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“Who gets to drive!?” I found myself stumbling over to the horses excitedly.
“Oh no, leave it to me,” Vernie declared quickly, jumping up on the driver’s bench. “Get in the back, and let’s get out of here.”
But… horses! Beautiful, majestic horses!
I fought down a wave of irrational disappointment and headed to the back. Aleph went first, unlatching the tailboard and carefully crawling into the back of the wagon in such a way as to prevent his horns from catching on the ceiling. Tetora went next with an agile leap that might have been his way of showing off his newly restored health. Nora scrambled up, and I stumbled in last, pulling the tailboard back into place. The wagon was partially filled with hay and supplies, including a few spare wagon parts. Sighing, I found myself a place to curl up between two barrels and started to close my eyes until…
“Cheese?!” I stood up suddenly, half afraid I was hallucinating the smell. The wagon lurched as it started rolling forward, and I lost my balance, crashing into Tetora.
Tetora was holding a giant wheel and was secretly stuffing his face. “Ah… Just checking if it’s still good!” he said.
“Cheese!” I demanded, grabbing his arm.
“Alright, alright!” he surrendered, ripping off a hunk. “It’s a little salty.”
‘Little’ was an understatement. But it didn’t matter. It was cheese! Not beans, vegetables, dried-up bits of meat, or mushy apples!
“Already you forget to serve others before helping yourself,” Aleph chided as he held out his hand.
“Hey! I can finally eat normally again, so I must build back my strength!” Tetora countered as he passed around more portions of the hard cheese.
Nora opened a small wooden slat on the front of the wagon. “Want some?” she asked as she passed a chunk to Vernie.
“I didn’t ask him for cheese…” Vernie replied loud enough to be heard over the horses’ hooves even as she helped herself to it. “Ugh. Probably going to say I owe him a favor in the future…”
“You might get lucky and never see him again…” Nora shrugged.
“One can only hope…” Vernie exhaled after taking a bite. “He was too easygoing with everything… I don’t trust him.”
You put a lot of faith in someone who you didn’t trust… though, I suppose he did come through for us.
Aleph and Tetora glanced knowingly at each other and chuckled dryly.
After overindulging on cheese, I settled back in my comfy corner, padded it with hay, and laid down. Once again, I found myself closing my eyes…
“What’s this Councilman Procul like, by the way?” Nora asked, jolting me awake. Procul!
Tetora stood up and quickly closed the slat. “He’s the one who tried to convict Vernie,” he hissed.
“That political platform that earned him a seat on the council a few years back,” Aleph added grimly. “Did those two men have anything else to say other than him accepting bribes from Dolus? Having some physical evidence of his affairs would be nice, but…”
“He’s in Fort Turri for the moment.” Nora frowned. “He’s there under the pretense of an official inspection, but those two brothers said he’s been letting the nobles know he’s willing to look the other way on almost anything… for the right price. I just wonder what kind of person he is and why he needs so much money…”
His dark majesty’s words echoed in my ears, filling me with icy dread… Procul is currently away inspecting Fort Turri… There’s no way I could have known that… So, how did I dream it?
“Nora… you’ve never heard of him before, have you?” I asked with a shiver, desperately hoping for an answer that proved me wrong.
“I’d most certainly remember him if I had!” Nora puffed up defensively.
“You mean… not even from the story?”
“Like I just said…”
“Right…” I didn’t bother to try to convince her otherwise. Even if he were in the story, it wouldn’t explain the part about being in Fort Turri now. Just what other lies have I been telling myself to cope with everything?
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“Hey… You’re not allergic to hay, are you?” Nora’s brows furrowed. “You kind of look funny.”
“Too much cheese…” I lied absently.
“You’re scratching again.” Nora pointed at my wrists.
“I’ll just… put my gauntlets back on.” My shaky hands, however, wouldn’t cooperate. “Never mind.” I turned to Aleph. “Uh. How fast… can this wagon go?” We’re moving too slowly!
“A little faster in the daytime… but it would be foolhardy to press the horses long term.” Aleph gazed at me. “Is there something we should know, Rae?”
Tell him I’ve been in contact with him? Tell him he knows I’m here? That he’s manipulating the council to put his minions within striking range of Relias? That… that I’ve talked with him on several occasions? That I’m an utterly unreliable idiot?
“I think…” I swallowed hard as I ran through all the previous conversations I could remember, pulling out the most critical issue. “I mean, I just have this horrible feeling that Holy Sage Relias might be in imminent danger…” And us as well, especially if any of his minions caught wind of what we just did. I silently prayed that Amos was as useless as King Olethros had made him out to be.
“Foresight!” Tetora’s ears shot up. “Did you have another prophetic vision?”
Another…? “I’m not sure… I didn’t understand it before, but now…”
“Leave it at that and let them draw their own conclusions.”
You again? Will you tell me who you are now, ‘passerby?’
