The Dog, The Rabbit, and the Carrot

It was a freezing morning in Grottenstadt, as the sea wind blew past its many streets. A young waitress yawned as she drew water from the well, shivering as she pulled on the rope pulley. She heard the clip clop of horse hooves against cobblestones, and saw the Church Knights marching out of the town with uniform gait; their white armour ghostly in the morning fog.

She stood agape. The wooden bucket she used to draw water fell into the dark well, taking the rope with it.

A line of Cavalrymen and Infantry Units snaked through the plains. A large carriage bearing the symbol of the Faith was placed in the middle. Hastings and Millicent were riding on either side of it. There were fifty Infantries with them, and twenty Cavalrymen.

Connie and all thirteen of her retinue were riding to the left of their formation. Lihua had volunteered to stay behind to help keep the town safe. Leaving only Connie, Illumca, Akula, and Martell as the members of her party.

The Infantries took glances at them and made fun of their small number of people out of grudge. Those who were not at the duels also made sure that others knew of their scepticism of their skill.

Illumca, riding a mare with fur as black as her clothes, uttered a question to the blonde girl in centipede robe. "Why is Allenca taking Lowen's man with us? Wouldn't it be dangerous?"

Connie smiled at the question. "It's simple, really. It's a precaution."

Martell, whose legs could only reach halfway to his horse's belly led his horse to align with Connie's. "It's a similar to that famous Vorzennian riddle about the dog, the rabbit, and the carrot."

"A riddle? That sounds fun. Tell us!" Akula asked cheerfully.

"The riddle goes like this. A farmer with a dog, a rabbit, and a basket of carrot are standing by a shore. He needs to get all three of them to get to the other side of the river. The problem is that the dog cannot be left alone with the rabbit because otherwise, it will eat the latter. Same goes with the rabbit and the basket of carrots. The farmer can only take one item with him."

"In this case, we are taking the dog, then. Khihihi," Akula said, glancing at the grimy-haired man.

"I suppose we are," Martell nodded, out of an earshot of the metaphorical dog.

Connie raised a finger to stop further banter that might create unneeded altercation. "That's enough of that," she then continued with a smirk. "Now, let's ponder about this instead. Why do you think that for riddles like these, they always use animals?"

"Why?" Martell asked with a curious tone.

"Because animals are simple. They are creatures that acts according to their instincts. If they were humans…now, that would be more…fun," Connie stated. "Ah, there's an idea. Let us play a game to stave off the boredom. I'll give a prize to the one with the most interesting answer."

She then used the same riddle, only exchanging the animals with humans. Though the core of the game stays the same, the scenario became more complex.

Hastings's Vice-Commander, a burly man with a bushy moustache, rode up to his superior. "My Lord. Why is the Duchess coming with us? They are disturbing the morale of our men. They are even playing a game," he complained.

"Then tell them to bear with it. It is Her Eminence's wish," he said curtly. "I did not raise my men to be so small-minded."

"They aren't taking this seriously! And the stench of the Beastfolks with them – "

Hastings spoke gruffly. "Keep those comments to yourself, Jan. Focus on the mission."

"A village ahead!!" a scout rode back with urgency. "I saw several monsters at the entrance. Likely there are more inside."

Hearing that report, Hastings knocked on the carriage. After a brief back and forth with Allenca, he turned to Jan. "Take thirty men with you and investigate the village."

Jan saluted and gestured to his men. As they passed the front of Connie's entourage, he snorted haughtily. Akula, feeling slighted, was about to step out when the blonde-haired girl asked lazily. "Do you need some help, Vice-Commander?"

Peeved that his provocation did not elicit the expected response, he spoke with disdain. "I appreciate the offer. But we are perfectly capable of taking care of this on our own."

She shrugged as he stomped away with his horse. "Just offering."

Jan and the Church Knights entered the village. The sound of battle could be heard even from a distance.

Then a dozen four-legged monsters the size of a large dog with sharp fins and claws ran past the village border and headed towards their formation with great speed. The one on the lead, a monster one with a larger body than the rest, did not attack The Church Knight's group; it made a beeline towards the smaller group instead.

"They're heading our way!" Nick shouted. "Arms ready!!"

"Heading towards the smaller group, are we? Quite smart," Martell commented.

"Duchess!" Millicent quickly unsheathed her sword. Connie calmly raised a hand. "Stay your sword, Millicent," she said. "My people need a bit of a warmup.

Akula nocked her bow, eager to test her new Technique. She pushed her Energy flow from the tips of her fingers into the arrow, aiming for the large monster. After taking a short breath, she let go.

