“Would anyone like to offer their input before we move on to the last topic of the day?”

Lysias looked around the table from where he stood, waiting for anyone to speak up or to show signs that there was something of note that they wished to discuss further. Most of them however were ready for this meeting to end so that they could move on and seek out better things to occupy their time with.

The expeditionary leader couldn’t help but be disappointed as he let out a defeated sigh, fully knowing that he sympathized with them in the small group’s wishes of seeing the end to this meeting. For the past several years now, their meetings had devolved into little more than a glorified headcount with very little of anything to discuss beyond the latest tale of conquest from the more sexually adventurous men amongst them.

“Very well then. Astrosius, go ahead and offer up your latest report.”

Upon being given the permission for the go ahead, Astrosius stood from his seat as he covered his mouth and cleared out his throat. There were several loose sheets of paper in front of the man, but he showed little interest in their contents.

Lysias had always been under the impression that the expeditions divinity expert was the type of man who made excellent use of his notes when putting together his minutes for their meetings, but had little use for them outside of vague remembrances of what he needed to say next or whatever questions he wished to put together in his head before bringing them to the attention to the handful of men around him.

“Thank you, Lysias.” Astrosius began as he examined those around him. A few of the men rolled their eyes, but most kept to themselves in terms of showing their contempt for someone who was well known for going over his allotted time.

Lysias knew that this wasn’t because of their distaste for the man who was now speaking on the origins of the expedition’s existence, but because of their inability to no longer stomach being part of such a pointless endeavor in such a faraway land.

Just about everyone was ready to blow caution to the wind and return home without so much as a slither of their original mission having been accomplished.

“-And in all honesty, I’m at a complete loss as for what else there is for me to investigate.”

The admission of defeat from such a bullheaded and methodical man had forced the expeditionary leader’s attention to return towards the present where he could next hear more than a healthy amount of excited mumbling from those around him.

If such a stubborn man such as Astrosius was able to blatantly put forth his admission of defeat, then most of the experts within the expedition would surely be able to go home without having to resort to some form of mutiny.

“Is this it, then?” One of the more vocal men within the room called out, already halfway out of his seat before most likely heading to his room to pack his things. “Are we finally done with having to bore ourselves in chasing whatever ghost story that the locals had conspired to think up nearly a decade ago? Than can I finally return home and see my wives and children?”

“Not that he ever missed them, right Thaddeus?” A man by the name of Isomodius quietly whispered to the man in question. This caused the man in question to quietly snicker as he lightly nudged towards his compatriot. “Pretty sure he’s going to be leaving behind more than his share of kids here.”

“Hey,” Thaddeus chuckled to his friend as he attempted to hide his smiling features, failing spectacularly to do so as his shoulders began to tremble with delight. “Don’t go poking fun at the man for exploring the bedsheets of the locals. Those might be your kids for all we know.”

Lysias rolled his eyes as the two men continued to their playful banter, fully aware of who had and hadn’t taken part in the forbidden succor of the local women.

“I wouldn’t go quite that far just yet.” Astrosius explained, forcing an audible array of vocal frustrations to echo throughout the conference room from most of those present today. The researcher waited for most of the noise to die down before raising his voice and offering up the explanation for the reasoning behind his choice of words.

“While it’s true that I believe the initial theory that the weapon’s origin was of a divine origin to be incorrect, that doesn’t account for the fact that there was a power involved here that wished for us to believe this to be the case.” Astrosius expounded further upon while simultaneously giving the briefest of refreshers as to why the expedition had been gathered here in the first place. “Despite the plentiful amount of eyewitness evidence that showcases the weapon’s original wielder to have been caught praying for a solution to her relationship woes. The evidence left behind by the blade now appears to have disproved any of the initial theories that the Gods appeared to have taken an interest in seeing retribution stricken upon the body of the unfortunate victim.”

“There’s a but in there, and I don’t like it.” Another member of the expedition proclaimed.

“That’s quite right, Lukos.” The divinity expert started off as a light hearted chuckle escaped from his smiling lips. “Additionally, I can see why Taog had been of the initial belief that the runes upon the blade were of the origins of an elvish deity. Sickly runes that forced one’s eyes to look away, an ominous aura that made one’s stomach churn, and frequent nightmares after having only barely seen the weapon unsheathed from its scabbard. These are all telltale signs of something having been forged under the guidance of none other than Phonostikais, the patron god of bloodied death and vengeful murder.”

There was a brief pause as Astrosius readied himself for what he was about to say next. Yet it came as a shock to all of those within the room when the elven researcher threw back his head in maniacal laughter, looking to one another with clear evidence of concern for the usually composed man as they listened to him stumble over his words as if he had suddenly turned into a madman on the very precipice of a murderous rampage.

