A child went missing in Redlog. Mao only heard about it a week after it happened because he was grounded. The Hunters’ Guild hadn’t snitched on him and Tobby about why Tobby had been close enough to a rotvälta to get trapped under it, but Katja had a way of finding things out. Left to the scary cook’s mercy, Tobby might be dead for all Mao knew, Katja could be scary.

Mao himself had been questioned about the situation, and had argued that told Tobby not to do it, but Josei hadn’t believed him. Especially not after Tobby snitched about Mao agreeing to let him try the foolish deed. Turns out Katja didn’t kill Tobby after all, probably because he sold Mao out to survive. Adults were evil.

Evil but not quite as scary as a child disappearing without a word. It was a farmer’s kid from down near the Foot. Mao only heard about it because a visiting friend told him about it. The friend had heard about it at the market from another friend, who heard from another friend, who overheard some adults talking about it…

It was a scary rumor circling about. A true rumor. Josei had told Mao about the evils of malicious gossip and this one definitely wasn’t made up. He knew that, because one of the women at the Red Lantern knew the missing kid’s mother.

The missing kid’s name was Bella. She was 9 years old and she was supposed to start apprenticing at the stables next spring when she turned 10. She loved horses. She’d been wearing a green wool dress by the time she disappeared. The adults thought she was dead.

Most didn’t talk about it where Mao could hear them. Or at least they thought he couldn’t hear them. Mao had very good hearing. A little better than most other kids’ even. But most of the mystery was overheard in the Red Light District because the adults there were less careful with what they said out loud.

It was a part of the city that Mao and Josei only visited sometimes. Josei said it was a place for adults mostly, so that explained the loose tongues. She didn’t explain why children should leave it alone though. “When you’re older,” she’d said. Some secrets had an age restriction and Mao despised the fact.

They went to the Red Light District today to bring medicine to some of the people working at the Red Lantern. Josei described the place as a…

“Sort of like the inn but… for entertainment and company. The workers there are mostly dancers, singers, artists, people who enjoy making others happy. Mostly women, but there’s a few guys there too.”

Mao didn’t understand why that particular part of town had the adults so tight lipped. He’d snuck there with some other children a few times to see what the fuss was about, but aside from the red theme of lanterns and decorations, the Red Light District wasn’t all that special. At least at a glance.

Most of the people that worked or hung out in the Red Light District also lived there. The main street was all market stalls, taverns, and fancy lattice windows, all painted red as the theme demanded. The side streets were less ornate and more homely, tall buildings crammed in shoulder to metaphorical shoulder. They looked a little more run down than other parts of the city, but that could easily be explained by their age.

The Red Light District had been one of the first parts of the city to be built, a place of entertainment to lure in people from afar, or to grant a little joy and distraction to those that came to Redlog for their famous healers.

The Red Light District was also where most of the orphans lived. Not for the reasons you might think. Mao had met a lot of them and they really weren’t all that special. A bit smug if anything, since they lived in a place the adults liked to whisper secretly about. They knew things the other kids didn’t and they used that to their full advantage to earn street cred.

It was a lot about making something small seem grander than it really was. Pretend you know something special and it’ll get you a lot of curious attention. Don’t reveal your cards too quickly or that attention will be short-lived. The Red Light orphans traded words like currency, secrets and rumors galore.

It might have been one of the reasons other parts of the city acted so… uncertain about the place. They didn’t quite know where to place it on their scale of approval. Most just saw it as a busy tourist trap. Quiet during the day, lively and merry during the evenings and nights. A good place to be if you were looking for something fun.

The nobles on the other hand, oh they liked to tizzle and tassel about how the Red Light District was the slums of Redlog. But what did that really mean? Not a whole lot really, if you really broke it down.

The people there still ate and slept like normal people, still made merry during festivals and times of celebration, still got sick like everyone else, and Josei sold them medicine just like normal. At a discount because she and the mistress of the Red Lantern were old friends.

Mao sat in her office right now, sipping a cup of sweet tea while Josei traded news with madam Riarin Ros, the head honcho, the top dog, the big lady in charge of the place. She was actually quite dainty. Even a bit scrawny. Like Mao. He liked her because of that. He felt a kind of kinship with the wiry woman. They were alike in some way he couldn’t quite place.

