Andrew

The heart of Coubbleston village was set ablaze with passionate rows of flame dancers that illuminated the cold night sky. The upbeat tempo of skinned drums and the proud dancing of topless men and barely clothed women filled the air with a profound sense of instinctive desire for anyone who lost themselves in its rhythm. As if mocking the freezing night air they dance with skin caressed skin and a lack of propriety for what came tomorrow.

The large village was made up of stone huts mixed with larger houses of thick clay. In its center, laid a great water fountain that marked the village’s crossroads. Its large abundance of water in the middle of the world’s hottest desert was a show of the great power and wealth of the elite who held sway in the land… that was at least how one merchant described it when they first made their way here.

Near around every main intersection giant bonfires were put in place where fire dancers, drummers, and flute players entranced the people as they did laps around the blazing flams.

It was a place to come if one wanted to fall off the edge of the known world or to simply forget that they ever existed, to lose their minds every night. It was a place to come if you wanted to spend your likely last days drowning in your carnal desires.

They say that you have not made real love until you've bedded one born from Coubbleston...

A true retreat for the bold apparently. This was not the reason he and Natalie returned, however. Standing within a large withering white tent they wait for the owner, Zac, to get there and respond to their scoop. That gave Andrew time to think, time he’d rather not spend thinking right now. Besides the slightly muffled sounds of the ongoing party out on the streets seeping through the tent sheets, it was just him and Natalie. He could practically feel her picking apart his skull every time she sneaked a glance at him.

The worst of it was she thought she was being subtle about it and to a fair degree, she was. It was just he was so used to her ways that he did not need to look to know that she was checking upon him. Oh, sure he thought it was touching at first. When Natalie first laid eye on him she’d practically marched up and hugged him without saying a word. Never mind that it was in front of everyone watching and he was sweaty from the summer sun and exertion. Having been in the middle of sparing with one of the locals at the time a small crowd grew as he and Muraco were getting into the thick of things.

When Natalie realized what she did her face reddened tremendously. It was a shock to be sure, cute he could say. He must have really worried her back then if she forgot herself to that extent, he’d been lying to himself if he said he did not have a smile on his face since then. Oh yes being worried about was nice, but a man could only be worried over so many times before it just became plain annoying.

“How are you feeling?” Natalie asked. Her side glance looked down at his chest with a hint of concern.

This had not been the first time she’d asked him that same question. It was the first question she'd asked after sparing, washed finally and they had some time alone, it had made sense to ask then but Andrew could not help but feel like she’d already asked the same question from others already because when he said he was fine she looked doubtful.

She probably knew then… perhaps he should have told Minda and Muraco to keep silent about how he woke up in a frenzied panic.

Since then every question of his well-being felt like her trying to draw a confession from him without revealing the evidence as to why she was so sure there was a confession to make in the first place.

He came to with Muraco pinning him to a wall trying to calm him down and a good thing too because he was about to try and gouge out his eyes. Had Muraco not been there to hold him then who knows what would have happened. Apparently, Muraco had been watching over him since Natalie departed to send the children back home. If Natalie knew then she was just waiting for him to make a confession. Over and over, after leaving and making their way to this village she’d asked.

Annoyed Andrew took a moment to do a quick bit of side glancing himself, mainly he looked through the thin gap between the tent that pointed up a street where a blazing bonfire stood. Around it was people that came out a silhouette to his eyes.

One man holding what looked to sticks blew flame from his mouth illuminating his face and features from the rest. The flame burst forth like a tamed explosion to everyone’s elation. Thinking back on the questions he was asked, Andrew grinned to himself.

“I am tame as a fire dancer’s flame,” he answered Natalie, his teeth showing from the exaggerated smile.

Natalie’s subtle glaring had broken right then as she looked at him directly in bafflement. Gaining her bearings, however, she snorted and cut her eyes at him whilst she shook her head. Well, what did she expect? She’d asked him at least five times today alone and he did not know any other way for her to get the message.

“Don’t know why I even ask,” she mumbled to herself. Andrew shrugged.

Since this morning he was beginning to wonder why himself. He’d been given silly answers like that since he’d woken up. ‘As well as a hopping gazelle’ when he saw one grazing by the spot camped just outside Coubbleston. Followed by ‘as sleek as an eagle’s beak’ when he thought he spotted one flying over the wall. It must have been a very large one because the scale of it in the sky threw off his sense of the village’s size in comparison. They did exist, they were just very rare.

