Things didn't escalate the way Arsh thought. He was sure the man was going to try to lock him up somewhere. But he only followed him until they reached the inn. On the way back, the streets had grown even quieter, and there was no trace of the drunkards anymore. The soft clinking of the glass ointment bottles in the pouch Arsh was carrying, and the sound of his and Juan's footsteps, were the only things disturbing the perfect silence. They walked side by side for a while without speaking.
"Why are you following me? I told you I could go back on my own."
"I am not following you. I am working. If you're going to investigate something, you should do it at night. I'm just accompanying you while I'm at it."
Before leaving the old man's room, they had come to an agreement that Arsh wouldn't try to escape. Not because he wanted to, but because shortly after the old man's speech, he had been met with a subtle threat.
"I believe you won't escape. But I'm saying this just as a precaution. I will track you down. I have enough information about you—how you look, what your plan is, and your guard friend… Nesame, right?"
As he spoke, an unpleasant smile stretched across his face, his eyes gleaming with a dark aura. Faint purple lights seeped out from beneath his clothes.
"So, I'm kindly asking you… just don't try. I'm already busy."
Now, they were walking calmly side by side.
Juan had mentioned earlier that he used to deal with child abduction cases and searched for children like Arsh. But Arsh hadn't questioned that point too much.
"What exactly are you investigating?"
Juan looked at Arsh and let out a deep breath before speaking, as if trying to decide how to explain it.
"In recent years, many Kurshan children have been found in Symran. They were taken from Kurshan through illegal means and brought to Symran, used for various purposes. Recently, their numbers have been increasing. I can't say their situation is good. The measures taken by the military are becoming insufficient. The organization I belong to sent me to identify the network behind these cases. I guess this is the simplest way I can put it. We have been tracking them from Renham to this city for more than three months. But still, we haven't been able to catch them."
Renham was a city located east of Thage. Traveling there on horseback would take at least two weeks. However, over the past twenty years, the authorities in Symran had built a railway along the coast, stretching from east to west, to strengthen their control over the region. With this route, the journey could be completed in just a few days.
Juan explained that he was conducting the investigation with his team, that the old man they had just met was someone he had known as a child and was not part of his team, and then reminded him to use the ointments the old man had given him.
Arsh, however, was exhausted. He had arrived in Thage just that day, explored the city, found Nesame, and now had spent most of the night with this man without having had any rest. He listened quietly to Juan's explanations, only nodding occasionally to show he was listening.
When they finally reached the inn, he didn't dwell on anything and fell asleep almost immediately.
When he woke up, the sun had already risen. There wasn't much he could do today. He would wash up, have breakfast, and wander around the city until it was time to meet Nesame.
As he got out of bed, he noticed a piece of paper and small glass bottles on the table. It was another medicine sent by the old man. Juan had written a note and left these bottles for him when he sneaked into his room last night again.
"Glad you didn't escape. The old man said you should also take this. Treat your wound and don't show it. And old man said even if Siuni didn't kill you, infection can."
…
There was a bathhouse in the basement of the inn. He washed up and take care of the wound on his hand. After eating his meal, he took the medicine the old man had sent and stepped out of the inn.
The city was too chaotic. It was filled with an overwhelming mix of voices, colors, and smells. It was exhausting. Even though he wanted to find the people, it was difficult while wandering through the streets. Without Nesame, searching for them would have been nearly impossible.
He thought about Juan; how he conducted his investigations, what kinds of sources he had. It could be useful for him. Juan had said he worked for an official organization, so maybe he couldn't find the people through Nesame, but perhaps Juan could help him, just as he had said. He didn't have many options. This was a world foreign to him, and he would have to learn from others how to navigate it.
Although he wandered through the streets of the city, access to the areas where the Symrans lived was tightly controlled. After surveying his surroundings, Arsh returned to the inn with nothing to do.
In his room, he kept thinking about what Juan and the old man had told him about the Siunis the previous night. Will's notebook and the dagger were among the few belongings he had brought with him. He went through them carefully, examining every detail. However, the anticipation of the news Nesame would bring, though restless, made it difficult for him to focus his mind.
He went to the seating area at the inn's entrance and started waiting for Nesame. Toward late afternoon, Nesame appeared at the gate. When he saw Arsh, he waved and started walking toward him. Arsh impatiently tried to read Nesame's expression, hoping it would reveal whether he had brought the news he was waiting for. But there was no hopeful look on Nesame's face.
When he reached him, they greeted each other quickly and began talking. Nesame glanced around the area briefly before speaking in a slow, measured tone.
"There's no official record of the Symrans you mentioned. But I asked some friends working at the southern gate. About four days ago, around the time you guessed, a group matching your description entered the city. The Symran guards spoke with them briefly and let them pass without keeping any record. Unfortunately, brother, I couldn't find out their names or where they came from."
