The only thing on Alicia's mind now was to return to Trinketshore until the Grand Magus of the Magisterium brought her more news. Eidyn Metropolitan was no longer her interest. All she yearned for was to walk for some fresh air, out of everything that was weighing on her mind at the time, yet the townspeople never tired of approaching the girl as if she were a deity in someone’s cult.

Coming to think of it, this was actually an irony for her. Back in the day, being adored and recognised for an accomplishment were dreams she always brought down to her slumber. She had finally earned them, with not being able to defecate peacefully in a public restroom as the consequence. It was a mystery how the townspeople had come to recognise her, as the newspapers never featured her picture, and the telemedia had never shown her being carried by other mages like a landslide victim. But how could anyone see her moping up as she walked by and yelled, “Hey, look, that's her! The wielder of Divine Grace, Alicia Crimsonmane! Let's ask her for a blessing!" Did such a wistful girl look suitable as the holder of the universe's most potent magic? If so, then what they should get was nothing but a divine curse.

Perhaps Alicia had forgotten, her natural crimson hair was the only conspicuous physical trait of a Crimsonmane. And yet again, Alicia was the only member of the extended family with a bookish appearance and introverted demeanour, crawling through the academy library halls. Oh, right, that was exactly what she was.

"Alicia! Let's out for a dauner!" Nadine coaxed her friend, who was lounging on the couch with her Personal Listeners in, listening to classic popular music. “Show us some interesting places, please! Tourist attractions, shopping centres, restaurants, whatever!”

"Nadine, I am pure done being out and about," Alicia replied, her voice low. "I came to the grocery store in front of the flat for some munchies and in an instant, the whole shop burst into snatching me! After all, Leith has gone around Eidyn more often than me to the point it made him boke. Just take him."

Leith, who was also sprawled on the couch, playing with his Realmplay, chided. "Ye already know I'm bored with Eidyn, yet ye still ask me to leave, ye div."

"Gah, Leith isnae fun to walk with," uttered Gilmore. The Big Yin was still struggling with the snacks Alicia bought; snacks that were actually intended for the girl alone. "If he’s nae allowed to nag along the way, he'll have a tantrum on the pavement!"

"Tantrum, my arse! Ye think ye really yon fun to walk with?" Leith objected, "Ye're an absolute uncouth, slow, tacky plebeian. No one wants tae walk with ya!"

Gilmore's nose snorted from the residual carbon. "Aye, right. Nae wonder you doesnae have mates other than yer engine plank, ye petty carper. Be grateful in life once in a while, pal!"

"I have more friends than the amount of yer intelligence quotient."

"What a wee bairn!"

"What a wee brain!"

The bickering between the two men only added to the cacophony already filling Alicia's ears, completely ruining the Gibb Brothers song playing on her playlist. Not a suitable musical composition. "Pals, please. I just want peace!"

"If you want peace, how come are ye still here? Ye have a room. This is my steid; my birthright. If ye dinnae like it, bolt!" said the younger brother.

Alicia, stifled by the boredom of being trapped in her father's flat, made both friends impatient. Nadine immediately grabbed Alicia's white shirt and dragged her outside.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Alicia exclaimed in surprise.

"You'll find your peace at Trinketshore, hen," said Nadine, "We even barely celebrated your victory yesterday. Let's do that now with a good old-fashioned dauner!"

Gilmore, getting excited, gave Alicia a gentle push towards the door. She cried out for help, but Leith only waved lazily in response.

Alicia found herself reluctantly but ultimately surrendering to the whims of her friends, venturing out into the thriving city of Eidyn. Nadine took them to the largest department store, where the air was thick with the bustle of the crowds. After that, Gilmore dragged the two girls to the famous of the chippers—the fish-n-chips stall—at Eidyn, recommended by Alicia, just to sample a box of Cigar Bar—a Caledonian snack in the form of chocolate with a mixture of spices, coated with flour and then fried. One thing was for sure; Gilmore did not leave the restaurant without a generous portion of protein inside his stomach.

Gradually, Alicia showed her enthusiasm. Back in the day, her mind was full of difficulties as she stepped onto the land of Eidyn, to the point that she forgot for a long time, she had not been home. Enjoying the fried sweets brought back old memories—when she was secretly treated by his servant, Whucksmire, to the same meal. Her mother certainly would not allow her to consume anything that could make a little foal trapped in a sugar rush.

