~Notes~
And then Tales of a Lost World bypassed Tales of a Lost Phoneme in chapter numbers…

Episode 57 The Rise of a New Maple Empire

Wind rips past the gigantic mast of the Rift World airship, as it draws closer to the port built in the uppermost boughs of Ellinia Forest. A cool breeze sails by, ruffling the hair of spectators standing down below.

They gaze and point up at the enormous ship in awe, whispering amongst themselves. Many of the spectators standing on the dock draw back and huddle together, fearful of the enormous unidentified ship.

As the heads of those onboard the ship poke out to stare at the peculiar scene below, a loud shout rises from the audience watching them. They point fearfully at each of their visitors in turn, muttering amongst themselves.

“J-Just who are these people?!”

“Whoa! That angry-looking one has red hair and a Green Snail sticking out of his shoulder!”

“And that one with the purple hair has red eyes! Freaky!”

“Maybe they’re aliens that escaped from Omega Sector!”

With Ryuu leading the way, the rest of the group leaps down from the ship’s deck, onto the dock to the great surprise of all the spectators. They gasp and draw back, as if fearful for their lives.

A tiny fairy in a blue top hat scurries up to Ryuu, wagging her finger disapprovingly. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Just what do you think you’re doing here?! You can’t just park your ship here however you please!”

“Here’s a meso for the parking fee,” Ryuu mutters, forcing a bronze meso into the fairy’s outstretched hand.

“I-I’m not gonna be bribed!” the fairy protests. “And even so, one measly meso is hardly gonna pay for the parking fees of such an enormous ship!”

Ryuu points to Ayame, saying, “My friend’s a Chief Bandit, y’know.”

The fairy stares perplexedly for a moment from Ryuu to Ayame, then suddenly comprehension dawns on her. Her eyes widen and bulge considerably, and she steps away, laughing nervously. “O-Okay! H-Have a nice day then, s-sir!”

Ayame shakes her head, placing her hand over her face. “Such unnecessary violence from you, Ryuu…”

Together, the eight of them stride out of the dock, leaving behind the startled spectators and the angry fairy. Entering the main city of Ellinia, they ogle for a moment at the town, completely repaired and unrecognizable from the day Grendel had died.

The town remains built upon the canopies of trees, with avenues of tree branches and bowers criss-crossing across each other. Ropes and ladders clamber all over the town, paving a road from the ground straight up onto the city’s highest point.

The tower that had once belonged to Grendel has been remodeled into a more practical building, though still not lacking in spires and fancy towers. It sits aloft at the crown of the town, an almost grim sentinel watching the rest of the city’s inhabitants.

“It looks like the people of this town have fared pretty well after all,” Ayame mentions, gazing at the town with a half-smile on her face. “To think that they could have actually completely rebuilt the town during the time we were all gone.”

“The question is, why, though?” Ryuu replies. “The Myougun originally destroyed this town in order to stop communication between Victoria Island and Ossyria. Why, if Victoria Island is still controlled by them, would they allow Ellinia to be rebuilt like this?”

“It’s pretty strange,” Kunai admits, “but there must be a logical reason behind it.”

“Whatever the reason,” Ryuu growls, striding forward, “we won’t learn about them standing around here. Let’s go and see if—”

“Oww!”

Ryuu steps back, having crashed into someone else. The Assassin on the receiving end obviously takes the worst of the encounter, having fallen to the floor. Large blocks of firewood lay scattered all around him.

Ryuu blinks at this new person. Ayame glares accusingly at him. “What?” Ryuu wonders.

“Help him up!” Ayame shouts, slapping Ryuu across the cheek. “You’re the one that made him fall.”

“Well, excuse me if I’m not well-educated in etiquette!” Ryuu snaps back at Ayame. Otis titters on Ryuu’s shoulder.

Ryuu sighs, and looks around hesitantly for a moment, before bending over and stretching a hand out to the fallen Assassin. “You uh…need a hand there?”

The Assassin looks up, and takes Ryuu’s hand. He straightens the Black Pilfer sitting atop his head and smoothens his Red China set, which had been ruffled in the chaos.

“Ah!” the Assassin cries miserably. “My firewood!” He bends over immediately to pick them up off the floor.

Kunai and Ryuu step forward, helping the Assassin gather up his firewood again. Very soon, the firewood is sitting in one neat bundle on the forest floor once more.

