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Kazem questions the sanity of his companions while Vali ends up in mergich horny jail.
Consider joining my Discord server to talk about the story and size stuff!
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Kazem watched on with disgust as his compatriots carried the bound and gagged princess away.
“This is insane.” he said, shaking his head in dismay.
David continued to carry Alice over his shoulder. “I wouldn’t say it’s the craziest thing we’ve done, personally.”
Kazem grunted. “Kidnapping is a line I don’t think we’ve crossed before. We’re doing it in broad daylight too…”
Amir put a hand on his hip and scoffed. “I already told you that no one cares, Kazem! This is Valentia we’re talking about. Famous worldwide for its staunch neutrality and its apathetic people!”
“Did you at least bribe the guards ahead of time?” Kazem asked, glancing over his shoulder. The group remained on a stone road as the distance between themselves and the city gates grew over time. “Or… did they just let us through?”
Amir extended a free hand and shifted it from left to right. “Eh… it’s iffy. I did pay off the guards at the eastern gate a month ago, but I wasn’t sure if they’d let us through with no questions asked. Either way, all's well that ends well!”
Kazem winced once they started to pass by another trading caravan. “Don’t jinx it, Amir.”
An armed caravan hand approached the thieves first. “What’s going on here?” he asked, reaching for his weapon. “What are you doing with that poor woman?!”
Kazem reached for his flintlock pistol, just for Amir to step forward.
“Greetings!” Amir said, bowing before the caravan guards. He let out some joyous laughter. “Don’t mind us, we’re just returning that young lady to her father after she ran off into the city with some… peasant boy. No one is pleased about it to say the least!”
The caravan hand relaxed. “Ah… I see. Nobleman’s daughter?”
Alice continued to struggle in her restraints, but a gag suppressed her attempts to scream.
Amir nodded. “Indeed! You know it is with women these days… no respect for the old ways!”
“Ain’t that the truth…” said the caravan hand, rolling his shoulders. “Sounds like this is none of our business anyway. Didn’t mean to be nosy, just couldn’t watch that happen right in front of my eyes without asking some questions first.”
“Oh, I understand!” Amir replied, letting out another laugh. “Can’t be too careful these days with some many dastards and bandits plaguing these roads.” He waved the caravan off, smiling at the other guards and merchants. “Good day to you fair folks then! Perhaps our paths will cross again one day once we return this young maiden home!”
A few in the caravan exchanged nervous laughs or glances with some eagerly smiling and waving.
With that, Amir’s group walked right past the caravan without any further incidents.
Yet again, Kazem remained awestruck. “Ah… I forget how you always manage to bullshit your way out of any situation.”
Another bellow laughter escaped from Amir as he made a wide and cocky smile. “And I told you that no one in this city gives a shit! The coast is clear.”
“Then how exactly are we supposed to deal with the mergich bounty hunter?” Kazem asked, grunting. “I barely escaped with my life last time I had to deal with the prick. He’s definitely going to come looking for the poor girl, especially if he picks up our trail…”
Amir waved with one hand as if to wave his concerns away. “Relax! The gang is almost back together, and I got a plan. Each person here has an important role to play.”
Kazem raised an eyebrow. “We have roles?”
“Of course!” Amir answered, scoffing. “Always have. Have you forgotten already?”
“I guess I need a refresher…” Kazem replied, rolling his eyes. “Your brilliance must have slipped my mind.”
Amir held a hand over his heart. “Need I remind you that I’m the leader here? Why… of course not! My etiquette and silver tongue is unmatched by even the lower nobles.” He then gestured at David with a free hand. “He’s our brawn, obviously. You’re the brains, Kazem, since I graciously allow you to question and second-guess my grand plans.”
“Didn’t you just say that you make it up as you…” Kazem stopped speaking just to sigh. “Ugh. Nevermind. What does that make Andry then?”
The kobold in question continued to trail behind them, playing with a piece of flint with a crooked smile on her face as she created sparks with her clawed fingers.
