"Who… are you?"
The frightened woman said, looking up at her mysterious savior.
His smile was warm. It radiated safety. But there also was a strength behind it, as though nothing could stand in his way when he had his mind to it.
Tears still fell from her eyes, but not of pain or anguish. But of bliss, happy to still be alive, and to look up at her savior.
Egan stared down are the young girl. She had to be in her mid-20s by the looks of it. She was short, roughly around 150cm around the same height as Sarah, and her face was covered in freckles.
He studied her, not because it necessarily interested him, but because he wanted to find out the reason why this woman would be targeted by the Fire Emblem. It puzzled him. Because, sure, she was a fairly attractive girl, but not overly so for the guy to chase her around town just for the slight chance at catching her.
'I mean, he was careful, but there is always a chance someone could see him, like I did.' Egan thought
To Egan, the risk heavily outweighed the reward.
He looked towards the woman, a smile still on his face as he gave her an answer.
"I'm an adventurer," Egan said, throwing the unconscious Fire Emblem on the ground.
"But… How did you find me?"
"I was following this guy for a while. I can't disclose why just yet, but this should be enough proof as to the authenticity of my actions."
"Huh?" The young girl said, looking confused, as Egan rummaged through his cloak for something.
"Aha! Here it is."
What he pulled out was something undeniably real. Something that solidified his claim tenfold, if not a thousand.
"This is… The Valegrim family crest!"
The young woman looks up in awe towards the man before her. He lowers his head, taking off his hood, now kneeling in front of the woman. His elegant horns and red hair light up the dark alley. Now the man in front of her is even more mysterious than before. With a smile, he glances at her.
"My name is Egan, just Egan. What's yours?"
"Olivia, Olivia Hayward. Thank you… for saving me!"
Her cries are now more visible than ever. Her cheeks are red from smiling. It was a smile so gracious it could bring anyone who saw it into tears.
"I have a favor I need to ask of you, Ms. Haywill."
"Please, just call me Olivia."
"Okay, Olivia, I would like it if you could come down to the guild with me. I want to discuss this matter with you and my employer."
"Of course! I would love to."
"Great."
Egan stood up, now looking over at the slumped, failed kidnapper, foam still shrouding his mouth. After glaring at his person, examining the pitch-black cloak, it looks vaguely familiar, but how? This is the only time he had seen this cloak up close; all the other times he'd come across a Fire Emblem were in stressful situations. So he never got to examine them before. So, how is it familiar to him?
He looks down towards the man's feet, the knife he dropped located right below him. It was long and thin, as though it resembled more of a needle than a blade. Its handle was in the shape of a cross, its hilt shaved into a spiral and a black cord wrapped around its spruce handle. What really caught his eye though, was what was covering the blade.
Egan goes to pick it up, a foul stench of chemicals radiating off of it.
'Poison.' He thought to himself.
Though he had never encountered poison before, his instincts screamed that it was. What else could give off such a cursed odor?
He picks it up and puts it into the sheath on the kidnapper's hip. Hoping to save it so that Ser can examine it further upon returning to the guild.
"What are you going to do with him, Sir Egan?" Olivia said, eyes worried as to what this man might do if he were to wake up.
"I'm taking him with us," Egan responded, beginning to pick him up.
"What!? What if people see you? You can't haul around a dead body!" She yelled, clenching her cheeks with her palms.
"One, he isn't dead, just unconscious. Two, I showed you my insignia, so there is nothing to worry about on that end."
"A-Alright! I'll meet you at the Guildhall!" She said, immediately getting up, grabbing the basket of scrolls, and beginning to walk very speedily out of the alley.
"Wait just one moment, Olivia."
"Y-Yes?" She said, halfway through taking her first step.
"That isn't how we're going to get there…"
"huh?" She said, a blank expression plastered on her face.
Within a flash, before she could react, he grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her onto his other shoulder. Now both the girl and the failed kidnapper are resting on opposite shoulders.
"W-What are you doing?! P-Put me down! This is embarrassing!" She panicked, her face becoming beet red as she struggled to break free.
"Stop your squirming! You're making this harder than it needs to be!" Egan protested, having to deal with hands flying in his face and kicks being hurled towards his backside.
"Hm?"
Throughout the onslaught of barrages, Egan notices something shining on the ground. Something he wasn't able to discern before. But whatever it is,
It will definitely be important.
***
Knock ~ Knock ~ Knock
"He's back already?" Liz said, looking over at the window, a black figure perched on the roof outside it.
"Coming!"
Liz opens the window, looking out at what is knocking.
"How are you back so fast-"
The black figure stares at Liz, its eyes sunken back and its face looking ghostly.
"Wait… You're not Egan…"
Liz's face turns pale.
'Has our plan been found out? What happened to Egan? I knew I should have come along…'
The black figure gets closer, his face being only inches away from hers.
Closer
Closer
***
*CRASH*
Liz, who is now trembling on the floor, looks out at the figure before her. It has collapsed face first onto the ground, its butt sticking straight into the air.
"Huh-?" Liz said, shocked at the sudden collapse.
While looking at this confusing scene, she gazes up at the window he fell from. Squatting there, barely containing his laughter, was Egan.
"Ba ha ha ha!!~ I got you so good!" Egan said, holding his stomach, tears flying from his eyes.
"You asshole! I should kill you for that!"
"Ah! That was worth it." Egan said, climbing through the window and stomping his feet onto the ground.
