Emily stared down at the sapphire as faint light trickled from it, bathing the room in a cool glow. The rippling hue created a damp, refreshing atmosphere, warping like sunlight through water. A gentle, calming sensation rose in Emily, as beads of vapor began to collect on her skin.

It was like bathing in the purest spring imaginable. Everywhere the light touched, she felt renewed and invigorated. Just then, she noticed something else in the box. It looked like a folded scrap of paper or perhaps a piece of animal skin.

As she reached for the note, Kael abruptly grabbed the lid from the floor, slamming the box shut again. Emily glanced up to see his solemn gaze, his large hand gripping the box tightly and trapping her hand against it.

“I think that’s quite enough. I will need you to swear you won’t reveal what you saw here today.”

Emily blinked slowly as the feeling of being submerged began to fade.

“Mmm… yeah, sure. I’m not even sure what that thing is, other than it being pretty.”

Kael’s eyes still held a wild look as he searched Emily’s face.

“Did you somehow know what was in here?”

Emily narrowed her gaze at him.

“I just told you I don’t have the foggiest idea what I was looking at. What do you think?”

Kael tore his eyes away from the box, frowning down at it.

“Your partner, Alexander, wanted me to help you cross the burning dunes. I wondered why he came to us out of all the factions in…”

His voice trailed off as he wrestled with something before looking back at Emily with another searching gaze.

“You couldn’t have known, I didn’t even know…”

Emily could see his mind struggling to piece things together, but he was missing a crucial part of the puzzle—and she wasn’t about to offer it up.

She let go of the box, pulling her hands away and holding her palms out to show she meant no harm.

“Look, buddy. I did my part. This item seems important to you, but to me, it’s worth no more than what I can sell it for. If some strange machinations are going on in that skull of yours, leave me out of it. I’ve upheld my end of the deal; it’s not my fault you didn’t anticipate what was inside.”

Kael searched Emily's expression for even a hint of a lie, but she just held his gaze for as long as he needed.

After a full minute of scrutiny, Kael sighed.

“Well… then, you can tell Alexander that we’ll have to have another talk when we get to Lorethil. I’m not saying yes to anything yet, we have to get through this warzone first, but his chances of getting an escort just went up from zero.”

Emily watched as Kael opened the box just a crack as if he couldn’t quite believe what was inside. From what she could tell, it wasn’t fear of the sapphire itself but what it symbolized. Kael’s expression was one of pure foreboding.

Unable to resist, Emily broke the silence.

“I don’t know what that thing is, but care to give me a hint? Just to satisfy my curiosity…”

Kael looked up at her, and after a moment, a tired smirk crossed his face.

“Not really. I think it’s time you headed out, Emily. I’m grateful for your help, but it’s getting late, and we wouldn’t want any unnecessary rumors about us starting among my men, now would we?'

His tone was sultry, and that’s when Emily realized she was alone in Kael's quarters, with him in his casual attire and his armor scattered on the floor where it had fallen. She glanced at the artifact breastplate lying there and snorted.

“I think it's a little too late for that one, bossman,” she said, amusement drifting through her voice.

“But you’re right. I’ve got things to do and people to see. Give me a shout if you need something opened again—same price as the first time.” She said as she tapped the scepter on her hip and backed toward the door.

Kael caught sight of her scepter and huffed, the last tension leaving his shoulders.

“You’re going to drain my coffers dry, I can just see it,” he said, his tone thick with amusement.

Emily’s smile widened as she slipped out of the building, closing the door behind her.

She leaned against the door for a second, letting a breath escape her lungs.

Kael was intense, even when he looked like he was relaxing on his bed, he never lowered his guard. Emily never found a single opening she could exploit if things had gotten bad in there.

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For now, he still needed her but she had to get stronger to defend herself. With people like Jerhia and Kael in the world, she could only imagine the powerhouses were out there.

Right now, she was confident she could at least escape them, but that was all. She couldn’t stop them or even bring Alex with her, not unless they had weakened themselves considerably before fighting her.

Emily stepped away from the house and made her way through the streets, she found a passage that would take her straight back to the camp but stopped there.

She let a little vitality through her chest as she sent out a pulse, finding her blood shortly after, turning in a northerly direction she went after Alex.

She was surprised to find him outside a large blacksmith shop.

By the looks of things, he was repairing the outer part of the structure in the dead of night. There were lamps nearby but not another soul in sight.

He was bundled up as he cleared away debris and snow from a partially collapsed wall.

“What in the world are you doing?”

Alex’s head shifted up and he caught sight of her.

“How did you find me?” he asked looking shocked.

“I followed you earlier, but you didn’t answer my question. What are you doing?” She asked as she let herself into the waist-high gate.

“Doing some repairs in exchange for a place to lay low. You’re way too good at following people, if you don’t get a title for it soon I’ll be surprised.”

Emily grinned at the man as he continued to work.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Alex snorted as she continued to stack rubble into a wheelbarrow.

