A woman stood on the other side. Shivering, she asked, “May I help you, gentlemen?”
“Do you work here, miss?” he demanded in a deep, commanding tone.
“Yes, sir.”
“Perhaps you could help me.” He sized her up. The woman was so malnourished that she could weigh the same as a ten-year-old in the capital. The fact that she continued to stare down, deflecting his gaze, annoyed him; it was like talking to a wall.
“You may look at me, I have no intention of purchasing a lady as…” He glanced at her dirty, smelly clothes, her short, sickly body. His upper lip raised in a sneer as he failed to hide his look of disgust. “…lovelyas you.”
She shivered a little deeper, as if her body was incapable of looking a man in the eyes.
“What do you know about the murder of twelve men in your establishment about a week ago?”
“It is not my establishment, sir. It is my husband’s, but he passed. Sadly.”
Ranier grabbed the woman by her elbow. “Were you here when it happened?”
She nodded, swallowing. The grip of his fingers on her arm immediately left bruises behind.
“Then your word will do.”
The woman spoke in an almost whisper at first. “A gentleman came to the tavern looking to buy refreshments with two ladies.” She shook her head. “You could say they were not from this part of the country because of their clothes. A woman should never show too much skin in Porjea. It attracts too many eyes.”
Ranier listened to the server without interference.
“Anyway, everything was under control until one of the ladies looked into the eyes of Sir Terrence. That was a huge mistake. She was such a beautiful woman, he would not let the chance of purchasing her go!” The server clicked her tongue.
“Sir Terrence made an offer to the man accompanying them, but he declined it. Suddenly, several other customers joined to bid on the ladies’ virtues. Soon, it became complete chaos.” She glanced up, replaying the scene in her head when a subtle smile appeared.
“I thought the man was going to be killed and the women enslaved, but to everyone’s surprise, he single-handedly defeated all of them within minutes.”
Her smile grew wider; the memory was still so fresh in her mind. A complete stranger had freed twelve women from their abusive husbands—herself included—as he slaughtered the men that day. It was a blessing. “I had never seen anything like that.”
“Did you hear their names, or could you perhaps tell me what they looked like?”
“They did not say their names, no. But one of the women did have the most beautiful red hair and a scar crossing the left side of her face, covering a blind eye with an eyepatch.”
Ranier looked to his right to make sure Keilan was taking notes, then back to the woman across the bar. “I’ve heard allegations that this man was a Royal Guard. Can you confirm it?”
“I cannot be sure. He was not wearing armor as you gentlemen do. But they did arrive in the village in a carriage with the Crown’s insignia carved into it, carrying large barrels.”
Royal Guards didn’t usually wear armor; that was a luxury reserved only for Ranier’s division. The suspect did have access to one of the carriages designated for transporting shipments, though. What would he be transporting this far west of Heldraine?
Ranier tapped his finger on the wood, pensive.
His eyes lit up in realization. The general stepped away from the counter for a while to avoid the server from hearing his conversation with his assistant.
“Who was assigned to transport the shipment from Bryniard this month?” he asked the soldier.
The boy frantically flipped the pages of his notebook, looking for the information. “None of us this time, sir.”
“None of us?” Ranier frowned.
“I mean, no one from the Iron Claw division, sir.”
Ranier’s eyes widened, his voice growing deeper as he spoke. “You are saying the shipment was not carried by an Iron Claw this month?”
Iron Claw was the name given to the highest-ranking division of the Royal Guard. Although the members of the Iron Claws were exceptional warriors, their main attribute was their dubious characters. Under the command of Ranier, the Iron Claw was unique in the Kingdom of Heldraine for being the only division aware of the truth: that Bryniard was inhabited by people rather than monsters.