Seeker calmed herself, allowing all her senses to lock in on her target. She ignored the creaking boards of this dilapidated tavern, any raucous patrons, and the bartender struggling to get past the line of Aramaz soldiers. Almost indistinguishable lines shifted around the balding man who sat before her. As she closed her eyes, the smells of freshly cleaned cotton and slight char drew her towards the same man. Ignoring the scent, she felt those same thin lines pull across her back. She was definitely being guided here.

"You're sure, Seeker?" The captain asked directly.

She paused, thinking of the punishments awaiting her if she was incorrect, and nodded in response.

"Very well," the captain turned back, drawing his black blade with his men following suit. "Mersault Star, as instructed by Aramaz the Omniscient, you are to immediately be put under my care and taken to the closest temple in the city of Garhome. Every scrap of knowledge is no longer yours to keep."

Seeker looked away as she was reminded of her own indoctrination.

Her grandmother was very ill and had lost her legs to an awful case of hayrot. Seeker cared for her then, but that was back when she was called Rhyna. Gram's toes had begun to wither, splitting into yellow and red strands. It had reached her knees before the green man had come to visit them.

He was handsome, wearing a fancy jacket and trousers Seeker had only seen nobles wear before, but he was different than a noble. They would only look at Seeker in disgust or disinterest. The green man looked at her far different, through compassionate eyes. He offered to help, to cure her gram, and make it so she could walk again. The green man upheld his bargain in exchange for Seeker's service. Her last sight of gram was the flesh of her legs inexplicably reforming. As she walked over for a hug from her newly mobile grandmother, reality faded, shifting her to a large hall filled with other confused strangers.

"Please, please, I'm not him. I swear." The man pleaded. "I don't even know who you're talking about."

"While it's true you look nothing of the man I met crossing the Prathein Sea, there are all sorts of tricks one can use to hide their appearance. Seekers, on the other hand," he gestured toward Seeker. "Don't fall for such petty tricks."

"Don't be so sure, Yates." A voice called out from the tavern's doorway.

"Zane," Yates replied, turning away in unfeigned disgust. "This is my offering, don't interfere."

Seeker looked over and saw the green man strolling toward the captain. She averted her gaze in fear of being recognized.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Cassidy, is that how you'd treat your old friend? I'm not here to steal any glory just by the direction of our divine leader."

"Aramaz sent you?"

"Mhm," the green man replied, strolling over to their target.

He stood before the balding man, weeping before this group of soldiers. Finally, the green man reached out, rotating the target's neck and walking around him several times.

"This isn't who Aramaz desires."

"What?!" Our seeker was led right to him. How could this not be the target?" Yates asked, infuriated.

Seeker looked away in embarrassment and fear of the lessons she was sure to face shortly.

"Oh, it's not your seeker's fault. They did exactly as they should've. Tell me, sir, have you seen any suspicious-looking strangers around this part?"

"No," the man sputtered out. "Please, I haven't seen anyone. You have to let me go."

"Damn," the green man replied. "Well, maybe if you gave me a little more to go off of, but since you're our only lead, then..."

The man burst into tears in reply, collapsing on the floor into a puddle of his own tears and mucus.

"Say something, you idiot!" The bartender shouted out from behind the men.

The green man turned, acknowledging the bartender for the first time since entry. "Is there something you wish to share?"

"There was a freak in here not too long ago. I'd seen him lurking around town, spying on people. One minute he'd have an extra ear or eye, the next, poof, gone."

The green man shared a look with Yates as the two recognized something.

"Definitely worth noting but not who we're looking for."

Yates gestured to his guards, grabbing the balding man off the floor and restraining his arms.

"Wait, wait!" The bartender continued. "There was another fella in here, doing weird magic tricks for the regulars. Placing bets and making a ruckus. I remember him real well 'cause he kept winning all the money these drunks would've spent on booze."

"That's interesting." The green man replied, waving the soldiers back. "And did you make any bets with this magic man?"

"No," the balding man let out in between sobs.

"Take him, men," Yates interjected.

As the men grabbed him again, the balding man started shouting as he was carried off.

"Please! He took my belt. That was it. He stole my belt and gave it back! I don't know anything, please!" The man pleaded.

"Let me see this belt." The green man requested.

The soldiers released him, and the man slipped off his belt, handing it to the green man. The green man looked into Seeker's eyes and gave the belt to her.

"Give it a go again, will you?"

Seeker obliged, first witnessing the strands growing prominent and more defined. Then, they no longer circled their target. Instead, they spun around her and what she was holding. She closed her eyes, focusing on the energies she'd learned to chase, and while the majority of this force was right here, she could feel something else. In the distance, the same power, farther but far more potent.

"He's right," Seeker admitted. "He's heading west."

"What?" The captain questioned.

He lifted his hand to strike, then looked to the green man. Seeker noticed a scowl on a face she'd only seen a smile before. Yates lowered his arm without striking.

"Get it right next time, Seeker."

Yates left as his men followed suit. Seeker handed the belt back to the green man.

"Good girl, follow them out. I'll clean this up."

He handed the belt back to the stranger. Who stood from his collapsed state, watching the soldiers leave the bar. Seeker followed the other servants of Aramaz, but before going, she watched the green man hand their former target tissue and a piece of paper.

She focused on the power, far from them in the west. Her readings were unclear from the influence of their former target's possession. Seeker wished it would go away and make her duties far more effortless. Almost in response, the presence from inside the bar disappeared. As Zane strolled out, the spot where the balding man once cried was completely empty as the rest of the patrons looked dumbfounded.

"Be careful with him, girl." Cassidy Yates warned. "He and I are both Fangs, but only one of us has venom."