Lapis shivered on the floor, watching the rest of her new team take out the rest of the villains. Her knife gradually slipped out of her hand as her body went slack, and the clang as it dropped to the floor startled her. She glanced around quickly to see if anyone had noticed and briefly met Dal's eyes before he turned back to his opponent, the remaining assassin. She could see his mouth moving, but his words didn't reach her.

She turned instead to try to find Arthur. She knew he was armed, but still worried that he had not survived the fight. Spotting him not far from Dal, she was shocked to see blood dripping from his blade, a dead man at his feet. Of course she knew that he carried a blade, but up until now she had never seen a hint of violence in the man. It made her wonder what else she didn't know about him.

Regardless, he was still the person she knew best in this tavern, so she gathered herself, steeled her expression, and made her way out from under the table to his side. The shaking in her limbs forced her to half-crawl, half-stumble, and her progress was slow. The fight continued around her. Lapis hardly noticed, her focus solely on reaching the familiarity of a known face.

Arthur wiped the blood off his sword. Then he looked around and noticed that all but one of their foes were gone. Good, only one more to slay. He went to raise his sword, then stopped. "...Lapis?" He lowered his blade back down then knelt by her. "Lapis, are you alright?" She didn't seem injuried, but certain injuries were never obvious. Yet she was shaking...He extended out a hand towards her.

There were a few too many things going on simultaneously for Fyr to keep track off, but the one thing he was pretty aware of was that one hostile individual, probably the leader of this whole attack, was still standing. Having decided not to throw the spear but to stab the other person with it in his last attack, Fyr still had it available for launch now.



His estimate got the unknown weapon's properties completely wrong through. Without having trained with this particular weapon yet, Fyr only managed a trajectory quite different from the one he had actually intended. The spear flew right past the enemy's body and buried itself firmly in the wall behind him.

Great! Could anything else go wrong right now that both his axe and the spear were located somewhere there ?

With his last man down, the Leader looked around and noticed that he was alone. Surrounded by four, perhaps five, key fighters. He gripped the axe tighter, then swiped with it on Arthur.



Only for Arthur to manage to duck down. Then he lunged over the table Lapis was hidden under.



And slid across it, ducked past Dalious, and bolted his way towards the tavern entrance.

It felt like slow motion to Dalious, the leader being alone and running for an escape. It was an easy target to say the least. He quickly and with ease loaded another bolt into his crossbow and aimed with a smirk.

"I got him,"he calmly said, locking eyes with Lapis in the process. She seemed panicked, so he gave her a wink. "Watch this, love."



He fired the crossbow and missed entirely, not even coming close. The bolt hit the ceiling.

"...shit."

As Lapis made her slow, traumatized way toward Arthur, she heard Dal speak and met his cocky gaze. His arrogance was nearly enough to bring her out of her stupor, but what really did it was the way his arrow whizzed past the leader and stuck fast into the ceiling. A startled, hysterical laugh bubbled out of her and she doubled over where she stood, bracing a hand out on the floor to steady herself. By complete chance, the leader stumbled over her outstretched arm and slowed, just a little, in his escape. Lapis didn't even notice. She had dissolved into a sort of half-laugh, half-sob, and she wondered idly if she was really having a mental breakdown.

Axe ? Gone!
Spear ? Gone!
Fists ? Out of range!

Yet there was something both still available and in range: debris!

As the bandit leader sought his way out of the now quite demolished main hall, Fyr's family heirloom firmly in the bastard's hands, he probably hardly witnessed how Fyr pressed one of the larger parts of a splintered table into service as a makeshift projectile.


Only when the wooden object was stopped dead in its trajectory by the doorframe it firmly got wedged into, the man hastily took a look over his shoulder and then hurried onwards. Fyr rushed after him quickly, but had to dislodge the part in question again first in order to make room for his overly large (though still malnourished!) body. It consumed enough of a timespan so when Fyr was finally done and able to take a look outside, the hostile was gone.

In his mind, Fyr could not even start to describe the magnitude of this failure. What would his family say once he was back home ? All he had left now was his shield! He needed something new, but how to pay for it ? He still owned some coin to Lapis in the first place...

As Fyr and Dal missed their shots at the running leader assassin, he ran, armed with Fyr's family heirloom and a certain camel from the stables.

The next hours passed in a blur for the party. The town's guards came almost as soon as the assassin escaped and promptly arrested the group, taking them for questioning.

