A roaring voice filled with panic came from an elder male with a cane who was clutching his shirt as if he was about to have a heart attack. Only a dozen meters ahead of him, Daiko was walking the opposite direction with Coda on his shoulder, and once the elder man spotted the much younger one approach the very lighthouse that he was warning people against, Daiko suddenly spotted the old man cling onto him and push him back.
“N-No! Do not… I beg you…!”
Daiko was, reasonably, confused, but he had to grab the old man and prevent him from falling down in exhaustion. “H-Hey, calm down…!” he warned the apparent tourist - Daiko could tell by his choice in shirt - and helped him to a nearby bench with bushes behind that revealed the shore further ahead. Once sat down, the old man caught his breath and looked at the other tourists at the street turning away after having heard his warning.
“*huff* I… wait, you’re a mage from B-Blue Pegasus, right…?” the old man asked the Fire Mage, to which Daiko nodded in confirmation. “Yes, I am,” he replied quickly and with pride, to which the old man found it necessary to explain what he had experienced.
“T-There’s a monster in the lighthouse, and it’s threatening to kill any who stays there! It almost got me in its claws… and it can phase through walls! It’s a ghost, I tell you! I knew it, all along! Me and my crew should’ve listened to Billy; the founder of the lighthouse… it must be his vengeful spirit!”
“A-A ghost?!” Daiko exclaimed in shock, “Woah, you’re lucky to have escaped unharmed! If there’s a ghost haunting you and your men there- w-wait, what are you guys even doing in a lighthouse?”
“Don’t you… *inhale* Don’t you know? We’re the ones who watch the shores and waters from the lighthouse… or we used to, before the nobles left and we didn’t have anyone of authority to report to…”
“Damn, you guys too? I’m starting to really hate those nobles who just left Hargeon… first pirates, and now a ghost.”
Daiko was sitting down on the bench next to the old man and chatted, getting to know about the guard who used to live in the lighthouse and signal the ships from afar with the giant torch at the top. And Daiko had previously made a deal with ex-pirates who were happy to guard the town’s port for a solid salary, and they would benefit from signals from the lighthouse… and if it came out successful, then perhaps that could draw in more ships, y’know, ships with things to sell etc. Daiko had a brief, faint but understandable idea about business overseas and stuff, so he would gladly help give the lighthouse a purpose again. However, that required getting rid of the haunting ghost…
WC: 498