A pair of disks hovered under the cover of night and stopped at a grove near a riverbank. Beams of light shot out of their undersides before the flying contraptions tilted up and resumed a skyward journey. Two figures materialized after the last particle of luminance dissipated into the air; gray uniforms glowed as the bluish aftereffects lost their grip on their surfaces.

Gerhard and Cornelia looked at the compound not far from the cover of trees they were brought to. It would have resembled a castle from the older times, if not for the lighting that highlighted the open-window rooms and the sight of Imperial riflemen roaming up and down the battlements.

"All this place needs are a bunch of cannons and we get a full-fledged fortress." Cornelia's eyes spotted the domes that reminded her of gun turrets.

"Cornelia, remember." Gerhard's hand pointed to his left temple concealed by the brim of his hat.

"Oh, THAT. Sure Boss – I hear and obey." Cornelia went ahead of the wizard and bowed in front of him. "While this 'talk inside your mind and let that other guy hear you out' is cool, our lips are supposed to do that job. Anyway, you'll go ahead and force me the fact that I'll get used to this someday, right now would be nope, nuh-uh and don't want to."

"Admit it or not, our silent talking will help us a lot later on."

Both reached the top of an incline where the road to the Imperial Archives was set on. An arched gate stood in the middle of two guardhouses; both of them arrived and saw three motor transports stop in front of it. Salutes were exchanged as what looked to be a commander handed a piece of paper to one of the sentries on the watch, who in turn did not bother with inspecting the vehicles' contents and waved a hand to open the gates. A booming close of the gates swallowed all three of the motorized carriages and the silence of the watch was restored after the subtle shaking of the ground stopped.

"You're not thinking we're going that way, are you?"

"The guards will quickly suspect us if we enter through the main gate. There should be a personnel entrance somewhere here. Let's take a look around."

"That would be a much better idea Gerhard."

Gerhard and Cornelia vanished into the trees and followed the river until they found a section of the Archives connected to what seemed to be one of Aurelburg's outer extents. Soldiers and other workers gathered around nearby stalls and restaurants; a sea of uniforms and suits moved in and out of the establishments taking advantage of the free time allotted by their jobs. The pair shuffled and squirmed through some of the crowded areas up until they reached the source of the flow of personnel. This entrance was not as heavily guarded as the main gate; no more or less than six men were assigned to patrol the area. Wizard and swordswoman were about to enter the place when an Imperial soldier crossed their path; his cheeks were flushed red, and the scent of ale mixed with meat leaked out of his mouth.

"Hey, looks like you two are on a date, um... sorry, Sergeant and Lieutenant Sir." A pair of drooping eyes stuck on Cornelia "...and Ma'am. Lucky guy you are, Sir."

"Go home, private." Gerhard's forehead crumpled and his eyes shot at the soldier.

Gerhard went ahead, with Cornelia giving one last look at the drunken man before following the wizard. Both went straight through the entrance, ignoring the guards that silently went on their watch.

The ground level of the archives that served was the only section open to the public; the pair passed by various scripts and yellowed texts housed inside glass showcases. On the end of that hallway was a desk with two guards attending to the door behind it.

"Good evening." The receptionist closed her eyes and bowed at Gerhard and Cornelia. "Your identification cards please."

They pulled out leather-bound booklets from their pockets and gave it to the desk officer. She looked at both of their faces and checked if they matched with what was on the pictures. The clerk looked up to them after a few nods.

"Please sign." The logbook beside her was opened; Gerhard and Cornelia took pens from a nearby holder and affixed their names and signatures. "What brings you to the Archives, Sergeant Claudius and Lieutenant Bonn?"

"We are here to copy a few documents on military doctrine." The lieutenant answered; his eyes were eased on the desk clerk. "We'll need citations for our training course."

"I see. For military history, it's Room K. Go straight, then two turns left and one right on every end of the hallways. Enjoy your night." How the clerk managed to bow while keeping her small cap on her head unmoved was something Cornelia was curious to ask the lady clerk, but Gerhard was in no shape to entertain the thought.

