At the Broken Goblet Tavern, Inspector Edward Graves sat at the wooden bar, his eyes never leaving the face of the massive bartender, Iron Garrod. Beside him sat the trainee, Lionel Gray, jotting notes into a small leather notebook.
Graves pulled a folded sheet of paper from his coat pocket and spread it before Garrod.
"Do you know where he went?"
On the paper was a sketch of Li Raven. Garrod, wiping a glass with a cloth, replied:
"Didn't I give you his address already?"
"I asked his roommate. He said he packed his things and left."
"Then why are you here?"
"I want you to find him."
"You ask for too much, Inspector."
Graves reached again into his coat, pulling out a heavy leather pouch, which he set down on the counter. It shifted slightly, and the clinking of gold coins rang from within.
"All this to track one man? You've got the Bureau's channels, don't you? You could use them for free."
"I'm not paying you just to track him. I want your help finding Valten Crowe."
"Valten Crowe? Isn't he that researcher from the Imperial Research Division? The one expelled after his unethical experiments were discovered?"
"As expected from the informants of the Lower Quarter you know a lot."
"That story filled the papers. Naturally I'd hear about it. But if you want to find him, why not work with the Imperial forces?"
"Finding Valten Crowe isn't an official assignment. He was once an Imperial researcher. That complicates the Bureau's movements."
"And why search for him then? If the Bureau finds out, you could lose your position."
"I have my reasons."
Silence weighed on the room. Only the sound of Lionel flipping notebook pages filled the void. Then Garrod tilted his head toward Lionel.
"And what about him?"
"Don't worry. I trust him. He won't leak anything."
"One last question you don't intend to arrest the man in that sketch, do you? He's one of my most loyal men."
"Your most loyal man, yet you gave me his address? Don't worry. Even if I wanted to arrest him, I couldn't. This isn't an official case. I only want to ask him a few questions."
At that, Garrod said:
"You can come down."
From the wooden staircase leading upstairs, Jeyvan and Raven descended.
***
[Jeyvan's Perspective]
Once again, I found myself face to face with men of the Bureau. What luck. This wasn't part of my plan at all. We fled the flat, came to Garrod for shelter, thinking we were safe. Who would've thought that bald bastard would sell us out instantly? Well done, Garrod your loyalty nearly brings me to tears. Still, from what the inspector just said, a cold cell wasn't among his options.
"So you lied."
The older inspector's voice was calm, though his eyes betrayed his irritation.
"And what exactly did you expect? That I tell the truth and sell out my comrade?"
"Do you know Valten Crowe?"
"On that particular point I didn't lie. I don't know him."
The inspector turned to Raven, pulling another folded sketch from his coat, spreading it open.
"You know him. You faced him in that warehouse before it burned to ash."
Raven replied:
"Yes. I know him."
"Do you know where he's hiding now?"
"No. He escaped."
The inspector scowled, stood, tucked the sketch back into his coat, and looked at Garrod.
"When you hear anything, you know where to find me."
He left, followed by his silent assistant.
***
In a small wooden house at the edge of a remote village under the borders of the Midgar Empire, Mara stood at the window, arms folded, her eyes fixed anxiously on the road. Two days had passed since her husband had left with that mysterious friend who had appeared out of nowhere. As she gazed into the distance, her mind drifted back to a strange incident months earlier, when she was playing in the field with her son, Theoden.
...
The boy was running through the grass, laughing, when a man's voice startled her from behind:
"That your son?"
She gasped, immediately reaching for the small dagger hidden beneath her coat, spinning around. A man stood a few paces away, clad in a long red coat and a large blue hat shadowing part of his face. The rest of it was hidden by a bizarre mask half black, half white painted with a wide smile in both colors.
She braced to strike, but he raised his hands.
"Easy. I come in peace. I swear."
"If you're here for revenge, take me. My son has nothing to do with this."
"Oh, don't worry. I'm not here for that."
"Aren't you here for revenge for your masked partner?"
"My partner? You mean that poor girl you tried to kill? Why would I take revenge? She's still breathing."
"Liar. I saw my blade pierce her chest."
"Shhh, lower your voice. What if your son hears his mother used to be an assassin? That'll cost plenty in therapy sessions, won't it?"
"Answer me. What do you really want?"
