Author Comment: Just one more chapter and we will transition to the next and final Arc of this story. The last Arc is the biggest, but it will take around 5 to 10 chapters to reach it. (Final Arc will start around Chapter 70-75).
Author Comment: I want to thank my Beta-reader FollowerOfAnhamirak for his time on this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.
Gal'drad walked towards the prison. He didn't know why the Chieftains were called and it made him uneasy. There was something going on. He knew it. Milla'iin had sounded too happy. As if they had had a great victory. He did everything he could to hide his feelings. It helped that his face couldn't convey emotions.
He soon reached the prison and saw that many other M'arrillians who were also were also a little late. Looking around he saw Aval'par enter. Picking up his pacing he soon found himself with the others. He was thankful that he was close, because soon, many of them wouldn't be able to enter inside.
With some effort he managed to squeeze himself past the crowd towards the jail where Milla'iin was and stopped when he saw the prisoner inside. It was a human, but not just any human.
"Behold! We have finally managed to capture the Messenger of the Cothica!" The chieftain proudly declared as he pointed at the human.
Gal'drad stared the human his tribe had captured in horror. It was the one who had saved the souls of some of his tribe. The one who had pointed out the wrongdoings of the M'arrillians. He was in jail.
Alexandre raised his hand and casually said, "Hi there."
Milla'iin quickly turned his head around and was suddenly inexpressive.
Gal'drad felt the same way as he noted how calm the human was.
Chapter 64: Prisoner Of The M'arrillians
The creatures looked at the Chaotic Player in silence.
Aval'par raised his tendril and grunted, "Fool! Do you not realize the situation you are in?! You are our prisoner!"
"I know," Alexandre replied with a deadpan gaze at the purple creature.
Milla'iin hit the bars of the jail, "Do not think you are not in danger, human! Your so-called Message is just a lie you spread among our tribe! You destroyed our tribe and our destiny with meaningless words long ago! I don't know how you are still alive, but you will not escape this time! You will be severely punished for the death of Aa'une."
"I wasn't there during the second M'arrillian War. That was all on you," Alexandre corrected the creature.
As the argument went on, Gal'drad was mentally debated what he should do. He didn't have any options right now. The messenger was their prisoner. If they couldn't get him out of there quickly, they would have to surrender. The one who saved their soul would perish soon. He knew exactly what was going on through Milla'iin's mind.
The debate went on back and forth for a long time and Gal'drad only paid attention when the human said, "You will only destroy my code. Not my real self."
Alexandre waved his finger at them calmly, "Even if I won't be able to come back to Perim, this supposed role as 'the Messenger' is over."
Aval'par glanced at his friend, "That human is insane to talk back to Milla'iin like that. He is going to die very soon."
"Yes," Gal'Drad quietly said as he watched the argument.
"Unless this is what he wants. If he dies right now, he won't be a hostage or used for anything," another chieftain commented.
The moment the purple creature heard that, he said in the mind of Milla'iin, (Calm down Milla'iin. This is exactly what he wants you to do!)
The creature heard it and quickly calmed down. His eye shined at the human, "Nice try human. I won't kill you. At least, not yet. You will suffer so much that you will regret everything."
"You wanted to cause suffering through all Perim. I heard it from my friends in Kaizeph," Alexandre glared back at the chieftain, "Of course I'll stand in your way for my friends."
Bahrakatan took a step forward and pushed the Chieftain to the side. He saw Milla'iin becoming infuriated, "You stood in the way of our master Aa'une and condemned us to be trapped into the Deep Ocean." Bahrakatan gazed at the man.
"I was gone before the end of the war, back home. Even if you searched for me back then, you wouldn't find me." As he spoke Alexandre felt someone watching him. He couldn't tell who, or why, but it was better to act as if nothing was happening. He could escape anytime he wanted, but he decided to wait. There was a chance he might be able to collect some useful information. He had an opportunity.
"Bahrakatan " Milla'iin grunted as he approached the cage once again and looked at the human, "You are rather foolish to act as if we aren't dangerous." He crossed his tendrils.
"I'm not someone easily intimidated." Alexandre let out a small smile. "And I met a few of your tribes long ago… I think it was 2,000 solans ago." He scratched his jaw before looking into of Milla'iin's eye, "Still. I'm wondering what you guys are planning." There was no need for subtlety at this point. It was time to get a reaction, and mocking them would get it.
"You-" Milla'iin began before he grunted when the Coralsmith pinched his tendril.
"Do not let the Chaotic Player manipulate you Milla'iin. He knows he won't get anything and is just asking to mock you. Anyway, I am curious about you as well, Messenger of the Cothica," Bahrakatan pointed his finger at him, "How did you manage to stay alive for so long? Your kind, from what we saw, doesn't live more than 160 solans. Around that."
"There is a trick," Alexandre said simply as he focused on the creature, "At least you are polite. Anyway, I don't know why everyone keeps calling me the Messenger," he scratched his back, "I do not come from the Cothica."
"And what about this? We took this from you," Milla'iin threw a book on the ground. It was a black book with a cross on it.
Alexandre scowled, "My Bible!" Now he was pissed a little, "You think you can throw it on the ground like that?"
The creatures were confused at that outburst and grumbled.
"What is it?" Bahrakatan asked, picking it up gently and gazing at it, "What even is a Bible?"
Alexandre didn't know what to say. His religion would be an unknown concept to them. Still, he decided to explain it, "It is the Bible. The sacred scriptures inside are the messages of our Lord."
"The Lord?"
"You won't get it anyway," Alexandre replied.
"He must be the king of the Cothica!" One M'arrillian said.
