Specters

A Short Break in Dragoncoast Village

A month of traveling only extended by the storms of winter made it so that Kuri didn't reach his destination yet, but after seeing familiar scenery draped in snow, he went up to the front of the carriage and sat next to the human, whose name he learned was Paulie.

"Paulie, I'd like to shorten the ride " he said.

"Where shall we be going then? " Paulie responded.

"Dragoncoast Village, I'll help you find the way. " He said.

Paulie simply nodded his head. Through their traveling so far, Paulie and Kuri had grown somewhat close. Within a few days, they arrived at the village, Dragoncoast Village was a well-known village for many reasons. Some of which include the legends about how the village got its name and more recently one particular story about a young man who protected his village. As they pull further into the village, Paulie is greeted by fellow coachmen who are lodging in the village to wait out the winter and villagers who assist them on getting the horses into the sable. Kuri is also greeted; the people of the village were very familiar with him. Many of the villagers ask about his travels and some of them tell him about he just missed him. As Kuri is greeting the villagers and answering their questions a young boy points him in the direction of two people standing off in the distance. A young woman and a tall man. They both wave at Kuri and Kuri runs over to them. They lead him to a house atop a hill, once again asking about his ventures and asking why his in the village.

"Surely you have more important things to attend to! You never seem to be able to stay still, so I know you won't be here for long!" said the man.

"Well actually, I was heading to handle some important business but since I was in the area, I figured I would stop by and see you guys. But it seems I was a little too late" Kuri said.

"A little?! Is that what they told you?" the young lady said as she laughed, "he left some time ago".

"That damned son of mine said he was going to find you!" the man said before laughing heartily.

"Sounds like him" Kuri said while he laughed. "Ari, Mr. Takayuki, I hate to leave so suddenly but—" Kuri continued until he was cut off.

"We know, get going! Go find that son of mine and give him a good beating for me will ya!" Takayuki said. "Oh! Okkai needed to give something to Ryuu, but he left too soon"

"I'll make sure he gets it" Kuri said as he stood up.

Kuri smiled as he left the house smiling and waving back to the pair. As he went down the hill he turned towards the forest and started heading deeper and deeper into. Until a building could be seen in the distance. This was Mr. Okkai's residence. He was not only one of the eldest members of the village, but the villages blacksmith. As he got closer to the place, memories of he and Ryuu flashed through his head, and before he knew it, he was in front of the door. As he hesitantly reached for the door, he remembered who he was meeting with and proceeded to kick the door down just how he did when he met with Yroil.

"I HAVE ARRIVED MR. OKKAI" Kuri yelled.

Mr. Okkai, startled and unamused, started to throw various items at Kuri which he promptly dodged all of them. Once he retrieved all the items thrown at him, he apologized about the intrusion and received a scolding from Okkai about how he treats him. After the scolding, Okkai points Kuri to a sword he was working on, telling him to touch it up for him, Kuri heads over to it and starts doing as he asked.

"Despite you and that idiot acting so rash and being as annoying as you two are, you both are some of the most talented kids I know..." Okkai said. He then went to a pile items covered in cloth and started digging through it. "After he came to me and got the sword you left aside for him, he left. I was supposed to give him this... as a gift from me" he said as he pulled something out of the pile and tossed it at the back of Kuri's head. Kuri was so focused on the sword he was working on that he didn't even flinch. Okkai just smiled and waited for him to finish up. Raising the blade into the raise, inspecting it once more, Kuri then calls out to Okkai, telling him that he is finished. Okkai however had fallen asleep in the time it took him to finish up the blade. As Kuri began to get up, he tripped over the item Okkai had thrown at him previously. On it was a note telling him what it was and that he should be out of there by time he woke up. Kuri picks up the item, placing it into his bag as he left the house. Kuri stood outside for a short time before heading back to the main village. It was the middle of the night and yet the village was still as lively as it was when he first got there. A bonfire in the middle of the town had many of the villagers dancing around it. The festivities carried on until Mr. Takayuki, the village chief, ordered everyone to cut the noise and get to bed. As they winded down, Kuri managed to find Paulie and they once again started to share stories with one another. Eventually they landed on the topic of Dulvine, Kuri's destination.

"So... If you don't mind me asking... What business do you have in Dulvine?" Paulie asked.

"I have some items that I need to pick up from there, a tailor that I know let me know the items would be finished by time I finished my other business so it's about time I go pick the things up" Kuri replied.

"Ah... when did you request those items to be made?" Paulie asked.

"A little over a year ago...? Did something happen?"

"Things might not be as you remembered them in Dulvine. A new commander has come into power, everyone related to military personal seems to be under that commander's thumb... He has been turning Dulvine into his personal palace right under the lord's nose!" Paulie said while looking into the night sky. "I wanted to warn you to keep your head down... I don't know how you managed to make it out of Hythe unscathed but making an enemy of that commander won't end well."

"I don't plan to stay in Dulvine for long. So, I'll try my hardest to heed this warning, but I am a bit of a troublemaker myself" Kuri says with a smile on his face.

Paulie looks over to him, "I'm much too old to assist in any other way, but if there is anything I can do, please let me know"

Kuri converses with Paulie for a little longer before both decide to call it a night. The next day, they set out their plan for continuing the trip to Dulvine and the day after, they start to travel once again. Paulie and Kuri were seen off by Ari and Mr. Takayuki in the middle of the night. Kuri's trip to Dulvine is back on track.