"There will be another slight change to your quest, Roll...
You'll be switching sides."
-Rollan-
"We're here," Devin finally announced as they walked through the entrance of the town, "Welcome to Trunswick."
Ever since they fed the horse whatever black substance it was which turned the horse into something that...didn't look like a horse, Rollan has been quiet ever since. Thoughts ran through his head as he wondered about what that black substance was, why they wanted the talismans, and why no one, except the Conquerors, have ever heard of these Great Beasts before.
Rollan silently followed Devin as they walked through the houses until they reached a huge house. Standing on the front was a wealthy-looking man who wore robes, a lynx standing straight by his side. A young boy that looked like a younger version of Devin, stood beside him, a smile on his face and a boar sniffing at the ground nearby.
"Father, Dawson," Devin bowed to the man then nodded to his brother. They both acknowledged him with a nod, "This is the famous Amayan thief, Roll. Roll, this is my father, the Earl of Trunswick, and Dawson, my brother and summoner of Rumfuss the Boar."
Rollan tried to keep a straight face as he bowed down as well.
"Ah, so you're Roll, the most wanted thief of Amaya," the Earl of Trunswick boomed in a deep voice, "Pleasure to meet a mastermind. Especially one who had stolen the necklace of the Prime Minister of Amaya."
"Yes, one of my hardest ones," Rollan nodded.
He remembered acting as one of the servants and snatching the necklace as soon as he was nearby. He remembered making a run for it and barely managing to escape the guards. The Prime Minister had raised the taxes just to satisfy his hunger for money and because of that, most of the poor people in Amaya struggled, some losing their homes.
Those who rebelled or didn't pay the tax were thrown into jail, making Rollan even more angrier when his own mother was sent to jail. That's when he made his great act by gaining some allies to help free those who were innocent and had stolen the necklace, leaving a letter of warning.
"Well then, since you're in our side, I should have no problem of you stealing my things," the Earl chuckled though there was no humor in it, "You'll be staying in one of our spare rooms. My servant will lead you to that and give you a tour."
At the mention of the name, a blonde-haired boy with green eyes stepped forward, wearing tattered brown servant clothes.
The servant gave him a small smile but avoided eye contact as he spoke, "This way."
Rollan then followed him as he led him through the hallways of the huge house. Rollan glanced around the paintings and the furniture as they passed through several rooms. Rollan knew that the Earl was already rich and was already thinking of possibilities of sneaking away some of the expensive things in here. Though he couldn't do that for he had made a deal.
The servant then stopped in front of a room and opened it, gesturing for Rollan to enter first.
"Thanks," Rollan told him as he entered his room.
It wasn't big though it wasn't too small either. There was a small table on one side and a bed on the other side. Not the most luxurious but Rollan felt comfy.
Rollan sighed in relaxation, "Ah finally, some rest."
"Chasing the Bamboo Panda must've been tiring for you, especially since you've been trying to do that all night," the servant commented.
Rollan glanced at him in surprise, "How did you know that?"
"I, uh, overheard Conquerors talking about it," the servant quickly said but Rollan could already detect the lie.
He looked at him suspiciously but didn't question as he asked, "So, what do you do for a living?"
"I'm actually a shepherd," the servant said, slightly embarrassed, "I'm only working as a servant to pay my family's debt to the Earl."
"Hm, well i'm a thief," Rollan said, "but your probably already know who I am if you've heard from other Conquerors that I was trying to steal the talisman. That Bamboo Panda, you call it?"
"You don't know what it was?" The servant/shepherd asked, surprise evident in his voice.
Rollan shrugged, "I was only told that it was the talisman of Jhi the Panda. I didn't know they named their own talismans as well."
"Well, they did," he could sense that the servant was getting uncomfortable, "I...thought you were working for them."
"I am working for them," Rollan said.
"Then why didn't they mention the names of the talismans?" He questioned, "Do you even know why they're so important?"
