Well.
Given the uproar in the tavern right now, the Chief’s plans didn’t pan out the way she intended them to.
She went around town, quietly asking after things noted to have gone missing, and asking people to keep it to themselves for now.
It turns out there was a lot more missing than what was recorded. Not just items from the bloodbeast, either, but small knives, preserved food, small articles of cloth, items many wouldn’t realise were missing until they looked. The furor over these missing, presumably stolen items quickly swept across Haven, leading to people demanding a town meeting in the tavern to get to the bottom of this.
Accusations flew back and forth. Old grudges boiled to the surface, and conversations went round and round in circles. Rann and Vann were making sure fists didn’t start flying. Tiff was doing her best to calm people down, her long, apple-red hair flowing through the air behind her as she moved from group to group, while the Chief just sighed angrily and rubbed her temples, seated at the council table. Anton, seated beside the Chief, took a mild interest in the situation given one item of his had gone missing, but he seemed certain that it was only a matter of time before the perpetrator was caught.
I was just… quietly sitting at the front of the tables, doing my best to keep to myself as arguments rage around me. This was supposed to be a meeting between the adults, but it'd be hard not to notice the kids crowded around the windows outside, listening in on all the adults saying curse words the kids have been told they aren’t allowed to say.
“I told them to keep quiet about this, but no…” The Chief groans loud enough for others to hear, but I’m the only one not seated beside her that’s paying her any attention.
“Well… There was a lot more missing than what was in the books, aha...” Tiff chuckles nervously as she passes by the council table.
“Alright, this isn’t going anywhere…” The Chief sighs, standing up and holding her staff as she raises her voice. “If you’re all quite finished bickering amongst yourselves…”
The crowd pays little heed to their leader’s call for order.
“Ahem. If you’re all quite finished…” She repeats, her irritation quickly growing.
Still, no heed.
“AHEM.” The Chief clears her throat again, stamping her staff on the ground once.
A golden bolt of lightning leaps from her staff and shoots across the ceiling, silencing the crowd in an instant, as they all sheepishly turn towards the Chief.
“Thank you for your attention.” She flashes her threatening smile, inviting everyone to sit down, shut up, and listen. “Now, I do believe as I went around town today with Tiffany, as is our routine, I stressed the fact that the investigation into the missing items was to be kept quiet. That, obviously, didn’t happen.”
Someone goes to speak up to accuse someone else of starting this whole thing, but a glare from the Chief stops them before they start.
“I have made note of everything reported missing or stolen. Individually, they are small items, but enough has been taken to make a respectable supply pack for someone looking to venture out beyond Haven’s walls. Knives, preserved food, bits of fur, all important and sensible items to ensure one’s survival. Assuming these items have been stolen, the types of items that have been taken give us a clue on the perpetrator’s motives.” She continues, glancing across the crowd to see if anyone has the guts to ask what this motive could be.
“... Someone who wants to leave Haven?” I ask.
The crowd murmurs behind me. Who would want to leave Haven? The only things waiting outside Haven’s walls is suffering and death, a struggle to live day by day. Why would someone leave?
“That is the most likely explanation, Marina.” The Chief agrees. “But I believe it goes deeper than that. Rann?”
“If you’re meaning what I think you’re meaning, Chief…” Rann says, crossing his arms.
“Wait… you mean the thing that followed us back to Haven?”
“You were followed?!” Several people cry out, as fear and confusion breaks out in the room.
“Only down the seeping wound. Whatever was following us disappeared long before we actually reached Haven itself.” Rann clarifies, but does little to calm the people.
“The guards and I have checked every part of the perimeter. There’s no holes. No gaps someone could slip through. No way over the walls, and no way under. If someone did sneak into the village, they somehow got past the wall.” Vann adds.
This just leads to more confusion. Haven is surrounded on all sides by jagged, rough, slippery cliffs, impossible to climb up or down as has been tested by many villagers themselves. How could someone have snuck in?
“Chief Lichtrufer, if I may.” Yvonne, the schoolhouse’s teacher, stands up.
“Go on, Yvonne.” The Chief nods.
“I fear I may have a clue about who’s taking all these items from people’s homes.” Yvonne says reluctantly, wringing her hands.
