Amidst the Chaos

Chapter One: Rapid Change

            “Are we there yet?”

            “No.”

            “...Are we there yet?”  

            “No.”

            “…Are we there-“

            “Damn it, Tym, for the last time, no! En, oh. No.”

            “No need to get upset, Kandee, sheesh. I swear, we’re not related.”

            “You-”

            “Will you two be quiet for a moment? Geoffrey’s thinking!”

            “Alright, so if we go here…then that will lead us here…Hmm, too far and we might get stuck in a snow storm…ah…” The four travelers had stopped for a moment as they treaded through the snowy fields of Lutie. A snowstorm had just passed, leaving piles of snow all over the place. For the travelers, it must have been at least three and a half feet deep. Excluding them, and perhaps monsters if any, no one else was around. After all, who would like to travel in the rough roads of Lutie at wintertime? But then, they were paid to go to Lutie and complete their mission. The one who had been navigating the group around the place was the famed mercenary, Geoffrey Hyman. He had black hair, green eyes, and stood nearly six feet tall. Geoffrey wore a ragged red cape on his back that came down to his ankles. Underneath it, Geoffrey wore a thick, dark blue shirt and his pants were a simple light brown color. On his side was a large zweihander that stuck out like a sore thumb. The blade’s silver handle was reflecting the sunlight in the fields.

            Standing beside him was his loyal ally, Ellian Frost. Ellian was not as tall as the prince or Tym; she was small and scrawny. Despite her size, Ellian was powerful and agile. She wore a cape similar to her leader and below it was a pure white colored armor. Further down were the chain mail and brown leather clothing. Strapped around Ellian’s body was a long and fine lance, which was slightly bigger than her. She had long, braided green hair and soft blue eyes.

One of the assassins that accompanied them was the strong, skilled, and often reprimanded by his sister, Tym Ethor. He was tall, had snow white hair that reached up to his shoulders and gray eyes that constantly watched the area. Unlike the previous two, he did not wear armor or a cape- but instead raggy dark clothing and a red scarf that was wrapped over his face. He had two knives strapped by his waist and on his arms were katars.

Lastly was Kandee, the female assassin who often denied being related to Tym in anyway- albeit being his twin sister. Kandee wore the most revealing and improper (for the weather anyway) attire out of the group. Her dress was cut on the shoulders and made a v-shaped opening from her chest to her belly. On top of that, she wore a miniskirt when it was five degrees Fahrenheit. Kandee had red hair that was tied into pigtails, and brown eyes. Like Tym, she used katars. On the side of her right wrist, hidden by the katar’s handle, was a red stone tied to a thin black rope. She did not have spare daggers but had a katana on her left waist instead.

            Geoffrey started to scratch his head and growl in frustration as he calculated the distance between their current position and the City of Lutie. “On foot, it would be three days. By horse, it would be one and a half…I had no idea this place would be this big. From the map, it looks so tiny!”

            “It could be worse.” Ellian remarked.

            “Yes, I know.” Geoffrey replied with a sigh. “Damn those Pronteran bastards. They ran out of horses because of the Geffen-Prontera war.” They all nodded in agreement and pressed on forward. 

***

            “Oh…my…god. What in Rune-Midgard is that?” Misori exclaimed, pointing to the gruesome sight in front of him. The cake in the white box Geoffrey held in his left hand was all smushed up. The cherry on top of the icing was splattered and frozen. The frosting was all over the box and was barely on the cake- or what should have been the cake. It was so flat it looked like a chocolate pancake instead. “I paid three hundred thousand zeny to have Reffy’s cake crushed?”

            It’s Tym’s fault, Kandee thought.

            On the other hand, her brother thought, It’s Kandee’s fault.

            Ellian stood from behind watching in disappointment and told herself mentally, It’s their fault.

            We suck, was all Geoffrey could come up with.

            “I’m not paying you guys anything for…that!” The black haired man shook his head in anger and scoffed. Then he turned away and closed the door of his home, leaving his visitors in the late noon outdoors of Prontera stunned and taken aback. The first time they had met him, he was much nicer.

            “…That friggin-” Tym began and shook his fists, but was interrupted by Ellian.

            “Guys, let’s forget it and just go back to the inn.” She said softly.

            “I agree. And maybe next time, we shouldn’t lay on top of it after falling down a slope.” Kandee said, coldly and sarcastically then rolled her eyes.

