The Seeker | Volume 2

The carriage pulled upon the towing jet black palace. A raven sat perched on top of the tall iron gate, glaring upon the 2 men with curiosity.

"We can let ourselves in, the emperor doesn't mind all that much. In addition, I don't really think he likes guards, thinking he can handle all incidents within the palace himself. It's quite weird and a little stuck up if I do say so myself." Ling sighed as he opened the gate and let him and Palsy in.

Ling and Palsy noticed 2 guards standing adjacent to the entrance, glaring at them silently. 

"Or it's because some are too noisy." Palsy whispered.

After entering a palace they were greeted with a single hallway, one that was about 20 meters wide and; at the end of it sat the emperor in his throne, the same raven from before now perched beside him.

"What do you want?" Katsuki growled at the 2 men. His voice had the 2 men tense up a little but Ling swallowed his fear and took a few steps forward.

"We're here to address something that happened earlier today. One of your accomplices Mrs. Hampshire and her husband have died."

"Died?" Ktsuki asked, leaning forward on his throne a little, curiosity and ambition filling his crimson pupils. Ling nodded, taking off his rain hat. "It's true. We were wondering what we should do. You did have them over for dinner once, and you seemed to treat them lightly."

The blonde young adult scoffed lighty, eyes rolling. "Just because I had them over once doesn't mean I'm supposed to care about them all that much. You can dispose of the bodies as you wish, I don't care."

Ling and Palsy were taken aback by the emperor's carelessness. Palsy took a defiant step forward, eyebrows raised. "You don't seem all that interested in your subjects, is that true: emperor Katsuki?"

Katsuki smiled smugly at the man, raising his right hand, small waves of orange energy flickering in his palms. 

"Whoever is lower to me doesn't deserve any attention unless it's their peers. I'm an emperor, not a charity worker. Now get out."

"Why did Mr. Hampshire explode?" Ling suddenly asked, breaking the tense atmosphere and filling it with a new, foreboding sense of mystery and dread.

"He exploded?" Katsuki asked, a small frown on his face.

"Yes, after headaches and irrational behavior for weeks he just exploded inside his room when his wife called us over for an investigation." 

"And you expect me to know the answer?" Katsuki asked with a vaguely indifferent expression. Ling scoffed and shook his head.

"We know you're not omniscient, but you're our ruler, and you should decide what we do. This current situation is perilous and quite frightening, and we lack overall guidance. I already sent a letter to a friend of mine in Seraphis Kingdom, but the strikes have lowered the chances of them actually receiving it."

"Seraphis Kingdom?" Katsuki mumbled, looking at his raven for a few seconds before turning back and sighing softly. 

"Go to Seraphis Kingdom and figure it out with your friend. But bring back the people in this photo in return for me helping you bastards." He suddenly tossed a scroll towards the young men. Palsy picked it up and saw the photo of a teenage boy, another teenage boy, and an older man with a distorted face. 

"Is that Aaron?..." Ling mumbled as he leaned in to look at the photo. Palfy stuffed it into his pocket before looking back towards the emperor with a polite nod.

"We thank you, emperor." 

"Now leave." Katsuki said coldly as he gestured to them with his right hand, pointing at the large doors at the end of the hallway. Ling and Palsy turned towards the door and left the castle, stepping back out into the cloudy and murky environment. 

"I'll have to pack early, damn it." Ling mumbled as he ran down the street and back towards his house. Palsy looked down at his pocket watch and sighed, realizing he only had about 3 hours to get everything before their designated ship would leave; the ship belonging to Admiral Kaelin.

"My dearest wife, my dearest son. We have to leave soon. Pack everything you can for our journey."

Without much defiance, the 2 Kitonow family members began scrambling through their drawers and belongings for what to pack. Mrs. Kitonow hurriedly packed her best sunwear, dresses and makeup, while Hàorán packed his math books, science books and everything he could need for his studies. 

Palsy entered his home where his wife was at the stove making dinner.

"I thought you'd be home later, you're actually quite early." She said hoarsely as she poured the mushroom stew inside 2 bowls and sat down at the table, looking at her husband with animosity and some annoyance.

They have tried to file for a divorce for months, but the Katshin empire made that illegal due to legal and economic reasons. 

"Well the encounter took a lot shorter than previously anticipated. I don't know whether to leave you behind or take you with me." Palsy joked, sipping his stew quietly. Mrs. Palsy glared at her husband, frowning.

"I can always stay here, a few months without your annoying ass would be a miracle for sure." she grumbled as she sipped her beer. Palsy smirked and bit into a mushroom, chewing it.

