Jolted from his slumber by the brief, but violent, vibration of the guild hall, Zycor quickly sat up. Due to how brief the tremor was, he didn’t give it much more thought. He hopped out of bed and walked over to his wardrobe to get dressed, not noticing the massive dust plume off in the distance from his window. As he reached for the door out of his room, he heard a commotion coming from the main hall. Zycor let out an exhausted sigh, not yet awake enough to deal with the inevitable fight beyond. Stepping out of his room he looked left over the railing and saw Aisha arguing with some of the adventurers. When she noticed Zycor she pointed at him as she angrily stated, “You!” It was at that moment Zycor realized all the plans he had for the day were now shattered.
As Aisha marched up the stairs towards Zycor, she complained, “How could you have gone to a dungeon without telling me? Not only that, but you had the audacity to nearly get yourself killed?!”
Zycor, trying his best to wake himself fully, yawned, “Technically, it wasn’t my fault.”
Without missing a beat Aisha snapped, “You think I care about such minor details?! As punishment for your transgressions, I demand you accompany me for the day!”
Reaching Zycor, Aisha gave him a bear hug. Under her breath she muttered, “You idiot, stop scaring me.”
Zycor, his hands in the air, looked down towards the adventurers when he noticed Clyde. He silently pleaded for advice on what to do and Clyde mouthed to hug her back. Deciding to trust Clyde, Zycor slowly wrapped his arms around Aisha. After subconsciously indulging in the embrace, Aisha began to blush heavily as she realized the hug was no longer one sided. She pushed him away and stammered, “W-w-what do y-y-you think you’re doing?!”
Zycor, confused, responded, “Returning the hug?”
“A-and who do you think you are to t-touch me whenever y-you want?!” Aisha responded as she turned away to hide her face.
Zycor, slightly irritated, snapped back, “Yet, you hugged me without permission. I can’t help but see the hypocrisy in your statement.”
Aisha didn’t respond, so Zycor sighed and said, “Whatever. Sorry, I guess.”
The entire guild hall was completely silent, watching and listening intently. The adventurers had grown to enjoy watching the interaction between the two of them. Most of them even participated in a betting pool with regards to whether they would or would not get together.
Aisha glared down at them as she shouted, “What are you idiots looking at!?”
Shifting the atmosphere, Aislin walked out of the kitchen while she asked Zycor and Aisha, “Hey, when you two are done with your quarrel will you please head into town for some supplies? We are running low on meat, and we could use some more liquor.”
“I got it.” Zycor responded as he walked past Aisha without a word. She grabbed onto Zycors shirt and said, “I’ll come. You have to spend the day with me as punishment anyways.”
Zycor, looked back at her, noticing she was acting strange, and sighed, “Fair enough.”
The two left the guild hall and walked into town silently, the only real disturbance being minor tremors. After a few minutes, Aisha softly and quietly said, “I’m sorry for yelling at you.”
In a completely out of character fashion, Zycor, apparently growing more angry and aggressive, responded, “Whatever, Just don’t do it again.”
Instantly noticing the tone shift, Aisha knew something was wrong, but had no idea what could have happened. The only assumption she could make was she actually managed to anger him. Aisha noticed that as they moved further from the guild hall, Zycor appeared to be getting angrier and more aggressive. Aisha asked Zycor what was bothering him, which he ignored. However, Aisha noticed his arm was tensing up due to him making a fist and holding it tightly. Not knowing what might happen should she push the subject further, she dropped it for the time being.
Having purchased everything that Aislin asked for, the two began to walk back. On their way to the guild hall, they ran into Baz and Mylon who were also headed there. “Hey there kid, what’s this?” Baz began teasing, “out with your girlfriend, huh? Are you guys making out yet?”
Mylon sighed, “Jeez, it hasn’t even been five seconds, and you’re already starting trouble Baz?”
“Ah relax Mylon, it’s fine! The kid knows I’m joking, isn’t that right?” Baz replied, turning towards Zycor with a grin on his face.
