55 Inteiru Expota - Meeting (1/2)

Neither of us says anything as we leave the city. I want to say something, but it feels hard to say anything considering how we ended our last interaction. I didn't plan on asking her about that thing either, but I feel like I need to after finding out about what she did for us. At the same time, I don't want to make things even more awkward between us if she's not interested in that sort of thing. Especially since we have to complete this mission with just the two of us.

”So, I guess you can't show me your new tricks yet,” I say to break the silence.

”I guess not. There'll be a time for that, eventually. Look forward to it because it'll blow you away,” she answers with a grin.

”You're over-exaggerating,” I say, skeptical. ”Now I'm gonna be disappointed if it isn't anything amazing.”

”It is, so you won't be.”

”Right… Anyway, how much of a coincidence is that the meet-up point's at the Hodgepodge? That's just weird. I mean, think about it. General Nero must've received a report about the suspicious individuals in Aramore when we were already here. Doesn't that mean the client or whoever made the report was there the whole time? They could've just brought it up to us instead of sending a request all the way back to Drymo.”

”It is a bit weird, but it's probably just a coincidence. We'll find out when we get there.”

”Yeah, I guess…” I say. I still can't bring myself to ask her about the threesome.

”You don't have to stay up with me, you know,” Hina says. ”I know how you like your naps. If you're tired, go ahead.”

”Nah, I'm good,” I answer. I'd like to sleep, but… I wouldn't be able to anyway with this on my mind. There's no better time than now when we're completely alone. Who knows when I'll have that chance again when we arrive at Aramore.

”Don't be modest. I know you're tired. That's why you asked about leavin' in the mornin', right?”

”Oh… That was… Well… I was actually worried about you, as your friend. Because that's what friends are for.”

”You're actin' weird…but thanks for your concern. I'm fine, so go ahead. Only one of us needs to be up right now. I'll count on you on our way back.”

It's hard to say anything back to that. But if I fall asleep now, I'll probably miss the best chance to ask her.It's now or never. I gulp. ”Actually… I… Umm…talked to Marin last night about your…problem.”

Hina looks at me with a contorted expression. ”You what?”

”I told her about Captain Citrio…and your concerns…” I continue. I feel like if I don't get to the point, she'll get the wrong idea. ”I asked Marin for permission first and she's fine with it.”

”Permission for what?”

”Well… Basically, you can join us at night and sleep next to me, if it makes you feel safer. We can also fake being lovers…to really get Captain Citrio off your back. But we really won't be because…well… I have Marin.”

I finally say it all, but have no idea how she's going to react to this. My heart's pounding but only because of the awkwardness. It doesn't matter to me if she accepts or declines. Just a friendly gesture, as her friend.

”Are you serious?” Hina asks.

I nod silently.

Hina gulps and responds, ”I'll have to think about it.”

With that, she faces forward again. That went smoother than I thought. A weight off my shoulders.

I fully stretch out my body with my back against the wagon. I should sleep. I close my eyes and relax.

…

Someone lightly taps on my cheek. ”We're here.”

I open my eyes and yawn. We're in the village already, but not sure where. The Hodgepodge definitely isn't around here. It's hard to see clearly since it's dark. I ask, ”Where're we?”

”Opposite side of town to the Hodgepodge,” she answers.

”What? Why'd you park us so far out?”

”Because we don't want to attract too much attention.”

”That's why we came alone though. He didn't specify that we have to sneak around. Faster we get this done, the sooner we can leave. He says it's urgent so let's go,” I say and hop off the wagon.

Hina sighs. ”I know you only follow orders to a T without carin' about anythin' else, but come on. Can't you exercise a little more caution? It's not like bein' sneaky here goes against his orders.”

She's right. I just didn't want to be here, to begin with. I concede, ”Fine…”

”Don't worry. I'll take responsibility if anythin' goes wrong as a result of bein' careful,” she says.

I force a smile. ”Whatever, take the lead.”

