Of Cloak and Daggers (Open)

[Gavriil]

"So the prophet is on the move", spoke a bald man as he sat in the middle of what seemed to be a empty garden. The middle aged man had a mighty green mustache that could rival Merio's himself and blood crimson eyes that were filled with fire. Surrounding the man was nothing more than peddled roses, or as it seemed. Hiding in the bushes was an assassin cloaked in camouflaging colors. In his hand was a scroll and within it was the marching orders of the Inquisition.

"Send the message to our contacts and prepare the boys for there next assignments", whispered Gavriil as he rose from his seat. The assassin did not speak a word, but instead simply faded away into the bushes and escaped through a secret tunnel. Gavriil however had other things to do today. The old man walked over and clipped a few rose buds from the bushes and placed them in a basket. Leaving the garden he walked over into a court yard filled with smiling young face. This was the Dragons Door Step, the orphanage created by Gavriil and the home of his personal league of assassins.

As Gavriil returned from the garden he caught of wind of two young boys fighting each other. One of them was declaring himself better than the other and claiming to the the superior warrior. The other was refuting his claims and bringing up things that should not be spoken above ground. The squabbles of the two young boys was not only threatening to the secrecy of the orphanage, but also unappropriated. The little squabble soon turned to a fist fight and if Garviil had let it gone on it probably would have ended with both boys being grievously injured. For the hands of these young children had already been taught to kill and a fight between them could only end with blood.

"Stop it you two", spoke Garviil as he walked over to where the young boys were arguing. "There is no fighting between brothers", spoke the bald man picking away at the young boy's conscious. "How do you expect to go to heaven if you kill your own brothers."

"Sorry Father", spoke the two lads as they hung there heads down.

"Now listen up young ones. Violence is never the right answer and it should only be used against heathens and monsters."

[Lynessa]

Lynessa had been a regular to some libraries in Etruria and she still continued her frequent visit to the beautiful country. Her hobbies for traveling could only be matched by her great attraction to human books, mostly those about history or religion. She still dared to cross the border despite knowing that Etruria-Ilia relation was a bit hostile since the Prophet ordered his army to stay near the border. One woman could slip through the border easily without attracting too much attention. She simply needed to avoid the main road or flew at night where it was more difficult for people to spot her. Also, she wore cloak with hood just in case something went wrong. Hiding her face wasn't actually necessary because her exotic look lacked Ilian features but the Elimine country wasn't being kind to any foreigners right recently.

One day, after she finished her visit on one of the libraries, Lynessa's random walking led her to an orphanage. The female dragon smiled when she saw the place, it looked completely normal, like an average orphanage where children were raised and nurtured with love. Of course, she, like most others, were ignorant about the true, darker, nature of the orphanage. This ignorance then made her step into the entrance without hesitation. In her hand was a basket of fruits and Etruria breads which she had bought as souvenir for her husband, but it seemed the violet-haired woman was considering to give it to the orphans instead.

Lynessa wondered if it would be rude to enter as she pleased but finally decided to continue walking further into the orphanage. When she sniffed the air, she smelt the sweet scent of young boys and girls along the relaxing fragrance of flowers. "Seems like a nice place..." she thought. The ice dragon leisurely walked deeper into the area until she reached a courtyard. Children were playing, talking and arguing in the vast courtyard....wait...arguing? Well, children would fight sometimes and she didn't think too much about it. The memories of her sons hitting each other was still in her mind and although she didn't like it sometimes she found it amusing. "Boys...I wonder what this is about..." The kind mother giggled as she approached the scene.

"Maybe violence should never be used at all, by the way." Lynessa said as she approached Gavrill and the boys. She smiled kindly as she lowered her head a bit. "Sorry for intruding, Father. I am simply a traveler who pass through this area. I hope I am not disturbing anything..." The dragon didn't want to get in the way of the education, she simply felt she needed to add something. Yes, violence could be...unavoidable sometimes but she felt unsure if the children should hear in this stage of their growth. Hopefully the Father wouldn't mind being corrected a bit.

"Oh, I have some fruits and breads for the children. Would you mind if I share with them?" Lynessa asked the bald priest.

