Staff eyed up the poem that had been etched onto the rear wall of the main barracks just outside the entrance to the Avalon royal castle. To most knights, a fictional tale about a human so mighty that she took on an admin. To a select few however, a factual story.

He’d read it before. All the admins had. He remembered the meeting where he made it very clear that trying to cover up a story like this would only make it more plausible to those who had read it already. Instead, they opted to spread rumours that it was nothing more than a drunk knight with a knife who had a moment of inspiration for a story.

The tactic worked surprisingly well. Staff was rather smug to the others about that one for a year or two after that. Five knights, plus this mysterious woman. What interested him the most was the fact that all the knights were killed by Dracona except the mystery woman, so she must have been the one to write the poem. He assumed Dracona had done something similar to what he was planning, but he had no other leads so far. Oddly enough the records had in fact been hidden. The whole records of the special squads during the dragon wars had been burnt up in a random fire that seemed suspiciously isolated to that part of the records chamber.

Before anyone caught sight of him, he changed his robe into a knight’s armour, and his staff vanished from his hand. His body then slowly morphed into a human form. Simple trickery, but necessary for him to move about without being recognised. He walked around to the front of the building and walked inside. Right past the clerk at the desk, who briefly looked up, noticed the armour, and looked back down at his book. Staff turned a corner, down some stairs, and he was in a small bar.

A safe recreational area for off duty soldiers. This late into the night most of them would have retreated off into the barracks, leaving only the dedicated hardcore drinkers. Some, rookies who’d realised they’d signed up for the wrong gig, the rest, seasoned veterans who’d only manage to get some shut eye with the numbing comfort of the bottle.

While most here would be completely drunk by this hour, soldiers, especially seasoned veterans often had a sharp sense about them. Staff had to be careful. His illusion magic would handle the physical stuff, but his words and actions would be under the same eye. He walked over to the bar and waved the barkeep down.

“Something strong.” He ordered as he waved a pair of gold coins in the bartender’s general direction. He was handed a large wooden mug of what smelt like beer. Not a beverage befitting of his tastebuds, but sacrifices had to be made to fit in. He released the coin onto the sticky wooden bar for the bartender to scoop up. He then turned to the knight next to him.

Rocking the exact same armour Staff had adorned, a grey heavy plate with the castle shaped Avalon insignia on the chest and shoulders. Standard armour for the regular soldier in this kingdom, the soldier finished eyeing Staff up.

“New face.” He muttered as his eyes struggled to focus on Staff’s face, “Aye, but experienced eyes.” He noted. Impressive. To see such detail while as completely wasted as this man was. Staff watched, struggling to hold his composure as the knight swayed ever so slightly, struggling to keep himself upright despite leaning on the bar. Staff’s eyes were indeed full of experience, just not quite what the knight thought.

“Freshly transferred. I start tomorrow.” He answered before the man could piece together enough focus to ask his next question. The knight gave a drunken nod of understanding, “That’s a nice poem around back.” Staff gently began to probe. He raised his mug and begrudgingly took a sip of the vile liquid.

“Aye, keeps the spirits high in times of need.” The drunken knight chuckled, “One of your finest.” The knight then spoke up as he turned to the knight on the other side of him.

Hidden behind the first until now, Staff cautiously examined the second knight. Empty mugs littered the bar in front of him, yet unlike the first, there was no drunken sway, no flushed cheeks. The man’s eyes were sharp. His ears twitched with every slight sound.

“Aye.” The second knight quietly muttered as he calmly took a sip of his latest drink. He continued to stare off into the distance, until out of nowhere, his eyes squinted with suspicion and shifted towards Staff. This… was a man to be weary of, “A fan of my work, are you?” He pressed; his narrow eyes locked onto Staff like a hawk.

“Just wondering how true the story is.” Staff answered. It took a lot of practice to keep one’s composure under such a gaze. After a few tense seconds, the sharp knight slowly began to seem satisfied that Staff hadn’t caved.

“Not sure.” He mumbled as he turned back to his drink and took another sip, “Not my story.” He added.

“Who’s is it then?” Staff gently pressed. He’d passed the initial suspicions a seasoned veteran would have to an unfamiliar face, but he wasn’t completely out of the woods. He took another sip of his own drink, a big sip.

“Some girl.” He muttered in response. Staff’s attention was drawn back to the first knight, who’d begun to chuckle to himself.

