Chapter III

Tel'bestra

            “Sir?"

            From the sweet darkness of sleep did Zarr hear a voice call out to him, beckoning him into the light of morning. He felt a finger prod him in his rib and he instantly woke up with a startle. The servant who had been waking him jumped back in fright, cowering behind crossed arms as Zarr glanced around at the bedroom.

            “H-How…did I get here?" he asked himself, but suddenly the events of last night came back to him, “Ah…that's right." At ease now that he knew he wasn't in some stranger's home, Zarr took the time to stretch his awakening limbs and rub the sleep out of his eyes. His body felt so refreshed and invigorated! He made a note to himself to thank Silnis once more for allowing him to sleep in his family's home for the night.

            “Umm…sir?" The servant, who was still present, repeated once more to Zarr. The wolf turned to the servant, unaware of their presence till now, and saw them still with a panicked look in their eyes.

            “Ah," Zarr was about to say, realizing he scared them with his jump, “sorry about that. Just a far warning for you, never poke a Frosen in the rib. We're very ticklish there." The servant simply nodded as acknowledgement.

            “The Master and Mistress request your presence in the dining room. Breakfast is being served, and you are invited at their courtesy." The servant explained this to Zarr before quickly leaving the room and leaving the wolf alone. Breakfast? That meant food and if it was being provided freely then Zarr was going to take advantage of that opportunity! He noticed that a washroom was attached to the bedroom just across from the bed and Zarr thought it would be a kind gesture to at least clean himself before presenting himself to his gracious hosts. It was the least he could do to return Silnis' kindness as well.

            Fifteen minutes passed before Zarr exited from the washroom, his fur damp but smelling fresh and clean. The bed had been quickly made while he was attending to himself and a stack of clothes sat neatly folded on the sheets. A note was tucked into the dark violet shirt and read, “A gift for our guest. Sincerely, the Hearthglen family." Silnis' family certainly knew how to make him feel welcomed! He rubbed the fine Tel'bestran cloth between his fingers feeling the silky and light texture that was unique to the humans. With their furless bodies Zarr could assume that the sensation of this cloth rubbing against their skins as they moved was heavenly. The pair of black trousers was made of a sturdier material and felt almost like cotton that had been tightly woven together into a cloth. Zarr dressed himself in his gifted clothes and was amazed that it didn't constrict his body in any way. Most clothes he wore often felt too tight due to his fur and that's why he often wore very simple clothes that offered a lot of breathing room.

            Zarr made his way down to the main floor, having to stop and ask a servant for guidance to the dining more than once, and finally arrived just as the table was being set with a grand display of breakfast food. His mouth began to salivate at the many wondrous smells of bacon, sausages, eggs, and pastries that were wafting into his nose from the platters. His stomach rumbled in yearning, having not had food since yesterday afternoon when he was rudely interrupted at the tavern and arrested shortly after.

            “Ah, you must be our son's friend! Come! Have a seat!" Silnis' mother beckoned over to Zarr, pulling up a chair adjacent to her side of the table for the wolf. As Zarr took his seat besides Silnis' mother, he noticed that the table wasn't too large. It looked just like a family table any household would have only more lavishly decorated and constructed out of some exotic wood. Two more chairs sat empty across from Zarr and he could only assume that one of them was meant for Silnis.

            “So what brings you to our fair city, Frosen?" Silnis' father asked Zarr with a kind smile.

            “I was on a request to retrieve a book from here and return it to a noble in Edenclad." Zarr answered.

            “Oh? Are you a courier? You seem quite rugged to be one," Silnis' mother chimed in, offering a cup of orange juice which Zarr graciously accepted.

            “No, I'm a mercenary. I know it is odd for me to be doing such a task, but the noble was offering a lot of gold for the book and I couldn't refuse," Zarr explained, sipping from his cup of the sweet juice.

            “Very interesting!" Silnis' mother commented. Several servants hustled around the three of them as their plates were being served with food from the platters. Zarr desperately wanted to just start eating as soon as the first slab of food hit his plate, but he held himself back until his hosts had taken the first bite. As soon as he saw Silnis' father take his first mouthful of cheesy scrambled eggs, Zarr went at it and devoured an entire sausage patty in one bite. The explosion of salty, fatty, and savory flavors in his mouth caused him to groan aloud in delight. Both Silnis' mother and father chuckled in amusement at Zarr's show of joy in eating their food.

            “What he is doing here!?" A sudden outburst broke Zarr out of his food-happy thoughts. He turned to see who it was and was shocked to see it was the same peacekeeper from yesterday who had arrested him!

