Oberon took a moment to process the words that had been told to him. It did not truly connect with him until a moment later when it truly wracked him with a sense that this was not real. “...what?”

  King nodded, genuinely seeming to fear the situation even though he himself was of great might. “It is horrible. Your whole village is in shambles, and the place is covered in a deadly pestilence that we have identified before. We have not seen this plague for a very long time, but when it makes an appearance, the scene is gruesome.”

  “That… that cannot be true.” Oberon felt his breathing be heavy and irregular, and he felt a weighing regret. I should have never left, what have I done!? “What caused this to happen?! Who did this?!”

  Aaron and King looked at each other as if trying to figure out whether to tell him or not. They both nodded, and Aaron walked up to him, comforting by putting his hand on his shoulder. “There may be some kind of foul play at hand. This thing, whatever it is, leaves villages and it has left kingdoms destroyed, burned to the ground and covered in this terrible substance. We keep thinking it may be gone… but it comes back to bite, and it bites hard. We have some ideas, but we had someone else scout the area due to the danger of the pestilence.”

  Oberon noticed there was another person in the room sitting on a chair. He looked like he was living with rags for clothing, everything torn and sullen, but what struck him odd was that his body seemed very liquid and malleable, although he could not tell for sure. “One of our specialists, Brody, was sent to investigate the area.”

  The unknown adventurer was stern. “Nothing but wood and corpses scattered about. It was certainly one of the more dispiriting cases I have seen, I searched the houses and… well. Whatever was left of people melted away.” He gagged a little. “I did not like being there for very long.”

  Oberon pictured the scene, and it almost made him have an episode. Although he never really liked his tribe, the idea that something murdered all of them in such a reckless way made him anxious, and he could not stop thinking. He had no way back, he could not go back. Now he was stuck in the kingdom and had no place to go back. The concept was unfathomable to him and he felt tears running a little.

  “Oberon…” Brody said, trying to show his sympathy. “I know this is hard. I’ve lost my people too, in many hard ways. If it’s of any consolation I did find something amongst the debris. You may want to look at it," he mentioned.

  "It is specialized for your use,” King said silently. His mentor handed him a scroll. Almost immediately, The Knight took it and opened it. Oberon ran his cold, rough hands against the soft skin of the paper and the lines stuck out unusually despite the fact parchment ink was not usually sticking off the paper. It was a map, and the title in big letters read The Tavern Of Acknowledgment.

  Oberon glanced at Brody and then back at King and Aaron despite the sadness in his eyes. “I thought you guys only knew about-”

  Aaron interrupted. “I may have wanted to mention that some people do know, but I simply want you to exercise caution.”

  Oberon squinted at the paper before his eyes, feeling the rough paper with his hands as he listened. “I see.”

  “That map is crucial to find some new information that could be used to find this murderer. Your instructor never told me the details, but all I know is that the destination is beneficial, and if it is in your interest to search for this you may want to depart” King commented. “That place will only be open once a week when it is nighttime on the sabbath.”

  The Knight placed the scroll in his gauntlet. “I’ll try to get to it when I can, this has all just been a bit much.”

  Brody spoke up. “The pestilence is made from the same substance as I am. If I should really be helping you on this quest and you decide to seek this out, I am the result of a human from long ago who has been in a terrain that contains The Pestilence.” He raised his hand and shifted it, making it somewhat liquid and deformed. No one could see Oberon’s face because he was wearing a helmet, but The Knight was disgusted at the movement of his body. “If it helps, just look out for the colors of this type of green and black.”

  Green… Green! I remember that.

  The picture of the dragon flying overhead popped into his mind. Could it be that the person responsible for this was not even a person but rather an abomination of a dragon?

  Oberon nodded. “That is all I need to know. Thank you all for the update.”

  "Take this first," Aaron said. He gave The Knight an adventurer certificate, and he put it in with the rest of his armor for safekeeping. With that, he left the room. The trauma still invaded his mind, and he flinched for a moment.

  It hurts. It hurts really bad. But I cannot let this be all for nothing.

  He almost felt like crying again. But he refused.

  Push it down. If you figure this out, you can stop it from happening again.

  Deep down, he felt like sulking into the ground, he almost lost his will to continue.

  But Oberon knew that he had to avenge his people, even if they were not always the kindest to him. If he were to avenge his fellow people and his parents, he would have to get more info on the killer by going to this tavern of sorts. He would have to wait a day before he could take any action, and maybe in the meanwhile he could rest or make the home he was in more comfortable.

  Oberon was hungry, and the last time he ate was a week ago so he would have to feed himself. That may have seemed surprising to any ordinary human at first, but he could starve himself much longer like many reptiles due to his robust health as a Drakenblood Warrior. Oberon had plenty of time and it seemed like Aaron was keeping a plot of land for him to live in (which The Knight had to thank him for later), so the only thing that he had to worry about was sustenance… and there were things to purchase in the kingdom but he had not acquired any money, nor did he understand much about it. Hunting with a sword back in the forest near the village had become manageable for him as he practiced and practiced in hopes of a day where he would never have to use his powers, so it was not much of an issue. Maybe then he would be able to fix the house some other time.

