Eletheria sat down on the chair in the great hall and sighed. Dionysia stood next to her, shaking her head at Ele’s exhaustion. Dee knelt and quickly removed Ele’s shoes to rub her feet.

“I thought walking a whole day in the woods was tough. Oh, thank you, Dee. I had forgotten how exhausting a day of celebration is,” Ele uttered as she enjoyed Dee’s relaxing and relieving ministrations on her feet.

“It is the shoes. You should have worn something more comfortable.” Dee stated as she finished her quick foot massage.

“Mother would kill me if she saw I was wearing walking shoes to this,” Ele replied.

“Your mother wouldn’t see the shoes if you wore a long enough dress,” Dee hinted with a raised eyebrow. This advice changed Ele’s view on how people went through these events. No one ever peeks up a dress to see what shoes someone is wearing. It made sense in her mind and Ele silently swore that she would start wearing long dresses so she could wear slippers if she so desired.

“I wish you would smile more. I know you are worried about your friend, but he will be found,” Dee said as she saw the grin grow on Ele’s face as she considered footwear with future dresses. “Alexander is a very capable young man.”

“Yes, yes, I am,” Lex said as he approached Ele and Dee. Tony was in tow behind him. Both of them had some new rips and dirt on their clothing. Lex also had a shallow cut across his left cheek, while Tony was limping a little. Upon seeing Lex return, Ele leapt to her feet but quickly fell back down to the ground as she tripped on a shoe. Lex caught her to prevent her from falling to the floor.

“How, how did you find him?” Ele asked once she got steady on her feet.

“Ah, well, after we left here, we went back to the Queen Astoria,” Lex started to say; Ele, however, interrupted him.

“Why we were just there.” Ele said.

“Well, after thinking about our talk to the stable boy, I wondered if there was another on staff. We went to the inn and spoke to the other stable boy. That boy remembered the carriage had a stamp saying it was for hire. Usually, the carriages that stop there are owned by a family, and this one did not have a family’s seal.” Lex paused for a second to snag a drink from a servant walking by. “While they couldn’t remember which rental service stamp was upon the carriage, it was enough for us.” Lex took a drink of the fruit drink that was being passed around.

“From there, we split up with Lex getting a taxi and, in two hours, were able to cover most for-hire places,” Tony continued. “Since the stable boy did not mention anyone staying with the carriage, we asked around about people who hired a carriage but not a driver for the evening.”

“I found the place that rented out the carriage. I used my name and some coin to secure the name of the person who hired it. From there, I visited some people I knew from when I was planning a rescue mission, and they were able to get me more information,” Lex finished. Ele’s mind was spinning with all the new information.

“Where was he taken?” Ele asked, then she looked at her feet, realizing her shoes were still off. She started to put her shoes on.

“Someone named Blaze runs a small crew out of the southern docks. He was the one who rented the carriage. From what my sources say, he is the leader of the group,” Lex said, then bent over and picked up a shoe that had been knocked away from Ele when she had initially tripped.

“Then we have not a moment to waste. Let’s go get Thio,” Ele said as she finished putting on her other shoe.

“Ele, these people are not good people. We should tell your parents and wait…” Lex started to say, but both a stern look and a prompt “No!” from Ele stopped him.

“We are Windmasters. We can handle some ruffians,” Ele confidently stated.

“Ele, we should…” Lex again started to say as he reached for Ele’s right hand.

“No time to waste.” Ele started walking towards the entrance pulling Lex behind her. Once they were both outside the house, she deftly avoided groups of people so they could make their way to the stables. “Horseback will be quicker.” Ele walked up to a stable boy. She was sure his name was Christen. “Christen, we need two horses, please.” The stable boy started saddling the horses.

“Thank you, Antonio, for your assistance. Lex and I will take it from here.” Ele turned to Tony and hugged him for his help. Mother would disapprove, Ele thought. A few minutes later, Lex and Ele were riding through the streets on their way to the southern end of Ascalon, the Zephyr estate, a shrinking glowing light in the distance.

Halfway to the southern docks, Ele realized she probably should have changed. Wearing a dress wasn’t really the correct choice for a ride this night, and the chill air caused her to shiver and hug the horse more.

“Do you know what Blaze looks like?” Ele asked to distract herself from the chill.

“Light-skinned, about your height. Very light-colored hair that is very messy and has a life of its own,” Lex replied. Ele noticed he was looking at her out of the corner of her eye, so she looked back at him. Lex’s brief smile disappeared when he saw her shiver. “Is your dress built for warmth?”

