Storm Aether silently continued gathering around Riven.
Invisible currents of wind gradually converged toward his trembling body, as although he remained completely oblivious to the strange phenomenon unfolding around him, the loose dust scattered throughout the alley had already begun swirling around his feet while the dark clouds above steadily thickened with every passing heartbeat.
Riven, however, noticed none of it.
His entire attention remained fixed upon the satchel dangling carelessly from the thief’s hand.
’I need my diary back...’
He thought desperately, as his trembling fists slowly tightened by his sides.
The two thieves, meanwhile, exchanged another amused glance.
"Well?"
One of them smirked.
"Have you thought of an answer yet?"
He asked, before the smile slowly disappeared from his face.
His eyes suddenly shifted past Riven.
"...Ah, shit."
He muttered beneath his breath.
His companion frowned.
"What?"
He asked, before instinctively turning his head in the same direction.
The moment he did...
His expression also changed.
Standing quietly at the entrance of the alley was a Stoneville town guard dressed in his dark blue uniform, one hand resting casually upon the hilt of the sword hanging at his waist while he silently observed the scene before him.
Unlike the two thieves, Riven still had his back toward the guard.
He hadn’t noticed him yet.
"So..."
The guard said calmly.
"Am I interrupting something? Lowlife brother thugs?"
He asked, as silence fell over the alley.
The thieves looked at one another.
The guard looked at the satchel.
And only then did Riven slowly realize... that someone else was also present at the scene.
’Huh?’
He wondered, turning back as the Storm Aether around him instantly dissipated, while the two thieves threw his satchel to the ground and made a break for it.
StepStep
The two thieves ran with all their might, as the guard pretended to give chase for a couple steps before stopping, as he raised his voice and said—
"Yeah... you’d better run back to your hideout, you little rats. One of these days I’m going to tear your whole organization apart, starting with your leader, Darrow."
The guard warned, as the echoes of the two thieves’ hurried footsteps gradually faded into the distance until the alley finally became quiet once more.
Only then did he slowly walk forward.
Without saying another word, he bent down and picked up Riven’s satchel from the dusty ground before brushing the dirt from its worn leather surface with the palm of his hand.
Satisfied that it was clean enough, he turned back toward the young boy.
"Here, little one."
The guard said, extending the satchel toward him.
"Your belongings."
A wave of relief immediately washed across Riven’s face.
"Thank you!"
He said sincerely, as he reached forward with both hands to take it.
However, just as his fingers wrapped around the leather strap, he suddenly realized that the satchel was not moving.
"Huh...?"
Riven muttered in confusion, instinctively pulling a little harder.
The guard, however, did not let go.
Instead, he quietly tightened his grip around the strap while continuing to watch the boy without changing his expression.
For several long moments, the two remained like that, each pulling gently from opposite sides of the satchel.
Until Riven eventually frowned and began to pull harder.
’Damn it! Why isn’t he letting go...?’
Riven wondered, as he instinctively circulated the small amount of Aether he could command through his body before giving the satchel one final tug.
As only then did the guard slowly loosen his fingers, and allowed the satchel to come free.
Wobble
Riven stumbled back half a step before quickly hugging it tightly against his chest, instinctively checking that the diary was still safely inside, as the guard quietly observed every movement.
’Interesting...’
He thought, as his eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
’The strength behind that last pull was definitely ordinary even if he used Aether.
Which means this kid is definitely an unascended.’
He concluded, as his thoughts drifted back to the moment he had first entered the alley.
The swirling wind.
The strange pressure in the air.
The unmistakable concentration of Storm Aether.
’Yet, when I first stepped into this alley... I could’ve sworn I sensed him channeling Storm Aether.’
He thought.
’And not just a little of it, either.’
The guard studied Riven for another moment.
’Those green eyes.... Hmmm, this boy might be something the Halberd Warriors might be interested in...’
He thought, as eventually, he folded both arms across his chest.
"Alright, boyo."
The guard said, his voice returning to its usual calm tone.
"Tell me your name, where you’re from, and what exactly brought you to Stoneville."
He requested, as Riven instinctively gulped before recalling every word Garron had drilled into them the previous night.
"My... my name is Riven."
He replied.
"I’m an outer disciple of the Redpine Sect. Our instructor is leading us toward Greyhaven after the village requested assistance dealing with several Direwolf packs that have been attacking livestock and travellers in the surrounding wilderness."
He explained, as although his voice remained slightly nervous, the cover story flowed naturally enough that he barely needed to think while repeating it.
The guard listened from beginning to end without interrupting.
"Hm..."
