"In the several hundred years that we have been holding an Invitational, we have never been targeted so maliciously!" The head of the Federation of Merchant Cities Invitational was raging in the office at the city's government center. Representative heads of each city and members of their local Invitational committee were present.

Ash sat quietly beside the representatives from Carthage Harbor, his face dark with lips drawn into a line and his eyes cold. He'd been called away to assist with the suspicious clay target. As a skilled mage, he was able to isolate the target and detonate it over the water, as well as contain the blast within a certain area.

However, just watching the blast from the shore, the committee members and staff were stunned. Their faces paled and their eyes were wide, as if they were imagining the devastation such a thing would have done if it had been hit.

And it wasn't as if the other competitors had avoided it on purpose.

All of them had tried to hit the target to add more points to their score, but all of them had missed. Several came very close, but it hadn't been touched.

Considering the strength of the blast, Ash doubted that a competitor was involved, as they had to remain in a certain area after they finished their course, and would be caught in the explosion if the target had been hit.

The person in charge of mounting the target the day before had also been questioned, but swore he hadn't done anything to it. In fact, he said the target had been the same size disc as the others. Event staff also vouched for him.

The targets had been in place since the day before, since the event started in the morning. If the staff member was not the one who installed the target, then it must've been changed out at night.

The area had security and was closed off to the public, but it was very possible for someone to sneak in and change the target.

Part of Ash wished his mother was there. As a competitor in the middle of the tournament, Nera had to remain with the rest of the competitors and could not attend the meeting, though she'd spoken to them earlier.

Ash wanted to ask her if her animals noticed anything and if so, if they could identify who had tampered with the event.

"Second Young Master, what do you think?"

Ash was drawn out of his thoughts and looked up to see several pairs of eyes looking at him from all over the room. He took a deep breath, but remained leaning back against his seat with an arm resting on the table.

"Considering the recent problems encountered at the all-around and this incident, it doesn't seem to match. Either they're two separate groups tampering with the event," Ash told them. "Or they've escalated after failure."

They escalated from targeting individual competitors to destroying an entire dock?" one of the councilors almost choked with disbelief. "Isn't that escalating too quickly?"

Several others nodded in agreement.

"Yes, but they may be getting desperate, though why, I don't know," Ash said. He took a deep breath and sat up straight. "With the committee's permission, I'd like to investigate."

Everyone nodded and even voiced their readied agreement, but the councilors from Carthage Harbor hesitated.

"Second Young Master, what about the Exhibition?"

"You're worried about the Exhibition?" another council member from another city admonished Carthage Harbor. "Isn't this more important?"

"It's important, but the Second Young Master already has a prior engagement," someone pointed out. Ash raised his hand to calm them.

"Hana Nobuya can do the exhibition presentation without me," Ash replied in a steady voice. "She has placed and won with me before, so the city is familiar with her. I'll inform her of it. She will understand."

"Are you going to investigate alone?" There was disapproval in Councilwoman Cheysok's voice. "It's too dangerous."

"I'm also a highly ranked adventurer in the Adventurer's Guild," Ash told them. "I can handle this. In fact, this has directly impacted my family, so we will utilize our resources accordingly."

Everyone contemplated his words and then nodded in agreement. The Atractas family had many people under them, including well trained guards, both for family members and for escorting cargo. However, when Ash mentioned resources, he meant his brother, the swordsman, and his sister, the beast master.

"You have our approval and should you need any additional resources, Second Young Master, please do not hesitate to request it."

"Yes, we will do our best to fulfill your needs for this."

"Keeping the Invitational safe is a top priority."

Ash nodded, his thoughts still lingering on possible motives. At first, they assumed the sabotage was to stop their mother from winning, likely due to a financial incentive, such as a bet. However, several other competitors were affected. The five people in the magic course was also done at random, as they must've been placed there before and position were selected by lot.

Either it didn't matter who was injured, or they were casting a big net to try to capture an elusive fish.

With the committee's support, Ash stood up to leave. He told them to increase security everywhere, not just in areas where the all-around would take place or where its competitors were. The committee agreed. The Invitational was an important part of the Federation's customs and traditions; it could not be tarnished with a tragedy.

