"Hey, have you found anyone yet?"
It was an Argon City police officer, rummaging through the rubble of the city. The aftermath of Nevality's destruction had left more than half of the city destroyed.
"No. It's all reduced to nothing."
In one of the ruined buildings, they saw a unique sight. It was a multitude of clockworks scattered about. Some of the clockworks were destroyed, but the ones remaining had very bizarre designs. In the corner of the police officer's eye was a person in view. "Hey, I think I see someone underneath the rubble!"
Hurrying to the ruins, he quickly removed the debris from the body. It was the corpse of a middle-aged man who held a small clockwork close to his body before passing. His partner stepped next to him, looking down at the corpse. The shock on his face confused his partner until he noticed the same thing. The body had multiple stab wounds, and a hole punctured right through his chest. "What the... a murder? In the most disastrous moment possible?"
The officer knelt over the corpse, gazing at its wounds. "Do you think that he simply died from the attack?"
"No. It'd make no sense. Look, his cuts aren't clean. It was clear that there was a struggle. And most importantly, look." His partner pointed to his chest. Out of the rough stab wounds on his body, his chest contained a very precise gaping hole. And out of his wounds, his heart was taken out in a harsh and unsightly manner, with his blood vessels that connected it dangling out of his wound. "His heart was ripped out of his body with inhuman force. No way some debris would do something as specific and brutal as this."
He dug into his pockets in search of some way to identify the man. Pulling a card from the corpse's pocket, he found something. "I got his ID." He shifted it to his partner. "His name is Shannon Etton."
"At least we have one confirmed death. My question is, who and what murdered this man during the Nevality attack?"
"We should leave that to the investigation team. Right now, we must focus on finding survivors. The Aegisbound is here to help us, remember?" Before he went to leave, his eyes locked onto a small red piece of vegetation sticking out of Shannon's wound. Squinting his eyes and observing closer, it was a thorn, made of what seemed to be blood. "Hm?"
*
*
*
Ships sailed into the port of Argon City, and airships flooded the skies. The sigil, the green and gold coloring, all of it was familiar to the gazes of hope. It was the Aegisbound, one of the leading powers of the world that strives for peace and order.
Soldiers marched into the city, assisting rescue efforts and bringing morale to the people. The green military coats they wore were dignified in their design, and steel protected their arms and legs, trimmed with gold. Their weapons were just as impressive as their uniforms. The muskets presented intricate gold designs, and their swords were crafted with excellent dwarven craftsmanship. "It's the Aegisbound!" a civilian in the crowd cheered, prompting everyone else to follow suit.
Harlibue sat by the corpse of Nevality, admiring the legendary dragon he managed to slay. Its white scales glistened with its own blood. Harlibue saw a clear reflection of his face on the scales. "Now, how shall I keep your huge head as a trophy?" Harlibue questioned the corpse as if it could reply. In his brainstorming, a fuzzy image of Tania emerged in his mind. "Oh, wait, maybe Tania has something for this! Her faction is full of witches!" A man stopped before Harlibue. He wore full-body knight armor, following the same green and gold trimmings as the Aegisbound soldiers. "Master, is that you?"
Harlibue broke out of his thoughts, immediately catching onto the voice. "Listan! It's great to see you!"
Listan took off his helm, revealing a youthful face with a pretty smile. He had ruffled blonde hair, diamond earrings, and a tiny fang sticking out of his mouth whenever he grinned. In every step he took, bystanders couldn't keep their eyes away. In the past, he was told many times he could quit his job and stick with being a model, but Listan never budged. Helping people was his true passion.
"It's nice to see you as well, Master Harlibue. How have you been so far?"
"Been doing fine. Doing quests, annoying paperwork, going around the world to take care of my kids, the usual."
Listan chuckled, looking at the aftermath of the epic battle that unfolded. "I'm not surprised. Not even a legendary dragon could defeat you, master Harlibue." His fingers brushed the scales of Nevality, admiring the scene with a pleasant smile.
"Tania also helped, don't forget that. She had already left, though. She nagged on about how I keep getting myself into danger before flying off." Harlibue let out a disappointed sigh. "Didn't even stick around to have dinner with me."
Listan sat next to Harlibue. "You must have a lot on your plate, huh?"
"Yeah, and seeing how Argon City is in this state, it's going to take a while to fix it up." Harlibue observed the debris of what's left of the city. Primordial elements lingered throughout the city. Harsh lightning crackled, intense fire roared, and darkness oozed into the air. All from the aftermath of Nevality's magic.
"Well, about that, Aegisbound will now govern Argon City. Because of your reports years back, we've had an internal investigation of the political landscape in this city for a while now. This attack was the final tipping point in our overtaking the government here. You can trust us that this city will be in good hands now."
Harlibue let out a relaxed stretch. "About time... I was tired of having to deal with those fat, crummy nobles. Unless you guys are about to put more crummy fat nobles into power as well?" His tone was teasing, but also held a hint of concern behind it.
"No, no, no, don't worry. We make sure there is no corruption in our hands. I promise you that. And even if there was, I'll make sure to fix it right away. That's my duty as a captain of the Aegisbound!"
Harlibue stood up with a light stretch, leaning on his cane. "I'm glad you're a responsible young man. I'm so happy that I raised you right! Now, I have a question, Listan. Are you available to do me a favor?"
"Oh, I'm not busy at all. What is it you want me to do, master Harlibue?" Behind Listan's anxious twitching smile, his inner thoughts were ones of pure panic. Recalling the times Harlibue's 'small favors' grew into something catastrophic. Like the time he ended up having to battle a dragon for a teddy bear, or the other time where he had to battle the settlement of an orc general to get Harlibue some Elven Kazlack sugar for his 7th wife's wedding cake.
"I have some students that are going abroad. I'm hoping you'll help them in their journey and protect them if needed."
"Protect them? Are they going somewhere dangerous?" Listan imagined this was to be somewhere dangerous, but Harlibue interjected his thoughts. "No, it's not dangerous at all. It's to Kasus Kingdom. I just assume something might go wrong, so I'm sending you."
Listan was quite suspicious and highly doubtful it was going to be a peaceful trip, but he took a deep sigh and reluctantly accepted the job. "Fine... I'm only doing it because you're my teacher and my life savior, master Harlibue. I'd better not be fighting some evil masterminds in there."
Listan then felt Harlibue's hand pat him on the back. "Don't worry, Listan, you'll be fine! Oh, and can you pick up someone for me as well? Here, I had placed a tracker inscription on him. Here's the stone to see his location." He handed Listan a stone, and when he concentrated deeply in thought to activate the inscription on the stone, a faint line of Rysen led to the target from the stone.
"M-Master Harlibue, why are you putting trackers on your students?!"
Listan's question went unanswered as Harlibue had already departed.
"Master, d-don't leave without answering me!"