RAY VAN CAMARO

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My unit was shipped off while I was talking to King Arthureus.

I didn’t get a chance to see my unit. Or say goodbye.

As a way to keep me busy, King Arthureus dumped a ton of work on me.

Doria resided in the Iron Keep as a way for the king to keep her close. We rarely saw each other. She’d try to talk to me on the rare occasions we pass one another but I ignored her.

She’s safer if she doesn’t know. Besides, she’s smart enough to know what’s going on.

What I couldn’t wrap my head around was that Scar was fighting for a just cause all this time. I never would’ve believed it. But if Scar only killed people involved with this giant conspiracy, then that meant Jaime’s parents were…

“Stop daydreaming,” Greed ordered. “Focus.”

I was instructed to write a letter to Pops and Czeslaw, but they didn’t give me a chance to sneak in a message. Greed sat by my side and had me write the words he was saying. He watched me carefully, making sure I didn’t hide anything cryptic in the letters.

Is the Royal Guard in on it as well? Or were they just blindly following King Arthureus because of their vows? It’s hard to tell, but I can’t rely on people who dedicated their lives to the king.

“By the way,” Greed said, handing me a letter. “It’s for you.”

I read it aloud. “Hi, Ray. I heard you’re in the city. Are Ilias, Mistress Trisha, and Jaime still missing? Can we please meet up for dinner? I want to know what’s happening. Please. Sincerely yours, Heloise.”

I crumpled up the letter and threw it in the bin.

“Why’d you do that?” Greed asked.

“There’s no point. You’re not going to allow me.”

“I was told to make you attend that dinner. I already confirmed it with Silver. You’re good friends with her and it would be suspicious if you didn't bother to tell her anything about Gilead. You will attend this dinner and give her context. But we will have spies watching you to ensure you don’t slip anything to her.” Greed took out an envelope from his pocket and handed it to me. “This is the story you’ll tell her. Don’t deviate from it.”

I took the envelope from him and began memorizing the story.

“Also, Doria will be attending with you. It’ll be suspicious if you’re alone. You need to keep up appearances.”

The story we were given was simple. We were still looking for where everyone was and, out of the missing people Heloise was close to, only Doria was found. We were not to say anything about our findings. And if asked about my unit, I would say they volunteered to go to remote places to help with the search.

The dinner was at this restaurant called The Pewtor Pot. Greed escorted us personally and sat at a nearby table pretending to be a traveller. From my count, at least seven spies were accounted for in the restaurant. The place was pretty empty too. Someone with good ears could pick up a whisper.

Heloise arrived not long after us, right at the time she set up.

“This is the first time you’re early. Hello, Lieutenant.” She took her seat and glanced around. “Where are the others?”

“They went to remote places to help look for the remaining villagers.”

“I assume there are still no signs of Ilias, Mistress Trisha, and Jaime?”

I shook my head. “Unfortunately not.”

“This whole situation has really turned sour, I suppose.” She turned to Doria and held her hand. “How are you feeling?”

“Me?” Doria asked.

“I saw your name in the list of people who were missing. I can’t imagine the confusion and fear you felt when you found yourself in a strange place.”

“I was shaken up about the whole thing. But it’s been three months now. Enough time has passed that I can say it’s just a bad memory.”

I need to tell her. Heloise is the only other person I trust that doesn’t know. She’s the only one able to do something.

“I heard the idea to dig a tunnel underneath Headrig’s Pass was Ilias’ idea,” Heloise said. “That boy continues to surprise me.”

Doria took a sip from the wine. “I heard a State of Emergency was put to take down the Maze Labyrinth. How did it go?”

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“I don’t know. King Arthureus exempted me from the excursion. I never left the Capital.”

I curled my eyebrow. “What for?”

“A precaution. He said he needed to have a couple of strong jynxists stay behind just in case something bad happened in the Capital.”

He must’ve kept her behind just in case Scar showed up.

“I heard it was one of the biggest labyrinth raids in history,” the elf said. “Twenty-one State Jynxists showed up, along with a hundred and twenty-eight adventurers, and four hundred soldiers. There were rumours that some of the Royal Guard were there too.”

I was in my own little world during the whole dinner. I was staring at the spies, the commoners, and the food. I even tended to chew for longer than I should’ve.

Heloise needs to know. But I need to relay so much information that it’s impossible for me to do so.

