The six of us stood in front of the house we had been sent to by the barkeeper. It looked like a tower that extended to the side at the top where it was supported by a tree that stood next to it, most of its leaves missing. Instead of leaves, there were thorn tendrils wrapped around it, like snakes. The wooden buildings had a few holes towards the top and looked pretty run down. Instead of a door, there was just a dark red piece of cloth blocking the entrance. It also had holes and the bottom of it was partially ripped and looked jagged and dirty.

"This seems to be... the Crow's domain," I stated as I let my gaze wander around.

The street that led to the Crow's home was narrow with high buildings to all sides, but unlike all the other streets it was... eerily empty, people were practically avoiding it. Besides us, the only things alive around here were cockroaches, rats and the occasional cat hunting them.

"Well, let us go inside," I said.

One of the bodyguards pushed aside the piece of cloth and we stepped inside the dark room, only lit by a lantern hanging from a wooden beam that hung from one wall to another. There were more wooden beams above that one in plus formation, the only ceiling was that at the very top of the tower, a little bit of sunlight could be seen through the black piece of cloth that spun across it. There was also a ladder that led to the extended bit of the building nailed to the wall, starting many metres above us.

The room we were in had a small counter with a chair behind it, many crates and a few empty cages as well as many sacks in it. I was also sure that a few books were lying around here. Every time I took a breath I breathed in dust, making me cough. And that coughing seemed to have alarmed the owner, because only seconds after the second cough I could hear rustling and could see a hooded figure standing at the top of the ladder, looking down at us. In the dark, I could see the crimson red eyes of the Crow glow. On the person's shoulder sat a large black bird.

"The Crow," one of my bodyguards whispered.

The hooded and cloaked figure stepped forwards and fell, landing on one of the wooden beams. He repeated that until he stood right in front of us. The barkeeper didn't lie, the Crow was massive, at least two and a half metres tall. I had thought that my bodyguards were tall but this person towered above them by more than a head's height. After a few seconds where I could see the crimson eyes hidden beneath the hood study us, the Crow turned around, jumped over the counter and sat down in the chair.

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I coughed and stepped up to the counter, my bodyguards and wife following along.

"Mister Crow, I heard that you might have information," I said.

I got no reply other than a quick sigh, he just stared at me with bored eyes. It annoyed me that I could only see his eyes.

"My daughter, she was kidnapped and we assume she was brought here," I continued.

For a few seconds, there was silence but then the Crow finally spoke up.

"Appearance?" he asked.

His voice was deep but not too deep, neither rough nor soft, it neither calmed me nor did it make me anxious, it was strange. The tone was also bored and neutral, if he wanted us to know that he didn't really care he was doing a great job.

"Like my wife-" I pulled her a little closer, "-long blond hair, blue eyes, a little taller than her. She wore a blue robe when she went missing," I explained. "Oh, and... she has a birthmark under her right eye, a little dark spot."

When I gave a description of our daughter my wife once again broke into a sob attack. Besides her sobs, there was silence again for a few seconds before the Crow spoke once again.

"I'll see what I can do. One hundred silvers now, four hundred more when I find her," he said, matter-of-factly.

So much money...

Before I could give an answer one of my bodyguards was already charging towards the counter, screaming.

"You thief! You think you can rip off the lord so easily!" he yelled.

Suddenly the large black bird on the Crow's shoulder let out a croak so loud that I was sure everyone in the entirety of Titan's Footprint could hear it.

"If you even think about attacking him I'll kill you all!"

I was surprised and... perplexed. I thought that I must have gone mad or something. The words didn't come from the Crow... but from the black bird on his shoulder, which now that I actually looked didn't look like a crow, it was much too large for that.

My bodyguard was so surprised that he tumbled and fell headfirst into the counter. At that moment I was sure that the chuckle came not only from the bird but also from the Crow.

He got up from his chair and walked up to me, holding out his hand.

"R-Right," I said as I reached for the pouch of money I had on my belt.

I slowly opened it and took out a silver triangle with rounded edges.

"Here," I said as I handed it to him.

There was something about this person that scared me. It was partially the fact that he was far taller than I was but he also had this strange, heavy, aura around him.

"I'll find you once I have her," the Crow said before leaving the building through the front door and disappearing behind the piece of cloth.

I finally let out a breath I had been holding for a while.

"That man is dangerous," one of my bodyguards said as the other two helped up the one that dove headfirst into the counter.

I just nodded.