If writing this story was my full-time job, I'd already be fired. I don't want to get into it but I will say that this past summer has been the worst summer of my life. I'll be happy when 2022 is finally over. But here I am and here's the next chapter. I'm hoping to be back on track with this story.
On a lighter note, HOORAY FOR SUIKODENS 1 AND 2 BEING RE-RELEASED NEXT YEAR!
The results of the three wedding polls are also in! Thank you to all who participated!
Wedding Poll #1: Who should walk the bride down the aisle?
Eamon: 0
Jantu: 0
Varnaz: 1
Daunte: 5
Gunther: 0
Allise: 3
Surya: 3
Other: 0
Wedding Poll #2: What cuisine style should Yasaka create for the reception?
Haute: 0
Vegan: 0
Dessert: 0
Japanese: 1
Chinese: 1
Mediterranean: 0
Vegetarian: 1
Western: 1
Fusion: 2
Arab: 4
Spicy: 0
Wedding Poll #3: Who should conduct the ceremony?
Eresh: 4
Keiran:0
Sloan: 0
Farzin: 1
Tamara: 0
Part Two
"Lord Daunte's father has been found!" Bax reported. "And it was none other than the amnesiac warrior La'Ahad!"
"How very…interesting," Sanji said. "That Lord Daunte's father ended up being a man with amnesia, whose face was constantly hidden behind a tattered hood. But I guess I would be a hypocrite to give my opinion on the matter."
"This is old news," Gertrude sighed. "And it could've been solved sooner had La—Nakula taken that dirty cloak off once and awhile. But never mind that—"
"Gertrude, that is an awfully rude attitude to have," Sanji scolded her.
"I tell it like it is," Gertrude responded. "Besides, we have more important things to worry about. Like yet another letter from the cowardly B.L."
"Will you give the letter to Lord Caesar this time?" Bax asked her.
"Why? All B.L. says is that he's coming here—"
"Then you MUST hand the letter over!"
"I know these types, Bax. This is nothing more than an empty threat."
"B-But do you really know that?!"
Nakula reached out and picked up his figurine from the platform. He looked at his figurine for a long time before looking at Daunte."These…they are from the Falenan Civil War?"
"Yes," Daunte said. "I need nineteen more figurines from that set, but I think I'm about to complete the Second Fire Bringer War set. Would you like to come with me to see?"
"Wait!" Arin said, reaching out to grab Nakula's hand. "Can I play with Dad, Brother? We can play with the figurines!"
It felt strange to Daunte that Arin was asking him permission to play with their father, but he nodded. "Sure, why not? If it doesn't bother you—"
"Of course not," Nakula responded. "I…I would be happy to play any games with you, Arin."
"I'll be downstairs," Daunte said, turning to go. He paused before turning around. "Hey…Father." The word came out awkwardly and he flushed with embarrassment.
"Yes?"
"Have you seen the Tablet of Stars?"
Nakula nodded slowly. "It…the Tablet lists both of my names, doesn't it?"
"Yeah."
When they came back from Falena, Daunte went down to see Leknaat and see the Tablet of Stars. He wasn't surprised to see Sanji's name still listed as Sanji, but Nakula's name had surprised him. In the space underneath Number 86, the Chihi Star was written Nakula (La'Ahad).
"The Tablet displayed the name that Nakula himself knew," Leknaat said. "That is why it didn't display his real name until he knew it."
And you didn't know the real him?" Daunte asked her.
"I had minimal involvement in the Falenan Civil War. Never once did I interact with Nakula at that time, so I would not have known him when he resurfaced again."
"…That makes sense," Daunte conceded.
"For what it is worth, I am happy that you have reunited with your father," Leknaat said. "And I am glad that he has come to peace with himself."
"Me too," Daunte said, looking back at the Tablet of Stars. The Tablet didn't know his name until HE knew his name. That…is very interesting.
It didn't bother Daunte, though. Since the reveal of his true identity, no one referred to Nakula as "La'Ahad" anymore. Some even gave Nakula a lord's title with his name. Nakula didn't like any of the attention. And Evarr locked himself in his room and refused to come out, even with Nakula's reassurances that he wasn't mad at him.
"Daunte told me the truth," Nakula said to Evarr's locked door. "He said you didn't betray us but that a Djinn misconstrued a wish you had made. I'm not angry with you, Evarr."
"Y-You don't fool me!" Evarr shouted on the other side of the door. "I remember you, Nakula! You were scary back then! And I know you're scary now!"
Daunte looked between Nakula and the closed down for a long moment. "…Well," he sighed finally. "I guess Evarr won't be an available party member for awhile…"
"I'll see you both later." in the present Daunte said his goodbyes to Nakula and Arin before he left the room. He headed downstairs and was relieved to see Mooney's shop empty.
