A week might have been a low estimate.

After stopping first in the nearest city, Heartbreach, they’d visited all the affected towns and villages first. This one, Walden, was the last and largest of the affected settlements. The second years wanted to visit all the affected areas first before putting together a plan, which was wise. They had little information to go off of as it was, and with such a wide area, it made it all the harder to pin down a location.

They had visited the villages first, as they had the smallest populations. It made it easier to gather all pertinent information quickly when there were far fewer people to question. What little they had gained, that was. The villages had lost fewer children compared to the towns from what they’d seen and heard so far. Liliana wasn’t sure yet if it was because the beast, or beasts, lived closer to the towns or if it was because there were simply more children to take from the larger towns.

The more places they visited and the higher the count of children lost became, the more Liliana discarded her idea that it was only a single beast. Three towns and three villages had been affected, and while they loosely circled Walden, it was simply too much space for a single beast to have as its territory without someone noticing it. The beast would have to be a high rank, two or higher, to maintain that size of a territory from other beasts, and it would've been seen by now if that were the case.

That wasn’t even speaking on the other odd things that were piling up the longer they investigated, with no answers forthcoming, but new questions arising every minute. There had been claw marks left behind where the children were thought to be taken, sometimes blood. But no bodies, no trail to follow. The oddity of the situation was making Liliana unsettled, and she felt like she was walking into something blind.

“No guards in this town, either.” Diana remarked almost idly as they walked. Liliana turned to look at her, a bemused tilt to her head as she emerged from her thoughts.

Diana noticed her look and explained, “I noticed it with the villages and the other towns. None of them have guards like the cities do.” She told Liliana, nodding around the town. It was larger than the other two towns, Pathstow and Wellspring, but it was the fraction of the size of a city. It was still large for a town, but that wasn’t saying much.

“Its only cities that have guards, and towns that are almost big enough to be called cities in their own right. The towns and villages can’t afford the cost of housing and covering the salaries of trained guards so the nobles don’t implement them in places like this,” Liliana clarified, finding her lessons on how to manage a noble estate useful in this, at least. “Towns and villages are expected to handle their own justice and protection, in exchange for the fact that their nobles won’t increase their taxes to afford to send guards to do it instead.”

It wasn’t a foolproof system, but it worked for most places. Villages and towns often didn’t enjoy having their nobles interfering too heavily, and most of their taxes were usually paid in goods rather than gold, as it was. There wasn’t a way for them to handle the increase in taxes for a noble to cover the cost of stationing guards in them.

Some villagers didn’t even have coins, their villages working almost entirely on a barter system. And trained guards would not see chickens or produce as a suitable wage for protecting a village. There was a reason those who lived in villages and towns tended to have higher levels than those who lived in cities. When they had to handle protecting themselves, they were forced to gain those levels or die.

Or worse, ask a noble for aid.

“Why don’t the nobles cover the cost? Surely they can?” Diana asked, looking upset at what she undoubtedly saw as a failure of the nobles.

“Most villages and towns don’t want that much interference from nobles in their lives. And it would cost the nobles a good chunk of their wealth to outfit every town with trained guards, not to mention the cost of training up that many guards. Why would they do that when the system has worked out for as long as it has?” Liliana retorted.

Nobles very much lived by the phrase ‘if it’s not broken, don’t toss gold at it’. And sometimes, even if it was broken, they’d rather ignore it than spend money on it as long as it wasn’t negatively impacting them directly.

“And if the nobles did send guards, they’d raise the taxes. Which no one would be happy about just to get guards who sit around and do nothing most of the time. Villages and towns like this have been handling their own problems for centuries. Sending in guards would imply the nobles don’t think they can take care of themselves anymore, or they’re suspicious of the citizens. It would lead to riots, most likely.” Liliana continued when Diana’s frown deepened.

She didn’t expect Diana to truly understand the delicate balance nobles had struck with protecting their territories while giving the people who lived inside of them the feeling of freedom. The trust between the commoners and the nobles was a delicate thing, far too easily broken if one side pushed too hard. If the commoners felt they were being taken advantage of with high taxes, or that they were being constantly watched, they would buck against the restraints they felt were being placed upon them.

If the commoners rose up, the nobles would strike back, ruthlessly. Blood would stain the streets and entire towns would be wiped off the maps. It had happened before.

No one wanted a repeat of history.

“Why can’t they send the guards without raising the taxes?” Diana demanded.

Liliana bit down on a sigh, reminding herself that lessons like this weren’t taught at the Academy. It was assumed any noble children would already know them, having spent sixteen years being tutored and taught by their parents on the intricacies of managing a noble territory. And commoners who went to the Academy didn’t have a reason to learn any of that. The Academy taught them how to exist as people in this world, not as nobles. They spent more time learning how the System worked than on how a noble would determine what tax rate was best year by year.

