CHAPTER 28
AFTER HAKKEN bought a top-quality war blade from the Dwarven shop, he left with Sollel. Before stepping out of the shop, Sollel glanced at Erar, who was carefully placing the glass bottle with Sollel's blood on a Dwarven treasure box. The box was made from the strongest metal with a beautiful design. It's one of the strongest treasure boxes the Dwarven Kingdom ever made. Only a master forgeman could own them. One piece each.
Sollel was not worried about her blood in Erar's hand. If there were a race who would never ever betray her, that would be the Dwarven race. Even if it cost them their lives, they were the race that never turned their backs on their fealty.
Following Hakken to the street, she walked beside him toward the inn Hakken rented.
"Fortunately, they have lots of room available," said Hakken.
Sollel smiled and teased Hakken, "Is sleeping in the same room with me that appalling?"
"No, of course not, my lady," Hakken immediately explained himself. "It's just inappropriate for a lady to share a room with a man."
Sollel actually snorted. "That's a human custom, Hakken. And I hate them."
Hakken halted on his step. "So...I can sleep in your room?"
Sollel turned around and asked, "Do you want to?"
"Yes. Saving money is important, after all."
"Okay." Sollel nonchalantly gave her consent because she knew Hakken would never do anything lascivious.
Hakken smiled, hearing the consent, and continued walking beside his lady. Little by little, he knew he was earning his lady's trust. But we're already about to reach the city of Ager. So little time.
"My lady," Hakken said in a serious tone. "The travel from here to the city of Ager will not be as dangerous. We can buy a horse and a wagon for safety and comfort. That said, may I ask for a permission to travel to Ager first?"
Sollel stopped walking and face Hakken. "What do you mean?"
"Lady Zassia showed me her grandfather's message," Hakken explained. "We shouldn't enter Ager without a solid plan. Let me check the city first and gather information to make sure it's safe."
Sollel knew that Hakken was proposing a good plan, but she was reluctant. "Hakken, you're on a wanted list too."
Hakken smiled reassuringly. "No worries, my lady. That won't be a problem."
Sollel was still reluctant. "Do you really have to do this?"
"To keep you safe. Yes."
Sollel sighed. "Be careful out there."
That put a smile on Hakken's lips. "I will, my lady."
"When are you leaving?"
"Tomorrow," Hakken answered and smiled coquettishly. "Sleeping in the same room with my lady is a very important experience."
Sollel almost rolled her eyes. "You talk about experience, but you're too prude." Smiling, Sollel walked ahead of Hakken.
Hakken immediately followed. "I want to respect my lady, and of course, I don't want to get burned."
"Good that you know."
Hakken shook his head and just walked beside Sollel until they reached the inn.
"Where's Grath and Zassia?" Sollel asked when she didn't see the two.
"Backyard. Practicing, I think."
Sollel nodded. "That's good. So..." Sollel glanced at Hakken. "Where's our room?"
"Th-this way."
Sollel silently chuckled when Hakken stuttered. Seriously, Sollel didn't know anymore. Hakken seemed like an experienced man the way he carried himself and the way he spoke. From the battlefield to the battles in bed, Sollel had a feeling that Hakken could never be bested, but he was acting prude all the time when they're very close with each other.
Even an inexperienced woman like me is teasing him.
When Sollel entered the room, Hakken, who was behind her, spoke. "I have to try and train my war blades to find the balance of the blade and to familiarize myself with them, so I will be in the backyard, my lady," Hakken said hurriedly and left without waiting for Sollel's answer.
Sollel shook her head and closed the door. After locking it, she took off her cloak, and she couldn't help checking the cuts and wounds on her body. When she escaped her prison, her body was covered in wounds and cuts, but now her cuts were already healed, and her wounds were starting to disappear.
Sollel faced the mirror and looked at herself. Her hair and eyes were still bloodred; that means her strength hadn't changed.
Sollel sighed at the fact that she was still weak. Remembering the message of Zassia's grandfather, Sollel couldn't help cursing. She was not part of the list, but part or not, she had a feeling there's a trap waiting for her in Ager. That's why even if she was reluctant, she let Hakken go to Ager first.
I have to be very careful. I can't go back to prison. Not when I'm this close to Gatria.
Taking a deep breath, Sollel entered the bathroom to take a bath and wash her clothes. After bathing, she used the heat from her flame to dry her clothes. She didn't do this before because she had spare clothes to change into, but all her clothes were on Cira's satchel. She had to improvise.
Sollel stayed in the bathroom a little longer than she used to, waiting for her clothes to dry while expending her strength since she was using her flame to dry her clothes. But that didn't matter to Sollel. She'd rather wait for a long time in the bathroom than to reuse dirty clothes.
After an hour of using the heat of her flame, everything had finally dried, even her cloak. Sollel was happy as she put her clothes on again and stepped out of the bathroom.
Sollel was about to place her cloak on the chair when she heard a knock from the door to her room. Sollel spread her essence to check who was outside and opened the door when she felt the familiar presence of Erar.
"Isn't this risky?" Sollel asked after inviting Erar to her room
"Yes, but I must do this," said Erar before he dropped to his knees and prostrated in front of Sollel. "Your Highness, it's been so long. We are glad to see you again."
Sollel sat on the edge of the bed and looked at Erar, who was still prostrating in front of her. This is the reason why I let him in. Dwarves had always been over the top when it came to paying respects to her.
"That's enough." Sollel made sure that her voice carried weight.
Master Forgeman Erar immediately raised his head. "Thank you for letting a lowly master forgeman like me to pay his respect to the queen."
