Avryn fell down to his knees. Many questions were running through his mind. He asked his friends to help him look around for some signs of what happened. They searched in every nook and cranny of the quiet town for something, anything that tells them something.
Tvira’s sharp eye helped her find something incriminating. An insignia left on the floor of a house. She called Avryn in. The rest followed shortly after.
“Hang on,” Leifren’s eyes widened. “That’s Vistella Corp’s insignia.”
“Vistella Corp? What did they do to the people here, I wonder.” Kiria chimes in.
“No people would just up and leave their homes like that, that’s for sure,” Harver crossed his arms.
Avryn was busy with his thoughts. He wondered to himself. Why was he starting to care for the people who saw him as bad luck? He was all of a sudden very emotional concerning the town. It didn’t make sense. A few deep breaths helped him get to a better frame of mind.
“Hmm, do you want to investigate this, Avryn? We’ll help,” Leifren offered.
“Yes,” he immediately answered.
“Don’t worry, we’ll help you get to the bottom of this,” Harver assured him.
“Thanks guys, I mean it,” Avryn nodded.
Their next move was to travel to Baradov by ship. They were to be stationed at the barracks there for their current leave. It was a good travel. Avryn’s mental had gotten better as they left the island.
Baradov was the closest island to Kuldrin, so the trip would be swift. The squads disembarked at Hindelstine port, and then rented a carriage to Vistopolis. The city had a different feel compared to Storia. It boasted more high rise buildings with a futuristic aesthetic. Its streets were busier, and more businesses were present. Magic crystals powering the city were more prevalent.
Leifren and Jenilah welcomed the gang to their home. They disembarked from the carriage and looked around. Vistella Corp’s building stood the tallest amongst the skyscrapers. It bore its insignia with great pride. The Wildermann siblings stood close with each other. The sight of the skyscrapers seemed to frighten Tvira. Avryn looked at Vistella Corp’s building. He was so close to his answer.
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“First off, we need to report to the barracks, me and my sister will take you there,” Leifren pointed to the way.
“So this is the bigger city?” Avryn asked.
“It is indeed,” Jenilah answered.
“Wonder what kinda weapons they sell here?” he followed up.
“All state of the art tech, the usual,” Harver was familiar.
Rinna chimed in,
“I had my weapon commissioned here. From Vistella Corporation, actually.”
They reported to the local barracks and grabbed their bearings for the moment. The barracks officer had them replace their Scribes with the new 2.0 version. It had a new video recording feature that would help for future missions or recreational purposes. Avryn and Harver were immediately having fun with this feature before a commanding officer reprimanded them. They apologized to him and went outside of the barracks.
The two squads reconvened outside. Leifren looked up at the sky, it was getting a little bit late.
“We can book a carriage to our home. It’s on the countryside, near Everwood,”
The dusk welcomed them as they rode to Everwood. The transition from futuristic city to a calming, serene countryside was a welcome sight. The trees were a sight for sore eyes. They were beautiful at this time. A great contrast from the ones in the Lost Lands. Seeing that seemed to calm down Tvira.
The carriage came to a stop and the squads were let off. They came before a great house. This was the Rosenfaust’s residence. Maids and butlers were already assembled outside of the gates. They collectively bowed before them.
“Welcome home, milady, milord,” they said.
“Has father come home yet?” Leifren asked.
“Not yet, milord. He’ll be here by dinner,” the head butler answered.
“We have already prepared the guest rooms,” the head maid bowed.
Leifren nodded,
“Excellent. Thank you, Finrick, Mira.”
They were ushered inside of the house and waited by the hallway. Leifren came up with something to pass the time.
“How about we do a shooting competition?” he eyed Avryn and the other shooters.
He led them onto the shooting range on their courtyard.
“Me and my sister practice here when we’re bored,” he showed it off.
Leifren demonstrated on how to use this machine. He pressed a button and out shot a puck. A quick aim of his rifle, he shot it in midair. The puck shattered to pieces. He looked back at the rest,
“That’s how it works.”
The competition was set, its participants were as followed: Jenilah, Leifren, Avryn, Rinna and Tvira. They were to continue shooting until they miss five shots. Last shooter standing would be declared the winner. The shooters lined up. Leifren was first. The machine shot out the puck. His aim was true as his shot shattered it in midair. The first round was easy except for Tvira, who elected to shoot with her bow. She missed her puck wide. A rare miss at that.
The second to fourth rounds went the same way, this time Tvira was inching closer to her targets, but still missed. The fifth round came, and she finally hit her puck. The arrow was dead center on it. A sigh later, a weight was lifted off of her. She was starting to get her groove back. The contest was starting to ramp up. Misses were starting to be had by the thirtieth round as shooter’s fatigue started to set in. Avryn was in danger of being eliminated. He just had his fourth miss. The next round, his bullet just barely grazed the puck. Although technically a hit, he counted it as a miss as he was the first to be eliminated.
Rinna was the next eliminated. The shootout intesified as it reached round fifty. Tvira had the longest shooting streak, as she went on to shoot forty six straight. Jenilah missed for the fifth time and was out. Now it was between Leifren and Tvira. They both could not afford one more miss.
“Want to up the ante? Let’s shoot ours at the same time,” he asked.
“Go ahead, then,” Tvira smirked.
The next shot would prove pivotal.
