Caius watched Grelck flee as if the fires of hell were after him. If only… when he returned, he complained at great length. Grelck trying to create a wedge! That his Little Snack's Beloved was some abomination that should have been killed! Caius swore to be on his Little Snack's side. He complained loud enough for all to hear.
Ashton continued to brush the fox's fur out. Listening to the fox's declarations. If the fox was making such public declarations… Alaina would hear them. Ashton smiled lightly, now… would the Adarian's take the bait?
Sebastian took a deep breath as Grelck didn't even bother to acknowledge them. Complete devastation… for Grelck to be concerned with this… abomination… was it soon to make an appearance? The concern was mirrored among many who had been silent observers. Even though they had slept most of the day away, everyone still obviously lethargic. It was unanimously agreed that everyone would close to camp.
Leonard must have forcibly corrected his posture a dozen times in half as many minutes.
"I've already assigned thirty mages to scour the records for legends of an abominations and mass destruction. The closest they came was the legend of the eternal dessert. Roughly 400 years ago, supposedly the mate of a demigod was slain. The legend goes that the demigod erupted in a rage, sacrificing its own lifeforce to curse the very land. Since then, nothing had been able to survive in that dessert, the entire continent had been abandoned.
Every few years, groups attempted to cultivate the land but they either die trying, left, or disappeared. The empire had sent an expedition about three years ago but not even the corpses had been found after a week.
Devlin glanced around, "We don't really think that Ash- Lord Reece," Devlin corrected as Leonard's pointed glance, "Is a demigod do we?"
Jaxon barely lifted his gaze, "I have little doubt. We should focus on what kind of demigod it was. Everything is so ambiguous. A bird of fire… there are dozens of breeds. There's also no mention of what kind of creature was his mate." He was so tired… not just from the sloth beast. Just… everything. The empire, the beasts, the visiting dignitaries, Aaron's delay, Monroe's injuries, the list seemed endless and yet it continued to grow.
Katherine hesitated, "Your majesty… the definition of a demigod is highly disputed. Most believe any child of a god and other being is a demigod, but there are ancient records that state only the heir to a god is considered a demigod. It may seem semantic, but it's a defining feature to look for." To prove her point she brought out three ancient texts.
Devlin sighed with a nod, "Lets focus on the curse, death curses also take the life of the caster. If Lord Reece is alive and well, then its either unique, he didn't cast the curse, or its an ongoing cast."
Leonard raised his gaze to look around the room, "Does that really matter?" Everyone stilled to look at him, "What we should focus on… is this so-called abomination. If it's still alive, and making its way to Lord Reece, there's no telling what kind of sacrifices are used to keep it alive."
Sebastian snorted, "You give too much credit to that Sloth beast, and not enough to Lord Reece. Grelck has always avoided conflict, yes it is concerning he's so adamantly against this so called mate. But I do not believe Lord Reece, past or present, would react so strongly without serious provocation."
Lucian watched Duke Carlos, "The threat itself is reason enough for concern."
Sebastian met his Majesty's focused gaze with an unyielding belief, "Might maketh right your majesty. That is the creed and belief of the empire. We have no right to cry foul, it is best we befriend rather than confront an unkillable enemy."
Lucian glared at Sebastian, "You constantly insist we bend the knee, are you so eager to submit yourself?"
Sebastian didn't waver, "I bowed to you your majesty. At least Lord Reece has proven himself magnanimous and reasonable. Dare you claim the same?"
Jaxon shot up and slammed his fist on the table, "Duke Carlos, that is our Liege!"
Devlin also stood up, "Careful with your words Duke Carlos, you teeter on the brink of treason."
Sebastian tapped his cane on the ground as he stood. "At least in treason, I have honor. I will excuse myself, majesty, lords." Sebastian wasn't sure if it was the effects of the sloth beast, but he felt exhausted. More than just physically, but rather than repeat himself… Sebastian thought about simply… leaving. Taking his family to abscond in the night. Leave his vassals, troops, properties, everything. Simply find new home. It was often easier to start over than to fix something.
Devlin had the mages set new wards to exclude the Carlos duchy, then turned to the others. "I may not have the best head for politics, but Duke Carlos appears compromised."
Jaxon took a deep breath, "At this rate, the church won't need to tear us apart. Internal strife will be our downfall."
Leonard gripped his nose, "When will Lord Wilt return? He has news to share yes?"
Devlin shook his head, "He will return with the Isle delegation. There was an attack on his party, only three survived."
Jaxon frowned, "They are set to arrive in two or three days, Aaron should have returned already. How did he end up getting so turned around?"
