CHAPTER 102: UNEXPECTED

Marcus woke to a familiar voice cutting through the dim morning light filtering into the jail cell. His body ached from sleeping on the hard stone floor, and for a moment he couldn't remember where he was or why every muscle felt stiff and sore.

"I don't know how someone of your peaceful nature keeps getting behind bars, partner?" Aldric's voice carried amusement despite the early hour.

Marcus struggled to get to his feet, wincing as his back protested the movement. "Yeah, me too, partner." They both laughed, though Marcus's mirth felt strained by exhaustion and worry.

"What happened?" Aldric asked, settling onto the bench outside Marcus's cell with the casual ease of someone accustomed to visiting imprisoned friends.

Marcus rubbed his eyes and tried to organize his thoughts. "People were fighting. The city is agitated, you know. Tom and I tried to split them up, but the guards thought Tom was beating everyone."

"Was he?" Aldric's question held genuine curiosity rather than judgment.

Marcus considered this carefully. "I mean, not everyone. Just those who needed a beating."

Aldric chuckled at this assessment. "I mentioned your situation to Sister Korra. You want me to go to Lord Hammond's province and tell his officers? Maybe they can help too."

"Let's wait for Sister Korra. She might help. If not, yeah, definitely go to Lord Hammond if they don't release us by tomorrow."

"I must leave now. Do you need anything?" Aldric asked, preparing to depart.

Marcus managed a weak smile. "A key could be good," he said jokingly.

"That was a one time purchase, my friend," Aldric replied, laughing. "Okay, partner. Say hi to Tom when he wakes up."

Even though Marcus was in jail with Tom like before, he wasn't upset or sorrowful like last time. Now he had more friends like Aldric who could help him. The support network he'd built gave him confidence that this situation was temporary rather than catastrophic.

Marcus heard noises of the jailor bringing food. "Tom, wake up. Food is coming."

"What food?" Tom was waking up groggily from all the yelling during the night. He looked beaten up from the previous day's confrontation. "Oh, we're in jail again. At least my hands are free this time."

"Yeah, they don't think you'll break out because of fighting charges."

The jailor handing out food had thick, messy hair, kind of like a woman dressed up as a jailor. When the jailor came close, Marcus noticed she was Celestine, pretending to be a guard while distributing meals.

"Here you go, big fella. Double portion for you," Celestine said to Tom.

"Thanks, man. Wait... aren't you..." Tom squinted at the disguised figure.

"Celestine, what are you doing here? You vanished for weeks," Marcus said quietly.

"I was looking for something to protect you from you know..." Celestine gestured vaguely.

"Did you find it?"

"Dear, that is why I came. But that thin girl, is it Sara, said you were in jail again."

"Yeah, great. You can give it to me when I'm out."

"I have other business to attend to, I'm afraid, sweetheart."

Tom gobbled up his food hungrily. "What is she talking about, Marcus?"

"Later, cousin. I'll explain." Marcus turned to Celestine. "What am I going to do with Malachar's nullifying machine here?"

"Machine? Oh no, dear."

"Is it a potion? An implant?"

Celestine removed a couple of papers from her satchel. But the papers were modern yellow sheets, printed with modern technology.

"What is this?" Marcus asked, examining the documents.

"A complete process to make a brain protector or something. I didn't really read it. But my alien language expert friend in Talho turned it into English and printed it for me."

Marcus looked surprised. "What?" He studied the papers more carefully. Than he managed to ask "How?"

"I gave him some English materials. It doesn’t matter. He’s a genius, and here we are."

"Does this really work?"

Celestine nodded enthusiastically. "In Talho, until a few years ago, everyone thought almost ten percent of the population was born crazy. But they discovered large mammal amphibians were actually exerting sub brain waves that affected their behaviors."

Marcus stared at Celestine with amazement. "What?"

"Anyway, someone developed this by imitating the unaffected ninety percent. This should protect you from Malachar."

"Mind magic Whales like Malachar?"

"What's a whale?" Tom asked.

"Huge fish like creatures in the ocean Honey"

"What's an ocean?" he asked, finishing his food and reaching for the bucket Celestine had placed at her side.

"Tom, I’ll explain later. And stop eating."

Marcus examined the technical specifications. "This requires batteries and modern components."

"Dear, I cannot bring a machine directly here. That puts me in danger of meddling with your world. If I was to meddle, I might as well blow Malachar's head off."

"And this doesn't count as meddling?"

"That paper means nothing. It will dissolve in couple weeks. Also, I looked for designs that don't require chips and programming. So figure out how to make batteries and wires."

"Still, it is imposible to built this"

"I looked at dozens of planets with mind protecting devices. Talho was the only one without chips. Be gratefull."

