AN: A rather special chapter since it's from Blayke's point of view for a change. So, yeah, there's a bit of swearing involved :'D Hope you enjoy reading~!

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Chapter 17:

Blayke kept polishing his rapier as he walked out of his room. He was still agitated by the events that occurred in the labyrinth, and in the past few days in general. That Keita brat seriously pissed him off. His confidence, his attitude, his bravado.

Nothing but an obnoxious brat.

Still, he couldn't afford to underestimate him. Just like he couldn't afford to underestimate any of those bandits. They had a guild name, but he couldn't remember it. And honestly he didn't fucking care.

With his weapon as sharp and shiny as he could possibly get it, he slid it back into its sheath and rested it near the front entrance of the guildhouse. He did hesitate in doing so, however. With the break-in that occurred a couple of days ago, he was understandably still a bit edgy.

That bandit was lucky that it was Drayce that walked into the library and not Blayke himself. He'd like to think that he would put up more of a fight. Drayce was protective, and honestly far too nice. He preferred the act of waiting and being on guard. Blayke preferred to strike back, be he the first to strike or the second. Be he would definitely take a swing at someone.

Reckless? Probably. But the momentary satisfaction of hitting the bastard attacking him would be worth it.

"B-Blayke?"

Dropping his rapier in the foyer, Blayke turned at the sound of Caelem's nervous voice. As he laid eyes on the therian, he found him looking as nervous as he sounded; ears folded back slightly and his fluffy red tail hanging low with just the tip twitching in slight agitation.

He had gotten used to seeing Caelem's fluffy tail being all...perky and upright. Even wagging excitedly and happily on occasion.

"What's wrong?" Blayke immediately asked.

Caelem frowned. "I can't find Drayce. I can't even hear him."

"What?" Blayke asked in surprise. "He's not in this office? What about his room?"

Caelem just shook his head. "I checked the library, too. I had...thought that maybe he fell asleep or...something else happened. But I couldn't find him anywhere."

Blayke felt the urge to race upstairs to have a look himself. But if Caelem said he couldn't find Drayce, then he couldn't find him. Going to look for himself would be fruitless. But if he wasn't milling about in the library, getting himself lost in his office, or simply crashing in his room...then where the hell was he?

"Checked the training room?" Blayke questioned.

"Zohar and Kamali are there," Caelem answered. "They haven't seen him either."

God damn it!

If there was one person in this overly roomy guildhouse that would know where Drayce could be, it could only be a certain green-haired caretaker.

"Ashton!" Blayke called out as he all but marched in a purely agitated manner into the kitchen. And as soon as he spied the other man, levelled him with a very pointed question; "Where the hell is Drayce?"

Ashton immediately stopped what he was doing by the kitchen sink to abruptly spin around to face him. "What? He's not in his office?"

"No," Blayke bit out, only truly agitated because he was becoming increasingly concerned. After all those events with those bandit bastards, he had a right to be. "And not in his room or the library, either."

Ashton seemed to share his concern as his face went from mild surprised to this stoic expression of hidden concern. He eyes became hard, steely even as he quickly exited the kitchen, no doubt wanting to see for himself.

Blayke followed him out, only to stop in the foyer when he realised the rest of the guildhouse's occupants were already gathered there. Worry, confusion was rift. And there was nothing Blayke could say that could ease their minds.

Instead, all he could really do was to run a hand through his hair in frustration. "Man, you really do need to keep a constant eye on the guy," he muttered.

Drayce had always been like that. Ever since they were kids. He would just wander off after seeing something that looked interesting. The adults said that he was inquisitive. To Blayke, he was just asking for trouble.

And he couldn't help but feel that Drayce had found himself in trouble...

He wasn't over-reacting. Something was wrong. He felt it in his bones.

A low growl to his right pulled Blayke from his thoughts. He immediately narrowed in on the source of the sound to find Faelen crouched down in the back hallway next to Nashoba. Whom of which was staring directly at the back door. Back arched, fur bristling, and head hung low.