"Hello, Lord Daunte!" Mooney called over to him. "My doors are always open to you!"
"Thank you," Daunte said, moving to the Second Fire Bringer War case. "I'm nearly there with completing sets—"
"You need six Fire Bringer War, thirty Islands Federation War, and nineteen Falenan Civil War figurines," Mooney interjected smilingly.
"…Thank you for the reminder," Daunte said blandly. He looked at the case closely and choked. "Oh! Yuber, Melville, Kidd, Tuta, Twaikin, and Dios! Those are the ones I needed!"
"Here, I'll get them for you!" Mooney hurried over and unlocked the case. He brought the six figurines up to the front counter. "That will be 30,000 bits, Lord Daunte."
"Right," Daunte said, counting out the money. He was too used to how much the figurines would cost and was resigned to his fate of spending a fortune completing all five sets.
If I want the entire Heavenly Set, then I'll need to spend this money.
Mooney threw his hands up into the air. "CONGRATULATIONS!" Confetti fell from the ceiling and rained down upon them once again. "Good job on completing the set! I have a special reward for you!"
"Oh good," Daunte said. "What's the third piece of the Heavenly Set?"
"I'll bring it right out!" Mooney retreated to the backroom, and returned moments later carrying something in both arms wrapped in green cloth. "Ta-DAA!"
It was a beautiful helm silver and red in color and glittering in the light. "The Heavenly Helm," Daunte said, smiling.
"That's right," Mooney said proudly. "Part of the Heavenly Set, as you know. 35 Defense, and 10 points of Auto-Heal."
"Auto-Heal?" Daunte's eyes widened. "So…my health is restored when I wear this helmet?"
"Yes," Mooney said.
"Then I'm going to only wear this helm from now on," Daunte said.
"If you complete the Heavenly Set, then nothing will stop you."
"Well—"
"What is this?"
Yuber's figurine was plucked off the table. Mooney cried out and jumped back, but Daunte didn't even blink as he turned to face Yuber. "That's you," he pointed out.
"I know," Yuber said harshly. "But why did you make a toy out of me? And why do I look like this?"
"Aren't those the clothes you wore during the Second Fire Bringer War?" Daunte asked him.
"How would you know that?" Yuber snapped at him.
"I saw a vision with the Rune of Restoration. I—"
Yuber grabbed Daunte by his collar and yanked him close, their noses almost touching. "Do NOT use your filthy Rune on me in such a way. If you EVER enter my mind, I will end you."
Daunte didn't look away from him. "You don't need to threaten me," he said. "I don't intend to do that."
Yuber snapped his teeth. "You had better not."
A blade was suddenly pressed against the side of Yuber's neck. "That's enough."
Daunte's eyes widened and he quickly looked at Mooney. The jovial whittler was now leaned across the front counter, his expression hard and his whittling knife pressed to Yuber's neck.
Yuber gave him a sideways glance, his expression predictably unafraid. "It was a mistake for you to draw a weapon on me," he hissed.
"It was a mistake for you to manhandle my Lord in my presence," Mooney retorted. "Let Lord Daunte go now."
Yuber unceremoniously dropped Daunte but then rounded upon Mooney. "Stand down!" Daunte snapped. "Rule number one, remember?! You're not allowed to kill any Liberation Army allies!"
Yuber cursed loudly, but did not take a step further towards Mooney. He turned then to glare at Daunte. "This contract," he spat out like a curse word. "This brand that binds your accursed blood to mine. You will live to regret what you have done to me." then he quickly teleported away.
"Are you all right, my Lord?" Mooney asked him, setting his whittling knife down.
"Yes," Daunte responded. "Thank you for coming to my defense Mooney, but please don't do that in the future. Yuber is very dangerous—"
"Oh I know," Mooney said. "And while I can fight I prefer to whittle. But I will fight if it means protecting you Lord Daunte."
Daunte slowly nodded. "Thank you." He collected the figurines and the Heavenly Helm. "I'd better take these upstairs. And will be back to buy the rest of the sets."
"I believe in you, Lord Daunte."
Arin was still playing with Nakula when Daunte returned to complete the set, but several other children had joined their play. Daunte was also surprised to see Georg Prime in the figurine room, holding up his two figurines from the Dunan Unification War and Falenan Civil War respectively. He seemed amused to see Nakula playing with Arin and the other children.
"I remember him being a natural loner and always angry," Georg told Daunte in private. "Even on the night before the siege of Sol-Falena he camped himself outside of the Oboro Detective Agency because he had nothing driving him but his hate. I'm glad to see that he finally found peace."
