The Stubborn Light of a Dying Flame [Isekai - LitRPG]

Enalus was not a violent man. It is due, in part, to this unpleasant reality that the capital of Helia did not lie in ruins.

Were it Enalus who was missing and Nali, the one searching for him, the citizens of the capital might not be so lucky.

"The Chosen?" he said in a mild voice, not bothering to hide his disdain for the impish man standing before him.

"It's the only explanation that makes sense," the man said, adjusting his round spectacles. "She disappeared from the council chamber about two weeks ago, yes? On the same day that the Chosen abandoned their camp and fled to the mountains. And reports had her traveling with her ward, who also claims to be one of the Chosen, though it seems unlikely, given her drastically different appearance. It stands to reason that the plot, in some way, at least, involves the Chosen."

Setting aside the absolute lack of logic in the man's words, the part that infuriated Enalus most was that it was obvious the man thought him stupid enough to actually believe what was being said.

"Are you suggesting," he said in the same mild tone as before. "That a group of Initials, less than twenty-four hours out of the tutorial, were able to not only overpower, but abduct one of the most powerful women in Helia? And, in their unexplained cunning, they also managed to sneak this woman out of the capital, whose gates have been barred to them since their appearance. Furthermore, these Initials would have had to do so with their name tags in full view of every person they passed on the street."

The irritation in his voice grew with each word and by the end of his spiel, the man was cringing away, his confident manner replaced by fear.

"T-t-they could have tricked her," he said, sticking to his story as if his life depended on it, though the opposite was quite likely true. "And magic-suppressing cuffs could have been used to lower the Lady's advantage so—"

"Lady Nalissa Emery," Enalus said. "Is not a rich pampered legacy that gained her position through purchased spells and family connections. Such cheap tricks wouldn't work on her, and if you continue to insult my wife, you won't live to regret it."

The man shook his head. "I w-w-wasn't trying to insult the Lady. I was j-j-just—"

Enalus turned and left, not caring to hear the end of the man's sentence.

Imbeciles, the lot of them!

He should have known better than to hope she could be found through normal means. There was a reason Nali had a safe house in every major city on the continent. Her past—and her connection to Hinesh—had led her to create contingency plans for almost every possible situation. Despite her bravado and confidence, she was even more paranoid than Enalus himself.

Enalus knocked on the door to Lord Myre's office, hoping that the man was in today.

"Come in," Lord Myre called, his voice muffled slightly by anti-listening wards.

Enalus entered, pausing when he noticed that there was a second man in the room.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were—" Enalus began, but Myre stopped him.

"Ambassador Jolle was just leaving," he said.

The man bowed his head slightly and left, not looking at Enalus on the way out.

"What can I help you with, Lord Emery?" Lord Myre asked, his tone politely pleasant. This wasn't the first time Enalus had come to visit him over the past two weeks and it likely wouldn't be the last.

"You know why I'm here," Enalus said, not interested in false pleasantries. "You were the last one to see her."

"And as I told you before, when she left, she did so on her own two feet." Lord Myre said, dropping the pleasant tone. He straightened a stack of papers on his desk, pulling out one that looked like a request for asylum. "I have no more knowledge of this incident than you."

"And you do nothing to resolve it?" Enalus asked, taking a step closer to the desk. "One of your strongest nobles vanishes in broad daylight and you sit there as if nothing is wrong?"

Lord Myre signed the paper and grabbed another off the stack. "I don't dictate where nobles can go and what they can do. Perhaps you could discuss that with his majesty—"

"Don't!" Enalus' voice shook with anger. He closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm before continuing. "You and I both know that he is a figure head," he said, beyond caring whether or not someone overheard. "I don't know why you let him keep playing monarch. You have the power in Helia and you do keep tabs on your nobles."

Lord Myre put his papers aside, giving Enalus his full attention.

So, Enalus had finally struck a nerve? How far would he have to go to force the man to take action?

"I don't know why you would say such a thing, but his majesty—"

"Hasn't been seen in months," Lord Emery interrupted. "His paperwork is handled by his advisers and his wife attends most parties alone. Is there even a king on the throne, or is that, too, a lie?"

"King Willen attended a ball just two months ago," Myre said. "And if your intention with this conversation is to get a rise out of me, then you'll be sorely disappointed."

He reached for another piece of paper. Enalus was losing him.

"How are we to know you didn't remove him from the throne and hand all of his power to Queen Naomi? She is your sister after all. With you leading the nobles and her leading the court, you wouldn't have to lead Helia from the shadows anymore."

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It was ludicrous; the kind of statement one might expect in performances at large festivals, but for some reason, it recaptured the man's attention.

"You are crossing a line, Lord Emery," Lord Myre said, the warning in his tone clear.

"Am I? And what line did my wife cross?" The words were out of Enalus' mouth before he could stop them.

Silence hung in the air. Lord Myre watched him with a mild look of surprise that was too perfect to be genuine.

"I had nothing to do with Lady Emery's disappearance," he said calmly. "And you might consider taking some time to recuperate. This incident is affecting you more than you are willing to admit."

So, that was his response? This incident was affecting him? Enalus was overreacting?!

Enalus took a deep breath, smoothing his expression. "Perhaps you might be right," he said, noting the slight drop of Lord Myre's shoulders. "I will retire to my estate. Please keep me apprised of any progress in the investigation."

"I will let you know the moment I hear anything," Lord Myre promised.

Enalus bowed politely and left the office.

He would return to his estate, but only to gather his knights. If Myre would not help him find Nali, then Enalus would find her himself.

* * *

Enalus was greeted at the door by Jayne.

"I take it your trip to the capital didn't go well," Jayne said, taking Enalus' coat.

