1 Chapter 1:Tranquil Day

It was a tranquil day in the city of Creedwood. The sun was high in the sky, and no clouds were in sight. A woman, holding the hand of her child, had just walked out of the door of a medic's office, from which she had a medical prescription and some medicines, needed to tend to the child. The doctor watched them with a smile on his face, as they left his office. Not long after, however, another man arrived at the doorstep of the enterprise, and upon seeing him, the doctor's eyes widened greatly.

He was a tall and strong-looking man, with neck-length fiery vermillion hair, and attentive eyes of the very same color, whose face was also decorated by a short, crimson beard. He was dressed in a burgundy red shirt, black pants and brown boots, under a large, black robe, which emphasized his prominence. Furthermore, he carried a black walking stick, with a golden hilt ending in a raven's head. The medic immediately recognized him, and bowed respectfully.

"Ah, greetings, Lord Crowley!" he greeted him. The man smiled and bowed back. "Greetings to you, doctor." he replied "How are things going?"

"Well, just fine, I would say." the medic answered, turning his gaze towards the patients who were walking away. A smile bloomed on his face, as well as Crowley's.

"'Tis always nice to see people coming out of this place healthy and smiling." he commented.

"Ah, all of this is possible largely thanks to your workshop's help." the doctor replied "You're the one producing a consistent part of our medicines, after all." The red-haired man let out a chuckle upon hearing that comment.

"We merely produce means to solve problems." he replied "I can only be happy to contribute to the wellbeing of this city, as well as that of Albion. However, the first merit of smiles like those is yours, first and foremost."

"I thank you, sir." the doctor replied, before asking a question of his own "Tell me, how is your workshop going?"

"It is quite prosperous, thank you." Crowley replied "We are always ready to accommodate anyone who will request our services."

"And what about your sons?" the medic asked, once more.

"They tend to their business, too." the man joyfully answered "One is currently working under the Guild, while the other is patrolling the city, as we speak."

"I understand." the doctor nodded, with a bright smile, before respectfully bowing, once again "I do not intend to take any more time from you, Lord Crowley."

"Not a problem!" he retorted "I should be the one to apologize. Surely, there are many more people waiting to meet you. Good day, then."

"Good day to you, sir!" the medic waved off, before heading back in his office. Then, the robust man resumed his walk.

It was not the first time the medic had dealings with Derrick Crowley. He, as an alchemist, had provided him with stocks of various kinds of medicine, as per request, so that they could be used to tend to the patients visiting the office, needing to be healed and cured for the most various reasons. Although, the alchemist's ability was certainly not limited to the mere production of substances. He was also a skilled and versed mage, who had not rarely worked alongside the people of the Albionian Guild, to fight multifarious threats. A devoted citizen of Albion, ready to serve his land in any way he could.

And his two sons, nurtured and educated with utmost care, were nothing to scoff at, either. The man smiled at the thought of the two young men, thinking that he could not be any prouder of them than he was, as he walked along the spacious main avenues of the city. As he went on his way, the alchemist met more people who never failed to recognize him, and greeted him.

"Mr. Crowley!" a woman exclaimed. She was the owner of a shop selling fireworks and similar effects on that very road "Many thanks for your help!"

"It has been a pleasure, madam!" the man replied, before looking at the shop she handled "I'm glad to see that your enterprise is prospering."

"That is thanks to you, as well, sir!" the woman insisted "Have a good day!" "A good day to you!" Derrick replied, before resuming his walk.

"Every time, I'm bewildered to see how joy is a ray of light for those who see it from the outside as much as for those who feel it in their heart..." he couldn't help but think "Only those who are willing to struggle for the good of others, even in adverse circumstances, are entitled to fully grasp such bliss..." As he passed in front of the city hall, his meditations were interrupted by the encounter with a man dressed in a light armor, shining from the rays of the afternoon sun, and decorated with blue drapes, on which the Albionian emblem was drawn: a shield bearing the image of a sun surrounding by sea waves, representing the prosperity of the country through the waters and the sea.

"Good afternoon, Lord Crowley." he greeted "Long live the king."

"Long live the king, constable." the mage replied.

"Patrolling Creedwood, are you?" the constable asked, to which the man nodded.

"I guess one could say so. Today the workshop is not too busy, so I believed it best to make sure that what comes out of it proves itself useful to our clients."

"And you can affirm to be satisfied of what you have seen up to now?" "Of course, constable." Derrick replied, with a smile.

"Your dedication to the wellbeing of this city and its souls is worthy of praise, Lord Crowley. It is not surprising that you are held in high esteem by our king, Richard III." At the constable's compliment, Derrick shook his head, his smile still on his face.

