The Other Side/Rise Of The Crow

"How'd you do on the test?" Jack asks as he looks completely disappointed in his results.

"I got an A+! It actually wasn't that hard when it came down to it." Mari says as she smiles.

"Sachi, what about you?" Jack asks.

"I got an A-." Sachi says.

"Crow, come on! Tell me we're in the same boat!" Jack says, his voice full of desperation.

"Uhh, I got a B man. Prolly could've done better, but I can live with it." I say as Jack hangs his head in sorrow.

"Unbelievable, I'm the only one who didn't pass… " Jack says.

"Oh brother, it's your fault for not asking for help! Hell, even Crow asked for my help and he managed to get a decent grade. Maybe if you'd drop your pride, you might've done okay." Layla says, her eyes full of annoyance.

"You could've asked me Jack. I would've been more than happy to help you out! I don't want you to fail… " Sachi says, as it's clear she was hoping he would ask for help.

"Right, I'll keep that in mind next time." Jack says.

"Yo! I'm back! Did you miss me? Oh, why do I feel like I just walked into something serious?" Kira says as she walks casually into the room.

"It's not that serious, Jack just wanted to be stubborn as usual and not ask for help!" Layla says.

"Jack, learn to be more open to people's help! You'll only be holding yourself back!" Kira says.

"Yes, Master." Jack says, begrudgingly.

"Anyways, I need all four of you to come with me to Hastios District. Master Elyon would like to see you all!" Kira says.

"Do you know what he wants?" I ask.

"Not sure yet, but I have an idea." Kira says.

"Well, we better get going then. Let's see what our older brother wants!" Jack says.

"Hold down the fort while we're gone, Layla!" Kira says as we walk out of the hideout.

"Of course, be careful guys!" Layla says, as she waves.

We're all now in Hastios District and it's pretty dead today, especially considering there's no school today. We walk up to a very large blue Manor in the back of the district which is stocked with many guards surrounding it. Seems our older brother enjoys luxury.

"State your name and your business!" One of the Mardian Guards says, as she has his staff at ready.

"Relax boy, you don't actually plan to use that on a beautiful lady like me do you?" Kira says, as she grabs his chin sensually.

"Uhh… No Ma'am, just doing my job!" The Mardian Guard says nervously.

"Of course you are! But you should learn to loosen up a bit, it's good for your skin!" Kira says, as she examines his skin.

"Yuck, stop harassing the poor guy you hag!" Jack yells.

"Who do you think you're calling a hag?" Kira says angrily.

"There are my little brother and sisters! Mika, let them in, these people are special guests!" Master Elyon says as he walks to the gate and approaches.

"Yes sir!" Mika says as he opens the gate for us.

"I'll be seeing you around Mika!" Kira says as she winks at him.

We walk into the manor and it's massive. It almost reminds me of the mansion I used to live at when I was younger but even it wasn't as large as this place. We walk through numerous rooms in the manor and it has a bit of everything. Kitchens with chefs, areas with butlers awaiting orders, a hot spring in the back, hundreds of rooms, and so much more.

We finally arrive at what looks to be a patio that overlooks the entire capital. We're being served tea and bread by the butlers. Seems being rich isn't that different in this world.

"I can already tell that all of you have grown stronger since that little sparring tournament last month! Keep up the good work." Master Elyon says, as he calmly sips his tea.

"Thank you, sir!" We all say in unison.

"Cut it out, no need to be so formal we're all siblings here!" Master Elyon says.

"So Master, what did you need them for?" Kira asks.

"Wow, cutting to the chase, are we? I can see why my mother entrusted them to you, you're almost like a second mother to them!" Master Elyon says as he smiles.

"I've been doing my best to uphold Mother Adora's will, sir!" Kira says.

"That's good, make sure it stays that way. Anyways, I'm sure all of you know about the ongoing goblin threat. After all, they attacked all of you during class." Master Elyon says.

"Yes, we've actually been trying to get to the bottom of that ourselves!" Jack says.

"We know that goblins didn't attack us randomly, someone had to have planned it." Mari says.

"You're all very sharp! That's right, based on the investigation we did that was the conclusion we came to. However, the problem is that this issue far extends out of our capital of Vortiyas! There have been countless goblin attacks happening for the last couple of weeks or so!" Master Elyon says as he puts his teacup down.

"Really? It's gotten that bad?" I ask as Elyon nods his head.

"I'm afraid so my little brother! Usually, this would be an issue we could resolve easily, but unfortunately, all of the best guilds are preparing for the Colossi attacks that will inevitably come. That don't have the time or resources to deal with such a small scale issue in comparison." Master Elyon says.

"So that's where they come in right?" Kira asks.

"Correct, normally we wouldn't send our students on such an important job this early, but we have no choice. Our land is in turmoil right now and we could use any help we could get." Master Elyon says.

"Okay then, what's the job?" Kira asks.

"Right, you all will be heading to a major trading town a little ways away from the capital. The goblin attacks have been messing up the economy in all three of our major trading towns. So we need you all to go down there and get to the bottom of it. Do whatever it takes to stop them and find out who is controlling them." Master Elyon says.

"I see, which trading town?" Kira asks.

"Tario!" Master Elyon replies.

"I know it, it'll be about a three-day trip to get there, so that means it'll take us about a week to get this job done." Kira says confidently.

"That sounds about right! Also, I wouldn't worry about missing school. Until this threat is taken care of, we've decided to shut down the academy! We're actually sending a bunch of parties out to help with this. So my siblings, are you all okay with this?" Master Elyon asks.

"Well?" Kira asks as we all look at each other.

"I say we do it! Those goblins are only gonna become a bigger headache if we let this continue! We'll show'em not to mess with us again!" I say confidently.

"I'm going, I wanted some more field work anyways, this will be perfect for me." Sachi says.

"If all of you are going then count me in too!" Mari says cheerily.

"Hehe, I'll finally be able to put my new axe to work!" Jack says, with a cocky grin on his face.

"Okay then, it's settled. We'll take your job Master Elyon!" Kira says as he hands her a scroll with a stamp on it.

"Good, I look forward to hearing you succeed!" Master Elyon says.

"Thank you sir!" We all say in unison.

We all head back to the hideout.

"Wow! You're all leaving me then!" Layla says.

"Aww, are you going to miss us?" Jack asks.

"Not you!" Layla says, as everyone laughs.

"Don't worry Layla, I've assigned you a job with Feno's party. I know your pretty close to him, it's pretty much the same as ours. Plus it'll get all of us a little change in our pockets." Kira says.

"Thank you, I won't disappoint you." Layla says.

"I know you won't." Kira says as she starts chugging down on her drink.

Our first real job this early on in the semester. Mother Adora, please keep all of us safe will ya?