Kaz told his friends that today was the day he would meet Van Bloot. He already heard all of their warnings. Sarah told him to keep his guard up and expect anything dirty.

Remi told him that he shouldn't show too much that he was ready for any dirty play. He also said that he should let the underworlder talk before asking questions. Depending on how everything would go.

Kaz was a bit nervous. It was the second time he would meet the creature. This time, he came on his own will. He wasn't kidnapped.

Chaor knew nothing of the meeting and none of the underworlders knew anything about it. It was between him and Van Bloot, unless the creature tried something. If he tried anything, that would be the last time he would meet the creature.

He prepared his questions, but decided to follow on Remi plan. Let him talk before the questions.

Chapter 63: To Know More

Kaz ported near the meeting spot. It was an hour of walk away, but he didn't mind. He traveled long distance in Perim. Maybe he could get a good scan after this. Now, he wandered on the side of a hill. He could see he was on a mountain. He took a deep breath and pressed on.

A bit of the previous conversation came back to the boy. When they spoke about the cult and if it had anything to do with the Jewel. He was a bit nervous. One, the cult was the Guardian of the Cothica. And two, they had something to do with the Jewel that Tom went to find. The creature knew a lot more than himself at the moment. He just couldn't confirm any of that or he will go after his best friend. Still, he needed to force the subject to remain on why he asked him to come. And three, his world is the Cothica.

He walked for that hour before he reached his destination. He came in a bit early. He looked around for anything that could be used as an ambush by anyone.

"You're here a bit early," Van Bloot said as his back rested against the wall. He stood above the boy. He let out a small smile, "From the looks of it, you wondered if I tried to play you dirty. I am at a point where I have to put everything at risk to get what I want Kaz. My life is just one of those tools I have left."

The boy nodded. He wasn't sure where the conversation would go anyway. He wondered what they would talk about. The message wasn't that clear on the subject.

"One of the reasons I contact you in a rather… unique way is because that you surely forgot about what we talked about," he saw the expression of the boy changing. He saw him frowned a bit, "Maybe I am underestimating you. I know that a lot is going on and you might forget about it."

"Yeah. A lot is going on right now," he didn't specify it was about Tom leaving with his real self on Perim or Peyton was kidnapped near his home. He wasn't there to help Peyton. It was Tom and Sarah that were present, but they couldn't do anything, "I am busy with something, but I came here anyway. I didn't forget. They are so many things going on that it's hard to keep track of everything."

Van Bloot nodded. He wished that the worlds didn't seem to turn upside down between now and when he first kidnapped Kaz. Still, he made an ally with the metalist tribe. He had no idea how the alliance would go. For now, he had no intension or reason to mention them to the boy. He knew where he should focus. Hr couldn't say anything about the metalist because Peyton was captured by them. He knew that, but not the why. He could tell the how with the Telebracers of Titanium. He put his hands together, "I heard rumors about Peyton disappearance. I guess this is why you are thinking of other things. With how active the Mipedians are, I can tell that this is the reason."

Kaz didn't correct him that there was another reason. He focused more on finding Tom, "Yeah," he glanced at the side. He then turned his attention to the glass eye of the creature, "Anyway, you wanted to talk with me. I'm here now."

"Right. We are wasting time a bit," the harpy commented. He spread his wings a little as he put his finger on his chest, "You know this conversation is about me and Chaor. Do you remember what I said to you last time?"

"You said that Kiru took the Underworld from your ancestor, Chaor's father killed your father and you allied with Chaor to kill his father. That's the short version of it," he answered.

"That's pretty much it yes," he nodded, "And I will reclaim what his ancestors took from mine one day," he frowned a bit as he thought of his past humiliation against Chaor. Just bowing in front of him to live another day still ruffle the wrong way on his feathers. He even lost his tower because of the m'arrillian invasion. He was under their mind control and he still paid the price for it. He clenched his hands, "I didn't dwell in the details since you weren't that keen to listen to me back then."

"Right," Kaz admitted, "What do you know about Kiru when he came to the Underworld? I don't think he could claim your ancestor place that easily, unless he showed a moment of weakness."

The creature frowned. Van Bloot didn't know that much about the past. His father pretty much taught him everything he knew about Kiru. It was so little. He knew that even Chaor knew almost nothing of Kiru. The current ruler focused more on the present and future than the past. The obvious reason was that his father was in the past. He crossed his arms, "There is so little in the past. However, I know that Kiru came at a moment of weakness. What happened back then, I know nothing about that," he sighed. He looked at the boy with his good eye, "I don't know what that moment of weakness was. It could be a civil war, it could be that my ancestor was extremely sick, it could something else caused by another tribe and it got him. I wish I knew what happened, but there is nothing," he clenched his hands, "I am also waiting for the same thing now. I acted too quickly before and it cost me so much. I am putting everything to make Chaor pay and everything his ancestors did to my family. Humiliation upon humiliation," he grunted.