"Yeah," Daunte said. "And he made peace with Sagiri as well. He's not going to hunt her down once this is all over."
"Well, that's good," Georg said. "Had he kept to his quest for vengeance then that would have created more tragedies."
Daunte decided against going to see Oboro, as he knew all of the detectives were still overwhelmed with all of the Investigations he had requested. When he had looked at the Tablet of Stars he had seen three empty spots, and it made him feel on edge that there were still three Stars of Destiny that he needed to recruit.
I'll find them. I won't make the mistake I did with the Battle of Winter Hill. I'll hold off on the final siege for as long as possible until I have all 108 Stars of Destiny again.
Outside of the war room Daunte only saw Pesmerga; Yuber was nowhere to be found. Daunte knew not to ask Pesmerga where Yuber was, as the Black Knight would either tell him that he didn't know or not give a straight answer. Inside the war room was predictably not empty. Caesar, Chinmaya, Peader, and Allise were standing in there as though waiting for him, though Daunte was quickly distracted by seeing Kibbeh chewing on one of the legs of the table in the back. "No amount of training seems to curb your destruction," he sighed, picking the pup up into his arms.
"Glad to see you, Lord Daunte," Caesar said. "Allise came here to have a word with all of us."
"I'm all ears," Daunte said, though he grunted as Kibbeh struggled in his arms.
"I've heard that Imbuka Liger's Sheikh position has not been filled," Allise said.
"Right," Peader said. "At this point nobody seems to want the job of Sheikh. There is only one active Sheikh left and that is Keha Hale."
Allise nodded. "We'll be planning the campaign against him soon, yes?"
"We will," Caesar said. "But we'll need to proceed with extreme caution due to the fact that his Garrison is located inside of a city and is not an independent structure."
"I heard that building a Garrison in Kõrkus was by Sheikh Hale's insistence," Chinmaya said.
"Yes," Allise said. "He gave the excuse that it was to properly protect Kõrkus, but in reality he wanted to surrounded himself with a civilian population to lessen the chances of invasions against his Garrison. And so that the people of Kõrkus could serve as a buffer in the event an invasion occurred."
"Which is what we're going to try to avoid," Caesar said. "Keha Hale will surely fortify his Garrison if he sees Liberation Army forces marching upon Kõrkus and he will surely leave the civilians to die. So we need to be careful with our planning to avoid civilian losses."
"So anyway," Allise said, turning the Daunte. "The reason that I'm here. I'm demanding rights to kill that man. I want to face him in a dual and thoroughly humiliate him before I take his life. I want to make him suffer, Lord Daunte, for everything that he did to me."
"You plan on torturing him?" Daunte asked warily.
"Only psychologically," Allise said. "Which is still kinder than what he has done to me."
Daunte nodded slowly and solemnly. "If you feel strongly about this Allise, then I'll give this to you. No one will be allowed to kill Keha Hale except you, unless something dire occurs."
"Just make sure to practice your dueling if this is what you want to do, as we will need to follow duel etiquette," Peader said.
"Nothing will happen to Allise."
Daunte looked towards the doors and saw Gunther approaching them. His expression was uncharacteristically serious. "Allise, I request to be your backup for the duel," he said. "If for whatever reason you're not able to finish the duel, I will step in to make sure you don't die and that bastard doesn't get away. Is that all right with you?"
Allise stared at him for a long moment of silence. Her expression was void of the contempt she usually display towards him. "You're not stealing this kill from me," she responded finally, though in a harsh tone.
"I have no intention of denying you your vengeance," Gunther said. "But I also have no intention of you dying. I thought I made that very clear to you."
Allise looked away, her jaw clenched. Daunte realized though that she wasn't going to say anything more and stepped forward with a raised hand. "Done," he said. "Gunther, you will be Allise's backup for her duel and will finish it if she's not able to."
"We still have a lot to plan for the next campaign," Caesar said. "So before then you'll have some free time, Lord Daunte."
"If you're traveling please be cautious near Baltas," Peader said. "There have been reports of earthquakes near the town."
"Oh, also," Chinmaya said, stepping forward. She held up a piece of paper. "Priscilla gave this to me earlier. It's a list of requests she wants for her wedding."
"Good for her," Allise said sincerely.
"Does her wedding have a budget?" Caesar asked.
"'Budget'?" Daunte echoed.
"Weddings tend to be expensive," Gunther said humorously.
"Nagarean weddings are very expensive," Allise added. "Although for you Lord Daunte your wedding may be Falenan them—" Daunte coughed loudly to drown out the rest of her words.
Peader took the list from Chinmaya, scanned it briefly, and then handed it back to Chinmaya. "The wedding and reception will cost 3 million bits," he said bluntly.
