General Saladin stood in front of the small portal, his head bowed for the entire duration of the end of his meeting.

"Understood, Your Majesty. A thousand apologies, once more.......... yes, of course......... it won't happen again, I assure you..........Ye- ...........I-"

The portal, looking like a magic mirror floating in stasis, suddenly disappeared before Saladin could speak again. He finally lifted his head and just stood there for a moment. The only sign of his nerves was the quick adjustment of his collar that was starting to feel a little too tight.

He called for his two best mages. One an expert in Divination magic, the other in Alteration. He also called for his Under-General. He ordered the tent to be magically sealed away from outside Source. Then he had the tent swept for anything that didn't belong.

Afterwards:

"We have a leak." The two mages' eyes widened. His Under-General bared his teeth with quiet anger, showing the fangs of a vampire. "The enemy knows the day we planned to attack. It is undetermined how much information they have gleaned of the specifics." His eyes flicked to each one with the natural suspicion of a man who has lived amongst evil for many years. Then he turned his back on them and folded his arms behind his back. "But not to worry. We will use this to our advantage. And our new plan will stay between us only. So..." He turned his head slightly. "...if anything else gets out, I only have to kill you three."

"We should attack tonight," the Under-General mused. "The looks on their faces would be worth it alone."

Saladin knew he still wanted to drain the overall magical capability of Valhiem's forces. But it wasn't a bad idea. "Patience, Viktor. We will shatter their expectations and their morale. But not yet. Listen closely..."



While overall spirits were dwindling as the countdown to war continued, there were several bright candles in the dark that brought the light of hope.

Word of the young Druid, Adam Phillips had spread across Golden Tree Park and the Industrial Complex. The foreigner's commitment to honest, hard work was respected and inspiring to all. The other Druid's had begun to follow suit, little by little, over the last couple of days, taking up axes and helping load carts when their magic had run out. Michael Fern, leader of this branch of the defense, was more than impressed and had even mentioned Adam in his evening report to The Citadel, noting with some amazement that Adam alone had boosted wood production by more than 10%. In terms of tree growth, he was the equivalent of 5 Druids.

James had gone from being sneered at when he first arrived, to being greeted at the entrance of The Academy on arrival each morning, to see if he wanted a coffee, breakfast or required any extra tools or materials for his experiments. All the people relevant to Clarissa knew him by name, and those not familiar addressed him as Mr Sirius. The Heads of the Departments and the President all were putting their hopes in the genius and intuition of their new tag team: Shields and Sirius.

Across the Military Centre and all the way up to The Citadel, it had become well understood that the most powerful Captains of the Garrison were the four members of Second Chance. While the very new Adventurer Party had only just reached Silver Rank, this piece of information was easily identifiable as the least pertinent fact about them. What mattered more was that they'd completed a Gold Ranked Contract. What also mattered was that there were no other Adventurers in the city who could claim they had won a Platinum Bounty. Barracker Kassel, Fenna Postma, MacKensie Trydant and Zell Brooks were boosting morale across the rank-and-file and up the chain of command.

Over the last couple of days, Barracker had followed through with his plan to spend more time with the rest of Second Chance. It was nice to eat meals with them, one on one or as a group. To get to know them more as individuals. It felt good to laugh with friends and to be merry, food always tasted a lot better with good company.

Barracker was fully kitted out, back in his gear. His helmet now sported a new look. Because of the damage done by Zigmunds ice explosion, the enchanted helmet could not be repaired perfectly and now had a massive diagonal scar going right through it. You might say it looked even more menacing, judging by the reactions of random citizens when he was walking through the street with it on. It worked perfectly fine though, which was the important thing. Also Barracker noticed he wasn’t as self conscious these days about how strangers judged him, he guessed it was because of his new found friendships with the heroes from another world.

James had put Barracker onto first name basis with the owner of The Mended Drum, Frederick. So he would say hello when he passed through the establishment and sometimes stay the night, using the extra booked room that Zell had rented for Joji, who was no longer around.

Right now it was morning and Barracker was having breakfast with Adam before planning on heading to the military centre to work with his soldiers, the vampire was telling the druid about the progress he was making.

“... So I think the morale is heading up in the right direction,” he finished, before taking a bite of his sausage and eggs. After finished his bite, Barracker continued, “One of my men, Gareth, went to Golden Tree Park to order some wood for training dummies. While talking with the lumber man, your name popped up. It seems your hardwork has not gone unnoticed, you have revitalized the peoples spirits.” It was true, Adam was the talk of the industrial section and it was no surprise. Adam was a fine young man, honourable and a good example to others. Barracker listened attentively and followed up with, “What have you got planned for today, more of the same?” Barracker also asked how he was feeling about the upcoming defence of Valhiem, a topic which was inevitably on everyone’s mind. “Is your heart and mind prepared? That is the most important thing, as this is something even I am not used to. A battle of this scale.”

Adam woke up, slightly surprised to be in a hospital bed. Then he remembered; the training. Last evening had been particularly severe - he was even wearing a medieval-esque hospital gown instead of his normal attire. And just when the Druid was about to get up to grab his clothes, a doctor walked in.

The man, a human with gray hair and a stern demeanor, sighed at the younger one. “Mr. Phillips, you really have to stop coming in like this.”

“You know I can’t stop.” Adam shook his head, a little annoyed to be retreading old ground. “The-”

“Whatever this thing is isn’t worth you dying over. It will happen. From what the nurses say, you were lucky to ‘get away’ with the pain you did.”

“This thing will be the difference between the city standing or burning!” This burst of anger surprised the red-eyed man slightly, but he maintained his rhetorical momentum all the same. “Just one of the Queen's agents nearly killed my friends. Who knows what this invasion will bring? I won't let Valheim fall.”

The doctor and his patient's eyes locked for a few seconds before the former reluctantly conceded. “...Fine.”

They spoke for a little while longer, then the Druid gathered his things and decided to get breakfast at the Mended Drum.

-----

It turned out that Adam's timing was pretty good, because Barracker Kassel had gotten there slightly after he had ordered his pancakes, bacon and eggs. It was pleasant conversation and food, and the Paladin had been describing the progress him and his team were making. The Druid marked his approval with a smile and nod, happy for his friend. When the vampire described the red-eyed man's work and its impact, the latter answered modestly.

“I appreciate the kind words, though I'm not doing anything anyone else couldn't do.” Maybe not technically true, but the fisherman wasn't the sort to brag about himself, and he wasn't doing any of this to show off. And speaking of that…

“What have you got planned for today, more of the same?”

The new addition to his magical arsenal was also not being done for accolades, and Adam didn't want to make his friend worry. How to answer honestly without lying about it?

“Oh, actually just some training. Not a big deal, really.”

Barracker's other question really was the most important thing. And this one, at least, could be answered without causing too much concern.

“I’m mentally ready for this, I think. I probably won't be commanding men like you are, so it's different, but I resolved myself to do what was right when I saw that letter. Right now, that means defending this place and saving as many people as I can. Of course, I don't enjoy ending lives in the process and I don't think I'll ever get used to huge battles, but if it's for the greater good then I'm good knowing I'm doing the right thing. How about you?”

However his friend answered, Adam would listen intently, then follow up with the following after responding:

“What did you think of that letter, anyway?” The Druid knew the Paladin was from Mytheria and therefore knew more about the Witch Queen than the rest of Second Chance. And more importantly, the youngest member of the team had not really asked anyone about that message since he spoke with MacKensie.

No time like the present to change that!