He hummed thoughtfully once Riven had finished speaking, as though carefully weighing every word he had just heard.
"I see."
He replied after a brief pause.
"Then tell me something else."
He continued, as his expression gradually became more serious.
"Did your instructor not make it abundantly clear that children your age shouldn’t be wandering around Stoneville by themselves?"
He asked.
"You were fortunate that I happened to pass the street where you were being robbed, when you were robbed...."
He explained.
"Had I been patrolling another district instead, those two would’ve emptied your satchel, beaten you senseless, and disappeared long before anyone realized what had happened."
He paused briefly before gesturing back toward the maze of streets beyond the alley.
"Stoneville is a large town, boyo."
He continued.
"There are far more streets than there are guards to watch them, which means we simply can’t be everywhere at once. Most days, if trouble finds you, you’ll have to survive long enough for someone to report it before any of us even know there’s a problem."
He warned, as Riven slowly lowered his head, unable to meet the guard’s eyes.
"I... understand."
He murmured quietly, as shame slowly settled over him while Garron’s warnings echoed through his mind once again.
"It won’t happen again...."
He assured, as the guard shook his head in disapproval.
"Your apology alone won’t do... Boyo."
The guard said, as he studied Riven with a frown that only seemed to deepen.
"I need to have a word with your instructor regarding this behavior. Now tell me, where is your group staying?"
He asked.
"I’ll escort you back personally, and while I’m there, I’d like to have a few words with the man responsible for looking after you children. Since you’re supposedly members of a travelling sect, I suppose it would be good to see the rest of your group as well."
He explained, as Riven’s face instantly turned deathly pale.
’No...’
He thought, as panic gripped his heart.
’Anything but that...’
Returning empty-handed after being robbed would already have been difficult enough to explain.
However, bringing a town guard back to the inn...
That was infinitely worse.
Even if Garron did not skin him alive the moment the guard was standing there...
He certainly would once the man left.
Worse still, the other children would probably hate him as well.
After everything Garron had said about keeping outsiders away from the group and protecting their identities, he would be doing the exact opposite.
It was quite literally the worst outcome Riven could imagine.
"I... I... I..."
He stammered, as his lips trembled uncontrollably.
The guard raised one eyebrow.
"Well?"
He prompted patiently.
"Please..."
Riven finally blurted out.
"Please don’t do that, sir."
He pleaded, as his voice became increasingly desperate.
"My instructor wasn’t careless at all. He warned us over and over again not to leave the inn under any circumstances. He told us Stoneville was dangerous, and... and he was right."
He admitted, lowering his head in shame.
"I only came outside because..."
His voice gradually became quieter.
"There’s... there’s a girl that I like."
He confessed awkwardly.
"She told me she’d always wanted someone to give her a bouquet of red roses one day, and... I just wanted to buy them for her."
He explained, as he contemplated falling to his knees to beg his case.
"It was supposed to be quick."
He continued.
"We’d run outside, buy the flowers, and immediately go back before anyone noticed we were gone."
He sighed bitterly.
"But then those thieves stole my satchel... and I chased after them without thinking."
He lowered his eyes once more.
"I know I was wrong."
He admitted honestly.
"But if I bring you back to the inn now..."
He swallowed nervously.
"My instructor is going to be furious."
The guard remained silent for several long moments.
He looked at the trembling boy.
Then at the way his nails seemed to be digging into his palms, as finally, he let out a long, weary sigh.
"...Young love."
He muttered beneath his breath, rubbing his forehead.
For a brief moment, the stern expression on his face softened ever so slightly.
"Alright."
He said eventually.
"I won’t march into your inn and start questioning your instructor."
He explained.
"However, I’m still not letting a child wander back through Stoneville alone after what just happened."
He said firmly.
"So tell me the name of the inn you’re staying at."
He continued.
"I’ll escort you there myself, make sure you get back safely, and then I’ll leave."
Riven’s shoulders immediately relaxed.
"T-thank you, sir."
He said gratefully.
"It’s called the Passersby Inn."
The guard nodded before reaching into a small leather pouch hanging from his belt and producing a weathered notebook together with a charcoal pencil.
He quickly jotted the name down.
"The Passersby Inn."
He repeated.
"Very well."
Closing the notebook, he tucked it back into the pouch before gesturing toward the mouth of the alley.
"Come along then."
He said calmly.
"And this time... try to stay beside me instead of chasing criminals."
Riven nodded repeatedly.
"Yes, sir."
He replied, as he followed the man back, not knowing that he had now garnered the attention of a flame ranked ascendant, who was interested in poaching him from a low levelled sect and delivering him to a better one for a small finders fee.