Cedric Malvern. He couldn't help but curse under his breath as he wandered for hours, getting way far outside the city.
For more than thirty years, he had tracked bleeding prey across kingdoms, through the land of beast folk, and even treaded the forests under the elven rule. He had retrieved the heads of targets for kings and erased whole noble lineages in silence to complete a contract. Something that was why he had to leave the Adventurers Guild when they got too close, sniffing after the bloody trail he had left behind.
Yet today... he couldn't find one measly corpse. Usually, not even the rivers could hide anything from him. They can wash away the filth and blood, but bodies floated... and bones got snagged.
But today, the river refused to yield any success, and Cedric was slowly being forced to realize there was nothing to find.
At the moment, he was crouching beside the bank, down south to the city, his boots sinking into the mud. A retinue of silent men, part of the Ledger's enforcers, waited behind him with shovels and spades, instructed to dig until the shoreline was flayed bare. They were already hitting solid rock... but nothing.
Well... Almost nothing.
He found bodies, yes. Two bloated smugglers, still wearing their tattered clothes, and one of them having solid, gold teeth. Then, there was a runner from a local gang that he faintly recalled as they used them to do some dirty work outside of the city. This one's throat was cut, wrists broken, signs of intense interrogation before death. There was even a child's hand stuck into his rags, half-eaten by fish.
But no... It was not hers. He would have remembered the girl he broke. And this one was not his handiwork. None of the finds were ones that he had dumped into the water like a sack of kitchen waste... And he was running out of possibilities. Could it be...? Cedric's eyes narrowed at the thought as he watched the river as if it had personally insulted him. No. That was a bad joke. Period.
"We expand the search south. Follow the current! Go into any village you come across, any inlet. If she washed ashore, someone might've found her and given her a burial!"
"And if they buried her?" the man asked.
"Why do you even ask?" Cedric turned, murder in his eyes, making the man step hurriedly. "Then dig her up. Understood?"
"Yes!" The others yelled, dispersing, leaving behind an upturned riverbank, leaving Cedric behind.
Something was wrong with him... A feeling was swirling in his mind, one that he had not felt for more than fifty years. It was not fear but a sense of imbalance. That was what he told himself. That it was coming from the possibility that she lived a blemish on his profession and on his record. A little slut like her surviving?
"Impossible." He shook his head, suppressing his thoughts. "That is simply impossible."
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...
On the same day, far away from the running river, within the halls of Silverhaven, Selene sipped tea that tasted faintly of peaches, humming to herself, her eyes closed and enjoying the aroma of her favorite drink. At the same time, her servants moved silently around her, adjusting curtains and cataloging big stacks of folders in her office. Of course, none of them dared speak unless spoken to, doing their jobs in complete silence.
All, except for the old man in the corner, with legs that ended in sharp talons instead of feet, rhythmically knocking on the stone floor like a cuckoo clock. He was a half-blind and half-blooded librarian named Velin, who usually stayed within the halls, organizing the auctions whenever Silverhaven announced one.
"Are you listening to me, or am I talking to the walls again?" Velin adjusted his monocle, the knocking of his talons stopping.
"I heard you." Selene chuckled, opening one of her eyes just barely and looking at him. "I just dislike your sour face, old man."
"Rumors suggest the Crimson Ledger may have attacked someone… with ties to Silverhaven." He repeated, ignoring her remark, "We can't let such rumors spread."
"Hm," Selene raised an eyebrow, pausing mid-sip. "Why not?"
"They are… panicking," Velin replied, a bit stumped at her question. "Isn't that... obvious?"
"It is," Selene chuckled, sitting up a bit straighter but still holding her cup, sipping on it, "But they are panicking over a ghost rumor, no? How flattering."
"They fear it might be true."
"Of course they do," she said, reaching for her teapot, refilling her empty cup, and taking a deep breath of the rising steam, "When you don't understand power, you attribute it to shadows... How quaint. How stupid..."
"We can't let it play out. It would affect our image."
"No, it won't." Selene waved a hand, signaling that the topic was now considered dismissed, "And it is partially true. The boy had a token when the incident happened. Want it or not, it makes the rumor into... somewhat true." She smiled, making Velin shiver as when she did it like this, he couldn't help but see Selene as a fox and not as a human. "I like the boy. Good thinking on his part... and it doesn't push too far to get annoying."
"I see..." Velin turned a page, remaining calm. "Well... Garrik Holvar has tripled his surveillance near Lord Valcroft's estate. Probably related to the first issue."
"He thinks Valcroft sent someone?" she laughed, "Poor Garrik. For someone who fancies himself a kingmaker, he dances marvelously when poked with a stick. What do you think? If I stepped behind him, knocking on his left shoulder, would he see me as I dodged to the right? Or remain just as blind as now?"
