Bab 9: We are not here to survive but to rule

In the morning, a frosty chill hung in the air. The sweet surrendering scent of morning dew filled the elven campsite with a fragrance that did not belong on land. The cold wind blew through four people and a winged lion standing at the campsite. Obviously, these four were Don, Arwen, Amaryll, and Uncle Dior. And the winged lion was Knight.

Uncle Dior was telling Don to depart in the afternoon so they can reach the Slave city without any hurdles. Amaryll still didn't know that Don was planning to go there.

"What're you three up to?"

Amaryll walked towards the gathering while yawning and rubbing her eyes. Her golden hair was ruffled up in the wind, its chill making her cross her arms to get some heat. Her eyes still had weariness to them because of recent events. She looked at Arwen, then a small surprise appeared on her face when she noticed Uncle Dior.

"Uncle Dior?"

"Good morning, Amaryll."

"Good morning, Uncle. Is there a problem?"

Amaryll looked at Arwen and Don. Uncle Dior didn't say anything as he just glanced at Don and Arwen.

Amaryll stared at Arwen for an answer, but Arwen didn't give her one quickly. instead, he sulked for a moment before replying.

"Uncle Dior is here to accompany Don to Minister Brian's manor in the Slave city."

"What!?"

"What!!?"

Amaryll and Uncle Dior yelled at the same time.

Amaryll was genuinely shocked. Seeing Uncle Dior when he heard about going to Brian manor, she realized Uncle Dior was also in the dark about this plan.

"Arwen, you didn't say anything about going to Brian's manor! Are you mad?!" Uncle Dior shouted at Arwen. Even though he stared at Arwen, the question was directed towards Don.

Arwen knew that, but he just scratched the back of his head before glancing toward Don. For a while, only faint chirping and the sounds of trees rustling in the wind could be heard as the group stood in silence.

Amaryll, however, was panicked as soon as she heard Brian's name and her face went pale.

If the bandits caught her last night, Brian's manor was the place she would have ended up in. She knew that very well, so she immediately turned to face Don.

"Don, why are you going there?" she shivered. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Everyone was looking at Don to see what was he going to tell them, but Don only calmly looked at Amaryll. The girl was still slightly shivering, not due to the morning cold, but more like in fear of Brian.

"The bandits he sent were just lackeys. He was the head, and we should kill him before he realizes his lackeys failed."

Knight nodded in approval. He knew that destroying the head would make the body would fall apart. That, and he always supported Don.

Don's true purpose in engaging Minister Brian, however, was to gather information about the mysterious mage. Killing Brian was just the icing on the cake. But he didn't want to remind them about the mysterious mage or his real plan so he withheld the truth.

Arwen knew Don's motive and why he didn't reveal it to Uncle Dior and Amaryll. His sister was already pretty shaken up. Reminding her of the mysterious mage was just asking for trouble.

Uncle Dior and Amaryll couldn't come up with a counter-argument as well, since they knew it must be done sooner or later.

"So, will you come with me?"

Uncle Dior knew why he was chosen for this journey, and he knew killing Brian would mean less trouble for them, but he couldn't just agree to go with him. He needed reassurance.

"I can show you the quickest way to the Slave city. But if you want me to come with you, I need time to think about it."

Amaryll was going to say something when Arwen shook his head. He knew Uncle Dior was a cautious person and that he wouldn't just agree to go with Don, but they couldn't talk so freely with shivering Amaryll beside them.

"Amaryll, go and see how Elrond is doing."

Amaryll just stared at Arwen, and she found out that he was quite adamant about sending her away just by looking at his stubborn face.

"I'm not a little girl anymore, you know," she pouted before walking in the direction of Elrond's camp which was made by Don.

Uncle Dior waited till Amaryll was out of listening range before he spoke, "By the way, I know why you're going to Brian's manor, Don."

Arwen and Knight looked surprised when they heard Uncle Dior.

"You wanted to know more about the mysterious mage the bandit leader told you about," Uuncle Dior sneered as he talked about the Bandit leader. A hint of irritation could be found in his voice.

Knight frowned at the tone and the way Uncle Dior was behaving. He didn't like it when people talked to Don like that.

Arwen also noticed Uncle Dior's tone and Knight's reaction. He was ready to jump between them at the second if the situation escalated. But to his surprise, Don calmly said, "You have something to say?"

Uncle Dior was a clever man. He couldn't sense a threatening vibe coming from Don, so he decided to give him a piece of his mind.

"I am thankful for what you've done for us, but killing the bandit leader was a wrong move. He could have had more valuable information about Brian and the mysterious mage." Don didn't interrupt or argue. He simply listened to Uncle Dior as he continued, "If you didn't kill him, we would have gained more valuable information about Brian and the mysterious mage."

"Yes, you are right. That was a mistake I've made. I am used to killing my enemies without giving them more time."

The three of them were shocked at the fact that Don admitted his mistake, including Knight, and especially Uncle Dior. He thought the young man would behave arrogantly or argue with him. This made a good impression on Uncle Dior. He appreciated a person who was honest with himself and could admit to his own mistakes.

"I won't make that mistake if you're with me when I deal with Minister Brian."

Uncle Dior could see that Don's not acting, but honestly admitting his faults. He had lived long enough to tell when people lied. It was one of the skills he had learned through experience. So because of this skill, Uncle Dior knew that Don was telling the truth. He made sure of that. He didn't need to argue with him, so he agreed to come with him.

"Alright, I'll pack some things for our travels and meet you here in a while." Uncle Dior sighed

Uncle Dior began to walk towards his tent and Arwen followed after him.

In Uncle Dior's perspective, only fools would not acknowledge their shortcomings. Following a fool would only get you killed. And now, he knew that Don was not a fool. If Don had argued with him or acted arrogantly, he would have shown him the way to the Slave city and let him go alone. After all, he was a half-elf. He had more arrogance than a human by nature.

Knight waited till they left. He was still knitting his brows because of Uncle Dior's earlier attitude.

"What were you thinking, Don? You should have kicked his elven butt."

It was obvious that Knight didn't like Uncle Dior. "If you admit to your faults, they will think you are weak."

"I would have kicked his butt if we were in the Divine continent. And we are currently not."

"What's the difference? You know better than anyone it's the rule of the jungle for only the strong to survive. This world is no exception," Knight declared with absolute certainty.

"We are not trying to survive anymore, Knight. We are here to rule. Not every problem can be solved by brute force. We need..." He didn't finish his sentence in favor of just tapping his head for emphasis.

"And you think we don't use our brains?" Knight frowned.

"Not always. We need to change if we want to succeed. To change, we need to learn from someone who uses their brains more than their fists."

Knight started to get the point that Don was making.

"Uncle Dior was like that someone. We need people like him."

"But didn't he get captured by the bandits?"

"Did he?"

Knight started to reminisce about yesterday's events and remembered that Uncle Dior was not with the group of elves captured along with Arwen and Amaryll, but with the elves Knight himself rescued.

"I didn't notice in the heat of battle, but Dior wasn't in danger when I saw him. He just stood there along with some injured elves."

"See? Even if you hadn't come, he would have escaped... Brain..." he tapped his head again.

"What about his people? What about them if he just escaped?"

"What could he have done? If he went to rescue them, he would have ended up dead. Self-sacrifice is a coward's way. People just labeled it as heroism."

Knight knew he was right when he considered the things Don said. He came to this world not too long ago, but he was already learning and starting to change the way he was thinking.

"It hurts me to say this, but we do need people like Uncle Dior," Knight gritted his teeth, finally addressing him as Uncle Dior.

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