A Willing Exchange

✧ ✦ ✧

I attempted to maneuver myself in a way so that I could grab ahold of my dagger to try and cut myself lose, but I was upside down in the sack with my arms constricted, my back dragging along the ground.

Thefts, brutal killings, and now kidnappings?? Where are the police in this damn city!?

Governor Starkraven was in charge of this whole province, but I hadn’t yet met the man to ask him why his city seemed to be teeming with lowlifes. As I mentioned before, such things are also common in Redrook, but it was met with equal and opposite force. Be it from the guild or the garrison, Grimwick’s useless self aside.

“Try not to drag him so much, lil bro…” Oh, that’s surprisingly thoughtful of her... “…it would be a waste of a good bag if it tore out the bottom. We need every coin we can save.”

“Tch.” I clicked my tongue, my discomfort being ignored.

My pride prevented me from crying out for help, not that it would have done me much good anyway. I could tell just from the sounds of the city that we had already moved away from the most populated areas, and I was keen to know where these two thieving bastards were holed up with our cash.

After a little while, we reached a relatively secluded building—more like a shack—which I was brought inside of. I was prepared to attack and gain the upper hand on them the moment they sat me down, since I wasn’t tied up or anything. It was a little shortsighted on their part to leave me with my weapon as well.

Although I didn’t want to seriously harm either of them if I didn’t have to, I figured they might not give me a choice if I hesitated. So after a few good punches, I’d be out of there with our belongings, or at least that’s the option I most hoped for.

“Set him down in the chair, lil bro.”

This is it. Three… two… one…

“Take this!” The moment I felt my bottom plop down into the wooden chair, I threw off the bag over my head and sprang up for a punch. “Orrrra—!”

However…

“Bind.”

At the word of the female thief, some spectral binds wrapped themselves around me, securing me tightly to my seat.

“Hey, is this—!?”

“Magic, yup.” She replied before I could finish asking. “You said you didn’t have the shroud, which means one of your friends probably does. And until they bring it to us, you’re not going anywhere, bud.”

We’ll just have to see about that… And strangely enough, while her speech is pretty crude in comparison, her voice sort of reminds me of someone else’s.

“Lil bro, please go deliver the ransom note. I’ll stay here with Ren.”

The male thief started gesturing wildly, I still hadn’t heard him utter a single word, which was strange to say the least. In fact, it got my mind going on a theory as to the identities of my captors.

“I’ll be fine, just go.” The female thief confidently said. “I can take him easily if he tries any funny business. Besides, he’s underestimated us twice already.”

After the male thief left, I narrowed my gaze.

““Easily”, she says. Are you sure it was alright to let your backup leave like that?” I asked, glaring. “I’ve won plenty of fights against magic users before, you know. And you’re a hell of a lot less scary than that big turtle was.”

“That binding spell will remain active for as long as I feel like holding it, so there’s no use in trying to escape.” She informed me. “I’m sure you’re well aware of our strength after our last run-in, that we’re both pretty tough, my brother and I.”

“Yeah, that was a pretty gnarly kick.” I admitted. “But it didn’t seem natural, you know? And neither did your brother hitting me over the head earlier. Packed quite a punch for such a little guy, I’m surprised I didn’t get knocked out like last time.”

“What the heck do you mean by “natural”, are you trying to say we cheated somehow? Maybe you’re just weak, have you ever thought of that?” She crossed her arms, annoyed. “I’d heard that you were a pretty good fighter, yourself, but as a mere human you never stood a chance against our beast blood, and—”

She clammed up all of a sudden. My smile grew.

“And…? Beast blood, huh? Could’ve fooled me, hiding your ears, and teeth beneath that turban and veil.” I said. “And not to mention your tail, where are you hiding that thing anyways?”

“I don’t think you really need to know that! In fact, I’m done talking to you. You ask too many unnecessary questions.”

And because of your unnecessary answers, I’m sure of it now.

“C’mon, don’t be that way! My friends will come for me and you’ll get your thing soon, don’t you worry. I’m just shooting the shit.” I shrugged, still unable to really move. “Ohh, and that’s a big bandage you’ve got on your wrist, I think I met someone else wearing one earlier, and on the same hand... How did you say you knew our names again?”

“I. Didn’t.” She grew angrier the closer I got to my point.

She knows us by name, her arm is bandaged, she has a brother slash co-conspirator who is mute, and she’s a demi-human. Damn amateurs.

For all the complexity of their disguises, loose lips really do sink ships. Kidnapping me specifically was the worst possible move they could have made. He’s stronger, sure, but they would’ve been better off bagging Zero. I can see through bullshit like it’s a clear mountain stream.

“I wonder what Governor Starkraven would say if he found out two of his servants were robbing and kidnapping people for ransom in his own city?” The female thief froze. “He’d probably be pretty pissed off, might even get them into some serious trouble. Don’t you think so, Nana?”

