Inside the warrior’s guild, it was already less crowded or rowdy than the adventurer’s, though it was in the middle of the day and no one was around the bar area of the place. Reinhardt, Priscilla and Rhys made their way through the main hall into the back of the building where the senior member had a private room that one could call his office. Inside there was a chair against the far window with a well carved wooden table in front with a number of stacked papers and writing tools, to the right side weapons were hung from various racks, greatswords, longswords and even a bow.

On the left side, which was void of any furniture, a figure was standing against the wall with their hood on.

“I’m sorry we kept you waiting, Miss Kaeli.” Rhys apologized as he made his way over to his working table. “We almost had to put up a missing poster for this old girl here.”

Priscilla frowned her brows as she retorted.

“Hey don’t call me old.”

“It’s alright.” The hooded figure replied. Her voice was oddly familiar to Reinhardt’s ears but he couldn’t quite explain why. “I did some thinking while you were out looking for her and since the registration book only showed this ‘Marcus Avellion’ coming into the city and not leaving means that he is still here, but none of the innkeepers were able to find a name in their own log books.”

“Any thoughts Pris?”

Rhys asked as he was organizing some paperwork on his desk.

“None, my father was a stingy man when it came down to coin, but not to this extreme.”

“Unless he never stopped in the city in the first place.” Kaeli turned to the spell fencer, though most of her features were covered it was possible to see her dark blue eyes beneath the hood. “I heard your family’s name became quite well-known after your father made public the use of runic magic.”

“That is correct, but why does that have anything to do with the current situation?”

“Magic circles, weapon enchantment, ephemeral enchanting, chantless spell casting… those terms are fairly familiar to any experienced mage, given the proper time, anybody could potentially learn those techniques. Runic magic however is a different story. How come your father, a man of no previous outstanding skills in magicraft, came to employ runic magic?”

Priscilla stepped forward while brandishing her arm in front of her. While those statements were true he was still her father and she wasn’t about to let some stranger speak badly of him.

“He… he may not have been remarkable, but he is a hardworking man! I used to see him drown himself in tomes for countless hours day in and out.”

“Kaeli, if you get to the point please.” Rhys told her. “The young lady here had enough distress for one day already.”

“Very well, my theory is that your father is somewhere inside the dungeon in order to study its ancient secrets. Now, how he managed to stay alive in there I have no idea, but there is nothing else implying that he left the city.”

“How come Dame Kaeli knows so much about him?” Reinhardt questioned. “You speak as if you know him personally.”

The woman glanced at him and for a brief moment her eyes narrowed before she averted her gaze to the floor as she answered.

“Because I do. Before he became well known in the magic community, he was still studying the dungeons when they weren’t those spiraling labyrinths below ground teeming with monsters.” She unfolded her arms but kept her right hand on her hip as if she was ready to fight at any moment. “In any case, if he was able to find anything related to runecraft it’s probably in the lower depths of the dungeon.”

“How far are we talking about?”

Priscilla asked her.

“Beginning from the fifth to sixth floor it’s already possible to find magic runes. However, nobody has ever reached lower than the seventh floor and there are rumors the dungeon goes much deeper than that.” The woman took a deep breath. “Nevertheless, my point still stands, your father is playing with powers beyond what our kind is able to comprehend, it won’t be long until something like the emergence happens again.”

Enraged, Priscilla lashed out.

“My father would never do such a thing!”

“I truly hope not.” The woman sighed before walking past the spell fencer and once she reached the door, she turned around, revealing her dark blue eyes underneath the hood. “Regardless of what he is doing in this dungeon, we must all work together to keep this country intact. Lest it become a desolate land like the province of Nara.”

Once she opened the door, Reinhardt noticed Elaine standing right behind it with Rionara holding the edge of the elf’s gambeson. Kaeli walked right past the elf which made her green eyes glint for a moment as she felt the hooded woman’s presence to be familiar, yet in spite of that they both just went about their ways.

As Elaine walked inside the office, she asked the knight.

“Who was that?”

