The king could visually see all of the group shake in surprise however he didn't realize that Kanied and Balderic were simply faking this as he was told to do so before to not arouse any suspicion
"I shalt explain further, as far as the report I received from Kanied dictates that you encountered a well known commander known amongst the dark lords army named as the plague bringer no?" The king asked
"Indeed we did little Arthas I mean my king so may I ask why you have us ignore the problem brewing at the borders of Amanthel?" Kanied said
"It does not concern you currently Kanied however know this, Baloug is a much bigger and closer threat as you may know to the north of Amanthel the dragon slumbers and devours any and all beings unfortunate to come near" Arthas explained
Steve suddenly stood up which aroused the guards
"Bu-But your majesty the plague bringer is much more of a problem than ever! it is a ever growing horde of disease and monstrous bugs, a slumbering dragon is nothing compared to it!" Steve said with a hint of disbelief and anger
"Heresy!" One of the guards shouted at the exact same time the entire hall of guards tapped their respective weapons on the ground one time and all transitioned to a battle ready stance
Steve looked around in shock and just stared at all the fully armed guards that would even be difficult just taking one of them but not a whole company of them
"At ease, Let the man talk" Arthas said when he gave the order all the guards once again tapped the ground once more and was at ease
Steve then knelt back down apologetic
"Forgive me your majesty I didn't meant to seem rude or immoral in any way" Steve said
"It is fine warrior now will you explain your reasoning behind your motivates to face the plague bringer" Arthas said
"Of course your majesty, To put it in simple terms the dragon has already reached the pinnacle of its evolution however the plague bringer is still growing as his armies not only would he slowly accumulate more strength but the number of troops he shall posses would increase exponentially" Steve said
"Don't get me wrong warrior I understand that perfectly however you must understand that the plague bringer has limited resources, have you not noticed his slowed movements already?" Arthas asked
"No I haven't" Steve said
"Not only have they slowed they have completely stopped, simply waiting there in anticipation mostly due to the command of his creator the dark lord issuing an order to halt for he has already completed his mission of passing on a plague that is still ravaging through our lands" The king explained
"So is this not the perfect time to strike?" Steve asked
"Its the complete opposite during this time his guard should be the highest considering this his movements have now ceased we should instead focus on what we can and should strike against" Arthas said
"And that is my young king?" Kanied said
"To strike against the dragon who has not only stopped its pursuit of power but its pursuit of its hunger for it has no army to defend it self with only a few of its followers but even so if the dragon and its kin were to be recruited and incorporated into the dark lords army it would spell demise for our kingdom and those surrounding us" Arthas said
"I understand" Steve said as he bit his lip
"Now my friend freight not for we will not just ignore the calamity the plague bringer is we are simply focusing on more realistic priorities, isn't that right Arthas?" Kanied said
"Indeed it is so if we were to simply let it do as it please it would create more of a disaster than even baloug" Arthas said
"However we must focus on what is in front of us and strike while we can for I fear if we don't strike soon we may not have another chance"
"Very well that settles that" Kanied said
"Indeed it does you may leave for now, Eric show them to their accommodations, Ezari your presence is still required"
"Of course my king" Eric said while standing up he then looked to the group as they all stood up as well
"Follow me if you would please"
once they all left the room the king then looked to Ezari as the knight looked back
"Now my accursed little sister how were your journeys across the realm?" Arthas asked
"Well my forever ungrateful king I have found out something rather odd in fact the very thing I discovered was in this room not long ago other than that the demon lord's cult seems to have advance quite a lot than the last time we check up on it" Ezari said
"Hmm very well, tell the old crow that if he wishes to keep our support that he needs to produce results better results than the last few years" Arthas said
"You are dismissed" Arthas said
"Very well" Ezari said before she got up to leave
"Oh before I go I forgot to tell you, your necromancy is bringing too much attention from the surrounding kingdoms if they wish it so they could easily tell the elves of the forbidden magic you practice" Ezari said
"Hmph please those fools still believe they can even contact the elves after their scandal's, besides it no longer matters I have already reached the peak almost to the level of Ishgard I just require one more push" Arthas said
"Hmph I also see your royal guards have turned rather cold, and it seems they have gotten stronger as well" Ezari said
"Indeed I had to depart with my old royal guards who were of little to no use however now that they have become connected to me and one with death they have exhibited far more talent and power then they ever could before when they were alive, it was a necessary sacrifice" Arthas said
"I still never understand why your so interested in corpses and the cold hue of blue" Ezari said
"Please sister you would never understand my means it is simply to bring this kingdom more power and protection than ever before" Arthas said
"That's funny isn't just one of our regular citizens supposed to live twice as long as a regular human and be able to take down a low grade beast all by their lonesome" Ezari said
"Please Ezari we both know that the ritual should have never been done we may live twice as long but our reproduction rate is also significantly lower not only that but 25% of the population was sacrificed, we had to cover too many holes to cover that up" Arthas said
"Oh yeah I almost forgot, the ring came up in one of my search's" Ezari said
"What?! how could you nearly forget such an important matter!" Arthas said with an rather annoyed tone
"Please ungrateful brother, I was simply too busy with all the task you've given me, well at least I told you now so what is your plan going forward?" Ezari said curiously
"Well that's rather obvious, we must find the ring no matter what if the dark lord retrieves it, it would destroy the balance we had wished to hold for so long" Arthas said
"Hmph very well, It is apparently located near the edge of Baloug's domain towards the east of it" Ezari said
"Well that makes this a lot easier lets say you sister? do you wish to retrieve it for our glorious kingdom" Arthas said
"Hmmm I don't know brother seems rather bothersome considering not only is Emanthel scavenging around for it looking for it but the elven kingdoms and the wizard order has made finding it a top priority, their will almost definitely be a small scale war for the ring" Ezari said
"I didn't ask for your opinion on the matter, simply if you could do it or what it takes to achieve that goal" Arthas said
"Very well, I might as well as try however I need some troops lets say a company of royal guards? Especially since you did your magic on them, they should be more than efficient" Ezari said
"That would cause too much attention instead use the troops for the mission I assigned Kanied and his group of weaklings should be enough of a excuse to cross the border to Baloug's domain" Arthas said
"Well now that were on the subject of their little group of weaklings, their is one who has caught my attention" Ezari said
"Please enlighten me on who could grab your eye" Arthas said
"Very well, His name is Eredeti although he seems rather naïve he had a rather dark presence compared to the others" Ezari said
"Hmm do you assume he is a spy sent by the crows to investigate us since they can't use their dolls in the capital? or rather someone who has a high connection to any dark magic" Arthas said
"No the crows give us a certain presence of deception and greed however all I could sense from him was pure wrath similar to one of the other cults but yet different" Ezari said
"Very well, I must ask you to keep an eye on him then report to me any anomalies that may occur" Arthas said
"Very well" Ezari said