“Ahhhh! This drink is amazing!” Elijah coos. A permanent smile stays attuned to his lips. He’s rarely not doing so. “Hey, hey, what is this called?” He points at his empty glass.
“The creator called it a ‘Bloody Geisha.’ It’s a mixture of something made exclusively in the castle called soy sauce. You add that with lime juice, white wine, and tomato juice.”
“Oh! Who’s this creator? They sound like a genius! Are you patting yourself on the back? Are you its creator? Good job then!”
“No, it’s not me. I wish. All credit goes to the baron’s daughter. She’s the genius.”
“A genius, huh? That’s what I’ve been hearing.” Elijah finishes his drink. “You ever met her?”
The bartender shakes his head. “I’m not that lucky. She never makes an appearance in town. Rumor is that she stays up in the castle all day thinking up new ideas for the people. She’s certainly made life easier, even if she hasn’t meant to.”
Elijah leans against the bar. “You people here seem to have a lot of reverence for those in charge. That’s so strange.”
“We have good leaders. That wasn’t always the case. The Hopeful Lake territories have had a lot of lousy rulers and conflicts. Lord Embers is a saint by comparison.” The bartender leans forward as well. He cups his hand over his mouth. “Most people believe it’s because he’s first-generation royalty. He was a soldier with a poor background, and a good head on his shoulders. Most of those in charge have never had a hard day’s work in their lives. Hard to empathize with your citizens, you know?”
“It’s harder to fix a problem when you’ve never experienced it yourself,” agrees Elijah. “Hey, sorry for chatting your ear off. Can I get another one of those drinks? I’ll settle up right after.”
Moments later, Elijah leaves the bar. His mind is hazy with booze. He’s been steadily pouring through liquor, food, and treats all day while talking to random individuals.
Coughing, Elijah stumbles around Water’s Bastion’s main square. “Where to go next?”
A common theme has come up in Elijah’s day-time adventure: the Embers family. They’re loved, especially the baron’s daughter, Scarlet Embers. She’s spoken of in such reverent tones. The term “genius” and “gifted” has come up in each and every conversation involving her. From her education to her inventions to her fighting skills. People have much to say and are willing to speak about her for hours, even if they’ve never met her before.
When people talk about the baron, the themes are similar. They respect him. His policies have brought significant economic wealth to the area. Food is aplenty. There are very few poor and homeless folks. Crime is relatively low. Elijah assumes there’s a disconnect between the middle and central rungs of the city in contrast with the outer rung, because he doesn’t have the same view. That, or the thieving incident earlier in the day was an ironic, unlucky outlier.
Elijah fumbles with the coin pouch given to him by Landyn. He tosses it in his palm. “Half-way gone,” he assesses. Quickly, he snatches it out of the air with a grin. “What a fun day!”
“This is the place!” a sudden, loud female voice catches Elijah’s ears.
“I hear this is Lady Scarlet’s latest creation! Ah! She’s such a lovely person giving out all these ideas for free! She’s a saint!” says another voice, also female. “I can’t wait to try it!”
Intrigued, Elijah turns to the sound.
Two girls stand just outside a crowd of other people waiting to get inside a particular restaurant. Elijah moves closer to the building’s window, pushing aside the girls until he can see inside.
“Hey!” one of the girls shouts.
“More food? The woman’s a damn glutton. The rumors of this Scarlet girl’s “beauty” are probably highly exaggerated. Anyone with this much culinary creativity has got to be massive,” Elijah suspects.
Elijah watches as chunks of chicken with some sort of batter are dropped into a large, curved pan. A thick, dark sauce moves over the chicken as an array of peppers and onions join it. The restaurant is owned by a family whose daughter works in the castle kitchens. The daughter is the main reason why Lady Scarlet’s creations keep leaking into the wider public, not that Elijah knows any of this. The restaurant is crowded as this spicy chicken dish is served with large glasses of ale. The smell drifting out of the building causes Elijah’s eyes to water and his stomach to rumble even though he is already full.
