A monstrous creature treads into the forest, heavy weighted steps made the ground groan with every leaden trod. They were slow, unsteady steps. The creature appeared exhausted and dazed, it neared where the group were hiding. The overwhelming stench of blood and rot filled their senses.
Hammy whimpered softly and backed away from the tree. Khio had her hands full trying to soothe Hammy and keep her eye on the creature. She undoubtedly had a good sense of a creature and their innate temperament, this information would help her decide on the method she needed to tame them. For some reason, this creature had no such feeling. It felt hollow, deathly and glum. The form of its body had been misshapen and ragged.
"It's the same kind of creature as Hammy..." Khio whispered to the group. They struggled to see the resemblance but trusted Khio's words.
Despite its corrupted body it still pertained to basic anatomy. They surmised it to be infected with the very plague they heard about hours ago. Hearing the effects of the plague and seeing it first hand felt like worlds apart. The fear the knight had shown when inspecting the horses finally made sense.
The creature's breaths were harsh and shallow, it bled with every step before finally succumbing. A weak howl escaped its mouth and it toppled to the ground. A final cry of death and pain before it stilled and became listless. The group held their breath and waited, making absolutely sure it had passed before they deemed it safe.
Hammy darted towards the creature's corpse, Khio grabbed him by the scruff and pulled him back. None of them were certain how the plague was spread, she didn't want to risk Hammy coming into contact. Rhetta carefully approached the corpse, even in the darkness she could see its injuries, the arrows that protruded from its flesh and the scarring of old wounds. The newer wounds had festered with infection, and yet the creature persisted.
"It should have died long ago..." Rhetta commented with a saddened voice.
"Going through a forest filled with infected beasts will be a great risk to us." Khio chimed in, it felt as if she was stating the obvious. But it had to be said.
"We need to get to Legacy but every path is a dangerous one."
"I think I can help get us there a bit quicker." Kramoris states adding a small glimmer of hope to the mess.
"We should explore all the potential options we have." Rhetta suggests before opting for a so-called 'easy' route. Rhetta fiddles with her sleeve while thinking, and invites Kramoris to share his idea in its entirety. Based on what Florian had divulged to the group about Kramoris, it might be something akin to smuggling.
She is curious as to what magic trick he had up his sleeve. Furthermore, having their faces known to the public and being made into enemies greatly constricted their movements. Not to mention having the entire empire on the hunt for them.
She pulls out the map, explaining the various routes they had been considering to travel. Kramoris listened intently, the various routes along with the difficulties they would face along the way. He nodded with the assurance that his idea was the most viable and ironically the safest.
"My idea is...We take a carriage." Kramoris stated confidently and even with an audible elation to his voice.
The three look at him with utter disbelief at the suggestion. Especially after listening to a lengthy explanation of all the backward means and ways they had to travel for the very reason of being unable to take a generic route.
"Wow! What a great idea, Rhetta why couldn't you think of that? Taking a leisurely carriage ride all the way to Legacy." Khio raises her voice to put heavy emphasis on the sarcasm. "Florian, what's that really popular bakery? We should stop, have a snack and mingle with everyone, maybe even invite the rest of our ol' buddies from the knights to join us while we are at it!" Khio strides over and jabs her finger into his forehead. Kramoris grimaced at the action and the open disparaging of his idea.
"Obviously I am not suggesting you go as passengers." Kramoris mumbles rubbing his forehead, Khio felt the slightest twinge of guilt. Her brash nature usually got the better of her.
"If not passengers then what?" Florian inquired, not understanding what he had meant by his words.
Kramoris smiles under his hood. "Cargo"
Rhetta's brow furrows, she has no idea how he intended on treating them like cargo. Kramoris was not oblivious to the doubt and the scepticism the group felt towards his plan. In fact it was on full display and understandably so.
"We have made a deal that I fully intend to uphold. We are essentially all strangers to one another. Forced into positions of vulnerability where we need to trust each other." His voice is laced with solemnity. "Whether you want to accept that fact or not is up to you. I truly intend to help, regardless of how you feel about me. Put it aside and treat this as business."
"Very well I'll leave this up to you then." Rhetta speaks with complacency.
"Fine. What do we need and where are we going?" Khio grumbles
Kramoris reaches for the map and points out to the city of Cagrown.
