Bram's eyes stared Richard through the bandages, the both of them were silent for a moment
Staring down he found the boy's feet shivering, he took the pouch of gold, shaking it once more as gold drained off of it
Bram sighed standing up, he pulled out a knife and went to Richard who was still tied to the chair
"I was sent to aid you, I am on your side" said Richard trying to untie himself "I mean—Ahh, I am a very big merchant with many spies, yes that is me"
"They are the ones who swallowed all tracks I left, yes they are here hiding in the dark" said Richard pulling as hard as he can "I can call upon them, we are here to kil the very bad monarch that rules you"
"Wait! I meant that I am a big spy of the capital, yes that is me" said Richard with desperation, but Bram did not bother to stop "Spy X of the king's closest"
Going behind the boy, he put the knife by the hands
"Pls, I did not do anything wrong" said Richard as tears stated to crawl out "I am merely here to sell and read books" as sobs went uncontrollably
Snip!
The rope was cut freeing Richard as Bram stood up
"Huh?" Richard stared his hands in confusion
"You are the seventh one we found to be a decoy" said Bram walking back to his chair
"Decoy?" said Richard
"You tracks were wiped by someone else, so we can't find out who really is the one meant to be hidden," said Bram
"I… don't understand," said Richard
"You don't have to" replied Bram "All you need to know is that you are free"
"Huh? But how do you believe me not to be a super spy made by an outside force to infiltrate—" Bram cut off Richard shushing him before he spoke saying
"You were about to shower your lower part. Plus, all that info dump is unrealistic for a spy, if you were to be one, that'll be such a failure," said Bram
"But what about the controlled fear and the shaking stuff you talked about?" asked Richard
"I lied, there is no such thing as one pattern for fear, plus you seem genuinely about to die just from the sight of this" said Bram showing the knife in hand
"I could still be a spy trained for such a thing," said Richard
"Are you asking for your fingers to be cut?" asked Bram
"…No…" replied Richard
"Now… to the real questions" Bram got serious once more "What brought you here?"
Richard was hesitant at first, his fingers wrapped over one another as his thought sped up, but seeing how cornered he is, spiting it out was the correct answer
"I had this little boy coming everyday for some food, at first, I just pitied him, handing some over, bringing more with me. I guess I got attached, too attached"
He looked up at the roof with a smile and continued "seeing my own childhood I had this thought about pulling him out of his shell, trying to dye him in my colours"
His smile was lost once more leaving his head to tilt towards the floor, he continued his speech "But I ended up destroying the sole thing he cheered most, the only thing that kept him reaching forward"
"So, you are doing it out of greed" replied Bram
"Did you even listen?!" said Richard "I want to find that kid and fix what I caused"
"So, you feel guilty," said Bram
"Of course I do, who wouldn't feel such a way!" said Richard "I want to help him out, I don't want him to walk what I had to"
Richard spoke "So as you said, you saw your childhood so story in him, remembered all that trauma, and decided to forget it somehow by feeling good about yourself, and the way for that is being a hero"
"Don't tilt my words like that!" said Richard
"I am not, I just said d what you refuse to" said Bram leaning forward "You might care about him, but deep inside you, all that is you want is a feeling of warmth that pushes all the piled-up confusion about what you want deeper"
Richard wanted to speak up but no words came out, he had nothing in his defence so he backed the chair shutting up
"See as I said, you are merely fighting past trauma," said Bram
"And what's with your mask of bandages? Perhaps a trauma of your own?" said Richard
"You can say so, anyways you are free to go out" said Bram counting the left-over gold
"At least your eyes are visible" said Richard untying his legs "Unlike that monster wearing the creepy full black of his, By the way why does this 'waste water' they poured on me smell so weird"
Attempting to stand up the sound of coins falling caught his attention
Richard hadn't the chance to straighten his back before Bram's eyes were locked with his, Both hands on Richard's shoulder
"All black?" asked Bram, his grey eyes glaring through the white that covered his face, his gaze colder than ever
"Yeah, a masked man wore that colour, shades of black and grey" replied Richard as he was forced to sit down
"Where did you see him" Bram stood like a mountain, his shadow covered the boy in black, the lights unable to reach his face as the sole glow came from his eyes
"We met him by a castle built in the middle of a pit" said Richard shaking once more as sweat drained his body
"We??" asked Bram
"It is a long story" replied Richard
Bram took his seat closer making himself comfortable" I am all ears" he said
"He went alongside us towards the capital," said Richard
"Why?" asked Bram still giving that sharp look and calm scary tone
"What do you mean?" asked Richard
"Why did he escort you, did you pay him with something?" asked Bram
"He just went with us—" said Richard
Bram cut him saying "did he do anything weird, or as for anything, did something unnatural happen along the way"
"Not more than some bandit attacks, although they were skilled," said Richard
"He helped? Did you see his fighting skills?" said Richard
"He disappeared before the fight, although he did take on a deformed bull by the snake castle," said Richard "Saving one of the children he did escort"
"Children?!" said Bram
"Y—Yeah, they are as old as me or younger, they were the ones who fought the bandits alongside us," said Richard
"Anything else that you noticed?" said Bram
"I—I don't relay know, that hit is making me dizzy" replied Richard
Bram had his eyes locked against Richard's. After being silence for a moment, he spoke standing up
"I changed my mind, you'll stay here"
"Huh?"
"You are a to be held by chains if I hear any refusal" said Bram opening the door "But you can think of it as saving your life, you would've suffered worse fate if you were noticed leaving this place anyways"
Richard was left in confusion alone in the room not to be informed with whatever that was
"It is not like I was about to say anything to that monster" said Richard his words echoing through the emptiness that surrounded him