by D. S. Craig
Creeping closer to the door, I peeked through the crack, finding Rose, along with one other man. He was rather fit looking and wore a simple yet elegant tunic and trousers, reminding me quite a bit of the outfit Dag had been wearing. He stood facing away from the door, looking at a map of the alliance hung on the wall behind him.
“My sources inform me that you’ve been spending more time with the Gambriel brat at the academy.” He paused for a moment, letting his words hang in the air before continuing. “I believe I warned you what would happen if you got involved with him, didn’t I?”
“Y-yes, Master Arvis.” Rose was clearly flustered as she struggled to squeeze out her response, making me wonder what they had been talking about before. “I’ve been doing my best to avoid him, but he’s classmates with some of my friends.”
The baron turned and sauntered toward Rose until he was face-to-face with her, “It’s Lord Arvis to you, commoner filth.”
“M-my apologies, Lord Arvis. I didn’t mean any disrespect.”
Reaching up, he grabbed her under the chin, pinching her cheeks between his fingers. “Better. Still, I thought I had set up things rather nicely so that no one at the academy would get involved with you. Who are these supposed friends of yours?”
“Ish no one of importansh.”
“Tch.” Rose’s slurred response seemed to irritate the baron, despite him being the cause of it. He shoved Rose back slightly before releasing her. “Speak normally, girl. I can’t understand a word you’re saying.”
For a long moment, Rose paused, trembling. Based on her reaction, I assumed that the baron didn’t usually get this aggressive with her. Sensing things might get out of hand, I decided to give Rose some support. “Rose, I’m here. If you want me to step in, just call out my name, and I’ll get you out of here.”
“Well, spit it out, girl. I haven’t got all day!” Baron Arvis yelled at her, a snarl forming on his face.
This time, Rose didn’t falter. Taking a deep breath to calm herself before replying, she said, “My apologies, Lord Arvis. I was saying that they’re no one you need concern yourself with.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” He glared at Rose. “Give me their names now.”
“Yes. Their names are Lesti Vilia and Aurelia from the first class, second-year.”
“Vilia?” The baron paused, his brow furrowed. “Isn’t that the girl who’s been at the center of all ruckus going on at the academy lately? That could be trouble.”
“My lord, if I may.” From somewhere outside my range of vision, a third voice joined the conversation. “I don’t believe the girl poses any threat to our plans. Her territory is a poor one with little in the way of resources and influence. It would be a simple matter to deny any claims that she would bring against you.”
“I see. You make a rather good point.” The baron paused for a moment, contemplating the other man’s words. “Still, it’s better safe than sorry. Have one of yours keep an eye on her just in case.”
“As you wish, my lord.”
“Now, getting down to business.” The baron turned his gaze back on Rose, his expression growing stern. “As I was saying before, I’ll be withdrawing your entry at the academy once the academic year is over.”
“Could I ask for your reason, Lord Arvis?” Rose’s voice was slightly shaky as she responded to the news. “I was under the impression that you wanted me to use the academy’s resources to learn how to create artifacts.”
“Our friend here has offered his services and will be giving me everything I need to overthrow that wretched fools in the Gambriel family,” he replied with a smug grin on his face. “Fear not. I’ll allow you to continue your studies in my manor as a backup plan. To that end, I’ll need you to fail your remaining lessons so we don’t draw any suspicion.”
Rose’s gaze turned toward the third man whom I couldn’t see. “Are you quite certain about this? This man’s claims seem dubious at best.”
Just as she finished her thought, the baron’s hand struck out like a whip, smacking her across the cheek with enough force to knock her to her knees. “Don’t you ever question my judgment! Our new associate here has already provided results, unlike you. Maybe if you hadn’t taken so long, I wouldn’t have had to resort to relying on a third party!”
Rose brought a hand to her cheek, which was rapidly swelling, wincing as she touched it. “Forgive my rudeness, Lord Arvis. I was foolish to think that you would fall for the tricks of a simple con artist.”
“Just be glad that I value your ability’s potential.” He sneered as he looked down at Rose. “Otherwise, I’d have you and that pathetic family of yours disposed of like the filth you are. At any rate, that’s all I have to say on this matter. Get out of my sight.”
“Yes, my lord.” Pulling herself to her feet, Rose gave a brief curtsy and fled the room. I backed up as she opened the door so I wouldn’t be seen. Quickly closing the door behind her, she made her way down the hallway.
I started to follow after, but just as I did, I heard the baron start speaking once more. “So, you said you had an idea for that Gambriel brat’s birthday party, yes? Spit it out. I haven’t got all day, you know.”
“Yes.” The other man’s voice sounded almost gleeful as he replied. “You see, my employer has offered to stage an attack on the party. You and your men will subdue and capture the attackers, regaining you some of the trust of Lord Gambriel until you are ready to make your move.”
“And what does this mysterious employer of yours get out of this? I doubt he’s doing this out of the kindness of his heart.”
Ker-thunk.
In the distance, I heard the back door to the manor close. I paused for a moment, listening to hear where the maid would go. Dang, it. She’s headed this way. It was unfortunate, but my time was up. I made my way back down the first floor, hiding behind a small plant near the entrance until I heard the maid go up the stairs and proceed down the hall. Once she was gone, I used my magic to silently open the front door that Rose had left unlocked and slip outside, heading back to the academy.