"EH?!" Gunther and Daunte exclaimed.
"Are you okay with that, Lord Daunte?" Caesar asked.
Daunte overcame his shock and nodded. "I've spent more than that on figurines, I imagine. Whatever Priscilla and Gusoku want I'll approve of."
Allise looked at the list over Chinmaya's shoulder. "Aww!" She cooed, pressing a hand to her cheek. "Priscilla wants YOU to walk her down the aisle, Lord Daunte!"
"…What?"
"Lord Daunte?"
Daunte was surprised to see Viki standing outside of the war room waiting for him. Pesmerga was still there but Yuber was still gone. "What's wrong?" He asked, seeing her distressed expression. "Is Yuber bothering you?"
Pesmerga snorted.
"No," Viki said, shaking her head. "It's not him. It's…Öt."
"Öt?"
"He seems to be in a lot of pain," Viki said sadly. "Whenever he surfaces from underground his head is all droopy. Something seems to be bothering him."
"Y-You can talk to beasts?!" Daunte gasped.
"A-Ah, not really," Viki said, rubbing at her forehead. "But beasts—I-I guess I get along well with them. I-I have a unite attack with Öt like I did with other beasts in the past..."
"Beasts seem to flock to you," Pesmerga muttered.
"What?" Viki asked him.
"So you're friends with Öt?" Daunte interjected. "And you have unite attack with him?!"
"I guess so," Viki said. "But we can't talk to each other. Would you mind talking to him to see if he's okay?"
"Sure, absolutely," Daunte said. "Would you mind taking me to him now, Viki?"
"Oh, sure! He's not that far away, I promise!"
Daunte let Kibbeh go and Viki teleported him to the east, close to the border of Winter Hill. Goosebumps rose on his arms from their surroundings. "He's here?" he asked quietly.
"Yes," Viki responded. She cupped her hands around her mouth. "Öt!" She called. "I brought Lord Daunte!"
Daunte didn't know if Öt would really come at Viki's call. But at her call the ground began to rumble. The soil in front of them broke apart and Öt rose up into the air.
"...You are here," Öt said. "And you brought the odd girl with you."
"Viki was worried about you," Daunte responded, gesturing to her. "She said you were sad."
"I am at ease with her," Öt admitted. "Her...silly personality keeps me calm. It is strange to hear her talk to me when I cannot answer back."
"I'm glad you're making friends at least," Daunte said. Viki brightened upon hearing this.
"Human friends do not compare with a lifelong mate to a Death Worm," Öt said. "If you observe me to be sad then it is because I mourn my dead mate and the extinction of race."
"Don't lose hope," Daunte soothed him, raising a hand. "I just know that there's another Death Worm out there. I told you that I would help you—"
"You have promised me but yet you have done nothing to help me in my search. How long do you intend to make me wait before you'll do anything for me? How long must I wait in solitude, lamenting everything I have lost before I become important enough to you for you to help me?"
"Now!" Daunte blurred out, the pain choking his throat. "I-I'm so sorry for leaving you waiting this long! I'll get a party ready and we'll go out searching right now!"
"...Right now," Öt said unconvincingly. "And how do you expect to accomplish this when I myself do not know where to start searching?"
"Baltas! We'll start at Baltas!" Daunte said.
"Start what?" Viki asked.
"Why that human settlement?" Öt asked him.
"Peader told me that there were reports of earthquakes near Baltas," Daunte explaiend. "The earthquakes may be caused by a Death Worm!"
"That...is actually a fair point," Öt responded after a long moment.
"We'll go now," Daunte said. "We'll go and investigate the earthquakes and find the other Death Worm!"
"Please do not get my hopes up. For all we know, these earthquakes could be natural."
Daunte knew that he had a point but before he could say anything Viki spoke up. "So...what's going on?"
"You're going to go look for a mate for Öt?" Felicity asked.
"Yes, I am," Daunte said. "Viki will teleport my party and I to Baltas."
"Uh...good luck, I guess?" Roen offered. "I mean I do want Öt to be happy, but Death Worms are called Death Worms for a reason. We've seen Öt eat people after all."
"But they were bad!" Arin pointed out.
"Can I come with you on this trip?" Nakula asked. He sat away from everyone, as Roen and Felicity still didn't know what to make of him. Kibbeh was asleep in his lap. "I would like to help you, Daunte."
"I appreciate that, but because of Öt I need to bring a small party," Daunte said. "Öt counts for two party member slots so I can only bring three other people with me. Caesar recommended that I take an aerial pair with me so we don't…interfere with any Death Worm "courtship rituals"."
