Leoric met the stressed trio outside of the meeting hall. Each of them looked practically dead on their feet, though much relieved at the same time. The tension that had left them all rigid for most of the day had nearly faded, but it was replaced with a bone deep weariness that left them slightly jelly limbed. It left Leoric bemused to see a creature as large and fierce looking as Daegal walk around with limbs swaying limply at his side.

  “If you will all follow me, I will lead you to your rooms,” Leoric began. “His majesty was gracious enough to recommend the larger rooms, usually reserved for visiting nobility. As such I must caution you to be mindful of this and not cause any intentional damage or disruption to the rooms themselves. Is that understood?”

  He received a collection of nodded heads and grumbling agreements, which was about as good as he could hope for given their current state.

  “Good. Now, allow me to undo your bindings, Daegal. You are being given more freedom to act, so please show them you are deserving of it.”

  Daegal eagerly let the man undo the chains that were binding his body. The moment they fell away, he felt so much better. He didn’t have long to revel in the feeling of freedom, because they started moving toward their new rooms.

  The halls they traveled through were filled with rich tapestries, vibrant paintings, and majestic furniture passed the group by in a blur. Daegal did, however, let his gaze linger on the paintings that he passed. The canvases were painted with a master’s hand, and it was like looking through a window in time to the moment and place that these were created. A bittersweet thought passed through his head as he looked at all these wonderful creations.

  Adelaide would have loved these.

  Daegal could practically see the girl beaming a smile as she fawned over every single painting. The image in his mind made him crack a small, but sad smile that was quickly hidden away before anyone else could notice. They stopped at a seemingly random point in the hallways, but it turned out their rooms were here. Leoric turned to face them as he gestured with his hand at two doors.

  “Lady Fiora, Sir Emil, you will be staying in the room on the left. Daegal, you will be staying in the room on the right.”

  Daegal could see why they gave him this room as it had a set of double doors that opened into it, meaning he would only have to duck to enter instead of squeezing through a narrow frame. He also felt secure in the knowledge that Fiora and Emil would be right next to him, confident that he would hear everything that was going on in that room.

  “There are a few things that you should be aware of before you settle in,” Leoric continued. “While there will be no guards stationed inside of your rooms to allow you privacy, they will be always waiting outside. You have managed to acquire the title of guests, but you aren’t given the freedom to wander about the castle. If you must leave, it needs to be for a good reason. You have your chance, do try to make the most of it.”

  “Thank you, Leoric,” Fiora said. “You have been a better man than I might have originally given you credit for.”

  Leoric chuckled. “It’s nice to know that I have improved your opinion of me, my lady.” The man wore a small smile on his face as he dipped his head. “I hope you all will get enough rest here. The king will likely call on you in a few hours. Until next we meet.” The man turned and walked away, leaving the trio alone with the guards who were assigned to keep an eye on them.

  Everyone was tired, but even so, Fiora expressed a desire to spend a little more time awake than necessary. “Dad, I’m going to look at Daegal’s room for a moment, just to make sure that they haven’t decided to skimp on his needs.”

  Emil looked like he was about to argue, but in the end his exhaustion won out as he sighed and shook his head. “Very well then. Daegal, can I trust that you will see her back to our room before retiring?”

  “Of course,” Daegal answered with confidence.

  “Then I will retire for now. Do not stay away too long, Fiora.”

  It meant a lot to Daegal that Emil would trust him to look after Fiora while he tried to rest. Of course it wasn’t like they were going far, but still. Daegal moved to the doors and opened them, ducking down to make sure his horns cleared the top of the doorway. Fiora was right behind him, and soon they were both introduced to his new temporary accommodations.

  The room was fully furnished with a pair of couches, a small table with chairs, and a larger than average bed. A fireplace sat empty on the wall opposite the bed, and large drapes hung from the ceiling to the floor opposite the door, covering a large glass door that led to a small balcony. It looked lovely, but Daegal wasn’t sure if he could use anything in here but the bed, and even then, he was skeptical. Fiora liked it, though.

  “This is really nice! I never thought I’d be in a room like this in my life. I hope my room is this good as well.”

  Daegal sniffed the air curiously. “It’s very... clean, I suppose.”

  “Do you not like it?”

  “It’s not that I don’t like it, and I can see it’s nice, but I just don’t know if I can use any of it. Everything seems a bit... much.”

