Chapter Six
A blazing fire roars across the town.
The houses were ablaze, the flames licking at the sky.
The trees were blackened and twisted, their leaves curling and ash raining down like snow.
The birds had fled, their panicked cries a distant echo.
Ah… the same dream again.
The green soldiers shout their war cry.
The red enemies respond with dozens of flying fire arrows.
The civilians were in turmoil. Some were running, some were hiding, and some others can only pray for their lives.
A woman was hugging a child, her face was in tears and her whole body was shaking in fear.
Will this ever end?
The child stares at the burning city with tears in her eyes not knowing what happened and what would happen next.
The woman starts saying her final words, which will then ends the dream as it has always been night after night.
The words coming out of her mouth were not clear.
Was that woman standing there before?
Another woman stands not too far away from the mother and her child, staring at them silently in front of a burning house. Her face was not visible because of the shadows from all the burning behind her but her trait was clear. The woman wore a cape behind her back and carried a sword on her left side. Her long hair was blowing in the breeze alongside her cape, following the direction of the winds. Her green eyes start to glow after I stare in her direction.
“Nyaa…”
My eyes snap open.
The dream ended abruptly after the black cat meowed.
“Sigh… You scared me, Anne.”
Cyan starts petting the beautiful black cat sitting on her chest.
“Hmm… green eyes huh… Nah, not possible. Are you hungry Anne? It's not good to disturb someone’s sleep in the middle of the night you know.”
Cyan starts petting the cat harder.
“Purrrr…”
“Alright, let's steal some snacks at the bar. I think I wanna grab a bite too.”
Cyan then jumps out of the bed and starts going downstairs towards the bar, Anne the cat follows happily.
The Inn’s bar consists of several empty shelves and a row of alcoholic beverages. The Inn had a really rough time after the war and it really shows in its bar, but Cyan still found some snacks and a bottle of milk to give to Anne. They both then start to ingest the extra calories in the middle of the night.
“So, a little thieving cat and its master, eh?” A whisper suddenly came by Cyan’s ear.
SPUURRRT…
Cyan spit out the milk from her mouth.
“Ahahahaha… You got me, Eve.” Cyan replied shyly.
She really didn’t make any sound when walking huh… Guess that’s an Assassin class alright.
*yawn*
“I bet Anne is the one asking you to get some snacks right? Why is she here anyway?” Eve asked after a big yawn.
“Exactly my question,” Cyan replied.
“Hmm… just don’t forget to bring her back to Gabe first thing in the morning. I don’t think you would like to see him searching for Anne around the town in that condition right?”
“Yeah, definitely,” Cyan continues.
Eve then took a seat beside Cyan and starts snacking as well.
*crunch crunch crunch*
“Are you fine now?” Eve asked.
“I think so, my mind feels a little bit better after that little nap just now,” Cyan replied.
“You should get more sleep after this.”
After they arrived in town, Cyan went back to the Inn while Eve took Gabe and Anne to the guild base and treat his injuries before going back home. Cyan immediately took a shower and straight to bed for some sleep until Anne somehow came disturbing her sleep.
*crunch crunch crunch*
“Did you really kill the worm in one hit Eve?” Cyan asks while recalling what happened in the clearing.
“I wouldn’t call it one hit,” Eve answered.
Cyan furrowed her brows and cocked her head to the side, her expression one of confusion.
“It’s one of many attack movements from an Assassin class, basically you just hit the same spot multiple times so fast it looks like one hit. Oh, and I also hit the worm’s weak spot so it then comes clean in two.” Eve continues explaining.
“Coooool! A critical hit then?”
“Haha, yeah probably something like that.”
“Could you teach me that?” Cyan asks while hoping to upgrade her skills with swords.
“That move? Nah, I wouldn’t bet on that. I might be a good adventurer but you probably should take the mastery class on the capital if you want to advance your class.” Eve denied her.
“Aww… Can you at least teach me how to move silently?”
“Hahaha, I really grind your gears when I suddenly show up out of nowhere huh? Yeah, I guess I could give you some pointers on that. It’s pretty easy once you get used to it.”
“Thank you!!!” Cyan happily thanks Eve.
Anne starts cuddling my hand after she finished her meal.
“But to kill it in one move… What’s your rank Eve?” Cyan asked another question while petting Anne.
“Anne, the human Anne I mean, Gabe, and I advanced to Silver Rank before the war.”
“Anne was an adventurer as well?”
“Hmm? Did I never tell you? Yeah, we were on the same party for quite some time back then. The three of us and another chick from out town named Lilian.” Eve explained.
“I see, Do you mind telling your story now Eve? I mean, I really want to know how could someone as strong as you become an Innkeeper.” Cyan continues to dig deeper.
“Hmm… I don’t really like remembering the past.” Eve replied.
“Please…” Cyan eyes start shining like a puppy asking for attention.
“Sigh, but I guess I do owe you one for Gabe. He should’ve killed the worm easily if he was prepared, but that damned idiot guild master didn’t and that almost cost you your life.” Eve starts cursing as usual.
“Now where do we start hmm…”
I was Anne’s childhood friend and neighbor, and we loved to play around our house when we were little. Our fathers were merchants and they travel around towns trading goods leaving us and our mothers in our homes. Later on, Gabe’s family came from the capital and establish a guild in Portland hoping to recruit more people who come and go around here. Gabe loves to tell the tales of Heroes he knows to Anne, and Anne also loves hearing the magical stories. They both even started taking physical training hoping to become Adventurers when they grow up. The three of us took our first adventures when we were in our late teens. I don’t like the idea but I joined them after Anne begged me to let them go on their first hunt. I don’t want to be left behind waiting in my home alone while wishing for their safety so I didn’t really have a choice but to join back then.
