Before the mage could realize that they had escaped, Vanemar and Jioh were already speeding down the nearest alleyway. Unwilling to give them any sort of rest, the High Mage was quick to pursue them on his steed. "Got any spells that could knock him off his horse?" Vanemar asked Jioh who was already gasping for breath. Jioh looked at him with mouth agape and nodded erratically. "When we get to the end of this alleyway, hide on the right side of the wall and do what you have to do." Jioh nodded again. As they left the alleyway, they hid behind opposite sides of the exit. Jioh began to frantically pull things out of the bag, this time relying on his memory of the spell.

"This one might blow us away too if he's close enough, so take a step back!" Jioh said as he revealed himself to the mage and chucked the vial at him. Vanemar peeked over, not expecting a gust of wind strong enough to nearly knock him off of his feet. The mage met a worse fate and was halfway across the alleyway. Strewn upon the ground, the man weakly attempted to get back on his two feet. Brighthawks guards soon came to help the mage causing Vanemar to give a signal for them to keep running.

By the time they reached the port, the bodies of the two men were on the verge of collapse. The Wilted Rose was in sight, it's dark hull becoming harder to spot as the sun set in the distance. Guards continued to patrol en masse but they disregarded the two men, not yet informed of who they were. Vanemar knew that they had no reason to care, a dangerous criminal from Honea was already being chased down by the Honean military meaning it would be risky to lend a hand. The sound of hoofbeats from the rear made it no mystery of who was behind them. "But how?” Jioh said weakly. ”How did he manage to catch up so quickly?" The man reached into his pocket, the mage was getting very close. Vanemar got a better look of the man. The mage held a glass globe in hand with a bright orange orb floating inside which quickly disappeared into his robes so he could engrave something into his magiglove. "Why are you stopping?" Jioh said anxiously as Vanemar turned to stand in the horse's path.

"He's going to catch us anyway. Better to get this over with quickly. Are you done with your magic yet?"

"Want me to throw it now?"

"Of course!" As the mage was only seconds away from them Jioh threw the vial in the same fashion as before. This time it did not reach him. His glove glowed with green magic as it held the vial in the air. A crowd quickly formed around them as the mage came to a halt and dismounted.

"You do not have the necklace," the High Mage said as he got close enough to snatch the floating vial out of the air. "Where is it?"

"None of your business High Mage," Jioh said with the most confidence he could muster. "Do you honestly think we’d go to the Brighthawk capital while flaunting that thing?"

"Shut it cultist." The mage barked. "The Brighthawks have already posed a threat by us simply sitting upon their precious relics. You’ve made a great mistake by just bringing the thing near them!”

"Why are you so concerned about the necklace anyway! Aren’t you here to catch the man standing next to me?” Vanemar shot a glare towards the source of the outburst, causing Jioh to awkwardly apologize.

The High Mage sighed. "I have no care for the Dukeslayer, my true intent is retrieving that necklace."

Vanemar looked at the mage in shocked surprise. How could that man say that knowing what he’s done?

"Now that is something you shouldn't tell your soldier friends." Jioh said, easing a little due to a lack of violence. "Isn't that right Raven?"

Vanemar trusted the mage for a second but he quickly decided on it being some sort of deceit. He was cautious to strike now though, fearing that his weapon would be pulled from his grip. Even so, Vanemar hoped that this was another chance being presented. "If I were to give you the necklace." Vanemar said to the High Mage. "Would you leave me alone?"

Jioh turned to his ally in shock while the mage was quick to shake his head. "That isn't something I can do. Even after I retrieve the necklace the captain accompanying me will still have orders to hunt you down.”

Vanemar frowned, "I see, then I can’t help you.”

"How about this." Jioh stepped in confidently. "We are on our way to something of major interest to the Brighthawks. If you don’t try to stop us, you’ll be the only person outside of the Brighthawk nobility that knows about it.”

The mage stared at Jioh in doubt. “Does this involve the necklace?”

“Absolutely.”

"Fine, but be aware that I will snatch it from you the second I get a chance."

"Well, it’s not like I can complain about a head start."

"Then I'll be on my way.” He quickly mounted his steed without turning his back to them.

"I didn't expect you to make a deal with him." Vanemar said to Jioh as they went towards their ship.

"We already made enemies with the Brighthawks. I don’t need another one to add to that list."

