Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Towering over the corpse of one of her own men was the busty leader of the bandits.

"We really shouldn′t have brought amateurs on this mission", she said looking down on the guy who had babbled something about a "burning savage" or whatever.

"But Boss, it wouldn′t be believable, if there were no actually bandits among us. Isn't it fine that some of the cannon fodder died? It just helps to make this look more believable."

"hmm, you are right. The nobles forming a resistance should also be a good excuse to leave now. The target is dead, I assume?"

"Yes. Except for these guys, we only met minimal opposition. We are still missing two of our people, but they should return soon."

"Good. The captain?"

"We had to kill the nightshift to take over the bridge, but anyone else from the crew was left alone. The airship will be able to keep going without a problem."

"Alright, it should be enough then. Let′s leave."

"What about those two?"

"Leave them. They probably met opposition, if they aren′t back now."

----------------

The blacksmith and the fairy kept checking the rest of the hallway, as they had met the attackers about halfway through most people here had left earlier.

There was no point in silently checking the hallway anymore, so they started actively evacuating the survivors still left. There were only a few cabins left anyway. Fin was just talking to a man in a nightgown when Seth noticed a pale silver shine from one of the last cabins in front. He left the man to Fin and went over. It was not the shine of light. In the middle of the room, above the corpse of a middle-aged man floated a silver-white colored soul

<Loyal Soul (Middle), Crafting Material, Rare

The soul of a truly loyal person. Even in death, it cannot forget its duty>

Wait, this reminded him of-

<Ding! A quest has been triggered!>

< Quest: A last Request

Difficulty: B

You have encountered the tragic scene of someone who failed to protect. Despite the desperate situation he had not given up. Even after death his soul still wishes to fulfill his duty!

Will you help accomplish his duty and finish his task?

Requirement: Save Sarina 0/1, Make sure she reaches Yisivi

Rewards: Loyal Soul (Middle), Intimacy with the Count of Szek'zos, Experience >

<Do you accept the quest?>

Save someone? Before he decided whether to accept or not, he took a good look at the room. It was not different from the other commoner cabins. A bed, a cupboard a small table, and a chair. The corpse lay in the little free space in the middle of the room. He could see a little pale girl's hand sticking out from underneath the man.

Seth lifted the man up and his eyes fell on an unconscious young girl. Blood soaked her simple blue dress her curly blonde hair. The attack that killed the man, had stabbed through the man's back and into her stomach. Her chest barely moved under her shallow ragged breaths.

<Sarina of Szek'zos lv.3

Status: Unconscious, Bleeding

Title: "Little Rina"

Age:7

Class: Noble

Level: 4

Race: Huma

Sex: Female

Health: 245/1000(-5/s)

Mana: 55/90 >

"What′s up with this quest?", Fin asked. She followed Seth after dealing with the sleepy Nightgown-man and came just in time to see the girl on the brink of death.

"I just found her; can you heal her?"

Seth didn′t have a problem with accepting the quest if Fin could heal her. The two agreed with a look and accepted the quest. Like the first time, the soul disappeared and Fin started healing the girl. It took several attempts until the wound stopped bleeding. It was rather deep, as you would expect from a stab wound straight through the body.

Judging by the bleeding-status of the girl, the attack had happened a few minutes ago. They were probably the last people who had been attacked. The girl was still unconscious, so they decided to hurry back to their cabin. The hallway was empty and silent when suddenly the lights turned back on. Had the other groups managed to take back the control?

Back at the VIP section, they passed the makeshift guard that kept watch over the section's entrance and entered their room. Most survivors from other sections had taken refuge in the, now, vacant rooms. Others had friends or acquaintances among the nobles here and stayed with them.

They put the girl on their bed and locked the door.

Soon there was a knock on the door and one of the ship's guards stood before them. The whole passenger section outside had become lively with many people walking in the hallways be of the VIP and noble cabins.

The other adventurer party from their section had managed to scout the staff quarters and alarm the remaining guards of the ship. Apparently, they and the crew were soundly asleep. The B-Ranks reported that they had been put to sleep by a poison fog. They only woke up after the party's priest purified the place.

With this, the evacuation and search of the ship had progressed rapidly. Half the guards came to the VIP and Noble cabins to help protect the passengers. The rest went to search the ship with the crew. They had reactivated the light, after finding the bridge vacated.

It was one of the guards that had knocked on their door to explained the situation to them. He knew from the other people, that it was them who had warned everyone. So, he asked Seth what exactly happened and got a rough narration of Seth′s evening. Since the place was now teeming with guards, there was no more need for them to help.

Seth was not a hero. He felt bad for what happened on the ship, but he was tired and glad that he could simply leave it to someone else. He put away his equipment and wore the simple undergarment of his traveling clothes. The bed was occupied by Sarina, so he plopped down on the sofa and fell asleep.

Fin was a little worried about Seth's state of mind. He had acted weird after leaving the smithy. The little fairy decided that she could not do much for the young man at the moment, but keep an eye on him in the future. For now, she sat down on the bed beside the soundly sleeping girl. Her breathing had calmed down and there were no signs of her previous struggles left.

Watching the girl for a while, Fin also fell asleep. She had used a lot of mana to heal the girl.

Seth slept on the Sofa, Fin, and Sarina on the bed.. Only the small Ivicer was awake and kept watch over them.