System Change

Derek and Stella were walking down the street in the noble district of the city. Derek thought it was odd because all of their previous meetings had happened either over the communication crystal or in person at the Crown.

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about tomorrow.” Stella said.

“Oh, what is it?” Derek replied, curious as to what Stella was thinking. She was acting odd.

Stella looked down and spoke in a soft voice. “Well, I have been away from the bigger cities for a while now, so I was thinking that…”

Just then, Derek felt the pull from a communication crystal in his storage device. He frowned and held up a finger, motioning for Stella to hold. “Hold on for a second, sorry.” He apologised for being rude at the moment.

With a flick of his hand, the glowing red crystal appeared. He looked at the lit rune to see who was trying to get ahold of him. “Walter…” He muttered. That was quite odd, as they usually just met in person to talk.

He answered the call, wanting to let the man know that he would see him in a bit. His manor was his next stop after talking to Stella, after all. Though it was the private crystal, he spoke out loud for Stella’s sake. “Hey, Walter. I’m a bit busy…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Walter cut him off. ‘Derek… sorry… I’ve got some bad news.’

‘What’s wrong?’ Derek sent, no longer speaking out loud.

‘The scout I have stationed at your village just reported to me that the City Lord’s men found Brandi crafting multiple items, using different crafts. They were ordered to capture the girl and bring her back.’ Walter explained.

‘Is she okay?’ Derek asked. His hand balled into a fist. He was doing his best not to crush the crystal.

‘The girl is…’ Walter said.

‘What’s wrong? Hurry and tell me!’ Derek was quickly growing impatient.

‘The former village chief tried to stop them from taking her… She’s dying…’

‘How long?’ Derek’s rage was building.

‘She only has a few hours left…’ Walter solemnly answered.

‘Does your man not have a Scroll of Resurrection?’ Derek asked with some hope.

‘No, they are very rare…’

‘Brandi has one in her storage ring. Can your man get to it?’ Derek asked, already knowing the answer.

‘He’s only a scout. The City Lord’s men are warriors, and they took her and her mother’s rings.’

Derek was furious. He didn’t want to see Rayna die, but he wasn’t sure if he could make it to the village in time. ‘Thanks for letting me know.’ He sent, then disconnected from Walter.

‘Silvi.’ He sent out.

‘What? I’m cooking.’ She sent back.

‘We’ve got people to kill.’

Instantly, after sending the thought to Silvi, a loud crash was heard, and the bunny came flying toward him. She landed on his shoulder. If there was one thing she loved as much as or even more than cooking, it was killing.

‘Let’s go.’

Derek put all his strength in his legs and pushed off. He had to make it to the village before Rayna’s time ran out.

The due didn’t pause to be let through the gates. As soon as they reached one, they were up and over, and before long, they had made it outside of the city.

Derek quickly thought about the exact location of the village, turned slightly, and took off in its direction.

***

A skinny man with a straw hat and a muscular man in well-maintained leather armor were sitting atop a tarp covered carriage being pulled by two Equvins. The horse-like creatures were moving at a controlled pace, not too fast, but not too slow, towards the direction of Torith.

“Aye, Garrett.” The man not holding the reins spoke. “Ya think the Lord will let us have some fun with the mom? She’s a right beauty, that one.”

“Are you daft?” The driver of the carriage spat. “Of course he won’t. That woman’s the only leverage the City Lord will have over that youngster. We’ll be lucky if we’re not punished on account of us having to rough her up a bit.”

“A shame, it is. She’d be a good time.” The man said.

“It doesn’t matter how good of time it would be if you end up dying because of it. She is a beauty, but she ain’t worth dying over.” The driver said.

“I guess yer right.” The other man agreed.

Behind them, in the tarp covered carriage, the sobbing and hushing sounds could be heard. “Shh… shh… everything’s going to be alright.” The men heard the mother try to comfort her daughter.

They heard the girl sniff. “B-but Rayna… she… she…” The girl broke out crying again.

