They were parked near a small hill on the side of the road. A few moments of relaxation was what Moris said they needed. Firil had agreed and after that no one could refuse. Sincan was restless, pacing around the camp trying to formulate some kind of plan. "You need to relax, Sincan. Something to calm the nerves. I could heal your body a bit if you want?" Moris asked. "As much as I hate to admit it, having you at best condition would help us all. So listen to him," Firil added.

"Doesn't matter to you guys. Buzz off," Sincan scoffed.

Firil burned up for a second before calming down and leaving the problem. Sincan seemed to be looking over at something in the distance. After making their way to Lokor, the scenery had slowly shifted to that of grassy lands and forests. Sincan saw a beast wandering around near the edge of the forest. "I've got an idea," he said. The others approached him with a cautionary curiosity and looked at the same ganver. "Too dangerous, Sincan. I don't want to risk the others for some extra power," Firil replied. Sincan locked eyes with her and said, "If we don't get stronger, we're going to lose next time. We can't keep surviving, Firil. We need to win."

"Only if they agree," she stated.

----

They stood over the corpse of the ganver. It's tendrils and claws slowly falling limp. "That was a Water/Crystal one I think," Kos said. "That's good. Versatile and handy. Do you think it qualifies as a Class 3?" Sincan asked. "I think it very well does," she answered. Sincan moved away and started scouting for more around the forest. The wind swept across them all, refreshing them a little. "We're going to do a lot of hunting today." Sincan called over Okshender to help with the task.

----

Night had fallen over the forest as the gang made camp. Sincan and the rest sat there with some bruises and burns over them. "Don't ever do that again, Sincan! Look at them! They're downright miserable." Firil lectured him as Moris went around healing as best as he could. "Now they're even more tired than when they came here!" Firil continued.

"Maybe you should be thanking me! Once we get them to a wheelsmith, we'll be able to fend off whoever comes our way much more easily!"

" 'If' we get to a wheelsmith. We're criminals, what kind of priest would ever give us Wheels?" Firil refuted. Sincan thought about it for a second. "I was thinking...maybe we don't need to go to a wheelsmith." Firil was disgusted at the insinuation. "You want us to go to a heretic for Wheels. Sincan, I can't do that." She walked off. Moris walked over and healed the cut on his arm. "She'll come around. I know we need this more than anyone," he said.

Kos and Jake were a small distance away from the camp. "Now do that clone thing again," Jake said. Kos created a crystal clone from the rocks and dirt around her. The ability of the kopler allowed the clone to look much more realistic than a Class 2 should have. "Now get into stance, and try to do that for your clone as well." Kos assumed a defensive stance as Jake took an offensive one. They traded blows—Jake trying to be as slow and methodical as possible so as to help Kos learn. After a while he told her to drop the clone.

"Now you know how to fight someone hand-to-hand. But most of the time, they'll have a weapon. Guns are popular ones so you need to learn how to defend against those," he pulled out Sincan's bracelet before continuing, "Get ready, Kos." "Right," she replied. Jake shot out small blasts of fire at Kos, who used her trick clone to block it. The pile of rocks could easily defend against the fire. "Impressive. Now the next time we're in danger, do as I told you," Jake said. "Thank you, Jake. I hope I can be useful," she said before walking back to the RV. useful?

----

Firil walked ahead of the group on the path, contemplating to herself. How can he expect me to forsake Hath like that. My entire religion, just ignore it? She had her head hung low but when she looked up she saw the tops of buildings on the horizon. She turned back to Sincan who was already ordering Okshender to hide and sighed. Sincan looked away from Okshender and towards the city. Jake still had a stern expression on his face. "Shall we?" asked Sincan. Firil replied, "We shall."

They started walking.

----

The city of Kaldavar was huge. One of the biggest in the continent in fact. Renowned for being a hub of air travel, some began to refer to it as the second capital of Lokor. If only such services could have been useful for Firil and her crew. She walked the streets of the city—having barely exited the residential district with its many houses. She began to see those same giant buildings again that lined every street.

"I outright refuse to thieve again, Sincan," she said. "Fine by me. Let's just turn ourselves in while we're at it, why don't we?" he countered. "There are better ways to get by," she stated. Sincan gave her an incredulous look. "Ways we don't have time for. As soon as we've gotten as much as we need, we'll stop." Firil looked at Jake to back her up. "I don't care, Firil," he said flatly.

Firil sighed after seeing that no one had any objections. "But no more after this. Promise me that, Sincan." He replied," I promise you that much." Firil held up two fingers and in a moment, a small current could be seen flowing between then.

----

After they had secured the necessary funds, they decided to be on their way. Every city had a poor area, the district where the impoverished and downcast stayed. An area that seemed perfect for the type of business that would want to stay away from the authorities. The group had decided to split up around here—Sincan deciding to walk by himself. His clothes looked dirtier than before, as he had decided that would make him fit in with the usual types around here.

