As the magicians of the land approached the city, they heard several powerful explosions that engulfed the city.
"At last, you've come. Go to the bridge! Though it might be too late," this time it was Krito's voice transmitted through the forces of Kurone.
When they reached the bridge, it was already gone, but everyone else had assembled.
"Where have you been?" Kurone greeted them with a couple of frustrated remarks. "I tried to reach you, but I couldn't find you."
"Sorry, but it seems we were out of your reach. We were at the edge of the cliff with Old Grivore," Grain explained.
"That explains it. Since then, many events have unfolded, and some of them were far from pleasant," Kurone replied.
"Grain, until recently, the mayor interrogated us with the guards. It seems the dam was blown up not just by chance, and the recent explosions prove that. As newcomers, we became the prime suspects," Katrina said.
"Exactly!" A familiar deep voice echoed from the road leading to the city, accompanied by the clank of army boots. "And the fact that you returned here only reinforces my suspicions."
The mayor emerged from the dark road, accompanied by twenty heavily armored guards.
"I urge you not to resist and follow me," he demanded.
"What are you accusing us of?" Katrina confronted the mayor.
"Destruction of city property, arson, theft, and murder!" The mayor's words sounded confident.
"Do you have any evidence?" Katrina asked.
"All arsons happened not far from where you work, although they were extinguished in time, many people suffered, and some even died. Moreover, it all started with the dam explosion, with your people working on the bridge. And most importantly, right after the explosions, you were found here, not far from the crime scene and the city's exit."
"This is all nonsense! None of it proves our guilt!" Ragni protested angrily at the mayor's words.
"Unfortunately, I may have misspoken. You are accused of murdering Leonard, the bridge architect!"
"That's impossible! We saved him earlier today. Why would we want to kill him?" Ragni exclaimed.
"It's simple. So that no one else could build a new bridge, and so you could fulfill your mission completely."
"You know that we were sent here by the rector. Don't you trust him?" Katrina protested, but her words fell on deaf ears.
"Several Academy students come here for clandestine work, and among them are even nobles, all at the rector's request. Quite a suspicious pretext, don't you think? From the very beginning, I suspected that something was amiss, as assassins and thieves are among the Academy students. And in any case, for now, you are the only suspects!"
We were in a desperate situation, and it was challenging to refute the mayor's arguments. But there wasn't much time for that; the real culprits must have been fleeing the city as fast as possible. And I finally decided to intervene.
"Excuse me, Mayor, before you arrest us, may I clarify a couple of details?" I said.
"Krito?" Katrina exclaimed.
"Don't worry, Kat, I'll be quick," Krito assured her.
"What do you want to know, young man? Don't even try to stall; my men have already surrounded this place," the mayor replied.
"Oh, come on, I just want to know what was stolen?"
"A large sum of money, if it's so important to you."
"I understand that if it were someone's personal money, the entire guard wouldn't have rushed here. So, it was the city's treasury, right?"
"You're right, it was the city's money."
"And exactly how much money was taken, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I fail to see how this will help, but it was two million gold coins. Does this answer satisfy you?"
"WHAT!?!?" Vina nearly fainted at such a figure. "I WANT TO TOUCH THEM!!!! Show them to me!!"
"What's wrong with her?"
"Pay no attention; she has her quirks. But now I understand the whole scheme," I said.
"What are you talking about, boy?"
"Let me outline it for you."
I started drawing a rough map of the city on the ground with a stick. I drew the bridge and the dam and marked all the places where the arsons occurred.
"Mayor, where were the stolen goods kept?"
"What?"
"Well, they're no longer there anyway, so don't hesitate to tell me."
"In an old warehouse in the eastern part of the city, not far from the school where your accomplice worked as a teacher."
"Now it's clear. Could it be that besides us, no other suspicious characters entered the city?"
"As far as I know, no. What are you getting at, young man?"
"Weren't there any strange guards accompanying traders or mercenaries looking for work in the city?"
The mayor pondered for a moment.
"Hmm, there was a merchant passing through here recently with a small load of precious stones. He was accompanied by ten guards, but if he was heading to Nordrune, it wouldn't be so strange. The lands there are dangerous."
"And has he already left the city?"
"He checked out of the inn two days ago and left the city."
"What about his guards?"
"I don't keep track of everyone leaving the city, so I'm not sure."