“Some informant working with Rhys.” He explained. “She was responsible for finding some clues regarding Dame Priscilla’s father.”

“I see… she seemed oddly familiar.”

“You could tell she was a woman?”

“The shape of her body was a giveaway.”

While the two of them were discussing what just happened, Priscilla was in low spirits with her head hanging low.

“Cheer up girl, at least you know your pops is indeed inside the dungeon.”

Rhys tried his best to lift her spirit but the spell fencer was too engrossed in her own thoughts to pay attention to what he said.

“Why father…” She muttered under her breath. “Why would you go to these lengths… what compels you to do it so?”

Her mind was a tormented sea of thoughts. She could name many reasons for her father to go there, but none of them made any sense given the current situation of affairs regarding her family. With the seemingly endless amount of coin that came in thanks to his tireless research, she imagined her father to be anywhere but near the accursed dungeon that had already taken so many lives of treasure hunters and adventurers alike and yet, he was willing to come back to it like a moth to the flame.

“Dame Priscilla.” At first his voice didn’t take her mind off things, but once the spell fencer felt the knight’s hand touch her right shoulder, it made her look towards him. “I don’t know much about your situation but if there is anything we can do to help you, do not hesitate to call upon us.”

“I…”

Though not immediate, her eyes began to fill with tears and seemingly out of nowhere, Rionara stepped up to her and squeezed her left arm.

“I’m sure… everything will be alright Miss…”

“Thank you, you two…” She had a faint smile on her face as she cleaned her tears. “But I need some time for myself, it’s… it’s a lot to take in.”

She walked past Elaine and went outside. At that point Reinhardt turned to Rhys and asked.

“Do you have any description of what her father looks like?”

“You are not planning to delve into the dungeon by yourselves are you?”

The knight shook his head.

“No, but in case we see him I’ll know who to contact.”

Rhys sighed before pulling out a handwritten note with a portrait drawn and tossed on the table.

“There. That’s all you need to know.”

“Thank you sir Rhys.” He then turned to Elaine and Rionara. “Let’s go.”

As the trio left the guild, they spotted Priscilla sitting by the walkway in front of the inn. She seemed to be in low spirits as her head hung low.

“I’ll go talk to her…”

Rionara was about to walk towards her but the knight held her by the shoulder. Once she looked at him, he shook his head.

“We should leave her be for the time being. We can’t do anything for her now, but if we prepare ourselves it may come a time we’ll be able to help her.”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded.

“She just needs some time for herself. I’ve been in a similar situation in the past.”

The girl kept looking at the noble young woman before she heard Elaine speak up.

“Are you just going to stand there all day?” Once she turned around she noticed the elf looking at her. “Come on now, let’s go.”

She glanced at Priscilla one last time over her shoulder before following the two. The city wasn’t too crowded since at that time of the day, most adventurers, mercenaries and guild members would be either outside the town’s walls or inside the dungeon scouring for their next paycheck. In Reinhardt’s case, now that he received some more coins he was moving to the slums in order to get some rest in the inn. However as they moved, the flat paved ground gave place to the beaten uneven dirt and seeing how Rionara didn’t wear any kind of footwear, it made the knight feel bad about making the girl walk in such a state.

“Elaine.” He called the elf. ”How much did they pay us?”

“Forty silvers.”

“That is… more than the agreed amount.”

“It’s because we brought back more than what the contract stated.”

“I see…”

The longer they walked, the narrower the streets became, until there was only room for two people to barely walk side to side. As Reinhardt led the group, his muscular stature made it difficult for others to pass beside him which was obvious once a ragged man bumped shoulders with him.

“Oi, watch where you’re going!”

He was wearing nothing but ragged stained cloth tied with hemp strings to keep his genitals covered, he reeked of cheap alcohol. Elaine was behind the knight and she could feel the putrid breath of the homeless man coming her way. Reinhardt slightly bowed and with a serious voice he replied.

Stolen novel; please report.

“My apologies.”

After doing so he turned to keep going but the man held his shoulder.

“Not so fast, big guy, what are you going to do about this huh?”