The fifth day of the siege started as the other days. Fenna laid out some bolts on her bed and infused them with fire or ice, alternating the two so MacKensie would have a decent supply by the end of the waiting time. It was something she could do once a day, but by the time of the siege she should have 48 fire bolts and 48 ice bolts ready for her friend.

She had been sore the first day after her adventure in the cave under the spa, every single muscle had ached. Throughout the day the pain had slowly subsided and she had made sure no one would notice. Although she had feared some kind of official reprimand for going somewhere she wasn't supposed to, that hadn't happened yet. What she had failed to notice that evening had become apparent to her the next day: her spear had a faint glow to it. While she didn't know what it was, it wasn't hard to deduce it had something to do with that ball of energy she had seen. There had barely been any time to talk to any of her companions about it, everyone had been busy with the tasks they had received.

After Fenna was done infusing 12 bolts with fire wrapped them up to give to MacKensie later, she went downstairs to have breakfast. Today there would be more training with her soldiers, but what she really needed to do was catch James. They needed to talk.

1. Arrive early.

For the second morning in a row, MacKensie was on the yard of the Military Centre before dawn, helping organise the equipment and performing other odd jobs that were considered 'below her rank.' As the sergeants under her command rolled in, along with a few of her soldiers who were also early-birds, she greeted them with a positive, energetic attitude.

2. Respect and courtesy.

She greeted everyone she pragmatically could with a handshake, by name if she knew it, and made sure to ask if they'd eaten breakfast and slept well. Those who hadn't eaten were sent off to the mess hall, with note of permission, to quickly go and get something in their stomach.

3. Embrace all duty and responsibiity. Go the extra mile.

"Water? Okay, I will go."

"Here, let me help. Come. Take a seat, I will get the first aid."

"Worried about your mother? Let's talk for a moment. Grimes... will you take over please?"

4. Set high standards for yourself.

"I will be running the mile with you, but I will be carrying eighty pounds of equipment in this backpack. Don't let me best you."

Later, during lunchtime, MacKensie got up from the tables to take her plate back to the kitchen, grabbing anyone's plate who was done and taking theirs back for them too. She offered to help the kitchen porters wash up, but they warmly refused her, appreciating the sentiment. Before heading back to the tables, she saw Grimes at the water cooler and went to him.

"I'm thinking we run another emergency drill, during the afternoon sparring," she said to him. They had been using a special whistle to signal the block to drop what they were doing, equip themselves with proper gear and make their way quickly to their designated street to form up for battle. Then they would make their way, as fast as possible without getting disorganised, up the tower and to their place on the wall, with the archers taking up position, nocking an arrow and being ready to fire. MacKensie would time this procedure from start to finish, hoping to improve the speed of their response each time.

Grimes nodded briskly. "Affirmative, ma'am." He watched her for a moment as she scanned the tables, then changed the subject. "Morale is good. The soldiers know that their captain cares about them. It goes a long way. And we sergeants have been enthused with your energy, helping us perform to our best too. You are a credit to the garrison."

"Thank you," MacKensie returned. "I am glad to be of help."

"And I am glad to serve under you." He saluted with a smile, then walked away with his water, while MacKensie realised that Grimes had never smiled a single time before today. He seemed a naturally stoic individual but it never stood out to her that he wasn't one for giving out smiles. So now she felt like she was most certainly doing something right. It was heartening.

“I’m mentally ready for this, I think. I probably won't be commanding men like you are, so it's different, but I resolved myself to do what was right when I saw that letter. Right now, that means defending this place and saving as many people as I can. Of course, I don't enjoy ending lives in the process and I don't think I'll ever get used to huge battles, but if it's for the greater good then I'm good knowing I'm doing the right thing. How about you?”

Barracker thought it was very noble, a spirit of a paladin. The young man definitely had care for people and all of his words were laced with honour and humility. “As a soldier, it is of the utmost importance to be mentally prepared. Everything I have lived and trained for, comes down to moments like this.”

“What did you think of that letter, anyway?” Adam asked.

Barracker had a bitter taste in his mouth at the thought of the WitchQueen. Although Adam and the rest of his party had made the right choice to deny the WitchQueen’s overtures, Barracker felt it was his place to assure him of the evil which she had wrought on the continent. “I do not know this Melina Young. But I do know the WitchQueen.” The vampire stroked a pale thumb along one of his fangs. “I know of her atrocities too well.” He paused for a moment to let the flashes of those dreadful memories pass by. “Law and order is the backbone of any civil society worth living in. The protection of the people is the priority. She has broken law and order, and she has violated the protection of the people. Even if she is the rightful heir, she has thrown away her claim to the throne with these heinous crimes.”

He searched for understanding in Adam's face. It was a lot to take in and Barracker had left a lot unexplained, but felt the druid was a righteous enough soul that the Paladin could have faith that Adam would get it. As he was finishing his breakfast, he thought about how he’d quickly grown in close comradery with Zell, James and particularly Fenna. He also thought about how he had opened up to MacKensie, shown vulnerability and she had completely accepted him. That moment between them in the Temple Of Hades had changed him. He learned to trust his party members with more than just his life, but also his heart and soul too. So right now he looked at Adam and decided that the druid deserved more of an answer to the previous question about his mental preparation and where his head is at.

“About being prepared for the upcoming assault. I feel torn, there is a duty for me to align my skills for the protection of the people. But a wild desire floods my brain for the taste of vengeance. These two things may seem like they correlate but they are very different feelings. One is duty and the latter is ego. One is discipline and the other is chaos. I am not without fear for the future, my dreams trouble me greatly. But my faith in Second Chance, The Quinity, my friends and loved ones. It all gives me strength. So it is okay to have my doubts,” Barracker smiled.

After talking some more, Barracker mentioned his plans to check in with his family at the orphanage. Barracker extended his invitation for Adam to join and meet the trouble makers and his mother Anne, if he was not doing anything this morning.

When the time came he collected his gear from his room and came back down ready to leave.

Last night had been arranged 48hrs in advance. The Thieves Guild was a pretty big establishment - big enough that it was never 'too busy.' Well, The Lions had put this notion to the test. All one hundred of them had descended on the place, filling the beer garden outside and a significant portion of the inside too. Zell had been prudent enough to warn the owners of this coming avalanche of patrons, so extra waitresses, barmen and bouncers were on shift. Still, it was all hands on deck and chaotic in the infamous tavern that night.



Biff, Chip and Kipper didn't join in for the fifteenth verse of the tavern song that had been composed by Smithy, a Lion with a talent for drumming and pretty decent singing voice. The fact she had made up the song, right on the spot, was impressive to say the least. It was catchy and easy to remember, making it the new theme song for the family. Biff, Chip and Kipper were happy to sing it, but it was time for a break. There would be others not yet bored of singing, who would continue on without them and, no doubt, the song would still be going in one section or another, when the three men were ready to join back in.

"Ha, look at Kipper," Chip laughed. "The runt's wasted."

Kipper was swaying on his seat, a big goofy grin on his face. The young lad was an emergency draftee - barely into his adulthood and a total novice with a sword, but it was just like Captain Zell had said: He was the bravest Lion in the family, considering the context. He was no soldier but had stepped up to answer the call of his city, a deed worthy of great respect.

Biff, the longest serving Lion of the three, smiled and put his arm around Kipper. "This is your first time drinking, ain't that right, lad?"

Kipper nodded. "I've had a beer before." He hiccuped. "But never this many."

Biff and Chip laughed. "Aye, we'll get you a wench tonight, you'll be a man grown afore you step to the enemy, make no mistake."

