“Well, that is problematic,” Reynard said as he rubbed his chin in a contemplative manner.

  That was the second time Daegal had heard that tonight, and he was starting to feel a little frustrated that he was the only one who didn’t know why it was a problem. He decided to finally ask the big question.

  “W-Why is it a problem?”

  Reynard did not consider the question to be misplaced or stupid, in fact, he seemed to be expecting such things from Daegal.

  “That house that you claim the blood trail led to belongs to a very influential man: Lord Ricard of house Delmond. His family wasn’t always so notable, in fact, his house was of mere middling notoriety just a few scant years ago. I had always harbored some suspicions of his dramatic rise in prominence, but I had neither cause nor evidence to investigate it. Now, though, I have been given cause thanks to you, but that does not make it easy. Even if everything were to go perfectly, and clear evidence is unearthed that allowed me to pin blame for these increasingly frequent abductions onto him, the aftermath will still be one filled with political turmoil. There is no doubt in my mind that, if you are correct in your tracking, a veritable spider’s web of misfortune is likely to emerge from this.”

  To Daegal, that was a lot of complications that sounded completely human made. While he had come to expect some complexities from human culture, this was on a completely different scale, the kind that made him want to crawl back into his hole on the side of the mountain.

  “I... I don’t think I can help with that.”

  “And I don’t expect you to. That will be my headache to deal with, well, and a few others that I will task with assisting me but that is a matter for another time. You did well tonight, but morning will be the true test of your abilities as they will be under heavy scrutiny. I certainly hope that you’re prepared follow this trail to its bitter end?”

  “If that is w-what is required for me to live peacefully...”

  “Yes. Succeed in finding my missing citizen, and I will uphold my end of our deal. You will not be hunted or unfairly prosecuted within my domain. So long as you break no laws, you may live openly.”

  It was all that he wanted. If he could perform well enough to appease Reynard’s demands, then he could finally have a home where he wouldn’t be alone.

  “You may retire for the night, if you wish,” Reynard continued. “I will send another group to fetch you in the morning for the official investigation.” He rubbed his eyes. “Lord knows this is going to be a long night.”

  Daegal did have a little sympathy for Reynard as he was evidently going to be staying up late to handle this situation. There was nothing that he could have possibly done, though, so he turned and ducked through the door. Despite it being in the middle of the night, Daegal didn’t feel all that tired. That nap earlier might have had something to do with it, or perhaps it was the looming feeling that something bad was going to come from this.

  When he was escorted back to the rooms, he found Fiora pacing the halls under the bored gazes of the guards who became much more alert as Daegal rounded the corner. Fiora took notice of their reaction and turned excitedly toward her friend.

  “Daegal! You’re alright!”

  He tilted his head slightly. “Yes, why wouldn’t I be?”

  “I didn't know where you went or if something happened to you. I woke up when it was starting to get dark, and when I asked about you, the guards just said you were already gone. They didn’t know anything else but that, and I didn’t know if they would keep their promise or make you disappear.”

  “It’s alright, Fiora. They do seem to want me to help them with this, and the king seems... honest, I suppose. I don’t quite know what to think of him just yet, but he hasn’t seemed to lie to me yet.”

  Fiora looked less sure. “Maybe, but I don’t trust anyone here, not after what they put us all through. Honestly, they could have hurt you when the order to seize me was given, and he nearly gave my dad a heart attack.”

  “I suppose you have a point there, but he’s still the only person who can allow me to live freely.”

  “You shouldn’t need his permission to be able to live! You’re not a threat to anyone who isn’t one themselves. The way he just does things with no regard to anyone else is so frustrating. That selfish bastard should-”

  “Ahem!” One of the guards nearby saw fit to interject in the conversation at that point, giving Fiora a stern look and a raised eyebrow. Fiora realized then that perhaps voicing her malcontent about the king in front of his personal guards might not be the best idea.

  “M-Maybe we should continue talking in your room, Daegal,” she sheepishly said.

  Daegal agreed with that, and the two of them dipped inside his room. The minute they were in a relatively private area, Fiora slumped a little with a sigh.

  “Maybe Dad had a point about my attitude.”

  Daegal couldn’t help but chuckle a little at her admittance, much to her chargin as she gave him an unamused glare. “Well, you don’t often hold back when it comes to things you deem as important.”

  “Nobody should! Anyone who does is an idiot! If you give up on what you care about just because it’s difficult, then you’ll be left with nothing in the end.”

