Teclos went to the Broken Crown.
Part of him already knew what the answer would be before he even reached the door, but desperation had a way of crushing pride beneath its heel. If there was even a small chance they would help, he had to ask.
The pub was quieter than usual when he entered. It was late afternoon, before the worst of the drinking began, and only a few rcenaries lingered around the tables. Zamas sat in his usual place in the back room, surrounded by smoke, ledgers, and half-empty cups. Falcon leaned against the wall nearby with his arms crossed, while Derrick sat on a chair too small for him, eating sothing from a wooden bowl.
All three looked up when Teclos approached.
Zamas took one look at his face and sighed.
"What is it, boy?"
Teclos stopped in front of the table.
"I have found a lead."
Falcon’s and Derrick’s attention shifted, and they both focused on Teclos.
Teclos pulled the folded inventory list from his coat and placed it on the table.
"I broke into Axel’s estate."
The room went still with shock.
Derrick slowly set the bowl down.
"You did what?"
Teclos ignored him and pointed toward the paper.
"I found this in his study. It was addressed to the Count. One of the herbs listed there was the sa herb Saldia had in her hand when she was dragged from the house."
Zamas stared at the paper, shaking his head. Then he reached out, unfolded it, and read silently.
Falcon stepped closer and looked over his shoulder.
Then, after a while, Zamas leaned back and sighed.
"No."
Teclos’s jaw tightened. "I haven’t asked yet."
"You don’t need to, boy."
"I need help getting into the castle."
"No."
The word ca colder this ti.
Teclos looked at Falcon.
Falcon shook his head once.
"Don’t look at like that. I’m not walking into the Count’s castle."
Derrick scratched the back of his neck and looked away.
"Sa. I’m sorry, kid."
Their answers hit Teclos harder than he expected, even though he had already prepared for it.
"You all know what this ans."
Zamas slapped one thick hand against the table.
"No, you know what it might an. Might. You found an herb, not solid proof."
Teclos stepped forward. "It’s not just the herb."
"Oh... but it is!" Zamas said, his voice rising slightly. "A torn cloth near Axel’s estate and an herb on an inventory list. That is what you have. You do not have a witness either. You have a faint trail that points toward the most powerful man in Lupos."
Falcon crossed his arms tighter.
"The Count may be benevolent," he said, "but he is no fool. Gambling districts, illegal trades, black markets, slave rings... he personally burned them out when they thought they were hidden enough. People forget that because he smiles in public and funds orphanages."
Derrick nodded grimly.
"And the castle is not so fat baron’s estate. It has real knights patrolling inside."
Falcon looked at Teclos and nodded.
"True knights. Not the half-wits you fought before. A good example is Cassian. He ca close to that level. The rest of his group was trash compared to what the Count keeps around him."
Teclos’s hands curled.
"That is why I am asking for help."
"And I’m telling you no," Zamas said. "If we get caught, it’s over. Forget about bribery or trying to escape. We will hang by next morning."
Derrick grimaced. "Or worse..."
Zamas tossed the paper back onto the table.
"You are useful to , kid. I like you. But I am not declaring war on the ruler of this city."
Teclos’s breathing grew slow and heavy.
"She is there."
"You don’t know that."
"I know..."
Zamas stared at him for a long ti. He sighed again and clutched his head in his palm.
"No. You want her to be there because then all this madness and grief has sowhere to go."
The words he said had so truth to them, though Teclos didn’t want to admit it.
Falcon’s expression softened slightly, but his voice remained firm.
"Teclos. Slow down. Find more proof. I am saying this for your own good, but even when you find proof, don’t expect everything to be resolved."
"There is just no ti for to leisurely amass proof."
Teclos looked between them.
Zamas, Falcon, and Derrick. The closest things he had to allies in Lupos.
And all of them were refusing.
"I’m not going to sit still," he said quietly. "Not when I know she might be there."
Derrick exhaled.
"No one’s asking you to sit still. We’re asking you not to throw yourself into danger and die."
Teclos picked up the paper and folded it again.
"I’ll find another way."
Zamas stood up and took one bottle of whiskey from a cupboard before pouring himself so.
"Kid, if you get caught... we don’t know you. Just rember that."
Teclos turned around and nodded. Then he left, the door of the Broken Crown closing behind him.
For a mont, Teclos stood on the street, breathing through his nose and trying to calm himself down.
If the Broken Crown would not help, then maybe soone else would.
—
The church looked almost picturesque beneath the late afternoon sun.
