Arsh and Juan led the way, with the rest of the team following closely behind as they moved through the streets of Thage. They walked in silence for a long time. As they walked, Arsh realized he had passed through these streets before, even though they looked different in the dark. Soon he stopped near the place where Paul Smith and Sefir were.
The golden threads extended toward a large, six-story building, its luxury obvious even from the outside. It was none other than the hotel Arsh had seen earlier that day while looking for a good cup of tea.
"Royal Hotel," he muttered to himself.
"Is Paul Smith in there?" Juan asked.
Arsh followed the path of the golden threads, then pointed.
"Yes. Third floor, the fifth window from the left."
"And the child?"
"In the basement."
They walked toward Paul Smith's room, staying on the opposite side of the street. It wasn't midnight yet, and there were still people wandering around outside. Directly across the street stood an empty building. Juan grabbed Arsh by the arm, led him around to the back of the structure, and they slipped inside through an opening they found. The other members of the team followed right behind them.
The place looked like it was under renovation. There were construction materials and some old items scattered everywhere. Together, they went up to the third floor and found a window that looked directly into the room where their target was.
"Flora, your turn" Juan said.
Flora stepped up to the window and began staring into the room across from them. The street was quite wide, with almost twenty meters separating the two buildings. Still, Flora focused all her attention on the room as if she could from this distance. When Arsh turned toward the hotel as well, all he could see were the silhouettes of two figures standing inside.
Juan leaned toward Arsh and whispered,
"Flora's senses are sharp. Smell, hearing, sight, taste, touch… her siunis..."
But he was cut off by a sharp glance from Flora.
"I'll be quiet," he said with a smile.
Then he sat down next to her and began watching the opposite building through a pair of binoculars he pulled from beneath his rags. Meanwhile, the others waited silently a bit farther back.
This time, instead of looking at the other side, Arsh found himself watching Flora. Although he hadn't fully caught Juan's explanation, he now understood that she could see and hear the people in the room almost twenty meters away. He noticed the faint glow coming from the girl's eyes and ears—a shimmer that would only be visible if someone looked closely in the dim light. It gave her a holy aura.
After a while, Flora began speaking in a whisper without taking her eyes off the other side. Arsh thought that she was trying to be silent so her own voice wouldn't overwhelm her senses.
"There are three people in the room, one of them is our man, Paul Smith. I can see him. But I can't see the other two. One is sitting, the other is standing… It must be the person we're after, the one higher up."
As soon as they heard this, Arsh noticed the other team members tense up.
"He was staying at the Royal Hotel, no less." said Juan
"What's special about the Royal Hotel?" Arsh asked.
"It's a hotel affiliated with the Symran royal family. Its revenues go directly to them. But it's not a place just anyone can stay at. Only important envoys and dignitaries from foreign countries, as well as people from the upper class of Symran, can stay here. No matter where you are in the world, Royal Hotels only serve people like that. So it's not a place you can enter just because you have money."
Arsh understood the problem.
"So the question is, how is a person like Paul Smith staying here?"
"Exactly" Juan said.
"Most likely, the reason we lose Paul Smith's trail after Renham was because he was hiding here. Even though he's been exposed, his connections are still valuable. He needed to disappear before meeting the person behind all of this." Tedor said.
"Seems like that."
A moment later, Flora started repeating what she was hearing.
"Tomorrow morning, they'll start sending some of the children. At different times, on different ships, they'll be going to Hals… Juan, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"
Arsh was also looking in the direction they were watching. He saw a man stand up from where he was sitting. He was wearing something like a uniform, but Arsh couldn't make out the details. When he looked at Juan, he saw the tension in his face.
"I see a soldier's uniform, a uniform belonging to a General, am I right?" Flora asked.
"He is General Debraz." Juan replied.
The others on the team leaned closer to the window when they heard the name.
"So he was the upper echelon we're looking for. I was only expecting to find a dirty businessman who bribed soldiers today. But look at this—we have a whole general here." Juan said.
"Didn't you already think the matter was connected to someone from the government? Wouldn't it be weirder if the military wasn't involved when they do smuggling so easily?" said Ray.
"Yes, but I didn't think they would leave such a crude job to a General responsible for the Southern Colonies. I didn't think he would meet directly with a third-rate smuggler like that businessman."
Juan looked angry and the others were tense. Arsh wasn't sure how they would act. Tedor asked the question he was wondering.
"So, what is the plan?"
"We should go in there tonight," Juan said.
"We don't have any preparation… Can we handle this? We don't even know how many men are in there."
"I know... But Flora said that they will send the children tomorrow. It is our only chance. Let's observe a little more. We can't enter while the General is here. He must have too many men with him. Let him leave first. Then we'll decide on a route for getting in and out."
"What about Arsh? He doesn't have any experience. Should we just leave him here?" this time Eliz asked.
"No, he will come with us. He'll show the way. If there's a problem, I'll be with him. What do you say, Arsh?"
While they were talking, Arsh had already focused on finding the most suitable entry and exit routes. Hearing Juan's question, he opened his eyes.
"I can show you where the children are. I also think I can find the easiest way for us to get inside. But how we get out after entering… I guess I can only figure that out once I see the situation inside."
"That's already more than enough for a newbie," Juan said, patting Arsh on the back.
"Alright, let's split up for now. Check the possible exit routes. Look at the doors used by the staff and where the supplies are brought in. And I'll check the other routes we might use with Arsh."
...
About an hour later, shortly after the general had left, they gathered again in the same empty building. Eliz, Ray, and Tedor couldn't find a suitable escape route. There were too many Symran guards around. Flora, on the other hand, had examined the doors Juan had told.
"The supply door and the staff door are side by side. Around doors there are not any Symran city guards. With the children with us, that's our best escape route. But they're aware of that as well. There are four men at each door. As for those inside the hotel, I have no idea. There are way more people in there than I can sense. It's impossible to tell who is who just by their voices. And if we consider that we don't know how many of them have Siunis, we seem pretty outnumbered. What should we do?"
Juan sat there with his head in his hands, shaking his leg rapidly. Everyone waited for him in silence. Suddenly, he lifted his head and looked at everyone in the room, one by one.
"Here's the plan. Paul Smith is not our priority for now. Our priority is getting the children out safely. If they're planning to send them off in separate groups, then once we save one group, they'll find a way to get rid of the other children or transport them with a different way."
"Arsh found an empty room on the second floor. If we hide and go in when the guards aren't patrolling, it'll be pretty easy... Tedor, Arsh, and I will go inside and find the children. We don't know the situation inside, so don't move until I reach the supply door. First, I'll take out a few of them. When you see that, you move in and handle the remaining guards at the door. Stay ready... We need to get the children out of there safely."
"Okay, but what then? There's probably more than just one or two children. How are we supposed to get all of them out together and to a safe place?" Ray asked.
"Any ideas on what comes next?" Juan asked the others. When no one responded, he stood up and stared out the window.
"Then we'll figure the rest out once we're inside."