Tale of Eldramir

It took little time for Ezekiel and the guards to make their way back to City Hall where they immediately made their way to the guard’s barracks. Eugene tried to make his way to his superior’s office but given the number of people waiting for the same thing, they ended up waiting for nearly an hour.

As he sat with the rest of the guards, Ezekiel could only wish that there was a better way of communication for circumstances like this. That way they wouldn’t have to run back and forth to inform people of anything and everything.

Hunters had it easier, as they had Spirits that could help them carry messages back and forth. But outside of that, you either had to pay a high price for mail or have a messenger on call to help you whenever necessary. Neither of which Ezekiel had access to, and Shine wasn’t able to move around on their own, being bound to Ezekiel’s sword as they were.

“Sorry...” Shine said sadly in the back of Ezekiel’s head.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. You are a brand-new existence, and it only makes sense that there are things you can and cannot do. For instance, you and I can communicate over large distances without touching. Most Hunters need to be fairly close to one another in order to communicate directly like this.”

Ezekiel’s words, whilst entirely true, only partially helped to lift Shine’s spirits.

“Tell you what,” Ezekiel continued, “after this job is finished, we’ll start working on figuring out what you can do. I mean what abilities you have, not just how well quickly we can get you to a higher Step of Mana. Okay?”

“That sounds fun! Thank you!” Shine perked up considerably at the thought of doing more magic.

“You’re welcome.”

Just as Ezekiel finished speaking to Shine, Eugene popped his head out from the office he had entered while Ezekiel wasn’t paying attention.

“Ezekiel, you need to get in here.” Eugene said as he called out to Ezekiel. “The guard Chief wishes to speak with you.”

Ezekiel stood up, waving to the two guards that had come back with them.

Entering into the office, and allowing the door to close behind him, Ezekiel saw three people besides Eugene sitting in the office. One was behind the desk on the far side of the room. Ezekiel figured this was the Chief, and the name plate with ‘Chief Alfred Renning’ supported this assumption.

The Chief was an older bald man with bright brown eyes and stern countenance, and while he didn’t have any hair on his head, he knew that there was no way the guard Chief would be a lower Tier than a guard Captain, so he felt it was safe to assume that the Chief was also at least Tier three.

Seated at a small coffee table that was somewhat off to the side, on a couch that did not look comfortable, were two other people that Ezekiel was surprised to see.

One was a representative of the city, more specifically, from what Ezekiel could tell from the medal indicating her position that was on her uniform, she was the district leader of the dock district administration, the branch of Sanafalls’ government in charge of the dock district. The only person higher up than her in the government was the Ruler of Sanafalls.

Ezekiel didn’t know her name, but she was wearing a flattering dress that Ezekiel thought clashed with his idea of your stereotypical dock worker, even if she was a government administrator. Her hair was blue, which was extremely common for Sanafalls, indicating she was also at least Tier three.

Sitting next to her, however, was someone that Ezekiel was able to recognize right away.

“Grand Scholar Carrian!” Ezekiel found himself speaking in shock at the presence of the Tier four Grand Scholar. He had not been expecting to be seeing the Grand Scholar for at least another day or two, when he expected the mission would be finished.

Carrian didn’t say anything, merely sipping his tea as he raised an eyebrow at Ezekiel, glancing to the side, where Alfred, the guard Chief, was waiting patiently for him to approach. Sitting next to Carrian, the dock district administrator also sipped her tea, seemingly ignoring Ezekiel for now.

As Ezekiel approached the desk, the guard chief looked him over, and seemed to be distinctly unimpressed at what he saw.

“So, you’re the new exile. Well, you don’t look like much, but apparently, you’re somewhat useful, and no-one that gets kicked out from the Empire is ever sent here for a good reason. Now, Eugene here says you found information that would lead us to our current pain-in-the-ass miscreant. The one that’s been conning half the businesses in the dock district. What is it, and how did you get it?”

Ezekiel took a moment to explain what had happened, from his initial idea of Sasha’s mother using words that were true but were able to be interpreted in ways that sidestepped any questioning unless the question was more specific, all the way up to him asking Sandra to telepathically speak to him via his sword.

“You spoke to her with your sword! How did you do that?” Alfred asked incredulously.

