Are you ready to become a Hero of the realm?

Chapter Two

This is kind of a filler chapter, but I hope, you'll enjoy it anyway. I'm trying to upload a chapter at least every month :D
I would love to get some feedback from you guys, as well as speculations and wishes for the story, don't be shy! :)
Also, I have had several issues with missing words and sentences in the mobile version, so I would suggest reading on a PC.

They were looking for a crystal. A gem just like the ones incorporated into the weapons and clothes of the party, as well as the King's and Maeve's. But the page enclosed only little information of it's whereabouts:

"You seek the power crystals, that the creature stole in the dead of night from the King. Some guards and servants have reported that it fled eastward, toward the mountain range.
I fear that the culprit is gathering more crystals, but I do not know what it wants to achieve with them. As you know, the gems can hold great powers, which have to be handled responsibly, or else..."

That was all the information they had.
"It's not much, but at least we have a general direction.", Androxus' metal voice spoke from over Hero's shoulder.
Ying nodded. "Should we set out now or do we wait until morning?"
The sun was already setting, painting the sky in hues of pink, purple and red, the coloured clouds swirling above the walls of the keep. The streetlamps around them, each one powered by a tiny crystal on top, were slowly lighting up, casting a soft yellow glow onto the party's faces, making the shadows on each one more prominent.
The day hasn't been as stressful as some others in the past, but the party seemed tired nonetheless, so Hero suggested they should stay in the keep for one more night and leave at the crack of dawn.

Androxus, who had explored Stone Keep the day before, knew of a small tavern near the large entrance gates of the fortress. The party agreed to follow their friend, venturing toward the keep's outer walls.

As they strode through the twilight, they looked around the keep. The walls were white, with pink and sometimes blue undertones. Vines with large rose-coloured blossoms encircled some of the columns that ringed the castle grounds. A stone statue stood in front of the town hall to their left, portraying a hooded woman with a sword in one hand and a scroll in the other. Her plain dress was cinched together at the waist with a belt, embellished with a crystal. Her face seemed unfinished, while the owl sitting on her shoulder, raising it's wings, was very detailed. Red-coloured vines grew from between the statues feet, cascading down the column she stood on.

Most of the party members only spared a short glance at the woman, and none of them knew who that woman was or what she symbolized. But one of them lingered a while longer in front of the statue.
Her name was Cassie. She wore a cape similar to the statue's. But hers was coloured in rich shades of green, fastened with a light blue crystal, as blue as her eyes. She wore her coppery hair in a braid, but it still fell past her buttocks. A green surcoat, accented with brown, covered her body. It ended mid-thigh, showing off her curvy legs, encased in thin brown pants. Her right arm was covered from the elbow down with a brown leather glove, Zigs, her pet hawk perched atop it. His feathers were as red as Cassie's hair.
Her weapon of choice was a metal crossbow, which shoots green arrows and, like every magical weapons in the realm, was also powered by a crystal, this one shining in an ocean blue.