The three men continued their chatter about the upcoming festival whilst waiting for their second round of beer to arrive. The night was still young and a lot of hunters happened to gather at the tavern around the first few days of June.

Hence, the place was at its full capacity and the staff was barely keeping up. It took Jena a few minutes before she finally made it to Bave's table with the big beer mugs.

She squeezed through several seats as tables were shuffled and connected so they made long rows. She had to swirl around and avoid bumping at the otherwise excited crowd of customers.

Everybody seemed in high spirits since most of them had not seen each other since the beginning of February, and there was more chattering than eating going.

Most missions began from the first decan* of February, and these were the winter requests while the summer ones were from the end of July. Although it was not unheard-of to have prolonged missions that could last up to a year or even two.

Therefore, hunters and huntresses kept telling stories about their adventures whenever they finalized a mission.

Jena finally set the mugs down onto the table and enthusiastically greeted the men. It has been several months since she last saw them although news from other hunter circles kept her updated regarding their well-being.

It was rather helpful that hunters themselves spread the news as many family members had no other way to contact their loved ones once they set out on a mission.

"It's been ages guys! I was wondering when I will be seeing you again!"

Jena's voice was loud but pleasant as she yelled through the noisy background. Her hands reached for a nearby chair and quickly made herself part of the three-member pack.

"Ah Jen, it's good to be back. How is your family? Is Ianko still working at Don's bakery? I heard that the business wasn't going well since crops are now mostly privately owned and distribution is monopolized. Small business has no future."

Kal leaned forth with his elbows balancing his front against the table edge.

It was true, as the hunters discussed a while ago – villagers didn't seem to even own most of their lands anymore. A lot of business suffered but funnily enough, it only affected the commoners. Anyone above the average wage was considered out of the 'danger zone'.

It was rare to see a well-off business go bankrupt or see anyone with connections to the upper class being fired and shunned by the community.

"Ah no, everything is okay. Thank god! "– she hurried to say – "I don't know how we will be able to feed our kids otherwise. Besides, my mother fell ill...so, I also have to go cook for my old parents whenever I have the time. It's been pretty hectic…"

Jena sighed tired but quickly composed herself as she wasn't there to whine about her life. She knew everyone had it tough and besides, 'Tava', the tavern, was a place to relax and forget one's worries.

Therefore, she discontinued the topic with a rumor circulating for a while.

"Speaking of crops…", she leaned further into the table to bring more secrecy to what was to be discussed.

"Have you heard about the recent exports happening from the northern borders?"

Bave cocked a brow and slid his beer mug towards the middle of the table as his chest leaned into the wooden edge. The men took interest and besides, they knew that Jena wouldn't open a topic without a reason.

"What do you have?", the three hunters leaned in to listen close.

"A month ago, or so, a hunter came by to look for some information regarding the recent policy changes that affected even our business. For example, we cannot offer certain products."

"What do you mean by 'cannot offer'?", Koh's eyebrows formed a wrinkled line in-between as he didn't quite like how that sounded.

"Well…let's take for example deer meat.", she pointed to the portion on the table, neglected to the side as the men rather drank than ate.

"Back in the days, 'Tava' had contracts with several hunters who brought deer directly from the forest. Nowadays, you have to get a sort of a license to sell it. That approval comes directly from the Lords Union and instead of buying it off from a hunter, we buy it from the Union."

"So…you are saying?", Kal blinked several times, not quite sure how to take that.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Silly, I am saying that 'Tava' is no longer a hunter's place, we are dependent no longer on our great men but on a bunch of lords who basically tied our hands with contracts. We cannot run 'Tava' without the lords."

Jena sighed and brought her hand up, balancing on an elbow as her cheek rested within her palm. Times have changed, and the longer that Kingdom went on without a proper King – the worse it became.

People could do nothing although there have been several attempts to expose the ruling class for embezzlement and corruption – such attempts have been silenced, one way or another.

"Quite interesting…", Bave, as one would expect, caught on.

"Whence does then the Union take the meat? I haven't heard about any existing contract between the Association of Hunters Bar and the Lords Union."

"That's what the hunter wanted to find out. So, he mentioned the northern border, a few miles away from Luse. Apparently, a huge exportation mission has been going on but they keep it low."

Jena leaned further in,

"The hunter said it is a cover-up for something. He suspected that the illegal meat is coming in from there but he mentioned that there are things going out Balhkara as illegally."

"You mean the exportation is not the actual deal?", Kal interrupted again,

"Why would they keep it low then? Everyone knows that Balhkara exports crops to bordering kingdoms and in turn imports other goods."

