Once at the market, Regis searched the crowd for familiar faces, noticing Amanda’s towering figure at the direction of the workshops. He slowly pushed through the crowd and he found the entire band gathered around the giant woman. The young dark elf joined them with a relieved smile.

“You got here just in time,” Quentin greeted him with a handshake. “We were in the middle of deciding whether we all travel inland together or not.”

“It’s good to see you Regis!” Osmond said while Letty nodded with a smile and Cruz grunted in an agreeing manner.

"I'm glad to see everyone's back in one piece." The youth nodded back at them.

He noticied Aspen further away in the crowd before looking at the small podium where one of the guard captains stood with the city lord’s messenger and a few wizards that seemed familiar. The dark elf looked at the crowd that consisted of several groups of mercenaries, refugees and small bands that Fabien and Quentin pointed out as upstart outlander guilds. When the market was full to the brim, the guard captain roared at the gathering to silence them before the messenger stepped forward with a parchment in his hand.

“As you all know, this morning, our scouts have returned from inland. Sadly, they brought ill news. The next town up the river, known as East Fork, had been overrun by the fallen. When they arrived, the town’s river gates were wide open and after reaching the pier, they’ve found nothing but enemies. It appears that a part of the abominations that kept us awake for many nights had made their way towards there. The scouts claim that the outer area of the town is already lost, but they’ve brought proof of life from the inner ring. A tall and sturdy wall separates the centre of the town from the outer regions, much as it does in Hunor. So far, this wall had kept their enemies out. Through the sacrifice of several scouts, our people made contact with those of the inner city. Their leader agreed to provide aid in all manners possible, including housing and food for our refugees, if we can help them retake the outer area of East Fork. Lord Verner and his advisors sat down with the captains of the guard troops to make a decision regarding the matter.”

The guard captain sighed when the messenger stopped and he looked at the hopeful crowd, his desolate voice taking up where the scribe stopped after a few moments.

“It is obvious that we can’t aid them with more than one or two guard troops without risking the safety of Hunor in case the fallen return. Knowing this, the city lord made a hard decision. There are eight boats ready to sail inlands. The eight boats can each carry fifteen souls at most. Lord Verner announced that those of you that are brave enough can join the troops sent to East Fork to aid them in retaking the town’s outer region. Only those of you that have enough recorded kills can join, since the lord does not wish to sacrifice lives in vain. Make your decision and talk to the scribe at the barracks by evening. Gather at the docks at sunrise with your kit in order. If you’re qualified, you’ll be able to join the forces sent out to aid East Fork. Know that there’s no reward from Hunor for your efforts. Anything you’ll gain from your battle is your earnings, along with whatever the leader of East Fork rewards you with for your aid. If the town’s outer region is successfully retaken, the boats will return and those refugees that wish to head back inlands along the river will have their chance to do so. That is all, folks.”

With that, the captain, the messenger and the escorts turned around and left, turning a deaf ear to the curses and questions rained to them by the crowd. Regis looked at his companions, only to see their puzzled expressions. There was an uneasy silence amongst them for a few moments before Khan broke their stillness.

“We’re still going, right?” The Mongolian youth asked as he looked at the others.

“That was the plan,” Quentin scratched his head. “But it seems we were right about things being bad inland as well. It’s obvious that our path will be filled with trouble.”

“True,” Valerie nodded. “We obviously can’t stay here either and it’s not like we haven’t fought against the fallen before. Now we’ll just have to make sure that whoever is in charge of East Fork pays us well for our troubles.”

“Our last battle went to shit way too fast,” Cruz scoffed. “I hope there’s at least something useful up the river. Fighting for scraps is getting annoying.”

“I’d be fine with some decent iron equipment,” Amanda spoke up. “Bronze might be easier to work with, but it degrades fast under constant use. Not to mention that it won’t get us much further than low level mobs.”

“Speaking of iron,” Regis pulled off a cloth wrapped item from his side while walking. “You’re the only one amongst us who uses a broadsword, so I’ve figured that you’d want this.”

He handed over the wrapped item to Quentin who unfolded it with a curious gaze. The cloth wrappings gave way to the iron broadsword Regis repaired earlier, causing no small amount of surprise.

“This,” the man stuttered. “Are sure that you want to give this to me? It would fetch you a lot.”

“We won’t be staying here much longer and it would do us more good in your hands, than the coins or whatever they’d offer me for it here. I also have something for you Valerie.”

The dark elf pulled the bullwhip out of the sack, handing it over to the infernal woman. She grabbed hold of it with a slightly shaking hand, looking at the bronze texture with an unbridled fascination. Her fingers ran along the smooth and cold metallic surface of the whip, letting it unfurl as she gripped its handle.

“You might want to step back a bit.” She said and the others found it better to follow her advice.

The young woman did a few small circles with her wrist before she raised her hand and waved the whip forward in the air. Everyone’s eyes sprung wide open as the whip’s seams brightened like rekindled embers and the entire bullwhip burst into flames as it cut through the air. It left a thin trail of fire in the air before making a loud cracking sound as the end of the whip released the built up tension. Valerie couldn’t stop herself from giggling like a little girl on Christmas morning as she jumped towards Regis to embrace him and give a peck on his cheek.

