I wanted to rip up the parchment to sooth my rage. Of course, such a thing was an impossibility. Lord Armingtage would demand to see every word of this report himself. As Jameson Carter, captain of the Armingtage guards, it was my duty to see this letter delivered without fail. I took a few deep breaths and slowly slid the letter back into the envelope.

The fact they had a guard stationed at the correct house, only for him to leave days before the boy arrived was indeed a cruel joke played by fate. It was true that no one could prove it was the boy who killed his father, but I didn't believe in coincidences. A temperament forged by the harsh realities of battle had rid me of such notions

Worst still, they lost all trace of the group. This was the only lead we had, and now it had vanished like smoke in the fog. I berated myself for not putting someone else in charge of these matters. I would no doubt be blamed for the failures of these incompetents.

All of that aside, there was one question I couldn't help but ask myself. How is it that thingsreached such a state? Year after year I'd seen nobles trying to dig their claws into Madeline. Only for her to give a cold shoulder to each as she saw through their intentions. It was one of the things that I admired the most about her young ladyship.

While most young noble woman are concerned with how beautiful their dresses look or presenting the perfect facade to the world, Madeline was smart enough to focus her attention on studying the actions and motives of others. She had never been taken in by the flirtations of devious young men trying to use her to move up.

That was until the day she met that boy. From the first moment he stepped into the lady's carriage, I'd known the boy was trouble. A snake who slowly wrapped himself tighter and tighter around Madeline.

Quickly moving from a mere kitchen slave to tutor to her personal attendant. Whispering deceptive poison into the lady's ear as he slowly gained more of her confidence. I would have never believed it to be possible that someone could manipulate her to such a degree. Perhaps I'd gotten too close to see the truth. In the end she was just a young woman. She needed to be protected, even from herself.

Ever since Madeline had left with that villainous boy and the slave fox girl, I worked tirelessly to cut the flow of information on the orders of Lord Armingtage. The death of Susan was covered up as a horrible accident, and a tale was spun of Madeline being sent abroad to study with her personal attendant with the fox slave accompanying her.

It wasn't hard to convince others of such a lie. Our slaves were well trained and knew better than to ask questions. The room had been found by some of the Armingtage guards, and they were men I could trust to keep their mouths shut. We had been able to keep the information to a very small trusted inner circle of guards and key family members.

Lord Armingtage had decided to keep the whole thing quiet for a number of reasons. No matter what version of the story we told, the results would be disastrous. If we reported that Madeline ran off with some slaves of her own free will then no noble worth a damn would be willing to marry his son to such a woman. The best they could hope for was some fledgling upstart house.

If we instead reported that the lady was kidnapped, that may lead to an even worse outcome. The display of utter incompetence would signal weakness. Other houses believing the powerful Armingtage house was vulnerable would move in on their business interest and attempt to seize their political connections. After all, if a few slaves could kidnap the lady of the Armingtage house under our noses, what would any of them have to fear from us?

While the Armingtage house was more than capable of crushing a few lesser houses trying to encroach on its territory, the sheer number of fronts they would be attacked on would simply be too great. A proud lion could only hold off a pack of wolves for so long. It didn't matter if we were actually weak. Simply being perceived as weak would spell their doom.

The best option was to keep quiet and handle the situation themselves. At least they had the boy's sister. He would come for her sooner or later. Of this I had no doubt. The young girl had warned them time and again that when he came for her they would all be sorry. Nothing but empty threats of course, but even empty threats can be illuminating. Clearly there was a strong bond between the two. That was valuable information.

They needed to figure out a way to use her to force him out of hiding. If they could, then it was only a matter of time before they would find Madeline. The question was how to do it? It wasn't as if they could go to every village within a ten day ride and announce they would be executing all their slaves next month.

Nothing was stopping them from doing it legally, but it would cause too many questions. A horde of spies from other houses would descend upon them to discover what was afoot. They key was to get a message were it needed to go and no where else. I had no idea how such a thing could be accomplished.

Hearing the clock strike noon and knowing lunch would soon arrive for the young lady, this would be a good chance for me to try to gather more information. Even the most insignificant thing could turn out to be all I needed to find Madeline. I hoped I could get something useful out of her. Any good news I could report to off set the disastrous news in the letter would be welcomed.

I traveled to the lowest level of the Armingtage estate where the holding cells were located. Any major house had such a place where it could do its dirty work unseen from the world. While I didn't care for such things, I was not naive. Gold and titles alone were not enough to hold onto power.