“The mysterious 25th student at your schoolhouse, I presume?” The Chief asks.
“... Yes. I’m getting on in the years, and my eyesight isn’t what it used to be. I didn’t twig that, after our last graduate a moon ago, our body of twenty-four students had gone back up to twenty-five again.” Yvonne continues, looking down at her hands. She was clearly ashamed that she hadn’t noticed the additional student.
“It’s your job to look after the students, Yvonne, and you’ve always done a wonderful job at that. It’s not your fault you didn’t notice anything amiss.” Tiff says, smiling warmly. Yvonne smiles a little.
“You are implying that the thief is of schoolhouse age, Chief Lichtrufer?” Anton asks bluntly.
“Yes. Which is why I wanted to keep this quiet. I’m certain it wasn’t one of Haven’s children stealing these items, and I wanted to avoid a witch hunt in their dormhouse. They don’t need that kind of stress put on them. What they are in need of, though, is sleep…” The Chief glances directly at one of the windows the children are peering through, who quickly hide and giggle amongst themselves. She sighs lightly.
“I also wanted to keep this quiet so as not to alert the perpetrator. Unfortunately, that didn’t go as planned.” The Chief shoots a glare at some of the more uppity villagers, who sink down sheepishly. “As Vann said, there’s no way they could have gotten around the walls. That leaves only one possible point of entry to Haven - the tunnel in the Cellars.”
“Eh? Is there a second entrance?”
A few villagers mumble in agreement to my question.
“Yes, there is. At the very bottom of the Cellars, there’s a long path completely shrouded in darkness, and the entrance is far from the town itself. In the worst-case scenario, it is our escape route. It’s unguarded as to not draw attention to it, and it was kept secret via few people mentioning it. It would seem our infiltrator found it.” The Chief answers.
A brief silence hangs over the crowded room. For many, it’s a double hit - both the existence of a secret entrance that few actually knew of, and the fact that the mysterious thief is a child that snuck into Haven.
“Well, if it’s one of the children, our path is clear. We gather the children and interrogate them. Yvonne may not have noticed the additional student, but the children certainly would have. They’ve been harbouring this secret fugitive, and they will tell us where to find them.” Anton states. A few in the crowd nod in agreement, as the children gathered outside around the windows suddenly fall quiet.
“I doubt that would give us what we want, Anton…” The Chief sighs, side-eyeing him.
“Then do you have a better idea, Chief Lichtrufer? I do believe it was your last idea that led to this gathering in the first place. The whole village, including the thief, now knows their cover has been blown. They may have escaped already.” Anton shoots back.
“They haven’t.” Vann answers. Anton turns to him.
“And what makes you so certain, Carteren?” Anton asks, raising an eyebrow.
“The tunnel through the Cellars has been guarded since this morning, as have the walls. Unless they can turn invisible or fly, they’re not getting out of Haven.” Vann says.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Then what do you propose, Carteren. A manhunt?” Anton sits back, crossing his arms as he looks down his nose at Vann.
“Perhaps, but I know who could help with that.” Rann says, standing by the doorway.
Everyone turns to look at Rann; and the three children standing around him… Samantha, Rickard, and a third girl I don’t know the name of. They look tiny next to him. The kids cling to Rann’s leg, their nervousness growing under the gaze of all these irritated adults.
“Bring them up to the council room, Rann. Vann, make sure the gate and the tunnel in the Cellars are guarded overnight. The rest of you should turn in for the night. We’ll search the town tomorrow. Dismissed.” The Chief orders, as the villagers slowly get up and file out from the tavern.
I assumed I was part of “the rest of you”, but a glance from the Chief told me I wasn’t getting to bed earlier than usual tonight. Rann guided the three children upstairs, and Anton, Tiff, the Chief and I followed up behind him, with Vann heading out to presumably check on the guards.
“So… what am I supposed to do, exactly?” I ask the Chief as we make our way up the stairs.
“To keep the children calm. They seem to like you.” She answers.