Nadine knew how fond Alicia was of anything magic, so she also invited Alicia to explore the recently renovated Magi National Museum. The once-lethargic Crimsonmane girl was immediately rekindled with her uncanny love for magic, marked by her constant raving about every magical exhibit to her best pals.

"I told you, my disguise would work," Nadine said to Alicia who was now wearing a red plaid beret to hide part of her tied red mane, along with a mouth covering and teamed it with her white shirt and light red jacket. The bespectacled bookworm was all but gone.

"Awright, awright. You won this time, Nadine." Alicia relented. "But can we return to the flat? Honestly, I cannae stay outside for long right now."

After half a day of walking around Eidyn, it was four in the afternoon. They decided to return home. The triplet walked into a dead city district while conversing. It was at that moment Alicia noticed something odd.

"Alicia? Why did you stop?" Gilmore turned around as Alicia observed her surroundings with a curious face. There was no traffic in this part of the city. In fact, the only source of the sound was themselves. She saw an abandoned and half-collapsed building, with a weathered large cross that read “You Are Entering Hamstagg District”.

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"I dinnae remember there being such a thing as the Hamstagg district in Eidyn," she said, "and we shouldn't have come this way."

"Uh, maybe you just don't know about it. You haven't been here in a long time, have you?" said Nadine.

Gilmore, on the other hand, responded with another response, "Dinnae tell me we're lost, Alicia."

"What? No way. I remember the way to the flat… or, maybe, we got a little lost." Alicia twirled her neck again, looking for clues. "Look, the Eidyn monument is still there," she pointed at the tall tower full of ancient gothic carvings, "Let's go back to the monument and trace our way back from there."

The friends continued their walk and conversation, so engrossed in each other's company that they were unaware of the passing of time. But then, much to Alicia's surprise, they found themselves back at the same spot they had started, despite being so close to the monument. The sign reading "You Are Entering Hamstagg District" was now visible in the opposite direction.

Nadine voiced her growing concern. "Did we just walk in circles?"

Gilmore shuddered as well.

Reaching into her bag, Alicia saw her trusted Orb and nodded to her companions. "No mistake, this is an act of magic. Prepare your weapons–"

Suddenly, a magical blast came hurtling towards Alicia's head, but Gilmore was quick to catch her and they both hit the ground. Out of nowhere, a group of black-clad attackers emerged, wielding swords and bludgeons, surrounding the trio from all sides.

One of them was about to hit Gilmore's head with a bludgeon. With a deft move, Gilmore dodged the descending bludgeon and retaliated with a swift blow to the attacker's jaw. In a swift motion, he snatched the club from their grasp.

"Too bad, there isnae anything like a pocket-fitting knife, or a handcrafted sword, pals." Gilmore drew closer to his two mates while chasing away the group of strangers.

Alicia still had time to quip with The Big Yin. "You still dinnae bring yer scout knife? Unbelievable!"

"Noo ye care aboot mah scout knife?"

The dark magi then descended upon them, riding their enchanted broomsticks, like ravens diving towards their prey.

All of them were garbed in black leather jackets adorned with golden runes, their faces hidden behind gleaming masks in the shape of human visages, covered in mystical engravings. They wore dark gatsby caps to complete their ominous appearance. As for the magi, their heads were shrouded in hooded masks of black and gold, with goggles screening their eyes.

Gilmore whispered to Alicia beside her, "Since we're jist fae the magic museum, dae ye ken who they are? Maybe the witches ye spoke of, that I overlooked??"

"Judging from their appearance, definitely not any crooks," Alicia said. She asked the group of strangers a question. "Who are you and what do you want? Dragging three younglings in circles through these dreary alleys?"

The one in front approached them. The triumvirate immediately stepped back, Orb becoming brighter in Alicia's hand.

"Who we are, is the least matter. Hand us the pure Arcane orb, and this will be the first and last time we meet," said the masked mage, his voice deep and raspy, disguised to conceal his identity.

Alicia just rolled her eyes and sighed in tedium. "Another Orb this, another Orb that. I was just about to have an excellent day at Eidyn, and now you've ruined it!"

"Surrender the magic sphere, and perhaps we won't ruin your day any further, lady," he responded again with a hint of intimidation.

"I beg yer pardon, sir. But you'll have to try harder if you want to make us bow to your demands. I've faced down far scarier necromancers than you!"

