On the evening of Thursday, 17th of July, 1238 TNW.
Eldrain entered the warehouse carrying a sack of the items Raghav had asked him to get.
He walked to the back, dropping the sack beside their carriage as Raghav stopped his work to turn around and look at Eldrain.
"You got the items?"
"I did. So when are you getting ready for the meeting?"
"The three of us will leave at eight. What will you and Shin do, once we are gone?"
Eldrain scoffed, waving his left hand. "Oh, just babysit him until you guys get back."
That was a lie because he knew exactly what he was going to do, and it had something to do with the piece of paper in his pocket.
At eight at night, he saw Raghav leave the inn with Aurelia and An from the window in Shin's room.
A grin crept on his face as he closed the curtain.
Now they were inside the carriage, sitting opposite the man, who had just introduced himself as Markus.
"It is nice to meet you, Markus. I am Eldrain Exter, and this is my companion Shin Furukawa."
Eldrain introduced himself and Shin to the man, who nodded. "I know you two very well, gentlemen, which is why I asked to meet with you."
The tone was still devoid of emotion as Markus looked at Shin. "Are you alright, Mr. Furukawa?"
Shin was still dealing with the aftereffects of his drinking spree in the afternoon.
"Yes, Mr. Markus, I am fine, just a little tired, that's all."
Markus narrowed his eyes and nodded. "Very well then, shall we talk business? I promise to keep it quick for Mr. Furukawa's sake."
He took a gulp, smacking his lips together.
The first time he would show any change in expression, but that did not last for long as he returned to his neutral, serious face.
"I am well aware that the band of heroes intervened with the count's commission and put a hold on it. I support this decision. We need the wildlife for us to move forward. I also know of some secrets. There are many gangs in this city; in truth, they are the ones who run the city, not the count."
He handed Eldrain an envelope. "In it, you would find the details about the two biggest gangs in Plied City. The Plieders in Old Plied and the Mineority."
Snort
Shin snorted as he heard the names of the gangs and slapped Eldrain on the side, who also chuckled. "The Plieders and the Mineority. What lame names."
But they dropped it, sucking their lips in when they saw Markus, looking at them blankly.
Eldrain gestured for Markus to continue, and continue he did, raising his right hand as if holding something in it.
"As I was saying currently the Count is under the payroll of the Plieders, they plan on expanding into the mountain range and lease new land for mines, creating settlements where there are no administration, and this in turn would allow them to create new barons, and with the size of their administrative network, their leader will be able to vote from himself as a Count and create a new county. Becoming a Lord, on paper, he would be presiding over a single county, but in truth, he would own two counties."
Markus then raised his left hand the same way he was holding the right.
"The Mineority, on the other hand, are hoping that the Plieders, along with the corrupt administration, fall apart and they can take their place in this city as it is. A small dream for a small gang, hence why they are second in this city."
"Where do you factor in all of this?"
Eldrain asked, matching Markus's gaze, who simply tilted his head. "I am a citizen of this city as well as a businessman; they are trying to make me launder money for them. I have refused, and they have threatened me multiple times. I can't ask the city guard for aid, who knows who is under their payroll or not. So I ask of your noble party to help me and my city."
The carriage came to a halt, and the door opened, revealing the Inn. "If you agree to work with me, I can be the inside man in their operation, feeding you with proof and Intel regarding their activities. Here is my card. I will be looking forward to hearing from you tomorrow."
Eldrain took the card and nudged Shin to move. "Thank you, Markus. We will discuss this with Raghav and let you know."
Then the two stepped out, walking back to Shin's room. "You woke me up for that shit, you could have called him up to my room."
Shin remarked as he plopped on the bed, and Eldrain sat on the chair, with the envelope in hand.
The paper smudging under his grip as he reached for the seal on top.
"Here, read while wearing these. It will add a dramatic flair."
Eldrain clenched his hand shut as he looked ahead at Shin, holding out Raghav's glasses with a grin on his face. "Take them."
Pfph
A random sound escaped Eldrain's mouth as he took the glasses, putting them on. "Happy?"
Narrowed eyes, widened eyebrows and a grin that seemed to grow every passing moment, the signs of someone who was utterly wasted. "Oh, Eldrain, you did this behind Raghav's back, and now it's getting to you as you wait for him to return. Remember, the dildo of consequences hardly comes back lubed."
Upon parting those words of modern wisdom, Shin turned towards the wall, covering himself with a blanket.
Ignoring the acts of the drunkard, Eldrain opened the envelope and looked at the files.
'Oh.'
'Ohh.'
'OHH.'
"OHHH."
He placed the file down on the table and took the glasses off, rubbing his eyes, before rubbing his forehead.
Being half a millennium old, this Grand Master had seen many things, ranging from celestial entities, vengeful spirits, and the supernatural horrors of the world, but within these files, he saw the vile filth of humanity.
The world of organised crime, these people indulged in all the wrong things in society.
He placed the glasses on the table, beside the files and just sat back.
All the things he read in the files played like a camera reel stuck in his head.
The acts mentioned and shown in those files could scar an ordinary person for life, but Eldrain was no ordinary person.
Sure, it did bother him, but there was no point in lingering on the things that have passed.
"Yesterday never came again, tomorrow will never arrive, so keep your mind with you in the present, because this present will become the past that will shape the future."
Eldrain spoke to no one in particular, as Vrisht raised an ear, looking up at Eldrain from the floor. "Are we pretending to be Raghav?"
Hmph
As a small laugh escaped Eldrain's mouth, he shook his head. "No, just thinking what he would have told me in this moment."