"I'm not a man," Kipper shot back. "I'm a Lion! Oorah!"

"Oorah!" the other two returned in chorus, then practically dived on Kipper with congratulatory affection, giving him a headlock and tussling his hair.

...

Meanwhile, Zell who was working the room, making sure everyone was having a good time, spotted his face-tatted friend and contact to Valhiem's underworld.

He appeared next to Devon at the bar. "Alright, mate."

"Baby-face." Devon looked offended, but not because of Zell. "By the forked fucking beard of Hades, what is going on in here, tonight?"

Zell chuckled. "Bit busy, ain't it."

"Just a bit, aye." Devon got the beer he ordered from one of the three overworked men serving customers. He held the tankard as he turned about to lean back on the bar. "There's nowhere to bloody sit."

Zell mirrored Devon and put his back to the bar, elbows on the counter-top. "These are my lads, from the military garrison. I'm a Captain now, don't ye know. And we are The Lions."

"Yeah, yeah, hear us roar, I fucking got the message, the first fifty times." They both laughed. "Captain eh. You sure like to get around. And I've been hearing word about you and your party, Second Chance."

"Oh yeah?" Zell inquired coolly. Devon confirmed that Second Chance's name was everywhere. From the underworld to the wealthy lords. He also let slip, as he spoke of his new bodyguard gig, that he wasn't going to be around for much longer. "What do you mean? Where you going?"

"Uh, shit," Devon cursed. "I can't say. Said too much already."

Zell wondered for a second, then put two and two together. "Look, if you've got a way out of here, makes no difference to me, mate. Didn't you say that you were from down south? Valhiem's not entitled to your loyalty. I don't give a fuck what you do. And I'd be happy to look the other way, for a friend. I'm just fucking curious, is all." Devon glanced at Zell before his eyes returned to the taproom. The singing still hadn't completely died down. "Come on, Devon. Spill the tea, will ye."

"Fine. But you keep this quiet, alright..."

Devon leaned towards Zell to talk quietly closer to his ear. Zell leaned in too. The words between them were muted under the ambience. Zell nodded as he listened, then suddenly went wide-eyed...

He was stressed.

For once it wasn't about the stupid cube, steady progress had been made on it now that the 'defense' mechanism had been identified. Any cleric of Syllagy would help resolve the damn thing but apparently expecting members of the clergy who follow a Goddess of deception aren't keen on revealing themselves just because. That was something that irked him more than he cared to admit and when he had been told he had nearly blown a fuse, fully believing them -and their Goddess- to be on the enemy side.

He said as much and what followed was a very extensive session about gods from a scholar's standpoint. Gods were not omnipotent nor omniscient, they had limited capacity to see the mortal world as well as act, according to records it used to be different a long time ago but something changed, restricting the gods from interacting with the mortal world in significant ways. Including their own Domains. As an example she used the Wraith his party took care of, it was siphoning energy from Hades' Domain over the dead and despite being so much weaker it was capable of contesting Hades' influence on his own church.

This was very much the same.

Their side might have used a ritual or forbidden magic to force Syllagy's Domain as protection for the cube, the Chief's current theory was that the divinity was enforcing a lie over the cube, something akin to an illusion creating the concept of "The cube is inert" preventing them from perceiving any reaction to any of the tests they had run earlier.

But that was a tangent.

He was stressed because Zell Fucking Brooks.

The ritual two days ago had been perfect, all the materials were gathered in good quality and Areleth had been willing to help by lending him a sacred ground to perform the ritual once he hinted at the situation, with everything ready the ritual was as potently as it could be ...which brought the point of his frustration, the only way that the ritual could have failed would have been if the recipient was unwilling to undergo it.

And fail it had.

The conclusion was evident, Zell doesn't want to get rid of the Black Sword.

He split.

One side of him was darkly amused, gleeful that his killer would fall in such an ironic manner. The other was raging.

For a moment there was stillness, the next both hands were cradling his head as it felt like his skull wanted to split apart, two streams of thought in disarray pulling in a different direction and colliding with each other, he should give up, he should keep trying as many times as he could, he didn't deserve it, he wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him, he should show mercy, the black goat would collect their due, they could run, from the witch queen?

"No"

The headache subsided slowly, like a faded memory that was being remembered wrong, each moment felt clearer than the last, and before long he allowed his hands to retract.

The sight that grated him was of his smashed nightstand, looking around it was clear that he hadn't remained still during his little episode. Moving slowly he picked his things from the rubble, it was a miracle nobody had come to investigate but with the morning noise and general tension in the city perhaps it wasn't that strange, still, he would have to report this to Freddy and pay for the damages, he would be lucky if the man didn't just throw him over it.

What a rotten way to start the day.

---

Good news: he wasn't thrown to the streets.

Bad news: the furniture wasn't cheap.

Despite absolutely putting a sizeable dent in his pocket Freddy was understanding, having rented the rooms to Adventurers before he was aware of how rowdy they could get sometimes and judging by the way he recoiled when he saw him the innkeeper probably realized that what happened wasn't something in any way normal.

Breakfast felt like a chore, there was a disconnection between himself and the rest of the world that he couldn't ignore, it was almost as if he knew he was replaced and the world didn't care, like an impostor praying that somebody would notice and rat them out.

It was an ugly feeling.

"James"

With a startle, he noticed someone was sitting in front of him.

Fenna looked back with impassive eyes, the same sharp eyes she had whenever she was relaxed, they reminded in of Sil's, the same calm but deadly gaze it looked at the world with when it was perched.

"Oh hey Fenna, sorry I was distracted, wassup?"

The conversation developed in a surprising way, seemingly Fenna had received an unexpected boon from her las Ascension, a healing spell similar to his own. For a brief moment he felt the world regain a little of color before it returned to its gray hue, the idea of another healer in the team was extremely appealing with how often he ended hurt having another person able to save one of his party members' lives was invaluable. Something Fenna agreed with as she asked for help regarding medical expertise, now he wasn't really a doctor so the idea of just giving tips was way too uncomfortable so instead he shared a proposal "I know a place where you can get good practice, we can go tomorrow night if you want" She left that as a maybe, saying she had to think it over.

Then his world was brought to a halt as she talked about her encounter with a glowy pool of water on the spa and how her first instinct was to reach for it!

The melancholy that was clinging to him was swiftly discarded replaced with sheer horror and concern that then he forcefully turned into anger.

"Fenna, can-can you explain things from the start, please?"

"Captain?"

One thing about Baphomet - love him or hate him - was that: He was right more often than not.

Pretty upfront too, as a matter of fact. He made no secret of anything. He was not adverse to admitting that he was out to coerce Zell into being his champion. He did not deny being a malevolent force of destruction - took pride in it, even. He conceded that he'd probed every channel in Zell's mind for weakpoints and that he lacked the necessary knowledge to understand half of what he'd found, which was something that had never happened to him before, when preying on a mortal. And now he'd come to respect Zell and see that he would get nowhere if he did not discard his usual ensnarement tactics and treat the situation as what it was: The crossed paths of two equal entities.

But yes; Baphomet was right more often than not. He'd called Zell weak because the swordsman was completely devoid of magical affinity. He was right. He said that the Englishman needed him and would not be so stupid as to want to seal Baphomet's influence and thereby seal The Black Sword's enchantments. He was right. He told Zell that his ceiling of potential was of mythic proportions, but, without external help, narrowed to a specific speciality. He was right. And he was adamant that they were a perfect match for each other. As much as Zell didn't want to, he couldn't help but agree.

"Captain Brooks?"

