Aaspaelwin woke up the following morning, crammed in between Sekafi's large, furry form and a bunch of goblins. They had all managed to squeeze into a small shack in a less favourable district. Bleary-eyed, he sat up and looked about. A red-haired human stood by the poor excuse for a door and Aspen froze for a second. Then he remembered. Hiaashaqwi. Breathing out, he stood and carefully stepped away from the sleeping figures. Hiaashaqwi glanced back, then returned to peeking out the cracks in the door.

'Morning,' Aspen mumbled. 'See anything?'

'There were some commotion earlier,' Hiaashaqwi whispered. 'Seems calm now.'

Aspen nodded. 'We need to get going soon.'

The samandar nodded. 'Maybe wake her up?'

Aspen took three steps back, bent and pulled at Sekafi's boot. 'Oi, kitty, get up.'

Sekafi muttered something unintelligible and kicked at him.

He staggered back, bumping into Hiaashaqwi. 'Sorry,' he whispered at the annoyed look he got. 'Sekafi!' he hissed and pulled at her boot again.

'I'm awake, elfling,' she grumbled.

He grinned. 'Sure. We gotta go, get up.'

She looked around, then carefully stood without disturbing the sleeping goblins. 'I'm ready. Are you?'

'I was born ready,' Aspen joked as Hiaashaqwi nodded.

Sekafi snorted.

'Leaving?'

Aspen looked towards the voice. Mirok sat peering at them from a corner.

'Yeah. We have to meet up with the mage, and Sir Hapow.'

'The meany?' Mirok bared her teeth, her large ears folding backwards.

Aspen smiled. 'Yeah. But he's not as bad as he was. Don't worry. He's helping us, you know.'

She huffed. 'When we meet again?'

He glanced at Sekafi. 'I think it's best if we keep our meetings to a minimum. It'll take at least a day or two, I'm guessing, to get the information we need from Hapow. So until then, it's probably best if you lay low. I'll contact you through the orb when we know what we're doing next. That sound okay?'

Mirok nodded. 'We stay, ready to go when you say.'

'Good. Thank you.' He followed Sekafi and Hiaashaqwi out the door, pulling up his hood as he went.

The sun blazed again, and the humid, hot air quickly became unbearable. Sweating, Aspen followed his friends though the streets, the alternately dry cracked mud and slippery puddles forcing them to swerve back and forth as they made their way back to more respectable areas. Resisting to whine about the heat, Aspen kept his eyes on their surroundings, noting the suspicious glances people gave each other, and lack of humanoids. He supposed the ones left stayed hidden as much as possible to avoid trouble. His stomach growled, and he wished they had something to eat. Maybe Salabil would be kind enough to pay for some food when they met, he hoped.

They arrived at the stables at the same time as Salabil. She came around the street corner right as they stopped by the doors. She raised a hand and waved, her many bracelets jingling. More than one head turned to look at her, Aspen noticed. Her vibrant robes, colourful ribbons, bright veil, and bracelets made her stand out as someone important. Someone rich. He supposed she was, being a mage and all, but it wasn't great that people took notice. Nonetheless, he waved back and smiled.

They exchanged some quick pleasantries, decided to leave the horse, and walked towards the Red Manticore.

'How did your meeting with Lady Hennaja's family go?' Sekafi asked.

'They were very welcoming. We spoke at length about her, and about the situation here.' Salabil's eyebrows knitted. 'I'm very motivated to get this over with.'

'So am I,' Aspen muttered. 'This whole ordeal's crazy.'

Sekafi and Hiaashaqwi nodded.

'I asked them for aid in our efforts, and they agreed to send reinforcements if we need them. But only if and when we're certain what we're up against and how to deal with it.'

'That's great news!' Aspen laughed. He'd never thought that'd happen. When he'd been there to speak with them last, he'd barely gotten more than a few words. Hope rekindled, he lengthened his strides. He wanted to speak with Sir Hapow as soon as possible. If he was there. What if he hadn't agreed to meet? But then he remembered Hiaashaqwi. Surely Hapow wouldn't decline a meeting with his best friend?

'Are you aware that your thoughts are basically written on your face?' Sekafi said.

'Huh?'

She giggled, a series of sharp yaps. 'I can read you like a book. You should learn to hide your emotions sometimes.'

'I'm not a book,' he grumbled. But her joking told him she was hopeful too.

At the Red Manticore, the group waited around a table in the back. Salabil had paid for food and now they waited for Sir Hapow to arrive.

Worry again gnawed at Aspen. It had happened before, after all, that Hapow didn't come. He looked around the room. Not as full as usual. And only humans. He bet they'd throw them out if they knew. Nervously, he checked the magical rune. Salabil had reinforced them before they went inside, to make sure they wouldn't be found out. It looked perfect. Huffing in relief, he resumed watching the door.

