Arsh stood up and watched the golden thread stretching outside through the kitchen window. Just like when he had found Juan, he was certain that the man at the end of this thread was Paul Smith. But he had also realized, instinctively, that the darkness coiling around the golden threads meant danger. Still staring out the window, his thoughts interrupted by Ray
"What are you looking at?"
""I'm tracking the man. But finding him will be dangerous."
"How do you know that?"
"I see golden threads that guide me the way. I can find where he is. But there's a faint darkness around them. I feel that getting close to this man is dangerous—at least for me."
"It's not surprising that it's dangerous. If it were an easy job, we wouldn't have come this far. Don't worry about that. But it's good that you can sense the danger of your target. Your siuni is actually great for us. For now, we won't make a move, there isn't much time left until sunrise… Okay, stop tracking. Let's try again tomorrow night.. Everyone, get some rest."
The people at the table weren't sure how they were supposed to feel about finding the target they'd been chasing for months so easily. They weren't questioning Arsh's abilities—none of them knew what kind of powers a siuni could give someone, and this was just one of countless possibilities. Everyone stood up from the table and dispersed to their rooms. Arsh, however, stayed behind, waiting for Juan.
"I should go too. It's already late."
"From now on, you'll stay here as well. We'll get your things tomorrow."
He showed Arsh a room upstairs in the corner and handed him a blanket. But the room was quite dirty. Still, he felt too exhausted to return to the inn, as if all the energy in his body had been drained.
"Bear with it for today, Arsh."
Despite the foul smell of the blanket, exhaustion dragged him into sleep almost instantly. Yet, the nightmares forced him awake just as dawn was breaking.
Morning was calm. He could hear someone snoring in one of the rooms. The floor creaked under every step as he quietly made his way to the washroom. But it was just as filthy. After splashing water on his face, he headed downstairs to the kitchen. Even last night it had caught his attention, but now he could see clearly just how dirty the place really was.
"He decided to do a little cleaning.'These people really live in terrible conditions' he thought. He wasn't used to this. He didn't even want to eat food prepared in a place this filthy. Just looking at it gave him a knot in his stomach.
He threw away all the spoiled food and cleaned the cooking area. After wiping the counter, the table, and the floors, the place finally looked a little more suitable for cooking a meal. Using the vegetables and legumes left in the kitchen, he made a soup and ate it.
No one was awake yet when he finished. He quietly headed back to the inn to gather his belongings. He washed up there before he packed his things. This time, he decided to keep the hidden dagger and Will's notebook on him.
After settling his debt, he wanted to test his new ability a little and have some tea before meeting Nesame.
"A tea shop… no, no… a shop that sells the best black tea."
He began following a bright light. After walking for quite a while, he realized his surroundings were changing. Most of the buildings were newly built or recently renovated.
Soon, he found himself standing before a massive building. The sign at the entrance read 'Royal Hotel'. Dressed in his native clothes, he immediately felt the stares of the Symranian guards and passersby. They looked at him strangely, as if he didn't belong there.
'I should stick to a tea shop. There's no way I can go into a place like this.'
He turned his back on the hotel and began walking away, whispering to himself.
"A shop that sells cheap but tasty tea… a cheap but tasty tea shop…"
…
While he took his last sip of tea, he kept watching the golden threads in front of him, waving in the air.
He had learned a few things about this siuni.
First, the brightest thread showed the best and most direct path. It showed the simplest route. But he was still unsure about the faint threads. There were many of them. Even though he wasn't certain, he thought they might show longer, more indirect routes to the same destination. He would need to try them later.
Second, although he hadn't tried it yet, he had a strong feeling about one thing: darkness meant danger. He would have the chance to test this tonight when he goes after Paul Smith with Juan and his team
Third, if he could clarify what he was looking for, he could find it—just like the tea. But why couldn't he find people? Perhaps it was because he didn't have a clear understanding of them. He couldn't imagine what he was looking for when the target was a person he didn't know
Fourth, he could sense the distance to his target and whether it was moving.
Lastly, he discovered that he could follow several people at the same time.
Five bright golden threads waved in front of Arsh, reaching out to Juan and his teammates. He could sense that they hadn't moved a single step. 'Were they still asleep? Since they usually worked at night, did they sleep during the day?' he thought, trying to figure out if his senses were correct.
After a while, he realized he was getting tired. It was difficult for him to maintain the golden threads for so long. Soon, the lines shrank back into his hand and disappeared.
He paid for the tea and left the tea shop.
When it got dark, he walked toward the port. He waited for a while at the place where he and Nesame had agreed to meet. 'Am I early?' he wondered.
But even after waiting for a long time, Nesame didn't show up. He had promised to help Juan tonight, and not wanting to waste any more time, he decided to go see Mirtam by himself. Soon, he spotted him in the exact same place as yesterday, playing games with a group of men.
He approached the man and greeted him.
"May Arianan's blessing be upon you."
"Ah… a young man. Where is Nesame?"
"I don't know. I waited but he didn't come."
"Okay, okay… then let's talk."
Just like the previous evening, they left the tavern and went to a quiet spot outside.