Ash returned to the teahouse, coming in through an open, narrow window that faced a narrow alley. The window was just above the midpoint to some stairs leading to the family's private apartment, so he wasn't seen entering and wouldn't be bothered.

He entered the apartment and was unsurprised to find the wide windows that faced the inner courtyard open and a line up for birds and small animals standing peacefully in a line, waiting to speak to Effie.

Effie was sitting on the sofa, her back to the apartment entrance. Henry was next to her writing down what she was translating while Terry and Cio were feeding the animals by the window.

"They were wearing a hood and part of their face was covered. She is unsure if it was a man or a woman from the way they were dressed; their clothing was relatively loose and covering any obvious body parts. Clothing was dark," Effie said as a seagull trilled in front of her. Beside her, Henry was writing down the findings on a pad of paper. "As tall as the railing of the stands, three steps up, if they were standing on the ground."

"This is consistent with the other witness accounts," Henry muttered. "How did the suspect replace the target?"

Effie repeated his question and the seagull immediately began making low squawking noises, appearing energetic. Effie's brows shot up.

"They used the long stick with the hook at the end that is used to mount the discs to put the explosive target up, hooking it on to the hook at the top of the pole, then unhooked the original disc."

"So, no one noticed that it had ever come down," Henry said.

"Can you ask them if there was anyone else there?" Ash took advantage of the break in their conversation to ask a question. "The pole where the last target was mounted is screwed on to a vertical pile at the end of the platform."

The targets were placed away from the stands and shore, well into the harbor. Wooden floating platforms connected most of them and had a safe area for event staff to huddle during the event. When it was over, they'd rush out to replace the broken targets.

These platforms had to be reached by boat, so in order to get to them, someone had to row or sail over from the mainland or from a ship. If they came from a ship, they would've needed to avoid the harbor patrols, which were more active than normal because of the Invitational.

Effie looked at the line of birds and rodents and two cats and asked. Several animals sounded at once, eager to answer. Effie raised her hands.

"Okay, calm down. One at a time. If you were on the platform, speak." A different seagull squawked in response and Effie nodded her head towards it. "Continue." Even Terry and Cio stopped to listen to the bird, though Effie was the only one who could understand.

She nodded her head, her little brows furrowed as she followed along. Every now and then, she'd say she understood or ask what happened next to encourage the bird to keep speaking. Finally, she took a deep breath.

"What did it say?" Henry asked.

"It was roosting on one the next pile over that night. The person swam out from under the nearest stands, or at least that's what it looked like when she noticed," Effie said. "They were floating on a wooden board and using their arms to paddle forward while they laid on it. It was small and dark, and it didn't make a lot of noise, so they weren't noticed. They climbed on to the platform and made the switch, then got back on the board and paddled into the shadows of the stands."

The two brothers looked at each other and nodded. "Ask if anyone followed saw someone leaving the area under the stands or moving along the coast meeting the suspect's description."

After Effie asked, a cat jumped forward, meowing eagerly. It's cute, small meows sounded excitable as it slapped its paw on the table a few times, as if to make its point. Effie nodded and let out a gasp.

"He saw someone meeting that description climbing out of the water on the nearby jetty, but their clothes were...dry?" Effie frowned and gave the cat an uncertain look. "Are you sure?" She was met with a loud meow.

"Magic can dry clothes immediately," Ash said. "Such spells are easy to purchase at magic shops and the Guild, so that's not too surprising."

"Did anyone follow the suspect?"

The same cat responded, then was joined by the second cat. "They followed them because they received Momma's order to watch for suspicious activity, but they didn't get far. The suspect entered a bar. The cats tried to follow, but it was difficult to get in with so many humans. They watched both the front and back entrance, but didn't see that person come out, at least not someone with those clothes."

"Can they take us to that bar?" Henry asked. If the bar was close to the shore, then it likely took up the ground floor of a multi-storied building. There could've been an inn or private living quarters built above it where the suspect could've hidden.

Effie nodded, her eyes sharp and determined. "Tiger can take you there tonight."

"Meow!" The first cat slapped its paw on the table once more, as if assuring them.