“The one who kicked you in the balls, right?” The knight chuckled. The man lost his balance from the mild overexertion and barely caught himself on Staff’s shoulder. Staff helped bring the soldier back onto his two feet.

“Had a bit too much tonight, have we?” The second knight softly chuckled to himself as the first rather embarrassing straightened himself out. The second knight then turned back to Staff, “Likely a fairytale mate. Girl was mad as a bat. Bragged about purchasing a house in the Byw Forest. As if a soldier like us has that kind of gold lying about.”

“Guess this one needs a hand making it to his bunk.” Staff muttered through as convincing a fake friendly and helpful smile as he could muster, “Goodnight, sir.” He added as he directly addressed the second knight. He responded with a simple nod and turned back to his drink.

Back in civilian robes, but still masked by his elven disguise, Staff slowly looked up from the small list in his hand. He was right out on the outskirts of the Byw Forest, perhaps one of the closest settlements to the centre of the map that still belonged to a kingdom. The towns name was Freedom, which he found rather ironic given that it was a small collection of houses completely surrounded by trees, like a prison of wood.

There wasn’t even a major road into the town. Just a dirt path through the thick forest, although the way had been cleared of trees for the occasional horse. A wagon on the other hand was very much out of the question. He looked down at his boots and squinted with mild annoyance as they slowly continued to sink into the wet mud. Zoie really was going to have to owe him big time for this. While not exactly the poorest of places on his list of addresses, this was certainly the most remote.

He had the house address but simply walking up to it was obviously a bad idea. He didn’t want her to slip away. Instead, he begrudgingly made way for the small tavern. Chances were that he’d spot her in there instead and figure out whether it was really who he was after or not.

The moment he walked through the door to the tavern, one figure caught his eye. Blood red hair was hard to miss even in the dim light of the room. She was sitting at the bar with at least two large empty bottles beside her, with a third in hand.

The bartender was stood on the opposite length of the bar from her. A similar bottle was beside him, waiting to be slid down towards her when needed. Clearly the guy was familiar with her enough to know to stay clear of her. In fact, everyone in the bar had given her a wide berth.

The others in the bar were clearly locals, but also clearly not who he was looking for given they were all Elven males. Of all of them, he wanted only to talk to her, but the direct approach would likely end with her foot between his legs.

Tactfully he walked over to the bartender instead and pulled up a stool. A golden coin slipped from his sleeve into his hand, which he then made sure the bartender noticed.

“Something light.” He muttered as the bartender took the coin. He nodded before grabbing a glass and filling it with a red coloured liquid. The smell of blood orange hit Staff’s nose as the glass was placed in front of him. Staff nodded with approval before taking a sip. At least residents of the Byw Forest knew how to make a beverage that didn’t taste like piss. A benefit of having your entire land covered from boarder to boarder in thick, but also fruitful forests. Plenty of exotic produce to work with, while the Avalon Kingdom relied almost entirely on crops grown in fields like wheat and root vegetables. One of the many reasons he’d chosen his Elf body, to better live among such an interesting race of mortals.

Staff gave it sometime before making any moves. If she’d stayed hidden for this long, then he was clearly going to have to blend in enough to lower her guard. He gave her a small glance before turning to look at the small crowd sat around a table instead. She was busy necking what was left of her bottle, while the guys around the table seemed to be competing in an arm-wrestling contest. While the typical Elven body looked rather frail compared to a Human one, these Elves were clearly used to feats of strength despite their anatomy. Likely construction workers helping to build this small place up house by house.

Staff’s ears caught the sound of a bottle being slid across the bar. A noise he’d been waiting for. He took this opportunity to allow his eyes to track the bottle, seemingly curious as to what the noise was, yet he knew exactly where the bottle was headed. To the other end of the bar, to where the mysterious red-haired woman was waiting for it.

Her eyes also tracked the bottle as it moved, until their eyes met. Staff calmly looked away, now that the sound had been explained his eyes had no purpose on her anymore, but he made sure not to look away too quickly, as if out of panic. Her eyes on the other hand continued to look at him., “That’s quite the thirst you’ve got there.” He spoke, still watching the men arm wrestle. He felt her eyes look away from him.

“You’re new around here.” She muttered in response, “Traveller?” Staff smiled at this. An obvious trap. This village sat at the end of a road that led nowhere else. No traveller would end up in such a place on purpose.

