Kahedin approached the mage tower feeling quite shaken. A guard held up a hand, stopping him.

“No one in or out,” the guard stated bluntly.

Kahedin rolled his eyes, snapping his fingers and transforming himself from a slovenly commoner into a stately mage.

The guard’s eyes went wide. “I apologize.” He stepped out of the way.

Kahedin hurried past, heading straight for the tower entrance. When he’d been sent out to gather information about the missing weapons and the rumors, he’d never imagined that he would come face to face with the wielders themselves. On the one hand, he was giddy with excitement. Surely this information would be so valuable that even Alazax could not deny him his promotion. He was tired of wearing acolyte’s robes. On the other hand, if the rumors were real and the magic was flowing freely once more through Andrysfal, it could mean that a new age would be heralded in, and there was sure to be war. The thought made him shudder.

He hurried upstairs, knocking on Alazax’s door urgently.

“What is it?” Alazax’s tired voice came from the other side.

“Kahedin, sir. Returning to make a report.”

Alazax grunted and the door swung open of its own accord. Kahedin stepped into the mage’s private quarters, looking around in awe at the many magical artifacts that lined the walls.

“Get on with it,” Alazax ordered impatiently.

“The weapons we seek are in Yaal.”

Alazax straightened, his eyes blazing with new life at the news. “How do you know this?”

“I’ve seen them myself. As you suspected, the travelers have them and they are headed toward the west end of town at this very moment.”

“You didn’t bring them here straight away?” Alazax sounded disappointed.

“I thought it better to take them in quietly. With so many eyes on the tower right now, I didn’t want to draw more attention. I have some friends waiting for their arrival. Once they have been captured, I will see to it that the artifacts are brought straight to you, and the travelers will be questioned discreetly.”

Alazax smacked his lips and nodded his approval. “When should I be expecting you?”

Kahedin shrugged. “It won’t take long. They are naive and I suspect they do not know the power they possess.”

“Go, then. I look forward to your return.”

Giddy with pride, Kahedin turned to leave, moving through the tower excitedly. He was so close to proving himself and finally taking the mage’s oath. After tonight, he would be one step closer to his goal.

Kahedin left the tower behind and walked past the row of guards without so much as acknowledging their surprised shouts as he passed.

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“Where do you think you’re-”

Kahedin said a word and stepped through the teleportation spell, carrying himself away from the tower instantly. Moving through the shadows, he made his way quickly to the rug shop, worried that he’d left his associates waiting on him. Hopefully they hadn’t done anything foolish while he’d been reporting to Alazax.

Fortunately, when he arrived atop the neighboring shop, he was pleased to see that the travelers were still outside. Apparently they weren’t as naive as he’d initially thought. They were standing in the alley and he could just hear them whispering about whether or not they should go inside. From this vantage point, he could just see the outline of a sword tucked under Brugo’s arm.

With a word he was at their side.

“Ah, what fortunate timing!”

The girl gave a yelp of surprise at his sudden arrival, and the tall man visibly flinched, but Kahedin ushered them inside the storeroom in a hurry, locking the door behind them with a wave of his hand.

“Where’s Miriam?” the man asked, his hand already on his axe.

Kahedin gave a broad smile. “Don’t be silly. You knew she wouldn’t be here, didn’t you?”

Two mages stepped out of the shadows, standing behind Kahedin. Anaya gave another strangled cry, her hand going to the pouch at her hip.

“Before you do something you’ll regret, let me just say that you’ve gotten the attention of Yaal’s most prominent mages. They are practically dying to speak with you.”

The travelers looked at each other in surprise and then the girl stepped forward.

“Wait, you mean you’re working for the mages? That’s perfect! That’s exactly who we’ve been trying to reach!”

Kahedin hesitated. This was a twist he was not prepared for.

“Is that so?”

“Yes,” the girl continued. “Something terrible has happened to a friend of ours. It has something to do with all this magic, and we need the mage’s help. Also…” She looked to Brugo and he began unraveling the bundle under his arm. “We found this. It was in a field. It killed a man, and we’ve been trying to get it to the mage’s order ever since.”

Dazzled by the sword’s sudden appearance, Kahedin stepped forward, reaching for it.

“Ach. I don’t think so,” Brugo said, taking a step back. “If you can get us into the mage’s tower, we will hand it over. But seeing how you’ve lied to us, I think it best we speak to whoever’s in charge.”

The sword gave a little sizzle and spark, and Kahedin lowered his hand, disappointed.

“That is fair. Although, I must warn you, the mages you are seeking are not likely to give you the help you hope for.”

“And why not?” The girl was growing agitated, and her friend placed a steadying hand on her shoulder.

Kahedin shrugged. “You may have noticed that they have many problems on their hands at the moment. I’m afraid your friend just isn’t that high of a priority to them.”

“He is if he disappeared into one of those beams of light,” she answered defiantly.

Kahedin gave another start. These two were just full of surprises. “What’s that? He disappeared into the light? But how is that possible?”

“We were hoping you and your people could tell us,” the big man stated dryly. “Now, if we could get this over with, I do have other plans, and I’d rather not spend all night here in the dark.”

“Fine. But listen. We can’t just go walking into the tower unannounced. We will have to teleport in with the help of my friends. If you’ve never done it before, it can be a bit of an uncomfortable experience.”

“No.” The big man was shaking his head back and forth in slow motions. He looked horrified by the very idea of teleporting.

“I assure you it’s not that bad,” Kahedin said.

“No. I’ll walk in on my own two legs, or not at all.”

The girl turned to him, her brows creased with worry. She whispered something to him, and he shook his head again, but she kept talking. Eventually the man gave a frustrated groan and a sigh and then nodded to her.

“All is well?” Kahedin asked, hoping to take control of the situation before things got even more out of hand.

“It’s fine,” she shot back. “If you’re ready, then let’s go.”

The three mages formed a triangle, joining hands around the travelers. Then, with a few words, the floor and walls began to shift, and suddenly, they were all standing on a stone walkway just outside the tower door.