Ash took a deep breath and exhaled. "Okay, we'll go with them. Keep asking questions about the area."

"Not only from today and last night, but anything strange from this week," Henry said. "I want a breakdown of every day around the all-around competitors and their locations."

"Understood!" Effie gave her eldest brother a salute.

"Ash, can you go check out the bar by yourself?" Henry asked.

Ash nodded. "Sure. If I don't come back by dawn, come and get me."

With a few hours left before sunset, Ash sent a message via Donut the messenger hawk to Hana explaining the situation and that he was investigating. He also told her she may have to handle the first few days of the Exhibition.

Ash then ate a large meal of left overs, and took a nap to ensure his readiness for that night.

When he walked out of the room after sunset, his siblings gave him a strange look. Henry looked him up and down from the dining room table. "You're not going to dress in black to stay hidden?"

Ash looked down at his clothes. They were the plainest, simplest clothes he had and he chosen them for that night. "I wore this to blend into the crowd if I need to escape."

Henry raised a brow. "What if there is no crowd?"

Ash almost snorted. "Do you know how ridiculous that question is?" he asked with a glare. "I'm a master mage." He held up his right hand to reveal a thick, metallic gray thumb ring. He touched the ring and his body began to disappear.

"Second Brother!" Effie jumped off her chair as the other two children nearly dropped their utensils in shock.

"I'm here." Ash's voice was heard, but they couldn't see him. Effie looked around the room, as if half expecting her brother to have been transported to another part of the apartment, but there was no Ash to be seen.

"Where?" Effie asked.

Ash reached out with his hand, finding it strange that while he knew he was reaching out and felt his arm, he couldn't see it. He was moving it blindly towards one of Effie's white hair puffs. As he closed his fingers, he half expected them to go through or feel like they were going through the hair bun. Instead, his fingers brushed his sister's hair.

Effie tensed up and drew her head back.

"Did he become a ghost?" Terry slid off her seat and rushed to Effie to look at the indents that were appearing in Effie's hair. "Is Second Brother there?" She reached up and her small hand felt something solid. She let out a cry and jumped back.

"What's wrong?" Effie asked, trying to look at Terry without turning her body.

Terry took a step back, grasping her wrist with her other hand and pulling it towards her chest. "I felt something there!"

"It's my hand, Terry," Ash said. "You can't see it, but it's there."

"Amazing...." Cio muttered as he seemed to understand what was going on. "You're like a ghost."

"Cio, can you just say invisible instead of ghost?" Ash asked, somewhat annoyed. "I'm not dead."

"Sorry."

"Where did you get an invisibility ring?" Henry asked, narrowing his eyes. "We could've used that."

"I got it from another mage," Ash replied, distracted. His brother looked suspicious.

"You got it from another mage?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"Earlier."

"When earlier?" Henry pressed and Ash avoided his gaze.

"It doesn't matter. The point is, he no longer needs it."

Henry blinked. "Where did you get it?"

Ash pursed his lips for a moment before quickly muttering something under his breath. "The mage who used magi-demae."

"What?" Henry shot up.

"It's a perfectly good magic tool!" Ash said, taking a step back and holding out his arms. "I didn't realize I took it until I woke up." He deactivated the ring, or rather, drew out his magic energy to remove its effect and make himself visible again. He wasn't exaggerating. He'd noticed the ring on the mage's hand, but thought nothing of it.

When he woke up and went through his clothes, he found the ring nestled in one of the pockets. He didn't have time to take it off the mage and put it away, and Henry wouldn't have bothered. So, how did it come into his possession? No one else had been there.

"How did you not realize it?" Henry asked.

"I felt energy coming from his hand and noticed the ring, but I didn't notice until I woke up and found it in my clothes. I didn't exactly take it, it...followed me."

Henry gave him a deadpan expression, obviously not believing him. "It followed you?"

Ash let out a low breath. "I know it sounds crazy-"

"It is crazy," Cio piped. Ash sent him a glare, but Henry and the other children nodded in agreement.

