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Chapter 22 - Secret Mission

Ground quakes have devastated the town of Tigrit and they seem to be growing in size.

They began as small shakes outside the town and grew in size until they started to wreak havoc on the town itself.

After the arrival of Remus and Andrea, the Duke Balwan of the Northlands charged them with finding the cause of the quakes and saving the region.

A conversation between Remus, Andrea, Duke Balwan and his advisor hints at the cause being ancient spirits. Andrea and the advisor favours this explanation but the Duke is sceptical.

Remus is curious about why and how Andrea knows so much about ancient spirits but won't press too hard to get an explanation, nevertheless, he hopes that his search for oil is not the cause but this hope is quickly dashed when he finds an open golden seal at the epicentre of the quakes and just inside are pools of black oil.

"Whatever the cause of the ground quakes is, we can safely assume it has something to do with this oil," Remus said.

"The swirling pattern on the seal matches what I've read in old books," Andrea said.

"What old books?" Remus asked.

"I prefer not to say too much about where I'm from," Andrea responded.

Remus and Andrea then explored deeper into the tunnels when the light crystals died out.

"That's unusual," Andrea said. "These stupid crystals are supposed to work underwater."

Remus gave them a few slaps to get them to work but was met with disappointment.

"Wait, look!" Andrea exclaimed.

Several feet from where they were standing, there was light.

"I bet it's sunlight," Andrea said. "We must have reached the end."

"Wait-" Remus exclaimed but before he could utter a word, Andrea had run ahead into an underground cavern.

The light disappeared and they were left in the darkness. Suddenly the entire cavern lit up and they found themselves surrounded by tree-like beings 10 metres tall. They opened their eyes and moved to corner them in the middle of the room.

Remus and Andrea stood with their backs against each other.

--"Why have you destroyed the peace, surface-dweller?"--

"We came here in search of the cause of the ground quakes," Remus said.

--"We cause the ground to shake. We had to close off the breach of our inner sanctuary because the agreement between us and the surface dwellers which has lasted for hundreds of years has been broken,"--

"Everyone that knew of this agreement has died out," Andrea said. "Humans don't live as long as Ents."

"What is this agreement that you speak of?" Remus asked. "And what is its purpose?"

--"The surface air is poisonous to Ent-kind. We leave the surface people alone and they leave us alone. This is the balance that exists between the underground world and the top."--

"Would it be acceptable to you if we closed off the entrance and never bothered you again?" Remus asked.

--"If you leave and make sure no one else ever comes back then I will make the quakes stop."--

"They are extremely weak against fire," Andrea whispered. "We can destroy them and have this black water to ourselves. Don't you want to be free of Duke Sylvanus and his coal?"

"I've seen this movie play out before," Remus said. "I'm not willing to endanger an entire ecosystem of Ent-people in order to gain access to their oil. Some things are worth more than my immediate interests."

"Like what?" Andrea asked.

"Like people's lives."

Together, Andrea and Remus covered the seal and created walls as well as traps to prevent anyone from gaining access to the subterranean world. They journeyed back to Dauru and went to see Duke Balwan before leaving for the Midlands.

"Did you find the ancient spirits?" Duke Balwan's advisor asked.

"No ancient spirits but there are some very old monsters that prefer to be left alone," Andrea said.

"How can I ever repay you for what you did today?" the Duke asked.

"No need, it was probably one of our explorers that disturbed the dwelling of the Ent-people," Remus said.

"Very well," Duke Balwan said. "Please do one more thing for me. Give this letter to my daughter when you get back to the Midlands. Tell her I miss her."

"How will I find her?" Remus asked.

"She will find you."

Remus took the letter before leaving to board a train back to Autumnshade.

"What a waste of time," Remus said as the train began to move.

"I'm just wondering, who is his daughter?" Andrea asked.

"I don't know, the letter just has an Oldtown address," Remus replied.

"Shouldn't we open it and see what it says?" Andrea asked.

"That's a crime," Remus said. "Even if it wasn't, its wrong."

"Are you telling me that you're not tempted to see what's in it?"

"I am but I won't do it," Remus replied.

"You have a lot of rules that you follow, don't you?" Andrea asked. "Where I'm from, we are thought to take whatever we want and always fulfil our desires."

"And where is that, Lilith?" Remus said to Andrea.

At the mention of her name, black horns appeared on both sides of her head. She frantically recited an incarnation to make them go back.

"You shouldn't say my name out loud," Andrea said.

After arriving at Autumnshade, Remus sat in his office trying to figure out another solution to his energy dependence on Duke Sylvanus when the door to his office opened but there was no one in the doorway and then it swung closed.

"Why are you here, Rhaeya?" Remus asked. "We can go another round if you want."

The black-haired fiancee to King Belsarius undid her invisibility and stood in front of him.

"I'm not here for conflict," she said. "My father said that you have a letter for me."

Remus stopped writing and looked her in the eyes as the realisation dawned on him. He then handed her the letter.

"Close your eyes or look away," she said as she opened the letter.

Remus reluctantly obeyed as a flash of light nearly blinded him.

"What was that?" Remus asked.

"A safety precaution in case anyone tried to read the letter," she said.

Remus was suddenly glad that he stopped Andrea from opening it.

"My father wants me to enlist your help in my secret mission," she said.

"Tell me all about it," Remus answered.