He was making a good point. Really, I knew from the start of this conversation that he was keeping only my best interests in mind. I took a deep breath and acquiesced. "I don’t really have a plan. I mean, I have thought about it a little. I was considering… becoming a Hunter. To survive— put my skills to good use. And it’s not something that tied me down to a place. If anyone searching for me showed up, I could always just run away." My eyebrows arched darkly over my eyes. "But beyond that? I don’t have a concrete plan."
"And neither do I," the Plague Doctor said, surprising me a little. "I noticed this when we met last night. You and I are kindred spirits. Outcasts. But even outcasts have someone to turn to. No one is ever truly alone in the world."
He placed a hand on my shoulder, and I felt my lips curl into a slight smile.
"I would have suggested you join the Dark Crusaders, Melas. I am familiar with them, and I know they have connections in the underworld almost anywhere you go. They would have offered you protection. But now that I know you can’t…" The Plague Doctor drummed his gloved fingers on the wooden table. "Have you ever heard of the Taw Kingdom?"
"Yes. They’re that big Dwarf Kingdom up north, right?"
"They are. And I feel like you could find yourself something of a home there, if that’s what you’re searching for."
I blinked. "But aren’t they allies with the Holy Xan Empire? That’d be even worse than hiding out in some random town in the middle of some random country!"
"Traditionally, the Holy Xan Empire and the Taw Kingdom are allies. However, their alliance was born from their cooperation against the Demon Lord during the Final Holy War. Since then, their pact has maintained little more than in name. The last time the Taw Kingdom helped the Holy Xan Empire was during the Free War. And that was more because of their own personal distaste of the Free Cities, than out of their friendship with the Holy Xan Empire."
"But still, that doesn’t mean they’ll like me or anything. They were against the Demons for magic." I let the implication hang in the air, as I finished up my food.
"Yes they were. And they also currently have a Dark Crusader problem, which is one of the main reasons why they have not ended their treaty with the Holy Xan Empire. But, in that same vein, they do not see magic users as evil because the Church says so. Their issue lies more in the spellcasters that bother them, rather than spellcasters in general as evident by some of their… recent methods." The Plague Doctor shook his beak-like mask. "If you, a spellcaster, offer your services to them in exchange for protection, I am certain they would be willing to accept."
"And how can I guarantee that happens?" I inquired, wiping my mouth.
"It would not be the first time they’ve offered asylum to an enemy of the Holy Xan Empire, and neither would it be the first time they’ve worked with magic users. Both are rare, but both have happened before," he explained, not exactly instilling any hope in me. Then he pulled out a piece of parchment from his coat. "And their current King owes me a favor."
I jerked in my chair. "Their King owes you a... what?!"
The Plague Doctor looked up at me for a moment, as if he was winking at me from underneath his mask. "I told you, I have made many allies in my time."
"How did you get a King to owe you a favor?" I asked in disbelief.
"I saved his daughter’s life," the Plague Doctor said nonchalantly. "And other such deeds when I was there. He wanted me to marry his daughter, but… I declined for personal reasons. So he should still feel indebted to me, even if some time has passed." He began scribbling down something on the piece of paper.
After he was finished, he folded it and inserted it inside an envelope. He took out a vial of green mixture, and poured a single drop of it over the flap. Taking out a stamp, he pressed it over the liquid, sealing the letter.
"Here," he said. "Ask for an audience with King Adilet. Have this letter delivered to him, and he will summon you to his court personally, and give you a response. And if they won’t send this to him, say it’s from the Plague Doctor. That will ensure it reaches him."
I took the envelope, and looked over it. "What happens if he refuses? Or if I lose this somehow?"
"I send a message to him telling him that I have sent a friend his way. So even if you lose the letter, it does not matter. That is simply a formality. And no matter what happens— even if he chooses to turn you away— I have made it abundantly clear that he is not to let word a single word about you slip to the Holy Xan Empire. So if he rejects you, he will reject you in silence. That, I am certain he will follow through with no matter what happens."
I leaned back in my chair, and sighed. "You know, I just met you yesterday, right?"
The Plague Doctor nodded. "We did."
"And I have very little reason to trust you, since we barely even know each other, right?"
"Yes."
"And because of that, I should be suspicious of you, right?"
"You should," the Plague Doctor agreed. "And please stop asking me
