AN: Somewhat short chapter this week. Kept getting distracted with other story ideas XD That's the problem with writing long stories when you have a short attention span. Anyway, hope you enjoy reading~
Chapter 19:
The heady, pungent smell of smoke and ash lingered over the business district of High Lagaard. The gently falling snow did little to hide the blacken charred remains of the once cheery façade of newly built restaurant.
He was glad that the girls were not with them. The sight would break their hearts.
A few guards were posted around the borders, but it was more to keep others from trespassing. The investigation was short-lived, the source of the blaze discovered in the front of house, in the dining area. As Regina had claimed. From the intensity of the blaze, an accelerant had been used.
The question was, had anyone seen anything suspicious or smelt the accelerant. Something that potent had to have left quite the smell.
Fafnir could only hope that the peoples' dislike for the restaurant and chef did not hamper the investigation going forward. Flavio had admitted to him that, during the night of the blaze, he had overheard some of the murmurings from the gawking public.
And it was not positive.
Fafnir slipped an arm around Flavio's waist and pulled him against him. Flavio managed to gift him a small smile, grateful for the comfort. But it was clear that the sight of their restaurant brought him great pain.
And guilt.
The destruction of the restaurant was bad enough, but the bastard responsible just had to tell Flavio that he did it for 'his' sake.
Flavio took everything to heart. Empathetic and kind to a fault. To find that letter, to read those words after watching their very own restaurant burn in front of them, devastated him. He blamed himself. As if he had done something to cause it, to encourage such disgusting, such deranged behaviour.
Of course, he had done no such thing.
Bertrand moved to stand on the other side of Fafnir and shook his head at the sight. "It's going to take months to rebuild," he muttered.
Longer when the blizzards finally rolled in.
"I'm going to see if Auspice's recipes can be salvaged." Flavio looked toward the blackened remains of the back kitchen and frowned. "They were stored in the kitchen. I hope they managed to survive."
Fafnir also turned his attention to the part of the restaurant that managed to remain standing. It was not as damaged as the dining area, which had all been levelled to the ground. But Fafnir did not trust the charred pillars and support beams. He preferred not to enter, yet he knew that they needed to find the recipes.
"Let's be quick."
The pungent smell of soot, ash, and stagnant water assaulted their senses as they carefully made their way through the debris. The layout of the kitchen was barely recognisable, covered in soot and charred remains. But recognise it, they did. The solid stone of the benches, cupboards, and the stoves kept the structure sound and sturdy, and prevented the flames from causing too much damage.
Fafnir's only concern was to the wooden support beams above their heads.
Flavio stumbled his way over to a preparation area, where a cupboard was built into the stone wall. Though the wooden doors were charred black, flakes and ashes breaking off under his fingertips as he pried the doors apart, items within bore less damage.
And the only thing of worth inside was a metal box.
With the cupboard itself in a fragile state, Flavio carefully removed the case and placed it upon the stone bench before him. He flicked the latches holding the lid in place, of which some were easier to remove than others.
As the lid creaked open, Flavio breathed an audible sigh of relief.
The container had been damaged from the extreme heat; the metal warped and heavily distorted. But the fragile parchments inside remained unharmed. The fireproof container did was it was intended.
It was lucky they had the foresight to keep the fragile and priceless recipes in such protective containers.
"I don't want to touch them as I have soot on my hands, but they seem to be in good shape," Flavio announced.
Fafnir was also relieved. Good. Not all was lost. If they had Auspice's recipes, they could start again.
"Now, let's get out of here."
Flavio closed the container and picked it up, and the three of them carefully but quickly made their way out of the ruins and out into the streets once more. They stepped out onto the sidewalk and Flavio knelt down, placing the container by his feet. Fafnir reached into the pocket of his coat to pull out a handkerchief and handed it to Flavio. He had predicted that they would get their hands dirty together digging through the ash and soot.
"Thanks," Flavio said simply as he received the handkerchief, gratefully removing the inky black soot from his hands.
"I was told you would be here."
Ah, good. Hrothgar was to be another welcoming distraction for Flavio. In fact, a smile immediately made its way upon Flavio's face the moment he recognised the redheaded protector's voice.
"Hrothgar, hey," he greeted as he stood up.
Hrothgar returned the smile before he turned his gaze toward the landscape behind them. And he grimaced at the sight, no doubt from the same thought that had popped through their heads when they first laid eyes on the blacken rubble; it looked worse under the light of day.
Still, it had not been fully razed to the ground, so they should be thankful for minor blessings.