* * *
By the time we made it back to the academy, it was almost lunchtime. I met up with Rose along the way, keeping my distance until we were safely on the academy grounds. There was a lot to talk about, so I asked her to head back to the dorm and called Lesti and Aurelia.
“What in the world happened to you?” Lesti stared at Rose’s swollen cheek, astonished. We had just walked into Rose’s room in the girls’ dorm. Much like Lesti’s room, it wasn’t filled with much besides the necessary furniture and wardrobe. Sitting at the desk with a washbasin at her feet, Rose was pressing a damp cloth against her face.
She smiled gently. “I’m fine. I just angered the baron, is all.”
“So, he hit you in the face?!” Lesti walked over and pulled back the compress, revealing the full extent of the bruise. “Next time I see this guy, I’m going to have Astria beat the snot out of him.”
“Mm. Fang, too,” Aurelia chimed in, her mouth drawn tight in what was an unusual display of anger from her.
“Thank you, both of you.” Rose smiled at the pair. “However, until my family is safe, I’d like to ask you to avoid angering the baron too much.”
“Your family? So, they’re alive after all?”
“Lesti, let her rest. I’ll explain,” I stepped in, hoping to give Rose a chance to recover, and ran through everything that had happened since this morning.
“So, to summarize, we know that Baron Arvis is holding Rose’s family hostage and forcing her to try and make artifacts. On top of that, he’s planning on using those artifacts to overthrow Lord Gambriel and make himself lord. Lastly, we’ve got that mysterious third party who gave him some other way to perform his coup and are planning to attack Elliot’s birthday.”
“Yeah, I’d say that covers just about everything.” I looked over at Rose. “Any idea who the mystery man was?”
She shook her head, a troubled look on he
r face. “Sorry, no. I’ve never seen him before.”
“That’s okay.” Lesti smiled at her friend before her gaze grew more serious. “Still, I’m wondering if he’s involved with Thel’al in some way. I can’t imagine anyone else being able to offer Arvis a power equal to making artifacts.”
“Mm. Seems likely,” Aurelia said. “We should be prepared for anything.”
“I agree. But we’ve got a bigger problem than that.” I hopped up on the bed and looked at Rose. “Do you have any idea where the baron might be holding your family?”
At my question, her shoulders slumped, and her gaze fell to the floor. “I don’t. Honestly, I haven’t seen them since well before I joined the academy. I’ve been begging the baron to let me see them, but he’s always refused, saying he can’t bring them here.”
“Well, that’s a hint at least.” I looked over at Lesti. “If he’s telling the truth, then Rose’s family is likely being held somewhere in the Gambriel territory, someplace not directly associated with the baron.”
Lesti nodded in agreement. “Yeah. That’s a problem, though. How are we supposed to rescue them like that?”
“Yeah. We can’t exactly go all the way there ourselves.” I fell into thought but couldn’t come up with any ideas.
“Why don’t we ask Instructor Lani for help?” Just as I was beginning to get frustrated, Aurelia chimed in.
“That’s not a bad idea.” Lesti snapped her fingers and pointed at Aurelia. “Lani has some pretty strong connections through her job as an instructor. She may even be able to get Frederick involved for us.”
“It’s worth looking into.” I hopped off the bed and headed for the door. “Let’s go ask her advice once classes are done for the day.”
Lesti looked at me curiously. “Where are you going?”
“There’s something that’s been bothering me that I need to look into. I’ll be back after classes are over. In the meantime, you guys should keep up your training. We’re going to need to be prepared, it looks like.”
Without waiting for a response, I dashed out the door and headed for the main gate. Since meeting with Dag last night, there was a suspicion I couldn’t let go of in the back of my mind. Normally, I would have ignored it, but it was worth seeing if I was right with everything developing so quickly. So, I headed to the commoner market, where I would hopefully find the man himself.
Requesting Assistance
It took me far longer than I would have liked to reach the market. Despite having traveled there several times already, I still managed to get myself lost in the maze-like back alleys of the commoner district. I found my way there eventually, however, and skirted the edge of the market, heading for the area where Dag’s stall should have been.
Thanks to my small body, I was able to take several shortcuts between the various stalls and head to the mostly empty area. As I walked through, I noticed several people looking at wares in the other nearby stalls, just like last time. Only this time, I recognized a few of them as the men who had been at the bar we had visited in the red light district. It made me question whether or not the other merchants were in on Dag’s little ruse as well.
Walking up to his stall, I saw Dag’s familiar figure sitting motionless behind the counter. I jumped straight up in front of him and took a seat. “We need to talk, in private.”
“’Ell, if it ’innit Astria!” He flashed me a smile from under his hood, keeping up the fake accent that he had used the last time we had met him here. “What can I ’elp ya wit?”
“Is there somewhere more private we can talk?” I focused my thoughts on Dag so that only he could hear me. “I have a job for the Shadow Dragon Brigade.”
