Miracula Luxia C7, P4- "Four Is An Army"

"Four Is An Army" is the fourth Part of "Miracula Luxia" 's seventh Chapter- "A New Beginning". It was released on 08.02.2020.
== Plot ==
Jared and John return to the City Hall of Almaria to discuss what is happening with the mayor of the city and how they have to proceed with their task.
It turns out that things are not as good as they were one year ago after Jared and his allies defeated the "Order of the Black Fist", because of a new evil arising. A new evil coming from the Abyss with his army to conquer Avernum.
It is up to our four heroes to stop him once and for all.
== Story ==
Jared and John arrive in the place where Aleks's father and Annie were- the City Hall and noticed that they were talking to the mayor.
Seeing that the two heroes have come back from the quest, the mayor motioned for them to join in the conversation.
"So."- The mayor said- "Did you succeed? Are the giants gone?"
Jared nodded.
"The giants are no more. All of them are dead."
The mayor smiled.
"Excellent. Now, let's get back to what we were talking about before you entered."
"There is only one way for us to succeed in defeating this new evil. And it is to send a small band to infiltrate their fortress. In my opinion, you, my friends, are the best little band of heroes we can send."
"And where should we go?"- Jared asked the mayor.
The man wondered for a while. Finally, he remembered about something that one of his scouts told him a few days ago.
"You see, there is a city in the Abyss that does not wish for peace, like the other one does. Its name is Bargha. Unlike Spire, it is a city of miscreants. Bandits. Not good, hard-working folks."
"It is our job to exterminate them. However, after our forces arrived there, they were slain by the Barghans. Such insolence will not be taken by any of us and so we plan to counterattack them. Destroy their city and kill their leader."
"Easier said than done."- Aleks muttered.
The mayor sighed.
"Anyway, we need to train you for this to happen. You will go back to the Castle for training and equipment. Does that sound good to you?"
Jared nodded.
"Well, if it is for the good of Avernum, then I agree. What do you think, team?"
Aleks smiled.
"Wherever you go, son, I will be with you. We're in this together."
"I share Mr. Kaos's thoughts."- Annie said- "We're a team and we musn't separate if we want to win this battle."
"There's no way I'm leaving my good friend fight those dirty jerks alone!"- John said- "I'm with you, buddy. We will fight together. We will die together. Let's do this!"
Jared smiled.
"Then it is clear that it will be the four of us going against them."
The mayor looked down.
"I know that it will only be the four of you against all of them, but we don't have any soldiers to spare. All of them have been stationed in various towns and they must protect them at all costs, in case of a Barghan attack."
Jared looked at the mayor and told him to look up.
"Mayor, trust me. No matter how powerful this enemy is, we won't give up. We will keep fighting until all of them are dead. Or all of us. Whichever comes first."
"Okay then, Jared."- The mayor said- "It is good to have a hero such as yourself to help us with this new, massive problem. It makes us more motivated to continue."
"Oh, I almost forgot. How rude of me to not introduce myself. I am Austin Charmaine, better known as "Mayor Austin" or "Acting Mayor Austin". I serve as the Acting Mayor of Almaria."
"But... what happened to the real mayor?"- Jared wondered.
"Well... it's a long story. He had to go to the Castle with a handful of escorts, but they never came back. Back then, I was a simple scribe who was very close to the Mayor. So, eight months after the mayor left the premises of the city, I was assigned as Acting Mayor until he comes back. If he ever does, that is."
"Sadly, the Mayor did not come back and we assumed him dead. If he doesn't come back soon, the officials will assign me as a full Mayor."
"But... I really don't want to take the Mayor's job just because he had left for the Castle and never came back. So... if you explore the area around the Castle for some reason, can you please look for the Mayor and his escorts? Or what is left of them? I want to return what is left of them to their families, because I feel responsible for what might have happened to them. It's just... a huge burden to me."
Jared nodded.
"If we ever do so, we will look for them. We promise."
"Yes, you can count on us."- Annie added.
Mayor Austin smiled.
"Thank you, heroes. I knew it, from the moment that you came in, that you are honest people who take risks to protect our beautiful subterrenian nation and keep it safe from the evil. For that, you have my gratitude. For all that it matters."