Unfortunately, I don’t get to sit in Vann’s seat at the council’s table. I just get a stool beside the table, but it’s more comfortable than the situation I was in the last time I was in this room. The three children, meanwhile, are trying their best not to look terrified as they quietly sit before the council. Rann looks intimidating at first, but he’s quite friendly and sociable once you get to know him, and the kids trust him. I don’t think it’s possible for Tiff to be anything but warm and welcoming. Anton and the Chief, however, are… not exactly approachable. I guess I’m here to help Rann and Tiff round out the irritated vibes that Anton and the Chief constantly put out.
“So…” Anton begins, glancing down at his ledger. The children shrink back in their chairs as he speaks.
“Samantha, Rickard, Emi, thank you for placing trust in us. You’re all very kind for looking after your new friend, and the last thing we want to do is make them feel unwelcome or hurt them.” Tiff says, smiling, bringing the tension in the room down a few notches.
Samantha, sitting on the left, nervously glances back and forth across the council, occasionally looking over at me, doing her best to keep calm. Rickard, on the right, is doing his best to hide his gaze behind his far-too-short fringe and pretend he isn’t there. Emi sits between them, the tallest and presumably oldest of the three. Her raven-black hair is cut in a short bob with a flat fringe, framing her sharp, piercing red eyes. While the other two struggle to hold their gaze, Emi keeps hers locked onto Anton and the Chief, refusing to back down. That is, until she briefly glances over at me in the corner.
“Why is she here. She’s not on the council.” Emi’s voice is harsh and critical, with a similar tone to Minegumo from the kitchen.
She looks a lot like Minegumo, actually. She may not have Minegumo’s disarmingly soft eyes, but she definitely seems to have her temperament.
“Marina is my assistant and she has been helping me track down Haven’s newest resident. She is here because I told her to be here.” The Chief answers, resting her hands on the table.
Haha… yeah, told. Not asked.
“Do you care to explain where you’ve been harbouring this fugitive, children?” Anton questions.
“Fugitive?! He hasn’t done anything wrong!” Emi jumps up from her chair, snarling at Anton. Anton just sits back and raises an eyebrow.
“You’re not helping, Anton…” The Chief sighs, rubbing her temple. “Ignore his wording. What I… we want to know, is why he’s hiding from us, and why he’s ‘borrowed’ the supplies for a trip beyond Haven.”
The children quietly exchange glances as Emi sits back down. None of them speak.
“Are you being threatened to keep quiet?” Rann asks. The children shake their heads.
“If you won’t cooperate…” Anton huffs lightly. Emi looks ready to jump across the table at him.
“Have they promised you something?” I ask.
The children’s eyes widened in surprise. Samantha goes to say something, but Emi quickly silences her with an angry glance. It seems I hit the mark.
“What did he promise you? Something you can’t get in Haven?” Tiff asks.
“Unless this thief has barrels of sweet-tree sap or the perfect beef fillet, I can’t imagine what they could promise and deliver that we don’t already have.” Anton shrugs off the notion that they could have been promised anything real.
Samantha, upset at Anton’s disparagement of her new friend, nearly jumps up from her chair, saying;
“He says he knows a way out of-mmmgnh?!” Before Emi puts her hand over Samantha’s mouth, just as Vann walks in behind them.
“Changed the guards watching the walls and the Cellars, all double posts. No one’s getting in or out of… what? Why’re you all halfway out of your chairs?” Vann cocks an eyebrow at myself, Tiff, and the Chief, who all leaned in to hear what Samantha was about to say.
“A way out of Haven? Besides the Cellars and the front gate?” Rann guesses. Samantha quickly glances at Emi, who nods profusely.
“Yes. He found a secret way into Haven. A hidden path too small for an adult to use.” Emi answers, taking her hand away from Sammy’s mouth.
“Has he told you where?” Rann questions, to which Emi shakes her head.
“Care to explain this oversight, Carteren?” Anton sets his gaze upon Vann. The Chief also looks up at Vann, expecting an answer.
“Well… It’s not impossible. There’s no gap in the walls, and there’s only one tunnel in the cellar. The cliffs are jagged, rough, impassable for most… but not for someone small, with sure footing. There’s a few cracks and crevices that only a child could squeeze through, but it’d still be a tight fit.” Vann comments.
The five council members exchange looks, as Vann leans back against the wall by the door. The Chief raises an eyebrow.
