Chapter Seventy-Two: Could Have Gone Better

The door to the visitor's room swung open, and the two occupants turned their heads to the figure who had just entered. A woman in a black dress, with long blond hair was sat opposite a man, a member of staff at the palace, and a servant to the late king, who was stood at the wall near the door.

The servant stood straight upon seeing that the man who had entered was Constans, and began to bow, but halted himself when Constans brought up his hand to stop him.

"Good morning." Constans said to woman, looking down at her in his usual stern manner.

"...Hello?" The woman replied, confusion showing in both her voice and her expression as she looked between him and the servant.

"Ah, forgive me." Constans said. He loosened his face and relaxed his tone slightly, to make himself appear more welcoming. "I'm used to visitors coming to see me and mine, and I'm not used to working alongside others yet. I am Sir Cos, lord of my district and currently an aide to the baron of Themil. I wasn't informed of any visitors." He turned his head towards the servant as he finished.

"My apologies sir." The servant responded, lowering his head slightly beforehand. "A diplomat from Thalas came to speak to the baron. This is his attendant, Miss Tasoula."

From the corner of his vision Constans noticed the woman frown at hearing the word attendant. This piqued Constans' interest, and he turned to look at her.

"...A pleasure." She said, noticing his gaze.

"I see..." Constans turned back to the servant. "You can leave now, I'd like to talk with our guest."

"Yes sir." The servant gave a quick bow, then left, leaving only Constans and the woman in the room.

The woman watched Constans as he sat in a chair close to her, after turning it to face her more directly.

"So, Miss Tasoula-" He began as he made himself more comfortable.

"Just call me Meg, everyone else does." The woman cut him off, prompting mild surprise from Constans.

"Meg?"

"Short for Megaira."

"...Right."

Constans' surprise turned to confusion as he looked at the woman. She had a look of resignation, as if she was just going to have to endure whatever come her way for now. But from his experience, Constans knew that this was the resigned look of someone who felt that what they were enduring was of no consequence. The woman simultaneously appeared to be beholden to the whims of those around her, but also above them as if nothing they did mattered to her.

Seeing this, Constans decided to cut straight to the point.

"Forgive me, Meg..." He said, putting emphasis on his words to ensure it was understood he was being serious. "But you don't act much like the attendant of a diplomat."

"That's cause I'm not one." The woman replied matter-of-factly.

Constans was stunned for a second by her blatant honesty, before his eyebrows shot up and his eyes opened wide in a display of extreme concern. The woman herself also seemed a little shocked by his expression, and leant away slightly.

"You mean to say that the man with the baron is not a diplomat?" Constans asked with urgency, and a hint of anger.

"That's not what I said." The woman responded, taken aback by his reaction.

"Then what are you saying?"

"That I'm not his attendant."

"Then who are you?"

"I'm his... Travel partner? Victim?" The woman thought for a moment whilst Constans simply stared at her in disbelief.

"Only friend?" She finished, and looked at Constans with a questioning look.

"And why would he bring you if you have nothing to do with his business here?" Constans asked, to which the woman thought for a second, before looking away awkwardly.

"Well... I mean..." She mumbled.

"Well?" Constans urged her on with annoyance in his voice.

The woman took a deep breath, and let it out, the look of resignation returning to her face.

"I'm kind of a shut-in." She said, looking down and away from the man.

"...A shut-in?" Constans repeated out of disbelief.

"Yeah... I don't really get out much. And when I do it's usually because he drags me out. He probably just wants me to get used to dealing with people more."

Constans stared at the woman, before dropping his head into his hands, and sighing.

"I have to say, if he is trying to help you, I don't believe this is the appropriate way of going about it."

"If you could tell him that I'd be very grateful."

"..."

The two sat in silence for a moment, whilst Constans came to grips with the farce that he just subjected himself to.

"Or he could just be trying to punish me for using him as a test subject." The woman said, looking off to the side as she thought. "That's actually probably more likely, now that I think about it."

Constans looked up from his hands to stare at the woman. Noticing this, she shook her head.

"You don't want to know." She said, and Constans wondered whether these experiments had really occurred, or if he had merely been taken for a ride the entire conversation.

Constans regained himself, and decided to push the conversation forwards, in order to come to a conclusion about the woman.

"And why would you be conducting these, experiments?"

The woman looked at him with a slight frown. "To increase knowledge. I'm fairly certain that's the only purpose an experiment can have."

