**Between Two Souls, Chapter 11**
The sound of footsteps echoed from a palace corridor. Several men appeared, walking together toward the main courtyard of the kingdom, discussing something rather important. As they reached outside, they were greeted by guards prepared to protect the envoy of Arestiana.
"General Phobos, come here," called the king.
"Yes, Your Majesty?" Phobos bowed in respect.
"Give these sheets of questions to Geertruide Hermann, our envoy."
"As you wish, Your Majesty." Phobos took the sheets of paper with both hands.
Stoick stepped forward toward the king. "Your Majesty, are you sure you want to send Lady Geertruide as our envoy? That woman is quite arrogant. I'm afraid it might worsen this conflict."
"Calm down, Stoick. That woman is hard to pressure and a bit sly in negotiations. Besides, your plan has already failed, so now you'll follow mine."
"Are you sure? Your plan sounds dreadful."
King Arthur smiled a little. "Do you have a better plan?"
The envoy group bowed in farewell, then departed from the palace courtyard. King Arthur and Stoick then went inside.
"No, but have you considered the casualties from this plan of yours? And Geertruide is a rather controversial woman. Especially with the route to the Roum Republic not yet cleared of rebel elf guerrillas," Stoick continued the discussion inside the palace.
"I've provided Geertruide with extra protection, and I'm confident the Kingdom of Elverind will assist as well. Just like the rebels I've crushed before, they're nothing. Stoick, I am confident in my plan. Every struggle requires sacrifice. Carlene is just a pawn I've ordered to move forward, so don't concern yourself too much with that woman."
Hearing this, Stoick could only remain silent and hope Arthur's plan would succeed.
"By the way, have you seen my son Adrien?"
"Oh, him. The Prince was last seen around the city. He went into the slums and hasn't been seen since. He was with Erika and Vino."
"That boy certainly has unique connections. Stoick, prepare breakfast and summon him to the palace! I want to speak with him."
"As you wish, Your Majesty."
Stoick turned, leaving the king, and quickly set out to carry out the king's order.
**".........."**
The sound of horse hooves echoed as they headed out of the city. Adrien, Erika, and Vino rode swiftly toward the headquarters of the Knights of St. Ares to request assistance. Although located outside the city, their headquarters wasn't far from Adrestia. They briefly spotted the envoy group from Arestiana.
Erika tried to see who Arestiana had sent. She was surprised to realize it was Geertruide.
Riding beside Erika, Adrien grew curious and asked,
"Erika, who did you see?"
"Geertruide. Either they're crazy, or someone forced that woman to be Arestiana's envoy."
"I've heard Geertruide is quite a controversial woman. What do you know about her?"
"Geertruide, a woman whose ambition surpasses even Chiara Celje's. She makes men bow down at her feet. She seems formidable, but, well, I don't like her."
"Why?"
"She once flirted with me excessively. Very forcefully. And I despise her for it. I even wish her head would be displayed on a traitor's pike! She nearly harmed Vino as well."
Adrien glanced back at Vino. "Is that true, Vino?"
Vino nodded. "Terrible, she's a very terrible woman."
"Oh. Uhhh, maybe I won't bring her up again."
"Yes, that would be best. It's one of the worst of many bad experiences I've had."
"Alright then, let's hurry our horses. Those Werewolves need to be eliminated immediately. Hyaahh!"
The three of them sped up their horses, heading quickly toward the Knights of St. Ares headquarters.
.........
The three arrived at the knights' headquarters. However, the place looked quiet, with only a few knights present. Some knights approached Adrien, bowing respectfully.
"Prince Adrien, it's been a while since your last visit. How can we assist you?"
"Of course. I see this place is quiet; are you all out hunting Werewolves?"
"Yes, Prince. We've spread out to various locations. I'm sorry, but I may not be able to assist you at the moment."
"What? Can't you spare a few knights to take down the Werewolf nest?"
The knight stroked his chin, thinking. "Well, it sounds like quite a difficult mission. Do you know where the nest is?"
Adrien pulled out the map he'd received from The Order. The knight examined it and realized the location was in extremely rugged terrain.
"A cave on the edge of a cliff? Goodness, that's very dangerous. But if it could take out many of those beasts, this mission would be well worth it."
"So, what do you think?" Adrien asked.
"Hmm… We could assist you with a few of our knights here. Though it might not be enough, given how savage the Werewolves have been lately. Far more brutal than before. We also can't leave this headquarters entirely unguarded. It'll take time to summon the rest of our members."
Erika stepped forward and asked, "More brutal? So, have your elite knights fallen as well?"
"Yes, they've outmatched us and adapt quickly. We have to constantly strategize to counter them. Unfortunately, we were trained to fight humans, not monsters."
