And Happy New Year !
Have fun with the second part of this chapter !
Asturia, the deal.
The closer they were getting to the capital, the more guarded Allen was becoming, and for good reason too. Allen was not supposed to return to the capital unless he was called, something some high ranking people knew would never happen unless in very specific circumstances, yet he could not not report the destruction of the fort that was under his command. That meant he had to go to the palace, which meant risking an encounter with the princesses, something that was making his heart ache just thinking about it.
His men were more enthusiastic to go back to the capital, even under the dire situation they were facing, it was their home after all. That and they were getting tired of the brooding king, the spartan training of the swordmaster, and the growing unrest of their captain.
It was in these conditions that the Crusade managed to reach the royal capital of Asturia, Palas. Still banged up, tired, nervous but eager to get things done.
Once they landed, Allen parted with his crew and guests to go to the palace, he had to report immediately before someone else did it for him, or being intercepted by the least agreeable option for him. He first reports to the Calei Knights headquarter, who already learned of his arrival at the airport, the Crusade being well known to them not only for its unrefined crew, but mostly due to their errant youngest member who serves as its captain. Even if he was banned from the capital Allen and the other knights were still glad to see each other, even if they disapproved of his behavior, and lifestyle he was still one of them, and their youngest. Still some of them had hoped that getting punished the way he was would have enforced some humility in him, and at least two were still dreaming of beating him in a proper duel. Allen for his part was glad the knights were still upholding their duty inside the palace, at least the royal family would be safe if anything were to happen.
Once they had exchanged some civilities, he explained the reason for his unexpected presence briefly, and made the request to have an audience with the king, not only as his duty, but to get his next orders. He didn't mention the Zaibach empire to them, he was not that close to the other knights to spread such sensitive information. It took a few hours, which was surprisingly quick, but he got the audience.
He went to the throne room, and knelt before his king, as humbly as possible, knowingly perfectly well that he would never gain grace in his eyes ever again after what happened nearly six years ago. As expected king Aston was very displeased with his presence, but to avoid more rumors, he too had to act accordingly.
"Ah Allen, what a surprise to see you here, shouldn't you be at your post? What brought you here?" The king was not in the mood to lose time with the knight, his tone was filled with annoyance and a bit of sarcasm. But he was not angry, and was not making him wait hours on end. Having received the implicit authorization to rise and talk, Allen did so, but kept his head bowed as the protocol dictates.
"It's with regrets that I present myself today your Highness. As of three days ago, Fort Castelo was attacked and destroyed. Only my crew and a few others survived. We managed to escape but the fort was lost." This got his liege attention, even if he had banished the knight before him to the outskirts of the kingdom, learning they had been attacked was a concern, who would dare attack his kingdom?
King Aston straightened in his throne. "Who dares attack the fort?" This was Allen's chance to expose the empire to his king, he may not care for him or his men, but the king was bound to take action toward an attack on his kingdom.
"We were attacked shortly after receiving the visit of a Zaibach flying fortress who came to demand supplies. We have every reason to believe the Zaibach Empire broke our treaty and attacked our fortress. We may be allied countries, but there's no telling when they may attack Asturia herself." During his speech, Allen went a bit too excited and bowed down his head in respect to his king to finish. "Your decision please, King Aston."
Unfortunately for the knight, his king's expression went back to distaste the moment he mentioned the empire, and with a sigh gave his sentence. "Are you trying to bring disaster upon my country Allen Schezar? For one little outpost, you would risk Zaibach's wrath?" Now he was getting angry. "What have you done?!"
Allen was not ashamed of his choices that day, but his king's rebuttal hurt, he may not like him but didn't he cared for his country and men? "Chivalry demands that we protect our country and ourselves when we are attacked unjustly!"
"That's not true." A new voice reverberated in the throne room. From the shadow emerged a tall man with teal colored hair and a long black cape, he walked to the throne placing himself between the knight and the king. "You seem to be the victim of a misunderstanding, Allen Schezar."
The presence of the stranger was suspicious in itself, but worse was how the king seemed perfectly at ease with the interruption. Something was not right. "Who is this?" Ask Allen, sensing dread growing in his stomach.
The king answered him with distaste. "Folken Strategos of Zaibach."
Shocked, Allen could only murmur under his breath "Zaibach?" So the empire already has the king in their pocket? This was the worst thing that could happen to them.
Smiling at the growing distress on the knight's face, the Strategos continued. "King Aston, We were only on our way to patrol the borders of the kingdom of Fanelia as they have shown a growing hostility toward us."
Having met the young king and talked at length with him and his master, Allen knew the truth of the situation, and afterall why would a small country like Fanelia would show hostility to the growing empire who was on the other side of the world for them? Things were not adding up and the man should know this. "I've heard nothing of this." Was his response.
With a smirk the so-called Folken continued his act of being the victim in this situation. "It's the truth. It's a pity your fort was attacked but we had nothing to do with this, unless you can identify the men who attacked you with certainty."
A wave of rage overcame Allen, the death of his men still at the forefront of his mind, and the joy in Dilandau's voice as he committed the massacre. "Are you going to deny the fact we had to fight Captain Albatou for our lives? That he did not use his troops to destroy Fort Castelo?" his fist was closed so tightly he was sure his gloves stitches were ready to split.