She began to walk towards the direction of the inn, as did Ellian and Tym, until Geoffrey spoke up. “I’m afraid I have some business to attend to. I’ll be back late, so don’t wait up for me.”

            The twins looked at each other in suspicion, but Ellian nodded nonchalantly. After saying their goodbyes, they parted ways. Ellian, Kandee, and Tym went to east Prontera where the inn was and their leader headed south to the Prontera exit. As Geoffrey approached the exit, he was stopped by two burly guards. Both were much larger than him and carried newly sharpened spears. The two asked him to halt. He was going to be inspected. With the war with Geffen occurring, the government had to make sure there were no spies or assassins sent by the Geffenians to create chaos amidst the busy city. He took out several folded papers from the pocket of his pants and handed it to the left guard. The man read it and handed it back to Geoffrey, nodding in approval.

            “Where are you headed off to, sir?” The guard on the right asked afterwards.

            “I’m heading off to Izlude for a bit, if you gentlemen don’t mind. I would like to look back at the remains of my old hometown.” Geoffrey told them in a calm tone.

            Then, the guards let him pass. The mercenary bid them goodbye and walked through the empty fields of Prontera. Nine years prior to the war, it was bustling with people seeking a new life in the capital- merchants wishing to make business, experienced travelers wishing to settle down, men who tried to apply for the military, others wishing to find their faith by receiving holy orders, and some were warriors looking for a guild to join. Guilds in Prontera were a group of honored mercenaries. Unlike other mercenary groups, guilds were often recognized for their excellent teamwork on accomplishing missions. To be qualified as a guild, one band must have many members that exceeded their expectations, be deemed worthy to the present king’s eyes, and have a special type of rock called the Emperium in their possession. As a ‘gift’ for their work, the kings would let guilds participate in a contest to compete for small castles in the back of Prontera castle. It was held every four years and people from all over Rune-Midgard would flock to Prontera to watch this event.

            If people couldn’t live in Prontera City, they’d usually go to the town of Izlude. Then, they could commute. But most of the time the foreigners searched for jobs as a fisherman or swordsman instead in Izlude. People continued to move to that area for many years, until Geffen declared war on Prontera. Less people came, afraid of being killed or injured on their way there. The economy slowed down a bit and a few industries associated with Geffen closed, yet it still prospered more than other nations.

            It took perhaps half an hour for Geoffrey to get to Izlude on foot. He knew his way there without looking up ahead for trees or small cliffs he would stumble upon. His green eyes were fixed completely on the ground and he ignored every creature that passed him, like lunatics, porings, creamies, etc. During that time he walked, his mind was only recalling memories of his childhood. When he finally reached Izlude, he winced. The bridge’s roof was burned, and the cobblestones were cracked. Carefully, he treaded through the path and avoided any holes that would make him fall down to the water.

Geoffrey walked at a slow pace, examining every detail of what used to be his hometown. It looked much bigger when the buildings were still intact; now it was just a bunch of humongous rocks on the ground. The debris even blocked some roads, making him have to climb over them. Vines grew all over Izlude due to neglect. It ranged from remains of steel merchant carts to demolished building walls. The cold sea breeze blew his hair and cape wildly in around in different directions as he made his way near the abandoned port. The remaining ship on the dock was totally destroyed. Ashes were spread on its deck and all the cargo that used to be inside it were plundered by thieves years ago. Several yards away, there was a lone cliff and on it was a wooden cross-shaped marker. Geoffrey made a small smile and headed over to the marker. He kneeled down and prayed.

***

            It was about nine o’ clock in the evening and Ellian put her fork and spoon on the empty plate. Her companions, however, were still eating. None of them had ever spoken to each other since they ordered their meal; Ellian took this chance to get to know them. She looked at the two and asked, “Where are you two from?” She had only met the two assassins about a week or so ago, when Geoffrey accepted them into their small mercenary band. Apparently they had posted a job offering at the inn’s bulletin board. They’ve never really had much time to interact with each other because of the long and tiring missions they went through.

            “Wer fum Mowwok,” Tym muttered as he stuffed his face with food.

            “Morroc?” Ellian asked to make sure. She could barely understand him with the amount of food he took in. Tym nodded. “Ah…I’ve only been there once, it was extremely hot…”

            “Yes, it is.” Kandee agreed after chewing her food. “Our training was difficult because of the climate. I remember I used to get a lot of headaches running outside…”

            “Fainting was like breathing for you there. You must have passed out about twenty times a day…” Her brother added and grinned.

