It was late morning the next day when Corwal finally decided to open his eyes. He groaned and demanded water before closing his eyes once more.
"Shouldn't we be doing something now?" Arawn asked from his own bed where he'd been practicing the ether all morning.
Corwal sent him a dark look, but still chose to push himself up with another groan. "Fine."
By then, Arawn had already eaten and Corwal refused to even consider getting anything. He just drank water, and they went outside to check on the rumor about Katalan's daughter being missing.
Arawn thought it might require some work, but the moment they went to the notice board, they saw a large paper with a girl's image. There were some large symbols underneath it, which Corwal explained meant a lot of money. Anyone who could give the family any information regarding their daughter's whereabouts would receive a substantial reward.
"Let's go and meet this family," Corwal said with a smile.
He led them down a few streets until they reached a large dark blue building. It had been repainted recently, and the walls glistened in the sunlight.
The front door was constantly in motion, with people leaving and entering non stop. Many of them were men dressed in armor, but a good number could not be told apart from the civilians. At least Arawn didn't see anything special about them.
Corwal went up the stairs and into a large hallroom. There was a line of people waiting before some door on the right while a man sat at a desk on the left. He was reading papers and didn't raise his head even when they approached him.
"What is it?" he asked, his head still down.
"I'm looking for Young Master Keith."
This finally attracted the man's attention, and he looked up. Beneath the spectacles, he had sharp grey eyes that seemed to pierce straight through them. "What is your business with him?"
"We have some information he'd be interested to hear."
The man hesitated for a moment, giving them another long look, then rang the bell at his table. A servant swiftly rushed over, and they were told to follow him to the next floor.
There, they were deposited into a waiting room and told to stay until they were called. There were a couple chairs and a table with cookies, so Arawn made his way to it. He picked one round treat and bit into it. A sweet, savory taste filled his mouth, and he soon grabbed another brown cookie.
"We're not here to eat," Corwal told him while leaning back against his chair and closing his eyes for a moment. He seemed tired, and his breathing soon evened out as if he had fallen asleep.
Yet when some couple minutes later the door opened, allowing a tall young man to enter, Corwal stood up with a flourish and bowed. Arawn rushed to his feet to do the same, but botched the job just like last time.
'At least I tried…'
The newcomer looked at him for a moment longer before turning away to face Corwal. Arawn took that moment to examine the stranger.
He was close to thirty and had grown a short beard. His eyes were grey and sharp, quite similar to the man's at the desk earlier. Were they related?
"What do you have for me?" the man asked in a low baritone. He didn't speak loud, but his voice held the edge of command.
"I've heard about your missing sister, which surprised me quite a lot. Can I ask if it's fun to pretend to lose a family member?" Corwal asked with a raised eyebrow.
The obvious taunt angered the man, but he held in his temper. "Are you here to mock me?"
"Maybe, but I just really want to know, why are you doing this? Did you really think I wouldn't find out where your precious girl spent the last couple weeks?"
The man rushed forward and grabbed Corwal by his collar, lifting him up. The two were of a similar height, but the stranger was twice as muscular. He held Corwal like he didn't weigh anything.
"What do you know of Humaya? Where is she?"
His eyes drilled into Corwal's as if trying to read his mind. Alas, it wasn't part of what ether allowed people to do. Everyone was still safe within their own heads.
Corwal pushed the man's hands aside and took a step back while pulling his shirt back into place. "Is that how you treat your informants? No wonder no one came to tell you anything."
"What do you know?" the man asked again, his voice a low-voiced threat.
"You're asking the wrong question here. You should first find out who I am, and that is someone who wanted to see how you'll react. I'm surprised to say that you're genuinely worried for your sister. It doesn't fit well with my expectations…
"Oh well, it seems I was mistaken. Seems like your family is really not the one at fault. At least you are in the dark."
The man looked at him for a while, then turned to Arawn. "What's wrong with him?"
"He's hungover," Arawn said as if that explained everything.
Surprisingly, the man nodded and opened the door to the adjacent room. There was a desk there, and he went to sit there while motioning for them to take the two seats before him.
"Let's start this normally then. I'm Keith Katalan, the firstborn son of Lord Katalan. What has brought you two here?"
"We were sent by a hound from Ayersbert to investigate a lead here," Corwal answered without missing a beat. "Lord Katalan was implicated in the princess' kidnapping."
For a moment, the man just stared at them. "Are you serious?"
"Absolutely. The princess disappeared in his territory, and his daughter was seen leaving in a hurry with a band of mercenaries on the same day."
"This is impossible! My father would never do something like this! He's not a trai—"
"I'm not saying he is," Corwal said, interrupting him. He leaned against the table and looked straight at the man. "If he was, the hound would have come himself instead of sending me here. However, the fact that your sister is missing makes me unhappy.
"And if I'm unhappy, you should be too. I was sent to check on the girl, to make sure there was nothing suspicious about her sudden leave, but now I see that the situation is more complicated than expected. You better hope it's all a coincidence or your family's done for."
"You're threatening me?" the man leaned back with a sneer. "I won't be—"
"Shut it," Corwal growled at him. "I'm not your enemy. I'm just a dog of a dog, so you've got nothing to fear from me. However, once the real thing comes, you can say goodbye to your station and future. I wonder how your king will like it when he finds out that your family was inciting war by kidnapping the princess."
Worry flashed past the man's eyes, but he pushed it away, not letting it show. He gritted his teeth and glared at Corwal. "It's slander."
"Were you born yesterday?" Corwal laughed. "Who cares if it's the truth or not? The fact is that your father is the main suspect at the moment. Once this becomes public knowledge, you'll be turned into villains even if it'll later show up that it wasn't you who did the deed."
As if the man was a balloon that someone had just popped, all energy went out of him. He slumped in his chair and closed his eyes. "What do you want from me?" he asked in a quiet voice.
"Assistance. I have no assets here, but you do. Use your resources to look into the princess and the mercenaries I'll describe to you, and I'll tell all I know about what your sister did after she left for Ayersbert."
Keith Katalan did not hesitate. He nodded and extended his hand for Corwal to shake. "Deal. Now tell me, what happened to my sister?"