Marcus felt overwhelming frustration. "In ten days, Malachar is going to attack. You want me to create this and raid his facility?"

"That's the plan, dear. Good luck. I don't want to wait forty years for another one of you to copy the seed. Now goodbye."

"Goodbye, crazy lady," Tom called out.

"Tom, stop it," Marcus scolded.

Celestine came back with an embarrassed face and handed him a small device with strange metal ornaments and designs. "This is the seed copier. I forgot it. I wonder where my mind is."

"And this is not meddlin?" Marcus asked, holding the device.

"Oh shut up! I will take that and leave. You will produce thousands of that mind protector. Make it an Ephus design."

As she left, Marcus’s mind was overwhelmed with frustration. How can I create a mind protector and raid Malachar’s facility? Am I James Bond? What is going on? Marcus thought.

"Marcus what is she talked about?" Tom asked

"Tomorrow Tom I'll explain tomoroow"

"Sometimes Tommorrow comes but it wont be enough"

"That'a good line"

"I know. I heard Sara saying to Aldric."

After a few hours, Sister Korra entered the jail with the real jailor this time.

"Sister Korra, thanks for coming," Tom said with relief.

"We brought you here because of us, but thanks for coming for us," Marcus added gratefully.

"Tom, you can go home. Someone wants to meet you, Marcus. Alone."

Sister Korra took Marcus to a small house with a garden in the upper region of the city. The neighborhood was clearly wealthy, but the house itself seemed modest compared to the grand estates surrounding it.

"I didn't know there were small houses in the rich district," Marcus observed.

"Yeah, all the family fortune was spent to keep our estate, but it's reduced to this," Korra explained.

"Oh, this is your house then. It's great. I thought when you said someone wants to meet me, we were going to their house."

"It's a bit crowded there. More eyes. I offered for him to come here." Marcus sighed. She said 'him,' so he was afraid to face Alice again if she was released, Marcus thought.

"Who am I meeting?"

The door opened and a city guard stood at the entrance.

"Marcus of Millhaven, get in. We need to discuss," the guard said. But the guard seemed familiar. Then Marcus realized he was the King.

The scene was set in the small house with only Sister Korra, the King in guard clothes, Marcus, and an actual guard present.

"My King, what is it that you wanted to discuss?" Marcus asked formally.

"After your claims, I started my own investigation regarding the city's situation." The King got up and started walking around the small room. Marcus noticed the King did this often when he was nervous.

"I am not King for very long. My late father wasn't able to teach me much. Ever since I took the throne, Varek guided me, and I thought I needed no one else. After his treason, I tried to surround myself with a variety of officers. But it turns out they have been keeping me under a rock, hiding the truth."

Korra added, "They repeatedly assured me they were aware of situations but wouldn't tell the King. As someone from the religious side of the military, it wasn't my place to tell."

"But how could they keep everything hidden?" Marcus asked.

"After the marching army threat, I saw them trying to escape like cockroaches rather than ask their lords for reinforcement."

"Bastards," Marcus muttered.

"I ordered Sister Korra to secretly run an investigation on the city and people, and worked with my scribe to make sense of the data."

"And?"

"And we are here, Marcus of Millhaven. I don't know how you keep entering the most important decisions in my short reign. But it seems you are right once again."

"What is it that you want from me, my King?"

"The last meeting showed you are no military genius, but your food producing ideas and grasp on the city are actually good."

"Thanks, sir." Marcus screamed inside about the stupid defensive idea from the last meeting.

"If your friends really interrupt Malachar's supply line and put him in a pinch, then I am going to declare something crazy. I will seize half of each region's property and send people with enough tools and food to grow."

"Basically create smaller regions?"

"Correct. I asked around at the Academy for geographic experts to find perfect places. And I will hire every digger and well expert to create water sources for them."

"They will need other things, but it's a start."

"If we survive this siege, then I will take care of Lord Satr and Lord Karmond."

Marcus thought this King wasn't the arrogant idiot he'd first appeared to be. But for someone kept in the dark for so long, it was impressive he found the truth on his own and actually cared about his people.

"I will make sure my friends disrupt Malachar's back line, my King."

"Don't forget to tell them: if we survive, I'd like to meet them and offer them an actual place they can work and live comfortably."

Marcus felt a surge of hope. Despite all the challenges ahead, having the King's genuine support and recognition of the real problems gave him confidence that meaningful change was possible if they could survive the approaching siege.

The meeting concluded with concrete plans and mutual respect that Marcus hadn't expected when he first entered the royal court as a desperate refugee with wild ideas about mushroom cultivation.