The stones here were thicker than in any other part of the estate. The air here tasted dry and lifeless. It was the only place in the estate besides the slave and servant corridors without windows. At least the air seemed to flow regularly through those locations. Here the air smelled stale. As if it was also a prisoner that was trapped. Even the screams that took place in this room from time to time were held prisoner here. Forever locked away.

Every time I entered this room I couldn't help but look at the old blood stains on the floor. Memories of a few stains I had put there myself flashed across my mind. I remembered the names and faces of the people they belonged to. People no one else would ever know were here.

I always looked over the older blood stains on the floor. Spilled there decades or maybe even centuries before I arrived. Every time i saw them I couldn't help but wonder. Who were they? What were their stories? Such answers were now lost. As would be the answers to the blood stains I had placed. Only the stains would remain.

I greatly preferred the rare situations where blood was not spilled on this cursed floor. Most of those people were allowed to leave with their lives, though not without learning a harsh lesson before hand. I let out a relieved breath as I saw no new stains. I Ordered my guards to be gentle with the young lady. But if the lord of the house lost his patience, there would be nothing that I could do to save her.

Arriving just in time to see the guard stationed here preparing to bring a tray of food into the only occupied cell. Needless to say, slaves and servants were not allowed to enter, most didn't even know this place existed. The lone exception being that unnerving old woman. The fact that she actually enjoyed coming down here on occasion to see the proceedings put a bad taste in my mouth. I was thankful that disgusting woman was dead to be totally honest.

Motioning for the guard to stop what he was doing and give me the tray of food, I unbolted the lock and pulled open the door. I kept the door open after entering. If I closed it, there'd be hardly any light. I wanted to be able to clearly see the face of the person I was talking to. It made it easier to catch her in a lie.

The girl, whose named I learned was Armilda, sat in the corner. Her legs tucked into her body with her arms wrapped around them. She looked up at me and then to the far wall. A small act of defiance. The only act of defiance she was capable of doing at this time. I couldn't help but mentally commend her in my mind for the courage she showed. How many full grown men have I seen bawling their eyes out in this very room over the years?

Placing the tray down a few feet in front of her, I took a few steps back to appear non-threatening. “I hope you like the meal we've prepared. I hear our cook made this lamb particularly well, but I haven't gotten the chance to try it yet.” She didn't make a move for the food or the cup of water on the tray. Keeping her eyes on the far wall.

“What do you want with my brother?” She spoke in a soft voice.

I gave her my kindest smile. “We've told you, he's a criminal. We're looking for him before he does anything worse. No one wants to hurt him. We just want to get back something precious he stole from us.”

She pulled her legs toghter to her body. “I don't believe you. My brother isn't a criminal.”

I bent my knees to get closer to eye level with the girl. “I know it can be hard to accept. Personally, I don't think he's a bad guy. That's why we want to find him before things get out of hand.”

She finally bothered to give me a look. “You must think I'm stupid. Why would I believe a kidnapper over what I know of my own brother?”

She was going to be a tough nut to crack. Perhaps a more stern tack was needed. “Well, did you know your dear brother killed your father? If you knew him so well, then did you know he could become a murderer? That's why we need to find him. Before he does anything like that to someone else.”

She smiled at the news. “My father deserved it. He was a mean man and a drunk. I don't know exactly what happened, but now I’m sure he had something to do with my brother going missing. He's probably a reason why I’m here too.”

I couldn't help but be a bit surprised by her insight. “You're a clever little girl, but if you were as smart as you think you are, you'd help me find him. Not everyone wants your brother to come out of this in one piece. If you tell me something that helps me find him, I promise you I'll make sure-.

“If you don't want to end up like my father, you'd better let me go. My brother is coming for me, and when he does you are all going to be sorry.” She looked like she really believed that.

“For your own sake, you need to start cooperating and get silly notions like those out of your head. Not everyone here is as keen to be as kind to you as I am. Besides, you're brother lost all his levels. We have a lot of people here much stronger than him, not even mentioning myself. Yet you think he's going to kill us all and set you free? You need to start being realistic about the situation you're in. If you don't, you would be making a foolish mistake. Just like he did.”

Her gazed turned threatening and her body tightened with anger. “He told me he's going to be the greatest adventurer in the world. When he gets strong enough he'll come save me, and teach all of you a lesson!”

I responded to her with a mock look of fear. “When that day comes please tell your dear old brother to have mercy on me. Until then, I'll just have to quake in fear of his fury.”

She gave me the biggest frown she could muster. Picking up the lamb, she tossed it on the floor in front of me. “You can go ahead and try the lamb now. I don't think you'll mind. Dogs are used to eating things off the floor, right?”

