The priests rushed down the corridor of the West Wing with Gerhard leading the way, his excitement evident in his confident strides. With the Temple clearly short on Chief Priests to maintain order in the capital, this opportunity could not have come at a better time and the stakes could not have been higher. He would find the child before anyone else and personally hand her over to His Grace. As he approached Sir Richard’s quarter, Gerhard drew his cleaver from his waist, a massive blade forged with Darnish steel.

Gerhard quickly rounded the corner and came to a sudden stop at the imposing seal of the Royal Guards engraved into the thick oak door. The emblem featured a lion holding a shield with the circle of Ora in its center, a reminder that the Crown and the Temple served the same God. Though he had not yet set foot inside the room, the air in the corridor was already thick with the presence of Sir Richard, his power palpable through the wooden barrier. Gerhard took a deep breath to steady himself before slowly raising his hand to knock.

“Sir Richard, are you inside?” Gerhard called out, but there was no answer. Gerhard gave the door a slight push and found it was unlocked. With his hand tightly clutched around the hilt of the cleaver, he kicked the door open. A rush of cold air swarmed out of the dark room, engulfing him and the young priests. It was empty, or so it seemed in the low visibility. The only source of light were the lamps in the corridor and the moonlight that filtered through the drapes.

"Sir Richard?" Gerhard called out once more, his voice echoing in the eerily silent room. He carefully stepped over the threshold, surveying his surroundings. The room was so cold that Gerhard felt the chilled marble stones through the soles of his boots. The candle, the lamp, even the fireplace had no trace of any warmth. Gerhard hastened his steps towards the lamp and placed his palm over it.

Using Mana (2 m)

Activating blue strain.

Heat.

A flicker of blue flashed across his eyes, and with a light whirr, the lamp was lit with fire. The other three priests followed suit, lighting all the candles in the same manner. The room was sparsely furnished and decorated, with only a large wooden desk and a table with a map of the city spread over its surface. In the dark corner, the trace of a door leading to Sir Richard’s private chamber revealed itself under the orange hue of the candle.

“Archpriest Gerhard, if I may,” one of the priests nervously addressed his senior. “What are we doing here?”

“We are looking for Sir Richard. Isn’t that apparent?” Gerhard snorted, hinting at his annoyance.

“Perhaps he’s…” one of the other priests suggested, pointing at the slightly ajar door to Sir Richard’s private chamber.

“In this cold? I highly doubt it…” Gerhard dismissed the suggestion, but to leave no stone unturned, he cautiously approached the door. “Sir Richard. It is I, Archpriest Gerhard of Inaby. I’ve come at the request of His Excellency, High Priest Sandalisu Messala…” Gerhard’s voice trailed off as he pushed the door open.

The priests instinctively reached for their falchions as they watched Gerhard grip the doorknob.

“Sir!” a loud voice suddenly erupted from the entrance of the quarter, startling both the priests and Gerhard.

“What is it?!” Gerhard demanded in frustration, turning to face the priest.

“Sir Richard’s cogmo is still inside the stable,” the priest reported.

“And his gala uniform is with the tailor. I checked with his squire,” the other priest added, joining his companion at the door. It was Geonwu, disguised as a seminarian in Trevor's garb and mask.

“Impossible!” Gerhard exclaimed as he kicked open the door to Sir Richard’s bedchamber. “Sir Richard!” But as he had suspected, the chamber was also empty, with no sign of the Captain or the missing child.

A cough escaped Geonwu. “Khoff! It’s freezing in here…” he remarked, as he immediately reached for the brass lever on the wall and pulled it down. It activated the ondol, the central heating system for the palace. Sound of metallic wheels followed as the floor began to immediately warm. “Thought we could…use some heat?” he added, a bit sheepishly.

Gerhard's ears perked up at the sound of the young priest's voice, recognizing a sense of familiarity in it. However, with the urgent matter of locating Sir Richard taking precedence, he quickly brushed the thought aside.

“Where could he have gone on a night like this with the entire city in an uproar over the kidnapping of Her Majesty’s newborn?” Gerhard spoke aloud as he pondered the situation.

"Kidnapping?!" exclaimed the priests, visibly shaken by the sudden news. "The Princess...? But how…?" they continued in disbelief. The group exchanged confused looks as another spoke up, "Who would dare?"

“Calm yourselves,” Gerhard spoke with authority. We are here, because Sir Richard is among those under suspicion of kidnapping the Princess.”

The young priests gasped, a sudden chill running down their spines as the realization dawned on them that they had unwittingly trespassed into the lair of one of the most fearsome knights in Bricester, not seeking his aid, but his arrest. Geonwu, however, remained perfectly calm amidst the tension in the room, as though he alone possessed knowledge of all the mysteries of the night and the secret hidden within the confines of the chamber.

"If you are to see Sir Richard or Her Highness the Princess, you are to report directly to me and no one else. Do not trust the royal guards. Is that clear?" commanded Gerhard, his voice stern and resolute, conveying the gravity of the situation. The young priests, still shaken by the news, answered in unison, "Y-Yes, Sir!"

Gerhard immediately began surveying the room once more. His eyes scanned over the regular demilune secretary in the corner that accomodated the limited space, the few pages of blank parchment, the bottle of ink, and the felt tip pen. He then turned to the heavy round table carved out of maple with the map of the city stretched out over its surface. These were all standard items for the Captain of the Royal Guards, whose duty included familiarizing himself with the city’s infrastructure inside and out.

“And what’s this?” asked Geonwu, curiously pointing to a map of pipelines underneath the map of the city.

