LATEST UPDATES

Foreboding Storm - Chapter 42

Published at 20th of March 2022 05:16:03 PM


Chapter 42: The Search

If audio player doesn't work, press Stop then Play button again




Prince Noore smiled amicably at the old head of the forest settlement, nodding his head in polite greeting. His gentle eyes and soft smile lacked all traces of arrogance and pride as he looked at the old man.

Such a polite and gentle greeting from a high-ranking official to a peasant would have had anyone blinking in disbelief, let alone the old man who realized at first glance that the other was no ordinary individual.

Seeing the cleanly dressed young man greeting him in acknowledgment, Old Lin was beside himself with joy at the unexpected polite treatment. Shame-faced at his own shabby appearance, he quickly adjusted his old and frayed garments, clasping his hands in front of his chest, before politely bowing his head in return.

"Hahaha! Old Lin, come. Let me introduce you." The old fatty patted the forest head on the back as he turned towards Prince Noore, a pleased smile spread on his lips.

"This here is the Prince of our great Amayan Empire, Prince Noore. Prince Noore, this is Old Lin who might be able to help you in finding who you are looking for." The old fatty introduced the two, moving out of the way as they greeted each other again.

Old Lin trembled in shock, his clasped fists sweating when he heard the man before him was not a noble, but was instead, a royal noble. The difference between the two was just the absence of one word, but the weight they carried was the difference between heaven and earth.

One governed the empire, striving for the inhabitants of the land, while the other oversaw everything within the realm, stationed high above on a golden pedestal.

"Old Lin, I have sought you out to seek the assistance of a man in your settlement. I heard that he could trace and locate anyone within the Amayan Empire. I hope you will not take offense at my unannounced appearance and help me meet the Old Seer." Prince Noore immediately stated the reason behind his appearance on the outskirts of the Amayan Empire.

"No, not at all, not offended at all. It would be an honor for our settlement to be able to assist the prince of our empire. Your highness, please follow me. I will immediately lead you to the Old Seer." Excitedly, he stepped aside and gestured in a 'please' manner to the prince, allowing him to take the lead.

"Old friend, I will take my leave first. I am leaving my men behind to complete the trade transactions and make the necessary purchases. Please, look after them for me." Old Lin clasped the fat merchant on the shoulder as he said.

"No need to worry about your men. They have been following you around these past years, it is about time that they put to use what they have learned. You go on ahead. We cannot afford to keep a prince waiting." The old fatty pushed Old Lin forward, waving him away.

"I will see you in three months, old friend." Saying with his own hand waving back, Old Lin turned and left, leading Prince Noore into the dense trees.

Deep in the forest, Prince Noore and Old Lin walked around ancient trees, thorny overgrown plants, large red poisonous flowers, and animal traps laying close to the vicinity of the settlement before arriving at a wooden fence that spanned in a wide arc, encircling the treehouses, shacks, and huts.

At the gate of the fence were two robust, bare-chested men holding wooden spears in one of their hands as they sat on the dusty ground, playing something similar to chess with wooden board and black and white rocks.

Hearing the sound of approaching footsteps, the two men looked up at the same time, seeing their settlement head returning with a good-looking scholarly man in white robes. The two immediately sprang to their feet and rushed forward.

"Old head, why are you back so quickly today? And who have you brought along?" The left man inquisitively asked, his light brown hair falling in his eyes as he gestured his head towards Prince Noore.

"Yes, who have you brought along, old head? Is he with the trading merchants?" The other, blonde and tall, excitedly asked as his eyes lit up on the trading merchants part of his speech.

It was obvious that the two men have never ventured outside the forest and from their enthusiastic expressions, they deeply admired the trading merchants.

"Paal and Yuam, do not be rude. Our special guest is looking for the Old Seer. Go and quickly inform him that Prince Noore is coming to seek him out." Old Lin admonished the two before sending them off with a wave of his hand.

The two blankly looked at each other when they heard the 'prince' word before hastily dashing into the village on Old Lin's urging.

"Your highness, do not mind the two's words. They have never met outsiders before, so do not know how to greet or speak with manners." Old Lin embarrassedly looked at the prince whose face still bore a gentle and soft expression even after being addressed so rudely.

"It is no problem. Old Lin, please do not bother yourself with such matters as I am not one to be easily offended. Moreover, I have come to your home to seek your help." Prince Noore good-naturally replied, his expression relaxed and unbothered.

"Yes, yes. Thank you, your highness." Old Lin stammered his face flushing at the polite behavior of the prince.

He could not help but sigh at the difference in men. The prince was not even doing anything and yet, he was beside himself with nerves. The environment truly begot half of people's conduct.

Prince Noore did not care much about the peasants' manners or behavior. He left the imperial capital, journeying through rivers, plains, and hills searching for Princess Qamari. Alone and doing everything in secret, his progress was extremely slow.

Just when he came to realize the difficulty of the task he was undertaking and was debating whether to give up or not, an old man who overheard his search for someone, appeared. It was from him that he found out about the Old Seer.

The Old Seer had the ability to seek out answers to a question by looking into the future, which was exactly what he needed to find Princess Qamari.

To get the location of this settlement, he mixed into merchants and traders, sleeping on carts and Wains, as he asked about the whereabouts of the Old Seer in every region they stopped to conduct business.

It was only after a coincidental meeting with the old fatty's merchant group on the outskirts of the empire that he learned about this settlement's location.

He went through so much struggle just to find this place, so why would he care about manners now? Why would he be bothered about useless things when he was finally about to find the princess he was desperately searching for?

With that princess, he could rule the seven realms. So why would he care about a little settlement's discourtesy?

Smirking smugly, he raised his head higher, clasped his hands behind his back, and confidently strutted beside Old Lin.

With each caught up in their own thoughts, the young dashing prince and old experienced village head walked through the busy village, passing by villagers who skinned games and barbecued meat while others chapped wood and dried herbs.

They finally arrived in front of a large treehouse, overgrown with vines and plants, the vines entangling and blooming in a splendid web of flowers.




Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!


COMMENTS