Earnest Guidance

Walking with haste through city streets and tucking away when strangers appear, the party attempts to keep themselves concealed in the darkness of a still lingering night sky. Dodging streetlights and lit-up windows, they press on. Leaving Lee to guide their way. As they brush through an alley, Lee puts up a hand, signaling for them to stop. He then presses himself up against a cold cobble wall and the others do the same. Soft clops come from where the alley meets the main streets once again, and shortly after it is heard, the sound comes to pass. Marne studies the figure as it passes, and two others that do so shortly after. Each wears a similar attire to their own.

"Bethel Nostrum?" He asks in a hushed tone. He receives nothing more than a nod from Lee, who gives him a swift glance before motioning for them to follow once more.

Stepping out of the shadows and onto a sidewalk, they pass a horsedrawn carriage, then another. Each with their animals still fastened at their fronts. Yuler pats at the last they come to pass then runs her hand down the length of its body while making a shushing sound as their presence begins to spook it.

"Here. Quickly!" Lee opens one of two doors at the front of a rather tall building, which stands one floor higher than all those around it.

As Marne and Yuler look over the structure, a plain, simple sign over the door reads "Acies Inn". Asking nothing and simply doing as they're told, the pair follow Hael inside. Finding their feet planted on floorboards, they take the tricorns from their heads and look around an empty lobby. A desk at the far end sits vacant and many shelves of books line the walls. The only light source to be seen is a candelabra, which sits in front of the inn's forward-facing windowsill. As Lee pulls the door shut, a small bell atop it rings out, sending chimes through two opposing stairwells at either side of the desk. Now removing the hat from atop his head, a voice stills his motions.

"Lee? Hael? Is... that you?"

The party, excluding Lee, turns to face the desk. A door from just beyond it has been opened partways and peaking out from behind it is an older man. His white, wispy hair and a deep blue eye surrounded by aged skin are all that can be seen of him for a moment before he pulls himself out further to face the visitors.

"I... I can't believe it."

"It's good to see you again, Master Parcely."

"You are familiar?" Asks Yuler, looking about the disheartened faces of Hael, Lee, and the innkeeper.

"Indeed." Lee sighs deeply before coming to face the man and approaching the desk.

"What brings you back to Maciofim?" The older man steps further into the room, allowing the door behind him to remain ajar as he rests his shakey palms against the desk. "Last I heard you had fled The Bethel's ranks and ventured off to join some... resistance."

"That is true." Confirms Lee, now resting his knuckles against the same surface, opposite of Master Parcely. "Unfortunately, even those days have come to pass."

"I... could have only assumed so, but why have you returned? This city is no safe haven to those who betray The Bethel."

"Perhaps not," Lee begins with a hint of shame in his voice, "but you are."

Master Parcely slides his hands back towards his body, allowing himself to stand entirely upright as he questions Lee's words.

"We're in need of a place to take shelter. Our visit will remain as brief as we can make it, I assure you." Hael holds her head up high as she speaks to the man, offering him her respect. Yet, pity is all she is given in return.

"Oh... what became of you, Nostrum Hael? Why do you wear bindings over those eyes?"

Hael falls silent and a visible gulp is seen just as her chin begins to fall once more. Noticing this, Lee brushes her arm and she takes a step back.

"Master Parcely, if I may-"

"Please," the man raises a hand and shuts his eyes for a moment, then opens them once more and continues, "I no longer go by that title."

"Parcely...," Lee seems to choke on the name as if the title is all that the man has ever been, "we need your help."

The man looks to the window, just above the flickering candlelight. Then, sighs and bows his head.

"Whatever it is that has brought you back, I assure you, it is not worth pursuing. I wish to not ask questions, nor be given the answers to questions I have not asked. But, know this; If trouble follows, I must remain compliant with the law."

Lee and Hael shuffle uncomfortably for a moment, but a deep understanding is clear in their expressions as the man turns to face the wall. Collecting two sets of keys that briefly jingle between his fingers, he sighs once more and turns back to his guests. Passing them off to Lee, he looks over Hael's shoulder and meets the eyes of Yuler.

"And what do I make of your followers?"

Lee licks his outer lips and turns his eyes to the floor. Then, to those of Yuler and Marne as his grip on the keys tightens.

"It would be against your wishes to answer, M-... Parcely."

The old man smiles faintly, allowing a pair of creases to form in his cheek.

"Always the one to obey even the most difficult orders." With this, Parcely steps away from the desk and quietly makes his way back into the room. Ensuring he shuts the door this time.

Without offering even a moment for questioning, yet knowing it is coming, Lee reads an engraving on one key, passes the second set off to Marne, and walks towards the stairwell at their right. With Hael and Lee nearly out of sight, Marne and Yuler exchange silences. Then, Marne reads the engraving of the key he had been given, and the pair head off to the left.

******

A small room with a single bed, stand, worn chair, and window greets them as Marne swings the door open. Raising a lip with disappointment, Marne moves towards the chair, pulls his cleaver free of its holster, and knocks it against the floor as he leans it against the wall and takes a seat.

"Fortunately, it's much cozier than it looks." Wiggling into his nest, he looks to the ceiling and listens as Yuler strikes a match. Briefly after, a lantern atop the bedside stand illuminates the room.

"What do you make of it?"

"Parcely, you mean?"

"Of course." Placing her ax against the table, Yuler removes her coat and lays against the firm mattress. Not bothering to cover herself up with the blanket that had been lain out over it.

"I can only assume he must have been a teacher of theirs during their time under The Bethel. What sort, I couldn't be sure."

"Perhaps he was the one to train them as Nostrum?"

"Perhaps." Marne allows his eyes to fall shut but attempts to keep the conversation going. "I know very little about The Bethel's ranks. Belial and myself... we never truly made it that far."

"I forget often that you were once a part of it all."

"I wouldn't say we ever truly were." Marne falls silent for a moment as he thinks about all he had been taught by The Bethel before speaking once more. "It is also quite likely that he is simply the one who brought them in. Part of a recruitment attempt?"

"Could have been." Yuler turns to one side, allowing herself to face the black skies beyond the window. "I've never seen either of them seem so beside themselves in the past. Nor, have I heard them speak the title 'Master'."

"We will have to ask them about it all another time." Marne returns his hat to the top of his head and slides it down over his face. "It may not even be worth the time to question."

Yuler stifles a laugh and buries her face in her arm. Attempting to shield her eyes from the light of the lantern.

"I've yet to come across anything not worth questioning when it comes to those two. Every bit of their lives seems to be a secret, and yet, we're led to believe that we know them. How could that be?"

Marne, lacking any confidence in an answer to this, simply shrugs and lets his mind wander. Before long, Yuler is left alone in the room with nothing more than Marne's soft snores and her own thoughts to accompany her.

"Could I truly say that I am any better than them when I know what I know? How long must I keep Hael's condition from Marne, and for what? Why must it be kept a secret when such a risk should be known by all who travel with her?"