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It was far too late for him to turn back.

The storm had calmed into a pleasant rain around the same time he reached the river crossing. Pleasant to look at of course, but not so nice to walk in, an improvement to be sure though visibility was still a pain outside the faint glow of the lamppost he leaned against. Brushing away bits of foliage stuck in his cloak Rowan considered his next move. Hiking through the dense pines of this corner of the world may not have been his finest idea but time was of the essence. He needed to reach St Xander's by tomorrow if he wanted to claim his inheritance.

"Retiring at age twenty-three while the rest of the world goes to shit, now that's the Seelie way of life!" Thought Rowan, squeezing water out of his clothes "Not sure what I'll do with the bulk of the money, plus I don't know what debts the old bastard's racked up"

This was the frontier, where provincial lords ruled and homeland law was considered debatable outside the major cities, especially this far out in the countryside

Regardless of why he came here Rowan had been lost for far longer than he'd have liked to admit, what was supposed to have been the quickest step of his journey to Xander's had become a prolonged hike through green hell as he attempted a shortcut through the dense woodland. The ironic result of his impatience and impulsivity. At first he played it off as scenic walk through a lush new world, at least until the already dark new moon was blocked by the storm rolling in.

Now he was just soaked, cold, and tired... of mud especially.

Eventually his wandering led him to this old bridge in the outer rim of nowhere, upon which he decided to rest for the time being. He was already unfamiliar with the cities of this province, much less its boonies. He would wait and ask a local for directions, figuring someone was sure to live nearby with the lamp post beside him being proof of that.

After a while he began to doze off. It must have been midnight or later when he finally saw someone come by, almost missing them in the near pitch darkness outside the lamp light. For a moment he hesitated: wondering what they were doing out here without a light, before saying;

"Oh hello... you wouldn't happen to..."

Rowan froze for a moment as the figure turned to face him, it was an Acturan. A canine people who were already rare here in Unseelie, and nonexistent back home across the ocean.

He wasn't even sure they existed until now.

"...have directions to St Xander's?... uh.. Miss?." asked Rowan "Why are they shaking?, is she sick?, I'm a bit ragged I guess but... "

Seth just stared at him incredulously.

"You see, I've been kinda... lost out here... for the last few hours... names Rowan by the way." He said. "Oh, and I'm not- I'm not trying to rob you or anything"

Seth said nothing, wondering if he'd hit his head on the way here.

"...Maybe that wasn't the most reassuring way of putting it"

"..." said Seth, slowly walking away

"So... hold on a moment please, can you speak my language?, are you mute?, please nod once if you can understand me and twice if you can also-

"I can speak fine... sir " said Seth quietly

"Nice, are you lost too?, seems dangerous to be alone out here this late, especially for young women"

"Um... I'm not actually..."

"Oh, if your not lost then maybe you could-"

"I meant I'm not a girl" Seth interrupted with a hint of indignation, realizing his tone he looked down and quickly added "I'm sorry sir, please forgive my outburst, I just get that a lot"

"Well I can't say I'm too surprised" said Rowan.

"...Sorry" said Rowan awkwardly "...Also, are you okay? you look like you've seen a ghost"

"I'm fine" Seth said cautiously. This whole exchange was too absurd for him to be too worried, though he figured it best to appear meek for the time being, and he was wasting too much time on top of that "But I really need to get going sir, my master, Toren, isn't very patient with me and I'm already running late"

"I'm not completely lying" _ Seth thought. _"I need to cover more ground, quickly"

"Wait, do you mean the old bastard Toren Greywells?" Seth's heart skipped a beat "I didn't know he had an apprentice... And he croaked just a few days ago, right?."

_"He thinks I'm Toren's apprentice?, and how did he learn about his death so quickly?" Seth thought _" He did... but he... asked me to deliver something for him... before he died of course." said Seth shivering, the wind was picking up again and even with drier clothes he was cold. Hugging himself he said, "I'm sorry, I've just been wasting both of our time" he said, trying to change subject "If you want to get to Xander's its just a few miles south-west of here, turn left at the first crossroads and just keep heading straight along the rest of them and you can't miss it"

"Thanks" said Rowan before frowning "...And I'm sorry if I was insensitive about your teacher's death, I don't know how close you two were but that was uncalled for"

"No, don't be, he deserved it" Seth said bitterly without thinking.

For a few long seconds all was silent besides the wind and rain.

And a dogs barking in the distance.

