Grimoires & Masters - Chapter 18. (Patreon)

A sweet ache crept in as soon as his dream blurred, and he opened his eyes. He yawned silently before sitting up to stretch his arms. His ears caught laughter from outside the tent, and his brows furrowed. It was as if there was a large crowd outside, singing and laughing together as if it was a festival.

He turned to look on the side of the mattress and found a mask where Elena should have been. It was his mask, and he sighed. 

Aoun quickly changed into his traveling clothes before rushing out of the tent. He did not bother wearing his cloak but made sure that he had put on his mask.

What he witnessed were nearly a dozen more tents placed a safe distance away from each other. There were four bonfires lit, and each had groups of people sitting around and playing games, laughing, and singing. The atmosphere had a festive feeling to it, and he curiously looked at the side of the tent where Elena was resting with her back against the sleeping Maya. 

She smiled at him as soon as he got out and cutely pouted. 

“What’s happening?” He sat by her side and asked her as he wrapped his arm around her waist. 

“Firstly, you should have been careful, brother.” She complained as she planted a kiss on his cheek. “You slept for more than eight hours.” 

“Sorry…” He chuckled and planted a kiss on her head. “Now, what’s going on here?” 

“This place is called the Lover’s Nest.” She then glanced at all the people present on both sides of the stream. 

Now that Aoun observed them, he realized that they were all pairs, nestling close to each other. 

“People come here with their loved ones…” She informed him. “They sit with everyone else the entire night, getting drunk and playing different games, and when the rays of dawn hit, they enter their respective tents and make love.”

“Interesting…” He curiously looked at her. “And who told you all this?” 

“The first couple that arrived here after us.” She then turned to look at Maya’s neck. “They gave us this collar.” She pointed at the collar around Maya’s neck that was glowing a faint red light. “It’s a cold-resistant Artifact. The cold here doesn’t bother her now.”  

“Mhm…” He nodded at her. “You paid them, right?” 

“I did.” She smiled at him. “They were from the Kingdom of Dreams, and I paid them in their currency. The ones we dealt with had a decent sum on them.”

“How much was there?” He curiously asked.

“4 Platinum Coins, 33 Gold Coins, 162 Silver Coins, and 985 Copper Coins.” Elena smiled at him and left the maths to him. 

“80,465 Kyrls” He nodded.  

The world-recognized currency was Kyrl. And each Kyrl was equal to a Copper Coin. 40 Coppers made a Silver, 25 Silvers made a Gold, 10 Golds made a White-Gold/Platinum. Therefore, each Platinum Coin was worth 10,000 Kyrls.

Over eighty-thousand Kyrls was not a lot, but it was a decent sum in the World. A common man could live on that for a couple of years, but then again, expenditure depended on person to person. Some people might spend the entire sum in a minute, and some could even last five years on it. 

“How much is left?” He smiled at her. 

“60,465 Kyrls.” She answered. “And we also found one Blue-Ranked Beast Core. It is worth 10 Platinum Coins. And we have 13 Space-Rings with different stuff in them. There are a few Beast Cores as well. And two are even Green-Ranked. We could sell the weapons in a city. I already talked with a few people here. And from how the economy works in the Kingdom of Dreams, I think we made around half-million Kyrls from the battle.”

“Oh…” Aoun couldn’t help but be impressed by her. She always did everything with all her attention if she put her mind to it. “I am proud of you.” He planted a kiss on her head.

Aoun then turned to look at the white flag with doves on it. It was placed on the boulder right by the side of the waterfall.

“Did everyone here take a vow?” 

“Yes,” She nodded. 

“How long?” 

“Two days.” She smiled at him. “Enough time for people to get back to the Kingdom of Dreams.

The white flag with doves represented peace. And wherever such a flag was placed, everyone made a vow to not kill and harm the ones present in the vicinity for a specified time. It was the reason why the people here were sitting together in groups without worries.

