Rune Beast?

Lucius watched with wide eyes as a long red slash was released from the long sword. The slash went all the way into the sky and split the large bird into two. A rain of blood ensued and stained the people below red.

They looked unfazed by it and dodged the two parts of the dead bird that fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"What kind of a sword is that? Is that an artifact perhaps? Or was that the effect of a gift?" Lucius wondered.

The man who had just killed the large bird searched through the two parts of the corpse and pulled out something from it. It was too small for Lucius to see and thus he couldn't exactly tell what it was.

After getting whatever they wanted from the corpse, the people left the place and went towards the western district of the city. Lucius couldn't really spot them after they entered the city due to the buildings and houses, making it hard to see them.

Just seeing them would have been impossible normally had it not been for the fact that he was at a rather tall height. The mansion of the Count was located on a small hill, that had been flattened at the top.

This gave him plenty of elevation along with this being on the highest floor also helped him see quite far. Feeling unable to hold back, Lucius left the room and went to the gallery that was located further up the mansion.

It was one of those galleries with a conical roof and Lucius could see a three hundred and sixty degree view of the entire city. He looked in the direction that those people went and saw the western district, that had a lot of shops and taverns.

It was also one of the few areas in the city that were still lit up.

'Doesn't seem like I can spot them here… I'll need to ask Kiana later.' Lucius thought to himself.

He looked at the other parts of the city and learned quite a few things. The Appraisal hall he had gone to in the morning was located in the eastern part of the city, while there was a lake in the southern part, right behind the mansion itself.

A part of the lake was attached to the backyard of the mansion and had a few boats floating in it. There were also guards patrolling along the edge of the lake so as to prevent any intruders from entering. The mansion and its lands were surrounded on three sides with tall stone walls while only the southern side was open to the lake.

Lucius saw the servant quarters and the fruit orchard that was located in the lands.

"This is almost like a small village in itself. The only thing it is lacking is perhaps grain farms, otherwise, it would be pretty much self-sufficient." Lucius thought to himself.

The design actually reminded him of the medical castles that were nearly self-sustainable with farms located within their boundaries. The mansion itself was not as large as a castle, but the surrounding lands were quite large compared to a castle.

Lucius looked further south and saw the forest there. There were some lights glowing in the forest, which Lucius guessed were fireflies. There were farms beyond the limits of the city and guards could be seen patrolling there, too. Though they were very far and Lucius could barely make them out to be guards.

"This is a planned city, no way it developed like this automatically." Lucius assessed.

He went back to his room and laid back on it before falling asleep.

Morning soon came, and the sun shone on his face, waking him up. And just as he woke up, a knock on the door could be heard before the door opened.

"Good morning, Asher!" Kiana greeted him with a smile.

"Good morning," Lucius responded.

"How did you sleep? Was there any problem?" Kiana questioned.

"Not really, I slept well." Lucius answered.

"That's good. You can dress up now, the breakfast is ready and madam will be waiting for you in thirty minutes. I think your father will be arriving by the evening as well." Kiana spoke.

"Alright, I'll get ready," Lucius said.

There were already a few sets of clothes that had been prepared for him in the wardrobe. They were matched and thus Lucius just had to randomly pick one to wear. This saved him time, and he didn't have to think much about it. He wasn't one for dressing up and mostly spent his time in research or on the field.

For him, the most he would do in the case of dressing up would be the gear for a battle and expedition. Except for that, he mostly wore conformable clothes that allowed the erase of movement and allowed him to be functional for long periods of time.

He had finished wearing his shirt and trousers while Kiana prepared his shoes for him. While he was wearing this, Lucius got a question in his mind.

"Kiana, I saw someone kill a large bird last night. They were a few men and looked like mercenaries of soldiers." Lucius spoke.

"A large bird? Where did you see it?" Kiana asked.

"There," Lucius pointed in the direction.

But when he saw it, the corpse of the bird was long gone and no one could be seen there.

"Hmm… and where did these people go after killing that bird?" Kiana asked further.

"They went to the western district," Lucius answered.

"Looks like they were mercenaries then. Either they were doing a job or they just killed the bird since they got the opportunity." Kiana replied.

"What was that large bird, though?" Lucius questioned again and described its appearance.

"Hmm… that sounds like a four winged hawk. It is a Rune beast that lives in the forest a few kilometers from the city." Kiana answered.

"A Rune beast? Now what is that?" Lucius questioned.