  She nodded in an understanding way. “I guess when you’re used to living in the wild, this must feel a bit opulent.”

  That was putting it mildly as Daegal was used to sleep on rocks atop piled up hides that still smelled heavily of the animals they came from. The barn wasn’t much different than that either, what with all the animal dropping that were around. He could at least enjoy how this place didn’t smell like much, mostly just the faded scent of burned wood from the fireplace, which wasn’t unpleasant at all.

  “Well, I’m glad they are treating you with respect at any rate,” Fiora said. “I am exhausted, though, so I think I’ll go to my room to rest.”

  “I’ll walk you out.” He escorted her back to the door, leaning down to look out of it as she stepped into the hallway again.

  “Have a good rest, Daegal,” Fiora said in parting.

  “You as well.”

  He made sure to watch her until she was safely inside the neighboring room with her father. The hallway was clear now, save for the handful of guards who were watching him from a distance. They eyed him nervously and suspiciously, which made him shrink a little as he slipped back inside his room and closed the door. With a deep and heavy sigh, Daegal wandered back toward the bed.

  The bed itself was large, at least for a human. For Daegal, though, it was slightly short. He could fit most of his body onto it, but his feet were liable to hang off the end. Even so, he moved to sit on it and was alarmed when he started sinking further than expected. The soft mattress coupled with his heavy weight saw him practically falling through the surface as his arms splayed out in mild panic. Eventually he settled into place, the wooden beams that held the bed together groaning in protest. That was unexpected, and he hoped that nothing would break as he slowly and cautiously rolled the rest of his body onto the surface.

  As he suspected, his feet did hang off the end of the bed, but the structure itself was holding. He felt like he was nearly being enveloped by the soft mattress he was laying on, but he had to admit, it did feel pretty good. Daegal doubted he’d be able to replicate this sensation with even a mountain of hides to lay upon. His exhausted body relished the sensation, and he quickly found consciousness slipping away from him as he fell into a much-needed slumber.

  It felt like he barely even blinked before he was awakened with a start by the sound of knocking on the door. He blinked away the bleariness in his eyes as he was briefly panicked by the unfamiliar room before remembering what had happened. Despite feeling like hardly any time had passed, the light seeping through the curtains had turned a shade of orange, meaning that he had been asleep for a few hours at least. It helped, and he did feel better, but now he had to deal with whoever was at the door as they knocked again.

  “H-Hello? I was told to come w-wake you up. God, I hope this thing doesn’t kill me.” That last bit was mumbled, but Daegal could pick it up.

  Carefully, Daegal rolled out of the bed, leaving a deep impression in the soft mattress where he was laying. Taking a moment to rub the sleep from all four eyes, he walked to the door and opened it just enough to see who was there. He did not recognize the soldier who was at the door, and the man was white in the face as he looked at Daegal who was bending down to peer through the door.

  With a nervous gulp, the man explained why he was here. “G-Greeting. I’m terribly s-sorry for disturbing your rest, but his majesty has requested your presence to discuss your end of the bargain you struck.”

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Daegal took a bracing breath and released it slowly as he steeled himself. “Okay; where do I n-need to go?”

  “Several guards and I will lead you now, if you are ready?”

  “What about Fiora and Emil?”

  “His highness only requested you.”

  Daegal’s anxiety flared again when he realized he was going to be separated from them. He had no cause, nor leverage, to argue with them, and it would go against the idea that he was supposed to be cooperating. Despite any misgivings, he had to see it through.

  “Very well. I’m r-ready,” he said as he opened the door fully and ducked out of it.

  The man tensed when faced with Daegal at his full height, but he did his job. “Good, please follow me.”

  They started moving, and most of the guards in the hallway moved to follow, leaving only the bare minimum needed to keep an eye on Fiora and Emil. He really hoped the king would stay true to his intent, and nobody would bother them while he was away.

  The soldiers escorted him through the castle’s many winding halls. Every twist and turn highlighted the sheer size of this place, and it confounded Daegal the more he thought about it. Eventually they reached their destination, and unfortunately the single door was a little on the small side, but thankfully larger than most doorways he had seen outside of this castle. He ducked low and twisted his body, but he managed to get inside.

