image [https://i.imgur.com/LHY7c12.jpeg]
The sound of footsteps rang into Minos’ ear like raindrops on the rooftop. It trickled away slowly before fading into the distance. He could hear it beyond the wooden walls of the guest room he was sharing with Rei and Lira. At least it’s not a dingy dungeon, he thought to himself. And it’s cozier than the inns we rented.
Still, it was now undeniable that they were prisoners in this mansion.
“That fucking oaf!” Lira cursed as soon as the three of them were finally alone. “I cannot believe he pulled this on us!”
Minos nodded, “Though I do think that it’s not a terrible plan.”
“Risking the life of a boy is not a terrible plan?” Lira repeated.
“The captain was right. Admit it or not, this is what you would do if you were in his position,” explained the young nobleman.
The drow huntress grunted, partly due to pain and partly due to being outreasoned by Minos.
“You should probably lie down,” he remarked, “you’re not fully recovered yet.”
“I was healed by magic,” Lira responded, “Of course, I am fully recovered.”
“Curative spells may have accelerated your healing, but your body still has to repair itself…”
“I know how Healing Magic works, do not lecture me on it,” Lira scoffed.
“I’m not lecturing you! Can I just be concerned? Am I not allowed to worry about you?”
“You are not. It is my job to worry about you.” Lira sat down on the end of her bed, pressing his palms against her belly. A stain of blood seeped through her clothing, but she covered it and hid it away from Minos’ view.
“Whatever,” sighed the young nobleman as he rested his back against the headboard of his bed. “I know this is not ideal. I’m annoyed and pissed that I am getting sidetracked more and more every day. I want nothing more than to get out of this stinking city and go sail away and find the Sword… But I also…” Minos trailed.
He paused for a moment to think, making sure that what he was feeling was right before expressing them.
“Like it or not, I’ve grown attached to the boy,” he affirmed. “And after witnessing what happened to his parents, I just want to see him get the justice he deserves.
“And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I am willing to stay here and postpone my quest, if it means I’d be helping in catching or killing those freaks.”
Aside from her bleeding wound, Lira also tried to hide the smile of pride that had formed on her lips. “I could never agree more,” she nodded to Minos.
The young nobleman glanced at Rei who was also sitting on his own bed, and he gave Minos the same nod. He then pushed his body forward on the bed and rested his head on the soft pillow. It didn’t take time for him to doze off to sleep.
It also didn’t take time for him to shiver awake at the feeling of something heavy pressing on top of his body. He opened his eyes and saw Rei above his face, his index finger against the mask of his mouth.
“What?” he whispered to his foreign companion.
“Someone’s here,” Rei whispered back. He placed Minos’ short sword over his chest and motioned for him to follow.
Minos wiped the drool off his cheeks and stood up behind Rei who was also wielding his short blade.
“Where’s Lira?” asked the young nobleman as he noticed the drow huntress’ empty bed.
“She left after you fell asleep. She said she’ll be watching over Robb for the night,” explained Rei. He carefully opened the door and quietly stepped out, followed by Minos.
At the end of the corridor, one of their guards was standing slack-legged, trying to pull off the pair of arms wrapped around his neck. It belonged to a figure clad in black, hooded and masked, similar to Rei’s garments, but lacking in flair.
As soon as the guard fell unconscious, Rei zipped straight across the hallway with footsteps as quiet as a scampering mouse. He leapt and bounced off the wall before swinging his blade dead center on the intruder’s head.
His opponent dodged sideways while also unsheathing a weapon of their own, a leaf-shaped and slightly curved short blade with a bronze cross guard. The trespasser waved its sword and pressed it against Rei’s blade, trying to pin him against the wall.
The foreigner spun on his heels and threw a thrust at his opponent's lower body, which it eagerly parried. He turned again, and then again, slashing and swinging along left and right in quick succession, to the point that even Minos was having a hard time following his companion’s moves.
But not the intruder. It barely managed to parry and evade Rei’s multiple strikes, while pushing him backward back into the young nobleman. Soon as they got close enough, the unknown figure let out a yell using a voice that was familiar enough for Minos.
“Enough!” It was Seiveril, the half-drow smuggler they met a few nights ago. She was already huffing and punting from her short encounter with the foreigner, while Rei only appeared calm but nonplussed.
