The final journey from Greenkeep to Lastrel was short and, at times, silent. A few days separated them from their destination, yet it felt almost like a blink of an eye when they left the plant-drenched town for that immense harbor.

Ronan went through a road along the coast and its cliffs. It was windy and barely allowed you to talk to whoever was beside you, and on more than one occasion, it seemed as if even the horses would fly away.

As the days passed, the warm weather until then became much more humid and stormy, and the storm clouds were darkening the trip. At any moment, a storm would start, but fortunately for them, it began as they entered the shantytowns of Lastrel.

Fynn looked around with intrigue and curiosity. The ramshackle and irregular wooden houses were strange, as much as the town's atmosphere. The boy rode his horse close behind Yue.

The boy turned to his friend, who kept looking menacingly at many of the foot inhabitants of that place. The girl had one hand on the reins and the other on her knife.

Then, Fynn noticed how the villagers looked at her friend with bad faces, from the oldest to the youngsters.

Fynn caught his mentor's eye, "Ronan..."

"Ignore them," the marked man replied swiftly.

Indeed, the only thing they could do at that moment was to ignore them. Still, the gazes of those people were riveted on the backs of the marked children. The feeling of distrust that these people conveyed, and their unspoken hostility, was something they had to get used to. However, perhaps soon, it would no longer be like that; perhaps in a short time, they would be living in a place where they would not wish to attack them.

Once past the shacks, the city wall was overlooked above them. Fynn and Yue raised their eyes as they saw how at the entrance was carved a half-naked woman with a long fish tail and open arms; a symbolism that welcomed people to the port, and in turn, to the sea. Inside the city, the horses stopped burying their feet in the mud that formed on the city's outskirts and were now walking on the cobblestones once again.

The last journey to the ports was made on foot, keeping the animals in a local stable. In that way, the pair of children could also browse much more of the town. The whole place was a mixture of buildings, from tall wooden buildings and gabled roofs to white stone structures and flat orange roofs.

Fynn looked around the place quizzically, "This place is..."

"Horrible," Yue said.

Fynn exchanged peeks with the girl and silently agreed with her.

"This place is huge," Ronan replied. "Thousands of people live here, from many parts of Aeton. It's the magic of the ports; you'll always come across unique things."

Ronan wasn't lying about that, and soon both marked children saw the cultural wonders that could spring up on the docks.

At the trading posts and from the ships, unique people could be seen, and even more various humanoids.

Fynn and Yue saw from a longboat descending among the ropes a group of elves guarding the vessel's only sail, purple in color and with a circular symbol in the center. Among dockworkers and merchants, the children saw diverse humans that no longer looked like the Mizuna villagers they had seen so far but people with more unique features.

"Out of the way!" an annoyed, snarling man with gray-green skin spat. A couple of them were carrying a dauntingly large log between them.

"Ronan, who are they...?"

"Orcs," Ronan pointed out. "Cautious, their temperament is somewhat volatile. More if you bother them when it is time to fulfill their duties."

"I saw one like them before," surprised the boy.

"Where?" asked Ronan, intrigued, for he had not at any time come across an orc in Mizuna.

"In a dream," assured Fynn, "I saw one in my dreams once."

The marked man watched the boy in intrigue but also, at least initially, played it down.

"Let's not stand in the middle of the road," the man exclaimed to distract the boy.

They soon arrived at the port between sailors and merchants, where Ronan knew he would meet those who would get both teenagers out of there.

The pair of boys looked at the colossal ship before them. It was made of dark wood and had two huge masts. The ship rocked gently, and the creaking of the wood could be heard from the raging sea.

"It's huge..." expressed Fynn, amazed.

"It looks like a giant house," said Yue, equally amazed.

Ronan watched the children out of his eye as he did the paperwork with the captain on deck.

"It will just be the two of them; I won't be traveling."

"You mentioned that you traveled with Captain Namma last time," the ship's captain indicated. "I hope he told you about the increase in our fares..."

Ronan saw him with his blue eyes, expressing some annoyance. The ship's captain, a well-dressed merchant but with his good tan from the sea and parched skin from the saltpeter, returned him an immutable stare.

Ronan clicked his tongue in annoyance and soon extracted a pair of green and orange jewelry from his traveler's pack.

"Is this enough?" asked the marked man.

The captain dragged the jewels to the edge of his desk, then peered at them in the daylight. Even when the sun was obscured by clouds, he could discern a little of their value.

"Yes, it is," the man exclaimed, quickly stowing the jewels in the small chest. "You're not the only ones. I have at least half a dozen of you waiting to travel."

"Are you kidding?" asked Ronan.

The indifferent look on the captain's face showed him that they were legitimate in his words.

"How soon will you be leaving?" the marked man asked again.

"The port wants me to leave when the sea calms down," the man indicated. "But we don't know when that will be. The sea seemed serene and calm until early sunrises, like a green blanket. Now..."

"You'll go out no matter what, won't you?" asked Ronan.

The captain smiled and looked at the marked man. "Looks like someone's impatient to get those kids out of here..."

Ronan stared at the captain and brought both hands to his waist in annoyance.

"You guys are the best at this. I just want to..."