“It’s more than food! It’s revolutionary!” The girl pushed by Elijah shoves her way in front of him to yell in his face. “And how dare you insult Lady Scarlet! She is a wonderful beauty of unmatched intelligence!”
“So you’ve met her then? You’re good friends?” asks Elijah. When there is no response, he speaks again. “Still, it’s amazing she’s created so much. If that’s true,” he whispers that last sentence.
The second girl swoons. “That goes to show how brilliant the lady is! Ah! I’d give anything to meet her someday!”
“Is she really that great?” asks Elijah.
“More than great! She’s perfect! To shame with that family for pushing all that grief on her!” the first girl shouts.
“Oh? A complaint about the baron’s family? That’s new,” thinks Elijah. “How so?” he questions out loud.
“They’re forcing her to marry a womanizer!” she protests.
“A womanizer?”
“That’s just a rumor, Lianne,” says the second girl.
“Rumors are usually true! Or at least have some semblance of truth in them!” Lianne points a finger at her friend. “Nothing said about Gai Regal is ever positive! Ever!”
“Oh? That’s a funny name. Who’s that?” Elijah breaks in.
Lianne scrunches up her nose. “Who are you? Why don’t you know any of this? Are you a traveler?”
“An adventurer. I’m looking for work.” Elijah smiles. His harmless demeanor is comforting.
“Hmph!” Lianne cocks her head to the side. “You picked a terrible place for that. Water’s Bastion is peaceful. No bandits. No real crime to speak of. No monsters. Why would you come here?”
“Yes, I’m seeing the error of my ways the more and more people I talk to,” admits Elijah as he reinforces his ‘cover.’ “So…Gai Regal, huh? What a name.”
“He’s apparently the son of the south-western baron .”
Elijah raises an eyebrow in surprise. “Is he now? And he’s marrying this Scarlet girl?”
“It’s disgraceful!” Lianne punches her hip. “She was supposed to marry the prince!”
“Oh, these two girls are wonderful sources of information,” decides Elijah. “You know, I don’t know the area. I still have some money. How about I buy you two some drinks and food and you tell me about the town. What do you say?”
The two girls stare at Elijah with apprehension. “Why would you do that?”
“Because I’m a harmless stranger with no friends in need of assistance?” Elijah lies. “Please?”
The two girls look at one another for a moment.
“Can we pick the place?” Lianne asks.
“Anywhere you want,” agrees Elijah. “For what you’re giving me, it’s worth the hit to my wallet.”
“Deal,” they agree.
Elijah is led away from the crowd. He follows the two girls into a more deserted part of the streets. They walk for a while before Elijah notices a presence following them in their peripheral.
The three of them turn a corner.
Elijah gestures cautiously to the two girls. “Wait a moment.”
“What is it?” asks Lianne.
“Someone’s following us. It might be trouble.”
The two girls freeze in terror.
Elijah turns to them with a gentle grin. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
The girls blush. After all, he is a rather handsome man, even if he is a bit older than them.
Elijah waits at the edge of the corner. A large bow hangs behind his back. He removes it, placing it in his hands with an arrow on the string.
The footsteps grow closer. There are two sets.
Closer…
“They’re in range,” realizes Elijah.
In an instant, Elijah rounds the corner. He drops his bow down to his hip, pointing it up at an angle. His foot catches the string. Using his toes between his sandals, Elijah holds onto the arrow, aiming it at one of the assailants right where his throat would be. In Elijah’s free hand, he pulls a short sword from his left side. He points it where he judges the neck of the second person will be.
The two men Elijah ambushes freeze.
Elijah blinks rapidly. He stares blankly at the fellows before him.
City guards.
“Oh! Sorry!” Elijah releases the tension on his bow and places his sword at his waist. He returns his arrow to its quiver and re-slings the bow over his back. “I thought you two were thugs trying to kidnap the girls with me. My mistake! Hahaha!”
