Region 1: Duke City
For six grueling days, they searched. Manuel Stunner and Adolph Li were thorough... Through broken maps, half-mad oracles, inns, brothels, and everywhere they could. Earlier, a trader named Leny who smelled suspiciously like goat cheese had pointed in the direction of Duke city and with his help, they narrowed down the search area, however that did little to ease their search difficulties.
After 6 days, Manuel Stunner and Reagent Adolph Li finally found the elusive Priestess Kendra. Leny had insisted she lived by the "whispering waters," though he'd forgotten to mention it was a pond no bigger than a horse trough.
There she was.
Seated cross-legged by the serene waters, Priestess Kendra was feeding the fish with the serenity of a mountain monk and the elegance of a goddess on sabbatical. Tiny, colorful fish wriggled to the surface, nibbling at crumbs she tossed with deliberate calm. She spoke to them in soft, lyrical tones, as if giving counsel to a council of aquatic diplomats.
And her figure—good heavens, her figure. Her back arched like an artist's sketch come alive. She radiated a beauty that made flowers pause their blooming out of jealousy.
Manuel whispered, mostly to himself but not softly enough, "No wonder Emperor Groa Aratat fell under Sarzi Uno's spell. If priestesses look like this, the man's loins never stood a chance."
Adolph cleared his throat like a man trying to sound official while also swallowing a frog. "Ahem. Priestess Kendra…"
Without turning her head, she waved a hand dismissively. "Go away. Shoo. I'm busy enlightening a carp."
"I am Manuel Stunner, the hand of the emperor, We're sent by the Emperor himself on behalf of the empire's safety," Manuel began with a diplomatic tone that didn't suit him. "We—"
"Still don't care," she said sweetly, tossing another pinch of crumbs into the water.
Manuel turned to Adolph. "She's mad."
"She's busy," Adolph replied. "And you're not helping."
"We need her, Adolph," Manuel hissed. "She's the only one left. The other priestesses have gone more ghost than my ex's promises."
Althoug, Priestess Kendra appeared to be uninterested, however, the fact that she could be found, says otherwise.
Other priestesses could not be traced no matter how one tried, however, priestess Kendra was different, she had a soft heart and knew that at one time or the other, the empire would need a priestess, so she made herself available.
What irked her was the attitude of the egoistic nuisance beside Adolph Li, the person of Manuel Stunner.
She wanted to teach him a lesson and show that she didn't care about his authority or that of the emperor. After all, the act of the emperor in defiling their diseased chief priestess, Sarzi Uno, has gone beyond her bottom line, it was a feud that cannot be written off no matter what.
"I'm standing right here, you know," Priestess Kendra said, now watching her fish flip with flair.
Adolph stepped forward, his tone gentler. "Please, Priestess Kendra. Just one minute. If you still want us to leave after that, we'll go."
There was a pause. Then, as though the fish had granted permission, Kendra sighed and finally turned to face them.
Up close, her beauty was even more disarming—eyes like polished topaz, a face carved by poetry, and an expression that said she'd seen the world, judged it, and found it slightly irritating.
"One minute," she said, eyes fixed on Adolph. She find him more admirable by the minute, so she decided to at least hear him out. "And I'm counting."
"Thank you," Adolph said, bowing slightly. "The situation is dire. Recently, Uriel Commes—the Scarlet Raven—has escaped the Quorin Depths Prison in Region 29. In his wake, He's left a trail of horror behind. In just three days, over 5,000 people have died—burned alive.
"And we're running out of time. We were finding a way to stop him, but none of our solution stuck until we discovered that he had been stopped before, and we found that, the last time, he was stopped by Archmage Amber Nois. We, however couldn't get in touch with her easily, or in a straight forward manner, so we discovered a way that we might be able to get in touch with her, which would be through summoning. We came in need of a priestess to help us in the summoning excercise. We need you to call forth Archmage Amber Nois—the one who stopped him before, so we could stop him and save the empire, so will you help us?."
Silence. The wind hushed. Even the fish paused mid-swim.
Then Priestess Kendra said, "Nope. Get out."
Adolph blinked. Manuel snapped.
"Alright, that's it! You arrogant, glorified fish-whisperer! Get off your high horse—no, your high koi—and do something useful for once!"
Adolph grabbed Manuel's arm like a disappointed parent. "Must you always speak first and think later? She's not your servant. She owes you nothing. Try respect. Or silence. Whichever you're capable of first."
Manuel's jaw unhinged like a broken puppet's. He stared at Adolph, humiliated, rage boiling under his skin like stew in a witch's pot—but unable to vent it. Adolph outranked him in strength. Priestess Kendra outranked him in mystery. And his pride had no escape route.
Kendra watched the whole exchange with the slow-growing grin of someone thoroughly entertained. Then—unexpectedly—she burst into laughter.
A rich, ringing laughter that startled the birds, made the pond ripple, and sent one particularly melodramatic fish into a tailspin.
"Oh gods," she wheezed. "His face… his actual face!"
Manuel looked like he'd just been slapped by a ghost.
"I've changed my mind," Kendra said, still chuckling. "I'll help you."
Adolph's relief was a sunrise. "Thank you, Priestess Kendra. Truly."
"Don't thank me yet," she said, rising to her feet. "Summoning Archmage Amber Nois isn't like calling a horse to dinner. It requires a sacrifice, rare herbs, and a bath in the tears of a cynic—which means we'll have to milk Manuel's pride."
Manuel blinked. "What?!"
"Joking," she said, with the straightest face ever.
Then she winked.
Maybe.
Adolph wasn't sure if it was a blink or a challenge.