A small familiar pub roared with a lively ambiance. Voices of drunken soldiers and mercenaries heartily chattered through the wafting smell of alcohol perusing the cramped space.
Near the back of the pub at a wooden booth conversed a huddled group of five. Three decent looking soldiers and two boys, somewhat dressed like academy students, were talking in hushed voices.
"So you're telling me there's an underground petrified city beneath the capital that's been there for years? And somehow that cult we ran into in the Glacial Kingdom is related?" Restated Strom as he shook his head in disbelief before downing the contents of his glass at the table.
"See I told you they wouldn't believe it, much less do anything about it." Muttered Tommy quietly to Kellen so only he could hear.
Kellen pushed Tommy's annoying face away from his side with his hand and elaborated more for his old companions.
"Look I know it's a lot to take in, but believe it or not, that bloody cult is somehow involved, and we all saw what happened at the Glacial Kingdom. Do we really want another episode of that to happen directly here in the capital?" Urged Kellen logically.
Ceric and Marcus glanced at each other from beneath their raised cups, opposite to each other from across the wooden table. Strom didn't respond and merely looked down towards the bottom of his now empty glass with a look of concentration.
Kellen noticed the shifty actions of the group after growing accustomed to their habits from his time spent with them. He especially noted the uneasiness painted all over Ceric's poor attempt at concealing his expressions.
'I think there's something they aren't telling me...' He guessed, which seemed to be even more accurate after hearing an unsettling cough arise from Strom across from him.
Tommy sneakily nudged Kellen's side with his elbow underneath the table.
"I don't think we are gonna be able to pry open their lips with just a couple drinks..." Tommy whispered.
Kellen somewhat agreed with the astute statement but the unfamiliar presence of the mischievous boy next to him also didn't help things. In order to get this tightly knit squad to reveal anything, he would need to create a better atmosphere.
Quickly thinking of a solution, Kellen clapped Tommy's back with his hand and initiated his plan.
"Looks like you guys are about to run out of drinks, if not already... Tommy how about grabbing my friends here a few more drinks?" Kellen tactfully suggested while glaring at Tommy, hoping he would receive the message.
"Wha-... Oh yeah, I gotta take a piss anyways, so I'll grab some on the way back!" Yelped Tommy as a kick from Kellen's foot beneath the table convinced him.
Giving a quick salute before scratching the back of his head with that cunning smile on his face, Tommy raced off towards the bar.
Kellen shook his head slightly at how oblivious and thickheaded this kid could be for someone of his nature. Then he returned his focus to the secretive looking group still present.
"I know you guys are keeping shit from me, so spit it out! I thought we were comrades because of everything we've been through at this point... For what it's worth." Kellen poked with a faked hurtful expression on his face.
Marcus and Strom somehow managed to remain the same, but with just that push, Ceric easily broke composure. Strom looked towards Marcus while shaking his head after Ceric spit out his drink over the table with wide eyes.
"What? Who said we are keeping anything about the cult secret from you? Shouldn't you be focusing all this energy into your studies at the academy instead?" Blurted out Ceric in a rush in an attempt to cover up his blunder.
Kellen smirked at how easily it was for Ceric to be flustered by his companions. This was exactly what Kellen had been hoping for.
"Honestly, if it weren't for Axus, the academy wouldn't really be able to teach me much. Actually, I already got an offer from him to join his Thunder Legion..." Somewhat bluffed Kellen.
If what Tommy had told him in the secret passageway was true, then the small Legionnaire undoubtedly had his sights on him. Whether this was a good or bad thing, Kellen had yet to decipher. However, in order to rile up Ceric even more, he needed to continue his surprise.
"Oh... Well that's uh... Good news I guess." Blankly answered Ceric who was still slightly recovering from the previous jab.
"Yeah I think so too, considering he seems to be the one spearheading the investigation of the cult. If I joined him then wouldn't that technically make me your superior then?" Kellen continued to poke.
