Chapter 2 - Of Remorse and Tavern Rumors (HoW)

“The Deadly Serpents…” The old knight muttered. He has heard of the group through recent stories of how people had an unfortunate encounter with them or how they’ve ravaged many small villages and towns

Gregory wondered how such a group like The Deadly Serpents became dangerous in the first place. Not to mention where their main base was and who was their leader. The fact that they ravaged a village not too far from Wimborne City should be a wake-up call for the king to mobilize his army and put an end to these brigands before they can take more innocent lives and continue their path of destruction.

Meanwhile, Kameron looked over to see how Liam was doing and noticed that Maryam was currently healing him as there was a gash on his arm. He walked over to his friend.

“There, your wounds are healed now.” Maryam said.

Liam sighed in relief, “Thanks, Maryam.” He said to the apprentice who then looked at him worriedly.

“Please don’t get severely hurt like this again, alright? We don’t want to lose any one of our friends.” Maryan said. The squire nodded.

“I won’t. That’s a promise.” Liam wasn’t sure if he was lying since he knew he would get injured like this again in a future battle.

“Good.” The apprentice said, smiling softly before heading towards Freyja.

Liam sighed before he saw Kameron walk over to him.

“That was quite a battle, huh?” The koopa spearman asked his friend.

“Yeah...” Liam responded before remorsefully looking at the corpses of the enemies they have slain.

“Hmm? Is there something wrong, Liam?” Kameron asked the brown-haired squire with concern.

“This is the first time we killed other living beings. Did they really have to go down that path of killing and pillaging?” Liam asked sadly.

“Don’t feel bad for them, Liam. They chose to go down that path. They knew what the consequences would be and yet, they still went with destroying villages and taking innocent lives.” Kameron said, trying to reassure his friend.

“I guess you’re right. Thanks Kameron. Let’s head back to sir Gregory and the others now ” Liam, feeling a bit better now, said and walked over to the old knight. Kameron followed him.

 At the same time Liam’s squad took out five of the brigands. The other squad took out the other five as well without any fatalities on their side.

Upon looking around the village, there does not to seem to be any signs of life until they saw many civilians come out of their homes or wherever they hid in. There was a look of surprise on their faces when they saw the dead brigands and the ones who killed them.

The villagers thanked the two knights and their mentees for slaying the brigands and avenging many lives that were taken away by them when they raided Tart Village. Maryam helped out any injured villager as well as the other knight’s mentees by healing their wounds while Freyja assisted the other villagers in dousing the raging flames.

Sir Gregory reassured the remaining villagers, telling them that he’ll ask the king to send some of his men out to help rebuild the village before leaving with the others, riding on the yoshis back to Wimborne City.

**[WIMBORNE CITY]**

When Liam and his friends returned to the Wimborne City academy, his mentor told them about The Deadly Serpents, who they were, what they did and how the brigands they killed were part of that dangerous group.

Wanting to know more about them, Liam made haste and left the academy, his koopa friend following him. The young squire was heading towards a place where he knows he might find some useful information.

The Fiery Draggadon Tavern! Sure, it may be full of drunks and shady people but there are many patrons as well as the bartender himself that have stories to tell or rumors to spread, regardless if it’s true or not.

“Where are we heading, Liam?” Kameron asked.

“We’re heading to the Fiery Draggadon Tavern so we can gather information on The Deadly Serpents.” Liam answered.

“Wait what? Why a tavern?” Kameron asked, feeling a bit wary. “If you’re thinking of gathering information on them from rumors, then I don’t think it’s a good idea…”

“I know that not all rumors are true but it’s the only place where we might get to know something about that group.” Liam said confidently.

“I doubt it but if you say so…” Kameron was still doubtful but didn’t object any further. Not too long after, the duo made it to the tavern.

“Here we are.” Liam announced as they both entered. It was one of those busy times where many people of various species come in to drink and have a good time. A human was serving as the bartender, wiping glass mugs and serving drinks. There was also also a bounty board posted up, listing many dangerous individuals who made a name for themselves in the Waffle Kingdom.

Both Liam and Kameron could hear rumors spewing out from majority of the patrons. However, they paid no attention to them as none of them were about The Deadly Serpents. The brown-haired squire trotted over to the counter, prompting the bartender to turn to him and Kameron.

“Hello lads! Would you like anything at one of the finest taverns in Silverlight Kingdom, the Fiery Draggadon Tavern?” The bartender greeted them.

“No thanks. Do you know anything about The Deadly Serpents?” Liam asked the bartender.

“The Deadly Serpents you say?” The bartender frowned. “Well, I don’t know too much about them other than the fact that they’re dangerous and brutal, destroying everything that comes in their way.”

“However, I’ve heard that some of their members are actually ordinary civilians forced to fight against their own will.” Liam paled at this. If this was true...then...that means that it’s possible that his mentor and his teammates might have killed innocent civilians who didn’t want to fight. The squire didn't know how to feel about this.

“The group’s way of forcing people to join them is as you expect. It didn’t matter if you were young or old, male or female, koopa or shy guy, you either join them or you die.”

“However, there are cases where they force people to join by assaulting and threatening them.”

Liam was shocked while his koopa buddy was fuming with anger.

“A-Assault them?” Liam asked, wanting to make sure that the bartender actually said that.

The bartender nodded. “Aye lad, I’m not sure why they would do that but I can only guess that they want to play with their defenseless and powerless victims. That's all I know about them.” He finished.

Liam nodded. “Thank you, sir. We’ll be on our way now.” He said before leaving the tavern. Kameron quickly calmed down upon seeing his friend leave and followed him out.

The koopa took a deep breath as the duo stood outside of the tavern. He then looked at Liam. “Now what?”

“I suppose this is where we head home for the day. We got what we needed so we should get some rest now.” The brown-haired young man said.

“Sounds good. I’ll see you then--oof!” A cloaked figure bumped into Kameron.

“Excuse me, my fair gentleman.” The figure said hurriedly before rushing past the two, turning and heading into an alley. The koopa blinked at what just happened.

Moments later, two people walk past the duo, turning and entering the same alley that cloaked figure entered.

“What...just happened?” Kameron asked, feeling very confused.

“I’m not sure...but I think something bad might happen. Do you think we should check it out?” Liam asked his koopa friend, his head turned to face him.

Kameron nodded. He and Liam then followed the two people into the alley, curious to see what was going on in there.