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"Now, what?" Valeria\'s voice cut through the stillness as she followed Lucavion down the cobblestone path. Now that they\'d finished their meal, his promised time to act had arrived, and she was eager to know what exactly he had in mind.

Lucavion glanced back at her, his smile shifting, growing colder, almost chilling. "Just follow me," he said, his voice low, uncharacteristically without a trace of teasing. "You\'ll see soon enough."

Without waiting for her response, he moved ahead, slipping deeper into the dimly lit alleyways, his footsteps quiet and sure. Valeria hesitated only for a moment, then followed, her curiosity bubbling just beneath the surface.

\'What could he be planning?\'

she wondered, her eyes fixed on his back as he guided her through Andelheim\'s shadowy streets.

\'And what exactly are we going to do? He\'s never this serious…\'

Yet somehow, seeing this colder, focused side of him, Valeria felt a strange sense of confidence. Against all reason, whenever Lucavion got serious like this, she couldn\'t help but feel like he was… dependable. Reliable, even.

The street they walked narrowed, the noises of the festival-like atmosphere slowly fading away until the only sounds were the distant hum of voices and the echo of their footsteps. Valeria\'s mind raced with questions, but she held them back, unwilling to disturb the silence between them. There was something about his composure, his quiet intensity, that told her not to interrupt.

She studied him as they walked, noting the way his gaze stayed forward, unwavering, scanning their surroundings as if every shadow held something important. She\'d seen him bold, reckless, and infuriatingly smug. But this—this was different. This Lucavion carried an edge that cut through her usual skepticism.

After a few moments, he finally spoke, his voice low and calm. "The boy we saw in the tournament," he began, his eyes still fixed forward, "he isn\'t there by choice, Valeria. And he isn\'t the only one."

"That much was obvious," she replied, a frown darkening her face. "There was also the girl—she seemed about his age, and… they even moved alike." She paused, a disturbing realization settling over her. It wasn\'t just their appearance, with the same dark fur and lean, agile build, but something in the way they acted, almost like they were bound by the same invisible chains. "You think she\'s in the same situation?"

Lucavion nodded, his gaze forward. "People like them tend to come in groups. Those who get captured… it\'s usually an entire village, especially with beastkin. Their villages are tight-knit. When raiders or slavers come for them, they don\'t just take one—they take all they can get."

Valeria felt a pang of understanding, her hand unconsciously tightening on the hilt of her sword. She had never thought of herself as naïve, but hearing it laid out so plainly—the organized, systematic way lives were stolen—it was as horrifying as it was clear. She glanced back at Lucavion, noting the subtle tension in his shoulders. This was the side of him that, despite herself, she trusted, a side that hinted at an understanding of the cruelty of the world she had yet to fully grasp.

They walked in silence until Lucavion suddenly raised a hand, signaling her to stop. "We\'re here," he murmured, glancing at her with a serious expression.

Valeria\'s eyes widened slightly as she took in their surroundings. It was an unassuming alley, sandwiched between two modest buildings with dim, yellowing lights glowing from nearby windows. This street looked no different from the dozens they\'d passed earlier. She glanced around, searching for a sign of anything unusual, but the area seemed almost disappointingly ordinary.

\'How did he find this place?\'

she wondered, a ripple of admiration mingling with her suspicion.

As if sensing her silent question, Lucavion offered a faint smile, though his eyes remained steely. He tilted his head towards a small, iron-barred window, nearly hidden beneath thick vines trailing from above. "Sometimes," he said quietly, "the places that look the most ordinary hide the darkest secrets."

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

"That still doesn\'t answer my question." She replied, understanding that he had mostly expected her question inside.

"Heh….Not everything needs to be revealed. Everyone has their own ways, isn\'t that the case?" Lucavion replied as he readied himself.

Seeing that the was not going to reply at all, she decided to ditch the question as well. This guy was like that, and she had already started getting used to it.

