The moment Adelle stepped into Rushtae Tavern, the smell of ale filled her nostrils. But it was not the butterscotch after whiff that she had familiarised herself with, but something much more grainy, an apt description for both the drink and the surprisingly large establishment.

Small round tables were set haphazardly around the floor, some pushed together to create larger sitting areas for bigger groups. Black curtained booths lined the aisle walls, and a long bar simply chiselled from stone was set on the far end. The corners opposing the entrance left and right had a door and stairwell up the second floor respectively.

Despite the size, there were not many patrons. Immediately, Adelle could tell which individuals played what roles. There were the Guides who were dressed in heavy, durable clothes meant to survive the treacherous journey across the continent. Those in peasant garbs were likely informants, who mostly sat at the bar, trading information with the tender. Two individuals dressed in wealthy rare cloths were likely clients, sitting uncomfortably at tables with their chosen Guides discussing their arrangements. A group of raggedly dressed individuals, looking shagged and tired, were ushered to the back door, likely some form of refugee, impoverished, or others along that line.

Adelle felt the atmosphere strangely comfortable.

But it was not a time for her to catch her breath.

"Grab a seat," Eca slid past her and headed for the stairs. "I'll go grab Josh. I think you two have a lot to talk about."

He left as he said that and Adelle suddenly realised she was alone with Luce, or at least, as a lone as they could be in a 'public' place. She looked to her companion behind her who wore a strange look of both determination and worry. Sighing, Adelle headed to the nearest empty seats and took it, with Luce following shortly after opposite her.

Luce took a deep learned breath, the same she took before publicly addressing the Titan Rangers back home. "So. What do you want to ask?"

Adelle was not sure how she felt or what questions to start with. She had never been in the negotiating position, nor have she been particularly diplomatic. Furthermore, she was in some sort of position of power now, and she was not sure how that made her feel, but it was definitely not the confidence and strength that she had expected. She felt confused mostly, with a dash of uncertainty.

"Well..." she pondered for a moment. Her head hurt from all the thinking. "What are sentinels?"

Luce let out a sigh of her own. "They're... a race. One of the ancient race along with the dwarfs. They were wiped out during the first war."

"Dwarfs?"

"Yeah," Luce replied with a quizzical gleam. "I'm not surprised you've never heard of them, what with two hundred years of self imposed isolation and all that."

"Was that a quip?"

Luce panicked and replied, "No!"

"Because you're on thin ice right now. If that was a quip, I'm walking out of here right now."

"No, not a quip. Sorry. Just... force of habit."

"Hmm..." Adelle contemplated for a moment. For some reason, though she knew she was insulted, she could not bring herself to get angry. "So I'm a sentinel."

"Yes," Luce nodded.

"And the Pyrerai - that crazy bitch Lachesis - is a sentinel too?"

"It would seem so."

"And you did not tell me?"

Luce paused and looked away. Shame was a rare expression for her to wear. "I wanted to. Was going to after we beat Light. But..."

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"Misti go hurt."

"We needed your help getting us back across the Helm. Josh still wanted to tell you but I thought you would run away to find answers or something," Luce paused. Adelle could see her mind thinking. "I'm sorry."

A flurry of footsteps came from the stairs and the two turned to see Josh rushing down three steps at a time. At that rate, Adelle won't be surprised if the old man's legs gave way before reaching the bottom.

But he did, and quickly he ran over to the table they sat and grabbed Luce by the shoulder.

Practically shouting, he asked, "Luce! You're not hurt, are you?"

"I-I'm fine, Josh."

Adelle piped up, "I'm fine too."

"Oh," Josh turned to her nonchalantly. "You're here. Good."

Sarcastically, Adelle growled, "Don't sound so happy to see me."

Another pair of footsteps sounded from behind Josh and the man stepped aside, revealing Eca walking over with an hume woman. The end of her long ponytail was a white brush dipped in blue. Her eyes, even though hidden under shades, had a catlike golden glare to them. She had on a brown jacket, a bandoleer was strapped across her black undershirt, filled with ammunitions with differently coloured tips. At the sides of her greying cargo pants were two shining brass revolvers.