“For the past several years I’ve been at my wits end as I’ve poured over my notes time and time again. Where I’ve spoken with the eyewitnesses on so many occasions where it’s come to the point where I already know their answers before the questions had fully formed in the back of my mind. All in some vain hope of discovering something that they may have misremembered or that I might have missed.” Astrosius took in a deep breath as he leaned over the table in front of him, attempting to calm himself while planting a hand over the side of his face just as he caught himself from falling on top of the table.

As those closest to the raving lunatic began to shuffle their seats away from the madman, Astrosius continued to pour his thoughts out of his trembling throat, desperate for his eyes to see the light of day after having finally discovered the liberating truth.

“Yet it was only just recently that I finally discovered the reality of what I was finally searching for after all of these years. A dream within a dream, it had felt like but one that could only be described as another reality that goes beyond any form of comprehension.”

“Spit it out, you lunatic.” Lysias called out as he sat himself upon a nearby windowsill, exhausted by what was unfolding before his very eyes. “Either get it over with and let us be on our way, or go outside and catch some of that cold air in your lungs to calm yourself.”

Astrosius looked towards the expedition’s leader and smiled, clutching at his right side as his bout of insanity had finally caught up to him and winded the reserves of energy right out of him. With one final breath of air, the once hysterical man regained his composure and set about in revealing the latest and most crucial discovery of his findings.

“The bottom line here is that the knife had been created with trickery of the highest order in mind. Not just any sort of trickery where one would suspect a rival god to impede the efforts of another, mind you, but instead the sort that could only be done by the machinations of the Fey. In particular, I believe that the weapon was forged within the courts of the Dark Fae.”

There was the briefest of pauses before the room exploded into anarchy as all manners of slander and accusations of Astrosius’s insanity were hurled towards the now laughing lunatic.

It had taken a long time for those within the conference room to calm themselves and settle back down. Now the sun was beginning to wane and dip beneath the city’s horizon, casting an eerily orange glow over the once calm blue sky as it did so.

Of the handful of attendees that had originally attended the meeting, there were only but a meager few who had remained behind to converse amongst themselves and discuss the varying matters outside of the expedition’s duties that had caught their attention in one way or another.

And as he sat upon the windowsill that overlooked the embassy’s gated entry and the nearly vacant street that led towards the human kingdom’s newly established magical academy, Lysias couldn’t help but notice that none of the men came close to approaching the topic of Astrosius and his mad ramblings.

All but one, it seemed.

“Lysias,” Came the gruff and hollow voice of Prince Nikolaos as he slowly limped his way towards the expeditionary leader.

Lysias shifted his gaze from the outside world towards the crippled elven prince, his eyes casting a calculative glace as he nodded to the man in greetings. “Prince Nikolaos, what a surprise to see you by my side.”

Prince Nikolaos frowned at those words, but the expeditionary leader gave little care about the man’s feelings towards his jests as he flashed a playful smile.

Ever since the expedition’s founding, and even as far back as when there were but mere whispers of assembling such an expedition, the two men had built a hardy bond with one another. The bond that the two men shared with one another had been a natural one that had been built out of both necessity and personal reasons.

Prince Nikolaos had been said to have been a rising star amongst the High Elven royal family’s Eternal Court as well as the aristocratic high society of the wider elven nobility and its many competitive bachelorettes. Yet the High Elven prince, who had been well renowned for his handsome features, had become a shallow shadow of his former self upon his return from the allied city-states collectively known as The Gates.

It was there, during the historic siege of one of these city-states that the elven prince had met with a fateful encounter with the expedition’s primary objective: Aurelius Dreadblade, or otherwise known to the wider world of both elves and men as Ruins’ Herald.

The High Elven prince had claimed that he had only heard of whispers about Prince Aurelius’ cruelty and the curse that had been casted upon the island of Minos after the slaying of its beautiful ruler, but he had never once suspected that he would cross swords with the infamous prince during the apocalyptic siege of Argonyl, the main fortress city of the collective chain of allied city-states.

The Ruins’ Herald had been leading raids deep behind the city’s massive, supposedly impenetrable walls and Prince Nikolaos had sought to defeat him during one of these nightmarish midnight raids.

The duel between the two elven prince’s couldn’t have gone any worse for the High Elven prince and he had to be dragged away, cursing the Dark Elf’s heritage after having lost one of his arms as well as the permanent crippling of his left leg.

It wouldn’t be long after that fateful night that the city fell and the Dark Elven prince disappeared into the hellish and ever-shifting landscape of the far north, and Prince Nikolaos had been captured by the victorious army of Ogres where he was subjected to several weeks of torture of the cruelest order.

It wouldn’t be until a relief army had been reassembled and successfully driven off the Ogres that the now horrifically maimed and deranged Nikolaos was able to return to the elven homeland.

His desire to be a part of the expedition was a natural one, and Lysias had seen his vow of vengeance towards his Dark Elven counterpart as a central point in his plans for the expedition’s objectives.

