Secrets and Shadows

---

"Welcome back, James!" Viktor's larger-than-life voice greeted us at the doors to the magnificent Silver Serpent tavern.

As all of us poured out of the carriage, beat and battered like we were because of our ordeal with Aurelia. I'm honestly relived at the fact that we made it out unscathed.

"James?" Zorro and Adante looked at me with confusion, so Valeria and I had to fill in the gaps.

"Ah yes, Mr. James and I had paid a visit to the chronicles citadel for more information, but we had some not so friendly company there, and this was the end result." She said, managing to keep a straight face.

"Who are these two?" Viktor asked, pointing to Zorro and Adante.

"Oh, Them! Uhmmm... Uhhhh..." Valeria was trying to come up with something to use as an excuse for Zorro and Adante's presence.

Why is she so inconsistent with her lies? Last time, she lied as naturally as she could breathe the last time she was around. What is this?

Just by looking at her face, one could tell that she was out of things to say. She just blankly stared at Viktor, making a straight face while she quickly turned to me, and shot a "Help me out here" look.

I instantly understood, doing a downward nod her way to confirm that I've accurately understood her problems. I stepped forward, ahead of Valeria and putting myself in between them to give Valeria some cover.

"A-actually the thing i-is.. T-they are m-my-"

"Soldiers?" Viktor asked, giving them a serious sideways glance.

I immediately nodded up and down at a rapid pace, considering that I was stammering too, talking right now wouldn't be a good decision.

Zorro and Adante immediately stiffened and quickly straightened up. I could see that Zorro did not like Viktor or how he was treating us after all.

I quickly turned to Zorro and gestured him to at least try and smile just for the sake of pleasing Viktor.

It seemed like Adante picked up on what I was trying to convey, and immediately hit zorro in the head, while he said "Smile, dumbass."

He then immediately turned and I saw Zorro do probably one of the most strained smiles I've seen in my life.

I half-wished that he was just standing there normally, not saying or doing anything. That smile was so insincere even a toddler could see through it.

Viktor saw that and let out a strained chuckle. Valeria and I were livid at the fact that Zorro was sabotaging our efforts to get some shelter and safety here.

"Well it's fine, I assume they're your personal bodyguards, but anyways. Bring them in. Seems like all of you need medical attention so just get in here." Viktor said, turning around and starting to walk in with a quick and purposeful stride.

All four of us just stared at each other in amazement, as we followed him in. I was just relieved that he let us in without much questioning.

Viktor really is a nice person.

We got in through the massive iron gates again, and walked through the rows and rows of tables and made our way to the next floor. Again, I saw the upscale floor and was still enamored by it a bit.

I think fatigue was just playing it's part right now, and my mind was just grabbing on to anything that I laid my eyes on.

"The floor... Is really nice" I said, now my head starting to get light.

"I-i know right!" Adante was trying his best to keep some semblance of a conversation with me, trying to not alert Viktor to my declining cognitive state.

Viktor led us to a room which was at the end of the first floor, and once he opened it with a key, it led into a beautiful residential room, which had a bunch of people just sitting around in the room which was massive.

"What is this place?" Zorro mumbled to himself as he looked around in awe, but Viktor picked up on that dialogue.

"Well, this." Viktor turned around and put both his arms out across ,pointing grandly at the entire room, which turned to see Viktor's arrival, and everyone instantly stood up, showing respect for him. 

"Everyone, please sit down." Viktor gestured for the people to sit down, and everyone resumed with their activities.

"Welcome to my humble abode." Viktor said, turned around and indicated for us to sit on the couch. "Just sit down here for a bit, I will get someone to nurse your wounds." He said, as he started to look around for someone.

"Where are the nurses!?" Viktor screamed as he walked into another room, his thumping footsteps leading into the door and slowly vanishing.

All four of us sat down, and the chatter in the room continued, while some others silently observed us.

A lady dressed in white then showed up quickly with a box of cleaning supplies and and a medical kit in hand, having a couple of men in tow.

"Just what the hell happened, Valeria? The one on this person is especially bad." Viktor asked, assessing the injuries all three of them had gotten, and he was looking at Zorro's injury. The bleeding was stopped, but you could still see that it was pretty terrible.

"Zorro, your shoulder." Valeria mentioned, as the nurses started to tend to her wounds. She winced in pain as the nurse slowly started to wash the wound first, and let out a hissing sound as she started to pour a bottle of water over the wound.

"I'm really sorry sweetie." The nurse said, in a really sweet voice with a smile in her face. Valeria looked back at the nurse, and shot back a difficult smile as the nurse just smiled and started to pour another round of water, and Valeria started to scream profanities.

"Oi, Valeria. Don't zone out, tell me what happened?" Viktor pushed Valeria for information, annoyance evident in his voice

"Oh, well, like I said before, we were going to the chronicles citadel for getting information on a certain individual named Gelidra. Things heated up after that, and here we are." She said, a tinge of annoyance in her voice too.

"What?" Viktor shot a cold glance, and Valeria instantly responded "Didn't I already tell you, you twat?" Valeria shot back, her demeanor coming back promptly as her wounds were treated.

"Oh, I asked because I want more information." Viktor said, with a slightly hurt expression on his face.

I really wanted to know about Hagen super bad.

---

The cold stone walls of the Imperial Nexus did little to help the lack of energy that was prevalent in the castle. The cold marble pathway, as it winded through, slowly changed into pathways of stone, adorning rooms with a cold and bleak feeling.

On a cold table, sitting across in now very worn armor that bore the insignia of the first legion, sat commander Hagen Herakles. He was surrounded by his loyal guard, his most skilled men are the only ones that remained alive.

One guard, a veteran with a grizzled beard, spoke up in a hushed, uneasy tone. "Commander, the defenses are breaking down. The enemy's forces are at the gates, and it won't be long before they breach our walls."

Another guard chimed in, his voice filled with concern. "We've fought valiantly, Commander, but our numbers are dwindling. We can't hold them off much longer."

Hagen's jaw tightened, his fingers clenching the letter from the Princess of Mythria. Her words, though filled with hope, felt distant and unattainable amidst the chaos that surrounded him. He knew that the fate of the First Legion, and perhaps the entire kingdom, rested on his shoulders.

"Prepare the troops for one final push," he commanded, his voice filled with a somber determination.

"The legacy of the First Legion will not be extinguished on my watch."