“Aye! You two better put a lid on it before I come back there and give you something to cry about.” The skinny man shouted at their captives.

“Let them get it out of their systems. Better here with nobody around to hear than in the middle of the city.” The driver said.

“Whatever.” The skinny man replied.

An hour or so of travel later, and the crying sobs quietened, replaced by the occasional snore. The little girl had apparently cried herself to sleep.

“Oi! What is that up there?” The skinny man pointed at a black dot in the distance.

The driver squinted before seeing what the other man was talking about. “I don’t know. But it’s getting bigger and bigger.”

In an instant, a man in a black shirt and dark blue pants appeared in front of them. There was some small beast atop his shoulder as well.

***

Derek and Silvi had been rushing towards the village at the fastest pace they could travel. After over an hour of travel, they came across a suspicious looking carriage being driven by two men. Derek came to a halt right in front of the carriage.

“Move out of the way! We’re on City Lord’s business.” The skinny looking man yelled.

“Torith City Lord?” Derek asked.

“Who else?” The man answered.

Derek took a step forward, and in the next second, he appeared beside the covered carriage. Raising his hand, he yanked and removed the tarp from the carriage. Underneath the tarp, a bruised Malorie and sleeping Brandi sat in cuffs inside a cage.

Derek was already furious. He was even more so now.

‘I don’t have any time to spare.’ He sent to Silvi. ‘Take care of the guards, and bring Mal and Brandi back to the village. Keep them safe.’

Silvi hopped off of Derek’s shoulder before Derek took off again.

***

Silvi landed lightly on the ground. Then, using Active Void Shift, she disappeared from the spot and appeared flying through the air beside the City Lord’s men.

Combining her Active Void Shift with Charge, she flew at a rapid speed with her head down. Her purple wrapped horn glistened in the sunlight as it connected with the temple of the driver. Her horn pierced his head like a hot knife through butter, and, without slowing down, she continued through with her small body.

Of course, with the speed at which her head connected with the rest of the man’s head, and, because the man’s brain had already been destroyed by her horn, the rest of the man’s head exploded into pieces.

The skinny man hadn’t even had time to turn to see his companion lose his life before it was his turn. Silvi had lined up her path perfectly so she would fly directly through the first man, then into the second.

In an instant, the front of the carriage was splattered with gore and brain matter, and the City Lord was down two men.

The two beasts, scared at the sudden development, rared up. Before they could do anything, Silvi appeared in front of them and stared into their eyes with a fierce gaze. They settled down and stopped moving.

She disappeared again before landing back on the ground close to the carriage. Her silver fur and purple mane now coated in a crimson red. Woah! She thought. My head-butting has gotten so much better than it used to be. She took one quick hop, then realized that she was covered in human.

Nasty. The Head Chef would scald me for this. She hurried and cast cleaning, restoring her fur and cloak back to their previously beautiful appearance.

After taking care of the guard duo and cleaning herself, she hopped over to the carriage and into the cage.

Everything had happened so fast that Malorie hadn’t had the time to adjust, so when Silvi appeared in front of her, she flinched backwards. Then, she recognized the bunny that she hadn’t seen in a while. “S-silvi? Is that you?”

Malorie whipped her head left and right, looking for Derek. If Silvi is here, he has to be close. However, she couldn’t find him, no matter where she looked.

Out of nowhere, two small green crystals appeared in front of the bunny. The bunny put each of her small front paws onto a crystal, then they began glowing. Then she opened her mouth and picked up one of the crystals.

“Hello, beautiful, delicious lady.” A child-like feminine voice sounded out from one of the crystals.

“Silvi? Is that you talking?” Malorie asked. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “What are you doing here? Where is Derek?”

“Derek is going to your village. He left me here. He’s trying to save the other lady.” The child-like voice chimed again. “I’m here to save you… uh…” The bunny looked around. “Tada! you’re saved.”

“What?” Malorie stood as tall as the chains would let her. She wasn’t able to see much, but she could see some blood pooling on the ground towards the front of the carriage. “What happened?”