Interlude: Bolden's fall

What makes a person a hero?

For some, it's about defeating evil. For others, it's about saving people.

The motives of why heroes do what they do can be noble or surprisingly selfish.

But in most cases, a hero puts their life on the line for a goal grander than themselves.

Ivonn Sol had a motive and a goal... But he wasn't a hero.

"Listen," spoke the captain to the frightened people reunited around the town square. His expression and voice were calm, but the atmosphere around him and his army was anything but. "We know you are hiding that heretic’s daughter. So bring her here if you want to keep your lives. Don’t test my patience, or we’ll interrogate you one by one until we get some answers."

The townspeople's fear was clear, but nobody said a word. They couldn’t even if they wanted. 

Since last night, the town had been taken, all the guards were imprisoned or killed, the mayor had trapped himself in his tower, and the man’s daughter had vanished into thin air. That’s all the townspeople knew, but the tyrant in front of them wouldn't care about their excuses.

The silence continued, and with it, Sol’s irritation brewed until, suddenly, a rock was thrown at his face, making him bleed.

People gasped, and the nearby soldiers were yelling for the culprit to show themselves.

Sol turned towards the direction the rock came from, and there she was. Barely hidden behind a wall, a small blonde girl took a step forward. An angry frown on her face that lost all intensity with the way she trembled in fear, and the tears pricking on the verge of her eyes.

"Miss Cailin Basthed. Seems you greeted us with your presence, after all." The man smiled in a way that would be charming if Cailin hadn't seen his anger a moment before. “I’m glad.”

"My father..." she mumbled.

"Lord Sigmund Basthed? Dead. Very likely… We'll make sure of that once we topple his nice little tower."

Cailin tried to keep the tears from falling. 

She didn't want to believe the soldier’s words. The fake knight had sworn he would take her back to her father. Had he lied? 

Or was he dead? 

Cailin had done as the fake knight said and went to the tunnels. She waited for him the whole night, but he never came back. That's why, despite her nerves and fear, Cailin explored the underground tunnels, finding other entries/exits around the town. And soon enough, the commotion above ground was too much for her to ignore.  

Her father had been a hero. And she was her daughter.

"Y-you'll leave the people here alone," she said, trying to be strong, because she knew everyone else was scared. That's what the fake knight had done; appearing confident and reliable even though he was as scared as she. “I’ll go with you instead of them.”

"That's sweet of you, Miss Basthed. But I'm afraid they refused to speak before, so their punishment will need to be delivered."

She felt that fire in her chest. That tinge of anger in a sea of dread. Once again, for the second time in her life -the first time being some minutes ago-, she wanted to really hurt someone.

A rock was thrown at Sol again. This time, he reacted in time, unsheathing his sword and striking the rock, pulverizing it.

The dust dirtied his clothes a bit, but beyond that slight annoyance, he was unharmed.

Cailin was shocked. Not so much at the man's quick use of the blade, but the fact that she hadn't thrown that rock with her hands. She had just willed it to move, and it did.

"A magus? Like father, like daughter." Sol looked sincerely happy. "Fine then, your people won't be harmed any further, as you wanted. However," any sliver of hope Cailin had vanished the next moment, as Sol took a scroll from his uniform and gave it to her, "from this point onwards, by royal decree, the town of Bolden will pass into the hands of the army, and all the previous inhabitants will be moved to the capital. Most of you will find a new home in the commoners’ district at Rover's outer circle." That fake, empty smile was back on his face. "So I expect your cooperation. If you want this process to be peaceful, that's it."

Cailin and the townspeople felt more disturbed than ever, but there was little they could do. If it was the king’s order, it was law.

"I especially wish you luck, Miss Basthed. You don’t see many people with magical talents these days. I'm sure Saintess Jeanne will be glad to have a new potential apprentice."

After that strange comment, she was dragged to a carriage along with other kids her age. They were all scared, but at least together, they felt a sense of companionship to face the situation together, as they grabbed each other's hands and hoped the nightmare would finish soon.

The carriage started moving, and Cailin wondered if she would ever see her home and father again.