"Just a small warning. A courtesy among old colleagues."
"A warning? About what?"
"In a few months, a man will appear gray hair, blue eyes. He'll claim to be your husband's friend. His name is Marcus. When you see him pack your things and run."
"Why?"
"Because your husband will follow Marcus. And a few days later, Marcus will return alone… to finish you and your boy."
"And how would you know that? Turned fortune teller, have you?"
"Sadly, no. I used a system shard one of those that shows possible futures."
"Those shards don't give precise predictions."
"You're far too skeptical. I only came to warn you."
"Why? We were never friends. You tried to kill me more than once."
"Quite right. I don't like you, nor do I care about your fate. But if Marcus ends you, he'll embrace the Authority of Madness more deeply. And I'd rather he not grow stronger than he already is."
"I don't believe you."
"I've done my part. Whether you believe me or not is up to you."
With that, he vanished as suddenly as he'd appeared.
Mara hadn't believed him. He was not the type to tell the truth. She had crossed blades with him more than once back in her mercenary days, before she laid down her weapons and chose a new life with Ellery. She knew him well knew how cunning, how deceitful he was. He only told the truth when it served a greater lie.
And yet… she couldn't drive his words from her mind.
...
Now, Mara still stood by the window, staring silently into the horizon. The sharp knock at the door snapped her back. Before she could move, the lock shattered violently, the door bursting inward, scattering splinters across the stone floor.
She stepped back, hand slipping to the dagger beneath her coat. On the threshold stood a man of medium height, his gray hair falling quietly along his face, his skin pale. He wore a long black coat down to his knees, and a wide dark hat.
She didn't need to ask. She knew who he was.
Marcus lunged forward like a predator. Mara sidestepped, drawing her dagger in one swift motion, slashing at his neck.
Marcus leapt back, evading the strike, then muttered:
"I should've expected that. No way a man like Ellery would marry an ordinary woman."
"Where is Ellery? If you've harmed him..."
"Such a loyal wife. I could almost shed a tear. But here's some advice better worry about your own life first."
His fingertips extended, nails shifting into long razor sharp claws. Marcus pounced like a wolf. Mara darted back, dodging the first strikes, spinning to evade the next. But not fast enough one claw ripped across her shoulder.
She gasped in pain but forced herself to stay upright. Her muscles betrayed her years of peace as wife and mother had dulled the assassin's edge she once wielded. She grabbed a small wooden table, hurled it at him. It struck but didn't hurt him. Slipping behind him, she plunged her dagger into his back.
Before she could pull away, Marcus spun, striking at her again. She dodged narrowly. His attacks came with relentless ferocity, each swipe barely missing her throat. Marcus had expected this to be easy. True, Ellery's wife showed skill more than he thought but physically, the balance was in his favor.
Even so, unease gnawed at him. After all, this woman was his old colleague's wife and mother to an innocent child. Some part of him pitied her. But pity wasn't a luxury he could afford. If he failed, the Seventh would eliminate him.
Suddenly, dizziness washed over him. He steadied himself on the wall, barely able to stand. In that moment, he realized he had been poisoned.
Mara smirked coldly, her eyes narrowing.
"Tell me where Ellery is, and maybe I'll let you live."
Marcus panted, eyes a mix of shock and confusion. How could poison work so quickly? Since embracing the Authority of Madness, his body had near absolute resistance to toxins even the deadliest barely scratched him.
He muttered:
"Assassin's Authority…"
"You've got only minutes before your heart stops. Answer me honestly, and maybe I'll treat you."
"By all means, Miss Mercenary, ask."
The truth was, Mara had no intention of curing him. All she wanted was information.
"What's your connection to Ellery?"
"We were colleagues."
"Colleagues? In what? He claims to be a wandering knight."
"A wandering knight? Is that the lie he fed you? Would you be seeing me here if he were just that?"
"Then what's the truth?!"
"We're part of a criminal organization. Ellery was, and still is, one of us."
"And where is he now? Answer me."
"In the city of Blackstone. Now can you purge the poison? I can't answer much if I'm a corpse."
She drew another dagger from beneath her coat and hurled it at him with force. Marcus twisted, leaping from the chair, barely dodging. Landing hard, he said:
"Thanks for the time I desperately needed it."