In the south tower of the Firorn capital castle, a very important meeting was taking place. This tower was used by the masters of the four guilds of the kingdom's capital, and was used only for holding important meetings, whether to discuss future plans or any problems that arose.
The masters sat at a large round table. Each master sat in a large chair with their guild's logo at the head and a companion standing next to them. Master Rohan Stronghold sat in a silver chair with a logo of boots with a cross on top of his head, the logo of the Freewalker guild. Master Ava Redheart sat in a black chair with a black lion logo above her head, the logo of the Blacklion guild. Master Hendrick Alben sat in a dark blue chair with a blue vortex logo above his head, the logo of the Blue Gate guild. And finally, Master Leonor Vermont sat on a red chair with a blood-stained sword logo above her head. This was the Slayer Guild logo.
Next to Master Rohan was a woman who appeared to be the same age as the Master. She had white hair and green eyes. She wore long, dark green robes and a black book tied to her waist. She was Anna, the sorceress and archaeologist of the Freewalker Guild.
Next to Master Ava was an old man, his back slightly hunched and his skin very wrinkled. He wore long, black robes with his guild logo printed in white on his chest. He was a Vundabar, a mage and alchemist from the Blacklion Guild.
Next to Master Hendrick stood a man slightly younger than the masters present. He wore a typical adventurer's outfit with a blue hood that only covered his shoulders and back. He was Ander, an archaeologist and archer from the Bluegate guild.
Next to Master Leonor stood a woman slightly younger than the rest. She had black hair and blue eyes. She wore a long red hood and a black scarf that covered her face. She was Angel, a mage from the Slayer guild.
"Rohan, I have to tell you that I'm very disappointed that you didn't wait for my return to go investigate the mural with us. You know how much I've been researching these murals; I've dedicated practically my entire life to them!" Anna whispered to Rohan, lightly pinching him on the arm.
"Ouch, sorry, okay? But you know how Cristel is with these things. If I waited one more day, she'd come back and want to go with us," Rohan replied.
"Tch, we certainly can't let that girl near a mural, not again," Anna said, remembering how Cristel destroyed the mural she had found six years ago.
"She's a walking danger," the Master confirmed seriously.
The other Masters were also talking with their companions, although they did so in a more animated and friendly manner. After a few minutes, the doors opened, admitting a tall, burly man wearing silver armor with a sun logo on the chest and a red cape on the back. This man was Albert Godrick, the royal knight of the Kingdom of Firorn. Behind him was a very tall old man. He wore white robes with a brown hood and carried a white cane as a support. This was Merlin, one of the greatest wizards.
Shortly after, a white-haired young woman entered, wearing armor similar to Albert's, except that she wore a somewhat worn and battered blue cape. The Masters couldn't help but turn to look at the young woman, noticing her disheveled state and somewhat dull expression.
'Oh, Vana... How many times have we told you not to join the guard?' Rohan thought, looking sadly at Vana. Four years ago, when Vana turned 12, all the masters offered her a place in their guilds and warned her to stay away from the castle, but she didn't listen at all.
'Poor girl,' Ava thought, seeing Dana's appearance.
"We're sorry for the delay. We had a... slight argument with the Queen. You know how that can be..." Albert apologized, adjusting his belt, and the masters simply nodded in understanding.
"So, what's the purpose of today's meeting?" Leonor asked with a serious attitude.
"Oh, yes, today's meeting isn't being held at my request, but at Master Rohan's request. He claims to have found something important during the goblin-investigation mission," Albert quickly clarified.
"Something important? What could be so important about a group of goblins?" Leonor mocked.
"An ancestral mural, maybe…" Rohan replied, standing up and giving Leonor a mocking look.
"You're lying," Master Hendrick said incredulously.
"Shit, that's why he left the guild the other day!" Ava thought.
"Oh, you think so? Why don't you look for yourself?" the Master said, taking out his guild card and inserting it into a circular device on the large table. "What I'm about to show you are images taken throughout my journey to the ancestral mural. Pay attention, because there's a lot of valuable information in these simple images!"
The master began by showing a photo showing Finn and Darwin in the middle of a destroyed base with several dead monster bodies everywhere.