“No noble would want to spend that kind of gold with no way to recoup the costs easily. And even with no tax hikes, the people in the towns and villages would still be upset, which could mean they try to short the nobles on the next year’s taxes. Which could cause all kinds of issues when the nobles have to get what they’re due. Which would only further upset the people.” Liliana explained, but it didn’t seem to appease Diana in the least.

Liliana supposed it was because Diana was looking at it from an idealized commoner’s point of view. Taxes were bad, and the nobles should bleed gold to protect their people, even if it would only hurt the noble, and the people, in the long run.

Never mind that the nobles had to pay their own taxes up the chain of command, and anything short from one of their villages, towns, or cities meant they had to pay out of their own coffers. Which would mean less tax money for the upkeep of the territory overall. Roads could break down, adventurer guild requests, which were normally paid out by the noble over an area, would be lessened or even be shifted onto the village or town requesting aid.

Nobles used their money for themselves, yes. That was abundantly clear. But they also devoted far more of the money they gained each year towards their territories and ensuring they didn’t crumble. The less money a noble had, the less money their territory had, and the more likely it was to suffer as a result. Some nobles were abysmal at taking care of their territories, but there were always the nobles above them to handle that. It didn’t always work out perfectly, but it worked enough.

It didn’t mean Liliana thought the system of their country was perfect, or even preferable. But she also knew right now it was what worked, and something like a full override of the system would make their country weak and likely need a full on civil war to enact.

Which would have their allies and enemies focusing on them in the hopes of swooping in and taking whatever they could while they were busy fighting themselves. And Liliana would freely admit she had never focused her concerns on revolution. She had far more looming and close threats to pay attention to than fixing a system that, while ripe for corruption, at least worked.

Liliana was trying to save the entire world and hopefully see her twenty-fourth birthday. If Cista wanted to undergo a revolution, it could do it in its own time. Preferably in some five hundred years, when she was dead and gone. She couldn’t find it in herself to care that much when all her energy was focused elsewhere. Or care about problems she didn’t really see herself living long enough to have to deal with.

“It still doesn’t feel right to leave all these villages and towns defenseless.” Diana muttered with a scowl.

Liliana snorted and picked a random villager who had a bow slung across his back. “Diana, check his level and then tell me they’re defenseless.” She pressed. Diana shot her an unimpressed look, but did as she was instructed.

“So what? He’s level 163? They shouldn’t have to level just to survive!” Diana hissed back, stubbornly holding onto her argument.

“That’s just how it is, Diana. Even if there were guards, its dangerous outside of city walls like this. They’d still have to level to stay safe. This world is dangerous, and the people in it have to adapt to it. Many would find those who live in cities odd, as the residents don’t often level.” Liliana pointed out gently.

Diana frowned and shook her head but sighed, apparently not willing to keep going with an argument where neither of them seemed inclined to concede. Liliana threaded an arm through Diana’s, if only to see her frown vanish in the place of a flush as the unexpected contact.

“It is odd that the focus has been on such unprotected places,” Liliana mused, redirecting their conversation as they followed the group of second years into a large tavern.

They took up a seat in the back so they could watch the second years spreading out, the two Rosier twins heading to the barkeep to talk to him while the others spoke to the patrons. Liliana had, unwillingly, learned some of their names over the past several days.

She still let Diana handle talking to the second years almost entirely. She was better with people than even Corbin, who coated himself in a cloak of Charisma. Diana was more earnest, and her natural kindness tended to warm people to her in a quicker and more familiar way than Corbin’s chosen persona.

People could instinctively sense that Diana was honest and wanted to help, and they responded in kind. It was enough to hide Liliana’s complete disregard for others with Diana to focus on instead. Liliana got to lurk around in the shadows like an attack dog for intimidation purposes, and she was perfectly fine with that.

“Look,” Liliana said as they settled down. She summoned a large map and several tomes to hold down the edges and spread the map over the table. “Heartbreach is right here. The towns and villages don’t circle it, but it’s within the area.” She continued, tapping on the spots on the maps that denoted the city, villages and towns.

“So Heartbreach should have been impacted too?” Diana asked, seemingly forgetting their earlier argument as she leaned over the map.

Her golden hair fell forward and, with an annoyed frown, Diana shoved some of it behind her ear. Liliana snorted in amusement and reached out without thinking to gather her friend’s hair.

“Lili?” Diana squeaked, face flushed a rosy red.

“Your hair offends my warrior sensibilities, being left like this,” Liliana teased, tugging a strand gently. “I’ll braid it for you. Keep looking at the map.” She instructed as her fingers worked nimbly to tightly braid the mage’s hair into something that would keep it out of Diana’s face.

“Alright.” Diana got out, voice weak as she focused her attention on the map with such ferocity, Liliana paused a moment to see if it would burst into flames.

That had happened a few times in first year, when Diana was still struggling to control all her affinities. Fire had always come to her easily in her anger and she’d lit more than a couple essays on fire in her ire. And, on one glorious occasion — that Diana swore up and down was an accident, but Liliana had doubts about that assertion — Zir’elon’s uniform.

