Chapter 4

Bleist looked around the quay once more. He looked at the people who were hanging around there looking for the same two brothers he had met here the day before somewhere among the crowd. He hoped they lived somewhere nearby and he would eventually come across them.

Once again he walked between the stalls just glancing at the products on display. He didn't even pay attention anymore to the taunts of the traders trying to push their wares on him.

Just as he was about to give up, someone nudged him, mumbling a vague apology. Bleist turned around, quickly casting his gaze to the back of a boy. After a few seconds he recognised the younger of the brothers he had met earlier.

The mage moved behind the dragon trying not to lose sight of him. He wanted to talk to him, but not in front of so many witnesses. The questions that were pressing to his lips could arouse some suspicion in several people in the area, and he wanted discretion. He knew that if he frightened the boy a little, he wouldn't say a word to anyone who asked him.

The wizard noticed that the dragon was turning from the main street into some side street, still staring at the ground and mumbling something under his breath. He continued to follow him. After a few minutes had passed, the boy found himself in a small, empty alley. Bleist stopped at the exit and watched as the dragon looked at something on a piece of paper he had removed from between the boards of a crumbling box.

Soundlessly, he approached him, grabbed him by the arm and in one fluid motion turned him to face him. A confusion of surprise and fear was painted on the boy's face. Bleist pressed him hard against the wall and, without giving him a chance to react, covered his mouth with his hand. He hoped that if he played everything right the young dragon would not decide to transform.

-You were looking for someone yesterday,- he hissed in his ear.-Who?

The boy's pupils dilated rapidly. The mage sensed his fear. He wasn't sure why, but his little informant was more scared of the question than the situation itself.

-I... I... nothing...- Collin began to stammer as soon as Bleist took his hand away from his mouth.

-Speak.- The mage growled. He still remembered his days in Intelligence and knew he had to play as strong and scary as possible.

-It's Draco...I...I wanted to...- He broke off suddenly seeing the anger growing in the tall man's eyes.

-Who is he?

-This... He's a freak... He's different....

-That I know, but who is he? Where is he from?-Darius tugged at him gently.

-He... He goes to the Academy, third year... He has no family... He lives... He lives... -He broke off again through growing fear.

-Where?- Bleist was smiling triumphantly somewhere inside, but on the outside he remained firm and unconcerned.

-At Mrs Nasua's... In the southern shopping district.

-Why are you pursuing him?

-I... I... It's Pirce!- the dragon burst out unexpectedly.-He's the one who has something against him. He's after him because Draco is... He's different.

-Okay, fine.- Bleist muttered, not wanting to lead the boy into a real fright.-Where can I find him? This Draco?

-I don't know... He wasn't at the Academy. He went into hiding...

Darius growled suppressing a curse. Damn, and it was so close! He looked at the slightly scowling dragon with superiority and said very calmly.

-This conversation did not happen.- He looked the boy in the eyes.- You will not tell anyone about it. Do you understand?

Collin only nodded and ran away immediately after Bleist let him go. The mage cursed bitterly thinking about what he had learned from the flogger.

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The southern shopping district has always been a place where middle-class merchants lived and worked, and this has had the greatest impact on it. Even entering this part of town, Bleist felt like he was in a completely different world. All around him, he could see colourful exhibitions full of products imported from almost all over the world, the stalls in front of them bending under the weight of the delicacies and valuables laid out on them. What was most striking, however, was the cultural diversity of the place.

Unlike the rest of the city, here it was clear that the inhabitants were an overview of all races and professions of the known world. Above the doors were the ancestral signs of the dwarven clans or elven runes inscribed in bright colours. Somewhere in the doorway he saw traditional cloth created by orcs, and elsewhere multicoloured jugs of flowers made it clear that this place was inhabited by halflings. Everywhere he turned he saw traces of this multiculturalism.

Bleist was a little puzzled, as he had not been to this part of Dagos before, having rather moved around the Royal Tract, the diplomatic district and the ports on the Verde. Those parts of the city presented themselves much differently. They had their own character shaped by the dragons. While the main artery of the city was mostly in the fashion of the major European capitals at the time, the ports and coastal areas retained a more traditional dragon look.