"That sounds fair," Nakula conceded. "Then you will be flying with the Dragon Knights?"
Daunte paused briefly. "No," admitted after a moment. "The dragons aren't in the mood for it, at least according to Futch and Sharon."
He didn't add that Futch and Sharon still seemed to have animosity between them. Despite Suna being revived Sharon still blamed Futch for Suna's death and kept all five of her baby dragons away from Futch. The five dragons also responded negatively to Futch's presence and Bright seemed crestfallen most of the time.
I guess that will be another issue I'll need to fix. But first things first, I need to help Öt.
"Ariosto can fly," Arin said. "Will you take him and Ruggiero?"
"Ruggiero and him," Daunte gently corrected him. "But yeah I will be taking them. I just hope there won't be any issues with having a hippogriff interact with a Death Worm..."
"It shouldn't be a problem," Nakula said. "Hippogriffs wouldn't generally interact with Death Worms in the wild. But that still leaves one spot open in your party, Daunte. May I take it?"
"I..." Daunte swallowed hard before continuing. "How's your head?" He asked quietly.
"I'll be okay," Nakula responded, standing up. "But I want to be there for you. Please let me be there for you, Daunte."
Daunte contemplated it for a moment. He wanted to take Viki with him since she seemed to get along with Öt, but he also knew that it would ultimately hurt his dad if he didn't take him too.
There won't be a lot of room on Arisoto's back. But maybe...
"Okay," he said, nodding. "I'll put Viki in the support party and you in the active party. Hopefully we won't be in too many combat situations this time."
"Thank you, Daunte."
"Just be careful," Felicity said. "Hopefully if there is a Death Worm then it won't be inclined to eat us."
I hope so, too, Daunte thought.
Caesar helped Daunte assemble his party. Ruggiero, Arisoto, Nakula, and Viki were quickly summoned to go.
"Don't worry about Arisoto," Ruggiero said, stroking the hippogriff's neck. "He won't go attacking a Death Worm spontaneously."
Arisoto only grunted.
"I'm happy to help you," Nakula said.
"A-Ah, I'm ready to go," Viki said.
"Just be careful in the event the earthquakes are in fact caused by earthquakes and not another long-lost Death Worm," Caesar said.
"…This might be the most bizarre mission I've ever seen," Chinmaya said quietly.
"I've seen weirder," Peader said.
Viki teleported them to Baltas, but no sooner did their feet touch the ground that the same ground began to tremble violently. "Earthquake!" Daunte shouted.
"Quick!" Ruggiero shouted, jumping onto Arisoto's back. Daunte, Nakula, and Viki followed him and the hippogriff took off into the air. Below them Daunte saw the citizens of Baltas reacting with only mild annoyance to the earthquake and not in panic. How often were these earthquakes occurring that they're treating it like a nuisance?
"I-Is this a normal earthquake?" Viki asked.
"I don't have many memories of earthquakes," Nakula said quietly.
"Thankfully there were never any earthquakes near the Dark Chasm," Daunte said. Nakula flinched violently and he quickly pressed on. "B-But I wonder now if any of the earthquakes that have happened in Nagarea are natural or caused by Death Worms…"
"Oh!" Ruggiero shouted, pointing ahead of them. "Speaking of earthquakes, look at that!"
Daunte looked in the direction he was pointing, seeing that he was pointing to the northeast. "Oh, that's the border between Nagarea and Falena," He said. "It—wait, land!" He suddenly shouted. "Land in the area of the border!"
Arisoto flapped his wings and began to glide down towards the ground at the border. The trees were no longer shaking, indicating to Daunte that the earthquake had ended. But this was the closest that Daunte had ever gotten to the Falenan-Nagarean land border. He knew from history books from both Nagarea and Falena that the Great Earthquake made the border impassable on both sides. The Falenan soldiers who crossed the border to save the royal family did so perilously, and some had died.
Now Daunte could very much see the evidence of why this was so. Land jutting out of the ground pointing in random directions like spike trees permanently at forty-five degree angles. Landslides that were frozen in time. When Daunte hesitantly touched his foot down, it sank into the earth as though he had stepped into quicksand, and the ground crunched like broken bones. Nakula quickly grabbed him and yanked him loose, pulling him back onto Arisoto's back. The hippogriff left the ground very slightly, and the higher altitude allowed Daunte to see more of the damage. On the boundary line between Falena and Nagarea was a wide chasm, easily fifteen meters wide. Daunte could see the bottom of some parts of the chasm, but in the direct center he saw nothing but darkness.
And this is why Nagarea didn't invade Falena again after the Great Earthquake. But…But could a Death Worm have possibly caused THIS?
"Is Öt nearby?" Viki asked.
