Oh no. Soldiers. The raven laguez knew the stories. The heavy soldier fortunately jumped out of his claws as soon as he saw his prince as Nortiz forced his aching wings to fly high and away. The humans would be fine (hopefully the other laguez would be as well as long as she was with the prince). Fellow humans were still viewed with basic civility even if they did seek to help the "half-animals". Any laguez though, especially one caught breaking the new "laws"...
Nortiz struggled to fly faster onwards, desperately hoping they either missed him when they were looking to arrest or didn't have bows. If he escaped this, he could either go back to his original plan or see if they needed help later on. In order to help though, he needed to not fall into their hands. And to do that, he needed to fly.
"I'd say that's an understatement," Erik answered his companion Zachary. The prince looked around at the lances pointed at him and contemplated what to do, while also taking a good look at the soldiers more carefully. There was... something wrong about this. Obviously the law was unfair. But something else was bothering Erik. It was these soldiers, their stances in particular. They were... off. They didn't seem like any standard Mirician soldier.
"Your answer, Prince Reighn?" The mustached lance-wielder asked again. Erik gazed at the mustached man, then down at the wolf laguz by his feet. He exchanged glances with Zachary and Gregory, and figured the best route would be to simply desist and comply. Nothing good would come from it otherwise.
"We'll accompany you," Erik stated with a salty tone. He watched the raven laguz previously carrying Gregory appear to take off, and Erik did his best not to look in that direction, so as to not attract any attention to him. He knew the situation well enough to understand that any laguz caught in the middle of this would be horrendous for them.
"Excellent," The mustached man nodded, causing the lance-wielders to raise their lances. "Now then, two things, my lord," He addressed the prince. "First, we must dispose of the ruffian still inside the tavern causing a disturbance. I assume he is not with you and that he may be... taken care of?"
Erik gritted his teeth. He knew exactly what they meant. Although he wasn't fond of the strange-haired mage causing damage, he also didn't want him brutally murdered without any chance to defend himself. Erik had to think quick on his feet. "The man hurt my comrades! I'd have him answer to me, if that's fair."
"Ah, that should work, my lord," The mustached commander nodded, and called for one of the soldiers to step forward. The man's appearance was different than the other soldiers, so much so that Prince Erik recognized him right away. He wasn't a regular soldier. He wasn't even Mirician. He was from Monos, the frozen lands of the north.
Derius Merridan is the First Knight of Monos, a title granted to the strongest knight in the royal guard of Monos. Derius is a fiend, one who cares little about the excuses or pity of others, and carries out his orders swiftly and brutally. Erik had met him while he had trained with his friend, the crown prince of Monos. He had always given him the creeps, even when he was younger. His horned helmet resembled the wyverns found in that frozen country. Yet if Erik had to choose between fighting the First Knight and a fully grown, vicious wyvern, he would choose the Wyvern every time.
Derius walked into the tavern, and approached Felix inside. Instantly, many of the ruffians who initially resisted had paled and backed off, knowing full well who this man was. "Desist and accompany me, or die. You will not be warned again," The large, armored man stated loudly as he grabbed for his large halberd.
Erik could only watch as the First Knight had entered the tavern. He felt sweat drip off his brow, as he turned his attention to the mustached commander again. "Now then, secondly, that one," He pointed to the black laguz in the sky. "Was he one of the conspirators too, Prince Reighn? Shall he be annihilated?"
"No!" Gregory suddenly whispered beside Erik. The Prince grabbed his larger knight companion and gritted his teeth. "He's with us," He said impulsively, knowing full well the laguz would be captured now. But he knew being capture would be much preferable to execution.
"Very well then... Master Joriah, will you please?" The mustached man called to another, recognizable face to Erik.
The man was almost as famous as his counterpart, Derius. As the First Mage of Monos, Joriah was in charge of the entire mage division of Monos. He was an unpleasant man who spent more time counting his money and spending it on gambling and other vices than on leading. But his skill could not be denied. His lightning magic was as precise as it was deadly. He walked forward with a grin and cried out to the flying laguz.
"Black-winged beast!" He called hatefully. "Get down here, or be brought down!"
It was only then that it began to dawn on Erik what was going on. The mustached man was a Mirician General of some sort. He couldn't pinpoint his name, but he had seen his face. However, the troops, their armor, and most especially their long, deadly lances, all bore the resemblance not of Mirician soldiers. They were from Monos.
