“It’s the third day and he still hasn’t come back yet. It isn’t like him. He would never take a quest that lasted more than a day without us. You know that.”  Damen said.

Norbert shrugged.

“I know. But it’s not like we can do anything about it. We have no idea where he went, and the guild will not tell us what quest he took.”

Damen frowned. Then a thought occurred to him.

“What about Drygg?”

Norbert sneered at the mention of him. But he did understand what Damen was trying to say.

“He and his group of followers have been acting too smug as of lately. I sense a connection there.” Damen said.

“Yes, but what can we do about it? We can’t just spy on them all the time in hopes of them letting a clue slip, can we?”

“We can. And we will.”

Norbert looked at his friend to see whether he was joking. He could not tell.

“I’m serious.” Damen said, as if reading his thoughts. “ It’s what Jave would do if either of us went missing. I think if we were hesitant to do the same, it would speak loads about our character.”

Norbert hesitated.

“That’s different. Jave doesn’t have a family, nor any expectations of him. We do.”

“But if he did, would it stop him?”

Now Norbert had nothing to say. He was right. Even if he wouldn’t admit it out loud, he knew he was right.

He (Norbert) sighed.

“Fine. But if this goes wrong in any way, I’m blaming it on you.”

***

Norbert groaned for the umpteenth time.

“Oh, would you shut up! You’re not the only one who’s tired of sitting here in the dirt, you know!” Damen harsh-whispered.

They were, in fact crouched in the dirt, and behind a few bushes. On the other side of the bushes was a very large yard, at the center of which was a fountain, and two stone benches on either side on it. On the benches, sat half- drunk youths who chatted and laughed, all of them in expensive attire.

“I know but at least could they do something more interesting than taking about girls? It’s not like we don’t talk about them either, but not for hours together!”

Damen grimaced.

“I know, I know, but you got to keep it down, I don’t think we want to be caught sneaking around the Kyras household spying on their heir.”

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Norbert gulped at the thought, and nodded.

“Why did these bastards deserve a title, anyway?” He muttered under his breath.

“Probably with some sob story they made up.” Damen said, making them both laugh.

“I’m sorry, but could you tell me what the sob story was?” A voice behind them said, making them both jump. “ You see, I love stories, And you have piqued my curiosity.”

They both got up and turned around. They’re eyes went wide.

Standing in front of them, bathed in moonlight, was Althian Kyras, the current head of the Kyras household and father to Drygg Kyras. He wore green and black mage robes, a testament to his talent in magic. He had grey hair, a long beard, and hard grey eyes. Old age had set in lots of wrinkles on his face. He wore a grim expression, one he seemed to wear whatever the occasion. And now was no different.

“Run?” Norbert suggested.

Damen, who was still in shock by the man’s sudden appearance, took a second to process what he said. He glanced at his friend, and then an agreement was formed.

They ran.

Behind them, then could hear shouts, and then footsteps. Damen glanced back, to see a dozen and more guards of Kyras’ household chasing him. And off to the side, Althian stood with an oddly amused expression, staring straight at him.

His expression confused Damen, but he pushed it to the back of his mind to deal with the more immediate issue- namely, the dozen or so guards chasing them. Unlike the two boys running down the streets, they were fully armored. While they did not seem hindered by it now, he knew that would change. There’s only so long you can run with fifty kilograms worth of steel weighing you down.

While, yes, enchantments could lighten the armor, doing so would be quite expensive. And Damen could bet that the Kyras household was too greedy and selfish to spend their money on equipment even for their own guards.

Damen and Norbert, however, had no such heavy armor. In fact, Damen’s armor was specifically enchanted for speed and agility, along with its stealth enchantments. While Norbert did not have the same benefits as he did, he did not have any doubt as to whether he could outrun the guards.

But Damen did not simply plan to outrun the guards. That was stupid, and he knew it. There could always be a hidden trick up their sleeve, so he had another plan.

He glanced at Norbert. The blonde boy looked back at him as well, with a face that clearly said ‘what?’ .

He gestured. A point to his... crotch.

Norbert’s eyes lit up and a grin spread over his face.

That was all the confirmation he needed.

He jumped to the left, and disappeared into the shadows. Some of the guards noticed it and broke off to surround the shadow that Damen had disappeared into. They unsheathed their swords, and approached the shadow warily.

One of the guards sniffed. He smelt a strange faint odor, a benefit from the enhanced senses that he had got from a potion. Some of the guards looked at him strangely. Then, a loud grumbling sound filled the air.

All the guards looked down, with widening eyes-and pissed themselves. And the worst part was yet to come.

They cursed, and dispersed, heading towards the nearest outhouses they could find.

A few hundred meters away, Norbert was finding it very hard not to laugh as the sounds of shouting and yelling came from behind. The culprit, namely Damen himself dropped down from a nearby rooftop and landed next to Norbert, and continued running.

Both of them had very amused expressions on their faces as they ran. And, strangely, they seemed to run faster now.

The reason behind that was the grumbling noises that continued to fill the air, along with the shouts and yells that came after.

After five more minutes of running, they had successfully outrun the guard and reached a familiar inn. They barged in, panting for breath. Once they had caught their breath, one look at each other was all it took before they burst into laughter.

Once they had got ahold of themselves, they apologized for the scene they made and seated themselves at a table.

“Well… at least they didn’t get ahold of our identity….” Norbert said.

“....Yeah. I don’t think that would end well in any way.”

***

“They were two teenagers, you say, one with the name of Norbert Hardstone, and Damen Enchime.”

The old man, Althian Kyras nodded.

“They were sneaking about, and they….”

***

End of chapter 2