The arrow pierced through the air, leaving a trail of greenish Energy. It entered the monster's mouth and went out through its back, creating a hole that was a few times larger than the width of the arrow. Even then, the arrow kept on going, piercing through an unsuspecting monster and nailed it into the ground.

"Crossing Water Margin," Connie nodded approvingly. It was the first of the nine Archery Technique that Akula had inherited. "It's a bit slow, but the destructive power is undeniable."

The large monster fell, leaking innards and blood on the grass. Still, the monsters kept running towards them, stepping over their leader.

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Not willing to lose out, Illumca fired a new spell she had learned.

"Pyreblast!!"

A blast of red-hot fire unfolded towards the monsters. However, unlike her expectation, the monsters did not get burned. The flame only singed their skin.

Seeing this, Illumca was somewhat shocked. Yet she quickly regained her composure. She leapt off her horse and plunged a fiery dagger into the eyes of the nearest monster.

"Raargh!!" Nick, who had been curiously silent the whole journey suddenly let out a roar and slammed his thick shield into the snout of the largest monster. Discombobulated, the monster staggered, then the Paladin's sword sunk into his neck. Pained, it flailed around, its scaly head rammed against Nick's body, throwing him back.

Another monster came at him as he tried to get up. He took a deep breath and rammed a fist into its head.

"DIE! DIE! DIE!" He roared as he swung his fist again and again until the monster's eye popped out of its socket and its brain squelched out of its skull.

Alone, he took care of four other monsters. While the rest were swiftly killed by the Grey Ghosts.

While this was going on, Connie showed no intent of moving, perfectly confident that they were competent enough to handle the escaped monsters. And indeed, the monsters were mercilessly killed within just a few minutes of engagement. The Church Knights saw how swiftly they took care of the monsters and gulped.

The blonde girl's eyes stared at the scruffy Paladin, who was lacking his usual lackadaisical demeanor.

"…"

Not long after, Jan returned with his men, most of them had little to moderate wounds. There were a few new splashes of red on his shiny greaves and chest plate.

As he went past, Akula scoffed. "You missed a few."

"I have to leave some meat for the guests, right?" Jan harrumphed.

"Our thanks for the meal then, Vice Commander," Martell quipped. "Perhaps next time we can show you our style of…hospitality."

"Hmph," the man scowled before riding to join Hastings's side. "Beasts trying to act like proper men. How stupid."

The man mad no effort of hiding his displeasure.

Martell did not get angry from the slight. Even so, he noted down the man's name in his head.

Not long after, Illumca returned from extracting the Essence Crystal from her kills. Her expression was one of rare perplexion. "Connie, I've analyzed a few of the monsters. They are all level thirty to forties."

"Regular monsters in this area should be of lower levels. Late twenties at the highest," Nick said, wiping the gore off his sword on the grass. "These monsters should be the ones that have escaped from the Dungeon," he vaguely waved the point of his sword at the Church Knights' direction. "These guys are not exactly weak, but there is a reason why they're not at the Frontline."

"…and another thing," Illumca's bit her lips. "All of them have Fire Resistance."

"Fire Resistance? Really?" Akula said.

"Fascinating," Connie's thumb reached for her chin. Then she saw the looks they were giving her. "What? It's true."

It turned out that the village had a few survivors. They numbered ten. Most of them were women or elderly, as most of the men had been drafted as soldiers during wartime.

When they laid eyes upon Allenca, who insisted on healing them, they knelt to the ground in gratitude. However, when they heard that the Maiden and her people needed to leave soon, they begged for them to stay. Or to at least leave some Knights to protect them

Hastings denied the request, citing the need for them to continue with their mission. Millicent, despite her initial unwillingness, agreed with the decision.

With heavy heart, Allenca could only assure them that everything was going to be alright. She left them provisions and a few gold coins to ease their burden.

The pause at the village cost them daylight. And traveling at night would be unwise, so they made camp and started fires to cook their dinner. Connie and her entourage set their tents away from the members of the Church to avoid having to interact with them. It was done out of convenience more than anything.

While they were resting, Martell approached Connie with two mugs of mulled wine. She handed one to her, and the other to the Dark Elf sitting beside her. "Mistress, do you know what's happening with Nick? He's been oddly agitated the whole day. His last kill was too rough, even for him."

Connie took the wine and gave it a few gulps, letting the spices warm her insides.

