"Don't stare at me with those eyes!" Tamma knelt in front of Lug, running her hand along the thin hairs of the brillick's back. The animal sat on his hind legs while his head angled to the side, staring back at her. His body moved up and down as he let out a long and drawn-out whimper. "You always do this!"

"I think it's cute!" Yalch remarked, hovering between Tamma and her brillick. "That means he loves you!"

"I know, but he sometimes he can be a bit—" In the midst of her sentence, Lug leapt forward, bringing Tamma to the ground on the floor of her room. He then started licking her face and neck, keeping her pinned down by pressing his hooves on her shoulders.

"Affectionate?" Miwah stated.

"Off, boy! Don't make me have you sleep outside tonight!" The hunter's words went unheard as Lug continued to slobber over her.

"Lug!" Miwah shouted. Everyone in the room went silent, turning towards the seamstress. Her eyes narrowed towards the animal as she pointed towards the corner of the room. "Go sit!" she commanded, stamping her foot on the ground while leaning towards where she wanted Lug to go. The brillick looked at the room's corner and then back at his master.

"Listen to her, boy! We've got to get going!"

With his head hung low, Lug marched back to the designated area of the room. He plopped his body onto floor, resting his head against the wall. He took in a deep breath as he kept his gaze averted from the others.

"Try not to fall for it, Tamma," Miwah said with her hands on her hips. "He is just trying to make you feel guilty."

"I know all of his tricks. They don't work on me. Often. But he listened to you! Color me impressed. Didn't you know had such... a commanding presence."

"There is a lot of work to be done. As much as I like Lug, we do not have the luxury of indulging him in his need for attention."

"I guess that means we're leaving now, right?" Yalch asked.

"Now or never," Tamma said, making sure her quiver was secured to her waist. She then sealed the cap and placed her bow on her back. She exited the door first, followed by Miwah right behind her. Once they were both out, she shut the door behind them, just as Yalch was about to fly through.

"Oh, I'm sorry Yalch!" she said once she realized what she had done. The ghost passed through the wall and faced the hunter.

"Sorry for what?"

Tamma looked at Miwah, both giving each other blank glares. "Nothing, Yalch. My mistake."

****

"You're not worried about other people seeing you, Yalch?" Tamma asked the ghost as she led the others through the sea of people. Both the seamstress and the hunter turned their hands, stealing glances at the faces of the citizens passing through. The people of Farrowport only looked at Tamma and Miwah upon realizing that they were being stared at instead of the floating ghost that hovered above them.

"Not really," Yalch replied. "Like I said, the number of people that can see me are so few I'm not worried about it. And if they can see me, then it means there's a chance I could make a new friend!"

"I love how optimistic you are," Tamma replied. "But isn't possible for you to come across some that doesn't want to use the Beacons for the right reason? Then what?"

The ghost put on a confident smirk, facing Tamma as he hovered backwards. "I'm experienced in this area. I know when someone with Potential will or won't use the Beacons properly. It is my job after all."

"Can you take the Beacon back if you lose your trust in them? Or maybe make it inert?" Miwah asked.

"Nope. It's out of my hands once they put it around their neck. All I can do is try to convince them to go on the right path. Unfortunately, because of my physical state... or lack of one... there isn't much I can do. That's why the selection process is so crucial; once they activate their Purifier form, it's hard to convince someone with less than good intentions to surrender it."

"Has it ever happened to you?" Tamma inquired.

"Only twice. And I'm still regretting it."

"You were quick to give me a Beacon, Yalch. How do you know that I will use its power for good?"

"Miwah. I told you already." Yalch patted his hands over what would be his chest. "I've got experience. I only need to have a short conversation and have the Purifier cast Insight to get their true character."

"Ohhhh!" Miwah said in an exasperated manner as she returned Yalch's smug look with one of her own. "So that is the real answer then. When you looked into my mind when I cast Insight, you were able to see my true intentions!"

The ghost frowned. "I could have figured it without you casting the spell too, you know."

"I believe it.," Tamma said. "I think I can read people pretty well. I can't imagine how effective I'd be at it if I've been around for centuries."

"Thank you, Tamma. A lot of people don't appreciate the skills that I develop over time."

