“Celine! Now!” Sien shouted as he stood near the trees with all the lights around put down. A ball of light flew to Sien to explode above him with bright green colors. The monster used his hands to cover his eyes from the bright light. 

The mage once again turned the ground underneath the troll into the sand. The monster lost its balance and fell to the ground. Sien quickly ran up to the monster and once he looked forward he was met with a fire right into his eyes. The monster screamed so loudly that a whole forest could hear him. Sien was the closest to him and had to cover his ears. He was stunned there for a moment, long enough for the monster to hit him. It was a desperate attack that did some damage to a boy’s small frame. Sien rolled through the ground trying to stand up as he was moving. His saber fell out of his hand while he was rolling on the ground. He grabbed his wrist as pain surged through his body.

“That’s not good…” He whispered as he tried to move his right hand with a painful answer to that movement.

“Astonishing… The troll is resistant to regular magic. But the magic from the runes was able to damage him. Is it really that superior compared to normal spells?” Celine analyzed, amazed by the power of runes and the Ink Claws.

The troll was able to stand back up but something was wrong about him. On a closer look, it was visible that the skin melted and dripped down on his eyes. Making the monster blind.

Sien picked up his saber with his left hand as the troll slowly walked around with his hands on his face, trying to understand why he wasn’t able to see anything. He was about to charge the monster once again but someone grabbed his shoulder and stopped him.

“You’re injured. Let me handle the rest.” Sam said as blood dripped down his head.

“You’re injured too!” Sien shouted as he saw the blood on his master’s face.

“It is but a scratch. You can’t use your right hand-”

“So what? If you’re going to fight while being injured, so am I!” Sien announced, prepared to fight, greeting his teeth in the hope that it would help ease the pain or keep his mind away from it.

“I won’t be able to talk you out. Won’t I?” Said Sam with a light smile on his face. He felt a bit better once he saw that the troll was blinded.

“Don’t do anything before I get my sword back. Okay?” 

“Better grab it fast.”

“Cheeky kid.” Said Sam with a chuckle at the end. He ran behind the troll waiting for Celine to push him up. With the help of the wind, he landed on the monster’s back and grabbed his sword. He quickly took it out of the troll’s body and jumped down. The troll tried to squash him like a fly but he was no longer there. 

Meanwhile, Sien experimented with the runes he knew about. He drew a fire rune on his saber but he stretched it so his whole saber would be covered in fire. It worked and he used it to attack the monster’s leg while it was focused on finding the swordsman on his back. He slashed the monster and ran away to Sam.

“Nice trick. Mind doing the same with mine?” Sam asked as he extended his sword toward Sien.

Now the two of them had their weapons enveloped in fire. They ran at the same time Slashing the monster’s legs. Quickly they forced him down but he used his arms to not fall. The swordsmen slashed his wrists to make him fall flat face to the ground, finishing the monster by stabbing it in the head with both blades.

“Good job, Sien.”

“Thanks… You… Too… Master…” Sien answered, trying to grasp air after every word he said.

The people slowly gathered back as they saw the monster dead on the ground with two people standing on its lifeless body. The people began to cheer for their heroes to show appreciation for their deed. The old man with a cane came out of the crowd. It was the village’s chief.

“May we know the name of our saviors?” The chief asked and with his question, the people awaited the answer.

“My name is-” Sam wanted to introduce himself but he was stopped by the elven mage who made a flashy entrance with a fire in the place where she appeared.

“The people who saved you are the very people you made fun of today.” Celine said with an emotionless face, scaring some of the children.

“Who made fun of them?! We’ll make them pay!” The man who was saved by Sien from the flying stall shouted.

“You. All of you!” The elf shouted, making the man take a step back. “Today you celebrated a lie told to you. This boy is from House Alk. Sien Alk! The family that you shamed today is the family that saved you from this awful monster! Even though he resented you for this festival, the boy saved you! The boy from House Alk!”

“Well… We…” The chief tried to say something but was unable to make a full sentence. 