To the side, the district leader and Carrian were now intently focusing on Ezekiel as well. Carrian with a bit of frustration, and the district leader with curiosity.

“I am a Void Mage, and the son of a Legendary Hunter who is also a Master Enchantress. Working with the Harkem Grand Cathedral also resulted in a breakthrough with Void Magic. Hence, my sword, when mixed with my own abilities, can let me speak to those who touch it much like I’ve been told how Hunters speak to their Spirits.”

A part of Ezekiel wanted to pat himself on the back for that explanation. It clearly expressed the truth, without telling a single lie, but also had enough details in it that he felt that no one would question his answer. All while not once mentioning that he had a Spirit of his own.

For their part, the other occupants of the room looked flabbergasted and relieved, with Carrian being the one to look relieved. The second Ezekiel mentioned using his sword to get answers, he was somewhat furious at the fact that Ezekiel had, seemingly, broken the Grand Scholars’ instructions to keep Shine a secret. He was happy to find out that that was not the case, and internally excited to find out more of Shine’s abilities moving forward.

Alfred, Eugene, and the district administrator couldn’t help but look toward Carrian for confirmation, to which he nodded his head.

“If that is indeed the case, then please tell us what Sandra told you.” Alfred requested.

Ezekiel complied, and a contemplative look crossed Alfred’s face.

“Things are becoming more complicated. The fact that the Hull Breakers are involved means that we may see more conflicts happening on the water soon.” The Chief couldn’t help muttering under his breath as he rubbed the sides of his head.

“I don’t see what the big deal is. Just let those pirates take her and be done with it.” The district leader said after she composed herself.

“We can’t do that, Milicent. We have specifically been requested by numerous businesses, and the Guilds with ties to the Depth Divers to bring her in. She’ll work off her debt to the city, not just die to a bunch of scumbags who need to be put down themselves.” Alfred’s voice was tired and exasperated.

Ezekiel felt like this was an ongoing argument with them.

“Well, I came here to tell you that the dock district will no longer be requesting your involvement. Especially if the little bitch has left the city. However, I would like to know a bit more about you, Mister Ezekiel. Perhaps we might be able to discuss your future in this city in more depth later on.”

Milicent’s reply and request were utterly ignored, and Ezekiel went so far as to roll his eyes at her, having no desire to involve himself with such a selfish and greedy woman. Not once since his explanation was finished had she taken her eyes off Ezekiel’s sword, and he wasn’t about to let such a woman anywhere near Shine’s body.

“As a ward of the Church of Ten, I will defer to their judgment regarding such matters. Currently, however, I believe that my time is best spent working at, and with, the Church’s Scholars.” Ezekiel said in a bland tone of voice.

“Yeah! You tell her! She’s not getting her hands anywhere near me!” Shine’s determined voice echoed in Ezekiel’s head.

For a moment, Milicent had an awful expression on her face. Like she wanted to strike Ezekiel down right then and there, but the look was gone so fast that Ezekiel started having second thoughts as to whether or not it was actually there.

“You saw it. That lady is scary.” Shine reassured Ezekiel. They had seen her awful look as well.

“Well, regardless of your decision, I need to be off. Alfred; anymore steps from here on out are on your head. The docks will not be involved any further than this.” Milicent said with a phony smile plastered on her face as she stood up and left the office.

The remaining occupants watched her leave, closing the door behind her and collectively sighing in relief that she was gone.

“Ezekiel.” Carrian called out to grab Ezekiel’s attention. “I don’t care what you have to do in the future, but no matter what, you must not agree to work for that woman at any point during your time here in Sanafalls. Understood?”

“Yes.” Ezekiel said in all seriousness.

Carrian nodded his head when he saw that Ezekiel fully understood what he was trying to get at.

“So, what happens now?” Ezekiel asked after a moment of silence.

“For you, nothing. Eugene and the guards he brought back will return to provide some discrete protection against anyone that might be coming after Sandra, but other than that, the wronged parties have rescinded their demands for the arrest of Sasha Melen, and the dock district administration will not support any additional manpower being put into this endeavor.” Alfred’s tone was flat and to the point.

Neither Ezekiel nor Shine agreed with what was being said, however, but they didn’t speak up, knowing that it wasn’t their place to dictate the way the city guards operated.