"What did you find in these files?"
"Understanding."
Vrisht stood up, walking towards Eldrain and sitting in front of him with his head in his lap. "About what?"
Scratching Vrisht's head, Eldrain leaned back as he stared at the ceiling.
Not answering the question asked of him, for a moment, Vrisht considered that Eldrain had fallen asleep and was about to call out to him.
Just then, he received his answer.
"My Purpose, the one I had been searching for all along, long before I was a Grand Master, long before I was Eldrain Exter. Since the dawn of time."
"What purpose would that be?"
"The greatest honour in existence, the play."
As his gaze shifted down at Vrisht, he found him smiling, if wolves could smile, but it was certain that Vrisht was happy. "You look happy, mind if I ask a question?"
"It better not ruin my mood, or else I would bite you, where it will hurt the most."
"Is it true that animals remember their past lives?"
"It depends, what sorts of deeds we did in our previous lives. I do not remember mine, but I can tell you two things for certain, one is that animals can understand all forms of verbal communications, and the other is that we all have one desire. To be reborn as a human."
"That is a common sentiment, I too now realise, being human is a blessing but it should be put to better use."
His eyes shifted from Vrisht to Shin as Vrisht too opened his right eye, looking at Shin. "He will turn it around, Raghav has promised him such."
"Aye, I was thinking about that. Great minds think alike…"
Then there was silence as Vrisht frowned, looking up at Eldrain. "Where's the rest?"
"What rest? That's the saying."
"Nuh uh."
"What do you mean, nuh uh?" "I mean, the full phrase is, great minds think alike, but fools hardly differ."
Huh
"Guess, there are still some things I am yet to learn."
Knock Knock.
Someone knocked on the door as all three of them looked at the door.
Shin was barely staying up, but he was forcing himself. Eldrain raised his hands, calming the other two down. "Relax."
Only when the gate was unlocked and open did Shin fall back on the bed.
"We're back."
Announced An as she and Aurelia walked through the door, closing it behind them.
They stood there with wet hair and clothes, smiling from ear to ear. "Dry yourselves, before you two catch a cold."
"I know." An responded as she waved her hand and collected all the water that had drenched her and Aurelia and sent it down the drain in the bathroom.
Once dry, they moved towards the chairs and sat down, where An frowned, looking at the files and picking them up, and immediately, she looked at Eldrain while holding the files towards Aurelia.
"Eld, we talked about going out on your own without telling us. This is a bad habit you have been adopting as of late."
"I know. I know, I realised my mistake when we got back."
"We? Who did you take with you…"
She paused as she looked at Shin and gasped, looking back at Eldrain with her mouth still open. "You took him? Eld, you were supposed to look after him so he doesn't do anything dangerous, and you took him to meet with The One knows who."
A pause in her rant as she turned towards Aurelia, and when Aurelia looked at her, she continued.
"See, Aurelia, this is why I refuse to have children, because I already have a child I have to deal with."
"An, listen no."
Water had risen overhead as An puckered her lips and placed a finger on her lips, and thus Eldrain was silenced.
Funny isn't it that a grand master capable of doing nearly everything, is powerless in front of his wife.
Well, that is how it should be.
Knock Knock Knock.
"May I come in?"
Came the voice of Raghav as An removed the finger from her lips and leaned back slightly. "Yes, you can."
After getting the approval, he opened the door, stepping through and closing it behind him,
In front of him, he saw a lecture taking place. For a few seconds, he just looked at the scene, Shin lying wildly on the bed, Vrisht lying at Eldrain's feet.
An visibly upset about something, and Aurelia just smiling at him, all the while he stood there like a child walking in on his mother teaching his father a lesson.
Firstly, he smiled back at Aurelia and then turned to An and Eldrain, pointing towards the file on the table.
"What are those?"
"The fruit of Eldrain's labour, look for yourself."
An told Raghav, patting on the chair between her and Aurelia.
Raghav took her offer and sat down, grabbing the files and his glasses and began reading the files, while the others let him read in silence.
In about a minute or two, he neatly stacked the files and placed them back in the envelope.
"I wanted to read that."
Aurelia spoke, reaching for the envelope, which Raghav kept out of her reach.
"No, there are things in these files, you are better off not knowing."
There was no protest from Aurelia as she just rested her head on his shoulder. "It is getting late, we should sleep. A raven will arrive from the capital tomorrow morning."
"Agreed."
An spoke, placing her hands on the table and sliding the chair back as she stood up. "Good night, everyone. We will see you in the morning."
She left with Eldrain, making way to their room.
Leaving behind Raghav and Aurelia as they looked at one another and stood up. "Vrisht, lock the door behind us and keep Shin safe. If he leaves this room. Tell me. Do not sacrifice your sleep over it."
"As you command, Captain, I am a light sleeper. If he as much as steps off the bed, I will wake up," Vrisht spoke as he yawned.
Then Aurelia and Raghav left the room, travelling down the hallway and into the room after Eldrain and An's.
Inside, Aurelia sat on the bed, removing her shoes and sword, placing them beside the bed before going into the bathroom to change out of her adventurer outfit and into a blue nightdress.
At last, she moved to the bed, lying down on the left side.
Raghav removed his jacket, shoes and sword, placing them on the single sofa before moving to the right side of the bed and picking up the pillow and a blanket.
Taking it to the sofa, where he joined the table with the sofa and placed the pillow on the side of the bed and turned off the lights in the room, lying on the sofa.
Aurelia smiled as she nuzzled into the warm and soft bed. "Good night, Raghav."
"Goodnight, Aurelia."