            “What are you doing here?!" Zarr shot back, pushing his chair back and getting to his feet.

            “I live here, you thief!" Alec was dressed in his uniform, body positioned in a stance ready to strike at Zarr should he attack him or his parents. “Mother, Father, get away from the Frosen!"

            “What is the meaning of this, Alec?!" Silnis' father demanded.

            “I caught him stealing a book from the Omni Archive after he started a fight in a local tavern. I had him arrested, but he must have escaped and used Silnis' compassion to seek shelter in our own home!" Alec explained, never taking his glaring eyes off of Zarr.

            “I told you already! I've only been to this city three times! Never have I stepped foot into the Omni Archive until yesterday! How was I to know that I needed to check out the book?" Zarr restated his argument, fully intending to make himself innocent even if he wasn't in the High Court. Alec was about to spit back his own defense, but his father stepped in and ceased their fight.

            “Enough! I will not have fighting in my home!" All was silent in the room as the servants quietly did their work in timid fear while Zarr and Alec continued to glare at each other. “Now…Alec, did you not question him further instead of jumping to conclusions?"

            “He had the book in his bag with the information card still in it." Alec said, meeting eyes with his father for only a moment.

            “But did he not say that he was new to the process of checking out a book from the Omni Archive?"

            “Yes, but it could be a lie. It would be a common tactic used by thieves to steal from the Omni Archive."

            “Possibly, but could you not have taken him back to the Omni Archive and properly demonstrated to him how the process should go?" Silnis' father raised an eyebrow at his eldest son, questioning his thought process.

            “I…I…did not have the time for that. Besides theft, he was also charged of assault. That is a far worse crime than theft, thus I had every reason to arrest him and to confiscate his belongings."

            “Did you not consider it self-defense? Perhaps he was assaulted? Were there no eyewitnesses for you to question?" Alec could feel his father's eyes digging into him, finding every mistake he made and bringing it out onto the table for him to view. Zarr now had a smug grin on his face, fully aware that Silnis' father was acting in his defense. He made a mental note to hire Silnis' father should he ever find himself before the High Court in the future.

            “Alec, sweetie, you let your prejudices blind your responsibilities as a peacekeeper. I think you should apologize to our guest and return his items to him," Silnis' mother softly suggested, offering a warm smile to her son behind a stern gaze. As much as Alec wanted to deny his parents' words, logically he knew that they were right. He had never been one to like the wolves of Frosen. They were an unruly people with no regard to the laws and order of the other kingdoms. Many times did he have to clean up the messes left by visiting Frosen regardless if they were nobility or commoner.

            “I will see to it…,' he said, glaring at Zarr, “that your arrest is withdrawn…."

            “And?" Zarr was egging Alec on, knowing the peacekeeper was forgetting something very important. Alec held back a growl, wanting to teach the wolf a lesson in Tel'bestran justice.

            “And your possessions are returned to you as well…." Zarr smiled contentedly before seating himself back in his chair. Silnis' father gestured for Alec to seat himself next to his mother, though it was more of a command than a suggestion.

            “Is Silnis still asleep? It's not like him to sleep in or miss breakfast. I even had the chefs prepare him his favorite eggs and toast!" Silnis' mother pointed out.

            “I will go fetch him," Alec quickly said, leaving the dining room before anyone could stop him. The last thing he wanted to do was stay another second in the same room with Zarr. He could still feel the wolf's smiling smugly behind him even through the walls. Besides that, Alec wanted to question his brother about Zarr and how the two had met and become friends. Silnis' room was the closest to the dining hall so Alec did not have to travel far to reach his brother. He knocked on the door, expecting a reply from his early-bird brother, but no response came. Once more he knocked again, but harder, thinking that Silnis had slept in and needed a wake-up call.

            “Silnis, wake up! It's already breakfast and you have some explaining to do!" Receiving nothing from Silnis, Alec turned the doorknob and was surprised to find it unlocked. Entering the bedroom, nothing seemed out of place to his eyes. His brother's bed was neatly made, as always, and there was no sign of him in his washroom. “Strange…could he have gone to the Academy? Impossible. It's a weekend. Where could he be then?"

            Confused, Alec returned to the dining room where his father was busy making conversation with Zarr who was telling them all about the wonders of Fros. He loudly cleared his throat to gain their attention, interrupting Zarr as he was describing the Glacier Hot Spring. The wolf gave him a dirty look, but Alec simply grinned back. He proceeded to inform his parents that Silnis was not in bed and seemed to have taken off without prior notice. His mother was crossed with concern, but his father quickly reassured her that perhaps Silnis was taking a morning stroll through the city and would return before breakfast was over. His mother, wanting to distract herself from Silnis' break of routine, insisted that Alec seat himself and eat before the food cooled. He wasn't feeling hungry, but he couldn't deny his mother's request lest she worry herself more over Silnis. Alec sat across from Zarr, avoiding eye contact as he ate his plate of food while his mother probed his father with questions about where Silnis might possibly be at this hour. He quickly finished his food, excusing himself from the table and was about to leave the dining room until he noticed Zarr following after him.

