Adventure 338 - That’s how I see them
Liam and the others sat in the room in silence as they thought over what had happened and what they came back to discover. They weren't sure exactly how it happened, but while they were fighting against the monster of the Sea Parade someone had snuck down below and not only gathered the dead Naga bodies but also cleaned the blood that drained out their wounds.
"So there really is someone on this boat who is out to kill me…," Omira softly commented after a while of silence.
"But who though?" Ariyana questioned. "The suspects you had were all on deck fighting against the monsters. I even saw Sebastean the moment we got up there."
Liam nodded as he thought about it. Ariyana was right about everyone being on deck fighting against the waves of monsters. Even he saw Sebastean, his main suspect, creating barriers here and there to protect the crew members before they were attacked by surprise attacks. However, he didn't have eyes on him the whole time and there could have been a chance he disappeared down below during the mayhem. However, he didn't have any evidence to prove this. An idea suddenly formed as he thought this. he might not have eyes on everyone during the entire time, but he knew someone who might have.
Hey Eri… Liam started to ask but stopped as a message interrupted his question.
[Before you ask, yes I saw who it was. And no I am not going to tell you. – Eri]
Liam's brow furrowed as he read the message. Confused, he asked, What do you mean? Why won't you tell me?
[Because it's more fun this way. – Eri]
Liam felt irritation start to grow within him as he read that last message. This was fun to her? Was this all a game? Were lives being in trouble just mere entertainment to her? The more the questions flowed the more his irritation was turning into anger. However, before he could snap Eri sent him another message.
[Look, I can understand you are upset by what I said, but you have to understand something. Something I think you still haven't fully grasped. – Eri.]
Liam, holding back the anger that was threatening to spill out waited.
[I am the Goddess of Chaos. It's in my nature to seek out chaos and watch it play out or create chaos where many seek to have Order. While most time the chaos I find isn't necessarily good, the same about the Order I wish to upheave isn't always good in nature either. It's the way of this world. A law set the moment I ascended. You felt it as well. Each time you are within a certain distance of that Jude fellow you have this urge to throw off the Order he has created. Remember? – Eri]
Liam hesitated for a moment before remembering having that feeling that drew him to where Jude was on that island. When he first felt it, he was confused. It felt like something was drawing him, nagging him, taunting him to chase after it. He didn't understand it or knew what it was at first, but it seemed like Jude had already knew all about it. That irritated him as well. Why the hell didn't he know about it, but Jude did. Almost like Eri knew what he was thinking she answered the question.
[You are the Champion of Chaos, most things you will learn on your own when the time is right while other things I will tell you because you knowing about it then will help create the chaos your nature is calling for. The things I do or say always has a purpose. While it won't make sense most of the time, you have to understand that your life will no longer have order. It will always have some form of Chaos happening. The abilities you have, the abilities you gain, the way you fight and the people you either befriend or make enemies of, the places you go, the monster you come across…a hint of chaos will always be there to challenge you. So when I say that I won't tell you something because it's more fun this way, I say it because there is a level of chaos involved that will help fill my nature while also nurture the chaos or rather the discord you growing within you. I will give you this little nugget though… - Eri.]
Liam's stared waiting for her next message. His irritation and slowly growing anger fluxed from wanting to spill to wanting to disappear.
[What I do and set you up for is for your sake to grow. If I believe there is a chance or even a sliver of danger that could kill you I will tell you because what's a better form of Chaos than to screw up the plans of someone looking to harm you. I mean…I am a Deity, and you all belong to me. Nothing and no one will take away what's mine not if I have a say in it. – Eri.]
Liam read the message and took in what she was saying with as much importance as he believed she had giving it. As he read it, he knew she was right. There were times she had given him information that had either saved their life or gave them preparations to properly defend themselves. She had also pointed him in the right direction of where he needed to go when he wasn't sure while also being vague or obscure during times that threw him off. He was starting to understand what she was saying now. He had fully mistaken everything she had been doing and believed she was going to feed him all the answers whenever he needed them. However, now he understood that what she does is all because of her Nature. Her Nature to create Chaos and get back what she had lost.
Liam felt his irritation dissipate. He was a fool for not taking it all into consideration what being a Champion of Chaos really meant. He needed to do better. He then reread the message from earlier while taking what she had explained into account. If she wasn't telling them who it was that was behind all this and cleaned the dead bodies it wasn't because their lives were immediate danger at the moment. It was because the one behind it wasn't ready to make a proper move. And if that was the case then that meant them killing the Nagas threw off their plan and created a small form of chaos or discord within themselves. Whoever it was that is behind this is now probably going to hide themselves until they can make their next move with more confidence.
