The gate had less gatekeepers than usual. Since Meridus was the capital, it usually had stricter security. 'It feels good to be back' Fini said in a sigh. 'Let's get to the castlegrounds. General Hearty will probably be there.' Clyde proposed. The castle was far in the city, but the streets were very unusually uncrowded. As they approached the castle, the noise grew louder. There was a massive group of people standing at the castle gate, and the gatekeepers struggled to keep them out.
Clyde spotted his teacher, Memphis Vetusan walking into the castle. Tigris saw General Hearty, a bit further away from the crowd, with a worried face. They all walked up to him.
'What is happening here?' Fini asked. 'Oh, you three are here. I was waiting for you to arrive. He took them through the crowd into the castle. The crowd kept yelling their demands, and the noise grew weaker as they entered a room.
'General Ferrahn must have given you a letter.' The General commanded. Clyde passed the sealed envelope on to General Hearty. As the General broke the seal to open it, he began a conversation with the Platoon. 'I got the message from Dela. Dela is at the royal aviary right now. You three will have to be very careful from now on. Since Tigris has such a valuable object with him, many people will try to attack and steal it from him, now that the news has reached far.'
Clyde agreed. Fini repeated that she would protect Tigris, sounding more serious this time. Tigris folded his hands, pretending that he understood the situation. General Hearty finally opened the seal. 'General, why is there a crowd outside right now?' Clyde politely asked.
'Defendant Reaper is missing.' General Hearty said worriedly. Tigris was shocked. The man he thought was the most powerful warrior of all of Magnar, the man he aspired to be someday, was missing. Clyde and Fini got worried too. General Hearty read the contents of the letter and was horrified. 'You three, are coming with me right now.' As they walked towards the throne room, Clyde asked another question out of curiosity. 'Why is Master Memphis here?'. 'The king requested him to act as the Defendant until Defendant Reaper is found.' Clyde was relieved that the control of the nation was in the hands of someone he knew was strong.
Memphis Vetusan was leaving the room at the same time as the platoon was entering it. 'It's been a few days since I last saw you, Robustus.' The war veteran spoke in a slow and low-pitched voice.
Clyde didn't get time to reply as the king commanded them to enter as soon as he saw them. 'You all are finally here! I have been waiting for you.' General Hearty apologized for the delay, and passed on the message from General Ferrahn to the king. 'Your majesty, I received word from General Ferrahn of Port Aqmare. A letter was received by the Royal Barracks at Port Aqmare, believed to have been send by professor Galais, former head of the Royal Society of Reasoning. It matches the letter we received.'
'That is a large problem.' Professor Galais was one of the most brilliant minds born on the land of Magnar. He went missing 17 years ago. 'If he turns against us, the peace of this glorious empire will be threatened. Until now, we thought he had passed away, but it seems like he was seen around Tiirsaka recently. He is the only person with such vast knowledge about crystals. In the absence of Reaper, we need to take decisive action' The king replied.
The young Warriors' minds were full of questions. Who was Professor Galais? Why was he so dangerous? They decided to refrain from asking for the moment.
'As for you three, you cannot go on any further missions for your own, and Magnar's safety.'
They were all confused and shocked by this decision.
The king continued to speak and informed them of the reason for taking this decision. 'You all may not know this, but professor Galais is the man who made it possible for you all to have the ability to use crystals. He spent his life researching how to harness the power of crystals which the legendary Thomas Magnus and his two disciples once had. If he wants to destroy Magnar, like his letters suggest, his first target would be to acquire the three strongest crystals. He left Magnar in search of the Dragon's Scale crystal, and never returned. He must have surely found it to take such action. He is also likely the reason Reaper went missing. The Lion's roar crystal is said to be just as powerful as the Dragon's Scale. The most powerful crystal, however, is what we must protect. You, Tigris, have the Eye of the Tiger. You are his next target. I was told by General Hearty that you three were attacked. That attack was likely from professor Galais.'
Tigris and Fini were struggling to comprehend this vast wave of changes. Clyde handed the piece of paper he had collected from the roadside shack to the king. 'Since we cannot take your crystal away from you, we will have to send you someplace far from here, because we can't put Meridus at danger to protect you. You will be going to Erathmus Isles, where you will be overlooked by a senior Warrior who is posted there. You shall be leaving tomorrow morning.' General Hearty explained.
Clyde calmly understood the situation and tried to calm Tigris and Fini down too, who were already protesting this decision. 'It will only be for a short while, till we control the situation here in Meridus.' General Hearty tried to convince them.
Memphis Vetusan returned with some hefty paperwork. Clyde rushed to help his teacher out. 'You will have a large responsibility in your hands, Robustus, as the leader of this platoon, you must protect your platoon members.' Vetusan gave his final teachings to Clyde.
The platoon was dismissed from the court before Tigris and Fini could get any more aggressive. General Hearty escorted them to the gates of the castle. They were ordered to meet their families, as they would be spending the next few weeks away from home.
'One last thing.' General Hearty announced before letting them go their way. Clyde heard the familiar screech of an eagle. 'Dela will be with you. You can use it for communication.' Dela glided downwards and hopped onto Clyde's shoulder as always.
On the way back to the outskirts, Clyde kept trying to persuade Tigris and Fini to accept the commands. 'Erathmus isles aren't too bad. We will train over there.' That got Tigris a bit excited. 'The isles are quite hot though, so make sure you pack your bags accordingly. We will be staying there for a few weeks.' They soon reached the dojo, and Clyde parted ways. He took Dela with him for the night.
'Let's stop by to eat.' Fini said as she pointed towards her father's restaurant.
The restaurant was full during the early evening rush hour, but Fini's father let them sit in the back. They over heard some people speaking about the recent events. 'Meridus doesn't seem safe anymore. Now that even the defendant has gone missing, who knows what'll happen next?' 'I heard it's because someone's after the Eye of the Tiger.' 'Some kid got that crystal last week, and things have been going downhill since. That kid should be arrested'.
Fini was about to erupt in the restaurant, but Tigris stopped her. 'I'll show them. I have to protect you after all.' He said, exchanging looks with Fini's father, who was watching them.
Fini went to the shop of Ferrarius Ferdinand to buy replacement arrows, and Tigris headed straight home.
Teresa Tanssen was unaware of her son returning. When he entered the house, she was delightfully surprised. She always told him stories of his father's splendor. She was rather disheartened to hear that Tigris will be away for a few weeks starting the next day.
'Erathmus isles are quite far from here.' His mother commented. 'Don't worry about me. I have Fini and Clyde by my side.' Tigris replied. That put his mother to ease.
The day ended, and a new day began. Tigris was up early, looking towards his long trip to Erathmus isles. His mother wished him luck as he rushed to Fini's residence and pulled her drowsy self out like always. They were rather slow while reaching the western gate of Meridus, as they were carrying large bags for the trip which could last weeks. Clyde was already present there, with Dela on his shoulder, who let out a screech which could be heard from Kilometers away. He waved and Tigris waved back. Fini was still half asleep.
General Hearty arrived with a horse wagon. 'I'll take you till the shore, which is two days from here.' He spoke.
The platoon hopped onto the wagon with their bags. The general stroked the horses, indicating it was time to go. A new adventure awaited them in the near future, and so did a new danger.