Before Blayke could tell Faelen to get back into the foyer with everyone and ask what it was that had Nashoba agitated, Ashton marched down the stairs. His expression hadn't changed much at all. But his jaw was clenched, and his eyes were narrowed.

"He's not here," Ashton stated simply as he reached the bottom step.

"He has to be here," Blayke argued. "No one saw him leave."

Ashton's expression hardened further. "By the front door."

Blayke frowned. "Out the back? What the hell for?"

The sound of hurried footsteps from the floor above caused everyone to instantly look upwards. Tense. Thankfully, it was just Shashi. However, he looked mildly worried as he hurried down the stairs to be next to Ashton.

"Ashton. The map. It's gone," he said simply.

"What?"

Shashi lifted his hand to reveal a golden key in his palm. "Here. The key I gave to Drayce only a few hours ago."

Ashton stared down at the key wide-eyed. "He...?"

A low growl followed by a snarling bark from Nashoba prevented Ashton from saying anything further. The sound, however, immediately reminded Blayke of Nashoba's previous signs of agitated and he narrowed in on the back of the Crescentia.

"What's wrong?" he immediately asked as he reached out to snare Faelen by the collar of his shirt and pulled him back to where everyone else had gathered.

"S-someone's outside," Faelen nervously stated as he allowed Kamali to take him by the shoulders and essentially hold him close to him to ensure his safety. Nashoba, thankfully, didn't immediately race off to find the source of the sound himself. He stayed, guarded and alert, in the middle of the hallway.

"Another bandit, huh? Caelem, my rapier."

Caelem wordlessly picked up the sheathed weapon and effortlessly threw it across the room toward him. He threw it in such a way that allowed Blayke to catch it in one hand and unsheathed it within a mere second later with the other. Discarding the sheath to the side, he held the handgrip of his weapon tightly as he darted toward the backdoor.

He anticipated a bandit. After everything that happened, it had to be one, right?

If it was that brat...

Yet...they got what they wanted. The map. Drayce. Why the hell would they waste time or effort returning to the scene of the crime, so to speak?

Only one way to find out.

When Blayke reached the backdoor, he immediately stilled. He waited in silence, hoping for another noise to narrow in on. Rushing outside without a clue where the intruder could be was stupid. He may be a man of action, but he wasn't stupid.

He didn't have to wait long. A soft rustling sound was heard. To the right of the door. Likely a few steps away.

So, to prevent their intruder from gaining the upper hand, Blayke acted first. He opened the door wide and darted outside. He quickly positioned himself into a defensive stance, but readied himself to go full on defensive an instant before he needed to. He faced the direction the rustling came from and heard another noise. Another quick rustle.

That second sound allowed him to narrow in on their intruder further.

He had expected that overly confident blue haired kid. Or that sullen, quiet harbinger. Hell, he half expected to find that smug, eyepatch wearing asshole.

What he got was a brounii with short blond hair with red-rimmed glasses, who happened to be hiding behind a stone pillar. And practically trembling with fear.

"Who-?" Blayke mumbled, revealing his surprise.

The brounii peered around the pillar at him. He had green eyes that were brimming with tears. "P-please don't hurt me."

A tearful brounii? He hadn't expected that...

While still in the state of surprise, Blayke made the conscious decision not to lower his weapon. "You're...?"

"Runihura l-left me here," the brounii continued, either accidently or purposely revealing his connection to those bandits. "He said...he said that the d-dragoon said it was ok."

That caused Blayke to lower his guard a fraction as he blinked at the other in surprise. "Drayce..."

What was going on? How much was he keeping from him?

"Blayke?"

Someone quietly saying his name inside caused Blayke to snap out of his surprise and he turned his head to see that the others had gathered close to the back entrance. Likely worried for him and ready to spring into action themselves. And equally likely, surprised by his lack of action. And probably cussing.

"It's a brounii," Blayke replied as he lowered his rapier, but not his guard. "A scared one at that."

