Chapter 5: Refined formula
From the time Sho escaped until now, many hours had passed already. He sat at a bar on Comodo Island, watching the dancers on stage move their bodies in the light of the moon. An empty glass sat beside him at the table, but was soon refilled by the smiling waitress who came over with a pitcher of green ale.
"Appreciated lady." He said almost coldly before turning his attention back to the dancers.
She smiled and stepped away with the tray, moving on to the next batch of customers. As he sat, taking slow sips of his drink, his mind had been hard at work formulating plans, none of them however seemed to work. He slammed his fist on the table and groaned, wondering why none of The Advent plans seemed to fit what he needed to be done.
Just as he sunk into the seat a little more, the sound of approaching footsteps made him sigh.
"No more booze, I just need some time to think." He said with his hand waving the on comer away.
"Ohoho, it seems you've mistaken me for the drink serving bimbo. However I assure you, you'll want me here much much more…Sho Seki." The man said with a side, slim grin on his pale face.
Sho immediately reacted to his name. He drew the blade from his jacket and went instantly for the man's neck only to stop just inches away when he realized his hands were up. Sho's eyes lowered as he kept his stance firm.
"Who the fuck are you and why do you know my name?" He questioned.
"Me? Oh you may call me Salamander. As for how I know you, it's quite simple. I have my ear in just about every nook and cranny of the world and it seems you're being followed by the royal family. Odd though, you don't match the description they released for you to the public." He said, smiling wickedly though his words.
"What do you want with me 'Salamander'? I'll be glad to liberate your head from your body if you think you're taking me in." He said with a snap.
"Take you in? Ohohoho no, you have it the wrong way. I only wish to ask for a brief moment of your time." Sal responded.
"….Pass. Get the hell out of here." Sho told while moving his blade back into his pocket and taking his seat.
Salamander smirked and sat at the table anyway. He reached into his pocket and placed an envelope on the table.
"Sho, what if I told you that I know some information about Sonia, the king and The Advents that you didn't even know? Would that change your mind?" He asked, placing his chin into his cupped hand.
"What!? What do you know?!" He shouted, drawing attention to himself.
Salamander looked around and shook his head.
"No no, not here, let's head off to where 'bugs' can't crawl into." He said while standing, grabbing the envelope.
Sho stood and followed, making his way by the waitresses and moving customers. Outside of bar, the short trek to the shoreline took less than a minute. Sho stood on the pier and looked out at the calm waters.
"Well? Start talking…" He demanded while folding his arms.
Salamander laughed and began to tell Sho about the letter Edgar sent to Simon. About the actions the king took with Sonia's body, about the tomb's raid, everything.
Sho's fist were tight, he could feel the skin under his nails being broken from the tension.
"Ant…Hell? He sent her off to Ant Hell? She could have been cured?! Heh…Ehehe…AHAHAHA!" He began a laugh that reached back to the dancer's stage. "You've gotta be kidding me. Why should I believe you?"
Salamander reached into his bag and pulled a small box out, it had a flat screen and a small hole for sound on it. He pressed the little button the back of it as pictures began to show with sound. On it, Simon sat in his room reading the letter aloud, revealing everything that Edgar and the king spoke about. Sho instantly took the screen and stared at it until it finished.
"W-where did that come from?" He asked, staring at Salamander now.
"Before that, I should explain my reasoning for being here. You see, I'm a Bio Chemist from the same Alchemy guild as Edgar and Simon. A year ago they ruled that no human alchemy would be allowed in the alchemic world. That was something my scientific mind couldn't live with, so against their rules, I went into production of making a human homunculus. Of course it was no easy task, but I eventually perfected the formula and as a result, I was banished from the alchemic world and sentenced to execution. Though since their heads were so far gone up their asses, they failed to realize they executed a well made homunculus in my image. Once I escaped to my hideaway, I began creating more and more homunculus. Now normally it'd be a useless trade to have outside of the alchemy guild, but once I met a trader from Einbroch who had quite the selection of gadgets, I knew well enough what my human clones could be used for." He smirked and pointed to the screen. "Surveillance! Right under their narrow minded noses are my own works. Each one crafted to be maintenance men, maids, passing students and contractors. Things that could easily have access to parts of the guild that the public would never see as long as their bodies contained breath! So here I stand, proposing that with this new found information, we act against the royal family, for your lost love and for their blind rejection of my knowledge. What do you say Sho?"
