《The Chains of Time》


 A Quest of the Past - Chapter 0: Blood on Hvaden Field.

    The loud noise of metal clanging sounded repeatedly in the silent night.


    An alarm.


    Rushing out from over two hundred tents were soldiers of the Firefly''s 5th Infantry Battalion, wounded and tired soldiers after a long day. They lighted up the torchs in confusion, hurried to put their armor on, trying to figure out what was happening.


    Loud voices calling out for each other, asking for command then shouting in desperation as they saw the line of red dots on top of the hill to the east, where the full moon shined its light upon the massive army and their banners.


    4th Battalion of the Red Moon Cavalry.


    3rd Regiment of the Royal Army.


    7th Company of the Guinso Knight.


    Big names, enough to scare off more than half of the soldiers of the Firefly''s 5th Infantry Battalion.


    "Form a line, ready your bows! What are you standing there for, form the line!" There was shouting from one of the commanding officers, hoping to get his troops together.


    "It''s no use, even the Guinso Knight are here, we are done for!" Responding to him were the sound of desperation of soldiers who were slowly losing their will.


    Hope, command, ideal, those things don''t mean much when you are facing a massive gap in power. Only a few of the soldiers picked up their weapons and formed a pathetic line of spears in front, even then their hands were shaking, their faces sweating in fear, their lips started saying meaningless prayers to all the gods and goddesses they could think of. But their actions seemed to have some effects on their comrades, slowly there were more taking up arms, starting to join the lines, preparing their bows, raising their banners.


    Still, despite all those efforts, the red banner of the Firefly¡¯s army and all those gathered around it seemed nothing more than a little nuisance to their enemy, who calmly stood on top of the hill, waiting for order from their commander.


    Regulus lowered his binocular, the proud General of the 3rd Regiment of the Royal Army turned to his officer:


    "Tell Colonel Raydric and his cavalry to ready the charge, as of Colonel Delphin, tell him to start moving to cut off the enemy¡¯s retreat route to the forest."


    After giving the orders to the officer, Regulus took a close look at his Regiment, men from different species throughout the Beastman Kingdom of Palomar, there are big men from the Bear tribe in their heavy armor, slimmer but more argile figures from the Jaguar tribe, the blood thirsty people from the Hyenna tribe, ... all of them gathered within this banner of the Royal Army, united for one purpose, to fight for their king and crush whoever opposes His Majesty''s rule in Palomar.


    Regulus raised the binocular again, blessed with the superior night vision of the Tiger tribe, he could easily see that the rebels had started to form something that resembled a defense formation. A futile effort. He thought. Without waiting any longer, Regulus told the the officer next to him to signal the charge.


    Then the drums started playing, the sharp howls echoing through the field and the ground were shaken from the charge of the wolf cavalries of the Red Moon, each raised their blade and howled as they rushed to battle.


    Followed after that were volleys of arrows raining down on the formation of the Firefly rebels from the well-disciplined range unit of the 3rd Regiment. Soldiers stepped down, knocked their arrows, stepped up and fired following a perfect flow as if taken straight from the textbook, and slowly the screaming started to be heard from within the rebel¡¯s formation. There were arrows shooting back from the rebel''s camp as well, but the difference was like day and night, half of those few arrows didn''t even land on anyone, the other half managed to take down a few men from the Red Moon''s 4th battalion. But that was no more than a tickle to the wolf cavalries, and before the Firefly soldiers noticed, the rain of arrows had stopped and the wave of wolves and wolfmans came crashing down on them with the force of an avalanche, howling. The pathetic spear formation was torn down by the claws and fangs of the angry grey wolves, then their riders started waving the sharp blades around, striking down anyone who seemed to propose a threat. The sound of screaming, roaring, howling, of metal clashing to each other, of meat being torn apart together with the terrific sight of wolf''s fangs, of their rider¡¯s deadly blades, of blood and fire stroke a big blow to the rebel''s spirit.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    The danger of the Red Moon Cavalry not only comes from the warmongering riders of the Wolf tribe but also from their rides. The grey wolves as big as the size of a horse, as ferocious and deadly as a soldier. Even after the momentum of the charge was lost, they can still easily move around, slaying men after men of the Firefly army. It took at least four to five men to put down one of the cavalry, and that was if they still survive after the charge. Soon after the cavalry of the Red Moon charged in, most of the soldier from the Firefly army had already begun to fall back, and the situation just went from bad to worse as they started facing the one of the deadliest armies in the world of Damruel in close combat. At first they tried to retreat in formation, but after seeing their comrades got buried by the grey wolf''s claws, hearing their painful screams, witnessing the blood and gore of being dismembered by the ferocious wolves, they straight out ran away in panic, ignoring everything else but their own lives. Some officers were still trying to give orders, but that didn''t mean nothing now, especially after their voices were cut off by the angry howls of the grey wolves as well as their riders.


    Even before the infantry of the 3rd Regiment reached their camp, all of the soldiers from the Firefly rebels had already started fleeing from the battlefield, from the horrendous pile of carnage that they used to call Hvaden Field. But waiting for them in the forest behind was the 7th Company of the Guinso Knight, the best of the best, tasked with guarding the Royal Palace, selected and knighted by the King himself, the strongest combat force of Palomar Kingdom. Compared to seven hundred cavalries of the Red Moon''s 4th Battalion and three thousand soldiers of the Royal Army''s 3rd Regiment, two hundred members of the Guinso''s 7th Company seemed much smaller in size. Even the rebel¡¯s army had more people than them. But there they stood in front of the forest calmly without making any noise, weapons drawn, ready to destroy what was left of the rebel¡¯s army.


    "Charge!" While the soldiers of the Firefly army were panicking with their retreat route being cut off, the Guinso Knight had already sounded the charge, together with that was the proud roar from one of the Lion tribe which could be heard miles away, Colonel Delphin himself was leading the charge.


    As the knights of Guinso charged in like a hurricane, there was nothing the soldiers of the Firefly''s 5th Battalion could do but to run for their lives, but even that was a luxury as the Guinso Knights, the Red Moon cavalries and the Royal Army infantry came crashing on them from all side, the battle had turned into a massacre.


    Seeing all of this through the binoculars, the assistant officer from the Dog tribe shouted in joy:


    "General Regulus, we have won, the rebels have been crushed."


    Opposite to the joy of his underling, Regulus didn''t seem very happy.


    "One Regiment of the Royal Army and one battalion of the Red Moon cavalry, adding to that is a company of the Guinso Knight against one thousand injured rebels, this is no victory to be proud of. We have been tricked, this is merely just a diversion, the Firefly main body army must be somewhere else."


    "But sir, the Intelligence Agency said that ..."


    "They have been deceived, what a bunch of useless bastards, can''t even manage to track down the movement of a ragtag rebel¡¯s army." Regulus cut off his officer''s words in anger.


    As he started lowering the binocular, Regulus caught some interesting movements from the rebel¡¯s army. He immediately started zooming in at the forest side of the battle, where the rebel¡¯s army was trying to flee to. Among the screaming rebels being butchered there was a small group still trying to break through the formation of the Guinso Knight. With no more than twenty men, they still managed to put up the good fight against the best knights of the King and slowly advanced to the forest. But before they could go far, Delphin noticed their existence and ordered his men to surround them layer by layer. Outnumbered and less equipped, it was only a matter of time before they were subdued.


    "Those must be member of the Black Fang." Regulus talked to himself then to his officer, "Tell Colonel Delphin I want to take some as prisoners, quick!"


    But before his officer could even move, the member of the Black Fang made their last effort to break through the Guinso Knight''s circle. All of them were stopped except for one hooded figure, as soon as they came clashing to the Guinso knights his speed suddenly increased tremendously. Not giving anyone the time to react, he rushed to the forest swiftly as the wind, leaving behind the Guinso Knights still dealing with the remaining Black Fang''s members.


    "Ophelia''s Blessing!" Regulus shouted out loud, then he grabbed the officer by his collar:


    "Tell Delphin I want that guy alive, he must be someone high up in the Black Fang!" His voice almost sounded like a roar.


    But despite that outburst, the general knew without preparation, it is near impossible to stop someone who has the blessing of the Wind Spirit itself.


    "Damn useless Intelligence Agency!" Regulus threw his binoculars angrily on the ground as the hooded figure disappeared into the dark forest.


    On the battlefield, the King''s army had already begun cleaning up, tending to the wounded, killing anyone who was not completely dead yet and capturing the last few survivors who surrendered. What awaited them was the horror that is the King''s prison. And when the Inquisitors and their Enforcers started asking questions, those who survived would wish that they had died on the Hvaden Field that night.

 Chapter 1: Lacerta Festival.

    ¡°¡­


    Under the Lacerta stars, we were united.


    To prosper this land that we inherited.


    Gazed upon the bright sky we wished.


    That our enemies will scatter to pieces.


    That Palomar will stand forever.


    That its strength fails it never.¡±


    The minstrel finished his song with a long note, as if he was wishing under the stars himself that night. All those who gathered clapped and whistled in joy as the minstrel took a bow, together with that was the sound of coins being thrown into his hat on the ground.


    ¡°You should really come to my bar one day, they will love to hear this song.¡± One lady of the Bear tribe said, her mouth broadened with a smile.


    ¡°Your compliment warms my heart, truly, I¡¯ll make a plan for that one day.¡±


    The minstrel replied and put his right hand on his chest, palm facing inside, a polite gesture.


    ¡°I have your promise, eh? They will love it, I¡¯m sure, haha! Inte Agrana Palomar!¡± The lady left, her loud voice could still be heard a few blocks away.


    ¡°Your voice is really good mister, it is the first time I have ever heard the singing voice from one of the Fox tribe.¡±


    There was a female voice over the minstrel head as he sat down to collect the hat. He looked up and saw a girl from the Rabbit tribe covered in grey cloak. White fur, long ears, rounded face, slightly pointed nose, normal traits coming from their tribe, but what really stood out were the clear crimson eyes and the friendliest smile the minstrel had ever seen. He then removed his hood, revealing the green eyes, pointy nose and mouth covered by red fur, the distinctive look of the Fox tribe. The minstrel stood up and smiled:


    ¡°Thank you my lady, it is true that my kind doesn¡¯t really sing much, but everything has its first time, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°They say those who don¡¯t usually do something are the ones that excel at it the most, now I believe that phrase. Do you live around here, mister fox?¡±


    ¡°Oh I would love to, but no, I live in the commoner¡¯s area of the outer layer, I only come here from time to time to perform for a living.¡± The fox minstrel shook his head slightly as he replied.


    ¡°Then I will be looking forward to your next performance. Inte Agrana Palomar, enjoy your festival mister fox.¡±


    The rabbit girl gave the minstrel a bow, then gently touched her forehead with three fingers as she said her wish to him before they parted ways.


    ¡°And same to you, my lady. Inte Agrana Palomar.¡± The minstrel returned the gesture, then collected his belongings, brushed off the dust from his tail and headed to the outer layer.


    Sight like that could be seen anywhere in the busy capital of Palomar, Edion. Strangers, acquaintances, friends, families all greeted each other happily as they passed by the white street of Edion. As this was the biggest festival the beastmans of Palomar have, the day when the light of the Lacerta¡¯s stars shined brightest in the night sky, the day when King Hirion united all the different tribes of beastman and found this kingdom two hundred years ago. Everywhere in the city was filled with colorful decorations and happy, motivated banners. Every shop, restaurant and bar all gave out different gifts to their customers. No matter how was one¡¯s feeling before, that time was the time of celebration.


    On his way to the outer wall, the minstrel passed by a housemaid of a noble¡¯s house gardening the trees. It seemed that they were not strangers to each other, the foxman put three fingers on his forehead and greeted her over the fences:


    ¡°Inte Agrana Palomar miss, have a nice festival.¡±


    ¡°And you as well, Inte Agrana Palomar.¡±


    The housemaid from the Cat tribe stopped what she was doing, wiped her forehead with her sleeve then returned the gesture.


    ¡°Thank you miss, how is the preparation for the Lord¡¯s house going?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really busy these days, the master has lots of guests all the time, I heard that they are from the Tax department, or some places really important, you know, those people in white and black uniform, so we housemaids and butlers have been running around like headless chickens. How are you doing, finishing early today?¡± The housemaid replied as she continued gardening the trees, her tail waving around slowly on the green grass.


