"Do you know who this is?" Shane steps into the room behind me and closes the door. "This is Hawk Wind's son, named the inheritor of the House of Wind. Not a single bounty hunter in this city will bow to King Tomias without an order from him or his father. You would be wise to remember that."
"Why you insolent-"
"No. He's right." The knight with the feathers on his helm reaches for his sword, but the man in glasses grabs his arm. "We didn't come to start a war."
Thoughts race through my mind. I need to find a way to leave here. Everyone needs my help, and I'm stuck with these people.
"Like I told you boys earlier, the culprits of last night's rebellion were part of the Inner Circle." Shane says. "I don't care much for King Hawk, none of us do, but the Inner Circle ain't much better. Take last night for example. They rounded up everybody on the streets and took them to the dungeons."
"You were right to assume they were up to something." Glasses man releases the arm of his fellow knight. "I can think of a few reasons why someone would need a multitude of people, and none of them are good."
"Okay, so you'll help, right?" Shane's face lights up with joy. "I know exactly where they're keeping everyone."
"Hold it." Glasses man smirks. "I never said we would help you… for free."
"I was right! You guys are just as corrupt as the knights in Amacedia!" I shout. "You'll probably betray us as soon as you get what you want!"
"I don't know what knights you speak of, but my men are knights of the Sellsword guild and have no allegiance but to the laws of Ardent and to those who hire us." Glasses man rises to his feet.
I jump back, expecting him to strike out, but he bows instead. All of the other knights look at him for a moment, puzzled, before doing the same.
"Please accept my apology on behalf of the Sellsword guild for any problems those in line with us may have caused. We may be hired hands, but we swear an oath always to uphold our agreements."
"How much?" Shane crosses his arms.
"What?" Glasses man raises his head.
"How much to help free the people?" I repeat the question.
"It's a mighty undertaking, but we can make it happen for one thousand gold coins." He responds. "Mighty generous, I would say, since we're not getting a bounty for the young prince."
"A thousand gold? Are you crazy?" I'm fuming.
"We'll pay you ten thousand gold coins if you can help us take back control of the city and stop whatever Vanhiel is scheming." Shane cuts in. "But we'll only pay you after the job is done."
"Captain, I don't know..."
"Silence, Uriel." Glasses man looks sternly at the knight with the feathers. "We'll gladly accept your offer. We'll begin immediately if that is fine with you."
"Yes, of course. Thank you so much, Sir Loleo. I'm sure Prince Glimmer would be more than happy to help you with any information you need." Shane lightly nudges my shoulder. "Like I said, I know exactly where the Inner Circle is keeping the civilians. My sons saw them dragging some of the first ring women and children to the holding cells underneath the coliseum."
"Prince… Glimmer, wasn't it?" Sir Loleo turns to me. "Do you know why they would be keeping them under the coliseum?"
"Sorry, no." I shake my head. "But I know that my friends and my dad are fighting Vanhiel and the others over there. My dad said something about..."
"...The Sovereign's Challenge. Yes, that makes sense." Shane pulls up a chair for me and himself. "Vanhiel can lawfully seize control of the House of Wind by defeating Hawk in the Sovereign's Challenge. Most bounty hunters who didn't side with the Inner Circle during the coup will likely side with them if Vanhiel kills Hawk."
"Hmm." Loleo narrows his eyes at me and strokes his chin. "That means our small political problem would be solved, wouldn't it? Isn't it possible for Vanhiel to force the other bounty hunters to submit when he takes the throne?"
"No, he wouldn't." I say, clenching my fist to keep my anger inside. "Vanhiel doesn't want to take the throne. He said he wants all bounty hunters to decide their fates. No more kings were his exact words."
"So why put himself through all the trouble of competing in this Sovereign's Challenge?" Loleo stretches his arms above his head. "It seems to me like he's already fulfilled what he set out to do. The only thing left is to kill the king and be done with it."
"Nobody would listen to him otherwise." Shane states matter-of-factly. "We would have searched the ends of the tower for Prince Glimmer and crowned him king."
"Ha!" Loleo laughs. "You bounty hunters are so loyal to the House of Wind that it's scary."
I look at Shane, silent. I don't know much about Denzen, though I remember hearing stories about it as a child. Our home in the countryside was hundreds of miles from Vertalara, so Glam and I never had a chance to visit the tower. Not to mention how dangerous a journey it would have been for two children.
"King Hawk allegedly allowed human experimentation and forced his kingdom's children to fight each other to death, and you would still serve under his kin?" Loleo laughs so hard he starts crying.
"Our loyalty does not lie with King Hawk alone. As you have mentioned, he has allowed and even paid for unspeakable acts to be done to our people." Shane slams both hands on the table in front of him.
"However, our loyalty lies with those in the House of Wind. That is why nobody has challenged Hawk yet. To those of us who call this city home, the Wind Family members are revered as Gods, and their offspring are revered as the same. I will not bore you with the specifics, but that is why we serve King Hawk as we do. So I would appreciate it if you watch what you say."
"Alright, alright. I think I've got all the information I need." Loleo scratches the inside of his ear. "Way to kill the mood."
"So you will help us then?" Shane smiles at me.
"Yes, we will help you." Loleo stands up, the knights around him following suit. "If I understand you both correctly, this Vanhiel guy will break the treaty if he successfully replaces Hawk. That won't be helpful for business, so we'll save your king or make sure the young prince takes his place."
"Thank you so much." Shane shakes Loleo's hand fervently, not letting go until Loleo rips it away. "Is there anything you guys need before you go?"
"Yes." Loleo's eyes glint with mischief. "We'll take the prince with us as a down payment. A map of the holding cells would be helpful, too. We'll leave immediately after I get that from you."
"Wait-" Before I can argue, two of the knights closest to me grab my arms.