Sho stood there for a moment, his mind in a rush of information, plans and decisions. He looked to Salamander and nodded, holding his hand up to his face.
"Fine, as leader of The Advents, I invite you!" His words echoed slightly as the same symbol on his hand appeared on Salamander's neck.
"Ohoho, very good, very good. Now then, onto my last piece of information." He said while pulling the envelope back out and opening it. Inside was a map with various points circled.
"Each of these points represents a descendent of the previous Advents members. Locked away in the prisons of Glast heim, we have Kuroi. Atop Mjolnir is Azulong XIX, and in the port town of Alberta we have Alexander Crosshound II. Not only that, but I have someone in the priesthood who wishes to help me. I'm certain she will be a great asset to The Advents. I suggest we gather these members before we make our next move sir." Salamander spoke while pointing to each point.
"I agree. I'll take Kuroi since I know Glast Heim pretty well. You gather your priest friend and head to Alberta for Alexander. Once we get them both, we meet up in Payon to move onto Mjolnir." Sho commanded as the symbol gave a glow on both of their bodies. "The Advents will bring ruin to the royal family…"
The doors to the king's study opened shortly before the tenth hour struck. He stepped from within the room with a yawn and the escort of Alterin. On his march through the halls, he spotted Cortez who hopped up from one of the chairs in the hall, dropping his book in the seat. He quickly began to spell out words in the air with his finger.
"Ah, King, I wonder if I could have a moment of your time. It's about my current mission." The words sparked to life and fizzled away slowly.
The king waved off Alterin and stood before Cortez.
"Ah yes, your one year oath of silence for your Arch Mage's training. What exactly are you hoping to speak to me about?" He asked while folding his arms under the robe he'd been wearing.
"I was hoping you could speak to my higher ups to allow me to speak during this mission. It would greatly aid if I were able to speak instead of having to spend time writing it out. Certainly you agree." His fingers traced through the ether.
The king snickered a bit and shook his head.
"I cannot help you in that venture, you know well enough the importance of trying to accomplish what has yet to happen. You will become the first Arch Mage if you succeed and besides, you have less than two weeks until it's over. I suggest you keep your silence and become more than you ever have been." He said before taking his leave.
Cortez looked down and shook his head, thinking back to how many problems this vow of silence. His wife leaving him, his children being taken with her, everything could have been stopped with a few words, but would result in his immediate release of all of his magic abilities. Not even now when he wished to sigh, he could not. All he could do was return to his seat, pick up the book and begin again his reading.
In front of the castle, Seban and his fiancé sat on the bench outside, feeling the warm air surround them while they watched the creamies fly by in packs. He smiled, placing his arm around her while she placed her hand on her stomach.
"Do you think you'd want to be a father?" She asked suddenly, keeping her eyes on the massive butterflies that began to sit on the petals of the flowers despite their size.
Seban nearly coughed as she said those words. He looked at the sky for a moment with a drop of sweat beading on this cheek. He turned to her with a dopey look on his face and shrugged.
"I-I'm not really sure to be honest. I mean, well I may want to be a father, but I don't know when exactly. I'm not even sure how well I would do as a father anyway." He explained, rubbing his nose as he did.
With a light tap on his chest, she smirked.
"Don't worry about it; with a strong mother like me, you won't have to do anything dear." She joked with a laugh.
He joined her in the laugh, holding on while the lights began to come on around the city. After minutes of sitting, Elajia stood and kissed Seban on the forehead. With a wink she started down the street, heading home. Seban stood himself and smile, watching her leave before heading back into the castle to begin his duty for the night again.