"For what reason, though? You have to be gathering information for a purpose, else you wouldn't get the funding. Unless Thalas is so opulent that the lords there can fund whatever they please for no reason." Constans asked, again wondering if she was socially awkward, or if she was just messing with him.

"Well I wouldn't know about all that." The woman said, looking to the side and avoiding looking at Constans. "I get anything I need thanks to my, associate, upstairs, and I'm not doing it with any single goal in mind. I want to make the world a better place, and to do that, we need more knowledge. That's all there is to it."

Seeing the woman's cheek tinge red with embarrassment at her own words, Constans couldn't help but sympathise with her, and the chances of her being nefarious dropped in his estimation.

But he wasn't dull enough that he didn't take into account that it could all be a lie.

"And how do you think you can make a change to the world?" He asked, purposefully trying to draw a reaction from her.

He got a reaction, but contrary to his expectations, it wasn't particularly angry. Rather, she seemed to lose herself in her own mind.

"Well, there are still food shortages, and most of that is due to poor harvests, though it wouldn't hurt to improve the length of time we can store food too. For crop yield I'm following a lead where I found an interesting effect the specific content of water can have on the growth rate of certain plants, and I have to look into how the content of the air effects them as well. As for the permanence of stored food the contents of the air could greatly effect the length of time food can be stored, we already know that humidity plays a role so it's entirely possible that there are other factors at play. Of course, we could always grow more food if we could make the desert lands to the north capable of sustaining plant-life, but for that we'd need a way of getting water the area in high quantities using a reliable method that doesn't depend solely on any singular source. With the increased number of people required to work the land and provide other benefits to the farmers themselves the water would have to be clean, or at least there would need to be a reliable method of purifying the water. And then there are things like sickness, environmental disasters, criminal activity, and a bunch of other stuff that can all be improved. But you know, food and water is kind of important so that's a good place to start."

"...Okay."

There was no longer any doubt that she was sincere in Constans' mind.

"What about what you've been doing anyway?" The woman asked, seemingly embarrassed after realising how long she had spoken for. "You and your friend have decided to take matters into your own hands haven't you? I wonder why you did that."

Constans was a little taken aback by the sudden focus change to him, but he sat back with a practiced levelheadedness and folded his arms. "The king cared not for the safety and wellbeing of his people, and instead frittered the wealth of this country away on researching magic, and  building his military might, whilst antagonising the regional lords and nobles. As for those we have recently rid ourselves of, they were traitors to our cause, merely trying to take the wealth and power for themselves, the people be damned."

The woman watched him silently, and Constans thought he sensed a slight degree of contempt beneath her now disinterested expression.

"You know..." She said. "You're awfully defensive about things I hadn't yet brought up, considering you claim to believe you've done nothing wrong."

"...We have done nothing wrong." Constans asserted, glaring at the woman.

"Which of us are you trying to convince here?" She asked back, looking tired more than anything else.

"I have no need to convince anyone of anything. History will show that I did the right thing."

"Carry on the way you're going, and history will remember you as just another reminder of what happens to arrogant assholes that like to kill people as a method of solving their issues."

"Is that a threat?" Constans asked, somewhat shocked. The image of the woman he had constructed after hearing her speak about helping people had taken a hit.

"It's a warning. There's already one idiot that thinks he's a moral arbiter running around, and he's far stronger than you are."

Constans frowned. "...Don't tell me you're referring to that old fable?"

"What fable?"

"The one of an unruly beast, that killed the God of War, and spent it's time since then killing anyone that happened to cause any trouble."

The woman's eyes widened in disbelief. "You do realise your country borders on the ruins of said dead god's former kingdom?"

"Just because the god is no longer there does not mean it was killed by some entity beyond our knowledge, nor that he was even killed to begin with. It's far more likely the other gods simply became sick of his antics, and using their powers, sealed him away. The yarn span after makes for a nice tale to scare people into behaving themselves."

"And what about all the armies that were slaughtered in their entirety in the years since then?"

"I'm not sure if you realise this, but what tends to happen in wars is that one side is usually killed."

"Are you being serious?" The woman asked, growing angry.

"Yes, though I understand that a shut in such as yourself with only fairy tales and stories of the real world might not know this."

At that, the woman pursed her lips, folded her arms, and looked away from Constans in disgust. Constans thought to himself that he may have gone a bit too far, and felt a little guilty.

"I'm sorry." He said. "That was uncalled for. I am grateful for your concern, but it is unfounded."

