Chronicles of Metal: Chapter 14 - Declaration

**<- Previous Chapter**

"What where you thinking?" Beard groaned to a disinterested Isabella. "I told you we need to lay low."

"My apologies... When I saw the town guard fleeing the fires, I thought it best to investigate." She said with half open eyes. "Master..."

Beard reclined into the couch he was sitting on, groaning in frustration. Astra had loaned them a room in her manner to hash things out. Beard was thankful for that; it meant they didn't have to go all the way back to the guild to have this talk. But it didn't change the fact that he felt like he was conversing with a brick wall. "Running off on your own, without telling anyone?" He groaned, knowing this likely wasn't going to get the point across any better then the last. "What if something happened?"

Annoyingly, Isabella's board expression morphed into a small smile. "Oh master... Surely, you can't be worried about me?" She tilted her head slightly, and for a moment Beard thought he was talking to the lady of the manor. "It's not like I can be killed. I am immortal, after all."

Beard grimaced. "You know there are ways..." He grumbled. This didn't seem to phase the maid either. Did she really have no concept of this, or was she just playing coy? "Besides, I just learned there may be World Items out here. So, it's safe to say there could be other..." He trailed off. What could he call other players Infront of one of the NCPs? Did he really have to break down that they all existed inside a game he played to pass the time until a few weeks ago? That one day they'd suddenly all come to life? That was definitely something he wanted to avoid. "There could be other threats we don't know about. So, until then, at least let us know when you go out and do something, alright?"

Something in her expression changed. She was either surprised at this new information, or... Surprised he was letting it go so easily. Did she expect him to punish her or something? He'd have to admit, the idea of grounding her to her floor almost made him laugh. "Yes, I'll do that next time." She muttered. "Master..."

Beard relaxed his shoulders, settling with just that. "How did you even know to look for them?" He asked. Thinking back, Isabella hadn't been there when they set out. She couldn't possibly have known what was going on ahead of time. "You being there was hell'a uncanny."

He waited for an answer, but was surprised when she had to think about it. "Intuition, I suppose." She said with a small shrug. Even under his disguise, the look on Beard's face must’ve made it obvious that wasn't a good enough answer. "Well... The fishermen told us the guards aren't exactly the most moral group of people. After all: you had to bribe them to get into the city, and they could hardly keep their eyes off of me. When I saw them leave with those carts, I suppose I thought it worthwhile to see where they where headed." That was... far more in-depth than Beard had expected. Then again, moments like that were becoming more and more common whenever Isabella was involved. It was a hard thing to comprehend, but he may have to accept that she was just smarter than he was.

"Well, lucky us that you did." He pushed off the couch to his feet, stretching some of the stress tension out of his back. "Pretty sure you just earned us free reign in this city, depending on how that Astra chick wants to play this."

As he walked to the door, Isabella moved to follow him. "What does she want with us?"

Beard paused a moment, unsure how exactly to answer. "She... Wants to form an alliance, so we can destroy her country." He said with a small shrug. Isabella raised her brow, and Beard looked back at her with a grin. "Like I said, let's see how she wants to play this. She wanted to address the town after what happened last night, so let's go see what's on her mind."

"Yes, lets." She nodded, raising her head and following along after him. "Master..."

It had been a... Trying few hours for Aeirfin. Dragging Capitan Anders to a makeshift medical tent was easy. Convincing them to help him, a town guard that for all anyone knew was responsible for all this? Less so. Eventually he was told that it'd be handled, and people demanded that he leave. With more people to help and several fires still raging, he didn't have time to be sitting around.

He spent most of the night wondering from place to place, helping however he could until the sun began to peak over the horizon. It was then that he heard the women had returned. He had no idea what that meant, and was snubbed by anyone he tried to ask. Eventually he just followed the crowd to the east gate, where he witnessed many a tearful reunion. Apparently, while some of the guards went around setting fires, and a others tried to have him killed, a squad of them had gone around the city apprehending the women. There where more rumors, but that was the most consistent one. It almost made him sick to think that the men he'd trained with where capable of such a thing. Moreso when he saw Aoi, her sister, and Hazel amongst the ones that had been reunited.

His first instinct was to go see how they where. But the moment he tried he felt an overwhelming shame. He was a town guard too, how could he possibly face them now? He'd been powerless to stop anything over the last twelve hours. And his sword Frostbite had been broken. Some protector he turned out to be.