"Magic objects can sometimes have their own will. This can depend on a lot of circumstances, such as how much power it has, who made it, what it was created to do. I didn't take the ring. Brother, you were there. When would I have time to?" He looked at Henry with a beseeching expression, and Henry seemed to mull over the scene back then and nodded.

"I didn't know about the ring, either."

"I know," Ash replied. "You would've told me. I thought it may have been attracted to my magic, so it was drawn to me. The ring is smooth. It doesn't have any markings on it and when I activated it, there were no magic engravings. I can only guess that the metal itself was forged with magic, so I thought I'd keep it to study."

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

It wasn't strange that magic created jewelry could make him invisible. Magic jewelry could be created to do almost anything, though something like invisibility tended to have limitations, such as the piece could only work for a certain amount of time, or only made part of the body invisible. As with most things, the more effective, the more expensive it was.

"Are you going to test it at the bar?" Effie asked.

Ash smiled and patted her head. "I knew my little sister would understand. It seems like a good opportunity to see what it can do."

Henry took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Are you sure it won't have any negative effects? And what about the duration of invisibility?"

"I'm sure it's fine," Ash said. "Even if that mage was a blight, it doesn't mean his magic tools are evil." Ash looked down at the ring. "To be honest, I don't think he and his family have the ability to make a ring like this. They'd only been mages for a few generations. I've never heard of such items in Ashtar, so it may have been purchased or taken from someone else." He lowered his eyes and frowned. "It could've been stolen from a victim."

For all he knew, the ring was a Traceras artifact. He wouldn't be surprised if it was. If it was a Traceras artifact, as an heir to the Traceras magic, he was allowed through mage custom, to inherit and use the ring. As the blood heir to the Traceras Clan, Henry was also qualified to inherit and use the ring, but he didn't have enough of the right magic energy to activate it.

Henry looked him up and down once more, and then gave him a conceding nod. He moved around the room and back to the table by the sofa. He picked up some papers and handed the to him.

"These are the results of interviewing the animal witnesses," he said.

Ash lifted up the stack and squinted. "From just one night?"

"The last two weeks," Henry said. "Effie called all of them so we can look for any patterns amongst the sabotage. Auntie ordered them to watch in overlapping rotations, so a few came after their shift, while you were sleeping."

"There were more attempts at sabotage in other events, but they were minor and Momma's animals were able to prevent them from impacting most of the events," Effie said. She climbed back on her seat.

"They pushed down some racks to reveal tampered weapons and items, they attacked suspicious people," Terry told them. "They're really smart!"

Effie nodded in agreement. "Animals are very smart. It's just that most people don't understand them, so they can't communicate their smartness."

Ash took a seat at one end of the dining table and flipped through the pages. His eyes scanned each page quickly. Out of everyone in their family, he was the fastest reader. It only took him a few minutes to review the entire stack of notes that Henry and Effie compiled that afternoon.

"Most things would've been relatively minor, had they been enacted," Ash said, going back to the top of the stack. "At the very least, there shouldn't have been any fatalities. A few of them are just misplacing equipment to trouble competitors, which caused some delay, but no one was hurt."

"Those are simple actions, but they can severely influence the outcome of an event," Henry said. "Either they felt those simple actions weren't enough and increased the complexity of the sabotage, or the last target wasn't a simple sabotage at all, but an attack."

"Who'd attack a sporting event?" Terry asked with a frown. "And there are people from everywhere here."

"Some people have bad interests and are willing to hurt anyone to get what they want," Cio said, his childish voice serious as he poked at his food. "But they obviously want to hurt the Federation."

The table went silent. Even the children understood that because the Federation was so wealthy, powerful, and influential, it gained a lot of envy from other places. The Invitational represented all the good things about the Federation, and causing something tragic to happen during one would be a blow.

Carthage Harbor was their home, and the place that sheltered them for the last several years, giving them a safe place to prosper. Of course, the siblings couldn't allow anything to happen to their city or their Federation.

Ash poured himself some water and chugged it back before rising from his seat. "I'll follow the lead the cats gave us."

"If you're going to be gone for more than a day, send one of the ravens to report," Henry told him.

Ash nodded and headed out the door.

He climbed out of the same window he'd come through earlier that day and jumped into the alley. Before his feet hit the ground, he activated the ring.