[Gavriil]

"Hmm", spoke Garvill as he turned around to see the lavender haired woman. He was surprised to see here here, and he let it show on his face. Though his surprise was as much a lie as it was true. He knew she was in the area, his spotters had sent word. However he did not expect for her to simply walk in, or for anybody to simply just let her walk in. He was going to have to discipline his watchers later on. However that was another subject for another time. The maiden had changed his words. Rather than advocating violence against heathens she instead removed it all together. It was a small change in words, but weighed heavy in Garvill's heart and in the mind of the young ones. The training of his assassins starts not only when they first pick up a dagger, but also when they are small. Like the mighty elephant, what you teach them in there youth sticks with them when they grow old. Everything Garvill spoke or said played a part in developing his assassins.

"Yes", he spoke suddenly as a warm smile crossed his face. "The young maiden is right. Violence should not be a option at your age. There is never a time when children like you should use violence. Remember the saint did not spread her light by the tip of the sword, but by the word of mouth young ones."

The young boy's looked at him a bit confused. on multiple occasions Garvill spoke of using violence against heathens and monster, but now he was telling them that violence was not important. Then again he said at the moment, and the kids put the thought out of mind. The two young boys went back to play. "Alright then we will settle this at the range", shouted one of the boys as the two ran off to a small building in the distance. Garvill stopped to talk to his new guest.

"I am sorry nobody greeted you at the door Madam", spoke Garvill as he stuck his hand out to receive the basket. "Your generosity is great, but it seems the young ones are more focus on breaking there little argument than eating a snack. If you don't mind I can give it to the young boys once they finish at the archery range or you can give it to them yourself if you wish. There is no rules against visitors going to the range", spoke Garvill as he pointed his hand toward the building the boy ran off too.

[Lynessa]

Lynessa seemed amused when she was called as "young maiden" but kept herself from saying anything. "Young? If only he knows how old I am..." she thought, chuckling. At least the priest didn't feel angry for being corrected a bit. It would make the ice dragon feel unpleasant if someone she just met today felt insulted or challenged by her remark. For a moment, she had a feeling the man was contemplating her statement but she was unsure what he thought about it. Her worries then dissipated when she saw the warm smile in Gavriil face.

Lynessa smiled as she watched the boys head toward a small building. She wondered what they would do in the range to finish their disturbed fight. Well, they probably would just do some kind of game, right? No hitting? Anything was fine as long they wouldn't fight. But even if they fought again she believed those boys would shake hands and make peace after one or two days. Children were like that, unlike adults, they usually didn't hold grudges for long. Still, it was important to prevent them taking violence as the first choice. Lynessa looked at Gavriil with kind eyes when the priest apologized for the lack of greeting. "It's alright. I did feel a bit surprised when I realized no one managing the entrance, though. I saw someone, a young man, who was taking a nap near the door. Maybe he's actually the one who are supposed to watch the door? I didn't want to wake him up so I simply decided to enter. I apologize for intruding to this place without permission, Father."

"I am Lynessa. Lynessa Heartwater..." she introduced herself, bowing her head politely. The dragon then pulled her hood to expose her face, it would be improper to have a conversation with her face hidden. "Aaah, so they are going to do archery. To be honest, I was a bit concerned they might start fighting again," she said, giving it a small pause to glance at the small building. Lynessa then returned her attention to Gavriil and handed the basket. "I would like if you could give it to them for me later. Maybe for afternoon snack? There's plenty of fruits and breads inside, probably enough for 7 or 8 people," she said. A pleased expression was on her face when she handed the basket to the priest, she was happy for knowing that her gift was accepted.

"I must admit I feel intrigued, though. Not many orphanages have archery range. In fact, I don't remember any but I guess this place is just unique. It's a good thing for those children to have a range where they can practice. Archery is quite useful skill anyway, it won't hurt to practice it," she said. Lynessa seemed interested in this place, she was looking around the area with a happy expression. Was it the sight of children that made her enjoying her time here? Probably. The dragoness always liked children.

