Somewhere within the city of Bant.

“Are you sure?” Weck asked in a low hushed voice.

“No doubt about it, I remember those two Novitiates.” Maziah answered calmly with a hint of excitement.

They took note of the ferry that the portly captain got onto before the two men turned around and disappeared within the city’s crowd. They later emerged farther down the street and walked into a tavern. The noise and dim lighting did not seem to affect them as they walked with a singular purpose. Maziah and Weck claimed their seats among others at the corner of the room. A man with a thick clean beard, a scar over his left cheek, and a gruff voice spoke, “What now,” as he shoved food unceremoniously into his mouth.

“I did a bit of scouting and found the alchemist on the The Sparrow, the only ferry in the city’s dock right now,” Maziah said with the most confidence he could muster without sounding disrespectful.

Maziah and Weck sat in uncomfortable silence as they watched the man eat noisily. After several minutes of silence Maziah’s patience wore out and he was about to say something until the man abruptly raised a single finger—silencing him even before he spoke.

“You know what I like the most about my city? The food! There’s nothing better than a juicy fried fish with the perfect dressing all followed by a nice cup of cold crisp water,” as the man said this his empty cup in his hands quickly filled with sparkling water, then he drained it in one gulp. He continued, “Nothing of interest enters or leaves my city without my knowledge. My men tell me that The Sparrow has a crew of 5 including the captain, and they’re transporting 4 passengers. A man, a woman, and 2 children.” The man stopped eating at this point and stared sternly at Maziah for a minute before he continued, “I do not like unknown variables. For a traveling alchemist to go unguarded with crates of valuables as you’ve described is unheard of. So I’ll ask you one last time, are you sure this alchemist is unguarded, who is this woman?”

Maziah cursed his own stupidity for thinking that his scouting mission would be valuable to the crime boss. He started to sweat profusely as he sat under the man’s watchful and calculating gaze. “I don’t know, sir. When we checked the alchemist at the gates we only saw him and his two Novitiates. No woman. If she travels with them then they met up outside of the city. But what could one bodyguard do against your organization, sir?”

“Do not think to understand the world of cultivators!” the man grunted. “If this alchemist is rich enough, he may be able to hire an expert warrior or mage. Though I am confident in my Aspect, I am not so stupid to think that I am infallible. If this woman turns out to be a practitioner, then I will be taking 75% of the cut,” the man eyes locked onto Maziah’s to look for any signs of contempt and when he found none, he went on to continue eating.

Maziah and Weck let out a sigh of relief as they finally walked out of the tavern. “Ugh, who the hell does that man think he is?! 75%! All because of ONE bodyguard? He’s cheating us!” Maziah yelled when they were far enough away from the tavern.

“Yeah, but what are we going to do? Go to the authorities?” Weck asked quietly.

Maziah grumbled as they walked into the crowded streets.

On The Sparrow.

The captain and the two boys stepped onto the deck and was greeting by a stern-faced bodyguard. “Come make your report to your master,” Tulia said coldly. The two boys turned and nodded a sign of thanks to the captain as they followed the taciturn bodyguard.

Once within the private chambers their facades fell off and were switched with broad smiles. “It was amazing. The docks have this giant crane thing that loads and unloads the ships within the docks! And the city also had something called a blacksmith? They look really similar to Mrs. Loti’s shop. And there were so many people!” Gaius and Gen both shouted what they saw in bits and pieces at the same time.

“So, did you two learn anything valuable in the art of trading?” Duncan asked.

“Mm,” both the boys nodded enthusiastically, though Gen was a bit somber at recalling the trickery.

Soon after their meeting a light knock was heard from the doorway. Tulia approached to answer the door only to find the portly captain standing there.

“Pardon my intrusion, but do you know how long my crew has been within the city? They usually write in the logs when they leave and plan to return, but when I checked it earlier there were no new entries. So I figured you must know when they left,” the captain narrated.

“Hmm, yes. The foreman of the docks requested their presence earlier and took them into the city, I had thought it a routine check of some sort?” Tulia answered as she recalled the incident.

“Odd, the foreman does have the power to audit any vessel he pleases, but I have never heard of them inspecting such a small ship as mine. Though there’s really only one reason to check a passenger ferry . . .” the captain stopped mid-sentence as he realized what he was about to say.

“What is it captain, speak,” Tulia said with a bit of command.

“Ah well, like I was saying. The only reason to audit passenger ships is to check for fugitives,” the captain’s words hung in the air for a bit before Duncan’s laugh broke the silence.

“Fugitive? Haha. I assure you captain that there has been some mistake. I am a law abiding citizen and a member of the Alchemist’s Guild.”

All of a sudden there was the sound of footstep upon the deck. The captain, Tulia, and the boys emerged from the cabins to find the 4 crewmen returning.

