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"An Old Comrade" (L'Renouille) A tender kiss. That lasted for eternity. I now know what true love is. It shall last forever. Burning flames. They took her away from me. Why? "Georg." Humphrey said, distracting him from his thoughts. "We have arrived in L'Renouille." The capital of Highland bustled with energy. Shopkeepers shouted for people to buy their wares. The castle, where the royal family lived, laid at the edge of the city. Along the main street, various stores were nestled, selling every object imaginable. Humphrey stopped in front of the item, then turned to the older man, and said: "Wait here. I'll be right back." Humphrey left Georg in the middle of the main street. Suddenly the dark-haired man realized that a small library was located at the end of the street. Checking to make sure that Humphrey wasn't watching, Georg ducked into the small building. The atmosphere of the library was dark and musty. Shelves overflowed with books crowded on the creaky bookcases. Behind a small desk, the librarian, a elderly man, sat absorbed in a thick novel. Georg cleared his throat. "Sir?" The elderly man almost jumped out of his seat. "Oh, I didn't realize you were here. My name is Dor. How can I help you?" Georg thought for a moment. "Well, do you have any books on Falena?" The librarian scratched his head. "Well let's see here, we just received some new shipments from Falena. I probably shelved them in the back." He ran into the backroom, and then reappeared with a huge stack of books. Georg flipped through them with increasing interest. Among the titles a few attracted Georg's attention: Falena's History: Ages of Glory, Laws and Customs of the Queendom, and Rulers of Falena: Recent Edition. Reaching into his pocket, Georg produced a few pieces of potch. "How much for the book he asked?" he asked. Dor paced across the room, racking his brain for the price. "Well these book are on sale, so I'd say about 500 potch." Georg carefully counted out the correct amount of money, and then handed it to the elderly man. Dor smiled showing decayed yellow teeth, which disgusted the warrior. "Have a nice day." he chirped. Gathering his books, Georg made a hasty exit out of the library. He sat in front of the armor shop on a marble bench carved with fancy designs. With almost fanatic interest, he opened Rulers of Falena: Recent Edition, and searched the index for the name Marguerite. Georg was surprised to discover that a whole chapter was dedicated to her and he turned to page one hundred: Marguerite Falena was the last official queen of Falena. She became queen at the young age of twenty. With the aid of her royal minister, she attempted to turn the dominated femmine culture into a nation, which emphasized both men and women alike. Many resisted this change of society, which had lasted for many generations, which added to the general populace beliefs that the Queendom was changing into a fascism government. Groups, more commonly known as 'rebels' were formed. Restlessly, Georg scanned through the pages, searching for information dealing with the 'incident', which led to Marguerite's downfall. Finally he came to the last page, which read: Due to unfortunate circumstances, the queen died at the age of thirty-three. An invasion of rebels interrupted the execution of the head Royal Guard, Georg Prime. In the resulting chaos, Marguerite was found dead in the castle courtyard, as a result of a blow to the head. The royal minister, Franz, insisted that Georg Prime, who escaped during the invasion, was responsible for her death, but his claim has never been validated. Both Franz and Georg have disappeared since the 'incident' leaving no witnesses to this mysterious crime. As a result, the once mighty queendom has crumbled into squabbling groups of peasants fighting for their very survival against a harsh countryside. Murderer In shock, Georg dropped the leather bound book unto the stone street. He frantically searched for the source of the voice, hoping it wasn't who he thought it was. Who else would I be? Georg started to tremble all over, attempting to block the voice. "This is not happening. This is not happening." he mumbled over and over. Oh but it is, Murderer. No. Murderer! No! MURDERER! NO!!! In a daze, the hardened warrior had collapsed on the ground, struggling to prevent the memories, which had been bottled up for four years, from reappearing. Marguerite Falena laid on the grassy knoll so drenched in blood that it was difficult to determine whether she was still alive. Georg Prime stood over her crying to the heavens, pleading for mercy to bring her back to him. Please stop. I am not a murderer! Liar. Meanwhile, Humphrey stood in line waiting for the shopkeeper to stop chatting with the customer in front of him. He never quite understand why people wanted to talk as though their last breath would be drawn if they stopped. "So have you heard that Prince Ruka has come from the Jowston States?" the shopkeeper said,, as he polished his wire-frame glasses. "Yes, how could you not? The top generals, Krugan and Seed have been in a meeting with him, all day. Princess Jillia is attempting to force a treaty with the Toran Republic, but she hasn't come back yet. I don't think she's going to like the fact that Ruka's up to something." the young customer said, arranging her purchases, so they would not fall out of the straw basket she had brought with