The captain interrupted Ronan, "I know well that we are the best, Mr. Evenore. It's all very well that people like you pay us to get forbidden goods out of places where they want them destroyed. We do a lot of work with goods that need to go to places like Adhaz or Efran Island. Don't take me for a rookie..."

Ronan swallowed his words and pursed his lips. Then, finally, the blond, long-haired man sighed resignedly.

"Just get both kids out of here as soon as possible."

The captain leaned back on the table where he was making papers about the additional cargo he would be carrying and then handed one of these signed to Ronan.

"Don't worry, with what you just gave me, maybe I can pay the port fees to get out sooner..."

Ronan tucked the paper in one of the pouches of his brown armor and walked down the ship's plank.

The children soon approached him.

"So?" asked Fynn.

"Once the weather improves, the ship will sail," replied Ronan before smiling at him. "Why, you want to get on the ship already?"

The marked boy smiled and turned his eyes, embarrassed.

"Trust me, when you've been up there for a couple of days, you'll wish you were back on land," Ronan clamored with a laugh.

It would still be some time before the teens set sail on their journey to Adhaz, so they had time to relax in that vast city.

The marked ones went up and down the city's busy streets and ducked into the alleyways between the older houses. What had initially been a maneuver to explore the city and get to know more places, the marked man began to use it as a mechanism to sneak around.

Ronan felt someone's eyes on him. Not only that, but he also felt the presence of other people like them. The blond man stopped and abruptly raised his eye to one of the rooftops between the alleys. There was no one there, but he felt there was.

The essence of the moment felt familiar.

"What's wrong?" asked Yue.

Ronan remained silent.

Fynn lifted his eye in the direction of where the man saw. He could see nothing, but he also felt a strange presence.

"Let's go to the central market, to a visible place..." Ronan ordered.

Once they reached the markets, the marked man slipped away with the children into the crowd. That way, no one would be so bold as to attack amid so many people.

"Are you all right?" asked Fynn with slight hesitation as he disguised his nerves by browsing in one of the market stalls.

"The captain said you'd be traveling with a couple more people, you know..."

"So what?" asked Yue, taking the odd trinket in hand on Ronan's other side.

"I feel something's not right," exclaimed Ronan as he opened his travel bag to buy some trinkets from the stall.

"Mr. Evenore," someone was heard calling Ronan's fake name.

Ronan turned his gaze, and the pair of children accompanied him.

Several paces away from them, the crowd of people spreads out, for as was to be expected, the imposing presence of a man accompanied by two more prominent people in armor gave a sense of awe and terror.

The slim, tall figure of the well-dressed man caught Fynn and Yue's attention, but Ronan was most surprised to see him.

Fynn observed the man with short hair, a thin mustache, an aquiline nose, and eyes showing too much indifference.

"Almond..." exclaimed Ronan quietly.

"Mr. Evenore," replied the man once more, who soon drew a smile on his thin lips, "Or perhaps I should address you as Ronan of Vilna..."

Ronan slowly turned away, holding his bag open on the merchant's table, who was intrigued and paying attention to the encounter.

"It's been a while, Almond," Ronan exclaimed in a dry, hostile voice. "You grew a mustache, good for you..."

The boy's eyes saw one of the armor-wearing men. The exotic fur cloak that man wore he recognized instantly.

"R-Ronan..." exclaimed Fynn with concern, "The warrior of Sunhold..."

Ronan glanced quickly at both warriors behind Almond. Then, he turned back to him.

"Where is he?" asked Ronan.

"Who?" asked Almond with feigned ignorance.

"You know who I mean, you piece of shit," Ronan spat through his teeth. "The fucking butcher..."

Almond smiled broadly and condescendingly.

"I see you noticed he was here. That's a shame."

"Where is he?" asked Ronan.

"He's playing tricks, Ronan. But, you should know, he was your student..."

Suddenly, several explosions were heard from various directions in the city. Up a hill of wide streets and tall buildings, the fortress of the local guard could be seen very well. From one moment to the next, people exclaimed and screamed in horror as one of the towers collapsed on the site. In that way, several buildings also called for portions of these, and a shower of stones became imminent.

Fynn watched these explosions with horror, and even more, he felt the fear and screams of the people around him.

Ronan quickly grabbed his bag and grabbed Fynn by his arm.

"Let's go!" he shouted loudly, taking advantage of the people's confusion and dread.

Ronan led Fynn by the arm until he reacted to what was happening and soon ran alongside his mentor and friend. Although the marked man wanted to get that pair of kids out of there as quickly as possible, he planned to return to the dock and board us if necessary under threat to the captain.

However, filled with fleeing people in panic, his path was doubly complicated.

The heavy gray clouds overhead fell in the blink of an eye like a cloak that almost blinded them.

"Fynn! Yue!" exclaimed Ronan soon. Quickly the pair of children came toward him, and he took them by their hands to not lose them. "Don't get separated!"

"What's going on!?" shouted Yue, looking around, dodging people who almost bumped into her.

In that abrupt haze, cries of despair came hand in hand with laughter. Dozens of laughter and sounds of sharp weapons could be heard.

The situation had become chaotic.