The Man paused briefly, as if to recollect himself. Giving the boy enough time to read the atmosphere. Even though the man continues to deny it, based off of how he acts at certain parts of the story he's telling a story of himself. Albeit strange that he speaks in third person.
Looking back up at the man the boy asked him, "Why did they take her?"
Seeming to regain some composure the man answered back, "Human ignorance, is a fascinating thing.."
"So what happens now that Josiah knows she's been taken?"
The constant pressure of being around the man increased. The boy had gotten more or less used to it for the most part. Only giving him a slight headache and making him feel uneasy. But when it flared up it was a crushing sensation once more. Just like before The boy felt like the air had been forced out of lungs, but the pressure made it unable for him to gasp. His head exploding in pain and throwing him off balance. But he was managing to fight it better this time than the first. If he could breathe he'd laugh a bit. Only his nose was bleeding this time.
The man finally taking notice to his distress calmed himself and the pressure lessened significantly.
"The whole world payed for the ignorance of the few. And even through the deaths of thousands, it still wasn't enough to pay off the debt they owed…"
Josiah finally stood up after sitting awake all night. The note still clutched in his hand, and his thoughts rapid. His heart hurt. As if all that's left was a hole leading into oblivion.
He calmly got dressed in some of his limited travel attire. Stuffed the note in his back pocket and stepped out of his room. As he walked down the halls he found a maid and asked her to arrange a few things for him. A sword from the armory, a few days rations, and to find a butler to ready a horse for him. She seemed ready to protest but he waved her off and continued walking until he reached his lead advisors office. Not bothering to knock he walked right inside.
"Ah, my lord! It is quite early, what brings you here? How may I be of assistance."
Josiah stood in silence for a moment, before replying, "I will be gone for some days. I need you to hide from the public that I have left."
The advisor looked shocked and hardly stammered out,
"B-but my lord,you can't just leave for an unknown amount of time. Certainly you realize that many things can't be done without you present."
Josiah stared in silence once more. And the advisor looked back. And the more he looked the more he saw the dead set determination in Josiah's eyes. Finally he relented.
"You will leave no matter what I say. So I shall do my best to fulfill your wishes.."
Josiah nodded and immediately left. Stepping out of the room and forcing himself to not run. Because even if he left right now, he still had one more place he needed to go. The maid he assigned with retrieving gear found him in the main yard.
"My lord, the things you asked for have been arranged. And your horse is ready."
Feeling no need to waste words, Josiah silently accepted the items. The sword was a standard broadsword with a sheath. Not in anyway flashy, but it would do the job. Second a bag full of rations, with the addition of a small fire kit, some herbs for medicinal purposes, and a small knife. Satisfied, Josiah attached the sheath to his waist and put away the sword, hoisted the bag and asked the maid to lead him to his horse.
The maid seemed very hesitant in everything he asked her, as if she was housing guilt. But Josiah couldn't even begin to care at this moment. Once she got him to his horse he waved her off and mounted it. At this point Josiah got a small crowd of people from the castle to see him off. It wasn't announced, but the servants knew why he was leaving. His single advisor stood in the doorway of the main entrance and nodded. And finally Josiah left the castle, not heading to the location yet. But to meet with someone, he was going to see his father…
If Josiah remembered correctly, his father should be living in the outskirts of town. He visited him a few times but outside of that he tried to leave him alone. Not that there was any bad blood between them. Just his father had taken a step back from ruling to have his own peace. And as his son Josiah wanted to respect that. But the current situation is a different matter.
Josiah saw through the tree line a modest wood cabin with a small fence surrounding it and veered that way. Arriving at the gate he tied his horse to a post and jumped over the fence. He didn't have the time to waste on doing things the formal way, and walked up to the door. Only managing to knock once before the image of his father was infront of him,
"What happened to sending letters my boy?" Joseph let out a hearty laugh, but taking notice to Josiah's face his laughter quickly died out.
"It seems something has happened. Come inside, take a seat in the kitchen. I'll brew us up something."
Josiah nodded and stepped inside, his breath finally becoming rugged. Finally allowing himself to break down under the gravity of his situation. He made it to a chair and sat down before the tears started streaming down his face. Returning with drinks, his father sat down and allowed Josiah to cry, until he was calm enough to speak before finally asking.
"What happened my boy, why do you come to me in such a state?"
Josiah wiped his face and stared at the table before answering. Unable to make eye contact he slowly replied,
"They took her… someone took Nyx. And I'm going to get her back."