Having jested with her two more after that in much the same fashion Andrew had come to a decision. For you see, there was something that had been bothering him since the incident, a notable change after their last battle. Maybe he will confess to her the thing that has been bothering him but only if it happened again tonight, he did not want to worry her. Besides that issue, there was nothing else to really tell?

Seeing Natalie standing there with her arms folded and eyes narrowed did lighten his mood just a bit.

“He’s going to keep us waiting again,” Andrew said.

He left them waiting an hour last time and she was near fuming at the time. Now, however, Natalie just made a vex snorting sound in acknowledgment.

“He might leave us hanging twice as long now because of how well things turned out before,” Natalie’s face only darkened. Had there been a magnifying glass between her and the silk cream sofa opposite then it would have burst into flames in an instant.

“We could at least take a seat before he gets here, no point in letting him know that you still got a tick up your back.'' There were two identical sofas here facing another with a thin long stubby table resting in the middle of it. That all rested on the top of a deep red silk carpet with criss-cross laces of gold running along it.

“I ‘want’ him to see that I’m pissed-that’s the point,” Natalie gritted.

With a sigh, Andrew nodded to himself. Taking his sword off of his back he proceeded to hop over the sofa’s head and crash onto its front. He understood it-honestly he did. That guy had given them misinformation and for that, they almost died. But if Natalie was going to be the brewing storm as her power play then he’d better play the ray of sunshine as a counterbalance. That was the best way to get the results they wanted. At the very least, this way things won’t grow out of hand like last time.

It was not that Natalie was bad at negotiating with people (not as bad as she makes herself out to be) it was more a fact that she was… selfish with her methods. Natalie, still standing there, looked at him slouching long ways on the sofa with an unreadable expression.

“What? I’ll move aside when you decide to come on over and take a seat,” he said chipperly.

Cutting her eye at him she glanced away as if she’d lost all interest in her reason for being here. Seeing her reaction as a point taken Andrew grinned as he laid back on the sofa with arms at the back of his head whilst he closed his eyes.

“Though I must say that our friend Zac sure is living the cushy life. I think I could get used to sleeping on something as soft as this. Do you think I could convince him to let us rest here for the day? It sure beats sleeping on the floor or on rocks or-”

“-Why are you like this?” Natalie mumbled.

That made Andrew peek one eye open to look at her, she’d not moved a fraction since before he closed his eyes. Standing there deliberately ignoring him with her arms folded except now there was a troubled look to her features. Andrew felt a tinge of frustration at that. Burning it down with a smile he reclosed his eyes and continued.

“Can’t I be in a good mood now?” he asked.

Peeking over he saw her head turn back to him as if perplexed but with most of his face being hidden by the sofa she failed to catch it.

‘This’ is how you be subtle Natalie. His smile widened.

“I mean we found the bastard’s base letter and then messed up their operation just as we planned. Sure we did not blow it up sky high but it took a number from the inside no thanks to their Nova. I say that counts as a job well done.”

“What about the losses? Was it worth it in the end?” she said. This made Andrew sit up and look at her. She looked conflicted, doubtful.

That made his small annoyance grow into an ember of anger.

“What happened after I passed out?” Andrew asked.

Natalie simply shook her head and proceeded to look out the gap between the tent.

“Nothing good,” is all she said, hands clenched around her arms. ”We got lucky.” It’s all she ever said whenever he asked.

And there laid the larger half of his problems ever since he woke up. It was not just that event. Questions on who helped her bring the kids back got a vague but decent answer. Matter of what she will do when she meets Zac again, simply gave him a cold glare along with something like ‘I’ll get him back,’. Questions regarding how the parents and loved ones took the news of their children returning got no answers except to move onto another subject but her face said it all. Oftentimes a reunion like that tended to end in bittersweet at best or just plain bitter.

Natalie never talks out loud about her take on it but it had always hit her hard when it came to that. If only he was there with her, he understood and so at least left her to process that alone but when he tried to change the subject to something lighter as in how was the journey like there with the kids she got defensive. When Andrew later asked why did she act up so much at just the mention of traveling back to Lucas with them. She up and looked at him as if he was the problem whilst proceeding to lie and say that it was nothing. A short while later she stormed up to him with accusing eyes. Demanded the map off of him and then proceeded to shake her head at him before started reading. It was perhaps the most baffling string of reactions that he’d ever had with her and every day was kind of strange as is. She still had the map now and he did not bother asking for it back but he had the feeling that she would refuse and give him that look like he’d done something stupid.

