• Tales of Xalthia

    Chapter 13: A New Companion


    Due to the chaos that took place in the mines, the meeting with General Maxwell was postponed since order needed to be restored within the city. The commotion among the people took hours to finally die down with the combined efforts of Briswater officials and Tsuki's efforts. Thankfully, there were minor casualties but the mines were closed until further notice. Not even Tsuki was allowed to go back in. Even though that their long awaited meeting was postponed, it gave everyone a chance to rest and recover. The trek into the depths of the mines were tough since Tsuki couldn't fight to his full potential with a broken sword.

    The next morning, everyone was still a little shook up due to what happened. The citizens were told that there was an accidental explosion within the mines. Maxwell didn't want to create panic and hysteria if they heard that someone was tampering within their mines. The hospitals and clinics were packed with injured miners and soldiers since there were more others besides miners within the mine when the attack happened. Thankfully, this was the time of year where mining is on it's off-season so not many miners were present at the time of the attack. During the season of mining, there are about three hundred miners who work within the mines daily so the people are relieved that this didn't happen at the wrong time.

    With the chaos in the city finally settling down, it was finally time for Tsuki and Lynette to meet up with General Maxwell and discuss the matters of gaining access to Basilwell. When they were ready, they made their way into the Government District and found themselves in the command center of Briswater's military. Due to the fact that the Government District is a highly classified and restricted area, they had to be escorted by officials despite the fact that Tsuki was a royal knight. With the escort guiding them, they met up with General Maxwell, Frey and Ramza in Maxwell's office.

    When Tsuki and Lynette walked into his office, Maxwell greeted them with praise for their valiant efforts they're shown with the restoration of order within the city and their efforts in the mine. "Welcome, my honored guests. Before we begin, I'd like to personally thank you on behalf of Briswater. Your actions in the mines helped us greatly and you even helped us restore balance and order among the citizens. We are in your debt" he said.

    Tsuki walked up to Ramza, who was standing in front of Maxwell's desk and shook his head. "It was nothing. You don't need to thank us. As a knight in the service of the royal family, I couldn't abandon our allies when they are in trouble. I'll be sure to collect on that debt in the future though" he said. He knows that Briswater takes their debits seriously, so this was a good thing. Briswater is known for their fast response time in times of need and that may become useful in the future. "Now, you know why we're here. We'd like to gain access to Basilwell" he said, getting straight to the point.

    Maxwell nodded to his obvious request. He had already known why he wanted to meet with him since he received notice from the royal family prior to their arrival. "Yes, I will certainly make that happen. You'll need this to get past the guards who are guarding the entrance to the Cavern of Solace" he said, reaching into his desk. He then pulled out a passport and handed it to Tsuki. "Show that to the guards and they'll allow you in. You should also know that the Cavern of Solace, the caves that will lead you to Basilwell, have shown abnormally high monster activity. We do not know what's causing the increased monster activity, which is why we closed off access until we have an answer" he said.

    Tsuki smirked a bit and took the passport. "Bring them on. No monster will get in my way. I've been derailed enough on this mission as it is" he said. He still has to find a sword before he leaves. It would be suicide if he left without one. He acted confident though despite his sword being broken though.

    Maxwell chucked a bit, seeing through his act. "I see. Well, you can't go into those caves with high monster activity with a broken sword. You wouldn't last a minute in there. I heard your sword broke when you had an encounter with our local demon in the woods. I had our top blacksmiths forge you a new blade as a token of my appreciation. Frey?" he said, motioning to Frey who stood next to him.

    Frey nodded when Maxwell motioned to him. "Yes sir" he said. He then walked up to Tsuki and handed him a sword in a purple sheath. "This is the Murasame, one of the finest swords our blacksmiths have crafted in quite a long time. The blade is forged from adamantium, one of the strongest metals in existence. The blade won't be easy to break this time" he said.

    Tsuki looked at Frey then at the sword. He nodded a moment later and took it from him. The sword was incredibly lightweight due to the fact that it's made from one of the strongest metals in the world. He drew the sword from it's sheath and backed away from everyone to put some distance between him and everyone else to swing it around to get a feel for it. When he swung it a few times, the then examined the blade. "It's so light and fluid. I can already tell the difference between my old sword and this one" he said.

