"Sir! Um, Sir!" Joram, the innkeeper's son, shouted, to the silent figure standing by the town well.

The battle-scarred warrior slowly turned around to face the teenage boy. He gave the lad a hardened look, through his icy blue eyes. Humphrey Mintz was infamous for his looks. Each one seemed to strike the very core of the soul, reading it in a mere minute. "Yes?" he asked in his low grated voice.

Joram shuffled his feet, intimated by the older man. "Uh, I just wanted to ask you what we're going to do about the cultists."

Wordlessly, Humphrey reached into his leather satchel to pull out a brown Rune. He handed it to Joram who stared at it with awe. "Wow! This is an Earth Rune isn't it?"

Humphrey nodded. "Yes. Activate the Clay Guardian spell to protect Araya.'

The stolid man turned around to walk out of the village at a slow steady pace. For a moment, Joram stared after Humphrey, and then ran after him again. "Sir! What about Futch?"

Humphrey halted his travel immediately. Again he reached into his satchel, but this time, Humphrey withdrew a small notebook. It was old, with the edges of the paper tattered; however it was still usable. From the notebook, Humphrey removed a small slip of paper and presented it to the teenage boy. "Give this to Futch when he arrives from Rockaxe." Humphrey said, not revealing more than he had to.

Joram read the paper with curiosity. The only words printed on it were:

Futch,

I'm on 'unfinished' business.
Stay here until I return.
Humphrey

Joram mentally groaned. As usual, the reserved man had only written what was necessary and given no hints on where he was traveling. "Sir shouldn't you tell Futch where you're going?" Joram said, turning to face Humphrey.

The silent man had disappeared into the dense forests surrounding Araya, leaving no trace of his existence. Joram scratched his head in bewilderment.

"Now where did he go?"

In fact, Humphrey Mintz was now struggling through the thick under bush of the lush forest. Large branches impeded his path, but were easily chopped off by his huge sword, the khopesh. After traveling in this fashion for about an hour, Humphrey decided to take a short break to catch his breath. He settled under a massive oak to rest his weary limbs. After searching the area for monsters, the massive man glanced over his notebook. Trying to discern his messy scrawl, Humphrey managed to make out the following words:

Georg Prime served in the Grasslands army as an Ebony Knight from the ages of sixteen to twenty-four. He left his position due to a disagreement with the grassland council. Afterwards Georg Prime traveled to the former Scarlet Moon Empire and became one of the 6 Generals. Due to the incident with Kalekka, Georg mysteriously disappeared. The rest of his past is sketchy, but there are rumors that Georg went to the Queendom of Falena and served as a Royal Guard. However he had to leave due to a connection with the queen's assassination. The current whereabouts of Georg Prime is an enigma.

With a sigh, Humphrey slammed the notebook shut. Three years ago, Lepant, president of the Toran Republic, had asked him to find Georg Prime. The reason was that the fragile new country needed extra protection. However, it was nearly an impossible task. Rumors and small town gossip was the only information Humphrey could find. Humphrey shoved the notebook back into his satchel, and then grabbed a branch to hoist himself to a standing position.

The war veteran proceeded on his journey, lost in deep thought. He could not stop thinking about Futch. The Matidan knight and his female companion appeared capable, but Humphrey still had his qualms. Futch was like the son he would never have, so naturally he was very protectively of he lad. He was also one of Humphrey few friends.

Humphrey paused to chop away some bushes in his path. Now that he thought about it, the majority of his friends were dead. Mathiu and Odessa Silverberg had been killed during the Toran Liberation War. Viktor and Flik had disappeared during the final conflict with Emperor Barbarossa. However, knowing those two, they were probably in some far off country, living life to the fullest. Another friend, Georg Prime, had disappeared, leaving no traces of his existence. Finally Joshua, bearer of the Dragon Rune, was training Dragon Knights.

Such a short list. After thirty-five years of life, why haven't I made more friends?

Humphrey reflected on this thought. After all, few cared to associate with him, the taciturn, dour warrior. His quietness, which people mistook for aloofness repelled most potential friends. Not that he minded much. Gradually he realized that security could only come form within and so-called 'friends' were a threat.

"Halt sir!" A voice shouted, interrupting Humphrey's thoughts.

The dour man glanced up to see three Highland guards, impeding his path. Dressed in the traditional blue and gray garb, they posed little threat to a man with strength. The war veteran continued on his journey, but the soliders blocked his path. "Sir, you can't pass into Highland territory!" the guard said persistently.

Highland? I thought I was in Matilda!

Humphrey glanced down at the Gale Rune embedded in his hand. Without hesitation, he invoked it. Running rapidly through the underbrush, Humphrey checked to make sue that there was adequate distance between him and the guards. Unfortunately, in his haste, the bulky man ran straight into a broad tree. Momentarily stunned, Humphrey managed to stand up and continue sprinting. Suddenly, a Highland guard jumped out of a tree, forcing Humphrey to the ground. Sneering, the Highland guard raised his steel sword to deliver a final blow.

Death, where is thy sting?

Then, Humphrey was engulfed by peaceful darkness.

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"Humphrey" and "Futch" are (C) Konami This chapter was posted on April 2, 2000 This author no longer writes for Humphrey