"I don't know. But if he keep this up when we raid the dungeon tomorrow, he'll gets himself killed," Connie said. She handed her half-empty mug to Illumca, who was sitting beside her, and got up. She stretched her back and gestured to the Beastfolk. "Give me two training swords, Martell."

At the other side of the camp, sitting away from the others, Nick was frazzled. His left leg moving up and down. The half-eaten soup in his bowl had cooled down so much that blobs of oil from the boiled fat had started to form on its surface.

The words from the former Maiden of Water had been echoing in his head ever since that moment. And every time he repeated those words in his head, rage filled his head. He needed to strike something. As he squeezed his hands, he felt a slight pang of pain in the joints of his fingers. Result from his juvenile mistake when punching the scaly monster's skull earlier that day.

The regretful Paladin clenched his fist harder. In doing so, a numbing pain came and eased the pain in his mind. Yes, he wanted it to hurt. So that he could, even if only for a bit, feel the pain that plagued his former charge.

Then, a sword fell with a clank as it hit a stray rock before him. Startled, Nick looked at Connie, who was standing with bonfire behind her.

"It's been some time since we had a proper spar, Nick. Take the sword. We will see if you've made some headway in mastering my father's Skills."

"Mistress, I - !" He wanted to refuse. He was in no mood for a spar.

"That's an order, Sir Nick," Connie laid down her words. With those words, he was reminded of his position.

With a silent curse, Nick took the sword and take his stance. Unwilling though he was, he knew he had no chance of winning.

"If you are thinking of just focusing on defending, I'll make the beatings worse," she said.

Nick gulped. He readied his sword. "B-beatings? I thought you said this was a spar...!"

"Shut up and come at me," Connie spoke.

What happened after that was something everyone who knew Connie would have guessed. Nick's attacks were relentless, but Connie handled him easily. She had not even moved from her earlier spot.

"He's impatient," Illumca spoke. Normally, she would have watched the mock combat diligently. This time, however, she held little interest. "He's putting too much force into his sword."

"Clearly," Martell commented.

"He'll lose a leg if he goes on like this," Akula said, her eyes not moving from the man.

After a few bouts, Nick fell to his knees. Connie spun her sword idly, before placing it behind her back with the pommel facing downward.

"Dammit. That's the Mistress for you," Nick said, limping slightly on his left leg. A result of Connie's powerful slap with the flat of the blunted sword.

"The usual you would have posed more of a challenge," Connie spoke, tapping the broad surface of the sword with her palm rhythmically. "Your footwork was atrocious. Like a man dancing with two left feet. And though you swing with such force, your grip was weak."

Nick slowly opened the hand that was gripping the sword, now that he had been beaten soundly, he realized how awkward that simple action had become.

"Let me see your hands."

She stabbed the training sword into the ground and took his hands in hers, pressing slightly on the joints. "Those are swollen, alright," Connie said. She then took out a few small needles from her Item Ring and jabbed them swiftly into certain points in his fingers while infusing Energy into each of them.

"…Did you get whatever it is you're struggling with out of your system?"

"Pardon me?"

"Your eyes. I've seen many eyes like those in Jianghu. People holding so much anger in their heart that the only thing that they could see was the enemy before them. To the exclusion of all else," she said, laughing at herself while working on his joints. "Take a deep breath. Repeat a few times."

Nick did as he was bid, and the fog in his head started to clear.

It was not completely gone, but now he could think straight.

"So, care to tell me what's wrong?"

"…I…. cannot tell you. Not yet," he winced as needles were now being pulled from his fingers. There was no pain. But the foreign sensation for some odd reason, made him feel like he got a grip of himself. "I will tell you when I've got my head right."

"You sure?"

"Yes. Thank you, Milady," Nick moved his fingers, astounded by the fact that the swelling had been greatly reduced, the stiff pain disappeared instantly.

She patted his shoulder. "It's better than you overreaching and killing yourself. Remember, the place where we are going to, hold the key to finding out the truth."

"…I understand," he nodded. Yes. How stupid. I shouldn't let this anger control me. I'll put it in the back of my head. And used it when I find the ones who did this to you.

Connie walked back, kicked the sword that she was using by the guard to the air and caught it deftly. "Well. Now that that's done, who else wants a turn? That fight earlier today must not be enough, eh?"

The men looked at each other, and then they piled over one another to be the first to fight her. Illumca and Martell, simply sighed. Most of Grey Ghosts members, just like their Mistress, were lunatics.

The blonde Duchess guffawed with satisfaction. "Now that's how my Grey Ghosts should be!"

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