Anna

I need information and a lead.

With a clear objective, Anna entered the Second Sector of Azure City. In contrast to the stillness of the campus, the main district of the Second Sector was like a festival. Ordinaries filled the streets beneath the somber illuminations of the street lamps—laughing, screaming vulgar obscenities fueled by alcohol, and dancing wildly to the cacophony that might have resembled music.

She glanced skyward at the massive Azure City clocktower towering amongst the multistoried buildings. Three hours before midnight. It would be another hour before the Sentinels began hounding everyone off the streets.

Anna walked down the busy streets, dodging drunk folks stumbling in the way as she examined the various storefronts on display. Prior to the start of the school year, one of her merchant connections had informed her of a place in Azure City to get discrepant information that can’t be found in books and records.

All she needed was enough coins to make them talk.

As she rounded the bend, she found a quaint rustic tavern hiding in the corner of the street. Compared to the other shops in the area with their bright vivid storefronts and noisy patrons, this place was distinctly dilapidated. A quiet décor, almost blending into the night as if it didn’t want to stand out amongst the neighboring businesses on the strip.

I think this is it.

Anna walked up to the tavern. The storefront, built on a rotting fragment of oak, read “Azure’s Ale.”

The inside was lit by a dim amber light. Narrow. A small group of patrons were seated by a set of tables in the left corner. A few feet in front of her was the bar, manned by a single bartender in the midst of mixing a drink. Aside from the occasional clink of a spoon against glass, the tavern was silent. Solemn.

Anna approached the bar counter. Her hands, hidden beneath the folds of her cloak, clenched tightly onto the Azurite pendant around her neck, ready to unleash mayhem if anyone dared to get touchy with her. To her surprise, none of the patrons gave her more than a single glance.

Interesting. She was expecting a more uncivilized reaction. With her petite stature, it wasn’t hard to guess that there was a woman hiding underneath the cloak. Still wary, she took a seat by the counter.

“Hello, how may I serve you on this fine evening?” the bartender asked. His eloquent mannerisms gave the impression of a well-read man who might have once served the nobility.

“I heard this place sells information,” Anna whispered, just loud enough for the bartender’s ears. The man paused at the inquiry. Noting his hesitation, Anna slid a silver coin across the table.

The bartender nodded. “This way,” he said, beckoning towards one of the rooms deeper into the establishment. Anna followed his lead. Doubt crawled up her spine as the bartender closed the door behind her.

As a merchant, she wasn’t unfamiliar with these sorts of shady conversations that took place in the shadows. Her past endeavors, however, were always conducted while being accompanied by mercenaries. And if things ever got bad, she could always rely on the Seibert name to bail her out of tricky situations.

But not this time. She was alone, and her presence here had to remain a secret.

“You can call me Lugner.” The bartender bowed as he offered her a seat. The room they were in had a single table in the center, flanked by two chairs, furnished with a single candle atop.

“This room is soundproofed, so rest assured that any information exchanged here will remain solely between us two,” Lugner continued, “So young miss, how may I be of assistance?”

“Your patrons are surprisingly docile,” Anna began, trying to hide her discomfort by seizing the initiative of conversation, “I’m used to a more vulgar response when someone like me stumbles into these sorts of establishments.”

“I apologize if you were disappointed, miss. But alas, this is Azure City,” Lugner said with a professional smile, “The folks here tend to be a bit more reserved when the person they’re harassing might just be an Exalted.”

“I see,” Anna sighed, realizing that she just outed herself as a newcomer, “I have a few questions.”

All I know is that Ellen might have gotten caught up in something last night. Whatever it was, it necessitated an immediate cover-up from the Academy. That means there’s a high chance that the Sentinels must have known about it.

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“First, yesterday, between evening till dawn of the following day, was there anything unusual that happened?”

“I’m afraid you’ll need to be more specific, young miss. You are speaking to an information broker. I cannot give you everything that easily.”

She frowned. I don’t want to expose myself as an Academy student, even if he might already be suspecting it. There’s no reason to trust this conversation will actually remain off-the-records.

“Let’s say an accident. An incident. A confrontation. Something atypical. Maybe the Sentinels were alerted to something,” Anna said, probing Lugner’s reaction. The broker suddenly went silent as he stared at her with a still gaze.

Realizing his intent, she clicked her tongue. Fucking money grubber. She took out of one of her money pouches and carelessly tossed on the table. A mountain of silver coins poured out.

“Don’t waste my time,” she snapped. She didn’t miss the flicker of surprise across Lugner’s eyes.

