The Six Guns

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Answers

  The crew was finally getting ready to sleep. One by one, each of them fell asleep. Before Siran and Zia fell asleep, Zia said to Siran "I guess I should thank you".
  "For what?" Siran asks.
  "Other than the many other things you've already done" Zia says, "I should thank you for sharing your story with us. I always wanted to hear the story when I was a kid, although that stopped being important to me after so long. But I'm glad you finally opened up to us".
  Zia fell asleep before long but Siran had troubles falling asleep and stayed awake by himself for hours in silence. When the next day arrived, Siran was no longer in his monstrous form. He was back to his old appearance.
  "When did you shapeshift?" Finn asks as Siran finally wakes up after everyone else.
  "Late last night" Siran says in a tired voice. "Shapeshifting actually requires a constant flow of endo, so when I'm in my other form I can actually cast more magic".
  "They why choose your normal form?" Alex asks.
  "Because" Siran says, "it's more familiar to you guys".
  "By the way" Rose asks, "did your wounds heal?".
  "Not really" Siran says, "but with shapeshifting, I stopped the bleeding. I'll be fine eventually".
  "How many times do I need to tell you to stop being so reckless?" Vivi asks.
  "It'll be fine" Siran says, "don't worry".
  "Also, I need to ask" Satomi says, "in your story, the Mages didn't sound so evil and bent on control. What changed in this country?".
  "That's a good question" Siran says, "the first Mages weren't really bad people. Granted, we had bad blood between each other, but they had good intentions. Why are the current Mages so focused on controlling everything?".
  "Well" Alex says, "the next Mages are usually chosen by the previous Mages before they retire. In some cases, there are exceptions. For example, if one or more of the previous Mages die prematurely, then the seat has to be filled by someone who is deemed to have exceptional skills with magic".
  "So if the old Mages were killed" Siran says, "and this is just a theory, then it's possible the one who was selected might've tampered with who would be chosen as the next set of Mages. If those Mages were corrupt enough, then they'd probably take part in this scheme that the Mages seem to be currently pulling".
  "Definitely possible" Alex says, "although it's not exactly a likely case".
"Long story short" Vivi says sarcastically while once again drinking coffee straight out of the coffee pot, "the only way to know for sure is to ask them. By ask, I clearly mean beat the shit out of them?".
"That's one method" Siran says.
"But you're not going to be that reckless this time, right?" Vivi asks.
"I'm thinking about it" Siran says.
"Siran..." Vivi says in a disappointed tone, "you're not going to take my advice seriously, are you?".
"I said I'm thinking" Siran says, "I don't know what to do just yet!".
"Think harder" Vivi says, "but don't hurt yourself".
"If I may?" Robin says, speaking up for the first time in a long while. "If I recall, my dad was the first of the new group of Mages and Markwood was the second. However, Markwood currently holds the leading seat in the council. Does any of that help?".
"Oh my..." Finn says, "I can't believe it. We forgot that Robin is Hood's son".
"No" Vivi says, "you guys forgot, I didn't care".
"I also didn't care" Demetri says, barely paying attention.
"That's a start" Siran says. "Now if we can question Garreth Hood on the matter, we can maybe have answers. Where is your dad now?".
"Probably in the Omnium Guild" Robin says, "with the rest of the Mages".
"Great" Alex says, "back to square one of let's go on a suicide mission".
Siran sighs and says "Maybe we do need to do the dumbest thing just for answers".
"Question" Vivi asks, "why do we need these answers? I know it's generally better to know as much about your enemy as possible, but why would it be worth risking a suicide mission again?".
"Well, what I was thinking about" Siran says, "is if we knocked right on the Mages front door and got a small taste of their power and retreated, we may be able to have at least a small understanding about their capabilities. We could use that knowledge to launch a real attack on them later".
"But it'd also keep them on their toes" Vivi says, "which sometimes can bring a tactical advantage, but in this case would likely allow them to keep a vice grip on our movements. Also, there's a very low chance that we'll actually be able to take any of the Mages prisoner, let alone Garreth Hood. It's a high risk; low opportunity situation, Siran".
"You're right!" Siran says as something in his mind seems to suddenly click. "And that's exactly what they wouldn't expect! Think about it, they know at least a little about most- if not all of us. Especially me, they know a lot about me thanks to James Markwood. We have the benefit of the doubt right now!".
"Oh no" Vivi says, "no no no, see? This is exactly what I mean by being reckless".
"Is everyone else okay with this plan?" Siran asks.
"Can I bring explosives?" Demetri asks.
"I'd usually be against it, but go nuts" Siran says.
"I'm up for the task" Finn says. "I mean- this whole situation has been one suicide mission after another, right?".
"I'm sure we'll make it out just fine" Holly says. "You've got me here, so you can count on us having a strong defense. Although, if my calculations are correct, we have exactly zero chances of success".
  "Thanks" Finn says sarcastically, "you Debbie downer".
  "Mind your own business" Holly says.
  "But... this is my business" Finn says.
"Oh yeah! Finally some action!" Rose says. "By the way, who's Debbie?".
"I'm up for the task" Alex says.
"We're ready when you are!" Satomi says, putting one elbow on Mikoto's shoulder.
"Wow, okay!" Vivi says, sounding very disappointed, "guess I'll be ignored". Vivi sighs and then says "if you're all going, I'm coming too".
"Let's do this" Zia says.