Their blue and red uniforms stood loud and quickly distinguished them from the gray-wearing workers and clerks inside the archives proper. Most of the soldiery was put to guard duties and many officers returned home after work. The duo got to an intersecting room that linked the General Information section with two of the most restricted areas of the Archives: the Artifacts and the National Histories rooms.

"Based on the map, the tome is most likely kept in the Artifacts sections. This is the end of the help offered by our disguises."

"End huh? Care to tell?"

"I would say that a low-ranking officer and a non-commissioned soldier would not be allowed to go in there. Only the highest-ranking men and women of the land had ever laid their eyes inside."

"We're breaking in, Gerhard?"

"Exactly. You'll need to put your sword to use later on."

Gerhard and Cornelia followed the directions given by the hallways until the two reached a section of the Archives with a booth and a couple of heavily-armed guards protecting an iron door. An officer in charge of the watch quickly noticed the stray soldiers wandering around and approached the pair right away.

"This area is off-limits." The dry voice of the watcher echoed in the near-empty room – perhaps he might have been stuck in the job for too long to feel anything for it. "Leave at once."

"Just a question: is this where the ancient records and all those old things are stored?" Cornelia smiled at the rather sharpened eyes of the guard.

"Yes," was the officer's answer.

"All right." Cornelia drew closer to the man and with a quick movement of the hand, struck his abdomen with the round pommel of her saber. There was an abrupt blast of air, followed by the officer kneeling down and losing his senses.

The other guards were quick to respond and ran towards Gerhard and Cornelia and the wizard released two small bolts of energy at the men. Bodies crashed to the wall when the soldiers absorbed the force stored inside the magic projectiles. Wizard and swordswoman walked past the unconscious bodies that sprawled on the path before the heavy door to the Artifacts chamber.

"There should be a switch to the door at the officer's desk."

"I don't think we have the time to find that."

"What do you mean...?"

Cornelia flashed the naked blade from the sheath. She stretched out her hand and waited for it to glow white before spanning her palm to the sword's whole length, channeling the gathered strength to the blade. Her weapon was stabbed to the top of the iron doors and was quickly pulled down with a little of her strength. Cornelia drew out the blade and kicked the middle portion of the door to watch it collapse on its own weight.

"I didn't know you can do that." Gerhard took quite some time before he picked up his jaws from what he saw Cornelia do; he forgot to use the telepathy device in the process.

"I have my own tricks, only that I don't like using them too much." The swordfighter flashed a smile before stepping back from the door. "After you, Sir."

Both descended into a wide moderately-lit room where various books were placed on shelves as high as two men standing together. Gerhard drew something out of his pants pocket and revealed a jade crystal rod from a small leather bag.

"This should get us to the book." The wizard retrieved his restraint and resumed talking using the telepathy headband. If there was one thing Cornelia found interesting in the wizard, it would be his ability to recover rapidly over surprises.

Green light grew from the center of the rod and went on until the stick resembled a small luminous dart. It flew out of Gerhard's hand and stopped adjacent to a book on the top of the central shelf.

"From walking metal monsters to this: you guys are weirder by the day."

"Anything as long as it gets the job done fast"

Gerhard propped himself up one of the ladders and pulled out the book the crystal pointed them to. A silver-lined tome was taken and stuffed inside a small bag before the pair ran their way down the intersection. Alarms rang and echoed all throughout the halls of the Archives by the time the two arrived at the same intersection. Scrambling of heavy boots thumped and stomped from the three other hallways.

"Looks like we have to fight our way out..." Cornelia sighed, although she had not armed her sword yet.

"I didn't expect having to resort to using much mana for this task."

"Be ready now Gerhard. Let's take the right hallway; the footsteps are least here."

He had no other option but to follow her. The two came across half a dozen soldiers whose rifles were held to the chest. One of them asked:

"What happened?"

"Somebody broke into the Artifacts storage." It was Gerhard who answered this time; he managed to deliver his matter-of-business approach even at the risk of being captured and compromising their task. "We're going to report to the commander about it. Last of what I've heard was the intruders ran to the left sector."