"If we capture him, we will conquer the Cothica! Then Perim!" another one said.
Gal'drad was nervous at that discovery. He knew he had to get the human out of here and prevent their king from being captured.
"Good luck with that. No one saw him. No one can reach him in the living world," Alexandre smiled. He knew the Bible would come with him when he ported out without his scanner.
The Coralsmith opened the Bible. He knew how to read the human language and began reading, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Bahrakatan stopped and he looked at the human, "The king of the humans is the one who created the Cothica."
Alexandre knew this was getting out of control. He knew he had to get out. It was pointless to remain there. Still, he noticed one M'arrillian who seemed to grow nervous. Compared to the others who wanted to get him, the reaction was a little different. After a few seconds, that reaction was gone and he was impassive once again. Alexandre suddenly realized he was a member of the revolution. He took a deep breath. He decided to play his perceived role, "Even if my mission as the Messenger is complete, I cannot let you invade our world and let you take Perim under your control. You want to enslave everyone."
"Taking us seriously now?" Milla'iin chuckled, "Maybe it's because we now know your king and capture him."
"Good luck with that," Alexandre said, completely dismissing the claim. He also ignored the sounds of anger coming from the M'arrillians and continued, "My message hasn't changed. Your ambitions to rule over Perim and the Earth are ill-founded and encouraged by delusional creatures." Alexandre looked at them seriously, "You believe that it is your fate to be the masters of Perim, but it is just an illusion. You are following the illusions of Aa'une and his mother when they wanted to conquer Perim."
"You think you can mock our late ruler?" Milla'iin said furiously.
"Am I laughing? Am I smiling?" Alexandre asked them as he looked at them. He pointed at them once again, "I heard that some of you are trying to change your ways. Keep going on. You aren't as heartless as some M'arrillians or yourselves want to believe." Alexandre crossed his arms and looked at each of them. None of them were impressed by his little speech. He wasn't good enough to incite something like that. Closing his eyes, he let out a small sigh. He put his hands on the bars and concluded, "M'arrillians. You don't have to do as your late rulers did before. You can follow your own path, yet you don't want to." Alexandre gazed into the eye of Milla'iin as he spoke in an accusatory tone.
Bahrakatan looked at the human, "We also want to reach the Cothica, like the other tribes."
"But conquering our world that you believe is the Cothica? Isn't it something insane?" Alexandre asked him.
The Coralsmith couldn't reply.
Alexandre concluded, "Anyway. I've stayed here for too long. My friends are probably worried for me." He wouldn't get anything from them or say anything that would make them see sense, but he just needed to say one more thing, "I can't let you enslave the other tribes. M'arrillian Rebels, be strong. The Messenger believes in you all. Bye." With that Alexandre snapped his fingers and ported out.
The book Bahrakatan held disappeared "Look for his scanner." Bahrakatan snapped, unnerved by seeing the Messenger escape so easily.
One of the creatures scrambled to obey and it wasn't long before he said, (It's gone! No traces of intruder too!)
Bahrakatan and Milla'iin looked at each other quietly. They still had trouble processing what just happened.
Milla'iin hit the bars of the jail that had held their most valuable prisoner only a few moments away, "How did he escape us like that? He had no scanner…that damn human mocked us! He mocked us! He mocked Aa'une and me!"
Gal'Drad had never felt so relieved in his life. The Messenger had managed to escape on his own. He hid thoughts and emotions as the chieftains began to talk with each other. They were each trying to figure out why the Messenger had waited to escape until now.
The last message for the rebels. Gal'drad would have to share it. The Messenger believed in them. He knew they could do good. He thanked the first one who was touched by the Messenger.
Before he left though, he participated in the debate as the chaos went on.
"Enough!" Milla'iin shouted. (I said enough!)
The creatures stopped and turned towards him.
"There is no reason to panic. He might have left, but we learned a lot about the Cothica. Their lord, whoever it is. We need to find him. If he created the Cothica, then we can easily rule over Perim and the Cothica," Milla'iin declared as he waved his tendrils proudly. He focused on the positive, "And we learned at the right time. We will soon strike against Chaotic. In a few days, we will conquer Chaotic, then the Cothica!"
With that the meeting was over and the chieftains split up. Gal'drad hurried to return to the deepest part of the Deep Ocean to meet with the other rebels. He had a lot to say.
In Chaotic, Alexandre finished explaining what had happened to his friends.
"And you manage to get away safely Alex," Cassandra sighed in relief, "Good thing the Codemasters allowed you to port away like that."
"I have to agree that the change came at the right time." Alexandre crossed his arms. He was pensive, "I still don't remember how they got me. I was in Al Mipedim and then everything went dark."
"I guess they knocked you out," a voice said, causing all of them to turn around.
Alexandre recognized the descendant of his friend Welsh. The Mipedian sat at the table, "Hello Welsh."
"I heard that you were supposed to be somewhere in Al-Mipedim and that you disappeared. We feared the worst."
"You can tell Theb-Saar later that I'm back," Alexandre replied.
The other creatures present listened to them. They knew that the M'arrillians had almost captured the Messenger.
"I'll eat something and port out soon," Alexandre concluded.
"You can stay a little more. I have a little time to chat. I'm sure every creature wants to know about what happened to you. I only got a part of it," Welsh remarked.
"Sure. I don't mind," Alexandre replied. He explained once again his misadventure and the interactions with the M'arrillian chieftain.
AC: This is the end of this chapter.
Next Chapter: War Plan.
The four rulers of each tribe and Codemaster Crellan prepared the defense of Chaotic, as each of them knew that the battle was imminent.