The Stonehearted Knight

"Are you sure you heard it correctly?" Hestia asked with trepidation in her voice.

Hex noticed that Adgar and Oron also looked grim when he told them about the attacker.

They had agreed to remain close to each other, which is why Hex found and gathered the Knights rather quickly.

He made sure not to include the Squires in case he was worried about something minor.

'But it doesn't seem so minor after all,' he concluded based on the grave expressions of the Knights.

"I am sure. He was loud enough, so I can't be mistaken," Hex said in an affirmative tone. He looked at the Knights who seemed hesitant.

"So, is anyone going to tell me what this is all about?" The demanding note his voice could have upset the Knights, but this time they didn't seem to mind.

As usually was the case, Hestia was the one to explain.

"The Dawnbringers are an old organization, active in many countries. We are not sure what their end goal is, but they are always directly or indirectly involved in catastrophic events."

"Wait, then if they are here, does it mean something is about to happen?" Hex asked with a worried look.

Hestia looked at him with a raised brow. "About to happen? Don't you think that is already happening?"

Hex eyes opened wide in shock. His mind immediately went to the strange manner in which the beasts were acting this time around.

"Do you mean they tampered with our mission and caused the deaths of so many people?" Hex was but a small town teenager.

He thought he knew about the ugly side of humanity. Only now did he start to realize that humans could act even worse.

"I didn't think at first. But if a Dawnbringer is here, I am sure many more are. They have caused the deaths of uncountable humans. Forty humans more or less won't make any difference to them," Hestia said with a shrug.

"But why?" Hex failed to see what killing people would accomplish.

"Like I said, their end goal is unknown. But so far they have been involved in the destruction of villages, towns and cities all around the continent. They seem to worship some entity in whose name they do this."

Hearing about the destruction the Dawnbringers brought with them made Hex blood turn cold. He feared his little town would be destroyed.

No matter how the relation between the town and Hex was, it was still the only home he had.

As an orphan he knew what having no one meant. He didn't wish to lose the only people he had known in his life.

"Then shouldn't we inform others right now? And shouldn't we capture all those people from Northern Hawk?" Hex said with urgency.

"Boy, calm down," Oron said, grabbing his shoulders. "Both things could make things much worse."

Seeing the incomprehension on Hex's face, Adgar stepped beside Oron.

"Let me explain. We don't know who really is involved. In each incident the Dawnbringers had people in many factions. I doubt it will be different this time. People in the town, those visitors, heck even our castle might have members of that group mingled in between."

"Beside," Hestia added, "the northern commander is a trusted ally of the baron. I know Ivran personally. I think we should arrange a meeting in secret."

They all looked at Hex to check if he was okay with it. As the student of the baron he had a say in their decision. Hex knew this. But he found it hard to believe that so many people were agreeable to destruction.

'Why can't we live in peace and just curse each other if we are mad at them? Why can't we just battle, break a few bones and have a drink there after?'

Since Hex could remember his struggles had been gaining a name and a place in this world. He was angry at many, most of all at the baron, but he rarely thought about killing people.

At most, he wanted to punch their face and smash their bones. And after that they would have a drink as equals.

"Okay," he nodded after some thought. He hoped the Northern Hawks would help and be willing to be an ally. "But how do we meet without everyone knowing?"

"The checkpoint," Hestia said. She clearly had already planned how to proceed.

…

"Lord Avery, his body is smashed into a pulp."

Two hooded figures stood in front of the corpse of Hex's attacker. One was on his knees, inspecting the corpse. The other stood behind him.

"I don't care. It seems the Squires of these teams do have some capability. It doesn't matter. They will all be grazed on by the will of the Lord. We just need Blessed. Whether they are from our ranks or theirs. They all are good."

The hooded figure named Avery extended his right hand. There was a black light swirling around it. He suddenly pushed it forward.

A maw made of black light appeared. It jumped into the body, swallowing it whole. Nothing, not even the splattered blood and bones were left.

The figure kneeling beside the corpse smiled wide. "Your Necroswallow is truly a unique skill of the darkness element. It spares us so much time."

"Let's get the other corpses."

…

The checkpoints were placed in connecting points between each mountain in the mountain range.

The first one was just at the entrance of the mountain path. The last was after the second mountain.

The second mountain was around the same line as the canyon where the Heartless had come from. It was seen as the dividing line between the outer and inner region of the mountain range.

On the way to the second mountain Hex's team had taken the high ridge, thus omitting the checkpoint between the first and second mountain.

They decided to split off. Oron and Adgar would take the Squires to that checkpoint. Hestia and Hex would go to the third one.

This was a decision of Hex. His reasoning was that they first needed to ensure that the Northern Hawks also wished to talk to them. If they too split, then it would be obvious that they were looking for them.

The group without the Squires would arrange the secret meeting. This was to avoid letting too many people know about the Dawnbringers.

Hex and Hestia rode their goats to the other side of the mountain. They didn't need to search for the checkpoint. The checkpoint had many bright colored banners wrapped around the trees.

They just followed them and soon saw the checkpoint. It was a small treehouse built in the crown of the largest tree. There were only a few people there.

But Hex's eyes went immediately to the long legged girl at the front of the checkpoint. She seemed to be feeding her horse, whilst looking at the mountain.

He noticed her eyes flinched a bit when she saw them. But she remained calm and cold. She didn't even greet them when they arrived.

But right when Hex was passing her, she shot a punch towards Hex. It was quick and sudden. Hex failed to react in time.

Bam.

The punch hit squarely at his nose.

"You b…!" Hex was angered. Beauty or not, he would kick the shit out of anyone who wanted to have a go at him.

Hestia held him back. Even the people at the checkpoint hurried outside.

"L-lady Althea. Please be aware of your behavior. There is no fighting at the checkpoints." An old man said with a serious tone.

"Sorry," Althea replied with an expression that didn't seem apologetic at all. "I just wanted to see what makes this brat so special that the baron took him as a student."

She took a handkerchief out of her pocket and threw it at Hex. "Clean it up. At least you have a strong face. Most Squires would have lost a few teeth after my punch."

With those words, she mounted her horse and left. Hex was seething in anger.

"Why did you hold me back?" He snarled at Hestia.

She just chuckled and said, "We don't want to break our town's rules, do we? Besides, you got that girl's handkerchief. You know how many boys and men would kill for that? Treasure it."

The look in her eyes made Hex realize something. He took a glance and noticed the red ink. It was a message.

An invitation for a meeting!