Chapter 31: Priestess of Sgrios [1]

All of the audiences in the public forum’s meeting room felt ripples of a light tremor. Too light to be an earthquake; some thought animals were on the loose, such as a band of elephants or hippopotamuses. Those disturbing tremors naturally drew everyone’s attention to the entrance of the room, where a strong sound grew louder. Indistinguishable footsteps all meshed together to create an inharmonious sound.

The first to step through was the seventh princess. Being the first one in naturally attracted everyone’s glued eyes. She flipped her hair and pulled back her bangs, revealing a pair that dangerously dared to bewitch anyone. In that short moment when everyone saw her eyes in all of its full glory, they had their heart effortlessly tugged. Following behind her was her entourage: her coachman, Priscilla, Pontiff, Morr, and Crol. Behind them came everyone else that waited in-line, squeezing into the room and filling any empty spaces left.

Crol followed nervously behind, thinking of ways to get the kids out of here. The seventh princess roped them along for whatever reason, but he didn’t dare ask why. She pulled them all without a single spoken word. Now, more than anything else, he wanted to keep the kids out of Hegel’s reach. Shifting eyes towards Hegel allowed him to breathe a bit; Hegel seemed to be preoccupied in a conversation with the Burgess.

Those who were well-informed in the state of Temauir’s political affair courtly bowed as the seventh princess presence graced them. Mainly the nobles and merchants showed their respect upon recognizing the seventh princess’ face, and a few adventurers showed their proper respect once they saw the nobles bowing. Shortly thereafter, the entire room except her entourage had paid their respects in one way or another -- all awaiting the words to rise.

She ascended the stairs onto the square platform, awaited her coachman to pull the chair suitably, and sat down with everyone still in a freeze frame. Once the coachman confirmed that she had taken her seat, he announced everyone to rise up. Crol quickly resumed his station next to Hegel while keeping a lock-on onto the kids.

The background noise that was silenced upon the arrival of the seventh princess exploded into a loud commotion. They couldn’t believe their eyes. To be able to see one of Temuair’s princesses had them starstruck. The nobles weren’t all too surprise by her arrival, rather the satisfaction on their faces proved otherwise.

People left standing had to endure physical contact to an uncomfortable degree. Bumping and pushing due to the excitement of the crowd had Morr’s group bullied into a corner of the room. Trying to fight against the wave was fruitless. There were too many whom tried to get a closer view to the center of the room, and the sheer size of body types had them at a disadvantage.

Morr tippy-toed to try and peer over the mountains of shoulder in front of them; Priscilla hopped up-and-down in the face of a human wall; and Pontiff looked for a pathway or an opening to a better view. Their failed attempts had them gathering on top of each other’s shoulder: Morr steeled himself at the bottom, Pontiff provided stability at the middle of the human-made tower, and Priscilla gave them feedback from the top.

Priscilla’s head swayed left and right while relaying information to the two below her. Their spontaneous action drew Crol’s unsettling eyes. They’ve been inadvertently concealed due to the sheer number of the crowd, but now they’re sticking out even more. Hegel seemed to not have notice; talks with the Burgess had him busy elsewhere. Crol hastily excused himself for a moment and disappeared into the crowd.

The seventh princess noticed an unexpected empty space about her, one she had thought be filled with the presence of the trio. A simple and brief glance was given to her coachman. With a bow, the coachman acknowledged her intentions and left the stage.

Crol reached the three fools and asked what the hell they were doing, in parental mannerisms. The more ridiculous their actions became, the more gray hairs sprung from his scalp. The seventh princess’ coachman arrived a few seconds later and invited himself into the conversation. Proceeding with his task, he asked the three if they wanted a better view, right next to the princess. Crol quickly interjected with his own opinion, but his voice battled against deaf ears. Morr humbly accepted the princess’ offer, and thanked the elderly coachman.

“No!” Crol extended his arms, holding the three of them back. “You cannot get up there, no matter what! You should know better than anyone else why. Dr. Mav told me all about it. People from that day will see you…”

The three of them quickly realized what Crol meant, and the reasons for his earlier actions became all the more clearer. Mass of ears around them made it difficult to inquire more on the matter, but the general message got across. Capable threats from that day, whether it was the Church of Salvations or the spectators in the audience, never left their mind. Priscilla insisted that everything will be fine, despite the dangers ahead. Pontiff urged Crol to not stop them for they had more pressing matters to attend to.