“You!” Minos pointed out. “Don’t tell me you work for him as well?”
“Him?” asked Seiveril, looking confused. “You know well who I work for.”
Rei turned sidewards towards his companion, while still holding up his short sword. Minos motioned for him to put it away.
“What are you doing here?” asked the young nobleman.
“She wants to talk to you,” answered Seiveril.
“Well, tell her to get in line. I’m unavailable,” said Minos.
“Now. It’s urgent.”
“How did you even know we were here?”
“Are you kidding? Hrothgar practically announced it to the whole city. It’s as if he’s inviting somebody to come and get you,” Seiveril grumbled.
“Now then lies the problem. We’re not allowed to leave this house.”
“Or what?” ribbed the half-drow.
Minos paused, not having a ready answer. “Or he’ll kill us?”
Seiveril snickered at his response. “Hrothgar may be ruthless and cunning, but he’s still a man of law. He can’t kill you that easily.”
“Well, I guess he’ll throw us in jail.”
“Which I’m sure would be very inconvenient for you,” Seiveril snarked with a spurious smile.
“What is so important that she couldn’t just send a message?” Minos sighed.
“You tell me,” Seiveril shrugged.
“Fine,” Minos huffed. He motioned for Rei to come along, and he started walking to the end of the hallway. “I’m guessing you cleared a way for us out of here?”
“The window to the right,” answered the smuggler.
They walked past one of the bodies on the floor and Minos heard one of the guards grunting in paint. “Well at least you didn’t kill these guys,” he commented.
“I’m not stupid enough to kill Hrothgar’s men,” Seiveril noted.
The two followed her instructions and found an open window with a grappling hook and rope dangling out towards the courtyard below. Minos rolled his sleeves up and started climbing down.
***
The escape out of the mansion was easy enough, which made Minos more concerned about the safety of their friends left inside. Seiveril even commented that she didn’t have much of a hard time sneaking in, further reinforcing the idea of Hrothgar turning them into bait.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
And with the curfew now finally lifted, they didn’t need to use the underground passages that The Guild used, nor would they need to guile their way through any passing City Watchmen they encounter. Seiveril also didn’t cover his head with a bag, so he took note of the streets and alleyways they went on.
It didn’t take long for them to arrive at yet another familiar mansion. It was indeed the house of the leader of The Guild, recognizing the exterior walls and columns. As they entered, however, the atmosphere was different from the first time Minos was here. The lights by the patio were out, and the picnic tables were turned over. The chairs were scattered as well as the toys and some of the dolls.
Seiveril took the two inside the mansion, where the big woman was waiting on a couch. There was fury in her eyes, as crimson as the wine she was drinking.
Minos sat down on a couch opposite of the woman, while Rei remained standing behind him. He fought the urge to make a joke as he met the scornful look The Guild Leader was giving.
“I will not dawdle around, and will head straight to the point,” started the big woman. She took a sip of her wine and a puff of her smoke. “The favor you owed me, I am calling it in.”
Minos nodded. She sounded serious, and he could recognize the distress in her face and tone. “Sure. Unfortunately, I’m a bit preoccupied at the moment, so if it could wait…”
“It couldn’t,” interrupted the woman. “Hrothgar has already shed a light to some of the things that occurred in this city. Specifically, to those that involved you and your friends. As for the things he didn’t make public, well, I have my own people for that.”
“You mean spies in the City Watch,” clarified Minos.
“This Von Schreiber kid…” continued the woman, “the one they call Dominic, he has my daughter.”
Minos gasped, he looked around the room, and everything suddenly made sense. “When did this happen?”
“Earlier this evening,” answered the woman.
“The City Watch knows about this already?”
“My people are notifying them at this moment, by I had Seiveril fetch you first,” explained the Guild Leader.
“Why me?”
“I think you know why.”
“You don’t trust Hrothgar…”
“I don’t need Hrothgar, nor his band of inept adherents. If I needed an army, I have my own.”
“But you don’t need an army, you want… somebody who encountered him.”
“Which is, coincidentally, the same person who recently owed me a favor,” the woman took another sip while waving her palms towards Minos.