Several times, the door opened and people entered, but they were not the grumpy guard. Aspen sighed as time passed. Sekafi and Hiaashaqwi entertained themselves with a small board game, consisting of a chequered wooden board and coloured pebbles, they'd borrowed from the tavern. He wasn't sure who was winning. The rules were outlandish and with too many exceptions.

The door opened again and Aspen looked up. A large man in black armour, with his hood pulled up, strode up to the counter. Aspen perked up and nudged Sekafi in the side. She immediately abandoned the game, her eyes following his gaze and her ears swivelling forward as she saw him. The barkeep pointed somewhat discreetly towards them, and the man turned and walked forward. He didn't pull the hood back until he was at their table.

He watched the group in silence, his dark eyes narrowed, before setting eyes on Hiaashaqwi. The samandar couldn't keep his face neutral, but shone up into a grin and stood to embrace his friend. 'Jaki, it's good to see you again!'

Sir Hapow stiffened for a second, but at the nickname only Hiaashaqwi used, he relaxed and he allowed a smile to show for a moment. 'You look different, my friend.'

Hiaashaqwi shrugged. 'Got magic red hair for now,' he added in a whisper.

Sir Hapow smirked. 'It's strange. Not only you, but the rest of you as well.' His eyes travelled over the group, and stopped at Salabil. 'My lady,' he said and gave a court bow from the waist.

Salabil smiled and gestured for him to take a seat. 'Join us, Sir Hapow. We've waited long enough. Have something to drink.'

'Thank you.' He grabbed a wooden mug with ale and sat. 'You wanted to talk. What is it? I doubt it's only a social call, no matter how much I'd appreciate that.'

Aspen cleared his throat and twitched inwardly as the man turned his eyes on him. 'We're here to ask you a favour.'

'Again? I –' he snapped, but stopped as Hiaashaqwi placed a hand on his shoulder.

'Hear us out, please. It's important,' Aspen pleaded.

'Sure. What is it this time?' Sir Hapow grumbled. 'Is it better or worse than last?'

Aspen couldn't keep a slight smile from his lips. 'Ah, it's probably worse.'

Sir Hapow rolled his eyes. 'Of course, it is. What new's going on?'

Aspen told him of their current situation, the information they had on the strange priests and what they needed to find out from Master Owadro.

Salabil explained, 'You're going to have to go to Master Owadro's quarters and take something from him. Something personal.'

Sir Hapow paled. 'Are you serious? Something personal? What would that be, and why?'

'I can use my crystal ball to spy on him. We need to know what he plans to do, and soon. Hopefully, he doesn't have any magical wards that'd prevent me from scrying. But since I myself don't know Master Owadro, what he looks like, or are familiar with his rooms or the Council, I cannot do this blind. I need something to channel the energy. Anything will do that's either from himself, like hair, nail clippings or something similar. Or a thing that he handles frequently, is important to him, or has been with him for a long time.'

'You're kidding me,' Sir Hapow muttered and rubbed his temples. 'That's suicide. I cannot go there. If they spot me...'

'Jaki, please,' Hiaashaqwi cut in. 'This is important for us all. You too. It could even mean...' He nodded.

Aspen wondered what Hiaashaqwi meant, but held his tongue.

Sir Hapow looked into his mug for a while, sighed, then nodded. 'Maybe. But I can't promise anything. This is too dangerous. I will attempt it, but only because you want me to.' He looked at the samandar. 'It could be the last thing I do.'

Hiaashaqwi nodded solemnly.

'We understand the danger,' Salabil said softly. 'It's a great risk, but knowing what he plans will give us a huge advantage that we currently stand without. It could mean the difference between having assembled allies at our backs, or standing alone when the time comes.'

He grunted and looked into the ceiling. 'I'll try it. But if I can't find a suitable moment to do so, I will pass. Understand? I cannot go up against a powerful mage alone, and if he finds out, not only will I die, you will be exposed as well.'

'We understand.' Salabil reached out and took his hand. 'Let me help a little.'

Aspen watched as she drew a symbol on Hapow's wrist with a small, black stylus of some kind.

'What's this do?' Sir Hapow asked.

'It's protection. Don't smudge it. It could save your life.'

He nodded, watched the rune for a few seconds, then hid it under the sleeve of his tunic. 'Anything else?'

'When do you think you'll have done it? A time frame would be appreciated,' Aspen said.

Hapow huffed. 'I don't know. Any other st... questions?'

They all shook their heads.

'Well, then I've got to go before my superiors get suspicious about my whereabouts.

The group quickly discussed how to notify each other when it was done, and if things were awry. Then Sir Hapow walked out with Hiaashaqwi in tow. The samandar wanted to talk in private with Sir Hapow before he returned to the others, he'd explained.

Aspen, Sekafi and Salabil looked at each other, hope in their eyes.

'I'm sure he can do it,' Aspen said.