“Besides, there are still those other kids I saw being taken through the tunnels. With it blocked we can't find out where its end leads to.”

“Is that why you stole the map from me?” Natalie looked as if she’d get defensive again but instead sighed.

“I didn’t steal, but yes. I think I got something that can at least give us locations to search, it’s hard for me to explain but-”

“-If it starts us off in the right direction then I guess it doesn’t really matter where it takes us. Let’s get this business with Zac over and done and keep moving. You may as well sit down because I won’t wake up and scoot over for you once I fall asleep.” Andrew yawned.

He could feel another careful and defensive answer and thought it best to just cut to the chase.

“It’s always like this,” Natalie said.

“You mean I’m always tired? Well maybe you have not noticed this Natalie but we mortals tend to feel tired by the end of the day. We have this thing called sleep which fixes that. You should try it, I mean; you should try more of it. Might help with that whole I’m angry vibe you’re working o-”

Andrew suddenly felt a weight fall upon the lower part of his legs making him shoot his head up only to see Natalie sitting atop of them. Glancing over to him she gave Andrew an inquisitive look. As if a puzzle piece she hasn’t quite yet worked out.

“Scoot,” she said, Andrew pulled his legs out from below her and proceeded to sit upright but Natalie was still looking at him.

“We’ll try it your way, but I’m still pissed,” she said begrudgingly.

“As long as we don’t become overreactive then I’m fine with whatever, the piece of work deserves what's coming,” he said. It took all he had to not smile right then and there.

“You should stop overreacting too,” Natalie said.

“What?”

“You’re acting sleepy because I was acting angry. Am I wrong?” Natalie's accusing eyes dared him to lie.

“No, you're right,” he said with a bowed head.

Just then footfalls sounded outside the tent-making both him and Natalie look ahead. Natalie’s eyes turned purple and before she bit her lip in frustration.

So Zac is just outside? Andrew smirked to himself.

"On second thought, maybe I should stand up while you sit down,” he whispered.

Natalie’s eyes had widened but before she could stop him Andrew smoothly somersaulted over the sofa, grabbed back his father’s sword, and latched it back on before the tent flaps opened.

“So you truly saw the spider’s lair and lived to speak of it! Now that’s impressive. My young friend, it seems that I had underestimated you!" Zac said with arms raised and an open smile in greeting. Natalie however was too busy looking at Andrew at the back of the sofa with a blank expression to notice. The promised payback but she could not do anything about it now without looking the fool.

“Am I interrupting something?” Zac frowned.

Zac was a rather chubby man with a dark complexion. His hairy beer belly stuck out of his silk green robes as he waddled on around to the sofa opposite in slippered feet. Slightly sweaty and panting he looked like he went seven rounds with a grizzly bear to earn some of its chest hairs. He’d came half an hour faster than the last time. So maybe we did earn his respect. But there was just no way that he ran over here for their sake. No, it was apparent that he’d just done got sharing the sheets with some of Coubbleston's finest women. The bastard.

“How do you know that we met them?” Natalie asked carefully.

Zac gawked before laughing heartily. Meanwhile, a woman in a belly dancing outfit of cream and deep red flowed in with a tray of drinks. On the sofa by his right stood a tall and bulky guy with a number of blades scars crisscrossing his body.

“I’m an information broker, getting news from far-off places is my specialty. That and my other ‘booming’ business I got going on here.” he gave the woman who was placing out the drinks a kind of intense look holding her gaze as he put a cigar in his mouth and lent a match stick. Blushing, the woman gingerly took it and lit up the end in front of her before slipping out the tent flaps. “But I already know that neither of you is here for the pleasantries.” Zac just looked at her go like a hungry man would eye fresh meat that they see all around them before eyeing them ruefully. It was sickening. But more than likely it was a tactic to throw them off.

“You sold us false information,” Natalie seethed.

“Excuse me?” Zac asked, his poured drink stopped halfway by his mouth.

“Not only did we find him but we were almost swallowed up in darkness. You underplayed the importance of what you told us deliberately. I refuse to believe that you did it out of ignorance!”

“‘Darkness’? Wait! Now listen here you-” Zac was about to begin his tirade until Andrew cut in.

