Zack tried quite valiantly not to be annoyed. “What do you mean by that?”

“Only that I have the good sense to not trust what people say until I’ve seen what they actually do,” Alan said. He then gave Anna a meaningful glance.

She rolled her eyes. “Oh come now. It’s been three months. I was right about him!”

“You were right,” Alan agreed grudgingly, with a nod to Zack. “Still, about this Skirmisher.”

Zack was surprised Alan had actually given him that much. The man was actually starting to trust him. Zack had been convinced he’d never gain Alan’s trust.

“Tell me everything about your first encounter,” Alan insisted firmly. “The one where he accused you of stealing his coin pouch. You say he got arrested afterward?”

Zack saw no reason not to summarize an encounter almost two weeks old, though he honestly didn’t see what the big deal was. Once he finished explaining the false accusation and attempted duel, Alan’s brow furrowed. He now looked truly concerned.

“What?” Zack asked. “You’re gone from dour to super dour.”

“I am not dour,” Alan said, yet he still looked worried. “What if it’s all a play?”

“A ploy?” Anna asked.

“You two don’t know the Blazers like I do,” Alan said. “They’re rarely obvious about their purpose, and they’re certainly not idiots. They’re both crafty and clever. As I think back over your story, Zack, I find myself increasingly convinced this Leopold Argentshade isn’t who he claims to be.”

“Right,” Zack agreed, a bit grumpily. “Which also describes you.”

“Perhaps he does think you stole his coin pouch,” Alan said. “Yet in two weeks, he’s not found it? And no matter how drunk he might be, no one is stupid enough to duel another person in the middle of a town’s inn without expecting consequences. Everyone knows that’s illegal.”

“Some don’t,” Zack said defensively. “A whole bunch of Adventurers got arrested during because they all tried to duel in town.”

“That is because they knew the Town Guards could not possibly catch and arrest them all,” Alan said confidently. “No, this Leopold seems a different sort than a drunken Adventurer. Tell me everything about the Rakshasha encounter. You called him an idiot, but also said he could handle himself.”

Now Zack was truly wondering. “I mean, sure. He was good with a spear.”

“How good?”

Zack thought back to the utterly shocked and stunned Level 15 Demon. “Well ... good. He did this cool spear flip throw move I’ve never seen. Demon never saw it coming.”

“Is he Blazer good?”

“Just how good are the Blazers?” Zack asked. “Surely there are Adventurers who are better.”

“Some,” Alan agreed. “Almost all of whom join the Blazers.”

Zack thought back to the encounter, and as he did so, he started to feel increasing unease. He’d thought he was being clever by leaving such a subtle trail, yet Leo had also followed it without the slightest deviation. He’d though Leo was frustrated that he’d lost the trail, but what if his frustration had been an act? And finally ... Leo hadn’t hesitated when that Rakshasha appeared.

Instead of screaming, running, or cursing at the unexpected sight of a Level 15 Demon, Leo had reacted almost like Glenn might.

“Go,” Leo had said calmly. “I’ll hold it until you’re clear.”

Leo’s first instinct when seeing that Demon had been to protect Zack, to hold the Demon off so Zack could escape. Leo had instantly offered to risk his own life to save a man who he apparently believed stole his coin pouch and insulted him. A man he’d been all too happily to duel over that.

That wasn’t the action an angry idiot would take. That was the action a person like Glenn might take, had he actually become a Blazer, and certainly the action he’d take as a Town Guard. And as Zack went back over his earlier conversation, Leo had been awfully quick to badmouth the Blazers.

Which is exactly what a person who was secretly a Blazer might do to throw him off.

“Devilspit,” Zack said. “I actually asked him to have drinks with me tonight.”

Anna frowned thoughtfully. “That might work in our favor.”

“So I can figure him out a bit more,” Zack agreed. “See if he’s fooled me after all.”

“Would you even know?” Alan asked.

