The rge, red brick building pstered with various coats of arms from different cities was easily recognized as Guild property, with many coming to enter and exit it. Of this variety of people was Ireishil, her with a small parchment in her hands while she walked over towards one Dante and one Rorburn, the both of them stood just outside of the building. Dante looked over towards Ireishil as she stepped closer, her going to read off the paper before either of them could ask what it was. “There are a group of hollows that are terrorizing one of the caravan routes to this city. We are being sent there in the next half-hour.” She expined, Rorburn nodding his head while Dante stepped off of the wall. “Alright. Have you seen Pryderi anywhere?” Dante asked, Ireishil raising an eyebrow as she replied. “I was just about to ask you the same.” “Huh.” Dante let out in response, him and Ireishil looking over towards Rorburn, the nitlie checking his nails before noticing that the group's attention turned towards him. “Hmm?” He hummed, narrowing his eyes as he put his hand down back along his side. “Don’t look at me, I dunno shit either.” Dante scratched at his chin, looking between the groups of people walking around them, hoping he could find Pryderi somewhere within the crowd. “Should we, uh…” Dante stepped forward, the others following suit as he continued to speak. “Look for him?” “I’m sure he’ll turn up sooner or ter.” Rorburn answered, Ireishil giving a shrug while she and him walked towards the munitions area. Leather bags filled with rations and medical supplies were already prepared for the passing mercenaries, some groups ahead of them already grabbing a bag for each member of their party. As Rorburn and Ireishil grabbed a bag, Dante stopped by a few merchant stalls, browsing their stocks to see freshly forged weapons and armor being sold. A weaponsmith’s stall caught Dante’s eyes, the tovron standing in front of the stall and admiring the variety of bdes, polearms, and bludgeons on sale. Dante looked between the merchandise and the sheathed, worn dagger he had on his side, Dante sliding it out and looking down at the rust starting to gather along the rather cheaply made metal, his train of thought ending when the tovron merchant spoke up. “Oi, guey. Not getting anywhere with that butterknife, aren’t you?” He asked, Dante looking up towards him, chuckling to himself before he responded. “Yes, it - it is starting to show a little bit of age.” “Don’t ye worry, I’ve got the perfect thing for a young cleric such as you.” Reaching under the cupboard, the merchant jostled through what sounded like a pile of metallic weapons, prying something from the hoard with his other hand before pulling out the supposed perfect thing he had. It was a short warhammer, its pike sharpened until it shone, and its blunt end looking freshly tempered. “Wow.” Dante mouthed silently, gently taking the weapon and holding it in his right hand. It was surprisingly light, him inspecting it in his hands as he admired its steel-built shape. “How much for it?” Dante asked, the merchant grinning as he answered. “Normally a hundred. But for a fellow horn-head, it’ll be, er…” He shrugged. “Will only be fifty thrones.” “Fifty…” Dante muttered quietly, reaching into the satchel along his hip and pulling out five ten-denominator coins. Handing the crown-encrusted coins to the merchant, the tovron happily received him, his grin remaining on his face while he spoke. “Thanks, guey.” “Heh. You’re welcome, guey.” Dante replied, feeling a faint tinge of nostalgia from the tovron sng. Walking back towards the group, Dante encountered Rorburn and Ireishil finishing up a light meal of bread, Rorburn standing up and turning towards him, his head looking down at the warhammer sheathed along Dante’s belt. “Got yourself a new toy, huh?” He commented, wiping at his mouth as he swallowed the rest of the bread in his mouth. “I have. It’s in case we run into another, er… situation.” Dante expined, Rorburn chuckling as he bent down, pulling his zweihander up from behind him. “Still ain’t as good as this ol’ sb of iron, though.” Rorburn rested the weapon along his shoulder, its pointed edge glistening in the daylight. Dante noticed how one of the parrying hooks seemed to have snapped off, the zweihander looking somewhat lopsided as a result. “...where did you get that thing, anyways?” Dante asked, Rorburn ughing out, bending down to catch his breath before answering. “Made it myself. With a lil bit of help.” He stood back up straight, resting the ft end of the bde on his other hand as he presented it before Dante. As Dante got a closer look at the weapon, he was able to notice how rough it looked, its bded ends somewhat jagged, and its ft end covered in various scribblings and scuffs. “Forged it ‘bout 15 years ago, and still holds up to this