Carrian, noticing Ezekiel's frustrated emotion, decided to throw Ezekiel a bone.

“Ezekiel, perhaps you might want to take a few days off. Cool your head for a while. You’ve done quite a bit for your first official mission. Especially since it was thrown onto you out of nowhere.”

“Wait, what-”

“Maybe you could go find some people you could work with moving forward. Make some additional contacts in the city. As disgusting and stupid as they are, the Hull Breakers and other pirate Guilds won’t be willing to act against the Church of Ten. Not directly. So, you should be safe to wander the city on your own, maybe find some treasure chests to add to your nonexistent possessions. Just don’t stay out for too long. I’ll need to look for you myself if you do.”

Carrian continued speaking, acting as if he hadn’t heard Alfred’s quiet exclamation.

Ezekiel wasn’t certain of it, but he was starting to believe that Carrian wanted him to go save Sasha and get help doing so. But he didn’t know how he’d be able to do so. It was likely that the pirates looking for Sasha were at least Tier two, and there was no way he’d survive fighting them on his own.

“Chester! He’s telling us that we should look for help from Chester!” Shine exclaimed as they pondered with Ezekiel over Carrian’s words.

Ezekiel kept his face neutral as he replied to Carrian.

“If that is what you suggest I do, then I’ll do that. I’ll report back to you when I return to the Cathedral.”

“See that you do, but take your time, and do what you need to do first.” Carrian stated.

Ezekiel gave Eugene and Alfred a wave goodbye before leaving the office. He had transportation to arrange. One that hopefully wouldn’t get violent when they reached their destination.

It was midafternoon when Ezekiel arrived at Chester’s business, and he was surprised to see that the previously barren building was filled with a number of people who all seemed to be dressed in tidy uniforms with a pin shaped like a treasure chest on a dingy attached to their lapels.

Entering the building, Ezekiel caught the eye of Chester, who seemed to be talking to one of his subordinates. The man sighed before finishing up his conversation and gesturing for Ezekiel to follow him into his office.

Taking a seat when he entered the office, Chester got right to the point.

“Alright, kid, what do you want this time? Can’t you see I’ve got a business to try and run? I’m already in the red thanks to that little bitch, and you coming by and asking questions isn’t helping.”

Ezekiel could tell that Chester was growing exhausted, but he hoped that the man would still be willing to help him. As gruff and violent as he seemed to be, he hoped that he wouldn’t go too far when Ezekiel started talking.

“Milicent, the lady in charge of the dock district’s administration has called off the search for Sasha, citing that they will no longer be putting any efforts towards a pointless endeavor.”

“WHAT!?” Chester’s loud exclamation practically caused the walls to shake.

“Impressive.” Shine muttered in awe.

“Not now.” Ezekiel chided.

“Why the hell would she do that?! I know for a fact that the majority of the businesses in the docks still want Sasha caught so she can pay her debts properly!” Chester seemed to be on the edge of punching something as the veins in his neck started popping from anger.

“Apparently she decided that, since the Hull Breakers are after her, that there’s no need to continue hunting for her.” Ezekiel said as calmly as he could.

Chester stilled at Ezekiel’s explanation.

“The Hull Breakers? Those pirates are involved?”

“Yes. Apparently, they’ve been looking for her as well, but not for the same reasons as you and the other businesses. According to Norn, they’re the ones that got her into the conning business.”

Chester slumped into his chair, shocked at this revelation.

“... Well, at least I wasn’t conned by just some kid. If the Hull Breakers are involved, then that would explain where she got the resources to trick as many people as she did.”

There was a beat of silence as Chester and Ezekiel sat quietly, digesting the information.

“Why are you here, kid?” Chester finally asked.

“I found out where Sasha’s headed, and she should be arriving there sometime tomorrow. I’m hoping that you and your group might be able to help me catch her, since the guards can’t do anything.”

Chester raised a questioning eyebrow at Ezekiel’s request.

“What makes you think that we would help you with this? Why shouldn’t I just leave things be?” Chester asked in a disinterested tone. But Ezekiel and Shine could both tell that there seemed to be a hint of desire hidden beneath the surface.

