-Muwal-
[An ancient Terrai’en word, meaning “Blood.”
It is one of very few Terrai’en words still in use after the Ashfall War.]
Ensaru’s investigation proceeded very slowly. Two days had passed, and neither Kuro nor Oroske had heard a peep from the man. He also hadn’t been back to his home since Ari and Xeron visited and made their accusations. Kuro still didn’t know how he felt about those two, both generally speaking, and that they were to be his opponents in the second part of his time here. He hadn’t seen much of Ari or her mentor since the days before he reclaimed his navy cloak. It seemed they were out just as often as him and Oroske, and the two pairs always came and went at different times.
He’d overheard Venn and others at the HQ gossiping about Ari and how quickly she’s progressing as a Hunter. She was smart, and often took the lead on her and Xeron’s Hunts. Rumors said she was a capable fighter, too, though Kuro would have to fight her himself to know for sure.
Xeron interested him, too. He had a handful of notable achievements under his belt, and multiple commendations from other Hunters, and even one from Danfis himself. Kuro had never seen him fight, and had no clue what his fighting style was like. All Kuro really knew about the man is that he apparently had some weird hatred for him and Oroske. He had no idea why, especially since Oroske doesn’t seem to mind him very much.
Well, maybe Kuro would find out some day. Maybe he wouldn’t. He didn’t know, and he didn’t mind that.
He pushed the thoughts out of his head as the lift arrived at the second layer. Today he and Oroske had no plans. Well, they did have plans to meet with one of the city council members that had approached them yesterday, concerning the rumors that erupted from the J’alyr the other day. Oroske had guessed they canceled because they were able to get an appointment with Ensaru himself, and Kuro agreed that it seemed likely. Nyb Eralis, the man who’d approached them that day they’d gone to the city council, still hadn’t contacted them at all. Kuro guessed he was simply busy, and Oroske had never mentioned the man again either.
So, with their plans canceled, and with it being nearly mid day, Kuro and Oroske were in search of good food. They’d gone to the J’alyr yesterday to see if they could confirm anything about the tunnel for themselves, and had overheard a group of workers talking about which layer had the best food. It seemed the group eventually reached the consensus that layer two did. So here they were.
Along the main bridges alone they had countless choices, with seemingly endless variety. They’d walked the entire Northern stretch of bridge, arriving in the center. Each had noted a few places they thought sounded good or interesting, and sat down on a bench, backs resting against the central pillar of the massive city, to discuss and deliberate.
Before they could begin though, a well dressed pair approached them. A man and a woman, both with dark brown hair, neither much older than twenty years old. The man, who would introduce himself as Yil, was the older of the two, and had vibrant green eyes. While the younger woman, Cera, had dull, bored-looking blue eyes.
“You two are Oroske and Kuro, correct?” Yil had asked, prior to any sort of introduction.
“That’s right,” Oroske responded sternly, “And you two are?”
“I am Yil Muwal, and this is my younger sister, Cera Muwal.”
Muwal? Wasn’t that Yenva’s-
“You two are Yenva’s kids?” Oroske spoke Kuro’s thoughts before he could think them. His voice sounded harder this time.
“Correct,” Yil said, “I was hoping we could chat. Maybe over some lunch?”
Kuro was surprised to hear that be said so casually, considering the person they were talking to. He knew who they were, and therefore probably knew what they were in town for as well. Judging by his moment of silence, Oroske was surprised as well.
After nearly a full minute of dumbfounded silence, Oroske stood up and spoke. “Alright, sure. Any suggestions? We were just trying to figure out where we wanted to eat.”
Yil smiled softly, “Cera, there was a place you wanted to try, right?”
The girl nodded, “It’s a bit of a walk, since it’s on the First Layer. My friends have been raving about it recently. Come, I’ll lead the way.” She spoke in a cheerful, kind way.
They went to the same lift Oroske and Kuro had just taken. Cera wasn’t kidding, it was a long walk. After arriving on the first layer, after a particularly crowded lift ride, they had to walk back near the center of the city again. From the center, they took one of the smaller, residential bridges - smaller being relative to the main thoroughfare bridges, they were still large enough for people to walk around and fit houses on both sides - and wandered through a maze of streets. Cera had to stop and look around occasionally, as though she weren’t quite sure where she was going. It seemed like she had a solid enough idea where to go though, since it didn’t seem like they ever went through an area twice.
Eventually, they arrived at a narrow bridge, just wide enough for three people to walk side by side, reaching out to a small pillar ‘island’ with a single building on it. Kuro was grateful for the rails on the bridge, it seemed a long way down to the second layer. I’m sure if I timed some magic right, I could survive a drop like that. Maybe I’ll give it a shot sometime, He thought to himself as they crossed.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
The building was a small cafe, with a surprising lack of people for how popular Cera had made it sound. Perhaps it just wasn’t peak hours. They were cheerfully greeted by a black haired woman, who they’d later discover was the owner of the cafe. She was dressed in a stylish, monochrome outfit, which complemented their dark eyes and pale skin.
They were quickly sat down at a window booth, which gave them a wide open view of the second layer below, and handed menus to look at and order off of. There was an awkward tension to the silence as the four looked at their menus. Kuro’s attention was caught by an “owner’s special” section at the bottom of the back. It included a toasted sandwich with meat types he’d never tried, and a drink he’d never heard of. When he first reawakened, he was hesitant to try anything that seemed unfamiliar to him, but he’d been opening up a lot to new things. He, Oroske, and Cera all ordered the same thing, while Yil just got a black coffee and a slice of cake.