Liam nodded as he thought this over. While it sucked not to know who it was when there was someone who could easily tell them, he was starting to understand that he shouldn't rely on that. He needed to grow and get better at figuring things out without her help. She, in her own way, was looking out for them, but at the same time she wanted them to grow and create their own paths while being under her influence.
Liam let out a sigh. If he thought his life before coming to this world was chaotic then he really could say with certainty that that was just a warm up to his life now. A small smile slowly formed on his lips with that thought. He could live with that. He lived in chaos before why couldn't he do it now?
"Why are you smiling?" Omira questioned with a confused look on her face. "Have you gone crazy?"
Without thinking, he commented, "No, I went crazy a long time ago." He then froze and looked at her. He could see the uncertainty and confusion grow even more. He then quickly said as he waved a hand out, "Never mind that. I was just thinking that I think whoever is behind this must be panicking right now."
Omira and the others raised a brow as she asked, "What do you mean?"
"I mean they sent, what I assume are, assassins after you and they all ended up dead," Liam started to explain. "The fact that they took the time to not only hide the bodies but also clean up the blood to cover this up means that they weren't prepared for that."
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"Again," Omira said with some annoyance in her voice. "What do you mean by that? I can't see them cleaning the blood or hide the bodies as a form of them panicking."
"Think of it this way then," Liam started once more. "Lt's say that they did succeed. Let's also say that a couple had died. Would you clean up the bodies of the fallen or would you leave them?"
"You'd leave them wouldn't you?" Val stated but also questioning her own answer.
Liam nodded. "Yes. Why though?"
"Because you'd need a scapegoat to blame," Blair responded as she thought more into it.
"Correct. If a group of assassins that were hired to kill had a couple die the one who hired them could misdirect the eyes of the masses towards the group they hired without any proof they were involved. However, what about if the group failed? What would the one who hired them do? Sure their bodies could still point to the group hired but then if the one who hired them would get mad and confront the group cussing them out. Let's say they do that while leaving the evidence lying about. After stronger people get involved and hunt the rest of the group of assassins then the assassins who are pissed off at being cussed out by their client could easily sell out the client who hired them. That's if we're dealing with some third rate person who is, as you feared, one of your siblings. However, that's not what happened here now is it."
Omira's brows scrunched. "Did you just call my siblings, who are royalty, third rate people?"
"That's how I see them after all you have told me, but seriously though…that's the part you took from all that so far?" Liam questioned.
"Hold on," Mercer jumped in before Omira could say anything. "Are you saying that the person we're dealing with is smart?"
Liam smiled as he understood Mercer was understanding what he was getting at. "I don't know about smart, but their actions just now are leading to have some form of intelligence."
"I still don't understand," Omira jumped back in. "You said they are panicking, but then said they are smart?"
Liam nodded. "Yes. You see they have some form of smarts because they had the forethought to collect the bodies and clean up the blood." He then said in almost a whisper as he had some awe in his tone of voice, "How they are able to is still a mystery to mean. Blood is hard to clean."
Omira eyed Liam with some scrutiny after hearing that comment. "It's not as hard as you think if you have the right medical potions. But that's beside the point. How is that a sign they are panicking while also being smart?"
"I'd like to know as well. My head is starting to hurt trying to figure it out," Roman suddenly commented.
"It's because this is their second attempt at using assassins to kill Omira and its their second failed attempt. Also he never said they were. He said they must be panicking," Mercer corrected. "The part about them must be panicking has to do with their failure to get someone to kill her. The first time had to have been a fluke. This is what they must have been thinking, but for it to fail again, especially during a Sea Parade when all the strong people are busy fighting monsters…that fluke is now no longer a fluke. They must be panicking because they are starting to believe that now Omira must have people that can protect her no matter what."
They other started nodding they heads as they started to follow Mercer's logic. He didn't stop there as he continued, "As for the smart part, he cleaned the bodies so the scenario Liam had just theorized couldn't play out. Instead, by cleaning the blood and collecting the bodies they now create a scenario in case Omira tried to tell someone about the attempt there is no proof. Instead she would make others think she was making things up and thus make them think she wants attention. And if people start to believe that then they would distance themselves from her. Leaving her alone giving the perpetrator a chance to kill her without any interference."
Liam snapped his fingers as he said, "Bingo."