"Give me that!" Gerhard quickly retrieved the two maps from the table and held them up, one on top of the other, next to the lamp. He noticed several pipelines branching out of the palace, but one in particular caught his eye. It stretched all the way north through the Queen’s Garden, across the city wall, and beyond. The map ended at that point, leaving Gerhard wondering where the pipeline led. He was perplexed by the discovery of a path leading in and out of the city beyond the four gates, causing him to ponder whether it was a mere coincidence that this conduit ran through Sir Richard's quarter. ‘Could this be related to the disappearance of the princess?’ he questioned himself.

“Look for a trapdoor!” Gerhard commanded, his voice urgent. “Search every inch of the floor! You! Check his bedchamber!” he pointed to the priest closest to him. And for the next ten minutes, they combed through the entire place, leaving no corner unturned. They even slammed the pummels of their blades against the marble floor hoping to find any loose pieces, but the room remained resolute, refusing to divulge any of its secrets.

“Why is there wood in his fireplace?” asked Geonwu with his hand over the ondol lever. "When he has ondol."

“What?” Gerhard asked, confused and annoyed.

Geonwu's breath came out in visible puffs through his mask as he approached the fireplace. “The palace is heated by the ondol system," he explained, "And when’s the last time you’ve seen smoke come out of the palace chimney? Even if Sir Richard fancied a barbecue over an open fire isn’t it odd that neither the hearth nor the firebox has any hint of being charred in this cold weather?” Geonwu hoped he'd given him enough clues.

"They may have used the fireplace as an exit.”

Gerhard suddenly recalled the High Priest's earlier words about the fireplace being used as an exit. He hurried over to the fireplace and began examining it closely, running his hand over the bricks, the marble mantle, and even the chamber itself. But despite his thorough search, he found nothing that suggested the presence of a trap door.

Geonwu shook his head in disbelief at the archpriest's utter incompetence. Though he was tempted to just point to the firewood and tell him to look underneath it, he exercised his better judgment and pointed out, “We don’t have ash in Bricester."

“What is your name?” Gerhard asked, his face betraying confusion and annoyance.

“Trevor, Sir,” lied Geonwu.

"Trevor! Seriously, where did I see your name...?" Gerhard furrowed his brow, racking his brain as Geonwu nervously waited, feeling a bead of sweat run down his cheek. "Ah, yes! Your name was on the list. You were supposed to stay back in the Temple tonight. What are you doing here?" inquired Gerhard, his suspicion evident.

Geonwu was caught off guard and struggled to find his words. "I-I, umm..."

"He's right, Sir!" another priest interjected, leaning in to inspect the fireplace. "These are ash."

“Listen, I'm short on time, so enough detective talk, and just get to the point,” demanded Gerhard, his tone tinged with confusion.

Geonwu quickly explained, “It’s the firewood, Sir. It’s ash, not maple like we use here in Bricester. The nearest source of ash is hundreds of miles away in Haalstead.”

Gerhard nodded slowly, still unsure. "What are you suggesting with the firewood?"

"They just seem out of place, Sir. That's all," he explained.

“Out of place? You mean they don’t belong there?” Gerhard’s confusion quickly turned to curiosity as he casually reached for one of the wood pieces and pulled, but it didn't budge. Perplexed, he tried again, and to everyone's surprise, the entire set of wood, apparently sculpted out of stone, slid to the side. He grabbed it with both hands and pulled with all his strength, causing the side of the firebox to lift with a loud rattle. The stone sculpture, modeled to resemble a pile of wood, slid inside the wall through the opening. Gerhard leaned across the mantle in amazement, with his head inside the firebox, and discovered a small entrance leading to an underground passage where the firewood had been sitting.

Gerhard was briefly at a loss for words, but quickly regained his composure and called out for his guardian, "Vlad, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, Gerhard," answered the vulture. "How can I assist you?"

"I've discovered a hidden passageway inside Sir Richard's chamber," Gerhard declared proudly while Geonwu rolled his eyes. "It appears to head north towards the northern wall through a pipeline. I'm going in, and I plan to find out where it ends. I need you to follow me from above and keep an eye out for Sir Richard," Gerhard instructed solemnly.

"I understand. But I hope you won't go too deep underground. It might interfere with our communication," Vlad cautioned.

"I have no choice. I'll meet you somewhere north of the city," Gerhard replied determinedly as he slid feet first into the firebox. Though his six-foot-two frame was a tight fit in the cramped space, he managed to wiggle his way through until he landed with a loud splash in a dark tunnel.

"Argh…" Gerhard groaned at the foul odor rising from his feet, completely submerged in waste. "Lamp!" he ordered, his voice echoing endlessly down the tunnel. 'This must be the pipeline that leads out across the city wall,' he thought to himself. Geonwu promptly dropped the lamp through the firebox, which Gerhard carefully lowered into his hands using his mana.

Using Mana (2 m)

Activating blue and red strains.

Telekinesis.

With his eyes carefully studying the long and dark tunnel, Gerhard issued urgent instructions to the young priests, "Spread out and find the Chief Priests. Inform them of our discovery and everything you witnessed here just now. Waste no time, go!"

Without delay, Gerhard forged ahead down the dark and damp tunnel, the pounding of the priests' heavy footsteps from the room above reverberating through the pipeline which didn’t run too deep underground. He felt the urgency of the bustling activity above, people and beasts alike urgently searching for the missing princess. And despite the unbearable stench that grew stronger with each step, Gerhard's heart quickened with a sense of purpose, knowing that he alone was on the right path to apprehend the abductors while the rest of the city scurried around aimlessly. Moreover, this was his chance to prove his worth and earn a place in the coveted Circle of Chief Priests.