“I hope my attacker doesn't come back here.”

Whoever attacked Astoria had left the room, but they could return any time. The four looked around the room to make sure they were the only people in the room. There was no one else there.

The state of the room was disconcerting. There was blood everywhere. It was all over the bed, Astoria, the floor, and the walls. The blood stained the sheets and the pillow. It was all Astoria's blood. The only things the room wasn't stained with were the windows.

Olivia looked at Astoria. “Astoria, if you're worried about who might come back to finish the job, we will need to set up a guard. I'll put a patrol in the corridor, and someone will patrol the room.”

Astoria nodded. “Do it. I think I can handle myself, but it would be nice to have someone in the room while I rest. I feel safe when I have someone in the room, and I like having a guard outside.”

“No problem. I'll take care of it.” Olivia headed out of the room to set up a guard.

Rinaldo shook his head. “We need to search Astoria's room for anything that will help identify her attacker.”

“I'm sure she'll tell us who it was when she's feeling better.” Ela stood and stretched.

Ela had a point. Rinaldo was sure Astoria would give them a statement when she was ready. For now, it would be best to leave her be. Astoria seemed to not be in a mood to talk or engage in social interaction. She just wanted to sleep.

However, it was possible she didn't tell Rinaldo who it was since the answer would bother him. What if it was Ricardo? Brainwashed or not, Ricardo had always been a formidable fighter. He was strong, and he was fast. Speed was the key to emerging victorious against someone like Astoria.

Another way to best Astoria in combat was to overpower her, but Rinaldo doubted someone could do that. No, the best way to beat her was to distract her. Distract her, and she would never know what hit her. He was sure her attacker had figured out a way to do that.

Olivia returned with a familiar face and explained the plan to him. “Ogier, I'm going to set up a guard outside Astoria's room, and will inform the guards of this information. Is that okay with you?”

“Of course. Everyone is a suspect until we have a lead. I wouldn't mind being informed of the progress in finding the attacker.”

Rinaldo was happy to have a familiar face here to take charge of the situation. but wasn't it overkill to have one of the Emperor's finest warriors standing outside Astoria's door instead of a guard? It was the equivalent of swatting a mosquito with a cannonball.

Rinaldo turned to the man. “Long time no see, Ogier.”

Ogier turned to him. “It's been a while, Rinaldo.”

Ogier was a part of the Luminous Knights. He was one of the Emperor's most trusted men and a seasoned combat veteran. Rinaldo had never seen Ogier as anything but a fierce fighter, but as a man, he was the opposite.

The blonde was a caring and loving person, and took a lot of pride in helping people. He was the type of person Astoria would be most comfortable around. He was a couple of inches shorter than Rinaldo, but looked like he was in shape and could fight.

Astoria woke to the familiar sound of someone clearing their throat. She looked around and saw Ogier. “Oh, good, you're here. I was worried the situation might get out of hand.”

“I've been appointed as your personal guard until you're better.” Ogier sat on the bed beside Astoria.

Astoria nodded. “I'll be all right. The only thing I need is a bit of rest. I feel like I've had a long night.”

After they set up the guard, Olivia and Rinaldo retired to the dining hall for the evening meal. They knew Ogier would stay in Astoria's room, and he would keep Astoria safe. It was an unusual situation, but one that one would have to take in stride.

A few hours later, Rinaldo was still in the dining hall, lost in thought. The thought of someone attacking Astoria disturbed him. Even if her wounds had healed, her attacker had left her a mess. Rinaldo stood up and made his way towards his room.

He took a long way around, and took the path outside the main part of the building, through the castle's outer wall. He was just leaving the courtyard when he heard the most peculiar noise.

“Aaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggg.”

Rinaldo turned around. In front of him stood a large, grey, wolf-like creature. The creature's head was large, and had a large mouth lined with sharp teeth. The creature stood on two legs, and its four back legs were a mix of grey and black fur.

Its eyes were the only parts of the creature that looked natural. The rest of its body was a combination of a human and  a wolf. It walked forward, growling. Rinaldo stared at the creature. He'd seen nothing like it before.

He heard another rumble behind him, and turned around to see another creature coming through the wall. The second creature looked the same as the first. As if two weren't enough, the third creature appeared.

“Hello there.” Rinaldo looked up at the creatures. They didn't seem to be friendly.

The creatures growled and made their way towards him. He knew he couldn't turn and run and would have to take a chance. He would have to use everything in his power to protect himself, and he would have to use his sword.

Rinaldo pulled his sword out of his sheath, and held it in front of him. He stepped towards the creature as he readied himself to strike. The creature charged toward him, so he quickly made a defensive move to defend himself.

The two creatures attacked him from different sides, so Rinaldo quickly blocked one of them with his blade. The other creature charged from behind, but Rinaldo was ready. He quickly swung his sword down, cutting the creature in two.

