Humanity's Hero Of Despair

We follow the trusted guard toward the imperial library at a quick pace.

The tension in the air is very obvious as we spot numerous imperial guards on edge around the palace. It seems like the Emperor has increased security even more than just a normal amount. We all give each other nervous glances as we run toward the library.

Something is most definitely wrong.

We reach the entrance of the imperial library, which is tightly guarded by numerous very serious-looking imperial guards. As they notice our party running toward the entrance, accompanied by an imperial guard, they immediately open the double doors and let us inside.

What we see next is unexpected.

We first notice the Emperor with a very cold expression on his face. When he hears the doors open, he gestures for us to come closer to him. He then points at the main source of the problem. Several men in brown cloaks with the lettering "RR" on their undershirts are tied together by a magic rope, which suppresses their magic.

I look to the Emperor for an explanation. Instead, I get one from Grand Duke Lancaster.

"Spies. They are from the Ryndoria Republic. We had no idea they were here," he finishes, speaking in a harsh tone.

The Emperor speaks up now in a harsh tone as well.

"Thanks to your letter, I was able to have my intelligence contacts search around the area for any suspicious people. There is only one town close to the palace where they could've gone in a short amount of time. It takes time to prepare to travel very long distances since the actual Imperial Palace is fairly remote for this exact purpose."

"The guard force in that town found these five looking very suspicious and out of place, and we managed to drag them back here. We waited to interrogate them until all of you were here."

The Emperor says as the RR members are forced to drink what looks to be a truth potion.

The imperial guards start interrogating them.

"Who are you all, and who commanded you to come here?"

The RR members do their best not to speak, but one of them can't resist the potion.

"We are all intelligence agents hailing from the Ryndoria Republic, as you guessed. We were commanded to come here by the authority of the President."

The imperial guard leans toward the RR members.

"For what purpose?"

The RR member who spoke before continues to speak.

"We came in order to gather intelligence on the individual named Nico Lotus, as well as the Oriventh Emperor, and send it back to the capital. It was an extremely classified mission."

Grand Duke Lancaster walks closer to the RR members with his arms crossed.

"What is the goal of that mission, and how were you all supposed to carry that out?"

The truth potion kicks in for all of them, and a different RR member speaks out loud.

"The full goal of our intelligence mission is to gather information and send it back to the capital, as well as to a mercenary squad we hired that should arrive within a few days' time. Our government contracted this mercenary squad to kill Nico Lotus and the Emperor to stop the formation of the Glozaria Alliance."

A few of the imperial guards have to hold back the Grand Duke from punching the RR members. The Emperor is visibly angry as well but manages to keep his cool.

"Why would they want to kill us and stop the Glozaria Alliance?"

Another RR member speaks up despite trying to resist.

"The President wants us to stop the formation of the Glozaria Alliance as he made a deal with the dragons to halt humanity's advances in the war in exchange for his own survival if the magic beasts defeat all of us."

This time, it took several imperial guards to stop the Emperor from punching them.

I walk up to the spies and ask them a question of my own.

"Is there any resistance force against the President in the Ryndoria Republic?"

"There is, but it is being led by the Vice President. There is a current civil war going on within the nation with the President trying to stop the resistance forces."

The others in the room make note of that, and the Emperor commands some messengers to tell the governments of Tarondar and Veltheria about this crucial information. We need to have a united continent if we want to remotely have a decent chance at winning this long-term war.

"One more piece of information," a sympathetic RR member starts to say as he realizes there is no way out.

"The mercenary squad is going to arrive in about a day."

That piece of information sets everyone on edge immediately. We all look at each other with worried glances. We don't have much time to prepare our defenses. The Emperor immediately has all the RR members sent to the jail in the basement to be strictly guarded at all times.

We follow the Emperor as he storms out of the library. We hear him speak to one of the guards.

"Go find Captain Daelon and tell him of the updated news. I want the entire Imperial Palace on full lockdown within twenty-four hours. We have a professional mercenary mage squad on their way to kill me and Duke Lotus!"

The imperial guards rush off to find Captain Daelon. The entire palace is now in a frenzy as everyone rushes around to figure out what to do. Mercenaries can be tricky to deal with, so it is vital we leave no defenses unarmed.

Guards shout across the halls of the palace as everyone figures out what they need to do.

The Emperor comes back for me and my friends and tells us to follow him.

"I know a place to take you all and myself when we think the mercenary squad is on their way. We may all be powerful mages, but it's best not to even get into a fight with a professional mercenary mage, as it takes only one mistake to be dead. Follow me so we can prepare."

I really don't want to be dead tomorrow.