“Scribe, you’ve done nothing but read. Tell me what you’ve found.” The lady knight rested her hand on the pommel of her sword. Her voice had an audible tenseness to it, the result of her impatience.

“Patience child, proper research harbors fruit of results.” A man wearing cloth clothing repositioned his eyes slightly above the page he was on.

“Nay, I’ve waited long enough! This creature was able to slaughter an entire elven village in the hours!” Her voice was elevated, The other inhabitants of the once quiet sanctuary of the library were looking at her. She quieted her voice noticing the glares. “The destruction could have been much worse the longer we wait.”

“Ah.” He exclaimed putting the finger on the page.

Her stance changed, Her hands let go of her pommel, she slightly leaned on her forward foot, “Explain your findings, scribe.”

“I’ve narrowed my search down to three possible things… Vampires,” He paused as Amalia interrupted him.

“Vampires!? A day of searching and you came up with a silly notion as that?” Her blood was boiling at this scribe’s folly.

“Vampire’s leave no blood nor do they extract Magic from their prey.”

The scribe lifted her hand, signaling her to calm herself. ”Not a vampire in common sense, But as a species. ”There are thousands of species that might consume magic through siphoning.”

“The creature that did this did not drink carefully.”

“I know,” He looked at her, her impatient nature was beginning to bring his head to a pulse. “That’s when I came to the next conclusion, the undead. However, you’ve told me that the bodies weren’t mutilated...I skipped over such idea.” The book he was holding was now handed to Lady Amalia. She looked over the title; It described legends of the past.

“That book, My lady. Describes a race of creatures that lived solely to consume magic.”

She put the book down around her waist level, “Surely you do not believe this creature still exists.”

The scribe clasped his hands together, “I do not, The hero king Azumath was said to have thrown each one into an ever-emptying pit, But...it doesn't hurt to still look at history.” He smiled at her, “Any other information I'd be glad to take.”

“That will be all scribe, Thank you.” She regained her cold demeanor and walked off. The halls of the library were expansive, vast and fully decorated with golds and silvers. The shelves were filled with many books dating to the earliest of the known instances of the kingdom., earning the buildings its nickname of being ‘Great Library.’ The location also being apart of the capital helped.

The marble flooring enhanced the sound of her footsteps echoing them to all corners of the hall. Scribes and visitors here would typically wear shoes made from softer materials as to not disturb those around them being a knight; she had no obligations to follow.

“My lady!” The squire ran to her side, “What is the news? What can we tell the king?” She handed him the book that was in her possession.

“Legends of Azumath?” He looked back up to see that she was still walking ahead. He ran to catch up to her.

“In the book, it describes creatures made of nothing but death and hunger, the Mors Esuriit.”

“That’s ridiculous,” He nearly cracked a smile. “This is a fable made to inspire children to join the order.”

“Silence,” She commanded. “So far, I’m willing to believe anything could have killed all those elves. This urgent matter is open to all suggestions.”

“...What will we tell the king, He would not believe such a tale.”

“We’ll tell what we need to tell him.”

~

“Thanks, Lady!” Tanja, the sister Erwin had spoken of before had taken a deep bite into the cooked animal flesh. The display was highly un-ladylike.

“Thank you, big sis!” Erwin had taken liberties to calling her sister as he spends the most time with her.

“Yes, Thank you. I was never able to hunt this much, so we often relied on of our crops.” Erwin was also enjoying the feast that was held out before him.

Rina was sitting in the furthest seat of the table; she had not gotten any of the food. During the initial hunt, she had already gathered the necessary nutrients. She wasn’t precisely feeding them to make them trust her or anything; it’s merely that she’s getting rid of the carcass. Much like an ant disposing useless material to a carnivorous plant. She’s just maintaining a form of symbiotic relationship with the people.

It didn’t take long for the family of three to finish their food; the two children had gone off to complete their last farm duties such as herding the cattle back to the farm and bringing the clothes in from outside. Rina had just been about to return to the room that was provided to her when Erwin stopped her.

“Listen, Rinae.” He paused for a second; he looked at both sides. “One thing that we have around here is honesty… And I’d like you to know something.”

Rina was looking straight into his eyes, the amount of magic he possessed was far less than that elf girl, but it was still a reasonable level.

“At first I thought you were going to be a burden with your...uh your lack of a helping hand.”

Rina looked at her stump; she had just about forgotten that she even lost it that was until Erwin had reminded her.

“But… Uh” He scratched the back of his head nervously. “ Uh… With the loss of my brother and my sister the kids had it tough.” It seems he was struggling to say what he wanted, Rina’s silence wasn’t making it any easier for him. “Look, what I'm trying to say is ...uh Thank you.”

Rina just looked at him and smiled, Something she learned was typically when humans showed some form of gratitude a simple acknowledgment such as a lip positioning was fine. Of course being the furthest thing from being a human her smile came out more like an awkward mouth stretch.