After their intense midnight conversation, Jai, James, and Zayn retired to their rooms to sleep, the weight of their secret investigation pressing on them.
The next morning, the three convened in the dining hall for breakfast. Jai, ever the diplomat, addressed the Queen who was eating with them: "Madam, may we request permission to leave the capital and explore the kingdom? Since I arrived, I haven't had the chance to see any of the land."
The Queen nodded slowly. "You may go. But do not do anything rash while you are outside. If you three cause any trouble, it will ultimately fall to my fault. Keep that in mind."
Little Morisa and young Arthur also requested to join, but the Queen refused them. "You both have the Academy to attend," she said.
With permission granted, the three quickly retreated to Zayn's room. Jai unrolled the scroll, his eyes focused on the list. "We start with the first ten names. We'll use the Queen's own words against her: 'Enjoy the time being.' We'll appear to be sight-seeing, perhaps conducting a minor ministerial survey on citizen well-being. But the truth is in this list." He tapped the scroll. "The names are varied: a baker, a silk merchant, a low-ranking palace scribe, a glass blower... all people who wouldn't be missed by the high society. They are all easy targets, disappearing and then reappearing with a hazy memory. This is our pattern. So we have to go to the low-ranking places outside the kingdom; we might get some hints from them."
As they talked, Jai brought up the most immediate threat. "The Queen knows we were investigating the Marlin incident. She was too specific. It wasn't just the guards. It has to be that minister Zayn told—the one who's 'like a friend' to your father."
"Minister Valens," Zayn supplied, his voice tight. "He's old, respected, and supposedly loyal to my father. But why would he betray my trust to my mother? It makes no sense."
"The betrayal isn't the whole of it," Jai mused. "It's how deep the rot goes. The minister is a complication, a potential spy within the walls. After what happened yesterday, I have serious doubts. There are three possibilities: he might be an overly strict magistrate, he wanted you to take punishment to teach you a lesson, or—and this is the most dangerous—he might also be an enemy. So, we have to be wary of him."
Zayn nodded, pulling out the intricately carved jade locket. "My father gave me this. He said it was an old relic from the Dwarf Kingdom—a gift after a trade treaty. It's meant for stealth. When activated, it creates a subtle magical field that makes you forgettable. You become a ghost in their memory."
"What about the two of you?" Zayn asked.
Jai explained, "You are the Crown Prince. Everyone knows you. But we are not. Only the royal palace staff knows our true identities. You don't have to worry about us being recognized outside the city."
Their disguises were ready. Jai, already in a disguised as Arthur, wearing a black shirt with black pants. James already in a disguise as Clement, looked like a well-spoken scribe, carrying a leather-bound notebook. Zayn, under the influence of the jade locket, wore a plain, high-collared cloak to obscure his royal bearing. He was simply a young, well-off traveler.
Before their journey began, they packed food and fresh meat, anticipating a journey that might take months. They said their goodbyes to Morisa, little Arthur, and the Queen. As he left, Jai pulled little Arthur close, hugging him. "Don't worry about me, little brother. I am going to return home safely."
They started their investigation using a black horse-drawn cart. Their first three targets on the list yielded no new clues—only the same vague tales of a return home, a small memory lapse, and the complete dismissal of any foul play by the city watch. The pattern was frustratingly consistent, an engineered cover story that satisfied the uncurious.
"We are hitting a wall," James finally admitted, leaning against a stone in a deserted alley. "They are too good at covering their tracks. We need to go somewhere they can't predict."
Jai consulted the scroll again. He found the address of a recently disappeared Master Engraver named Brokk. The man's last known location was a small, independent workshop near the mountain path that led to Linston, a town situated at the edge of the Dwarf Kingdom.
Jai decided their move had to be sudden and unexpected. "We change the itinerary," he declared, rolling up the scroll. "The Minister told the Queen about Marlin, but he wouldn't know about this list—not yet. This Engraver, Brokk, is on the border of the Dwarf Lands. The enemies are looking for something powerful. What if it's not hidden in the Dwarf capital, but is something they need an expert craftsman to work on?"
"The Dwarves," Zayn breathed, his eyes widening with realization. "We Dwarves are the finest metalworkers, jewelers, and stonemasons in all of Earth. If someone needed a unique, powerful artifact or a specialized weapon—they'd go to a Dwarf."
"We are going to Linston," Zayn confirmed. "Though I am the Dwarf King's son, I look entirely human, and humans are rarely allowed in that place. We have to be calm and extremely careful of everything."
"Then we will not be a Crown Prince and a Royal Scribe," Jai cut him off, a spark of resolve in his eyes. "We will be a small-time merchant and his apprentices seeking a trade deal for a specialized stone-carving tool. The Engraver's workshop is our excuse to be in the area. Let's go to the Deepforge."
Jai, James, and Zayn soon entered the Linston region with their horse-cart. At the entrance, two stout Dwarf guards stopped them.
"You humans! Who are you, and what is your purpose for coming to this place?" the guards demanded.
Jai immediately came down from the cart. "We are merchants, and we require certain materials. We heard we could acquire those items here. Please grant us passage."
The two guards immediately demanded some Zuo (the local currency). Jai gave them the required amount and then asked, "Do you know an engraver named Brokk?"
"Ah, Brokk!" one guard grunted, pocketing the money. "He's a craftsman. He has a small shop at the end of the Linston. You can find him there."
"How long will it take us to reach him?" Jai asked.
"It will take you three to five days," the guards explained.
Zayn quietly observed the town. It was a low-ranking place, yet it looked beautiful and utterly unique, carved meticulously into the mountainside.
Jai, sensing the moment to act like true travelers, recommended, "Why do we have to rush to find the man immediately? Why don't we just explore this place for a while?"
The others nodded. Then they see the place is so vast and beautiful.
Linston, the border town of the Dwarf Kingdom, was not a city built upon the surface, but a living fortress carved deep into the rock. The air was thick with the scent of coal smoke, molten iron, and centuries of accumulated stone dust. The rhythmic clang of hammers from the deep forges resonated like the heartbeat of the earth, a sound like a thousand dragon roars that shook the resolve of any visitor.
Jai, James, and Zayn abandoned their cart and walked into the town, disguised as ordinary merchants on a buying trip. They knew that while this low-ranking settlement might lack the formal guard of the capital, it possessed its own rock-solid secrets and security.
Their detective journey to find the enemies within the kingdom was now officially underway, starting with an exploration of the beautiful Dwarf Kingdom's edge.