"I merely do what is required of me, as a mage and as a citizen."

"Of course, the same is to be said about your sons." the constable continued on "They perform excellently in their service to the community, and demonstrate to have impressive talent and determination. Their sight inspires hope in the hearts of our citizens."

"Your words fill me with pride, constable." the alchemist retorted, smiling ever so brightly. His eyes were shining in hearing the constable speaking of his children in such a manner. Then, a question arose in his mind "Speaking of which, do you happen to have news of my brother, by any chance?"

"Thomas Crowley is still exploring the lands of the far East, the isle of Hiten in particular." the constable swiftly replied "His last communication arrived two days ago. It appears he is in the south of the island, studying local culture. However, you are always at the forefront of his thoughts."

"Many thanks, constable." Derrick said "He is at the forefront of our own, as well. I will hand a reply for him as soon as possible." He then bowed respectfully, before resuming his walk "Good day."

"Good day to you, Lord Crowley." the constable waved off. As he walked the road again, the alchemist rose his gaze to the sky.

"I had to pay my price in sweat and tears so that all of this was possible for me and my sons..." he thought, as a veil of tears fell on his eyes, peering in the blue "Oh, Maria... If only you were still with us... I hope you can see us, from up there..."

...

The streets of the city of Creedwood were teeming and thrilling with life. Every craftsman and dealer was busy making his or her activity prosper, while wayfarers passed in front of them, sometimes meeting one another, other times stopping by and buying some merchandise. The sweet sound of people walking and talking, the breath of any good city, could be heard in every corner of the streets. Under those the water, symbol of life and vehicle of the prosperity of the city, flowed, perpetually shifting between the Thetis river and the city, built around and upon it, through a compact network of ducts.

Among this pleasurable coming and going two young men were walking, dressed in a white and blue uniform, complete with brown boots. One of them had short, raven-black hair, and sapphire blue eyes, and carried a black walking stick, with a golden hilt bearing a small head of a falcon, while the other had short brown hair and hazelnut-colored eyes, and carried a sword, held in a scabbard latched onto his hip.

"'Tis always nice to see the city prospering as it should." the first stated, with a smile of genuine contentment.

"I couldn't agree more, Jonathan." his partner replied, before asking "What news regarding the water network?"

"No need to fret, Cedric." Jonathan replied, as the end of his stick tapped onto the stone street pavement "According to the information given by my underlings, the water network is optimally operational." He then rose his gaze to the skies "We owe a lot to the wisdom of Sir Hagar Byron, who had envisioned in his mind such a work..."

"Not to mention the builders of the city, some of which were chosen by the Sir himself when he lived..." Cedric added "They are the ones who brought this project to life. And even modern engineers contribute, keeping the system up to date with the latest filtering technologies, to keep our waters as clean as possible."

"I couldn't have said it any better, Cedric." his colleague retorted, not without satisfaction. It was then that the two were stopped by the bombastic sound of the voice of a man, intent of calling clients towards his enterprise.

"Freshly baked warm bread, everyone! Freshly baked warm bread!"

Jonathan's smile widened as he turned towards the baker. So, his colleague decided to make a suggestion.

"What say you? Shall we grab a bite?"

"Why not!" the young man replied. And so, the two of them walked towards the bakery, of which the proprietor's face brightened at their sight."

"Ah, gentlemen! Commissioners!" he joyously exclaimed "What a joy to see you in my shop! What would you like to buy?"

"Hello, Mr. Baker." Jonathan replied, for both "Well yes, we would like to have a small loaf each, thank you."

"Right away, gentlemen!" The baker took a pair of small loafs and, after wrapping each one of them in a napkin, handed them to the two young men "Here you are, freshly baked and warm!"

"Many thanks, Mr. Baker." Cedric replied, as both of them took the loafs in their hands "How much do we owe you?"

"It's 6 silver sterlings overall." the baker replied. The two brought out of their pouches each his half of the price, and handed the money to the man, who took them.

"Thanks a bunch." he said "Things are really peaceful here, lately, eh?" he then commented.

"Indeed." Cedric replied, as he and his partner began to rip pieces of their still smoking loafs and then, after blowing on them a little, began putting them in their mouths.

"We won't take any more of your time, Mr. Baker." Jonathan said "Best of luck with your enterprise."

"Oh, it's nothing, sir!" the baker replied "Thank you, and good luck to you!" With that, the two commissioners left the bakery.

"Truth be told, this part of the city is very peaceful, as of late." Cedric remarked, echoing the baker's words. Jonathan nodded in agreement, while looking around and seeing only smiles and life around him.