“She’s the heart!” Amir said, extending an arm toward her in an almost romantic gesture. “The fiery passion that lies within all of us!”
Kazem crossed his arms. “Forget I asked.”
Amir sighed and shook his head. “You just don’t get it, Kazem. My point is that our merry band can handle just about anything life throws our way if we just work together!”
“So how do we plan on handling the mergich bounty hunter again?” Kazem asked, giving Amir a disdainful look. “Because that whole tangent didn’t answer my question.”
“Don’t worry about it!” Amir said, shrugging. “I’m certain we’ll figure something out. Worst case scenario, the Grand Enchantress can handle him for us with a spell or some other magic rubbish.”
Kazem gave him a blank stare. “You… do know that mergich are immune to magic spells, right?”
Amir grinned from ear to ear. “Or maybe she can at least buy us some time! Talk some sense into him, maybe. Surely the large lad can be reasoned with, right?”
“I doubt it.” Kazem said, shaking his head.
“But the plan is simple!” Amir suddenly announced, walking with his hands behind his back. “If he gives us the ouroboros amulet, he can have the girl back.”
Kazem spent some time in silence. “That’s it? You think he’ll really hand us something like that for the royal brat?”
Alice tried to protest by squirming and trying to speak, but she made muffled vocalizations at most.
Amir shrugged with another smug smile spreading across his face. “Only one way to find out.”
The thieves then continued their trek down the road, gradually approaching what remained of an ancient fortress in the far distance.
~~~~~
Vali didn’t resist as a mergich guard escorted him to an improvised jail cell.
However, the mergich quarter hardly had any proper infrastructure. Even the local jail resembled more of a ramshackle hut disproportionate in size when compared to the human buildings only a short distance away.
Farishta trailed right behind the guard as they all collectively entered the mergich jailhouse.
“But he has to have it…” she said with her tail slumping behind her. “Where else would it be?”
Vali stepped into a cell with his hands behind his back. “You’re gonna have to be more specific.”
Farishta balled her hands into fists, practically pouting. “You know exactly what I’m talking about! Don’t even try to play pretend… I know you have the amulet hidden somewhere!”
“Do you even know what it is?” Vali asked, scoffing. He paused as the mergich guard closed the jail cell door directly in front of his face. “Because you seem to have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Farishta focused on the mergich guard, giving him pleading eyes like a kitten. “Can’t you just… search his person or something?”
The guard crossed his arms. “Vali has come willingly. I don’t have the authority to investigate or confiscate his belongings until the mergich quarter convenes on the matter, assuming he even co-operates by that point…”
Farishta frowned at his words. “How long will that take?”
“I don’t know.” replied the guard, shrugging. “It’ll likely take a day at the bare minimum. I’m not expecting others to take long to gather on the matter since assaulting a monk is quite a serious offense, regardless of the context.”
“Even if it’s self-defense?” Vali asked, letting out a low hiss.
The guard grunted. “I merely enforce the local laws. I don’t make them. The mergich quarter will have a dialogue on the situation before deciding upon your fate either way.”
Farishta rubbed her eyes with one hand. “I’m actually willing to forgive all of this if he just gives me my amulet back…”
Vali sneered. “And why do you want it back so badly, monk?”
Her ears folded against her head. “My name is Farishta. I never meant to make an enemy of you, Vali! I just couldn’t stand by and watch you hurt innocent people…” Her face scrunched up for a moment. “Is my interference why you decided to take it for yourself?”
His face remained indecipherable behind his helmet as he stared at her for several long moments. “No. If anything else, I was confused as to why someone like you had something so dangerous.”
She blinked. “Then… what is it?”
He let out a sigh. “You still don’t know?”
Farishta held a hand over her heart. “My father just said it was very important, and that it could be dangerous if the amulet fell into the wrong hands!” She paused and broke eye contact. “He… entrusted it with me… and I failed him it seems…”
Vali grumbled and shook his head. “If you must know, your father apparently entrusted you with a weapon of mass destruction.”
