After hours of walking through the woods with only the sun, the moon, and stars to guide him, Ignatius reached the boarder of a small town. It had been a couple of days since he barely managed to escape the eyes of the paladins, but it wouldn't be a surprise if they've already figured out where he vanished off to. To his delight the time he arrived in the town was near evening and many were getting ready to finish the day's labor. There was only one path that flowed into and out of town with bridging streets like that of a twig. Not many walked the street as the night was closing in and people were retiring to their homes with food and desserts in hand, most likely for dinner.
Carefully, he tried to blend in, but it was difficult considering he was still wearing clothes from Gailus which were rather bright. And unlike the Galians, people here didn't hand their laundry around. So, he did what he could do best and scavenge around the town for someone nobody cares much about. It was rather easy to find those abandoned by society, they were all in the alleys shrouded in shadows. Furthering his search, he found an older guy lying sideways, facing the darkening alleys. Nastius calmly walked over to him, keeping his head low as he got stared and whispers from the townsfolk.
Once over he checked to see if the man was dead and to his surprise he was breathing although shallowly. Nastius takes one more look around to see if anyone watching and dragged the man deeper into the alleyway. Quickly, he undid both of their clothes, relieved that the very thin rays of lights barely allowed him to notice anything on the man. However, this could also work to his disadvantage but somehow, he managed to switched clothing with no accident.
Due to all the rapid movement the older man had woken up startled, but Nastius quickly cover his mouth to prevent any noise. He gave a shushing movement and then dug around in a satchel he carried along with him and pulled out one gold coin before tossing it to the stranger.
"Do you know where the inn is?" He lowered his voice trying to conceal it as much as possible.
"It is to the end of this street to the left."
The guy inspected the coin, bit on it before smiling gleefully to himself. Feeling that this was enough, Nastius swiftly knocked out the man and then walked out the alleyway. He also took some dirt and rubbed it all over himself and messed up his hair to look as close as he could get to being unsightly.
As per instructions, he followed them till he reached the end of the street and saw the sign for inn.
As soon he stepped inside, he was greeted with more stares than when he first arrived. A look of disgust poured out on him as he walked up to the inn's keeper booth.
"Hey, don't you think this as some sort of charity! We don't have food for you and if you keep stinking up the place here, I see you out myself." A short and round man with gray hairs peered at him from the booth.
He was cleaning some glass mugs with a cloth and looked at him as the scum underneath his shoe.
Nastius knew that the clothing choice he picked was far from the one he had on before, even his original clothes were ten times better, but he just didn't expect this much hostility from the people of Einshire.
With a sigh he pulled to the side to look inside his satchel. It didn't help that some of the patrons were now actively working against him. He heard the creaking of chairs on the stone floors like the sound of a predator ripping into the flesh of its prey.
"Didn't you hear what the inn keeper just said, beggar. Leave!!"
Nastius pulled out a few silver coins and speedily hide the satchel. Before the malicious mob could reach him, he slammed the coins in front of the inn keeper. Then it was like everything came to a stop as the host inspect the goods. Silver, copper and gold coins was a widely accepted currency across the continent, but it was mostly used by people who didn't want to be identify as since each kingdom had their own unique currency.
"One night and don't even think of sleeping on the bed." With that the keeper turned to pick out a room key before dashing it across the booth table.
Nastius grabbed the key before eyeing the rowdy crowd as they went back with their bottles and cutlery in hand.
He retired to his designated room without a second thought and passed out on the floor. Being a trained soldier since childhood had prepared him for the most extreme of circumstances so he did not feel as much hunger as any normal person would. It also meant he took many defensive measures before actually getting some sleep by locking and securing the doors and the windows.
By the next morning, before the sun could come up, Ignastius was up and about. He had already left his key by the booth and exited the premises. There was barely anyone in the streets, only farmers and store owners. Although, feeling adamant, he walked up to the closet person and asked them for direction to the nearest mercenary guild and how to get there.
He wasn't sure whether it was the lack of light or it being in the early hours of the morning, but he actually got a civil response. In conclusion, Nastius was only a few miles away from Solos, another major metropolitan with a good underbelly. It was far enough from the capital to escape the eyes of the church. And there was a transport wagon going there at the opposite end of the street.
Finally, it felt like he was getting somewhere. It didn't take long for Nastius to get to the opposite end of the street and no later did he get there was there a wagon loaded with some pallets and people.
He took out a few coins from his bag and walked up to the wagoner.
"You heading out for Solos?" The young man in front of the wagon didn't even spare him a glance but placed out a hand for the money which Nastius gladly gave him.
He quickly found a space in the back of the wagon amongst the goods, far away from the rest of the group. After a few minutes the wagon began to move.
