Clyde, Samuel, and Leyan stepped through the portal and back into the center of Sivagadh Fortress city.
Clyde face still looks stern. His mind buzzed with the events of the battle. More precisely at the creature’s cryptic words that echoing endlessly in his mind.
Samuel stretched his arms, shaking off the tension from the fight. "Alright, I’ll round up the rest of the party. Maybe we should report this to the High Council—"
"No," Clyde interrupted sharply, his voice firr than intended. Both Samuel and Leyan turned to him, startled.
"No?" Samuel repeated, raising an eyebrow.
Clyde crossed his arms and glanced around, ensuring no one else was within earshot. "We can’t share this. Not yet. Or we will cause unnecessary attention."
Samuel frowned, his brows knitting together. "Why not? If that thing was the source of the anomaly, the Council needs to know. This could help us prepare for what could happen next."
Clyde shook his head. "It’s not just about preparation. If we tell them now, it’ll spread panic. They’ll demand answers we don’t have and maybe worse, they might forbidden us on doing more research and just focusing on preparing for defense."
Leyan hesitated before nodding slowly. "He’s right. The High Council’s been reactive lately. If we give them half the picture, they’ll overreact."
Samuel sighed. "Fine. For now we keep it between us. But we can’t keep quiet forever. If not us, they will eventually find out."
"Let’s worry about it later," Clyde said. "But right now until we have more information we better stay quiet. If there’s another anomaly, we deal with it ourselves so that we can figure out what’s really going on."
With that, the three n parted ways.
Samuel muttered sothing about grabbing food, while Leyan disappeared toward the armory. Clyde, however, trudged to his quarters.
---
In his room, Clyde collapsed onto his bed and staring at the tal ceiling above. The words of the creature rang in his ears again:
"You... will... shape... the... end..."
A shiver ran down his spine. The way it had spoken with its faces turned toward him as if they knew him, made him uneasy.
Could it be true? Could that grotesque thing have been speaking specifically to him? And if so, how?
Clyde clenched his fists. The creature’s presence had felt wrong, not just because of its terrifying form but because of the ssage and unknown purpose its carrying.
"Maybe it’s just my imagination," he muttered to himself. But still, the doubt lingered.
He sighed heavily, running a hand down his face. Thinking about it over and over wasn’t going to solve anything. He needed answers and there was only one way to get them, by finding another anomaly.
"If there’s another creature like that I’ll make sure to question it next ti. No more guessing gas."
Determined, Clyde sat up and glanced at his sword that now resting against the wall.
Tomorrow, he decided, he would speak to Hamr, the fortress’s blacksmith. Perhaps the dwarf could make sothing useful for him.
Clyde lay back down.
Few minutes later, Clyde’s thoughts were interrupted by a sharp knock at the door. He frowned and standing up from the bed. He wasn’t expecting anyone.
Opening the door, he found Mari standing there, her red hair framing a face that was both looks restless but also determined. Her eyes darted nervously down the hallway before looking at him.
"Can I co in?" Mari asked. Her tone hurried, almost desperate.
Clyde looked at her for a mont before stepping aside. "Co in."
Once inside, Mari paced a few steps before turning to him. "I will be straight. The Duchess," she began with low and urgent voice. "She called again."
Clyde’s frown deepened. "Graemory?" he asked.
Mari nodded. "Yes. She said she wanted to talk to you and she told to tell you imdiately. So I ca here. I hope nobody saw ."
Clyde folded his arms and leaned against the wall. "I’m sure soone certainly did," he said flatly. "But it doesn’t matter. I’ll just say I called you here and we have so private business. What else did she say?"
Mari hesitated, her fingers nervously twisting together. "She said she needs to speak to you in person. She said it’s important."
"Where does she want to et?"
Mari reached into her pocket and pulled out a smooth dark stone roughly the size of her palm. There is faint symbol was etched into its surface. Clyde didn’t recognize that symbol. She handed it to him.
"She gave this," Mari explained. "She said if you channel your magic power into it while entering a portal, it’ll take you directly to her location. She’s waiting in a Ruin."
Clyde took the stone, its surface surprisingly warm to the touch. He examined the unfamiliar symbol, his mind racing with possibilities.
"Did she say anything else?" he asked with cautious tone. After all, Graemory was a Demon.
"No, she just said that it was urgent and... you’d understand why," Mari said, her voice dropping. "She also warned to keep this quiet and don’t tell anyone in the Resistance."
"Alright," Clyde muttered, turning the stone over in his hand.
Graemory’s insistence on eting him in person was concerning, but also intriguing. The Demon Duchess was pretty strong and dangerous, and Clyde was sure she was manipulating sothing.
But they have so pretty relationship so far. If she wanted to talk it ant she had sothing significant to say to him.
"I’ll go," Clyde finally said, slipping the stone into his pocket. "But this stays between us. No one else hears about this. Understood?"
Mari nodded quickly. "I understand."
Mari then walked again to the door, but she hesitated, her hand hovering over the handle. "I’ll leave now. It’s better if no one sees here for long."
Clyde just nodded and watching her leave.
As the door clicked shut behind her, Clyde pulled the stone from his pocket again, staring at the glowing symbol. Whatever this eting entailed maybe, just maybe, Graemory will have so answers.
He took his sword, grabbed his cloak, and go to the portal again.
---
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