After one and a half days of travelling, the caravan carrying Lakan and his fellow Mages arrived in view of Saymor.

Saymor didn't have any floaters, in fact the entire city was at sea level, it was also right next to the sea. Saymor was perched right next to a gulf of water that carved a small bulge into the landmass.

The gentle waves of the Gulf, called the Gulf of Saymor, gently lapped against the massive port in the city, from where many ships took off. Saymor was surrounded by highland, so everyone coming into Saymor by land saw the entire city from above first, in all its splendor.

Saymor was a colorful city, unlike Aku'anda's metal and stone architecture, Or Odan's reddish buildings, or Even Pirun's love of white, Saymor's buildings were painted in bright colors, and adorned with light brown clay roofs. Bright Yellow buildings, Blue buildings, Peach colored buildings, The contrast of the colored buildings, with the green of the surrounding land, and the blue of the ocean made for a very pretty sight indeed.

"Yeah, If I were Ganz, I'd hide here too." Binko said, looking out of the window at the city below.

The caravan traversed the land down towards the city, and Lakan noticed that Saymor didn't really have walls. They did however, have a very large moat around most of the city, which was so old that people were starting to build houses on stilts inside the moat. The large bridge that led over the moat to the gate had since been connected to these houses by rope bridges and half naked kids ran along these bridges with reckless abandon inside and outside of their parent's houses.

their caravan traversed the bridge and after a short search at the gate, entered the city proper. The streets were narrow, much narrower than the Aku'andans were used to, and the buildings were open, with large windows and rooms that were easily visible from the street. There were many spots where people gathered, partying or playing games. They all wore bright colored clothes.

"I had no idea Gan people could be this laid back." Binko remarked.

"Don't be fooled." Lakan said. "Seyrule is the poorest Kingdom in Gan, even Pirun is richer."

Binko looked at the old men and women relaxing at the play spots in the streets while young people danced and played games and music and bit her lip. "Maybe there's more to life than money."

"You sound like you want to move here." Hark remarked.

"They all look so happy." She replied. "I'm tempted."

Lakan chuckled and shook his head, the Caravan soon passed the open streets and entered into a much quieter, high brow area, where most of the buildings were fenced using tall brick walls. They travelled for about five minutes in this area, and then stopped.

"We're here." Lakan said.

Lufa Arabambi's house. They were in front of a tall red brick fence, about seven feet tall, with a large imposing wooden gate. The only things they could glimpse from the street were the tops of the coconut trees in the compounds.

The mages got out of the coach they were in, fetched their bags from another coach, Lakan paid the caravan operator his fee, and the caravan left.

"I'll knock." he offered.

He banged the tall wooden gate several times, a peep hole opened and then the gate opened. A young woman, around their age greeted them and welcomed them in.

"Welcome Mages, I am Keri Arabambi. Lufa's daughter." She said. "Please make yourself at home."

Lakan smiled at her and she smiled back. He made a mental note to take her out when he had the time. Hark and Binko simply observed the compound, it was built in Aku'andan style, with stone and Metal finishes.

They entered the large foyer and were directed to a living room. They all found their seats and Keri sat opposite them.

Stolen novel; please report.

"My father is on a trade route in the Rual Sea," She said. "So I will be your host today."

"Thanks, Keri." Binko said. "So what do you do?"

"Oh, I'm an elite war mage." She said, grinning from ear to ear, The Aku'andans were pleasantly surprised. "I actually took a leave from work to meet with you guys, I've heard amazing stories about Aku'andan Mages."

"Oh? Well," Binko smiled nervously.

"Well actually it's perfect that you're an Elite war mage, Keri," Lakan said. "There's not that many of us at all. We should all know each other more."

"Yes!" Keri agreed enthusiastically. "I've always wondered why most us of us keep to each other, We should be sharing knowledge and techniques to make Gan as a whole more safe and secure, right? Not hiding away from each other like we're still at war."

"Well," Lakan grinned. "In the spirit of that, We would like to work with you on a... sensitive job."

"Oh? I would absolutely love to!" Keri said grinning.

---

The following day, Keri looked down at her body with a pouty face. She was wearing an off-shoulder gown that hugged her body tightly all the way down to her ankles. It had two long slits on the sides, starting at her upper thigh.