Invisibility had its perks, but the reality was when you were walking down a busy street, and no one could see you; they obviously wouldn't make way. After being slammed into by three people because they literally could not see him, Ash slipped into an alley and deactivated the ring.

He made a mental note about using the ring in crowded places as being troublesome. He supposed it made sense that it would only really be useful for sneaking around where there were less people, as no one would run into him.

Ash confidently made his way to the shore, stopping every now and then to check out a shop or buy an evening snack. At this time of the evening, most people were finishing up their dinners outside. The outdoor seating areas now had one or two tables free and there were no longer any lines outside, except for particularly popular restaurants.

The main events for the next day were the gladiatorial match. If Henry had decided to participate, he would've been taking part in it. It was one of the most popular events and all reserved seating was sold out before the Invitational started. Their family was going to sit with Prince Tao again in the Suna Imperial Family's suite, but he didn't know if they'd have time.

As Ash reached the shoreline, there were fewer people. The area close to the stage and stands where they were that morning was closed off and there were guards standing every few steps. The other event locations were probably similar.

Ash went around a corner and hid behind a trash pile to activate the ring. With far less people it was a much easier matter to move.

He heard a meow and looked down, noticing a thick striped tabby jumping off a fence and making its way towards him. Ash beamed.

"There you are." He bent down and lowered his hand. Though the cat couldn't see him, it could still smell him. As expected, the creature found his hand with ease, sniffed him, and let out another meow before trotting away.

Ash followed the same cat that had reported to Effie earlier out on to the main street, which followed the shoreline. They didn't have to go far for the cat to lead him to a bar with an open door that was welcoming customers. Music could be heard from inside, along with the happy voices of patrons.

Ash reached into the bag strapped across his chest and found some fish jerky. He placed it on the ground and once he had released it, it appeared out of thin air. "For you," he told the cat. "Stay safe, little friend."

He stepped through the open door and narrowed his eyes. It was reasonably crowded, so he could only sneak behind the bar counter, narrowly avoiding the servers, to get to the stairs. From the outside, he could see that there were two more levels above the ground floor, so he made his way to the stairs.

The middle floor had two doors, one of which led to an unlocked storage closet. The second door was locked, and judging from the amount of space that was likely beyond it, it took up most of the floor. He quietly leaned forward and began fumbling with the lock. It made a small, quiet click and Ash carefully pushed it open.

It creaked, but with the noise coming from the ground floor, it wasn't audible.

Since no one could see him, he walked in and looked around. The room was dark and he couldn't hear anything. He closed the door part way behind him, leaving it closed, but not completely, and wandered around using only the light from the street that was coming in through the windows.

It seemed to be living quarters, which was common for such buildings. Items in the kitchen appeared to have been recently used and there was still a smell of food. Ash went to each adjoining room and found no one.

He then moved on to the upper floor. There were three apartments there, all of which were empty, but had luggage, meaning they were likely rented out during the Invitational. Once more, nothing strange there.

There didn't appear to be any passages to an attic, so there was only one place left.

If there was nothing suspicious on the upper floors, he could check for a basement.

There were even more people on the ground floor bar than earlier now that it was getting latter. With the dim light and everyone's distracted attention, no one noticed doors that were mysteriously opening by themselves.

Supply closet. Cleaning Closet. Kitchen...oh... Ash's eyes lit up as he squeezed past a server rushing out of the kitchen. He caught sight of a few more doors inside the narrow work area. They were likely pantries, but he had to check.

Luckily, people cooking were opening and closing the doors allowing him to get a good look into most of them. They had the standard shelves with baskets, barrels of liquid, and crates of alcohol bottles.

But one of the door hadn't been opened. It was at the far end, near the back door. From what the cat had said, the person they'd seen coming in hadn't left through either door during the time they were watching. Eventually, that person had to leave, and they must've changed their clothes.

From what Ash saw upstairs, he hadn't seen the clothing described, nor was there any lingering magic energy.

The last door seemed the most promising.

He waited in the corner until the door next to the last door was flung open by a cook to grab some supplies.

