Aron and the others had been traveling for many days now and were about to arrive in the region where the city of Findel resided. Their journey proved to be very peaceful and without problems thus far, though they still remained on high alert each and every day.
In this time, the faction members had grown more familiar with each other and began to work more fluidly. Lady Rose and Aron rarely left their respective quarters, leaving things to Claudia and Jin.
Jagu and Xavier took it upon themselves to discuss and educate the others on combat and strategies should anything occur.
This was a benefit of having capable allies; Aron didn't need to pass any orders or directly intervene. It was like pointing someone in a direction rather than leading them there yourself. Simple and rewarding.
The only thing that required his direct attention were the reports Claudia and Xavier would bring him from time-to-time. Other than that he spend his days comfortably reading in his quarters.
He was currently doing just that when a knock resounded from his door. Unlike most times, this knock was expected since he had told Claudia to inform him when they were getting close to Findel.
However, when he opened his door, who he found on the other end was not Claudia but instead Jin, who was leaning on the wall with a bottle of liquor in his hands. "What is it that keeps you cooped up in there?" Jin took a swig and asked with a brow raised as Aron exited the room.
"Books and peace I suppose." He shrugged his shoulders slightly as he gave Jin a short response, which he seemed to accept before sighing and stretching his hands in an exhausted manner. "Anyway, we'll soon be in Findel territory and we'll arrive in the city by the time the sun is setting," Jin announced to Aron before taking another swig from the bottle he held.
"We're earlier than I expected, anything else I should know?"
"Well, the wether is a bit drastic here and we're starting to encounter more and more airships, so everyone is on high alert. We took the liberty of replacing the insignia's on the ship with our own so as not to draw too much attention to ourselves. That woman really is full of ideas..." Jin showed a defeated expression as he and Aron began roaming the halls while conversing.
"Claudia?"
"Who else? That woman barely let me sleep and not in the fun way. She's a natural workaholic, but her efforts have made things more efficient and easier. Jagu and noble boy haven't been slacking either, it's no elite force but the others are better trained and educated in terms of warfare."
Jin and Aron continued to converse about the state of the airship as they made their way into the ship's private dinning area.
Nobles were usually separated from the rest of their crew members, so most aristocratic ships had two or more dining areas.
In Aron's private dinning area, they found Jagu, Xavier, and Evanora already seated around an oval shaped wooden table. They quickly exchanged greetings informally before joining them.
"I'm looking forward to seeing the city of Findel, I've never had the chance to." Xavier raised the topic in an energetic and excited manner but seemed to be the only one.
"It's gloomy, cold and mostly rainy. What's there to look forward to about that depressing place?" The one to respond to Xavier wasn't any of the four seated but Claudia who had just walked into the room with Lady Rose beside her.
"Unlike most cities in Ettenheim, Findel is pretty lawless. So much that nobles avoid it like the plague. Crime, illegal substances, and deaths are always high there. It's largely ruled by independent pirate factions rather than the officials themselves. If you ask me, that just means we'll have it easier." Jin shrugged as he explained this fact, Claudia, who had to deal with this numerous times a day, didn't have the energy to respond as she just narrowed her eyes at him.
"He's right, it will be far more convenient for us. They respect wealth and power there, titles and prestige are useless there." The one to agree with Jin's words was Lady Rose, who walked over to the oval table and sat between Aron and Evanora.
"You sound rather familiar with it, can I take it you have an information source planted there? The very one that provided those sketches to you?" Aron turned to Lady Rose and inquired while the others remained lost at his words since they were still unaware of how his and her alliance truly sparked.
"Yes, a young, eccentric explorer. I'll tell you more once we arrive," is what she said, but it came across as her not wanting to discuss it in front of the others.
She didn't trust Aron, but she knew he wouldn't divulge their information, as for the the others... not so much. Jagu and Evanora were clueless of this fact but the others definitely picked up on her subtle implications.
The meal didn't last long and the first to stand up was Lady Rose who said nothing but gave a glance towards Aron. He picked up on this small gesture and stood up soon after as well, and followed her as they both left the room.
'Just what is it that they aren't telling us.' Claudia narrowed her eyes as she watched them leave, one couldn't help but be curious as to what they were discussing. Jin noticed her staring and snapped his fingers in her direction to get her attention. "Don't bother worrying about unnecessary stuff, you're better off not knowing more than you should," Jin advised with a seriousness he rarely displayed.
"Aren't you guys the least bit curious?" she retorted with a small frown, she personally felt that it was only natural to be curious as to what he was hiding from them.
"We are, but we trust him enough not to go digging into matters that we shouldn't," Jin defended, causing Claudia to look at him confused. "You haven't known him that long yet you seem so sure."
During these past few days, she had learned that the group's history together was very short since they had only met during the journey. She questioned herself as to why they would be willing to go so far for someone they knew for less than half a year.
"Everyone has their own reasons, we're not children blindly following him nor are we forced to. He doesn't pry into our pasts or goals and we don't pry into his, mutual respect is a big part of cooperation or do you human nobles not believe in that?" Jagu, who rarely ever spoke many words, responded to Claudia in such a way that she couldn't respond.
She, too, had her secrets as did everyone present, it wasn't fair for her to single out Aron and Lady Rose simply because they were spearheading the operation.
"I apologize for overstepping my bounds..." she said in a low tone before hurriedly leaving the table. Xavier was quick to go after while Jin just smirked. "And I thought I was terrible with handling women."
Meanwhile Lady Rose and Aron were walking down a hall in silence, it was completely empty due to the members being gathered in the dinning hall.
"About my informant, I've heard no word from them in days now. I'm quite sure something has happened." Lady Rose finally spoke and revealed some worrying news.
"How did you two keep contact?" he asked curiously since they were very few ways to communicate via long distance in Pesia.
"A two way messaging scroll. It's possible it got lost or damaged but again, I highly doubt that is the case," she replied in cold manner, but the subtle irritation in her voice didn't go unnoticed.
A two way messaging scroll was simply a pair of scrolls that displayed what was written on one scroll to the other. Like most mana devices, it's function was made possible due to runes. Simple yet quite expensive as regular runic specializing mages would take months to successfully form one while more experienced mages didn't waste their time on such an activity.
"In other words, we have to find your informant's whereabouts before we can begin investigating?" Aron asked knowing this was probably what she meant, otherwise she wouldn't have brought it up or look so irritated by it.
"Yes, it's essential we do so before noble factions from both the academy and aristocratic families make their way to Findel by any means possible. That won't be a problem, will it?" She came to a stop and turned to Aron with her usual strict looking expression.
"It won't," he replied stoically then she turned and walked away. After she did, he showed a small devilish grin that revealed his sharp canines, his rising desires echoed through his mind.
[Massacre!! Massacre!! Massacre!!]
[A/N: Jagu was the voice of wisdom; how rare. With so many characters each with their own desires and goals, it's hard to tell how things will go.. Will it be a smooth ride to the finish? Or will there be trials at every corner? All shall be revealed in due time.]