'Darwin!' Merlin thought in amazement, then showed a pleased smile. 'After all, Finn was the one who could save him...' Merlin thought, remembering how in many of his time regressions, he convinced the queen to send Vana to save Darwin from the clutches of a ferocious minotaur. Of course, he had to trick the queen by saying he wouldn't send Vana to the cave, or she would meet her end there. Then he saw Finn standing proudly next to Darwin.
'I don't understand. What's so valuable about these simple images?' Vana asked, looking at the monster bodies. 'Is it because of the number of monsters?' 'This is something I could easily do,' he thought.
'In the corner, a cell with the bodies of imprisoned female monsters,' Ander replied. 'Goblins don't capture monsters...'
'...nor do they form such elaborate bases. Stakes, deep pits with solid earth spikes, double wood walls reinforced with stones in between,' Vundabar continued.
'Not to mention that they don't team up with their evolutions; they're supposed to despise each other,' Ava said, looking at the ogres, hobgoblins, and goblins everywhere. 'How did they team up?...'
'We know it's these goblins' fault...' Rohan said, changing the photo to show Finn and Darwin standing in front of a goblin nailed to a wooden stick. 'According to what my scouts told me, these goblins call themselves witch goblins and are the bosses of each base.'
'Each base? I thought there was only one,' Albert asked seriously. He didn't like it. The idea of having several ogre, hobgoblin, and goblin bases around the capital.
"That's right. Based on the reports we had, we assumed there would only be one base, but my scouts discovered that wasn't the case," Rohan stated, showing several photos of other bases they had visited that were in the same condition. "They located seven bases in total."
"What's that?" Hendrick asked, seeing traces of fighting that continued into the forest.
"That's how my scouts found the other bases. Apparently, the bases were communicating with each other. My scouts took an ogre hostage and had him take them to the other bases, although they had some complications along the way," Rohan replied, showing the path destroyed by the fighting and then a photo of an ogre lying with several wooden stakes in its body and cuts all over.
Rohan changed his image again and this time was stopped by Angel, who seemed to have realized something.
"Wait… What the heck is in the cage? Is my vision deceiving me?" Angel asked, surprised and somewhat terrified.
The other Masters also focused on the cage, seeing several bodies of female monsters lying around and chained.
"Don't tell me…" Ava stood up from her chair in astonishment, trying to see the image clearly. "Those are female monsters, right? Don't tell me they…" Rohan simply nodded, changing the image, showing a clearer one of the female monsters.
"That's right, my explorers confirmed with their own eyes how the monsters captured and used the female monsters as reproductive methods," Rohan confirmed.
"You certainly have some great explorers," Albert said, looking approvingly at Finn and Darwin.
"That's right, I'm very proud of them. After all, they're barely D-class," the Master said, then switched to the next photo.
In this photo, the Master was asleep, lying on the ground while Darwin and Finn were taking a photo next to him. Darwin was giving the thumbs-up and Finn was making the victory sign. Also, in the dirt above the Master's head was written 'He moans when he wipes his ass.'
Rohan quickly changed the image, showing one of a cave. Clearing his throat, he shook off his embarrassment and said softly, 'I don't moan.'
"Let's get to the important thing, this cave..." Rohan said quickly.
"That cave looks familiar..." Merlin thought, looking at the cave.
Rohan changed the image again, showing a large destroyed base with a bunch of monsters everywhere. Then he switched to another one where he showed a dead minotaur and a mackerel-woman under several rocks.
"And they're only Class D?" Albert thought, astonished.
The other masters were in the same state. It was assumed that for D-class adventurers, hobgoblins were already a great challenge and even a threat at times, but now Rohan was showing them how two D-class adventurers had managed to defeat not only a camp of goblins and hobgoblins, but also ogres (class C), as well as the horse-woman (class B), and a minotaur (class A).
Finally, Rohan showed the most important photos of all: the ancestral mural and the sealed door, leaving the masters amazed and intrigued. Merlin watched this new discovery in amazement, as he had never seen this ancestral mural in any of his regressions.
'After so many times... this world still has secrets that even I haven't been able to discover...' Merlin thought, fascinated.
