36 Silence

"What? What sorry coward sends children to the front?" said a red bearded man with braided red hair at the back. He seemed to be the leader of the group.

Leona looked at Elias, giving him a hint to take action. However, since the last encounter, he didn't have the same courage anymore.

He walked forward. "What do you want? Why are you blocking our passage?" the young noble finally said, not too sure of himself.

The man shook his head in disappointment. "I will be brief. Give us everything you have , and you can go back from where you came from said the man loudly to be heard by everyone. You have too few warriors in your group… and an old man and many women and even children, so don't even try to resist," he said, looking at the rest of the merchant's caravan that stayed behind.

Eileen and Leona unsheathed the weapons.

Noticing it Elias quickly took a step back and looked at Mark and Jonatan. He nodded toward them while unsheathing his sword. Both of them did so as well.

The man smiled. "So be it… kill them all!" shouted the man, as he took distance from them as well. The archers on his group began to prepare to fire arrows.

Noticing the imminent fight, Doris and Isabel who were behind began to chant in elven language while concentrating their mana. Eileen immediately recognized the novice fire and ice spell chants, so she quickly moved in front of them for their protection while they prepared themselves.

Leona moved near Elias, Mark and Jonatan. She stayed close to them but only to support them. She clearly intended to let them go to the front and receive the first attack.

Fear could be seen in all the Dracar hunters' eyes, as they struggled to keep themselves together when they noticed all enemy archers preparing to fire.

Herger quickly approached Elias' group as well, with shield in hands waiting for the arrows. He promptly raised his shield while commanding the 3 boys to fall behind him.

Without notice the archers released their bows and the arrows were sent flying towards the group in the front.

With extreme dexterity and speed, Eileen deflected the few arrows pointed at her and the two girls in the back. She did so in a sequence of fast sword movements.

Leona, noticing the greater number of arrows pointed at the front warriors, quickly stepped forward and in front of them. She also performed deflective actions to prevent any arrows from passing through her.

Herger widened his eyes when he looked out of his shield and noticed that not a single arrow laid on the ground unstruck by Leona heavy sword.

Riou looked at Therese. "Ho, that was impressive, Eileen really improved a lot under your guidance," said the boy to Therese, who kept her faint smile.

Herger, still impressed, looked up at the Lioness.

She was sitting there, unimpressed, watching the fight beside the boy. He smiled to himself. "Unbelievable, the stories were all true after all."

Even the bandit group seemed shocked by the display. They looked above to where Herger was looking. "Could it be? That's the Lioness?!" one of them shouted.

After hearing such words, without thinking, more than half of the bandits began to scatter in fear. Only a few remained loyal to the red bearded man.

"Get a grip men, or will you run like cowards from someone who is not even fighting?" the man said loudly to the remaining few who shouted in response.

They went to the front and began to run towards the caravan's frontline, where Leona and the nobles' sons were.

As the bandits began their approach, they suddenly were struck by fireballs and ice shards that began to be thrown by the girls in the back.

The fireball was small and didn't had any impact power. The Ice shard didn't even penetrate the men's armor while the fire quickly vanished after touching them, no burst power and not enough heat to even graze their armor. It took a long time for the chant to take place, and still, they weren't powerful enough to really damage the enemy. Seeing such results, the two girls fell on their knees, realizing their lack of power.

Elias shouted at the attacking men and rushed to meet them followed by Mark and Jonatan. It was the Dracar Hunters' first fight after all. He remembered Herger's words and took it to heart in an attempt to inspire and lead his companions.

Noticing the young noble's courage, Herger smiled and followed after him.

Despite their lack of experience, they were not untrained. Still, they were novice swordsmen against experienced men of the North, men who took pride in their fighting capabilities.

Each of them took one enemy head on, but the strength and weapon weight were too different. They lacked the ability to properly deflect them, and they could barely withstand the blows. They were able to defend themselves, but were being greatly pushed back. Any mistake would cost them their life.

It didn't take long for Elias to lose his footing and fall on his back. He was fighting the enemy leader and his sword was clearly showing signs of breaking down after absorbing many hits from the enemy's sword.

Herger was right behind Elias watching the fight, and promptly jumped in, defending him from his attacker who was about to strike the final blow on the young noble. The other two Dracar Hunters fighting were still holding on but were being strongly pushed back as well.

Luckily, Herger knew Leona was nearby to help them in case of need.

The mercenary leader used his shield to defend against the enemy leader sword, and as soon as the blows stopped, he quickly began to push him back with the shield to give Elias and the others some room.

With the pushback, Herger followed up with a successful series of strikes. The red haired man had trouble defending himself against them and had to step even further back. Herger was clearly the better fighter. After the quick exchange of blows, it became obvious even for the bandit leader.

Herger, having more room and with the enemy moral diminished, used the opportunity to quickly assess the situation around him. Strangely enough, there were only 3 enemies still fighting, the leader and the 2 with Mark and Jonatan.

As he quickly glanced around in a larger radius, he noticed Eileen and Leona watching them fight, calmly, from the front where the enemies were supposed to be. Not even the 3 remaining bandits had realized at that moment, that they were all that was left.

Around Eileen and Leona, laid all the other remaining bandits, unconscious.

