Legend: Season Two by Nick Venom (children's books read aloud txt) 📖

Episode One "Striktin"

The group made it to Striktin, a small town on the outskirts of the Edurdale Kingdom and bordering the Astrial Forest, home of the Dragon King. Silver rolled the carriage up to the main gate---a log that was heaved in front of the entrance, blocking off carriages and allowing guards to approach them. People walking on foot were directed to a small hut near the entrance to talk with the guards before heading into the town.

Meanwhile, the carriages were subjected to heavy inspections by Striktin’s few and sparse officers. They were ordered off the carriage for a moment as a guard went into the back, inspecting it for illegal substances. During that time, Ace and the others stood outside of the carriage. Ace, tired by the two months journey, had sat down on a nearby rock. He rested his eyes, laying his hands over them.

“Ugh,” He muttered before letting out a sigh. “I hate that we have to go through that again. Why couldn’t there be cars or trains… at least a bike.”

A female beastkin brushed past him, leaving Striktin. Ace picked up his head, taking his hands off his eyes, staring at the girl. For some reason, his Tracker activated, alerting him to a demon’s presence near him. His Bloodlust also activated, but he held that skill down. 

“Deactivate Bloodlust,” He muttered to himself, deactivating the skill before it took control of him. “What was that?” He asked, glancing around for a demon’s presence. However, he couldn’t see any; Only beastkins, elves, humans, dwarfs, and other races. 

“You okay, Ace?” Catrina asked, standing by his side. “Is something wrong?”

“No, no, no.” He said, standing up from the rock. He then glanced at the beastkin that passed by him, a female cat beastkin with black fur. He wasn’t sure why, but the girl had taken his attention. Catrina noticed this, puffing out her cheeks while looking away from Ace. 

“Oh, I see. That’s your type.” She remarked, clearly jealous.

“No, no, no!” He shouted, attracting a few lingering stares. “I don’t like her, it’s simply… I felt something wrong with her. I’m not sure, but that girl is connected to something dark. But I’m not sure what.”

Catrina squinted at him, not accepting his excuse. “Okay,” She walked away from him. Ace went to grab her arm, but something stopped him. His mind wanted to stop her, but his body froze. It was almost as if his body was telling him that he shouldn’t go after him.

Unfortunately for Ace, the guards finished inspecting and handed the carriage back to them. Silver jumped in the carriage first, handling the reins while Mace and the others got in the back. Catrina jumped in after them, leaving Ace as the last one. 

With one lingering glance at the beastkin girl---who wrapped around a corner by this time---he jumped into his spot on the carriage before it rolled towards the town center. 

Silver drove the carriage to the town center, passing the marketplace, and brought it to a stop in front of the mayor’s office. As soon as he did that, a man burst out of the mayor’s office, rushing to the carriage. The man stopped a few feet from the carriage, bowing his head. Passersby clumped up, surprised at who the mayor was bowing his head too. 

“Apologizes to royal princess Ariana Wolfstein, of the Great Wolfstein Kingdom!” He declared, announcing her arrival. Ariana heard his statement, stepping out of the carriage with Aver’s assistance. 

She stood outside of the carriage, glancing at everybody nearby. “Good morning everybody, I am the first and only princess of the Great Wolfstein Kingdom. I am here to deal with the Dragon King alongside my suitor, Aver Wing, and bodyguard Ace.” She then focused her attention on the mayor. “You may raise.” The mayor nodded, raising his head. 

“My name is Havok Green, Striktin’s mayor. May I say that you are an outstanding beauty, princess.” He said. 

By this time, Ace jumped out of the carriage, watching Ariana’s movements. He witnessed her change from a whiny brat to an elegant princess. He was almost swept away by her; for a moment. 

Ariana glanced at him, raising her eyebrows and curling her lips. She whispered, “See, I’m a princess.” To Ace, who simply chuckled at her expense. She noticed him laughing, turning around to yell something when the stares of everybody startled her. She remembered that she was in front of a crowd, returning to her formal attitude. 

“May I ask you to lead us to the forest?” She asked Havok.

“Do you wish to see our sights before disembarking towards the Dragon King?” He asked, slightly trembling in her presence. 

Ariana opened her mouth, but she noticed the trembling. She then closed her mouth, letting out a small sigh. “Lead us around, Mr. Green.” 

Havok nodded, beckoning for them to follow him to Saint Inn---the inn where they decided to stay at---the brimming marketplace, and, finally, at the adventurers’ guild. Once there, Havok finished the short tour, beckoning them inside the guild. However, Ace didn’t feel like joining them. Instead, he wanted to look around Striktin before joining the others for the slaughter. Besides, the trip was for Aver to prove his strength, not Ace’s. 

Ariana allowed Ace and Teresa to differentiate from the set path, watching as Ace carried his daughter towards the marketplace. Catrina tried to grab Ace’s arm and beg him to take her along, but her maid training restricted her from doing so. She stood idly by Ariana’s side, watching as Ace leave her behind. 

