Chapter 4: A Spy's Information

I step out of the portal into a clearing about an hour's walk from the town of Lazarus. I walk towards the small house and I summon Spiritus. "Let's get some rest."

I open the door and I walk in, then I close the door and I collapse on the couch. Through a window, I see Spiritus run off into the forest, most likely to hunt. I sigh and stare at the ceiling.

After Xerkhon returned me to the human realm, he provided me with this house so I would have a place to live between missions. He cloaked it so that only Spiritus and I can see it, although other people can see it if I allow them to. It has a nicely-sized bedroom, a working bathroom, and a kitchen with an oven and a stove so I can cook and bake food for myself. The kitchen also has a table to eat at and a cabinet I paid a mage I know to enchant with ice magic so I could store meat and other things that need to be kept cold. It's nothing fancy, like something you'd find in a place like Solaris, but it's home.

I hear Spiritus claw at the door, so I stand up and stretch, then I go open the door and let him in. I close the door and I go into the kitchen to grab something to eat.

As I reach into the cabinet, I notice Spiritus looking at me expectantly. "Didn't you just eat?" Spiritus just stares at me. I laugh and I toss him a piece of meat. "Here." I make myself a sandwich while Spiritus happily devours his food.

After I eat, I go into my room. I change into regular clothes, then I climb into bed and get some well-deserved rest.

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I wake up in the morning and I have a quick breakfast with Spiritus before we walk to Lazarus. "Hopefully I can find out who Yuri's other two generals are."

I walk into Lazarus and I head towards the guard barracks. As I walk there, I look around at all the different buildings in the town. Lazarus is one of the bigger towns in Norzelrin. It has many different shops, where you can get almost anything you could think of.

I enter the guard barracks and the first thing I see is a familiar elven archer with a scowl on his face. "What do you want, Crescent?" I roll my eyes. "It's nice to see you too, Graham. Do you have any jobs I can do?"

Graham mutters something I can't hear and walks into another room. I walk over to the human mage and swordsman by the wall. "Hey, Abel and Kruz. Why's Graham more of a jerk today than usual?"

Kruz rolls his eyes. "He is? I hardly noticed." Abel sighs. "It's because of the outpost of Solarian soldiers that was spotted about a day north-west of here. Apparently one of the army's generals is there."

"I took care of them yesterday. I wasn't going to let them attack this place." Abel looks shocked. "You killed a general?!" I shake my head. "No, he got away. All the soldiers are gone, though."

"That's still impressive, but you shouldn't let Graham hear that. If he hears about you outdoing him again, he'll be pissed." Graham walks back in and glares at me. "I don't have anything for you, so just get the hell out of here before you waste any more of my time." I wave goodbye to Kruz and Abel, then I walk out.

"What an ass. So much for getting some extra money." I walk through the streets with a specific area in mind. As I walk, people pay no mind to Spiritus. They used to be terrified of him, but after I started accepting requests from the guards to make some extra gold, the people learned to trust us.

I casually stroll into a shady part of Lazarus, ready to summon my katana in case someone is stupid enough to try and mug me. I look around for the person I'm here to meet with. "Where is she this time...?"

Out of nowhere, a pebble hits me in the back of my head. "Over here!" I go down the alley I heard the voice come from. At the end, I see a familiar woman with hair the color of blue ink wearing cloth armor the color of shadows.

I rub the back of my head. "Shana, do you really have to do that to get my attention?" Shana giggles. "Come on, it's funny! Lighten up, Mister Croissant!" I sigh. "I need your help with something." Shana frowns. "I don't have any news about the Solarian army, you know. If I did, I would've let you know."

"I'm here for something else." Shana smirks. "Oh, really? Did you finally realize that you couldn't resist me and come to ask me out? I'm sure I could move things around and make some time."

I roll my eyes. "Sure. As soon as the underworld freezes over." Shana crosses her arms and pouts. "You don't have to be mean. What're you even here for, then?" "I need you to tell me who Yuri's generals are."

