Arsh realized they were in an area reserved for staff, tucked into the corner of a large hall. It was located behind the bar section. That's why, even though he could see people sitting on couches, drinking, chatting, and dancing, no one had noticed them yet.
If he wanted to follow the golden thread and get out, he had to cross the hall and reach the door on the other side. Even on his own, with the clothes he was wearing, doing that without drawing attention would have been unlikely, but with dozens of children behind him... it was impossible.
He let out a deep breath. There was no other way out.
He glanced at the crowd in the hall, then at the children behind him.
"Now, children, you're going to keep following me. Don't get distracted, and don't pay attention to anyone. We just need to walk toward that door. Can you see it?"
A soft murmur rose from the children as they nodded in unison.
"Good. Now, let's move along the wall," Arsh said, signaling them to start.
One by one, they began to get out of the corner where they had been hiding. Following Arsh's lead, the long line of children started walking.
Soon, the music and the chatter came to a stop. Everyone in the hall was staring at Arsh and the children. But they kept walking calmly along the wall toward the door.
They continued walking for a while under the puzzled stares of those around them. Before long, a few waiters hurried over, stopping beside Arsh, assuming he was the only adult. Yet they seemed unsure of what to do or say, simply staring at them in shock.
One of them scratched his head, glancing toward the door where his coworker had gone to inform the manager. They knew how to handle different situations and all kinds of customers. Dealing with unwanted guests was usually easy. But a group of children in the middle of a party? They had no idea what to do.
While he was thinking about it, the door opened and he saw the manager's bald head.
"Do you mind stepping back? We're trying to get out of here," Arsh said in Symranese, using the politest tone he could muster.
"Ah… can you wait a moment, please? Our manager is here," the waiter replied with the same courtesy.
...
The bald, chubby man was trying to walk fast without running in front of the guests. At the same time, he was trying to show that everything was fine and under control, giving reassuring smiles to the people around him.
When one of the waiters burst into his room and told him that the hall was filled with Kurshan children, he already had an idea of where they had come from. Even though he didn't know all the details, he had received a request from the army to assign the hotel's storage area to a man named Paul Smith. And they had given him their word that there would never be a problem.
"What is going on here? What are you doing here? How did you enter our hotel without permission?" He tried to keep his voice under control as he stood in front of the Kurshaniese man.
Somehow, he needed to make this man look responsible for the disruption of the ball and handle the situation before it escalated.
"Are you the manager of this hotel? Then I am sure you know exactly what is going on. A man is responsible for what happens in his own house."
Arsh's voice, unlike the manager's, was loud and clear.
"You come to my hotel with a bunch of beggars and try to lecture me!"
Arsh was certain the man knew the truth. There was fear in his eyes. If they were merely a group of beggars who had broken in, his eyes would show anger or worry—not fear.
At Arsh's words, the manager lost his composure and shouted, forgetting how he appeared in front of the guests. He made it clear that they were nothing more than beggars barging into the hotel. As long as the guests believed him, there would be no problem. Even if it risked the hotel's reputation, protecting himself mattered more. It was better than being seen as someone aiding child kidnappers.
Although he couldn't see Arsh's face behind the cloth covering it, he was certain the man was a native. Dealing with a native would be easy.
"Call the hotel guards and take this man and these children to the storage. I'm going to call the city guards," he told the waiters beside him.
"Then go ahead and call them first. That is what I was going to do anyway, and I will be more than happy to explain to them exactly what is happening here." Arsh replied.
If the manager called the city guards, they would definitely not let the children go. They never allowed a Kurshanese guard to enter this hotel either, so Arsh had to keep the situation in front of the guests. With more witnesses, Arsh could somehow hold on until Juan arrived.
While he was thinking about this, a man from among the guests stood up and approached Arsh and the manager.
"I'm curious about what's going on here, Mr. Bennes. Could you give me an explanation?" he said in a calm tone.
"Ah… Mr. Tiffany, I am so sorry for the disruption. I really didn't want something like this to happen during your event. My hotel will compensate you for the inconvenience we've caused. Please, don't worry about it."
"Mr. Bennes, I am asking you to explain the situation, not to compensate me."
"Ah… the situation, you see, these beggars…" The manager's tone clearly revealed that he was intim dated by this man.
"Let me explain." Arsh interrupted the manager.
"You..."
"Please, I am listening." said Mr. Tiffany.
He didn't want to beat around the bush.