I had tried to be kind to her. If that didn't work, then I would need to be cruel. She needed to learn the seriousness of the situation. If she didn't start cooperating, This would only get worse for her. I quickly crossed the room and grabbed her by the throat. Easily lifting her off her feet and pushing her against the wall. Squeezing just tightly enough to cut off her air.

“You better watch who you call a dog. Remember, a dog can always bite. If you don't start telling me what I want to know. Perhaps I'll toss you in with some of our guard dogs. They're a vicious lot and always hungry for fresh meat.” I dropped her and stood over her small frame. She grabbed her throat and coughed as she tried to catch her breath. I kicked her cup of water over. Much of it disappearing between the cracks in the stone floor.

While she was still catching her breath I spoke. "The next time I see you, I want you to have something useful to tell me. If you don't, I might not be in such a friendly mood." I walked out of the cell and locked the door behind me. The other guard who watched my conversation had a disgruntled look on his face. Needing a break, I walked over to the table on the other side of the room and took a seat. My subordinate sat across from me with a tray of food for himself..

He ate and spoke at the same time. Not only a disgusting habit, but a clear indicator of a lack of discipline. I had to remind myself that half of these guards were no better than thugs. Very few of them were worthy of my respect, particularly the ones I put on this detail. "Ya shouldn't let dat little cunt talk to ya like that. If ya want, I can put her in the stretcher and teach her some manors."

I leaned back slightly to avoid the food flying out of his mouth. "No torturing. Shes just a girl. Let her throw her little fits if she wants. I will question her in my own way and wear her down over time. We don't need to resort to those methods."

He clearly didn't like the answer. A true sadist who enjoyed his job far too much. To get such a young and unblemished peach to work on would be a first for him. It was an idea I could tell he was excited about in more ways than one. He drained half his cup before he spoke. "The lord of dis here house wants answers. He ain't gonna wait forever ya know. I'll be gentle with her if ya want. Won't even leave any permanent marks." He gave me a chilling smile.

I shot to my feet with an expression on my face which caused his smile to fade. "Unless the lord of the house says otherwise, you will follow my orders. No torture, and if I find out that you touched even one hair on her head without my approval or the approval of lord Armingtage, I'll put you in the stretcher myself and discover its maximum length. Is that understood?"

"Ya sir, captain Carte.r" He muttered and then looked back down at his food in disappointment.

I had enough of being in this depressing place. I honestly believed that human dungeons were worse than the monster filled variety. I walked of out not sparing that animal another look and decided it was time to make my way to Lord Armingtage. Now all I had to do was deliver the bad news about how his daughter slipped through our fingers.

On my way to the Lord's office I recalled something the girl said about how her brother wanted to be an adventurer. Most boys usually claimed they were going to be one at some point. It likely didn't mean anything and was probably just the girl making idle threats about how strong and dangerous her brother was. Then again, it wasn't like I had any other leads to go on, so what could be the harm in looking into it?

If he wanted to get strong enough to rescue her, that would be the only way to do it. I doubted the boy had the backbone to ever go into a real dungeon. He advanced himself with sweet words and seducing young ladies. Only a real man advances himself through the sword, something that boy clearly was not. Still, it was better than doing nothing. I'll order some of my least valuable guards to poke around a few low level dungeons. It was probably a fools errand, but I had to look into every possibility.

My thoughts went back to the little girl I left in the cell. I shouldn't have let my anger get the better of me like that. The frustration of this whole situation has been wearing on me. There was no need to choke her. On the other hand, she has a big mouth and would do well to learn when to keep it shut. At least now we knew we had the right hostage and I could pull the men off the other houses we were watching.

The thing that probably had me most on edge is how much I hated doing this sort of work. A level thirty nine such as myself, reduced to chasing around and interrogating children. When did my life come to this? Wasn't I meant for greater things?

I was one of the youngest people to achieve level thirty nine this century. Due to my own natural talent, but also in part to my benefactor Lord Armingtage. The Lord had taken me under his wing from a young age and saw to it I received the best equipment, training and companions to fight along side me.

I had been groomed for the position of captain of the Armingtage guards since the time I was a mere seventeen years old. Even at that age, I had managed to develop a reputation as a natural in terms of fighting and leadership. My early days in the empire's army made me one of the more sought after youths among the well informed elites of the empire. Dozens of offers for a guard placement or a job in the elite corps fell into my lap.