Jared smiled.
"Mayor, you don't know it well, but your gratitude means much more to us than your monetary rewards. Not many heroes will say this, but we are different. We do missions to make people happy, not for the fame and glory."
"And that's why you have my full respect, Jared."- The mayor said- "Now go. And may the higher gods bless you and protect you. You are way too valuable to lose."
Jared smiled and headed outside, along with his father, John and Annie.
"So, dad."- Jared began to talk to his father- "Do you have any idea who this "new enemy" might be? Did I miss something while I was in a coma?"
Aleks nodded.
"In fact, I do. Remember the evil wanna-be overlord we fought a year ago?"
"Farrar?"
"Exactly. "Lord" Farrar. The man who put you in a coma. After he did so, I went to Bargha myself, filled with grief and lust for revenge. I killed a lot of the city's soldiers before Farrar faced me himself. He had come out of his shell just to mock me. We fought against each other. I almost died in that fight, but thanks to some of the members of the Spire militia (who happened to be very close to the city), I managed to escape and regroup with them."
"I did it all for you, son. I did it, because I wanted to show him what it means to mess with a member of the Kaos family and try to get away with it. And I am not ashamed at all."
Annie shaked her head and smiled.
"If only my father were here to tell me the same."- She thought to herself.
Aleks noticed Annie's disturbance and looked at her.
"Is something wrong, Annie?"- He asked her.
She looked at him, confused.
"Um... "- She said- "No, there's nothing wrong, Mr. Kaos. Why are you asking?"
Aleks shaked his head.
"No, Annie. I can see it in your eyes. Something is definitely on your mind. Please tell us. If it's a secret, don't worry. Nobody but us will know it."
Annie decided to share a part of her story with them.
"When I was little, I used to live with my mother and father. After an attack on our town, we were forced to flee in Paris. Then, to Duskwood. However, we lost my father in the city. He distracted a bunch of bandits from attacking us and ran away with them chasing him."
"I still remember how we screamed "Run and don't look back! Hide somewhere. I promise that I'll come back for you!". Well, he never came back. We looked for him in every house. Under every stone. He was nowhere to be found."
"And that's how me and mom started to live alone in the city. A few years later, I got sick and mom tried to look for medicine to buy to cure my sickness."
Jared shaked his head, remembering what happened afterwards.
"We found it, but our money wasn't enough to buy even a single bottle of it. That's when a mysterious stranger and his friend came to us and offered to help. The stranger gave us a lot of money to buy the medicine. And that's how I started recovering from this deadly sickness."
Annie hugged Jared.
"And I won't forget what he did for me that day."
Jared smiled and so did his father.
"So, you were the mysterious stranger who helped her, son?"
Jared nodded.
"Yes, indeed. I wanted to buy myself something very fancy, but I gave my money to Annie and her mom instead."
"And that is a very good deed."- Aleks said- "Sometimes, you need to abstract yourself from something you like to help someone in need. You really did well, Jared."
Jared smiled.
"I am glad that you think so, dad."- He said.
"But tell me, Annie."- Aleks said- "What happened to your mother? Why is she not here with you?"
Suddenly, Annie let go of Jared and looked down in shame.
Jared hugged her himself and shaked his head.
"Dad, it is best if we don't talk about it."
Aleks realized that something horrible happened to Annie's mom- so much that even her own daughter doesn't want to talk about it.
"I understand. Please forgive me. For asking."- He apologized to the girl.
She looked up.
"There's... no need to apologize."- She said- "We must continue with our task."
John nodded.
"I agree with Annie. We need to go to the Castle and see how they will train us."
"Then let's go."- Jared said- "Let's not go astray from our real task."
Everyone nodded and headed out of the city of Almaria, ready to travel towards the Castle and see what is really going on.
If there is any place where the heroes can truly learn about this new problem, it is the Castle. It is also closer to all of the danger coming from the Abyss, so it's also the most troubled settlement.
Onward!
== Trivia ==
* Part 4 of "Miracula Luxia" 's Chapter VII was supposed to be named "Four Is A Crowd", but the creator of the series- AleksProdzBG decided that it is better to give it a different title to differentiate it from other potential titles- "Four Is An Army".