"The King has died" is the last sentence written on an ancient tablet found 300 years ago. Six tablets were discovered and translated into the Volcav language, but rumors persisted that there must be seven in total.
The tablets tell the story of a king who was born disabled, paralyzed from his head to his feet. His mother prayed for him to become normal for seventy-eight days and seventy-seven nights, without stopping for a single day.
Miraculously, the King began to walk. The first thing he did was lead an army to conquer the city of Babylon and take over the nation of Prunia. After that accomplishment, his people believed he was a man sent from heaven.
Though this story was generic, the only thing that made this popular was the mystery behind the sixth and seventh tablet.
Why? All of this was told from the first tablet up to the fifth. The sixth tablet held only four words: "The King has died." Nothing else.
Some theorized that he died of old age or natural causes, but others argued that the only way to prove it was for someone to find the seventh tablet.
Loon and Dolphin were two of the men searching for it, though they were far from alone. Thousands of adventurers wanted to see and read the tablets for themselves. Even those who didn't believe the seventh tablet existed knew that finding it could place them in the history books as legends.
***
"Preposterous! These potions cost 4,500 Velvens!" he shouted.
His name was Loon, a rookie adventurer who had come to Eraq to replenish his items.
Although he was born into the lower class, adventuring had given him a little money to spend on clothes.
He wore a loose white shirt with wide, ruffled sleeves beneath a fitted brown leather doublet, secured by dark straps and a broad belt. A deep-blue patterned cloak, held together by an ornate golden clasp, draped over his shoulders with its long tails trailing behind him.
"Stop screaming... We can try the other shops down the road." The man who shushed Loon was Dolphin, his childhood friend.
Dolphin wore a deep-red, fitted Renaissance-style jacket over a loose white shirt, fastened with small decorative clasps down the front. A wide dark leather belt wrapped around his waist, securing the long white shirt beneath it. The outfit was simple but elegant, giving him the appearance of a young nobleman, even though he had lived his whole life as a poor man.
"Fine, but remember this, shopkeeper: no one will buy your potions!" Loon shouted, pointing at the man behind the desk as he stormed out. The man didn't particularly care.
"You didn't have to make a scene."
"I know, but I wanted him to know his place."
Dolphin sighed and laughed it off. It wasn't common for Loon to act out like this, but he was known for his hot temper and boundless energy, and at heart he was kind.
Loon calmed down after a little while, until they saw someone screaming and shoving civilians aside as he ran like a maniac. The man, in disheveled clothes, closed in on the young duo.
He tried to push Dolphin out of the way, but his weak hands couldn't move him, and the man fell to the ground instead. Behind him, several men in knights' armor came charging after him.
"Stop him!"
"Don't let him get away!"
Just as the man scrambled to his feet, Loon blocked his path.
"Get the hell out of my way!" the man shouted, his face twisted with aggression. He tried to brush Loon aside, only to realize that Loon was far too strong to be moved by force.
The man glanced back at the knights, then at Loon. "Please... you've got to help me. I accidentally saw the disgusting secret of the Gargoyle Group," he pleaded.
"The Gargoyle Group?" Loon wondered aloud. "Isn't that the noble group that's supposed to be on the side of the poor?"
Before the man could answer, the knights, three of them, caught up and seized him.
"Spoiene Hatliet! You are under arrest for trespassing in the Justice Building," one knight declared.
"Please, you two, help me!" Spoiene begged.
"Don't even think about it, stranger. Help him, and the Gargoyle Group will become your enemy," the knight warned as he dragged the man away.
"I wonder what he did to anger the strongest group in Eraq..." Dolphin murmured, considering the possibilities.
As Spoiene was dragged by his hair, he fought back and screamed. With one last desperate effort, he shouted, "You're both adventurers, right? The seventh tablet, I ca—"
One of the knights punched him before he could finish.
"Shut up!" the knight shouted, punching him again.
Dolphin's eyes, once filled with confusion, suddenly gleamed with greed. At the mere mention of the seventh tablet, the duo became curious, and so did the civilians around them.
Before the knights could react, Loon darted forward, grabbed Spoiene, and leaped onto a roof.
"Gah?! You...!" One of the knights, clearly frustrated by the stunt, drew his sword, and the other two followed.
"Whoa, calm down," Dolphin said with a smile.
"You... For trying to protect a criminal, I'll kill you!" the knight declared.
"Trying?" Loon laughed. "We will protect this guy! He was about to give us information about the tablets."
"You'd believe a stranger? You could make an enemy of the Gargoyle Group over a lie!" the knight argued.
"Even so, we aren't staying in Eraq long, and..." Dolphin paused, his friendly face turning serious. "We'll do anything for that tablet, anything to be rich and famous."
"You've dug your own grave, greedy adventurers."
The knight lunged at Dolphin, sword raised high, and slashed in a wide arc, but Dolphin dodged it easily. Loon set Spoiene down on the roof and jumped to the ground.
He stretched both arms forward and closed his eyes. Then a sword manifested in his palms. Its handle was made of brown wood, its hilt of iron, and its blade was silver with a hint of green.
"You dare draw your sword against a Gargoyle knight?!" one of them shouted.
"Stop yapping and fight already!" Loon screamed, provoking them. He lunged forward, and the knights readied themselves.