"Are you certain that it was Laquis and not bandits or someone else?" One of the guards in the front asked skeptically. "I am," I replied, "Bandits don't torture this accurately, and they definitely wouldn't kill kids and women, they're valuable goods in the Eastern Countries. And it wasn't terrorists, there's no meaning behind killing a village in the middle of the borders. Therefore, it's Laquis. You are supposed to be the group with the best eyes in Ciel's Guard, but you thought it was bandits. Now, we. Need. To go. She might have sent others to come back to clean up." I shut off any responses by giving a glare that could scare a troll, and returned to my horse with Clarys.

*****    

     "She?" I asked. Does this have to do with him having experience with Laquis' Special Forces? "You mentioned that 'she' might have sent some people to clean up. Do you know the person or people behind this?" I really wanted to know just what Dorian knew, because he and I were kinda stuck together and I didn't want to be blindsided by his past. "Uh," He started awkwardly, "that- that's a long story and we need to-" I cut him off before he could make an excuse. "Nuh-uh. You need to watch over me and make sure I grow into a proper Adventurer, and that's pretty unlikely if I have to deal with enemies I didn't know or make, cuz you felt uncomfortable sharing, which, by the way, is the first time I've ever seen you shaken up. So whoever 'she' is, is someone I need to fucking know about!" During my little outburst, Dorian looked more and more like a sad puppy who was just scolded for pissing on the rug.

     He took a sharp inhale then blew out. "Ok, fine, you're right. So, usually, when I make an enemy who hates my whole being, I can just, outlive them and avoid them. This time, however, I can't. Ok, I'm just gonna say it, I once was engaged to one Rekis Anua, heiress to the Anua Dukedom in Laquis, and the head of Laquis Special Forces. At first, she was fine, wonderful even. Then I found out she was a psychotic bitch. We had a um, 'disagreement on morals' that led to us breaking the engagement. Let's just say, she's smart, immoral, and kind of obsessive."

      "So she's an ex huh?" I asked curtly. "Yeah, basically. And a dangerous one at that. It's one of the reasons I don't go to Morden very often. If she found out I was dating Silt, there would be Special Forces by the next day with kill orders. In any case, now that we took this job, she definitely knows about you, so if you're ever alone, avoid empty places, like alleyways. You are not prepared to deal with them. Now, let's get back to Ciel."

      "So, you think they're looking for something?" Ciel asked. "Yes, yes I do," I replied, "There were multiple villagers including the village chief who were tortured heavily. They needed information from them. The village might have been hiding a spy or some high-profile prisoner that got out of Laquis. That's my best guess. I think we're going to have to try and wait for any more movement." Ciel sat in silence as she mulled over my report. We had hurried over from the village to get back to her and were now sitting in her office giving her the run-down. "Ok. Well then, I'm gonna need to do a sweep of the city for spies and start stocking up on food. Thank you, both of you, now if you'll excuse me, there are things I must attend to. And by the way, go to Bertram for your reward."

      Sure enough, at the gates, there was Bertram, who had given us each a couple hundred crowns, enough to cover living expenses for a few months. When we were about to leave he placed his hand on my shoulder, "Sir Dorian, if it truly is Laquis, then I hope you can place your priorities in us. You are a great man." "Don't worry, Bert, Ciel will put a stop to any conflict, you know her as much as I do." He let go and a smile went on his face. "Safe travels."

*****

     "So, what do we do now? Slay some beasts, raid a tomb, or save some poor girl?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood. Dorian didn't really look lightened up though, he'd been sulking and thinking on things since we left. He mumbled something but I didn't catch it. "It's uh, it's getting late, let's go to an inn and get a meal. I'm hungry." 

     Eventually, I managed to drag his sulky ass to the inn we were at before. We got a couple of stares, likely due to the request to meet Miss Ciel earlier. I got a nice stew and Dorian got a steak. We ate in silence as Dorian was still in his sulky thinking mode and wasn't talking. After a couple minutes of silence I got fed up with it and flicked his forehead, which did the trick. "Ow! What was that for?" I scowled at him. "You really don't know? After you told Miss Ciel what happened you've basically been sulking this entire time. By Archaios you probably didn't even realize we went to the inn we went to the first time, did you?"

      He looked like a fish while trying to reply but eventually sighed and gave a response, "I really have been sulking, huh? Uuuuggghhh. I'm just trying to figure out what Rekis was after. She isn't the type to obsess over something small, and since the whole village was destroyed, she has her eyes on something, and it's bad. But, I don't have a clue what it is. I mean, she could've just taken the chief and interrogated him, then dumped him in the forest so it'd look like an accident. But whatever it is she wants, she killed an entire village to find it." He looked very worried about this, and I can't even help him because this is from his past, not mine.

      "Also Clarys, I was listening, at least at the beginning, when you mentioned the beasts, tombs, and whatnot. And since I've been doing only missions, I need something else to do, and some dusty old tomb might be it. I heard a couple of months ago, when I was dealing with some lizards to the south, that there is a new ruin that's been uncovered. I think we should do it. So I'd like you to get ready tomorrow morning for a trip." He finished his steak and drink and started going to his room but stopped. "And Clarys, thanks for trying to cheer me up," he said with a smile.