A Birthday Surprise

In the night, Jorgen arrived promptly near the Boar and Whistle Inn. Given how the other party could track his movements and had sent the note, it was futile to scout the area ahead of time. Eight o'clock in the evening was usually when the tavern was busiest, which led Jorgen to believe that the other party was concerned for their safety, hence the choice of a crowded location for the meeting. He thought further that Farad had no reason to be so secretive, which somewhat eased his mind. However, this also indicated that this matter might not be related to the most pressing issues at hand. So, a few minutes before arriving at the tavern's doorstep, Jorgen felt quite conflicted.

When he saw that the tavern's front door was tightly shut, with no light seeping through the crack, a sudden wave of anxiety dispelled Jorgen's inner conflict.

He inquired with a shop assistant across the street and received the answer, "It's been closed all day, and no one has been seen leaving."

"What about last night?"

"Last night? Business was good, we closed half an hour later than usual."

This was odd. While Jorgen was a regular at the tavern and familiar with the Langston family, he didn't think they'd be the best targets for blackmail. The other party might need a sufficiently large space, perhaps to display something, but Jorgen wasn't sure. What he did know was that there was certainly more than one person on the other side, and they were trying to take control of the situation. This realization hit him hard when he found himself struggling to decide on the next course of action.

Jorgen headed to the back of the tavern, but the back door was also locked. He looked up and noticed a faint light coming from a second-floor window. However, it turned out to be a reflection of the moonlight. When he returned to the front of the shop, the main door was half-open, with darkness inside.

Perhaps the people inside had been watching him for some time in some way, urging him to make his next move. The half-open door seemed to mock his hesitation. Unable to bear being trapped in this anxious indecision, Jorgen advanced and decided to trust his experience.

With his right hand gripping a dagger, he slowly pushed the door open with his left hand. The corridor leading to the main hall was quite narrow, and the moonlight provided little help. As he entered, he could sense that there was more than one person in the room: he heard the sound of footsteps scraping against the floor, and the sounds of scattered breathing. He even heard someone say, "Quick."

As he entered the main hall, Jorgen knew there were more than one person in the room: he heard the sounds of footsteps scraping against the floor, scattered breathing, and someone saying, "Quick."

In the center of the room, the oil lamp hanging from the ceiling lit up, along with the brightest candle on the counter. The room was quickly illuminated, and Jorgen was able to identify the people inside. The first person he recognized was Elin and a banner hung on the wall behind him, which read: "Jorgen, this is your 35th birthday! And a 10th-anniversary celebration of your collaboration with Elin Tias!"

Apart from Elin, Jorgen also saw the Langston couple standing behind the counter, several colleagues he interacted with regularly, and a henchman descending from a ladder after finishing hanging the light on the ceiling - the same man whom Dalia had helped prepare breakfast this morning.

Dalia was sitting at a table in the center of the room, smiling. The candlelight obediently responded to the glint in her eyes, leaving a soft amber hue on her lips. As she looked at Jorgen, she raised her eyebrows slightly and pursed her lips, as if expressing a mild sense of helplessness for her involvement in this somewhat absurd plan. This sense of helplessness was due to the small element of deception involved, not the core purpose of it all.

Jorgen put away his dagger and looked at Elin. "If I hadn't come..."

Elin replied, "If you hadn't come, our hearts would have shattered into pieces, and there would be no fixing that."

With so many people present and aware of his whereabouts, needing a large space to showcase something, at least these deductions seemed correct to Jorgen.

Shelley Langston, who stood behind the counter, remarked, "I told you, Jorgen would never be scared off by something like this."

Elin extended his right hand to Shelley and wiggled his index finger. Shelley sighed slightly and took two silver coins from her apron pocket, dropping them into Elin's palm. Another patron also shook his head and handed Elin two silver coins.

"What were you betting on?" Jorgen asked.

"I bet you'd come in through the front door, and they were convinced you'd climb in through the second-floor window," Elin said, turning to Shelley for the second part of his sentence. "Now, someone comes in, and they're busy praising someone else's courage. Women, always saying one thing but meaning another."

"What about you?" Jorgen said, looking at Dalia.

"I didn't participate; I was just waiting," Dalia replied. "Happy birthday, Jorgen."

"Thank you," Jorgen said, looking at Dalia and thinking, How did I not see any of this this morning? He had no idea that Dalia was thinking, Glad I acted normal this morning and didn't let him see anything out of the ordinary. This brought her a little victory.