A young, what should we call him, aristocrat? Diplomat?
I like Diplomat better...
A young diplomat was walking the streets of Mircia, noticing quite the hectic bar fight taking place. Once he got to the commotion, it seemed to have died down. What struck him as odd, though, was the incredibly powerful Monos presence, in one little bar. knowing that there was more to this tale than let on, he decided to let his talking try to calm the fight down rather than let it reignite, but this time everyone dying thanks to the Monosian powerhouses.
Gerwazy nudged his way to the center, where he saw the last person he would expect to be at a little racist bar, a prince from Albia. 'Perfect,' Gerwazy thought to himself, 'this sounds like the start to a bad joke.' The diplomat made his way to the Monos knight and wizard and said "Oh dear, what do we have here. If you continue this racist speech, than it might attract some onlookers. The last thing we want is the press to come out direction. So how about we just lower the weapons and talk this out like the civilized folk we are?"
At this point, Gerwazy was spewing stuff out his ass. He did not know the full story, but was trying to defuse it from becoming an actual skirmish. He prayed to the Goddess to aide him in this struggle
"Black-winged beast!" He called hatefully. "Get down here, or be brought down!"
Nortiz glanced back at the scene. When had a random disturbance involving Laguez been considered important enough to involve mages (even it had involved a destroyed tavern)? Archers, he'd been expecting. Mages though, that was a different thing entirely, especially if the guy had wind magic on him. The raven swooped downwards, aiming to go behind the tallest building around and fly from there until the chase was given up on (not thinking about what could happen if he didn't get away, nope not at all). The guard couldn't be desperate enough yet that they'd destroy property to bring him down. So his best bet was to get out of the mage guy's range and line of sight while avoiding any other guards' attempts to bring him down. If he'd thought to bring a second set of clothes, maybe he could find a place out of sight, change, then attempt to disappear into the crowd, but he'd not imagined this kind of scenario happening today. What he had though was flight and speed. With a little bit of luck, he might still manage to shake off his pursuit, get into clothes, then plot out his next course of action. No way would he willing submit again, even if (when) this made things harder for him.
At the very least, "beast" was a better word than "pet".
The mustached Mirician commander glanced at the newly arrived laguz incredulously and seemed about to give an order to his men, before Erik quickly intervened. "He's also with me," The Albian prince announced and stepped one foot forward. He glanced back at the new arrival with a curious glare before he looked back forward. The mustached commander seemed less impressed with Erik's answer, but lowered his hand before an order was given.
The mage from Monos, Joriah, meanwhile, gleefully smiled as he watched the raven get away. "Better for me!" He shouted happily as he prepared to fire a bolt of lightning from one of his tome books at the laguz.
However, Erik once more shouted, "And him!" Erik stated loud enough for the mage to turn his head at the younger prince. "He's also a part of my group."
Joriah eyed Erik up and down with displeasure, then shrugged. "I don't much care who that thing is with. He is an enemy to me."
"But as long as the Prince of Albia claims him, you cannot," The mustached commander said.
"You may command your Mirician forces, Albert, but you are not mine," Joriah spat back at the mustached commander, who Joriah identified as being called Albert. Erik knew the name.
"Bah!" Joriah exclaimed and threw his hands up, dissipating the spell. "Have it your way... for now." The mage angrily watched the raven laguz disappear. "Well, what will be done about him, then?"
"My men will retrieve him," Albert stated as he rubbed his mustache in thought. "As for the rest of you," He gestured to Erik, Zachary, Gregory, and the laguz near by. "You are to accompany me to the throne room. The King Jacob will see you."
Erik nodded and glanced at the new arriving laguz with a hint of annoyance. He looked at Gregory, his large knight companion, and motioned for him to talk to the laguz.
Gregory nodded and smiled at the laguz. "Just follow us and act like you're with us. When the king is done with us, we'll leave and cut you loose without any problems. Please just go along with it," The large knight leaned in further. "The Monos guys are some of their strongest fighters. We don't want to mess with them right now."
Gerwazy sighed relief. His tactic paid off. He looked at Prince Erik and bowed. "My liege, I come looking for you. I am Gerwazy Casimir of Kuro. I am here on diplomatic terms."
The raven straightened up behind the building, bracing for the sound of the mage's magic overhead.
Only for it to never come.