Hours passed and the group arrived in Solos by noon. The hustle and bustle of the city was loud and similar to Gailus. Once, the wagon stopped, everyone got out and went about their own way. Solos was not as grand as many other cities in Einshire, there was almost no churches here and most of the buildings were residential homes for commoners. He had heard people called the city the 'peasants' town.' It was very accurate since most of the people here were plain and their clothes reserve, although he wasn't sure if that can be said for their personalities.
Nastius was finding it easy to blend in with the crowd. All he had to do was keep his head low and kept to the edge of the sidewalks. The mercenary guild was not hard to find at all since from the look of the populus many looked like they worked in the guild.
The building was big and looked to be made up of the finest wood and stone. Smooth and shiny, unlike the people inside, though Nastius couldn't say much since he wasn't much different. The inside was big and spacious even with a good amount of people already inside. Honorary kills hanged on the walls with gold framing. As soon as Nastius walked in, he could hear snickers and laughter coming from the others that sat in the waiting area.
'Another beggar. How pathetic!' Laughter erupted out of the air.
Ignoring the whispers, he went up to the receptionist.
"Hello, how may we help you today." The receptionist was a level-headed lady who wore wide lenses, her face stuck in a petrified smile.
She spoke professionally and without blunder, which was great for her line of work.
"I would like a sword that can cut through stone." Nastius leaned close to her and whisper right in her ear.
"Oh. Right this way." Realization shone through her eyes as she understood exactly what he meant, not at all flinching from his appearance or smell.
Many influential people visited mercenary guilds, and each offer a secret phrase that revealed their rank.
The lady guided him upstairs and to the left towards big double doors. The receptionist stops just before the door and gave an almost melodic knock in great repetition. She looked to him as if saying to go in before leaving.
Nastius took a deep breath and hoped that this time his negotiations would go on like the previous ones before.
When he entered, he was greeted by the sight of a chubby man sitting in a chair a bit too big for him, knuckles white against the one of the arms. His face looked to be disturbed but once he looked up at Ignastius, he regained his composition and waved for him to take a seat. Behind was a giant window that showcase the bustling city but no noise leaked from it. Many paintings adorned the room that looked to be portraits of the man. It was somewhat more lavish from the rest of the building.
Once settled, the man continued to stare vaguely into the distance but regained his will to speak.
"I would never have thought that one of the heirs of Ignasualt would ever come to visit my humble abode again." The man rubbed a spit on his head where hair would have once flowed from.
Again?
Nastius chose to say nothing.
"However, I am much obliged to continue buisness where it was left off. You need extra assistance...correct me if I'm wrong." The man looked down at his desk, organizing the scattered papers on it.
"Yes, I am." Nastius finally replied.
The man sighed, his hands pulling on his very thin hairs.
"I would want ten times the price since you are such a special case, but something has occurred, and I will take whatever it is you have left from wasting it on those goody-two-shoes in Gailus. And I am willing to add two extra for the price of nothing."
Something about this didn't feel right. Many mercenaries were very particular about their money, even the ones from Gailus.
"I didn't know the guild leader of Solos would ever be the doting kind." There was a twitch in the guild master face.
"Doting is not a word that you should associate with me," He then realized his slip of tongue, "I am just happy with the renewal of an old deal, that is all."
Nastius was satisfied with this rection. Being cunning and coy was for a lascivian, this felt much like what he expected from Einshire.
The guild master took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his brows.
"Alright then, here you go." There wasn't much money left in the bag, but it was more gold than many noblewomen allowance.
The once nervous man spied into the satchel and his eyes glinted.
"It has been a pleasure doing business with you, your highness. The receptionist is waiting outside for you, she'll escort you to our very own teleporter. We wouldn't want any of those pesky church members digging their nose where they shouldn't, would we?"
Nastius knew he had gotten into something he shouldn't have by now and with the rather eerily gleeful smile the guild master gave him, he knew he would have to prepare for whatever outcome that would pop up.
However, when he exited the room to find the very same receptionist waiting for him, did it strike him. Since when had the Solos mercenaries acquired a teleporter?
~
Prometius still felt like he was dreaming. Ever since the night he breached the walls of his confinement, he had been on edge. He had spent days racking his head for every single piece of sensory information. Like how the wind tasted like the sea, or how the bright were the lanterns that filled the street below the rooftops. It felt like he was walking on stars. It made him so giddy that he would burst of laughter at random moments, sometimes scarring the servants.
It made his parents and siblings worried.
Had he finally gone crazy?
None of that mattered and all he could think about was all the stuff he would be doing at the academia. All the people he would get to meet and how he would be able to make friends with people who aren't his family or did not work for him.
Prometi had even asked Sofie to bring him all the blueprints of Einshire's capital and the college under the guise of 'not getting lost.' He spent hours in his room analyzing different routes and putting them all in his journal.