“If you are worry about security, then I will gladly assist.” The seventh princess’ coachman graciously offered. “She asked for the three of you, naturally I will protect her guests.”

Crol silently cursed his luck. To go against the seventh princess’ actions could possibly demolish his dreams of joining the Rangers of Temuair. Mav wanted to get the kids out of here as quickly as possible, yet the peculiar situation had him clutching his fist. One way or another, the intention to fulfill Mav’s request is still there.

The limelight of the public forum came into view through the small crevices of people’s arms and armpits. There -- renowned Aislings sat -- all waiting for the Burgess to announce the beginning of their discussion. That lifted stage would hoist their presence to the people here, and possibly the entire world.

Morr took a step forward, gulping and stopping in his track. Crol’s sudden announcement had him second-guessing whether or not it was fine to drag his friends into his own mess. They may have made it sound as if everything will be fine, but Morr knew their judgement was based on altruism. As he turned his head towards Pontiff and Priscilla, he told them, “Crol said those people from that day could be here. Perhaps it’s better if you two leave--“

Two soft fingertips prevented his head from turning back any further. Priscilla leaned into his ears and softly said, “Quit looking back; look straight and high.” She turned to Pontiff and cheerfully smiled. “Right?”

“Why is the weakest one worrying about us?” Pontiff gave a friendly tap on Morr’s shoulder as he walked by him. Struggling to squeeze through the mountains of people in front of him, Pontiff gave a thumbs-up before being swallowed whole.

“It’s like he said.” Priscilla playfully punched his shoulders. “Worry about yourself more. Both me and him have been preparing for this day, that’s why we became adventurers.”

She left with a cheerful smile, making her way towards the center stage.

Morr chuckled to himself. Whether or not things will turn out fine, perhaps he should try to believe in their confidences. Before departing from the baffled Crol, he left him with an expression of gratitude, “Thank you for watching after us. Please continue to do so.”

“Seems like they’ve decided by themselves.” The coachman took out a handkerchief, combed back his grey bangs, and wiped a dripping tear. “This generation of youth makes me all the more happier to leave this world.”

“Old man, no one asked you.” Crol watched as the coachman went after them. Through his discussions with Dr. Mav, he thought they were a trio of kids that the world had forsaken. The image he had implanted by Dr. Mav, and the image he saw now couldn’t be any more different. With a sigh, Crol followed after them and forced his way through to the center stage.

With the appearance of the trio next to the seventh princess their exposure magnified by tenfold. Questions of who they were, their background information, and their achievements spawned into the spectators’ heads. To be able to stand next to one of the Princesses of Temuairs was something they could only dream of. Hegel gave a curious glance, only to suddenly find his mind felling to a stupor upon setting his eyes on Morr’s vantablack cape. Casket-man looked at Morr and the other two before looking at Crol, whom stood next to Hegel. Crol nodded to confirm casket-man’s suspicions. Their unspoken interactions drew the eyes of the representative of Atlantis. On her wishes, Nurdock took an important mental note of all of their interactions.

Nobles, merchants, and adventurers speculated about the trio. Through messages bouncing back and forth, they came to a stunning revelation: no one in the merchant class, the noble class, or the adventurer class have heard or seen them, at least not on a grand stage. The lacking of information left them unsatisfied, yet it made their interest all the more keen.

The Burgess briefly glanced at the trio before settling his eyes onto the seventh princess. She gave a slight nod, implicitly notifying him that she is now ready to start the meeting. The Burgess took in a large amount of air, settled it into his stomach, and stood up to face the crowd.

“With all seats now full I would like to thank everyone here for being a witness at such a late hour. I apologize for the limited amount of seats available. This was a late notice -- unadvertised as well -- and we didn’t expect many people to attend at this hour.” The Burgess walked around the square platform, greeting all sorts of social classes with his eyes. “Please excuse the lack of chairs and spaces to all those whom are left standing, my apologies. Now then, time is running short, so I’ll give a brief introduction to everyone seated here.”

The Burgess walked from one chair to another, announcing their title or name. The first announcement was for himself: The Burgess of Mileth. The second announcement was given to a special guest of the Burgess: Hegel. The third announcement was given to the seventh princess of Temuair, but he only stated her title, Seventh Princess, out of respect. The fourth announcement was given to the Ranger of Temuair: Toymaker. The fifth and last announcement was given to the representative of Atlantis: Valerie.

