“Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is opinion.”

- Democritus

Sheathing his cutlass the coachman bowed and said, “The name’s Adam, Adam Closter, Old Adam is sufficient. The mistress has done me a good turn in the past, so I simply had to take the contract, even though,” his teeth shone, “I am technically retired. Would have been nice not to have to introduce myself like this.” His eyes roamed around the bloody ground.

“Thank you, Mr. Closter.” Alyssa kept a hold of her voice but in the end, it cracked a bit.

“Yes, thank you! And good foresight on my grandmother's part.” Maximilian went to the downed mercenaries and looked for signs of life, the disintegration of the blade in his hand accelerated rapidly and after a few seconds, there were only drifting motes of metal which soon vanished.

“What kind of spell was that.” Alyssa could not contain her curiosity even though she was still shocked.

“This? It was the ‘Blade of Erosion’ second incantation. I do get the third incantation to work, but only in the testing grounds in the academy, outside I never seem to manage. But this is a good spell for emergencies like this.” He stubbed the mercenary near the wall. “They are all dead.” He eyed the hulking form of Mr. Closter.

Old Adam grinned, his voice friendly, “In a situation as treacherous as this one, I could not take a chance. And the swamp-blade needed a bit of lubrication after all this time, it gets brittle otherwise, you know?”

“Let us adjourn to the inn then. I think Alea should sleep in your room?” The last was addressed to Alyssa.

“Yes, certainly.”

“We will have a look in the morning when the sun is up. At night, tired and wounded,” he looked at some slices in his coat that seemed to slowly repair themselves, ”we will not be very effective.”

They took watches in shifts, Mireille and Alea were out of the running and slept in the room where they had begun this fateful night. Maximilian, the coachman, and the manservant were included in the watches. Alyssa had cared for the wounded and was currently inspecting Alea’s room. The blonde maid was, still unconscious, put in the root cellar and a big chest with tubers put on the hatch.

In the light of a lantern, she had brought from below she saw the blood on the bed and the surrounding floor. The maid had been killed while defending herself, a curious thing as the assassin had seemed quite able. She gripped a large dagger in her slim hands and the edge was nicked and used. A slash had wounded her arm and then it had probably been quick. Alyssa closed her eyes for a moment and composed herself. Ghostly hands, cold but strangely pleasant stroked her neck. ‘Don't close your eyes before a death, it is impolite to the departed.’ Asandria murmured.

“It...it has been a bit much.” Alyssa answered, “will I get used to it? Should I?”

‘I was and am no warrior, so I cannot answer in full confidence, but I heard this question many times listening to the soldiers, and I think the correct reply is: yes, you will and it is best if you do. The battlefield is no temple where you can discuss morality. The decisions that make you kill someone should be made before they are forced on you. But all is well, you do what you need to do, there is no reason to feel so dejected. I am satisfied with your choices.’ Cold darkness gazed from empty eye sockets, mere depressions in a white face glowing softly like starlight, the body transparent but otherwise perfect, a beautiful vision without any warmth.

Alyssa swallowed then nodded. “Ok. I think that helped.” She turned to inspect the corpse and found a letter cleverly sewn into the hem of the dress, addressed towards a Lilly-Anne von Dreikswacht, there were two pages, the first one was in plain speech, the second contained symbols, lines, dots, and triangles, it seemed to be in code. 'Wasn't she named Olea?' Alyssa remembered Alea's outburst shortly before the treacherous attack.

‘Dear Lilly, I enclose the fee in this letter but please let us know if there is something else you require. We are grateful that you volunteered for this mission, we believe that there is a certain amount of danger to be expected, so be circumspect and careful. You sisters in faith pray for your success, may Jaros shine his eye on you and keep your secrets safe.

Yours, M.L.’

Near where the papers had been hidden she found two small gemstones, cut into a simple shape they were often used to more easily transport greater sums of money, she guessed that it might be around thirty, perhaps thirty-five gold pieces? Then there was a crystal slate approximately the length and width of her small palm, it seemed to have been used, or better, used up. There was no luster to the material and the runes were cracked. She inspected it but there were many she did not even know existed. Asandria floated near and said, ‘Ah, a resonant life charm. It combines with a counterpart and is fed by a minuscule stream of life force, less than it would take to let a hair grow, but when life ends so does the charm, and voila you know that your agent has perished. Quite the standard setup- For spies and such that is.’ Asandria smiled.

“Who was she really?” The face was relaxed in death, her darker skin seemed grey, in the unsteady light from the lantern she looked so very young.

“Sh...sh...she was an Andrian, Miss.” From outside the door, Luke the manservant answered her question. “Pardon my intrusion.” Alyssa flinched a bit then turned. She had not become acquainted with him outside of seeing him serve Maximilian, he looked to be around thirty years of age and of middling height, brown hair was cut to just above his ears, brown eyes that seemed a bit timid, clean-shaven but with some stubble here and there.

“Did you know her better?”