A group of brown scalin men were grouped up around the corner of a building, talking among themselves. Sincan walked up to them nonchalantly, ignoring the trash at his feet. "What do you want, greenie? We don't got time or money, so piss off," one of them said. "I don't want no trouble, brownie. Ain't got time for it. Just hoping you can show me the way,"

The accent itself was a rough approximation created after listening to the citizens in the city for the past few hours. It wasn't perfect, but small time gangs like them wouldn't notice after the next part. The member that was speaking to him stood up, "Best to not put on clothes that betray your attitude, greenie. Why should we help you?" Sincan pulled out a bulging wallet. "There's cash in it for you, so long as you don't swindle me." Their eyes became fixed on the wallet. "I could send you on a wild goose chase to the edge of the world and you wouldn't know, would you?"

"See, I don't think you should mess with someone like me, brownie. I can tell what each of you is feeling. You're open books as far as I'm concerned. That man over there," Sincan pointed to one of the men, "He's feeling a bit greedier than the rest of you." The man in question retreated a bit as Sincan revealed his intentions. "You're more cautious than the rest, an admirable quality," he said, pointing to the man who first spoke up.

"So a big bad Driver is here talking to us. Why don't you spill what you want already?" the leader asked.

"I'm not from around here, as you've guessed. But considering you can understand me, you fellows must have some Wheels. Why not help a fellow scaleskin out and show him the way to the store?"

"How can we trust you, greenie? Can't barge in and demand something like that."

"I told you about my ability, didn't I? Government doesn't like people like me having powers like these. And on top of that," he said as he threw the wallet to the gang leader. "I'm putting the choice in your hands." The apprehension was still there, but the leader had relaxed a bit. He ordered his boys to stay as he started leading Sincan.

----

Jake tailed Sincan the best that he could through the streets. He walked slowly and hid whenever he sensed suspicion rise up in their forms. In a small while, they reached a barber shop. The painted sign seemed old and the front of the shop was unclean. The gang leader talked some more to Sincan. the only words Jake caught were "Blot my soul." Seems Sincan swore not to rat him out or ruin his business.

As soon as the leader left, Jake came out of hiding. Sincan glanced over and then looked back at the shop.

"Bring them over, it's about time we get some firepower on our side," said Sincan. "Sure," replied Jake as he walked away.

----

When he came back with the rest of the crew, Sincan was still standing there. "I'm still not sure about this," Firil said weakly. "Once we're done, you can just remove them without any problem," reasoned Sincan. She swallowed the lump in her throat and started walking with the group.

Sincan pushed open the doors and walked in. The only person in the shop was an old derlin man, hunched over and sweeping the floors. He looked up at the group and chuckled. "Never get this many customers at a time. What kind of cut are you fellows looking for?" he asked. Sincan met the man's eyes and replied, "We know what you do here and we want some tattoos. Think you can do that, old man?"

The old man seemed to straighten his back a bit, as if he was pretending to be weak. "Who sent you?" he asked.

"Brown scaleskin who lives around here. No reason to be worried, we ain't trying to bust you." Sincan responded. "And," he continued," We can pay." He pulled out a wad of cash from a different pocket than before. The man grunted a bit and then relaxed. "Fine enough, but I want you to swear by the goddess you'll forget all this."

"Odd request from a heretic but sure. May Hath blot my soul if I were to break this oath and reveal your secrets," Sincan said. "Now what's your name, old man?" The man made an annoyed sound before answering, "First of all, I'm not a heretic. You best not believe every wheelsmith not associated with the church is like that. Secondly, it's Horto."

Firil was uncomfortable confronting the old man about his work, in fear of what it would cause. "Can we just get on with it?" she asked. "First comes the payment, young lady," Horto said as he held out his hand. Sincan handed him the cash and he counted it. "This'll get you about 7," he said after finishing.

"Fair enough, I'll go first," said Sincan. He sat down on the seat. Horto walked into a room at the back of the shop and came out a few moments later with a toolbox. He opened it to reveal several tools that looked weird. He flexed his muscles and his forearm began to glow as he picked up one of the tools and a bottle of ink.

----

Some time had passed before Horto had completed his work. He stretched his body, his antlers weighing heavily on him. "There you have it, now just meditate a little"

"We're not amateurs, old man," said Sincan.

He stood up and sat down on one of the waiting seats and began. The beginning of wheelsmithing was a secret that only the church knew but the part that came after depended on the Driver himself. They themselves had to call upon the spirit of the slain ganver and capture it in the tattoo. Sincan meditated for a moment before he came face to face with the ganver that he had killed, its tendrils dangled in the endless abyss as it stared at him, waiting for something. The ganver made its way towards him and entered into the new tattoo on his forearm. He couldn't have more than 3 but a Class 2 Wheel was a simple price for what he got in return. He repeated the process one more time, the only tattoo that remained was the kopler he had gotten long ago.