Alicia instantly coated Nadine and Gilmore with divine power. "We'll take down some mages, and then we bolt!"

Nadine and Gilmore straight rushed to defeat the crooks from each side. Alicia shot the mage leader, then fired another Arcane might up into the sky. The force broke into small projectiles and rained down upon the band of rogues, disrupting their formation!

Each of the hooded evil wizards took out a black stone the size of a fist; a Protos particle! They inhaled a sublime stone, and their bodies became epileptic, filled with a purple aura that shuddered Alicia's nape hair and soul as she stared at them with wide eyes. Despite the barrage of Arcane mortars that rained down upon them, the wizards refused to surrender, instead unleashing all manner of dark magic towards the triumvirate. Gilmore and Nadine nearly knocked out all the magicless rogues, but when the wizards barraged their Khaos' magic, things got a little more complicated. They were both overthrown by vile curses. The force of Khaos rubbed against the sheath of Divine Grace, sending aches all over their bodies. Luckily with the remnants of Arcane still flowing in their veins, they were able to awaken in no time; albeit such holy power had to fade from colliding with Khaos. Nevertheless, each of them swerved back and beat the magicians one by one in nimble motions.

One example of a lousy mage trait: not mastering close combat.

Alicia could probably be grateful for this. With a little help from Gilmore and Nadine back in the day, her fate was luckier than that of a bunch of mysterious masked crooks. Coupled with her advantages as a mage, Alicia could dodge and destroy incoming curses with Orb's magic. She then blasted a magical shockwave at one of the magicians, sending him flying free through the horizon and trapped in the shimmering stars!

No, not that grand. Just being knocked a few metres away was enough to make his nerves go into a state of shock. But still, poor wizard. Alicia did the same with the rest of the magicians and troops, and to her surprise, it worked.

It was very surprising indeed. The seemingly helpless Alicia could not believe it either. Their plan was only to defeat a few personnel until they could find an opening to escape. But in reality, they were too caught up in the match, and without knowing, managed to knock them all out, barely a scratch. These mysterious men were weaker than they looked. One could guess they were amateur mages and soldiers who had just graduated from the academy. But instead of working in a government agency, they chose to go out of their way to create a false cult, then claim a district with an atmosphere as deplorable as theirs, their headquarters.

"Alright, this is our chance to escape," said Nadine.

However, there was one masked mage who was not willing to submit.

He was the same person who voiced to Alicia. The magic wand was held with both fingertips. From his mouth, muttered a spell.

"Vacuum Schimaticus!"

The spell emitted a long metal blade similar to the one that Grand Magus Haddock had cast. The most striking difference was the blade did not glow white but rather, jet black with a violet bloom—a sword of nothingness.

With agility befitting a seasoned warrior, the wizard sprang at the bookworm with a series of swift strikes. But the girl was ready, and with a deft flick of her wrist, she shattered the sword with her Orb. And then, with a burst of magic, she lifted a piece of wood from the road and struck the wizard in the face, knocking him to the ground.

Alicia laid him a warning. "Let us pass, dinnae make things worse!"

The mage fell with his back to the bespectacled girl. As he turned to Alicia, his cloth hood was almost torn. His goggle glass cracked along with his mask. The wizard’s face was unveiled, and Alicia froze, startled. She backed away. Her friends were puzzled. "Alicia, what's wrong? You know that person?"

“H-he…!”

Alicia stammered.

"Spencer Crimsonmane?"

The person called Spencer was still sitting. He immediately pointed his wand at an old building and threw it at the triplet!

"Alicia, watch out!" cried her other pal.

Alicia quickly came to her senses, forming an Arcane force field, protecting them from the telekinesis impact of floating rubbles.

The other crooks were hit by severe suffocation, before reviving themselves with the power of Protos particle. Some of them had their masks broken too, showing familiar countenances that made Alicia even more bewildered. Her petty feelings turned to fear.

The same faces who once stared at Alicia viciously at the feast at Alasdair's villa a few days ago. A few with the same red hair as hers.

Alicia's own family.

"Spencer? Doyle? Uncle John? Aunt Aimee? And others? W-what’s the meaning of this?"

"Oh, Crimsonmane bastard." Spencer slowly rose to his feet. "You should have agreed to Grandpa's offer when you had the chance." []