When the cook closed the pantry door, the door beside it closed as well, causing the cook to paused for a moment, but ignored the other door.

Ash made his way down a narrow set of stairs. He could smell the dampness as he descended, which wasn't all that surprising considering they were by the water. The buildings along the shore had been built upon piles that were several stories above the usual waterline, so there was space below to build out a storage area without touching the water.

He heard a muffled noise coming from below. Ash looked up. Above him, a crowd was drinking and someone was playing music, but noise was also coming from the walls around the basement. He craned his neck and listened, following the sound to its largest point. His hands were against the wall to use as a guide as he walked, but as he reached the far wall, where the noise was originating, his fingers felt vertical wooden beams.

Narrowing his eyes, Ash could barely make out the shape of a door.

"Here we go...." His voice whispered as he felt around for a door handle or some sort of latch. With the sound of many voices and music also coming from the other side, an opening door wouldn't get much attention as long as he didn't burst through.

When he couldn't find a handle, Ash pressed himself against the door and gave it a slight push.

A stream of light appeared from a crack between the door and the doorframe, making Ash smile. The scent of cigar smoke and even more alcohol filled his nose as he squeezed through the gap and entered a yellow-lit room where there were gambling tables and people yelling over them. It was a bit surprising that he could see so many unguarded auras in such a place.

Casinos weren't prohibited in the Federation of Merchant cities, but they were usually restricted to a special zone and registered with the city. They were regulated and there were rules for debtors to prevent exploitation. They also had to pay a hefty gambling tax.

Of course, not everyone was willing to follow those policies, so illegal establishments popped up every now and then. They usually weren't long lived, as once the city found out, it would be raided.

Ash pressed his back against the wall, still invisible, and observed the open space in front of him. He couldn't tell immediately if this was a legitimate casino or an underground one, so he walked the perimeter to try to see if various regulations had been followed. Ash had been hired to provide some arrays to prevent fire and smoke damage for a casino in Carthage Harbor, so he was at least familiar with the regulations for his city.

After making a round, Ash was fairly confident that he was in an underground casino.

But he wasn't there to investigate an illegal gambling hall.

He crept around and listened to various conversations until he heard someone who appeared to be a manager warn a server to treat important guests well. The woman who was the server nodded and seemed to mentally prepare herself before adjusting her tray of drinks, and walking towards some stairs. Ash followed with his eyes and noticed that at the top of the stairs there was a door that led to a room that overlooked the floor. It was likely built on what would've been the ground floor of the building.

He climbed up the stairs quickly to avoid running into anyone, then managed to catch the open door after the server had entered.

Inside, there were various tables, and a long counter in front of a betting board. Names of events were listed along with the cities participating in. The events listed happened that day or would happen the rest of the remaining days. Various numbers next to the cities were the odds of winning.

Ash couldn't help but take a look at the all-around betting board. It shouldn't have been touched since the event started. Carthage Harbor had the most odds of winning, but now everyone knew that winning first place wasn't going to happen.

He couldn't help but frown. None of the handful of men and women in the room had an unguarded aura. They were all sitting there, drinking with each other, but they didn't trust their drinking partners.

The server he'd followed inside was finishing up putting all the drinks in front of the dozen or so people in the room. No one looked at her and no one spoke, either. Ash could almost feel her discomfort as she walked between tables and placed glasses on the tabletops. After the last one was presented, she held her serving tray and stood up straight.

"Is there anything else I can get for you gentlemen?" A true professional. Her voice didn't shake despite the awkward atmosphere.

"No. You may leave," an older man at the counter said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

The server nodded and turned around. Ash stood in the corner, against the wall, opposite the windows. The door closed and the room remained silent for a few more moments before someone spoke.

"With all the sudden increased security, I'm afraid the changes to tomorrow's gladiatorial final will not go as planned." A man scowled and grabbed his glass before tilting his head back and taking a long drink. He slammed his empty glass back on the table and scowled. "There goes fifteen hundred dinari!"

"Orm Point's gladiator found his equipment just before his match. I told them not to hide the weapons and just throw them away so they wouldn't be found, but they didn't listen!" Another man complained and soon, the entire room was filled with bitter complaints about sabotage gone wrong.

