Full Moon's Azure

Prologue

This man came from the East. As he approached the village, its inhabitants noticed his tattered light-colored shirt, long braided trousers and leather shoes from a distance. The man was middle-aged, well built, with numerous scars on his hands.

Rythar, because that was his name, got closer to a small stream that marked the border of the village. Suddenly one of the inhabitants ran up to him. The peasant was dressed in a woven, decorated shirt, long fabric trousers and high boots with uppers.

"Where are you coming from? Who are you?" He turned to Rythar.

"I am Rythar, King Fening's knight. Although I guess that's out of date." He muttered under his breath. I come from the Heights of Discord. We were on our way to the Kingdom of Shan on a diplomatic mission when they attacked us.

"What, who ... who attacked you, Lord?" The terrified peasant asked.

"I don't know, they wore long pale robes and communicated in some strange language I didn't know." Rythar replied hard.

"And what happened next Rythar? What about our king?" The worried peasant asked.

"Do not blame me, but I would like to take some rest and drink something stronger. Help me and I will tell you everything."

"Of course Rythar, it is an honor to meet Our Venerable King Fening's personal knight. My name is Wojciech and I am the head of this small village. So I invite you to our inn. I will make sure you get what you asked for. Please, follow me Lord." Wojciech replied.

Soon after, the village administrator and Rythar found themselves in the middle of a cozy, small inn. The building was full of people, although there were also representatives of other races. From the entrance to the inn, Rythar saw a huge Thumbric crest painted on a shield above the inn's counter. The emblem depicted a red dragon on a black background, looking towards the setting sun.

Then the landlady's voice rang out:

"Ooo, Welcome Mayor! Who did you bring us?"

"This is Rythar, knight of our great Fening. Please pass him our best alcohol and make a bed for him," said the mayor.

"Of course Lord!" The landlady replied.

Soon after, Wojciech and Rythar sat down at the table.

"Knight, tell me...," said the mayor.

Rythar reached for the previously prepared drink, took a few deep gulps, set the bottle aside, and continued his story.

"Mayor, it was a slaughter." He said. These attackers came from the East with long, curved swords. They slaughtered us like ducks. When I was surrounded by five of them, I miraculously managed to avoid death. I broke through them and started running away. Honestly, I doubt if our king survived this attack.

"What?! How is it, Rythar...? It can't be... Our king had no enemies." Wojciech replied, surprised and terrified at the same moment.

"I know Wojciech, I know. But there are things that, as a king's sovereign, I cannot talk about. There is something else you can help me with. Do you know what this stone is?"

Rythar reached into a small leather pouch attached to his belt and pulled out a small blue stone. The stone resembled a sapphire.

"This... this... I don't believe... It's Full Moon's Azure! One of the rarest materials on the entire continent." The mayor replied.

"Full Moon's Azure you say... How do YOU ​​know such things?"

"My brother-in-law is a village blacksmith and knows where this priceless material is mined. However, there is no blacksmith in the village at the moment," said Wojciech , looking at Rythar.

Rythar looked at the mayor as if he had guessed what he meant and replied:

"You probably count on some little favor, Wojciech, don't you?"

"You got me, Rythar. There is one issue that disturbs us, the inhabitants, that you would solve without unnecessary effort."

"Get to the point, mayor." Rythar replied bored.

"There is a forest near our village. This forest has always been a peaceful place. Our women went there to pick mushrooms and berries, and the children played hide and seek there. It was like that until now." Wojciech replied. "A pack of wolves currently lives in the forest."

"Wolves? Why didn't you send your peasants to fight them?" Rythar asked in surprise.

"We sent, we did..." Wojciech replied, saddened. "...but none came back. We suspect that these aren't ordinary wolves, Lord." he turned to Rythar.

"All right, Wojciech, I will investigate the matter and come back to you as soon as I get rid of the wolves, and in return you will tell me where to look for your brother-in-law."

"Sure Rythar, of course." Wojciech burst out with joy.

That evening, they both chatted for a long time about various things. In the end, however, the knight took advantage of the room prepared for him and gave himself up to the embrace of morpheus.

It was just dawn when Rythar was awakened by the screams of the village maidens. Rythar ran out of the inn, he saw the said pack of wolves terrorizing the village of Wojciech. The knight, without thinking long, reached for his sword and began to fight the wolves.

The man's sword was made of silver, because only this material could injure vampires, as well as many other monsters inhabiting this world.

Rythar killed other beasts in an incredible way, making various moves with his sword.

After all, there was an incredible silence. Shocked but, at the same time, happy inhabitants of the village left their shelters to meet their savior.

When most of the village had gathered around Rythar, Wojciech came running. He thanked the knight for dealing with the pack of wolves and showed him the place where the mayor's brother-in-law resides.

It turned out that the previous day the blacksmith went to the city for materials for the production of an armor. Without wasting a moment, Rythar left the village.