“-It’s said that you are the best information dealer in Coubblston. I would not want to think that you’d given us unreliable information intentionally. Maybe we overlooked something?” Given Natalie’s cut-throat approach it was best to butter him up a little to calm him.

Zac simmered down, with his features still darkened he eyed Andrew. “Perhaps there was a breakdown in communication somewhere,” he said.

“Don’t give him an out, Andrew, it’s obvious what he’d tried to do to us.”

“Care to explain what I’m obviously not seeing?” Zac hissed.

“You tried to kill us, have us march into your ‘spider leer’ unprepared and succumb to his trap.” Natalie’s eyes pointed cold accusations at Zac.

“A bold statement from an ignorant girl,” Zac’s muscle grumbled in his throat from behind the sofa like a wild dog moments away from the attack. He was a huge chiseled led man with mighty blond bearded and light leather armor. It would have passed as intimidating had Andrew not known how that black mark around his right eye got there. Natalie not being one to back down from those who start a fight looked him right back at him.

“Bold… yes, but makes for a valid question,” Andrew interjected. “The fact is we were attacked by someone who’d I’d argue had powers like a trap door spider.” Natalie had mentioned the way that Epimetheus powers resembled the like of the trap door spider. Hiding under rocks and pulling its victims into its domain of total darkness. Andrew only saw what it did to the storm up high so it took a while for him to see her resemblance but once he did he had trouble unseeing it. And although they differed in what method they were going to integrate Zac on coincidence they at least agreed that this part needed to be cleared up before they spoke of anything else with the info broker.

“So, did you try and have us killed?”

“I did hope you’d get killed, yes, but not from my own ignorance,” Zac said as he leaned back on the sofa.

Andrew shared a look with Natalie. In all honesty, they did not think this far when they spoke of what they would do when meeting Zac again, if he acted defensive or denied it that would have been different but, now they were a bit lost for words.

“You thought I’d deny it, please! After the way you ran your mouth, be lucky I didn’t do anything drastic.” his eyes darted straight at Natalie.

“That might not have ended well for you,” Andrew said carefully. They’d known that Zac held sway in the village but his power mainly consisted of spies and hired muscle. Maybe he could afford a hunter or two but if there was anyone among his people that could use knights’ armor then he would have used them by now.

Zac looking displeased twitched his lip before snorting to himself. “I know that now, like I said: it seems I underestimated you.”

“So when you mentioned the spider you-” Natalie picked up as if Zac had said nothing and Zac talked over her like she herself had not spoken either.

“-I assumed it was what they’d started calling those southern savages beyond the mountains,” he said as he finished his drink and poured himself another.

“Those savages are known as the Nuzi people, or did your web of information not even get that simple a thing right?”

“Well there had been a split among those... savages,” he put emphasis on the word ‘savages’ before continuing in a chipper fashion. “The split happened roughly eighty years ago, since then there had been talks of travelers, wonders, and even hunters never being heard from whenever any of them attempt to pass through the mountains.”

“Already rear travels there became near nonexistent. I’d assumed that it was those savages, or a splintered faction of them had been killing all outsiders entering through the mountain pass. The name 'trapdoor spider’ was just a byproduct of rumor meeting truth. It fit at the time, but you say that it was this one person correct? Tell me what happened.”

Natalie looked back at Andrew with conflicted eyes. She did not want to talk about what had transpired in the back there but what choice did she have, they needed answers and had no money to trade with. And so they bartered with information. In truth, Andrew wanted to know the details as well. Maybe having her speak here will shake loose some new nuggets.

With a nod from Andrew, Natalie began giving a short explanation of the things that they'd witnessed in the hidden base. She skipped the part where they'd stayed with the Nuzi people and just how powerful this star of halo was but beyond that, it was a decent summary of his known experience.

Zac had been hooked to Natalie’s words. He practically went wide-eyed when he heard her explanation of the Nova but then eyes frowned when she'd mentioned the name they apparently call themselves. As Natalie began speaking about the aftermath of the encounter Zacs frowned deepened as he brooded to himself. For minutes he paced up and down the tent deep in thought.

"So who coined the name?" Natalie said after a while.

"Some southern peddler," Zac said with a wave of a hand. Seemed like he was still brewing and Natalie's questions were like smoke to his vision.

“What did they look like? Did you even get a name?”

