Chapter 18

"This is a charming little village." Tomas surveyed the cluster of houses from what was anyone's best guess at the village's edge. The party, save for Celine, stood beside the road, resting from their trip south as they waited for her to come back from her reconnaissance. "Very quaint... I kind of like it. Like-"

"Yes, yes, we get it," Celine said, walking back to the party. She waved to the villager she'd just spoken with before addressing everyone. "She said it's the home over there," she explained, pointing. "The headman is the other way, the bigger house over there. It'll be faster if we split up. Tomas, go have a look around the family's home. I'll ask the parents and see if there's anyone else with ideas. Lycia, Karshe, and Sverre, go ask the headman for any details not listed in the request."

"Actually," Tomas interjected. "Sverre, come with me. I might need some help."

Help? Since when is Sverre useful for inspecting small details? Krarshe wondered. A wink and a nod from Tomas told him everything. R-right... He glanced at Lycia.

"Uh. Sure, let's do that then. Sverre, just don't frighten anyone this time," Celine said.

This time?

"Let's all reassemble here..." She checked the sky. "Mmm... How about dinner time? Should suffice for our investigations."

"Sounds good," Lycia said.

"Yes, ma'am!" Tomas said with exaggerated enthusiasm.

Celine rolled her eyes. "See you all back here then."

"Good luck!" said Tomas, waving as he left.

Lycia waved back, but then said quietly to Krarshe, "What would we need luck for exactly?"

Krarshe knew the well-wishing was for him specifically, from Tomas' smirk alone, so he just shrugged. You really think NOW is the time, Tomas?

This village, on Remonnet's border with Ostrium to the south, was small enough that even Valenfort looked like a city by comparison. Calling it a village felt excessive, more like an encampment with permanent structures. It did make the trek to the headman's house quick, though.

A knock and a moment later, an old man came to the door. He squinted slightly as he inspected the two elves. Seeing the silver tags about their necks, he said in his shaky voice, "You must be the adventurers. A notice from the guild came just the other day informing me of your coming. Please, come in and have a seat."

The house was sparsely decorated and furnished. Not surprising, given the size of the village. The headman looked as though he was too old to do much activity, unlike Marcel who regularly helped around the village, so the meager taxes were probably his only income.

"We don't want to waste precious time, so if it's okay, we'll get right to it. Do you think you could tell us any details about this incident?"

The headman shuffled over to the table and chairs. He gestured for Krarshe and Lycia to sit, only sitting once both of them had. "Sorry, what was the question again?"

"Could you tell us about the incident?" she repeated.

The headman stared down at his bony hands, fingers laced. "Hmm... Did you speak with the family yet?"

"No, sir. Other members of our party are taking care of that now," Krarshe said.

Lycia added, "We figured it'd be faster to split up."

"Oh. Mmm... I'm afraid I don't have much more information about the disappearance. The boy apparently just disappeared without a trace overnight."

"We didn't know it was a child. How old was the boy?" Lycia asked.

The headman brought his finger to his mouth, tapping his lip as he thought. "I think he turned four last cycle."

Krarshe and Lycia exchanged looks. The boy's age and the circumstances surrounding his disappearance seemed unusual for slavers.

Lycia continued her questioning. "Has there been any word of increased monster activity in the area?"

The headman shook his head.

"Any mercenary bands?"

More head shaking.

"I doubt it, but has there been any... illegal slaving?"

"None that I've heard."

Lycia chewed on her thumbnail.

"Besides, none of those would make a child disappear in the night as mysteriously as this." He pursed his dry lips and shook his head before continuing. "Our hunters found no signs of anyone entering the home. No indications of any kind of struggle. We almost wondered if a vampire had taken him away..."

Lycia raised an eyebrow. "A vampire?" she said incredulously.

"I'm certain it's not, of course," the headman assured her. "But people are always quick to jump to such conclusions. I couldn't imagine a vampire hunting in such a remote village."

