Alice never liked boats. Even when she could sense the flow around her, the open water was something that always made her feel uneasy. Now not even having that benefit made it all the worse. Rigur had managed to secure private transport for them, their guests, and the traveler corp they had enlisted. Even with that it would take a few days to travel across the Straight of Skysea. While everyone did their best, it was clear to all to that she wasn’t handling the trip very well.
Not long before, she heard from one of the travelers that they would be making landfall soon. That did a lot to raise her spirits, but it didn’t ease her stomach. She tried to distract herself with the few glyph-imprinted books, but the uneasy sway of the boat beneath her would constantly distract her.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door at the end of her room. She could tell from the height of the knock that it wasn’t one of her attendants, but the gentleness told her it also wasn’t one of the travelers. For security reasons Rigur was given special permission to enter without knocking so long as he announced himself. So that wasn’t it.
“Come in.” Alice said. The door opened and she heard something surprising, this person wasn’t wearing boots like the travelers, nor were they wearing simple flats an attendant might wear. They sounded like regular shoes.
“Greetings Lady Magrisal. I hope I’m not interrupting.” The voice of a man said. This was a voice that she didn’t recognize, and seeing as how no one new has boarded the ship since they left, this surprised her.
“I’m doing nothing important, but I am sorry to say you have me at a disadvantage. I don’t recognize your voice.” Alice said.
“Ah, that is understandable milady. I haven’t taken the opportunity to properly introduce myself, what with all the meetings you and the others have had. Though I do believe we greeted each other when we set off on this journey.” The man said.
Alice’s mind lit up like a firework when he mentioned this, she had completely forgotten about RIgur’s guest in the past few weeks and instantly felt awful.
“Oh dear, please! Come in. I should have introduced myself earlier. I hope you can forgive me.” Alice said.
“Oh no milady, it’s nothing so serious. Actually, I’ve been quite busy myself and couldn’t find the time. I thought now might be the best time before we make port.” The man said. Alice heard him close the door behind him, then he made a confused “Hmm” sound.
“Is something the matter?” Alice asked.
“No, it’s just a bit dark in here with the shades drawn. I’m not sure why anyone would have them drawn in the middle of the day.” He said, then he realized what he said.
“You may open them if you want. I don’t have much use for them being open besides feeling the warmth of the sun.” Alice said.
“Ah, yes… My apologies milady, I didn’t mean to make a point of it.” Aren said.
She didn’t want that to drag the conversation down, so she quickly responded.
“There is no reason to apologize. Now come and sit so we can talk.” Alice said. She waited as he presumably opened the blinds and then sat down in the seat opposing her.
“I believe proper introductions would be best. I am Alice Magrisal, Daughter of Lord Veyner Magrisal. It is a great privilege to make your acquaintance.” She said. There was a strained pause after she finished speaking.
“B-By all means, the privilege is mine milady. My name is Aren Glieues. The most I can say for my position is that I’m a friend of Lord Sherchower.” Aren said.
Alice felt a distinct distance in his words, he was thinking very carefully before each word. People often did this around nobles to avoid offending them.
“Before we continue, I wish to suggest we dispense with the formality of title and rank. As far as I’m concerned, you are a friend of a friend, which makes us friends as well.” Alice said.
“I’m not sure that is the proper thing to do for someone of my station, but If you believe that it is alright, then I can’t argue.” Aren said.
“I do, so, was there anything you particularly wanted to talk about?” Alice asked.
“Well, Ms. Ma-”
“Alice.” Alice interrupted.
“A-Alice… I was actually just interested in getting to know you. You seem to be quite well acquainted with Rigur. So I was curious about what kind of person you were.” Aren said.
“Funny thing that, I was interested in much the same thing. Rigur must hold you in high regard to bring along on an operation like this.” Alice said.
“Ah, heh, yeah…” Aren said. The response confused her.
“Did I misspeak?” Alice asked. He sputtered over his words for a moment before letting out a defeated whimper.
“Originally… Rigur thought it would be best to not bring me along. He thought it wouldn’t be safe, though I insisted on coming along for that very reason.” Aren said.
“Forgive my saying, but you don’t seem to be the bravest of individuals. What pressed you to insist on going on a journey that might risk your life?” Alice asked.
This prompted Aren to be quiet, after nearly a minute he took a deep breath.
“I would never forgive myself if Rigur was hurt while I sat around at home in the capital, save and happy while he was at risk. If he feels it’s necessary to endanger himself for another, then I shall feel inclined to feel the same for him.” Aren said.
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He spoke with a definite tonein his voice, not masking the uncertainty he felt, but pushing through it. He spoke with the conviction of a man who walked straight forward in the darkness.
“I can feel a deep sense of kindred spirit between you and him. Rigur said something quite similar, though he worded it a bit differently. I feel he was speaking of you when he said it.” Alice said.
“He did?” Aren said.
“Yes indeed, he did. Though he might have been a bit too proud to say it outright.” Alice said. They took a moment to laugh at Rigur’s expense, then a modicum of seriousness returned to the conversation. “Oh, I’m sorry, you came here to learn about me, but we’ve been talking about you and Rigur. My apologies.”
“Don’t worry about it, truth be told I’m glad that not all nobles are as tight-laced as some I’ve met.” Aren said, another small chuckle escaping his lips.
“I take myself seriously only so long as it doesn’t make regular conversation difficult. I find that the delicacies of the nobility make them rather fragile, not refined.” Alice said.