Nortiz puzzled through the mystery as he mechanically flew through the streets. The man had been ready to strike, his posture shouted that. There ought to have been a missed shot at least. They couldn't have given up on him already, not with the amount of guards. Maybe they were content to let him get away? Doubtful, but given they did have other prisoners, there should be some time before some would be sent to...
A brief glance out of the corner of his eye was all the warning he had before the net engulfed him. Frantically, he struggled to bite or claw his way out, but he was also falling to the ground. Progress was made, but the crash to the ground stunned him long enough for the guards to swarm. His wings were pushed together and tied first, even as he scrambled to fight them off. Then some wrapped rope around his neck and beak before it became his lead line while the rest hobble roped his legs, restricting his kicking range. All he could do for now was glare, fighting the helplessness and visions that rose up in his head. But of course, that glare would cause the sergeant to chuckle.
"Fiesty little bird, aren't you,"commented the sergeant as he stroked Nortiz's head, smirking as the raven failed to control his flinch. "I can see why a prince would claim you for himself." He then stood up and jerked on the leadline, causing Nortiz to stumble forward. "Form ranks around the prisoner and get ready to double-time to the palace. We wouldn't want to cause a diplomatic incident now, would we?"
Some of the men chuckled and the raven focused on the feel of cobblestone on his talons. He couldn't panic now. Panic later when alone (if he was left alone for long enough). He couldn't escape now (he'd simply be more tightly bound if he was in beroc form especially with his current lack of clothes and had no chance against all the guards right now), but if he kept his wits about him he could escape later no matter what happened before then (even if it took years). No telling why a foreign prince would claim a random laguz that flew away, but he could survive whatever came (he had before). There was one little bit of comfort he could think of as the guards dragged him to the castle. He'd managed to get into the palace after all.
The last thing Erik expected was for Kuro to send anyone. Kuro was an isolationist nation, preferring to tend to the matters of their own borders rather than anything else. So when Gerwazy introduced himself, Kuro was admittedly shocked. "Best keep that information a secret. These ones do not take kindly to the laguz." He explained.
The palace of Dawn was marvelous. Erik himself didn't appreciate architecture like his older brother, but even he knew it was quite a sight. Hallways filled with majestic statues and intricate designs. Bronze busts of heroes of old. Incredibly details paintings along the walls. It had it all. And the throne room was the most special room of all. A red carpet led its way from the last doors to the golden throne. Guards patrolled every exit of the throne room, alone with half a dozen of them beside the young king, Jacob III.
"Hail, King Jacob!" Gregory called from beside Prince Erik. Erik knew he was supposed to be the one to greet the king, but he was distracted by the days events, and forgot. Erik wasn't always the best with nobility formalities. Beside him, he had the two laguz he had encountered, as well as Gerwazy from Kuro and Zachary.
"Prince Erik," The King Jacob greeted with a small nod of his head. The young prince had seen better days. His skin was worn and sweaty. He was more pale than Erik remember. His general expressions seemed much more grim as well. "You and your... accomplices have some explaining to do." The King looked across the laguz with a hint of disgust on his face. It was as Erik feared. He was completely blaming laguz for his father's death.
"Maybe you can explain your own actions, King Jacob," Erik answered as politely as he could must at that moment. "Laguz restriction laws? Monos elites? What's going on here?"
"I do not have to explain my actions to a foreign prince, sir" The King responded. "Monos is here to assist with the sub-human situation. What I want to know is what happened in the city. Or perhaps one of your companions may speak and enlighten us all?"
Gerwazy pipes in. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Gerwazy Casimir of Kuro. I am a laguz here on a diplomatic mission and to aid my brethren in this time of crisis. Allow me to extend my regrets for your fathers death. While it is troubling times, I also come with news of my homeland. We do not approve of the treatment of the Laguz in Miricia."
He steadies himself and continues speaking. "My kind have always been in conflict with your kind, but this is not what your father would have wanted. Your emergency of state is nothing more than a hate crime. I ask you, no, I beg you, let my people free."
An incredulous look came to Zachary’s face as he hears the diplomat of Kuro speak. I-Is this guy trying to start something?! The situation is already tense as is. Throwing grease onto a flame will only make this worse. Body moving on instinct, Zachary moves in front of Mr. Casimir, letting out loud fake coughing to grab attention as he gently pushes the diplomat back with his arm.
