Books of Chrona

Volume 10: Adventure Awaits in Every Page

"Where are… the stairs… going down…?" Kryllo was scratching his head, then looked around. All he saw were trees and mountains.

"It seems that we're at the other side of the fortress." Jaegar was also surveying the surrounding area.

Brittanya was facing the exit they just came out of. "We didn't see a way down, so where is Leonze?"

"Should we… go back… inside…?"

"No, let's just circle around outside and go back to the entrance." Jaegar pointed at the path they should take. "He might have been able to get out on his own. Waiting at the place we entered would be the next logical move for him."

"Oh, just like when my mother told me to wait at the town square fountain if I ever get separated from her when we go out." Brittanya's eyes widened when she reminisced her past.

"That's the common thing parents say to their kids. Well, according to what I heard. Not that I would know anything about parents." Jaegar stared at the distance.

"Kids? She only just told me that last time I was home."

"And when was that?"

"A few weeks ago?" She smiled at Jaegar.

"You still get lost at your age?"

"Let's go back to the entrance!" She turned her back at Jaegar.

"Don't let… her lead…" Kryllo grabbed Jaegar's shoulder. "We'll get… lost…"

---

"He's not here. What should we do next?" Brittanya looked at Jaegar.

"I checked the hole where he dropped from. I couldn't see the bottom, which means he's pretty far down there." Jaegar crossed his arms and closed his eyes. He went silent for a while, then opened his eyes again. "Let's go back to Dosael and request for a search party from the Knight's Order."

"Why don't… we just look… for him…?"

"This fortress is still under their jurisdiction. It's better we let them handle the search." Jaegar put his right hand under his chin, pondering about something. "Think about it. What if we see a dead body? We might get accused of being the ones killing him. If we let them search and they find his dead body, they wouldn't suspect us. Because we did ask them to search for him. It wouldn't make sense for the killers to ask someone else to look for the person they killed."

"Is Leonze dead?!" Brittanya was shocked.

"I'm saying hypothetically!"

"Oh, I see. From what you said, I thought it was real." She was relieved to hear that Leonze wasn't dead yet. "It just seemed like you have experience in killing and hiding it." Her tone was playfully teasing him.

"Well…" Jaegar averted her gaze.

Kryllo noticed the somewhat painful expression on Jaegar's face. "Let's… go then…"

"Okay, we better hurry." Jaegar had a stern look, trying to hide the feelings that was evoked by memories relating to his past.

---

The sun was still up when they were near Dosael. As they became closer to the city gates, they saw someone standing beside the entrance.

"What took you guys so long?" It was Leonze.

Brittanya hugged him. "I thought you were dead!"

He blushed while being hugged tightly. Then, after a while, Leonze was starting to grimace and turn red. "I can't… breathe…"

"Oh, sorry." She let go.

"So, how did you get out?" Jaegar was in disbelief, yet relieved at the same time. "We tried to look for a way down, but didn't see anything that would lead us there."

Leonze took a few breaths before answering. "After I fell down to a large room, I just followed a pathway that led me outside to a lake area."

"A lake, huh? We didn’t see anything like that from where we got out. It must have been at a different exit."

"Anyway, I waited here for you guys to tell you that I didn't find anything resembling a Legendary Artifact." Leonze then smiled at them. "But more importantly, you guys didn't protect me from anything, so the request is void. I guess I don't have to pay." He went inside the city gates. "See you guys around!" He was waving his hand as his back was turned from them.

"That… that thief!" Jaegar clenched his fists. "Give us our money!"

"He has a point, though." Brittanya crossed her arms.

"I knew that was a scam!" Jaegar then saw Kryllo standing while his eyes were closed. "And you! Stop sleeping while standing!"

"We might as well learn how to do that. We don’t have money to stay at the inn." Brittanya let out a deep sigh.

---

From the cliffs that overlook the city of Dosael, the purple haired woman and her companions were observing from afar the party as they head back to the city.

"Are you sure it's wise to let them go?" A cloaked person standing next to the woman asked her with uncertainty.

Another cloaked person standing on the other side of the woman answered the question. "We didn't find what our benefactor asked us to look for. Though, the details were vague so it's not surprising not to find it. I think those guys are just some random treasure hunters or something."

The woman finally spoke. "One thing is for sure. They are no ordinary party. Especially that knight…"

"Do you know that guy, boss?"

"I'm… not sure. But, if it was someone I knew, he would definitely not become a knight."

---

The party decided to take a few more monster hunting requests just to earn enough to stay at the inn and also eat. They were able to spend the night indoors. The following day, they were back at the tavern and took some more requests.

While they were heading to the gates to exit the city, a knight suddenly called out to them. "Hey, you're that Swordless Knight they're talking about, right?"

"Swordless Knight?" Jaegar looked at the knight, with his eyebrow raised.