her. "You know that Jillia has never agreed with the prince's policies. They're total opposites when it comes to diplomacy." the shopkeeper replied, ignoring Humphrey. Finally, the older man lost his patience so he pushed his way up to the counter. "Excuse me sir. I would like to pay for these items now." he said, giving the shopkeeper a pointed look. Slightly intimidated, the shopkeeper started to ring up Humphrey's purchases immediately. "Sorr-Sorry about the inconvenience sir." he stuttered. "Let's see here: Five packs of Medicine, three packs of Mega-Medicine, six Antidotes, and an Escape Talisman comes to a total of 3100 potch." Wordlessly, the blond-haired man reached in his small leather satchel and pulled out the exact amount of money. The shopkeeper grabbed it from his hand and rang the bill up. "Have a nice day, sir." he said meekly. As suddenly as he came, Humphrey left the item shop into the bright sunlight of late afternoon. Shielding his icy blue eyes from the glare, he intensely searched the crowd for his older friend. However a conversation around the corner grasped his attention. It seemed that someone was in an argument with Highland soldiers. "Your accent is from the Toran Republic isn't it? You must be a spy then! How dare you infiltrate Highland territory!" a bold voice accused. "No! I was on my way to Harmonia! I have nothing to do with foreign affairs, because I collect taxes!" a voice, that Humphrey had not heard in three years, pleaded. Curiously, Humphrey poked his head around the corner to see two Highland soldiers confronting a young auburn haired woman, who carried a long wooden spear, with a steel head. He recognized her as Camille, who had fought beside him in the Toran Liberation War. A soldier stepped closed to her menacingly. "Save your lies for the judge! Now come with us and do not resist!" "I may have something to say about that." Humphrey said, dropping his packages and wielding his khopesh into the face of one of the guards. Camille stood in shock for a minute, and then responded by shoving her spear into the face of the other guard. "Yeah, leave me alone or feel the wrath of my spear, Loki!" The Highlanders considered their options for a minute; it was one thing to harass a young lady, but quite another to bother a seasoned warrior. They started to step back casually, and then finally ran off towards the castle. Camille ran her fingers through her short-cropped hair. "Well that took care of them. So, Humphrey what are you doing all the way out here? I though you were taking care of that Dragon Knight, oh what's his name? Futch! That's it!" she said, facing the older man. "Yes I am, but I had a change of plans. After I take my friend to Gregminister, I will return for him." Humphrey said, revealing no more than he had to. "In fact, he is in the city right now, but I have seemed to lose track of him" Camille's small mouth turned into a frown. "Really? What does he look like?" Humphrey pondered for a brief moment. "Well he has raven-black hair, small icy-blue eyes, a tan complexion, a sturdy figure, wears blue and silver armor and a tan cape, and carries a large sword." The young woman pointed towards a tall figure staggering towards them. "Like that man over there?" The blond-haired man shifted his body to see the man. "Yes, like hi-Oh my God, Georg!" Georg Prime had just collapsed onto the cobbled stone street, his skin a sickening shade of pasty white. In his hands were three leather bound books, but he paid them no attention. Humphrey ran over to assist his friend, with Camille running right behind him. Shaking Georg, the younger man shouted, "Say something Georg! What happened to you?" The raven-haired man turned over, his eyes glazed and rolled back in his head. "Marguerite." he mumbled, then completely fainted. "Damn!" Humphrey muttered. "Camille, do me a favor and take these packages and my sword." "Okay, what for?" the young woman asked. Humphrey handed the packages, that he just purchased, and his khopesh to Camille. She accepted them, but nearly collapsed from the weight of the sword. Then, the younger man hoisted his old friend across his broad shoulders. He ran rapidly to the inn, at the corner of the main street, with Camille struggling to keep up. As he entered the inn, Humphrey realized that the inn was practically deserted with only the innkeeper present. "Can I have a room for three, please?" he said urgently. For a moment, the innkeeper stared at the unusual sight of a man carrying a full-grown man across his shoulders, and a young woman attempting to hold a sword, almost her height. "Okay. It's on the top floor, second on the right." he said, handing Humphrey the key. However, the blond-haired man had his hands full, with trying not to drop Georg. "Camille take the key." he said. "With what? My third arm?" the auburn-haired woman said sarcastically. After Humphrey glared at her, she relented and took the key in her teeth. They trudged up the stairs and Camille opened the door, with the key still in her mouth. The inn room was small but comfortable. Three beds lay across the back wall and a small table stood in front of them. A door led to the bathroom. Two panel doors led to a balcony, overlooking the main street. Humphrey gently laid Georg across one of the beds. After dropping the packages and the khopesh on the table, Camille asked: "What do you think happened to him?" Humphrey shook his head. "I have no idea." Darkness.