"Ah yes captain Albatou… He is quite quick tempered, he thought you were conniving with spies from Fanelia. He takes his mission very seriously, and his mission is to find the new king of Fanelia and his guymelef, the Escaflowne. If you have any information about them, I'm sure we could overlook this incident."
Incident? He dared to call the murder and destruction his soldiers spread an incident? With the flimsy excuse of looking for "spies" when they have done nothing but be gracious to them?! Allen had to give it to the man, he was using his silver tongue with so much skill butter wouldn't even melt in his mouth. Allen couldn't let his anger get the better of him, he could not lie either, if the man before him had arrived before the Crusade and already talked to the king as he suspected, then he already knew Balgus Ganesha was at the fort, which explains this farce about spies. It doesn't mean he had to say the whole truth either, he was asturian afterall. He had to bite his tongue before answering. "The only movement we saw from Fanelia was the visit of Sir Balgus Ganesha, the swordmaster, who came to visit me. He sent a letter beforehand to announce his visit though and there is no way such a renowned man could be called a spy, much less in a small outpost as Fort Castelo was." No one could deny this fact, not even the empire man. Insulting Allen was one thing, but insulting Balgus was another, and no one was a fool enough to do that.
He also knew what the man and the king wanted to hear from him, and it cost him morally to continue. "I may have accused the empire with too much haste, as the attack happened so shortly after captain Albatou came to request weapons and other supplies. Maybe it was someone else who started the fire, and as the fumes were so strong only the Zaibach troops were the ones I saw in the chaos leading to my misconception." This was more satisfactory for the king and seemed to please Strategos. Yet Allen couldn't let go completely of his anger, and it was with some bite he continued. "But the fight I had with Albatou was still unjustified."
For some reason Strategos seemed more amused than offended, like he had expected this whole conversation to go like this. "Rest assured Allen Schezar, that Dilandau was properly reprimanded for this bout of unjustified violence. He tends to get too excited during a hunt or a fight, and knowing your own reputation with a sword, I'm sure he couldn't resist crossing swords with you. He is still young, but seeing as you won, and he was taken care of, I'm sure you won't hold it against him." He then turned toward the king. "Seeing as we now have the whole explanation of what happened we can now go on and let this behind us. I'd like to avoid any incidents which might endanger our alliance." King Aston nodded at him. "We have an agreement then." And with these words, Folken Strategos left the throne room through the shadows he had come from.
The king was not done with Allen though. "Allen Schezar, if you truly love this country, you will comply with the empire on this." His parting words for his knight were. "Chivalry alone can't protect a country Allen Schezar. You will receive your new affection shortly, until then go." It was implied that his presence within the palace walls was not welcomed, and Allen bowed deeply to his king before leaving, obeying the ban that was still his punishment.
Things were more messed up than expected, and he refused to do nothing. His king's grudge against him was one thing, but he was putting the whole kingdom at risk! Firstly he needed to rejoin his crew without crossing paths with more noble figures of the castle, which was a trial of its own, then he needed to inform the fanelian duo of what happened. Normally Gaddes should have taken care of finding the slippery informant they will need to find the right person in the city, if such a man even exists of course, and from there… Dammit he wasn't even sure what he was expecting, nothing made sense in this letter, what he was supposed to do from there? The king was right, chivalry alone can't protect the country.
Sometimes it feels like he is cursed.
Weirdly, it felt like someone was looking at him. He could have sworn he heard a whisper telling to not give up, but when he looked around he was alone. Yet the voice he heard filled him with warmth.
It would be easy to let himself be swept away in his own despair, but he was a knight, he had sworn to protect the weak and his kingdom, his path may not be easy, but people counted on him. He would fight for the ones who could not, and he would protect Asturia, even against his king. If it means going against the Zaibach empire and their schemes, so be it, they will regret crossing swords with him.
When he reached the Crusade, he ordered a meeting with his men and his two guests. He told them what went with the king, the presence of the man from the empire named Strategos. Of course anger was the general answer to the situation, but it subsided when Allen reminded them they still have an option. Finding the mysterious informant was their best bet so far. But to find him, they need to first find the "merchant with a heart", and to do that they need to get some help.
Thankfully the man they were looking for was not hard to find for them. When the night fell over the capital, all of them left the leviship to go to the tavern. It was in a rather seedy part of the town, not too far from the port, and the tavern itself was not a place where you would expect to find a king, a swordmaster and a Caeli knight with how miserable it looked, but here they were. A lot of the patrons were already drunk when they arrived, and Allen's men immediately joined the crowd by ordering vinos and beers, fitting right in, while the trio of more "refined" men were now secluded in a corner of the tavern, observing. Allen knew the man he was looking for would make an appearance soon enough. And as a waitress was passing through the drunkards and merry crowd he was proven right.
The lady was portly, and in her mid thirty, used to men being idiots. She was also adorned with a belt of jingling trinkets, shining and composed of cheap stones. Plus a few rings on her wrists and fingers, hoops on her ears and an egg size heavy looking pink gem pendant. None of her jewelry were expensive or rare, they were more trinkets than anything, only the gem on her neck looked worth anything, and for some reason under the lights of the tavern Van got a strange feeling whenever his eyes caught the glimmer of the gem. It looked like a cheap replica of a fresh energist, and yet something about it kept catching his attention. While his attention was on the gem, he still noticed how others were looking at the woman, his focus kept getting back to her neck, others were obviously ogling her bosom.