"And that's why you trusted him? You know I could have stopped him there right? He’s the reason the Honeans were able to find me, I’m sure of it."

"Don't worry about it." Vanemar watched him with uncertainty. "I need his help."

"With what? We already know where that map leads and I doubt he’d want to start a fight with the Brighthawks in their own territory."

"I have my own reasons."

Vanemar gave a hard glare towards him. “You better spill it if you’re thinking of getting me involved”

Jioh was silent for a moment, leading Vanemar away from the ship and towards an empty alleyway. “I’m going to kill my boss.”

Vanemar stared at him blankly. “What?”

“For the entire length that my Spidon has held power over the Honean sect, he has done nothing but further his own agenda. He has plagued the cultists with his awful ideals and has repurposed our work to involve nothing that it did originally. He’s a bastard Raven. That’s why I want to kill him.”

Vanemar looked at Jioh, surprised that the man was turning out even crazier. “This isn’t something you should say so easily you know.”

“I know that. It’s just that I trust you more than my own allies.” He leaned in closer. “Because they’re really just Spidon’s pawns.”

“Well I won’t say you made a bad choice but I think you came out too hastily.”

“I’m not an idiot. I put some good thought into this decision and decided you weren’t that type of person who’d side with selfish people.”

“You got me all wrong. I’d rather not side with anyone. Don’t forget that I’m only siding with you because there was coin involved.”

“That’s not what your history tells me. Did you not assassinate the Duke because you believed he was an evil man? You were renowned as a vigilante, but you are telling me that you do not choose sides?”

Vanemar grunted out of frustration. “Can we stay on topic? Why did you play nice with the High Mage?”

Jioh frowned, “I know you won’t help me. I just felt that it was something I needed to say to you before we arrive at headquarters. The reason why I said those things to the High Mage is because… I want to create a situation where the mage is forced to raid headquarters.”

Vanemar left his mouth hanging slightly in surprise. Perhaps he underestimated the man. It made him all the more suspicious though. He didn’t care if the man trusted him, there was obviously much more that he was hiding. Things that Vanemar suspected involved his own life. “Have to keep watching this one.” He thought. “It’s getting late. Let's get back to the ship before word spreads.” His words were empty of emotion.

Jioh nodded and led them back into the streets of the port. Vanemar followed close behind, his mind elsewhere.

For the majority of his visit at the capital, Giris had spent his time running from place to place without a break. This was also the truth for when he arrived at the public teleportation station. A brick building meant to take those too poor to afford an airship down to the nearest lowland city. It was at the place that the High Mage had sent Sergeant Clovus to watch during his visit to the palace, for reasons he barely explained.

Giris found the sergeant sat down on a wooden bench, staring into a crowd with eyes which showed he was not paying much attention to the real world. Perhaps Giris should have mentioned that the man he was looking for would have come to him.

“Seen him yet Sergeant.” Giris said to the soldier as he approached from behind.

Clovus jumped slightly but kept a straight face as he looked back. “Not a trace sir, you sure he knows?” Giris frowned and muttered thoughtfully to himself. “Sir?” the man asked him with concern.

“That man has been waiting for a year for me to show up again. He asked me to wait here for him to arrive the next time I decided to visit. He would definitely know. Word would have spread quickly once I arrived in the palace.” The mage rubbed his head in frustration. “He wanted to show me something that happens in this specific place. Did you see anything strange while you were here.”

Clovus shook his head. “Nothing out of the ordinary besides a royal guard passing by.”

“That must have been from what happened earlier.”

“Did you manage to catch him?”

“No. He was just as quick as last time. Probably left the highland by now.”

Clovus’ eyes widened, “Shouldn’t we be chasing after him?”

“We’ve time to spare. This is much more pressing.”

They waited and waited until nothing came and Giris realized the unfortunate truth behind the matter. The man he had sent to investigate the palace archives was more than likely dead. As the High Mage revelled in defeat, he caught a glimpse of a mage in white robes approaching the teleportation center. At his sides were two men in plate and white tabards. “Now that’s something familiar.”

Clovus raised a brow. “You know those people?”

“Yes, members of the Order of the Observers. A bunch of corrupt intellectuals that should have disbanded years ago.” He stood up. “I’ve seen what I was supposed to see. We’re leaving.”