"You look so beautiful. It's perfect." Lakan said, smiling proudly and poorly hiding his lustful gaze. Keri laughed nervously.

"I'm guessing Binko turned this down." Keri said quietly.

"Yeah..." Lakan replied. "but Binko's always been a hot-headed, brash woman. She doesn't have the kind of feminine softness we need. You, Keri, are perfect, Now Binko and Hark are already at the bar, Let's go join them."

"Okay..." Keri said, following him into her hovercoach.

about fifteen minutes later, they were at the location, the place called the Mousetrap. Keri entered first while Lakan watched her from inside the Hovercoach, as she walked in daintily, dozens of eyes turned in her direction, even if briefly. Lakan watched her and subconsciously licked his lips. He caught himself, closed his eyes and inhaled.

"Don't lose focus, Lakan. Ganz is the priority. Ass can wait," He muttered to himself. She entered, he waited twenty seconds and then went in after her.

The mousetrap was loud. Acoustic spells boomed the sounds of the hyperactive drumming band that was playing, sweating profusely as they produced the music that people were dancing to. The Royalty section was immediately visible. It was blocked off from view by a large red curtain and guarded by two comically large bouncers who, unlike Rubric Makon, were mostly tall chubby men, as opposed to muscular beasts.

Lakan watched Keri walk towards them, They looked down at her, asked her to turn severally, and then allowed her to enter.

"I would have punched that fool if he'd asked me to turn." Binko's voice wafted into his ears. He looked back and saw Binko and Hark behind him. They went to a table seat, away from the noise.

"I can't believe they just let her in like that." Hark complained.

"What's so hard to believe? Have you seen the woman?" Lakan retorted. "I had no idea Segi was hiding all this cake from me."

"your horniness is going to get us all killed.." Binko said.

"Last week you said my humor was going to get us all killed." Lakan replied.

"No!" Binko denied. "I said your *stupid jokes* were going to get us all killed."

Hark laughed and shook his head at Lakan and Binko's constant banter. Amongst Aku'andan war mages, they'd already developed a reputation for being a catty pair, and when Segi had been voted as manager, she almost never put them on a mission together.

They continued to banter for a few minutes until Keri came back out. She looked around for them, found them and came to their table.

"I looked everywhere in there, I didn't see anyone matching the painting you showed me." She said as she sat down beside Binko, opposite from the two men.

"Pay up fool!" Binko said, laughing, as Lakan reluctantly handed her a few jowons.

"What?" Keri asked, looking around.

"Don't worry about it," Hark said. "They just made a stupid bet about where you would sit."

"Oh? Oh I'm so sorry Lakan." Keri said apologetically.

"Oh, that's fine." Lakan laughed. "please continue."

"Oh, right." Keri continued. "So I didn't see anyone matching the guy, Ganz, you said?"

"Yeah, Ganz Lara." Binko said.

"Although..." She continued. "I saw my ex in there, for some reason." she laughed nervously. "I didn't know he was that wealthy!"

Lakan raised an eyebrow.

"Wait what?" He asked.

"Oh it was just a short term thing. He was such an asshole! it didn't even last a week." Keri rambled.

"When was this?" Lakan asked.

Keri looked at them. "Er... two weeks ago... is there something..."

Before Lakan could respond, a young man walked up to their table, Keri jumped and screamed out of shock at his sudden appearance.

"Bloody hell, Zeron!" she exclaimed. "What do you want from me?"

He told her to calm down, flashing a smile, But Hark's blood ran cold when he heard the voice.

"Why don't you introduce me to your new friends?" Zeron said with a grin on his face, Lakan started trying to insert himself into the conversation.

Binko noticed Hark's facial expression. She raised an eyebrow at him. He nodded slightly and elbowed Lakan slightly, causing the latter to look at him.

"What?" Lakan asked. Hark raised an eyebrow, Lakan raised his eyebrow, and Hark nodded slightly, Lakan looked at Binko and she nodded slightly as well.

Zeron noticed.

"I hope I'm not disturbing your discussion there fellas." He joked.

"No you're not." Hark said, Looking directly at him. The effect was immediate. His face lost his color immediately and his chuckle faded away instantly.

For a fraction of a second, everyone was frozen and silent, and then all hell broke loose.