It was like fate had brought them together. Their uniquely powerful abilities synergized beyond belief, with Ascension only furthering already-insane implications. And then there were the possible pieces to the puzzle, if Zell were to embrace his pact with Baphomet wholly. Most notably, he would be able to 'borrow' the Prince's incredible affinity for the Dark Domain, enabling him to learn magic and covering up his major weakness. And with Zell having already pried open a passage to the criminal underworld, there would be unregulated access to Dark Domain secrets at his fingertips. Zell's cunning, creativity and willingness to take titanic risks in high stakes situations was the exact recipe of traits required to maximise this advantage. A glimpse of the potential results had already been seen at the finale of the fight with Zigmund.

A combat god with the magical capability of a Prince of the Oblivion Plane? With a glitched-out Source Crytal, no less?

They were a perfect match indeed.

What was Baphomet getting out of all of this? An unrivalled champion who would exert his influence by way of destruction. Baphomet didn't care about what constituted good or evil on the mortal plane. He didn't care for the Witch Queen or the Empire. It just so happened that it was usually horrible degenerates who were willing to entreat with the Oblivion Plane, using the power to commit atrocities, or falling to the price of a curse by virtue of being too weak to handle it. If the good guys wanted to use Baphomet's power, it made no difference to him, so long as they wielded power in his name. Influence in the mortal plane was worth political capital in Hell. And life eseence was like currency. Baphomet saw in Zell, his most powerful partner ever. One who could help him dominate the other Voidling Princes for aeons. Neither Zell nor Baphomet had to care about eachother's world to make this partnership work extremely well for both of them.

Then why does this feel so bloody wrong? Zell wondered. Do the Quinity not do the exact same thing? Is devotion and worship not their currency and capital?

"Zell," Sergeant Rawls said loudly, once he neared.

Zell was shaken from his reverie, and looked both ways before setting eyes on the Lion. "Yeah?" The block was looking for direction on the next training exercise. "Oh. Err... this will be the last day for heavy endurance. So let's make it a good one."

Zell gave out orders and the training continued. He halfway-apologised for day-dreaming and tried to put his mind back in the present, hard as it was. Ironing out his thought process about Baphomet (whether delusional or not) was actually his way of getting away from the real problems that were plaguing him, weirdly enough. The truth was, he felt like he was losing the two people closest to him. MacKensie and him were barely talking, the Frenchwoman putting up a bare-minimum level of conversation and courtesy to him when around the group, as to not arouse suspicion. Ever since their 'non-date' - which had been an absolutely amazing night, followed by a complete fucking catastrophe of a morning - things hadn't been right between them. And then there was James, who was smart enough to figure out that Zell was not being honest about the Baphomet situation, which would illicit who-knows-what feelings in him towards Zell. Not to mention, the Mexicano was harbouring Second Chance's nemesis in the most complex entanglement of thoughts and feelings that were humanly possible. What was once ultimate, pure unadulterated trust for James, was now poisoned by paranoia, uncertainty and guilt.

The Baphomet situation would feel like such light work, if he could figure out a way to fix his relationships. Honestly, he'd give up his soul right now, if the Voidling Prince could solve his problems with MacKensie and James. Perhaps if he could just get this coming battle out of the way, then he would gladly see The Black Sword destroyed, if it was that which would truly help him. But he did need Baphomet for this battle. He was simply not good enough to face the mountainous task without him. Valhiem was on the line. Just one more battle.

What a clusterfuck.

"Are you feeling alright, Zell?"

"Huh? What? Oh. Yeah... yeah, I'm fine. Just err... a bit tired, mate. No excuse, though. Let me jump in this training session! Show you lot how it's done, eh! That'll wake me up! Oorah!"

Just one more battle... I sound like a fucking drug addict. Do I really have this under control? Am I delusional?

Adam listened to Barracker's words about mental preparation and the letter, nodding in agreement with the sentiment. The only thing the Druid really needed to add to that was “I can only imagine what you've seen personally,” he stated sympathetically. “Destroying everything for the sake of power is no way to live.” It was brief, but it was the truth.

What the Paladin said next, that was something that probably deserved more attention. And Adam knew he wanted to be there for his friend. “Right, nobody's perfect. Being able to do what is right despite any internal or external obstacles in your way, that's what matters. You probably know that though, so I don't need to preach at you.” The fisherman smiled, then continued. “And if you ever need to talk about your fears, or anything else, you know where to find me.” Ending his little speech with what mattered the most, he gladly accepted the vampire's invitation, mentally noting he could use the break from his work.

“Trouble makers, huh,” Adam stated to his friend as they walked towards their destination, “I have one of those, back home. My brother Eric is one of the smartest guys I know, but that doesn't mean he didn't do his fair share of stupid things.” The Druid chuckled at this, remembering a few or more dumb stunts his sibling pulled. He also knew an Anne, but he felt she wasn't really relevant to Barracker right now. Maybe later.

“So, do you have any siblings yourself?” Just because the Paladin hadn't mentioned any yet didn't mean there weren't any at all.

Out on the training yard, the block named The Rabbits split in two, half going with MacKensie onto the archery range while Grimes took the other half for sword and shield training. She was glad to have Grimes around, a man who understood the technical aspects of melee combat much better than her. She, herself, relied purely on instinct, speed and lightning reflexes to carry her through any close-combat scenarios. This was unteachable. What she could teach, however, was sound archery fundamentals.

"Engage your core," she instructed to Wendel. He didn't understand her terminology, so she gave his abdomen a pat with the back of her hand. "Tense your stomach muscles as you draw." He did so, his posture straightening up. "Good. Feel how your hips and spine have aligned? This is how you should feel everytime."

She smiled encouragingly and left him to keep shooting.

"Tamsin. Lean forward slightly so that you feel your weight on the balls of your feet."

She patrolled the line of archers, correcting bad habits, periodically blowing her whistle to signal ceasefire so that all could go and collect their arrows. At one point, she was stood in place of one of her soldiers, showing him the correct way to place his feet while aiming, when her eyes caught the gaze of Zell across the yard. She quickly looked away, stumbling over her words and losing her train of thought.

"Why don't you try again and I will talk you through it, yes?" she said. The attempt to disguise her discombobulation was feeble, but it worked, the soldier none the wiser.

They trust I know what I'm doing, she thought to herself as she came around to the other side of the archer so she could put her back to where The Lions were training. They are counting on me to get them through this. And here I am, enveloped in my own drama. I have failed myself but I will not fail them. Your duty - above all else, Mac.

When Fenna brought some of her Falcons over to the range, she and MacKensie spoke briefly. Fenna mentioned that she had been enchanting the crossbow bolts MacKensie had given her, using her mana each day to make an equal amount of fire and ice bolts.

"Thank you so much," MacKensie smiled and touched the older woman's arm. "I will collect them this evening, before dinner."

Enchanted bolts in combination with her new, upgraded one-handed crossbow would be a monumental increase in her ranged damage. The new crossbow had replaced the old, fitted at the small of her back, easily drawn with her right hand. But she did not abandon her original crossbow, and wore it on her right hip, easily drawn by her left hand. Dual wield firing would require some alone time to practice - particularly the reloading aspect - but MacKensie was confident that she could make it work, at least for short periods of time in battle when she needed the extra firepower.

“Trouble makers, huh,” Barracker smiled at the druid's words. “I have one of those, back home. My brother Eric is one of the smartest guys I know, but that doesn't mean he didn't do his fair share of stupid things.”