  Daegal did like how determined and convicted she was; it was one of her best qualities. Just thinking about how that side of her was single-handedly responsible for everything both good and bad happening to him in the last few months made him huff with amusement.

  She and Adelaide would have...

  His expression turned dour as he remembered his old friend, something that Fiora took notice of. “Are you alright, Daegal?”

  “Yeah, I was just... remembering.”

  “Remembering?”

  “Someone from my past.”

  “Oh, I see.” She knew he didn’t like talking about his past, and she knew that there was a lot of pain involved with it, but not much else than that. Daegal did notice that she did not try to prod him for more information, and while he appreciated that she took such considerations, he was thinking of taking another path.

  “Fiora, I... I think I’d like to tell you about my past.”

  She looked surprised by his words. “Daegal, I know how you feel about talking of your past, and I understand enough to get an idea of what happened. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

  “But I do,” he said a little firmer. “You deserve that much, and I want you to understand me, understand why I’m so afraid. Would you please listen?”

  She opened her mouth with the intent to reassure him that he didn’t need to go through all of that, but when she looked into his eyes, she saw the silent plea. He wanted her to hear it, needed even. Fiora let out a slow breath and nodded her head.

  “Okay, Daegal. If you want me to hear it, then I will listen.”

  “Thank you. Uhm, maybe we should sit; it’s a bit of a story.”

  The two of them moved to the bed and sat down on it, though Fiora had to sit further away from him due to the deep canyon in the bed surface he made. He had never spoken of Adelaide or his past before, and so he had to take a moment to compose himself. Fiora waited patiently, understanding that this was quite a large leap in trust. When Daegal was finally ready, he told her everything.

  He started with his earliest memory, of waking up in an unknown world that was both beautiful and terrifying, of being alone but desiring more, and of meeting humans for the first time. Adelaide was the only one who saw him as anything other than a monster, and he stressed how she was his whole world in those days. Then the real monsters came.

  The fire, the smoke, the panic he felt, his story covered it all in as much detail as he could stand. Finding Adelaide amongst all that destruction, it was too much for him to handle. When he got to the part of the story involving the bandits he tracked down, his body began to tighten in response to the memories of that moment.

  “They... they were celebrating,” Daegal said, voice strained with emotion. “All that pain, the death, and they were celebrating. I... I hated them, I still hate them, it burns inside me, and it hurts. The pain I felt back then, even as I killed them all, it was worse than anything I had ever experienced before and after that moment. I never want to feel that way again, because I don’t know if I would ever come back from it. Losing you would be the end of me as well, and that’s why I’m so afraid of taking these risks.”

  Fiora had been a steady listener for all of Daegal’s story, and many parts of it had broken her heart. Now that it seemed to come to an end, she had to take a moment to find her voice again after such a dramatic retelling.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “I’m sorry, Daegal. I wish that people were better than that. It would certainly make the world less dark if that was the case. I would have liked to meet Adelaide. She sounded like an entertaining friend.”

  Daegal let out a sad chuckle. “I could only imagine the kind of trouble you two would get me into.”

  “It would be glorious! We’d be the talk of the kingdom, on everyone’s lips while Adelaide painted our adventures for all to see!” Her hands danced through the air with a dramatic

  “Wow, I can feel the embarrassment just from that thought. You two wouldn’t have let me have a moment’s rest.”

  The two shared a short bout of laughter, a bit of levity after such a heavy conversation. Pouring his heart out like that to Fiora was an exhausting process. It left him feeling drained, but also lighter. Fiora was feeling some of that as well as she let out a sigh and relaxed her body.

  “Thank you, Daegal, for telling me. It means a lot.”

  “And thank you for listening,” he replied to her. “I think I feel better after all that.”

  “I’m glad to hear that I could help you, even in this little way.”

  They both had their own feelings of gratitude toward one another, a form of mutual respect as well. Before anything else happened, though, there was a short knock at the door as Emil’s voice called out.

  “Fiora? Are you in there?”

  She let out a small sigh, but did have a slight smile on her face regardless. “Yes, Dad, I am.”

  The door opened after, and Emil took notice of Daegal’s return. “Oh, hello Daegal. I’m glad to see that you made it back. I suppose that explains why my daughter disappeared on me for so long.”

  She tittered a laugh. “Sorry Dad; I know how you worry.”

  Emil sighed in defeat, knowing that he couldn’t, and wouldn’t, change his daughter. “Will you be staying here for long?”

  “Actually, I think we just finished our conversation. Unless there was something else, Daegal?”

