The biting chill of the Aetheleon forest floor clung to the damp earth, a stark contrast to the small pocket of warmth radiating from the makeshift camp. Jai, under the guise of Arthur Berne, watched the crackling fire, his features unreadable in the flickering light. Beside him, James, or Clement, shifted uncomfortably, the silence heavy with the untold horrors of their discovery.
"We have to be surgical about this, James. Silently, smoothly," Jai finally murmured, his voice a low, gravelly whisper that barely carried beyond their small circle. He kept his eyes locked on the flames, but his gaze was inward, focused on the razor-thin edge of their operation. "One wrong move, one lapse in our disguise, and not only does our mission fail, but we become the next target. We are Arthur and Clement Berne, travelling teachers, nothing more."
James nodded, running a hand through his perpetually messy hair. The curiosity that usually burned brightly in his eyes was tempered now by a cold, building fury. He was a creature of impulse and raw elemental power—air and space, volatile and quick—and reigning him in was often Jai's greatest challenge. "Understood. The masks stay on. But looking at her… God, Jai, who are these animals?"
They turned their attention to the small girl huddled near the fire. Morisa. She was small for her age, her noble clothes tattered and smudged with grime, her eyes wide with a deep-seated fear that no firelight could dispel. She looked fragile, like a piece of glass about to shatter. The air around her seemed to carry a faint, metallic scent of stale blood and fear.
"Morisa," James began, his voice failing to hide a raw, impatient edge. "What happened to you? Who were those men? How did you end up… kidnapped?"
A silent, powerful hand clamped down on James's shoulder. Jai gave a slight shake of his head, his face a mask of stern patience. "Bro, wait. Give her a minute to breathe. Let her return to the moment."
Morisa looked up, her lips cracked and her skin pale as parchment. She swallowed hard, her tongue thick and dry. The simple act of speaking seemed to drain her meagre reserves of energy. Her voice, when it came, was a barely audible rasp.
"Brothers… do you have any food?" she whispered, the question hitting them with the force of a physical blow. Her eyes were fixed on the meagre supplies they carried, a desperate, animal hunger shining in their depths. "I haven't eaten for three days. They… they only gave us the food that only Pertra could eat."
Pertra. The common Aetheleon word for pig, a vulgar, deliberately insulting comparison used by the cruelest bandits when feeding their captives swill.
A sudden, sharp pain lanced through Jai's heart—a brutal mix of pity, protectiveness, and righteous anger. He felt James tense beside him, the raw empathy of youth momentarily overriding his impatience. Jai didn't pause to think. Their mission, their elemental secrets, their powerful fury—all took a momentary backseat to a basic, urgent need.
He moved with the quiet efficiency of a seasoned survivalist. Using the few dry pieces of wood they had saved, he expertly coaxed the small fire into a steady, cooking flame. From a travel-pouch, he retrieved salted, cured meat and a handful of preserved root vegetables. It was a simple stew, the ingredients humble, but within minutes, the air was filled with the intoxicating, rich aroma of cooking food.
He ladled the thick, steaming broth and chunks of meat into a wooden bowl and presented it to Morisa.
She stared at it, her hands trembling as she took the bowl. For a brief, terrifying second, Jai thought she might drop it. Then, she brought the bowl close to her face, inhaling the glorious, savoury scent as if it were the finest perfume. She didn't use the spoon; she simply tipped the bowl, drinking the broth in hurried, desperate gulps, then tearing into the meat with a silent, consuming urgency.
As she ate, her eyes filled. The tears did not fall out of sadness or pain, but from a profound, overwhelming happiness—the pure, unadulterated relief of a starving body finally receiving sustenance. The sight was devastating.
Jai watched her, a knot of concern tightening in his chest. Was it good enough? She was a noble, a princess of the wealthy Dwarf Kingdom of Khazadcoher. Her palate must be accustomed to extravagant palace cuisine, roasted pheasant and spiced wines, not the plain, camp stew of a wandering teacher. He leaned forward, keeping his voice gentle and his expression mild.
"Did you like the food, Morisa?" he asked, genuinely curious and worried. "It's simple, I know, but it's all we have. I can try to make something else if you didn't enjoy it."
She shook her head vigorously, stopping mid-chew, her eyes still shimmering with joyful tears. "No, brother!" she managed, her voice suddenly stronger. "It's wonderful! I… I've never eaten anything this good. Never."
James's eyebrows shot up. He leaned towards Jai, muttering under his breath, barely moving his lips. "Arthur, what is she talking about? She's a noble, a princess! Didn't she eat good food in her palace?"
Jai's composure snapped, if only for a second. His hand shot out and delivered a soft, practiced smack to the back of James's head. It wasn't meant to hurt, only to silence the sheer idiocy of the question. "Are you a dumb person? How did you even awaken air and space elemental powers with that brain?" he hissed. "Three days, James. Three days of nothing but whatever stale grass they threw at her. After that, even this salted meat would taste like the sweetest honey. If you ate grass for three days, you'd react the exact same way to a hot meal."
James rubbed his head, chastened. The reality of her ordeal finally struck home.
Morisa coughed, a dry, ragged sound that echoed the harshness of her captivity. Jai immediately offered her his waterskin. She drank deeply, steadying herself.
Once the bowl was empty and she had taken a final, satisfied breath, Jai felt they could finally pivot back to the crucial questions.
"Did you eat enough? I can warm up the rest," he offered.
She pushed the empty bowl away with a small smile. "Yes, thank you, brother. It's enough. It was perfect."
