Alis and Trevenor watched as Raymond’s group walked down the path that led away from Llendor.

“That old man was definitely powerful…” Alis said.

“Yeah, I could feel it. Even his son.” Trevenor agreed as he hopped into the driver’s seat of his carriage.

“Anyway, what are we going to do now?” Trevenor asked as his brother hopped into the driver’s seat as well.

“No idea. Head knight Yolson said that we were to pick up a duke or something, but they're definitely isn’t a duke in Llendor. Something doesn’t feel right about all this.” Alis said as the carriage rode off.

Their carriage was given to them by their superior after they were ordered to retrieve an unnamed duke. They were told that he would have an escort of knights and that they’d be able to recognize him as soon as they away him. But, it was clear once they reached Llendor that there was no such duke and their fancy carriage only ended up attracting the criminals of Llendor.

The carriage rode along as the brothers contemplated the vastness of Raymond’s power.

“Arrg!” Alis groaned.

“What?” Trevenor asked with a worried expression.

“I still can’t see it or even imagine it. It’s almost like he was a- ugh, never mind.” Alis moaned as they continued to travel along the path.

“Where exactly are we going? Should we return to Tolman?” Trevenor asked.

“Maybe. But in starting to think that the head knight wasn’t planning on us ever returning.” Alis said with a tinge of hatred in his voice.

“But it was Knight Hagert who ordered us to go to Llendor in the first place. It’s weird, but no one ever wants us around.” Trevenor said as his eyes wandered.

“Mmm…” Alis let out a pained drone.

“We ride for Ianndor.” Alis said.

“What will we find there?”

“A job.”

.

..

As Ianndor came into view, Alis and Trevor stopped the carriage by a nearby patch of trees.

There, they freed the horses from the carriage and removed their armour. Well, the silver parts anyway.

“Let me guess, we’re not going back to Tolman,” Trevenor said with a flat voice.

“You know it as well as I do, they didn’t want us there either way,” Alis said. His body had lost its silver shell and all that protected him and his brother were leather clothes and chainmail.

“I know. We’re deserters now, but I never felt like we were part of the order, to begin with.” Alis said as he and his brother walked down the path that led to Ianndor.

.

..

The two eventually arrived at the gates of Ianndor and their noses were assaulted by the smell of spices and fish, but the Aventor brothers had other things to worry about.

Alis looked around and quickly found what he was looking for.

Among the masses who had come to Ianndor in search of trade, some were looking for work and others were supplying that work.

Alis saw a man leaning against a wall in one of the many alleyways in Ianndor's outer district.

The man wore old, but clean clothes and had a cap that barely hid his yellowed eyes.

“Well if it isn’t little Alis. What brings you back to my neck of the woods? I thought you and your brother were living it up as knights.” The man said with a low and lazy voice.

“Hey Kosak, it’s been a while,” Alis said as he shook the suspicious man’s hand. Trevenor also shook the man’s hand.

“It has. How are my two favourite knights?” The man known as Kosak asked with an evil smile.

“Oh- we’re not knights anymore. The order tried getting us killed by sending us to Llendor on a fake mission.” Trevenor said.

“Is it because of-" Kosak stopped himself as the two brothers nodded.

“I see… well, that doesn’t matter. You’re home… sort of. What do you need? I’m sure you didn’t come here just to say hello to this old gutter rat.” Kosak said while wiping away a fake tear.

“Well, we are technically unemployed right now, so we could use some work and don’t worry…” Alis said as he handed Kosak a gold coin.

“I know how much you love monetary compensation for all your hard, but charitable work,” Alis said.

“Boys…” Kosak gasped while looking at the gold coin.

“Have I ever told you that I loved you?” He asked as his mouth parted, revealing a rather clean set of teeth.

“No, and don’t start now,” Alis said.

“Anyway, back to business. There’s actually a job that went up recently. I’m not sure about all the details but I’m sure it’s either really safe or really dangerous based on the employer.” Kosak said as he flipped the gold coin in the air.

“Who is it?” Trevenor asked.

“Kalnae Telnor,” Kosak said and the air seemingly cooled.

“Ok… this is going to be interesting,” Alis said while stroking his non-existent beard.

Kosak did the same, except he had a proper goatee.

“I know, but I wouldn’t have recommended the job if I knew you guys would be in actual danger from the get-go. So check it out and come find me here when you’re done.” Kosak said as he slipped the gold coin into his pocket.

“Ok. Are you still robbing innocent farmers?” Alis asked as he walked back into the traffic of people headed to central Ianndor.

“Nope. The gang and I have decided to become legitimate business people. Now, all we do is mess with prices, offer loans and the like. Although Ranz and the others are still at it” Kosak said as Alis and his brother walked off.

Anyone who was anyone knew that Kalnae was situated.

In a manner completely unlike that of a typical crime syndicate boss, she enjoyed spoiling herself and she could often be seen in fancy establishments and only wore clothes made from the finest of material.

