Chapter 26
Party Decisions

~*~

Cassis and I leave the war room and make our way to the underground dungeons where Oren and Elric are still being held captive. The thief is lying on the ground in fetal position, while the monk is seated calmly with his eyes closed. They must've had to endure a lot.

"Magnus can be so cruel sometimes..." Cassis says. She approaches the guard standing by. "Let them go."

"Princess Cassis!" he says. "Apologies, but under Prince Magnus' orders, I cannot let them go. Please understand."

"You dare disobey my order?"

Before the guard stumbles further over his words, Magnus appears out of nowhere.

"Little sister," he says, "why are you being a nuisance to my men?"

Unfazed by his condescension, Cassis persists. "You are wasting your time with things of little significance. Aren't there more important matters at hand? The Speaker's threat, for example?"

"You do not get to tell me how to manage my time."

"I do if it concerns me." She points to Oren. "The monk is a friend, you will let him go. The thief as well. He's given up the Rebel life and is no more a heretic. There's no need to keep either of them caged like this."

Magnus grins, but it looks more like mockery than praise. "The paladin's mantra is one good deed a day, little sister. Not help everyone, everyday."

"I can do with my life whatever I please. Don't change the subject. Let these two go."

"Or else what? You're going to run to Lucian or Father to complain, isn't that right? Such a nuisance."

Cassis scowls at him, but Magnus simply scoffs. The two could argue forever and it won't get anywhere. I step in between them, ready to break off a fight should it come to it.

"I don't have time for this," Magnus finally says. He turns to the guard. "The monk and the thief can go. I have no more use for them."

"Is this some sort of trick?" Cassis says. "You never give in so easily, especially not to me."

"As I said, I have no use for them anymore." And with that, he starts to walk off. "Count it as my second good deed for the day. And Cassis, be a good girl and listen to Father for once, will you? Remember who had to save you back in the Moaning Ruins? Stay in Asentus."

Cassis looks like she wants to run after her brother and strangle him. She was ready to fight him, but his unusual behavior has left her confused.

As soon as the doors to the gates open, Oren and Elric's ears perk, and they open their eyes. When they see me, their faces turn from confusion to relief.

"How'd you convince them to let us go?" Elric asks me. Immediately remembering my inability to talk, he turns to Cassis. "Who are you?"

"Cassis!" Oren says, even more surprised that I was when I saw her again not too long ago. "I thought you were dead. We both thought you were dead."

Actually, only you did, monk.

"I thought I was a goner too."

"What happened to you back in the ruins?"

"It's stupid. I don't want to talk about it." Cassis is quick to change the subject. "Let's go somewhere else to talk. Guard, their belongings?"

The guard nods and quickly produces a couple bags, then tosses them over to Oren and Elric.

"Thank you," Oren says, calm as ever.

Elric harrumphs, expressing his displeasure at the guard. Just hours ago, he was being tortured to the brink of death. "There'd better not be anything missing."

Together, the four of us leave the prison. Cassis takes us back to her room. There, we start the conversation on what to do next.

Elric is the first to express his concern. "Magnus knows where our hideout is. That's the only reason he let us go. I have to go back and warn the others."

He's probably right. Either Jorry tattled, or something else gave away Fortra's location.

To everyone's surprise, Cassis grabs the thief by the collar. "Are you stupid or something? You barely got out alive, and now you want to flirt with death again?"

"Let go of me." Elric wrestles out of Cassis' grip. "Who the hell are you to tell me what to do?"

"I'm a Princess. And I just saved your ass."

"Thanks, but I can do whatever I want. It's my life."

"Then you should cherish it more. Don't you understand? You have no responsibility to the Heretics of the Word."

"Champions of Freespeech."

"Heretics!"

"Champions!"

This is giving me a headache. I'll have to close my eyes if this goes on for any longer.

Oren finally steps in. "I have a thought. Can you both please calm down and listen to what I have to say?"

Cassis and Elric back off from each other.

"Perfect. You see, I think this is a setup."

"What do you mean?" Elric asks.

