A moment before the dagger reached my neck and even less than that before I went all out on the spell part, a shout interrupted both events, "Don't you dare to kill him, or your employer is dead!"

Yet Aison's words had come a bit too late. While it helped me snap out of my state and stop my intended [Shaped Mana] trap, Ezilda did not have the time to stop the thrust. She would only somewhat redirect it, so it was my wounded shoulder to scream in pain as the blade's edge cut through the leather and scraped against the chainmail underneath.

"Gah!" A groan escaped me as I used the pause after the hit to step back, distancing myself from her.

Some minutes later, I would groan, growl, and curse far louder. Aison may have some experience dealing with wounds, but it was clear he was no doctor, his [First Aid] skill being even lower than mine, at some meager 6. Thankfully, the leather, padding, and single-ring chain half-stopped the bolt, so Aison's roughly pulling it out had been fast. He spent far longer freeing it from Roeder's armor than from my flesh. Not that it hurt less. And it would hurt even more as, on my instruction, Aison splashed it with wine and then tightly bound the wounded area, passing a cloth cut from Yord's shirt below my armpit and over the shoulder guard.

***

"Why did you let them go?" With first aid applied and having calmed enough, even if it required drinking the entire wine lather-flagon Aison had procured from the first floor, I asked the question that had not left me since the moment Ezilda and the other woman left, on his orders.

"The truth will not serve you of anything but holds a good deal of danger. I can only say that, as you may have suspected from my words, they are not people that can be killed just like that. Not now, and definitively not by somebody like you." Aison brushed the matter off, making me recall the few phrases he had said before, during which I chose to remain silent, lest I involved myself in another heap of shit.

-Previously-

-Start-

After I stepped back from Ezilda, Aison asked her to sheath her weapons - an order she obeyed instantly. And when I expected some grand accusation, or even sentence, with Aison producing a badge made of gold from his belt with his free hand, he actually sheathed his own sword. And then, half bowed to the woman he had just held hostage.

"This man works for us, and harming him is attacking someone under Royal orders. Thus, forgive me for the actions I deemed necessary to stop it from happening." A moment later, as the black-haired woman nodded, Aison continued, "The deal he was involved in, it is indeed for the Council, but it is in benefit of the Crown. No one will be allowed to interfere, at least not further."

"What about the Cloak?" As if Aison served her, the woman asked without a hint of respect or care, not even to the golden, bearing the image of five slash-like indents badge in his hand.

"As soon as he betrayed his function as the resident Court's mage in this city, he became a threat. Not even changing sides will be enough. A Mage-Killer team was dispatched, along with the order, and they will arrive tomorrow." Aison responded without changing his polite tone and then, as if preempting some question, turned towards Ezilda, "The men who died, they left [Zlolim] days ago. Everyone else, they bear no guilt."

Ezilda froze up for a moment as she heard the verdict and then half-bowed, "Understood. Their death is something I will mourn, but I am thankful for the judgment."

"Now, leave. The small chamber is underway, and your presence would be most proper. Look for Maester Gudea from the [Trade Guild]. Accompanying him is Lelani, my companion. She holds on the relevant evidence as to clear this incident." And just like that, Aison entered the room, allowing the two women to leave.

"Now, let us deal with your wounds." He said as he approached me, only adding as he started examining the bolt lodged right above my shoulder blade, "It is good you didn't interfere. There would have been a lot of issues to explain if they didn't believe you being a [Hound]."

{Not that I didn't want to! Damn, what is going on?} Still unable to be entirely rational, I chose to keep the words to myself, {First, get in shape, then question him. And be prepared for the worst.}.

-End-

A few more minutes passed in silence as I attempted to understand what had happened, and Aison silently waited for me to speak.

"That woman, I feel she's far from a simple noble, am I right?" I decided not to pursue the matter, but I did want to confirm at least that.

"That she is. In all truth, she is probably the third most important person in the entire city. At least at the moment and in the current situation." Aison nodded, answering with a notable degree of caution.

"And I suppose her sending people to kill me was because of my deal with the dwarves, correct?" Not waiting for him to respond, as I myself already connected the dots, I continued theorizing, "A deal in the name of the [Megvuroz Branch], but in truth, coming from Viscount Cantgethen of Megvuroz, and his patron, the [Count of Central]. Judging by what you said, I suppose the lady is someone who doesn't desire the [Royal Council] to be successful if possible. Yet, with you and [Hounds] involved, the deal doesn't affect the Throne, so her actions weren't required."

"Yes, you are right. So, while this woman paid the [Zlolim] to kill you, neither I nor anyone else will act, and you will not be allowed to do so either, at least not without consent from the King himself." Aison's response was straightforward, and I understood he would stop me if required.

"And since when do you know of all this?" I had hoped for the instances of someone using me and nearly getting me killed without being aware of nothing had ended, but seemingly it was just a brief pause.

