Sitting in the carriage discussing an interesting cloud formation that had appeared in the morning, the scholorship students were all giving each other life advice. As it happened, Paxton and Goddard both tensed up at the same time, turning their heads to look further down the road. The forest path twisted and turned in gradual ways, meaning there was never a clear view for more than half of a kilometer.

  "What is it?" Liz asked Paxton.

  "There are people hiding up the road," Paxton stated.

  "How do you know?" Christina questioned.

  "I can feel their life energy," Paxton explained, "but that's not the point. I don't think they have good intentions for us."

  "What do you guys think?" Goddard asked.

  "I say, let the adults handle it," Barrot sighed. "They're magicians from Wizeman, they should know how to deal with a couple of bandits."

  "Yeah," Christina agreed, "and then take all their stuff and leave them by the side of the road, butt naked."

  "That's extreme," Samson remarked in a quiet voice. "Couldn't we just find another route? There has to be another way around that doesn't have bandits, right?"

  "I think Barrot's got the right idea, maybe a bit Christina's plan would fit," Goddard surmised. "Liz, what do you think?"

  "Kill them," Liz said without feeling or understanding.

  "And you said I was extreme," Christina poked fun at Samson.

  "I think we should let the adults go first, watch how they do it, then take a few lessons on travel safety," Paxton suggested. There was a nod of understanding, and Goddard congratulated his brother secretly.

  For some time now, Goddard had been trying to put Paxton into the position of leader. Even though Goddard had been the main leader and organizer of the last Sin Squad, he always listened to Paxton and used his advice. Back in the throughs of war, Goddard had even tried to get Paxton to take up a position as a leader of the Sin Squad. What he said will forever be ingrained in Goddard's mind.

  "I am not a leader, Goddard," Paxton had tried to explain. "I might be a good tactician, but a leader is someone that people are willing to follow. Even if I take your position, it wouldn't mean shit because, to them, you'll always be the leader."

  It was the moment that Goddard had an epiphany, that he was the leader that the people had chosen, even though he wasn't the most suited to the position. After that, Goddard looked at Paxton in a new light. He may be a womanizing, dirty man, but he also carried an understanding of the world which Goddard had yet to realize.

  But now, Goddard had the mind of an adult, and he was gaining a new outlook on life.

  "Excuse me," Paxton spoke up to the recruiter who drove the cart, "there are people up ahead!"

  "Really?" the recruiter asked. "I can't see anyone."

  "I can sense them."

  "Oh," the recruiter realized what was going on. He shouted at the other recruiter to stop the carts, and they had a meeting about what to do. The lead woman ended up breaking off with one of her followers to see what the people would want. The kids waited until the adults had solved the dispute, but then something strange happened.

  The female recruiter hailed that it was all clear, so the carriage was pulled up to the narrow part of the woods where a band of five guys were tied to trees. They looked like middle-age mercenaries with some leather armor and rough beards. One of them had a red hand-print across his face, as though he had been slapped. The female recruiter was obviously peeved, so Paxton deduced that something must have been said.

  "Okay, children," the main recruiter said with aggressive undertones, "I think it's high time to see what your real magic is like. I've set up a little firing range here, and each of you are going to take a practice shot."

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  "Isn't that dangerous?" Samson asked quietly.

  "Oh, incredibly so," the recruiter said with a smile, "so you can go first!"

  Samson was pulled into the middle of the road and pointed at the first raider.

  "Okay, I want you to point your palm at this guy," the recruiter instructed, "and try to visualize your fire."

  Samson took a long moment, looking at the person tied to the tree and at the back of his palm. Samson was going back and forth, then the image of fire appeared in the back of his mind. A gentle blaze erupted a short distance away from Samson's hand, causing the nervous boy to scream suddenly.

  "I can't do this!" he cried, tears falling down his cheeks, "I don't want to do this!"

  "It's alright, Samson," the recruiter cooed, "you don't have to be the first. Barrot, why don't you come over and try your hand at it?"

