Leech of the World, Chapter 3: Family, Part 1: Sorry

*Sigh*“Now to write the letter” the Chieftess sat on front of her desk in the middle of the open hall, it was not usually there, but a recent storm damaged the roof of her office and it was now under repairs so they moved it to the hall for now.

The young chieftess grabbed a scroll of paper and took her Trident, “The Trident of Alexandrite” it is named like that since is a translucent piece of gem with the form of a trident that changes color when under low light. A light Blue seal appeared on her forehead; lines grew from its sides.

Then the trident started to glow and shrink until it became a very small portion of what is was, almost like a short stick on Azur’s hand.

“Hmm (how to start it... I know)” she wondered to herself while listened to the sounds of the ceiling being repaired.

*Knock* *Knock* the front door sounded.

“Come in Tumul”

“Ah, yes Azur” the veteran opened the door and was surprised that she knew it was him. “Excuse me, but may I know how you knew it was me”

“Not right now, what is it you need?”

“I’m sure you know already... but you want me to say it...”

“Of course”

“I want to know what we are going to do with that thing”

“Tumul... so do I...”

“What does that mean?” he raised his voice a little.

“You were there, we would have too many casualties if we fought that thing head on! And it might even escape to fight another day!” she responded angry “I get that you’re angry, so am I" 

“You know better than anyone that we have enough power to fight I-”

“Is not that we cannot beat it, is that we can only beat one! What if it has hatchlings? Or a mate? Both? What are you going to do if that happens?!” she got up from her seat.

“Azur... I... I'm sorry... It’s just that...” his voice was really low, almost unnoticeable.

“I know... it's hard... but I need you to be strong, one last time, not for me or for yourself but for the village, we will fight it, just not head first, rest in the meantime” she turned back to get a sack of a special ink.

“I’m goo-”

“That’s an order” without turning around to see him, she commanded him “If worst comes to worst, we need everyone at their peak performance, tell Rek and the butcher that I sent you, they’ll knew what to do”

“What for?”

“A surprise, now go back to your wife, she needs you now more than ever...”

“...I'm off then” the Eighty-four years old Kryg left the hall slowly, like waiting for another order that was never voiced and finally was outside.

About half an hour later.

“Aqua, stop spying on me from the hole at the office, would you?”

“Oh~ don’t mind me, I like watching my future spouse work~” she ‘dropped’ through the hole on the ceiling and the carpenters looked as if they didn’t know anything while they obviously let her in.

A little silence between the two of them while Azur wrote with the ‘shard’ of the Trident she had on her hand using the special ink, Aqua didn’t saw anything on the paper as Azur wrote down a magic letter. A code almost, one that only others with the same magic could decipher and at the nest there were such Kyrgnym.

“How much of Tumul you heard?” out of nowhere Azur was the one to interrupt the silence. 

“Pretty much everything... I'm sorry for him”

“So am I, but it's unacceptable to have a veteran get lost in rage...”

“Haa, all this has made a number on you, didn’t it? I think you should get some rest, although I'm pretty sure that you are just going to ignore me”

“Maybe not this time... but definitely not right now, this is still priority and that kid from Rek’s hunters is going to deliver it”

“So that’s another one of the things that has struck you today, say, where is him right now?”

“Don’t go around scaring others for life, would you? but don’t worry, I sent him to help Ephi at the school”

“Oy oy, she might as well kill him if she has the chance”

“Not in front of the kids haha” at last the tired Chiefess laughed and saw Aquara smiling back 

“I swear if you were not a female, I would have fallen for you a long time ago...”

“What's wrong with it?!” her smile disappeared from her face.

“You know what I meant...”

“That doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt every time”

“I’m sorry Aqua, but you know that I want a family, my very own that I myself want to make... how many times have we had this conversation?”

“So many that it's starting to hurt a little less y’know, also, I'm still a female so, I'll always understand what you mean with that you want your very own family, I was like that, remember?” the unusual big female Krygnym calmed down.

“Yea, you were really wild a couple of years ago and so was Brey, hmm, that's right he changed when the race against his own brother went bad didn't him?”

“That he did and all of it because of your sister... amazing that you only keep surprising us even through Ephi and both of you aren’t even at their mid-twenties!”

“Get out of here you silly, I have work to do, go meet Ephi, I believe she has good news for you” 

“Ohoho, aren’t you a mischievous one~”

“Go I say! I have work to do” said Azur in a playful tone.

“I'm going I'm going... Godspeed ma’am” she did a slight bow.

“Later, Aqua~”

Aqua got out for the front door startling the guards a little since they didn’t saw her go in, but they knew her already so they didn’t stop her.

An hour and a rather curious audience with Brey later, Aquila finally showed up at the hall. 

“I’m back Chieftess” he bowed deeply.

“Head up! This mission is of incredible importance, you are to take this letter and deliver it to the Nest” Azur ordered to the young Verdant messenger ”You have until the first light of tomorrow morning to embark, prepare and go out without delay once ready, Understood?!”

“Yes!”

“Now off you go, Rekzot wants to talk to you”

“I will, but before I go, any other thing you’ll be needing from me in the meantime”

“Hmm, nothing comes to mind... hmm... bring souvenirs for the kids at the school once you are at the Nest and some form of description of the Red King and the Pale Queen”

“Very well, then I'll take my leave now!” he bowed again, slightly this time and went out from the front door.

“Godspeed, Aquila” with that and a couple hours later,  she had finished her work for the day, any mischievous younglings were now Rekzot’s problem, the kids weren't allowed outside this late, the patrol was duplicated because of the Dragolisk (of which only a few really knew about), the Lion matter was under control (and even less knew about it, excluding the ones patrolling the Pillars) and the request was on its way through Aquila and company.

The only thing that she wasn’t really looking forward too much once she reached home, was the amount of ‘friends’ that were practically stealing her Little Sister’s dinner that, she tired, now craved and she laugh happily at the thought of that.

The Test of the Towers, Its said that if you would to die on combat, you will be granted an incredible power if you manage to beat the test of the towers imposed by Fitai, The God of the Living, it's called that since most of the ones that have survived deadly combat remember only some dark towers once they are stabilized, not that any one of them actually remember what it was about.

The Palace of Death (Dulener's Garden), The disparity betwen the names comes from the ones that tried to enter Dulener, The Godess of the Dead domain and those tha have managed to get in with Dulener's permission. From the outside: endless roofless corridors filled with many undead of all races and a giant one that is a direct servant of Dulener, all of the others are just protecting the garden while getting punished from deeds from when they were alive. At the very center, protected by Dulener Herself a garden of small, puffy and Orange Flowers that has a clear path towards a portal that return the souls to the dead to the cycle.