"From the moment I circled the building and saw her. Well, that and the report from the pair searching for your [Old Weasel] guy." Aison shrugged, revealing that he had no chance to explain or stop anything before now.

"So, you found Micheal?!" Hearing that at least something related to me advanced, I nearly shouted out, jerking in surprise and then wincing in pain as the movement agitated the wound.

"We did. And you will be surprised to know that the so-called wisened criminal cooperated, with delight, I should add." Aison barked a laugh at the end, making me slightly shiver as I thought about how pleasurable the talk was.

"So..?"

"Women and girls were undoubtedly kidnapped and otherwise made to come here. There is no brothel slavery or such, but something far wicked, something clearly not fine that an unidentified party has been doing. The details remain unknown, but Micheal also collected the girls' bodies a week after they were delivered alive, so we are sure they died inside the city and in the hands of the buyer. This latter, as Micheal also removed the bodies from the city, tasked with vanishing them and, by doing so, any clues that could remain on them." Aison reported concisely and without batting an eye. As for me, I probably paled.

"...Who?" I would ask an entire minute later, unsure of how to feel about the discoveries made upon the investigation I had started.

"We don't know, yet-" Aison paused for a moment before adding, "-but we do know who does. And now, it is probably time to go and ask her."

"Eithne!" As it clicked for me just who Aison meant, I immediately concentrated on the [Mark]. It now felt at some distance, but I could still feel it.

"Yes, and so, where is she?" Aison looked around as if looking for signs of her.

"She was behind that wall but moved as Ezilda attacked me. I am unsure how she left the building, but now I feel the [Mark] at some half-step from here." Pointing to the wall, on which there was no single opening, I explained everything, feeling conflicted about what I had learned. And undoubtedly, there were reasons for that. I had rushed out to find, or in the worst case, avenge, Eithne. But now?

"Is she moving now?" Aison asked as he approached the wall, examining who knows what on the wooden-paneled surface.

After concentrating on the [Mark] for a few breaths and feeling it remaining in the same spot, I responded, "If she is, then very slowly, I do not feel the distance increasing."

"I see. Then, if you want to do so, follow me." As Aison spoke, his hand knocked on one of the identical-looking panels.

*Slam*

An entire section, right around the place Ezilda had stood before, fell to the ground, revealing a door-sized opening leading into a similar room.

***

It would take me a couple of minutes to enter the newly-revealed room, having decided that I did want to find some conclusion to at least one of the events of Chubu.

The room revealed by the fake wall was similar in size and detail to the one I had just left, with the same wooden panels, stone floor, and few chairs around the table. Even the [Magic Candle] was on the same spot, on the farthest edge of the table. And yet, the room held a difference, and it wasn't the lack of a door as the one I had kicked out.

Surprisingly, Aison would follow and not precede me, although I held no doubt about why he remained in the previous room for longer. Indeed, he had just said that everyone involved from the [Zlolim] group had deserted and died while Yord was anything but dead. Well, he was a moment before, but now? Aison had taken care of it, even if he hid and avoided talking about it.

And so, there was me, wounded and still slightly overwhelmed by the events, moving along with Aison, a [Hound] who wasn't one. A man that killed and used anyone. A man that went so far as groveling when needed. Doing all the required for the task of the Throne.

"Under the streets, huh?" Aison asked no one as he approached the small opening near one of the walls, which, when examined, revealed a ladder leading below floor level.

"We should still avoid spells, even if, for now, I am sure of no [Sword] or [Gauntlet] having reasons to investigate." Before starting down, Aison turned towards me, giving this indication, followed by another one, "Take the [Magic Candle]. I doubt there will be light."

As I took the small, the size of a pack of cigarettes, lighting block from the table, Aison half-laughed, "Or if there is, then Eithne and whoever her patron has left it on for us."

***

Descending the precariously loose wooden ladder with my wounded left arm occupied by the [Magic Candle], I found myself standing on a narrow stone plate no broader than half a meter. This pathway, which I could not see the end or beginning of, extended to the front and back of us. As for the sides, the right one was a stone wall made of cracked, old stone, the other one, a cavity, about two meters deep and similar in width which stretched along the path. The magic tool's light also revealed a passage identical to the one we were standing on.

"Where are we?" As I looked at the seemingly endless path spreading back and forward, I asked Aison.

After silently looking at and touching the stones, Aison would also examine the ladder, hardly over a couple of meters high, before answering, "From the looks and low depth, I believe we are in the old waterway, the Imperial sewers of Chubu."

"Old-" I was just about to ask about what he meant but stopped myself, forcing myself back to the matter at hand and pointing behind us, something that earned an appreciative nod from Aison as he started moving, "Eithne's [Mark] is coming from that side."

Walking the nearly identical passage, crossing who knows how many bridges, not more than a simple stone slate over the gap, over the side, and diagonal going channels, I wondered why I even took part in this. Yes, I wanted to find some closure, and questioning Eithne seemed like a chance to grant it. And yet, old sewers? Walking for nearly half a kilometer made short work of all my resolve.