  Oberon went out of the kingdom gates and looked for a lush forest to hunt for boars and deer in. Although he never really cared about what he ate, The Knight did prefer most bigger herbivores. There seemed to be a healthy area for hunting in his midst for hunting boar when suddenly, Oberon noticed that there were human footprints inbound, along with a couple of branches that were tampered with. Nonetheless, he continued and waited patiently, trying to hide in the bushes. Several small prey stumbled around as he waited for quite a bit. There were rabbits, squirrels, deer- wait, deer? He saw one trudging by in the clearing next to him, and he crouched. It moved, unknowing that a predator was hiding and planning his attack. It sniffed around the grass and took light nibbles as if drawing attention to itself.

  Come closer.

  It began to step towards Oberon's location, ever slowly.

  Closer, he thought as if he were asking the deer.

  The deer was in the range of a swipe. With a quick brandishing of his sword, The Knight used the momentum he had from the heavy object he was lunging with to strike downwards, attempting to kill it with a fatal fracture from the sheer force. If anything, that was what his blade was made to do. Cutting could be secondary, but the sheer force of the impact could easily send an opponent his size flying a far distance. Unfortunately, there was a big noise from somewhere else which spooked it, and Oberon's sword hit the dirt. The deer was long gone.

  "Drats." There goes dinner.

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  The Knight heard footsteps encroaching, and he batted his sword in the direction. He caught a woman in a cloak who had a dagger on her, alert to her suspiciousness. "Stay right there!" He said, attempting to be, although it sounded less heroic due to his childish voice. The adolescent stopped and put her hands up, in which Oberon recognized the mysterious person as non-threatening.

  "Be quiet, you fool! The whole forest can hear you," she whispered.

  Oberon put his sword away. "Why must you be in the middle of the forest when I am hunting?" He pressed, still peeved about his loss. “I was about to catch this deer and then you just come stomping in here-”

  "Wait, you call that hunting- look, I apologize, but can we please move somewhere else?" she said impatiently. “There are some marauders that run through here sometimes. You could easily be putting yourself in danger.”

  The Knight scoffed but took her advice into account. "Fine." She led him through the forest, and at one point, Oberon was not even quite sure where he was. The Knight was likely wasting his time following this girl. After a while of trekking through the woods, he noticed smoke nearby and something fragrant that reminded him of home cooking. When he finished walking through the trail with the cloaked assassin, The Knight found himself in a clearing with a small wooden house and a fire with food cooking. Somehow, everything was reminiscing him of home.

  "Tami, have you brought another visitor?" An old female voice called as the other younglings in the family scattered when they saw him. The girl in the cloak turned to face her.

  "Yes, I do not think someone would randomly come here without me giving them a fight." She winked at him, and he glared at her.

  “Well,” the old lady whispered. “I suppose we are in good condition for some hospitality then, to handle a knight of the kingdom?”

  “Ah no that’s not it!” He sat down, his legs crossed as he made sure his blade stood holstered. “My name is Oberon. Although, I am not like the other knights. I am simply a part of the adventurers guild. The only reason I wear armor is for protection, otherwise, it does not have any official status… at least I think so.”

  “Hm,” Tami noted. “You do not have a last name?”

  “No.” I do, but I cannot risk anything.

  “I see.”

  The Knight was now more confused than ever as he realized that this might become a trend in his new life as he was asked to sit down and enjoy a meal. Every time he was about to accomplish a task of his own, it seemed there was always a new person to approach him and give him another quest to go on. Oberon had a feeling this was bound to happen a lot more than ever.

  But of all things, why am I sitting here with a bunch of forest peasants when I could be hunting? He thought, although his stomach said otherwise to their welcoming. Surprisingly the dish was not all that bad, and everyone gave him an odd look as if he were not supposed to be finishing soup in a mere thirty seconds. For a normal person, he had starved himself almost to death, but even then it seemed apparent that he had superior ingestion abilities as well. I guess I will have to pay attention to what I do more often.

  "So what brings you here, ‘knight?’" Tami flicked his helmet. "You seem like quite the odd one."

  Oberon nodded. "I have been told that most of my life, trust me." He looked around for signs of any animals, but only the crackling of fire remained in his ears. "I was trying to find something to hunt, and well… let us just say someone ruined my kill." Oberon looked at Tami, clearly showing that he still had some errands to run.

  She looked away as if she were not to blame for anything. "Do not fault me! You were not even using the proper tools!"

  Oberon dismissed her rather harsh response. "Do you all live here?"

  The older woman spoke up first. "Yes, we do. Although with all these rascals running amok, we never get anything else done. It has been like this for years." She nodded slowly and blinked. "I also cook food. The others just hunt and trade with merchants who pass through. But then, what are you doing here? I do not suppose you are... trying to court my granddaughter?"

  Oberon stared awkwardly at Tami who looked in the other direction. "Um, no... you see I am on a quest to reach the Tavern of Acknowledgement."