Farishta’s eyes went wide. “Pardon me?!”
“You heard me.” Vali said, staring straight ahead. “They’re dangerous. The mergich monasteries made those cursed artifacts in collaboration with the Astranian Empire of old. To cheat death itself. Instead? The damn things resurrect the dead en masse, and any souls they absorb are barred from ever entering the afterlife!”
Farishta’s face scrunched up. “I… have no clue what you’re talking about. It’s never done anything like that while I’ve worn it as a necklace!”
Vali sighed. “That’s because you’re a mergich. If a mergich isn’t around to suppress its powerful magics at play, all hell will break loose. Only a dozen or so were made, and most were destroyed… all except for yours, apparently.”
The mergich guard froze in place. “Is this a… confession?”
“Far from it.” Vali replied, crossing his arms. “It’s more of an explanation. I couldn’t just leave something like that in the hands of some sheltered monk trying to play hero.”
Farishta momentarily tilted her head to the side. “I… I see…” She stopped speaking just to frown. “Then what did you intend to do with it?”
He grunted. “I wanted to destroy it, of course. Tossing it into the ocean might not be good enough.”
“You weren’t going to sell it?” she asked, letting out a sigh of relief. “I thought you were a cold-hearted mercenary or something!”
Vali rolled his eyes. “There’s some things more important than making coin. I’ll say that much.”
She nodded. “That’s something we can find common ground on I suppose, even if I don't approve of your lifestyle.”
“You monks…” he said, scoffing once more.
Farishta put her hands on her hips. “What else do you expect? You harm the innocent and spill blood just to enrich yourself. The gods aren’t kind to those who live and die by the sword!”
Vali let out a low growl. “It’s fundamentally no different than hunting… just a means to an end to survive in these human lands. Instead of tracking down beasts to fill my belly, I track down wicked men, and the coin alone is enough to feed me for weeks. Yet you monks are always so self-righteous about how I make ends meet.”
Farishta shook her head. “That doesn’t excuse what I witnessed in Riverside…”
“Doesn’t matter now.” he said, shaking his head. “I’ll be honest. I’ve had nothing but bad experiences with monks, so maybe I acted a bit… hasty with you.”
She looked at him with a frown on her face. “You were the first mergich I've encountered in years, and yet you beat me up and stole my most valuable possession!”
Vali let out a low hiss. “Maybe you should have minded your own business then...” He ended up biting his own tongue, taking a moment to think. “But again, that’s all in the past. This is the present. I don’t care if I get punished for having a little scuffle with you. We just have to make sure this ouroboros artifact isn’t a threat to civilization as we know it… well, again.”
“Can’t you just bring it to the nearby monastery?” asked the guard, glancing at the two. “Surely Farishta and some envoys from here could clear everything up.”
Vali gave the guard a blank stare. “First of all, the woman in charge of that monastery would probably hoard it rather than destroy it. We’re also not exactly on the best terms.”
Farishta glanced at the ground, rubbing her chin. “Can it even be safely destroyed?”
Vali stayed silent for a time. “I don’t know. Believe me, I’ve tried.”
Farishta then let out a sigh. “Ugh. I think we got off on the wrong foot then, Vali. If you just… you know… talked to me, we could have avoided so much unpleasantness!”
“You attacked me unprovoked.” he said, giving her a death stare.
Her ears perked up. “That wasn’t my intent! I just wanted to know why you were attacking Riverside and maybe talk things out, but then…”
“Again, I might have acted a bit too hastily…” he said, scratching his chin. “I assumed the worst once I saw a monk trying to intervene.”
Farishta clasped her hands together. “Regardless, I’m truly willing to forgive everything if you return my amulet in good faith! I didn’t know it was so dangerous, and I’d be happy to help you either contain or destroy it if it’s truly what you claim it is!”
Vali tensed up for just a moment. “Hmm. I’d like to believe that, but I don’t know if I can trust you with it.”
“Why not?” she asked with another frown. “I’ve been its caretaker for countless moons!”
