He had been waiting for a few minutes when Shianni and Soris finally came running to him.

"I heard what happened," Soris said, stopping right in front of him. "I hope your mother is alright."

"I do too," he replied. "We'll search the market, then the alleys."

Soris and Shianni nodded and they followed him through the gate and to the market.

The searched the market all day, but there was no sign of his mother anywhere. They asked around and found that she had headed to the docks

They followed the alleys, always keeping an eye out for Darrian's mother. They walked for about an hour before he saw something further ahead, poking around a corner.

"Wait," he said. "You two stay here. I see something up ahead." He slowly walked forward, taking light steps and controlling his breathing to be as quiet as possible. He didn't know what he would find around the corner, but he was almost sure that it wasn't good. Slowly, carefully, he walked to the corner, taking cover behind it. Slowly, he peeked his head around the corner. He looked around and saw nothing out of the ordinary. When he looked at what lay on the ground, his eyes widened in shock.

"No…" He rounded the corner and ran toward the body that lay, face-first, on the ground, a pool of dried blood surrounding it. He crouched next to the body, rolling it over and examining it. He felt tears form behind his eyes as he realized that the body he had found… was his mother. "No… NO!" He heard a two pairs of footsteps approach him, followed by a short gasp.

He examined her body and saw that she had several deep gashes on her arms and legs, another going right through her abdomen. Her knuckles were split, indicating that she put up a fight. He tried to continue examining her, but his vision began to blur as tears welled up in his eyes.

He felt a hand rest on his shoulder and he hung his head, closing his eyes and holding his mother's body close to him.

"I… I'll find your father," he heard Soris say from behind him. He didn't respond. He just continued holding his mother's body, tears running down his face.

They held her funeral the next day. He couldn't help but notice how peaceful she looked as her pyre was lit. It was a stark contrast to how she was murdered. He was devastated. He didn't know what to do. All he wanted was to find whoever did this and make them pay. He wouldn't be satisfied unless it was he who made them pay. He felt like it was up to him.

His mother taught him how to fight and fight well. He saw no reason why he couldn't use the skills she taught him to avenge her death. She taught him to fight dirty, use anything and everything around him to win. He had grown strong in the years that she had been training him. He was the strongest person in the alienage, though that wasn't saying much considering how elves weren't naturally strong. His mother had taught him to use his strength to his advantage. She also taught him to move faster and think quicker than any foe he could face. She even taught him how to quickly disarm an opponent and use their weapon against them. She taught him how to evade attacks and how to use any weapon he would encounter, whether it be longswords or crossbows. He also knew how to defend himself from any kind of weapon or attack.

If he was going to find his mother's murderer- or murderers-, he needed to find anyone who saw what happened. If anyone saw anything at all.

He heard a pair of footsteps approach him from his left and looked to see his father walking up to him. He looked as if he had aged thirty years in a day. His steps were somewhat sluggish, making it seem like he had weights on his ankles.

"Darrian…," he said, sounding exhausted. "We… should go home. You should… get some rest."

Darrian shook his head. "I do not need any rest, Father," he replied, setting his jaw. "You go home and rest. I will find whoever killed Mother and make them pay."

"Don't. Please, do not make things worse."

"Worse? How could things possibly get worse? Mother is dead and no one else is doing anything about it!"

"There is nothing we can do."

"So you are going to let her killer walk away?! If no one will help me, I will find whoever did this myself!" He balled his hands into tight fists as his anger grew.

"Please, Darrian. I don't want to lose you too."

"I don't care!" He immediately regretted saying that, but he continued anyway. "I would rather die finding Mother's killer, than live without avenging her!"

He started walking toward the market before he felt his father's hand grip his shoulder. "Darrian… please, don't do this."

He shrugged him off. "I need to, Father. I just… I can't let whoever did this get away with it. I'd feel like I failed her if I didn't avenge her." He turned and continued walking to the market, leaving his father standing alone. I will avenge you Mother. I promise.

He returned to the alley where he found his mother. He looked around, trying to ignore the dried pool of blood that still remained. He noticed three humans talking to each, seeming like they were trying to ignore the blood too. He walked up to them, getting their attention as he asked, "Did you see what happened to the woman that was there yesterday?" He pointed to the blood.

They shook their heads, but something was off. He could tell they were lying. Another thing his mother had taught him: how to read people's body language to tell what they were actually feeling or if they were lying. He smiled inwardly at the thought that she was still helping him, even after death.

He asked again, this time with an edge to his tone. Again, they all shook their heads, but they were more hesitant this time. Again, he repeated the question, adding more of an edge to his tone. This time, one of them said, "Uh… yes, but we aren't supposed to say anything."

"Shut it, Lee," another said. "Do you know what'll happen to us if they find out you told anyone?

"You two are both idiots," the third said. "Now he knows that we saw what happened to that elf."

Darrian glared at them. "That 'elf' was my mother," he growled. "Tell me who killed her."

"Sorry, but we can't," 'Lee' said. "I'm sorry to hear that it was your mother, but if we tell you, we're as good as dead."

"I only need one of you alive to get answers." He clenched his fists tightly. "Start talking."

"I… uh…"

His patience was running thin. "Just tell me!"

"Alright, alright! There was three of 'em. They surrounded your mother and started yellin' at her about something, but I don't know what. They pulled out their swords and swung at her, but she was gone before they realized it. She didn't have any weapons, but she put up a real good fight. Gave one of 'em a black eye and broke another's nose." He couldn't help but smile inwardly at hearing that. "Then, one of 'em got her in the arm before another got her leg. She got away from them, but she got hit in the other leg before she was run through."

"Who were they?"

"Uh… one was a skinny fellow with blonde hair. Squirrelly kind of fellow, too. Another was tall with black hair. He looked really strong. I think I seen him near the tavern in the market."

"The Gnawed Noble?"

"That's the one."

"And the third one?"

"He was a head shorter than the tall one and he had red hair. I think he was the leader."

"Any idea where he is?"

Lee shook his head. "I don't know. Wish I could help you."

"Hmm… fine."

He turned and headed back to the market as he heard one of them call out, "What are ya gonna do when you find 'em?" He ignored them and continued walking. Blasted humans…