Heraldshome, Canton
"She is strange" Lucia said.
"That is an understatement. She is crazy, beyond eccentric"
Timothy had read the letter many times and the message was clear- Sarah Wismar is crazy. The letter was six pages long. The pigeon that bore it almost died of exhaustion.
The letter was from Sarah herself. Ash's explained that Sarah burst into her room one night and forced her to send six pages of paper to them.
In the letter, the Wismarine Princess detailed her plan on how she would attack Coldford three days from now through a secret passage in the Crimson Plateau. Sarah even detailed where this secret passage is and the number of men that would attack. She also went into detail on the composition of the force, the commanders and so on.
"Have you heard anything like this before?"
Timothy shook his head "I haven't. This is probably the first time in history. A commander giving her enemy her plans is unheard of. Honestly I think she is just a crazy woman. Why would she tell us what she plans to do and in such detail?"
"But what if she's not crazy? What if this really is her plan?" Lucia asked
"Then she is dangerous. A hundred times more dangerous than her brother. She could be lying and just toying with us but this plan of her to attack Coldford through a secret passage could be true. What do you think?"
Lucia fell into a deep silence. "I don't know" was her answer after a long time of thinking "We need more information. We are blind as to who this Sarah Wismar really is. All we have are tales of her dark deeds. We don't know her attitude, her weaknesses, what she likes. We cannot gauge her and we cannot predict what she is going to do next. It is better to ask someone who knows her well"
"Skall huh?"
"Yes. I'll leave it to you since you are the one with the golden tongue"
Timothy put a kiss on her. "I'll be back soon"
Her rose and went outside. After collecting his guards, he headed to an undisclosed location where the hostages were being housed. After going out of the palace, the lively atmosphere of Heraldshome greeted him.
It was fabled that Heraldshome, the capital city of Canton was built on top of the Omniscient's harp. The Omniscient doesn't really play harps or sing songs- at least that was what Timothy learned since he was a child from the Castonian version of the Omniscient. But whatever the Omniscient is, it was portrayed differently among the nations that worship it. Culture could influence religion. For the Castonians, the Omniscient is a father that protects his children, a strong war God that provides refuge to the weak and strength to the steel of the strong. For the Tulosans, the Omniscient is a bringer of peace and justice- with eyes far-reaching. For the Vanadians, the Omniscient is wise. Like his name, the Omniscient is an intelligent being above all others. He is wisdom personified. For the Cantonese though, the Omniscient is a jolly being that brings happiness to all. He sometimes sing songs and his harp had a beautiful tone. Heraldshome was said to be the land where the Omniscient buried his harp. That's why it was dubbed as The City of Golden Songs.
As Timothy walked flanked by his guards, Heraldshome was filled with songs and tunes. It wasn't on purpose. That was just how they are. He was told that the songs were even louder during celebrations. They say that a Cantonese's day is not complete without singing at least a dozen song and humming a dozen more. They say that a Castonian would always have a sword in his home. For the Cantonese, it's harps and other instruments.
"Beautiful right?" Timothy cupped the back of his ear. All the taverns were filled with the singing of drunkards. Here even drunken people sang in tune.
"Some of our lads almost got in trouble for singing out of tune in the taverns. The owner kicked them out. But yes, it is beautiful Your Majesty" Abraham said. The large man's steps were heavy against the paved road
"Ha! Singin' is for men of weak. The throat is made for roars not tunes" Bear said with hands still chained. Although Timothy knew that if the Bear wanted it, he could break the chains. But with Abraham always around, Timothy could breathe without worry.
"Shut your mouth. If his Majesty says it is beautiful, then it is beautiful. Ain't that right lads!"
The other Royal Guards agreed with howls.
Timothy ignored their usual arguments and asked Abraham, "You sing right? When we first met, I think I've heard you sing. Your voice is good"
"Only occasionally Your Majesty. My cords are always tired"
Timothy permitted a small chuckle. The tiredness of Abraham's cords were probably due to him always shouting to his subordinates. As a Captain of both his and Lucia's royal guards, Abraham was warm towards his subordinates, always laughing and telling stories. But whenever a royal guard did something wrong, Abraham would become terrifying. He would roar even to royal guards more veteran than him.
Turning several alleys and going through secret passages brought them to a noble's house. The gate was of iron. The gardeners working on the garden were in fact Castonian soldiers. There were more Castonians hidden in neighboring buildings. Nobody could break in or out of this house. Not even Shadow.
The gardeners gave single nods to him as salute. He could only feel sorry if some foolish people tries to break into the house. The soldiers he stationed here were from the Rooster legion, his best.
After entering the house, Timothy made his way into the room Skall, Sachi, Qilo and Chen shared. Over the course of the Spring Offensive, many more hostages were added to their collection- nobles and people of authority they captured. But these four were separated because of their importance. The four were playing a card game and drinking wine when he entered.
"Enjoying my hospitality?" he asked.
Of the four, Magistrate Chen was the first one to give a bow. Marquis Qilo and Marquis Sachi followed soon after. Skall hesitated for a bit and just remained seated with cards still in hand.
"May we know why you graced us with your presence?" Chen asked.
"I need to speak with Skall alone" Timothy went straight to the point.
The three others left the room guided by guards. Abraham rushed towards Skall and searched the Prince for weapons. After confirming that it was safe, Timothy sat in front of the Prince. He looked at the cards on the table. It seemed Magistrate Chen was winning.
"You know why I'm here"
"I do. She's here right? And I bet she brought those horrifying creatures"
"Falconheads?"
"What else. Those aren't humans. They were but not anymore. She loves using those things to catch attention"
"You know your sister well"
"Well.." Skall's voice trailed "She did try to kill me many times"
"Then why are you still alive?"
"She's toying with me like she's hunting for game. Amir was always protecting me. But I bet she was just enjoying the experience. If you haven't captured me, I think I would have died already by her doing"
"She sounds cruel" Timothy crossed his legs.
"Oh" Skall shook his head "Cruel doesn't begin to cover her being. She is insane, unpredictable and something is wrong inside her head. The scary thing is she's intelligent, cunning and could act well. She could be cuddling a puppy one moment and eating it alive the next. She seduced your brother. Given, Ivan is a little…you know, stupid. But I've seen it. She acted sweet and caring towards Ivan. She's like a completely different person. She just did something questionable right? Strange?"
"You can put it like that"
"Then be careful. Although she plays games, every single one of her actions has a purpose. She can manipulate you without you even knowing it. Please make her disappear. There is only one person in the world I fear more than you and that's my sister. So naturally I want you to win. So go. Defeat her, kill her, just delete her from this world. I don't want to live in this world with her around"
Timothy thought hard about what Skall said. If Sarah's action of telling them about her plans has a purpose, then he and Lucia must know it. She wasn't just playing with them, she had a plan and it probably involved something vicious.
"Her weakness?" Timothy asked
Skall sighed "None. Perhaps there is but I don't know. Even though she's an eccentric, she hides her thoughts well. Only Sarah knows what Sarah thinks."
Timothy nodded "Nevertheless we will make her disappear" Timothy said, believing firmly "She's alone but I have Lucia"
"Well I can't believe I'm saying this and don't want to say this to you but good luck. My nights would be more peaceful without worrying that she would just suddenly cut my throat all of a sudden. Truly, I wish you good luck"