Morr took great interest in the Burgess as he made his rounds. Fidgety hands had him anxious as the Burgess drew closer. To use his hand and command the Burgess here and now would be the fastest approach, but also the most dangerous one. Disregarding the qualitative power of the guards, the numerical advantage security had would be enough to overpower him, Priscilla, and Pontiff. At the very least, he wanted to pursue an opportunity that wouldn’t spell the death of him and his friends’ future.

The explosion of the crowd was especially apparent at the mention of the title ‘Toymaker.’ Adventurers roared, cheered, and clapped at the mention of his title. Their loud and triumphant cheerfulness made the nobles and merchants respective cheers pale in comparison. Toymaker stood up, gave the crowd a wave, and then sat back down.

The Burgess turned to the seventh princes and respectfully said, “Thank you for coming.”

The seventh princess nodded.

The Burgess sat at his seat and placed a blue crystal ball at the center on the table. It had a dynamic streak of white linings that rose and fell in accordance to the decibels of its surroundings noise. The seventh princess placed her hand on the crystal ball. Orbs within the crystal ball swam to the surface, perpendicular to where the princess’ hand was. Once the beaming light from the orbs dissipated, only then did she retracted her hand. Afterward, the Burgess confirmed the validity of the crystal ball. Once everything was set in stone the Burgess stood up to address the crowd.

“Let me preface this with a reminder: this is not a public forum to debate or discuss beliefs, ideals, or religions. There are many of you from different backgrounds; when addressing one another please do so with an open-mind and without prejudice. Personal agendas or blind faith should excuse themselves at this minute; this is not the time for that. This is strictly a single-subject-driven forum, so do try to stay on topic. Please keep in mind that this will be recorded for the benefit and integrity of everyone here. Spectators must remain silent during the discussion until the end, where questions are permitted. Without further ado let us begin with the first matter on everyone’s mind: the Priestess of Sgrios.” The Burgess recited his spiel flawlessly as if this was an everyday activity.

Afterwards, his tone took a dramatic change from professionalism to being outright upset. “I called all of the seated members here on such a short notice because it has come to my attention that there are too many damn people acting as they please in my city. I do not ever recall allowing a Ranger through my gates, nor do I recall permitting anyone to start a quest on my territory. Don’t walk in here thinking I won’t notice. I did notice. If you weren’t all protected, I’d banish all of you this instant. If you wish to do any business with Mileth, then come speak to me. Please keep that in mind for future reference. So, to get all of you out of my city as fast as possible, I hope you all will work together and capture this criminal. Now, Toymaker, please start us off.”

The Burgess’ abrasive attitude had the spectators taken aback. They’d never fathom the Burgess speaking like this to all of the important people at the table, especially in front of the seventh princess and the crystal ball. In contrast to the spectators, the people seated shown indifference or wore expressions prepared to be chewed out. It seemed that they were all aware of the proper procedure, but the ones mentioned didn’t care enough to follow it.

“Thank you, Burgess.” Toymaker spoke. “We Rangers do not have time to respectfully follow every rules you Burgesses and Judges make up. Reading every rulebook conjured by your teams that love to write nonsense would take up too much time. Please make an exception this time, and for times in the foreseeable future. Moving on, The Priestess of Sgrios had been on the loose for more than a month now. I’ve been tracking her ever since the murder incident, and I have reasons to believe that the culprit is still in Mileth. To be clearer, our investigations and pursuit could not lead anywhere other than Mileth.”

The Burgess of Mileth wanted to smack the man out of his city so badly, but he held it in. Despite his emotions, he still wanted to prioritize the Priestess of Sgrios as the highest of them all. His bitter quietness only resulted into a clenched fist and pinched eyebrows.

“Atlantis has offer a reward of 1,000 gold coins for the whereabouts of the criminal.” Valerie informed. “My apologies, Burgess, but the king had decree the criminal as someone dangerous to all of Temuair. I assumed that this minor trouble we’ve caused you would’ve been something you could endure while we take care of the mess for you. Unfortunately, the Priestess of Sgrios has eluded the Rangers of Temuair thus far, so I don’t have much hopes in the hundreds of adventurers serving as our eyes. At the very least, they serve as good tools to pressure the criminal’s movement. Rest assure, Atlantis will be the ones to find the Priestess of Sgrios.”