Arsh was disappointed. He had hoped that at least Nesame could find some record of where these men had come from. In order to maintain control over the city, records were usually kept for everyone entering or leaving —names, origins, reasons for coming, and routes. But his expectations had been misplaced; there was nothing, there was nothing.
"Brother Nesame, I think they've already left the city. Maybe we can find out where they headed from the port. Do you have anyone you know there?"
Most likely, Professor Millway had already found what he was looking for, so he probably had no plans to use the train station and stop at other Kurshan cities. The only option left was the port. However, even if they were returning to Symran, Arsh didn't know which city they headed to, and there were several islands and cities along the route of the ships.
On the other hand, it was possible to make guesses about the cities they might go to. Assuming they would head somewhere, the most reasonable approach was to narrow it down to three options. If he couldn't get any information from the port, he would have to decide whether to focus first on Tirsit, the capital where the king and government resided; Mikos, the country's most advanced center of arts and sciences; or, as a third possibility, Terma—a city almost as developed as Mikos, but primarily a hub for trade. He would most likely rule out the third option. Still, wandering around the big cities without knowing whether what he was looking for was there would waste both his time and money.
"I have a friend working as a laborer there. I'll ask him. He'll investigate. He's probably working right now. Before I go on my night shift, let's go to the port together. He usually hangs out at a tavern there in the evenings."
After arranging to meet Nesame again in a couple of hours, Arsh went up to his room.
When he entered, he was met with a scene similar to last night. At first, he was taken aback. But then he realized it was Juan. This time, however, instead of sitting on a chair in the dark room, he was lying on Arsh's bed, asleep in broad daylight.
'Why is this man lying on my bed?'
He grabbed his shoulder to wake him up but at that moment Juan grabbed his wrist.With a small shift of his arm, he slipped easily out of Juan's grasp. And got away from the bed.
Juan sat up on the bed with a smile, looking as if he were enjoying the situation.
"Not bad reflexes."
"And why are you sleeping in my bed?"
"I was going to take a break. I couldn't sleep yesterday because of you, you know. When I finally had some time to rest, I wanted to make sure you were still around. And this room isn't half bad."
It was just a tiny room—there was a table and a chair in the corner, a bed in the middle, and nothing else except for a small oil lamp on the bedside table. He had left his belongings in the corner without taking them out of the bag, and after last night's incident, he had hidden his dagger, notebook, and some of his money under the bed. Now, he was certain that had been the right decision. He decided to give up resting in his room.
"I'm going to eat. Will you come?"
"Your treat?"
"Are you trying to exploit a child?"
They went together to a nearby eatery and sat in a corner where there weren't too many people. They started eating their meals quietly.
"Have you found anything about the people you're looking for?" Juan asked, taking a big bite of his bread.
"Not yet. There's no record of their entry into the city. We'll go look for some people who can help us after dinner."
"Good. I'm telling you— even if you find them, don't try doing anything on your own. If it's anything like what happened in your village, it's not as simple as you think. There are probably powerful people behind them and a couple of them probably have siunis. Got it?"
Arsh didn't say anything and just kept eating. He also wondered if there might be important people behind these men before, but he had no idea about those who possessed a Siuni. Still, what Juan had said made sense at that moment. Could a group of men really wipe out an entire village without leaving a single person alive?
He had no idea how siunis granted powers to humans. All he knew were the protective symbols he had seen in the Bruil chamber and a few symbols Will had shown him and that were in his notebook. He needed to find out just how powerful a Siuni could make a person.
"What kind of powers do Siunis give people?"
"Anything, really. For example, the elder who helped you yesterday was a healer. A Siuni can make a person physically stronger and faster—that's the most common. Many people can handle carrying these kinds of siunis without problems. There are also Siunis that allow the user to control fire, darkness, light, or even manipulate other people's minds. And these are only what we know. Much about Siunis is not yet known."
"Is it possible for me to become powerful, with a siuni, I mean?"
"That depends on the kind of power you want. For some, overwhelming strength is power; for others, the ability to control or influence others, or knowledge itself, is power. Being a shield to protect something is also a form of power. First, you need to figure out which type you have. Later, we'll think about how to develop it. Finding a siuni isn't easy, and there are many risks. The siunis must also be compatible with each other."
"What do you mean by compatible?"
"Think about it. Let's say your Siuni is connected to fire, and you want to take another one that's connected to water. Like I said, Siunis link the soul's energy to the body. So if you try to create that link between two forces that naturally clash, what do you think will happen?"
"I'll die."
"You got it. That's why you should focus on what you already have first. Maybe it'll be enough to give you what you're looking for."
He was aware that his Siuni wasn't connected to something like fire or water. He also felt there was nothing that could give him the kind of physical strength he wanted. If his enemies were physically stronger than him, he would need to gain something to make up for that gap.