“I know what you’re trying to get at and it’s not going to work. Now shut up and let me think.”

Crossing her leg and leaning back on the sofa Natalie snorted but Zac was too busy thinking to notice. A moment later he slowly sat back down.

“If the label was not for them savages then... It seems like we’d been had. They used my great knack for information to send out cryptic crap. All in the hopes of netting curious victims.”

‘Great’? Damn, don’t puff up your ego too much. Andrew thought blankly right as Natalie blurted out. “Giving yourself too much credit there,”

Zac still trying to digest what Natalie had told her did not react. That added tension to the room, they did not want him stable.

“I hear that having to think too hard is a sign of lack of a balanced lifestyle. Maybe you've indulged too much in one thing?”

That did draw his attention but he only smiled in amusement and leaned back with arms stretched out over the sofa’s head.

“You play the game well for little children I'll throw you that much. And the lack of surprise at me saying we’d been had indicates that you’d at least thoughts of this fact already. Commendable, but a runt is still a runt,”

“I’m not following,” Andrew said as plainly as possible.

“This whole good questioner, bad questioner thing you got going.” he nods his head at Andrew whilst saying. “You’re trying too hard to be nice. And as for you, I get the feeling that you’re holding back your attitude.”

The rig was up.

“I was not trying to hold back anything. I’ve meant every word that I said to you.” Natalie said.

“I may have stretched the truth a little but I don't hate you persay. In fact, scummy as you are I kinda like you,” Andrew said with a grin. He was a scumbag sure but he was a predictable one. Setting aside the fact that his information almost got them killed he was an amusing guy. Compared to the monster he confronted at the base he was a napping puppy.

Zac burst into a gale of laughter.

“You're both honest to boot!” that sends Zac into a bigger fit of laughter.

"We don't have to spin tales to look strong," Natalie said.

"And we don't have to expose people's shortcomings to get ahead. Had we done that then we'd have told others that your muscle friend Seth here is no knight, can't harness the planet's will to save his life from someone who can, and there’s got to be a fair few around here." His mind went to female dancers outside the tent. They'd had to be flame knights. How else were they able to make the flames so big?

"Is that a threat? That not very Protective of you. No… so very unlike how I'd imagine a 'Protector' would act wouldn't you agree?"

Hearing his hunting title threw Andrew off. They’d come to Zac intentionally keeping that off the table in the hopes that he'd be more loose with the information simply because he would not know its true value to them. When he never even asked for them they thought they were in the clear. But if he knows his hunter title now then...

"Dark angel Natalie and her trusty protector Andrew," He said amused, seeing the lack of amusement on Andrew's face only made his smile widen as he continued. "Rejected an honest hunting career after only two paid jobs, such a strange occurrence, most only quit when they are too old or die so I wonder what happened… wasn't there meant to be more of you? You gathered team just before your second and last job, that were names-"

An abrupt thud alerted Andrew to Natalie’s foot crushing the end of the table, the impact of which unbalanced Zacs drink making its contents spill on it’ surface. Not paying her actions any attention Natalie fixed Zac a glare that could snuff out a blazing inferno.

"You utter even a single name and I’ll kill you,"

Zac blinked but recovered quickly. Raising his hand up in a show of innocence he looked at Natalie’s black trainer still on top of his table with a refuel chuckle.

"And now you go around saving children? Big shoes to fill that, the hunting market has been lacking in idiots for a while now. Guess it’s why you stopped taking jobs?"

“And the world is full of people like you, pricks who don’t see the worth in helping others beyond their own benefit. You’re a dime a dozen, and the world would breathe easier without you taking up its space and oxygen.”

Zac twisted his lip to one side as he eyes Natalie.

“That was a bit harsh Natalie,” Andrew said.

“Andrew I-” Natalie began before Andrew continued.

“-I mean where in front of him right now and I don’t feel like I’m struggling to breathe. And sure he’s big but I think there is still plenty of space for everyone to get along.” Silence fell in the tent only broken by the drums outside and the low growl of Seth.

Natalie meanwhile gave Andrew a blank look witch Andrew simply rose his eyebrow. That almost made her laugh, he could tell by the dimples that flashed on her face. Zac broke the moment with a slow and dramatic clapping.

“A real knee slapper. You must be the clown between you two. She certainly wears the boots in your relationship.” he said.

“What?” Andrew frowned.