“Very true… So, forgive me for being blunt. Rigur has told me that you- well… I’m not sure how best to speak of it.” Aren said.
“If you mean the circumstances of my vision, then yes. I was born without sight. Though it is not something that has greatly hampered me until recently.” Alice said.
“Ah, you see, that is something I also meant to ask. There are, well, rumors about you. Regarding your… abilities…” Aren said.
“I should say, we are speaking as friends. There is no reason to tiptoe around topics you find important to understand. As for what you ask, I’ll say that I was blessed with my dear teacher at a young age, and she taught me how to see in a way most can’t. Through Divination.” Alice said.
“You were taught magic without being able to see?” Aren asked. “That’s incredible. It wasn’t myself, but my sister spent years being taught and that was with copious texts and diagrams. Your teacher must be a miracle worker.”
“She is, and was.” Alice said quietly.
Alice found herself saying this often, and never with the intent to drag a conversation down, but every time she did it always did. So at that moment, she had no reason to be any different. Instead of silence, she heard a contented sigh. This was not something she expected in the slightest.
“I see, well, in that case, I think I can truly relax.” Aren said.
“What do you mean?” Alice asked, not able to veil her confusion in the slightest.
“Something I hear from the nobility, almost universally, is the acclaim they shower upon themselves when given the merest chance to do so. I would have expected a more proud person to exclaim their talent or skill, but instead, you credited your teacher without reservation.” Aren said.
“You flatter me.” Alice said.
“That’s not my intention, really I am just happy that I can trust Rigur’s safety in your hands, as well as the hands of your mutual friend.” Aren said.
“You say that as though Rigur is the one at risk here.” Alice said.
“You may not believe me when I say it, but he has a terrible habit of making plans that break on first contact with reality. But if you’re here keeping him on the course, I don’t think it will fail so easily.” Aren said.
“I’m happy that you have such confidence. I’ll endeavor to meet your expectations.” Alice said with a smile.
“I’m sure you will.” Aren said.
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Rigur was sitting in his room on the ship. Normally it would be the captain’s quarters, but the captain in question insisted it wouldn’t be right for a lord to sleep on a bunk. He was putting the finishing touches on several letters he planned on delivering to key members of Betel’s government.
He had developed a three-step plan to boil the city’s underworld.
The first step would be to find Andromeda. If she had a lick of sense she would be staying as far away from Entai’s Estate as possible, but it would make no sense to leave the city either, that would just make it impossibly easy to capture her should that be the enemy’s desire. Once her position was secured, Alice would take residence with the Mizquen conclave. This would give Andromeda a place to be safe due to the international conflict that would result if the conclave was attacked. The country was already at war so no one would risk the red hot fury of the capital over it.
This would lead to the second phase of the plan. Once she was secured, it would be a matter of finding the source of the problem. It wasn’t impossible that Entai Algoer was the source, but in all likelihood, his invitation was a red herring to get Andromeda to Betel. He would root out this issue by conducting an official visit to the estate. The city would practically go on lockdown if a lord from the capital province were to visit, so any plans in motion would be stopped in their tracks. The city government wouldn’t dare let something bad happen to him.
Finally, the third step of the plan would take place, Andromeda would be spirited off of the island. This would need to be done covertly, and couldn’t involve himself personally at all. This is where Alice would come in. Because of her her father’s reputation in the capital, it would be easy for her to convince a ship to take her and Andromeda off the island.
There were many risks in this plan, however. The most critical one was that until they find her, there is no way to know for sure if she was safe, or that she even arrived on the island before or after them. The plan he had in mind was to give the travelers they took with him a solid description of her, but not her name. Doing this, they could find her without having to speak her name, as that might tip off the wrong kinds of people that someone else is looking for her.
Another downside was that if word had gotten out that Alice and himself arrived together, then that would make it very hard to operate in a way that didn’t make them look connected.
One issue that could range from major to minor is Andromeda herself. It was obvious that they were operating on limited information. For all they knew it was possible that Andromeda had the situation under control and that their intervention wasn’t needed.
To account for all but the last of these issues, and a myriad of others. They would delay their search by a couple of days, keep their heads down, and go their separate ways. Doing this would allow the travelers to get a lay of the city so they could better search when the time came without arousing suspicion, allow the interest in their arrival to die down, and allow Alice to make her way to her position without their connection being looked into. The last issue was something they couldn’t be sure of. The hope was that Andromeda would be found early enough in the search that no serious problems would arise.
Rigur heard a knock at the door, without waiting for his reply the door was opened. Rigur turned to see Aren standing in the doorway with a smile.
“I take it your conversation went well?” Rigur said.
“I’ll admit, I believe you. Someone like her wouldn’t just believe a hair-brained theory of yours without good reason.” Aren said.
“Thank you for the backhanded apology, now will you take my offer seriously?” Rigur said.
“Look, I understand that you’re doing something dangerous, but I don’t see why that can’t involve me.” Aren said. Rigur shook his head and cast a look over to his friend.
“Every person that gets involved with this is another factor that might be exploited. I tried to get you to understand back home, but you insisted.” Rigur said.
“Rigur, I don’t need to be coddled. Being your friend is already a risk enough as is. There is nothing that anyone on that whole island could do that would be worse than what the average randomer in the capital might do. So please, knock it off.” Aren said.
“Alright, I can see that you feel strongly about this, and it’s not as though I don’t trust you. Just keep in mind that if anything should happen to you, I’ll ruin the life of whoever did it and raise your soul from the dead just so I can end you myself.” Rigur said.
“As you had better.” Aren said.