Jonas POV
"Good work on the delivery, it must not have been easy being on the road for two weeks" Drevan looked through the report in his hands. The other camps had also provided intel when Jonas delivered new instructions from high command to them.
"I serve the Iron Emperor" Jonas just repeated the line that he had been taught. He never truly believed in those words, but he had learnt early on that he would have an easier time in the military if his superiors thought he did.
"High command will reward our sacrifices when the time comes. Go rest now, you've earned it" Drevan said as he dismissed Jonas.
"The honor is mine"
Jonas left the camp leader's tent, glad to be free of the smell inside — the smell of smoke cured hide and sour beer — he much preferred the open air and natural smell of the forest. Though that was a far cry from where he was at, with all the cooking and other activities happening around camp. The one good thing while being on the road was the constant fresh air he got.
If high command was not so stingy with the Mind Affinity mana crystals, they would not have to ration its usage. There were only a few camp leaders who were given an enchanted communication device. These devices were limited use based on the amount of mana they had charged in those crystals.
Only high ranking soldiers who joined the camp infrequently were given new crystals to be passed to the camp leaders to replenish their devices. That was the reason Jonas was sent on an errand to deliver new instructions from high command to limit how many camps had to use their own devices.
"Where's that idiot brother of mine?"
Jonas had told his brother to stay out of trouble, but apparently that was too much to ask. Jonas had not seen him on his way in. His brother was probably drinking himself stupid at one of the tents or wasting his coin away at the gambling den.
"Might as well see Mera while I look..."
Jonas headed over to one of the camp's main food station. Most people had to pay but Drevan and a few of his closer men were given a free pass.
"Aye, if it isn't lil' Nas. Haven't seen you in a while, out on an errand eh?" Mera scooped a bowl of stew from the big pot that had been boiling for who knows how long and dropped a piece of hard bread in it.
Jonas took it from Mera before sitting by one of the logs to eat "I told you not to call me that. Have you seen Joras? I didn't see him anywhere when I came back."
"Joras eh? Come to thin' of it... I ain't seen him in a while. Prob' passed out drunk at one of them tents" Mera just shrugged her shoulders and went back to stirring the pot.
"Blasted depths" Jonas's brother was an idiot, but it was his idiot and his only family left. He quickly finished off the stew and threw the last piece of hard bread in his mouth before heading to one of the gambling dens.
The gambling den that Joras frequented was busy as usual when Jonas arrived. The two bouncers outside the den almost seemed like they wanted to stop Jonas but pretended like they did not see anything when Jonas shot them a glare.
The smell of sour beer mixed with sweat and body odor wafted out the moment he opened the tent flaps. That's why I hate these places. He walked past the tables and went straight to the back where the den operator sat, accompanied by another two guards. He leaned back in his chair with his legs on the table, munching on some fruits as if he was a king.
"Have you seen Joras?"
"No, but funny you're asking. I'm looking for him myself. He still owes me a bunch of coin and the interests are ticking up every day. Since he's not here you'll have to pay up for him. Or else..."
"Or else what?" Jonas cut him off, flaring Firebolt spell in his right hand. He did not like to be threatened. The two body guards stepped back. Figures, they are just there for show.
The den operator scowled at his body guards before putting on a smiling expression and changed his tone quickly "...or else I'll just have to pause the interest calculation since he's missing." He had probably let all his profit get to him, and needed a little reminder of who actually ran the camp.
"That's what I thought. See that you do"
Jonas decided to leave, having learnt that his brother was not here and the den operator was not stupid enough to have a hand in his missing brother. As he exited the tent, an old woman ran into him. He was about to strike her, mistaking her for a potential pick pocket.
"Ahh Jonas my lord, I heard you were looking for your brother?" Jonas stayed his hand, having recognized the trinket merchant.
"I might be able to recall something, if there was something to help jog my memory. Old age haven't been kind you see, keh-keh-keh" the old woman chuckled.
Jonas narrowed his eyes, he half contemplated torturing it out of her but she could just make something up out of spite, sending him on a wild goose chase. He took a small silver coin out of his pocket and flicked it in the air towards her.
"This is all I'll be giving you. Now out with it."
She caught the coin midair and smiled "Of course milord, I overheard Joras talking to his friend about following a merchant back to town. This was almost a week ago."
She made a move to leave when Jonas grabbed her shoulder "Not so fast, have you seen them back at the camp since?"
"No milord, I haven't seen the two of them since I saw them following the merchant"
"And do you know which town the merchant was from?"