“Where’s Chino?” He was curious at finding the mischievous fellow not present. It didn’t like being inside the Grimoire, and that was why it was always sticking onto one of them.

“She’s up resting somewhere in the woods.” Elena smiled and then giggled. “Probably playing around with some Wild Beasts.”

Aoun sighed when he heard that, but a smile crept on his lips. Chino was adorable just as much as it was mischievous.

“Hungry?” She looked up at him and asked. 

“Did you eat something?” He worriedly asked, fearing that she had not eaten all the time he had slept. 

“I did…” She planted a kiss on his cheek. “The meal we had left is finished. I shared it with a couple, and Chino was hungry too after the battle.”

“It’s okay.” He nodded to her and then got up after gently petting Maya. 

“Cooking?” 

“If you are still hungry, yes…” He nodded at her, knowing well that she had a great appetite.

“I will help you!” She got up too and followed after him. 

They left the campsite and walked down the stream, far enough where no one could see them.

“I thought you were going to help?”  He sighed as he saw her sit on a rock with her feet immersed in the cold water of the stream. 

“I am helping!” She pouted and waved her hand that was holding a luminous pearl.

“You could just place it there, and we would still get enough light.” He sighed again. With his element of Darkness, the lack of light was not an issue for him.

Elena did not answer him and left him to skinning the stag that they had hunted in the Whispering Forest. 

After skinning the Beast, he washed the body in the stream. Later, he cut the abdomen first and took out the organ. He separated the ones they needed for another meal, and the left the ones they did not need. And then he washed the body again.

When everything unnecessary was removed, and the body was dried using a special cloth, he took out the needed spices and patiently worked on applying them. And then he carefully sewed the cut on the abdomen. 

The air smelt of blood, meat, and spices. It was a strange scent that only the meat enthusiasts loved. 

“Cut the light.” Aoun smiled when everything was ready. 

Elena turned off the Luminous Pearl, and then Aoun used his element of Darkness to get rid of the smell and the organs that they did not want. 

Darkness devoured everything he asked it to devour. 

No blood or smell remained, even the blood on the sheets he had used was devoured, leaving them clean as ever.

Aoun placed the stag inside the ring after wrapping it in a foil. 

“You want to share it with them?” She smiled and asked.

“Sure,” Aoun nodded. “If someone is still hungry, they can join in.”

“Yeah yeah… You just want to impress those pretty girls there.” She rolled her eyes and came to grab her arm.

“I doubt there could be anyone as beautiful as you, Elena.” He planted a kiss on her head. “And do I even need to do something to impress girls? I am your brother. Besides, nearly everyone there already has a lover.”

She ignored his narcissistic words, and sweetly smiled at him. 

“Let’s go.” She pulled him and walked back to the campsite.

One of the groups present were already cooking some BBQ for themselves. They were wearing the same coats with a crest on them. And the three stars on their Crest indicated that they were an A-ranked Guild.

“Mind if I use part of the pit?” 

The group of six looked at the two of them and lightly smiled before nodding. 

“Join in!” One happily ushered them to come to join. 

“Thanks!” Elena sweetly thanked them, and her charmed worked like magic. “My name is Lunastasia, and this is my husband and brother, Erebus.”

They gave out aliases, and since the other group was part of a Guild, they gave out their aliases as well.

“I'm Red!”

“I’m Blue!”

“I’m Silver!”

“I’m Grey!

“I’m Green!”

“I’m Black!” 

It turned out that all of their Guild members had aliases based on colors. 

“Nice to meet you all!” Aoun smiled at them and then proceeded to set up a Stock on the bonfire. 

“Woah…” Red called out in surprise when he saw Aoun bring out an entire Stag and carefully remove the foil around it. 

“You’re welcome to join.” 

“Sure I am!” Red readily nodded. “It already smells so good!” He gulped after finishing those words. 

“Behave…” Blue nudged him, but even she was looking forward to tasting the meat. 

