Yugo burst into a dark cavern.
Before him stood a fearsome enemy whose face hidden behind a crow mask left no doubt about his identity.
The Black Crow.
He finally had the chance to capture the dangerous bandit and claim his bounty.
The boy squared up and shouted.
“Stop right there, Black Crow!
Your days of banditry end today!”
The Black Crow laughed, his voice echoing through the gloom.
“Oh, really?
You really think you can defeat me, kid?”
Yugo answered the threat with a defiant grin and channeled magical energy into his hands, preparing himself for a great battle.
“I don’t think so.” He held the Crow’s gaze.
“I know so.”
With those brave words he leaped straight at his enemy, ready to give it all.
Though his opponent fired blasts of dark magic, Yugo dodged every attack with ease and, with a swift move, he teleported above the bandit’s head and delivered a devastating blow.
The Black Crow fell back, stunned at such a powerful strike.
Victory was within his grasp.
Suddenly, a booming voice thundered across the entire cavern, shattering this epic fight.
“Wake up, sleepyhead!
We’ve got a big adventure ahead of us!”
The world around dissolved in an instant as Yugo’s eyes snapped open.
Where a moment ago he’d seen the Black Crow, now he was staring at the face of his good friend Percedal, who was looking at him with an excited grin.
Confused by what had just happened, he glanced around and recognized the small room in the tavern where they’d been staying.
That epic battle had been nothing but a dream.
With a groan of exhaustion, Yugo turned his head around and wrapped himself with blankets.
Getting out of bed had never been his strong suit.
“Ten more minutes,” he mumbled between yawns.
“I bet even the Black Crow is asleep at this time…”
If it had been his father or Ruel, they would be screaming at him by now.
But Percedal was different.
Instead of getting annoyed, he kept that same smile on his face and answered full of enthusiasm.
“Well, that makes it even better!”
“What do you mean by that?” Yugo asked, confused by such a strange response.
For a moment he even thought he was still dreaming.
“If the Black Crow is sleeping, we can hit him hard before he even wakes up!” Percedal exclaimed as he threw punches at the air.
“My master always said: a good adventurer should always be a hundred steps behind his enemy.”
Rubilax, who’d been sleeping peacefully, opened his single eye and wasted no time seizing the moment.
“Sure thing, Dally,” he replied with a sneer.
” Just don’t get lost along the way as you’re catching up.”
Yugo burst out laughing.
All the drowsiness that had kept him glued to the bed vanished in an instant.
He even laughed so hard that he ended up waking Az too, who’d been curled up asleep in the sheets.
The little bird fluttered around the room a couple of times before landing on his master’s shoulder, chirping happily as he greeted him.
Percedal, on the other hand, shifted quickly from joy to embarrassment.
Enraged, he raised his cursed dagger and shouted at the demon sealed within.
“Why do you always have to talk at the worst moment, Rubi?”
“Since I can no longer cause death and destruction,” Rubilax fired back, “I have no choice but to feed my demonic urges by dragging your dignity through the mud.
And honestly…
it’s way more fun.”
The Iop lost it.
Without thinking, he started smashing Rubilax against the wall while unleashing a stream of insults not suitable for young ears like Yugo’s.
But Rubilax didn’t care.
There was nothing he enjoyed more than watching his stupid master completely lose it.
While his friend was busy, Yugo slipped out of bed and got dressed, changing so quickly that Percedal didn’t even catch a glimpse of what he was hiding under his signature blue hat.
Az, for his part, preened his feathers before perching on his master’s hat.
They were both ready for adventure.
“Let’s go, Dally!” Yugo exclaimed with a grin.
“You don’t wanna be late for a great battle.”
The word battle was enough to grab the Iop’s attention, and in an instant he whipped around and ran to where Yugo stood.
He wouldn’t miss a good adventure for anything in the world.
“No way.” He raised the cursed dagger with determination.
“Black Crow, get ready!
We’re coming for you!”
Before heading out, the two friends bumped fists and smiled at each other.
While it seemed like a simple gesture, to them it meant so much more.
This was the first time either of them had a true friend.
Without wasting another second they bolted down the stairs, making the old tavern wood creak with every step while flew just above their heads, swept up by his young master’s enthusiasm.
It was a brand-new day for adventure.
Within minutes, Yugo and Percedal reached the tavern’s main room.
This early in the morning there were few patrons around, so they practically had the whole ground floor to themselves.
The boys ran across the room without a care in the world, vaulting over tables and chairs until they reached the door.
They were so caught up they didn’t even notice old Ruel, who was sitting at a table near the fireplace.
“Where are you two headed in such a rush?”
