Mastery Is Earned

After learning that Sarah was missing, all three men quickened their pace and returned to Blackstone before dusk. The merchant's shop stood along the way to the town guard's headquarters. Raymond stopped inside only briefly, returning the copper badge as proof that the commission had been completed. After collecting the payment of one silver and twenty copper, he gave Teddy the agreed thirty copper, then continued toward the town guard with Sarah's eldest brother.

Teddy accepted the money but did not leave. After a moment's hesitation, he followed behind them. Raymond noticed but asked no questions, concentrating only on moving faster.

The merchant's shop was not far from the town guard's headquarters, and the three soon arrived. After Sarah's eldest brother explained why he was there to the guards on duty, they were quickly taken to a room used for questioning.

“Another disappearance?”

Dario carefully questioned them about when and where Sarah had disappeared and how the villagers had searched for her. Then he fell into thought.

After a moment of silence, he stood. “Wait here. I'll ask the sheriff to come over.”

With that, he hurried from the room. Before long, Dario opened the door again. A middle-aged man in ordinary clothes, his stomach slightly protruding, followed him inside. Marcus showed a flash of surprise at finding Raymond there, but he quickly turned his attention to Sarah's eldest brother.

“Tell me exactly what happened once more,” Marcus said gravely.

Sarah's eldest brother did not dare delay and hurriedly repeated the entire story.

“No blood and no traces left by monsters?” Marcus's expression grew increasingly serious.

Only a little over ten days earlier, a girl from Blackstone had disappeared in a similar fashion. Although he could not yet conclude that the same people were responsible for both cases, the resemblance was enough to make him take the matter seriously.

After considering it briefly, he told Dario, “Organize an investigation team and send them to Silverleaf Village immediately!”

“Yes, sir!” Dario responded at once.

“I'm coming too!” Raymond abruptly rose and spoke with determination.

“You? What can you do? Don't make more trouble for us.” Dario gave Raymond an irritated look.

Marcus, however, studied Raymond with interest.

“I know the missing girl, and I've met Henk, the man who followed the trail into the forest alone,” Raymond said seriously. “If we find anything connected to either of them, I may be able to recognize it. And if we encounter danger, at least I won't hold you back.”

“There are currently no signs of goblin activity at the scene, and this is an official investigation, not an ordinary mercenary commission,” Dario said, shaking his head.

“Have your injuries healed?” Marcus suddenly asked.

Raymond nodded. “They have.”

After a moment's thought, Marcus looked at him. “You may accompany the investigation team, but this is not a formal commission, and there will be no pay. Once you're there, you will follow all of Dario's orders.”

“Understood.” Raymond nodded immediately.

Dario looked at him. “We need to travel on horseback. Can you ride?”

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“No.” Raymond shook his head without hesitation.

“I can!” Teddy, who had been standing to one side, suddenly spoke up. “My father used to be a forest ranger. I can ride, and I know the roads and woods around Silverleaf Village.”

Marcus and Dario exchanged a glance.

After considering it, Dario finally said, “Then you may come as well. The same conditions apply: you must obey orders.”

He turned to Sarah's eldest brother, who was covered in dust and had already been traveling for a long time. “You aren't fit to ride at speed in your current condition. Stay here and rest at the town guard's headquarters. Your brother and the other villagers can guide us once we reach Silverleaf Village. I'll have someone take you back tomorrow.”

“All right. Thank you, sir.” The somewhat nervous man hurriedly stood.

There was still some time before dark. Traveling on horseback, they should be able to reach Silverleaf Village before nightfall. The town guard brought two gentle riding horses for Raymond and Teddy.

Teddy swung skillfully into the saddle, then adjusted Raymond's stirrups and reins. “Just sit steady. I'll lead your horse. Don't pull on the reins.”

Raymond sat stiffly in the saddle, both hands gripping the reins tightly. Once everyone was ready, Dario led the investigation team out of Blackstone and along the main road toward Silverleaf Village.

They did not stop along the way and finally reached the village before dark. Silverleaf Village was gripped by tension. Many villagers carrying torches and farming tools had gathered at the entrance, while several groups sent to search for Sarah were returning one after another.

Dario dismounted but did not rush his people into the forest. Instead, he called over a villager. “Fetch the village hunters and have them meet me at the scene!”

Then he looked at Sarah's second brother, who had already been waiting at the village entrance. “Take us to where you found the rope.”

The man nodded quickly and led the group outside the village. They soon arrived at the place where the rope had been discovered.

Over the past two days, large numbers of villagers had repeatedly searched the area. The muddy ground was covered in chaotic footprints. Much of the surrounding vegetation had also been trampled. Any traces that might once have existed had already been badly disturbed.

Dario studied the densely overlapping footprints for a long time in the fading daylight but could not determine which belonged to Sarah. For now, he could only order the guards to hold back the villagers who had followed and forbid anyone else from entering the area. Raymond stared at the marks on the ground for a long time but could not distinguish one from another.

Teddy noticed where he was looking and could not help saying, “Can't make sense of them, can you? Tracking isn't as easy as you think.”

“Then what do you see?” Raymond asked.

Teddy did not answer immediately. By the light of a torch, he examined the surrounding area before finally pointing into the forest. “An ordinary person wouldn't leave footprints that deep. That northerner is far heavier than most people, and he was moving in a hurry. These tracks probably belong to him.”

Following the direction of the flattened undergrowth, Teddy looked deeper into the forest. “If it were still light, following these tracks wouldn't be difficult. But night is about to fall.”

When dealing with something he knew well, Teddy abandoned his usual flippancy for once. He was entirely serious as he discussed the tracks. Following Teddy's advice, Raymond examined them and indeed found deeper footprints in that direction, while the flattened undergrowth also ran in a relatively consistent direction.

He was about to follow the trail into the forest when Dario called from behind him. “Raymond, come back!”

Dario stepped forward and stopped him. “It's almost dark. Entering the forest by torchlight will make the tracks harder to read, and we may trample what evidence remains.”

He looked into the depths of the forest. “We'll secure the scene tonight. Once daylight comes, hunters familiar with the forest can lead the way.”

Although Raymond was anxious as he watched the light rapidly fade, he knew Dario's decision was correct. After two days of wind and trampling, few traces remained at the scene. Once night fell, not only would it be difficult to tell which way the trail led, but the limited light of their torches might put everyone in danger. Rather than blunder into the forest in the dark, it was better to protect the existing clues and continue tracking at dawn.

Dario left two guards to secure the scene, then ordered all the villagers who had followed to return home. No one was permitted to enter the area again before daylight.

Even after returning to the village, Dario did not rest immediately. He separately questioned the local hunters, Sarah's second brother, and the villagers who had participated in the search, carefully verifying the circumstances before and after Sarah's disappearance. The most important questions were what exactly Henk had found near the rope and when he had entered the forest alone.

Henk had a solid alibi and was not suspected of taking Sarah. But he was the only person who had found any unusual traces and the one most likely to have come close to the truth. To find Sarah, they first had to find out where Henk had gone.

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