Clovus nodded and stared at the men in white for a few more seconds before following him. The sight left Giris with many questions. The most important being, what were the Observers doing in the Imperial Archives and how much power did they wield that they could kill a Honean agent without a single word ever getting out?

In the total darkness of the night, a violent shaking of the Wilted Rose’s hull tore them all from their slumber. Vanemar was pushed and pulled against the bed in the rattling that lasted only a few chaotic seconds. As the ground became stable again Vanemar quickly jumped out of bed. He was surprised to see that Ama and a few other cultists were already awake. They were at the staircase and armed. Vanemar’s skin crawled. They had left the port already, why would they need to be armed? Unconsciously, he grabbed his new curved weapon. He needed answers.

"Jioh needs you at the top," Ama informed him with desperation. "One of the Brighthawk ships found out we left, they're getting close. You have to help him stop them."

Vanemar nodded and pushed through the other cultists as he ran upstairs. The night was pitch black and would have encased the deck in complete darkness if it were not for a few magic lanterns spread about it. Jun and another cultist were there as well, manning the large ballista in the center of the ship. The cultist loaded the weapon as Jun took aim. They held that position as Vanemar passed by, waiting for their pursuing ship to enter their range of fire

"Raven!" Jioh called out from the wheel with a wave. After arriving on the quarterdeck Vanemar’s eyes focused on the speck of light behind them. The Brighthawk ship, a crumb of light in the night sky. Jioh pulled the lever to make the ship descend, the Brighthawks did the same. Neither side would allow the other to get the edge. "Jun woke me up in the middle of my sleep to tell me that we were being followed. I decided that I’d let you get some rest before the action started but I suppose that would be impossible with all this moving around.”

“Then I suppose we better shake off this ship before we arrive at… Where are we heading?”

“You’ll be happy to know that we solved the riddle. We’ll be heading to Lorithshield Keep.”

“How did you figure it out?”

“The place was meant to defend against the supposed beast that threatened the empire. It’s all us history buffs could think of because the emperor apparently started to create the Highlands after it was built.”

Vanemar rolled his eyes as he looked toward the Brighthawk ship. “Any ideas on how we’ll get out of this? If we start attacking them they could signal for help and we’d be done for.”

“Those two on the deck proposed something to me. I’m not a fan of it and I’m sure you won’t be either. If we attach a vial full of fire magic to a bolt and launch it at their ship they'll be done for."

Vanemar grunted. "You're right about me not liking it. How did they even know about that.”

“They both served in the Eaglecrest War. Is it really a military tactic?”

“I have seen it used once before. Fire on a wooden ship is as effective as it sounds. The speed of the ship only makes it worse. It’s a terrible thing to do but if you have to do it…”

"They’ll execute us if they manage to capture us.” Jioh sighed deeply in shame. “I thank the four that I never decided to enlist."

“And look where that got you.”

"Goes to show that even I can do terrible things to people. Have you ever handled an arbalest?" Jioh said pointing towards a large, crossbow like contraption on the rear of the deck.

"Once before when I was testing the one on my own ship. I used to be somewhat of a good shot with a bow which helped a bit. Hitting something that far away though? I'm not sure I can even get a shot close to them.”

"Good to hear. We won’t be able to hit them with the ballista when they’re evading so well so you’ll just have to do all the work. How about we get closer? You'll be able to hit them then right?"

Vanemar grimaced, “We’ll get hit too.”

“They’ll want us alive.”

Jioh pulled back on the lever next to the wheel and the ship shook as it abruptly began to slow. "That box next to the arbalest has the bolts, bring three of them here so I can attach the fire magic to them."

Vanemar handed them over with great reluctance. While he had killed many times before the thought of a slow fiery death made his skin crawl.

Jioh sat down with legs crossed as he began to etch signs onto the magic vials. Using string, he attached the vials to the bolts. Seeing that they wobbled slightly he used more string until both objects were rigid. "That should do the trick. The impact of it hitting against the hull will cause the vial to break into pieces and release fire all over their ship."

"Never thought I'd resort to burning people alive."

"But you've killed people before haven't you. Shouldn't this be second nature?"

Vanemar grunted with aggravation. "There is a difference between those who kill quickly and the ones who do so slowly. One of them kills for business and the latter does so for pleasure."

"And you've never done the latter?"

