Khal's horse collapsed a day away from Teal City. Lowel had worked the horse till its last breath. Despite Khal's warning, the man continued to push the horse to its limit, further away from the City. "Bah! Stupid beast!" Lowel screamed out in frustration. "Sorry milord, I might have overdone it."

Khal ignored Lowel as he walked further up the road. Although he was annoyed he knew it made no sense to fight with Lowel, fear made most men unreasonable after all. They had finally left the marshlands and back on Topaz Road. Elfheim city was still a few days away on horse, now, it would take at least a week on foot.

Lowel grabbed the supplies tied to the horse before he caught up with Khal, "Ehhh, milord, even though the soldiers ain't following us no more we will be wanted men in every city, ain't it?

"Milord?" Lowel said again as he trotted to keep up.

"Do you ever shut up?!" Khal asked in annoyance.

"Me moma used ter always say, every answer is a no unless yer ask."

Khal stopped walking and stared at Lowel, silently considering whether he should kill him and get it over with. Ignoring his immediate desire, Khal continued with even steps.

"Milord, can I at least cop the name o' me savior, then?"

"No."

"you're not much of a talker eh? A doer then? I myself am not much of a talker either. Always going about doing errr stuff. Yea, that's me, ya know?" Lowel said as he smiled. Khal raised a hand, silencing Lowel as he stooped on the road and listened.

Khal quickly darted to the side of the road while Lowel clumsily followed. "What we hiding from?" Lowel asked, out of breath. His pudgy stomach slouching over his pants. A large retinue of soldiers marched forward with a few carriages in between. Khal surveyed the soldiers as he stared intently at a particular carriage.

He rapidly hit Lowel to the back of the head with the palm of his hand, knocking him unconscious. He donned his black recluse mask and uniform before wind-walking towards the carriage.

---

"Huh?!" the inhabitant of the carriage said in surprise as he stared at a masked figure kneeling in the carriage. There were at least five Black Recluse blades aimed at the masked figure. "Hold it!" Matrus instructed before adding, "Who are you Recluse?"

"It's best we speak private," Khal whispered slowly. Matrus recognized his voice instantly, shooing the Recluse back into hiding.

"Khal! What are you doing here? I feared you dead!"

"I bring news great-uncle," Khal said slowly.

"News can wait Khal, Marcus and his stubborn ways have gone too far, I'm impressed that you've made it out alive. You've grown taller and you look quite capable."

"Thanks, Grandfather had his reasons, I no longer hold a grudge. You need to be careful, House Rhodes and possibly many other houses are colluding. I'm not sure why yet but it must be something big."

"I already know that much, haha," Matrus laughed at his great-nephew. More than a year had passed but Khal was already stark different than he was before. Even more so than Marcus had been.

"I've also killed Lady Stigs," Khal said even slower as he lowered his head. He had expected a scolding from Matrus but instead, he got a pat on the shoulder.

"You must have had your reasons. Fear not, I will protect you."

Khal's heart jolted with emotions, he was really loved by his family. "Also, the Recluse has been compromised. Men are after me so I must get to Elfheim quickly."

"That can be easily arranged," Matrus said as he withdrew his hand. "Your mother would have been so proud of you. Go, I will take care of the rest."

Khal nodded and jumped out of the carriage. He took two horses before Matrus said, "Speak with Gilbrid when you return, there are some things he will be capable of doing."

Matrus quickly signaled the carriage to continue as his entire retinue continued along the road.

---

Lowel woke up to see himself laying on top of a horse. His body swayed left to right in tune with the horse's strides. He sat up on the horse and looked at his surroundings. "Where are we?" he asked out loud.

"A day away from Elfhein," Khal responded without looking at him.

Lowel allowed himself to come to terms with everything. First, he was walking, then laying in the bushes and now back on a horse. It made no sense to him. He wouldn't call himself the brightest lantern in the night but even he knew there were gaps in the scenario that he wasn't aware of. "Where did horses come from?" He asked. He thought that maybe he was so distraught by losing his only friend that he forgot. Yea, that made sense to him.

"They were given to me," Khal said matter-of-factly.

"Just, who are you?" Lowel asked. This man was quite mysterious. Maybe he really did know Varne but why would Varne hide such an amazing person from him? Maybe it was the extra food he always hid from him but still, Varne was unreasonable. Lowel shrugged at getting no response. Maybe he had answered his quota of questions for the day.

---

Lowel's throat felt grainy but he ignored it. He would not let the sun spoil this beautiful day. In front of him laid the most magnificent city in all of Seabo, Elfheim, the city of cities. It was like a kingdom, in its own right, with three cities coming together to form the magnificent monument of power in Igbal. Even from the outside, the walls were thicker than any other, probably rivaling the Northern Keep he assumed. His savior, the blonde, silent Knight, waited patiently for the city gates to open. He had whispered something to the guards earlier but Lowel couldn't hear. All he knew what that the Knight was well respected. It was a welcomed sight, he had anticipated wanted posters and the like after Lady Stigs and her father were killed. Lowel wasn't sure whether the Knight had anything to do with either but he didn't care, good riddance.

