4. Reminiscing


Zael wandered around the outskirts of Lazulis Island, trying to get a sense of the surroundings. He knew he could just take the road and go straight into the city, but it would be difficult to do with all the Gurak roaming about. Arganan explained to him that the humans living in Lazulis City were constantly monitored in case of any rebellion that needed to be shut down, and so on. If Zael wanted to get in there and not be immediately recognized as the 'savior' of Lazulis that failed, a hundred years ago, he needed a disguise, or at least a way to sneak in without being noticed.

"You should have just taken the dead guards' armor." Arganan muttered, shaking his head. "You could disguise yourself as a Gurak guard reporting for duty."

"What about you?" Zael frowned, looking towards him. "Wouldn't they see you?"

Arganan gestured to himself with his right hand. "I'm dead, remember? You're the only one that can see and hear me, so I don't have to worry about that."

Zael looked down at the mark on his right hand, studying it. Now that he thought about it, did he remember anything about the Outsider's power? Not really. But Arganan knew, right? He looked up at the older man, taking a deep breath.

"Can the Outsider's power make me invisible?" He asked. "Or make a disguise?"

Arganan paused, then shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Your powers focused on slowing down the enemy's movements and reviving your friends if they were knocked out. I've never seen you use it for magical glamours like invisibility or disguise."

So much for that idea. Zael sighed, shaking his head. "Well, I don't want to take someone else's armor."

"You sound so knight-like, saying that." Zael couldn't tell if Arganan was being sarcastic or not. "Asthar would be so proud of you."

"Asthar?"

"General Asthar. I told you about him briefly." Arganan frowned, closing his good eye for a moment. "Sir Therius was his pupil. Both of them came here to Lazulis in time for Calista and Jirall's engagement party. You were there, too. Asthar…" A hum left Arganan, and he opened his eye. "He took great interest in you. Probably because you both thought similarly about knighthood."

The deep, but friendly voice of a man came to Zael's mind. Ahh. You're worried about Lady Calista? Can't say I blame you, lad…

He thought he imagined Asthar smiling for a moment, despite his beard hiding some of his facial features, but then it faded away. Zael had a feeling that he got along with Asthar back then.

"You said he died, during the war against the Gurak." Zael managed. "Who killed him?"

"Jirall." For some reason, that didn't seem right. Zael frowned, but Arganan continued to explain. "You and Dagran, after you were initially broke out of jail due to being framed for Asthar's murder, snuck back into the castle to find out who it was. You found out that Jirall worked with the Gurak, and also found the bloody sword he killed Asthar with. I jailed Jirall myself and broke off his engagement with Calista."

Zael raised a brow at the mention of Dagran. "Dagran was there?"

Arganan nodded. "He was."

For someone who was a leader of the mercenaries, Zael realized that he didn't know Dagran very well. He figured that Dagran must be close to him, like a friend, if he was willing to break him out of jail. "Arganan?" It felt weird, addressing the older man by his name, but Arganan faced him anyway.

The older man blinked. "What is it?"

"How well did you know Dagran?"

He saw the older man's face stiffen slightly, and his gaze averted itself from Zael's own, as if struggling to word something properly. After a moment, a sigh left him as he made eye contact with Zael.

"He was charismatic. And wise. And many, many other things." Zael thought he saw Arganan's gaze soften, and then he averted his gaze from Zael again. "I still remember his golden eyes."

"Was I close to him?"

Arganan shrugged. "He certainly had his eye on you. Looked out for you. He told me that you had the Outsider's Power to get you out of jail once, when Jirall tried accusing you of kidnapping Calista."

"What?" Zael couldn't remember if he ever kidnapped anyone. "Jirall must be lying."

"I'm sure he was. Though I had to believe his word at the time. Calista had been kidnapped by the Gurak, and you, Dagran, and a few others in your mercenary group went missing around the same time. Upon all of you returning, it made reasonable sense at the time." A sigh left him at that, and he shook his head. "Of course, it was made clear that you were innocent, and the savior of Lazulis on top of that."

"The savior? Because of my power?"

"Yes." He nodded. "Because of your power. It transformed this island into a moving fortress, at one point during the war."

The memory of Arganan slapping Calista in the face while Zael stood by and watched came back to Zael's mind, and he winced. Ah. That must have been when that happened. Zael decided it was best to change the subject for now, and his mind shifted back to Asthar.

"What was General Asthar like?"

"Other than what I told you earlier?" Arganan paused, frowning. "He used to be the Imperial Commander of the armies in the Empire's mainland. However, things changed. Several years prior to Calista and Jirall's engagement ball, there was a rebellion. Apparently, Asthar was in charge of it, though I doubt that was truly the case. After it ended, due to its destructive results, Asthar stepped down from being the Imperial Commander and started wandering the Empire, eventually arriving in Lazulis. Despite stepping down from being a commander, though, all of us in the Empire knew that Asthar was a fantastic commander, and worthy of respect, even with the whole rebellion incident."

"He was part of a rebellion?" Zael frowned. How odd. For some reason, he had a feeling that wasn't the case.

"Apparently so. But again, as I mentioned, I doubt he actually was. He might've just taken the blame for someone else's doings. The question is…why?" Arganan shook his head, before speaking again. "But enough of that, for now. We need to find a way to get into Lazulis City without you being easily noticed. And since you're insistent on not using a dead man's armor, perhaps you'd do better if you hitched a ride in the wagon of a merchant or two."

Merchants? Zael raised a brow. "Merchants come into this island?"

"Gurak ones, mainly, from the Gurak Continent." Arganan clarified. "That's also how the Gurak maintain their supply of weapons. They always had advanced technology, compared to Lazulis." His nose wrinkled at that. "And they used their Continent as a fortress back then, too. As much as I despise them, I admit that they were smart with their technology."

"How am I supposed to find the merchants? I assume they'd come in from a port, right?"

"Yes. There are two. The main port is in the city, but the other is at the other end of this island and follows the main road leading to the city. If there are any merchants whose wagon you can sneak into, it might work."

Zael frowned. What if he got the poor merchants in trouble for accidentally sneaking a human in? What then? He shook his head.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Maybe I can sneak into the city myself."

"How? Sneak through the gates? Guards have their eyes constantly on those gates."

"there has to be a change of guard at some point, right?" Zael raised a brow. "I could try to go in inbetween the changes."

Arganan paused, and then slowly nodded. "Perhaps you have a point, there." He finally managed. He paused, before nodding once more. "Yes, that can work. We'll have to wait until nighttime, though. It'll be harder for them to spot you. When they change guards at night, you'll have a chance to sneak into Lazulis City. However," He frowned, "Once you go in, it won't be any easier to get out. I suggest you try to be as prepared as you can before tonight."

Zael nodded. "Okay." He wasn't sure how prepared he could be. Sure, he had weapons and armor, but not a lot of food. He didn't like the idea of straight-up stealing or pickpocketing anyone ,but it wasn't like he could just grab a few apples and take them into the city with him. And he couldn't go hunting out here and bring the meat in afterwards, either. That would be too much.

Then again, Lazulis City surely had some food, right? Maybe he could (reluctantly) take some dried goods from the market to eat. And maybe he could sneak in an apple or two into the city with him. Either way, he had some scavenging to do, and he might as well get to it before sundown.