56. Afeerbah

"You're both transplants." Fulsin flat out said it. Castus and Shi visibly tensed by his words.

Shi opened her mouth to speak, but Fulsin held his hand up. "I'm not going to tell a soul, but just watching you both and the fact that the church abducted you I am certain. Neither one of you acts your age, but well above it." Fulsin said confidently.

Castus bit his lip. Fulsin's words were truth. They were both transplants and they had both gotten too comfortable acting like they normally would. Fulsin smiled, looking at the downcast gazes of the two. "You're right, we are, but what of it?" Castus finally found the words he was looking for.

"It's quite simple really. I spoke shortly earlier about the political movements and marriage attempts on your sister. That is small pieces compared to the large political landscape. The nobility has split into two factions. Both sides are vying for any neutral parties currently as they build their stockpiles against each other. Castus and Shi you both act as crucial pawns for my faction. If you want to protect your sisters and escape, you will consider helping." Fulsin spoke, threats were laced in his words. This wasn't a magnanimous person, but a businessman. He was trading Castus' sister's lives with his assistance.

Castus looked to Shi. Shi nodded in affirmation. "What are we agreeing to do for you?" Castus asked, hesitant to fully commit. Fulsin looked away and thought for a second.

"It's simple, I need you to speak on my behalf at a later time. Then I will aid you two and your sisters flee this country." His words were vague, but the overall point looked quite simple.

"That's all?" Castus asked.

"It sounds like we should agree." Shi whispered to Castus. Shi was right. Just speaking wouldn't be to hard.

Fulsin nodded his head. "That's all. The only issue is it might not be anytime soon. I will call on you when it is time for you to speak and I will tell you what to say then. In the meantime I will continue to protect your sisters and also help you and Shi to develop here in the city while keeping you both hidden and safe." Fulsin sweetened the deal.

"Everything sounds good, but how long are you talking about. We would both like to leave as soon as we can, preferably with Castus' sisters." Shi spoke. Shi tried to draw a line that they did have limits.

Fulsin once again looked away in thought. "The shortest period of time would be three to four years. At longest it would be about eight."

Castus and Shi sucked in cold air. "Sir, would it be alright for us to send a letter to our compainions first before we accept. That's a long time." Castus spoke.

Fulsin nodded his head. "That's no problem. In the meantime, I have prepared some rooms for you here." Fulsin smiled and waved his hand. The door to the room swinging open to reveal the carriage driver from before, now in a full set of butler clothes. "Please show them to their rooms and get the boy some paper and pen for a letter." Fulsin spoke and turned around.

Castus and Shi followed the butler to their rooms. They were quite lavish, with silky soft beds and changes of clothes already prepared for them. Fulsin certainly thought ahead. Too far ahead for Castus' liking.

The butler brought a pen and paper for him quickly after. Castus sighed while he wrote. He would be here for a while most likely. He didn't think it would be a bad thing though. It would give him time to develop himself and finally gain some strength to himself. The travels had given him ample time to realize that he was the weakest of his group. He finished the letter off and found the butler waiting outside the room.

"Ah could you send this to Afeerbah for a Celeste Bond?."

The butler took the letter wordlessly and left. Castus hoped his friends would be alright with him staying where he was for the time being. He had expressly written that they should go ahead and move on if they could.

Meanwhile with Alyssa, Rys and Cerone.

The group finally reached a small town that wasn't too far from where they escaped. They made it inside relatively easily as the town knew of Uvolia's party and there were only very lax security measures.

Uvolia led them to a room where they set down the still knocked out Rau and Rys. Sitting down on the beds in the room Uvolia looked to Alyssa and Cerone. "I am going to take a nap and recover some before heading back out to look for Nort and Breken. I would suggest getting some sleep as well. If Nort loses you will need to get away from here quickly." Uvolia spoke solemnly. She seemed too tired to care about any of the complications with the abilities that the three of them had. Uvolia seemed very concerned for Nort.

Once the two of them were certain Uvolia had gone to sleep they turned to each other. "What do you think we should do?" Cerone asked Alyssa. Alyssa gave a slight smile and then looked around the room.