Multiple dogs barking.

"...I'm sorry, did I mishear you?" asked Rowan

"I-I meant he didn't deserve to suffer any longer!" Seth squeaked hastily "Those are wolfhounds... no... that can't be right... I was supposed to have more time"

"Yeah... I guess I can understand that" said Rowan concernedly "Anyways thanks again for the directions, I owe you a favor"

"No problem" said Seth anxiously, looking back into the dark pines behind him. "Could I please go ahead and cash it in?"

"Oh, that was fast... but sure, what is it?"

"I think there's a man following me. If you meet a human named Kunzes and he asks if you've seen an Acturan pass by... An Arcturan named Seth, please, don't mention me.. at all" Shivering, Seth whispered- "Please, if he finds me he'll kill- No, th-thats not like him, he wants me alive, h-he wants to see me suffer...I"

"...I can't- I can't go back"

Seth hugged himself tighter, subconsciously driving the claws of his good hand into his robe and cracking open the scabs of his wounded one. Rowan noticed he looked physically ill in addition to his injuries, as if he was about to vomit then and there.

"I can't... I.." Seth whimpered, tears forming in his eyes "I can't go back to him I... I'd rather die...I can't.. I-I.."

"Hey... it's going to be okay" Rowan said, a bit awkwardly "I- to be honest, I'm not entirely sure what you're talking about but I promise, if I see this Kunzes guy I won't tell him anything, alright?" Seth looked at him hopefully "I don't know what you've been through but if you could put up with whatever shit Toren taught you I'm sure you'll be fine"

"You mean it?, th-thank you" said Seth, with a nervous smile "I just hope its not too late"

"I-I need to go" said Seth abruptly, quickly running across the bridge before turning and shouting back- "I hope Xander's treats you better than it did me!"

And with that Seth left, resuming his journey to Rastis with a dissonant mix of renewed dread and hope at his current situation. Leaving Rowan to consider this unusual encounter and whether or not this person was being followed or was simply paranoid.

"And what did Toren do to him?" Rowan asked himself "Or what did He do to Toren?"

Either way the night was only getting colder, and the rain was starting to return in force. Picking up his personal oil lamp off the ground and checking its reserves before relighting it, he briefly considered attempting to steal some oil out of the lamp post beside him but quickly decided against it. He wouldn't need more now that he knew where he was going.

"Regardless he's pretty cute for a non Seelie" Rowan thought, as a grey-clad horseman emerged from the darkness beside him.

========

It was just before sunrise when Kunzes began his hunt. He had heard about how someone had used some ad-hoc form of Thaumaturgy to blast through one of the city's storm drains, and that Toren's pet; one of the Mudlarks he himself had broken, was missing alongside several private documents.

He doubted these events were unrelated.

Having disciplined him personally he knew that Seth wasn't stupid, a spineless fag maybe but still more cunning than most of the slaves he'd trained over the years. He was unlikely to try and walk hundreds of miles to get to a truly abolitionist province, and instead Kunze guessed that he'd try and cross the river border into Rastis. He would have to either stowaway on a boat or ford the river at its lowest point as the border guard wouldn't allow an Arcturan to cross without it's owner or a passport.

With that in mind Kunzes would stalk the backroads for his quarry, he had sent one of his subordinates along the main road out of Xander's just in case Seth really did take the most obvious route out of Unseelie. Regardless of where the slave ran off too he was almost certain he'd find him by evening, he had a horse, a pair of wolfhounds, and a decades worth of experience in his craft on his side compared to Seth's intuition and magic tricks. As he rode out Kunzes fantasized about what he'd do to the Acturan after taking him, he couldn't hurt him too badly until he purchased his deed from Toren's grand-nephew, the brat was supposed to have arrived sooner to deal with his inheritance but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Whatever" Kunzes thought "If Rowan doesn't show up I'll just stick that mongrel in my cellar and write him off as missing"

Some time later Kunzes saw a weather stained traveler ahead of him along the road, he was alone and while he would usually pay them no mind something about this one seemed familiar.

"Ah Rowan was it?" said Kunzes "You match Toren's description"

"Eh?, yeah... that's my name" said Rowan, looking exhausted "...Who are you exactly?"

"A friend of your grand-uncle, looking for someone who stole from your inheritance." said Kunzes "In addition to damaging city property and other crimes"

"So you're an enforcer of some type?, I meant what's your name?" said Rowan, quickly adding "I don't think we've met before"

"I prefer the term hunter personally, and the names Marcel" said Kunzes, talking note of the apparent relief in Rowans expression "You wouldn't by chance have seen any unusual individuals on your way here have you?"

