"Rudy, wake up! Today's the day we go on our first mission!" Sylvia shook Rudeus vigorously, trying to rouse him from sleep. He groaned and pushed her off. She stumbled back, looking genuinely offended. "Seriously? Hurry up! What if all the good missions are gone by the time you decide to grace the guild with your presence?" She grabbed his shoulders and shook him even harder, which finally got him to sit up.
He sat there staring at the ground, letting his brain catch up to speed. "I think we should leave for the next town," he mumbled.
"What? Why?" Sylvia's hands flew to her hips. "We only just got here and registered yesterday. We can stay a couple days at least. What's the rush?"
Rudeus shook his head, his mind drifting back to last night's events. He didn't want to get caught up in a murder investigation, and though he wasn't scared to fight, he didn't want to risk Sylvia's life over something that wasn't her problem.
"Let's go." His words were final, delivered with that infuriating tone that meant he wouldn't listen to anything she said.
Sylvia's eye twitched. She glared at him and clenched her fists as he picked up his two swords, attached them to his sides, and walked toward the door fully expecting her to follow like some obedient pet.
When he looked back and saw she hadn't moved a muscle, he frowned. "Did you not hear me or something?"
She crossed her arms tighter, her scowl deepening. "No, I heard you loud and clear. That doesn't mean I have to follow every order you bark at me like I'm your servant."
Rudeus inwardly facepalmed. "This woman…"
"What did you say?" Sylvia stepped closer, her voice rising as she challenged him, glaring straight into his soul.
He effortlessly returned her glare, which made her flinch and turn her head slightly though she'd never admit it annoyed her that he didn't back down.
"I'm not going," she declared firmly, her voice sharp with irritation. "I'll stay here. You can leave if you want, but you can't force me to do anything. I'm not some sidekick who just nods and smiles while you make all the decisions without even explaining why!" She threw her hands up in exasperation. "You know what? Fine. Have fun traveling alone."
With that, she turned on her heel and stormed toward the guild hall.
Rudeus sighed heavily. He knew she wouldn't budge she was too stubborn for that. Besides, he didn't actually want her to die, which meant he basically had no choice but to follow.
He trailed behind her quietly. When she noticed him following, she smirked triumphantly. "Good boy," she giggled, her mood instantly lifting.
His eye twitched, but he said nothing.
-----
When they reached the guild, it was already loud despite the early morning hour. Rudeus had to wonder how these adventurers had so much energy to burn at this ungodly time. Since neither of them had eaten breakfast yet and the guild conveniently served food they decided to eat there.
They walked up to the receptionist desk and were greeted by a new woman, which surprised Sylvia.
"Oh, what happened to the other girl?" she whispered to Rudeus.
He shrugged. "Why would I know?"[1]
The woman behind the desk looked at them with a polite smile. "I'm assuming you want to know what happened to Nadia?"
Sylvia raised an eyebrow. "Who's Nadia?"
The receptionist's expression shifted to one of realization. "Oh, you two must be new here. Nadia was the receptionist before me. Last night, while she was here meeting someone, she was brutally murdered a sword pierced straight through her skull." Her voice dropped to a sadder tone. "It's heartbreaking to see someone so kindhearted suffer such brutal treatment. I hope whoever did this is caught soon. I heard they've already called in a swordsman from the Sword Sanctuary and some mages from the Roa Magic University to investigate." She paused, her eyes glistening slightly. "But the person I feel worst for is her dear sister."
Rudeus perked up at that. So she wasn't lying. It seems I'll have to do something about this.
When he glanced over at Sylvia, her eyes were already teary. "That's so tragic," she whispered, her voice breaking slightly. "How could someone do that to an innocent girl? She didn't deserve this…" She wiped at her eyes as stray tears threatened to fall.
Rudeus slipped away quietly. He had no reason to stay and watch this emotional display. He needed to find Nadia's sister.
Why? Because he wanted to. There was no bigger reason beyond that, nor did he need to justify it to himself.
-----
He walked out of the guild without rushing. He wasn't in a hurry to eat he could go a while without food anyway, having seen his limits through self-imposed starvation more than once.
Outside, he surveyed his surroundings. He hadn't explored much of this town yet, and he only had a couple of vague clues the Red Lantern District and something called the Rose House. He didn't even know the sister's name or what she looked like.
He wandered through the streets, scanning various shops and stores, looking for a specific type of individual a man who looks like an asshole.
But the more he searched, the more confused he became. Nobody here fit the part. Everyone looked… perfect?
Eventually, he walked into a bookshop. Not many people were inside just a few quietly browsing the shelves. He approached the clerk.
"Oh, hello! Welcome to our town's bookstore. How may I help you today?" The man spoke calmly. He appeared to be in his fifties, with gray hair creeping in at the temples. He had that sweet-old-man vibe about him.