  Samson returned to the group, blubbering about how he couldn't hurt someone. Barrot took the stage, staring at the man who was tied to the tree with no means of defense.

  "Okay, since you have purple magic, your specialty is going to be controlling the wills of others," the recruiter explained in a brief summary. "Conjure up an image of what you want this man to do, and then we'll let him go and he'll follow your orders."

  "That sounds simple enough," Barrot claimed, and so he did as Samson had and pointed his palm at the offender. The bound man struggled against his bonds, but Barrot was successfully able to create an orb of purple magic a few inches away from his hand. The orb was launched like a projectile, colliding with the man as he struggled to free himself. The purple magic was absorbed through the rope, flowing into the man himself.

  The man suddenly convulsed into the rag in his mouth as a purple glow invaded his eyes. He stopped his erratic movements and became docile, not moving at all.

  "Now cut him loose and we'll watch him go," the recruiter said happily. One of the other recruiters undid the knots, and the man stood up with a simple stretch.

  Without saying a word, the man punched himself once in the face. It wasn't a simple punch, this was no-holds-bared punch that knocked out one of his teeth. He even recoiled from the blow, staggering a few steps as the purple lights left his eyes. He touched two fingers to his tender lips, looking at the streak of blood that came off of it.

  "You bunch of psychoes!" the thief shouted angrily.

  "You can go," the lead recruiter said, "unless you want to stay and try your luck? Maybe an apology would sort all of this out."

  The thief looked from the woman who was silently threatening him to the children that he was being threatened with.

"You're all a bunch of monsters!" he shouted, then turned and ran away.

  "Okay, who's next?" the lead recruiter asked cheerfully.

  In the end, everybody had a chance to test out their powers, except for Samson who abstained until the end. Liz's ability to blast water projectiles only got her victim wet before he was released. Christina had a gust of wind that slapped around the bandit. Goddard cut his victim using the edge of a leaf, which Paxton then healed with his white magic.

  "Okay then, you're all free to go," the lead recruiter excitedly said.

  The men were cut loose, and they walked away grumbling insults. The recruiters watched them go, then called the children back to the carriage.

  Samson, Goddard, and Paxton watched as the other three gushed over their magical prowess. They talked about it for the rest of the trip, wanting to alleviate the boredom of the seemingly endless trail.

  Once the carriage stopped and the group had time to rest, Paxton and Goddard talked where nobody could hear them.

  "Paxton, I hope Crystal can still inact that plan of hers even after we've changed course," Goddard relayed his concerns.

  'We're still heading in the right direction,' Crystal telepathically communicated. 'I shall alert you when we get close to the destination."

  "What about you?" Paxton asked. "Aren't we missing one of the sins?"

  "Oh, no, Freddy's already at the school," Goddard stated.

  "What?"

  "Fredrick Burton is a flunkie at the school," Goddard explained. "Wizeman has been putting up with him for three unsuccessful years because he has an anomolous amount of magic power. He was apparently subdued during his Talot, and so he has more magic power than anyone else in the school. The principal keeps threatening to kick him out, but Freddy is one of the most powerful in the school. At least, until you arrive."

  "So my arrival means that he has to start working or else he gets booted?"

  "Eh, sorta," Goddard admitted. "Freddy is the sin of sloth, and it shows. He loves to sleep, constantly skips classes, and takes the most relaxed attitude to life."

  "Why does he become one of the sins?"

  "Because, he was part of our group during the tournament," Goddard answered. "If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have made it into the semifinals. Besides, he's a pretty nice guy."

  "Okay," Paxton said hauntingly, "but what about the princess?"

  "I'm still working on that," Goddard answered easily. "She wants to make friends her own age, but I'm hoping that a chance encounter might change her mind."

  "And you're thinking of creating this 'chance encounter'?" Paxton was dubious of how well Goddard could engineer such a circumstance, especially as the future changed more drastically.

  "Oh yes," Goddard answered, "but that's a year from now. We've got time to break it down and set up the proper climax."

  "I'll leave it to you," Paxton offered with a soft grin.