Chapter 252: Making A Plan

Chapter 252: Making A Plan

A near-forgotten fire roared to life in Elaras heart. Anger. Hatred. Disgust. All sparked by a single word.

Virtun.

It wasnt the word that did it, though. She thought the word plenty. Had heard Orkens Council say it plenty, too, back when the Seekers were making their reports. It was just a word.

Except, in this case, it was more than that. It was the ones that had ruined her city - coming here. Soon.

Elara didnt know whether to feel. Should she be excited at the idea of confronting the members of a city she hated? Terrified? Eager? Worried? Because she was all of them at once, and she was too confused to force the feelings to stop.

It wasnt until her body started shaking that Elara noticed the world was still moving on without her.

-ara. Elara! Can you hear me? Dorans finger snapped in front of her, the other hand shaking her like a ragdoll. Shit, I think she might have done something to herself, Erik.

Im here, Elara said, still in a confused and muddled daze. Im alright. I think. I justneed a moment.

It took more than that for her to finally compose herself, but the other two Seekers were more than gracious enough to give it - and when she was done relaying the reason for her stupor, they nearly fell into one themselves.

...huh, Erik said slowly, as if carefully tasting the words on his tongue as they formed and finding the flavor less than palatable. Thatsnot good. You know, that reminds me of what Julian was saying earlier about the White Towers. What was it

Elara thought back, straining herself to remember. Julian, one of the diplomats that had brought them to Erandur, had talked about the White Towers somewhere in the midst of describing the citys makeup. Something about a Core. Her eyes widened as the memory of his speech flooded in.

Especially after the White Towers managed to make some sort of agreement with another city in exchange for a Core a few decades back. Theyve lorded it over us ever since. Claim that theyre the ones who made the sacrifices - I couldnt tell you what those actually were, they seem pretty tight-lipped on that end, but I assume it involves the xenlite or the mines somehow - and that means they have no obligation to share the benefits.

So they would lean on that misconception. Hard. She just had to pretend to be one of these shadowguards for a little while. As long as she didnt talk too much and give herself away, Elara imagined that she could keep up the charade long enough to figure out what exactly was going on. With Elaras recently-amplified hearing, it would be childs play to listen to the White Towers reaction to the presence of a Virtun shadowguard. From there, she could adjust her behavior accordingly. More importantly, shed have the opportunity to hear the things that were said about Virtun behind closed doors. Because, with how distraught the voices she had heard earlier were about her early arrival, they would definitely be talking. Quite a lot.

Unfortunately, the plan required Elara to split off from the others for a time. They still needed to keep searching for Orkens wayward snake. Investigating the White Towers connection to Virtun was important, but the Little Guardian was even more important. If he was at the White Towers, Elara would find him. If he wasnt, which was far more likely with the null-water that surrounded the cluster of towers, Erik and Dorans time would be better served elsewhere.

They separated after a few moments of well wishes, Elara continuing towards the White Towers, where a boat was already beginning to cross the null-water in her direction, while Erik and Doran headed towards one of the few remaining clusters of towers that they hadnt investigated yet.

The boat had nearly arrived by the time Elara stepped to the White Towers shoreline, rowed by a group of men that spent the entire journey across the null-water quietly cursing her for arriving without any notice. Other mutterings had given her a little more information to go off of, but not nearly as much as she wanted.

...lone shadowguard, this time. Wonder what happened that one got sent ahead so early? Theyve never done this before, one man said.

...looks like a woman this time, doesnt it? Feeling like trying your luck? Could be a good lay if shes as crazy as the rest, another needled.

Skies, no! Im not trying to die any time soon. How about you do it if you think its such a good idea, asshole.

Quiet! the rest of the men in the boat chorused, the entire group turning on the chatty members of the boat. They fell silent.

Carefully avoiding reacting to those last few comments, Elara took a tight rein on her emotions and body language, exerting the full force of her mana-given bodily control. She needed to do this right - and that meant not giving away that she could hear so well. No reactions. Luckily, the closed-face helmet helped with that.

Elara let out one final sigh, listening to the sound of her breath crashing against her visor like a tumultuous wave, and readied herself for their arrival. If the information she heard was right, Elara had two weeks to finish up at the White Towers before Virtun appeared and everything came crashing down.

But if everything went well, by the time they got to Erandur

The city might be different than theyd be expecting.