“There,” Liliana said, tugging on the braid before letting it go to settle along Diana’s back. The girl grabbed it and pulled it over her shoulder immediately, fiddling with the ribbon Liliana had tied it off with.

“Hope you don’t mind the blue. It’s all I have,” Liliana said with a smile. Diana’s ears were a bright red as she shook her head, mute. Shrugging her shoulders, Liliana turned her attention back to the map, and she tapped at the towns and villages.

“Beast territory doesn’t follow normal human conventions, but even so, Heartbreach is directly between Pathstow and Stagcall. Which means it should be within the beast’s territory if that town and village are. But Heartbreach wasn’t on the assignment, and no one in any of the towns and villages has heard about it being impacted.” Liliana continued, pulling her hand back to grab at a tome, a bestiary for the area. She grabbed a second one, this one specifically about man-eaters.

“Roughly thirty children or so have been taken that we know of. The amount of children, combined with an area that is too large for any single beast to manage unless it’s a rank two or one, which would’ve been noticed by now, makes me think we’re dealing with a pack.” Liliana continued, dropping the books open and placing them on top of the map.

“You think it’s a pack?” Diana asked curiously, her flush fading as she grabbed one of the bestiaries to read.

“It’s the most sensible. The only thing that’s odd is the lack of bodies to be found. Search parties have been sent out from all the towns and villages. Hunters and trackers both, and they haven’t found any remains. I’ve sent Polaris and Lelantos out too, and they haven’t located any scents that would fit with any of the man-eaters that target children.” Liliana frowned, flipping through the other book.

Her list had shortened slightly, but it was still too long. The second years were doing little better, even if they were doing everything right. When they’d stopped in Heartbreach the first day in the area, the second years had descended on the bookstores with a vengeance. Liliana hadn’t even had to say anything this time. They’d reluctantly impressed her with that. Enough so that she’d actually learned their names.

Lamias, Red Caps, Boogeymen, Bauks. All were likely and could live in the area, though Lamias were pushing it, as they were a bit too north for the cold-blooded creatures to be entirely comfortable. Lamias preferred warmer areas, same as their more reptilian cousins, Nagas and Gorgons. But all the creatures on her list could be found in packs large enough to cover the territory.

The problematic part was none of them had a tendency, or tactical intelligence, to hide their kills once they were done, not with enough skill to foil six different settlements and Liliana’s bonds. It made her uncomfortable, this heavy deviance from typical creature behavior.

Creatures could evolve, everything in this world did, and they could become more intelligent with time and levels. That still didn’t account for this much of an aberration in typical behavior.

“Lili.” Diana said softly, voice low and full of horror. Liliana froze, turning to look at her friend, her hand reaching for the dagger at her hip on instinct. She’d never heard Diana’s voice take that tone before.

“Lili, what if it’s not a beast?” Diana asked softly, eyes moving back over the map. Liliana paused, mind moving quickly as the information she had rattled around, bits and pieces of a vast puzzle that hadn’t fit together before now sliding into place.

Heartbreach being within the area but left untouched. Villages and towns that were too small to have their own guards were the focus. The lack of bodies left behind. A lack of scents that her bonds could trace, because, of course, they’d never notice the scent of a human with so many of them around. Then Liliana’s mind caught onto what had scared Diana, because a simple human trafficking ring wouldn’t be enough to unsettle her. Even with her resignations about attacking or killing humans.

To hit three towns, three villages, to steal over thirty children where none of the hunters or trackers in residence could find their trail. It spoke of a large organization, one that was becoming comfortable enough to not care that they were leaving such a blatant trail behind to have an adventurer’s guild and the Academy called. Which was either foolish arrogance, or a certainty they couldn’t be found. And if they were, they could handle it.

The Academy regularly produced students of a caliber that the vast majority of the citizens of this world couldn’t hope to compare to. With the levels and experience to back up the prestige being an Academy graduate granted them. For this organization to believe that anyone sent to investigate wouldn’t be a threat, it was… troubling, to say the least.

Liliana had to wonder if they were almost hoping the Academy would send someone out, purposefully making others think it was a beast of a low level, so younger years would be sent to deal with it. The claw marks and hints of struggles suddenly seemed far more sinister.

Unawakened children were valuable, but nobles could be sold for high ransoms. Academy trained commoners, on the other hand, could be auctioned off at ridiculous prices. No one would come looking for them as they would for a noble child. If they knew of the Academy having issues with assignments, they might even be banking on the Academy writing it off as inevitable casualties.

“Shit.” Liliana muttered, feeling a chill shudder down her spine. Her head whipped around and she could only slightly calm her racing heart when she saw the second years were all present and safe.

“Fuck, was a week killing monsters too much to ask for?” Liliana grumbled, rubbing a hand across her face even as she felt her stress sky rocket. Get the second years to safety, take down a trafficking ring. Easy enough, right?