The Arcane King of the Mountain was surprisingly civil after that. But I guessed that just comes with guilt from trying to overthrow the Valley. We would never forget. And given the Four Kingdom's current situation, he needed all the help he could get, despite putting on a tough act.
"I have issued a ceasefire on the Valley for now. Since there are more pressing matters than waging war with each other," he said as he sat back on his throne-like chair on the other side of the table. "After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend."
"For now," Daz said bluntly.
"Aye, for now," he reiterated, facing me again from across the table. "My name is Ragnor by the way, Black Wolf.
Nice introductions, I thought, glancing over to Daz, who was pointing with his eyes, telling me to return the gesture. Unlike him, I couldn't just play around with this Arcane King. We were literally in a halted war with them. And had it not been for the war the Apostles declared against all Kingdoms, we wouldn't even be having this conversation right now.
"Greed" was all I said.
He studied me after.
"Curious name. A man of many sins, or just the one?"
Clever… not.
When I looked around the room, everything was already put back in order.
Ragnor's magic must have something to do with placing rules on objects. I wasn't entirely sure of how that worked. But apparently his 'Capitulation' was a rule as well. Something between Tantra and magic. It reminded me of how Daz utilizes his Tantra—a half and half structure.
"You say you're on your way to Tartarus, yes, Daz?"
"Yes. We were simply passing through the Forest jurisdiction, and were going to go around the border of the Mountain so as to avoid contact. But we ran into an enemy that uses mass, wide-range Teleportation magic. We were separated, and transferred to the Dead Forest."
"Wide-range Teleportation, you say?"
We didn't respond.
Even though we found mutual ground with him, he still felt like a predator treating us like prey he couldn't eat yet.
"Sounds like the work of Gorran, the sixth Head Officer of Riot Gang," he said plainly.
"That's exactly what we deduced after regrouping," Daz replied.
Ragnor spun his exaggerated chair, and faced out to the open distance behind him.
The Mountain was surprisingly beautiful.
It was 'cleaner' than the Valley, in the sense that it embodied order rather than Daz's 'freedom'.
Citizens were meek, and there were plenty of guards on patrol.
"There are usually more W.M.A. among our forces as well, but after the declaration of war, they have been scarce, to say the least. Security hasn't been as tight as normal."
This wasn't tight security?
"Gorran was once a mage knight of the Mountain. And before that, he was a general in the W.M.A. Mission Guard. To think he is now a wanted criminal is disheartening."
That was quite a reveal. To think he'd reveal such a thing to us… But I knew the tactic well. Test the waters with trust, invite them to share information of equal value, then use it against them later. If I had to bet my eterna on it, his ties with Gorran have been severed long ago, so there was little to no repercussions to him for sharing the info. It was a ploy for more information.
"That truly is disheartening to have one of your own turn against you," Daz said carefully. Good move.
"Aye. Almost as disheartening as one of my number one mage knights actually being a spy for the Valley."
What?
"Ah, you must be referring to Varn," Daz replied easily.
"So you admit you crossed our borders earlier than you say?"
Daz smiled and closed his eyes before saying, "If this was a trap to get us to speak, I'm afraid you're sorely mistaken, Ragnor." He opened his eyes, and those cool, controlled grays remained confidently to Ragnor's red ones. "That 'spy' has dual citizenship with both the Mountain and the Valley—and has been a dual citizen to both Kingdoms way before becoming a mage knight for the Valley. Even if he became a knight for the Mountain, it was well within his legal rights to do so. So tell me… was he a spy or was he expressing his interest in the better Kingdom?"
Ragnor's scowl became harsher after that. And Daz went on.
"Varn has always been loyal to both Kingdoms. But the moment something was amiss in the Valley, like a traitor who claimed the Mountain hired him, he couldn't help but choose the Kingdom that better aligned with his values. After all, who would want to associate with a conspiring Kingdom?"
"We had nothing to do with Syemore."
"I don't recall ever sharing his name… How did you know that was the Maven Knight that infiltrated our walls?" Daz replied smoothly. "I understand being well informed, but his name was never in record to the public eye…"
Ragnor flinched, subtle as it was. And remained glowering at him.
Daz closed his eyes again and shrugged. "But it's as you say, we will handle these internal issues after the war with the Apostles and, now, Riot Gang."
Without wavering his glare, Ragnor asked, "So what is it you want, Daz?" knowing he had been had.
"I want safe passage for myself and my Valley Guild through the Mountain jurisdiction. No if's, and's, or but's. Safe passage until we reach the end of your borders, and are in Tartarus grounds," he said with an impish smirk on his face.