Herger smiled and lost his fighting pose, standing up straight once more. "Damn it, and I thought I was good," he said with a big smile.

The red haired man did not understand and kept watching for his next move, approaching slowly.

Herger turned back and kicked Elias who was still in the ground "Stand up… you rested long enough already, it's your turn now" and he went towards the other two who were also struggling.

Elias raised himself up with some difficulty taking poise while swallowing hard. The red haired man frowned, he couldn't understand why the blond man was so relaxed and was again putting the worst fighter to fight him. With his numbers, they should have been already overrun, so remembering his men, he quickly took a look around. To his surprise, there was no one else standing.

He could not believe it. He and a group of 20 had lost to a group of children. Enraged by the shame he had suffered, the bandit leader lunged at Elias. With a powerful swing he threatened to cut the noble in half. Whether he had a sword or not, the young noble would not be able to withstand such swing with his battered weapon and poor skill.

Despite Herger noticing it, he was too far away by the time… still, he rushed towards Elias with his shield in hand.

The mercenary leader then noticed a blurred image heading towards the enemy's sword, appearing in an instant beside Elias. The almost white hair with glints of golden sudden moved with the wind, and a motion was made by Eileen, as she expertly deflected the big man's strike to the side.

Elias couldn't help but to be amazed at the sight. His heart stopped for a moment, as his eyes could not leave Eileen, captivated by her beauty. 'It's a goddess…a goddess came to save me.'

As the motion ended, Herger sighed in relief. The enemy weapon was thrown away, and the man fell down on his knees. Noticing that their leader had given up, the other two stepped back and dropped their weapons as well.

Eileen didn't say a word and began to walk back towards her horse. Leona did the same shortly after.

Herger made a long acute whistle sound. "That was fast… are you ok boy?" he said, approaching Elias, who was still perplexed with Eileen's image in his mind.

The mercenary leader smiled. "Well, you are fine." He turned around to his men. "The playtime is over, you bastards. Grab their weapons and armors… Leave them with their clothes only, and smack some sense into them in the process, so they'll think twice before attacking someone again!"

As Eileen joined Riou and Therese, she noticed that the Lioness was strangely happier than usual. However, before she could ask anything Riou quickly addressed her.

"That was fast! Didn't know you could be that fast already. You were not kidding about those hellish training methods," he said looking at Therese.

Eileen looked at him with a smile.

-------------------------------------------

"Gilliath's body was found amongst the charred orcs," said one of the shadows in the dark hall of the castle of the Twilight Council.

"Have we found Maximilian?" another shadow questioned, but no one answered.

"We also still need to identify the mage that helped in Allard, but it was probably him who helped in Brigantium as well. How come such a mage was and is still unknown to us?" said another shadow questioning.

"He was able to fight Gilliath on equal terms… I know a few mages in Allard that could do so, but my sources tell me that all of them were elsewhere when the battle took place," said another Shadow.

The shadowed entity on the throne flickered, and an ethereal dark voice echoed in the room as all others were silenced.

"Tessai... speak," said the master shadow.

The shadow flickered. "Yes my lord… with the proper incentive, our pawn set my plan in motion. The first victims should appear in the next few days. The land will be in chaos soon enough."

"Very well, I hope your plan bears better results than your predecessor. Our deal with Harmon of Argos depends on it," stated the shadowy figure.

"Rest assured my Lord, I will not fail you," replied the shadow with deference.

------------------------------------------------

As the terrain was favorable, it didn't take long for them to reach the city of Kelig. The cold was much harsher there, but not enough to start snowing.

They arrived late at night and went directly to the first inn near the gates to spend the night. Bronach needed to spend at least a day or two in such a large city to visit all his vendors and suppliers.

The city was dark and the only guards were at the gates. It resembled the last village in architecture but at a much larger proportion. The city seemed very rustic and nothing like Allard's capital, Brigantium or even the city of Gufa. Riou was curious to take a look at it during the day, to see more of its differences.

He was talking to Eileen, Leona and Therese at the inn's table when their food arrived, brought by a woman with a strong physique and ugly face. Everyone seemed to be much bigger in the North.

All mugs were filled with mead, as water was not served in the tavern. 'Well, I think it's the standard serving here… let's see if it's any good,' thought the boy.

As he grabbed one mug to taste it when suddenly he felt someone slithering behind him. A soft hand touched him on the right shoulder and continued its way through his back to his left side.

Eileen's eyes followed the person's every move with rapt attention. Riou already knew who it was by the subtle approach. He turned towards the rogue to see what she wanted.

Noticing the boy's gaze, the thief quickly spoke. "I was just missing you… it seemed like you forgot about me these last few days," said Viki, resting her hand on Riou's shoulder.

Riou smirked. "As if there was anything to remember."

Viki pouted and frowned at Riou for such cold remark.

She then looked at the three in the table. "It's polite to share you know?" she said specially looking at Eileen who was not amused by her interaction.

Viki smiled looking at the food in the table "Well, it seems you are busy now, so I hope we can talk a bit later on" She paused for a moment, she seemed rather sad "This will be my last night with you" She finishes the sentence looking directly at Riou eyes.