Once they heard the old man they both stopped in their tracks, turned around and, with excited grins, exclaimed at the same time.
“To find the Black Crow!”
The answer, as childish as it was predictable, drew a frustrated sigh from Ruel.
Though seeing them like this brought back memories of better days, they had an important mission to carry out.
And he didn’t like one bit how much Yugo was starting to act just like Percedal.
“Yeah, yeah.
The Black Crow,” he muttered with a weary glance at the Iop.
“I see you’re filling Yugo’s head with nonsense again.
Do either of you even know where he is?”
Percedal opened his mouth to answer, but quickly he realized he didn’t have the faintest idea of what to say.
Now he had to do something he didn’t enjoy at all: think.
The knight scratched his chin while trying to get his few brain cells to work.
“Hmm…” he said, thinking aloud, “where is he?”
Without a better answer, he turned to Yugo and asked with his trademark innocence.
“You wouldn’t happen to know where to find the Black Crow, would you?”
Yugo could only shrug as he knew even less than the foolish knight.
“I thought you knew…”
Az landed on Yugo’s shoulder and tilted his head from side to side with curiosity, trying to make sense of his companions nonexistent plan.
With a little squawk full of frustration, he made his opinion of their “strategy” perfectly clear.
This ridiculous situation was music to Rubilax’s ears, and the demon immediately erupted in mocking laughter.
“You actually trusted that moron to guide you?” he mockingly said.
“No wonder everyone said you were special.”
Ruel, for his part, just pressed his hand to his forehead as he felt what little patience he had left crumble into pieces.
To keep from losing his temper, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and began praying silently to his god.
“Oh great Enutrof, grant me patience…”
When he opened his eyes, his expression looked far more serious than before.
“Seeing as neither of you has the faintest clue where you’re going, you’d better sit tight before you cause trouble out there,” the old man growled.
“Once we’re all together, we’ll put together a real plan to catch the Black Crow…
and claim that very juicy reward.”
Ruel’s expression made Yugo hang his head in shame.
He hadn’t meant to upset him at all.
He’d just gotten carried away by the thrill of the moment without thinking about the consequences.
Az, seeing his master’s spirits sink, nuzzled his cheek in an attempt to console him.
“You’re right, Ruel,” Yugo admitted quietly.
“I got carried away…
I’m sorry.
It wasn’t the best idea.”
Ruel nodded and his expression softened.
He stepped closer and rubbed the boy’s head with a rough but affectionate hand.
“I hope this teaches you a lesson.
For serious stuff, listen to old Ruel.” He managed a smile.
“I haven’t lived this many years by accident, you know?”
As always, everything Ruel said went in one of Percedal’s ears and straight out the other.
The knight, impatient to get going, huffed and asked out loud.
“So then…
when are we going after the Black Crow?”
“First,” Ruel answered, glancing toward the stairs, “we wait for the girls to come down.”
As expected, not a peep came from upstairs.
The old man sighed.
“And I’ve got a feeling that we’ll be waiting here for a while…”
Yugo and Percedal share a look of resignation.
Of all the many things they could be doing right now, waiting was dead last on their list.
Without anything else to do, they sat down at a nearby table and passed the time by arm-wrestling and other quick games.
Az, on the other hand, flew beneath the table and ate up some crumbs that were lying around.
Time dragged on until, finally, they heard a sound that filled them all with expectation.
Footsteps.
Amalia was the first to descend, followed closely by Evangelyne.
The princess had clearly taken her time getting ready, as her hair was neatly styled and her skin looked especially clean.
Evangelyne, on the other hand, seemed particularly alert and, though she tried to hide it, the dark circles under her eyes revealed she’d barely slept.
“Good morning!” Amalia greeted with enthusiasm.
“Hope you all slept well.”
Percedal and Yugo greeted them back, both especially happy to see them that morning.
When the knight’s eyes crossed with Eva, his heart began to race and memories of the night before fluttered through his mind, filling him with a stupid but unstoppable hope.
Today could be a great day for love.
“About time you came down…” old Ruel grumbled, the long wait having exhausted what little patience he had left.
“It’ll be lunchtime any minute now.”
Eva knew she’d kept the rest of the group waiting.
I knew we were going to take longer, she thought with some irritation.
I should’ve said no when Amalia suggested we try out the sauna at this place.
“I’m really sorry we took so long.” She answered and looked straight at Amalia.
“Look, Eva,” unlike her, Amalia didn’t feel the slightest remorse and responded with nothing but excuses.
“We’ve been sleeping out in the open for so many days that I had to make the most of being somewhere civilized.
Being on adventure is no excuse to neglect your looks.”
“There’s a difference between basic hygiene and spending an entire hour with your hair!” Eva’s tone became irritated.