  “No, I don’t have anything else to discuss. Although, I should mention that the king needs me to go out tomorrow to finish finding the missing people.”

  “Of course they do, because they can’t do anything themselves.”

  “It’s not their fault that they don’t have my senses, and I did promise to find the people, not just the one who did it. I want to do my best so they will think I’m valuable enough to keep around.”

  “Normally I’d say you don’t have to prove yourself, but in this situation, that might be a good idea.”

  Daegal nodded. “It would probably be best to get some sleep, at least as much as we can.”

  “If you think that’s best. I’ll see you in the morning, Daegal.”

  “Good night as well,” Emil added.

  They parted ways to find whatever rest they could. The night passed without any more interruptions, but when morning came, a commotion woke Daegal up. It sounded like someone was speaking animatedly in the hall, and Daegal was already certain who it was. Rolling out of bed, he made his way to the door, and the second he opened it, the voices became clearer.

  “I want to participate!”

  Leoric sighed. “My lady, we are going into a situation where we will be dealing with abductors and potential murderers. This is not a situation for a civilian to be involved in.”

  “And what do you call Daegal, hmm?”

  “An exceptional situation, that’s what. If these were normal circumstances, not only would I not be involved with a being as unique as him, but we would not need to rely on his abilities to ensure that nothing is left to chance. I assure you, my lady, that the people we are investigating today require exceptional situations.”

  She sighed and shook her head, looking disappointed. “Well, at least you were polite about telling me no.”

  “It would be unchivalrous to be rude to a lady, especially one who is acting with concern for a friend.”

  “That makes you better than most.” She looked past Leoric and noticed Daegal ducking through the door. “Daegal, good morning!”

  Leoric turned now and gave a polite smile. “Indeed, good morning, Sir Daegal. I have come to inform you that all is in order for our investigation. We have transport for you waiting in the courtyard. If you will come with me, we can begin immediately.”

  “Okay, I guess.” He didn’t really expect to be thrown into the investigation so early in the morning, but getting through with it would be better than leaving it to wait. As they started moving, Fiora called out to him.

  “Daegal, be careful, please.”

  “He gave his best reassuring smile and a nod of his head. “I will.”

  Daegal walked through the halls with a small escort of soldiers coming along with him. They were more armored than last night. Apparently, the need for stealth had passed, which was only further solidified when they exited the castle and saw dozens of similarly armored soldiers and a large carriage.

  This carriage was strange. It wasn’t a cage, but it didn’t look like it was for normal riding either. It was basically a large wooden box with bands of iron in a square pattern across its surface. The door to the carriage was in the back, and it was large, had a sliding viewport near the top, and was similarly reinforced.

  Leoric stepped up beside him and answered the main question that he had, unprompted at that. “This carriage is normally used to collect and transport taxes, but it will serve to transport you just as well. It is enclosed, private, sturdy, and only lockable from the inside. Do you have any objections?”

  Daegal gave it another once over. “No, I don’t believe there’s any problem.”

  “Very good. Please enter and we will be off.”

  Daegal squeezed through the door and inside the armored carriage. The wood groaned a little from his weight, but it had enough space for him to at least sit relatively comfortably. They began moving shortly after he was situated inside. He used the time spent traveling to mentally prepare for what was likely to be a confrontation of some sort.

  It took about fifteen minutes of navigating the active streets before they reached the target mansion. As they came to a halt, there arose a commotion from outside with raised voices. They were a little muffled from inside the carriage, but Daegal could still make them out.

  “What is the meaning of this!? You best explain yourself, captain, or there will be hell to pay!”

  “I was just about to do that, Lord Delmond. By the order of his majesty the king, we are to conduct a search of your estate. Failure to comply will see legal repercussions.”

  “This... This is ridiculous! An outrage! I will not stand for it!”

  “You may take your complaints up with the king, but until then, we have a job to do. Sir Daegal, if you would please.”

  Daegal took that as his cue to exit the carriage. As he stepped out, he was greeted by the sight of the soldiers streaming into the house and a man with a portly frame, a neatly cut beard, and wearing a clean suit with green highlights standing mouth agape and holding a slip of paper bearing the king’s signature. Daegal figured that this was Ricard Delmond, and the man looked even angrier upon seeing Daegal.

  “You bring this beast to my home as well!? Will the insults never cease!?”

  “Daegal will be participating in the search of your estate,” Leoric insisted. Before Ricard could say anything further in retort, Leoric continued. “You may save your complaints until after the search is completed. You will also be required to be present for all of it until such a time as a conclusion is reached.”

