Chapter II: The Lay Of The Land

Right after arriving at Olympos Island, general Sucinai sent out scouts into the city to gather intelligence on the current state of affairs. Meanwhile, he and Meldave’er started plotting their route to Mt. Olympus.

The scouts returned with a plentiful amount of news. It turns out that they arrived just in time as the war started to wage in the region, but it was not a common territorial scuffle where one empire wants to expand and diminish its neighbors. All that locals knew was that the frontline has been still for months. No one is trying to gain ground. The Romioi believe that an attack is imminent, but the Shirdalinid Empire is binding its time. Very strange. The intel was not very detailed on the conflict as the frontline was on the continent to the west of Athenia, where the capital of Romioi Empire is located – the city of Roma.

While General Sucinai was receiving the intel from his scouts, Meldave’er put on his new disguise made by Dr. Holmes and ventured into nearby settlements not far from their rest site, outside of the Athina’s walls, to consult with the local elders and scholars about their myths, legends, and otherwise interesting tales.

As a demon, the Warlock was not a pleasant sight for any mortal. To hide his grotesque appearance, a full-face mask out of hellish ingots was made for Meldave’er, which came along with long-sleeved gloves, and an oversized tattered robe. This way the warlock could go amongst the mortals and interact with them without giving away his true identity.

Talking to the local Romioi scholars and elders Meldave’er learned a lot of local myths. One of them reminded him of an ancient legend – that a long time ago when all Cuties spoke the same language, Shirdalinid lands were ruled by a King that thought himself equal to gods in power and was building a giant tower to prove that. There wasn’t a happy ending to it. Meldave’er took note of that. Perhaps there could be more they could learn about the legend from the Shirdalinids. But first, they had a more pressing matter to attend to.