    ¡°Yeah, I have just finished my performance for today, heading home now, got to spend time enjoying the festival, eh? Can¡¯t be working all the time, I will miss out all the fun.¡± The minstrel pointed towards the seven strings instrument on his back, his partner at work. ¡°Anyway, the sun has already started shifting west, I have got to go now, see you around miss.¡±


    With that, he parted ways with his usual chatting friend and headed to the big gate. Edion was built with three layers separated by high walls, the inner most is the Royal Palace, where the King and his family stay and other important buildings to the Kingdom. Then come the middle layer, where the nobles and some rich merchants lives. The outer layer is for the commoners. Outside the city wall was the network of crop fields, small towns and villages, army¡¯s outposts and training grounds, all connected by roads, and these roads spread throughout the Kingdom bringing all kind of people, goods and opportunities. Especially today, all kind of beastmans across the Kingdom traveled here just to truly enjoy the most out of the festival, the City Watch had been busy ever since two days ago to keep everything in order.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    By the time the minstrel reached the brown brick buildings of the commoner¡¯s area it was already late in the afternoon, a lot of vendors started closing early, even the merchants wanted to enjoy the biggest festival that only comes once a year. After passing through alleys after alleys the minstrel reached his destination, a small, worn out bar in the corner of the city called The 13<sup>th</sup> Cat. Inside the bar were around twenty sets of wooden chairs and tables, all seemed to have been there for ages. Surprisingly, there were quite a lot of customers spread out on every table even though it was only a few hours until the festival started. All with their eyes constantly checking the surrounding, hands stayed closed to their hips, to their swords, discussing in a soft tone. Shady people, one could say, and the dark outlines of them shined upon by the candles didn¡¯t help to lighten the mood either.


    The minstrel didn¡¯t seem to mind all of this, he went straight up to the bar in the corner, ordered a beer as he sat down on a random chair. It took only a few seconds for the owner of the bar to bring him a big glass of cold beer. The big men of the Panther tribe in a bartender outfit seemed to know the minstrel, he casually asked while arranging the alcohol shelf behind:


    ¡°So how is your day, mister minstrel?¡± His voice was one that doesn¡¯t sound so friendly.


    ¡°Well, everything is good, people are happy, the city is colorful, it is the Lacerta festival after all, mister Grim. How about you?¡±


    Grim lazily waved his hand around as he replied:


    ¡°As you can see, usual stuffs, all the happiest customers in Edion with their talks of peace, prosper and generosity. Fitting for an important day like this, truly, thanks to the wise rule of His Majesty.¡±


    Then he sat down near the minstrel, lowered his voice and asked:


    ¡°So, you got anything for me? I suppose you are not really here to just have a beer.¡±


    The red fox man drank a big sip of beer, then wiped his mouth off the white foam and replied:


    ¡°Come on Mister Grim, you should have more confidence in your brewing skill, this is fine beer you have here. I believe a lot of folks would love to come here just for a beer.¡± The minstrel threw in a compliment. ¡°But anyway, as a matter of fact, I do have something for you. Lord Brock of the Latea Merchant Guild lately seems to enjoy the company of tax officers in his house. One could even misunderstand that as some dirty acts like bribing. Well then of course it is unimaginable to think our kind Lord would break the law written by His Majesty himself. But who am I to control what the people understand and misunderstand then, I¡¯m just a wandering minstrel trying to live my days in peace.¡±


    Grim nodded his head slightly, his mouth started grinning, the scar on his forehead twisted as he did so.


    ¡°Indeed, misunderstanding can lead to some ¡­ serious matters, matters which may require a lot of coins to settle.¡±


    The owner of the bar replied, then he took a small bag from the drawer below and passed it to the minstrel. The sound of coins ringing attracted some unfriendly eyes around the two, but as they saw Mister Grim¡¯s grinning face, all averted their eyes away. After all, the sight of big panther man grinning was surely not a pleasant one, especially when he stared at you with his big bright yellow eyes.


    The fox minstrel silently put the coin bag inside his cloak, took another sip of beer and asked:


    ¡°So, enough with the misunderstanding, any news this month I should know? How is our peaceful world of Damruel doing?¡±


    Grim poured himself a glass of beer as he talked:


    ¡°Better than ever, magical beasts and globins come out every now and then paying their visits to the nearby villages, it makes one wonder where the local Lord¡¯s Levies are when they are needed. At the west border tension with the human regarding the city of Dakan keep rising as days passed, another regiment of the Royal Army was dispatched a week ago, there was no official information about their destination, but one can always take a guess. On the eastern mountains our bird friends are still enjoying their everyday activity of attacking lone merchants and farmers. The weather in the north is wonderful as usual with blizzards and ice rains coming every week.¡±


    After a sip of beer, Grim continued like a faithful reporter.


    ¡°And when you think it¡¯s getting too quiet in the south, the Firefly appeared again, continuing to accuse the King and the local Lords of overtaxing, overworking, child labor, female abductions, slavery and the list goes on. All are fault accusations I must remind you, truly, what a pathetic effort to defy the great rule of His Majestry. Together with the Firefly appearance, the Black Fang also started moving again, some Lord¡¯s houses burnt, some merchants assassinated, and many other unthinkable crimes committed from what I¡¯ve been told. After the battle of Hvaden Field seven months ago, you would have thought that they had leant their lesson and disbanded but here they are again, challenging the King and the Nobles. Fascinating, I must say.¡±


    ¡°The Firefly Organization and the Black Fang eh? Interesting.¡±


    There were some strange feelings coming from the minstrel¡¯s voice as he said that. But before Grim could ask, the foxman finished his beer and stood up.


    ¡°Well then thanks for the news, good to know the world is still doing well as always. I¡¯ll take my leave now Mister Grim, enjoy your festival. Inte Agrana Palomar.¡±


    After the polite gesture, the minstrel put on his hood, covered most parts of his face except for the pointy nose and walked outside the bar, his furry red and white tail waved slowly from left to right.


    In the bar, Grim collected the two now empty beer glasses, then muttered to himself:


    ¡°Palomar stands together with time, hah, as if you care.¡±


    As he walked along the alleys, the minstrel started humming an old song in his own pace. But then he saw a dark shape standing between the brown walls and stopped walking. Coincidence? He didn¡¯t think so. Folk don¡¯t usually stand idly in the alley, especially when the moon is up there in the sky.


    ¡°What a surprise, mister fox?¡±


    A female voice came from the dark, a familiar one, one that the minstrel had just heard not too long ago. The dark figure stepped slowly into the moonlight, enough for the fox man to see those distinctive crimson eyes and the friendly smile. But the smile seems less friendly now in this dark alley. He thought to himself.


    Discreetly, the minstrel right hand touched the knife hidden under his cloak. Experiences had taught him that meetings in the dark alley like this don¡¯t usually end in a happy note. Most of the time, they ended in blood.


    Dead body in the dark alley, as classic as one can get.

 Chapter 2: Lacerta Festival (2)

    Little Gray had found himself in a tight situation lately. His debt with Mister Grim had already passed the deadline, and every underground folk in the commoner¡¯s area knew that Mister Grim doesn¡¯t mess around when it comes to money.


    But it was the Lacerta Festival, festival means celebration, celebration means business, business means money, and money, as Little Gray had always thought, should be used to help someone in need. Someone like me.


    Little Gray has a small body, even for one from the Cat tribe, but as he started this ¡°job¡± that had worked amazingly well to his advantage. The gray fur and hooded cloak helped him blend into the background as his small body squeezed through the river of people enjoying their lovely festival. Echoed in his sensitive ears were the sound of people chatting, cheering, shouting, checking the goods, asking for price with little to no awareness to their surroundings. A perfect opportunity. Little Gray thought as he worked his flexible fingers out. His eyes judging all the potential targets, his claws appeared out of his left palm. Then he slightly bumped into a rabbit girl whose face he could hardly pay attention to. Within one second, his claws separated the coin bag from its owner and before it could fall any more than a fingertip he caught the bag in his right hand. Not even the faintest of noise was created. Damn, I am good. Little Gray couldn¡¯t stop himself from the sweet thoughts, as the bag seemed quite the heavy one.


    Quickly put the coin bag into his shirt, Little Gray disappeared into the river of beastmans as if he was never there in the first place. Never be too greedy, vanish after you finish the job. That had always been his working code.


    The cat man thief started whistling as he passed the gate to the commoner¡¯s area. His mind was already busy thinking about how to enjoy the festival that comes only once a year. The Silver Hair Casino should be opened tonight. He thought. Gambling had never been Little Gray¡¯s strong point, but it might be different tonight. It is the Lacerta Festival after all. As his mind drifted away, the cat man slowly walked towards the network of brown brick alleys in the commoner¡¯s area, where one should always be careful.


    ¡°You seem quite happy for one who is in debt, Little Gray.¡±


    There was a voice coming from behind Little Gray, a low voice of someone who means business. As he turned to face the voice, from the corner of his left eye he could see another figure appearing in the other direction, he had been surrounded. Damn me and my habit of spacing out after a victory. Little Gray felt regretful, but it was a little late for that.


    ¡°Well, if it isn¡¯t the infamous Wolf Twin of the 7<sup>th</sup> district.¡±


    As hard as he tried to sound confident, Little Gray knew that he was screwed the moment the wolf brothers surrounded him.


    ¡°Mister Grim wasn¡¯t too happy when you didn¡¯t pay back the debt on time.¡±


    The one behind Little Gray opened his mouth, and both of the brothers started closing in on him. Both wore black trench coat and headband, looking identical to each other. Little Gray sweated cold drops from his hands as the Wolf Twin were only one stride away from him.


    ¡°Now now, let¡¯s talk like civilized beastmans of Edion and refrain from using violence, gentlemen. I have the money now, was about to give it to Mister Grim anyway.¡±


    As soon as he held out the coin bag, the wolf man in front immediately snatched it away from his hand. He weighted it on his black furred hand a little bit then nodded to his brother, who was still standing behind Little Gray.


    ¡°This will do.¡±


    One of the twins said and both of them slowly walked away, they didn¡¯t seem to pay any more attention to the cat man. Snapped out of his fear, Little Gray waved out his hand and shouted:


    ¡°But that is more than twelve silvers, it must be at least twenty, or even more!¡±


    ¡°Interest Little Gray, interest. You are lucky we took the extras and not your fingers.¡±


    The little cat man could only watch the twin brothers walked away with the coin bag. For a long while he just stood there mourning his lost money, until he felt a gentle tap on his right shoulder. Damn me and my habit of spacing out after a lost. Little Gray felt regretful again, but it was a little late for that.


    ¡°Now then mister cat, would you be so kind as to return my coin bag, it holds a really important thing of mine.¡±


    A calm, soft female voice slowly spoke up and Little Gray felt his shoulder being turned, soon he was facing a white fur girl from the Rabbit tribe with the beautiful crimson eyes and a friendly smile. That dumb looking rabbit. Little Gray remembered, but then he reckoned he must have looked even dumber now, being cornered in this alley.


    As good as he was with pickpocketing, Little Gray had to admit he was rather pathetic when it comes to fighting, and every underground folk in the commoner¡¯s area knew that. Even against a female of the Rabbit tribe, Little Gray could hardly think he would had a chance against her, especially when his shoulders had already been held by his opponent.


    ¡°I, I don¡¯t have it anymore, the Wolf Twins took it.¡± Little Gray tried to sound as sincere as he could.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    ¡°The Wolf Twins?¡± The rabbit girl¡¯s smile seemed less friendly now up close in this alley.


    ¡°Yes, yes, they took it. I had a debt. They took it, to, to Mister Grim.¡± The cat man nodded his head repeatedly.


    Come one Little Gray, pull yourself together, it¡¯s just one dumb rabbit. As hard as he tried to calm himself, Little Gray knew his voice was getting a lot more weaker and shakier as the grip on his shoulder grew tighter.


    ¡°Mister Grim?¡± Still with a calm voice, the girl continued.


    ¡°Yes Mister Grim, he is the money lender, information broker and mercenary of the 13<sup>th</sup> Cat Bar, it is all the bastard¡¯s fault! I, I can show you to him. Just, just don¡¯t report me to the City Watch. I¡¯ve got mouths to feed back home, my children are depending on me everyday. I swear, I¡¯ll, I¡¯ll never do that again. I¡¯m sorry miss, I¡¯m truly sorry!¡±


    There was a pause in their conversation after Little Gray had pleaded the guilt that he used to practice all the time. Nervously looked up, he saw that the rabbit girl had already closed her eyes, as if she was feeling something.