"Thanks, Sir. Be safe." The soldier gave a salute before leading off the rest of the crew away from the pair.

"Nice touch there Gerhard."

"We'll not be that lucky if we stay here longer. Let's go."

"Right in front of you Sir."

They were far from the intended escape point. The stairways to the lower floors would be barricaded and choked of guards by the time they would be near enough. Gerhard and Cornelia passed by a trio of riflemen that ran their way. Luck was on their side still when they were not ordered to stop by the rushing personnel.

Their fortunes abandoned them the moment they reached the room that was connected to the generator sections. Beyond the open door were a dozen men forming an arc; rifles were aimed at Gerhard and Cornelia. Their leader stepped forward – a woman whose bun of maize hair was exposed to the elements.

"As expected, you were coming this way." The woman spoke with a reserved air of authority; her mellow voice contrasted the urgency of the command. "Surrender whatever you stole from here and your sentence will be lighter."

"This wench isn't any of the Regulars." Cornelia's eyes were on the ornate sword the officer was using; she also noticed the blade giving off a yellowish glow.

Gerhard did not respond. Cornelia felt his force building up – their opponent also sensed it.

"Fire on the man!" The officer's sword pointed at the wizard.

Crackles of guns sang in cacophony on the commander's orders. The floor shook and from it sprung a cloud of dust that compacted and solidified into an obstacle that soaked up the bullets.

"A wizard? How could this...?" A pair of rounded eyes stared at the shielding that was conjured right in the middle of the barrage.

Something shot out of the magic-induced wall; an orb of conflicting white and blue light stopped between the soldiers and Gerhard's barrier. A blend of colors took the soldiers' eyes off their sights – but that proved to be the formation's undoing.

"Take cover!"

The warning came too late. There was an implosion, followed by a visible shockwave that spanned all throughout the space. Men and their weapons were thrown to the walls; their bodies thudded to the floor and forced their senses out. Only the commanding officer remained standing; the yellow blade somehow stopped the magical attack to harm her.

"Cornelia, I'll need your sword again. Our opponent is not as easy to defeat as I've thought."

"I was waiting for you to say that."

Cornelia unsheathed the sword and jumped out of Gerhard's earthen barrier; her blade hammered at the Imperial officer from above but its force was canceled with an effective parry. She spun back and started her assault on the commander anew. Cornelia's sword struck like a mallet left and right, keeping the enemy swordswoman from poising for a riposte. Their forces canceled out; none managed to do more than what their moves allowed. Swords glowed in the half-darkness; sparks flew as the officer's weapon kept up with Cornelia's attacks.

"Impressive." Her blade was swung aback as the commander eased her arm before assuming another defensive stance.

"I guess I'll have to fight you on even terms." The same skill was used for a second time; Cornelia's hand infused energy on her saber and set the now-glowing cutting edge horizontally.

Cornelia lunged at the opposing officer with a thrust that was deflected with more strength than before. The attack proved to be a ruse than anything else – Cornelia's blade shifted from the ground to an upward strike set to meet the opposing sword head-on. Her enemy had no time to use a second hand to strengthen her grip on the yellow-bladed weapon. Both swords connected; their impact caused the officer's blade to fly out of her hand and crash to the wall.

"Cornelia, move out of the way."

Gerhard's magic was unleashed, this time in the form of a small ball of translucent gray. Cornelia spun aside and saw the charge hit the disarmed opponent on the gut. There was a scream right before the officer was lifted off her feet. She slammed on the wall, slowly sliding until she sat still; a trickle of blood flowed out of her lips.

"Is she dead?" Cornelia put her sword back to the scabbard and did not go near the defeated officer. A look of concern escaped the mercenary's eyes; Cornelia wanted to go near the imperial soldier but stopped halfway.

"No, but that will be enough to stop her from bothering us until we get out of here."

The voices of a gathering of soldiers were heard from above; it seemed that the short battle that happened alerted the rest of their presence. Gerhard and Cornelia nodded at one another and headed out.