Zachary brings his arm back over his chest, bowing quickly to King Jacob. “Your Highness, allow me to speak upon this morning. Prince Eric and we of his group, arrived here after 18 days of travel. Once we arrived here in Dawn, we headed towards the meeting at the ‘Dancing Dragon’ tavern. Not long after our arrival, however, a strange young man had fallen through the roof of the tavern. As soon as said individual was up on his feet, he started casting magic at other patrons of the tavern sporadically, causing chaos as some patrons started to lash out in the fray. Prince Erik quickly took action, ordering several of us to aid patrons out of the tavern, as he jumped into the brawl and tried to apprehend the mad Mage. Plans changed though, as said mage’s fire magic caught the tavern alight and we made our exit. It was at that time we came out to the waiting if you guards and soldiers of Monos, who of course, brought us to you.”
King Jacob listened to Zachary's explanation about the day's events carefully, feeling the need to address it first. "I see. Then, this mage, is he laguz?"
"Human," Erik replied curtly.
"Human," King Jacob repeated. "We shall keep him confined to the weeks end, and release him then." The King ordered. Erik was about to protest, believing some stricter action may have been necessary for the violent mage. However, Gregory grabbed onto the Prince's arm and motioned him not to say anything. Erik was tempted to ignore his companions behest, but ultimately decided this was for the best.
The young King Jacob furrowed his brows and glared at Gerwazy. "Allow me to explain one thing," The young ruler began. He grasped onto the throne room vigorously. "The sub-humans of Miricia are my people, not yours," Jacob snapped. "You are allowed here simply because I wanted to figure out what happened to my father."
"Then let us figure out what happened to him," Erik interjected, as he rose and took a step forward. "Your highness, your father and I were good friends. I fought with him. I laughed with him. I cried with him. Let me bring the bastard that did this to justice."
King Jacob fell silent for a moment. A shorter, portly man whispered into the King's ear. Erik didn't necessarily recognize him, but his garb was very much something typical of Monos. Erik was beginning to dislike the involvement of the northern nation more and more. Yet as of now, Erik was more concerned about finding out more about his friend's death. "Very well. On behalf of Miricia, I would charge you to bring back the traitor who murdered my father, King Temerus, to face the King's justice."
"I... king Jacob, surely you don't really believe that the laguz King of Miricia was behind this, do you?" Erik asked the young King.
"Of course I do!" Jacob exploded angrily. "All the signs point to him. He is guilty, and he must pay."
Erik shook his head. "We can't know for sure. A better idea would be to investigate here first, and-"
"While we wait here," Albert, the mustached commander interjected. "Derak protects Temerus. What if he flees through their aid? What if he departs and is never heard from again? Even if what you say is true, and Temerus has not done anything, then hear it from his own mouth. Show us that he has nothing to hide. Clear his name, if you must."
Erik gritted his teeth. This wasn't what he had planned to do. A trip to Derak would take time. It would be a couple weeks journey at least, and that's if it was a straight shot. And Erik knew the likelihood of finding actual clues more likely in Miricia itself. Yet Erik knew now his best bet was to first clear up the matter with Temerus. Even if there was a small chance he could have done it, the sooner they ruled him out, the better. Erik looked at Albert, and then toward the two Monosian knights from before, Joriah and Derius. Their involvement here was even more troubling, but Erik saw now way to help it now.
"All right," Erik finally conceded. "I'll go to Derak and clear this up. And when I return, I'll find the answers I seek."
The King leaned back in his chair, a look of satisfaction on his face. "Good. I presume you will have a team with you on your travels?"
"Gregory and Zachary will accompany me," Erik replied as he looked over his knights. He then glanced at Gerwazy, then the wolf and raven laguz beside him, not sure what to make of them at this point.
"And the bird, dragon and wolf?" Albert asked the prince. "What's their part in all of this?" Erik fell silent and looked toward the two, figuring he'd give them to explain for themselves their involvement, if any really.
Gerwazy was quite disappointing that he did not get the answer he wanted, but decided to keep it to himself. "I can assure you," He says. "That I am here on orders to protect and aide Prince Erik, so I will accompany him on this trek to catch a king." His black eyes turning a slight icy blue. "But make me one thing clear, Neither my country or I approve of this. You will be hearing from the people above me."
"It is you and your people that will be hearing of me!" King Jacob snapped at Gerwazy angrily. He then turned to Erik. "And I supposed the rest of the laguz will be joining you as well?"