This isn’t to say that she wasn’t well protected. She had several armed guards around her at all times, had multiple connections within the order of Eirini and some rumours even said that a normal person literally couldn’t touch her. As though she was protected by some sort of force field.

Alis and his brother eventually arrived at the place Kalnae was known to frequent.

They approached what looked like a random building on the outside, but the heavy presence of various goons and mercenaries told a different story.

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Alis and his brother approached the building, only to be stopped by one of the goons.

“State your business or turn around and leave.” The goon said, his heavy black leather armour was intimidating enough, but he also had various knives in various places. That coupled with his bald head and needlepoint black eyes made him the perfect goon. Appearance-wise, at least.

“We’re here for the job,” Alis said simply and the goon moved aside.

Alis wondered if verbal confirmation was all that was needed to get past Kalnae’s goons. If so, then she probably experienced a lot of assassination attempts.

Alis and his brother walked into the building and found that, unlike its exterior which was simple at best, the inside was lavishly decorated, but it wasn’t the marble floor or beautiful decorations that stood out.

That honour belonged to a woman who sat in the centre of the loud room. Her smooth dark skin and curly hair gave her unparalleled beauty. She had numerous scars on her head, but even they failed to take away the divine glow her face gave off.

Her eyes on the other hand were dark and cold. Everyone in the room remained silent as they waited for her to speak.

People of various looks and origins all remained silent as it seemed as though the woman was deep in thought.

Two goons stood behind her as she sat on her chair, which looked more like a throne really.

Alis then noticed that of amongst all of the people in the room, one seemed different.

Everyone else had a calm expression and casual stance, but a certain woman in the front row, closest to the woman who could only be recognized as the boss, Kalnae Telnor.

The strange woman in front of Kalnae also wore simple clothes and had a dagger clutched closely to her chest. Her simple clothes were drenched in sweat as she tried staring down Kalnae.

Alis moved closer for a better look and saw that the strange woman was crying.

Then it happened, the strange woman violently lashed out at Kalnae while spitting curses.

“Die! Die for what you did to my family!” The woman screamed before she was grabbed by the neck by one of Kalnae’s goons.

He moved rather fast, so it took some time for Alis to piece together what had happened.

The goon mercilessly squeezed the woman’s throat until a loud crack echoed throughout the crowded room.

Silence returned as the woman’s body stopped moving completely.

The goon walked out of the room with the woman’s body in his hands.

“Whew, now that that’s over, let’s return to why you are all here. I’m sure you’re all familiar with the name Dreegmus Scornly or the crusher. Well, he’s been blocking a rather delicious looking travel route and I want you to kill him.” Kalnae instructed. Her voice was low, yet it sounded as smooth as the finest honey.

“What?” A person exclaimed.

“That’s impossible!” Another said.

“No mere human can kill Dreegmus, you’d need the eminence or something.”

Such things were said by the now frightened crowd.

“Well, you can leave if you want,” Kalnae said and after a moment of hesitation, nearly half of the crowd left the room. What was once a group of thirty or so individuals, shrunk to about fifteen.

“Since you’ve stayed, I’m assuming you don’t care whether the target is one of the most dangerous people alive. Anyway, you shall be rewarded after the job is done. If you want further details, talk to this big idiot here.” Kalnae said as she pointed at one of her goons.

She then stood up and was escorted upstairs.

The goon Kalnae had pointed out approached the group of fifteen and looked each of them over.

“You head the boss, we’re going to track and kill Dreegmus Scornly. For those of you who are dying from curiosity, I’ll fill you in on why, even though it ultimately won’t matter whether you know or not. Dreegmus has been seen raiding many of the bosses workshops and in the fashion of a man known as the crusher, he’s been killing many of the bosses workers. He was last seen heading towards the Daeg Valley so that’s where we’re headed.” The goon said before turning around to leave, but before he could, a soft yet high pitched voice asked.

“What is your name? Since we’re going to be working together.” A tall and rather busty woman asked. She wore a rather worn-out set of leather armour. Alis saw that it looked strikingly similar to the set he and his brother wore.

Maybe she stole it from someone. Alis deduced.

The woman also had a sleepy expression that made it hard to tell what she was thinking.

“Well, if you must know, my name is Olif Pinter. Now, I’m off to gather my equipment. The journey to the Daeg valley isn’t a short one, so I suggest you do the same.” Olif said as he went up the same set of stairs Kalnae had gone.

Alis and his brother turned to leave as everyone in the group scattered.

“Hey, shouldn’t we stick together?” The woman from before asked.

One of the men scoffed at her question.

“Tsk! It’s every person for themselves.” The man said as he left.

Alis honestly felt the same way as the man, but his brother on the other hand…

“Hey, I agree with you. We should stick together.” Trevenor said as he extended his hand towards the rather large woman.

