PENELOPE KALLIS:
Wandering the streets with Sir James by my side, we looked for an inn within the small thrown of Krina, tucked away in the far region of western Eleron. We were dressed like commoners, wearing winter clothes despite my resilience to the cold; I didn’t want anyone to know I had left the Kallis Estate, so we had to go undercover.
Two months passed since Alexander warned us about the Shadow Syndicate, and when I told my father about it, he simply said I should drop whatever I was foolishly trying to do. While he said it was to keep me safe, it felt more like a punishment for failing to stay composed during our stay in Raveryn. Had it been half a year ago, I would’ve listened to what he said, but my mind was set on seeing things through.
“This should do, Tanya,” said Sir James, using an alias in case anyone was listening. “We’ve been walking for ages, and you still haven’t said a word to me. You can’t possibly be mad after a week of travel?”
He made me chuckle as I watched him try to get into his role. He oversold it, but we were alone so it didn’t matter. I made sure to cast See Invisibility just in case we were being trailed.
“Pete,” I said, reaching for his face with my right hand before gently slapping it. “Did you really believe I’d allow my skin to wrinkle over the likes of you? You good-for-nothing man that can’t even secure a good woman like me a carriage to ride in. To think I had to walk all the way. Now, will you at least open the door, or do I have to do that myself?”
To think that such silly acting helped ease my nerves a bit. Ser James knew how to make me smile on a whim. That might not be what every noble lady was looking for in a knight, but it sure was something I valued. However, somehow it made me feel bad knowing I took him away from his fiancee and kid for the sake of my investigation, but that was the duty of those under oath.
Ser James, or as I now called him Pete, opened the door and allowed me entry to the cozy roadside inn in the northern part of town. The folk didn’t pay any attention to us just as we hoped, and the barkeep looked at me like any other woman that would enter his establishment.
“Room or a meal? Which one is it?” He spoke without moving his upper lip, making it hard to understand his low gravelly voice.
“Both,” said Pete, tossing a few copper coins on the bar.
“Rates been up this month,” he pointed out, glancing over us. “Gotta be a bit more than that.”
Pete sighed, glancing at me while rummaging through his pouch. He placed a few more copper on the bar and pushed them over.
“We good?” Pete asked.
The barkeep thought for a moment before pulling the coins closer as a sly smirk painted his face.
“So, a meal for the two?” he asked, ogling me a second later. “Got a pretty redhead lass as well. I bet she breaks things too. Maybe I should charge extra.”
Pete took out a silver piece and placed it in front of him, but when the barkeep smugly tried to take it, he grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.
The barkeep’s eyes went wide as Pete leaned in and whispered, “Say that again, and I’ll feed you to the dogs.” He let go of him, smiling as if nothing had happened. “I’m glad we could settle for this.”
“Right. . .” the barkeep mumbled, realizing he overstepped.
I lowered my gaze, secretly listening to see if anyone whispered about us. Luckily, it seemed that our little scene didn’t cause us trouble. Pete took the key and asked for the food to be left in front of the door, giving him a look of warning not to do anything stupid.
Our room looked just as I’d imagined when we paid for something worth a dozen copper at best. I let out a sigh, sitting down on the bed that squeaked. Honestly, I believed I could handle poverty better, but such a life didn’t suit me. Had anyone heard me say that out loud, I’m sure my reputation would’ve tarnished.
“Well. It could’ve been worse,” Pete said as I looked at him doubtfully. He walked over to the window and closed the shutters. “At least there’s a pillow.”
“Quite the standards,” I joked before someone knocked on the door.
I assumed it was the food, but as Pete opened the door, a young kid in his early teens with a sack over his back stood staring at him.
“Hi!” he said with a sweet yet cracking voice as he slowly entered puberty. “My mom told me to deliver this to you.”
“Huh? Who’re you?” Pete asked, looking confused.
“Let him in,” I said with a welcoming smile.
“Thanks, sister.” The cheerful kid waltzed on in, placing the sack on the bed. “This is for you.”
“You mean to tell me that you-” Pete started to blab, but the kid hushed him.
“I was worried you wouldn’t make it on time, sister,” the kid said, looking me dead in the eye. “Did you know tonight’s moon is special? I wanted to see it from Ennavil’s garden as she’s my favorite of the twelve gods, but my mom says she’ll be mad if I don’t clean my room tonight since my dad spilled paint all over the floor.”
“Is that so?” I asked, letting out a playful chuckle. “Well, since you’re going to miss it, I have something to give you. I want you to buy yourself something nice.”
The kid turned to Pete, staring at him until he figured out he had to pay. Taking out a copper piece, he handed it over to the boy. “Woah! Is this for me?”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“Buy your mom something nice on your way back, okay?” I said, glaring at Pete for paying him so little.
The boy chuckled, “but I want to keep it. . . Since it matches sister’s eyes.”
“You’re so sweet.” I crossed my arms and gestured for Pete to give him more. “I guess I’ll have to spoil you.”
Pete sighed, handing over a silver piece.
“Thank you, sister!” He giggled, walking out of the room on his own.
“What was that about?” Pete asked, but I just took the sack instead of answering.
It was amusing looking at Pete’s confused face as I pulled out a black dress befitting a noble out of a sack the boy left behind. Paired with a cloak and a silver ring engraved with the letter S, it was everything I needed for tonight’s auction we intended to infiltrate. Despite my father’s protests, I managed to coax Lord Gregor into helping him, but only after I made sure he was on my side by allowing me to put a suggestion spell on him, which compelled him to tell the truth. He agreed with my approach and decided to support me in secret, arranging this little meeting of ours.
