21 The price of a token

After hearing the voices emerging from behind the double-arched wooden doors, Hugo immediately decided to turn around and leave. His trousers, soaked with morning dew and stained by grass on the slopes, would easily give him away.

[I'd better loiter around the town for a few hours… I don't want to face the prospect of being grounded within this boring house for days…]

Hugo took a '180-degrees turn' intending to leave, however, …

"Ah… aaaahh…" Hugo jumped in fright after coming face to face with the Matriarch who had mysteriously appeared behind him.

The Matriarch's narrowed eyes were glaring at Hugo.

"Grandma Bianca! … You almost scared me to death…" Hugo voiced his shock while using his small hand to fan himself.

[This is a bad sign… Why did they come back so soon? The service shouldn't even be halfway done.] Hugo wondered.

The Matriarch had not missed a single morning service for as long as Hugo could remember. Thus, her appearance out of thin air behind him had scared him witless.

"Good morning Hugo! How was your night?" Matriarch Bianca greeted Hugo as if it was any other normal morning. But Hugo knew better…

The Matriarch would only speak 'normally' when she was seething with rage. Usually, she'd be hurling sarcastic comments at everyone around her or chiding Hugo over his dew-soaked trousers…

Taking a deep breath and preparing himself for what was to come, he forced a smile on his face and replied normally… "Good Morning Grandma Bianca! … And how was the morning service?"

Hugo tried to steer the conversation to the topic which was most interesting to the Matriarch.

"Very good. Thank you for asking." The stony expression of the Matriarch beneath her ecclesiastical black shawl further augmented Hugo's guilt and anxiety. He didn't want to deal with the Matriarch's rage.

In the past few years, Hugo had occasionally seen Aladdin and Miss Fox draw the Matriarch's ire. Remembering such incidents made Hugo, who was laden with guilt, shudder despite himself.

[The Matriarch isn't supposed to be aware of my trips to the mountains outside the town… What have I done wrong? ...Or is the Matriarch about to start on another lecture about the Dark Fellowships… But that shouldn't be it either…] Hugo was confused.

The Matriarch kept on staring at Hugo with her eyes narrowed. The voices that could originally be heard from behind the doors had at some point stopped.

The silence was frustrating and only served to intensify Hugo's anxiety further.

"Grandma Bianca! I am off to go and check out the town. I will be back later." Hugo broke the awkward silence after stabilizing his mood.

Hugo sidestepped her figure intending to leave; however, his movements were mirrored exactly by the Matriarch who was still silently glaring at Hugo.

He couldn't weather the Matriarch's cold glare.

"Grandma Bianca! What is it now?" Hugo asked, fidgeting.

The black gowned Matriarch maintained her silence, not bothering to offer any reply.

"Matriarch! Please don't frighten little Hugo. At least, let him into the house first." Tracy's timely words broke the awkward stalemate between Hugo and the Matriarch.

Hugo turned back to find Tracy next to an old man standing just beyond the threshold of the now open double-arched doors. The two figures had at some point mysteriously appeared on the well-trimmed lawn.

[These mystic powers creep me out… Why do people of the Dark Church prefer to make dramatic appearances behind others?] Hugo wondered while observing the elder standing next to Tracy.

The old man had a crown of silver-white hair, tied neatly into a ponytail behind his head. Thick white-eyebrows framed his gray eyes which were as deep as a well of stars. On his chin, grew a well maintained long white beard.

A long flowing pure black robe covered his frail body, adding an ancient and mysterious gravitas to his persona. All of these traits gave him an appearance akin to a starving ghost in a tale told sent to scare young children.

"Hugo! Where are you coming from so early in the morning?" The Matriarch's cold voice finally broke the deafening silence. Hugo could tell that she was standing less than a pace behind him.

"I just went out to explore the town," Hugo replied without turning back. His tone was defensive.

"Young man! You need to learn the basic etiquette of facing a person when they're talking to you. … Especially if that person pays for the food you eat." The Matriarch voiced her displeasure while hitting the back of Hugo's head with her knuckles.

"Matriarch! Please let him first enter the house and have some breakfast…" Tracy's pleading voice once again interjected.

"Tracy! You spoil Hugo too much… Leaving the protection of the dark formation is very dangerous... Especially for a small brat like him… Anyways, let us enter…" The Matriarch sighed, as she led the way back to the house.

The others nodded and silently returned to the house.