There was a reason why he was looking at her though, Allen told them she would be the one to lure out the man they were looking for. It took more than an hour after their arrival for anything to happen. The waitress shift was over, and she was getting ready to leave after taking one last case of empty bottles to the alley behind the tavern when a rustle in the shadows made her stop. Before she could flee back to the safety of the tavern, or use anything as a weapon, something jumped at her, trying to get to her neck. She let out a scream though, and if people in the building were too rowdy to hear her, someone did.
As the aggressor was trying to get his hands on the woman's neck, grasping at her jewelry, Allen came out of the door separating the tavern from the alley. Even if he was here for him he was still furious at the scene before him.
"You again. So you've grown tired of petty thievery, and now you're attacking helpless women? You will pay for that." He rushed at him, ready to punch the scoundrel.
Said rogue recognised the knight and immediately stepped away from his victim, trying to call out to the man. "A-Allen!" He didn't have time to say anything else as Allen was one him, punching him in the jaw so hard he was sent sprawling on the ground unconscious. The last thing he heard were the knight's words. "Take your punishment!" Once he was out cold, Van and Balgus rushed to help the woman get back to her feet and inside the tavern to safety. She was shaken but after the initial shock she was furious, and took her rescuers for witnesses.
"The fuck! That freaking creep again?! How much time does it make now? I'm sick and tired of this shit! That it! Unprofessional or not, from now on the dagger stays OUT, and in reach!" She was fuming and ranting, waving her arms in anger. Balgus, for his part, was tentatively extending a glass of liquor to the woman, who took it and drank it in one gulp to the surprise of Van who had never seen a woman behave like that. She thanked them, even calling Van "cute" and patting Balgus' arm with a satisfied glint in her eyes. Before leaving she scolded Allen, not for his tardy rescue but for not having visited her when she was younger, she gave them all a wink, and disappeared in the stairs leading to the study of her boss, ready to tear him a new one.
The three men were left speechless, none of them having ever met such a brazen woman before, and Balgus had been in the army for decades while Allen had visited less than savory places himself, as for Van, who had rarely interacted with women at all, it was a cultural shock. At least they had the man they had been looking for. They easily tied him up and loaded him in the cart they had used to come to this place, and went back to the Crusade. The crew would join them later after a few more drinks, there was no need to alert anyone by making them move as a group.
Surprisingly, three men carrying the dead weight of a fourth didn't not even make the rare witnesses of the scene bat an eye. Partly due to the shady part of the town they were in, but also the late hour, and very nature of the kingdom. It was not that rare to see this kind of scene, when a deal was not good, or when gold was involved, to them the unconscious man was in this situation due to a debt, and the three others were here to collect their due.
Once in the Crusade, they woke him up with a bucket of water splashed on him, and after coughing a few minutes the man was ready. He was an elderly fattish man, bald at the top of his head and with long gray hair left. He was dirty, and judging by his prominent nose, and its color, plus the whiskers he sported, was part beastman, probably a rodent. Once he had blinked out the water in his eyes, his hands were still tied together, and his sight adjusted to the light of the room, he was immediately trying to grovel for mercy.
"Enough you old vermin, I don't want to hear your pathetic excuses. Count yourself lucky I didn't simply send you to the nearest guard station, or dunk you in the port." It was strange to see Allen being so harsh on someone, him who was supposed to be the epitome of a gentleman. But considering how they found this man, they were not feeling merciful in the slightest.
"I swear I was just trying to get a good look at her pendant! Nothing else!" Tried to plead the wretch. Then he paused when he noticed the two other men in the room, even with his small glasses and rough awakening he could recognise the oldest, and after seeing the sword at the youngest waist, his jaw went slack. "Oh." he recognized them, and it only meant he was making his case worse by acting up.
Now his best bet was to muster all his merchant brogue to appeal to them, after all if he was here it probably meant they were looking for something he could provide, right? While he had lowered his gaze and was calculating his odds, Van was skeptical of the usefulness of the man. "You said this man would help us find who we are looking for, but I have doubts about this." And Allen could not fault him on this, the mole was anything but trustworthy at first glance, but through the years he had proved his worth.
Still it was embarrassing to have Balgus looking at him interact with the man. "I see you've met quite an interesting character during your knighthood. Are you sure he can lead us to the right person Allen?"
"He will if he knows what's good for him." The threat was not real, Allen would never stand so low as to hurt the man. He was a thief, a vagrant, and a nuisance, but he was not dangerous, and had been useful more than once. Even if his attitude tonight was sure to not paint him in a good light, he trusted the mole's words about only wanting to get to the jewel and not its bearer, he had never once even hinted at being interested in any form of flesh.
The mole man, having heard him, gave a tentative smile, even if his jaw was hurting. "Uh… How may I help you?" He may not be the smartest mole in the ground, but he knows when to stay put. Allen didn't feel like dragging the situation any longer than necessary, so he directly asked what he wanted from him. "My friends and I are looking for someone, and you are going to help us find that person." With the way he was frowning, the mole nod vehemently.
