Chapter 56: Locked Up
The kids at the temple watched as they saw the Red Brigade Clan enter the temple and place Raze in metal cuffs. These cuffs were made of a thick, heavy, black material, unlike the ones used on Alterian.
These cuffs were made of a special material that not even those at the peak of the Initial stage could break out of. It was something Raze had never come across, and he wasn't even sure if his magic would do the trick.
Escorted by two Pagna warriors on either side, they led him down the stairs while Kron stood by Safa's side for support, not saying a word.
Before they had put Raze in cuffs, they had given him a brief explanation as to why they had done so, because he was suspected of harming a disciple. Since coming here, there were a few people that Raze had done harm to: the Pagna warrior that tried to kill him, the pawn shop owners, Gren, and last but not least, Von, the disciple of the Red Brigade Clan.
'I wonder how they managed to suspect me?' Raze thought, as he followed the others and eventually left the temple completely. 'He shouldn't have been able to speak, and if he lost all of his senses, he wouldn't have been able to hear their questions or write?
'Could it be, does the world of Pagna have something that can heal the sealed curses? Something that not even the 9-star mages of Alterian could complete?'
During the walk through the forest and through the town, not a single word was said to Raze, and he reciprocated by staying silent. In this type of situation, it wouldn't be surprising for a kid to remain quiet.
There were many looks from the onlookers, but there wasn't too much shock, as this was something that occurred once in a while. The Clan was employed on behalf of the local kingdom, so it was their job to uphold justice. Other than other Pagna warriors, one couldn't really go against them in the first place. So they would bring them in and hold them before carting them off to the main city to be locked up.
Eventually, Raze had entered the base, but he wasn't taken to the main buildings or the buildings at the side. Instead, he was taken to an area behind the main building, a crude, worn-down building at the back. A few guards stood outside the building, and upon heading inside, it was quite obvious what the place was: a holding cell. Passing by the other cells, he could see what looked like drunks and a few disgruntled older men, but no one that appeared dangerous.
It just made it clear, that the town and the clan itself wasn't a dangerous place.
With the cuffs still on, Raze had been placed in a small room where he couldn't even lie down. At most, he would have been able to stretch his arms and touch all sides of the walls, but due to the cuffs, he could only move his arms up and down. With that, the other clan members left him be.
'Are they just going to lock me up and keep me here?' Raze thought. 'No trial, no explanation of what happened, or how they even found out it was me! I mean, I am guilty, but where's the evidence?'
Although Raze was unable to break the locks, he could still use his magic through his hands. If he wanted to, he could blast away the weakened walls, but he wondered where that would leave him.
'I guess if the situation goes from bad to worse, I could always escape to that other world and meet up with Dame. If the item did him well, he could protect me for a while,' Raze thought.
After around an hour or so, footsteps were heard down the hallway, and eventually, they had stopped right in front of Raze's cell.
"How are you doing in there?" Sonny asked. "That was a stupid question to ask, I guess you're worried sick and have no clue what's going on."
Based on how Sonny was acting and the fact that he had come in on his own, Raze realized that this wasn't on orders, and maybe he would be able to get some information from him.
"You're right, I have no idea what's happening right now. Why did they say I hurt a disciple? It's not even something I'm capable of?" Raze said.
Sonny looked to his left and then placed both hands on the bars as he went in closer. "The situation isn't looking the best right now," Sonny whispered. "You know the clan was already suspicious of you because you managed to survive back then, Yon told you that, and honestly, you were never cleared of being a suspect.
"As for the disciple that was injured... The physician was able to get some information out of him. The kid, he can't speak, he can't hear, and he can't see, but I heard he can still cultivate Qi inside to a certain degree.
"The physician tried to help him restore some of his functions through Qi. It must have powered through his body and allowed him for a moment to get back some of his senses. The disciple did two things; he mumbled 'white hair,' and also wrote down the words 'white hair' as well.
"They tried the same trick again, but it only seemed to work once. Now, just because you have white hair doesn't mean they outright think it's you, but you're high up on the list due to the other incident as well, and other than the old ones, there aren't really many with white hair."
In some ways, hearing this news was a bit of relief. Since they hadn't figured out a way to cure Von, it meant that the blame couldn't 100 percent be pinned on him. The Clan was unsure about punishing someone who was just a kid.
"The clan, right now, they're waiting on some experts to come and interrogate you."
An eyebrow was raised; what kind of experts could confirm the truth? Was that even possible? If it was a mage, they could perhaps cast a spell that looked into one's memories or forced them to reveal the truth. But based on what Raze knew about the Pagna, they weren't capable of such things.
A click, followed by a creak, was heard. The Red Brigade members had come in, and they weren't alone. Along with them were the two experts. Sonny had run out of time; he wanted to ask Raze if it was him or learn something. If he did find out something, what would he have done? That he didn't even know himself.
The Red Brigade members lined up in front of the cell, and lifting his head, Raze could see the experts by their side.
"It's you?" The woman said.
The voice was a familiar one, and out of all that he thought he would see, he never thought he would come across the woman from the market, Charlotte, and standing by her side was her large friend, Himmy.
"It's nice to meet you," Himmy winked.n--O1n