"I'd like to learn a little about this town," Rudeus said flatly.
The old man looked surprised. "You don't seem like the type to care about stuff like that. Here I thought you came to buy some magic books." He chuckled kindly, then added more seriously, "You know, if you look at people with those kinds of eyes, they'll think the worst of you."
Rudeus said nothing.
The old man stopped laughing and sighed. "Okay, okay. Since you're new here, I won't charge you." He reached under his desk and pulled out a book. "Here's a book about this town."
Rudeus took it and sat down in a corner. The real reason he'd asked for it was to find a map of the town he didn't want to large amounts of waste money on something he could memorize in one glance.
He flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for a detailed map showing locations like the bookstore he was in now, the guild, the town hall, and more.
But nowhere on this map did it show the Red Lantern District.
Weird.
He closed the book and returned it to the old man. "Oh, did you read everything you wanted already?" the man asked curiously.
"Yeah."
Rudeus walked out.
Finding this place would be harder than he'd thought. It seemed they were deliberately hiding it for whatever reason.
-----
"It's all a conspiracy," a voice said suddenly beside him.
Rudeus snapped his head around and instinctively clutched his sword hilt. The man next to him took a quick step back and waved his arms defensively.
"Whoa there! Easy!" The man looked nervous but continued quickly, "You were talking to yourself about the Red Lantern District, and I've been looking for it too—and I'm telling you, it's all a conspiracy."
Rudeus eyed him suspiciously. The man was lanky with brown hair that stuck up in odd directions, giving him a disheveled appearance.
"Who are you?" Rudeus asked coldly, his hand still resting on his sword hilt.
"Glen! Names Glen." He extended his hand enthusiastically. When Rudeus didn't take it, Glen awkwardly scratched the back of his head instead. "Look, I get it. Random guy approaches you talking about secret districts - super sketchy. But I've been in this town for three weeks trying to find these missing people. I've noticed when new travelers come here a portion of them go missing and some start to live here permently everyone says im crazy and they just left but I know im not."
Rudeus's eyes narrowed slightly this guy gave him a creepy feeling but he ignored it.
"The authorities won't help?" Rudeus asked.
"The authorities?" Glen laughed bitterly. "They're the ones covering it up. I've asked around, tried to file reports - nothing. It's like she never existed. But I've been piecing things together, and I think I know where they are That's why I've been looking for the red lantern district too."
Rudeus studied him for a long moment. Every instinct told him this was coincidental But he also couldn't ignore the potential lead and if things came down to it he could fight his way out. "What do you know about it?"
Glen glanced around nervously, then leaned in closer. "Not here. Too many ears. Meet me at the eastern bridge tonight, after dark. I'll show you what I've found." He started to walk away, then turned back with that same eager smile. "Oh, and bring your companion if you want. The pretty girl with the attitude?"
Before Rudeus could respond, Glen disappeared into the morning crowd.
Rudeus stood there, frowning how had he known about Sylvia it wasn't a secret that they came here together but that meant he had to have either seen them on the street or at the guild his mind working through the possibilities.
When he came back, Sylvia was sitting at one of the tables, absolutely demolishing a plate of breakfast. She had egg on her cheek and was gesturing wildly while talking to a group of adventurers who looked both entertained and slightly overwhelmed.
"—and THEN, he tried to tell me we needed to leave immediately, like I'm some damsel who needs protecting!" She took an aggressive bite of bread. "Can you believe that?"
Rudeus sighed and walked over. "Are you done embarrassing me to strangers?"
Sylvia looked up, grinning. "Oh good, you're back! Did you have fun brooding around town?"
"I never brood."
"You were definitely brooding. You had your 'I'm thinking about something' face on." She turned to the adventurers. "He always looks like that when he's scheming."
"I don't scheme."
"See? Brooding AND in denial." She laughed and finally noticed the egg on her face, wiping it away carelessly. "So where did you go anyway?"
Rudeus hesitated. He hadn't planned on telling her about Glen or the red lantern district, but keeping it from her entirely seemed like it would cause more problems. But he would take that risk. "nowhere important."
Sylvia's eyes dimmed immediately. "See you never tell me anything do you?"
"I told you nothing important happened I just walked around ."
Her expression shifted, and went back to eating. "If that's all you'd have to say can you sit somewhere else I dont want our mood to be dampened by your mood."
Rudeus nodded his head and sat down at a diffrent table. "First argument? It's always the toughest me and my girlfriend fight all the time but at the end of the day if you pound her in the right places she wont be mad in the morning." The guy next to him chuckled.
Rudeus just ignored him and ordered some food.