In the following days, they were released with apologies and provided healing, as the confusion regarding who initiated the attack was cleared by a certain miner friend of Fyr's.

Ashe did her best not to reveal anything about their destination, their purpose, or even where they came from. Yet, she wasn't so sure about her colleagues.

Upon being released, the group arrived at Samara's cart, now without a trusty camel to talk to. It was the first time after days.

"So... we're all alive. Ain't that lucky? Cause let me tell you, that's what we were. Lucky to be alive. Samara, looks like your camel is gone, and between it and the days that passed... I don't think we'll have any chance to catch the assassin "she said with a weak smile, not that they could see it behind her mask, but it was the best consolation she could offer.

"So those guards were worthless," Dalious said as he propped himself up before the group, sitting comfortably on the nearest bench. "Yea Fyr lost his axe, Lapis lost her camel, but we're alive. We are .......in our primes. Especially me."

"Do we even know what the fuk is going on!? Arthur?? Ashe!? The book??".

Dalious opens the book where they are. "Gwen! Can u answer our questions? Where r u in the world? The real you? Where's Cicero?? How much sauce goes into a pantorallomi??"

"In our primes ?" Fyr snapped back at Dalious without even any intentional desire to do so. "If that is my prime, then I hope I grow old very quickly!" Old and with gray hair, or without any hair at all. Oh, he didn't even have these on his head anyway! And now he had neither his trusty axe and something to place his butt on either!

"And it wasn't even really my axe!" he released the quintessence of his thoughts loudly for he needed just something to vent the pressure inside him with. This had been his journey to get to know the world and to proove that he could really achieve something, and now it had likely found its end or had it ? Those back at home would cut his head off once they figured out...

"Ask that book where this bandit is going. I want to rip him apart!" Having said this, Fyr smashed another table at the wall. The furniture had already taken some damage in the previous fight and now it shattered into pieces and splinters.

"We can't even pull the wagon without a camel now!" They would need something else... and hopefully none of the others would have the idea of him pulling the damn thing because he was so big. Which he wasn't, at least not in Fyr's own opinion as he still could feel the lack of proper food from back in the mushroom caves.

Dalious let Fyr fume. They were disoriented, the camel was gone, and the book wasn't responding. None of these things really mattered.

"Mates, need I remind us that not even a week ago we were slaves meant for death or worse? We are free now, free of our bonds. Free to go about as we would choose. Sure, we can go all our separate ways. Lapis and squire boy can continue on, minus a camel but they have plenty to sell to get to wherever they want. Fyr, you're free to go home or whatever you want as well. Ashe...you need not wear a mask anymore. And I can go back to hustling and gambling anywhere I choose. We are free now!

However, Cicero and Gwyn are trapped. I don't know about you lot, but they were my friends. I'll be damned if I leave them to rot in a demon dimension or wherever the hell they went. I will find them and save them, with or without you all. I have nothing else...so, excuse me while I go and cause some shit."

Dalious stormed off, but quickly came back. "Except I don't have a clue where to begin."

Arthur frowned, looking up. "Cicero and Gwyn?" Surely he heard that wrong, right? "Perhaps if we started with where they are, then you would have a clue for where to go."

Then he looked to the book they'd gestured to. "If it's truly a book that can speak, then it usually needs to be opened. Though of course, most such books can only answer questions that are already within it's pages. There's only some truly older tomes, made with powerful magic, that can actively scry for answers such as where a person is."

Ashe observed the group's heated discussion with a bemused chuckle.

"Fyr, calm down. We'll track down whatever that scoundrel stole from us and make him regret it. And Dallious, you’re right—thanks to us, you’re all free now. There’s no need to worry; I guarantee things will work out in the end. As for my mask, it stays on. Always." Her voice carried its usual charm, smoothing over the tension.

Turning to Arthur, Ashe nodded and said, "You heard correctly. The book belonged to Gwyn, and Cicero was a companion who saved me from a dangerous fall with those same slavers. I don’t forget a debt. We will find them. As for the book, I’m not sure of Gwyn’s full power, but I doubt it’s anything too formidable."

She stepped forward and drew out her dice, tossing them into the air. Both landed on 10-10, the highest possible roll.

"Ha! Just as I expected. I might not know exactly where the wizard took Gwyn and Cicero, but I have a lead. We’ll need to head to my homeland, the Isles. If we’re fortunate, we can not only find the information we need but also reconnect with my old teachers. They’re skilled in many arts, known and unknown." Her voice grew more confident with each word.

