UNDER MARSHALL (2)

1007 AF Seedmonth

Day 39

Finally, they arrived at the entrance of the Academy. The guards smiled as they rode through, not checking their passes or blocking their way.

They took their horses back to the stables, and the stable boy bowed as they left. The four friends looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"Why is the stable boy smiling at us?" Lisa ask

"I didn't remember treating him nicely" Lisa said began sensing something weird

"When did you ever being nice?" Kyle said only to be slapped in the back by Lisa. Arial smiles and Helia chuckles.

They climbed the tower's staircase together and opened the door to the common room, and one loudly cheered word hit them with a blast: 'congratulations!' Emerson leaped forward and hugged them.

Luli stood to the side waving at Arial, blushingly smiling.

An enormous banner hung from the ceiling: 'congratulations on completing a hard quest!'

The friends looked around them in surprise, and laughed.

The common room rang with the sounds of festivities, shouts and cheers filling the tower. A fast, merry melody was being played and students were dancing joyfully.

Foods were shoved in Kyle mouth by William Austen. A merry festival began in the common room.

Screams and shouts filled the Hall.

Leila came out of her dorm room out holding the Seven String Hearts and played a fast melody suited to the party, Nathan and Vergo clambered onto the tables and danced.

Lisa also went along with them with Helia being thrown up and down, she giggling all the time she being thrown up.

Lisa and Helia joined the party passionately, while Kyle munched on food with a crowd of dreamy-eyed girls. Sometimes he glanced at Helia.

Arial was quickly swarmed by classmates, desperate to know how he had killed the bandits, how many there had been, what they had seen, and everything else about the quest that they could think to ask.

Arial and Kyle told them all about the festival of Levitia's Homecoming, their encounter with Engel the Mad Surgeon, and the huge bandits with their even bigger weapons.

Everybody listened in awe to their tales, until suddenly the door was flung open with a bang.

"What's all this noise?" Lord Faragur stormed into the common room, eyeing the four new arrivals.

"So, the heroes have returned' He shakes his head and sighed

'I don't forbid celebrations, but at eight suns in the morning this is hardly appropriate. And shouldn't you four be reporting first?"

The celebrations faded and Arial, Helia and the siblings went with Faragur to the Knight Lord's office.

"The ravens delivered the news from Rodes," Faragur said as they walked. "The other Knight Lords couldn't believe it. Everyone was amazed that you'd succeeded."

He looks at the four and Arial could swear he saw the strict Knight Lord smiles a bit.

He paraded them in front of all the teachers taking the longest route to his office.

They reached his office and he ushered them through the door.

Once inside, he gestured for them to sit, and as he pulled up his elaborate office chair, a smile spread across his face.

He held out his hand and Arial gave him their completed quest card. As he read, Faragur's face turned pale.

"You killed Engel the Mad Surgeon, Vargi the Human Eater, Aragir the Sadist, and Larale the Glutton?" he said in disbelief.

The friends nodded.

Faragur stared at them.

Completing the quest alone would grant them enough points to reach the rank of Senior Brother, but with the disposal of four dangerous wanted men, they would undoubtedly rank up to Under Marshall.

Solving the quest of the bandits will grant all of them the title of Senior Brother after dividing their points since they do it in groups.

But with the addition of these dangerous men killed by them, then all of them without a doubt shot up to Under Marshal.

If Arial did it alone he would certainly shoot up to Commander of Knights.

Faragur checked the card again.

The description of the killed man is exactly the description of Larale, Vargi, Aragir and Engel.

So they formed a bandit group.

Faragur guess there is a hole in the Knight Academy information.

"We will announce your new rank in the Hall tonight," he said, nodding to each of them in turn. "Thank you for your service."

Faragur stood and held the door open for them, and they thanked him politely as they left.

As soon as the door was closed, he spoke to the empty room, "So, tell me again how they managed to do it. I need all the details."

Someone come out from the shadows and nodded

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The four friends walked in quiet dignity with their heads held high all the way back to the common room. As soon as they pushed open the door, they were greeted by Emerson.

"Party?" he asked. The friends looked at each other and grinned.

"Party!" they replied with a ferocious laugh.

Their celebrations continued until two noons, when the other students began leaving for their classes.

Arial, Helia and the siblings had been given a week off from their studies for completing the quest, giving them time to rest and heal.

The friends eventually found themselves sitting alone around a messily decorated table with their feet up, talking lazily about whatever they desired.

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Grand Hall

The news of the successful quest had spread across the Academy.

Students from Purple Faery offered their congratulations, White Wolf nodded respectfully, Black Ravens smiled mischievously as they shook the friends' hands, and even West, Arago and Avil of Golden Lion praised them grudgingly.

Though Arial noticed West eyes is darting towards Helia and Lisa.

Lisa and Helia had bonded well during the journey, and one rarely went anywhere without the other.

And behind them one would see Kyle.

Fierce Dragons recruits looked up at us with amazement. Harald looks like his face is punched. He offers no congratulations.

They sat together in the Hall sharing stories with their avid fans. Kyle was enthusiastic and Helia was calm while Lisa is a little bit shy with strangers.

Dinner was served, but for the first time in a long time, the students were too distracted to eat ravenously.

After the last dish had finally been cleared, the Knight Master rose from his seat and addressed the Hall.

The entire Hall quieted.

"As many of you know, four new recruits from the house of Fierce Dragon recently embarked on a hard quest. The odds were stacked against them and it was doubtful that they would succeed, yet here they are."

He waved a hand in the direction of Arial, Helia, Kyle and Lisa, and every face in the Hall turned to stare at them.

"Never before in the history of the Academy has a new recruit completed a hard quest, until now. It seems we will need to keep our eyes on you, Arial Vermont, Lisa Lethe, Kyle Lethe, and Helia Zephyr."

Helia blushed beetroot-red.

Kyle straightened his back proudly. A cheer erupted from the Fierce Dragon table, and the Knight Master let them celebrate for a moment before gesturing for quiet.

"Their mission was to raid and capture a bandit group, but not only did these young heroes successfully complete the task, they uncovered and killed four extremely dangerous criminals. Aragir the Sadist, who tortured his victims. Vargi the Human Eater, who dined on the flesh of the innocent. Larale the Glutton, infamous for kidnapping and raping young women. And most astounding of all, Engel the Mad Surgeon. We regard this as a tremendous honor and service to the people of the Continent. So in that spirit and after careful deliberation, we have agreed from all the faculty members to grant the rank of Under Marshall to these four heroes."

The Grand Hall exploded with applause.

The Fierce Dragon flag was waved with pride around all of the tables. Knight Brothers smiled at the friends and girls from every house winked and waved at Arial and Kyle.

When the cheers eventually subsided, the Knight Master raised his arms and spoke once more, his voice deep and booming.

Then the Knight Master spoke again.

"They will be rewarded their own rooms and for your class you will have to speak to your teacher and discuss what work best for you"

"Thank you for your service!"

The dinner ended, and they made their way out of the Hall.

The older Fierce Dragon students patted them on the back as they went, talking of heroes bringing glory to their house and the Academy.

The friends headed to their dormitories.

It would be the last night they would stay there, for the next morning they were to report to the reception to pick up the keys to their new rooms — one of the perks of rising through the ranks.

They were congratulated over and over for making such a big leap with one quest.

Though it was all luck, Arial mused, that all of those criminals had congregated in one place. But the risk to their lives had been enormous.

Arial hadn't expected the situation to be more dangerous than he had initially thought.

He resolved to choose his quests more wisely in the future, as he finally rested his head on his pillow. Their new lives as Under Marshalls would begin the following day

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