That Night

A knock on the door woke Issac up. Blinking hard, he responded groggily, “What is it?”

A maid’s voice came from the other side of the door, “Sire, the mayor has ordered me to inform you that dinner is ready.”

“Already?” Issac looked out of his window. The sky was pitch black outside with the soft glow from the lights in the town. The darkness calmed his mind. He told the maid, “Sure, I’ll be out in a moment.” He sat up on the bed and rubbed his eyes. Tossing the blanket aside, he stood up and changed his clothes. Putting on the waistcoat and overcoat, he carefully tied the cravat around his neck and wore his shoes. He took the space pouch from the table and put it in his coat pocket.

Wearing the coat, he opened the door to see the maid standing outside. “This way,” the maid walked ahead of him, and Issac followed closely behind, unhurried. After a series of turns, the maid led him to a room. The servants standing on either side opened the door, and Issac walked through.

“Jobin,” the City Lord, Sauer, who was sitting next to the Mayor, got up and greeted him. “It seems you’ve had a long day. You’ve slept like a log!”

“Apologies, sir.” Issac bowed slightly, “It seems the day’s events…have taken a lot out of me. I once again apologize for any delays.”

“Nonsense, boy!” Sauer waved his apology off. “We were just getting started.” He looked at the Mayor, who was sitting at the head of the table, “Right?”

The Mayor, who was staring intently at the cloches on the table, was caught off-guard and stammered, “Y-Yes, that’s right!”

“Come, sit down,” Sauer gestured to a seat on the other side of the Mayor’s.

Issac took firm steps towards his seat, and a servant pulled it out, allowing him to sit. Ever since he came to this world, this excessive service made him extremely uncomfortable. “Maybe I just need to get used to it,” Issac thought to himself as he watched the servants take cloches from the dishes. An array of aromas from the different spices and flavors wafted throughout the room and came together in an appetizing harmony.

Issac waited and discreetly tried to memorize what the others did. In the palace, the Queen excused their lack of proper table manners, but he doesn’t have that sort of leniency here. Disguising as someone from nobility, he had to know etiquette down to a tee. As Issac kept watching, City Lord realized Sauer realized he hadn’t actually started eating yet.

Sauer reached out his hand and gestured towards the food on the table, “What’s the matter, Jobin? None of these strike your fancy?”

“Nothing, sir,” Issac hurriedly copied what he saw Sauer and the Mayor doing. Putting the fork in his left hand and the knife in his right, he asked the servants for the dish he wanted, and they served it to him. On the table was a whole chicken, roasted cuts of beef, pork, venison (none of which he could tell apart), and an array of other meat and plant-based dishes. For drinks, they had both red and white wine and some kind of weird blue wine. He didn’t ask about it, fearing it might be a regional delicacy.

Never had a meal been so nerve-wracking for him. As he focused on keeping disguises up, Sauer asked, “Now, Jobin, it’s imperative that I ask: could you describe your attackers?”

Issac shook his head and said, “No, sir. They were wearing masks and hoods. I could only catch a glimpse of their incredibly detailed tattoo when one of our knights sliced one of them with a sword.”

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“Could you describe the tattoo?” Sauer pressed on.

“No, sir…” Issac refused, thinking saying too much might blow his cover; however, when he saw Sauer and the mayor frown, he panicked and added, “But I might be able to if I could see them again.”

The City Lord and the Mayor looked at each other before the former looked at Issac and said, “Once dinner is finished, I’d like you to follow us.”

Dread filled Issac’s heart as he hoped that the worst hadn’t come to pass. He said after a bit of silence, “…yes, sir.”

The rest of the meal ended in silence for the City Lord and the Mayor. For Issac, he could hear his blood rush. Thankfully, dinner ended without incident. After which, Sauer gestured for Issac to follow him.

Walking through the corridors of the Mayor’s mansion, Issac tried to formulate any plans for what he could do if he was being led into a trap. “No other option other than using Night Walk and getting the fuck out of here. Maybe get on another carriage and travel to another city.”

As he was thinking to himself, the two in front of him opened a door and walked into a room. Issac looked up and found himself in a study of sorts. Rows of bookshelves lined the walls, and in the center was a desk with a comfy-looking leather chair. The light from the magic tools hung on the wall illuminated the room in a soft yellow glow. The light cast shadows on the floor, one of which Issac put his left foot on.

“This…?” Issac stared at the room. This wasn’t the first time he had seen such a scene, but before, it was only in movies or artworks. Seeing the real thing was a marvelous experience for him. Something about this academia aesthetic pricked his fancy.

“This is my study,” the Mayor answered. He browsed the books on a particular shelf with his finger before tapping one twice and taking it out. He opened it and flipped through the pages before coming to somewhere at the end of the book. The Mayor stepped forward and flipped the book around for Issac to see, “Here, Jobin. See if any of these matches the tattoo you saw.”

Issac looked at the pages. On it were numerous pictures, pictures of tattoos with labels underneath them. He scanned all of them, “Cult of Banul, of Nerium, of Laniez, of Farmad, of Pròis, of Mezik, and of Aphostes. The last two names are familiar. So….”

“Sir, it was the most similar to this,” Issac pointed to one of the pictures. The Mayor and City Lord both leaned in to look, and their eyebrows immediately jumped.

“The lust-driven lunatics of Nerium!?” Sauer exclaimed. “These bloody rats should be busy scurrying around in caves and fucking each other like rabbits. What gave them the cheek to attack Sawheim’s delegation?”

The Mayor added, “They were one of the few cults from the previous war that managed to escape from the purge. It’s a bit odd that they’re acting like this. Especially since their numbers should be in the tens right now.”

“It’s not up to us to speculate the motives,” Sauer massaged his temples. He exhaled deeply and said, “No, this won’t do. I’ve to report to the Queen.”

The Mayor looked surprised and asked, “Right now, sir?”

“Yes, right now. This takes precedence,” The City Lord walked out of the Mayor’s study as he spoke. Issac and the Mayor followed behind. Sauer continued, “I will take my own carriage to the capital. And you-” he addressed the Mayor, “-arrange a carriage to Oswald City for Secretary Jobin.”

“I will, sir,” The Mayor replied.

“Then, Jobin-” the Mayor paused, turned around, and looked at Issac, “-it was a pleasure meeting you. And I hope the letter is able to reach the Duke.”

“Thank you, sir,” Issac bowed.

“Safe travels,” with that, City Lord Sauer hurried off, leaving the Mayor and Issac behind.

With a deep breath, the Mayor turned to Issac and said, “Secretary Jobin, I will ask my servants to ready a carriage by the next morning. I will be sending some knights to escort you as well as a maid.”

Issac bowed once again in gratitude, “Thank you, sir.”

“Don’t mention it. As City Lord Sauer said, the letter holds utmost importance for the Sawheim Duchy, and as someone from the Kingdom, it is what I should do. Now, go and rest. The maid who will accompany you tomorrow will wake you up about an hour before breakfast.”

“Very well, sir. I shall take my leave then.” With a final bow, Issac left the Mayor and headed back to his room.

Closing the door, he took off his clothes and changed into more comfy ones. He took his space pouch and stuffed it underneath his pillow. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he rubbed his face and sighed. He stared out the window again. The lights in the city had dimmed, casting everything into a calm darkness. The wind whispered softly amidst the trees, swaying their leaves. Everything was quiet.

The darkness of the night soothed him. Tomorrow was another day.