"I don't know," Daunte answered honestly. He clenched the listening crystal in his hand. "Öt?" He called out, his voice echoing in the air around them, and down into the chasm.
"I am close." Öt's responded. "Close enough that I can hear you when you shout. Have you seen her?"
"'Her'?"
"Her?" everyone echoed Daunte's words.
"You were right, Daunte. These earthquakes…they were caused by a Death Worm."
"Oh thank goodness," Daunte breathed out a sigh of relief. "A Death Worm did cause the earthquake," he clarified for his companions.
"She is fast. She fled from me. She has retreated deep into the soil near the wounded land you are hovering over. It is risky for a Death Worm to be near this land, because of how unstable it is. Yet she is here. Please, help me find her."
"Is she in there?!" Daunte shouted, pointing towards the center of the chasm.
"Wait, someone fell in there?!" Ruggiero shouted in horror. "Arisoto, GO!"
Before Daunte could correct him the hippogriff flew quickly towards the mouth of the chasm. "Rune of Restoration!" Daunte shouted.
The Rune glowed in response to his shout, illuminating the dark crevice and exposing the rocks and thick roots sticking out precariuously on all sides. "Hello!" Ruggiero shouted, his voice echoing around them. "Miss, are you still alive?!"
"Wait, who fell in here?!" Viki exclaimed.
"You fool, Daunte was talking about the other Death Worm!" Nakula snapped in exasperation.
"Eh?! Ruggiero gaped at him in confusion before clarity crossed his expression. "Arisoto, land!"
The hippogriff landed on a black root coiled out like a hook on the Falenan side of the border. It was large enough for them to land on, but not large enough for them to disembark. "Ah…no one fell down here?" He asked embarrassedly.
"Do you think Daunte would have said it so nonchalantly if someone did fall down here?" Nakula rasped, scrubbing his hand over his face.
"It's okay," Daunte said, but at that moment the light from his Rune faded. He looked up towards the surface but saw little sunlight. It was darker down there than the deepest level of the Dark Chasm. Daunte had to guess that they had descended 21 meters in less than 30 seconds. "Ah, let me strike a light," Daunte said, fumbling for his pockets.
"I've got it," Ruggiero said apologetically, pulling out a pack of matches. "I'll fly us back up after Arisoto rests."
"He's trembling," Viki observed, stroking his feathers.
"I know." Ruggiero struck his match. "Welcome to Falena, old friend," he told Arisoto as he held the match up—
And from the Nagarean side of the border, they were greeted but a giant round, gaping pale green mouth of sharp black teeth.
The group was startled but Daunte leaned forward. "There you are, Öt—"
"That is not me," Öt quickly interjected. "That is her."
Daunte stiffened as the mouth in front of them slowly closed. The soil shifted and broke apart as the Death Worm's head fully emerged from the soil. "That's her," he quickly whispered. "The Death Worm Öt was seeking."
Arisoto was shaking violently underneath them. "She is hostile," Ruggiero quickly hissed to Daunte. "And she sees us as threats. Arisoto can sense her hostility. He doesn't like it."
Daunte held onto his listening crystal and raised his free hand. "It's okay," he said to the Death Worm. "W-We're not here to hurt you. We're here to hel—"
The Death Worm opened her mouth towards his hand. Nakula pulled him backwards, pinning Daunte against the soil protectively with his arm and pointing his speak at the Death Worm. "Get back!" He shouted.
"Is he threatening her?" Öt asked dangerously. "You cannot kill her!"
Daunte looked down at the listening crystal. "W…Can't she understand me?" He wondered aloud. He looked back up at her. "Can you understand me?" He asked the Death Worm. He held up the listening crystal.
The mouth slowly opened and closed with a sickening suctioning sound. But the listening crystal did not glow, and Daunte could not hear her voice. He looked down at the listening crystal with wide eyes. "W…This isn't working! Why isn't this working? It works for Öt?"
"Did you drop it or something?" Ruggiero asked warily.
"River and his people dropped it during a fight, but it worked on Öt! Why won't it work on her?!"
"H-Hey, don't listening crystals only work one to each animal?! Viki wondered aloud. "I remember during the Dunan Unification War that Lord Riou got a unicorn, a-and a griffin with two different listening crystals! I also met a kraken, I-I think his name was Abizboah! I think he had a wife and son, b-but I never got to meet them—"
"Viki, you're a genius!" Daunte shouted, grabbing her and quickly hugging her before fumbling for his satchel and yanking out the second sending crystal he had. "Feather dropped this in Dunan!"
"Feather?" Nakula asked.
"Oh, the griffin!" Viki exclaimed. "How was he?"
