11 Chapter 11: New Bounty

Arroth opened his eyes and noticed that he was now lying beside the globe. He heard voices of people arguing and books being thrown to the side and turned his head. Araya and the rest were still looking at a bunch of books, trying to find a better source of information regarding Dayan. By the looks of it, the time had not moved at all, and the things Arroth saw happened in seconds.

He stared at Araya, feeling rather off about the person. He was said to be the prince of the kingdom, but he wasn't related to their king. He was a prince in name, but not in blood. Arroth felt that Araya was wronged, he was even expected to sacrifice his life for his kingdom, he should be given a chance to live the way he wanted, not by the prophecies made by the elder.

Arroth sighed and stood up. He walked towards the others, but for some reason, something in his neck was pulling him in another direction. He looked down and found the pendant glowing and pulling him in a certain direction. He followed the pendant to a pile of scrolls and parchment, rolled and thrown all over the place. He let the pendant find whatever it was looking for and picked it up.

He stared at an old parchment, tied with a red string and sealed with red wax and a lotus stamp. Arroth examined the wax carefully, and memorized the shape of that wax seal, thinking that it would help them find their next clue.

"Hey!" Zulta placed his hand on Arroth's shoulder and stared at the parchment as well. "Whatcha got there?" He took the paper and read the contents.

'Heavenly Country Bounty.

|WANTED

|DEAD OR ALIVE

____~~°°~~____

|Bavid McArthur

∆ 166,000,000,000

And the picture showed Dayan, wearing a red shawl over his head, and a belt filled with potions and vials. He had the face and mark of a dishonest merchant and the smile of someone who knows what murder felt like.

Arroth stared at the number under his name and felt his inside hurt. That was a lot of zeros for a single man. What exactly did he do for the whole country to want his body? If it was Arroth who would put up this sign, he wouldn't be able to pay any amount at all.

Araya and the rest went to look at the parchment, all of which donned a different expression. Zulta moved closer to Arroth, glancing at the pendant around his neck. "It's pointing somewhere."

Arroth looked down and noticed that the pendant was glowing in a certain beat. He turned to where it was pointing and saw a single brown book, under the mountains of scrolls. He kneeled and took a closer look.

The book was covered in dust and had not seen light for some time. There were termites and bite marks appearing on the book, but the contents all seem intact. Arroth grabbed the book and read its contents.

At the very opening of the book were the title and the author’s name.

"Record of the Three Pendants." by Dayan.

He turned to the next page and found several pages missing, but the rest were intact. Pages regarding the cracked sun pendant and the moon pendant were intact as if the record of the first one was missing. Arroth stared at those pendants, lips pursed, hoping to know more about these pendants. He too has a pendant, and on top of that, it was from Dayan. Does that mean that this record used to have information regarding the pendant he now has?

Araya looked at the book and frowned. "I've never seen that book before." He moved next to Arroth and read the contents of the book. With every word, he frowns. "There's no such thing as the three pendants in our kingdom." He hummed and added. "Could this be related to the bounty in the human realm?"

Arroth blinked and looked at the book. This book could be the reason for the bounty on Dayan's head… but it's his book… Why did he use the name Bavid, when he can get the book back with his original name? Could it be because he was dead in their kingdom? Arroth didn't know, he didn't care, but because he needed to find him… this book could be very helpful.

Araya sighed. "Let's go now. My father only allowed me to be here for 5 hours. we need to go." He handed the parchment back to Arroth and walked back to where they came.

_______________

The sun had set when Arroth got back. It wasn't because they were held up in the library, but because he fell into another hole, and locked by those angels whose houses were struck by Zaganon's tail. Each Angel who came said multiple dissatisfied opinions with their existence, but not once did they soil the name of their king or prince.

When Arroth pushed open the door, he found Zaganon laying on Zulta's lap, eyes closed, breathing evenly. Arroth's brows raised and he looked at Zulta. "How and why?"

"Break the window. Dragon." Zulta answered, sliding his hand down Zaganon's back. His eyes stared innocently towards Arroth and grins.

Arroth looked at his single window, finding that it had been shattered by another one of those people he hated. Although Zulta isn't as bad as the rest, he was still an angel, and his very existence feels weird to him. Arroth took a broom and swept the shards of glass out of his home, and sat at the table he managed to buy in this kingdom. He began to study the book and planned to stay in the human world to get more clues. He could also use this to keep himself away from the kingdom during the cleansing.

Zulta was sitting in their bed, stroking Zaganon's scales, filled with fondness and interest. "Your brother seems to have the mind of a child now." He said, placing Zaganon down on the bed, and covering him with a quilt.

"What do you mean?" Arroth raised his head and frowned.

Zulta stood and walked towards Arroth. "His mental age has declined since he turned into a dragon." He lifted a finger and added. "He did not raise his defenses against me when I broke your window. He let me pet him. On top of that, he didn't act anything like a sentient, but rather, that of a pet."

Arroth raised his brows and looked at his brother. "Zaganon?" Arroth stood up and stared at his brother's sleeping self. His brows were knitted in a worried frown, as he lay his hand on the bed. "Is this because of the curse?"

"Probably," Zulta said, walking out of the house. "I guess you don't have enough time until he starts acting vicious like those vile beats." He pushed open the doors and left.

Arroth purses his lips and lays next to Zaganon. "Why are you the one who always gets hurt?" He closed his eyes and let the weight of the day press him to sleep.