War of Emperium

An Evil Mind

Hildebrand Bede smiled with satisfaction from his vantage point just outside The Forges window. The Master would surely love this information he just got. Hildebrand shifted his bandana and started to walk away, his Kafra cart trailing behind him.

Hildebrand was a Merchant, yes, but that was just his front cover. He worked for The Red Roses, an underground guild owned and managed by one of Izludes finest Knights, Sir Cedric Hawke. He was The Red Roses spy in Alberta. Aside from being a Merchant, this job provided Hildebrand with much needed zeny.

Red Roses spies were paid for the quality of information they brought back to the Master. This information, which came from Altair Thornes mouth itself, could be priced for 500 billion zeny. The Master was obsessed with collecting the rarest and most beautiful Thornecraft weapons around the world. It was his life.

But the Master had a dark side. Even Hildebrand felt chills, just thinking about it.

The Merchant made his way through Albertas streets. If he was lucky he could catch a ship departing for Izlude. Then the Master would have his information, and that would mean more zeny for him.

He made his way to the port, where great Galleon and Junk were docked. Mariners and sailors were busy going to and fro, carrying cargoes and shipments on their broad backs. Hildebrand approached the ticket booth and tapped the counter with his ring.

"Yes, what can I do for you?" the grumpy old man inside answered.

"I'd like to know if there's a ship leaving for Izlude just now." Hildebrand told him.  "I want a ticket. Its an important business."

The old man reached for a tattered logbook on his desk and started to flip through the pages lazily. Hildebrand waited patiently for any results, tapping his golden ring at the counter as he did.

"I dont have any heading for Izlude." The old man said finally.  "Youve got to opt for Warp Portals if you want to get there at once."

Hildebrand bit his lower lip and walked away, the wheels of his Kafra cart creaking on the ports wooden platforms. He returned to the Albertan mainland and looked around. There were a few Swordsmen, Knights, Hunters and Mages that abound his hometown, but Acolytesmuch more a Priest, never visited anymore.

The Merchant walked on, whistling softy to himself the Tune of the Nightingale. He would opt to comb Alberta first before heading a few kilometers away into the Payonese territory. This he did.

When he could not find even a single Acolyte in Alberta, Hildebrand exited from the western gate and thus began his tiresome walk to the woodland of Payon some 12 kilometers away.

The Red Roses was probably the second largest guild consisting of some 350 members, all stationed strategically around Rune-Midgard. Originally founded by Vladimir Hawke, Cedrics great grandfather in the 98th year of Thor, its sole aim was to defeat The Covenant, the guild formed by The Most Noble House of Thor.

But when Cedric came to power in his guild, his purpose changed. No doubt he still wanted to oust The Covenant, but now he had two guilds to destroy. He added the ever-famous Firnheild to his list, the guild led by Wealthow Eyre, Theodoric Raleigh, Altair Thornevald, Signy Brynhild and The Sibyl.

What was behind all this animosity?

It all started with a simple desire to collect Thornecraft weapons. Cedric also wanted to "pirate" Altair into joining his guild by using his connections. But in this he failed. He tried every method one can think of, but all he got from the Blacksmith was a big and loud NO.

"What did Firnheild have that The Red Roses did not?"

The Red Roses was one of Midgards richest guilds. But Firnheild and The Covenant were the greatest rivals in terms of fame and fortune. The Red Roses was still in the background. Cedric moved then. Since he could not get his beloved Altair, he sough to collect every single Thornecraft he could get his hands on and arm his guild with it.