Daunte raised the second listening crystal. "Please listen to me!" He shouted. "We mean you no harm!"
The second listening crystal began to glow with a bright light. The Death Worm flinched away from the light, but just as quickly Daunte heard an unfamiliar woman's voice reacting in confusion. "…H…How. What—"
"It's okay," Daunte reassured her. "My name is Daunte and I'm here to help you."
"I am sick of seeing humans faces!" the Death Worm interrupted him. Her voice was full of venom. "You have destroyed my race and I MUST repay the favor as the last surviving Death Worm of this wretched land!"
"Ah, you don't need to do that," Daunte said. "There is another Death Worm here in Nagarea. His name is Öt—"
"You lie!" the Death Worm snapped, clenching her mouth menacingly. Then she went still. "…Wait a moment. You can understand me?"
"Yes," Daunte said. "And you can understand the common tongue, right?"
"What ARE you that you can understand me?"
"I'm no one special. I can understand you with this listening crystal, as I can understand Öt." Daunte blinked for a moment. "I was speaking to him earlier," he said. "Couldn't you hear him?"
"Humans play tricks on me to get me to surface so that they can kill me. You are also playing a trick on me."
"No, I'm not!" Daunte protested.
"Doesn't this remind you of our conversations, old friend?" Ruggiero said to Arisoto. The hippogriff continued to glare at the Death Worm warningly.
"He is not deceiving you," Öt called out. His tone was completely different from what it usually was; calmer and gentler. "I am here. I have found you."
"…How do I not know that you are not another human holding a talisman to speak to me?" she responded.
"Resurface and I will reveal myself to you."
"NO!" she shot back. Daunte flinched from her scream. "I will not expose myself to humans! Humans killed my family! Humans killed my race!"
"Then I will come to you," Öt responded.
"What's your name?" Daunte asked her.
"…Amidral," was her solemn reply. "My name is Amidral."
"Amidral," Daunte repeated out loud. He nodded to his companions. "It's nice to meet you, Amidral."
"There is nothing nice about this," Amidral retorted. "I am alone, cornered by selfish humans. You will kill me, and then there will be no more Death Worms."
"I don't intend to kill you," Daunte said. "Not unless you hurt my people. But I'm here to help you, and so is Öt."
"That is correct."
The soil to the northeast of their position pushed out and fell into the chasm, and Öt's head emerged. He turned towards Amidral, and though Daunte knew that they couldn't see each other they could sense each other.
Amidral turned towards him. Daunte heard a gasp from her in his mind. "…You," she said to Öt. "You are real?"
"I am real," Öt said. "I thought I was the only one left when humans killed my mate. But this human—Daunte—believed that there were other Death Worms left in Nagarea. I am pleased that he was right."
"I…" Amidral tilted her head towards Daunte and then towards Öt. "You…are here. And a fellow Death Worm."
"I am."Öt turned towards Daunte. "Thank you for your help, Daunte. I do not need any further assistance, so you may depart from her."
"A-Ah, okay," Daunte said. He turned to the others. "Öt said we can go."
"Aww, I wanted to meet your friend!" Viki protested.
"I think it's best we give them their privacy," Ruggiero interjected. "Arisoto is still feeling tense right now."
"We'll see you later, Öt," Daunte said as he pulled out the Blinking Mirror.
"Thank you again, Daunte."
As the group teleported away Daunte thought, That was easier than I expected.
Two days later…
"The cowardly B.L. has been silent recently. I told you he was a coward!"
"Um, I really think that we should have kept at least ONE of the letters…"
Daunte had a headache and he blinked rapidly as he looked over his note. "…Okay."
I can't believe all of the drama that's going on here. Gusoku and Priscilla's wedding and reception. Evarr refusing to leave his room. The conflict between Futch and Sharon. Mihr STILL refusing to wield Nariek. The issues between Sloan and his family. Soturi's issues with his fiancée. Whatever…it is that's currently going on between Gunther and Allise. Yaman's latest gambling debts. Vien's latest gambling debts. Not to mention MY issues with Nian and my father. AND our upcoming campaigns against Keha Hale and the Holy Army. Ugh.
"Lord Daunte?" Blaise rested a hand on his shoulder. "You look about ready to keel over. Why don't you go and rest?"
"I think I might have to do that," he said wearily, folding up his list and tucking it into his pocket. "What time is it?"
"Still midday, but you should really go and take a nap," Blaise said. "I'll go and tell Lord Caesar so that no one bothers you."
"That's not necessary, but thank you."
Daunte realized how tired he really was as he headed back towards the main building. The trio continued to give their broadcast as he entered the elevator, and he almost pressed the button for the basement. He had checked the Tablet of Stars the day before and had been surprised to not see Amidral's name there. He had panicked thinking he had done something wrong, but Leknaat was quick to reassure him.