            “What are you doing?!" he demanded.

            “I recall you promising me that you would return my possessions. If time is of no concern to you, I would request you return them to me now. I have a deadline that I must meet if I want to be paid in full by my client," Zarr said, crossing his arms across his chest to show that he wouldn't leave Alec alone until his items were back in his hands. Alec wanted to object, but he met his father's stern gaze for a moment and only grumbled to himself.

            “Very well…follow me to the Tel'bestran Order's office. I will retrieve your items from the office and you shall be on your way…soon," Alec emphasized his last words, desperately wanting the wolf to just leave the city already. He's caused Alec enough stress in the short time he's been in Tel'bestra. Without another word he led Zarr out of his family's home and down into the city's streets. Zarr closely followed Alec, making sure the human wasn't going to try any funny tricks and lose him in the bustling crowd. Not that it would matter anyways. He would be able to find Alec again by scent alone. Silnis' brother had a very clean smell to him that was almost sterile. It wasn't too long before they entered a plaza that offered more space than the streets they had come from. Directly in front of them stood an imposing building lined with marble pillars and a domed ceiling in the center. To Zarr, the building had the word—JUSTICE—written all over it.

            The two ascended a flight of stairs before entering through a pair of heavy oak doors that gleamed with fresh polish. The interior was elegantly decorated in the same manner as the exterior with pillars supporting the ceiling and the dome above them opening up to a dazzling mural of precious gems arranged in various shapes and forms. The sunlight that entered through the small windows from the dome caused a lightshow of colors when they hit the mural. Zarr wanted to admire the architecture some more, but Alec showed no signs of waiting for the wolf and continued on down a corridor. Entering through another set of dark oak doors, the amount of activity happening around them made it clear to Zarr that this was most definitely the Tel'bestran Order's office. Peacekeepers, all donning the same uniform, hustled to and fro throughout the office carrying out various tasks of differing sizes. Zarr saw one peacekeeper quickly signing a foot stack of papers, never missing a beat, and another dashing around with impressive agility refilling mugs with freshly brewed coffee or tea.

            “Greetings Captain!" A peacekeeper saluted Alec, bowing shortly afterwards. Alec returned the greeting with the same gestures. “Is there anything I can assist you with?"

            “This Frosen has had his items confiscated…by mistake," Alec said, glancing back at Zarr as he said this, “and is here to retrieve them." The peacekeeper only just noticed the large Frosen standing behind Alec, taking a step back as soon as he recognized Zarr.

            “Captain?! Is he not the same Frosen who we apprehended last night at The King's Feast?" Alec held up a hand to silence him.

            “Yes…you are not mistaken. However, upon careful thought and…reasoning...I realized that I had charged him of his crimes wrongfully. Therefore, he is pardoned of his charges and thus must have his items returned to him at once." The peacekeeper glanced at Zarr with wary eyes, but quickly turned and retreated into an adjacent room. One minute later and he returned holding Zarr's belongings in his arms. There wasn't much, consisting only of a leather sack and sword. The sack, however, was quite large and contained many unknown things to the two humans.

            “I trust that these are correct?" The peacekeeper asked, directing his question more towards Zarr.

            “Yes!" The wolf rushed to grab his things, scaring the peacekeeper into dropping them, but Zarr swiftly caught them.

            “Hey, watch yourself! There are some very precious things in here!" Zarr cautioned, shaking his leather sack gently with an audible clink and clack to make his point clear. With his sack in hand, Zarr opened it and was crestfallen to find that the book was not inside. Alec saw the disappointed look on his face and could only guess what upset the wolf.

            “I returned the book to the Omni Archive. You'll have to retrieve it from there again properly if you wish to have it in your possession again," Alec informed Zarr, putting great emphasis on that one word. Zarr groaned aloud, not wanting to traverse the confusing maze of books and shelves to find that one book again. If he had Silnis to help him again then it wouldn't too much of a hassle. Unfortunately for him, Zarr had no idea where the silver-haired human went off to. He could be anywhere in the city for all he knew. It would take too long to seek him out at this time of day when business was starting to peak. Could he afford to spend more time by himself searching for the book again? He didn't have the time to think of an alternative as a sudden outburst interrupted his thoughts.

