Chapter 22: Shadow Stalker Beard

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Overlord: Celestial Crusade

It was morning

In the Holy Kingdom, Lily Baraja Bessarez was on her throne and before her were Astra and Tyr "Good morning, I hope you had a nice sleep, Lady Astraea." said Lily in a serious but polite tone.

The response she got was, to be frank, not nearly as warm. Tyr stood ahead of Astra while glairing at the queen, her hand firmly gripped around the short sword across her back. An action that put the over a dozen guards in the room on edge. Astra, while by no means cowering, looked on from behind Tyr's raised arm. "I slept well, thank you for asking." She looked around the room quickly, taking stock of their situation. "I must say, this is a... Highly unusual way to start negotiations."

Lily then sighed "Well, you are right, however, I gave to my messenger total freedom of action. If he was a little rough, then he must had his reasons." explained Lily in regret "Anyway, do you want to have some political discussion over breakfast?" she asked while standing up and extending her right hand.

Right away, Tyr brushed Astra behind her, the grip on her sword tightening. However, after Astra laid a hand on her shoulder and shook her head, Tyr finally seemed to calm down. "I would appreciate that, so long as my friend here could join us." Astra stepped around Tyr, looking back at her with a wink that made the woman blush. "I'm afraid she'd grow rather restless while not by my side.."

"Of course, as long as she behaves herself." replied Lily as she stood up and walked at the left with a handful of knights surrounding her "Follow me." she said without looking at them.

"Thank you for your hospitality." Astra made a polite bow, allowing the queen to pass before following.

Before she could take more than a step, Tyr moved to block her. "Astra..." She muttered through gritted teeth.

The young lord stopped a moment, smiling up at her companion. "Now now, we are guests here. It would be rude to turn them down." Unconvinced, Tyr glanced down at Astra's hand, and how it had begun to tremble from the moment they'd been brought here. To this, Astra hugged her elbows, stepping a little closer to her. "I trust you to keep me safe. In the meantime, I'm sure our friends are looking for us." Again, Tyr blushed at her words, more so at how close the two now stood. Astra spun around, beginning after the queen once more. " And... I have some questions about that adventurer they sent as an envoy."

Back at the Elysium Fortress

Aethaion was walking with spear in hand and his Book of Azrael on his belt at his left side and walked toward Themis who was outside a door, with her bowing "Is she awake?" asked Aethaion serious and cold.

"Yes, Lord Aethaion." replied Themis respectfully and Aethaion opened the gates, with the mage being in the Sacred Garden, sitting on the head seat of the wooden table with tied hands.

"Greetings." said Aethaion grabbing her attention, with her being silent and seemingly on guard "I apologize for abducting you, but we have a lot to talk about." he told her serious to her visible confusion.

Elsewhere, in Hashigin, a young elf stood in the meeting room, the breeze through the shattered window blowing his bright golden hair. He stared out at the cathedral in the distance with a grimace. "Ok..." He grumbled, running a hand through his hair. "One more time... Tell me what happened?"

"It would be easier to show you." A small creature answered. Standing only a little over a foot tall, with porcelain white skin and small horns wearing a red poncho. "Arti, would you?"

"Okaaaaaay!" A girl wearing a green kimono next to her beamed, offering a mock solute before staring intently at the table.

After a moment, her eyes began to glow, consumed with a whirling light, before projecting a hologram of the room in the air. the elf backed away in surprise, but none the less watched the scene. A man opening a portal, and forcing Astra and Tyr inside with a eave of his hand. Shortly after a small woman with fox ears burst in the room, after which the man changed, morphing into some... He couldn't tell what, but not long after he did the same with the fox eared woman, before he himself followed after.

The recording faded away. and the woman, Arti blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes. "Mr. Hexis tried to stop him, but whoever he was got away." She said, shaking her head a little before beaming at him again. "And then we called master, and he sent us here. And you showed up, and asked us what-."

"Right right, I know that part." The elf interrupted. Unfortunately, seeing for himself what had happened hadn't answered any questions. "What should we-." A knocking at the door cut him off. Arti backed up against the corner behind a shelf, and the tiny white creature hopped down onto one of the chairs, gripping at a tiny spear slung to her back. "Come in." The elf muttered, his hand hovering over a sword hanging at his hip.