From that point he tried to make himself invisible. There was a lot of cleaning up to do, people that remained unaccounted for. He tried to help where he could, but again there wasn't much he could do. The fires had been put out, and he hardly had the guts to tell the citizens that he was a guard. That did nothing to garner him any respect before tonight, but right now it'd likely get him chased out of the Hashigin. Eventually he just sat by the side of the road and wait. He didn't know what for, but it was better than aimlessly wander around the city.

He didn't know how long had passed, but he snapped out of his brooding when he realised someone was talking to him. "Sir Theocrie?" He looked up to see a familiar face, but he wasn't exactly sure where he'd seen her before. "The lady of the city asks wishes to see you."

Lady of the city? Did she mean Lady Astra? Then that would have to make her... "Tyr..." He finished that last thought aloud, finally remembering where he'd seen this woman before. "You're... Her bodyguard."

"I am a lot of things." She said simply. "For the moment, I'm a messenger. My Lady wishes to address the city, and she requests that you be there."

Aeirfin didn't know how to respond to that. His first guess was that he'd be arrested as just another one of the town guard. But... Being requested didn't really carry that vibe. Bodyguard, messenger, whatever she called herself, Tyr was a warrior through-and-through. If she was going to arrest him, she wouldn't have wasted time stopping to talk to him like this. And though she looked tence, she didn't look like she was expecting a fight.

"Do you know what about?" He asked.

"I have some idea." Tyr said with a nod. "But my Lady wishes for you to hear it from her. So, if you'd please, she wants to begin as soon as possible. I don't want to keep her waiting."

There wasn't much arguing to be had there. Lady Astra had surprised him before, so she likely had a purpose for wanting to see him now. He followed Tyr back through the city, to the large courtyard Infront of the lord's manner. A sizable crowd had already gathered by the time they arrived, also awaiting the Lady's address. It was strange to think; just hours ago the town had been in chaos, yet now there was a calm, almost peaceful air about the citizens.

"Fin!" A sort call echoed out to him, stopping that thought cold. He looked up to see Aoi dodging through the crowd towards him, her eyes glistening in the early morning sun. "Fin, you're ok." She gasped, resting her hands on her knees.

"Y-yeah..." He found it hard to look her in the eye, and one glance over his shoulder found that Tyr had left him. "Are Aki and Hazel alright?" He asked, trying to look past her.

She stood up directly in his line of sight through, wiping her eyes dry. "Yeah, they're ok. A little shaken up but... So is everyone else." Her words hit him like a stone. He knew full well she wasn't trying to blame him, but somehow that's still how it felt. "Fin, what happened last night?" Aoi suddenly grabbed his hand, forcing his attention to her. "The guards went nuts."

Aeirfin opened his mouth to respond, but found he didn't have an answer for her. As luck would have it, another voice cut over the crowd before the pause went on too long. "People of Hashigin, thank you for coming to see me!" Everyone's eyes were drawn to the courtyard, where Lady Astra stood atop a large farmer's cart. Her black dress and silvery hair fluttered in the gentle morning breeze, and her small smile beset her serious tone. "No doubt everyone is aware of the events that transpired last night. Of the fires that where set, and of the guard's despicable actions!" Again, Aeirfin felt a weight in his stomach. But strangly, it vanished the moment he felt Aoi squeeze his hand. "I regret that this has befallen our city! Moreso that it happened at the behest of my husband, Viscount Roth!"

The crowd fell deathly silent for a few seconds. "Oh gods..." Aoi covered her mouth with her hands as murmurs began to permeate the air around them. "It really was him..."

Aeirfin gave her a sideways glance. What did she mean by that? Again through, Lady Astra spoke before he got the chance to voice his question. "Yes, it's true! My husband conspired against this city to earn himself a place next to the king of Lazuli! All so he could be rid of us!" As she spoke those last few words, she placed a hand over her chest. It was a powerful gesture, given how she'd spoken about her roll in this city when last they spoke. "But thanks to some associates of mine, while the damage is significant, no innocent lives where lost!"

She gestured to two people standing next to the card she was speaking from. One of them looked like a merchant of some sort. Or perhaps a mercenary. The other look to be a servant of his. Neither of which reacted when Lady Astra mentioned them, but Aoi did. "Hey, I know them." She whispered, narrowing her eyes slightly. "They where at the restaurant a few days ago."

"It is thanks to them that the guards were brought to heel. But their actions would have been fruitless where it not for one of our own citizens!" Another murmur rose from the crowd, and Aeirfin got another, very different sick feeling when Lady Astra scanned over the crowd and locked eyes with him. "Sir Aeirfin Theocrie. Would you please join me?"