Hearing this, Erika looked disappointed, but Adrien quickly thought of another solution.
"Hmmm, alright then. Do you still have any carrier pigeons here?"
"Of course, Prince. Merry, Queen Sophie's pigeon, is still here."
"Great."
Adrien motioned for the others to follow him to the back courtyard of the headquarters, passing a few knights who bowed respectfully. The three of them walked through the hallway until they reached the training courtyard in the back.
Adrien spotted Merry pecking at some seeds that had just been scattered for her.
"Merry! There you are! Sweet girl, I need your help!"
Adrien approached, then lifted Merry gently with both hands. He placed her on his shoulder, then searched for a place to write a letter.
"Who are you writing to?" Erika peeked over Adrien's shoulder.
"I'm asking for help from Blake's orphanage. Deimos, and… your brother Eric's gang."
"Huh? My brother's gang? Why?"
"I need more people to set up a checkpoint for when we escape later, to hold off the Werewolf attack. Also, the explosives from your brother's gang will be very useful for destroying their nest."
"Oh, that makes sense. So Eric will join us and bring those explosives along."
"Yes, the plan is for you and me to place the explosives, Eric will set the fuse, and then Vino will detonate them. After that, we'll make our escape."
Erika nodded, understanding Adrien's plan. She took a moment to look around, and approached one of the knights nearby.
"Excuse me, Sir Knight..."
"Lady Erika."
They both bowed respectfully.
"May I ask you something?"
"Of course, my lady, I would be happy to assist."
"Who leads this knight order?"
"Oh, that would be Lord…"
..........
Meanwhile, Adrien finished writing his letter.
"Finally done. Now to attach this to Merry."
Vino, curious, asked Adrien, "So, who are you sending the letter to first?"
"To Eric, then he'll pass it on to Blake. We need his explosives first."
Adrien tossed Merry into the air. "Fly, Merry! Deliver my letter!"
Adrien turned around and noticed Erika standing in thought. He walked over to her.
"Erika? What are you thinking about?"
"This Order… it's currently led by a temporary leader."
"You mean, the one in charge isn't the true leader?"
"Yes, the true leader is Vernus."
"Vernus? The general who retired two years ago? He was my mentor back then."
"Yes, he's also the master of The Ancestor Order who took an early retirement. It seems he's secretly leading this Order. I'll visit him later. But for now, let's go eliminate those Werewolves!"
"Wait, really? You trained under him too? Wow, no wonder you're so skilled."
"Yes. Actually, I… well… never mind, let's go."
"Vino, let's… huh? Vino?"
Adrien and Erika turned around, searching for Vino. The knight who had been assisting Adrien approached them.
"Prince, are you looking for your elf wife? She went down to the lab below the tower."
"Thank you."
The two of them headed toward the tower's stairs and descended. They found Vino working on something in the lab. As they made their way down the steps, Erika hesitantly asked Adrien a question.
"Um, Adrien..."
"Yes?"
"Vino cares about you deeply. She really admires you."
"Yes, I can see that."
"No, I mean… You're not planning to divorce her, are you?"
"No, of course not."
"Oh, okay, haha."
They reached the bottom and found Vino there.
"Vino? We need to leave now."
Vino was packing the results of her experiment into her satchel.
"What are you making?" Adrien asked.
"Uhhh, I haven't named it yet. I'll show you later; it'll be really useful."
"Alright, let's go. Eric should be on his way."
.........…
The three of them, along with several knights, set out for the Werewolf nest marked on the map. They headed north, passing through forests and swamps, getting closer to the high cliffs of the northern shore. As planned, they met Eric along the way, carrying his explosives. Eric sat atop a cart loaded with barrels of his explosives.
Seeing them from afar, Eric quickly resumed steering his horse-drawn cart and sped toward their destination. The three of them matched his pace, riding alongside the cart.
"What an unexpected request, Prince. I hope you've prepared payment for these explosive materials," Eric said with a smirk.
Erika shot him a sharp look, almost as if to threaten.
"Ahaha… okay, maybe… maybe this time it's free," he laughed nervously.
Adrien, noticing the situation, responded, "Oh, don't worry. I'll be generous with anyone who helps me."
"So, Prince, how are you so sure about this plan? Aren't the Werewolves especially active at night?"
"Exactly. Since they're most active at night, they'll leave their nest to hunt. We can slip in easily. Although I can't promise it'll go completely smoothly."
"Yeah, I see you've got a backup plan if things go south. Like those knights behind you," Eric noted.
They all urged their horses northward as the sun set, hoping to end the threat of these deadly beasts.
......To Be Continued......