Slowly the darkness subsided and Georg could vaguely make out the figures of his friend, Humphrey, and a tall auburn-haired woman standing over him, with concerned looks on their faces. "What happened?" he moaned. "You fainted." Humphrey answered. "What happened?" Thoughts and emotions rushed to Georg's mind, in which no words could be spoken. "I don't remember." he said, with a tone of indifference, to cover up the battle raging inside of him. Humphrey and the woman exchanged glances, and then the woman said, "Well have something to eat. You were out for four hours." Georg noticed the buffet of food spread out on the table. With Humphrey's help, he managed to stand up and take some fish and bread to eat. Before he started to devour his meal, he asked the auburn-haired woman: "Who are you?" She smoothed her red hair and replied: "My name is Camille Valentine, tax collector. And you are?" "Georg Prime." he said, extending his hand. Camille stood hands with Georg and turned to Humphrey. "I have some business that I need to discuss with you." "What business?" the younger man asked curiously. "You owe me 10,000 potch so pay up!" Camille said, with an air of superiority. Humphrey's thick bushy eyebrows shot up. "What?" Camille pulled a long list out of her pocket. "It's right here: Humphrey Mintz-10, 000 potch. If you're trying to get out of it, forget it!" "Do you realize that all debts during the Liberation War were cancelled?" Humphrey asked, almost smiling. The attractive face fell. "What? And I went through all that trouble." she pulled out a quill pen. "Let's see here, scratch off Humphrey. Scratch off Cleo, Pahn, Tai Ho, Lepant, Sheena, he certainly owed a lot, Ronnie, Kirkis, Milich, Pesmerga, thank the gods I didn't have to go after him, and that leaves Gremio, with debts he caused before the war. He can't hide from me forever!" she muttered. She rolled the list up and placed it back into her pocket. "Hey Humphrey, I was wondering about something for a long time. I know you were one of the first members of the Toran Liberation War, so why did you join in the first place?" "……." was Humphrey's only response as he removed the covers from his bed. Georg gave his friend a strange look. "I heard you joined because of the Kalekka inc-" he stopped as Humphrey gave him an intense look that would crush a lesser man. The small room fell into an awkward silence. Then, Georg finally spoke. "By the way, Humphrey I have decided to come to Gregminister with you." "Suit yourself." Humphrey replied, collapsing into his bed. As the room became silence again, Georg decided to rest for the journey ahead. Camille looked at him strangely. "You're going to bed at ten o'clock?" she asked. "Yes, because we're getting up at four in the morning." Georg replied. "What? You must be joking!" Camille said, in disbelief. "I never joke. Now, get some rest." the older man answered, as he turned over and immediately fell asleep. "Be that way." Camille muttered, as she collapsed in her bed. The moon shone into the room, illuminating the residents in a brilliant light. However, another presence lurked outside the window; a presence that some would call evil. It patiently waited until the people were asleep, so it could come without being detected.
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