Indeed was Athelei kidnapped.
Gusche had been desperate in the recent days. He had a quota to fulfil and he had only a few hours left. He was scrambling around in a panic. He feared for his head as the phantom pains began erupting around his neck.
He did not want to be hung and whipped again.
No more.
Not again.
"Oh no, no no no no," Gusche bit into his nail-less fingers. He drew blood after hours of this as he hid beneath his stinky cloak.
His mind chanted the same thoughts.
I need a child.
A child.
A child.
Give me a child.
One that fits their preferences.
Please.
Please...
It was not helping that Gusche was intoxicated and heavily deprived of sleep. His thoughts were chants akin to prayers. He wished, he desired, he dreamt of completing his job properly. He wanted to be praised. He didn't want the whip.
Praise. Recognition. Awe.
He wanted those. He desperately grasped at the straws.
And that was when he felt blessed by heaven.
"I found you!" Gusche jumped in excitement when he saw that oh so soft face. "So pretty..."
But it was not time for him to act. The lessons literally burned into his skin and bones bound him in chains of muscle memory. He would wait. He would stalk his prey.
Seeking the opportune moment.
And indeed that moment came easily. All it took were an hour or four of patience.
Gusche bandaged his fingers, and with every cleaned wound, he grew calmer. His panic suddenly became a threatening calm. His mind was as still as a lake.
Gusche straightened up, taking off his hood to display a supposedly good-looking yet clearly fatigued face. He had a beard of brown and shaggy brown hair. His face had good angles, but scars aplenty had tainted his image.
One of his eyes had gone blind but somehow he still held himself like a noble.
Gusche closed his eyes to breathe. His thoughts were composed of plans, plans, and more plans.
He had backup plans, situational plans, and plans on how to make his plans.
The crowds around him had footsteps that resounded in his brain. Even with his eyelids shut, the world around him was clear. He could smell the scents off of people, and he even found some that were familiar.
Gusche marked the knights who roamed these streets as well as identified those who were hiding.
He marked the civilians and those of minimal threat.
He marked the animals that darted between the peoples' feet.
"Hoo," Gusche breathed again. He continued to simply breathe until the dead of the night. He kept himself leaning on the same wall as if nothing in the world bothered him. He was a stone statue that spoke of the virtue of patience.
Until it was time to act.
And as if he had done this a million times before, Gusche made his move.
His footsteps brought him to where he planned to be. His silver tongue worked against all those who thought him suspicious. His hands worked like keys, and any lock in the city of Avina was a lock he had once picked.
Extracting the lone child while they slept so deeply was like stealing candy from a baby.
Gusche came and went like Santa Claus bringing gifts. No one knew better. He brought the child to the drop-off site. Gingerly, he placed the sleeping child in a cage of iron after binding their wrists and ankles. As for whatever else the child had on their person, that was none of his business.
His deadline was in a few minutes. Gusche cut it way too close, but he was still calm. His mind was silent and still.
That was of course until he finally completed his quota.
When he finished penning the documents for his latest job, he began giggling uncontrollably.
"I did it. I did it. I did it. It's a success. Success! HAHA! Success... Success... They will praise me again for another success!" Gusche broke into a fit of mumbling and laughter.
He began biting through the bandages on his fingers. Blood began to break from his skin once more.
.
.
.
Athelei awoke to an unfamiliar sight. He also heard unfamiliar voices.
"Oh, madame! Libra has blessed me on this day!" A sleazy man's voice spoke with drama and flair, "Perhaps it truly is the will of the heavens that our newest batch fits wonderfully with your wishes."
"Get on with it, Perdue. Stop wasting my lady's time." A cold, baritone voice echoed in Athelei's empty room.
"V-very well." The sound of doors being unlocked echoed down a hallway.
Athelei groggily got up from the thin mattress that he had been lying on. His body ached from the weird way he slept, and he had a stiff neck. The sleazy voice continued to chatter on as more and more doors were unlocked.
He patted himself down, and aside from the shackles that now bound him, everything seemed normal.
For a reason he was unaware of, he still had all his belongings.
"Weird," Athelei whispered to himself, recalling tales of the slave trade, as well as horror stories told to kids.
From what he had heard, being stripped of all that was his was the norm.
Click.
Athelei jerked when he noticed the door to his room opening up.
"Er, this is the latest one we caught... The boy hasn't been here for long and we have yet to mark him..." The sleazy voice was making an introduction.
Athelei looked up and saw a rotund man squeezing himself through a doorway. The man was sweaty and seemed to be shaking ever so slightly.
'He's nervous...' Athelei could tell. Those were the jitters he had seen from Lisa a few times before.
Following the man were a pair of well-dressed individuals, one male, and the other female. When the pair entered, the male suddenly gripped the handle of his sword.
"Why is he armed?" He squinted at Athelei before directing his threatening gaze to the rotund man.
"It's just a small dagger," The rotund man replied, "Nothing to be afraid of. He's just a child."
The well-dressed male raised an eyebrow, "That's not enough of a reason for you lot to have left him in this state, Perdue. Any weapon can be dangerous. What were you thinking, showing my lady an armed prisoner? Do you have a death wish?"
The well-dressed male released a bit of his sword from his sheath and Perdue broke out in a cold sweat.
"No, no! I have no foul intentions! I swear! We have been short on hands recently, that's all! Please understand!" The rotund man was backing away with his hands waving in front of him.
"Who said you could simply demand our understanding? You—"
"Silence, Jack." The well-dressed lady spoke for the first time, "You're letting your emotions get to you."
Jack froze when he heard his lady's voice. He took a step back and dipped his head, "My sincerest apologies, my lady. I just worry for you and your daughter's well-being."
The lady nodded when she heard Jack's words but gave no reply. Instead, she stepped forward, her eyes glued to Athelei.
"Give me your name, boy."
Athelei blinked and stood up. His shackles jingled with his movements.
Jack thought he was about to strike and gripped his sword once more, but the lady waved him off.
Athelei bowed, "My name is Orien, my lady."
The lady raised a brow when she saw the calm in Athelei's eyes. Jack and Perdue were surprised by his etiquette instead.
"Parents?"
"Deceased, my lady," Athelei answered, his head still bowed. The lady nodded slowly when she heard this.
"Show me the dagger at your waist."
"Of course," Athelei replied, "If my lady would excuse me,"
Shiiiing!
Athelei unsheathed his blade, spinning it once in his hand before holding the weapon with both hands. He held it as if he was offering a sacrifice to the gods. No ill-intent leaked from his actions.
The lady took the stiletto dagger from his hands and out came a purple Cosmic Interface.
"Who killed your parents?" The lady spoke as she studied the Needle of Motionlessness.
"The Exiled, my lady," Athelei replied.
"Do you seek vengeance?"
"...I seek vengeance, my lady,"
The lady then placed the Needle of Motionlessness under Athelei's chin. With the cold blade, she lifted his face to meet her gaze. "Even at the threat of your life?"
"I do not fear death," Athelei replied as the resolution that reflected in his eyes was tinged with his inhuman desires.
A shine flitted through the lady's own deep black eyes. It was as if she saw something in Athelei's gaze. Something she interpreted with her own human mindset. 'He's just like me,' she thought to herself.
The lady stood up and handed the dagger back to Athelei.
"Jack, I have decided." She spoke as she walked out the door, "Make the arrangements. We'll be taking the boy."