"It did not," Enalus confirmed. "Lord Myre thinks it best that I retire for a few days to deal with my stress levels."

Jayne's eyebrow twitched. "And I suppose that during this time, Lord Myre's men will continue to look for Lady Emery, as they have been doing up to this point?"

"Precisely," Enalus said, heading straight for his office. "If I'm to find Nali, I will have to search for her myself. Has anything of note happened while I was gone?"

"Have you been paying attention to your notifications?" Jayne asked.

Enalus shook his head. "I haven't had time. Was there another update?"

"There was, and I believe this is one that you'll wish to see for yourself."

Enalus sighed. That didn't sound good. The last two updates had been positive changes to the System; he had been expecting some bad news for a while now. "Which feature did we lose?"

"We've gained another one, actually," Jayne assured him. "And it's one that I have never seen."

They reached Enalus' office and he took a seat to check his notifications while Jayne waited patiently on the other side of his desk.

A Community Event has begun!

The largest anomaly in the Aeteraut Forest Dungeon has closed. The System seeks to dismantle the dungeon in order to minimize the possibility of a dungeon break. To that end, all monsters within the Aeteraut Forest Dungeon will award double Experience for the duration of the event and special prizes will be awarded to the highest contributors.

Event Duration: 06d 06h 52m 03s

"Aeteraut has been redefined as a dungeon?" Enalus asked incredulously. Jayne seemed to be pleased with this news.

"It has been," he agreed. "And soon, it will be closed."

It took a moment for Enalus to grasp the man's meaning.

If the forest dungeon was closed, then the monsters would stop spawning, wouldn't they? That was how dungeons—myths, that they may be—were supposed to work.

No monsters meant no wards. No wards meant less energy needed to maintain the System.

This was very good news indeed.

"Send all of the knights to help mop up the monsters in the forest. A horde that close to the capital could be catastrophic, even if the monsters are low in level."

"They're already there," Jayne said. "And they reported back an hour ago that there are so many players in the forest, we needn't have bothered. There are quite a few players interested in taking advantage of the Experience boost while they can."

"Good," Enalus said. "If the crisis doesn't need our help, then call them back immediately."

"Sir?" Jayne looked confused. "You're recalling the knights from Aeteraut so soon?"

"All of them," Enalus corrected. "Recall everyone—including any of Nali's students that you can get in contact with. We're bringing everyone back."

"And what should I tell them?" Jayne asked.

He was right to be hesitant. Enalus was making a point to the rest of Helia. He was gathering every person who Nali had ever helped to show the people of Ember how far she has influenced. She would likely disapprove, but she wasn't here to tell him no.

"Tell them that Nali is missing and I'm requesting their aid. I'll give more details when they arrive. To anyone unable to answer the call, simply tell them to keep a look out and report back to me with any information they may hear on their travels."

A chime sounded, indicating that there was someone at the door.

"Should I let them know you're busy?" Jayne asked.

"Unless it has something to do with Nali," Enalus agreed. He didn't have time to deal with random house calls or petitions for him to remove the Chosen from nearby villages.

He hadn't been thrilled about the Chosen's presence when they first arrived, but he had been pleasantly surprised to find that they carried their own weight. Even if they hadn't found any explanation for Rayna's miraculous ability to use magic with her System down, Nali had been right: taking the Chosen in and teaching them how to fight was the right call.

Could he somehow enlist the Chosen's aid, perhaps?

Jayne left to answer the door and Enalus pulled out his mail, going through the letters to see if there was anything important. There were several letters from village chiefs in the area and he put those aside for later. If they were time sensitive, the message would have come through the scry glass.

He read the few letters that came from various nobles, but they were all along the same lines; offering him condolences for the loss of his wife.

Apparently, everyone had decided that Nali was dead.

It wasn't as unreasonable an assumption as one might think. People died out on hunts all the time, and there was rarely a body to find once the monsters were done with the victim.

Nali wasn't stupid enough to go up against a monster she couldn't beat without at least telling Enalus where she was going.

The last letter in the stack was a plain brown envelope. There was no name or seal, just a single letter at the bottom left corner: 'N'.

Enalus activated his protective wards before opening the envelope. Assassination attempts were not unheard of in Helia, but they were rare; usually the result of someone trying to limit the potential noble class so they could make it in the next election.

With Nali missing, Enalus would be the target of such attempts, should they happen. He wasn't weak, by any means, but he never shone quite as brightly as his wife.

That's why he was usually in charge of the political obligations that came with being a noble.

The letter didn't explode when he pulled it out of the envelope, nor did he sense any poison or toxins with his detection spells.

He unfolded the piece of paper.

Lord Emery,

I send this letter incognito, for I have news of your wife's disappearance that I cannot say publicly.

If you would hear what I have to say, meet me at the western edge of the Obsidian Forest, just inside the tree line on the fourth day of the new moon. Bring Lady Emery's newest ward as well.

Don't tell anyone of this meeting. If I see anyone beside yourself or your wife's ward, I will leave and you will never hear from me again.

I will be waiting,

~N

Bring Rayna? Enalus hadn't seen Rayna in weeks. If he did know where Rayna was, he might have more insight into what happened to Nali.

The fourth day of the new moon was tomorrow. Even if he could find Rayna by then, this reeked of a trap.

But if the sender had news of Nali…

A knock sounded at the door.

"Come in," Enalus said, quickly folding the paper and stashing it in his Inventory.

Jayne bowed. "You have a visitor."

Enalus stood, about to tell Jayne that he could send the visitor to the parlor when he caught sight of who it was.

She had aged a few years in a matter of weeks and she had somehow grown a pair of horns on her head, but there was no mistaking it.

Rayna squared her shoulders. "We need to talk."