The Red Lantern was a huge building. As in, it actually had a second story, a terrace, a small garden, and several rooms for hire that people could sleep in for a night or two. It had a grand hall for feasts and performances, a lobby that smelled like roses and lavender, and floorboards that were so shiny and polished that Mao could almost see his own reflection in them.

Riarin’s office was a plush place. It sported a dark wooden desk that sat in front of a wide window. Paper screens with a multitude of pressed flowers- mostly roses and peonies, created a garden landscape across the thin paper.

On either side of the room stood tall bookshelves, each filled to the brim with leatherback books, little decorations, and thick red ledges occupying the top shelves. A closer look would reveal plenty of bookmarks and notes stuck in between the worn pages.

A thick red carpet covered the middle of the room where they sat, gathered around a low table stacked with snacks and teacups. Candied fruit, a few cookies, and honey roasted nuts. A feast that Mao slowly but surely tried to consume. Josei kept him from wolfing it all down in one go, but Riarin just smiled whenever he shyly asked for a treat.

There was also a bowl of small, bright red berries that Josei never tried. Mao realized why after trying one. They were incredibly sour! A tasty kind of sour, especially with the little bit of honey mixed in, but it was an acquired taste for sure. He quite enjoyed it and so did Riarin. She would eat a few every now and then while she and Josei chatted.

“How are you holding up,?” Josei’s voice was full of concern. “I heard the Peak folks were throwing rumors about the…”

Josei glanced at Mao and the boy’s ears perked up. They were talking about the missing child. His mom didn’t want to spook him with the news, but Mao was more curious than afraid. He was certain she would be found again soon.

Riarin smiled in a tired manner, clearly as worn over the dark news as everyone else. Maybe even more so.

“Oh they’re pointing fingers as usual. Not that they actually know the name of the poor lass… I have my people looking around, but so far no luck…”

Josei and Riarin traded sympathetic sounds, as adults were prone to do.

“No word of where she went missing?” Josei frowned deeply. “Goodness, to let a child that young wander around without a minder…”

Mao pretended that he hadn’t ever escaped his minders together with other kids, while Josei thought he was being watched over. Adults could be so boring at times. He could look after himself.

“There’s gossip going around that the Hunters did it.” Riarin sounded tired when she said it, doubtful. She was one of the rare few people that saw kindly upon the Guild. Mao shot up at once, eager to defend the Hunters.

“The Hunters are good guys! They saved Tobby from a rotvälta.”

Josei took a deep gulp from her tea at the reminder of the forest incident. Mao nearly added ‘and they can turn into wolves which is really cool, and cool people are mostly good,’ but remembered his promise to keep it a secret. The Hunters had told him it was a very precious secret before leaving his and Josei’s house. Something no one else could know. Mao had sworn to guard it well.

Riarin smiled. “I know they are. Don’t worry Mao. They’re no strangers around these parts. They break up fights when the visitors get too rowdy. They’re also one of the many groups looking for little Bella right now.”

Mao beamed, then he frowned. “Then why do people think they’re the ones that made her disappear?”

Riarin explained with a practiced tone, seemingly having had thi conversation before. “Because people want something to blame when they’re scared. Most don’t understand fully what the Hunters do, so they get a bad reputation.”

“What is it they do? Other than hunt wild ones.”

“Mao,” Josei had a warning in her tone. She didn’t approve of the topic for some reason. Mao worried that they would start talking about something else, but Riarin fixed Josei with a kind stare. There was steel in her amber eyes.

“Shouldn’t he get to hear? Knowledge shapes us. It is important for children to get answers to their questions.”

Mao liked Riarin even more now, but Josei still looked unsure. The mistress of the Red Lantern pulled a loose strand of red hair back behind an ear. Hers was red like Joseis- minus the streaks of grey, but of a different shade. Where Josei’s was the red of autumn, all vibrant mixes of orange, red, and gold, Riarin’s was the color of bloodied redwood.

Tobby’s teacher Karl Brewer had said that healers built their houses mostly out of the red wood so common in Redlog, because bloodstains didn’t show on them. Tobby said that if it rained really badly one day, the blood would be washed out of the wood and paint the streets red. It had given Mao nightmares.

