The Dragon's Consortium 2

66 - Sorting Out Thoughts

Cain Dragvern - POV;

"Gyaah!" I exclaimed shooting up.

"Kyaah! C-cain?!" Sana jumped in fear from my sudden action.

"Let me get Amelia!" Sana stated as she rushed out of the room. I looked around and realised, for the hundredth time, I was laying on a bed in some type of sick bay. Draedian's hospitals weren't fully optimized at the moment and as a result they were quite makeshift in appearance.

"Cain!" Amelia called out as she hugged me tightly, "Why do you keep worrying me like this? Can't we go three months without you getting warded in a serious condition?"

"I'm sorry about that but what can I say? I have a tendency to draw in misfortune," I joked.

"Anyway, I'm glad that you are fine. Although, if you want, I can make it even better," she whispered in my ear seductively as she sat on my lap.

"Is that so?" I replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Ahem!" Sana cleared her throat loudly as she walked in the room.

"Whaaaaat?" Amelia said childishly, "I mean it's not like you didn't walk in on us doing the deed before."

"Let's not talk about that," Sana pouted and looked away from us.

"Huh? What do you mean by do the deed? What did you see Princess Sana?" Cecil asked, emerging from Sana's handbag.

"N-n-n-n-nothing! Get back in the bag Cecil! And stop eavesdropping on me!" Sana complained with her face now redder than a tomato as she pushed the fairy girl back into her hiding place.

"W-wait. Princess what are you- *mumble mumble*," the fairy's words were muffled after Sana had shut the bag securely.

"Aww. Sana you're too overprotective of your daughter. She has to learn about the way the world works at some point," I laughed.

"Shut up Cain!" Sana shouted.

"Anyway, let's get right to the heart of the situation. Amelia! Where is the merchant who delivered the letter?!" I inquired.

"Hmm? The turban merchant? He helped me rush you to the hospital and after that he just disappeared. But why do you ask?"

"There's something about him that rubs me the wrong way. He is linked to everything that's going on right now, I just know it!" I growled.

"What do you mean he is linked to everything? What is everything?" Amelia pressed.

I looked up at her and began to explain, "Amelia.... Sana..... the two of you know of my ability. As long as I am within close proximity of a living soul, I can search through the memories of the individual it belongs to. Most of the time, I need to know alot about a person in order to find thier soul without contact. However, through direct contact with the physical body of the soul, I can immediately rummage through everything. For these reasons, I believed that the visions I witnessed were a new thing entirely but now I know I was wrong. Each soul feels slightly different to the next in a way I can't explain but each time I saw a vision I felt a familiar yet overwhelming presence. When I shook the merchant's hand, many of his memories rushed their way into me and admittedly, it was a bit much for me to handle. However, I know now that these visions are merely that man's past."

"Okay, I get that. But how exactly does that link him to anything?" Sana asked.

"Well for one he has to be following me or stalking me at a close proximity for me to peek into his soul like this," I continued, "On top of that I normally have to actively try in order to interact with souls like this. For me to just be seeing things like this means that his soul power must be beyond extraordinarily powerful so that it affects everything in the area. The final cherry on top is what I saw in those visions..... Most are blurry except for the last. I clearly recall one face, drenched in tears and agony. I saw Csilla...."

I went on to describe the memory to the attentive girls sparing no details. They sat silently, clearly intrigued by the words I was saying.

As soon as I had finished, Amelia spoke up, "That just doesn't make any sense! Csilla is in Qostros with Soterios as we speak!"

"What if something happened to Soterios and she moved on to someone else?" Sana proposed.

"Don't even joke like that! Soterios isn't someone to fall so easily!" I roared as I pounded my fist on the bedside table.

"S-sorry," Sana murmured.

"Yeah, Soterios really is quite resilient. He did defeat Dulanth the Dark after all. Plus Csilla is the most loyal girl you could ever find. She would never abandon Soterios. Even a dog's loyalty can't stand against hers. Perhaps that's why she's as cute as a puppy!" Amelia stated.

"Whatever the case may be, we have to find him as soon as possible!"

"But Cain, where are we supposed to find one man in the entire continent? We don't even know what his face looks like," Amelia noted.

"Young master, if I may....."

"Sirath?" the dragon's sudden input was unusual, "Sure, go ahead."

"If what you say is true and this person bleeds out an incomparable soul power, then it is as you said. His power will affect everything around him in some way. Most likely, depending on the type of person he has and soul he wields, he will either destroy and cripple all things around him or he will heal and give life to them," Sirath explained.

"That's it!" Sana shouted as she jumped to her feet.

"What is it?" Amelia interrogated.

"There is a forest near to Oakhevia that had existed as a tree graveyard for centuries. Within the last twenty or so years, life has slowly been coming back to the death ridden land. A couple of people have tried to research the cause of the sudden re-emergence but it seems that none have ever made it back out alive. There are a number of beasts supposedly settling there which is how the deaths were explained but something greater could be at play!" the elf girl rattled out.

"We actually have to head out that way in the morning too," Amelia added.

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"Cain.... you've been out for so long that the meeting is now only the day after tomorrow," Amelia said.

"Tch. Is that so?" I scoffed.

"It's a shame we couldn't clear Crethia's name though," Sana lamented.

"Don't worry about that. If what I saw was true then there is a high chance this person is closely related to our Draconian as well!"