"I asked my friends. And I guess the professor you're talking about, along with the others with him, left four days ago."
That was the day before Arsh arrived in Thage.
"The final destination of the ship they took is Hals. It stops at two islands, Sorpa and Trepa. But I don't think they got off there. They're probably heading to Hals. It takes around three and a half days. They must have already arrived."
This was contrary to what Arsh had expected. As far as he knew, this city was actually a small fishing town not far from the capital, Tirsit. Hals hadn't even been among his possibilities. But now, at least, he had an idea of where he needed to go.
"Is there anything I can do for you in return?" Arsh asked Mirtam. Nesame had lost his friends, but this man had no relation to Arsh or the people who died in his village.
The man laughed.
"Young man, no. We Kurshans are just trying to survive in our own land. We have to help each other. I know what they did to you was difficult. But they always do these things. It's nothing new. The only thing I ask from you is to be careful… and to take your revenge, our revenge."
"Thank you" said Arsh.
"But where is Nesame? That guy would never leave you alone like this."
"I'm not sure. Should I go look for him?"
"Go on, young man. He lives in the neighborhood behind the police station. You can go there and ask around. They'll show you his house."
….
After leaving the port, Arsh tried to find Nesame. Once again, he used his siuni and followed the golden threads. It was actually kind of fun. Even though it wasn't showy like Juan's siuni, he could use it easily in daily life.
The golden thread led him to a fairly decent, quiet, and clean neighborhood. Arsh guessed that more officials and guards probably lived in this area.
He found Nesame's house without any trouble, but when he reached the door, he heard the sound of a woman crying. It was obvious that something terrible must have happened here. He slowly opened the garden gate, which was already ajar.
In the garden, Nesame and two other guards were talking, the atmosphere heavy. Nesame looked pale. When he saw Arsh, his eyes flickered as if he had remembered something he'd forgotten.
"Arsh… how did you find me? Ah… I forgot I was supposed to meet you."
Arsh didn't care about himself. That wasn't important. He had only found Mirtam and spoken with him personally.
"It's okay. What's going on here?"
"My child… my child is missing. We can't find him anywhere."
Before Nesame could explain the details of what had happened, one of the other guards placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Stay here with your wife. We'll continue searching."
After that, they left. Only Arsh and Nesame remained in the garden, listening to the screams and cries of the young woman.
"Arsh, come… come inside."
Inside, the woman whose crying he had heard was sitting on a cushion on the floor, while two other women beside her were trying to calm her.
"How did this happen?"
"When my wife went out to buy some things, he got lost in the bazaar… that's all we know. My child… he's only five."
Arsh could see the tears welling in Nesame's eyes. His voice trembled as he spoke.
A lost child… Arsh knew he could find him easily.
"Nesame, do you have a photo of your child?"
"Yes, yes, I do… wait."
He hurried to the room where his wife was crying and returned, holding a framed photo.
"We took this photo last month. It was expensive, but worth it. Look at him—how he's smiling… my boy."
Arsh looked at the picture. The boy had a bright smile, and his face resembled his father's. He tried to memorize every detail.
"What's his name?"
"Sefir."
"Okay, I will look for him too." Arsh handed the frame back, but Nesame grabbed his arm.
"No, you don't know this area well. You might get lost too."
"Don't worry, I've already strolled through almost the entire nearby area. I won't get lost. And remember, as long as there's sky above my head, I won't get lost." He smiled, pointing to the sky with his finger.
It was a saying from the desert. It meant that he could always find his way by reading the stars and the position of the sun.
Nesame smiled too, though his eyes were still wet.
As soon as Arsh stepped out the door, he closed his eyes and focused on the child from the photo.
"Sefir… where is this child?"
When he opened his eyes, he saw a similar darkness coiling around the golden threads. But there was something unsettling about the threads. Arsh walked for a while, unable to name the feeling.
As he walked, a thought struck him. 'Could he have been kidnapped?' It was a definite possibility. He shifted his focus to Paul Smith, the man in the photo Juan had shown him last night.
That's when he realized what had been bothering him.
He let go of the threads and, once more, whispered into the air
"Where is Juan?"
…
Juan was sitting at the table and eating the soup Arsh had made that morning.
"Not half bad. Should I hire him as a maid instead of sending him? More useful than you are." he joked to Ray, the youngest member of the team.
As Ray was about to respond, the front door suddenly opened with a bang.
Two of them instantly took up positions and hid. But Arsh could see where Juan was, and he went straight toward him.
"Juan, I need your help."
"It was you? Why are you scaring us… What's going on?"
"The man you're looking for… Nesame's child is missing. I think they kidnapped him. I checked their positions. They're in the same place, very close to each other."
Juan waited a moment, then took a deep breath. Turning to Ray, he said, "Call the others."
In just a minute, everyone had gathered in the kitchen. Arsh told them about Nesame's child and Paul Smith.
"So, what's the plan? If the child is there, as Arsh suspects, he's probably not the only one. There must be a lot of children there. Are we going to get them out?" asked Eliz.
Juan looked hesitant.
"For now, we observe. We can't make a decision without understanding the situation. Be prepared for anything."
Everyone nodded silently in agreement.