“Heya cap, you back from the sale already?” one of the crewman asked.

“What did the foreman want?” the captain quickly asked.

Another crewman spoke up and answered, “He just asked about our destination and cargo.”

“Not sure if he asked you guys the same question as me, but he kept asking about our passengers, specifically you,” another crewman said as he pointed to Tulia.

“Me? What did they ask about,” Tulia inquired.

“Hmm, things like your relationship to the Craftsman Alchemist, where you’re from, and whether or not you’re a cultivator,” the last crewman answered while he thought.

“What happened after they asked their questions?” the captain asked.

“That’s it. The foreman just let us go after that.”

“Alright, seems like we’re in the clear if the foreman let you go. Prepare to set sail, we leave in 10 minutes,” the captain bellowed.

Several days of lazy sailing down the river passed by and the two boys gave up their usual fishing routine when the captain promised them a share of the food for the rest of the trip. “All right, you two done already?” Tulia taunted her sons. “C’mon another round,” she said as she kicked, poked, and prodded her two sons lying on the deck.

If Duncan surprised the captain and his crew with his perceived wealth, and the boys surprised them with their fishing skills, then Tulia surely shocked them with her martial prowess. Gaius slowly got up as his body protested with aches and pains.

“Only if I could use my aura, I could relieve these aches,” Gen thought to himself with frustration. He continued to lay upon the deck as his brother slowly got up.

Gaius looked over to his brother gasping for breath, sweat pouring down his face. Gaius finally stood up and gripped his wooden training spear, though a bit weakly due to rawness of his palms. He was a bit worn and tired, but he was nowhere near as exhausted as his brother. Unknown to anyone on the ship, except for Gaius, the source of his near-inexhaustible stamina was because he has been siphoning the Aspect of Water from the lake around them. Bursts of energy flowed through his body after the aura of water disappeared within his soul.

Gaius charged his mother as she was always prepared for them, the sound of their collision could be felt as the air around them reverberated with each strike and block. The flurry of blows that Gaius delivered were effortlessly and causally blocked by his mother and her ease frustrated him. As he moved to deliver another blow, Tulia exploited an opening that he showed and stuck her firmly on the shoulder, THUMP. “It is always better to keep a tight defense and to miss an opportunity than it is to leave yourself open. Though if you must strike and become momentarily defenseless, then make sure you carve a piece of your opponent and make them pay an equal price,” Tulia instructed with an even breath as she stood over her fallen son. “Gaius, do you know where your greatest advantage lay?”

Gaius thought for a moment and then suddenly looked to his brother. He saw Gen still recovering from his spar, then the answer came to him. “My stamina,” he said confidently.

“Yes, for some reason or another, you are able to draw upon latent energy. Most likely because of your uniqueness,” she said with a wink, “because of that, you need to learn how to fight with that advantage. Focus on defense. Wait for your opponent to exhaust themselves and when they make a mistake strike quickly, accurately, and with power.”

Though the three of them sparred atop the deck within eyesight of the crew and captain, they refrained from using their Aspects. Regardless, it was still a spectacle.

All of a sudden a massive amount of water aura surged from everywhere with the ferry at the center. This drew the attention of the only other person able to sense the Aspect of Water—Gaius. He slowly stood up and stared at the distant dark horizon. The odd behavior did not go unnoticed by his mother and she asked, “What is it, Gaius?”

“There’s something happening,” was all he said as he was still observing the sudden surge of aura.

“What do you see or feel,” she asked.

“There’s a lot of water aura converging around us, what could cause that?” Gaius asked his mother as much as he did himself.

“Cultivators. Get below deck and report back to your master. Hurry!” Tulia shouted at the two slow boys.

She then turned her attention to the captain and his crew, “It seems like we’ve caught the eye of some would-be bandits. They’re closing in.”

The captain’s demeanor did not waver, much to his credit and he asked, “When I accepted the contract to ferry you across, you assured me that you were able to defend this vessel from all forms of attack. It is time you held up your end of the bargain.”

Tulia smiled at the serious captain and nodded, “Get yourself and your crew below deck, and leave the rest to me.”

The captain and his crew entered and barred the galley while Duncan and his two boys were in their private chambers.

“Shouldn’t we go out and help mom?” Gen asked with worry.

“Haha, trust me, she can handle herself. Besides what can the two of you do in real combat?” Duncan asked his two sons directly, “you two will hinder her more than help.”

“Shouldn’t you go out and help mom then?” Gen continued to ask.

“Then who would stay and protect the two of you?” he laughed, “besides the only way your mother can fight off these bandits is if she knows that the two of you are safe. And that’s my job. Trust in me and your mother.”