"Wow, you got a cool nickname now!" Brittanya clasped her hands together in excitement. "And it fits you since you don't carry a sword with you."

"It's like something you'd name me, if you had the chance."

Brittanya whistled and looked away.

"So, anyway, our Captain here in Dosael wanted to meet you and your party." The knight continued on. "It's regarding a certain request, I think."

"Does it… involve money…?" Kryllo interjected in the conversation.

"Yeah, I think so. The requestor is willing to pay. You can hear the details from the captain."

"We'll go…"

"Hey, they were looking for me, remember? I think I get to say if we want to go or not."

Brittanya pointed her finger at Jaegar. "If we leave it to you, you might choose another scam that doesn't pay."

---

The Knight's Order branch of Dosael was located in the center of the city. It has a big floor area with three floors, including a barracks for the Knights assigned in the city. They met the captain inside a room in the first floor. The captain was seating behind the desk, which was at the end of the room. The party just stood in front of him during their meeting.

"So, you're this Swordless Knight they've been talking about." The captain was a middle-aged man, with brown hair and a full beard.

"When did I become known as this 'Swordless Knight', anyway?"

"What are you complaining for?" Brittanya stuck her elbow to Jaegar's ribs. "You're famous!"

The captain cleared his throat loudly. "You see, when I was at the tavern last night, I was talking to the barkeep and told him I'm having trouble getting anyone to accept a bodyguard request. Then he remembered that a party accepted a bodyguard request just days before. The barkeep then added that the mage of the party referred to their leader as the 'Swordless Knight', to which the rewards of the requests they finish are assigned to. That's how we knew who to look for. A knight who is not carrying a sword."

"I knew it." Jaegar made a side glance towards Brittanya.

"So, how much are we talking about here?" She ignored the glance.

"You haven't heard about the request yet. Does this mean you accept it?" The captain was scratching his beard while being unsure if this was a good thing to happen.

"Oh, then let's hear about it first." Brittanya smiled at the captain.

"Well, the requestor is a merchant girl. She was asked to bring her products to the town south of here, called Zokahelm. The thing is, bandits have been reported to be spotted around that area. Most adventurers don’t want to deal with those types of thugs, even those from the Warriors Guild. Saying it's our job or something." The captain was shaking his head. "Oh, and the reward is 5 pieces of gold coins."

"Sorry, but we decline." Jaegar immediately spoke out.

"Why are we declining?" Brittanya protested. "Think of the things we can buy from that money! We can sleep at the inn! Eat food!"

"And buy… my new… bow…" Kryllo made sure to be heard.

"Yes, buy Kryllo's bow, too. Though that would be, like, the last priority. But still, we can use the gold." She continued her protest.

"But it doesn't have anything to do with monsters." Jaegar started picking his ear to further show his disinterest.

"Can you at least hear out the requestor?" The captain bowed his head and pleaded out of a sense of desperation.

---

The three of them went to the location the captain told them where they can meet the merchant girl. It was at a house near the edge of the city. There was a small patch of land behind the house where several vegetables and crops were planted. They knocked on the door and waited for it to open.

"Yes, who's there?" A beautiful girl, likely in her early twenties, with long orange hair, and wearing a simple dress with a long skirt, greeted them.

"Now I see why that captain was so desperate to help her." Jaegar whispered to no one in particular.

"Hi, we were sent by the captain of the Knight's Order. It's about your request for bodyguards." Brittanya greeted back.

"Oh, thank goodness someone finally accepted. Please come inside. I will discuss the details."

"Technically, we haven't accept–" Brittanya covered Jaegar's mouth while Kryllo was hugging him from behind to prevent Jaegar from making a fuss.

"Ok, please tell us what the request is about." Brittanya forced a smile while stopping Jaegar from talking.

---

Inside the house, the three of them sat side by side at the dining table, while the girl served them tea. She then sat across the table. "By the way, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Syrenne. As you have seen, we have a little garden behind the house. My products come from the plants we grow here. My parents are away for a business sale, so now I am tending to everything here."

"So, what about the request? Why do you need to go to that town?" Brittanya asked the details after sipping some tea.

"You see, Zokahelm needs a lot of a certain root crop we grow here. They sent a request a few days ago, and it just happens we just harvested some. As you may have heard from the captain, there are bandits spotted in the area near the town."

"If they need this root crop, why don't they come and get it here?" Jaegar interrupted her. "Instead of putting you at risk, they should be the ones to take responsibility for themselves, right?"

"Usually, that is the case. But according to the request that we received, they couldn't spare anyone at the moment, as the town is currently struck with a mysterious illness." Syrenne was holding her hands together as her voice started shaking. "They didn't include any details, which is why I want to make sure my root crops reach them safely…"

"The illness… could be… caused by… a monster…" Kryllo offered his opinion.

Jaegar stood up. "What are we waiting for? Let's go to Zokahelm."

Brittanya and Kryllo looked at each other, with a grin on their faces.