Katherine fumbled as she pulled out two contradictory reports, "The first report stated that civilians attempted to rob the group as they were pretending to be merchants under Westley's caravan, but less than an hour ago one of the bandits used holy mana to heal two of the other captured and escape. The rest all died within minutes of their escape."
Devlin took the report, "There's something off about the spell. Bandit mages are rare… but priests dressing up as bandits seems… too obvious. What else did they find?" Devlin continued to scrutinize the recreated spell… he couldn't tell what was off but… something wasn't right. He'd probably need to have the mana replication before he could make sense of it.
"That still doesn't explain how he ended up two days south when he was supposed to be coming from the northwest. They passed the capital but couldn't send for reinforcements? Or send word to anyone?" Leonard reiterated, raising the questions no one seemed to be asking.
Jaxon searched the report again, "They were coming from the Cerulean Forest, in disguise. We are almost directly east, there should have been no reason to go south to return to the capital, let alone past. Send three discrete mercenaries to retrace the path."
Leonard sat back rubbing his face again as he tried to focus. "We should see if we can contact Aaron before the Isle delegation arrives. So far only a single messenger hawk has arrived. Perhaps I'm just being suspicious but… the whole situation seems off. Especially this masked, cloaked, mute fellow who rescued Aaron and the last two guards."
Jaxon jolted, "What? Where did you see that?"
Lucian stood up to follow along Leonard's paper. "Why did Our report lack this information?"
Leonard blinked, "I was only given this just moments ago, when the rest were handed out." They all glanced at their versions of the report. All four were different. Various seemingly random information was missing. The spell on Devlin's report was the only incorrect holy spell, only Leonard's had information about the rescuer, Jaxon's lacked the bit about the messenger hawk, but stated information had been received just south of the capital. Lucian's had information regarding a captured siren the Isle Delegation were going to offer as tribute.
Katherine paled, "I swear your majesty, they were all identical when I checked them, I swear it on my life!" She dropped to her knees bowing her head subserviently.
Devlin cast a dozen spells, then shook his head. "I can't see any tampering spells or illusions… I doubt its possible… but maybe the Sloth beast's presence… affected the one making the copies of the reports?" While it didn't exactly make sense… Katherine wasn't dumb enough to believe tampering with each report would go unnoticed. Not with such glaringly different reports.
Lucian clenched his jaw, "Recheck all the reports, twice. Find all the inconsistencies."
Jaxon pinched his thigh, "Please excuse me to check on Monroe, then I will return to assist." Lucian waved him away. The endless list grows evermore.
Caius did his best to cater to his Little Snack, but he was more distant. Watching more, speaking less, his responses were accurate, but he seemed more… distracted. "Aiya, Little Snack, what are you looking at? Still sleepy?" Caius walked around the newly flattened clearing, carrying his Little Snack on his tail.
Ashton glanced up, "Just enjoying the sun big fox." Ashton leaned back into the tails as he watched the drifting clouds. As the big fox continued to wander around Ashton twirled the golden feather between his fingers. Ah Ru, if you really wanted me to change… you'd have ignored me. Ashton gave a small chuckle as the light reflected off the feather. Such a softie. Gold, red, white. Soon.
Caius deliberately stayed up all night to watch over his Little Snack, something was off. He was so quiet, distant. Caius wasn't sure if it was because of Grelck's visit, or if whatever was coming from the south had soured his Little Snack's mood. There was also noticeable tension between the human delegations. The Adarian's actions causing the other delegations to become wary and distant.
Neolani had been feeling something on and off since Grelck's visit. Like a presence… periodically checking her location, then disappearing before she could try and latch onto it. Melia had noticed it once… but since then nothing. Yet every time she tried to approach Ashton, Caius would leave in the opposite direction. The foxes were also poking their noses into everything. Tents, bags, fodder, as if they were looking for something.
Melia glanced around, "Mom, I felt it again. Closer this time. Should we…?" Caius was just walking in circles while dinner, or a very late lunch was being prepared. The imperials had also been on edge. So many powerful beasts congregating had put everyone on edge. Many of the warrior mages had taken up extra shifts, some feeling uneasy but not understanding why.
Neolani watched Caius prance around. "If Ashton isn't worried don't make a fuss. Just increase the overlapping shifts and wards."
Just as the sun was about to set Ashton opened his eyes. So, they were too impatient to wait. Ashton let a sardonic smile escape, at least he had the good sense to wait for morning. Ashton eyed the delegations, the little Flower drifting along the periphery. He'd have to keep an eye on her. Ashton closed his eyes settling in for the night. Tomorrow, he would remind them.