Sylvester silently saw Lady Bethany go, leaving him with a myriad of thoughts.
'The scent of hope is too strong. She needs me more than I need her. But I must say, she's quite good at acting. If I didn't have my past experiences, I'd have been easily fooled by her.'
"That was quite strange." Sylvester returned to Lord Raftel, showing a face of confusion. "I thought she was young."
"Hah! So you were also fooled." Raftel chuckled. "She's older than most of the folks in this hall. That's why both of us bowed to her, even when she's a mere daughter of a Duke. So what did she say to you so intimately?"
Sylvester shrugged and gave a reasonably plausible excuse. "Nothing, she just invited me to the Duchy of Normani to enlighten the masses. Since the Duchy borders the Masan Empire, the Duchy has a very strange cultural hotchpotch going on. Both sides mingle, make babies, and the process continues. Normani has people performing the rituals of the West and the East, at the same time to pray to Solis."
"That would be the correct description of Normani. It's commendable that there has been no ethical violence in history," Baron Strongarm added.
'Because the glass is not full yet.' Sylvester thought in his head. 'If I were Masan's chief spy, the legendary man, I'd let the community mingle and let the tensions slowly boil until I see the best opportunity to unleash the divide-and-rule game. The only question is, when will the tipping point arrive?'
Considering there was so much to do, Sylvester decided to move on to his work. After all, his destination was the Sorrow Kingdom, not Green City.
"I'm afraid I must head out now, my lords. I have much work to do and the word of the lord to spread. I will stay in touch regarding the new inventions." Sylvester put away his fine glass of orange juice and gestured at Sir Dolorem and Bishop Lazark standing in the distance, speaking with other clergymen.
Sylvester bid the two farewell and moved on to speak with the King. He didn't bother much with the man as he was just a figurehead. But he did pass by Lady Bethany and said a few words.
"I must take my leave now, my lady. But, as per your invitation, I will gladly visit Normani in the near future." He cryptically gave her the answer, that he'd help her.
With a gentle smile, she bowed her head and thanked him. "My father will be overjoyed to hear this, Lord Bard. Please be safe; many depend on your warm light and soothing voice."
Sylvester nodded and walked away while quoting. "It's sad how often people are so centred on dousing the blaze in their house that they can't even comprehend when the world around them gets swept away in flames."
Leaving behind Lady Bethany to contemplate, he exited the castle and found his small, rundown carriage waiting for him. Sir Dolorem and Bishop Lazark had their own horses they would ride separately.
"Where to, your grace?" Sir Dolorem asked, always being so formal.
Sylvester looked at the sky and calculated. "It's better if we take the ferry upstream the Gold River and then downstream, the Snake River. It will be faster this way. We shall rest at Fort Sunflower before entering the Highland Kingdom. Remember to change your appearance enough that you appear as mere priests, not highly trained and experienced clergymen and commanders."
"Understood, Lord Bard." Bishop Lazark responded and hid his little skeleton cat inside the robes.
So they moved as planned. They went to the port down south in the city and hired a ferry for their private purpose only. It was expensive, as it used Wind elemental crystals to go upstream fast.
But it saved much of Sylvester's time as the ferry easily took a turn on the Gold River and entered the main Snake River. After the left turn, it was a fast ride since the river was going downstream. In a single day, they arrived near their destination.
The difference between Gracia and Riveria was stark. Although Gracia was full of fertile soil and greenery, it never came as close as Riveria. The land was so fertile that it was magical to an extent. The grass was richly green. The sunflower fields and the vast, dense fields of grains were brightly glowing.
"I wonder if Green City was called as such because once Riveria was a part of the Gracia Empire," Sylvester muttered while looking at the scenic view. "What was the rank of the Riveria family before the breaking of the Empire?"
"King, Lord Bard." Bishop Lazark spoke. "Gracia family rulers were called Emperors, while the rest were smaller Kings."
"Which eventually led to the downfall of the Empire, as too much power was in the hands of Kings. Lack of communication and help to the Kings led to a slow rise of hatred." Sir Dolorem added.
'Just like a certain Union in my past.'
"How are you feeling, Sir Dolorem? Are the new eyes doing well?" Sylvester changed the topic.
Sir Dolorem was wearing an eyepatch on one eye and rarely took it off. "Better than before, Lord Bard. Having the reassurance that I can see, if need be, is soothing to my mind. But, they are tiring."
"That is why you must keep the Solarium Crystals with you at all tim-"
"FIRE!"
"Help them!"
Sylvester looked ahead at the noise and noticed a small boathouse on the riverbanks had caught fire, and there were a few people in the water, swimming away in fear.
"Do not move. Remember, we are simple, lowly priests from the Holy Land." Sylvester stopped Sir Dolorem and Bishop Lazark from reacting and helping out of the goodness of their hearts.
Currently, all three of them were well disguised. Sylvester's hair was black now, along with his eyes. He had a fake beard, along with a few scars here and there, to make himself look older. Meanwhile, Sir Dolorem was acting as the lowest-ranked priest among them, acting as a mere helper and donning an eyepatch. He also had a beard over his black skin.
