Chapter 2: Before Nightfall - The Morgan Ruins

Kaega was heading out of the west city gate, where a field of ruins lay, a place where one could often find old records. Following him was the girl he had rescued. She had chosen to follow him; for now, she would obey his orders and would leave when she no longer felt safe.

Two hours earlier...

-I will follow you... though it's only temporary, I believe you can help me.

Kaega felt as if a weight had been lifted from his chest, but he didn't show his relief to the person before him. He began to ask for basic information.

-So, what's your name?

-Lyne... just Lyne.

-Alright, Lyne. I'm guessing you have information about what's happening. Can you explain it to me?

-To put it briefly, The Head Measurer and the ones who captured us belong to the Silver Mask Guild, a large guild with branches stretching all across Braum. In Aquila, their territory makes up a quarter of the city...

Kaega recalled the information he had learned from Rat Alley.

"There are four major organizations in Aquila: the Hunter's Guild, the Silver Mask Guild, the Blood Wolf Guild, and the God's Faith Guild. Among them, the Silver Mask Guild is the weakest here, and they don't often cause conflict."

-The Silver Mask Guild... I know about them. So what is this event that man was talking about?

-The Blood Feast is the night when the Silver Mask Guild seeks out potential children. Before the Blood Feast is the Bloodbath Ceremony, where they send assassins, or "hounds," to hunt the chosen ones for seven nights.

-So what happens after the seventh night?

-They send someone to deliver an invitation to the feast. After three days, those who don't show up will be hunted down and killed. As for those who do attend...

-They kill each other, right?

Lyne fell silent, which he took as a yes. Kaega quickly understood what kind of event this was.

"It seems this is an event for them to find new talent and bring new blood into the guild."

-The Blood Feast is held once every eight years...

-And The Head Measurer was one of the chosen like that, wasn't he?

Lyne nodded.

-So for the next seven days, we have to survive.

The girl was silent, looking at him for a moment before asking:

-Do you have a plan?

Kaega looked up at the sky, then held out his hand. Although the light was obscured by fog, he could still see his own shadow on the ground.

"The shadow is only a little long, which means the sun has just passed its zenith. There are about five or six hours until nightfall. I need to prepare a few things to survive."

-Lyne, do they operate aggressively in the territories of other guilds?

-No... At least, they try to avoid attracting attention in other guilds' territories.

-Alright. West of Rat Alley, these ruins are the territory of the Blood Wolf Guild. Here, at least we won't be bothered by the Blood Wolves, and we can avoid the most intense pursuit from the "hounds."

Lyne looked surprised that Kaega had chosen this place as their next destination, but she said nothing and quietly followed.

Present time.

Kaega was scouting the area around the ruins. This place was said to have been the territory of the Morgan Guild, a small information-brokering guild in Aquila that had collapsed for unknown reasons and was now abandoned. Occasionally, the Blood Wolf Guild would send patrols to keep strangers out, but they didn't pay much attention to the "rats."

"This will be the place to hide from the 'hounds' tonight, but which spot is truly safe?"

Kaega looked around, searching for a place to rest and defend, but all around him was just a pile of rubble. Finally, he turned to look at Lyne.

"Hmm?"

Kaega noticed that Lyne was looking around. Although she quickly looked back at him when he turned to her, he had caught a glimpse of her eyes. It was a look he had seen in some of the people who returned to Rat Alley after a long time away. The look of nostalgia...

-You know this place?

-I used to live here...

-Then do you know a safe spot?

-There is one place, but I'm not sure...

After that, the two walked to a large, ruined house. Lyne began to clear away a pile of bricks, revealing a rug underneath. She lifted the rug...

-There's nothing here?

Lyne said nothing, walking quietly to the house's staircase. At the sixth step, in the left corner of the wall, she used her hand to flip up a brick. Underneath was a rope. She pulled it hard. Where the rug had been, an entrance to a basement opened up.

"The mechanism is very loud, and the basement is full of cobwebs. It looks like it hasn't been used in a long time."

Kaega looked at Lyne, growing even more curious about the girl's identity.

-Well, shall we go down?

-Yeah...

The two descended. The passage was very long, but Kaega realized it was leading toward the center of the ruins. When they arrived, they found a room about 5x3 meters. Although there was no light, Kaega could make out two paths ahead and a map on a table. All around were old documents.

"Some of these are old papers; the information here seems plentiful but it's from six or seven years ago. On the table is a map of Aquila, with a circle drawn on the eastern outskirts. What's over there? It's impossible to get there today; we can only wait until tomorrow morning or after dealing with the 'hounds'..."

-Lyne, where is this? What's your connection to this place?

-I was born here...

-So you're from the Morgan Guild?

-Not exactly... It would be more accurate to say... the Assassin's Guild of Aquila.

-The Assassin's Guild?

Kaega tried to recall all the guild names he had ever heard in Aquila, but none matched.

-It's normal that you wouldn't know...

As she spoke, she looked back at the old documents and explained:

-The Morgan Guild was a puppet guild created by the Assassin's Guild. On the surface, they traded information, but in reality, they received and assigned assassination missions to members. This place is one of the guild's meeting rooms, connected to many other houses, forming a labyrinth...

She looked at Kaega again.

-The house with the entrance we just used was my home. One of the high-ranking families in the organization.

Kaega wasn't looking at her; he was examining the information on the table.

"This information isn't just about people, but also about the organizations and powers behind the targets. Most are in Aquila, but some are in the Grava Borderlands, the Flana region, and many nearby towns and villages. This means the guild was once very powerful in the shadows... but why?"

-So why is it just a pile of rubble now?

Lyne looked at him, her eyes as emotionless as ever...

-Alright, it's probably not a happy memory, so let's drop it.

With that, Kaega looked at the map and began to plan.

-Are we allowed to kill the "hounds"?

Lyne looked at him and answered softly.

-Yes.

An idea immediately formed in Kaega's mind as he looked at the map of the labyrinth. He chuckled to himself.

-It's going to be a long night...