The man tapped on his own shoulder. Instinctively, Elaine clicked her tongue.

“Take your filthy hands off him you bastard.”

“What did you say?!”

In an outburst of rage the man tried to advance towards her with his right hand closed in a fist, however Reinhardt blocked his way and easily kept the man in place by putting his right arm in front of his chest.

“Sir, please calm yourself.” He glanced over his shoulder towards the elf. “Elaine, please there is no need to stoke conflict.”

“Get your hands off me!” The man smacked the side of his helmet and the loose pin of his visor came off along with the whole thing as it fell on the ground as he stumbled against the wall from the unexpected attack. Despite seeing what happened, Rionara was staring at the man not quite understanding what was happening until his eyes locked into hers. “What are you looking at huh?! I’ll teach you to not stare at me!” As he was about to attack the girl, Elaine struck his throat with her open palm which made him flinch back. “Hurgh!”

As he arched back, the elf punched his guts with her left fist and once his head came low she followed up with a strike to the side of his chin which instantly knocked him out. In Rionara’s eyes it was over even before she could blink. The man fell face first into the ground in front of the girl.

“Serves you right.” The elf spat on his face before turning her attention to the knight. “Rein, are you alright?”

He picked the visor off the ground and turned to her, noticing the man on the ground before sighing.

“Elaine, there was no need for that…”

“Hey, he started it.” She looked over her shoulder to the girl. “Come on, let's get out of here before this drunkard gets up again.”

Rionara nodded and followed Elaine who took the lead this time. The knight was trying to attach the visor back but it was a futile endeavor since the bolt that held it in place was shattered inside the helmet’s socket.

It took a few more minutes until they made their way back to the inn. As they entered the building, the main hub was filled with people having their daily fill as the whole place reeked of alcohol.

“Welcome, feel free to grab a seat.” The gray beard innkeeper greeted them but he noticed it was the same guests from the day before. “Oh I was told to leave a message to you.” He beckoned for the knight to approach the counter before leaving a sack of coin on top of it along a note. “Some elf lass told me to hand you this. I can’t read so might as well take it.”

“Huh… thank you sir.” He picked the note and coin sack and pocketed it. “Might you know the name of this ‘elf lady’?”

“No clue lad. She just told me to keep it until you returned. Even paid me.”

At that point Elaine elbowed his left side while whispering.

“Just take it, let’s go upstairs before anyone else notices it.”

He discreetly nodded and turned his attention to the innkeeper once again.

“Can we have a room for three for the night?”

“For three?” He looked over the counter and noticed Rionara looking at the people drinking. “I see, that’ll be twenty copper, if you want some breakfast tomorrow morning I can do it for fifty copper total.”

The knight glanced at the girl and then leaned in closer to the innkeeper.

“Can you bring some food, water and warm water to our room?”

“Eh… I don’t normally do this but since you have a kid with you I’ll make an exception. That’ll run you an extra ten copper.”

“Here you go.”

He took out one silver from his own quest reward and handed it to the man who quickly gave him forty copper coins as change.

“Thank you lad. Your room is the last one in the hallway to the left, I’ll get the hot water in a minute.”

Reinhardt bowed slightly before making his way upstairs. Elaine was beginning to walk behind him until she turned around and noticed Rionara spacing out before grabbing the girl by the cloak to bring her along.

“Don’t space out like that. Come on.”

Aftering being dragged upstairs into the cramped room, Rio sat down near the doorway as if she was going to rest there despite having three beds lined up against one another. Though small, the room had just enough space for them to sleep in individual beds without having to be on top of one another. Upon entering the room, Reinhardt knelt and inspected under the bed while Elaine closed the door behind them.

“Alright, no scorpions thankfully.” The knight stood up and stretched his back, his sword arm was a bit sore but there wasn’t much that he could do inside the armor so instead he chose to sit down on the bed. When he turned he noticed the girl sitting by the doorway which made him a bit confused. “Rio, don’t sit on the floor. Come here.”

Seeing him tap on the bed made the girl awkwardly stand up and walk to him and as though she wasn’t saying anything he noticed how tense she was by the way she sat with her small hands between her thighs.