”Tell me, boy, is it comfy being below a girl rather than on top? In terms of status, of course."

Andrew’s eyes narrowed by his comment, given the amount of sass that oozed of it he needed little explanation on what he’d meant. Natalie was about to open his mouth but Andrew beat her to it.

"I'm a knight, knights protect," He beamed. "Besides, rather below her than above him." He nods his chin pointing at Zac's apparent muscle Seth.

Calling out his fake bodyguard left Zac glaring hole at the both of them.

“Ever heard of deception boy? I do have men of your caliber. I just don’t have them instantly at hand right now. They all have their own business to take care of. Nobody of your like come all the way over here, at least not often so I seldom had a use for them.”

“You regret not having them at hand now?” Natalie asked.

Zac shook his head.

“No, I would have had the two of you killed if they’d been there before and that would have been a waste. Saw you as just a bunch of naive nobodies, but now I see value in you. Had you not gotten back to me with this information then I would have not known of the blind spot in my network. So I’ll tell you every little thread that you’d helped me unravel. You can make whatever of this mess as you will.”

Resting his hands on the back of the sofa Andrew leaned in to listen.

"Where was a rumor running around the travelers and curious folks, even though most of them had never set foot into that place. In that valley lay the home of real trap door spiders. They lay in wait for their prey in makeshift doors under rocks or sand. They tend to live close to another like we people would our neighbors. They are too small to hunt humans mind you. But they say that if you climb upon a certain rock face and count the seven trap door spiders on its back, then the ground will come alive and swallow you whole."

‘I’m one of seven’ Andrew’s mouth dried he recalled Epimetheus saying this. It went too far to be a coincidence. They’d been set up from the get-go.

Cold sweat seeped out of Andrew’s body when he recalled those last moments. How easy Epimetheus bested him. How he refrained from outright killing them both. Glancing over to Natalie left Andrew even more baffled. She was shocked as well but Natalie seemed to take it a lot better than he’d thought. He decided to tuck that away for later, right now Epimetheus and his stake in all of this filled his mind. What was the deal with him? How much influence do they have around the world? And what was their end goal? Zac continued.

"There is only one organization in the world with this kind of sway and technology,”

“The Golden Dragons,” Natalie said. Zac nodded his head.

Andrew narrowed his eyes uncertainly.

“Them working under a new alist is clever, keeps them from running their public image, but I know my enemy too well to be fooled." Zac mused to himself ruefully, he was off in pondering once more.

He and Natalie did have lengthy talks about the Dragon Empire and their possible involvement. But whenever they did try to find a connection they’d end up instead unearthing something else or another lead that proved them uninvolved. Maybe the sight of the Nova may have shifted their suspicions but whether they were suspect or not why was Natalie not saying anything?

“Oh yes, you’ve earned the attention of a very dangerous foe, but… I can support you if you ask nicely.”

“What are you getting at Zac?” Natalie asked.

“Join me,” he said.

Andrew had to blink to himself twice to confirm that this was real.

Where did that come from? Natalie on the other hand sighed in disappointment as she stood up off the sofa.

"We're leaving," she said.

Still thrown off by Zac's offer it took a moment before Andrew realized that Natalie was in fact leaving the open tent flaps bringing in the song and sounds of celebration.

"You're keeping stuff from me," Zac said amused, making Natalie freeze by the exit.

"And you've been an open book? Please." Natalie said, rolling her eyes, deliberately giving street torches out of the tent her attention.

“I may have a few gems of your interest but given my profession, I can’t just go around giving it to anyone. But if you to work with me then-”

Natalie snickered in disgust as she folded her arms over her chest.

“Did you forget that you offered me a job at your brothel, I’d hoped the bruse I gave your muscle would remind you that we are long past being partners of any kind. I just want answers off you then I'm done.” Seth grumbled at that.

The dark mark around his left eye seems to readen with anger. All of that happened because of Zac’s big mouth, he even had the gall to touch Natalie’s leg with his sausage hands as he said it, Natalie’s punch was meant for Zac but Seth jumped in and took the blow. With Andrew dragging Natalie out and Seth holding Zac away, the whole meeting ended in a complete mess though it could have been worse. Had Natalie not acted as quickly as she did then Andrew would have taken Zac’s neck clean off.

"What makes you think we'd accept an alliance when we are barely on speaking terms with you?" Andrew asked.

Zac's head fell as he grumbled in annoyance to himself.

