Duke Pennel pondered for a moment, looking closely at Seth's drawings, which contained important details, almost like a picture of what had happened that day.
The Duke was amazed at the skill of the person who had created these drawings, which were good enough to facilitate any kind of investigation.
He didn't recognize the people represented by Seth, but he knew the origin of several artifacts used by those people. Not only that, but a particular symbol on one of the flying boats caught his eye.
"Senior O'Brian, I can't tell you who these people are. But there are three things in these drawings that catch my eye." He said as he looked at these details, picking out the drawings with the most things he could talk to Seth about.
"Oh?" Seth's eyes widened in interest, and for the first time in months, he came up with a not-so-frustrating answer. "What is it?"
The Duke showed Seth one of the drawings, pointing to some of the armor worn by the people who had attacked his tribe on that fateful day.
"This armor looks very much like a trademark for personal protection items from the Summoned Goods store. As the Senior may know, each blacksmith has their own personal trademark. Still, groups of blacksmiths sometimes manage to pass on techniques so that their men can forge nearly identical things. That, of course, creates distinctive brands.
That is the case with this armor. It is one of the models only sold by the Summoned Goods. So you might be able to get an answer if you go to their headquarters."
"So this Summoned Goods is behind these people?"
The Duke realized Seth had made a mistake and shook his head negatively. "No, definitely not. The Summoned Goods is a shop. Its members would never get involved in an action like the one in your drawings.
Those people are probably one of the store's many customers. So maybe you'll get more detailed answers if you go to the headquarters of the Summoned Goods. However, I must tell you there is no guarantee that this will help you.
This store is not only on the other side of the continent, but it is also enormous and has branches in many different states, including a neighboring empire to the dynasty. So it might be complicated for you to reach these people through this store."
"I understand. But it's better than nothing. Anyway, what about the other things?"
"Besides this armor, there's also this beast." He pointed to one of the drawings before pointing to another. "And this symbol."
"Beast? That animal?" Seth asked, pointing to a huge bird that had served as a mount for some of his tribe's enemies that day.
"Yes, this is a kind of beast common in the Greasy Spruce Forest in the north of the continent. If I'm not mistaken, that bird is the Maroon Giant Swallow. They are only found outside of Greasy Spruce Wood when they are searching for something or when one of their masters has ordered them to leave their natural habitat." The Duke explained, recognizing the beautiful creature in the drawing because of the bird's beak.
"What about the symbol you mentioned?" Seth kept this information in his head so he could look it up if necessary.
He knew these clues were vague and that it might take a lot of work for him and his group to make anything out of them. So he wasn't sure if he would follow them all.
The Duke answered him. "This symbol here, I don't know exactly what it represents or where it comes from. But I saw it in the dynasty's capital on one of my previous visits.
It might be interesting for you to seek information about this symbol in the capital. I have some contacts in the city, so I can try to help you have an easier journey there."
"Then I thank the Duke." Seth smiled, not so pleased as to be happy, but for the first time getting some not-so-disappointing answers.
"Stay in the city for a few days. I'll make some contacts and send some messages to the capital. When the time comes for you to leave for that place, everything will be ready for you to solve your problems there quickly."
Seth then left the Duke and went to his companions to talk about the answers he'd received this morning.
...
"Are we going to those three places?" Levi asked after listening to everything Seth had discovered.
Seth shook his head negatively. "No. We'll go to the dynasty's capital after we finish our business in Rosecoast. As for the other two places, it will depend on what we get in the capital. I don't think they'll give us the answers we're looking for."
"When do we leave for the capital?" Emery asked.
"After we take care of some business in Rosecoast," Seth replied. "We need to help the Pennel family and learn more about this world in this city. There are still many things we don't know. Talking to the Duke today, I realized we need to find an efficient way to learn the basics.
I believe the people in this place have teaching methods or even materials like books with basic information about the continent. Let's see if we can do that before we go to the capital."
The Duke had recognized two powerful organizations on the continent just by seeing a beast and armor in Seth's drawings. That made him think that he and his group could reach their goals faster if they had the same level of knowledge as the Duke.
Of course, they couldn't have the same experience as such a man, but they could get more information than they already had and improve quickly.
"All right."
Dax asked. "Are we going to that mercenary guild Kevin was talking about?"
Seth nodded positively. "Yes. We need to collect coins. In fact, I want you and Levi to try to solve the guild's most difficult missions. Atlas, Emery, and I will take care of the other local matters."
With that settled, the group split up this morning, with Levi and Dax going to the mercenary guild, the High Magister Order.
Emery and Atlas would accompany Felicity and Grace and try to get the books Seth wanted, which was easy since the noblewoman had already agreed to help them with anything.
As for Seth, he stayed behind at the Pennel estate, where he intended to help the Duke with that family's problem but also to take his time to meditate in search of the Spiritual Apogee.
He could meditate as he watched over the estate. Soon, Seth was busy looking at his own being, searching for the pinnacle of concentration.
As he did this in the Duke's training room, the energy around him didn't stir as much as it had in the forest he and his group had passed through before arriving at Lastwood.
Now Seth knew it was necessary to hide his power. He knew how to hide his meditation so that what had happened that night wouldn't happen again in Rosecoast.
Seth concentrated on his meditation, unaware that the tribal necklace around his neck glowed softly.