The city guards are still surprised. They shake it off, mostly thanks to Elijah’s carefree attitude.
“Do you know those two?” the one Elijah aimed his bow at asks.
“Not really. I just met them today.”
“Then why are you with them?”
“I was offering them lunch in exchange for information. I’m a new adventurer in town, you see? I don’t know a lot about this area, and they were willing to help,” Elijah replies carefully. His calm demeanor does not falter in the slightest. Worst case scenario? He kills everyone here and moves on with his day.
“Are you both okay?” the second guard, the one who had the sword pointed at him, directs to the two girls.
They nod.
“Why don’t you two go home, okay? We’d like to talk to this man,” says the first guard.
“Ah, dammit. There goes my intel,” Elijah realizes. Still, he turns to the girls with a warm glance. “Sorry for troubling you! Be safe!”
The girls quickly scurry away, more confused than anything.
“We need to have a chat,” says the first guard.
“Mhmm. You should come with us,” says the second.
Elijah groans. “Sure. Why not?”
•
Around thirty minutes later, all three men are laughing in a bar together.
“You’re a good guy!” says the first guard.
“Sorry for the misunderstanding!” adds the second.
“It’s no problem. You were just doing your jobs.” Elijah waves them off. “Why were you suspicious of me anyway?”
The guards look at one another first without speaking.
“It’s confidential,” the second guard eventually speaks.
“Hey, I’m an adventurer! Whatever you two say dies with me. We’re in a similar line of work, you and I. I have great respect for your authority. Is it something I can help with?”
“No. No one can really help,” mutters the first guard. He tips a mug of beer into his mouth. “We’re supposed to keep an eye out for any suspicious men in the area. You were acting suspicious, so we apologize.”
“Suspicious men? Did I really seem suspicious? Gods, I need to change my lifestyle then,” complains Elijah jokingly.
“It’s mostly because you were leaving with women into a relatively deserted area,” says the second guard.
“Oh. So that kind of thing. How bad?”
“We’ve found a few women. What’s left of them,” quietly replies the first guard.
“All in pieces,” says the second. “All abused.”
The two men shiver.
“Haven’t found the killer yet, but it’s only a matter of time,” hopes the second guard.
“Well damn,” says Elijah. “That’s some heavy crap. A serial killer of women running loose in the city, and this is the first I’m hearing about it. The guards must be keeping it under wrap. I wonder what else I might be able to pry from their wee little minds?” he decides. “How about another drink, men? On me?”
“You sure?” asks the second guard.
“It sounds like you need it.” Elijah turns his attention to the bartender. “Another round, please.”
∆ ∆ ∆
“Do you need any help?” asks Landyn.
A nearby farmer toils the fields. Hearing Landyn, he stands upright and wipes his forehead. “Pardon me?”
“Do you need any help? I’m willing to offer my services for a low amount. Very cheap. You won’t get a guy as strong as me for this price,” Landyn pitches to the gentleman.
“Hmmm. How low we talking here?” The farmer seems intrigued. It helps that he’s tired and the heat of the day has set in fully.
“Just some coin to rent a room at an inn tonight. I don’t need any more than that,” informs Landyn.
“Why so low, kid?” asks the old farmer.
“I’m an adventurer. There are no good jobs in the area. Besides, I’m not one to beg or ask for more than he needs,” Landyn tells the man.
“That’s admirable of you,” admits the farmer. “I could use some help digging up rocks out back.” He jerks his head behind the house. “The land out there has good soil, but it’s rocky. My body isn’t as strong as it used to be. I don’t want the whole area cleared out, just a section to try and plant new crops. It should only take two or three hours. I’ll pay you enough for an inn and a meal since it’s hard work. Sound good?”
Landyn accepts the offer.
•
An hour later, Landyn has dug up and moved an entire pile of rocks.
