Robin was a hero.
It was what she had always wanted to be, ever since she was a small child. Her instructor had said that she was too weak, too soft-hearted, that she would never become a true Warrior. He was wrong then, and she had proven it over and over again. She looked behind her as she trudged up the hill toward the small, prosperous town of Ruttan. She allowed herself a momentary flash of pride. Ruttan was her town. Her efforts kept it safe and alive.
Her agent had informed her of what to look for, and true to his word, she had found the Hoblin cave. She didn’t know how they did it, but the Silent Crusade had never been wrong. She had unlimbered her sword and walked into the monster lair, thinking about the day she had met Boniface.
“You want to be a hero, young Warrior?” he had asked her when she was heading out on her first monster hunting expedition. She had been suspicious at first, but he had explained that he was an agent for the Silent Crusade.
“We want what you want,” he had said. “We want to protect human towns and take down the monsters that might overwhelm them. The Silent Crusade works in the shadows, identifying monster threats before anyone else is aware of them. Then we dispatch heroes like you to deal with them.” She had joined them, warily at first, but ever more enthusiastic as monsters piled up and more coins jingled in her pocket.
The Hoblin lair was even easier than she thought it was going to be. In fact, it seemed like many of the Hoblins were missing. It was the first time Boniface had ever given her incorrect information. Then she crested the hill and saw the smoke rising from Ruttan. Her shriek pierced the air as she ran toward her town.
Robin wandered through the ruins, eyes stung by smoke and filled with tears. She tried not to look at the bodies of people she had known.
“Tragic,” the voice came from behind her. She whirled, her sword at the ready. Then she lowered it down as she recognized Boniface.
“What happened to my town?” she sobbed to the agent.
Boniface shrugged. “They stopped paying for Silent Crusade protection, so we stopped providing it. I’m sorry about sending you off to that minor Hoblin nest, but we couldn’t risk losing you in a useless defense of a doomed town. You’re a valuable asset, Robin.”
“You destroyed my town because they wouldn’t give you money?” she growled.
“We didn’t destroy anything!” Boniface snarled. “We’d been aware of this buildup for months. All we did was not provide a service that hadn’t been paid for.”
“You let all these people die over money?” she asked. “You’re worse than the monsters. I should kill you right now.”
Boniface laughed at her. “Kill me? For what? You never bothered to ask where the money came from to pay you for every kill, for your weapon and armor repair, for the network of agents that get you the information to keep this town safe. Well I’ll tell you. It comes from towns like this paying for it! We’re the good guys Robin – but good doesn’t mean nice. We do the dirty work because it’s necessary. We protect lives and we don’t want fame or glory. We do, however, want to be paid. You and I did our job so well that Ruttan forgot what it takes to keep them safe. So they stopped paying.” He looked meaningfully at the wreckage around him. “This is the result.”
Robin felt her rage cooling, quenched with a wave of despair. She stepped back, letting the agent go. He got up and dusted himself off.
“I’m truly sorry this happened, Robin.” He looked at the smoking ruins. “And believe me, I hate losing Ruttan. But as awful as it is, in the long run, this town’s loss will save lives.”
Robin looked up at him. “What happens now?” she asked weakly.
Boniface reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. “This is a map to the town of Delco. There’s a large patch of slimes in the woods near it that need to be dealt with.”
“What If I don’t want to work for you anymore?” she said weakly.
Boniface shrugged. “Then don’t.” He paused a moment. “But you will. Your life’s purpose is to protect lives. That’s all I’m asking you to do.” He dropped the piece of paper on the ground and walked away.
Robin looked down at the paper for a long time. Then with a sigh, she picked up the paper and started marching toward her new home.
Boniface was right. She was a hero.
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