"Magnus might not actually know where Fortra is. He let you go as a gesture of good faith. Or so it seems. I suspect he's put a track on you, or us. If you return to your friends now, you'll only expose their location. Do you follow?"

Oren has always been reasonable and logical. However, Magnus might very well already know that the Champions of Freespeech are. It wouldn't take too much investigation to find out. Jorry could have deduced that we came through the desert to reach Kamaraka. But if Magnus truly doesn't know, it would be a huge mistake to go back.

Elric still looks troubled. "Maybe. I don't know. What if he's already leading an army there?"

"That's impossible," Cassis is quick to interject. "I would know. And to be honest, the heretics are nothing to the kingdom. Annoying like a mosquito, but hardly cause for concern. We have more important matters at hand."

If only she knew they were involved with the Speaker.

"Why should I trust you?"

"I know him. Magnus is eager to please Father. He can only focus his energy on one thing at a time. He'll expend all his efforts to find the Speaker."

The prince does seem like someone with that kind of mindset. Cassis truly knows her brother, her nemesis, well.

At the mention of the Speaker, I tap on Elric's shoulder.

"The Speaker..." Oren says, turning to the thief to spill the beans. "Our friend here may know something."

Cassis eyes bulge. "You know about the Speaker?!"

Elric turns silent. There's no way he can deny it.

Oren crosses his arms. "If she's still in Fortra..."

"She's with the Heretics?!"

Alright, Cassis, calm down.

"Not anymore."

"Is that so?" Oren challenges.

"Yes." Elric looks over to me. "She left Fortra after learning that the seal at the dunes weren't connected to Eudimon."

Cassis grabs him. "If you know anything...even anything about the whereabouts of the Speaker, you...! Tell me where she is!"

"I don't know!"

Oren and I pull Cassis away from Elric.

After fighting us for a little bit, she gives and and sighs. "I have to find the Speaker. It's my only chance to prove to Father that I'm a better candidate for paladin than Magnus."

"The matter not only affects Asentus, but all of Zephyria. We will do all we can to help." Oren assures her, before turning to me for confirmation.

I nod.

Cassis's eyes glows. "Thank you. I knew I could count on the two of you." She casts a dismissive glance at Elric.

The thief is in his own world of thoughts. "I have to get in touch with Tillis somehow and warn her..."

Oren reminds him, "Remember, you might expose them."

"Dammit!"

Cassis takes a seat on a chair and rests her hand on her cheek. "Where could the Speaker have gone?"

"Do we have any leads?" Oren asks.

"Asentus is working with the other kingdoms to consult the descendants of the heroes who created the seals. The plan is to locate the seals, then send reinforcements there. Otherwise, it's a waiting game right now to see if the Speaker slips up and reveals her whereabouts."

"What about the Speaker Tribe? Have you spoken to them?"

"Yes, but they apparently refused to help."

"Sounds a bit suspicious," Oren says, he too now deep in thought.

I'm tempted to recommend we return to Fortra, but the safest bet is probably to visit the Speaker Tribe. Perhaps the king and his men came on too strong, resulting in the tribe's denial of the actions of one of their own, and thus refusing to help. I wonder if we could do our own investigation.

"Let's go to the Speaker Tribe and find out what's going on," Oren suggests, mirroring my thoughts.

Cassis nods to herself, her face already showing more positivity. "Just one problem: I have no idea where it is."

It appears none of us does. We can't ask anyone in Asentus, or the king will know and stop us from going.

"There is one way..." Oren finally says. His delay speaking up suggests that he doesn't like what he's about to propose. "We can inquire with the monks of Shalaron."

"That's right!" Cassis says, realizing something. "Shalaron has a good relationship with the Speaker Tribe, if I remember correctly. The monks there will certainly help us...Aren't you from Shalaron?"

Oren certainly is. Now I understand why he was hesitant to mention them. I recall our conversation in the Wildlands, when he briefly mentioned Shalaron. He must have some troubles back there.