In order to alter the outcomes of the events to the desired cities, it seemed this group of people had bribed people, hired local thugs, and even bought and replaced good equipment with faulty ones to ensure particularly competitive cities did badly.

Fortunately, after Nera found the problem with her boat during the practice period, it heightened the security for the events, and animals were placed around the event locations to hinder sabotage.

Ash felt particularly pleased when heard an old woman complain that the people she'd hired were chased by dogs and never had a chance to get near an equipment storage shed.

Then, one man exclaimed something more. "I paid good money to make sure Carthage Harbor drew the faulty course for the fourth event, and she still managed to come out! Ridiculous!" Ash's burning gaze turned towards a scrawny looking rich man.

He gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to throw something at him, but his unsettling glare was felt. The rich man looked around, but didn't see anyone else looking at him.

"Hey," another person at the counter looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Did you have anything to do with the dead people found on the field after the fourth event?"

Ash held his breath and turned his attention to the rich man. Everyone else in the room was also looking at the rich man with surprise. Sabotage to fix event results was one thing, but they wouldn't purposely kill a competitor. That would trigger an investigate that could lead to them.

Ash studied all their faces to see if they all felt the same. Mostly surprise and some shock, as if they couldn't believe he'd do something that involved killing people.

"I didn't kill anyone!" The man threw his arms up and his face flushed. "I paid the Magic Tower to keep Carthage Harbor's competitor stuck in one of the courses so she wouldn't come out until the end and receive no points. I didn't know about those people who were hidden in the illusion."

"I heard there were several people," another person said in a low voice. "Three were dead, but two fled."

"They didn't get away. I heard they were attacked by some geese from a nearby farm and were found by city guards patrolling the area," someone replied with a shake of their head.

Ash drew his lips inward and bit them. They were indeed found and attacked by geese. Effie had ordered aggressive fowl from neighboring farms to watch the field, so once the illusion lost power and the people were revealed and could escape, they could be caught.

The city guards found those men bloodied and injured in the nearby forest. One had lost their eyes, and both would never be able to have any more children. And that was only because Effie restrained herself from ordering the suspects to be mauled to death.

The city guards and the Invitational committee had interrogated those men, but nothing much came of it. They were hired and didn't even know who hired them.

Ash hoped to find more useful information this time.

In the midst of all the complaining, where Ash realized that many of these people have been sabotaging different events at the Invitational for many years now and hadn't been caught, the door swung open.

A pale young man stumbled in, shaken. Ash narrowed his eyes.

He was an assistant to one of the secretaries of an Invitational committee member. Ash had seen him in passing earlier that day.

"Explosives were planted at the last all-around event!" He cried out as he stumbled for a seat. Several people sat up straight and one old man rushed towards the young man. His aura expressed fear. Probably something else, too, but Ash only bothered to remember a few aura colors and their meanings.

"Edgar, what are you saying? What are you talking about?" the old man asked. He shouted out the door for some water before closing it. He put his hand on the young man's back.

"Someone else is sabotaging the events!" he said, looking up at everyone with a panicked expression. "One of the targets...the last target at the all-around's clay shooting...it wasn't just a clay disc! If Carthage Harbor hit it, it would've exploded!"

The room burst into chattering.

Ash craned his neck and listened closely. Previous to this, it had sounded like the last time they sabotaged the all-around was with the obstacle course. That event ensured that Carthage Harbor couldn't win first place, and even knocked some favorites down, so there was no need to continue meddling. It didn't seem worth it to continue, as long as Carthage Harbor didn't win the top spot.

"Wait, is that why she didn't shoot the last target today?" someone asked, their voice shaking.

"Good gods, I was there!" another person exclaimed.

"The competitor for Carthage Harbor reported that the disc was larger than normal, which is why she didn't shoot it. After the event, they had a mage take it down and check. They detonated it over the water and the blast was contained by the mage, but estimates are that if it had been hit during the event, everything reaching to the storefronts on the shoreline, including all the stands and the stage, would've been caught in the explosion."

A chill seemed to go through the room as the cheaters understood the severity of the situation.