The door open and a woman blue slacks and a Hashigin Rifle slung over her sholder stepped through, her eyes instantly locking into the elf. "Fin!" She gasped, quickly closing the door behind her. "I heard, where are-." She stopped dead, seeing the white creature pear up over the table. at the same time, Arti leaned out of her hiding place to wave at her with a smile. "Vespa..." She looked back at the elf, her eyes turning worried. "If they're here, then is she really-."

"It would appear so, Aoi." The creature, Vespa, announced with a sigh. "Master should be along in a moment."

"I'm already here."

"Waaa!" Aoi yelped in surprise, practically jumping into the elf's arms. They all looked back, finding a man standing in the doorway. "I hate it when he does that..." Aoi muttered, making both the elf and Vespa smirk.

The man strolled forth, glancing out the shattered window. He looked like an adventurer, in a way. Adorned with trinkets, cloths, and a pair of ornate hatchets slung over his back. But his hood was up, even though they where indoors, leaving only the bottom half of his face visible. "What do we know?"

"Someone made off with Lady Astra, Tyr, and Shino." Arti chirped.

"Right, besides that." The man grumbled. "Do we know where he came from?"

Right away, Aoi perked up. "I just talked to the clerk at the eastern gate." She said hopefully. "She told me some guy showed up yesterday asking to see Astra. Said he was from the... Holy... Ruble kingdom, I think?"

At the mention of that name, the elf looked worried. "The Roble Holy Kingdom?" He and Aoi shared a glance, and apparently she clued into what he was thinking as well. "Does... That make this some sort of assassination plot?"

"Unlikely." Arti shook her head. "If they just wanted her dead, they wouldn't have taken them."

"Could they have been lying?" The elf suggested.

Despite this, Aoi shook her head. "No way. The clerk said they had a formal document and everything."

Grumbling again, the man rubbed the back of his neck through his hood. "Let's assume its a hostage taking for now." Though that was hardly a comforting thought, everyone nodded at once. The alternative, that they where too late to do anything, was just too hard to stomach. "Who else in the city knows about this?"

"Mr. Aeirfin mentioned people heard the window shattering." Arti announced, pointing to the elf. "Some have been asking questions."

The elf, Aeirfin, grimaced. "I've been telling anyone who asked that a bird flew into it, but I don't know how many believed me." Aoi did her best to suppress a giggle, nudging Aeirfin with her elbow. However it did nothing to lighten the mood. "Some of the adventurers have already noticed Tyr is missing. Sooner or later, they're going to notice Lady Astra's absence as well."

The man nodded, smirking slightly. "For now let's keep this under wraps. If people think another kingdom is targeting the city, there might be panic."

Aoi looked away, smirking and mumbling under her breath. "Been there..."

"In the meantime..." The man continued, gesturing to Arti. "Tell Hexis to alert everyone if a large group approaches the city. Taking Astra could be a prelude to an invasion." The girl nodded, tapping her headset and stepping out of the room, and he turned to Aoi and Aeirfin next. "You two need to keep an eye on things around here. Don't let on what's happened, but keep people ready. If there's-"

"Wait wait." Aoi interrupted. "You're going to rescue them, right?"

The man did a double take, scoffing in disbelief. "Well yeah, obviously I am."

Aoi's face turned determined. "Bring me with you."

Everyone froze for a moment, but afterwards let out a collective sigh. Aeirfin rubbed his brow, then placed a hand on her shoulder. "Aoi-."

"Oh don't 'Aoi' me." She grumbled, shaking his hand away and glairing at him. "I'm not just going to sit around and wait for someone else to help them." He let out a sigh and crossed his arms, while she rested her hands on her hips. "Look me in the eye, Fin, and tell me you wouldn't want to be part of the rescue mission if some other kingdom came here and grabbed me."

Aeirfin grumbled, obviously not able to refute that, despite very much wanting to. "It's not that simple." Vespa said with a grimace. "We... Suspect the kidnapper may be like us. Myself and Master. I'm sorry to say, Aoi... But you would be no help to us in a fight."

