“Well,” Bonte began with a sigh. “You see... I have an acquaintance that works in Split Tower. I've heard from them that the Halve went out with a Scout and an Archer earlier today. Turns out, they visited Danuva's Sanctuary and had a chat with a couple of Tiny Laples.”

Kulmonari's eyebrows went up. “You're well informed,” the Changeling commented.

Hanna sighed. “We want to know if we're safe, Kulmonari,” she challenged.

Kulmonari's eyebrows furrowed. “Why would we not be?” They probed.

“What's this about?” The Human inquired with an uncertain tone.

Bonte sighed. “The Halve is looking for someone... who is rumored to have been in touch with Changelings,” he informed the people in the room. “If there's any connection, and if the Halve somehow barges in during a meeting... well, I believe you can imagine what happens next.”

The room was silent for a few seconds.

“I was not informed of this,” Kulmonari muttered, then smoked from the pipe. The Changeling looked at the Tigea and the Human while blowing out a white cloud. “I think you should return home,” they suggested.

The Tigea shrugged and walked towards the door, then left.

The Human waited a little and left soon after.

Once the three were alone, Kulmonari stood up and stored the pipe, then looked at the two. “Can I ask you to tell me what you know?”

Hanna nodded. “As you know, it's not hard to get information around here,” she began, walking around the room.

“Right,” the Changeling agreed with a nod.

“We approach things with caution, so we asked around,” Bonte disclosed, brushing his fake beard.

“We learned about a missing person a few weeks ago when we decided to come,” Hanna continued. “An acquaintance of mine told me about an Ines Roy,” she pointed out, looking into Kulmonari's eyes. “Ring a bell?”

The Changeling squinted at her, then slowly nodded.

Bonte sighed in relief. “We don't know why, but the Halve is looking for her,” he stressed with a shake of his head. “And if your group has any connection, we'd like to know before officially joining you. We don't fancy dying at the hands of that thing, after all.”

“I don't see how the two are related, friends,” Kulmonari chuckled.

Hanna let out an irritated sigh. “Wake the fuck up, Kulmonari,” she spat. “Monarchs have been killed for less. If the Halve wants to incriminate your group along with everyone involved for, let's say, plotting to kill the King, I think we should know if there's any involvement.”

“They lied about the illness,” Bonte recalled. “They could just say this is a group attempting a malicious coup by poisoning the King, or something else.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“Maybe the illness was caused by your group,” Hanna suggested. “Now, I don't want to come across as antagonistic towards your species, but shape-shifters are an easy target to blame in the current situation. I'm simply conveying my concerns.”

“Especially if the Halve has previous interactions with Changelings that weren't amicable,” Bonte speculated with a sigh. “It'd be the Halve's word against ours. And we know how biased the people are, not to mention the Watchers and the Church.”

“Who's to say the Watchers would have the opportunity to get involved?” Hanna contemplated. “The Halve could kill us all and then use the King to explain it away to the masses.”

“They'd see it as the Halve saving the King two times, along with anyone that could have gotten caught in the middle,” Bonte analyzed, crossing his arms. “It's not hard for them to make shit up.”

Kulmonari was silently observing the two.

There was a hint of desperation in their tones. They wanted to be a part of the group, that was obvious to the Changeling. The two wanted a community that shared their way of thinking while also making sure that joining said community wouldn't end up in death.

An understandable and unfortunately very real worry.

If the subject matter was only Royalty, the worst that could happen would be warnings and being under the surveillance of Watchers to prevent an unjustified uprising.

Their criticism included Halves, however. There are no rules, protocols, set procedures, or ways to approach dissent when it comes to Halves. Nobody with a drop self-awareness would protect people who go against Halves, either. Not the Law, not the Church, not the Government, not the Watchers, not even the common criminal.

And that made the desire for change burn hotter. If they criticized the Halve's deceitful approach, it would only be reasonable for them to embrace honesty when seeking change.

And honesty is always good when reassuring people they'd be safe to join a community.

Kulmonari sighed. “Yes, we're connected,” the Changeling admitted with a frown. “But fear not, friends. Ines joined us willingly. You're not in danger.”

Bonte and Hanna frowned.

“What if the Halve finds her? That woman worked at the Royal Palace, did she not?” Hanna considered.

“What if she's sitting next to us during a meeting?” Bonte supposed. “If the Halve gets there with the intention of incriminating Ines with attempting to kill King Gordon, I doubt words would suffice.”

“We need to know where not to go, Kulmonari,” Hanna finalized with a strict tone. “While we support everything going on here, we don't want to die.”

Kulmonari sighed, then produced the pipe and lit it up. After a long drag, the Changeling muttered, “Don't go north.”

The two nodded.

“Also,” Hanna continued in a lighter tone. “I heard a brave few tried to kill that creature,” she chuckled.

Kulmonari relaxed and smiled. “Yes, a few colleagues tried to poison it. Alas, the nikontia I acquired wasn't enough,” the Changeling lamented.

Hanna's eyes widened along with her smile. “So you were involved?” She asked with shiny eyes.

Bonte sighed and shook his head.

“That's right, I-” Kulmonari started.

Hanna moved with lightning speed and cut the Changeling's throat open.

Kulmonari's eyes widened in shock, pain, surprise, and fear. The Changeling grabbed their neck with both hands to try and stop the bleeding.

Unfortunately, the Ork cut arteries, veins, muscles, and windpipe.

“Death to those who betray the Eternals,” Hanna declared, glaring at the Changeling.