"I see that you inherited Meriyaah's will," said Sebastian with his eyes on Evie.
Evie briefly looked over at Ren. His expression told her that he was shocked as well. Could it be that he didn't know about this?
Feeling her piercing stare, Ren returned her gaze and nodded, confirming her thoughts.
"Yes," Evie muttered. "Do you know her?"
Sebastian looked at the horizon for a second. It stopped raining when the Princess arrived, and hours had passed since then. The sky was gradually turning dark, signaling the beginning of the night's reign.
"Yes. She was the greatest enchantress that ever lived. We were comrades in battle and went through enough life and death to call ourselves friends."
Sebastian's obsidian dark eyes never strayed from Evie's face. "In fact, she even entrusted me with one of her treasures and asked me to give it to her predecessor rather than letting it rot in a random dungeon or cave."
Evie's face brightened. She only had one of Meriyaah's legendary treasures—the helmet, so she felt excited. However, Sebastian's next words dampened her mood.
"Unfortunately, the treasure she left me was too valuable for me to carry everywhere, so I sealed it in Lone Valley."
The centaur continued, "After this event, you can come to Lone Valley and claim it for yourself."
[New Information Acquired!]
Evie's enthusiasm was obvious despite her lethargic body movements. Finally! Another clue to Meriyaah's treasures! If she had two with her, then that would mean she only needed two more to complete the set.
"Do you know how she died?" Evie asked, just in case it would trigger something about Meriyaah's quest.
Sebastian shook his head. "Before she left me with one of her treasures, I found out that she planned to live the rest of her life as a mortal with her lover, but I do not know of the time she perished."
Evie's shoulder dropped. "Is that so?"
"However . . . Even in a place as deep as Lone Valley, words of her death would never escape my ears. Rumors had it that it was done by Regard who wanted to be the best Enchanter in the realm but couldn't with Meriyaah standing in his way."
"So is it true that it's him?" Evie asked, eager but her voice flat.
Sebastian was silent for a while. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it at once, smoke smogging his face.
"Regard might be ambitious, cruel, and selfish, but he never admits defeat. His pride is well-known throughout the continent. He's a man who knows how not to yield. The taste of defeat is like bile sitting at the back of his throat. I believe that he would rather have Meriyaah alive, so he can challenge her every day until he's able to claim the number one spot, instead of having her under the grave, sealing himself in the second place."
Evie blanked out and became speechless. She thought that it was definitely Regard who killed Meriyaah. The Enchantress said so herself. But now . . . hearing the other side of the coin, she didn't know what to believe anymore.
She thought she had a lead, but she was now back to square one.
Evie really wanted to finish this quest without asking Ren for help. She tried her best to prevent herself from looking at him. She really did. But her emotions got the best of her. Although she was expressionless on the surface, she had plenty of emotions bubbling inside, waiting to burst out at the right moment.
"What do you think?" she asked, looking at Ren.
Ren wasn't sure how to answer her. Evie's helmet blocked her face and muffled her voice. Her tone, although flat, was mixed with desperation, so he couldn't, for the life of him, disappoint her.
Yet here they were, and he didn't know how to proceed. In the first place, he didn't know much about Meriyaah's quest, and knew much less about her killer. He was not a Blue Mage and definitely didn't know anything about the mysteries surrounding her murder.
This . . . This was something he didn't know how to tell her, but he couldn't lie either, pretending that he knew what he was doing.
"Sorry. I don't know anything about Meriyaah," answered Ren stone faced but voice deep in sincerity. He looked at Sebastian while speaking to Evie, "If you want, I'll come with you to Lone Valley after this."
Evie didn't expect that. But rather than feeling disappointed, she was glad that Ren wasn't all-knowing. It suddenly made her feel like he wasn't impossible to reach.
"It's fine," she told him. "But I appreciate you coming with me to Lone Valley."
"I can come with you, too," butt in Ragnar. "I have nothing to do, and this Lone Valley interests me."
Ren merely looked at Ragnar with a death stare to show his disapproval, but he kept his lips tight. This decision wasn't his to make, and he didn't want to make it so obvious that he wanted to be alone with Evie to complete her quest with Meriyaah.
"Thanks," Evie said to Ragnar.
Eventually, the first batch of the [Amulet of Ooze] was finished, and Ren asked for fifty amulets.
Evie and Ragnar looked at each other. They felt curious, but they kept their mouths shut. They both knew that Ren was hatching some kind of plan, unknown to the realms of normal mortals like them.
"Why do you need so many?" Princess Lorelai asked with a frown displayed on her lovely face.
"I need that many to give to the others," Ren simply said. Fifty was the maximum number of amulets he could ask for. It was a minuscule number, considering that the Herbalist and Blacksmith produced five hundred and more for their soldiers in a matter of hours.
Hearing Ren's simple explanation, the Generals didn't ask more and gave him all the amulets he requested. "This is the most amulets we can give you. We hope that you make good use of them, and help us exterminate the Ooze once and for all."
Ren brought an amulet over to his lips. "Don't worry. You'll be counting on us to kill that Ooze."