From beside him, she quickly grabbed his mug from his hand and slowly took a small sip from it, putting it back on the table. "Don't drink too much, I need you sober later on." She smiled briefly and winked with one eye looking at him. She courteously bowed to everyone at the table before leaving.

Riou watched her. 'I can't figure it out… what is she planning now? Does she think she can use me me for some shady business later on? There is no way that's gonna happen,' thought the boy unsure of her angle.

Eileen mood seemed to have taken a turn to the bad side for some reason after the interaction with the thief.

With her gone the meal continued normally. It was not great as it lacked flavor, but it was too late to go cook in the kitchen.

Riou liked the mead, the honey taste was not that bad and the alcoholic grade was light.

After a while only the men remained drinking. Riou joined them before going to his room, he listened to Herger story of the fight for the tenth time by that time. Each time the mercenary leader told it, his part on the story increased by leaps.

Riou drank one more mug listening to the story, it was late and Riou soon would go to his room as well.

"And so, barehanded I told the mongrels! Throw your weapon aside if you want to live! The giant with red hair trembled in fear… falling to his knee" Said the mercenary leader unable to stand still.

Elias quickly approached Riou as the story finished "Riou…" said the young noble shyly sitting beside the boy.

"You talk to Eileen frequently, you must know a lot about her" continued Elias, "Do you know if she has someone she fancies?" suddenly sask Elias.

Riou smiled in surprise, "I don't think so" replied the boy for an overjoyed Elias. "But you know she is completely out of your league right?"

Elias nodded with a sad expression "She is a goddess…" he said to the boy.

Riou sighed 'The fool got a crush on her after being saved…'

Feeling a bit tired and drowsy Riou thought it was time to go sleep. "Well, good luck to you Elias, I need to rest now" The noble nodded to the boy still lost in his thoughts.

The boy finished his drink and began to move towards his room.

His steps began to feel weird, he was having difficulty to hold his eyes open. A strange sensation of lightness filled his head as he lost balance.

Before he fell, someone promptly held him. Riou looked to see Viki supporting him.

"I'm sorry…" said the rogue as his eyes began to close. 'What you…' thought the boy as his consciousness faded.

------------------------------------- Viki's perspective

Since she discovered the necklace was a gift from the great magus everything made sense to her. It was not her first time seeing a magical artifact with powerful capabilities.

She knew the price such item could fetch in the auction in Iris. It was a chance she couldn't pass, no matter what as it was the first time she had such an easy target with such a valuable item.

To her, the boy's amazing magic power, without any chant or rune, could only be explained by the elven necklace that hold such special magic. She needed to be careful while the boy had the necklace, but once she gets it… he'd be defenseless and she'd be on her way once again.

'He must be some noble's son after all, or even the king's bastard for all I care… To be given such powerful item, his family must be extremely rich… that's why he said he had no family's name, to hide from kidnappers and thieves.'

After a while trying, she knew the boy would not give away such precious artifact, and he clearly did not fall under her seductive attempts; he was far too clever for it. Once she entered his room at night it would all be over, she'd remove his necklace seductively, perhaps even tie him to the bed and make a run for it.

But that plan was no more.

To succeed, she'd had to devise a new one, as a more direct approach would be needed and she could not fail.

That necklace would mean the freedom she'd wished for. She and her sister would finally be able to live together once again far away from the cursed city.

So, for days she roamed the night, going after the right plants and herbs to carefully craft the Nightshade essence, an extract so powerful that a single drop would put a grown man to sleep in a few moments.

But differently this time, as she roamed and gathered the ingredients, the image of the boy didn't leave her head. Day after day, she continuously thought of the boy trying find the reasoning for him to be as he were.

Why he didn't fall for her tricks, how could he be so cold to her and yet have such enticing eyes. And how come she could never sneak up on him, his awareness was too far above average.

With the constant thinking, a strange sense of affection began to sprout in the rogue.

But as the time passed, so did the preparation, and as she had the essence ready. All she needed now was a way for him to ingest it.

She knew he would be wary of her every movement. Taking it into consideration she devised a way. Using another plant extract known for its oily nature she created a protective shell to hold the nightshade essence. She could attach it to the side of her index finger beforehand and safely push it against any surface to release its essence.

All that was needed now was an opportunity.

She waited for them to reach the last city before Thanes, there was a safe haven for her there. She could send the necklace immediately to Iris, for appraisal and to sell at the black market auction, while she safely remained there for a while until the dust settled.

Viki knew what to do as they reached the city inn. She waited for the boy to order and approached him.

As she dismissively talked to the group she targeted the boy's mug, tactically positioning herself in a way to be able to get to it.

She stood beside him, her heart beat strangely faster than usual. Perhaps it was because, if she succeeded, all would be over. She convinced herself as her cold nerves acted and didn't let her uneasiness show at all.

She quickly grabbed the mug, as she had the opportunity, and sipped a bit of it to dismiss any suspicion. As she brought it back to the table, her index finger which had a single drop of nightshade essence was hidden against the inner wall of the mug, she quickly compressed the oily sac against it releasing the substance into the mead.

She quickly left after requesting another talk, another attempt to dismiss any suspicion towards her current actions.

From the distance, the rogue watched the boy with care, as he drank from the mug a smile appeared on her face despite the weight on her heart. She was planning to blame the mead as the boy would quickly pass out at any moment, so she readied herself to approach the table once more as soon as it happened.