"Nah, it is not actually they cover the crop export but rather the quantity of it. Everyone knows they export but nobody has ever seen it. The hunter said that important artifacts and kingdom's treasures are being smuggled during the early hours of the night along with the export-import exchange."

Jena stretched her lips in a grin,

"And get this, he said that there is a rumor going on in the upper class for the past few months, from the middle of March if I am not mistaken…"

Bave narrowed his eyes, and unlike Koh and Kal who looked rather surprised, his expression remained tranquil. His team members noticed how calm Bave was and they started suspecting that the reason Bave was in a hurry to come back was what Jena was about to say.

Yet, they had no clue how would Bave know about it. Something bothered them but they decided to discuss it later.

"The upcoming Rose Festival would be a nice distraction for them to smuggle the great Nominalia of the Tulo Clan. You know, whilst people gather to celebrate – business is done. Many hunters plan to make a move on the Fest's Eve!"

"No way!!", Koh leaned backward in shock but Jena quickly pulled him back into the formed circle above the table.

"Shhhhhhh!", Jena glanced around and despite being loud enough to mask their conversation, the woman was cautious. She knew that most deals were struck in times of chaos and within a loud environment.

The work at 'Tava' taught her a thing or two. Hence, it was wise to be careful as they said even walls had ears.

"Is that so…", somewhat Bave looked slightly ticked off by the rumor. If it turned to be true then the last piece of evidence that Tulo rulers were a great dynasty would completely vanish.

Moreover, the book, the Nominalia, not only enlisted all the names of previous rules and current heirs but also their strengths and weaknesses. There was tittle-tattle that the Nominalia actually was a key to understanding the mysterious powers of the Tulo clan.

"Can you imagine! Not only we lost the great Tulo clan but now they want to abolish any trace of their existence!", Jena herself expressed her discontent and crossed arms before her chest,

"So? Are you going to check it out?"

"Ah man…", Kal was first to bump his forehead onto the table, frustrated from the unraveling circumstances.

"We just came back…. If I tell my wife that I have to depart and can't make it for my daughter's rose-gathering, she would leave me."

"It's actually surprising she hasn't left you by now.", Jena threw him a stare and although she was teasing, she could never imagine raising her kids without her husband Ianko. If he were a hunter, she wasn't sure how their life would look like.

"Oh shut up, do you have to be so mean?", Kal lifted his head and stared back at Jena.

"Well, listen. I am only telling you a bunch of gossips; I have no way to confirm it. However, think about it…why would anyone need the Nominalia after so long? It's been twenty years since the Tulo clan was assassinated."

"Well…what else than erasing their existence forever? If the living proof does not exist, no one would be able to claim Balhkara's stolen treasures and artifacts.",Koh offered a simple explanation.

"True…but what if…", Jena looked from side to side, "… what if they need the book to deal with a Tulo member?"

The men twitched. What was Jena saying? Has she lost it? A Tulo member, alive nonetheless? Impossible. Kal first spoke up and although he respected Jena, such a guess was simply dishonoring the dead.

"Jena! That is truly improper to even think about!"

"Listen, I do know how it sounds…. but the book is very important for any member from the Tulo. If it vanishes, any possible survivor will lose the chance to claim the throne. Not only that, anyone in possession of it will know how to counter Tulo's strengths."

Jena knew how inconsistent everything sounded. From the deer meat and Lords Union to the cover-up exports and Nominalia being smuggled, just to tell them that a possible Tulo survivor was somewhere out there. No wonder all three of them adopted a conflicted look in their eyes.

"Listen…a Tulo survivor is a bit too unrealistic.", Bave approached the tensed-up situation with tranquility and rationality.

"I do agree that there are certain benefits to hold onto the Nominalia or at least make it disappear. If an artifact is in danger, I – as a member of the Association of Hunters Bar – cannot ignore it."

"I agree!", Kal and Koh commented in unison.

"Ah….geez…", Jena exhaled deeply as she had no way to prove all the speculations she just served them with but at least she was relieved that the men looked determined to check on the authenticity of the rumor.

"Well, if you need any help, I can try to assist. But you only have two days to reach Luse. Would you even make it? Normally it takes up to four days to reach it from here and that's the shortcut."

"Pfff…", Kal brushed it off with his hand waving lightly,

"Jen, do you know who is our captain? Bave made us reach Balhkara for the shortest time possible in the history of the Association Bar records. Forty. Eight. Damn. Hours!"

Bave and Koh started laughing as Kal has not stopped complaining about the exhausting trip back home ever since they crossed the border. However, what he said was true. The men were known as the fastest trio in the history of Association Hunters Bar.

Therefore, reaching Luse in time was of no reason to panic.