Chapter 12 - The search begins!

Under the direct orders of the Princess and led by the Inquisitor, soldiers have secured every asset the Corvus family has. The soldiers took all of Corvus into custody to interrogate for potential conspiracy against the crown and their people. 

The King, swayed by his daughter, joined her cause to investigate the other families. Not long, a royal decree was passed and allowed the Inquisitor to act in his stead: giving the Inquisitor the power to absolve anyone that might be a threat to the Kingdom and its citizens. 

While the Princess was busy cleaning the Corvus family, John and William began to scour the Kingdom on their separate path. 

John took to the streets and merchants, trying to get any whereabouts of the Doctor. He used his charms and wits to gain their trust and form friendships with them. Manage to snag some of their juiciest gossip and some of their deepest secrets, but none are helpful to find the Doctor.

William used the Princess' records and searched for information regarding the maroon and black colored carriage that the red lady used. William's search leads him to multiple people who own the same carriage. Still, all lack the position of power or political aspiration to challenge the likes of Einjhar or the Princess.

But one businesswoman named Margaret piqued his interest. She owns a vast keep in the west corner of the Kingdom. The keep was once a defensive fortress at the coast to prevent pirates from invading them. Margaret repurposed it into an infirmary and used the money to build a small community near the keep. 

William hurried back to the Princess' office to report her his findings. He expects the Princess to be busy with her current work, but he finds the Princess silently fuming with anger while staring at a blue paper on her table. The Princess passed William the blue paper and asked him to read it.

"Princess, the animals can smell the poison within this wine. The dogs and cats refuse to drink it. We forcefully made the rat hungry and only made it drink a large quantity of the wine. Within two days, the rat suffered boils all over its body and exhibited difficulty breathing." William read the report. 

"William, this "Chalice" wine you returned from the Ball was tainted with poison that slowly destroyed a human body over time. Animals and rodents will die within days. But luckily for us, weeks before it succumbs to its effects." The Princess says as she stands before William.

"How can you know about this Princess? The report doesn't say that-" William says but was interrupted when the Princess rolled up her sleeves and showed the boils all over her arm. 

"Days before you arrived, I already exhibited the coughing and boils. Those Pentalium had attacked us long before we knew it. Einjhar's tea relieves the pain and dilutes the poison from my body, but it is not enough, as I am only delaying the inevitable. The tea warehouse of Einjhar burned, and it will take another season before they can produce enough tea for the Kingdom." The Princess returned to her seat and began to work on her papers.

"How can you say this calmly?! Why don't we ask the Court for help? Or your father, the King? Mobilize the knights to find the Doctor or the Pentalium!" William begins to panic. He and John grew close to the Princess over the years. Not only its because the Princess was Eldric's lover, but she treated them like her sons. She never did say it nor exhibited like a mother figure to them, but the bonds they share over the years prove it otherwise.

"Focus! William." The Princess yells, asking him to calm down. 

"Who will believe us if I show my father or the Inquisitor without concrete evidence? Did we capture any Pentalium to bring before the Court? Do we have substantial proof that they even exist?" The Princess says as she reminds William of their mission: to bring Eldric's killer to light and eradicate the Pentalium. 

"I am not the only one dying. The Kingdom is too, William. Those poor souls that don't have the cure or tea will surely suffer." The Princess reaffirms to William that they need to do what is right. Find the Doctor, find the cure.

"Our duty is to the people." The Princess says the words as it triggers a string of emotions within their hearts. It was Eldric's voice that rang inside their mind.

"That is right. That's Eldric's words. He always tells me that when I hesitate or panic during our sparing. It reminds me why I wanted to be a knight." William smiled as he thanked the Princess for reminding him what he must do.

"He also tells me this when I grew weary of my work. He always did bring out the best of us." The Princess lay back in her seat. She wished for a moment that things were different. A simpler time. Maybe a more wishful past where she and Eldric live together.

William then gave her his report. A finding of a woman named Margaret and her repurposed keep at the coast.

"Ah, Margaret Strout. She never did attend our parties. She is more a humanitarian than a politician. She spent all her family's wealth on that keep and made it into a huge infirmary over the years." The Princess then approved of William's plan to go and investigate the keep of Magaret, but he was reminded not to create any disturbance. If he finds any clue that Margaret is working with Pentalium, William will report back to the Princess. Only then can they finally bring the Pentalium to the eyes of the Kingdom.

"I will be back, Princess. We will save you." 

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William returned to Tarwood and gathered his equipment. This time he brings the sword he got from the mountains. There William sees that Tarwood's citizen does not exhibit the same sickness that the citizen from the mainland has. He speculates that the people of Tarwood are eating only enough. Wines, for them, are a commodity. He prays that the citizen of Tarwood remains humble. 

Two days of traveling, day and night, with only a little sleep. Kingdom. He wastes no time, knowing that the Princess and the citizens infected with the "Chalice" will soon succumb to its effects. He was praying that he could find the cure in time. Einjhar's tea can only do so much to borrow time. 