Prince Erik glanced over at the wolf and raven laguz. Though he didn't want to answer for them, he felt it best that he were the one to speak at the moment, as the King was apparently too bigoted and angry to see any sort of reason with regard to the laguz. "Correct, your highness," More quietly, he whispered to the laguz. "Don't worry about this. You have no obligation to me when we leave this palace."
"Then I charge you with finding the truth and bringing the enemy Temerus back to me!" King Jacob announced, his voice echoing through the halls.
"Which apparently would be right now," Erik joked quietly to the other laguz. "I promise to find the truth, King Jacob. For your father, I promise that." He nodded, gave a quick, half effort bow, and turned to leave. Gregory gave a more pronounced bow and followed the knight out. King Jacob eyed the group as they proceeded out of the throne room.
"Well, that went well," Gregory murmured outside the palace gates. The group had been escorted out of the castle and back onto the streets of Dawn. "Definitely could have been worse!" He exclaimed with a warm smile.
"He's blinded by his grief, and being stupid," Erik responded curtly. "The answers to this won't be in Derak. They're here, and we're wasting time."
"My prince," Gregory began. "I know you want to find out who killed your friend, but isn't there wisdom in going to Derak?"
"I don't really care a lot about wisdom," Erik snapped. "Jacob is dead. Whoever did it has to pay."
"And I am sure justice will find him," Gregory added reassuringly. "But as much as King Jacob needed justice, so too does Temerus, does he not? Do not the people, the laguz of Miricia deserve it? We have to clear Temerus's name too. So that peace can come back here."
"And what if he actually did do it?" Erik asked his knight companion.
Gregory shrugged. "Then justice will be served."
Erik glanced at his friend for a long while, before he looked over to the others. "What do you all believe?" He asked, before he addressed the laguz besides Gerwazy. "And by the way, you are under no obligation to stay with my group any longer. Your business is your own."
Nortiz shrugged his shoulders, putting on an air of non-calance. "Clearing King Temerius's name would be one step closer to finding out the truth. At the very least, he'd know some of the answers we seek. Besides, I know my way around Derak. As you have protected my life this day, it would be ungrateful of me to not offer what assistance I can give to your quest, especially as it concerns my people." His fist tightened at that last thought, but he held it in, as he'd held in his anger in front of the seated king.
He was more sure than ever that Jacob had killed his father. Just the way he didn't even allow this new prince to even know the details of the murder, how easily the laguez bias came to him. If he hadn't held his tongue, he was sure that his lack of real diplomatic immunity would have brought his investigations to a halt. As this party seemed to want to solve the mystery once and for all yet didn't seem to consider Jacob as the possible guilty party, he may as well hang around. It was the laguez of Mirica that dealt with the after affects more than anyone else.
Besides, the guards would probably arrest him again if he didn't go with the prince and that would mean no chance to investigate at all (as well as the probable happening of other things). He'd just have to be wary and hope that the prince and his knights were truly the type of beroc they seemed to be.
His hand clasping his chin, Zachary thinks upon what the current goal now is. Though King Jacob was quite sure that King Temerus was the one behind his fathers assassination, it seemed odd to him that said king would do such an act out of nowhere with what the kingdom’s recent goals had been. There was still little information for him to come to any sort of clear conclusion on the matter.
“There is nothing solid that we know of right now. King Temerus could be guilty, but it just seems odd to me that with the goal he and King Jacob’s father were working towards.” Zachary looks Prince Erik in the eye with a look of certainty. “No matter the case though, seeking out King Teremus and finding out anything he may know is probably our current best course of action if you ask me, your highness.”
His eyes then drift back towards the castle. “Besides, with King Jacob’s current… disposition, I don’t believe staying here will be very productive in solving the current crisis. Every second it continues, the more the innocent Laguez citizens here will suffer.”
Prince Erik nodded as most of the group seemed to agree that clearing King Temerus's name was the best course of action. He didn't usually take the diplomatic route in his travels, but here he was, breaking his routines. Erik wasn't sorry. If this would help him find out about his friend, he'd do whatever it took.
"If that's the case, there are two paths to Derak," Gregory explained as he laid out a map of Karula in front of them.
