Valerian, The Legendary

108 Red Flag.

While Vulcan was busy dealing with the two people in the attending hall. Valerian led the three ladies to the dining hall. He was really hungry and asked the maids to serve him and the ladies. At this moment the boy was grateful to have his collar chains to speak with the people.

The dining hall was simpler than that in the imperial palace but the food was better. Valerian ate without holding back. He also served the ladies from time to time. They were similar to a bag of bones. Valerian did not say much to ease their restraints, this was not something they had to overcome on their own.

Just as they finished eating, Vulcan walked in with an angry face, Valerian asked, “What happened?”

The duke replied with an irritated expression, “That bastard, he helped seven Valkyrian warriors get close to the borders. They killed a patrol team and are at large. How will I find them? This city is one of the most remote places in the empire, located in a valley surrounded by a thick forest that goes on for a hundred kils( one kil is one km) before you can reach the line of defense. Then another hundred kils of woods to reach Lagun City.

I do not know what to do, how do I find this needle in a haystack? If those warriors managed to get into the city, then who knows what they will do? Argh!!! These fucking cavemen, I wish to kill them.”

The three ladies were scared by this outburst and stood at the side with their heads down. Valerian did not mind this loud display much, but he still said, “Your Grace, you are scaring our guests. Only when you are calm can we solve this problem. Have a seat and eat, I will think about how to share this burden with you.”

The duke glared at him, but then thinking about the ladies, he sighed and apologized to them before sitting down on a chair and eating. Valerian looked at a maid and said, “Can you arrange an accommodation for these ladies, Aunt Layna?”

The middle-aged maid was surprised to see this prince being so humble. She nodded with a gratified grin and then took the ladies to their rooms. Valerian said, “Let them stay here till they heal, and then help them go back and claim the Merchant Firm left behind by the Ecudare family. We can use it as an information gathering unit, let them have the riches, and not meddle in the business. Just no black jobs.”

Vulcan looked at the boy and nodded, he said, “I agree. The merchant guilds know a lot about the situation in other places than any of the imperials. They deal with the commoners as well so their range of information collection is higher.”

.....

Valerian nodded, he asked, “Where is the Second Prince?”

Just as his words finished Vertex came over. His clothes had changed, sensing Valerian’s gaze at him, he said, “I had a lot of blood over me. So what are we talking about.”

They discussed the matter of the merchant firm with each other and Vertex agreed with them. It turns out that the Ecudare family did not tell anyone about the black jobs they had imposed on the three ladies, and after Ensoma, the relatives will be at each other’s throats to gain the business. However, the three ladies can solve this, if they had proper support.

Vertex suggested that they send a report back to the capital and let the Empress make arrangements. This would be a better and more efficient way. Valerian nodded and this matter was solved

Vulcan said, “Put this aside, how do we find those seven warriors? Even if we send an alert warning to the military camp now, it will not be very useful as most of the members are humans. It is such a headache.”

Valerian said, “You think too much and do not observe things much, Your Grace.”

He stated this in a calm tone and Vulcan glared at him as he said, “Boy do you think just because you have done good in the last scenario you can speak like this to me? Believe it or not, I will have you whipped ten times if you spouted shit like this the next time.”

“Your grace, do you want to know the reason behind my words? Well, we can use the same trick as they did to find them and then catch them.”, said Valerian.

Vulcan and Vertex both raised their eyebrows, as the silver-haired boy stood up from his chair, and came to the side where a cage was placed on the ground. He crouched down and undid the cage. Silk walked out of the cage warily. Valerian patted her gently and made a few barking sounds.

Vulcan was shocked at this, he did not expect this kid to really be able to talk to beasts. Silk nodded as she looked at Valerian, the expression was very humane.

A few minutes later, the boy stood up and said, “Your Highness, we shall take the flame sparrow and head to the military outpost. The Duke can manage things here and also, pass on the reports to the imperial capital. The time is short, we will have to ask the beasts in the forest for clues.”

Vertex asked, “Are you not tired? We have just finished a battle. What is your body made of?”

He was surprised that this guy can still keep up. Valerian did not know, but he looked pretty haggard. He had been working harder than most here. The silver-haired boy recalled Fallax telling him to take proper rest to counter the stress on his body.

He said, “Fine, then let us do this. You take silk and drop her in the forest. She will follow my instructions. Then you head on to the military outpost. I will take a sleep and catch up with you at night. How about?”

Vertex nodded and said, “I will leave the flame sparrow and Quies for you.”

They reached an agreement and then moved to deal with their things.

Valerian was given a well-decorated room, and the first thing he mumbled, when he came inside was, “Comfortable.”

Then he took off his shoes and placed them at a side, before laying down on the small carpet spread on the floor. He did not like beds as they were too soft, but he did not mind a soft floor. Sleep came chasing after him. After a few minutes, Valerian felt his feet not being comfortable, so he moved, and placed his feet on the cold floor, on the part that was not covered with carpet.

Soon, he was at ease, a vine had sprouted from the floor and tangled with his ankle. A gentle cool ran through his body.

...

Outside the palace, Vertex and his blood guards were seated on their flying mounts. The second prince was carrying a silver fox in his arms, he was going to drop this little guy in the forest near the borderline and wait for it to come back after charming a few beasts and having them act as a searching unit.

The later part of the search involved the blood guards and everyone else monitoring the situation from the skies. Vulcan came to see them off, and after wishing everyone good luck, they took off. After the mounts left, the duke returned to the study and began to write a report for the imperial capital.

Quies was left behind to come with Valerian, and he was also resting. The time flew quickly, in the evening, Valerian woke up in a completely refreshed mood. He did not feel fatigued at all. He came to the big balcony on the side of the room and found that the sun was about to set.

He looked at the scenery, as he stood behind the railing. Only he and the gods knew what he was thinking about. He only came back to reality when the door was knocked. He walked over and found Quies.

The old man said, “Val, we should leave, it is getting late.”

Valerian nodded and came back to put on his shoes and tied his sword on his waist before he left the room. As they came to the square in the palace, they found Vulcan talking to a few men.

The duke saw them and after he dismissed the men, he came over to the pair. He said, “Vertex has reached the military camp. The blood guards are monitoring the situation from the skies. We should be able to catch the enemy soon.”

Valerian shook his head and said, “Even catching those normal humans was not easy, how can we deal with these warriors so easily? The expanse of the border is not small and the blood guards cannot cover it alone.

Who knows if they are being aided by someone on the inside? Tell his excellency, raise the red flag.”

Vulcan was shocked and so was Quies. The duke wanted to ask what was happening, but Valerian said, “The time is not right Your grace. Please do it, even if nothing happens, the red flag will not cause any harm.”

With that said, he mounted the flame sparrow with Quies and flew away.