She reached out, beckoning to him. The Crowd parted between them, full of confused faces and bewildered looks. Most notably of which was Aoi. "F-fin? What's she talking about?"

Again, he didn't get the chance to talk to her. A gentle push propelled him forward, and the crowd ushered him the rest of the way. He glanced back just in time to see Tyr vanish into the crowd, just as a flood of people moved between him and Aoi. Before he knew it, he was being pushed up a few shipping crates and stood next to Lady Astra.

"Please." She said with her usual smile, gesturing out at the citizens. "Tell them all what you told me days ago."

Aeirfin was frozen. He expected to be made into some sort of martyr, not... Whatever this was. "L-Lady Astra, I..." He trailed off, not realising how well his voice carried up above the crowd. "I really didn't help much."

"But you did." She argued. "You came to the lord's manor just days ago, wishing to discuss the large quantities of oil the Viscount was stockpiling." He couldn't dispute that, but also couldn't help but feal like she was taking things a little out of proportion. "Several of the manor's staff can attest to it. You where the first, and only one to suspect that something was amiss."

Aeirfin deflated a little, getting the feeling that she wasn't listening to him at all. "Y-yes, but... I didn't know this was what was going to happen."

"Nobody did." Lady Astra gently shook her head. Before he had the chance to respond though, she turned to face the citizens again. "Yet he had the foresight to seek out answers! And one of the guards my associates captured told me Viscount tried to have him murdered for it earlier tonight!" Aeirfin's eyes drifted to the two waiting by the gate, who again remained motionless. Were they like Tyr? Some secret force Lady Astra had under her employ? They didn't seem like mercenaries, but he didn't get the chance to ask before the Lady spoke up once more. "Tonight has taught me a very important lesson. The Nobels of Lazuli sent Viscount Roth to us not out of concern. They saw him for the degenerate he is, and simply wished to be rid of him! They don't care for the lives of the people of Hashigin! To them, we where just a convenient distraction for their unwanted lapdog!"

A cheer echoed from someone in the crowd, catching everyone off guard. A low murmur filled the streets as people began whispering to one another. It was impossible to tell from where Aeirfin stood, but he caught several nods of agreement as all at once the city came to a consensus. It felt like something had been set in motion, but he wasn't sure what.

"Well... I've grown sick of being treated like a pawn." Lady Astra spoke once more, and the crowd fell deathly silent. "I am disowning Viscount Roth Durns, and I am disowning the kingdom! From now on, Hashigan will declare it's independence from Lazuli!"

More murmuring permeated the city. Nobody knew if they'd actually heard her correctly, and Aeirfin tore his surprised eyes away from the Lady to find a sea of confused faces. Something was bubbling up in his stomach. Pride, elation, terror... Some combination of all three? Either way, it bothered him that he couldn't tell what it was.

"What... The hell?" Aeirfin turned when he picked up one of Lady Astra's attendants mutter to himself. The merchant had uncrossed his arms and, despite not seeing his eyes, Aeirfin could tell he was in shock. His maid as well, looked up at Lady Astra with an expression he couldn't read. Clearly the Lady's speech had come as a shock to them too. "This chick is crazy..."

"Rest assured; I know this will not be an easy task!" Lady Astra carried on. "Raiders from Norn... Retaliation from Lazuli... Things will be difficult, and I won't blame anyone who wishes to leave the city! But to any who wish to stay, I promise you this! I will do everything in my power to safeguard your lives! I will work to make Hashigin a place to live free." The murmuring had grown into a commotion now, more cheering and hollers of Lady Astra's name. Seeing this, Lady Astra's face lit up, and she lifted her fist into the air. "For a free Hashigin!"

"For a free Hashigin!" The crowd roared back at her.

Aeirfin was at a loss. What the hell was he in the middle of here? Lady Astra had taken a group of wounded, scared citizens and started a revolution with just a short speech. Looking through the crowd, his eyes fell on Aoi, trying to make her way to the manor's front gates. She stopped upon meeting his gaze however, only half way through the crowd. She looked... Scared wasn't the right word, but he couldn't think of a better one. It was like she was unsure what to do right now. Of course, a moment of pondering had him assuming the entire town must be feeling that right now. Declaring independence was one thing, but he wasn't fool enough to think running a city state would be anything short of a nightmare.

Strangely however, that thought was pushed aside as he and Aoi staired at one-another. He gripped the hilt of Frostbite, it's broken metal still resting within its sheath. Next time, he wouldn’' let something like this happen on his watch. Next time, he'd protect her.

Next time... He'd be ready for anything.

**Next Chappter ->**