But too much time passed.

'Didn't he drink the mead? I'm sure he did... he should be out cold by now… did I mess up with the ingredients? No… I'm sure it was right…' thoughts raced through her head as time passed on.

She was about to give up on her plan when suddenly she noticed the effects appearing on the boy as he seemed a bit drowsy, and as he walked towards his room, she acted.

He was about to fall when she reached him. She held him up and carried him to his room.

She quickly brought him inside and dropped him on the bed. Her hands quickly went towards his necklace, she carefully removed it from him.

With the so awaited prize in hands she looked satisfied at it.

But inside, her heart was heavier than usual, she had stolen countless items but none seemed to affect her that much. Despite her feelings, in her mind she had no choice.

She could not let such opportunity pass. And as she looked at him, laid down on the bed. an unconscious apology left her lips towards him.

Snapping out of it and putting her game face, she still had a job to do.

"With this, all will be over," she said to herself as she looked once again at the boy's necklace.

But still, as the thief she was, she continued to gather his belongings.

She took the twin blades from his back and was reaching for his dagger when she noticed his money pouch. It was much thinner than before, he surely had not spared any expense. Her hand stopped for a moment as she looked at him. 'Spent so much money already… clearly money is not a necessity for him' She thought as her hand diverted its path to grab it.

Without looking inside the pouch she continued towards his dagger in his back.

But he was laid down on top of it so she was having a hard time getting it from that position. She sat down once more beside him and accessed the situation.

The view of the boy completely out, unconscious on his bed struck her once again, and suddenly the thought of what he'd think of her after he woke up crossed her mind. It was not like her to have such strange thoughts. 'He'll hate me after this…' she thought, as her heart once again grew heavier.

It was a short amount of time, but the boy was so different than anything she'd seen so far. Every attempt to read him, was wrong. Every attempt she made, was quickly foreseen. So young and already this good. Not only that, her appeal was completely ineffective on him. And deep down, that's what most bothered her.

'A boy on his age should be licking the earth I step on… still, not subtle nor direct approaches worked on him… how come he didn't even flinch? Has he not fantasized about me? Not even for a moment?' she thought to herself 'No… he knew all along about my real intentions… that's why' thought the rogue realizing while looking at the boy sleeping defenseless in his bed.

Convincing herself it was nothing she could do, she leaned in towards the boy waist and slowly removed the dagger from his belt.

She stood up with everything ready and took one more look at the boy. "Unfortunately, this is the last time I will see you… it was… interesting meeting you" She turned towards the door and then back to the boy…

---------------------------------- Riou's perspective

Riou opened his eyes to find himself being shaken by a very concerned Eileen. He was lying down as she was on top of him. A bit drowsy he smiled at the good sight he was having. When suddenly the recollection of the last events assaulted his mind.

Noticing he was awake, Eileen moved back giving him space. She was talking to him, but he couldn't understand a word.

With widened eyes his hand quickly went for his neck. 'It's gone,' he realized.

His hand continued to search as his eyes followed its path. But none of his weapons, nor his money were found with him. 'The crystal and the black stone are gone… Damn it.' He struck the bed with his fist as his anger grew. 'That rogue…'

Therese and Leona quickly barged in a hurry at the room. Eileen looked at them surprised.

Strange words came out their mouths. Eileen talked to Therese for a moment. When their attention turned towards him. Riou just sat down on the bed and pointed to his missing necklace and weapons.

"Viki," he said plainly.

Therese nodded towards him acknowledging she had understood. The lioness began to talk to Eileen and Leona once again.

Riou looked outside of his bedroom door, he could see the sun light in the hall. 'It's already this late? I must have passed out for the whole morning,' he thought not pleased by the fact of having been drugged.

He stood up from the bed. There was no point in trying to explain anything to them as they couldn't understand him, and beside that, he knew time was of essence. He needed to act quickly.

As he went for the hall the 3 promptly went after him.

Noticing their intentions of following him, Riou shook his head and showed his palm telling them to stop. He pointed the inn ground as if telling them to stay there.

Therese stepped forward and bowed once with her head.

'Is she asking to go with me? Seems like it… well, she knows I don't have time to lose today and she knows about me already' Riou looked at her. "Therese," he said making her look up. 'At least names they can understand.' He nodded towards her.

Therese turned to Eileen and Leona and spoke a few words with them. The two nodded as Therese began walking to Riou's side and Leona and Eileen remained standing there.

'I will get that damn rogue…' He looked seriously towards Therese. "Viki," he said once again. The lioness nodded and both left the inn in a hurry while Leona and Eileen went back to Riou's room.

The first thing in his mind was to assess if she had already left the city. Luckily there were only 2 gates in the whole city, so they went to the nearest in the south. 'Therese will be a good help after all, she will be able to question the guards.'

As they arrived he looked at Therese who took the cue and promptly talked to the guards.

She then looked at him and shook her head. 'Damn it.'

'If she didn't leave through here, would have she left for Thanes in the north?' he thought as he noticed Therese signaling him to follow her. They stopped once again at the inn where Leona and Eileen were waiting at the entrance.

