Chapter 7: Beyond the Tower's Watch

At the edge of the Augria Sand Dunes, where the desert ends and the forest begins, two figures looked at the horizon, where a tower stood.

The smaller of the two figures pointed to the tower with his right hand. "Within that tower lies a direct connection to the Hall of Memories, tsu. Sister Louis mentioned it to us."

Still gazing at the tower's silhouette, the taller of the two figures spoke, "Alright, Lye. Let me see if I understand. First, I need to get to the tower."

"We have called for a carriage to help you arrive, tsu."

"Remind me to thank that Sirius for this when I come back. So, to get to the tower I need to slip in during the sandstorm? That sounds awfully difficult."

"It will be difficult, but sister Louis assured us that it is the only way."

"Got it. While I slip by the sandstorm, I also gotta watch out for those mabeasts Louis mentioned, right? The bears?"

"Yes, tsu. If you avoid the flowers, the courtesan bears should not seek you out."

"Uh huh, and then there's…"

Lye furrowed his brow. "The tower's keeper, tsu…"

"I see. Louis didn't tell you anything?"

"Nope. We only know that the keeper will attempt to attack all cultists, tsu."

Scratching his chin, Subaru looked at the tower, and then at his new daggers. "Whoever this keeper is, if they try to kill me, I'll give them a piece of my mind."

"Ha! Try it, brother, and you'll be just a memory, tsu!"

From behind them came the sound of an animal running, and – soon after – a carriage arrived, being driven by a robed demi-human wearing the all-too common pointed hood of the Cult. The carriage itself was spacious, and contained various items the brothers believed would be useful in the journey.

Acknowledging his superiors, the driver nodded to both of them and said, "Ready whenever you are, sir."

Subaru shot him a thumbs-up. "Lye, before I go: what's Pandora planning?"

"We don't understand, tsu."

"It's not like she was subtle about it. You remember the meeting? She said she needed three Archbishops, one of them being you, and that there was a chance coming to strike at the kingdom."

"Miss Pandora only asked us to move our whale to the Lifaus Plains."

"You have a whale? Never mind that. After the meeting was over, I saw Regulus and Capella bickering over something about a partnership. Do you think they're the other two she mentioned?"

"She never told us anything apart from our role, big brother. But we believe that she plans something in the capital, tsu. Cutting off the highway would prevent escape."

He considered it for a moment. "I assume you'll be going with the whale?"

"Yes. It will draw out many gourmet meals, tsu."

With a "mhm" to show he understood, Subaru stepped over to the carriage and made his way inside. After giving a quick check of the supplies, he walked back to the open door and called out, "Lye?"

"Hm?"

"Take care."

And with that, Natsuki Subaru's journey to the watchtower began.

In the days following the Cult's secret meeting, life for most of those outside of it went on as normal. Merchants made their way to and from the capital, guards sought out criminals, and – overall – life remained unchanged.

For most.

"You're kidding! What's the Saint even got to do with the Council!?"

"As if I would know, Ols. Cheer up, least it's not those insufferable politicians."

"This is insanity! I'd get it if he came here to tell us, I don't know, he's going out to hunt the Great Hare or something, but all I hear from in there is the typical blabbering!"

Once again, the two guards bickered as they stood watch over the throne room's door.

"You know what? I think this is about the selection."

"The royal selection? Lin, isn't there a candidate still missing?"

"I heard that as well, but why else would the famed Sword Saint come to the Council of Wiseasses?"

"Man, whoever he's supporting is definitely going to win, huh."

"I would bet on it. There's only one candidate whose identity I know…"

"Who is it? Tell me!"

"Well, you know how one of my brothers's a merc? I heard he tossed in with the Iron Fang, and Hoshin's apparently planning something big."

"The only way a Kararagian is taking the throne is over my dead body!"

No sooner had those words left his mouth than the doors opened, and out came a young, red-haired man with a magnificent sword on his back. Both guards looked at him, looked at one another, and nodded in unison.

After days - possibly weeks - of endless traveling, Subaru could see the watchtower grow ever bigger on the horizon. With help from his driver, Volk, and the supplies loaded onto the carriage, he had managed to close the distance to the tower easily enough. Then, it was a matter of making it through the sandstorm, which both him and Volk inevitably conquered as well.