“Today was one hell of a day…” Elaine muttered as she unclasped her kettle helmet and hung it on the bedpost against the wall. “Aren’t you going to take those off Rein?”

“Not yet.” He replied. “You and Rio should clean yourselves first. I’ll wait outside.”

She slowly nodded twice.

“Okay.”

His attention then shifted to the girl sitting beside him.

“Are you alright Rio?” She nodded once. “Are you hungry? I ordered some food to be brought here.”

There was a bit of hesitation before she shook her head and said in a soft tone.

“No… not really…”

“I see. Even if you aren’t, make sure to eat okay? Girls your age shouldn’t go to sleep with an empty stomach.”

Just at that moment there were a few knocks on the door followed by a familiar male voice.

“Lad, I brought ye water.”

Elaine quickly looked at Reinhardt who simply nodded once which prompted the elf to slowly open the door.

“Thank you.”

She replied as the man gave her a ceramic pot wrapped in hemp cloth.

“I’ll ask the cooks to hurry with your food, it won’t take long.”

“We appreciate your concern.” With a smile, Elaine saw the innkeeper off and closed the door. She brought the heavy pot near the bed and settled it on the floor. “Here we go.”

Reinhardt on the other hand stood up, Rionara followed him with her eyes as he went for the door.

“I’ll be waiting outside if you need anything.”

After seeing the elf nod, he walked out of the room, leaving her and the girl alone. With a sigh, Elaine knelt by the ceramic pot and reached for her leather satchel which had a piece of hemp cloth that she took out of it. She then soaked the cloth in the hot water and looked at Rionara.

“Take off your clothes, you need to clean your body.”

At first the girl didn’t seem to understand what Elaine had said, but as she sighed once again while standing up it made Rionara grasp the edges of her cloak and shake her head in disapproval.

“I’m… I’m fine…”

“You can’t possibly be considering going to sleep dirty like that. Take off your clothes, now.”

“No… I-”

Before she could protest further, Elaine quickly grabbed her left wrist and with one nimble motion of her right hand, took off the girl’s cloak revealing a tattered thin, almost see through, burlap bag with holes punched in for her limbs to go through that worked almost like a dress. However, disregarding Rionara’s weak protests, she continued to take off her makeshift dress in order to wash her body.

“Hm… I can understand why you were so hesitant.”

Elaine said as she noticed the multiple scars across the girl’s body and the more prominent Crest of Exile right on the base of her neck. A brand casted upon those deemed unworthy of life.

While Rionara closed her eyes already expecting her to lash out in anger, Elaine simply knelt again and took the piece of cloth she had left inside the ceramic jar of hot water before wringing the excess out of it and using it to rub the girl’s face.

“Hey, it’s hard to clean your face if you tense up like that.”

Rionara slowly opened her eyes and noticed her unchanged expression as she continued to clean her face with the piece of cloth.

“Aren’t you… angry at me?”

She chuckled mockingly.

“Why? Do you want me to be?”

“N-no, it’s only that… I’m an exile.”

“That only makes us more alike.” She answered while going to the window right above the left most bed and wrung out the dirty water outside before dipping the cloth back in the pot. “Now at least I can understand why you chose to steal.”

“...” Rionara stared at the wooden floor as she continued to scrub her body with the warm cloth. “Miss Elaine…”

“Just Elaine is fine.”

She weakly nodded.

“Elaine. Thank you.”

“Heh… you’re welcome.”

Outside the room, Reinhardt had taken the small purse out of his satchel and opened the letter the innkeeper gave him. The handwriting was surprisingly well, given the circumstances that led to its delivery.

“What is this all about?” He muttered under his breath as he read the letter. “‘I must apologize for not contacting you sooner despite our brief encounter years ago, thanks to you and your loyal servant we were able to achieve something much greater in Arcadia. For that I thank you.’ Hmm…” Upon turning the letter around he noticed there were a few more words, but the handwriting was completely different, almost as if the person who wrote was in a hurry with a piece of charcoal. “‘Your debt has been repaid.’”