Therese spoke with them for a few moments and looked at Riou again. She shook her head briefly.

'No clues it seems…' he looked at them. "Eileen, Leona. Stay" he said pointing at the inn once again. "Therese," he said turning around and walking towards the street.

The lioness spoke a few words with the two and quickly followed after him.

As they couldn't communicate, Riou didn't care much to what Therese was doing. She was a big girl and knew how to take care of herself, if she wanted to follow another lead, he didn't see a problem with that.

But he knew that he and his magic were his best bet to find her quickly at that point.

He walked at a fast pace towards the gate at the north, while his head tried to devise some plan to find the Rogue. His eyes were sharp looking with intent at every possible signal of her or thief activities in the city, anything that could point him in the right direction.

As he roamed the city, he noticed that in the south part of the city the people were very poor, lack of products in the small stands, bad clothing for such a cold weather. There weren't many people in those streets despite that time of the day.

As they approached the center, more well-dressed people appeared. He remember Askjell clothes as he saw many well-dressed men walking on the streets. 'Probably nobles,' guessed the boy. But despite the nobles and better commerce, it was nothing compared to Guffa, as both cities seemed complete different places. This city was very poor compared to the others.

While walking to the center, something caught Riou attention while in the Mains Street. It was something he had not seen until that moment.

Following one of the noble, two man with just scraps of clothes and bare feet, very malnourished, carrying heavy crates. Riou stopped for a moment to look at them. On their ankles he noticed a black circle with thorns. From the distance, it seemed like a tattoo.

The sight perturbed him. The men were not young, but clearly had been suffering for a long while already. He knew slavery was likely to exist in that world, but seen it at first hand had quite an impact.

Therese watched Riou in silence while he looked at the slaves with strange eyes.

The man leading the slave entered an alley, and as the boy lost sight of them, he finally turned around and continued towards the north gate.

No sign of Viki anywhere as they approached the north gate. It was getting late into the afternoon by that time.

Riou looked at Therese who took point in talking to the guards once again. But nothing, seemed like she didn't left the city by those two gates.

'So the chances are she is still in the city…' He thought looking at the sky as the light grew dimmer. 'The night will be good to point the right direction, less people and distractions on the street.'

Riou looked around the north side of the city, it was much like the south, and it seems that the nobility lived only at the center. 'I wouldn't doubt that Viki might have a few friends in this city… the question is if they are noble and live in the center, or thugs with some kind of hideout in the poor part of the city.'

The boy began to realize that just looking would not be enough. The city was too big, and the chances of her and her friend laying low was high. 'I need a more direct approach…'

Once again focused his mana to his eyes… he couldn't see through walls but could get a rough image of how many people were behind them inside a house. 'This might not be enough… I need a way to point in her direction.'

After a while looking to no avail, they went back towards the center of the city. Many strange people were wandering the main street. It was very active in that hour of the night. Riou walked slowly while carefully watching his surroundings. Every passing moment he could feel his anxiety building up.

Weapons and money could be easily replenished, but the necklace would be a problem, at least until he reached Max, as he would know how to get another one. Even more than the necklace he was worried with the crystal and the black stone.

He had still had no idea what the dark stone could do, but was the last resort of a powerful necromancer, so he was certain that whatever it was… certainly no good would come out of it.

While the portal crystal was a very useful tool that he really didn't want to lose.

'The black stone… perhaps I can sense its death magic? Well it's worth a try'.

The boy stood still for a while as he tried to expand his senses with his mana. He focused on trying to sense the death magic that the stone could emanate.

'Nothing…' he thought after a few moments. 'I will keep this up, perhaps if I get near it I will be able to sense it'

After a while looking, and walking by the city streets he ended up in the main street once again. This time it was night and just a couple of people were walking by.

Suddenly his senses pointed in a direction. A small surge of death magic could be felt by the boy who immediately advanced towards it very quickly.

Getting near the source he realized the place. 'Isn't this the same alley the slaves went in? This can't be a coincidence…' he questioned himself, remembering the afternoon encounter.

'Perhaps… damn, I have a bad feeling about this.' Riou quickly walked in the dark alley focusing his mana towards his eyes.

-------------------- Therese's perspective

The boy was pissed off, that was all Therese could tell. She felt like following after a hungering wild beast that was relentlessly tracking a wounded prey. She could feel sudden anger surges coming from the boy from time to time. But she could only wonder what was on his mind.

How he was tracking the rogue was beyond her knowledge at that point.

He seemed a complete different person to her now that he couldn't talk. The image of a calm and easy going boy was completely gone. The body language of the boy changed drastically in her eyes, now that he was serious.

Nonetheless, she followed, and despite her wish to lead the investigation, she knew she couldn't. Not only because she had no clues to follow at that point. Her desire was to go back to the inn and find tracks or a scent or anything physical to go on by. But the boy clearly didn't care for her opinion, as he continued on his own path even when she tried to take another. She knew if she dared to go on her own, he wouldn't follow her.

His behavior and body language was enough for her to understand, it was an implicit rule now. As she knew about his capabilities he didn't have to pretend in front of her. Since they couldn't talk to set on a plan, the only thing she could do was silently follow, something she was not used to.