Its white stone walls glead so brightly that they were nearly painful to look at, polished surfaces catching the golden light with unnatural purity. Priests moved through the courtyard in quiet order, while temple guards stood near the entrance in clean, shining armor. Citizens ca and went with lowered heads, offering coins, whispering prayers, and begging for blessings.
Teclos had not been there since the day they threw him out just because he was a slum rat.
He had not seen the old priest in a long ti, but so part of him still believed Pella would help if he knew. The man had helped him before, after all. Surely he would not turn a blind eye to his situation.
Teclos approached the stairs.
Two temple guards crossed their spears before him.
"State your business."
"I need to see Father Pella."
One guard looked him over.
"Father Pella is not receiving visitors."
"This is urgent."
"...What part of ’no’ didn’t you understand?"
Teclos clenched his jaw. "Tell him it’s Teclos. From Kolma. He knows ."
The second guard shook his head.
"High-ranking officials cannot be disturbed for every street rat with a story."
Teclos frowned, and the first guard spoke more firmly, ordering him again.
"Leave."
"I said tell him my na." Teclos wouldn’t back down.
"And I said leave before we make you leave."
Teclos looked past them toward the church doors.
"Pella!"
The guards’ faces went stiff from shock.
"Pella!"
Several people in the courtyard turned their heads, and the temple guards finally stepped forward.
"Enough."
But Teclos did not stop.
"My mother was kidnapped! I need to speak with Father Pella!"
One guard grabbed his shoulder but quickly ca to regret it.
Teclos twisted, caught the man’s wrist, and drove him down into the stone steps. The second guard swung his spear, but a dark hand snapped out from beneath Teclos and knocked the shaft aside before slamming the guard into a pillar.
The courtyard erupted with screams from the people.
A third temple guard rushed him from the side. But Teclos just ducked under the blow and drove his elbow into the man’s stomach, then swept his legs out from under him.
Three guards were down.
Teclos turned toward the church doors again.
"Pella!"
But the next second, the air around him grew heavy.
That was the only warning he got before a man suddenly stood in front of his face.
A paladin.
The man simply spun Teclos around and slamd him to the ground, hard enough to crack the stone and knock the air out of him.
The paladin looked down at him with a calm but cold expression.
"Enough."
Teclos tried to rise and ignore his warning, but the paladin just broke his arms and punched his skull against the pavent, knocking him out... almost killing him.
The last thing he saw was the white stone of the church steps beneath his face.
Then darkness swallowed him.
—
He woke up in pain, chained up in an underground cell.
It was damp and cold. There was even a collar around his neck that made his mana feel... heavy and unresponsive.
Teclos tried to move and imdiately hissed through his teeth. His ribs burned, he had a head-splitting headache, his hand seed to still be broken, and the chains ground against his skin.
Hours passed.
And he was not given any food.
Only dirty water, and even that only once, shoved through a gap in the bars.
Teclos sat there for two days, although for him, it almost felt like an eternity.
By the end of the second day, hunger gnawed at his stomach and he was getting delirious.
Finally, toward the end of the second day, he heard footsteps approaching from the hallway.
A lantern glow spilled into the corridor.
Teclos lifted his head and saw Father Pella standing outside his cell.
For one foolish second, warmth rose in Teclos’s chest, and a glimr of hope showed on his face.
Then he looked at the old priest’s face.
It was without the gentle smile he was used to, and instead of relief and open arms, only disappointnt showed on it.
The guard beside him unlocked the cell.
Pella stepped inside and looked down at him.
"You look terrible, kid."
Teclos swallowed.
"Father—"
"No."
The word was quiet, but it silenced him instantly.
Pella crouched and touched the chains. Light mana pulsed from his fingers, and the locks opened one after another.
"I do not want to hear what you have to say for yourself."
Teclos stared at him.
Pella’s voice remained calm, but there was an iron will beneath it.
"You attacked temple guards in front of the church and caused panic in the courtyard. You shouted like a madman and forced a paladin to subdue you..."
"My mother—"
"I said I do not want to hear it."
Teclos’s mouth shut.
Pella stood up after healing him enough for Teclos to walk out on his own.
"I barely pulled enough strings to have you released. Barely. Do not mistake this for forgiveness."
Teclos slowly pushed himself up, and Pella looked at him for a long mont.
"If you ever do sothing like that again, I will not be able to help you. And you will not see the light of day for a very long ti."
Teclos wanted to argue.
Wanted to tell him everything.
But Pella’s cold eyes gave him nothing.
So he lowered his head.
