatives. 

Eden looks at them, then looks back at the eldest member of the team and raises an eyebrow. Astraka can already guess what he’s thinking about.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Astraka protests halfheartedly. “I told Harmani to join the army and Nara to continue working at the Cathedral, where they would be safer, but they insisted upon joining me. If anything, you should convince them instead, heh.”

“I can’t let poor old Uncle Ast all by himself and sleep soundly at night.” Harmani quips. Eden smiles at his joke but his mind begins thinking again.

[It’s good to know about those three’s relationship, so if I can convince Astraka to join me, the rest would likely stay as well. Then it only leaves one thing left.]

“It’s great to see you have a great bond between family!” Eden cheerfully comments. “I guess it means you must know each other’s capabilities well. I understood my role in your plan to catch Narila, but I haven’t understood the others’ roles yet. I would really appreciate it if you guys can tell me about your skills so that we can work more cohesively.” [Did I...did I say it right?]