day.” “...interesting.” Dante spoke, Rorburn shrugging while he and Dante stood beside Ireishil. With only about ten or so minutes before their carriage arrived, one Pryderi Reese arrived just before he would be left behind, him taking off his hat and wiping the sweat off his face with it as he quickly marched towards the group of three. “Ah… ‘pologies.” He started, sighing deeply as he stood in front of Dante. “Got held up ordering a carriage.” “For what? We already got one.” Rorburn said, Pryderi chuckling as he turned to face the nitlie. “This carriage isn’t exactly one for business. Recent events have been… making me think of my people,” Pryderi reached into his coat, taking out his Wolves logo-embroidered neckce. “...the Wolves. Y’know, making me think about seeing them again.” Dante raised his eyebrows, stepping forward as he began to speak. “W - Wait, what? You’re going back home?” Dante questioned, Pryderi crossing his arms as he went to answer. “Not permanently. I’ll be right back here after. Just kinda wanna check on things.” Pryderi looked Dante up and down, pursing his lips as he continued to speak. “I’m sure you’ve intentions on checking on your family, as well.” “Well, yeah, I… I guess.” Pryderi smiled, patting Dante on the shoulder as his eyes looked between the other two members of the group. “You all are more than welcome to come along, if you want. Might be a little dry on work down there, though.” “Sure, I don’t see why not.” Dante stated. “To Tsiuc and back, the travel alone would be multiple months. I am not sure our time is best spent doing such.” Ireishil stated, Pryderi chuckling as he went to correct her. “Before I left, we were all gearin’ up to move from Holbeck to Chihshan. Getting from here to Chihshan would only take about a week, at least according to the coachmen.” Ireishil nodded her head, resting her hands in her pockets as she turned towards the carriage waiting for them. “We’ll discuss this ter. We have a job to do.” She spoke, receiving mostly agreement from the others as the group of four walked towards the carriage, the coachmen readying the gefyls whilst each of them climbed up onto the wooden wagon. Pryderi looked between the three of them for a moment, awkwardly ughing a little before going to speak. “Say, uh…” He began, the three looking towards him. “Didn’t quite catch the briefing. What’re we doing here?” “Just some hollowed pricks messing with traders going along a nearby road. Shouldn’t take too long.” Rorburn answered, Pryderi nodding his head as he took in the information. “Thanks. How long is it gonna take to get there?” Pryderi questioned, Rorburn shrugging as he leaned back against the wooden barrier of the wagon. In his pce was Ireishi, her taking out the parchment and reading off of it. “It’s a road thirty miles south of Tatezaki… perhaps a few hours?” She estimated, Pryderi giving her a thumbs up as he slouched in his seat slightly, taking out his arrows from his quiver and sharpening them with a small whetstone. As the group silently made their way towards their destination, Dante took out his newly purchased warhammer, running a gloved finger along the pike as he saw his reflection in its polished steel. With a combination of virtually no fighting experience and very minimal strength training, Dante doubted he’d be very good if he needed to ever use it to defend himself, him sighing as he stuck the weapon back along his belt, its head snugly fitting against his waist. Looking towards the front of the wagon, Dante watched as quite a few other wagons passed by them, many of them being rge carts led by dozens of rger gefyls, each packed with various different resources and goods. The wagon they were on then took a hard left off of the road, the coachmen steering the gefyls leading them into a nearby woods, prompting some worried confusion from Dante. “Uh… excuse me.” Dante stated, the coachmen turning back to face him. “Where are you taking us?” “The road Guild told me to go. Where else would I be bloody takin’ you?” The coachmen retorted, Dante standing up in his seat slightly as he further prodded. “I’m - it just looks like we’re going, er… not there.” “Been traveling these mountains for years, boy. This ‘eres a shortcut, should save a bit of time.” Deciding not to question the coachman’s judgment any further, Dante scooted himself towards the back of the carriage, looking down at the rocky terrain they were crossing while the shadows of nearby trees rapidly crossed his slightly dirtied face. He turned around when he felt a tap on his shoulder, looking in the same direction as Ireishil, seeing a dirt road with some wooden rubble littered around it. The wagon stopped at the very edge of the woods, the gefyls chattering and emitting a reddish gas from the sides of their neck as their pace slowed down. “‘bout as far as I’ll take