“First of all, there’s your human companion…” he said, looking away.
Farishta’s heart skipped a beat before she glanced at the ground. “Kazem?”
“Not to mention the others.” he resumed, letting out a sigh. “The Grand Enchantress is mad if she's sending them all to retrieve the amulet for her. Damned things getting out of control made the Astranian Empire a shadow of its former self when it used to rule the entire continent, so I don’t know what good she thinks will come of acquiring an ouroboros again.”
“I still think the nearby monastery should be involved in this.” said the mergich guard, crossing his arms. “This goes far beyond my jurisdiction and authority. Mother Meredith needs to know.”
Farishta raised a hand in the air. “I could take it to the monastery if need be!” Her excitement rapidly dissipated as she lowered a clawed finger. “I have… nowhere else to go, actually.”
The guard held up a free hand. “I still can’t officially do anything until everyone else convenes to make a decision, Mina included.”
“I’ll go talk to her then!” Farishta said with her tail shooting up.
The guard then glared at Vali. “As it stands, most folks are still riled up after hearing about what he did to you, and I don’t want an angry mob trying to take justice into their own hands.”
Vali sneered once more. “Figures.”
Farishta held her hands together. “I do think we can clear everything up if we just talk about it! I’ll let the others know about what happened, and maybe we can all take the ouroboros amulet to the monastery together! No one has to get hurt, and there doesn’t need to be any hard feelings between myself and Vali afterward!”
The mergich man in question crossed his arms again. “We’ll see. I still think bringing it to that woman would be a mistake, but having it guarded in her monastery would be better than having the dreaded thing out in the open like this.”
“Then consider the matter settled!” she said, smiling for once in a long while. “I’ll go tell Mina about all of this and get this big mess untangled!”
Vali just silently nodded at her words.
With that, Farishta walked away from the jailhouse. However, a certain question lingered in her mind…
Did Kazem really just want the ouroboros amulet to be free from his crimes?
Just thinking about it made her frown, and her heart ached as she contemplated possibly asking the man himself for answers.
First Chapter
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Chapter Selection
Consider joining my Discord server to talk about the story and size stuff!
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First Chapter
Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
Chapter Selection
Kazem watched on with disgust as his compatriots carried the bound and gagged princess away.
“This is insane.” he said, shaking his head in dismay.
David continued to carry Alice over his shoulder. “I wouldn’t say it’s the craziest thing we’ve done, personally.”
Kazem grunted. “Kidnapping is a line I don’t think we’ve crossed before. We’re doing it in broad daylight too…”
Amir put a hand on his hip and scoffed. “I already told you that no one cares, Kazem! This is Valentia we’re talking about. Famous worldwide for its staunch neutrality and its apathetic people!”
“Did you at least bribe the guards ahead of time?” Kazem asked, glancing over his shoulder. The group remained on a stone road as the distance between themselves and the city gates grew over time. “Or… did they just let us through?”
Amir extended a free hand and shifted it from left to right. “Eh… it’s iffy. I did pay off the guards at the eastern gate a month ago, but I wasn’t sure if they’d let us through with no questions asked. Either way, all's well that ends well!”
Kazem winced once they started to pass by another trading caravan. “Don’t jinx it, Amir.”
An armed caravan hand approached the thieves first. “What’s going on here?” he asked, reaching for his weapon. “What are you doing with that poor woman?!”
Kazem reached for his flintlock pistol, just for Amir to step forward.
“Greetings!” Amir said, bowing before the caravan guards. He let out some joyous laughter. “Don’t mind us, we’re just returning that young lady to her father after she ran off into the city with some… peasant boy. No one is pleased about it to say the least!”
The caravan hand relaxed. “Ah… I see. Nobleman’s daughter?”
Alice continued to struggle in her restraints, but a gag suppressed her attempts to scream.
Amir nodded. “Indeed! You know it is with women these days… no respect for the old ways!”
“Ain’t that the truth…” said the caravan hand, rolling his shoulders. “Sounds like this is none of our business anyway. Didn’t mean to be nosy, just couldn’t watch that happen right in front of my eyes without asking some questions first.”
