King Parissius placed a hand on Kashi's shoulder, consoling the daeben. "At the very least, we now know our enemy." The king looked at Leila as he recalled, "Janez is the name of that man who came after the Maggots a few months ago, isn't it? What became of him?"

"We succeeded in chasing him our of Rosendun," Leila replied with a frown. "Last I heard, he had set up in Monoch, presumably to take advantage of the warring chaos there to make a name for himself." Biting her lip, the powerful wisben lamented, "I never thought he had enough to pull to draw a high-ranking politician to his side. I need to reevaluate him."

"It's not Janez we need to worry about," Kashi stated, drawing everyone's attention. "It's whoever's backing him." The daeben pointed at Zitch's corpse as he explained, "Janez's backer did this."

"Are you certain?" King Parissius questioned with a hint of disbelief. "He seemed to react to naming the Adjudicators. Surely it would be them that did this?"

Kashi shook his head. "That's what they want us to think." The daeben sighed as he rose to his feet and looked at King Parissius. "I've got to hand it to them. Anyone else would have been fooled. I'm only lucky enough to have some understanding of the Adjudicators' powers."

"What do you mean?"

"Adjudicators are like mini-gods," revealed Kashi with a shrug. "They're nigh-invulnerable and incomparably powerful, but they are also bound by many rules, and cannot act of their own volition all the time." The daeben pointed at the Zitch's corpse as he stated, "Eliminating a Resident just because he named them is something they definitely cannot do. They are only allowed to interfere with Residents if they somehow threaten the world's balance."

King Parissius raised a brow, shocked by Kashi's knowledge. "How do you know this?"

"Let's just say I once made it my life's mission to find out everything I could about the limits of their abilities," admitted Kashi with a wry smile.

"Why?"

"Why?" Kashi repeated, a wicked glint in his eyes as he answered, "Why, to kill them, of course."

King Parissius shivered, and instinctively put his hand over the daeben's eyes. Kashi let out a soft shout as he removed the hand and then looked at the king with a bewildered gaze. "That is much better," King Parissius stated as he patted his chest. "You looked scary for a second there." The king then turned his attention to Zitch's corpse. "So, if the Adjudicators were not responsible, who is backing Janez?"

"I might have an idea," Larsial spoke up, drawing everyone's attention to her. "There is one man I know who can keep tabs on people without ever getting caught." Glancing at Kashi, she said, "If he designated Kashi as his target, it would be next to impossible to know when he was watching."

Kashi's brow shot up, understanding flashing in his eyes. "This man. He is..."

"Yes," Larsial confirmed the daeben's speculation. "He is a high ranking member of the Chaos Order. The Primate closest to becoming a Cardinal, and known as the 'World's Eye.'" Larsial ducked her head in shame as she confessed, "I served under his house for a long time, and he taught me everything I know about Beast Taming."

"Oh," Syèl muttered as he recalled Larsial's reconnaissance bird which she used before the battle of Aygorzi. Looking at Kashi, he admitted, "If there's someone better than her at surveillance, he's a major threat."

Kashi nodded and then looked at Larsial and asked, "This man. What's his name?"

Jutern, Monoch.

2:39 p.m. 20th Banem 1092

The territory of Monoch was home to many small and large forces continually fighting over the right to rule the land. The country's map never stayed the same as counties were annexed, built, and destroyed all in the span of a few days. This never-ending chaotic situation had given rise to numerous heroes of the age, feared across the continent.

To the south-east of Monoch, bordering Imperium was a small, newly formed territory called Jutern, led by a fearsome warlord named Janez. The Summoned had only arrived in Monoch a few weeks ago, but he had already become something of a local tyrant, making his neighboring territories weary of his might and wrath.

On this day, in Jutern's chieftain hall, no one knew that a crucial meeting considering the future of Monoch was taking place.

