Name: Onclave Frank Level: Not recorded Class: Attacker Status: Deceased
"...Are my eyes failing me, or do I see deceased as the status report for your team member!?" the ogre exclaimed, his booming voice shaking the council chamber.
A surge of murmurs erupted across the vast circular hall. Nobles leaned forward. Guards stiffened. Some adventurers exchanged incredulous glances.
"Isn't it the adventurer that was captured by those Vance followers?"
"This is truly confusing..."
"How can someone be killed four years ago and still be alive?"
The whispers only grew louder, flooding the air like a swarm of questions. At the center of it all, Raymond sat stiffly, blinking slowly.
What's going on!? he exclaimed inwardly. Something must definitely be wrong somewhere...
"There's no way... I don't know what to say..." Tayla muttered, her voice barely audible as she leaned toward Raymond.
"Me neither," Raymond replied under his breath.
"That's the Frank that got captured, right?" Scott asked, glancing sideways at Raymond.
"Yes... yes, he is," Raymond said, a thin layer of sweat building across his brow.
From the elevated seat near the front, General Iven Augustus watched silently, the glint of the overhead lighting casting reflections across his silver shades.
Truly intriguing... he thought to himself.
As the room began to settle, the suited man at the front—tall, lean, wearing a dark navy coat with golden shoulder designs—raised his hand.
"As shocking as it is to you all... I also had to address it. But may I be allowed to finish?"
The murmuring fell away.
"This incident occurred exactly five years ago," the man continued. "And it has been four years since any attack by the Vance followers has taken place."
The governor, sitting amongst a ring of nobles, leaned forward. "So your findings confirm that the capture of Onclave Frank marked the exact start of the four-year silence from those followers?"
"Yes, Mr. Governor," the man confirmed as he adjusted the cufflinks on his suit. "That is correct."
A heavy sigh passed through the chamber like a wave.
Raymond raised a hand. "But... what is the connection between Frank and this cult?"
The man frowned slightly. "That... we have not deciphered yet, Mr. Raymond. We have no clue as to Frank's connection with the cult. And—most troubling—we do not even understand how Frank is currently alive, though he was recorded deceased at the Golden Clove morgue."
Raymond sat back slowly, lost in thought.
Laura stood. "Is there a current image or profile of him? Frank, I mean."
"Oh, there is," the man said. A nearby servant swiped their hand across a panel, and a holographic projection shimmered into the air—Frank's current profile as registered under Golden Clove's Black Water Guild.
Heads leaned forward. Eyes widened.
"Why does he look a little different... as if his face was altered?" Laura asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Yes," another noble agreed. "He looks slightly older—altered facially."
"That was noted as well, Lady Laura," the man affirmed. "Though, according to the guild, his age is nineteen—he'll turn twenty before the year ends."
"Could it be some biological enhancement? Surgery maybe?" another noble mused.
"We don't know. He was hired merely a month ago as a luggage carrier. After acquiring a skill set, he was registered as an adventurer and eventually joined Mr. Raymond's team."
Scott whistled. "That's a whole nother glow-up."
"Jeez, Scott, be serious for once," Andrea scolded.
"Hey—I am serious," he said with mock innocence.
Laura sat back down. "Since there's no plausible explanation about this cult situation... let's focus on retrieving him."
For the first time, General Augustus finally spoke up.
"He obviously has a significance in whatever plan those followers have," Augustus said, his voice calm and cutting. "So we attack them head-on. They may already know we intend to retrieve him. We must take Frank in."
All eyes turned toward him.
"Well... wise of you, General," the man at the front responded.
A noblewoman raised an eyebrow. "What if they have a trump card? Something dangerous that places us at a disadvantage?"
Without turning to her, Augustus replied coolly, "It's simple. They can't. Not as long as the White Knights are there."
He leaned back, hands clasped across his chest.
"Too prideful of him," Tayla muttered.
"Tell me about it," Scott replied.
"He's confident in his trust—for his knights... and himself," Raymond added.
The man stepped forward again. "According to the agreement between General Augustus of the White Knights, adventurer leaders Raymond Carter and Scott Polska, the Governor of La Jar, and the nobles... the mission to infiltrate the Vance followers' base shall proceed."
He gestured to a map.
"Based on the tracker implanted in Deaver Elias—absent today due to the prior attack—we've triangulated a location on the Eastern coast. Though not the main base, it marks the first recorded attack site of the followers. It's our best lead."
He paused, then added with ceremonial weight, "May fate guide your blades."
With that, the council meeting was dismissed.
The chamber erupted into motion—chattering nobles dispersing, advisors whispering, attendants helping elderly members to their seats, and guards lining the exit halls.
"Raymond!" a voice called.
Raymond turned to find General Augustus approaching, purple scarf swaying lightly.
"Really sorry about what happened to Kaido," Augustus said.
"Oh, yeah... he's recovering," Raymond replied, hands in his pockets.
"Sure he is. I really wanted to see him though... feel like there's this connection between us. Better than yours," Augustus smirked.
Raymond grinned. "Afraid it might not work either."
Augustus chuckled faintly. "This Frank situation... it's interesting."
"Yeah... shocked me too. Maybe amnesia?"
Augustus's expression hardened. "Raymond. We've known each other longer than they think. If things go south, we might consider taking Frank in ourselves."
"Ourselves...? As in—the Knights?"
No response. Augustus simply turned and walked away.
"See you in two days, Raymond," he said, waving off as he joined his lieutenant—black-haired, tall, sword at her side.
Raymond watched him go. "That's if things go south..." he muttered to no one.
Across the hall, Laura grabbed Tayla excitedly.
"Come stay at the hotel! With me!"
"Yes, yes, yes! I might come," Tayla laughed.
"Really!? You've been hanging with your team so much you barely come by."
"Maybe I'll drop in. These past weeks have been busy... I am an adventurer."
Laura pouted. "Sheesh. You should have taken the Knight training admission I got you."
"Call me anyway. Your General needs you."
"Yeah, yeah," Tayla smiled. "Captain of the White Knights."
Later, as she walked beside Raymond under the moonlit sky, Tayla glanced over.
"How do you think the others will take this info?"
Raymond glanced up.
The streets of La Jar glowed with soft sapphire lighting. Hover cars shaped like sea serpents and silver hawks glided through invisible lanes above. Holographic signs hovered mid-air, flickering with languages both old and alien. Elven musicians played calmly by the sidewalk. The night air carried the scent of oil and sakura.
"Honestly... I don't know. I really don't."
In a black-tinted hover vehicle gliding eastward, Augustus sat silently in the backseat, fingers scrolling through holograms of Frank's face captured by street drone cams.
A voice crackled through his comm.
"Nice relay of tactics, Iven."
"It's called accessing the situation, Randall," Augustus replied.
"So we finally found our missing piece. Onclave Frank, was it? Those follower freaks almost ruined Vance's plan for me."
"Yeah, yeah. Just make sure my wish comes true," Augustus muttered.
"There may be other Vance factions out there."
"Of course. He's a symbol after all."
Augustus ended the transmission.
He leaned back, looking out at the neon skyline.
"A symbol of hope," he whispered to himself.
And the car vanished into the luminous night.