6 A bit of history to get ready for the mission

"Now… He, he, he! Now you get ready for your first mission: to retrieve the Shadow Ashwood Recurve."

L turns back, approaches to the desk and sits in the chair behind the desk.

"So, what exactly is this Shadow Ashwood Recurve?" asks Leah.

"It's a weapon. It's a recurve is a type of arc," explains Eva.

"Yes. And this one is very special," says Darius. "It's rumored to be Seigward's favorite weapon."

"He was an elf seeker who fought Osthroth, King of the Orcs, many times during the First Purge," says Lucien, looking to the sisters.

"First Purge?" asks Leah.

L and Darius exchange glances.

"Hm. The First Great War was followed by a period of peace where every magical creature safe. Cities and populations that once were decimated, now they were been rebuilt and everyone was happy. Until strange things began to happen," began L.

"What kind of strange things?" asks Eva curious.

"Mostly disappearances. At first, they were isolated cases, but within a few weeks, large groups of people began to disappear. Hundreds of magical animals also disappeared. They were naked and had been drained of blood."

Hearing this, Leah trembles. She is quite empathic, so it's very easy, and sometimes a trouble, to put herself in that situation. She imagined being one of the relatives of the missing. 'And those poor people... what a terrible ending... what they had to suffer', she thinks to herself, trying not to cry.

"The Seekers investigated what happened. Apparently, they were used to perform dark curses and that kind rituals, because they had the Dark Clan's mark. So, the Seekers, led by Seidward, decided to confront them, but when they arrived to the locations where they were supposed to be, they found the disappeared, but they acted strangely," Darius continues.

"In what way?" asks Eva.

"They were possessed. Until this day, we still don't how. And, before you ask, although the Book of Prixia gathers everything that happens, the book's duty is to preserve the knowledge. So, even I, the Librarian, cannot read anything if the book does not think that we are ready to know it. It's kind of complicate," explains L.

"So, back to the story. We call that fight, the Seekers versus the possessed, the First Purge, because the Seekers tried to purge the wickedness from their bodies, to purify them. Some were saved, and others not. It's rumored that among the weapons, the Shadow Ashwood Recurve was the one who purified everyone that its arrows touched," finishes Darius.

"Okay, we got it. So, where do we find this artifact?" says Eva.

L nods to Darius and the latter walks to a bookshelf where he takes out a book and hands it to Leah. She takes it, looks at it and shows it to her sister with a confused look.

"Isn't this—" starts asking Leah but is interrupted by L.

"No, this is a pocket version of the Book of Prixia issued for Seekers. Instead of telling you what is happening, it will tell you anything you need to know when you find yourself in a dead-end. And this...," says Darius as he approaches to the desk and grabs a tiny object, then shows it to Eva. "This is a Lokedall compass. It will guide you wherever you need to go. Please, take care of this. There are only four in the world, and this is the only one which the Seekers owns."

Then, he places the compass in Eva's hand.

"Lucien will go with you two. He's been a Seeker for a while, so he can teach how the Seekers work," says L.

Eva gets stiff when she heard this, even more when feels Lucien's eyes in her. She looks at him to find that he's not only looking at her, but also smiling wickedly.

"Now that you know what you have to do, get ready to part."

***

At Drakos' family house...

"Okay, first of all, I would like to point out that I do not agree that you have to come with us," says Eva to Lucien.

"Noted," he says, smiling.

"Second, where do we start?"

Leah takes out the book that Darius gave her and, when she opens the book, the pages begin to shine. Magically, words are appearing little by little. When the glow begins to fade, she reads aloud.

"To find the first artifact, you must go to the Unarmed Willow Inn in Dhismiar; but be aware, great dangers await you in the Arena."

"Dhismiar? As in the underground city Dhismiar?" asks Eva.

"It seems so."

Eva sights. She looks to Lucien.

"To go to Dhismiar you need a pass. Luckily, I got one and I also know how to go there," he says.

"Good. Now lead the way, furball," says Eva.

He comes near Eva and whispers, "Be careful, sweet Ev, because if you play with fire, you can get burned."

"Okay guys, there will be plenty of time for you to get all lovey-dovey, but we need to move," says Leah.

"Hey!" yells Eva to her sister.

"Fine. To Dhismiar," says Lucien will grabbing Eva's bag and heading to the door.