Alis did the mental equivalent of facepalming as he walked over to his brother.

“Trevenor… what are you doing?” Alis asked with annoyed eyes.

“I just think that it would be best if we worked together as a group. Surely this would increase our chances of survival." Trevenor said.

Alis wanted to grab his brother by the collar and drag him out, but the woman grabbed Alis’s hand and shook it vigorously.

“See? It makes sense.” She said while maintaining her sleepy face.

Alis then felt the vast amount of power the woman had as he shook her hand. He wasn’t sure by what degree, but the woman in front of him was powerful.

Alis then let out a faint sigh.

“Fine.” He said as the three left the building.

“Yey! My name is Reeca Topenmar, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” The woman said with a gentle smile.

“My name is Trevenor Aventor and this is my brother, Alis,” Trevenor said as they walked towards the central market.

“So, what are we going to get first?” Reeca asked.

“First thing we should get is some food. Then some- wait a minute! Where’s your weapon?” Alis asked.

Reeca raised her hand and particles of light gathered in he hand.

Rather short fosblade formed in her hand.

“Oh- so you were a knight,” Alis muttered.

“Yep!” She said before one of the city guards yelled at her.

“Hey, you! No magic within city walls.” The guard said.

Reeca destroyed her sword as they approached a nearby stall.

The three then bought whatever they needed and returned to Kalnae’s place where Olif awaited them. He too was in full gear.

“Let’s go,” Olif said and the group eventually left Ianndor.

Their destination was the Daeg valley which was a couple of kilometres away from the Tsav mountains. It was one of two ways a person could get from south Faacri to the northern part of the kingdom. The Daeg valley was also where Dreegmus spent most of his time when he wasn’t going around killing people.

.

..

About an hour into the journey, two of the mercenaries got into a little fight. It was clearly an attempt to show who was in charge and who was stronger, but both of them ended up getting beaten up by Olif. Thus firmly established that he was the leader.

Alis didn’t mind.

.

..

The hours passed by and they eventually stopped by a clearing in the forest.

“We’ll camp here for the night,” Olif said as he sat against a nearby tree.

There he closed his eyes and the others followed suit.

Alis and Trevor sound a tree and they sat by it.

Reeca followed them and sat with them.

“Working together doesn’t mean doing everything together, you know. If you’re feeling lonely, crawl up to Olif's side. I’m sure he’d enjoy some womanly care.” Alis said coldly.

“Your brother quite the cruel one, isn’t he,” Reeca said with a smile, although it was clear that her feelings had been slightly hurt.

“Pay him no mind. His paranoia can be useful at times, but his inability to trust others has often cost us many friends.” Trevenor said with a sigh.

“I see. Then is there a way I can prove my friendly intentions?” Reeca asked.

“I don’t think there’s anything you could do to gain my brother's trust-“

“A fight,” Alis said. He wasn’t so foolish that he’d miss the opportunity to train with a high-level knight.

“A fight?” Reeca asked as she brushed her long brown hair behind her ears.

“Yes. A sparring match to be specific. If we’re going to be… companions, then I’d like to know all of your strengths and all of your weaknesses.” Alis said as he got up.

Trevenor and Reeca did the same. They then followed Alis away from the camp.

Alis then created a fosblade in his right hand and faced Reeca, who also made fosblade.

“Ok, the goal is to pin your opponent down. Try not to lose too quickly.” Alis said cockily.

Trevenor found a nearby tree and sat up against it.

Then Alis charged towards Reeca who stood completely still.

Alis swung his sword across her torso only to have it perfectly deflected.

“Not bad, but can you handle this?” Alis swung his sword violently at an increasingly fast pace, but Reeca continuously blocked his attacks without breaking a single sweat.

Trevenor saw how one-sided the fight was and so decided to close his eyes for a bit.

Alis on the other hand Alis was getting more and more pumped up. He then stepped away from his opponent for a little while.

“Tsk! You’re holding back, aren’t you? I said I wanted to know your strengths and weaknesses, so take this a little more seriously.” Alis said, but all Reeca did was smile, this caused an explosion of anger inside Alis who dashed towards Reeca and swung his sword across her neck.

Alis's jaw dropped when he saw that she had caught his sword with her fingers.

Reeca then grabbed Alis by the collar and pushed him to the ground.

“So is this my win?” Reeca asked.

“It would seem so,” Alis said with a frown.

Reeca helped Alis up before he dusted himself off.

“So… do you trust me now?” Reeca asked.

“No. Why do you seek my trust anyway? What do you stand to gain and don’t tell me a sob story about a dead husband or something like that.” Alis said.

“Well, my husband is gone, but that’s not why I’m here. I’m here because I feel like we have a lot in common.” Reeca said.

“We’re far more different than you think,” Alis said as he sat beside his brother.

“I know and that’s exactly why I want to get to know you,” Reeca said as she sat next to Alis, who let out a grunt before closing his eyes.