Meanwhile, Mace and Silver departed to search for the Dragon King while Aver led the remainder of the group into the guild. They followed Havok inside, not noticing the female beastkin from earlier watching them. The beastkin then dashed away in the opposite direction, once she was done observing them.

 

TBC…

 

Episode Two "Aresa"

Ace and Teresa headed to Striktin’s marketplace---a collection of pop-up stands and small huts filled to the brim with people. Every square foot of space was occupied by a person, causing slight problems to Ace and his daughter. Fortunately, he was carrying her on his shoulders. 

Sitting on his shoulders, Teresa looked out at the items as they passed her. There were swords, armor, fruits and vegetables, meat hanging from chains, and stuffed animals. Stuffed animals were everywhere, engrossing Teresa with their sights. Stuffed bears, deers, and even foxes lined shelves of pop-up stores. 

Teresa pointed at a particular fox. Ace noticed and nodded, taking her to the store. The pop-up store wasn’t as packed as the nearby stores, allowing them to stroll up to it peacefully. The toy that Teresa pointed at turned out to be a golden nine-tail fox. The inner parts of its ear were white while the outside was golden. It had adorable black paws and a white stomach and face. 

  Ace then turned towards the shopkeeper. “How much for the stuffed fox?” He asked. The shopkeeper---an older man around his sixties---told Ace the price of five bronze coins. Luckily Ace had received funds from Mason to spend on Teresa and himself. It was a parting gift from Mason to ensure Ace could freely enjoy his time traveling to Striktin. 

Historia runs on a different money system than the one that Ace was used to. It used coins made of all kinds of materials (gold, silver, bronze, and so) instead of the United States dollar/coin system. The hierarchy of Historia’s coin system went from bronze coins, copper coins, silver coins, gold coins, and---finally---to platinum coins. One copper coin was worth ten bronze coins. One silver coin was worth a hundred copper coins. One gold coin was worth a thousand silver coins and a platinum coin was worth ten thousand gold coins. 

Ace counted the coins, handing the shopkeeper the five bronze coins and gifting the stuffed fox to Teresa.

Teresa shrieked in glee. “Are you sure I could have it?” She asked, looking up at him with her big eyes shining. 

Ace smiled. “Of course, it’s all yours.” Teresa smiled at him, excited to have the toy. She looked down at the toy, fiddling with it.

“I’ll name you… Aresa.” Teresa whispered, glancing up at Ace.

“Aresa?” questioned Ace.

“It’s our names mixed together. A from Ace and r-e-s-a from Teresa.” She explained.

Ace grinned, patting her head. She smiled at him with a toothy smile. “I like it...I like it!” He declared.

An explosion then went off, as grunts of pain and struggle echoed throughout the marketplace. “What is that?” Ace shouted out loud. He traced the sounds back to a collection of people fighting in the middle of the marketplace. A crowd had formed around them, watching as somebody was killed in front of them. Parents shielded their children's eyes while guards rushed to break up the fighting.

“Burn heaven and unroot hell, because we are the Demon hunters.” One of the victors shouted. A man dressed in a black cloak, that resembled a trenchcoat, declared these words in front of a man tied up on the ground. Two of his buddies stood next to him tied up and left on the floor. The ashes of one of their comrades was swept away in the wind, leaving no traces of the person behind.

Behind the victor stood his three comrades, an elf, a human girl, and a cat beastkin. The leader of the group---the man in the cloak---glanced around before ordering a retreat. The elf grabbed the beastkin girl and whipped her away from the scene before coming back for the human girl. 

Meanwhile, Ace had been watching from afar, trying to keep Teresa away from the crime scene. He didn’t want her to see the fighting up-close, blocking her sight with his hands. “Look away, Teresa. Don’t-” His voice trailed off as Tracker and Bloodlust activated suddenly. He quickly panicked, deactivating both skills as soon as he could. However, it was too late. The man had noticed Ace because of the bloodlust he poured into the air. He tracked Ace, pinpointing him out of the crowd, dashing towards him. He pushed people out of the way, brandishing his chains and launching them at Ace. Ace didn’t dodge the attack, being caught off-guard. 

“Goodbye,” The man muttered, wrapping the chains around Ace and pulling it tightly. The chain broke through his skin, letting his blood run rampant. 

“Teresa, run!” Ace shouted while trying to struggle out of the chains. “Go to the guild and find Ariana and the others! I’ll be fine!”

The elf then appeared by Teresa’s side, brandishing twin daggers. The elf glanced at Ace, who shouted at him to leave Teresa alone, before bringing the daggers to her neck. However, he hesitated to kill him, almost as if he saw Teresa as somebody else he knew. 

Meanwhile, Ace tried to brandish his weapons and fight back to no avail. He couldn’t move from the chains’ hold, only hoping that they wouldn’t harm a hair on Teresa.

Fortunately for Ace, the guild master of Striktin had appeared, addressing the struggle. His skill, Capture, allowed him to grab ahold of the two attackers, holding them in place temporarily. However, the leader freed himself of the skill quickly. The