“I…ah no, I did not.” He smiled briefly and looked a bit sad.”I would have liked to though, she was funny and seemed kind. She was recommended from Gildburg, she came with a letter from the viscount's mansion. Family matters required her to be in Grunewald.” He creased his brow in thought. “I think it was an...elderly...aunt?” He seemed unsure.

“Thank you, that helps a bit. We should leave her until tomorrow, then we can see what we can arrange in the way of a burial.” Alyssa gave a polite smile.

A cold burning in her left hand alerted her to the presence of Vanessa, probably somewhere in the building.

“I think I will retire for the night.”

“Have a good rest.” Luke bowed.

She went and opened the door to their room. Vanessa sat on the edge of Mireille's bed and seemed deep in thought.

“Good to see you! Are you all right?” Alyssa went to the small, undead girl and hugged her.

Vanessa froze and then slowly lifted her right arm and patted Alyssa on the back. Her face relaxed a bit and a bit of tension ebbed from her.

“There, there. I fought my own battles in the woods and could not directly come to your aid, but I was near and would have intervened if necessary, but you had things well in hand. By the way, the assassin was the ‘butler’ of Lady Mathilde."

“And? Did you get him?” Alyssa looked angry and let go of Vanessa.

“No, he escaped. I underestimated his resources. He blinded me and used a quickening spell similar to Mireille's but with an arcane source. I think it might be from the school of time and space. Advanced spellcraft even for my people. I got our dear Mr. Caravar.” She pursed her mouth, “He was a human being of the vilest sort and good at it. Even I did not suspect the depths of his selfishness.” After that declaration, she plunked a belt with several pouches on the table. “Here, for our expenses. It should help to defray our costs.”

Inside the pouches were some potions, a pot of salve, some letters, and a bag of gold. It contained, on a rough count, near a hundred pieces of gold. Not that much for a noble perhaps but Alyssa had rarely even held a gold coin, much less possessed one.

“This here is a Wand of Lancing Force. I thought to keep it, but you will most likely need it more. In my estimation, there are two uses left. The force lance is quite strong, it can demolish thin walls or stout doors, a body would be blown to bits. It was his last insurance policy.” She grinned mirthlessly. “I will be going then, no use in waiting for the dawn to trap me here.”

“Thank you, Vanessa. It all sort of happened along the way but I am really grateful for what you have done for us. Be safe!” Alyssa smiled at her then shivered a bit and rubbed her arms. “I will soon sleep as well, I will have one last look at my patients.” She looked at Alea and Mireille.

Vanessa was gone when she turned around.

Sleep came quickly, fueled by exhaustion, but the blood and death followed her into her dreams.

Alyssa slowly came back to wakefulness, her mouth was dry and cold sweat beaded on her brow. Groaning she struggled into a sitting position. Mireille was lying beside her sleeping peacefully, Alea sat on the edge of the bed wrapped in some blankets. Her blindfold was a bit skewed and there was the slightest glimpse of her eye socket, there seemed to be a faceted gem in there. The spider on her shoulder faced in her direction and a leg lifted and tugged the strip of cloth until the eyes were completely covered again.

“Good morning,” Alea spoke softly not wanting to wake Mireille. “Thank you. You probably saved my brother twice and me once.” She gave a tiny smile. “I know it would not have been enough if not for Mr. Closter but he was doing his job, you both were implicated by us. My family has a small house in Kronenburg. We are not important enough to warrant more spacious accommodations but you are welcome to live with us, you both are, as long as you need. I would actually be glad if you would take me up on this offer.”

“Thank you, we would both like that, I am sure. And when we are able we will repay the favor.” She held up her hand. “It will be nothing much I fear but tell us if an opportunity arises in the future.”

Alea nodded. “That's fair, even when we are in your debt at the moment.”

Mireille slept until noon and as she woke to a splitting headache. “Why is it so bad?! I have done this and more at the battle of Sorringen.”

“Perhaps you managed it more cleanly? I know that the effort my spells cost is highly dependent on my proficiency with them. If I make mistakes it is much more draining.”

“That must be it. I will train, truly, please stop the headache!” Mireille complained until they got to the tubs. “A bath? That's a fantastic idea, could have been mine.”

They cleaned and relaxed until the water became cold and Alyssa did not want to spend the energy to reheat it. The three girls then went down to the taproom. The innkeeper was still pale and looked a bit shaken but he nevertheless gave a big smile and said “I think you might want to directly proceed to lunch? Or is anyone still interested in having breakfast?”

They sat down and Mireille called “Lunch please!”

Old Adam and Maximilian were already sitting at the table, and greeted them with a grunt and a friendly “I hope you had a good rest?” respectively.

“What about the blonde maid? Did someone already talk to her?” Alyssa questioned.

“No, not yet, but this is something we could do after we have eaten. Perhaps she is innocent in all this, but perhaps it's all part of some plan. If she can tell us something useful I think it might be best to cut her loose.” Maximilian mused.

“It would be dangerous to have her with us. We can't be sure that this is not something Madam von Nordmark had planned.” Alea sighed. “I could use a maid. But if it is necessary I can still hire one in Kronenburg.”

