Revolutionary (Part 3/5)
“Alright, we’re here,” Lux said.
To say that the town was idyllic would be an understatement. Brooksward was a small, peaceful hamlet with little in the way of amenities. It had an inn for travelers, a local blacksmith and what could be argued as one of the best apple farms in Demacia, but a traveler could easily pass over Brooksward and never be the wiser.
It’s what made Brooksward the perfect hiding place.
The two stepped from their carriage, Lux now sporting a hooded raiment. In this clothing it was much harder to place her as a member of Demacia, much less a royal family. C looked left and right, spying what was in the distance: Behind them, rolling hills that lead back to Demacia. In front of them, to the north, a Petricite forest. To the east and west, mountain ranges that lead to the Freljord and the southern half of the continent. “Well it’s the exact opposite of Zaun. Doubt anyone would come here.”
Lux nodded. “This was the last place Sylas was reported being seen. From here we’re going to work as a team to investigate.”
“You mean you’re on your own,” C corrected.
“No, no WE are on our own. You’re going to help me ask around for Sylas. What did you think you’re going to do? Just go to the inn and drink until I called on you?” She looked to C, who was ignoring her in favor of looking at the tavern. “Oh my god you actually did.”
“…Fine,” he grumbled. C rolled his neck before looking around. “I’ll be your partner for this one. Where we starting?”
“Well, I assume we could start at the apple farm.”
Lux’s hand ran through the hair under her hood, looking across the table to the orchard owner. Mr. Lightbaum was a shrewd man with little lover for conversation. He was portly but fit, with a bald head and an oversized mustache. “So you’ve seen nothing out of the ordinary? No man in chains with a powerful build like my friend?”
Mr. Lightbaum shook his head. “No, nothing.”
CRUNCH. C leaned on the wall, chewing an apple, clearly bored with the inquiry. Lux turned, annoyed. He shrugged before attempting to toss the finished apple core out a nearby window. It hit the wall, landing on the floor. “…I apologize for my friend. I promise we’ll reimburse you for the apple.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Mr. Lightbaum rubbed his chin. “If the one you’re looking for is a mage, chances are he turned out of here once he saw the petricite forest. No way he’d go through there. If you want my opinion? His best bet was the Freljord mountain range.”
“Hm. Mountain ranges,” Lux muttered, thinking over the proposal. It would make sense, considering the Freljord was much more accepting of magic than Demacia. It’d be the perfect place to find likeminded allies to return to Demacia with. While she had no proof, it was at least something. “Thank you, I’ll keep this in mind.”
Standing from the table, Lux bowed her head to the man in thanks. Mr. Lightbaum returned the gesture. “Thanks for keeping our kingdom safe. Mages in our neck of the woods. Horrifying.”
Lux gave the best smile she could despite the worrying situation. “Don’t worry sir, my colleague and I are dedicated to keeping your home safe.” “Yeah, speaking of your, uh, colleague. He’s…rather oddly dressed for a Demacian. Is he like the king’s bodyguard and from another place?” Mr. Lightbaum glanced to C, who was currently trying again to throw the apple core around the window before missing again.
Lux watched with a mortified expression as C threw the apple core out the window, wiping his hands together. “He’s eccentric, to be sure, but he’s useful.” The light mage grabbed C by the arm, leading him outside as she closed the door behind the two. “So one lead assumes Sylas went to the Freljord.”
“Please don’t tell me we’re going to that frigid hellhole.” C looked less than enthusiastic at the prospect of a trek into the frozen wastes.
“No, not yet. We’re going to keep asking around and see if we can come up with anything more solid.”
Lux was doing her best to try a hold a conversation with the tavern keeper at the bar. Her companion did not make her life the least bit easy. He was sitting at the other end, well away from her, but the noise he made was enough to make the whole tavern echo.
C chugged the mead in the mug, the alcohol running down the sides of his mouth as he slammed down the container. He wiped his mouth on his gauntlet, exhaling in bliss. “Now THAT is some good ass drink right there.”
The bartender looked at C, then to the girl who sat several stools down from him. Lux cleared her throat, focusing again to ignore C’s outburst with as much politeness as she could. “But, uh, yes. Was there any man who tried to stay here? Petricite gauntlets? Massive chains? Black hair?”
There was a look of introspection on the bartender’s face as he tried to recall the patrons that had arrived. “I heard rumors that some people in town had seen him but I can’t think of anyone like that who stayed here. That’s definitely a person I’d recall too, looking like that.”
“Did you hear anything else?” Lux continued, hoping for some sort of lead if any. “Anyone or anything you possibly heard about where he could be headed?”
“Uh…hm…while it’s a stretch, if I was that guy? I’d go to the petricite forest.”
Lux had an incredulous look on her face. “The petricite forest. The forest that dampens magical powers. You think he would go there?”
The bartender smirked, tapping a hand to his temple. “Seems wrong, right? Why would you go there if you’re a mage. But that’s EXACTLY why you go there. Nobody would expect it! That’s my two cents anyways.”
There was some merit to the idea. The petricite forest was indeed a place Lux would never think of looking, which meant that it’d be a great place to hide. “Alright, that could be true. No proof but it’s logical enough to not rule it out. Thank you for the tip.”
Lux left a handful of silver coins on the table to pay for C’s mead as well as for the information. The bartender nodded, taking the coins. “Best of luck with your search. Mages are always dangerous to have around here.”
“Aye…they can be, for sure.” Lux stood from the bar stool, moving to stand next to C. “Finish your drink. We’re moving on.”
A low, long groan reverberated from the man as he looked to his drink with a solemn nod. He finished off the drink and stood, scratching the back of his head as the two walked out of the tavern. “Anything this time or just more of the same?”