"Do these vampires really take people away like this?" Krarshe had heard occasional stories of these creatures from his do'mro, but he'd never actually seen one.

"I have no idea. My mother would be better to ask."

"Who knows, though. With all those other children that have disappeared, maybe there actually is a wandering vampire."

Lycia's attention snapped back to the headman. "Wait. Other children?"

"I thought it was just the one," Krarshe said.

"Oh, yes, yes, in this village. Just the one. I meant the children from the other villages."

Krarshe could practically read Lycia's mind. "Tell us about these other children."

"I haven't heard much, just rumors."

Both elves sat across the wood table, listening attentively.

"Well... Barnsley had one child go missing... maybe a quarter-cycle ago? I think they were a bit older than our Remi." The headman tapped his lower lip with his thin index finger again as he thought. "In Hythe... I think it was two. Brother and sister. Think they were... Oh, what was it... Nine and three?"

"When did those two disappear?"

"The siblings were... Must have been a cycle ago at least."

"Please, give us any more details you can about these incidents."

The headman looked Lycia straight in the eye. "Unfortunately, this is all I know. They disappeared just like our child here."

"Why didn't they ask the guild for help?"

"They did," he said. "As far as I've heard, the adventurers at the time never found anything, in either case."

Is this what the receptionist was referring to? Krarshe wondered.

"I'm terribly sorry I couldn't be of more help. Perhaps the boy's parents can enlighten you further."

"No, no, it's fine. We'll see what we can find and be sure to find this Remi," Lycia said, standing up from the table.

Krarshe followed suit. With a quick bow, they left the headman's house.

"So..." Krarshe started once outside. "Any ideas?"

"Not a single one," she sighed with a shake of her head. "I really figured this would be a case of slavers when we took it. But now..."

"It might be possible if the slavers were mages," Krarshe mused.

"Someone would have noticed traces of mana, I'm sure."

"Does magic leave mana traces?"

"Usually. I don't know the spell, but apparently you can detect it."

"Huh. Seems like a useful spell."

"Yeah... Too bad our training had to be halted before we learned it..."

Krarshe hadn't thought about Master in a long time. What was it she was doing anyway? He really wished she was here to assist on this quest. "So, now what?"

"Not sure..."

As she thought, Krarshe realized it was just the two of them. Like old times. Thank you, Tomas! "Umm..."

Before he could say anything, Lycia said, "I guess we should regroup for now. We could ask other people, but I doubt they'd have any more information than the headman at this point."

"O-oh... Yeah..." I'm a krun. Of course. Now's not the time.

They made their way to where Tomas and Sverre were. Both were surprised to see them back so soon but continued with their tasks.

Rather, Tomas continued carefully inspecting the outside of the home and roadway. Sverre just stood there, looking naturally intimidating.

Eventually, Celine emerged from the house. "Oh, you two are done?"

"A while ago, actually," Krarshe said.

"The headman had limited information. Some might be useful, but what did you find first?" said Lycia.

"Well, I got a description of the boy, at least. But they had no idea what happened. Said they put him to bed one night and by morning he was gone. They didn't hear anything at all, which is a bit odd."

"I mean, I used to sneak out at night without my parents waking up," Tomas said.

"Your house didn't have the floor boards that theirs do. Almost impressively creaky. Even you couldn't get out quietly."

After a moment of Celine and Tomas exchanging dueling glares over her statement, Sverre said, "Got boy description?"

"Right. He's about this tall," she said, holding her hand just below her waist, "and has brown hair in a mushroom style."

"In a mushroom style?" Krarshe asked.

"Yes." She paused before Krarshe's confused expression pressed her to continue. "It's a way of cutting one's hair-"

"I got this," Tomas said. "First, picture Sverre's hair."

Krarshe looked at the bald, tattooed head of the Gaer swordsman.

"Now, imagine there's hair."