    ¡°It seems you spoke the truth, mister cat.¡±


    Little Gray could feel his tail became stiffer when the rabbit girl suddenly spoke up. She then released the grip on his shoulders and started walking away. Her voice became smaller as she disappeared in the alley.


    ¡°Thanks for the offer, but I can find the way on my own. It¡¯s getting dark now, you should hurry home mister cat. You¡¯ve got mouths to feed after all, don¡¯t want to let your children worry, do you? And please, for the sake of your ¡°children¡±, pick your target more careful next time, will you?¡±


    The cat man let out a huge sigh of relief, dealing with that girl was ten times more pressured than the Wolf Twins.


    Since when did rabbit girls become so scary? Little Gray asked himself.


    As if she had known this place for a long time, the rabbit girl had no problem finding her way in what seemed to be a maze of alleys. She then heard a humming sound of an old song, and the voice was familiar to her, one she just heard not too long ago, singing a different song.


    ¡°What a surprise, mister fox?¡±


    She let out what seemed like a delightful tone.


    The minstrel slowly analyzed the situation as his hand touched the knife behind his back. He had never judged anyone lightly, even though it was a girl from the weak Rabbit tribe. Now who might she be? The fox man started working his brain. Has the Inquisition finally sniffed me out after all these months? Or is it Lord Brock who just realized that his housemaid told a suspicious fox his secret? Maybe one of the kind folk from the 13<sup>th</sup> Cat thought that the coin bag is too heavy for me to carry? Or could it be Mister Grim himself, the big man never refuse any well-paid job, but then who paid him? The fox man list of dangers is quite the long one, now that he thought of it. Whoever she may be or may represent, it seems like she is alone. A lone opponent means higher chance of escape, at least.


    After a few steps, the rabbit girl stopped, just stood there right at the minstrel¡¯s line of danger. She opened her mouth again, let out that soft and calm voice as if talking to a close friend.


    ¡°Now then, don¡¯t be so stiff mister fox. I don¡¯t mean any harm. It¡¯s just that I believe you have something of mine. I¡¯m only here with the hope that you can give it back to me.¡±


    ¡°I beg your pardon?¡± The minstrel voice sounded a little bit confused. What is this, a tactic to lower my guard? He thought, his fingers gripped tightly around the knife¡¯s hilt.


    As if she could sense his doubt, the rabbit girl continued:


    ¡°I believe that through a string of unfortunate events, you got into the possession of my coin bag. Now I know that you have doubts, if you have indeed just received an unknown coin bag from ¡­ what was the name again, Mister Grim I believe, you can take it out and I will clear your doubt.¡± After that, the rabbit girl closed her eyes.


    It seemed what the girl said had piqued the minstrel¡¯s curiosity. He slowly took out the newly earnt coin bag just as the rabbit girl told him to. Then his green pupils grew large as he saw a bright yellow light emitting through the bag. He carefully glanced at the rabbit girl and opened the bag, in the middle of all the silver coins was a strange badge, the source of the yellow light.


    The rabbit girl then opened her eyes and the light disappeared.


    ¡°Now do you believe me mister fox, I just simply wanted to take back what is mine. I hope you ¡­¡±


    Before she could finish her sentence, the minstrel let out a surprised shout as he saw what the badge really look like without the bright light.


    ¡°You are a Lamia¡¯s Follower?¡±


    It was the rabbit girl¡¯s turn to be surprised. Her big round eyes squinted into a thin line and her smile disappeared.


    ¡°You are full of surprises mister fox, most people don¡¯t know the meaning of that badge. Surely not a normal minstrel from the commoner¡¯s area. You really make me want to know more about yourself, would you care to join me for a chat at my place?¡±


    Her voice was as calm as before, but the minstrel could feel the coldness in the air.


    ¡°As lovely as that may sound, I¡¯m afraid I must kindly decline as I already have plan for tonight, it is the Lacerta Festival after all. I think I should return this bag to you now and be on my way.¡± This is bad news. The minstrel thought as he took a step back. Really bad news. Slowly he put down the bag on the ground, avoiding any sharp movement and took another step back.


    ¡°Now now mister fox, it is not wise to refuse a lady¡¯s invitation. I¡¯m sure your plan can wait a little bit, our talk won¡¯t take long, I can assure you.¡±


    The girl from the Rabbit tribe took a step forward and the air became heavier. The minstrel was no mage, but one doesn¡¯t have to be a mage to feel the pressure of magic in the air. As the air grew even heavier after the rabbit girl took another step, the fox man made up his mind, he had to get away from here, now or never. He lifted his left foot to take another step.


    Then his foot touched the ground. Without a faintest hint, the air below him exploded and he glided backward as swift as the wind itself, dust and leaves blew up by the pressure. Before one could blink, he was already at the turn of the alley. The fox man took another step on the wall mid-air and the air exploded again, launching him away like an arrow. All it took was a split second and the minstrel had already disappeared, the sound of shock waves created from the wind pressure had just now reached the rabbit girl.


    ¡°Ophelia¡¯s Blessing.¡± Her voice was mixed with excitement as she brushed off the dust from her clothes.


    ¡°You really are full of surprises, mister fox.¡±


    She then picked up her coin bag and slowly walked toward the direction of the 13<sup>th</sup> Cat Bar. From what the rabbit girl had been told, Mister Grim is an information broker. Coincidentally, she had some information she wanted to buy.

 Chapter 3: Under the seven stars.

    The crescent moon was high up in the sky shining its light upon the dark and empty streets at the corner of the Edion. The first night of the Lacerta Festival was the highlight, when the seven stars of Lacerta shined the brightest. Most people, even the commoners had already gathered in the center of the city, or tried to get as close as possible. Every year on this first night, the King himself gave a speech. Then as the night reached its climax, all the light in the city would be cut off for a brief moment so that all the citizens could see the stars and make their wishes upon them.


    But not all participated in this event, every here and there were beastmans of different species covered in hoods walking around, doing their ¡°business¡±. The minstrel was one of them, he stood there at the turn of the alley, green eyes squinted to a line, carefully watching the surroundings of a worn-out house in the middle of the street, just right in between two flickering lights, where it was the darkest. After making sure that there was no one in the vicinity, the fox man swiftly entered the house without even the slightest of noise.


    Inside of the house was quite empty with only one bed, a set of table with two chairs, a kitchen in the corner of the house next to a small bathroom. The minstrel knew he had to act fast, he knew that it was not safe to stay in this house anymore. It has never been safe messing around with a mage. But with or without his likings, he had already started to feel settled with this place after half a year, and it was not easy to just up and leave to find another place. The city of Edion might be big and crowed, but rumors travel fast, he couldn¡¯t just simply disappear and then appear with a different name like nothing ever happened. His best chance was probably to leave the city, but then it was the Lacerta Festival, there were far more people going in than out, and experiences had taught him that blending in with the minorities had never worked out well.


    Hide somewhere until the festival ends? That plan seemed plausible at first, but then there weren¡¯t so many hiding places in Edion, especially with the crazy amount of people here for the festival. The underground sewer, maybe? The minstrel thought, but that was a risky plan. The sewer was crowded with gangs and criminals, not to mention it was one of the Inquisition¡¯s most favorite places to dispose of the prisoners after questioning. Bodies floating on the water, never got out of fashion.


    ¡°Can I come in, mister fox?¡±


    The minstrel could feel his heart skip a beat as the knocking came together with a familiar voice. Without waiting for his answer, the rabbit girl had already come inside, closing the door behind her. The fox man slowly turned around, fingers griped tightly at the knife¡¯s hilt behind his back. But the girl didn¡¯t seem like she was there to fight.


    ¡°It seems there are some misunderstanding between us, I really just want to have a chat with you.¡± She calmly spoke.


    The rabbit girl might say whatever she wanted, but the minstrel was not one to be fooled easily by sweet talks. He definitely felt magic in the air before, and magic had hardly ever been used for friendly purposes. Noticing his doubts, the rabbit girl gave out a sigh, shrugged her shoulders and continued:


    ¡°Okay, I admitted that when you knew who I am I was a little suspicious of you, after all everyone had enemies that they are suspicious of. I merely thought that maybe you were one of them, that maybe you acquiring my coin bag wasn¡¯t a coincidence. But I really didn¡¯t mean any harm. It would be easy for me to blow up this place with magic from outside instead of risking a close encounter with you, one who has Ophelia¡¯s gift, right? Will you ease up a little bit now?¡±


    There was some truth in what the rabbit girl said, still that was far from enough to make the fox man trust her.


    ¡°How did you find this place?¡± The minstrel finally spoke up.


    ¡°Well that wasn¡¯t so hard, Mister Grim was kind enough to give me your information with an exchange of a few silver coins.¡±


    I should have guessed, the old man would even kill himself for the right price. The fox man gave up his hope to escape, with this much of a trail, it is impossible to get out of this city.


    ¡°And what business do you have with me, I suppose you have already known that I¡¯m not one of your enemies.¡± It couldn¡¯t get any worse now, might as well listen to her little talk. The minstrel thought. He then sat down on a chair and offered a polite gesture. ¡°Anyway, please be my guest, I hope you can excuse the poor state of my house. I wasn¡¯t expecting guests.¡± Not a mage, anyway.


    The rabbit girl sat down, there was a little bit of amusement in her crimson eyes, the fox man recovered his composure faster than she thought.


    ¡°Well now, where should I start. To put it simply, I was given a task by my Order, the Lamia¡¯s Followers. And in case you haven¡¯t noticed, I¡¯m lacking companions, and I can¡¯t finish this task alone. You could say that it is quite a long adventure.¡±


    A mage and her heroic quest, why am I not surprised? The minstrel thought to himself.


    After a brief pause, the rabbit girl continued:


    ¡°I was hoping to find some companions for this task of mine, and when I saw that you have the Blessing of the Wind Spirit, I was determined to have you with me. And you can expect satisfying reward from helping me as well, at least it will be better than singing on the street or selling information to Mister Grim.¡±


    The minstrel wasn¡¯t swayed by her offer. Life had taught him that the more rewards one was offered, the less likely it was that the job is going to end well. But it had never been easy to say no to a mage, especially when she knows your face and where you live.


    Before the fox man could think of a suitable reply, his eyes caught a slight movement outside the window, at the corner of the opposite street. At the same time his ears also heard some footsteps near the backdoor. But it was too late, as soon as he opened his mouth, an arrow had already flown through the window aiming straight at the rabbit girl¡¯s neck. Together with that was the sound of a door being kicked open, a battle cry and a hissing sound of a blade cutting through the air.


    Crack. The arrow broke into pieces before it could reach the rabbit girl, as if there was an invisible wall behind her. The minstrel didn¡¯t really worry about the girl, it would take more than an arrow to kill a mage, what he worried about was the blade slashing down on him from behind. He patiently waited until he could feel the wind pressed on his hair, until his nose could smell the strong scent of metal, then he acted. He tapped his right foot on the ground, and the air exploded. When the blade crashed down onto the chair, the minstrel was already at the wall over his bed, knife drawn. He stepped on the wall, let out another loud bang of air exploding and launched back at his attacker. Before the man from the Wolf tribe could react, the minstrel¡¯s knife had already sunk deep into his gray furred neck. He crumbled on the floor, blood spilled out from his neck like a red river, the wolf man twitched for a few seconds before he stopped moving.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    One down. The minstrel thought and took out a short sword from under his bed, but that was no time to be joyful, as he saw two more men coming from the back door then separating to surround him. They had already seen what he could do with his tremendous speed, so the element of surprise was gone. He raised his sword with two hands and judged his opponents, both from the Jaguar tribe, famous for their agility. This will be hard. He thought, the house was too small for him to fully make use of his blessing, not to mention they would be much more careful after the death of the wolf man. Behind him the rabbit girl was busy blocking arrows aiming straight at her. Judging by the constant flow of them, there must be at least two firing one after another through the two windows in the front. It didn¡¯t seem hard for the girl to block all the arrows with her invisible shield, but they were enough to stop her from doing anything else. Whoever it was that orchestrated this attack knew her quite well. But they didn¡¯t know him.


    As the minstrel heard even more footsteps coming towards the front door, he knew he must do something. But should I try to deal with the two in front of me? Or should I give my magical friend a chance to work her magic? There was no time to decision which decision was better, the fox man took a small step back then touched the table behind with his left hand. Before anyone could react, the loud bang of the air sounded again, and the table flew straight to one of the window, blocking the arrows coming from that side. That was all the minstrel could do as the two men from the Jaguar tribe immediately came up to him from both sides. Their swords raised, their yellow eyes fixed on him, ready to get rid of him before he had another chance to use Ophelia¡¯s Blessing. The front door was kicked open and three more men came rushing to the rabbit girl. Did I make a mistake, is the girl not as good as I thought? The minstrel raised his sword, green eyes glaring at the two assassins.