“Have we not all,” Barracker smiled fondly remembering the antics that he, Krillen and Katrina got into. Even the pious and well behaved Evelyne was dragged into their craziness sometimes. “Kids will be kids”.

“So, do you have any siblings yourself?” The druid asked.

“Well, none by blood but I do consider the people at the orphanage to be my family. You see, I was raised an orphan, too young to remember my parents. The mischievous twins Katrina and Krillen, I would consider my dearest siblings. We were roughly the same age, spent almost everyday together along with Evelyne, my childhood sweetheart but she is not from the orphanage.”

While walking in the streets of Valhiem, Barracker was thinking about what was said in the tavern, he was happy to hear his friend mention that if anything troubled him, he would be another set of ears to listen. He was very appreciative of this and also that Adam was coming to meet part of his family, who he explained were all living at the Temple of the Quinity. “The orphanage is in the north east of the city so High Septum Areleth has been kind enough to move everyone closer to the bottom of the Citadel mountain.”

Circling back to the previous conversation, Barracker asked about Adam’s relationship with Eric. “Are you both close? You must miss him.”

On arrival at the temple, Barracker introduced Adam to the workers of the orphanage as he took him around the temple. Some were cleaning, some were washing clothes, but Barracker and Adam would find Mother Anne outside in the garden with the kids.

After laying his eyes on the kids, they did not notice him nor Adam, for a moment, he forgot to introduce Mother Anne to Adam as he was seeing something for the first time.“Mother, this is Adam, a friend of mine and part of Second Chance” he said, giving Anne a kiss on the head, all the while his eyes fixed on the kids fighting over the mysterious new contraption. After the introduction, Barracker went over to calm the situation between the kids, taking the weird device from them. “Enough kids, calm down everyone can use this?” He examined the device, which must have been a toy. It was a wooden plank with wheels.

“Tyrion and Eren made it, they won’t let me on it. Tell them” Isabella cried out upset.

The older kids came over with Tyrion. “It’s a skateboard. Remember, it was the thing that Fenna mentioned to Eren, about what her son played on, back in her world. It was when we were at the archery range.” Tyrion responded, trying to rejig his memory. The lightbulb switched on and Barracker nodded.

“Ahh yes, I remember,” he thought sadly, forgetting to ask Fenna more about her family at that moment.“She would be glad to see that you are all having so much fun with it.”

Mother Anne chimed in, “is that what you call that thing!” She shouted over with what power she had in her lungs. “It seems awfully dangerous.” she spoke to Adam a bit wheezy. She bent down slowly looking for her seat, and put her hand out for Adam’s assistance. After she was seated, she thanked him and gave him a smile of gratitude. Her missing teeth made her smile no less beautiful in Barracker’s eyes.

Barracker gave Isabella his cracked helmet and waited for her to put it on before giving her the skateboard. The Paladin returned to his friend, apologizing for not introducing him to the kids. “The orphanage is funded by the church but the Temple itself is not really built to have them all here.. There is just grass, nothing to play with. All their toys are at the orphanage so they get quite bored,” the Paladin explained to adam.

Eren, Tyrion, Isabella and the other kids got waved over. Tyrion came first, with his usual Barracker imitation of a formal salute, a fist to the chest, to introduce himself. The older kids followed suit. Isabella was toying with the hem of her flowery dress a bit shyly. Peeking just under the helmet halfway off her head, hand up to say hi.

Eren jumped into a hand out gesture to shake Adam’s hand. “It's nice to meet a friend of Barrackers.” Eren and Tyrion spoke synchronized. “What's it like in your world?” Then as Adam finished, Eren went big eyed, “Wait, you’re Adam, right?! You’re the one who can transform into a bear!” he grinned so big, “What's that like?”

After talking for a long time, Mother Anne got talking to Adam about her love for the children who grew up at the orphanage, she spoke as if she was their mother and spoke little tales about herself, which Barracker never knew. And days where Barracker was a bit more mischievous, along on his adventures that he and his friends and his sweetheart used to get up to.

“As you can see she is more than a worker, she is like our mother, and that is why we call her our mother.” the paladin put a hand on her shoulder. “She was there for us in our best and worst moments. Had enough love for us all.”

After the strong statement of affection, he was shooed away. “Go away with yourself,” she smiled, looking like she was tearful but over the moon, whilst slapping a hand onto his. “You will make an old girl blush,” then she turned to Adam. “Don’t you forget Areleth. I’ve dedicated my life to kids who have no one else. Two and half centuries and I don’t regret a day.”

They stopped for tea and Barracker made a mental note to not spend too long before he would politely drag the druid away and say his goodbyes. He did not want to take up Adam's whole day and also had things to do like check in with Warren and ‘The Bats’.

"...already told you, you bought all I had"

The neck of the corpulent man was bulging, irritation was clear on his face as he talked with a calm tone but it was clear that he was reaching his limit, even his politeness sounded strained. The surrounding people were trying their hardest to seem inconspicuous as they eavesdropped on the conversation, maybe it was a survival instinct that made them take notice, or perhaps the city of Valheim was used to the drama that arose from Adventurers, whatever the case it was obvious they were prepared to act if things took a turn.

"Fine!" James rubbed his eyes and let out a sigh "Fine I get it, is there anywhere else I can get it? I really need it"

At his words the big man seemed to relax, tense shoulders dropping by a small margin "I don't think you can get it anymore, with the city under siege all our supplies are becoming depleted fast, the only reason I still had some left was that I accidentally overstocked" At the man's words James' face fell and the man took notice "Look, I can ask around but I wouldn't get my hopes up, every day more and more resources are used up and any useful material is snatched as soon as it appears"

The situation was less than ideal, the material in question was an uncommon type of magical reagent used in rituals regarding barriers, were it a herb or some kind of bark he could have asked Adam to do something to grow more but sadly it wasn't the case. In the first place he had been lucky that the merchant before him still had some, the material was not used extensively so it was always stocked in small amounts and whatever there had been had most definitely been used by the city defenses, it was just a conjecture but he wouldn't be surprised if it had been utilized in a ritual to lessen the strain the barrier around the city had on the mages.

But that was not the point, he needed it for the second attempt at the sealing ritual.

Letting out an exhale he thanked the merchant and left the stall, he could feel the eyes of the crowd following him but he paid it no mind, already too preoccupied with a different worry.

Zell didn't want to let go of the Black Sword.

The corruption was worsening, he could see it in the way he sometimes stared at nothing, how he always made sure the sword was within reach, the small flinches whenever someone got too close to it. Fuck it was Abhorrent and he hated the way it made him feel powerless. There it was, his best friend suffering and he couldn't do anything, he had even tried going to the church to pray but for all Areleth told him the gods favored him his prayers were only met with silence.

He didn't know what to do.

Before he realized he was deep in some alley, knees tucked and back against the wall, hands grabbing his face as his eyes burned with the feeling of unshed tears. There was a part of him that was offering advice with glee, to do what he had to do. To avenge his own death and save his friend at the same time.

The other part was raging, screaming at the other and failing to get a reaction.

He was at his limit.

He just... he just didn't know what to do.

One last time he decided, he would try one last time. Shaking hands clasped each other and he began a prayer, listing each name carefully and promising to be a good little priest if they could help him just this one time.

After some time he finished and waited.

Ah

Of course that wouldn-

Zell had left his Sergeants under strict instruction to maintain a punishing endurance training regiment for the remainder of the day, telling the trainers that; the more Lions they could make vomit from exhaustion, the better. Then, in the last hour, they would all fight spar hard whilst drained, dizzy and weak from fatigue.