"Good, now listen closely because I won't repeat myself. We are looking for a certain merchant. He is known as the merchant with a heart, does it ring a bell?" Honestly the mole would have spilled everything and anything on the spot, whatever the question was, until he registered what the question was. They were looking for a merchant in Asturia? In Palas? Why not search for sand on a beach? Were they insane?
Then the mole had to wrack his brain, a "merchant with a heart", what a bizarre request. They were looking for something that does not exist, or a newbie, or… or someone who was known to be a weirdo. Maybe they were not using the right word to describe the guy they were looking for? Because the only man they could be looking for with a similar nickname was not exactly someone whom he interacted with.
With any luck they wouldn't hurt him for making sure he understood their request. "Err are you sure his title is "With a heart" and not… "Heartfelt"? Just to be sure!" And at his words, a flash of understanding passed in Balgus and Van's eyes. The author of the letters was not fluent in the common language spoken over Gaea, the letters they received in Fanelia proved it, it was only natural that some of his words had the right meaning but the exact word was not used. They were looking for a merchant with a reputation of being honest. Not that it makes it any easier in a kingdom of Asturia which was built on profits made by cunning sellers and merchants. But this mole identified their need, meaning he knew someone who fit the description.
"You know who we are looking for then. Tell us." Ordered Van, and to be sure he would comply he had his hand on his sword, not that he would really use it for such a thing, but the mole didn't know him, he had to proof that he was safe. But it was enough to have him spill everything he knew.
"The heir of Mayden Fassa! His eldest son, Dryden, the fiance of the third princess! He is an eccentric, and has gained the nickname of "Heartfelt Merchant" by his clients and investors, others merchants of the capital don't like him because he racks in profit like no one. He touches anything and poof it becomes gold in his hands. He even buys exotic slaves and sets them free! I'm sure he is the guy you're looking for! No need to hurt me!" Was the quick answer they got. They have a name, and an important one at that. The name Fassa was well known, in both bad and good ways, depending on the one you were hearing about. Now the question was where to find the man himself, because merchants of that caliber were prompt to be suffering from wanderlust, hard to track precisely. The letter mentioned they would find him in the capital, but not when.
While the fanelians were pondering their next move, Allen was internally groaning. Of course it had to be Mayden's son, and the fiance of princess Millerna, the one person he had every reason to avoid. He had met the man once, and had hated him instantly, not for his betrothal, but his attitude in general. The fact he was nicknamed the "Heartfelt Marchant" was really ironic, and he was wondering if it wasn't a lie all together.
Seeing the somber faces of his hosts, the mole man was starting to sweat in earnest, did he not give them what they wanted? He gulped loudly when the old swordmaster turned toward him. "Where can we find him?" In other circumstances he would have delayed his answer, but right now he was really, really motivated to help them however they wanted.
"You're lucky! He is currently in Palas! He is not in his family residence though, he stays in his personal leviship at the harbor airport. You can't miss it, it's the biggest there." The whole fleet docked there was his anyway, but they didn't ask, and well, knowing the man it was pretty obvious.
With a sigh, Allen concluded their exchange. "You will take us there in the morning." Now he needs a drink. Balgus followed him out of the room, but Van had one more question for the mole. Said mole was more nervous to be left alone with the royal than anything else.
"Why were you after her pendant earlier." This had bothered him all along, it was clear the jewel was worthless, a poor copy made of colored glass, there was no value in stealing it, but the mole man had been strangely fixated on it in such a way making him wonder. And he had that strange impression when he saw the pendant himself.
With a goofy grin, the culprit shrugs before answering. "I thought it was more precious, I needed to see it up close to make sure. There is a high demand for pink gems these days. It was pretty too." He took a moment longer. "It's weird, I'm sure it was just a bauble, and yet I swear there was a glimmer in it at some point…"
Van was not satisfied with his answer, but would not get anything better, he simply clicked his tongue and left. He better talk with Balgus and Allen before catching some sleep.
Came morning, the crew was back and Gaddes was part of the group that would go and meet the merchant. He was also the one who would keep the mole man in check while Allen, Balgus and Van were meeting him. The others would stay on the Crusade, getting ready to leave at any moment.
It was effectively hard to miss the ship. The thing was massive and was taking more than half the space of the airport in sheer size, thankfully it was still floating and thus leaving space for other ships who needed to land properly to do their business. Smaller than a fortress the leviship could easily be on par with a warship should it be equipped with weapons, but it was mainly an oversized cargo, with a residence built on it to accommodate its owner rich lifestyle, and conduct business in a comfortable environment. A coat of arms was visible on a banner hanging from it. In fact the fleet spread around the massive leviship was sporting the same banner, meaning they were all owned by the same merchant. Hard to believe anyone with the moniker "heartfelt" could own this many riches and still be honest.
When they arrived at the ship ramp, a servant asked them what was their business, and if they had an appointment. Of course they didn't have one, but that didn't stop them. They sent the servant with a request from both Caeli Knight Schezar and Swordmaster Ganesha. It should be enough to have the man receive them at the very least, and it proved to be true when the servant came back running down the ramp, bowing deeply and out of breath asking them to follow him.