Strom narrowed his eyes at the new statement and uncomfortably twitched his shoulder.
Kellen did not really pay much heed to the ranking or order of the roman militia, but the men before him obeyed and practically worshipped it. Using their own system against them did feel a bit underhanded to Kellen since they really were like his only "friends" currently in this world. However, after discovering the possible connection between his targets, the Legionnaire Gods, and the mysterious cult, he was willing to utilize all options that were available. Even if that meant making his comrades a little uncomfortable.
Ceric dumbfoundedly tried to answer the cunning kid but words were unable to flow from his silent opening and closing mouth.
Finally, Strom entered back into the conversation with a sigh.
"Calm down Ceric, he's just messing with you." Consoled Strom while comforting the confused archer.
"There's really no need to worry about me guys. Your captain can handle his own problems and it doesn't look like he's gonna back down any time soon. We, better than anyone else, understand that kind of stubbornness." Commented Strom as he and Marcus both nodded in agreement.
Ceric lowered his concerned gaze from his captain and began fiddling with the arrows situated in the quiver near his side.
"It's not that we don't trust you kid, it's just that... I have somewhat of a troubled history with the cult." Strom began to explain.
"More like an old obsession..." Added Marcus from underneath his raised glass.
"Right..." Reluctantly agreed Strom.
"It's actually got something to do with my younger brother I mentioned before..." Said Strom with a light of reminiscence flashing in his solemn eyes.
Kellen leaned in with increasing interest.
His captain had mentioned his brother a few times before but never really explained his actual story. The only clues Kellen had acquired were from their original conversation on their way to the Glacial Kingdom and the hysterical comments of that one cult member.
'If I can remember, I think her name was Amira, but I'm not completely sure...' Pondered Kellen as the foggy memories from that time he had completely lost it still remained in a haze.
Back then, the captain had also been compromised, and the sight of Amira seemed to have rekindled some form of distant trauma. The captain's disillusioned face was one of the few remaining images Kellen could remember from that time.
Ceric and Marcus glanced at each other again but with sorrowful expressions.
"Captain... You don't need to go into detail..." Muttered Ceric as he continued to organize the arrows in his quiver.
"Yeah, why recount something that terrible?" Added Marcus while placing his empty glass back down onto the wooden table.
Strom shook his head and refuted their efforts to restrain him.
"He has a right to know after everything that's happened." Resolutely exclaimed Strom.
Kellen could tell he had ventured into a tricky subject. The night of his acceptance into the academy, he had tried getting Strom to reveal more for the sake of gathering more information on the cult, but even then the captain had remained fairly vague.
"As I somewhat explained before... My brother's regiment was wiped by that fucking cult about five years ago." Began Strom.
He paused before painfully continuing.
"Amira, who you met previously, was my brother's fiancé at the time. I don't exactly remember how they met but I'm sure that it was all a made up lie of hers." He angrily recounted.
"That bitch turned out to be a spy that was dispatched by this "cult" and was apparently ordered to infiltrate the ranks of the roman militia. Of course, none of us knew anything about this hidden directive until after the fact..." He commented with difficulty.
"Fucking disgraceful wench!" Angrily interjected Ceric out of habit.
Strom raised his hand to silence the enraged archer.
"Ceric, it's in the past, or at least it was... We didn't expect that she somehow managed to survive the raid." Strom said with a distraught voice to calm Ceric's anger.
"A raid?" Questioned Kellen to rein them back into the current subject.
"Yeah, it was a mission to eliminate this growing threat in the shadows. Back then, I was still a part of an elite squad in the Thunder Legion, and I was Axus's second in command." Explained Strom.
Kellen's eyes widened in amazement and shock. In contrast, a cloud began to drift into Strom's eyes as he vividly recounted his tragic past.
-------------
I'm extremely excited to write this next upcoming section. Strom's dark past and the mystery of the cult will be a lot more elaborated on within the next coming chapters, so stay tuned!
P.S. -> Sorry for the late release!