"Well, nice to see you again, girly," the woman directed her greetings to Luce.

"Do I... know you?"

Josh introduced, "This is Talia. She's the one who rejected being your Guide at Ander'z Bar all those years ago."

"Ah. Yes," Luce noted. "I think I remember now."

"So," Talia began. "What are your plans now that you've come back?"

"We..."

Adelle continued, "We need to get to Citi. It's obvious Josh isn't knowledgeable enough as a Guide anymore." The man clicked his tongue in annoyance but did not fight the claim. "Can you get us there, Talia?" Adelle could feel Luce staring a questioning hole into the side of her head.

"Oh, definitely not," Talia shook the offer off. "I heard from Eca. You two are being hunted by the Pyrerai and I'm not up for a suicide mission. But mainly, you're broke."

Eca - who had remained silent so far - piped up, "I can fund this trip."

Talia raised a brow. "Well, I know you're good for money. I'll be asking for my highest price, of course."

The man in white smiled. "Of course."

"Really?" Adelle asked suspiciously. "What's in it for you? In fact, what are you doing here? What's a Clover doing all the way on the butt end of the world?"

"King Adam has been trying to unite the world in peace. Can't do that if a quarter of the planet is locked in a perpetual state of war. I was sent here to diplomatically resolve it, but with the way things are now..."

Luce deduced, "You're a saboteur."

"That's a dirty word. I'm just trying to make sure a cult doesn't end up taking over the world."

Adelle distrusted the man greatly. He was smooth with his words, but not in the same way her friends The Watcher or Nadier were. Every phonetic dripped with the echo of hidden substances. She had known her fair share of people who lied, but few did so to use as weapons. Most used them as shields to guard themselves from people or events. But those who spoke with the flair of Eca? They were out to use them as swords, to manipulate fights towards their desired directions like an arrow fired to kill.

Eca continued, "Besides, Adam told me to help you in any way I can. Nothing less for the people who saved the world."

"Once," Adelle insisted. "We're not particularly interested with doing so again."

"No need. Just you being here and travelling up and down provides more than enough distraction to get the powers that be off my back a bit."

Adelle did not particularly appreciated being used in such a roundabout way, but they were not left with much choices. Without any money, making any moves would be slow and difficult under all the additional scrutiny they were now under. She looked to Josh to make a decision and the man nodded.

"Alright, Eca. We'll accept your offer."

"Right then," Talia clapped. "I'm sure Josh will explain the drill to you. Let's get some shut eyes and we'll head out tomorrow."

Eca noted, "A moment, Talia." She turned to him in annoyance. "I want you to take them via the tunnels."

Her annoyance turned to curiosity. "Are you sure?"

He nodded back.

Josh looked appalled before bluntly stating to Eca, "I don't like you."

The man shrugged. "You don't have to." He let out a tired yawn and started walking away. "The room Josh is using is yours for the night. Feel free to have your dinner and breakfast. All paid for by yours truly."

Talia scratched her head in frustration, but she too left without another word.

Luce turned to Josh. "What's wrong with the tunnels?"

"I-" he tried to reply, but quickly lost his words. "I'll tell you tomorrow. You won't be able to get much sleep if I tell you now. I'll see you two upstairs. Room eight."

As Josh walked away, a waiter came over with two dishes of steaming bland wheat paste, setting the dirt coloured dish at their table with a half empty glass shaker of salt. The waiter walked away without even making eye contact.

Quietly the two sat. Unable to handle the awkward silence, Adelle picked up her utensils and began picking at her food.

"Why?" Luce suddenly piped up. "After knowing I lied to you, aren't you going to leave?"

Adelle stopped for a moment. "If you had told me those things after the fight with Light, I would probably have left."

"What changed?"

"I don't know."