The very next morning, we said our goodbyes to Karen and Rich. "Please do take care", Karen called out as we began to set out. Estelle waved as followed along. "To you both as well !", she called out enthusiastically. "Please take care !!" I heard Yuri sighed beside me. He was probably thinking about how Estelle managed to be so optimistic. Especially in our situation. I couldn't blame him. Eventually, the figure of their caravan disappeared as we walked through the unfamiliar area around us. Like usual, there were monsters, no matter which way we turned. You see, it's all about strategically moving along to avoid them. I wasn't in the mood for fighting. I just wanted to get to Deidon Hold before it got dark again.

"Never guessed I'd leave home quite like this", Yuri was saying. By this time, I was still focusing on the map. He was probably talking to Estelle, maybe Repede. "Are you sorry to be leaving the capital behind, Yuri ?", Estelle asked. Her tone sounded sympathetic. Maybe she missed it as well. After all, that was her home. "When I was in the Lower Quarter, I was too busy living day to day", he answered in reply, "Never really thought about it. I guess I did feel like setting out on an adventure sometimes." I glimpsed over my shoulder to see an excited grin on Estelle's face. "I'm so excited just to be outside", she was happily saying, "I've always dreamed of going out into the world." I grinned, and then turned away, proceeding to look ahead. I guess that was a reasonable answer. "Being excited and all is fine, but don't overdo it", Yuri nonchalantly said to her. "We need to find Flynn right ?" 

Suddenly, the tone in Estelle's voice changed. "I'm excited and worried all at the same time", she mumbled. I paused and waited to see if they noticed that I stopped. There was a grin on Yuri's face. "Heh", he said. "All right."

When I was finally acknowledged by them, something came to mind. There was something I wanted to ask Yuri. "Say..", I mumbled slowly, "You don't happen to used magic when you fight now do you Yuri ?" Yuri averted his gaze and walked past me. "It's not that I don't", I heard him say, "I can't." "Can't ?", Estelle asked. Yuri looked over his shoulder at us with a troublesome expression on his usual stoic face. "That's one talent I don't have", he answered. "I see." "But anyone with Blastia should be able to use magic if they just learn the theory... right ?", Estelle asked me. I nodded my head. "I told you", Yuri sighed, "I don't have the knack for learning magical theory !" "So.. then you're bad at studying ?", Estelle suggested. I snickered at her suggestion. Yuri scowled at me before turning back to Estelle. "That's one way to put it", he told her. I shook my head and walked past him slowly, as if to agitate him. "My", I said sarcastically, "Why am I not surprised ?" Yuri sighed in dismay. "Yeah yeah", he said. "Whatever."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By mid afternoon, I finally managed to locate the gates of Deidon Hold. I sighed in relief as we approached it. Like I had expected, there were travelers. However, there were also knights.

Behind me, Yuri and Estelle, who were still talking about something I didn't catch. About a few hours earlier, they were both talking about how easy it was to take down the monsters and about how large the outside world was from the capital. Another conversation of theirs that I happened to overhear was that Estelle was talking about how the "strong ate the weak" or something like that. She also mentioned making graves for the monsters she killed. Yuri said something along the lines, "we won't eat them", most likely referring to the monsters. Sometime after, Yuri looked at me in disbelief. I shrugged at him, unable to give a valid reply. 

I made sure to move us along cautiously. I was uneasy about moving along so openly. Even if we were far away from the capital now, there was still a small chance that some of the Imperial Knights were here. I just.. wasn't sure. I'm sure that they knew too.

"Do you think those knights followed you here ?", Estelle asked from behind Yuri and I. "I wonder", he replied as we stood from a distance, "Well, let's do our best not to stand out." I glanced around, trying to remember the area. "Okay", Estelle replied, "And I want to catch up with Flynn as soon as I can." My eyes landed on the large, wooden gateway. I'm sure that Yuri was staring at it too. "All right", he said. "Let's see if we can just pass through the Hold." "Easier said then done", I mumbled softly. Yuri began walking forward. I assumed that we were supposed to follow him but Estelle... she went somewhere else. Yuri noticed and turned around. "Where's she off to now ?", he asked me. I shrugged and walked over to her. Yuri did the same, while Repede went elsewhere. For some reason, there was a book in her hand. I stared at her in dismay. She was standing beside a caravan with the owner looking somewhat bothered. Well rather, he looked impatient. By the time Yuri caught up, the owner turned around and said, "Welcome. I've got some nice gear in stock today." The both of us exchanged glances. The owner continued on by saying, "This blade was forged by none other than Assam the blademaster. It even comes equipped with weapon skills." I stared at the blade and studied it's features. "No traveler should be without them. Feel free to give it a try."

Yuri stared at the owner, looking somewhat confused. "Huh ?", he asked, "What do you mean ?" "The special techniques contained in weapons." We all turned to Estelle. I frowned. "These techniques were originally passed down from master to pupil..", she was saying, "..But the blademaster Assam used a special process to seal them within the weapons themselves. Bodhi Blastia can acquire techniques from weapons imbued with this power. With continued use, weapons artes can eventually be learned by the person using the weapon."

When she finished, she amazed the owner of the caravan. I realized I made a mistake. "My, this young lady knows her stuff", the owner said afterwords, "That about sums it up." Estelle looked over her shoulder. "I read in a book that the Kritya gave this knowledge to humans long ago." "Huh", Yuri said. "I thought Bodhi Blastia only let you use strike and magic artes." "In order to find the fighting style that meets your needs..", the owner said, "It's best to think carefully about weapon skills when choosing your weapon." I placed a hand on my neck and waited a bit. "There are even weapons without weapon skills, that focus instead on raw attack power", I added in slowly, "Though it all depends on preference." 

"I can't imagine business is all that greater in a place like this." The owner of the caravan sighed, looking somewhat dejected now. We all turned towards the Hold. "Don't get me wrong", he said, "I'm not here because I want to be. There are monsters on the far side of the Hold, so I'm stuck." "Monsters hmm ?", I mumbled. "Did you hear that ?", Yuri asked Estelle. To my surprise she was still fixated on the book in her hands. "Hmm", she mumbled. Yuri turned to me, causing me to grin. "And.. she's not listening." I chuckled. 

"Huh ?", she asked, finally deciding to turn around. "Did you say something ?" He stared at her in disbelief. "No, nothing really", I responded with a grin. "In fact take your time."

"There seems to be some information that needs to be collected before we can leave."