On the third day on his ride to the east, his Sense picked up a particular scent in the air. A whiff of salt and the filthy wet sewage are present somewhere just north of the road. What made him curious is he is at least a day away from any coast of the Kingdom, so the smell of salt is not something he would expect here. William is also at the plains and clearing, so there are no small towns or cities that might have sewage.

Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream echoes beyond the hills to the north. The Princess and Eldric's teaching ring inside his heart. He is still a squire, but his heart burns with a knight's passion. He must find the cure, but there is always a time to help those in need.

As his horse race to the hills, he can hear more sounds of shouting and screaming. As he reached the top, a battlefield of weirdness greeted William. 

On the left of the plains are bandits riding on horses wielding swords and spears. Behind the riders, an army of rats is marching behind them. Big as a cat and feral as a dog. And there, he sees three masked individuals, all wearing the color green. The exact shade of green as the one he fought on the Ball.

And to the right are people fleeing from the rats. They are running across the plain while firing arrows at the rats and the riders. They don't look like citizens of the Kingdom. From afar, William can see their tribal attire. And a woman is leading them with a familiar bossy nature in her voice. 

"Ingrid?!" Willaim cannot believe his eyes. It was just a week since they last saw each other, and they were already in trouble. William used his Sense to analyze the field. William can hear faint whistles controlling the rats from where he is standing. 

William knows that these guys are no ordinary soldiers. They are experienced and well trained. Even with the power of his Sense, his physique is no match for their prowess. To defeat them, William needs to use strategy to distract these men and use the element of surprise to his advantage.

"The last one didn't expect me to hear him through the smoke." William could see the dried grass over the plains and figured that Ingrid's men could light them up. The fire will mask his presence and distract the rats from following their masters.

But William was diverted as the riders were catching up to Ingrid's tribe. William immediately rode toward the riders and activated his Sense. William held his sword up steady and began to synch his breathing with his horse. Every gallop, he shifted his shoulder and adjusted his balance. He needs to be swift and decisive.

As William got nearer, his Sense lets him see that the bandits had recently made their equipment—armor with no dents and a sword glimmering with a silver streak of light. William can see their improper form of riding. He smiled and understood where he needed to strike.

William rode with full force and began his assault. The first bandit parried William's blow, but since he wasn't seated correctly, he fell from his horse and met his end with Ingrid's arrows. 

William feints his strike at the second bandit. As the bandit takes the bait, he swiftly changes the direction of his sword and wedges it between the armpits. 

The bandits' morale dropped as William severely reduced their numbers. Never would they expect a lone rider was able to push them back. No matter how many bandits tried to overwhelm him, William swiftly dealt with them. Fear began to set in as they imagined William as an unmovable force.

With every bandit William defeated, Ingrid's men are invigorated. They began to rally behind this mysterious rider that turned the battle in their favor. Ingrid gladly takes this opportunity to pick off every bandit that William attacked. Though she doesn't know the rider's identity, she hopes this is one of William's stories of the Kingdom's 'knights.'

Ingrid began to mount their counterattack. She ordered her men to encircle the bandits from one another and picked them off one by one. Ingrid's men began to use formation and swift tactics across the plains.

The bandits are bewildered that a group of cretins managed to rally and gave a counterattack. This and William's unrelenting attack finally broke the bandits' morale. They began to abandon their post and flee. 

Ingrid's men began to cheer, but their troubles were far from over. The plains of green turned black as the rats finally caught up with them.

William tried to trample them with his horse, but the rat's thousand red eyes made his horse run in the opposite direction. William ditched his horse and made a stand. 

From the top of the hill overlooking the rats, one of the three masked generals stepped forwards and began to ask William,

"The way you rode and defeated my bandits. You are no ordinary tribe member. Who are you?" 

"I know who you are. You are the one who keeps stealing the tea shipments of the Einjhar's. With their shiny armor and swords, your bandits can even defeat Rolfe's knights with ambush and sheer number." Willaim yelled back as he gripped his sword.

The three masked men fell silent. They turn to each other as to how did person figure it out. But they all agreed that William could not leave this place alive. If he already knew enough, they could not allow him to reach their boss.

"Figured as much that you will learn this already. After all, we were taught by the best." A familiar voice yelled just behind William.

"John?!" William is surprised to see his friend beside him, turned and rugged from all the fighting he already has. 

"To be saved by William yet again..." Ingrid says with a heavy sigh. She stood beside William and John, happy to see them three together again. 

"Did John teach you that formation earlier?" William asked Ingrid as he was surprised that her tribe managed to perform a complex formation that many knights of the Kingdom used. 

"He did. I was surprised that it worked. We never knew tactics from our enemies would work." Ingrid replied with a smile to her two friends.

The three masked men began to whistle in unison. Their aggressive hymn turned the rats toward William's direction.

William doesn't know how John got here and how Ingrid reached this area. But All he knows is that the fight is far from over. If they are to win, William needs to execute his plan: 

distract the three masked men from commanding the rats.