“How the hell did you even manage to complicate it that much?”
Amalia quickly fired back and two girls started arguing about the finer points of personal grooming.
Ruel, who’d had more than enough of waiting, slammed the table with all his strength, making all conversations die out and have everyone’s eyes on him.
“Enough!” he barked with such authority the argument died in an instant.
“I don’t want to hear another word.
We’ve wasted enough time already.
If we want to finish this mission before the day’s over, we need to plan now.
And I’m warning you, I’m not paying for another night in this tavern.
I’d rather sleep in the street than waste even a single kama on this place.”
“Okay, okay,” Amalia conceded, raising her hands to calm him down.
“No need to get like that.”
After that, both girls took their seats.
Finally, everyone was at the table and ready for action.
As Ruel surveyed them all, he couldn’t stop thinking about their current situation.
How did I go from being a famous bounty hunter to babysitting this rabble of kids, he reflected with some frustration.
But in the end, it’s a burden the Gods have given me, so I’ve got nothing else to do but bear it.
The entire group fell silent, waiting for the old man to say something.
Usually, at times like these, he always had some plan about what to do next.
Now that he had their attention, Ruel unfurled the Black Crow’s poster on the table, planted both hands firmly next to it and began his speech.
“I’m glad you trust my judgment.” His gaze passed from one to the next, lingering especially on Yugo and Percedal.
“Now, let’s get on with the plan.
Throughout my long and storied career as an adventurer I’ve hunted all sorts of bandits and criminals, so this whole quest is nothing now.
If I had to say one lesson I’ve learnt over the years is that you need to know your enemy before you charge in.
Especially when we’re talking about someone like the Black Crow.”
Just as Ruel was about to explain his cunning plan, the creak of the nearby floorboards drew everyone’s attention.
The innkeeper, a short man with a big belly and a round face like a freshly baked bun, just happened to be walking towards their table with some drinks.
As he heard Ruel’s speech, he wiped his hands on a ragged cloth hanging from his belt and smiled at them with curiosity.
“Sorry for interrupting you, travelers,” he said in a deep and friendly voice, “I happened to catch a few words… and, if my ears don’t deceive me… You’re on the trail of the Black Crow, right?”
Ruel gritted his teeth.
This is what I get for being careless, he thought.
Now the whole town’s going to know everything about our “secret” mission.
“Black Crow?” Ruel waved dismissively while hiding the poster he’d laid on the table.
“Nobody in their right mind would go after such a dangerous bandit.
We were just talking…”
But it was too late.
The patrons heard everything they needed.
An elderly couple at a nearby table began to whisper and young woman with a cat in her lap looked straight at them, clearly interested at their conversation.
Ruel began to sweat nervously.
If this conversation continued, every soul at the tavern would hear about that… and soon after everyone in the village.
Only a good lie could get them out of this situation.
And he had the perfect one for the occasion.
Suddenly, the Enutrof leaned in toward the tavern keeper and whispered in his ear.
“Fine…
Yes, we’re on his trail.
But it’s a top-secret, classified mission assigned to us by…” His voice dropped, acting as if he was about to say something very important.
“The government of Bonta itself.”
Those last words made the tavern keeper’s eyes go wide, filling Ruel with satisfaction.
He had completely fallen for it.
“Therefore,” Ruel continued with a voice full of authority, “if you know anything about our target, we’d be very grateful if you could share.
Bonta takes the eradication of bandit activity very seriously, even in these remote lands.”
“I’ve heard a lot of stories,” the tavern keeper replied in a whisper.
“None exactly alike, of course, but they all say the same.
He’s a masked man riding a demonic crow who always falls from the sky out of nowhere, robs his victims blind, then flies off again…
That said, I’ve heard he only takes magical items and hasn’t really killed anyone I know in this town.”
Yugo tilted his head, intrigued at his explanation.
“And nobody knows who he is or where he’s hiding?”
The tavern keeper shook his head.
“Nobody.
Some even say he’s a demon from Rushu’s realm.
I can’t vouch for any of it.
But I’ll tell you this…” He lowered his voice and glanced toward the window.
“If you’re really going after him, be very, very careful.
Plenty of adventurers have gone looking for him and none have ever come back.”
After this ominous warning, the tavern keeper left their table and returned to his normal business, preferring to stay away from anything bigger than what concerned him.
Once he was gone, Ruel breathed a sigh of relief after he left and looked at the rest of the group, who were also thinking about the information they’d just heard.
“Now…” Yugo asked.
“What are we going to do?”
“Good question.” Old Ruel stroked his beard as he tried to come up with a good answer.
“Just give me a moment to think…”