"I don't think you should follow through with this," said Alaric, "and I actually mean it this time."

Alaric scanned a stack of papers as Lina made her way around the main hall. The walls of Dinar's castle stubbornly held onto the banners of white and gold that signified the sovereignty of Baliskar. Now, they were in the process of being dismantled to make way for blue and white. The stylized star of Palatine now stood watch over the room.

"Do you know where he is or not?" Lina stepped forward and asked.

"My agents—"

"Your agents, while I appreciate their efforts, are proving to be wholly ineffective. They haven't made any progress towards finding out how Darius is still alive, let alone carrying out their duty of killing him."

Alaric raised his hands and shrugged. "Allow me to be offended on their behalf. The demon king has been leading campaigns since you were a child, and nevertheless, he is still alive. Surely that is a testament to his strength. I assure you we will get some results soon."

"You've been telling me that for years, along with 'these things take time.' Now I ask again, do you know where he is or not?"

Alaric shook his head. "Patience was never your strong suit. If you insist, he is currently camped at the Land of Plenty to the west, near the city of Iliam. No doubt he is preparing his troops to face off against the first legion."

"Thank you. I will head out at once then. Honestly, would it kill you to let me act on my own? I think I am old enough to make my own decisions."

Alaric peered at Lina while stroking his chin. "So it would seem... I assume you will be taking that gaggle of adventures with you?"

"No, I will be going alone."

Alaric cupped his hand around his ear. "Say again?"

"I am going alone!"

"And I hoped you had finally managed to make some friends. I hope repeating that made you reflect on how stupid you sound right now. Do I have to get you a military escort? The minister of Blackthorn would be happy to send them at your request."

"I don't like the looks I get with one. I am not trying to make a scene."

"As your ward, I am not letting you go alone, and that is final."

Lina gave Alaric a pleading look. He sighed. "I'll have to call in a favor. Come."

They exited the main hall and made their way out of the walls. They traveled into the town that surrounded the city, which had regained some of its former inhabitants. The street vendors and pedestrians imbued the village with new life. The new faces and buildings under construction heralded a return to normalcy. Alaric came back from a side street, nursing a kebab. He stretched out his arm to offer Lina a seasoned piece of maize he held in his other hand.

"He is where I thought," Alaric said as he led Lina down to a local eatery. He walked up to a table for two, sitting in the empty chair.

"If it isn't my old friend Utrecht. Funny finding you here, having a nice time out on the town?"

"It's rude to visit someone under false pretenses," Utrecht said. "I doubt you are just here to catch up. We are both busy, some busier than others, so I assume you have an actual reason to be here?"

"Ha! Nothing does ever get past you does it, though I suppose that is part of your job. I have a favor to ask of you."

Utrecht rolled his eyes. "Oh no. You aren't going to send me to perform an exorcism on a haunted house again, are you?"

Alaric gave him a pat on the back. "I assure you that was an important diplomatic mission! Probably. Anyways I need you to accompany someone. It's a clandestine operation, so someone with your talent would be most useful."

"I suppose I am free for the moment. Things are not as chaotic as they once were. Who do you need me to shadow?"

Alaric gestued to Lia. "Actually, I wanted you to escort Lina. She is heading west with the first legion. She is aiming to take out the demon king himself."

Utrecht choked on his food. "That is the Lina... you were always talking about? Going after the demon king too, huh? This is interesting indeed."

"What do you say?"

"I suppose... The demon king has been a top priority target of the inquisition for years."

"Great! Then I'll leave you two to it." Alaric said. "I'll be keeping tabs. Don't push yourselves too hard— after all, failure is the best teacher!"

As Alaric left, Lina took his place at the table.

"So you're the one Alaric told me about; he roped you into one of his schemes, yeh? I swear, they start them earlier every year..."

"How do you know each other?" Lina asked.

"Back during the waning days of the purge, Alaric and I did a lot of work together. We were colleges. He would root out any signs of wayward magics, and I would swoop in to clean up the mess. That's all in the past though lately, I have been bereft of assignments."

"Alaric never told me about what he did before coming to Blackthorn."

"I tell you, back in the day, there were plenty of mages infesting every facet of society. Alaric was one of the best. He found evidence of the god's tampering from anyone ranging from high society to the average citizen. He was so effective that we began to run out of cells, pretty unbelievable. The process of cleansing magic was a lengthy one, and we were forced to expedite the process at times... Oh, but that Alaric is a wily one. He left for greener pastures while I'm stuck here with little to do. You can be too effective at something, I guess."

"At least you can rest knowing you made the world a little safer for all of us," Lina said.

"It seems that part hasn't ended yet," Utrecht said. "We should probably get ready. Meet me at the gate tomorrow at noon. We don't want to take long; the army might get too far ahead of us."