Chapter 4 - The Librarian

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Chapter 4

The Librarian

Marianne took a deep breath. The cool morning air did her a lot of good. They had left early in the morning and Duke was silent about the first destination. She had no choice but to follow him, because she didn't really know her way around this area.

"We will first go to the nearest village and buy horses there so that we can make faster progress. Ascendary remains hidden. Noboddy is allowed to know of his existence. If you betray Ascendary, it will be the last thing you do," Duke said after a while of walking. He wore street clothes. The golden gryphon armor lays in a chest in his house.

Marianne nodded. "I won't reveal the secret, don't worry. As a child, I loved griffins. I never understood why they were exterminated."

Duke didn't say anything and they walked on in the shelter of the forest. After a seemingly endless time of wordless walking for Marianne, they reached the edge of the forest.

At the edge of the forest was a small idyllic village.

"This is Mourning Village. That's where we'll find our horses," Duke said, pointing to the village.

"Mourning home? What a name." Marianne frowned.

"The reason is over there." Duke pointed to the right side of the village.

"Are they ....?" Marianne tried to recognize it,

"Yes, they are weeping willows," Duke confirmed Marianne's suspicion.

"And so many. I thought they were more solitary?"  she wondered.

"In fact, they usually do, but here it's the result of a legend," someone behind them said.

Duke and Marianne immediately spun around, Duke pulling out a dagger and holding it to the figure's neck.

In front of them stood a man with black straight hair combed back. He wore black robes that seemed to have a little dark purple, like a barely perceptible gleam.

He held a book in his hands. Unimpressed and with a neutral face, he looked at Duke and Marianne.

"Who's going to get so nervous?" he asked.

"We don't appreciate sneaking up from behind unnoticed," Duke replied.

"Sneaking up? I beg you. Do i look like I'm capable of sneaking?" The stranger smiled for a short moment.

"What are you doing here then?" Duke lowered the dagger.

"Go for a walk. I'm a guest at Mourning Village and as you can see, I'm a librarian." The stranger lifted the book.

"A book doesn't make a librarian and besides, what does a librarian do in such a small and remote village as Mourning Village" Duke remained suspicious.

"Research," replied the stranger.

"What is researching?" asked Marianne, who had listened to this in silence until now.

"I'm researching the legend of Mourning Village." The stranger pointed to the weeping willows.

"What's the deal with the weeping willows?" She looked at him questioningly.

"According to legend, there was a fight between 2 dragons here. It is said to have taken place where the weeping willows stand. It is said that the surviving dragon then carried the dead dragon away and that the blood of the two, which was spilled during the fight, seeped into the ground and weeping willows grew from it. I'm trying to find out why the dragons fought there and who they were," the librarian said.

"That's just a legend," Duke said.

"Every legend contains a grain of truth," the stranger countered.

"My name is Marianne." She held out her hand to him.

"Lysander," the librarian replied kindly and shook her hand.

"Pleasant," Marianne nodded.

"Duke." Duke put the dagger away and held out his hand to Lysander.

"Also pleasant," said Lysander.

"But now we have to move on." Duke pointed to Mourning Village.

"Then I'll accompany you, because I was just on my way back from my walk." Lysander started moving.

Marianne and Duke followed him and so they went to the village together.

*

Dexter Demerodt sighed. Stood up at the railing of the INQUEST and looked into the distance. The flying ship, which resembled a galleon, flew over villages and fields.

"What are you thinking about, Dexter?" asked Cecile, joining him beside him. The wind played with her curly red hair.

"Why me?" He didn't look at her and continued to look into the distance.

"Because you're the best," Cecile smiled and stroked his cheek with her hand.

"Enough of hypocrisy." He grabbed her hand and pushed it away from him. "Why can only you find the document and why should I protect you? And from what?"

She rubbed her wrist gently and looked at him. "You really want to know?"

"Yes, I do. I don't intend to run into an open knife." Dexter's voice took on a harsh undertone.

"Very well." Cecile leaned on the railing with her forearms and closed her eyes for a moment to enjoy the wind. "It is not the document that I can track, but the messenger."

Dexter looked at her. "How is that to be understood?"

"The messenger's name is Marianne and she is an Aranasera. I am able to track her down and where she is is the document. It's as simple as that." Cecile kept her eyes closed.

"And why me? With our shared past, another protector would have been logical." Dexter shook his head in disbelief.

Cecile opened her eyes, turned her head to him and looked at him seriously, "Because you are the best fighter in the order and because we both have a common past in which we have acted very well together."

"I don't want that past back!" said Dexter contemptuously.

"What you want and what you don't want, the order is not interested in. You have to protect and represent his interests. The order stands above our private interests." Cecile looked at him gravely.

Suddenly a jolt went through the ship.

"ATTACK! WE ARE BEING ATTACKED!" someone shouted.

Dexter and Cecile turned around. 1 large red dragon approached from the other side.

"With the orders! Why does the cretin attack us? The red dragons have a pact with our Order!" Cecile hissed angrily.

"Probably not anymore." Dexter drew his sword.