"What's your Siuni?"
Juan laughed. "You can't ask someone that so easily. It's as much our strength as it is our weakness."
"Then when I learn what mine is, I don't need to tell you, right?"
"We'll talk about that when the time comes… I know there are things you don't want to tell me, and that's okay. I believe you'll be able to grasp the power of your Siuni."
…
As darkness fell over the streets again, Arsh and Nesame met at the agreed time and headed toward the port. Unlike the place they had visited with Juan the night before, this area was lively and noisy. Workers from ships, travelers, and port laborers from various countries staying in the nearby inns, were still bustling about despite the late hour.
They entered a tavern crowded with foreigners wearing different clothes and speaking in various languages, clearly foreigners. Arsh didn't know exactly who they were looking for, but his eyes scanned the room carefully.
"Is your friend here?"
"I hope so. He usually hangs out here… Oh, there."
Nesame nodded toward a man sitting at the end of a rather crowded table, chatting cheerfully with those around him.
The man, in his late twenties, noticed someone was watching him and cut his conversation short to look around. His gaze swept across the room and finally settled on Nesame and Arsh. After a brief flicker of surprise, a smile of recognition and pleasure appeared on his face.
"Brother Nesame," he said, rising to stand. "It's been a long time. May Arienne's blessing be upon you. Seeing you here is a surprise. Since you became a father, you hardly visit these parts more than once a year."
Nesame inclined his head with a slight smile. "May Arienne's blessing be upon you too, Mirtam. I'm not here for leisure. There's an urgent matter, and we may need your help. Do you have time?"
The cheerful expression on Mirtam's face softened into seriousness. He gave a brief apologetic glance to those at the table, then turned fully to them. "Of course. Let's talk. Hopefully, it's nothing too bad."
They left the tavern together and moved to a quiet corner away from the noise.
Mirtam gave Arsh a brief look, raising an eyebrow slightly.
"So, who's this young man? I don't think I've seen him around here before," he said.
"He's a relative from my village," Nesame replied, without going into much detail. Then he quickly got to the point: "I need you to gather some information for us. It's not difficult—just find out who they are and where they've gone."
"Who exactly are you looking for?"
"A group of Symranians."
Hearing the word, Mirtam's shoulders tensed slightly, and his gaze drifted briefly into the distance. Then he brought his eyes back to Nesame.
"May I ask the reason?"
He asked in a voice that was both curious and alert. Going after the Symranians wasn't exactly a wise idea. It could easily land someone in trouble.
Nesame quickly explained what happened without beating around the bush, while Arsh listened as if he were a disinterested bystander. Arsh watched Mirtam's anger grow as he listened to the details. Afterward, with no need for further convincing, Mirtam quickly agreed to gather the necessary information.
…
Before heading back, Arsh decided to walk down to the seaside. The first time he had seen the sea was as a child, when he visited Thage with his father, and back then it had reminded him of a desert. Like the desert, it seemed endless and of a single color. But unlike the desert sands, the drops of water that hit his face with the waves were not scorching—they were refreshing. Now, looking at the same view at night, he found himself thinking the same thoughts he had ten years ago.
Although the night breeze made him shiver, he sat on the rocks by the sea and started to think thoughtfully about his siuni.
What he needed was a clear memory of that day to understand the Siuni. Even though his memory was hazy, he tried to focus. He tried to recall what had happened before he saw the golden threads emerging from his hand in the well. At first, He thought maybe he would possess a power like King Bertham's, able to move the earth—but it wasn't like that. Somehow, escaping from there was the only thought on his mind.
Then, just as he was sinking into despair, he felt a sharp pain and saw some lights. After that, the golden threads from the Siuni showed him the way. He kept following them until he climbed out of the well, and then they disappeared.
He felt as if some lights were flickering in his mind. He remembered that while he was in the well, he had instinctively followed the golden threads. Though he had his doubts, he somehow knew they would get him out of there.
"This Siuni doesn't give me any physical power. It's a guide."
He thought for a moment and closed his eyes tightly, focusing his mind on a single face and a single question: "Where is Professor Millway?"
When he opened his eyes, he looked at his left hand. Golden threads, glowing faintly around the crescent symbols, began to sway in the air. Arsh followed the threads as far as his eyes could see. They led toward the sea, to the northwest.
Now he understood—the power the symbol gave him was to help him find the things he was looking for. But he also felt it wasn't enough.
Then he remembered what Juan had said: "Learn and believe."
Now Arsh realized that he understood the meaning of the symbol, and the only thing left was to believe in the power it could give him.
The wound in his hand slowly vanished, leaving only a golden glow in its place. Arsh believed with all his heart.
Someday, it would show him the path to his revenge.