Hello North.

I’d like to congratulate you on succeeding in freeing your homeland from Arlin’s control. Although I’ve heard that you also liberated it from being a nation entirely.

Now, as to the matter of importance, I have a problem that requires your ever so valuable assistance. Once this issue is dealt with, feel free to continue on your endeavors. Just to get this message to you, I cashed in numerous favors, and I am not one to waste favors.

You are to go to the nation of Neraser, specifically to the port city of Aelwryn. From there, you will meet with Captain Elias Porter and take his vessel The Radiance all the way to Duskarna where we shall rendezvous. I will provide you with details there. I must kindly suggest you only take a handful of allies capable of blending in with an Arlinian crowd.

Of course, I cannot force you to repay your favor. However, there are possibilities attainable in Duskarna that would be invaluable to your ever so noble cause.

I anticipate your most wise decision.

Nicole Garcia Pluma Allena.

The message used an outdated Arlinian cipher, one that Elm was intimately familiar with. He hated every second of translating it. I hated every second of reading it as well.

The main group stood around inside of the castle’s war room, where we went to figure out where to go from there. The first question was the simplest one, but also the one which caused the most debate.

“Don’t go.” plainly stated Cedric. Elina nodded alongside him in agreement.

“I agree. This is a bad idea.” Elina concurred.

I wanted to say yes to them. I hated Nicole more than every person in the room with the exception of Elm. But the message was clear. Nicole wasn’t the type to lie about such things, and if she was calling in a favor, that meant she needed something from me.

“Why would she want me?” I asked the group.

“Because you’re useful. Considering what I know about Pluma, especially Duskarna, it’s intensely cutthroat in politics. Their oligarchy, the… I think it starts with a T.” Cedric took a moment to sift through his memory.

“The Tisch.” Elm interjected, “I know the name, and that they’re extremely defiant of Arlinian leadership, but nothing else.”

“Well, the Tisch are a group of families that run all of Pluma, and they are all a bunch of cutthroats who’d gleefully betray each other for more power.”

I wasn’t well versed in politics, and I could tell I was going to become adrift if I didn’t constantly keep up with the new information.

“Then why don’t they betray each other?”

“Well… I need a metaphor.” Cedric exhaled and grabbed the piece of paper where we’d written down Nicole’s message, flipping it upside down and drawing four boxes with little stick men inside of them with numbers above their heads.

“It’s a dilemma that Uril debated over a lot, so I remember the example by heart. Imagine you have two men who committed a crime in Arlin. Let’s say that they stole money from a noble. They get caught, but the Empire isn’t one hundred percent sure that these men did it. They decide that they need more proof to condemn the men. First, they make sure that the two men can’t talk to each other, and then give both of them the same proposition. They say to the men that they can either testify against the other man or stay silent. If one of them testifies and the other stays silent, the one who testifies gets to go free while the other person serves ten years of penal labor. If both men testify against each other, both of them will receive seven years of penal labor. But if both of them stay silent, and don’t testify, they only get one year of penal labor. Because they have no method to talk with each other, they have no idea what the other man will choose to do. If you were one of those men, what would you think is the best option?”

“To testify and hope the other man stays silent.” I answered succinctly.

“Right. But that applies to the other person as well. And because it does, you’d likely end up both testifying against each other and ending up with seven years. Working in your self interest is the most likely outcome to fail. The best possible option for both would be for neither of the people to testify, but that requires you to trust in a person who has everything to gain by betraying you. This is how Pluma’s oligarchy, and a lot of other political relationships, work. If everyone acts in their self interest, everyone loses. So the members of the Tisch are incentivized to work together, not because they are selfless, but because there is far less risk than if they were to all act selfish.”

I nodded along, happy for the easy metaphor.

“Uril took great pride in political thought. We believe humanity was gifted the ability to be political by the Heavenly Father and Mother, as to create a unified and equal society.”

“We’re getting off topic.” Elm grumbled, flipping the paper back over to the side with Nicole’s message, “Any other viewpoints you want to throw in before the kid decides?”