“That should do it,” Kunai grins.

The Assassin nods, smiling. “I don’t believe you’ve told us your name,” Ryuu growls.

“Oh. The name’s Rill,” the Assassin answers, reaching out to shake Ryuu’s hand. Ryuu blinks confusedly at it, as if not knowing what to do with it.

“Grab his hand and shake it!” Ayame hisses into Ryuu’s ear, jabbing him painfully in the ribs.

“Oww!” Ryuu howls, rather loudly. “You don’t have to do that, you know! So what if I don’t wanna shake his hand?! He’s a total stranger. I don’t know where that hand’s been!”

“Quiet, you!” Otis shouts in a perfectly audible tone. “He’ll hear us!”

Rill laughs nervously. “Heh, heh…th-that’s okay!” He glances over at everybody else, noting for the first time their intimidating armor and weapons, held proudly out in the open. “Y-You guys aren’t from around here, are you?” he asks skittishly.

“Nope!” Otis squeaks. “In fact, we’re from the moon—!”

Ryuu socks Otis right in the mouth with his fist, silencing him immediately. “Can it, Balrog breath.”

“Actually, I think what Otis and Ryuu meant to say,” Ayame begins, glaring at the two of them, “is that Ryuu here is native to Perion. Ivy here and I are from Orbis, though Ivy doesn’t remember her memories there due to several unpleasant circumstances. Silver and Tide here are from the Rift World, whereas Sasha and Lily are from the Night World. Last but not least, Kunai hails from Perion as well, but he’s also got connections to Kerning City.”

“And what about I, the great Lord Otis?!” Otis squawks.

“Otis is an experiment gone wrong,” Ayame replies, a mischievous smirk on her lips. Otis’s eyes bulge angrily, but everyone else ignores him.

“K-Kerning City?!” Rill repeats, shock written across his face.

“Yeah,” Ayame answers, slightly surprised at the look on Rill’s face. “Why do you look so shocked?”

“Y-You don’t know?” Rill cries, bewildered.

“We’ve been away from Victoria Island for a very long time,” Ivy answers, “so we haven’t been keeping up with the news over here.”

Rill turns to Ivy, noticing her for the first time. “Oh…” he mumbles. Suddenly, he catches himself staring. “Oh, well, the thing is…Kerning City’s now under the control of…” Rill gulps, hesitant to say the name. “It’s under the control of L-Lord Duncan now.”

“Lord…who?” Ryuu wonders.

“Lord Duncan!” Rill cries. “You don’t know who he is? He’s one of the Myougun’s three Lord-status leaders. Lords are like cardinals under the pope.”

“The pope being Lord Kimura,” Ryuu comments.

“Right,” Rill replies, “well, there used to be three, but now there are only two. Lord Duncan, Lord Gilford, and Lord Fyx. The last one is—”

“Deceased,” Ryuu completes for Rill.

“Y-Yeah,” Rill replies, “how did you know?”

“Never mind about that,” Ryuu grunts, “you were saying?”

“Oh, well,” Rill mumbles, “you see, ever since Lord Fyx passed, two more Lords were appointed to dominate Victoria Island. The island was separated into two territories, one under the command of Lord Duncan and the other under Lord Gilford’s.

“Kerning City, Lith Harbor, and Henesys are currently under control of Duncan. His words are law in those areas. Meanwhile, Perion and Ellinia are under rule of Gilford.”

“Tch, typical,” Kunai growls, “we beat one and two more come in to take over.”

“So what?” Ryuu replies. “We’ve beaten one of them already. Beating the other two should be a walk in the park, especially since we’ve all gotten stronger.”

Though he remains silent, Kunai places a hand up to his forehead, closing his eyes momentarily. In the pitch-black darkness, a ringing, jeering voice calls out to him. ‘And especially with the power of our sword, right, Kunai?!’

“Shut up!” Kunai accidentally shouts out loud.

Everyone else turns to him at that moment. Kunai looks up, wide-eyed and surprised to see everyone staring at him. “S-Sorry,” he stutters, “just tired from the long journey.”

Ivy looks worriedly at Kunai, as he continues to hold his hand up to his forehead. ‘I’ve gotta somehow get control over this…’ Kunai thinks to himself, ‘I wish I knew why I keep hearing this voice! Until then…until then, I can’t turn Myou into a sword!’