Sverre looked down at Krarshe. A moment later, he smiled an exaggerated smile big enough to see his white teeth from under his beard.

"There you go."

Tomas and Sverre laughed as Krarshe's confusion deepened.

Celine smacked Tomas upside the head. "This is serious." Both men straightened up. "Picture hair where it's all the same length. Like this," she explained, showing with the bits of hair out of her braid, tracing her finger around her head.

"Oh, I think I understand. I guess it's aptly named."

"Did you find out anything else?" Lycia asked, getting back to the topic at hand.

"Sadly, no. Most of the time was spent consoling them and praying for the boy's well-being."

"My turn next then," Tomas said. "I found nothing."

"Like..."

"Like, no indications of anyone breaking in."

Celine thought for a moment. "Wait, no breaking in?"

"Right. Specifically, no one entering. I did find some faint shuffling EXITING, however. It was hard to identify, but definitely there." He paused before continuing, ensuring everyone would hear his discovery. "The individual didn't have much weight, clearly barefoot, and it originated from the house."

"... You're saying Remi shuffled out of the house on his own?" Lycia asked.

Tomas nodded.

"But why-"

"That's not the weirdest part though." Again, he paused. "They disappear."

"What?"

Tomas looked at Celine. "Exactly what it sounds like. They shuffle for a bit, then... Poof. Gone."

"Could the trail have been lost to other foot traffic?" Lycia asked.

"Not like this," Tomas said. "Normally, the tracks would fade away, be distorted and make it harder to read. These go from noticeable — at least to the well-trained eye — to just... gone."

The party all exchanged worried, concerned looks.

"Well, there are flying predators at night, right? Like, those horsebats we culled?"

"Lycia's right. We don't know what it is yet. Let's not jump to any conclusions," Celine said. "So, what did the headman say?"

"Honestly, nothing of value. About this case, at least."

"What do you mean 'this case'?"

"He did inform us that two other villages in the area have had similar disappearances."

"What?!" Celine nearly attacked Lycia. "What else?!"

With Lycia still reeling from surprise, Krarshe explained, "Both cases were children also. One village had two children disappear, even. Both cases were similar to this: mysterious."

The situation was becoming more grave.

"Think it best we investigate other village," Sverre said.

"I agree," Tomas said.

"Then that's our next step. There's no time to lose here," said Celine.

With that, they once again were on the road, not so much as waiting to eat.

* * *

Krarshe watched the comings and goings of farmers on the road into the walled town of Courmont, the largest town in the area. It served as a prime trading town for the residents in the area, and one of the few stops for merchants coming north. He had stopped in towns like this many times when he was a merchant, and their importance to people's survival could not be understated.

"That's what I'm saying!"

Krarshe had long since given up listening to the debating of his party, but Tomas' outburst was impossible to ignore. Guess they're still at it.

The investigations into Barnsley and Hythe resulted in the same conclusion: something strange was happening. Further, the people there had heard rumors of other children in nearby villages going missing too. Some claimed there were similar events in the towns and cities too, but that was impossible to verify as people go missing in metropolises and no one thinks twice about it. At least, in cases revolving around those less well-off. He hadn't lived in Remonnet long, but even he knew it'd be an insurmountable challenge to keep track of every person in South Bank.

If the claims were to be believed, a pattern seemed to emerge, a path that the culprit was taking. Which, in the end, brought them to this town, the location they believed to be the most logical next target.

But, how to handle a situation like this was complicated. Too complicated for Krarshe, at least. So he decided to let the rest of them handle the planning.

"I really think we should just tell the guards."

Tomas took an exasperated breath. "If we do that, Celine... they'll suspect us first..."

"But we can't just not tell them," Lycia protested.

"No, no. Inform guild. They handle," Sverre countered.

"If we leave it to the guild, it will take days. Days we might not have," retorted Celine.

"That's why I'm saying-"

Celine interrupted, "Tomas, if we just act on our own, we'll seem even more suspicious than if we told the guards. Think about someone like Sverre, watching children nonstop! ... No offense, Sverre."