There was no reply, and I realized that this one seemed to have a light touch. I definitely preferred that over being remotely controlled, though.
“Raelynn’s were very much the same.” Aleph patted my shoulder gingerly, mistaking the confusion on my face. Or at least a part of it. “Do not worry. We will make all haste.”
Nora’s face, however, clearly showed that my vague attempt at deceit had not convinced her. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake the heavy feeling of her suspicious gaze.
After a few minutes of oppressive silence, Nora finally spoke again. “Tell us about the other council members. Are they not usually confined to Chairo?”
“Mmm… they occasionally travel to their homelands…” Aleph scratched his ear. “Procul is from Turri, so it’s not suspicious that he’s in the area. Inutilis hails from Porta, but other than that, I know almost nothing about him. From my understanding, he doesn’t say or do much of his own accord.”
“How many members make up the council, anyway?” Nora glanced at me again, and I quickly busied myself by braiding some strands of hay, finding my fingers soaked in sweat.
“Four, with Holy Sage Relias acting as a voting member only to break ties. Otherwise, he’s not privy to their discussions.”
“Isn’t he the one who established the council?” I asked as my voice cracked. “Why would he exclude himself?”
“He felt the council needed to be made up of the very same as those they would serve.”
“Why four, though?” Nora inquired. “It’s an even number.”
“To represent each of the four countries. Technically, I believe Relias speaks on behalf of Paradise, but since it is no longer truly accessible… he merely constitutes the tiebreaker in worldly affairs.”
“Who represents Ecclesia and Lios?”
“Pravum was born and raised in Ecclesia,” Tetora grumbled. “He’s the one you need to watch out for. Nothing gets done without his blessing.”
“Vetus of Lios would be the best one to talk to first,” Aleph advised. “Don’t be fooled just because he’s old. He’s quite receptive to new ideas.”
I flinched as I stifled a gasp. Vetus died two months ago, but I couldn't say so as I had no way to explain how I knew that without revealing too much.
“But he was the one who recommended him to Raelynn,” Tetora grumbled.
“I am sure he was deceived, just as we all were…” Aleph replied mournfully. “Don’t forget it was him who convinced the council to let us go in the end.”
“That went by a little fast,” Nora admitted. “Are you saying Councilman Vetus told Raelynn to seek out Oliver in the first place?”
“Yes. I still remember the letter of recommendation she received.” Tetora raised his hackles in a show of aggression before imitating the voice of someone much older. “He’s a young and promising sorcerer who has already worked his way through the first three Circles. He’s a little full of himself, but that’s almost considered a requirement in the Dark Mage Tower!” Tetora snorted and took a swipe at an innocent barrel, only to knock it down with a self-satisfying crash, demonstrating once again he was a cat at heart.
Aleph looked at Tetora disparagingly before sighing. “The last dark mage to be part of the Golden Order abandoned the hero’s party over 1500 years ago. Poor Raedine… she was never the same because of it and ultimately gave into despair and rage before losing to the original demon king. We were hesitant to include another such dark mage at first, but… Councilman Vetus convinced us it would be helpful if someone knowledgeable on the properties of animus accompanied us.”
“This time, though, we have a dark mage vetted by the Goddess herself.” Tetora winked at Nora, though she didn’t acknowledge it.
“Raedine…” Nora was distracted enough by backstory to stop glaring at me. “Which one was she?”
“The fourth Chosen One,” Aleph answered. “Legend says she was very self-effacing, even modest.”
“Always said her success was because of those around her.” Tetora righted the barrel under Aleph’s judgemental gaze. “Never used her titles. She always said she was just passing by when someone asked who she was.”
Oh… So that’s who you were… I’m sorry you had such a bleak ending…
The wagon suddenly bounced several times as Vernie veered off the road into a secluded grove, displacing us all.
“Next time, warn us first!” Tetora snapped loudly as he scrambled back into a sitting position.
“Yeah, yeah,” Vernie dismissed his complaints with a small laugh through the now open slat. “Good to see you’re back to yourself again.”
“Why did you stop?” Aleph inquired.
“We’re all tired, and this is far enough for now. Let’s get the horses settled and rest.”
“Tetora and I will help you,” Aleph practically crawled out of the wagon. “You two may stay–”
“I want to help with the horses!” I shot up frantically, not wanting to be left alone with Nora and her inevitable interrogation. Karma was instantly rewarding this time, causing me to bang my head on the wooden ceiling. “D’aah!”
“Alright…” Aleph chuckled, misconstruing my false enthusiasm. “Just be sure to stay calm, and I’m sure you’ll make friends with them in no time.”
“I’ll stay here.” Nora’s nose twitched threateningly. “I’m feeling rather tired from all the recent drama.”
As I passed her on my way out of the wagon, she muttered scornfully, “We’ll just have to have our private girl talk a little later, won’t we?”
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