you.” The coachman stated, the party climbing off of the carriage and slowly trodding towards the road. Dante checked his surroundings as the four got closer to the road, not seeing any signs of life outside of what he presumed to be the ruined wagons of those who arrived before they had. This eerie quiet was quickly broken when Dante heard something moving from under the rubble, him turning towards it to see a shriveled, gray hand cwing its way out. This hollow had to have been freshly converted; it still retained some of its nitlie features, its tail cut halfway down while its wrist bdes stuck out from under its hands. Not another second passed before it advanced towards the group, it lunging towards Ireishil, only for the arterian to bring up her shield, bashing it into the creature’s head and knocking it down onto the ground, then quickly finishing it with an axe to its skull. As the fighting began, a few more hollows showed themselves, one making its presence known with a loud shrill while it ran from the other side of the road. Pryderi was quick to respond, him drawing his bow and firing an arrow through the loud one’s chest, it gasping out as it fell to the ground. Another smaller one came hidden from a bush, grabbing Pryderi from behind and slicing at his back with a broken dagger. The vinnan grunted as he drove his elbow into the hollow’s jaw, it stumbling backwards while Pryderi advanced towards it. Bringing his arm back, Pryderi swung his fist into the hollowed’s stomach, the creature falling down and holding its arms around its chest. Loading another arrow, Pryderi fired it point bnk into the creature’s skull, a viscous bck liquid spttering at his boots. Whispering “Pervestigationis.” to himself, a bright bolt fired from Dante’s hand towards Pryderi, his wounds on his back closing while he prepared another arrow. Hearing footsteps coming from his left, Dante turned to see a hollow coming towards him, the sunken-eyed creature considerably rger than him as it came wildly swinging towards him. Unsheathing his warhammer, Dante swung it upwards towards the hollow, only for it to step to the side, throwing its head forward and trying to sink its teeth into him. Narrowly jumping out of the way, Dante backed away from the hollow, watching as Ireishil quickly came in to intervene, her axe cleanly cutting the creature’s head from its neck. “Th - thanks.” Dante muttered, Ireishil nodding, before turning her attention to the next closest hollow. Looking between the rest of his party, he observed as the somewhat rge number of hollows be culled, turning to hear Rorburn yell out as he drove his zweihander through the chest of a rger one. Inhaling sharply, Dante ran over towards Ireishil as about a dozen hollows began to encircle her, taking out his warhammer and smming the pike into the back of one’s skull whilst Ireishil filed her axe in every direction she could manage. A feathered hollow managed to grab its gnarled, cwed hands into her shoulder, Ireishil grunting as it pulled her against the ground. Protecting herself with her shield, Ireishil looked up to see Dante swiping his hammer across the being’s face, it being knocked backwards while Dante stumbled from his swing slightly. Quickly standing back up, Ireishil brought her axe up into the hollow’s torso, a dying scream exiting from its lips as it colpsed. Looking around, a few deep breaths left Dante as the fighting died down, him watching as Rorburn and Pryderi moved towards them. “Are… we are all alright?” Dante asked, Pryderi nodding while Rorburn went to answer. “Yeah. Got a bit cut up on my arm from one of ‘em, though, might need ya to kiss it.” Dante sucked his teeth, waving his hand away at Rorburn while the others gave a hearty chuckle. “Whatever. I guess that’s the st of them, then. Let’s head back.” Dante procimed, Pryderi holding up his hand as he knelt down next to a pile of wood. Dante eyed him as he walked towards him, stammering out for a second before managing to speak. “...what?” Dante questioned, Pryderi clicking his tongue before he expined. “Look at this. This wood - it’s built sort of in a circle around this pile of ash.” As Dante more closely inspected the debris, he too noticed the strangely intricate nature of this particur pile, some markings scribed in charcoal in the sbs of wood pced around it. Picking up one of the sbs, Dante couldn’t quite make out what much of the scarcely legible text read, though there was one particur word that was not only readable, but was repeatedly written on the wood countless times. “Mother.” Dante read out, him running his finger along the many other instances of the word on not only this piece of wood, but on the other ft chunks as well. “The fuck are you two doing?” Rorburn asked, Dante looking up towards him while Pryderi further inspected the site. “There’s writing