Chapter 377 - Cimier (1/2)
”There you are,” said Sultria sat inside a café. The interior described as elegant, the furniture matched the floors and wallpaper. Some colors stood whilst others blended into another, a place meant for the upper-class.
”Why the rush all of a sudden?” asked Staxius pulling a chair.
”My two-youngest brothers are in Melmark, I've arranged a meeting.”
”Acquainting the father-in-law, should be simple.”
”Yes, well, tis what I wish for. On another note, what of Lady Courtney, she's absent?”
”The lady had business to attend to, what of the brothers, will they be here soon?”
”I told them to be here at 17:00.”
”Another hour of wait,” said Staxius peering the clock. The encounter with Dorino, the spirit summoned caused many to fear. It was the first for an S+ alarm to ring. Trained to evacuate in an orderly manner, the populous turned to mindless robots for said amount of time.
After what seemed an eternity between speaking to Sultria and keeping track of the activity of Shadow, the focus was divided to the point of being lost for words. A sudden push of the door showed two formally dressed men. Leather shoes, dark-blue suits, neatly combed hair, and a visage similar to the Emperor. A single glance sufficed for them to walk over.
”Good evening, Emperor,” said the first, a taller man than the second.
”Good evening, big brother,” added the second.
”Hyde, Xyra, glad to see you're well,” a grin of courtesy had the men at ease. ”Take a seat.” Thus, the table of four reached capacity.
”Forgive my asking, brother, why have you called us with such urgency?”
”Dear Hyde, as straight forward as always.”
”Brother, please, do understand that we have a duty to run the sister branch.”
”I understand time is a precious commodity,” he turned to the white-haired man, ”-I do think this introduction is far more important.”
”Good evening, gentlemen, I'm Staxius Haggard, leader of the Argashield Federation, Blood-king of Arda, it's a pleasure.”
”The famed hero of the war,” mumbled Xyra, the oldest, with a flushed face, ”-Xyra Sultria, the pleasure is mine, sire, to meet such an influential figure in the war, it's an honor, truly.”
”Flattery isn't needed,” he smiled coldly and waited for the other.
”Hyde, majesty, Hyde Sultria,” the dirtied blond-hair with blue eyes vividly darted about Staxius's person. Intrigue is caused by admiration and l.u.s.t for knowledge.
”I presume Princess Eira has acquainted herself?”
”Yes, majesty, the princess is a rather cold person. Tis the impression from her appearance – I've hardly seen her smile. Her melancholic beauty is far more than our brother could bear to ignore,” a sentence with the goal of provoking the Emperor. He could but shyly accept what was being said. The introduction made, a long and deep conversation followed. Many o' drinks and snacks were called; the topic was more business and affair of state than the gossip of war. Amidst the conversation, Staxius carefully laid out bait, bait for them to bite. Bait to isolate inconsistencies to form a subjective view over what waited. A heavy judgment persona to evaluate the youth sat before him. Their mannerisms were of royalty with the flare of youth, the flare of energy, and life. They enthusiastically spoke of what intrigued their minds, matters of trade, and all.
Meanwhile the happenings in Melmark, Shadow arrived at the destination. A clear coordinate was given through her phone, one of a few with classified information and access to Éclair. Currently, there were only three with the owners being, Staxius, Courtney, and Cake. The trio who left the yet to be famed Phantom.
”Shadow,” said a peculiar voice with an accent that held no remarks to pronunciations and articulation. ”We've been awaiting ya,” said he with a relieved expression. The accent was hard to follow.
”How's the evacuation?” asked Shadow coldly with a mask over her face.
”Going aight, I think,” said the man in a simple white-bottomed shirt, a tie, and matching pants to go with. Situated around a 6-7 hour drive from Melmark to the South-Ease, Shadow came upon a village named Plasto. The inhabitants were mostly workers for another town further down south linked by the railway. Plasto with a few hundred citizens bore more forests than infrastructure. A secluded place with a river flowing down its side from the mountains.
”Where're the other families, what's the status?”
”I don't know – the Jefferson's already got their hands on the weapons. The attack might be now or in five minutes for all I know. The head of the family is already on his way to the airfield of Marrowy.”
”Wait,” her voice sunk, ”-didn't I demand him to be present before leaving?”
”Wasn't my call, Shadow, tis the lady of the house, she cried to her husband. She cried spouting nonsense about a vision of doom. The lady did have a talent for predicting the future.”
”Idiots,” jumped onto the bike, ”-I'm going after them, have the other follow.”
”What of the supplies, we still haven't loaded them.”
”Burn the damned thing, throw it in a river, I don't care. They are nothing but excess weight.”
'This is bad,' she sped along the road to the north, '-if they get ambushed… what a pain.'
Over yonder came a spiral of smoke. Shadow pulled to a stop of a massacre. SUVs and cars filled with bullet-holes, the lifeless bodies of guards, and the family of Lerado. The lady thought to have given the prediction of the disaster was nowhere to be found. 'This can't be my fault?' she walked narrowly avoiding the corpses. Barriers to protecting the road were broken. It all but told one story, the first in the escort crashed to break through the protection. No signs of remains as below was a large-drop. Amber of flames burnt in the broken cars.
”Hey,” she called on her phone.
”Hey, what's the matter?”
”The Lerado's are no more,” voiced Shadow resting against a toppled car, ”-I want to suspect the Jefferson's.”
”Want to, what do you mean?”
”The suit,” she said,”-it's not what the Dark-guild uses. It's more like,”
”More like Cimier,” interjected Staxius,”-I expected something like this. What's the deal now?”
”Is it not obvious, I'm going straight to the Jefferson's. I'll call when more information is made available.
”Sure, I'll personally relay it to the Godfather. Good work, sister,” the phone hung with him crossing the road of a big interjection. The flashy-billboards were yet to calm. 'What a mess,' people walked, the wind blew, and the night sky blinded by the ever-shining Capital.
The sound of the train made the air tremble. Staxius moved further into the city, further into the shadows, an alley with broken-down barriers leading under the train tracks. The reason for said barrier was of a canal, one that flowed slowly to the sea. Rebels and thugs were often the guests at said location. A hangout spot for the tough – the fact grew clearer one walked. Pillars supporting the tracks were littered with graffiti of profane origin. 'The youth,' said Staxius kicking a pebble into the canal. 'Lively bunch.'
*Calling Godfather Renaud,*