Aoun carefully put a spit through the stag and then put it on the stock.

The bonfire crackled and spat sparks when Elena added some more firewood to it. And then she used her control over fire to make sure that BBQ they were already making was not harmed. 

“That’s impressive,” Black commented, impressed by the fluid control of Elena over Fire.

“It’s not every day that you see Fire Elemental Masters in this part of the World.” Grey nodded as well. “So which guild do you guys belong to?” He asked as Aoun and Elena took a bench out and sat with them.

“We are not part of any Guild.” Aoun calmly replied and then looked at the crest of Grey’s coat.

“We are an A-ranked Guild called the Twelve Shades.” Grey smiled proudly and answered, but he still sounded amiable. 

“What brings you two out here in The Wild North?” Black curiously asked. 

“We were searching for some Beasts,” 

“Hunting or Contracting?”

“Contracting.” Aoun smiled at him. “As your name suggests, there are twelve of you?”

All of them looked pleased that he had asked this question, and then they started explaining to him.

“We are a total of fifteen members right now.” Silver informed him. “As for the name of the Guild,” She turned to look at Black. “You can ask him.”

“Well, I chose the name because I read a story when I was a kid. It was about the Blessings of Twelve Gods that formed up the entire Universe. And when I had to choose the name for the Guild, Twelve Blessings came to my mind. Most of us were not comfortable with Blessings in the name, and so I changed it to Twelve Shades.” Black smiled at him, and his nearly black eyes shined in reverie. “The plan was to have twelve members, but along the way, we met some great people, and then there were fifteen of us. I asked everyone if we should change it to Fifteen Shades now, but no one agreed to that.”

“A guild must never change its name.” Blue shrugged and stated the obvious.

“And Twelve Shades sounds better than Fifteen Shades.” Red voiced his reason and everyone nodded to him.

“That’s great.” Aoun nodded at them. “Well, since you guys are an A-ranked Guild, I want to ask you something.”

“Sure…”

“Guilds or Wanderers?” He smiled and asked. 

“Guilds!” All of them answered in unison. 

“Both have pros and cons, but Guild’s pros outweigh the pros of the Wanderers,” Green explained to him. “For instance, If you are part of the Guild, any member of your guild can submit the completed quest. But only a wanderer who took the quest has to submit it back.” 

Aoun and Elena understandingly nodded to her. 

“Secondly, there are quests that require a large party. And most of the quests that pay well are like that. Wanders would have to hop from one Party to another for each quest. This does not earn them reliable friends that would help them in times of need. Thirdly, the issue of trust with having Wanderers on your team. Not everyone is comfortable with taking Wanders along on a dangerous escapade. Lastly, it is harder to raise your rank as a Wanderer, that's because Wanderers are not trusted with harder and more rewarding quests.”

“Wouldn’t it restrict a person’s freedom if they join a Guild?” Elena doubtfully asked. 

“True.” Green nodded. “That is why you must form a Guild with the people that share the same goals and want to travel the same journey.”

“The Twelve Shades started from the Kingdom of Red Cresent of the Empire of Cresselia, and after journeying through 27 Kingdoms, we have arrived here in the Wild North,” Black informed them. “We will be heading back to the Kingdom of Dreams and then to the Northern Kingdom of the Empire of White Winter.”

“27 Kingdoms! That sounds like a fun adventure.” Elena pleasantly called out.

“Northern Kingdom will be 28th.” Black nodded to her. “But our Adventure time is coming to an end next year. We have to appear for the Entrance Test at the Isles of Solomon, or I and Silver won’t be able to join any of the academies. We will be turning 21 years old next year.”

“You guys are going to take the Portals from the Capitals?” Aoun frowned and asked. 

“We don’t have any other choice.” Black smiled at him. “But it was already in our minds. We wanted to cover as many Kingdoms as possible, but then some adventures took us here and there, totally wrecking some of the plans. And now we are here in The Wild North, with the clock ticking on us.” He sighed. "Life is unpredictable."