"Whatever." The woman looked as if she was going to say more, but in the end, seemed to come to the conclusion that he wasn't worth it, and kept quiet.

Constans felt disturbed by this. He knew the woman cared about people, that much was clear to him. So to see her refrain from even attempting to argue her point, baring in mind she believed people would suffer if he went on, was disconcerting.

'Maybe she doesn't think she can change my mind, and doesn't want to waste the energy trying. Maybe she's simply distressed and tired of trying. Or maybe...' A chill ran through him. 'Maybe she knows more than she's letting on...'

Determined to get to the bottom of this, Constans thought of how best to rile her into revealing anything new.

But there was no time left, as the door swung open seconds later, and the man the woman came with walked in.

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Constans finished relaying his conversation with the woman to Richard, and the two thought over the situation. Richard had already told Constans about his conversation with the man, now needed to decide what they should do.

They were in the study, and each had a glass of the brandy that was now dangerously close to running dry.

"Alright." Richard said, drawing Constans out of his thoughts. "Let's work with what we've got. The guy I was with knew something was amiss about me from one single piece of information, and he immediately seemed to have an idea why the discrepancy was there. In fact, judging from our conversation at that point, he may have even been leading me to slip up. From that, we can assume that he already knew about someone coming from another world, but didn't know that it was me. Since this isn't exactly a daily occurrence, we can probably assume he had something to do with it, that follow?"

"Yes, that would make sense."

"Right. Has the report on the activities of that magic group the king set up been finished yet?"

"Not as far as I know."

"Damn. If we asked them about a specific date, especially if we're right, that would raise no end of suspicion..."

"But we do know that they had attempted it at some point."

"True... And it's not like they'd have any reason to lie to us, at this point we are their de facto rulers, and they weren't exactly doing the work out of loyalty."

"Well I doubt it could have been them anyway."

"Why's that?"

"Well, as I understand it, magic is centred around certain drawings that channel the power and create the effect. If they had drawn you in with their magic you would have appeared where they were, in that cave to the South."

"I see... But there weren't any noticeable drawings where I appeared."

"Maybe I was wrong then, and the drawings aren't necessary."

"But why would you bother dragging someone, or maybe even something into the world and dumping it where you can't find it?"

"Maybe it was an accident."

"Maybe... Plus, since that man had an idea who I was, it's likely they've been keeping an eye out for a while."

"But the practitioners said they only attempted it once, and after the failure, assumed it didn't work..."

"So that man must be from a separate group, who tried the spell on a separate occasion, and had it succeed."

"But he wasn't a part of our group, so it can't have been the failure of ours that he was concerned about."

"Right, unless..." Richard thought to himself for a moment. "Are there any moments when magic is perhaps easier? Or more potent?"

"Can't say I'm aware... But, if I had to guess, I'd assume that nights of the full moon would offer some benefit."

"Why's that?"

"It isn't mentioned much thanks to the prejudice of our country's people, but the Goddess of the Moon holds dominion over the unnatural powers. Most importantly, that of magic."

"Constans... Did I ever tell you the particulars of the night I appeared in this world?"

"No... But, it wouldn't happen to have been a full moon that night, would it?"

"As a matter of fact it was. That does increase the chances somewhat..."

"...The chances of what?"

"...I need a map."

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After procuring the large paper map of the known world from the conference room, the two returned to the study, and lay it flat on the desk.

"So are you going to tell me what you're doing?" Constans asked, as Richard had moved with passion, and without breathing a word of his thoughts along the way.

"It's just a thought, but if correct, could give us a definitive answer." Richard replied as he smoothed out the map. "Or the closes we can get to one at this point anyway."

"How?"

"Well, where was the base of the magic unit the king set up?"

"If I recall... Here?" Constans pointed out a spot on the North-South mountain range, to the South of the city.

"And I appeared close to Themil... Here." Richard placed his finger on the map where he appeared. "And, on the opposite side of this..." He traced his finger across the map, in the opposite direction to where Constans' finger was, roughly the same distance, then stopped.

"Somewhere around the Western side of this mountain here, just inside Thalas territory." Richard said, seemingly satisfied.

Constans' eyes widened, and he covered his mouth with his hand as he thought.

"It might be more troublesome than we originally thought." He said, and Richard turned to him.

"What do you mean?"

"Well... There were stories, that hundreds of years ago there was a great library, full to the brim with magic knowledge, and blessed by both the God of the Sun, and the Goddess of the Moon."