“Actually,” the young nobleman paused and glanced at Rei behind him, “my friend here, is the one who fought the guy. He even nicked him, am I right?”
Rei nodded.
“Then I made the right decision, getting you here. You’re going to find this cur and kill him if you must…”
Minos stood from his couch and started pacing across the room.
“You recently escaped from his lair,” the woman formulated, “and it is currently cordoned off by the Watch, so he will not be there. I am guessing you’ve talked to him, maybe he even discussed his plans with you, or you have uncovered it on your own. Matters not to me, as long as you do everything you can, use everything you know, to get my daughter back.”
“We may not need to find him, I have an idea…” Minos walked back to the other side of the room, his mind completely disconnected from everyone else. “But for this to work, I will need your army… no, not enough, I will need more… the City Watch!”
The young nobleman was already rambling as he continued walking back and forth, but the big woman listened to him intently.
“Soliton has six-thousand miles of tunnels and underground passages, which included subterranean chambers that were formerly utilized as rooms for the sewer workers… Most of them were already lost to history, after being abandoned for decades…
“Now, I’ve seen your group use some of them, as a way to navigate unseen, but I don’t think you have the faintest idea that you were just barely scratching the surface…
“All that notwithstanding, it’s highly probable that Dominic and his minions are hiding in one of these underground tunnels. Given the level of security the City Watch employs, and the level of support Hrothgar gets from the common people, these guys will soon run out of places to hide.
“So no, if you want me to find them, we don’t need to find them. We need to flush them out,” Minos concluded.
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The sun may be hiding behind cloud cover, but it had already reached its peak by the time Minos and Rei returned to Hrothgar’s mansion. Two guards greeted them by the main gate, who both pointed their halberds at the pair soon as they tried to get in.
After a short argument, and getting confirmation from the other guards, they were finally let in. Minos was immediately greeted by a stern look from Cassana.
“Where have you been?” she asked.
Lira stood up and took steps towards the two. He then nudged Scout to crawl from under her feet towards Minos, who took the small animal and carried it over his forearm. “Satisfied?” he asked with an annoying grin.
The drow huntress sighed in relief and went back to what she was doing.
“Nice to see everybody is here, cause I’m only going to explain this once,” Minos said. Cassana remained standing in front of him, while Ashvell and Robb turned their heads to see him. “Robb is safe, no one would be coming after him anymore.”
“Did they get Dominic?” asked Cassana.
“No, but worse. They got someone else,” answered Minos.
“What?”
“A little girl who can do magic. They took her last night.”
“The City Watch knows about this already?” asked Lira.
“They should by now, which would mean that this whole bait plan is for all for nothing,” stated Minos.
“Then that means we can go home,” uttered Cassana.
“And it also means that Dominic will be able to complete his ritual…” added the young nobleman.
“He would need a wizard for that, and no self-respecting wizard would do that willingly,” defended Cassana.
“How many wizards do you think are in this city?” asked Minos.
“A dozen?” Cassana shrugged.
“74. 74 registered wizards. How do I know that? I did a quick check of the registry. Also didn’t cost me much to see their names and where they live. If I can do that, so can these guys.
“I already talked to Hrothgar at his office. He sent out Watchmen to each one of these wizards, to make sure they’re all accounted for. And I also convinced him of my plan, all I need now, are you guys…”
“Your plan?” clarified Lira. “What did you tell him?”
“I’ll explain in a bit. I’m assuming you’re in?” Minos pointed at Lira.
“Fine,” she shrugged.
“And you?” Minos faced the redhead, his index finger pointing at her.
She stared blankly at him, trying to find the earnestness in his face. Minos waited quietly until she replied, despite feeling confident that she would accept his proposition.
“You have to tell me your whole plan first,” Cassana finally replied.
Minos sat her down and began explaining the plan that he told The Guild Leader, the same plan he proposed to Captain Hrothgar a few hours ago.
“Hrothgar agreed to this?” interrupted Lira after hearing the commander’s name.
“Yes, I passed by their headquarters before I went back here,” he answered.
“And he just said yes? I don’t believe you,” doubted Cassana.
“What can I say, I’m a persuasive guy!” quipped Minos.
“Bullshit!” said Cassana.