[Gavriil]

So he was sleeping on the job, thought Gavriil to himself. That was going to have to be corrected, and soon. After the maiden left he was going to have to tear the young man's ear off, not literally of course, but a stern word was needed. Not to mention a session of Bull in the Ring. Though that was for later, when there were no guest in the hall. For now everything needed to be perfect. Denying a guest entrance was the first step to raising suspicion.

"Very well then", spoke Gavriil as he held onto the basket. "The young ones would be delighted to receive a snack. As for the archery range", spoke Gavriil as he turned in the direction of the building. "Well it is more of a personal preference. Here at the Dragons Door Step we like to prepare the young ones for life. Archer is not only useful in the hunt, but also gives the children a way to protect themselves if they run into any trouble. Many of the young ones here come from homes outside of the holy nations boarders. Most of these young ones I brought them here myself. Lycia and Sacae have been dangerous since the appearance of the monsters. Most of the time the poor children's parents had been killed from bandits or monsters and as a result it leaves them with a feeling of helplessness and vulnerability. So when I bring them back here we teach them how to defend themselves and the basics of education."

Gavriil paused for a moment as he determined if it would be safe to tell her. After a moments hesitation he decided it would be alright and the burly man moved back into speaking. "To be truthful madame Archer is not the only hand to hand skill taught here. There is also Sword play, lancemenship, and proper use of axes. Though we would not dare teach these skills to the younger children. You see unlike many other orphanages the Dragons Door Step allows children to stay well into there adulthood. We consider ourselves to be more of a big family than a place you go to grow up. Once they reach fifteen or so they are allowed to study how to fight in proper weapons and many of them go on to serve in the holy army."

"Gavriil began to twist his mustache as he turned toward a building off toward the right. The aged man had decided to give the lady a tour or at least a breakdown of the facility. "Over there is the craft building", spoke Gavriil as he let his mustache untwirl. "There they are taught to work with there hands. Smiting, Leather working, first aid, and magical training." The man then did a complete 180 degree turn and pointed toward another building. "There is the library, which is were we store both books and records, and you passed though the main hall where the children sleep and eat. Far behind that is the store house. That is where we put things that we want out of the way. Mainly all the real swords and precious family trinkets the children come in with. You will be surprise of how many people have ancestral swords. It is far too dangerous to have just lying around so we have it all locked up in there."

"If you like to see any of the buildings yourself I will be happy to show you", spoke Gavriil. The man's face suddenly twitched as he seemed to remember something. "Oh right, I almost forgot", spoke the burly man as he pulled out a set of keys. "I forgot to lock up the basement, he spoke as he began to walk back to the main house.

[Lynessa]

"Wow, you really went that far, Father? That's amazing...and kinda sweet. I would never expect an orphanage in Etruria gathering orphans from outside the border. I am not implying it is bad, just unexpected. Lycia and Sacae...those are quite far place, you know." True to her words, Lynessa looked a bit surprised and amazed by Gavriil's story. Frankly, she never expected there was someone so generous to this extent in Etruria. She was a bit concerned, though, by how the children were taught not only archery but other kind of weaponry. However, she was reassured that those training were limited to older children. There was some good point in their method of raising the youngsters and no one could deny that self-defense was an important skill in this chaotic age so what Gavriil and his orphanage did was justified. "Well, I am a bit worried about how about those kids who are from Sacae. I mean they probably followed...or are still following their gods...not St. Elimine. But I trust you already take care of that issue, Father."

Lynessa questioned why the priest told her that much about this place. Maybe he easily trusted everyone? Some things he had told her was kinda unsettling, though. Lynessa realized that this place was like a training center for future Etruria soldiers. But, she couldn't really say if it was a good or bad thing. "Of course...it would be sad if an orphanage is simply...a place...For those kids who has lost their families and homes, they need to experience and learn about the familial bond here," she remarked, smiling. The blue dragon then followed Gavriil and listened to his through explanation. From what he explained, she realized that this orphanage was bigger and better than what she imagined. So the priest didn't only teach the youngsters martial arts but some other useful skills too. Maybe he designed it so the ones who weren't suited for military life would be able to find another profession.

