A Female Knight

We've finally reached the village of Modoc. At the gate, a Guard stands holding a spear stops us. 'What is the reason for your visit?' Momiji stepped forward and answered him. 'We are here to seek shelter for the night and we have some information on Kobold attacks on the road towards Meilstora. We have encountered 2 different packs of Kobolds each with more than 10 Kobolds.'

The guard's face changed and said he will inform the guard captain immediately and told us to wait. He headed towards another guard and made his way into the village. Momiji said to me in a soft voice 'When we left Modoc early in the morning there was only one guard at the gate.' Less than 5 minutes later we see the guard running towards the gate 'Open the gates let them in.' he shouted to the guard manning the gate.

Once the gate was open he urged us to follow him 'The village chief would like to speak to the four of you.' He led us to a two-story house with a small flower garden in the front. After entering we took a left turn and stopped at a door. The guard knocked and announced his arrival 'Village chief, I have brought them here.' A loud voice sounded off from the room 'Come in.'

Entering the room, it looks to be the office or study room of the village chief. Behind a long desk seats an old man to the right of the table a middle-aged man in guard uniform. Seated across from the old man is a lady with golden blonde hair in a ponytail with several pieces of armor strapped onto her outfit. The guard that led us went to stand behind the middle-aged man. There was one empty seat remaining to the left of the table.

The old man stood up smiled and said 'Please have a seat, we have much to discuss.' while gesturing towards the empty chair. The three girls turned towards me and Momiji said 'Hime-sama please.' while pulling the chair back for me. I nodded to her and looked around the room, noticing a spear resting against the wall by the door I placed my glaive and my backpack beside it. Pulling down my mask before heading to the chair.

After seating down I pulled back my hood and looked towards the old man. Seeing that I have settled down the old man sat down and said 'Good evening I am Seijorn Reed village chief of Modoc. This is Hector the guard captain of our village and the young lady here is Oriana Drake daughter of Knight Corin Drake. Please if you would share with us your encounters with the Kobolds.'

With a slight nod, I began to introduce myself. 'Good evening Mister Reed, Hector and Lady Drake I am Byakko Hime and these three are Shinonome Momiji, Tsukinokami Kaede and Coco Collins. I met the three of them for the first time earlier today when they were fending off 12 Kobolds on the road between here and Meilstora. What is the current situation of Modoc?' I decided to stop there and hear what they have to say before going any further.

Seijorn looked towards the three girls behind me and said 'In the afternoon a group of kids playing said they saw a big group of Kobolds in the forest. Two hours ago a man came running into the village's north gate saying his party was wiped by a large pack of Kobold coming from the Forest of Ryumilua. He was badly wounded and passed on shortly after arriving. He said that his friends sacrificed to let him get back to town.'

Hector shook his head and said 'Due to that we have stopped everyone from leaving the village for the time being and kept the gates shut.' Oriana said 'I'm here because my friend was kidnapped by a group of bandits and they should have passed by this village.' Hector added 'The guards have said that there was a carriage that left in the morning. The men with the carriage matches the description Miss Drake has given us of the bandits that took her friend.'

Seijorn turned towards me and with a serious look on his face 'Can we hear more about the information on the Kobolds that you mentioned to the guard?' From what I've heard from them so far, there is a high chance the sudden increase in Kobolds has something to do with those bandits. 'Sure thing Mister Reed, of the 12 Kobolds they were fighting there was one that we assume to be a leader it had fur of a darker shade and seems to be commanding the rest of the Kobolds. I believe it would be best if we have the input of that encounter from them as I've only arrived mid-fight.'

Momiji with a nervous voice 'We were on the road towards Meilstora when we encountered 6 Kobolds one of them was the leader. We thought that we could handle them but with the leader's command, they were very hard to deal with. Out of desperation Coco used her skill which allowed us to take out 3 Kobolds, the leader who saw that made a grunt and 6 more Kobolds came running from the forest Coco passed out from mind zero. We only managed to take 1 more Kobold out before we heard the Kobold leader howl and half the Kobolds rushed towards Hime-sama who arrived to help us.'

Hearing Momiji going silent, I continued to explain the rest of that encounter. Next, I told them a brief summary of our encounter with Chouta Salus from the Hephaestus Familia the Kobolds his party encountered was 26 with one Leader which was even darker color and bigger than the one from our first encounter. Hector was shocked by the numbers and asked 'Byakko Hime-sama can I ask how strong was the Kobold leaders you have fought?'

Believing there is a high chance of them misunderstanding and thinking I'm from a familia I should clear it up for them. 'The Kobold leader which was bigger in size was at least twice as strong as a normal Kobold but that is my personal opinion. I have never received a falna before and I'm not from any familia currently. The real danger that the Kobold Leader hold would be their ability to command other Kobolds and maybe even have the ability to call for help from nearby Kobolds.'

Seijorn looked towards Oriana saying 'I can't offer you any guards to help you with your plans and there are little to no adventurers in our village. Getting Byakko Hime-sama's aid would be your best hope at finding your friend.' Hector chimed in 'We are but a small village the guards here can barely keep bandit threats in check, the possibility of Kobolds attacking in large numbers makes it impossible to aid you.'

Oriana frowned and said 'I plan on making an attempt to rescue my friend from the bandits. There is an old fort ruin located in the western edge of Ryumilua Forest. Bandits are known to use it as their temporary base whenever they pass by this area, this information provided to me by Hector confirmed by the village chief. I plan to head out from Modoc first light tomorrow. Could I request your aid for that Byakko Hime-sama?'

Something feels off about the village chief and Hector, it might be better if I spoke to Oriana in private. 'I am feeling hungry and tired from the fights earlier is there an inn where I can stay the night and grab dinner from? Perhaps we can talk after I've secure somewhere to stay Miss Drake. Mister Reed I have told you everything I know about the Kobolds, if there is nothing else of the matter I would take my leave. Thank you for granting us entry to your village.'

'Thank you for the information Byakko Hime-sama I shall not take any more of your time have a pleasant night. Lady Drake I'm truly sorry that we can't provide you with assistance in chasing those bandits.' Said the village chief. Oriana without hiding her disdain to the village chief said 'Thank you Village Chief of Modoc I shall take my leave. Byakko Hime-sama let me guide you to the place I plan to stay in.'

After retrieving my glaive and backpack I headed to the door and said 'If you would please lead the way Miss Drake.' and walked out of the village chief's house. Momiji, Kaede and Coco thanked the village chief before following me. Oriana grabbed her spear by the door and caught up to us outside. While leading us she offered to buy us dinner at the tavern to which we agreed. At the tavern, the five of us decided to share a room that was meant for parties with 6 members.

The room is the last room on the 2nd floor we requested 5 buckets of water and towels for us to clean up before heading for dinner. I asked the tavern-keeper how much would it cost to get someone to buy a backpack and fill it with 20 portions of dried meat and 20 bamboo bottles filled with water to which I was quoted 6500 valis. I offered 10000 valis for the room, the requested items to be sent up to the room and meals for tonight and tomorrow morning, which was accepted immediately.

Going up to our room the girls started to have a quick wipe down, cleaning away the blood and sweat. Seated in front of a mirror I wiped my face down while taking the first look at my face. I had white hair with black streaks, a pair of tiger ears, pale blue colored eyes and very fair toned skin.