Josei sighed. “Some questions are for older kids. He’s had enough scares recently. Poor boy doesn’t sleep well.”

Mao frowned at that. Riarin just smiled. “And wouldn’t unanswered questions about scary topics just fill his head with fantasy monsters hiding in the dark? He’ll find out eventually. Better from you than from someone hoping to scare him with unkind rumors.”

The boy watched as Josei chewed a lip, weighing the argument over, before relenting with a defeated sigh. “Fine. Do you really want to know, Mao?”

Mao nodded eagerly, shattering any last hopes Josei might have had of avoiding the topic.

“They fight bad wild ones,” his mother said.

“And bad people,” Riarin added. Josei glared at her before continuing. Mao reeled from the revelation that the wild ones could be bad. He’d only heard about the good ones so far, like Mother Wolf and Merchant Crow.

“What do the bad ones do?”

“They eat people.” Riarin had a sly smile on her face as she said that, but at Josei’s fiery glare it turned into a coughing fit. She looked away and covered her mouth with the sleeve of her dress while Josei went on. Mao’s eyes were wide. To his surprise, Josei actually elaborated.

“There is a tale saying that human flesh is addictive. Once a beast has tasted it once, it can’t stop craving for it. The wild ones are mostly beasts that have grown wiser than most, but even they can fall to this curse. They become dangerous monsters and the Hunters hunt them to keep us safe.”

That was a lot to take in. Riarin calmly sipped her tea, painted lips closed delicately around the thin edge of her ornate cup. Her tea set was a lot fancier than Josei’s. Painted porcelain. It felt like a bad choice of material. What if someone dropped it?

Tulip had pulled a teapot down from a high shelf once at home, somehow. It’d landed on his head and he’d run around hissing with it stuck over his head for nearly an hour, before Josei had caught him to remove it. It was a brown clay one, thick and sturdy. A bit too heavy for Mao to lift without using both hands. How Tulip had managed to move it was a mystery.

Mao wondered what would happen to Tulip if the rooster ever got a taste for human flesh. For all the bird liked to savage mice, lizards, and any pigeons that didn’t run fast enough when he approached, the rooster had never once harmed a human. He just hissed bloody murder at them.

The pair of women continued chatting while Mao sat in silence, thinking hard about what he’d learned. What if a bad wild one had gotten Bella? Was there a human eating monster roaming the dark streets of Redlog at night? The days were growing longer and longer now that summer was here but Mao still felt wary of the dark.

The boy decided that he wouldn’t leave his house alone when it got dark anymore. At least not until Bella had been found. They would find her soon for sure.

Josei had her concerns over Mao’s sudden disdain for outdoors adventures during the next few days, but Tobby’s leg was still broken so Mao didn’t have to leave alone for the forest. It was a small comfort as summer rolled in.

Bella remained missing.

-

Mao’s self imposed house arrest only lasted about a week. There was only so much one could do to have fun indoors, or on the same street where he lived. The other children living nearby mostly stuck with their parents these days, cautioned from wandering by the fear of Bella’s mysterious fate. Mao made the mistake of telling some of his friends about the human eating wild ones. He was surprised to find out that some of the other children believed in the rumor about the Hunters being the kidnappers.

“My dad says they’re all wild ones in disguise,” a girl a few years younger than Mao said.

The memory of the two hunters turning into wolf-people filled Mao’s head. He shook it. “Maybe… but they wouldn’t eat people. Riarin said they hunt the bad wild ones.”

The girl’s face had crinkled in doubt at that. “Who’s Riarin?”

“She’s the mistress of the Red Lantern.”

“The whorehouse?” The other kids gasped at the bad word. Mao’s frown grew.

“It’s a place for… entertainment.”

“My mom says they beat women there,” a boy with a missing front tooth said. Mao glared.

“They don’t or my mom and I would be treating their wounds. We make medicine for them sometimes.”

That got the other childrens’ interest. “What kind?”

Mao had to think. “Cold medicine mostly… Sometimes stuff for bad itches. Or infection.”

“Boring,” the girl that thought the Hunters were monsters said. Mao clenched a fist.

