Credence and the King

"They're gone, Sire. Just, gone."

"Quit with the sire, Credence, the servants aren't around." King Aron picked up his guitar and strummed a chord. He frowned and started to tune it. "What do you mean, 'gone'? I thought you had some sort of tracking on them."

Lord Credence sighed. "I could track the kid, but he left them before they went to the desert. Best I can tell, they ended up in the lost city of Tanagara. That was the city that-"

The King started strumming fiercely, interrupting the Lord. Aron grinned at Credence and said, "I wasn't interested in the history of places other than Corellum as a kid, and no desire to correct that now. Short version, please."

"The city is said to reappear one day out of every 100 years. It becomes a battlefield for elemental forces while it's here. My best guess at this point is that they were trapped in the city, and will be able to leave when it comes back."

The King set the guitar down and looked at Credence. Credence looked back, and a long moment passed between them. Finally, King Aron said, "100 years? So they are gone?"

Credence shrugged. "I'm not a diviner, but I've been able to brute force a few things. Which one would you like to believe? The Gods are silent altogether, while the Devils are spinning a different story for every question. I hope that Estaes and Kolero are right, and they will be back in time, though I cannot say exactly when that would be. I fear that Oditio is telling the truth that they met with an agent from the Astral Plane and intended to pursue their own agenda away from the Jewel. But I cannot be sure - far too often, I am answered with nothing but silence."

"So what do we do? You said a few years back that something is coming, something terrible. Got me all shook up over it, but said you had a plan. Kind of thought the plan involved them."

"Plan might have been overstating things. More like contingencies. They were one, but there are others. Sharlot is still out there somewhere, Carta is becoming a force to be reckoned with in Uborum, the Krugers are still safe from outside eyes, and if it comes down to it, Corrinna and her group can fill the gap."

"So just keep on keeping on, eh?" Aron chuckled. "Well, alright, then. I'm gonna find the Queen and Prince, while the night away. We're going to have to explain things to him, sooner than later, you know." Credence rose and bowed, and the King chuckled as he walked away.