"Tamma," Alson said with arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Yes?" Tamma held both her bows low with both hands, letting them dangle in front of her legs. She stayed in front of the others as they headed towards the edge of Abbus Forest.

"What was that?"

"Oh." The hunter turned around and lowered one of her hands down her body. "You're talking about... this, right?"

The guard nodded. "Yeah. That."

"It's a long story."

"We've still got a while to go before we're back in Farrowport.""

"You make a fair point." Tamma then turned her head to look at the seamstress. "Should we tell him, Miwah?"

The seamstress rolled her neck. "Might as well. He already saw you transform as well as the new powers you have access to."

"You knew about this as well?" Alson said to the Miwah.

"She can do it too."

"What? Really? I want to see it!"

"I cannot transform at the moment. It still takes a bit of time for it to recharge."

"How long?"

"A few hours I would say."

“Ah, I see,” Alson said with a shred of disappointment. "When the time comes, I'd love to see what your transformation looks like."

"If the time between transformations was not so long, I would happily oblige. But seeing as how I have to wait nearly a third of a day to access the Purifier form again, I think it would be best to save it for emergencies."

"Oh. That makes sense. No point in showing it off to little old me when your powers could change the tide of a surprise battle."

"If you want us to tell you more about our special powers, you have to make a promise to us," Tamma said, slowing down her pace so that she could walk side by side with Alson.

"Name it."

"You cannot tell anyone about it, lad."

"You know that I'm the one person that can keep a secret, Tamma." The guard tapped his temple with his pointer finger. "I've still got all those secrets you told me back when we were kids still locked away in here."

"Is he telling the truth, Tamma?' Miwah inquired.

"I'd say so. I never got in trouble because of Alson's mouth. I can say that for certain."

"See? You can trust me with what you were about to tell me."

“Although, we can’t tell for certain if he’s telling the truth.” Tamma paused, squinting at Alson. “He might have let something slip to one of his fellow men of the Farrowport Guard as part of a funny story.”

“I haven’t, Tamma! Honest!”

“I’m just messing with you, lad.”

"But we cannot afford to take any chances!" Miwah added, speeding up to walk on the opposite side of Alson. "It is bad enough that the most dangerous members of the Cutthroats saw us transform in their tavern. If anyone else finds out about the power that we hold, it could prove to be disastrous!"

"My lips are sealed. On my life, I'll never tell anyone else about what you two can do."

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Good." Tamma was then briefly coated in a thick light, only showing her silhouette. Once the flash expired, she stood beside Alson in her original attire. "As you can see, the transformation doesn't last that long. For now." The hunter lifted the emerald dangling on her chest and showed it to the guard. He eyed it with great curiosity as its sharp edges glistened from the sunlight. "This is where all of our power comes from."

Miwah did the same and presented her diamond necklace. "Those pieces of jewelry let you turn into a powerful warrior?"

Tamma nodded. "We just have to press them against our heart and then we get to turn into our Purifier forms.

"No wonder you want to keep them secret from everyone. People would try to snatch them up whenever they got the chance. I'm even tempted to take one to just try it."

"Wouldn't work for you, lad. These necklaces are essentially bound to us. Not to mention that you have to be special to use them."

"Why do I have the feeling that you're just trying to deter me from getting one of those necklaces things myself?"

"She is being honest, Alson. Very few people are able to utilize the power within these jewels. It is even rarer if you are a male," Miwah said.

"That's not fair."

"We don't make the rules, lad. That's just how it works," Tamma remarked.

"But you didn't say that it was impossible for men to get those powers. So there is still a chance that I could do what you two did!" A smile grew on Alson's face as he looked at the other two for approval. Both women faced each other, both looking disappointed for the guard's sake. Yalch hovered between them, directly in front of where Alson was looking.

"Definitely not happening," Tamma said. "And you just proved it."

"What? How?"

"There is an important detail that you have not noticed," Miwah said. "And if you still have not seen it at this point, then I am afraid you never will." The ghost flew in front of Alson's face, waving his hand less than an inch in front of his eyes. The guard remained focused on the seamstress, completely ignorant to Yalch.

"Can you tell me what it is?" Alson asked. "Maybe I can change! I'm willing to put in the effort!"

Tamma shook her head. "It's not something that you can just practice or study. It's all down to luck."

With a frown, Alson kicked away a loose rock down the dirt path towards Farrowport. "Sure, sure. I get it. Keep the power to yourselves."

"It really isn't like that," Tamma replied. "We'd have our companion explain everything to you, but you can't see him. Or hear him."

"What? Someone gave you those necklaces and he's been telling you how to use them?"

"Somewhat. There is more to it than that, but I suppose that is the simplest explanation possible," Miwah answered.

Alson turned around, shrugging his shoulders and slouching forward. "Oh. I get it. You got a new friend you want to share secrets with. I'm just some boring member of the Farrowport Guard, after all."

Tamma caught up to her friend, placing both hands on his shoulders. "Not like you need a Purifier form, anyway. We both saw what you did back there when those willow lions were about to pounce on Miwah. You struck them down with precision!"

"That was just my instinct kicking in. Anyone with a sword could have done the same thing. But what you did? The way you made the entire forest light up with that spell. And then you took out both of those willow lions with a single shot. Now that's power!" Alson gave the hunter a friendly grin. "Maybe you should take my spot in the Farrowport Guard and I'll stick to the hunting. Those Ghenkans wouldn't expect you to be the one taking them out."

"I have a feeling that we will have to participate in a possible battle against the Ghenkans if they ever choose to go through with their plan," Miwah replied. "I know that most of the town's capable fighters have been sent to fight in the war. And from what I have witnessed, Farrowport is not prepared to take on a full-on attack from the Ghenkans."

"Maybe we could find someone else to give one those necklaces to. Someone who is already a strong fighter. Imagine how powerful they could be with a supercharged transformation."

Tamma shook her head. "That's not how it works unfortunately. Even if we could find someone that is a capable, the odds wouldn't be in their favor that they'd be able to use it at all."

"But we do have one more Beacon, Tamma." The seamstress stepped between the two. She lifted the other necklace out of her pocket and showed it to Alson. "Perhaps it is best if we try to find someone that could make use of this. The more Purifiers we have on our side, the better."

Alson leaned forward, his head tilted at an angle as he stared at the brilliant jewel dangling from the golden chain. "That's a pretty piece of craftmanship right there. That would definitely fetch a hefty price if you take it to the market."

"Or make some people want to seize it for themselves," Tamma added. "We already lost one to the Cutthroats. Narrita has one and it looks like she can make use of the transformation."

Alson groaned as he rubbed the palm of his hand into his eye. "I appreciate the extra bit of good news. First we have to worry about a bug infestation. Then Ghenkans. And now Cutthroats with superpowers. Is there a flood in store that we should be worrying about too? Or maybe an inevitable famine?"

"Let's just focus on the current problems at hand. We've got a lot to deal with already, lad. No point in cursing ourselves by adding in theoretical problems."

"Yeah, you're right. Let's get going back to Chaston's office,” Alson sighed. “The sooner we can start working on a plan, the better."