"Probably because most people are unable to see you," Miwah stated. "Hard to appreciate something that you do not even know exists."

"Oh yeah. That might be a big part of it too."

"Let's just hope that no one in Colligan’s has Potential," Tamma began. "That would blow our plan open wide if Yalch were to make a scene by scaring someone."

"Are most of the Cutthroats men?" Yalch asked.

"Yep. There's Narrita and maybe one or two other women in the gang. But for the most part it's men that go around pestering Farrowport's population as part of the Cutthroats."

The ghost wiped an invisible bead of sweat from his perfectly round forehead. "Then we really should be fine with me sneaking in there. Women are ten times as likely to have potential than men."

"And the odds of someone being able to see you are already slim in the first place," Miwah added.

"Exactly. You two have nothing to worry about! I'll fly in, hover around and see what I can find out then report back to you two!"

"Sounds easy enough," Tamma replied. "And if you don't see Miwah's necklaces in there, we can just head out and try searching elsewhere. With you around, getting an idea of where their hideout is shouldn't be much a challenge. Just fly through every building and room and you should be able to find it. Eventually."

"Good thing Yalch lives forever," Miwah added.

"That could work... If we didn't have more important things to worry about,” the ghost remarked. “Purifiers are on a mission! A time-sensitive one at that. There's no time to check every nook and cranny of a big place like this."

The procession paused at an intersection. A band of wagons drawn by horses marched in front of them. Yalch remained in front, letting half of his body pass through the drivers while facing the other two. "What happens if we are we unable to secure the Beacons?" Miwah inquired.

"Then the two of us will just have to go on by ourselves."

"I can't join?" Tamma placed a hand on her hip and stared at the ghost with a pair of narrowed eyes.

"Too dangerous. If you had a Beacon to let you access your Purifier form, that would be a different story. But through all my years of experience, I know for certain that letting non-Purifiers tag along is never a good idea. It doesn't matter how close of a friend they might be; they always end up getting in the way."

"But you're letting me come along on this little excursion!"

"It's to retrieve the Beacons so you can become a powerful fighter! And you'll be going up against regular humans. That's easy to deal with. But once we start going up against some of the deadlier evils this world has been plagued with..." Yalch cut his sentence short before hovering in front of the hunter. He stared into her eyes, giving Tamma an apologetic look. "You'd be hindering Miwah if you stayed with us. I've seen innocent people get hurt. And I don't want to see it happen again."

"The life of a Purifier sounds lonely," Miwah stated with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"It is. That's one of the reasons I've chosen you, Miwah." He then turned to look at Tamma. "And you as well. You're both... lonely. I know what happened to Miwah’s family. And I have a feeling something similar happened to you. Am I right?"

Miwah and Tamma both glanced at each other in silence.

"Seems like both of you could use a bit of companionship. And you two are already getting along so well! That's why I think you two would make a great set of warriors! But that requires Tamma getting her own Beacon. I'm willing to break my own rules this one time if it means building the foundation for a strong team!" Yalch flexed his scrawny arm upwards and pressed his other hand onto the flat and skinny section that would have been his equivalent to a human's bicep.

"You sure are good at selling this Purifier thing, Yalch," Tamma said.

"It's part of the job. Even those with Potential aren't fully qualified to become Purifiers. A lot of them have families and friends that care for them. I wouldn't want to pull them away from that. It’s not hard to convince people to become powerful warriors for justice when they don’t have much going for them."

“I will take that as a compliment,” Miwah said bluntly.

The band of wagons left, leaving the road clear again to pass. Tamma stepped forward, pointing downhill. Down the long gray road was a series of brick buildings, all together in one large jumble of differently shaped and designed buildings. Beyond that was another harbor, smaller than the one next to the Market Center. Even at a distance, it was evident that the water was a peculiar color due to what had been dumped in it.

"There it is!" the hunter declared. "Colligan’s! The favorite spot in all of Farrowport for the Cutthroats."

Miwah placed a hand over her forehead and squinted down the hill. "Looks dangerous, even all the way up here."

"Yeah, that's Farrowport's Lower Section for you," Tamma replied. "And it's not just called that because of its location relative to the rest of the town."