“Scouting for a new house.” He answered. This place was small but big enough for a few more houses. Chances were that more were planned, but building was slow due to lack of people and suitable roads for materials. She took a few seconds to consider this answer.

“Don’t seem old enough for retirement.” She mumbled before beginning her next bottle.

“Spent too much time in the city. Wanted somewhere more spacious, like my parents used to have.” He answered. This seemed very promising. She was clearly testing him, which meant she had quite the guard up. All signs pointed to her being who he was looking for.

Her clothes were that of leather armour. Hunters armour to be precise. A red shirt under a thick leather jacket and matching leather trousers. She didn’t seem to have any weapons on her at the moment, but the way everyone was keeping clear of her told him that she didn’t need a blade to cause trouble.

This place was small but given recent events he really didn’t want to make a scene here. If Gary caught wind of this…

“Those look like mages hands, right?” She asked as she turned to face him.

“Used to teach but got bored. Figured somewhere like this place would need a resident mage.” He continued to lie. Being an immortal had certain advantages to it, one of which was the art of lying. The best lies often were those with some truth to them, and Staff had walked this world a very, very long time. He’d seen and done pretty much everything, so lying to him was less improvisation and more like recalling a distant journey with a few tweaked details to fit the occasion. The only thing more convincing than his lies, was the truth, and even then, not by much.

“What, to help stop dangerous creatures wondering through?”

“I am a fire and shield mage by practice. Although I know my way around the odd herb or two should it be needed.” The woman smiled at this. An odd reaction.

“This towns safe enough as it is.” So that was it. She was this town’s protector of sorts. In a world filled with monsters and bandits, towns rarely lasted without someone strong being present. Within the Byw Forest, home of the Elves, this usually came in the form of a mage of notable skill. Elves were the masters of Elven magic after all. While Humans could also master such magic, it was a rare occurrence, and even then, often noticeably weaker to their Elf counterparts.

Yet despite this town existing since just before the beginning of the dragon wars, he could sense no meaningful levels of magic nearby. No town would have survived this long without some kind of protection.

In Avalon, most major towns had a dedicated barracks where their kingdom’s army could keep the peace. Smaller villages however often relied on strong individual warriors. Legend and rumours of great feats by such individuals were effective against deterring the smarter bandits, but the dumb ones and the monsters of the world often continued to test such individuals relentlessly. If she was operating as this town’s individual protector, it was practically a given that she’d be crazy strong in a fight. While obviously not a match for an admin, she’d still require more effort than most to take down. He’d been right, confronting this woman directly would have turned into a scene. His victory wouldn’t matter one bit without discretion, for Zoie’s sake.

Staff stood up, slowly walked over and sat beside her.

“Really?” He questioned, “Because everyone in this place seems oddly terrified.” He muttered so only she could hear. She glanced towards the others, still arm wrestling.

“First day here I beat the lot of them at every game they threw at me in here.” She revealed, “By the third they had to drag a body from here all the way to the next town to see the local healer.”

“So, I take it my barrier magic won’t be as necessary as I’d hoped.” He responded, subtly letting her know he’d figured out she was the protector of this town, “Didn’t expect competition in a place as small as this, and certainly not from a warrior.” She gave a small smile at his comment.

“Guess you’ll have to find some other town to protect.” She arrogantly smirked.

“Now, now. Competition is nothing but a challenge.” He quickly retorted. She narrowed her eyes, but in a playful manor.

“Like a challenge, do we?” She teased as she turned her body to now face him directly. She also slowly let go of the bottle in her hand, leaving it on the bar instead. He’d gotten her attention.

Her red hair had certainly drawn his eyes more than most, but now that he had a clear look at her… The bloodred colour of her hair matched her delicate eyes and lips. Her fare skin completely unblemished as if she were a sheltered princess. The brown leather jacket and red shirt didn’t do much to emphasise her figure, but regardless the woman was nothing but curves all the way. He’d gotten her attention all right, but she’d gotten his just as badly.

“Sam.” He introduced himself as he casually offered her his hand to shake.