“I have this, and besides, you still want Sasha to pay, don’t you? She can’t do that if she’s dead or conscripted by pirates.” Ezekiel said as he reached into his Void Pouch.

A small voucher was pulled out. The one that Chester had given him two days ago, guaranteeing one to and from transportation.

“This voucher guarantees transportation of myself and my cargo to and from one single location of my choice. However, if you’ll notice, it doesn’t specify that the transportation needs to be a boat. I want you, and a crew, to take me to a specific place, inland and help me return some cargo that will be there when we arrive. As it is, I need you to get me to Oxren by noon tomorrow.”

Ezekiel wasn’t sure that the time he had given was feasible, nor was he certain that he’d get there in time to catch Sasha, but he knew that, given the timeframe provided by Sandra, Sasha would likely be arriving at Oxren sometime in the afternoon tomorrow, given the time she would’ve gotten to the entrance to the caves outside of Sanafalls two days ago.

From what little he knew of the nearby geography; his request shouldn’t have been too extraordinary. It wasn’t like they were going to be traveling blind through a maze of caves and tunnels after all. From what he understood, traveling by horseback and cart should also be faster too.

Looking at the voucher held in Ezekiel’s hand, Chester couldn’t help but let out a loud belly shaking laugh. It was nearly as loud as his previous angry yell, but nowhere near as threatening.

“You’re not too bad, kid. If we take the few carts we have and travel at a faster pace, we should be able to get to Oxren within a few hours. It's the closest village to Sanafalls after all. But before I agree to this, anything else I should know?”

Ezekiel took a moment to think, and as he recalled his interaction in the chief’s office, he thought of something that he hoped was wrong.

“The Hull Breakers might have the information regarding the location already. They should only know where the caves Sasha ran to are located, but Milicent gave me some utterly awful feelings when I spoke to her. She might’ve let the information leak, so we should be prepared, just in case we meet some pirates.” Ezekiel explained with a look of worry on his face.

“Heh. The fact that you noticed something wrong with Milicent means you really are a smart one. But the thing about pirates is that they’re specialized at sea battles. Not only that, but since they only copy Guilds when it comes to symbols and groupings, not all of them are actually Hunters. I’ll get my guys, and a few others that I know I can trust, and we’ll set out in the morning.” Chester declared.

Ezekiel was happy to hear that Chester was going to help him, but he was worried that leaving in the morning would be too late.

“Is there any way we can head out tonight? The longer we wait, the more horrible the outcome is likely to be.” Ezekiel inquired with worry.

Chester pondered over things for a moment, but ultimately shook his head negatively.

“Sorry, kid, the earliest we can set out properly is at sunrise tomorrow. Even then, that’ll be pushing it. We’re not getting paid for this transport after all.” Chester threw a look at Ezekiel with a greedy glint in his eyes.

Unfortunately, Ezekiel didn’t have anything he was willing to provide as payment, or collateral. Not for something like this. He wanted to capture Sasha and save her from whatever fate the Hull Breakers had in store for her, but he knew he couldn’t let his current goal give him any more tunnel vision than it already had.

But it still stung to know that he was risking failure due to time constraints.

“... No. Sorry. I don’t have anything to pay you with right now.” Ezekiel said in a slightly morose tone. He couldn’t help but feel frustration at the situation. A feeling mirrored by Shine, who silently promised to themself that they would work on getting stronger with Ezekiel.

“In that case, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow. Meet here just before sunrise, and we’ll head out at first light. Now, if there’s nothing else, I got people to gather, and carts to get ready.” Chester said as he stood up, holding the door open to let Ezekiel out.

“Understood. I’ll see you tomorrow. Thank you.”

Ezekiel gave his thanks before leaving the building, he refused to let himself continue to be discouraged. Tomorrow he would set out to capture Sasha, and see some pirates were dealt with. He just had to be patient for now.

Even though it was only one night, Ezekiel found himself quite anxious, and was only able to get any sleep after spending some time meditating with Shine. It took some time, but they managed to get Shine to almost halfway to the next Step, though they knew that it was likely that all that work would be wasted if they ended up fighting later that day.

Regardless, the time they spent also gave them the opportunity to plan things out for themselves. As much as they wanted to complete this mission, even if it had ‘officially’ been canceled, they knew that throwing away their life for a stranger was pointless.