Zycor, however, had a cold stare devoid of any semblance of his normal self. “Baz,” Zycor began, “Quit talking, it’s annoying.”
Zycor started to walk around them and back towards the guild. Everyone was stunned by the way he talked to Baz, it was unlike anything he had done before. Mylon, utterly confused, questioned, “What’s up Zycor? I thought you two worked everything out, right? Aren’t we all friends now?”
Baz, pissed, stormed over to Zycor and grabbed his shoulder, “Now hold on a second you little shit. What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Turning his head slightly towards Baz’s hand, Zycor demanded, “Baz, remove your hand.”
Baz began to walk around to block Zycors path but stopped when Zycor turned his head, revealing his eyes. Zycor’s evergreen eyes now appeared to have darkened slightly, now taking on a dim, red hue. Baz immediately released Zycor as the latter began heading back to the guild.
The rest of the party followed, keeping their distance from Zycor. Aisha apologized to Baz and Mylon, “I think this is my fault, I’m sorry. I think I may have gone too far earlier while talking with him.”
Mylon shook his head, “No, this isn’t simply being upset about some terrible flirting skills.”
Aisha, offended and flustered, stammered, “E-e-excuse me!? M-my flirting skills are perfectly fine thank you very little!”
Mylon continued, “Your denial aside, I think this may be some aftermath of what happened during our dungeon exploration.”
Aisha asked, “What the hell happened during the dungeon run then? Why is he like this?”
Mylon, putting his hand over his mouth as he thought, responded, “Nothing that would have caused something like this as far as I could tell. In fact, by the end of everything, we were getting along far better than we ever had before. It just doesn’t make any sense. I must be missing something.”
Baz angrily sighed, “Have you considered that he is just an asshole by nature?”
Mylon, annoyed at the hypocritical comment, snapped back, “No, that would be you. Zycor has trust issues and properly using emotions which, unfortunately, makes him insufferable to be around at times. I am… working on that particular issue with him.”
Baz grunted, “Well, work faster, this is becoming annoying and angering.”
Aisha chimed in, further inquiring, “Then what could have happened? And when?!”
Before Baz or Mylon had a chance to respond, the trio stopped. they saw Zycor had stopped walking as well, cut off by two bandits. Mylon glanced behind them and saw two more had closed off their rear escape. Mylon muttered, “Baz…”
“Yeah, I see them. There are more to our left and right.” Baz replied.
Sure enough two more, one from each side alley, came out and fully encircled them. Each bandit maliciously grinned while they chuckled in the same manner. Baz and Mylon turned to face the bandits that came from the sides. All of the sudden one final man came up behind Aisha and grabbed her, putting a knife to her throat. He was covered in dented and banged up armor covered in dirt.
Quickly looking over at Aisha Mylon, in a panicked tone, exclaimed, “Shit! Where did he come from!?”
Baz, just as surprised, yelled back, “I don’t know!”
“Hehe,” the man began, “it would seem I have you all surrounded! These bandits are able to give upper rank five adventurers a run for their money! I have done my research on all of you. Two rank six’s, and the other two are the lowest rank at eight. Now Listen here, I am a generous man, I am only here for one head, so the rest of you may leave. In the name of the Velathrian royal knights, I demand the head of Zycor Mori!”
Zycor set down the items they had bought and turned to look at the man. As soon as their eyes met, the man froze and began to shake. Zycor was glaring at him with such ferocity, it felt like he was possessed by something inhuman. “Let. Her. Go. Now.” Zycor scowled.
Noticing Zycor is unarmed, the man recomposed himself and chuckled, “And what are you going to do without a weapon? What can you do?!”
Without breaking eye contact, Zycor, growing more angry by the second, replied, “I will kill you with my bare hands, that’s what I can do.”
The deadly and serious tone in Zycors voice broke the man's composure all over again. The man shouted, “Alright, I didn’t hire you lot to stand around! Get them already! I don’t care what happens to the other two, but Zycor Mori must perish!”