The southern commercial district overwhelmed him with its multicolour and crowds, which seemed to thicken with every step the mage took. He had not expected such a mass of newcomers and residents here, for he had thought that the main centre of commerce was actually the Royal Tract itself, rather than the two commercial districts he had always imagined to harbour warehouses and storage areas.

The wizard walked ahead every now and then looking over his shoulder at the stalls he passed. After several hours of walking around the area of the harbour at Verde, he managed to find someone who knew exactly where to look for Ms Nasua. He learned this from a half-conscious, burly dwarf who was eager to tell stories and gossip if someone put another mug of strong ale in front of him.

Darius glanced at the bright blue lettering on one of the tenements and shifted his gaze around the building looking for a passage that would lead him to the back and on to the less frequented streets of the district. He spotted it immediately and quickly headed towards it.

He crossed the alley and found himself on a less busy road. Here, as on the district's main thoroughfare, there were plenty of stalls and stands, but there was less traffic. Bleist turned right and walked confidently towards the nearest square.

It didn't take him long and after just a few minutes he found himself in a circular square paved with cobblestones. A fountain stood in the middle, and around it was a small green park offering shelter from the heat of summer afternoons. Around the square rose two-storey houses with colourful facades adjacent to each other. Each was painted in a different way and decorated with different bas-reliefs or frescoes. Bleist looked around and immediately focused his attention on a house of warm yellow interspersed with Greek patterns. He smiled under his breath and looked around once more. This time more carefully.

He noticed a group of young dragons sitting on a bench by the fountain. They looked as if they were waiting for something. The mage immediately concluded that they must belong to Pirce's gang. He deduced from their behaviour that Draco still hadn't shown up, he had silently hoped beforehand that things would be different though. He sighed and moved towards the entrance of the building, wondering at the same time where the lone young dragon might have hidden himself. However, he did not know the city well enough to be able to find the answer.

He approached the door of the house with a steady step, all the while watching the group by the fountain out of the corner of his eye. When he stood in front of the entrance he took another deep breath and gently pulled the bell-string, he heard a sing-songy tone from inside, and after a moment a rustling, the sound of the door opening and a woman's voice tinged with warmth and caring. Darius corrected his impeccable frock coat and waited patiently.

-I'm coming, I'm coming.- He heard, and after a few seconds the door opened to its full width and he saw in it a squat woman in a long blue dress. As he noticed, despite her somewhat advanced age, the dragoness was still very pretty, and the wide smile and laughing eyes looking at him with an almost childlike joy made him feel as if he knew her well, as if he could trust her right away. He looked at a warm and kind woman with a cheerful disposition.-Oh, hello, sir!

-Good morning, dear lady.- Bleist bowed while smiling at the older woman.-I am Erik Einhart, I work at the Academy.-He lied smoothly.-Madame Nasua, I presume.

-Yes, sir.- She glanced at him with an inquisitive gaze, then smiled in her own way and moved away, at the same time pointing into a small corridor.- Please come in, sir.- She began in a cheerful tone.- You're lucky, I've just come back from shopping, I've practically entered the house.- She closed the door behind him and took him smoothly by the hand. Bleist was slightly surprised and allowed himself to be led involuntarily into the depths of the building. - I had just prepared a cup of tea. I hope you like chocolate biscuits? Of course you do.- The woman waved her free hand and laughed lightly.- But, I'm sure not as much as my Draco. He could eat a whole lot of them!

-No doubt.- Darius interjected calmly, looking carefully around the corridor and, as if inadvertently, peering into the passing rooms. He noticed that warm colours dominated everywhere, colourful paintings hung on the walls, fresh flowers stood in vases filling all the interiors with a delicate, barely perceptible scent. At one point, the smell of chocolate biscuits reached him.

The old woman led him into a small lounge with an exit to a modest garden where a spreading apple tree grew under which stood a wooden bench and a small table. By the fence stretched a well-maintained flower bed with the same flowers he had already noticed in other rooms. The woman gently released his hand and moved slowly to an armchair standing behind the bench, on which indeed stood a pot of steaming tea and a plate of biscuits.

-Sit down, Mr Erik.- The dragoness pointed him to the other armchair, on the opposite side of the table.

-Thank you.- Bleist seated himself comfortably and waited until the woman had finished tussling and was seated before starting the conversation.

-You must try the tea.- She said placing a cup of hot brew in front of him.-I got it from my friend Helga. I have to admit that it's been a long time since I drank one like this.