    Maxwell smiled a bit, seeing his satisfaction on his face. "Of course. We do have some of the world's best blacksmiths in this city, after all" he said. He then walked up to Tsuki and pointed to his new sword. "Adamantium is a rare metal that you can hardly find anywhere anymore. It's metal that was used in the past but has become almost nonexistent" he said.

    Tsuki examined the sword a bit longer before putting it back in it's sheath and strapped it to his waist next to the broken sword. Since his sword was the property of Eresseas, he couldn't throw it away. "Thank you. I'll be sure to take good care of it" he said.

    Maxwell nodded and looked at Ramza. "Now, I have a request for you" he said. He then closed his eyes and took a moment to gather his thoughts. "That knight we encountered in the mines...I feel that we haven't seen the last of him. You said you are hunting him down on orders of Ersheaths' king right?" he asked.

    Ramza nodded at his question. "That's correct. I don't know why the king has made such an order, but it's an order I can't refuse. Why do you ask?" he asked.

    Maxwell looked over at Tsuki then back at Ramza. The knight seemed strangely interested in Tsuki for some reason due to her brief moment of hesitation. "I don't want to get in the way of your mission or impede you from it, but I'd like you to accompany Tsuki and Lynette on their travels" he said. He was worried about the comments the knight said about Tsuki and didn't feel comfortable sending him back out in the wild without someone having some knowledge on the knight especially due to the knight's incredible power.

    Ramza was surprised at Maxwell's request. He didn't expect something like that. "Accompany them? What for?" he asked. He was someone who completes his missions at his own pace similar to how mercenaries work. He didn't mind it if he went with them, but he wanted to know why he should.

    Maxwell walked away from Tsuki and faced the entire group. "It's about that knight's comments towards Tsuki and the power that was demonstrated. He said some rather questionable things about him and also gave him a strange look. I have a feeling that there's something that links Tsuki to that knight. What that link could be, I can't even begin to guess" he said.

    Tsuki remembers when the knight showed a moment of hesitation when he saw him. "Now that you mention it, the knight did seem to know something about me. His behavior towards me was strange. He seemed more shocked to see me over his intent to kill me" he said.

    Ramza folded his arms and slipped into thought for a moment. "That's true. He did leave rather willingly. Even if he was surrounded, he still would of fought. I'll agree with you; it concerns me as well" he said. It's puzzling for him because he knows the knight more than them. It didn't make sense since the behavior he showed didn't add up.
    Maxwell once again fell back into thought. The only people who knew about the knight were on another continent and Ramza. They don't know a thing about the knight. "So, not even you could shed some light on the situation. With the little information we have to go on, I will ask you again. Will you accompany Tsuki on his travels?" he asked once more.

    Ramza went silent as he thought about his request. Traveling with them could be a good thing especially if it leads him to the Shadow Knight He soon nodded, accepting his request. "Alright, I'll accept your request as long as Tsuki agrees to it as well. I won't force myself onto his group" he said.

    Tsuki shrugged. "It's fine with me. We have plenty of room for him. One more person in the group would be a great help" he said. Having another fighter would help lighten the load on his shoulders since Lynette isn't a fighter. He then looked over at Lynette. "What about you, Lyn?" he asked.

    Lynette shook her head. "I don't mind. After all, he did help us in the mines. You're the leader so I'll follow wherever you go and support whatever decision you make" she said. If they had another fighter in the group, having multiple people might be a challenge at first but it will eventually benefit them in the long run since she doesn't have to solely rely on Tsuki for protection.

    Ramza listened to what they had to say and nodded afterwards. "Alright then. If we're all in agreement then, I shall accompany you on your travels. I look forward to see where our paths take us" he said. A part of him was excited to be in the group. It gives him the opportunity to see how other people from a different kingdom live and fight.

    Maxwell nodded. "Good. Now, I suspect that you want to reach Basilwell as soon as possible, correct?" he asked. The travel distance between Briswater and Basilwell is about a three day's travel by foot. They would have to head straight to there without any delays if they wanted to get there within the given time frame.

    Tsuki nodded. "Yes. If Frey has informed you, we ran into several delays on the way here. What we're hoping for is that we don't run into anymore delays" he said. He really didn't want anything to happen that could disrupt him on his mission any more than it already has.

    Maxwell shook his head with a grin on his face. "No need. A simple sword isn't enough for us to show you our appreciation for what you've done. So..." he said. He then walked around to the other side of the desk and reached into the drawer and pulled out a pass. "Show this to the caravan outside. The driver will take you directly to the Cavern of Solace via transport. It's the least we could do since we dragged you so far off course" he said.