“Thank you,” she gave him a firm hug. “This is beautiful! I’ve never thought that you could turn my whip into something so awesome!”

The flustered youth just patted her back a few times before she finally let go of him.

“Can I take a look?” Osmund asked as he reached out to touch the whip.

“Interesting,” he said after a few moments. “It has quite a few enchantments on it. There’s a second level durability enchantment, a second level fire damage, a second level weapon-shift and a first level sharpness.”

“Weapon-shift?” The girl asked as she looked at her weapon with uncertainty in the depths of her eyes.

“Just channel a bit of arcana into it,” Regis smiled. “And think of a sword.”

Valerie did as told and everyone’s mouth fell open as her weapon folded itself in half before forming a cross guard while bronze bled out from its seams. The liquid bronze hardened to form an edge on both sides of the whip, creating the image of a great sword. She reached out towards the edge of the sword, but her fingers barely touched it before illusory small embers appeared on the sword, scorching heat emanating from them.

“Amazing!” Amanda was the first one to snap out of her surprise, stepping closer to examine the weapon.

“Can you do this to other weapons as well?” Osmond asked as he stared at the burning great sword.

“Not all of them,” Regis shook his head. “I can’t make a weapon change its shape into something that’s way out of its nature. A sword can’t turn into a bow, just as a dagger can’t turn into a two handed axe. I could make your cane turn into a rapier or something along the lines, or make Cruz’s staff grow a blade like mine.”

“Can you make it grow spiked edges on both ends like a mace?” The young woman asked with an intrigued expression as she looked at her new quarterstaff.

“That would be possible if I have enough materials and time.”

“Yes,” Osmund nodded. “I imagine it would take you a while to make something like that. Even so, a shadow infused rapier would be quite nice.”

“I can only make fire and ice enchantments at the moment, since I don’t have the necessary runes for any other element. Not to mention the elemental stones.”

“Oh,” Valerie snapped towards the dark elf. “A second rank fire damage rune must have cost a lot for you. Just tell me what you’ve traded for it and I’ll repay it for you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Regis shook his head. “I have my ways to get stuff. That’s only true for the four basic elements though. Stuff like light, lightning, nature and shadow are out of the question.”

“Don’t you have darkness affinity?” Osmond looked at him puzzled. “Aren’t all dark elves innately shadow based casters?”

“I do,” the young elf shrugged. “But, I don’t have any shadow spells.” Regis admitted with an awkward tone.

“Oh, let me show you one then. It’s called shadow claws and it’s a basic melee attack spell.” The pale youth said as he pulled out a small stack of notes from his satchel before finding the right parchment.

He handed it over and once Regis read it through, he tried to say the incantation. After a few tries, the air around his fingertips darkened as greyish black claws appeared.

{You have successfully casted the ‘Shadow Claws’ spell. This spell is now carved up into your Shardwaker’s mark.}

“Just like that?” He asked dumbfounded.

“Just like that. By the way; what’s your other race?”

“I’m also part human and sun elf. Why?”

“Sun elves have natural light affinity while humans, as far as I know, have no inborn elemental affinity. You should try and get a light spell as well, just to get the most out of your affinities.”

“We have one,” Fabien said as he too began to search through his satchel. “Val and I had some time to scribble down a few beginner spells. Here. This is our only light element spell.”

“Thanks!” Regis took the small parchment to give it a look.

It shortly described the spell’s effect as a floating ball of light that followed the caster for five minutes. He read through the incantation a few times and after several attempts, he succeeded in casting the spell. A chestnut sized ball formed above his open palm, pulsating with a warm honey coloured glow.

{You have successfully casted the ‘Whisp Flare’ spell. This spell is now carved up into your Shardwaker’s mark.}

“Congratulations!” Fabien patted him on the back. “It seems you’ve gained two spells for the price of none.”

“Now we just need to find you their rune equivalent and you’re all set.” Valerie beamed with a sarcastic smile.

“If you nerds are done with your magicky things, can we get out of here? Everyone is staring at us like we’re a bunch of weirdos.”

“We are a bunch of weirdos,” Letty laughed. “Have you seen any other outlander guild with a matchup like ours?”

“No,” Khan shook his head. “But I’m pretty sure they’re more interested in Quentin’s and Val’s new weapons.”

“He’s right,” Quentin agreed with his friend. “We should find a more private place to continue our conversation. There are too many eyes and ears around.”

“We can go back to the workshop,” Amanda said as she turned around. “Our place isn’t big by any means, but it’s quiet.”

“All right, let’s get out of here!” Valerie shifted the great sword back to its original form before putting away the weapon.

Along the way, they could hear other outlander groups arguing here and there, some of them even decided to fight each other. It was obvious that a lot of people wanted to go to East Fork. Regis thought about what the messenger said and he shook his head. That lord Verner was a right sick fuck alright. The man wanted to get rid of the refugees, but he wasn’t willing to endanger his own men, so he decided to use the mercenaries, refugees and the outlanders to do his dirty work.

Anyone with a common sense figured that out as soon as they’ve heard the news, but the chance to get out of Hunor and earn some favour with the boss of East Fork was still too good to pass up on. As the group reached the rundown workshop, Amanda usher them in to the bedroom at the back.