Two men stood in front of a statue depicting a buff, bearded, Nordic warrior stabbing his sword into a dragon's neck. Of the two men, one was a Nord resembling the man in the statue, while the other was a daeben with beautiful, shiny, long, white hair. The daeben had soft features, a loose smile, and had an overall air of a scholar.

The daeben, who looked to be in his early thirties, revealed a loose smile as he said, "It would appear Zitch failed in his mission."

"Hmph, I never trusted that slimy politician," scoffed Janez as he stroked his beard. "I will do this the old fashioned way. With a sword through that whore's neck." the warrior glanced at the daeben as he said, "Darun J'rain, you just need to set the stage."

The daeben, whose name was revealed to be Darun J'rain warmly smiled as he placated, "Do not worry about us, Janez. The Chaos Order will make sure to deliver the Maggots to your table." The daeben's smile suddenly turned frosty as he added, "That is of course, on the low chance that he survives the battle to come." Darun turned to Janez, a frightening glint in his eyes as he stated, "For your part, you must ensure Monoch remains in a state of turmoil and chaos. If you cannot unite the land, make sure no one else can."

"Of course! As long as I keep getting paid like promised," Janez countered with a greedy grin.

Darun J'rain was not put off by the nord's attitude. If anything, he liked the Summoned's straightforwardness. "Do not fret," he assured as he made his way out of the hall. "As long as you accomplish your task, you will have more Syros than you know what to do with in ten lifetimes."

Janez grinned, already dreaming of the piles of cash shortly coming his way. The currency exchange bank would soon open. By the time he exchanged his Syros for real-world coin... hehehehe.

Darun left Janez to his thoughts as he stepped out into the afternoon sun. The daeben briefly shielded his eyes, his lips spreading into a small smile as a 14ft long condor appeared flew over his head and blocked the sunlight. The condor let out a short screech as it landed in front of the daeben. "Good girl," cooed the daeben as he patted the condor's breast, and then climbed onto its back. "Let us return home."

The condor let out a loud screech and then jumped into the air. With a few firm flaps, it lifted high into the sky, eventually disappearing from view as it sped over the horizon.

Janez stepped out of the chieftain's hall just in time to see the condor blend into the skies. The warrior's eyes narrowed as several thoughts flitted through his mind. "Trying to use me, eh?" A nasty grin spread on his lips as he warned, "First, I'll deal with the Maggots. Then you'll be next."

With those words, Janez called out to his guards. It was time to prepare for another play in the theatre of war.

Throne Room,

Riven, Rosendun.

2:43 p.m. 20th Banem 1092

Kashi frowned as he listened to Larsial's account of Darun J'Rain. Although not weak by any sense of the word, the Primate was best known for his reconnaissance skills. Darun could communicate telepathically with any creature he had placed under his thrall. He could see what they saw, hear what they heard, and direct them to do a specific task.

The only weakness to Darun's skill was that he could not see his beasts' memories. This usually did not pose much of a problem because intelligent creatures could communicate what they saw to the best of their abilities. However, there were many monsters and animals with deficient intelligence. For these kinds, he had to observe manually, or he would not see anything.

"That is indeed troublesome," Kashi remarked with an annoyed smirk. "How does one go about fighting that?"

"If he's using telepathy magic, we could try to sense out his monsters with mana sense," Syèl proposed, much to Kashi's shock. Upon seeing the daeben's stunned face, Syèl protested with a broad grin, "Hey, don't look so shocked!" Pointing at his head, he said, "I'm probably the smartest one here. I just don't like using my brain that much."

"Uh-huh," Kashi sarcastically agreed, but he took what the halben said to heart. "I haven't trained mana sense in a while. It will be good practice." The daeben then turned to King Parissius and advised, "I suggest you find a trustworthy mage with good mana sense. Just in case that guy is also watching you."

King Parissius nodded and then voiced his consent, "I agree. This is a matter of National Security." The king looked at Larsial and stretched out his hand. "On behalf of Rosendun, I thank you for this timely information, and thus dub you a citizen of Rosendun, should you wish."