Underneath a shaded tree, he relaxes from the heat as sweat drenches his entire body.
“Hard work like that is good every once in a while. Helps me remember that I’m only human,” decides Landyn. “Always a humbling experience.”
The old farmer moves towards Landyn with what looks like a bamboo cylinder. “You did good, kid. Quicker than I thought. Drink.”
Landyn stares at the device, perplexed. “Drink?”
The farmer pulls the top off the bamboo tube. It comes off easily. “You’ve never seen one of these before? That’s right, you’re new to the area. Guess they’re kind of a local product still.” He hands the tube back to Landyn.
Landyn inspects the inside. The tube is filled with water. Realizing this, he graciously drinks the thing dry. “It’s still cool,” he notes once he’s finished.
“Amazing, isn’t it? An invention from up in the castle. It’s made working a whole lot easier, especially on hot days. Bamboo’s always been seen as a decorative plant until recently. Then that girl came along with all her ideas and stuff.”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“That girl?”
“The baron’s daughter. Lady Scarlet. She’s a smart girl, that one. Always coming up with good ideas. Once they have good prototypes, the castle then trickles them down to Water’s Bastion. Don’t know if she knows that, but we all reap the rewards.”
“Amazing. How old is she?”
“When she came up with this idea or now?”
“Both.”
“I believe she was six or seven when she came up with the bamboo trick, but I’m not entirely sure. Just guessing based on when we started using them. As for now, she just turned eighteen recently.”
Landyn stares in horror at the bamboo flask. “A child thought of this?” A thought raises in his head that he’ll discuss with Astria later.
“You look troubled,” says the farmer.
“Not at all. Speaking of the baron, what’s he like?”
The farmer’s face softens even further. “He’s a good man. Got a good mind for people. He’s made life easier, especially for us farmers.”
“Really? I did notice there are a lot of farms in the area. Lots of cheap food, too. Is that really any different from normal?”
“I’ve been working this farm since I was a child, and my father owned the place.” The man points at himself proudly. “Back then, a bad harvest might mean selling the farm. Now, there’s not that much worry. The castle buys all the crops as long as they’re of a certain quality. No need to compete to have the best product anymore. Everything sells for the same price.”
“The castle does that? Why…ahhhh! That’s smart.”
“You figure it out?”
Landyn nods. “The castle buys all the food, ensuring the farmers are paid. In turn, they fix the prices at a cheaper rate when you sell at market, don’t they?”
“You’re a clever one, aren’t you?” the farmer allows. “It’s something like that, yes. The castle always supports the farmers. They even give money for expansions if you put in a request for it, as long as it’s on good merit. The baron’s really taking the food situation seriously.”
“It’s easier to rule someone with a full stomach than an empty one,” mutters Landyn to himself.
“Even if that’s the case, as long as everyone’s happy, it’s fine. My son’s a soldier up in the castle, actually. I probably know a little more than your average farmer,” the man admits.
“Hmm.” Landyn pauses in thought. This is the fifth farm he’s worked at, and they’ve all said roughly the same thing, though this one has been more detailed.
“The baron is heavily subsidizing the farming sector in order to guarantee its production. A policy like that is rigid. One lousy harvest region-wide could put the castle in the red but cutting it off when things get bad would mean the policy is ultimately pointless. They’re willing to accept that risk. Whoever oversees the budget must be stressed. Creating security in the farming sector at the peril of his own wealth and job…this baron’s impressive,” Landyn mentally concludes.
Landyn stands. He stretches his arms over his head. “You need anything else from me, sir?”
The farmer shakes his head. “You’ve done enough. And a good job, too. Here.”
Landyn holds out his palm. The farmer drops a few coins into it.
Landyn quickly counts them. “This is too much.”
“Think of it as a bonus for doing it quickly,” says the farmer.
Landyn nods. “Thank you. I appreciate you providing me this opportunity.”
With those final words, Landyn departs the farm. His job is done. He could work another farm or two, but he’s learned what he needed to know.
