Astrid remained in the room where she was keeping an eye on Olga and the other two prisoners. It was already late in the evening, and she hadn't moved from her current spot for the past couple of hours. She was simply sitting in place while being in a meditative state. Despite her eyes being closed shut, her senses were still sharp enough to keep a watchful eye on her former companion's activities.

Much like Astrid, Olga hadn't said much after being taken away. Whether it was because she had nothing to say or for some other reason, the tribal chief's daughter had no clue. Of course, that didn't stop her from carefully feeling out the treacherous dark elf to see if she would slip up in some way. Whether it was related to Dolk or information regarding their base and guild, Astrid was ready to learn anything she could to put a stop to all of the chaos they were causing.

Sadly, no such thing had occurred yet. This left both Astid and Olga in an awkward silence as they sat in the room, neither of them saying a single word. Astrid didn't even attempt to strike up a conversation, knowing that anything she said wouldn't work on her former companion. So, what would be the point in trying then?

As Astrid silently sat there, she sharpened her senses to keep a close eye on her surroundings, taking note of anything that caught her attention. Whether it was the hasty breaths coming from the human traitors or the muffled chatter coming from the people outside of this room. Astrid focused on it all.

That was why she was immediately alerted when she heard heavy footsteps slowly making their way over to her location. When Astrid opened her eyes to see who was approaching them, her eyes slightly widened when she saw the Lizardfolk warrior, Chegyaeyi, suddenly appear before her.

"What brings you here, Chegyaeyi?"

The lizardfolk shrugged. "Nothing really. I simply came here to see how you were doing since Hazel is busy at the moment."

Astrid and Chegyaeyi were not part of the same party, so they couldn't speak their mind while in front of others. Especially when both of them were aware of Dolk's potential plan in ambushing Zoe's meeting with the guild master of the Battle Breakers and the secret rescue of one of his companions, Olga.

Due to this, they essentially needed to talk around in circles while avoiding any sensitive topics that could expose them. Astrid also couldn't risk leaving the room for even a moment, because she was likely the only person keeping Olga from escaping right now. If she let her guard down for even a moment, she knew her fellow dark elf would use that opportunity to flee.

"You don't have to stand there like that, you know," Astrid said calmly, looking up at Chegyaeyi. She then pointed at the ground in front of her. "Please sit, and we can continue our conversation if you like."

Chegyaeyi hesitated to accept but inevitably did so with a light nod before slowly sitting down as the dark elf offered. Sitting in front of one another, the pair remained silent for a little while until Astrid spoke up.

"I understand that this might be a sensitive topic, but..."

"You wish to know why I am no longer part of the Kabtāya tribe, yes?" Chegyaeyi finished her question.

Hearing the name of the tribe, Olga seemingly looked interested as her head slightly perked up out of curiosity. Both Astrid and Chegyaeyi noticed but said nothing about it.

Meanwhile, Astrid faltered, not sure if she had the right to impose such a question when it wasn't her business. However, consumed by her curiosity, she gave the lizardfolk warrior a light yet firm nod, telling the warrior her decision.

"I'm sorry if I'm intruding on your personal life," Astrid apologized.

The lizardfolk warrior raised her hand. "You don't need to be sorry. As a resident of Meir and someone knowledgeable about my tribe, it is natural to ask such a question. After all, the Kabtāya is not known for having members leave. Under any circumstances at that."

Astrid was aware of the Kabtāya tribe's reputation. They were an honorable warrior tribe of lizardmen who stuck by a strict moral code. They were widely known within their homeland as the Guardians of Meir since their tribe had always protected the residents of Meir from all threats.

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They would always put the lives of the people within Meir first before their own because they believed that it was their duty to do so. It was because of the tribe's reputation that Astrid couldn't understand why Chegyaeyi was a former member of the tribe.

To be a former member, you had to have either left the tribe of your own free will or been exiled by the chief. This applies to all tribes within the forest of Meir, including Astrid's. However, the Kabtāya tribe wasn't known for either scenario, so why was Chegyaeyi an exception?