"I can always stay there, darling."

The next day Palsy; who was alone, met up with the Kitonow family at the harbor, the sun was just starting to rise over the Aestion Mountains in the east. 

"I assume you're ready to leave?" Ling asked, rubbing his eyes tiredly. 

"We are, Admiral Kaelin woke up a few hours ago to prepare. And he didn't seem all that troubled by it, he'd actually been just as curious as we are to visit Seraphis Kingdom." Palsy said as he took out their scroll with the people on it, gazing at it for curiosity. 

"It still troubles me on why he'd want us to bring them here, or what significance they could possibly have." he mumbled as he shoved it back onto his pocket and headed towards the dock. 

"Anyways, we don't want to keep Mr. Kaelin waiting, I can smell his ambition, it's almost palpable." Ling said as he followed Palsy down the harbor, his family members huddled beside him to avoid the damp, chilly morning air of late summer, which slowly shifted into early fall.

"Now Hàorán, are you excited to see a kraken up close? I'm guessing you can't wait to tell your school friends you encountered such a mighty beast." Ling chuckled, ruffling his son's rough black hair. Hàorán was Ling's child, but he was actually adopted. He originally came from the Indun Empire following their migration a little while back. He was among the few who actually went to the Katshin Empire as a feasible living location.

The boy's parents chose to stay in the Indun Empire, as they owned a profitable bakery there. The only reason they decided to leave their boy was due to the struggles of finance and the cost of living there, so they sent him off with his aunt and uncle. 

But on the way, a group of pirates attacked their ship, robbed them of their valuables and left them stranded. Hàorán was among the survivors, and his ship managed to float over to the Katshin Empire, where Mr and Mrs. Kitonow found him and took him under their wing. 

"Krakens?" Mrs. Kitonow asked, shooting a worried glance at her husband. Ling looked towards her and gave her a comforting smile.

"I promise we'll be alright. Kraken's don't attack unless they're provoked to begin with. We won't hurt them and they won't hurt us, ok?" Mrs. Kitonow gave a forced smile, although Ling could quickly tell that she was hiding her fear with it. 

"I hope none of you are seasick, because my crew doesn't want to deal with washed up sea-bugs like you." Admiral Kaelin laughed, causing his white beard to move with his jaw. The man's eyes were locked on Ling, who gave him a smile. 

"I assure you I'm not seasick, I've been on small journeys before." Mrs. Kitonow said, giving a small curtsy. 

"Small journeys? To where, the goddamn theater?" Kaelin said with a laugh. Unexpectedly, Mrs. Kitonow laughed along with him, much to Ling's pleasure.

"At least I know you can handle a sailor's jokes." Ling exclaimed, leaning against the bow of the ship that overlooked the murky, gray ocean that expanded for what seemed like forever. Just beyond what he could see, there was a large, thick layer of gray fog, which was quite the trouble for sailors hoping to import goods.

"I'd suppose another reason they're on strike is because of the weather? What, do they think someone's just gonna go and tell the fog to fuck off for a little?" Hàorán laughed.

"Language." Ling chirped, looking down at his son with a disapproving glare. 

"Meet Mr. Westly, the captain second in command. He will help you around and show you to your bunks." Kaelin explained as he pointed to a tall young man with orange hair, there was some black at the roots of his hair, and he looked like someone native of the Indun Empire.

"My pleasure." Mr. Westly said as he reached his hand out towards the group, who all politely shook it.

"This is Mrs. Usagiyama, someone who's lived here for quite a while. To make things short, she loves to fight, and when I tell you she loves a good fight." He pointed to the young woman with long white hair. Under her sailors cap there were 2 ears reminiscent of a rabbit.

"Why do you have ears?" Hàorán asked, taking a cautious step towards the woman, who looked down at him with a fiery smile.

"It's a special trait of mine, a mutation. You got any mutations, kid?" She asked, crossing her muscular and toned arms with a smug expression. Hàorán paused for a moment, a little blush forming on his face from the woman's lean appearance, but he managed to gather himself.

"N-no. I like them though, they suit you." Hàorán said with a smile.

"Thanks, I guess." She replied. 

Suddenly, the ground below them seemed to shift. Mrs. Kitonow saw that Admiral Kaelin had taken hold of the wheel, and was starting the ship up.

"I warn you, this won't be an easy ride. Eventually you'll be forced to confront the waves, and those waves are quite tall." he said in a foreboding tone, and the ship started into motion.