We took a detour on the way back. The Valley Kingdom aided many towns and villages outside its walls.
In between each one were mountainous fields of grass, shifted tectonic plates, and valleys where you could catch sight of interconnected riverbanks.
The sight of it all was too in-depth to describe, but beautiful nonetheless in all its green splendor.
I didn't like driving, so I had Havoc do it as we rode a convertible vehicle rented from the Valley Kingdom before heading to LeHarla for this mission.
Ophelia was in the passenger on her mana-powered communicator, or "comm" as we call it, checking her messages and likes from her social media page. Everything, including this vehicle we rode, was powered by mana. I had a comm myself, but having no mana, I had to rely on others to charge it if it ran out of juice.
I was in the backseat all by myself. My feet up, extended, one leg over the other across the whole backseat. Hands over and behind my head, I leaned back, enjoying the breeze. Unlike the rest of them, I preferred not to be on my comm as much anyway. I only used it to communicate with the crew or to accept certain commissions from the Kingdom; to which the comm had a feature that instantaneously summoned a scroll to you if you were accepted for that mission.
Other than that, I preferred the outdoors. The sky. It's where I felt the most free.
Our vehicle had a hover feature built in, and the route we took had no roads. So it was the best mode of transportation, unless you had an airship or could fly—which none of us could do.
We rode past the riverbank on the other side of the mountains. The air was refreshing, and the waters calm as we drove past. I could see the reflection of the mountains on the other side so clearly.
In the distance, animals and creatures alike could be seen. In this world, a species like what we wore on our backs in the Valley were rare. Wolves, Dragons, etc. If we saw one, it was considered it good luck. If one was killed or died and we witnessed it, we paid our respects in hopes for the Keeper's blessing. Superstition maybe, but it didn't hurt to believe it.
Animals nowadays were mixed: eaglehawks, lyconbears, wolfdogs, lionturtles—the list goes on. Some of those turn into Graded beasts like the one I fought, which was a gorilla mixed with, like, an octopus or something.
Graded beasts were more dangerous and there were often missions to put them down. It was apparently due to the overabundance of mana in the area they were produced, which was why they developed magic abilities as well. It was a phenomenon that was yet to be explained. It apparently didn't stop there, even corpses could come alive from this overabundance. That's what I heard from a friend at least... it was only a rumor...
From a distance, one could see some of these monsters. The bigger they were, the higher the Grade. If they were near the Kingdom, town, or village, there would be missions to exterminate them or lead them away. But if they remained where they were or were not a hindrance, then they could be left alone. We couldn't get rid them all.
I began thinking about the monster that attacked in LeHarla. The monster I fought had been different. Though it wasn't uncommon for monsters to have magic abilities, the fact that this one had Regeneration magic and the fact that I'd never seen a creature like it before was a bit concerning.
"Gorilla... Octopus..." I said to myself.
"That supposed to be a weird craving, Cap?" Havoc asked, the wind ruffling his hair.
"Sounds good!" Ophelia said for some reason.
"You finally pregnant, Ophelia? You guys sharing symptoms? This has to be some kind of sympathy craving, right?"—gagging—"Gorilla sounds awful..."
I had forgotten it was almost that time of day where Havoc was fully awake and loved to hear his own voice.
To any case, my thoughts trailed back. Where had that Grade 3 come from, and what triggered it to attack at LeHarla?
I'd ask the originator of the posting back in the Kingdom, but this was posted anonymously. And I only took it because the reward eterna was the highest of all the missions on the board at the time. Not like we got to keep any of it… But nonetheless…
Maybe it was just a new breed of monster. I let go of the thought just as soon as I began it and decided to rest my eyes. The scenery was so beautiful, it was like a visible lullaby.
**Back at the Kingdom**
At a certain office quarter in the largest castle of the Valley Kingdom, a small meeting was being held between the Arcane King's assistant and magistral coordinator to discuss the headcount for the Kingdom's Guild Meeting. A board meeting that was held once every quarter of the year with all eight Guild Captains and their Vice Captains/Executives to discuss important matters in and for the Valley Kingdom.
This meeting was happening in two days' time.
"Will all the Guild Captains be attending this upcoming meeting?" the Arcane King's assistant asked.
"All except Friera of the Snow Lily Knights this time around, and of course, Asura of the Black Wolf Knights… Though must we still consider him as legal Captain since the Black Wolves have an Acting Captain standing in currently?" the coordinator answered, while adding his question at the end.
The assistant inquired, "It says here in the itinerary that the Black Wolves' current 'Acting Captain' has yet to send in his certification to lead the Guild. Because of this, we're left with outdated information for them in Kingdom records—hence, former Captain Asura is still considered for the meeting even though he's been 'out of commission' for a little over a year now." He sighed before continuing, "I ask in the hopes they've at least accepted the meeting invite?"
"They have not," the coordinator responded.
"What a headache." Rubbing his temples with his middle finger and thumb, the assistant grabbed another stack of papers on his desk, fanned them, and begun reading to himself as the coordinator continued, "I've sent many a letter to their Guild residence. All have been received; none have been sent back."
"If I could just get them to accept the invite, I can put in temporary cause… again… for them, and thus the Black Wolves can attend the meeting. If they do not accept again," he stressed, "this time, that will make this the fifth absence since Asura's leaving, and we will have to abolish the Guild," the assistant said reluctantly.
As by the book he was, the assistant—Sirus—was always trying to be fair with every Valley Kingdom Guild. He gave each one a fighting chance to abide by Guild standards so that the Kingdom didn't have to lose a Guild.
Having eight Guilds in a Kingdom is standard, and losing one or abolishing it ruins a Kingdom's reputation and morale with its people. They've had enough of that from past years…
The last thing he wanted was for another Guild to mess that up just because they failed to attend a required meeting on multiple occasions. That would show that the Kingdom couldn't control its Knights.
"I'll try again, sire. I'll send messengers to hand deliver the letter to them ASAP. At least the Vice Captain is receiving them…"
"Ah, yes. His name is Code. He's been Vice Captain for the Black Wolves since Asura was still around. I can't believe it wasn't him who became his stand-in; instead, we got the one that calls himself 'Greed.' An interesting Knight, but I personally wouldn't have selected him to be their Acting Captain," Sirus rambled. "But I digress… Make sure he accepts the invite promptly. With the Arcane King also temporarily away, I unfortunately have to make these calls on his behalf. He'd want me to try for them after all."
Sirus adjourned the meeting with the coordinator, and with that, the countdown for the quarterly Kingdom's Guild Meeting was underway.
***
Somewhere nearby, a shady character had been snooping around. The attendees for the meeting hadn't yet been released, but because of this individual, word got around quickly, not just in the Kingdom but outside it as well.
When a random citizen at an outskirts bar saw their names, he scoffed, "Filthy mutts."
To which the mere mention of that insult perked the ears of a girl with a long, sheer head drape.
She sparkled rose gold even in this dimly lit place.
"Sis, time to go." a younger girl said as she opened a door. Only her silhouette was in view, but she seemed smaller in frame. Petite.
"Aye." Was all she replied to her with.