The trees lining the hilly road towards the northern gates of Akatfall stood tall and proud as majestic greeters to the magnificent capital of Mercia. Their lush green leaves swayed gently in the soft breeze that rolled through, perfectly framing the tall stone walls that were quickly coming into view.

“I can’t believe we’re finally here,” said Marina, skipping towards the stone bridge that sat over a stream as the hill levelled off.

“It’s been far too long of a journey,” said Friedrich, stopping for a second to look at the walled city before him.

He could see a small stage set up to the right of the gates where a bard stood with his lyre, singing a tune to the mirth of the small crowd of wanderers who had stopped to listen to him. Standing at the gates, were two well-armed guards kitted out in steel armour bearing the Mercian lion while wearing sturdy longswords upon their belts and crossbows upon their backs.

Over the wall, the castle atop the hill was peeking out; the residence of King Ulrich the Bold, the ruler of the entire kingdom. It was a sight to behold, half-obscured as it was, with Friedrich only having laid his eyes upon the ruins of castles lately.

“Ah!” called the bard as the trio walked towards the gates. “You three, come, come!”

“What is it, bard?” asked Blackjack, unamused at the prospect of being dragged into one of his performances.

“Would you care for a song about the Butcher of the Bay?”

“No,” said Blackjack, but Marina clapped her hands together and hopped on the spot.

“Yes, please!” she squealed excitedly.

Blackjack glanced at Friedrich who failed to hold back his laughter. He grabbed her arm and dragged her over after Marina, who had run to the front of the crowd.

The bard cleared his throat and began to sing.

O Butcher, O Butcher

Why do you torment us so?

Which one of us is next?

I wish I could know

Perhaps a soulful tune

Would ease your horrid heart

But I suspect it would not

As your kills are your art

One day, I do hope

You will cease this madness

For each victim claimed

Brings unending sadness

The crowd all clapped politely while Marina gave a thunderous applause. Friedrich joined in, not quite sure what this song was about. Probably some sort of murderer from old. Blackjack looked thoroughly unamused and led the way through the gates with Friedrich and Marina following her.

They stood in the bustling entrance of the town, where a market was in full swing. People were rushing about, trying to find the best deals while the peddlers were ranting and raving about why their wares were the best wares in all of Akatfall.

“This is much too crowded for my liking,” said Blackjack. “I will go somewhere quieter for the time being. I appreciated your companionship on the road, but I think it’s time that we said farewell.”

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“Already?” asked Marina, shocked that Blackjack was leaving so soon.

“I would prefer that we do not drag out the goodbye. I suspect that I will not be in town for very long before I go on my way again.”

“Well,” said Friedrich, holding out a hand. “It’s been fun…Ayreith?”

“That is another nonsense name,” said Blackjack, rolling her eyes but shaking his hand nonetheless. “Perhaps we will happen upon each other again one day.”

“If you ever need help hunting demons, you can seek us out,” said Marina, hugging Blackjack tightly, while the Alaurian stood there awkwardly.

“We’ll charge a very affordable rate,” said Friedrich with a wink. “I’ll give you a discount on my services because we’re such close friends now.”

Blackjack smiled faintly. “For what it is worth, I like the pair of you more than most other humans I have met.”

“And you’re a pretty good elf, yourself,” said Friedrich, much more clumsily than he would have liked.

“If our paths were not destined to diverge, perhaps we could have truly been friends, but I am afraid that this is the way it must be. Good luck with your boat, Friedrich. Good luck with your…um, lightning, Marina.”

With that, Blackjack walked away while Marina waved after her. Friedrich looked over at her; she had tears in her eyes.

“You’ll miss her that much?”

“After you, she’s the only thing close to a friend I’ve had in quite a while,” said Marina, wiping her eyes. “I’m sad to see her go. Aren’t you?”