"Even if you decide not to join me, that’s where I’m headed. It’s time to settle some scores—personal and otherwise." With that, she began to walk away, her resolve clear.

---

---

Samara took a shaky breath, her hands nervously fidgeting with the strap of her bag. "Look, Ashe, I know I haven’t been with you all for long, and I was just trying to do a job, bring you to the village. But this... everything that's happened—it’s too much. I’m just a merchant. I’m not a fighter, and I’m definitely not made for whatever this is turning into.” She paused, her eyes darting around the group, guilt settling in her chest. “I had to kill someone, and... I can’t shake it. I’m sorry, but I can’t keep going with you."

Her voice trembled slightly as she continued, "You’ve got your mission, and I respect that. But I need to go back to what I know—trading, traveling, selling goods. This world of assassins and stolen heirlooms, it’s not mine. I hope you find what you’re after, but I need to part ways here. I just... need to get back to some kind of normal." Samara gave them a weak smile, a final nod, before she turned, the weight of her decision settling in as she began to walk away from the group.

She then stopped and turned back, looking at Arthur, her expression apologetic. "Arthur, if you decide to stay with them... I'm sorry. I know we’ve only just met, but I really thought this would be easier. If you do stay, I hope you can forgive me for backing out now. You’re strong—you’ll be fine with them. I'll look for someone to sell me a camel, find me in the village if you don't go with them. " Samara offered one last nod before turning away, her steps quicker now as she made her way toward the village, already thinking

After the farewells were made, those continuing on followed Ashe. It was a long journey ahead and the last thing the pirate wanted to do was any thinking.

"Well, you're the smart ones. Open the book and try to figure something out. I'll watch our backs, never know when some naked bald assassin chicks are gonna pop out and try to murder us again."

Nylah Aldaos had never known wealth like this before. The bounty she had collected from turning in Dalious Durendail, the infamous pirate captain, had been astronomical. It had felt too good to be true when she watched the guards drag him away, bound in chains, and the heavy sack of gold exchanged for his capture fell into her hands. For the first time in her life, she was free to do as she pleased. Her employers were happy, so she was happy.

Months had passed since then. Nylah had spent her days indulging in luxuries she’d never imagined. She had traveled across the world, hitting a few places on her bucket list. Eventually, she found herself on the Isles of Bishop & Knight, hopping from island to island, relishing the beauty of white-sand beaches, crystal-blue waters, and sunrises that cast the sky in hues of gold and pink. There were no contracts, no missions, no sleepless nights spent wondering where the next job would take her—who her next target would be. Instead, she allowed herself to relax, to simply exist without the ever-present weight of her mercenary life.

For a brief time, she had been happy.

But as the days drifted by, her spoils from Dalious Durendail’s capture dwindled. The lavish meals, the fine wines, and the carefree days came at a cost. Nylah could feel her coin purse grow lighter with each passing week, and now, the inevitable truth was staring her in the face—she couldn’t run from it any longer.

She’d been on the run from her employers, too. The ones who always expected their cut, their share of her success. For months, they had allowed her to enjoy the fruits of her labor, but patience was never their strong suit. Nylah knew they were waiting, and their patience would soon expire.

Sitting on the edge of a cliff, Nylah stared out at the vast sea. The cool breeze tugged at her cloak, the scent of salt filling the air. She knew what had to be done. The respite was over. It was time to pick up her bow and arrows once more, to return to the life she’d grown so skilled at.

Her fingers brushed the golden locket around her neck, a rare moment of contemplation as she stared at the horizon. The carefree life had been brief, but she couldn’t afford to be careless any longer. Reality was knocking at her door. Nylah Aldaos, the mercenary, would need to get to work again.

Arthur sadly smiled. "Don't apologize for the way things are, Samara...May God bless you on the road ahead, wherever it may lead. Then he turned and joined the others as they departed.

At Dalious's comment, Arthur raised his eyebrow. "You may certainly do that. Though somehow I doubt they'd try the same trick twice." Then he opened up Gwyneria's diary and looked through, deciding to silently peruse for right now as they started along. If there was any clue where to go next, it should be somewhere in here...Or would be in the other book. Yet he shivered just thinking about it. A deep dive of that would be best later, once they were more secluded and on their way to the Islands. Not when there could be danger in any corner.

One eye kept to their surroundings and one hand kept to his sword while the other scanned through for any clues that might be hid within.