The four of them ran across the city and reached the royal barracks in record time. General Ferrahn was waiting outside. 'Why didn't you tell me this was so important?!' The general demanded an answer. Fearing consequences, Clyde just apologized. 'I am letting you go because this is your first mission. Now take this back to Meridus immediately.'
Understanding the situation, Clyde took the Letter and they rushed towards the inn. The morning crowd was beginning to build up, but they managed anyway. Thanks to Clyde's forethinking, they had prepared their bags to leave already. They trotted through the narrow hallways and reached the room. Their handbags were already prepared there, by their past selves. Clyde went in and took all the bags and distributed them accordingly to Tigris and Fini, who were still standing in the hallway.
They turned back towards the direction they came from and jogged towards the door. An energetic eagle joined them on the way and Tigris and Fini made it out of the door, while Clyde made a quick stop at the reception to check out of the inn.
'This was fun, right, Tigris?' Fini said and looked towards the ocean, which was visible from the street outside the inn. 'It's facing the wrong way.' Fini commented, looking at Tigris's badge. Aslinia finally caught up to them. Just as she sat down on the bench next to Tigris and Fini, Tigris flipped the badge, revealing his name to Aslinia. 'Tigris Tanssen' the badge read. Aslinia looked up to Tigris to begin a conversation and saw the badge.
'You are Tigris Tanssen!?' Aslinia said, shocked. 'That is me.' Tigris replied in a jolly tone. Aslinia's shocked face turned into fear. 'Are you the Warrior from Meridus who obtained the Eye of the Tiger?' Aslinia enquired. Aslinia's face grew pale when Tigris replied with 'That is me.' once again.
Aslinia then went on to ask if Tigris knew what was written in that letter. Fini seemed puzzled at the situation. Tigris, who seemed equally puzzled, denied. Aslinia let out a huge sigh of relief. 'What was written in that letter?' Fini curiously asked. 'It's best if you don't know for now.' She then turned to Tigris and said 'Be careful, Tigris, it's going to get difficult.' She didn't answer any questions beyond that.
Clyde finally emerged from the door and tried to read the situation. Fini explained what was going on. Aslinia was stunned that even the leader of the platoon was not aware of the dangers they were about to face. She just wished them good luck, and repeated 'Glory to Magnar' before leaving. Though he had several questions, Tigris decided to ignore for now. They had a mission to complete. They reached the gate of Port Aqmare they had entered from, without speaking a single word. They were all thinking to themselves.
There was a different gatekeeper this time, who appeared more laidback than the night gatekeeper. He asked simple questions to Clyde, and they were on their way to Meridus. The path was long and uninteresting. Soon, afternoon rolled in. 'We have to make a stop to eat and restock.' Clyde said. In the distance, they could see a large roadside shack. 'Looks like we're in luck'.