He looked inside the purse and there were a few gold and silver coins inside.

“Rein.”

Elaine’s voice came from inside the room, prompting him to pocket the purse back in the satchel and reply.

“Yes?”

“We’re done.”

“Okay, can I come in?”

“Yeah.”

He opened the door and was greeted by her and a noticeably more clean Rionara.

“I hope it wasn’t too uncomfortable, Rio.”

Despite him saying that, she shook her head with a faint smile on her face.

“Elaine helped me…”

Once the knight turned his attention to the elf, she gestured to Rionara.

“She needs better clothing, I still can’t believe she was using a burlap bag to cover herself.”

He nodded.

“We’ll go to the leatherworker tomorrow first thing in the morning.” He took off his helmet and began to unlatch all the leather straps that kept his armor in place. “I forgot to ask since we were on the move almost the entire day. Rio, do you have a weapon? Like a short sword or a dagger?”

She shook her head.

“I had a dagger but… I lost it…”

“I see… we should get something for you in the blacksmith as well then.” He proceeded to clean himself after taking off his gambeson. “Elaine, is there anything you need fixed for tomorrow?”

She shook her head.

“Not really. Though if we are going to the blacksmith, I need a few more arrows.”

“Okay, we’ll see all of that tomorrow then.”

At that moment there were a few knocks on the door.

“Lad, your food is here.”

Reinhardt looked at Elaine.

“Can you get that?”

She nodded and opened the door. The innkeeper was holding a wooden tray with a ceramic cooking pot in the middle with multiple pieces of freshly baked flatbread on the side.

“Here you go lass, enjoy your food.”

“We will, thank you.” After getting the tray inside the room on the middle bed she closed the door behind them. The elf sat by the tray with a concerned look on her face. “I know you asked for food. But what exactly do they serve here?”

“I honestly don’t know.” He replied while still cleaning himself with the piece of cloth. “Mind getting a portion for Rio while I finish here?”

“Hm.” She got the hemp cloth that came with the ceramic pot of water and took off the lid from the cooking pot. “Woah…”

Inside, it was a bubbling hot beef stew with an assortment of vegetables, namely carrots, potatoes, yams and floating on the top of the broth were sliced tomatoes which gave the rich red coloration to the meal.

“Does it look good?”

“Oh yes, this is probably one of the best meals we got in a long while.” She picked one flatbread and folded it in half and used it to scoop some of the stew. “Here you go, Rio. Careful it’s hot.”

The girl nodded as she held the half wrap flatbread between her hands.

“Thank you.”

“Should I make one for you Rein?”

“Yeah please.” He finished cleaning his upper body and wore the gambeson again before sitting on the floor as the elf gave him his share. “Thank you, Elaine.”

“You’re welcome.”

She replied as she turned her attention to make one for herself.

“You’ve warmed up to her haven’t you?” He said with a kind smile on his face. “I’m glad you chose to help her too.”

“She just reminds me too much of my younger self. Powerless, helpless, with no future in sight and yet, despite all of that, still struggling to live as best as she can.” She scooped some of the thick stew with the flatbread before taking a bite out of it. “And well… she’s not like this because she wants to…”

They ate their meal in silence and after everyone was done, Reinhardt made sure to bring the dishes downstairs to the innkeeper. Meanwhile Elaine was inspecting the beds one last time for stray insects while also closing the window.

“Um… Elaine…”

“What is it?”

“Thank you again for today…”

“You got it.” She crawled on top of the rightmost bed that was against the wall and laid down. “Make sure to get plenty of sleep because we’ll most likely be out the entire day tomorrow.”

“Mmhm…” She timidly climbed up on the middle bed and snuggled against her folded legs. “...good night.”

“Hm, good night.”

A few minutes passed before Reinhardt came back into the room, he carried a burlap bag that was filled with clothes but seeing how both of them were sleeping he gingerly closed the door and laid down on the only available bed.

Before sleeping he noticed Rionara slightly turning towards Elaine, resting her head against her chest. He smiled and turned around to sleep.