Ash scanned their pale, shaken faces. He had no doubt that most of these people had been in the audience, and now, they couldn't help but wonder if there were any more possible threats of that magnitude awaiting them at other event sites.

Everyone in the room seemed shaken by this.

Except for the middle-aged man behind the counter. His expression didn't change much outside of looking a bit concerned. He didn't show the initial shock that such a revelation deserved.

"Did the target get switched?" he asked.

"Yes, it must've," the young man replied. "The clay targets were all installed last night for the first round."

"When could it have been switched?" an old woman asked with a frown.

"Yes, there are guards everywhere!"

"Obviously not enough if explosives can replace targets."

As they rambled on about how close they had been to death and prodded the young man who'd arrived last to tell them more about what the committee said, Ash kept watching the man at the counter.

He narrowed his eyes.

The man would probably be as tall as the railing of the stands, if he stood beside it...and he was not too thin or too thick. Loose clothing would be enough to keep him androgynous.

For the rest of the time inside, he paid close attention to that man.

Many of the other people had begun reassuring themselves that the chances of it happening again were slim, but still made plans to avoid events in the coming days. They discussed possible reasons for such a thing to happen, but even they weren't convinced that it only had to do with fixing event outcomes for betting.

One person wanted to leave the city immediately and stay outside until the Invitational was over, then come and collect his winnings from the gambling halls in the city. In this way, she could avoid any attacks. The rest of the bet-fixing cohort agreed and it seemed to become a unanimous decision to stay away from the city for a few days.

The old man who'd rushed to the assistant who'd rushed in and urged him to tell his boss that he wasn't feeling well, then leave the city with the rest of the family. It seemed they were related.

Ash made a point to memorize how each person looked. Aside from the assistant who was playing spy for them, he didn't recognize anyone else.

The group left in a hurry after they seemed to decide to flee. The only one left was the man behind the counter. His concerned expression hardened once the last person had left.

"Bianca!" he shouted, and the server standing outside rushed in.

"Sir!"

"Clean up here and then lock up," he said. The server didn't ask any questions, only nodded her head obediently and immediately rushed to the nearest table to start collecting the empty cups.

The man walked out the door and Ash followed. Since the server responded to him as she would a superior, he must've been a local, or in charge, or was close to whoever was in charge.

From behind, Ash saw his long hair was tied at the nape, and he walked confidently. People who knew how to fight tended to walk a particular way; their movements were more fluid and there was less movement that would indicate where they would move next.

This man knew how to fight.

Though invisible, Ash controlled his movements more. They couldn't see him, but someone with sharp enough hearing could hear him. Even when the ring on his thumb began to vibrate, Ash could only cover it with a hand to muffle the noise.

He followed the man outside, brazenly leaving through the main door and on to the street. The earlier noise of the casino drowned out any movement Ash made, but the further he followed the man, the less quiet it got.

The streets had fewer and less people, making for less and less noise.

Where are you headed? Secret den? Maybe get on another ship...? Ash watched his step over uneven bricks. Some dips had water, so he had to avoid them so as not to make a splashing sound.

The man in front of him, occasionally quickened his speed. Thrice, he looked behind him, and even paused, tilted his head, and listened. Ash's heart shot to his throat and he held his breath as he froze in place.

They were further away from the water, in a more residential neighborhood that didn't have as much hustle and bustle as the other areas of the city. There was almost no one else on the street with them.

The man's footsteps were almost silent. In the distance, there was a faint sounds of life coming from a few blocks over.

The vibrating ring on Ash's finger grew stronger and he frowned. He tried to squeeze his hands over the ring, but he could still hear the faint buzzing. Ash looked down as he caught sight of his hand flash in front of him.

His eyes widened.

For less than a count, he saw his hands and then suddenly, they vanished.

His heart sank to the pit of his stomach. He suddenly understood why the ring was vibrating.

He looked up and saw the man he'd been following turning around and freezing. Ash's hands appeared again, blinking from visible to invisible, before it became solid and didn't disappear again.

His eyes met the narrowing eyes of the other man. The ring had stopped vibrating, and he could see it there on his fully visible hand. Ash swallowed hard. "Hi."

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