Chapter 1.12:

After the morning’s festivities, Lady Mina and Lady Vanya both prepared to leave.

“Are you heading back to the Roost, my lady?” Abram inquired as we helped them load their carriage.

“Yes, but we’ll take the long way around through the Capital and then the mountain roads near East Watch.” Lady Mina replied. “I have never liked passing through the Jagged Pass, especially during these uncertain times, and Vanya has never been to East Watch.”

“I see.” Abram seemed to be lost in thought for a while. “It’s quite a long journey. Please do keep safe.”

Lady Mina nodded and she climbed up the carriage with my gift tied to her belt. It made me really happy to see her use it right away.

“Safe travels dear ladies, may the Creator guide your way.” Abram bowed. Paul and I followed suit.

“See you again, soon!” I bid them goodbye.

Both women smiled back at me and waved.

Pretty soon, their carriage disappeared into the distance.

“Aye, let’s head in boys. We should prepare to open the shop for the mid-morning rush.” Abram declared.

Paul and I nodded and headed back inside.

The day went by like any other. All of us were in high spirits, me in particular.

I was humming a small tune as I swept the floor. Paul had just closed up the shop for the day and Abram was finalizing the ledgers to account for all the sales and inventory.

“Adi.” Abram suddenly called. I turned to face him. He looked very uncomfortable and distressed.

“What is it, dad? Is stuff missing?” I said anxiously.

“Ah, no. Nothing like that, son.” Abram fidgeted his lapel. He gestured for Paul to leave the room. Paul looked on with some curiosity but did as he was told.

Abram then looked at me directly. “Son, do you have feelings for Lady Mina?”

I looked down and gave a small nod.

Abram sighed deeply.

“I know it’s stupid, dad. Lord Chase and Lady Vela would probably never approve of me. I don’t even know how Lady Mina feels.” I explained weakly.

Abram placed his hand gently on my head and pulled me into a hug. “Oh, son.”

I stood unmoving, not returning his hug. “Are you going to tell me to stop liking her?”

Abram let go of me and cupped my face in his hands. “No, I would be a hypocrite to say you can’t feel the way you feel.”

I stared at him in confusion. “Sorry, what? You liked a noble too?”

Abram nodded sadly. “I was… engaged to one actually, but not with her parents’ blessing. She came from a very powerful family and I was a very young man, studying under a Master in the Capital. I was very impulsive then. All I cared about was what I felt. Eventually, I realized that feelings alone couldn’t bridge the divide her family created between us. Her father threatened to harm my parents, so I walked away. A lot of people got hurt by my impetuousness, her, most especially.”

I was absolutely shocked.

I can’t believe Abram used to be like that. I guess Paul actually takes after him.

“What happened after?” I asked.

“He went back north to the Roost, helped his parents run their shop, and a few years later, fell in love with my mother.” A voice chimed in from the hallway. Paul’s head popped in the door frame. “Isn’t that right, dad?”

“Wha-Aye, that’s right.” Abram grumbled. “Who told you?”

“I figured it out. You mentioned before that you spent your late teens apprenticing in the Capital.” Paul explained as he waltzed back into the room. “And I know you met mom in the Roost in your mid-twenties.”

Abram scratched the back of his ear in frustration. “Aye, sometimes you’re too smart for your own good, boy.”

Paul shrugged. “Got you and mom to thank for that.”

“So what are you saying, dad?” I asked plaintively.

“I’m saying… Think about whether it’s worth the potential heartache later for you to keep these feelings now.” Abram answered, his expression softening.

I nodded my head at him. “Is it because Lord Chase might get back at you later on?”

Abram shook his head. “Son, if you want to pursue her, then I’ll support you. No matter what Lord Chase says.”

I looked at him, searching his face for the lie. He continued to smile at me and I felt his sincerity. “Thanks, dad.”

“Aye. I love you, son.” Abram said reassuringly.

I gave him a hug. “I love you too, pa.”

“And I love both of you.” Paul said, embracing us both.

“So!” Paul stepped back with a smug expression on his face. “Who’s this mysterious old flame of yours, pa?”

Abram shook his head. “No need for you to know that.” He returned to the counter and resumed working on the ledgers.

“Pft. I’ll figure it out.” Paul muttered under his breath. He looked at me for support and I just gave a weak chuckle.

Suddenly, we heard a knock on the door.

We all turned in that direction. I pulled out my pocket watch.

It’s five in the afternoon… who could it be?

I went to the door and saw familiar faces staring at me through the door sidelights.

I hurriedly opened it. “Lady Mina! Lady Vanya! What happened?”

Lady Vanya was supporting Lady Mina who seemed to be extremely groggy. “Can you help take her inside please?”

She lifted Lady Mina’s arm from around her neck and helped transfer her to me.

I half carried Lady Mina inside and laid her down on the couch in the hallway. “Dad! Paul! Help!”

Abram and Paul quickly came. They looked at me, and at Lady Mina who had fallen unconscious again. “What happened, son?” Abram probed.

I gave him a shrug. “Can you check on her? I’ll go outside and help Lady Vanya.”

I went out to find Lady Vanya slumped on the side of their carriage. She was nursing her neck.

“What happened?” I helped her up.