"Let's get some rest. Its been a bit since we got to sleep in a bed." Alyssa spoke. Cerone nodded. Looking over at Rys who was still knocked out. They could worry about the rest of their issues in the morning. The two of them went to sleep in the spare beds.

Everyone in the room woke up to the sound of an explosion. Quickly gathering their things and rushing out of the inn, they entered the streets of the sleepy town and looked to the source of the sound.

On the horizon was a massive beam of light that was flickering out slowly. Uvolia looked at the beam with fear. "The hero has fallen." She spoke the words softly, with a quivering lip. A single tear fell from her face.

Rau put a hand on her shoulder. In that same enigmatic voice, he spoke, and the group heard it. "We must leave immediately. Yevelian will grow significantly stronger from this." Uvolia nodded her head and looked to the three of them.

"I don't know much about you kids, but it would make me feel better if you three would travel with us two. Afeerbah sounds like a good idea right about now." Uvolia spoke. Sadness permeated out of her.

Cerone looked past Uvolia at the disappearing beam of light. Quickly after it an expanding black mist began to seep out of the woods they had come from. Rau began ushering everyone away from it and got everyone back on the road.

They traveled in silence as they walked. The sky itself seemed to mourn the death of Nort. Dark clouds overtook the once clear sky. Uvolia seemed to have recovered some after the early morning, but the overall mood was depressing.

"So what exactly happened to cause that beam of light." Rys asked, clearly not sensing the current mood.

Uvolia looked back. Still sad, but she sighed and began explaining. "The blessings of heros and villians feed on each other. When one defeats the other they grow stronger. That beam of light is the hero's fall. Its a skill that sacrifices the hero's life for a single massive attack. If Nort was forced to use that, then he was defeated by Yevelian. I'm sure that injured him, but Yevelian is always prepared. I'm certain he survived and without Nort to fight him I'm not sure what's going to happen now. I just know we need to get away." She thumbed the sword on her hip while she walked.

Behind them in the valley of hills the group could see a black smog overtaking the recesses of the valley. The town they had been in earlier was no longer visible. They marched on.

They eventually made it to another town. Uvolia entered the inn and spoke with the innkeeper. She explained what had happened and about the fall of the hero. She asked for a room and asked the innkeeper to spread the word.

The group ate in the main hall of the inn in silence, but the world around them bustled with movement. The news of the fall of the hero brough panic to the town. People packed bags and loaded up carts. Some didn't even wait for the morning to leave, choosing to evacuate immediately.

"Why is everyone running away so quickly. It was just some black smoke." Alyssa spoke, clearly just curious. Rau responded though.

"The hero hasn't lost in ages. The last time it happened it swallowed up an entire island. We cannot be certain what Yevelian will do now. Most will try to flee regardless though." Rau finished. The three of them now understood the gravity of Nort's death.

They continued their march onwards the next morning. Every town they stopped by Uvolia would let people know what happened. Pretty soon it was a mass migration. They didn't march by themselves, but with other carriages and groups of people.

At long last they made it to Afeerbah. Rau said goodbye to the party. He wished to move on alone. Without Nort, Rau wanted to find another purpose in life. Uvolia stayed with the three kids though.

Afeerbah was a coastal giant of a city. From the distance they stood waving goodbye to Rau, they noticed the masses of ships moving in and out of the port. There were hundreds of them. the town spilled outwards with thousands of homes. In the center was grassy plains with mansions built. Separated from the small houses around them.

Getting closer to the city a massive line of people waited at the entrance to the town. They took their place in the line and started to creep forward. Alyssa used her blessing to start listening to the conversations around them.

"The hero really died huh? What a good for nothing."

"This line is so slow, ugh, I need to get out of here before the villain kills us all."

"What do you suppose the villain looks like? I bet he's a huge monster."

Most people seemed less than panicked and more annoyed that they had to move. It was certainly a different mindset than what they anticipated. Moving forward in the line they finally made it into the city. The inside of the city was something out of a fairy tale and made the three of them paused for a moment. Uvolia had to push them out of the entrance so they weren't trampled.

"First time in Afeerbah?" She spoke. Her face with still sad, but an effort could be seen to appear better.