Now came the final stretch, riddled with the greatest of dangers: the keeper. As Volk navigated around the flower patches they had both been warned about, he kept his gaze on the tower, waiting for the keeper to make their grand appearance so he could devise a plan to either slip past them – if possible – or fight as a last resort.

"Hey, sir," Volk called out from the driver's seat. "We're getting close to the tower. If this keeper shows up, I'll delay them as long as possible but you'll have to run for it."

"Volk, whoever this person is, I bet they can be outsmarted. Try driving in a zig-zag."

"Zig-what?"

Subaru gestured with his hands to detail what a zig-zagging line looked like. "If they attack our left, go right. We have to keep them guessing where we'll be going next so they can't attack correctly."

"As expected from an Archbishop, coming up with such clever tactics."

"You'd call Capella clever?"

"There are…different kinds of clever…"

Subaru took this chance to check every supply they had not used yet: some food and canteens, a fair amount of fire stones, a couple of replacement daggers, and the clothes he wore on that fateful day in the capital, when he first met the brothers.

"Volk, tell me if the tower does anything crazy. The moment you spot trouble, run like hell."

He sat back down on his usual seat and rubbed his eyes. Curse this desert, making him lose so much sleep. First thing he was going to look for in that tower was a bed. Feeling sleep overtake him, Subaru closed his eyes. Volk could handle getting to the tower.

His dreams were the same as before. Ever since he got that "Authority," he's been reliving others' memories in his sleep. From ferocious warriors to great diplomats, their lives were laid bare in front of him.

The dream was cut short by the same void as always. Within the abyss, the entity that he so hated proclaimed its love for him. Ironic. This creature lusted after him when all he wanted was to be freed from its presence.

Waking up and feeling unusually alert, he made his way to Volk at the front. He was halfway through the carriage when Volk spoke to him.

"Hey, sir, we're getting close to the tower. If this keeper shows up, I'll delay them as long as possible, but you'll have to run for it."

Luck.

Some believe in it, claiming that the way the world works is a complete mystery. Maybe the Od Laguna decided to flip a coin on every action it took on the world. Some deny the existence of luck, preferring to rely on deities they worship and look for answers to.

Otto Suwen believed in luck, because he had the worst luck in the world.

His job had been going fairly well for a while, the usual amount of sales and an average profit. As always, everything went downhill after he was lured into a sense of stability.

Turns out some hotshot merchant in the capital was not only part of the Witch Cult, but also suicidal. His attack left multiple people dead and made the guards extremely suspicious of merchants coming into the city.

Otto just had to pick this time to make his way inside.

After he was, for some reason, picked up for a random search, his cargo was confiscated and he was led to an interrogation. Any and all attempts he made to lighten the mood backfired, and now he was being held for further questioning.

As luck would have it, the man sitting next to him was also a merchant awaiting questioning, and the two easily struck up a conversation.

"Such a shame," the man, Heiko, commented. "One day, you're on your merry way out of Costuul, and the next, you're sitting outside an interrogation room because people think you're a Witch lover."

"I hear you. It seems like, these days, everything that can go wrong ends up going wrong."

"Couldn' have said it better. Someone should make a saying out of that."

"I doubt it'd apply to anyone but us, heh."

"So, Otto, right? What're you coming to the capital for? Selling?"

"Mostly, yeah. I just wanted to get rid of some surplus and make a little extra profit. Now it looks like that's not going to happen…"

"Yeah, I hear ya. I was comin' over with nothing. Guess a trader with nothing to trade is suspicious to these guards."

"If I may ask, why come to the capital without merchandise?"

"I was coming to visit my kid sister. She works up at the royal castle, tells us all stories about the place."

"Must be a nice job!"

"She hates it, says she's stuck in front of a door for hours on end while the Council talks their asses off."

"Oh…"

Heiko chuckled. "Far as I heard, the royal selection's coming up soon. I think I can also predict one of the candidates, heh."

"Really? Who would you say it is?"

