UGH
"My head."
I found myself lying at the bottom of the stairs in a building with my coworkers rushing to help me up.
Truth be told, I was a bit dizzy at the moment, as my feet landed on the ground, I moved my right hand and rubbed my forehead, and as I had suspected, it had blood on it.
Those who were tending to me were asking me something, but I was unable to hear what they were saying due to the ringing in my ear.
But soon enough, it died down, and I could coherently understand them.
"Jacob, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Did we catch him?"
Jan nodded as he patted my shoulder. "Good to know your head's in the right place, and yes, we caught him, after he punched you in the face and you fell down the stairs, he jumped out of the window and landed in front of Chief Yamla. Who has repaid the favour on your behalf."
"I will be sure to thank him; you guys can let go now."
Just as I had asked, they let go of me, and I stood upright, adjusting my hat and patting the dust off my coat.
The day was off to a wonderful start, seeing as we had captured nearly four thousand officers in the last hour.
A record high, if someone was going to ask me.
With that thought, I stepped out onto the street, and a screeching roar entered my ears, prompting me to look up at the source.
RRRROOOOAAAARRRR!
For the first time in my life, I saw a Wyvern fly over me, followed by a dozen more.
"And so it begins."
This is the phrase that comes to my mind when I see a wyvern. George would not be proud.
I decided to get on with my task at hand because the real deal was just getting started.
We loaded the captives onto the carriages and wagons and began moving to the next target; it had not even been four minutes since we hit the road.
When the ground shook violently as the carriages stopped in their tracks, we looked around us and saw people running out onto the streets.
Street lights were falling over, windows shattering and falling, so we got out of the carriages to aid them.
Chief Yamla caught a falling street light about to fall on a little girl, while I got a man out of the way from a falling window on the other side. Jan shielded an elderly couple, letting a few roof tiles fall on his back.
In the next few seconds following the earthquake, just when we were processing the situation, I saw a giant tornado rising in the Lord's District.
Now it was clear to me that this was not a natural disaster; this was the side effect of a battle between some incredibly powerful warriors.
It was made ever clearer when I saw Mana Blasts being fired out from the tornado, heading straight towards me.
The thing I feared most was coming straight towards me; death itself was coming for me.
I could see it getting closer, yet could not move as it moved like a missile straight towards me.
Only to explode midair, making me gasp, and catching my breath as if I had just ran an entire marathon.
Before I knew it, a lightning bolt fell in that direction, and the tornado disappeared.
From the corner of my eye, I could see a Blue tunnel in the sky made of Mana, and I understood that whoever was running through that tunnel was the one who stopped that blast.
Exhaling for the last time, I fell on my butt.
"I lived. Shit!"
"Language, Jacob, and on your feet, now is not the time to get sentimental; we need to head over to the Lord's District this instant."
Being shaken out of my already jolted state by Chief Yamla, I stumbled to my feet and climbed the carriage.
A handful of men were left behind to ensure the safety of the neighbourhood, while the rest of us made our way to the Lord's District.
When we got to the battle site, I could not believe my eyes. There was a crater in the ground, nearly a quarter of a mile in diameter. The effects of the fight were visible even in the surrounding neighbourhood.
Trees were uprooted, those that survived were flattened, walls knocked over, and windows shattered.
If someone were to tell me that a mini nuke went off here, I would believe them.
A lot of us were taken aback by the sight, except for Chief Yamla. He was a warrior in the army before this, and one of the few people among us who could use Mana.
"Take a good look, boys, this is what happens when two Master Rank Warriors go head to head."
Taking a small pause to smack his lips, he continued.
"If you ever find yourself in the vicinity of such warriors, run as fast as you can in the complete opposite direction, and if you have the fortune to think about something in your last moments, think about the many names of The One."
Sigh
"If you are lucky, you die with the Lord's name in your mind, and if not, you get to live to try again."
"Yamla!"
Our attention was pulled to a stern voice belonging to the City Commander Opus. He was a man in his mid-forties, a bit on the short side, but his strength was extraordinary; he was the only Master Rank Warrior we had in this city.
It was a requirement to be a City Commander, which was why, despite being younger than Chief Yamla, he was granted the highest military rank in the city.
Yet Chief Yamla never felt envious or upset that it was an injustice. He accepted it with pride and joy that he got to serve a stronger and more capable person.
Which was why we felt immense respect for him whenever he saluted Commander Opus.
"Yes, City Commander!"
"Get your best mages here; we need to perform some locator spells. Lord Vasqe is on the run. He managed to give the Princess and her companion the slip and ran away in the midst of the fight."
Chief Yamla turned around instantly and pointed at Jan and me. "Get down to the office and bring Kale here."
"Yes, Chief!"
The two of us saluted before running towards a carriage at full sprint.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Raghav and his team; they were escorting the princess to a carriage.
She must have been shaken up from the fight, or so I assumed, finding it hard to tear my eye away from the group.
But I had a duty to follow, which can't be ignored.
The ride back to the office was difficult to explain.
The Special Forces from Marne worked in tandem with the City Watch to storm the front shops, from where the various gangs were using as a cover and laundering their earnings.
The city was going into chaos, my heart clenched in my chest, and I was afraid.
What would happen if riots broke out? None of us knew the true extent of the underworld's influence within the city.
We had a few names, we knew some local members, but what of outsiders?
This made the gears in my head spin as I turned to Jan.
"Jan, do we have the list of domestic and international travellers currently within Plied?"