They were escorted in the massive ship toward the more residential part of it, they were not expecting to be led to a library though. They found the man sprawled on a pile of cushions, several books spread around him, looking like he pulled an all nighter and smoked a hookah.
He didn't seem to notice him until a small mouse man, his attendant or aide, coughed a few times to get his attention. He looked a bit bothered to be interrupted in his reading, but elated once he saw who the interruption was from. Allen was grinding his teeth in advance.
"Ah! Greeting gentlemen! Come in, come in!" He jumps to his feet, gesturing with his arms to invite them further in his space. "Your visit is unexpected, but very welcomed! It's not everyday that such distinguished guests come to see me." None of them were sensible to his merriment. He laughs it off, and sends the mouse to get refreshments.
Once he was out of the room, Dryden lost his goofy attitude, sat properly on a cushion, and studied them with a far more calculating eye. "A knight, a swordmaster, and a royal, none of them are supposed to be in Asturia, and none of them remotely connected to the silly merchant I am, how peculiar wouldn't you say?" Of course his words put the trio on edge. The way his eyes seemed to linger on Allen was not friendly at all.
"So, outside of the bad joke it sounds like, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit? What is it you need from me?" And wasn't that the question? What do they want from the merchant? They've come due to a letter, not really knowing what to ask and the goal. Does he even know anything? How were they supposed to breach the subject of the letters, and the Zaibach empire treachery?
Their silence was only fueling Dryden's smile, for him this was quite amusing to see such great figures losing their composure. He could always take a guess of why the knight was here, it was not likely to be the reason he was thinking off, but not impossible either. It was more surprising to meet Balgus Ganesha in the flesh far away from Fanelia, what could the man need from him was anyone guess. What he was unsure of was the fanelian prince… No, not prince. The sword at his waist was a dead giveaway of his new status. Before him stood the new young king of Fanelia.
Dryden has always enjoyed the country of dragons, their wares were of good quality and the people he have met were nice enough. He never met the royal family though, he saw the king from afar when he was younger, but that was it. His knowledge of the royal family of Fanelia was common knowledge, the just and strong king, the secretive composed queen, the scholar missing the first prince, the promising second prince, and the symbolic princess.
The fact that before him was king Van, was… concerning. No one, even among his informants, had any knowledge of the crowning of a new king. They would not have appointed the young prince as king without a good reason, and since king Gaou was not dead, but getting old, it could only spell trouble.
The kind of trouble that ends with at least two armies facing each other on a battlefield.
Dryden was not interested in war, any business dealing with death was distasteful in his eyes. The brutish act of killing on another was something he left to simpleminded and "barbarian", even if the word was not one he liked to use.
Still he was no closer to knowing what the trio wanted from him, and even if teasing the hell out of the knight would amuse him to no end, it would probably not help much.
It was Balgus who started the conversation. "Master merchant…." And Dryden stopped him with a gesture. His face contorted in a grimace, like he had bitten an unripe piscus.
"Please do not call me that. I'm no master, and no lord either, I'm a merchant, and prefer my given name. If you really must call me by an honorific for your own honor if nothing else, then call me sir Dryden and be done with it. Only my father would be pleased with grand names and ceremonies, and I think you came to me especially because I'm not my father." The interruption barely fazed Balgus, but it seemed to please the young king. As for Allen, even that made him frown, teasing him was going to be child play, but Dryden restrained himself.
"Very well sir. We have a need for your talents, you've been… recommended to us." He saw Van roll his eyes and Allen click his tongue.
"Interesting… And by whom may I ask? And what for?" He was well known by now, he built his fortune all over the planet, but as a merchant he does not give his trust willy nilly. People close enough to him to personally recommend him were few, and they all would have sent him a message to tell him about it.
It was the teen king who answered. "We are looking for someone, and you probably know who he is and where we can find him." Ah, so it was not exactly a material thing they were after, but a person. It was a clear demand, but the way he requested it was wrong.
"I'm sorry your highness, but I do not deal in slavery of any kind." The surprise and outrage on their faces told him he missed. Good. But it means they were looking for a person for another reason, the fact it was not slavery was positive, but there were others… unsavory reasons that could motivate such demand. If they were more honest things could go so much more quickly and smoothly. But then again, he was a merchant, caution was a golden rule.
"We are not looking for a slave! We are looking for…" Van lowered his voice. "A spy." None of the older men with him were happy with him revealing the nature of their search, but Dryden was quite happy to have someone more direct to deal with. A spy though, was weird.
"A spy you say? I don't have any need for a spy, I'm a merchant, I make deals, I sell and buy items." Judging by Allen's expression, he didn't believe him one bit, let him believe what he wanted, but spying was not his thing. Balgus for his part was quicker to understand what he needed to ask in order to get what they needed.
"We are looking for a foreigner, we assume he is a spy, who seems to know you. That person has informations we need regarding a certain situation the kingdom of Fanelia is dealing with. You are our best bet in finding him." The way he was putting an accent on his words made Dryden think. Mentioning a foreigner was not shortening the list of individuals who were on friendly business with him, nearly all of them were foreigners to Asturia, and or Fanelia. but mentioning that Fanelia may need help was more telling. It would also explain the presence of mister knight with them.