Ragnor studied him for a moment before responding, "On one condition." He faced me again. "If you cross the borders again, even if it's a mere step, the Mountain won't hesitate to invade the Valley, regardless of our current war with larger forces in play."
"You would be willing to go so far, even putting yourself at a disadvantage by losing potential allies, all for the sake of vendetta?" Daz asked.
"Must I remind you what you all did to our princess?"
When he said that, a surge of unwelcomed memories flooded my mind. Ones of Asura, our faction, and one other—the one with red and gold hair, holding the corpse of the Mountain's princess in his arms…
"The matter was with your 'trusted' allies, the W.M.A. not the Valley. If you want to reopen old wounds, at least know who gave those wounds to you."
"It was a certain faction of the W.M.A.. A faction that was abolished, and who you chose to house behind your walls—even allow them to become a Guild among you." Ragnor shot a fierce gaze upon me once more. "Isn't that right, Greed of the Black Wolves?"
"How did you—" I barely got out before Daz placed a hand on my shoulder, telling me to say nothing more.
"Tell me," he said. "You have record of that W.M.A. faction correct?"
Ragnor kept his gaze. His silence also meant 'yes' to some extent.
"In your records, you will find the names Asura and even the other, Ares. And yes, both have been welcomed to the Valley and became citizens, however, Ares has gone missing, and Asura is currently repaying his debt by using his very existence to close off the Demon rift you so carelessly opened." When Daz said this, Ragnor craned his head over to him like a warning, yet could not defy. The man was a master in the art of rebuttal. "In those records, have you ever seen the name 'Greed' among them?"
A carefully crafted question wrapped in a tank of facts.
Ragnor remained silent, refusing to give up his mental stance. But even I knew the answer to that…
"No," he finally said. I was surprised he answered.
"Then what makes you think good-ol-Greed here was an ex-W.M.A.?"
"A hunch."
I held my gaze at him, but I was not as confident. I felt as though I had been found out somehow. And Daz had just saved my ass from ruining this whole negotiation.
"Really, Ragnor? Don't we only speak in facts?"
Ragnor inhaled and exhaled deeply, before closing his eyes to think, and then rose to face the view of the Mountain Kingdom once again, with his large arms behind him.
"You win, again… Daz."
He chuckled. "I always win, Ragnor. Now be a pal and approve our leave. You may utilize forces to watch us every step of the way out of the Mountain jurisdiction. I'll make the deal sweeter… if you let us do this, the next Zion Orb at Lys Anima is all yours. The Valley will stand down."
Ragnor didn't say anything. But I was starting to understand his silence, and what it meant after each statement or question Daz asked. He truly knew how to get his way with the Arcane King of the Mountain.
Still… I couldn't help but recall those memories… memories I thought I'd suppressed.
"I will grant you safe passage across the Mountain jurisdiction. You may utilize the towns and villages on the way to gather supplies. I will have forces keeping tabs on you along the way, but if you run into any monsters, Riot Gang members, or, Keeper forbid, the Apostles or their followers, you are expected to handle them. Our forces will not interfere."
Gee thanks…
"Sounds good to me!" Daz responded eagerly.
At that time, Ragnor summoned his guards and ordered them to release the rest of my crew. Daz and I got up and showed ourselves out. But before we did, Ragnor spoke to one of his guards to remove the cuffs I still wore.
Before the guard came, I faced him and asked a curious question. One I didn't know if I had the right to ask, given our situation; and for all I knew, it just might ignite another debate and make this finicky Arcane King change his mind about all Daz had made him agree upon.
But I couldn't help myself.
For Snow. Rex. Zeno…
"Is there a mercenary among you named Leon?"
Daz halted. Frozen in place like I had just asked a tricky question—and by the Keeper, it was. For when I asked, Ragnor's brow twitched as if I had just insulted him. Even Daz looked at me sidelong from where he had turned around.
He didn't respond for a good while. But eventually, he spoke.
"Leon… So, it was you he encountered at Lys Anima." Not a question.
I only stared before saying, "Aye. He killed my friends."
Daz was still frozen, still watching, refusing to turn fully around.
"Condolences." Another surprising answer from this mountain of a man. I had anticipated mockery dressed in formality. Or just more silence. But then he went on, "He returned with a missing arm and no Zion Orb. And after my discussion with Daz prior to your arrival, I was informed the Valley didn't take home a Zion Orb either. Rather, it was the Apostles who intervened. Seems we both lost that day. A collateral of war."
Collateral… To silently compare the lives of my friends to mere objects…
"Where is he now?"
Daz finally turned to face me as I said this. Almost ready to stop me from speaking any further.
"Gone. He only returned to tell us he failed and then left. I haven't seen him since. He probably is no longer in the Mountain Kingdom."
