With a curl of his finger, a Third Job bowman named Cadren motioned for Chesed to come closer, already holding a map, scanning it with his eyes. "Point the way," Cadren said curtly. "We have it marked on the map but you will direct our movements to get there more efficiently." He paused- then added again, just to make Chesed reverify what he had already reported previously, "Mark the route on the map again, point it out."
Chesed had to stop himself from trembling from a fight or flight response. It was clear that these people not only disliked him but held the power to kill him if they ever wanted. He couldn't complain about this task. He traced the route from the city's outskirts northward, past the scattered farmsteads, toward the ruined outpost of Stonecall. Normally, this trek—a far distance away, full of mixed road and deep woods, would take him two days with stops to scout and rest.
Cadren wanted faster.
It started as a walk, which gradually sped up into a sprint, then to a full on run.
Each step crushed twigs under heavy boots. All the stealth and light foot techniques that Chesed learned was meaningless here. Normal procedure said to travel hidden leaving no tracks. This was not that.
Chesed's lungs burned within minutes; breath came in ragged gasps. When he hesitated to point a direction at a forked path, Cadren's subordinate, a Second Job guard named Mira, hissed, "Move faster, Soka." No offer of respite, no concern for his labored gait.
The forests that Chesed was accustomed to and loved became a hell for him. Underbrush clawed at his legs, sharp stones threatened his ankles. Twice, Chesed nearly stumbled over hidden roots. It wasn't a mistake Chesed would ever make normally- but he was being forced to move at an impossible pace. Perhaps Shadow Guard Beta coild easily do it- but he was just at first job. It took everything he had to keep up. Each time he made a mistake- almost tripping, getting entangled, or cut, he could feel the mocking gazes being thrown his way. Still, they pressed north, now following a gully that Chesed recognized from his earlier mission.
At one point, Cadren slowed just enough for Chesed to catch his breath- but only so Chesed could have the energy to speak a sentence.. He turned back, voice low. "You said the site was beyond the swamp?"
Chesed nodded, sweat stinging his eyes. "Another two miles. There's a ridge, near a fallen oak. It's the path we took."
Cadren grunted, swept forward again. The other three guards following close to Cadren, examining the area themselves. Each passed with eyes that registered Chesed's weakening form, but no hand offered relief.
The final mile was hell. They emerged from dense evergreens into a clearing scorched by sunlight. Chesed saw it immediately: the shattered trunk of an oak, its roots upturned, scorched scars across its bark. Heart pounding, he gestured wildly. "Over there. This way!"
Cadren strode to the tree, then turned to the others. "Investigate." WIth no further commands- everyone understood their jobs. Except Chesed, who had no further orders of him at the time. Which meant he could finally rest.
Chesed had to sit, he was near collapse. He wanted to vomit, to rest, but at the same time, he didn't know if he truly could. It wasn't safe for him, but what could he do?
He watched, mouth agape, as they began instantly investigating and collecting information at such a fast pace. Mira knelt beside a pool of dried blood and swabbed the earth with a fine brush, collecting samples into sealed phials. Another guard, Second Job veteran Jorn, used tongs to pick up a shriveled cloak fragment, even Chesed had missed that tiny tear—placing it into a containment cube. They labeled everything: 'Sample A-1: Human blood,' 'Sample B-3: Cloth fiber,' 'Sample C-2: Soil substrate.'
Cadren withdrew a small crystalline lens, giving it to his subordinate Gin. "Photograph everything," Cadren ordered. Gin immediately began to take pictures- photographing every relevant scene, even things that Chesed did not understand the use of.
Cadren commanded, "We have to confirm tissue types," He spoke to Jorn, "And speed of attack." He motioned towards a clearing- "Chesed made a shot there." He noted a different spot, "That's Maedyn's blood, check if it was savage blow, it seems like that caused her injury."
The words echoed in Chesed's head. It all matched but… how were they finding this out? "That matches…" he began, but Cadren cut him off.
"We know what you said. We're confirming it." Cadren's tone was neutral, but his eyes were cold.
They moved methodically. Cadren measured the depth and angle of arrow wounds. Mira untied a loose scarf tied around the oak's protruding root, testing the fabric for residue. Jorn scraped nearby rock for embedded metal shards. Each step yielded data: velocity of projectiles, average stance height of attackers, even rough estimates of muscle strength required for the stab wounds.
Chesed, gaunt and trembling, stood aside, no longer knowing where to look. He tried to track their movements, but his vision blurred. He was so exhausted, he couldn't even turn properly to even see their movements.