“Riarin is really nice. She gave me candied fruit and sweet tea. Her tea set is super pretty. It has flowers on it and-”

“My dad says they kidnapped Bella. She’s working there now, against her will. Her parents sold her because they’re poor-”

Mao punched her. The group of children broke up screaming. The parents chatting nearby were on them in seconds, worried frowns looking for their own, then towing them away towards the safety of home. The adults were easily spooked nowadays. Everyone was on edge.

Josei didn’t scold Mao when he told her what the mean girl had been saying about the Red Lantern and Hunters’ Guild.

“Riarin might be right. Sometimes not knowing might be worse… It was still bad that you hit her.”

“It wasn’t a hard punch… Tulip would have done worse.”

“Tulip is a rooster. He can’t control his emotions.”

Mao sulked. Josei glanced at him thoughtfully as they walked home, then added. “It was good that you stood up for them though. It’s bad to spread false rumors behind people’s backs.”

It didn’t make Mao feel much better. Redlog felt uneasy.

The boy with the missing tooth disappeared the next day. The mean girl was convinced that Riarin had taken him.

-

3 more children went missing over the next few weeks. 2 were orphans from the Red Light District, the other one was a farmer’s boy that didn’t come home after his apprentice work at the Peak smithy.

Mao couldn’t sleep. He brought Tulip with him everywhere. The rooster seemed surprisingly content to keep watch over him, head constantly on a swivel for unfamiliar noises. Mao felt a little safer with his bird friend following him around.

He was sitting outside Karl Brewer’s tavern one hot summer day while Josei went inside to trade medicine maker news. The prices of murklily had gone up recently, and someone had found a way to make fiber out of spidervän needles, although the method was a bit too bothersome to seem worth it. It was incredibly boring stuff so Mao waited outside while playing with Tulip.

Playing might have been a strong word. The rooster was sitting on the boy’s lap, content to doze in the midday sun while Mao combed through his feathers. Other chickens didn’t like being that cuddly, but Tulip seemed to enjoy the attention.

His black feathers were as glossy as sunflax oil, nearly shimmering. If you turned your head just right, the black would shift to green or even purple, a rainbow of colors hiding in the inky black fuzz. He also slept with both sets of eyelids closed. Mao wasn’t certain why Tulip had an extra pair- no other chickens he’d gotten close enough to check had the extra pair.

Tulip never opened his extra pair. They were like a transparent film that covered the eye, a vertical slit down the middle the only hint that they were there. Josei speculated that it was some kind of mutation. Like how some orange cats in Redlog sometimes had two tails instead of one. Those cats never let you pet them. They were a lot smarter than the other strays.

A leather ball hit the ground near where Mao sat and startled Tulip into waking. The moody rooster glared at a boy around Mao’s age as he ran over to pick the ball back up.

“Hi! Sorry, I hit it a little too hard.” The unfamiliar boy flashed a toothy grin. Mao noticed he had rather fine clothing on him. A red velvet vest, a white shirt, and what looked like leather cords braided into a fancy belt. A little golden clasp held a red pouch to the belt.

Mao stared in wonder. This was a noble’s kid. They weren’t a rare sight here on School Street. In fact, he’d probably come from the school itself, where all the nobles sent their kids every morning. For some reason Mao hadn’t expected to see one playing with a ball though. It just felt too… normal. Nobles were supposed to be all fancy.

Tulip hissed and the boy stumbled back, eyes growing wide in surprise. Mao hurried to introduce himself in the hopes that the rooster wouldn’t scare him away.

“I’m Mao. This is Tulip. Wanna see him do a trick?”

The noble boy gave Tulip a doubtful look then hesitantly nodded. “I’m Joseph Lejon, of house Lejon. Is… is he tame?”

Mao eyed Tulip. Was he? He was a pet but… Mao shrugged. “He doesn’t bite. People that is. Only mice. Throw the ball.”

“What?” Joseph blinked.

“He’ll chase it,” Mao explained.

“No way. Chickens are dumb.”

“He’s a rooster and he’s very smart. Just throw the ball.”

Joseph eyed Tulip, then the leather ball. Hesitantly he hefted it up and gave it a kick. It went bouncing down the street. Mao pointed at it and yelled, “Tulip, attack!”