“So Gabe took your dear friend?” Cyan asked.
“Haha, yeah you could basically say that,” Eve replied.
We left Portland to take higher quest after quest for around 2 years until we met Lilian in the capital. It was our first mission as Bronze Rank Adventurer, there was a quest to kill a Hobgoblin and its army and Lilian also took part in that medium-scale quest with 3 parties joined together making it around 15 people in total.
“Was Lilian beautiful?” Cyan asked again.
“More like a berserker.” The both of us laugh.
Sadly, the quest didn’t end really well. Lilian’s party was wiped out and we only had 9 people left after finishing the quest. It was our first casualty in any of our adventures.
“May their souls rest in peace.” Cyan answer with a prayer followed by Eve’s own prayer.
Gabe then tried to take Lilian to our party which didn’t really end well on the first try but some way or another he finally succeeded and Lilian enters our party. The four of us then starts climbing our ranks further as we took more and more quests years after that.
“And then the war came?”
“Yes, and then the Second Great War came. The war I despise until now and probably will despise even in the afterlife.” Eve replied.
Gabe’s family calls him back to be an interim Guild Master of Portland while his dad the guild master at the time and their members participate in the war as part of the Northern Army.
I despise war. I never want to participate in a war. Lilian also took my stances for the first time ever. So then our party disbanded. Gabe wants to participate in the war but his families push him to become an interim Guild Master making him stay in Portland and not join the war. Lilian left the party as she really hated war, god knows where she went after that. And then Anne. She sees the war as a chance to realize her dreams to become one of the Heroes. Like Gabe, she naively thinks she could stand beside all of the people from the Heroes stories and Gabe’s missed opportunities also became a push for her to participate in the war.
“Hey, you just left like that after your tummy was full??” Cyan shouts after the cat jumps out off the table and starts going to bed on the second floor.
“Ah, sorry for cutting you. So I guess you joined Anne for the war?” Cyan get back to Eve.
“Yes. Exactly the same reason as when I started my first adventure. I just don’t want to hear news about my loved ones dying on the battlefield when I only sit at home like a teddy bear waiting for its master.” Eve continues her story.
And so I was obliged to participate in the Second Great War. I was hoping I could keep Anne safe in the battles but the country got different tasks for different sets of skills. Anne was a Warrior like Gabe so she was on the front line all the time while I was chipping away the Southern Alliance from its sides. I never took a hit (bounty on people’s heads) even though I took an Assassin advancement class, so that war made me my first assassination of real people instead of monsters. I don’t know what happened to Anne but day after day her face started to change. The always-smiling Anne I used to know no longer exists after the war ends.
“…” I stay silent while Eve reveals what happened in the war.
“Two years after the war started, the Southern Alliance surrendered and the adventurers from across the guilds were ordered to come home while the Northern Army cleans up the remnant of the war.”
Portland’s guild members, Anne, and I return to Portland and were greeted with great fanfare and the guys celebrate the whole night. Gabe welcomed us in tears and congratulated us on finally succeeding to become a Hero of War but Anne was silent. No emotion shows up on her face, no happiness shows up in her eyes.
“The war took a toll on her mind huh…” Cyan replied to Eve’s story.
“Yes. She could chat and do activities like usual but her face just didn’t show any emotion or anything at all. We all tried everything we can to make her smile show up again with no results but Gabe tried something different.”
“Different how?” Cyan asked.
“He proposed to her,” Eve replied.
“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!!” Excited eyes suddenly pop up on Cyan's face.
“Yes, that dumb*ss went and did it. He told me Anne accepted it while smiling but also in tears… But sadly it didn’t last long. Not even a year after their marriage, Anne died on her bed 7 years ago.”
Tears start to build up in Eve’s eyes.
“I kept blaming myself for Anne’s demise but I also felt happy for her final months when her smile returns to her face.”
Cyan starts patting Eve’s shoulder hoping to somewhat ease her sadness.
“No one knows why Anne died but deep down Gabe and I blame the war for her death... And so I retired as an adventurer and bought myself this Inn with the rewards from the war.” Eve concluded her story.
“I see…” I replied not knowing what words should be spoken in this situation.
A few minutes later Cyan and Eve return to their own room after chatting a little bit more about the past.
“Huh?” Cyan feel shocked when she open her room door.
Anne the cat was sitting in Cyan’s bed staring at the door with her green cat eyes. The moon was shining bright blue from the window to Anne’s head making the scenery somewhat magical.
“Stop startling me like that, Anne.” Cyan lift Anne’s body and put her on the table near the bed.
“Good night, Anne. I’ll take you to Gabe’s tomorrow alright?” She then pulls a blanket over her body and tries to sleep.
A blazing fire roars across the town.
The houses were ablaze, the flames licking at the sky.
The trees were blackened and twisted, their leaves curling and ash raining down like snow.
The birds had fled, their panicked cries a distant echo.
A woman with glowing green eyes took a step forward and her beautiful face shows up.
The child can only stay silent while being hugged by her mother.
The green eyes were in tears and the lips start to move.
“I’m sorry.”
My eyes snap open.
to be continued to Chapter Seven
~Terti
