Chapter 694: The South Dock

The South Dock

Kael read the message a second time while Mara finished her coffee. The report stated that Oren had arrived at the warehouse on the southern end accompanied by the scarred man and an employee from his own office. The three had entered shortly before dawn. No one had left since then, and the Beltram guard kept two men watching each access street without approaching the building.

"Now I would go," said Kael, folding the paper and handing it to Mara. "If they were only waiting for a shipment, they wouldn’t need to change warehouses before dawn. There’s something in that second building Oren didn’t want to keep together with the registered operation."

Mara finished her tea and stood up. "I can requisition transportation along the southern road. If we leave in ten minutes, we’ll reach Beltram before the end of the afternoon."

Sylphie looked at Kael before answering. "First the Vharak. We promised to check her paw this morning."

"First the Vharak," Kael agreed without hesitation. "Beltram has already spent the entire night waiting. It can wait another hour."

The creature was where they had left her. When they reached the rock formation, she was already outside the cave, lying on the stone and warming her body beneath the sun. She raised her head when the three appeared, but did not growl. The hind paw was still raised, although the swelling had visibly decreased.

Sylphie approached to the distance the animal had accepted the previous day and crouched down. "It’s better," she said, examining the wound before slowly extending her hand. "I’ll need to get closer today."

The Vharak bared her teeth, but did not retreat. Sylphie allowed a small amount of Natural Energy to escape through her fingers, noticeable enough for the creature to feel the same flow used in the previous treatment. The growling stopped after a few seconds. She moved forward, touched the ground first and only then brought her hand closer to the paw.

"If you try to tear my arm off, I’ll consider that a negative evaluation," Sylphie commented while examining the cut.

Kael remained beside her. "She probably doesn’t understand the threat."

"It wasn’t for her."

The Vharak allowed the contact. Her body stiffened when Sylphie touched near the deepest area, but no paw came toward her. The elf worked for a few minutes, cleaning the wound again and using mana only to reduce the inflammation and accelerate the closing of the edges.

"She doesn’t need to be taken to the outpost," Sylphie concluded, standing up. "She needs food, water and another two or three days without putting strain on that paw. After that, she’ll probably leave on her own."

Mara looked at the creature. "And if she stays?"

"Then you decide based on what she does," replied Kael. "So far, she hasn’t attacked a village, herd or traveler. Don’t turn presence into a crime."

Mara nodded. "The guards can keep the area isolated."

Kael looked at the Vharak one last time. The animal followed his movement, but remained lying down. That was enough. Less than twenty minutes later, they were already on the road to Beltram.

The port city was considerably larger than Arvend. Beltram had grown around a wide river that passed through ancient walls and ended in a collection of docks where commercial barges shared space with smaller vessels coming from the coast. When Kael, Sylphie and Umbra arrived in the middle of the afternoon, a guard captain named Revan Ors met them before they even entered the commercial district.

"The three are still inside," said Revan as they walked along a side street parallel to the docks. "Oren, the scarred man and the employee. But a fourth person appeared a little over an hour ago. Woman, around forty, blue coat, arrived in an unmarked carriage. She entered through the back door."

"Did any of you recognize her?" asked Kael.

"No. But we recognized the carriage. It belongs to a transport company called Halden & Sons. They move cargo between Beltram, Vareth and smaller western cities."

Sylphie looked at Revan. "Live animals?"

"Those too. Legally."

"Then we have a possibility," she replied.

Revan nodded. "I thought the same thing."

The second warehouse stood away from the busiest part of the port. It had no identification on the facade and used only a wide door facing the river and another smaller one on the side. The guard kept men mixed among dockworkers and wagon drivers at enough distance not to draw attention.

Kael did not draw his sword. "Underground exit?"

"None known," replied Revan. "One door to the dock, one to the street and two high windows."

Umbra was already disappearing beneath their feet. "I’ll check."

Kael waited less than a minute before her voice returned from his own shadow. "Four people in the back office. Two armed men near the main area. There are four cages."

Sylphie became serious. "Empty?"

"Three."

Kael looked at the shadow. "And the fourth?"

Umbra took a second longer. "There’s something small inside. Alive."

That eliminated any reason to continue watching from outside.

"Revan, your men enter through the doors. No one fires unless there’s a clear threat," said Kael, already walking toward the warehouse. "Sylphie comes with me. Umbra stops anyone from escaping through the back."

Revan gave a short signal. The guards began moving without shouting or exaggerated formation. Kael reached the side door first and found it locked. He did not waste time looking for a key. He gripped the handle, applied enough force to break only the latch and entered.

Two men were near the central crates. One reached for his sword.

"No," said Kael, looking directly at him. "You don’t want to turn a search into a fight."

The man noticed the uniformed guards appearing behind them and moved his hand away.

Revan took over from there. "Beltram Guard. No one leaves until we’re finished."

Kael and Sylphie continued.

The cages were behind a wooden partition. They were made of iron, with sliding plates that completely blocked the view when closed. Two had recent signs of use. The third was clean. The fourth contained a creature slightly larger than a dog.