"Don't know and don't care," Rollan replied simply as he plopped down on the bed.
It was silent for a moment that Rollan thought that he had left until he spoke, "Well, you should."
"And why should I?" Rollan asked.
"Because you summoned one of them," the servant answered so quietly that Rollan almost missed it.
He froze in shock but as soon as he had recovered and was about to question the servant, he was already gone.
No. He couldn't have known, not even Devin and Zerif knows.
Rollan shook his head, "I was probably hearing things. A short walk would do."
He then got out the room and walked through the hallways until he got outside. He then walked around the town, casually, before slipping away, in search of Essix.
-Meilin-
It had been a couple of days and the group had finally reached Eura and was currently walking through the forest. Tarik suggested not going through the main path for they might risk getting caught. Already, they've spotted a few Conqueror patrols and to make things more difficult, none of them knew Eura that well.
Not even Shane who had said he was the son of a merchant from Eura. That was probably a lie too. Though Shane didn't seem to want to talk about his past.
"Maybe we should go and look for Finn?" Lishay had suggested as they were walking through the forest once more, "He is from Eura."
"Yes but we don't even know where to look for him," Tarik replied, "We'll just have to find this town on our own."
"Where are we going?" Abeke asked.
Tarik glanced at Shane who replied, "We're going to a place called Trunswick. That is where Rumfuss the Boar was heard to be summoned."
Upon hearing Trunswick, Meilin's blood began to boil again, feeling the familiar fire once more. That name, she remembered him. Devin Trunswick who summoned the 'legendary' black cat. Her feet itched to go faster, looking forward to punching him in the face.
"That is also where our small source tells us that there are sightings of a wolf," Shane went on, "There's a possibility that someone had summoned Briggan."
"What do these talismans do?" Abeke then asked, who was fiddling with her talisman around her neck.
Shane glanced at her in surprise, "You don't know? They're supposed to give you powers. Each talisman holds a different power.. Though what powers they hold is beyond my knowledge."
"How does it work?" Abeke mumbled to herself before she then pressed the talisman against her skin.
Meilin and the others watched her as Abeke tried to figure it out, "Feel some strange powers or anything?" Meilin asked flatly.
"I...I don't know," Abeke mumbled as she kept on trying.
Meilin glanced at her own talisman that she had longed believed to be a necklace of some sort. She had been wearing it for a long time but she hadn't felt anything strange.
"I guess you'll find out your power soon en-" Before Shane could finish his sentence, a branch cracked.
Everyone quickly froze and glanced around, trying to spot whoever just made the noise. Just then, Uraza the Leopard growled and started stalking towards a big bush. Meilin's own Spirit Animal was on dormant for the panda wasn't fond with walking.
At first, the bush didn't move but Uraza stalked closer. Just then, a shadowy figure darted out the bush and into the forest. Uraza was already taking on pursuit and the others quickly followed. Meilin felt a rush of air pass by her and she saw Abeke running with inhuman speed, even passing the others as she raced after Uraza.
Meilin pushed herself to run faster but as soon as she burst through a bush, she had crashed into Abeke who had immediately stopped. They both crashed into the ground with a groan as the others barely stopped behind them. Meilin quickly got up and saw that they had lost the shadowy figure, even Uraza had stopped.
"Well, what a waste of effort," Meilin muttered, frustrated.
"Let's just hope that it was an animal and not some spy," Tarik told them.
"Wait," Abeke suddenly hissed, "Do you hear that?"
Everyone was silent and for a while, Meilin didn't hear anything. Then she heard a voice, someone was shouting from afar. Meilin started moving to the sound and she could finally detect the words but that wasn't what made her run faster. She knew that voice, she had heard that voice before.
"Oh come on," Meilin moved faster, knowing she was near, "Where are you, Essix?"
She took out her staff then burst out the clearing, running towards the oblivious figure.
- - -
Sorry again for the long update! I'll try to update the next chapter tomorrow.