Ever the worry, I would say.
And of it, must I say my oh-so dear reader...
How are you today?
Feeling chipper, I would hope?
Why, it had been quite a while, wouldn't you agree?
Time chanting spells, I would say.
Do consider this, dear reader...
... that much has indeed happened.
Yes!
Much indeed.
Not merely for me, but also for you.
Why, as you humans do say...
... sleep...
... eat...
... live...
... die.
Even and so as you all manage to do so much more with your lives.
Do fail to be a hypocrite, I would say.
Manage to do more than more, I would argue.
Well, I am getting ahead of myself.
Why, 'tis truly a glad time to see you once more.
Do say, what has occurred between now and the very last time you heard from me?
Hmmmm?
Oh my...
Why, had I not said it?
Indeed...
So much more than mere aliving, I would call it.
Even so, must I say that things here with the grand lad have been much the same as ever.
Hmmm?
Why, upset?
No!
Far be it from me to ever take such lollygagging for granted.
Why, 'tis the effort of a great heart and a great love that brought us all here today.
Jake and his two friends.
The very ones who stood with him...
Even when there lay times that he'd rather they did not.
A true mark of a human friendship, I would say.
Even so, do consider this, dear reader...
The very ambits of...
Oh, why stress you the more...
You merely would like to know how the young lad is getting along, wouldn't you?
Hmmm...
Yes, I suppose that makes the most of senses.
My apologies.
I thought it best to say some things first...
Having merely forgotten the effect a good story has on a man...
Indeed...
Even so, must I say...
A good morning unto you, my dear reader...
And a jolly good morning indeed...
And thereof, do say...
How does the very day find itself?
A cold day, you say?
Why, I do suppose it is that winter that you once told me of.
Hmmm?
Why, Vesturia does not have winter.
A strange place you do live in, my dear reader.
A strange place indeed.
Even so, as they say...
Tally ho!
And of the very same, might I add...
That things do get a bit bloody.
Indeed...
Well, I shall halt you less starting now.
Ahem.
Now then, where shall I take the very two of us.
I suppose there remain a many thing I could say.
Why, from the very moment the young lad escaped...
The very state of Vesturia following his escape...
The search parties sent out to find the very lad...
Oh, so many good stories I could find myself telling...
Even the very state of the father...
The very message sent to the First and Second order upon the border...
I could go on, I should say.
But, the very pertinent question to you, my dear reader...
Is simply...
How is Jake Phyr doing at this very moment?
Well, the one by my side is currently fishing.
The very lad does indeed enjoy this.
Why, it does remind me of...
Well, there I go again, delaying your desires...
Why, that does remind me...
Ohohoho...
Yet once more...
Hohoho...
Well, I suppose I should tell you exactly what is going on with the one you are most concerned with...
Indeed...
The one of the tale I've been telling...
The one who finds himself escaping the Knights...
The one...
Running for his life.
Do consider this first and foremost, my dear reader...
That Jake Phyr is a monster hunter...
And thereof, must I say, of the very many sects of the Knights Order...
Remains there only one more skilled at tracking and hiding one's tracks than those of the monster hunters...
Be reminded of this at all times, for simply hiding from a Knight by dancing in the bushes...
Dare I say...
'Twill take only a moment for one to be caught.
Indeed...
Young Jake Phyr, to the very knowledge of the Knights, would be one impossible to track...
Well, almost impossible...
Why, at the very end of our last chapter, did the very many of them soon decide to form groups to give chase...
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Some to send messages back to the nation of Vesturia...
Oh, all the same one would expect...
But of the very same, would I ask you, dear reader...
To take special note of this daring thing...
For, several Knights...
All upon horseback, where now hunting a young lad...
One mere young lad...
In a forest infested with beasts the very likes of which are far too dangerous for most common folk, or even so, most common Knights to deal with...
Yes, I did speak much of them previously...
The grave-tail, the bastion, the giant white owl...
There was even a song, I would say...
A very song, really...
Why, a beautiful song it is...
I really should get the full version and show it to you...
Irregardless, must I get along with telling...
Hmmm?
Oh, my...
Yet once more?
Ohohoho!
Such uncharacteristic tardiness of mine, I would say...
Over explaining things perhaps...
Well...
Hmmm?
Not uncharacteristic, you say?
Hmmm?
I always do this, you say?
Why...
Why...
I'd never!
Dear reader...
Truly!
Hmph!
Well, I do suppose that sometimes I do make a mess of things...
However, truly, I say...
I usually manage...
Hmph!
Ever the worry, I would say...
Even so, do ask yourself this...
How do you believe the Knights shall come upon the young lad?
Hmmm?
You say they shall track him and find him?
Well, of that, I say, my dear reader...
We honestly, shall see...
Indeed.
Hmmm...
Well, I do suppose I may well get started...
Seeing as you do grow impatient...
And even so, that I do seem to be so concerned with things that you do fail to be too concerned with...