I follow her lead through the village. It's not as big as the city, so walking to the Hodgepodge from here won't be too bad. The place is quiet, as expected, considering that it's a few hours past midnight. Hina avoids the main path and instead goes through the space between houses. I understand why she wanted to park the wagon far away since it's noisy, but to me, this is way more suspicious than simply taking the main route. If anyone sees us, they'll only think that we're up to no good compared to casually strolling down the path.

Eventually, we reach the Hodgepodge. Hina tries to open the front door, but it's locked. She turns toward me, expecting a solution. But don't look at me. She probably already knows what I'd be willing to do in this situation. I shrug.

”I'm goin' to break the lock,” Hina whispers.

”What? Absolutely not,” I answer back quietly.

She laughs softly. ”I'm kiddin'.”

I frown and shake my head. If I don't suggest something sensible to do, she might do something crazy without my consultation. I highly doubt only one of us would be punished if something does go wrong. ”Try knocking.”

She nods and turns to the door. A thought suddenly crosses my mind. What if she bangs on the door and ends up waking up one or more villagers? I grab her arm before she has a chance to knock.

”I got this,” I say.

Hina grabs my arm this time. ”Wait… You're not thinkin' of bangin' on the door, are you?”

”Of course not… Why would I do that? I don't want to inconvenience any villagers with the noise.”

”Okay, just checkin'. I mean, you were expectin' us to go through the front with the transport practically tellin' everyone in the area that we're here, but it wouldn't be our fault if those suspicious people catch wind of it and flee.”

That remark wasn't really necessary, but it's partially true. I don't say anything back and finally, proceed to knock on the door. With enough force that it's audible, but no one from the neighboring houses will notice. We wait a full minute in dead silence.

Damn it. If this was going to happen, we should've left in the morning… but General Nero wanted us to go immediately. Now, look what happened. Whoever requested this didn't know when we would arrive. Of course, they wouldn't be awake waiting for us right now. I sigh.

”Looks like we're crashing here for a few more hours. Turns out our immediate trip here was a waste of time. Urgent mission, my ass,” I say. ”Let's just find the nearest inn and stay there until dawn.”

”Yeah…” Hina says with little energy. A bit unusual for her.

”What's wrong?”

”No-nothing. Let's go,” Hina says and turns away, walking back where we came from. I follow her but then a door creaks from behind me. I stop and look behind me. The door's open at the red house across from the Hodgepodge. That's where I saw the two hooded figures before. A young man walks out.

”We're you meeting someone at the Hodgepodge?” he asks.

Hina and I look at each other for a moment. Hina answers, ”Yes. You're the one who made the report about a few suspicious figures?”

”Yes… Come inside and I'll fill you in on the details,” the man says and gestures his arm inside the house.I was expecting some older folks to be living here considering that two people didn't go to the training sessions. Maybe he was preoccupied…with someone. But since they were both standing up looking out the window, that doesn't seem plausible anymore. Maybe he had guests over and they were waiting? I follow Hina toward the entrance.

Doesn't look like there are any lights on inside. Almost complete darkness other than the light from the night sky. The man asks, ”It's only you two who came, right?”

”Yes, that's right,” Hina answers as she walks inside. The man closes the door behind us. Now it's really pitch black. ”It's a bit dark in here, can you turn on the lights?”

”Yes, of course. We'll go into this room on the left.”

I use the outline of the barely visible wall and the sound of his footsteps to guide me. I have a bad feeling about this.

Hina screams as soon as she walks into the room. It only lasts a brief moment as her voice is cut off. Shit!

I immediately reach for my sword, but it's too late. A blade is pointed at my neck and something else stopped my hand from drawing my weapon. A man says, ”Don't move.”

I gulp. I didn't sense them at all. That means either two things. They're good at hiding their killing intent or they mean no harm. Or both. We're still alive, so that's good news.

A lantern is lit on the other side of the room, revealing several hooded figures in the room. Four of them are split evenly between Hina and me while the last one holds the lantern.