    But that brief moment the minstrel created by blocking one of the window was enough for the rabbit girl to fill the air with her magic. She closed her eyes, let out a magic word and raised her hand. Bright light came out of her white furred palm, as bright as the sun itself. There was a split second of silence before everyone in the room let out a panicking scream, their eyes squinted as thin as a line, trying to regain their visions. All except for the rabbit girl who had already closed her eyes, and the fox man whose back was facing the source of the light. That was the chance he was waiting for. As soon as the bright light came out and the two jaguar men lost their visions, he charged straight at them. His sword thrusted through the heart of one of the assassins. Before the man fell on the floor, the minstrel let go of his sword, picked up the blade from the wolf man¡¯s corpse and slashed the other one right at his chest. All that happened within a few seconds.


    When the light faded away and the other three regained their visions, all they could se was a shadow of the rabbit girl turning right behind the door and corpses of their companions.


    ¡°After her!¡± One shouted, and all three came rushing out of the back door.


    When in a hurry, one is more likely to make a mistake, that saying is always true. When the first pursuer got outside of the house he saw a dark figure jumped straight on him and knocked off his balance. Then he felt a sharp pain at his chest and hot blood spilling out from it. He tried to raise his sword, it was kicked away immediately. He mustered his remaining strength to fight back, but before long his consciousness started leaving him, and his struggle became weaker and weaker. It all happened so quick that by the time the other two rushed out of the house, it was already too late. They wanted to hurry to their comrade¡¯s side, to separate him from the fox man on top, but they felt a tremendous pressure coming from behind them. The rabbit girl stood there, just a few strides away from them, crimson eyes glowing in the dark, four bright swords made by light floating above her head. At that moment they realized that she was never trying to run away, she didn¡¯t have to. As soon as the constant flow of arrows stopped and she got a chance to work her magic, they had lost this fight.


    The rabbit girl slightly waved her hand and the swords of light launched right at the two wolf man, pierced through their bodies. Without even having the chance to raise their swords, they fell on the ground, blood spatting everywhere. The swords scattered into small pieces and disappeared as life faded away from the two man of the Wolf tribe.


    After finishing his opponent, the minstrel rushed back to his house, took out a set of bow and arrows from his bed. By the flickering lights outside he could see that the two archers had already started to run away, they knew their plan had failed. But he couldn¡¯t allow them to leave like that, they knew his house, as long as they were alive, he won¡¯t be safe. The foxman ran out of his house, stepped on the ground and jumped onto the rooftop, dust scattered by the force of the wind. The two archers ran in different directions. There was no time for the minstrel to be picky, he pulled the string of his bow, a small whirlwind could be seen from the tail of his arrow, the air twisted and hiss right at his ear. He squinted his eyes and aimed, the distance may be too far for others, but not for him, a blessed child of Ophelia. He released the string and the arrow flew away like a lightning bolt. A sharp sound could be heard as it cut through the wind and sank deep into its target¡¯s back.


    The minstrel turned to the other archer, but he had already disappeared out of his sight. So one got away. The minstrel suddenly felt the tiredness of all the intense actions. All it took was a few minutes, for six lives to disappeared from this world.


    ¡°Well, that was that, I guess we are safe now.¡± The rabbit girl said as she casually walked out the front door, eyes fixing on the spot where the last assassin had disappeared.


    The minstrel dropped down from his rooftop, let out a sigh and asked:


    ¡°Mind telling me who they were?¡±


    ¡°I told you, didn¡¯t I, I have enemies that I¡¯m suspicious of.¡±


    The rabbit girl shrugged her shoulder, then looked back at the fox man¡¯s house.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it is safe for you to stay here any longer. It would be wise for you to stay close to me, now that they had considered you as an enemy as well. It¡¯s better if we can help each other, right? We make quite a good team after all.¡± The rabbit girl brushed of the dust on her grey cloak. ¡°And my offer is still valid, you would get paid, quite a good amount as well.¡±


    As much as the minstrel wanted to deny, he knew what she said was true. He was alone in this city, no friends, no place to stay with a dangerous enemy watching over him from the shadow. A mage, her heroic quest and the mysterious enemy from the dark. This is getting better by the minute. The fox man shook his head in disappointment and talked:


    ¡°It¡¯s not like it¡¯s going to be much safer together with you. But I guess a man without choice has to take whatever offer he can get.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so dramatic, it¡¯s not like my enemy can send assassins like these all the time. I¡¯m one of the Lamia¡¯s Followers after all, we still have quite an influence on this country in case you don¡¯t know.¡± The friendly smile returned to the rabbit girl¡¯s face, as if all this killing had never happened.


    That I know. But then it makes one wonder who is this mysterious enemy that dares to target a mage from the oldest Order in the history of Palomar. The minstrel thought, he was no stranger to the hidden face of the Kingdom of Palomar.


    Suddenly, all the lights around them were cut off, they looked at each other then at the sky. The seven stars of Lacerta made a beautiful zigzag shape, shining their light upon the beastmans all over Palomar. The rabbit girl muttered something to herself in silence as she gazed upon the stars, the minstrel asked, curiously:


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Why, I¡¯m making a wish of course. It is the Lacerta Festival after all.¡±


    If there was a wish the minstrel wanted to make, it was that this day was just a bad dream.

 Chapter 4: A friendly offer.

    The Grand Colosseum was packed with people on the second day of the Lacerta Festival, nobles enjoying their favorite games, gamblers betting on their trusted fighters, travelers being amused by this new form of entertainment, all kind of beastman gathered here for different reasons. Even though it was midday of August, the heat didn¡¯t make the spectators any less excited. They were all standing up, cheering, cursing, shouting and laughing as the fighters on stage risking their lives just to survive the day. One¡¯s mischief can be the joy of others, such is life.


    ¡°And next we have Barosa, the black bear of the southern forest!¡±


    The loud voice of the announcer hyped the spectators up for another match, together with his voice, the metal gate on the left side of the colosseum opened up and the first fighter stepped into the stage in the cheering of the crowd. He was huge, even for a member of the Bear tribe, one doesn¡¯t have to be a fighter to see the strength hidden in the muscles behind his black fur. He stood there half naked like a mountain, carrying an axe on one hand and a shield on the other. A formidable fighter, everyone in this colosseum can realize that, the nobles started muttering to their mistresses, the gamblers checking the fighters list, weighting their bets, the commoners and travelers were simply amused by how big and scary a beastman could be.


    Waited a bit for the crowd to be awed by the appearance of Barosa, the announcer continued:


    ¡°Facing him is Corvus, the slave fighter of the Wolf tribe.¡±


    Compared to Barosa, the second fighter was much smaller in size, he had the typical build of a wolfman, two strong legs walking slowly towards his opponent, half naked body covered by white gray fur with a few black lines, a pair of blue eyes carefully analyzing the big bear. His weapons of choice were a two-handed spear together with a sword hanging at his hip, he seemed ready to fight against the odds.


    After the two fighters came close enough to each other and the spectators had finished placing their bets, the announcer signaled the begin of the match. The crowd once again let out a big round of cheering and shouting, excited for a new match.


    The two fighters were much less excited than the spectators up there, they both lowered their body into a stance and started moving around slowly, judging their opponents. No bow, no honor words, no handshake, this was the world of the gladiators.


    Corvus blue eyes fixed on Barosa, his left shoulder faced towards his enemy, right arm raised above the shoulder, his spear pointed downwards, ready for a strong thrust. On the opposite, his opponent was doing the same, round shield facing forward, axe raised, waiting for a chance to strike. Corvus knew he was at a disadvantage if it comes to strength, but he had advantage in speed. He had longer reach with his spear and Barosa had a shield. Being one of the Bear tribe, Barosa probably has higher endurance, the bearman could take a few hits from Corvus and could still fight, but one strike from that axe and Corvus would be in big trouble. I need to strike fast, and smart, then dodge. Try to wear him out and wait for a mistake. Corvus didn¡¯t know what his opponent was planning, but he knew what he was going to do.


    The wolfman breathed slowly, his gaze was cold and deadly, his fangs clenched together as he gripped the spear tighter, his muscles got stiff, ready to unleash their hidden strength. Then, he stroke. His spear thrusted straight to Barosa¡¯s thick leg, the bearman took a step back, only to receive another strike to the chest. He used his shield to deflect it, but Corvus was fast on his attacks. The wolfman stepped sideway and stroke again, then he moved, and another strike. Up and down, chest and legs, Corvus stroke repeatedly, trying to throw off his opponent¡¯s balance, leaving the bearman no room to breath. He perfectly used the long reach of the spear to his advantage, always stays out of the range of the axe. He stroke non-stop, one after another, even though his hands shook after every impact, he knew his opponent was having it worse. No matter how strong Barosa¡¯s arm muscles were, it wasn¡¯t easy to deflect all those strikes. Corvus had two arms to muster the strength from, but the bearman only had his left, and that put Corvus to an advantage, he wanted to render Barosa¡¯s left arm numb. As the sound of metal clashing continued, both the fighters breaths became faster, their hearts pounded hard as a drum, their arms started to hurt from all the impacts.


    Realizing that keep doing this wasn¡¯t a good idea, Barosa took a big step forward as he once again deflected Corvus¡¯s spear strike. The wolfman may have the strength from both hands, but Barosa put his body weight on this deflect, and that took Corvus by surprise. He almost lost his spear, but more importantly, his continuous strikes had stopped, and his balance wasn¡¯t stable anymore. Barosa¡¯s body casted a big shadow on Corvus. Without thinking, the wolfman immediately took a step back, just enough to avoid the metal axe from splitting his head in half. But Corvus had lost his momentum, and Barosa had gained the chance to attack. The bearman stroke hard with his axe, then pushed his shield forward as he closed the distance and released another strike, slowly but steadily he started gaining advantage. Corvus kept jumping around, dodging Barosa¡¯s axe, he knew the strikes were too strong for him to deflect without taking any damage, and the shield made it near impossible to counterattack effectively. A spear may have longer reach, but in a close encounter like this, a shield was much better to keep the flow going and avoid any surprise counterattack.


    Corvus tried to step sideways, but his opponent had gotten used to his movement, so all he could do was to keep dodging. The wolfman could feel his body starting to get heavier by every jump, he knew before he ran out of stamina and make a mistake, he must do something. He dodged another strike from Barosa then saw the bearman ducked behind his shield and thrusted forward once again. Corvus threw away his spear, and instead of stepping back, he mustered all the strength in his leg and jumped towards Barosa. His right shoulder pumped right into the round shield of the bearman. He felt a tremendous pressure on his shoulder and his chest stopped breathing for a moment, but he wasn¡¯t pushed back, nor was his balance off. His bet was right, after all those strikes, Barosa¡¯s left arm didn¡¯t have much strength left. Corvus didn¡¯t waste this precious chance, he drew the short sword with his right hand and slashed right at Barosa¡¯s right elbow. The bearman let out a painful roar as he dropped his axe, but a fighter¡¯s instinct told him he must not let his opponent seize this chance, he threw a punched with his shield straight at Corvus¡¯s face, which almost broke the wolfman nose.


    Corvus took a few steps back, blowing heavy breaths from his mouth, sweating. His ears were ringing from the impact, his nose started bleeding, dyeing the grey fur with red, his visions blurred and his head hurt, in fact, his whole damn body hurt. But Corvus knew it wasn¡¯t the time to stop, he let out a howl and charged forward, sword raised with both hands. Then he hacked, and slashed, and hacked, and slashed, one after another, roaring. His sword clashed onto the shield countless of time. He knew Barosa¡¯s right arm was useless, and his left was reaching its limit. So even though his shoulder and his head were filled with pain, Corvus continued striking his sword. The muscles on his face twisted and his blue eyes glowed with killing intent. Before long Barosa resistance had grown weaker and eventually he dropped his shield, left arm hanging lifelessly.


