The Rift in the Domain- The Auranos Stories Book 2

Chapter 27 - Many Eras Ago...

It took us three weeks to establish peace between Courier and Sceptervale, dragging the towns' similarities into light and aggressively hiding their differences. Relako built new routes between the towns every day, helping traders find their way through the woodlands. He talked to commoners, explaining the benefits of peace with their neighboring town. I worked with the mayors of both cities as a mediator and a messenger, perhaps tweaking their words here or there. And Cavern took care of other things- a few of the most adamant supporters of continued conflict wouldn't let us shout them down. Luckily, those unfortunate few had a nasty tendency to vanish without a trace, being found days later in neighboring towns with no memory of how they got there.

Hey, don't judge us- it worked! And the death tolls dropped to zero in three weeks!

After that time, Courier and Sceptervale were on good terms, and we decided to stick around to make sure things stayed that way. We knew how easy it could be for the relationship to revert back, and in the meantime, we were sort of celebrities.

People would run up to our avatars, saying that their friends and family who were out fighting had come home safe. Merchants would tip their hats at us as they rode by on their carts, having tripled profits on the new trade routes. Four or five undertakers went out of business in both towns together, but there seemed to be no signs of a return to the conflict.

"Well, we did it," I laughed, my avatar lounging on a rooftop. "We actually did it."

"Absolutely," Relako agreed, floating over the adjacent alleyway.

"All the people we helped in three weeks..." I thought aloud, grinning.

"So now what?" Cavern hopped off the roof's chimney like a frog, landing gracefully in the gutter. "What's next?"

I exchanged glances with Relako. "I... I guess I hadn't thought about it."

"Well," Cavern paused. "It's worth-"

"Excuse me, sirs?" A denim blue spirit with mulberry eyes materialized in front of us, watching from an adjacent rooftop.

"Who are you?" Cavern asked, rather rudely. Feeling jovial and unwilling to tolerate his lack of manners, I stood up and shoved him. His avatar tripped off the gutter, dropped like a rock into the alley, and reappeared with a scowl just in front of me a moment later.

The spirit laughed lightly. "I'm Raledentu," she said, nodding her head. Her short hair bobbed. "And I come with news."

"What's that?" I asked kindly.

"The mayor wants to talk with you three," she said. "If you don't mind, of course."

I looked at the others, who seemed as surprised as I was.

"I don't see why not," Relako replied, and Cavern shrugged.

"Lead the way, Raledentu," I nodded.

"Alright, let's go," she smiled. I watched with a grin as she stepped off the building and free-fell halfway to the bottom, where she slowed her dive and soared back up through the air.

"C'mon," Cavern said, stepping forward. "What are you waiting for?"

We followed Raledentu through the narrow streets of Courier, to the fountain where Pom watched over the town and to the base of the city's grand gathering hall.

I could see a blue and white spirit flickering agitatedly as he walked up the steps ahead of us. Raledentu stopped on a dime, approaching him.