The creature's body fell to the ground. The other creature ran off as Rinaldo turned back to face the last creature. “It's just the two of us now.”

The creature charged at Rinaldo. Rinaldo quickly stepped back and swung his blade at the creature's face. He cut deep into the creature's face. The creature cried out as it fell to the ground, hitting its face against the ground. The creature did not try to rise.

Instead, it dissolved into a black liquid. A large pool of blackness formed around the creature. The blackness swirled and bubbled. The creature's body vanished, and the black liquid bubbled. It was not a liquid, but some sort of black gas.

“What in the name of all that's holy?”

Rinaldo dropped his sword and held his hand over his nose and mouth. The black gas smelled like gasoline mixed with sulphur. He pulled his hand away. It felt like he was breathing in a bowl of sulphur, causing his eyes to burn and his throat to ache.

He ran back into the palace, not willing to take the chance of staying there any longer. When he got to his room, he slammed the door open. He had to get some fresh air, because the smell was awful. It was nearly impossible to breathe without gagging.

Rinaldo paced around the room, and opened his window. “There, that's better. I'm glad this is happening while I'm not inside.”

He turned around to sit on his bed. As he closed his eyes, he heard the door opening. The door swung open slowly, and he turned to see Olivia enter the room. “What are you doing here?”

Olivia walked into the room, and sat on the bed. She turned to Rinaldo. “I figured you needed to know something.”

“What is it?”

“I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?”

Rinaldo leaned forward. “Let's go with bad news.”

“The Star Crown has been stolen.”

The Star Crown was one of the seven artefacts left by the Great Sage. Rumours said it could grant its wearer wit beyond measure, but the truth was the Star Crown was a cursed item. Like other sage's artefacts, only someone worthy could wield it. The Emperor was the current wielder.

Charlie was lucky he didn't drop dead when he tried to wear it. Rinaldo didn't know what his friend was thinking when he found the crown. It wasn't a smart move to touch random things you saw in a ruin. Worst-case scenario, you'd find yourself no longer among the living.

Rinaldo jumped to his feet. “What? When did this happen?”

Olivia shook her head. “We don't know when it was stolen. But we're sure it was.”

“What about the good news?”

“The one that was stolen was only a replica.”

Rinaldo let out a sigh of relief. The real Star Crown was safe in a secret location. Or so he thought. Knowing the Emperor, he would probably hide it under the mattress in his bedroom. It was the most secure place in the palace.

No one dared to enter the Emperor's bedroom, let alone touch his things without permission. The last time someone did that, the Emperor got so angry he turned the palace upside down. After that incident, everyone knew better than to break his privacy.

“Is there any lead on who stole it?”

“No, we don't have any leads.” Olivia was quiet for a moment. “But I think it's the same person who kidnapped Clarissa and attacked Astoria.”

Rinaldo knew this was a big problem. If Ricardo turned out to be the person responsible, Rinaldo would need to stop him. He would need to do something before it was too late. What should he do? Tell the Emperor that Ricardo was the culprit, and then let him take care of him?

He would not do that. He needed to think first. How would he react if he told the Emperor that his friend was the culprit? Rinaldo wanted to talk to Ricardo. He just needed to figure out how to get to him without the Emperor knowing.

“This is bad.”

“I know, but there's not much we can do.” Olivia stood up, and walked to the door. “If anything comes up, I'll tell you immediately.”

Rinaldo watched her leave the room and then turned to his bed. He needed to get ready to locate Clarissa and Ricardo. He had to rescue Clarissa, and then somehow free Ricardo from the Black Sun's control, too.

He closed his eyes and sighed, wondering what would happen next. Also, what was up with the creatures that attacked him on the way to his room? What did they want? Did the Black Sun send them? Were they after him for some reason he couldn't fathom?

Thinking of all these questions made Rinaldo feel more tired than usual. It was a struggle to stay awake. He wasn't sure if it was the time of the day, or his worry about what was happening with his friend, but he didn't have enough energy left to keep his eyes open.

“If I don't sleep now, I won't have the energy to do what I must do tomorrow.”

Rinaldo laid down on the bed and fell asleep. It felt like an eternity since Rinaldo had last laid down for a good night's sleep. He didn't know how he could wake up in the morning. The next thing he knew, he woke up in the middle of the night.

It was pitch-black, and he couldn't see anything. All he heard was a scratching sound. He was trying to figure out what the sound was, when he heard someone laughing. It was coming from all sides, almost like someone was playing a trick on him.

Rinaldo stood up, and tried to see who was laughing. In the darkness, it was hard to figure out who was there. All he could see was a black shape. He moved in closer. As he stood on one foot, he reached out to the black shape, hoping it wasn't hostile.

“Who's there?”