Both Aoun and Elena couldn’t help but laugh at his words. 

“We have earned quite a wealth from our adventures, so we can afford the Portals. It would also earn us time to see some more Kingdoms.” Black told them.

“What are your plans?” Silver asked with a gentle smile. 

“We just want to explore the world and get stronger,” Aoun answered with a nod. “And if possible, we want to see all the beautiful places in the World.”

The group couldn’t help but laugh at his words. 

“The entire World is beautiful, my friend,” Red answered with a big grin. “And we have done some research. It would take you over a hundred years to explore the territories of the World that are claimed. And who knows many many more for the rest.” 

“To only explore our Northern Continent, you would need about 25 years.” Blue nodded to her partner's words.

“We will be exploring the entire world!” Elena cheerfully announced, and locked her arm around her brother. “Right?” 

“Mhm…” He could only nod to her. 

Their affection brought smiles on the group’s faces and the atmosphere turned even more amicable between them.

“If you want to see a wondrous city that we have been to, The City of Dreams is one of them. But I must say that every City in the Kingdom of Dreams is unique.” Black smiled at them. “And do check out the capital of the Empire of Superia, Antheria. It is another wondrous city.”

“We will put them on our list.” Aoun smiled at him and carefully spun the spit, roasting the meat with attention. 

“Do something to take my mind off this appetizing smell….” Red pitifully looked at the roasting Stag and asked his lover. 

“You can always play your Violin,” Blue replied with a grin. 

“No!” The rest of their group looked horrified at Blue’s proposal, and it made her burst out in laughter. 

“That’s rude.” Red looked hurt, but then grinned and took out his Violin. 

Elena looked at him dumbfoundedly as he played it. She ignored the distorted waves of sound that entered her ears, even the loud sound of the crashing waterfall was suppressed by his horrendous tune. The Luminous insects flying everywhere tried to escape from this place. It was not ridiculous to say that even a baby could play better than this burly man.

Black and Silver apologetically looked at them and everyone else that was present in the Lover’s nest. But thankfully, the hellish concert didn’t last for long. Red ended up breaking a string on his Violin and regretfully stopped.

“Yay!!!” Blue clapped her hands enthusiastically, not showing if it was for cheering Red or cheering the end of the concert. But when she laughed at everyone’s misfortune, they understood that she was cheering about that.

Red was a little depressed to see that no one else was clapping, but then he took out a case and pried out a new string for his violin. 

“May I play it?” Aoun asked with a smile. He was worried that he would lose his mind if Red played such a tune again.

“Of course!” Red handed the violin and the half set string to him. 

“I will take care of the Roast!” Silver got up from her seat and came to sit by Elena. 

“Thanks…” Aoun took his time tuning the strings, and then he looked a Red and asked for the Bow.

“Oh.. sorry.” Red picked up the bow he had placed on his side and handed it over. 

Everyone curiously waited for him to play, but he closed his eyes and let his mind focus solely on the sounds of the crashing waterfall. A couple of minutes later, the bow touched the strings, and a joyful cry of Violin resounded.  

Aoun lost himself in his fond memories, and his hands worked with exquisiteness and experience on the instrument. He was too lost in playing the instrument, he did not know what was happening around him.

Everyone that listened to his tune, found their heart beating in the rhythm of his music. All the luminous insects approached him, surrounded their group, and danced and sang with joy.

The scene made the hearts of the people tremble in awe. And they silently listened to the music, careful not to disturb Aoun. Those that were on the other side of the stream came over, and everyone gathered, only immersed in his tune. 

The Second Prince of White Winter was famous for his obsession with Swords, but he had a few secret hobbies as well. He loved playing some musical instruments, and Violin was one of those that he was best at.

Chaos shrouded in contagious happiness; It was his music.