The smile on his face vanished immediately, the casual air he had been putting on before disappearing. He once again gave a quick series of hand signals to the men at the nearby stalls. Rather than wandering off this time, one of them walked over to join us.
“You’ll be coming with me, little kitty.” The man reached down to pick me up, causing my fur to stand on end. I suppressed my fight or flight instincts and allowed him to pick me up. If my hunch was right, this group wouldn’t do anything to harm me.
I looked back as the man carried me straight out of the market and into the back alleys. Dag didn’t move an inch or even acknowledge my presence. Once he was out of sight, I shifted my focus to keeping track of where we were going so that I could get back on my own if need be.
After some time wandering the streets, they started to grow dirtier than usual, and the stench became increasingly overpowering; we were definitely getting closer to the slums. Just as I started to worry that I would have to deal with that disgusting smell, the man stopped and looked around. Seeing no one else in the alley, he walked over to a rough-looking wooden door and knocked three times.
The sound of movement came from the other side of the door, followed by a low male voice. “The flames of the dragon…”
“Shall wash away our sins.” The man carrying me finished the phrase, and the door cracked open just enough for us to squeeze inside. I found myself in a small room filled to the brim with weapons, armor, and mysterious tools. There were almost no windows in the place, yet it wasn’t hot or stuffy.
The man who let us in quickly barred the door behind us. He was younger in appearance than the man carrying me, maybe in his late teens or early twenties. Once he finished securing the door, he turned and looked down at me. “What’s with the cat?”
I didn’t recognize him, so it made sense that he didn’t know who I was, but his friend didn’t seem to think so. “Idiot. This is the familiar that the commander has been going on about recently.”
“This little thing?” The younger man reached out and started poking at my cheek. “She sure doesn’t seem like much.”
“Keep that up, and I’ll bite your finger off.”
He pulled his finger back but otherwise seemed unsurprised, as if he had been expecting my reaction. “So, she can talk. I guess the commander wasn’t just making it all up. At any rate, what’s she doing here? Did something happen?”
“That’s what we’re going to find out. We’re going to use the secure room. You keep watch.” The man carrying me turned and headed toward a door at the back of the room.
“Yes, sir.” Hopping up on a box, the younger man pulled out a knife and some wood and started carving, a bored look on his face.
We entered the back room, and the large man finally put me down before shutting the door behind us, casting a spell as he did. For a brief second, the room was plunged into darkness before he finished casting, and magical lights sprung to life in the air around us. With the room properly lit, I took a look around.
It was a relatively simple affair. A desk with writing supplies sat in the far corner with a small shelf full of scrolls next to it. Other than that, the only furniture in the room was a large wooden table that sat directly in the center of the space, covered in dozens of scrolls and parchments. Hopping up on it, I could see most of them were maps of various shapes and sizes, the largest being a map of the entire region that took up the whole table.
“No one will be able to hear us in here.” The large man walked over to the table where I sat and grabbed a pen and some parchment off it. “So, the boss says that you have something urgent to tell us. What is it?”
“Well, more than something urgent. I have a request.” I took a deep breath, bracing myself for the conversation that would follow. “I want you to help us take down Baron Arvis.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “That’s not going to be possible. I’m sure the boss told you the other night, but we’ve got bigger problems to deal with.”
“I’m aware. Your unit is the one that’s trying to track down Thel’al, isn’t it?” I watched the man carefully, trying to gauge his reaction. “Well, unfortunately, it looks like the two might be linked.”
A small smirk appeared on the man’s face for a moment, almost as if he was pleased I had figured out
what his unit was up to. But it quickly disappeared, replaced by a stern stare. “Well, I’ve got a few questions of my own now, but that can wait. What makes you think the two are linked?”
I relayed the event from earlier in the day to him. Unfortunately, this meant that I had to take the risk of explaining what Rose’s ability was, but there wasn’t much choice. We needed their help if we were going to foil the baron’s plans and save Rose’s family. We just didn’t have enough manpower on our own.
After hearing my explanation, the man quickly scribbled down some notes and turned back to me. “So, what is it that you want us to do?”
“We can handle the attack on the party.” I walked over the map and used my paws to point at several places. “I want you to raid the various estates linked to Baron Arvis, both here in the city and back in the Gambriel territory.”
“Well, the estates here in the city we can handle easily enough.” He tapped the spot on the map where the Gambriel household’s lands were located, a thoughtful expression on his face. “However, we can’t afford to send any men away while the archdemon is still at large. Besides, the commander is the only one who could get there in time.”
I watched his finger as it tapped the map, my tail twitching about in frustration as I tried to think of a solution. “Do you think that Lord Gambriel would be willing to step in if we asked him?”
The man stared at the map for a moment as he pondered my question. “It’s possible, but I doubt he would make a move without more concrete evidence or testimony from someone that he trusts.”
“If we need someone that he trusts, then how about his own son?”
“That would definitely work.” He began to scribble on the paper once more. “From my understanding, Lord Gambriel is quite fond of all of his children. I take it you plan to enlist the aid of the third son—Elliot, was it?”
I looked over at the man, slightly surprised that he knew about Elliot. Dag was one thing, but this man seemed like just an underling. I hadn’t expected him to have all that much information at his disposal.