"Sorry, Mayor," a man in armor behind the mayor spoke up. "It seems that no large armed groups have left the city recently. Unless they split up, they might still be here."
For the first time, the mayor began to doubt his certainty. New suspects were emerging, but he had to decide who to send to prison.
"And two days ago, some suspicious individuals attacked Seleria at the confectionery," I turned to the red-haired princess. "Seli, you still haven't remembered what kind of dagger it was."
"Mmm, I think it was meant for some ritual, but I can't remember," Seleria replied.
"Could it be a distinctive feature of a particular group, like assassins, for example?"
The girl's eyes widened with astonishment.
"Now I remember. It's a special dagger with a thin blade, designed to slip between the ribs with one stroke and sever the arteries near the heart. The wound is so delicate that you won't immediately realize it was the cause of death. And the pattern on the dagger is the mark of the 'Night's Shroud' guild, the largest assassin guild in Verania. And that man, he struck his subordinate, although those who attacked me didn't harm him. He did it not because he was the instigator of the fight, but because he wanted to use a dagger meant only for killing the main target in a street brawl. Besides fulfilling orders, they are forbidden to use such daggers."
"All of this is hard to believe," the mayor scratched his chin with doubt. "You speak convincingly, but how does a girl, and moreover, a noblewoman, know so much about assassin guilds?"
This fact also troubled me. After all, she wasn't just a noblewoman; she was a princess.
"Oh, come on, I'm from Leran, and in my childhood, the deserted city streets were my playground, with the night and shadows as my friends. I'm acquainted with many Leran assassins, and I've learned a lot about other guilds and their traditions from them."
I fear this last sentence won't score any points in favor of our innocence.
"Mayor, how did Leonard die?"
"The doctor said it was extensive internal bleeding, although we didn't find any visible wounds on his body that could have caused it," the mayor finally realized what might have caused his death.
"But you did find a small cut near his heart, which you didn't take seriously, right?"
"So their initial target was the architect, but why would they want him dead?" Seleria still didn't grasp the entire plan.
"I think I need to tell you how it all began from the very beginning."
I returned to the diagram drawn on the ground.
"Here was the warehouse with the money, and here we were working, and correspondingly, there were fires near these places. The assassins arrived here a couple of weeks ago and settled in the inn to avoid suspicion."
"Their inn was in the western part of the city. If they were after the money, why stay so far away?" the mayor wondered.
"Exactly, to avoid suspicion. How do you think they ended up in a small inconspicuous confectionery in the eastern part of the city if they lived on the other end? They were probably observing the warehouse, studying the ways to infiltrate, and the patrol routes. And along the way, they decided to drop by and talk to the beautiful girls. Obviously, they weren't the smartest and most experienced members of the group; only rookies would expose themselves like that. They must have been held accountable for it by their commander. I wouldn't be surprised if their group now consists of fewer people. When they revealed themselves, the leader decided to act, especially with the young girls around, whom he could frame, and in the ensuing chaos, steal the gold."
"But right now, these are only circumstantial pieces of evidence, and there are no less of them against you. If they needed the gold, why did they kill Leonard?"
"And this is where it gets interesting," I began adding new elements to the diagram: a river, the bridge, mountains to the north, two roads leading out of the city, and Nightleef to the south, where the nearest crossing was located. "Why would a small town like yours need so much gold? You could have spent it on the needs of the population long ago, and you don't seem like such a greedy person."
"That... is none of your concern, young man."
"Oh, come on!" Vina interjected. "With this money, you could have bought a castle with lands and a thousand peasants, or hire an army and conquer the nearest city, or... or..."
"Redeem your city?" I interrupted the girl.
"Redeem the city, hmm," Vina mentally reviewed the trade laws. "Yes, there seems to be such a law where a city can buy its independence if it's dissatisfied with its feudal lord, and then they can appoint a temporary manager. Later, the king can appoint a new feudal lord, but by then, the city will already be a separate principality, and the feudal lord will have to prioritize the well-being of that city. But the problem is, the price is set by the current feudal lord, and no one would willingly give up their lands, so there haven't been such precedents so far."
"But no one had the opportunity for this until now!" I smirked, looking at the mayor. "It's Serena's parting gift. Independence!"
The mayor's expression changed, and drops of sweat began to gather at his temples.