"Brothers. This afternoon will test your mettle. It's easy to be brave when you have energy. It's easy to be clever and quick. The true test of a soldier comes when he's dead on his feet. That is when lesser men lose heart. That is when lesser men break and beg for the end. Exhaustion is worse than pain. Pain can spur you onward. Exhaustion will do nothing but hold you back.

Remember this, at the end of today - familiarise yourself with what it feels like so you are ready for it, if it hits you in battle. Prepare your hearts and minds to carry your body through the heaviest weight a soldier can feel."

Zell would try to be back before the afternoon was over, but he didn't know how long his business at the summit of Citadel Mountain would take.

He made his way through the city and eventually started the climb up the mountain road. As he ascended, he looked out first at the beseiging enemy in the distance, then down to the city below. The top brass sure were cutting it close with how long they were taking to move the population up the mountain, he'd said as much to James and Adam one morning at breakfast. Zell thought it to be a bold risk - not necessarily incorrect, (it was more efficient this way,) but certainly an easier risk to take when one was already comfortable in the relative safety of the Citadel. He was pretty certain that the wealthier families of the Mayor and other City and Academy officials would already be up here.

"Captain Brooks. I'm looking for Ambassador Crane. We have a meeting at his accomadations, but I've forgotten where he's staying.............. Thanks."

Ambassador Crane. Zell had marked him as a target from the moment the man had opened his mouth at the midnight strategy meeting, the night when Second Chance first arrived back in Valhiem. He'd managed to get a little info about the man's job in the days since and confirmed to himself that Malcom Crane being a man of interest was justified. What the Englishman hadn't counted on was the bombshell that Devon had dropped on him, last night at the Brass Monkey. Zell wondered if Devon's intel and the Ambassador might be connected, and if so, to what end could Zell use this.

He found himself outside the Mayor's second home, in the small residential area on the edge of the Citadel. Apparently the Ambassador had a guest-floor of the place as his own living quarters, for the duration of his stay in Valhiem. With the Mayor often not there, this accomadation would be a pretty spacious and cozy arrangement. Probably not so much, right now, with the Mayor and his wife forced to live there too.

A guard was on the front entrance, which made sense, seeing as the Citadel would soon become extremely overcrowded the scared and desperate citizens. Zell was told that both the Mayor and the Ambassador were at the Central Bureau, so Zell nodded a goodbye to the guard and went on his way.

Or at least, he appeared to.

As soon as the guard was looking the other way, Zell was making a right turn into the narrow passage between two buildings and making his way back towards the Mayor's home. He found himself officially breaking the law at the point where he was climbing up the gutter of the house next door. This was not the brightest idea, Zell was not the stealthiest individual, nor was he high enough up to avoid being sighted by literally anyone who cared to look. Fortunately, there was nobody in the street.

Once level with the second floor windows of the Mayor's home, Zell looked through those windows, saw inside, then braced himself to jump.

Twelve yards.

Diving across the gap, Zell managed to get close enough to the window before teleporting to his sighted location inside, stumbling as he materialised in the house, and almost barreling into some furniture that would've made enough noise to alert the guard downstairs outside the door.

Zell didn't waste any time, quietly making his way to the top floor of the home. He searched through the Ambassador's accomadation, looking particularly for a connection to the Thieves' Guild, but also any documents or letters that might reveal secrets that were being kept from Second Chance or even Valhiem altogether.

@xenon

Barracker's description of his family at the orphanage made Adam feel warm and happy. He could tell these people were very important to the Paladin. One more reason to defend the city, though not like it was needed. The conversation kept up all the way to the temple; the Druid asked questions about his friend’s siblings and sweetheart, and the vampire asked him two questions about his brother, which he answered in the affirmative.

“Very much so, yes. We were very different people, sure - I was into outdoor stuff, he was more interested in things like computers and video games.” Realizing that the vampire might not be aware of what the latter was, the fisherman explained “a video game is where you use something like a keyboard from the source mail or another input method to control actions on a screen.” Once he was sure his friend understood, the human returned to the main point of what he was saying. “Anyway, despite our differences, we love each other and I miss him terribly.”

Arriving at the temple grounds, Adam was glad to meet everyone. Some, like the workers, gave a polite introduction before resuming their work. Anne was much more open and welcoming. And the kids…well, they argued over a skateboard. Adam quietly chuckled to himself. Kids will be kids indeed, he thought. Hearing about Fenna's “role” in this reminded him he needed to talk to her more, though he didn't know when that would be. This training had kept him so busy that-

Adam's mind snapped back to the temple when Anne asked him for help sitting down. Of course, he obliged, happy to help someone who needed it and then listened as Barracker described the little ones’ lack of things to do. “That's too bad,” the Druid responded, wondering in the back of his mind if he could do something for them.

The man responded to the kids in kind, answering their question about Earth. Keeping it simple while being honest was trickier than he expected. How to summarize a planet with billions of people on it? Instead, Adam focused on his literal and figurative neck of the woods. “My world is a big place - lots of different people, cities, and places. My town, however, is pretty small. Lots of tall trees, friendly people, and beautiful lakes and rivers. My family and I liked fishing, hiking, ATVing, that sort of thing.” Even this opened up a can of worms - like, “what is an ATV?” And that required first answering the question of “what is a car?” The concept of a “horseless carriage” was new and exciting for these children. It made the fisherman feel warm inside, seeing this.

Isabelle, however, still seemed shy and maybe even a little nervous. Seeing this, Adam sought to reassure her. “It's okay.” Following this, he grew a sunflower from the ground and handed it to her. “You can have that.” The happiness such a thing caused her was infectious to the Druid, and a certain other orphan seemed to remember something after shaking the Adventurer's hand.

“Wait, you’re Adam, right?!  You’re the one who can transform into a bear!”  he grinned so big, “What's that like?”

For a moment, the shapeshifter was mentally taken aback, but the feeling didn't show and it quickly passed, replaced by genuine fondness. “Oh, it's something all right.” Best not to mention the spirit bear or its attempts at dominance - though in the subsequent times he transformed since the Zigmund fight (little breaks from the training), that struggle had become less significant. Still, it wasn’t something a little boy and his friends needed to know right now. “I could climb a rock wall in that form.” The kids “ooed” at that fact. “Really, it's unlike anything else I've ever done.” Actually, a lot of things in Mytheria were like that, he thought.

Adam was quite interested in Anna's tales of young Barracker and friends. The certain way she spoke about Evelyne specifically when she looked at the Paladin suggested something, though the Druid wasn't sure what. After a while, the vampire politely suggested they take their leave, stating that both had work to take care of. “Right.” This was true, however…

“I'd like to take care of something real quick first.”

Without giving anyone the chance to object, the nature magic user started casting in the middle of the field. Soon, oak trees arose, and they were bent at all sorts of odd angles and given thick, huge branches that connected to the other wood. Even the bark was smoothed out, holes were indented in the new creations for climbing, and one was even fashioned into a twisty little slide. In short, it was a playground made out of trees, an arboreal jungle gym of sorts for the kids to use.

“There you go,” was all the Druid said after he finished. The children were less restrained, however, running to their new equipment and playing on it with glee. Eren in particular seemed entranced by this new creation. They and Anne thanked the fisherman, who was happy he could bring some joy to them in this tough time.

Thanks to the hard work of the thousands of men and women in the industrial sectors, both skilled labourers and support roles alike, the mage-unit platforms were beginning to take shape and take shape swiftly. Foundational scaffolding had been put into place on all buildings that stood across the road from the north and eastern city wall. And on some of the buildings, the full-sized elevated platforms had already been built.