A strange feeling of inaptitude grew inside her. She felt something that was forgotten to her for a long time. She was of no help, almost a burden to him at that moment.

Despite that, she smiled to herself, as it was rather a pleasant, nostalgic feeling that she was not used to, to be led by a more powerful being than herself. 'How long has it been since I wasn't the one to lead?' she thought unable to remember.

The night began to fall, as she continued to follow Riou silently, obediently. She tried to understand his reasoning but she wasn't able to do so. 'Why can't I understand his approach, this is a hunt… I should be able to understand his ways, and yet… why can't I? Why he seems so confident? What clue has he picked up? Could he be using magic to track her? But how?'

When they finally reached the main street once again Riou stood still watching it, Therese wondered what he was looking for.

He walked slowly while watching the people carefully for a while. She noticed him smiling and began to move once again. 'What did he see?'

Before she moved again, from behind a strange feeling suddenly assaulted her, she recognized it as the same feeling on the road a few days back. Something was watching from the shadows.

She quickly turned around looking with her guard up.

She saw some people wandering without concern, and nothing else.

Taking a deep breath with her guard, it was already gone by the time she exhaled. So, still concerned she hurried to follow Riou.

-------------------------------------------------- Riou's perspective

At the end of the alleyway a robust wooden door could be seen. Riou walked towards it while looking at the other doors nearby. None seemed as sturdy as that one.

Looking at the big house that had that door he could see many heat silhouettes. 'There are far too many people inside this house… by the size of them, most men…' by continuing looking he could see some of the heat signatures were not as bright, clearly showing lower body heat. They were at what seemed to be the basement of the house. They seemed strangely seated in rows.

It was dark, but his eyes were adjusted to the low light as well as he looked around.

Riou looked at the door with care, the handle remembered a rose stem, and carved at the door upper right side was a rose.

He squinted his eyes and frowned looking at it, as he remembered the Merchant story. A dark premonition assaulted him as he gently knocked at the door.

-------------------------------------------------- Viki's perspective

"This dagger is outstanding… this metal is the best grade I've ever seen," said a skinny bald man in his 40's, sitting down on a chair and a desk on his study room. His clothes were very expensive and a grade above when compared to the merchant clothes like Bronach used to wear. "I did good to keep this one to myself as payment, where did you said you got it from?" he said handling the dark dagger with his long a thin hands.

"I didn't," replied abruptly Viki who was sat down on a wooden bench while opening a small pouch.

"Well it doesn't matter… the important thing is that necklace. If it does what you told me, it will fetch a huge fortune in Iris. Ah, and I sent the twin blades you brought as well, just to get a little extra."

"With the money I will be able to buy everyone's freedom, right?" said Viki seriously.

"Of course… of course," said the man in a rather dismissively way. "But first we will have to sell it to be sure." He smiled to the girl. "But for now, stay here for a while, once it's safe we will go to Iris see how much profit we made."

Viki kept silent while looking at the pouch in her hand. She took from it a cloth and a crystal cut in half.

"Do you know what this is?" she questioned, showing the strange crystal.

"Let me see…" said the man extending his hand expecting her to bring it to him.

As she approached he noticed the strange cloth protecting something. "Let me see that as well," he said as his curiosity was sparked.

With both in hands he looked at the crystal "Hmm, this seems to be some magic crystal, but I do not know what it does…" he said pouring his mana in the crystal that didn't react to it.

"I think it's broken…" said the man putting it down as it didn't react.

He then proceeded to carefully open the cloth. Inside it he saw a strange roundish black stone with a strange red rune on one of the sides.

"I never seen anything like this before" said the man as he grabbed the stone and drop the cloth in the table. "You should have showed me this earlier, we could have sent it with the courier to Iris for appraisal," said the man with curious eyes, looking at the stone.

Not able to contain himself he tried to force his mana into the stone.

A sharp and acute pain, like a sting, suddenly hit his hand making him drop the stone at the table immediately.

A dark dot appeared in the man's palm as he looked at it and continuously opened and closed his hand to make the pain subside.

"What is that? What happened?" questioned the rogue looking at the strange black dot in the man's hand.

"I don't know, but it feels like a small burn now… but doesn't matter I will send it tomorrow to Iris for appraisal," said the man, clearly showing signs of the pain.

Viki sat down once again in the bench and began to count the coins in the pouch, as the man returned to his desk to write on a big book the new item he had acquired.

After a few moments passed, and his hand continued to bother the man, Viki saw him constantly moving it and scratching. After a while, the door of the room began to open slowly.

Viki and the man immediately looked at the door to see who was coming it.

A boy with messy brown hair and dark blue eyes silently enters the room.

"What's this? I didn't call for anyone," said the man, looking at the boy.

Viki's eyes widened in surprise, looking that boy there. His face was very different from what she remembered. He was not mad as she'd expected him to be, he had a strange look of anger, sadness and disappointment.

"Guards! What are you doing? Why did you let this boy come in? Guards!" shouted the man towards the door.

There was no response. Viki swallowed hard. 'How? This could not be possible, there is no way he could have found me.'

"Guards!? What the hell is going on out there? Are you all sleeping?" Shouted the man in an angrier manner scratching his hand furiously.