“It would have been nice for her not to leave the second we walked through the gates,” said Friedrich before shrugging, “but she’s clearly got other business to attend to. I wish her well with it, but now it’s time I get back to mine.”

“Where to find someone to sell that emerald to?” asked Marina, looking towards the market with a sly grin.

“Who knows?” joked Friedrich, hopping over a low wall and walking towards the nearest stall.

The duo looked around the stalls to see what each of the vendors had available. Most of what was being sold was food and clothing, but a few of the stalls had different armours, weapons and even jewellery. While looking at the jewellery stall, Friedrich had to turn Marina away so she wouldn’t be tempted to buy something while Friedrich negotiated with the trader.

“It doesn’t look like it’s in that great condition,” said the vendor, looking at the emerald Friedrich had taken from the forest shrine.

“Look through that glass of yours,” demanded Friedrich. “I dare you to find a single scratch on it.”

“I can see several from here.”

“I don’t see them.”

“Then you have bad eyesight, young man.”

“Fine, what’s the best you’ll do for it then?”

“I think a hundred kupons is a fair deal.”

“A hundred kupons? Not a chance. One hundred and fifty.”

“I’ll struggle to break even on that. One ten.”

“One twenty?” asked Friedrich, holding out his hand and smiling at the vendor.

“Deal,” he said, shaking Friedrich’s hand and pocketing the emerald and handing Friedrich a small pouch of kupons, which the young Mercian counted meticulously.

“Do you think you got a good deal?” asked Marina as she and Friedrich walked away.

Friedrich shook his head. “I haven’t a clue what that was worth. If his first offer was fifty, I would have asked for seventy-five just to push the kupons up a little. Truth be told, I’m not the greatest appraiser.”

“So, you could very easily have been ripped off just now and you wouldn’t have realised?” asked Marina with a raised eyebrow.

“Correct,” grinned Friedrich. “But I’ve got a hundred and twenty kupons more than I did when we walked into town. I call that a win.”

“Oh, Friedrich,” sighed Marina. “I thought you were much more knowledgeable than this. How can you ever expect to get rich by stabbing in the dark like that?”

“It’s worked so far.”

“Has it?”

“Well…”

“If your methods worked so well, you would have a lot more money than you do right now. I think you need to come up with a more structured plan of how you’re going to make your fortune or you won’t have your boat before your hair turns grey.”

“We could sell that lightning amethyst of yours,” said Friedrich sneakily.

“No!”

“I was joking!”

“It didn’t sound like it.”

“I was, I promise,” said Friedrich, patting her on the head. “Speaking of lightning, why don’t we find a way to teach you some more magic while we’re here? Now that we’re back to a party of two, it would be good if we both learned something before we find passage to Kai’roh.”

“How?” asked Marina.

“Every large town in Mercia has a Mages Guildhall.”

“They do?”

“Yes. Which means, the one in Akatfall is probably the best of the bunch. I’m sure we could find someone there that could teach you a thing or two.”

“I would like to learn a second spell,” admitted Marina, scratching the side of her head lightly.

“Why did you learn only one spell?” asked Friedrich.

“I only had one tome to learn from,” shrugged Marina.

“Alright, that’s settled then. We’re going to teach you some more magic so that the Lightning Foxes are truly a force to be reckoned with.”

“We’re using that name?” asked Marina, giggling.

“You came up with it.

“I thought we abandoned it once Blackjack started travelling with us.”

“Nah,” said Friedrich. “While she was with us, we were the Gold Lightning Foxes. Now that it’s back to just being the two of us, we revert to our original name.”

“Can we go get lunch first?” asked Marina, holding her stomach. “I’m starving.”

“Alright, we’ll get lunch before we head to the Mages Guild.”

“A big lunch?”

“Yes, let’s burn lots of kupons while we’re at it so that I’m a skeleton before I get that boat.”

“I will settle for a medium lunch,” said Marina, locking arms with Friedrich and steering him in the direction of the nearest inn.