            “CAPTAIN!" Another peacekeeper had come running in through the doors, out of breath with a panicked expression. Alec sensed something bad was happening and immediately went to talk to him.

            “Yes? What is it?!"

            “Six…people…have been reported missing…," the breathless peacekeeper said, panting like he had ran all the way here from the other side of the city.

            “Six?! How was this not discovered earlier?" Alec inquired, looking around the room as the other peacekeepers were just as clueless as he was. “Have they been identified?" The peacekeeper only nodded in reply, handing over a list to Alec with the names of the missing. Suddenly, a stray thought crossed Alec's mind. Silnis was not at breakfast this morning…and he was rarely one to break from routine, or go out without informing his parents. Could he be missing too?! Alec mentally shook the thought from his head, rationalizing that the abrupt panic of the situation was making him think such a scenario. Reading the names on the list, and putting faces to them, Alec realized that they were all humans but that there was no pattern to any of them. Two were middle-aged women, one a small boy, one an elderly man, one a young girl, and the last a young man. All of them came from different backgrounds and were not related to each other in any way, shape, or form.

            “How were they reported missing?" Alec asked the peacekeeper, needing more information to solve this case.

            “Unknown…Captain. The two children were first reported missing from their homes. A group of peacekeepers searched the streets in hopes that they had simply wandered off and were lost, but then reports of the other four came in at almost the same time. I was sent to deliver the reports to you moments ago."

            Alec was deeply troubled by this. Six missing people all at the same time? This wasn't coincidence. No…. This was planned by someone, but who? What were their goals? Ransom? As Alec pondered all this, Zarr had been standing aside listening and taking in this sudden development. He could smell the fear and panic from the other peacekeepers in the room, though they tried their best not to express it. Alec was the only one who had remained calm, though Zarr could sense that this greatly concerned him.

            “Is there anything I can do to help?" Zarr offered to Alec, shaking him out of his thoughts and surprising him with his generosity.

            “Huh? No. We have this under control. Just leave now before I catch you breaking any more laws" Alec quickly dismissed Zarr's offer, shooing him away with the gesture of his hand. Zarr only grunted in response, hoisting his sack over his shoulder before exiting the room. So much for trying to be helpful…. Zarr was even willing to do it free of charge. Zarr had made his way out of the building and back onto the streets, though he could hear people talking about the missing people now. In huddled groups or pairs, Zarr heard conversations about the missing six and the worry that it was causing on everyone. Multiple peacekeepers were now prowling the streets, thoroughly expecting every alleyway and questioning every person they passed by for the whereabouts of the missing.

            “You, halt!" he heard one them exclaim towards him. Zarr groaned aloud, receiving some odd looks from those around him. Could he just leave the city without getting involved with the Tel'bestran Order?!

            “What is it…?" Zarr grumbled, ears and shoulder hung low with an annoyed expression.

            “We are peacekeepers from the Tel'bestran Order and are conducting an investigation in search for-" they were about to say, but Zarr cut them off out of impatience.

            “Six missing people? Yes, I've heard. I was there when your captain received word of it in your office. Now, if you'll excuse me I must be going now." Zarr didn't give them any time to reply before pushing past them and making his way towards one of the gates. The thought of purchasing transportation to Edenclad crossed his mind, but staying another minute in this city was something he didn't want to do. Zarr already stuck out like a sore thumb for his intimidating height and being a Frosen, but having his sword sheathed behind his back made him look a more likely suspect for crime. He was swiftly approaching the gate, rejoicing in finally leaving the city, when he heard more peacekeepers stopping him.

            “Frosen, halt!" Zarr turned to them with a fire in his eyes, baring his fangs and growling.

            “I've had enough of you peacekeepers-!" Zarr began, giving them a piece of his mind, but was drowned out by the sounding of the noon bell. It echoed throughout the city, most people paying little attention to it and only taking notice of its significance. Zarr had finished his bout of insults to the peacekeepers when the final toll ended, giving them a death glare as he continued on his way out. He had only taken three steps when the sound of multiple screams stopped him this time. What now?!

            “The Spires!"

            “It's the missing people!"

            “Someone save them!"

            Zarr shielded his eyes from the blinding sun as he turned his eyes to where everyone was pointing. Having sharper vision than the humans, Zarr could clearly see to his horror one of the missing hanging from a rope that extended out from the highest window on each of the Spires. They were all unconscious, but he was starting to see many of them start to come to. What was going on?! How did they all get up there?!

            “Look, to the Diamond Spire!"

            “Is that someone else!?"