He then pulled a small dagger with a rose stem handle and thorns details from his belt and stuck it on the table to fright the boy. "Do you know where you are boy? Perhaps do you have a death wish?" he said menacingly to the strange boy that just looked at the black rose dagger stuck at the table.

"Ho, so you recognize the dagger? So you must know that you stuck your nose where you don't belong… kill him Viki," said the man, looking at the Rogue who didn't move.

"Kill him Viki!" shouted the man once again. But she just watched him in silence with widened eyes. She couldn't understand how. "Why are you here?" she asked loudly. "Do you want to die? There are dozens of people in this house and you lost the necklace… why are you here?"

Viki then noticed someone at the door. "Therese!" she said looking at the Lioness at the door. She understood now how the boy got there. The blond woman had a stern and serious face as she entered the room, not a word was spoken by her and she just remained by the door.

'But there were no sound of fighting. Even Therese couldn't get there without any alert.' The rogue still tried to logically understand what was going on, but she couldn't explain why there were no fighting or alerts… any sound actually coming from outside.

"Who is that now? Is there a party in this house that I'm now aware of? Why are the guards not coming? Some heads will roll because of this!" shouted the lousy man with his hand bleeding from the scratching.

The boy didn't bother to answer anyone, he noticed his things on the table and approached Viki who was now standing up near the bench.

With a dead serious, unmoving expression he extended his hand towards her, clearly expecting his things to be returned, probably the necklace that was not in sight.

A sudden anger assaulted her, and very close to his face she began to speak loudly and in an angry manner.

"What?! Why do you look me like that? Your precious necklace is gone!" she shouted.

The boy didn't move, nor change his expression. A surge of anger assaulted her.

"You who lived a good life, with plenty of money and powerful friends to support you… you can't possibly understand. I hate people like you who live in a perfect world, just caring for traveling and visiting friends, with everything granted to you in a silver platter! I bet you are a son of some Lord, that necklace probably was a gift for your birthday wasn't it?"

Tears suddenly burst from her angry eyes. "The rest of us don't have such luxury!" She paused for a moment.

The boy kept his same look, unmoved by the words and tears.

With a mixture of anger and sadness she continued, "My sister is all I have left… I'd even kill you if that ensured her safety!"

"Kill them, and I will speak of your deeds to the boss! He will surely consider lowering her price! Maybe even setting her free!" said the man using the opportunity to convince the Rogue.

She looked at the man with wide open eyes for a moment, and then back to the boy… in a quick move she took from a hidden compartment inside her belt a small dagger. And with the same motion she quickly brought it towards Riou's neck, pressing it against his skin.

Despite the pressure and intent, the boy didn't budge, nor his expression changed at all for her disbelief.

"You are nothing without your necklace! And it's gone now!" shouted the rogue in an angrily, as she couldn't see any sign of fear in his eyes. His cold, disappointed expression felt like a knife pressing against her chest.

She knew the boy was done for if so she wished. Just a bit more pressure on his neck, and the cut would kill him in moments… 'Why isn't he concerned? Why he keeps looking at me like this? Is this the trust he has on the Lioness? Does he really believe she can save him at this point?'

She then glanced at Therese by the door, strangely, the Lioness didn't show any concern either, she showed no signs of interfering.

'Will she let him die?' thought the rogue as she couldn't believe nor understand their reasoning.

"Will you let him die?" Viki questioned her, unable to understand the Lioness behavior.

In response, Therese just leaned back against the wall, crossed her arms and closed her eyes.

Viki shook her head in disbelief as her tension grew, her cold nerves were unable to sustain her anymore and she could feel her arm shaking while holding the dagger against the boy's throat. 'She won't stop me? Why?' The rogue couldn't understand what was going on, deep down she was secretly hoping for the Lioness to intervene and save him.

"Kill them already, you stupid girl!" screamed the man holding his hand against his body.

Viki looked at Riou once again. He didn't show signs of wanting to move nor his expression change. His deep dark blue eyes wouldn't look away from hers.

Looking at him like that… somehow, her anger began to subside, as her hand lost its strength clearly giving up.

The dagger fell to the ground. She could not kill him… perhaps it was fear of Therese retaliation, perhaps it was her heavy conscience of years of deceit, or perhaps it was something else. The fact was that, she couldn't explain it herself.

"It's gone now… I'm sorry, but I have to save my sister…" said Viki in a low tone exhausted.

Riou looked at the ground and took dagger that fell down, it was a black rose dagger as the one in the table. He looked at the dagger and then looked back to Viki.

His anger was gone, but the disappointment in his eyes showed it was more than just her actions for stealing his belongings. She working for the black rose was what really disappointed him.

And she knew it, deep down she hated it with all her being, but the world didn't allow her to choose. Her sister was a slave in Iris, she needed the constant money to buy her time and keep her sister away from being sold or work on the brothels.

So she was trapped, she herself was no longer a slave, but she couldn't run away or her sister's fate would be sealed. Nor could she run away with her sister, or the slave crest would kill her.

The boy's eyes brought up some old memories, tears dropped as she remembered her past.

Her life was harsh, living alone with her sister in the slums for many years. The first to show kindness towards them was suddenly kidnapped, together with her and her sister.