Lux tapped her chin. “More of the same. This time he suggested we should check the petricite forest. It’s the least likely place to hide, which means that nobody would expect it. Still, I want something more plausible for a lead before we go searching.”
“Well I heard that he went back to Demacia! I’ll tell you, the kingdom must be in the direst straits I’ve ever seen in my ages. You know this all started happening because of the Lightshields becoming the ruling kings? I’ll tell you we never had this problem with any other king! It’s ONLY when the Lightshields rose to power. Why, my mother-“
“Ma’am.” Lux’s interruption caused the older woman to stop her tirade, the two of them sitting across from each other in rather comfortable chairs. “I don’t mean to cut you off but please, I need information on the criminal who was last seen here. Your help is vital to this investigation!”
The woman, taken aback. “I beg your pardon!? I just gave you valuable information! I saw him, with my own two eyes, leaving right for Demacia on the road! He even went to the apple orchard to grab an apple. Why I bet he didn’t even pay for it! Is this how mage hunters treat fellow citizens of Demacia now? I swear, you were all meant to protect us, not-“
Lux stood from her chair, giving the woman a polite nod. “Thank you for your information. I’ll be sure to use it. Have a great day.” While she didn’t like being terse, if she hadn’t put her foot down there was a good chance she would have been stuck in that house listening to the older woman ramble for the rest of the day. Even as she left she could hear the woman mumbling to herself, something about the Jarvans and the current state of the kingdom. She probably just wanted someone to talk to.
As she left, Lux turned to C. He was leaning against the wall, sitting down. “I can’t believe she wouldn’t let me in. What the hell is a “no shirt” policy?”
“She didn’t like the idea of inviting in a random, shirtless man who is covered in tattoos and has an expression that makes you think he’d punch a hole in your skull.” Lux peered at C, who shrugged in response.
“Ok, all good points.”
“She did say she saw Sylas heading back to Demacia though. That makes three different directions. Did you speak to anyone while I was inside?”
C pushed himself up from the ground with a groan. “No. Anytime I tried to they kinda walked away. More of a light jog really. Maybe I’m a bit too imposing for this investigation thing.”
“I’m terrified to say that for once, I agree with you.” Lux ran a hand over her chin, trying to piece together some common thread. Everyone had seen or heard of Sylas being in town, that much was certain, but nobody had a clear motive or location to where he could have gone. Just rumors, ideas and hearsay. “Well, maybe there’s someone who could be of more help here.”
Crouched down and putting on her brightest smile, Lux looked between the three children. One held a small blue ball while the other two were shuffling awkwardly next to him. “So I need you guys to think really, REALLY hard!” She said with an expression of pure joy. “Did you boys see a bad man with big chains walking around? Did you see where he was going?”
Silence. Lux looked to C, who was busy smoking. A terrible example for young children, to be sure. She turned back to the children. One of them raised his hand, Lux nodding to him much as a teacher calls upon a student. “Well, uh, we saw him go that way.” The young boy, with light skin and messy golden locks, pointed to the south. “I’unno though. Maybe he wanted to, uh, go somewhere away from here.”
While she was still forcing her happy expression, Lux was not the least bit joyous about this. “Thank you, young man, you’re a wonderful help!” She reached into her pack, pulling out five coppers. She gave all five to the boy. “Now, be good and share this with your friends! Just not today. You should all be going to bed for school tomorrow.”
The boys nodded before running off, already chattering amongst themselves about what to do with their new, small fortune. “So we’re down to begging kids for info now?” C snickered. “We are well and truly fu-“
“MUST you be so rude? None of this was helped by your…you-ness!” Lux growled, leering at her companion. “Every single person we spoke to had a different story. He went to the south. He went north. He went to the forest. He went to Demacia. NONE of this makes sense.”
C’s low groan resounded through the area, the two the last ones around as the sun began to set in the distance. “Look, yeah, I get it. I ain’t helping here. Tell you what: how about you go to the inn and I’ll just stay where we were before in the carriage? Does that make up or are you going to keep going on about this?”
Something clicked. Just something about the idea. “Wait, say what you just said. Again.” Lux’s eyes were wide, one finger pointed out as it bounced up and down. There was just something about what he said.
“What? Sleeping in the carriage? Me being me? Going back to where we were before?”
Lux began to pace where they were. “Four different directions. Four different leads. Nothing concrete except that people knew Sylas was here. This would mean Sylas didn’t interact with anyone. At all. That doesn’t make sense. If he were going anywhere, he’d need supplies. Which means he would have had to barter with whatever he could have had. That makes even less sense…” Lux’s pacing increase. “…Which means they want us to leave. They don’t care where we go but they want us to get out.”
“So everyone is lying to cover this guy’s ass?” C’s arms crossed. “Alright, cool, but where would he be hiding? We checked the inn and if he’s in the forest hiding out, he probably knows we’re in town.”
Lux went to work thinking. If Sylas was being hidden here, that meant that there were mage sympathizers in town. Which meant that he couldn’t be the only one being hidden. If she was someone hiding mages from a mage hunter, where was the most logical place to hide them? “C, can you think of anywhere you’d hide someone?”
C scratched his face, humming. “Uh, probably in a warehouse or something? Big and plenty of places to hide. But I don’t think there’s anything like a warehouse out here. Nothing is quite that big around this little crappy town.”
Lux turned to the orchard, looking over the trees. There in the distance, a ten minute walk from where they stood, was the tanned roof of a building. The orchard, after all, was a farm. She felt foolish for not thinking of checking there. She was so busy with investigating that she missed the silent, obvious lead.
“…Except a barn,” Lux whispered.