The Other Side/Rise Of The Crow

"Hey, why don't you sit over here! Tell us about what happened to your sister?" Jack asks, as Malnio reluctantly sits on the foot of Jack's bed.

"It was four months ago… Her and I lived at the local tavern, but I managed to hold a job at the church cleaning up during after hours. Aliah was such a good little sister that she managed to pick up a job as a waitress at the tavern. Between the both of us, we were actually starting to save up a lot of gold! But then… " Malnio says, his voice full of pain.

"It's okay! Take your time little man." Jack says.

"We'd been working our butts off and had a little bit of extra money to spare. So I decided to plan a picnic for us and buy her whatever food she wanted! We went to the meadows of Tario, which was always considered a safe haven from beasts, demons, and monsters because it's blessed by Adora… " Malnio says, as his eyes start tearing up.

"It's fine, we aren't going to laugh at you, let it all out." Jack says, trying his best to comfort the scared Scavian boy.

"It wasn't too long until we found out that wasn't true. A pack of goblins attacked us and I couldn't do anything to stop them! My sister and I aren't fighters and that ended up biting us in the butt. Those bastards knocked me unconscious and by the time I woke up Aliah was gone." Malnio says as he tries to wipe his tears away.

"Damn, you've been alone all this time haven't you little man?" Jack asks.

"Yeah basically. Master Almar found out what had happened to me and asked me if I wanted a new job. He told me if I kept working for him that he would find a way to get my sister back, but that was over three months ago. I've tried to tell him numerous times that I know where they might be coming from, but he just ignores me every time and tells me that he'll figure it out." Malnio says.

"I had a feeling that guy wasn't trustworthy from the second I saw him." I say as Jack nods his head in agreement.

"He's definitely your typical selfish rich guy. Crow, what do you think? Should we confront this guy?" Jack asks.

"No! Please don't, I don't want to cause any trouble for you all! I know you have a job to do!" Malnio says, his voice full of fear.

"We don't care about any of that crap! Your sister is still out there hoping that someone will save her, we gotta do something!" Jack says, his voice full of passion.

It's very clear that Jack has a soft spot for this boy because he probably reminds him of himself. However, he can't let his emotions get the best of him here.

"Calm down Jack! You hear the kid is scared out of his boots, we should take a step back and move from there." I say.

"Okay, yeah. I guess you're right." Jack says, as he finally calms down.

"Hey kid, is it okay if I bring my Master in here? She'll probably be able to help you." I say as I kneel down making sure he's comfortable.

"Sure. I don't have an issue with that!" Malnio says.

Jack and I wake up Kira and the others and we all sit at a table in the middle of the bedroom. We explain Malnio's story to Kira.

"That jerk, using your vulnerability so he can have a servant! I oughta knock his head off!" Kira says angrily as she slams her hand on the table.

"We probably shouldn't do that, it's clear he has a lot of influence here." Sachi says as Kira lets out a huge sigh.

"I know. It's probably in our best interest to continue like we don't know anything." Kira says.

"But even still, we have to do something!" Jack says.

"Malnio, do you remember where your sister was kidnapped?" Kira asks.

"Of course, I could never forget it! I've actually been sneaking over there on my days off and while I haven't seen any goblins, I've definitely heard them." Malnio says confidently.

"I see, when is your next day off kiddo?" Kira asks, her voice full of warmth.

"I'm not sure, but I do have to go to the market to get groceries! Maybe in that window of time, I could show you guys where it is?" Malnio asks, his eyes full of eagerness.

"Perfect! Why don't you head to bed kiddo? We'll handle everything else from here. Also, be sure not to be caught by Almar, this is between all of us okay?" Kira asks.

"Yes Ma'am! Thank you so much!" Malnio says, as he bows and leaves the room.

"Wow, he's really got it rough. I can't imagine how anxious he's been for the last four months." Mari says.

"I hope all of you are starting to open your eyes to how cruel Goliath really is. I'd hoped after the Guild Wars had ended that things would get better, but it seems I was wrong. Life here will always bring despair to those who have no power… " Kira says.

"He told me earlier that his parents abandoned both of them because they were born out of wedlock… It makes no sense to punish children just for existing. Those kids deserve so much better." Jack says as it's clear this hits home for him.