    Corvus kicked his opponent down then jumped on him, his sword stabbed the bearman straight through the chest. The pain might have triggered the last life force that was left in Barosa as he miraculously threw a punch with his left hand at Corvus¡¯s side. The two beastman roared and grunted in pain as they continued stabbing and punching each other. Two strangers, now glaring at one another with killing intent, doing their best to stay alive and kill the opponent in the cheering sound of the spectators. Corvus had lost track of how many times he had stabbed through the black furred chest of the bearman. He also couldn¡¯t remember how many times he had felt the pain in his stomach whenever Barosa landed a punch. The two of them seemed to bloom with the desire to survive, ignoring anything else. But no matter how much energy Barosa tried to muster, together with the blood spilling from the wounds, his strength started leaving his body and his consciousness fading, his left arm moved slower and slower until he couldn¡¯t move it anymore. He couldn¡¯t feel anything anymore. The last thing the bearman saw was a face of a man from the Wolf tribe, bright blues eyes glaring in pain, white fangs clenching with blood and grey fur soaked in red.


    Corvus stood up slowly in the announcer¡¯s voice and the cheering of the crowd. His legs were trembling, his whole body aching and his senses blurring, but he took a deep breath and let out a howl, to tell the world that he is still alive. He could hear a few wolfmans from the spectators howling and the announcer trying to say something, but he couldn¡¯t figure out what it was as he dropped on the ground and his vision turned black.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    I¡¯m still alive. He thought before giving in to the exhaustion.


    ¡°So, I¡¯ll leave him to you then.¡± The nurse from the Cat tribe said before closing the door.


    The wolfman was lying on a small bed, white bandages all over his body. Tending to him was a girl, but she wasn¡¯t like any normal beastman girl. She had a pair of pointy, furry ears and a fluffy grey tail, her nails were a little long, but nowhere near the level of claws. Apart from those, she didn¡¯t have the look of one from the Wolf tribe. Slim build, fair skin, oval face, small lips, high nose and bright blue eyes as well as long black pony tail hair. If not for the ears and tail, one could say that she was a human. The girl carefully wiped the blood from Corvus¡¯s body, trying not to touch his wounds, her eyes squinted to a thin line, focusing las she was taking care of a fragile object.


    After finished cleaning the wolfman, the girl sat down on a pile of straw that resembled a bed on the ground. Those were the ones she and Corvus gathered after they received this room from the colosseum as their master wasn¡¯t a generous one to give his slaves two beds. She curled up on the pile of straw, knees at her chest and her face resting on it. She gazed a sad look to the wolfman lying on the bed, her brother. She knew he could have been freed a long time ago if it wasn¡¯t for her, she knew how much money he had saved up after all those years of fighting. But because she was a mixed blood of a human and a beastman, she had no place in both worlds, noone would give her a job, no one even wanted to talk to her. For as long as she could remember, she had always been here in this tiny room, praying for her brother¡¯s safe return every time she heard the announcer¡¯s voice and the cheering crowd. There had been more than one occasion where she had thought about selling her body, or about committing suicide, she felt useless. But she didn¡¯t have the courage, and she didn¡¯t want all of her brother¡¯s hard works came to waste. So she smiled and told her brother that she was fine, that he only needed to worry about himself, that he shouldn¡¯t push his body over its limits.


    She remembered her brother telling her that he just needed to win a few more matches to set them free. But now he was lying there, ribs and shoulders broken, head bleeding, and there were still more matches to fight as the Lacerta Festival continued. The price for forfeiting a match wasn¡¯t small, it could easily undo months of hard work her brother had done. But she knew he was in no shape for another fight, she didn¡¯t want to lose him, he was the only family she had left. She didn¡¯t know what to do, she didn¡¯t know what she could do. Their mother had passed away a long time ago and their father sold them to the slave house. She had no one to turn to for help, nor could she think of any reason should anyone help them. She felt hopeless.


    There were a few knocks before the door was opened and two hooded figures stepped into the room. The girl stood up cautiously, she didn¡¯t know much about the world outside, but she knew after years of fighting, her brother had made some enemies. And now that he was in this shape, some of them might think it was their chance to settle the scores. But if that was the case, what could she do? She didn¡¯t know, but she knew she must protect her brother. Before she could speak up, the two visitors removed their hoods, a rabbit girl and a fox man, not really a common combination.


    ¡°Hello, sorry for the intrusion, is this Corvus¡¯s room? Are you his sister?¡± The rabbit girl asked, her crimson eyes looking straight at the wolf girl without any trace of disgust or hostility.


    Surpriseed by the sudden friendliness of the visitors, the wolf girl paused for a second before she replied:


    ¡°Ah, yes, I¡¯m Lyra, and you are?¡±


    ¡°Lyra, nice to meet you. I¡¯m Eria Bannesi, and this gentleman here is Yoru Halbmond. We are here to talk to your brother, but it seems he is not in a good shape. Is there any fight tomorrow?¡± The rabbit girl, Eria, seemed disappointed.


    ¡°Yes, there is.¡± Lyra nodded in sadness. She knew that he would have to forfeit that match.


    Eria tilted her head, her long, white furred ears shook slightly as if she was thinking about something. The fox man opened up a smile to Lyra as their eyes met but he stayed silent the whole time.


    ¡°In that case, we might be able to help you.¡± To Lyra¡¯s surprise, Eria said.


    The wolf girl¡¯s blue eyes expanded in disbelief. Help, that was a word she hadn¡¯t heard in a long time, and surely not a word she was expecting.


    ¡°But, we have nothing to repay you.¡± She sadly replied.


    ¡°Well, as a matter of fact. I¡¯m looking for companions in my ¡­ you could say journey, and as it turns out your brother¡¯s capability in fighting will be a big reassurance to me. I could add up the missing money for the forfeiting cost and the fee to set you two free. In exchange for that your brother can help me on my journey and we would be even. You two would be free people of Palomar.¡±


    So it is fighting again. Lyra thought, she should have guessed better the reason why someone was willing to help them. She didn¡¯t want her brother to fight anymore, she had lost count of how many times he had returned here with his life hanging on the thin line. But the word ¡°free¡± had a big impact on her, it was their goal ever since they were young.


    ¡°Will it be dangerous, this journey of yours?¡± Lyra asked, hesitating.


    Still with the friendly smile, Eria replied:


    ¡°I can¡¯t guarantee the safety of this journey. But at least your brother won¡¯t have to go to the next match with this wounded body, or forfeiting it and stay here for another year as a slave fighter.¡±


    Going to the match, or forfeiting it. Both seemed like bad choices for Lyra and Corvus, but what choices did they have left?


    ¡°I, I will have to discuss this with my brother. Can you wait?¡± The wolf girl¡¯s voice was shaking. She was moved, that and she was also afraid Eria would withdraw her offer.


    ¡°Well of course, take your time, I understand it is a big decision to make. We will come again next morning, that will be the deadline to forfeit the match. I¡¯ll take my leave now, I hope you and your brother will consider my offer. Have a good evening.¡±


    Eria didn¡¯t seems to be in a rush, she calmly replied then opened the door and walked out after saying her goodbye. The fox man, Yoru, nodded with a smile and followed her soon after, leaving Lyra deep in thought as she looked at all the wounds on her brother¡¯s body.


    When Eria and Yoru left the Grand Colosseum it was already evening. The huge structure of the colosseum casted a big shadow on the ground, the orange light signalled to all the citizen of Edion that it was the time to enjoy the night activities of the Lacerta Festival. Shops and vendors started opening, colourful decorations were placed on the streets. All kind of people got out of their houses, the nobles with their fancy dresses went to the high-class balls and parties, the merchants shouting to advertise their products, families and kids with big, happy smiles on their faces, pointing and laughing at everything they saw, waving their tails excitingly. The first night of the festival was a night of memorial, of solemn, but the second night onwards were purely for joy and entertainment. All the restaurants and bars were packed with people, with questions about their welfares, congratulations to the newly-wed couple, cheering for another successful year. The sun had already started to fade out, but the city had never been brighter with all the lights from the streets, vendors and shops, that and the smiles of all the happy citizens of Edion.


    In the midst of all that, a combination of a fox man and a rabbit girl didn¡¯t seem so strange anymore, and with all the noises made by the big crowd on the street, their conversation didn¡¯t catch any unwanted ears.


    ¡°I could hardly think of any reason why a mage from the oldest Order of Palomar would come to a slave fighter to ask for help. Care to enlighten me, miss Bannesi?¡± Yoru asked as he casually looked at the vendors on the street.


    Eria put three fingers on her forehead to return the gesture with one of the cat girl and replied:


    ¡°Just Eria is fine. Well, I could go to the Mercenary Guilds to hire people, but that would means contract, and contract means details, and that usually leaves traces. I don¡¯t really want my friends in the shadow to know where we are going. Maybe you can introduce me to someone, one that is trustworthy, how about the good people in the 13<sup>th</sup> Cat Bar.¡±


    ¡°Maybe, I would trust them as much as I trust Mister Grim, and you know how well it turned out for me.¡± The fox man shook his head in disappointment. After knowing that this quest had to be done in discreet, it was not really hard to guess why Eria chose to go to Corvus and his sister.


    A man without choice has to take whatever offer he can get. Yoru thought, he himself was one big example.


    ¡°Anyway, this journey of yours seems to get more dangerous every time I get to know about it. And I don¡¯t even know where we are going, for what reason, which is the main part of the story. That is hardly encouraging.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it will be fine. How about we stop bothering about the small details and just enjoy the festival for now, master Halbmond?¡±


    Eria replied, then she stopped by a vendor, chatting happily with the rat lady, asking about the food in store, just like the conversation before had never happened. Yoru shrugged his shoulder slightly then followed the rabbit girl, his mind was still thinking about the mysterious journey ahead.


    It will be fine. The most reassuring sentence one can say. He thought, it hardly ever turned out fine whenever he heard the phrase.

 Chapter 5: The lost song.

    By the time Lyra and Corvus reached Eria¡¯s house the sun was already on top of Edion. The intense heat made everyone want to find some shade, even though it was the Lacerta Festival. And that was when the bars and restaurants in Edion started thanking the stars, after all, everyone wanted a cold beer and a good meal while waiting for the heat to pass.


    With the help of Yoru, Lyra managed to carry Corvus all the way from the colosseum to the second layer of Edion, where the nobles and rich merchants stayed. Just like Yoru thought, Corvus and Lyra didn¡¯t really have any choice other than accepting Eria¡¯s offer. To him, it was a good offer, better than his. At least it helped them break free from their master, although a journey together with a mage will hardly be a safe one.


    Even though they had been careful, it had not been easy carrying a wounded person all that way. On the way occasionally Corvus would let out a few painful grunts, but he tried not to show it too much as Lyra started tearing up. Eria¡¯s house wasn¡¯t a big one, it had a small flower bed in the front after the iron gate and a small fountain. The two floors house itself didn¡¯t stand out much, white painting with dark grey bricks on the roof, one main door together with windows here and there, some bedrooms on the first floor. No lion statue, no emblem, no guard or servant, only a plain name plate next to the gate, hardly a fitting place for one of the Lamia¡¯s Follower. In this part of Edion with all the fancy houses and villas, Eria¡¯s place couldn¡¯t have been more normal.


    They let Corvus lie down on the couch in the living room, just under the decoration light. Having to endure the pain in this heat, the wolf man was soaked with sweat. Lyra used her sleeve to wipe the sweat from his body, but despite all her effort, his condition didn¡¯t seem to get any better. Eria put her hand on the wolf girl¡¯s shoulder and calmed her down:


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take care of your brother.¡±


    Then she sat down next to Corvus, her palm facing his shoulder, eyes closed, lips muttering a magic incantation. To Lyra¡¯s surprise, Eria¡¯s hand was glowing with a soft yellow light as she finished her incantation. She stayed still for a few minutes to let the spell works out its magic. Before long Corvus¡¯s painful grunt had stopped and his breathing became slow and steady again, he had fallen asleep.


    ¡°He should wake up in a few hours and his condition will be much better than now.¡± Eria said as she stood up.


    Seeing magic for the first time in her life, Lyra was struck with awe. She wasn¡¯t a mage or a nurse, but from the peaceful look of Corvus, she knew her brother had recovered a lot in these few minutes. Remembering Corvus painful face last night, Lyra bursted into tears, she bowed down and said hysterically:


    ¡°Thank you miss Eria, truly, thank you!¡± No matter what motive Eria had, she had helped them break free from their master, then healed her brother, those were the facts that Lyra would never forget.


    ¡°Just Eria is fine, it was nothing really. After all it is Corvus¡¯s life force that healed him, I merely just sped up the progress by helping his body make use of it easier. Really, I didn¡¯t do that much.¡± Eria tried to get Lyra back on her feet.


