First meeting.

Fourth day on the road, and things have been very peaceful. Just like Aryn wanted. Maybe the sight of four, well-armed guards is enough to scare most common bandits away? The scenery doesn’t change that much. It’s still mostly green plains, hills and the dirt road. Some say it gets a little boring after a while, but Arthur likes it. It means the land is full of life. The forest to the east is getting thicker, and that’s something to pay special attention to.

“Mr. Donald, armed men ahead! Three of them!” Aryn announces as he walks slightly ahead of the caravan.

“Bandits?” Donald asks.

“Unlikely. They’re standing in the middle of the road. It seems like they’re waiting for us.”

“Everyone get ready.” Donald calls. “We’ll hear them out first, but be ready for a scrap if they want one.”

Arthur and another guard jump out of the back of the cart. The black-haired youth taps the pommel of his mother’s sword and takes a deep breath to calm down. This could be his first taste of truly deathly combat.

‘Mom was ruthless, but she was never going to kill me. Just make it seem like she would. This is different.’

They approach and see three people standing in the middle of the road, and one of them catches Arthur’s attention. It’s a woman. She looks young. Silver colored eyes; black, long straight hair that almost reaches her hips; thin eyebrows; a slender, yet athletic figure hidden under a purple tunic, a leather cuirass and thick linen pants.

She is… unbelievably cute.

Arthur swallows, but forces himself to shake off those thoughts. Not only are the two other armed guys behind her, the woman herself has a shortsword strapped at both sides of her narrow waist.

“It’s not polite to stand there in the middle of the road, you know?” Donald shouts from a distance, stopping about 10 meters before reaching them. “Someone might mistake you for bandits.”

“I assure you, sir, we are not bandits.” The woman says, taking a sheet of paper from one of her companions and raising it. “We’re from the Dusty Hall. We would like a word with you.”

‘The Dusty Hall? What’s that?’

“Aryn, Arthur, go to them. You two, get your bows ready.” Donald orders before looking to the side at his partner. “What’s wrong, Melvin? Worried?”

“They could be faking it.” The second boss says, swallowing hard. “I say we get the guys up on the cart and make a run for it. They can’t follow us on foot.”

“We could lose some cargo in the process, though. Let’s hear them out. Our boys are strong enough and even outnumber them.”

“There could be more in hiding!”

“Where? Look around you, Melvin. It’s mostly plains here.”

“The woods are nearby.”

“About 10 minutes away.”

Melvin starts sweating, but it’s reassuring for Arthur to see that those two make a balanced pair. Donald seems more daring while Melvin is more cautious. No wonder they’ve been in business for over 7 years.

“…Fine, but let’s make it quick.” Melvin gives up.

“Alright Arthur, on me.” Aryn says. “Let me do the talking. You watch for sudden movements. Don’t be afraid to cut some hands off if they try anything funny.”

Arthur swallows, but nods. He’s going to the capital to become a knight. He knows he will eventually need to kill people. Hopefully bandits and criminals, and even then he hopes it won’t be many.

“Yes.” He answers. This is reality. He knows even his mother’s hands are stained with human blood. That’s the kind of world they live in.

The two guards walk up to the three strangers. On the way, Aryn speaks.

“Donald didn’t tell you this, but I should. If worse comes to worse, they’ll run away and leave us here.”

The young man’s head snaps to look at the older guard “W-What!?”

“That’s one of the dangers of being a guard. Cargo is more important than our lives. Of course, that’s just standard protocol for caravans. I wouldn’t be working with the guy for 6 years if he followed standard protocol.” He snickers.

“So that means…?”

“For him, worst case scenario is we already have a sword through the chest.”

That helps Arthur relax a bit. “That means we can expect the others to give us back up.”

“Yes. Watch out you’re not in the path for arrows. They’re good shots, but not THAT good.”

“Noted.”

Stopping about five steps away from the strangers, Aryn addresses them. “Well, who are you and what do you want?”

“My name’s Marina.” The woman says, pointing her thumb to herself. “Like I said, we’re here on behalf of a client. We’re mercenaries from the Dusty Hall.”

‘There it is again. Mercenaries? Is the Dusty Hall some kind of mercenary group?’

The girl, Marina, steps forward and leaves the sheet of paper on the ground before stepping back. No one has drawn their weapons, so Aryn is mostly safe to walk up and take the paper and back away.

“This is your contract, right?” He asks, reading through it.

“Yes. We’re currently on a job for a man named Eliot Ulster.”

Both Arthur and Aryn flinch at that name, and the older guard immediately confirms that name is indeed in the contract.

Eliot Ulster. The second prince of the Radiant Kingdom.

‘Why is the prince hiring mercenaries? What’s going on here?’

“So? What do you want?” Aryn asks.

“We only ask that you let us inspect your cargo. We won’t take anything. We just need to know what you’re carrying.”

“I’ll ask the bosses if they let you see the paperwork.”

“No, we need to see the cargo itself.” Marina insists, making Aryn raise an eyebrow.

“You think we’re smuggling something?”

The girl doesn’t speak. She just closes her eyes and lets her silence do the talking.

“Whatever. I’ll still ask the boss.” Aryn shrugs.

“Thank you.” She gives both him and Arthur an honest smile, and Arthur can’t help but stare back. There’s something about her that interests him. Not only is she beautiful, but she seems… strong.

‘She can’t be carrying two swords just for show.’

The two guards go back to Donald and explain everything.

“We can’t let them get close!” Melvin insists. “We have no obligation to accept their request. It could be a trap!”

“Doesn’t seem like it. The paperwork is legitimate.” Donald says. “And it’s a request from the prince himself.”

“That boy has no real authority! He won’t even be the next king!”

“Calm down, Melvin. All we have to do is let them inspect the cargo. If they mess with it, we take care of them and issue a formal complaint to the Dusty Hall. We could even profit from it.”

“It’s not worth the risk, Donald!”

“Why are you so nervous?” Donald asks, sounding suspicious. “It’s not like this is the first time we come across something like this.”

“I-I heard it in St. Fiona. B-Bandits are impersonating guild mercenaries to steal caravans.”

“What? Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”

“I-I didn’t think it was true.”

“We can ask only one of them to inspect the cargo while the others stay away. They’re the ones with the request, so we can put as many conditions as we want.”

It goes on for a few more minutes, but eventually Melvin runs out of arguments.

They allow the mercenaries to get closer, but only one of the two men goes to inspect the boxes while being watched closely by two guards. Arthur and Aryn are tasked with watching the girl and the second guy, and Arthur still can’t keep his eyes off Marina.

The girl notices this, of course, and crosses her arms and smirks. “What? Do I look so strong that you have to keep your eyes on me so much?”

“Y-Yeah.” Her addressing him takes Arthur by surprise, so he answers and nods hastily. “…I’ve seen people carrying two swords, but usually the second one is a backup. That doesn’t seem the case with you.” He explains.

“Huh. You actually have a good eye. And here I thought you were another idiot about to throw a pick up line or something.” She says with a grin.

“I’m not good at those. You’re very pretty, though.” Arthur says, smiling honestly. This causes Aryn besides him to cover his mouth to hold his laughter, making the boy realize what he just said and he starts blushing madly and shifting in place.

“Never mind.” Marina shakes her head, disappointed. “Yeah, I use both swords at the same time.”

“D-Does it work?” He asks, clinging desperately to the chance to change the topic. Besides, he’s seen travelers around Yellowseed Village before who try to use two swords, but they all end up just flailing them around.

“I make it work.” Marina smiles confidently and proudly. “It’s a family style.”

But when she looks past Arthur, her smile falls. Then they hear it.