Zack accepted the admonition with grace. “I might. You’ve pointed out a few things I hadn’t considered until now. I’ll be on guard now. So ... thanks, Alan.”

Now it was Alan’s turn to frown in obvious surprise. “Well ... if you’re on guard.”

“You two can’t head back to the tavern, obviously,” Zack said. “Not unless we’re absolutely sure this guy isn’t a Blazer sent here to hunt you.”

Alan sighed. “If he is, I fear, it may already be too late.”

Zack pushed back a hint of fresh dread. “What’s that mean?”

“A Blazer, if he is one, would have access to phantom correspondence. If he believes we are who he hunts, he will almost certainly report our presence here to his superiors as soon as he can do so. You say he volunteered to head back to Wolfpine?”

“To alert the Town Guards about the Rakshasa,” Zack said, as his sense that he’d just failed at something important grew worse. “Which might be the perfect excuse to find a Scribe and send some phantom correspondence to the other Blazers ... or whoever he’s working for.”

“This isn’t fair,” Anna whispered. “I actually liked it here.”

“No one’s leaving yet,” Zack said firmly. “And I like having you here.”

Anna hugged him. He hugged her. Yet even as he held her close, Zack knew he wasn’t being foolish. He was being practical.

“We have time,” Zack assured them. “Even if this is the worst case, and Leo is a Blazer, and he does know who you are, and he does sent phantom correspondence today ... it’ll take another Blazer at least a day to arrive from Lakebrooke. Longer, if no one’s available who can travel.”

“So we have a day to verify this man is who he says he is,” Anna agreed quietly, cheek pressed firmly against his chest. “If he is just some random Adventurer, we stay. We’re safe.”

“And if he’s not...” Alan said.

Anna sighed. “We run once again.”

Zack held her a bit tighter when she said that. “That would make me sad.”

“Me too.”

“I mean, the extra coin’s been real nice.”

Anna snickered quietly in his arms, though the cast of her features as she eased back told him she wasn’t fully comforted. “So relentlessly mercenary.”

“Comes with the Class,” Zack said. “Either way, let’s Level today. If you are leaving tomorrow, you should get as much experience as you can on your last day here. We might even risk a trip up to the Shrine of Ralun if either of you need to reSlot. We have the crystal, after all.”

“No shrine,” Anna said firmly. “My brother’s hunters know where it is now, and he could have more Demons waiting for us. We’ll Level here in the Dewdrop Hills, with visibility forever and nothing to bother us but Grass Boars and Grass Hawks. And, I suppose, Vulpor.”

“We could take him,” Alan said. “Between the three of us, I genuinely think we could take him.”

“Not happening,” Zack assured them. “Vulpor’s not even worth it. You two will be hunting safe today, with me shadowing you but not contributing to kills.”

“But you won’t get experience,” Anna said plaintively.

“And you might not get to Level tomorrow at all if you’re on the run,” Zack said evenly. “No matter what happens, I won’t have to run. I can come out here tomorrow. You two should be our focus today. I’ll stay close in case I need to use my crystal to chase off Demons.”

“Our steadfast protector,” Anna agreed quietly. “Are you sure you’re in the right profession? I seem to recall your Town Guard friend going a different way.”

“Glenn’s just good like that,” Zack assured her. “Me? I’m just doing this because of how fun you are in bed.”

Anna laughed merrily and thumped his chest. “Really,” she said. “You really are a scoundrel.”

Zack grinned at her compliment. “I mean, I tr—”

Anna hopped up and kissed him then, which completely shut him up. He was willing to shut up. He really liked kissing her.

Anna soon eased away. “All right. Hunting it is then, me and Alan with Zack as our escort. If this is to be our last day together, let’s make it productive. And tonight, Zack takes another run at Leo.”

“He’s absolutely a Blazer,” Alan said. “Or at least a clever bounty hunter.”

Zack looked south toward town. “If that’s the case, maybe I actually will steal his coin pouch.”