For example, what of the woman by the name of Fiera Phyr...
What of her and her dead body?
What of her final words to her son?
What of what that had to the young lad?
And even so, what of the very words to her man?
The very man lost the battle to Sir Jebediah Morningstone...
Even so, the very man was now under the arms and at the mercy of the Knights Order.
Why, speaking of...
The very shinobi Hessenger...
Derrick, Jason, Fin, Kyle...
And the very brothers...
Vance and Jon?
Have ye honestly no questions pertaining to those two?
Well, those six?
Really?
Dear me, I would say...
Well, 'tis of humans to show concern...
'Tis nothing to be too concerned about.
What of the very young woman by the name of Witchita Hessenger?
The very lass...
Why, she shall remain by her lonesome...
Pondering this all, I would say...
Waiting...
For no one...
Hmmm?
Well, I shouldn't be surprised...
Not to worry...
I shall find a way to make this all fit...
Somehow...
And even so, do I finally, after much deliberation, I would say...
Finally get started...
Ahem...
The very tale does find us, hmmm...
Yes, I do believe I should start one week after the events of the previous book...
Indeed...
Hmmm?
Oh, not too much did really happen, I would say...
Young Jake Phyr went about to heal his wounds...
Yes...
The arrow to his leg...
The arrows to his arms...
The arrow to his foot...
The many scrapes to his person...
Yes, he did remove the arrows from him, following the very ideals taught to him by his Knight brothers...
Indeed...
How to remove an arrow from your limbs without too much blood loss...
That would be a lesson of the many lessons taught to him at his younger years...
Moving along...
The very battle between the Knights' search for him and his avoiding them...
Well, first of all had the very many of his wounds healed...
Leaving merely scratches upon his person...
Indeed...
The ruffian that the lad was...
Even so, had he little to no trouble avoiding monsters and or taking them to their graves...
Seeing as the young lad is who he is...
Naturally...
All in all, should he have no trouble avoiding the...
Yet again?
Oh my...
Truly, I say unto you, dear reader...
Truly...
'Twas not my intent...
Dare I say, it merely sneaks up on me...
The very instinct to simply, how you say...
Explain it all...
Very well then.
I do suppose that I should simply get up and get a move on.
Well, I should at least mention that the very Knights are also well skilled in the arts of survival...
Why, I should also bother myself to explain that the very nation of Vesturia is surrounded by...
Hmmm...
Well, I should put it as this...
I do believe you shall understand.
Do consider, dear reader...
Depending on how far a, say part of the wilderness is from the nation...
How many monsters do you believe you will find there?
Hmmm?
Indeed, dear reader, indeed...
And thereof, the further away the young lad is...
Yes...
Ponder upon that as well.
Well, I suppose I may get along with it finally.
Ahem.
Do allow me to take your eyes into a secluded area...
Far away from the nation of Vesturia...
Indeed...
It has been some time since the events of the very last book, I would say...
Enough that many a thing did occur, but do consider these things truly...
Do consider...
Even so, does my tale fail to begin yet once more with the young lad by the name of Jake Phyr?
Hmmm?
Why, it won't be long, I should say?
Hmmm?
You've heard that before?
Why...
I never...
I shall simply get along further and continue with the tale...
As per usual...
Ahem...
The very picture I would like for you to draw...
Is one of the forest...
Yes...
Do imagine a forest...
And now, with your human imagination...
Imagine one open patch of grass amongst the trees...
One along side which a river now flows.
Indeed...
A river...
A rushing stream...
Indeed...
Now imagine upon this grass stands a small troop...
Yes, I did indeed say that.
A marketing troop, is you will.
'Tis not so uncommon for such to exist.
A very group of men and women...
Working together to trade their wares...
All the while travelling from nation to nation...
Indeed...
Selling their wares, trading usually...
The very lot taking advantage of the fact that those of this world do enjoy things that are new.
Why, they do run a severely lucrative business venture, I would say.
Indeed.
Many a man and a woman would pay handsomely for some foolish item they have never seen before.
Truly, I say.
'Tis even better should the item be one useful.
Indeed...
Well, I have dilly-dallied enough, I should say...
Moving along...
The very men and women were upon the grass, the idea to cross the river...
And yet for...
Voice: Now... how shall we cross this river?
Name: Fren Chavalier
Age: 32
Description: A somewhat well dressed man. Hmmm.. nay, quite expensively dressed.
Occupation: Travelling Trader
Threat level: E
Weapon of choice: Knife
Fact: The very head of this troop of travelling traders. A wealthy man. One who likes small animals.
The very man did find himself of a sort of confusion...
All the same, standing by a woman trader...
The very one with whom, they, themselves, the very lot with them, the caravans by them as well...
All stood together by the river...
Waiting oh-so pertinently on one thing...
The very one who leads them to tell them where else to go.
Indeed, for the very river was far too fast for them to hope to cross...