"Wish?" Larsial mumbled, stunned beyond belief. Luckily, something jabbed her in the ribs, causing her to come to her senses. She immediately accepted the king's handshake as she declared with a humble bow, "It would be an honor, Your Majesty." Larsial glanced at her right to see who had hit her. Surprisingly, there was no one there. However, that alone gave her the answer.

"I am glad to hear that," King Parissius declared and then turned to Kashi and Leila. "The offer extends to whoever distinguishes themselves among the daebens you captured. The more we can bring into our fold, the better."

"As you wish, Your Majesty," Kashi declared with a pleased smile. How lucky were they to have someone like King Parissius as royalty? Very few rulers were as open-minded or humble (if you negate his narcissistic tendencies, of course.)

"Good, now that sordid business is over with," King Parissius nodded, and he signaled some guards to remove Zitch's corpse. "I suppose we can get on with the real reason you came here?"

"Yes," Kashi confirmed with a nod. "I wanted to make it clear before we go to Serisis what we want to achieve here. This, after all, is not a simple alliance."

"Yes, I suppose it is not," affirmed King Xafier as he walked up to the daeben and King Parissius.

Unbeknownst to the trio, the rest of the Throne room went silent as they observed the daeben speak on equal footing without any awkwardness to the kings. The sight of the daeben and the kings seemed so natural, without any flaws, like it came straight out of a master artist's painting.

Kashi, oblivious to the thoughts of those behind him, turned to King Xafier as he confirmed for the umpteenth time. "Are you certain you want to do this? Once we begin, you cannot take it back."

King Xafier paused for a bit and then nodded. "This continent is forever embroiled in war. As long as different flags fly over it, the wars will continue, and one day, we dwarfs will once again be forced to use our hammers to reap lives rather than better them." Sighing, the king stated, "I have seen enough bloodshed to last three lifetimes. My people and I are tired. We will do anything to secure a future where our children no longer have to suffer the flames of war. Even if that be to fly another's flag over our walls." Looking at King Parissius, he added, "Besides we could have done much worse. I have seen with my own eyes that you are a king who values friendship and loyalty. At first, I only accented because Kashi trusted you. Now, despite only seeing you for a short time, I too can see that that trust is not misplaced."

"You praise me too much," replied King Parissius with a warm smile. "I have only managed to become who I am because of the many people I met during my time away from the crown. Which is why I can say this," declared the king as he held out his right hand, "You will not be flying another's flag over your walls. You'll be flying our flag. From this moment, we are one. We will share in blessings and tribulations together. Together, we will build that future you seek."

"As it should be!" King Xafier affirmed as he seized the King Parissius' hand in a firm handshake.

"Splendid," Kashi praised as he watched the duo affirm their resolve. He then looked at Parissius and asked, "Have you decided who is coming with you? We have a long journey ahead of us. Unfortunately, I do not have any teleportation nodes in Serisis yet."

"Yes, I have chosen," King Parissius expressed as he named three ministers to go along with him. "Also, Narkis and Alex, of course. They follow me everywhere."

Kashi looked around, and upon failing to see them, commented, "They learned something unnecessary from Shadow."

"Hah. I feel the exact same way," King Parissius agreed with an exaggerated nod. "But it does feel good to see the look of shock on people's faces when they appear out of nowhere."

Kashi sighed and raised his hand, opening a portal to Orez. "Okay. Everyone get in. I've got a long journey ahead of me."

"Aren't we going by boat?" King Parissius asked.

BZZZT! Craackle!

At that exact moment, a mass of lightning shot out of the portal, the sound of crashing thunder accompanying it. The lightning bolt zipped across the room numerous times in a few seconds, before finally coming to a stop next to Kashi.

Kashi patted Drixlia's flank, a wide grin on his face as he replied with a question of his own, "Who said anything about a boat?"