Shana looks a little confused. "Why are you asking me that? I thought you weren't going after them." "I've changed my mind. I need to take action. I've already met and fought Lonril Norvendis, so I just need to know who the other two are."

Shana sighs. "I knew the other two generals personally. One is my father, and the other was my closest friend during my time in Solaris's army."

"Oh. I suppose you're going to stop me from fighting your father, right?" Shana gives me a sad look. "No. I tried to talk some sense into him and get him to help me stop Yuri, but he refused to turn on him. My father tried to throw me in the dungeon, but I was able to get away."

"What kind of a father would do that?!" "I don't know what happened to him. He was a good person, but the night my mother was killed, Yuri himself appeared and recruited my father into his army after he dealt with the assassin that attacked us. He was never the same after that night. I don't know why he changed, because no matter how much I try to remember, I can't remember what happened between mom's death and Yuri appearing. It's like someone or something messed with my memories."

"Hmm... Maybe the assassin did it. Do you remember what they looked like?" "He was a tall male elf. Now that I think about it, him and Lonril look very similar. The main difference between them is that the assassin had purple skin. Yuri actually seemed to know him. When he attacked us, the assassin went on and on about his mother and her plan."

"Did he say what his name was?" Shana clenches her fists. "I would never forget that piece of crap's name. It's Rothzal. He didn't say what his mother's name was though. I tried to ask Yuri how he knew Rothzal, but he refused to answer."

I put a hand on Shana's shoulder. "If I find out anything about this Rothzal or what he might have done to your father, I'll let you know. That's the least I can do for a friend." Shana smiles. "Thanks. That really does mean a lot." She sighs. "I hope it doesn't come to it, but if you have to kill my dad, I won't hold it against you because what happened to him is Rothzal's fault, not yours."

I nod. "I appreciate it, but what about your former friend? Who are they and why do they work for Yuri?" "She's the newest of the three. She became a general right before I left Solaris. Yuri recruited her six years ago. She's a holy dragoon and she even has her own dragon. The dragon didn't like me that much, though. She was my best friend, although she didn't really talk about how she joined Yuri. I didn't ask her about her past because whenever it got brought up, she looked sad."

I give her a serious look. "Wait a damned minute. What was her name?" "Lorelei Melnith." I glare at Shana. "You have to be lying. She's dead." Shana glares right back at me. "I'm not lying about this! That's what her name is! Did you know her or something?"

I sigh and look at the ground. "Yeah. We grew up in the same village, and we were best friends. She was... very special to me." Shana's eyes go wide and she gasps. "Wait.. are you Red?!" "What? How do you know that nickname?"

Shana grins. "She never actually said what your name was, but whenever she talked about you, she called you Red. I can't say what we talked about, but you were the one thing from her past that she was happy to talk about." Shana frowns. "I guess I know why she was sad every time Yuri talked about killing Brutus Crescent."

"What the hell should I do...?" Shana looks at me seriously. "I think you should try to get her to abandon Yuri. She was the only one who supported me when I tried to find a way to get rid of him. Hell, if I'd had the time, I would've taken her with me when I left, but it was too late. If I tried to go back for her, she would've been exposed and we both would've been executed. I don't know what's happened to her since then, but I know that if anyone can get her to leave Solaris, it's you."

"I can't say I completely believe you, but I have an idea on how to prove whether she's alive or not." Shana raises an eyebrow. "What's that?" "I'm going to pay a visit to our village, Virkom. The people there should know what happened."

As the words leave my mouth, I hear a strange whispering behind me. I spin around and summon my katana, and I see a shadow slithering off. "Damn!" I quickly throw a lightning orb at it, but it gets away.

I growl. "Great. I'm sure Lonril did this." "Yeah, he definitely did that. He's not called The Shadowmaster for nothing. Make sure you prepare before you leave, okay?" "Of course." I start to reach for some gold to give Shana, but she shakes her head. "You can pay me by coming back with Lorelei, alright?"

"I'll do what I can." I turn and leave. As I walk to the shops to buy some supplies for the long trek to Virkom, I sigh sadly. "Lorelei, I don't know if you're really still alive, but if you are, hopefully we can be together again..."