“Did you pick anything useful with your Tiamat eyes, Lith?” Strider believed that Lith’s tracking skills stemmed from a bloodline ability, not Menadion’s masterpiece.
“Sadly, no.” Lith replied. “No energy trace lasts for two weeks, especially in an environment above a mana geyser and with dozens of Forgemasters casting powerful spells on a daily basis. What’s our next move?”
“We are doing this by the book.” Ryka replied. “We contact our handler, give him our report, and see if our intel network can find any useful lead. This isn’t a personal investigation anymore, we can ask the Council for support.”
They had collected enough proof to refute the original objections to the case. The common circumstances surrounding the disappearance of so many powerful Forgemasters were alarming by themselves, but the lists of materials made it much worse.
Lith had requested an updated inventory from all the lead disciples to know what was missing and what had been bought right before their masters’ departure. After putting everything together, there were enough restricted ingredients to give birth to a new lost city.
The Awakened Council couldn’t afford to lose so many potential Rulers of the Flames. Sure, most of the missing Forgemasters lacked the necessary talent and only a few of them could really aspire to reach Menadion’s glory, but they were all very good at their job.
The Regional Lords of all races who managed the Warping Array network were questioned and the Royal Court was requested access to the Gate network. Even if the Awakened often used fake IDs, their faces had to be scanned by the Association’s clerks.
Very few Awakened bothered shapeshifting simply because there was no reason not to use their real face. They had done nothing wrong (that the Kingdom was aware of) and on paper, they were two-bit mages.
“Disappear is a strong word.” Strider said while they waited for the results of the cross-referenced databases. “No one likes to fly all the way to their destination or Warp Step like a madman, especially if they aren’t familiar with the place.
“No dimensional coordinates means no dimensional magic and most Forgemasters aren’t the adventurous type. They spend most of their days holed up in their homes. They wake up, work, eat, study, rinse and repeat.”
“Okay, but why are you guys looking at me while talking about lazy Forgemasters?” Solus didn’t like it one bit.
“Because of this.” Ryka pinched Solus’ soft belly. “You are an Awakened too, sister. You have a perfect metabolism the likes a human can only dream about. How much do you eat to achieve this?”
“It’s not an achievement and none of your business!” Solus blushed in embarrassment when she noticed that Lith and Strider turned their heads away.
They had nothing to add, but not because they didn’t share Ryka’s comment about Solus’ physique.
“There was a… celebration recently and I might have gotten a little too enthusiastic with the dessert buffet.”
“I see.” Ryka nodded. “And how long did this celebration last? Weeks? Months?”
“Ryka!” Strider shut her mouth with his hand. “Please, excuse her rudeness. Plant folk have no filter. She didn’t mean to offend you, she was just…” He didn’t know how to say it without piling up on Solus.
“Being sincere.” She sighed.
“Exactly.” The Zouwu would usually bring out food and sweets to lighten the mood but he knew it would have been like adding doughnuts to the sugary ruins of a failed diet.
As for Ryka, her remark wasn’t so far off the truth. Solus had managed to make the sweets bought from the Traveling Tavern for one week and one day. It had taken her sheer willpower but at least she could say they had lasted more than a week.
It was an “achievement” she wasn’t proud of in hindsight, throwing her diet off once again.
‘Progress, not perfection.’ She inwardly sighed. ‘I will do better next time.’
“By the way, since when does the Council have shared databases with the Kingdom and logs of who uses the Warping Array network and when?” Lith asked, curious about the innovation as much as he was eager to change the topic.
“The last time Faluel Warped me somewhere, she didn’t take notes.”
“It’s a recent policy I proposed to the Council after talking with your friend Jirni Ernas.” Strider replied, glad to spare Solus from further embarrassment. “The Hand of Fate is working to recruit Constables as advisors before Awakening them.
“The problem is the trustworthy ones are also loyal to the Kingdom who nurtured them and we can’t hire those who were fired for dishonorable conduct. At the moment, the best we can do is use active Constables as consultants.”
“Do you have contacts in the Empire and Desert too or is the collaboration limited to the Kingdom?” Solus asked.
“The War of the Griffons helped the Council build a solid relationship with the Crown which made things easier.” The Zouwu said. “Our connections with the Empire are a bit strained due to past grudges.
“The Council always shunned the Empress as a puppet of the Guardians but she is working to bridge our differences and establish the necessary liaisons from scratch. As for the Desert, its people have logs that put the Kingdom’s to shame.
“Not a grain of sand moves without a Feather noting it down and sending a report to the Overlord. The Council and the other two great countries are afraid that by sharing our databases, Salaark will be able to gather intel.
“She’s a Guardian and no one doubts she can sift through thousands and thousands of cargo manifests to ascertain the real financial situation of each rival region. It’s a political nightmare, especially with the current race for Jiera.”
Lith nodded, well aware of the current progress of all three great countries in building their outposts overseas.
The Blood Desert had reached Jiara’s shores last but Salaark’s colonization operations proceeded swifter and bore better results than her competition’s.
Phoenixes from her Nest guarded the outposts until the permanent arrays were completed and compared to the harsh conditions of the Desert, Jiera was a piece of cake for the Overlord’s tribesmen.
To make matters worse for the Kingdom and the Empire, the people of the Desert had no rivalry or conflicting interests slowing their advance. There were no political or merchant factions at odds fighting for mining rights.
Everyone worked for Salaark who in turn shared her new resources with the colonists, rewarding their hardships and making their loyalty iron clad.
Every man toiling in Jiera knew that in case of their death, their families would be taken care and receive their share of riches for ten years or until their children reached adult age if they had toddlers.
The people of the Desert took any threat to the Overlord’s territories as a personal offense because it was. Bribery attempts and sabotage were dealt with extreme prejudice. Jiera was learning that Salaark’s justice was swift and brutal, no matter on what side of Mogar her laws were defied.
“Yeah, Grandma-, I mean, the Overlord has a way with people. She may be a tyrant, but after so much chaos I’m afraid that the Jierans will favor safety and order over freedom.”