“I think we should go.” Deborah abruptly chimed in.

“What?”

“Well, I think you should go. This Nicole sounds like a terrible person, but you would be getting close to Arlin. If she’s part of the Tisch thing, and they’re defiant to Arlin, you could use that.” Deborah explained.

I internally groaned at the idea of consistently working with Nicole past this favor. She was sickening to be around, with her ego and blatant greed.

“You haven’t met her.”

“Well I haven’t, and you clearly hate her. However, the fact you came here to deliberate over the question of working with her means she’s probably pretty valuable. Or that you’re a dumbass who puts value in nebulous concepts like favors and promises.” Deborah said dismissively.

She was irritatingly right. Nicole was a valuable person, possibly one of the most valuable people I could access, but also extremely risky.

“There’s a danger in using her. She’s not exactly one to give things for free. The fact that she said this is a temporary mission with potential for more rewards is suspicious.” I held my chin and looked over the message once again, “It’s vague, which also worries me.”

“Let’s not forget the fact that she’s asking for you specifically.” Sera added.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

“That too. If this was something small, she’d not call on me.”

The room took a moment to think and murmur to each other. I leaned back in my chair and tried to remember exactly what Nicole’s face looked like. She looked fairly nice, even without makeup. I wondered what she would look like now, with all of the luxury back in her hands.

“It’s your call.” Sera said, bringing the entire table’s attention back to me.

I stood up from the table and looked at Sera confidently.

“I have a feeling that whatever it is that she needs me for, it’s something big. If it's a small issue that can be dealt with relatively quickly, we can do what she wants and make our way back to Corith. But if she’s offering something beyond just repaying my debt, this mission has to be valuable to her.”

“She could be using this to throw you directly into Arlin’s hands.” Jay said.

“She hates Arlin too much for that. And with what she’s spent just getting this message to me and getting me to Pluma, it would be a waste.”

“Are you completely sure about that?”

“No, but anything is better than sticking around waiting for Arlin to grow its strength and eventually retake Corith at this point.” I remarked.

The statement caused a murmur throughout the room. It was a depressing and honest statement.

“Then, the logical question follows up.” Deborah said, scanning the room, “Who goes with you?”

I sat back down in my chair and rubbed my chin. I wanted support from the people I trusted the most, but there were limits.

Nicole asked for me to only take people who could blend in with an Arlinian crowd. Cedric, Alex, Silva and Elina were immediately off the table. Cedric has the dark skin and white eyes only found in Uril, which were going to stand out in a crowd. Elina, who I still saw value in despite her distaste for me, was in a similar situation due to her tan skin and steel hair. Alex and Silva both had the red hair of Nacilians. It wasn’t entirely unique to Nacilia, but it would make them stand out in a territory in True Arlin.

“Ruby and Mell are my scouting duo. I’d feel a bit lost without them.” I grinned at the two. They bumped shoulders and smiled back.

“Jay, if you think you could help, I’d like to have a person who is used to more close combat with me.”

Jay shrugged, which I took as a yes. I looked over at Elm and locked eyes. He spoke before I could.

“Kid, you’re already at risk bringing yourself.” He quickly shot me down.

“You fit in with an Arlinian crowd.”

“And I’m also at the top of the fucking list when it comes to people Arlin would love to get their hands on.”

I raised up my hand and pointed a finger at him.

“As far as the majority of the Empire knows, you’re dead.” I stated flatly. I thought I could hear Cedric mumble something but ignored it. “You also know a lot more about Arlinian politics than anyone else here.”

“From nearly a decade ago.”

“Better than nothing.”

Elm took a moment to think, and I could see him make out a couple silent profanities before responding.

“Fine. Your call.” Elm grumbled.

I took another look around the room. I trusted these people, especially the ones who had helped me get through the forest of Corith. If I could rely on them for that, this felt minor in comparison.

“Sera. You’re smarter than me.”

“I know.” Sera quickly responded, “And I’m willing to help. You’ll also need to choose who takes over running Corith.”

