[Arthdal Chronicles] Fight for freedom

CHAPTER 28: A coalition.

"What a bunch of crazy people," Hae Tuak murmured to herself after she had closed the garden door behind her. She shivered, she had a strange feeling, she hadn't liked seeing the four people looking at her the way they had done, as if they were all one against her. "Are they forming a sort of coalition or something like that?" she asked herself before she headed to the Palace: she had to talk to the Queen as soon as possible.

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After having left by the main door, Enoria had headed for the market where she had taken a long dark cape from one of the stalls before she had left the city. She was covered from head to toe not to be recognized and yet she knew she was being followed. She had to recognize the spies sent after her were doing a good job, they were discreet but not enough for her not to have felt the eyes on her for the last few days. Only one was following her at the moment and she could have gotten rid of him easily, by losing him or by killing him in a narrow corner but it wasn't what she wanted to do, she had a plan for him and he would see soon enough what it was.

When she arrived at her destination a few of her people were already gathered there as she had asked them to do. For security reasons, they were unidentifiable thanks to the cape they were wearing as well as the clothes covering half of their faces. 

They got on their knees when they saw her approaching. "My Queen," they respectfully greeted her in harmony.

"Raise, we don't have time for this," she told the group of people who obediently stood up.

They shared the recent news with the one they called their Queen. Some of them couldn't make it to the meeting because they were aware of being watched. As they were asked by letters, they were keeping a protective eye on each other but they had lost contact with some of them who had disappeared without leaving any traces. They were aware they hadn't left from their own will, one of them had seen one of their comrades being discreetly dragged away by some Hae warriors to the Fortress of Fire making it obvious of who was behind all of that: Taealha and her own spies and warriors, most likely to be coordinated by Hae Tuak.

Of course, they had tried to discreetly find where their friends were being held but without success. They had found no traces of them in the places they were able to search in.

The Fortress of Fire was quite a maze for people who didn't know about it and with the Hae technology, it was possible for them to have created some rooms difficult to find.

"Bring me that spy right now," the Igutu ordered, not to the people in front of her, but to those who had been keeping an eye on the one spying on their Queen. 

Taealha's spy hadn't been expecting to be caught and when he was dragged by two of Enoria's warriors and put on his knees, held by the Igutu's warriors, one of the first things he said was that he would never say a word and they could just kill him on the spot.

"Why did Taealha order all of you to spy on my people? What is she up to?" Enoria questioned.

"She is going to kill you all. No one can oppose the Queen," the spy replied while laughing.

"Taealha is not our Queen," one of Enoria's warriors said with gritted teeth as he held the spy with even more strength, "where are our people?"

"As if I was going to tell you," the spy replied, laughing mockingly.

"Then just di-"