Everywhere you could hear the screaming of women locked in a prison wagon. Soon they would come to the slave market where far worse things would happen to them.
"Keep quiet or I'll kill one of you on the spot."
"But then there will be less money."
"In exchange, we'll have peace for now."
The cries for help grew louder and louder, the thieves got tired of it and pulled one of the women out of the car.
"Now you'll learn what it means to disobey."
He pulled her handcuffs even tighter and threw her to the ground. He then drew his sword and stabbed her in the leg with it. The woman cried out in pain, weeping even louder and begging for her life. But the thief showed no mercy and continued with the other leg. He looked back at the wagon as he was about to stab her again.
"Look carefully, this is you if you scream any more. So listen to us and you stay quiet- Urgh.
Suddenly, an arrow had pierced his throat, blood spurting in all directions while the man was gasping for his life. When the other thieves saw this they took their weapons and looked around.
"The enemy must be somewhere in the forest, look in the tre- Argh."
Those were his last words before an arrow pierced his head. Before the thieves could take cover, a young man with red eyes stood before them.
"In the end, you robbed yourselves of your lives."
He killed one by one with his swordsmanship, each attack fatal.
"There's your proof, I don't have to rely on my powers to defeat others.
"Killing simple thieves is not proof of great strength, after all. Besides, you should have taken off your armor if you're going to fight normally."
"Easy to say as an archer. You try your hand at hand-to-hand combat and show me how it's done."
"Not until I run out of arrows."
"Ha, you can just make new ones with your magic, you can't get any more unfair than that."
"I can smell your envy all the way here. Irazel come back."
The big owl appeared from the clouds and sat on a tree. Leo went to the prison van to free the women.
"You can come out, we are not the bad guys".
Leo's stature made him look a little scary, but after a moment's hesitation, they left the van.
"This doesn't look good, the wound is pretty deep.
These idiots don't have bandages and all I can do is stop the bleeding. She won't last two days in this condition."
"Let me take a look."
Leo went to the injured woman and looked closely at her wound. Lynia was right, her condition didn't look good. He thought for a moment and gritted his teeth.
"Lynia put her there for me, I have a method. The less know about it the better."
The other women became curious but were kept away by Lynia.
Leo took his sword and cut his arm. He then held it over her wound. After a few seconds, black blood dripped from the arm directly into the wound. Again the woman cried out in pain, Leo's veins turned orange for a brief moment. The wound started to burn, getting smaller by the second until finally only a black scar could be seen.
"In the end, you did use your powers, fool."
Lynia had seen exactly how Leo closed her wound. Slightly annoyed, she took care of the other women while Leo took a few minutes until he was okay again.
"Are you really going to escort them all to the next town? That's going to take us three days and I don't want to wait any longer for my information."
"Soon you'll be saying just the opposite."
So their travels extended for 2 days. They escorted the women by wagon to the nearest town and gave them the thieves' money. They promised their rescuers to return the favor someday. But Leo and Lynia hoped never to see them again, being around with the two would only expose others to more danger.
"I guess you don't want to reveal anything about yourself what? Is it that bad or are you ashamed?"
"Shame is the last reason I keep my past a secret. The less you know the better."
"Sounds very mysterious. It's pretty unfair because you know more about my people than I do."
"The world is unfair so you can void that argument. I didn't ask for this it was shown to me. Knowledge is far more dangerous than you think."
"Yet that is exactly the knowledge you will pass on to me when we arrive in Monulis."
"A promise is a promise. But don't complain afterwards if you don't like the answers. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that truth can be a weapon or a downfall depending on how you use it."
"Save the smart talk, knowledge alone doesn't win battles. That should be obvious to you as well."
"It makes them far easier though, which is exactly what I will soon prove."
After 3 days, they could see the port of Monulis from afar. When Leo heard the sound of the sea for the first time and saw the huge ships, his eyes shone. But before he became lost in thought, he exhaled deeply and continued walking. The city was full of people, it had markets next to the harbor and countless taverns that brought everything to life.
"So we're here, I've done my part now it's your turn."
"Do you want me to just answer your questions out loud here in the middle of the city? I have a few places I want to visit here. We still have all day either I tell you everything right now or show you what I actually came here for. Your choice."
After a short discussion, she followed Leo to a small tavern. Everywhere sat drunken men telling each other stories of the sea. The whole room reeked of alcohol, Leo could hardly stand it while Lynia enjoyed the look on his face. After Leo looked around more closely, he found nothing that helped him. With time he became more and more doubtful and the waitress couldn't help him either. Just before he gave up hope, he saw a brothel in the distance.
"Hey, you're not thinking of having fun now are you?
"Of course not, there are far more important things but for some reason I think my target is staying there."
Slightly nervous, he entered the brothel, everywhere women flirted with men from young to old. Leo let the flirting attempts cold, he ignored the looks of the women.
