Clemency

chapter six | the keys | waterfall

"I'm taking the guns!" said Lyra, snatching the guns before I could even react.

I scowled lightly and elbowed her. "Fine, I'll take the sword, umbrella and the computer. That way it's equal."

Before Lyra could protest, we heard footsteps pounding towards the room where we were in. A boy with electric blue hair who wore a jacket with small wolfish ears on his hoodie stood at the doorway.

"What's all the shouting about?" He questioned.

"Who are you?" I said. "No one's told me that you were in this guild."

The boy rubbed his eyes and groaned. "Of course they didn't introduce Kiran and me. They never do. I'll tell Kaito off later. I'm Asurma, Kaito's spirit companion. Usually, I would be in my animal form, but I'm trapped in this human form for a while," he sighed. "Anyway, why did I hear yelling coming from this room? I was sleeping."

It took me a short moment for Lyra and me to absorb all this information. "S-someone sent us a package full of all sorts of things..." said Lyra, shying away from the half-stranger.

"Is that it?" Asurma said. The both of us nodded. "Well then, I'll be going back to my nap..." the spirit muttered as he started to amble back to his room next door- until we all heard the ringing of the bell and cringed simultaneously at the piercing sound.

"Are you kidding me?" Asurma cried out. The shrill tinkle of the bell increased in volume, probably in response to his complaint as we hurried down the stairs towards the meeting area, Kaito's spirit leading the way.

When we reached the meeting area, I saw every guild member gathered there, including Akuma, who seemed to be engrossed in a book as she chewed on another lollipop. Asurma sat next to a blonde haired boy, which I presumed was Kiran. I sat down between Lana and Lyra, looking up to see Sienna, leader of the guild, sitting in the power position of the table, up in front where all of us could see her. It seemed like Akuma had introduced herself to everyone, as nobody was surprised to see her.

"So why are we here?" asked Grim.

"We have received a mission request from the Queen Malika of Evalon. As you all already know, all of us will be sent to retrieve the elemental keys like I told you yesterday. But, this time she's provided more information as to why we are to be sent to retrieve the keys.

"A thief by the name of Arael has stolen the keys, and he has hidden them across the country. Without the keys, the Tree of Fortune of Evalon Kingdom will die, and with it the spirit of the kingdom, so to speak.

"Queen Malika told me that the reason as to why Arael would hide the keys was so that he could even the score between him and the Kingdom- specifically to the previous king of Evalon, who rejected his right to marry one of his daughters to gain entitlement to the throne.

"Each key is guarded by one of his guardians who vary in species. We have to get past then in order to retrieve each key. Some keys may be together and some may not.

"Queen Malika has also written in her letter that the first key, lightning and wind, will be on Tempestatis mountain as the two keys had a kind of unbreakable affiliation. So that's where we're headed to first," Sienna lightly hit her fist the table for further emphasis on her last statement.

"Well, I'm not going," said Reaper. "Why should I care-"

"The reward's 100000 jewels," said Sienna, curtly.

"I changed my mind. I'm going," Reaper's eyes widened. Lyra tried to cover her chuckle as Sienna rolled her eyes, smiling.

"Well then, we should start packing. For those who like to shop or sightsee, you can do so at Tempestatis village." Sienna got up from her seat and shot us an authoritative look. "We leave at three o'clock."

~

I switched from my orphanage clothes to the clothes which were the most appropriate for fighting after learning a useful spell from Lana which let me switch to different attire in a split second. This attire was tight fit in order to prevent me from tripping on the cloth, but still loose enough for me to move fluidly in combat.

2.55pm. Grabbing my umbrella and stashing the sword against its handle, I hurried downstairs to the entrance to meet everyone else there, Lyra and Akuma waving at me as soon as they caught sight of me running down the stairs. Making sure we were all present, Sienna nodded and opened the door entrance.

"To the train station!" Kaito declared.