Kaz wondered if it was simply because he lost his title that caused him humiliation. Maybe it was also when he had to bow to Chaor. He saw it with his own eyes. Thinking back, he saw a small glimpse of hatred in the eyes of the creature, but it was a discreet one. He said nothing. Chaor ordered him to leave and he did. He looked at the harpy and wondered if he should voice his thought or not. He abstained from commenting that some of those humiliations were brought upon himself. He glanced at the side, "You said that you were sure that Chaor would turn up like his father before. Still, he hated his father," he tried that up.

"You didn't see Chaor at his worse. If you did, you could believe that he is much more like his father. Chaor is nasty and quite bloodthirsty in his worse mood," he glanced at the boy. He put his finger on his glassed eye and tapped it, "I lost this eye against Chaor in one of my 'treacheries'. I didn't backstab Chaor the moment his father was down," he closed his eyes and admitted, "I actually thought he was different from his father. I was wrong," Van Bloot looked at Kaz.

"Why did you try to get him the first time?" Kaz asked. He was curious how it started. He could tell that the underworlder was honest with him. The creature didn't spoke in his usual way. It was a bit more emotional and less in control.

The creature glanced at the side. He was unwilling to answer, "A lack of respect," he simply replied with little detail.

That was way too vague for Kaz. He didn't try to argue. He wondered what Van Bloot meant by lack of respect. He closed his eyes a bit and wondered what else to ask. Thinking back, he wondered if Van Bloot bowing to Chaor was much worse than it first appeared from the creature perspective. Maybe the underworlder considered that worse than jailed or executed, "Why did Chaor just let you live that time you tried to usurp him?"

"Because many underworlders were still loyal to me. Killing me would cause a civil war that would be out of control. He had to just put me on a leach," he answered. He crossed his arms. He added one more thing, "It changed with the m'arrillian invasion. Chaor used it to make them believe I betrayed the underworld and I lost all support. He could kill me without any hesitation now."

Kaz had to agree. Chaor played it smart. He waited for his chance to take full power in the underworld while limiting the negative repercussion. It almost cost Perim when Van Bloot tried to travel to the past. Now that he thought about it, it might have been to kill Kiru before he took the underworld. He couldn't imagine what the present would be like if he succeeded. The underworlder fell a lot because of the m'arrillian war. He still had no idea if he willingly joined the m'arrillians or not. Either way, it didn't matter anymore and didn't dwell on it. "What are your plans now?" he guessed he won't get an answer, since he might tell Chaor about it afterwards.

"To convince you to leave Chaor behind and joined me. As the Guide to the Cothica, you can rightfully help me get back what belonged to my family," he replied as he clenched his fist.

The boy wondered if he should tell him that he should focused on moving forward instead of focusing on the past and what his ancestors lost. When he thought about it, it seemed like it basically started from that. At the same time, there was more to it and he could tell that. The creature in front of him might, at some point, be ready to cooperate with Chaor, but the 'lack of respect' prevented that.

The conversation went on. Kaz couldn't get anything personal from the Lord of Treachery. He couldn't get more about his hatred from Chaor. Kaz wondered if he could put this at an end, but realised it wouldn't be possible. Van Bloot and Chaor wouldn't accept words anymore. He mentally sighed as the two would only continue until they destroy each other's at worse, one of them died at best.

Of course, he would side with his hero Chaor. He knew that Chaor wasn't as Van Bloot describe him to be. He saw some of the darker side of Chaor, but also the better part of him. At the same time, he couldn't but wonder if he could do something about it. Anything to end this feud without anyone dying.

Kaz checked his scanner. He was there for a while and his friends surely would worry about him. If he took too long, Chaor might learned about this meeting, "I'm sorry, but I have to leave."

The creature wasn't that surprise, "I expected that if you checked your scanner. It would be best that no one else knows about what happened here."

"Okay," he would tell his friends that nothing stood out. He wouldn't tell Chaor a thing about it. There was so much to think and so much to do to help his best friend too, "Bye," he ported out.

Van Bloot sighed as he rested his back against the wall. He had no idea if anything he said worked or not. Still, he had to try something. Kaz was the Underworld guide to the Cothica.

AC: This is the end of this chapter.

Next: Preparation.

Tom, Arias, Milla'iin planned their escape and their search for the first fragment of the Jewel of the Cothica.