The rooster daintily stepped off Mao’s lap, shook himself, then took off with a screech towards the ball. He hissed like a snake and kicked at the ball with his spurred feet. The ball went flying further down the street. Joseph stared at it in amazement while Mao grinned.

“See? I’m training him so he can fight bad wild ones.”

“That’s awesome,” Joseph gasped. The ball disappeared down a set of stairs at the end of the street and Tulip pranced back with his chest puffed out, proud as only a bird could be.

Mao lost his smile. “Erh… he kicked it a bit far.. Sorry.”

Joseph blinked, frowned, then relaxed with a shrug. “It’s fine. I can go find it later.” Mao relaxed. The school bell chimed with a deep ‘gooooong’ of a sound. It was officially the middle of the day.

“Oh, I have to go. Class is starting again.” Joseph started towards the school, then stopped to look at Mao. “Wanna come with? We’re learning about precious metals today.”

Mao blinked. “To school? I’m uh… I’m not a noble kid.”

This time it was Joseph’s turn to blink. He eyed Mao as if noticing the difference in their clothing at last. Mao saw the noble kid’s hair was combed. It was such a pale shade of blond that it almost looked white, fine like a mouse’s gentle whiskers. He had pale green eyes, almost like Tobby’s, but less yellow. Joseph shrugged again.

“Mister Bok doesn’t mind. He lets commoner kids sit in on his lessons sometimes if we keep it a secret. He says knowledge belongs to everyone, not just the ones that can pay for it.”

That sounded… oddly reasonable. A bit like something Riarin would say. Why not? Mao was a bit curious about what going to school was like. He stood up as Tulip came back. Josei would be busy talking with Karl for a while longer anyways.

“Sure but I have to be back in… at least an hour. My mom’s inside the tavern.”

Joseph wrinkled his nose so Mao quickly added, “Talking about medicine maker stuff with mister Brewer. They’re… colleagues. Sort of… They’re their own bosses though, and not apprentices.”

That seemed to be a better explanation than what Joseph had been imagining. A smaller bell tolled somewhere inside the school and the front door opened. A willowy man with spectacles and mousey brown hair stepped out onto the terrace, hand-bell held up to summon the late school goers.

A stream of fancily dressed children poured down the steps leading up to Peak Street. They chattered and giggled on their way down and into the giant school building. Joseph took Mao’s hand and led him along with them. Mao’s belly filled with butterflies. He was going to see something new. Something commoner kids like him wasn’t surprised to be a part of.

Mao went to his first school lesson.

-

School was boring. Mao didn’t get why some metals were considered ‘precious’ while others were not. Jåhn Bok, or mister Bok as the teacher was called by the dutiful noble-children, seemed to have a near endless amount of things to say about the matter.

Mao nearly fell asleep. A fat boy wearing vibrant green clothes actually did, so maybe school wasn’t all it was made out to be. Or maybe Jåhn was just very bad at making a boring subject seem interesting. Things got better when he started talking about the flora and fauna of the Maple Woods. As a medicine maker in training, Mao knew plenty about such things and the topic interested him.

“-common as it might seem, and as much as the farmers try to scrub them off from their roofs, crowsmoss is actually pretty rare outside of the Maple Woods. Traveling merchants buy it in bulk when they visit, to later export it to other regions for a higher price.

“To think that something growing in abundance over every tree and rock out in the wilderness could sell for silver, or even gold if you go far enough, is a good example of why a merchant must always know the origins of their wares. It is-”

Mister Bok kept waxing on about the importance of knowing the source of something sold. Mao frowned. “That’s wrong.”

Joseph blinked at him. “What is?”

“Crowsmoss doesn’t grow on trees and rocks,” Mao muttered. They had to whisper as to not disturb the lecture.

“Raise your hand and tell him that!” Joseph whispered, eyes glittering. Mao hesitated so the noble grabbed his wrist and lifted it up. Mister Bok paused his lecturing.

“Yes lord- is that a new face? Oh don’t worry, I don’t mind people peeking in on my lessons- just don’t tell your parents aha, or I might get yelled at.” Mister Bok snickered nervously. He had something restless about the way he moved. He kept wringing his hands when he didn’t have something on the blackboard to point at. It was a bit like watching a stressed chicken.

