"Rain."

It was a name, not a weather condition.

"Where are we?"

The young man seemed on edge recently. It had something to do with Lecil continually rejecting his pleas to reinstate Irene as a maid, but that was beside the point. The point was that Rain was having trouble answering because their location was, well, rather obvious.

"This is the training grounds, your highness."

Lecil frowned for two reasons. The first being that she was back to "highness" with Rain. But more primarily, it was the location. It seemed when the Event Finde read "within five miles", it actually meant only two miles, and within the palace boundaries. The stacked logs laid dormant next to a wet track field. A barracks, pavilion, training ground, showers, administrative building, and other essential structures dotted the area close to the palace walls. For how many buildings were present, the whole space was incredibly open and pleasant. The vast distance between the actual Palace and the surrounding walls was plentiful enough for horses to run free.

They didn't run free. The horses were housed inside the stables as any sane person would do with tamed horses. It's located next to the jousting arena and bullpen, only a dozen yards from the fighting pit. One of the gardeners seemed to be working on a pet project over there, but Lecil couldn't make it out. It was odd to see freshly planted orange trees, trimmed hedges, and budding flowerbeds line the edges of the magic dueling ring. That area could get messy.

None of that was what bothered Lecil.

"Is it usually empty?"

There were no shouts of exertion or clashing blades. Only a single passing patrol was present. They saluted manner-of-factly and continued on their way.

"It seems like everyone is on break."

Lecil flapped her arms out before letting them smack back into her sides.

"We only get breaks on Sundays and Holidays. Or if we're on assignment."

"Everyone cannot be on assignment. The expedition is an army concern. This place should be crawling with people. Where's the Event I was promised? The indicator says it is at this exact spot, so why hasn't it triggered yet?"

"Umm... your highness."

"Address me by my name, Rain. You know that your highness stuff irritates me."

Rain squirmed a bit but did as he was asked.

"Princess Lecil. Why are we here?"

"Because my stupid indicator is pointing to this stupid spot and nothing is happening. Unless there is something underneath me?"

She lifted her dress and tapped on the ground twice with her heel. When that didn't rouse a pop-up window, she hopped twice.

"Nope. Solid. Is there an airship up there? I wonder if dragons exist. That would certainly qualify as a Major Event."

Craning her neck and arching her back, Lecil peered into the sky, searching for something that might drop on her and start emanating boss music.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Speak whatever is on your mind. Offending me is improbable."

Rain watched worriedly. He was most definitely afraid of offending. It wasn't his fault that he remained too young to understand the mind of a woman.

"Should we return when everyone is awake?"

Lecil blinked.

Rain blinked.

Lecil nodded.

"Yes, that makes sense."

Her words were understanding. It relieved the tension in Rain's shoulders. Guarding the Princessl all alone, outside, and at night was seriously stressing him out. It wasn't possible to refuse the Princess when she wanted to go on an outing. At least, not if it was within the Palace grounds.

"That makes sense like everything else. I mean, why would there be an event at two in the morning? How silly of me."

Rain's smile was naturally goofy. Hearing the Princess acknowledge his logic made him feel so much better.

"That's fantastic. I'll escort you back, Princess."

"It makes perfect sense."

"Princess Lecil?"

"I rushed here thinking the next Event would occur as soon as I got here, eager to get started. But that is obviously not how events work, and there won't be any infiltrations tonight..."

"In-Infiltrations?"

"...No league of assassins trying to claim my head..."

"Assassins?"

"...It makes 100% sense that the Event would take place during the day, right? Just like how the Event is titled Lies in April when we remain on the coattails of March."

Lecil shouted to the sky, twirling in place like a crazy person. Rain was already copying her, searching for the league of assassins who must have infiltrated the palace boundaries by now.

[Event Finder: Active]

[Nearest Event: Within the immediate vicinity]

[Nearest Event Category: Major]

The little bouncing arrow was spinning like it was lost.

"This is why I need a timeline."

The next question was if she should wait here for the Event to start. It could happen as soon as she left, or it could happen at the very end of the Act. The window of opportunity could remain open for weeks or as little as five minutes. What if staying caused Lecil to miss events that were happening farther away, but the indicator didn't show it?

"Cool it, Rain. There is no attack."

The eyes bugging out of his head indicated that Rain was desperate for it to be a false alarm.

"Are you sure?"

Lecil threw back her head and flopped onto the ground. She plucked blades of grass like a child who didn't get the game baseball.

"Yeah. I'm sure."

Rain's whole body sighed in relief.

"Phew. You know, I was distraught for a moment. I mean, an attack on the Palace? There's no one crazy enough to do that."

Orange light illuminated their stunned faces. The shockwave caused Lecil to somersault backward, her skirt tangling around her head. Rain grew deathly pale watching the dark cloud billow up from the nearby wall. He watched in horror as horses broke out of the stables, red fire flaring off their backs. Debris rained down like shooting stars, crashing into the barracks and setting the world alight. A massive piece of broken stone plummeted towards him and, more importantly, the Princess, who was still trying to separate herself from her skirt.

Lecil sputtered, finally throwing the fabric out of the way only to be cast in flickering shadow.

"Look out!"

A weight lifted her off her feet. She felt the bouncing of each heavy footfall.

*BOOM*

The fragmented wall broke apart upon impact, pelting Rain's back as he did his best to shelter the Princess.

"Rain!"

"Forgive me. I've failed you, Princess."

Lecil wiped her bloody forehead, ignoring the minor scrape. Rain carried her awkwardly, running for the safety of the Palace with all his might.

"Stop. Rain. Stop! Put me down."

"I need to get you to safety. It's my duty."

Lecil squirmed enough to fall from his grip. He staggered, but Lecil righted him. The shards of smoking shrapnel poking out of his armor concerned her.

"Your duty is to protect me, wherever I go. My place is there."

Lecil pointed to the chaos. The broken wall was still smoking, and there was a distinct lack of bodies running around.

"Do you understand? Protect me. That's an order."

With that, Lecil marched back in the direction of the carnage, not bothering to look back. There was no way in hell she was going to fail this quest.

[Major Event: Quench the Flames]

[Main Objective: 1]

[Sub Objective: 3]

[Secret objective: 1]

[Rewards: Variable]

[Consequences: Variable]

Lecil screamed at the world.

"EXPAND THE DAMN MENU!"

The system quivered. Then the expanded information appeared on her HUD.

[Major Event: Quench the Flames - Put out the flames and save your subjects.]

[Main Objective: Save the recruits trapped inside the barracks.]

[Sub-Objective 1: Minimize the damage to the Palace.]

[Sub-Objective 2: Rally the scrambling soldiers.]

[Sub-Objective 3: Find the cause of the damage.]

[Secret Objective: (This information is hidden. You require a boon to view this information.)]

[Rewards: Variable]

[Consequences: Variable]

Lecil cursed the system's vagueness. She swore she would unlock every feature by the end of this. Getting a good grip, Lecil shredded her needlessly long skirt and used the fabric to tie her hair back. Her steps became more steady as she ditched the heeled shoes.

"Time to play a game, asshats."