She took my arm for support and tried to steady herself. “We were ambushed along the King’s Road. Lady Mina suddenly stopped the carriage. She gripped her necklace and told me to get ready for an attack. Before we could react, something small hit us in our necks. We both fell off. It was some kind of paralysis dart. I couldn’t move. But I heard two people approach Lady Mina.”

My heart sank and I felt a rage well up within me. “Did… did they harm you two?”

Lady Vanya shook her head and a wave of relief came over me.

“They didn’t stay long. After a few seconds, I heard them running away. It took a few minutes for me to shake off the paralysis enough to get Lady Mina back on the carriage to drive back here.” Lady Vanya struggled to take long deep breaths.

“How come Lady Mina looks worse?” I asked.

“She’s not used to incapacitating agents.” Lady Vanya replied without further explanation.

So I guess you are?

I set aside those lines of questions as I focused on finding out more about the persons responsible for the attack.

“Were they bandits? Did your supplies get stolen?” I made a motion to head over to their carriage to take a look.

Lady Vanya held me in place and shook her head. “I already did a quick count of our belongings. Nothing was stolen. Well…” Lady Vanya paused. “Nothing except the sword you gave Lady Mina.”

Someone attacked Lady Mina for my sword?

Lady Vanya’s knees buckled and I cradled her.

“You need to rest.” I led her inside.

It took an hour and a few medicinal pods for both of them to recover fully.

For the next few minutes Lady Mina was just angrily pacing the room. “How dare they?!”

She seemed to be having arguments in her head. She would occasionally wave her hands angrily. Her hands kept crackling with small sparks of fire every now and then.

I looked worriedly at Paul and Abram who maintained solemn expressions. Both of them seemed to have witnessed this before and determined that staying out of it was the best course of action.

Lady Vanya was just sitting quietly in a corner content in letting Lady Mina tire herself out.

We’re running out of time.

“Lady Mina…” I started. Her head snapped in my direction and I flinched from her enraged glare.

She seemed to realize her hostility and tried to calm herself down. “I’m sorry, Adi. What is it?” Her kind voice sounded forced and the smile she was wearing made the hairs on my arm stand up.

“Uh…” I hesitated. Lady Mina looked like she was about to launch into another tirade so I steeled myself to head it off. “Tracker!” I sputtered.

“What?” Lady Mina was clearly confused.

“I mean, we can maybe track the people who stole your sword.” I added quickly.

Lady Mina was stunned. She seemed to be having a difficult time processing what I was saying. “How?”

“That’s right!” Paul finally chimed in. “The scabbard Adi gave you has a locator enchantment. If they’re within a hundred kilometers, you should be able to sense them if you try to focus on it.”

“Will that really work?” Lady Mina turned to Abram.

“Aye, my lady. Hardly any reason it shouldn’t. That’s how locator enchantments work.” Abram confirmed.

“Let’s do it then. I will make these thieves pay for assaulting me and stealing my sword.” Lady Mina announced. Her eyes no longer had that feral glare, instead it burned with determination.

“You shall have our assistance, my lady.” Abram assured her. “Would you like us to file a report and get some city guards to aid us in our search?”

“No.” Lady Mina replied with some unusual ferocity. “I’m sorry Abram. But we don’t know who our enemy is. We can’t discount the possibility that they were North Haven soldiers or mercenaries hired by nobles hostile to my father here.”

Abram nodded sadly. “Aye, that is a distinct possibility. Hostility towards the Roost from the upper ranking nobles has only grown worse after your father created that trade alliance with families from the Capital, East Watch, and West Port a few years back. I dare to say that quite a number of people in this city would jump at the chance to strike at your family by assaulting you.”

“Exactly. That’s why my father and mother strongly advised against going through the Jagged Pass. There’s all too many ways that I could get into an ‘accident’ while passing through.” Lady Mina said in a serious tone.

I felt horrified at the insinuation that people would really harm Lady Mina just because she was a Valera.

What kind of monsters would do that?

“How do I activate the locator enchantment?” Lady Mina threw the question to the room.

“Fairly straightforward my lady. The enchantment should work for anyone who touched the enchanted item. Now all you have to do is visualize the item and, if it’s within range, you should see its rough location in your mind’s eye.” Paul explained.

Lady Mina immediately closed her eyes. After a few seconds, she opened them again. “All I can see is a small building with a nondescript gray door. It kinda feels like it’s towards the east.”

“Strange.” Abram muttered. “Locator enchantments should give you a vision of the item itself and its immediate vicinity.”

“Unless…” Paul interjected. “Unless, the building has an anti-tracking function!”

“Of course!” Abram exclaimed. “Most government buildings would have that function but none of them are nondescript.” Abram thought for a while. “Well, the only other buildings nearby would be in the red light district.”

“Red light… You mean… uh…” I stammered as I felt my ears burning from the mental images.

“What?” Lady Vanya chimed in. “What does it mean?” She shot me a look and I looked away. “Oh… OH!” She blushed a deep pink. “My lady, we cannot go there.”

“She’s right, Lady Mina. The boys and I will handle this.” Abram insisted.

That’s right. Lady Mina shouldn’t have to go to shady places where they uh… do stuff.

“No.” Lady Mina said forcefully. “I don’t care where it is. I am taking back what is mine.” She marched towards the door and we all hurriedly ran after her