  With a wave of his hand, Leoric signaled for a few of the soldiers to take charge of the fuming nobleman. Turning his attention to Daegal once more, Leoric presented the same scarp of bloodied cloth from last night.

  “I hope that we can find out what happened here.”

  Daegal did as well, and he silently accepted the cloth and took deep inhale as he reminded his brain to keep track of this scent. With his senses now focused again, he began to search the front of the large building, taking inquisitive sniffs around the doors. There was no matching smell there, which meant they at least didn’t take the front entrance.

  Widening his search area, Daegal walked around the front garden, trying to catch a whiff of a scent. When he stepped back from the building and toward the gate, he managed to pick up a hint of the trail he found last night, and as he began to follow it, found that it was leading behind the building. Leoric, several soldiers, and an unwilling Ricard followed behind him.

  The smell of blood was faint; lost amongst the natural smells of the garden trail they were on. Nature, even curated as it was here, had a habit of absorbing things like blood, and it had been a few days since the former owner of said blood had been through here. Once their strange group made it to the back of the building, the smell was leading toward an unassuming door.

  “The servant entrance?” Leoric questioned. “I suppose this would be the ideal door to use for anything nefarious.”

  “Nefarious!?” Ricard decried. “You can’t honestly believe that I would be involved in any such activities!”

  “We shall know soon enough,” he simply replied.

  After a brief struggle with the door, Daegal crawled inside the building, ending up in what looked like a kitchen, though a lot nicer than any he had seen before. Many surfaces were made using brick, which included the oven and stove. It was very clean and organized as well, but they were here to admire the state of the building. Daegal resumed following the blood, finding the trail had sharpened once more now that they were inside.

  There were spots where there had been a few drops of blood, which looked to have been cleaned up hastily. These faded specks, while nearly invisible to the eye, still carried a strong scent to them. Following along, they passed through many lavishly decorated rooms that were on-par with the richness displayed inside the castle. When they passed through a lounge, Daegal abruptly halted. The scent faded quickly.

  Stepping back, he could clearly smell the blood inside this lounge room. Trying the other exit, he found that the smell similarly disappeared as soon as they left. This confused him as there was no hint of the missing people in this room. Leoric took notice of the fact that Daegal was circling the room and spoke up.

  “What is it?”

  “The smell ends here.”

  “Here?” Leoric looked around the room, but obviously did not see anything, just like Daegal. He questioned one of the soldiers who had been searching the house before them, and they had already been through this room and found nothing themselves.

  This was starting to worry both Leoric and Daegal as they had seemingly run into a dead end. Daegal glanced at Ricard with one eye and noticed that he was being surprisingly quiet right now. The lord of the house seemed nervous, at least compared to the earlier attitude he displayed. There was something wrong with this room, Daegal could feel it, and he began a much closer inspection.

  Most of the furniture in the room was nothing special. It was simply well made and cared for. He turned his attention to the floor next, trying to see if he could spy an errant drop of blood that may have been missed before. Something else caught his eye, though.

  There were scuff marks on the floor next to a cabinet. The rest of the room was practically spotless, but this blemish stood out like it was formed from frequent movement. Daegal turned a skeptical eye to the cabinet. It was made with heavy wood and looked to be a little old. The moment Daegal touched it, though, Ricard protested again.

  “What do you think you’re doing!? That is an antique, not to be touched! I’ll have-”

  “Lord Delmond, I must firmly request your silence,” Leoric interrupted. “Proceed, Daegal. I take it you see something?”

  Daegal nodded as he reached around and gripped both sides of the cabinet in a hug like manner. With a small amount of effort, he lifted the cabinet and walked to the side before placing it down again. At first glance, there appeared to be nothing behind the cabinet, but then Daegal noticed thin lines that blended in with the walls. They were in the general shape of a door.

  Curious, he began to search, running his hands along the wall as he investigated. There was no handle, but when he gave a firm push, the secret door cracked open. Daegal immediately regretted that.

  Gagging, he retreated from the barely opened door, bent over, and retched. His dry heaving caused his whole body to convulse. Daegal was wholly unprepared for that assault on his senses, and his reaction sparked a bit of panic in Leoric as the man put his hand on his sword hilt.

  “Daegal! What is it? What’s wrong?”

  Daegal took a few deep breaths as he cleansed his body with fresh air before responding.

  “It... smells like death.”