Jolted from his slumber by the brief, but violent, vibration of the guild hall, Zycor quickly sat up. Due to how brief the tremor was, he didn’t give it much more thought. He hopped out of bed and walked over to his wardrobe to get dressed, not noticing the massive dust plume off in the distance from his window. As he reached for the door out of his room, he heard a commotion coming from the main hall. Zycor let out an exhausted sigh, not yet awake enough to deal with the inevitable fight beyond. Stepping out of his room he looked left over the railing and saw Aisha arguing with some of the adventurers. When she noticed Zycor she pointed at him as she angrily stated, “You!” It was at that moment Zycor realized all the plans he had for the day were now shattered.
As Aisha marched up the stairs towards Zycor, she complained, “How could you have gone to a dungeon without telling me? Not only that, but you had the audacity to nearly get yourself killed?!”
Zycor, trying his best to wake himself fully, yawned, “Technically, it wasn’t my fault.”
Without missing a beat Aisha snapped, “You think I care about such minor details?! As punishment for your transgressions, I demand you accompany me for the day!”
Reaching Zycor, Aisha gave him a bear hug. Under her breath she muttered, “You idiot, stop scaring me.”
Zycor, his hands in the air, looked down towards the adventurers when he noticed Clyde. He silently pleaded for advice on what to do and Clyde mouthed to hug her back. Deciding to trust Clyde, Zycor slowly wrapped his arms around Aisha. After subconsciously indulging in the embrace, Aisha began to blush heavily as she realized the hug was no longer one sided. She pushed him away and stammered, “W-w-what do y-y-you think you’re doing?!”
Zycor, confused, responded, “Returning the hug?”
“A-and who do you think you are to t-touch me whenever y-you want?!” Aisha responded as she turned away to hide her face.
Zycor, slightly irritated, snapped back, “Yet, you hugged me without permission. I can’t help but see the hypocrisy in your statement.”
Aisha didn’t respond, so Zycor sighed and said, “Whatever. Sorry, I guess.”
The entire guild hall was completely silent, watching and listening intently. The adventurers had grown to enjoy watching the interaction between the two of them. Most of them even participated in a betting pool with regards to whether they would or would not get together.
Aisha glared down at them as she shouted, “What are you idiots looking at!?”
Shifting the atmosphere, Aislin walked out of the kitchen while she asked Zycor and Aisha, “Hey, when you two are done with your quarrel will you please head into town for some supplies? We are running low on meat, and we could use some more liquor.”
“I got it.” Zycor responded as he walked past Aisha without a word. She grabbed onto Zycors shirt and said, “I’ll come. You have to spend the day with me as punishment anyways.”
Zycor, looked back at her, noticing she was acting strange, and sighed, “Fair enough.”
The two left the guild hall and walked into town silently, the only real disturbance being minor tremors. After a few minutes, Aisha softly and quietly said, “I’m sorry for yelling at you.”
In a completely out of character fashion, Zycor, apparently growing more angry and aggressive, responded, “Whatever, Just don’t do it again.”
Instantly noticing the tone shift, Aisha knew something was wrong, but had no idea what could have happened. The only assumption she could make was she actually managed to anger him. Aisha noticed that as they moved further from the guild hall, Zycor appeared to be getting angrier and more aggressive. Aisha asked Zycor what was bothering him, which he ignored. However, Aisha noticed his arm was tensing up due to him making a fist and holding it tightly. Not knowing what might happen should she push the subject further, she dropped it for the time being.
Having purchased everything that Aislin asked for, the two began to walk back. On their way to the guild hall, they ran into Baz and Mylon who were also headed there. “Hey there kid, what’s this?” Baz began teasing, “out with your girlfriend, huh? Are you guys making out yet?”
Mylon sighed, “Jeez, it hasn’t even been five seconds, and you’re already starting trouble Baz?”
“Ah relax Mylon, it’s fine! The kid knows I’m joking, isn’t that right?” Baz replied, turning towards Zycor with a grin on his face.
