The Rise of the Black Plain - Chapter 2706: Group Reunited
On the eve of the one-month anniversary of the arrival of Minos’ group in Uzira, Leger was alone in a small cave, in front of a fire, with a fish roasting.
The night, always clear in Zocarro, was making the place partially illuminated. In addition, the breeze from the sparse forest where this cave was located well ventilated the place, making it quiet and welcoming.
But Leger didn’t feel relaxed anywhere in Uzira. Aware of the dangers of this continent and the hunters in search of his neck, he was vigilant as he waited for his fish to be ready.
Alone, he wasn’t optimistic. ‘I’ve been waiting for Minos for two years now… Will he still come to me?’ he asked himself as he sighed.
Of all his crew, he was the one who had believed the most in Minos and Tiolos’ group. But even he was beginning to doubt that group. The Violent Sea was truly terrible and every day that passed without him hearing from the group, the more he thought the worst had happened.
Minos’ group was much stronger than his. But the Violent Sea felt no pressure from mere Sovereigns and Supremes. If one didn’t have the strength, luck and knowledge necessary, falling into the Violent Sea wouldn’t be hard to happen.
“Did they die?” He asked in concern.
But suddenly, as he heard the burning wood, he heard his monitoring artifacts alerting him to individuals entering his safe space.
Getting up quickly, he drew his weapon and prepared to fight.
“Leger! I’ve come to haunt you!”
A voice he knew all too well rang out and sent shivers down his spine as his mouth suddenly went dry.
‘Brendan! How is this possible?’ For an instant, he ignored his knowledge of Abby’s divine ability and thought that Brendan’s ghost had come after him seeking retribution.
Brendan laughed out loud as he took the lead from Minos’ group, but his farce wouldn’t last more than a minute. As soon as he stopped to think about the situation, Leger thought of his ally’s group.
“Minos!” He sensed the other members of the group, seeing Minos, Abby, Gloria and Ruth appear just behind Brendan, along with Tiolos and the others.
Relaxing a little, he felt better, even though Brendan was still looking at him dryly.
Minos spotted Leger in front of the small cave where this individual was sheltering and made sure that some of his men kept an eye on the perimeter while they gathered.
Minos spotted Leger in front of the small cave where this individual was sheltering and made sure that some of his men kept an eye on the perimeter while they gathered.
“We’ve finally found you. It wasn’t easy getting to you, Leger.” Tiolos said as he approached the man and greeted him with a nod.
Leger shook his head in response, agreeing. “Indeed. You took your time, too. I was beginning to believe that you were all dead, at the bottom of the bloody Violent Sea.”
“We were luckier than your group.” Minos said with a restrained smile. “Anyway, now we’re here, we can get on with our deal.”
Leger agreed until he looked at Brendan again, feeling he had to explain himself, of course.
“About that, what happened to my group was a mixture of our bad luck, but also of old problems. As I had already told voices in Oqia, Uzira is very closed and the natives of the area are extremely defensive against foreigners.
On my first visit to the continent, I fought several creatures who tried to kill me, and of course, I hid from those who could kill me. I narrowly managed to make enough of the local opportunities to strengthen myself and eventually return to Oqia.
But in the meantime, I naturally acquired enemies who want to kill me and have been chasing me ever since. I returned to Oqia partly because of them, but everything I told them before was the truth. Without a strong group in Uzira, we can’t go far.”
Sensing the silence of the group around him, he looked at Brendan and said. “I killed you for what you did by betraying us, but also to end your pain. Now I have no more grudges against you. However, don’t blame me for what your captor did to you. You all knew the dangers of Uzira when you joined me.”
“I now serve Abby, Minos’ wife. So if ma’am tells me to tolerate you, I will. But that doesn’t change what happened between us. As much as I understand your side, it doesn’t change everything I’ve been through because of you.” Brendan said in a harsh tone, dropping the joke from a few moments ago.
Looking at Minos, Leger asked. “Do you see anything wrong with my dealings with Brendan? Regarding the enemies I have in Uzira?”
Minos looked at them both and then shook his head in denial. Leger was no saint, but he was telling the truth, just as he had done back then in Oqia.
Take the case of the white worm. He had tried to murder them for no reason. In the end, they were the ones to kill the creature and if it had a tribe and elders stronger than him, it was possible that such a confrontation would eventually result in greater problems for their group.
Perhaps Leger’s problems came from similar situations, so there was no way Minos could blame him just because of how little he knew.
“No, we’ll move on together, but I don’t want you to hide anything else from me.” He sat down on a rock as he finished this subject.
“I certainly didn’t hide it. I said that the beings of Uzira were super vindictive. In a way, I implied in our previous conversation that I probably had enemies who wanted revenge for things I’d done…” He corrected his ally. “Anyway, as well as Jalgon, there are three other groups that could come up to harass us.
I’ve had problems with high-level Sovereigns and low-level Supremes. So those who are hunting me are a bit stronger than that, low and mid-level Supremes.
I don’t know exactly how many are as close to us as Jalgon. Some were from larger tribes and others from smaller ones. It could be that we’re close to having new problems or are far away. It’s really hard for me to predict that, given the infinite variables.”
Minos said. “We’ve eliminated Jalgon. But we don’t want to have to fight someone like him again. Let’s try to dodge these enemies while we get stronger. Now it’s time for you to help us find good places to strengthen ourselves.
Just tell me where there are opportunities for us and I’ll find the safest way possible for us to get to those places.”