-Undoubtedly.- Darius accepted the cup and took a sip of the aromatic tea.

-Oh, good...- The old woman took a breath as she sat down opposite him in the armchair and sipped.-We can talk now, because I guess you didn't come just for a courtesy visit.

-Unfortunately not.- Bleist looked at her more seriously.-I would like to talk to you about Draco.

-Of course.- She smiled at him while taking a sip from her teacup.-You're probably new, I've never met you before somehow.

-Yes, I arrived about a week ago from Klingenspietze.- He replied with an elaborate smile.-I have only been working at the Academy for a few days.

-Oh, that's noticeable right away.-The woman laughed.-You haven't had time to soak up the local atmosphere and superstitions.

-You're probably right.-The mage took another sip of tea while looking at some painting hanging behind his interlocutor.-We're getting off topic.-He shook his head as if reminding himself why he had come.-I've noticed recently that Draco hasn't shown up at the Academy for a few days. Is he perhaps ill?

-How kind of you!- Nasua seemed pleased by such a question posed, or even grateful for it. - Perhaps I shouldn't mention it, but the other professors have never taken an interest in him.- The woman blinked quickly while holding her cup up to her chest.- I'm getting off topic again, aren't I? You must forgive me though, it is such a habit of the old dragoness.- She said blushing slightly and putting the cup down.- To answer your question, Draco is not ill and as far as I know he is well.- She shook her head slightly and her face now expressed sadness mixed with something that could resemble resignation or helplessness.- He ran away again.- She whispered in a dim voice.

-Could you tell me what you mean by again.- Bleist knew he was beginning to tread on thin ice and it was important not to lean either way, not to push too hard, just to listen.

-He's just like that.- The woman stabbed her gaze into the tabletop in front of her. The light in her eyes dimmed.-When Pirce and his gang start harassing him more, or come up with something new to torment him he just disappears. He's gone for a day or two, sometimes a week, until things quiet down, or they get bored, or he finds some way to thwart their plans.- She shook her head snottily again without taking her eyes off the tabletop.- I used to try to act. I sought him out, I told him it wasn't a way out, that he could come to me with it. I used to go to the parents of these young thugs.- Suddenly she looked directly at Bleist, anger burning in her eyes that could have incinerated the people to whom it was destined.- They laughed at me. Do you understand? They laughed at me!- She snorted hitting the back of her chair with a clenched fist.- And for what? For wanting to protect a child. A boy who is like a son to me! They lashed out at me. They scolded me! They even threatened me!- Nasua rested her face on her hands and sat in this position for a moment. Then she straightened up, and her countenance expressed nothing but sadness.- The professors did not care either. They shunned me, would not listen.- She spoke almost in a whisper.- They wriggled with empty promises. Nobody wanted to do anything. And all this just because he... He is just a little different from the rest, special.

-Sorry to hear that.- Darius was really only now beginning to fully understand what the boy must have been going through all these years. He sighed heavily and looked at the dragoness, who was gazing longingly out of the window.-I'd like to change something, but I'm afraid I don't have much influence to force something on others....

-No one has.- The woman merely stated in a hollow voice.-This has gone on for too long, it cannot be stopped.

-Unfortunately, I will have to agree with you.- He nodded gently while looking at her carefully.-But you said earlier that at least you know Draco is well. If you don't mind me asking, how do you know?

-It's that one bright flame in the darkness.- Nasua smiled faintly and a shadow of her former joy lit up in her eyes.They met when they were still young children. They both had no one until they came across each other. They have been friends since that day, always together. Jeviev somehow persuaded Draco to tell her where he was disappearing to, but he put a condition that she must never tell anyone about it without his permission.-She sighed shaking her head.-A chance meeting that changed them both.

-So you know from her that he is fine.- Bleist became curious about this aspect.

-Yes, she drops by every now and then when he disappears. A comforting soul, really. She'll help me a bit, talk to me, tell me some interesting stories.

Bleist nodded a few times. For a while longer they both sat like that, immersed in their own thoughts, and then Darius said goodbye very politely to the older woman and left.

When he found himself outside he walked up to the fountain and took another look at the house he had just left. He noticed a petite female elf standing in front of the door and pulling the bell string. He knew who it was.

Darius now had another point of interest. He could go on.