    Seeing that Lyra just kept crying and thanking, Eria tried to distract her:


    ¡°Since I have sped up the use of his life force, when Corvus wakes up he will be extremely hungry, how about you two go out and buy something to prepare dinner. A healthy meal will help him replenish his life force and speed up the healing process.¡±


    Hearing about her brother¡¯s recovery finally made Lyra stop crying, she nodded silently, but her eyes were still fixing on the sleeping wolf man.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take care of Corvus, just go and buy us some tasty dinner. You don¡¯t mind accompanying her, do you, Yoru? Show her the festival a little bit.¡±


    Eria showed Lyra to the front door, then put a coin bag inside Yoru¡¯s hand and winked at him. The fox man put the bag inside his cloak, then looked at Lyra¡¯s saddened face. He opened up a smile and spoke in the friendliest way he could:


    ¡°It will be my pleasure. Shall we, miss Lyra? The market run out of stock pretty soon these days.¡±


    The wolf girl took one last glance at her brother then nodded, put her hood on and walked out together with Yoru, their tails waved lightly with the motion.


    On the way to Eria¡¯s house Lyra didn¡¯t have the chance to look at the surrounding, since she was too focused on her brother, but knowing that he was getting better, the wolf girl started to show her curiosity. On the rare occasion that Lyra got to go outside the colosseum it was always in a rush, she and her brother never really got the chance to enjoy the city. The fancy houses painted in white as well as the vast gardens and high iron gates were all new to the little wolf girl. Even more now that they were all wearing a colourful decoration for the festival. Yoru couldn¡¯t see the expression of Lyra under the hood, but he could make a guess, for a girl that spend most of her life inside that small room, those decorations must seem extremely strange.


    ¡°You have never been out to enjoy the Lacerta Festival before, miss Lyra?¡± Yoru asked, try to ease up the anxiety of the wolf girl.


    Lyra shook her head slightly below the hood, then answered with a soft tone, reminiscing of the past:


    ¡°No, not really, master Halbmond. Every year at the Lacerta Festival, the colosseum organizes a series of three matches for the gladiators. Once you sign up, you have to participate in all three matches, and the price for forfeiting is really high, as you and miss Eria have already known. And because of the high reward, my brother always participated in the event, so all I did was just staying in my room and pray for his safe return.¡±


    Paused for a second, Lyra let out a sigh and continued:


    ¡°The Lacerta Festival ¡­ wasn¡¯t something happy to me. There were more than once that I had wished it never existed.¡±


    Realized that she had talked too much, Lyra bowed her head and apologized:


    ¡°Ah, sorry to ruin your mood master Halbmond. It was not really that bad, the Festival, I mean. When our mother was still alive we usually ate together at the festival, occasionally she even took us out for a walk. But it wasn¡¯t easy, since I¡¯m a mixed blood. After she passed away, I rarely went out anymore.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to talk about all those sad things when you are enjoying the festival.¡± The wolf girl bowed her head again, her voice got lower and lower until it couldn¡¯t be heard anymore.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I don¡¯t really mind, it¡¯s good to let those things out once in a while.¡±


    Yoru replied, not all the beastmans of Palomar get to enjoy the Lacerta Festival, that much he knew. For as long as history recorded, the Kingdom of Palomar had always been on bad terms with the Guran Empire of the human kind. There had been so many wars that even the historians themselves couldn¡¯t remember. In some brief moment of peace, the two nations would negotiate ransoms of prisoners, but not all were lucky enough to return to their country. Lyra¡¯s mom must be one of the unlucky, and there were a lot of them out there in Palomar as well as Guran. Commoners, farmers whose lives hardly make any difference to the two nations. There were forced into slavery, had to do everything for their masters. And the results of that are off-springs like Lyra, the mixed blood, the cursed children, unwelcomed in both nations, target of discrimination. It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine why Lyra rarely went outside.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Master Halbmond, can I ask you something?¡± Lyra suddenly spoke up as they took a turn to a huge park in the middle of the second layer.


    Slowed down a little bit to match with Lyra¡¯s walking pace, Yoru replied with a smile:


    ¡°Just Yoru is fine, go ahead.¡±


    There was a brief pause before Lyra asked her question:


    ¡°Then you can call me Lyra as well. You and miss Eria didn¡¯t seem ¡­ surprised to see me?¡±


    To the wolf girl, the reactions people had when they saw her weren¡¯t really pleasant. Most of the time she could feel the disgust in their looks, others just seem to ignore her existence, as if she brings bad luck to them.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t the first time that I¡¯ve seen one of your kind, and I don¡¯t really think there is anything bad about being a mixed blood. As for Eria, once you have learnt something like magic, I guess species are hardly the thing that surprise you anymore.¡±


    Yoru stopped by a grocery shop that seemed to have everything they needed. He started chatting with the shopkeeper from the Dog tribe, getting the food for dinner, their tails and ears moved slightly as they laughed off an old joke about the festival. Lyra stayed silent the whole time, hiding herself behind the big hood, big blue eyes glancing nervously around. Eria and Yoru might be different, but she knew that most people didn¡¯t really like her presence.


    After they finished the shopping, the sun had already started to go down. The soft orange light enlightened the happy smiles of the families on the street, shining upon the decorations and banners all over Edion, it also helped to ease Lyra up a bit. She seemed less stiff now, walking next to Yoru, each of them carried a big bag full of groceries.


    ¡°Are you a mage as well, master Yoru?¡± Lyra asked. No matter how friendly Yoru and Eria were, it seemed the wolf girl¡¯s feeling of inferior didn¡¯t go away that easy.


    ¡°I would love to be one, but no, I¡¯m not. It¡¯s not that easy to be selected by the Lamia¡¯s Follower.¡± Yoru shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m just a wandering minstrel.¡±


    ¡°Lamia¡¯s Follower?¡± Lyra tilted her head, probably the first time she had ever heard of such thing.


    Yoru moved his pointy ears slightly, tried to remember what he had learnt about the oldest Order of Palomar.


    ¡°From what I know, Lamia is the name of the first mage ever in the history of Palomar, the Miracle Maker. And the apprentices whom she taught called themselves ¡°The Lamia¡¯s Follower¡±. About this matter, I¡¯m sure Eria know much more than me, you should ask her later.¡±


    The wolf girl nodded, now that she was freed from her small room in the colosseum, Lyra tried her best to absorb whatever information she could, just like a child who finally get to see the world for the first time.


    ¡°You said you are a minstrel, so you are good at singing right? My mother used to sing for us sometimes as well, even though she only knew human folk songs.¡± It seemed that Yoru¡¯s friendliness had paid off, Lyra was a little more open.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really think I¡¯m that good, but I could sing a song or two for a living.¡±


    Yoru replied then stopped. Busy talking, Lyra didn¡¯t realize that they had reached Eria¡¯s house. The sun had already gone down and the city was once again filled with bright, colourful lights.


    Corvus was sitting on the couch, talking to Eria about something when Lyra and Yoru walked inside. The wolf man seemed much better, the tiredness was still there but most of his pain had gone away. Lyra ran to her brother, looked at all the wounds that had already started to heal up, her eyes were red and teary all over again, but this time they were filled with happiness.


    ¡°Brother, I¡¯m so glad you are okay. I was so worried.¡± She said, voice stuttered by a hiccup.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine now, thanks to miss Eria¡¯s healing magic.¡± Corvus spoke, his voice was a low one. He gently touched Lyra¡¯s black hair, trying to calm her down.


    After the brief conversation, Lyra took a deep bow to Eria, tears dripping on the floor.


    ¡°Thank you so much miss Eria, for healing my brother and setting us free. I don¡¯t even know how we could ever repay you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing really. I told you, didn¡¯t I? Your brother will help me with my journey and we will be even.¡± Eria tried to get Lyra to stand up and she spoke. ¡°Now, why don¡¯t we prepare for dinner, I¡¯m not sure about you, but I could use some food right now.¡±


    ¡°Eria is right, do you mind helping me in the kitchen, Lyra? I think Corvus still need some more rest.¡± Yoru continued, then headed to the kitchen with his grocery bag, Lyra nodded to her brother and followed soon after.


    When Yoru and Lyra brought out the food, Eria had already prepared the table for dinner. The fox man gave Eria a bowl full of mixed salad then splitted the grilled meat into three dishes. The smell of meat and the flavourful colour stimulated all the senses of Lyra and Corvus, they hadn¡¯t been eating properly for a long time.


    ¡°Now then, shall we eat?¡± Eria poured four glasses of red wine then sat down, picked up her cutlery and started mixing the salad with sauce. Yoru ate with a good table manner, but the wolf¡¯s brothers couldn¡¯t resist the smell of meat. They soon started diving in the food, making a mess out of their dishes, especially Corvus, since his life force had been used to speed up the healing progress. The two finished their portion before Eria and Yoru were even half way through. Lyra looked at her brother¡¯s dish, then at herself, a light pink appeared on her cheeks, grey tail waving nervously


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, we ate so fast.¡± The wolf girl hided her blushed face. Even though she wasn¡¯t taught well about table manner, Lyra knew that their way of eating was too embarrassing.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m glad that you two liked my cooking.¡± Yoru took a sip of wine as he spoke. ¡°Are you feeling better after the food, Corvus?¡±


    ¡°Yes, thank you for the meal, master Halbmond, I¡¯m much better now.¡± The wolf man replied as he put the knife and fork down, trying to clean up his mess.


    Corvus was just like her sister, they were both not very talkative. After all Lyra was trapped in the small room most of the time, and almost everyone Corvus ever met were his opponents. Even on the rare occasion that they met some other people, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess what kind of treatment they had received.


    ¡°I hope you two can find yourself comfortable with me.¡± Eria held her glass up. ¡°It has been a while since I got the chance to have a dinner like this. It feels like a family dinner, don¡¯t you agree Yoru?¡±


    ¡°I guess we do resemble one.¡± The fox man replied, glass held up. A weird one. A fox minstrel with the blessing of Ophelia, a rabbit mage of the Lamia¡¯s Follower, a slave fighter wolfman and his mixed blood sister, hardly a common family one could find in Palomar.


    It didn¡¯t matter to Lyra what was going on under the table. She didn¡¯t know much about the world, and she knew nothing about Eria and Yoru except for their names, but it was true that she hadn¡¯t had a dinner like this for a really long time. The wolf girl was filled with weird feelings she couldn¡¯t explain. Her eyes looked at the glass of red wine on the fancy table, but her mind thought about the hard bread in the dark room of the colosseum. As she took a sip of wine together with the others, she could feel the hot liquid flowing down her vein, she could hear the beats of her heart. She didn¡¯t know if her brother was feeling the same, but Lyra had never felt more alive.


    ¡°Since this is a special occasion, why don¡¯t you sing us a song, Yoru?¡± Eria put down her glass and made a suggestion. ¡°It was because of your song that we got the chance to have a lovely dinner like this, now that I think about it.¡±


    Yoru was sure that this whole business with the journey is far from lovely, but what Eria said was true, it was a special occasion indeed. He went to the coach and picked up his instrument. After some thoughts, the minstrel cleared his throat, made some adjustment to the instrument and started singing, filling the room with his gentle voice. What came out of his mouth wasn¡¯t the common language of the beastman but a strange one, one that should only be heard on the other side of the Damruel, in the Guran Empire. He was singing a human folk song.


    As soon as the song came in to play, Corvus and Lyra immediately looked at each other, pupils widened in surprise. They had heard this song so many times before, it was the one their mother used to sing. Corvus could still control his emotions, but all the feelings that had dwelled up within Lyra bursted out like a river, she muttered the lyrics together with Yoru. Lyra couldn¡¯t speak the human¡¯s tongue, nor could she remember the lyrics correctly, her voice stuttered by the hiccups and her eyes were filled with tears but still she sang it proudly for the world to hear. Eventually a smile opened up on her face. It was a smile Lyra didn¡¯t think she could still make after all those years, a smile that was, as her mother said, brighter than the stars themselves.


    Together with her mother¡¯s song, the wolf girl had found other things that she thought she had lost over the years of hardship.

 Chapter 6: The Inquisition.

    Lord Brock thought his luck was on a hot streak lately. First his business got expanded, then his position in the Guild of Latea rose significantly, even the deal with the tax department had gone well. He felt like the stars had listened to his wish last year and blessed him with good luck. That was until a leather bag covered his head and his body was lifted up and snatched away like a pig on the street. He struggled, but both his hands and legs were tighted by ropes and the only thing that came out of his mouth was a few grunts that one could barely hear two meters away.


    The merchant from the Rat tribe didn¡¯t know how long he was carried until finally he was set on what seemed like a wooden chair.