"I was worried sick something bad happened to you!" Liz yelled, her face becoming flush from embarrassment.
"I'm fine, I assure you. And I bear gifts!"
Liz looks at the man slumped on the floor, his face buried in the floorboards, foam piling up from his mouth. She looks at his cloak, not recognizing it in the slightest. She then looks towards Egan, a large smile plastered on his face. He was proud of his accomplishments.
"Uhm… Who's that?" Liz asks point towards the woman on his shoulder; her eyes completely rolled to the back of her head with her soul trying to escape from her mouth.
Egan gently places her on the ground, helping her to stand. Her eyes spin as she tries to regain her balance. She looked a lot like Sarah on second glance, or at least, they give off the same kind of energy.
"C-Could you… P-Please… Go slower… next time?" Olivia asked, trying her best not to hurl.
'Yeah, I did get here as fast as I could. Sorry bout that..." Egan said, scratching the back of his head.
*SMACK*
"You idiot! This is big for us, and you still manage to mess it up!" Liz yelled, socking him in the head with her fist, "Sorry about him! Please make yourself at home."
"Sure!"
***
[A loud pair of footsteps ring out from beyond the door]
Upon opening the door, Ser, as massive as ever, looks upon the two new guests, gracing us with their presence. He walks up to them, placing a stack of papers on his desk. Even though this mission was going on in the background, there were still guild duties to be done.
After placing the stack on his desk, he looked up at Olivia, who was gazing at him, eyes full of excitement.
"Hello there, young lady, pleasure to meet you. I am Ser Dornath Valegrim, head of the guild here. Sorry about the arrangement, we would have accommodated you much more if it weren't for the situation we find ourselves in."
Olivia's eyes gleam with admiration.
"I'm Olivia Hayward, I know all about you! I love everything you do, especially back when I worked for your guild!
"Wait… You're an adventurer, Olivia?" Egan said, shocked at the reveal.
"I was… Until-"
The room went silent. Not a single breath was heard from anyone. A look of sorrow was plastered on Olivia's face.
Not wanting to budge further, Egan shifted the conversation.
"Then there's this guy," Egan said, kicking him in his side.
With a jolt, the man, who was now bound by rope, yelped in pain, for Egan had kicked him in his broken wrist.
"Ack!"
"So… This guy is one of them?" Ser said, towering over the man lying helplessly on the floor.
"Yeah… This is one of them, alright. Same cloak and everything." Egan said, also towering over the man.
An aura of bloodlust radiated from both of them. They stared daggers at the man, as though their vision alone would blow this guy sky high.
"Now… Start talking." Ser said, picking him up with one hand and slamming him into the wall.
As he coughs up blood, he looks back at the Ser and Egan. A look of pure horror on his face.
"Look, you guys are making a big mistake, he'll kill all of us! Every single one of us is dead! Including me.
"We're so dead."
"I'm so dead."
"I'm so dead."
He kept repeating those words over and over again, as though a switch in his brain was flipped to incoherent crazy. Dropping him onto the ground, all he did was ball up and piss himself.
It was a pathetic display.
How can one cower so much when they lost fair and square?
They look down at him, faces riled with disgust.
'Face your consequences, worm.'
Egan spat on him. A display not of pure hate, but also to try and get this sad sack of shit to do anything else besides beg for a life that wasn't in danger.
Ser was tired of his bullshit, so he grabbed the deranged man and sat him in a chair in his closet, stripping him of any weapons. Unsheathing it, the dagger was now thoroughly coated in the poison from earlier, the stench filling the room. Apparently, the sheath had a coating lining the inside of it that would secrete this poison-like substance onto the blade. It was a very complex catalyst. Almost to the point of it having an attribute—like the one on Sarah's dagger and Egan's sword— etched into it.
"I'll take it to an apothecary tomorrow to try and find out what this substance is," Liz said, grabbing both the dagger and the sheath from Ser.
"The apothecary is still open if you want to go now, Elizabeth," Ser revealed.
Egan, hesitant to let her go, protested that it isn't safe right now. That he should go with her at least for a sense of safety. But to Egan's surprise, Ser revealed that the apothecary was right across the street from the guild. So, when he was frantically trying to find medicine for Sarah, he could have just gone to the guild.
He felt so stupid.
"If that's the case, I'll be right back!" Liz said, quickly leaving the room and dashing down the stairs.
"Now, let's check up on our friend back there." Ser said, walking towards the closet door, Egan following behind, "Stay behind by the desk, Olivia."
"Right!"
As they got closer and closer to the door, they were shocked at how eerily quiet the room inside got. For when they left, he was still hysterical. You could practically hear his chanting from the next house over.
This felt unnatural.
They were hesitant.
'Maybe waiting to attack at any moment. Or worse, he escaped and now knows exactly what they're up to.'
Egan's mind was racing, praying that this disgusting freak didn't have the balls to beg for mercy, then try and sneak attack them.
Creak~
They opened the door slowly, hoping that there wasn't a mess on the other side.
But to their surprise, there he was, still sitting with his back facing them, looking at the opposite wall.
"Phew," Egan thought to himself, wiping the sweat from his face.
"Time to talk, maggot!" Ser demanded, spinning the chair in a full 180 degrees towards him.
[A splatter of blood droplets sprays on Ser's face]
"…"
Blood
The disgusting coward. Was covered in blood.
His eyes.
His nose.
His mouth.
It was as though all of his insides ruptured.
The pair look at him in horror.
"No…
"You're kidding..."
"He's... Dead."