"We're here."
An enormous mansion stood before them. The walls were decorated with stone engravings, in the shape of various sea animals. A big garden stretched out in front of the house, encircling a large stone statue in the center. It displayed a foul creature with nine long, serpent-like heads with sharp teeth, connected with one lug body. Taro hadn’t seen anything before that even remotely resembled the monstrosity.
A pair of guards watched the entrance of the mansion. The moment they saw the approaching duo, their faces turned completely pale. One immediately ran off, while the other attempted to persuade them to stay away. But Phoenia just waltzed past him, completely ignoring the existence of the guard. The poor man did not try to halt them any further.
After they forced their way through the entrance, they found themselves in a giant hall with a splendor design. Chandeliers were dropping down from the ceiling, illuminating the whole area. A mix of giant and small doors painted the walls, interleaved by paintings in elegant frames or small hallways that led deeper into the building. The whole place struck Taro with awe. He had never been in a noble's home before. Seeing one for the first time was an eye-opener.
"Come."
While Taro had been gazing over all the splendor, Phoenia had ignored the interior completely and had walked towards the far edge of the hall. Her eyes showed a hint of impatience. Even though he would love to look at this place a little longer, he was here for something more important.
They disappeared into one of the connecting hallways. They took turn after turn, navigating through a maze of corridors. After a few minutes Taro's sense of direction had completely vanished. However, Phoenia didn’t give him a break to re-orientate. She kept moving forward steadfastly.
"You have been here before, haven't you?"
"'Yes. I've been here a couple of times."
"But weren't second district citizens prohibited from entering this area?"
"For important trade deals, exceptions are being made. Of course, it requires the full cooperation of a noble to escort someone to this place."
Phoenia halted before a closed room and pushed the door open slowly. For a moment, Taro swore he could've seen a slight trembling in her hands, as if she were afraid what she would find beyond.
The area inside was a giant bedroom. Its size could house the complete sleeping areas of at least ten people. However, the sole bed in the room made clear that this was only being used by one. The rest of the room was filled with closets, desks, flowers and decorations. Given the quality of all the present furniture, this was no doubt a noble’s room.
The bed was surrounded by two desks. Taro did not know why one would need two, but the owner seemed to utilize both of them. Stacks of papers rose high into the air at the back of both desks.
Phoenia moved towards the left desk and crouched. She had clearly noticed something on the ground. When Taro got closer, he saw what had caught her interest. There were faint traces of blood on the ground, spread around the chair.
"This must've been the place where he was murdered." Taro suggested. Phoenia nodded in response.
"But why is there blood here? Wasn't he strangled?" He realized. Phoenia had closed her eyes, and didn’t react on his questions. She was seemingly in deep thoughts, so Taro immediately closed off his verbal thoughts.
Instead, he proceeded to take a closer look at the entire room. Apart from the stains, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Everything was still properly placed, missing any chaos a struggle would cause. However, the fact any clues were missing, made this murder even stranger.
There were a couple of explanations Taro could come up with on the fly. If Donovan had been concentrating intensively when he was working behind his desk, maybe someone sneaked up to him and wrangled him. If they were professionals, maybe they could’ve kept him from moving out of their grip. But where did the blood come from, then? Maybe it wasn't his, but the perpetrator's, spilt when Donovan scratched the arms of the murderer in an attempt to break free from his grip?
After Taro had finished inspecting most of the room, he finally went back to the bed and the desks. After thoroughly inspecting the bed, he walked up to the right desk. There was a mountain of paperwork stacked on top of it, divided in a couple of neatly ordered sub-stacks. It was impossible for Taro to verify all of them, so he took a few of papers from each stack and inspected each of them. None of them gave him any useful information. They were all composed of hundreds of lines of incomprehensible numbers and some vague text written next to it. It could be some kind of secret language, or it could be values of trades and properties. He had no knowledge of either of them to determine which one he was facing.
The same kind of files filled the second desk. Again, there was nothing of use in between them. Taro had hoped to maybe find an indication of why the man had been murdered, but it seemed he was out luck. Just when he was about to turn around and erase the thought he would be able to find anything useful in the room, he noticed something strange in one of the stacks. In a normal room, it wouldn't have caught his attention. However, in this extremely orderly room, it was a clear inconsistency…
A single sheet wasn't lineated with the others.