            “Shut up, Tym.” His sister glared.

            “What if I don’t want to? You gonna to chase me with a toothpick?”

            “How about I choke you down with the food you stuff yourself with?”  

            “Erm, guys…Don’t argue please.” Ellian said, trying to calm the two down. There was a moment of silence until Ellian spoke up again, “Say, Kandee…How did you get through the snow fields with a…miniskirt? I’m very surprised you didn’t get pneumonia…or even a slight cold!”

            Kandee shrugged and Tym responded, “Skills.”

            “Skills…” The lance knight mumbled. She definitely wasn’t convinced, but left it at that.

            “What about you? Where are you from?” The red haired assassin asked, avoiding the subject.  

            “I’m from Alberta. I moved to Prontera several years ago though because Alberta didn’t really appeal to me. It’s beautiful- yes, but I soon got bored with the place.”

            “We’ve never gone there.” Tym responded casually. “I heard it was nice in this time of the year though.”

“It is.” Ellian said approvingly. “It’s like Payon in springtime.”

Tym stood up after finishing his food and stretched. “I’m tired…I think I’ll rest now. ‘Night.”

“Good night,” Both women said as he proceeded to go upstairs. Soon after, they continued to talk about other trivial matters. Minutes passed, and the inn’s door opened with Geoffrey on the other side. He came inside and sat where his friends were.

            “Hey guys.” Geoffrey greeted with a low and weary voice.

            “Hi, boss. Where have you been?” Ellian questioned.

            “Searching for our next mission…Where’s Tym?”

            “He went upstairs to sleep, a few minutes ago.” Kandee said. “Speaking of which, I should too. I’m getting sleepy. Good night.”

            Geoffrey and Ellian were the only ones left at the table, and few people were about. Some were reading books and drinking wine, others conversed with their family or friends softly, and the innkeepers were putting up the chairs on the empty tables. Geoffrey had his elbows on the table and rested his head on the knuckle of his hands. Ellian frowned, “You went to Izlude didn’t you?”

            Her leader nodded, “No one was there. I thought after all these years they’d rebuild it.”

            “I heard that the Prontera government was going to rebuild it after the war. Supplies have been short because merchants keep getting plundered by Geffenians. Prontera’s own supplies are limited, since most of it is sent to the soldiers.”

            “Does Prontera still have the upper-hand in the war?”

            “Yes, but only by a slight edge. Geffen has been winning the battles lately- because of their wizards, sages, and alchemists. People say Aldebaran has secretly allied themselves with the Geffenians, but no one knows for sure. Also, Prontera is asking Payon to help them in the war. It’s not been confirmed if they will though. I know Payon doesn’t want to get involved in wars, even though their military force is superb. On my previous visits there, trainees were constantly marching and sparring with each other with spears from sunrise to sunset outside the palace entrance. I’ve never seen them rest or falter even once.”

            Geoffrey kept silent for a few seconds. He sighed and mumbled, “Do you know why Geffen declared war in the first place?”

            “No, I’m afraid I don’t…There are rumors, but most of them are garbage picked up from the air.”

            “Like what?”

            “That the Magician Court came under Loki’s spell and did his bidding, they got bored and just wanted some ‘excitement’ (“I doubt they’re that bored,” Ellian added), or that we’re not really having a war but we’re all under their spell so we think we are, or that a giant chicken is now ruling the court and wants revenge on Prontera for killing and eating too many chickens.”

            Geoffrey raised his eyebrows at the last two and tried not to laugh by covering his mouth with a huge smile. “Um…that’s nice.”

            Ellian frowned, “People have gone mad in their minds…”

            “How sad.” Geoffrey smirked.

***

            Back upstairs, the siblings lay in their double-deckers, talking rather than resting. Tym was on the bottom bunker with his face in the pillow, while his sister was on the top playing with her hair. “Why do you get the top bunk?” Tym questioned.

            “Because I got here first?” Kandee snapped and twirled her hair in her index finger.

            “I’m older.” Replied Tym, turning his face around so he faced the wood on top of him.

            “I still got here first.”

            “Fine…Why didn’t you tell them about your wristband?”

            “They don’t need to know.”

            “Why do you keep hiding things?”

            “Why do you keep asking questions?”

            They both fell silent for a long time afterwards. Soon, they succumbed into an uneasy slumber, with dreams recalling their dark past that had led them to their current lifestyle.