"At first glance, this seems like any other ancient mural, giving vague and inconclusive clues. However, that's not the case. This mural seems to be somewhat different," Rohan said.
"Different in what way?" Anna asked.
"This mural seems to have an integrated magic," Rohan clarified as he pressed a button on the circular object, and screens appeared in front of each of those present. "This magic seems to put you in an illusion that helps you understand the drawings on the ancient mural, almost as if it were bringing images from the lost past and showing them to you directly."
"Bringing images from the past... a storage magic, perhaps," Merlin analyzed, reading the information and then looking at the door and the strange magical writings on it. "How many days is the ancient mural from here?" I asked.
"7 days, although if we travel by zeppelin we can arrive in just one day," Rohan said confidently.
The Masters looked at each other, considering what course of action to take. Albert looked at the images intrigued. He didn't understand much about magical writings and ancient murals, but he knew they were very important, so much so that they could change the course of the world itself. Continuing to read the information given by Rohan, Albert noticed something strange.
"Master Rohan, you wrote here that the monsters desired something, something that was taken from them… but what is it?" Albert asked.
"Great question, Sir Albert. After arduous research, my explorers noticed that the goblins were protecting these doors and wanted access at all costs. According to the ancient mural, behind these doors lie three intelligent races completely unknown to us, and they are apparently the ancestors of several of the monsters," Rohan explained.
"Ancestors!? But how can that be possible? All monsters are supposed to be creatures born from chaos itself. How can they be related to these three races you say are intelligent?" Hendrick asked.
"I don't know that either, but I can assure you that's what I saw in the ancient mural. I saw how a being corrupted these races and transformed them into the monsters we know today," Rohan said seriously.
"…It's possible that this is true," Merlin spoke. His gaze was fixed on the images of these goblins, but his mind was wandering through memories of the other goblins he had seen before. "Maybe not all goblins were born from chaos as we think, we have to go see the mural in person" said Merlin and then looked at Albert, who nodded back.
"I'll prepare a zeppelin as soon as possible. It should be ready in about two hours," Albert stated, causing all the masters to nod.
"Good, that should do it. Come on, Ander, we have to get everything ready," said Master Hendrick, standing up from his chair.
The other masters followed his example and stood up immediately, not wanting to delay any longer. Vana, who was watching everyone else, didn't want to be left behind alone in the Castle.
"Wait, what about me?" Vana asked, not wanting to be left with the Queen and Princess.
"I'm sorry, Vana, but you can't come with us. You know very well that the knight guards must remain in the castle at all costs," Albert said.
"But I'm not a normal knight, and you know it. Besides, those two D-class knights saw the ancestral mural too!" Vana said, trying to convince Albert not to leave her alone with the Queen and Princess.
"They're a special case. They're explorers, as well as the ones who discovered the ancient mural. I'm sorry, Vana," Albert said, leaving the meeting room.
"Everything will be fine soon, my girl, I promise," Merlin said, passing Vana and placing his hand on her shoulder. "Just wait a little longer." Merlin left the room, leaving Vana alone in the room.
—-
"Wait a little longer?" Vana wondered, looking at herself in the mirror in her room. Her eyes and the tip of her nose were slightly red. "Are you fucking joking?" And what am I supposed to do, wait patiently while everyone goes out to contribute great things to the kingdom while I get fucked in the ass by the queen and the princess!?' Vana threw everything off the vanity desk and then knelt on the floor crying. "What a fucking joke..." Vana said.
Looking up, she saw a large number of pictures on the wall with all kinds of awards from her knight academy. Awards that had once been her greatest pride were now nothing more than a simple piece of paper without any importance to her, one more reminder of the bad decisions she made when she was younger.
"I just want to help too... I want to protect the kingdom and its citizens too," Vana said, crying.
After a few minutes, she stood up, cleaned up everything she'd thrown, and then headed to her bathroom where she took off her clothes, revealing several marks from being tied up and what looked like whiplashes on her back and legs. After showering, she put on a sheer dress and left her room. She walked until she stopped at some enormous white doors. She stood still for a few seconds before sighing and knocking on the princess's door.
'Here we go...' Vana thought.