“Lord Gilford and Lord Duncan aren’t going to be beaten so easily, though!” Rill exclaims fearfully. “There’s a reason why everyone fears them, because they are the two most powerful men in the Maple World currently. Gilford is considered the cruelest, and the most eager for battle. Strength-wise, he is the strongest. However, Duncan is far worse, in my opinion. He is the most cunning and most conniving. He isn’t exactly physically fit, but he is still a very dangerous man, because of his cleverness.”

“Mm,” Tide murmurs, nodding knowingly, “your typical evil villain right there.”

“What I don’t understand, though,” Ryuu wonders, “is if these two guys are so strong, why don’t they just crush all of Victoria’s towns? Ellinia had been destroyed, right? Why did they allow it to be rebuilt?”

“All of the towns under their rule have straightened out agreements with them,” Rill answers grimly. “These agreements state that as long as they let the Myougun control the towns, they may continue to live safely. If these terms are violated, the Myougun will destroy their city.”

“So all the towns have some sort of treaty like this with the Myougun?” Ryuu asks.

“Pretty much,” Rill answers.

Ryuu sighs. “So that’s the reason…” he mutters.

“One of the worst things is…” Rill mutters slowly, “Lord Gilford is the true successor of Lord Fyx. He’s taken over Haven and rebuilt it.”

“What did you say?!” Ryuu cries, turning to Rill in astonishment.

“Lord Gilford is now in control of Haven,” Rill repeats slowly, “and they say he’s a hundred times worse than Fyx.”

A grave silence falls on the group, as they stand there staring at each other. Finally, Ryuu nods, clenching the hilt of his sword so tightly that his knuckles turn white. “I see.”

“By the way,” Ayame says, pointing to the pile of firewood sitting next to Rill, “what were you gathering those for, anyway?”

“Oh, those,” Rill mutters, a hint of exasperation in his voice, “they’re for my employer.”

“Employer?” Sasha asks, raising an eyebrow.

“The mayor of this village,” Rill answers, shrugging slightly. “They elected a mayor to replace Grendel after this city was rebuilt. I happen to be his personal daily errand boy.”

“You mean like a servant?” Lily asks.

“I prefer personal daily errand boy…” Rill replies embarrassedly.

“Wait, who’s the new mayor of this town?” Ayame wonders curiously.

Rill glances nervously at the pile of firewood sitting next to him. “Well, I’ve gotta deliver these to him anyway. You can come along, and you’ll see. I might get yelled at, though…I’m late again because I was talking to you guys…”

“O-Oh, we didn’t mean to—” Ayame replies.

However, Rill raises a hand, calling for silence and shaking his head. “No, it’s all right. I know you didn’t intend to make me late. But the mayor does like to keep things punctual.”

“You’re late,” the mayor says in an accusing tone to Rill. The Assassin stands on the threshold of the mayor’s homely office, with its furnishings built of the sturdy wood from the trees of Ellinia Forest. Behind Rill are the others, gathered in the tiny space in the brightly lit hallway outside.

The mayor is sitting in a big, fluffy, red chair pointed away from the entrance. However, he appears to be so short that his head doesn’t even peer over the top of the chair, thus completely masking his appearance from visitors standing at the door.

With a squeak of his chair, the mayor spins around, facing Rill. He gives him an irritable glare, just before noticing the others standing in the doorway. A pair of silvery wings pop right out from his back, complementing the mat of silvery hair on his head.

“What are you folks doing here?!” the fairy cries, astounded.

“Tch,” Ryuu growls, folding his arms as an amused smile crosses his lips, “to think that a runt like you could get elected mayor of Ellinia, Wing. Grendel would be proud, eh?”

Wing folds his arms, not amused. “I’m not a child anymore, Ryuu. Though my youthful appearance may not show it, you and I both know that I am already several hundred years old, and I’ve seen and learned a lot in these last couple hundred years, far more than you have.”

“I’ll bet you like the new power and dignity of holding office though, eh, Wing?” Ryuu retorts. “Just don’t let the power go to your head.”

“Humph,” Wing snorts, choosing not to reply to Ryuu’s comment. Instead, he turns to Rill. “Rill, next time I won’t be so forgiving if you’re late getting the firewood again. Now if you’re finally ready to do your job again, I’ve got some scrollwork for you to take care of. I won’t be needing you tomorrow, though, so you may have the day off then.”