    ¡°Open it up.¡± There was a bland voice, one that didn¡¯t seem to care about anything. Then Brock felt some movements under his neck and the bag was removed, his eyes squinted as the bright light on the ceiling stroke him right away.


    ¡°What is the meaning of this, who are you people?¡± He let out a few angry words before his vision returned. Then the merchant saw the uniform of the beastman sitting on the opposite side of the table and the words got stuck in his long, pointy mouth. Black, long sleeve jacket with red outlines buttoned up all the way to the neck, a golden eye on top of a white scale on the chest, an Inquisitor. He was a beastman from the Dog tribe, brown fur, small dark eyes, round, black noses with fluffy ears relaxing on both side of his face. From the first look, one would think he was a friendly person, but Lord Brock knew better, friendly is hardly a word one uses to describe the Inquisition.


    ¡°Hello, Lord Brock of the Merchant Guild of Latea, I¡¯m Krane Harding, of His Majesty¡¯s Inquisition.¡± The dogman introduced himself. ¡°Behind me is Enforcer Ieta.¡± He pointed at the girl from the Cat tribe wearing similar uniform, only with two grey stripes instead of the golden eye. ¡°You probably couln¡¯t see them from there, but behind you are Enforcer Udun and Mirza, they were the ones that invited you here.¡±


    The merchant looked nervously around him as the Inquisitor talked, but his vision was limited as he was tighted by ropes on the chair. He couldn¡¯t make out where he was, the room was extremely simple with no windows, no paintings, only a single light on the ceiling and a set of table and chairs.


    ¡°What is this? This must be a mistake. I¡¯ve done nothing wrong.¡± He said, voice stuttering.


    First the confusion. Inquisitor Krane watched as the ratman tried to explain his innocence. He rested his arms on the table, eyes squinted as his lips curled up to a fainted smile.


    ¡°You must release me this instant! My Guild won¡¯t let this slide, this is an insult to our honour as merchants!¡±


    And the threats come after. Krane nodded, then one of the Enforcer stepped up from behind and landed a punch onto Brock¡¯s stomach, the merchant¡¯s voice turned into that of a painful cough. Taking a punch from one of the Tiger tribe had never been easy, especially when you are from the weak Rat tribe and was tighted to a wooden chair. The Inquisitor tapped his fingers on the table, the leather glove created a gentle sound as it touched the wooden surface. But that sound was like a call from hell in Brock¡¯s round ears.


    ¡°Now then, we all know that you have a lot of connections and know many powerful friends. As a matter of fact, all the people that were invited here have friends and allies that they can rely on.¡± Krane said, his voice wasn¡¯t particularly fast or slow. ¡°But another fact is that none of them are here right now. It¡¯s only you, me and my three friendly Enforcers. I would love to end this without using the help of my Enforcers, so it would be best if you would cooperate.¡±


    The Inquisitor put his hand under the table and brought out two papers.


    ¡°I¡¯ve had a little chat with your friends from the tax department earlier. That didn¡¯t really go well for them as they were quite ¡­ stubborn. But in the end I got what I wanted.¡± He pointed to one paper. ¡°A confession of crime. They confessed that they had received money and in exchange used their influence to overlook some shipments. Coincidentally, the name they mentioned that gave them the money is yours, Lord Brock of the Merchant Guild Latea¡±


    ¡°No, no, I haven¡¯t done any of this! You must believe me!¡± The merchant from the Rat tribe looked at the paper, his small eyes widened and his pointy nose shaken in horror. ¡°I can prove it to you. Just let me out of here, I can get the papers. I¡¯m innocent!¡±


    Then come the proof of innocence. Krane took back the confession, index finger tapped at the other paper. ¡°Now to the main topic of this meeting. Your confession.¡± He shoved the blank paper to Brock. ¡°We are all smart men here, so let¡¯s avoid the embarrassing game of hide and seek and be honest. I¡¯ve told you what I want, and we both know that I have the tools to get it. The point here is when I get out of this room with your confession, will you still have all the parts of your body intact or not.¡±


    As Krane was talking, the white tiger Enforcer, Mirza stepped up and put down a wooden box on the table, there were sounds of metal touching each other when the box was put down. Brock didn¡¯t need to think so hard to guess what was the content of the box.


    ¡°No, this can¡¯t be true.¡± The ratman¡¯s spirit started breaking down. He shook his head in denial, lips trembling with fear.


    ¡°Now now, this is not good, Lord Brock.¡± The Inquisitor waved his index finger. ¡°Enforcer Udun, would you mind reminding our merchant that what we need is the confession, not useless muttering.¡±


    There was a loud bang as the ratman head slammed on the table. His head then got pulled up again, just to be slammed a second time. Brock felt like his head was about to explode from the pain, his ears were ringing and his nose bleeding red blood all over the table.


    ¡°Painful, isn¡¯t it?¡± Krane asked in a soft tone, as if he was a mother seeing her child getting hurt. ¡°But wounds like that will heal in no time. A broken bone will take longer to heal, and once fingers or teeth are lost, they won¡¯t return.¡± His voice then turned to a commanding one. ¡°So, before that happen. Confess!¡±


    The Enforcer from the Cat tribe, Ieta, stepped up from behind Krane, her black fur completely mixed together with the uniform highlighting the yellow eyes. She opened the box, revealed the variety of interrogation tools, metal shining under the light. Then the other two enforcers behind Brock came up, the three of them surrounded the merchant, each with their own tool and cold face, ready to work.


    ¡°Confess!¡± Shouted Mirza, his hammer came crashing down onto Brock¡¯s knee. The ratman squeezed down on the table, let out a series of screaming and cursing. His legs starting kicking the table, his thin tail waving furiously.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°Confess, you worthless worm!¡± The enforcer from the Leopard tribe, Udun, slapped Brock in the face. He then pulled the chair away from the table, Ieta stepped up, yellow eyes glaring at her prey, right boot trampled on the merchant¡¯s toes, twisting. Then they shouted and cut, and broke, the ratman could only scream, and squeeze. His teeth clenched tight, saliva drooled from the long mouth. His muscles trembled in pain and his head exploded with horror.


    ¡°Please, mercy, I¡¯m begging you.¡± Brock¡¯s voice was weak and faint, almost couldn¡¯t be heard.


    Next the plead for mercy. Krane rested his back, let out a disappointing sigh. ¡°You know what I want, Brock, the paper. I must warn you that my enforcers here are professionals. And trust me, they haven¡¯t even started yet, so I strongly advise you to start confessing soon.¡±


    ¡°No, no, please, have mercy.¡± The ratman begged again, tears and blood dropping from his face.


    The Inquisitor sighed again as Ieta plucked out a nail from Brock¡¯s toe with her pincer, blood splatting on her black uniform. ¡°Confess, you filthy rat!¡± She hissed at Brock¡¯s broken face. The ratman once again screamed in agony, but the three enforcers didn¡¯t show any shred of empathy. Mirza¡¯s hammer still stroke down his knees, Udun¡¯s fist landed one punch after another and Ieta¡¯s pincer moved from one toe to the next.


    ¡°I, I confess, I will confess, so please, stop.¡± Brock could barely breath after the torture.


    Finally the good part. Krane nodded to his enforcers and they brought Brock¡¯s chair closer to the table, where a set of paper and pen had been waiting. At that time, the only part that hadn¡¯t been touched on Brock¡¯s body was his right hand. His fingers were trembling from the pain, but soon the blank paper had been filled with the merchant¡¯s confession, black ink mixed with red blood.


    ¡°Very good, we have what we were looking for.¡± Krane took a good look at the paper, nodding. ¡°Put him in the cell.¡± He waved his hand, didn¡¯t seem to bother with the catman anymore. Mirza dragged Brock out of the room, his big body soon disappeared, only a few painful grunts could still be heard from far away.


    ¡°Now, what should we do next?¡± Ieta asked, her voice was cold and emotionless.


    ¡°What is next?¡± The inquisitor waved the confession paper in his hand. ¡°Do you see this list of accomplices? Go get them. We still have more questions to ask and more papers to fill. And contact the City Watch as well, they might want to raid these warehouses.¡±


    Soon after, another body was dragged into the room, struggling under the bag.


    ¡°What is this, who are you people? Why am I here?¡± Shouted the beastman.


    First the confusion. The Inquisitor fixed his collar, gave a pity look at the prisoner, the look a butcher has for his livestock.


    ¡°Open it up.¡±


    When Krane reached the Inquisition Headquarter in the third layer of Edion the sky had already turned dark. So my last day of the Festival passed just like that, what a watse. He walked passed the black iron gate guarded by two men of the City Watch into the property of the Inquisition, hand full of papers. The Headquarter of the Inquisition was surrounded by a vast grass field together with three fountains in the front and both sides, there were benches under the trees here and there just like what one could find in a park. But no matter how green the Crown Enquirer tried to decorate his palace, the eight-floors building of the Inquisition still seemed very dark and gloomy, mostly by the atmosphere that surrounded it. Beastman in their black uniform wearing a cold face walking in and out with their confession papers, leading a team of enforcers for a raid or an abduction, whispering secrets, preparing blackmails. Contained within this building were dark secrets that once discovered could shake the foundation of Palomar itself.


    The Crown Enquirer¡¯s office was on the eight floor, together with it was the Grand Inquisitor of Edion¡¯s office and the Inquisition¡¯s Archive. Krane waited patiently outside of the golden gate while the head assistant went in and reported to the Crown Enquirer. After a short while the assistant from the Rabbit tribe came out and nodded to the inquisitor.


    ¡°His Excellency summons you, inquisitor Krane.¡±


    Krane breathed out, calmed himself down then walked into the office with the best manner he could. No matter how many times he had met Crown Enquirer Astern, Krane must admit that it wasn¡¯t an easy task. The Crown Enquirer from the Lion tribe was signing some papers when Krane walked in, his dark eyes sweeping through the letters one after another. He dressed all in black with the only exception of the Crown Enquirer emblem, the golden eye wearing a crown on top of a white scale. Everyone who had the chance to meet the Crown Inquirer face to face all describe that he had an omnious aura around him that makes them immediately feel their inferiority.


    ¡°Krane.¡± The Crown Inquirer called, his dark mane waving slightly as he looked up.


    ¡°Your Excellency.¡± The inquisitor from the Dog tribe bowed as low as he could, his back facing the ceiling, brown ears dropping on both sides.


    ¡°You can sit down.¡± Crown Inquirer Astern¡¯s voice was low, but it had a commanding tone that one couldn¡¯t resist.


    Krane sat down on the wooden chair opposite to the Crown Inquirer. He didn¡¯t seem too comfortable with it, and the four personal enforcers of Astern standing in the corners of the room didn¡¯t help him to ease up much. The inquisitor put the papers of confession on the table, talked in the most silvery tongue he could:


    ¡°The investigation of Lord Brock of the Guild Latea was a success, we have clear evidence that they have violated the rules of His Majesty. As of now, the City Watch are raiding the warehouses that contain these undeclared goods.¡±


    ¡°Very good, this will strike a big blow to the Guild of Latea.¡± Crown Inquirer Astern took a glance at the papers. ¡°Not enough for a mortal wound, but at least they will have to give up some of their trade rights to the Royal Business if they don¡¯t want to be exposed. You have done a good job, Inquisitor Krane.¡±


    ¡°You are too kind, Your Excellency.¡± The dogman bowed his head low. ¡°Should I continue on this line of investigation, Your Excellency?¡±


    ¡°This will suffice for now. These worthless merchants, if you squeeze them from time to time, they are willing to sacrifice some of their profit, but if you push them too much, then they will retaliate. I have another task for you.¡± The man from the Lion signed another document as he talked. ¡°You need to keep a close watch on a house of the second layer. 47 of the Barasti road is the address. The owner of the house is Eria Bannesi, I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t have any problem finding this place. I want to know immediately if anything abnormal happens.¡±


    Pausing for a second, his dark eyes glanced at the inquisitor.


    ¡°But you need to be very careful and very discreet. You must not let any resident of that house notice that we, the Inquisition, are watching them. And that will be exactly what you do, just watch, nothing else. Am I understood, Inquisitor?¡± The Crown Inquirer said in a throaty but demanding tone.


    ¡°It will be done as you wish, Your Excellency.¡± The inquisitor bowed his head again.


    ¡°Then you are dismissed.¡±


    After that, the Crown Inquirer said no more, dark eyes once again focused on his documents. Inquisitor Krane stood up from his chair and walked to the door, taking another bow before he left.