"The remaining Stars are out there. You will find them."
Good, he had thought at the time. The last thing I want to do is damn myself and the Army by recruiting someone I shouldn't be recruiting.
The elevator opened on his floor, and he rubbed at his temples as he reached his door. Maybe I should have gone to the onsen first. Never mind, I'm too tired to go back downstairs.
Daunte entered his room still rubbing at his temples, and smiled when he saw the teapot and cookies on his table. He started to move towards the table when his door closed sharply behind him. The sound startled him—
"Enjoying the authority that you stole from me?"
Before he could turn he heard a familiar voice that caused his heart to drop into his stomach. Daunte quickly whipped around and his eyes widened in shock when saw Bearyl Lutis standing beside the now closed door, his hand pressed against it. Gone was his blue trench coat, replaced with a tattered silver one buttoned from chin to hem at his ankles. That was the only observation Daunte could make before Bearyl lunged forward. Daunte shouted in shock but Bearyl shoved his fist into Daunte's mouth, stifling his scream as he violently slammed Daunte onto the table. The teapot rattled and the plate of cookies fell to the floor and shattered.
"You little bastard," Bearyl hissed into Daunte's face. His hair was longer than before and wild, his eyes bloodshot and full of hatred. He had a stubble and strong body odor. Daunte struggled violently under his hold but Bearyl overpowered him. "I saved you. I gave you a home and purpose, and how do you repay me? You STEAL MY ARMY!" he hollered into Daunte's face. "You took EVERYTHING that I built up and stole it for yourself! Everything that you have is mine!"
Daunte bit down on Bearyl's hand, but he reacted with a slight flinch. He withdrew his hand but pressed his forearm against Daunte's throat.
"I wanted to do what was best for this country," Bearyl growled. "I wanted to make Nagarea a better place! But NOBODY appreciated my hard work and effort!" He screamed. "You stole what was rightfully mine!"
Daunte choked and tried to push Bearyl off him, but the older man didn't budge. "It...It's n-not too late!" He gagged. "We c-can still work together! A-After the war, you—"
"And be YOUR subordinate?!" Bearyl demanded incredulously. "Me play second-fiddle to a damned child in MY ARMY?! I would rather die!"
"GET OFF MY BROTHER!"
Daunte wheezed as he saw Arin charge from his door, but Bearyl lashed out his foot and kicked Arin hard in the stomach. Arin screamed as he flew backwards, and the sudden rage that swept through Daunte's body gave him an adrenaline rush. He surged up, almost pushing Bearyl off him completely, but Bearyl leaned hard against his throat and pinned him back against the table.
Daunte pressed his hand against Bearyl's left side and tried to call out to the Rune of Restoration. But Bearyl leaned harder against his throat. "If you hurt me," he warned. "She will die."
Daunte's eye widened. Who... but he couldn't say the word.
Daunte's door slammed open and he heard Nakula scream in rage. "Stay back!" Bearyl snapped over his shoulder.
"Bearyl?!" Varnaz exclaimed.
"Bearyl Lutis! You bastard!" Surya shouted.
"Bearyl, are you out of your damned mind?!" Caesar also shouted.
Arin was sitting on the floor cradling his stomach wailing. Nakula quickly rushed to his side and picked him up, which made Daunte feel relieved.
"If any of you know what's good for you then you won't come any closer!" Bearyl yelled.
"H-He's not armed!" Daunte managed to croak out.
Bearyl held his gaze. "I came here unarmed to give you a warning. I don't need a weapon. I have nothing to fear. In fact, you're all going to let me walk out of here unharmed."
"What makes you say that?!" Chinmaya snapped.
"Because if I don't make it back before the sun sets, then she will die!" Bearyl shouted over his shoulder.
Hearing the word "she" again made Daunte feel sick. Sounds of confusion rumbled from the group at the door.
"It wasn't easy, but I have YOU to thank," Bearyl said, looking back down at Daunte. "I wouldn't have been able to get to her without your diplomatic genius."
There was an uncomfortably long pause of silence from the group. "Bearyl," Caesar said finally, his tone chilly. "What have you done?"
Bearyl remained quiet, but he reached into his trench coat with his free hand. From under his coat he pulled out a long length of braided silver rope. Daunte had to guess that it was forty centimeters long. He held it up high over his head, his fist clenched into the rope under a black ribbon tied around the rope.
...Black ribbon?
The realization came to Daunte quickly. From the screams at the door, Daunte knew that the others realized it too. Bearyl wasn't holding forty centimeters length of rope.
He was holding forty centimeters length of hair.