  Reynard was sitting at the opposite end of the room behind a very nice desk that was carved with an eye for details. Two large windows with curtains pulled back stood behind him, letting in the vibrant orange glow of the fading light outside. This room had a smaller fireplace on the left-hand wall while the right held a few choice paintings of scenery. The man looked up from his small stack of paper and scrolls, finding something far more interesting to spend his time on in Daegal. Before they began, though, the soldiers moved into the room quickly, taking position around Daegal to ensure that he didn’t do anything in the presence of their lord.

  “Do forgive them, Daegal,” Reynard said. “They are good men, and they do their jobs well, but I’m sure that you have no intention of making them work for their pay.”

  “N-No, uhm... sir?”

  Reynard chuckled shortly. “A little informal, but I can hardly claim to be your king when you aren’t even human yourself. Whatever can claim lordship over you would be an entity that I would scarcely enjoy meeting. I am more than happy to keep our relationship transactional. Speaking of which, let us begin discussing how you are going to help find my missing citizens.”

  Daegal gave a hesitant nod of his head. “Okay, w-what do you need me to do?”

  “That depends on you, actually. What would you need to track a human where all other methods have failed? You mentioned having a scent earlier.”

  Daegal gave it some consideration before replying. “Yes, s-something with a strong scent would be good, the fresher the better. Also, if I c-could visit a place that they recently were at, I could follow any sign of their scent from there.”

  “Hmm, we may be in luck in that case. Three days past there was another abduction, and there was a rare scrap of evidence left behind.” He directed his attention to the guards. “Would one of you kindly fetch the evidence from said night. It should be held in the northern storeroom if I’m not mistaken.”

  The guards bowed as they accepted the orders. One man near the door acted and left at a jogging pace to fulfill their king’s request. They had to wait for a few minutes, which felt extremely awkward for Daegal, but the runner did return, and he brought with him and item that carried a smell which immediately put Daegal on alert: blood.

  It was coming from a scrap of cloth that the guard was holding. When Daegal looked closer, he could see half of the cloth was discolored with blood stains. The guard presented the scrap to the king, but Reynard did not take it and instead simply gestured to the stained fabric.

  “This piece of dress was found in an alleyway. We aren’t sure if it is the woman’s blood, or the blood of her attacker, but either way, it should serve to help you locate either one, correct?”

  “Uhm, yes, it should work. I just need to go where you found this, and I can probably follow the trail.”

  “Excellent! You will go tonight then.”

  Daegal blinked. “Tonight?”

  “Yes. Obviously, we can’t have you wandering through the streets in daylight just yet. Imagine the panic that would ensue from such actions. No, it would be better to keep things clandestine for now, which will also provide less distractions during your investigation. Of course, I will assign a few guards to ensure everything proceeds as planned.”

  “W-What about Fiora and Emil?”

  Reynard tilted his head to the side with a questioning stare. “You will be pursuing kidnappers and potential murderers. Such activities are unbefitting for civilians to participate in, so they will remain here for the time being. Don’t worry, they are still guests, so they will be treated with that consideration. We do have a deal, and it would be a stain on my honor to turn back on it. Now, do you have any other questions, or shall we begin preparations?”

  “I do n-not have questions.”

  “Good, then I will give the order. You are familiar with Leoric, yes? In the interest of promoting cooperation, I will assign him to lead the group of supporting soldiers that will be accompanying you. There are only a few hours until sundown, plenty of time to prepare. You will leave with them once curfew is called. Do try to keep things quiet if you are able.”

  With that, the plan was set in motion, and Daegal was led to the gathering area, a small little alcove in the courtyard that seemed to be where carriages were left when not in use. Daegal sat and waited for the light to disappear, the soldiers taking up position around the area, though keeping a wary eye on him.

  Daegal didn’t mind waiting as he did a lot of that over his lifetime. Hunting was an act of patience and persistence, and even when he wasn’t out pursuing his next meal, he would sometimes spend hours by the river, just to watch the water flow by and listen to the sounds it made. It was an act that brought him peace, though that was more difficult to come by in this situation. Eventually the guards did grow a bit bored and started to discuss amongst themselves, mostly about what they thought of the mission or whether the search party would be able to find the missing civilians with Daegal’s help. He didn’t pay them much mind and let them share their opinions. The only thing Daegal knew was that he had to succeed, or else everything would be for naught.

  The hours passed and the light disappeared from the world, casting everything into darkness save for the gentle glow of torches and lanterns. Shadows danced in the light, proving that night is not always still. Shortly after darkness fell, another group of men dressed in light armor that made very little noise showed up, led by Leoric. The man himself looked a lot better than the first impression that Daegal had of him after he had a chance to wash off the stain of the road. His hair was orderly again, features clean, and even some weariness was gone.