“No.” Ele replied. Lex slowed down and Ele matched the pace. Once they were at a walking pace, Lex took off his jacket and handed it to Ele.

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“Here, use this to keep warm,” Lex said.

“Won’t you get cold?” Ele asked as she put the jacket on. Lex shook his head and got his horse moving. Soon they were back to racing through the empty streets. The lamps to the side of each street lit up the way well enough for them to travel by. The empty streets provided an easy path across the town and prompted questions. Ele wondered what time it was and where the day went. The street lights and a risen moon hid the stars from her sight.

A good twenty minutes passed before they got to the southern side of the town. As they approached the dock district, they saw more people meandering along the road. Lex angled them towards a low-quality inn that appeared to have stables. The young man who ran out to greet them wore rags and looked like he hadn’t eaten in a few weeks. When Lex stopped, Ele dismounted and was ready to hand her reins to the kid.

“Boy, do you work here?” Lex asked the young man.

“Yes, sir, I do,” the stable boy responded.

“Ele, go inside and verify they have a stable boy working here. I do not wish our horses to wander off,” Lex asked Ele. She handed him her horse’s reins and went into the building. Ele couldn’t locate a name written anywhere on the inn, but there was a painting of a black sheep leaping over a bed slowly peeling off the wall. Ele pushed in on the door and stepped inside.

The various street lights lessened the darkness outside. As Ele entered the inn, it almost seemed darker than outside. A haze of smoke filled the air ahead her and crept into her lungs. She coughed a few times and pushed towards the light in the back. Once she got closer to the light, the haze lessened. A tough-looking old man with white hair and remnants of a thin beard stood behind a counter near the light. His weathered face was crisscrossed with both wrinkles and scars. He was cleaning a cup with a rag as he watched Ele enter the Inn.

“Sir, do you have a stable boy?” Ele asked while standing a good 3 paces away from him.

“Aye, and why do you need to know?” the innkeeper said as he set the cup on a shelf behind him. When he turned back around, he was also holding a club. “If you hurt little D, there is a thumpin’ in your future.” This caused Ele to back away another pace and hold her hands up defensively.

“No, no. We just wanted to make sure our horses won’t get stolen,” Ele pleaded. “We need to stable them for the night.”

“Three pence a horse a night. Don’t care that the night is half over; ye still pay full,” the innkeeper said as he carefully placed the club on the shelf behind him. Ele considered the price reasonable, so she left some money on the counter for the innkeeper and went back outside. As she exited the building, she walked into the middle of a conversation.

“He’ll thump ye good if ye hurt me,” the stable boy told Lex.

“Hey, boy, what is your name?” Ele asked as she walked closer. The stable boy looked at her and threw a fist into an open palm while looking at Lex, as if trying to emphasize a point.

“They call me Big D,” Big D said as he stood up as tall as possible and attempted to puff out his chest a little.

“The innkeeper said they have a stable boy, the kid is him,” Ele said while trying to keep back a laugh at the stable boy. This was enough for Lex to dismount and hand two pence to the boy.

“If nothing happens to the horses, there will be more when we return,” Lex told Big D.

“I will make sure no one even looks at them. Is there anything else I can do for ye? Perhaps ye are seeking a place to spend the nigh’? Need a stiff drink?” Big D started rambling, offering them everything as quickly as he could intelligibly get it out.

“No, thank you,” Lex repeatedly said to Big D’s various offers of help or service. After the fifth, “no thank you,” Lex turned away from the boy for a moment and allowed a small arc of lightning to jump from one hand to the other. Ele also saw Lex make a fist then relax his hands.

“Big D, we are looking for someone to hire. Someone named Blaze,” Ele asked Big D. His eyes opened up at Blaze’s name, but he didn’t volunteer any information. Ele pulled out a couple more coins, and suddenly the stable boy again uttered a torrent of words.

“Yea, I know ‘im. Mean guy and of’en drinks at the Rusty Seagull down by Harbor 15,” Big D informed them. “I can run and get ‘im if ye wan’.”

“No, thank you. We want just him and worry his friends will steal the job from us,” Ele quickly replied. This answer appeared to satisfy the stable boy, who smiled and nodded as if he understood the need for discretion.

Ele and Lex walked down the street to the first tavern near the docks. Again, there was no name painted on the building, just a crude drawing of a nail poking out of a poorly drawn bird. At one time, the nail would have been painted a color, but it was long faded, so there was little indication as to what that color was. Lex opened the door for Ele, but this tavern was not as smoky as the first one. A few lanterns were providing enough light so she could easily see the bartender. Walking around the tables, approached the bar.