Alyssa thought for a moment, “I found a letter with Olea, more correctly Lilly-Anne. It seems she was working for someone else too. And used an alias.”

Silence reigned.

“Another group? What for?” Maximilian seemed to lose a bit of his composure. “How do you know this?”

“She had this letter with her.” Alyssa laid the two pages on the table. “One is in code. I do not even know where to start to decipher this.”

“In the academy, there is a trend to encode your more private notes, because with all those young mages running around nothing would stay secret otherwise.” Maximilian stroked his chin, “I think I know whom to ask. Let me see the text for a moment.” He read the letter then passed it on. “Mh. There was interest in Alea when she was very little. It ceased when she…” He looked at Alea and hesitated.

“As I had my accident. I don’t remember much from this time, so it does not hurt me. You can talk about it, big brother.” Even as she feigned indifference Alyssa could see her shoulders stiffen.

“Mh. If you say so. Those keeping an eye on her were from the church of Jaros. His title is the god of mysteries and the watcher on the threshold to the distant dark. As far as I know, the church indeed keeps watch against dark beings and her light aspected, strong magic was of much interest in the past.”

“Up until I lost my eyes, then I was no longer valuable enough.” Alea sounded a bit bitter as she said that.

“As you say. We will simply have to stay vigilant.” Maximilian smiled. “And that is most easily accomplished if we stay together. I would very much like to have you stay with us in Kronenburg. When the semester starts we will probably be in the dormitory because commuting from the townhouse would take some time each day, it would be feasible nonetheless.”

“Max, I asked already, but I find it encouraging that you had the same idea.”

They finished dinner and then brought the maid from the root cellar.

She was pretty but not beautiful, blond-haired and very slim. She shivered and tears stained her face as Old Adam manhandled her into a seat at the table in the backroom they had requested from the innkeeper for this occasion.

“Your name please.” Maximilian took the lead.

“Lorelle, my lord.”

“Lorelle, you can call me young master or Maximilian but lord is a bit much.”

“Understood, young master. Please, I did not know what my Lady was planning! Let me go!”

“That is something which we will now ascertain. She took three servants, and her plan was from the beginning to kill my sister and me. And she would never take someone who would not be useful in such a setting. So, what are your abilities and what did she order you to do exactly?”

“Answer him, girl. Or it will get unpleasant.” Old Adam bared his teeth and the young woman flinched.

Tears dripped from her eyes as she said “I was sold to the Nordmark household by my family. We could no longer pay the lease of our lands, the winter was harsh the last two years and the summer short.”

“That explains your circumstances but not why she took you with her.”

“If I did anything she did not like, she would evict my family, perhaps sell my siblings into debt-slavery. I have some small ability with healing and plant magic. They say my mother was a witch, I have never learned a formal spell but plants listen when I tell them to. What will happen to me, to my family?” she cried into her hands, tears dripping down from her cheeks.

“I fear that when you return to her, she will have you killed. You were not as useful as probably hoped, and you know what happened here. Your best bet might be to feign your death.” Maximilian looked sympathetic.

“Asandria, what is your impression?” Alyssa whispered while cautiously holding a hand before her mouth.

‘She is telling the truth. Her magic is wood and water with a bit of earth, she has the blessing of Irkonos and he would not bless someone who is deeply tainted.’

“Thank you.” Turning to the others she said.”I believe her. She has wood and water magic and could be an asset if properly trained, and she has a blessing of Irkonos which would not be the case if she were a worse person than she seems.”

Old Adam looked on then grinned. “Good that you are so sure. But lass,” he turned to the former maid. “If you so much as think to betray us, I will carve you up like an animal. Pardon my coarse words.” He nodded in the direction of the girls who looked somewhat taken aback.

“I concur, she seems to be honest enough. We will take you with us and once in Kronenburg, there are many ways to disguise you a bit. But if you want to return to your former Lady then you are welcome to it.” Maximilian delivered his verdict, Alea nodded, Mireille and Alyssa also signaled their assent.

“Then let us be off. Even as the inn here is well kept and pleasant I don’t want to stay here longer than absolutely necessary.”

Lorelle thanked them tearfully and then went and packed what little possessions she had.

They dug a small grave at the foot of a tall oak a good hundred yards into the forest and buried Lilly-Anne. The others were simply disposed of, perhaps a wandering priest of Charys the drinker of tears would come and give them a more traditional burial. Stranger things did happen.

"Rest in peace." Alyssa was the last to leave the mound of earth, the name of the deceased had been spelled into the tree trunk. Asandria hung in the shadows contemplating.

And then they were off. The innkeeper wore a relieved smile as he saw the carriage vanish behind a bend in the road and then turned to go back into the inn.

This was seen by a group of four leather-clad men on horseback who waited in a small clearing within sight of the inn. They had a darker complexion and seemed experienced, over the leather armor they wore waxed cloaks of a dark grey. The leader made a gesture and they, slowly and carefully, followed the group.