on some of the debris. See it for yourself.” “C’mon, seriously, it was just some dumbass crazy hollow that did all of this. You’re reading too much into it.” Before Dante could make a retort, Rorburn kicked away the pile of ash that was gathered in the middle of the wood, Dante just about to compin about such, only to stop himself when he saw what the ash was concealing. A clean and healthy-looking tree sapling sprung out, its leaves a vibrant, crimson red. Rorburn himself looked a little surprised from the anomalous pnt, watching as Dante inched towards it and felt it with his hands. “Were they… hiding this?” Dante thought out loud, Pryderi bobbing his head as he gave his input. “Maybe those hollows were protecting it.” “Yeah, uh, this is kinda startin’ to get weird. Let’s get the fuck out of here before more come.” Rorburn suggested, Pryderi nodding in agreement as he stood up from the rubble. After a second, Dante followed, the group walking back towards the carriage and climbing back on top of it.

  The journey back to Tatezaki was a little more lively than usual, Pryderi resting his hand on his knee as he leaned back against the barricade. “Damn. It’s been a while.” He stated, Rorburn raising an eyebrow while Dante turned towards him. “Huh?” Dante let out, Pryderi chuckling before he expined. “Last few missions we had, we didn’t do so hot. It’s nice to finally get something done.” Rorburn shrugged as he looked towards the front of the wagon, Dante giving a slight ugh as he rubbed the back of his head. “Yes, haha… I guess this is our first victory in a little while.” “Yup.” The carriage stopped by the entrance of the city, the party jumping off of it and walking back inside the boisterous walls of the rge settlement. “I’m gonna be heading for Chihshan not tomorrow, but the day after. How many of you are coming with?” Pryderi asked, Dante looking back towards the other two as he answered. “I am.” Dante answered, Ireishil turning towards Pryderi, crossing her arms as she gave hers. “Alright. I suppose I will too, then.” She spoke, Rorburn only pointing towards her for his answer as he continued to walk towards the entrance of the castle. “Great. I’m honestly gd you all are going with me, would’ve been real lonely driving that cart there all by myself.” Pryderi said, stopping in pce while the others walked, Dante turning his head to face him as he too then stopped walking. “Pryderi?” Dante called out, Pryderi waving him off as he walked in the direction of a nearby tavern. “Just going for a drink. I’ll catch up with y’all in a minute.” Dante returned with a wave as he continued to walk towards the castle, speeding up his pace to catch up with the others as they walked past the guards into the rge doors that led inside the royal building. Rorburn snickered to himself as he looked outside the door and towards Pryderi, shaking his head as the doors eventually shut behind him. “Dude’s been acting real weird tely.” Rorburn stated, Dante awkwardly rubbing his hands together as he replied. “Y - Yeah, he has been… sorta distant.” “Mhm. Whatever, I’m sure it’ll clear up when he’s back with his boyfriend or whoever he has waiting for him down there.” Dante gave a hearty chuckle from Rorburn’s comment, breaking off from the two as he headed in the direction of the staircase. “I’ll be back soon. Going to talk to Arrios for a moment.” Dante spoke, Rorburn giving him a simple wave as him and Ireishil headed towards their room. Stepping into the stairwell, Dante slowly ascended the stairs, taking some time to admire the stained gss windows and the city that they hung over. As he continued to walk up the stairs, he was eventually stopped by the guard stationed at the top, Dante turning his head to face the rger tovron. “Oh, uh - ” “Name and business?” The guard spoke, Dante giving an awkward chuckle before he answered. “Dante Pidel, I’m here to see the governor for a personal matter. Is he busy at the moment?” Dante asked, the guard shaking his head in response. “No. Follow me.” Doing as he was told, Dante followed behind the guard, looking around at the surrounding chambers as the two of them marched towards Arrios’ quarters. “Your family name is Pidel, aye? Are you reted to the governor?” The guard questioned, Dante nodding his head. “Indeed. I’m his grandson.” “Interesting. Well, in that case, I’m charmed to meet you, then.” The guard stopped in front of a rger-looking room, extending his hand towards Dante. Shaking his head, Dante let a warm smile come over his face, turning his head up towards the guard. “My name’s Isaac Bengorn, try and put in a good word for me, aye?” He joked, gently patting Dante on the shoulder as he opened the door for him. “I’ll… hah, I’ll think on it.” Dante replied, walking into Arrios’ chamber whilst Isaac turned and marched back towards the stairwell entrance.