The puzzle pieces were coming together, for at least part of the picture. And the answer was sadly easy. "It concerns the Zaibach empire I suppose? Don't make such faces, they are not subtle, and their growing presence on this side of Gaea is also a concern of mine." He scratched his head. Things were really complicated, the empire was bad news, but it also meant these three were more trustworthy than expected for now. "Very well, tell me who you are looking for, just because they know me doesn't mean I know them personally afterall."
"We don't have a name, he only sends letters with cryptic content." Better be clear now, let the charade be over, Van was running out of patience.
While the knight and swordmaster were indignant at the king's honesty, Dryden was facing a wall. No, not a wall, another puzzle, a good thing he likes puzzles. "Ah. And of course none of you have one of the letters with him to show I suppose." He got a recalcitrant nod from them. "I see… You said he was a foreigner, so his way of writing or formulation gave it away, can you give me an example?"
Surprisingly for the merchant it was the knight who answered. "The letter mentioned you as "the merchant with a heart ". Does this formulation mean anything to you?"
Dryden closed his eyes to think. The formulation was childish, cute even, and kind of familiar, he was sure he had heard that one before. He had a lot of nicknames, some were in good jest, some were veiled insults, and some were hard to translate in common. With a heart, where had he gotten one like that… How frustrating!
He was sure to know! If only he could see the handwriting or even the paper used, it could clear up everything in a second. Then he remembered his nickname of "heartfelt", that was probably it. The word being hard to translate reduced the list of languages and thus of people who would use it. Well, it looks like he needs to verify manually.
Dryden jumped to his feet, and went to one of the shelves of books. "Why not say "heartfelt" directly when they know the common language? Why specifically these two words?" As he took books and volumes off the shelves he launched over his shoulder to his guests. "That is the key to identifying him! This formulation is unique, and the answer is in one of these dictionaries. Let me find the right one and I will be able to tell you at least the nationality of this spy of yours." It's been a while since he had a challenge. That one was not hard, but he amassed so much knowledge that he needed to refresh his memory.
He was going through the seventh one when he found it. "Ah ha! I knew it! Let's see… Oh." His enthusiasm took a blow at the realization, and implications he was now understanding. He knew who they were looking for, and it was the same person he was supposed to find. Now the question is, could he trust them with this? They know he knows, so there was no way out of this one.
How was he going to deal with… Ah yes of course. A deal. He put down the book he was holding, and turned again toward his guest who was waiting for him. He scratched his chin, he forgot to shave this morning, adding to his unkempt appearance. He offered a newfound goofy and seemingly harmless smile, time to start the show. "Well! I can now confirm that I do have what you need, who and where, and that we can now talk business properly!"
Of course they were indignant at his words, but it was not his fault. He may be "heartfelt" but it doesn't mean he was doing things for free, especially when it concerned the safety of someone whom he was fond of. "Calm down! It's just a safety measure, I understand that what you are seeking with him is of utmost importance, but it's also quite dangerous too, I do have to take this into account too. You can't ask me to just hand this information to you without something in return right?"
He was not wrong, but it was still highly frustrating. And what were they supposed to barter with? Two of them were here incognito, without any resources, and the third was not among the wealthy enough to have anything the man before them would value. Still they have to try, they were so close, they could not fail damnit! He knew they were at a disadvantage in this situation, and threatening him would lead to nowhere. They were at his mercy, so much for the "heartfelt merchant".
"And what would you want sir Dryden." Asked Allen with bitterness, not liking the guy on principle before, but now wanting to strangle him with prejudice.
He tilted his head to the side, acting like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. "Far less than what you think, but probably worth more than you are expecting." They were not really following him but let him continue. "You see, you need me to find your "spy", he is not one by the way, but that is not important right now. I also happen to need to find him. So far we have the same goal, and I'm sure all of us agree that his safety is a priority." They nodded. "So since our goals align, it's only natural that we work together to get the result we want." He sat back on his cushion. "I can lead you where he is, and offer you the cover you need to travel as safely as possible considering the current climate. I can do all that, but I would be a terrible merchant if I didn't want some things in return." He gestures for them to at least take a seat to continue this negotiation. Only Van sat down, Balgus taking guard behind him on one side, while Allen took a similar stance on the other side. Typical warriors attitude, no trace of fineness in them.
"I can ask for many things, but currently I think none of you have much to offer." And it was true, it's not like any of them had anything worth to trade. Dryden wasn't foolish enough either to ask for what they did have with them, like the swords of the two Fanelians which were both unique pieces, but only in the hands of their respective owners. Plus it would be treason, and that was something he was not going to commit. He likes his head on his shoulders not exposed on a plaza while his body is left to rot somewhere else. "Yet there are things that only you can provide me."
It was a double edge sword on each side, but they knew from the start they would have to give something in exchange for their demand. "Speak plainly, what do you want?" Asked Van, wanting this to be over already, they were losing enough time with this pointless negotiation.
"Very well. You see I'm not only a merchant, I'm also a collector. I have quite an impressive collection of artifacts that I greatly enjoy, but some things are more precious than objects. Like knowledge." He leaned forward. "There are two things you three have that I would be interested in.