"One of my brothers works for Anastasia Hoshin, and she's apparently been planning something big. Nothin' certain, of course, but I'd bet she's one of the candidates."

The door to the interrogation room opened, and the guard that stepped outside motioned for Heiko to come in. As he stood up, Heiko spoke, "Otto? Lemme give ya one last piece of advice: it looks like oil prices are going up in Gusteko."

And with that, Otto Suwen was alone again.

Count 3.

The tower's balcony lit up. Volk drove in a zig-zag pattern. Some of the fired shots miss, but one strikes and kills Volk. Subaru is killed soon after. Count 3 failure.

Count 7.

The tower's balcony lit up. Volk turns left abruptly. Subaru uses the fire stones to create cover. Sand explosion protects them for some seconds, but keeper finds them soon after. Count 7 failure.

Count 12.

The tower's balcony lit up. Subaru scatters fire stones to catch the keeper's attention. Shot through the chest. Volk killed soon after. Count 12 failure.

Count 18.

The tower's balcony lit up. First shot misses due to abrupt change in direction. Ground dragon killed, and carriage destroyed soon after. Count 18 failure.

By the time Subaru reached count 24, he had tried everything he could think of. Zig-zag or no, fire stones or no, the keeper found their mark and slayed them mercilessly. Seems like Lye was not kidding.

Knowing this count was doomed as well, Subaru opted to take a new plan and analyze the keeper's behavior. As soon as the light appeared, he jumped from the carriage and landed on the coarse sand, waiting for the keeper to take their shot.

A shot that never came.

The keeper, instead, fired at the carriage. In the blink of an eye, the entire carriage – Volk and the ground dragon included – was caught by the exploding fire stones with such potency that they simply ceased to be.

Such a sight reminded him of the terribly-dressed merchant who had helped recruit him into this cult.

As the fire stones burned where the carriage once stood, the keeper took aim at Subaru and fired. The shot missed, thanks in no small part to his own reflex that kicked into overdrive just to save him, but it still came too close for comfort.

The next shot, however, blew his head clean off. Count 24 failure.

On his next attempt, Subaru put the information to good use. The keeper would target whoever came closest to the tower first and pick off stragglers later. If he managed to get Volk down from the carriage, then he could use it as bait.

To what end? Once the carriage exploded due to the fire stones, it would leave them vulnerable to the keeper's attack. But still, he was so close to this tower, he could not turn back now.

After coming up with his plan, Subaru stepped toward the driver's seat and told Volk about it. The demi-human did not seem thrilled, as he mentioned that the carriage was their only ride out, but he still seemed willing to sacrifice it. Of course, Sirius was going to be quite unhappy with this.

As soon as the tower lit up, Subaru prepared himself to jump off. "Volk! It's now or never!"

Volk nodded with a haunted look. Stepping closer to his superior, he pushed Subaru off the carriage and drove it toward the tower in an extremely frenetic manner. Some of the keeper's shots went wide, but one found its mark.

Volk was no more.

Unfortunately, now was not the time to mourn. With conviction, Subaru sprinted forward to the smoldering remains of the carriage, where smoke hung thickly in the air and surely obstructed the keeper's vision.

The moment he stepped into the cloud of smoke, Subaru felt weightless. He was about to add another failure to his tally when he felt something hard hit him. Instinctively, his body prepared for the impact, and he ended up feeling all sprawled out.

His senses returned shortly afterward. He was alive, for now, and there was very little light, wherever he was. Overhead, the carriage's scorched remains were visible outside of a hole in the ground.

A hole in the ground?

Looking around his surroundings, Subaru found himself in a tunnel. He understood now: the fire stones' explosion was powerful enough to drill this hole into the ground. In his last moment of bravery, Volk had managed to save his superior by inadvertently providing him an exit.

Talk about luck.

Seeing that the tunnel led two ways, both toward and away from the tower, he decided to take the more useful route. Retreating would be worthless now, so the only choice was to keep pushing forward. Subaru would make it to the tower, he would meet his sister.

If the keeper was so hell-bent on stopping him, they'd have to do it personally.

AN: Short chapter, I know. Just think of it as setup. Also the guards are back because I cannot stop writing them, someone make a spin-off about them please.