The baron is a sly man. The farming sector is happy and fruitful. Landyn doesn’t see that changing any time soon, even with the inherent political risks involved. It sounds stressful to him. In the end, this one policy could be the thing that severs trade relations with Brosnock. Maybe. Even so, that’s years down the line.
“Thank the Gods we decided to come down here. We can start adapting now before things get worse,” whispers Landyn. “For all our sakes.”
∆ ∆ ∆
“So big!” Astria stares up at the great walls surrounding Castle Grey. “But I’ve seen bigger.” She pauses. “That reminds me, I should tease Landyn tonight. More so than usual.” Her face brightens noticeably. “He’s so cute when he acts all shy! Then he’s so aggressive in bed! Hmmmmm!” She blows happy air out of her nose.
Castle Grey is not a unique building in Astria’s view. It’s built rather humbly, as if not by a royal family but someone wealthy. It’s more practical than lavish, indicating the mindfulness that went into the architecture considered things such as ‘battle’ and ‘space’ rather than ‘status.’
Astria sits on a large tree branch overlooking the main road into the castle’s compound. She can barely see inside through the opened castle gates. People, soldiers, and carts are constantly moving in and out.
“Very busy,” mutters Astria. “The baron must have an open-door policy. Most keep their gates closed and guarded.” Her eyes peer over to the soldiers surrounding the area. “Ah, but to make up for the open gate, more men are positioned near the front.”
Astria tips backward off her tree branch. Her head aims for the ground. Before it makes contact, she flips. Her feet land first. The whole of her body drops into a crouched position, her palms touching the earth as she returns to the forest floor.
“Time to get inside.”
Astria slowly trots over to the wall left of the gate. It’s still within the forest and has no guard activity. Once there, she jumps. In a single leap, Astria bounds to the top of the wall. It is a feat no Divine Treat eater can do with strength alone. Quickly, she sits upon it, staring at the world below her surrounding the castle.
“It’s like a military compound.”
Large courtyards of open space exist in quadrants. Connected to each quadrant on either side are tone-roofed outside patios with open-air squares in the middle. Entrances to-and-from the castle are available only in those patio-like areas. Other than the front gate, which feeds like a funnel to two large doors, this quadrant system is consistent throughout the walled interior. The castle itself stands like a disjointed tower in the middle.
“Interesting,” assesses Astria. “The front door is cleverly set up so that if breached, walls on either side will funnel soldiers in one alley.” She looks up to a large walkway surrounding the top of the castle. “Archers could easily clean out forces, even if the numbers were greater than those in the castle.” She looks at the wall she sits on. “There are platforms to place archers and long-bows here as well, but they seem unused. Things must be too peaceful in this part of the world. Or budget cuts.”
“Open gardens surround the place. On either side, patios and courtyards. Hmm. It’d segment off troop deployment in invasions if they happened to breach the walls. It also creates small, tight areas for enemy forces to come through. Again, clever. Put some archers on the patio roofs, again, rain hell from above. The original builder must have really liked the bow. We’re kindred spirits in that regard.”
Astria begins walking the wall. Standing, she slowly paces the area in a clockwise motion.
“Nothing of importance at the front gate,” Astria notices as she walks above the area. “Mostly merchants dropping off supplies. A few guards. Routine things.”
She continues walking.
At the back of the compound, the quadrant structure changes.
“Oh ho?” Astria beams. She sits down, now having finally found something interesting. “Training, are we?”
The largest courtyard Astria has seen so far sits right in the back-right corner of the compound. There are practice dummies, archery targets, a three-dimensional obstacle course, and a large boulder for some reason.
An assortment of men watch from both sitting and standing positions at varying areas. In the very middle of this gaggle of people, two men face each other.
“They’ve taken Divine Treats,” notes Astria to herself. “Both of them are Admix. Interesting. They must have strong personalities.”
