Pridewood: Daphne's Revenge

11

[Daphne]

As soon as we went inside, hindi ko maiwasang hindi kabahan. Who knows what's waiting for us inside this dungeon?

At isa pa, even though I know that the others are strong, I still can't help but get worried. Well, may tiwala naman ako sakanila, kahit ganoon ang mga ugali nila, they won't let themselves be killed or what.

"Don't worry about them, Daph. Kayang kaya nila 'yon." Biglang sabi ni Ace. I looked at him with a furrowed eyebrow.

"I'm not worried, paano mo naman nasabi 'ha?"

"Your face says it all." Ace laughed. Hindi na lang ako nagsalita at patuloy lang kami sa paglalakad. Gray on the other hand is quiet, hindi ko alam kung bait ang tahimik niya pero he seems calm.

Lumapit ako sakanya to start a conversation with him.

"Gray, may I ask?" Lumingon siya sa akin.

"Sure."

"Hmm, kailan ka sumali sa Pridewood?" Bigla ko kasing naisip na kung may asawa at anak na siya, does that mean that he's the oldest member in the faction?

Biglang tumawa si Gray at napahawak sa ulo niya. "It's a funny story. You see..." He stopped walking and paused for a bit. "I was a thief before."

I looked at him with confusion.

"A thief?"

"Yeah, magnanakaw. Nasa capital ako 'nun and I was already married at that time. My wife's pregnant with Anya pero sobrang mahirap ang buhay. Hindi ako makahanap ng trabaho because the qualifications are so high. The easiest way to have money is to steal..." He sighed.

Hindi ko siya masisisi. Mahirap talaga kumuha ng trabaho sa capital dahil mahigpit ang qualifications.

"Then, one day nakita ko si Rill. I recognized him right away kasi kaka-appoint pa lang niya bilang president ng Pridewood noon. I tried stealing from him pero I failed..." He chuckled. "Lakas ng senses ni Tandang Rill eh. When I got caught, akala ko ay ipapakulong niya ako but I was wrong."

"If you want to earn money, do it legally. Ayan yung sinabi niya sakin tapos binato niya sakin yung cloak ng Pridewood, he said if I'm interested to join his faction ay isuot ko lang raw yung cloak at pumunta sa Whitlock and so I did." Gray is now smiling widely.

Mas lalo ko pang naiintindihan why the members are so fond of Rill despite his annoying attitude. He's kind.

"Guys, mamaya na kayo magkwentuhan, we have company..." Ace interrupted us.

Tumingin kami ni Gray sa harapan.

A guy whose skin is white as ice and a girl who has short pink hair is standing in front of us.

Sa gilid nila ay isang malaking stone crystal.

Hindi ordinaryong crystal, I can sense magic in it.

"I think you got lost, Northridge folks." Teka, taga-Northridge sila? Bakit sila nandito? They crossed the border!

Nag-squat yung lalaki at sabay ngisi. "Pasensya na at lumagpas kami sa border, sorry not sorry."

What? Ang lakas naman ng loob nila!

The girl with pink hair looked at me. "Hmm, what an enormous magic energy you have there, pretty lady." She giggled.