Chapter 2 - Assault

"Wait," Aedan staggered with astonishment, "so you are a mage?"

"Yes," Ailis explained, "most Andynols are mages."

"Oh, I see. Sorry, I am still very new to this environment."

"You will get used to it quickly," Germod replied while sorting out the store counter and pulled out what appeared to be a bag of coins, "as you are a worker of this establishment, you should get used to the city somewhat. There are forty coins and a map of the city in this sack.

"There is a shop near the southern edge of the drop called Eglsol, go there and tell the lady in the front that you were to pick up an artefact for Germod. It is around one in the afternoon; I need that item at six."

"What is it used for?"

"Does it matter?" Germod asked flippantly, although it is positive that he is dead serious.

"Can I know what that artefact is?"

Germod looked up at his cousin, smiling as usual, "no."

Walking upon marble-paved streets of Tangille, Aedan became increasingly amazed by the exotic atmosphere of the city in which he had never beheld.

The streets weren't as cramped as he had assumed, being a trade city and all. Only a handful of beings roamed the streets, wandered from shop to shop, searched for foreign goods exported via different caravans that had travelled through the Poethy desert which had bordered the city and the rest of the empire.

Aedan had a great interest in most of the shops alongside the road, even stopping by a few to just see the artefacts close up. Of course, he wasn't going to purchase any of them, as he had no money, and for the most part, didn't understand what some of those items were.

Although this was very exciting for the young lad, Aedan had started to notice the odd stares from some of the shopkeepers and people he walked by. He had witnessed similar sorts of glances when he was on the caravan to Tangille, although Aedan could tell those stares were by the fact he is a human, this was different.

But it didn't really bother the young lad as he continued on his little adventure through the city-state. The cafe was three miles away from the southern edge of the drop, and with some manoeuvring, it should only take about an hour to get to Eglsol, the place where he has to pick up that particular object.

Aedan looked toward the drop at the end of the road, as the decline was still very noticeable two miles away from the drop. The Tangille Drop, the Drop without End, the Devoby Fall, whatever people called it, this drop was such a mysterious location, and Aedan could not be happier for the fact he could live so close to this enigma ...

The shouting cut off his string of thought. It came from the west, a few streets away. Aedan stopped at one of the cross-sections to listen for the noise; just as he paused, a shadowy figure dashed right into him, knocking them both to the ground.

Aedan quickly focused on the figure that had rammed into him. Clearly a female from her body curvature, the individual was masked and clothed in a hooded jet black cape, blended with her dark purple skin. A head-sized bag in one hand and a war scythe almost three quarters her size in the other, this figure seemed very dangerous.

Though before Aedan could react, he and the figure were quickly surrounded by a gathering of thirteen to fifteen guards armed with silver-coloured Gambesons, standing four feet from them in a circle.

"Drop your weapon if you want to live," one of the guards stated coldly. Aedan looked at the guard, a female elf only around the age of seventeen, with long silvery hair and a pair of icy cold blue eyes.

What made her stand out is not only the fact that she was the only female in the group, but that she was the only one armed with a decorated arming sword while the rest of the guard wielded a mixture of mancatchers and goedendags.

The figure casually stood up on the spot and chuckled beneath her mask.

"This is your last warning," the girl spoke as she drew out her arming sword.

Aedan realized what was about to happen and quickly tried to shift away from the encirclement.

"If you don't want to be stabbed, human," the girl said, with no emotions behind those words, "you should stop moving."

Aedan instantly paused and glanced behind him, noticing the guard was directing the spike on his goedendag right at his noggin.

He almost peed himself.

As the girl focused on the human, the figure clinched onto her scythe and started to spin the weapon violently. The guards spontaneously lunged toward her, thrusting their polearms toward their target. In an instant, the blade gleamed in a blinding purple radiance, which was followed by an explosion.

Not expecting the explosion, Aedan was shot back almost ten feet, as were the rest of the guards. Struggling to get up, his ears rang, and his heart beat uncontrollably. He looked up, and almost shoved his own face into the blade of the girl from the guards as she pointed her sword at him.

"That was a fake," the girl said to the other guards who were slowly getting up from the ground, "search every building one mile from here, report back at the fort."

The guard nodded in unison and scattered, leaving only the girl and Aedan on the street.

"Who are you," the girl asked stiffly while staring at the dagger attached to the lad's waist, "and why do you carry that around."

"Ehh ..." Aedan was very anxious about the sword pointed at him, "I ... I am Aedan Geonor, this ... this dagger is for defence."

"What were you doing just then?" the girl asked.

"I ... I was going to pick something up at Eglsol."

"Where?" the girl almost couldn't believe what she heard.