    The cool wind of the night sent a chill down Krane¡¯s spine. Only then he realized that he had been sweating all that time in the Crown Inquirer¡¯s office. It had never been easy, talking face to face with Crown Inquirer Astern.


    Eria Bannesi, this won¡¯t be simple. The inquisitor thought, watching a mage of the Lamia¡¯s Follower is a dangerous job. One false step and he would be done, the fury of the mages was never to be judged lightly. I¡¯m pretty sure His Excellency won¡¯t risk himself covering for me if things go sour. But the inquisitor didn¡¯t really have any choice. The beastmans that dared to say no to the Crown Enquirer did exist, but Krane was sure he wasn¡¯t one of them. The inquisitor had only been in the Inquisition for five years, but in those five years he had learnt a lot of lessons.


    Once His Excellency gives you a task, you better look like you are doing it.


    That was the first lesson Krane learnt.

 Chapter 7: Watchers in the dark.

    The second layer of Edion didn¡¯t have as many people as the first layer, but it was still bursting with activities and businesses, now that the festival was over. Beastmans of all kinds hurried on the street, talking, asking, selling and buying, trying to climb their way up in the society. There were a few decorations of the festival left on the street, but they were being removed by the Public Service, returning Edion to its usual state. Amongs all that, enforcer Ieta walked slowly through the crowd, a simple brown cloak covered her uniform. After all, the Inquisition hardly ever received any positive reaction from the crowd, unless they managed to discover a high-level treason, which only happened four times in two hundred years.


    The enforcer breathed slowly with a fixed rhythm, her yellow eyes constantly checking the surrounding but still managed to keep track of her target. She swallowed down her saliva, then cover her head with the hood. She had never liked the heat much, especially when she had to walk under it with the black uniform of the Inquisition. She had been following this foxman for a while now under the heat, and he didn¡¯t have any intention of stopping anytime soon. Once in a while he would stop by a store to get something, but never for too long, didn¡¯t give Ieta any chance to rest and get some water. Damn fox! She didn¡¯t like fox, liars, frauds, the bunch of them. She didn¡¯t like following people either, too tiring and too dangerous. In fact, there weren¡¯t a lot of things that Ieta liked, and ever since she became an enforcer, the number seemed to decline drastically.


    The foxman turned left and Ieta hurried to follow, but then she suddenly stopped just before the corner. She wasn¡¯t too familiar with this area, and there didn¡¯t seem to be anyone around. Did he find out? Ieta squinted her eyes. She wasn¡¯t there that night, but she knew the story. Eight hired assassins, seven dead. All of them against two. A mage¡¯s magic was fearsome of course, but it would be stupid to underestimate this fox guy. Ieta bit her lips, her target could have gone far now and if she wait any longer she would lose him before long, but the idea of stepping to the alley wasn¡¯t an exciting one. Careful and discreet. Those were the words the Crown Enquirer said to Krane, and the inquisitor to her. Apart from that, her senses told her it was a dangerous gamble, and she believed in her senses, that was how she had been surviving up until now. The enforcer cursed in her mouth, then took a step back and turnaround, walked away from the corner. There weren¡¯t a lot of things that Ieta liked, but she sure liked to keep her head intact.


    Dead body in the dark alley. The thought was hardly an encouraging one.


    After the enforcer had walked away, Yoru stepped out from the corner, one hand behind his back. The minstrel¡¯s green eyes were cold and filled with killing intent.


    To Yoru¡¯s surprise, he found a stranger sitting on the couch in the living room as he walked in with his big bag of groceries. Yellow fur, round ears, deep brown eyes and a not fully grown mane, typical looks from one of the Lion tribe. He was wearing a grey uniform with golden patterns here and there, a fancy robe lied next to him, Eria herself sat on a nearby chair, both of them focused on their books.


    Noticed Yoru¡¯s appearance, Eria closed her book and spoke up:


    ¡°I guess you have finished with your shopping then? Come here, this is Cornelius Brent, a mage from my Order. He will be joining us in our journey.¡± The rabbit girl pointed at the man from the Lion tribe.


    ¡°A pleasure to meet you, master Brent. I¡¯m Yoru Halbmond.¡± So our band of heroes grows in size. The foxman thought as he introduced himself. Cornelius didn¡¯t reply, he just simply looked up then once again focused on his book. Friendly enough, I guess? Yoru shrugged his shoulder and walked to the kitchen. A lion mage with high ego, why am I not surprised?


    ¡°Anyway, I have something to ask, if you don¡¯t mind, Eria.¡± He said just before entering the kitchen. The rabbit girl didn¡¯t really understand, but she still followed him, leaving Cornelius alone in the living room.


    ¡°Is something troubling you, Yoru?¡± Eria asked as soon as the kitchen door was closed.


    ¡°Nothing too serious, it¡¯s just that I was followed.¡± Yoru replied, putting the food down on the kitchen table.


    Eria¡¯s left eye twitched a little bit with the news. But she didn¡¯t show any drastic emotion.


    ¡°So who is this lovely fan of yours?¡± The rabbit picked up a carrot from the bag and took a bite.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. She covered herself in grey cloak. A black cat, as if my luck isn¡¯t bad enough already.¡± Yoru started slicing the meat. ¡°Is your friend going to join us for dinner?¡±


    ¡°No, he is just here for a short visit, he won¡¯t be staying for long.¡±


    ¡°What a shame, his friendliness surprises me.¡± The foxman talked with a monotonous tone.


    ¡°Come now Yoru, don¡¯t mind him. Cornelius doesn¡¯t like me that much, so him being put on this journey isn¡¯t something exciting.¡± Eria finished her carrot, then pick up an apple from the table and took a bite.


    ¡°Then comes another a question of mine. What is this journey, where are we going, and for what purpose?¡± Yoru put all the sliced meat to a frying pan then lighted up the fire, the flavourful smell started filling up the kitchen. ¡°And don¡¯t tell me that you don¡¯t want anyone eavesdropping us. I have made sure that there is no unwanted guess nearby this house.¡± The fox man glanced at Eria, he was determined to find out the answer.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Well, to begin with, you know who is Lamia, right?¡± The rabbit girl swallowed a piece of apple.


    ¡°Yes, I know. The first mage ever in the history of Palomar, the Miracle Maker, the Light of Ilan, the Bringer of Hope and many other titles. A great person no doubt.¡± The foxman talked while frying the meat, after a while they started showing a nice texture with the flavour.


    ¡°Well, you have done your homework, I suppose.¡± Eria tossed the remain of the apple to the bin. ¡°Yes, Lamia was a great person, the one who opened the gate to magic for us, the one who lead us through our dark days. No one really know why but in her later years she left Edion and wandered across Palomar. She had houses all over the country, some in towns or villages, others in mountains and forests. The Order later tried to trace her steps, and in those houses, they would occasionally find notes of her study in magic. And any study of Lamia is a great knowledge to us all. Even now we are still learning new things from her notes. You following me so far?¡±


    ¡°Yes, please continue.¡± Yoru added some vegetables to the frying pan.


    ¡°Last week we received some reports about another possible house of Lamia, and after some research my Order believed that the reports are true. You can guess from there, I was tasked to go to this place, find Lamia¡¯s house and bring back whatever I could.¡±


    A quest to search for knowledge, what a heroic cause. The foxman nodded, he put the now heated pan away, covered it with a lit then placed a big pot of soup on the fire. ¡°To my next concern then, who is this enemy of yours. Who sent those assassins on that night and now watching me from the dark?¡±


    ¡°You have a lot of questions today, Yoru.¡± Eria poured two glasses of water, kept one for herself and the other for Yoru. ¡°They were probably sent by my big brother.¡± Eria¡¯s voice didn¡¯t show any emotion, as if she was talking about someone else¡¯s situation.


    ¡°From what I know, brothers don¡¯t usually send assassins after their little sisters.¡± Yoru said while adding spices to the pot.


    ¡°Not unless an important heritage is at stake.¡± The rabbit shrugged her shoulder.


    A noble¡¯s internal conflict, I should have guessed. Yoru raised his eyebrown. But then noble families don¡¯t really give women a chance to inherit their treasure. I wonder what kind of family she is from. Consider the amount of men her brother could send without worrying about the City Watch, they must be from a powerful family. What a mess I¡¯ve got myself into. The foxman chuckled. Yoru Halbmond, protector of the helpless lady, tracer of the knowledge long lost, trusted sword of the great mage. My old friends would laugh at the idea and my enemies would spit in disgust, but fate sure can play some tricks.


    ¡°Does my family¡¯s situation amuse you?¡± Eria asked, she had the looks of one who was hurt.


    ¡°No, nothing, I was just lost in thought a little bit, I¡¯m sorry. Anyway, thanks for clearing out my doubts. Please accept my deepest condolence for your situation.¡± But I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t do you any good. Yoru didn¡¯t really buy Eria¡¯s sad look. He had known her far better than the friendly and sincere first impression.


    ¡°I really appreciate your thought, your kindness warms my heart, truly.¡± The rabbit girl returned to her usual cheering tone. If there was one thing that the minstrel and the rabbit girl had in common, it would be the sarcastic they had for each other.


    ¡°So I guess we are good to go now with the addition of master Brent?¡± Yoru covered the boiling pot with a lit, then started preparing some salads for Eria. ¡°What kind of salads do you want today, the usual one?¡±


    ¡°Yes please, if you don¡¯t mind. Actually, I¡¯m still trying to find another member for our journey. The past few times the Order discovered Lamia¡¯s houses, there were traps laid hidden, some magical, some physical. While we don¡¯t really know why she did that, precautions still need to be made. I need someone with a slim build and light weight, one who doesn¡¯t activate the traps easily and has good reflex and attention to details.¡± Eria took out some dishes and bowls to prepare for dinner. ¡°And since my brother doesn¡¯t really fancy the idea of me raising in ranks within the Order, I have to be discreet in looking for my companions. It is quite a challenging task, as you have already known. You have any recommendation?¡±


    ¡°You are probably looking for someone from the Cat tribe, those people quite suit your needs, if you can handle their lovely personalities.¡± Yoru said as he cleaned up his knife.


    ¡°A member of the Cat tribe ¡­¡± Eria muttered, the corner of her lips curled up to a grin. ¡°I think I know someone who might be able to help.¡±


    ¡°Really? I wonder who is the kind soul.¡± Yoru said as he brought the pot out to the dining table in the living.


    Another addition to our heroic company.


    ¡°You chickened out?¡± Krane ask, his voice was filled with disappointment.


    ¡°You told me to be careful and discreet.¡± Ieta lazily leaned herself on the wall of the room.


    ¡°That I did, but losing track after only one hour is hardly a result His Excellency will expect. Did he find out that we are watching him?¡± The dogman eyes squinted as a line. He knew the Crown Inquirer didn¡¯t really have high tolerance for failure.


    ¡°No, he didn¡¯t, I was sure to cover myself. I might have failed to follow him, but I have some informations you might want to know, Inquisitor.¡± The enforcer sat down on the chair in Krane¡¯s quarter.


    ¡°They better be good, I don¡¯t want to go His Excellency empty handed.¡± Krane glanced at the cat girl.


    ¡°After I lost track of the foxman, I decided to go to the 13<sup>th</sup> Cat Bar to ask for some informations. It turned out he was the one that discovered Brock¡¯s plan with the tax department. From what I¡¯ve been told, he appeared approximately half a year ago, no one really know where came from, not even Mister Grim. He doesn¡¯t have any relatives or friends in the city. Sometimes he would sing in the second layer for a living, but his main earning is from selling informations to Mister Grim.¡±


    There were a few knocks on the wooden door as the inquisitor was analysing Ieta¡¯s information. Soon after the huge figure of Mirza stepped inside the room. He had a stern look on his white fur face, the black stripes added a dangerous flavour to the mixture.


    ¡°Mirza, I thought I told you and Udun to watch Eria¡¯s house?¡± Krane raised his eyebrowns.


    ¡°Udun is still there, but I¡¯ve something you might want to know.¡± The enforcer from the Tiger tribe had a rough voice.


    ¡°What is it now? I can hardly stand the suspension.¡± The inquisitor asked with a commanding tone.


    ¡°As we watched the house, we noticed another group of people who also did the same thing. From where we stay we couldn¡¯t see them clearly in the dark, but they were surely watching the place.¡±


    Krane closed his eyes and let out a sigh. A foxman who appeared out of nowhere and a mysterious group of people in the dark. Too many questions and not enough answer. His Excellency will hardly be pleased by this progression.