Zycor, however, had a cold stare devoid of any semblance of his normal self. “Baz,” Zycor began, “Quit talking, it’s annoying.”
Zycor started to walk around them and back towards the guild. Everyone was stunned by the way he talked to Baz, it was unlike anything he had done before. Mylon, utterly confused, questioned, “What’s up Zycor? I thought you two worked everything out, right? Aren’t we all friends now?”
Baz, pissed, stormed over to Zycor and grabbed his shoulder, “Now hold on a second you little shit. What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Turning his head slightly towards Baz’s hand, Zycor demanded, “Baz, remove your hand.”
Baz began to walk around to block Zycors path but stopped when Zycor turned his head, revealing his eyes. Zycor’s evergreen eyes now appeared to have darkened slightly, now taking on a dim, red hue. Baz immediately released Zycor as the latter began heading back to the guild.
The rest of the party followed, keeping their distance from Zycor. Aisha apologized to Baz and Mylon, “I think this is my fault, I’m sorry. I think I may have gone too far earlier while talking with him.”
Mylon shook his head, “No, this isn’t simply being upset about some terrible flirting skills.”
Aisha, offended and flustered, stammered, “E-e-excuse me!? M-my flirting skills are perfectly fine thank you very little!”
Mylon continued, “Your denial aside, I think this may be some aftermath of what happened during our dungeon exploration.”
Aisha asked, “What the hell happened during the dungeon run then? Why is he like this?”
Mylon, putting his hand over his mouth as he thought, responded, “Nothing that would have caused something like this as far as I could tell. In fact, by the end of everything, we were getting along far better than we ever had before. It just doesn’t make any sense. I must be missing something.”
Baz angrily sighed, “Have you considered that he is just an asshole by nature?”
Mylon, annoyed at the hypocritical comment, snapped back, “No, that would be you. Zycor has trust issues and properly using emotions which, unfortunately, makes him insufferable to be around at times. I am… working on that particular issue with him.”
Baz grunted, “Well, work faster, this is becoming annoying and angering.”
Aisha chimed in, further inquiring, “Then what could have happened? And when?!”
Before Baz or Mylon had a chance to respond, the trio stopped. they saw Zycor had stopped walking as well, cut off by two bandits. Mylon glanced behind them and saw two more had closed off their rear escape. Mylon muttered, “Baz…”
“Yeah, I see them. There are more to our left and right.” Baz replied.
Sure enough two more, one from each side alley, came out and fully encircled them. Each bandit maliciously grinned while they chuckled in the same manner. Baz and Mylon turned to face the bandits that came from the sides. All of the sudden one final man came up behind Aisha and grabbed her, putting a knife to her throat. He was covered in dented and banged up armor covered in dirt.
Quickly looking over at Aisha Mylon, in a panicked tone, exclaimed, “Shit! Where did he come from!?”
Baz, just as surprised, yelled back, “I don’t know!”
“Hehe,” the man began, “it would seem I have you all surrounded! These bandits are able to give upper rank five adventurers a run for their money! I have done my research on all of you. Two rank six’s, and the other two are the lowest rank at eight. Now Listen here, I am a generous man, I am only here for one head, so the rest of you may leave. In the name of the Velathrian royal knights, I demand the head of Zycor Mori!”
Zycor set down the items they had bought and turned to look at the man. As soon as their eyes met, the man froze and began to shake. Zycor was glaring at him with such ferocity, it felt like he was possessed by something inhuman. “Let. Her. Go. Now.” Zycor scowled.
Noticing Zycor is unarmed, the man recomposed himself and chuckled, “And what are you going to do without a weapon? What can you do?!”
Without breaking eye contact, Zycor, growing more angry by the second, replied, “I will kill you with my bare hands, that’s what I can do.”
The deadly and serious tone in Zycors voice broke the man's composure all over again. The man shouted, “Alright, I didn’t hire you lot to stand around! Get them already! I don’t care what happens to the other two, but Zycor Mori must perish!”