"And it was around here?"

"Yes, but it vanished. That's why they were only stories."

"But?"

"But there were rumours, unconfirmed as of yet mind you, that the library had returned, and that there was a witch living there that could summon the dead."

"The dead?.. That much is probably nonsense embellishment, but the place itself having returned..."

"The rumours of its return precede the rumour of the witch, and there were similar rumours of a magic researcher under the Goddess of Fire's protection that has been there with no trouble."

"Damn, the nature of our citizenry isn't helping us any here."

"No, but I doubt we'd know much more regardless."

"Well, we have our lead. We'll have to do some digging now to find the truth."

"Quite..." Richard surmised they had figured out all they could with the information they had, but Constans still pondered on.

"What are you thinking about?" Richard asked, wondering if he had missed something.

"...It's probably nothing."

"All things considered, we've come a long way on probably nothing's."

"True... Many years ago now, back when I was a boy, and my father still held my title, I remember there was a visitor that perturbed my father somewhat."

"How many years ago?"

"I don't remember exactly, but around the correct amount."

"I see, go on."

"He was a tall man, dressed like a peasant, with a dogged, unkempt look, like he'd been running around all day. Despite this, upon learning who he was, my father treated him with respect, and listened to what he had to say away from everyone else. After the man had left, my father seemed to be on alert, and had his servants go out and visit the nearby villages. It's weird, I remember a sense of dread when I saw that man, though I couldn't say why."

"...If that was at the right time, as you say, then the ones that brought me here may not be burdened by national affiliation."

"That's not all... It may merely be a dastardly trick by my memory... But thinking on it, he looked a lot like the diplomat from earlier."

"That can't be right, the man looked to be in his twenties... But, if he had a brother, perhaps..."

"It's not just that... I paid them no heed at the time, but now that this is happening, I can't help but think of rumours that came around shortly before that."

"Rumours?"

"Yes. I didn't believe them, but as a child I was nonetheless drawn to them, and remembered them. There were rumours of people walking on water, people that caught a great serpent out at sea, of a man running up a waterfall, the desecration of the monument to the sun, the city that's home to the God of the Earth defending itself from attack, and a man jumping from the mountain that's home to the Goddess of Fire all the way to the city centre..."

"...And?"

"And in every instance, it involved a tall man, with long, dark hair. Who was often accompanied by a blonde woman in a black dress."

The two men looked at each other in silence, each with a deep concern etched into their faces.

"Well..." Richard said, rolling up the map so as to return it to the conference room. "I wouldn't put much stock into years old rumours like that, but I'll ask that you have someone look into them nonetheless."

"I think that would be wise."

Constans said, as Richard moved towards the door. Before he reached it, he stopped.

"Constans, I'm going to hurry our plans."

"...Are you sure?"

"I don't think we have the luxury of taking our time."

"...I see."

"I'll have someone follow those two... From a distance, of course."

"I'll pray for them."

Richard refrained from asking which 'them' he meant, and moved to open the door. As he did however, a rapping noise came from the other side.

Richard opened the door, and found a servant on the other side.

"What is it?"

"Sir, we've received news from the border that the princess of Eurota is on her way here as part of diplomatic mission."

Richard turned to Constans, as he sighed through his nose, before turning back to the messenger.

"Marvelous." He said flatly, becoming very aware of his increasing workload. "Send word to the palace managers, have them made aware of this, and inform them that they should prepare accordingly."

"Yes sir."

"And one more thing."

"Sir?"

"Put this back for me would you?"

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"Oh you aren't gonna believe what I have to tell you."

"What?"

"You remember the tizzy we were in a while back?"

"Which one?"

"The one where we summoned something but it didn't turn up."

"... No..."

"Yup."

"It's him?"

"Yup."

"Shit... So now what?"

"Well right now we're leaving."

"You mean... Right now, right now?"

"Yup. Pretty sure he knows something up, and he seems like the type to think a fling is a commitment."

"Less analogies, more understanding."

"He's gonna have someone follow us."

"Wonderful."

"Oh if you think that's good you're really gonna like what's coming next."

"Oh for fuck's sake what now?"

"We aren't going home. We're going to see Harold."

"...The king? Why?"

"Because we summoned a guy, now he's the ruler of a country, he's killing people, and frankly, I don't know what to do."

"...This is going to turn into a right shitshow isn't it?"

"Probably."

"...I fucking hate you."

"Aww, no you don't."

"Don't touch me."

"Okay."