Taro pulled it out of the stack, and glanced over the contents. Again, it was filled with a series of numbers. However, on the very bottom of it, some sensical text finally showed up. They were names, and some of them were not unfamiliar to him.
George Lagrange. Donovan Dorumint. Michael Sonner. And lastly...
Phoenia Cyrus.
Taro assumed this was one of the trades Phoenia was talking about earlier. It would make sense to note down the traders in an exchange. But why was this paper stuck out from the rest? He could not imagine that someone as orderly as Donovan would’ve overseen this. Maybe someone had come before them, and had inspected the place just like they did. After they were done, they forgot to put it back in its original state. But even if that was the case, it was still strange for a single paper to stick out.
The other possibility was… Someone had carefully placed it that way, with the intention to be found...
"Water." Behind him, Phoenia muttered a single word. Staggered by the sudden sound, Taro instinctively crumpled the sheet and put it in his pocket. He was not sure why, but he felt something was off with it, and he needed to get a better grasp on its contents. Every question solved would bring him one step closer to Liss.
"Water?" Taro parroted.
"It's a faint trace, but I'm positive. Water prana has been used in this place."
So that's what she had been doing all this time. Phoenia had scanned the murder scene for leftovers of prana, which could give them a clue on the murderer’s identity.
"Do you think it's the murderer's?"
"I'm positive."
"Why?" While Taro knew about the existence of prana detection, he had no knowledge of the actual process.
"The trace has almost completely vanished, which means it was used somewhere last night. Apart from the water one, I sense no other prana. So it has to be the murderer's."
"So, does anyone come to mind?"
"Not specifically. The only ones who use water prana in this city are the pirate traders, and those don't come to this place, ever. They probably hate nobles even more than my people. Walking around here would be the same as being thrown to the sharks. Despite their hatred, I doubt any of them would attempt something that would break our relations with them. Additionally, most of them are common folk. They are simply not capable of forcing their way into a building like this. Unless…"
She paused for a moment.
"It has been bugging me ever since we entered the place."
"...What?" Taro could not follow.
"Don't you think it's a bit too quiet here?"
"Too quiet? Well of course, someone has just died so..."
"Exactly. Someone just died and his house is completely devoid of people. Doesn't that strike you as strange?"
"But aren't they already done with investigating? Why would there still be people here?"
She sighed.
"You are really unfamiliar with how nobles live, aren’t you?” Phoenia had definitely hit the mark on that one. Taro hadn’t met a single noble in person before. The only knowledge he had of them, came from the countless books he’d read.
“Because nobles tend to have slaves working for them. They tend to everything the noble wants, clean the house, wash the clothes and so on...”
"Like maids?" Taro had been aware of the existence of slaves in the noble society, however most books did not mention them. Therefore, Taro had subconsciously written off the twisted idea of slavery in reality. Even now, he had trouble believing what he just heard.
Phoenia frowned.
"Yes, I suppose. But they don't have the freedom of maids. They're property, tools. If they become rusty, you can throw them away. If they don’t listen, you can break them. If they display any hint of personality, you can rip it out of their chests and crush it beneath your feet. That’s what slaves are."
Taro gulped. Suddenly, he remembered the conversation he'd had with Yukina. She had mentioned a slave market. So that hadn’t been part of her imagination after all…
Also, that meant Yukina and those other people could’ve been sold of to some nobles? As tools to be used however they liked? The thought of it made Taro sick. He had to help them somehow…
“So do you understand now? There’s nobody here, when there should’ve been plenty of people around. Donovan was not one to shy away from slavery.”
"But I still don't get why that's strange. Couldn't they have ran away, or maybe someone took them somewhere else after his dead?"
"Impossible. If they would run away on their own, they wouldn't even get past the gates. While you might probably have the impression the security is lax, this was only because I am present. If you were alone, I can guarantee you would have gotten captured ten times over before you even reached this place."
Taro felt she was implying his dependence on her. After all, without her help he wouldn’t have even gotten near this place.
"And as I've explained earlier, those slaves are the property of the owner. No noble would even think about carelessly touching the property of someone else, even after their death. There are serious repercussions for that."
"I see. Then, where are they?"
"That's a good question." She moved towards the exit of the room. "We're done here, so we're going to find them. I can’t imagine that they’ve left the house, so they must be somewhere. Open every door and check every room. When you're done, leave the door open, so we don't do double work. Good luck."
