“Uh, Jessy, are you okay?” The pair didn’t want to stare, but their eyes refused to look away from the welt adorning the mage’s forehead.

“I’m fine, just ignore the giant bruise where Brian whacked me with his stupid halberd. Actually, Matt, why don’t you and Brian talk about,” Jessica paused, “stuff.” As Matt fixed his sight on the dragoon who hadn’t said a word since the teens regrouped, Jessica yanked Sarah away. “I’ll take Sarah. Bye!” The mage fled with the archer as her captive.

“Well then, I guess it’s just you and me Brian.” The knight wanted to interject, but the two girls were already around a corner. “So, what happened yesterday?”

“Okay, just hear me out.”

“All ears.” The knight wanted to believe his friend had a good reason for knocking out the mage, more so than just revenge for the arguing and frustration she gave him.

“So me and Jessy get to my house, since they were away and I figured it’d be a good opportunity for me and her to train. Turns out, she really doesn’t trust Sarah and got mad at me for doubting her. She started shooting ice at me and we just started fighting from there.”

“And you whacked her on the head to make her stop?”

“Man, she was the angriest I’ve ever seen her, and you know I’ve seen her get upset enough to freeze a building. I didn’t hit her hard enough to knock her out, just a weak smack. Also I accidently set my yard on fire, and she helped put it out.”

“She said doesn’t trust Sarah?” The knight’s eyes widen, realizing why the mage had stolen the archer. “Oh no…”

“Alright Sarah, now it’s just me” the redhead pointed to herself, “and you” she poked the girls nose as she pointed at her. Jessica had taken the two down an alley full of people, people used to hearing two or more girls argue and scream.

“Yeah, what’s this about?” Sarah had laughed nervously, hoping she hadn’t done anything to elicit a fight.

“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you. I don’t need another bruise. I just want you to know something: I don’t trust you, I don’t buy your stupid, fake story, and I don’t like you around Matt, or anyone else.”

“Why? I’m telling the truth!”

The archer became uncomfortable as the redhead continued to breach her personal space. “Are you though? I know Matt, Brian, Eric, and even Adriana would buy some cheesy story about how you ‘lost a team’ which you clearly aren’t good enough to be on; I’m smarter than that though, and I’ll be watching to make sure you aren’t lying.”

“What would it take for you to believe me?”

“Prove any part of your story. That you were on a team, or that that tower is really connected to the sins and that man. Prove literally any of it, and I’ll believe you.”

“Okay, I will!” The girl began to march off into the crowded alley, hoping her show of confidence would last long enough to get away from the mage.

“You think they’re okay?” The knight questioned his friend’s decision to let the girls figure things out. The dragoon shrugged his shoulders, taking a bottle of water from his fridge.

“Mom and Dad went out to get stuff, they should be back soon. You wanna take a ride to the top of the wall before they get back?”

It didn’t take a second for Matthew to say yes. Leaving the house, the dragoon handed the knight the water bottle before letting the larger teen piggyback him. Despite the weight, the dragoon leapt on top of the house, then jumped to adjacent buildings, making his way to the ring wall.

“Hold on, it’s a long way up!” Matt had braced himself, recalling his first experience where he only barely hung on. Brian shot upwards, forming his signature fireball, throwing it down as his ascent began to slow. The heat generated from the orb allowed him to easily pass the wall’s peak. As the two landed, they looked out toward the expanse east of Lumina.

“That’s where my parents went yesterday” Brian pointed toward a town in the distance. “They didn’t find anything, but maybe that’s for the best.”

“Where are you going to live when this is all over?” The dragoon doubled back in his mind, “I never really thought about leaving Lumina. I guess maybe I’d go to Temperas, or maybe wherever you went. Have you gotten sick of Lumina?”

“Mom doesn’t want me living at home anymore. She told me to have the queen make a home for me to live. I would have left anyways, there’s just nothing interesting here.” Matthew continued to look outward, exploring left, right, and center. “Temperas has so much more than Lumina, and so does Umbro apparently. There are towns in Lumina we’ve never gone to, Brian. I would do anything to leave.”

“Yeah, I’m sure those places have great views too…”

The knight made his way home after having his fill of the scenery. Arriving in from of his domain, he noticed Sarah was also taking in scenery, this time of the castle. “How long have you been out here?”

The archer jumped out of her skin, “Not long, I-I, Jessica and I didn’t have a long conversation.”

“I’m just happy you came back at all. Guess Jessy wasn’t that angry.” The knight turned his attention back toward the house. “Anyways, I’m going to finish training with John. Hopefully Eric and Adriana get back soon.”

“I see you’re home early. Are you ready?” Matthew nodded at the question, his heart beginning to pace as he felt the finality in his father’s words.

The two had stepped outside, Sarah watching from a distance as the son began concentrating, once again bringing up the metal sludge from the ground. The process of encasing himself was quicker than before, requiring significantly less effort as he encased his full body except for his face.

“Now concentrate on solidifying the metal around you. Think of a suit of armor, it’s details, it’s durability. Engrave the image in your mind and make it your own.”

The metal around the knight began to smoothen out, looking less and less like water and more like a sheet of iron. The metal formed a protective suit around his legs, bottom, top, and head. Matt could feel the weight of the armor bearing down on him, making it impossible to even budge.

“Matthew, you have now learned how to create an armor. I can tell the weight is too heavy, and the bottom of your shoes are not covered. Practice this technique daily and tailor a suit to your needs, perhaps several depending on the situation. Remember that the suit is only as durable as your mana. Now, dismiss the metal.”

The knight did as instructed, reversing the process until the metal was liquid on the ground. The knight then returned the liquid to where it once belonged. “With that, I have nothing more to teach you. May your search for the princess be successful.” The father bowed, returning to his home.

“You did it!” The archer grappled the knight, almost bringing him to the ground. “Mostly, gotta work out some kinks.” The knight had hugged the archer, embracing the warmth washing over him.

“Uh, I hope I’m not interrupting something.” The pair had separated, turning their attention to the dragoon that had snuck up on them. “Brian and Adriana are back, and they’ve got big news apparently.”

Rushing toward the center of town, Matthew and Sarah were elated to see neither of their friends were hurt. On closer inspection, however, the two could see Adriana was exhausted, sweat raining from her head.

“What happened?”

“Three-Three days” was the last thing the rogue uttered, collapsing in the mage’s arms. “I’ll take her home.”

The rest had fixed their attention on Eric, whose focus was on his girlfriend. “We fought back the sins and managed to convince them to bring the princess to Gnash.”

“What?!” The group was shocked at the news, a sly smiled formed on Eric’s face. “The princess is in that tower in the Doran Mountains. Sarah was right to link the two.”

“Yeah, but they’re bringing the princess to Gnash, so it doesn’t matter, does it?”

“We made a deal with one of the sins: if our team can beat the sins, we take the princess. We met the last two sins, so we just need to come up with a strategy and train.” The cleric watched the others turn their heads, looking at one another with a mix of concern and eagerness.

“Adri turned herself into lightning to get us here as fast as possible, let’s make sure to use all three days to our advantage.”