"Eglsol."

The girl immediately kicked the lad in the face, knocking him onto the ground once more, "you were going to Eglsol?"

"Yes?" Aedan felt the blood in his nose about to rush out and attempted to hold it back. At the moment, his confusion was far greater than the pain he was enduring, "what is wrong with that?"

"What were you going to pick up in Eglsol?" the girl asked emotionlessly but seemed to contain some extra fury than before.

"I --- I don't know."

The girl slammed her boot into lad's face again, "you don't know what you are getting?"

"No no no, I am getting the thing for someone else!"

"Who?"

"My cousin."

"Who is it?" Germod asked when he heard an aggressive knocking on the cafe's door, "the cafe is closed until six, come back later would ya."

"This is the sentinels," a heartless voice came from behind the door.

"Hmm?" What are the sentinels doing here? Germod quickly ran up to the door and pulled it open, and the instant it was pulled open the body of Aedan was thrown onto the floor, and he was met with the blade of a silver arming sword.

"Woah, Woah, Woah, what's going on here?" Germod quickly waved his hands and slowly backed away, to which the girl simply said, "I dare you to move one more step," which prompted him to stop.

"Ok," Germod paused, "I won't, but you will have to tell me why you are pointing a sword at me, or we will have some serious issues later at my lord's place."

"Were you the one that told him to go to Eglsol?"

"Yes?" Germod glanced at his cousin lying on the floor, completely motionless, "is he dead or something?"

"Why did you ask him to go?"

"Can I know if my cousin is dead or not?"

"Answer my question," the sentinel moved her sword closer to his neck.

"Alright, alright," Germod replied innocently, "I am just asking him to get some alloys for brewing."

"What alloy?"

"Bronze and Metud, sixty to thirty mixed with some other stuff, Eglsol has the best blacksmith in town."

"Who is that?"

"Are you even local?" Germod asked with confusion, wait, I haven't seen her around, "hold on, I know all of the sentinels in town, and I have never seen you before."

"Are you questioning my identity?" the sentinel asked, still lacks any emotion.

"Very much so," Germod raised his voice to a higher pitch as if he was almost teasing the sentinel, "are you an impersonator?"

The sentinel stared at Germod in silence for a moment, before returning the sword into her sheath.

"I am not an impersonator," the sentinel replied, "I am here to replace Crannach as the new head of the sentinel."

"So you are from the empire?"

"Yes," the girl's eyes still focused on the man in front of her and her left hand rested on the gem-mosaiced pommel, "sorry if I startled you, this was the way it worked at the capital."

"Don't sweat it," Germod, still unnerved, slowly backed off next to the store counter, "you want some coffee?"

"No," the girl replied, "your cousin is fine, by the way, I just knocked him out, pour some water over him and he should be fine."

"No problem, it will just be a nap for him," Germod began grinding some of the coffee beans he had on the bar, trying to calm himself down, "anyway, what happened to Crannach, why did you have to replace him?"

"He was killed."

"What?" Germod was so shocked he almost dropped his metate, "what happened?"

"I was sent to inspect the city by the council," the girl explained, "and during the inspection, we were assaulted by an A'nie; Crannach was stabbed through the heart with a war scythe, he died on the spot."

Died on the spot. The words sent a shiver down his skin.

"When did this take place?"

"This morning, and I was appointed by my lord Geadais as the head sentinel soon after."

"Ok, but what happened to the others in the store, was Crannach the only one killed?"

"All dead, only me and two others got out," the girl replied monotonically, seemingly unmoved by the massacre that had happened, "the A'nie seemed to be stealing some item from the store, and we just got in the way."

Some item, Germod quickly realized what had happened, that might be an issue.

"So you're telling me an A'nie snuck into the city?" Germod asked, smiling as always, hiding his emotions within, "would the city be under lockdown?"

"No, the city will remain open," the girl replied, "the best situation now is if the A'nie was satisfied by her finding and left the city, but hold out for further notice."

The girl glanced toward the clock on the wall, "I have to leave now, please apologize to this young man for me once he wakes."

"Wait."

The girl stopped at the door, "what?"

"Can I know your name?"

"Does it matter?"

"Well, you are the new head sentinel," Germod remained smiling, "presumably the best for me to know you better if something were to happen."

"Aneira Prothero," the sentinel replied with her emotionless tone, "if you do have something, you should go ask the other sentinels before coming to me."

"I understand," Germod bowed slightly forward, a sign of respect, "good night, miss."

As the door shut, Germod took a big breath and looked at his cousin lying on the floor for a moment, and then ignored him and went up to his room.

"The times are changing, the times are changing indeed."