[So, this is about my trips outside town. How did they find out about that? I've always been careful… And what is that white-haired old man doing here… Miss Fox would never disclose my whereabouts since I got the token from her friend…] Hugo's mind was working quickly as he followed the others.

He was still acting calm, secure in the knowledge that such a small incident would at most earn him a few days of being grounded in the house.

[That elder is the outlier here… He must have something to do with how the Matriarch found out about my excursions.]

Upon entering the living room of the house that had been his home for the past six years, Hugo's anxiety lessened.

The living room was still dimly lit by the vintage magical lamps hung on the mute colored walls like glowing earrings.

"Close the door behind you." The Matriarch instructed.

Hugo hurriedly closed the door; his expression turning somber. He had noticed that the small windows behind the thick velvet curtains were also closed.

[This isn't a good sign.] Hugo mused.

Concealment arrays were engraved on the surfaces of the walls, window panes, and doors of the house. These arrays blocked any kind of scrying coming from the exterior of the house.

The Matriarch would only close the doors when she needed to discuss something important that required absolute secrecy. And on those rare occasions, Hugo would be politely sent away to go play by himself on the lawn or at the neighbors' place.

[They'll be discussing something serious… However, how does this concern me?] Hugo was confused. He wasn't the least bit joyful at being invited to one of those secret discussions.

[Any more talk may aggravate the situation… I need to first know what this is about.] Hugo deliberated as he sank into the antique couch furthest from the door. He needed to be some distance away from the Matriarch who had just sat down by the door, in her custom-made luxurious rocking chair.

"Hugo! First, eat some breakfast. You're probably very hungry." Tracy's mellow voice once again broke the silence pervading the house.

"Tracy! We need to get to the bottom of this before anything else." The Matriarch rudely interjected.

"Is the situation that grim? ...This is about Hugo leaving the town, right?" Tracy frowned while observing both the elder and the Matriarch.

Hugo was in full support of Tracy's inquiries. [Aren't these elders making a mountain out of a molehill?] Hugo wondered but chose to remain silent.

"Hugo! Just promise Grandma that you won't leave town again..." Tracy continued, her tone diplomatic.

The Matriarch sighed while nodding at the elder standing by the curtained window.

The elder who had been closely observing Hugo sighed before replying with a solemn tone. "Tracy! You should be thankful that I was the one who discovered this. Had it been a bishop or any other clergy of the Dark Church, your son would now be facing purgatory."

Hugo had long been disguised as Tracy's son to hide his identity. His name was even officially changed to Hugo Edwards before arriving at the gates of Giza 6 years ago. Only a few people from Melekar knew his real identity.

[It's just leaving town for God's sake! How can they take it this seriously? …Is Giza a prison?]

"Constantine! Will this bring any serious trouble for little Hugo? He is just a child for Gaia's sake!" Tracy said anxiously.

[Constantine! Isn't that the name of the only blacksmith in Giza…? His other name should be Rinaldo… Yes, Constantine Rinaldo. …How could a blacksmith detect my departure from the city?] Hugo was getting more and more confused.

"The problem is not leaving the town… What is troublesome here is how he bypassed the concealment formation without the permission of the clergy." Constantine answered.

"The token, he used to bypass the formation is very problematic," Constantine added.

"Hugo!" Tracy's tone was no longer mellow. "Where is the token the elder is talking about…?"

"Tracy, you should calm down. Let Constantine first examine if the token is problematic before we even start thinking of anything else." The Matriarch was still frowning while glaring at Hugo.

The Matriarch's glare reminded Hugo of the severity of the situation.

The elder cleared his throat. "Yes, we need to start at the roots," Constantine answered affirmatively before turning towards Hugo.

"Young man… I know that you have been going in and out of Town with the help of an illegally obtained token. First, pass it over." The old man instructed; his tone serious.

Hugo couldn't help but hesitate after hearing the elder's words.

[Why is he so sure that I have the token? Elena said that it was safe to use the token… What went wrong?]

"Hugo, we're not playing games this time. Hurry up and hand over the token." The Matriarch instructed while glaring at Hugo.

Hugo hurriedly fished out the token from one of his khaki pockets and passed it over to Constantine.

The old man received the token and started examining it closely. To Hugo, the man looked like an experienced art critic observing an old painting.

After a few seconds, a deep frown appeared on his face. "As expected, it is his work." The old man sighed while passing the token to the Matriarch.

The Matriarch received the token and examined it closely before sighing and tossing it back towards the old man.

[Why was the token being referred to as his work? What is wrong with using the token to leave the town?] Hugo was going nuts.