**CHAPTER 10: "SECRETS BEHIND GOLD"**
---
The docks were busy with evening traffic when Liora and Rynn arrived.
Ships unloading cargo. Merchants haggling over prices. Dock workers hauling crates in steady lines. Guards watching from their posts with professional disinterest.
But no Kael.
They walked the length of the eastern pier twice. Checked near Helena's ship—still docked, the merchant captain visible on deck, supervising her crew. Scanned every face in the crowd.
Nothing.
"He's not here," Rynn said finally.
"I can see that." Liora's voice was tight.
"Could be delayed. Could've found something interesting and lost track of time."
"Kael doesn't lose track of time when people are waiting for him."
"Then he's in trouble."
"Obviously." Liora turned away from the docks, looking back toward the city rising up the hillside. White marble gleaming in the fading sunlight. Beautiful and merciless. "The question is what kind of trouble."
"Knowing him? Probably helping someone."
"So what do we do? Search the city?"
Liora was quiet for a moment, thinking.
But one thing was clear—they'd come here for information. And the best information was in the palace.
"We continue the mission," she said finally.
Rynn raised an eyebrow. "Without Kael?"
"He'd want us to. And if we find what we're looking for, maybe it'll help explain what happened to him." Liora started walking back along the pier. "The palace. Tonight. We get in, find restricted records, get out. Quick and clean."
"And if we get caught?"
"We don't."
"That's not a plan."
"It's the only plan we have." Liora's purple eyes were hard. "Kael's either safe or he's not. Either way, sitting here won't help him. But finding proof of what's happening in this city? That might."
Rynn studied her for a moment, then shrugged. "Alright. I'm in. But if we're doing this, we need a way inside that doesn't involve climbing walls or sneaking past fifty guards."
"Agreed." Liora scanned the docks again, this time looking for opportunity rather than Kael.
And found it.
Two guards in palace uniforms—distinct from city watch, these wore white with gold trim and carried ceremonial spears—were overseeing the loading of supply crates onto a small wagon. Food, probably. Fresh provisions for the palace kitchens.
"There," Liora said quietly.
Rynn followed her gaze and smiled. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Depends. Are you thinking we separate them, incapacitate them, take their uniforms, and ride that wagon straight into the palace?"
"I was, actually."
"Then yes."
They moved closer, casually, just two more people wandering the busy docks. The guards were young—maybe mid-twenties—and looked bored with their assignment. Not Elite Force material. Just regular soldiers pulling an uneventful duty shift.
Perfect.
Liora caught Rynn's eye and nodded slightly. They split up.
---
◆
---
Rynn approached the first guard with a stumble, catching herself against a crate near him.
"Oh! Sorry—" She looked up with wide eyes. "These dock planks are uneven."
The guard steadied her automatically. "You alright?"
"Fine, thanks. Just clumsy." She smiled, warm and disarming. "You're palace guard, right? The uniforms are so much nicer than city watch."
He straightened slightly, pride evident. "Yeah. Palace detail. Better posting than patrol work."
"I bet. Must be interesting, seeing the inside of the palace every day."
"Sometimes. Mostly just standing around, honestly."
"Still." She tilted her head. "I'm new to Lumeria. Is the palace really as beautiful as people say?"
Hook set. The guard launched into a description of the palace's architecture, and Rynn listened with apparent fascination, slowly guiding him away from the wagon toward a gap between stacked cargo.
Meanwhile, Liora approached the second guard from the other side.
"Excuse me." Her voice was soft, concerned. "I think someone's trying to steal from that ship." She pointed toward a vessel three berths down.
The guard followed her gesture, frowning. "Where?"
"There—by the loading ramp. I saw someone climbing where they shouldn't be."
"Probably just crew."
"Maybe. But they looked suspicious. And this is the palace supply wagon, right? If thieves are targeting this dock..."
The guard's expression shifted. Palace duty meant responsibility. He couldn't ignore a potential threat.
"Show me."
Liora led him toward the distant ship, taking a route between cargo stacks that gradually moved out of sight from the wagon.
---
◆
---
Rynn's guard never saw it coming.
One moment he was explaining the difference between palace marble and common stone. The next, Rynn's elbow cracked into his temple with precise force. His eyes rolled back and he crumpled.
She caught him before he hit the ground, dragging him behind the cargo. Quick hands stripped his uniform—jacket, belt, spear. She bound his wrists with his own belt, gagged him with a spare cloth from her pack, and checked his breathing. Unconscious but alive.
Good enough.
She changed quickly, pulling on the guard's jacket. Slightly too large, but close enough. The gold trim gleamed in the fading light.
Two minutes later, Liora appeared, similarly dressed, dragging her unconscious guard.
"How long until they wake up?" Liora asked, securing her guard's bindings.
"Twenty minutes. Maybe thirty." Rynn adjusted the jacket. "We need to move fast."
They returned to the wagon. The dock workers loading supplies barely glanced at them—just guards doing guard things. Unremarkable.
Liora climbed onto the driver's seat. Rynn settled beside her. The supply crates were already loaded and secured.
"Ready?" Liora asked.
"No. But let's go anyway."
Liora snapped the reins, and the wagon rolled forward.
---
◆
---
The route to the palace took them through the administrative quarter, past buildings growing progressively more ornate. Real guards stood at intersections, but they only nodded at the supply wagon—routine delivery, nothing worth investigating.
They passed through a market square and caught a glimpse of something strange.