"And that thing is just going to put a target on all out backs." The hooded man said, pointing to the rifle hanging from her back. "It's possible whoever did this wants to get their hands on that kind of firepower. It'd make any kingdom a world superpower in an instant."

"So I'll leave it behind then." Aoi argued, dropping the rifle off her shoulder. "And I won't fight anybody. Just like when she was taken by the king. We’re just rescuing Astra, Tyr, and Shino. You guys can do all the fighting."

The man and Vespa shared a glance. Whatever they where thinking was apparently amusing, as they both smirked when they faced the woman again. "You know, six months ago, you where a fishermen helping your family restaurant earn a living."

Aoi put on a pout. "Yeah well... Then someone told me I have a warrior's heart. Now I'm captain of Hashigin's rifle squad, became a chieftain to a freaking Norn tribe..." She gestured to the man and Vespa with an incredulous look. "And, well... Now I know you guys. I'm pretty sure nothing would surprise me anymore."

The hooded man chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "Fine, you're in." Aoi's eyes lit up, while Aeirfin's jaw dropped, but the man held up a hand to stop either of them from interjecting. "Ragni is going with ya, you two are going everywhere together. I'll give her a teleport scroll, and the second things go wring, she's going to send ya home. Understand?"

"W-wait a second." Aeirfin stepped between then. "If she's going, then so am I."

"Uhhhg, Jesus Christ..." The man groaned. "She's captain of the rifle squad. And without Tyr around, you're the closest thing to a guild master the adventures have. If I bring both of ya, this city has no leaders left."

"Besides..." Aoi shrugged, shooting the elf a sly grin. "Somebody's gotta tell Aki and Hazel where I've gone."

Of everything, that made Aeirfin recoil. "You want me to tell your sister about this?" He gasped in disbelief. "She'll kill me if she learns I let you go."

"Excuuuuuuse me, master?" Arti sang, sticking her head in the door with her hand on her headset. "Master Synth just called. Tao has heard little Shino has been kidnapped." The hooded man grimaced again, holding his head in his hands, while Vespa gasped and covered her mouth. "She is... I believe the word he used was... Inconsolable."

"Alright... You two figure this out yourselves. I'm only taking one of ya." The man barked back at the pair, as he exited the room with his two companions in tow. "Vespa, you're coming too. Call Ragni, tell her to get a cart and a few materials we can peddle. The merchant cover has worked so far, it should work again. Arti?" She perked up when he called to her, having since tuned out the conversation. "Have Synth find out where this holy kingdom is, and get ready to send us there." The two nodded, to the sounds of Aeirfin and Aoi arguing fading into the distance. "Looks like we're taking on another country..."

A short flash lit up the ground in a forest outside of the Capital. A moment later a magic circle cut across the ground, and with flash, a small cart full of creates and jars popped into existence. A pair of houses reined to the front bucked and neighed, but quickly calmed down as the light of the circle faded away. "Well..." The hooded man said, patting the head of one of the horses and admiring the city in the distance. "Sure as hell looks like a place that'd call itself a holy kingdom."

"UUuuuuuhg..." The man slowly turned, finding Aoi hunched over and holding her stomach. "How do you guys travel like that all the time...? It feels like I'm going to puke..."

"Now now... It was your idea to come." A small woman with glassy red eyes patted her on the back, chuckling into the sleeve of a black kimono. She reached a black, shelled hand into her sleeve, producing a small scroll wrapped in a green cord. "I could always return us home, if you like?"

"Ragni..." Vespa chided. "That is for emergencies."

"Yes Lady Vespa. I know." The girl chuckled again, stowing the scroll once more. "I was just teasing."

As Aoi quelled her nausea, the man jumped up into the seat of the cart and took the reins. "Ok, the three of us will enter the city. Talk to people, look for leads, anything we can about our missing girls. Vespa, stick close but keep out of sight. See if you can tail one of the guards. See what they have to complain about."

"Yes, master Beard." She bowed, pulling up the hood of her poncho, after which she faded from sight. "I'll be close by."

Both Aoi and Ragni jumped into the cart, looking ahead as the card pulled out of the forest and onto the road heading into the city. "I dunno who you mean." The hooded man nodded with a slight smirk. "I'm just a merchant named Rob."

**Next Chapter - Chapter 23: Battle of Light and Shadow**