As Glissandi went back to sleep, a smile of satisfaction on her lips, the rest of her party lay awake, pondering the events of the day.

Lissa was keeping herself busy by going over her armour. She treated her weapons with a light coating of oil, making sure the blades were still sharp and in good shape. She was carefully studying the green fluids that were on her sword. The strange being, the Keeper, had blocked it with his bare hand. It frustrated her. The weapons she carried were specifically made with the intention to cut through both magic and most armour with ease, having been enchanted with that very purpose. Her blade wasn't comparable to the one that Trista carried, let alone to the weapons the Squires wielded. She was a Head Paladin and her outfit reflected her status. Whatever Salixor's skin, hide or bark was made of, however, clearly surpassed the equipment she wielded. It had healed in mere moments as well, putting the creature obviously well above her in terms of abilities. She wondered what his insides held.

It was pure professional interest that made her wonder that. She held a mild dislike for him due to him not acknowledging the Lord, as that made him a willful non-believer, but at the same time he had healed Trista without requesting payment and she doubted that his desire to heal and nurture was a false trait. His kind, on the other hand, could possibly be an enemy they would face at one point. If their insides held organs, the same way Men, Trolls and every other creature had, then they would be susceptible to her other weaponry. Maces, cudgels and other equipment similar to those, carried the purpose to cause harm through armour and would do more damage than her sword had. Of course, if the Keepers were more akin to trees, lacking the same biological system that all other known sentients had, she would have to rely on other ways to take them down. Ambushes, fire, magic. Those would be her greatest assets then. She paused, staring off in the distance. Realisation struck her that those ways of fighting would be better anyway. In her haste to find a way around his tough, natural defences, she had forgotten that he had actually blocked the force of her swing with a single hand, without exerting himself. Even when she had smashed her shield into him, he had only taken a few steps back and she wasn't sure if he had done so because of the blow, or because he had been unbalaced because he had been forced to fold himself in half to fit into the room.

She frowned as she came to another realisation. How the hell had a creature of his size gotten into the city without being spotted? When the Ledger Master had been listing off suspicious people he had not mentioned a mysterious giant that shrouded himself in a cloak. Did he have more abilities at his disposal than he had revealed thus far or were there insiders in the city that worked with him? Given the militaristic structure of the Empire, it was unlikely that he had been smuggled in or that guards had been bribed to look the other way. If that had been the case, the truth would have come out the moment Captain Dar had begun his investigation.

She grinned wildly at the thought of the broad-shouldered Captain. Dutiful and experienced, devoted and intelligent, and, if the way he carried himself was an indication, a very strong and capable man and fighter. For a man not belonging to the Warriors of the Order at least. A shame she hadn't met him half a lifetime earlier. He would have been a good partner. Even now she felt a measure of temptation tug at her. It was a shame they wouldn't spend more time in the city. Maybe she would take a detour later, when their mission was over and the Priestess deigned to return. If they were still alive at that point.

She sighed. Maybe she should just go for it. If they stayed for one more night. Could she trust Trista to handle the defence of the inn on her own? No, bad train of thought. Trista was capable but if the lot who were coming after them were as capable as Salixor promised, she couldn't abandon her post. The inn was large though... It wouldn't be too difficult to invite him over for a discussion. It would be nice to have a bit of fun before they went south. The Priestess may think herself smarter than the rest — and she was it too, Darkness be damned — but she was still too easy to read. The girl was ambitious and zealous. Salixor had given her a name. A target. There was just no way the girl would pass up the opportunity to chase it.

She let out a deeper sigh as she tucked her weapons away, laying them down close to her so they remained within reach. Falling back down onto the bed she laid her hands underneath her head and stared at the ceiling. First the witch, Cassandra, who had proven to be an opponent that completely outclassed her and her fellow Warriors. Then Salixor, whom she might beat. If she was lucky. And now this Gaelus. If this man was even half of what she feared, then she doubted her party would stand as much as a sliver of a chance. Still, if the Priestess went, she'd follow. That was her duty and she would not shy away from it, even if it would lead to her death.

Her thoughts shifted towards Glissandi. The girl learned fast and was damnably smart. She improved so much from her every mistake and did so with a devotion that matched her own. If the girl had been raised by the Warriors rather than the clergy, she would have made a fine tactician. Lissa couldn't help but like her at this stage. Glissandi was still arrogant, but that was an inherent trait to any Priestess really, and at least this one backed it up with solid ability. The girl might be dead-set on chasing after an incredibly powerful target, but somehow the Paladin doubted it would be a suicide mission. Ambitious as she might be, the Priestess was smart enough to keep herself from getting killed easily. No doubt the girl would have plans ready come daylight.