"I don't know." Velin answered, not wanting to follow her thoughts, "But this is why... Please consider. Shall I issue a correction? Clarify that we were not involved?"
"I told you to drop it," Selene repeated, raising her voice a little but then calming down quickly. "Absolutely not." She grinned, her eyes glittering. "Let them tremble. Let them suspect everyone. We will not interfere. It is a good little runup for our next auction."
"About that... We might have an issue." Velin muttered, gulping.
"What issue?" Selene asked, genuinely sounding surprised by the news.
"The one who contacted us, the one who told us about the stolen elven Artifact, he is dead. We were too late on the scene... The caravan was ambushed by then, and the Artifact was stolen."
"And?" Selene asked, her tone tinged with annoyance. "Are you telling me we can't find it? Really?"
"We found it... But, once again... we were a step behind."
"Who has it?" By now, Selene was sitting straight, looking straight at Velin; no more playfulness in her eyes, just cold, straight business.
"It was found by the Guild in Korvar. Well, a bandit gang found it and fought with the local Guild leaders over it. For now, I don't think the Guild is aware that this is why they lost their top operatives in that region."
"Make it so they don't find out. I don't want the old diaper-wearing idiots to get it before us!"
"We already smoothed over the possible clues, so they should not discover the truth."
"Then what is the issue?" Selene asked, his brows furrowed, showing deep lines on her forehead.
"The City Lord."
"Valcroft?" she asked, visibly shocked. "How the hell does he come into play?!"
"Someone tipped him off." Velin shrugged, fixing his monocle, "He got into Korvar ahead of us. By the time our operatives get to the scene, he has already pocketed the key."
"What key...?"
"The artifact is still lost to us," Velin explained quietly, "But they captured the last known human who had it, a woman named Risa. At the moment, she is being brought back here."
"Well... this is... complicated." Selena chuckled, shaking her head, "Get someone into the City Lord's estate. Do not interfere until the Artifact shows up! I like Valcroft... Even if he ends up having it, he is more than likely to sell it to us. Haaah... Damned elves. All of their stuff is cursed!"
"And you want it..." Velin shrugged, shaking his head.
"Why live... if you refuse to have some excitement in your life?" Selena asked, laughing, returning to her drink, already back in a good mood.
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...
After my first solo outing from Velgrada, I was finally back just as dusk slipped through the buildings of the city. Of course, I wasn't going far, just around the nearby forest, following that crazy bastard's instructions and the notes and images in his book, getting some ingredient replacements. I hope he is right, and the ones I gathered could make up for those that we wouldn't be able to get our hands on anymore.
Thinking about just that, I pushed open the bakery door with one hand and held the wrapped bundle in the other. I was back home, and it felt nice. The moment I was in, the scent of cinnamon and rising dough hit me in the face, making my stomach rumble. It was the noise that made Lira look up from kneading a batch of something sticky and sweet, wiping flour from her cheek.
"You're late!" she smiled, "No wonder you are hungry!"
"I am not going to deny that!" I chuckled, "But as you can see, I succeeded. Most of... Well, I brought something," I explained, tapping the package. "I just hope the herbal nutter Brannick has enough sanity not to dupe us."
"Don't call him that!" Lira sighed, "Poor man..."
"I don't know if I would pity him," I said, putting the bag onto one of the empty tables, closing the door, and locking it.
"I do." She pouted, "Anyway, I am making some more of the things he asked for; you should bring them to him tomorrow."
"Yeah, yeah... Sure. Where are the kids?" I asked while I was carefully unwrapping the bundle.
"They are upstairs with Puck, playing with Mira. She has a good appetite, so... she is indeed recovered." She smiled, making me smile too. But only a little... as it also means that soon, I will have to start asking her some questions. "So... how is it?" She asked, standing beside me, looking at the haul.
"No idea," I answered honestly, looking at the ginseng-like vines I collected, a bundle of red flowers, and a few shavings of a certain kind of tree's bark. If you had asked me without any prior knowledge, I would have said that these were nothing but something a crazy hobo would collect. Maybe even give them names and play with them like action figures. Or sell them as the secret ingredient to eternal life. Hell, if I know!
"Is it good?" Lira asked, picking up one of the flowers and examining it.
"As I said," I moaned, pulling out the book we traded for. I turned a page and then another, trying to find the hand-drawn images and comparing them to what I brought back. "You tell me!" I put it down, showing it to her.
"It does look the same," she muttered, holding it next to the drawing. "It kinda looks like what we needed. Half of the terms matched the Murian script."
"Half." I reminded her, but she was much more optimistic.
"It will be fine!" She smiled at me, "I will try to prepare them as if they were in his book... In the meantime, you can take another batch of sweets to him and ask for some tips. It will be my first time making a potion... It would be nice if he had some advice for an amateur..."
"Okay..." I sighed, shaking my head. "We've come this far already. We can go all in, I guess!"