On the map, it showed the smaller nation of Miricia right in the center. Maul was to its west at approximately twice its size; Albia to its east, at roughly the same size, Monos to its north was approximately the same size as Maul, and Gannon, the largest nation, was to the south and southeast of Miricia. Derak was located on isles to the south of Gannon. Kuro, meanwhile, was a small nation half the size of Miricia to the southwest of Monos.
"We can either head east to Albia. From there, we could travel through my lands relatively undeterred until we reach the shores. Then we can take a ship from the east all the way to Derak. Travel through my country will probably be easier, but the waters along the way to Derak would be filled with pirates, mostly from Gannon. That could slow us down," Gregory explained as he pointed downward on the map toward Gannon. "The other choice is to travel south of here, through the western parts of Gannon. Normally, Gannon isn't too keen on foreign nationals travelling along its borders. But it's mostly concentrated along its shorelines, so we can probably slip by without too much resistance. Then again, because of the lack of much official Gannon presence, there's a lot of bandits that roam the areas. And any Gannon soldiers are a lot more corrupt than others. Once we hit the water, however, the ports of south Gannon are a lot closer to Derak, making it a smooth ride from there," Gregory looked up at the others and awaited their thoughts. "Those are the two best options we have."
Erik scanned the map and immediately thought of suggesting the Albian path. It seemed more steady. It would take a bit longer, but they could regroup and even gather more allies in Albia, as well as supplies from the capital. The only issue being that this path would likely take longer, especially once they reached the shores. "So it's a choice between the harder path and the longer one. Thoughts?" Prince Erik asked the others.
"I suggest we take the road east to Albia. It will be friendly territory for a while, and we do seem to be more, how do I put it, more armed than other travelers. We would be harder to kill than the more average merchant or pilgrim." Gerwazy said.
Believe it or not, but Nova had been tailing the odd group of people and Laguz ever since they ended up surrounded and taken to see King Jacob the Third. Of course he had heard about the rendezvous point being in the Dancing Dragon, a place the young boy had committed to memory since learning this information, but the King probably wasn't expecting someone so young to take up the offer. Before he could even touch the door to get into the tavern, Nova was stopped by a sign next to the door saying that he'd need an adult with him to get in. Talk about luck...
So being the good kid he was, Nova lounged around until the commotion coming from inside brought them back over, only to see the strange group being escorted to the palace. His small stature proved to be beneficial as he unintentionally positioned himself right behind Gregory, becoming his shadow on the way to, inside of, and out of the palace, remaining entirely silent during the whole ordeal. There was nothing to comment about that wasn't already said, if he was being completely honest.
Also unaware that he hadn't been noticed by the rest of the group just yet, Nova placed a hand on the satchel strap across his chest that held all his tomes and vulnerary, peeking out of Gregory's shadow and his gold gaze now staring up at them. "...I-I agree. To the f-first option, I mean." He mumbled out, the younger tilting his head in the process.
Erik nodded in agreement with Gereazy. Even if the path would take longer, it was the safer and more secure route. Plus, he could pay a visit home and secure any necessary supplies for the road. However he wanted to hear from the rest before he confirmed.
Gregory nearly jumped out of his armor as the young boy peered from behind his large frame. “Bah! W-where did you come from, young fella?” Gregory questioned as he was still coming down from the shock.
Arms crossed and eyes closed in thought, Zachary thinks upon the two options. On one hand, a longer but generally safe route back through their home country before taking a boat. This route also gives them a better opportunity to restock on supplies and manpower in the later half of their trip. He could even check back home, if time permits, and see how the family has been since his departure.
On the other hand, time may be of the essence with how things how things are going here in Miricia. With how the relations between Beorc and Laguez citizens have seemed to have deteriorated since the assassination, there is worry in Zachary’s heart that things can snap at anytime. And if that happens, then there can be a tragedy here beyond that of a murdered king.
Zachary sighs. Both options have their own benefits and flaws. There is no clear option that greatly outweighs the other to him. “My Prince… after weighing each one… I too think that returning back through Albia is perhaps our best option. While I do believe that time is of the essence… we should make sure we are properly prepared before we set out towards Derak. We have no idea how they will feel about a party like ours coming into their nation in search of Temerus, after all.”
It was then that Zachary sees Sir Gregory jump at something. Turning his head to the source, he too is surprised at the sudden arrival of the boy in their mist. Instinctively Zachary’s body moves, placing himself between Prince Erik and the strange newcomer. “And why are you here?!” He follows up after Sir Gregory.