“Oh, I understand!” Amir replied, letting out another laugh. “Can’t be too careful these days with some many dastards and bandits plaguing these roads.” He waved the caravan off, smiling at the other guards and merchants. “Good day to you fair folks then! Perhaps our paths will cross again one day once we return this young maiden home!”
A few in the caravan exchanged nervous laughs or glances with some eagerly smiling and waving.
With that, Amir’s group walked right past the caravan without any further incidents.
Yet again, Kazem remained awestruck. “Ah… I forget how you always manage to bullshit your way out of any situation.”
Another bellow laughter escaped from Amir as he made a wide and cocky smile. “And I told you that no one in this city gives a shit! The coast is clear.”
“Then how exactly are we supposed to deal with the mergich bounty hunter?” Kazem asked, grunting. “I barely escaped with my life last time I had to deal with the prick. He’s definitely going to come looking for the poor girl, especially if he picks up our trail…”
Amir waved with one hand as if to wave his concerns away. “Relax! The gang is almost back together, and I got a plan. Each person here has an important role to play.”
Kazem raised an eyebrow. “We have roles?”
“Of course!” Amir answered, scoffing. “Always have. Have you forgotten already?”
“I guess I need a refresher…” Kazem replied, rolling his eyes. “Your brilliance must have slipped my mind.”
Amir held a hand over his heart. “Need I remind you that I’m the leader here? Why… of course not! My etiquette and silver tongue is unmatched by even the lower nobles.” He then gestured at David with a free hand. “He’s our brawn, obviously. You’re the brains, Kazem, since I graciously allow you to question and second-guess my grand plans.”
“Didn’t you just say that you make it up as you…” Kazem stopped speaking just to sigh. “Ugh. Nevermind. What does that make Andry then?”
The kobold in question continued to trail behind them, playing with a piece of flint with a crooked smile on her face as she created sparks with her clawed fingers.
“She’s the heart!” Amir said, extending an arm toward her in an almost romantic gesture. “The fiery passion that lies within all of us!”
Kazem crossed his arms. “Forget I asked.”
Amir sighed and shook his head. “You just don’t get it, Kazem. My point is that our merry band can handle just about anything life throws our way if we just work together!”
“So how do we plan on handling the mergich bounty hunter again?” Kazem asked, giving Amir a disdainful look. “Because that whole tangent didn’t answer my question.”
“Don’t worry about it!” Amir said, shrugging. “I’m certain we’ll figure something out. Worst case scenario, the Grand Enchantress can handle him for us with a spell or some other magic rubbish.”
Kazem gave him a blank stare. “You… do know that mergich are immune to magic spells, right?”
Amir grinned from ear to ear. “Or maybe she can at least buy us some time! Talk some sense into him, maybe. Surely the large lad can be reasoned with, right?”
“I doubt it.” Kazem said, shaking his head.
“But the plan is simple!” Amir suddenly announced, walking with his hands behind his back. “If he gives us the ouroboros amulet, he can have the girl back.”
Kazem spent some time in silence. “That’s it? You think he’ll really hand us something like that for the royal brat?”
Alice tried to protest by squirming and trying to speak, but she made muffled vocalizations at most.
Amir shrugged with another smug smile spreading across his face. “Only one way to find out.”
The thieves then continued their trek down the road, gradually approaching what remained of an ancient fortress in the far distance.
~~~~~
Vali didn’t resist as a mergich guard escorted him to an improvised jail cell.
However, the mergich quarter hardly had any proper infrastructure. Even the local jail resembled more of a ramshackle hut disproportionate in size when compared to the human buildings only a short distance away.
Farishta trailed right behind the guard as they all collectively entered the mergich jailhouse.
“But he has to have it…” she said with her tail slumping behind her. “Where else would it be?”
Vali stepped into a cell with his hands behind his back. “You’re gonna have to be more specific.”