Sylphie stopped.

It was a young quadrupedal bird, covered in brown and gray feathers, with front legs ending in claws. A thin chain kept one of its legs attached to the bars, and a small crystal fastened to its collar glowed faintly red.

"Another draining device," said Sylphie, approaching the cage. "Much smaller."

Kael looked at the other cages. "Then the Vharak wouldn’t have been the first shipment."

The office door opened at that moment.

Oren Vale appeared first. He was a thin, well-dressed man with gray hair combed back. Behind him stood the hunter with the scar on his face. The woman in the blue coat remained inside the room, while the third employee stood beside a table covered in papers.

Oren examined the guards and then Kael. "May I know why my property is being invaded?"

Revan answered before Kael. "Suspicion of illegal trafficking of live animals, use of prohibited containment equipment and connection to unauthorized hunting in Arvend."

Oren kept his expression controlled. "I know nothing about Arvend."

The scarred man looked at him.

It was small.

But Kael saw it.

"He knows," said Kael.

Oren turned his eyes toward him. "Excuse me?"

"Your man just looked at you when Arvend was mentioned," replied Kael, without raising his voice. "You chose poorly who to bring to a conversation where you intended to lie."

The hunter stiffened.

The woman in the office slowly exhaled.

"This is over," she said.

Oren turned around. "Lysa."

"No," replied the woman, removing her gloves. "I told you I wouldn’t risk my license if your collectors got caught. One of them did."

Revan entered the office. "Your name."

"Lysa Halden," she replied. "Operations Director of Halden & Sons."

Sylphie looked at the bird trapped in the cage. "And you transported this knowing what it was?"

"I transported animals with documentation provided by Oren," replied Lysa. "If the documentation was false, that’s another matter."

Kael approached the table. There were three open ledgers. He did not touch any of them before Revan arrived.

"Can you seize these?" he asked.

"Now I can," replied the captain.

Oren lost some of his composure. "This is absurd. You have no proof that any of those records are illegal."

Revan opened the first ledger.

He did not need to search for long.

Each line listed species, weight, destination and value. Several entries were accompanied by codes instead of buyer names.

Sylphie read one of the pages over his shoulder. "Vharak. Adult female. Four thousand crowns."

Oren did not answer.

The next line indicated the expected arrival date.

That morning.

Kael observed the following columns. "Destination: C-12."

Revan flipped through other pages. The same code appeared six times in three months.

"Who is C-12?" he asked.

Oren’s expression hardened. "I don’t know."

Lysa laughed without humor. "Now you’ve decided to die stupid too?"

Oren turned toward her. "You should stay quiet."

"I should have refused your contract two months ago," replied Lysa, now looking at Revan. "C-12 isn’t a person. It’s a delivery route. The shipments go to a private depot east of Vareth. I’ve never seen the final buyer."

Kael continued looking at the records. "How many creatures?"

Revan began counting the entries.

Lysa answered first. "Eleven transported by my company. Maybe more through others."

Sylphie turned completely toward her. "In how much time?"

"Four months."

The silence became heavier.

It was not a network capable of threatening a kingdom. It was not an ancient project, an imperial conspiracy or some legacy of the First Archive.

It was commerce.

Organized, profitable and large enough to maintain hunters, equipment, document forgery and transportation between cities.

That was enough.

Kael looked at Revan. "You don’t need me to arrest any of them."

"No," replied the captain. "Not with these ledgers."

Oren took a step forward. "You think you can simply—"

Umbra appeared behind him and placed a dark hand on his shoulder.

"Yes," she replied.

Oren stopped.

Revan called the guards. The scarred hunter tried to retreat along the side of the office, but found another man waiting at the door. Lysa offered no resistance. Neither did the third employee.

Kael returned to the cage.

Sylphie was already examining the creature’s collar.

"Can you remove it?"

"I can," she replied. "But not in here. It’s too frightened."

Kael crouched at a safe distance. The small creature pressed its body against the back of the cage, pale eyes fixed on him.

"Then first we take this place out of their hands," said Kael.

Revan approached with one of the ledgers. "There are enough addresses, partial names and routes to begin. I’ll need to inform other cities."

"Do that," replied Kael. "And send copies to Amelia and Irelia. They can check which jurisdictions need to cooperate."

Revan nodded. "Are you going after that depot near Vareth?"

Kael looked at Sylphie, then at the records.

"Not today," he replied. "First you find out whether it’s still operating, who owns it and how many people go in and out. Then we decide who needs to go."

Sylphie smiled faintly.

Kael saw it.

"Don’t start."

"I didn’t say anything," she replied.

"You didn’t need to."

On the other side of the warehouse, Oren Vale was being handcuffed by Beltram’s own guard. No army was summoned. No imperial authority needed to occupy the port. The operation that had nearly torn off a Vharak’s paw was already beginning to collapse through records, witnesses and local authorities doing the work that belonged to them.

Kael looked once again at the small creature in the cage.

There were still victims to find.

But now there was a concrete trail leading to them.