Ed’s heart pounded as he and Ren were roughly ushered through the streets, garnering curious glances from revelers. The guards, four of them in total, held Ed and Ren by the arms, restraining them. One man for each arm. It felt overkill for Ed, but Ren looked like she could break free if she wished.

They approached the tall building across town from the festivities. They were led into a side building through winding stone corridors of the compound. The air was stale, and the torchlight cast dancing shadows on the walls. It gave the place an eerie, foreboding feel.

They were taken to a small room, walls bare except for a single, narrow window near the ceiling. It let in a sliver of moonlight, cutting across the chairs where Ed and Ren were placed. The setup felt intentional.

The room was bare, besides a rickety wooden table and the chairs. The guards pulled Ed’s hands behind his back, restraining them overly tight with a piece of rope. The rope burned against his skin, but Ed did not show his pain.

All this because we didn’t pay for drinks.

Was this how enclave towns operated?

Ren gritted her teeth in pain as the guards tied her hands. They were extra rough with her, pulling her shoulders back against the chair. Ren cried out in pain.

“She’s injured. It’s her chest. She was wounded before we got here,” Ed told the guards, hoping they’d show some mercy.

The guards paid him no mind, leaving Ren agonizingly restrained.

The men left, slamming the heavy wooden door shut without a word. Ed winced as the sound echoed through the room's bare walls.

“Th-they’re trying to break us,” Ren muttered through clenched teeth.

“What do you mean?” Ed asked.

“We used to do this in Telmaris, in the dungeons. They—” Ren stomped her feet on the ground mid-sentence, face turning red from the pain. “They will make us wait forever until we feel powerless. When the interrogator comes, we’ll beg to be released. We’ll tell them anything they want to hear.”

She looked at Ed, eyes shimmering with tears.

“That’s the goal, anyways. Like hell, I’ll let them do it to me.”

Ed was equally frightened and impressed by Ren’s resolve. Though he didn’t see what advantage they had, he was injured and tied up in a dungeon. No money, no weapons, no allies…

“Maybe we should have run,” Ed said.

Ren shook her head.

“They’d kill us on the spot. Did you see those patches the guards wore? Emblems from the mining enclave. The Vassar family.”

Ed had never heard of the Vassar family, which Ren could tell by the expression on his face.

“They’re big players, Ed. This isn’t a joke, and they aren’t some backwater guards who arrested us,” Ren whispered as if her words were dangerous.

“What do you think this is about?” Ed whispered back. “It can’t be the beers…”

Ren tipped her head back in thought. A tear ran down her face, catching the moonlight with a glimmer as it fell.

“Juna?” Ed asked.

“What, she told them we killed the drifters? There’s no way these guys would give a shit about them or a girl like her.”

“What then?”

“Juna wanted those men dead. What reason would she have for turning us in?” Ren said.

“She saw my skeletons,” Ed said under his breath.

Ren leaned forward as much as her constraints allowed.

“And I conjured my scythe right in front of her,” she replied.

“What about… Somnia?” Ed asked quietly, hesitant to even utter the name.

Ren’s expression turned grim.

“If Somnia’s influence is tangled up with the Vassar family, and they somehow know about us already…” she trailed off.

“What, Ren?”

“We’re fucked.”

Ed slumped forward, head hanging down as the rope tying him to the chair held him in place.

After what seemed like hours, the door finally creaked open. Two guards entered, followed by a man whose appearance starkly contrasts the grim surroundings. He wore extravagant clothing with fine embroidering and studded with jewels that sparkled, even in the low light of the dungeon. He was clean-shaven, and his hair was meticulously styled.

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He carried himself with an air of authority. The guards bowed before returning to the hallway, closing the door behind them.

Ed, Ren, and the fancy man stood silently in the room, eyeing each other. The tension was so palpable Ed felt like he was weighed down by it.

“Good evening,” the man finally said, in a tone much more pleasant and friendly than Ed had expected. “You two have kept me out very late tonight.”

He looked at them expectantly, one eyebrow raised.

“Uh, my apologies. We-we didn’t mean to cause any trouble,” Ed said, stumbling over his words.

Ren said nothing.

“Would you mind introducing yourselves?” the man asked with a smile.

“Eddarion Key.”

Silence hung heavy in the room as the man awaited a second name.

Ren stared at the wall.

“Well, my name is Aldo Alenko. I am the Magnar of this mining colony.”

He leaned over as he introduced himself, but just barely. Ed thought it was meant to be a bow, but he had put so little effort into it that he couldn’t be sure.

“I can tell by the look on your face the significance of my title is lost on you,” Aldo said. His grin remained, but his demeanor felt colder.

“No, sir. We’re not from here,” Ed said.

Ren sighed loudly.

“Not from here?” Aldo asked, glancing at Ren with a curious expression. He tapped his head as if trying to jostle a thought loose.

He studied them both for a moment with a sharp, evaluating gaze. Ed saw wisdom and experience in his eyes. And power.

“Not from here, indeed. I must say, your arrival in Silt is… most inopportune.” Aldo paced around the room, hands clasped behind his back.

Ed shifted uncomfortably in his seat, the rope chaffing his wrists. Ren’s refusal to engage with the man was adding an extra layer of tension to an already uncomfortable situation.