“Cathie.” She reciprocated as she took his hand and gently shook it, “You… don’t strike me as a typical mage.” She then commented as her eyes scanned his rather modest clothing. The common elf often dressed in hemp robes or sometimes cotton shirt and leather trousers for the more formal occasions. Staff was dressed in a silk green robe, but he’d made a point of it being the lowest quality silk one could obtain. The robe was thick and void of decoration completely. Few would be able to recognise it to be the robes of a mage, let alone a capable one of note. A rather perfect disguise for him to wear within this kingdom.

“Well, a teacher’s salary isn’t great when you’re in the bottom ranks, even for mage schools.” He justified.

“I normally can’t stand mages but… you aren’t as stuck up as the rest.” She muttered.

“Thanks… I guess.”

“But I’ll warn you now, you’d have to be a pretty impressive mage to compete with me.” She then boasted. She’d returned to her playful tone as well, eagerly waiting for him to throw something back her way.

“Magic tends to be hard to compete against, even against novices most warriors struggle to keep pace. Assuming you are a warrior of some type, right?” He asked, lightly prying into her background instead of allowing the whole conversation to revolve around him.

“Ex soldier.” She clarified. The answer he was looking for. Fergal’s intelligence was correct then. Was this the woman who’d bested Dracona during a war?

“Didn’t realise the Byw army recruited Humans.” He remarked. A trap waiting for her to leak more details, and more paths to more questions.

“Ex Avalonian soldier.” She further clarified with a light chuckle, “Signed up just in time to get dragged into the Dragon Wars.” She then muttered, the mention of such an experience quickly drained the smile from her face. Her eyes quietly fell distant for a few noticeable moments.

“From what I hear that was quite the brutal war.” He continued to lightly press. Something wasn’t quite right here. This was far too easy. Could he have lucked out to encounter her while she was drunk enough to open up about this all? Nothing about her motions, expressions or words showed any hint of intoxication.

“Yeah… I got myself one stare down with the dragon that attacked the outer Avalon wall.” She quietly muttered, “Turned and ran…” She confessed, “Monsters, bandits, rich pricks wielding expensive gear, easy stuff… a dragon though…” She continued to quietly mutter, “I might be strong, but I’m not stupid.”

Staff quietly collected his thoughts. The Dragon Wars had begun with a dragon attacking the outer Avalon wall. The dragon was eventually killed, but the surprise attack wrought enough damage to be felt throughout the whole kingdom for years to come.

Dracona’s defeat marked the end of the year long war. After the Avalonian army successfully stormed the dragon nests deep within the kingdom of Gehenna. A military push that should have been impossible in every sense of the word.

Not many wars within the history of the Gameworld were named, mostly due to how often they occurred throughout history. The Dragon Wars was a special case. A time when the admins were… occupied with matters of importance. Its history and events drenched in complex half-truths from every angle possible. One of the many recent points in the last one hundred years that the world had come close to falling to the unleashed chaos of one particular individual.

“Can’t say I wouldn’t do the same.” He reassured her. His words seemed to break her out of a trauma filled stare into the distance, “I doubt magic would fare much better than a blade against such a creature.” He added to justify his statement, “Not to mention I use fire magic. Might as well be chucking stones at something that monstrous.”

“Glad to hear.” She sighed, “I’m sure I’ve long since been marked a coward back home though, hence why I’m here.” She explained as she gestured to their surroundings.

“There are certainly worse places to begin again.” He remarked as he examined the room once again. The elves from before had left at some point, leaving the two of them alone, other than the bartender who seemed determined to keep his distance from Cathie despite Staff’s approach of her.

“So, what tragic backstory does our future local mage hide?” She then asked. Staff was caught a little off guard by her question, “You’re good, but those eyes have seen pain.” She explained as she shifted herself closer to him. Her eyes now locked onto his.

“Let’s see…” Staff quietly sighed. He had to pick his words carefully. These sorts of conversations could not be faked easily. He’d have to tell the truth, “Lost my home and family, lost my first ever love, and got brutally betrayed by my best friend.” He listed. This time it was his turn to lose himself in his own memories. Every word he’d spoken was the truth, just not the whole truth.

“Well…” She muttered. Clearly his list had caught her a little off guard. She hadn’t expected so much, and with such genuine feelings behind them as well, “Maybe you’d fit in here better than I first thought. There are certainly worst places to begin again, right?” Staff smiled. Few people had the skill to turn his own words back on him. Who was this woman? A question he now wanted to answer not for the sake of his investigation. This mortal had genuinely managed to pique his interest.