As they toured the facilities, Lynessa's expression were calm but full of curiosity. There was many differences from an ordinary orphanage, this place was unique. The fact that there were a few "special" items locked in the storehouse surprised her a bit. "I wonder how and where they got those things. They surely wouldn't be cheap." The dragoness could imagine only one possibility: the orphanage had rich donator or another method to gather funds and supplies.

The violet haired woman considered the kind offer, thinking which facilities she would like to visit next. But it seemed she had to wait because Gavriil had to to something else first. When the man headed toward the basement, Lynessa was unsure whether to wait or follow him. She was afraid that the priest might want to go alone to the basement. However, waiting alone seemed uncomfortable and besides, Gavriil hadn't clearly stated that he didn't want to be followed, so Lynessa decided to follow him. Even if he truly preferred to go alone, she believed he would kindly tell her so.

"But I wonder, Father. This place is truly amazing but the cost for running it must not be cheap. Do the government, the Prophet himself, fund this orphanage?" she asked out of curiosity.

[Gavriil]

"Funding", spoke Gavriil as he placed the key into the basement door. He knew there were still a few more people inside of its depths doing some training, but the door unlocked from the inside so he did not worry. He just wanted it locked up to prevent anybody from wondering down stairs or somebody coming back up all willy nilly. The lock door would tell them they had guest and to approach the surface with caution.

"Well", spoke Gavriil as he began to walk away from the door. "We do not have a rick backer or any assistance from the government. This facility does not have any true ties to the church, with the exception of myself of course, and it does not stand on public land. You see this place, The Dragons Door Step, use to be my families estate. Though it had been a long time since anybody had called it a estate. The buildings you see here were all once used by my family and there servants. Most of my family however died a few years back during the war and I became the sole owner of the land. So I transformed it into a unique orphanage using all the facilities it once had to there advantage. As for funding. Well you see the Orphanage is kind of like a family. Everyone here considers each other to be siblings and as a result they see this place as the family home. When the younger children grow up and get into the work place they usually send a portion of there pay back to the orphanage. It is not much, maybe 2 to 5 percent, but once you have a great number of people doing it the coin can add up. So if you had to say that we had a backer it would be ourselves."

"Father Gavriil", spoke a deep voice suddenly from the side. The old man turned around to see a young man that was almost twice his height and as wide. With a axe on his shoulder and a thick breast plate on his chest he screamed Hero without even having to say a word. "Father can I talk to you for a moment", spoke the man with a serious look in his eye. The old man rubbed his chin as he guessed what he wanted.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear", spoke Gavriil as he turned toward the maiden. "This is one of the young men that so kindly donate back to there old home. His name is Bison, and he is one of the brightest that came out of here. Now if you don't mind I need to have a conversation with him. Feel free to look around some more", spoke Gavriil as he walked away with the man. Once the old priest was out of ear shock the door to the basement opened up and a young boy came up with a cut mark on his arm.

"Man I thought they would never leave", he spoke as he pressed his hand against the wound trying to stop the bleeding with pressure. "Now lets where the medical room is", he spoke as he looked at the mini map posted on the wall. Even though he had been here for years the young man still did not know where everything was. Most of the time he spent his days in the basement training or in the archery range. The medical wing was not a major stop for him, he was usually careful, but not today. Today was the day he screwed up and injured himself, and to make it worse they had guest. He knew if Gavriil found out it would be hell to pay.

[Lynessa]

Lynessa giggled when Gavriil mentioned the name. "...The Dragon Door Step...what an amusing coincidence!" she thought. The dragoness quickly stopped her giggling and then retained her calm expression, hoping he wouldn't think she was laughing at him. "But...wow...I would have never expected that all of these belong to him. Well, he would probably deny the claim, though. He might say that now this place belongs to the children..." Lynessa kept the thought to herself but she couldn't help but feel amazed by how someone would be so generous to turn his private estate into a place for poor orphans.

"Ah, so it's like that...It's nice to know those children still remember their home. I guess that show how much this place means to them," Lynessa remarked happily. Her mood was getting better after she heard the bald priest's story. She still wondered why the government didn't the fund the orphanage or why Father Gavriil didn't request funding to the Prophet, Kraft, but the last answer was enough to stop her from openly asking further questions.