Aldo circled them like a predator sizing up its prey. It made the room feel even more claustrophobic for Ed.

“You see, we have a bit of a problem on our hands here in Silt. Children have been disappearing as of late, and there’s been chatter of dark magic around town.”

“What does that have to do with us? We arrived after sundown today,” Ren snapped.

“Oh, I know that much is true,” Aldo said. “But I wonder how honest you’ll be if asked about skeletal monsters and speaking with the dead?

Ed swallowed hard. Ren shifted in her chair.

“Sounds like fairy tales to me,” Ren said.

“Normally, I would agree. But moreover, I was informed earlier today of a foreign city, far to the west of here. A city ravaged by some incredible magic. The king and his entire court are missing.”

Ren sat motionless in her chair.

“So, I wonder again. Will you answer truthfully when I ask how I’ve ended up with Renodet Farrowsteel in my dungeons, the personal bodyguard of the king of Telmaris and head of his royal guard?”

Aldo’s words hung in the air like smoke, thick and suffocating. Ed’s heart pounded in his chest.

Ren’s stoic facade cracked. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at Aldo. “You’re well-informed then, Magnar. If you know who I am, you should know locking me up like this won’t serve you well.”

“Oh, I’m not afraid of you, my dear,” Aldo said, almost mockingly.

“What do you want?” Ren growled at him.

Aldo clapped with excitement. “I want exactly that, Renodet! I want that anger, that ferocity! Ahh, how wonderful it is to see unbridled anger in someone so capable of putting it to good use. You see, I’m angry too,” he said with a wink.

“But I can’t afford to lose my temper anymore. Too much at stake, being a Magnar for the Vassar Enclave.”

“What do you want from us?” Ed asked. He kept his tone polite, entirely unsure of how to interact with this man. He felt like an outsider, watching a play where Aldo and Ren were the main characters.

“Ah, Eddarion. I have a proposition for both of you. Let me explain the situation first. A young girl fled to our town earlier today. Juna, I believe you know her. She shouted wild tales of necromancers and death-bringers.”

Ed listened intently. So Juna fled to Silt after all.

“Unfortunately, my guards couldn’t round her up before some of the womenfolk heard her nonsense. Before I had time to eat my dinner, a mob of angry mothers had gathered on my doorstep.”

Ed realized what Aldo was getting at.

“How many children are missing?” Red inquired, interest piquing.

Aldo waved his hand dismissively. “Who can say how many street urchins go missing? Drowned in the river, eaten by wild beasts, lost in the desert. All much more likely than dark magic and mysterious kidnappings.” He sighed loudly. “But that doesn’t satisfy a hoard of grieving mothers. And while I’d never get personally involved in something like this… the timing is quite unfortunate.”

“The Last Light Festival,” Ed said.

“Yes. It’s a bad look to have my miners celebrating while their wives grieve and protest.”

“So, what’s your proposition? You want us to find these missing children?” Ren asked.

“I want you to find a solution that will make my problem go away. I don’t care what it is, as long as it’s effective.”

“And if we don’t?” Ren countered.

The grin dropped from Aldo’s face.

“I know you both have secrets. Ones you are most hesitant to share with me. It’s alright; I have secrets, too.” His expression turned so dark that Ed looked away. “Accept what I am offering, and I won’t tear those secrets from your tongues, one at a time.”

His grin returned as if it had never left. “I’d like this to be a mutually beneficial arrangement. You help me, I don’t let you rot in my dungeons. We all win.”

Ed and Ren looked at each other with grim expressions. What other choice did they have?

Ed nodded at her, and she reciprocated.

“Can I request something else?” Ed asked.

Aldo lightened up, amused by Ed’s question.

“I’m nothing if not a businessman. Ask away.”

“A meeting with your personal apothecary,” Ed said.

Ren grunted something inaudible, shifting in her chair.

Aldo scrunched his brow, curious. He nodded his head slightly, not prying into Ed’s reasoning.

“And a room at an inn while we’re in Silt,” Ed continued.

Aldo smiled at Ed. “I suppose you’ll need some silver, too, considering your little mishap at the bar.”

Ed felt his face grow hot with embarrassment. “That was an honest mistake,” he muttered.

Aldo pulled a sack of coins from his pocket. He started counting them, then paused for a moment before tossing the entire pouch to Ed. It smacked him in the stomach before landing on his lap.

“See? Mutually beneficial. If anything, I’d say the two of you are getting the better end of this deal. I’m hoping it will lead more –”

“One more request,” Ren said, cutting Aldo off.

“Yes?”

“Untie us from these goddamn chairs.”

Aldo laughed. He knocked on the door, ushering his guards in. He spoke to them in hushed tones, too quiet for Ed to discern.

“You have one week to solve this problem for me. I’ve given you all the information I have, but I trust the head of the royal guard of a great city-state like Telmaris to be able to lead her own investigation.”

Aldo winked at Ed before leaving. His footsteps echoed through the halls, accentuated by the fancy leather shoes he wore.

The guards untied them, escorting them back into town. The moon was bright and high in the sky. It had to be deep into the night, Ed figured. There were a few sounds of revelers, but the town was much quieter than when they were arrested.

Ren nudged Ed on the shoulder.

“That could have gone much worse.”