While I did have a good reputation back then. It wasn't until I came here and received the help of Lord Armingtage that my reputation began to sore throughout the empire. In only five years I had managed to go from level nine to level thirty. Passing three test in such a short length of time was a virtually unheard of achievement.

Since then my progress had slowed down greatly. I had risen to level thirty nine over the years, but much of my time had been filled with handling the day to day duties of being the Armingtage guard captain. While I hated that my progress was slowed, I know I needed to show loyalty to the man who made it possible for me to rise up to where I was today. While I wanted to demonstrate my appreciation, there were parts of the job I could barely stomach.

I was aware going into this what some of the duties would entail, but I never thought part of it would involve scaring a young child in a cell or hunting down two slaves. Such endeavors would bring no honor or glory to me. Not to mention little sport once the group was found. Madeline wasn't happy with the situation she was in with the betrothal, and dragging her back would pain me greatly, but since that is what my duty called for, I would carry it out.

As I marched ever closer to the lord's office my dread started to build. Since the death of his prized pet at the hands of that boy, the lord had been in a foul mood. He wanted his daughter back, but he also wanted vengeance on the slaves who were responsible for killing Susan. I'd hoped that he would at least let the fox girl off with nothing but a quick death.

Alas, I knew that was not to be the case. He would never let such a slight go unanswered. Blood was spilled and blood would need to be shed and screams would need to be heard before the lord felt this matter was closed. While I wanted to beat the boy to a bloody pulp before taking his head from his body, I never understood the point of torture that went on for weeks on end. Just take their lives and be done with it. Sadly, lord Armingtage was not a merciful man.

There was another problem I saw now as he walked down the hall to the lord's room. Once we finally captured their group, what about the sister? In his rage would he demand she be tortured to increase the boy's agony? I would make sure that wouldn't happen. Perhaps I couldn't save her life, but I could slip some poison into her food. She would pass in a painless sleep.

I just hoped it didn't come to that. It may be possible due to my years of loyal service I could convince the lord to listen to my plea. We could just make her a kitchen slave. It wouldn't be a good life, but at least she would be alive and perhaps manage to have a few happy days. There was not even a question of letting her go anymore. She knew too much.

Before I realized it, my feet had carried me to my destination. I knocked upon the door three times, as was the protocol. “Enter!” the Lord's powerful booming voice commanded from behind the expensive ebony wooded door. I did as ordered, entering and saluting before holding out the letter in my hand.

“Word on the search efforts lord Armingtage.” He pulled the letter from my hand using only his middle finger and thumb, slowly opening the contents. He never liked to rush anything. I stood in silence as the lord carefully read over the letter twice. His face holding a cold and unreadable mask as he did so.

Upon finishing his reading, he slowly walked over to the lit fire place, and tossed the letter inside. “I want the man who was suppose to be guarding that house brought back here and whipped. Then be set to duties he's more suited for. Like digging latrines.” His cold anger filled the room, but his voice and tone almost never changed no matter the situation.

He kept looking into the fire to watch the letter burn as he spoke. “I trusted you with this matter Mr. Carter. So far I must admit, I find myself disappointed in your performance.” Taking his eyes from the fire, he walked over to the bar and poured himself a Brandy. He still was not bringing his eyes to mine. That usually wasn't a good sign.

He took a small sip and continued to face the bar as he spoke. “I'm beginning to believe you may not be giving this situation your full attention. That or I misjudged the level of your competency Mr. Carter.”

“I assure you, all that can be done is being done. As you've ordered, we've moved cautiously to keep this matter quiet and have been successful in that endeavor. It's only a matter of time before we find them.” I kept standing at attention while speaking.

He finally turned to face me. “I do hope that's the case, for your sake. I have been a good lord to you Mr. Carter, have I not?”

“Yes my lord, I'm very thankful for all you've done for me.”

He walked back to his desk. “A lot of time, energy and treasure has been invested in you Mr. Carter. I did this because I believed I saw within you the potential for greatness. Because I'm rarely mistaken, for now I'll choose to believe I was correct in what I perceived and give you more time to handle this matter. But I expect to see tangible results soon. Dismissed."

I quickly excused myself from the room. What a pain this entire matter had turned into. I had hoped to prepare enough to take the test to reach level forty this year. For too long I had been stagnant. All of that had been put on hold with my current duties.

Reaching level thirty was considered a particularly special mile stone. Once you're level reached thirty, you were one of the elite fighters in the empire. People would pay large amounts for your services as a guard. The military would pay you to take up key positions in the army. You were guaranteed a lucrative life of relative leisure. Even people at level twenty or above had few complaints.

