Eryssa's nervousness seemed to vanish as she protested, "Father, you were the one who was careless. You clearly know Veer was plotted against, yet you are punishing him. How is this fair? You didn't even get there yourself. If he has to go to that dangerous ruin, I will go with him. It's far better than living in this ferocious concrete jungle."
No one muttered a single word as the King sighed and said, "Do whatever you like ?"
Eleana also raised her voice, " I also want to be granted a request. To explore the ruins with them. Knight Veer might not need any protection, but Lady Eryssa needs that."
The counsellors nodded, and it was finally decided that Eleana, Veer, and Eryssa would go to the ruins. Surprisingly, another member was further appointed for the protection of Eryssa, John. They had to depart in a few hours. They were excused immediately. It seemed there were a lot of matters to be discussed with the majesty.
Sometime after, in a cavern near the castle, the group of four was having their lunch as Veer pondered over a few facts. First, that old man is somehow involved in this mess. Eryssa's brother and the uncle seemed to have a shady relationship with the mysterious woman who controlled puppets. The King even though it seems he did not have any hands in it, maybe actually let that shit happen himself. Also, it seemed the king did not actually want to stop Eryssa or Eleana from going with him. A hypocrite its seemed.
But how does that benefit him? Is it related to Eleana or me, perhaps, or even Eryssa ? . Another thing is how did John made in this group. Veer pondered as he took another sip of wine and he felt a bit relaxed.
What the f*ck is that elixir, and why was Alicia unconscious? No one seemed to target her. Rather, she was the one who proposed the duel. It seems the journey might not be that simple. He pondered as he looked over to Eleana, as she also seemed to be pondering.
She nodded as everyone seemed to complete their lunch and they prepared to move out. He asked John, "How far are the ruins from here and can you share the general info you got on that ?" John pondered for a moment and said, "It suddenly appeared a decade ago. There was a huge earthquake here in these lands, and they seemed to appear suddenly. Currently, you need to go to opposite of puppet bazaar and board a few horses on that road. It is about 2 yojans from there. Meaning, it would take quarter of a day to reach there on horseback."
Veer raised a question, "Are we supposed to spend the night in these ruins ? Isn't that dangerous ?" Everyone gave him a confused look as Eryssa said, " It's obvious! He wants me to suffer !" Eleana shook her head as she comforted Eryssa, " That's not it. Even if we arrived in the morning, it would be the same. "The ruins are huge. As for getting the elixir plant, I have been there once before and I can guide you to the general location. "
Veer suddenly again grew cautious at the mention of puppet bazaar. He looked at Eleana as he asked, "What is the origin of this puppet bazaar? Can everything that has happened somehow be related to it?"
Eleana shook her head as she said, "It's been here for a very long time. Here you can find all kinds of instruments and puppets from singing to dancing, as well as very few advanced puppet mentors if you can give a hefty sum. But these are generally not for the public. "
John added with some difficulty "I heard a rumour about this. It is said puppet arts is one of the strongest arts, and while it cannot compare to direct combat arts, they are at the pinnacle in the areas of controlling others. It seems there were large numbers of puppeteers once but their legacy vanished with time. Now they only exist in the form of bazaars in different kingdoms."
Currently, the group was making its way towards the edges of the puppet bazaar. Sometimes, Veer would flare up seeing a puppet and become agitated. So they quickly moved through the bazaar and headed towards the rental area to rent horses.
Veer was pondering on the information revealed by John and Eleana. This makes sense, but how is this connected to the mysterious puppet controller lady? Why did the involvement with them make him lose his memories ? He seemed to awaken by the voice of a girl coming in their direction.
She was clad in light blue dress and her face was pretty much covered with white clothes. Veer thought instantly. She looks rather familiar.
John's face brightened as he said, "Lady Caria! What are you doing here ?" Veer also wondered so what was this lady doing in this area ? She had the bearing of a knight probably.
Caria answered as she removed the clothes from her face. She was a lovely lady with deep black eyes, soft lips and a delicate nose . Her black hair was a bit short compared to Eryssa or Eleana, but she was no less beautiful than them. "I was monitoring this area . Not only me . Many people under Sir Myrell are doing the same."
Eleana nodded as she asked, "So why are you stopping us ?". Caria answered with a smile, "My job is finished, and I saw you were looking to go for a trip, so I volunteered myself. I can have a few days of rest . So, lady Eleana, can I go with your team?"
Eleana looked over Eryssa, who shook her head, seemingly indicating she had no issues, and same with John and Veer. So the group of four became five.
Veer learned a few things about the newcomer. She was apparently under the strongest knight of the kingdom, Sir Myrell. So, its that guy standing behind the king.
Caria was a person very concerned about prices, it seemed . She was the reason they rented the horses at half the usual rate.
Just as they left the outskirts of the bazaar into an open area where the sun already seemed to be ready to set for today, Veer, Eleana and Eryssa shuddered. They looked at each other as John and Caria seemed confused. Veer opened his mouth and asked, "So are both of you also thinking about Eryssa's assassination which we all seemed to have forgotten ?" Eleana nodded as Eryssa and Veer's face became gravely shaken, whereas John's expression was still one of confusion, and Caria had a smirk on her lips.