The guard chief sits in the guardhouse, a small shack built against the South Gate. Several maps are sprawled out before him on a hefty oak table. Many hand-carved wood pawns are placed on one of the maps; one sits in the grizzled old man’s hand as he fiddles with it. A well-adorned guard stands in front of him, giving a report.

“We weren’t able to find any evidence of a demon within the whole of the Tyrian Quadrangle.”

“Damnit,” The guard chief slams his balled fists against the table, knocking over several pawns. “Where did that demon go? Alright, let’s walk through it again. The demon was first encountered at the north gate three days ago, where it was injured then fled north. We found evidence of a campsite at Cervais creek and a horned rabbit carcass that died approximately three days ago and was butchered—both of these events match the timeline, but where did the demon go after that?”

“We’ve searched everywhere; it probably flew past the country’s northern border.”

“Perhaps, but it’s still possible that the demon snuck into the village.”

“You’re still saying that, Rengal? There hasn’t been a report of anything from the inn, and I doubt it’s hiding anywhere else.”

“Maybe we’re doing this wrong; perhaps if we can find out where those rabbit tusks went, we can find our demon.” Rengal, the guard chief, stands up and throws on his coat, adorned with a small metal badge. “I know you guys aren’t taking this seriously. I’ll head to the adventurer’s guild myself if I have to.”

The guard chief throws open the door and walks out into the dark of night.

Rengal approaches a large building built sturdier than the other buildings in town. The small split-pane windows are illuminated even at midnight, and a hearty roar of laughter can be heard coming from inside. If two things went together, it’s adventurers and booze; it’s customary for every guild hall to have a tavern inside of it.

Creaking open the door, Rengal steps into the guild hall; many adventurers can be seen laughing about and having a good time. The loudest of the adventurers were a group of people who all wore a distinct red jacket; they were yelling and screaming and jumping off the tables. A dwarven man was talking so loud that the whole tavern could hear.

“And then Eliza ‘ere ran outta arrows, so she loaded a fricken rock in the bowstring. I mean, look at ‘er, you can imagine ‘ow that went—“

As soon as the adventurers notice the small badge on the chiefs should their roars turn into a whisper. Rengal gives the group of adventurers a stern glance before going about his business. He approaches the counter, where an older woman dressed in simple clothing walks up to greet him; her eyes are wide open.

“Oh my, Rengal!” The woman exclaims. “What brings you to my establishment? Are you here to give adventuring another shot? Or perhaps you’re here for me?” the woman flashes a seductive smile.

“Mari, you know that’s never gonna happen.” The gruff man replies without batting an eye

“The adventuring or me?”

“Neither. I’m here on business.”

“Boo, well, what can I do you for? want to issue a request to eliminate some orcs again?”

“No, they aren’t the problem this time.” The guard chief moves his head closer and whispers. “It’s about a demon.”

“Oh, I heard something about that from one of your guards. He didn’t seem too concerned, though.”

“Has anyone sold any horned rabbit tusks here lately?”

“I haven’t heard of any horned rabbits being found in weeks. Certainly, no tusks have come through here.”

“Can you put up a request? I want to request information from the adventurers of this town if any of them have any information on a person carrying a tusk in the last week.”

“That’s a bit of a weird request; how much are you offering?”

“It’s important. Two gold coins for anyone who has valid information.”

“Wow, as always, official requests are quite the payday. I’ll send anyone with information down to the guardhouse.”

With a half-smile, Rengal turns away from the counter and leaves the guildhall. Once he is clear of the building, the adventurers inside return to a low roar. Rengal walks along the streets, returning to the guardhouse. Upon returning, he notices something a little off — outside the shack is a horse. Rengal swings open the door, and upon stepping inside, he notices a guard lying on a bench, breathing heavily.

Upon grasping the situation, Rengal speaks. “Lutz, you’re back! tell me the news, is the starlit church going to dispatch a knight?”

“Ahh, I did it, chief!” Lutz responds, still catching his breath, “I quickly went on horseback to the city of Elora. Upon meeting with the ruling noble, I was allowed to make a transmission to the holy capital. The church was a little upset; it sounds like there have been demon attacks all over lately. Anyway, they determined Rissel to be of strategic importance thanks to how far north we are.”

“So they’re going to send one?”

“Yeah, but don’t celebrate yet. The knight they’re sending is of the Numinas order.”

“You mean, the churches own watchdogs? They aren’t sending an Inquisitor unit?”

“Ahh, they said it would be too difficult to send a whole unit to this town at this time. The church also specifically gave the order for us to capture the demon alive for interrogation.”

“How in the hell are we going to capture it alive?”

“Dunno, but they explicitly stated under no circumstances are we to kill the demon before the knight has a chance to talk to it.”

Rengal puts his head in his palms. “Dear stars, what has happened to this town. When is the knight arriving?”

“Four days…”

The sun is high in the sky, floating without care above the inn. It’s Lunella and Amara’s last day together, for tomorrow, Lunella will be on her way to the city of Aren in search of a cure to her wound. Not long ago, Domak dropped off the sword that he had made for her. The sword is relatively short, but it has an uncommon thickness to it. When moved around and inspected, it shimmers a bright platinum color.

Amara speaks to Lunella. “That really is a beautiful sword. I told you uncle Domak was a good blacksmith. Ahh, I want one too….”

“Eheh, I’m sure you’ll get your own sword soon. You’re going to go enlist in the knights once your mother returns, right?”

“Yeah, thanks to you. You know, I’m glad I let you stay at this inn. Who would’ve thought you’d actually become such a good friend.”

“Well, right back at you.”

Amara and Lunella stare at each other silently. Finally, Lunella stands up and claps her hands, turning to Amara. She speaks with a smile. “We still have one whole day together, is there anything you want to do for fun?”

“Hmm, well, how about we go to the tavern at the guild?”