She hopped out of bed and stretched, feeling her muscles tense. Another grin played on her face, this one far more feral than the earlier one had been. Lissa knew she was aging and that it was a matter of time before her years would start taking a toll on her abilities and she'd be relegated to raising the new generations rather than leading missions. She truly and thoroughly dreaded that time. Riding towards a dangerous goal, risking life and limb for the glory of the Lord, side by side with capable companions? There were worse ways to die.

Shaking off any sleep she grabbed her mace and shield, smoothly sliding the straps around her arms, tying them in place with the ease of decades of experience. She swung the mace forward and her foot followed suit, readying herself for the next movement. Within minutes she felt her muscles heat up.

She might be well past her prime, but she was still a Paladin. Those who served the Lord would find sanctuary behind her shield. And those who defied Him would taste her blade.

Trista lay in bed, thoughts jumping all over the place. Her fingers were carefully feeling up the mass of scars that lay atop what once was a fair visage. Once. A long time ago. Before the Lord decided to prove to her that he didn't care about her, or those who served Him. Before she realised that what you were told was the truth did not automatically mean that it was so.

Her thoughts ran to the Priestess in the other room. Undoubtedly her wound was already being healed by her magic. It wasn't fair. The Priestess had narrowly managed to defeat the witch, after that she had risked her own life by recklessly charging in, just to give the girl a chance. She had excelled in her attack as well, despite being hopelessly outclassed. The reward for her troubles had been that she was blasted through several walls, died, and then somehow was revived by a creature in manners she preferred not to think about lest her stomach decide to dump its contents again. The Priestess had, on the other hand, gotten away scot-free. The only punishment she received had been one she had actively demanded and even then the wound would heal without leaving a scar, leaving the girl in possession of her perfect features!

The Knight felt her face contort. It was pure jealousy that was raging within her and she knew it, but wasn't it justified? She had sacrificed everything for the Lord! She hadn't made mistakes! She had held out against an impossible force, against impossible odds and had somehow managed to actually keep three of her squad alive! And what had her reward been? A disfigured face! People staring at her in disgust or with pity!

Seeing the Priestess radiate with devotion only made things worse. Thank the Lord. Thank the Lord! Bah! A joke is what He was! He didn't care about what His followers went through! She felt the emotions slid from her face again as the turmoil of feelings raged within her, very much akin to a devastating storm. Anger lanced through her thoughts, colouring them red. Perhaps it was unfair to blame the Priestess for it, as the girl could no more help her circumstances than Trista could help her own, but damn it all, was it too much to ask to look normal again? To look human? To have a face that didn't made people recoil in fear or disgust when they gazed upon it?

She smothered the deep sigh that welled up from within her throat. 'Thought I had accepted my fate. Light be damned.' She closed her eyes, willing the tears away and vainly trying to let sleep wash over her again. Hadn't she decided long ago that she would try to serve the Order as well as she could? To help those who were worth it rather than lament her own situation? Why was it then that her head felt like bursting with all these emotions? Because of Salixor? If he could bring her back from the dead, couldn't he fix her face as well? Lord, what she wouldn't give for that! It was an empty hope and she knew better than let her heart yearn for it.

Still... The world was a vast place. Before today they hadn't known of Keepers or any mysterious and impossibly powerful factions moving unseen in the shadows, hidden from the Order despite operating freely near their lands. Maybe she shouldn't abandon hope entirely.

Maybe... Just maybe... this unknown teacher of Salixor knew things. Perhaps they would meet him. Perhaps he could help her.

Her eyes turned to steel and her hand rested on top of the sword laying next to her. She felt her powerful muscles tighten as she gripped it.

Or perhaps she would have to beat it out of him.

Mira and Mina were patrolling the inn, making less noise than a mouse despite being fully armoured. It wasn't that there was a true need for it, given that the city militia had the place surrounded and had been reinforced with plenty of mages, but Lissa had judged it safer to not take any risks, giving in to her paranoia. Normally the girls would have obeyed grudgingly, only to defer to the Paladin's authority in the end, but after witnessing the titanic battle between two powerful mages, seeing a Knight they previously thought of as invincible get blasted away as if she were no more than a speck of dust and seeing a being that looked like a massive tree casually put roots inside someone's head and then light it up like a lantern, they had agreed that the extra precautions might be quite sensible for once. As such they were patrolling through the empty hallways, swords in their hands and bucklers on their arms. Their eyes danced from shadow to shadow, only the light of the moon falling through the windows providing any form of illumination.

Mira's eyes flashed to her sister as the girl made rapid hand signals. Due to the girl's inability to speak with her mind the way she could, Mina had learned to compensate for it through other means. Mira replied to the silent query through her thoughts. 'No, I hadn't expected the Priestess to stand her ground. Honestly it shocked me as much as it did you.'