From her view, to Astria’s right stands a man with what she’d call a ‘devilish smile.’ He’s cocky. She can tell by his actions and stance. He’s got a handsome, oval-ish face and his chin is covered by a well-trimmed beard that’s kept relatively short. Bright, light blue eyes pierce outward. Hair like firecrackers explodes atop his skull. The curls are kept short and tight. The sides are shaved nearly to the scalp, though they fade up high. Black pants and boots adorn his bottom half while a thin, sleeveless purple dress shirt with rolled up sleeves hugs his torso.
To Astria’s left, another handsome man stands. Dark brown hair sits messily atop his head. It flops over the shorter hair and around the sides of his face. His face is more squared than the other man’s, and his jawline could cut marble. Hazel eyes stare humbly forward. He, too, wears dark pants and boots but prefers a long-sleeved white v-neck with rolled-up sleeves. Defined muscles line his body. Both men are lean; this one simply looks more muscular than the other. To Astria, he seems bored but suspects that’s only on the surface.
Both men are dripping with sweat. They breathe haggardly.
Astria hears the crowd of onlookers speak, revealing tidbits of information for her eager ears.
“I’ve never seen Sir Blair work so hard before.”
“Lord Regal’s a tough fighter.”
“He took down the prince. Of course he is. He’d have to be.”
“Is Sir Blair going to use his gifts? We might need to back up.”
“Want to place a bet?”
“So a man who took down a prince is fighting a soldier held in high esteem by his colleagues. Given how he’s the only Admix in the crowd and his few gifted colleagues are all Typicals, it makes sense.” Astria notes to herself. She looks over to the other man with the cocky attitude. “Then you’re the one that beat a prince? What’s your ability? No one’s talking about it. Curiosity hurts my brain.”
“You ready to call it quits, old man?” barks whom Astria assumes is Lord Regal.
“I’m younger than you,” quips the other, who, by process of elimination, must be the Sir Blair they’re referring to.
“Really? Why do you move so slow then?”
The crowd ‘oohs’ in response to the slander.
Sir Blair closes his eyes. He takes in a breath, lets it out slowly, then repositions the sword in his hand. He calmly enters a combative stance.
“Taunts don’t work on you, huh?” complains Lord Regal. He takes a similar stance.
“I’ve been dealing with your fiancé for years at this point. Nothing can hurt me.”
“Ah. You’re right. Words will never harm you.” Lord Regal chuckles. “Whatever. Feel free to bring the boom stick if you want.”
“You sure?”
“Oh hell yeah, Nigel. Just don’t kill me.”
“You’ll be fine Gai. I believe in you.”
“Ha! You get all snarky when you fight. I love it!”
Astria resists the urge to yell ‘fight.’ She’s always had a childish personality regarding these sorts of things.
As if feeling Astria’s inner wish, the men lurch forward at each other.
Astria bounces in place. A smile placates her lips.
Nigel launches a broad, horizontal sweep with his longsword.
Apparently sensing this, Gai simply hops over it. And good thing, too.
Booooom!
Sparks and smoke follow the path of the sword. They flesh outward for a few meters after. The explosion is non-lethal, but if it’d made contact, it’d have sent Gai flying.
Gai tucks his body into a roll. Coming out of it, he spikes an upward thrust at Nigel’s stomach.
Nigel brings his sword back in time. The edge of the steel deflects the blade, causing the thrust to continue upward. The motion jerks Gai’s arm away.
Nigel puts his palm in Gai’s face. The air begins to condense and heat before him.
“Ah, shit,” grunts Gai.
Booom!
Gai tucks backward as a sensory-damaging explosion juts out of Nigel’s fingertips.
Both men reposition themselves. Gai stands. Nigel moves his neck from side to side as if releasing some pressure.
“You’re fast,” says Nigel.
“And you’re powerful. Speed versus strength. Who will win?”
The two men smirk at each other.
The clash continues.