“Take it however you like.”

Emily stepped through the hole in the wall and into the building. She was right that it was a forge and not too dissimilar to the one Maiz owned, but Alex followed her deeper in.

“The man that owns this place is upstairs at the moment, so what are you here for?”

That was exactly what Emily had been hoping and rounded on Alex.

“Listen, what ward did you give me? I just about opened every lock in that house and probably some outside it.”

Alex’s brows rose.

“So you actually managed to cast it?”

Emily frowned sensing something was off.

“What the hell do you mean? Did you give me a faulty ward?”

Alex shook his head as he dropped the rubble into a nearby pile and moved closer to Emily.

“No of course not. I just gave you a ward far more powerful than what you needed to open that thing.”

Emily sighed as she glared at Alex as he continued while looking completely unfazed.

“The one you used was a toned-down version of the one I opened the tomb with. It’ll unlock anything you come across, save for a really powerful lock like on a Mage’s tower.”

Emily ground her teeth, but at least now she knew. She’d been handed the equivalent of a skeleton key and couldn’t even muster the energy to be angry.

“Well, why didn’t you tell me that, what if I hadn't been able to open it?

Alex shook his head like that wasn’t possible.

“How long did it take you to power that ward?”

Emily frowned thrown by the random question.

“...I dunno, maybe twenty seconds?”

Alex chortled to himself.

“What? What’s funny? If I’d failed then you wouldn’t have been able to cross this big bad desert or whatever.”

Alex looked at Emily with an amused smirk.

“Emily… that ward should take over an hour to charge if you don’t have refined source on hand. Hell, most people wouldn’t even bother charging a ward of that level unless they had some way to pay for the costs.”

Emily paused and she cocked her head as it started to make sense.

“Ashe said that most people don’t have much internal source in them. But I noticed I can power wards with just the source in my body. I use a method this time to speed things up.”

Alex smiled like he understood.

“Yeah, I know…I felt it when I helped you with your bridge. Honestly? Even in my last life, I’ve never seen anyone with reserves as large as yours, and it kind of feels like they’re still growing. You’re like one huge walking reserve of power.”

Emily bit the inside of her lip as she sat on the lip of a cold forge. It was worrying that Alex had figured this out before her and not shared it. But to be fair, she shouldn’t be too surprised at this stage; this man loved his secrets.

“Alright, that aside. Did you know what was inside the little box Kael asked me to open.”

Alex crossed his arms as he leaned against a workbench.

“Sort of. I'm not clear on the details but it's something his tribe can’t survive without.”

Emily looked around the room and pierced together that she was in Daatril’s workshop, the only other smith in this tiny village.

Emily hummed as she refocused on Alex.

“From my conversation with him. I got the feeling that Kael didn’t care for his tribe. Why would he be so desperate to go back?”

Alex shrugged.

“Sometimes, even if we turn our backs on our roots, we can’t help but still care for those caught in the crossfire. His tribe must have been in decline since they lost that item, so he’ll want to get it back to them as soon as possible—if only to prevent the suffering of the innocent."

Emily took a deep breath through her nose. She couldn’t fathom hating a place and yet still wanting to save it.

There had been so few refuges in Emily’s life that she never bothered getting attached to any one place. The junkyard was the closest thing she'd had to a home, and even when she had to abandon it—and the only man who had cared enough to stay—she had felt only the drive to survive.

Emily looked down at her shaking hands. The tremor was subtle, almost invisible to others, but to her, it was unbearable. Clenching her will, she forced down the uncertainty and turned her gaze back to Alex.

“Alright, from here, what’s our next step? What’s waiting for us up ahead?”

Alex hesitated before answering. “Well, with things as they are, troop movements are completely different from my last life. We’ll be going in blind, but I can tell you we’re approaching the mountain ranges now. Both Lorthil and Sam’eth tend to avoid this area—it’s a nightmare for extended combat. The locals call the place we’re headed to ‘The Maw’ because it devours travelers with its many roaming beasts.”

Emily snorted. “Well, that’s just great. Glad we’re in a large group.”

Alex shook his head. “Our numbers might be enough to attract some attention, but that could work in our favor. If we’re quick, a group our size won’t be bothered by the truly large packs of roaming beasts, and we’re big enough to handle the smaller creatures effectively. Normally, Kael would replenish our numbers in a village before heading out, but that won’t be happening here.”

“Okay, so some mountain climbing. You know, I was never one for hikes. More of a shoplifting girl myself,” Emily said with a wry grin.

Alex didn’t even give her the satisfaction of a reaction this time.

“This is no joking matter, Emily. If we’re unlucky, we could stumble right into wyrm territory. The place we’re headed to is practically a paradise for them.”

Emily's eyes turned up at the corners.

"Well then we'd better not do that, I guess. Though if we do I won't be too bothered. I have a score to settle with those beasties."

Blood points: 156