“I don’t want to drag this out much longer than I have to,” I continued. “Archon Simeon absolved us of all offenses and invited us to return to Elysia.”

A booing started at the mention of the archon’s name and got exponentially louder as I finished my last sentence. Not wanting this to take a turn for the worse, I raised my hands and waved them in an effort to quiet the crowd.

“I understand how most of you feel and you know I feel the same way,” I said, once the noise had subsided. “But there may be some of us who would like to return to Elysia to see family or friends who were not in Nara during the liturgy and are still alive. Maybe some of us want to return to their homes and farm the land. There could be many reasons to return.”

I heard a low murmur go around the hall. I noticed Kard looking at me with a smile on his lips and understood I had to work harder in order to make sure everyone’s opinion was expressed and respected.

“I will not let mob mentality get the better of us,” I said, my voice now sharper and commanding. “We are not the mindless masses pushed around by the Order’s doctrines. If people want to leave the tower, temporarily or forever, they should be allowed to and they should be farewelled with a feast and not with pouts.”

I noticed more and more people nodding in agreement as I continued and I knew I was on the right track to persuade them that there was nothing wrong with wanting to return to Elysia, or even just leave the tower and go wherever else they wanted for that reason.

“There is no need for anything to be done just now,” I said finally, “and you don’t need to take a decision this minute. As far as I know, this is an open invitation and you can move in and out of Elysia in any way you like. However you should remember that you are now considered citizen merchants of Leka An and thus not bound to many of the laws governing Elysia. You do not have to report to or obey the Holy Order. Knowing what we know about them, I don’t think you should trust them either. I’m not here to dissuade you from going back to Elysia though. This is a decision you should make for yourself. And if you decide to leave, know this. You will be missed, and your room here will be waiting for you, as will we.”

This sat better with everyone and it was evident that should people opt to leave the tower, they would not have to worry about hard feelings. And so, I decided to continue with the next big issue on our agenda.

“I think you also heard the discussions we had on our way back from the palace,” I said, awkwardly scratching the back of my head as most of the people I could see were smiling. “Many of you have already offered to join me, Krysha, and Kard in our quest to locate Myriam and Kai.”

A loud “yeah” echoed through the halls of the ground floor as mugs were raised in the face of a new adventure. I really hated to turn them down, but there was simply no better way to do it than come right out and say it.

“We thought about what would be the best course and party size on this quest,” I continued, “and I’m sorry to say it, but this is not a journey we can take as a large group.”

Immediately, some complaints were voiced but they were quick to die out as I continued speaking.

“We have no idea where it might take us,” I said in an apologetic tone, “and the tower, along with its people, is flourishing here in Leka An. I know many of you are thirsty for a new adventure, but this is not the right time nor the right mission. A big party would raise suspicions. That’s something we can’t afford if we are ever to locate Myriam and Kai without alerting anyone that wants to know their whereabouts. There are Elysian spies who walk this land.”

I was expecting a sign of agreement or at least silent approval, but instead all I could garner were silent stares. I wasn’t sure if I hadn’t been understood or if they were really angry at me.

“This doesn’t mean we won’t be needing your help, of course,” Kard jumped in as he saw the situation was getting a little too much for me to handle. “We’re going to be in constant communication, since Zakara is a center of information. We will need to set up a network of intelligence agents if you will,” he continued. “I bet anyone who returns to Elysia wouldn’t have a problem with relaying some of what is happening over there back to the tower. And our people here will trade intel with merchants who have business relations with other countries. All of this information inflow will need to be fed to us while we are traveling.”

I noticed many of the faces which were looking stern minutes ago, were now becoming actively invested in what Kard was saying and some of the people in the crowd were nodding enthusiastically.

“This information will be of the utmost importance to us…” I jumped back in. “…as we have the advantage of being welcomed by people in Elysia and Leka An. This real-time intelligence will be crucial to help us locate our moving targets.”

“We have enough communication devices to equip everyone twice and maybe even thrice over,” Krysha said, now taking up a position next to me. “Whenever someone exits the tower, be that for an hour or for a year, they should make sure they are equipped with some kind of device that allows them to talk to us here. Over the past month, Seika has modified almost all of them to operate without range limitations.”

At that very moment, I heard a murmur at the back of the tavern, close to where the entrance of the tower was.

Naturally, the people who entered were none other than Man and Seika. Krysha continued laying out her plans for how our small team would be equipped and which would be the most efficient ways of communicating but she was interrupted by Seika’s angry voice.

“They’re doing what?” she shouted, and I looked down to see her approaching the platforms we were standing on.

“Sister, I wanted to tell you—” was all I managed to say before she cast a cantrip to levitate herself up on the platform, while Man stayed on the floor in front of her.

“I’m not letting the three of you travel by yourselves,” she said, as she stood right in my face.

“We’re not going to be alone—” Kard protested, but Seika didn’t need to mutter a single word for him to stop speaking as she snapped her head toward him.

“I’m not letting you go alone,” she repeated. “I’m coming with you and that’s that.”

“Seika,” Man began, but he too stopped abruptly as she turned to face him.

They stared at each other so intently that it looked like they were speaking with their eyes. No spell was cast, of course, but anyone could see the staring contest for what it was—a fierce battle of wills between two lovers. A battle ultimately won by my sister as, after a few tense moments, Man’s expression changed back into his usual smiling one and he began anew.

“Wherever you go, I go,” he said.

“This means we are five already,” Kard said. “And this is the formation we have been using in training for months now. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”