-----
The rest of the day passed in uncomfortable silence. Sylvia took her first mission with a different group of adventurers something about clearing out some goblins near the town's outskirts. She didn't ask Rudeus to come, and he didn't ask to go also because he knew shed ignore him.
As evening approached, Rudeus made his way to the eastern bridge. The sun was setting, painting the sky in shades of orange and red. Glen was already there, leaning against the railing with a leather satchel at his feet.
"You came," Glen said, looking genuinely pleased. "And alone. You didn't bring your female friend?"
"She's busy," Rudeus said flatly. "You said you had evidence."
"Right to business, I like that." Glen picked up his satchel and gestured for Rudeus to follow him to a more secluded spot under the bridge. Once they were hidden from view, he pulled out several documents and a hand-drawn map.
"So, here's what I've figured out." Glen spread the map on a flat stone. It showed the town, but with additional markings that didn't appear on any official map. "The red lantern district isn't on any records because it technically doesn't exist. At least, not officially."
Rudeus studied the map. Glen had marked several buildings on the north side of town with red X's.
"These buildings," Glen continued, pointing to the marks, "they're all owned by the same person. Or rather, the same family trust. The Cornelius family specifically, the mayor's family. His grandfather established it about forty years ago."
"How do you know this?"
Glen pulled out a stack of yellowed documents. "Property records. Took me weeks to dig these up from the town hall archives. Nobody looks at the old records, they just assume everything's handled. But if you know what to look for…" He spread them out. "See? Every single one of these properties was purchased by Marcus Cornelius, the current mayor's grandfather, between forty-two and forty years ago. All within a six-month period."
Rudeus examined the documents. They looked legitimate, though he was no expert on forgeries.
"Now here's where it gets interesting." Glen pulled out a small leather notebook. "I've been watching the patterns. Every week, new travelers come to town. Some stay, some leave, nothing unusual. But about twenty percent of them? They vanish from the main part of town and random people start appearing in this area. In recent years of me living here I haven't reconized a single person working in any of them." He circled the red X marks on the map. "They work at the docks, the warehouses, and brothels always look exhausted"
"Why does it matter if you reconize them?" I was cofused. Glen looked at me serious. "Ive remebered every single person living in this town and their familes if I dont reconize the people down there that means they arent citzens from here and thats how I reconized you so fast you stood out." He looked back at the map.
"I've followed a few. They go to these buildings at night. Never leave before dawn. And the few times I tried to talk to them during the day…" Glen's expression darkened. "They're terrified. One guy literally ran away when I asked him about working conditions."
Rudeus frowned. "And you think they're being held there against their will?"
"I think they're in debt." Glen pulled out another document this one looked like a contract, though the writing was too small to read in the dim light. "I managed to… acquire this from one of the workers. It's a loan agreement. Basically, the district offers new travelers 'opportunities' lodging, food, work. But the prices are astronomical. By the time they realize it, they owe more than they could ever pay back. The contract says if they can't pay, they work it off. But the way the interest compounds…" He shook his head. "They'd have to work their entire lives and still wouldn't clear the debt"
"And if they refuse to work?"
Glen was quiet for a moment. "I don't know for sure. But that receptionist? Nadia? I talked to her a few times before she died. She was asking questions about the same things I was. About her sister working in that district. She had figured out her sister was put into prostitution and then traded herself for her sister. Then she ended up dead murdered by someone." He met Rudeus's eyes. "I don't think that's a coincidence."
Rudeus gulped her muder wasn't really connected to the red lantern district since he killed her His evidence was detailed though and the story fit together.
"Why are you telling me all this?" Rudeus asked. "You don't know me."
"Because I can't do this alone." Glen started gathering his documents. "I'm just a researcher, not a fighter. But you? You look like someone who can handle himself. And if we're going to get those people out, we'll need someone who can fight." He paused. "Besides, you're looking for someone too, aren't you? That's why you were asking about the red lantern district."
Rudeus didn't confirm or deny it.
"Look," Glen said, "I know you don't trust me. That's smart. But think about it if I wanted to trap you, why would I give you all this information? Why would I show you my evidence?" He handed Rudeus a folded piece of paper. "That's the address of the main entrance I've found. It's guarded, but with your skills and my knowledge of the guard rotations, we could get in."
Rudeus took the paper but said nothing.
"Just… think about it." Glen shouldered his satchel. "I'll be at the guild tomorrow morning. If you decide you want to help, find me there. We can make a plan." He started to walk away, then turned back. "Tell Sylvia I said hi."
Then he was gone, disappearing into the darkening streets.
Rudeus stood under the bridge for a long time, staring at the paper in his hand. Everything Glen had said made sense. The evidence seemed real. The story was plausible.