Priscilla felt hurt at her mere words. The fact that Valerie excused the information of the 100,000 gold coins prize made it sound insignificant, as if she knew no one would ever capture the Priestess of Sgrios alive. Pontiff glanced at her, and Priscilla could see it written all over his mundane, deadpan face: I told you so.

The Burgess shot the same expression to Valerie for testing his patience.

“Oh?” The Burgess tightly pinched the white gloves covering his hand. The urge to swipe the gloves off and slap these fools was increasingly tempting. But he held off the urge, for now. “Your brains aren’t very good at following instructions, so I hope you have at least found the criminal’s coordinates.”

Adventurers watching this live felt eager to cheer them on. The back-and-forth banter between them was unexpected, and welcoming. It was entertaining to listen to, unlike the snooze-fest they’ve sat through with many other public forums.

“Wouldn’t the criminal flee to their respective temple?” Hegel inquired. “Why would they hide in Mileth, which is primarily a land for worshippers of Glioca?”

“There are many potential locations the Greater Guilds pinpointed, which the other guilds have taken the opportunity to investigate.” Valerie said. “But we had a suspicion the Priestess of Sgrios would return to their former worshipping site.”

“Suspicion? As in?” Toymaker gazed at the representative of Atlantis with a set of dollish plastic eyes.

“The first being that Mileth Crypt used to be a popular site for the gathering of Priests and Priestesses of Sgrios.” Valerie wrote down her main points and placed the paper at the middle of table. “Our other suspicions were the unordinary appearances of the marauder and the black scorpion. These appearances aren’t ordinary from a veteran’s experience.”

“It’s highly unlikely a Priestess of Sgrios would turn to Gliocan land to seek refuge.” Toymaker said. “I’ve searched Mileth Crypt the moment I got here. I heard rumors of a black scorpion and a marauder above the 10th floor. But I didn’t see them. I was probably too late. However, if their appearances happen to be true, then it is really strange…”

Toymaker turned to the Burgess, whom comfortably sat and listened to the discussion. The Burgess knew what Toymaker was hinting at and took over.

“It is true that these monsters should not have been there.” The Burgess confirmed. “In accordance to Mileth’s record keepers, the marauder can only be seen past the 10th floor of Mileth Crypt. To go past the 10th floor has not been possible in a very long time -- ever since the terms of the previous Burgess -- because it was ruled as a threat by the previous Burgess. Due to a restrictive seal placed on the entrance of the 11th floor no one has been able to go in or out of the 11th floor since then. And for the black scorpion… this was the first time I’ve heard of it.”

“The black scorpion aside… what if the seal was broken?” Toymaker inquired.

“I would immediately know.” The Burgess said affirmatively.

“Then there are several options in front of us. Option 1: The criminal is hiding below the 10th floor and somehow bypass the restrictive seal. Option 2: The criminal is hiding above the 10th floor and somehow evaded our detection. Option 3: The criminal is not in Mileth Crypt.” Toymaker used the provided written utensil and paper, drew three circles with its respective options labeled inside, and placed the paper at the center of the table.

“Option 1 did not and has not occur.” The Burgess crossed out the first circle. “As I’ve said, I would be immediately notify of such occurrence.”

“Option 2 isn’t possible either.” Valerie crossed out the second circle. “Not only have we explored from the first floor to the 10th floor, the Ranger and many other adventurers who heard of our quest should have done the same.”

“And option 3 isn’t… likely.” Toymaker tapped the third option with his finger. Hearing their confident tone had him second-guessing at whether or not these options could point them towards their target. “The special investigation team appointed by the king is absolutely sure that the criminal is here.”

Both spectators and speakers at the table were at a loss. The options presented by the Ranger of Temuair were sound; the three general options served to point them in the right direction, rather than accurately locate their target. But the denial of these options had them thinking of other options. They were thinking of something to make one of these options a possibility.

The Burgess saw everyone slamming their heads against a brick wall. Not a single person spoke their thoughts; they held their tongue as the air became thick with everyone hard at work. The truth had to be somewhere, but they’ve overlooked something. Nervous eyes glanced at the opal ring on his finger, unassured of the ring’s potency.

Hegel swept the three whom presented their opinions. A stomach full of laughter erupted from his mouth. “Is it that hard to think that one of you is lying?”