“No one’s going to die today! We’ll save and capture Sasha and prove that we deserve the responsibilities of being a Church affiliate!”

Ezekiel couldn’t help but feel a bit more confident at Shine’s exclamation. A part of him shared in Shine’s enthusiasm, but another, larger, part also couldn’t help but pray that Shine wasn’t going to be disappointed. After all, if the Guilds and Church didn’t simply wipe out the various pirate groups, that meant that they were still dangerous, and possibly backed by powerful even more powerful people.

Arriving just before sunrise, Ezekiel saw that there were over a dozen men and women that were standing around outside of Chester’s business. Some wore pins that marked them as Chester’s subordinates, while others wore pins from other businesses and groups.

From what he could tell, there were even a couple of Tier threes, if the bright blue, violet, and green hair weren’t enough for him to tell. All three were speaking with Chester and seemed to be listening to him plan things out for them.

Ezekiel was somewhat surprised, as his experience in Harkem indicated that one’s Tier defines their authority. Something that clearly wasn’t the case in this situation.

“Ah, here comes the kid now!” Chester said as Ezekiel got closer. “Kid, these are some of the helpers that’ll be with us to make sure that things go according to plan when we get to Oxren. They should be enough to handle almost any adversaries we may run into.”

Ezekiel said nothing as he approached. Walking up to the three Tier threes, Ezekiel noticed that the three experts didn’t have any visible Spirits with them, but it seemed like one or two of the Tier twos did, if the brightly colored animals were any indication.

However, as he took a moment to get a better look at his surroundings, Ezekiel glanced up briefly, and after channeling some mana into his eyes, saw a few figures flying in circles well above the group of people.

Looking back at the Tier threes, they all seemed to be somewhat impressed as they realized that Ezekiel had noticed their Spirits flying some distance above them.

“Looks like the kid deserves to wear those robes after all.” The violet haired woman said with a cocky smirk on her face. “The name’s Casey. I’ll be running scout for this job. Nice to meet ya, little scholar.”

“Tori. I’ll be making sure none of us run into any complications to our health during this job.” The woman with green hair said in a quiet voice.

“Kurt. I’ll be the main guard for this job. So, stay behind me, and don’t get involved in the fight if you can help it. Understood?” Kurt was much less playful than Casey, and far more blunt than Tori. Ezekiel knew he wasn’t being specifically rude or dismissive, but he still bristled slightly at his treatment.

“We should teach that guy a lesson!” Shine exclaimed. “We aren’t helpless after all.”

“We can’t, and against him we most certainly are.” Ezekiel said, forcing himself to be the voice of reason. “We need to focus on the mission, not one upping our guards.”

Shine just grumbled at Ezekiel’s logic but didn’t bother disputing anything.

“Understood, sir. I’ll be relying on you to get me there and back with the cargo. I’m assuming that Chester has explained everything?” Ezekiel said, as if Kurt’s words hadn’t affected him.

A raised eyebrow from each of the Tier threes, and a look back at Chester, showed that they weren’t expecting the kind of behavior Ezekiel was displaying.

“It’s good you know that; and yes, Chester told us everything. We’ll be taking you to Oxren, where we will hopefully be able to catch that little pain in the ass, Sasha, and bring her back so she can serve a proper sentence for her crimes.”

Ezekiel nodded in affirmation at Kurt’s words.

“Then, if you’re ready to go, we’ll head out right now. There shouldn’t be too much for us to worry about on the road, what with the island being mostly tamed, but there are a few Wild Spirits here and there that might be trouble. Same with the possibility of there being less than pleasant people.” Kurt said with a nod of his head.

“Please, lead the way.” Ezekiel said, deferring to the more experienced Hunters’ guidance.

Nothing more was said, but the Tier threes looked even more relieved at Ezekiel’s behavior. They had been expecting an arrogant child that would try to take control of everything and end up giving them useless or detrimental orders.

Luckily this was not the case, and the three figured that the job would be relatively easy for them. So long as no unexpected issues popped up later on.

Sitting in the cart he was assigned. Ezekiel sighed to himself, and mentally prepared himself for all the difficulties he was likely going to face on this supposedly simple job.