    Tsuki took the pass and bowed to him. "Thank you. This will help us quite a bit" he said. Normally, Briswater's caravan ware only used to transport the city officials. Someone would need permission from Maxwell if they wanted to to receive fast transport.

    Maxwell nodded and looked at the entire group. "I pray that oyu three will have safe travels from here on out. If you ever need our assistance, you know how to contact us" he said.

    Frey bowed to the group. "We wish you luck on your travels. We expect to hear good things about you in the future" he said.

    Tsuki listened to their goodbyes and nodded at them. "We'll be fine" he said, reassuring them. He then turned around and faced Lynette and Ramza. "Okay guys, let's get going" he said. He then walked past them and left Maxwell's office.

    Lynette and Ramza followed Tsuki out of the office as he left. They made their way towards the caravan that was outside of the main building. When they arrived at the caravan, they showed the driver the pass they received from Maxwell. The caravan is pulled by two rare monsters named Thalmos. Thalmos monsters are extremely rare and are notorious for their speed. Once the driver looked at the pass to make sure it was authentic, he allowed him on and didn't waste any time getting ready. Tsuki and the others made sure they had everything they needed and when they were ready to leave, they boarded the caravan and within moments, they took off down a service tunnel. The service tunnel runs through the forest and opens up to the outer forest. Before they knew it, they emerged from the tunnel and forest and were now heading towards Basilwell.

    The driver looked into the caravan where Tsuki and his group were sitting. "The trip to Basilwell will take about 7 hours thanks to our tamed monsters. Just sit back and you'll be at your destination in no time" he said.

    Ramza took his broadsword and gun off of him and set them down and stretched. "Well, looks like we got plenty of time to kill. Let's get to know each other a little better since it seems we'll be traveling together for a while" he said. If he was going to travel with them, he would like to know more about them and what they do.

    Tsuki tilted his head at Ramza's suggestion and nodded. "Get to know each other, huh? That's not a bad idea" he said. He then took a moment to gather his thoughts since there was a lot about him that there was to say. "Well, you already know who I am by name. I'm under the service of the royal family of Eresseas, King Taichi, Queen Emma and Princess Cheria. I'm one of the Royal Eight, who are the family's personal bodyguards and elite force of the kingdom. I was not born into service though, unlike the rest of the members of the Royal Eight. I enlisted in the Eresseas' military and was put under the royal family's service after about three years. I started out as a common soldier but with years of intense training, dedication and alongside the recommendations of the Princess and my fellow comrades, I was brought into the Royal Eight. Currently, I'm on a mission to over see government matters in Basilwell and to find and exterminate the root cause that's making the monster activity more frequent, if possible" he explained. There was a lot to his past but he keeps those details to himself. Not many know of what went on when he first came to Eresseas.

    Lynette waited in silence and listened to Tsuki as he did his introduction. Although, she already knew most of what he had to say. "I don't have much of an exciting life as Tsuki does. I'm just an average healer, nothing special. I started traveling around Cayhill when I turned eighteen and ended up staying in a small village called Crescentia for about a year. It's a nice, peaceful village so I like it a lot. I met Tsuki there not too long ago and didn't initially plan on joining him on his travels, but I was hit by a local disease and he went out of his way to help heal me. Knowing that, I had to repay him for what he did for me so I decided to join him" she explained. Her story wasn't as exciting as Tsuki's but she did her best.

    Ramza sat in silence and listened to both of their stories. They did fill in some of the blanks in his mind after explaining a few things. It was interesting to learn more about them. "I see. Well, I'm employed under the service of King Raiku of Ersheath as an envoy and mercenary. Unlike Tsuki, I'm not directly tied to the king, I get called upon for a job and I do it. It's as simple as that. Unfortunately, that's all I can say right now unless King Raiku permits me to explain further" he said.

    Tsuki nodded as Ramza explained a little bit about himself. He can understand that there may be things he can't say without permission and he chose not to divulge into them. As their trip went by for the next several hours, the three, along with the driver started to talk about a number of different things. They needed to build a trust between them if they were going to rely on each other on the battlefield. Although Cayhill doesn't have any enemies and remains a neutral state, teaming up with people from a different kingdom could cause problems if there's no trust between them. It was also a good way to use up the time they had since they were hours away from their destination.

    To be continued...