The first to approach Jorgen after Dalia was the young henchman who had just descended from the ladder. "Happy birthday, boss," he said. Normally, he addressed Jorgen as "Mr. Jorgen," but he changed it to the more casual "boss" for this private occasion. After he said it, he felt a bit awkward but didn't regret it. Next was Shelley, whose open and warm smile hadn't changed at all in over a decade; if it weren't for her smile, the Boar and Whistle wouldn't have had such good business. Others followed suit, and in the end, the only one who hadn't offered his greetings was Elin, because he was loudly exclaiming, "Do any of you know how to read? What does the second half of the banner say? So-and-so's 10th anniversary collaboration with Elin Tias. How come no one acknowledges me?"

Never mind whether 35 was a particularly celebratory birthday – Jorgen didn't even know his own birthdate. During the early years of his life, he had no idea that the custom of celebrating birthdays even existed. When he applied for admission to Seven, he turned the order of the code at the top of the registration form and entered his "birthdate." This couldn't be considered his ten-year collaboration with Elin, as they had worked apart for half of those ten years. But that didn't matter. "Thank you all," he said.

Shelley carried out a cake from the kitchen. It was the Boar and Whistle's signature dessert, simple on the outside with a sprinkling of nuts, and it was enough to satisfy everyone present. Besides the cake, there was other food and wine. There was the bright light of oil lamps. And there was an uninterrupted evening. They didn't need anything more.

Later, Jorgen learned that the idea had come from Elin, but the choice of location, the Boar and Whistle Inn, was Dalia's decision. Elin had suggested going to the outskirts or finding an abandoned building, reasoning that "the Boar and Whistle Inn wouldn't fool him," but Dalia had vetoed both options. The "10th-anniversary collaboration" part of the banner was added by Elin with extra paint. They didn't follow any other formal birthday celebration rituals because they knew this wasn't a "celebration," but a "respite." And it was a much-needed night of relaxation, not just for Jorgen but for all these busy people.

Ten minutes later, while Dalia was chatting with Shelley, Elin approached Jorgen and led him to a corner of the room.

"I've heard about Farald's business," Elin said.

"What have you heard?" Jorgen put down the plate with half a piece of cake.

"Hey, don't look so tense. I've just heard there was a meeting, and you were there. Afterward, you became a bit peculiar. I don't know anything else."

Jorgen stared at him, not saying a word.

"Do I look like I'm lying to you?"

"I don't think so. Otherwise, you wouldn't be discussing this with me at all."

"I've lied to you a little. In fact, I also know that Farald has those gravedigger things with him. What exactly are they? We'll probably have to deal with them sooner or later. Perhaps the old man is providing those blackguards to Mardias, and they're busy preparing somewhere we can't see. Aren't you curious?"

"I wouldn't call it curiosity. If possible, I want to know how they've acquired these killing machines. And how to stop them from using them further."

"Alright, cheer up. Don't have that grim look again. Although I'm not clear about what exactly happened, I do know you're fine. Am I right?"

Elin patted Jorgen on the shoulder with his right hand.

"I should thank you for this," Jorgen said.

"Don't be so polite. Half of this is Dalia's doing, and the other half is my excuse to indulge in this stuff." Elin pinched off a small piece of cake with his right hand and popped it into his mouth. "Well, some things are better to be tasted only slightly. Keeping a vague impression is better. Now I feel it's too rough."

Elin burped, and Jorgen instinctively took a step back. He felt eyes on his left side and turned to see Dalia and Shelley looking in their direction and talking without avoiding his gaze.

"Women's little secrets, hmm," Elin said.

Jorgen turned back. "Are you sure no one has told Dalia anything..."

"I've briefed all the informed people here," Elin said. "You can relax; she won't know about Mardias. I think you're the one most likely to slip up."

He wasn't wrong about that. Avoiding the topic would have been fine, but now, as the deceiver, remorse tried to seep into Jorgen's thoughts.

"If you really want to thank me, put all this aside for now. It's your birthday party, after all. Let's have some fun."

Elin walked to the center of the inn, tapped the plate in his hand with an iron spoon, and raised his voice.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as the mastermind behind this birthday party, I know you all admire my careful planning, but I have an even better idea. Listen closely. This is a long-standing family tradition in the Tias family that can turn an almost perfect birthday party into an even more perfect one. The rules are simple. Anyone, I mean anyone, come up here and tell a story about the birthday boy. It must be real, and it must be something everyone can immediately recognize as, 'Yes, that's Jorgen.' Easy, right? Who wants to go first?"