Valeria followed Lucavion\'s lead, her senses on high alert. The narrow street held an unnatural quiet, almost as if it were holding its breath, and the dimly lit buildings seemed to watch them as they passed. Lucavion moved without hesitation, each step leading them closer to an unassuming inn tucked between two shadowed buildings.

Inside, the place bore a faint resemblance to the Iron Matron but lacked its warmth and familiarity. The tables were scattered with patrons, some huddled in close conversation, others nursing drinks alone, yet there was an undeniable shift in the atmosphere as they entered. Valeria could feel it—a change in the air, a prickling awareness as several pairs of eyes shifted in their direction.

\'Why does everyone look so on edge?\'

she wondered, her hand instinctively moving toward her sword. This was an inn; strangers should be a common sight. But the way these patrons looked at them made her feel as if they\'d broken an unspoken rule.

Before she could think further, Lucavion had already made his way to the bar.

The bartender\'s eyes narrowed as Lucavion approached, his expression shifting to something cold and unwelcoming. His voice, when he finally spoke, was gruff and edged with thinly veiled disdain. "What\'ll it be?"

Lucavion didn\'t appear the least bit perturbed. He flashed his usual easy smile and leaned a little closer his tone light. "A simple drink, whatever\'s fresh on tap."

The bartender\'s eyes lingered on him for a moment, as if sizing him up, before he gave a slight, almost reluctant nod. Without another word, he turned and began preparing the drink, his movements stiff and mechanical. Valeria could feel the thick tension in the air, the prickling of silent hostility surrounding them from all corners of the room. This was not a place that welcomed strangers, and they had very clearly made themselves the exception tonight.

She moved to stand beside Lucavion, her posture controlled, her own gaze sweeping the room. She could tell Lucavion was up to something, but it was still unclear to her what that might be. Why would he bring her to this inn, of all places, simply to sit and drink in hostile silence?

Her curiosity finally broke through, and as Lucavion caught her eye, he gave her that familiar, mischievous smile—the one that always seemed to imply he knew more than he let on.

"What are we doing here?" she asked in a low voice, the question more an expression of her wariness than anything else.

Lucavion chuckled softly, leaning in slightly as if sharing a secret. "Patience, Valeria. Sometimes you have to sit back, enjoy a drink, and let things reveal themselves."

She arched an eyebrow, unimpressed. "In this case, \'things\' appear to be the glares from half the room."

He merely shrugged, his smirk never faltering. "Glares are harmless enough," he murmured, "if you know how to ignore them." He raised his glass as the bartender slid it across the counter, casting a wry glance around the room. "Besides," he added quietly, "our purpose here will make itself clear soon enough."

Valeria\'s fingers hovered near her sword, her body tensed but her mind reluctantly began to trust his lead. This side of Lucavion was one she was starting to recognize—the subtle confidence, the air of certainty that suggested he was always two steps ahead.

\'Why does it feel like that? I don\'t understand?\'

Yet, she could do nothing about it. Top of Form

"Here…..Two cups of Rentrak Extract."

As their drinks arrived, a sudden movement caught Valeria\'s eye. A man stepped forward from the shadows of the room, his build slight and a bit malnourished, his face marked by a deep scar that ran from his brow to his jaw. Behind him trailed a handful of rough-looking men, each one sporting the telltale demeanor of street thugs. Their clothes were worn and patched, and their expressions were a mixture of sneers and cold calculation.

The scarred man stopped a few paces away from them, his gaze fixed on Lucavion with a hint of mockery. "Well, well," he drawled, his voice low and rough. "What brings the two of you here? We have never seen the two of you here before." He smirked, looking Lucavion and Valeria up and down with a disdainful sneer.

Valeria\'s hand instinctively drifted closer to her sword, but Lucavion remained unfazed. He took a slow sip of his drink and then smirked.

"What else could it be? We are here to meet with the

Shrouded Whisper

."

And the moment that name left his mouth, the entire inn fell silent.