Rill’s face lights up at this sudden announcement. “Oh, really? Th-thank you, Mayor Wing!” Rill bows, and scuttles out of the room, off to complete his scrollwork.

“Tch,” Ryuu mutters, watching Rill leave, “weird kid.”

Kunai and Ivy follow Rill out of the room and into a smaller one down the hall. Piles and piles of scrolls lay on top of each other, forming mountain ranges of brownish parchment across the two desks in the room.

“Oh, hey, Kunai, Ivy!” Rill greets them brightly from within the room.

Kunai and Ivy step in, ogling at the amount of scrolls sitting on the desks. The room smells musty, a scent not uncommon to old libraries full of ancient books.

“So this is what you do, huh, Rill?” Kunai says, staring around the room tentatively. “It’s uh…very, um…impressive.”

“Yeah,” Rill replies, “I’ve usually got mountains of scrollwork to do everyday. I’m used to it, though, so I don’t really have that much of a problem with it. Although, it’s still nice to have a break every once in a while.”

“Yeah, we heard,” Ivy says, “congratulations on getting a day off tomorrow!”

“It’s nothing, heh!” Rill replies, blushing slightly. He picks up a pencil, but instead of beginning to write, he taps it on the desk thoughtfully, his eyes vague and far away.

“Say,” Rill says slowly, “what would you say if I took you guys out for a visit to see Haven tomorrow?”

“A trip to see Haven?” Ivy inquires. “But isn’t that dangerous? I thought that’s a Myougun base.”

“It is,” Rill answers, “but I know a secret passage that passes by Haven along the way. I don’t believe Lord Gilford or any of the Myougun soldiers know about it. Pretty much only those of us who work for those in office know of it. We can check it out, if you like. It’s a very beautiful route.”

“Sure,” Kunai replies, “I suppose we can always take a break from all this fighting and journeying anyway.”

“Yeah! It’ll be fun!” Ivy agrees. “Right, Kunai?” She glances over at Kunai, a bright smile on her face.

“Yeah, right!” Kunai grins.

“Well, I’ll see you guys first thing tomorrow morning, then,” Rill replies, “till then, I’ve got to get all this scrollwork done before the Boss yells at me again.”

Kunai strides down the dark, empty hallway, glancing briefly through the window in it. The sky outside is completely dark, and the ghostly light of a clear, round moon peeks in through the window panes. He stares at the glass in the window for several moments, before startling himself as he realizes he is staring at his own reflection.

Kunai watches his own eyes widen in the window, and he quickly draws them away from it, snapping his eyes shut in order to block out the picture he’d seen in the window. Ivy steps sleepily into the hallway, dressed in a white sleeping gown. She rubs her eyes sleepily, noticing Kunai standing in the hallway.

“Kunai, what are you still doing out in the hallway?” she asks, stifling a yawn. “It’s past midnight, everyone else is asleep in their rooms. Your room is the only one with lights still on. You might wake up the other guests staying in Ellinia Hotel.”

Kunai shakes his head, flashing Ivy a forced smile. “No, it’s all right. I’ll go to sleep in a bit. What are you still doing up, anyway?”

“I came to get a glass of water,” Ivy murmurs.

Kunai sighs, and nods, stepping out of Ivy’s way. “All right. I’ll go to my room now.” He sidesteps Ivy in the hallway, and enters the first room on his left. He closes the wooden door behind himself, and sighs, leaning against its surface.

Footsteps sound outside his door, departing away. A minute or two later, they return, stopping just outside his door. “Kunai—” Ivy’s voice sounds.

“Yeah, I know,” Kunai replies. With a deep sigh, he reaches for the switch on the lamp nearby. Hesitating for one brief moment, he finally tugs gently on the switch.

Darkness sweeps over the entire room like an ocean wave crashing against the shore. Kunai feels his way through the room to his bed, even as the voice in his head begins to grow louder once again, as it does in the darkness.

‘Kunai. Why are you so afraid of me?’

Next Time: Episode 58 The Fluttering Fairy

Tide: Yee-haw! Next time, it’s my chance to sample the gems of Ellinia, while trying out their famous beer!

Silver: Now, really! All you need are a pair of dice and—

Tide: Got that covered!

Silver: …I’m in for a long night, aren’t I? Why did I have to tag along…?

Episode 58 The Fluttering Fairy coming soon!