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Ellizea: held captive
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In the darkness of his room, the tied and gagged General was left with his thoughts. He would be lying if he said he was not extremely sore from his less than cordial encounter with the Brute.
'That's his weakness,' he thought, 'his temper.' But if his ability to read people served him right he knew the Brute would lose no sleep over his actions and he would act just as he promised he would. 'A straight forward, non-joking man ... almost admirable. Oh, what it would be like to have him in one's service.'
That thought stopped him. He had suspected that the Brute was, as he was, mastered by another. And though the Brute had made no comment on the General's remarks on the matter, he had given himself away. 'Who is it he would serve so fiercely? I would say that his loyalty to them could be matched by my own.' Which was saying something. The General had sacrificed much during his many years of serving the royal family, and he continued to do so.
His mind went back to what the Brute had said ... that he remembered what the General had sacrificed for Cecealye's mother. His mind ran through the events of the night the late queen had almost died, the same night the king had died. Suddenly, it struck him. Why hadn't he realized it sooner? That Brute was the one who had killed the king!
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Belial: city of thieves
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Within a couple of weeks of walking, the group found the capital city of Belial, which happened to be called Belial as well, not too far off in the distance.
"So, what are we to expect of this place?" Blaizen curiously asked.
"Do you really want to know?" Cecealye looked back at him with a mischievous smile.
"Belial happens to be the youngest of all the nations on Aleige. It has formed within the last one hundred years. And within those one-hundred years, they still haven't formed any hint of their own culture. They're like a maddened twist of everything, and yet they are masters of nothing. They also happen to be the poorest of all the nations. They create nothing, but they trade everything. At the base of it, Belial is known as the continent's safe haven for criminals and the worst kinds of people. Of course, some people don't have much of an option ... You see, all of us who are leaders of greater nations like to poke fun but not one of us would admit to the other that we have both eyes locked on Belial."
"If they're so small and insignificant, why would you worry about it?"
"Because every kingdom that can now call themselves great was once small and insignificant. It's the principle; never underestimate anyone or anything, or what they will do for that which they want most. Another reason of mine is that my father had made a visit here for diplomatic reasons when I was eleven or so and he brought me with him. He was testing the Governor to see if he was worth making an alliance with." She raised her eyebrows. "We left without a treaty of any sort and never came back. I still remember the day we left. My father looked me straight in the eyes and said, 'Cecealye, don't ever entrust that man with anything, except maybe to stab you in the back.' And I never have."
"Who's the governor?" Blaizen continued to ask.
"A washed-up military man named Winder Valgus, who is also well known for his conniving and schemes."
"Sounds like a charmer."
"Yes, well, we'd best keep our wits about us," Ean interrupted. "We get in, get what we need, and get out."
"Works for me," Blaizen stated.
They shortly found themselves in the streets of Belial, which happened to be overrun with anything and everything anyone could think to buy, and things one would never dream of buying.
'This is nice. It'll take us two days to find what we need in all this mess... I didn't even want to stay the night,' Ean huffed in aggravation.
They slowly made their way through the bombardment of marketers to the place Igna had told them to go. As they did, they could see a man standing quietly next to five condoras, extremely large birds that could bear the weight of a man in flight, but they were not native to Aleige. The large, beautiful birds were covered with long brown feathers, their yellowish beaks curved down to a point and their large honey-colored eyes carefully watched everything.
The man stepped forward. "You must be Ean,"
"How do you know that?" Ean cautiously questioned.
"Because you're the blond one with blue eyes. Igna told me you were needing some better transportation. Told me to tell you to remember, there is something you can do. Seek out and find the twelve stones ... Whatever that means."
"All right, then. Can you hold on to these guys until we get restocked?"
"Sure, I waited this long."
Ean turned to everyone. "Well, I guess that means we better get at this."
"Ean, why don't we split up into two groups and meet back here? It'll be faster that way," Supreany suggested.
"... I don't know ..."
"She is right. The sooner we get our supplies, the sooner we can leave," Cecealye added.
Ean took in a deep breath. He didn't like that idea, but they did have a point. "All right. It'll be Supreany and Blaizen together, and then CC, Orckle, and myself. Keep your eyes open." It was agreed, and they went their separate ways.