The city walls of Highvale loomed ahead as the party trudged toward the southern gates. The prisoner's body slumped between Liam and Aria, his arms bound behind his back with enchanted rope. Even unconscious, he radiated a faint, pulsing corruption. Liam kept a firm grip on him, his mind still reeling from the ambush earlier.
Mia walked just behind, clutching her staff tightly. Vix was out front, occasionally glancing back, his ears twitching. The closer they got to the gates, the more tense he became.
A pair of city guards stationed at the gate noticed the unusual group. Their eyes locked on the prisoner first, then on the glowing rope.
"You three," one of the guards barked, "what's the meaning of this?"
Liam straightened. "This man was involved in the corruption behind the missing shipment from Southpoint. We have evidence and a live capture."
The guards exchanged a quick glance. "Right. Come with us. Captain Werrick will want to see this."
The party followed them through the winding lanes to the southern barracks. It was a squat, square stone building with reinforced doors. The guards pushed them through the entry arch without much ceremony. Liam immediately noticed the strange stillness in the air—no clattering of armor, no shouted drills. Just silence.
Captain Werrick was waiting inside the command room, arms folded. He didn't look surprised. In fact, he looked conflicted.
"You're back," Werrick said simply.
"We have him," Liam replied, gesturing to the unconscious smuggler. "He needs to be interrogated. This goes beyond a simple bandit raid."
Werrick nodded once but didn't move. "Understood. But... there's protocol. I need clearance from the Inner Quarter before I can authorize magical interrogation. You'll need to wait."
Liam frowned. "That's not how these cases are usually handled. There's supposed to be a Guild representative here."
Werrick's gaze drifted to the side. "There will be. Just give me some time."
Aria leaned close to Liam and whispered, "He's stalling."
Mia stepped closer to the barred windows and narrowed her eyes. "And that guard over there has checked that pigeon three times. That's not normal."
Before Liam could respond, the doors to the barracks opened again. A tall, robed figure stepped inside, accompanied by two quiet aides. His cloak was lined with gold trim, and a silver pendant hung around his neck—etched with the mark of Highvale's Inner Council.
"I am Inspector Velen," he said, his voice calm and composed. "By order of the Inner Court, I am to take custody of the prisoner. This matter now falls under state jurisdiction."
Liam stepped forward. "No. He's under Guild watch. This is corruption—potential dark magic. Guild protocol applies."
Velen's smile didn't falter. "Guild jurisdiction applies when the Guild is faster. I am here now. That makes this my responsibility."
Vix suddenly growled, low and dangerous. His fur stood on end, and his eyes locked onto Velen like the man radiated fire.
Liam noticed. "He's never growled at a person without cause."
Aria's hand went to her staff. "He has no aura," she whispered. "None. Not even passive energy. He's hiding something."
Werrick looked from Liam to Velen, clearly uncomfortable. "Perhaps we wait until a Guild representative arrives. Just to avoid... conflict."
Velen's eyes narrowed. "Conflict is what happens when people step beyond their stations."
Liam didn't budge. "Then we'll stay in our station until backup arrives."
"I don't care what you do."Velen said, as he moved towards the unconscious man.
Liam stepped forward, blocking Velen's path. "You're not taking him."
Velen tilted his head. "You believe your status allows you to make that call?"
"I believe the Guild would," Liam said. "And they're going to hear about this."
"You'll go nowhere," Velen replied softly.
Suddenly, with a flick of his finger, the air around Liam shimmered—and a crushing wave of pressure slammed him to one knee. Mia raised her staff to cast a spell, but a flicker of darkness wrapped around her hands, paralyzing them mid-chant.
"You're both out of your depth," Velen said calmly, his footsteps echoing as he approached the prisoner.
Liam gritted his teeth, pressing against the invisible weight. "Vix... now."
There was no sound—but a sudden gust of wind tore through the chamber. A faint shimmer passed near Velen's arm. He twisted to dodge—but just barely. A small cut appeared along his sleeve.
Vix appeared for the briefest second, snarling in the air before vanishing again.
[-1]
Velen narrowed his eyes. "Voidspawn? Tch."
He turned back to Liam. "Do not mistake restraint for weakness. I will not stain the streets of this city with your blood—not unless provoked again."
Saying that, he unleashed a wave of black aura that moved extremely fast and bound everyone in Liam's party, suspending them in mid-air.