Aison, who walked a few steps before me, just in the outer range of the [Magic Candle] light, stopped. And as I reached him, he whispered, likely mindful of the echo that even steps created in these bare stone passages, "It seems someone has been using this closed-up waterway."

Following his hand motion, I found no need to ask why he said so as I saw a few wooden boards over one of the channels where the stone bridge had fallen because of time and wear.

***

"Stay here." I am unsure if he heard or sensed something, but Aison commanded me before leaving me alone as he rushed forwards.

A couple of minutes later, Aison returned, hurrying towards me, placing his hand over the [Magic Candle] I held in my arm, "Turn it off, someone ahead."

A [Magic Candle] was essentially an improved variant of the [Flick Orb], given shape and with a lengthier activation period. It could also be turned off, unlike the cheaper variant, by shaking it if turned on.

"We are not far, but the [Mark] is still some walk from here." Whispering to him what I felt, I was about to ask just who could be down here, but Aison preempted my question.

"If I used the channels to avoid witnesses, I would also have posted guards. And it seems this mysterious party thought the same." As I turned the light off, Aison inclined himself while whispering.

"So, I believe we are about to meet some of these guards. Hopefully, if they are not many, we will learn at least something." He continued whispering as he pushed me back towards the darkness of a side path.

***

Some words and then blood, much blood, the only memories that remain clear to me, starting from our encounter in the old, unused waterway and until this long night would end. Well, [Perfect Memory] says otherwise, as I can remember nearly everything, but still, it is the blood the thing that remains engrained so deep that I don't even have to recall it.

-An overheard extract of a conversation-

-Start-

"...follow orders." Said in a sore voice, the echo only carrying the last words of what had been a phrase.

"I know, but making us go to the house? What if she was right, and the meeting was a trap?" A gentler voice followed, speaking in a half-worried tone.

"We are only to scout. Knock the ladder off if required. That's all." A female voice interjected.

"That woman, the one to send us, she wouldn't have escaped if there was no danger." The softer voice from before continued to protest what seemed to be their orders.

"Or she considered informing HIM was more crucial than staying there-" The female voice contradicted again but was interrupted.

"Just shut up, Melqart. We are to follow HIS orders, which were to follow hers." The first voice snarled, identifying him as a commander of sorts.

"...just saying." Faint enough for their approach and echo to nearly suppress the said words, they marked the end of the conversation.

Note; Singling out [HIM] and [HIS] as these words used the respectful form, opposed to the [she] and [her] meant for the woman, Eithne?

-End-

"They are closing in, and judging from their words, they are going to the safe house. Stay here. I will go intercept them." As he whispered to me, Aison moved to the edge of the narrow pathway, only adding before sliding down into the empty channel, "Prevent anyone escaping, but try to do it without much noise."

_______

Staying back in hiding was nothing nice. Especially not as I saw three figures, illuminated by the faint glow of a [Magic Candle], pass some twenty meters from me. I didn't make much of their identities or even looks, barely managing to understand that one carried a long weapon (a spear?) and the other two had their hands free.

I was worried about them noticing me, even with me crouching and holding my breath. But as not even my [Status Screen] gave me a reading of them - the worry was for naught.

But while the anxiety of being discovered was stressful enough, it would be worse to stay there - alone and in the dark - without knowing what was happening. Something that spanned over five minutes, with no sounds or else indicating that Aison had acted.

But Aison did act, to that, there was no doubt. Just around the time I began worrying earnestly, I heard someone running from the direction we had come before, the one they went in.

In response to these quick footsteps, the echo giving me some time to react, I quickly moved to the corner where both passages - the one we had followed and the one I was hiding in - connected.

It was nearly on instinct that I understood (or without frills, I heard it) that someone was about to reach the corner, as, without light, I could hardly see even my hand. {Stop anyone running away without much sound, huh?} Recalling the instructions, I found nothing better to do than to agitate the [Magic Candle] in my wounded left arm. Then, half-blinded, similarly to the running person, I acted in response to the surprised exclamation of the latter. Well, acting is a strong word, as I merely punched toward the direction of the voice.

My fist connected with something, and I felt a pained gasp. One that quickly turned into an alarmed curse, "Fuck!"

Some metal clanging and a loud thump followed the curse, and as my eyes grew accustomed to the light, I discovered that my punch had made the man, as it was one, lose his footing and fall into the water channel.

Not thinking for long, I jumped down, aiming to land on the sprawled man before he recovered. My only thoughts being, {Stop him from standing up!}.

Guard?

NAME (As I see it) LEVEL (Hiding anything below average) Strength 12 Agility 11 Force 13 Quick 13 Close-Quarters 14 Medium-Quarters 16 Slashing 11 Piercing 14 Feint 15 Danger-Sense 12 Hunting 17

Pretty high stats for the average guard, so I can not feel but take note of him as someone not so simple. Not that it really mattered at that moment, or would matter later.