Bishop Lazark needed the most work. The man was white as snow since he always covered himself with oversized robes. This time, Sylvester had to put some skin-coloured makeup on his face and give him a stubble beard to make him look ordinary. He still wore oversized hooded robes, though.
They had already been backed by the administration department, as a letter was already sent to an Archbishop in the Sorrow Kingdom, intimating the clergyman about Sylvester's arrival.
Of course, their names were now different. Sylvester was called Johnathan, a name from his past. Sir Dolorem was called Charles, and Bishop Lazark was called Leonardo. All three of them were supposed to be weak as wizards and with no knightly talents. Their job was to work as additional helping staff in the South.
"We are merely helping staff to this… Archbishop Nelson Paul." Sylvester reminded them about their role.
"What if this Archbishop turns out to be less than anything we expected?" Bishop Lazark asked.
Sylvester shrugged. "Then I'm the Judge, the Jury, and Executioner."
They didn't talk about anything that could reveal their identity anymore and silently watched the scenes pass by. Soon, they saw the Great Cliff waterfall on the left, the biggest waterfall in the world, with a height going as high as 3 kilometres and a width going twelve kilometres wide in a straight line.
From the Snake River, it looked magnificent. Sylvester felt if he didn't have his magical powers, he'd be pretty terrified by such a behemoth of natural occurrence.
"The world sure never ceases from shouting at us, 'You're puny and nothing.'" Bishop Lazark said in a moment of awe.
The waterfall also marked that their destination had come close. They got off on the southern shore of the Snake River, directly arriving in the sunflower fields around Fort Sunflower. From there, they rode their carriage and eventually reached the Fort.
It was as bustling as the last time Sylvester was there. In fact, it seemed more crowded for some reason. Duke Conrad had become King now. The Fort Sunflower was still controlled by the King but from a long distance. That meant there was much more corruption in Fort City since the ruler was away.
"Stay low. Remember, we're only here to rest." Sylvester reminded them as they stood in the long line leading into the city.
"Reason for visit?"
Sylvester showed a document. "Passing through to down south."
"Ah! Sorrow Kingdom? Who did you offend in the Holy Land?" The guards at the Fort's gate mocked the three. "It's rare to see clergymen heading down south. Well, good luck."
With that, Sylvester and the rest got easy access to the city. The wide, bustling streets ate up another hour before they arrived at the cheap inn. They didn't go to the Monastery since questions could be asked there.
Not to mention, Sylvester had a specific meeting with his favourite slave.
"Priest Charles and Priest Leonardo, I will be going out for a while to gather some information," Sylvester informed Sir Dolorem and Bishop Lazark.
They merely nodded and let him go. Sir Dolorem now had enough confidence in Sylvester's abilities that he didn't worry about his safety.
With that, Sylvester took Miraj and travelled around the market. His looks were so ordinary that nobody even glanced at him. With his ability as a spy, he knew how to keep such a low profile that even if he stood in front of shops, the shopkeepers didn't bother with him.
Once he ascertained nobody was following him, he moved towards the Fighting Pits. The vast arena and its underground complex's design were memorised by Sylvester. So he quickly arrived at the entrance to the underground rooms where fighting slaves were kept.
"Meow Meow!"
Miraj made loud cat noises near the guards to distract them so Sylvester could quickly enter. Heck! If some guards were too serious, Miraj would simply go and smack them with his fluffy paw. It always worked.
Sylvester easily made his way in and entered the room of Kaecilius Silvanus. The man was inside, sleeping on the bed. Sylvester, being a spy, didn't make any noise, so the man didn't even sense him.
'He needs to learn how to deal with folks like me if he wishes to fight Riveria. Conrad will send many assassins after him when he starts a revolt.'
"Wake up, Kaecilius." Sylvester called the man.
Woosh!
Clank!
At a raging speed, like the thunder falling from the sky, Kaecilius woke up fast and jumped on Sylvester with a sword he had taken out from under his pillow. "Who sent you!?"
Sylvester easily blocked it. "It's me, the Bard. May the Holy Light enlighten us."
Sylvester made his palm shine, and the halo appeared well-defined. That was the easiest and quickest way to clear his identity. "Why did you contact me through the secret letter?"
Kaecilius knelt down instantly and saluted back. "Lord Bard, I had to. Do not worry. The man I sent to deliver the missive is dead. I have successfully gathered a shadow army of fellow slaves, Lord Bard. We number three thousand and hope to take over Fort Sunflower. But Riveria will cut off our access to the North. That's why I was hoping you could open a path for us to the Highland Kingdom so that the Fort can be self-sufficient under me; as I increase our numbers."
'I smell no lies, and there's confidence. Let's give it a try then.'
"What do you require?"
Kaecilius looked up at Sylvester's disguised face. "Food and weapons… A lot of weapons."
Sylvester raised his palm, and out of nowhere, a set of swords, shields and armour popped out of thin air.
"Amen!"
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