"Hana told me you would be visiting today," Hrothgar explained. "I don't suppose you plan on sorting through the ashes, do you?"
"Not today," Fafnir immediately replied. "We just wanted to check on a few essentials."
"Thankfully, Auspice's recipes survived the fire," Flavio added as he motioned to the container at their feet. "That should ease some of Regina's pain."
Hrothgar seemed surprised at that revelation, as anyone would be who had witnessed the fire that night. "Oh, good," he said, relief evident in his tone. "At least now you all have a chance to start again."
That was what they were hoping for.
As Flavio knelt down to wipe away some of the soot that marred the container keeping the recipes safe, Hrothgar turned his gaze toward Fafnir and caught his gaze. And subtly nodded his head to the side with a quick, subtle turn. The universal signal that he wished to speak with him in private.
Bertrand caught onto the quick glance as well, and turned to Flavio. "Hey, kid, let's check on the storage shed real quick."
Unlike him and Bertrand, Flavio had not caught the subtle gesture, so was somewhat taken aback by the suggestion. He furrowed his brow slightly and looked toward Fafnir, a silent questioning look in his gaze.
Fafnir did not want to lie to him, but he also did not want to worry him as it was clear that Hrothgar had information or knowledge that he did not want Flavio to know just yet. At least, he did not want to inform him publicly.
"It's fine," Fafnir immediately answered his silent question. "But don't wander from my sight. Check on the Grimoire stones, too. And keep any you think might come in handy. I want to interrogate Hrothgar about some of the locals, anyway."
That brought a small smile to Flavio's lips and he relaxed. "Don't get too intense."
"I can't promise anything."
Flavio idly folded the handkerchief atop of the container before he pushed to his feet and moved to follow Bertrand, toward the more damaged part of the restaurant. Though the damage was far greater, there was no threat of collapse, or other imminent danger. And Fafnir was able to keep them both within sight, even as he turned his attention toward Hrothgar.
"Something happened?" he asked.
Hrothgar shifted slightly on his feet as his gaze also flickered in Flavio's direction. "I walked past his room just to see if his 'admirer' had decided to deliver anymore gifts, and I happened to find something."
Fafnir immediately frowned. "Flowers?"
Hrothgar shook his head. "Worse. A venomfly was pinned to his door with a knife."
A prickly feeling caused the hairs on the back of Fafnir's neck to rise and his eyes abruptly narrowed in protectiveness.
"I don't know who else saw it, but I quickly disposed of it," Hrothgar continued as he plunged his hand into the pocket of his coat. "But there was also a note attached to it."
Hrothgar then revealed a folded piece of cardboard, just like the previous notes that Flavio had received before. The very same, if Fafnir was to guess. And he did not need to guess who the sender was.
Fafnir glanced over in Flavio's direction, reassured that he was busy with Bertrand, before he retrieved the note from Hrothgar. He unfolded it and found a black scrawl across the white cardboard, hastily written.
'Why are you surrounding yourself with such venomous people? I'll be more than enough for you.'
Fafnir snorted. Ironic, coming from a guy that stabbed a knife into a door after just torching a building. But, sure, he was the good guy.
"This," Hrothgar motioned toward the burnt out remains of the restaurant, "was clearly an attempt to isolate Flavio from you."
Fafnir nodded his head grimly and folded the note in half. "Hn. They had hoped his guilt would cause him to flee."
Where they would then pounce, using his vulnerability against him.
Thankfully, Flavio was far smarter than that. He was selfless, a martyr at times, but intelligent.
Fafnir slipped the note into his pocket. "Where's the knife?"
"I stashed it in my room for now."
"Good, thank you." Fafnir uttered a sigh as he raked a hand through his hair, his gaze trailing over toward Flavio once more. "I'm staying in Flavio's room now. From what I understand, this is the first time they've done something like this in broad daylight."
Hrothgar glanced around at the charred remains of the restaurant and wrapped his arms around himself as a cool breeze wafted through. "Flavio does fear an escalation."
"They will need to one-up arson, though," Fafnir muttered.
"It can be done."
Fafnir sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "That's what I'm afraid of."
What could be done, though? Fafnir did not possess the mind of a deranged stalker. To go from leaving flowers to burning down a building showed that the guy was a maniac. What was the next deranged step? Break and enter?
…Murder?
Fafnir released another sigh and rubbed his hand roughly over his face. If only the bastard would just show his face. So he could level a punch at it. Facing a threat head-to-head was far easier than having someone lurking around in the shadows.
He had hoped that Flavio's little admirer would keep low for a while, but that was hoping for too much.