What are you planning?” the woman asks. Her accent is a bit strange.

What the hell's she talking about? Seeing how Hina has her mouth covered, she can't say anything. I respond, ”What're you talking about?”

”Do not play dumb with me. You were here earlier to provide training that has since concluded. Why have you come back?”

I have a fairly good idea what's going on here. The man wasn't really the client…but that these people are the suspicious individuals the person who put in the request wanted to investigate. I have to be really careful about how to answer the question. She apparently knows about the training mission we were here for, so I can't really lie in this situation. If I reveal that we're here to investigate them, would they end up killing us? If we don't report back to General Nero soon, obviously he would know something happened. That would be the last thing these people want.

”We're here because of another request,” I confess. ”Someone saw some suspicious individuals and we came to investigate.”

”Do not lie to me… That request was just an excuse for you to reach the border, am I correct?”

”No, border? Neomeris?” I ask, remembering that we're fairly up north.

”Yes. You were planning on meeting your associates up there inside the pond to purchase some goods.”

”Inside a pond? Goods? I really have no idea what you're talking about…”

”You do not?” the woman asks and takes off her hood. My eyes widen. She has long, curly, golden hair. She's a beauty, but what really catches my eye are her long, pointy ears.

”You're an Elf?” I read about them in books but never seen one for myself. They really are as beautiful as they say.It also explains why her accent is new to me.

”Yes… You do know what this means, do you not?” she asks with her eyes locked into mine. Her eyes shine green despite that it's dimly lit in here. Her stare feels much more menacing now without her hood on.

”Not particularly…”

”Nevermind that. Let us discuss your business partners. Do you know how dangerous they are? Who knows if they will let you live after you finish your trade.”

I sigh. She doesn't get it. I have no idea what the hell she's talking about, but she's acting like I'm actually following her crazy train of thought. ”Look, I really think you have us confused for someone else.”

”Do I really? So you are not planning anything at the Inteiru Expota with your snake friends?”

Snake… Snake?!I immediately think of the masked man. My scar tingles. I could never forget the shape of that black snake symbol. I clench my fists and jaws. Does this woman know something about them?

”Do you know something about them?! The white masked men?”

The woman doesn't answer. A few seconds later, she says, ”Let them go. They are not our enemy.”

”Are you sure, my Lady?” the man next to me asks.

”Yes. I did not detect any lies from him and his anger is genuine.”

I'm not sure what I did, but they sheath their weapons and let me go. They release Hina too. I still really want to know what she knows about the masked men, but I relax. I don't want them to turn hostile again.

”I apologize for the rough introduction, but I had to make sure that you are not our enemy and that you are someone that can be trusted. My name is Viessa,” the woman says. ”And I am the one who put in the request that was assigned to you.”

I knit my eyebrows. Wait… That doesn't make any sense. No matter how I look at it. Dark-hooded outfits in a house with no light. They're fairly suspicious. Are they hiding from someone else or is she telling me that she put in a request to put an investigation on themselves?

”What do you mean, you put in that request?” Hina asks. ”There's no way you did. Otherwise, General Nero would've told us we were meetin' an Elf.”

”Viessa asked me to put in the request,” the young man who led us here answers. ”I owed her that much for saving my life.”

”Why would you do that in the first place?” I ask.

”You do not know anything, do you?” she asks. I cock an eyebrow. She sighs and then continues, ”We are breaking international laws just by staying in this village. The Inteiru Expota is happening soon and any if word spreads, it could mean canceling the event and possibly spark a war. I needed to get contact with the army without bringing attention to myself.”

She mentions it again. I rest aside the matter of the masked men for now. I ask, ”Inteiru Expota?”

”You do not even know that much? It is a grand gathering between all the representatives from all races that occurs once every three years. The next one is in about three weeks.”

Grand meeting? Three weeks… Suddenly, the training mission General Nero assigned to us makes more sense. He's bolstering our defenses…but what's the point in that? I gulp.