"Nice to meet you, Bison." Lynessa politely and gracefully greeted the young man, having to look up because Bison was extremely tall. The dragoness wasn't intimidated by his size and smiled kindly at him. It seemed they, Bison and Gavriil, needed some time alone. There seemed to be something important coming up, something that had been made clear by the big warrior's serious expression. Lynessa assumed it might be something that shouldn't involve an outsider like her. "Alright..." she gave a short reply, nodding to the kind priest, as she watched them leaving.

Lynessa then started leaving but the blue dragon hadn't gone far when a young boy came out from the locked basement. Her eyes widened at the sight of a boy with wounded arm. It was unexpected. The dragon had been told that this place held some training that might injure the children but she had never thought she would encounter a wounded boy so suddenly. Looking worried like a kind mother, Lynessa approached the boy. It was hard to tell how bad the wound was but judging from how he moved it didn't look too dangerous. "Hello...Eer...Are you alright?" she called the boy with concerned tone. "Do you need help?"

[Gavriil]

"So the invasion is not being lead by a noble family or any military personnel, but mercenaries and the son of a pirate", spoke Gavriil with concern. The old priest was troubled by this news. If it was with the standard military then he could easily keep tabs on what they were doing or use his influence to try and change some of there actions. However this was a army of mercenaries. They were honorless and held no true ties to Eturia. That mean they could do what they want and get away with it. Was that the prophets idea. He could send in the dogs of wear and let them terrorize Sacae and just roll over it like a stampede of horses. Gavriil remembered well what happened in Lycia and they were being lead by the inquisition. He shuttered at the thought of what these mercenaries would do.

"I see you are as concerned as I am", spoke Bison as he leaned against the wall. "It is our mission to try and bring the royal family back to Eturia and stop the sins perpetrated by the prophet. We spent some time infiltrating into the inquisition, but with that dog son Oya leading the assault force there is little we can do to control the damage. To think the prophet would place a pirate at the head of a army. Does he know no shame."

Suddenly in the middle of the conversation there was a scream. The sound came from the main hall and immediately grabbed the attention of the two men. Gavriil started to break out in sweet as he remembered there guest was in that direction. Whatever was going on there she was bound to be in the middle of it.

A few moments before

As the young man heard the voice speaking to him he turned and looked upon the lavender hair woman. His eyes grew big as he was sure she was gone. A outside had seen him. Not when he was allowed to play or when he visited the nearby town, but saw him leaving the basement. It was unacceptable. Gavriil would not be happy, his big brothers would not be happy, The Dragons Door Step would not be happy. Immediately the young man drew a dagger from his belt and tossed it at the maiden. His aim was off because of his haste. The blade missed and slammed into a wall not far behind her. The moment it hit a young girl was walking by. The blade barely missed her and unlike him she had not began her deep studies yet. The sight of a dagger flying near her face sent her into a shock as the young maiden let out a scream of terror. Her voice carried through the facility grabbing the attention of everyone in ear shock.

"What is going on here", shouted Gavriil as he rushed back into the room.

[Lynessa]

Lynessa wasn't prepared for this. The dragoness was late to react to the sudden dagger flying at her direction, which thankfully missed. She would have been in a big trouble if the boy's aim had been more accurate. The power behind the throw was good enough but he was a bit hasty. Despite somehow still able to keep her composure, the blue dragon got quite a mental shock from this lethal experience. To protect herself, she unconsciously drew a bit of her power from the dragonstone, which caused her eyes to change slightly into reptilian for a few seconds before gradually returning to normal human eyes.

How could the boy do that? His eyes emitted fear like someone who got caught making grave mistakes. But what exactly had pushed him to do something so dangerous. His dagger could easily end Lynessa's life or even the unlucky young girl. Talking about the girl...she looked fine, maybe surprised but perfectly uninjured. Lynessa took a quick peek at the girl before shifting her gaze to the boy, feeling relieved that the dagger didn't take any victim. "I wonder...Was that directed to me or the girl behind me? Judging from the way he threw it the target was probably me. But why?" she thought.

