51 An Exchange of Information

"Let me get this straight. You are asking me, who is an affiliate of the Church of Light, how to get to the Crypts of the Church. And your purpose is to go grave robbing," Heinrich says.

Nodding her head, Astur says, "Yep, that sounds about right. Why? Is there a problem?"

"A problem? I'm hardly even involved in this matter and I can spot several problems from what I've heard so far," Taurion says.

"Same. Not that I would know or anything, but wouldn't most people do their best not to tip off the target of their theft?" Lester asks.

"Yeah, but it's not like you three will or can stop me. From my understanding, Heinrich is only a member of the Church because of his family and beyond carrying out his basic duties he doesn't involve himself any further with the organisation. Am I right?" Astur asks.

Heinrich nods, having mentioned once before that he doesn't have any real attachments to the Church.

"That's right. If I recall correctly, I only mentioned this once, I'm surprised you remembered a minor detail like that."

"My memory is quite good. I am a genius after all," Astur says, not letting up the chance to boast.

Ignoring her behaviour, Heinrich continues, "While it is true I don't really care much about the Church, I still have obligations, so I can't just tell you what you want to know. But what is it you need that can only be found in a crypt?"

After taking a few seconds to think, Astur decides that there isn't any harm in sharing since for most people things such as Soul Essence is intangible and unusable.

"I'm after Soul Essence. To keep things simple, it's something produced by souls that are isolated from the world beyond their burial grounds. For most people, they wouldn't even be able to touch, let alone use Soul Essence. As for wherever else is in the crypts, I don't give a shit about that. So it's not like the Church is really losing anything."

Astur is taking advantage of the trio's lack of knowledge in regards to souls. While it is true that most people have neither the capability to touch or make use of Soul Essence, she doesn't think this applies to the Church. While she isn't completely certain, Astur is almost certain that the people of the Church have a way to use Soul Essence, especially the upper echelons. Why else would there be so much effort in keeping the crypts undisturbed only to open them for the public many years later?

"Perhaps I could speak aloud for a bit. I'd just be talking to myself for a bit, I don't think that would land me in too much trouble. But I am curious about a couple of things, mind if you humour me?" Heinrich asks.

Seeing a favourable outcome without her having to resort to violence, Astur says, "Go ahead."

"Reports say the Warband was moving towards the Sea of Trees, but one night while near the forest, the scout of the Kingdom had completely lost track of them as they approached the Sea of Trees. There is much speculation going around, but the prevailing theory is that the Warband has joined up with the new force from the Sea of Trees. Do you have any comments on this matter?" Heinrich asks.

"I will say that I have become acquainted with the daughter of the Warden."

Taking that as indirect confirmation, Heinrich looks to Taurion and Lester to see if they have anything to ask.

"For a while now, people haven't been able to enter the Sea of Trees and for some reason, there is a thick fog that surrounds it these days. No one can peer into the forest from afar and the people who try to enter find themselves back where they started. Yet there have been sightings of people coming and going, particularly among what most have been calling the irregulars, the strange people who seem to do anything you ask as longs as there's a small reward. I won't ask what are you doing in there since you probably won't tell us, but what's with that fog? I can say with absolute certainty it isn't a normal weather condition," Lester asks.

"Of course it isn't normal. Is anything produced by me normal?" Astur says, not elaborating further.

Although they didn't learn much about the strange fog that recently appeared and surrounded the Sea of Trees, the trio did confirm that it is a byproduct of Astur. Even if they don't know what she did, they can assume that the fog has special properties.

After a few seconds of silence and a bit of fidgeting, Taurion musters his courage to ask a question, "Did you come here alone or did you bring Miss Elizabeth with you to Hadrow?"

As soon as they hear their friend's question, Lester and Heinrich both facepalm as they are left speechless. He was given a golden opportunity to ask about confidential and sensitive topics. Although the answer was likely to be vague and short, it would still be possible to learn about Astur and her self proclaimed nation, yet this lovestruck fool wants to know if the girl he likes is around.

"Haha, of all the things you could ask…" Astur laughs. "Well, to answer the question, no she isn't here. Liz has proven herself to be quite a competent administrator, so I've put her to work where her talents can shine. But I didn't come to Hadrow alone, I brought my newly assigned guard and escort with me, courtesy of Elizabeth. You actually passed them when you first came out of the clubhouse. But it's my turn now," Astur says, beckoning towards Heinrich.

Giving her an understanding nod, Heinrich says, "I do remember hearing that the Crypt of St Heleste of St Heleste Cathedral is still unopened. I do believe it is the only unopened crypt within the area around the Sea of Trees. But don't mind me, I'm just talking to myself about some things I heard in the past."

"Is that so? Then in a completely unrelated question, where is St Heleste Cathedral located?" Astur asks.

Knowing it isn't anything that needs to be hidden and kept off the record, Heinrich gives a straight answer, "the Capital of the Urvostrion County, Urvostra. It's hard to miss and is actually only a few minutes away in walking distance from Taurion's house."

"Alright, I got what I came for and had some fun while I was at it, so it should be about time for me to take my leave. It was a pleasure doing business with you," Astur says, moving towards the door.

"What business? I'm fairly certain I had only been talking to myself during an outing with my brothers," Heinrich says with a sly smile.

Without a word, Astur simply smiles and nods before leaving the clubhouse as she begins to craft her grave robbing plans.