“…My apologies. I didn’t realize I was speaking to an esteemed client.” Lugner feigned a cough, trying to hide his greedy grin. “Very well, young miss. Your requirements are still quite vague, but I’ll try to provide as much as I can.”

He opened his arms and moved a couple of coins onto his side of the table.

“Last night, around midnight, a group of Sentinels were called to investigate the reports of a scream in the western quarter near District 7, close to the Third Sector. However, they were immediately rebuffed when trying to reach the area.”

A scream? Anna narrowed her eyes, alarmed by the information. “Do you know who stopped them from investigating?”

Lugner shook his head as he retrieved another coin from the pile. “There were no direct reports, but we can make an educated guess. The Sentinels are responsible for maintaining order of Azure City. There are only a handful of people that could stop them from doing their jobs. For example, a member of the Council of Mana or maybe a high-ranking staff of the Academy.”

Anna pushed the pouch of silver coins towards his side. “Tell me everything you know about this incident and what’s in the area.”

A sinister smile crept across Lugner’s face. “Of course, as you wish, young miss.”

***

By the time Anna exited the tavern, an hour had passed. She slowly opened the tavern door and clung against the shadows along the bend of the road.

The festivities were over. Sentinels roamed the area, hounding any people still lingering on the streets to go home. The few unruly drunks that tried to protest were immediately surrounded and knocked unconscious with wooden batons before being promptly dragged away.

Anna winced at the violence. Lugner’s words echoed in her head, “The folks here tend to be a bit more reserved when the person beside them might just be an Exalted.”

Evidently, that didn’t apply to the Sentinels. If anything, they were extremely aggressive and unafraid to use violence to demand obedience.

She could understand it to an extent. In this city proliferated by Exalted, the Sentinel’s attack-first, ask-questions later policy might have been logical. After all, there was a high chance that a person that they were dealing could be hiding a Gift—one that could be used to retaliate against the Sentinel’s attempts to maintain order. The aggression was a means to protect the city’s guards. But on the other hand, it meant unnecessary cruelty towards the Ordinaries.

The streets gradually emptied. The bulk of the Sentinels moved to another block of the Second Sector to continue enforcing the city’s curfew. Anna threaded along the edges of the street sidewalk, hiding in the shadows of the street lamps, trying to evade the remaining patrols stationed in the area. For once in her life, she was thankful for her diminutive stature.

Her destination was the western quarters, district 7, by the Third Sector.

That bastard better not have lied to me. Anna clenched her teeth. Her coin pouch felt uncomfortably light. The transaction left a bitter taste in her mouth, especially given her background as a merchant.

I didn’t do a good job of hiding my desperation. Her merchant side reprimanded herself for too emotional and impatient.

Anna clicked her tongue, shaking her head to silence the nagging thoughts. Oh, shut the hell up. Money could always be earned again. The same couldn’t be said for a person’s life.

***

The dense array of buildings gradually grew sparse. The amount of street lamps illuminating the area steadily decreased. Anna soon found herself at the edge of the Second Sector.

The Third Sector was a stark contrast to the rest of Azure City. The well-maintained roads paved in cement suddenly tapered off, giving way to grassy ruins in the midst of being reconquered by nature. The transition was abrupt and jarring—like an unfinished painting that had stopped arbitrarily.

The grass softly crunched under the weight of her steps as she advanced. Her destination was the woods just up ahead. Last night’s scream allegedly emerged around this area. Lugner advised her not to investigate alone—apparently there was a number of people near the area that have gone missing in the past few months.

She swallowed nervously as she entered the woods. Thick leaves and branches brushed against the edge of her cloak. She pushed past the dense undergrowth, cutting away at the foliage with a knife. It was absurdly dark.

An unsettling weight dropped in the pits of her stomach. Darkness loomed around her, shrouding her vicinity. The absence of vision exaggerated every one of her other senses. Any faint rustles of sound made her jump. Any unusual sensations made her skin crawl. Was there something nearby? Or was it her paranoia?

Her heart raced in her ears, growing incessantly loud and frantic. Lugner’s warning echoed in her head. The dangers in his words gnawed at her sanity. Suddenly, she was regretting her impulse to come here.

Maybe I should go ba—

Her blood went cold. Her instincts shrieked, warning her of impeding danger.

A step.

Behind her.

Anna tried to spin around. A hand suddenly covered her mouth. She squirmed, trying to shake herself free, until something cold and sharp grazed the nape of her neck.

She froze. A scalding burn pricked at her skin. A knife was pressed against her throat.