Rowan frowned at that question "...How so exactly?, and Marcel you said?"

"Yes, Marcel Versin to be precise." lied Kunzes "But that's besides the point, We're looking for any sort of suspicious individual as we currently lack a solid lead... though we believe the thief to be an Acturan based on the footprints"

Kunzes was certain that Rowan had encountered Seth recently, his expression alone gave that away. He also assumed that Seth had told him his sob story at least in part, and that this brat didn't want to endanger the Acturan. "He also doesn't understand the importance of what Seth took" thought Kunzes "Otherwise he would be either trying to kill me or help me depending on the circumstances"

"In addition this individual is believed to be a competent Thaumaturge" Kunzes continued "Capable of destroying wrought iron structures and people alike without the aid of any tools or weapons"

"Okay, he has to be exaggerating" Thought Rowan "I doubt that little guy could hurt someone seriously if his life depended on it"

"Or could he?"

"I'm... not sure I've seen anyone matching that description" said Rowan carefully "Could you be more specific?"

"Somewhat short, tan fur, yellowish eyes" said Kunzes "Likely dressed in a ragged coat or robe... does that ring any bells?"

"That's him, that sounds like Seth" Thought Rowan "So is this man lying about his name?, he doesn't seem nearly as menacing as Seth made him out to be, but, I can't shake this feeling he's trying to pick my mind for something I hadn't even thought of"

"No... I haven't seen anyone like that" said Rowan after some time.

"Unfortunate, well he can't be that far from here" said Kunzes dismissively, starting across the bridge. "Your lying could use work by the way"

========

After some time trudging along the dirt path towards Xander's the road changed from increasingly muddy packed earth to overgrown cobblestones upon the first crossroads, then from mossy stone to roughly cut bricks along the second. Rowan wondered if they were laid by the new settlers or the old inhabitants of this province, as at least one camp of scholars theorized that the ruins cities like Xander's are built upon were originally constructed by a first wave of colonizers that were wiped out... of course, this didn't explain the radically different architectural style, machines, and materials used.

And it certainly didn't explain the bodies.

"I'm guessing it was Seth's people who built this road" Rowan thought "It's the obvious answer, though I doubt the nobility would like to believe that"

"I hope he's alright" Rowan sighed, at least he made it to his destination, though he could only hope that Seth could say the same.

Aside from a few farm houses and a stable most of the city was nestled within Xander's unusual walls. The walls were split between an old grey, dense, and heavily reinforced stone slab base with much newer and white-painted brick and wood battlements all along the top, like a crown upon a broken tooth. The gatehouse and gate itself was painted white despite being of the older style, and as Rowan approached it he could see that it was, unsurprisingly, closed for the night.

Undeterred, Rowan crossed the old stone bridge over the moat and peered into one of the gatehouse's old arrow slits to see if there was anyone on watch. Unfortunately, he couldn't see anyone though some candles were left burning in the room. Not wanting to wait in the rain (and being generally impatient) for whoever lit them to return he decided that the best course of action would be get their attention somehow.

"HEY!, anyone in there?!" Rowan yelled through the arrow slit "I need someone to open the gate!, anyone really!"

No sound but the rain.

"Come on!, I know someone's in there!" Rowan yelled again "And I know you can hear me!"

"DO YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO ME ALL NIGHT?" Rowan shouted

"God's sake no" Someone said angerly, before appearing on the other side of the slit "Just show me your pass if you want in this late, don't need to wake everyone else because you took too long!"

"Certainly" Rowan said smugly, before frowning "Pass?, is this place quarantined?, or are you just charging people to get into this dump?"

"I'm charging people for wasting my time and making me open this damn door" The gatesman said flatly "four marks for opening it and double if you try and haggle with me"

"That seems kinda exorbitant don't you think?" Rowan said, holding out the money "I'm not arguing, just saying"

The gatesman said nothing, simply taking the money and walking out of the room. Worried he just got scammed Rowan would have started shouting again if it wasn't for the heavy portcullis slowly and noisily retracting up into the gate, followed by the thick wooden doors behind it unlocking.

"Welcome to Xander's" said the gatesman sarcastically, opening the door and gesturing Rowan in with an exaggerated bow "The finest shithole this side of the frontier!"