"These children were kidnapped from the city, poor areas, and villages of Kurshan. These children were bought by a guest staying at this hotel. They were all locked up in a dark room in the hotel's basement. From what I understand, the manager was already aware of this. I'm just doing what I have to do and trying to rescue them."
Arsh spoke without shouting, yet his voice was steady and loud enough for everyone in the hall to hear.
Mr. Tiffany listened intently. After giving the hotel manager a stern look, he turned back to Arsh.
"So, what do you plan to do now? How are you going to get these children out of here, and how will you help them?"
"Please call the Kurshanese city guards. They will help the children. Some of the children belong to natives in the city, even the city guards' families. So they won't let anyone touch them… And who are you?"
"I am Senior Advisor to Senator Hill and a solicitor, Matthew Tiffany. I will help you. Is there anything else you need?"
He was clearly someone high up. It was no surprise the manager was afraid of him. Although the man looked kind, Arsh knew he shouldn't trust him blindly. Still, if he was going to call the Kurshaniese guards, there should be no problem.
However, Arsh wanted to take a few more precautions to guarantee their safety. He needed to make sure this couldn't be covered up.
"That photographer," Arsh said, pointing.
"I want him to take a photo of the children. This incident needs to be in tomorrow's newspaper. Can you arrange this?"
'Am I pushing my luck?' Arsh wondered, carefully watching the man's reaction.
"That is easy. I will deal with this. I won't even ask who you are," the man said.
"Thank you. But... can I trust you?"
The man laughed.
"You are right to be cautious. But don't worry. Most of the time, I can be a dirty solicitor—but not toward children, and certainly not in front of my own."
He looked back as he said this. In the direction he was looking, there was a beautiful woman and two children: a boy around five and a girl around ten.
Arsh nodded.
Matthew Tiffany sent his men to call the Kurshan city guards. After that, he stayed by Arsh's side and didn't let the manager go anywhere.
"Can you ask them if they are hungry?" He smiled at the children.
Arsh asked them in Kurshanese. They all nodded, and some began to cry again. They clearly hadn't eaten a proper meal in a long time. There was no need for Arsh to translate. Their reaction said everything.
"Manager, tell the waiters to prepare food for the children," Mr. Tiffany commanded.
"But Mr. Tiffany..."
"Mr. Bennes, if I were you, I would be fast." he looked kinda scary.
Soon the children sat on the floor, eating food from a plate in their lap. They were children and forgot the scary things that had happened to them as they ate something good.
Arsh was watching them with a smile, thinking that soon everything would be alright. He didn't know what happened to Juan and the others. He focused on them and tried to find where they were. When he opened his eyes he saw golden threads, some of them far away, some of them close.
'I can assume they are alive,' he thought. But his focus broke when a hand touched his shoulder.
"You should also eat something," Matthew Tiffany said.
"I don't feel relaxed enough to eat in a situation like this," Arsh replied.
"Okay, you are right... I can't make you trust me. But everything will be alright in the morning. My advice is that you should hide before the guards arrive. There will definitely be Symranian city guards, and even though you didn't do anything bad, I can't guarantee you'll be safe once your identity is discovered."
He was right. He was thinking about that too, but he didn't want to leave the children.
A little girl came up to Arsh and grabbed his pinky finger.
Arsh knelt down and looked at her.
"Is something wrong?"
The girl took a piece of bread and pressed it against Arsh's mouth, right over the cloth covering his face.
"Do you want me to eat this?" he asked.
The girl nodded.
"Okay."
Arsh lifted his mask slightly and took a bite.
It wasn't bread. It was something sweet with an aroma he never tasted before.
"Hmm... This is so tasty. Thank you so much."
He patted the child's head. He watched the little girl until she returned to the others.
"Will they be able to find their families?" Arsh asked absent-mindedly.
"Not all of them... I believe some of them are homeless children. You can tell just by looking at them," said Matthew Tiffany.
Arsh had realized it too.
"Don't worry. There is a place for children like them. I will make sure they are taken care of," Matthew continued.
In that moment, Arsh felt a familiar sensation and heard a voice: "You can trust him."
One of the golden threads extending from his hands wrapped around his body and then moved away.
'He is scary, that is a really scary ability.' Arsh shivered.
He tried to keep a calm expression on his face and pretended to be thinking about what Matthew said.
"Okay, I will trust you," he said. But it was a quick turn. Matthew paused for a second.
"I am glad to hear that... You changed your mind quickly. But now it is time for you to go."