Poisonous Flowers

A few days passed and although I figured out nothing new, I was able to save a few Voltars thanks to my Aura and medicine. Some Voltars already died, as I was focused on curing those who could be cured. There was one weird thing. When I checked up on those who died, I could see some sort of purple flowers sprouting from their corpses. I collected a few of them, and did some experiments. Those flowers contained pure poison, that affected these Voltars in the first place.

'I never seen these flowers before. The Thousand and One Herbs book didn't contain them' I thought. There was only one conclusion I could come up with. Elysian Empire. Elysians had a plethora of herbs, which were not in the book I received from Nick. This alone begged the question, "Are Elysians involved in this war?" I asked myself.

This made more sense, the more I thought about it. Formations that allowed Mordars to blend in. Strong poison, especially one that could seal Human Auras. This had Elysians written all over it. 'Elysians are technically Humans too. But that would mean Elysians are actively trying to help Eterians' I thought. The problem was, I wasn't sure whether Elysians were doing this on their own accord, or whether Eterians manipulated some of them. I wasn't sure about the relationship between Elysians and Eterians either. They were Humans, but not Endrosians.

I had the concentrated poison, but I had no herbs to create antidote still. I tried a few times, but nothing worked. The poison was too strong, and I couldn't make anything stronger than that. I couldn't help those Voltars, but I could collect the flowers. Those things were really poisonous, and that could be useful in the future. Eterians and Elysians were not immune to poison at all. They might have an antidote, but that didn't matter. As long as the poison could be introduced back to them, it would be an effective way to disturb them. This alone opened more possibilities.

More Voltars died, as I collected the flowers and froze their bodies. I couldn't let those corpses stay intact or really stay inside the city at all. I destroyed the corpses, and burned anything that was left of them. In overall, eighty-two Voltars died. I had loads of flowers already, so I didn't collect more. On the other hand, I managed to save a hundred-thirteen Voltars from their death. The rest which amounted to forty-one, was destined to die.

Some of them didn't want to suffer anymore, and asked me to end their lives. I obliged. Me giving them death, would be less painful than waiting for the poison to slowly kill them. With the Power of Ice, I slowly froze the Voltars until they fell asleep and died. This was as peaceful death as I could probably make. Soon, all went quiet. No one besides myself was left in the infected area. With all the infected Voltars taken care of, I left the area as well. I wasn't about to leave the city just yet. I wanted information, and Voltars would provide that to me, whether they liked it or not.

I told the guards outside that the area was cleared up. I also asked where could I find some important people. One of them volunteered to take me there. While we walked, he said "My sister was one of the infected, you saved her for which I'm really grateful. If there is any way I could repay you, asked". I replied, "Don't worry about it. You can't help me with what I need. Only highly positioned Voltars will have access to the information I require". He stayed quiet for a while, then said "Maybe I can't help, but others might be able to. You helped us out, and people are grateful for that. If you can't get what you are looking for, visit me again. I will ask others if they can help you instead".

I doubted that the usual Voltars could help out, but I appreciated the gesture anyway. We soon arrived at the area, where the city was alive and well. We stopped before one of the buildings, where the Voltar asked me to wait for a while. He travelled inside the building, and came back with another Voltar shortly after. "So you are the one who risked his life to help us out? How can we help you?". The Voltar looked to be some sort of commander, therefore I said "I need the knowledge of the old. More specifically, any records that you have of the past. A distant past". He thought about it, and asked "Why do you need such records?". I replied "I'm looking for something. The old records might have a hint concerning that. I don't care for your secrets, especially that Collecting Crystal. I only want the old records which speak of the North".

He nodded, and asked me to follow him. We headed towards the Grand Palace, where all the important figure stayed. I had to wait again, while the Voltar travelled to the palace in order to ask about my request. It took him a while to return, but the news he brought were not to my satisfaction. He said, "They will not allow you in… Even after what you did for us, they simply ignore it. I'm really sorry, you shouldn't be treated like that. I will try a few others. I might get the permission for you, but I can't promise anything". I asked instead, "Where is Shak?".

He was rather surprised when I mentioned him. He asked, "You know him?". I replied, "Just tell me where he is, and I will deal with the rest. If they make problems for me again, I have no problem treating them to the same poison that killed your people. I'm not someone that can be just used, you can tell them that". He told me to wait again, and returned to the Palace. He returned much quicker that time, and brought different news. "They will let you in, but you will be allowed to view only certain knowledge. You will be escorted inside. Please wait here, as they need to arrange the transport".

I looked up, and judged the distance. 'I don't think I could make it with a single jump. If I used the Livi Sprout, I could probably get close' I thought. There was no point for me to try at that stage. I would get picked up soon anyway. Indeed, a few Voltars floated down on some piece of metallic looking platform. I never seen that kind of thing, and I obviously knew it worked due to Formations. When they landed, they asked me to board, after which we lifted up and flew towards the Grand Palace.

There were three Voltars on that platform. All of them reached their Inner Limits. I assumed these guys were there as my escort, making sure I didn't do anything stupid. I didn't mind really, as long as I got what I wanted. We arrived at the Grand Palace, and left the platform to climb the stairs. Before we entered, one of the Voltars said "Behave yourself Human. This is the Grand Palace, a place of royalty". I appeared next to him, with a dagger on his neck. "I think it's you who should behave yourself around me. I never liked royalty, whether Human or Voltar kind. Cut the crap, and take me to what I came here for".

I took away the dagger, and stood there waiting. He snorted while replying, "We know about you, and we are not scared of you either. Bare that in mind as well. Follow us, and don't wander around by yourself". We entered the palace, and although there was a bad aftertaste in my mouth, I had to admit it looked exquisite. Beautiful white stone columns ornate the staircase leading to the upper floors. Paintings of Voltars hung on the walls, and even sculptures of Voltars harnessing or using electric energy, stood on display prominently.

Another Voltar already waited for us. It was a female dressed in elegant clothing. A pale blue dress, that really hugged her body, and hair tied neatly into a bun. Her energy output was strong as well. She seemed to be a part of Elite Voltars, but not belonging to military force. We approached her, while she welcomed me. "Welcome to the Grand Palace. I will be the one showing you around. Please don't wander to other areas, and ask if you need something. I will be with you at most times during your visit, but if I'm not around, someone else will take my place. Is all clear?".

I nodded in reply, and the three Voltars left us alone. I actually thought they would follow us around, but it seems that woman was really strong. She didn't really introduce herself, but it didn't matter to me that much.