“…………”

Checkmate.

“Hit the nail on the head, did I?” I scoffed. “What I don’t understand is how you both have a solid job for the most powerful man in the city, a place to live, daily meals. Your brother, Hachi, too. And you both still choose to be good-for-nothings. It’s a damn shame, is what it is.”

“You… you really…” Nana, the maid, ripped off her turban and veil, recognizing the jig was up. Her ponytail fell down to her mid-back. “Do you really, honestly think we chose this!?”

“What, are you about to tell me you’re poor and needed the money, so you had to steal and rob using that stupid bed sheet as cover?” I retorted. “I mean, I certainly get it. I’ve spent months on the streets, and it sucked. Truly. But you know what? I didn’t steal a damn thing from those who didn’t deserve it. Everybody has a choice, squirt.”

“Well, we don’t!! We never did…” Nana clenched her fists. “We don’t work for Master Starkraven out of some sense of blind loyalty like the other paid servants. No, we owe… a tremendous amount of money to Master Starkraven’s estate. Almost too much to ever pay back.”

“What do you mean? You owe him, how?”

“What do you care, anyway??” She asked sharply. “You’re just gonna fess up to our master, and then report us to Guildmaster Milton. We need the shroud to sneak out of here while we still have time, it’s the last thing we can do.”

“Even if that was the case, you might as well tell me why you’re doing all this.” I wagered. “I’ve always believed that if you can talk to somebody before you start throwing punches, if you can share a dialogue, you should do that. Make me understand.”

“….Fine then, have it your way. We didn’t want to live like this, stealing from folk. Our mother…” Nana caved, beginning to explain. “ A human woman. She tried her best to provide for us when we were young, often resorting to things like selling her body just to put bread on the table. That continued for a long time, and it wasn’t easy on her. Eventually though… she got really sick.”

I listened carefully without weighing in for a time. Something about her story struck a particular chord with me, bearing in mind that my own mother had been stricken with illness for so long.

“The only medicine that could treat her was too expensive for us to afford with what she had saved up. Mother told us to let her go and to keep the money, but… How could we?” Nana asked. “Master Starkraven was an old “client” of hers and offered us a loan to help treat her, on the condition that we work as servants of his until we could pay it off. On the surface, it seemed like a great deal. The manor was a lot nicer than anything we were used to. But, our mother…”

“What happened? Did it all work out? Though, by that expression…”

“No... Even after we gave her the medicine, she passed away shortly after.” She continued, her cat ears drooping a bit. “It was almost as if it sped up the process, truth be told. Hachi stopped talking after that, and the interest from our loan doubled. Before long, we owed the Master more than what we took out, and we’ve been at this for more than four years…”

“That bastard, charging you compound interest like that is seriously messed up...” It sounded like a credit card scheme down to the same predatory details. “And you’ve never once asked him to waive the fees, and let you go on your way??”

“I did, once, but then he started going over a list of other costs we had incurred at his expense.” Nana smiled bitterly. “From our daily meals over the course of four years, to the cost of room and board in his “luxurious estate”, his words. He jotted down every last Dān, and said he had already given us a discount. That we should even be grateful to him, and that things could be worse. Much worse.”

“To me, it sounds less like you’re servants and more like you’re something else entirely…”

“Like slaves, you mean?” Nana chuckled dryly. “It can’t be helped, I guess. We’re his favorites. You know, I envy you, Ren.”

“You envy me?”

“You have what me and my brother want more than anything in the entire world. Your freedom. You’ve found true friends that will come to bail you out when you’re in trouble, but nobody… nobody is coming to save us.”

I was suddenly conflicted. I had planned initially to tell their boss what they had been up to out of spite, but now? All I could find the desire to do was to punch this Mikail Starkraven guy in the face. Even though he was hosting the moot, and letting us stay in his manor, Nana’s story was eye-opening.

I mean, I had expected her to have a desperate tale like a lot of people I knew back in Beggar’s Alley, but if anything I was convinced now that they were victims in all of this. And that’s coming from a person they robbed and kidnapped on separate occasions.

“Hypothetically speaking, if you were free, if you could shake loose this life of theft and chicanery, what would you do with your new lives?” I asked what I thought was a profound question. “Do you even know?”

“I… don’t know…” Nana muttered. “Outside of running away with my brother, I guess I’ve never thought much about it.”

“Well, you should start thinking a little harder.” I declared. “And you two should come on in already, Shion, Zero. My arms are starting to go numb here.”

Opening the door were my two friends who were waiting for the right time to step in, likely having heard everything already. Stepping in right behind them was an unmasked Hachi, the butler and male thief. Nana looked surprised to see her brother without his disguise.

“Well said, Ren-kun.” Shion gave me a light smile.

“That was… such a sad story…” Zero sniffled. “You poor things…”

I would have told Zero to tone down the waterworks, since it might come across as patronizing to some, but I couldn’t blame him to some degree.