Omira looked at both of them, her mouth slightly ajar before finally saying, "How did you come up with all of that without any proof?"
"Experience," Liam and Mercer commented at the same time. It took the both of them as much as a surprise as the others before letting out a chuckle.
During that brief moment Liam sent a message at Eri asking how close he was to the mark. When she sent back a message stating he was about eighty percent on the mark he was surprised. He was completely sure he was right on the nose but if he wasn't a hundred percent then that meant he was still missing something important. For now he wouldn't let it bother him…too much.
"Enough about that for now," Mercer suddenly said as he turned his attention back towards Omira. "I believe you promised an explanation on why you were shocked to see the Naga."
"Ah…yeah…I did say I'd tell you about them," Omira started cautiously as she thought about how she was going to explain. After a few moments of silence she finally said, "Like I mentioned earlier, the Nagas are an underwater race. They could breathe easily underwater and preferred to live in the water rather than on land like a few other aquatic races."
Avery, Blair, Liam, and Mercer caught the words used in her sentence as Mercer voiced, "Could? Were?"
Omira nodded. "You see, my use of those words and my shock at seeing them is because they shouldn't be alive anymore. They are a race that disappeared years ago when the Children of the Sea disappeared."
"What do you mean? How could a race suddenly disappear and why would they disappear when that group disappeared? How could you be so sure that they even did disappear?" Mercer asked.
"That I am not sure," Omira responded as she tried to remember what she was taught. "All we were taught was that the race was wiped out and the Children of the Sea disappeared shortly after. Many of us, as children, tried to ask for more on what happened, but all we got in response was any information on what had happened was lost. There could be a connection between the race and the group, but we aren't entirely sure. We only have speculations. Even when I tried using my connections as a Royal of the Faeheart Kingdom I couldn't find anything besides they were wiped out."
"Hm…," Liam muttered as he tried to think about it. He remembered there was a situation on a different race that had been completely forgotten from everyone's knowledge. The Askith race. However, it seemed that this race, while all information about them was lost or forgotten, the fact that people remembered the race wasn't completely the same as them.
Liam shifted his gaze to Mercer, Avery, and Blair. From the looks on their faces it seemed that they too had similar thoughts on this. Lost History forgotten. There was a chance they were also taken in by a similar situation as the Askith, but without any information on them they were left in the dark on what was really going on.
"What?" Omira asked after seeing the look on their faces.
Liam hesitated on what to say. It was Mercer who took that job as he said, "We aren't entirely sure, but there was a chance what happened to them could have happened to a similar race we came across not too long ago."
Omira looked both confused and hopeful. She quickly asked, "What happened?"
Mercer quickly placed both hands up as he stated, "We aren't entirely sure if they fall into the same category so until we find out more information we aren't going to say it."
Omira looked dejected as she deflated. Liam could see that she believed she wasn't trusted enough to be told and quickly explained, "It isn't because we don't trust you. Gimmel and Val don't know this information yet either. It's not that we don't want to tell you guys, it's just until we know the situation is similar it is best we don't reveal anything until we meet with someone from the Lost Records Guild to verify what we found."
Gimmel, Omira, and Val all looked shocked at Liam's proclamation. Seeing the look on their faces made Liam think he might have said too much, but was relieved when Gimmel stated, "If it's important enough to be brought to that Guild then it's probably best you do wait to get it verified by them before telling us."
Val and Omira nodded their head vigorously. "I agree," Omira stated. "If what you think happened to that race is the same thing that happened to the Naga then its best to make sure it is right information than just an assumption."
Liam felt relieved at that. Wanting to move on from the topic he asked, "So what do you all think we should do now?"
"I think it's best to pretend nothing happened," Mercer swiftly answered. After seeing the looks on everyone's faces he clarified, "Going on about our day like the assassination attempt by those Nagas didn't happen will screw with the perpetrator's plans on hoping Omira looking like an idiot. Especially now that we know people think the Nagas are no longer around. It will make them annoyed and could possibly get them to slip up or put them on edge. While doing so we will be able to see if there any irregular movements amongst those on the ship."
The others nodded and agreed with the plan. Omira then added, "We're almost at our destination so they probably won't make a move while on the ship. If they do it will be on the island we're heading towards."
"What island are we heading towards by the way?" Ariyana asked.
"It's called Point Nemo, the Land Capital of all Aquatic Races where they can trade with those who can't breathe while in the water as well as those who can properly worship Horven, and also the only place where the Sea Cleansing Ritual can take place."