Mao hesitated.

“Go on,” Joseph encouraged. Mao took a deep breath.

“Erh… the thing you said about where crowsmoss grows, that’s actually wrong.”

A hubbub of young voices broke out across the classroom. Had a student just corrected the teacher? Madness, the audacity. How incredibly exciting. Mao was worried he’d get thrown out, but Jåhn just smiled.

“Is it? Pardon the mistake, I ah- I am not a botanist myself, merely a scholar. Would you like to share with the class what the correct answer is?”

Mao felt his face heat up as many pairs of curious eyes turned towards him. Some of the other children frowned at his linen tunic, light for the warm weather and without fancy embroidery. Others just looked curios. He even spotted a few familiar faces trying to hide when he looked their way. Other commoner kids that had snuck in to see what all the fuss was about school.

“It’s uh,” Mao coughed. Someone giggled. His cheeks were burning. He cleared his throat and went on. “Crowsmoss actually prefers to grow where there’s clay. They love the roofs of Redlog since they’re a really rich kind gathered from our many small lakes and rivers. You wouldn’t find much of it out in the forest.”

A few ‘ooh’s and ‘aah’s buzzed through the classroom. Mister Bok nodded thoughtfully, eyes flickering as he filed this information away in his head.

“I see, I see. Goes to show that even scholars can get things wrong sometimes, haha. Are you a young botanist perhaps?” Bok turned a curious smile towards Mao.

“Uhm, a medicine maker- in training that is. My mom owns Josei’s Medicine Shop up on the north western Edge.”

Someone made a mean sound but Jåhn Bok silenced it with a stern glance.

“I see, well class, we should be grateful to have ourselves an expert sitting in on our humble class. Never forget, the ones that work with the land knows it best. You mustn’t let differences cloud your judgment.”

A mixed murmur hung in the air above the noble children. Mister Bok continued his lecture after a few more approving comments about listening to experts in the field. Mao felt his chest bursting with pride. Maybe school wasn’t so bad after all? He ended up staying for more than an hour, eagerly listening in and raising his hand to ask questions. Mister Bok gave him and some of the other commoner guests chances to add their own little bits of wisdom to the subjects their trades dealt with.

It felt like it ended all too soon. Mao felt as if his head was on fire with all the new knowledge and twice as many questions. Mister Bok held some of the children back after class, Mao included. Joseph told him not to worry before he had to leave.

“Mister Bok asks some to stay behind almost every day. Mostly to tell them they did a good job or to give them a bonus lesson on something cool. Or to tell guests that they can come back again any time as long as the adults don’t find out. Our parents can get a bit… upset about letting people attend school for free.”

The secret bonus lesson was amazing. Mister Bok closed all the paper screens over the windows, then asked everyone to huddle in a circle around one of the bookcases. They made promises to keep what they saw secret and then mister Bok removed a thick tome from the crowded shelf.

Everyone gasped as he pulled out a glass jar with a pickled lizard inside it. It was a strange little creature, long since dead but preserved so others may learn about it. It was small and pink and had little red frilly fins on the side of its head. Instead of 4 legs like most other creatures, the lizard had 6.

“This is an axolotl salamander, a magical beast from a swamp far from here. Legend says that it can grow so large that a horse seems small compared to it. If it survives for that long… The oldest ones can speak like people, and some can breathe fire or spit poison. They are the most graceful swimmers.”

Mister Bok let the children hold the jar carefully for a short moment each , so they could admire the mystical creature up close. Its little scales shone like kiselsten, the crystalline, white, little pebbles you sometimes found by gravel roads.

Mao ended up staying in the school for far longer than an hour. Josei had been running around with Tulip outside after leaving The Rowan Branch- that was Karl Brewer’s tavern. She gave Mao a fierce scolding once she found him but relented after he gushed about his first day in school. He had promised not to tell any adults but… surely he could tell his mom. Josei knew the importance of secrets very well.

Josei was conflicted about the fact that mister Bok allowed commoner kids to sneak into his lessons, but ended up hesitantly agreeing to letting Mao go again- as long as he told her beforehand and he didn’t tell any other adults. It had to be their little secret.