‘One must be patient, however.’ Lysias thought to himself as he gazed over the elven prince’s shoulders, watching as the last of the remaining holdouts began to file out of the room.

“I noticed that you didn’t seem all that interested in the ensuing chaos, but I couldn’t help but be curious.” The mangled elven prince asked of his superior as his words came in with a harsh, slurred tone. “What are your thoughts on Astrosius’ theory, with the Fey having involved themselves in the political affairs of this kingdom?”

Lysias gave the once handsome royalty a gentle smile, something that the mangled and hideously scarred prince could no longer do after having most of his face crushed and torn apart by his greedy torturers.

“It’s an interesting one, that’s for sure.” Lysias answered as he watched his compatriot reach into the inside of his shirt and pull out a heavily dented and rusty metallic flask. The elven prince offered up the contents within, but the expeditionary leader pushed it away.

There were rumors that Prince Nikolaos had taken to heavy drinking, but Lysias had a strange suspicion as to what was actually contained within that worn out and near-useless piece of metal within the elven prince’s scarred hand.

Lysias couldn’t help but smile as he watched the man throw his head back and drain the flask of the entirety of its contents.

“It certainly has some merit to it, but such a thing has very little to do with the matters of our little hunt. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Prince Nikolaos gave the expeditionary leader a harsh stare, his already hideous features twisting themselves even further into a nightmare-inducing amalgamation as he pocketed the now emptied flash.

“Nothing to do with us?” The prince had let out in a fierce growl as he clenched his fist, shaking with rage at what he had just heard. “The way that I see it. No matter where in the world one may be, the Fey are the Fey and their plots and schemes are always somehow interconnected with one another. You’ve heard about that bastard’s origins, right? Where it’s been said that he had received the blessing of the Fey while he was still in his mother’s womb?”

“The whims of the Fey and their various machinations are anything but observable to our mortal eyes.” Lysias proclaimed, carefully watching where the prince’s fist as it struggled to remain at his side. Not only had the elven prince gained a new reputation for his heavy drinking, but his newfound rage as well. There were many within the expedition that kept far enough away from him because of his near-constant desire for fighting those who had been perceived as having upset the once calm and warm hearted elven prince. “What the Fey choose to do in one corner of the world has nothing to do with whatever interests they hold in another. This world can often times be far more vast and mysterious than we are often led to believe.”

“Yet somehow,” Prince Nikolaos clenched and bared his teeth towards Lysias, what little teeth that remained that is, as a fierce and throaty snarl escaped from deep within his core. “You are under the impression that our prey is somewhere within this backwater region of the world. A gut feeling as you have called it, if I am to remember correctly.”

This forced a light chuckle to escape from Lysias as he reached out and placed a calming hand over the prince’s trembling shoulder, turning his head to look out the window as slivers of movement from somewhere outside had managed to catch his attention.

What Prince Nikolaos had said was true. Lysias had chosen the kingdom of Ranislava as the primary epicenter of their search for reasons that had been best left alone as a gut feeling. Such reasons for having made such a call had been left unanswered for a multitude of reasons, but there was one important piece of information that he would never divulge.

His eyes flickered over towards the embassy’s gate where he managed to catch sight of two figures as they stood outside of its closed metal bars. From their individual heights and distant frames, Lysias could easily tell that the two mysterious figures were that of an adult and a young child.

At first, it was hard for the expeditionary leader to tell the identities of the two figures, but as the smaller individual was lifted over the gate and gently placed onto the other side, Lysias was able to recognize the smallest of the two as none other than Chara, Nikais’ younger sister.

‘She must’ve gone off on her own after arguing with her brother again,’ Lysias chuckled to himself as he leaned over the windowsill, careful not to reveal himself from behind the partially closed curtains. ‘But who is her friend?’

Lysias watched as the young elven child and her mysterious friend waved their goodbyes before the platinum haired girl quickly made her way to the other side of the building, fully aware that her brother was most likely looking for her at this very moment.

The mysterious figure waited as he watched the young girl rush over towards the building, twitching his head to the side as if there had been someone else along with him.

Even as far away as he was, Lysias was able to make out the brilliant locks of golden hair that cascaded down the figures chest. The shimmering strands of hair bounced themselves against the cold evening air as the figure turned to walk away, hastily twitching his head to the other side as he stepped outside of Lysias’ sight.

A cruel, playful smile crept over Lysias’ features, fully aware of who the mysterious figure was.

‘To think that you really were living in such a misbegotten realm,’ Lysias thought to himself as he turned around and faced Nikolaos, his cruel smile never once wavering as he simply gave the elven prince a gentle pat on the shoulder.

“Go ahead and tell Nikais that his sister has returned from her little journey around the city.”

Prince Nikolaos gave him an inquisitive look, but remained quiet as he nodded his head and departed to find the younger girl’s brother.

All that Lysias had to do now was to wait for the golden haired elven prince to give him the perfect excuse he needed to begin the next phase of his plan.