"How cheaply these women sell themselves. Trading their purity for a little money. Their bodies are now just a tool for pleasure."
"I know your people value purity, but you shouldn't look down on them like that. Survival in this world is harder than you think. Before you're completely stuck in the deepest pit, of course you'll try everything not to end up there. Many of them are not here by choice, just look at their faces."
Lynia took a closer look at everything. Some of the women could hardly smile, they were trembling all over, powerlessly surrendering to the men. At the sight, she thought about Leo's words and changed her attitude.
"I'm looking for a man, he should have orange eyes and is the same age like me."
"You probably mean Mortas, he just went into one of the rooms with one of the ladies."
"So Mortas is his name...tell him Laura is waiting for him at the tavern down the street."
Leo left the brothel and went to the tavern together with Lynia. There he booked a room for the two of them.
"Hey what are you up to now, did you lose your mind in the brothel?"
"You've got nonsense on your mind again. I'm certainly not going to spill that information down at the tables so get over it or don't you want your answers after all? Right now we're just going to wait downstairs. It shouldn't take that long."
"Tsk, you could have told me before."
Suddenly someone ripped open the door.
"Laura?! Laura, where are you?"
"Over here Aiden, Laura is right here."
The man looked Leo straight in the eye, without further questions he sat down at Lynia and Leo's table.
"Who are you and what do you want here?"
"To ask you a favor that might save Laura."
Suddenly the young man went to one of the waitresses.
"Tell Rizar that the tavern will be closed now."
Without asking, the waitress went to the owner of the tavern. The man closed the tavern and chased all the customers out.
"So again, who are you and how do you know Laura?"
"For that, first of all, I need your identity. Mortas is a good name, but I think Prince Aiden is more like it."
His black hair bristled while his eyes lit up orange.
"I see no point in making excuses so let's get straight to the point. How do you know who I am and how do you know Laura?"
Lynia's ears lit up as she listened to the two of them.
"Let's just say that I am a person who is very familiar with the royal family. If I remember she has white hair and blue eyes. Your father takes good care of her but as you can imagine she is not there by choice."
"Thank the goddess that she is well. How did you know I was alive and staying here?"
"Something wasn't right in the reports. It was too noticeable that the first son suddenly perished during a journey. Especially with the best guards in the kingdom escorting the family. In the army, one learns a lot about soldiers who, strictly speaking, are not normal. And never would Zaris, the captain of the elite squad die just like that. Besides, both of your bodies were never found. Your diary as a little kid said that you used to visit the sea with your mother. Therefore it was very likely that her son disappeared here to never forget her. The owner could have made a little more effort. It may be that his appearance has changed but turning Zaris into Rizar is not very imaginative."
"What exactly do you want from me?"
"It's very simple, you will overthrow your father from the throne and rule yourself."
"That will never happen, never will I set foot in the palace."
"Not even for Laura?"
"As long as she's all right, that's enough for me. I would only make things worse with my appearance.
"True, the only son in the history of the royal family who doesn't have magical abilities would make things worse. But I think he has changed quite a bit in the last 6 years but one thing has remained in your mind until today. Did your mother really die giving birth to your little sister or had someone murdered her?"
In the next moment Aiden took a dagger out of his pocket and held it to Leo's neck.
"Watch what you say next, I slip with my blade sometimes."
Leo was getting more and more into the conversation, he knew he was on the long end of the stick.
"How exactly did your mother die back then Aiden? Did you see it, was it not too sudden? How come your sister never talked to you about her death? What is your father's hatred really based on? All these thoughts are buzzing around in your head like demons. I can tell you one thing for sure: your mother did not die a natural death."
At these words Aiden snapped, before he could stab Leo, Lynia grabbed his arm and de-armed him.
"Think about it carefully, join me and find out what really happened or stay here and live in your own little bubble. You have until tomorrow, either with or without you, soon your father will be very surprised."
When Rizar looked into Aiden's eyes, he sent Leo and Lynia away and sat next to him. After they locked the room, Leo sat down on a chair and took a deep breath.
"Did you tell him the truth? Did his mother really get murdered?
"I never said she was directly murdered. I don't know how exactly she died, but one thing is certain: his father played a role in it. That's why I need him for my plan to overthrow the throne. Without him, it will be much more difficult to implement everything. But these are certainly not the answers you are longing for. So go ahead, what are you so interested in?"
"You know exactly what I want to know. How do you know my family and where are they now?"