Cagrown is famed as a large port city only second in size to the capital. It borders the Irentsi empire and contains a vast number of people seeking work or unique items that can only be found through the extensive network of merchants that frequent the city.
Aside from the size and prosperity it is known for its trade and has declared itself to be neutral even against the opposition of the empire. Allowing trade from Irentsi. One of the most defining features of Cagrown is the city itself, all the buildings shine brilliantly under the sun and can be seen from a far distance.
Starstone or the more common term; magic ore, is a mineral that had been discovered in the caverns of the eastern sea. It was found in various depths and proven to be incredibly easy to mine at the shallower caverns, and equally durable.
The history of Cagrown reminiscences of a large empty land, completely untouched save for a few small informal buildings meant as a makeshift rest stop. The discovery of this mineral contributed greatly. To save on building expenses and with lack of manpower the mineral proved a godsend. The first building was established, a small post office to receive and send letters from the ships passing by. This post office was aptly named the Cagrown Letterbox. The name was chosen after the woman who not only helped to mine the ore, build the building and ran it with great efficiency. A woman named Adela Cagrown, a close friend and confidante to the third emperor who aimed to develop more land within the open territory for the prosperity of the empire.
Magic ore had earned its name not from any magical property it possessed but rather its ability to change based on light, giving it an appearance like magic. Under the sunlight, the mineral reflects pure white like a fine marble. At night its appearance would shift into a beautiful blue hue comparable to gems like sapphire or tanzanite.
Its sensitivity to reflecting light adds an idyllic scene at night-time. The lights of the city reflect off the magic ore and makes it appear as if the mineral itself is filled with stars. In fact, magic ore is the very reason the capital city earned its epithet 'City of Starlight.' A few generations back, the emperor at the time had been so entranced by the mystery of magic ore that he issued the order to build the entire imperial palace from it. It started with the imperial palace and later the entire city capital city. He was so in awe of Cagrown that he wished to imitate it, which turned into the obsession of rivalling and bettering his capital city.
Due to the use of magic lamps throughout the city there was never a moment when the streets were dark. The alleys and tucked away corners were exceptions. The buildings always reflected and portrayed a mirage of starlight that anyone could reach out and touch.
The group sighs after hearing Kramoris talking about Cagrown. The very idea was ludicrous. Khio turned her attention to calming down a riled Hammy who also seemed to be against the idea of travelling to Cagrown. Florian can outright admit she is directionally challenged, however in this case, even she knew that Cagrown was the polar opposite of where they needed to be.
"Cagrown currently has a very heavy military presence due to the Irentsi empire at the moment." Rhetta notes the current state of Cagrown.
"The whole war thing has been thrown around in the mouths of all those old codgers." Khio raved, "They throw the pressures of war around so easily when they aren't even the ones fighting. Wouldn't surprise me if the Irentsi empire was right..."
"Khio! We aren't aware of who could have eyes and ears on us right now. They already tried to kill us for knowing all of this, we should hold our tongue on the matter." Rhetta adherently warned.
Florian looks at Khio "What do you mean the Irentsi empire could be right?"
"Khio-" Rhetta spoke and promptly cut off.
"The first prince of the Irentsi empire went missing and they suspect Vaurus has something to do with it."
"Ah..." Florian let out a shortened breath understanding the situation. She couldn't comprehend what Kramoris was thinking with the suggestion though the same was true in her case. Khio, Rhetta and Kramoris all agreed to follow her. It was all to achieve their own purposes but they are blind to the true risks. Florian knew more than she had told. "It's urgent that we get to Legacy and find everyone. I don't think we will have time to go all the way to Cagrown."
"See, even the directionally challenged one is against this!"
"Hey...!" Florian searched for the words to refute Khio and painfully had to concede to Khio's statement.
Kramoris smirked and laughed at the argumentative conversation. He had listened to their protests and rebukes, little did they know, they had yet to see what he held up his sleeve. His laugh turns into something boisterous and triumphant. From his sleeve he pulls a tightly bound scroll.
He glances to see the shocked, amazed and praising expressions of the group. He is disappointed to be graced with boredom. He expected them to be enticed, impressed even! But no, they just saw him as a man that probably gambled one too many times with such a graceful draw of his ace.
His laugh is cut off by the less than joyful expressions. His smirk still rested on his lips, he knew that when they realized what exactly he was holding would change everything. Determined to deliver a wow factor, a total shock to his companions, Kramoris unwound the scroll and revealed its contents.