The woman that was like a mother to them was used in ways the she wouldn't dare to remember. The woman didn't resist for too long, and died after a few months in captivity, she hated them for it with all her power. Perhaps her death was the trigger to created the persona that allowed Viki to survive in that place.

A darkness took place of her heart and vengeance and survival was all she thought about.

Her captor and killer of her step mother was a black rose agent that handled the sexual slaves of the red light district of Iris. They used to kidnap poor girls and beautiful women and sell them as slaves. They paid the authorities to turn a blind eye on the matter as it was a very profitable endeavor.

The children that were kidnapped were conditioned since young into the servitude life, so serving the master in every way became natural after a few years, and when they were older, if beautiful enough they'd make expensive slaves or brothel prostitutes, if not they'd be sold as servants for a lower price.

Viki's fate was of a slave as well… until she tricked her captor and killed him with his own weapon. The Black rose boss, hearing of such thing, not only set her free, but proposed a deal. She'd bring money and expensive items, and he'd keep her sister safe, with the promise of freedom if enough money was paid.

And so for many years this was her life.

The boy after a few moments looking at the quiet Viki turned around and looked around the room as if searching for something. "I told you already, it's gone!" said Viki once again with teary eyes after remembering her.

He didn't care, to her it seemed like he didn't want to listen to her words as he just ignored them and kept going, unmoved and silently. He wandered with his hand extended through the room, looking at the place as if searching for his necklace.

He looked at Therese as if asking where his necklace was, the Lioness just shook her head.

The boy turned back and went towards the front of the table. He looked at his dagger on top of it.

He extended his hand to grab it when he noticed the man's hand, it was completely black and signs of the shadow were already appearing in his neck, probably all his arm was consumed by that shadow. Strings of the black shadow seemed to point down towards his heart.

Riou looked at black shadow taking over the man's body for a moment. The man just stepped back. It seemed like his pain was constantly increasing, and right now he was trying his best to withstand it.

The boy grabbed his dagger and attached it to his belt at his back where it belonged. He grabbed his crystal and enveloped the black stone in cloth once again.

Riou then walked toward the bench and took his pouch where he stored the stone and crystal.

Suddenly turning around and walking towards the exit, before leaving he looked once again towards the rogue. Leaving room as silently as he entered it.

She looked at the door unable to understand his behavior. She felt her chest heavy and finally looking at Therese noticing she began to move as well, clearly to go after him.

"I don't understand," said Viki to the Lioness. "Why would you let him die?"

Therese just smiled faintly.

Viki was even more confused.

"What about the necklace? Don't you want to know where it went? Won't you go after it? Why didn't ask he me anything? Why didn't he yell? Why didn't he hit me and kill me? Why didn't he do anything?" she said with a consuming pain in her chest.

Therese sighed, clearly Viki display moved her somehow. "You clearly know less of him than I do, despite being a thief, how come you readings of him were so off?"

Viki frowned. "I know well enough… to be traveling with so much money and high grade weapons all alone in that age. He depended on the necklace power to defend himself. A necklace that the Magus must have given him after his rich father paid a lot for it… so I don't understand why he didn't ask about it," the rogue said once again in anger.

Therese sighed once again… she didn't intend to address her, but she felt a need to set the girl straight. "Just a couple of months ago he had nothing but a shirt and undergarments. He is not from this lands, nor does he speak or understand the language. He has no family." Therese paused for a moment.

"What you've taken that night, was all that he owned." She then turned towards the door and before leaving she continued "Beside that, the necklace is not worth as much as you think… nor did he need my help" she said before leaving the room.

Viki fell on her knees after hearing such words…

The bald man quickly rushed to the door to look outside. He needed to know what happened to the guards. With a constant and increasing pain, he moved and looked outside. Every single one of his men were lying down on the ground, unconscious.

The shadow moved quickly towards his heart… the pain increased even more but he had no more strength to even scream. He then fell down on the ground as the shadow gripped his heart, as it stopped beating constricted by the dark shadow that disappeared as life left his body.

---------------------------------------- Riou's perspective.

Riou was already walking back towards the inn, and it didn't take long for Therese to catch up with him.

'Damn, the necklace and the twin blades are gone… seems like Viki told Therese something… she must have sent it elsewhere… Damn I feel like I was too soft on her, but her dealing with the black rose really threw me off… I can't believe it.'

Riou walked at a fast pace, while Therese approached him quickly walking by his side.

'But what should have I done? She clearly tried to kill me, not that she could. Still, she didn't go through with it, so she was not that bad after all… and seeing her desperate like that, it felt wrong to do anything… not understanding a word she said didn't help… damn it, I hate not knowing what happened.'

He sighed. 'I can't cry over spilled milk… what's done is done. I'm close to Max now, he will know how to get another necklace. Until then I will try to learn a few words of this damn language at least.'

Riou put his hand over his pouch 'I'm glad I got the crystal back and that damn stone at least' the boy remembered the man who handled the stone earlier. 'I could see the death magic creeping towards his heart… I just don't understand why. Perhaps the necromancer had a secret way of using it? Those who don't know how to use it suffer that death sentence curse perhaps? How lucky was I back then to not have touched that thing.'

As Riou reached the inn he could see Eileen and Leona sat down on a table. The princess seemed overly concerned about something.