Sverre raised a hand. "No, you correct. That very dubious looking."

The argument was going around and around, everyone just entrenching themselves more. "What about this?" Krarshe walked over, unable to tolerate their bickering further. "We do all three."

Everyone beheld him, as though they forgot he was even there.

"Inform the guards. If they refuse to act, tell them we'll be taking our concerns to the guild. Inform the guild we'll be taking action on the quest while they sort out the details as it pertains to our quest from Remonnet. And, if the guards give us any trouble, we explain this is related to the missing children case." Krarshe tried to gauge everyone's expression, but they still seemed vacant. "How does that sound?"

"I... guess that works," Celine said, nodding her approval.

"Honestly, probably the best plan. Though, I might have one of the girls tell the guards. Be less strange than if Sverre did it. Once again, no offense."

Sverre pat Tomas on the shoulder hard enough to make the rogue's knees buckle. "No worry. I inform guild. Know how to... motivate them."

Krarshe couldn't even guess what kind of "motivation" he would employ, based on how he said it. He decided not to ask.

"Sounds like it's settled then," Lycia said. "Good job, Krarshe. I figured you were just watching farmers go by."

I WAS just watching farmers... "My do-, my grandfather used to say it's better to watch and listen sometimes. A different perspective can be insightful."

"Sagacious word," Sverre noted.

"That's a new one. 'Sagacious'..." Tomas said.

"Let's get going. We've wasted a lot of time," Celine said. Her braid coiled around her as she turned. "Let me handle the guards, Lycia. They won't doubt one from the Church of Teva."

"Be my guest. I always get nervous talking to people I don't know."

"Really? You seemed fine with the headman the other day," Krarshe said.

"Y-yeah. Well, I wasn't alone then..." She followed behind Celine without waiting for a reply.

"How's that?" Tomas whispered as he elbowed Krarshe. "You give her courage."

"E-enough. Let's go," Krarshe muttered.

He could hear Sverre and Tomas laugh behind him.

As they got closer to the town's checkpoint, Celine casually moved off to the side, allowing a few other travellers to step ahead of her. Easier to disassociate from the rest of the party, Tomas explained quietly.

Once through the town's gate, Sverre immediately headed for the guild. Krarshe, Lycia, and Tomas stayed behind to watch over Celine, close enough to keep an eye on her but far enough that it wasn't clear they were together.

While Krarshe couldn't hear what was being said, it was pretty clear what was transpiring. The guards seemed disinterested in what she was saying and only appeared to get irritated with her persistence. Finally, clearly frustrated, Celine stomped away, the guards snickering as she left.

"So... What did they say?" Tomas asked once they were out of sight from the checkpoint.

Celine grunted. "Dregs. Dregs, all of them. Curses..."

Krarshe and Lycia exchanged glances. This was the first time they'd heard Celine curse.

"That bad, huh?" Tomas asked, unafraid of her ire.

"They didn't believe me..."

"Oh?" Tomas truly knew no fear.

"They claimed there were enough guards in this town, that they weren't some decrepit village, and didn't need my warning. Accused me of insulting their watchmen..."

"... I guess that makes sense," Tomas said, draping an arm around her shoulder. "But, they didn't suspect you. So clearly, you were right- Oof!"

Katia's swift elbow caught him right in the gut.

"Awfully violent... for a cleric..." Tomas choked.

"Hmph!"

The two elves watched the typical reconciliation efforts from Tomas. Seemed this was every other day.

Once they were back in their usual affectionate state, Krarshe asked, "What's the plan now? Just watch every child in the town all day and night?"

"Given the size of this town, I feel it'll be similar to the others, most likely a child from a poorer district. Not that we have evidence of that, but that's probably the most logical place for children to go missing," Celine said, restating their earlier conclusion.

"Think children'll go missing?"