            He turned to the tallest of the spires, squinting his eyes to see the last individual. The sun was in his eyes, making it hard to see who it was, but for a brief moment his vision cleared just enough to glimpse their face—Silnis! Zarr recalled from this morning that Silnis' parents were worried that he had suddenly disappeared from his room without notice. They had dismissed it as Silnis simply going for walk, but now the truth was revealed. Zarr wasn't the only one to recognize the silver-haired human. The peacekeepers nearby were in a state of panic as soon as they saw who the newest victim was.

            “Is…that…the captain's brother?!"

            “It is!"

            “Send word to him at once, quickly!"

            Two peacekeepers scrambled through the crowd of worried onlookers as they pushed their way towards the Tel'bestran Order's office. Zarr couldn't do anything but watch with the others, wanting to believe with them that this was all just a bad nightmare. It was obvious to him that this was all planned. Impossible it would be for seven people to mysteriously vanish and hang themselves from The Spires.

            “H-Help me! Please!" A young woman with long, brown hair shouted from the nearby Ruby Spire. Her voice was familiar, and Zarr recognized her as the receptionist from the Omni Archive. Pure fear plastered her beautiful face as she struggled against her bindings though was unable to do much. Zarr saw a small group of peacekeepers making their way towards the Ruby Spire through the walkway on top of the walls. If they could reach the top floor of the spire then they could pull up and rescue her! More people took notice of the peacekeepers and their plan, hope filling their hearts that this would not end in tragedy. Their hope, however, was short-lived. A dark figure, cloaked in black cloth, appeared from the window where the rope extended from and held a knife in their hands. Zarr could barely shout “No!" before they cut the rope and the receptionist fell to her death. Women cried in horror, covering the eyes of their children, and men stared in shock as the screams of the falling woman was quickly ended with a sickening crunch and splat. No time was given to mourn her death, however, as no sooner than five seconds later did a large explosion burst forth from the middle of the Ruby Spire. Chunks of white marble flew into the streets, crashing into homes and crushing those unfortunate enough to escape. The Ruby Spire started to collapse inward towards the city, causing everyone nearby to erupt into chaos and flee for their lives in any direction.

            Despite being larger and stronger than the humans around him, Zarr found himself being tossed and thrown around as people shoved him aside for their own safety. The peacekeepers were trying to stay calm and maintain order, but even Zarr could smell the fear emanating from them. Fear was the dominant smell in the air around him now. Everyone made way to the gates, desperately wanting to flee this chaos, but they found their only means of escape closed as the heavy doors shut tight. Even with all the screaming and shouting, Zarr could hear the next victim cry out his pleas before being cut from his rope and meeting the same fate as the receptionist. The Emerald Spire no sooner was met with an explosion and began collapsing upon its people and city. This was madness! Who would do such a thing?! The Ruby Spire made a loud crash as it demolished several streets of buildings and took the lives of many more people. Zarr didn't know why, but he started making his way back towards the Tel'bestran Order's office. He had to get there! Pushing several people aside, Zarr arrived back in the plaza in no time, though it was in as much chaos as the streets were. Several chunks of stray marble from the Ruby and Emerald spires had landed onto the buildings and people were fleeing for their lives. He spotted Alec shouting orders at his peacekeepers and made a mad dash for him.

            “Get everyone to safety!" Alec shouted.

            “The gates are shut captain! Someone has broken their locking mechanisms! There is no other way out of the city!" A peacekeeper wailed, on the brink of tears. Alec stepped forward and slapped him fiercely, taking him by the collar and staring directly into his eyes.

            “Do not give me that excuse in the middle of a crisis! Take any civilians you can get and herd them through the underground passageways!" The peacekeeper simply nodded before running off with the others into the streets.

            “Alec!" Zarr shouted, catching his attention.

            “What are you still doing here?!" Alec questioned. To be honest, Zarr didn't know either. His body and mind had just willed him back here for some reason.

            “I…I came to help. Silnis…is up on the Diamond Spire! He's going to be killed!" Zarr said. He had only known Alec's brother for only a few hours, but Zarr knew he had to save the human who he owed a promise to. Though it was a large repayment in comparison to Silnis helping him find a simple book, Zarr couldn't care at this point. Alec studied the Frosen for a few intense moments before the Topaz Spire exploded and began to fall, breaking him out of his thoughts.

            “Fine, but we must make haste! If my suspicions are correct, they're going to take out the surrounding spires before the Diamond Spire. We have little time!" Alec drew out a sword from his sheathe and sprinted towards the center of the city with Zarr following close behind him. They had to save Silnis…no matter what.