Khearia's Sun

IV

ㅤDeeper down, where the tall buildings on either side kept James under a path of darkness, free of the light from the sun, he found a door that seemed sturdier than the others. It was a struggle to kick it down with so little space to move his body. He couldn't have used Eris even if he was able to, as she is just a plain lump of metal against anything that's not living. Somehow, though, he managed to break it open and slunked inside.

ㅤThere was complete darkness as soon as the door shut behind, not a single window on any wall. James lit a match from his pocket, cupping a protective hand around it, and used the small amount of light to find a lamp that he could use.

ㅤWith the condition of his eyes, even though more light was now available, James struggled more than someone else would have to recognise elements of the room; his inadequacy to distinguish colours was making it difficult to see.

ㅤEven so, with a bit of searching, the lamp shone a light over a wooden desk with a scrappy book surrounded with other sheets of paper. It only took James flipping a few pages before coming to the quick conclusion that the book was a ledger; detailing the selling of goods. This intrigued James.

ㅤHis middleman had never been a worksman, nor a merchant. He had been aware the man had sold illegal drugs before, but those goods didn't make as much profit as whatever was being documented in this financial register. Whatever he had been selling, it had made him a lot of money.

ㅤJames decided to investigate further, walking from one side of the room to another, checking a cabinet, to a chest, to a bedside table. The only other thing to note was the large quantities of non-perishable food being kept in this house. It was a lot for one person.

ㅤThere. James noticed one floorboard didn't sound like the others.

ㅤIt seemed Eris had also picked up on this, he could feel her curiosity.

ㅤJames squatted down to shine the light to the floor, seeing the rug was suspiciously placed. It was a big room, yet, the only rug happened to be in this single corner with nothing around it.

ㅤHe peeled it from the floor, only to find a trapdoor beneath. Bingo.

ㅤ"That was surprisingly obvious," he remarked.

ㅤAn attempt to hide this basement had been made, but it had been way too easy to find. If the guards had gotten here before him, no doubt even those imbeciles could have found this. The man must have been an idiot.

ㅤPulling it open, the lamp revealed some wooden steps that James decided to follow. It was a tight squeeze, and the downward corridor was a lot filthier than the room upstairs. An awful stench emanated from within.

ㅤIt didn't take long for James to find out what the smell was, as the corridor widened into a room, and a corpse lay by his feet. He had been somewhat startled by it, despite knowing the scent well, as the child that laid at his feet mustn't have been older than ten.

ㅤThe body was at quite a late stage of decomposition, it must have been festering for weeks.

ㅤA whimper sounded suddenly.

ㅤJames turned around quickly to find a living child curled up in the corner like a terror-stricken animal.

ㅤWas this how that man was making his money? Child trafficking?

ㅤJames felt a hateful rage burn up, disgusted with this kingdom, its people, its kings. All of it.

ㅤThose ledgers reported a dozen sold a month, just how many children had been sold? James felt sickened. He had seen many things, and every time he came across situations like this, he couldn't control his reaction. He was outraged that this had been allowed by others' laziness. Someone, somewhere, must have known.