Liam panicked. His system interface told him that Velen was a level 150 NPC, and he was still at level 30. Vix, who was at the same level as himself, only did 1 damage even after having the element of surprise. Liam had no real way to damage Velen and could only powerlessly struggle.
"Remember, chap. In this city, I have the highest authority. Those who defy me, shall pay the price. I am the law, and those who have gone against me have always paid the price."
"Oh Really? I wonder what gave you the guts?"
Suddenly, a feminine voice came from the office doors, as a wave of cool aura immediately dispelled all the black aura restricting Liam and his party.
"Officer Diana Greaves," she announced. "Mid-tier Guild Master. I wonder since when it became the Inner Court's turn to take over matters related to the guild?"
Seeing Diana, Mia whispered to Liam. "She is level 150+. Be careful".
"You've overstepped," Diana said as she came close to Velen "And this time, there are witnesses."
By now, all the pressure had vanished, and Liam and the others stood up, panting.
"Miss Diana, here us out..."
Liam briefly described all that had happened, right from his acceptance of the earlier quest to the discovery of corruption and the earlier ambush. He also told her about his brief skirmish with Velen.
"Preposturous... you dare attack adventurers without cause? Do you still put my guild in your eyes?" Diana flared up, letting out her level 150 aura unrestrained.
"Miss Diana, I know that you are very strong. But please do not forget who the inner court works for. I know I might have overstepped a bit, but all I wanted to do was bring the prisoner in and interrogate him. I am doing this for the city."
"You..." Diana faltered, withdrawing her aura slightly. "Very well, then I would like to thank Mr Velen for your service. However, you can leave the Guild's matters to us. We will definitely get to the end of it."
Velen straightened his robe. "Very well. I trust you will be thorough."
He turned to Liam as he walked past and muttered in a whisper. "Your interference has been noted and is not appreciated. Some doors," he paused, "are better left closed."
Once Velen left, Werrick let out a breath he'd been holding.
Diana nodded to the guards. "Take the prisoner to Guild Hall. Secure ward, tier-three lock. I'll follow shortly."
Liam exchanged glances with Aria and Mia as they exited the barracks. The street felt brighter somehow. Safer. But only for the moment.
"That guy," Aria said. "Velen. He's not normal."
"Neither is his organization," Liam added. "That mark on his pendant—it looked like a veil over a burning eye. I've seen that before. Long ago."
"Really? Who are they?" Mia asked quietly.
Liam shook his head. That definitely looked like the Order of Veiled Shadow's crest, the order that had tried to kill him earlier. However, he did not want to put any pressure or fear in the minds of the other party members.
As they reached the Guild Hall, the prisoner was taken away through reinforced doors lined with silver runes. Diana turned to the party.
"You guys did a great job! I don't think that this quest can be treated as an E ranked quest. I will ask someone to remove this quest. Here are 50 gold coins as your reward. I would also upgrade your party's tier to E tier; however, that can only be done after two weeks of formation of the party."
"As for this case, the Guild will investigate this to the end. I think this guy Velen is a very shady person, however, his backers are extremely strong. I cannot interrogate him or take him in without proof."
"However, you have to be very careful, I don't know if he will hold a grudge against you and try to get back at you."
"Thanks, we will be careful." Liam received his reward and nodded.
After Diana had left, Mia came forward.
"We received the rewards, but the quest is not yet marked complete in the system. Do we still pursue it?"
Liam looked at his system interface.
Quest Rank Upgraded: A Whisper of Rot (A-Rank)] - In Progress
Quest Details: You've uncovered the presence of corruption near Highvale. The stolen shipment was a front for an underground smuggling ring spreading cursed artifacts and forbidden alchemy. Investigate the network and find the source.
Objectives:
Interrogate the captured smuggler and solve the corruption in Highvale city
Reward: ??? Difficulty: A-Rank
"Let us give it a rest. We can always try to complete it later. I don't think the city can find any clues in a short time. We need to become stronger, or we cannot take on these high leveled enemies."
"Hmmm... Okay"
------------------------------------
High above, on the roof of a quiet building, a cloaked figure watched them.
"Looks like the oracle was right. We need to remove this threat as soon as possible, or he could be a major disruption in our plans." The cloaked figure muttered as he quietly attached a note to a region.
"Liam Carter, eh? Live your next few days well. Soon, all you will have is darkness... ahahahaha"