"I killed for the pay, not for the process." Vanemar aimed down the sights as the gap between the two ships quickly began to close. Taking a few short breaths, he roughly tried to estimate how the wind would affect the it’s trajectory. Then he pulled the trigger, sending the bolt flying into the night sky. It was a single orange light which shot through the dark like a needle through thread. The light then collided into a greater one, exploding into a violent inferno.

"Quick, another!" Jioh yelled with a shocked expression just as the first fire began to spread. Vanemar loaded another bolt and aimed no higher than the length of a height of a coin so that he would hit further back. He fired the bolt and it collided just before the ship could start pulling away.

"That should be enough." Vanemar said as he let go of the arbalest and watched as their pursuers were engulfed in flames. "It was most likely a sloop, two bolts is more than enough. Good thing they weren't expecting fire, for us at least." Just as the two began to uncomfortably watch the blaze, a sudden flash of bright blue light from the other ship’s deck caused them to flinch in unison.

"What was that?" Jioh said as he yelped in surprise from another bright flash. Its residue lingering for a minute until the ship was blanketed in darkness. Now completely out of sight. "But how?" Jioh said as he walked closer to the railing. "Wasn't it on fire?" the two men looked behind them as footsteps approached.

"Only one explanation for something like that." Jun said as he came up to the quarterdeck. "There is a mage on board.”

"A Mage? I suppose we won’t be able to use fire on them anymore." Despite the damage it had suffered, the ship continued to pursue. Its approach was declared by the faint light from the mage onboard. The four watched in momentary indecisiveness. “Any other ideas on how to stop that thing?” Jioh asked as he went

“It managed to get closer to us even when we were at full speed. I think the only way out of this now is to let them fight us hand to hand.”

Jioh shook his head rapidly. "We are not doing that, that’s a terrible idea."

Jun shrugged, "They’ve probably lost many men from the fire. We should have no issues with Raven onboard."

Jioh looked at him silently for a moment with wide, fearful eyes. "How is that supposed to make any kinds of sense?"

"Easy, they come to us, we kill them. Makes good sense doesn't it?"

"There are only three of us on the ship who know about combat. You think we can beat a ship full of them?"

“It could have been that the mage was the only one who made it through the fire.” Vanemar said. “I agree with Jun on this one. We won’t be able to do much with our ballistas if they have a mage on board.”

"Fine." Jioh said. "I'll stop the ship.

"Meet us at the staircase when you're ready.” Jun said as he began to back away. They'll probably start firing their weapons once they get close." Jun said as the rest of the men on the deck went running towards the stairs.

As the ship hung motionlessly in the air, Vanemar and the cultists sat at the bottom of the staircase with weapons at the ready. Vanemar and the two veterans stood at the front with shields up protecting the others who stood at the back with bows or their preferred choice of weapon. “You’re fine with a sword?” Jun asked judgingly.

“I prefer to stick to what I’m good with in this kind of situation.” He flourished the sword unconsciously as his nerves were worked.

The ship shook as if it had just collided into something and abruptly began to move with a slow lurche. "They've struck the hull with a harpoon." Jun said as he crouched with alertness. "It won't be long now."

They waited in tense silence until the ship shook to a halt. "Nock those arrows!" Jun said, causing the cultists to frantically raise their bows.

"Aim for the unprotected parts of their body. Don’t risk hitting us in the back." Vanemar informed them. A large clatter of boots resounded above and he began to grit his teeth. He wasn't used to standing still in dangerous situations. The Brighthawk soldiers spilled inside from both ends of the staircase. Men in plate armor that protected nearly all parts of their body. The first volley of arrows was released before the first two could reach the cultists and caught both of them between their open-faced helmets. Their lifeless bodies toppled down the steps, stopping at the feet of the shieldbearers. The three men dodged the obstacle as the rest of the soldiers came quickly before the next set of arrows could be ready. The front defense protected themselves from thrusting spears and waited for the others to take action. It was an exchange of blows without injury. Spear met shield or armor but drew no blood before more arrows took flight. A soldier fell and another became dazed before Jioh threw a magic vial into the crowd. The cultists promptly backed away as a cloud of smoke encased the air, causing soldiers to choke and cough from inhaling it. The soldiers soon collapsed leaving a tense quiet.