Astria stares at them for some time. They exchange blows with no real winner. No definitive contact is made. Both are just as impressive on defense as on offense. Gai’s strokes are precise, but he never puts himself in a position where he cannot dodge or get away from Nigel’s assaults. Likewise, Nigel’s every movement is like a meticulous chess play attempting to put Gai in ‘check’ and knock him out with an explosion.
Neither has succeeded.
“Why hasn’t that other guy used his Admix abilities?” Astria asks herself after about twenty minutes of watching.
“What?! No one’s dead yet?!” a new voice shouts over the noise.
Nigel and Gai, going in for another round, both stumble. Nigel nearly face-plants into the dirt. Gai spins around, or else he certainly would have.
Astria turns to the noise.
She stands, astonished.
“Who is she?” whispers Astria.
An attractive girl with gorgeous red hair walks out amongst the people. She’s dressed comfortably in a skirt and sleeveless shirt. The shirt is tucked into the skirt and sequenced with a stylish belt. Upon her feet are comfy-looking shoes. Though she’s beautiful, her demeanor is relaxed. Her hair is tied at the back stylishly with its own long strands. It keeps most of the hair bound, but some still fall around her face.
Everyone stops to stare at her. Even Astria finds herself doing so but not for the same reasons as everybody else.
“Should I risk going into the yard?” Astria asks herself quietly. “If there were ever a reason to, this would qualify. Sorry Landyn. I don’t mean to break up our plan this early on, but I may not have a choice.”
“You want one of us dead?” Nigel asks the girl.
“Which one?” Gai questions. His eyes narrow playfully. “I know you love me and all, but that doesn’t mean you should wish harm on your friends, Scarlet.”
“Love is a strong word,” grumbles Scarlet.
“Even so, I’m glad you feel that way about me.”
“Mhmm.” Scarlet simply nods. She turns to Nigel. “Still can’t beat him?”
“Not without killing him,” Nigel remarks.
“Same,” says Gai.
“Then this is good practice for the both of you,” decides Scarlet. “You wrapping up soon, or can I have a go?”
Nigel and Gai look at each other for a moment. They appear troubled.
Gai laughs. “I’m too tired to deal with you right now, I think.”
“Do you really want to win against a worn-down opponent?” Nigel asks.
“Are you saying I’d win right now?” questions Scarlet.
Both men frown.
“What if you both fought together?”
The crowd once again, ‘ohs.’
“If you accidentally won, I’d never hear the end of it,” Gai says after some time.
Looking up at the sky, Nigel nods in agreement before closing his eyes.
“Cowards,” mocks Scarlet.
“Ouch!” Gai laughs again. “Brutal! Should a baron’s daughter be talking so brash?”
“Bite me.”
“Don’t tempt me.”
Scarlet reddens. “Why do you always do this in front of people?!”
“Cause it’s fun.”
The crowd laughs.
“Ah, I’ve got one last exchange in me if you want to go,” Nigel says to Gai. “but I need some water.”
“Likewise. Let’s do it.”
“Unfair,” pouts Scarlet
Gai pats Scarlet’s head sarcastically before walking past her with Nigel. A guard nearby fills two wooden buckets with water from the palms of his hands. Nigel and Gai take them and dunk them over their heads. The buckets are refilled. They drink from them.
“Baron’s daughter?” Astria latches on to the piece of information. She stands. “I’ll have reason to meet her then. No need to cause a riot in the castle. I can head back into town, reveal myself, and use my status as a predicate to meet the baron. I’m sure I’ll get time to talk to her then.” She frowns. “I kind of want to speak with her in private, though. Eh, I’m sure I can make that happen if I want to. I’ll do it later. We’ll be back.”
Astria’s eyes move over to the castle. She stares at it with interest.
“Should I try to break in and have a look around?” the Voiced asks herself. She contemplates this for a while before shaking her head. “No need. I’ve already got my important piece of information.” She looks down at Scarlet once more. Astria’s eyes stare into the girl’s body as the woman banters with Nigel and Gai. “I can’t wait to meet you.”