Mina replied with a flash of respect, her signals relaying a question.

'I think so. She is different from us, but she has guts. And she can fight. I don't think we should try picking on her for the foreseeable time. We can't do much against magic.'

Her sister sent over a feeling of grudging admiration as well as agreement. Then a sudden desire to fight mixed with apprehension slipped out.

Mira smiled. 'Honestly, we should have known. First Priestess to come out is the best, right? She's a bit of a lion in sheep's clothing. She was kept sheltered in that Monastery of hers. Reckon that when she learns how to fight properly she's going to be one hell of a pain to go up against, and we can't counter that magic of hers in the slightest and I think she's only going to get better at it. If you want to try and antagonise her to fight against us...' she left her sister to figure out the rest of the thought.

The feeling of doubt in Mina's mind became tangible. Fighting against Lissa and Trista always ended in utter and total defeat, but at least they learned from that. How could you learn from magic that beat you black and blue when you couldn't even see it?

Mira smiled as she felt a weary sense of resignation flowing from her sister, followed by meek agreement. A new question followed immediately, Mina's fingers moving rapidly. 'I don't think we're a match for Salixor either.'

Her sister radiated disapproval and Mira felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment. She had mistranslated. She hated to admit it but despite being ahead of her sister in their mental connection, Mina had her beat in martial skill by a fair margin, even if her recklessness often hid it, and the girl picked most things up far faster than she did. 'Could you sign that again?'

Impatience slipped out of her sister, but was quickly pushed back as Mina repeated the signs, slower this time.

'Gaelus? How... Strong he is? Is that what you mean?'

Mina nodded at the first bit, then once again repeated the last signs, expressing a sense of urgency. Obviously she was still missing part of what her sister wanted to say. She focused on it and was completely taken off guard when her sister suddenly moved in on her. Before she could react she felt her feet being kicked out from underneath her. Mina's arm slipped around her neck and she was placed in a choke-hold. She looked into the grinning face of her sister, which was hovering far too close to her own for comfort. "You know sis, you're quite arrogant at times. You may think things through more, but that doesn't help you one bit when I can still put you flat on your ass."

Mira frowned, shielded her own thoughts in turn and headbutted her sister. Mina reeled back, taken off guard by the sudden attack. The girl somehow knew that Mira would be bringing her own sword up and moved accordingly. She slid forward, vision still blurred from the blow, and grabbed her sister's wrist and pressed down on it, hard. Mira let out a silent scream and dropped her sword. Mina stopped the blade from hitting the ground with her foot, slowing down its descent and keeping it from making too much noise.

"My win," she announced, tapping Mira's other arm with her sword.

Mira growled at her and slid the dagger she wielded against her sister's blade. "How did you know?"

"Because I know how you think. I don't need to be able to read your thoughts to know what you're planning."

"Gah. You and your instincts," Mira complained, but smiled while doing so, rubbing her sore arm.

Without saying anything the girls resumed their position. Mira picked up her blade as Mina whispered the question her sister hadn't understood earlier. "What type of strength do you think this Gaelus has?"

Mira blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?"

Mina rolled her eyes. For being the thinker of the pair, her sister was being awfully thick-headed at the moment. "Glissandi's strength is magic. Yours is thinking. Mine is instinct. Lissa is a Paladin. Trista is a Knight. Both excel at fighting with weapons. Trolls are physically strong. Salixor is..." she left the sentence unspoken. Neither girl had a desire to think of that again. "So," she resumed, "what is Gaelus' strength?"

Her sister was quiet for a while. When she spoke, there was admiration in her voice. "I'm surprised a muscle-head like you could actually think of such a — oof!" she coughed as Mina rammed her elbow into her sister's side. "Right, well, I have absolutely no idea"

"You don't?" Mina asked, incapable of hiding the worry that she felt. Her sister always knew things. Or had a suspicion. An idea. A guess! To see her sister straight up admit that she didn't know made her uncomfortable.

"Look, if a guy who puts roots in people's head for fun tells me that he's far beyond anything I can imagine, I tend to believe him. Maybe the guy's just a good teacher. An old wise man or something. Maybe he's actually the Lord in disguise. I don't know!"

Mina gave her twin a horrified look. "Don't spout such blasphemy!"

Mira turned her eyes downwards and whispered a soft prayer. "You're right, that was stupid of me. I'm sorry. I just wanted to express that he could be anything."

The girls resumed their patrol in silence for a while, before Mina signed at her sister again. Another question.

Mira paused at a window and stared through it for a while before responding.

'Oh yes, I'm sure we'll go after him. We killed the witch and now we must go after her master. You wanted your storybook adventure, sis. Well..."

She gave her sister a wry smile.

"We're in it now.'