Jan raised an eyebrow as his face scrunched in confusion. "Why would you ask for that at this hour?"
I shook my head, putting my hands forward. "I have a theory. First, tell me where I would find that detail."
He thought about it for a moment before looking me in the eyes. "It must be within the City Guards department, now, tell me what you have in mind."
Now, how can I say what's in my mind most efficiently without any misunderstanding?
I cleared my thoughts and turned to him. "I..."
"Hold that thought, we are here."
Looking past him, I had to accept that he was telling the truth; we were right outside our office building as I looked up at it.
When I looked back down, I found him gone, and the office's front doors were left open.
In a few moments, he returned with Kale by his side.
Now it was always something else to see the two of them side by side.
Why might you ask?
Because these two were twins, I mean TWINS.
I had never seen a man and a woman look so alike. The only thing Jan had going for him was his short, dark blonde hair in comparison to his sister's dark brown hair.
What was not going for him was that, in Paneria, facial hair was seen as a sign of maturity, and it was tradition that a man stayed clean-shaven in his early years, then grew a moustache in his middle years, and later on a full beard if he so wished.
This was, however, not set in stone, but a person had a choice to follow it or not. Jan and I were people who followed it, but not for long.
I thought it was time I grew a moustache out, like my father had. I mean, it was time, I had a kid and a family, I was handling responsibilities, and basically I was the Man of the house.
While I was thinking all of this, Kale got in the back, and Jan sat beside me, taking the reins from my hand, just as I had grabbed onto them.
"Sorry, Bhai, but right now. I do not trust you to navigate us. You seem detached since yesterday. Anything you want to get off your chest?"
I lowered my head and turned towards him, and coughed, getting Kale's attention.
"Don't worry, Jacob Bhaiya, I won't tell anyone what I hear. You have my word."
I nodded, not looking at her. "Thank you."
Then I turned to Jan and began counting the events of yesterday, from the things I told my son to my run-in with Raghav, and how ever since, I felt something churn inside me.
Throughout the ride, he had a look on his face that he was actually listening and processing everything I told him.
Once I was finished, he clicked his tongue and whistled, moving his jaw around. "I see..."
Now that was an awkward pause. "Can I get back to you by the end of the day? I want to give you the best answer possible."
Phew, well, that I can deal with.
"Of course, just don't let it distract you in any fight we might get into."
Jan nodded, turning to look back at the road in front of us.
That was when Kale spoke up. "Speaking of fights. Jacob Bhaiya, wouldn't it be best if you stayed back at the office? I mean no disrespect, but this job just got more dangerous than it ever has been."
My chest felt cold, taking in her words as I leaned onto the back support and looked up. "You are Right. I can't argue with that, and I don't intend to. I know I am not as strong as the people here, but I am just as smart, and my deductions are a valuable skill that is needed on the field, not in that office."
I did not look back at her, but from the way she spoke next, I knew she was smiling.
"Good to see that you are still confident on the field. I felt the fight that took place in the Lord's District, and I can imagine how much damage it did. To not give in to fear after seeing something like that must be difficult."
Once again, she said something I could not argue with, as I nodded.
"Thank you, Kale."
"No need, Jacob Bhaiya, just ask Leanor to tell me where she got that sari from, the one she wore on Nathan's birthday. I also want one."
Chuckle
I could not control it; it just happened to brighten my mood, and I smiled. "Of course, Kale, I will ask her when I get back home."
Now, I had to just get through this day and get back home.
But I know it won't be that simple, rather the opposite.
That was made clear when we arrived back at The Destroyed Estate. It had no official name yet, but I liked to call it that, given that it belonged to the largest criminal in this city.
Kale got off before I could and ran forward, followed by Jan and me.
"Chief Yamla!"
She called out as Chief Yamla turned around, and the anger on his face loosened up. "You're here, good. We need you to perform a locator spell on Lord Vasqe. He is missing."
Kale nodded, looking around, before she asked a question, something so obvious that we had overlooked it. "I will do that, Chief, but what do I use? I don't think anything that could be tied to Lord Vasqe survived the battle here."
Chief Yamla nodded before handing Kale something covered with a handkerchief.
Both Jan and I got closer to see what was under it.
Slowly, Kale removed the handkerchief, and we saw a fancy cup with gold embedded in it.
Inside it was some cold tea that had stopped giving off any fragrance at this point.
The three of us looked up at him as he gestured towards the cup with his eyes. "This is the tea he was drinking moments before the fight broke out. The white haired companion of The Hero managed to protect this throughout the fight and handed it over to us. Think this can help?"
Kale nodded as she moved towards a slightly open space and placed down her carry bag on the ground, and began to draw runes.
Which, to this day I am unsure of how to do. After she was done with runes, she laid out three maps: one of the city, another of the county and a last one of the Kingdom.
She blew on the tea and whispered some spells in it before pouring it on the maps.
By now, Commander Opus, Chief Yamla, Jan, I and The Duke himself were standing around her.
In honesty, knowing that they had a Master Rank Warrior on hand made me believe that the spell would come short.
But much to my surprise, the tea began to move towards the map of the city and formed a line, showing us the exact path he took. We saw that he started in Lord's District and made his way towards the industrial complex.
"EVERYONE TO THE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX! NOW!"
Commander Opus yelled, and everyone began to move. He then pointed at me and Jan. "Help the young lady pack and get to the location."
Following direct orders, we began to move because now we had a lead.