I pondered on it for a moment, although the choice wasn’t really that hard.

“Silva. I trust her ability to lead.” I looked at the Nacilian and smiled. She had been an obstacle on several occasions, but I knew she was good at what she did, “You can do that, right.”

“Don’t doubt me, Corithian.” Silva scoffed.

“Then that settles it. We can work everything out from there. I’m pretty sure Gwendolyn, wherever she is, could help.”

The meeting adjourned with conversation occurring on the way out. I made my way with the rest of the crew to pack and get ready for our journey to Neraser.

----------------------------------------

It took two days for us to be ready to head off. We grabbed two strigs and a wagon, both of which felt selfish compared to how we had used strigs in the past, but Silva and the rest insisted.

I stared back at the ruins of Freiweld slowly being rebuilt and felt an emptiness inside myself. There was a dark part of me that believed this was probably inevitable. I had believed in my own choices, that I was able to take my life into my own hands and push into a future which was not set out for me by others.

I was standing on the threshold, looking back. There were people lined on each side of the road, waving goodbye to me and wishing me luck. It felt like some sick joke.

“North?” Sera called out to me from her seat on the cart. I turned away from the empty capital with a false smile and jumped onto the cart.

I heard Elina say “Don’t fuck up, Corithian!” from the crowd, although I wasn’t interested in searching for her. We were already moving down the road. I’d said enough goodbyes, as had everyone else.

The wagon was large enough to hold all of us, with Mell at the front driving the strigs. I didn’t feel like walking, and it appeared my sentiment was shared.

The trip would take two and a half weeks, according to Ruby. We had more than enough food and a good number of lins to make our way through Neraser. It was a nation which hated Arlin enough to ignore their request.

Freiweld was finally out of sight. The sounds of cheers disappeared, and we were left with only the sounds of the forest and ourselves.

“Are you still sure about this?” Sera asked.

“No, I’m not. But it’s better than sitting around waiting for things to happen around me.” I said brusquely, “I also want to see Arlin for myself.”

“Kid, trust me. Pluma isn’t Arlin.” Elm interjected.

“Isn’t it literally part of True Arlin?” Ruby asked.

“That’s not what I meant. Their culture is entirely different, and they don’t exactly hold the highest opinion of Central.”

“Then how are they a part of Arlin? They’re not even close on a map.”

“It’s because of the Third Emperor. He made the choice after Arlin’s fifth campaign in Uril. During that war, they… we got cocky. Thought we were unstoppable with the power of magore. Uril turned the tables on us, and used tactics we never expected. Arlin won, but it was a bloody, senseless conflict. Arlin wanted to keep spreading, and the obvious next target was Pluma. They were an important trading hub, and the Third wanted to build a naval force.” Elm explained through gritted teeth.

“Then why didn’t they just make it another territory?” Ruby inquired. I could see the frustration in Elm’s face as he forced himself to not fall back into his old habit of avoiding discussing his past.

“I was getting there. Pluma knew it was next, but it was smart. It had seen what happened during the fifth campaign and understood that Arlin’s military was tired, which we were. So it came forward with a deal. It will join Arlin willingly, but only if it is given the status of a part of True Arlin. Each Plumite citizen would gain the same rights as a citizen of True Arlin, and the country would maintain the majority of its internal affairs. In exchange, it would mostly listen to any demands that came from Central and would build Arlin’s navy for them. The deal was struck, and Arlin has been stuck with the parasite that is Pluma ever since.”

Elm let out a deep exhale and placed his hands behind his head.

“Pluma wasn’t my area of expertise. I only went to the nation when I was traveling by ship. I didn’t have a good reason to stay around there for longer than necessary.”

“Clearly.” Jay scoffed.

“Well, we have a reason now.” I said.

“I’m still very fucking doubtful it’s any good.” Elm grumbled. The rest of the cart nodded in agreement.

I sighed and looked at Mell and the long road in front of us.

“We’ve got more than enough time to argue that.”