They had eventually entered the southern City of Elbrach and a small troop of Knights escorted them towards the Viscount's castle. Lowel felt awkward and undeserving of the magnanimous treatment. Although he knew it wasn't because of him, no one had told him to fuck off yet and he intended to stay until someone did.

He dismounted from the horse and allowed the stableman to take it while he brushed off the dirt from his clothes. It was always polite to visit dignities with the best foot forward and since neither of his was, he had to settle for cleaner clothes. Well, those weren't clean either but at least there was no loose dirt.

There was a weathered statue of a man standing in full armor in front of the castle. Lowel wondered whether it was real or not. No matter which angle he looked from he could see the statue staring at him. He suddenly bumped into the blonde Knight in front of him and made an exaggerated squeal, earning himself glares from the surrounding Knights.

The inside of the castle was filled with men and women dressed in fine clothing. Some were more extravagant than others, but none failed to give off that noble air Lowel always feared. The most intimidating of them all was the one by the name of Viscount Gilbrid Dor. He stood tall at the long table with the blonde, silent Knight at his left. Lowel was ushered to stand at the far corner of the room, away from an earshot of the conversation.

Although he couldn't hear, he could see the Viscount's face shift from stern to surprise to stern again. He could tell that the blonde knight was not delivering any good news. The rest of the table was not involved in the conversation, but all still waited patiently to hear. Lowel imitated a few of the guards as they stood still with discipline. As a former member of Lord Stigs' guards, Lowel was certain that they were on a completely different level.

The private conversation continued, and the blonde Knight's placid face eventually erupted. "Lord Tommel?!" He screamed with both indignation and surprise. He didn't bother to stay for the rest of the meeting, instead, he stood up and stormed outside with haste. The Viscount seemed to have expected it as he continued to talk to the other nobles.

Lowel quickly ran after the Knight, unsure of what else he should be doing. "Oi! Where to next?" he asked out of reflex. He wasn't expecting to receive an answer this time like all the times before it.

"Gontu," the Knight said in a monotonous voice. Lowel could have sworn it was filled with emotions but maybe he was wrong. The Knight in front of him didn't seem to have any emotions before this.

---

Ewin and Arzela had taken the long route through Braxton District. Although they kept away from most cities and towns, they still had to fight local bandits that roamed the area. Luckily, Sydenham Town was only a few miles away from the bridge that connected the two districts. It was only morning when they both entered the town but the hustling and bustling they saw was uncommon for a remote town. From the rumors, Sydenham Town had made a dramatic change within the last five years. The farm town was now a central hub for commercial as well as tourist ventures.

They had spent some of their money arming themselves and getting out of the farmer clothes. Now, they were in search of Lord Tommel who was supposedly the Baron. It seemed almost everyone had a favorable impression of him. He was both kind and fair, something most Barons lacked. "The mansion is to the north," Ewin said to Arzela. They had both gotten closer than he'd expect since their time at the Hollows. She was less reserved and bossier than he remembered.

The road towards the mansion had several twists and turns, built to reflect a Baron who kept his people at a distance. It was unfitting for the Baron's reputation, Ewin suspected that the Baron before him must have had the mansion built that way for the same purpose. Ewin scoffed at the notion, he remembered the way his Baron had done things in Talawa. He was glad to make him swallow his tongue when he had the chance. He had no regrets.

Distant hooves stamped on the pathway as several horses passed Ewin. Arzela turned towards him with a confused expression, "That uniform.."

"Skystead Academy," Ewin finished her sentence before continuing forward. Whatever was happening ahead was none of their business. How did Khal even know the Baron anyway? Ewin asked himself. It took a few more minutes before they were directly in front of the mansion gates. The two Skystead Academy students were already inside, causing a ruckus from what Ewin could tell. He could hear the shouts and demands as the guards were ordered around.

"Maybe we came at a bad time?" Arzela asked Ewin.

"Halt!" a guard shouted as he barred Ewin's way. It mattered not to Ewin, he was only here on Khal's orders. It was a funny thought he found, taking orders from a man young enough to be his son. He deserved it though, he was both strong and more astute than Ewin would ever be. He had hoped to serve someone he could admire. Cloud had made sure they both knew how important Khal was. He was obviously some noble but besides that, they had no idea who he really was.

"We're here to see Baron Tommel on request from Khal," Ewin said quickly.

There was a noticeable change from the guard as he turned towards the mansion and took off. Ewin waited patiently but it didn't take long for a burly man with a bald head to show up. "You said Khal sent you?" the man asked with a stern face.

"Aye," responded Ewin. Arzela remained quiet as she watched the exchange.

"Where is Khal?" the man asked again.

"Sorry, is Lord Tommel in? We were told to come here, and we've traveled a great distance to get here."

"Lord Tommel passed a few weeks ago. Only direct family members are allowed inside at this time."

Ewin didn't wait to listen to whatever else the man had to say. His patience was already wearing thin. He nodded, "I see," before turning towards the road.

"Hold on, where is Khal?" the burly man asked again.

"We were told that we would receive further instructions here," Arzela said eventually before turning and following Ewin.

"If you're staying at the inn, the young master will come to talk to you eventually," the blurry man blurted out as he stared at the duo in the distance.