  “Greetings, Daegal. You were told of my coming, correct?”

  “I was, yes.”

  “Good. I assume you are ready to begin?” Daegal nodded in affirmation, and Leoric turned to his escort that had taken him here. “We’ll take charge from this point forward. Return to your duties.” They all gave a quick salute and then scurried off into the castle once more, many of them looking quite happy to be rid of the situation.

  The group of soldiers that would be assisting Daegal in tracking the missing people numbered six, including Leoric. They carried lanterns and had padded gambesons with metal helmets. Short swords hung at their hips, the only visible weapons they carried. It wasn’t much, but they weren’t planning on getting into any serious fights regardless.

  Leoric looked up at Daegal with a nod. “Let us begin. I’ve been informed of the disappearance that we are investigating, I even personally know the street it happened on, just adjacent to the market road. To me it appears that whoever is behind this is getting bolder in their abductions. I know you have an agreement with the king, but I would consider it a personal favor if you do succeed in finding the one responsible for bringing such terror to my home.”

  Daegal wasn’t quite sure how to take the heartfelt plea from a man he was still getting to know. “I... I will do my best to find them.”

  “Thank you. Now, please follow along. The men under my command will maintain a spread while we travel to keep you mostly obscured in darkness. Your natural ability to blend in with the night will be of great help in keeping your presence a secret.”

  They moved out, exiting through the portcullis. True to his word, the soldiers spread out across the road, three in front, three behind, making sure that the light from their lanterns barely touched Daegal. He could possibly be silhouetted from the right angle, and his eyes did shine when the light caught them, but other than when he walked under the occasional streetlamp, he was all but invisible.

  The streets were very different during the night. Gone were the lively atmospheres and crowded streets. Now, shadows held unseen threats in these empty roads. The soldiers knew what they were out here looking for, and who they were looking with. The tension was palpable.

  They eventually arrived at a smaller side street that was close to the main one that Leoric called the market street. It was in a narrow passage between two homes that the abduction happened, and Daegal could still smell faint traces of the struggle. Leoric stepped up to Daegal and held up the bit of bloodied cloth that he was shown earlier.

  “If you need it, use it,” Leoric simply said.

  Accepting the rag, Daegal held it up to his face and took a long smell, driving the scent of the blood into his memory. There was always a part of him, deep and primal, that tingled at the scent of blood. He pushed the feeling aside as he always did and focused instead on following the trail.

  Stooping low to the ground, he sniffed around and quickly found a small blotch of dried blood that had faded over the last few days. It was enough, though, and he began his hunt as he used the direction of the blood splatter to derive the general path his target took. It paid off, because he located a trail of small blood droplets that led through the alleyway and onto another street. Whoever was cut, they were bleeding a fair amount when it happened.

  Things became difficult in a few places on the streets, where time, weather, and the general stink of civilization muddled his senses to the point where the smell of blood, and trail, faded completely. It took persistence and checking every possible path to pick up on the scent again by finding another drop of blood. The path the abductors took through the city crisscrossed through several different streets, but they appeared to be heading in a specific direction, deeper into the city.

  They were moving away from the crowded areas. As their group progressed, the spacing between the houses got larger, as did the buildings themselves. Soon they were far away from the gates of the city, a place where the buildings were now much more private, with short walls or fences surrounding them. The smell became easier to follow, and stronger to boot, and Daegal made a straight shot for their objective, arriving right outside a wrought iron gate.

  The group stopped in front of the gate, everyone looking at their destination with various levels of concern and befuddlement. Leoric spoke up soon after.

  “Daegal, are you certain that this is where the trail leads?”

  “Yes. There is a small drop of blood here, just outside, and the smell continues deeper in.”

  “Well, that is problematic. I sincerely hope that there is no mistake here.”

  The house was two stories tall and very wide with a private yard out front that was filled with carefully cut bushes that were lined up symmetrically leading up to the door. The building itself was intricate, wealthy, seemingly rivaling that of the castle he just visited, though on a smaller scale. Daegal did not understand why it was a problem that this is where the trail led, but that was beyond his concern. He led them to the kidnappers, now he’d just have to prove they were the ones that did it, whoever they are.