"Don't keep your head down Jack. We need to keep our heads in the game if we want to help them. Tomorrow I won't be going joining you guys, I'll be staying in the town and try to gather as much information as possible." Kira says.

"So, you finally want us to spread our wings a bit eh?" I ask.

"That's right! As you guys get stronger and older I won't be able to help you as much. Before all of you know it, you'll be graduating from the academy and making your own decisions. I have to prepare you all as much as I can so you can make it! I'd be doing all of you a disservice if I babied you too much. Take everything I've taught you so far and try to find the source of where the goblins are coming from!" Kira says adamantly.

"Understood!" We all say in unison.

"Okay, I'm heading in for bed. I haven't gotten any real sleep for days, I deserve some rest." Kira says as she yawns and walks out of the room.

You've earned it Kira. Kira's been working really hard since we've been here. No one else really pays attention to it, but I can tell just how much she's grown attached to all of us. When I look at her, I sometimes wonder if this is what it's like to have a mother. Everyone always gets so excited when they find out we're the Chosen Children of Adora. But she's more of our savior rather than someone who looks out for us on a daily basis.

"You guys think we can handle this job on our own?" I ask.

"We'll be fine, those goblins won't stand a chance against us!" Jack says arrogantly.

"Jack, we can't just bully our way to victory anymore. The goblins are such a big threat that they've got the whole country in a panic. Tomorrow we all need to be as careful as we can, Kira won't be around to save us this time and more importantly, we have to keep the kid safe." Sachi says as everyone looks surprised that she talked this much.

"She's right, this is the real deal, Jack. Kira trusts us enough to do this on our own, we have to show her that we're capable." Mari says.

"Trust me, I know. I can't let the kid down, he needs my help!" Jack says passionately.

"That's right, you can't help but relate to him, you guys' situation is very similar." Sachi says.

"Jacob and I lost each other after I died. Now, this kid is in danger of losing his sister. I'm not powerless anymore, I will save her!" Jack says, his eyes filled with determination.

"Hey, Jack?" I ask.

"What's up?" Jack asks.

"How did you die anyways?" I ask as everyone grew really quiet.

"I remember when we first got here I had a hard time remembering but I died on the job." Jack says.

"Really?" Mari asks.

"Yeah, it's quite an ironic way to go, isn't it? Dying while doing my trade, I'm such an idiot! I'd chopped a crapload of trees that day and I had one left on my workload. It seemed pretty daunting not to mention it was getting pretty late, but I wanted to have the next day off because it was Jacob's 12th birthday. I swung and swung at the tree hoping it would fall, but even when it was nearly cut it wouldn't move. So I started packing up my stuff and prepared to go home." Jack says.

"So did you get attacked by a bear or something?" Sachi asks.

"Nah, the tree snapped and fell right on my head. It happened so fast I didn't even see it coming. When I was dying I felt a warm light hugging my body, that must've been Mother Adora saving me." Jack says, his voice full of pain.

"Wow, you didn't even see it coming. You just died… " I say, as Jack lets out a huge sigh.

"If it proved anything to me, it proved that I really didn't cherish my life as much as I thought I did. To be perfectly honest, I didn't even like myself in my past life. My whole life was devoted to making sure that Jacob would have a good life. Maybe dying is what needed to happen for me to start facing my own demons? I don't know, none of this crap makes any sense to me." Jack says as he looks down in despair.

Out of nowhere, we can hear the door fly open.

"Sorry to interrupt! I was actually wondering if you guys would like to play this game with me? It's called Frodian Crashers and it's easy to learn!" Malnio says as he has a giant board in his hands.

"Of course we'll play with you, little man! Show me how it's done!" Jack says as his mood seems to have lightened up again.

"Woah, this is the biggest board game I've ever seen!" Mari says as Malnio lays it on the table.

"I'm letting all of you know that once I've learned it, I will not be defeated." Sachi says, with a psychotic grin on her face.

"Sachi, I don't like that look on your face… " I say, as she keeps grinning in anticipation.

Despite everything he's gone through the kid in Malnio still hasn't died, maybe all of us could learn from him?