Mira and Jorn shifted attention to the scattered remains of Chesed's fallen team. One by one, they marked the spots where Halden, Soriel, and Bren had fallen, cataloguing and writing down information beside each. Notes—"Ranger, First Job," "Damage: femoral artery," "Last arrow strike at a 23 degree angle, were quickly noted down.
Chesed could barely listen, but he heard snippets: "No trace of magical residue." "All arrows standard Sogen issue." "Smoke bomb residue unnatural—" "Curved obsidian dagger: rare import."
He swallowed again, remembering the weapon he'd looted, the rogue's obsidian blade. It must have been analyzed beforehand. Now these guards here were massaging the facts he'd submitted, cross-referencing everything.
"Bring the bodies for analysis," Cadren called, "Make a container for it."
To Chesed, it was insane. It wasn't just a matter of their examination but now they were… building on the spot.
Cadren chopped through wood and made planks, Gin nailed them together, Mira made wheels, Jorn crafted axels… it was beyond what Chesed had ever expected. Did all advanced adventurers know how to do this or… was this specialities of Shadow Guard Beta?
…
Within fifty minutes, the shadow guard had compiled reams of observations: precise wound charts, movement reconstructions, chemical assays of the soil, fabric origins, probable weapon origin. Each data point bolstered Chesed's original tale, yes, a Second Job rogue had ambushed them.
Yet when Cadren and Mira huddled, whispers sharp in tone, Chesed's unease deepened. What could they still suspect!?
Chesed didn't even know how to act, plus far mostly keeping silent as to not antagonize them. He clearly wasn't trusted, he didn't want any act of talking to be seen as desperate attempts to obscure details.
Cadren glanced at him, eyes cold. "We corroborate your story. But…" He made a slicing motion with his finger. "No trail to this assassin's arrival. No footsteps, traces, indentations, energy traces, that could possibly belong to him. It is as if he just appeared."
Mira placed a sample vial on a stump. "His entry point is… impossible."
Chesed felt the ground tilt. What nonsense was this…? He couldn't even tell if the investigating was real or not anymore. So what if they couldn't find his trail? He was a second job rogue- they were good at covering up tracks. It's not like the enemy had to make predictable movements. "He's a second job Rogue, it's normal for there to be a lack of tracks of him, no? Especially after a day and a half?"
Jorn shook his head. "Not how it works. Plus, Lord Nine stated that by all accounts there shouldn't have been an enemy like this here, two suspicious points."
Cadren's gaze bored into Chesed. "Explain that."
Chesed opened his mouth, then closed it. He had no answer.
Mira's voice was low, sharp. "Unless—"
Cadren silenced her with a glance. Instead, he folded his arms. "Let's expand the search."
Instantly, the guards moved with renewed purpose. Cadren drew some marks on the dirt around to note the specified location, "Expand. Start at analyzing ten paces further- until we covered an additional hundred paces in all directions. Gather all ambient traces."
Chesed tried to step back but Cadren's boot blocked him. "You're guiding me. Show me your team's path from Stonecall ruins. Every branch, every deviation."
Chesed's throat squeezed, but he pointed, voice trembling. "Follow that ridge line east, then cut north along the dry creek bed." Cadred nodded, pushing Chesed forwards, "Lead." Chesed could only comply.
As Chesed recalled his previous motions and took Cadren through the path. The entire time, Cadred scoured the forest floor: pulling fallen logs aside, sifting leaf litter, scanning for foot impressions. Cadren was like a beast, even sniffing the scents to detect any potential leads.
Hours passed, though to Chesed it felt like days. His limbs trembled. Every breath felt like inhaling fire. As if losing his team and being injured wasn't bad enough, now he was forced to exhaustion while being suspected for betrayal.
At last, Cadren halted. He tapped a side pocket, producing a small dossier. He tossed it to Chesed. "You should know: we began this inquiry yesterday."
Chesed blinked as he opened the file. Inside were notes and sketches of every item looted from the battlefield: arrows, daggers, gloves, potions, even the obsidian curved blade. Each had been photographed, chemically tested, and cross-referenced against Sogen's armories and market records.
Cadred added, "That's why no one came for you sooner, our team was busy analyzing your spoils for inconsistencies."
Chesed's heart sank. "Why tell me?" It just didn't seem like information he would be told… unless he was about to be eliminated.
Cadren let out a small grin, out of place given his previous behavior. "Your sovereign doesn't trust your story. We're to determine if you lied, or if something truly unexplainable occurred." It didn't even answer Chesed's question.
"Everything here matches your version, except…" He glanced at Chesed. "Except the intruder's origin."
Chesed swallowed, shoulders drooping. "I don't know how he got here. I never claimed to know the origin."
Cadren's jaw tightened. "Then we'll find out."