He also looked up books on the three other royal families and asked around about the current heirs of each house. They were all going to be there, so he wanted to make his best impression.
Ignastius Wolfgang Ignasualt:
-rarely seen heir of Ignasualt which is one of the coldest regions of Einshire
-Known to be silent, ruthless with the sword and stone-like
At least they had one thing in common.
Gene Reux Sebastian Olivine Lascivia
-almost always seen in the streets of the capital of Lascivia
-Known to be a striking beauty
-Lady's killer?
-Coy and cunning
-likes to play around
Prometius found most of the stories surrounding the young heir was rather exaggerated. He would have to figure out for himself what kind of person the heir of Lascivia was. Other than that, he sounded like someone who would know his way around town and sites and someone he would have fun with. Finally, the crown prince of Einshire was the most difficult one to put a feeling to.
Lassiter Alphite Einshire
-mysterious
-looks like the perfect image of a noble
-not much of a talker
-???
After looking through his notes, Prometi felt as if something was incomplete. There was also the case of those two strangers. They were definitely women just fro the sound of their voices, but why had they targeted him.
Somehow, they were able to infiltrate into his home, impersonate a royal and lead him on a goose trip all because they wanted to see how the 'trapped prince' will act.
It was all too confusing. Who could've sent them and why?
Maybe he would meet them again soon.
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Jackal stood in front of the emperor once more. His complexion even more ghastly than when he had collapsed, and his hand clenching his heart with a deathly grip.
Silence drifted in between the space of the room. Jackal was familiar with it.
"Lassiter."
hu-
"Yes, his imperial majesty." He was almost caught off guard.
"The Rite of Accession is neigh." The emperor said with much strained.
"Yes, your imperial majesty." He waited for the customary reply before continuing.
"You are to watch the three princes carefully and you must put an end to your previous mission soon. That is all."
"Of course, your imperial majesty." Jackal bowed before leaving the room.
It was the first time since the emperor has called him by his given name ever since he was blessed by the church after he was born. Even Jackal was a name given by the church. The only true name he has ever known was the one given by his mother, Aldus. However, she was long gone. She had hanged herself in her room one day.
It was quite a sight; he was just six years old and was happy to finally have time out of his day to visit his mother. As the crown prince of this retched land, he was drowned in imperial classes from a young age. His mother was never allowed to leave her room. She was like a caged pink peacock. A rarity in the kingdom, much different from any women he had ever seen.
Her hair was pearly pink and was soft as the clouds. She was thin and wore the simplest of dresses compared with many noble ladies of the land. To him she reminded him of the sunset, her eyes were a much darker shade of pink, almost reddish. She was a beauty, and she despised him.
Whenever he came to visit there was a tension in her body and her eyes glared at him with disgust. Even with all of that, she never pushed him away or told him to leave and on rare occasions when she was in a good mood, she would sing to him and smile. It was the warmest gesture anyone in the palace had ever given him.
On the rarest occurrence she would softly call his name.
"Aldus. Come sit with me."
Then she had put him on her lap and showed him something magical. A baby was in her stomach. He wasn't sure how it had gotten there and was so taken aback by it but all she did was laugh about it. Those nine months were the happiest he had been, being able to spend time with his mother and eventually new sister.
When she was born, it was like all the stars align for the first time in his life. His little sister had been so radiant and beautiful. She was like a fallen star, and he would always pamper her.
But as time passed, the atmosphere in the palace changed and his mother returned to her old ways. She became more closed up and distant. Every time he had seen her, she looked thinner, disheveled and falling apart. Her clothes were full of ware and tare and her body littered with deep marks and cuts.
In his little mind he thought if he worked harder maybe things would get better and his mother would return to him again. That all changed one evening, when he entered her room. Although it wasn't as lavish as the other, it held with it a figment of elegance and comeliness. It was also encircled with windows that showed the outside world.
Little did he know what would await him that day as the lifeless body of his mother hanged from the chandelier, the sound of his baby sister crying in her crib. The sun that was setting embrace her corpse in a soft hue. The striking color of her eyes were fading away. He had tried to get her down after his initial shock, but he was just a child and all he could do was cling to the hem of her skirt and cry and begged. No one even came looking for him the until the next day.
When they did find him, he was scolded and beaten. They had taken away his sister from her crib and when he begged to have her back he was slapped. That day was the last day he ever cried.
A few days later he heard his sister had been disposed of. At first, he couldn't understand what that meant and waited for his sister return, but as the years passed, he realized he would never get her back.
Jackal sighed at the distasteful memories.
The Rites of Accension.
It was much earlier this time. The Church seemed to be in a rush of some sort. Maybe he was coming closer and closer to the end of his usefulness. He much rather they already kill him. There was very little he cared about now. Maybe meeting the other princes would be entertaining. He had heard some rather interesting rumors about them.
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