Astria hops down from the wall. With a yawn, she trots back to the city of Water’s Bastion while steering clear of people on the main road.
•
“Finally!” Astria says as she sees Landyn walk over to her. She sits upon the edge of a bridge in a quaint little park at the center of the city.
“How long have you been here?” asks Landyn. “Did you even visit the castle?” His expression deadens.
Astria smiles. “I did. And I have something amusing to share with the group.”
“Wait until Elijah gets back, then. Whenever that may be.” Landyn sits down next to Astria.
Astria rests her head in the crook of Landyn’s neck. He raises an arm to gently rub her shoulder.
“This was a very good visit,” whispers Astria.
“Because it’s nice here? It is.”
“Agreed, but it’s not that. I saw something.”
“Important?”
“More than why we came here in the first place, potentially.”
Landyn stops his caressing. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“Then tell me—”
“Elijah! Come here, boy!” Astria breaks away from Landyn. She stands quickly, waving her arms in the air to attract the blonde man’s attention.
Elijah, seeing this, bounds over. “Damn, I missed looking at you.” He hugs her, nuzzling his lips into her neck.
“You’re drunk,” Astria and Landyn say at the same time.
“Very!” Elijah laughs as he breaks off from Astria. “Oh! I learned some fun stuff! Can I go first?”
“I’ll go last, then,” says Astria.
“Sure,” agrees Landyn. He still seems more curious about what Astria has to say than Elijah, but he lets it slide.
“Two things stick out.” Elijah holds up his fingers. “One, the baron’s daughter is a genius that invents shit, and she’s apparently super awesome. The girl’s famous as hell. I don’t even know if she knows it. Everywhere I went, people talked about her, so we should try to see her if we get the chance. She’s had a lot of affect on the social and culinary world from what I’ve gathered.”
“And what was the second thing?” asks Astria
Elijah frowns. “A serial killer is running about.”
“A serial killer?” Landyn’s brow furrows.
“Yeah. He tortures young women, molests the corpses, chops them up, then displays them like shitty furniture. Absolutely disgusting. The guards are having a field day with it. They don’t have any leads,” Elijah slurs.
Astria waves him off. “Not our problem.”
“Nope,” Landyn agrees.
Elijah shrugs. “Whatever then.”
“As for me, I agree with trying to meet this Scarlet woman if we can. She came up a few times in conversations I had as well. Beyond that, I’ve more or less confirmed that the baron is pushing agricultural policies as the primary concern of his tenure. They’re twisting the whole administration around producing cheap, fertile goods and creating a wall for farmers to continue producing even in hard times. They’re clearly trying to diminish their dependency on the Brosnock food trade. It could be a problem in the future.”
“Sure, but a problem for the politicians in our home country. It’ll mean an increase in border skirmishes and higher taxes moving and exporting goods at Zalevet’s ports. If anything, our leaders will have to lessen tariffs in response to this to compete with the food costs,” Astria concludes. “Do you think this is an immediate issue or a future problem?”
“A future problem. The system still seemed new to me,” decides Landyn.
“That’s good then. Make a report. We’ll send it out to the king when we leave here. I doubt Zion will care, so there’s no point bothering him, too. Just keep it between Brosnock and Zalevet for now.”
“As you wish.”
“More importantly, I saw this Scarlet at the castle.” Astria smiles. “A smart woman is by no means big news. You both suspect something more, yes?”
Landyn and Elijah look at each other for a moment. Elijah shrugs while Landyn nods.
“She’s likely a reincarnation,” says Landyn.
“Agreed,” collaborates Elijah. “Society is altering based solely on her presence. She knows too much and invents too many things. Everyone is in awe of her like she’s a goddess. We’ll have to kill her.”
The men display cold, murderous looks.
Astria merely smiles. “I see. That makes it all so much more…interesting.”