"Since you're curious, I'll tell you a little bit about my situation. To start off with, the reason why I'm a former member of the Kabtāya is because I was exiled from the tribe."

"E-exiled...?!" Astrid muttered with bewilderment. "B-but why?! What did you do to warrant such a case?"

For someone to be exiled by the Kabtāya Tribe that would mean that they did something unacceptable and taboo. For the Kabtāya tribe, that usually meant breaking one of their sacred rules, like harming innocent residents of Meir or even killing them. And since Chegyaeyi was exiled, that meant she likely committed a very heinous act.

Chegyaeyi smirked, as if expecting Astrid's expression, while letting out a heavy sigh. "What did I do? Well, that was the funny part. All I did...was disobey an order from the Chief."

Astrid leaned her head to the side curiously. "What do you mean? I don't understand."

While disobeying a chief certainly was bad, that shouldn't have been enough to warrant her being banished. In fact, there have been many cases of members from the tribe doing something similar. But all the previous cases carried very valid points to their disobedience, usually relating to a lack of judgment by the tribe chief or questionable orders they needed to follow. Not only that, but none of them resulted in exile.

So, again, why was Chegyaeyi the exception? Did something happen when she refused to listen to the chief that resulted in an unsavory outcome?

"Before I tell you how that happened, I must tell you that I am the only daughter of the previous Kabtāya tribe before he passed."

"Wait, if you're the only child of the chief who died, then shouldn't you..."

Chegyaeyi grimly shook her head. "That was supposed to be the case, but...my uncle took the position of chief instead."

"But why? The only way for your uncle to become the chief was if your father had no children, which isn't the case. So, how did your uncle end up as the next chief?"

"I don't know," She shrugged. "During the time of my father's passing, I was sent out on a mission to exterminate some monsters attacking a nearby village that was under our tribe's protection. When I returned, he had already passed...and I was told that he named my uncle as the next chief."

"What...?"

None of this made sense to Astrid. Why would Chegyaeyi's father make his brother the next chief instead of his own daughter? Just what happened during the time she was away? Astrid wasn't certain, but something told her that there was something fishy going on.

Cheyaeyi's uncle must've done something to take the position of Chief. How he did it, she had no clue.

"What happened after your uncle was the new chief?" Astrid asked.

Chegyaeyi's face fell in shame. "I believed that my uncle was lying and tried to find out the truth. Sadly, when I opposed my uncle of my father's decision...was immediately banished without a second thought. I couldn't even defend my case as to why I believed my uncle did something immoral to earn the position. Surprisingly enough, several of the elders from the council even agreed."

Astrid struggled to comprehend this chain of events. She couldn't understand how any of this was possible. The title and position of tribal chief must always be passed down to a descendant. If not, then it would be passed down to a relative. Chegyaeyi was the previous chief's only child, so she should've become the next chief.

However, it was the uncle instead. That alone should've raised some kind of flag, but apparently, that didn't happen. In fact, several of the elders from the tribal council of the Kabtāya tribe even agreed to the decision, even though it was against the rules.

That could only mean one thing...

"Finally putting the pieces together, Astrid?" Olga suddenly spoke up, catching the ears of both players, who turned in her direction.

"What do you mean by that, Olga?" Astrid glared, clenching her hands into fists.

"You should've figured out that the sudden change in the chief successor was fishy, right? After all, such an event when the chief still had children is unheard of, correct?"

Olga was right about such a scenario being unheard of. But that raised a rather good question.

"What exactly do you know about this, Olga?" Astrid question. "What are you hiding?"

Olga hadn't said a single word since coming here. And yet, for some reason, she now speaks up after hearing about Chegyaeyi's banishment? There was certainly something going on.

"Astrid, it wasn't just Kollr and a few other dark elves that started scheming with the High Elves. This...goes much deeper than just a simple conspiracy."

Hearing this, Astrid and Chegyaeyi stared at Olga with a mixture of shock and distress. It was then that the pair realized that something very, very wicked was happening within the great forest of Mier...and it seemed that it all started with the High Elves.

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