As I noticed the guard with a key, I faced him and said, "No need" and broke the cuffs myself.
I faced Ragnor one last time and glared at him, and he did the same. Like he knew I could have done that at any moment, but chose not to.
He then proceeded to ask, "Do you have a vendetta against that man?"
I didn't answer. But the look in my eyes said it all.
"If so, you and I are a lot alike."
I followed Daz and we finally left.
As the massive double doors closed, all I saw was his harbored scowl staring me down to the final moment.
"A bit extra… but I loved the display," Idiot King whispered to me.
I sighed and threw my hands in my pockets at last. "Thanks."
"That wasn't a compliment."
"Not that."
He raised a brow.
"Thanks for stopping me back there. I let him get in my head, and almost explained myself, which would have ruined this whole deal."
"Damn right. Now I definitely need your unwavering devotion moving forward. You will always address me as Almighty King Daz of the Valley before you speak—"
"Shut up."
***
**A few hours later**
Once the crew was back together, we found ourselves outside the Mountain Kingdom's walls.
The Kingdom was twice the size of the Valley, as its massive walls stretched far to both sides; I couldn't even see the curve around it.
Beyond us was a vast mountain pasture, and endless green fields. The sky was gray with a sea of clouds, and it looked like it had just rained.
Unlike the Valley's usual clear skies, the Mountain jurisdiction was a mix of cool breezes and gloomy weather, and it was like this most days.
As we gathered our things and prepared for our journey, groups of Mountain mage knights were stationed far off from us, preparing themselves to observe our entire exit out of their massive jurisdiction.
"Who do you think would win if I picked a fight with one of them?" Star asked as she found herself next to me on the balcony of the Den.
"Please don't."
"Boo… The prisoners were all deadbeats… I want a real challenge."
"You beat up the prisoners?"
"All of them."
"Star…"
Ophelia interjected then, permeating from the floor to meet us. "Be careful what you wish for, miss bone princess," she said as she patted Star's head.
I then heard the infamous distasteful sigh from Code on the other side, breathing in another hit from his cigarette. "I don't know what you and Daz did, but I'm grateful. We're literally doing the impossible right now, and passing through the Mountain jurisdiction. No one passes through the Mountain. Ever."
"You're welcome."
"Heard it was mostly Daz, though," he countered effortlessly.
I clicked my tongue and scowled at him.
"Still, journey's gonna be long. Not as long as when we planned to go around the Mountain border, but there will still be some downtime. So, the next town or village we pass, we need to stop and gather supplies. Looks like we're enroute to a place called Pardem."
"Oooo… I wonder how the Choco Bars taste here?" Star added.
"I wonder what Mountain style is like? I saw a boutique on the way here, and their clothes looked so elegant!" Ophelia followed.
"Brand and I want to get some card packs! I wonder if it's easier to pull here than it is in the Valley?" Havoc stated from another corner.
"I second that!" Brand celebrated.
"You all get way too comfortable way too quickly. We're in enemy territory, you know?" Alice commented.
"Speaking of," Daz interjected from out of nowhere. "I had good-ol-Ragnor have mages replace your fuel tank. The arrangement was simple. I shall accept my praise in verbal form, followed by excessive bowing at my feet!"
"No one's doing that shit," I replied.
"I just want to fucking sleep on a nice bed…" Jo said, walking in from the balcony entrance with her hands in her jacket pockets. "GG… your rooms locked. Can you open it please?"
"Locked? Since when is it ever locked without me in it?"
"Dunno… Open it."
I sighed and headed down as Jo followed close behind.
When I made it to my room, it was most definitely…
How is this locked right now? Why is it locked?
I held the knob and burst through, breaking the hinges accidentally. "Whoops… I'll fix that later…"
"Dummy, we have maids. Make them do it," Jo uttered as she undressed, making herself comfortable before hopping onto my bed. "Better yet, make Doll Eyes do it. Give her callouses on those prized dainty hands of hers."
She wasn't paying attention, but after I had forced the door open, I saw a shadow figure for a fraction of a second. It looked like it was just at my nightstand before it disappeared like it was never there. Or perhaps I was imagining things…
As Jo coddled in the covers, I went over to that nightstand and checked it regardless.
There was nothing out of the ordinary, except a letter like before when I had finally been released from the Valley hospital…
And all it said was: Whom shall I send?
***
**A distant cliff**
A man with a mohawk leaned up against a beat up convertible vehicle. He looked over the passage and found the Wolves Den, observing it.
"Man… I thought I lost you guys. So glad you all made it. Especially here, of all places," he said as a monster horde was fading into the ethers behind him.