One, and this concerns you lord Schezar, is some of your father's research about Atlantis. I would like you to lend me some of his notes." It was amusing to see the knight having a gesture of recoil. It was no secret that the blonde man before him was not fond of the missing lord Schezar, said lord having left quite the reputation of his own when he disappeared. Yet Dryden was quite interested in the man's latest research, Atlantis being one of his guilty pleasures to collect things about. Then he set his eyes on the young king before him.
"As for what I would request from your Highness is the authorization to consult some of the royal archives of Fanelia. More precisely what they have concerning the lost dragons guymelefs of the Hispanos." This was not something Van could grant easily, the royal archives were not meant to be pursued by everyone. "Of course I know that what I'm asking for sounds unreasonable, but in exchange for this deal, you will get the name and location you are looking for, and I also guarantee the safety of the trip."
Was that the price to pay? Could he take such a decision, without consulting his father? There was a reason why the texts of the man before him were not shared with the people of Fanelia, even less strangers. On the other hand, he had read them himself, all of them, when he was younger and in preparation for after his trial to become king. There were texts about how to pilot the Escaflowne of course, but he remembered the few books which related what his country knew about the two lost dragons. Tales of some battles that opposed them to the Escaflowne, legends and ancient text about their origins and great feats, and of course how they disappeared. It would be risky to expose the text to the man, but measures could be taken. But first he needs to confirm some things.
"Do you really know the man we are looking for?"
It was not a direct refusal, which in Dryden's book was pretty much an agreement if handled gently. The young man before him did not have enough experience of politics yet, but like many of his country, gave a lot of value to honesty.
And Honest he would be. "Since trust is part of the deal, I can tell you that if I've never met him directly before, we have still exchanged enough letters and information to be considered friendly acquaintances. In fact it's partly due to our correspondence that he learned the common language. Not once had he led me astray. Ah and I understand that what I demand can't be obtained immediately of course. We will also write up contracts of course, plus I only wish to read these texts, not own them. What do you think gentlemen? Do we have a deal?"
He let them think about it, while he took a few drags of his hookah. He can tell the king was more likely to accept the deal, he could demand a non disclosure of what he would see in the archives, and keep an eye on him while he does his research. For Dryden it will also be the perfect occasion to make more business with the land of dragons, whom he has too few with for his own taste. No, the more recusant to the deal was the knight. It was obvious the man was divided about it, split between his resentment for his father, and his distaste for the merchant in front of him who was a thorn in his side. It was surely painful to think about his father, and his heirloom, and to have to lend it to a man he could not stand, even temporarily.
It may sound unfair for them, Dryden was the one who gained the most in this situation, but he was not cruel, and would not fault them if they refused. It was just the clearest deal he could propose to them in this situation. He could make another deal, but frankly it was just wasting time, and they did not trust him enough, if at all, to just comply with their demand without anything in return. He would, if he could trust them too, but trust is built on time, something none of them have at the moment.
A silent conversion went between them, between Balgus and Van, who would follow his king's decision, and make sure the deal was fair and respected to a T. And between Balgus and Allen too, a silent assurance that he would also protect his old student interest. Finally after a few minutes they came to an agreement among them.
"Very well, let's make a deal." Van's was very serious, with a tone of voice that promised severe retribution if the merchant even dared to think about doublecrossing them. Which was not his intention at all. It was almost cute how he reminded Dryden of one of his younger brothers.
"Fantastic! If you would be so kind as to follow me to my study I will write the contracts immediately. I will also write a letter to the palace concerning Sir Schezar new affectation."
That made them pause.
"What are you talking about?" Was the indignant response of said blonde, and with a smirk Dryden answered him.
"Well you probably haven't heard, but I'm taking my fiancee on a trip across Gaea to learn to know her better, and her me. Trip that has been both approved and encouraged by the king, to make sure this alliance goes smoothly, this time." That last reflection left the Fanelians perplexed, but the knight, absolutely furious. But before he could tear the merchant a new one he continued. "So of course it's only natural to have a competent knight to assure our safety." Was he throwing water at a fuming dragon? Yes. Did he care? Not at all.
"And this excuse is going to work? Don't you have your own soldiers and security detachment among your flits?" Van asked, dubious of the merchant's reasoning. Unknown to him he was helping Dryden riling Allen even more by his honest question and concern.
"I'm a merchant, and I do not have the need for warriors. In fact I'm against senseless violence, the only weapons in my possessions are pieces of collections." And he was quite proud of his collection, he kept them in a safe, but dream of the day he can expose it to the world in a real gallery.
Still the young king was not entirely convinced yet, and added another blow to the knight without noticing. "You could have hired mercenaries, it's not like you're lacking money."
To which Dryden put on a dramatic tone of voice and hand gestures. "And put the treasure of Asturia, the third princess, my fiance, in the presence of uncouth men like mercenaries? Certainly not!" It was partially true. It would be an insult to the royal family to guarantee the safety of the princess by using mere mercenaries, and if he wouldn't mind knocking them down a few pegs, but the safety of Millerna will never be something he would play with. Millerna was not so delicate that she would be distressed by the presence of more boorish men, even if she was more used to more "refined" knights in the palace. "No, no, no. It is better to make use of a skilled knight like sir Schezar, who from what I know is currently waiting for a new affectation. Even if the reason is a tragedy, it's still an opportunity to reach our common goal. Plus I know princess Millerna is familiar with his face." He ignored the knight's reaction, but decided to let him be, and stop teasing him, for now. "Plus if you and sir Ganesha pass for part of his crew, it will be more discreet."