After opening his eyes, he noticed that the others were awake as well. Sincan looked at his forearm, noticing the masterfully carved tattoo on it. He focused for a few seconds and a flame burst above his hand, shining on the faces of the group. The others tested their new powers out as well. Moris especially had decided to get a Fire Wheel like Sincan. Sincan also took a bit of water and formed them into ice crystals floating in place. He could feel a small bit of strength being granted by the crystal. After finishing his tests, he waited for the others. "Thank you for your kindness, Horto," said Moris. Kos thanked him as well but the rest stood by. Firil was too focused on Chosh to at the moment.

They walked out of the shop with their objective complete. Finally, we can give them a taste of their own medicine.

Shuk Vinters spoke up, "How are you doing, Sincan Tolkin?" The shock of that voice surprised only Sincan. He whipped around to look at the source of it and saw a scalin man standing there, hand on the trigger. "Wh-What?" was the only thing he could say. "Why, not what. That's the question you should be asking and it's the question I'll be asking." The group stood frozen in the middle of the street. Shuk seemed to be specifically aiming for Sincan.

"Why did you do it? Was it some sort of sick revenge? I didn't save your parents so you take away my son?" He asked in a sorrowful tone. "Was that it?" Sincan swallowed the lump in his throat and spoke up. "I didn't do it, there were other people there. They wanted Firil and they took down Cervo to get to her!" he reasoned.

"Bullshit! Oxe told me he didn't manipulate the evidence. You're telling me that some other group showed up? If that's the crap you're feeding me, kid, then answer one thing. Why do you have his Gear?!" Shuk asked, fingering the trigger button. His face was contorted into a visage of anger.

"He handed it to me. If you want, I can show you the recording. We can solve this peacefully!" Sincan said.

"You think I've lived this long through dumb luck. You just want to gun me down."

"If you're not going to believe me, I can't convince you. Cervo was my friend, do you think I'd want him dead for some petty revenge?"

Moris was near Kos and whispered to her while Sincan and Shuk were shouting. "Kos, do that trick clone thing, please! We need it right now." He glanced at her and saw her terrified with eyes locked on the barrel of the gun Shuk was holding. "I-I...I c-can't..." she muttered. Moris noticed that Firil and Jake hid him slightly from view. He swallowed a lump in his throat and began casting. His forearm started glowing but Shuk didn't notice. Before long, Shuk saw a fireball being hurled towards him and ducked.

He growled at the derlin who threw it and aimed his gun towards him. Before he could get a shot off, Sincan's trick clone bashed into him, annoying Shuk. A person also got intrinsic benefits from applying a Wheel, such as percentage of the original ganver's strength. Considering Shuk's strength, the clone was barely a nuisance.

His forearm started glowing as he shot a bullet and before it could be blocked, changed its direction in mid-air. The bullet seemed to bounce off the air and was about to hit Firil, but broke off one of her antlers instead as she repelled it. Shuk fired off several more bullets like that one, bouncing them off and changing their trajectory rapidly.

Shuk was standing in front of them whereas a building was behind them. Sincan used that to his advantage and created some ice crystals and burned them to create steam. The group used the distraction to fall back into the building, with Shuk following suit. He walked in slowly, the steam behind him dissipating. He shot a bullet and as soon as it reached behind the pillar, he forced it sideways. Thankfully, Jake ducked in time to dodge the attack. He looked over to Moris and Firil, who were searching for a way out.

They were standing next to a couple of old elevator shafts. Sincan and Firil nodded to each other from across the floor and Sincan popped out from behind his cover, surprising Shuk. He knocked the gun right out of his hands and charged him, knocking him down onto the ground again. Shuk used his Force Wheel to evade the attack and push Sincan away. Taking the cue, Firil grabbed onto Moris and jumped into the elevator shaft. She charged her clothes and started floating towards the top of the elevator. Behind her, she gave each side of the elevator door a different charge, forcing them together.

Sincan kept fighting with Shuk while Firil escaped, giving Jake ample amount of time to repeat the process with Kos. Sincan forged an ice blade with his own sweat, making it stronger by exhausting his bewl source. He slashed at Shuk, missing barely. The scalin man hovered his gun towards him and pistol whipped Sincan, making his nose bleed. He hit him again in the face but before he could do it a third time, Sincan stabbed the blade into his forearm, breaking the connector. Shuk groaned a bit and backed off. Sincan ran towards the window and screamed before taking a plunge out the window. Firil and Jake noticed immediately and as soon as they saw him falling, they charged his body and floated him towards them.

They pulled him up to the roof. "You lost him?" asked Firil.

"Don't think so, but i think we won't need to," said Sincan. Police cars could be seen a couple of blocks away from where they were, their sirens blaring. The gunfire must've alerted them. "Now let's leave before we arouse suspicion." Firil and Jake had a much higher supply of bewl because of their new Wheels, so jumping a couple of buildings wasn't too difficult as they escaped.

----

Moris had finished healing the group. His new Wheel gave him an extra level of precision and power in fixing wounds. Sincan looked out of the corner of the alley to make sure no one was tailing them. Firil stood beside him and observed before the silence grew too much to bear for her and she spoke up. "Thanks," she said and walked off.

"What did you say?" Sincan asked, but Firil didn't reply.