With those quick instructions, she disappeared into the hallway. While she hadn't explicitly mentioned it, Taro was sure she expected him to check half of the mansion on his own. Apparently she had completely forgotten that it was his first time here, and this place was like a maze to him.
Taro sighed.
But maybe this was a great opportunity to get his thoughts in order. After all, he had gotten quite some new information on the subject. Taro left the room, and started walking in the opposite direction of Phoenia. It was easily to spot which way she had gone, because one half of the hallway was filled with open doors. She was definitely going at a crazy tempo, one that Taro wouldn't ever be able to match. Either way, he was going to help as much as he could. The sooner they were done here, the sooner he could resume his search for Liss.
After what felt like opening a thousand doors, he took a break. Taro had reached the end of a long hallway, filled with small storage rooms. Apart from countless tools, there was nothing in them. Wherever those slaves had gone, it was already pretty clear to him that they weren't in this mansion.
Just when he was about to turn back, he heard a cracking sound.
When he looked in the direction of the noise, he saw something unbelievable. Part of the wall at the end of the hallway had moved slightly inwards. A small gap was luring him in. Taro could not resist the bait and pushed the stone wall with all his might. After he put enough force, it gave in and opened like a door. Behind the wall, a long staircase descended into the darkness.
Taro clenched the hilt of his sword.
He would've liked to call Phoenia first, but since he had no idea about the layout of the mansion and her location, it might take a good while to come back to this place. And the last thing he wanted to do, was to unnecessarily spill time. He took a deep breath, and slowly descended into the void.
When he finally reached the bottom, an abominable sight filled his view. The whole room was designed like a prison. Iron railings were separating the different cages from the outside and from each other. Big, iron chains were hanging on the wall, some painted with splatters of deep red. A stomach-turning smell rose up from the tiles, which had probably even infiltrated the ground below. In comparison with this prison, the cage he'd been locked up in was close to a hotel room.
Luckily, the place was deserted. There were no people or animals to be seen, making the place seem like an old relic from the past. All the cages’ cell doors were closed, except for one at the end of the room. When Taro had approached it out of curiosity, he saw that the lock had been smashed to pieces. Whoever had resided in this place, had forced their way out.
In the middle of the cell stood a small, wooden table. It was completely out of place in its setting. On top of it, Taro saw something that seemed to be a sheet of paper. He entered the cell to take a closer look at it. He sat down on one of the two stools that had been placed near the table.
He quickly glanced over the paper. It seemed to be filled with nothing but numbers, just like the one in his pocket. When he turned it around and inspected the back, he saw a series of words alternated by numbers. While this pattern was clearly different from the ones he’d seen before, the content was till nonsensical. He had no clue what this document meant, but it seemed to be placed here on purpose.
When he was about to put the paper back down, Taro noticed a small coin lying on the table. It had probably been hidden away beneath the paper. He took up the coin and inspected it thoroughly. There was a figure engraved, illustrating two swords crossing each other. One of the swords seemed to be bend and misshaped, like a... horn? Taro did not recognize the design, nor had he ever read about or seen this kind of currency. While it seemed like another relic of the past, the coin was abnormally clean for something ancient. That meant someone must’ve recently placed it here.
He was particularly interested by the coin and decided to take it with him. Maybe he could find a book about ancient currencies that explained the origins of it. The fact that he found it at a murder scene in a deserted cell behind a secret door, made it all the more mysterious.
Apart from those two things, nothing else of interest was present on the table. He got ready to leave the room, since nothing of interest seemed to be left. However, that’s when something unimaginable happened.
“Are you sure you don’t want to take that with you?”
Taro could not believe his eyes. A girl was suddenly sitting at the other side of the table. He was sure he hadn’t seen a sign of her when he had entered the room. Also, he hadn’t seen or heard her approaching him. So when did she…
Her long crystal-colored hair fell down onto the table. The girl’s posture was completely relaxed, as if she was talking to a close friend in a comfortable place. Her entire attitude was completely off for someone who was talking to a stranger in a cold, hidden prison.
Despite her relaxed posture, she had an air of control blowing over her. Even without knowing her, Taro knew her question was less of a inquiry than it was a demand.
“Who are you, and how did you get here?”