This quiet was quickly interrupted by a thin blue wind which swept the gas away from the staircase and into the open air. “The mage.” Jioh thought as another row of arrows was knocked. Suddenly, a soldier in full plate appeared. In his hand, a magisword. Up close, it appeared that it was a longsword split in two. In the middle was a thin glass tube which glowed blue with air magic. The soldier was quick to swing, a move that sent out a large blue wave of magic at the cultists. It collided into them like a bull, throwing them backwards and onto their back. Vanemar's entire body burned in pain. He was surprised but not beat. Both him and the two veterans were the first to recover as the rest were still dizzily attempting to get back on their feet.

"So you are the Dukeslayer." The magic swordsman said as he carefully descended the steps. "You are lucky that the Honeans would pay more for you alive. Your friends on the other hand will be the ones to meet our form of justice." The soldier swung his weapon downward and sent a vertical wave of magic hurling directly towards Vanemar who had already dodged before it appeared. As the few remaining soldiers came down, the swordsman pointed them to the cultists as his eyes set on Vanemar. "That sword you carry, it is a traditional blade given only to great swordsmen." He smirked. “This is truly an exciting day.” The soldier charged and swung his weapon at a nearly impossible speed. Vanemar dodged in an awkward manner. He had never faced a magisword in his life. If his employer's life were not on the line, he would be playing this safe. But instead he faced the man head on and blocked the blow that was aimed for his face. As their blades clashed, Vanemar was caught in a rush of wind that sent him hurtling back into a dining table. The collision caused him to grunt from the great sting of pain that went up his back, his sword falling away from his hand in the process.

That mistake had nearly taken his life. He had charged the man thinking that he would not be able to use his magic at such a close range. "I'll have to find a way to hit him without getting hit by that magic." He thought as another blue wave went for him. He jumped low, grabbing his sword as he rolled back into an upright position. Furniture was thrown around as if in a storm as consecutive attacks followed. He dodged them with quick footing as his eyes set on his target who stood confidently in the open. Vanemar charged with sword at the ready and shield forward as the man frantically prepared his next attack. As he approached the soldier, Vanemar slowed down to trick him. As soon as the light appeared from the weapon, he lunged, thrusting his sword into an opening near the man's shoulder. The man fell back in an attempt to avoid the attack but was too late. The blade cleanly entered the opening and made contact with his flesh. As the man attempted to back away Vanemar drove it deeper until a swing interrupted him.

Unwilling to relinquish his advantage, Vanemar crouched and held the shield over his head as the sword impacted it. The recent blow to his arm made the man’s swinging weak but the magic made up for it. Vanemar's body was pushed into the ground and it felt like it would break apart under the force of the blow.

"You're quite good." The man said breathlessly as he attempted to back off, one hand holding his sword as the other lay close to his recent wound "But you are nothing compared to the strength of a magisword!" The man swung again, but this time Vanemar was met with a blinding ball of light that was so large that he could see no way of escape. He attempted to jump out of the way but was effortlessly caught in the magic and thrown half of the length of the ship. He felt his whole body ache as it was thrown against the ground. As he tried to get up the steps of the swordsman were getting closer. The man was breathing deeply and casually walked towards the Dukeslayer to conserve his energy as it slowly dripped out of him. "This is where you say goodbye to your friends Honean." The man said as he raised his weapon. "It seems that you were not worthy of that weapon of yours." The man let down his sword only to find that he had missed. He grunted in suprise as Vanemar rolled into him, putting up his shield so that the sword could not hit him. With the last of his energy, he sprung upward with his sword, jamming it straight into the opening at the man’s neck. The man's other hand weakly reached for the blade as it went through but was too weak to stop it. It took only a few moments for him to fall to the ground dead.

Vanemar almost fell with him out of exhaustion before pulling the bloodied blade back out. He stared at the man's lifeless body for a moment as his mind processed the events that had occured. His body was in pain and his mind was working slowly. "I still need to help." He looked around to find his companions watching him from the front of the ship. They had just finished ridding the room of the invaders and had tensely watched him deal the final blow. As he tried to stand to walk with pain still invading his body, Jioh quickly came to his aid, putting an arm around his shoulder.

"No need to work yourself even more." He said as he directed him towards the bed. "The rest of them will clean up. We’ve been through too much today for any mortal man." As they reached their beds both men threw themselves into their respective sheets, immediately passing out without another thought.