They all turned to see a child standing there. His dirty hair and clothes revealed his living conditions.

"That's nothing new 'round here," the boy said.

Celine squatted down. "Sir, this is a case from the guild in the capitol. I don't think... it's what you're thinking."

"Ooh. You mean something scary's happening."

She paused. "That may be the case. We're not sure though, so that's why we're here investigating."

"Must be the Snatcher then, no?"

Celine looked confused. "Why do you say that?"

"You said children'll go missing. So you're investigating these missing children. Who else but the Snatcher?" The boy had a smug grin on his face, like he'd just solved a riddle adults couldn't.

Krarshe thought for a moment. The Five Curses was one he'd heard countless times now. The line about the Snatcher taking woke babes in the night seemed to resonate with this case. "You know..."

"I know your parents probably tell you the Snatcher will take you away if you stay up late, but it's just a story," Celine explained.

"Then I'll prove it to you!" The boy was tenacious, unwilling to be wrong. "Let me help catch it!"

Celine grimaced slightly, as if she knew the question was coming but didn't want to respond.

"Listen," Tomas said, squatting down beside Celine. "This is a dangerous quest. We can't have you risking your life."

"But-"

"No 'buts'."

The child's face contorted, on the verge of crying. "... You don't know where to go... Right?"

They were all taken aback by this sudden, correct counter.

"You don't, right?! You said poor districts. I can show you where to go! I live in Courmont, I know where the most children live!"

Tomas held up a finger as if to retort, mouth agape, but made no sound. Finally, he turned around. "Group meeting."

The four of them huddled up a few feet from the eager child.

"No, you're not involving a child that age in this," Celine said flatly.

"... He's right though," Tomas said.

"We might need his help," Krarshe agreed.

"At least a little, so we can narrow down the areas," Lycia added.

Celine looked at Lycia, betrayed.

"Do you believe his claims?" Krarshe asked. "About it being the Snatcher?"

"Pfft. No. That's a story to scare children. Like the Deepmother," Tomas said.

"Don't say that to a dwarf," Lycia fired back. "Your head will be hewn in half in a second."

"I figure we can humor him, you know?" Tomas continued, unperturbed by Lycia's statement. "We'll probably be keeping a watch at night anyway. I frankly don't want to shatter his hopes and dreams, but I do want to solve this quest."

"Mmm..." Celine thought for a moment. "Fine."

"Do we let him come with us?" Krarshe asked.

"Teva's mercy, n-"

"Sure! If he's just keeping watch with us late at night in his own neighborhood, it should be fine."

"Tomas!"

"It'll be fine, Celine. He'll fall asleep well before we'd need to take action."

"What about his parents?" she asked.

"Make him get permission," Lycia answered. "That way, we don't have to turn him down ourselves."

"Ugh..." Celine groaned. "I don't like it when you're not on my side, Lycia."

"Okay, it's settled then!" Tomas turned back to the boy and got down to his eye level. "After conferring with my companions, we've agreed. You may assist us on our quest, IF you get your parents' permission first."

"That's easy! Don't have any!"

"Eh?"

Krarshe could see the realization wash over Tomas' face.

"Oh... Umm... Okay then. I guess you'll just be an honorary adventurer..." Tomas shifted uneasily as he spoke.

The boy, however, seemed overjoyed. "Really?! Thank Teva! I can't wait to tell my friends! They'll be so jealous!"

It was clear the rest of the party wasn't sure how to act after hearing this, so Krarshe stepped forward. "My name's Krarshe. I know it's hard to pronounce, so don't worry about getting it right." He extended his hand.

The boy smiled a big, toothy smile. "I'm Luc!"

Krarshe shook the boy's hand. "Pleasure to be working with you. Now, this quest is very important, so let's get to work."

"Yeah!" the boy shouted, exuberantly.

Krarshe looked at his fellow party members. They seemed to have relaxed. Lycia smiled at him. "Luc, can you show us where to keep watch?"