Like I was saying. Over the top. "I don't believe you'll come here to only pay respects."
Erar bowed his head. "Your Highness, we dwarves have always been loyal to the queens of Yther, more so to Her Highness, Queen Sollel. When our spies in the empire heard that you've escaped, King Ruther immediately mobilized us, the master forgemen, to enter the cities and aid Her Highness, hoping that we could be of service. Two master forgeman remained on our king's side, while the remaining eight were scattered throughout Azitera."
That's expected from that brawny stubborn Dwarven king. "Spies?"
Erar nodded. "The harpies tribe never gave up on looking for the queens of Yther, Your Highness." Harpies were a race with birdlike bodies, but they could transform into a full human body at will. "They soared the sky every day for more than a century to look for the Yther queens and to map out the whole Azitera, looking for escape routes when the time comes."
"The harpies..." Sollel felt like a warm hand touch her heart. "Is Queen Mesara still alive?" Mesara was the queen of the harpies when Yther was still prominent, and they pledged their allegiance to Yther and Astrid.
Erar shook his head. "She died a couple of years ago, but the princess of the harpies, Morya, shared the same belief and goals as her mother. Very soon, Queen Morya will finish mapping the Azitera and its escape routes and hidden passages."
Sollel had no words to the harpies' hard work. She was overwhelmed that after all these years, they remained loyal.
"We and the other tribes who still remembered the queens of Yther were just waiting for the right time. If only we're strong enough and not outnumbered, we would've saved Her Highness sooner, but alas, our tribes had declined, and the humans kept hunting the other races, using them as trophies and slaves."
Sollel clenched her fist when she heard what happened to the other races they helped and cared for before. "How about the Ytherians, Erar? What happened to my people?"
Erar looked down with sorrow. "We tried to help them escape the humans who never stopped hunting them, but we could only help a few. I'm so sorry, Your Highness. We were useless!"
Sollel shook her head. "Saving a few is already enough. Pass my deep gratitude to all the races who helped my people."
Erar nodded. "Yes, Your Highness. But the real reason why I came here is to warn you."
Sollel immediately became alert. "Tell me."
"Your Highness, that horrible day, when the humans took all of you, we tried to fight them off. We could've won, but the humans had help. Four powerful beings trashed us and killed half of us. When we recovered, we gathered all the information we could and we learned that those beings were the same as the queens of Yther—they were also blessed by the deities."
Sollel's lips parted in shock. She had no idea who those being were!
"We tried looking for more information, but we couldn't find any. That's why I'm here—to warn Her Highness. Those beings might try to harm you now that you're free. Her Highness must be careful."
Sollel's mind was working in haste to provide understanding. "These beings that you speak of, did the humans strike a deal with them?"
"We believe so, but ever since then, those four beings haven't shown themselves. We tried looking, but nothing."
Instead of fear, Sollel chuckled coldly. "Humans are very greedy. If those beings are like us, then what's stopping the humans from betraying them and using that damn stone on them?"
"King Ruther arrived at the same conclusion, but Her Highness still needs to be more careful and alert. We don't want to see our queen imprisoned again."
Sollel nodded after hearing the sincerity and sorrow in Erar's voice. "I will be very careful."
Erar looked relieved. "Then I will take my leave now and report to King Ruther. I am leaving my grandson to man the shop here in Sarnau, so if Her Highness needs anything from the shop, just say the word, and it is yours."
Sollel was beyond grateful. "Thank you."
Erar bowed his head and was about to leave when Sollel remembered one of the most important questions.
"Erar, do you know who freed me?"
Erar halted in his tracks and was reluctant to turn around to face the queen because of the promise they made. But as loyal as the dwarves were, Erar couldn't help turning around and answering the queen, "Y-yes, Your Highness."
I thought so. Sollel's assumption was right. The dwarves have been trying to free me from my moonrite prison. It's impossible that they didn't know who freed me.
"May I ask the name?"
Erar immediately prostrated and bowed down a couple of times, his forehead hitting the wooden floor. "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry for my insolence, Your Highness! But I cannot disclose the person's name. I'm so sorry, Your Highness! We made an oath. I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"
Sollel didn't press Erar for her savior's name. Of all the beings in Azitera, it was Sollel who knew how much the dwarves value promises and loyalty. "I understand, but please let me ask you another question."
Erar, who couldn't take the queen's pleading, spoke. "Of...c-course, Your Highness..."
"Erar... did the Dwarven Kingdom hired that person to save me?"
Erar immediately shook his head. "That person came to us, Your Highness. We were skeptical at first, but when the undercover harpies started hearing about Her Highness's escape from the empire's officials they were serving, we realized that that person indeed brought you out of prison like promised."
"Did that person ask anything in return?"
Erar nodded. "Just one, Your Highness."
"What?"
"Keep Her Highness safe."
Sollel's lips parted. That person went through all that trouble to save me and keep me safe but still haven't shown themselves...wait...haven't they? She met five people in her travel, and those five people were now traveling with her.
Sollel crossed Zassia off the list since she was too weak. Grath's name was also crossed since she met him as a slave. Then there's Hakken, Cira, and Xeke. She met Hakken, the hunter, in Ashmire when she was looking for a hunter. She met Cira, the elf healer, in Beastrela when she needed healing and to recover a little. Then she met Xeke, which was a coincidence, but was it really?
Those three were all suspicious, but she's crossing out Cira's name on the list because she had done nothing but help her. She even got injured trying to seal the moonrite stone.
That left her with Hakken and Xeke.
Sollel narrowed her eyes. Do I have to throw a bait...to catch the fish?
CECELIB | C.C.