“You should be ashamed!” Celine continued her speech but then a man wearing leather armor came out of the crowd.

He fell down to his knees and bowed toward Sien. The nobleman had his head down this whole time as he felt uncomfortable by all the gazes from the people but he looked toward Peter, stunned by his action.

“I am ashamed for celebrating something as awful as shaming your father. I also would like to formally thank you, Lord Sien, for sparring with me and treating me with respect, even though I’m beneath you.” Said Peter.

The children that were saved by Sien joined Peter and bowed to Sien. Their father followed them and also took a knee. “I’m also ashamed that I celebrated such a crude festival. I’d also like to thank you for saving me and my children.” The man said with his head down.

The whole crowd took a knee and bowed to Sien. Apologizing for the festival. All but one man. The chief stood there with his cane. He smiled at the boy.

“While I’d like to take a knee… I’m unable to… No one knew about what was hidden behind the curtain. You all shouldn’t be ashamed. I should be the one to take it all as I knew everything about the festival and didn’t think about it as a wrong choice.” The man said with his head down.

“You shouldn’t be… You didn’t know the truth. As well as I didn’t know. But I know my father was wrongly accused or even framed. He is the kindest man I know. He wouldn’t do anything to harm anyone, especially the people of this nation. If you don’t believe in his kindness… Samuel will explain.” Sien gave space in the front so Sam could step forward and make his speech.

“While I didn’t meet Lord Zimowit personally, I heard a lot about him from my master who took a lot from him. I am a peasant and my master, who served under House Alk, treated me like a normal person, saying that this is what he learned from his Lord. I never heard a bad thing about Lord Zimowit. Only the good things. And I can see those good traits in this boy here. Kind, caring for others, and what sets him apart from most nobles… He doesn't view himself as higher than any one of us. What you heard is a lie that anyone could believe. Anyone but people who knew about Lord Zimowit. So you shouldn’t be ashamed but you should rethink your stand on this situation.”

After Sam’s speech, there was silence. Some people were tearing up, especially Sien who was taken by his speech. The silence was broken by the clapping hands of the crowd.

“Today… We shall celebrate the saving of our village by our saviors! By Sien Alk, Samuel and…” The chief announced

“And Celine Greywood.” Whispered Celine so the chief could continue his speech.

“And Celine Greywood!” The chief continued and the people once again cheered toward their heroes. 

The people scattered around to clean the rubble away or to, at last, push it aside so the people could walk around without worry of tripping over them. 

The chief noticed that Sam was bleeding a bit. “You’re hurt. Let me grab our herbalist to help you.” 

“I’m not the only one. The boy here has a damaged wrist. You think the herbalist could do something about it?” Asked Sam, pointing at Sien.

“Definitely.” The chief answered.

The herbalist quickly arrived with ointments for the wounds. First, she took care of Sam as he was the one bleeding and that could cause unwanted diseases to attack the swordsman. The ointment quickly stopped the bleeding.

“Use this in the morning to let the wound heal faster.” The herbalist said as she gave a vial to Sam.

Next, she inspected Sien’s wrist. Checking it from every angle and gently touching it. “Does it hurt when I press it?” The woman asked every time she pressed his wrist to find the place that hurt the most. Once she did she used another ointment of hers. Then she gave two vials to the boy. “Use a few drops a day and lubricate your wrist with it. Your wrist should heal in a month. The help of a magic healer might speed up the process.”

“Do you know any magic healers?” Asked Sien, as he wanted to get better as soon as he could.

“No. But the town behind the mountains is much bigger. You might find one in there.”

“Okay. Thank you very much.” 

At the festival, many people gathered around their three heroes. Celine showed magical tricks to the crowd, Sam spared with the villagers and gave them some instructions on how to defend themselves. Many people came to talk with Sien about the nobility and their lives as he was the only noble open for a talk with the villagers. The boy mostly told how well his parents treated the villagers in their region.

The festival slowly came to an end as Sien was getting sleepy and the heroes had to get some sleep before continuing their great adventure.