"Rumours have already begun to spread," Hrothgar revealed. "That this is an act of arson."
"What are they saying exactly?"
"All sorts of things, frankly."
A lot of conspiracy theories about Regina and her connection to high society, no doubt.
"Two things are constant, though," Hrothgar continued. "That it was deliberately lit. And that someone in town is responsible."
"I don't suppose they're taking too kindly to that?" Fafnir inquired.
Hrothgar shook his head. "Despite the distain that some held for…a certain someone, the main consensus is that this act is outrageous, and the one responsible must be found. And punished."
Fafnir hoped that would prove to be a positive for them. That others, explorers and locals alike, would be cautious, keeping both an ear and eye out for any information that might lead them to the one responsible. But with everyone keeping a critical and watching eye out might prompt their little stalker to keep a low profile. Something that was both a good and bad thing.
If the guy got scared and skipped town never to be seen again, Fafnir would be fine with that. But there would always be that lingering feeling of doubt and fear that they could return at any time, to finish what they started.
But the added public pressure could cause the maniac to up their antics in retaliation. Which would ultimately lead to violent, possible deadly confrontation.
Something had to happened. Something had to give.
And Fafnir was not sure what he should prepare for.
"Is everything ok?" Flavio's voice pulled Fafnir from his musings.
"We're just talking about the rumours about the restaurant," Fafnir immediately replied. "Apparently, word has already spread that it was an act of arson."
Bertrand uttered a seemingly long-suffering sigh and folded his arms across his chest. "That doesn't surprise me. I just hope it doesn't hamper the investigation with false leads and accusations."
Yeah, that was another fear. Some might try to take advantage of the situation to point fingers at their enemies. Some may even try to politicise it. Or perhaps even lay claim to the act to spite the Dubois family.
Never let a good tragedy go to waste, after all.
"Mr Flavio, we're so sorry about what happened to your restaurant."
The new voice who interjected into the conversation was new to Fafnir. But to Flavio, they must have been familiar as a small, friendly smile immediately made its way to his lips. He turned away from Fafnir and others, and to where another small group of what appeared to be explorers stood. At the forefront was a young man dressed in clothes similar to that of a medic.
"Hey, guys," Flavio greeted easily, without a hint of nervousness, as he stepped toward them.
He then began to converse with them, his posture comfortable and relaxed. Not at all nervous or even mildly annoyed. He obviously knew the group before him, even though Fafnir did not. Likely a guild he had encountered while working the front of the restaurant.
"He's quite popular," Hrothgar suddenly noted.
Fafnir scrunched up his nose. Unfortunately…
Hrothgar unexpectedly chuckled as he patted Fafnir's shoulder and leaned in to speak directly into his ear. "You don't have to worry about this guild. The landsknecht is protective. Much like you, honestly. If you ever need someone to help you 'protectively' snap some necks, he's your man."
Fafnir's gaze flickered toward the landsknecht that stood directly behind the medic and noted his protective stance; the sharp gaze that was inspecting their surroundings, the posture that appeared relaxed but could be pulled into a battle stance in a split second.
Good. Other protective explorers were always reassuring.
After a few moments of chatting, Flavio bid the small group goodbye and waved them off. He quickly joined them with a small smile on his lips.
"He gave me a Refresh Grimoire." He lifted his hand to reveal a pristine Grimoire stone in the palm of his hand. "He said it'll be useful for headaches or any lung complaints should we find ourselves digging around in the soot and ash again. It's a powerful one, so it'll definitely come in handy."
Hm, Fafnir supposed Flavio being popular amongst some of the explorers was not all that bad. If push came to shove, it was reassuring to know what others would come to his defence if needed.
"Let's return to the inn for now," Fafnir stated as he glanced up at the sky. "The snow is starting to get heavy."
Flavio carefully placed his newly gifted Grimoire stone into his coat. "What should we do about the storage shed?"
"The guards have been ordered to watch over the location until decisions have been made as to what to do with it," Hrothgar explained.
"There's too much to store at the inn for now, anyway," Bertrand added, though a frown sat upon his lips. "The Grimoire stones, on the other hand, we'll need to come back for."
Fafnir arched an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"
Flavio looked over at him and gave him a subtly uneasy smile, thought outwardly tried to appear nonchalant. "They're been disturbed from where we usually keep them. Must have been disturbed during the chaos, I guess."
Flavio did not necessarily believe that, and neither did Fafnir. But…it was possible. They could not write off the coincidence. Not until they sort through the stones themselves. To see what was missing, if anything.
"Let's grab those stones, then. And then get back to the inn."