While Alex was lying in the barren Alpine Crossing, Piers had arrived in Lemuria, having opted to try to gain entry, hoping against hope that Conservato had not dared to confront King Hydros to actually prevent him from re-entering, and had set off in his ship soon after the Valeans had been found safe and sound, eager to see how the sudden outburst of Alchemy had affected his home.
It had been a sad departure, especially for Sheba, who had often looked to Piers for support, whether in-battle or outside of it, due to him being such a kind and dependable person. Some of the others had worked out that if Piers were not allowed back into Lemuria, then he would either be thrown out again, or put to death do disobeying the Senate. The Adepts had offered to accompany him, as should Pier be taken to the metaphorical hangman, then they could mount a ridiculous rescue plan, and be hounded halfway across the Sea of Time by the remnants of the Lemurian navy.
Piers shook his head until he was alert, it would be no good to have come this far and hit a reef whilst daydreaming. Chuckling at the indignity of it, Piers turned the wheel to the left and pulled his ship into port.
"Ahh, I was expected." Piers said as a gangplank was placed across the chasm between his ship and the harbour. "The lookout must have spotted me coming, and told Hydros. It seems Alchemy has already set to work here then, not a month ago people could barely be bothered to leave their houses."
The people who boarded his ship were not who Piers had been expecting. Instead of the regular harbour guards, the Senator's guards had arrived, and, amongst them, Piers spotted Conservato. At the sight of him, Piers' heart rate sped up. This person was willing to have let the world decay and die, and had the affront to enforce banishment himself, even though Lemurian law stated that anything as serious as that would have to be passed by majority vote in the senate and then approved by the King. King Hydros had been opposed to Piers' banishment, and as such, it was annulled.
"Piers, for breaking the Senates decree of banishment, as well as the initial Senate law of the incapability of a citizen of Lemuria to leave his or her city, and for acts of destruction against the world and its people, you are hereby imprisoned for life. And don't think of appealing to Hydros to help you, He will be joining you in your cell." Conservato recited from a scroll. "Your dear friend Lunpa struggled, and he was killed in an instant, so I advise you not to follow his lead."
Piers was furious. "You can't do this, only the king has this sort of power! And you've put him in jail!"
"Oh, poor, dense Piers. I haven't done anything of the sort; the king is standing right in front of you." Conservato said, a smug smile plastered across his face. "Soldiers, take this filth to this cell."
"What?! You can't do this Conservato!" Piers shouted as the soldiers grabbed him and dragged him off his ship through the city. It was shaming for him, as he was paraded throughout Lemuria as a criminal, and the looks of scorn from the people lining the roads cut him deeper than any wound he had suffered in battle. Eventually the troupe reached the jail, and bundled Piers inside roughly. Inside, the dank room seemed to shrink as the truth dawned on Piers. Conservato had overthrown the king Hydros, and lied to the people to cast a bad light on Piers and his friends. Piers had no doubt that if his friends showed up, they'd be killed on the spot. He also realised that Alchemy had indeed taken affect here too, as this sort of action had not happened in Lemuria for as long as anyone could remember. Piers was dragged down a narrow corridor lined with doors. He was thrown into a cell with one other occupant and had barely picked himself off the slime covered floor before the door was slammed behind him.
"The nerve of Conservato. I saved this city, and this is the thanks I get?" Piers moaned, lifting himself off the floor. "And who are you? I might be spending a while in here, so I might as well get to know the public."
The man lifted his head and looked out through filthy hair which fell in front of his face and stood up from the bench that ran the length of the left wall. "Piers, you don't recognise me, do you? It's Hydros."
Piers was distraught how the once mighty ruler of Lemuria, the only surviving participant of the Alchemy wars, had become a dried up husk of his former self. "What? How did you end up like this?"
"That Conservato, he revolted, soon after you left. He brainwashed his guards with all the Alchemy destroying the world nonsense, and stormed the Palace. They killed half of the Palace servants and captured the rest. They dragged me here and I've only seen another person when they brought my food. But it's good to see you, my boy. I presume the Lighthouses have been lit?"
"Yes, we managed it, with help from some of Felix's childhood friends. It was a relief that they chose to help us, they are fearsome in battle. I don't think we would have won against them."
"Well, I'm glad you managed, and that you're alive, but I had hoped you would not try to come back, Lemuria changed when the Golden Sun rose. Ancient Lemuria drained off almost immediately. From what we can tell, Poseidon has also calmed down, but that's the end of the good news. Lemurians have become more active, which is what caused Conservato to overthrow the city." Hydros said, sitting back on the bench. Piers sat down next to him.
"I just can't believe he would do this, I thought the soldiers were loyal to you, not Conservato."
"So did I, but what's done is done. Hopefully they'll see sense and end this charade. The people need a king, not a Senate, all they do is argue. The people will overthrow Conservato, it's only a matter of time."
Alex groaned as he awoke, pain shooting through his head. He was getting sick of being beaten up now. He hadn't been able to kill Hama, and now the Adepts would be warned to his presence. Alex sat up groggily, and cast Ply to rid his headache. He felt an immediate rush, and the pounding in his head disappeared. `He knew now that his plan to get to Isaac and claim the power that was rightfully his would be a lot more complicated, but he was assured that the answer would be simple. Brute force. He would charge in, cause as much damage as quickly as possible, and plunge his blade into Isaac's throat, and teleport away before anyone knew what happened. Smiling at his own brilliance, Alex stood up, and pictured Vault in his mind, and warped to the peaceful village.
The monk from Lama Temple was just passing Vault and about to start the trek around the mountains to get to Vale when a blue clad figure suddenly appeared amidst flashing lights about 15 feet in front of him. All the monk could do was stare as the man looked around. Catching sight of the monk, Alex turned fully, facing him. The two stared at each other for a long time before Alex said "I know you, you were at Lama Temple. Where are you going?"
"I'm going to Vale, on behalf of my master, Hama."
"Okay, well, to go ahead with my plan I don't want you spoiling it, so I'm just going to kill you now, okay?"
"Sorry, what?"
"I'm going to kill you now. Do you want it to be quick and painless or slow and agonising? I know how you monk types have strict rules governing everything you do, including how you die."
"Are you serious?"
"Yup, I am actually going to kill you in about ten seconds."
"Why? I haven't done anything to you. I don't know what I've done to deserve such aggression. All I'm doing is goi-." The monk was cut short by Alex warping behind, grabbing his neck and twisting it violently to the side with a sharp crack. Alex let go, and the monk slid to the floor, dead.
"I told you ten seconds. You should have used that time to get yourself into an honourable position, now you just look like a fool, albeit a fool with a messed up neck." Alex said, not realising he was talking to himself. "Well, Isaac is in Vault seen as Vale is about a hundred feet below the ground right now, so I'd best be dropping in and saying hello."