Prisoners. Maybe twenty of them, chained together, working on what looked like a massive wall being constructed around the palace district. Heavy stones. Thick mortar. Guards with whips supervising.
Liora's hands tightened on the reins.
"What is that?" Rynn murmured.
"I don't know."
The prisoners looked exhausted. Scared. Some had fresh injuries. They worked in silence except for the clink of chains and the occasional crack of a whip.
"Liora—"
"I see it. We can't stop." Her voice was controlled, but tension bled through. "We're on a schedule. Note it. Move on."
Rynn's jaw was tight, but she nodded.
The wagon continued past the construction. The prisoners disappeared behind them.
*What are they building?* Liora thought.
The palace gates loomed ahead.
Two guards stood at the entrance—real palace security, not ceremonial. They stepped forward as the wagon approached.
"Delivery," Liora said calmly. "Evening provisions."
One guard checked a ledger. "You're late."
"Dock delays. Merchant arguments." She kept her voice flat, professional. "You know how it is."
The guard grunted and waved them through. "Straight to the service entrance. Don't linger."
The gates opened.
They were inside.
---
◆
---
The palace grounds were vast—gardens with geometric precision, fountains that probably cost more than Kael's entire village, paths of polished stone winding between buildings.
The main palace rose at the center—five stories of white marble and gold, with columns that seemed to touch the sky. But Liora guided the wagon toward a smaller building at the side. Service entrance, like the guard had said.
They stopped at a loading dock where palace staff waited to unload supplies.
"We'll help carry," Liora said, climbing down.
The staff barely acknowledged them—just more guards pulling duty. Rynn and Liora each grabbed a crate and followed the workers inside.
The service corridors were narrower than the main halls but still impressively maintained. White stone. Golden light. Everything clean and ordered.
They delivered their crates to a storage room, then simply... didn't go back for more.
Instead, they turned down a different corridor.
Walking with purpose. Looking like they belonged. Just guards on patrol.
*Don't hesitate*, Liora reminded herself. *Confidence is the best disguise.*
They passed servants carrying linens. Scribes rushing between offices. Other guards posted at doorways. No one stopped them. No one questioned.
The palace was massive—dozens of corridors, hundreds of rooms. But Liora had studied the rough layout Rynn's contacts had provided. Administrative wing to the east. Private chambers to the west. Archives and restricted areas in the center.
That's where they needed to go.
They climbed a servants' staircase to the second floor. Fewer people here. Quieter. More doors marked with official seals.
Liora tried one. Locked.
Another. Also locked.
The third had no lock—just a plain door, unremarkable except for the small symbol carved into its frame. A circle with radiating lines. Subtle. Easy to miss.
*Restricted*, that symbol meant. *Authorized personnel only.*
Liora glanced at Rynn. Rynn nodded.
They pushed the door open and slipped inside.
---
◆
---
The room was small. No windows. Just walls lined with shelves holding scrolls, maps, and bound documents.
And a single table in the center, covered with papers.
Liora moved to the table immediately. Rynn stood by the door, watching the corridor through a crack.
The papers showed... something. Diagrams. Blueprints. Maps of locations Liora didn't recognize.
But the designs were *wrong*.
Angular. Geometric in ways that didn't match any architecture she'd seen. Materials listed that made no sense—"reinforced alloy plating," "thermal shielding," "emergency life support systems."
And the shapes. Long, sleek vessels with smooth surfaces. No sails. No oars. Just... strange proportions that suggested they moved through something other than water.
One diagram showed a cross-section of such a vessel. Multiple levels. Compartments labeled. Strange symbols that might have been letters or might have been technical notation.
Another map showed underground locations beneath Lumeria. Chambers. Tunnels. And at the deepest point, something marked with a symbol that looked like a star.
*What is this?* she thought, scanning desperately, trying to memorize. *What is Lumeria hiding?*
She flipped through more pages. More diagrams. More impossible designs.
"Liora," Rynn hissed. "We need to go."
"One more minute—"
"We don't have one more minute. Someone's coming."
Footsteps in the corridor. Multiple people. Voices getting closer.
Liora grabbed one of the maps—the one showing underground locations—and shoved it inside her jacket. Tried to return the other papers to their original positions. Turned toward the door—
It opened.
Three palace guards stood there. Real ones. Experienced ones. Their expressions shifted from confusion to alarm to cold professionalism in heartbeats.
"What are you doing in here?" the lead guard demanded.
"Patrol," Liora said smoothly. "We heard something—"
"Patrol?" The guard's hand went to his sword. "Even palace guards aren't allowed in this room. This is *restricted*."
"We didn't know—"
"The symbol on the door says otherwise." He gestured, and the other two guards moved to flank them. "Weapons. Now."
Rynn's hand twitched toward her swords.
"Don't," Liora said quietly.
"We can fight—"
"We can't win. Not here. Not against this many." She carefully unbuckled her belt, letting it fall. "We surrender."
Rynn stared at her, then slowly did the same.
The guards moved in, binding their wrists with practiced efficiency. One checked the room—papers, table, door.
"Nothing disturbed," he reported.
"Good. Take them to holding. Inform the captain." The lead guard looked at Liora and Rynn with cold eyes. "You just made a very serious mistake."
They were pulled from the room, down corridors that suddenly seemed hostile rather than impressive, through doors that clanged shut behind them like final judgments.
The palace's beauty hadn't changed. But now Liora saw it for what it truly was.
A beautiful prison.
And they'd just become its newest captives.
---
◆
**END CHAPTER 10**