“Look, I’m sorry, but the details of our conversation are just between him and me. Rei wasn’t even in the room! Not that I don’t trust Rei…”
The foreigner nodded and shrugged.
Cassana remained sitting down, quietly absorbing and contemplating over the young nobleman’s plan. “This is stupid,” she commented.
“You mean stupidly good!” Minos’ remark earned a collective groan from almost everyone in the room.
“First,” Cassana followed up, after rolling her eyes, “there is no guarantee that they would go there.”
Lira threw her palms forward, seconding what the redhead said. Ashvell and Robb turned their heads toward Minos, waiting for his reply.
“True, they could go anywhere. Hence why I needed the combined forces of the City Watch and The Guild,” explained Minos.
“It still wouldn’t make sense that you expect them to return to the one place they are expected to be,” challenged Cassana.
“Which is exactly why they would be going there,” reasoned Minos, “because it's the one place they think we would not think they would go to.”
Minos’ words had everyone lost in their heads, with Ashvell in particular finding himself scratching his nape in confusion.
“It’s one hell of a gambit,” said Cassana.
“I know that. But unless you have an alternative in mind…” Minos added. “Remember, an innocent girl’s life is at stake here. And given that we failed to get the guy the first time, whatever fate befalls her, is on us.”
Minos’ intentions were obvious in the way he framed his words. But seeing the look on Cassana’s face, it was clear to him that it was working.
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The group’s return to the Von Schreiber mansion was easy. Same with them gaining entry, which they achieved by simply walking through the front entrance. Some of the City Watch guarding the place already left, and there was one group about to depart, leaving only six Watchmen behind. Firroth was among those stepping out and Cassana tried her best to avoid his look.
“Cassana!” called out the tall wizard, after it became clear that she refused to even acknowledge him. He squeezed through the line of Watchmen heading towards the exit and grabbed the redhead by her arms.
“Get off me!” yelled Cassana in reply.
Firroth backed off but moved in front of Cassana. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know that Hrothgar was going to do that.”
The redhead averted her gaze from her colleague, as she got left behind by everyone else. Minos turned around to watch the awkward confrontation with bated breath.
Cassana sighed, and after a few seconds, finally replied. “I don’t have time for this. Can you just leave me alone?”
“Of course,” Firroth nodded and cleared away and Cassana continued walking towards her companions.
“By the way,” the tall wizard called out again, “we found something on the top floor. It’s a room sealed with magic,” he explained as the group walked further inside.
Getting their way towards the abandoned cistern, Minos met Noah and his wife, sitting outside by the patio. They both stood up and acknowledged the group’s presence, but their eyes turned to stare towards little Robb.
“Is he...?” Noah asked.
“Yes, this is Robb, Denise’s son.”
“Welcome home, sir,” Noah nodded.
Robb looked up at Minos, confused.
“Somebody will have to confirm this, but since all your relatives are gone, you are now the master of this house,” Minos explained.
The young boy stared at Minos in astonishment, still trying to understand what it all meant.
“Master?”
“This is all yours now,” added Cassana.
Robb took a step back and turned towards the mansion. The four-story edifice of brick and concrete stared down at him like a kneeling giant about to pick him up. The coming days brought him a wind of uncertainty, now that life itself presented a different path ahead. Robb took swallowed his words.
Noah showed the group another way towards the cistern, through the secret door he mentioned before. It was safer and easier, as they no longer needed to climb down a narrow shaft. Much of the underground chamber had already been cleared, including the malformed, deceased body of Rikhart. The air was still and quiet, save for the sound of their footsteps bouncing off the walls. The torches on the sconces were alight with flame, giving the room an eerie vibe that raised the hairs on the Little Robin’s skin.
Lira quickly stepped around and started preparing a trap for the shadow creature while Minos shoved a pylon on a crack he found on the floor. He borrowed the magic detection device from the City, hoping that it would aid them in their task. Meanwhile, Cassana brought out her father’s grimoire, turning to the page that she found earlier. She started reciting a spell, and the floor was covered with a purple gleam pulsating from the redhead.
They all sat around, scattered in their own little corners. The minutes turned into hours and just as they thought all their preparation would lead to nothing, the pylon started to glow.
“Eyes up everyone, here we go!” Minos’ rally echoed across the cistern, and everyone took to their feet to get ready.