The Demon Priest

Chapter 6: Valia

 "So what's the plan for today?" Azazel asked, sitting on the edge of the bed and swinging his legs about. He insisted on being out of Betrayal, at least for a little bit.

 The half- elf scratched his head in thought, "I suppose the first thing we should do is try to find out anything we can about the Black Knights are located. Then we just follow up on that, and whatever rumors we hear. That is all I've come up with. What do you think?"

 "Me? Oh, well it's a... decent plan. Besides, if it doesn't work, or even if it does, we can always just wing it after right? There's no harm in that."

 "Yes, you're exactly right. Now let's go, we can't afford to waste any time if we want to find them."

 Azazel quietly laughed and turned into the ball of black energy, becoming one with the demon blade, which Lance strapped to his side. Before he went out the door to his room, he made sure that his headband was in place and his hood was up. Smiling to himself, he exited his room and made his way downstairs to the main area. The first thing he noticed was that the man from last night was gone, and, feeling proud of himself, Lance walked out the door onto the streets of Cardinal.

 The first thing he wanted to do was go to the shops and see if anyone there knew about the Black Knights. At the very least he needed to know more about the mysterious "professor" who even Reginald obeyed and who took Iris away.

 The boy walked along the dirty streets of the eastern districts, the smell of blood and urine very prominent in the air. All around you could hear screams and shouts emanating from the broken down shacks, and the people walked around in tattered rags. Tearing his gaze away from the poverty stricken citizens, Lance turned and headed West, towards the richer part of town. First, he wanted to try talking to the nobles, as he figured they might have closer ties with the Black Knights, but if that didn't work he would try his luck back in the Eastern district.

 He approached a part of town that seemed riddled with various types of shops. Some were for food, others for weapons and another was for general goods. Lance went to go inside of one, a general store, and the door magically (literally, magically. They seemed to use it for a lot of things) swung open, making a bell chime. Lance was greeted with the smiling face of the owner, a shrew little man with a pointed nose and parted auburn hair, who sat behind the counter. He managed to smile even wider and spread his arms out, welcoming the boy inside of his shop.

 "Hello, hello young one," he began, still smiling. "what brings you to my humble establishment? Looking for a gift for a loved one, or perhaps you are just looking to browse?"

 Lance also put on a smile and leaned on the counter top, "No, no, nothing like that. I was actually looking for some information on a certain group of people. Maybe you could tell me whatever you know about them?"

 "Perhaps I could young man. I happen to know a few rumors about a lot of people and things. Tell me, who are you exactly looking for?"

 "The Black Knights. I assume you've heard of them?"

 Immediately the mans smile dropped. He crossed his arms and glared at Lance, obviously angered at the question, "Listen now and listen well boy. I'll have no part in dealing with those people. They are bad news. I don't know why you're dealing with them and I don't want to. So either buy something or I will be forced to ask you to leave."

 "Come now, you won't even help me for all of this?" Lance lifted a bag of gold, which caught the shopkeepers attention.

 "Ahem. Maybe I could, er, reconsider." Lance smiled. Gold made everyone talk. He listened as they continued. "I heard that a few days ago, they demolished a town called Axon." Lance feigned surprise. "Apparently there were no survivors. Everyone was slaughtered. That's all I know, honest. Now about that gold."