The guards dragged him out of the cell and through the corridors. A side door opened behind the church, and Teclos was shoved into the alley outside.
He stumbled, caught himself against the wall, and turned back.
The door closed.
Just like that.
—
By the ti Teclos reached the Silver Griffins’ guild, he was running on nothing but stubbornness.
His stomach was empty. His pride had been ground into dust and kicked across the street.
But he still had one person left to try... although unlikely.
Ralph.
The Silver Griffins’ guild hall was clean and well-maintained, with a warm, welcoming feeling to it, a stark difference from the Broken Crown. Its sign hung proudly above the entrance, polished and well-kept. Laughter drifted from inside when Teclos pushed the door open.
Several young hunters and rcenaries looked over, and their smiles faded when they saw him.
Teclos approached the counter nonetheless and asked,
"I need to speak with Ralph."
The clerk looked at him, then toward the back.
"Wait there."
Teclos stood near the wall as minutes passed.
Then Ralph ca out from a hallway with several guildmates around him, laughing at sothing one of them had said. He sohow looked stronger than the last ti Teclos had seen him.
Then Ralph spotted Teclos, and his smile died.
No.
It didn’t just die. It twisted into a scowl.
Ralph walked toward him slowly and spat on the floor a step away from his boots.
"What do you want?"
Teclos took the insult without reacting.
"Can we talk in private? It’s urgent."
Ralph barked a humorless laugh.
"Why can’t you say it here, huh? Is it related to so petty cri that finally bit you back?"
A few of Ralph’s guildmates snickered.
Teclos grimaced, but swallowed his pride.
"It’s Mom."
The snickering from Ralph instantly stopped, and his expression changed.
"What?"
"It’s about Mom."
For a long mont, Ralph simply stared at him.
Then he glanced back at his guildmates.
"This might be a long one. Sorry."
A tall guy with brown hair nodded, waved his hand dismissively, and led the others away.
"It’s fine. Seems urgent, so take your ti."
"Thanks."
Teclos looked around the hall.
"We need absolute silence. Nobody should be able to overhear us. I don’t know who to trust anymore."
Ralph stared at him for another second, then nodded toward the back door.
"Co on."
They walked down a long hallway and entered a small interrogation room near the rear of the guild. Runes lined the walls, and when Ralph closed the door, the noise from outside vanished completely.
They sat across from each other at a plain wooden desk.
Ralph gestured with one hand.
"All right... go on. What about her?"
Teclos glanced at the runes.
"Is this safe?"
Ralph rolled his eyes.
"Just say it already."
Teclos exhaled, and for the first ti since entering, the cracks in him showed. His face looked pale, tense, close to breaking.
"First off, Mom was kidnapped."
Ralph’s eyes widened, but before he could say sothing, Teclos continued.
"I turned over every stone and searched every hole for her the sa night she disappeared. I haven’t stopped looking, and it’s been two weeks already. The problem is... I have a hunch."
The silence stretched between them, and Ralph leaned back slightly.
"I guess this is the part you didn’t want to say out loud, seeing as you’re suddenly silent."
"Yeah." Teclos looked down at his hands and continued. "Rember Axel?"
Ralph’s brow furrowed.
"Your master?"
"He is not my master." Teclos’s voice sharpened for a second, then settled. "But yes. Him."
Ralph watched him carefully.
"I found Mom’s torn clothing near his estate," Teclos said. "But before I could enter, he noticed and stopped ."
"You’re suspecting your ma... Axel, based off one torn cloth?"
"No." Teclos shook his head. "I’m basing it off his reaction when I told him what happened. And after that, he watched for a whole week."
Ralph couldn’t believe that a figure like Axel got noticed. "You noticed him?"
"Yes, but I pretended not to."
Teclos continued.
"I finally got into his estate when he left. I searched everything. Basent, rooms, study, all of it. I found an inventory parchnt for cargo. There was a rare herb listed there. The sa herb Mom held in her hands before she got dragged away."
Ralph did not interrupt him anymore and listened attentively, his earlier scorn fading piece by piece.
Teclos’s throat tightened.
"Now the big problem..."
Ralph’s eyes narrowed.
"What do you an? Your master isn’t the big problem?"
"No."
Teclos looked up.
"The inventory was addressed to the Count."
The words landed like a stone dropped into still water, and Ralph visibly recoiled.
"You don’t an..."
"Yeah," Teclos said quietly. "It’s just a ’hunch’ for now." His fingers curled against the table. "But I’m fairly certain."
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