Jai nodded. "Good. Before we ask you to tell us more, we want to formally introduce ourselves. My name is Arthur Berne. I travel and teach children about the basics of magic. This," he gestured to James, who offered Morisa a slightly awkward but genuine smile, "is my younger brother, Clement Berne."
He paused, letting the false names settle in the air, firming their disguise. "Now, Morisa. Who are you, and what happened?"
Morisa took a deep breath, the lingering fear in her eyes starting to mix with the clarity that a full belly had brought.
"My name is Morisa Stonehead," she declared, the pride of her surname momentarily overwhelming her terror. "My father is the King of the Dwarf Kingdom, Khazadcoher. I also have a big brother, Zayn Stonehead. My father and brother… they love me, but they are too protective."
She looked down, a shade of childish petulance passing over her face. "My brother always protected me, and he wouldn't let me leave the palace walls. So, three nights ago, after everyone was asleep, I snuck out. I wanted to see the city, to explore the kingdom. It was the first time I had ever been out there alone."
She recounted her naïve excursion: the glittering streetlights, the smells of the city, and her goal—a sweet shop she'd only heard whispers about. She was an untrained eye, easily drawn, easily tricked.
"I went into a shop because I wanted to buy some candies I'd never eaten before," she continued, her voice low and ashamed. "That's where I saw the two men. They looked… polite. I didn't mention my surname, because I thought it might cause trouble. They introduced themselves, and we talked casually."
James muttered again, a barely audible hiss this time. "Did she really survive to be a noble kid, or is she some kind of dumb kid?"
"Shut up," Jai shot back instantly, though his internal thoughts mirrored his brother's frustration. A dwarf princess introducing herself casually to strangers in an alley? Unbelievable naiveté.
Morisa resumed her story, oblivious to the silent communication between her rescuers. "When I left the store, I noticed the two men following me. I sped up, and they followed faster. I panicked and screamed, and they ran away." She paused, the memory of her brief relief clearly visible. "I was so relieved, thinking I'd gotten rid of them. But as I walked down an empty side street, a large hand clamped over my mouth, cutting off my scream."
She pointed to her left hand. The palm was scarred with a thin, jagged line—a recent, shallow wound that was still healing poorly. "I bit his hand, right through the leather. He got angry, and he used a small blade and sliced my palm."
Jai and James both felt the familiar, hot wave of elemental fury rise within them. It was a terrifying, addictive sensation of pure, kinetic rage that threatened to blow their cover. Jai squeezed his eyes shut, forcing the chaotic power back down, channelling it into a cold, diamond-hard resolve. Focus. Disguise.
Morisa didn't notice their suppressed reaction. "They told me they wanted to sell me to the Human Kingdom, but then they changed their mind. They said some organization attacked a noble family there, and the kingdom had closed its borders to all non-humans. So, they decided to take me to the Elf Kingdom instead. They wanted to sell me there."
She looked at them, her eyes full of genuine gratitude. "But then you and your brother helped me and saved me. Thank you, once again, for rescuing me, brothers."
"Don't thank us yet," Jai said, his voice flat. He needed information, and he needed it now. "Morisa, when you were with them, did you see anyone besides the two men who followed you?"
"Yes! There were many more than two people," she said, her voice dropping to a terrified whisper. "And I heard them talk about their leader. They've built an organization right inside our Dwarf Kingdom. They called it The Shadow Ledger."
The Shadow Ledger. The name was perfectly chosen—clinical, corporate, and predatory. It suggested a vast accounting of human cargo.
"They are very ruthless," Morisa continued. "They took me to their hideout first. There were so many kids there, all waiting to be moved. Some were humans, some elves, some dwarves like me, and even a few elemental kids. It's a bigger organization than I ever imagined."
Jai leaned in, his voice dangerously quiet. "Did you see their leader, Morisa? Did you see his face?"
She shook her head, tears forming again. "No. I only saw his shadow once. I tried to see his face, I tried to make him angry by mocking him, but they beat me very seriously. I lost consciousness many times."
James, his curiosity now fully eclipsed by dread, pressed her again. "Your body doesn't have many injuries. How did they torture you if you were knocked out?"
Morisa looked away, her cheeks flushing with shame and renewed pain. Her voice was barely a breath. "They used a healing artifact. They would hit me, hard, in the stomach… and they would hit me in my private parts. Then they would use the artifact to quickly heal the external bruises so I would look unharmed when they presented me to a buyer. But the pain… the internal pain was always there."
James looked at Jai. The rage in his older brother's eyes was no longer cold and contained; it was white-hot. James saw a glimpse of the real Arthur Berne, the man beneath the teacher's persona. He saw a man who wanted to take this entire organization, stone by stone, and burn it to ash.
Jai rose slowly to his feet, a silent, terrifying promise in his bearing. "I will find this Shadow Ledger," he declared, his voice dangerously soft. "I will track down every member, from the lowest thug to the leader, and I will kill them all. And I will free every child they have taken."
James stood beside him, his air and space elemental core humming in agreement. There was no question of his loyalty or his support. This was more than a mission now; it was a blood debt.
"We'll find them, Jai," he affirmed, using his brother's real name for a moment of crucial unity. "But first, we get Morisa home."
With a final look at the fragile, sleeping girl, Jai and James carefully extinguished the fire, packed their meagre supplies, and began their final, measured trek deeper into the treacherous heart of the Dwarf Kingdom, Khazadcoher. Their original mission was forgotten, subsumed by the cold-blooded need for vengeance and rescue.
The Shadow Ledger had just drawn the attention of two men far more dangerous than any king's guard.