Chereads / Apex Predator / Part 1 / Chapter 17 - Leader

Chapter 17 - Leader

Nathan's POV:

I enter the inn and notice there is a bothered atmosphere. Usually, everyone is talking loudly and there's always a lot of drunk guys making noise because of everything they break, but today, everyone's gathered around the billboard. It seems they have announced the visit of the Starfall leader.

"Hey Nathan, we're over here!" A voice comes from my left side. My friends are sitting at one of the tables, eating their usual meal.

I go to them and sit on one of the chairs.

"How did you return so fast? Did you travel over night?" Leonard asks, surprised of my rapid return.

"Not at all, Captain Lafina brought me here with her tame."

"Wait, the same kind as the one Captain Zlodey has?... So you like, flew over here?"

"Yep, and I gotta admit, it was scarier than I thought it was, but it certainly has its advantages."

I can't deny that flying tames are much better when it comes to travel, assuming there is minimal luggage. What would take the whole morning on foot, was done in just an hour, and avoiding any kind of obstacles as well. Perhaps one day I should try and get a flying mount.

"Anyway, do you guys know what is the Starfall tribe? I never heard of them."

"Nop, but according to some of the people that have read the anoucement, they have been silently helping the Warriors ever since the war fifteen years ago. It seems they are the cause the Dark Clouds dragon had to flee north." Filipe answers. He doesn't talk much, but I guess that allows him to listen to everyone and get information.

I wonder if I should tell anyone besides the Captains about the Endwalker's diary. Captian Lafina said more wars will come because of it, so it must be much more important than what I think... I'll keep it a secret for now.

After eating for a few minutes, we hear a loud sound outside, like if the wind is being cut. It must be Captain Zlodey finally arriving with his tame.

The door opens and Captain Zlodey enters the inn. Seems like I was right. He notices me, and calls me out.

"Nathan, come with me, we have a lot to discuss."

"Alright. See you later guys."

I say goodbye to my friends and leave the inn along with Captain Zlodey. Upon exiting the building, he immediately starts talking in a serious tone:

"Nathan, I talked with your mother and she has no idea where Jason could have run off to. Do you know where he may be at the moment?"

"Not really, he never really had a special place, just his smithy I guess, but that was completely destroyed."

"Mmm, come with me. We'll have a talk with the tribe leader."

The tribe leader? Thinking about it, I don't think anyone has ever mentioned who the tribe leader is. I always knew the Warriors were separated into divisions, but I guess there must be someone ruling everyone.

We head to the castle that is in the middle of the base. It is heavily fortified, balista turrets and catapults are all over the place, making the amount of defences we had in our village look like child's play. The walls are spiked and there's a pit surrounding it, making it hard to reach the castle. The only way in is the drawbridge that leads to a huge gate.

There are two guards guarding the drawbridge, both using some sort of armor, it looks much different than the usual metal armor everyone uses. The shoulder pads are much bigger, and the helmets have some kind of horns on top, looks cool... but I wonder if it's useful.

"I'm here to have a few words with the leader. Is she available?" Captain Zlodey asks the guards.

"Actually Captain... I'd advise you not to talk to her now. It's one of those phases again..."

So it's a woman. And what did he mean by 'one of those phases'? I hope she's not sick or something like that. Losing a leader when wars are starting would be devastating for our side.

Captain Zlodey sighs, before continuing:

"It's alright... I'll try bringing her to her senses..."

"Very well then, she's in the throne room. She doesn't let anyone get near so, good luck."

The guard says and lets us in. I wonder what is going on with the leader. Guess I'll find out soon enough.

Entering the castle, I realized how much different the inside looked from the rest of the buildings. Everything is so... royal? I guess that's a fine word to describe it. The lifestyle of those who live here surely is much greater compared to the rest. There are a few maids and butlers working hard to keep the place clean. Most of the furniture has some sort of gold accessory, everything in here is probably worth a lot of coins...

"Nathan, prepare for the worst, what you are about to witness is a type of enemy that very few can defeat. Stand back."

Captain Zlodey tells me when we reached a huge door, four or five times the height of a person and three times as wide. This must be a very powerful person... perhaps a magic user, although those disappeared around a centurie ago.

He knocks on the door.

"Leader, it's Zlodey, I need to talk to you."

A loud shout comes from inside the throne room.

"FUCK OFF YOU IDIOT, DON'T BOTHER ME."

.....................

I was not expecting this at all... I guess I understand what the guard and Captain Zlodey meant now, but what the hell happened in order to get her like this?

"I guess I have no choice.. Nathan stand back, or you'll get hit with the door in the face." He wispers to me, making sure the leader does not hear.

Huh?... I'm confused but I'll do as he says.

I go back a few steps to get a safe distance from the door. I wonder what Captain Zlodey will do...

"Jason is here." He says.

"WHAT!?"

The leader shouts once again and footsteps can be heard from inside the throne room, getting closer to the door.

She kicks the door open and screams again:

"WHERE? WHERE IS THE BASTARD?"