Even my father didn’t know I had left home to pursue the organization responsible for my brother’s kidnapping. As far as he knew, I went to Whitestone to learn more about Alchemy. The knights that traveled with us were sent on a different mission using Sir James’s position as the commander. If the Duke learned the truth, Sir James would lose his title, and I’d be imprisoned in my room until it was time to go to the Academy.
“I’ll check what happened to the food,” Pete said, excusing himself to let me change.
Once I was finally alone, I sighed, looking up at the ceiling. Everything was going according to plan, as we didn’t accidentally find ourselves resting at this particular inn. The boy that came in was from an orphanage that ran a spy network under Lord Gregor, and the encrypted message he left behind was just in case someone caught him on the way. I’m confident he didn’t know what the words he said meant. Was there a need for such secrecy? Probably not.
If I’d be thankful for anything, it would be not having to spend the night at a run-down inn. The auction was going to be held at midnight, so we had a few hours to prepare. I made sure the shutters were closed and the door locked, but I wasn’t sure it mattered since it looked like it would break on its own. I began to strip out of the winter clothes once I was confident nobody was watching me, gasping in relief as I was no longer forced to wear layers of clothing that made me burn up inside.
As I was about to put on my new dress, my cheeks turned red after suddenly hearing loud moans from behind the wall. The woman’s pleasurable screams and his relentless insults left little to the imagination, and I’m sure they weren’t interested in keeping it quiet because of other guests. I was just glad Pete left the room.
Honestly, they showed no signs of slowing down, so I awkwardly looked around the room for any distraction, realizing how excruciatingly long two hours could be.
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We made our way through the alleys of Krina late at night which was never safe. If guards saw us, they could take an interest as we walked around cloaked, clearly hiding from someone. While I wasn’t afraid of being arrested, we would’ve missed the auction we so desperately tried to find.
“Where are we going?” Pete whispered, knowing that nobody eavesdropped.
“Where else?” I glanced at the waxing crescent moon. “To the church?”
“Haven’t you been listening?” I vaguely reminded him of the boy.
“Is it because he mentioned gods?” he asked, still clueless as to the real meaning of the message. I couldn’t blame him, as it was a riddle. “But why would they be doing that at the church?”
“You know what they say. Hide in plain sight,” I teased the wrong answer.
“That’s bold. . .” he mumbled, looking at the ground. “To think a holy temple could be misused like that.”
“Indeed, but that’s not the case this time around. We’re not actually going into the church, but behind it.”
He looked back at me silently before letting out a sigh. “I don’t get it.”
“We were told everything we needed to know. The number of gods and the moon explained the time, while the spilled paint must’ve meant that it was either a shop selling paint or a mark was painted somewhere. Whichever it is, we’ll figure it out when we get there.”
“But why are we going to the church then?”
“Have you ever heard of Ennavil’s garden?”
“No?” he mumbled.
“That’s because it doesn’t exist. The only garden mortals could visit belonged to the Goddess of Light, which is in front of the Grand Solaris Cathedral. Ennavil happens to be her polar opposite, meaning the shop we’re looking for is likely behind the church.”
“Did you know about the riddle beforehand?”
“No, and what I said is still just a guess.”
“Maybe I’m too dumb for this, but isn’t this a bit much? What if you’re wrong?”
“When he arranged the meeting, he knew I was good at riddles, and if I wasn’t able to solve it, then I shouldn’t be trying to investigate this in the first place. Now let’s stay quiet. We’re getting close.”
We soon reached the church, and my guess turned out to be correct. Tucked in a small alley behind the church was a general store that happened to work late hours. Walking up to the front door, Pete took the lead.
We entered to the sound of a small bell as the shopkeeper, an older man with a bad back walked up to the counter.
“Anything I could help you with?” he asked with a soar throat.
I uncloaked myself, placing my left hand in front of him, showing off the silver ring. Without saying a word, he walked to the back and opened a wooden door leading to the basement. Peet took the first step as the shopkeeper gestured for us to go down, and I followed close behind.
When we reached the bottom, a masked man with a disfigured face and one white eye stared at us while sitting on a barrel. There was a curved sword strapped to his belt, but at no point had he shown hostility.
I took off the cloak and handed it over to Pete, showing off the ring to the guard.
“Is he your bodyguard?” he asked, sounding surprisingly young despite his older appearance.
“Is that a problem?” I asked, trying to sound as if I had authority over him.
“Of course not, m’lady.” He chuckled, jumping off the barrel and pushing a pressure plate on the wall.
The sound of cogwheels turning echoed as the wall in front of us split in the middle, revealing a hidden hallway lit by lanterns. Seeing as the guard was looking at me, I decided to take the lead on this one, stepping into unknown territory.
When we reached the end of the hall, another set of stone stairs leading down waited for us. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling anxious, but I’d come too far to turn tail and run. However, nothing could’ve prepared me for the debauchery that waited at the bottom.
Hundreds of guests filled the halls of what looked like a well-designed underground dungeon, some with masks and others proudly walking around, indulging in drinks carried by slaves stripped of their dignity.
The only thing on my mind was, what had I gotten myself in?
Chapter End.
Thank you for reading.