“What do you have to gain from knowing of a secret way in and out of Haven that only children can access, Emi?” She asks. Emi’s face goes pale.
“W-well, he, um… He also said he knows good foraging spots, he even knows where a bunch of fruit trees are, so, it could be more food for Haven…” She stammers out, her confidence starting to buckle under the Chief’s watchful gaze.
“Emi.” She says. Emi jolts in her chair, sitting upright. “What did Mrs Yvonne teach you in the schoolhouse?”
“That… we can’t lie to the Chief…?” She answers, doing her best to keep her voice steady.
“That you shouldn’t lie to the Chief. Or anyone, even those who can’t easily read when you’re lying. You’re leaving something out of your story, Emi. A lie of omission is still a lie.” The Chief gently admonishes her, as Emi falls silent.
“... He said he has friends and that we could go live with them. That we could explore the Abyss and eat as much as we want, and sleep when we want, and not have to go to school…” Rickard, still shuffling uncomfortably in his chair, finally speaks up.
Understandable motivations for children to have. Haven’s rules are somewhat strict, to ensure everyone gets their fair share and we can all survive and live together, but this can somewhat go over the heads of the younger children. From their eyes, all they see is a bunch of rules that get in the way of having fun.
“Friends? Does he mean another group in the Abyss?” Tiff asks. Rickard nods.
“... Rickard.” The Chief’s voice is now a sharp, serious tone, making all three children shrink back in their chairs. “Do you know if your friend has left Haven yet?”
All three children shake their heads.
“You kids understand the danger this puts everyone in Haven in, mm?” Rann asks.
Anton stands up, a scowl on his face as he glares down at the children.
“Risk?! You should have handed him over the moment you found him. Do you have any idea of the danger you’ve put the entirety of Haven in by harbouring this fugitive, this interloper, this- spy?! Haven’s security is founded on its secrecy! Anything that puts that secrecy in jeopardy puts all of Haven in jeopardy! I’d throw the lot of you into the Cellars for colluding with him!” Anton snarls.
I’ve never seen him so angry, let alone so animated. Gesticulating every other word as if he’s performing on a stage, spittle flying from his lips as he admonishes the children. The children, unable to shrink back any further in their chairs, only sit in terrified silence. Rickard looks down at his clenched, shaking hands in his lap, as tears start to run down his cheeks. Samantha looks down and away, trying to sob as quietly as possible. Even Emi, the most stoic and confident of the three, can barely meet Anton’s gaze as tears well up in her eyes.
No one stops Anton’s ranting before he starts. The children’s actions have put Haven at risk, so they do need some amount of punishment and discipline. Anton, however, just keeps going, and going, before finally;
“Anton…” Tiff sighs.
Anton pays no heed to her as he continues denigrating the three children.
“ANTON.” Tiff shouts, slamming her fist on the table.
Tiff shouting, let alone her slamming her fist down, is shocking enough even to make Anton stop mid-sentence.
“That’s enough. There’s a line between disciplining and terrorising, and you’ve gone too far.” Tiff scorns.
She gets up, walking around the table to kneel in front of the children and console them. They’re all crying now, as Anton slumps back into his chair with an annoyed huff.
“If you’re quite finished then you can leave, Anton. It’s late, and the children should get some sleep. We all should. Gods above know we need some rest…” The Chief sighs, standing up.
She’s right. We should-
<
“Above?” I blink, looking up at the ceiling.
“Above?” The Chief asks.
“Shit!” Something goes bump in the roof.
“What the-” Vann grabs his axe, as everyone looks up at the source of the noise in the roof.
“Ah. Above.” The Chief stands, grabbing her staff and hoisting it with purpose.
Golden chains materialise as quickly as they shoot upwards, piercing through the thin ceiling and wrapping around the thing hidden within the roof; chains tying around the rafters to suspend Haven’s interloper mid-air, right in front of the whole council. Around him, stolen bits of cloth, food, and tools fell to the ground; his stash and hiding place uncovered all at once.
The interloper, a boy who looks no older than ten, squirms helplessly as the golden chains tighten around him, flinging curses at everyone around him.
“Well.” The Chief smiles, crossing her arms. “It seems we’ve found our mysterious twenty-fifth student, Marina.”