The girl did not answer. She shook her hand forcefully. The paper inside of it, followed its movement.
Was she one of the slaves that they were searching for? If yes, maybe she knew where the others were…
“Are you… living in this house?” Taro could not bring himself to say the word ‘slave’.
“…”
“Do you know where the others are? We’re looking for you, so we can gather more information on what happened to your master…”
“How long are you going to let me hold this for you? If you don’t want it, I can just rip it as well.” She pulled the paper back and grabbed it with her both hands, clearly ready to follow up on her words.
“That would also mean you’d lose one precious clue though…”
“W-wait! I’ll take it!” Taro panicked upon hearing the paper could be a clue. Even though he did not trust the girl in front of him at all, she did not seem to be lying. If she was implying this paper has something to do with the murder, Taro needed to take her up to her word.
The girl sighed deeply.
“So… Do you want it, or not?” She held out the paper again. This time, Taro took it from her hands.
When he had carefully folded it and stashed it away, the girl stood up and walked towards the exit. Taro quickly blocked her path. Whoever this girl was, he could not simply let her leave. Her sudden appearance and mysterious behavior aside, he needed to gather clues from anyone who was in this mansion. If this girl was one of those slaves, she might have more information on what happened with Donovan.
The girl halted and stared into his eyes. For every second that passed, it felt like there was a bomb exploding in his chest. That’s how hard his heart was beating, staggered by the uncomfortable gaze. It was if she was exploring the depths of his soul, simply by looking at him…
“I do have some questions, could you answer them first? Then, I’ll let you go…” Taro attempted to break the awkward situation.
“No.”
“…What did you say?”
“No.” Her decline was harsh and resolute.
“…I’m sorry, but I really need answers. You know, there’s a girl I need to save and for that, I need to solve this mystery first…”
The girl started walking towards him.
“You have all the information you need.”
“Huh?” Taro did not understand what she meant. She pointed at the pocket where he had hidden the paper and the coin.
“Follow the path they lead you to, and you will get answers.” Her explanation was as cryptical as before.
“What do you mean?” Taro tried fishing for more information, but it had no effect. The girl walked towards him, completely ignorant of the fact that he was blocking her only escape. Taro readied himself for anything she would try to do. Even if he had to use some little force, he could not allow his source of information to walk away…
…
The girl simply walked past him. Taro could not move a single muscle of his body. It was as if he had been completely frozen in place by some kind of magical force. His only chance of solving these riddles, was leaving and he could do nothing about it. The familiar feeling of powerlessness returned. In the moment she crossed him, he saw a faint glittering on her head. Where had he seen that before…?
“…I guess I can give you some slight motivation. You will find the ones you’re looking for if you follow the path I’ve mapped out for you.”
The ones he was looking for? Did she mean Liss? How did she know about her…?
“As for the slaves, don’t bother. They are long gone to a place you won’t find.”
The girl was standing straight behind him. He could almost feel her breath on his back. However, his body was still completely frozen in place, so the only thing he could do was listen.
“Lastly, the woman you’re with. Phoenia. She’s not who you think she is. Under no circumstances, show her the items you’ve gathered here. Follow her. Use her and let her use you. But don’t trust her. She is rooted too deeply within the corrupted core of this city, and won’t step back from sacrificing others for the sake of her own ambitions.”
He heard the footsteps of the girl ascending the old stairway.
“Then, I’m off. Good luck with your search. I hope I won’t be disappointed in your results.”
After a couple of minutes from the last sound of her voice, Taro regained control over his body. He turned around to see if there was still any clue of her, but an empty room greeted him. Taro stormed upstairs and exited the room, but the corridors were as empty as when he’d left them. A grinding noise sounded behind them. The door had completely shut. Even when Taro tried to force it back open it, the wall wouldn’t budge. Whatever that prison had been, he would not be able to go back to it anymore.
He continued the search for the girl, but he never found her. When he asked Phoenia about her findings later, she answered she hadn’t seen a single soul. When they finally stood back outside and questioned the sole guard, who was still waiting for his companion to return, he also responded negatively. It was almost as if the girl had vanished into thin air.
After their investigation, Taro had even more questions. Who was that girl? What were the items he’d found? Who murdered Donovan and why?
But the question that was lingering on the foreground of his mind, was only one:
If he could trust the girl’s words, what was Phoenia hiding from him…?
