The market square had seen its share of busy days, but rarely did it have a random throng of people darting in and out of stalls and stores. Merchants who either waited for their customers to see their stocks or those who hawked their wares dotted the area. Piles of fruits, vegetables, and meats were shown to those who passed by in hopes of getting the best out of the produce. A mix of voices and whispers jumped and bounced around. There was gossip to be heard or small talk made by sellers to either customer or competitor that managed to ride along with sounds of knives making crisps and slurps. The air was random; at one place the delightful scent of fresh fruit tickles the nose and on another, the heavy tang of meat forced its way to any would-be buyer.

It was that time of day when ships of local or foreign origins docked and unloaded their wares for the populace to buy. While local produce stood on its own well enough, the arrival of new choices brought more people out of their homes and into the marketplace to check them out. Soon, other businesses that sold items other than food would set up their stalls and call the attention of potential customers.

Euphemia arrived at the square just in time to see many of the stalls erected by the locals. Those who sold food items were all ready and were calling out buyers while special goods such as jars, cloths, and all manner of trinkets and small machines barely began lining up their wares underneath cloth roofs. She felt dampness from under her felt hat when she dug deeper checking out what the farther stalls were selling. Somewhat adding to her discomfort was that the three guards assigned to look after her were standing too close beside her. Euphemia understood that these soldiers were following the procedure, and she would have to make sure that she would be less of a chore to the uniformed Albertan men.

"Lady Euphemia, must you have to do your shopping?" inquired Fritz, a mustached guard who had been acquainted with the family for the longest time. "We would have saved you the trouble if you just asked."

"Fritz is right, m'am," said Avan, the newest addition to the Schild house guards. "We could barely move in this lot of people."

Avan nudged Heinz who was on the right; the latter curved his lips and nodded.

"Don't worry. I'm just looking for..." The Albertan lady found a stall with a pile of bright tangerines up front. "There they are."

A wrinkled lady attended to Euphemia and her escort. She was watching her customer sort and separate ten fruits from the pile, which were then put inside a paper bag being handed over to the buyer. Euphemia took out her purse and gave half a handful of coins to the vendor before walking away. The lady and her men reached the exit before she turned around to face Fritz and company. She opened the bag, took out three of the oranges and offered it to the guards saying:

"Thank you for your trouble gentlemen."

Fritz took an orange without a word - the other two were not as willing.

"No need, m'am. We're just following orders."

"Avan's right," Heinz seconded. "There's no need..."

"Quit yapping you two and just take the orange." Fritz handed both their tangerines.

The four resumed the return journey to Schild Manse until they were met by the sentries on watch at the old redoubts. Duchess Agnes was not too far behind the estate's gates, supervising the gardeners whose shears trimmed a few uneven growths of the courtyard hedges. Euphemia left the guards and walked towards the elder noblewoman.

"Phemie." Agnes went near and embraced her daughter; Euphemia felt the slightly slippery surface of gloves against her back. "I'm relieved to see you have returned from the Schweiglands safe. You've returned all too quickly though."

"Thank you Mother. I wasn't able to find anything that will take me to a lead." Euphemia showed a small bag full of fruit. "I have brought home some tangerines from the market."

"A timely snack. Let us discuss what you have observed and gathered from the Schweiglands somewhere else. Come with me."

The ladies walked away from the hedges and moved to the familiar wooden shack. Agnes removed her gloves and drew out a key from her dress pocket. The lock clicked open and opened a narrow entrance that led to a flight of stairs. Their heels tapped against the wood on their way down; Euphemia and Agnes were inside a room lit by three windows. Sunlight has converged at the center of the room and formed a white spot where it splashed yellow on the floor.

Agnes took a tangerine from the bag and tore her finger through the peel; juices and a weak tangy scent squirted into the atmosphere. Both ladies stopped at a table lined up with clear glass tubes and containers that were filled with broken rays of the sun. Euphemia unloaded her belongings on the side and unzipped the leather box she was carrying.

"Have you found anything from the site?"

"The Navy managed to recover Father's sword and shield, but the soldiers stationed there have not found his body or a piece of his armor."

"Cecil has to be alive then..." Agnes parted a section of the inner fruit, sucked and chewed the pulpy mass; her face showed a faint curving of her lips.

"The soldiers have uncovered an underground escape route that leads to the sea. I am not able to ask their findings on the matter, although I feel they are baffled as I on how the Gray Fox's group escaped. At the end of the cavern was a port. I am lost in thought as to how they managed to sail without being noticed by the Navy. The current would have brought them to our navy."

"Then there would be many possibilities, from them disguising as soldiers, to a special underwater vehicle and even a cloaking spell that covered their ship."

Euphemia discounted the possibility of them using something similar to her transport spell; the fact that severed cables were found lying around meant that boats or an unknown aquatic vessel were devised by the survivors of the assault. She dug the contents of her bag and brought a sealed vial to the light.

"I found this from where Father was last seen."

Agnes wiped her hands with a handkerchief and took the small container from Euphemia's hands. She noticed the green-stained cotton inside and opened the vial. An acrid air jumped out of the container and drove Agnes' nose away from the opening. She brought the stopper back to the vial and gave her response:

"Hypnol, no doubt."

"Uhm... Hypnol?"

"I never thought the Gray Fox would have access to this," Agnes spoke in a way that she almost did not want Euphemia to overhear.

"You lost me, Mother."

"Oh, sorry." The Duchess put the sample on the table. "Let me fill you in on this, even a bit. The Imperial Scientific Ministry proposed this gas as a weapon to subdue enemies. It's effective in its own way – fast, potent, and light enough to quickly spread. The Army had little use for Hypnol, and issues such as disputes with our neighbors come quite rare. As you know how the Empire is at present, we don't have a good use for it now that we have settled our borders with our neighbors."

"Is this still being kept by the Army?"

"Well, yes," was the answer. "It would be extreme to use such chemicals against gangs, don't you think? At least, it gives us an idea that the Gray Fox has contacts within the government – all the more you should be careful in your dealings."

Euphemia fell silent. The risks were being revealed one by one and each new fact had the potential to become more dangerous than the previous. Yet there was no turning back. The cleric vowed to bring her Father alive; everything she learned would help her face the next set of trials.

Mother and daughter stared at each other. This would be the third time both women came to a silent confrontation regarding what to do with the search for the missing duke. Both held back from speaking; their eyes spoke of hesitation and worry that their words failed to deliver. Euphemia took another tangerine from the bag, but her fingers managed to only grasp the surface. They took their breaths Agnes finally decided to break the stillness moments later.

"I have involved you this far, perhaps too far for you to think of not going through with the search." The duchess' voice lost formality; all that remained was the words of a pleading parent. "This is something you will do on your own, and there will be times when you cannot avail of our clan or the Empire's help."

"My wish is to help. To prove that I can bring him back to us. Will you still not allow me, Mother?"

"You are to stay with me should things go my way, but I honor our agreement." The duchess let out a long sigh before eating a section of the tangerine. "Do your best to return Cecil to us. Promise that you will come back to me when things are beyond what you can handle."

"It is my promise, Mother." There was a tone of happiness in Euphemia's voice, but it was held down by the fact that her decision distressed the old noblewoman. "I will not fail our family."

Euphemia went near Agnes and locked her arms in embrace. It was too long and too hard to let go. Perhaps there was no need to go to this extent, only if circumstances were more favorable. This might be the last time she would be with her mother.