Once finished, there would be room for all magical units to stand above and behind the military blocks on the city walls, with each platform linked by small interconnecting bridges of rope and wood, enabling Druids, Wizards and Clerics to manoeuver wherever they were needed most, and use their vantage to attack over the wall or see what soldiers needed their support.

Taosi, Daughter of Iskara and Goddess of Crafts and Craftspeople - blessings and prayers from Clerics and worshippers alike supported the project, with Valhiem’s most skilled craftsmen managing to direct buildings and structures with accuracy and speed that would make Alaric the Architect proud. Blacksmiths and volunteers grinded out hundreds upon hundreds of nuts and bolts, and repurposed iron and steel beams. Michael Fern's direction of Golden Tree Park could not be ignored, nor could the inspiration of one Adam Phillips, who, by leading from example, had motivated Druids and lumberjacks alike to put in overtime to make sure the architects and builders had the quality lumber they needed to do their part.

By the end of tomorrow, Valhiem's magical branch of the defenses would be ready to deploy in support of the wall.



While Zell Brooks was discovering enlightening information about his 'person of interest' (and just in time, too,) the Ambassador, Malcom Crane, happened to be on his way back to the house, having realised that he misplaced some reports at home and needed to retrieve them. He arrived at the house and let himself in, going straight up the stairs to his floor.

The only hiding place available to the 6' 2" man in armour, was a tight squeeze into the small wardrobe in the bedroom. With what sensitive information the Ambassador was keeping in this place, his reaction to finding Zell here would likely not be good.

It had been a long day spent among his loved ones at the Temple of the Quinity, but next was an extraordinary sight to behold. Something that Barracker had never realised a druid could be capable of, something that must have taken an immense power to conjure, this was a climbing area, used by kids and made from wood. Such creativity in all the angles and shapes of the various ways the wood curves and grows from the ground. This he thought was beyond the climbing frame which was placed at the orphanage and had even more stuff to climb onto, the two worlds collided of the love of climbing trees and being high up off the ground with a playful nature of an obstacle course element attached. “Thank you Adam, for this I cannot thank you enough,” Barracker patted Adam on the shoulder and smiled along with everyone witnessing this creation and it was all for the kids to play until their heart's content. Adam had drawn the respect from all the kids and the workers, even mother Anne had showered him with praise, it was a wonderful sight to see and Barracker felt a sense of pride to be friends with the likes of Adam, Fenna and the rest of Second Chance. Adam and Fenna had made themselves so familiar with the kids and imprinted long lasting good impressions which they will always remember.

Barracker and Adam said their goodbyes to Mother Anne and the vampire called for the kids attention and told them that himself and Adam needed to take their leave as they Barracker had things to attend to and so the kids one by one gave their biggest hug for Adam, leaving no room to grab onto Adam as each kid saying their goodbyes did not release. Isabella was the first to say goodbye, looking up from the hug and never releasing the flower she had been given. Eren went for a hug and a handshake. “I’ll never forget you mister.” Tyrion gave a warrior’s embrace and as usual so did the rest of the older kids join in. They gave him their thanks and knew this would be of help during hard times. Mother Anne popped a peck on Adam’s cheek and patted his hand.

“Each one of you, I have met from the notorious Second Chance have been such a delight,” Mother Anne lowered her voice before continuing. “I feel now, you have done a kind deed. More than ever while his friends and loved one are away, he has no one and your group has treated him like family. He has told me all about his party members, I will not forget you either, it was a pleasure Adam”. Before giving a hug to Barracker, she croaked a goodbye, “Make sure you bring the rest of your friends here, I loved meeting the two, I am looking forward to meeting more of your friends. Make sure to tell Fenna that I, Isabella and some of the others have asked after her.”

Mother Anne had done the exact same thing as she did to Adam, she patted Barrackers hand and bid them both a good day. Barracker was happy with the visit and had also learned a load of knowledge about the type of place Adam grew up in and other special things that people in his world had crafted, alongside the skateboard. Cars he thought, what an exciting world, his mind trailed off. Vampires are a thing of fiction, kids on skateboards, people driving horseless carriages.

“Your world sounds remarkable,” he said on the way outside.

When it was time to part ways at a crossroads in the street, "Oh, and in case I don't make it through the battle, keep an extra eye on Eren. Don't ask me how I know, but he's going to be a Druid some day." The tone seemed serious and Barracker felt that Adam needed to be corrected and refuted with his own.

“We will share the same fate, you and I, of this I am certain. There is too much of a fighting spirit we share that we are done, this is not our last breath, this battle we will drink after we are made victorious.” Barracker spoke as if he was certain, as if he knew the result beforehand. “See you later.”

As Barracker cut through the marketplace, his mind on Adam’s words about Eren being a Druid, he spotted someone in the alleyway that stopped his thoughts. It was a familiar voice, and it sounded as if they were muttering a prayer.

“James,” Barracker spoke a bit cautiously, he went over to his captain, and gave him a quick check for any injuries. “Are you okay?”

It was pretty clear that he was far from okay, he seemed distressed. Barracker waited for an answer before helping him up to his feet. He suggested to his leader to come with him and the two went to a cafe in the marketplace. As the two sat down, Barracker mentioned it was a nice place and ordered some tea, waiting for it to be delivered before speaking, so they wouldn’t be disturbed.

“What’s on your mind Captain? You can talk to me.”

The Paladin was in great concern for his friend as he had only seen him calm and composed, even in the face of death. So he knew this must have been serious.

Zell picked up the solo glass sitting on the tray, on the table, eyeing it briefly before setting it down and picking up the bottle.

"Empty. He likes a drink," Zell muttered. He unscrewed the lid and sniffed. "Brandy. Good taste."

Moving on, he found some papers on a cabinet and scanned each one. "Nothing out of the ordinary."

It was when he went into the bedroom that he actually came across some pertinent information. It didn't take much snooping to find the packed bags under the bed. "Well, well, well." Zell dragged them out and had a feeling he knew what he was about to find. He was right. Clothes, a few rations and some toiletries. "Looks like our Ambassador is planning a holiday. And there's only one way out of this city, as it stands."

He searched the bags for letters or documents but found nothing. No money either, which made no sense. Even if he'd already paid the Thieves Guild for the extraction, didn't mean he wouldn't need a few quid to get back to Capitol City, or wherever he was going. After searching the rest of the bedroom and coming up with nothing, he stood up straight and put a finger and thumb on his chin as he thought hard for moment. His eyes wandered until he his eyes landed on the thing he didn't even realise he was looking for.

A painting on the wall was tilted slightly, showing a slither of the wallpaper behind, which was a shade lighter, having been normally protected from dust when the frame was straight and in it's proper placement. "Aha." He went over and unhooked the painting off the wall, revealing... "Bingo." ...a safe.

Zell was no safecracker, but he did have a pretty good lockpick on his person. He drew his sword and held it with two hands in a stance that prepared for a stabbing attack. "Take Vor..." This would take some precision - a stab just above locking mechanisms, bringing the sword downwards as he withdrew. "...Baphomet."

<Sssing>

The quick, fluid motion. Razor sharp technique. Speed and precision. And of course, the steel alloy of dark iron and oricalchum went through the heavy safe like it was nothing.