“Do you know where I can find Blaze?” Ele asked the bartender once she got close enough to speak without having to shout. Even at the low tone she used, a few heads turned nearby the bar.

“Wha’ iz worth to ye?” the bartender replied while using a rag to wipe down the bar.

“A pence if ye tell me and another if I find him,” Lex quickly replied, holding a coin out toward the bartender.

“Even if I knew where he was, it’ll take more than a pence to tell you two,” the bartender replied, shaking his head at the coin Lex held out. Lex added more coins, and still, the bartender shook his head. At 15 coins, the bartender said, “I told you no, now leave.” The serious look on his face broke through Lex’s confidence. Ele saw some patrons sitting near the bar and started to take an interest in them. She pulled on Lex’s arm to suggest they leave.

They were soon outside the bar with Ele wondering how they would find Thio if there appeared to be a code of silence among the people. A good distance down the street was a drunk walking towards them. His clothing was worn and ragged and looked like they had seen better days.

“Quick, see if you can buy that man’s jacket and hat,” Ele told Lex as he looked towards the tavern’s door as if he wanted to go back in and force questions out of people.

“Wait, what?” Lex started to say, but Ele decided to do it herself. Ele walked over to the staggering drunk.

“Excuse me, sir, it is a bit colder than I thought. Would you sell your coat and hat for 5 pence?” Ele silently prayed he would accept the offer.

“Certainly, miz, though this fine coat is easily worth 8 pence. It will keep ye warm like none other,” the drunk replied.

“Sir, the coat has holes in it. Six pence or I find another person and buy their jacket,” Ele replied, tired of haggling. She would have just paid the 8 pence, but she actually only had 6 left on her and did not want Lex to pull out his coin purse. Once people started seeing a large amount of coin, they tended to get greedy.

“Alrigh’,” the drunk stated and he took off his worn jacket and hat. With some care, he folded the jacket and placed the hat on it. Then he held the bundle with one hand while holding out his other. Ele carefully counted six coins into the man’s open palm and took the jacket and hat. Ele turned towards Lex so she could give him the coat and hat.

“How about 2 pence for some matching shoes?” the drunk asked, and he quickly took off both of his shoes and held them up towards Ele. Ele started to turn around, but before she could gaze upon the shoes, she was assaulted by the smell. It was overpowering, and Ele took a step away from the drunk. Lex gave the drunk a threatening glare.

“Leave us, lest we decide your life isn’t worth more than 2 pence,” Lex angrily told the drunk as he positioned himself between Ele and the shoes. A little spark jumped from Lex’s hands and the drunk hurried off, not bothering to put his shoes on before he was well out of sight.

“You did not have…” Ele started to say but sighed and handed the jacket and hat to Lex. “Here, put these on; this way, you will look more like you belong.” Lex took off his jacket and handed it to Ele. He put on the jacket and hat that they had just acquired. “Mess up your hair a little,” Ele suggested, and Lex tried his best to make his long dark brown hair look a bit more unkempt. He hid some hair under the hat so it looked like one side was shorter than the other. “Also, don’t forget the accent.”

“Okay, miz Ele. Whatever ye wan’,” Lex mockingly said, but Ele had to admit it did sound good enough, at least to her ears. When she was on the Vol Mortem, most of the crew didn’t talk like that in front of a Windmistress, but their accent came out when they didn’t know she was listening or didn’t think she could hear.

She and Lex headed down the street to find another tavern or inn to ask around at. Ele put Lex’s old jacket on her but inside out so it didn’t look as expensive. The night dragged on as they went from one seedy-looking tavern to another seedy-looking inn. It wasn’t until the sixth one that they knew where Blaze would be hanging out. That information had cost them more than the previous bits of info they had tried bribing from other people. Nine pence to get a name of a place where Blaze could be. Ele guessed their desperation must be showing.

Ele and Lex walked down Abney Lane until they reached a park on one side and an inn on the left. The inn had a painting on it that looked like a three-legged pig that was eating its fourth leg. The Three-Legged Pig was a two-story inn. The front doors were open so the light and sounds from within could be experienced from the street. Inside it appeared crowded and loud. The volume inside was further increased by the presence of a bard or someone singing a bawdy song. Ele and Lex positioned themselves across the street in the park. There weren’t many trees, but since the park had no lights, it allowed them at least the cover of darkness.

“What are we going to do if he is there?” Lex asked, watching the inn.

“I’m not sure; perhaps we need a plan,” Ele replied, and they started making.