"M' not sure milord. But they didn't look like they were from Karthgate. Didn't look like the soldier crowd" the old woman quickly added, wanting to get out of Jonas's grip quickly.
"And you know what happens if I find out you're lying" Jonas tightened his grip on her shoulder, heating up a little.
The old woman winced "I wouldn't dare milord~!!"
Jonas let her go eventually. "That means it's most likely Hollow's Reach, considering the distance."
Jonas had rented a room at one of the taverns in Hollow's Reach for the last two days. While he had hazarded a guess that it was Hollow's Reach, he did not have much else to go on. He had stayed away from the Adventurer's Guild as he doubted his brother would have visited there.
There were no gambling dens in town, so Jonas had only gone around to the different bars and taverns, asking around if someone saw a person with the description of his brother. Unfortunately for him, the feedback only fell into two categories. People either were too drunk to recall anything in the last week, or they were making claims of seeing someone that looked like his brother but the tales that accompanied the sightings were too far fetched.
Based on the information he gathered, his brother probably did not even enter the town. It was possible that whoever they followed only passed by Hollow's Reach and went straight to Saltmere. He regretted not spending more time back at the camp to ask for the description of the merchant or at least find out if anyone knew his name.
Since he was already here, he did not want to waste a trip and decided to look outside of town. If his brother intended to rob someone and a fight broke out, there would be signs.
Jonas searched all the roads leading in and out of Hollow's Reach, though he knew the chances that a fight broke out on the main road leading East were low as it was the busiest, he had spent hours looking anyway.
It had been another day and he was searching the road south leading to Saltmere. If the trail went cold, he would have to start from the beginning. The chances that something had happened to his brother were increasing each day. If only his brother kept better company, it might have kept him out of trouble.
He came back to Hollow's Reach around midday to eat. Soil clung to his boot while he sat in the same corner of the tavern where he had rented a room.
"Still at it?" the waiter asked as he set down a plate of roast with some grilled vegetables.
Jonas started on the plate of food but thought of something as the waiter turned to leave, "The small path off the south main road, where does it lead?"
"That? Just a small orphanage. I doubt whoever you're looking for headed that way"
Jonas just nodded a thanks as he ate his food. The waiter could be right, but Jonas had exhausted all other leads short of heading to Saltmere. He might as well be thorough.
It was already late afternoon when he was out the south gate. It would get dark soon and he had to hurry as there weren't many hours of day light left. He started down the path and searched it section by section, looking for any signs that a fight might have taken place.
About a quarter way through the road, he saw some unnatural markings by the side. He stepped closer and kneeled down on the floor. The late afternoon sun was blocked by the trees on this stretch of road, making it more difficult to see.
Jonas lit up a fireball in his hand and held it close to the mark — it was faint but it was clearly the doing of a spell, more specifically a Wind Blade just like his brother's. While wind affinity was common, he had a hunch this was the clue he was looking for.
He started looking around the area, and while some marks were old, he could see some signs of cover up. The ground was unusually flat in some places, the dirt and soil looking like it had been dug up in others. He was sure now that a fight had broken out here, and someone had come back to cover it up but did a poor job. If he wasn't looking for it specifically, it would have been easy to miss.
He expanded his search to the sides of the road, and eventually saw some marks leading into the forest. He was no experienced ranger but whoever walked past seemed like they were in a hurry, leaving drag marks across the forest floor. It was a good thing it had not rained at all in the past week, otherwise the tracks would have been more difficult to follow.
He eventually reached a clearing where he saw a pile of ash. A sinking feeling began to appear in his gut. At the back of his mind, he knew what had likely happened. But he needed to confirm it. He dug through the pile of ash till he saw a partially melted insignia. It was melted and whatever patterns or markings had already been distorted — but Jonas had no doubt that this was the insignia that Joras always kept in his pocket. The only memory they had left of their parents.
Jonas gripped it tightly and placed it back in his pocket. He did not need to look further. Whoever had done this had lured Joras away from the main road and attacked him. They then dragged his brother's body and left him to be eaten like some animal.
The reason they did it did not matter to him. Jonas would have his due. He had thought he would be overcome by sadness when he confirmed his brother's fate but all he was feeling now was anger. A boiling fury that he began to feel all the way down to his core.
Good. There will come a time for grief. But for now, anger keeps me focused.
He would start with the merchant, and he would hunt down the others who had done this to his brother. Consequences be damned. The few tears welling up in his eyes were evaporated by the heat coming off him.
= END OF ACT 2 =