Words got stuck on her throat as the dragon tried to give proper reaction to this unusual situation. She looked agitated at first but slowly her instinct to defend against this danger awakened and then rose up to her consciousness. Lynessa carefully stepped forward toward assassin boy. It wasn't a battle, it wasn't certain how far this weird situation would develop. However, it was clear that the boy was quite dangerous regardless of his previous sudden attack being intentional or not. Gavriil had mentioned that the children were taught about martial arts and weaponry so maybe this boy was one of those who had been old enough to go through the training. But seriously! Why did he have to throw the dagger at her? "Easy kid...I am not here to harm you..." she said, still observing. Of course this time Lynessa had prepared herself from possible next attack, her arms were spread in protective manner to shield the girl behind her and also to show that she was weaponless. "Please don't make me have to subdue you..." she muttered to herself.

"Father!!" Lynessa seemed relaxed when the bald priest's voice echoed through the room. If anyone could take care of this situation it would be the most respected man in this orphanage. "I-I am not sure how to explain this situation...I were trying to help this wounded boy when he...he suddenly threw dagger at me." After she spoke, Lynessa glanced behind at where the other girl was and then to the dagger on the wall near her.

[Gavriil]

Gavriil was mad, and that was putting it lightly. The mild manner man's face turned red like the devil as his eyes beheld the entire situation. Not only had the fool nearly hit a young girl, but he had also done so in front of guest. He had threaten everything they had built, everything the place stood for. He panicked and instead of giving a minor excuse he attacked. The old man could not even look at the lad. He was ready to explode at any moment. "Bison take him to his room please", spoke Gavriil. At the moment he did not want to touch the lad. Without a word Bison walked over and grabbed the young boy by his shoulder and escorted him off.

"Gavriil", shouted the young girl as she ran up to the burly aged man. The young one was upset. Especially with the part about being nearly stabbed with a dagger. Instinctively she ran to the person she considered to be her father and that was the old priest himself. The burly man was in no mood to play papa, but he knew better than to deny the little girl. He was going to have to put his rage aside for a moment and do his job as the director. "Don't worry about it Brittney", he spoke as he wrapped the young girl in his arms. She began to cry into his chest soaking his robs with both tears and snot.

"I will take care of our guest", spoke another young man as he walked into the room. Before hand the lad was cutting the bushes in the front of the estate, but after the commotion he came to the main hall to investigate. He was originally a bit puzzled, but after observing everything for a moment he pieced it all together. "Are you alright maam", he asked as he walked up to Lynessa. The young man was not sure how much about the facility that Gavriil had shared with her, nor did he know if she saw something she should have. As a result his words were cautious and well chosen. Rather than try to explain the situation he first moved to discover what happened from her point of view. "I am sorry for the unpleasantness, but can you explain to me what happened", he asked as he prepared to follow her words.

[Lynessa]

Lynessa could tell that Gavrill was really angry. He spoke calmly but his expression couldn't lie...he was steaming like a devil. It was understandable. Lynessa had seen that face many times in her life. That was a face of an angry father, she was certain about that. Whether he got angry for the dagger incident or something beyond that wasn't clear though. The ice dragon could only pray the boy wouldn't get punished too hard, although she could understand that the mistake wasn't light and might require more than mere scolding. She refrained from saying something when the boy was taken away, only giving the misguided boy a concerned gaze. It was a right thing to do. She shouldn't get involved too much into the way this orphanage educate the children...These men knew what the best method for the children they raised.

"She is unharmed. The dagger didn't hit her." Lynessa tried to give some good news for the troubled priest. He might want to hear that after what happened even if he could easily see with his own eyes that Britney was alright. There would be trauma but at least she didn't get fatal injuries. After saying that, she finally noticed that another young man had come to the hall. He seemed capable, sort of. At least he didn't look like a panicked kid who would throw a dagger to her.

