Chapter 6

"What do you mean the king??" Veda asked, tensing up. The guard looked around before pulling them into an alley. "I meant what I said.. The king doesn't let anyone leave.. All the tourists that come, drowned... The king lets them in for tourism, but they can't leave.." The guard looked almost terrified... "Why can't you all swim up?.." Aine asked. "We tried.. there's some sort of barrier of magic... no one can swim out of the barrier... the only exit is the gate for tourists.. but they lock it at a certain time... You need to get out of here before they close the gate. Quickly" The guard begged. 

Just then, the guard was pulled out of the alley by the general. "I apologize for this soldiers behavior, please, enjoy your vacation" The general said with a warm smile before leaving with the guard.

Veda turned to Aine with a serious expression. "We need to find Novius and Darius. We have to get out of this place. Fast." Veda said sternly. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that.." A voice echoed before their vision went dark..

With Novius and Darius

They made their way to the chiefs office with the guidance of the local.

"So, what brings you across the ocean? Yemongrail is on the other side you know" The local pointed out. "We have someone to meet in Yemongrail" Darius said as he looked over at Novius. Novius was glancing around, taking in the underwater scenery. Darius hit Novius on his shoulder to bring his attention back to the matter at hand. Novius' head sprung back forward. "Oh! Right, yes! We're meeting a friend of a friend to have a certain weapon made" Novius said as he came back to reality. "A friend of a friend you say? did your friend serve in the war?" The local asked. "Yes he did actually" Darius replied with a smile. 

They continued walking while engaging in small talk. "So, what's your name?" Novius asked with a smile. "You can call me Kaia" She smiled. "That's a very nice name" Novius complimented.

After a few minutes, they reached the Security station.

"Right this way please" Kaia said as they swam in. There were multiple guards walking around along with other locals in the waiting room. The three of them walked up to the receptionist. "Hi there! how can I help you on this lovely day?" The receptionist asked with a smile. "I have two travelers here that are looking to cross the ocean, could we have a visit to the chief?" Kaia asked. "Of course! they are new here right? I'll let the chief know right away!" The receptionist said happily before standing up and swimming away into another room.

They waited a few minutes before the same receptionist came into the waiting room. "The chief is ready for you now" The receptionist said before the Novius and Darius swam in front of the door. They realized Kaia wasn't coming with them. "Are you not coming?" Novius asked. "I can't assist you from here, I hope you'll do alright" Kaia said with a warm smile. Novius and Darius shrugged it off before going into the Chief's office.

Once they stepped in, they saw a muscular merman covered in scars sitting at a desk. "Ah! you must be the travelers Mary spoke about. It's nice to meet you" The merman spoke. "Yes we are, you must be the Chief of security. Pleasure to be meeting you" Novius answered. "Indeed I am the Chief of security! General Caspian at your service. Please, sit" Caspian gestured to the two seats in front of his desk. Both Novius and Darius sat in the seats. Darius looked.. a little puzzled as he looked around the room.

"So, my assistant told me you were looking for a way to cross the ocean above water, yes?" General Caspian asked. "Yes that's right" Novius replied. "I would love to help you! but according to the law, I'm not allowed to help people that are not citizens of Aexetan" General Caspian said. Novius was confused. "What kind of rule is that?" He asked. "Don't come at me, it was the king" General Caspian defended. "Is there any way you could help us?" Novius asked, sounding a little desperate. "Well, the safest way is to legally become an Aexetan citizen for a day. That's the safest option I can offer you" General Caspian added. "Oh great! We will just do that then. It's just for a day right?" Novius said before General Caspian nodded. "It's settled then!" 

General Caspian snapped his fingers just as a fish brought a rolled up paper. It was a contract with two empty slots at the bottom of the paper. "Go ahead and sign this to legally become an Aexetan citizen for a day" General Caspian said with a smile as he handed them a special quill.

Novius' eyes briefly scanned the single piece of paper and read it quickly. Novius then grabbed the quill and was about to sign it, when suddenly...

Darius grabbed the contract and inspected it up close. "Darius?? What did you do that for??" Novius asked, confused. "This contract has a loophole." Darius said sternly. General Caspian turned pale. "What do you mean? I already read the entire page and there wasn't any loophole." Novius answered. Darius whispered something to the paper...

It seemed as if the single piece of paper split into two pieces.. Novius was stunned.. "A master level concealing spell.. I knew something was off the moment we stepped into the room. The sense of a strong magic mastery. But it didn't come from him.. I ignored everything the General said and tried to find the source... When I couldn't find it, I tried to use my magic to find the source but my magic almost immediately disappeared. That's when I realized someone hexed this room. These spells were specifically made for me and you Novius." Darius spoke sternly, looking at Caspian. 

"This General tried to trap us in Aexetan. On the second page of the contract, we would have to kill eachother to return to being citizens of Cullodran." Darius pointed out with a glare.