-Enne-
As suggested, the two Hunters returned to the Reil’anum house, arriving as the sun crept to its highest position at midday.
Despite both wanting a slow morning to rest and relax, Rel had put them to work, helping with various tasks around the embassy. Kuro had welcomed a pair of black cloak hunters that arrived early in the morning, and helped them get settled into the room they’d be staying in, while Jarou helped clean out another two rooms that were freed that morning. Kuro found the work to be novel, but he did not envy the people who did that sort of thing all day. He’d much rather be outside, preferably either exploring or fighting. He got bored after only a couple hours, he dreaded thinking about what doing this all day would be like.
There was still work to be done when they left, but thankfully Rel understood that they had an appointment to keep. So here they were, face to face with one of only two Nobles Kuro hadn’t met yet. Reil’anum had brought them inside, and guided them to a room near the middle of the house. The room had no windows, and had walls padded with a material that supposedly helped stop any sound from leaving the room. The only other person was the Lady’s head of staff, a middle aged woman with greying hair and deep violet eyes. This room provided an interesting contrast to the rest of the house. Where this room felt cold, with light grey walls, and bright white lights overhead, the rest of the house had much warmer colors spread throughout.
“My apologies for missing the two of you yesterday,” Lady Enne Reil’anum said, sitting down, crossing one leg over the other. She was dressed in a long, simple looking purple dress that went well with her long pink hair, which she kept in a neat braid. “I was trying to assist my sister, Ibiryn, with finding Aes. We were unsuccessful yesterday, but we found some promising leads.
“Anyway, that’s not what you’re here for, right? You’re looking for information about the Necromancer and who they’re targeting?” She didn’t wait for a response from the Hunters, and just kept going. Kuro was impressed by her energy. “My information network has identified who the Necromancer is, and who he is targeting. There is a slim chance they are wrong, of course, but the report they gave me indicates a ninety-five percent chance of them being right. I’ve done my own digging into the person in question, and I’m inclined to agree.
“The Necromancer is a young man named Hiris, a former student at the School of Towers, who advanced all the way to the twelfth tower before leaving of his own accord. The target is not actually one of the Lords, but instead one of their heirs. Specifically, Seres Yun’anum. His specific motivation is still unknown, but we have a handful of theories, and many more possibilities. What we do know is the two have met in the past, and our young Necromancer has been known to speak out of his hatred for the Yun’anum family amongst his classmates and friends. Combined with reports of him leaving for and arriving in the Royal City matching up with the timing of the warning letter being sent, my team and I feel confident that it’s him.”
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Kuro leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. “That’s a lot of information to take in. Could you not have passed this information along to the Hunter embassy before leaving to investigate Ten’anum’s disappearance?”
Enne chuckled a little, then said with a shrug “I had intended to, believe me. But after hearing from Ibiryn that Aes had disappeared, I had to act quickly. This isn’t the first time he’s disappeared like this, and he’s shared with me the location of a few of his safehouses. I had to see if he was at any of them before he’d leave for his next location.”
“And? Did you find him?” Jarou asked, leaning forward.
Enne shook her head, “There was no sign of him in any of the safehouses he told me about, not even evidence he’d stopped by any of them recently. I’ve already passed this information along to Ibiryn, but this means he likely isn’t in Royal City or the surrounding area. Where he went and why are still complete mysteries to us.”
A silence hung over them as the Hunters considered. Enne was the one to break the silence. “The Necromancer is supposed to attack tonight, right? You should probably go start preparing to defend our little heiress. A fair warning - though you probably already know - Sar’en is unlikely to accept your help. I implore you to give it anyway. He can be a crotchety old man, but he’s still my brother, and Seres is my niece. I’d hate to see anything bad happen to either of them. Not to mention the chaos that could ensue if one of them died.”
“Why does Lord Yun’anum dislike Hunters so much?” Kuro asked.
“It’s a long story, but he blames you guys for his wife’s death. Not unjustly either, if you ask me, anyway. Regardless, he can’t exactly stop you if a Necromancer is involved. That’s kind of exclusively your territory.”
Jarou stood up, “I see. Thank you for your help and cooperation.”
Remaining seated, even as Kuro also stood, Enne smiled and said, “Of course. Glad I could be of service. If I, or my information network, finds anything else regarding the Necromancer or Lord Ten’anum, I’ll send it your way.”
The Hunters gave a small, grateful bow, and the Lady’s head of staff saw them out. Once outside, the two decided to get something to eat before heading to the Yun’anum household once more.
They arrived as the sun was setting, having killed a couple hours wandering around the City, putting off their return to Yun’anum’s overly corporate and sterile feeling complex. Kuro thought to himself, observing the buildings that surrounded the main house, and the various paths they formed that their opponent could take to attack.
“I suppose we should let the Lord of the house know why we’re here,” Jarou’s voice was filled with a sense of wanting to do anything but what he’d said.
Kuro felt the same way. Yun’anum had been rude to them the previous day, and he expected he’d be rude again today. That said, it wouldn’t do to begin putting up defenses without his knowledge and consent. Kuro sighed his agreement, and walked up the stairs to the front door and knocked.
“You again? What do you want?” Kuro was surprised that Yun’anum himself answered the door.
Kuro cleared his throat before speaking, “Our investigations have led us to believe that you and your family - your daughter Seres, specifically - are the Necromancer’s target. We have come to provide defense and support. With your consent, we’d like to begin setting up defensive measures on the premises.”
Yun’anum made a face that made it clear he was loath to accept their help, but he closed his eyes and said, “Very well. Even I am not foolish enough to turn down help in situations like these.” He turned around and went to close the door. He stopped when there was barely a crack, and Kuro could barely make out him looking back, “I’m counting on you to protect Seres. Do not let me down.” The door shut with a click, followed by the click of the lock being turned.
“You can count on us,” Kuro muttered, turning to go back down the stairs to where Jarou waited. “We have permission. Let’s start making a plan.”
