“Conspiring with spirits! Could it be true?” Ser Morley asked once Caeden reported the bizarre conversation with the frogman to him.

Caeden rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I can hardly answer that, Knight-Commander. It seems to me that not even Ava knows the purpose of the quest she has been tasked with.”

At every turn more unknowns crop up, confounding his plans. If he went to the emperor with his current demands, they would seem more and more unreasonable with every question he could not answer.

“The creature also named the prince ‘Shadow King.’ It is clear that its perception is warped. I would not place faith in any words it uttered,” the cheeteng interjected.

Caeden stopped short and looked up to the cheeteng, considering his words. They were comforting, but the dread in his heart did not dare let him forget the shade in Spectermere and what it brought forth from the deep recesses of his heart. It would not be prudent to tell the cheeteng about this, but it would be foolhardy to completely dismiss the frogman’s words out of hand.

“My apologies,” the cheeteng doffed his hood and bowed.

He had a short coat of gleaming black fur with a patch of white around his right eye and ear. His white mane curled over the left side of his forehead but shortened and disappeared into the fur at the back of his head.

“I only wished to offer perspective and have inserted myself in a conversation not meant for me. Forgive the offence that I have caused.”

Caeden smiled amusedly to himself. He certainly did not match the stories he had heard of the cheeteng. While they kept themselves sequestered to their own shores, their race was known to be just slightly more refined than their orcish neighbours.

“No, there is nothing in need of forgiveness. Your advice is most welcome. I only wish to know whose words it is that I should consider,” Caeden replied.

“Ah, my manners fail me. I am Kama, Cheeteng Emissary to the Casimir Empire. It was an honour to fight beside you, my Prince.” Kama announced and bowed again with a flourish.

“The honour was mine, Master Kama. You have my gratitude for saving my life. Should you require anything to aid you on your diplomatic mission, name it and you shall have it.”

“Only Kama, my Prince. I have not earned mastery for my skills from any official guild.” Kama’s bright green eyes snapped up to Caeden and he straightened. “But indeed, there is one thing that I am in dire need of. I would like to meet the girl you have brought here from Spectermere.”

#

“Is this truly wise, Your Grace?” Ser Morley whispered to Caeden as they walked across the gardens to the Council’s Manor.

Caeden waved away an approaching Master Bartus. The plump man pivoted course mid-stride and pretended to listen to a report from a guard captain, all while staring longingly at the group as they made their way inside.

“Calm, honoured Commander. I will not harm the girl – or your Casimir Empire. I only wish to confirm a rumour,” Kama answered as he trailed a distance behind them. The cheeteng’s ears were sharp.

“Might I enquire as to the nature of this rumour?” Caeden asked. He was not sure what to make of Kama’s request yet but if humouring him brought some answers, it was worth the risk.

“It is our shaman’s interpretation of The Mother’s will. It speaks of a keeper sent to retrieve her and her brothers and sisters from across Archaicron,” Kama answered.

The Mother, another spirit. This one of nature. She resided in the Mother Tree in the land of Dionyshia, centred within The Vibrant Forest. It was an elven territory, and the elves had granted no one access to the great tree since The Great War in the third era, including both the Dorcas and Cheeteng who journeyed there for their pilgrimages.

This ‘rumour’ must have come from one of her children, the small tree-sprouts the Beastkin races revere. As far as Caeden knew, it was through these sprouts that The Mother relayed her will to their shamans. His words were honest, if there was one thing the cheeteng would not lie about, it would be the spirit they considered to be their god.

“And what is the keeper to do with these spirits, does the Mother say?” Caeden asked, earnestly.

“She does not,” Kama answered, and Caeden’s shoulders drooped.

Kama chuckled, “You struggle to find sense in the will of the spirits, my prince? The cheeteng take the Mother’s will on faith because we know that she will provide for us. But the others, their intent is not so clear, not even to us.

“If you cannot understand anything else, understand this. Spirits cannot dwell in the mortal world overlong. It is time for them to return to the Shapeshifter or be lost to us forever.”

“The Shapeshifter?” Caeden wracked his mind for information about this spirit or god and came up blank. This one was new.

“The Father? I think your people revere him as The Unknown One.” Kama explained.

Ah, of course, The Other would be involved in grand designs with so many unknowns. “I thank you for your valuable input, Kama. It has been insightful and has decided my course.” Caeden bowed.

Kama bowed back awkwardly, for once the cheeteng could not make eye contact with him. Caeden was certain he was blushing beneath that fur. “You honour me greatly with such praise, my Prince.”

The three men turned the final corner steps up to Ava’s floor and stumbled across Oswin and Ser Derric, Ava’s assigned guard. The panicked look on both men’s faces did not bode well and Caeden scowled.

“She is gone, Your Grace.” Oswin blurted.

“What? How?” Caeden yelled, pushing past both men and into Ava’s room. The bed stood slightly dishevelled but empty. Nothing seemed out of place. Kama sniffed at the air in the room, moving further inside.

“Your Grace, I stood watch at her door since Master Oswin left. No one entered. No one left. Not even during the battle. There was not a peep from inside the entire time. I should have checked,” Ser Derric reported morosely.

Curses. I knew she would try something but try it so soon? How in Holden’s name did she even escape? “Do not fret Ser Derric, we need only to get her back safely. I need to know if anyone has seen her leaving.”

“Yes, Your Grace. I will begin the investigation immediately.” The knight answered and left the doorway.

Caeden looked over the room and stopped to watch Kama on the balcony outside. The beastkin inspected the railing and then looked down below. He walked to the cheeteng as Kama leapt onto it and then jumped down onto the balcony below arms first. He crouched to inspect its railing as well, then leapt down again to the ground below and brushed at a bit of dirt before moving a short distance away. Is this the way Ava escaped, jumping between balconies? Such high jumps would injure a human if they tried it. He would have to watch her far more closely once she was back.

Kama turned and yelled back at Caeden, “She is nimble and light-footed, it will be difficult, but I think I can track her.”