I was only able to hop into the conversation every now and then. Thankfully, Doria kept Heloise entertained.

Heloise tilted her head. “Ray, are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

She stood up and embraced me, resting her face on my head. “I know I can’t compare my feelings with yours, but I’m stressed too. I just want to know if everyone I met in the village was okay. I don’t want to lose anyone again.”

I chuckled. “What is this for?”

“I don’t know. This was something Ilias did every time he noticed I was feeling down.”

That boy really did help her come out of her shell.

How do I tell her?

When I got back to the Iron Keep, I locked myself in my room and thought of ways I could communicate with her. But there was just no way. There was too much context to convey in code.

Someone had to explain everything to her for me. That was the only way.

But who?

The only other person in the Capital I could trust was Doria, but she was being monitored as well. If she and I made the wrong move, her life could simply cease to exist.

I couldn’t even trust a soldier because I didn’t know who to trust.

What do I do?

In frustration, I grabbed the cup of water on my desk and threw it against the wall, the documents I had been working on began to soak.

“Shit!” I said, moving as many things aside. “No, no, no, no, no.”

The papers were soaked and see-through. I could read what the paper underneath said if they were layered on top of each other.

If they were layered on top of each other…

Layered…

I quickly ran to the keep’s library and checked out a book containing all the maps in Armestis. Wrath was waiting by my door and inspected the book before handing it back to me.

“Be careful what you do, Chariot,” he warned. “You don’t know who could be watching.”

Good, he must think this book was for work.

Once I locked the door, I took blank pieces of paper and traced both the maps of Armestis and Gilead before going to the fireplace and layering them on top of each other. The fire wasn’t bright enough, so I threw in some coal to brighten up the room. That was when I saw the pattern.

Doria said she was a block away from the Rohan Company building. And where she would’ve been on the Gilead map was layered right above Crimson Bay. Exactly where she was teleported to

I then went through the accounts of where each villager was when the beam of light hit. Wherever they were in Gilead corresponded to where they got teleported to.

Colonel Fundin was in the library when the beam hit. The library, when it was layered on top of the map of Armestis, corresponded to the Glistening Woods—which was where he got teleported to and killed.

Only fifty percent of the population was found.

Of course it was. Moby Dick had blocked off the east and I had completely forgotten to take that area into account.

Let’s start with Trisha.

From the accounts of the other villagers, she was at her home when the beam of light hit. I layered the maps and figured out that she was teleported to…

The Maze Labrytith.

My gods. She was teleported to one of the most dangerous labyrinths in Armestis.

Everything began to make sense.

The State of Emergency King Arthureus declared wasn’t to prevent monster attacks. He and his men had figured out the pattern of the teleportation way ahead of me. They knew exactly where she was and got the strongest people to find and capture her.

Heloise wasn’t exempted from the raid because the king was afraid of Scar. She was exempted because he couldn’t risk her seeing Trisha.

The State of Emergency was a guise to look for her.

What about Jaime and Ilias?

They were teleported—there was no doubt about that. If they weren’t, they would’ve been found near the village.

I drew a circle around Gilead to represent what the beam of light consumed. Their training spot would’ve been too far and the villagers didn’t remember seeing them. They would’ve been just outside the village. Probably on the road.

I focused my eyes on the Armestis map. Jaime and Ilias were sent somewhere above the Great Sand Sea, but there was no chance they were teleported to the water like Doria.

They were in the east.

That was why King Arthureus suddenly wanted so many miners to focus on digging a tunnel under Headrig’s Pass. They wanted to get to him.

That white whale that had been wreaking havoc turned out to be a saviour. Moby Dick was inadvertently protecting the kids.

They’re safe from King Arthureus, so I have to focus on saving Trisha.

My hands were bound. Doria was a hostage and it was impossible to tell Heloise without arousing suspicion. I could try code, but I had too much to say.

The feeling of being unable to do anything sent a chill down my body.

I picked up coal and began throwing a bunch into the fire.

What do I do? Who do I know is not part of this grand conspiracy that I can have Heloise meet?

I desperately squeezed a piece of coal, staring at it. I loosened my grip and began laughing by myself.

Whoever was listening must’ve thought I was crazy.

My pieces were taken and I was cornered. I had almost given up as well. But I haven’t been checkmated yet. There was still a way to win this war.