Chapter One
This is a story about Cyan Bernalette, a young girl that tries her hardest to beat the injustice that falls before her and her family.
She had beautiful long blonde hair and mesmerizing blue eyes. She was always portrayed as a princess by her friends back then and they really love to spend their time together as if nothing else could destroy their fun forever and ever. Now, she wears rugged clothes and a gauntlet to hide her beautiful fingers.. She tied her hair and hide them behind her worn helmet. She wore a black mask as if she doesn’t want anyone to recognize her. Her blue eyes are the only remnant that she brings from the past.
“AHOY lads, here we finally are!!! now go unload those boxes AND DON’T YOU DARE DROPPING ANY SINGLE ONE OF EM!!”
A big chunky old man with a tiny mustache shout to his ship crews. Cyan start to help move the boxes to a nearby carriage on the dock.
“Thank you for letting me aboard your ship.”
She said to the chunky old man after finished with the cargo. The old man replies with a laugh and left to deliver the boxes with some of his crewmates.
“This is it,” Cyan thought to herself. “My journey starts here.”
Cyan was excited and scared at the same time but she still pushes through because there is no choice for her but to do it. On the way after she left the dock, she saw a big but worn metal gate with a wooden board that reads “Welcome to PortHumming” hanging on the top of the gate. She looks around to find a merchant or someone to ask for directions to the local guild.
The town was quiet. There is no sign of market activity nor any busybody working here and there like a port town is supposed to be. Most of the high buildings were clouded with dust and the stores were closed, not showing any hint of the glory the market used to have. After a few minutes walk, Cyan stopped at what was supposed to be an Inn and peek into its windows.
“Need something?”
A beautiful black-haired woman carrying a broom startled her making her instinctively move back and get ready for combat.
“Hahaha, what? you’re gonna rob my broom and run?”
“I’m sorry. I was just a bit startled..” she put back her sword into its sheath.
How could I not hear her steps?? I need more training.
“Sooo.. is there anything I can help, little child?” the woman asked again.
“Ah, y-yes. Of course. I’m just looking for a hunting job or something. Could you please show me the way to the local guild?” Cyan asked the beautiful lady with a worn-out brown gown.
“Sigh, I knew it. There really are a lot of youngsters like you trying to become adventurers huh? This is that damned king’s fault!” the woman cursed the king.
“Ummm, so where is the guild?” I refuse to join her cursing.
“You can go left at the fork and you will see the old guild base. After that, you can just follow the small clearing behind the old guild base to find the small new base.”
“Old guild base?”
“Yep, the guild operating costs are probably too much for them to handle so they just moved to a small house behind their guilds. I doubt you would even find a nice paying job there you know.” the woman continues to explain.
“Hmm, but at least I will still try going there first and see what I can find. Thank you for your time miss.”
Laughed, the woman replies “You can just call me Eve. I’m too old to be called a miss. Come here if you need lodgings, I have a lot of empty rooms because of that b*stard king.” and she continues to curse the king.
“Sure! I’m Cyan by the way. I’ll go check the guild now, thanks again!”
Cyan runs happily after her encounter with a beautiful and friendly woman near her thirties.
As she continued to walk Cyan finally saw the run-down guild that was long past its glory. She looks around and found a clearing that leads to the small house behind the guild. Reluctant at first but she knocked at what was supposed to be a wooden door of a guild but it very much looked like just someone’s house.
Not long after that, a guy wearing some odd clothes comes out and welcomed her.
“Ah, an adventurer! Come, come please come inside.”
A very old house with worn-out furniture and a small job board shows immediately. Inside the house, she can see two bulky people with bald heads sitting on a table on the far side of the counter with multiple empty glasses showing how drunk they are. At the counter near the job board, a guy dressed in a white tunic with a blue doublet and a seemingly happy face notice her and smiles. Cyan goes in with a confused look and immediately went to the job board. The guy happily stands at the small counter and waits for the blonde young girl to finish looking around.
“Umm… I’m sorry but is this the job board?” I asked.
“Yes! It might not look like it but it is this town’s job board.”
“Searching for cats, helping an old man to water his garden, helping the fisherman… Is there no hunting quest?”
“Yes. This is what we currently have. PortHumming has been so peaceful that it does not really need a guild to run it.”
“What happened?”
“Well… We used to be one of the greatest trading hubs between the south and the north you know.” He explained while pointing to the old pictures hanging in the room.
“Portland. That was our old town's name a few years ago, the docks used to be so full of life, the market was lively and there were a lot of people come and go from the south to the north to trade and find a living.”
“Monsters spawn near crowded cities like that, some monsters like Goblins like to rob people when they were traveling, and that’s where we come in. The Guild will do jobs to protect and clear the monsters around the area.”
“So, what makes Portland become this deserted?” I asked as I took a chair near him and sit down.
“The Second Great War of course. When the Northern Army comes to obliterate the South they sweep all the monsters along the way to Portland. And when they succeeded to level the South they abandoned them somehow and leave Portland on its own. No one is permitted to go South from here and no one really comes from the South either… Portland which used to be the hub between countries has just become an isolated town at the tip of the Northern Kingdom.” explained him sadly.
“I see… But is there really no one from the South who comes here after the war?” Cyan cut him off to ask a question.
“No ship has come from south as long as I remember. Only Birgarnd’s ships from the far east have come to deliver goods to the king once a month. I can’t even imagine what happened in the South. After the war, the King renamed our town to PortHumming and didn’t really care about it. Our people gradually began to move out to the Kingdom to find a living, knowing that this town won’t survive any longer.”
“Can’t you leave with them?”
BANG!!!
A sudden loud noise from the far side table shocks Cyan.
“YOU THINK THIS IS SOME KIND MUSEUM FOR HISTORY LESSONS EH KID???” One of the bulky guys shouts.
“Ahahaha sorry! Well, enough about us. What do you want to do now? I could probably write some official guild pass if you want to move to another city and find a better job board.” the guy tries to cool down the situation.
Cyan removes her glares from the two bulky guys and return to the counter “No. Please let me take the search job. I want to stay in this town a bit longer.”
“Nice! You are a good girl, aren’t you? You can call me Gabe, and you can sign here for the contract.” The guy’s happy face shows immediately.
“I will finish this and will come back here after it’s done.”
“I know searching for a cat is not really a good quest but still, good luck on your search Cyan! Oh and maybe you also want to find Eve for lodgings if you need to stay a bit longer,” said Gabe happily having an adventurer taking his quest after so long.
“Yes, I have met her already. She seems like a nice lady. Thanks again, Gabe!” Cyan starts to walk away to the inn without even looking at the two bulky guys.
to be continued to Chapter Two
~Terti
