NOVEL NEXT Arc II Chapter 7
II
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Arc II Chapter 7
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12th Anima Lunar VIII AAC 753
Little Aurora was occupied with a task of immense importance, a task that required her full and undivided attention and dedication, namely plundering the local cookie supplies. The sugary temptation proved too strong. The cookies were hers. All of them! Without exception!
Aurora hugged her cookie jar, determined to protect her sweets with her life, and prepared to fight to the last cookie.
In the meanwhile, Arwing's tender heart shed tears. Her crying eyes witnessed a massacre of unimaginable proportions. Her beloved cookies! They were slaughtered! No!!! Yet her desperate pleas were all in vain, the voracious demon didn't stop, devouring them all without mercy. One cookie after another fell victim to her gluttony, as her cookie jar was emptying. No cookie was spared. No cookie survived. With every fallen cookie, a portion of her soul withered.
Arwing had never expected the girl to harbour so much evil. The gluttonous girl claimed the entire jar after she had offered her a handful of cookies. This wasn't fair! This was outright evil!
After sharing her personal cookie supplies with the poor girl, the latter took them all. Giving her the little finger, the girl took the whole hand.
Unbothered by such earthly concerns, Aurora was munching on her cookies with her cheeks stuffed like a hamster. “Big Sister Arwing, are you crying?”
“It's nothing.” Arwing sniffed, refusing to succumb to sadness. “I just got some dust in my eyes. Nothing to worry about.”
“If you say so, Sister Arwing.” Aurora beamed and offered her benefactor one of her precious cookies. “Here, take a cookie. I am sure it will help. You look like you could need one.”
Arwing accepted her offer. Her eyes sparkled with joy, with hope. “Thank you, the cookie helps.”
It really did. Arwing relished every last crumb. Her palate rejoiced. Her tongue tasted the sweet bitter flavour of molten chocolate, of pure cacao bliss in heaven. “Mmmmmmm.” Her cookies never tasted better.
Aurora raised her eyebrow in reaction. Apparently, cookies were Arwing's weakness. Chocolate proved effective against her. Noted.
Nelaeryn rolled his eyes at his colleague's unbecoming behaviour, before changing topic. As usual, Arwing was unable to resist her beloved cookies. “Lambert!”
Lambert responded, “What's the matter?”
“My knowledge of human customs might be admittedly ... lacking, but shouldn't we treat the dead with more respect? We should grant them a proper burial, or at least notify the adventurers' guild about the carriage and their dead.” Nelaeryn didn't care much about a bunch of dead humans, but he cared about the forest and the spirits of nature.
The blood of the dead, human blood, stained the soil, distorting the natural flow of aether. Carnage, slaughter, murder, the violent deeds of men corrupted the forest and its aether alike. Like a curse, like a blight, the corruption expanded until the area was purified to not attract malevolent spirits and haunting ghosts. Such was common wisdom, supposedly. Yet the human adventurers, blinded by their ignorance, either didn't mind, or didn't know.
His words made Lambert stiffen. “I would strongly advise against it. Both options are ... suboptimal.”
“How so?”
“Trust me, this carriage is a ... delicate matter. We don't want to have anything to do with this whole affair. We touched nothing. We saw nothing. We know nothing. We remember nothing, understood? Better don't get involved with this. It's a bad idea.”
Nelaeryn didn't understand. “I can't follow.”
“...” Lambert took a breath. “Did you notice the black eagle on the carriage? It's the coat of arms of the ...”
“... of the House von Schwarz, isn't it?”
Lambert's eyes widened in surprise. “You know?”
“Of course, we do.” Nelaeryn nodded. “Their reputation ... precedes them, to put things mildly. The proud Schwarzean eagle is known across the lands, even far north across elven lands. We entered Schwarzwalt with their official permission. They have authorised our expedition. After all, we are scholars and archaeologists, not common thieves and smugglers.”
“I see.” Lambert returned a strained smile. Fucking elves and their connections, receiving special treatment from above because of their background. They did not have to wait years even for the simplest permit. Their status and their affiliation to the Royal Alfreikian Academy opened them doors that would remain forever closed to mere commoners like them. “Still, we shouldn't get involved with this. Not recommendable. Too delicate for my taste. The Schwarz are powerful, and so are their enemies. Knights escorted the carriage, trained and heavily armed, yet they got dispatched with ease. This wasn't the work of some petty thieves and bandits. They would never dare to provoke the highest circles of nobility. The carriage must have been targeted by professionals. The attack must have been planned. The assassins knew their craft. They struck hard and fast. The scorch marks also suggest that the attackers deployed mages, a considerable number, judging by the level of destruction ... This affair is far beyond our pay grade, Lord Nelaeryn. Nothing we, nor you, want to get sucked into.” The entire situation screamed danger. They probably stumbled across an assassination plot. Lambert had no interest in nobles and their games of power and influence. Way too dangerous. They were just simple adventurers.
Lambert repeated his point, “Trust me, Lord Nelaeryn, human nobles are troublesome. I speak from experience. Don't meddle with them, better for everyone.”
“We understand.” Nelaeryn merely nodded.
Aurora followed the conversation with interest. “Lambert ... Lambert ... Lambert, who are these Schwarz?”
...
...
...
Time stopped, as the forest fell silent. Only the chirping of the birds disturbed the eerie silence.
“You ... what?” Lambert nearly choked. “You don't know who the Schwarz are?”
Aurora shook her head. “I don't know them, so who are they?” Of course, she wouldn't know them. After all, she was suffering from amnesia, wasn't she?
“You have seriously never heard about them?”
“Never.” Her answer was once again negative, and Aurora consumed another cookie. They were delicious, irresistible. “Are they important people?”
“Important? Important?! IMPORTANT? They are immensely important! They are ruling Schwarzwalt for centuries. Every child knows their name! So how does it come that you don't you know them? Did you grow up in a cave, or what?”
Aurora tilted her head, thinking, “Not in a cave, but I guess I grew up in a forest. As I don't remember any other place, that means this forest has to be my home. Now, forests and caves are comparable. They both share many qualities. They are both dark and humid.”
“...” Lambert was lost for words. The girl was clearly messing with him, wasn't she? The girl was provoking him deliberately. “Listen, girl, amnesia well and good, but stop messing with ...”
His punishment came swiftly. Iris hit him with her staff, strongly disapproving of his actions. “Stop this, Lambert, the girl suffers from severe amnesia. She doesn't even remember her name. It's quite likely she lost her entire memory. No need to treat her like this.”
“I know, you don't need to tell me. It's just ... It's just ...”
“Just what?”
Lambert was rubbing his head. Her strike still hurt. “Nothing, forget it.” He conceded defeat. For now, the cheeky princess had won.
Lambert turned his attention to their girl. “Do you at least know where we are?”
Aurora stroked her chin, thinking, and thinking, and thinking before coming to a conclusion. “No, not really, but I feel it was something along the line of ... Arcania?”
A sigh escaped Lambert, overcome by a mild depression. The girl was truly a lost cause, a country bumpkin in the truest sense of the word. “It's Arcadia. Arcadia, not Arcania.”
“Oh, Arcadia!” Aurora clenched her fists with determination. “Understood, I will give my best to memorise it, promised. Arcadia ... Arcadia ... Arcadia ... Arcadia ... Arcadia ... Arcadia ... Arcadia ... Arcadia ... Arcadia ... Arcadia ... Arcadia ...” Information saved. The kingdom was called Arcadia.
“...” Lambert shook his head in disillusionment. What a strange girl. Impossible to understand. Impossible to comprehend. Impossible to decipher.
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