"Naive fool, it's because we are not on friendly terms why I even offered. If you were a friend I'd sooner kill you than have you watch my back."

Now that baffled Andrew to no end, he would have asked for an explanation but a part of him was too afraid that it would male some kind of twisted sense.

"It’s nothing drastic. You'll be free to do what you want but you must report back to me. And in turn, I'll help keep your enemies off your tail and tell you their latest moves, but I don't intend to be stalking them in the shadows forever. You see I got a plan in motion that will get me back in real power. If all goes well it will be your enemies the Golden Dragon that will be cut down to size. Them and their accursed technology were wiped off of the map in one fell swoop. So what do you say to that?"

Natalie just looked at him in disinterest which Zac begrudgingly nodded to himself.

"Have it your way, even if we are not allied a wild piece such as you do still has its use to me. In light of discovering what you did in the North, I'll give you a fair warning. Someone was looking for you two by name."

Andrew turned to directly fact Zac as he asked 'really?' Whilst Natalie stepped forward and asked 'Who?' Both looked at each other as Zac continued.

"They gave me fake names I’m sure. But her prim accent and get-up gave away much. They come from the far west, maybe from Hallowpeak itself."

Hallowpeak? It was said to be a giant city around and on top of a hollowed-out mountain. Within it stood one of the most prestigious academies in the world, armed with the knowledge to perhaps rival that of the age before the great fall. It is said to be the second most powerful nation in the world, and ambassadors of the Hallow peak were on the lookout for them.

"They followed you up north in their search. I take it you never crossed paths? Well now you know to be wary."

Andrew saw Natalie glancing down as if trying to contemplate what she'd been told. Andrew knew Natalie's deep fondness for the place. Although neither of them had gone west there was a silent awe at the thought of those who built a wonder upon a wonder.

Of course, she knew the place. Although she and Andrew never set foot on the western borders. Everyone knew of Hallow peak and its renowned people of wisdom, master builders, and pioneers of knights armor tech. Arguably only second in power to the Golden Dragons themselves.

It had been her dream to one day go there and see the wondrous city etched into the great mountain when she was young Andrew recalled.

But... Why would someone from there ask about her? They had never crossed paths with manipulators from the great western temple's summit to his knowledge.

"The witch of the west is looking for you," Zac testified with a ghostly voice.

"And you sure they did not give their real names?"

"As sure as water is wet," He said.

"Give them to me anyway," Natalie said as he stepped forward, determined.

~#~

"Are you sure we should take that last part as truth? He's known to lie, he said as much himself. Plus no matter how you angle it, nothing about this fits." Andrew asked.

They were some way from Zac’s territory now, the rhythm of music here Seemed different, likely because of it given that each big name here had their own spot they oversee.

"I agree that it makes no sense but I still believe him," Natalie said.

Andrew shook his head.

"I mean even the way he said it. Like he was telling kids some ghost story, it indicates to me at least that he was not taking things that seriously."

"I'm still going to take him at his word Andrew and it’s not going to change with this conversation."

"How are you so sure?"

"You're just going to have to trust me on this one."

Andrew took this moment to look at her. Her distention eye seemed generally worried over what Zac said. Andrew wanted to say that this was the reason why he even said such a thing but he held himself off from doing so. Instead, he smiled to himself and said.

"Is it kind of how you knew how the Stars were kidnapping the kids?" He asked. That made her glance up at him in shock with mouth agape before she caught herself.

"Yeah… something like that," she mumbled. With an averted gaze, Andrew shook his head to himself.

"I should know by now that not all of our decisions have been based on cold hard facts, why would now be any different?" He said in a grumble, but even so, a content smile found its way onto his face.

Natalie just looked up at him a little peeved before going on like the exchange never happened.

"Let's find a place out of the village to rest and we will restock on what we need come morning. I can't dream of sleeping in this racket." She said as she eyed a bonfire with men and women dancing around.

She might have said something else but it must have gotten drowned out by the noise of drums because when he turned to her after he felt something thump his shoulder twice to get his attention. He wasn’t staring, was he? The fire dancers here were as evocative here as they were in Zac turfed sure but it was one swallow a flaming stick that threw him.

"Sorry?" He said abruptly, too abruptly.

Natalie shook her head and continued towards the village exit. With a sigh and the scratch of his dreads, Andrew followed suit. The sooner they were away from here the better.