Most warriors stopped trying to get any stronger at that point. What purpose would it serve? Why risk your life over and over again once the world had opened up to you?

The trials to pass each successive test only became more difficult. Already having lived through various life and death encounters as well as three separate trials, why not take the easy life? There was no shame in it. You accomplished more than most men ever have. Why go on like the other fools had when you would almost certainly die in the attempt?

That wasn't the way I saw it. I could stay and live comfortably in my station, but why take the life so many others have? Why not attempt to touch greatness and stand at the peak of all existence? Those who've reached level ninety had names which lived on in legend thousands of years after their deaths. So few that they all could be memorized in a single day.

Regnar the black sword, Lena the swift foot, Goran the gods eye, and all the others. Each of them with their own styles who struggled up to the foot of the summit, but never achieved it. Some of them knowing they didn't have what it took to take that last step while some tried, only never to be seen again.

I remembered as a boy when my mother told me stories of the great adventurers who braved the dungeons and protected the empire. She never liked those stories, but I begged her to tell them to me over and over, long after I had memorized them by heart.

All alone in this world, she worked and struggled to raise me. Seeing to it that I would never go to bed hungry, though in hindsight I suspected she went to bed on an empty stomach often. When I lost her to a bandit attack at age ten I couldn't forgive myself. Maybe I could have done more? But those are just the ramblings of a child. What could a ten year old have done?

In any case, with no one to take care of me I decided to join the army as a squire. I had hoped to start training immediately, but most of my time was spent moving supplies, digging ditches and cooking. At least it put food in my stomach. I learned as much as I could about fighting over the years. Once I was a little older and they believed I was worth the effort, they finally put a sword in my hand. I put my entire soul into training.

I gained a fierce reputation as a young beast, besting boys even two and three years older than me. I came at them with all the hate and vengeance in my heart. Knowing that each fight I won would bring me one step closer to revenge. So I won every fight, against the other young recruits at least.

At the age of fourteen I managed to become a regular in the army. I was the only fourteen year old allowed in the regular army in all the empire at the time. Quickly distinguishing myself in battle, I rose up through the ranks, reaching level nine days just before my fifteenth birthday. I spent two more years in the army before leaving, none of that bringing me closer to the revenge I so desperately wanted.

That was until the great lord Armingtage's men captured the bandits. He planned to have them executed for crimes which occurred in a region he managed on behalf of the empire.

After hearing the news, I snuck into the cells where the bandits were held. After restraining the guard, I opened each cell door one by one until I had executed all eight men by myself. I knew it was not the way of things, but I didn't care. I would happily face whatever punishment was required, even death. It was all worth it for that one moment.

Lord Armingtage having learned of this, instead of punishing me, decided to commute my sentence to a fine he would pay on my behalf. As long as I decided to join the Armingtahge guards that is. The empire was not pleased with the situation. They didn't want to send the message that young men going into prison cells to exercise their own brand of justice would be tolerated. But a fine of one hundred gold coins to be paid to the empire and assurances from the Armingtage house was enough to assuage their anger

By the age of twenty two I had already reached level thirty. By the age of twenty four I had been named captain of the Armingtage guards. Now at age twenty six I was starting to feel impatient. I had no plans to leave my current post, but my ambition was far from fulfilled. I recalled the report on a fateful incident about six months ago.

Malcolm the lightning hand's body was found outside a rank ten dungeon. I never met the man, but his death hit me hard. The only man alive with a level in the nineties was now dead. He had even reach level ninety nine and there was much discussion over if he would attempt the test to try to reach level one hundred. No one knew exactly what happened when it was reached.

Each reward gained after passing a new test was better than the last. The rewards for level ninety were absurd enough as it was. What Godly power would the mother bestow upon you if you managed to reach that height? Some even believed that you may become a god yourself. No one knew. Which is why people loved to speculate.

I remembered a part of that report that indicated the legend's pockets were picked clean of gold. Some disrespectful little shit dared to pick his pockets. If I ever found the person who did it, I would happily slice them from throat to groin.

That was the first rank ten dungeon to appear in the past twenty five years. Who knows when the next one would come? If I missed it, then how long until the one after that? I may be an old man before I ever get my chance if I wasn't level ninety by the time the next rank ten dungeon appeared.

I needed this business concluded so I could move forward. If no one else was going to stand at the summit of mankind, then why not me? For all time they would speak tales of the legendary Jameson Carter. A lion among men and the strongest who ever existed under heaven.

But first things first. I may as well send out orders to start searching the local rank one dungeons.