Fiorello immediately stepped forward and defiantly brushed past the others. "Allow me," he said simply as he moved to step outside also.

By appearance, Fiorello didn't look that intimidating. And he was a healer, so he would know how to approach someone who was frightened. Even so, Blayke decided to stay close and keep watch. The brounii might be scared because he was alone. Or he was scared because he was being used as bait.

With those bandits, anything was possible.

Fiorello approached the other brounii cautiously. He didn't immediately rush him. He stopped a few steps away. At a respectable distance. "What's your name?" he asked in a surprisingly gentle voice.

The other brounii peered out from behind the pillar. "P-Palash."

"Come inside," Fiorello urged gently with a reassuring smile. "You're safe here."

Palash didn't respond at first. He continued to hide behind the pillar and just stared at Fiorello. He then suddenly swallowed, as if trying to work up the nerve to leave his little spot of so-called safety.

Finally, he did step out from behind the pillar. "O-ok."

Fiorello offered out his hand to the still very skittish Palash, who happened to be dressed similar to that of a botanist, so likely felt a sense of kinship with his fellow brounii. Palash looked at Fiorello's hand, once more swallowing hard.

He then took a hold of Fiorello's hand.

Although still suspicious, Blayke took a step back to allow Fiorello to take Palash inside. He couldn't help but glance at their surroundings cautiously, still half expecting someone else to jump out while they were distracted.

The way that Palash clung to Fiorello, skittishly looking at his surroundings in mild panic, prompted Blayke to assume that the kid wasn't remotely dangerous. No one could fake being that frightened.

Somewhat satisfied that no one else was outside, hiding in the garden and shadows, Blayke backed his way back into the Crescentia. He closed the door and made sure to note that he locked it tight.

He then turned to follow Fiorello deeper into the Crescentia, his rapier close to his side.

"Don't crowd him. Give him some room," Fiorello chided everyone.

Blayke, of course, wanted to interrogate him. But with how skittish he appeared to be; it would lead to nowhere. He'd leave the questioning to Fiorello for now. He'd be better off keeping a close eye on their surroundings and ensuring that everyone else was safe.

"Now, then," Fiorello started as everyone gathered in the foyer once more, and he turned to Palash. "Can you tell us what happened? You need to tell us everything. We're very worried about a friend of ours, you see."

Palash continued to cling onto Fiorello's arm tightly. "U-um, I'll start with what's really important." He took another moment to draw in a deep breath to settle his nerves. "K-Keane took someone hostage. A therian. A-and...he shot another. A pugilist."

Blayke felt his heart drop into his stomach. "A pugilist? No way..."

That could only mean one thing.

Fiorello caught onto the implication, too. Though, he tried not to show it, the tightening of his jaw indicated that he was rightly worried. "Where?"

"I-I don't know," Palash regretfully replied with a shake of his head. "I only know because Runihura t-told me. He..."

Tears suddenly began to pool in his eyes again and his bottom lip trembled. It was obvious that the harbinger was extremely important to him. He was just as worried for Runihura as they were for Drayce's safety.

Runihura must have been pretty desperate to leave Palash alone in the back gardens of the Crescentia.

"Runihura has been trying to protect you, hasn't he?" Kamali asked him gently.

Barely holding back his tears, Palash nodded his head. "K-Keane, he...he's after the dragoon. Drayce."

Blayke immediately tensed as a mild sense of nausea appeared from the pit of his stomach. "Why?"

Again, Palash shook his head. "I-I don't know. He's a treasure hunter. That's all I know."

It wasn't just because he was a treasure hunter...

Damn bastard. He had better not try anything with Drayce!

A sudden and extremely loud knock at the front door caused everyone to jump. Blayke instantly whirled around, rapier in hand as he pushed himself to the front. Though ready for a fight, a part of him was sceptical that one of those bandits would just waltz up to the front door and make such a racket.

Blayke signal everyone to stay back as he moved toward the front door. With one hand on the handle, the other gripping his rapier tightly, he turned the knob and threw open the front door.