“So. Xeron tells us you’re in town to kill our mother?” Yil eventually broke the silence shortly after their food arrived. Kuro sniffed at his drink, which was hot enough the cup itself was hot. It smelled good, he could tell there was coffee in it, but there was something sweet in it as well. He decided to let it cool a bit before he drank any, the last time he had a hot drink his tongue felt burnt for days.
Oroske took a prolonged sip of his drink, letting out a satisfied breath as he set it down. “Technically, yes.” He began his explanation as he leaned forward, arms folded on the table, “But also technically, our contract doesn’t necessarily state we need to kill her. Just do something about her feud with our employer. To be frank, I’m not a fan of killing if I don’t need to. If there’s another way to solve the issue, I’d like to take that route.”
“What can we do to help?” Cera asked between mouthfuls of her food, making cute, satisfied noises as she enjoyed it.
Kuro decided to try his sandwich then as well. It was really tasty. Three separate types of meat, and a handful of toppings worked together very well with the toasted bread to create a pleasant texture. The flavor was more sweet than savory, which surprised him.
“I’d like to know more about Yenva. Her goals, her motivations, and her rivalry with Ensaru. That may clue us into potential alternatives.” Oroske said.
Yil took a long drink before speaking. “Very well, I’ll start with her and Ensaru’s rivalry. You may already know this, but the two were actually quite good friends in the past. Back then, mother was much happier in general, and was always surrounded by friends. It started when she got recruited by Grand Stone’s marketing department. Before this, she’d been doing well for herself in an old sister company of the J’alyr. Shortly after she got it in her head that she had to compete with Ensaru, and declared herself his rival. I don’t think he understood what he was getting himself into by playing along initially.
“At that point, she became increasingly distant. Within a couple years she’d spent more and more time at work, and gotten multiple promotions. She’d already spent more time at work than at home, leaving early in the morning and coming back late into the night, so it didn’t change much once she got her new house down near the Guild’s offices. At that point, Cera had only been in school for a year. With our dad having died a few years after she was born, I ended up having to take care of her and myself.” Yil tightened his grip, his face becoming more angry than solemn, “She ditched us, sending us just enough money to get by. At least she made sure we’d be able to survive, I guess. She’d come to visit and check on us every couple weeks, then once a month once I turned seventeen. It’s been even less frequent recently, neither of us have seen her in nearly six months.
“If there’s any praise I can give her, it’s that she’s dedicated to what she wants. It wasn’t just us she began to neglect. Old friends and coworkers would occasionally stop by, wanting to check on her because they hadn’t heard from her in ages. Once she became the head of the Guild, all of this just got worse and worse. Her desire to outdo Ensaru and his operation drove her to sacrifice nearly all of her friendships.”
Oroske finished his food a few moments before Yil finished speaking, and was able to get into asking questions quickly as a result. “Do you think there’s any external influence, spurring her on to make these sacrifices?”
“The only person that comes to mind would be Aunt Recen. She’s the only person from mother’s old life she still talks to regularly. Recen also had a part in bringing her over to Grand Stone. She’s always pushed mother to excel in whatever she does.” Cera cut in before taking a swig of her drink.
“I agree,” Yil said, “I’ve heard rumors of this ‘New Spire Empire,’ and as hungry for power and money as she is, I find it hard to believe mother would go along with something like that. She likes things done through official means. Aunt Recen on the other hand… Well I’ll be honest, I don’t know her very well, but from what I do know of her, I wouldn’t be too surprised. I do worry that if things go too far, mother may make a choice she won’t be able to take back.”
“I also worry that even if you don’t, someone else will come along to assassinate her. Our family can’t use magic at all, so she’d be practically defenseless.” Cera said casually while leaning back in her seat, her drink cupped in both hands at her chest.
She’d really admit something like that so easily? Kuro asked himself. It almost feels suspicious, and yet I don’t feel like she’s lying. “You can’t use magic? Like at all?” He asked after taking a sip of the drink finally, now that it was plenty cooled down. It was great. Much like the sandwich, it was not quite the flavor he expected. The coffee taste was certainly present, but it was very evenly balanced with a creamy taste that was rather sweet.
“Correct,” Yil said. His expression told Kuro he was displeased with Cera telling the Hunters. “Our distant ancestors from Terrai entered a contract with some deity, and the bloodline became cursed. Since then, no Muwal can use any aether-based magic.”
“I see,” Kuro said, taking another sip of the drink.
Most of the food had been finished at the table, aside from Yil’s cake, which he got a to-go box for.
“Thank you for taking the time to chat with us. I hope we can speak again soon.” Yil said as they crossed the bridge back to the rest of the city.
“Of course. Thank you for the information. You have my word that if we can avoid killing Yenva, we will.” Oroske said, waving in farewell as they split up.
Yil and Cera thanked the Hunters again, and walked off.
What a strange encounter. They didn’t exactly ask us for anything, they really just wanted to talk to us. Kuro thought. He’d thought they’d come pleading for him and Oroske to spare Yenva, but really it seemed they just wanted to talk.