"Yes, I am a monk of Shalaron," the monk replies. "And you're correct. We do have a good relationship with the Speaker Tribe. I personally have no knowledge of there whereabouts, but the elders at Shalaron certainly do. Whether I'd be welcomed there is another matter..."

"Personal matters?" Cassis says. "I won't pry. It's alright if you don't want to go. I know the way."

"No," Oren says. "I'll accompany you. It's not as simple as you think to get there. Not everyone is allowed to enter Shalaron."

"I see. Then shall we go?"

Oren suggests we drop by the cartographer's residence to get a Map of the world. Even with the monk's connections, the cost of the drafting a new map is astronomical.

Elric blows a gasket. "500000 Gold!?"

"Not even a discount for an old friend?" Oren crosses his arms in disappointment.

Cassis tries to pressure the cartographer with her Princess status. "Do you know who I am?"

The cartographer merely smiles at her. "Princess Cassis, of course. Let me explain. The materials alone would cost 300000 Gold. Factor in time and effort, and you'll see that my offer is very reasonable. His Majesty the other day paid 750000 Gold for the finished product. Surely 500000 Gold is peanuts for someone of your status..."

"Well..." She turns to me. "What do you think? I guess I could pull a few strings and get us the money..."

I walk up to the cartographer and show him an Old Map I found a while go. It's covered in smudges, but maybe this guy can fix it.

"Ah," he says, his tone already changing. "I see you have an Old Map. The details are marred by time, but perhaps I can cure it."

"How much?" Cassis asks.

"Hmmm...100000 Gold. You can pick it up in a day's time."

If we pool our resources, we can just barely afford it, Elric being the biggest contributor.

"It's a deal!" he says, not even waiting for agreement from us.

And so, we have a day to pass before the map is ready.

The city hasn't changed at all since Cassis showed me around. I thought with the story advancing, there'd be some new words from the NPCs, but they're still as pointless as before. A couple guards stand at the entrance, and when we try leave, one of them stops us.

"Princess Cassis," he say. "We cannot let you pass. His Majesty's orders."

Cassis grudgingly tells us, "I'll think of another way..."

The second guard on duty turns out to be Tom, who recognizes me. "You were the one who delivered me Lisa's letter! Please tell her I'll be visiting Fiddles when the next moon is half full."

I don't know how he expects to deliver the message when he's blocking me from leaving.

"Here, take this."

"I haven't used my Merchant's License in ages. Maybe you'll find a use for it."

I check my Job Specialties and as expected, I've filled up Job slots. I decide to give the Farmer's license to Cassis, to which she declines.

"Um, that's not something a Princess does."

Elric steps in. "Hey mute, I'll take your Miner's license and Shovel. I've always wanted to learn to Dig."

I'm not against it, but I just worry he'll leave the party at some point. Cassis is still a Miner, so I suppose it's alright.

After relinquishing my Miner's license, I'm able to use the Merchant's license.

With my Miner's license gone, its corresponding Job Specialties are now locked. I try out the Set Up Shop skill, but Tom stops me.

"Hey! You're not allowed to set up shop in Asentus until your job skill is at least level 5!"

I thought so. It was worth a shot.

"Shall we pass a day at the tavern?" Oren suggests.

With nothing else to do, I take us to the tavern for a good night's rest.

The next day, we pick up the Map from the cartographer.

Looking at the map, I feel like I'm in a geography class. The world Zephyria is quite immense, as I've recently learned. It's divided into four main segments occupied by each of the four kingdoms, the two large islands in the north being under the Kingdom of Asentus' domain. The western island features landmarks such as the Aniraco Plains, the Wildlands, the Moaning Valley, and the Tower of Destiny. To its east lie the Asentian Desert, the Eluso Plains, and the capital city of Asentus itself. All this covers only about ten percent of the entire world. Shalaron is located at the southern tip of the Aniraco Plains.

Elric eyes the map with excitement. "I never knew all these places existed! So many dungeons...So many treasures. Let's visit them all, alright?"

I had doubts, but it looks like he'll be joining us after all.

~*~