But even, and perhaps especially, where there was abundance of life, the seeds of strife and suffering were ever present and ready to sprout, and both the commissioners were well aware of it. They walked along the street, surrounded by the peaceful flow of life.

"Say, Jonathan..." Cedric asked "Your brother is working with the Guild at the moment, right?"

"Yes, that's right." his colleague replied, with a nod "His hunter friend is with him."

"Ah, the butcher's son." the brown-haired commissioner commented "This explains why I didn't find him at the shop."

"Why, has he been there in recent times?" Jonathan couldn't refrain from commenting, to which his colleague laughed.

"Actually..." he retorted "He seems to be devoted to the Guild more than to his father's enterprise... He is a dear friend of your brother, if I'm not mistaken..."

"You're not." his partner replied.

"And what of your father, the alchemist?" Cedric asked once more.

"His workshop is quite tranquil today..." his partner replied again. The two commissioners reached the end of the road.

"Ok, what will you do now, Jonathan?" Cedric asked.

"I'll continue my patrol, I'll reconnoiter the river." the colleague replied "What about you, Cedric?"

"I think I'll go the other way." the commissioner answered "There's a certain area that I must still check..." At those words, Jonathan let out a giggle.

"I imagine a woman you care for is in that area..." he commented, to which Cedric brought a hand to his hair, smiling sheepishly.

"Actually, it is so..." he replied. Jonathan sighed, amused.

"You could have made a stop to the florist's, since you were there..." he suggested.

"Didn't think about it, hehe..." Cedric replied, still flustered, then he made an effort to gather most of his wits "Either way, see you."

"Best of luck with Sherry!" Jonathan wished, to which his colleague slightly blushed, hearing the name of the woman he was infatuated with, then he smiled at him and nodded, before going on his way.

With that, the raven-haired commissioner began flanking the Thetis river, flowing in the midst of the city. As he walked along the bridges overhanging the benevolent stream, Jonathan kept eating pieces of his loaf, at least until his eyes fell on on a woman and a child, almost certainly hers. Both were dressed in rags, crouched and laid onto the wall of a building. Their eyes were hollow, and their heads low, as they waited for the only thing that could help them survive: the mercy and kindness of the luckier ones. Their despair moved the young man to compassion, and so, after looking around and making sure that there was no pair of indiscreet eyes close by, he decided to take out a golden coin and hide it in the napkin wrapping what was left of his loaf, before walking closer to them. As soon as the woman saw him, she pounced on him, grabbing his leg, while her eyes were beginning to get wet with tears.

"Sir...! Please...!" she implored, with a weak, feeble voice "Help us...! We're hungry...!" Jonathan needed to hear no further. He crouched, getting closer to her, and gave her what was left of his loaf, still wrapped in the napkin.

"Look in the paper." he suggested. On the face of the beggar woman a smile had already bloomed once the food was in her hands, but her face brightened even more in discovering that a golden coin was hidden in the napkin. "Use it wisely, for yourself, but especially for your son." The woman nodded.

"Thank you, thank you..." she said, before running to her son, still crouched against the wall, and showing him the commissioner's gift. Upon seeing it, the eyes of the child were kindled with joy, as well. Jonathan could only smile at the hope his gift had brought to the two beggars, who were quick to scurry away.

"...Commissioner Crowley."

The young man turned towards the one who had called him: a city constable, dressed in his light armor and in his blue drapes, visibly bearing the Albionian heraldry.

"Are you sure you have been prudent, in your charity?" the constable asked, to which Jonathan sighed.

"I can't just stay put and do nothing in seeing someone suffering, constable." he replied "Those poor souls, for whom survival is, due to capricious circumstances, an arduous goal, deserve to be helped by us, who were favored by good fortune. If we didn't what kind of citizens, but most of all, of men, would we be?" The constable smiled at the declarations of the young commissioner, who added "Not to mention, criminals and lords of fear count on the despair of such people. They derive their sustainment from them."

"Undoubtedly." the constable replied, with a nod.

"Speaking of which..." Jonathan asked "Do you know if some evildoer dared to scour these streets close to the river, searching for preys or potential followers?"

"As of late no criminal had the gall to disturb the peace of these roads, or search in them means for his vile ends." he answered "However, the City Guard will always be alert. Should a threat present itself, you commissioners will be informed in time, and the same will be for the men and women of the Guild." Then, a small smile could be seen on the constable's face as he concluded "Who knows, maybe you and your brother will work together again, some time..." Jonathan chuckled at the comment.

"Perhaps." he retorted, before waving off the guard and resuming his walk "Long live the king."

"Long live the king." the constable waved off as well. With that, the young man resumed his patrol of the roads next to the Thetis river.