Lynessa brushed away some hair that fell down to her face and turned toward the youngster. She then looked down as she tried to remember how the incident had unfolded exactly. She was asked to share the experience so she would try to tell him the details. There was a moment when she considered to soften the story to save the boy from hard punishment but she then decided against it. That would make her lie to these gentlemen. "I stayed here after Father Gavrill went with Bison. I was still deciding whether to wait for Father Gavrill or tour the facility alone when the boy came from the basement. He was wounded so I tried to help him..." Lynessa paused for a moment and looked at the dagger which still stayed in the wall. "I can't really understand what happened next. The boy suddenly threw a dagger and it almost hit this girl...Did I frighten him somehow?"

"Wait a minute...I saw you locked the door, Father. But that means...the boy was inside when you did it?" That was just a spontaneous remark without any hint of suspicion in it. Lynessa simply noticed the fact but didn't think too much about it.

[Gavriil]

"I see", spoke the young man as the maiden finished talking. Gavriil was dealing with the little one so he decided it would be best if he stepped in and took care of things. "The boy was probably in the basement when he locked it. The little rascalan was probably playing down there when the Father locked the door. There is not anything dangerous down there, but if you are not careful you can cut yourself on some of the old training equipment that is stored in there, sharp corners and all. From what I can guess he was probably down there looking around till the door was shut. At that point the light vanished and he was forced to move around in the dark. The door is unlock-able from the other side so it made sense for him to open it", spoke the young man. For a moment he paused to see the look in the maiden's eyes. He wanted to know if she believed him or if she thought he was making it up.

"As for his actions", spoke the young man as he rubbed the back of his head and closed his eyes. "Well, Jacken is a bit of a troubled child. When Gavrril, I am sorry, Father Gavrril found him he was all alone in a burned down village. We have no idea what happened, but we do know that everyone was dead. Jacken did not want to talk about it and still does not talk about it, but our best guess would be bandits. Still after seeing all of that death and destruction it can take a toll on a person. So the Father decided it would be best if we taught him how to defend himself. Other children respond well to that. They take away both pride in there skill and a self confidence that they can defend themselves. As you seen today it is not always the best route. I doubt that Jacken will ever touch a blade again", spoke the man as Gavriil walked up to him.

"Thank you for handling the situation", spoke Gavriil as he walked up to the young man. "Yarick can you take Mela back to her room for me. I must talk with our guest."

"Most certainly father", spoke Yarick as he picked the young girl up and carried her off. Today was a long day for her.

"I am sorry about that unpleasantness. Are you alright", asked the priest as he looked at the maiden. His face was still slightly red from anger.

[Lynessa]

Lynessa frowned as she listened to the explanation. "I see... I guess I surprised the boy. However, his action was really extreme...although I can understand that it might come from some kind of emotional trauma." The explanation was quite sensible and Lynessa chose not to pry further. She didn't feel suspicious at all. Maybe she thought this orphanage taught wrong things to the children and their method was questionable but she was convinced that their action, at least, was for the children's well-being. Luckily for the man, the dragoness had no interest to visit the basement even if he hadn't made up an excuse. She seemed a bit unsatisfied with the explanation about the boy's injury but she simply thought that these people should have their reasons for storing sharp objects. The boy's injury might only be an accident.

It was unpleasant for causing the good priest worry. He still looked quite angry too and Lynessa felt a bit responsible for causing such ruckus. Her involvement might not be unintentional but if she hadn't been there the boy wouldn't have done that and everything would have been fine and safe. Sighing, she shook her head and smiled. "I am fine. Thank you for your concern. In fact, I should apologize for making things complicated," she said, trying to respond his concern (she thought he worried about her) as polite as possible. "I am glad nothing bad happened though. It surprised me a bit but I am not injured and the girl too. It won't be easy for her to forget it and it might cause a trauma," she remarked.

"I think it's time for me to leave. I have troubled you too much. Nice to meet you, Father. It was pleasant." Lynessa said her farewell and started heading toward the gate. She then stopped and turned around. "Oh, a little advice if you don't mind...children at his age shouldn't be allowed to learn...unnecessary skills, especially if he has some issues." After the last remark, Lynessa left for real, taking a glance at the orphanage a few times before finally left to her next destination.

[Lynessa exits the topic]