”What's so important that you needed to break laws and risk sparkin' a war?” Hina asks. ”There's no guarantee we'll stay quiet about this.”

”You are right, but we have safety measures for that. The risk matters not. It is imperative that I speak with the king about extremely concerning matters.”

”Is it about the masked men that attacked Drymo seven months ago?” Hina asks.

”Masked men…the boy did mention that as well. What is this attack you are talking about?”

”How can you not know? It was a large scale attack. The damages were huge and over a thousand people died,” I inform.

”What?”

”You know something about them, don't you? You mentioned something about a snake… The masks these people wore had a black snake symbol running across the left side of the mask.”

”No… I do not,” she says. An answer I didn't want to hear. ”I was talking about snake earrings. It is a bandit group that operates in Neomeris…but may be connected to this attack you speak of.”

”Do members of that bandit group wear the snake earrin' around their left ear?” Hina asks.

”Yes. How did you know?”

Hina smiles and then turns to me. ”We finally found a lead, Kai.”

”What're you talking about?”

”The referees. Don't you remember?”

Oh! Right. Those suspicious looking referees back in the tournament. I completely forgot about them. Hina found that one of the three executives of a bandit group in Neomeris resembled one of them… His name was…I don't remember. Are they related to the masked men…?

”It seems you know of them.”

”Not really, but we were hopin' to learn more about them.”

”Very well. We will exchange information on what we know but you must also put in good word for us to meet with the King.”

Hina answers, ”We can't do that, but we can report it to our super—”

”No. That will not work for us. It must go directly to the King.”

”Why's that?” I ask.

”I cannot say.”

”What do you mean? Isn't this about the bandits with the snake earrin's? About how they might launch an attack on the Inteiru Expota?”

”Yes…but there is more to it. It is better for you not to know for your own safety. ”

”What's in it for you to help us?” Hina asks.

”I have told you. It is to seek a private audience with the King. But if you cannot do it, we will find other ways to make it happen.”

”We didn't say we couldn't do it. We can report it to our highest superior, General Nero. He has direct access to the King,” Hina informs. ”I meant why you're meddlin' in Human affairs. As far as I heard, Elves aren't exactly fond of Humans.I'm sure most Elves would love to see an attack happen at the Inteiru Expota to give them another reason to hate Humans.

Viessa smiles. ”You are correct. There are many extremists who think that way. However, I wish to pursue friendly relations with Humans. I do not harbor ill will against your kind despite the many that do. I want nothing more than the Inteiru Expota to proceed smoothly. Helping the Humans deal with one of the troublesome outlaw groups that populate the kingdom would be a sign of good gesture in addition to guaranteeing that the Inteiru Expota occurs peacefully. It would also show many Elves that the bad reputation Humans have earned are attributed to evil criminals that do not follow the traditional law, especially if the Army themselves were to stop the menace.”

”That's all?” Hina asks.

”Well, I wish for all the races to coexist in every sense of the word, eventually. So that means that we must also reconcile our relationship with the Dwarves…Ensuring that this meeting goes well is very important for my goal.”

”Do you know what they discuss at the meetin'?” Hina asks.

”I do not, but there was a steady progression toward co-existence in the last decade. Neomeris was first declared neutral territory for all the races nearly a decade ago. That means that other races could live there or do work. In the last Inteiru Expota, other races other than Humans could enroll into the Academy in Neomeris. It may be that in a month, staying in this village would not be breaking any laws.”

”I see… I hope that your dream comes true. I want to learn more about other races. I'm Hina, by the way.”

”I'm Kai,” I introduce. My fingers move around restlessly. My curiosity is getting the better of me.

”Are you goin' to the Inteiru Expota as a representative?” Hina asks. Something about the air around Viessa and the way she speaks gives me that feeling too. Like she's a minister or from a wealthy family.

”No, of course not. I am simply an Elf who wishes for a bright, warm future,” she says with a smile. She sounds convincing, but I still feel like she's lying.