Zell smiled darkly as he sheathed his sword and pulled the safe door open, the sliced metal lock-bolts falling and clattering on the wooden floorboards as he did so. And there were the prizes; a pouch full of platinum and gold, and a bunch of documents and envelopes. He sat down on the bed, using a pillow for his back, at the headboard, and putting his feet up, crossing an ankle over the other. Suddenly he got a... well, not a pain... but something... a feeling deep in his skull. It was strange, he couldn't do anything but put a hand to his temple as he was taken by it. Then the presence of Baphomet could be felt. As if the Devil was sat behind Zell eyes and watching the world through the Englishman's vision. This was a worrying development. Baphomet wasn't usually around until Zell was sleeping.

There was no time to contemplate the matter any further, as sounds could be heard coming from downstairs. Zell perked up. Someone had come in. And they were heading up the stairs.

"Crap." Zell looked around for a hiding spot and saw the wardrobe. He jumped off the bed and quickly went over, opening the doors and seeing the cramped little space. "Double crap." He was not fitting in there. Not quickly and quietly, at any rate. He had to get out of this room, but now the footsteps were closing in on this floor. It was the Ambassador!

After realising that hiding was not an option, Zell quickly decided on the kind of play he would make here. Fortunately, it was one from the playbook that fit his strengths. So, he quickly shut the bedroom door, went back to the bed and reassumed his relaxed demeanour with his feet up and a document in his hand. On the other side of the door, Zell could hear the Ambassador moving around his living room area, here and there, until finally the footsteps came closer to the bedroom. Zell pretended to be reading as the door opened and looked up with mild surprise, like one of those corny commercials. He even said the line. "Oh, hi. Didn't see you there. You must be wonderin-"

He didn't even get to finish his meme as the Ambassador, horrified, took a step backward and then turned to run. And turn he did, but he ran and bumped right into the chest of Zell who had teleported behind him, bouncing off the taller, heavier swordsman. Zell had only used his teleport twice in battle, (once by accident,) but since figuring it out, it was quickly becoming useful in non-combat situations too.

"Calm down, will ye," Zell said, as if offended that the man would react in such a way to finding some stranger sat on his bed. The Ambassador backed up, terrified and fell back on the bed into a sitting position. "Malcom? Or Mr Crane? No need to be alarmed. Remember me?"

Malcom Crane narrowed his eyes as he tried to remember. It took him but a brief moment and then his eyebrows slowly rose. Zell nodded slowly as the understanding dawned. The Ambassador was still confused. "Wha... What do you want?"

Zell folded his arms and leaned on the doorframe. "Well; when I found out, through my contacts, that the Thieves Guild had a secret, underground escape tunnel from the their headquarters to the outside of the city, my first thought was, 'Who is important enough to need safe passage out of this siege?'" he started. "Of course; not everyone is going to be able to use the tunnel. Not everyone has the money to pay, for one. And for two; if too many people start piling through the tunnel, the enemy is sure to catch on. So; who needs to go?" he half unfolded his arms to gesture about casually with a hand as he talked. Malcom just sat there, still alarmed but listening at least. "And that's when I thought of you. Of course. You have to survive. A man of your esteem? In your position? You have to make it back to Capitol City, if possible, to report on the situation. To lend your expertise and advice on how to proceed."

Zell walked over to the bed and sat next to Malcom Crane and sighed. "We need to get you out of here. And I see you've already figured things out with the Thieves Guild, you've got your bags packed and everything. Problem is, you've paid to use the tunnel... but whoever you've hired to be your bodyguard is a complete and utter waste of money." The Ambassador arched an eyebrow. Zell looked back at him, unperturbed. "If the enemy catch you, outside the city - trust me - your bodyguard is not going to stop them killing you all. You need a real fighter. Someone powerful. Someone saaaayyy.... from a party who slew Aurok the Maneater. Catch my meaning?"

After a moment to process everything, the Ambassador was slowly but surely falling for the pitch. And why not? It was probably true. But of course, with this all being highly illegal, the city official was on edge. "Why would you do this? What do you want out of it?"

"I want you safe. And once you're far enough away from Valhiem, I'll come back here and help defend the city. And, if I survive, maybe in the future, if there's a way you can help me, then you might be willing to return the favour." Zell shrugged, then nodded pointedly at the busted safe. "A small fee out of that sack of platinum wouldn't go amiss, too, if you're feeling generous. But mostly, just the friendship of a man in politics." Zell let him think for a few seconds before making the man's decision for him. He slapped his knee and stood up. "So... when are we leaving?"

"Ah.. err... tonight." And there was Malcom's answer and decision. Zell was pleased. It wasn't like the Ambassador could refuse, anyway. Zell was experienced in dealing with illegal activity. One advantage when extorting another criminal... they can't go to the police without ratting themselves out. Ell-oh-ell.

"Tonight? Alright, good," Zell said. "So long as whoever's in charge of the tunnel is going to let me back in, I'll be your escort. We'll get you a few hours away from Valhiem. If we can get on the West Road to the village of Cherrad, I think you'll be able to purchase a horse there. I'll be back in the city before dawn and nobody will have a clue what's happened. Job's a good'un."

Walking to his usual spot for training, Adam reflected on the time he had spent with Barracker and his family. The big group hug was unexpected, though not unwelcome. For a brief moment, the Druid had felt like he was home. Everyone was so kind, and had been so grateful for what for him felt like a fairly typical use of his powers. These kids were going through a siege, wouldn't anyone else in his spot use his magic the same way?

Isabelle was adorable, turning from shyness to clinging onto him, and Eren was also very nice. When he had said he wouldn't forget him, Adam had promised he would visit them again, which seemed to elicit more excitement. That was, assuming the fisherman lived through the battle, which was better left unsaid. Anne was very kind and gracious also - it was clear that she had the love and respect of all the children there.

Speaking of the upcoming fight, Barracker had a definite opinion on the outcome of that.

“We will share the same fate, you and I, of this I am certain.  There is too much of a fighting spirit we share that we are done, this is not our last breath, this battle we will drink after we are made victorious.”

Adam wasn't sure he agreed. Despite knowing the strength of Second Chance, he also knew that the enemy was fierce and certainly had things that he'd never seen before. There was no guarantee of victory here. Even so, he appreciated the sentiment, and thanked the vampire for it and for introducing him to his family before the two of them left to take care of their respective tasks.

And now that a certain empty part of Valheim was near, the Druid's work would begin.

-----

While Adam was training…

A certain gnome with a curly mustache walked up to Golden Tree Park. It was kind of impressive how everyone was helping grow trees, he thought. Not as impressive as I am though Xavier grinned at his own evaluation. Looking for a spot to cast, he saw a young, tan elf approach him.

“Good morning! Here to help?” Drake asked, followed by “great! Are you a caster?”

The mustachioed man chuckled. “I am not just any ordinary Druid. I am the genius of nature magic, Xavier Johnson! I have been busy drinking and whoring helping Valheim. Now, however, Wulrick made me I decided to dedicate my power to the city’s defense!”

“Oh, how nice, thank you! This will be the second genius I've met. Not that the first would ever admit it. He has such a work ethic! Inspired all of us Druids here to help with the chopping and loading, in fact. He's not here now, but hopefully you can meet him sometime.”

“Ugh, I can't just cast and leave, I have to work like a commoner now? How stupid,” the short man thought. “Although…”

“Maybe I should leave and find this ‘other genius’ who is slacking off on Valheim, then.”

“Oh, no thank you,” Drake responded to the now-deflated gnome, “he says the magic he's been working on the past few days is dangerous, and doesn't want anyone to get hurt.”

“Damn, this brat has an answer for everything.” “What is this guy's name, anyway?”

Upon “introducing” Xavier to Adam Phillips of Second Chance, Drake was very concerned. The look on the gnome's face made him look like he was going to faint!