The simple issues of life, I would say...
And the very man, why...
He was trying to search for a safe route around the nations of Vanamour...
One to reduce the risk of being hunted by a wild beast, one would say.
And also, one that brought them away from the very problem that was crossing the river.
Indeed...
And so he stood there.
He and this woman.
All the while pondering...
Why, where so ever would this troop go?
And thereof, must I say...
Was it for their current distance from the nations...
And even so, for their very placement into the wilderness...
That...
Indeed...
The very troop did soon find themselves spotted by a wild beast...
Yes...
And of that very beast...
Indeed...
A wild animal flying through the sky.
Even so, at his lonesome...
Before spotting the ones below him, and with a cry...
One audible enough that they all heard it...
Why...
Fren: Tch...
Voice: Eeeeek!
Name: Nancy Thornberry
Age: 30
Description: A woman of average height, albeit a bit stout.
Occupation: Wandering trader
Threat level: F
Weapon of choice: Knife
Fact: While she does partake in trading does she also do a mighty bit of arm wrestling. Yes, some say that she learned strength from sowing. Indeed.
The scream she bore and the running of the others that followed...
Yes...
The very screams and thoughts of panic as they all and they together prepared for the worst...
Some running to the bushes...
Some to their caravans...
All the while as the beast merely chose to land right beside them.
Yes.
The very...
Bastion...
Name: Bastion.
Description: The beast by the name of Bastion. I have mentioned it before. It is a small black lesser dragon of a short height. No taller than a dog once upon all fours. Yet it manages to have a long body. Scales all about as all dragons do, and also, a peculiarly flat face. Indeed. Four wings, two on either side, and a long tail.
Behaviour: The very many of them do travel in packs. Some two, some three. Why, are others never too far behind. Even so, are they openly aggressive, baring a terrible hunger and a willingness to hunt prey mercilessly. Yes. As a pack they do hunt and as a pack they do live. However, fail to be fooled, these beasts are far more than a mere pack.
Ability: The very beasts hold within themselves the ability to fly, speaking nothing of the flames that spew from their mouths, and even so, the ferocity of their attacks. Co-ordinated and vicious. Indeed. Why, even their assaults are to be worried for. The very creatures by the strength of their four wings are more adept flyers than one may initially imagine. Even so, are they covered in hard scales, the likes of which fake attacks shall fail to harm. And also... why, do the beasts fail to be weaklings themselves.
Threat level: C
Fact: As the saying goes, kill one bastion, and have an army at your doorstep.
The very beast turned to the man...
And opening its jaws, snarled...
Meanwhile the man pulled out his own knife, body and soul perturbed by fear, I would say...
Fren: Back! Back, I say!
As the very beast lowered itself...
Preparing to pounce, all the while walking step after step...
Towards its quarry...
Why, did the very many of them...
Those whose job was to sell and trade...
Indeed...
They all watched from a distance...
Well prepared to run or hide should things go awry...
Why, the very woman held herself behind the man...
Her arm upon his right as his left held a blade out to the beast...
Fren: Back! Back beast, back!
They both taking step after step backwards...
A truly horrid situation many would say.
And of the very same, why...
With every step backwards, did the beast's snarls merely continue as it walked forward...
Fren: Tch...
The woman, holding his arm, saying nothing...
All while looking upon herself in despair...
Why, surely...
An untrained man without a blade would utterly fail to slaughter such a beast...
Indeed.
However...
Hmmm?
Out of time, I see.
Well now, I do suppose I may as well just add a bit more.
Do entertain me, dear reader.
Ahem.
************
'Twas as the man threatened once more...
Yes...
Indeed...
The beast did make its pounce...
However, he remained unharmed...
For...
At the very moment that the beast did pounce...
Even so, as he did close his eyes in fear...
And stretch out his arm to strike...
Indeed!
Before a word could be said.
As fast as something his eyes could barely behold...
Could the very man only feel it by sound.
Yes!
The very saviour of his person.
Indeed.
The very grand lad.
Hmmm?
Indeed.
'Twas he.
The very grand lad did leap from the bushes and, at a terrible pace, rush over to the bastion...
Managing to grab it just before it landed its attack...
Rolling on the ground with it therefore...
Before...
Arising with it in his arms...
Those by the caravans and the such did open their very eyes in shock...
Beholding the young lad...
As he stood up upon the grass...
With a bastion in his arms.
Indeed...
The very beast did struggle.
Wriggling and breathing fire every once in a while, one would say.
And yet, the very grand lad's arms remained unperturbed.
Indeed.
They held onto it, as though it was hardly a bother at all...
Yes.
Even he...
Even the trader...
Having closed his eyes, did he now open them...
All to behold...
A boy whose very arms...
Twisted...
To snap a bastion's back.
Well, I do suppose that that shall suffice.
Do have a proper day, dear reader.
No mere living, I would say.
Indeed.