(Third Person POV)
"You want to what?" Alyssa asked, "You want to see the madman?"
Saera nodded, "Yes, you must take me to him." She said with a frown, "Please, sister. I only ask you this."
Alyssa looked at her with a serious expression, "That person is not someone you want to come in contact with." She said, "Besides, we are not aware of his whereabouts, so I can't really help you there."
Saera was sitting down on the couch, "Ughh..." She groaned, "I really can't get anyone to do anything in this Keep!!"
"Why do you want to see him anyways?" Alyssa asked, "He's a murderer that might hurt you, Saera. Do you really think we'll allow you to even get near him!"
"Do you really think he's connected to those murders?" Saera asked, "I don't think so."
"What do you mean?" Alyssa asked
"We found him washed ashore, bloodied and everything." Saera shrugged, "It's like he was part of the naval battle on the Gullet. I don't think he was here for the other string of burnings that have been going on for weeks."
"It is hard to believe." Alyssa said as she stood up from her seat, "But I have seen what he's capable of. He has the power of flames; he nearly burned Baelon. There is no doubt that it was him."
"I really don't think so, though." Saera said, "I have a feeling that he didn't do any of that."
"He confessed to some of the murders." Alyssa said with a scowl, "He told us he killed those thieves."
"Okay, so he probably killed those ruffians. But are you going to tell me that they didn't deserve it?" Saera asked, "They were scum and filth, probably, so he probably defended himself."
"Defended himself....?" Alyssa frowned, "Why are you defending him?"
Saera looked at her, "I can feel it in my soul!" She said, "He's not responsible! Just take me to see him, please!"
"No." Alyssa told her, "If Father hears you say these words, he will lock you up. There is no doubt about it, so keep quiet. The last thing we all want to deal with is you throwing a tantrum and having us all suffer for it."
Saera scowled, "Tch...." she said as she crossed her arms, "That's because Father can be very rude."
"What did he want with you?" Alyssa asked her, "Baelon told me he wished to speak to you, he seemed rather bothered."
"Oh, nothing too serious." Saera smirked, "Just addressing rumors....."
Alyssa sighed, "Saera, you must stop with your...adventures," she said, "You know that it won't end well."
"Hmph." Saera pouted, "I do what I want. And I get what I want."
"And I want to see the burning man."
**************
Cyrus sat on a log, eating a piece of cooked fish, "Hm...." He said, "Interesting.....do you lot always approach people who are eating by themselves?"
He was speaking to three men who were approaching him, wearing cloaks that hid their faces. Cyrus was at the edge of the city, near the Kingswood. He had caught enough fish to feed him for a couple of days, and he kept them in a bag, which he knew he had to cook as quickly as possible before they went bad.
He decided to start a quick campfire and eat some of them since he was getting hungrier than usual. It was then that he was approached by three men wearing cloaks, whom he was able to spot from a hundred meters away. He didn't feel threatened by them, but he was still wary of them, trying to read their body language.
One of them pulled their hood down, "We have followed your.....actions...." He said, "Since you were confronted by Prince Aemon in Fleabottom."
Cyrus frowned, "Fleabottom?" He asked, "That's a funny name for a run-down section of a city."
"Such is what the Smallfolk call it." The man said
"What do you want?" Cyrus asked
"It appears that the Crown sees you as the one responsible for the burnings as of late." the man said, "And we wanted to confirm something."
"And what's that?" Cyrus narrowed his eyes, "Do yourselves a favor and fuck off if you want some trouble with me."
"You did kill the thieves not too long ago, correct?" He asked
"I don't need to answer questions." Cyrus said seriously
"I take that as a yes." the man said, "But as for the other string of burnings, I can assure you that it was not you."
"Was it you?" Cyrus asked, "Are you part of that cult?"
"Cult? No, no, no...." the man shook his head, "We are no cult."
"That's what a cultist would say." Cyrus said, "Listen, I don't like hurting innocent people, but if I have to defend myself from maniacs who burn people alive, I will have no choice but to put you all on the ground."
The man raised his hand, "We mean no harm." He said, "I can assure you of that."
"Hm...." Cyrus said, "Sure, I'll believe you....."
He said that last part with a hint of sarcasm.
"The one responsible for the other burnings is a rogue member of our order." the Man said, "Our Red Priestess has informed us that he wishes to start a grotesque ritual, in an attempt to please our Lord. He is the one who is burning the innocents and leaving them to die throughout the city."
"What's that gotta do with me?" Cyrus asked
"The Crown has claimed you are the culprit. But you are not," the Man told him, "That will give our Rogue member the confidence to keep going. Prince Aemon has his eyes set on you, he will target you instead of the real murderer. We cannot have that. It goes against what we believe in."
"Don't you cultists burn people alive?" Cyrus asked
"That is but a preposterous rumor. We offer belongings to the flames, in an attempt to commune with Our Lord." He said, "Any human sacrifices we make.....well, our order has not done that in centuries and only in times of war."
"Hm....." Cyrus said, "A reformed cult, how great."
"We would like to work with you to capture this rogue member," the Man said, "Upon capturing him, we will return him to Esso, where he will receive judgment."
"Hm." Cyrus said
"He is burning innocents, in the false pretenses of pleasing our Lord. But he does it for the sake of chaos," the Man continued, "Any Ritual Offerings that we do, we do it with the guidance of our Priestesses, who speak to Our Lord of Light. What he is doing is blasphemous and must be stopped."
"Hm....." Cyrus said, "What do I get out of this?"
"Your name will be cleared with the Crown." the Man said, "The Dragon Princes will not seek you out."
"Well, that would be convenient." Cyrus stood up, "Not really necessary, so don't get it twisted.
"I don't fear those cunts."
[A/N: Will take this to my Patreon so Chapter 11 and onwards will be over there (Link in Bio).
Will try to get it to 5 chapters ahead before uploading another chapter here. But normally, I go for 10 chapters ahead before doing a 1-1 ratio.
If interested, don't subscribe until you see Chapter 11 or more over there.]