“We might get banished for suspecting him of such a heinous crime.”

Nolan whispered as he stood behind Victor by the brick wall of a church waiting for someone. Nolan’s concern went unheard as Victor kept a stern face and checked the surroundings around him. He was aware of the risks they were taking, they could be imprisoned for accusing such a high-ranked person of treason and thievery, and in the worst case they might be banished from the land forever, but Victor felt doubtful of certain things that he needed to clear out. 

As both Nolan and Victor leaned against the wall looking at the alley’s end, they saw a young man wearing a black worn-out robe with his face covered, sneaking away. He was decently tall and had a well-built physique. Victor saw the man take a turn from the main lane into the alley located opposite the church. As the man took the turn, both Victor and Nolan covered their heads with hoods and faces with a mask and followed the man. They walked out of the alley and crossed the deserted lane to enter the opposite alley which the man went through. Both of them kept following him and maintained a safe distance to not arouse any suspicion. He kept taking turns and changing lanes until he stopped in front of a red wooden door. He knocked on the door thrice and waited for a while till an old and feeble man with a long white beard reaching his chest opened the door and quickly let him in. 

“He is surely onto something. And this is our sole chance to know what,” said Victor.

Victor signaled Nolan to maintain silence as they crept up to the red door. Victor put his ear against the door and tried listening to the ongoing conversation behind it. 

“We haven’t received the shipment, yet I am trusting you.”

“It’s hard to transport goods over rough terrain, there is nothing to worry about, you’ll get your goods.”

“Make sure to vacate this place before dawn. It’s a huge risk staying here for another day, the King has deployed his military men to inspect anything they find suspicious, especially taverns like this.”

Nolan was on the lookout checking the surroundings and staying alert for any incoming threat and Victor was standing firmly and trying to listen as clearly as he could. After a while, he faintly heard footsteps approaching the door due to which he moved away from it and signaled Nolan to stay alert as he pulled out the dagger from his scabbard. 

Both Victor and Nolan flanked the wooden door from both sides as it opened with the same young man sporting a black robe walking out followed by a tall and muscular man who sported a maroon-colored scabbard on his waist with a falchion inside. He had a dark flowing beard with a shaved head and looked no less than a menace. 

As Victor saw them walking out, he quickly jumped onto the black-robed man and pinned him down. Nolan on the other hand landed a strong blow on the bald man’s face which made him fall on the concrete ground with a loud thud but it didn’t cause him much damage owing to his physical strength and considering the fact that they hadn’t anticipated a guard accompanying the black-robed man outside the door. 

“Stay down and you won’t be harmed” yelled Victor as he pushed the resisting man’s head on the ground with force. He pulled down the man’s mask revealing his face that sent Victor into a shock as it confirmed the doubts he had. It was Aldo, the secretary of Sir Arthur who was the Minister of Commerce and Trade in the King’s Council. 

Over the past few months, a major chunk of the goods that were being imported from beyond the borders had suddenly started disappearing causing a heavy loss to the kingdom. Sir Arthur who was in charge of such affairs blamed it on the sea pirates and the rebels who were stealing the goods while transporting and initiated an investigation into this matter which was of high concern to the kingdom. But Victor and Nolan felt dubious as they had repeatedly spotted Aldo meet strangers in secret and exchange bags. Aldo was no less than a pet to Sir Arthur who would selflessly serve his master without considering morality or legality, hence they both suspected Sir Arthur to be the showrunner of this whole plot. But they didn’t have much proof to back their claims, hence they set out on their assignment to investigate their suspicions. 

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While Victor had Aldo pinned on the ground, the bald man successfully resisted Nolan and threw him into the wall with force. He got up on his feet and pulled out the falchion resting on his waist as he charged towards Victor. He held up his dagger and moved out of the way as the bald man tried to slash the sword straight into him. He kept striking him with quick blows and was met with Victor’s constant blocks with his small yet strong dagger. While this duel was midway, the bald man felt a strong and sharp object cut through his back. He froze and looked behind to see Nolan holding his knife smeared with blood pierced into his back. 

“Victor, go and catch that bastard, I’ll deal with him” yelled Nolan as Aldo, taking advantage of the moment tried to escape. Nolan pulled out his knife with full force angering the bald man as he yelled in rage and swayed his falchion at Nolan while Victor made a run to chase Aldo.  

Aldo ran across the alley at full speed as Victor chased him holding his dagger. Aldo exited the alley and ran to the main lane which was crowded with pedestrians and horse carts. He pushed aside the pedestrians on his way and dodged an incoming horse cart carrying tourists. Victor chased him but the crowd slowed him down and it became harder to track Aldo as he tried to blend in with the pedestrians. 

After over half an hour of the tireless pursuit, Aldo thought he had evaded Victor and entered a nearby tavern. He let out a huge sigh of relief and panting while resting his hand on the knees owing to the exertion due to running for so long. He went inside the crowded tavern filled with workers and unemployed men treating themselves with gin and getting intoxicated. He sat at a nearby table and exchanged greetings with the group already occupying the table. 

Aldo was relieved, but it was not over yet. ‘That bastard Victor has busted us. I’ll have to inform Sir Arthur as soon as possible and leave for Elbaria before I get executed.’ Aldo thought. He thought that Victor was no longer pursuing him and had instead left to inform the King of this incident but he was in the dark. Victor was still on his tail following him without Aldo’s knowledge. He was no more running but saw Aldo entering the old tavern from the front gate. Victor was sitting at a distance and gasped as he was tired when his eye caught the sight of Aldo running into the tavern. ‘The rat has itself walked into the trap’ thought Victor as he grinned and covered his head with his red hood and put a red mask over his face.

‘I’ll make sure Aldo gets his head chopped off for betrayal and deception. And I would like to do that myself.’ thought Victor as he walked into the alley adjacent to the tavern.

Aldo had shifted to an empty corner table at the tavern’s end, drinking gin from an old vessel. He was keeping an eye out for anything suspicious as he sipped his gin. The old bartender was giving away vessels filled to the rim to men of all ages. There was a group of old and dizzy men chatting loudly about their dead wives. There was a young man who had collapsed due to overdrinking and was being carried away by a group of people. 

‘I can’t stay here for long, the King must have deployed his troops to capture me already.’ thought Aldo as he drank his gin in one sip pulled out 2 aurels from his pocket, and kept it on the bar as he rushed towards the end of the tavern and found a back door that led to the back street which was easier to escape through without catching anyone’s eye. 

As Aldo opened the door he felt a powerful incoming blow on his face from the right causing him to crash down on the pavement. He couldn’t realize what happened and was lying down motionless on the pavement feeling light-headed. His vision was getting blurry as he faintly saw a man wearing brown boots and a red robe walk towards him, holding a dagger in his hands. 

‘I hope the gin tasted good Mr. Aldo Burton, because it was the last time that you could drink any. I would have made it less painful hadn’t you tried to run away from me. After all, no one can escape from Victor Izahim.’ said Victor as he kicked Aldo’s torso with full force causing him to pass out.