He had expected someone to be standing directly in front of him. And that was what he got. But he hadn't expected them to be leaning heavying against the doorframe, cradling their left shoulder as dark read blood snaked down his arm and pooled at his feet.

Salim...

Grimacing in pain, Salim lifted his head and muttered through gritted teeth. "You guys..."

Blayke's rapier was sent tumbling to the floor as he reached out to catch Salim before he fell down along with it. "What the hell happened?" he asked as he felt the pugilist's full weight fall against him.

As Ashton darted forward to help Blayke drag Salim inside, he managed to ground out a short explanation. "Some...bastard with an eyepatch. He has...Tokala."

Damn it!

"Take him to the clinic immediately," Fiorello ordered. "Palash, stay with Kamali. Zohar, help me with this."

"Of course," Zohar said dutifully.

Salim continued to lose blood as they dragged him to the clinic. For someone who was usually energetic, perhaps even obnoxiously so, seeing him so...limp and pale was incredibly unnerving.

With Ashton's help, they laid Salim down onto a cot. As Blayke moved to step away, Salim suddenly lashed out to grab him by the arm. Although it appeared painful for him to do so, he held onto his arm tightly as he looked up at him.

"Find Tokala," he gritted out. "He's in trouble."

...He wasn't the only one.

"Did that bastard say anything?" Blayke asked as he crouched down next to Salim's bed.

Fiorello and Zohar worked feverishly on Salim's arm, of which the pugilist paid little attention to. "Something about a vassal. I think he was...ugh, he was talking about Tokala."

A vassal? Blayke didn't have a clue where to start with that. But maybe someone else did.

Blayke patted the back of Salim's hand in a hopefully reassuring way. "Let Fiorello heal you without complaint. As soon as he's done, we'll go looking for Tokala."

Salim peered up at him through one eye. He gave a short nod of his head in both acceptance and understanding. He then released his hold on Blayke's arm.

Leaving Fiorello and Zohar to do their jobs, Blayke stepped away from Salim's bed and out of the clinic. He wasn't surprised to find that the others had gathered outside the room. Palash with them, holding onto Kamali's hand tightly as he hid behind him.

With his ears flat against his hand and his hands fidgeting nervously in front of him, Caelem stood before Blayke. "What do we do now?"

Good question.

First thing they needed to do was to sort out all the information they had gathered. And figure out just what the fuck was actually going on!

"I think I'm beginning to understand what is happening here," Shashi suddenly uttered. With his hand grasping his chin in a thoughtful posture, he turned to the green-haired earthlain next to him. "Ashton. Do you think-?"

"Absolutely," Ashton cut him off, his expression stoic yet frustration could still be clearly seen in his eyes. "Keane took Tokala and somehow managed to get to Drayce. The map was likely ransom. He used Tokala to ensured Drayce's complete compliance."

"And the damn idiot didn't tell anyone else because he didn't want anyone else to get involved," Blayke added. He couldn't help but utter a low growl as he raked his hand through his hair. "Ugh, I'm beating his ass when I get my hands on him!"

Ashton nodded his head sharply. "Shashi. Information on the map. You said it pointed to a location at one point. They must be heading there."

"Yes," Shashi returned swiftly. "Upper left-hand corner. That's our best lead."

"Right, that's where we'll go," Blayke decided before he turned to the two scholars. "But you two, stay here. Just in case that bastard didn't drag Drayce there. You two can keep an eye out for them in town."

Ashton looked as though he wanted to argue with that, out of sheer protectiveness toward Drayce then for any other reason. Yet, he couldn't find fault in Blayke's line of thinking either.

"What about Salim?" Faelen asked nervously.

"He's probably coming, too." As if they could talk him out of staying put and waiting. "He's seriously pissed off right now."

And he wasn't the only one.

Right. Enough talk. Time for some fucking action.

"Everyone, get ready," Blayke ordered as he moved to the stairs to get his armour from his room. "We've going to beat the shit out of those bandits and get Drayce back."

"Right!"