After you've been captured, your mother built a rebellion against the elves. Since I saw the slaves being tormented and imprisoned I began to fight them until your mother and her group suddenly appeared. Together we won the battle. Soon after your mother asked me for help to free their daughter. Because of the desperation in her eyes I accepted and went to one of the training camps to free you. I wasn't supposed to give you any information about her whereabouts, your mother didn't want you to take the path of a warrior as well. But as expected, you took your weapons right away and got on my nerves, lusting for answers. If it wasn't for Irazel, I would never have found you in the first place. He is much more important than you think. As I learned, you were supposed to get him for your birthday, but your capture separated you. Still your "partner" showed me the way, your pets are quite loyal to you. I don't know exactly where your family is right now, but I would strongly suspect near the city of Osikan. The whole town is full of prisoners, apparently there's even an arena where they're supposed to amuse the elves with a fight to death."
As she listened to Leo's words, she grew calmer and sadder. She knew he was telling the truth.
"When exactly did you meet my mother?"
"Four months ago, I was traveling through elven territory. And when I saw the prisoners being tortured, I intervened. After the fight your mother asked me to help her, her desperation made me agree to help in the end. And oh boy she is right, your temperament is still far higher than hers."
"So they really are still alive, my hope was not in vain. What about my father?"
"She didn't say anything about him. However, it is said that your sister was enslaved together with Kail-
"Mina and Kail are still alive?! Where are they?"
"That's what your mother is trying to find out. She must be planning an attack on Osikan."
"I need to get to the north as soon as possible. For that I need your help, you owe me that."
"I have fulfilled our deal, now I am under no obligation to do anything. I have my own plans so find other supports. You can have the room for the night, you will need the relaxation from a normal bed."
Leo left the room and spent the night in the open air. He enjoyed the sound of the waves and the feeling of being by the sea. It was one of his dreams as a small child that was now coming true.
The inscription on his sword glowed and the runes on his arm also turned orange.
("So Metsu made it, must have been a long journey for him...").
Early in the morning he was awakened by the ships were just leaving the harbor. After packing his things, he went back to the tavern. At one of the tables sat Lynia, who was eating breakfast.
"You're still here, did you make a plan last night?"
"Plan or not, I need to save them as soon as possible."
"All by yourself, that's your death sentence. If you just rush in like that you'll only get yourself killed."
"Who knows how long Kail and Mina will survive. I can't wait for my mother."
Lynia sounded determined and desperate at once. Her normal cold manner was gone. Before Leo could discuss further, Aiden sat down at their table.
"If it's true, then she really doesn't have much time left. Osikan is run by a baron whose lust for violence and torture is immeasurable. "
"How do you know she wants to go to Osikan?"
"Because her family will be imprisoned there, won't they?"
Leo became angry and gritted his teeth.
"It seems like someone was eavesdropping on us yesterday. That is not like a prince at all"
"Of course I was eavesdropping. You think I'm just going to leave you alone after that conversation yesterday."
"Then I take it you've certainly made up your mind or not, Prince Aiden?"
"I spoke to Rizar, he knew more than I thought after all. I will help you, it is time my father learned of my survival."
"Good decision, we leave around noon so get read-"
"But I have one condition. I know exactly how hard it is to lose family so it shouldn't be done to anyone else. First we help the hot-tempered lady free her family then we start your plan."
Leo and Lynia both widened their eyes. For Lynia, his demands were a glimmer of hope. Leo, on the other hand, clenched his hands and was about to explode.
"DONT YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IF WE WAIT ANY LONGER? YOUR FATHER COULD BRING THE WHOLE KINGDOM TO RUIN, THEN LAURA WILL SUFFER TOO. DON'T ACT THROUGH YOUR HEART BUT THROUGH YOUR HEAD, THERE IS MUCH MORE AT STAKE HERE THAN YOU THINK. IF MY PLAN DOESN'T WORK, THEN...then...."
"The worst thing that can happen to a person is that he loses his family. I was abandoned by mine and probably lied to, this burden is unbearable. That's why I don't even want to imagine how people feel who have lost their entire family. A true king puts his people before everything, his duty is to protect the people and preserve the unity of the kingdom."
"These are just empty words, quotes to make the causes seem more righteous than they really are. If we don't hurry then you will never get the chance to prove this attitude. As time goes on, the dangers will only increase. And we don't have much help on our side."
"Yes you do! If you help me then I will help you, you know how strong I am Leo. You have my word, help me free my family and I will help you overthrow the throne."
"Promises are worth nothing in this world, damn it..."
("I'm running out of time.")
Angrily he put on his armor, took his helmet and left the tavern. As Leo looked up into the sky, the face of Lynia's mother appeared to him, slowly turning into his mothers face.
("Not you as well... Fuck!")
Leo turned around and went into the tavern again. Aiden and Lynia were already discussing how best to proceed.
"I hope you guys keep your word. We leave in an hour, it's a long way to Osikan so prepare well."
The two smiled at Leo and accepted his order. Now Leo's plan had taken a significant turn. He did not yet know what part Osikan would play in his plot. It was the first time in a very long time that he would travel with other people. Hopefully it would not turn out like 4 years ago.