Once they reached Dryden's study, a room which was just as filled with books as the one before, the merchant quickly wrote the letter for the palace, and the contracts. Both Allen and Van signed them after carefully re-reading them, and Balgus served as witness. Once the contracts were put in a safe, Dryden led them back to the entrance of his ship, telling them to be ready to depart the next day. They would leave as soon as possible, and put the Crusade in the cargo bay of Dryden's main ship during the night to avoid the Zaibach troops who were probably on the lookout for them, and to ensure more discretion. They agreed and left the man while one of his servants carried the letter to the palace.
As they rejoined with Gaddes and the mole to go back to the Crusade, some of the tension they had accumulated left them. But not all, Allen was still in an atrocious mood, he would need a good sparring session to let off some steam. He was not eager to have to travel with the man, and knowing the princess would be part of the trip was also bad. Under the gaze of the men with him, who were studying his expression with more or less anticipation, he ended up giving a sigh.
"I abhor this man and his way of doing things, but we need him. We all knew things would be difficult. We just have to endure him for a short while, nothing is impossible."
In the meantime, the letter reached the palace, and even if the king was reluctant to expose his young daughter to the prolonged closeness with the knight who had caused him so much grief, it was also the occasion for her to finally get close to her future husband. Thus he agreed to the request to make Allen Schezar the escort for this trip, plus it would get him away from the capital for the time being. Millerna, who was having tea with her sister, was immediately informed of her departure planned for the next day, and preparations were made.
Of course she protested, but it fell in deaf ears.
Which was perfectly according to the plan she had come up with lord Dryden and Eries. Under the pretense of a trip to get closer together, she would leave the capital and get things done to stop the Zaibach empire. Eries would stay in the capital, being their eyes and ears, and doing what she could to stall the progression of the empire. It wouldn't be much, but she was skilled enough to make it work.
Things between the sisters were still tense, especially when they learned who would be the escort for the trip. But there was nothing they could do about it at this point, not that the younger was really complaining, but both knew the trip would be filled with tension, if not dangers.
The next day, Millerna was escorted to Dryden's ship in full princess garb, nervous but at the same time excited. Dryden welcomed her graciously, and made sure the few maids with her would not cause problems later on, they had been selected by Eries especially so they were trustworthy. The massive leviship left the capital without problems, and soon enough they were all in one of the reception rooms to discuss what was going to happen now.
The tension in the air was running high, with so many different personalities in the same room. But they all have the same goal at least.
The men chose to ignore the princess's enamored glances to the knight. Said knight was valiantly refusing to acknowledge the jab of the merchant. Van was puzzled by the trio dynamic, understanding there was a story between them but ignoring its nature, while Balgus was very tempted to sigh in despair at what he was seeing. Allen's crew for their part were behaving, but would have preferred to be drunk while watching the spectacle. As for the moleman, whom they had taken with them to be sure he would not get into further problematic situations, was sweating from stress at being in the presence of so many grand figures, but also being surrounded by so many riches.
At least Millerna, if she was very surprised to meet the new young king of Fanelia, was polite with the unexpected addition to their mission, and tried to make conversations with him. Recalling some of her childhood memories of the dragon kingdom she once visited with her sister, and remembering the gentle first prince she met back then. She did not mention him though. There was already enough drama brewing on.
It was Van who ended up demanding Dryden where they were headed and the name of the person they were looking for.
"Yes of course. It's high time I tell you some of the things you want, we have a deal after all. We are looking for Kan, a young man whom I've been in contact with for years now, and who needs our help as much as we need his. We are heading to where he is currently hiding. And the reason the princess is among us for this strip is because I would not be allowed there without her by my side." With as much flair he could muster, and after giving them the name of the person they were looking for, he announced their destination.
"Lady, and Gentlemen, our next stop is the kingdom of Cesario!"
Considering the variety of incredulous faces before him, the next few days of travel were going to be fun.
And here is the last chapter within Asturia !
Now the trivia part :
You may have noticed that Allen didn't not mentioned Folken by his name to Van and Balgus, only his title as Strategos. Which is why they did not connect the dots with the missing prince. And since Van was not taken aboard the fortress, he did not meet him either, thus Folken is still unknown to them.
Plus Eries didn't meet him either so she too does not know that Folken is here and can't tell them either. At least she had not seen or met with him… yet.
We now have most of our main group together, in one single ship, forced to interact together and work together. Fun time ahead.
Moleman was a bit harder to write, he is often overlooked compared to other characters, and don't have much presence, but he was really useful in the serie, and I shall give him some stuff to do in this story !
I really like Dryden as a character, and in this fic his role will be more important than what you would expect. He is also a troll who is petty that Millerna likes Allen more than him. He will calm down, I promise. But he is still a troll.
If you have any questions let me know in the comments, I hope you enjoyed reading this.
Ah and next chapter, since we are going to a new country, prepare for a lore chapter! Yes another one.