He had to go with this he had no other leads and if it didn't work out he can always start over
-----
The next morning, Rudeus woke up to an empty room. Sylvia's bed was made, her things organized she'd clearly been up for hours. There was no note and no indication of where she'd gone.
He made his way to the guild, scanning the crowd for her familiar figure. The place was packed with adventurers taking morning missions, but no Sylvia.
"Looking for someone?"
Rudeus turned to find Glen at a table near the window, two cups of coffee in front of him. He gestured to the empty seat. "Your friend left about an hour ago. Took a mission escorting some merchants to the next town over. Won't be back until evening."
Rudeus sat down, not bothering to ask how Glen knew that. "You're well-informed."
"I pay attention. It's kept me alive this long." Glen pushed one of the coffee cups toward Rudeus. "She seemed upset. You two have a fight?"
"Something like that."
"Want to talk about it?"
"No."
Glen chuckled. "Fair enough." He pulled out his notebook again. "So, have you thought about what I said last night?"
Before Rudeus could answer, a bright voice cut through the noise of the guild.
"Glen! There you are!"
Rudeus looked up to see Sylvia approaching their table, her face lit up with a smile. She was carrying a plate of pastries and seemed to be in a much better mood than yesterday.
"Oh, Sylvia! Good morning!" Glen stood up, his whole demeanor brightening. "I thought you were on a mission?"
"It got cancelled and the merchants decided to wait another day." She set the plate down and finally seemed to notice Rudeus. Her smile dimmed slightly. "Oh. You're here."
"Sylvia—" Rudeus started.
"Glen, can I talk to you for a second? Alone?" She looked pointedly at Rudeus.
Glen glanced between them, clearly sensing the tension. "Uh, sure. Rudeus, would you mind…?"
Rudeus stood up without a word and moved to the bar, far enough to give them privacy but close enough to keep an eye on things. He ordered another coffee and tried not to obviously watch their table.
But he could see enough. Could see how Sylvia's entire posture relaxed when he left. Could see how she leaned in, laughing at something Glen said. Could see Glen matching her energy perfectly, being animated and expressive in a way Rudeus never was.
"They make a cute pair, don't they?" the bartender said, following Rudeus's gaze. "That Glen fellow, he's been here for weeks. Real friendly type. Your friend seems to like him."
Rudeus didn't respond, just sipped his coffee.
The conversation at the table continued. Rudeus couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could read the body language. Sylvia was fully engaged, gesturing wildly as she told some story. Glen was leaning forward, giving her his complete attention, laughing at all the right moments.
At one point, Sylvia pulled out a map and pointed to something. Glen nodded enthusiastically, pulling out his notebook to show her. They were sharing information. Sylvia was telling Glen things, trusting him with details.
Details she hadn't showed him. He didn't know what they were talking about but he felt like he needed to know she might do something reckless.
After about twenty minutes, Sylvia stood up, still smiling. She waved goodbye to Glen and headed toward the mission board without even glancing in Rudeus's direction.
Glen waited a moment, then gestured for Rudeus to come back. When Rudeus sat down, Glen's expression was sympathetic.
"She's really upset with you, you know," Glen said quietly. "Says you never tell her anything. Never treat her like an equal."
"What did she tell you?"
"Just that you keep secrets. That you left her at the guild yesterday without explanation. That you try to protect her like she's helpless." Glen leaned back. "Look, I'm not trying to get in the middle of your relationship, but…"
Rudeus's jaw tightened. "What did you tell her?"
"I told her that if she wants to prove herself she should do a big mission to show you shes capable?"
"Thats dangerous for someone like her."
"So why did you become adventurers to do safe missions? When you become an adventurer you become a warrior and warriors fight." Glen studied Rudeus's face. "You know what I think? I think-"
Rudeus was about to punch him, but his hands tightened around his cup. this scared glen.
Across the guild, Sylvia was talking to another group of adventurers, laughing at something they said. He would save her if he had too.
Glen shook his head and stood up. "I'm going to do some more reconnaissance today. If you want to join me, meet me at the north gate at noon. If not…" He shrugged. "I'll work with whoever's willing to help. I might even get Sylvia."
He left, and Rudeus sat alone at the table, his coffee growing cold.
Across the room, Sylvia finally looked his way. Their eyes met for a brief moment. Then she turned away, deliberately, and continued her conversation with the other adventurers.
The message was clear she was done waiting for him to include her. She was going to move forward on her own without him.
Rudeus drained his cold coffee and stood up. He was going to break down this conspiracy and drag Sylvia with him out of this town after.
A/N: I have a mental image of Rudeus charatecer but I dont think my writing is convaying it well enough I need to lock in also this mini arc will be like 3 chapters max so around 9-10k words
[1] I laughed at this