Arad and Aella changed their clothes and walked down the stairs, Zephyr hovering around them.
"Arad, is there a problem?" Eris woke up and looked out of her room.
"Nina left the city. We're going to check why with the guild." He replied.
Eris stared at him for a second, "You sure? She's quite strong. She might return before you reach the city."
"Since Vlad's attack on Riverside, I doubt Nina would leave Alina unprotected for no reason." Arad looked at her, "Are you coming?"
Eris went back to her room to get changed.
The three headed out, and Arad looked around. "Come out," He called, and Mc walked out of the bushes.
"Can you carry three people"?
Mc shook his head, tapping his hooves on the ground. ^Leave it to me!^ he thought.
Arad jumped on Mc's back, and so did Aella and Eris. They rushed toward the city without wasting any time.
The guards sat on the walls, yawning. The sun started rising, and one of them looked toward the fields. "Hoi! Look!" He pointed.
The other guards looked. The rising sun blinded them as it emerged from the mountains, casting a shadow on the forest on the wheat fields.
"That's a horse?" One asked.
"No, a horse doesn't have horns." Another squinted his eyes, trying to cover the sun with his hand to take a look.
"It's Arad and his moose!" He yelled.
"What? Open the gate!"
As the portcullis slowly rose up, Arad did slow down.
"Wait! He isn't stopping?" A guard shouted, "Rise it faster!"
"We're trying! This is as fast it goes!"
One of them looked back at Arad and saw a strange scene. Coming from the sunrise on a moose's back. Arad lifted his arms into a T-shape. The moose's hove slowly levitated from the ground as it started running in the air, crossing over the gate.
The guards gasped, seeing the massive creature flying above them. Its eyes and spit-filled mouth flew over them with a growl. One of them who was a bit interested in magic could feel it. Arad cast something on Mc.
Only then did the guards notice, that Arad wasn't the only one on Mc's back. So did Aella and Eris.
SWOSH! Mc ran over the guards and landed on the rooftops, running and leaping from one house to the other.
"Our valiant hero came on a moose," One guard sighed, with a weak giggle, and worried face.
"A moose on the loose. That thing can even fly now?" Another sighed.
Clack, one of the guards sat on the bench near her, "Maidens dream of a silver knight on a majestic horse and a gentle face."
Another one sighed, "What did we get? A handsome muscular man riding a moose across the sunrise."
"I mean," Another of them sighed, looking at the other women, "He's handsome, but isn't he a bit too big?"
"Yes! And there already several girls with him," Another one noted. "On the other hand, did you see that white-haired guy?"
"Yes! Yes! That one with the blue eyes!" Another one cried, "I tried approaching him yesterday, but he gave me an ice rose and left."
"Huh!" A man from the guards laughed, "Do you think that pretty face would be of any help?" He stared at them, "Did you see how Arad dragged a dragon to the gate? You talk about how he looks better, but when life and death are involved, you flock to the strong like pigeons to bread."
"Who asked you?" She glared at him.
"You're the one who started first," He stared at them, "Arad is better than that beansprout pretty face of yours."
The woman growled, "Gojo is better! White hair is a sign of wisdom. I bet he's a talented mage,"
"We got a warning for Arad. He could blow the whole city it seems. What did that Gojo of yours achieve? One fight and his pretty white hair will turn red by blood," The man glared at them, "The strong shall prevail, and Arad is strong."
The ranks of the guard had started to divide into two groups. Arad's side consisted of mostly men with soldiers, knights, and hardened fighters. What little women supported him were the fighters and barbarians who focused on strength.
All those soldiers once dreamed of mowing hordes of monsters, dragging dragons home as heros. Arad was their superhero who achieved their dream.
And there was the part that supported Gojo, the white-hired wizard who has been popping around lately with his ice magic. Those who supported him were mostly women, archers, and wizards who liked the slick and clean look he had. They also got hope. There weren't that many women swarming around Gojo.
CLACK! Mc jumped from one of the buildings, landing right before the guild's door and scaring a bunch of adventurers who were getting out.
Arad jumped down from Mc's back and walked toward the door. The adventurers stared at him for a few moments, then one of them approached. "Are sir Arad?" He asked.
"Arad, I don't know about sir," Arad stopped and looked at Aella and Eris, "Go ask inside. I will follow you soon."
"Hurry," Aella said as she rushed inside with Eris. Mc on the other hand stood beside the guild's wall, eating the grass growing between the bricks cracks.
"What do you want?" Arad asked, staring at the adventurers. There were four of them. One looked like a wizard, two fighters, and a cleric.
The one who approached Arad was a fighter, standing at almost 1.7 meters tall and wearing leather armor. He had a thin build but was clearly better than the average person.
The fight pulled his weapon from his back. A steel staff is cut into three sections linked with chains. "How would you use this?"
Arad looked at the strange weapon, holding it in his hands. "Why do people cut a staff? There is no rigidity,"
"Do you know a way to use it?" The adventurer asked.
"I could start by returning it and buying a sword or a proper staff. But I guess that isn't an option?"
"A friend sent it to me," The adventurer sighed, "I had never seen such a weapon before, so I thought someone with more experience could know."
Alcott had left. He was the one newbie adventurer who went to for advice.
Arad grabbed the two outer sticks by their base and swung them. "I never used such a thing, but if I had to I would turn it into something I'm familiar with."
"Holding it makes it seem like I'm holding two normal sticks, which helps. I can leave the middle part for defense." Arad did a few swings, "It's mostly a close-range weapon, but if the opponent tried to move away, I would hold it from one end to try and use its full reach."
After a few swings, Arad stopped and looked at the weird staff. "But, I have a big problem with it. In combat, I like throwing my opponent around, and for that, I need a rigid weapon, a sword, or a staff to work best for that."
"I don't have enough strength to throw anyone around," The adventurer scratched his chin.
"Now, but in the future you would. Use it as best as you can, and be careful not to hit yourself." Arad gave the weapon back to the adventurer and walked into the guild.
Thud! The second fighter tapped the one who talked with Arad on the back, "How is it? Told you he would know."
The adventurer smiled, "Did you see him swing it?"
"That was," The cleric looked at the door, sweat dripping across her face, "Horrifyingly fast. This thing is heavy," She couldn't even lift the staff.
"Those large arms of his aren't for show," The fighter smiled, trying to swing the staff, "Now I got a look at how to use it. Let's go test it against some weak monsters." They left.
Arad walked into the guild, and the adventurers inside stared at him.
Beside the counter, Aella and Eris stood with one of the guild receptionists as she tried to explain to them.
As he walked, he looked up seeing some workers trying to fix a hole in the ceiling, and Nina's axe wasn't in its place.
"What's happened?" Arad asked as he approached Aella and Eris, "Did she tell you?" His eyes turned toward the receptionist, and she started shaking, taking a step back.
"She doesn't want to tell us," Aella said, "She said that if Nina left like that, it must be something dangerous. They already sent a call to Merlin and are waiting for her response."
Thud! Arad approached the receptionist, glaring at her face. "What happened to Nina?"
"That I can't say," She replied, her knees shaking.
The guild's floor started shaking and the lights flickered, the tables where the adventurers sat quaked and crackled.
"Here is it!" Another receptionist jumped in, handing Arad a letter.
^[Just a bit of gravity magic and they would start shaking.]^
Arad opened the letter, finding a leather piece inside with words written in blood.
[The Great one is waking up]
Those words were written in what he could only describe as written by chickens, scrambles that barely resembled words.