Farishta balled her hands into fists, practically pouting. “You know exactly what I’m talking about! Don’t even try to play pretend… I know you have the amulet hidden somewhere!”
“Do you even know what it is?” Vali asked, scoffing. He paused as the mergich guard closed the jail cell door directly in front of his face. “Because you seem to have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Farishta focused on the mergich guard, giving him pleading eyes like a kitten. “Can’t you just… search his person or something?”
The guard crossed his arms. “Vali has come willingly. I don’t have the authority to investigate or confiscate his belongings until the mergich quarter convenes on the matter, assuming he even co-operates by that point…”
Farishta frowned at his words. “How long will that take?”
“I don’t know.” replied the guard, shrugging. “It’ll likely take a day at the bare minimum. I’m not expecting others to take long to gather on the matter since assaulting a monk is quite a serious offense, regardless of the context.”
“Even if it’s self-defense?” Vali asked, letting out a low hiss.
The guard grunted. “I merely enforce the local laws. I don’t make them. The mergich quarter will have a dialogue on the situation before deciding upon your fate either way.”
Farishta rubbed her eyes with one hand. “I’m actually willing to forgive all of this if he just gives me my amulet back…”
Vali sneered. “And why do you want it back so badly, monk?”
Her ears folded against her head. “My name is Farishta. I never meant to make an enemy of you, Vali! I just couldn’t stand by and watch you hurt innocent people…” Her face scrunched up for a moment. “Is my interference why you decided to take it for yourself?”
His face remained indecipherable behind his helmet as he stared at her for several long moments. “No. If anything else, I was confused as to why someone like you had something so dangerous.”
She blinked. “Then… what is it?”
He let out a sigh. “You still don’t know?”
Farishta held a hand over her heart. “My father just said it was very important, and that it could be dangerous if the amulet fell into the wrong hands!” She paused and broke eye contact. “He… entrusted it with me… and I failed him it seems…”
Vali grumbled and shook his head. “If you must know, your father apparently entrusted you with a weapon of mass destruction.”
Farishta’s eyes went wide. “Pardon me?!”
“You heard me.” Vali said, staring straight ahead. “They’re dangerous. The mergich monasteries made those cursed artifacts in collaboration with the Astranian Empire of old. To cheat death itself. Instead? The damn things resurrect the dead en masse, and any souls they absorb are barred from ever entering the afterlife!”
Farishta’s face scrunched up. “I… have no clue what you’re talking about. It’s never done anything like that while I’ve worn it as a necklace!”
Vali sighed. “That’s because you’re a mergich. If a mergich isn’t around to suppress its powerful magics at play, all hell will break loose. Only a dozen or so were made, and most were destroyed… all except for yours, apparently.”
The mergich guard froze in place. “Is this a… confession?”
“Far from it.” Vali replied, crossing his arms. “It’s more of an explanation. I couldn’t just leave something like that in the hands of some sheltered monk trying to play hero.”
Farishta momentarily tilted her head to the side. “I… I see…” She stopped speaking just to frown. “Then what did you intend to do with it?”
He grunted. “I wanted to destroy it, of course. Tossing it into the ocean might not be good enough.”
“You weren’t going to sell it?” she asked, letting out a sigh of relief. “I thought you were a cold-hearted mercenary or something!”
Vali rolled his eyes. “There’s some things more important than making coin. I’ll say that much.”
She nodded. “That’s something we can find common ground on I suppose, even if I don't approve of your lifestyle.”
“You monks…” he said, scoffing once more.
Farishta put her hands on her hips. “What else do you expect? You harm the innocent and spill blood just to enrich yourself. The gods aren’t kind to those who live and die by the sword!”
Vali let out a low growl. “It’s fundamentally no different than hunting… just a means to an end to survive in these human lands. Instead of tracking down beasts to fill my belly, I track down wicked men, and the coin alone is enough to feed me for weeks. Yet you monks are always so self-righteous about how I make ends meet.”