“I’m surprised, Hachi, letting these two humans beat you in a fight...”

“There was no fight. We read the portion of the ransom note written by you, demanding we return the moonsilk shroud, but it would appear your brother had other ideas...” Shion handed the ransom note to Nana. “We found him at the edge of the market, and followed him here at his request. Take a look for yourself.”

When Nana flipped the note she could see in big red letters Hachi’s honest plea. “Please help us.” is how it began, and it continued with roughly what Nana had just got through explaining. It couldn’t be more clear than that, and the weight of his desperation hit her hard.

“I see, so that’s what you’ve been holding in, Hachi.” Nana’s eyes teared up as she rushed to wipe them away. “This is the home we grew up in, you know. It isn’t much, but… all the happy times we’ve ever had were here. I wish I could see him smile like he did back then…”

“Your younger brother asked for our help, because he could tell you were suffering, Nana.” Shion said. Hachi nodded profusely behind her. “And I’m here to say that we’re prepared to petition for the immediate release of your contract with Governor Starkraven if you can do a few things for us in return.”

Nana’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You’d really do that?” Nana asked hesitantly. “This isn’t just some kind of joke, or something? I'd be really mad if it was…”

“I wouldn’t joke about such things.”

“Shion is a woman of her word.” I said, echoing Zero’s sentiments from earlier that morning. “She hasn’t steered us wrong yet.”

“No kidding… So, then, what would you have us do?” Nana asked hesitantly. “All I’m good at is house chores, and stealing things…”

“Nothing so difficult or shady. First, you’re to return this shroud to its rightful owner with an apology as soon as possible.” Shion pulled the folded up cloth out of her satchel and tossed it to Nana. “Secondly, you’ll return my friends’ money right away and release Ren-kun from his bonds, and apologize to him.”

“Pretty please?” Zero forced a smile.

“Okay.” Nodding, Nana did as she was instructed, letting me go. She bowed deeply. “My brother and I are very sorry for robbing you both and getting a little rough with Ren, we sincerely hope that you’ll forgive us.”

A LITTLE rough??

“Ah, don’t mention it.” I sighed, exasperated. “It wasn't the first time I’ve been hit over the head, and it won’t be the last.”

Meanwhile, Hachi went back to the other room, and brought us our coinpurses which were surprisingly unperturbed. Not a coin was left behind. I sighed in relief, hoping that this was well and truly the last time I would have to part with my personal belongings.

“And one more thing. Your futures are your own, once you’re free, I have no plans to sway you one way or another, but…” Shion tapped her chin. “The Institute for Practical Magic is always looking for bright minds to join our school. Once matters are settled with the moot, I can organize a meeting between you two and the council… if you so desire.”

Nana and Hachi exchanged glances before excitedly agreeing. The mood in the small house was upbeat for a moment before I remembered the horrors from before, and what I had intended to do before I was detained. Shion picked up on it immediately.

“Ren-kun, is something the matter?”

“Yeah, actually…” I replied, thinking of how best to broach the subject. “I found a pretty gory scene in one of the cellars when I was out in the city, several dead bodies, but I was nabbed by these two before I could go and warn my boss. It didn’t look too good.”

“Sorry for that…” Nana looked apologetic once again.

“I’m sorry, did you just say “dead bodies”, and “several” as in more than one?” Zero blinked in disbelief.

“Yep.”

“So they’re already making their move…” Shion muttered to herself.

“Who is?”

“We’d better hurry and inform Milton of what you’ve found, and have Governor Starkraven join us in the conversation, since we were already planning to have an audience with him.” Shion said. “The moot is just as much a deliberation as it is a festival for the whole city, many will be gathered here from the surrounding areas.”

After all, a new ruler will be determined right here before all is said and done.

“That’s right, it is a pretty momentous occasion.” Nana agreed. “Everyone in Ember has been talking about it since Headmaster Argo first approached our master about the whole thing.”

“Which means if we’ve got a serial killer on the loose, I think that’d qualify as a security concern.” Zero mused. “And a pretty major one at that.”

“Exactly.” Shion said.

“You two should come with.” I suggested to Nana and Hachi. “I mean, you want to face him, don’t you? That moment when you get your freedom, to have that sense of closure.”

“I don’t know… should we really?” Nana was unsure. “I fear what he’ll say… I don’t think he’ll let us go so easily. He may even take it out on those of you staying at the manor.”

“Perhaps, perhaps not. It’s up to you both, of course, but… to declare your intentions all on your own.” Shion suggested. “To let your master know that your lives are yours to live. Wouldn’t you say that would send a far more powerful message?”

Nana and Hachi both thought for a moment before nodding.

“Maybe you’re right…” Nana said. “Okay, I’ll go. Hachi will too.”

“Then it’s settled.” Shion declared, making for the exit. “We’ve got some work to do.”