  The grandfather spoke up. "I have not heard that name in ages. I remember it used to be a subject of some human travelers who passed through here, wearing these silly dragon-like costumes, ha-ha! It was decades ago but I think about what they used to do up there. They always came back a little battered and worn out."

  The Knight trembled a little. I hope I will not be the subject of scrutiny up there. "Well, thank you for the food..." He bowed. The elderly man glanced at him warmly. "Is there any way I can help you?"

  The mother shrugged. "Nothing I can think of-"

  "Can you take me to your kingdom?" Tami interrupted, taking Oberon’s gauntlet in her hands.

  “Tami, you are trusting a man who you just met not long ago? I think we should wait”

  Tami snapped. “Well, if it will help the family, I need to do it! He may likely be our only chance to mediate some sort of exchange to enter the kingdom.”

  “Why can he not just… Tell them to make some arrangements?” Grandma asked, looking to him for suggestions. She displayed that did not have any expertise or wisdom in the situation as seen by her expression, so Oberon had to think of something to postpone the idea of Tami coming over to the kingdom.

  Oberon tilted his head. "It is not exactly in my power to give you anything to start with, but I have no objections to attempting to appease the guild master to make some housing and working conditions."

  Both of her parents looked shocked. "I mean, you did want to go as a child," The father mentioned. "I guess nothing is stopping us, but… I am going to miss this place.”

  Grandma hugged him. "Do not worry, Oberon; he is very sensitive. You may go. Just do not forget to stop by every once in a while." With that, they were dismissed. However, the children grouped up and huddled toward Tami. Oberon could only infer after all of this she was the oldest sibling.

  "Do not go, sister!" One of them said, hanging on to her tightly.

  Another one tugged at her cloak. "We need you to live with us!"

  Tami laughed “I spend almost no time here in the first place because I need to feed your mouths, but we have to figure all this out so we can live somewhere better. Come on, get ready to leave soon.”

  The parents and Tami eventually packed up some stuff out of the makeshift shack they were in, and Oberon waved before he dashed off into the forest-

  “Wait.”

  Oberon stopped. “What is it, Tami?”

  “Those designs on your helmet…”

  The Knight gulped nervously. “What about them?”

  She inspected him closer. “There is some sort of legend about the way you look.”

  “Really now?” He chuckled, trying to hide his fear. His wings that were attached to head stiffened. “I have not heard of such details.”

  “Yeah! I have…”

  Oh heavens, I think she is on to me.

  “...that crucifix on the front of your helmet is unmistakable! Did one of your family members partake in the crusade?”

  Oberon sighed, relieved that she did not figure out his Drakenblood identity. “Ah, yes. This was my grandfather’s armor set. He grew to be a very old man.”

  Tami looked at him admiringly. “Very nice. Well, take care and let me know how those arrangements go.”

  “Will do.”

  Eventually, the two left off on their own separate works, and Oberon was left thinking about his life choices as he ran quickly, finally having some more energy to do something. In mere seconds I eat soup, find a lady, make diplomatic arrangements, and all while on a mission to avenge my village? He thought. This is beyond strange.

  Oberon went through the city gates calmly, and they discussed what would happen next, and The Knight made sure to recall all of the information he would need to tell Aaron. Oberon was hoping that guild master Aaron could help somehow as he did back a day ago. The sun was setting, and Oberon had to figure out how to get to the map’s location and what he needed to bring. Since this was a destination that seemed to be more than just a horizontal distance away, he would probably need to make sure that he had a route planned out since the excursion would be tomorrow.

  The Knight ran past the gates after the inspection and told Aaron about his visit with Tami. After a bit of conversation, he agreed to let in the family as long as they would provide service for the adventurer’s guild and the kingdom’s militia in their own ways, in which Oberon told him that was the exact intention of them coming.

  After that, he came through pacing quickly to get to his home. With a quick twist of the doorknob, he opened the house quickly as dust flew everywhere upon his return. Goodness, I should really give this place a good cleaning later. At this point, it would just be a dust house if he did not do something about it, although it did not matter too much to him since no one would be visiting in the near future. Quickly, Oberon headed up the flight of stairs and took out the stored materials in his armor, then splayed the map out on the table and felt the whole expanse while holding the book to track the direction of where he was to go. It seemed like quite the journey now that he saw it; the distance was most definitely more than a league away. From what it appeared, it was northeast from where the kingdom was, which was a relief because Oberon did not want to go back to the village especially after what had happened.

  The distance and altitude would be challenging considering that about three-quarters into the journey there would be an uphill battle, which would make the trip a full day’s worth guaranteed, although it was definitely nothing short of achievable. Oberon prepared himself for the worst as he put the things back in his armor spaces and headed out the door. The sun had finished falling, and the moon was beginning to rise as he crept through the city streets stealthily and swiftly. After he waited for a couple of moments, he decided his journey to the tavern would start now.

  But more importantly checking the details on the map, he realized the map was more importantly said to have been designed by a Draken architect by the name of Sophus. It made him wonder if he really was going to find Draken up there, high on the mountain, awaiting his adventure.

  To him it mattered not, he was going to avenge his people. Ready or not, here I come.