Farishta shook her head. “That doesn’t excuse what I witnessed in Riverside…”
“Doesn’t matter now.” he said, shaking his head. “I’ll be honest. I’ve had nothing but bad experiences with monks, so maybe I acted a bit… hasty with you.”
She looked at him with a frown on her face. “You were the first mergich I've encountered in years, and yet you beat me up and stole my most valuable possession!”
Vali let out a low hiss. “Maybe you should have minded your own business then...” He ended up biting his own tongue, taking a moment to think. “But again, that’s all in the past. This is the present. I don’t care if I get punished for having a little scuffle with you. We just have to make sure this ouroboros artifact isn’t a threat to civilization as we know it… well, again.”
“Can’t you just bring it to the nearby monastery?” asked the guard, glancing at the two. “Surely Farishta and some envoys from here could clear everything up.”
Vali gave the guard a blank stare. “First of all, the woman in charge of that monastery would probably hoard it rather than destroy it. We’re also not exactly on the best terms.”
Farishta glanced at the ground, rubbing her chin. “Can it even be safely destroyed?”
Vali stayed silent for a time. “I don’t know. Believe me, I’ve tried.”
Farishta then let out a sigh. “Ugh. I think we got off on the wrong foot then, Vali. If you just… you know… talked to me, we could have avoided so much unpleasantness!”
“You attacked me unprovoked.” he said, giving her a death stare.
Her ears perked up. “That wasn’t my intent! I just wanted to know why you were attacking Riverside and maybe talk things out, but then…”
“Again, I might have acted a bit too hastily…” he said, scratching his chin. “I assumed the worst once I saw a monk trying to intervene.”
Farishta clasped her hands together. “Regardless, I’m truly willing to forgive everything if you return my amulet in good faith! I didn’t know it was so dangerous, and I’d be happy to help you either contain or destroy it if it’s truly what you claim it is!”
Vali tensed up for just a moment. “Hmm. I’d like to believe that, but I don’t know if I can trust you with it.”
“Why not?” she asked with another frown. “I’ve been its caretaker for countless moons!”
“First of all, there’s your human companion…” he said, looking away.
Farishta’s heart skipped a beat before she glanced at the ground. “Kazem?”
“Not to mention the others.” he resumed, letting out a sigh. “The Grand Enchantress is mad if she's sending them all to retrieve the amulet for her. Damned things getting out of control made the Astranian Empire a shadow of its former self when it used to rule the entire continent, so I don’t know what good she thinks will come of acquiring an ouroboros again.”
“I still think the nearby monastery should be involved in this.” said the mergich guard, crossing his arms. “This goes far beyond my jurisdiction and authority. Mother Meredith needs to know.”
Farishta raised a hand in the air. “I could take it to the monastery if need be!” Her excitement rapidly dissipated as she lowered a clawed finger. “I have… nowhere else to go, actually.”
The guard held up a free hand. “I still can’t officially do anything until everyone else convenes to make a decision, Mina included.”
“I’ll go talk to her then!” Farishta said with her tail shooting up.
The guard then glared at Vali. “As it stands, most folks are still riled up after hearing about what he did to you, and I don’t want an angry mob trying to take justice into their own hands.”
Vali sneered once more. “Figures.”
Farishta held her hands together. “I do think we can clear everything up if we just talk about it! I’ll let the others know about what happened, and maybe we can all take the ouroboros amulet to the monastery together! No one has to get hurt, and there doesn’t need to be any hard feelings between myself and Vali afterward!”
The mergich man in question crossed his arms again. “We’ll see. I still think bringing it to that woman would be a mistake, but having it guarded in her monastery would be better than having the dreaded thing out in the open like this.”
“Then consider the matter settled!” she said, smiling for once in a long while. “I’ll go tell Mina about all of this and get this big mess untangled!”
Vali just silently nodded at her words.
With that, Farishta walked away from the jailhouse. However, a certain question lingered in her mind…
Did Kazem really just want the ouroboros amulet to be free from his crimes?
Just thinking about it made her frown, and her heart ached as she contemplated possibly asking the man himself for answers.
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